Perhaps in a moment of frustration, Rep. Robert Pittenger stated that the protesters in Charlotte "hated white people." A statement like this, though he has apologized for it since making it, reveals a part of his character that he has kept well concealed over the years.
When Whitney Gilbert and Shadese (DeeDee) Griffith began dating more than a year ago, neither could have expected that they and their family w
Interested in buying Antena3 seems to be a group of foreign investors represented by Prof. Dr. Stylianos Syrmoglou, CEO of many TV stations over the time from Greece and not only, very well connected as well to the television industry in USA. Our sources disclosed us that the discussion between the Greek journalist and the representatives of Antena Group have already started about one month ago. Dr. Syrmoglou had meetings with Camelia Voiculescu and Sorin Alexndrescu, ex-CEO of Antena Group. The rumors say an answer is waited to come from Dan Voiculescu himself, despite the fact that he is still in prison. The proposals done to the media group which includes Antena 3 as well is refering either to a colaboration to this media group, or buying Antena 3, a station which is passing through an extremly difficult period in terms of financial situation. According to our sources, Antena 3 is fastly bound to insolvency. So from this perspective we can conclude that this opportunity can be called one in a life time in order to overcome the actual situation. As a matter of fact, especially because Antena 3 was forced to move in another place than Bucuresti-Ploiesti one, it needed to take drastic measures in terms of cutting the wages and fireing employees. And it seems new reducing costs measures are to come in October as well.

According to our sources the journalist Stylianos Syrmoglou the one who is conducting all the negociations in Bucharest has more aces up his sleeve. If Dan Voiculescu refuses his offer, Mr Syrmoglou will make a similar proposal to DOGAN Group in Instanbul, for taking over Kanal D in Bucharest. The fact which is well known in the very informed cirlces is that this key-personage Stylianos Syrmoglou negociated in the past with CME group in order to take over PROTV, but the negotiations were stopped. The TV project which is proposed by the foreign investors represented by professor Stylianos Syrmoglou would impose a new type of journalistic mentality, as we can conclude after reading the articles posted by him on personal profile on Facebook. So, why is this interest to the Romanian media market of such a journalist with almost 30 years experience, who had first positions in the management of many TV stations in Greece, Cyprus, England and Sweden? It is a legitim question which can remain a enygma if we could not take deeper investigations on this issue. So, our information is that Stylianos Syrmoglou intend to develop a Balkanic TV project with studios in Sofia, Belgrade, Istanbul and Bucharest. Which sounds not bad at all, especially regarding the journalistic line he intends to impose in his media corporation, beeing an European one. We follow with interest in the last month his articles on Facebook in which he approached in a sharp way the problems with the mentalities in Romanian media. We kept in mind some of them in which his critics were addresed especially to the way Antena 3 is practicing the journalism and to the desastrous management in this TV station. His acid analysis regarded as well other televisions in Romania RTV, PROTV and TVR, Stylianos Syrmoglou nameing the plot between politicians and the owners of the media groups. It is very interesting to see details of this new TV project, as it comes just to the right moment on a media market financially confused and smashed by the political wars. We try to get more from Mr Syrmoglou, who had not been approchable by now. It seems Stylianos Syrmoglou is well informed about Romanian TV media, has connection with Romanian politicians and with Patriarch Daniel as well, as easily you can see from his profile on Facebook. He is the founder of Alpha Group in Greece, which was taken over by Germans of RTL. As well Stylianos Syrmoglou teaches International Relations to Universities in London and Washington.
The health situation of the four Romanian servicemen injured on Sunday in Afghanistan is favorable, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) informed through a press release remitted on Monday to Agerpres. "Following the first series of investigations, evaluations and medical care received at the emergency unit of the Military Hospital of Kandahar Airforce Base, it was noted that the lesions suffered by the four servicemen injured in the attack of Sunday, September 25, did not affect their vital organs, with their health situation expected to evolve favorably," the quoted release shows.

Soldier Costica-Victor Tarnovschi, who suffered superficial wounds without having major injuries will be transferred to the battalion infirmary and will remain in the care of the Romanian medical team. He is 22 and is at his first deployment. According to the quoted source, the three other servicemen were airlifted to the Bagram Air Base military hospital, where they underwent subsequent evaluation, Corporal Marcel Neagu being held for detailed medical investigation and specialty treatment. The serviceman is 36 and is at his third tour, participating previously in theaters of operation in Kosovo (2005) and Iraq (2009). Second Lieutenant Florin Oprea and Staff Sergeant Eduard-Vlad Romila were transported, by airplane, to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, for full medical investigations and specialty treatment. The officer, aged 23, was at his first tour of duty abroad, while the NCO, aged 37, is at his third tour, his first tour of duty being in Iraq (2008) and his second in Afghanistan (2011).

The Romanian Land Forces have ensured the presence of a doctor to liaise with the German hospital staff, as well as for communicating with the Ministry of National Defence and the families of victims. The four servicemen of the 'White Sharks" Force Protection Battalion were wounded following the detonation of an IED while on patrol in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
KMG International is a foreign direct investor of major relevance for Romania, supporting budgetary revenue of 3%, placing 1,6 billion $ during 2007-2015, ensuring 44.6% of the countrys refining capacity and contributing to its energy security, according to a study conducted by the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, in July- September 2016.

KazMunayGas  the national company of Kazakhstan  took the strategic decision of entering the European markets through Romania in 2007, through the aquisition of formerly known Rompetrol Group. Besides the foreign direct investments meant to increase the refining capacity of Petromidia and the overall business competitiveness in order to deliver quality products to clients aligned to international norms, the shareholder of KMGI provided Romania a secure source of Kazakh oil from Tengiz offshore oilfield as an alternative to Russian crude, thus contributing to national and regional energy security. This is of major importance if we think that currently Romania has only 3 refineries producing fuels, compared to 1990 when 11 were functional and the refining capacity at that time was of 32 million tones, compared to 2016  11 million tons of crude/year.  declares Azamat Zhangulov, Senior VP - KMG International.

Financial and operational figures are of relevance for specialists, but the input-output analysis of Leontief shows the value added at the level of society. For instance  the taxes paid to the state budget in 2013 - 2015 (5,1 billion $) by KMG International may have accounted for the construction of 16,466 kindergartens, 10,466 schools or 48 hospitals, while for each job created within the Group, an additional 2.25 workplaces are created within the economy. This study is also unique since its for the first time when an academic institution embarks on this type of research, to assess the direct, indirect and induced impact of a large economic player upon our countrys growth and profitability.  declares Dr. Bogdan Negrea, full Professor and Researcher within ASE.

The research shows the contribution of KMG International to Romanias energy security in the context of European energy and oil markets, the capability to cover 70% of the domestic demand for fuel products through Petromidia and Vega refineries, supporting oil supply diversification of Europe (Kazakhstan having an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil reserves) and emergency stocks  mandatory for the national security of Romania, as well as producing sustainable energy and respecting EU and national environmental legislation (Petromidia being the first refinery to ensure the transition and exclusive production from Euro 4 to Euro 5, with a Sulphur content of 10 PPM).

The economic impact is assessed by considering the contribution to government revenues through paid taxes, controlled collection of excises (KMGI being authorized to operate 4 production tax warehouses through Rompetrol Rafinare and Rompetrol Gas), and contribution to national GDP (a gross value added, in 2015 only, of 0.6 billion $). The Group has a major impact on Romanian commercial balance by exporting finite goods (refined petroleum and petrochemical products), mostly in the Black Sea countries. The value of exports accounts for more than 4% of the total value generated by the manufacturing industry, being the largest exporter of oil products (Rompetrol Rafinare in 2015 exported an amount of ~2 million tons of fuel with a value of over 2 billion $).

Nevertheless  the Groups impact is given by its contribution to employment (5000 employees in Romania) and developing of specialists in manufacturing of petroleum and petrochemicals products, as well as young workforce (considering that Romania is facing high unemployment rates for the below 34 years group, both at national level and especially in the SE and S regions). Through its national programs, sponsorship projects and employee-driven initiatives, KMGI invested in the past 7 years over 10 million $ in projects in the areas of healthcare, environmental protection, culture, education and leadership, proving its responsible citizenship.

The study proves the high competitiveness level of KMG International due to its shareholder  the state of Kazakhstan through the integrated company KazMunayGas, ensuring funding and working capital, direct access to sources of crude (Tengiz and Kashagan), a trading and supply chain system, as well as the investments in developing the retail network in 6 European countries. Additionally, the Group controls companies of industrial services, petrochemical production (Vega being the sole producer of modified road-use bitumen, n-hexane and niche products  solvents, heating fuels etc.).
Co-chair of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Alina Gorghiu said Monday that the news of the resignation from office of the head of Romania's Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu had taken her by surprise, adding that she did not know the reasons. "I do not know the reasons behind the resignation. The news has taken me by surprise," Gorghiu said at the end of a meeting of the PNL National Political Bureau on Monday.

To the journalists' remarks that there were some reports about Ungureanu not being on good terms with President Iohannis and the President repeatedly asking Ungureanu to step down, Gorghiu said "everybody puts smooth institutional functioning above personal interests ". "If his resignation solves some functioning problems, hats off to him!" Gorghiu added. President Klaus Iohannis on Monday accepted the resignation of Ungureanu as director of Romania's Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) and the appointment of Silviu Predoiu as acting director.

Agerpres
The aviation industry is supporting a United Nations proposal to limit pollution from international flights even though the measure may cost companies $24 billion annually.

Trade groups representing United Continental Holdings, Boeing and other industry leaders are pushing nations to join the agreement, which would require companies to offset their emissions growth by funding environmental initiatives. The accord, being brokered in Montreal during 11 days of talks beginning Tuesday, would be the first global climate pact targeting a single industry.

The outcome is far from certain. The deal has backing from at least 60 nations, including the U.S. and most of Europe. Yet in recent days China, which had previously expressed support for the accord, issued a joint proposal along with Russia and India pushing to change key elements of the proposal.

Exhaust from international flights accounts for about 2 percent of global greenhouse gases, yet was largely omitted from the Paris accord on climate change last year because delegates feared divvying up responsibility for global routes could derail the broader deal. With aviation emissions forecast to triple by 2050, airlines believe that regional or global regulation is inevitable. If their pollution must be controlled, airlines would prefer a single international standard, saying it would be far cheaper and easier than following a patchwork of local programs.

"We recognize that as an industry, we have an impact on climate change," said Michael Gill, executive director of the Air Transport Action Group, which represents airlines, engine makers, airports and pilots. "The industry is willing to pay its share. We just want to pay our share in the most economic way possible."

To be clear, the 15-year agreement would not force airlines to cut their pollution. Instead, companies would compensate for any emissions growth after the accord begins in 2020 by buying credits that back renewable energy development, forest preservation or other environmental endeavors. Airlines estimates the annual industrywide cost may be as much as $23.9 billion by 2035, or 1.8 percent of projected revenue.

If the UN-sponsored deal fails, companies run the risk of facing even costlier regulation if Europe or others push ahead with regional plans.

Environmentalists also are pushing for the deal in Montreal, saying it's an important first step that can be improved over time. Yet they criticize the current proposal for relying on voluntary participation during the first six years. And they say the low cost of environmental offsets could let companies off easy

"It's peanuts," said Bill Hemmings, of the Brussels-based environmental group Transport & Environment. "It gets them off the hook. Without enforced safeguards, it's a massive green-washing exercise."

Nonetheless, supporters of the accord say it's a critical piece of the effort to stave off erratic floods, droughts and other dire impacts of global warming. In addition to the U.S. and Europe, the agreement has garnered pledges of support from the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore and dozens of others nations responsible for most aviation emissions.

"The Paris Agreement alone won't solve the climate crisis," President Barack Obama said in September during a joint appearance with Chinese President Xi Jinping, when both leaders expressed support for the aviation accord.

On the eve of the talks, however, China proposed broad changes to the accord through a joint statement with India and Russia, pushing to make airlines in the U.S. and other wealthy nations responsible for offsetting the majority of emissions. The three nations argued that the current proposal would unfairly punish growing airlines in developing nations and drive them into bankruptcy. India and Russia have consistently been critical of the global aviation emissions deal. It is unclear whether the proposed changes mark a shift in China's overall position.

The push for a global emissions deal rose to the top of the aviation agenda in 2012, after the European Union said it would require airlines to buy carbon permits for all flights in and out of Europe. That triggered outcry from China, Egypt, Brazil and other nations that argued the measure was beyond the EU's authority. Europe agreed to suspend its effort and allow nations to negotiate an international deal.

Officials plan to finalize the agreement during the talks that begin this week, hosted by the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization. More than 2,000 delegates are expected to attend, making it the organization's largest assembly ever.

Environmentalists say the accord hinges on whether it can draw enough nations to participate during the initial voluntary phase to cover 80 to 90 percent of emissions. Several countries with fast-growing aviation sectors -- including Brazil and India -- have indicated they would wait until the deal becomes mandatory in 2027. They argue the accord would impose an inappropriate economic burden on developing countries trying to grow their aviation sectors.

"The interests of poor and developing countries should be taken on board," India's environment minister Anil Madhav Dave told The Times of India in August.

Officials continue to debate how to balance responsibility between large airlines that emit most emissions and small, growing carriers from developing nations. The current proposal calls for Delta Air Lines Inc., Deutsche Lufthansa AG and other industry leaders to initially subsidize the growth of smaller carriers.

Over time, all airlines would be responsible for offsetting their own emissions growth. The U.S. has pushed for that transition to happen as soon as possible. Brazil and other developing nations have argued for it to happen slowly.

A key issue will ultimately be determining what types of offsets are permitted. Verifying the ecological integrity of such credits can be notoriously difficult. Negotiators are unlikely to finalize those details until after an initial deal is reached. European Union Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said the 28-nation block would push to ensure credits are certified by the United Nations.

"This will be the first-ever global carbon-reduction deal for a single industry," Bulc said during a Sept. 21 media briefing. "I hope that we can encourage other sectors to follow. It is a critical time for action."
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc., which has been considering a split into two companies for more than two years, said on Monday it would not do so because the move would not create any shareholder value.

Pfizer said a split would not boost cash flow or better position the businesses competitively. It would also disrupt operations, have inherent costs and fail to deliver any tax efficiencies, the company said.

Pfizer will keep its low-growth generics and patent-protected branded medicines separate, giving it the option to split later if "factors materially change at some point in the future."

Pfizer said the decision would not affect its 2016 financial forecast. Its shares fell 1.5 percent to $33.75 in morning trading, amid a 1 percent decline in the ARCA Pharmaceutical Index of large drugmakers.

The move follows the collapse of Pfizer's planned $160 billion acquisition of Irish drugmaker Allergan Inc. after a change in U.S. law negated the tax benefits for companies moving corporate headquarters to overseas locales through acquisitions.

Investors were expecting the company to step back from the split, Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said in a research note.

"The company seems likely to leave open its option for a future split-up, but more immediately it may continue hunting for M&A targets," Anderson wrote.

Pfizer began openly planning for a possible split in early 2014, saying it would operate the businesses as separate divisions and track their progress for three years before reaching a decision. In August, it said it would decide by year-end.

Pfizer said the sum-of-the-parts analysis showed no benefit to shareholders, and that tax costs and business disruptions were factors it considered.

The company had considered the move largely because its patent-protected medicines routinely enjoyed sales growth while demand for its generics usually declined.

But the $15 billion purchase of Hospira a year ago has bolstered Pfizer's wide array of generics, which the company calls "essential products." Hospira makes generic injectable hospital products and biosimilars, which are cheaper versions of the world's leading biotech drugs.

Annual sales of Pfizer's generic portfolio should grow by a single-digit percentage rate in coming years, JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note. He forecast a 3 percent rise in the company's overall annual sales through 2020, resulting in 8 percent earnings growth.

Investors shifted their focus to whether Pfizer would split after the company terminated the Allergan deal in April.

In August, Pfizer said it was buying Medivation Inc. for $14 billion to get access to blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi for its growing oncology roster.

That deal illustrates a shift in Pfizer's mergers and acquisitions strategy from lowering taxes, which was the rationale behind the failed Allergan bid, to strengthening its lineup of branded drugs, especially lucrative cancer treatments.
St. Louis University Hospital registered nurses voted to approve a contract covering about 660 nurses through 2018.

Voting spanned several days and concluded Saturday, a union representative said.

This was the first time Creve Coeur-based SSM Health engaged in labor negotiations with National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, which represents SLUH nurses.

Nurses voted for this new contract because it will improve staffing and patient care at SLUH, registered nurse Marchelle Bettis Vernell said in a statement. There are solid increases in educational and retirement benefits that we believe will both attract and retain nurses and lead to better staffing overall.

The new contract includes a requirement that nurses receive eight hours of rest after working a call shift before returning to work, raises that average 12 percent and range up to 26 percent over three years, an improved retirement plan benefit and a strengthened grievance procedure for disputes, the union said.

"SSM Health is pleased to have reached an agreement with the NNOC on a new labor contract at Saint Louis University Hospital," SSM spokesman Jason Merrill said in a statement. "Our nurses are outstanding and this agreement allows us to keep focus on our Mission of providing exceptional patient care each day."
CLSA analyst Mike Mayo said his support for Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive John Stumpf was "wavering" following problematic sales tactics that has brought him under fire from U.S. lawmakers.

The bank has been facing heightened scrutiny following allegations that its employees had set up as many as 2 million accounts and credit cards in customers' names that may have not been authorized.

Mayo said his support for Stumpf was contingent upon the CEO's ability to better explain the repercussions of the sales abuses.

Last week, lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee grilled Stumpf about the accounts, with some calling on him to resign and forfeit his earnings and hold other senior executives accountable.

Shareholders have a right to know what will be done to the pay of top executives, to the composition of the board, and for impacted customers, Mayo said in a note to clients.

"We believe Wells Fargo is bigger than the CEO, notwithstanding a good financial track record during his tenure, and there should be no more excuses for the lack of answers to key questions," Mayo said.

Mayo rates the stock 'outperform' with a price target of $57. The stock's median price target is $51.

Shares of the San Francisco, Calif.-based lender have fallen by about 10 percent since Sept. 7, the day before the bank reached a $185-million settlement over fraud case.
Strategists at Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in an analysis of the upcoming U.S. election that they expect one of four outcomes, with the most likely being a Hillary Clinton win and a divided Congress.

According to its analysis, that outcome has a 40 percent probability of occurring and would have a neutral impact on equities, bonds and the U.S. dollar.

A Republican president with a divided Congress could have a 30 percent chance of occurring and a slightly negative impact, while a Republican president with a Republican Congress could have a 20 percent change of occurring and a negative market impact.

The other scenario according to their analysis  a Democratic president with a Republican Congress  would have just a 10 percent probability, and it would have a slightly positive impact on financial markets.

"Considering the probabilities and the expected market outcomes ... our outlook is roughly neutral. In our view, the strong prospect of more divided government implies that extreme market outcomes are possible but unlikely," they wrote.

What about a Clinton presidency and a Democratic-led Congress? "We don't see a significant probability of an outcome that includes the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives," the institute says.

Wells Fargo Investment Institute cites trade, health care and government spending and taxes as among key issues in its analysis. Its advice to investors: "Ride out the waves of campaign rhetoric."

Among the institute's observations: Campaign promises increasingly are unreliable.

"Research over presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Jimmy Carter found that an average of 75 percent of campaign promises were kept during a president's first term," the report says.

"Yet, the average fell to 47 percent since 2001."

Investors are gearing up for the first U.S. presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump beginning at 8 p.m.

Wells Fargo Investment Institute is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company. It provides investment advice to St. Louis-based Wells Fargo Advisors, as well as other Wells Fargo affiliates.
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis will erect barriers this week to shield viewers from works in Direct Drive that critics are calling racially charged and exploitative.

Informational signs will also explain the objections to the work, so viewers can decide what they want to see.

The exhibition at the museum in Grand Center was called into question during an artist talk Sept. 17 at which some attendees said Kelley Walker, a white Georgia native who now lives in New York, was hostile to those who inquired about his appropriation of images featuring black civil rights activists and black women on magazine covers. The images were digitally altered to include streaks of whitening toothpaste and chocolate in a way that made viewers question the artists intent.

Both Walker and the museums chief curator Jeffrey Uslip bristled at questions during the talk. One St. Louis artists call for a boycott was echoed by hundreds more.

Soon after, the museums three black administrative employees  De Andrea Nichols, Lyndon Barrois Jr. and Victoria Donaldson  distributed a letter calling for the removal of four offensive pieces and for Uslip to step down. If their requests were not met, they said they would not perform duties related to the exhibit, including hosting tours of the work and otherwise supporting its promotion. (They were unavailable for comment Monday.)

A panel discussion of black artists and leaders of art groups held Thursday at the museum called for the offensive pieces to be removed and apologies made.

CAM executive director Lisa Melandri was in discussion with the board, her staff and local artists for days as the museum decided how to proceed. She said the decision was to make modifications to respect the pain and trauma reported by viewers who think Walkers intent was malicious.

A statement from the museum reads in part: Taking down the show would violate the museums core principles and end the productive dialogue that this work has initiated. CAM has a history of showing controversial artists; we have shown works that have challenged common sensibilities and presented work that has critiqued, in a difficult way, misogyny, patriarchy, homophobia and the military industrial complex, among other issues. Despite the debates and discomfort these exhibitions generated, we never removed them.

Melandri later said by phone that she doesnt take the situation lightly and wants to show all parties the proper respect and space for expression.

There will be no staff changes at the museum related to the exhibit. I stand by my entire staff, Melandri said.

She said the response and continuing discussion could ultimately do some good as the institution strives to make better and more inclusive decisions.

I think we can really create opportunity from this  opportunity for something different and something new with renewed parity and equity. We can do better and do something really important here, she said.

Melandri also acknowledges that critics may not be readily appeased, and shes willing to keep working with them. Anyone with concerns can email her at lmelandri@camstl.org.

Damon Davis, a St. Louis artist who originally called for a boycott of the exhibit, is troubled that the museum is using the controversy to attract visitors who are very comfortable seeing us in pain.

The response to us asking them to take something off the wall is to build more walls, he said. We asked for a simple gesture of respect and compassion, and this was the response  more walls. That was not what we wanted. This is not done. We are not done here.
Adolf Hitler wasn't just a monster. He was a junkie.

A best-selling German book says the fuhrer liked heroin, morphine, cocaine and, especially, methamphetamine, writes the Guardian. "Blitzed," by Norman Ohler, comes out in Britain next week; it won't be released, though, in the U.S. until May.

It may be one of the only aspects of Hitler never explored in depth in a book.

I guess drugs werent a priority for the historians, Ohler told the Guardian. A crazy guy like me had to come along. Ohler, who has published novels but never nonfiction, culled archives and found extensive documentation on Hitler's drug habit.

The newspaper writes: "If Blitzed is gripping, it is also convincing. Ian Kershaw, the British historian who is probably the worlds leading authority on Hitler and Nazi Germany, has described it as 'a serious piece of scholarship.'
Andrew and Jane Bursky donated $10 million to Washington University for its research on using the immune system to fight diseases including cancer.

The gift creates the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs and an endowed distinguished professorship for cancer immunologist Robert Schreiber, director of the center and an adviser to Vice President Joe Biden's cancer moonshot project.

The center plans to expand its work in collecting blood and tissue samples from patients with different diseases that involve the immune system, including infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, with a goal of testing different therapies.

"We are honored that Andrew and Jane Bursky have chosen to support human immunology research at Washington University through their generous gift," Schreiber said in a statement. "This new gift will help jump start major research initiatives in understanding and developing new immune-based therapeutics for a broad array of diseases."

Andrew Bursky is co-founder and CEO of Atlas Holdings, based in Connecticut. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree in economics and engineering from Washington University. Jane Bursky is also an alumnus who holds a bachelor's degree in French and education. Andrew Bursky is a trustee of the university.
EDWARDSVILLE  Officers searching remote woods in West Virginia came upon Christopher Derleth and two kidnapped children from the Metro East at a makeshift campsite after several residents reported seeing him, authorities said Monday.

The sheriffs departments of Madison County and Kanawha County, W.Va., provided more details on Derleths arrest Saturday afternoon.

Derleth, 39, of Granite City, is charged with aggravated kidnapping and child abduction for allegedly taking his stepdaughter, 13, and her infant son from a guardians home outside Edwardsville on Sept. 18.

He remains in jail in Charleston, W.Va., awaiting extradition. The children are in state custody in Illinois, said Madison County sheriffs Capt. Mike Dixon.

Sheriff John Lakin had said Derleth was an avid outdoorsman who spoke recently about remote, free campsites. The search focused on West Virginia after Derleths minivan was spotted at a toll road station.

A break came Friday when Derleth used a credit card at a service station near Charleston.

Kanawha County sheriffs Sgt. Brian Humphreys said several people had seen him at a store and walking along a road in the rugged hills about 30 miles south of Charleston.

Officers searching the woods found the hidden campsite on private property. Derleth did not resist arrest.

The teenage mother has a heart condition, authorities said. She and her baby, born Sept. 1, were found in good condition.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.  A suburban Chicago man shot dead as he was walking by a fight on the University of Illinois campus over the weekend was to start a career as a registered nurse on Monday.

George Korchev, 22, of Mundelein, was killed early Sunday in one of a pair of shootings in Champaign. He was shot when a fight broke out at a party on campus where three others suffered non-critical wounds, while a fourth person was shot and injured a half-hour later a few blocks west of campus.

Police said the two shootings may be related and that none of the victims, who include a University of Illinois student, was involved in the violence. Officers are searching for suspects.

Korchev recently passed his nursing board exam, said officials with Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where Korchev was a patient care tech.

"George was a valuable team member who was loved by his patients and known as a skilled, empathetic and selfless caregiver," said the hospital's president, Dominica Tallarico.

University of Illinois Chancellor Robert J. Jones said in an email to campus that a public vigil is planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday on the Main Quad to support the shooting victims. It will include a moment of silence and speeches from campus leaders.

"None of these victims was even involved in the incident or attended the party that started it all," Jones wrote. "They were bystanders caught in a senseless act of violence."

Korchev's friend since middle school, Joey Grant, said Korchev decided to become a nurse because he cared for his grandfather at home. He said Korchev was in Champaign visiting a friend at the University of Illinois.

"He was always looking out for everybody," Grant said. "He was just a great person. He was just very happy and very bubbly."
A graduate student at Washington University fraudulently pocketed $23,700 by forging vouchers for research volunteers, authorities say.

Khuyen Nguyen, 27, worked in the university's psychology department. He was charged Thursday with five counts of forgery, all felonies.

His bail was set at $20,000. He lives in an apartment in the 5400 block of Lindell Boulevard.

Between February and the end of June, Nguyen allegedly falsified 755 vouchers and kept the money that was supposed to go to the people who signed up to help with research.

In order to be paid, a volunteer is supposed to fill out a voucher detailing his or her name and address and how much time was donated to the research project. The volunteers would sign the vouchers, which was their receipt of payment. Volunteers are paid in cash, which was checked out by Nguyen before he submits vouchers to the department.

University employees responsible for making the payments apparently discovered Nguyen's scheme. When the employees had trouble reading volunteers' addresses on the forms submitted for payment, they looked up the volunteers' addresses and found information different than what was on the vouchers.

Nguyen surrendered to Washington University police and admitted falsifying the records. He told police he had used names of participants in previous research studies.

Rebecca Biermann, the Washington University police sergeant who investigated the case, declined comment Monday and referred questions to her chief, who could not immediately be reached.

A university profile for Nguyen shows he had been on the PhD-track in the university's behavior, brain and cognition program since the fall of 2011. A man who answered the phone in the lab Monday said Nguyen no longer works there. Nguyen came to Washington University after earning his bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University.

Each forgery count carries a maximum punishment of seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine. A mugshot of Nguyen was not available.
ST. LOUIS  With under three months remaining until new rules take hold, private and public sector workplaces are scrambling to determine how many of their employees will fall under the revised guidelines for overtime pay.

Higher education institutions are no exception.

If youre working more than 40 hours, it makes sense that you are paid overtime, says Paul Zinck, vice chancellor of finance and administration at St. Louis Community College. You should be paid for the time you work.

In general, the rules governing overtime pay are universal, although at least one key category for higher education  teaching  is not affected.

The changes are the result of a May edict by President Barack Obamas administration that doubled the salary threshold for overtime to $47,476 per year from $23,660.

Beginning Dec. 1, employees earning under $47,476 are therefore guaranteed overtime pay. The Missouri Department of Labor estimates 85,000 workers fall into that category statewide.

For St. Louis Community College, its a little more than 100 people.

We dont expect it to be a large financial impact, said Zinck. Higher education as a sector probably is not hit as ferociously by this like the retail industry, for example.

Because teaching is not included in the new federal guidelines, faculty are not affected, regardless how much money they make. The positions that fall below the new threshold are mostly staff members.

For St. Louis Community College, Zinck said those who work more than 40 hours typically do so on a seasonal basis. For example, enrollment employees are more likely to earn overtime around the beginning of the semester.

Very little changes for employees who are moving into nonexempt status under the new salary threshold, aside from now having to monitor their hours. The new rules also will not affect day-to-day operations at area colleges and universities.

At Washington University, about 850 people are affected. Being a research institution, the law impacts people working in laboratories as well as those in academic support offices. Its split between people getting raises and those who are changing status.

Were trying to make consistent, fair decisions about (whether people get a raise or are switched to nonexempt), Legail Chandler, vice chancellor of human resources, said. We did try to look at the nature of the work someone is doing and take into account market data and think about parts of the organization where they have funds available to make moves. For the most part, I would say we were driven to stay consistent.

More than 2,000 people are affected throughout the four University of Missouri campuses and the system office. At the St. Louis campus, its about 180 employees.

Jim Hertel, executive director of human resources at UMSL, said 37 people are getting a salary increase to the threshold. The other employees are transitioning to a nonexempt, hourly employee status.

Because of recent budget issues, UMSL has already been conservative about overtime, and that likely wont change, he said.

Hertel, who came to UMSL this year from a corporate human resources position where he also dealt with this labor law change, said the law can be hard on morale at first.

In terms of the impact of the employees, anytime employees moved from exempt to nonexempt, theres always this status behind being salaried, he explained. The intent was giving more access to overtime, but in reality people start to feel like its about status, like having lower status if I have to track all of the hours that I work, which obviously isnt true.
ST. LOUIS  For years, election authorities in some of Missouris most populous counties have routinely ignored the painstaking process outlined in state law for handling absentee votes.

The penalty for those violations will become more evident as the November presidential election nears and those agencies confront a logistical dilemma: How to open tens of thousands of additional ballot envelopes on Election Day?

Earlier this month, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison tossed out the results of a state House race in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary solely on a technicality: The St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners had allowed 142 people to vote absentee at the boards office without using envelopes.

In the August race for the 78th District seat, State Rep. Penny Hubbard had defeated Bruce Franks Jr. by 90 votes.

These irregularities were more than petty procedural infirmities but abuses of the election law which cannot be ignored, Burlison said.

Missouris Court of Appeals agreed with the judge, and in the re-do election on Sept. 16, Franks defeated Hubbard, garnering 76 percent of the vote.

The fallout from that court battle has created a challenge for some election authorities who must change the way they have operated. Absentee voting for the Nov. 8 election begins Tuesday.

The Post-Dispatch contacted election authorities in Missouris 10 most populated counties. In addition to St. Louis city, St. Louis County, Jefferson County and the Kansas City Board of Elections have either allowed in-person absentee voters to feed their paper ballot into a box or to use electronic touch screens  practices deemed to be a clear violation of state law because they dont involve ballot envelopes containing information on each voter.

Burlisons ruling was a hot topic at the annual Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities held this week in Sikeston, Mo., and it also came up in training sessions on the other side of the state.

Were not making changes because, Ill be real honest, weve always followed the law, said Jim McKinzie, assistant director of Jackson County Board of Election Commissioners, during a break last week from training workers.

I was just telling them: We do not want to be a St. Louis, so follow the rules like Ive outlined, like weve always done, and we wont be in the paper, McKinzie said.

The fallout

Why are envelopes so important?

Under state law, representatives from opposing campaigns are allowed to witness election workers as they unseal envelopes containing absentee ballots and challenge them if an election violation is suspected.

But once a ballot is placed in a box or filled out electronically, it becomes impossible to challenge, because it is no longer connected to the voter. Unlike their envelopes, ballots contain no information identifying the voter.

Now, to comply with Missouris absentee voting statutes, St. Louis County will likely have to open thousands of additional ballot envelopes on Election Day.

That means hiring additional workers and finding the space for them, said Eric Fey, Democratic director of the St. Louis County Election Board.

Judge Burlison was correct in what he said in his ruling that its a very tedious and specific process, Fey said.

Christian Tolbert, the Republican director, said in an email that it is expected to cost $250,000 for the additional 40,000 envelopes and 60,000 ballots as well as funding 80 more temporary employees for the five day opening period.

In Jefferson County, County Clerk Wes Wagner estimates officials will have to open 15,000 ballots. Wagner is recruiting college and high school students to help out.

With veteran poll workers supervising, the students will open the envelopes with a letter opener, unfold them and then feed them into an optical scan machine. Wagner estimates two ballots can be processed a minute, about 1,200 a day per team. With 12 to 14 teams, absentee ballots should be counted by the time the polls close, Wagner said.

J. Casey Martin, board chairman of the Kansas City Election Board, said: Weve reviewed that case thoroughly and we are talking with our legal counsel to make sure all practices for the Nov. 8 election are up to snuff.

Which law to violate?

Officials at St. Louis and Kansas City election authorities, along with those in Jefferson and St. Louis counties, all make the same argument for why they have allowed in-person absentee voters to use touch screens.

Federal law, specifically the Help American Vote Act of 2002, demands it, they say. Congress passed the act in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election that revealed mass confusion among Florida voters by butterfly ballots and punch card voting.

The law provided funds to local election authorities for electronic voting machines. It also mandated each polling location have a voting system accessible to individuals with disabilities, including a non-visual system for the blind. The voting system must provide an equal opportunity for voting in private without assistance.

Thus, some state election officials argue that the federal law has forced them to provide electronic voting for absentees.

Wagner said the back channel discussions have always been: What set of laws are we going to violate? State laws or federal laws?

But at least one other county clerk suggested the choice may not be so difficult.

Boone County Clerk Wendy S. Noren agreed that her office must offer visually impaired voters a means to fill out their ballot in private because federal law trumps state law.

So Noren allows anyone with a disability to use a machine for absentee voting at the county clerks office leading up to the election  but thats the only exception.

Everyone else puts their ballot in an envelope.

The federal law doesnt require it (to be available) for everybody, Noren said.

And how many times in the past decade has she had voters with disabilities request electronic voting?

Twice, she said.

St. Louis impact

St. Louis politics has long been an impetus for election reform.

In fact, the roots of some of Missouris tedious and specific absentee voting laws at issue now were created because of irregularities during the 1982 Democratic primary in St. Louis  which saw allegations of vote buying, intimidation and bulk notarizations.

A campaign worker, a notary and a minister were indicted.

They were actually going around selling votes in those days, Noren said. It was $10 a vote.

The late James Kirkpatrick, then Missouris secretary of state, put Noren on a panel to recommend legislation to prevent abuses.

In the primary election in August, a Post-Dispatch investigation has revealed multiple other irregularities in addition to the failure to use envelopes for in-person absentee ballots. The problems included allegations of intimidation and falsified ballot applications.

Noren wrote some of the statutes with which St. Louis is now grappling. When she heard about challenges faced by other election authorities in advance of the November election, she didnt have much sympathy. To her, the law is clear, especially when a procedure in the law is prefaced by the word shall.

The envelopes are a mess, she said. Every single one of us would love to (do away with them), but the law says we have to do it.  Life would be easier if we didnt have all these shalls and I could just do what I wanted.

That said, the Missouri Legislature has changed the policy for having envelopes accompany absentee ballots cast in person. However, the new law does not go into effect until 2018.
JEFFERSON CITY  Officials pushing to upgrade the Jefferson Avenue intersection with Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in St. Louis are looking for a new source of funding after Gov. Jay Nixon recently stripped $20 million out of the state budget.

The $3 million sought for the Jefferson Avenue upgrades would have helped offset the cost of the $20.7 million interchange project, which is considered key to funneling workers off Highway 40 (Interstate 64) to the new site of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the citys north side.

The agency, which provides mapping support for the U.S. military, employs 3,000 people, brings in an estimated $2.4 million a year in earnings tax and has an average salary of $75,000.

Missouri won a competition with Illinois for the facility, keeping it from moving across the Mississippi River to a site near Scott Air Force Base.

Otis Williams, director of the St. Louis Development Corp., which applied for the state money, said Nixons decision to shelve the Missouri Moves program should have little long-term effect on the interchange project.

This project will happen, Williams told the Post-Dispatch. We have time to figure it out. We will continue to march forward.

Missouri Moves is a $20 million pool of money set aside by Nixon and lawmakers in the state budget to finance local transportation projects. The cost-sharing program was announced this year as an election-year alternative to increasing the gasoline tax to help pay for upgrades to the states aging infrastructure.

With the program in place, MoDOT began accepting applications from governments and other groups interested in tapping the fund.

In all, local communities applied for $71 million in state dollars to help finance $312.9 million in projects affecting roads, airports, train service, pedestrian walkways and bike trails.

But, three months into the process, the governor axed the program as part of a $59 million budget cut he imposed after the Republican-led Legislature defied his veto of tax cuts benefiting ranchers, yoga studios and fitness centers.

At the time of the Democratic governors action, officials at the Missouri Department of Transportation had already begun evaluating the applications to whittle down the total requests to $20 million.

In the St. Louis region, local governments requested a total of $22.8 million to help with $116.7 million in costs for more than two dozen projects.

MoDOT said the high number of projects sought by applicants is a sign the state needs to find a long-term funding source for transportation.

The overwhelming response by applicants demonstrates the need for a sustainable funding solution for transportation in Missouri, a MoDOT memo to applicants says.

At Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, officials requested $270,000 to upgrade the Ground Transportation Center facilities.

The city of St. Charles requested $500,000 to help offset the cost of a $2.5 million pedestrian and bicycle trail on the Missouri 370 Discovery Bridge over the Missouri River.

The project was among a number of bike trail projects seeking funding.

Advocates of bike trails and pedestrian paths were told that about one-third of the money would be used for trail upgrades.

Money to do this kind of thing is very limited. Thats why it was so exciting to find out it was coming and then so disappointing when it was withheld, said Brent Hugh, president of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation.

The Great Rivers Greenway District had applied for $1 million to help pay for a $5.2 million pedestrian and bicycle trail underpass where Highway 367 intersects with Maline Creek.

But Emma Klues, Great Rivers communications director, said the project will move forward despite Nixons action.

Great Rivers Greenway often seeks transportation funding to leverage our local taxpayers investment. Whether federal, state or local dollars are involved, we will continue to be good stewards of this project until its ready for our community to enjoy, Klues said in a prepared statement.

Other projects included $3 million sought by the Terminal Railroad Association in St. Louis, which hopes to upgrade the current signaling system in the St. Louis switching yards for a cost of $27 million. The project has been touted as a way to prevent serious train accidents.

Ferguson officials, meanwhile, had sought $177,000 to offset the cost of resurfacing eight city streets.

As for the Jefferson Avenue interchange, Williams said the development corporation had been hoping to use the state money to augment local funding. But he said the demise of the state pool of money is just a hiccup in the citys effort to pave the way for the NGAs move to its new locale.

Well find alternative sources, probably, Williams said.

The biggest project in the state to fall victim to the cuts was a $69 million rails-to-trails project in Jackson County. A consortium of groups had sought $5 million in matching funds to begin converting a former Rock Island Railroad line to a pedestrian path.
ST. LOUIS  A November ballot measure seeks to create senior citizen service funds in St. Charles County, St. Louis County and St. Louis that together would raise about $18 million a year in property taxes to help people stay in their homes longer.

More than 50, mainly small, Missouri counties already have created similar programs to help provide transportation, food, health care and other services. If the new measures pass, they would be the largest of their kind in the state.

Proposition S would levy a 5-cent property tax on every $100 of assessed value, which boils down to $9.50 a year on a home worth $100,000. Local boards would decide which needs are a priority for residents who are at least 60 years old.

Advocates say demand from the continued growth in the number of senior citizens far exceeds state and federal funding levels that are largely supported by the Older Americans Act, which pays for things like Meals on Wheels. They say local funding would pay for additional in-home services to help retirees put off moving into nursing homes.

We came together because we saw huge demographic changes and the resources arent out there, said Jamie Opsal, of the group Seniors Count of Greater St. Louis, which, along with area nonprofits, helped get Prop S on the three different ballots. We cant control federal and sometimes state funding levels, but we can try to make a difference in our own local communities so they can age in place.

A private bed in a nursing home costs an average $84,000 a year in Missouri, or about four times as much as staying at home.

We know that nursing homes are really important, Opsal said. But you arent independent one day and in need of 24-hour care the next. There is a gradual decline and that falls on family.

She said 88 percent of in-home care is provided by families. That can create a lot of stress, particularly for the sandwich generation, comprised of people caring for their children and parents.

She helps makes her case with population charts. In 2010, there were 150,000 people in St. Louis County who were 65 and older, a number that is expected to spike to at least 260,000 by 2030. In St. Louis, the same age group is expected to jump from 35,000 to 70,000; in St. Charles County, 40,000 to 95,000.

Early polling numbers provided by Seniors Count indicate that Prop S will overwhelmingly pass in the city, but they cut closer in St. Louis and St. Charles counties.

Joe Brazil, of the St. Charles County Council, voted against having the measure on the November ballot.

They talk about scraping to get by and then turning around and raising their taxes, he said. Its kind of an oxymoron.

Meanwhile, he said, there are too many taxes.

Its for the children or the senior citizens, he said. These are always great causes. I dont know, where do you stop? Its just the principle of raising taxes.

Clay County, an urban and rural area just north of Kansas City, created its senior citizen services fund in 2003, after seeing the fruits of a similar fund in neighboring Platte County, said Tina Uridge, who oversees the program.

Clay County wanted to have the same services, she said. We needed help with nutrition programs, transportation, in-home support services, home repair 

Uridge said Clay County, which brings in about $2 million a year for the program, has also reduced the cost of life lines  or personal emergency response pendants  from $50 to $15 a month. She said 85 percent of the tax money collected goes to services.

The need is growing and funding hasnt kept up with the growing cost, she said of traditional senior service programs. This is an ability to strengthen communities.

The Greene County Senior Citizens Services Fund in southwest Missouri seems particularly streamlined. Chuck Marinec, fund chairman, said 99.5 percent of its $2 million budget goes to program services.

He said there is one part-time employee who answers phones. Twenty-two organizations are contracted to do the rest, such as provide in-home services, legal help, transportation and food.

We made a deliberate effort to utilize existing service providers, said Marinec, a retiree who used to handle grants for the city of Springfield.

Dave Sykora, executive director of the St. Louis Area Agency on Aging, said he will request funding if the measure passes in the city. He said available federal resources dont cut it. He said there are 140 people on the waiting list for home-delivered meals. He said there are other needs that fall outside of federal spending requirements.

We get a lot of funding for senior centers, he said. We dont get so much money for transportation, case management and other supportive services.

Prop S reads the same on the ballot with the exception of St. Charles County, where, if passed, voters would revisit it in 10 years.

You have to go back to the voters every so often and prove that this is really what they want, said St. Charles County Executive Steven Ehlmann.

He likes that the fund would be locally controlled. In fact, Ehlmann, with the approval of the council, would be in charge of appointing seven board members to oversee it, which is similar to other funds set up for children and people with disabilities.

We are very conscientious about who we appoint to those boards, and we make sure that organizations dont feel entitled to the fund, Ehlmann said. We make them prove it every year.

So far, hes only received one phone call in opposition to the tax to help senior citizens. In response, the county executive thought the caller might be a good watchdog. He took the callers name down to be considered for a board position.

Those are the kind of people who Id like to appoint, he said. They will ask, What did you do with the money?

Ehlmann, who supported getting Prop S on the ballot, assured that if St. Charles County voters pass it in November the senior services fund will be administered as tightly as you have ever seen.
ST. LOUIS  A few hundred black students have graduated from Washington University School of Medicine since 1972, and a portion of that number is credited to one mans earnest efforts to recruit and mentor black medical students.

Alumnus and medical school admissions committee member Dr. Julian Mosley Jr. had a passion for his profession and for Washington University, which were both evident in his efforts to encourage black prospective students to attend the school.

Dr. Mosley died Wednesday (Sept. 21, 2016) of prostate cancer at his home in St. Louis He was 72.

Will Ross, professor and dean of minority affairs at the School of Medicine, said he was one of the students Dr. Mosley convinced to attend Washington University instead of another school.

I probably would have gone to Duke, Ross said. But he vividly remembers a snowy day in 1979 when he interviewed with Dr. Mosley and how the two talked at length about shared interests.

I was poor as a church mouse, Ross recalled, but Dr. Mosley assured him that he belonged at the school. We became very good friends.

Dr. Mosley, born in 1944 in St. Louis, grew up in East St. Louis, where his father, Julian Mosley Sr., was a police officer and later police chief.

Dr. Mosley graduated from East St. Louis Senior High School in 1962 and received a degree in chemistry from St. Louis University four years later. He then became the first East St. Louisan and second black student to graduate from Washington University School of Medicine and worked at the former Jewish and Homer G. Phillips hospitals. In 1977, he and another doctor opened a private practice in St. Louis.

Even through his career as a surgeon, his work educating black people about cancer and involvement in local medical foundations, Dr. Mosley was a humble man, Ross said, who cared about people and Washington University.

Among the survivors are his wife, Annetta Booth of St. Louis; a son, Julian C. Mosley III, of Los Angeles; and two grandchildren. Plans for a memorial service in St. Louis are pending.
Sometimes science fiction can attract attention where scientific papers fail. Andrew Merrie, a freshly graduated PhD student now working with SRC communications, commissioned conceptual artist Simon Stalenhag to bring a set of narrative scenarios about the future oceans to life. Stalenhag came up with four eerie and thought-provoking images. Two of the scenarios represent more utopian futures, the other two are more dystopian. They are written as speculative fiction in different, engaging narrative styles: a travel magazine article, an obituary, the transcript of a TED-like talk, and a series of recovered journal entries.

Merrie recognizes the need to not only understand whats happening in terms of climate change and marine ecosystems, but also look at how these projected changes will impact human societies and the global fishing industry.

These images can be used as entry points to the science, says Andrew Merrie.

While they are fictional scenarios they draw on ecological, technological, socio-economic and governance trends and are built on a rich and deep scientific evidence base.

The collaboration with Stalenhag is part of an ongoing science-communications project called Radical Ocean Futures. It is also part of Merries PhD dissertation - Global Ocean Futures: Governance of marine fisheries in the Anthropocene.

The project was financed through a science communications grant from The Swedish Research Council Formas and recently featured on WIRED.
While cigars are commonly associated with few countries, at least a dozen countries make significant contributions to handmade cigars. This week, we rank the top ten countries by their importance to the industry. The production of handmade cigars is truly global, as evidenced by the fact that Belgium, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Jamaica, and the Bahamaseach of which grow cigar tobacco or make cigarsmissed the top ten.

Today, we count down from ten to six, with the top five being revealed Wednesday.

10) Indonesia  Indonesian cigar tobacco doesnt get a lot of respect from many cigar connoisseurs, but it is a workhorse. Sumatra wrapper is known for its mild spice, and Indonesian tobacco is frequently used as binder due to its excellent combustion qualities and neutral flavors that play well with more flavorful tobaccos. Take a look at any cigar catalog and you may be surprised at how many premium cigars use some Indonesian tobacco.

9) Brazil  Although rich in history with a diversity of cigar tobaccos grownincluding Mata Fina, Mata Norte, and ArapiracaBrazil flies under the radar. After the Menendez family, which created Cubas famed Montecristo cigar, had their Cuban-based holdings seized by the Castro regime, the family spread out in search of other opportunities to grow tobacco and make cigars, including Felix Menendez, who became a pioneer in Brazilian tobacco. While few Brazilian puros are made, Brazilian tobacco is primarily used in combination with other tobaccos.

8) Cameroon  Cameroon wrapper has a special place in the cigar industry. Put simply, there is nothing else like it. Grown predominately by the Meerapfel family in Cameroon and the Central African Republic, Cameroon wrapper features a mild spice that so far hasnt been replicated. Thats why, even though quality Cameroon wrapper is expensive and sometimes delicate, more than one cigar maker has told me as long as it is available they plan on keeping a Cameroon-wrapped cigar in their profile, if for no other reason than because they enjoy the leaf so much.

7) Mexico  For a long time, Mexican tobacco had a reputation as rough and course, but that has changed in recent years as Mexican puros have decreased but Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper has become an increasingly popular. With high quality Broadleaf Maduro wrapper hard to find, the industry has turned to Mexican leaf in large numbers, and consumers have welcomed the addition.

6) United States  A century ago, cigars were rolled in every major U.S. city. Today, with the exception of a few boutique factories in Miami, almost no handmade cigars are made in the United States. Still, the country is important to handmade cigars because of the high quality wrapper grown in the Connecticut River Valley, especially Connecticut Shade and Broadleaf wrapper. As demand for Broadleaf has increased, tobaccoBroadleaf especiallyis also being grown in Pennsylvania. Although minute in terms of volume, an interesting experiment has also seen cigar tobacco grown in Florida for the first time in decades.

Check back Wednesday for the top five.

Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the firm's sales practices on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

(Reuters) - CLSA analyst Mike Mayo said his support for Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) Chief Executive John Stumpf was "wavering" following problematic sales tactics that has brought him under fire from U.S. lawmakers.

The bank has been facing heightened scrutiny following allegations that its employees had set up as many as 2 million accounts and credit cards in customers' names that may have not been authorized.

Mayo said his support for Stumpf was contingent upon the CEO's ability to better explain the repercussions of the sales abuses.

Last week, lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee grilled Stumpf about the accounts, with some calling on him to resign and forfeit his earnings and hold other senior executives accountable.

Shareholders have a right to know what will be done to the pay of top executives, to the composition of the board, and for impacted customers, Mayo said in a note to clients.

"We believe Wells Fargo is bigger than the CEO, notwithstanding a good financial track record during his tenure, and there should be no more excuses for the lack of answers to key questions," Mayo said.

Mayo rates the stock 'outperform' with a price target of $57. The stock's median price target is $51.

Shares of the San Francisco, California-based lender have fallen by about 10 percent since Sept. 7, the day before the bank reached a $185-million settlement over fraud case.

(Story corrects headline to fix CEO's spelling to "Stumpf" from "Stump". Also corrects price target to $57 from $45.74 in paragraph seven.)

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Magna International Inc. announced that it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the BOCO Group of Companies, an automotive supplier of latches, hinges and strikers, to help bolster its product portfolio and engineering capabilities in key regions. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.

Once complete, BOCO's two facilities located in Wuppertal, Germany, and Tianjin, China, and its approximately 450 employees will be integrated into Magna Closures, an operating unit of Magna. BOCO has annual sales of more than 100 million Euro and its customers include the BMW Group, Daimler and Audi. The addition of BOCO complements Magna's product portfolio, enhances its engineering capabilities and strengthens its leadership position in the global closure systems market.

"We believe BOCO is an excellent fit in terms of technology, footprint and customers, and we look forward to working together to further grow our business," said John O'Hara, President, Magna Closures. "BOCO's product and processing know-how and engineering strength also provides additional global growth opportunities for us going forward, particularly with automakers based in Germany."
Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPW) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the real estate interests of nine acute care hospitals operated by Steward Health Care System LLC (Steward). The $1.25 billion total value of the transactions includes a $1.2 billion investment in hospital real estate and a $50 million equity investment in Steward. Per share accretion of approximately 10% is expected, after consideration of previously disclosed dispositions of approximately $800 million, approximately $300 million of previously disclosed and pending acquisitions of German hospitals and permanent financing of the transactions. Steward is owned by its management team and premier private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management (Cerberus), and is the largest for-profit hospital system in the highly innovative Massachusetts market.

MPTs interests in the hospitals will be subject to a master lease and mortgage loan arrangements with cross default provisions and backed by a corporate guaranty. The master lease represents approximately $600 million and has a 15-year initial term and three five-year extension terms, and a GAAP yield of 10.1%; the cross-defaulted mortgage loans, with a similar aggregate value, have identical rates, including CPI-based escalations, generally within a two to five percent band. MPT is also investing, alongside Cerberus and management, $50 million in Steward, which in addition to attractive investment characteristics, provides certain protective rights concerning Stewards credit decisions.

A Cerberus affiliate has agreed to invest $150 million in MPWs common stock in a private placement transaction concurrent with or soon after closing.

In addition to the premiere portfolio of irreplaceable hospital assets announced today, the agreement also includes a right of first refusal for MPT to acquire future Steward hospitals.

As a result of our strategic asset sales earlier this year, along with the opportunistic utilization of our ATM program and refinancing of long term debt, MPT has reduced our leverage to among the best in the industry at 5.0 times EBITDA, said Edward K. Aldag, Jr., MPTs Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. The successful execution of our strategy has made possible this new relationship with Steward, which represents tremendous opportunity for MPT, as Steward similarly positions itself for rapid growth.

Since Stewards inception in 2011, they have achieved outstanding results and now rank as the second largest hospital operator in New England, with the largest community-based network of physicians. Dr. Ralph de la Torre, Stewards Chairman and CEO, is recognized for his thought leadership in the healthcare industry, demonstrated by Stewards innovative model in delivering healthcare to over 150 communities across Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Southern New Hampshire. We are very excited about the opportunities this relationship creates for both of us.

Benefits of the Transaction
BOSTON & FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GE (NYSE:GE, together with its subsidiaries, the "GE Group"), the worlds leading digital industrial company, acting through its wholly owned subsidiary GE Germany Holdings AG, a German stock corporation within the GE Aviation operating unit ("BidCo"), today published the offer document for the voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of SLM Solutions Group AG (SLM) (ISIN: DE 000A111338).

Todays publishing of the offer document follows GEs public announcement on September 6, 2016, of its intention to acquire SLM Solutions Group AG.

The offer price is EUR 38 per share, an approximately 50.85% premium over SLM's weighted average share price in the 3-month period prior to announcement and an approximately 36.69% premium over SLM's final share price on September 5, 2016, the last trading day prior to GE's announced intention to acquire the company.

The publication of the offer document was approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ("BaFin") in accordance with the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (Wertpapiererwerbs- und Ubernahmegesetz - WpUG). SLM shareholders can accept the offer as set forth in the offer document.

The acceptance period will end at 24:00 hours (CET) on October 24, 2016. The offer is subject to standard market conditions, including, among others, a 75% acceptance condition that must be met at the time of the expiration of the acceptance period.

David Joyce, president & CEO of GE Aviation: This offer is very attractive for all shareholders. We at GE are excited about the options additive manufacturing holds for us and to develop SLM further in the coming years by extending its line of additive manufacturing equipment and products. As stated in the offer document, GE is committed to develop SLM further while maintaining its headquarters, as well as retaining its management teams and employees.

As of today, the offer document is available for download at www.laser-angebot.de. A non-binding English convenience translation is available free of charge at www.geaviation.com/additive.

About GE and GE Aviation

GE (NYSE: GE) is the worlds Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com.

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE, is a leading provider of jet and turboprop engines and components, integrated digital, avionics, electrical power and mechanical systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.geaviation.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-looking Statements

This document contains "forward-looking statements"  that is, statements related to future events that by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For details on the uncertainties that may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements, see the offer document at www.laser-angebot.de and GEs website at http://www.ge.com/investor-relations/disclaimer-caution-concerning-forward-looking-statements as well as our annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements. This document also includes certain forward-looking projected financial information that is based on current estimates and forecasts. Actual results could differ materially.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005420/en/

GE Media Contact:

Rick Kennedy, +1 513-607-0609

[email protected]

or

GE Investor Contact:

Matt Cribbins, +1 617-445-3003

[email protected]

Source: GE Aviation
Protesters take part in a demonstration against racism and far right movements in downtown Helsinki, Finland, September 24, 2016. REUTERS/Attila Cser

HELSINKI (Reuters) - More than 15,000 people gathered in Helsinki on Saturday to protest against racism and violence, after the death of a man assaulted during a neo-Nazi rally in the city earlier this month.

Following an influx of asylum seekers last year, anti-immigration sentiment has been on the rise in the small Nordic country, which has little experience of taking in large numbers of refugees.

Police a week ago detained a member of a far-right movement on suspicion of attacking a Finnish national in central Helsinki who died of his injuries a few days later.

Holding placards showing peace signs and red lines crossing out swastikas, demonstrators said it was time to break a silence that they said had allowed racism and far-right violence to grow in the country. Similar events were held in other towns.

"People really feel that there's not enough talk about racism here. There's too much neglect. We should all speak more against racism, including the leaders," said a demonstrator who gave her name as Rosa.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who has been criticized for being cautious on his comments about far-right movements, joined a similar anti-racism rally in the city of Kuopio.

"People are here for a just cause. Actions by violent extreme movements are a worry to the silent majority of the nation," Sipila told public broadcaster YLE.

He said the government was planning to tighten legislation regarding extremist movements and hate speech.

The 26-year-old man arrested has been charged for aggravated manslaughter. He is a member of Finland's Resistance Movement, a far-right group that the security intelligence service says aims to create a national socialist state. He has denied being involved in the incident.

Last year, police detained people at a demonstration by the group in central Finland saying that some of the demonstrators had assaulted bystanders.

In Helsinki, a small group of people on Saturday gathered for a counter demonstration they titled "Close the borders", saying that critics of immigration policy should not be called racists.

Police said all demonstrations on Saturday went ahead peacefully.

About 32,000 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq, came to Finland last year. As in other Nordic countries the government has subsequently toughened up its immigration policies, such as by tightening the asylum criteria for people coming from Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Attila Cser; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Children stand in front of the bullet-riddled facade of a building in the rebel-held Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria September 25, 2016. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

By Patricia Zengerle and Lisa Barrington

CARTAGENA, Colombia/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended his efforts to negotiate with Moscow over the war in Syria on Monday, despite the collapse of a ceasefire that has led to a massive Russian-backed assault on the besieged rebel-held sector of Aleppo.

Medical supplies were running out in eastern Aleppo, with victims pouring into barely functioning hospitals as Russia and its ally President Bashar al-Assad ignored Western pleas to stop the bombing of the last major urban area in opposition hands.

Moscow and Damascus launched their assault last week despite months of negotiations led by Kerry that resulted in a short-lived ceasefire this month. The secretary of state's diplomatic overtures to Moscow had faced scepticism, including from other senior officials within the U.S. administration.

Kerry said his failed ceasefire was not the cause of the fighting, and the only way to stop the war was to talk. He lashed back at critics, including Republican senator John McCain, who described him last week as "intrepid but delusional" for putting too much faith in Russia.

The cause of what is happening is Assad and Russia wanting to pursue a military victory, Kerry told reporters during a trip to Colombia. Today there is no ceasefire and were not talking to them right now. And whats happening? The place is being utterly destroyed. Thats not delusional. Thats a fact.

The Syrian government offensive to recapture all of Aleppo, with Russian air support and Iranian help on the ground, has been accompanied by bombing that residents describe as unprecedented in its ferocity.

Some 250,000 civilians remain trapped in the besieged, opposition-held sector of Syria's biggest city. Hundreds of people, including dozens of children, have been reported killed since Thursday night by an onslaught that includes bunker-busting bombs that bring down whole buildings.

In a tense confrontation at the United Nations over the weekend, the United States called Russia's bombing in support of Assad "barbarism", and said Russia was killing civilians, medical staff and aid workers.

Moscow and Damascus say they are bombing only militants, although video from Aleppo has repeatedly shown small children being dug out of the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Inside the rebel-held sector of what was once Syria's largest city, there are only about 30 doctors left, coping with scores of fresh wounded every day.

"Aleppo city's hospitals are overwhelmed with wounded people ... Things are starting to run out," said Aref al-Aref, an intensive care medical worker, who spoke from Aleppo.

"We are unable to bring anything in ... not equipment and not even medical staff. Some medical staff are in the countryside, unable to come in because of the siege," he said.

Bebars Mishal, a civil defense worker in rebel-held Aleppo, said overnight bombardment continued until 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).

"It's the same situation. Especially at night, the bombardment intensifies, it becomes more violent, using all kinds of weapons, phosphorous and napalm and cluster bombs," Mishal told Reuters.

"Now, there's just the helicopter, and God only knows where it will bomb. God knows which building will collapse," he said. "Everybody is scared ... unable to go out. They don't know what to do, or where to go."

Russia and Assad appear to have abandoned diplomacy last week, betting instead on delivering a decisive military blow against the president's enemies on the battlefield. Capturing rebel districts of Aleppo would be the biggest victory of the war so far for Assad, crushing the revolt in its last major urban stronghold.

NO RESPITE

Indicating there would be no respite soon, the Syrian army issued a statement reiterating its call for civilians to steer clear of rebel positions and bases in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring body, says at least 237 people, including at least 38 children, have been killed in Aleppo and nearby countryside since the army declared the end of the ceasefire a week ago. Civil defense workers in opposition territory put the death toll at 400.

The rebel-held sector of Aleppo is completely encircled, making it impossible to receive supplies. The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) charity group said this week in a statement that only 30 doctors remained inside.

"We have patients who will die in the dozens if they are not evacuated," Osama Abo Ezz, a general surgeon and Aleppo coordinator for SAMS, told Reuters, speaking from an area near Aleppo.

"The medical staff is insufficient and completely exhausted. The blood bank refrigerators are completely empty. Vital medicines have almost run out. The ICU beds are insufficient and always full. The CT scanner is out of order," he said.

Residents say the air strikes are using more powerful bombs than ever. A Syrian military source told Reuters on Saturday that weapons were being used that could destroy rebel tunnels and bunkers, dug out during years of opposition control.

A water pumping station serving eastern Aleppo has been destroyed. A spokesman for the World Health Organisation said a technical mission was visiting it to assess damage.

"We dont know how long it will take to restore the functionality," said the spokesman, Tarik Jasarevic.

Rescue efforts during the bombing have been hampered because damage has made roads impassable and because civil defense centers and rescue equipment have themselves been struck.

DIPLOMACY

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the civil war between Assad's government and insurgents, and 11 million driven from their homes. Much of the east of the country is now in the hands of Islamic State fighters, the enemies of all other sides.

Since Russia joined the war a year ago to support Assad's government, the administration of President Barack Obama has been engaged in intensive diplomacy with Moscow, trying to end the war between the government and most insurgent groups and turn the focus toward the common fight against Islamic State.

But the latest escalation has left U.S. Syria policy in tatters, all but destroying any hope of a breakthrough before Obama leaves office next year.

The Kremlin said on Monday tough Western condemnation might hinder any resolution to the crisis. Moscow saw "absolutely no prospect" for holding a summit on Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Moscow blames Washington for the failure of the ceasefire, arguing that the United States failed to prevent rebels from using the truce to regroup.

(Additional reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut, Joseph Nasr in Berlin and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; writing by Peter Graff and Tom Perry; editing by Andrew Roche)
A worker looks on at the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim oil refinery outside Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo

By Barani Krishnan and Amanda Cooper

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil settled up 3 percent on Monday as the world's largest producers gathered in Algeria to discuss ways to support prices, with nervous trade driving volatility to its highest since a similar meeting to freeze output in April in Doha which failed.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers led by Russia are meeting informally on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26-28 to tackle a crude glut that has battered prices for two years now.

Key OPEC member Iran, the fourth largest crude exporter which is still trying to recapture output before Western sanctions in 2012, downplayed the chances of a deal while some OPEC members remained hopeful.

"Unless there's an impressive production cut by OPEC on top of a freeze, I think we'll give back everything we've gained by the end of this week," said Tariq Zahir, an oil bear at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York.

Brent crude futures settled up $1.46, or 3.2 percent, at $47.35 a barrel after trading between $45.74 and $47.66.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.45, or 3.3 percent, to settle at $45.93 after a session high of $46.20 and low of $44.43.

Both benchmarks moved in a near $2-band between the highs and lows, one of the widest swings in weeks.

Implied volatility, a gauge of how much oil prices move, was at its highest since April 18, when the meeting in Doha among OPEC members to discuss an output freeze ended in an impasse, leaving crude at just above $40.

Scepticism about a deal being reached in Algiers had prompted money managers to cut their bullish bets on U.S. crude futures to a one-month low last week, with prices falling nearly 5 percent. [CFTC/]

Some analysts believe an output freeze will only be implemented after OPEC's all-important policy meeting beginning in Vienna on Nov. 30. Until then, the group and non-members, including No. 1 producer Russia and top oil consumer the United States, are likely to ramp up production.

OPEC pumped near a multi-year high of 33.24 million barrels per day in August, data showed. Russian production hit record highs of 11.75 million bpd last week. U.S. output has fallen this year but its oil rig count, which signals future production, has risen for 12 of the past 13 weeks. [RIG/U]

"If more Libyan and Nigerian production come online and Iranian production continues to increase, then by November the surplus could be high enough and prices low enough to encourage OPEC to act," said James Williams, analyst at WTRG Economics in London, Arkansas.

A Reuters poll showing that U.S. crude stockpiles had risen by as much as 2.8 million barrels last week after three prior weeks of declines also caused concern for some market participants, analysts said. [EIA/S]

(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in LONDON and Keith Wallis in SINGAPORE; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Louise Heavens)
BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard will not reopen a search for a 54-year-old woman whose fishing boat sank last week, despite the discovery of her son alive on a life raft a week after the incident, officials said on Monday.

Authorities had searched 62,000 square nautical miles off New England, an area larger than the state of Georgia, after Linda Carman, 54, and Nathan Carman, 22, failed to return to their Rhode Island port from a fishing trip on their 31-foot (9.5 m) boat the "Chicken Pox" on Sept. 18.

A passing freighter found the younger Carman alive in a life raft on Saturday, within the search area Petty Officer Nicole Groll outlined to reporters on Monday.

He told rescuers he had searched for his mother but failed to find her.

"The search window will not be reopened," Groll said.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
By Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe

SEOUL (Reuters) - From kicking out North Korean workers and ending visa-free travel for its citizens, to stripping flags of convenience from its ships, Cold War-era allies from Poland to Mongolia are taking measures to squeeze the isolated country.

More such moves, with prodding from South Korea and the United States, are expected after North Korea recently defied U.N. resolutions to conduct its fifth nuclear test.

North Korea's limited global links leave most countries with few targets for penalizing the regime on their own.

Mounting sanctions over the years have made Pyongyang more adept at evasion and finding alternative sources for procurement, a recent paper by experts at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found.

Nonetheless, South Korea has been especially active in pushing the North's allies for unilateral action in hopes of reining in Pyongyang's arms program.

"If long-standing friends of North Korea continue to publicly curb their ties with the country, Pyongyang will have fewer places overseas where its illicit networks can operate unhindered or with political cover from the host capital," said Andrea Berger, deputy director of the proliferation and nuclear policy program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

South Korean officials have declined to say whether they have made inducements to countries to punish North Korea.

"Presumably in the course of that diplomatic interaction it is also being made clear to Pyongyang's partners that deeper trade ties with economies like South Korea will not be fully realizable" without taking steps against North Korea, Berger said.

Angola, for one, has suspended all commercial trade with Pyongyang, banning North Korean companies from operating there since the U.N. toughened sanctions in March, a South Korean foreign ministry official told Reuters recently.

Angola was suspected of buying military equipment in 2011 from North Korea's Green Pine Associated Corp, which is under U.N. sanction, according to a 2016 U.N. report. North Korea had also cooperated with Angola in health care, IT and construction, South Korea's embassy there said in December.

Angolan officials did not respond to requests for comment, but the country told the U.N. in July it had not imported any light weapons from North Korea in recent years.

North Korea's export of cheap labor has also been targeted.

Earlier this year, Washington urged countries to curb the use of North Korean workers, who number roughly 50,000 and generate between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion annually for Pyongyang, according to a 2015 U.N. report.

Poland, which hosted as many as 800 North Korean workers, according to some estimates, this year stopped renewing visas, as did Malta.

Travel restrictions have also increased, with Ukraine recently revoking a Soviet-era deal that allowed visa-free visits for North Koreans.

Singapore, which has been a hub for North Korea-linked trade, will require visitors from the country to apply for visas starting next month, its immigration authority said in July.

DE-FLAGGED

The vast majority of North Korea's trade is with China, and experts warn sanctions will have limited impact without Beijing's backing. China condemns Pyongyang's nuclear program but is also its chief ally and is unwilling to pressure leader Kim Jong Un's regime too far, fearing a collapse that would destabilize the entire region. That means agreeing significantly tightened U.N. sanctions could be difficult.

Some of the most tangible results of recent efforts to isolate North Korea have seen countries ban its ships from their registries. North Korean-owned vessels are suspected of using other flags to camouflage the movement of illicit cargo.

Landlocked Mongolia, which is among Pyongyang's steadiest allies but also has close ties with Seoul, canceled the registrations of all 14 North Korean vessels flying its flag, according to a report it submitted to the U.N. in July, even though sanctions compelled it to act on just one of them.

Cambodia, once the most popular flag of convenience for North Korea, ended its registry scheme for all foreign ships in August, although it did not single out North Korea.

The flags of 69 North Korean ships, none of them on a U.N. blacklist, have been de-registered since the U.N. tightened sanctions in March, South Korea's foreign minister said last month. The North's merchant fleet is estimated by the U.N. at roughly 240 vessels.

Still, one-off measures by various countries mean Pyongyang can simply shift its business elsewhere - a shortcoming of unilateral actions in general.

China and Russia employ the bulk of North Korean workers and have publicly shown no inclination to halt the practice.

Last week, North Korean state media announced the Sept 19 "inauguration" of its embassy in the Belarusian capital Minsk. However, on Monday, the Belarus foreign ministry said there was no North Korean embassy there, although it did not immediately give further information.

Pyongyang has been known to use diplomatic personnel, several whom have been caught with large amounts of gold or cash, to procure banned equipment or fund illegal activities.

China, experts say, remains the key.

"Rather than being efficient, unilateral actions put psychological pressure on the North," said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University. "But like criminal gangs, North Korea won't cringe much under psychological pressure."

(Additional reporting by Andrei Makhovsky in Minsk, Herculano Coroado in Luanda and Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
The logo of Takata Corp is seen on its display through a vehicle at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

By David Shepardson and Paul Lienert

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese air bag supplier Takata Corp said it failed to inform the U.S. auto safety agency of a 2003 rupture of one of its air bag inflators in Switzerland, according to an internal Takata report released by U.S. regulators on Friday.

Takata also said in the report that its U.S. arm, not the parent company, was largely responsible for designing, testing and producing tens of millions of defective air bag inflators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a series of reports into Takata's defective air bag inflators, which have been linked to at least 14 deaths and more than 100 injuries and sparked the largest-ever auto recall.

About 100 million Takata air bag inflators have been declared defective worldwide. In the United States, nearly 70 million inflators have been declared defective.

The internal Takata internal report released on Friday examined the Japanese company's handling of the problems since the inflators were first produced in 2000 as well as outside experts' analysis of the defect.

In one event detailed in the report, Takata said it did not inform the NHTSA when it learned in 2003 of the rupture of an inflator in Switzerland. A U.S. engineer at Takata asked if that incident should have been disclosed to the NHTSA in 2010, but it was not. Reuters reported on the 2003 incident in December 2014.

Takata said in its report it opted not to disclose the incident because the inflator was not made during the production period addressed in its 2010 response to the NHTSA. The report said the 2003 incident was the result of the Takata inflator being overloaded. Takata made production changes to address the problem in 2003.

Takata spokesman Jared Levy said Friday the report was required by NHTSA as part of the company's settlement announced in November. "Takata has focused extensive resources on researching and testing of airbag inflators, including working with independent, world class, technical experts to identify the causes of the inflator failures," he said.

Reports released on Friday included one from Germany's Fraunhofer Group commissioned by Takata, which said prolonged exposure to moisture and hot conditions could cause the propellant used in inflators to become more volatile. This finding was consistent with Fraunhofer's previous assessments and other independent analyses.

In November 2015, Takata agreed to a settlement that included a fine of up to $200 million with NHTSA, which said Takata provided "selective, incomplete or inaccurate data" from 2009 to the present.

Once Takata's largest customer, Honda Motor Co late on Friday said that the parts supplier had "manipulated" test results for inflators supplied to the automaker in "several instances", and that it "remains disappointed and troubled" by Takata's actions.

Following its audit of Takata test results, the Japanese automaker said in a statement that as a precaution it was investigating the safety of inflators used in some cars that contained a specific moisture-absorbing agent. Inflators containing this agent have not been included in the latest recall.

Honda has studied Takata's tests on inflators installed in Honda and Acura vehicle in the United States and Canada, many of which have since been recalled. The automaker said it was now validating Takata tests on inflators installed in vehicles outside that region.

Honda has since stopped using Takata inflators in its new models and now sources replacement inflators from other suppliers.

Shares in Takata fell this week after Bloomberg reported that initial bidders in a potential rescue are considering the possibility of some form of bankruptcy proceedings for the company.

People with direct knowledge of the bidding process told Reuters in late August that Takata would take initial bids from potential rescuers, including Japanese chemical maker Daicel Corp, China's Ningbo Joyson Electronic and global funds KKR & Co and Bain Capital LP.

(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Diane Craft)
Security personnel stand next to snowmen at the entrance of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) office tower in Beijing, March 20, 2013. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/File Photo

By Denny Thomas and Michelle Price

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Business development managers at Chinese state-owned firms have been put on notice: mess up on M&A deals and you can be held personally liable - for life.

Under new rules unveiled by China's State Council, or cabinet, last month, managers will be held accountable if they "fail to, or incorrectly, perform their duties" with respect to deals that result in a loss of state assets.

A lack of specifics has prompted bankers and lawyers to say this is a draconian catch-all clause that is already slowing deal-making at Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Sanctions include pay cuts, disciplinary action or full judicial hearings - even years after managers have moved jobs or retired. In the United States and Europe, company executives are rarely held personally accountable, let alone criminally liable, for bad deals - provided they met their fiduciary duties. When strategic moves go bad, typically the CEO or chairman is urged to resign.

The move is part of President Xi Jinping's overhaul of China's bloated, debt-ridden SOEs, which have been on a buying binge in recent years. Sloppy deal-making has led to billions of dollars in writedowns.

Flush with state funds and a government mandate to go global, SOE managers have enjoyed a high degree of freedom to make often big, headline-grabbing outbound deals without fear of personal reprisal.

In the rush to accumulate assets, business development teams weren't always thorough in their due diligence or market analysis. And deals were typically rubber-stamped by boards that tended not to look too closely at the details or valuations, said bankers and lawyers who have worked on state sector deals.

State firms also paid less attention to integrating newly bought assets - often critical to delivering long-term value.

"There's growing concern around SOE investments," said Xiong Jin, international partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons in Beijing. "The government has realized that many SOE assets have been lost through poor investments overseas, and now there's a sense of urgency to impose better controls. This also comes in the broader context of SOE reform."

The new rules mean many SOE managers are now reluctant to take decisions, say bankers and lawyers, and can spend weeks tied up on email chains and meetings trying to get their bosses to take responsibility for transactions and have external legal counsel sign off on commercial aspects of deals.

"The blanket reaction from senior company officials would be: be passive, making no suggestions or decisions on M&A opportunities," said a senior official at a state energy company involved in overseas investment.

The official, who didn't want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said managers would now more likely just report public information about investment opportunities to their bosses, without making any value-added proposals.

"If you start looking through the lens of this document, an SOE manager will start to ask of every operational decision or small decision on every provision in a deal: 'could I be held accountable for this in 15 years' time'," said Andrew McGinty, partner at law firm Hogan Lovells in Shanghai.

"They will either take the path of least personal risk, which may not be best for the business, or keep going up the chain of command to make sure they have covered their position. This is slowing down deals."

LEADING THE CHARGE

With Beijing's blessing, state-owned firms led China's decade-long outbound M&A splurge, buying strategic assets from energy and food to technology. State-owned firms accounted for close to two-thirds of China's $677 billion in outbound deals over the past 10 years, Thomson Reuters data show.

It wasn't always money well spent.

For example, a tie-up between China's state-run TCL and France's Thomson Electronics lost around half its value, and South Korean car maker Ssangyong Motor filed for bankruptcy within five years of being taken over by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

And last year's oil price collapse forced companies like China Petroleum & Chemical Corp <600028.SS> <0386.HK> and CNOOC <0883.HK> to take billions of dollars in writedowns. CNOOC took a 10.4 billion yuan ($1.56 billion) impairment charge in the first half of this fiscal year, which analysts say is largely related to its $15.1 billion buy of Canada's Nexen Inc in 2013

Bankers said Beijing became even more circumspect following China National Chemical Corp's [CNNCC.UL] $43 billion bid for Syngenta in February - which came with an eye-popping $3 billion break fee, or 7 percent of the deal value compared to 1-2 percent typically.

"It's this over-exuberant climate that has prompted the government to rein in the excess," said Howard Yu, professor at Swiss business school IMD. "It all points to an urgent need for systematic reform to impose a sense of discipline when it comes to international expansion through M&A."

The State Council Information Office, the public relations arm of the central government, did not respond to requests for comment.

China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which oversees SOEs, is also tightening its vetting process on outbound deals and intervening more, said M&A bankers in Hong Kong.

At some SOEs, internal committees representing the Communist Party have been given new powers to effectively supersede the board and approve major deals.

Sinochem International Corp <600500.SS> pulled out of a $3 billion acquisition of a German company last month after the SASAC questioned the valuation, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The SASAC did not respond to requests for comment.

($1 = 6.6707 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Denny Thomas and Michelle Price, with additional reporting by Aizhu Chen in BEIJING; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
FORM 3 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549



INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES



Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Expires: December 31, 2014 Estimated average burden hours per response: 0.5

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Williams Jeffrey Conrad (Last) (First) (Middle) BROOKFIELD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. BROOKFIELD PLACE, 250 VESEY ST., 15TH FL (Street) NEW YORK NY 10281-1023 (City) (State) (Zip) 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)

09/26/2016 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol

Brookfield Mortgage Opportunity Income Fund Inc. [ BOI ] 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer

(Check all applicable) Director 10% Owner Officer (give title below) X Other (specify below) Sub-Adviser Portfolio Manager 5. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) X Form filed by One Reporting Person Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned 1. Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 1,200 (1) D

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) 1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4) 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year) 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4) 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

/s/Waheed Olowa, on behalf of Jeffrey Conrad Williams 09/26/2016 ** Signature of Reporting Person Date Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. * If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v). ** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a). Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure. Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.

jwb Exhibit 24.1 CONFIRMING STATEMENT This statement confirms that the undersigned, Jeffrey Williams, has authorized and designated Seth Gelman, Brian Hurley and Waheed Olowa to execute and file on the undersigned behalf of all forms 3, 4 and 5 (including any amendments thereto) that the undersigned may be required to file with U.S. Securities Exchange Commission as a result of the undersigned ownership of or transactions in securities of Brookfield Mortgage Opportunity Income Fund Inc. (the Company). The authority of Seth Gelman, Brian Hurley and Waheed Olowa under this statement shall continue until the undersigned is no longer required to file Forms 3, 4 and 5 with regard to the undersigned ownership of or transactions in securities of the Company, unless earlier revoked in writing. The undersigned acknowledges that Seth Gelman, Brian Hurley and Waheed Olowa are not assuming, nor is the aforementioned Company assuming, any of the undersigned responsibilities to comply with Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Date: September 19, 2016 /s/ Jeffrey Williams Jeffrey Williams
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Road to reconciliation is no Sinhala only one way street View(s):

Why Chandrika is wrong: Federalism no answer but a stepping stone to Eelam

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga lost her right eye in a Tiger suicide bomb blast while she, in her role as commander in chief of Lankas armed forces, was conducting the war against the LTTEs terror mission to set up a separate state of Tamil Eelam on Lankan soil; and thus to realise militant Tamil aspirations for a homeland to call their own.

But that close encounter with death and the permanent loss it left, did not blind her to social injustice; nor make her turn a blind unsympathetic eye to the perceived discriminations that Tamils long claimed they suffered at Sinhala hands in the wake of Lanka gaining independence from Britains colonial yoke.

It is to her credit that she has been able to rise from the painful quagmire of her own traumatic ordeal and not lay the blame and pin her hatred on the pottued forehead of every Tamil. It is indeed commendable that despite suffering such a personal blow, she has not lost her enlightened vision of a Lanka with justice to all on her soil, no matter their race, whatever their religion.

But yet, when she declared last Saturday, that what this country needs now is a federal constitution, preferably one that is semi secular as well, isnt it time to pause and ask whether her disjointed sense of timing has outstepped realitys dance and missed a beat or two of the nations pulse?

In other words, isnt it time to ask whether she has become deaf, dumb and blind to the natural stirrings of this island race who have paid with blood, sweat and tears to maintain its unitary status; and to ask her further, whether or no she is out of step, out of tune and out of mind to give public expression to such thoughts unwarranted and unsolicited which are but honey dewed pouring on Eelamists ears? And salt and chilli pon Sinhala sores?

Addressing a seminar organised by the national secretariat for national reconciliation in Colombo last week, she declared Why are we so afraid to even think of federalism? South Africa resolved its conflict through a new federal constitution. Nigeria resolved its Biafra conflict by the same means. So did Kenya.

But did they? First of all South Africa is not a federal state as Chandrika makes it out to be. And can the victory of the black majority over the apartheid ridden regime of Afrikaners, the small white ethnic group of Dutch origins which form only 5 per cent of the population, can be equated to the situation in Lanka? Here in this small 25,000 square mile island a majority race of Sinhalese comprising almost 75 per out of the populace emerged triumphant to maintain the territorial unity of this island after an atrocious war with Tamil terrorists who demanded one third of the island mass as a separate state for the ten percent minority Tamils.

And what, indeed, of Nigeria? Biafra, an area 30,000 square miles in extent, existed as a separate territory in the east peopled by those of the Igbo tribe long before Britain granted Nigeria independence in 1960. The boundaries of Nigeria had been arbitrarily defined by the British and Biafra was included as being part of Nigeria, under a federal constitution comprising three regions of which Biafra was one. But after two military coups which had resulted in mass bloodshed; with reconciliation talks proposing a confederated Nigeria to ensure peaceful co existence failing , Nigerias eastern region voted to secede from Nigeria,

In 1967, it chose to break away from the union and unilaterally declared her independence as a free state as the Republic of Biafra. The Federal Military Government announced measures to annex the oil rich province and launched a massive military offensive. After a bloody battle which lasted for 3 years and cost 3 million lives, an exhausted and impoverished Biafra threw down the towel and surrendered to the advancing Nigerian Army and became part of Nigeria again.

Can this be compared to the situation in Lanka where the north-east land claimed to be the base for Eelam has never existed as a separate entity in the course of Lankas history? And if, Biafras return to federal Nigeria, has brought peace to that southern eastern part of Africa, one should consider the renewed calls presently being made for Biafra to breakaway again from the mother state and go her own way. Federalism in Nigeria is set in a different historical context in a different backdrop; whereas for Lanka, its a whole new ball game with none knowing how it will be played or to what goal posts it will lead to.

And as for Kenya, Chandrika says, There were many massive problems for Kenya. Every two months, every two years there were changes in governments. Many were killed in election violence. Not one or two like here, but in hundreds, in thousands. This problem was also solved by bringing a new constitution in 2010 in this manner. But the constitution did not establish a federal state. Instead it changed the structure from a federal system to a unitary system and established two levels of devolution, namely, Government and 47 administrative divisions called counties to which more powers were accorded.

And then Chandrika refers to India as a prime example of a country whose continued existence is dependent upon it being a federal union of states. According to Chandrika, India has 36 or 40 odd languages and dialects and a great number of religions than the four we have here and many smaller religions that broke away from the main ones, like Jain Buddhism from Buddhism and Sikhism from the Hinduism. India was never one country. Before the British conquered the India we know today as India, the land, Bharatha comprised many princedoms and sub kingdoms. The British unified the lot to make it easier for administrative purposes. In 1947 just before Britain granted independence to India, the people who lived in those different kingdoms were people of different races, who followed different religions, who spoke different languages, who had different cultural traditions and different practices, there was a great diversity. Some thought that with the British leaving, they could once again have their petty kingdoms and follow their own religions, traditions and speak their own languages. But Nehru and Gandhi having realised the dangers this would cause lobbied successfully for a federal India; and having accepted the diversity of India were able to take the country forward. They also gave no foremost place to the majority religion Hinduism but instead declared India to be a secular state. I believe that India has been able to exist today because of its federal and secular constitution. 

But though it may hold true for India, does it hold true for Lanka too?

True, India, with its great diversity, with its great population of 1,293 million people amounting to one sixth of the worlds total population living in a land area 1,270,000 square miles in extent; with 24 officially recognized languages and another 27 native dialects having more than a million speakers each; may not have been able to maintain the oneness of India the British created and left behind if not for a federal and secular constitution.

But can those same impulses which spurred Indias national leaders in 1947 to think a federal secular India is best if it is to last the week after the British leave, validly drive leaders of Lanka today in 2016, when a little late in the day, they believe the India federal trick  because it worked for India  would do the trick for Lanka, too, to conjure lasting peace, and harmony. Merely because a tree bears fruit in another clime and place, it does not mean it would produce fruit when planted on a different soil and in a different climate.

First take the timing. Forget, for a moment, India adopting feudalism as their new political religion to add to their vast collection of creeds in 1947 but ponder over the far greater sacrifice she made. Following the great struggle for independence, India was too impatient to get rid of the British that they even willingly conceded Britains condition to create a Pakistan out of India flanking both her east and west. As Gandhi said, Indias first and foremost priority was to get the British out of India; and if it meant sacrificing part of her territory before Indias could keep her tryst with destiny, so be it.

But had the partitioning of India not happened then, would Hindu India tolerate today the prospect of the country being drawn and quartered to sate Muslim demands for a separate state? The Sinhalese, too, in 1948 would have meekly acquiesced had the British demanded the north and east to be turned to federal states as a prerequisite for the grant of independence.

But in 2016, in the aftermath of a terrible terrorist war, when thousands of Lankas brave sons have died in glorious honour to thwart the militant attempt to turn the north and east into an Eelam, would Sinhala Lanka be so composed to hand over the self same provinces forming one third of the islands land mass on a platter to the minority Tamils, in the name of some promised peace and on Chandrikas solemn word?

Especially when that new entity, euphemistically called a federal state today, contains all the ingredients necessary to become the stepping stone to an Eelam tomorrow?

In the name of reconciliation, is it fair to expect the Sinhalese to surrender what was won on the killing fields of war, namely, sovereign Lankas territorial integrity, to those still intent on making Prabhakarans dreamland a reality in peacetimes?

Second, take the facts. India with a total land mass of 1,269,000 square miles to Lankas 25,000 square miles is 50 times bigger than Lanka. India has 930,000,000 Hindus and 183,000,000 Muslims; 930million descend from Indo Aryan races (74.2%) and 323 million from Dravidian (25%) and more than 2000 ethnic groups. Lanka, on the other hand, has out of a population of 20,277,000 people at the last count, 15.1 million Sinhalese (74.8%) 2.2 million Tamils (11.2%) and 1.8 million Muslims (9.2%).

Can the same formula, a federal system that may not only have been desirable to have but necessary to adopt to give stability to India, be transplanted here to Lanka to handle a situation where the numbers are different, the conditions volatile, the aspirations disguised?

The danger of creating a federal state in the north and east is that a demarcated area of land is born in the map of Lanka, with legal status and provisions for considerable self determination provided in the constitution.

Today even without such a demarcated area existing either in the map or constitution, Australia and Denmark have, nevertheless, both recognized a Tamil Eelam even as a concept and directed its staff to take cognizance of it and take it as referring to Lanka, the successful result, no doubt, of the campaign of Tamil Eelamists the world over to labour birth to its conceptual creation.

If it can be so recognised by these two countries even when it does not exist physically but only as an airy fairy concept, as a utopian dream of Eelamists, for which much blood has been shed, how much easier would the task be for the Eelamist diasporas to convince the international community that since a physically demarcated area of land now exists, similar in shape and size to the one dreamt of by Prabhakaran as his Eelam, it deserves due recognition as the homeland of the Tamils, the Democratic and Socialist Republic of Tamil Eelam. Eelam would thus be only a hop, step and jump away from a federal state that is now canvassed as the answer to Lankas ethnic issue.

Last Friday, Opposition and TNA leader R. Sampanthan told a womens organisation meeting in Tincomalee that the the new Constitution should guarantee justice, peace and prosperity for all citizens of the country regardless of their ethnic, religious or social differences. That is to be welcomed. No nation can exist for long if one race claims superiority of numbers to demand special privileges. Or another race claims special treatment, or even a separate state, for the lack of it.

Addressing the United Nations on Thursday in New York, President Sirisena declared that his mission was to make Lankans one of the happiest people in the world. The ongoing reconciliation process, he said, would guarantee that Sri Lanka wouldnt have to face war and terrorism again. He did not refer to federalism to be the answer.

But the long hard road of reconciliation is no one way street for only the Sinhalese to tread, dispossessing themselves of their earthly possessions and giving it away to anyone who asks for it.

It is not a road of give and give alone to overburden the taker with the load nor a road of take, take and take even if it strips naked the giver.

But its a road of give and take. Of live and let live. Of fulfilling ones duties. Of respecting anothers rights.

A road where the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims along with the other communities comprising the sovereign people of Lanka, walk hand in hand towards a new bright dawn: sharing together the magic of friendship on equal terms and partaking together, in equal amounts, each according to his needs, the fruits that fall from of the evergreen kapruk trees flanking either side of the reconciliation road.

How you can eat the Yahapalana cake and have it also Two weeks after Maithripala Sirisena had declared his candidacy on 21st November 2014 to battle Mahinda Rajapaksa for the presidency, slain Bharatha Laksmans daughter Hirunika, who had curled up to the Rajapaksa fraternity to move them to bring her fathers killers to trial, walked away from the man whom she had hailed as her foster father to join Sirisenas camp fires; even as he was setting up tent on the opposite banks and knowing not the way in which the river would soon flow. Fortunately the current flowed upstream and carried the Sirisena riverboat to the source of supreme power. If Hirunika had jumped aboard the barge, not just for the ride but to achieve her declared mission to see justice done by her late father, the Yahapalana policies that Sirisena introduced saw her fathers murderers condemned to death last fortnight: and Hirunika received the justice she had been clamouring for so long. Early this year in January, five months after her election to Parliament as a member of the Sirisena government, allegedly ordered her goons to bring to her political office a man who was supposedly having a love affair with the wife of one of her supporters. He claimed that he had been forcibly held there. She admitted he had been detained in her office some time while she gave him a sermon in morals and the dangers of having amorous affairs with married men. The man, who was released after receiving this tongue lashing from Kolonnawas new agony aunt, complained to the police that he had been abducted and held against his will. Unbeknown, perhaps, to Hirunika, the old order had changed; and the new order did not form any dalliance with the old notion that some sacred cows were above the law. The public outcry that followed this incident which took place on January 21st this year rose to a crescendo when the police appeared to be dragging their feet. Soon the charge was leveled against the Sirisena government that it was involved in a shoddy cover up and their professed commitment to the Yahapalana doctrine that tolerated no selective law enforcement, sparing those who were loyal to the government and crucifying those who were not, was but eyewash; and that the new order was nothing more than the same old order under a fancy name. On February 9, however, the then Attorney General ordered the police to arrest Hirunika and produce her in court. The magistrate deemed it fit to grant her bail; and she has remained enlarged on such terms and conditions the magistrate imposed on her. The silence of the president should have made it clear to all then that President Maithripala Sirisena did not intend to spend his presidential time peering through the police log and ordering the cops whom to arrest: whom to leave free. The system must take over. Only when there is a glaring lapse must the President intervene to remedy it. Democracy cannot, must not, be dependent on a single individual or a closely knit group to decide whom to punish or whom to reward, who should be thrown behind bars or be let loose to roam the streets free on the basis of political affiliations. The due process must be allowed to operate free. This Thursday Hirunika Premachandra and eight others were formerly indicted on 29 counts for the abduction of the man who supposedly had an affair with the wife of one of Hirunikas supporters. Colombo High Court Judge Pathmini Ranawaka fixed the trial of the case for January 10 and 11, 2017. Now it will be up to the courts to hear the evidence, decide on culpability and either free or sentence. The Yahapalana work has been done. Under the Yahapalana workings, Hirunika has received justice for the injustice done to her and her father five years ago. Under the same doctrine, another man stands poised to receive his pound of justice in January next year for the injustice allegedly done to him by Hirunika just 9 months ago. This one unique riveting example reveals just how Yahapalanaya, if permitted to operate freely without political interference, can render justice to one for an injustice suffered in one instance and simultaneously extract justice from the same individual and render it to another for an injustice done to him; and is further evidence that Yahapalanaya is on the move, slowly but  hopefully  surely.

It is a case of eating the cake of justice: and also having it  as your just deserts.
Police are currently attending a crash on SH5 in Eskdale about 10 kilometres from Hastings.

The crash occurred at about 9.30am.

Two cars have been involved however one person has managed to get out of their vehicle, while two occupants of the other vehicle, are currently being extracted by emergency services.

There are no diversions in place, however motorists are asked to avoid the area near Ellis Wallace Road if possible and drive carefully as it is still raining in the area and there is poor visibility.

It is currently unknown what the conditions of the patients are, however both lanes are blocked while police and other services work to clear the scene and assist with the injured victims.

The road will be blocked for at least another 45 minutes.

Source: New Zealand Police.
A 23-year-old man will appear in Manukau District Court today charged with murder.

This is in relation to a fatal shooting in Manurewa over the weekend.

The man also faces a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police can now also release the name of the victim, he was 32-year-old Leslie Putt of Manurewa.

"Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time," says a statement from police.

Source: New Zealand Police.
A man has died as a result of a drowning in a Bay of Plenty swimming pool this morning.

Police were called to the Regal Palms Resort on Fenton Street in Rotorua following the drowing of a man about 9.30am.

"Police were asked to assist ambulance staff at the scene where a man in his 40s was found unresponsive in a pool," says a statement from police.

"Police are there at the moment, speaking to witnesses, and are still trying to contact next of kin."

The mans death will be referred to the coroner.

"Police extend their sympathies to the mans family at this tragic time."
Scientists are embarking on a voyage of discovery today to map a previously uncharted section of the Colville Ridge, a large and mountainous seafloor structure about 500km northeast of Auckland.

More than half of the Colville Ridge, which covers an estimated 100,000km2, sits within New Zealands The three week voyage is being undertaken by GNS Science, and takes place on NIWAs deepwater research ship Tangaroa as part of a long-term programme to survey regions within New Zealands offshore territory.
The concept came about as a result of a discussion I was having with our parent company, the worldwide shipping group, Barry Rogliano Salles (BRS) about the quality and efficiency of cruise ship construction and how much they cost to build, explains YPI Director of Sales, Russell Crump. It suddenly struck me that our clients could benefit if YPI brought that technology and know-how into our world of luxury yachting.

To make the idea a reality, Russell turned to one of the worlds most renowned yacht designers, Jonny Horsfield, Owner and Creative Director at H2 Yacht Design.

Though this might sound a little dramatic I think the concept for Raptor is an extremely exciting direction for the entire yacht industry! The combination of commercial-based engineering and construction with superyacht design is an attractive one - offering both time and cost savings. The exterior is both imposing and graceful and with large fixed balconies that are becoming an H2 Design feature the design is modern and fresh.

For naval architecture, it is the highly respected and unique experience of naval architect, Robert McFarlane, of McFarlane Ship Design that came into play.

McFarlane Ship Design has the unique position in the yachting industry of being the only Naval Architects equally committed to both the Yacht and Cruise ship sectors. Project Raptor combines our comprehensive technical knowledge. We are able to optimize the synergies between both by introducing the economics of the commercial cruise ship market to the yachting industry, and equally, renowned yacht quality to the cruise ship market.

The complex engineering behind Project Raptor delivers a very simple solution. The engineering and mechanical platform with naval architecture have all been completed, explains Russell. And buyers have a unique opportunity to add an extra 15 metres at the parallel mid-body section for an impressive 120 metre version without any change to the current naval architecture.

Equally advantageous to the buyer is the design which has been developed so the profile above the main deck level can be completely customized without any repercussions on the existing hull.

In our view, says Russell, what we have developed together here is a first in yachting. We have taken all the uncertainty out of the new build process to be able to offer clients a megayacht with a superyacht finish and all the efficiencies and cost savings of a commercial build. In real terms for our clients, that can mean savings of up to 50% on this size of build. We think that makes Project Raptor very interesting for future owners.

Project Raptor is being presented at the Monaco Yacht Show by YPI using cutting edge Virtual Reality technology specifically developed for Raptor.

We have created a specialist arm, YPI Virtual Reality Solutions, to focus on the use and development of virtual reality technology to help buyers with new build projects properly experience being onboard their proposed designs long before any steel gets cut, explains YPI Commercial & Marketing Director, Mark Duncan.

Were using the very latest Oculus Rift goggles with specially designed software and graphics to create the ultimate VR experience for buyers. This allows them to see materials, different lighting conditions, understand the real dimensions of the corridors and the rooms so they get a real understanding for what they like and dont like. That has a major effect on seriously reducing the need for expensive change orders at a later stage once the build actually starts."

"This is not a gimmick," concludes Duncan. "This is using todays technology to take the uncertainty out of building your own yacht.
Who will invest in tissue banks?

VietNamNet Bridge - The government has allowed the Ministry of Health to grant licenses to tissue banks, including privately run banks. However, it is still unclear who would invest in the field.

The government has allowed the Ministry of Health to grant licenses to tissue banks, including privately run banks. However, it is still unclear who would invest in the field.







Tissue banks are medical establishments which have the function of collecting, preserving and treating tissues of living and the dead to serve medical treatment, scientific research and teaching.According to the Ministry of Health, there are 14 medical centers throughout the country capable of carrying out complicated tissue and organ transplant operations. These include the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, Cho Ray, Military Hospital No 103 and Hue City Central Hospital.However, in the last 23 years, since the first kidney transplant operation was carried out, Vietnam has only done 1,200 kidney, 38 liver, 12 heart, 1 pancreas and 1,400 cornea transplant cases.The figures are modest compared with the high demand from 16,000 people who have heart, kidney, liver and lung diseases who await transplants and 6,000 blind people who want cornea transplants.According to Du Thi Ngoc Thu from Cho Ray Hospital, tissue banks are units which act as the intermediary connecting donors and recipients.In other countries, tissue banks must not have any relation to business, therefore, they are mostly run by charity not-for-profit organizations, belonging to research institutes, universities and hospitals which have expertise.In Vietnam, the State has opened a national coordination center, but does not keep vital organs. The establishment of a central tissue bank still cannot be implemented because of the lack of experience in organization and operation supervision.A lot of questions remain unanswered. It is clear that the banks will need big money to move, preserve and treat organs, and that profit must not be the purpose of the banks.However, it is unclear who will invest money to develop the banks if they are not allowed to do business.Huynh Thi Da Thanh, a former National Assemblys Deputy, suggested that it would be better to set up state-owned tissue banks first and learn experience from the banks before allowing to set up privately run banks.Experts say that those who set up and run tissue banks in Vietnam should be the people who have medical expertise. Professors/surgeons, for example, may come forward and call for the investments, and then set up regulations for banks operation based on the states requirements.They could be individuals or hospitals in Vietnam or abroad who can gather doctors and set up professional centers which act as intermediaries to connect supply and demand.
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A rendering of the new building on Bridge Street in DeWitt. The DiBella's Subs is expected to open later this year, but a planned Tom and Chee location is now in legal limbo.

(Provided by Mayflower)

DeWitt, NY -- A fancy grilled cheese joint, Tom and Chee, was supposed to occupy half of a new building on Bridge Street in DeWitt.

But those plans may be doomed after competing legal action has left the prominent storefront unfinished and empty.

The developer, Michael Dougherty, of Fayetteville, said he's looking for a new tenant to fill the space, across from Home Depot and next to Community Bank.

The legal trouble surrounding Tom and Chee does not affect the building's other tenant, DiBella's Subs. That restaurant is scheduled to open later this year.

Tom and Chee, based in Cincinnati, is a grilled cheese and tomato soup joint that planned Bridge Street as its first Upstate location. It has opened locations in 15 states, but has also closed locations, as well.

The Syracuse location was announced in December 2015. But a month ago, the Southern Tier franchise owner sued Dougherty's company, saying it did not finish the space. Dougherty plans to fire back with a lawsuit, saying the franchise owner got the space it paid for and hasn't paid rent.

Franchisee Cavaluzzi-Johnson Enterprises, of Endwell, sued Dougherty's Mayflower Companies for tens of thousands of dollars in lost profit and asked a judge to order the completion of the space.

The lawsuit suggests that the restaurant should have opened this month. It expected to make roughly $27,000 a month in profit, according to estimates in the lawsuit. The franchise owner said it was Dougherty's responsibility to finish the interior to Tom and Chee's specifications.

But Dougherty said that wasn't in the contract. He says the building should have been turned over to the franchise owner in August and says the rent is now in default.

The lawsuit noted that Dougherty's company offered about $51,000 to the franchise owner, but that offer was rejected.

In an interview, Dougherty noted that DiBella's Subs had no such problems and that restaurant's interior is being finished according to schedule.

His company has also built the nearby Olum's building and the Aspen Dental/Vitamin Shoppe building on Erie Boulevard East, among others, Dougherty said.

The franchise owner's lawsuit says it could take five or six months to finish the Tom and Chee restaurant if work started today. But Dougherty doubted that the location would ever open.

Dougherty said he hasn't heard from the franchise owner in three months. He had spoken to the franchise's lawyer.

For now, the 2,500-square-foot location remains empty as the court battle begins.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- New York state's top cop took the witness stand today and answered questions from Native Americans who claim he and other state troopers trampled on their rights 19 years ago.

State police Superintendent George Beach's testimony was interrupted by feuds between U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin and some of the 15 plaintiffs, who are non-lawyers representing themselves in a lawsuit against 52 state troopers.

Scullin ordered deputy U.S. marshals to remove one of the plaintiffs from the courtroom after he refused to follow the judge's orders.

State police Superintendent George P. Beach

Beach, who was appointed superintendent in June, was a state police captain on May 18, 1997. He devised and carried out the plan to quell a Native American protest over state taxes on cigarettes, and the leadership at the Onondaga Nation.

The protest was along Interstate-81, and eventually spilled onto the highway as protesters handed out fliers to motorists.

Beach's plan was to have troopers move in once the protesters went onto the highway and endangered the public, he said.

Beach said he was concerned about what had happened a few weeks earlier, when troopers were attacked at another protest in western New York.

At the Onondaga Nation protest, Beach ordered the protesters to disperse as 80 troopers lined the side of I-81, he said.

"I yelled, 'Get off the highway, get out of the area,' several times," Beach testified. Some of the protesters left, others didn't, he said. Troopers arrested those who stayed and charged them with disorderly conduct.

"My overriding concern was a situation where we had a standoff, further endangering the troopers and the people at the encampment," Beach testified. His boss, then-Maj. James Parmley, had instructed him not to negotiate with the protesters once they entered the highway.

Cheryl Bucktooth, one of the plaintiffs, questioned Beach on the stand. She often butted heads with Scullin over her questions.

"Is it safe to say that when the chiefs call, you come running?" she asked in reference to Beach's meeting with Onondaga chiefs in the days leading up to the incident.

"No -- strike that question," Scullin said. He wouldn't allow her to make speeches or ask irrelevant questions that would not be admissible for any lawyer to ask. The judge had to step in repeatedly.

Bucktooth asked Beach if he didn't believe in the First Amendment right to assemble. The judge wouldn't allow it.

"You're rambling here," he told Bucktooth at another point in her questioning. "Don't you have a question?"

Toward the end of Beach's testimony, plaintiff Ross John started standing up and objecting repeatedly. Even after Scullin overruled his objections, John objected to being overruled and continued arguing his point.

"Can I start my appeal because of how this court is acting?" John asked Scullin. "I can't sit here and watch this."

"You can stay or leave," Scullin told him. "If you stay here, you have to abide by my rules. You understand that?"

"I understand, but I won't do it," John said. "It looks like we're gonna have problems with the way you're running the court."

After John said he would not abide by the rules, Scullin ordered him removed. Three deputy U.S. marshals escorted John out.

The tension between the judge and the plaintiffs continued after John was gone.

After Scullin overruled an objection from Assistant Attorney General Timothy Mulvey, some of the plaintiffs clapped.

"Please don't do that again," Scullin said.

Another plaintiff, Robert Bucktooth Jr., questioned former state police Senior Investigator Norm Ashbarry, who was among the troopers who arrested Bucktooth at the protest.

Bucktooth was on top of another trooper, punching him on the ground, Ashbarry said. Some of the troopers used their batons to bring Bucktooth under control, Ashbarry said.

"You were punching -- violently punching, I might add," he told Bucktooth. "And you were kicking, and coming back with both elbows, striking whoever was behind you."

The state settled the lawsuit for $2.7 million in June with 76 of the original 98 protesters who sued. The remaining 16 rejected the settlement and said they wanted $10 million apiece, according to one of the plaintiffs.

The protesters accused troopers of using excessive force and wrongfully arresting them on sovereign land. The plaintiffs also accused state police of covering up their wrongdoing.

A lawyer for the state told jurors the troopers were justified in the force they used to protect the public by keeping the protesters off the highway.

Contact John O'Brien anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-2187
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Christel Mattice and Anthony Kazel

(Provided photo)

DEWITT, NY - Two people have been charged in connection with the stabbing of a 25-year-old woman Thursday in the parking lot of a hotel near Carrier Circle in DeWitt, police said.

Christel Mattice, 26, of Mexico, NY and Anthony Kazel, 20, of Cleveland, NY face charges in connection with the 10:20 p.m. Thursday fight, which police said led to the victim being stabbed multiple times.

Police said Mattice knew the victim, and the two had an "altercation" in the parking lot. Mattice pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times, police said. Meanwhile, Kazel, who also was armed with a knife, stood by and attempted to prevent others from helping the victim, police said.

Police said the victim was transported by a friend to Upstate University Hospital, where she was treated for serious injuries and is in stable condition.

Mattice is charged with first-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. She is being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center on $20,000 cash or $50,000 bond.

Kazel is charged with third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and petit larceny. He is being held on $10,000 cash bail or $30,000 bond.

Police did not release the name of the victim, or the name of the hotel as the family is still staying there, police said.

The investigation is ongoing and police ask anyone who has any information to email tips@townofdewitt.com
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Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner praises Hotel Syracuse owner Ed Riley during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the historic hotel on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.

(N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syra)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner was removed from her position on the Democratic National Committee last week.

After four years as a committee member of the DNC, Miner was removed last Monday by the state party during its annual executive meeting in Buffalo, according to a report from the NY Daily News.

Miner was one of more than 20 DNC representatives from New York. She attended this summer's Democratic National Convention as a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton -- something that comes with a committee position.

This morning, Miner said she's enjoyed her time as part of the DNC and didn't read anything into her ouster.

"I don't really think much about it," she said. "I've been very pleased to be a DNC member for a while and I've made great relationships and great friends. These things happen."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Miner to be co-chair in 2012 and she resigned in 2014. That 2012 appointment made Miner a member of the DNC.

Cuomo, who has significant clout with the state party, has been at odds with Miner for several years. Miner dismissed the idea that her tenuous relationship with the governor had anything to do with her removal.

Miner will continue to advocate for Clinton, who she feels is the best candidate for her future and her family's future, she said.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Mayor Stephanie Miner today said criminal bribery charges against COR Development Co. raise concerns about the future of the company's project at the Inner Harbor.

"I think we have to reevaluate everything, and that also includes what's going to happen at the Inner Harbor project," Miner said. "Is there state money that's going to be coming to it? This is going to take a major evaluation of where we are as a community with economic development projects."

COR is in the middle of a $350 million rejuvenation of previously unused land at the Inner Harbor. The company has completed a 134-room Aloft Hotel on the lake shore and has begun construction on a mixed-use building with retail space and 54 apartments.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged a pair of COR executives with five felonies each for their involvement in allegedly rigging state contracts. The contracts under question include those for work at a nanotechnology hub in DeWitt.

The Inner Harbor was not one of the projects under question in the federal probe. Still, the charges against COR raised concern over the company's dealings with government projects.

COR executives have given heavily to political campaigns throughout Central New York, including more than $25,000 to Miner. When asked if she had plans to return those contributions, Miner said only that donations do not impact her governance.

"All the decisions I've made show I don't make decisions based on campaign contributions," she said.

Miner's administration clashed with COR over the Inner Harbor project after the developer sought tax breaks from Onondaga County's development agency late last year. Miner sued COR in December, alleging the company had promised not to seek such breaks.

COR won that lawsuit, but is now entangled in a new legal battle with the city. COR sued earlier this month after the city refused to sell the fifth of five promised parcels of land at the Inner Harbor.

COR was among three bidders on the Inner Harbor project in 2012. The company agreed to pay about $2.8 million for 28 acres of land controlled by the city. The city would sell those parcels over a period of several years.

In the new lawsuit, COR lawyers said that by refusing to sell, the city is trying to frustrate the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor. City lawyers cited a pending appeal of one piece of their original lawsuit, in which a judge ruled that the city could not seek to take back ownership of land already sold to COR.

It's unclear if or how the criminal charges would immediately impact construction already underway at the site.
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Cooks from Somali and Iraq take a break from serving food and talk during the World Refugee Day celebration, held on Saturday, June 20, 2015, at Schiller Park in Syracuse.

(Kate Collins | kcollins@syracuse.com)

Samuel Gorovitz is former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. He is a professor of philosophy and writes about medical ethics and public policy.

By Samuel Gorovitz

One of the many respects in which America continues to be a great, although imperfect country, is evident whenever we consider going to a restaurant. We can choose among cuisines from all over the world, and in some places from our Native American cultures also. This array is a gift from our immigrant populations - which is almost all of us. And Syracuse is especially rich in this way, for it is a hallmark of Central New York that we welcome people from other lands, near or far.

Because many of our immigrant communities are large enough to sustain a market for specialized ingredients, we can also cook at home, trying our hand at cuisines from every inhabited continent. This is possible only because our immigrant communities sustain these markets - which I have always found enthusiastically welcoming. Cuisine, of course, is always about much more than just food. It is about memory, politics, culture, relationships and identity.

We hear a lot of ignorant trash talk about immigrants these days, but not much about how they actually talk in restaurants. Many of the servers, in restaurants of all kinds, are learning English as they work. When I am greeted by the inappropriate "How are we this evening" or asked "Are we having wine tonight?" I want to scream, "Don't you even know the difference between 'we' and 'you'?" Such banal blather is invariably inflicted on me by an "American" - one whose first language, such as it is, is English. The recent immigrants are more careful, more concerned to get the language right, eager both to serve and to learn. They work hard, and exude a sense of appreciation for the opportunity. They know what work is and they do not shirk from it.

When a server looks at my plate and asks "Are you still working on it?" I know it is more unthinking prattle by an English speaker. I reply, "You are working. I am not. I am out to dinner in a restaurant." The immigrant worker is more likely to ask politely whether I am finished with my plate and whether I would like it removed.

And if the work environment becomes calm enough to allow it, I value the opportunity to talk briefly with the immigrants. I know that we can learn from them just as they learn from us. We can learn about the miseries they have fled, the hopes that animate them, the risks they have taken, the courage they have shown, the reverence they have for being where they can speak their minds or love whom they choose without fear of being murdered for doing so. We can also learn of the struggles they face here as they try to adjust to a new environment while remaining true to the parts of their own heritage that they value most. If we listen well, we are rewarded well by learning about ourselves - about what we do well and about what we should strive to do better.

When I can show some familiarity with their homeland, I am often moved by how readily they respond and by the sense of loss they reveal, even if they have run for their lives. They miss sights and sounds, breezes and aromas, rhythms and rituals, songs and sunsets. They carry some of that with them, as gifts to us.

The next time you think about going out to dinner, or making something new and interesting at home, please be mindful of how very fortunate we are to have so many recent immigrants, including refugees, to enrich our gastronomic lives, our cultural awareness and our understanding of ourselves. It's good food for thought.
Exactly 56 years ago, on Sept. 26, 1960, the first-ever nationally televised debate between presidential candidates took place in Chicago.

Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, and Vice President Richard Nixon, a Republican, held four "Great Debates" in 1960. But people remember the first because of its novelty and the myths that have grown up around the way it may have affected voters' perceptions of the candidates.

Before TV debates, voters rarely saw the candidates in person. They read about them and saw their pictures in the newspapers, and heard them on the radio.

"The Great Debates marked television's grand entrance into presidential politics,'' wrote Erika Tyner Allen in the Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television. "They afforded the first real opportunity for voters to see their candidates in competition, and the visual contrast was dramatic.''



Kennedy looked tanned and fit; he had spent time in the sun and brought his own makeup artist. Nixon was recovering from a knee injury that had put him in the hospital; he looked thin and pale and, having refused producer Don Hewitt's offer of makeup, was seen visibly sweating and with a five o'clock shadow. The contrast gave birth to ...

Myth no. 1: People watching on television thought Kennedy won, while people listening on the radio gave the edge to Nixon.

More than 70 million people watched on TV, out of a population of roughly 110 million U.S. adults, making the debate the most-watched political event ever. (The first Super Bowl was in 1967, drawing 50 million viewers.)

Media researcher W. Joseph Campbell, in the forthcoming second edition of his book "Getting It Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myths in American Journalism," says the trope of disconnect between radio listeners and TV viewers appears to be based on a survey of 2,100 respondents - of whom only 282 listened on the radio. Only 178 of them expressed an opinion on who won the debate. In reviewing the news coverage of the time, Campbell finds "no evidence to support the notion of viewer-listener disagreement."



The myth may have gained some currency from the reported reactions of the running mates. Both vice presidential candidates -- Henry Cabot Lodge for Nixon and Lyndon Baines Johnson for JFK -- thought their man had lost. Lodge watched on TV; Johnson listened on the radio.

A 2003 study by political scientist James N. Druckman tested the notion on a group of 171 students with no prior knowledge of the Kennedy-Nixon debates. One group watched the debates while another listened to them. Druckman found that TV viewers learned more about policy but judged the winner almost solely on their personalities. Listeners judged the winner based on both issues and personality.

Myth No. 2: The debate was a triumph of style over substance.

It's true that Kennedy's youth and charisma shone through on television. But he wasn't an empty suit.

Ted Sorensen, JFK's speechwriter, argued in a 2010 New York Times op-ed that "there was far more substance and nuance in that first debate than in what now passes for political debate in our increasingly commercialized, sound-bite Twitter-fied culture, in which extremist rhetoric requires presidents to respond to outrageous claims."

Kennedy said debating Hubert Humphrey in the primaries had prepared him for Nixon.

Nixon was known as a good debater. In 1959 he had prevailed in the "Kitchen Debate" with Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev over the merits of capitalism vs. communism. He also knew a thing or two about television; in 1952, he had rescued his political career with the "Checkers" speech.

The first presidential debate in 1960 was focused on domestic issues. According to a transcript, among the topics the candidates discussed were the economy, farm policy, the national debt, educational standards, a 25-cent minimum wage and their experience and qualifications to be president.



Myth No. 3: The debates decisively swung the election to Kennedy.

This is still a point of disagreement, more than a half-century after the election.

Hewitt, the producer/director of the debate, said later: "When that [first] debate was over, I realized that we didn't have to wait for an Election Day. We just elected a president. It all happened on television."

Sorensen said the first debate didn't "clinch" the election for Kennedy, but it did shore up his support in the Democratic Party and "made all the difference" on Election Day in a razor-close popular vote.

Time magazine reported that four days after the election, Kennedy said, "It was the TV more than anything else that turned the tide."

Nixon apparently believed the debates were decisive. He refused to participate in any televised debates when he ran for president in 1968 and again in 1972.

Gerald Ford revived the debates in 1976 and now they are a fixture of presidential campaigns.
Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will battle in their first head-to-head debate of the 2016 presidential election at 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead,N.Y., will be moderated by Lester Hold of NBC News and broadcast live on TV. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Chuck Burton, File)

(Mary Altaffer and Chuck Burton)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump supporters will host public debate watch parties tonight in Syracuse for an event that some analysts say will rival the Super Bowl for television ratings.

Clinton and Trump will face off in their first presidential debate at 9 p.m., a 90-minute bout at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., moderated by Lester Holt of NBC News.

Clinton supporters will gather to watch the debate at Ironworkers Local 60, 500 W. Genesee St. in Syracuse. Doors open to the public at 8:30 p.m. Those who want to attend are asked to RSVP online.

The watch party is jointly sponsored by the Hillary for New York campaign and the Onondaga County Democratic Committee.

Trump supporters will gather at the Onondaga County Republican Committee headquarters, 2910 Erie Blvd. East in Syracuse. Those who want to attend should RSVP to the Onondaga County GOP at (315) 449-2000.

At least one Central New Yorker will be watching the debate as an invited guest at Hofstra University. Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey said he received his invitation from the Trump campaign. Dadey is co-chair of Trump's New York campaign leadership team.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
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A Dairy Queen Grill & Chill location in Webster, near Rochester. It's owned by Mark Goldberg, who also owns a frachise in Cicero.

(Photo provided by Mark Goldberg)

Check out the online franchise locator for Dairy Queen restaurants and you'll notice lots of empty space in Upstate New York. The red spoons marking locations, meanwhile, are thick in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, the greater New York City area and even Ontario.

This franchise locator map from the Dairy Queen web site shows how Upstate New York is surrounded by areas with more franchises. Dairy Queen is planning to open as many as 100 locations in New York state in the next decade.

The only current Dairy Queen in Central New York is at 7984 Brewerton Road (Route 11), just north of Caughdenoy Road. It's one of DQ's "Grill & Chill" concepts and opened in 2015. Nearby, there are two in Watertown, three in Rochester and one in Oneonta.

Only the Buffalo area has a significant number, and most of those are older, traditional dessert-based restaurants.

That leaves a lot of Upstate opportunities, said Mike Mettler, Dairy Queen's director of national franchise sales.

"We're looking at the Syracuse area, and Upstate, as a growth area for Dairy Queen," said Mettler, a former resident of Manlius.

Dairy Queen executives say they want to target Upstate New York -- particularly the Central New York region -- for new restaurants.

The plan calls for up to 100 new locations in New York state over the next ten years, and perhaps five to 10 in Central New York, Mettler said.

No specific locations have been identified, he said. It is likely they will be in suburban areas with room for drive-thru.

Any new location would be in the form of the Dairy Queen Grill & Chill, which puts more emphasis on the savory side of the menu -- burgers, sandwiches, chicken strips etc. -- than the tradtional DQ model. (Don't worry: The "Chill" part of the name is still centered on ice cream and sweets).

The company, founded in Illinois in 1940, now has 4,450 locations, of which about 40 percent are Grill & Chill restaurants. Almost all new locations going forward will be Grill & Chills, Mettler said.

Before the Cicero location opened in 2015, the last Dairy Queen operating in Central New York was a combo DQ and Orange Julius at Great Northern Mall. That shut down in 2010.

The Cicero location is operated by the partnership of Mark Goldberg and Steve Carl, who also own the three locations in Rochester. They are actively looking for Central New York locations, and hope to have at least one open in 2017.

Last year, they looked at a spot near the intersection of Erie Boulevard East and Thompson Road in Syracuse, but that fell through. (That site is slated to become a Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen location).

They have also looked at Camillus and Fairmount.

Goldberg thinks the plan to open five to 10 in the area is a bit ambitious -- or even "unrealistic" and "not financially feasible" as he wrote in an email. He and Carl hope to open at least two more.

"It is a lengthy process in identifying the right property, getting town approval, and opening the location," Goldberg wrote in the email.

Don Cazentre writes about food, beverages, restaurants and bars for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him by email, on Twitter, at Google+ or via Facebook.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's campaign and the state Democratic Party have not said if the governor is keeping campaign donations from COR Development following criminal charges last week.

Two other elected officials have either returned or donated contributions from COR, its executives, Joseph Gerardi and Steven Aiello, or associates of the company.

Cuomo's campaign received $337,500 over the last 10 years from the company or those associated with it, according to state records.

On Thursday, Gerardi and Aiello were charged with bribing a former top Cuomo aide, Joseph Percoco. The timing of several of the campaign donations was mentioned in the criminal complaint.

Calls and emails from Syracuse.com regarding the donations have bounced between the Democratic Party, his campaign staff and other officials on his team since Thursday, but it is still not clear whether the governor intends to return the hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations he's received.

Governor's spokesman Richard Azzopardi referred questions to Cuomo's campaign and, later, the state Democratic Party. Party executive director Basil Smikle did not respond to calls and emails Monday, and neither did officials from the Cuomo campaign.

The day the charges were announced, two local elected officials -- U.S. Rep. John Katko and state Assemblyman Al Stirpe -- said they would get rid of the COR donations. Katko said he'd return the money, and Stirpe said he'd donate it to charity.

On Monday, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner suggested to reporters she would not return the more than $20,000 she's received from the company or its associates. She said her record proves such donations do not influence her political decisionmaking.

The company is one of the largest Syracuse-area campaign donors to Cuomo and other local politicians, having donated nearly $500,000 since 2006.

Todd Howe, a lobbyist who has pleaded guilty in the investigation, urged Aiello and Gerardi to make donations directly to Cuomo's campaign and to contribute large amounts "so that the governor's office would know and remember them," the complaint said.

Howe also suggested at one point that the two COR executives hold any contributions to state or federal officials so they could make sure to get the most leverage out of them, the complaint said.
The parents of a teen girl in the Capital Region are suing her high school after a male student sexually assaulted their daughter inside a school classroom in 2015.

The student accused in the assault was charged with forcible touching in juvenile court, and had been previously accused of sexually assaulting another female Niskayuna High School student earlier that year.

The suit, obtained by The Daily Gazette, recounts the incident on June 15, 2015.

The girl had been dropped off for a final exam, but with no designated area for students to wait, she and the suspected student entered an empty classroom. Once inside the room, the male student allegedly pulled down her pants, put his hand up her shirt, exposed himself and tried to make her perform a sex act, according to the suit.

The victim managed to break free and flee.

The lawsuit contends that the school district failed to take adequate steps to prevent their daughter from being assaulted, and failed to appropriately respond to the previous allegation of abuse leveled at the same student.

"It all starts with the fact that this individual had a history - a known history - by the teachers in the school district of these types of behaviors, yet the school failed to act on it," George LaMarche, the attorney representing the family, told the Gazette. "The school failed to prevent another student from being abused by this kid in a very serious way."

Niskayuna High School was aware of the previous allegation, as evidenced by an exchange of emails between the mother of the earlier victim and school administrators. But the suit says the school "failed to take immediate and appropriate steps to stop the sexual harassment by [the suspect student] and prevent it from happening again, as required by law."

It also says the school failed to follow its own Code of Conduct in allowing students to have unsupervised access to a vacant classroom.

Niskayuna Central School District refused to comment on the lawsuit, citing policy.

The suit was filed in state Supreme Court in Schenectady County earlier in September. Niskayuna Central School District, Niskayuna High School and the board of education are all named in the suit, which seeks unspecified damages.
By Nancy Fischer

The Buffalo News, N.Y.

Sept. 26--NIAGARA FALLS -- Everyone who makes their living in the tourism industry in the Niagara Falls area is talking about it.

Summer 2016 was reported as an all-time high, with the Niagara USA Official Visitor Center, assisting over 103,000 people, a 16 percent increase over 2015.

"I watched the old movie 'Niagara' with Marilyn Monroe and I said, 'Hey let's go,'" said David Sage of Monmouth, Ill. visiting Niagara Falls on Thursday with his wife of 33 years, Jeanette. It was their first vacation in 21 years and they spent two days doing it all, from Cave of the Winds, to the Over the Falls tour, the Aquarium, fireworks, and of course the Maid of the Mist, just like Marilyn.

But there also a more modern twist at Niagara Falls -- Pokemon Go.

Justin Devoe and Dean Goranites, both of Kenmore were enjoying the "beautiful new walkways" while they searched for their virtual prey.

"It's really good down there. There's a lot of sweet spots," said Goranites of the Pokemon search. "We found out about it online and came down to check it out."

Tourists who have traveled the world are coming to Niagara Falls.

"I've traveled to most of the seven wonders of the world," said Sanjana Subha, of Florida, originally from Bangladesh. "Niagara Falls is one of them. We stayed in Canada for three days and I think I like the view better."

"The view here is like we've never seen," said her traveling companion Soblina Mazumder. "This is a natural view you cannot get anywhere."

Andy and JoAnne Lemaire of Rutherford, N.J., came "for a little bit of adventure" and planned to stay three or four days.

"We heard the view was better on the New York side," said Joanne Lemaire, conspiratorily.

Don Nigbor who lives near Houston, Texas visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls last year, but this year he was back to show family and friends around on the U.S. side of the falls.

"We didn't have as much time to monkey around going over the border," said Nigbor. "It's simpler than having to deal with passports. We save time coming here."

A Frederick, Co., couple, Michael and Wanda Morris said they weren't too interested in the Canada side. Since they retired eight years ago, they decided to go to every state in the United States.

"(Niagara Falls) is on the list," said Wanda Morris. "And we had never been to New York."

Tourism officials are marketing more than just the falls in the Niagara region.

The New York Power Authority's Power Vista attraction re-opened on June 9 with more than 50 new interactive games and exhibits after an extensive five-month renovation. In July alone the number of visitors jumped from 6,827 in 2015 to 10,655, a 56 percent hike.

Some of the increase in volume of visitors to the NYPA site was credited to it being included in the state park's Discovery Pass, as well as being a stop on the new Discover Niagara Shuttle, which has increased access to some of Niagara USA's major attractions.

Old Fort Niagara, which is a shuttle stop in nearby Youngstown, also had a strong summer, too, with a 22 percent increase in visitors from 2015.

"We have had a very robust season and saw increases in both international and domestic visitation," said Old Fort Niagara Executive Director Robert Emerson.

John Percy, president and CEO of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Center, said tourism officials have been focusing their marketing efforts on all there is to see and do throughout all of Niagara County, from Niagara Falls to Lockport and "everything in between."

He said they have updated their marketing in print materials and launched a digital campaign in the spring that has "had enormous success" with over 4.5 million views.

Discover Niagara Shuttle, the free bus that takes tourists each day to 12 destinations on a 14-mile route between Niagara Falls and Fort Ontario, adds another layer, offering visitors increased access to attractions, encouraging tourists to stay longer and explore further, he said.

"This is getting people to see there is more than just the falls," said Brett Stewart, vice president of revenue management for Merani Hotel Group.

Visitors are staying a second or third day to see the attractions throughout the region, he said.

"We've seen steady growth since 2008, but the growth from 2015 to 2016 has been incredible, record-setting," saidStewart, whose company runs the Four Points by Sheraton, the Holiday Inn and is building the Double Tree Inn. "It's been a great, great season."

Pat Proctor of Rainbow Air, helicopter tours, said their summer season was up 25 percent over 2015. He said a second aircraft was added to handle more charters so they could continue to take care of the heavy tourist traffic.

Large crowds were also coming to Old Falls Street, a three-block strip featuring outdoor activities between Niagara Falls State Park and the Conference & Events Center.

"Our job is to get them on the street and from there push them into the city. It's a domino effect by having all these partners," said Jason Murgia, general manager of the Conference & Events Center. "We're all working together."

He said their Fourth of July carnival was very successful. Another event, Slow Roll Buffalo came to Niagara Falls in June and drew 400 riders. Murgia said events such as the Blues Festival are a draw in booking conventions on these weekends.

In fact the summer was so popular that festivals are starting to spread into the fall season.

The new Boots, Brews, and Bacon Festival was moved into the fall on Friday and Saturday because every weekend was packed, said promoter Rick Crogan, of Balabans LLC. His group also promoted the Niagara Falls Music and Art Festival in June.

"It's late September and some hotels are sold out," said Crogan, noting a lot of older couples without kids are traveling once the school year starts. "There's so many events. It's so busy. It's great."

Percy said they have seen increased visits into September and earlier in the spring, which is where they will be focusing their marketing efforts.

"We are no longer a Memorial Day to Labor Day destination," added Percy.

(c)2016 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Visit The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.) at www.buffalonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Google Fiber this week began reaching its tentacles into North Carolinas Research Triangle, a move that seems to contradict the gloom-and-doom rumors of layoffs and low consumer interest.

Coming soon to the Triangle and starting to connect homes and businesses in Morrisville: https://t.co/M2rdOATtuJ pic.twitter.com/18bbt4nqgB

 Google Fiber (@googlefiber) September 13, 2016

The Triangle is Google Fibers eighth incursion. Its already available in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Provo, Utah; and Salt Lake City.

The North Carolina activity may alleviate some of the doubts over Google Fibers direction, which mushroomed several months ago, when the company acquired Webpass.

Experimenting With Wireless

Google executives last month filed an Experimental Radio Service License that would allow the company to offer wireless high-speed service in up to 24 U.S. cities, including a number of California cities and towns: Atwater, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Bruno, San Francisco and San Jose. In addition, they are seeking permission to test wireless in Boulder, Colorado; Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Raleigh, North Carolina; Provo, Utah; and Reston, Virginia.

The few portions of the application that have not been redacted include detailed explanations of Googles plans to conduct radio experiments in support of Citizens Broadband Radio Service technologies, using experimental transmitters. The authorization would last up to 24 months, according to the filing.

The overarching concern regarding the granting of an experimental license is whether it will interfere with the operation of authorized devices and services, explained FCC spokesperson Mark Wigfield.

Therefore, an experimental license will be coordinated with those responsible for all potentially affected stakeholders, he told the E-Commerce Times, such as other bureaus within the FCC.

In this coordination process, an experimental license can be accepted as is, be modified to prevent interference, or be rejected, Wigfield noted. If approved, an experimental licensee must accept any interference from other parties, and must immediately stop operations if a complaint of interference is made.

Shifting Focus

Google Fiber acquired Webpass in a bid to accelerate its buildout of ultra-high speed broadband access, after struggling for years to gain access to local markets dominated by rival broadband providers like AT&T, Comcast and others.

Webpass provides high-speed service to thousands of customers in the San Francisco Bay area, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, Miami and some surrounding areas, with speeds up to 1000 Mbps. The announcement of the acquisition came after months of controversy surrounding Goodles attempts to access telephone poles in the Bay area, beyond its existing service at Stanford University.

The shift toward wireless broadband makes sense, given the inherent difficulty of breaking through incumbent dominance to gain access to the infrastructure required for competitive broadband service in metropolitan areas, observed broadband analyst Craig Settles.

Googles decision to put chips in the wireless game seems to have taken some folks in the industry by surprise  but why? Those of us involved in municipal broadband since the Philadelphia wireless days know that wireless is cheaper and faster to deploy, especially in urban areas, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Google has long said that ease of deployment  essentially the ability to access telephone poles  was a key driver in the deployment of Google Fiber, Settles noted. What the industry has been waiting for is the innovation necessary to allow gigabyte-level speeds for fixed wireless service.

Despite the promise of wireless broadband, its unlikely to make a major dent in solving the rural access problem, according to Christopher Mitchell, director of community broadband networks at the Institute for Local Self Reliance.

Google acquired Webpass, which uses both wireless and fiber, to connect buildings, he told the E-Commerce Times. I dont know that this is a good solution for single-family homes.
Facial recognition technology is a pretty amazing thing. It can be used in a variety of applications, from identifying Uber drivers, to tagging friends on Facebook, to paying for goods on Amazon (eventually). Now, its use has inevitably spread to that most common of internet pastimes: porn.

Belgian site Megacams.me, which calls itself a "live sex search engine," has introduced what's claimed to be the first ever "sex doppelganger" feature. It involves desperate customers sending in a photo of a fantasy partner - co-worker, movie star, unsuspecting neighbor - and the software finding a camgirl from the 180,000 available who looks like the person in the picture.

"This way," says Megacams, "it feels like you are having live sex with the person in your picture." The system requires a front on photograph of the subject - not easy when you're taking it from a bush 20 feet away.

TechCrunch tested the system and the best match it found was rated at just 47 percent likeness. So you may have to squint a bit to feel like you're interacting with the secret object of your affections/stalking target.

Considering how it's being used, Megacams isn't willing to reveal which facial recognition software is powering the process, though TechCrunch believes it to be Microsoft's Cognitive Services. Formerly called Project Oxford, the technology appears in the Redmond firm's popular "Guess your age" and "Guess your emotion" tools.

Microsoft's API gives developers 30,000 free searches a month, after that it's $1.50 for every 1000 lookups.

Megacams denied that the feature was creepy. "People are watching their girl next door all the time," spokesperson Eddy L told The Verge. "If they don't use this tool they click and click forever until they find the doppelganger in porn. We just give them the tools right now to make that search easier."

The site says that uploaded photos are deleted as soon as the search has been performed.

Facial recognition technology may offer amazing ways to enhance out lives but, like the Russian privacy nightmare FindFace, most people would agree that this isn't one of them.
Security researcher Brian Krebs has been responsible for exposing some of the biggest hacks in recent history, the price of which is that his blog, Krebs on Security, has faced numerous DDoS attacks from angry hackers over the years. But the latest assault was so large that the site was offline for a week, and it took a helping hand from Google to get it back up.

The distributed denial-of-service attacks started two weeks after Krebs revealed that Israeli teenagers Yarden Bidani and Itay Huri were the alleged owners of vDOS, a "booter" service that people can use to carry out DDoS attacks against websites.

vDOS was said to be responsible for "a majority" of the DDoS attacks that had been clogging up the internet over the past few years, earning the pair $618,000 in the process.

Following the report, Krebs on Security was targeted by one of the largest DDos attacks on record. The site was hit with 620 gigabits per second of junk data - almost twice the size of anything it previously had to fend off.

While the attack didn't bring down the site, Krebs' hosting provider, Akamai Technologies, was forced to order Krebs on Security off the network. Along with DDoS protection firm Prolexic, it had been offering Krebs pro bono protection from attacks for years, but the size of this DDoS meant it couldn't keep on doing so without the financial impact affecting other customers.

"I can't really fault Akamai for their decision," Krebs said. "I likely cost them a ton of money today."

The good news is that Krebs on Security is now back online, thanks to Google's free Project Shield program. The company provides the DDoS attack mitigation service to verified journalists and non-profit organizations.

"A number of other providers offered to help, but it was clear that they did not have the muscle to be able to withstand such massive attacks," Krebs added.
Officials in China over the weekend held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the launch of FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope), the world's largest radio telescope.

Located in a mountainous area in the southwestern province of Guizhou, the massive telescope is designed to explore space and search for extraterrestrial life. The telescope consists of 4,450 panels - each measuring 36 feet long - that reflect interplanetary radio waves to a 30-ton "retina" suspended in the middle of the dish.

Work on the telescope got under way in 2011 and cost the Chinese government roughly $180 million. At 500 meters in diameter, it's significantly larger than the previous title-holder, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico that measures 305 meters wide.

Some 8,000 locals had to be relocated to make way for the dish which requires radio silence within a five-kilometer radius.

As the Xinhua News Agency notes, FAST's tasks will also include observation of pulsars and the exploration of interstellar molecules. Sun Caihong, its deputy chief technologist, said the telescope is expected to discover twice the number of pulsars as are currently known and is highly likely to make breakthroughs in the study of gravitational waves and general relativity theory.

For the first two years, the telescope will undergo adjustments and be used for early stage research. After that, however, it'll be open to scientists worldwide, the publication notes.

Image courtesy Reuters
The Group of Seven (G-7) nations reviewed and commended the guidelines forwarded by the United States on regulating self-driving cars, and agreed to pool efforts into making autonomous driving safe and efficient.

The news arrived on Sunday via Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Transportation Secretary.

He notes that the members of the G-7 ushered a warm welcome of the policy, and adds that the guidelines underlined the progress made by each country and set out further pacing.

Foxx considers that guidelines drafted by the U.S. in September 2016 are covering a wide array of issues pertaining to autonomous vehicles. In the document, the experts tackled problems such as cybersecurity, privacy and ethics, as well as connectivity issues regarding wireless spectrum, and others.

Foxx acknowledges that reaching a global resolution on the matter could take a very long time, but underlines that road tests must keep going to perfect the technology.

Self-driving vehicles are embedded with features that help drivers, but that does not make them infallible. In May, Tesla accounted for the first death related to autonomous driving when a Model S crashed into a tractor-trailer. In the wake of the accident, Tesla updated its Autopilot feature to increase behind the wheel safety.

Foxx refused to make any comments on the Tesla incident.

However, he underlined that it is wrong to compare self-driving cars with perfection, instead of human-driven cars.

"These vehicles will not be absolutely perfect [...], but by comparison they can be markedly better," Foxx says.

Tesla is not the only car builder that deploys semi-autonomous technology in its vehicles. Notable brands that are treading the self-driving path are Ford, Nissan and Toyota.

The new U.S. guidelines should streamline the development of autonomous cars, while ensuring they are increasingly safer. Advocates of these vehicles claim that technology is less prone to human error, as it is able to react faster and process a huge quantity of data in a way unmatched by human drivers. Some experts still advise caution, though.

Car Builder Cooperation

Companies are already teaming up to polish the technology.

Notable examples of cooperation come from Volvo and Swedish-based automotive safety group Autoliv, or Volvo and Uber. Ford already promised to invest $75 million in Velodyne, a firm that crafts laser sensors. Meanwhile, BMW, Intel and Mobileye inked a deal to join forces for developing and selling autonomous driving technology.

Hans Greimel, Editor for Automotive News, notes that the new U.S. guidelines represent a "proactive" step. So far, authorities used to roll out regulations after cars came out, but the guidelines will allow the nations to approve autonomous vehicles before they enter the market.

We look forward to seeing how the next-generation of automobiles will evolve after the implementation of the guidelines.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Twitter might be going up for sale soon, as it has lost its traction and is in dire need of a new direction in order to avoid becoming the next Yahoo.

Observant techies might be able to see quite a few parallels between Twitter and Yahoo, and the former would better try and avoid the latter's mistakes.

Both companies faced the same slew of issues, starting with rotating leadership helming a huge potential platform and ending with an identity crisis paired with lackluster growth strategies.

Experts agree that Twitter needs to sell soon in order to avoid becoming another Yahoo.

Sources close to the matter say that, in case of a takeover, Twitter aims to ask for $30 billion. The market cap on Friday, Sept. 23 showed the company sitting at about $16 billion. To put things in perspective, Yahoo used to have a market cap of $125 billion and is now in talks with Verizon for a $4.8 billion buyout.

Microsoft intended to purchase Yahoo for $42 billion in 2008, something that the Yahoo leadership deemed unacceptable at the time.

Alternative Options

Twitter also has the opportunity to make it on its own, sans external intervention.

The New York Times reports that the company could choose not to sell and instead attempt to go through an internal revamping, but that would come with axing jobs. However, Twitter tried that approach before and it did not seem to fix its major issue: user growth.

Yahoo's experience demonstrated that no matter how many employees you fire and how many reshuffling of departments you pull, cutting your way to growth is simply not going to happen.

Sustained Interest

Regardless of its ups and downs, Twitter is still a strong tool for news gatherers, marketers, celebrities, world leaders and activists.

Insiders are touting that companies such as Google and Salesforce are considering purchasing the platform, and the recent rumors caused Twitter's shares to surge by 20.5 percent. Meanwhile, Google and Salesforce's stock dropped 0.21 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, showing that their investors are less than enthusiastic about a possible purchase of the Twitterverse.

One thorn in their side is the fact that Twitter's company culture made a staple out of its independence. In its early days, the social media platform even knocked off an offer from Facebook.

However, there is a chance that the Twitter acquisition will leave the company's mission intact. Twitter's service might very well bloom under a parent company that fuels vision and resources into the Twitterverse.

It is up to Twitter's leaders to learn from Yahoo's "lost decade" and avoid repeating its mistakes.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The population of African elephants has suffered a major decline in the last decade, indicating a grim outlook for the species, a new study suggests.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that the total elephant population in Africa experienced a decline of 111,000 in the last ten years.

The African Elephant Status report, which was based on 275 estimates from across the continent, has placed the current population at around 415,000.

The numbers are concerning because they indicate the worst status of the animal's population in 25 years, study authors said.

It is also the first time in 25 years that the IUCN's report detailed a decline in continental numbers.

Illegal Poaching

The IUCN points to poaching, which began to surge in Africa a decade ago, as the main driver of the major population decline.

Indeed, a report published in early September revealed that the population of elephants in Africa dropped by 30 percent from 2007 to 2014 due to the heavy demand for ivory.

Known as the Great Elephant Census, the report revealed a decline of 144,000 in a span of seven years, with the population of African elephants continually shrinking by 8 percent every year continent-wide.

Illegal poaching is a huge threat to the conservation of African elephants, as poachers kill elephants for their tusks, from which they would take ivory.

East Africa, the area most impacted by illegal poaching for ivory, has seen a 50 percent drop in African elephant population.

Inger Andersen, chief of the IUCN, said it is shocking but not surprising that illegal poaching has taken a tragic toll on the species.

However, the species also face other issues aside from poaching.

Experts are concerned about the existence of huge infrastructure projects that apparently cut up the ranges of the elephants.

Chris Thouless, a co-author of the Great Elephant Census, said such situations are an issue for road development in east and central Africa.

"These are all major issues that will have to be dealt with once the poaching crisis is over," added Thouless.

African Elephant Conservation

The new IUCN report was presented at the CITES meeting in Johannesburg, where experts are considering new proposals to strengthen animal conservation.

Thousands of government officials and wildlife conservationists are seeking to thrash out international trade regulations aimed at protecting different endangered species.

The plight of the African elephant will be one of the most discussed topics in the scientific community as experts consider whether to loosen or tighten controls of the ivory trade.

Countries such as Kenya propose extra protection for elephants, while others such as Zimbabwe and Namibia seek to liberalize the safeguards and open up the trade.

The CITES meeting will continue until Oct. 5.

Photo: Lil Shepherd | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google has rolled out an update for the Chrome OS that will allow the stable version of the operating system to offer users access to the Google Play Store.

Previously, only early adopters that utilize the development and beta channels of Chrome OS were able to access Android apps on their computers. However, as Google has now added access to the Google Play Store to the stable version of Chrome OS, more users will finally be able to natively run Android apps in their Chromebooks.

The Stable channel update 53.0.2785.129 for Chrome OS only includes the beta addition of the Google Play Store, but that is more than enough for Chromebook users who are looking forward to Android apps on their machines.

However, there is a catch. The update can only be applied to two of the newer Chromebooks, specifically the Asus Chromebook Flip and the Acer Chromebook R11. For users who own these laptops, they can expect the update to arrive over the coming days.

The beta access to Google Play Store on the Chromebooks, however, is still a little finicky, according to Android Central. There are times when the software says there is no connection, and at times a restart happens when an app from the shelf is accessed. This is understandable, as the feature is still in its beta version.

Google has been on a mission to allow software developed for the Android mobile operating system to be supported by Chrome OS. The company first encouraged developers to port their Android apps to Chrome OS, but only a limited number of apps were given the treatment.

At the company's I/O conference held earlier this year, Google announced that it was planning to make changes to Chrome OS to allow the Android apps on the Google Play Store to launch in sandbox environments. The company then later provided a demonstration on how Android apps will look while running on Chrome OS through a 23-minute video that it uploaded, then eventually made the Google Play Store available to certain Chromebooks running development or beta channel builds.

The capability is now on the stable version of Chrome OS, albeit on only two Chromebooks. However, this does show that Google is making progress, with Chromebook users now looking forward to when Google Play Store access will be granted to them.

There is no timeline on when Google Play Store access will arrive to all other Chromebooks, but it will surely be sooner than later.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cities in the United States are likely to reconsider the use of LED streetlights after a health organization's warning in June suggested a link to increased risk for serious medical conditions.

In June, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a report saying high-intensity LED streetlights emit invisible blue light that can supposedly interrupt sleep rhythms and up risk for heart disease and cancer.

The group also warned that such light-emitting devices  which are used in Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, New York and other cities  can damage drivers' nighttime vision.

Such concerns have been raised in the past, but the AMA report [PDF] will likely prompt more states and cities to reevaluate the intensity of LED lights they install.

Roadway Lighting

A report by the Department of Energy revealed that almost 13 percent of roadway lighting in the country works on LED, and many communities that have not made the switch yet will do so in the future.

LEDs are considered 50 percent more energy-efficient compared to sodium lights they usually replace. Unlike typical sodium lights, LEDs spread illumination evenly and last for 15 up to 20 years instead of just two to five years.

Effects On Health

In its June warning, the AMA explained that bright LEDs have been linked to poor sleep quality, impaired daytime functioning and reduced sleep time.

According to the AMA, evidence suggests that exposure to very bright LED lights at night might increase the risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer. Such lights might also be linked to disability and discomfort glare, which can impair nighttime vision for drivers.

'Not Convincing Enough'

However, others believe the AMA warning is not convincing enough to override the benefits of bright LED lights installed in cities in the past eight years.

New York is among them, but it has responded to complaints by replacing high-intensity LED bulbs with lower-intensity lights that AMA considers as safe.

Scott Thomsen, a spokesperson for Seattle City Lights, dismissed the concerns about high-intensity LED lights, saying that these bulbs emit less of the problematic blue wavelengths than most televisions and computers.

Still, some experts believe that such LED lights should be regulated the same way "classic" pollutants are controlled.

"[T] here should also be regulations and rules for the pollution stemming from artificial light at night," said Professor Abraham Haim from University of Haifa. He conducted a study on the effects of "light pollution" on health in 2011.

Meanwhile, the AMA asserts that authorities should consider the use of moderate-intensity lighting rather than high-intensity LED bulbs.

Photo: Robert Ashworth | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It is now easier for British women to select a sperm donor to father their child as the London Sperm Bank has just launched a Tinder-style smartphone app that would allow them to choose a sperm donor based on certain qualifications.

The "order a daddy" app allows women to browse for sperm donors, one of whom could potentially become the father of their child, by choosing those with particular physical characteristics such as those that relate to the height, weight as well as hair and eye color.

Women can likewise filter applicants based on the potential donor's nationality, educational level and occupation. They can also read details about the applicant's personality to see if this suits the characteristics that they want.

The applicants come from a range of professions which include finance, medicine, law, performing arts and engineering.

After picking a donor, women pay 950, or about 1,200 U.S. dollars, through the mobile app for a sample of the sperm, which will then be delivered to the clinic where they are treated.

If the ideal donor is not immediately available, users can opt to set up a wish list that will send an alert once someone with the desired attributes makes a sperm donation.

London Sperm Bank scientific director Kamal Ahuja said that the app provides privacy to women looking for a sperm donor. Ahuja said that the app, which legally meets the requirements of IVF regulator Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), also gives women the ability to choose and make decision in their own time.

"You make all the transactions online, like you do anything else these days," Ahuja said. "We think this is the first-of-its-kind in the world."

About half of the IVF clinics in Britain, which include private and NHS institutions, already registered to use the service.

Despite the privacy and conveniences offered by the app, it still does not free women from other challenges associated with having a child through in vitro fertilization. IVF treatments do not always result in live births, so women may have to make several attempts.

A 2015 study found that the rate of live births during the first cycle of IVF treatment was only a little over 29 percent. The study, which involved 156,947 from UK, showed that persistence is key to producing a child via in vitro fertilization. Researchers found that 65.3 percent of women successfully give birth after six IVF cycles.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Sony Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZ are expected to receive Android 7.0 Nougat around October  if an alleged roadmap is anything to go by, that is.

According to the schedule, the abovementioned smartphones will start getting the tastiest Android version sometime next month, followed by the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact in November; the Xperia Z5 series, the Xperia Z3+ and the Z4 Tablet in December; and the Xperia XA and Xperia Ultra in early 2017.

To double-check the credibility of this itinerary, it comes from a press conference that Sony Slovakia held a few days ago, and MojAndroid.sk (translated) covered the event and spread the word regarding the smartphone maker's plans in rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat.

However, despite coming from an official branch, it would be wise to take the release times with a dose of skepticism, as Android updates typically almost always land on user devices a lot later than the dates that manufacturers announce, not to mention that Sony isn't exactly the fastest OEM. In a word, everyone shouldn't get their hopes too way up high just yet.

It's also worth mentioning that the devices listed in the slide are included in Sony's official list of handsets that are slated to get the current latest Android version. Needless to say, the company is already up and about to push the software out as soon as it can.

"We've been working hard to bring this major update to as many of our devices as possible, as quickly as we can," the Sony Mobile Team said back in August.

However, since the roadmap revealed at the press conference didn't have any new devices listed, it's probably a safe bet to assume that select 2015 Xperia handsets won't be getting an upgrade anytime soon, including Xperia M4 Aqua, Xperia M5, Xperia C4 and Xperia C5 Ultra, which got Android 6.0 Marshmallow recently, serving as a consolation prize of sorts.

Before wrapping things up, it should also be pointed out that the Xperia XZ is set to go official with a $699.99 price tag on Oct. 2 and the Xperia X Compact is already up for grabs for $499.99 via Amazon.

With all said and done, what do you think of Sony's projected release dates for Android 7.0 Nougat? Feel free to drop by our comments section below and let us know, especially if you're excited to get the update on your Xperia smartphone.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Mod Up Your Moto Z From Oct 4 | TechTree.com

Lenovo is all set to launch the new Moto Z series of smartphones in India on Oct 4. To refresh your thoughts, the smartphones were earlier unveiled at the Lenovo Tech World 2016 held in San Francisco, in June, this year.

The Indian launch date has also been confirmed by Motorola India's official Twitter account. However, we are still not sure which smartphones from the range will be actually launched in India, though there are chances of launching all three - Moto Z, Moto Z Force, and Moto Z Play.

Speaking about the Z series of Motorola handsets, the highlight is the modular feature that lets you modify your smartphone according to your needs. Mods range from JBL's additional speaker to Hasselblad Camera with 10x optical zoom, and an extra 2,000 mAH battery.

In case, you are a little confused on what we are talking about, here are a couple of pictures that can help you understand what these moto mods are.

Moto Z Play With Hasselblad Camera Mod

Moto Z Play With JBL Sound Boost Mod

However, while this may not be one of the truly modular phones, like that of Google's Project Ara, but they have some pretty exciting mods, and soon, Indian customers can also experience them.

TAGS: Moto Z, Moto Mods
Yet Another Galaxy Note 7 Catches Fire | TechTree.com

Lately, Samsung has been making a lot of headlines for its "explosive" products. There have been 35 cases where the Note 7 burst into the flames. Being a responsible brand, the Korean company quickly acknowledged the issue and asked the users to power down the devices. Within days, Samsung also initiated an extensive replacement programme.



After the initial investigation, Samsung put blame on one of its battery supplier, which apparently happened to be Samsung SDI. It stated that the Note 7 with ATL (Amperex Technology Limited) batteries are safe. Soon after that an incident involving the "safe" ATL battery surfaced in China. Before the smoke clears on that incident, now a lady in Philippines has reported that her Note 7 emitted smoke. What's scary is that according to Weng Briones, her daughter was using the device when the incident took place.



Weng Briones has posted the images of her burned Note 7 on Facebook. Thankfully, Samsung store in her area has refunded her money. After reading about so many scary incidents involving the Note 7, would you still consider buying it in India? Do let us know by participating in our poll.





TAGS: Samsung
Someone is Testing Methods for Taking Down the Entire Internet

Imagine one fine sunny day you wake up, have your coffee and try to log into Facebook or Gmail and find that you cant reach it. You immediately try to tweet about it but find Twitter is also not available! You then call up your friends/colleagues and find out that they are also facing a similar situation. You call a friend based in Australia, all the way from the United States, and find out that he/she is also not able to access any website! Is this doomsday possible!

Yes according to security researcher, Bruce Schneier. In fact, Schneier says that some unknown entity is already working on bringing down the whole Internet. Schneier in an essay last month revealed that companies responsible for the basic infrastructure of the Internet are experiencing an escalating series of coordinated attacks that appear designed to test the defenses of its most critical elements.

Based on his studies, he says that these escalated attacks are just a primer to the full-fledged attack to take down the entire Internet backbone and hurl the cyber world into chaos. Though Schneier has identified a pattern in the ongoing attacks, he has not been able to identify the unknown entity which is behind such attacks. He says that, based on the scale of the attacks, the most likely culprit is a single large state cyber warfare unit, with China at the top of the list of suspects.

Schneier says that the ultimate goal of such an entity is to enforce a global blackout of all websites and e-mail addresses in the most common top-level domains.

We cant take Schneier words lightly as he knows what he is speaking about. Schneier is the CTO of IBMs Resilient and a fellow at Harvards Berkman Center so his research comes from vast bit of experience.

Schneier says that he notice a pattern in the recent attacks which were standard sized, though huge, DDoS attacks blasts of data designed to overwhelm servers could be in the offing. What distinguished them was their methodically escalating nature. The attacks, described by sources speaking to Schneier anonymously, are coming in slowly mounting waves, forcing companies to demonstrate their defense capabilities for the attacker.

His inside findings align with a public report from domain registrar Verisign, which says that DDoS attacks have continued to become more frequent, persistent, and complex. Schneier says that the unknown entity is also testing out non-DDoS attacks, including attempts to tamper with Internet addresses and routing.

Schneier writes that this doesnt seem like something an activist, criminal, or researcher would do, and that the scale of the probes suggests the involvement of a state. Though he doesnt go into much detail, he says the data I see suggests China, an assessment shared by the people I spoke with.

Graham Templeton from ExtremeTech analysed Schneiers research and pointed out that the entity who is trying out such attacks has to have a backup plan ready so that its own Internet network doesnt collapse during such a mass attack. What makes China a probable candidate for such a weapon of cyber mass destruction is that that it along with Russia has made significant strides in building systems that would resist any such mass takedown. Templeton argues that these tests were meant to be seen, for much the same reason that nations in the past have made their nuclear weapons and missile tests highly visibleas a means of flexing global power by demonstrating the ability to blow it all up.

In case you wake up one day to find out that the Internet in the entire world has collapsed like Schneier says, you know whom to blame.
At least 153 people have been killed and 133 others injured in a deadly stampede in Seoul's Itaewon district as huge crowds of partygoers, many in their 20s, converged in the enter...
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has taken the lead in the initial vote count of the runoff held this Sunday against president Jair Bolsonaro, according to the Superior... | Read More
A nonprofit group is turning to social media and fundraising events as it seeks money to rebuild the Old Governor's Mansion in St. Landry Parish, which was destroyed by an arson in July.

It was really terrible, said Carola Hartley, spokeswoman for the nonprofit organization The Oldest Governors Mansion in Louisiana Foundation.

She said the Governor's Mansion has been an important historic asset to Opelousas for years and it's important that it be rebuilt.

"For many, it was a personal loss, and for me, it was a devastating loss," Hartley said.

The mansion, which stood on the corner of Grolee and Liberty streets since 1850, had been home to Governor Thomas Overton Moore in 1862 when Louisianas capital moved to Opelousas during the Civil War after Union forces occupied Baton Rouge.

In 1991, the mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and was in the process of being renovated when the fire occurred.

The Oldest Governors Mansion in Louisiana Foundation is in charge of raising money for the rebuilding process through donations, grants, events and loans. The foundation is drawing up a plan to present to state officials to start the rebuilding process and apply for grants.

We have some people coming into town to visit the site and see what we can do to get the rebuilding effort going, said Hartley, who is a community development and downtown revitalization consultant. We have to make a plan before we can apply for grants, so we have to see whats feasible to do.

How much it will cost to rebuild the historic landmark is not yet known.

The experts being brought in will help determine how much money is needed and also if any of the original structure, such as the foundation that still stands, can be used in the new construction. If it can, that would cut costs and help retain some of the mansion's historic value.

The organization also has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money. So far, though, there have been only a trickle of donations raised through that method, with only $850 coming in over the past two months.

Meanwhile, the foundation is focusing on other ways to raise money for the project and continue the work it had planned to do before the fire.

Before the fire, the foundation was going to be in charge of handling programming, Hartley said. Tours, workshops on Louisiana architecture and restoration, exhibits and special events.

One such fundraising event will be Of Flora and Frill on Nov. 10 at the Delta Grand in Opelousas. The event will be an induction ceremony marking the establishment of the St. Landry Parish Women Hall of Fame and will be honoring its first class of honorees.

The first inductees into the new hall of fame include Manon Baldwin, Henriette Celimene Dupre Mouton, Susan Evangeline Walker Anding, Ruth Alexander Robertson Fontenot and Estelle Perrault.

Its a fundraising event for the mansion, and its also something to honor the women of St. Landry Parish, Hartley said.

The foundation is also working on starting a membership drive to raise funds for the rebuilding.

Hartley said details of the program are still being worked out but they should unveil it sometime in November.

The investigation into the fire that destroyed the mansion is ongoing. The reason the mansion was targeted and destroyed is unknown.
Most of the Cajun Navy wouldn't call themselves heroes.

Many of these south Louisianans who fought floodwaters to rescue their neighbors during August's historic floods shrug off their feats of uncommon valor.

On Sunday thousands came to celebrate their bravery and the indomitable spirit of Louisiana at the Red Stick Together concert for flood relief in downtown Baton Rouge.

Can't see the video? Click here.

The crowd danced and sang with legendary country performers including Mickey Gilley, Lonestar and Mark Chesnutt, and they honored a few outstanding members what we now call the Cajun Navy, the unorganized collection of volunteers who hopped in their boats and joined law enforcement in rescuing people trapped in their flooded homes.

"It says a lot about our community and the state of Louisiana  how we came together," said Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard, who represented his office at the event.

From more than 150 nominations sent to The Advocate, a few were honored Sunday as Heroes of the Cajun Navy. These heroes received a $2,500 check from the Cajun Navy sponsors, which included ExxonMobil Baton Rouge, Hancock Whitney, Manda Fine Meats, Peoples Health, Red River Bank and Acadian Ambulance Service.

Cajun Navy heroes: Those who came to rescue in Louisiana flood to be honored at concert Sunday Some Heroes of the Cajun Navy  first responders and ordinary citizens who put their lives a

While he lost everything he had in the flood, James LeBlanc, the volunteer fire chief for St. Amant, worked for weeks in Ascension and Livingston parishes, saving people and pets and capturing and returning two dozen coffins that floated out of cemeteries.

LeBlanc, 48, a safety technician at the Honeywell plant in Geismar, operated an emergency command center in the small Ascension Parish town for 26 days after the flood even after losing the department's fire stations.

"Our hearts are completely shattered, but our faith is strong," LeBlanc said.

Although he didn't own a boat, Marshal "Big Hog" Hoglund set out to rescue his girlfriend's family and ended up saving dozens more.

A longtime volunteer firefighter in his native Mississippi before moving to Central two years ago, Hoglund, 37, found a loose boat on the way to retrieve his girlfriend's grandmother. He tied a rope around his wrist and swam the boat to her house, a five-hour trip.

Hoglund saved the grandmother, her friends and several dogs, swimming the boat for two miles each way. Then he used the boat to help everyone who came in his path. Hoglund and his girlfriend lost everything they owned during the flood.

"If it was my family, I would want someone to help them," said Hoglund, an accounts manager for an industrial cleaning service. "If volunteers didn't volunteer, who would?"

Others were far from the flooding, but could not sit at home and watch the disaster unfold on television.

At home in Brusly, Jere Delaune couldn't ignore the people across the Mississippi River in need. Delaune, 44, drove his saltwater fishing boat to Central and helped an estimated 200 people plus their pets to dry land.

The automotive body shop owner worked for three days in the flooded areas, even evacuating a nursing home near Millerville Road in Baton Rouge.

He said one of the women on his boat asked, "Why are you helping? Do you have relatives here?"

"All these people here," he told her, "They're humans. They're all my family."

Fifty miles away, in Breaux Bridge, Emileigh Searcy saw pleas for help coming across Facebook. The 31-year-old nurse recruited her fiance, Joey Bernard, to help because he could "maneuver a boat unlike anyone else."

They worked in Denham Springs the first of three days, and on their way home they came upon a Pointe Coupee sheriff's deputy clinging to a tree after he was thrown from his boat. Bernard worked with the National Guard to rescue the deputy, who had broken his arm, Searcy said.

"God put us where we needed to be," said Bernard, a 39-year-old self-employed construction worker.

Together, Bernard and Searcy received a $2,500 check.

For the deputies of the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, the flood was "one long day," said Sheriff Jason Ard.

"We did not lay down to sleep," said Ard, 44.

They performed more than 20,000 rescues, according to the Lori Steel, spokeswoman for the office, even as many deputies lost their own homes. Ard said throughout the weekend, deputies would check in with their families and learn their homes had been flooded. Their comrades would pat them on the back and then they would all return to work.

The check that Ard received Sunday will go to an employee fund to help those recovering from the flood.

While they hope a similar disaster never strikes, Ard knows his deputies can handle it.

"We've been through a lot together," he said. "We know what it takes."
I know many people who identify as liberal or progressive who are educated, tax-paying, law-abiding, upstanding citizens who believe in freedo
The ABC's Philip Clark will leave Canberra's most popular breakfast radio show to host national ABC Local Radio program Nightlife until at least the end of the year.

ABC Radio's capital city stations acting manager James O'Brien confirmed Clark would replace former long-term Nightlife host Tony Delroy, but would not say whether it would be permanent.

Philip Clark reigns in breakfast but the ABC has fallen in audience share.

"We will announce a permanent replacement in November," he said.

"And we are yet to reveal what is happening with who will host Canberra breakfast as we haven't discussed it with staff."
Nargis Sultani cannot remember the last time she slept through the night.

The refugee is often woken by a nightmare recounting the moment she discovered the Taliban shot her husband dead while he caught a taxi home after a lunch in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province.

Afghanistan woman Nargis Suraiya Sultani has written a letter to the Prime Minister in the hope to gain her Australian citizenship and bring her children to Australia. Credit:Jamila Toderas

Other nights, she lies awake fearing for the safety of her six Hazara children who face discrimination in Pakistan as a minority Shi'a group. If she knew at least five years would pass without her feeling their touch, she says, she would never have fled the country.

Ms Sultani and her friend Nargi travelled from Melbourne to Canberra last week in a desperate attempt to deliver a handwritten letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who she hoped would help her fast-track her Australian citizenship process so she could sponsor her children and bring them to Australia.
The benefits to Brisbane of a high-level business delegation through Asia this month could take some time to manifest, tour leader Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said days after his arrival back to the Queensland capital.

The nine-day tour took in the cities of Kaohsiung and Taipei in Taiwan, Seoul and Daejeon in South Korea and Kobe and Tokyo in Japan.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk met with Daejon mayor Kwon Sun-Taik in Korea as part of a nine-day mission to Asia.

And while the results of the mission may not be known for some time, Cr Quirk said previous experience showed such trips could attract "hundreds of millions of dollars" worth of investment to Brisbane.

"The commercial and flow-on economic development outcomes for the city represent an exceptional return on investment," he said.
Any remaining veneer of a collegiate-like board and management at Dick Smith during the past 18 months of its corporate life has been revealed as a myth. It sounds more like a factional war zone.

The NSW Supreme Court heard on Monday that the chairman, Rob Murray, saw departure of former director Bill Wavish  whose private equity firm Anchorage sold Dick Smith into a public float  was a blessing because of the negative aspects of Wavish's "leadership and behaviour".

But even more astounding was that Wavish's long-time partner at Anchorage and previous Dick Smith chairman Phil Cave had the same view. He advised Murray not to go to Dick Smith finance and audit committee meetings chaired by Wavish.

The court heard this was due to Wavish's autocratic behavioural style and his attempts to intimidate others.
The more women you have in senior management roles, the better your company will perform. This is the conclusion from a major global study that examines the correlation between gender and company performance.

The report, by Credit Suisse, identifies 27,000 senior managers at over 3000 companies around the world.

It is the second report by the investment bank that finds evidence that companies with a higher participation of women in decision-making roles generate higher returns on equity, while running more conservative balance sheets.

"Where women account for the majority in the top management, the businesses show superior sales growth, high cash flow returns on investments and lower leverage," it says.
I speak of the unspeakable anti-mooning laws. Those pale, sunken-chested Vics now face the prospect of a stretch held inside at Her Majesty's pleasure for indulging themselves in the simple pleasure we barrel-chested fecund Queensland folk take for granted; our inalienable right to drop pants and give Her Maj a piece of our minds.

The punishers and straighteners of the most southern of all the southern barbarian lands have this week placed upon their poor, benighted citizens the heavy hand of law, where once they felt only the cool kiss of freedom's gently puckered lips.

Doctor Thompson would not be inspired by the funeral pyre for our precious freedoms currently burning bright in the state of Victoria.

It was once written of the great outlaw journalist, Dr Hunter S. Thompson, that he inspired "the same kind of admiration one would feel for a streaker at Queen Victoria's funeral".

I speak of mooning, of lowering strides, of the great unblinking brown eye. That is what has made us the greatest state in this great big brown wide land of ours  our willingness to bare cheeks and open wide the crack of doom at any and all who would challenge our right to do so.

This unconscionable un-Australian assault on that most basic freedom cannot stand and I believe it will sort out the real patriots from the unctuous podsnappers. Yes I'm looking at you George Christensen, and I'm wondering whether we're going to get to see the truth written on your arse or whether all your talk of defending traditional Aussie values is just so much mutton-shunting.

I do not claim to have bared my back end at those who have offended me. Lo, I cry it from the highest towers, just before unbuckling and turning the unblinking eye of Sauron upon my enemies.

I call on the Premier to assure Queenslanders that we will never suffer the indignities of our weaker, more simple minded southern cousins, who responded to this attack not with battle ranks drawn up, pants dropped down and butt cheeks clenched in angry defiance, but with a couple of snarky tweets.

Join me, Madam Premier, on the banks of the mighty Tweed, and together we will show these southern johnnies what real freedom looks like.
"Would I have witnessed the last sighting of the yellow-bagged census collector the other day, as she trudged up Kembla St, Wollongong?" ponders Reina French, of North Wollongong. "Surely there can't be too many of them out there still gathering info for that big 2016 Census?"

A valid point from Graham Russell, Clovelly. "C8ers usually report the first koel, the first Easter egg, hot cross bun and the first public Christmas decoration. But who reports the last appearances of these events? We need to know so we who are annoyed by these events can resume our normal activities."

"In the context of news broadcasting (C8), how could a newsreader expect us to stay tuned if she commenced her segment by saying 'Good Night'? Words change their meanings in different contexts, eg 'adult' has many different possible meanings, from 'responsible' to 'irresponsible', or 'disciplined' to 'undisciplined'. John Dawson, of Wattle Grove.

Terry Gibbs, White Rock, Cairns writes: "I am not a monarchist but I find it strange that the young royals on a tour of Canada are described in a newspaper as "Little Princess Charlotte, Prince George and their parents Prince William and Kate." Is the Duchess of Cambridge described as just Kate because she was a commoner?"

"Those HR departments, which constantly find new terms of inclusion to justify their bloated existence, like to use "reaching out" (C8), instead of "contacting" someone. They have also invented the very assumptuous "People and Culture" moniker." Garrett Naumann, Cammeray.
It is September 27, 1956. At a dusty site called One Tree, in the northern reaches of the 3,200-square-kilometre Maralinga atomic weapons test range in outback South Australia, the winds have finally died down and the countdown begins.

The site has been on alert for more than two weeks, but the weather has constantly interfered with the plans. Finally, Professor Sir William Penney, head of the UK Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, can wait no longer. He gives the final, definitive go-ahead.

The Maralinga Test site in South Australia pictured on 9 May 1984. The British conducted a number of nuclear blasts here in the 1950s. Credit:Peter Solness

The military personnel, scientists, technicians and media  as well as the indoctrinee force of officers positioned close to the blast zone and required to report back on the effects of an atomic bomb up close  tense in readiness.

And so, at 5pm, Operation Buffalo begins. The 15-kilotonne atomic device, the same explosive strength as the weapon dropped on Hiroshima 11 years earlier (although totally different in design), is bolted to a 30-metre steel tower. The device is a plutonium warhead that will test Britains Red Beard tactical nuclear weapon.
Australia's tortuous path to allowing same-sex couples to marry has become absurd to the point of surreal. High-ranking members of the Coalition government met Labor counterparts on Monday to discuss the marriage plebiscite, an ill-conceived proposal The Age describes as one of the more ridiculous and cynical ideas to emerge from our polity. Unsurprisingly, no agreement was reached, and it looks highly likely Labor will oppose the enabling legislation, which means, unless crossbench senators change their view, the bill will not pass the upper house. As we have consistently argued, the bill should indeed be blocked, and the Parliament should do what it is elected to do  honour its constitutional duty to legislate. Consider these realities:

Australians' collective support for ending marriage injustice has long-been recorded. Credit:Joe Armao According to pollsters, as many as seven in 10 citizens have long wanted our lawmakers to do their job and bring Australia in line on this with the rest of the English-speaking world.

The leaders of the Coalition, Labor and the Greens all support marriage equality.

The voters of all but one electorate want their political representatives to make the change.

Australians  whose collective support for ending this injustice has long-been recorded  would be forced to vote, but their decision would not be binding on lawmakers.

The plebiscite  effectively an unnecessary opinion poll  would cost taxpayers perhaps more than $200 million, a waste rendered even more stupid in light of our fiscal challenges.

The plebiscite could cause untold harm to same-sex couples and their families, and could be a trigger for self-harm and even worse for young LGBTI people, who, research shows, suffer heightened rates of mental ill-health because of the bullying and harassment they are subjected to because of their sexuality.

There is already evidence that opponents of marriage equality will use misinformation and propaganda, even to the point of targeting children, and emotions could cloud reason on both sides of the debate.

The plebiscite  designed to delay and derail marriage equality  was always a cheap ruse by Tony Abbott to shore up support from the hardline conservative fringe in his party in the dying moments of his prime ministership. Given all of that, perhaps the most bizarre element of the entire mess is the premise that Malcolm Turnbull does not have the power  and, dare one say, the agility and decency  to adjust his government's stance. The conventional view is that the minority of his colleagues who are opposed to marriage equality would rebel and bring about his demise. Really? First, how can a minority vote him out of office? Second, such people are far more likely to face facts rather than risk losing their seats, and government. Loading Another absurdity is the argument that the Coalition has a mandate for the plebiscite. The Coalition lost almost its entire majority in the July 2 election. Were the enabling legislation blocked in the Senate, the government should argue that the most affordable, effective and responsible way to proceed would be a conscience vote in the Parliament. The bulk of the population would applaud and be delighted. This would buoy support for Mr Turnbull in the community, and leave the disgruntled few on the Coalition's backbench impotent.
Not for the first time may Malcolm Turnbull find himself ruing the day he cited Tony Abbott's poor performance in Newspoll as a key reason for terminating his prime ministership.

Tuesday's Newspoll holds more grim news for the Member for Wentworth, who despite enjoying his best two weeks in in the job strutting the world stage is back facing the reality of his domestic woes after presiding over another fall in the Coalition's primary vote.

Published by News Corp, the survey of 1662 voters recorded a lowering of the Coalition's primary vote to 38 per cent, down 3 per cent, which is just on the error of margin.

On a two-party preferred basis, Labor leads the Coalition 52-48 which is the opposition's biggest lead since Malcolm Turnbull took power.
There have been inquiries and White Papers into our tax system for as long as I can remember. The most recent, and the most comprehensive, was the Henry Tax Review, which handed down its findings in 2010. As invariably happens, the review was mostly ignored, but since then we've been subjected to a barrage of suggestions  many of which are simply stupid. A crazy idea that looks like getting up  thanks to the backing of ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott  was based on the notion that government could give small business a much-needed boost by cutting their company tax by 1.5 per cent to 28.5 per cent. At the time, Abbott promised to consult widely, but to the best of my knowledge very little consultation took place. Most small businesses would appreciate government assistance but not necessarily in the form of tax cuts. In any event, consultation is not necessary. Every small business owner I know would welcome assistance from the government, but a cut in the company tax rate is the last thing on their agenda. For starters, many small business operators don't work through a company structure: they use a family trust or a partnership. This gives them maximum flexibility for tax purposes, and also allows them to take advantage of the 50 per cent CGT discount when they decide to call it quits. In most cases, these concessions are not available if a company is used.

The big issues for small business are excessive red tape, penalty rates, rising rents and utility costs, and the worst one of all, payroll tax. This is particularly unpopular as it taxes employment irrespective of company profitability, and the rate increases as employment grows. But it's a state tax, and the states are all strapped for cash: there is no way it's going to be repealed  especially not by the Turnbull government. In any event, let's suppose a small business was particularly successful and made a taxable profit of $400,000 a year. At the current tax rate of 30 per cent, the tax would be $120,000. At the proposed rate of 28.5 per cent, the tax would be $114,000  this is a saving of just $6000 on profits of $400,000. Then there is the issue of franking credits. Our dividend imputation system is the envy of the world, giving shareholders in a company credit for the tax paid by the company. If a small business works through a company, the net profits can only be taken out by the owners as salary or dividends. Reducing the rate of company tax would increase the amount available to be distributed to shareholders by way of dividends, but would also reduce the rate of the franking credit they could claim. So they would pay more tax on a dividend, which would wipe out any benefit from a company tax cut. The net result is no change in their after-tax dividend. Tax specialists who work in the big accounting firms are unenthusiastic about a two-tiered company tax system, in which some companies pay a different rate to others. They say all it would do is lead to unnecessary complication and expense.
Backpackers on 417 working holiday visas make up a small percentage of workers in Australia, but are over-represented in complaints to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

In 2015-16, the Ombudsman resolved 855 workplace disputes involving overseas workers on the 417 working holiday visa.

The Fair Work Ombudsman resolved more than 800 disputes for 417 visa holders in the past financial year. Credit:Louie Douvis

This represents 45 per cent of the 1894 workplace disputes involving overseas workers on all types of visas resolved by the Ombudsman.
Dr Moles said the "right thing to do" would be for Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath to refer the decision for appeal but it was unlikely to happen. "An injustice is an injustice, no matter how old it is, or at least that's the view my students take at the moment," he said. "But in practical terms I think it unlikely." The Flinders University Miscarriages of Justice Project academic, who was instrumental in quashing the conviction of Adelaide man Henry Keogh, called for Queensland to follow South Australia's lead in establishing a statutory right to appeal. Ms D'Ath's office has been contacted for comment.

Brown's son Ian, who grew up with the knowledge his father had been jailed for murder, died three months ago, without ever hearing Dr Moles' verdict, given after analysing trial transcripts for the ABC's Australian Story. His daughter Deb Drummond didn't even know that much as a child. She'd been told her grandfather had died of bronchitis and didn't find out the truth until a tearful conversation with her normally stoic father in the '1980s. It wasn't until 2000 or 2001 that the administrative worker, now a grandmother, took interest in what was clearly a taboo subject. She went to the State Library of Queensland and started examining old articles in what would quickly turn into a wormhole from which she and cousin Jan Teunis couldn't back out. "This is where I saw my first ever photograph of him," she said.

"It was terrible. I was absolutely transfixed because I could see a resemblance in him to my father. "He had my maiden name. He wasn't some distant ancestor. He was my grandfather and here were the headlines above him, 'Accountant charged with murder', so it was almost unreal." Before too long, things weren't adding up, she said. The cousins eventually wrote a book, Lingering Doubts, before approaching Dr Moles to review it. Ms Armstrong, who had been dating Brown's son, was found dead in the office they both worked in, head on a pillow, with her hand over a bottle of potentially deadly ethyl chloride and a white lace-edged handkerchief on her face. Dr Moles said police and a jury were right to ignore the bottle as a sign of suicide but said they likely fingered the wrong man for Ms Armstrong's murder by asphyxiation.

He said the case argued at court seemed to be a stereotypical example of police "verbaling", popular at the time, attributing statements to defendants they knew were unlikely to be contradicted. Brown had injuries to his hands, four separate bite marks according to the police pathologist who gave evidence at trial. He said Brown received the injuries when he was mugged by two men and a woman the night before his secretary was found dead but police used them as evidence of the victim fighting back. Dr Moles argued a lack of any injuries or blood to Ms Armstrong's face rendered this theory implausible. "The very thing that was thought to be most incriminating for Reg, the injuries to his hands, and the police said it was clear at the time, that he's actually murdered her, could end up being be the very thing that proves, in fact, he didn't do it," he argued.

But Alicia Bennett said it was Dr Moles' argument didn't stack up, saying in 15 years of policing she'd never seen men attack each other by biting fingers. "People bite people all the time and they don't have injuries to their mouth," she said. She criticised the approach to the case taken by Ms Drummond and Ms Teunis, saying their entire approach to analysing the case was wrong. "You can look at any of these things in isolation  but if you look at it all together, which is how circumstantial evidence should be viewed, it's watertight," she said. Australian Story airs Monday at 8pm.
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has acknowledged giving $US10,000 ($13,000) to Nimble America but denied he was the founder of the pro-Donald Trump group which created anti-Hillary Clinton memes.

Luckey, who sold his virtual reality company to Facebook in 2014 for $US2 billion, said he donated the money "because I thought the organisation had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters through the use of several billboards." Nimble America put up a billboard near Pittsburgh featuring a distorted image of Clinton with the caption: "too big to jail."

Palmer Luckey demonstrates the Oculus VR headset. Credit:Bloomberg

Luckey's involvement in Nimble America, reported late last week by The Daily Beast, roiled the community of virtual reality software developers, some of whom threatened to stop making games for Oculus, a unit of Facebook. Oculus plans to hold its annual conference for developers, Oculus Connect, on October 5.

In a Facebook post over the weekend, Luckey said he was "deeply sorry" his actions "are negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners."
Mussie Debresay has been found guilty of the manslaughter of his partner's two-year-old daughter more than a decade after her death.

A jury returned to the Supreme Court on Monday after deliberating their verdict for three days. They found Debresay not guilty of the charge of murder, but guilty of the alternative, less serious crime of manslaughter.

Mussie Debresay has been sentenced to 11 years after being found guilty of manslaughter. Credit:Justin McManus

The Crown had argued during the trial that Debresay stomped on the girl  who cannot be named  in his kitchen in May 2005, after becoming angry that she had urinated through her nappy on to his couch.

Debresay had maintained his innocence, telling police that the toddler had fallen in his living room that night.
Carl Williams' former bodyguard has been spared jail after pleading guilty to assaulting police, possessing heroin and a string of driving offences.

Terence Chimirri, 41, a former underworld protector now living with his parents on the Mornington Peninsula, assaulted two police officers in Bundoora on April 17 last year, the same day he was found in possession of heroin.

Terence Chimirri in 2003. Credit:Craig Abraham

He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man at Crown Casino on February 22, 2014, and driving offences from last year and this year, including speeding, failing to stop when ordered to by police and driving without a licence.

Chimirri had faced a return to jail - he has spent time in prison for manslaughter, kidnapping drugs and dishonesty offences - where he would have spent his time in protective custody, isolated from other prisoners.
Students are up in arms about a US missile and war plane manufacturer opening a new research lab at the University of Melbourne.

Its student union has condemned a new collaboration between military giant Lockheed Martin, the Defence Science Institute and the university as "unethical".

A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft designed by Lockheed Martin.

It said the university should not be involved in the development of weapons, and research should only be conducted in the "interests of a better and more peaceful society".

The high tech laboratory, the company's first outside the US, will focus on designing sophisticated computer software to help direct attacks, as well as hypersonic flight, robotics, intelligence and surveillance.
One of Premier Daniel Andrews' senior ministers, Lisa Neville, has apologised to former MFB fire chief Peter Rau after she said he had resigned for health reasons.

Peter Rau resigned as the MFB boss on Friday.

Mr Rau's wife on Monday lashed out at Ms Neville, the acting Emergency Services Minister, for describing her husband as "gravely ill" last week, accusing her of trying to "distract from the truth".

Mr Rau's resignation was announced on Friday, with the government moving quickly to hose down suggestions he was leaving because of the protracted industrial dispute that has locked MFB management against the United Firefighters Union for more than two years.
Three police officers have been assaulted at the Listen Out Concert at Joondalup on Sunday after at least 200 people jumped fences and overwhelmed the event's security.

The dance music festival at the HBF Arena featured artists like Anderson.Paak and Claptone and had a large turnout of concert goers inside - but many people rushed the fences to get in.

Police have charged four people after crowds threw objects at officers attempting to quell disturbances. Credit:David Allan-Petale

Police said the event's security called for assistance at around 3:20pm after a number of people began throwing rocks at patrons and pushing on the fences to get in.

Video footage of the incident posted to Facebook shows scores of people jumping fences at the event's perimeter, running through an area patrolled by security guards and attempting to climb over the inner barricades.
CHICAGO: While some people fantasise about what they'd do if they ever won the lottery, Fidencio Sanchez hasn't given it much thought.

The 89-year-old paleta vendor from Little Village, a West Side community of Chicago, accepted a cheque Wednesday for US$384,290 (AUD$504,540) as beneficiary of the largest GoFundMe campaign in the US state of Illinois. But he has no plans to buy expensive toys or invest in stock. He's not even sure he'll buy a house.

Online donors have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist 89-year-old Fidencio Sanchez, who for more than two decades has pushed his cart through Little Village selling paletas and Mexican candies. Credit:Alyssa Pointer

"I feel so happy and so lucky for all of this support. I've had to work so hard, so I'm so thankful to everyone for this," Sanchez said during a news conference. "Honestly, I haven't thought about how I'm going to spend the money. There's a lot to consider."

About 17,500 people from more than 60 countries offered anywhere from $5 to $2000 in donations to Sanchez in an online fundraising campaign created by two strangers, Joel Cervantes and Jose Loera.
Calais: President Francois Hollande said on Monday that France will completely shut down "the Jungle" migrant camp in Calais and called on the UK to help deal with the plight of thousands of people whose dream is ultimately to get to Britain.

"The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it," Hollande said on a visit to the northern port city where as many as 10,000 migrants from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan live in squalor.

"We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively," he said.

France plans to relocate the migrants in small groups around the country but right-wing opponents of the Socialist leader are raising the heat ahead of the election in April, accusing him of mismanaging a problem that is ultimately a British one.
Workers prepare the stage for the presidential debate between Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Hofstra University. Credit:AP USA Today: "Clinton, stay on the highroad" Real Clear Politics: "Three pieces of debate advice for Donald Trump" People wait in the hall for the presidential debate. Credit:AP The Sunday Times (London): "The art of Hillary dealing with Trump"

Reuters: "Ahead of debate, Trump endorsed by some Bush alumni" Preparations are under way for the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead. Credit:AP Clinton, who could sink or swim on the economic record of the Obama administration, will take comfort from the latest economic data in The Times  "Millions in US are climbing out of poverty, data shows". As the self-styled law-and-order candidate, Trump will revel is NPR's "FBI: murders up nearly 11 per cent in 2015; violent crime rose slightly". There was this offering from the Los Angeles Times: "Analysis: For Clinton and Trump, first debate could be last chance to change voters' minds." But, you might, based on what, given this report just in from the Pew Research Centre: "Ahead of debates, many voters don't know much about where Trump, Clinton stand on major issues."

It beggars belief that Clinton has squandered a 20-odd point lead she had in opinion polls in the summer of 2015, to be going into this debate neck-and-neck with Trump, within the margins of error in most polls, and that the bulk of voters say their vote will be against one of candidates  not for the one whose name they check. Can Clinton conceal her contempt for Trump  and for voters who think he deserves a shot at the top job? Can Trump keep his bigotry and misogyny in check  and if he does, will he disappoint voters who want Clinton's head on a platter? Will Clinton resist her instinctive urge to get into thickets of policy detail? Can Trump talk in more than mangles slogans? Can he sustain an ad-free, 90-minute one-on-one with Clinton  unlike the Republican primaries, when he was able to hurl grenades and then retreat to the shadows, taking time to formulate his next grenade while as many as nine other candidates took their opportunity to bark at the moon? Can Clinton halt the drift of young voters, in particular, to third and fourth party candidates? Can Trump continue in a vein that many undecided voters find obnoxious and win enough of them to fall over the line? The candidates are being reminded that Al Gore never recovered after his first-debate stumbles in 2000. Can Trump overcome the doubters as Ronald Reagan did in 1980 and George W Bush in 2000?

Moderator Holt is copping it from all sides  he must let the candidates be themselves, but he can't let them walk over each other or himself; he must rein in Trump, but without making himself the story and at the same time, not being seen to give Clinton an easy ride. Should he fact-check the candidates? Yes, say Democratic talking heads; no, say the Republicans. With an increasing number of Americans getting their news from TV entertainers, The Times tried to jump the rails with this excerpt from would be comedy duo Arthur Brooks and Gail Collins in that "pundit industrial complex" piece, an op-ed dialogue: Brooks: Hillary Clinton starts with a question about her emails and answers with a performance-art piece of derisive chuckling and eye-rolling. Then she digs into some policy questions by quoting passionately from the footnotes of a Congressional Budget Office report. Finally, she jerks the audience awake with a fit of violent coughing, followed by reassurances by Clinton's staff that all is well - great, actually! - while she is wheeled out on a stretcher. Loading
Washington: The first presidential debate for Election 2016 is shaping as an uncertain but bruising encounter between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Most analysts are framing it as more a bout of mud wrestling than a policy discourse that might sensibly inform would-be American voters.

Debate organisers have moved to neutralise ugly pre-debate psychological warfare, including a Clinton bid to have Trump-baiting billionaire Mark Cuban seated in the front row and a retaliatory suggestion by Trump that he'd bring along Gennifer Flowers, one of former president Bill Clinton's ex-lovers.

Analysts saw the Cuban gambit as one in a series of tactics for Clinton to "get under Trump's skin". But on the Sunday morning talk shows, Clinton campaign director John Podesta tried to argue that the deeply partisan Cuban was anything but. Whereas the Flowers threat, he said, was proof of Trump's resort to his favourite sport  to "dive in the sewer and go for a swim".

Bob Schieffer, a former CBS news anchor and a past moderator of presidential debates, used his appearance on one of the shows to suggests that both campaigns might do well to get out of the gutter, saying: "Those kinds of things are beneath the dignity of the office that these two people are running for. I think they both would do well to think about that."
Peugeot Gears Up For SUV Offensive at the 2016 Paris Motor Show

PEUGEOT to present the latest 2008, 3008 and 5008 SUVs at this years Paris Motor Show

LONDON - September 26, 2016: PEUGEOT presents three world premieres at this years Paris Motor Show as it continues to strengthen its SUV and technology offering. Alongside the much anticipated arrival of the all-new 3008 SUV and all-new 5008 SUV models, the 3008 DKR also has its public debut in Paris, as well as the new generation digital PEUGEOT i-Cockpit and a number of mobility solutions.

The all-new PEUGEOT 3008 SUV and 5008 SUV models have their show debut within a dedicated technology space, with a line of efficient PureTech and BlueHDi engines on view.

The PEUGEOT stand gives visitors the chance to fully experience the features of the all-new 3008 SUV, with the new generation of digital i-Cockpit which is demonstrated using virtual reality technology.

Visitors to the PEUGEOT stand (421) in Hall 1 will also be immersed in the Brands sporting heritage, with PEUGEOT Sport versions of the 308 GTi, 208 GTi and race-winning 3008 DKR and 208 WRX vehicles taking centre stage, alongside Roland Garros Line versions of the 108 TOP! and 208.

The PEUGEOT FRACTAL Concept Car - an electric city coupe provides an insight into the evolution of the i-Cockpit including 3D audio effects, will also be available for visitors to view. Also on display is a variety of Electric Box Mobility products, a PEUGEOT iON and a bicycle with electrical assist.

New PEUGEOT 2008, 3008 AND 5008: SUV offensive

This year, PEUGEOT has launched a range of new SUVs as part of a world offensive in this fast-growing market sector. After the arrival of the 2008 SUV in Europe and major changes to the existing 3008 in Asia, the brand unveiled its new 4008 in China less than a month ago, and is now presenting two all-new SUVs in Paris - the 3008 SUV and 5008 SUV.

PEUGEOT 2008 SUV - the brand's compact SUV

The style and performance of the 2008 SUV has been highly praised by customers (500,000 of which have been produced).

Produced in Mulhouse, France, the new 2008 SUV is second in its category in Europe and first for petrol engines, with four engines that are the ?Best in Class.

The new GT Line trim-level, which now covers all models in the PEUGEOT range, offers a sporty and chic ambience while the PEUGEOT i-Cockpit makes accessing the wealth of in-car technologies intuitive and safe.

The 2008 SUVs dynamic handling is supported by an impressive Grip Control system that makes it versatile and able to adapt to most types of terrain. Itis also equipped with Mirror Screen, which uses MirrorLink, Apple CarPlayTM plus the additional safety features of a reversing camera, Active City Brake and Park Assist.

PEUGEOT 3008 SUV: an all-new and competitive C segment contender

The PEUGEOT 3008 SUV is looking to make a considerable impact in the ever-expanding SUV C market segment, offering an attractive and distinctive style with class-leading technology, especially including the new generation digital PEUGEOT i-Cockpit for high-tech comfort and security features.

A range of powerful, efficient engines combines with well-specified models - including the sporty GT and GT Line versions, reflecting the sporting character of new generation SUVs from PEUGEOT.

Produced in Sochaux, France, the new PEUGEOT 3008 SUV will be launched around the world following the Paris Motor Show and on-sale in the UK from January 2017.

The all-new PEUGEOT 5008 SUV seven-seater

The design of the PEUGEOT 5008 SUV breaks new ground as a large seven-seater SUV.

The 5008 SUV includes the new generation digital PEUGEOT i-Cockpit system and utilises the ?Efficient Modular Platform 2 (EMP2), and also has a number of high-tech features. Beneath its elegant and dynamic design the 5008 SUV boasts outstanding functionality: with its seven individual seats, the new PEUGEOT 5008 SUV is the first SUV with incredible combined modularity and capability - the seats in the second row are entirely independent, identical, adjustable and foldable. The seats in the third row are foldable and easy to remove to optimise a record 780 litres of space in the boot area. The all-new PEUGEOT 5008 SUV is produced in Rennes, France and goes on sale in the UK in spring 2017.

The PEUGEOT i-Cockpit: the new generation digital instrumentation

PEUGEOT has continued to enhance the driving experience by reinventing the design of the driver's cockpit. This has resulted in an innovative interior layout known as the PEUGEOT i-Cockpit. The four elements include; a compact steering wheel for a dynamic feel, head-up instrumentation, a high centre console and touch-screen combine to make a safe and optimal driving environment.

The head-up display combination uses a 12.3-inch high-resolution digital screen with contemporary graphics that is entirely adjustable and customisable. Visually, the large 8-inch touch screen brings together comfort controls in an intuitive way making it easy to use all the vehicles features, with the screen neatly located in the centre of the dashboard.

The all-new 3008 SUV also adds further interior enhancements, with two sensory environments on offer. ?Boost for energetic driving, and ?Relax for a calmer experience. Both of these modes are entirely customisable and create a unique and unforgettable on-board experience for driver and passengers alike.

The new PEUGEOT 3008 DKR is ready to take on the Dakar in 2017

PEUGEOT will begin the 2017 Dakar season on a strong footing with a powerful new 3008 DKR race car, drawing on its victories in January (South America) and in the Silk Way Rally this summer in Russia, Kazakhstan and China.

Designed in collaboration with the PEUGEOT Style Centre, the 3008 DKR offers an extreme vision of the new SUV range, by expanding on the elements that make it easy to identify, with its proportions and distinctive characteristic features, especially the appearance of the new rear-end design.

The 3008 DKR racing car remains faithful to the fiery attitude and form of the SUV, with a black cell resting on wide beams and chrome detailing to highlight its roof line. The front and rear views for the two vehicles is similar, including the projecting parts, the grille and the band which has red tail lights.

When it comes to the technical aspects, PEUGEOT Sport mainly focused its work on suspension cooling (vibration dampers and geometry) to further improve the handling. The 3008 DKR features an air conditioning system will undoubtedly be very appreciated by the crews.

The engine was also a major focus for work, adapted to the new FIA rules reducing the diameter of the air restrictor from 39 to 38mm for two-wheel drive vehicles, leading to a reduction of around 20hp. Engineers have counterbalanced that loss and improve the usability of the engine at low speeds with major efforts also made to ensure improved reliability of the engine environment.

As in 2015, Team PEUGEOT Total will hold a full-scale rehearsal during the Rallye du Marco (from the 3rd  7th October), where the PEUGEOT 3008 DKR will be tested on a race course by Carlos Sainz & Lucas Cruz, and be joined by Cyril Despres & David Castera, winners of the Silk Way Rally, for the final official participation of the winning PEUGEOT 2008 DKR.

The 2017 Team PEUGEOT Total crew members Stephane Peterhansel & Jean Paul Cottret, Carlos Sainz & Lucas Cruz, Cyril Despres & David Castera and Sebastien Loeb & Daniel Elena, will all be in attendance at the starting line for the 2017 Dakar Rally, driving four PEUGEOT 3008 DKRs.

PEUGEOT Micro e-Kick and PEUGEOT eF01*: Multimodal mobility products available

PEUGEOT is responding to the new challenges of urban mobility, as access to city centres is becoming more and more restricted, with the introduction of a range of effective multimodal mobility products.

The e-Kick and eF01 are mobility products designed for the clients who seek mobility solutions that go hand-in-hand with their vehicle to travel those final kilometres of their journey. The two products make multimodal trips easy, integrated and active. The ergonomic design and innovative folding handlebar systems created by the PEUGEOT Design Lab, assist the transition from one mode to another including walking or taking them onto a train.

The e-Kick and eF01 solutions can be connected to most smartphones using Bluetooth low energy technology and the MYPEUGEOT app can specifically be used to view the current battery level.

To comfort those concerned about usability, a dedicated docking station makes it possible to recharge the bicycle or scooter inside the boot of any vehicle equipped with a 12 volt outlet.

The eF01 folding bicycle with electric assistance solidifies PEUGEOTs place as a company which has long been an expert in the commerce of bicycles (scooters and cars).

The PEUGEOT Design Lab has developed an innovative solution, that emphasises 10 seconds and three movements are enough to fold or unfold this bicycle. Once folded, the bicycle is easy to transport with its handle integrated into the frame and the two wheels aligned with the ground. The patented position memory seat lets you set your bike up with the ideal seat height after unfolding it.

Both powerful and safe, the eF01 can reach speeds of 12mph and its lithium-ion battery can last for 18 miles. It weighs 17kg and is equipped with disc breaks for optimum safety. *eF01: e for electric, F for folding, 01 for top of the range

PEUGEOT eU01s Bicycle with electric assistance: mobility accelerator

The PEUGEOT is entering a new era with the eU01s bicycle, focusing on electric assistance that can enable speeds of up to 28mph. The eU01s offers an alternative to traditional electric assistance bicycles and scooters reinforcing PEUGEOTs position in this ever-developing market. Both multi-purpose and efficient, the eU01s is designed to be used in cities and on roads enabling commuters to gain significant travelling time. Dynamic and safe, the eUo1s can provide an optimal mileage of 75-95 kilometres with its 400-500Wh lithium-ion battery. With the 180mm disc brakes and a maintenance-free transmission belt, safety and security is of paramount importance.

PEUGEOT

Since 1810 PEUGEOT has been producing durable products of excellence, since 1858 all are branded with the Lion logo  chosen to demonstrate strength, suppleness and swiftness to personify the durability of its products. As one of the earliest automotive producers, the PEUGEOT brand can trace its roots back to 1889 when it began producing automobiles and since then over 65 million vehicles have been produced, advancing technology with style and efficiency to enhance the customer experience. Demonstrated through its Brand signature ?Motion & Emotion, PEUGEOT is present in 160 countries, has 10,000 franchised Dealerships and is recognised the world over for the quality and design excellence of its products.

PEUGEOT UK

The UK is the third largest market for PEUGEOT with its UK Headquarters located in Coventry. The UK car line-up includes the 108, 208, 308, 508 cars, the 2008 SUV, 3008 SUV and 5008 SUV supplemented by people-carriers; Partner Tepee and the all-new Traveller, and a four-model van range that includes the Bipper, Partner, Expert and Boxer.
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George and Mary arrive in Vancouver during the 1901 royal tour

The Dukes Thanks

(originally appeared in the Vancouver Daily World on 1 Oct 1901)

Early this morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York [1] passed through the Lions Gateway on their way to Victoria. There were very few people down on the waterfront to see the Empress of India [2] slowly pass through the Narrows with her royal company on board. When Vancouver and the mariners of England of the last century who came here under the charter of an earlier George [3] made their voyage along the fjords and bays of mainland and island, they never anticipated that an Heir Apparent, bearing the name of him they loved to serve, would ever go over part of the sea that their sailing ships groved [4].

George and Mary ride through the streets of Vancouver during the 1901 royal tour

It may be said that the Duke and Duchess left Vancouver feeling very much pleased with this magic city and its people. When they return on Thursday morning on their way to New Westminster, they will find the populace still as loyal, and they will, one may be sure, be only too anxious to show how they have been touched by the expressions of good will and love they saw and heard here.

Portrait of Mary taken in Ottawa by William James Topley during the 1901 royal tour

There was one touch of nature which made them kin to everyone in Vancouver. In the private dressing room at the Drill Hall of Her Royal Highness, every need in the way of toilet accessories was daintily filled with such taste as did more than credit to those in whose charge the apartment was, but there was one additional feature. On the dressing table were placed four little silver heart-shaped frames, enclosing each a pretty portrait of one of the four little children of the Royal House of Cornwall and York [5]. It is said that the Duchess did not speak for a moment, and then went straight to the room of the Duke and carried him away with her to see this little glimpse of the home life which they have left behind and which, amid all the public plaudits of the great colonial empire, they so sorely miss [6]. That little bit of sympathy and thought for a mothers heart will keep Vancouver green in the memory of May, Duchess of Cornwall and York, when the shouts of peoples, the blaze of color and light, given in her honor, are dimmed with the passing years.

After the royal party had gone on board the steamer and removed the effects of their drive, His Worship Mayor Townley [7] was specially summoned to their salon and was there presented with autograph photographs of the royal pair. They also enjoined on him to express their heartfelt appreciation of the splendid reception that had been accorded them. They confessed that, while they had heard much of the city of Vancouver since coming to Canada, their realizations far, far exceeded their most sanguine expectations. It was hard for them to believe that Vancouver was not yet out of her teens [8].

NOTES

1. King George V (1865-1936) and Queen Mary (1867-1953) of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria bestowed the York dukedom on George in 1892; when she died in January 1901, and he became heir apparent, he automatically inherited the Cornwall dukedom as well. George and Mary were Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York for almost a year, until he was created Prince of Wales in November 1901, shortly after the end of this imperial tour.

2. The Empress of India was the Canadian Pacific ship that carried George and Mary during their visit to British Columbia, sailing between Vancouver and Victoria.

3. The earlier George is George Vancouver (1757-1798), the Royal Navy officer who led an expedition to the northwestern Pacific coast of North America aboard the HMS Discovery in the late eighteenth century. Vancouver is, of course, named for him (as are various other places in the region).

4. This is a weird and wonderful use of the word grove as a verb; in this usage, to grove means to plough or furrow (as you would when planting a grove). In this case, though, the ships are described as furrowing the seas as they sail, ploughing through uncharted waters. Im a word nerd, and I find stuff like this way too enjoyable. Youre welcome. 

5. In October 1901, George and Mary had four children: Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), Princess Mary (later the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood), Prince Albert (later King George VI), and Prince Henry (later the Duke of Gloucester). Their fifth child, Prince George (later the Duke of Kent) was born in December 1902; their sixth child, Prince John, was born in July 1905.

6. The imperial tour that George and Mary embarked on after Queen Victorias death lasted for months, taking them to colonial holdings all around the globe, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada. They left behind very small children (Prince Henry was only a year old) at home. George and Mary have often been criticized for their royal parenting, but little moments like this show a bit of emotion behind the cool facade of duty.

7. Thomas Owen Townley (1862-1935) was the eighth mayor of Vancouver. He served only one year-long term.

8. Vancouver was officially incorporated in April 1886, so the city was indeed a teenager  only fifteen!  at the time of this royal visit.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive in Vancouver (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Cambridges royal tour of western Canada continued on Sunday with events in Vancouver. Heres a look at Kates jewelry choices for the day.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Kate chose earrings with a diamond stud and pearl drop for Sundays visits to the Immigrant Services Society and Sheway.

Photo: Andrew Milligan  Pool/Getty Images

Heres a closer look at the earrings. I dont think weve seen this particular configuration on Kate before. Ive seen speculation that the pearl drops could be the baroque pearl pair from Annoushka, but the metallic loop atop these pearl drops appears to be significantly smaller than the loop on the Annoushka pair. The place where the drop and stud connect makes it look  to me, at least  like these drops are not interchangeable.

UPDATE: Heavenly Necklaces has announced on Instagram that these are their earrings. Ive still seen some skepticism of this, but well see! The Countess of Wessex, who is also a Heavenly Necklaces fan, has worn a very similar pair of earrings once before.

UPDATE #2: Kate wore these earrings a second time on her visit to the Netherlands, and royal reporters have confirmed that they are on loan to Kate from the Queen. She wore a very similar pair  possibly the same ones  during her Silver Jubilee festivities.

Photo: Andrew Milligan  Pool/Getty Images

Kate also wore a few familiar pieces: her Cartier watch and her wedding and engagement rings.

Photo: Arthur Edwards  Pool/Getty Images

What do you think of Kates jewelry look for today?
By C. Eugene Emery and Lauren Carroll

The weekend before the first presidential debate, Donald Trump went to Roanoke, Virginia, to talk about energy.

Here, in Virginia, we are going to end the war on American energy and on our miners. Hillary Clinton says she wants to put the miners out of work, Trump said. Clinton and Kaine also want to shut down shale, and shut down natural gas.

Does Trump have his facts right on energy policy? PunditFact decided to look into what Trump said about shale and natural gas. Well also provide context about what Clinton said about putting miners out of work.

Shale has become a dominant source of fossil fuels in the United States, thanks to a controversial process known as fracking. It wrings natural gas out of bedrock in a process that was once considered not profitable for extracting oil or natural gas. The process is efficient enough that the country's dependence on petroleum imports has declined precipitously.

Supporters note that burning natural gas produces far less pollution than other types of fossil fuel. Critics say the process can cause earthquakes, water contamination, and the unwanted release of methane, a gas renowned for trapping heat, which makes it a big player in climate change.

Does the Clinton team want to shut down fracking and natural gas? No, but Clinton wants to regulate it more. So Trumps claim rates Half True.

Regulating fracking

When we contacted the Trump campaign, spokesman Jeff Wood sent us to a transcript of the Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan, where Clinton and her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, were asked whether they supported fracking.

I dont support it when any locality or any state is against it, number one, Clinton said. I dont support it when the release of methane or contamination of water is present. I dont support itnumber threeunless we can require that anybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using.

So by the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place, she continued. (Sanders opposes fracking.)

Clinton supported fracking as secretary of state, promoting it for Latin America, China, India, and the European Union. She characterized natural gas as a bridge between dirty fuels, and said it was a way to get countries away from Russian oil.

In the United States, only a minority of states have banned fracking. Vermont was the first in 2012, and New York followed in 2014. Maryland has a moratorium on the practice through next year. Some municipalities have banned it as well.

When it comes to disclosing the chemicals used in the process, most of the states where fracking takes place require some level of disclosure. According to the American Chemical Society, 26 of the 28 states have disclosure rules, though some have exceptions for company trade secrets.

Mining jobs in context

Trump said Clinton said she wants to put miners out of work. Clinton has acknowledged that she said something to that effect, but she also apologized.

I dont know how to explain it other than what I said was totally out of context for what I meant because I have been talking about helping coal country for a very long time, Clinton said on May 2. It was a misstatement because what I was saying is the way things are going now, they will continue to lose jobs. It didnt mean that we were going to do it. What I said is that is going to happen unless we take action to help and prevent it.

Clinton made the comment during a March 13 CNN Town Hall. Journalist Roland Martin asked, in effect, why poor white people should vote for her.

In her response, Clinton did say she would be putting coal companies out of business, as a result of moving toward renewable energy sources. But she followed that by saying she wanted to create new economic opportunities for coal workers, possibly spurred by clean energy development.

Im the only candidate which has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity using clean renewable energy as the key into coal country. Because were going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, Clinton said. And were going to make it clear that we dont want to forget those people. Those people labored in those mines for generations, losing their health, often losing their lives to turn on our lights and power our factories.

Now weve got to move away from coal and all the other fossil fuels, but I dont want to move away from the people who did the best they could to produce the energy that we relied on.

Read the full fact-checks at PunditFact.com.
Somewhere underneath Bryant Park, in the middle of Manhattan, in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room, resides one of George Washingtons notebooks from 1757. It is stored with other New York Public Library treasures in the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, on Fifth Avenue, including a copy of the Declaration of Independence that Thomas Jefferson wrote out himself.

The slim, cream-colored volume is filled with Washingtons flowing cursive writing and dates to his days as a colonel in the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War. (Oddly, its cover features an almost dainty drawing of a flower.) Most of the pages served as to-do lists, which Washington dutifully crossed out, or contained drafts of letters to be sent and lists of possessions, such as the names of his wagon horses.

But perhaps the most intriguing item appears on the second-to-last page, a simple recipe titled To Make Small Beer. A low-alcohol beverage calling for bran hops, molasses, and yeast, the beer would be drunk throughout the day and, according to Mount Vernon, given to children and servants.

While the whiskey distillery that Washington built on his estate after he left office is now well publicizedand has inspired a number of modern rye whiskey brandsour first presidents drinking, brewing, and appreciation of beer is certainly less well-known.

But that is starting to change. The instructions found in Washingtons notebook have been used as the base for several recent craft brews, including Blue Points Colonial Ale, which will be served at Monday nights presidential debate at Hofstra University, on Long Island. (If you cant make it to the hospitality tent, you will soon be able to try the brew at Blue Points tasting room starting around, naturally, Election Day.)

Though Blue Pointa brewery in Patchogue, Long Island, that was founded in 1998 and acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2014 for a reported $24 millionis certainly capitalizing on the presidential connection between Americas first commander-in-chief and the current crop of hopefuls, Washington has another connection to the brand. As any Patchogue native will tell you, Washington visited Long Island in 1790 and stopped for a beer and some oysters at Harts Tavern, which is just five blocks from Blue Point.

But the Colonial Ale is not a replica of Washingtons beer, cautions Blue Points brewmaster Dan Jansen, who worked on the project for about two months. For one, Washingtons directions are far from exact and include starting with a large Sifter full of Bran Hops and letting the mixture stand until little more than Blood warm.

Jansen focused instead on incorporating Washingtons key ingredientmolassesand keeping the final product low-proof so it could be considered a small beer. His ale is a modest 3.3 percent alcohol by volume, which he thinks is roughly what Washingtons recipe would have produced. Were calling it a session American brown ale, says Jansen.

Traditionally, the point of drinking this type of beer wouldnt be to get tipsy but to hydrate. During the Colonial period, the drink would basically be a source of clean drinking water and some nutrition, says Jansen, since boiling the water, the first step to making beer, would kill common bacteria.

So will Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump have a pint before the debate to take the edge off? While nothing is confirmed, We certainly hope they come by and have one with us, says Jansen. Theyll be more than welcome.
Sheryl-Ann Pruitt has managed to get a few things right. Keeping up the premiums on her late ex-husbands life insurance policy was one of them. The other was getting hired on at an auto assembly plant, located an hour or so outside of Atlanta.

Thats not her real name. She agreed to talk only if I changed it, saying that she feared for job if her black and Hispanic co-workers and her boss, whos black and who she says shes close to, were to read that she will be voting for Donald Trump because he talks straight about immigration, crime and the crooks running Washington.

When the Sunday news pundits talk about working class Americans, theyre talking about people like Sheryl-Ann. According to conventional wisdom, their collective anxieties about economic lossesincluding an eroding manufacturing baseare fueling Trumps voting base.

Thats created an ocean of angry and frustrated people  primarily blue-collar and primarily white  who are susceptible to the appeal of a nationalist leader promising to bring back what they feel has been taken away, writes Zack Beauchamp for Vox.com.

This as the national poverty rate fell by the largest percentage in nearly 50 years last year and median household incomes, like those in Sheryl-Anns America, actually went up 3,4 percent. So, Beauchamp assesses, economic frustrations plays some small part, but it doesn't tell most of the story.

The real driver? Immigration, racial and religious intolerance.

Without question, over the last 50 years, Republicans have reaped political benefits by harnessing racial resentments and economic anxieties prevalent among working class whites. a 2012 Associated Press poll found that Republicans were more than twice as likely to exhibit explicit racial bias as Democrats79 percent to 32 percent.

Fear contorts and disfigures, but the wreckage also provides an opportunity for political vultures. It is no coincidence that Trumps bigoted escapades have drawn substantial support from voters who harbor explicit biases against non-whites.

Sheryl-Ann, bristles at that. My mama and daddy taught us to treat them like they treat you.

She worries, though, that non-whites will control the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. And, at least in Georgia, Sheryl-Ann might be right.

Black and Hispanic voters are a growing force, especially in Gwinnett and Cobb counties. Taken together, those counties along the northern crest of Atlanta have represented the largest concentrations of Republican voters statewide and have determined the outcome of every statewide election dating back to Democrat Zell Millers election as governor in 1991. But as Miller cooled his heels on tony West Paces Ferry Road for eight years, and another five in Washington as an appointed U.S. senator, the state was undergoing demographic changes.

There has been some talk of Georgia becoming part of a demographic realignment in presidential politics, says Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. However, Clinton is not quite making the needed inroads among young white voters to take the lead here.

Obama won 98 percent of black voters and 23 percent of white voters in Georgia, according to 2008 exit polls. He ultimately lost by 5 points.

With 50 days left before November election, Trump is still winning hereby a mere 3 pointsin a state where Republicans control the governors mansion, both legislative chambers, two U.S. Senate seats and ten of 14 congressional districts. Clintons strength lies principally with black voters (concentrated mostly in metro Atlanta and in big towns like Augusta, Albany and Columbus). However, Trumps dampening support among white, suburban women and the growing number of naturalized and native born Hispanics may be another reason the race appears so close. After all, Sen. Johnny Isakson is besting his Democratic opponent by double digits.

Statewide, Trump has a commanding lead among rural white votersespecially those like Sheryl-Ann who dont have a college degree. His campaign is banking on voters like her to carry Georgia, despite the slim margins. Undoubtedly, there is a contingent of political prognosticators and consultants who are looking at the evolving demographics and believe Clinton has a real chance.

Aint no way in hell Im voting for Hillary, Sheryl-Ann says, flat-out. I know shes lying when she opens her mouth.

Sheryl-Ann moves on to Benghazi, secret e-mail servers, Mexican migrant workers and welfare fraud before she can draw another breath. I was raised to treat everybody the same, she says, batting away any notion that she is prejudiced or prone to believing conspiracy theories.

But, Sheryl-Ann says, They [lawmakers] are making it so they can just come in here and take out jobs. Im paying taxes so their kids can go to our schools. Hillary wont even talk about that.

It doesnt take long before Sheryl-Ann reminds you again that the system is rigged and she isnt sure the nations first black president was actually born in America. Somethings going on, she says, reciting Trumps near constant refrain.

I want a president wholl put us first.

Sheryl-Ann doesnt say so explicitly but, by us, she seems to mean white people and, like a growing number of Americans, she believes anti-white bias is a real problem and that it is increasing.

At 34, the auto worker admits she isnt old enough to have cared when the first Clinton was elected to the White House. After all, she was just 19 when he was sworn in and politics was the last thing on her mind. Even so, shes quick to tell you that the country doesnt need another Clinton, and that eight years of Obamas liberal bullshit were enough for her tastes.

By her own admission, despite eight years of that bullshit, Sheryl-Ann makes a better than decent living at the planttough she wholly credits former president George W. Bush and then-governor Sonny Perdue for it. Between that and a death benefit payout, she had enough to put a good down payment on a nice single-story brick front with enough bedrooms for her two sons, and occasional visits from her mother that became permanent after a hip-replacement surgery.

She drives a late-model car, bought with the company discount, but laments that she is two paychecks away from losing everything if she ever got laid off. Still, Sheryl-Ann says, she has watched her high school friends pack up and move awayonly to come back when the job prospects werent any better elsewhere.

Its hard out there, she says. They all come back.

After picking up extra shifts, fighting health insurance companies over care for her ailing mother, and shuffling her eight and ten-year-old boys to Little League games, there isnt a lot of time left to watch the news. Besides, shes too tired and her feet hurt most of the time. Instead, she uses social media to keep up with the election, following a bevy of decidedly conservative news sites on Twitter and reading Facebook posts about the 2016 campaign. She considers herself a part of Trumps firewall.

The truth is Trump doesnt have much of a campaign operation in the the Peach State and the Clinton camp began setting up shop months ago.

He cant win if he loses Georgia, Sheryl-Ann says.
Glenn Beck nervously paced back and forth through his TV studio designed to look like the Oval Office.

Hes gonna call? the conservative stalwart sheepishly asked. Beck was a lovesick puppy questioning whether his wayward one-and-only, Ted Cruz, will call him as scheduled on Monday morning.

Hes gonna call, co-host and longtime confidant Stu Burguiere reassured him.

Alright, Beck muttered before reminding viewers that the Texan senator was late for his scheduled interviewone which will involve awkward questions about why Cruz abandoned his rogue status to endorse Donald Trump on Friday.

Beck invested a great deal in his admiration for Cruz. During the Republican primaries, the 52-year-old radio host was so genuinely disgusted by the rise of Trump, he fasted in prayer for Cruz to win the nomination. So deep was his love that he reportedly sank $500,000 in traveling around the country with Cruz to stump for his failed candidacy.

And when Cruz finally appeared, via telephone, on the The Glenn Beck Radio Program, it was clear that Beck was wondering: What had I just wasted a year of my life on?

Wistfully comparing the senators infamous RNC speechin which he refused to endorse Trump, instead imploring voters to vote their conscienceto a speech from legendary orator Charles Sumner, Beck pointedly asked: Am I supposed to now vote for him or am I supposed to vote for my conscience?

Cruz stumbled to comfort his old friend.

What I was trying to do in Cleveland was lay out a path to uniting Republicans, he claimed. This is about principle, about ideas. Thats the test Im applying. What I do know is that Hillary Clinton fails that test profoundly.

Unwilling to let his buddy steamroll him, Beck charged forward: Weve known that for 25 years. However, this weekend, you wouldnt answer the question whether Donald Trump is fit to be President of the United States.

Ive tried very, very hard to prevent it from being a binary choice between Hillary and Donald Trump, the senator fired back.

But Beck wasnt done.

So a man, who you cannot come on [the show] and say, Yes, Glenn, he is fit to be President of the United States, I still am encouraged by you to abandon my principles and vote [for him] because its a binary choice?

Cruz then laid out a stump speechs worth of Hillary Clinton problems (she will destroy America, he said; she will nominate liberal Supreme Court justices to shred the Second Amendment; she will continue to endanger Americans abroad with her policies) that ought to make any conservative firebrand fall into Trumps arms.

None of it worked on Beck.

This is all the information you had in Cleveland, he said. You had this information the day you dropped out of the race, and said that Donald Trump is a sociopathic liar. You had all this information. Do you have new information that has made you say, Oh my gosh, hes now not a sociopathic liar. He is not the guy that I very eloquently spelled out, for over a year, and now theres suddenly a reason to believe him?

We are in an election with a binary choice, Cruz meekly replied.

Im asking you for new information, Beck said. You knew all the things you are saying today. The time to do that wouldve been the day you gave the speech, so eloquently. Why now?

Cruz never provided a sufficient answer.

After nearly 20 minutes of back and forth, with Beck at one point pushing back a commercial break to continue the grilling, he finally told his buddy: Ted, I disagree with you, I disagree with you strongly. But I still respect you as a man.

Following the interview, Beck joined Burgiere and Pat Gray on the Oval Office couch, and poured out his heart.

For the very first time I heard Ted Cruz calculate. And when that happened, the whole thing fell apart for me, he lamented. Its my fault for believing men can actually be George Washington. Its my fault.

And then made a jaw-dropping admission: Maybe Marco Rubio wouldve been better.

I should have said, 'You know who can win, you know who could beat Hillary Clinton? Marco Rubio,' he said, seemingly unaware that just moments before he spoke of the futility of supporting politicians. He's a different kind of politician, he's young politician, he's a Hispanic, he can win. Let's go for it. (Oddly enough, Marco Rubio capitulated and endorsed Trump months before Cruz ever did.)

And then his regrets turned to anger. He suggested Cruz would now attempt to shame him and others for refusing to vote for either major-party nominee. Why dont you just cover me in a bucket of blood? he shouted.

The interview pissed me off, he later asserted. That was so calculated that it was stunning to me.

I think I have to apologize and say, maybe, perhaps, those of you who said Ted Cruz is calculating and a smarmy politician, I think I may have to slightly agree with you and apologize for saying, No, he wasnt.
When President Obama vetoed a bill that would allow 9/11 victims families to file lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in the attacks, he set the stage for the first-ever override of a veto in his presidency.

Fifteen years after 9/11, the victims families continue to wield extraordinary political influence in Washington, and their lobbying and pressure in recent weeks is why the bill is still likely to become the law of the land despite Obamas veto.

We are outraged and dismayed at the Presidents veto of JASTA and the unconvincing and unsupportable reasons that he offers as explanation, the group 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, which has been a leading proponent of the bill, said in a statement.

In a statement accompanying his veto Friday, Obama said the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, known more commonly by its acronym, would compel foreign governments to file suits against the United States and would create complications in our relationships with even our closest partners. Obama noted that a number of our allies and partners have already contacted us with serious concerns about the bill.

Opponents say the bill undermines the bedrock foreign policy principle of sovereign immunity and would unleash a torrent of foreign lawsuits against the United States, including potentially for drone strikes that have killed innocent civilians.

But supporters have long debated those assertions and insist that JASTA would not bring about the grave consequences that Obama and other opponents of the legislation imagine.

No matter how much the Saudi lobbying and propaganda machine may argue otherwise, JASTA is a narrowly drawn statute that restores longstanding legal principles that have enjoyed bipartisan support for decades, the family group said. It will deter terrorism and hold accountable those nations that support and fund it.

Three sources close to the legislative proceedings told The Daily Beast that the Senate is likely to take an override vote on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. And the math appears to be in favor of the bills backers there and in the House of Representatives.

I'm confident our members of Congress will remain steadfast, vote for the override, and enact JASTA, Terry Strada, the chair of the family group, told The Daily Beast. Stradas husband, Tom, was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.

This is a disappointing decision that will be swiftly and soundly overturned in Congress, Chuck Schumer, the senior senator from New York and the likely next Democratic leader, said in a statement. I believe both parties will come together next week to make JASTA the law of the land.

Some senators had mounted an effort to try and change the language of the bill in order to satisfy 9/11 families and the administration. But if there was ever any hope of compromise, it appears to have passed.

In recent weeks, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bob Corker tried to craft some alternative and were met with condemnation by the 9/11 families, who accused the lawmakers of trying to delay the Senate vote to overturn the veto.

A former U.S. national security official, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issues, said Congress missed an opportunity months ago to have a fuller debate on the bill, noting that JASTA was never the subject of hearings, as is often the case for important or controversial legislation.

This is the problem when Congress doesnt do the hard work on the front end. It makes it even harder to do your job on the back end, the former official told The Daily Beast.

Lawmakers could have explored alternative arrangements, such as paying further compensation to the family members, the former official said. But ultimately, not enough lawmakers appear willing to be seen as siding with Saudi Arabia over the victims, even if they oppose the legislation on principle.

Under U.S. law, Americans can sue foreign governments for acts of terrorism that occur overseas. JASTA would allow lawsuits to go forward if the attack occurred in the U.S., effectively ending sovereign immunity when it comes to terror attacks.

If that happens, the bills opponents warn, trial lawyers will make billions on lawsuits against governments and corporations that are alleged to have played some role in supporting terrorism.

And that, they warn, will trigger reciprocal litigation, potentially leading to the freezing of U.S. companies assets or charges against government employees, diplomats, or military personnel.

The European Union delegation to the United States warned of as much in a demarche to the State Department earlier this week: State immunity is a central pillar of the international legal order. Any derogation from the principle of immunity bears the inherent danger of causing reciprocal action by other states and an erosion of the principal as such. The European Union also warned that if the U.S. enacts the law, other countries are likely to put in place their own parallel legislation leading to a further weakening of the principles of State sovereign immunity.

The bill is opposed by lawmakers and government officials in an array of countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Pakistan, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bangladesh, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Sudan. And many of those countries, like France and the United Kingdom, face no imminent threat of lawsuit in a U.S. federal court.

Companies that do business in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East also lobbied congressional leaders to withdraw their support for JASTA.

The chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Co., Andrew Leveris, wrote personally to House Speaker Paul Ryan urging him to reconsider his support of the bill and noting that Dow was establishing partnerships that address the fundamental causes of radicalism, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

And the chairman and CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt, wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that enactment of the bill would jeopardize U.S. relations with Middle Eastern countries at an especially precarious time. Our governments actions have often confused our partners and they dont know whom to trust, Immelt wrote. This bill is the wrong action at the wrong place at the wrong time. I truly believe we will regret this move.

Proponents of the bill say it will not wreck the system of sovereign immunity because existing laws and treaties will prevent the kinds of lawsuits that critics fear. The backers have accused opponents of caving to pressure from U.S. lobbyists hired by Saudi Arabia, the same ones they say worked to keep 28 pages of a congressional investigation about suspected Saudi involvement in the 9/11 attacks from public view. Those pages were finally released, with partial redactions, in July.

The advocacy group 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism fingered Corker and Graham in particular as being influenced by Saudi pressure.

Both Senators Corker and Graham studied the bill earlier this yeardelaying its Senate passageand made changes to the bills text for many of the same concerns they are now raising, the group said in a statement. The Senate passed JASTA in May, and the House followed suit earlier this month.

If they had lingering concerns at that time, they never voiced them when the Senate unanimously passed the bill, the families group said. Not until the Saudi lobbyists came knocking.

Saudi Arabia and its American lobbyists have mounted a concerted campaign against passage of the bill.

Saudi Arabia has threatened to liquidate $750 billion in Treasury securities and other assets should the bill pass. But its unclear how the Saudis would unload such an enormous sum without losing much of their investment in a fire sale and setting off a global panic.

But those threats and Saudi Arabias insistence that it has helped the United States conduct vital counterterrorism operations appear not to be enough to persuade lawmakers to let the bill die.

In vetoing JASTA, Obama found himself in a dilemma with little political upside. Defying the families of the 9/11 victims was sure to inspire their outrage. But had he allowed the bill to become law, he would have been seen as turning his back on the U.S. intelligence community and the military.

On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the law could jeopardize U.S. forces overseas. And earlier this year, officials told The Daily Beast that the law would alienate one of United States most important partners in fighting terrorist networks. Within military and intelligence circles, theres an awareness that the U.S.-Saudi relationship is far from perfect, but theres also a belief that the bills proponents are putting the blame for 9/11 in the wrong place.

As far as I am concerned, Osama bin Laden attacked the United States, one official said at the time.

And yet officials have sometimes been at pains to explain precisely how the law would adversely affect U.S. troops or intelligence officers. Both Carter and Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who also testified this week, seemed reticent to dive into the discussion of the bill.

We are not the ones dealing with it, nor am I, at least, an expert on it, Carter said.

[W]ere another country to behave reciprocally, this could be a problem for our service members, and this is something that, at the Department of Defense, we are concerned about.

Dunford said there would be second-order effects, without specifying what those would be.
Russia has come to occupy an outsize role in U.S. foreign policy and the forthcoming U.S. presidential election, and who knows more about the Bear than the Baltic StatesEstonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? They were devoured by the Soviet Union on the eve of World War II, liberated with the collapse of Communism, and have been threatened constantly, in ways big and small, as Russian President Vladimir Putin sets about trying to build anew a Russian Empire.

So we sat down earlier this week to talk about all this with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, who kindly took a break from the United Nations General Assembly to drop by The Daily Beast offices in Manhattan.

At a time when Donald Trump seems to think the Russians can do no wrong, and Hillary Clintons passionless pose makes the threat from Moscow sound vaguely academic, these two statesmen have some hard-earned insights about the importance of European security, disinformation and propaganda efforts by Putin to undermine or subvert democratic societies. They also talk about the future of NATO, cyber war, and the rise of reactionary politics and politicians .

What follows is a condensed transcript of the wide-ranging hour-and-a-half-long discussion The Daily Beast conducted with Ilves and Linkevicius.

On whether this is the moment for the Baltic states to say We told you so with respect to Russian President Vladimir Putins aggressive strategies.

Linas Linkevicius: We definitely were [among] those who helped to open eyes and ears, maybe, to show the importance and power of propaganda, which was really used as an asymmetric threat, I would say as a weapon In a conventional confrontation, youd have an artillery attack and then the real battle. Now you can brainwash, and then come.

That was the example of Crimea because people were brainwashed by state-controlled media. Locals were waiting for when bandits and fascists were coming to kill them. They were convinced this was going to happen, and they were very happy to welcome Russian soldiers because they came to save them.

Toomas Ilves: Weve been facing this dezinformatsiya [disinformation] ever since our independence, in many ways already before that. I remember as an ambassador  in 93, 94, 95  in Washington, constantly having to defend myself or my country at the State Department in the face of completely outrageous and nonsense claims made against it. People took seriously outright lies.

On Donald Trumps questioning of whether or not the United States would defend an invaded NATO ally, as mandated by Article V of the Atlantic Charter, and his supporter Newt Gingrichs recent comments that Estonia is in the suburbs of St. Petersburg.

Ilves: It was just odd, having been the ambassador to the United States in 1994 when the Contract for America was introduced [by Gingrich]. It was very explicitly put in there, the Baltic states to join NATO. The Republican Party position, under Mr. Gingrich, was to bring the Baltic States into NATO. Now were viewed as a suburb.

If Estonia or any member-state was invaded and Article V was not invoked, NATO will fall apart. If it fails once, the alliance will no longer exist. This is what is really the glue in Europe, too, because you never know who will be next.

And its worth reminding people that Article V has been invoked only once, on September 12, 2001.

Linkevicius: For a long time there was this perception that such threats are very far away and do not concern the United States or even Western Europe. Then we had Ukraine and the MH17 crash, for instance. Those who thought this is all far away now noticed that the threat was affecting families here and now. At the end of the day, be it Narva [in Estonia on the Russian border], Latvia, Lithuania  we are the same alliance. We still believe the U.S. will remain a key ally to Europe.

On the rise of far-right and far-left movements in Europe with ideological  and possible financial  ties to the Kremlin.

Ilves: If you look at the funding of far-right parties in Europewheres the money coming? We do know that 9 million euros was given by Russia, through a Czech bank, to [French National Front leader] Marine Le Pen. We know that this is not an isolated case. This is happening elsewhere. So why would we be surprised to see these strong campaign efforts and successes and advertising of far-right parties that either are explicitly known to receive money or are less well known in the public?

As for the European far left, it has very little to do with Marxism-Leninism these days. It has more to do with anti-Semitism, racism, anti-migration. They claim to be left-wing but theyre espousing positions which would actually be classically brown.

Linkevicius: Molotov already exists looking for his Ribbentrop. [An allusion to the secret pact between the Soviet and the Nazi German foreign ministers before World War II that gave the Soviets the Baltic states as part of their sphere of influence.]

Ilves: I think there are a number of little Ribbentrops running around. But Molotov hasnt found a good enough deal yet.

On allegations that Russian intelligence was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and fears that it may try to interfere with the U.S. election as well:

Ilves: We [Estonia] were attacked in 2007. It was a very sophisticated cyber attack, but it did happen and it had a profound economic impact for a very short time. There is no element of schadenfreude now that the U.S. is going through the same, but there is a thinking that runs, OK, now maybe you get it?

You dont have to have a massive thing happen.  You screw one election, one state, maybe one district, clearly hacked and you undermine faith in the entire election. Thats all you need to do.

Frankly, I am surprised by the lack of a call for a political response in Washington. Until you do call it out, theres nothing there. You have to publicly draw a line in the sand.

On the accusation that a more aggressive policy toward Russia  be it by directly arming Ukraine or intervening in the Syria crisis against Russian interests  will spark World War III.

Linkevicius: As you probably know, its not a secret, we provided military assistance to Ukraine. We made it public. It was a small, symbolic gesture, needless to say. But it was also a hint or reminder that lets help a country which is facing aggression from a force that is bigger and providing professional missile systems, tanks. 

Weve always seen this desire [by Russia] to destroy the European security architecture because its wrong. Theyd like to design everything not according to international law but self-invented rules.

And always there is a strange reaction by the West, which seems to be willing to simply abandon the rules.

It is as if, upon seeing someone violate traffic lights, you decide to remove these lights and declare that henceforward there will be no violation.

Ilves: We will have to come to terms with this one way or another soon. Since this behavior has gone unchecked for so long, there will come a point where it will cross some boundary and it will be ugly and bad. Our worry, of course, in our part of the world, is that they dont do it with us.

On a lack of European unity against Russias not so stealthy invasion of Ukraine, and on continuing sanctions against Russian officials and institutions.

Ilves: The four EU countries that have suffered the most in terms of effect on GDP, percentage-wise, in the European Union are Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania. The countries that are demanding the end of sanctions have really suffered in a minuscule way but theyre making a lot of noise because they claim pressure from their domestic business communities. Give me a break. We three  the three Baltic countries  have had the biggest damage done, and you dont see us wavering.

Linkevicius: Lets not forget in this conflict who is the aggressor and who is the enemy. Because its a big temptation now to say all of them are not delivering, all are equally guilty, morally and practically. No, again lets be frank: Russia is not just denying being a party to the conflict, but how can we expect Russia to deliver if theyre not even recognizing being part of the conflict. Needless to say, they hold the key to the resolution of the conflict.

On the failing Ukraine ceasefire and the prospect for a political settlement to the two-year-old war.

Ilves: Been there, done that. The six-point agreement hammered out by [former French President Nicolas] Sarkozy in August of 2008 to end the Russian-Georgian war  the fourth point said that until there was the complete removal of Russian troops, relations would be frozen with the European Union. During the same French presidency, a month later, when the Council of Europe voted to begin its partnership and modernization program with Russia and dropped all sanctions, Sarkozy came out and said, Thank God common sense prevailed.

This is a case where we will need very strong U.S. leadership because I dont see it currently, especially in the run-up to big elections in 2017, in Europeany strong commitment by either governments in power or opposition to actually address these issues. I think were headed for a rocky time. And this is the time when U.S. stability, a forceful role by the United States in foreign affairs, will be needed.

Video by Sara Sayed
On the eve of the first presidential debate, a broadcast event moderated by NBC News Lester Holt thats expected to attract as many as 100 million viewers, John Oliver returned to his Last Week Tonight hosting duties after a month-long hiatus (and one big Emmy win).

There was, of course, a lot for the comedian to unpack on Sunday nights edition of his acclaimed HBO series, so Oliver chose to dedicate the meat of his program to the 2016 election, or as he called it: The electoral equivalent of seeing someone puking so you start puking and then someone else is puking and pretty soon everyone is puking 2016.

Oliver took it upon himself to inform the voting masses about the two scandal-ridden candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, by running down all of their alleged scandals.

First came Hillary. I do know that even talking about her scandals will irritate some of you, given that her opponent is an unambiguously racist scarecrow stuffed with scrunched-up copies of Jugs magazine, and thats fair, said Oliver. But not being as bad as Donald Trump is a low bar to clear, and if you focus on nothing but him, you fail to vet a woman who might be president.

The British political satirist then ran down the list of Hillarys so-called scandals, many of which have already been heavily litigated in the past.

For instance: Whitewater. More than six years of investigations by three different prosecutors and multiple committees failed to find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, offered Oliver. Then there was Benghazi: Now, eight congressional investigations broadly concluded the State Department could have done more to increase security at the embassy but none found evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton. And then there is the problematic issue of the Swiss File Transfer, and while, yes, investigators found that Hillary was in Zurich at the time of the transfer, and documents show she was aware the transfer took place, and yes, the Clintons did have something to gain financially from it, the fact is the Swiss File Transfer is something I just made up right now, but the very fact that for a second you kind of remembered it says something about the tone of coverage surrounding Clinton.

But the two big current scandals surrounding Clinton concern emailgate (or that Hillary used an unsecure private server to transmit classified information as secretary of state) and the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play allegations. Oliver found that these two scandals were pretty overblown.

The FBI found 113 such emails [sent by Hillary that were classified in nature], though in fairness, only three of them had classification markers and were not in the header of the email as they should have been. And while the FBI found Clinton and her staff to be extremely careless, they said they couldnt find a case that would support bringing criminal charges. So its not good, but its not as bad as it looks, Oliver said of Clintons email scandal.

As far the Clinton Foundation, which has helped millions around the world access lower-cost HIV treatment, Oliver and his crack team of researchers went through the only seemingly legitimate allegation against the foundationthat the State Department approved the sale of a uranium mine to Putins Russia as a key player in the deal made four separate donations to the Clinton Foundation totaling $2.35 million.

Not only was Hillary not involved in that decision, said Oliver, but eight other federal agenciesplus the Nuclear Regulatory Commissionalso had to sign off, which they did. So this donation was legal, but very annoyingly handled. Any suggestion of pay-for-play fails to account for the separate actions of nine unrelated government agencies.Weve spent several frustrating weeks trolling through all the innuendo and exaggerations surrounding [Hillarys] email and foundation scandals, and the worst thing you can say is: They both look bad, but the harder you look, the less you actually find, continued Oliver. Theres not nothing there; what is there is irritating rather than grossly nefarious. And this is where its instructive to compare her to her opponent: Donald Trump, Americas wealthiest hemorrhoid.Oliver added: Hes quantifiably worse.

First, as far as honesty goes, Oliver cited PolitiFact, which found that 13 percent of Hillarys statements were flatly false throughout the course of the campaign, compared to 53 percent of Trumps. Then theres the issue of Trumps taxes, which unlike his opponent, he has thus far refused to releasean unprecedented move among recent POTUS candidates.

Bear in mind: We know nothing about Trumps finances, and that is not good. Hes the first major party nominee since 1980 not to release his tax returns, and his justification is pathetic, said Oliver, referencing Trumps lame excuse that he cant release his returns because theyre currently under audit (the IRS has explicitly said he still can release them).On top of Trumps personal tax records, there are unanswered questions about his business dealings, added Oliver. As many experts have pointed out, his investments, debts, and business ties span the globe and could present unprecedented ethical challenges for a president.

First, Trump has claimed that he wouldnt place his financial holdings in a blind trustinstead stating time and again that his various companies would be run by his children, whom hed undoubtedly have regular contact and communication with.

Then there is the matter of the Trump Foundation. If the financial actions of the Clinton Foundation annoy you, let me introduce you to the Trump Foundation, cracked Oliver.

The Washington Posts investigations have found, among other things, that: Trump has not given any of his personal money to the foundation since 2008; that the foundation spent a quarter of a million dollars in donor money to settle lawsuits against Trump businesses; and that Trump used foundation money to purchase ridiculous items for himselflike $10,000 at a charity auction in 2014 for a Trump portrait painting (the second time hed used charity funds to purchase a portrait of himself), as well as $12,000 for a signed Tim Tebow helmet. Trumps foundation also donated $25,000 to Florida AG Pam Bondi around the time she was considering investigating Trump University.

The thing is, we have barely scratched the surface of [Trumps] scandals, said Oliver, running out of time. There is everything, from the ongoing lawsuits against that bullshit university, to the alleged use of undocumented workers when building Trump Tower, to the fact that he received an illegal $3.5 million loan from his father in the form of a purchase of chips from one of Trumps casinos.The point is, this campaign has been dominated by scandals, but it is dangerous to think there is an equal number on both sides, he concluded. You can be irritated by some of Hillarysthat is understandablebut you should then be fucking outraged by TrumpsHe is ethically compromised to an almost unprecedented degree.
It had been close to a month since wed last seen John Oliver spew well-researched venom on his HBO series Last Week Tonight. In the interim, Oliver and his staff picked up an Emmy Award, cementing his status as the heir apparent to Jon Stewart, and Donald Trump inched closer to Hillary Clinton in the polls, bringing us one step closer to the end of the world as we know it.

While the main event was his comprehensive takedown of Donald Trumps far worse scandals when compared to those of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and while he largely ignored Ted Cruzs cowardly endorsement of Trump (a nightmare endorsing a panic attack, he quipped), Oliver did reserve some of his exquisite bite for Wells Fargo in the wake of their banking scandal.

Wells Fargo: The only bank ever to be serenaded by an eight-year-old Ron Howard, joked Oliver, before throwing to a clip of Howard singing an ode to Wells Fargo in the 1962 film The Music Man.

Fuck you! the satirist then screamed at Lil Ron after taking in the nauseating anthem.

Just three weeks ago, Oliver continued, Wells Fargo was the most valuable bank in the world. But recently, its reputation has taken a massive hit after some alarming revelations.

Namely, that employees at Wells Fargo transferred money from customers accounts without authorization, opened new accounts without telling customers, and charged fees on the phony accounts. The scandal affected as many as two million accounts.

Wells Fargo employees created fake email addresses to enroll customers in hidden accounts creating pin numbers that customers didnt even know existed, said Oliver. And hidden fees are bad enough without being hidden inside hidden accounts with hidden pin numbers made with hidden email addressesbecause thats like a Russian nesting doll where the last doll is giving you the middle finger. Now, how did Wells Fargo employees get this idea? Well, according to the case against Wells Fargo: Thousands of Respondents employees engaged in Improper Sales Practices to satisfy sales goals and earn financial rewards under Respondents incentive-compensation program. During the Relevant Period, Respondent terminated roughly 5,300 employees for engaging in Improper Sales Practices. Translation: Employees were highly incentivized to engage in fraud, and managers even instructed employees on how to engage in fraud in order to increase their compensation.

Oliver also channeled his inner Elizabeth Warren in ripping Wells Fargo CEO John G. Stumpf a new one for his performance in front of the Senate Banking Committee wherein he claimed to be completely ignorant of the widespread fraud.

Stumpf actually appeared in front of the Senate Banking Committee this week with a bandage on his hand, which I legally cant say is the result of carpal tunnel from typing in so many fake email addresses. And he wanted to be clear: he didnt know anything about anything, said Oliver.

The biggest argument Sen. Warren levied against Stumpf and Wells Fargo was that both he and the company hadnt paid a fair enough penalty for their fraudulent behaviora point echoed by Oliver on his program.

This gets one step worse, because the total fine for Wells Fargos behavior was $185 millionwhich is nothing considering they made $23 billion in profit just last year, and its even less than Stumpf himself could walk away with if he does resign, said Oliver, alluding to Stumpfs estimated $200 million in payouts should he tender his resignation.

The only way that could possibly be OK is if they put that money in 20 million fake accounts of $10 each and never, ever tell him about them.
MEXICO  The lives of dozens of Mexican families were forever altered when bullets rained down on their sons, rural college students who dreamed of one day becoming teachers.

Two years ago this Monday, a convoy of corrupt police ambushed students traveling to the city of Iguala, from the underfunded, all-male Raul Isidro Burgos Rural Normal School in the impoverished state of Guerrero. The hours-long encounter, often referred to as the night of terror, left six people deadboth students and passersby.

But what happened in Iguala that night was just the beginning of a case that continues to shake the country.

As morning came on September 27, 2014, the country awoke to a horror that has not yet endeda tragedy known simply as Ayotzinapa, after the tiny town where the teaching school was built.

That morning, as blood dried in the streets of Iguala, and bodies were collected, dozens of students who were unable to escape remained unaccounted for. Mexico soon learned that 43 students had been forcefully disappeared, taken by corrupt cops in the night. Now, 24 months later, the fate of most of them remains unknown.

The governments official theory is that the 43 young men were taken by police and delivered into the hands of the local Guerreros Unidos drug gang, who systematically murdered, and then mass-incinerated them in a garbage dump in nearby Cocula, in the troubled state of GuerreroMexicos most violent now for three years in a row. Then-Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam, who resigned after scathing criticism of the maladroit investigation that ensued, called this version the historic truth. But there is seemingly little truth to it.

Though this wouldnt be Mexicos first massacre since the start of the drug warwhich has killed more than 100,000 and left at least 27,000 officially missingor even since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in late 2012, the forced disappearance and probable mass-murder of the missing 43 has become the most emblematic case against the Mexican government in recent memory.

To many it is evidence of a failed narco-state of unchecked cartel violence and official complicity.

Were going to kill you all, the police told the students that night, according to testimony from one of the surviving bus drivers. Yet the students families continue to pray for and demand their sons safe return.

You took them alive, and we want them back alive, the parents tell the government. It has become their mantra.

Their sons, who traveled aboard a small fleet of buses they had commandeereda practice that has become common among normalistas, and is usually toleratedwere making plans to attend the upcoming march in Mexico City on October 2, in memory of the students who died in the 1968 Tlatelolco student massacre.

But in Mexico history has a way of repeating itself, and they, of course, never made it. Now, Mexico commemorates their loss.

The order to attack the boys came from high up in the citys hierarchy, from Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda, who later was revealed to be a key player in the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, with family ties to the Beltran Leyva cartel.

The political power couple first claimed no knowledge of the attackI was dancing, said the mayor after the chaosbut after repeatedly denying their role, the couple made a run for it, spending weeks on the lam, before their November 2014 arrest in a shabby Mexico City home. Since the investigation began, the fugitive mayor and his wife, along with more than 100 othersmostly police officers, and small-town criminalshave been arrested and interrogated for their alleged roles in the disappearance. Yet, still, the students have not been found.

Were just another missing persons case, said survivor Omar Garcia. In Mexico and in Guerrero they kill people and say its collateral damage of their fucking politicsthe [fighting] against different forces and even amongst themselves. We dont want any part of it. We want a Mexico thats just, and free.

That night Garcia rushed to the scene of the attack to try to save his fellow students. He came across the badly injured body of one, and helped carry him to safety. Nineteen-year-old Aldo Gutierrez had taken a bullet to the head, but thanks to his fellow normalistas he did not die. Gutierrez has spent two years in hospitals, in a vegetative state, since that bullet destroyed 65 percent of his brain.

Edgar Andres Vargas also stepped in to rescue his friends that night, but instead wound up shot in the face. He has had multiple facial reconstruction surgeries to rebuild the parts of his nose and mouth that were destroyed, but unlike dozens of his classmates he is alive and free. Two months ago, Vargas graduated as a teacher from the Ayotzinapa rural school. He wore a blue surgical mask to cover his face.

But many of Ayotzinapas students will never fulfill their dreams of becoming teachers. Julio Cesar Mondragon, a young father, was tortured to death that night. He had 40 broken bones, and when his body was found, his face was missing.

Although that night directly affected hundreds of lives, the number 43 has become a symbol in Mexico, a badge thats emblematic of the violence that has plagued the country as a consequence of the failed drug war, which continues to amass casualties with seemingly no end in sight.

Of the 43 missing students, only one, Alexander Mora, has been confirmed dead, after an Austrian forensic lab analyzed what authorities claim are the students remainsgarbage bags filled with ash and a few charred bone fragments, which were discovered in a river along the edge of the Cocula dump. One other student is believed to have been positively identified, but the remaining students fates continue to be cause for speculation.

The Mexican government has made every effort over the past two years to close the case, but have offered the families a story that has been refuted by everyone but the government, a fiction that falls apart upon even the least discerning examination.

Twenty-four months since their disappearance, since the students were picked up by police in Iguala, and delivered into the hands of organized criminals, still no one really knows what happened to them. Were they systematically killed in a garbage dump in the neighboring town of Cocula, before being mass-incinerated on site, on a pyre made of wood, trash, and burning tires, as the government insists? Independent experts resoundingly say no.

Jose Torero, a Peruvian fire safety engineer from Australias University of Queensland has been sceptical of the official version since visiting the site in 2015 and finding no evidence to corroborate the governments tale.

He decided to attempt to duplicate the alleged incineration using wood pyres and pig carcasses, and found that it would take more than 60,000 pounds of wood to successfully disappear the corpses in the setting described by authorities, and that it would be scientifically impossible to do so without the ash being contaminated by organic material, which the bags allegedly containing the students remains did not contain.

His theory is that the only way these bags of ashes could have been produced is by controlled cremation. Forensic evidence, and satellite imagery of the site have also failed to corroborate the governments findings, which are based on dozens of confessionsmany of which are the result of torture.

Were poor, but were not stupid, said a mother of one of the victims after Torero first announced his findings, criticizing the governments claims. The parents of the missing call the official version an historic lie.

We know that they are alive, and that we have to find them, the parents spokesman Felipe de la Cruz insists. They have held out hope, even as the rest of the country has steadily begun to give up.

Emilio Alvarez Icaza, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rightss executive secretary who first sought out the help of external fire expert Torero, ended his term last month, after nearly two grueling years following the case. He did not mix words this week, when he called Ayotzinapa a state crime and reiterated the governments responsibility to investigate the role the Mexican army may have played in the students death.

This administration protects, hides, and covers for the military, Icaza said, adding fuel to a long-standing theory that the 27th Infantry Battalion Base in Iguala may have played a role. Early last year, several parents and students were injured after hijacking a Coca-Cola delivery truck, and ramming it into the infantry building, one of many protests that have taken place at the site.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights appointed a group of experts from various fields to conduct an independent investigation in conjunction with the Mexican government early on in the search. The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts repeatedly complained that their attempts to interview members of the military had been blocked. They too insist that what the government proposes took place at the Cocula dump is scientifically impossible, and earlier this year the experts released their final report on Ayotzinapa, before packing their bags and heading home.

Parents pleaded with them to stay, chanting Do not leave us! Do not leave us!

But the experts had to go, leaving in their wake a damning 608-page report concluding that the Mexican government sabotaged its own investigation. They volunteered a series of recommendations for the Mexican governmentcommon-sense suggestions, like dont contaminate evidence and crime scenes, and do not torture your suspects into confession.

Now, the recommendations the experts made continue to prove their worth. The case against the alleged leader of the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado, who was arrested in October 2014, for example, is falling apart. Earlier this month, a judge ruled in his favor, agreeing that his human rights have been violatedwhich means that, like others arrested for their alleged roles, he was tortured.

Cases like his further jeopardize the hope that there will be justice for the students and their families. Of 130 people who are behind bars today in relation to this case, none have reached a definitive court resolution, and dozens of suspects cases are being investigated as possible cases of torture.

The Mexican government seeks to hide the involvement of high-level authorities in this crime at all costs, but their historic truth is no longer even a possibility, said Daniella Burgi-Palomino, a senior associate at the Latin America Working Group, after the final report was published. The Experts new report is definitive; there are no arguments that allow the governments version to stand anymore.

The Ayotzinapa tragedy has exposed how President Pena Nietos administration will stop at nothing to cover up human-rights violations taking place under their watch in Mexico, said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, this week.

For everyone who has followed this case closely over the past two years, it is difficult to not find the outcome of the investigation disheartening. Journalists Ive spoken to in Mexico, who like myself have watched this story take twists and turns as it has unfolded over the years, speak frankly about the impact it has had on their work, and their ideas about Mexicos ability to lift itself out of the criminal mess its embroiled in.

Andalusia Knoll, a journalist who has followed this story since day one, traveling across Mexico with the families of the missing students, spoke to me about the impact this tragedy has had on her.

Its hard to spend so much time with families who are grieving and have suffered something so tragic as the disappearance of their sons, facing two years without information on their whereabouts, and subject to what is essentially government torturetheyve been feeding them lies, and throwing them through loops for 24 monthswithout taking some sort of side, Knoll said. Its reaching a point where you realize that objectivity is not the goal of our work as journalists, but rather honesty.

Knoll has taken an activists role in the case, and this Thursday published part one of a graphic novel that tells the story of what happened in Ayotzinapa from the perspective of survivors, families, and journalists who have lived through it. Alive You Took Them is a collaboration between herself, illustrator Xavier Corro, graphic designers, journalists, fact-checkers, human-rights observers, and the families of the missing 43.

She spoke to me about her work with the families affected by this unresolved case who just want to know the truth about what happened to their sonsa truth that the government has not offered. The families have stood firm about no longer meeting with the government because they dont believe theyve tried or made any progress on the investigation, and have also failed to sanction those who are responsible for the false version of events.

The fact that unarmed students from a poor rural area who were just trying to get ahead in life and get an education were so violently attacked really resonated with people, Knoll said, looking back on two years without justice. Mexico is a country where education is something you have to fight for, and many never have access, nor the opportunity to become educated. These young men were looking to make a better life for themselves and their families and instead became a symbol for Mexicos failures. This is a state crime that the government cannot cover up, which doesnt mean they arent still trying to.

The parents have put their lives on hold to keep their sons memories alive. These families are poor, undereducated people whose sons were their hope for a brighter future. They are the ones who continue to fight, continue to refuse the governments fiction. Normally these levels of violence cause people to retreat into their homes, and become frightened of speaking out. But these families are a dignified example of people struggling not just for the return of their sons, but also a more peaceful Mexico, a Mexico where theythe poor, undereducated, rural, indigenous peoplealso count.

These people matter, Knoll insistedher voice cracking. They refuse to let their sons be just another line in the newspaper.

The parents of the missing 43 initially benefitted from nationwide support, and people across the country mobilized in support of the students, in fiery protests, which threatened to destabilize the government. But that support, following the government repression of the massive protests that resulted across the country, has begun to die down as the country has grown exhausted with their fight, and distracted by subsequent massacres, like the 2015 Apatzingan and Ocotlan massacres, in which federal authorities extrajudicially executed dozens of people in Michoacan and Jalisco.

Last year, former President Vicente Fox went so far as to essentially tell the families to just get over it. They need to accept reality," Fox said. "The country has to keep advancing. And they do, too."

But for the students families, the fight is far from over.

Despite the arrests, despite the many officials who have lost their jobsincluding chief criminal investigator Tomas Zeron, who relinquished his post two weeks ago in anticipation of the two-year anniversarydespite the controversy this case has brought the Mexican government and President Pena Nieto, and two years of searching, the truth remains elusive.

The parents have nowhere to pray for their sons, no tomb to take flowers to on Day of the Dead, and no way to give up hope and accept that their children will not come home. The missing students exist in a limbo, somewhere between alive and dead. But this case, which has exhausted the country, and claimed many political casualties, is unlikely to ever be solved.

Ayotzinapa no se olvida, thousands across Mexico say today.

Ayotzinapa will not be forgotten.
Governor Paul LePage, Maines miniature Donald Trump, has said over 90 percent of the states drug trafficking comes from black and Hispanic dealers. But his own binder full of alleged drug dealers proves him wrong.

I made the comment that black people are trafficking in our state, now ever since I said that comment Ive been collecting every single drug dealer who has been arrested in our state, LePage said during an August town hall meeting that drew widespread condemnation for being racist. I dont ask them to come to Maine and sell their poison, but they come and I will tell you that 90-plus percent of those pictures in my book, and its a three-ringed binder, are black and Hispanic people from Waterbury, Conn., the Bronx and Brooklyn.

On Monday, LePage released a digital version of his binder to the public. The 148-page document consists mostly of press clippings and printed-out emails showing mugshots of alleged drug dealers. LePage has scribbled notes like get photo for my album and put in the book and like pictures in my binder for historical value on some of the pages.

But contrary to LePages claims, 90 percent of the alleged dealers do not appear to be black or Hispanic. In fact, most appear to be white.

The scanned mugshots in LePages binder are grainy and murky, but of the 92 alleged dealers pictured, more than half appear to be white.

Reached for comment, LePage's office said the governor's reference to "those pictures" implied that he was citing statistics about out-of-state dealers. "The Governor was not stating that 90 percent of all the alleged drug dealers in the binder are black and Hispanic," spokesperson Adrienne Bennet told The Daily Beast. "Clearly, the binder demonstrates that all releases and forwarded news articles sent by Steve McCausland were placed in the binder, which included methamphetamine arrests. The 90 percent underscore was put on alleged heroin traffickers from out-of-state."

LePage has a history of pinning Maines drug trade on people of color. In a January town hall, he described the states drug dealers as out-of-state men with names like D-Money who impregnate young white girls.

These arent the people who take drugs. These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty. These type of guys. They come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, then they go back home, LePage said in January. Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue weve got to deal with down the road.

LePage later defended his remarks, explaining that it was safe to conflate Maine women and white women.

I was going impromptu in my brain, didn't catch up to my mouth, he said two days later. Instead of saying, Maine women, I said, white women. Im not going to apologize to the Maine women for that because if you go to Maine you will see we are essentially 95% white.

LePage also drew heat in January for appearing to encourage gun owners to shoot drug dealers.

I tell ya, everybody in Maine, we have constitutional carry, LePage said. Load up and get rid of the drug dealers. Because, folks, theyre killing our kids. Asked whether he was endorsing vigilante justice, LePage said he wasnt.

LePage, a Donald Trump supporter, continued to suggest shooting drug dealers in August, describing policing as a war against an enemy, which he perceives as people of color.

Youve been in uniform? he asked a fellow Republican legislator during a press conference. You shoot at the enemy. You try to identify the enemy and the enemy right now, the overwhelming majority of people coming in, are people of color or people of Hispanic origin.

In light of the demographics in his binder, LePages current stance on the extrajudicial killing of drug dealers is unclear.
Over the course of American history, all 44 presidents have been men and all but one have been white men. On television, our presidents have been a far more diverse bunch.

Eight years into the Obama presidency and with the potential first female president on the horizon, white male presidents are starting to feel almost nostalgic. This past week saw the rise to power a new fictional American president in Kiefer Sutherlands Tom Kirkman, a lowly Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who is thrust into the highest office in the land when terrorists decimate the State of the Union in the pilot for Designated Survivor .

Hes just the latest in long list of characters who a large swath of Americans would probably prefer to the two main options on the ballot this fall.

President Josiah Edward Bartlet (Martin Sheen, The West Wing)

Martin Sheen was left off the list of West Wing cast members reuniting to campaign for Hillary Clinton this month, but the shows creator Aaron Sorkin has said of his character, President Jed Bartlet would of course endorse the Democratic candidate over Donald Trump. Starting in the fall of 1999, Bartlet became a beloved figure in liberal circles for his unwavering, idealistic Democratic principles. By the 2000 election, he was by some measures more popular than Al Gore or George W. Bush.

President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert, 24)

Fox launched 24 less than two months after 9/11 and gave this fictional version of the U.S. a black commander-in-chief seven years before President Obama took office. Starting out as a candidate on the shows first season, it is the threat against his life that sets the series into motion. He stuck around for four seasons before  spoiler alert  being killed in the opening scenes of season five.

President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica)

Technically, Mary McDonnells Laura Roslin was president of the Twelve Colonies, not the United States. But like Designated Survivors Kirkman, she too became president after holding a lower-level cabinet position when the Cylon attacks wiped out most of the existing government. Unlike many American presidents, she had much bigger things to worry about than terrorism.

President Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis, Commander in Chief)

Similar to other fictional female presidents on TV, Geena Davis President Mackenzie Allen was not elected to the office, but instead rose from the vice presidency following the previous commander-in-chiefs death. The show was canceled after its one and only season a decade ago, when the prospect of a woman in the Oval Office seemed a lot more like a long shot than it does now.

President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones, 24)

Before Cherry Jones played a lesbian feminist poet on Transparent, she played a Republican president on 24. Taking office during the shows seventh season, President Allison Taylor arrived just as Hillary Clinton was squaring off with Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. But, Jones said at the time , Shes not at all like Hillary Clinton. In the first place, I think shes battling depression. I think of Hillary Clinton as a very gregarious and pragmatic person.

President Dale Gilchrist (Bill Pullman, 1600 Penn)

One of the few joys of 1600 Penn, a short-lived sitcom co-created by former Obama Administration speechwriter and current political podcaster Jon Lovett, was seeing Bill Pullman regain his rightful place as president of the United States 16 years after the first Independence Day film. Unfortunately, President Dale Gilchrist was generally less inspiring than President Thomas Whitmore.

President Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith, The Simpsons)

Remember that time The Simpsons flashed forward 30 years and revealed that Lisa was Americas first straight female president? It was in that same episode that writer Dan Greaney predicted a Donald Trump presidency, a full 16 years before his name would appear on the general election ballot. As viewers learn in the futuristic episode, Lisa Simpson inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.

President Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits, The West Wing)

Legend has it Jimmy Smitss President Matthew Santos from the final season of The West Wing was based on Barack Obama. In his 2011 book The Bridge , The New Yorkers David Remnick reports that writer Eli Attie began writing the character right after he watched then-State Senator Obama deliver his address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. "One of the main things was Obama's attitude about race, his almost militant refusal to be defined by it, Attie says in the book, which became the basis for an episode I wrote called 'Opposition Research,' in which Santos said he didn't want to run as the 'brown candidate,' even though that's where all his support and fundraising potential were.

President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III (Tony Goldwyn, Scandal)

Tony Goldwyns Fitz could probably win an award for most sex by a TV president for his turbulent tryst with Kerry Washingtons Olivia Pope on Scandal. Like many other fictional presidents, he survives an assassination attempt and doesnt pay much attention to his children.

President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep)

It could be the shortest presidency in history, Veep creator Armando Iannucci told The Daily Beast last year of Selina Meyers unexpected rise. She started out the series as vice president, briefly ascended to the top job after the never-seen president resigned, but then had to immediately start campaigning for the next cycle. By the end of season five, after an election that ended in a terrifyingly-possible electoral college tie, she had lost her job and her identity. But at least the part helped earn Julia-Louis Dreyfus a record six lead actress Emmy awards .

President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey, House of Cards)

Like Veeps Selina Meyer, Frank Underwood had to work his way up to the presidency on House of Cards. But instead of accidental luck, Kevin Spaceys Richard III-esque character used deception and murder to get there. Underwood also holds the distinction of having his portrait hung in the actual National Portrait Gallery .

President Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland, Designated Survivor)
Two days prior to devastating aerial attacks, Michael Ratney, the U.S. special envoy to Syria, was told the Assad regime was planning to hit the Aleppo facilities of the Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer rescue group.

Raed al-Saleh, the head of the organization, which is widely known as the White Helmets, was in Manhattan last week, where he told not only Ratney, but envoys from the Netherlands, Britain, and Canada. He said intercepted communications from military officers in the Assad regime signaled imminent plans to bomb several rescue centers, according to two sources who were in the room when al-Saleh was transmitting this intelligence.

We just received a message from the spotters, just an hour ago, they detected messages from the regime radio that they will attack [Syrian Civil Defense] centers in northern Aleppo, one of those sources jotted down during the meeting, quoting al-Saleh. First with surface to surface to missiles and, if they miss, they will use spies on the ground to adjust coordinates and come back.

Within 48 hours, that forecast proved all too true, as three out of five of the White Helmets installationsone of them a makeshift firehouse, two others ambulance depotswere pulverized in Syrias most populous city in acts that Western officials have called the deliberate and systematic targeting of civilians and humanitarian workers.

Ratney did not respond to The Daily Beasts request for comment about whether or not he was forewarned of this atrocity or if he or the U.S. government took any measures to try and prevent it from happening.

One of those at the meeting described the discussion as very fucking bizarre.  They were all basically saying yes, this is awful, but were not going to do anything about it.

The second source confirmed that al-Salehs message appeared to generate no substantive response from the officials present.

According to Abdul Rahman al-Hassani, the chief liaison officer for the White Helmets based in Aleppo, open-frequency regime chatter was picked up via a listening station used by the organization as an advance warning system for impending airstrikes or ground attacks: They said, in Arabic, that they will be shelling civil defense centers. And if they are not hit the first time, then [the regime] will correct its targeting and do it again. And anyone who came to pull people from the rubble would be targeted, too.

Nothing happened for two days. Then, on Friday, Sep. 23, at 7 oclock in the morning, the White Helmets buildings came under attack, with three locations hit in quick succession, two of them directly by aircraft, al-Hassani said.

We cannot tell if it was Syrian or Russian aircraft that struck us. Three vehiclesone firefighting vehicle was turned upside-down. Ambulances were destroyed.

Al-Hassani described the munitions used as a new type of rocket which caused huge damage.

Another White Helmet installation, this one located underground, was also hit with what al-Hassani said was a bunker-busting bomb, the use of which has been increasingly documented in Aleppo recently.

This was but a mere taste of the carnage unleashed on the city at large.

As the White Helmets reported at the weekend, cluster and vacuum (fuel-air) bombs were dropped repeatedly on the population in over 140 sorties. More than 164 people were killed, and over 200 injured in what has come to resemble the Guernica of the Syrian war.

One Aleppo hospital took in 180 dead and injured on Sunday. A doctor, Abu Rajab, told the Guardian: Imagine the dead lying in the corridors, corpses and wounded and blood flowing everywhere. We are standing before inhumanity, real massacres, extraordinary weapons whose blasts we never heard before, never heard before ever, they make the ground shake beneath our feet.

Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador to the United Nations, walked out of a Security Council session on Sunday, joined by his French and American counterparts, after accusing the Assad regime and Russia of perpetrating war crimes. After five years of conflict, you might think that the regime has had its fill of barbarity  that its sick bloodlust against its own people has finally run its course, Rycroft said. But this weekend, the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo.

The White Helmets were hit just days after Russia conducted surveillance and then repeatedly bombed a 32-vehicle United Nations aid convoy carrying medical supplies and food to rebel-held Aleppo. 20 people died, including Omar Barakat, the local director of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. And that incident shortly followed, and seemed to be retaliation for, a coalition airstrike that killed 60 Syrian soldiers (recent conscripts drawn from the ranks of Assads prison population) who were on the front line fighting he Islamic State in the province of Deir Ezzor.

The coalition said the attack was an accident and U.S. government reaffirmed its commitment to avoiding any confrontation with pro-regime forces in Syria. Moscow, however, has not taken responsibility for the U.N. convoy bombing and has instead variously blamed spontaneous combustion, terrorists and a coalition drone strike for immolating the trucks and personnel, even though the tail fragment of a OFAB 250-270 Russian-made bomb was recovered from the sceneby the White Helmets.

No one who joins this corps daide humanitaire is compensated; the entire NGO operates on foreign donations, some of them from Western governments but many also from well wishers. These have included British MP Jo Cox, whose widower started a memorial fund for the murdered Labour parliamentarian partly earmarked for helping the White Helmets continue their efforts. To to date they have, by their own estimation, saved 60,000 Syrian lives.

Nominated for this years Nobel Peace Prize, the group has also been singled out by Right Livelihood Award Foundation and is the subject of a 40-minute documentary, which debuted on Netflix Sep. 16.

Tragically, the headquarters featured prominently in that film now lies ruins.
Violent crime spiked in several major cities last year, pushing the national murder rate up by double digits, according to newly released annual crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The FBI's 2015 Uniform Crime Report was made public Monday morning, hours before Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off for their first televised debate and following days of tense protests over a police shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trumpwho calls himself the law and order candidatehas been stepping up his efforts to use the crime issue to supposedly appeal to African American voters and definitely stoke fears among his white working class base.

According to the FBI, violent crime rose 3.9 percent in 2015. There were 15,696 murders in the U.S. in 201510.8 percent more than there were in 2014. This pushed the murder rate to five homicides per 100,000 people. In cities with populations over 250,000, the murder rate was double that. More than 70 percent of homicides are committed using a gun.

Speaking at a violence reduction event in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch acknowledged the uptick in violent crime but emphasized that 2015 still represented the third-lowest year for violent crime in the past two decades.

The report reminds us of the progress that we are making, she said. It shows that in many communities, crime has remained stable or even decreased from the historic lows reported in 2014.

That message is being echoed by criminologists and data scientists who are cautioning both presidential candidates against drawing too many conclusions from the new numbers.

John Pfaff, a law professor at Fordham University and a nationally recognized expert on crime and prison data, said its hard to draw any trend line at all from one or two years of data.

You might hear comparisons like 'we haven't seen a jump like this since 1990' and it's important to understand what that means, he said. It means a lot less than it sounds like.

Pfaff joined more than half a dozen experts including police officials, prosecutors, community activists and victim advocates at a press conference on Friday hosted by Harvard Law School to discuss the danger of politicizing the FBIs data.

We've had declining murders for 21 years, but in seven of those years the murder rate actually went up...including four years in a row -- and you didn't see people panicking, Pfaff said.

Indeed, despite isolated increases in violent crime over the past two years, five- and ten-year trend lines show that Americans are safer than they were a decade ago. The violent crime rate in 2015 was 0.7 percent lower than the 2011 level, and 16.5 percent below the 2006 level, according to the FBI.

By any measure violent crime in the U.S. is near historic lows and the country is dramatically safer than it was a quarter century ago. Homicide and other violent crime are at about half of what they were at their peak in 1991. Gun homicides have dropped by about 40 percent since 1993.

Ironically, one consequence of such historically low crime rates is that small upticks in the actual number of offenses can have an oversized impact on percentage growth. Experts say this magnifier effect can make relatively small numerical fluctuations appear much larger when presented out of context.

It would be a mistake to overemphasize a single year fluctuation, said Ronald Sullivan, Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School. Already in 2016 we're seeing a double-digit decrease in homicides in some of the cities that saw increases in 2015. On the whole it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to focus on a single blip in year to year change.

Nevertheless, Trump has been pouncing on crime and its racial contours to paint himself as a friend to minority communities, but thanks to tired strategies or bad optics that message has so far failed to land.

Over the past two months, he has met with black business and religious leaders in Philadelphia and Detroit. But for the most part he has delivered his campaign message to Black voters who live in Americas most violence-prone areas from such inexplicable locales as Manchester, New Hampshire and West Bend, Wisconsin -- where 94 percent of the population identifies as white.

His solutions are drawn from the failed 1990s playbook.

Last week, during a town hall in Cleveland moderated by Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump responded to a question on the urban crime problem by endorsing more aggressive policing in the nation's hardest-hit communities.

I would do stop-and-frisk. I think you have to, the candidate said. We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well...you have to be proactive.

Despite Trumps accolades, New York's long-running stop-and-frisk program is almost universally recognized as an epic failure. Before a federal judge ruled the practice unconstitutional in 2013, barely 6 percent of the more than 500,000 annual stops conducted by the NYPD led to an arrest, and of those only about half ended with the subject being convicted of a crime. According to a report from the New York State Attorney General's Office, just one in 50 stop-and-frisk arrests, or about 0.1 percent of all stops, led to a conviction for a crime of violence.

Most policing experts say the racially biased practice has only contributed to the breakdown of community in trust in law enforcement.

You can flood an area with police and arrest everyone you come across breaking any law and crime will go down, but at the end of the day youre just going to piss a lot of people off, Frank Straub, who led the police departments in White Plains, New York and Spokane, Washington, told The Daily Beast.

Pissing people off is not something Trump naturally shies away from. But he attempted to walk back his comments, telling Fox & Friends he was referring only to Chicago when he mentioned the controversial stop-and-frisk policy. But later that night the candidate reiterated his endorsement of a stronger police presence during a rally in in Aston, Pennsylvania  a working-class suburb of Philadelphia.

The problem isn't that we have too many police, he told a crowd of several hundred, it's that we have too few.

The new FBI data is likely to give Trump's tough-on-crime message a boost as he heads into his first face-to-face encounter with his opponent  who he paints as being anti-police, and accuses her of pandering to more radical elements of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Whether that will help Trump win votes in November remains to be seen. A Fox News poll released last month showed the Republican nominee has the support of just 1 percent of African-American voters. According to the election blog FiveThirtyEight, he is in fourth place among Black voters -- behind both Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.

In Aston, Pennsylvania on Thursday night Trump commented at length on the civil unrest in Charlotte that erupted after last Wednesdays fatal police shooting of Keith Scott. He evoked the protests  which he called riots  to speak directly to minority voters.

The main victims of these violent demonstrations are law-abiding African Americans who live in these communities and only want to raise their children in safety and peace with a good education, he said. I will be their voice. We will bring security to our African-American communities and our Latino communities. I say to the African American and Latino communities...I will fix it.

His comments drew only muted applause from the almost all white crowd, which seemed hungry for a taste of the populist, pro-labor, anti-immigrant rhetoric characteristic of Trump's early campaign.

Build a wall! shouted one attendee during a lull in Trumps speech about the plight of inner-city youth. By the time he transitioned to his bread-and-butter issues of free trade and immigration, audience members had begun leaving by the dozen.

Pastor Michael McBride, who works to reduce gun violence and mass incarceration as a program director for the PICO National Network, called even the suggestion of stepping up questionable police practices in minority neighborhoods an affront those hardest hit by violence.

To say youre trying to make Make America Great Again is something that people in communities of color reject as a throwback phrase to an era where we had it even worse, said McBride, adding that if Trump tries to exploit the new FBI crime data to stoke fears in his first debate with Clinton the candidate will be adopting the tools of failed political leadership going all the way back to Richard Nixon.

Its playing the Willie Horton card, he said.

McBrides reference to efforts in 1988 by allies of George H.W. Bush to paint his opponent Michael Dukakis as soft on crime by stoking racially tinged fear reflects the attitude of many in the criminal justice reform community who view tough on crime as a codeword for tough on poor minorities.

They worry that hyperbolic messaging about a growing American crime wave threatens to reverse significant, bipartisan gains toward reforming the criminal justice system.

In accepting his partys nomination in July, Trump took pains to attach rising crime rates to the legacy of the Obama presidency, and its emphasis on reversing the tide of mass incarceration. And he has repeatedly blamed decades of Democratic rule for turning inner cities into virtual free-fire zones.

You could go to war zones in countries that were fighting and its safer than living in some of our inner cities that are run by the Democrats, he said during an August rally in Akron, Ohio.

Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of Color of Change, accuses Trump of distorting reality and appealing to fear and racism.

The tough on crime campaign rhetoric does a disservice to public officials who have embraced change, he said, We should not let that positive momentum be derailed by lack of facts, fear, racism and demagoguery.

According to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice, violent crime remains near the bottom of the nations 30-year downward trend, with just three citiesBaltimore, Chicago, and Houstondriving a rise in the national average.

Even in these cities, the vast majority of citizens are safer than they've been in decades as shootings are concentrated in small geographic areas and among impact a targeted subset of individuals.

Whatever blip we see in crime trends do not affect all people in every city, most places around the country are experiencing record lows in crime rates, said Ronald Sullivan, Clinical Professor of Law & Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School. These increases are concentrated in the most impoverished and most segregated areas.

Trumps poster child for out of control crime, Chicago, is a case in point. The city suffered 468 murders last year and shootings are up by nearly a third over 2013. But only five neighborhoods account for the bulk of the carnage.

Police say the majority of shooters and victims are drawn from the roughly 1,400 individuals on its Strategic Subject List, which tracks those individuals at greatest risk of violence based on such things as gang affiliation.

According to Miriam Krinsky  former assistant United States attorney in Los Angeles who studies crime trendsthe vast majority of Chicagoans live in areas with record or near record lows in homicide.

Crime is largely isolated to a very few neighborhoods in Chicago. They tend to be highly segregated pockets that are predominantly black and are among the city's poorest, said Krinsky. These are areas that are experiencing increases in violence despite the fact that they are policed the most aggressively and incarcerated at some of the highest rates.

In Krinskys view, candidates that advocate getting tough on crime are ignoring decades of evidence.

We know that tough on crime has failed, we know that lock em up and throw away the key has failed, she said. If we could arrest and jail our way out of the gun violence problem, the areas that have had the greatest uptick in gun violence would probably be the safest places in america. We need to fix it, but fixing it does not mean being more tough on crime. These are not the approaches the people in these communities are asking for.
He purses his lips and rolls his eyes cartoonishly, then nods his head and tilts it to the side, like a puppy. At times, hell grasp the side of the lectern with both hands and lean forward, and then back, seemingly out of boredom, or restlessness.

When hes asked tough questions about his rhetoric, he blames political correctness and then deflects, talking about the sad state of the country. When hes challenged to explain his more outlandish views, he says he should just get credit for the fact that anyone cares about the topic. He is rude and defiant, talking over anyone who dares needle him, even telling them to be quiet.

She is a more diplomatic but no less towering presence. She opens and closes her hands as she speaks to put fine points on her statements. She nods her head slowly when shes asked a question, the corner of her lips upturned in a not-quite smile that conveys a sort of polite aggravation with the entire process. When an opponent criticizes her, her eyes narrow, and the not-quite smile morphs into a glare.

Shes a master at answering the question she wants to answer, rather than whats originally asked. Moderators sometimes have to push, twice, even three times, to get an answer that pertains to their query.

This is Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on the debate stage this past primary season. On Monday night, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, the former friends will meet onstage for the first time as their respective party nominees, following months of arguing with and mocking one another from afar.

An extensive review of all 21 primary debates, conducted by The Daily Beast, provides insight into what we can expect on Monday evening, when two of the countrys most disliked and divisive politicians spar in person for the first time.

Their styles couldnt be more different, but to their detractors, they share a common flaw: a tendency to flout the facts. The degree to which this is true varies greatly for each candidatea Politico investigation recently found that, in a weeks time, Clinton lied a third as much as Trump didbut for the public, such distinctions may not come into focus until the candidates are sparring one-on-one, their strengths and weaknesses on display for 90 minutes and with no commercial breaks.

Clinton has a reputation as a skilled debater, someone with a deep and nuanced understanding of even the most complex policy issues, so deft that she managed to frustrate a young Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary (although not enough to win).

Trump proved adequate in this context and capable of sucking up the oxygen in the roommany questions posed to his Republican rivals had to do with himbut his campaign is aware that its not where he thrives, and has worked to set expectations low for his performance. Monday night will be the first time in his short political career that he has ever debated an adversary one-on-one.

For all their differences, Clinton and Trump each have the distinction of having been famous for decadesTrump since the 1980s and Clinton since her husband, Bill, first ran for president in 1992meaning there are a wide array of events, statements and changes of the heart about which they can and likely will be asked. In the primary debates, certain questions were asked repeatedly.

There were 12 Republican primary debates in total, the first of which, in Cleveland in August of 2015, included all 16 candidates: Trump, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, John Kasich, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal and Jim Gilmore. That debate, and the six that came after it, was split into two partsa so-called undercard debate for the candidates with lower poll numbers, and then the main event, for the top-tier.

On the other side, there were a mere nine debates, and far fewer candidates. While the primary began with a five-way race (remember former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee? How about former Senator Jim Webb? He killed a guy!), it quickly dropped to three. Former Maryland governor Martin OMalley left the race after he lost Iowa, back in February, narrowing the field to just two candidates: Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont.

Despite Sanders surprising challenge, Clinton was always going to be Democratic nominee, so moderators hit her with hard questions from the very beginning.

But two topics that came up nearly every debate, and likely will Monday night as well, were Clintons role in Libya and, of course, her use of a private server for her emails and the FBI investigation that while over, continues to dog her campaign.

Her reactions and answers to those two topics show a contrast between a topic Clinton wants to defend, and one shed rather not talk about ever again.

When asked about her support for overthrowing Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as well as the death of four Americans in Benghazi, Clintons answers was firm, calm and consistent.

In each debate, she outlined the situation on the ground and explained, point by point, why she made the decisions she did in the war-torn country.

On the emails, well, her answers varied from dismissive, to remorseful, to defensive, to downright exasperated.

At the second debate in November 2015after the first debate when Bernie Sanders famously said he didnt care about her damn emailsshe laughed the issue off when asked about whether Democrats should be worried about the other shoe dropping as the FBI investigation continued. She had recently completed a grueling 11-hour interview with the House Benghazi Committee to rave reviews and it was clear she was feeling confident and completely in the right.

Well, I think after eleven hours that's pretty clear. Yeah, she answered.

At the fifth debate in February, she again dismissed it as a Republican political ploya callback to the rightwing conspiracy of the nineties.

You know, before it was emails, it was Benghazi, and the Republicans were stirring up so much controversy about that, she said. And I testified for 11 hours, answered their questions. They basically said, Yeah, didnt get her. We tried. That was all a political ploy.

But by March 2016, she used a more rehearsed answer: she did not send or receive any emails marked classified at the time.

At the end of a defiant explanation she concluded by saying, I am not concerned about it. I am not worried about it and no Democrat or American should be either.

The issue, of course, has not gone away, meaning the chances she will have to answer for it again Monday night are high.

During the Republican debates, moderators asked Trump often, in various ways, about his plan to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and have Mexico pay for it. They asked, too, about trade, and his contention that disastrous trade deals took jobs away from Americaand about his own hiring of foreign workers, despite his anti-outsourcing rhetoric.

His answers tended to come back to the same core ideas: America is no longer great but hell fix it, the military will get bigger despite the deficit getting smaller under his stewardship, hes winning in the polls so that means hes necessarily right about everything, and all of his policies will work in the end because he says they will.

For the other candidates, the repetition seemed to become an annoyance.

He says five things! Rubio said of Trump during a February CNN debate. Everyones dumb, hes gonna make America great again, were gonna win, win, win, hes winning in the polls, and the lines around the states!

In response, Trump pursed his lips so dramatically he looked like he was doing a Robert DeNiro impersonation.

Its true, he said. I tell the truth, I tell the truth.

Rubio was not far off.

If you look at the polls and if you look at the millions of people that have been pouring into the polls, it's, again, the biggest story, Trump said in response to a question about his past as a supporter of Democrats and their ideas during a CNN debate in March.

I beat Hillary, and I will give you the list, I beat Hillary in many of the polls that have been taken. And each week, I get better and better. And believe me, I haven't even started on her yet, he said during that same debate.

During a Fox debate in March, he said, I beat Hillary Clinton in many polls...Every single poll when it comes to ISIS and the military and the border say, by far, Trump is the best.

Of the many open questions that will be answered in less than 24 hours is which version of these candidates will show up.

Will it be Stern Hillary versus Crazy Donald? Or perhaps Defensive Hillary versus Reasonable Donald?

One thing is virtually certain, no matter who shows up behind the lecterns: these two complex, driven, disliked, flawed candidates are in a dead heat.

After Monday night, it seems unlikely that will still be the case.
A matter of taste

Winston Churchill spoke with knowledge and experience when, savouring his favourite champagne Pol Roger, he said My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.

Mary Lewis Lewis Moberly

But for many, especially when faced with a complexity of choice, not knowing what is the best creates a barrier to trial. A key is in the taste. Take whisky for example

For years whisky was a male rite of passage  a difficult' drink whose taste had to be acquired. Malts were even more inaccessible and best introduced by a male friend, mentor or barman. Age provided something of a guide  to expense  but not necessarily taste. Traditionally malts were categorised by provenance and hence, via terroir, to taste but this still proved too complex. Now, with limited aged whisky stock, there is a swing towards non-aged, narrative based whiskies. These narratives often still try to link provenance with taste eg Talisker Storm An intense Talisker with a profoundly maritime character, like a warm welcome from the wild Hebridean sea.'

Enter the Millennials  keen on experiences and discovery, would-be gourmets interested in taste but many drinking more selectively for health reasons and because they are cash strapped. They want to experiment but equally ensure they are going to like what they buy!

Jon, Mark and Robbo were early taste-led pioneers in the whisky sector. Back in 2002 they created The Smokey Peaty One, The Rich Spicy One and The Smooth Sweeter One. The story goes they were mates (two of them brothers), who passionately believed that decent quality whisky should be enjoyed, not worshipped. They decided their world 'needed' whiskies that removed the waffle, tasted amazing and was for them, not some 80 year old laird. They toured the country promoting their taste-based portfolio. Maybe they were ahead of their time? Or maybe the informality of their packaging veered too far from the credibility required in this status ridden category? Today they are listed within Edringtons brands and distilleries but appear to have gone quiet.

More recently, Jameson has introduced three new taste driven expressions into GTR; Jameson Bold, Lively and Round. Anna Malmhake, CEO of Irish Distillers said The idea is that the series invites consumers to experience Jameson in a new way, exploring its defining taste characteristics. Bold takes its lead from pot still whiskey, starting with sweet and creamy flavours with soft fruits, and developing to into barley, baked apples and a hit of spices. Lively has been influenced by grain whiskey, giving sweet notes of perfume bonbons and Turkish delight combined with hints of citrus and a little chilli oil to bring a prickle of spices to the mouth. The third expression in the collection is Round, and was inspired by wood and offers plump charred tones, with sweet vanilla flavours coupled with ripe fruits and pot still spices. The packaging is highly crafted and engaging in its detail, less of a category breaker than Jon, Mark and Robbos range. It will be interesting to chart its taste-driven progress.

Bars are also considering how to make whisky more accessible through the communication of different tastes and the literal removal of any physical barriers. Black Rock is a Shoreditch bar without a bar! Roaming bartenders wheel drink trolleys and mix whisky-based cocktails from more than 250 brands on offer. They can effortlessly perform an educational role and provide consumers with an all important interactive experience. Abandoning the tradition of keeping inaccessible bottles behind a bar and arranged by provenance, the whisky bottles are in glass-doored cabinets arranged by flavour rather than by region or brand. Every element of Black Rock is geared towards demystifying whisky and making the complexity of flavour and the breadth of variety in whisky more understandable to the uninitiated. Pricing is also transparent with a tiered pricing system. And a bit of retail theatre is created with an 18 foot oak table made from an 185 year old English oak tree with two channels lined with charred American oak and toasted European oak respectively. One is filled with the house cocktail and the other with the house whisky. Covered with a glass top it provides a table surface for consumers to place their glasses on whilst also helping to educate consumers with the story of how whisky ages and the magic role of oak affecting flavour.

An interesting lesson that accessibility doesnt have to be dumbed down. New ways of communication and organization by taste can encourage discovery. And indeed innovations in creating taste, such as controversial hyper ageing with barrel fragments, can only mean its a matter of watch this space.

26 September 2016
December 19, 1939 - September 23, 2016

Born in Rushville, NE, December 19, 1939, to Ivan Nathaniel Magnuson and Lena Ray Magnuson. In his early years, the family lived in Batesland, SD on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where they were wheat farmers. They moved to Gordon, NE when he was in 6th grade. He graduated from Gordon High School in 1958. Chuck attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska earning a BA in Physics in 1962. He received his MS in Physics at SUNY at Buffalo in 1966 and taught Physics at Carson Newman College in Jefferson City TN until 1969. Following enrollment in a Summer Program for College Physics teachers at Texas A&M, he was asked to return to Texas A&M and work on his doctorate with professor Nelson Duller. Chuck received his PhD in Physics from Texas A&M in 1974. He joined the Biosystems Research Group at Texas A&M that worked on a joint program with Duke University that focused on Carbon-11 Isotope transfer in plants. Chuck loved Physics and loved working with others. He authored and co-authored over 100 scientific publications. Chuck did consulting in the modeling of soil and crop systems and applied physics.

Chuck loved people and saw the good in everyone. He never let Cerebral Palsy damper his spirit and never let it be an obstacle in achieving his life's dreams and in helping others.

While at Texas A&M he met his wife Denise (Maynard) Magnuson in a graduate solid state physics course and that was the beginning of their love story. They were married in College Station, TX on August 20, 1971.

Chuck was a member of the Boy Scouts of America from his youth and throughout his adult life as a Scout Leader. His love of Boy Scouting was contagious and it was his joy to help so many boys in their journey through the Boy Scout Program. Chuck received many scouting awards: among them the District Award of Merit, The Straight Arrow Award, Silver Beaver and the Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow.

Chuck was a longtime member of the College Station Kiwanis Club and prior to that the Kiwanis Club of Jefferson City, TN.

Chuck was a very loyal, life-long member the Presbyterian Church USA. He was a member of A&M Presbyterian Church and was on the building committee of Covenant Presbyterian Church which merged The A&M Presbyterian and Trinity Presbyterian Churches.

Chuck is survived by his wife of 45 years, Denise Maynard Magnuson, three sons, Ivan Gerard Magnuson and wife Kristy, Curt Emil Magnuson and wife Amber, Todd Maynard Magnuson, grandchildren, Ashtyn, Caden and Parker, sister, Marie Kunkle and her husband Alan and many nieces and nephews.

Chuck loved life, he loved to work with others. He had a great sense of humor. He was a blessing to many and will be greatly missed.

Visitation will be at Hillier Funeral Home in College Station, Monday September 26, 5 -7pm, and Celebration of Life, Tuesday September 27, at 10:30am at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 220 Rock Prairie Rd., College Station, TX, 77845.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Boy Scout Troop 102, c/o College Station Kiwanis, P.O. Box 16, College Station, TX 77841.

The family is grateful to the wonderful nurses, CNA's and staff of CHI St. Joseph Manor, Dr. Imperial, and Dr. Amin for their loving care.

Please visit Chuck's tribute page at www.hillierfuneralhome.com to share memories and stories.
July 10, 1943 - September 23, 2016

Glenda Jean "Jeanne" Cochran Raykovich, 73, of Hilltop Lakes, TX (formerly of College Station) went to be with The Lord Friday September 23, 2016. Jeanne was born July 10th, 1943, to James Augustus Fuller Sr. and Esteen Odom Fuller in Conroe, Texas. Jeanne grew up in Conroe and graduated from Conroe High School, apart from a couple years at a Sun Pipeline Oil Co. camp in Silver, Texas. Jeanne told many stories of her time there including riding her bike along the dirt roads with her sister. One of the great joys of Jeanne's childhood was her large family. Besides her parents, Jeanne had eight brothers and sisters, eleven aunts and uncles plus their spouses, and dozens of cousins. Staying close to and being involved with her family was important to Jeanne's parents as her father was considered the patriarch of the family. She told endless stories of when her relatives would gather for various holidays, or when relatives would drop by for a frequent visit.

Always a hard worker, Jeanne began working in high school. Her jobs included working at a bank, teaching in the Navasota school district, and several positions with Texas A&M University. These included Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership (TALL), Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAEX), the Office of the Commandant for the Corps of Cadets, and in the International Agricultural Programs Department.

In 1966 Jeanne married Donald Mason Cochran II. He had an optometry practice in Navasota and Madisonville. While living in Navasota they lived in a turn of the century Victorian house. They had two children, Donald Mason Cochran III and Carol D'Ann Cochran, and three grandchildren, Michael Steven Cochran, Donald Mason Cochran IV, and Curtis Maverick Cochran. Jeanne and Don enjoyed traveling around the United States in their RV. Her husband Don preceded her in death.

Jeanne was an active person and loved antiquing and traveling. She could not pass an antique store without going in. Jeanne had many unique collections and her house is filled with many beautiful antiques. She enjoyed cooking and trying new and different activities. Jeanne played the piano, the saxophone and the dulcimer. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi International Women's Organization for over 40 years. During that time she received honors such as the Order of the Rose and the Silver Circle and served as an officer and committee member many times. At present she was a member of Gamma Gamma Master Chapter. Jeanne had many dear friends in the organization.

In 2000, Jeanne married Thomas "Tommy" Edward Raykovich who was preceded in death by his first wife. They lived in College Station before moving to Hilltop Lakes. They enjoyed cooking with a dutch oven cooking group with their friends, RVing around Texas, and traveled to Europe together in their newly found retirement. Tommy has three children by his first wife, Stacy Ann Broussard, Teresa Lillian Black, and Jason Neil Raykovich, and 13 grandchildren.

Jeanne is survived by her husband Tommy, all of her children and grandchildren; and her sister, Carolyn Irene Popp of St. Peters, MO. She is predeceased by her first husband Donald, her parents, and her siblings Lelia Vee Fuller, Robert Jones Fuller, Alice Louise Fuller, James Carl Fuller, Gwendolyn Lorraign Fuller, James Augustus Fuller Jr., and Ralph Douglas Fuller.

Jeanne was a loving person and a good friend to many. Visitation will be held at Hillier Funeral Home in College Station on Tuesday, September 27th from 5-7 pm. Funeral services will be at Hillier Funeral Home in College Station on Wednesday, September 28th at 11:00 am. A reception will follow at 12:00 at the Hillier Funeral Home. Interment will be at Conroe Memorial Park at 2:30 pm Wednesday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Still Creek Ranch.

Please visit Jeanne's tribute page at www.hillierfuneralhome.com to share stories and memories.
Climate change and global warming discussions always end in heated debates, and I couldn't help but wonder - will it be too late by the time we all agree that global warming is a serious threat and take necessary measures to improve the situation, whatever the outcome of this election?

When Donald Trump tweeted "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive", it attracted hundreds of responses from people who called him insane' and not fit to be our President'. Of course, there were his supporters (let's call them Trumpets) who begged to differ. To me, that comment was baseless and didn't make sense, much like building the great wall of Mexico.

I keep a weather eye on the climate news and events and so wasn't skeptical when Hillary Clinton said "climate change is an urgent threat and a sweeping collection of challenges we face as a nation and a world."

It's hard to deny the unusual weather conditions recorded around the globe, and it is impossible to ignore the contribution of man-made events to the changes that we are seeing. In the wake of recent events, 600 residents from the Alaskan village of Shishmaref relocated due to the shrinking coastlines. That's a big problem now, and a poignant reply to Trump's "I consider it to be not a big problem at all. I think it's the weather." claim.

Do people really care?

The Yale program on climate change communication has reported that 56% of Trump supporters and a whopping 92% of Hillary's supporters believe in climate change and global warming, and are tilted to vote for the one who takes active measures towards the environment. The same report published that 14% of overall voters have ranked climate change as the most important issue. Ultimately then, the election results could be deeply impacted by the climate voters.

Environmental activist Tom Steyer stated that the presidential candidates must get their facts straight as they cannot avoid climate change questions with statements like "I'm not a scientist". And, as Hillary rightly points out, "the ones who say they're not scientists must start talking to those who are."

Paris Climate Agreement

Hillary has been positive towards the Paris agreement and if elected, she has pledged to move Obama's Clean Power Plan forward. She praised President Obama's decision and said she is proud that we shaped a global climate agreement, and every country including the US will be held accountable to their commitments.

Trump, however, had opposed the Paris climate agreement since he believed that it allows other countries to control the energy usage in the US. He worried that such an agreement favored and would empower other nations like China. Trump has made a bold statement that if elected, he would cancel the Paris agreement and stop the flow of US Tax money to UN Global warming programs within 100 days.
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Honeymooners seeking over-the-top accommodations and exotic locales have a new list to peruse.

The U.S. News & World Report's Best Honeymoon Destinations of 2016-2017 ranking was just released, and it offers 20 destinations that range from secluded beaches to romantic cities.

That publication considered user votes and expert opinions when determining the best places for couples to see together now.

RELATED: How much the average wedding cost in 2015, item-by-item

Not surprisingly, there were several tropical getaways and European landmarks in the mix.

It contrasts with a recent Westin Hotels & Resorts study, which revealed that U.S. residents aren't venturing far from home for their honeymoon as often. That same report also showed that honeymooners now care more about health and wellness, even when on their romantic trip.

"One of the most surprising things about the study was how many people went running on their honeymoon," Bob Jacobs, vice president of brand management for Westin Hotels & Resorts, told Skift. "Forty percent [of honeymooners] in the last five years went on at least one run during their honeymoon and they are using it as a way to decompress, disconnect, and be a tourist at the same time."

SEE ALSO: Wedding faux pas; what not to do if you're a guest

Wherever honemooners end up traveling, or what they do when they're there, the more pressing issue is that they go somewhere. A study reported that couples who have a honeymoon are 41 percent less likely to get a divorce.

So go ahead and take that trip to Madrid, or to one of the other 19 places the U.S. News & World report suggests.
NORWALK  As climate change continues to shape Long Island Sound and the coastal communities of Connecticut, the Maritime Aquarium will help area residents better understand the evolving shoreline thanks to new federal funding from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

The three-year, $485,000 grant is the largest federal award the aquarium has ever received, and will fund an initiative called Sound Resilience  Get On Board!

In the next three years, the aquarium will use the grant to involve nearly 2,000 middle- and high-school students in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Wilton, Weston, Fairfield and Bridgeport. The students will learn how severe storms, erosion and other environmental hazards threaten their communities, and how they can contribute to lessening the effects. The grant will also fund professional-development workshops for more than 150 teachers.

Aquarium President Brian Davis said it is critical for area residents to understand the complex environmental issues of the shoreline and the physical and financial challenges associated with the changing climate.

We are excited to work with NOAA, as well as with local schools and agencies, to bring a deeper understanding of environmental issues to students and teachers through interpretative experiences that this grant will support, Davis said. Our nearly 500,000 guests of the Aquarium will benefit from this information as well.

Tom Naiman, the aquariums director of education, said participants will learn about key environmental threats that impact their communities, the specific sites where those threats are most relevant and resilience projects that are under way or will be necessary in the future.

Then, they will examine the coastline from the water, where they also will take part in science that will allow a deeper understanding of threats and the way they may be impacted by climate change, Naiman said. The ability to approach these issues, and the underlying science, literally from the land and the water will provide a unique perspective and a truly holistic educational experience.

In the coming weeks, the aquarium will begin developing educational content using NOAA educational resources and collaborating with the Western Connecticut Council of Governments, the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation at the University of Connecticut and Connecticut Sea Grant. It also will work with an advisory board to review key educational strategies and resources and identify participating schools.

Programming will begin in 2017 and align with national educational standards for Earth Science and Engineering and Technology.

The aquarium will also open a related exhibit, which will explore the ways people and marine life in Long Island Sound are impacted by extreme weather and climate change.

The grant is one of five 2016 Environmental Literacy Grants awarded by NOAA, totaling $2.5 million. NOAA received 170 applications for the funding from 40 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 U.S. Territories.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
WILTON  State Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton), the Senate ranking member on the Education Committee, was named a 2016 CT Early Childhood Alliance Childrens Champion. Boucher is one of 30 state legislators honored this year by the CT Early Childhood Alliance, an outreach and advocacy organization.

Founded in 2002, the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance is a statewide organization committed to improving outcomes in the areas of learning, health, safety, and economic security for children from birth to age eight.
NORWALK  When the call came in, it wasnt clear what was happening. The neighbors could only hear snippets, but it sounded bad, they said.

So the police showed up. They heard the yelling and screaming bystanders reported. It stopped when they knocked on the door. A couple answered, both battered and bruised. It was clearly a case of domestic violence.

Five years ago, the chance both parties would be arrested, regardless of who was the victim, was more than triple what it is today. But, thanks to the concerted effort of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and local police departments, that rate is declining. And, experts believe, victims are more likely to report abuse as a result.

Imagine, if youre being abused and you know the chance youll also be arrested is almost 40 percent, are you going to report it? Probably not. And we know that from talking to victims, but its also a science. There is data to back this up. Connecticut is the worst state in the country for dual arrests, said Rachelle Kucera Mehra, executive director at DVCC, which provides services in Norwalk, Stamford, Westport, Wilton, Weston, New Canaan and Darien.

More News Since 2000, 231 killed by intimate partners in Connecticut

While dual arrests  cases where both the abuser and the victim are charged with a crime  have consistently made up less than 2

percent of all intimate partner domestic violence (IPV) cases in the nation, Connecticut has remained one of the worst in the country with roughly 18 percent of cases ending in dual arrest last year  and thats an improvement.

More Information Dual arrests statistics National - Less than 2 percent of intimate partner violence (IPV) cases nationwide end in dual arrest State of Connecticut 2007 - 20 percent of all IPV calls ended in dual arrest 2015 - 18.6 percent of all IPV calls ended in dual arrest Norwalk 2011 - 35 percent of all intimate partner domestic violence calls ended in dual arrest 2015 - 13 percent of all intimate partner domestic violence calls ended in dual arrest Sources: Domestic Violence Crisis Center and the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection annual family violence report See More Collapse

In 2011, the state reported about 23 percent of IPV cases ended in dual arrest. That same year, Norwalk and Stamford were the worst in the state, with 35 percent and 30 percent of all cases ending in dual arrest, respectively.

Though still well above the national average, in 2015 Norwalks dual arrest rate declined to 13 percent and Stamfords declined to 8 percent, according to data compiled by DVCC.

The change started when DVCC approached the Stamford and Norwalk police departments about providing training for how to carry out domestic violence investigations in order to distinguish the victim from the abuser.

We started it in Stamford around 07-08, and weve done the same thing in Norwalk, Mehra said.

Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling was the police chief when the partnership with DVCC was estabilished. He assigned the first domestic violence crisis officer at the department, requiring them to work on and review all domestic violence cases to make sure they were handled properly and that victims were followed up and receiving the services they needed.

When the Domestic Violence Crisis Center did give us a break down of the dual arrest statistics for Norwalk we felt we had to do more to educate our officers in the process so they could focus more on the initial agressor as opposed to automatically saying it should be a dual arrest simply because there were two people involved, Rilling said.

Connecticut passed a mandatory arrest law in 1986, after Torrington resident Tracey Thurman sued the city and police department after her abusive husband nearly killed her. The law, also known as the Family Violence Prevention and Response Act, made domestic violence an automatically arrestable offense, even if the victim does not wish to press charges. It also broadened the definition of domestic violence.

While the intent of the law was to prevent future cases of unprosecuted domestic violence, experts said the states lack of primary aggressor laws (which in other states require officers to determine, wherever possible, which party is the aggressor and which party is the victim) and adequate DV training for patrol officers caused a sharp over-correction of the issue that lead Connecticut to the highest rate of dual arrests in the country.

Sgt. Joseph Kennedy, one of two supervisors in the family services unit at Stamford Police Department, said in his experience on patrol, determining who the victim is can be difficult, but in many cases it comes down to asking the right questions and common sense.

In some cases you cant discern who is the aggressor, Kennedy said. There are those few cases where on occasion both people do need to be arrested. What were asking our patrol officers to do is basically be the umpire. Figure out who is responsible for this particular incident.

In 2004, the Legislatures Judiciary Committee raised a bill with primary aggressor provisions. Ultimately, though, those components were stripped from the bill before it was voted out of committee and only a self-defense provision became law. So the DVCC took matters into its own hands.

Since 2011, the partnership between DVCC and the Stamford and Norwalk police departments has grown to include liaisons at both departments, twice a year training from DVCC officials, home visits that include DVCC ride-alongs and improved communication between the agencies.

This is a very important issue and I think the fact Norwalk is down significantly shows we are on the right track, Rilling said.

DVCC also employs victim advocates with legal backgrounds. Allison Roach, a DVCC victim advocate, sifts through daily arrest logs looking for instances of questionable dual arrests. For example, one report will show a charge for assault while another will show a charge for disturbing the peace.

Any time theres a dual arrest we question, we have a conversation with the arresting officer about what happened, Roach said. A lot of times it turns into a teachable moment. ... That focus on a systemic understanding has enriched our relationship and created a strong partnership with DVCC and our victim and attorney advocates.

Mehra said the partnership has reduced unnecessary police work and eliminated a substantial number of cases from the domestic violence court docket. Kennedy said hes noticed a tangible change in the number of arrest reports filed, as well as a greater relationship between officers and victims since the partnership with DVCC began.

The domestic violence world is just a challenge to begin with, Kennedy said. Theres so many emotions involved, and in a lot of cases even if its the first time the police are called, this isnt the first day theyve been victimized. One of the biggest challenges is to gain the trust of the victim ... and to get the ball rolling on some service for them. You want to make sure that victim realizes you really do care for them and we want to see this thing get fixed, and when we say fixed we mean getting them lead in the right direction, getting it fixed today, and preventing it tomorrow. Working with DVCC has definitely helped us do that.

Mehra said the next step is to bring dual arrest rates down in the rest of the state, though it wont be easy.

Were getting there, she said.
NORWALK  Cigarette smokers looking to finally call it quits but unsure where to begin once again have the opportunity to receive professional guidance from Norwalk Hospital.

Beginning Oct. 20, the hospital will offer a five-week cessation program free of charge.

Its a program to help motivate, help educate and help support people through the smoking cessation process, said Beverly Jacoby, the registered respiratory therapist in the Pulmonary Medicine department.

Jacoby teaches the course by first helping clients understand the science behind why quitting is so hard, and helping them set a specific quit date by developing a plan of action. She provides educational material on nicotine replacement and helps attendees prepare for the potential side affects and withdrawal symptoms of quitting.

We do teach them how to prepare for that, and how to prepare for what it feels like to quit, Jacoby said. That is something they may have to go through, but the benefits far outweigh a few days of feeling bad. We work on getting motivated for a quit night.

Nearly 16 percent of Connecticuts adult population smoke cigarettes, putting Connecticut eighth in the nation for the prevalence of smoking, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cessation is becoming more common though. Roughly 67 percent of adult smokers in Connecticut have tried to quit at least once, according to the most recent data provided by the Connecticut Department of Health in 2014.

Connecticut does not have a statewide smoke-free law that provides protection against exposure to secondhand smoke in public places, and the law pre-empts local communities from enacting local smoke-free restrictions. However, the state has the second highest tax in the nation for cigarettes at $3 per pack, the CDC reports.

Once a quit night is set, Jacoby said, she meets with patients two days after their quit day and again a few weeks later. The purpose of the cessation program, she said, is to provide support as well as education.

The cessation class is free, but registration is required. To register for the class or for more information, interested smokers can call Jacoby at 203-852-2476. Jacoby said shes had as many as 35 people register for the class, which is offered twice a year. The hospital hopes to expand the program next year by offering it up to four times annually.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
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NORWALK  Energy-saving solar panels could be in place at City Hall, Norwalk High School, Oyster Shell Park and two other municipal locations by next summer.

As part of the citys Renewable Energy Project, officials are looking for a licensed firm to design, install, operate and maintain rooftop or ground-mounted solar systems at City Hall, Norwalk High School, Naramake Elementary School, Fodor Farm and Oyster Shell Park with wind turbine as an option at the park.

The city and Board of Education will be obtaining the five individual solar systems through a Power Purchase Agreement, said Councilman John Kydes, chairman of the Mayors Energy & Environment Task Force. This will allow us to lower our electricity rate with no out-of-pocket expense. The actual cost savings can only be determined once a developer is chosen but the benefits are projected to be significant.

Under the agreement, the selected company would produce the electricity and the city would buy it at a reduced rate.

Kydes described the plan as a huge step forward and hopefully just the beginning of green energy projects here in Norwalk.

Mayor Harry W. Rilling described it as a collaboration between the city and Board of Education to lower energy costs.

We will continue to explore alternative energy solutions throughout the community, Rilling said. Not only will these opportunities save money, they will reduce carbon emissions and make Norwalk a cleaner and healthier city."

In early September, the Norwalk Purchasing Department issued a request for proposals seeking qualified firms to install the systems. Sought are companies whose key staff are certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners and, preferably, hold a solar thermal work license from the state of Connecticut.

Norwalk Purchasing Office Sharon Conners said about a half-dozen firms attended the citys pre-bid conference at City Hall on Sept. 15. The Purchasing Department had set this Friday as the bid submission deadline but extended it to Oct. 7 after firms requested electrical bills from the city. A panel will review the bids, make a recommendation and advance it to the Common Council.

At City Hall, the solar panels would be placed atop a flat, roughly 41,500-square-foot section of the roof that is being replaced this fall. At Norwalk High School and Naramake Elementary School, theyd be installed on sections of the roofs.

At Fodor Farm off Flax Hill Road, solar systems would be installed on the barn to defray the electric costs of running the kitchen appliances and central air conditioning. As part of the citys renovation of the property, the barn is used by community organizations for cooking classes and pottery making.

Kydes said the city included wind turbines as an option for Oyster Shell Park because the parks master plan addresses them. The councilman added, however, that the companies that have expressed interest in the energy project do not install wind power and turbines likely wont be included in the project.

Michael A. Mocciae, Norwalks director of recreation and parks, said solar panels will be installed at the park.

It would be a solar field along the hillside that would power the lights in the park and probably a bunch of other things as well  wed probably be giving back electricity, Mocciae said.

Mocciae said city officials plan to meet with South Norwalk Electric and Water representatives Tuesday to discuss how the additional electricity would be handled.

Norwalk Building and Facilities Manager Alan Lo said the city hopes to see installation begin at all locations next spring.

Were looking for spring to start installation, Lo said. Were going to go through a (bid) review in October and probably submit it to the council for approval in November.

Rilling formed the Energy & Environmental Task Force in February 2014 to make Norwalk greener. Initiatives have included a light-bulb exchange program, a home energy audit whose proceeds go to the Mayor's Student Engineering & Science Program at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, and a challenge to residents and businesses to install solar-energy systems.

In July, city officials flipped a ceremonial power switch to a newly installed solar system at Calf Pasture Beach. The 5-kilowatt system, donated by Director Energy Solar and consisting of 18 solar panels on top of the mens bathhouse, provides power to mens and womens bathhouses, Moo cafe and the lifeguard station through an integrated electrical network.

rkoch@hearstmediact.com
NORWALK  Lori Wallace isnt one to ask for help.

But when doctors told her she had a rare form of aggressive, metastasized cancer throughout her body and only months to live, the first thing she did was call her boss, William Raveis, who she knew had connections to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

Ive always thought, Who the hell am I and why should I get anything special? Wallace said. The local hospital said they couldnt do anything. So I put a call into William and within 30 minutes I had contact with the CEO of Damon Runyan.

That was more than a year ago. Though still fighting for her life, Wallace is optimistic. Since her diagnosis, shes celebrated her 50th birthday, watched her daughter get married earlier this month, and on Oct. 16, will share her story at the second annual William Raveis Ride+Walk in Norwalk to raise money for Damon Runyan, known for its innovative approach to cancer research.

Wallaces situation was one Raveis was all too familiar with. Two years ago, his wife Candy was diagnosed with acute myeloma leukemia and given five months to live. Earlier this month, doctors told her the cancer was gone.

Raveis, the founder of William Raveis Real Estate which has offices throughout New England, has been raising money for breast cancer research through the William Raveis Charitable Fund for over a decade. The fund raised more than $1 million for breast cancer research between 2004 and 2014. But when his wife, and later Wallace  who manages the New Milford and Washington Depot branches  were diagnosed, he decided to expand his support to all forms of cancer.

About 4,000 people work for us, Raveis said. Most of them have some association with cancer.

The Ride+Walk, which includes a 5K walk, a 12-mile ride and a 25-mile ride will take place at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk. In 2015, the inaugural event raised more than $500,000, which funded four years of research for two Damon Runyon scientists. Raveis covers the overhead cost of the event to ensure 100 percent of the funds raised are donated to Damon Runyon.

This year, the William Raveis Charitable Fund has set a goal to raise $600,000, and has already surpassed the halfway mark with three weeks to go. Donations can be made at raveisridewalk.com, the same place people can register to participate in the event.

This is very personal to us, Raveis said. The scientists that develop these drugs are doing things no one has done before. 100 percent of what we raise goes to research. They give it to the young Einsteins and say go for it. They think cancer is curable in our lifetime, and with what Ive seen I think thats where its going.

Wallace, who prides herself on being positive and living every day to the fullest, isnt one to dwell on the cancer that still plagues her body. The scientists at Damon Runyon have managed to shrink the tumor on her liver and keep the rest of the cancer at bay. They told her theyre treating the cancer like they would any other disease  by maintaining it until they find a cure.

The only time Wallace gets emotional is when she talks about the Raveis family, unable to express in words how appreciative she is for their care, support and kindness.

The moral of the story is I wouldnt be here if it wasnt for them, Wallace said. Im not supposed to be here at my daughters wedding. I am grateful every day ... I will never be able to tell you what they mean to me.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
STAMFORD  A former secretary of a Selleck Street church who admitted to stealing more than $21,000 from the parish has requested to participate in a program that could wipe the larceny charge.

Yesenia Gonzales, 37, appeared last week before Judge Richard Comerford to apply for the Accelerated Rehabilitation program for first-time offenders.

Comerford is expected to have a decision when Gonzales next appears in court on Oct. 28.

Defense attorney Rob Serafinowicz said Gonzales, who is facing a felony charge of first-degree larceny and has been freed after posting a $5,000 bond, is a good candidate for the program.

Yesenia has never been in trouble in her life and she found herself in a position that unfortunately many Americans find themselves in and could not make ends meet when trying to support her three children, Serafinowicz said. Accelerated rehabilitation is a program for those who make only one mistake, and she is a person who made one mistake while trying to keep her children from going hungry. She was not using this money for any extravagances.

Stamford States Attorney Richard Colangelo declined to comment since the case is still pending.

The thefts occurred about a year and a half after Gonzales stopped working at Inglesia Apostolica Renovacion Emmanuel Church. She moved to Florida where she was a medical assistant in a hospital.

A church board member reported to police in April that the $21,700 had been stolen from a church bank account between early January and late March.

Police obtained the churchs banking records and determined 28 wire transfers ranging from $300 to $3,000 were sent to a Florida account that belonged to Gonzales, her arrest affidavit said. As the churchs secretary, Gonzales had signature authority for the account, the affidavit said.

Church officials had previously requested the bank to take Gonzales off the account. The bank never took her off the account, but agreed to reimburse the church for the amount that was taken.

Gonzales admitted to the thefts when she was contacted by police, the affidavit said. Gonzales told officers she had to take a month off work last December when her 4-year-old son was very sick, the affidavit said. Gonzales said she stole the money so she could pay her rent and other bills, the affidavit said.

jnickerson@scni.com;
Doniphan Pharmacy is now able to collect unwanted medications and make sure they are disposed of safely, which will help keep the nations waterways from being polluted by prescription medications.

A nationwide study released in 2002 by the United States Geological Survey detailed trace levels of prescription drugs found in 80 percent of the waterways across the country. The study checked for the presence of materials such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, sterols, hormones and other chemical compounds. Groundwater and seven streams in Nebraska were included in the study.

Pharmaceutical chemicals can enter the environment, contaminating surface and groundwater, by several means, with one method being flushing away unused medications.

Another reason that people should use pharmacies to dispose of unused prescription and over-the-counter medications is that more than 71,000 children age 18 and younger are seen in emergency rooms each year for unintentional overdoses caused by such drugs. In addition, prescription medications have become the second most abused substance, behind only marijuana, among young people ages 12 to 17.

The Groundwater Foundation said that by returning these medications to participating pharmacies, people help protect their children, grandchildren and the environment.

The Groundwater Foundation said that 33,176 pounds of medication have been collected by Nebraska pharmacies for proper disposal since August 2012. People can find other participating pharmacies at www.nebraskameds.org. According to that website, Grand Island pharmacy locations where unused medications can be disposed include Super Saver pharmacies, ShopKo, Employers Health Care Pharmacy and U-Save.

This project is being offered to the state of Nebraska by a statewide coalition of partners and with funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

The Nebraska Medication Education on Disposal Strategies (MEDS) coalition consists of the Nebraska Pharmacists Association, the Lincoln/Lancaster County Health Department, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, The Nebraska Regional Poison Center, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, WasteCap Nebraska and The Groundwater Foundation. The mission of the Nebraska MEDS Coalition is to educate Nebraskans about drug disposal and provide safe ways to dispose of them in order to better safeguard the environment and protect public health.
Schwarber's 2 big swings went 756 feet, got Phillies nothing

Kyle Schwarber had big swings on consecutive pitches for the Philadelphia Phillies when they needed a comeback in...
A 13-year-old girl and her infant son appear to be in good condition following the arrest of her step-father Saturday in a remote area of West Virginia.

A nation-wide warrant had been issued for Christopher Derleth for allegedly kidnapping Katherine Derleth and her 3-week old son, Christopher R. Derleth, from a caretakers home in rural Edwardsville.

They were taken in the early morning hours of Sept. 18. There had been earlier reports that Christopher R. Derleth was sighted in North Carolina.

Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons said the three had been camping at a site known as Cabin Creek, a remote mountainous area near Charleston, W. Va.

They were camped out off the road in a remote area that was off the road and hidden from view, Gibbons said in a phone interview Monday morning. My understanding is there were some local citizens who provided information to local law enforcement about their specific location.

Derleth had been sighted earlier in Charleston, W. Va., Gibbons said.

Derleth was arraigned on Saturday in Kanawha County, W. Va. Gibbons said he learned - but hasnt yet confirmed - that Derleth plans to waive extradition to Edwardsville.

If he fights it, we have to go through the extradition process, which usually takes a couple of months, he said. We are ready to go on to the extradition court proceedings but its a question of whether or not he agrees to it. If he does, itll be a simple process. Hopefully, he will but if he doesnt hell still be in custody the whole time.

Mother and child are in good condition, Gibbons said. Katherine Derleth had undergone a C-section recently and also had a heart condition.

It is such a tremendous relief to know that these two young victims will be returned safely, Gibbons said in a statement Monday morning.

I am so grateful to the Madison County Sheriff's Office, the West Virginia State Police and everyone who assisted in the search and apprehension of the defendant. We will begin work immediately on his extradition back to Madison County where he will face a full measure of justice in criminal court.
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Linkedin Grameyru Prabu Edward and Toriq Rahmansyah Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Since the inception of the national tax amnesty program, the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) has been mentioned by many parties as an instrument that can end global tax evasion. By having the AEOI mechanism in place, tax dodgers will no longer have a place to hide. That is the idea.

What is the AEOI actually? The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) describes the AEOI as a systematic and periodic transfer of taxpayers information from source countries to their residence countries. A source country is a country where a taxpayer receives income such as dividends, interest and others.

On the other side, residence countries are generally where individuals reside and in case of entities they are the places where they are incorporated.

For an example, let us say Mr. X receives US$1 million in dividends in country A, but Mr. X stays and resides in country B (he is a citizen of country B). Country As authority can send the AEOI concerning Mr. Xs financial information to country B.

Residence countries tax authorities then can analyze transmitted data in the AEOI and, if necessary, by utilizing the data they can undertake law enforcement activities to ensure that taxpayers have met their obligations properly.

Thus, the AEOI is a valuable instrument for worldwide tax authorities to capture non-compliance conduct, particularly that related to overseas transactions. The AEOI also may serve another function: It can deter good taxpayers from behaving fraudulently.

The rationale is straightforward: They should feel that the world is watching them all the time. All in all, by having a complete picture about who owns what when and where, tax compliance is expected to improve in the long run.

Last May, representatives and leaders of about 40 countries gathered in London to attend the 2016 international Anti-Corruption Summit. Interestingly, the summit was not all about corruption; it also touched on international taxation matters.

In the summit, David Cameron (the British prime minister at the time) said that his country would establish a publicly accessible beneficial owners (BO) register of companies in British territory.

In simple terms, BO means the persons who really own and/or benefit from companies. Some countries agreed to do so: Afghanistan, Kenya, France, the Netherlands and Nigeria (source: The Guardian).

Nonetheless, the United States was one of the countries that decided not to adopt the public BO register approach. Consequently, this has brought arguments from some summit participants.

According to The Economist, Allan Bell, the Isle of Mans chief minister, said it is all very well to pick on small jurisdictions, but it is the time to acknowledge the elephant in the room: USA. As reported in The Cayman Compass, the Cayman Islands premier, Alden McLaughlin, commented that any new agreement on a registry of who owns companies and trusts must be a truly global standard. Bells and McLaughlins opinions are not groundless statements.

Back to 2009, in his speech on international tax policy reform, President Barack Obama pointed to the Ugland House, a five-story building situated in George Town, Cayman Islands, as either the largest building in the world or the largest tax scam in the world.

According to a US Government Accountability Office report in 2008, Ugland Houses sole occupant is Maples and Calder (an international law firm and company services provider), but Ugland House is also the registered office of 18,857 entities.

___________________

The AEOI is a valuable instrument for worldwide tax authorities to capture non-compliance conduct.

However, a yellow building on 1209 North Orange Street in Wilmington, Delaware, US, has been reported by The Guardian as the registered address of more than 285,000 companies.

This building contains 15 times more companies than the Ugland House. Based on information displayed on the State of Delawares official page, this address is the office of the Corporation Trust Company, which provides various services to companies.

Indonesian representatives who also attended the summit in London stated that Indonesia would be committed to explore the establishment of a public BO register and to implement the Common Reporting Standard, which serves as the basis of the AEOI.

The OECD reported on July 26 that there have been 101 countries that have committed to the AEOI, including Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

Indonesia is among the first that will implement the AEOI by 2018. At this stage, it seems that Indonesia is having a strong commitment for the AEOI, but it is still considering its options regarding a public BO register.

Back to the AE0I issue, one of the most crucial dimensions in the AEOI is the information about the taxpayer or beneficial owner of a certain income. This is where a publicly accessible BO register could complement the analysis and usage of AEOI data.

If a residence country receives an AEOI, a global public BO register will significantly empower AEOI data by providing a more comprehensive picture of taxpayer profiles and their incomes in a more effective and timely manner (particularly for individual taxpayers).

Regardless of the potential benefits of a public BO register, international willingness and commitment to support a public BO register is still not totally moving in the same direction. Countries still have different attitudes in addressing this issue.

At the end of the day, through global cooperation in a public BO register and an AEOI, countries may receive valuable information to improve their domestic tax compliance, but they could also contribute to other nations. This could be a great assistance in tackling the global tax avoidance matter.

_______________________________

The writers are upstream analysts and international tax specialists at the Finance Ministry. The views written are their own.
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Seoul, South Korea  Sun, April 24, 2016

North Korea on Friday fired a ballistic missile into the sea, days after their leader Kim Jong Un ordered tests likely aimed at developing technology it needs to acquire in order to build a reliable missile capable of reaching the US mainland.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile flew 800 kilometers (500 miles) before crashing off the North's east coast on Friday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it wasn't immediately known what type of missile was fired. South Korean media said it was believed to be a medium-range Rodong missile.

On Tuesday, North Korea's state media said Kim had ordered tests of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying warheads. North Korea also said it simulated test of a re-entry vehicle aimed at return a nuclear warhead into the atmosphere from space so it could hit its intended target.

This led South Korean analysts to suspect that the North would likely fire a missile soon to test the re-entry technology.

Some analysts had also predicted the North might install on a dummy device on a missile or even empty warheads, which contain trigger devices but lack plutonium or uranium, to see if those warhead's parts can survive the high pressure and temperatures upon re-entry into the atmosphere and if they were able to detonate at right time.

Outside experts said it is the last major technology that North Korea must master to achieve its goal of developing a long-range missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

South Korean defense officials said North Korea hadn't yet to acquire the re-entry technology so that it doesn't yet have a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile.

Friday's launch came amid a heightened international standoff over the North's weapons programs in the wake of its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year.

In recent weeks, North Korea threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul and test-fired short-range missiles and artillery into the sea in response to tough U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear test and rocket launch. The North says it needs nuclear weapons to cope with what it calls US military threats.
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Linkedin Hello Sehat (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

When your nose is congested, breathing can be a challenge. Whatever the cause  allergies, a cold, or flu  breathing difficulties can make you feel weary and exhausted. Many people believe that nasal congestion is the result of a mucus clot in the nasal passage. However, nasal congestion is actually caused by inflamed blood vessels in the sinus.

The nose has a broad valve of blood vessel tissues that opens and closes, said Scott P. Stringer, MD, professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Director of Rhinology and Paranasal Sinus Committee of the American Academy of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery. When the nose is irritated, the nervous system is also stimulated, causing the valve of the blood vessels to open, resulting in more blood flowing to the nose. This condition triggers swelling in the nasal passage, making it difficult to breathe.

Other than drugs such as decongestants, there are several other ways to alleviate nasal congestion.

Deactive AC and fan

Humid and warm air is the quickest way to overcome cold and nasal congestion. Breathing in humid air can relieve inflammation and swelling of the noses blood vessels. It also helps as a mucus thinner in the sinus. Alternatively, you can perform a facial sauna. Lean your face right above a bowl of hot water, hang a towel over your head until the bowl is covered completely, then inhale the steam for about 10 minutes. Repeat two or three times a day until you can breathe with relief.

(Read also: Children who suck their thumbs less prone to allergies: Study)

Drink lots of water

Warm water can help thin the mucus in the nasal passage and relieve pain due to a congested nose. For added variation, you can drink ginger tea, mint, or warm lemon tea with honey that contains antiseptic agents and natural decongestant to ease breathing.

Eucalyptus oil

Eucalyptus oil, also present in many ointments and balms, can help thin the mucus in a congested nose. Just lean your head above a bowl of hot water mixed with a few drops of Eucalyptus oil. Hang a towel over your head until the bowl is covered, then inhale the steam for about 10 minutes. Eucalyptus oil is scientifically proven as a home remedy that can eliminate various kinds of bacteria causing nasal congestion, such as sinus infection.

Saline spray

Saline spray provides the extra humidity needed by a congested nose. It will thin mucus and relieve inflammation of nasal blood vessels. Saline spray is available at pharmacies. Many products also contain some decongestants. But before applying this kind of product, discuss with your doctor beforehand. Saline sprays that contain decongestants can have side effects if used simultaneously with other medicine and can also worsen the nasal congestion symptoms if used over three days.

Chew some garlic

Garlic contains antibacterial and antifungal agents, useful for curing various health issues, including nasal congestion due to fever and flu. Findings of a study in the UK show that participants who were given garlic supplements for 12 weeks in a row during flu season had lower frequency of getting flu than participants who were not given any. If the idea of chewing raw garlic may seem disturbing to you, you can try to sautee 1-2 cloves of garlic and add some vegetable or pasta. Or, you can add a couple of slices or mashed garlic into a bowl of hot water and steam your face for 10 minutes.

Nose massage

Massage either side of the nose near the tip of the eye using your right thumb and fore finger. At the same time, use your fingers and the heel of your left hand to massage your nape. (kes)

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 Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Despite the beauty of the whale shark, the largest fish in the sea is still struggling for survival due to unregulated fishing. Concerned with the species plight, Kresna Agung Negara, a postgraduate student from the Bandung Institute of Technology, has taken part in an environmental campaign in Cenderawasih Bay in Papua.

During his visit to the whale shark paradise as part of the Live Out Ur Dream (LOUD) program, Kresna has fulfilled his dream of diving with the animal as well as educate other tourists to not touch the gentle fish and share information with local fishermen about protecting the whale shark and its ecosystem.

(Read also: Boat hits whale shark in Jayapura waters)

We want people to be more aware of preserving the environment, said Kresna in a press release. Diving is a leisure activity, but we still need to care for the environment so our children and grandchildren will still be able to enjoy the scenery that we currently have.

Prior to his visit, Kresna had prepared himself, including joining diving lessons during the holy month of Ramadhan.

Initiated by household and personal care company Godrej Indonesia, LOUD aims to help Indonesian youths fulfill their ultimate dreams. More than 200 students from 20 universities in the country have participated in the LOUD competition in which finalists are required to present their dream in front of judges. (kes)
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Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, September 24 2016

Ending a marriage is not always an easy thing to do, but more couples are getting divorced in the country, including in Jakarta.

There are plenty of reasons why people choose to split up. Financial reasons and infidelity are often cited as the main causes of divorce. Many unfortunate women also opt for divorce because they cannot handle staying in an abusive marriage. In Jakarta, however, social messaging services and urban lifestyles are being blamed for the spike in divorce.

Marriage Law No. 1/1974 contains very strict requirements for couples wanting to divorce, which include being able to present many witnesses to prove the marriage is failing. The rise of communication technology seems to have changed that.

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Linkedin Rod McGuirk (Associated Press) Canberra  Mon, September 26, 2016

Australia's trade minister will lead the country's first business delegation to visit Iran in 14 years after sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program were eased.

Steven Ciobo said he will leave Tuesday for the visit that will include reopening an Australian trade office that closed in 2010.

Ciobo said he will be accompanied by 20 representatives of Australian companies, with expertise in health, water management, agribusiness, mining, education and training.

Two-way trade between Australia and Iran fluctuated between 350 million Australian dollars (US$270 million) and AU$600 million a year while Australian sanctions were in place, he said.

"With the sanctions easing, there is ... significant potential for that figure to move north of there," Ciobo told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday.

"There are still challenges," he said, citing Iran's difficulty in fully reconnecting to the international financial system.

Australian eased sanctions in January after Iran implemented its nuclear pact.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity. And it spelled out the West's obligations to end many financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran's economy.

Mark Vaile, the trade minister at the time, led Australia's last business delegation to Iran in 2002.
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Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang  Mon, September 26, 2016

Two alleged thieves died after being chased by an angry mob in Semarang, Central Java, on Sunday.

Six people were seen on three motorcycles traveling through Tembalang district, one of whom carried a sharp weapon. When a resident, Bagus Yulianto, 20, stopped them to ask what they were doing in the area they immediately attacked him, almost severing his hand.

Bystanders then chased the gang and two of the motorcyclists fell into a ravine and died. They were identified as Ramadani, 27, and Arif, 25, from East Semarang district.

Three others including Doni, brother of Ramadani, were caught by the crowd.

One of the gang, identified as Hendro Wahyu, said they were coming from a drinking party and admitted that they had committed two robberies on their way. (evi)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

The National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) will handle cases of extortion and ethical violations allegedly committed by Bali Police narcotics director Sr. Comr. Franky Haryanto to avoid potential conflicts of interests related to his current position.

Conducting our investigation into the cases while he is still active in his position will only disrupt our concentration. Hence, we have decided to transfer him to Bareskrim in Jakarta, National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Franky is suspected to have extorted several people who were allegedly involved in seven cases involving possession of under 0.5 grams of illegal drugs. He was also reported to have been involved in skimming funds from his directorates allocated budget, in relation to which Rp 50 million (US$3,800) in cash has been confiscated from a safe in his office as evidence.

Agus said a transfer request letter had been sent to the Bali Police on Friday and Frankys handover would be conducted no later than 14 days after the police received the letter.

The police would dismiss Franky only if he was found guilty in trials conducted by the polices ethics commission, Agus added.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said previously that he would never run afoul of internal violations, especially those related to drugs. (wnd/ebf)
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Linkedin Syamsul Huda M.Suhari (The Jakarta Post) Gorontalo  Mon, September 26 2016

From places as far as Alaska in the US, they fly more than 10,000 kilometers to the southwest to reach Lake Limboto in Gorontalo, northern Sulawesi.

Many others fly to the same destination from places in Europe, Africa and Asia.

The migrating birds stop over at Lake Limboto annually between September and October.

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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post)  Mon, September 26 2016

Political parties and supporting groups have started preparing to introduce their gubernatorial candidates to voters after candidate registration closed on Friday.

Four political parties supporting former mid-rank military officer Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the eldest son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are working on the composition and structure of Agus campaign team.

The camp is set to determine the campaign teams spokesperson in the next two to three days.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Womens rights activist Gadis Arivia, who is also the founder of feminist publication Jurnal Perempuan, says censorship holds back and humiliates female bodies.

Blurring some body parts of women [on TV] in fact shows no appreciation for women, she said at a conference on feminism in Jakarta on Saturday.

Gadis was responding to a question from Daniel Susilo, a communications expert from the University of Airlangga in Surabaya, East Java, who asked her opinion about censorship, including the recent blurring of scenes on animated TV series, such as the Doraemon and Dragon Ball cartoons from Japan, and SpongeBob SquarePants from the US.

On Sept. 17, news channel CNN Indonesia blurred scenes of an interview with Papuan swimmer Margaretha Herawati, who competed at the 19th National Games (PON) in Bandung, West Java. The blurred scenes of Margaretha wearing a swimsuit, which went viral on social media last week, drew sharp criticism.

Article 18 of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commissions (KPI) Public Broadcasting Guidelines and Program Standards (P3SPS) stipulates the prohibition of displaying any sexual content on TV, including genitals, thighs, buttocks and breasts, as well as sexual activity and kissing, deemed contradictory to local values, norms and decency.

Gadis criticized one of the KPI guidelines that prohibits kissing scenes, which the commission has concluded is not in line with local norms. Kissing is an expression of love while murder, which is often displayed on TV, is criminal, she said. (rez/ebf)
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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

When former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gathered with his political allies in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java, last week to find the best candidate to field in the Jakarta election, the former president reportedly quipped: This is a regional election, but it feels like a presidential election.



Yudhoyonos quip may ring true for many analysts and even some voters in the capital who are wondering if the gubernatorial race has become an overture for the 2019 presidential election.



The fact that political heavyweights such as Yudhoyono, Prabowo Subianto and Megawati Soekarnoputri have been directly involved and leading coalition talks in choosing candidates has created a sense that the three political bigwigs are using the Jakarta election as a proxy battleground.



Yudhoyono, Prabowo and Megawati competed against each other in past presidential elections.



While it is unclear if Prabowo, who has never won a presidential election, will try his luck in 2019, Yudhoyono is barred by the Constitution from running after serving two presidential terms. Megawati, who replaced former president Abdurrahman Wahid in 2002, may have given up her presidential ambitions in 2014 when she, in her words, assigned then Jakarta governor Joko Jokowi Widodo, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member, to run for president.



In the Jakarta election, Megawatis PDI-P, along with the Golkar Party, the Hanura Party and the NasDem Party, is backing incumbent Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.



Yudhoyonos coalition, which consists of his Democratic Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP), nominated the former presidents eldest son, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. Prabowos Gerindra Party joined hands with his loyal partner in the opposition camp, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), to field Muslim scholar and former education minister Anies Baswedan.



Ahoks nomination by Megawati was a foregone conclusion, but the emergence of Anies and Agus as Ahoks rivals surprised many and has sparked speculation that the two are setting their sights on the 2019 presidential election rather than the gubernatorial post in the capital.



Anies made his presidential ambitions public when he joined the Democratic Partys presidential convention in 2013. Agus, who has zero experience in politics after serving in the military for 16 years, is reportedly being groomed by Yudhoyono to be his true political heir.



Political parties have confirmed that the Jakarta election will be a crucial vote that will set the stage for the 2019 general elections.



Jokowis meteoric rise after he won the Jakarta election in 2012 seems to have further cemented the citys status as the most coveted prize for political parties. Jokowi, who ran for president after serving as governor for less than two years, significantly boosted his partys electability in 2014.



Jakarta is a mini-Indonesia. We must deliver well [in Jakarta] because our performance in the [Jakarta] gubernatorial election will reflect on our performance in the general elections, PDI-P deputy secretary-general Eriko Sotarduga said. The PDI-P won the most votes in the 2014 legislative election.



Other political parties are thinking the same as the PDI-P, said Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. This is why Yudhoyono, Prabowo and Megawati are competing to control the city, he said.



Ikrar believed that Democratic Party members were hoping that Agus, if elected, could improve the partys image nationwide and would get legitimacy or bargaining power to be nominated as a presidential candidate.



The party admitted that Agus nomination was meant to boost his partys performance in 2019, but refused to say more about the possibility of Agus running for the nations top post. The presidential election is still far away, Democratic Party spokesman Didi Irawadi Syamsudin said.



The Gerindra Party, meanwhile, said it had made a political deal with Anies that, if elected, he would not run for president in 2019. We dont want go through the same experience again, Gerindra deputy chairman Fadli Zon said, referring to Jokowis decision to run in the 2014 presidential election and destroy Prabowos presidential bid after serving as governor for less than two years.



Gerindra backed Jokowi in the 2012 Jakarta election.

_____________________________________



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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

Indonesias womens movement has gone through ups and downs since the nations first womens congress was held in 1928.

In its more than 80-year history, it has fought against a deep-rooted patriarchy and political repression under Soeharto, who reduced Kartini, an icon of gender equality in the country, into a mere archetype of a good women.

In the reform era, Indonesian feminists thrive thanks to democracy, but the newly acquired political freedom has posed a greater challenge to the womens movement, as the countrys conservative groups, driven and supported by women, are also seeking to exert their influence on society.

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Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara  Mon, September 26, 2016

Flooding hit two villages in Central and West Lombok regencies, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) after a full day of heavy rain of Sunday, inundating at least 300 houses and displacing 500 people. Floodwater also damaged crops on more than 120 hectares of farmland.

Flooding has occurred in Lembar village, West Lombok, and Montong Ajan village, Central Lombok, since Sunday afternoon because of heavy rainfall. We have distributed humanitarian assistance in the two locations, NTB Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Muhammad Rum said in Mataram on Monday.

In Lembar village, he further said, 200 houses were inundated as a result of an overflowing river, which coincided with a high tide.

In Montong Ajan village, the agency recorded some 100 houses affected by floodwater, which came from mountainous forest areas on Sunday. More than 90 people, including 30 children and 11 toddlers and babies, had been displaced.

The condition of the two locations has improved. However, people affected by the flooding are still taking refuge in safer places. We have erected emergency tents and public kitchens in the disaster locations, said Rum.

The agency said humanitarian assistance distributed included food, clothes, blankets, family kits, kitchen utensils and emergency tents. (ebf)
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Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

Garuda Indonesia is eyeing double-digit growth in Indonesian passengers traveling to Australia as it sees potential beyond the huge number of Australians who visit Indonesia.



Garuda expects the number of passengers traveling from Indonesia to Australia to reach 80,000 from September this year to April next year, a surge of 60 percent from the 50,000 passengers recorded during the same period in the previous year.



To achieve the target, Garuda will extend its cooperation with Australian government agency Tourism Australia. Cooperation between the two entities began in 2014 and covers areas such as digital marketing, social media, television and print media.



We will cooperate to promote tourism between the two countries, Garuda Indonesia commercial director A. Toni Soetirto said.



In the first half of this year, the number of Indonesian nationals leaving to Australia rose by 7.9 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 73,500 people.



Garuda currently serves 33 weekly flights connecting Denpasar and Jakarta to three major Australian cities, namely Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.



The opening of additional routes is on the horizon. Toni hopes that one day, Garuda might fly to other cities in Australia such as Adelaide and Brisbane. Previously, Garuda scrapped its route from Denpasar to Brisbane due to low passenger loads. Passenger load measures the capacity utilization of an airline.



If the demand is good, we can reopen the route, he added.



The passenger load for existing routes stands at 76 percent on average. It is expected that this will climb to 79 percent by the end of the year.



There are still more Australians visiting Indonesia than there are Indonesians visiting Australia.



The number of Australians visiting Indonesia stood at 572,362 in the first half of this year, up by 8.8 percent from the same period a year ago.



Tourism Australia regional general manager for South Asia, South East Asia and Gulf Countries Michael Newcombe said Indonesia was still in the 12th position of countries with the most number of tourist arrivals in Australia.



Wed like to see it break into the top ten within the next 12 to 18 months. If we continue growing at the rate that we currently are, I think thats not an overly ambitious target, he said.



Newcombe said the key to increasing the number of Indonesian arrivals would lie in direct flights provided by companies such as Garuda. Improvements in visa processing services are also important.



What you have seen in the last six months, Australia has progressively changed its visa policy for Indonesians visiting Australia. Now, you can get three multiple entry visas as opposed to what it used to be, he added.



Indonesia has also arranged a free-visa policy for Australia, in addition to 168 other countries granted the same privilege in the countrys bid to attract 20 million foreign visitors by 2019.

--------------

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Greenpeace Indonesia is set to hold the Festival Laut (Sea Festival) on Oct. 8 in Krida Loka Park, Senayan, to highlight shark fin, plastic garbage and overfishing issues.

On its website, festivallaut.org, Greenpeace said Indonesia was among the largest shark-hunting countries with 13 percent of the shark catch globally. More than 100 million sharks caught in the world every year, it said. The high figure stems from the strong international demand for shark fin soup.

The international environmental organization is also set to bring up the issue of plastic garbage.

Indonesia is in second place after China as the contributor of the most plastic garbage polluting the sea every year. If reducing and managing plastic garbage is not taken seriously globally, sea pollution will be much greater and in 2050 it is estimated that plastic garbage will exceed the mass of fish in the sea, Greenpeace said.

The third issue Greenpeace plans to address at the festival is overfishing.

The fishing industry in the world, like Thai Union, a canned tuna company, is closely related to overfishing and implicated in human rights violations, Greenpeace said on the website.

The festival will also feature a meme-making contest to raise awareness about the three issues. (evi)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Indonesia has begun lobbying for its bid for UN Security Council non-permanent membership for the term 2019-2020 as the country kicked off its campaign at the UN headquarters in New York over the weekend.

"Indonesia has received full support from ASEAN for its candidacy for UNSC 2019-2020," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement following an informal meeting between foreign ministers of the organization's 10 member countries on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi also conveyed Indonesia's candidacy throughout a string of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 71st session over the past week.

On Thursday, Retno spoken to the UK's parliamentary undersecretary of state for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (minister for Asia and the Pacific), Alok Sharma, whose country is one of the five permanent members of the UNSC. The two also discussed strengthening bilateral relations in the fields of trade, infrastructure development, prevention of radicalism and promotion of tolerance.

Retno also conveyed hope that the bid would be supported by the United Arab Emirates, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste. During a meeting with Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak on Sept. 19, the two parties agreed to support each other, with Slovakia intending to bid for the 2028-2029 period. (evi)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

There are still too many old and unsafe footbridges in the capital, Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja admitted following the recent collapse of one such bridge in South Jakarta, which left three people dead.

"The footbridges in the city are old. Almost all of them were constructed with the cooperation of private companies, advertisements for which were installed on them," Ahok told journalists in City Hall on Monday.

There were still several current contracts with private companies, even though he said his administration had prohibited advertising displays on pedestrian bridges.

The Jakarta administration, through the Jakarta Transportation Agency, will construct a new model of footbridges to replace those whose contracts with private companies had expired. The model would be similar to those at the Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta.

"They will be open pedestrian bridges with no walls to act as wind traps. The open bridges will also prevent crimes on the bridge," he said.

A large section of a pedestrian bridge in Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta collapsed during heavy rains in the capital on Saturday killing three people, injuring six people and damaging three cars passing underneath. (rin)
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Linkedin Martha Mendoza (Associated Press) Kathmandu  Mon, September 26, 2016

A prominent local journalist who helped organize a gathering in Nepal of investigative reporters from throughout Asia was notably absent from the event, exiled to avoid possible arrest.

Journalist and publisher Kunda Dixit, who founded the Nepal Center for Investigative Journalism, is under investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.

Global Investigative Journalism Network executive director David Kaplan, who worked with Dixit for more than a year to bring more than 350 journalists from 50 countries to Nepal this weekend, said Dixit is being targeted for prosecution and detention by Nepali officials, underscoring broader concerns about press freedom.

"He fled Nepal just weeks before this conference because of a witch hunt in which he's scared of being detained and imprisoned if he comes back here," said Kaplan. "Kunda is one of our best and we are here because of him. We are all going to continue fighting for what Kunda believes in."

Nepal's home ministry spokesperson Yadav Koirala said Dixit's issues are not related to the overall government and only concern the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.

The commission's official Ganesh Raj Karki said his agency has no warrant or case against Dixit because he is not a public figure and thus cannot be charged. However, Dixit and his brother, also a publisher, are being investigated for the amount of property they have in their names.

Dixit said he's waiting for courts to grant him protection against unfair prosecution by the commission.

Some local journalists and editors say Dixit's situation highlights growing government pressure on journalists to avoid publishing anything that could cast authorities in a poor light, even if they're true and fairly reported. At least one news magazine is being forced to close, and a radio station was demolished last week after authorities said its building encroached on forest lands.

US Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz told journalists that free press is an issue the State Department is closely watching in this impoverished Himalayan nation fraught with political instability. The ninth government in 10 years took power last month, and a constitution adopted last year both espouses a right to free expression and has clauses that seem potentially restrictive of the press.

"I don't think Nepal can have a healthy democracy at the end of the day if it doesn't have a healthy media and citizens aren't free to express themselves, as you say, without fear of dire consequences," said Teplitz, who would not speak specifically about Dixit's situation.

When pressed, she said having a free and open press is a high value to the US which is at least officially espoused in Nepal.

"There are elements out there in a very politicized society with a lot of politicized institutions that are not as in love with that concept as we are," she said.

As for Dixit, he was sad to miss the conference where journalists shared tips, story ideas and research methods. He was supposed to introduce Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe editor Walter Robinson, featured in the Academy Award-winning film "Spotlight." Instead he sent a video from his unnamed location, drawing huge cheers.

"Our officials have refined their methods. They don't do anything as crude as jailing journalists anymore. Censorship today is achieved by behind-the-scenes threats which can be even more insidious and sinister," he told The Associated Press.

___

AP Writer Binaj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu contributed to this report.
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is targeting its freight business to contribute around 60 percent of its revenue after 2017 by working with more logistics companies.

From its Rp 20 trillion (US $1.53 billion) 2016 corporate revenue target, freight must contribute Rp 5.1 trillion or 25.5 percent. Until August, KAIs freight business had already collected Rp 3.92 trillion, only 30 percent short of the annual target.

"Next year we are increasing the target for freight business revenue to Rp 6.1 trillion," KAI IT and commercial director Kuncoro Wibowo said after a GE-KAI press conference at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Monday.

The state-owned enterprise is negotiating with private logistics companies to move their truck-based shipments to the rail system. It also aims to increase access to ports and industrial zones.

"We are negotiating with Tanjung Mas (Semarang, Central Java) and Gresik (East Java) ports to extend rail access inside [the port], some buildings still stand in the access way," Kuncoro added.

As the roads become increasingly crowded, more businesses are sending their cargo via rail, according to the latest Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data. Freight trains carried 19.71 million metric tons of goods from January to July this year, the BPS said. The number is a 9.85 percent increase from 17.95 million tons during the same period last year. (evi)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Vice President Jusuf Kalla kicked off Indonesias campaign for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2019-2020 term at the UN headquarters in New York over the weekend.

Kalla, who attended the 71st UN General Assembly on behalf of President Joko Jokowi Widodo, marked the official start of the campaign by sounding a gong at the UN headquarters during an event featuring a reception and Indonesian cultural performances.

Jokowi skipped the annual event for the second year in a row since becoming President in 2014.

In a speech before the UN General Assembly, Kalla said the UN needed reforms to make it stronger and more relevant to 21st century challenges and realities. Among the issues it was facing, he cited irregular migration resulting from conflict in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other places, along with climate change, unregulated fishing and cybercrime.

Kalla noted Indonesias steady commitment to increase its peacekeeping force to 4,000 personnel by 2019 and its efforts to fight terrorism both regional and globally. As the worlds most populous Muslim nation and its third-largest democracy, Indonesia sees Islam modernity and women empowerment as going hand in hand with the promotion of democracy, tolerance, pluralism and peace, he said as quoted by the Associated Press

Selections of the new non-permanent Security Council members in 2019-2020 will be made in mid-2019. Other Asia-Pacific candidates are India and Vietnam.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi meanwhile said Indonesia was ready to take on the UNSC job.

Indonesia has the required qualifications for UNSC non-permanent membership for the 2019-2020 term and we are ready for it, Retno said in a statement on Saturday.

Retno launched efforts for Indonesias bid for UNSC non-permanent membership on Friday.

The launch coincided with a diplomatic reception held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to mark the 71st anniversary of Indonesian independence.

At the event, Retno spoke of Indonesias standing in the world, which she said made it a suitable candidate to become a UNSC non-permanent member.

Indonesia is the worlds fourth most populous nation, third largest democracy and largest Muslim-majority country, she said.

Indonesia has also proven that Islam, democracy, modernity and womens empowerment can work together, Retno added, as quoted by Antara news agency.

With more than 17,000 islands, which are home to more than 1,300 ethnic groups, Indonesia is a genuine model for tolerance and pluralism, the values that it has always projected in its relations with other countries, she said.

Indonesia was first elected a UNSC non-permanent member for the 1974-1975 period, before being chosen for a second time in 1995-1996 and a third time in 2007-2008, when the country received 158 votes from the 192 member states that vote at the UN General Assembly.

After officially launching the bid, Kalla met with US business community members in New York.

The meeting was organized by the American-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (AICC) and was attended by 50 top executives from US companies representing the fields of energy, IT, consumer goods, finance and health.

It was also supported by other US associations including the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC).

The total value of the economic relationship between Indonesia and the US could reach US$131.7 billion in 2019, a 46 percent increase from $90.1 billion in 2014, according to the US-Indonesia Investment Report 2016 released by the USCC and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Indonesia.
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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

After a slow start, Indonesia has seen soaring redemption funds paid under the tax amnesty over recent days, a success the government attributes to taxpayers increasing awareness of the agship program.

After kicking off in July, the nine month amnesty program is expected to collect over Rp 165 trillion (US$12.5 billion) in penalty payments and to partly plug the widening state budget decit amid the global economic slowdown.

The program yielded sluggish results during its rst weeks of implementation, with redemption payments standing at Rp 13 trillion on Sept. 15, according to the tax offices official website. The gure, however, rose in subsequent days until it reached Rp 50.3 trillion on Sunday afternoon, with declared assets standing at Rp 1.8 quadrillion. Asset repatriation, meanwhile, amounted to Rp 92.6 trillion from the governments target of Rp 1 quadrillion.

Tax office spokesperson Hestu Yoga Saksama attributed the positive progress to increasing public participation in the program. Many taxpayers, he said, were rushing to submit applications before the rst phase of the tax amnesty ends on Sept. 30. Their participation boosts the amount of declared assets and redemption payments, he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Participation in the rst phase enables taxpayers to obtain lower redemption rates compared to the second and third phases of the program.

According to the 2016 Tax Amnesty Law, the redemption rate is 4 percent for those who declare their assets and 2 percent for those looking to repatriate assets from overseas between July and September.

As of last week, a number of tycoons, such as Santini Group owner Sofjan Wanandi, James Riady of the Lippo Group and politically wired businessman Murdaya Poo, publicly declared their participation in the amnesty program.

Despite signaling a positive trend, recent amnesty gures have faced public scrutiny, especially after the tax authority changed the way it reports such data on its website. On Sept. 15, for example, the so-called tax amnesty dashboard on the website reported Rp 13 trillion entering the states coffers from redemptions paid by taxpayers who had also submitted asset statement letters (SPH) to tax offices. A few hours later, the number soared to Rp 18 trillion, after it included data from taxpayers who had yet submitted their SPH.

The website also no longer presents incoming gures in a speedometer format showing the distance from the target of Rp 165 trillion in penalty payments. It has been replaced with a donut chart containing data on redemption payments, outstanding tax paid by taxpayers wishing to join the program and taxes collected from dropped tax investigations.

Several tax consultants contacted by the Post refused to comment on the matter, saying they had not yet checked the dashboard. Even the Finance Ministrys taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi said he was not aware of the change. I never check the dashboard, he said after attending a hearing at the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Wednesday.

Yoga, however, conrmed the change, saying it aimed to provide the public with detailed data on the amnestys realization. All of it is real data, he said. Tim Condon, Singapore-based head of Asia research at ING, wrote regarding the disappearance of any reference to the full-year collection target on the Finance Ministrys amnesty meter that, We infer [it] is under review for downward revision.

DBS Banks Singapore-based economist Gundy Cahyadi said the most important thing to watch was additional tax revenues gained from the amnesty because it was an urgent matter for the state budget.

The new dashboard will encourage people to participate in the program, said Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) executive director Yustinus Prastowo, who admitted he was confused at rst by the new dashboard. The disappearance of the target, he added, was just a government strategy, indicating that it was no longer chasing redemption payments but more participation from the public.

Editor's note: Paragraph seven in this article has been corrected.
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan, East Kalimantan  Mon, September 26, 2016

Indonesian ship KRI Dewaruci berthed at Semayang Port in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, carrying 25 naval cadets from ASEAN countries to train together.

We are with 25 cadets from ASEAN countries to train together, KRI Dewaruci commander Lt. Col. Widiyatmoko Baruna Aji said Monday.

From Monday to Wednesday, the vessel will be open to the public. Widiyatmoko said people were welcome to visit and tour the ship, which is used as a training vessel for Indonesian cadets and lately has also been for ASEAN counterparts.

The cadets are from Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Laos did not send cadets because the country does not have a navy, while Brunei Darussalam was absent this time.

The last time the legendary sail training vessel docked in Balikpapan was in 2006. Ten years ago the vessel, launched in 1953, sailed north to Okinawa, Japan, and returned south through Manila, Makassar, Balikpapan again, before returning home to Surabaya.

This time, the route was shorter compared to the usual one, which could take a year to complete.

The KRI Dewaruci.(JP/N. Adri)

On Wednesday we will sail to Semarang [Central Java], said Second Sgt. Dwi Warno. The trip will take three days. After, we will return to Surabaya, he said.

At a speed of 11 knots, Surabaya-Semarang takes only a day, Dwi said.

The KRI Dewaruci is a tall ship with three masts and 16 sails. It is due to be decommissioned, pending the arrival of a new KRI Dewaruci, which is slated to arrive next year from a shipyard in Vigo, Spain. (evi)
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Linkedin Muhammad Shodiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

US federal regulators recently unveiled that since 2011 Wells Fargo and Co. (WFC) employees had secretly created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts  without their customers knowing it.

The American international banking and financial services holding company has agreed to pay US$185 million in fines along with $5 million to refund customers and it fired 5,300 employees after admitting they had secretly set up more than 2 million unauthorized accounts to meet sales targets.

WFC was founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, with hubquarters throughout the country. It has been the worlds largest bank by market capitalization since July 2015 and surpassed Citigroup Inc. at the end of 2015 to become the third largest bank in the US by assets.

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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

Heavy equipment firm Trakindo Utama is saving big money because it does not have to store its imported equipment in Singapore anymore, but can directly send it to bonded logistics centers (PLBs) in Indonesia.



Previously, we parked our equipment in Singapore. With PLBs, weve moved in stages to Jakarta and Kalimantan. It saves us money on rent and manpower costs, Trakindo Utama director Heru Susanto said during a public discussion at the Cikarang Dry Port in West Java on Friday.



More companies are slated to make use of the governments PLB concept. A PLB can store imported and exported goods exempted from duties for up to three years. In the past, firms parked imported goods in neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia to avoid duties at Indonesian ports.



The PLBs, introduced by the government in March as part of its economic stimulus packages, are also expected to serve as alternatives to ports for storing shipped goods.



Goods going to warehouses only wait for 1.02 days to get out of port. Other goods hoarded in ports dwell for 3.3 to 6 days until they can be cleared, data from the Finance Ministrys customs and excise directorate general shows.



Shipments of oil, gas, mining equipment, textile-related materials and chemicals, food, cosmetics and automotive products can be stored at PLBs. There are presently 24 PLBs spread across the country, mostly in Java and Kalimantan.



The government plans to allow the warehouses to store more types of commodities, including agricultural products. It hopes to see 50 PLBs develop near major ports across the archipelago next year to turn Indonesia into a regional logistics hub.



Indonesian Textile Industry Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat expects production costs to go down in the near future as PLBs expand. He hopes this will encourage local textile investors who opened businesses in Vietnam to return to Indonesia, or start investing in Indonesia.



Textile giant Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) now takes cotton from a PLB in Cikarang instead of from foreign ports. In so doing, the company has cut down on costs. It hopes a PLB will soon open in Central Java, where the firm operates.



Small and medium-sized garment businesses in Bandung, West Java, will also buy imported fabrics stored in a PLB in Batujajar instead of going to China to pre-book fabrics.



The Finance Ministrys customs and excise director general Heru Pambudi said the concept had saved on pick-up costs that are accrued by taking goods from warehouses in Singapore and Malaysia to Indonesia.



One PLB can save Rp 300.6 billion [US$22.9 million] in transporting 14 rigs from Singapore to Balikpapan, he added.

--------------

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Linkedin Stefani Ribka and Tassia Sipahutar (The Jakarta Post)  Mon, September 26 2016

New Zealand and Indonesia have agreed to take trade relations to a new level, eyeing US$4 billion in two-way annual trade by 2024. On the sidelines of his recent visit to Jakarta, Trade Minister Todd McClay sat with The Jakarta Posts Stefani Ribka and Tassia Sipahutar to discuss the available opportunities to realize the target. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Question: You visited Indonesia in July with Prime Minister John Key. Now you are back on your second visit.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

The government is facilitating the return of four Indonesian hostages freed by the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group, following the fourth captives release a few days after three other sailors, a senior minister has said.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said the fourth Indonesian fisherman, Harman Manggak, would return home along with three other captives who were released on Sunday.

Its still in process, but they will return to Indonesia soon. [I hope] the process will take no more than a week, Wiranto told journalists.

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Linkedin Hans David Tampubolon (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

Icons: A photo of Indonesias first president Sukarno chatting with Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe adorns the cover of the new book, Sinema Pada Masa Soekarno (Cinema in the Time of Sukarno). (Photo courtesy of Sinema Pada Masa Soekarno)

Behind the glitz and glamour of the Indonesian film industry, there are a few passionate individuals who do their work quietly and silently contribute to the preservation of the countrys film history away from the limelight.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced House of Representatives member Damayanti Wisnu Putranti to four-and-a-half years in prison for bribery related to the trans-Seram highway construction project at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry.

Presiding judge Sumpeno said the member of House Commission V overseeing infrastructure and transportation was proven guilty of accepting bribes of Rp 1 billion (US$77,339) and S$278,700.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member was also ordered to pay a Rp 500 million fine or face an additional three months behind bars.

[...] declare defendant Damayanti Wisnu Putranti proven guilty of committing corruption collectively, said Sumpeno as quoted by Antara when reading out the verdict on Monday.

Damayantis sentence was lower than the prosecutors demand of six years in prison and a Rp 500 million fine or additional six months in prison. Prosecutors also demanded that Damayantis right to run for public office be revoked.

Accompanied by four other judges, Sumpeno said they could not grant Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors request for the revocation of Damayantis right to serve in a public post for five years after she completed her sentence.

In the current democratic life, Indonesians are smart enough to use their right to choose someone they deem capable to serve in a public post both in the executive and legislative branches, judge Sigit Herman Binaji said. (ebf)

Editor's note: Paragraph two in this story has been corrected.
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Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Sungguminasa, Gowa  Mon, September 26, 2016

South Sulawesi Police investigators have begun examining the Gowa Legislative Council building, which was burned down by angry protesters on Monday afternoon. They cordoned off the area with police tape as they collected evidence.

South Sulawesi Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Frans Barung Mangera said police officers would thoroughly investigate the incident and take tough measures against the perpetrators.

There will be no more mediation. We will take enforce the law regarding this incident. We have obtained CCTV footage and within the next two or three days we will be able to reveal the perpetrators of this crime, said Barung on Monday.

Three fire engines were dispatched to the location of the fire, which took place at around 1 p.m. local time.

The incident began when hundreds of people, including members of the Gowa royal family, held a rally in front of the council compound. The group demanded the Gowa Legislative Council revoke Bylaw No.5/2016, which mandates the establishment of the Gowa Customs and Traditions Institution (LAD). The rally turned violent after no council member came out to meet them.

Gowa Regent Adnan Purichta Ichsan Yasin Limpo has been inaugurated as the LAD head, who will play the role and undertake the functions of the sombaya (king) of Gowa. His inauguration drew criticism as Gowa kings have always inherited the throne through bloodlines.

Adnans inauguration also triggered concerns about the safety of heirlooms as he reportedly ordered the seizure of several objects under the protection of the Gowa royal family. (ebf)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Four Indonesian hostages released by the Abu Sayyaf group returned to Indonesia over the weekend, an official has confirmed.

"They departed from the Philippines on Saturday and the process was handled by the Foreign Ministry," Wibanarto Eugenius, ministerial counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He added that along with usual procedures, the four Indonesian sailors would undergo medical check-ups in Jakarta before they returned to their families in their respective hometowns.

Three of the captives, namely Theodorus Kopong Koten, Lorens Koten and Emmanuel, were crewmen on board a Malaysian-flagged boat hijacked by Abu Sayyaf militants in Lahat Datu waters, Malaysia, on July 9.

The fourth sailor, Harman Manggak, was the captain of another Malaysian-flagged fishing boat attacked by armed militants in Sabah waters on Aug. 3.

The men were released on two separate occasions last week. The government has claimed that no ransom was paid for their release.

Unlike previous hostage releases, the government stayed quiet about the return of the sailors, providing no public information on their arrival time or a ceremony to mark the official handover to their families.

Five other Indonesian sailors remain in captivity. They have been held since June 21 by the Philippine militant group, which is notorious for extracting ransom payments in return for the lives of hostages. (ebf)
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu  Mon, September 26 2016

After the Forestry Agency in Central Sulawesi started promoting rubber trees for their economic potential, more farmers in the province started growing the trees in the area, making rubber a prime commodity in the region.

Data from the agency shows that rubber plantations in Central Sulawesi have expanded and the provincial administration estimates that rubber will become a prime commodity as farmers begin to grow rubber trees every year.

Forestry Agency head Nahardi said in Palu on Friday there were around 30,000 rubber trees in Malonas village, Donggala regency, now being tapped.

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Jakarta deputy gubernatorial hopeful Sandiaga Uno has said that he will take part in the governments tax amnesty program as part of efforts to disclose his wealth.

Insya Allah [God willing], within two days I will prepare to join the tax amnesty program. I will also submit an official wealth report and I will open my campaign funds to the public, Sandiaga, who has been paired with Anies Baswedan for the election, said at City Hall on Monday.

Sandiaga urged all Jakarta gubernatorial election candidates to join the tax amnesty to comply with their tax obligations and support the governments program.

Sandiaga, who has been endorsed by the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has also promised to make the details of his campaign funds accessible to the public.

Previously, Sandiaga challenged Ahok to be transparent about his campaign funds, especially in relation to his volunteer group, Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), who collected 1 million vote pledges to enable him to run as independent candidate in the election.

As Teman Ahok established booths in shopping malls to garner support for the incumbent, Ahok should be transparent about Teman Ahoks sources of funding, Sandiaga said.

Sandiaga is one of the Indonesians named in the Panama Papers, a series of leaked documents containing information about wealthy individuals with wealth parked in offshore company structures. Sandiaga has said that none of his offshore companies was intended to hide illegal activities. (bbn)
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu  Mon, September 26, 2016

Local power producer Soma Power Indonesia will soon begin developing a hydroelectric power plant alongside Bongka River in Tojo Una-Una, Central Sulawesi, with a peak capacity of 150 megawatts (MW).

Soma Power Indonesia president director Frangky Yason said he had presented the plan before Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djanggola and other officials on Sept. 23.

"The investment value will be around US$300 million to $450 million. All requirements have been prepared, so we can act soon," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The Jakarta-based company said it had secured the principal permits from the governor and the Investment Coordinating Board and a recommendation letter from the Central Sulawesi Forestry Agency.

Meanwhile, Longki said the regional government would support the investment plan as long as the company completed all of the requirements as stipulated by the law.

The electricity peak load in Central Sulawesi hit 118 MW, while produced power is at 156 MW. Therefore, the Central Sulawesi power grid recorded an electricity surplus of 38 MW, Longki explained, adding that the region had already built an interconnected electricity grid. (ags)
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Linkedin A. Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

Politician Budiman Sudjatmiko chooses comics as his medium to talk about revolution in the hope of reaching the younger generation.

Known as a rebellious youth icon in the 1990s, Budiman Sudjatmiko still clearly remembers when he landed in jail in 1996 due to a revolution that he carried out to bring down the authoritarian new order regime of former president Soeharto.



In 2013, he shared such an experience in his autobiographical novel Anak-Anak Revolusi (The Children of Revolution).



After the novel was criticized for being too thick and boring, he transformed it into a comic trilogy and in August, he launched the first one, Komik Serial Anak-Anak Revolusi I: Talking about a Revolution (Revolutionary Children Comic Series: Talking about a Revolution).



For him, the democracy that the Indonesian younger generation enjoys today should not be taken for granted and through his comic trilogy, the 46-year-old wants to convey such a message.



This comic aims to remind them of Indonesian history from the New Order to the reform era with a new package. To make politics, history, economy and philosophy easily understood, said the lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).



For the adaptation, he teamed up with writer Yoga Adhitrisna and illustrators Hari Prast and Wastukancono. He selected them after being impressed by their work, comic strips Kisah Blusukan Jokowi (The Story of Jokowis Impromptu Visits), created to help then Jakarta governor Joko Jokowi Widodo win the presidential election in 2014.



Talking about a Revolution tells of the bloody July 27, 1996 tragedy, when two opposing camps of the party now known as the PDI-P clashed at the partys headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta.



However, in the comic, Budiman reveals his other side: A nerd hooked on philosophy books who was never afraid of criticizing the corrupt government in his speech but who stuttered in fright when it came to approaching women he liked.



He also discloses his motivations for entering politics.



At the age of 5, he had already witnessed his neighbor, who usually accompanied him to play in a rice field behind his home in Cilacap, Central Java, commit suicide because he was unable to repay a debt to a moneylender, an experience that made him understand what poverty means.



Budiman, whose father worked as a salted-egg seller, also learned that many children around his home could not go to school because their parents did not have enough money.



In light of this, the idea of revolution came into his mind from a very young age.



Knowing that knowledge is power, Budiman started to expand his political horizons by reading the books of philosophers, ranging from Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus to Jean-Paul Sartre, when he was a senior high school student in Yogyakarta.



In the school, he met new friends who were also interested in politics and had similar agenda: making a revolution.



Reading the 86-page Talking about a Revolution is not enough to fully understand Indonesian history and politics. However, the comic serves as a good short introduction for young people born after the reform era.



According to Yoga, the major challenge of adapting Budimans novel into comic form was translating his political thoughts into eye-catching cartoons because in comic form, narrating a story is not enough.



Showing, not telling. Comics are different from novels, he said. He [Budiman] is smart. But, he is a very serious person. If you want to talk about something funny, dont be with him, he added, laughing.



The process of making Talking about a Revolution took only one year and for Yoga, working with Budiman was easy as he was open-minded about the ideas that he and his two partners conveyed.



Yoga was surprised to learn that the comic strips he made for Jokowi were what caught Budimans attention. He [Budiman] asked, who made this comic [Kisah Blusukan Jokowi]? I want them to make a comic about myself, Yoga recalled.



Budiman, who liked to read the French comic series The Adventures of Tintin when he was little, hopes his comic trilogy will motivate more comic writers to discuss Indonesian issues and history in their works.



He said that another reason he had made a comic about democratization in Indonesia was the inspiration he found in the works of Dutch comic artist Peter Van Dongen, who made the graphic novel Rampokan Jawa (Java Looting) a tale set in the troubled years after the declaration of independence in 1945.



Rampokan Jawa, released in 2005, made him realize that Indonesian history and politics could also be interesting material for a comic, he added.



Budiman plans to release Talking about a Revolutions sequels  Forever Young and Darah Juang (Blood of Struggle)  in the near future. I hope that this comic can provide material for discussion and inspire its readers to self-reflect and start revolutions in their lives.



 Photo by A. Kurniawan Ulung

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Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26 2016

Following a hectic nomination and registration process, Jakartas gubernatorial candidates visited Mintohardjo Navy Hospital in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, for medical checkups on Saturday.

It was their first direct encounter with one another after officially declaring their candidacy for an election that is tipped by many to be a tight three-horse race.

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Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 26, 2016

Following a hectic nomination and registration process, Jakartas gubernatorial candidates visited Mintohardjo Navy Hospital in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, for medical checkups on Saturday.

It was their first direct encounter with one another after officially declaring their candidacy for an election that is tipped by many to be a tight three-horse race.

Smear campaigns have started to appear on social media and fierce debates between supporters of the three candidate pairs are likely to become a regular feature of the capital over the next few months.

However, at the hospital, the candidates made a friendly gesture. The six of them took a selfie together and posted it on a social media.

Selfies before medical checkup, governor candidate Anies Baswedan wrote on his Instagram account next to a picture of him; his running mate Sandiaga Uno; Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama; Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat; the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono; and his running mate Sylviana Murni.

The picture was followed by another photo posted on Sandiagas social media account showing the six candidates with the hospitals medical team.

We might even create a WhatsApp group, Sylviana told reporters on the sidelines of the event. Sylvianas quip was met with laughter from the other candidates.

Prior to her candidacy, Sylviana was Ahoks assistant for tourism, and while the governor said he was aware of Sylvianas political ambitions, he displayed no hard feelings on the day. All the candidates were smiling in the picture.

Some Islamic groups are trying out various schemes to prevent the reelection of Ahok, who they refer to as a kafir (infidel), including by calling on Muslim voters to join together in an alliance to oppose him.

Ahok said the election was a competition of ideas and programs to create a better city for the residents of Jakarta.

I dont want to hear any sara [ethnic, religious, racial] remarks during the election campaign, he said.

The long campaign will begin on Oct. 26 and end on Feb. 11, four days before election day itself. In the case of a second round election, balloting day will be held on April 19.

The law requires Ahok to take leave during the campaign period. The governor has challenged the rule and the Constitutional Court is expected to issue its verdict on the issue soon.

The wefie has been praised by many because it seems to signal that the governor and deputy governor, and their challengers, will engage in a peaceful and democratic election process.

Jakarta resident Devie Nova said the photo demonstrated the goodwill of the candidates. Devie hoped the goodwill could be extended over the coming months.

I hope the residents of Jakarta can see the positive message in the picture, she told The Jakarta Post.

In the past few weeks, issues of sectarianism have clouded the election. For the first time in

Indonesias history, a Christian Chinese-Indonesian is running openly for the position of governor. Ahok, who tops the polls, is thought by many to be the front-runner in the race.

On Sunday, the candidates underwent psychological tests at the hospital and drug tests at a laboratory at the National Narcotics Agency in Cawang, East Jakarta.

Im fine. Im not a psychopath, Ahok told reporters jokingly after the psychological test.

The governor seemed to be responding to vitriolic comments from some of his political rivals, including from politician Abraham Lulung Lunggana of the United Development Party. Lulung accused Ahok of having mental problems, reflected by Ahoks direct and forceful temperament.
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Linkedin Walter Sim (The Straits Times/ANN) Tokyo  Mon, September 26, 2016

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make a four-day official visit to Tokyo starting Monday, during which he will meet his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

The trip marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, said Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement Sunday.

PM Lee will receive from Abe Japan's top honor for a foreign dignitary on behalf of the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March last year.

Japan has posthumously awarded Lee the prestigious Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers to recognize his contributions to the development of bilateral relations over several decades.

This is the second award Japan has conferred on Lee, who in 1967 received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga had said, in announcing the award in February: "Lee strived to strengthen relations with Japan and was successful in building a friendship between the two nations."

Other dignitaries who have received the award include former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Abe will present the award to PM Lee at a bilateral summit meeting, and will host a banquet for Lee and the Singapore delegation.

The trip reinforces the robust economic and people-to-people ties between the two nations.

Singapore is Japan's top Asian foreign direct investor, while Japan was Singapore's eighth-largest trading partner and second- largest foreign direct investor.

Last year, nearly 800,000 Japanese tourists visited Singapore, while more than 300,000 Singaporeans - or about one in 10 citizens - went to Japan.

During his trip, PM Lee will meet Japanese political and business leaders. He will also deliver a keynote speech at a special session of the 22nd Nikkei International Conference on The Future Of Asia, held by Japanese publisher Nikkei.

The late Lee used to attend the annual conference, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong gave a speech at this year's event, which was held in May.

PM Lee will also meet Singaporeans who are living in Japan at a National Day reception.

He is accompanied by Mrs Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin, senior ministers of state Josephine Teo and Sim Ann, as well as North West District Mayor Teo Ho Pin and MP Zainal Sapari.

The delegation will also include senior officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the MFA and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be Acting Prime Minister in PM Lee's absence.
With the debates approaching, Mr. Trump should continue to focus on the issues effecting the country and which animate his base. The Supreme Court, fair trade deals and defeating ISIS are all examples of the resonating of Mr. Trumps message. He should focus on these issues and show that he has what it takes to be an effective and successful President.

Mr. Trump should continue to emphasize the importance of the Supreme Court. With the seat of Justice Scalia now open the next president will pick at least one Supreme court justice. This is an issue of tremendous significance, the Supreme Court has tremendous influence and liberal judges could have a major impact. Mr.Trump should emphasize the crucial nature of the Court and how Mr. Trump will pick conservative justices while Clinton would pick justices who would possibly legalize immorality and cement a culture of leftism in America.

On the specter of international terrorism, and specifically Islamic terrorism, as we have just passed the anniversary of the terrible 9/11 attacks, Mr. Trump should emphasize the need to not only contain but defeat ISIS. ISIS-inspired people have carried out a number of attacks in the USA under Obamas administration whether in San Bernardino or Orlando. Mr. Trump should point out that the Obama/Clinton foreign policy is one which did not defeat ISIS and on the contrary helped facilitate instability in Libya and a loss of credibility on the issue of Syria. He should hammer in the fact that Clinton wants to increase the flow of Syrian refugees which would make America more vulnerable to attack. Mr. Trump has called for a pause of refugees from terrorist nations, this is a logical policy which should resonate.

Mr. Trump has reflected a populist wave in America. He should continue to promote the themes which propelled him thus far. On trade deals, Americans want fair trade deals. NAFTA or the North American Free Trade Agreement should be renegotiated to reflect the best interests of the American people. Unlike Obama and Clinton, Trump is opposed to the TPP or Trans Pacific Partnership which he has argued would negatively affect America. These trade deals have hurt American workers and cause a loss of jobs. Mr. Trump should emphasize he will bring back jobs and be a jobs President.

On immigration, Mr.Trump has promoted the rule of law. Americans are tired of hearing about immigration reform without securing the border. The liberal immigration policies such as amnesty for illegal aliens promote lawlessness. Mr. Trump has vowed to secure the border and build a wall to secure America and prevent the continued flow of illegal immigrants. These policies would promote national security and keep out potential criminals. in addition to ensuring those who immigrate legally are not punished for following the rule of law. Immigration was one of the issues which Mr. Trump began his campaign on and he should continue to emphasize this issue which resonates with America.

On all these issues Mr. Trump can focus and articulate how his plans are much more of a change from the status quo. He should emphasize that he has solutions for the challenges facing the nation and focus on these important issues facing America as well as his message of Making America Great Again. By doing this he can win the debates and more importantly win the narrative and project a renewed positivity in a seemingly negative election cycle.

(TLS welcomes your opinions by sending them to [email protected])
The Chatham Square Library offers a unique take on the story of Chinese-American womens history with their upcoming exhibit, HERSTORY: Chinese-American Women, 165 Years of Struggle and Success. Told through legal cases fought in supreme courts throughout the U.S., the exhibit features the personal collection of Dr. Chang C. Chen, who has documented much of the written legal history, and includes rare photographs and case descriptions of efforts by Chinese-American women to gain legal standing in the U.S.

Chatham Square Library writes:

Starting in 1852, the cases document women who fought for equal treatment in the eyes of the law and for citizenship and immigration rights. One 1874 case from San Francisco describes a group of recent immigrants who were defined as lewd and immoral due to their style of dress, and were set to be deported. The women fought back and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor, stating that the California laws were in conflict with federal immigration laws and the women were released. In Tape v. Hurley, 66 Cal. 473 (1885), a landmark case in the California Supreme Court in which the Court found the exclusion of a Chinese American student from public school based on her ancestry unlawful. The Court ruled that Chinese-American children had a right to public education and to attend public schools.

HERSTORY: Chinese-American Women, 165 Years of Struggle and Success opens on Wednesday, Sept. 28th with a reception at 6pm. The exhibit runs through October 31, 2016.
With the release of Imperium, we sat down to talk to director Daniel Ragussis about the film, politics, Daniel Radcliffe - and how humanising monsters is our best chance of defeating their ideologies.

Imperium is Ragussis first big feature film, and its clear that this was an important project for him. The narrative follows FBI agent Nate Foster (Daniel Radcliffe) who goes undercover to infiltrate a radical white supremacist group who are suspected of terrorist plots.

Based on a story of Michael German, a real undercover FBI agent who spent 20 months undercover among white supremacists and right-wing militants, the film is steeped in realism.

Imperium is incredibly revealing in reminding audiences that ideological and militant racism is not an issue that went away after the work of the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s America. Its shocking to see that this movement is alive and kicking today, and even Daniel Ragussis himself wasnt aware of the extent of this movement until he began research.

That was one of the things that was really shocking to me about the whole thing, he says. I not only discovered the size and the depth and the breadth of the community, but also the degree to which huge portions of it were middle class, or affluent, were highly educated because I think like many people I thought this was the province of the poor and the uneducated and unfortunately its not.

With the white supremacist movement being unfamiliar territory to Ragussis, he explains just how useful it was to have the insight of real undercover FBI agent Michael German when writing the screenplay: On the one hand I was sitting down with Mike every week for four or five hours doing an extensive interview, but then parallel to that I was also doing my own research where I amassed this huge white supremacy book shelf, which always raises a few eyebrows!

As well as first-hand experience from Michael and literature, he explains other sources of his information: Then of course theres the internet, where you can find online communities with millions of people in them where people are not only talking about their politics, but about their favourite painting or their favourite pieces of music or theyre exchanging recipes so the benefit of that for a purpose like this is that you can get a very detailed and nuanced view of what these folks everyday life is, which is something which was really important to me to try and convey in the movie.

The subject matter of Imperium is a sensitive one to say the least, and it couldnt have been easy for either Radcliffe or Ragussis to work on the film - but Ragussis insists that Radcliffes preparation was what made the process so smooth: He came so remarkably prepared for the role and was so committed to the roleyou would think it would be difficult, but it wasnt.

Both were also incredibly committed to the research phase of the film. Ragussis explains that he made Radcliffe a white supremacist care package, with books and materials, which he sent him prior to shooting.

He highlights just how useful Radcliffes preparation was due to the nature of the film: This isnt often the case with indie films where you have so little time and money but somehow we carved out a good amount of time before the shoot started so when the cameras started rolling there was already a great deal of work that had been done.

Daniel Radcliffe certainly commits to the role wholeheartedly, even though he may not have been everyones first choice for an undercover white supremacist - but Ragussis insists that the inspiration came from Michael German himself, who was nothing like you would imagine an FBI agent to be.

He says: I sort of imagine this big hulking guy but Mike is this very unassuming, soft spoken, articulate, literate guy who would talk to you or I about art and culture and you would never suspect that he was an undercover FBI agent.

Nevertheless, Michael German highlighted the fact that being an undercover agent is about social skills, and is about relating to people and connecting with people, and having people trust you. This is what led him to think of Radcliffe for the role, So once he started describing the work in that way and I looked at him I thoughthopefully theres an opportunity to do something a little different with the undercover genreand then casting someone like Dan became perfect.

Daniel Ragussis says that he also wanted to emphasise the complexities of this movement, as one of the most challenging things about watching Imperium is seeing the human side to these people who are widely recognised as some of the worst people in the world.

However, Ragussis recalls that when he was researching he discovered that Hitler loved Wagner, and Im a huge Wagner fan, he says, and I realised that at that moment I was listening to Wagner. I was having the same exact emotional experience as Adolf Hitler, which is a really crazy and disturbing thing to realise.

He emphasises the idea that there is a shared common humanity, and that you see online especially that these are just people living their lives every day and they deal with many of the same things that we do.

He goes on to explain that this is not just true of the white supremacist community, but of every community, including Isis and other groups that we paint as completely unintelligible to us.



I certainly dont excuse these things, he says, but I think realising that all these groups share a common humanity with us is something thats important, and hopefully in the long run something thats helpful towards dismantling these ideologies.

Imperium, directed by Daniel Ragussis, is in cinemas now.


The Jungle migrant camp in Calais will be closed by the end of the year, French President Francois Hollande has said.

Here, we answer key questions on the camp and the future of its residents:

What is the Jungle camp?

Women enter a church in the camp (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The sprawling camp, which has been nicknamed the Jungle by residents, is based in Calais, northern France, around nine miles from the Channel Tunnel. It has become a home for thousands of refugees and migrants hoping to seek asylum in the UK.

What is the history of the camp?

Day-to-day life in the camp (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The Sangatte refugee camp was opened in Calais in 1999, but was closed between 2001 and 2002 by Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then minister of interior. The closure failed to stem the flow of arrivals and people continued to settle and build makeshift camps around the port town. The population of the Jungle has soared in recent years.

How many people live there?

Calais residents have been campaigning for the camp to be closed (Chris Radburn/PA)

Estimates vary. While authorities put the figure at around 7,000, a census conducted in August by Help Refugees found more than 9,000 people were living there. The figure marked a 29% increase in the population since early July, the charity said.

Where have they come from?

Occupants have staged protests, including sewing their lips closed (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Many people are believed to be fleeing from countries embroiled in conflict  with reports suggesting Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan are among the nations.

Why is the Jungle back in the headlines?

Riot police watch as a shelter burns (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Hollande has announced that the French government is preparing to completely, definitively dismantle the Jungle by the end of the year. Half the Calais camp was dismantled in March, but its population is believed to have doubled since then.

What will happen to the people who live in the Jungle?

A restaurant in the camp (Steve Parsons/PA)

The occupants of the camp are set to be moved to reception centres across France. Between 40 and 50 will be held at each centre for up to four months while authorities investigate their cases. Those who do not seek asylum will be deported.

What will the camps closure mean for child refugees hoping to gain asylum in the UK?

A message on a sign in the camp (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Under EU legislation known as Dublin III, asylum claims must be made in the first safe country a person reaches  but children can have their claim transferred to another country if they have family members living there.

Campaigners have urged the British Government to ensure unaccompanied children are not caught up in the eviction and are removed safely from the camp, so they can be reunited with their families.

How can I help?

Orphaned refugee children walking among the shelters (Chris Radburn/PA)
Disgruntled students in Newcastle joined a protest against a local letting agent this weekend.

Activists and students gathered outside letslivehere's office on New Bridge Street on Saturday afternoon to demand higher standards of housing for its tenants.

ACORN (Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now) led the protest to get the company to sign its Ethical Lettings Charter, a document drawn up to guarantee high quality and affordable lettings for tenants. The group claims that letslivehere publicly agreed to sign the charter back in March.

In a blog post on its in August, letslivehere described the "increasingly unpleasant" situation that had unfolded over the dispute.

It said "Having gone through the Ethical Lettings Charter point by point, we decided we already fulfil every requirement, and in fact exceed the criteria specified within it. We did feel it is heavily focused on the needs of tenants, whereas as a lettings agency, we need to equally consider the needs of landlords. The Charter is not accredited by any legal bodies, so does not give us any additional endorsement to what we already have.

"We are a member of the National Landlords Association (NLA), the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS)  an independent body to give tenants and landlords alike protection and reassurance  and have had membership of the Property Ombudsman for six years, so are governed by the recognised legal regulatory bodies. We lodge deposits with the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), giving tenants financial peace of mind.

"We have sought advice from the Council, the NLA and NALS on this matter, and all three advised us against signing."

Some former tenants of letslivehere's student properties told of their experiences with the company. One student, who asked not to be named, claimed they had faced several issues with the company throughout their tenancy.

They said: "We had lukewarm water for three months until they finally realised there was an issue and got the boiler man out.

"There was no security in the whole building. Our front door to the building of flats was broken three times in the year so the main door was constantly open. By the end of the year one of the flats below us got burgled.

"Someone dropped out and was replaced, so we paid a ridiculous amount of fees for the change of contract. Looking back, I was a naive first year signing into my first house. Having studied housing and property law, now I realise how much they got away with."

letslivehere declined to provide any further comment on the advice of its legal team.
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Phuket bus driver plays it safe after steering fails

PHUKET: The driver of a bus carrying Chinese tourists from Chalong Pier on Saturday afternoon (Sept 24) made a quick decision to stop his vehicle rather than risk the lives of those on board when the bus steering suffered a failure.

Chinesepolicetransport

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Monday 26 September 2016, 11:39AM

Mr Kathawuth Kulbuth, 29, decided to stop the bus rather than continue on with his journey. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

A worker from S P Stainless Construction Co Ltd was able to reconnect the loose wires to the steering system. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Mr Supawatkan Kunnarak, an official from Chalong Municipality and Chalong Traffic Police were called to investigate an incident at 1pm on Saturday where it was reported that a bus carrying Chinese tourist had been forced to stop in the middle of Chao Fa West Rd in front of S P Stainless Construction Co Ltd.

Upon arrival at the scene, the driver, Mr Kathawuth Kulbuth, 29, told police he had picked up tourists from Chalong Pier and was heading north along Chao Fa West Rd, when he attempted to make a turn in front of Wat Chalong he noticed a problem with the vehicles steering.

I noticed a problem with the steering so I slowed down. The problem was getting worse as I approached Baan Chalong School so I again tried to force the steering wheel but it wouldnt turn so I was forced to stop in front of SP Stainless, he said.

I checked under the bus and discovered loose wires were hanging from the steering system. I called the bus company to arrange a news bus be delivered so that I could transport the tourists, he added.

Luckily, workers from S P Stainless Construction Co Ltd were able to help reconnect the loose wires to the steering system and Mr Kathawuth and the tourists were able to continue on their journey at 5:15pm.

Mr Supawatkan said that all bus companies must check all systems on their buses regularly and keep records of all maintenance carried out.

Safety is a must for public transport, and drivers must drive with caution at all times, he said.
PM says Yinglucks hefty fine is fair

BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has denied the government was searching for vengeance in rushing to impose a B35.7 billion fine on former premier Yingluck Shinawatra as payment for losses incurred in the failed rice pledging scheme.

crimeeconomicspolitics

By Bangkok Post

Monday 26 September 2016, 09:22AM

Prime Minister Prayut, seen here posing for photos with Government House visitors says the case surrounding ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra is straightforward, and its not bullying. Photo: Government House via Bangkok Post

Meanwhile, Ms Yingluck hit back at the prime minister, asking Gen Prayut to treat her the same way he has treated his brother Gen Preecha, who is currently under fire over his sons business.

Gen Prayut said yesterday (Sept 25) that the statute of limitation in the compensation case expires in February next year, and said he gave no instruction to any agency to rush the order.

We didnt bully anyone, nor did we single anyone out.

It is a duty [to proceed with the compensation order] because if the government didnt do it, we would be held to account for dereliction of power, Gen Prayut said on his return from New York where he attended the United Nations General Assembly last week.

Its what is written in the law and we must comply with it, he said.

On Saturday (Sept 24), the committee pursuing civil liabilities against wrongdoers in the state sector announced Ms Yingluck was liable to pay compensation of B35.7bn for her role in the scheme that led to huge losses during the 2013-14 rice crop.

The panel did not find her responsible for the losses in the previous years of 2011-12.

In a statement declared to the NACC in May, 2015, a year after she left office, Ms Yinglucks total assets were worth B579mn.

Ms Yingluck as prime minister was the highest authority overseeing the national rice policy.

The panel, chaired by Manas Jamveha, director-general of the Comptroller-Generals Department, said the 2013-14 rice crop incurred losses of B180bn.

Gen Prayut said the governments duty was to enforce the law governing civil liabilities in the state sector in the Yingluck compensation case.

The 1996 law has been applied to more than 5,000 cases so far, he said, adding that decisions in the rice pledging cases will be made by the court.

Ms Yingluck is also being tried in the Supreme Courts Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders and faced impeachment last year in the National Legislative Assembly over her alleged dereliction of duty regarding the rice-pledging policy.

In the compensation case, she has the right to appeal to the Administrative Court.

If the court upholds the order, however, the Legal Execution Department (LED) will move to seize her assets.

So would someone like to dodge the legal process and let my government take the blame instead? Gen Prayut said.

On her Facebook page, Ms Yingluck wrote that the prime minister should adhere to fairness in her case.

[In] the same way you wish to ensure justice and protect your brother, the law must be exercised without bias against my side, she said.

Ms Yingluck was referring to the 3rd Army Regions construction projects awarded to a bidding company owned by the son of defence permanent secretary Preecha Chan-o-cha, who is Gen Prayuts younger brother.

A petition has been filed with the National Anti-Corruption Commission alleging a conflict of interest in the company winning military projects with Gen Preecha as defence permanent secretary.

Gen Preechas wife faces a similar petition to the NACC over the construction of a weir in Chiang Mai allegedly financed by state resources, and which was named after her.

Ms Yinglucks lawyer, Norrawit Larlaeng, said the government was invoking Section 44 of the interim constitution excessively to investigate and punish politicians by authorising the LED to seize assets from them.

Writing on Facebook, he said double-standard justice was at play. Section 44 was not needed because an existing law permits the LED to perform asset seizures, he said.

However, the governments legal representatives say a civil liabilities investigation had to be established using the special power because Ms Yingluck, as prime minister, is regarded as a state official who must account for the damages she allegedly caused while in office.

Mr Norrawit noted it was strange that Gen Prayut will not sign the compensation order, but has instead left it up to his finance minister to endorse it.

The lawyer said it is as if Gen Prayut is trying to protect himself from any counter-lawsuit in the future.

Jirachai Moonthongroy, deputy permanent secretary at the Prime Ministers Office who chaired the probe into Ms Yinglucks role in the rice pledging losses, said he respected the Manas committees decision to set the damage figure for the former premier at B35.7bn.

The Jirachai probe had resolved Ms Yingluck was responsible for losses across four rice crops, from 2011 to 2014, finding she had acknowledged alleged irregularities in the pledging scheme from the beginning but did nothing to stop them.

The probe determined Ms Yingluck will have to be fined B286.6bn in compensation.

The probe findings were presented to the Manas committee which cut Ms Yinglucks liabilities to B35.7bn.

Mr Jirachai said he trusted Mr Manas is fully able to explain his panels reasons to justify such a damages figure.

Mr Manas said that after consulting the Auditor-General and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which investigated irregularities in the case, his committee did not find Ms Yingluck responsible for the losses in the 2011-12 crop.

Read original story here.
Police call on FBI in bid to identify body in freezer

BANGKOK: Police are seeking help from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help identify a dismembered body found in a freezer during last weeks raid on a passport forgery gang.

crimedeathimmigrationpolice

By Bangkok Post

Monday 26 September 2016, 08:58AM

Several suspects in the case of the dismembered body in the freezer have been tentatively identified as US citizens, including this man, known as James Douglas Eger, 66. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasil

Tourist Police Division chief Surachet Hakpal said Thai authorities had asked the FBI to provide files of fingerprints. However, fingerprints collected from the frozen body were too unclear to find a match as the body had been frozen for months.

He said the FBI will help police check the identity from dental records instead.

Maj Gen Surachet said police will today (Sept 26) search a house in Soi Onnuj 1 where one of the suspects stayed.

Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Sanit Mahathavorn said investigators will meet forensic experts and representatives from the US embassy today to discuss the identification verification process of the dismembered body and the findings of forensic tests.

The body of a foreign male, chopped up into six pieces, was found on Friday (Sept 23) when police raided a five-storey building in Sukhumvit soi 56 following a tip-off that the premises were being used by a passport forgery gang.

Three foreign nationals were arrested in the raid and charged with multiple offences including resisting arrest, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, forging official documents and concealing a corpse.

As authorities were verifying their travel documents, two were identified from passports as Americans James Douglas Eger, 66, and Aaron Thomas Gabel, 33. The other was identified as British national Peter Andrew Colter, 56.

What police need to know is the identity of the dead person. Who was he? Where was he from? How was he involved with Mr Colter? he said.

Lt Gen Sanit said some techniques were employed but were not good enough to identify the victim at this stage and the fact the body had been frozen for months made forensic work more difficult.

However, he insisted an autopsy would be able to tell what caused the death and when he died. It is hoped initial findings, which are expected today, will help police solve the case.

The commissioner said police have some pieces of useful information which need to be verified before they can release them publicly.

He said police believe the freezer is a second-hand product and they are preparing to search the house from where the freezer was moved.

Mr Colter was quoted as telling police the freezer belonged to a friend who had died of cancer and he did not know what was inside it.

He said the freezer was moved to the building four months ago. Police later found the key to the freezer in Mr Colters bedroom.

Lt Gen Sanit said police questioned 10 people including a woman who was romantically involved with Mr Colter and they are reviewing footage from security cameras to identify potential witnesses.

Lt Gen Sanit said Mr Colter, who has been in Thailand for five years, is involved in a passport forgery racket and it is believed he has no authentic identification documents.

The house rental contract made in August last year is signed by Mr Eger while some of the chemical substances seized from the house are restricted goods and believed to be used in passport forgery.

Central Investigation Bureau chief Thitirat Nongharnpitak said police have reviewed the suspects phones and found their potential witnesses and suspects.

He said the three suspects provided little cooperation to investigators and police are waiting for information from the US authorities and Interpol.

Lt Gen Natthon Phroasunthon, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said authorities are working to verify the identity of the suspects who have multiple passports with different names and nationalities.

He said no passports were sent to the bureau for examination, noting the immigration authorities would be able to quickly verify if they are genuine or forged.

He said it is likely the passports used by the men in house rental deals or car purchases are fake.

Read original story here.
Portuguese man o war warning issued at Phi Phi Island

PHUKET: The Chief of the Hat Nopparat Thara - Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park today (Sept 26) issued a warning to tourists to beware Portuguese man o war after the dangerous stingers were found in Maya Bay over the weekend.

tourismmarineanimalshealth

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Monday 26 September 2016, 05:50PM

Park officers warned tourist from engaging in any activities in the water. Photo: Hat Nopparat Thara - Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park

The warning follows Sirinath National Park Chief Kitipas Tharapibal ordering a ban on water activities at Nai Thon and Nai Yang in Phuket on Saturday after the jellyfish-like stingers were found washed ashore at those popular beaches. (See story here.)

Our officers conducted inspections in risk areas by speedboat and found Portuguese man o war in Maya Bay, at Phi Phi Lei Island, Phi Phi Chief Park Sarayut Thantian explained in his warning issued today.

This creature carries dangerous poison and its stings may even cause death. Hence, we warn tourists against any activities in the water at Phi Phi Island, Bamboo Island and Poda Island, he wrote.

Chief Sarayut noted, If any person is stung by a Portuguese man o war, do not wash the wound with vinegar or freshwater. It must cleaned with saltwater, then get the victim to hospital as quickly as possible.
Russian man, 52,found dead in Phuket hotel room

PHUKET: Police are currently investigating the death of a Russian man who was found dead in a hotel room in Karon yesterday afternoon (Sept 25).

deathhealthpoliceRussian

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Monday 26 September 2016, 03:48PM

According to rescue workers, they were requested to move the body out of sight of other guests at the resort. Photo: Ruamjai Kupai

Capt Nipon Themsang of the Karon Police was notified at 3pm yesterday that a Russian tourist had been found dead in a room at the Karona Resort and Spa. The body was discovered by a hotel maid police were told.

The body, that of a 52-year-old Russian national (name withheld until his family have been notified), was found lying face down on the bed. Police said there were several empty water bottles near the bed.

Capt Nipon said, We found no signs of robbery in the room or assault on the body, but at this time we are not sure what happened to him.

The maid who discovered the body, Ms Wannee Chuchom, 43, told police that the man had checked in to the hotel on Sept 18 and was due to check out on Sept 30.

According to staff the man liked to drink and they last saw him on Saturday (Sept 24). On Sept 25 at 2:30pm Mr Wannee went to clean the room and discovered him unresponsive on the bed.

The body was taken to Vachira Hospital for doctors to determine the time and cause of death. We will notify the Russian embassy, he added.
Russian tourist drowns at Karon Beach

PHUKET: A Russian tourist on holiday in Phuket with his wife has died after being pulled unconscious from the water at Karon Beach on Saturday (Sept 24).

Russiandeathtourismmarine

By Darawan Naknakhon

Monday 26 September 2016, 11:39AM

Karon Beach, like the rest of Phuket's west coast, has been subjected to heavy surf for the past week. Photo: Phuket Lifeguard Service

Roman Yorosov, 43, was pronounced dead on arrival at Patong Hospital after lifeguards recovered him from the dangerous surf near the Naga statute about halfway along the beach, said Capt Weerayuth Thansirisukworakul of the Karon Police.

Capt Weerayuth arrived with fellow police officers and rescue workers after being notified of the incident at about 3:30pm.

Rescue workers administered CPR to Mr Yorosov before transporting him to Patong Hospital where he was pronounce dead upon arrival, Capt Weerayuth said.

His wife said they came to the beach together, and while she was sunbathing while Mr Yorosov went into the water for a swim, Capt Weerayuth explained.

She said that when she looked up, Mr Yorosov was missing, he added.

The couple arrived in Phuket on Thursday (Sept 22) and were due to leave on October 3, Capt Weerayuth said.

The Russian Embassy has been notified of Mr Yorosovs death, he noted.
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11AAA semis will be awesome and more from HS football quarterfinals

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Growing V-Grass gives luxury fashion Chinese style Updated: 2016-09-26 08:30 (China Daily)

A Teenie Weenie outlet in an urban shopping area of Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

Nanjing dressmaker V-Grass Fashion Co has an audacious plan to become the Valentino of the Chinese fashion world, and buying a South Korean fast-fashion brand with more than six times as many stores in China is part of its move to get there.

V-Grass agreed this month to acquire the Chinese business of E-Land Group's Teenie Weenie in a deal valued at about $900 million. For V-Grass, which is planning its first overseas store in Milan, the purchase will help support falling sales and profit as the Shanghai-listed retailer shuts a third of its lower-end outlets and restructures to focus on the luxury-minded, according to Tao Weimin, its vice-president.

"We wanted to find a brand to prop up our performance so we can build up what we want to do with the V-Grass label," Tao said in an interview in Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu province. "As a listed company, the market will react badly if we take too long to show profit from the restructuring. This acquisition will let us be bolder."

Teenie Weenie, whose casual-wear items are embossed with cutesy teddy bears, has 1,400 stores in China, compared with about 215 for V-Grass, which is trying to capture Chinese middle-class consumers who are increasingly willing to pay more for premium products. Further consolidation is likely, Tao said.

"After we digest Teenie Weenie, we will look to acquire other high-end foreign fashion brands," said Tao. "We think this is now a period of consolidation and adjustment in our industry and that a dominant local fashion apparel company can emerge. Our goal is to be that company."

In China's competitive apparel market, the top two companiesHeilan Home Co and Fast Retailing Co's Uniqlo brandhad 1.2 percent and 1 percent market share respectively in 2015, according to researcher Euromonitor International.

"The apparel space here needs to consolidate, and the winners going forward are companies with the right systems in place, such as inventory management, the right locations," said Ben Cavender, a China Market Research Group analyst. "Teenie Weenie is in a good position as it targets the younger casual fashion consumer base."

In the past year, V-Grass has shut a third of its boutiques located in third- and fourth-tier Chinese cities, and in lower-end malls in bigger cities, Tao said. While those outlets had been profitable, the company wants to establish itself at high-end locations in the biggest cities, he said.

V-Grass, whose own dresses retail for about 3,000 yuan ($450), plans to invest in boosting Teenie Weenie's fashion line for women, which has been losing market share, Tao said. The South Korean brand is doing well in menswear, children's clothing and accessories, where sales in those categories in China are growing 20 percent to 30 percent a year, he said.

The South Korean brand had net income of more than 500 million yuan in China last year on 2 billion yuan of sales, he said, compared with V-Grass's 112 million yuan profit and 814 million yuan in revenue.

V-Grass's own core operations have positive cash flow and did not need a capital infusion, Tao said. The company plans to open its first overseas V-Grass boutique in Milan, hometown of Italian fashion house Valentino, early next year, he said.

Bloomberg
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Rachel Shuler of Burlington, Wash., takes a moment after placing a sign and balloons with her stepdaughter at a makeshift memorial on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Burlington, to the victims the victims killed in a mall shooting on Friday. The 20-year-old man suspected of killing the five people with a rifle at a Macy's makeup counter had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Nanjing further tightens control on property market Updated: 2016-09-26 13:29 By Wu Xiaobo(chinadaily.com.cn)

Potential homebuyers examine a property project model in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, Feb 28, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, adopted new rules restricting home purchases in a bid to cool the red-hot housing market on Sunday, according to a report by Shanghai Securities Daily.

The rules, effective on Monday, symbolize a restart of restrictive policies that were scrapped two years ago.

The regulations ordered a halt of property sale including new commercial residential houses and second-hand homes to non-local residents and a suspension of new commercial residential houses sale to local residents with two or more than two properties.

Real estate developers and brokerage agencies should not sell commercial residential houses to ineligible home buyers, the rules said, adding that realty transaction and registration authorities should not handle related procedures for home transactions that violate the rules.

Nanjing has witnessed the transaction of 105,600 units of new houses as of September 25 this year, exceeding the total volume of 105,000 units for the entire year of 2015, according to statistics from a local property transaction website. Second-home sales reached 116,600 units during the same period. Both new homes and second-home trading hit historic record-highs for the same period.

Two days before the rollout of the restrictions, Nanjing completed its first online land auction on September 23. As all the 20 lots of land for residential use were auctioned at the price ceilings, local authorities required that houses to be built on the land pieces should be sold only after the construction is completed. Such requirement means that new home supply will shrink in the next two years and the current home purchase restrictions will play a certain role in smoothing out the real estate market, said analysts.

Nanjing adopted the most stringent regulations on the property market in February 19, 2011, restraining local residents from buying more than two houses and allowing non-local residents with one full-year social security and tax payment to buy only one house.

Home sales and prices plummeted following the initial adoption of the regulations, but picked up later as people found ways, such as fake divorces or forging social security certificates, to bypass the restraints. In mid-2014, housing prices fell again as banks tightened mortgage loans. The local government then removed regulations on September 22, 2014. Since then, the property market has warmed up and the frenzy has continued.

On August 11 this year, the local government announced move to raise the down payment for second-hand home loans. The rules did not cool the market as a five-percent down payment increase meant little for speculators. Market observers are keeping an eye on the effects of the current restrictions.
Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy

By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
Is Devendra Fadnavis likely to lose his chief ministerial chair due to growing unrest among politically powerful Maratha community in Maharashtra?

Fadnavis took everyone by surprise on Sunday when he said that he did not care whether or not he remained in chief ministerial chair. "I am not concerned whether I am chief minister or not, but as long as I am there, I will continue to work for social transformation," said Fadnavis at a programme in Navi Mumbai.

Fadnavis asserted that Maratha community must get reservation and his government was committed for the same.

Maharashtra has been witnessing massive rallies and protests by the community. The most recent one was held on Saturday in Pune and saw a participation of close to a million Marathas. Going by the comments of Fadnavis, it appears that the CM has perceived these demonstrations as a threat to his chair.

Marathas have been demanding reservation for the community and amendments to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which protects backward classes from atrocities by upper caste Hindus. Marathas have been ruling elite in Maharashtra and comprise close to 35 per cent of state's population. The community has been taking out silent rallies all across the state after a Maratha girl was raped allegedly by dalits at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district.

The rallies are being organised under the banner of Maratha Kranti Morcha. The organisers have steadfastly refused support from any of the political parties. Elected representatives who participated in these rallies have not been allowed anywhere near the dais. Each of these rallies is addressed by women members of the community and they end after a group of women submits a memorandum to the collector of the district.

Maratha community has, by and large, supported Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra. The BJP has, in recent times, made inroads into the community, but is still seen as party of Brahmins and Baniyas. That is why questions are being raised in one section of the party on whether Fadnavis, a Brahmin, will be able to tackle the issue.

Fadnavis, in a recent interview to a TV channel, said that the issues the Maratha community faces were genuine and their concerns and grievances were real.

There has been talk about a possible successor to Fadnavis being from Maratha community.

Chandrakant Patil, senior BJP minister from Kolhapur district, has now emerged as a front runner as he is very close to BJP president Amit Shah. Another name being discussed is that of BJP state president Raosaheb Danve Patil who was a minister in the Modi cabinet in the initial months of the government.

Did Fadnavis' statement at Navi Mumbai arise from a realisation that the ground under his feet is shifting? Fadnavis also urged the organisers of Maratha rallies to come forward for discussion. The government was fully with Maratha community but a decision about their demands could not not be announced unilaterally, he said. The chief minister also said that his government would make sure that Kopardi rape accused would be hanged to death.
As India decided to revisit the 56-year-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in the wake of the Uri army camp terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bluntly said that "blood and water cannot flow together".

The government also decided there would no meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission set up to overlook the implementation of the treaty till "terror is in the air", and that India would take a final call on the unilateral part of the suspension of the Tulbul water navigation project in Jammu and Kashmir depending on what Pakistan did next.

The two major steps were decided upon at a meeting of senior officials chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The meeting also decided that an inter-ministerial commission would be set up to look into various provisions of the bilateral water treaty that was signed in Karachi on September 19,1960, out of Pakistan's fear that since the source of rivers of the Indus basin is in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan during times of war.

The meeting was attended, among others, by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Mishra.

"Blood and water cannot flow together," official sources quoted Modi as having said during the meeting.

The attack at Uri on September 18 claimed the lives of 18 soldiers and India has blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist outfit for it. The attack came amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which 90 lives have been lost in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.

The officials' meeting on Monday decided to look at the full utilisation of the waters of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, the three western rivers of the Indus water system that flow through Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 95 per cent of the waters of the three eastern rivers of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi is being ustilised by India.

Signed after 10 years of discussions, the Indus Waters Treaty was designed to generate goodwill between the two South Asian neighbours and has survived three wars.

The meeting on Monday, according to the sources, decided that with things being "rather difficult" with Pakistan in the past few weeks, India should revisit the treaty.

It was also decided that there would be no meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission that oversees the implementation of the treaty, till Pakistan stopped sponsoring terrorism against India. The commission has held 112 meetings till now at an average of two a year.

According to the sources, the government will look into reviving work on the Tulbul water navigation project on the mouth of the Wular Lake in Jammu and Kshmir.

Work on the project was suspended in 1987 after Pakistan objected to it, saying it violated the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.

The inter-ministerial commission that will be set up will be tasked with reaping maximum benefits from the Indus water system for farmers.

At present 9.12 lakh hectares of land has been harvested with these waters in India, the sources said and added that there was potential to harvest eight lakh acres more.

Though India as of now has no storage facilities for these waters, the government is now looking at the full utilisation of the 3.6 million acre feet of water it is entitled to.

The meeting also decided to look at the possibility of generating the full potential of 18,000 MW of power from these rivers.

As of now, India is generating only 3,034 MW. Projects are under construction for generating 2,526 MW, while projects for generating 5,046 MW are at an advanced stage of approval.

The Salal hydroelectric project was constructed on the Chenab river.

The Pakal Dul hydroelectric project on the Marusadar river, a tributary of the Chenab, is under construction in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir while the Bursar project on the Chenab in Kishtwar district is to be implemented by the National Hydro Power Coproration.

The sources also pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has also voiced dissent at the Indus Waters Treaty and called for its scrapping.

Various political parties in the state are of the view that the treaty has not benefitted the people of the state, causing damage to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 6,500 crore annually.
Justice Markandey Katju has often been in the news for all the wrong reasons. This time, the former Supreme Court judge sparked off a controversy after he allegedly made a sarcastic comment on Biharis.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Justice Katju offered to give Kashmir to Pakistan on a condition that they also take Bihar.

It is a package deal. You have to take the whole package, or none at all. Either you take both Kashmir and Bihar, or nothing. We will not give you Kashmir alone, he said.

Katju said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had offered this deal to Musharraf at the Agra Summit, but he stupidly rejected it.

However, Katju's joke didn't go down well with most of the netizens who launched a counter-offensive against the former judge on social media. While several posts reminded Katju of the fact that several Bihari soldiers got martyrdom recently, a few posts took a more humorous line saying the 'package' includes not only Bihar but the judge himself.

Katju, however, rebuffed the criticism against him saying those who were offended by his post should file a petition in the Supreme Court praying for banning jokes about Biharis. There is already a petition pending in the Supreme Court for banning Sardarji jokes ( after all the Supreme Court has a lot of time to deal with such frivolous matters, and little time to deal with urgent cases ). So get your petition tagged with the Sardarji one. It would be a pleasant sight for spectators to see Sardars and Biharis jostling together in the Courtroom, Katju said in another post.

Katju had recently raised many eyebrows after he launched a scathing attack on Amitab Bachchan, saying there is nothing in the actor's head. The Bollywood veteran retorted saying what Katju said was right.
All eyes are on External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as she is set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. Swaraj is expected to take up the issue of terrorism and give a strong response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's comments on Kashmir on the same platform.

MEA officials in New York confirmed that Swarajs speech would be around 7 pm IST. India has launched a diplomatic offensive against Pakistan after a terror attack on an army camp at Uri, in which 18 soldiers were killed.

Swaraj will take forward the government's efforts to muster global support in isolating Pakistan over the issue of terrorism. The tension between the two countries has escalated after the Uri attack with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of felicitating infiltration of terrorists across the Line of Control.

Earlier, speaking at UNGA, Sharif had said that Pakistan fully supported Kashmiris' right to self-determination and demanded an "independent enquiry" into the "extrajudicial killings" in the Valley.

He had even said that Hizbul militant Burhan Wani, whose killing on July 8 sparked off the current unrest in the Valley, had become "the symbol of the new Kashmiri intifada that was led by common Kashmiris".

Sharif's speech had drawn strong reactions from India with Eenam Gambhir, first secretary in the permanent mission of the country to the UN, called Pakistan home to the "Ivy League of Terrorism" and a "terrorist state" that commits "war crimes" by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

On Saturday, addressing a BJP rally at Kozhikode in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also lashed out at Pakistan saying the death of soldiers at Uri would not go in vain. Accusing Pakistan of exporting terrorism, Modi said leaders in the neighbouring country are reading out speeches written by terrorists, an apparent dig at Sharif's speech at UNGA.

The rulers of Pakistan should listen to this. The sacrifice made by our 18 jawans will not go in vain, a visibly angry and aggressive Modi said.


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Israels Haredi population is increasing at a high rate and statistics show that between 2014 and 2034, numbers will be increased from 11% to 17% of the total population.

Statistics show that too many have and will reach adulthood, uneducated and unskilled. It should however be noted that in 2015, approximately 9,800 Haredi students were enrolled in institutions of higher education compared to 6,800 in 2014. Although there is significant progress, these changes are not significant enough to deal with the issues at hand and the changes are incremental.

Traditionally, the pursuit of a secular education is not encouraged in the Haredi community as many feel it threatens their way of life and core belief system. For those who may choose to study, appropriate infrastructures are not readily available which creates a further challenge as it stifles those who do wish to educate themselves and become empowered to be financially independent so that they can support themselves and their family with dignity.

The need to address this problem was obvious and the Israeli government approached Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman. He, together with his team at Migdal Ohr and The Academic College of Ashkelon rose to the challenge and are helping to break new ground in this historic renaissance. The university allows Haredim to study a tertiary education in an environment that is respectful of their beliefs and customs, which ultimately allows them to integrate into Israeli society without having to forgo their strong religious identity. This is helping to bridge the enormous gaps between the different factions of Israeli society who until now have not been supportive of the Haredi communitys lack of integration in the work force.

There are currently over three hundred students enrolled in the programs, many of whom show great academic promise and given the right education and chance can help to advance the country in many ways. Migdal Ohr has built two separate campuses with the womens campus in Ashkelon and the mens in Gan Yavneh. The subjects on offer are Banking and finance, Social work, Education and Computer Science. Plans are in place to expand to include a Medical College which will offer Nursing, Public Health and Nutrition. The university is also working on developing a Beit Tochna (software centre), which will help place IT graduates in the work force to ensure their success as many enter the work force later on in life which could prove to be a challenge without the assistance.

It is imperative that Migdal Ohr further develop and grow the current programming to ensure that their educational in institutions become successful and help to grow the Haredi community. As the university grows, so too the numbers will expand and hundreds more families will become more self-sufficient, a necessary reality and dream.

As momentum continues to grow, we invite you, our international partners to join hands with us and partner in this holy and important work. Support Migdal Ohr by purchasing letters in the Torah Scroll that will be written in honor of Rabbi Grossmans 70th Birthday. The proceeds will go towards building a Childrens Residence for Israeli kids at risk. Click here and help Save a child Change a life.
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

For the first time, the ZAKA International Rescue Unit training course received official recognition from INSARAG at a meeting last week in the UN headquarters in Geneva. INSARAG is a global network of more than 80 countries and organizations under the UN umbrella, dealing with urban search and rescue related issues, that sets stringent standards for training courses.

This recognition for the professional training course developed by the ZAKA International Rescue Unit is the final step in a two-year process, spearheaded by ZAKA, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense National Emergency Authority. The ZAKA recognition sets a precedent  the first time that INSARAG has recognized a volunteer organization that is not restricted to one-member state.

This INSARAG recognition will allow the trained ZAKA volunteers, spread over 32 countries around the world, to play a more active and professional role in international mass casualty incidents. INSARAG recognition relates to issues such as the structure of the search and rescue teams, the number of people, their functions and the necessary equipment, with five-yearly checks to ensure standards.

In 2005, ZAKA received UN recognition as an international volunteer humanitarian organization, providing search, rescue and recovery assistance in international mass casualty incidents. Over the years, ZAKA volunteers have assisted at terror attacks and natural disasters around the world, including, among others, the earthquakes in Haiti, Japan and Nepal, the tsunami in Thailand, the typhoon in the Philippines and terror attacks in India, Turkey, Europe and the US. In January 2016, ZAKA was granted advisory status at the UN as an official body.

ZAKA International Rescue Unit Commander Mati Goldstein: Now that ZAKA is part of the INSARAG community, demand for assistance at international incidents will increase for the unit. ZAKA sees great importance in taking part in international rescue efforts, both in terms of improving the units capabilities and in terms of raising awareness.

ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav: ZAKAs level of professionalism has gone up a level. Thanks to the vast experience ZAKA has gained in international mass casualty incidents and our levels of professionalism, we were able to receive this INSARAG recognition and meet their stringent standards. From now on, the ZAKA International Rescue Unit, with trained and equipped volunteers in 32 countries around the world, can give an even better and more professional response to disaster incidents.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, today on Thursday 19 Elul, at the United Nations in New York, held a special meeting with over 15 heads of state and representatives from African countries.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told his interlocutors that he believes that Israel could be an amazing partner for their countries. He said that technology changes everything, including in communications, medicine, agriculture and education. He noted that Israel wants to share its technology with African countries.

The African leaders told Prime Minister Netanyahu that they thanked him and Israel for its cooperation in so many fields. They added that this cooperation was very important and would benefit the citizens of Africa and improve their standard of living.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife, along with Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, attended a unique event at UN headquarters with dozens of African leaders under the heading Israeli Technology and Innovation for Africa. They were welcomed with applause. The event, led by the Prime Minister, is an Israeli-African summit that presents the start-up nation to the entire world.

Israeli technological firms and start-ups will present their innovative solutions to over 15 presidents, prime ministers and ministers from Africa and developing countries, and to dozens of ambassadors, senior UN officials and private sector representatives from around the world.

Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Ambassador Danon for organizing these important events.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Kobi Gideon, GPO)
Russia has announced a willingness to act as moderator in resumed diplomatic talks between Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Friday, 20 Elul, that his country is willing to step in and play this major role towards jumpstarting negotiations between Israel and the PA.

According to the Sputnik News Agency report, Moscow expresses support for any action that will bring the sides closer together and advance peace efforts. The senior minister reportedly made his remarks from NYC while attending the United Nations General Assembly.

The report adds that Lavrov is aware both sides dont appear too willing to take him up on his offer, but he hopes this will change.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu used the UN General Assembly forum to invite Abu Mazen to address the Knesset, adding he would be willing to give an address to the PA parliament in Ramallah. Netanyahu calls for a resumption of talks without preconditions while Abu Mazen insist on a number of preconditions including a total cessation of all settlement activity.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Last week, YWN-ISRAEL reported that TV presenter Hila Korach was attacked in Meah Shearim despite being modestly dressed. She explained she did her best to dress properly as not to offend the residents of the community.

After the fact, she told Kol Berama Radio I understand them and I am capable of understanding why they attacked. To state this was an attempted lynch would be somewhat of an exaggeration. It was most unpleasant. I was unaware Meah Shearim is a dangerous place.

Despite what occurred, we entered Meah Shearim to take photos for an archeological shoot and we never imagined it would come to this. Thirty people surrounded us and shouted at us to leave. It was extremely unpleasant Korach stated, adding little children in carriages were there too however, I must say that I have received a lot of feedback and comments about all the chareidim. I must say this is not all the chareidim, not even all the chareidim in Meah Shearim. There were some very nice people there, curious people who were cooperating with us.

These attacks are a real threat and I understand them. They encounter the press in an unpleasant perspective. Some journalists and cameramen come to there like a zoo, coming to see how these different people live and their different lifestyle. I understand their opposition but I think that if they were more respectful it would appear differently.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Yasser Hamduni, a convicted Arab terrorist who murdered Avner Maimon HYD in 2003, died while playing ball in a prison yard on Sunday morning 22 Elul. A medical team responded after he collapsed and resuscitation was implemented but efforts were unsuccessful.

On June 12, 2003, Avner Maimon, 51, of Netanya, was found shot to death in his car near Yabed in northern Shomron. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. He shot the victim in his chest three times and left him in his vehicle to bleed to death.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Hillary Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening, hours after he huddled with GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Clinton reaffirmed her unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship during the meeting, senior campaign aide said.

The two leaders had an in-depth conversation about the nationss shared overarching strategic interests and the common values of democracy, equality, tolerance, and pluralism.

The aide said that Clinton committed to continue to work closely with Israel to enforce and implement the nuclear deal with Iran  [and] address other regional challenges, including the conflict in Syria and terrorist threats from ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was also discussed, with Clinton reaffirming her commitment to work toward a two-state solution and her opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including by the UN Security Council, the aide said.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Bchasdei Hashem the Seret-Vishnitz Rebbe Shlita was released from Carmel Hospital in Haifa on Monday 23 Elul after undergoing a cardiac catheterization.

The rebbe was taken to the hospital on Friday after complaining of chest pain as reported by YWN-ISRAEL. It was during the diagnostic exams that followed the determination was made that the rebbe needs to undergo the catheterization. The procedure was performed on Sunday morning while chassidim and talmidim recited Tehillim.

The rebbe was release at about noon on Monday and was driven to his home in the Ramat Vishnitz neighborhood. It is yet to be determined when the rebbe will join his chassidim for slichos.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Nonpublic schools across New York State welcomed news that the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has just begun invoicing $17 million in outstanding Comprehensive Attendance Policy (CAP) reimbursement.

CAP is an important component of the Mandated Services program, a program which reimburses nonpublic schools for the cost of certain government mandated school functions. Under CAP, NYS schools take attendance multiple times a day, and follow up on poor attendance patterns.

The supportive logic marshaled by Rabbi Moshe Sherer, late president of Agudath Israel of America, integral to the enactment of the Mandated Services law over 40 years ago, was simple yet powerful. While the government may hesitate to directly fund a sectarian educational institution, there is no constitutional or cogent argument against NYS directly reimbursing a nonpublic school for certain nonsectarian requirements NYS itself had mandated.

But for more than a decade, Agudath Israel and other nonpublic school groups had argued that CAP reimbursements were not made at levels felt equitable. In fact, after years of advocacy, it became clear that, due to budget shortfalls and the use of a flawed formula to calculate CAP reimbursement, the state accumulated a substantial debt to nonpublic schools.

Over the next few weeks, nonpublic schools will be receiving $17 million, covering CAP expenses incurred during the 2005-2006 school year. This payment is the first of several coming in the 2016-17 school year and part of the $250 million appropriation enacted in June 2015 to pay down the debt to nonpublic schools. Schools received $125 million in the 2015-16 school year, and officials at the SED have informed Agudath Israel that they hope to pay the remainder of the second $125 million payment to nonpublic schools by April 2017 (fiscal year end).

Retiring the CAP debt to nonpublic schools has been a longstanding legislative priority for Agudath Israel of America. Mrs. Deborah Zachai, Agudath Israel Director of Education Affairs, said, We are thrilled that yeshivos will soon be receiving their part of the $17 million for outstanding CAP payments owed to nonpublic schools. These monies, and the remainder of the $250 million appropriation coming later this year, will infuse our struggling yeshivos and other nonpublic schools with much needed and long-awaited funds.

Yeshivos will no doubt be happy to start the new year with a positive conclusion to this Mandated Services legislative saga!

(Judith Dinowitz  YWN)
The following is unedited article via Philly.com:

Three residents in a 55-and-over condo community in New Jersey have filed a lawsuit challenging a change in the complexs swimming pool policy that limits the times men and women can swim together.

According to NJ.com, the 376-home community, A Country Place in Lakewood, recently changed the rules to accommodate the majority of Orthodox Jewish homeowners.

Orthodox Jews dont allow men and women to swim together, the website reported. The new rules limit the time men and women can swim together to between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday through Friday and all day Saturdays.

Two non-Orthodox homeowners in the community  Marie Curto and Steve Lusardi  were each issued a $50 fine for violating policy this summer after they refused to get out of the pool when co-ed swimming hours ended.

They complained. In a letter to Lusardi, the condo association defended its policy.

ACP is a private association and as per counsel we are well within our rights to serve the vast majority of the community, the letter said. You are inconsiderate of the majority and wish for minority rule. That is not our community.

The two along with Lusardis wife, Diana, sued.

The Lusardis, who have reportedly listed their home for sale, claim they have been harassed, intimidated and have received threats of violence within their community due to their complaints regarding the pool, NJ.com reported.

A hearing is set for Nov. 4 in Toms River.

Airlines are facing similar issues.

Several New York to Israel flights have been delayed or disrupted after Orthodox men have requested they not be seated next to women and women have refused to move claiming the request is sexist.

The pool lawsuit says the new rules are discriminatory and violate provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
As occurs annually ahead of the Yomim Noraim, animal rights groups awaken and are once again trying to prevent the minhag of kaporos in Eretz Yisrael. Another problem faced is the juggling responsibility for kaporos from local government and other agencies, each preferring not to have anything to do with it.

All of this aside, Siyata Dishmaya prevails and arrangements have been made to have kaporos around the country ahead of Yom Kippur with the understanding such stations will have to comply with regulations released by various committees and authorities, including the Ministry of Health. Some of the restriction include;

 Only certain slaughterhouses have been authorized to work with kaporos chickens.

 Maximum hours a live chicken can be kept outside in the heat.

 Limitations and restrictions governing transport of chilkens.

 Criteria for venue hosting kaporos.

Heading off the animal rights organizations was MK Uri Maklev, who began working to finalize arrangements this year before the animal rights groups awakened, the daily HaMevaser reports.

Maklev will in the coming days meet with different representatives of agencies to iron out the final details and the regulations will be made known to the general public ahead of time to permit offering kaporos in an orderly fashion as well as in compliance with the law.

Tel Aviv City Hall has already released an announcement that any attempt to set up kaporos in an unauthorized venue will not be tolerated.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Herbie may have gone to Monte Carlo, ridden again and been fully loaded as the film franchise dictates, but did he ever go to 205mph?

Even the four-wheeled film character would have had its work cut out keeping up with this Volkswagen Beetle that was specially created to take on the annual World of Speed event on the Great Salk Lake in Bonneville, Utah, last week.

And the modified Love Bug managed the feat, setting the fastest-ever speed documented for a Beetle.

Herbie Fully Loaded: Volkswagen has taken the title of the latest film in the Herbie franchise literally by creating a bullet-like Beetle that's set a new record for the 51-year-old model

It's fair to say the Beetle's shape and proportions aren't best suited for breaking sprint records.

But this one-off creation, called the Beetle LSR (standing for Land Speed Record) managed to set a top speed of 205.122mph over the distance of one mile.

That's the quickest speed ever registered for a Volkswagen Beetle in a 51-year history of the iconic car.

The LSR is far from the standard VW Beetle you can buy in a showroom today from just under 17,000, though.

The 2.0-litre engine was tuned with a new turbocharger, pistons, camshafts, connecting rod and has cylinder head modifications made to it too.

These engine tweaks combined to boost power from a respectable 216bhp in the standard car to an outrageous 542bhp in this bespoke record breaker.

The Bettle was lowered and had special wheels and tyres fitted to take on the salt flats in Bonneville, Utah

The 2.0-litre petrol engine was heavily modified to increase the power output from 216bhp to a massive 542bhp

The twin parachutes deployed from the boot of the car when the Beetle was slowing down after setting a top speed of 205mph over one mile

The road-going Beetle is good for a top speed of 144mph, but to achieve the additional 61mph to set the new record Volkswagen equipped the LSR with special wheels and tyres for driving on salt.

The body was lowered significantly as well to improve aerodynamics and shift the weight as close to the salted surface as possible.

And the modifying didn't end there.

A limited-slip differential was also used to improve traction off the line and a raft of safety installations were made including a roll cage, five-point harness seat belts and a fire extinguisher system.

In addition, the record-setting car had two brake parachutes to slow the car down - not an optional extra you'll find in the Beetle brochure at your nearest dealer.

Volkswagen added a few additional safety features, including five-point harnesses and a roll cage to keep the driver safe if the the car was to flip over

Herbie would have struggled to keep up with the Beetle LSR. The fictional car character last appeared on the big screen in 2005 in the film Herbie Fully Loaded
China's shrinking economy poses the biggest threat of all to global economic stability, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund warned.

Ken Rogoff told the BBC that China's economy is 'slowing down much more than the official figures show.'

The economist rubbished claims of China being a 'special case', adding the world's second biggest economy was in for a 'hard landing.'

Warning: China's shrinking economy poses the biggest threat of all to global economic stability, a former chief of the International Monetary Fund warns

'China is going through a big political revolution', Rogoff said.

He added: 'If you want to look at a part of the world that has a debt problem look at China. They've seen credit fuelled growth and these things don't go on forever.'

The economist, who is now a Professor at Harvard University, told the BBC: 'Everyone says China's different, the state owns everything they can control it.

Poll China's economy is going to collapse Agree Disagree Don't know China's economy is going to collapse Agree 107 votes

Disagree 38 votes

Don't know 19 votes Now share your opinion





'Only to a point. It's definitely a worry, a hard landing in China.

'We're having a pretty sharp landing already and I worry about China becoming more of a problem.'

In January, data from the national bureau of statistics' bulletin revealed China's economy grew by 6.9 per cent last year, marking the biggest slowdown for 25 years.

Building on concerns China is at risk of a full-blown banking crisis, last week the Bank for International Settlements warned that the country's 'credit to GDP gap' has reached 30.1, the highest ever recorded.

Slowdown: In January, data from the national bureau of statistics' bulletin revealed China's economy grew by 6.9 per cent last year, marking the biggest slowdown for 25 years

The credit to GDP 'gap' refers to the amount of debt in an economy relative to annual growth.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee described the 30.1 figure as 'very high by international standards'.

In November, the Bank will publish data revealing how the UK's biggest banks would fare if fears of China's economic collapse come to fruition.

UK banks have around $530billion worth of lending and business in China, including Hong Kong, comprising around 16 per cent of all foreign assets held by British banks.

Projections: On the upcoming US presidential election, Rogoff said, 'I am certainly nervous, probably much more about a Trump victory, just because of not knowing what's next'

Rogoff said the EU and the US had to be 'on their feet' before any cataclysmic slowdown in China begins to bite.

The economist said Brexit's impact on the UK and wider economy remained clear, but expressed concerns about the role and policies of central banks.

Concerned: Former IMF economist Ken Rogoff

He said: 'I have a concern about monetary policy at the moment - that it is being asked to take on roles that it's not built for. It is being asked to do helicopter money where you just print money and hand it out to people.'

On the upcoming US presidential election, Rogoff comments: 'I am certainly nervous, probably much more about a Trump victory, just because of not knowing what's next.

'I don't like the [protectionist] trade policies of either candidate. I think free trade has benefitted the States immensely in its leadership position. So watching as an economist, this has been a painful election.'

The IMF expects the Chinese economy to grow 6.6 per cent this year, its lowest growth since 1990.
Every day around 1,300 cars roll off the production line at Britain's biggest car plant in Sunderland.

The Nissan factory has been one of the country's great success stories.

The cars churned out by the 6,700 staff don't just stay on these shores, but are exported all around the world in what has become a motor export boom.

But suddenly, though the UK seems to be shrugging off the concerns about Brexit, there are worries about the future  and they're coming from halfway round the world.

Key market:China has become a voracious buyer of all things British  from cars, precious metals and plastics to pork reared on UK farms, Scottish salmon and whisky

That is because the economic slowdown in China poses a threat to every car plant in the UK  and many more businesses besides.

China has become a voracious buyer of all things British  from cars, precious metals and plastics to pork reared on UK farms, Scottish salmon and whisky.

Exports of British goods to China have risen sharply over the last two decades, jumping from 877million in 1998 to 15.5billion in 2014, making the country the UK's sixth biggest market.

But sales to China of goods stamped 'Made in Britain' fell 22 per cent in 2015 to 12.1billion with car exports down a thumping 37.5 per cent.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, warns that car makers face 'export challenges' from China.

The China warning from a former IMF chief economist

These challenges could be about to get worse. Ken Rogoff, a leading economist, yesterday warned that China now poses the biggest threat to the global economy as its debts rise at break-neck speed.

'There is no question, China is the greatest risk,' says the 63-year-old American, the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund who is professor of economics at Harvard University. 'China has been the engine of global growth. China has been really important. But it is going through a big political revolution. And I think the economy is slowing down much more than the official figures show.'

There is no question, China is the greatest risk - Ken Rogoff

Figures published by the authorities in Beijing show that the Chinese economy grew by 6.9 per cent in 2015  the slowest rate of expansion for 25 years and down from 7.3 per cent in 2014.

The IMF is forecasting growth of 6.6 per cent this year and 6.2 per cent next year  although these predictions are likely to be revised next week when the watchdog publishes its latest World Economic Outlook in Washington DC.

But it is widely thought that the official figures  and the IMF forecasts  over state the strength of what is now the world's second largest economy behind the US.

Capital Economics reckons the Chinese economy grew by just 4.2 per cent last year and has pencilled in expansion of 5 per cent this year and 4.5 per cent next year.

Andrew Polk, a senior economist at The Conference Board in Beijing, believes the Chinese economy is growing by no more than 4 per cent.

For a western economy these figures sound stellar. But as Polk explains, for a country such as China this could be a problem.

'For a fast-growing emerging market like China's, which is in the mode of playing catch-up with the wider world, a growth rate of 3 per cent or 4 per cent is in or close to recession,' he says. 'It's like zero growth in a mature economy like Britain's or America's.'

Rogoff now believes that China could suffer a 'hard landing'  a much sharper slowdown that would have disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.

China is now a major buyer as well as producer

China not only produces cheap goods for countries all over the world  Britain bought 37.8billion worth of Chinese goods last year, making it the second biggest source of imports behind Germany  but is also the world's biggest consumer of cars and smartphones.

'Everyone says China's different, the state owns everything, they can control it,' says Rogoff.

'Only to a point. It's definitely a worry, a hard landing in China. We're having a pretty sharp landing already and I worry about China becoming more of a problem. We've taken it for granted that whatever Europe's doing, Japan's doing, at least China's moving along and there isn't really a substitute for China.'

The slowdown in China is not all bad news for Britain. One benefit millions of families have enjoyed over the past two years is the slump in the oil price  partly reflecting subdued demand from China.

The price of oil has fallen from $115 a barrel two years ago to below $50 a barrel today  pushing down the cost of petrol and energy bills.

But it has wreaked havoc in the North Sea where thousands of jobs have been lost.

Exports: China not only produces cheap goods for countries all over the world but is also the world's biggest consumer of cars and smartphones

How the slowdown in China is hitting at home

The slowdown in China has also taken its toll on UK steel.

Lower growth in the Asian powerhouse has left it with an excess of steel which it has dumped in Europe  with the deluge of cheap steel devastating the industry in Britain.

British companies such as fashion house Burberry and drinks maker Diageo have also felt the pain of the Chinese slowdown. Asia Pacific, including China, now accounts for 38 per cent of Burberry sales so any fall in demand is likely to hurt.

The Bank of England is also worried about the banking sector. British banks have more than 400billion tied up in China and Hong Kong  or around 16 per cent of all foreign assets held by UK lenders.

The central bank's Financial Policy Committee last week said Britain's banks will be tested on their ability to weather a meltdown in the Chinese economy.

The big concern is debt. Government, corporate and household debt accounts for 240 per cent of national income as measured by gross domestic product in China.

The FPC warns that debt levels in China are 'very high by international standards'.

Ratings agency Fitch warns that bad debts in the Chinese banking system are ten times higher than officially reported.

Official estimates suggest 1.8 per cent of loans are 'non-performing' but Fitch puts the figure at between 15 per cent and 21 per cent and warns it would cost 1.6trillion to clean up this toxic legacy.

One of the lessons of economic history is that rapid increases in debt in short spans of time usually end badly  typically with a financial crisis

'If you want to look at part of the world that has a debt problem, look at China,' says Rogoff. 'They've seen credit fuelled growth and these things don't go on forever.'

Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, says debt levels in China 'have been rising at a dizzying rate'.

He adds: 'One of the lessons of economic history is that rapid increases in debt in short spans of time usually end badly  typically with a financial crisis.

'If the current trend of debt-fuelled growth continues I think it is very likely that China's economy will struggle over the next few years.
Budget airline Monarch revealed today that it is in talks over new funding after being forced to deny rumours that it was going bust.

The company has responded to customer enquiries online in a bid to ease fears that bookings were at risk after claims were made that it was about to collapse.

Flights were operating as normal today although aviation sources said aircraft had been on standby in the big Mediterranean resorts for the worst case scenario.

It comes after the airline, a major player in routes to Turkey to Egypt, has been hit by passengers no longer wanting to visit the countries over fears of more terror attacks.

In the air: Budget airline Monarch has responded to customer enquiries online in a bid to ease fears that bookings were at risk after claims were made that it was about to collapse

Monarch said it will announce a significant investment from its stakeholders in the coming days as it tries to navigate through tougher market conditions.

The response from the airline this morning came after rumours began to circulate yesterday afternoon that the airline was about to collapse.

Talk of rescue flights collecting passengers spread among social media, with speculation that the group could confirm today that it is entering administration.

But the airline responded to its 114,000 Twitter followers yesterday, saying: There is absolutely no truth in the rumours which have surfaced today.

And a spokesman for Monarch said this morning: Over the weekend, there has been negative speculation about Monarchs financial health.

'Monarch is trading well and is expected to achieve an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of over 40million at the end of this financial year, October 2016.

Getting back: The firm responded to customer enquiries online in a bid to ease travellers' fears

'This is despite a difficult period for the holiday industry due to terrorist incidents, Brexit and the resulting devaluation of sterling.

'Our flights and holidays are operating as normal, carrying Monarch customers as scheduled.

MONARCH IN NUMBERS Founded in 1968

Carried 625,000 passengers last year

Employs 2,800 people

114,000 Twitter followers

Flies from five UK airports to 40 places

200million of cost cutting measures by new owners who took over in 2014

Turned a 57.3million loss into a 19.2million pre-tax profit

Needed 35million to get through the winter period Advertisement

'To weather tougher market conditions and to fund its ongoing growth, Monarch expects to announce a significant investment from its stakeholders in the coming days.'

Luton-based Monarch, a private airline founded in 1968, flies from five UK airports to 40 destinations. In 2015, the group carried 625,000 passengers.

The business employs around 2,800 people. Monarch is owned by Greybull Capital, a private equity firm widely credited with turning around its fortunes.

Greybull took control from the Mantegazza family in October 2014 when it acquired a 90 per cent stake in the firm.

Operating for half a century: Luton-based Monarch, a private airline founded in 1968, flies from five UK airports to 40 destinations. In 2015, the group carried 625,000 passengers

It embarked on 200million of cost cutting measures including scrapping operations from East Midlands Airport, cutting jobs and reducing the fleet.

The firm managed to turn a 57.3million loss into a 19.2million pre-tax profit a year later.

But in June this year reports had surfaced that the airline was seeking tens of millions of pounds in short-term financing, despite a recent return to profit.

Chief executive Andrew Swaffield said at the time that the business needed 35million to get through the winter period, when demand to fly is at its weakest.

The rumours came after holidaymakers faced chaos this summer with the collapse of holiday website LowCostHolidays.
New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, provides regulated gas distribution, and retail and wholesale energy services. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 564,000 residential and commercial customers throughout Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets. The Clean Energy Ventures segment invests in, owns, and operates commercial and residential solar projects situated in New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. The Energy Services segment offers unregulated wholesale energy management services to other energy companies and natural gas producers, as well as maintains and transacts a portfolio of physical assets consisting of natural gas storage and transportation contracts in the United States and Canada. The Storage and Transportation segment invests in natural gas transportation and storage facilities. It provides heating, ventilation, and cooling services; holds commercial real estate properties; and offers solar equipment installation, and plumbing repair and installation services, as well as engages in the water appliance sale, installation, and servicing activities. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Wall, New Jersey.
Koppers Holdings Inc. provides treated wood products, wood preservation chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States, Australasia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS), Performance Chemicals (PC), and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC). The RUPS segment procures and treats crossties, switch ties, and various types of lumber used for railroad bridges and crossings. It also provides rail joint bars to join rails together for railroads; transmission and distribution poles for electric and telephone utilities; and pilings. This segment also provides railroad services, such as engineering, design, repair, and inspection services for railroad bridges. The PC segment develops, manufactures, and markets copper-based wood preservatives, including micronized copper azole, micronized pigments, alkaline copper quaternary, amine copper azole, and chromated copper arsenate for decking, fencing, utility poles, construction lumber and timbers, and various agricultural uses; and supplies fire-retardant chemicals for pressure treatment of wood primarily in commercial construction. The CMC segment manufactures creosote for the treatment of wood or as a feedstock in the production of carbon black; carbon pitch, a raw material used in the production of aluminum and steel; naphthalene for use as a feedstock in the production of phthalic anhydride and as a surfactant in the production of concrete; phthalic anhydride for the production of plasticizers, polyester resins, and alkyd paints; and carbon black feedstock for use in the production of carbon black. The company serves the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction industries. Koppers Holdings Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.

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Carnival Corporation & plc is a leisure travel company operating a fleet of cruise ships, hotels, and resorts with international destinations. Brands under the Carnival Corporation umbrella include Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, P&O Cruises, Seaborn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Cunard. The companys goal is to provide extraordinary vacations at an exceptional value. As of 2022, the company laid claim to nearly half of the global cruising market share with several new ships in the works.

Carnival Cruise Line was launched in 1972 with one second-hand ship and a tank of fuel. The first port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, but soon more were added. The original growth strategy included a festive atmosphere, features and amenities unlike any other cruise line at the time. Slow to start, the growth strategy shifted into overdrive in 1980 when Carnival shocked the world by building its own ship. The Tropicale became an iconic name in the cruising industry and sparked a wave of shipbuilding that is still underway.

The companys growth hit a new stride in 1987 following the IPO which floated 20% of the company on the open market. The proceeds from the IPO allowed the company to embark on a voyage of acquisition and now Carnival is the worlds largest travel and leisure business.

Today, Carnival Corporations 87 ships visit approximately 700 ports worldwide and employ more than 120,000 people while serving more than 13 million guests annually for a total of 85 million passenger cruise days per year. Net revenue, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, peaked out at over $6.5 billion annually.

Carnival Cruise Line is the companys largest brand serving guests on all coasts of North America. The brand's 22 ships make 1500 voyages per year with trips ranging from 2 days to 3 weeks and ports of call from the Caribbean to Alaska. The company's largest ship is named Panorama and can accommodate more than 4,000 passengers.

Carnivals 9 brands provide access to a wide range of cruising styles and destinations including the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, England, and ports in Asia. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida and has offices around the world. The company also has the distinction of being the only company included in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.
Delek US Holdings, Inc. engages in the integrated downstream energy business in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Refining, Logistics, and Retail. The Refining segment processes crude oil and other feedstock for the manufacture of various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products that are distributed through owned and third-party product terminal. It owns and operates four independent refineries located in Tyler, Texas; El Dorado, Arkansas; Big Spring, Texas; and Krotz Springs, Louisiana, as well as three biodiesel facilities in Crossett, Arkansas, Cleburne, Texas, and New Albany. The Logistics segment gathers, transports, and stores crude oil, intermediate, and refined products; and markets, distributes, transports, and stores refined products for third parties. It owns or leases capacity on approximately 400 miles of crude oil transportation pipelines, approximately 450 miles of refined product pipelines, an approximately 900-mile crude oil gathering system, and associated crude oil storage tanks with an aggregate of approximately 10.2 million barrels of active shell capacity; and owns and operates ten light product distribution terminals, as well as markets light products using third-party terminals. The Retail segment owns and leases 248 convenience store sites located primarily in West Texas and New Mexico. Its convenience stores offer various grades of gasoline and diesel under the DK or Alon brand; and food products and service, tobacco products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and general merchandise, as well as money orders to the public primarily under the 7-Eleven and DK or Alon brand names. It serves oil companies, independent refiners and marketers, jobbers, distributors, utility and transportation companies, the U.S. government, and independent retail fuel operators. Delek US Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California Inc., AHN Accountable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS  Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASC Operators-East Bay LLC, ASC Operators-San Francisco LLC, ASC Operators-San Luis Obispo LLC, ASC Operators-Santa Rosa LLC, ASC Operators-South Bay LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Cornerstone LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Florida LLC, AbleTo Behavioral Health Services P.C., AbleTo Inc., Accurate Rx Pharmacy Consulting LLC, Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A.S., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Center LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Allina Health Heart and Vascular Surgery Center LLC, Allina Health Surgery Center-Brooklyn Park LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Holdings Inc., AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Kentucky LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, American Physicians Inc., Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Angiografia e Hemodinamica Madre Theodora Ltda., Anne Arundel-SCA Holdings LLC, Anne Arundel-SCA Surgicenter LLC, Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arcadia JV Holdings LLC, Arcadia Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., ArchWell Health LLC, ArchWell Health MSO LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services Holding Co., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Alabama LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services of North Carolina P.C., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Oklahoma LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Arizona LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Nebraska LLC, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., Arlington Surgery Center LLC, Aspectus Inc., Associacao Lusiadas Knowledge Center  Health Education and Research, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Aurora Hospitalist P.C., Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Aventura Medical Tower Surgery Center LLC, Avery Parent Holdings Inc., Aveta Inc., AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, BOSC Holdings LLC, BSC Holdings LLC, Ball Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Banmedica Colombia S.A.S., Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Barranca Surgery Center LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings II LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings LLC, Beaver Medical Group P.C., Bedford Physicians Risk Retention Group Inc., Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Beltway Surgery Centers L.L.C., Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Bergan Mercy Surgery Center LLC, Bergen-Passaic Cataract Laser and Surgery Center LLC, Bessler MD PLLC, Bind Benefits Inc., Bind LH Holdings Inc., Bind Re Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Bloomfield ASC LLC, Blue Ridge Day Surgery Center L.P., Blue Ridge GP LLC, Blue Ridge Properties LLC, Boca Raton Outpatient Surgery & Laser Center LTD., Bordeaux Barbados Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings III S.r.l., Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, CCEC Anesthesia Management LLC, CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA  Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO  Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS  Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos Ltda., COI  Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill Ambulatory Centers, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardinal Holding Company LLC, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Care Logistics LLC, CareMount Dental Member LLC, CareMount Health Solutions ACO LLC, CareMount Health Solutions Employer LLC, CareMount Health Solutions LLC, CareMount Holding LLC, CareMount Medical Foundation Inc., CareMount Value Partners IPA LLC, Carr PLLC, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Castle Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran 2 Unlimited Company, Catamaran Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Cedar Park JV Partners LLC, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care  Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Center for Quality Improvement LLC, Center for Restorative Surgery at Maple Grove LLC, Center for Surgery of North Coast L.P., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, CentriHealth Corporation, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro de Entrenamiento Capacitacion en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada, Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica SpA, Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centura-SCA Holdings LLC, Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Surgery Properties LTD., Charlotte-SC LLC, Chatham Orthopaedic ASC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Claims Management Systems Inc., Cleburne Surgical Center LLC, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinton Partners LLC, Clinica Alameda SpA, Clinica Bio Bio SpA, Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.p.A., Clinica Iquique S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica Portoazul S.A., Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.p.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A.S., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Cobranzas Banmedica SpA, Cogent Healthcare IPA of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare Inc., Cogent Healthcare Management of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Arizona P.C., Cogent Healthcare of California Prof. Corp., Cogent Healthcare of Georgia P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Illinois LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Iowa P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Jackson MS LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Jacksonville LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Missouri Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Montana P.C., Cogent Healthcare of New Jersey P.C., Cogent Healthcare of North Carolina P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Oregon P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Pensacola L.L.C., Cogent Healthcare of Tennessee P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Washington P.C., Cogent Medical Care P.C., Cogent Patient Safety Organization Inc., Cogent/Endion Medical Care of New York P.C., Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada S.A., Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Comprehensive Hospital Physicians of Florida Inc., ConnectYourCare Inc., ConnectYourCare LLC, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Consorcio Regenero S.A., Constructora Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Continuum Physicians Group Inc., Continuum Physicians Group of Washington PLLC, Cornell Surgicenter LLC, Cornerstone Surgery Center LLC, Cornerstone Surgicare LLC, Corpus Christi Endoscopy Center L.L.P., Country Scan Ltda., Critical Care Physician of New York P.C., Critical Care Physicians of Illinois LLC, Critical Care Physicians of New Jersey PC, Critical Care Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Cross Timbers Surgery Center LLC, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DSP Flint Real Estate LLC, DSP-Building C LLC, DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., Dallas Inpatient Specialist PLLC, Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Denton Endoscopy Surgery Center LLC, Denton Surgery Center LLC, Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Digestive Disease Center L.P., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Blocker LLC, Diplomat Corporate Properties LLC, Diplomat Pharmacy, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Great Lakes Distribution Center LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Chicago LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Los Angeles County LLC, Distance Learning Network Inc., Divisadero Holdings LLC, DocASAP Inc., DocASAP India Technologies Private Limited, DocASAP US LLC, Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duluth Surgical Suites LLC, Durable Medical Equipment Inc., E Street Endoscopy LLC, EM Orange Tree LLC, EP Campus I LLC, EPIC Health Plan, EPIC Management Services LLC, East Bay Endoscopy Center L.P., East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Echo Locum Tenens Inc., Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Emerald Coast Surgery Center L.P., Emisar Pharma Services LLC, Emmaus Holdings LLC, Emmaus Surgical Center LLC, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Empremedica S. A., Endion Hospitalist North P.C., Endion Hospitalist of Western New York P.C., Endion Medical Healthcare P.C., Endion Medical Services P.C., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho  Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Everett MSO Inc., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center L.L.C., Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., Eye Specialists Surgery Centers LLC, FMG Holdings LLC, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice Inc., Ferrell Physician Services P.C., Fideicomiso Clinica Barranquilla Portoazul FA-517, First Coast Orthopedic Center LLC, First Family Insurance LLC, Florence Surgery Center L.P., For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fort Sutter Medical Building a California Limited Partnership, Fort Worth Endoscopy Centers LLC, Fortified Provider Network Inc., Foundation Surgery Affiliate General of Huntingdon Valley LLC, Foundation Surgery Affiliate of Huntingdon Valley L.P., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GLBESC LLC, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology Canada Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Gladiolus Surgery Center L.L.C., Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Global One Ventures LLC, Golden Gate Endoscopy Center LLC, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grandview Surgery Center LTD., Greater New Haven ASC LLC, Greensboro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Greenville Surgery Center LLC, Greenway Surgical Suites LLC, Grossmont Surgery Center L.P., Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., H&W Indemnity SPC Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HFHS-SCA Holdings LLC, HMG Holding Corporation, HMG Holdings LLC, HMP of Baltimore  USH P.C., Harken Health Insurance Company, Harrison Endo Surgical Center LLC, Hawthorn Place Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hays JV Partners LLC, Hays Surgery Center LLC, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Affiliates Medical Group, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthEast Surgery Center-Maplewood LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Healthplex America LLC, Healthplex Dental Services Inc., Healthplex I.P.A. Inc., Healthplex Inc., Healthplex Insurance Company, Healthplex of CT Inc., Healthplex of DC Inc., Healthplex of MD Inc., Healthplex of ME Inc., Healthplex of NC Inc., Healthplex of NJ Inc., Healthplex of TX Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help Seguros de Vida S.A., Help Service S.A., Help SpA, Hemonefro  Hemodialise e Nefrologia Ltda, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Medical S.A., Honodav SpA, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of Broome County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Binghamton P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Buffalo P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Newburgh P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Nyack P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Patchogue P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Goodyear Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Nogales Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Sierra Vista Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Buncombe County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Apple Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Bakersfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Camarillo PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Crescent City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fairfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fremont PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Grass Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Jackson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oceanside PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oxnard PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Salinas PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Leandro PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Sonoma PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Thousand Oaks PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Vacaville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Brighton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Denver PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Manchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Rockville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Wallingford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Palm Coast LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Fredericksburg LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Atlanta PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - East Point PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Lavonia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Savannah PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii - Kealakekua Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho - Nampa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Downers Grove LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Elmhurst LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Rockford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Winfield LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Clinton LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Mishawaka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Terre Haute LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Cedar Rapids PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Mason City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Topeka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Alexandria Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Bossier City Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Lake Charles Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Shreveport Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Bangor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Lewiston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cheverly PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cumberland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Frederick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Laurel PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Rockville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Brockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Dorchester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Framingham PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Holyoke PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Natick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Norwood PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Springfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Stoughton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Taunton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Worcester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Alpena PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Dowagiac PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Escanaba PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grand Blanc PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grayling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Kalamazoo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Plainwell PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Port Huron PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Saginaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Tawas City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Bridgeton Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Richmond Heights Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Billings PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Butte PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Miles City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Missoula PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Multiple Practice Sites LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada  TCG Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada  TCS Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Hackensack PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Paterson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Clovis LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Rio Rancho LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New York PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Burlington PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Clyde PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Elizabeth City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Jacksonville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - New Bern PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Rocky Mount PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Akron Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Batavia Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Canton Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati III Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Circleville Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Dover Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - East Liverpool Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Fairfield Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Martins Ferry Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - 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Cypress PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Dallas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fort Worth II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fort Worth PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fredericksburg PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Houston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Humble PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Kerrville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Kyle PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Livingston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Lubbock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Lufkin PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Mount Pleasant PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Plainview PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Rockwall PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Round Rock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio IV PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio V PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VI PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VII PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Marcos PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Texarkana PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Tyler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Alexandria LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Mechanicsville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Midlothian LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Winchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Arlington PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Auburn PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bellingham PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bremerton PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Burien PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Coupeville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Enumclaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Federal Way PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Gig Harbor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Lakewood PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Mount Vernon PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Puyallup PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Vancouver PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington County LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  Martinsburg PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  South Charleston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  Wheeling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wisconsin Ltd., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming - Casper LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming  TCS LLC, Hospitalists Management Group LLC, Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation Ontario, IEC Holdings LLC, IHD Holdings LLC, INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, Illinois Independent Care Network LLC, Imagen Technologies Inc., Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., InTouch Pharmacy LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Indiana Endoscopy Centers LLC, Inland Surgery Center L.P., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inpatient Services P.C., Inpatient Specialists of California P.C., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Instituto Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, Inter-Hospital Physicians Association Inc., International Healthcare Services Inc., Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria SpA, Ironman Holdco Inc., Ironman Intermediate Holdco LLC, Isapre Banmedica S.A., JPM Healthcare LLC, Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Jordan Ridge Family Medicine LLC, Joyable Inc., Kansal Inc. A Professional Corporation, Knox Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Kokomo Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, LDI Holding Company LLC, LDI Management Services LLC, LGH-A/Golf ASTC L.L.C., LHC Group, La Esperanza del Peru S.A., Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Landmark Group Holdings LLC, Landmark Health Holdings LLC, Landmark Health LLC, Landmark Health NY IPA LLC, Landmark Health NY PO LLC, Landmark Health Technologies Private Limited, Landmark Health of California LLC, Landmark Health of Massachusetts LLC, Landmark Health of North Carolina LLC, Landmark Health of Oregon LLC, Landmark Health of Pennsylvania LLC, Landmark Health of Washington LLC, Landmark India LLC, Landmark Intermediate Holdings LLC, Landmark MSO LLC, Landmark Medical of Idaho PC, Landmark Medical of Massachusetts PLLC, Landmark Medical of Tennessee PC, Landmark Primary Care LLC, Laser Acquisition Holdings III LLC, Leehar Distributors LLC, Lemhi Ventures Fund I LP, Lemhi Ventures Fund II LP, Level2 Medical Services P.C. Alaska, Lexington Surgery Center Ltd., Liberty Anesthesia Services LLC, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeWell. Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Limestone Medical Center LLC, Litomedica S.A., Logan Surgical Suites LLC, Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook L.P., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas Algarve S.A., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., Lutheran Campus ASC LLC, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MCNA Health Care Holdings LLC, MCNA Insurance Company, MCNA Systems Corp., MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, Main Line Spine Surgery Center LLC, Managed Care of North America Inc., Managed Physical Network Inc., Mansfield Endoscopy Center LLC, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care IPA Inc., March Vision Care Inc., March Vision Care of Texas Inc., Marin Health Ventures LLC, Marin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Marlin Holding Company LLC, Maryland Ambulatory Centers LLC, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, McKenzie Surgery Center L.P., MedExpress Primary Care West Virginia Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services LLC, Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memorial Houston Surgery Center LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Orange Coast LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Saddleback LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management Ltd., Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midlands Orthopaedics Surgery Center LLC, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Medical Plaza L.C., Mobile Medical Services of New Jersey PC, Mobile-SC LTD., Modality Accountable Care Organisation Limited, Moen M.D. P.C., Mohawk Surgery Center LLC, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Monument Health LLC, Moore Orthopaedic Clinic Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Morris County Surgical Center LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Murrells Inlet ASC LLC, Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings Inc., NPN IPA Washington PLLC, NSC Channel Islands LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Greensboro West LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Naperville Surgical Centre LLC, National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Navigator Health Inc., Nebraska Spine Hospital LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., New York Proton Management LLC, Newton Holdings LLC, Niagara Hospitalist P.C., Nomad Buyer Inc., North American Medical Management California Inc., North Coast Surgery Center Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, North Dallas Surgical Center LLC, North Kitsap Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgery Center L.P., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northern Utah Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Hills JV Partners LLC, Northwest Medical Group Alliance LLC, Northwest Spine and Laser Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OCC MSO LLC, OSB  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Lda., Omesa SpA, OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., One World Surgery, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas LLC, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Networks Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Care of New York Management Inc., Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Compounding Services LLC, Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Direct To Consumer Inc., Optum Financial Inc., Optum Frontier Therapies Holdings LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies II LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies LLC, Optum Genomics Inc., Optum Global Solutions Colombia S.A.S., Optum Global Solutions India Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Global Solutions Philippines Inc., Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners Holdings Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings US Inc., Optum Health & Technology Hong Kong Limited, Optum Health & Technology India Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health & Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology US LLC, Optum Health Plan of California, Optum Health Services Canada Ltd., Optum Health Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions UK Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 200 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 204 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 209 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 305 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 402 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 500 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 550 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 551 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 553 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 554 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs LLC, Optum Life Sciences Canada Inc., Optum Management Consulting Shanghai Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Operations Ireland Unlimited Company, Optum Oregon MSO LLC, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharma Services Holdings Inc., Optum Pharmacy 601 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 700 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 704 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 706 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 707 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 800 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 803 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 805 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 806 Inc., Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket LLC, Optum SCA CS JV Holdings LLC, Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Services Ireland Limited, Optum Services Puerto Rico LLC, Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Venture Global Partners II LP, Optum Venture Global Partners LP, Optum Venture Partners II LP, Optum Venture Partners III LP, Optum Venture Partners LP, Optum Washington Network LLC, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare ACO West LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare Portland LLC, OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumCare Specialty Practices LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Oregon Healthcare Resources LLC, Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the South Inc., OrthoWest MSO LLC, Orthology Inc., Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopedic Surgery Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopro Management LLC, Ovations Inc., Owensboro Ambulatory Surgical Facility Ltd., Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans CT Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, Oxford Health Plans NJ Inc., Oxford Health Plans NY Inc., P2P Link LLC, PCCCV Inc., PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PPH Management Company L.L.C., PPH-Columbia Inc., PPH-Gardendale Inc., PS Center LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., Pacific Cardiovascular Associates Medical Group Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Panama City Surgery Center LLC, Park Hill Surgery Center LLC, Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Patient Care Associates L.L.C., PatientsLikeMe, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peninsula Eye Surgery Center LLC, Penzo Enterprises LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Perham Physical Therapy LTD, Perimeter Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Pharmaceutical Technologies LLC, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians' Surgery Center of Downey LLC, Pinnacle III LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings Inc., Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Practice Partners in Healthcare LLC, Preferred Care Network Inc., Preferred Care Network of Florida Inc., Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., PreferredOne, PreferredOne Administrative Services Inc., PreferredOne Insurance Company, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Premiere Medical Resources LLC, Presidio Surgery Center LLC, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., PrimeDoc St. Francis P.C., PrimeDoc of Richmond P.C., ProHEALTH Care Associates L.L.P., ProHEALTH Care Associates of New Jersey LLP, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, ProHealth/CareMount Dental Management LLC, Procura Management Inc., Professional Coverage Services PLLC, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical LLC, Promotora Country S.A., Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Benefits Management LLC, Prospero Care Management LLC, Prospero Management Services LLC, Providence & SCA Development LLC, Providence & SCA Off-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA On-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA Outreach Markets Holdings LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., R Cubed Inc., RABessler M.D. P.C., ROC Surgery LLC, ROCS Holdings LLC, RX Ricardo Campos Ltda., Rally Health Inc., ReMedics LLC, Real Appeal Inc., Redding Surgery Center LLC, Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Reliant Medical Group Inc., Reliant Medical Group The Endoscopy Center LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, Resonancia Magnetica de Colombia Ltda., Resonancia Magnetica del Country S.A., RightCare Solutions Inc., River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Corporate Wellness LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Robert A. Bessler MD PLLC, Rockville Eye Surgery Center LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rush Oak Brook Surgery Center LLC, SC Affiliates LLC, SCA AHN JV Holdings LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA Austin Medical Center Holdings LLC, SCA Aventura Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA Bloomfield Holdings LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Colorado Springs Holdings LLC, SCA Community Service Foundation, SCA Cottonwood Holdings LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Denver Holdings LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA Duluth Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville MSO LLC, SCA ESSC Holdings LLC, SCA Englewood Holdings LLC, SCA Global One Holdings LLC, SCA Greenway Holdings LLC, SCA Grove Creek Holdings LLC, SCA Guilford Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Health Value Enterprise LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA High Point Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Lutheran Holdings LLC, SCA Maple Grove Holdings LLC, SCA Mohawk Holdings LLC, SCA Murrells Inlet LLC, SCA Northern Utah Holdings LLC, SCA Northwest Holdings LLC, SCA Outside New Jersey LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pacific Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Palisades Holdings LLC, SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Pinnacle Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA Providence Holdings LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA Rush Oak Brook Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA San Diego Holdings LLC, SCA Skyway Holdings LLC, SCA South Ogden Holdings LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Specialty Holdings of Connecticut LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA West Health Holdings LLC, SCA Westgreen Holdings LLC, SCA Woodbury Holdings LLC, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colonial Partners LLC, SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Glenwood Holdings LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Memorial LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Morris Avenue LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Panama City Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-VLR Holdings Company LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCLHS-SCA Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SJ East Campus ASC LLC, SRPS LLC, SSSC Holdings LLC, SVHS-SCA Florida JV LLC, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Sage Medical Prof. LLC, Salem JV Holdings LLC, Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., San Diego Endoscopy Center, San Diego Sports and Minimally Invasive Surgery Center LLC, San Francisco Endoscopy Center LLC, San Luis Obispo Surgery Center a California Limited Partnership, Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Barbara Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santa Rosa Surgery Center L.P., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Sanvello Health Holdings LLC, Sanvello Health Inc., Sanvello Health Limited, Scanner Centromed S.A., Seashore Surgical Institute L.L.C., Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Serquinox Holdings LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Ltda., Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Ltda., Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., Serviclinica Inmobiliaria S.A., Serviclinica S.A. Ex Los Leones La Calera, Servisalud Inmobiliaria S.A., Servisalud S.A. Ex Los Carrera Quilpue, Shark Holdings P.C., Sierra Dental Plan Inc., Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam  Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria SpA, Solstice Administration Services Inc., Solstice Administrators Inc., Solstice Administrators of Alabama Inc., Solstice Administrators of Arizona Inc., Solstice Administrators of Missouri Inc., Solstice Administrators of North Carolina Inc., Solstice Administrators of Texas Inc., Solstice Benefit Services Inc., Solstice Benefits Inc., Solstice Health Insurance Company, Solstice Healthplans Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Arizona Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Colorado Inc., Solstice Healthplans of New Jersey Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Ohio Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Tennessee Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Texas Inc., Solstice of Illinois Inc., Solstice of Minnesota Inc., Solstice of New York Inc., Solutran LLC, Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Sound Inpatient Physicians Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Medical Group Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians of Ohio LLC, Sound Inpatient Physicians of Texas I Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians  Michigan PLLC, Sound Intensivists of Nevada RBessler M.D. PLLC, Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati Inc., Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati LLC, Sound Physicians Advisory Services Inc., Sound Physicians Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, Sound Physicians Anesthesiology of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Georgia P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kansas LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kentucky PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Louisiana Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Michigan PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Nevada Bessler PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Southern California P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of West Virginia PLLC, Sound Physicians Holdings LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Intensivists of Georgia PC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Virginia LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Palliative Care of Maryland P.C., Sound Physicians Telemedicine Inc., Sound Physicians of Florida IV LLC, Sound Physicians of Georgia III P.C., Sound Physicians of Hawaii Inc., Sound Physicians of Idaho PLLC, Sound Physicians of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Indiana LLC, Sound Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Sound Physicians of Kankakee Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Massachusetts II P.C., Sound Physicians of Massachusetts Inc., Sound Physicians of New Jersey LLC, Sound Physicians of New York PLLC, Sound Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Sound Physicians of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians of Wyoming LLC, South Arlington Surgical Providers LLC, South County Surgical Center LLC, South Sound Inpatient Physicians PLLC, Southern California Medical Practice Concepts LLC, Southland Hospitalists P.C., Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center LLC, Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Spartanburg Surgery Center LLC, Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits LLC, Specialty Billing Solutions LLC, Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Sports and Spinal Physical Therapy Inc., St. Cloud Outpatient Surgery Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Cardiovascular Institute LLC, St. Louis Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Stonegate JV Partners LLC, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Summer Street ASC LLC, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Cottonwood LLC, Surgery Center at Grove Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center at South Ogden LLC, Surgery Center at St. Vincent LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Fairfield County LLC, Surgery Center of Fort Collins LLC, Surgery Center of Lexington LLC, Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Mt. Scott LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Caregivers of Fort Worth LLC, Surgical Center of Greensboro LLC, Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Eye Experts LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgical Management Solutions LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Central Jersey LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Jackson Ltd. a Mississippi Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Minneapolis Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Mobile Ltd., Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, T.M. Carr M.D. P.C., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., THR-SCA Holdings LLC, TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologia de Informacion en Salud S.A., Texas Health Craig Ranch Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Flower Mound Orthopedic Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Orthopedic Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Bedford LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Chisholm Trail LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Irving LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Preston Plaza LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Rockwall LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Southwest Fort Worth LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Waxahachie LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Willow Park LLC, The Advisory Board Company, The Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Eye Surgery Center of the Carolinas L.P., The Intensivist Group of Langhorne LLC, The Lewin Group Inc., The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, The Surgery Center of Easton L.P., The Surgical Center of Connecticut LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Trauma Surgery Affiliates LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, Treasure Valley Emerald Properties LLC, Treasure Valley Hospital Limited Partnership, Tri-City Medical Center ASC Operators LLC, Tri-County Surgery Center LLC, Trinity Cardiovascular Care PLLC, Tufts Health Freedom Insurance Company, Tufts Health Freedom Plans Inc., Tuscaloosa Surgical Center L.P., U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UCSD Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, UCSD Center for Surgery of Encinitas L.P., UCSD Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings I LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings II LLC, UHC Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings Ireland Limited, UHCG Services Ireland Limited, UHCG  FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHG Holdings UK IV Limited, UHG Holdings UK V Limited, UHG Holdings UK VI Limited, UHIC Holdings Inc., UMR Inc., UPHT-SCA Holdings LLC, USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors LLC, USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD ASC IV1 LLC, USMD ASC IV2 LLC, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Hospital at Arlington L.P., USMD Hospital at Fort Worth L.P., USMD Inc., USMD PPM LLC, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Medical Park ASC LLC, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., United in Advancing Health Equity Foundation, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Employee Assistance Fund, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group International Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service Beijing Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Medical UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Parekh Insurance TPA Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Rockies Inc., Unity Health Network LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, VPay Benefits Corporation, VPay Inc., VPay Intermediate Holdings LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vascular Labs of the Rockies ASC LLC, Vascular Labs of the Rockies PLLC, Via Vitae MSO LLC, Vida Integra S.p.A., Vida Tres S.A., Virtua-SCA Holdings II LLC, Virtua-SCA Holdings LLC, Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wake Forest Ambulatory Ventures LLC, Walnut Creek Endoscopy Center LLC, Walnut Hill Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center LLC, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., Waypoint Minnesota PC, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, WestHealth JV Holdings LLC, WestHealth Surgery Center LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, Westgreen Surgical Center LLC, Wilson Creek Surgical Center LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, Winter Park Surgery Center L.P., Woodbury Surgery Center LLC, XAS Infusion Suites Inc., XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, divvyDOSE, divvyMED LLC, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative Inc., naviHealth Care at Home LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care SC P.C., naviHealth Holdings LLC, naviHealth Inc., naviHealth Michigan HBPC P.C., and naviHealth SM Holdings Inc..

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AmerisourceBergen Corporation sources and distributes pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. Its Pharmaceutical Distribution segment distributes brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to various healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers. It also provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; and packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers. In addition, this segment distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; provides other services primarily to physicians who specialize in various disease states, primarily oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics; and offers data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company's Other segment provides integrated manufacturer services, such as clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support; specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry; and sells pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and various other products to customers in the companion animal and production animal markets, as well as demand-creating sales force services to manufacturers. AmerisourceBergen Corporation was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
PLDT Inc. provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. The company offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment. It also provides fixed line telecommunications services; business infrastructure and solutions; intelligent data processing and implementation, and data analytics insight generation services; and information and communications infrastructure for Internet-based services, e-commerce, customer relationship management, and information technology (IT) related services. In addition, the company offers managed IT outsourcing, Internet-based purchasing, IT consulting and professional, bills printing and other related value-added, and air transportation services; distributes Filipino channels and content services; and provides full-services customer rewards and loyalty programs. Further, it engages in the sale of mobile handsets, broadband data routers, tablets, and accessories, as well as provides domestic leased lines and alternative messaging solutions, such as over-the-top services, social media, and messenger application. As of December 31, 2021, it had 71,221,952 mobile broadband subscribers; 3,619,372 fixed line subscribers; and 2.8 million broadband subscribers. The company was formerly known as Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and changed its name to PLDT Inc. in July 2016. PLDT Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Makati City, the Philippines.
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By Patrick Donachie

A development group in downtown Jamaica is reissuing a request for proposals to build a massive new residential/retail space in the area, one of several planned developments for the neighborhood.

The site is owned by Greater Jamaica Development Corp., which was formed in 1967 and shepherds development plans in the downtown Jamaica area. The development in question would be a 50,000-square-foot development, with a ground floor retail space of 75,000 square feet and 250 mixed-income residential units, some of which the corporation said would be set aside for artists.

The site is located at 168th Street and 90th Avenue. The property is currently a parking lot.

This site presents a tremendous opportunity to create a transformative project that will be key in Jamaicas resurgence, said Hope Knight, the corporations president and CEO. This development has the potential of bringing a much-needed general merchandise store and family-style restaurant back to the area to support the growing population and volume of daily shoppers that is at an all-time high.

A block south from the proposed new development, the city Economic Development Corp. will likely decide on a developer in the fall for a sizable mixed-use development. That space is currently occupied by parking lots used by the NYPD and was the site of protests last month. Members of the community called for the eventual residential units to be affordable relative to the area income and expressed anxiety that increased development in the area might drive prices up and force out long-term residents.

Greater Jamaica Development originally partnered with Blumenfeld Development Group in 2013 to develop a 160-square-foot retail store with an accompanying parking garage at the site on 90th Avenue. In February, Knight announced that the corporation would issue a new general request for proposals, with Blumenfeld no longer on board as the sites developer.

According to the corporation, the proposal remains the same as the original designs for the vacant space.

The development is part of an area included in downtown Jamaicas 2007 rezoning that allowed for taller development and a greater array of residential and/or retail uses. The corporation announced it would be holding an information session for developers and others interested in the proposal for the new development at some point in mid-October.

The proposals are due by Dec. 2 and the corporation intends to select a developer by the end of the year. The request for proposals can be found on the corporations website at gjdc.org.
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By Patrick Donachie

Crime in city schools has decreased by 35 percent in the last five years, according to Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina and the NYPD, but a charter school advocacy organization noted that the number of weapons recovered in schools was at the highest recorded level since 2010.

Farina was joined by Bill Bratton at a Sept. 15 news conference during the last week before Brattons resignation as NYPD commissioner. He and Farina reported that in the first two quarters of 2016, arrests in schools had dropped by 10 percent, while the School Safety Division was issuing 37 percent fewer summonses than in the 2015 school year.

With reductions in both index crime and enforcement action occurring in New York City schools, the NYPD and the DOE are building a healthy learning environment to foster student success, Bratton said. Index crimes refer to the crimes the FBI uses to build their annual index, which includes incidents of homicide, non-negligent manslaughter, robbery, rape, burglary, aggravated assault, larceny and motor vehicle theft.

According to the DOE, the city will allocate $190 million during the next four years in supporting school climate initiatives and mental health support systems to assist in managing incidents before they rise to the level of a crime. Bratton and Farina also announced the second annual Team Up! Tuesday event, which is scheduled for Oct. 25. During the event, police officers from more than 70 precincts will visit 300 middle schools across all school districts, holding activities with students while offering lessons about bullying, peer pressure, gang recruitment and drug use.

Jeremiah Kittredge, the CEO for Families for Excellent Schools, disputed the positive report by Bratton and Farina.

Todays press conference conveniently ignored the fact that dangerous weapons in our schools have gone up 30 percent since Mayor de Blasio took office, and are now at their highest level since at least 2010, he said. Mayor de Blasio needs to begin taking school violence seriously instead of asking his administration to use stats that dont show the full picture.

According to Kittredge, the number of weapons recovered in schools has risen by 16.1 percent since 2013, and 4.4 percent since the 2014-2015 school year. In total, 1,751 weapons were recovered in schools in the 2015-2016 school year. Families for Excellent Schools advocates for charter schools in Albany and has been a fierce critic of de Blasios education policies.
Hopewell Community Park remains a 'labor of love' for local community

The lush green park is a product of the combined efforts of the Hopewell Township community and a symbol of decades of conservation efforts in Beaver County.
Clay County tax official faces allegations in criminal and civil court

A Clay County tax official faces allegations that could land her in prison if proven, and the county seeks to oust her from office.
Robbery

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By Times Record News

Wichita Falls Police are looking for a suspect who robbed the Oyster Bar restaurant in the 4200 block of Kell Boulevard Sunday night.

According to the police report:

A female employee was closing the store about 10 p.m. She thought another employee was still there, but turned to see a masked man standing in the door.

The man put a hand into his jacket as if he had a weapon. He grabbed a money bag and ran.

The employee described the robber as a black male, about 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds. She said he wore a black Carhartt-type jacket, dark jeans and Nike shoes.

His face was covered by some kind of garment. The man fled the store.

Investigators are examining video surveillance of the incident. Anyone who has information on the crime is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 322-9888.
TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS The state of the wheat crop and new research results will be presented at the Wilbarger County Wheat Production Meeting Aug. 8 in Vernon.

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By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News

Despite a strong dollar and global overproduction, U.S. wheat exports are on target to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture export goals, according to a state agriculture economist.

The USDA set a 2016-17 goal of 950 million bushels exported, and it appears that goal will be met.

Earlier this year, agronomists predicted that wheat production in Asia, Europe and Canada would put a large dent in U.S. wheat export numbers. Production elsewhere has driven down prices of the crop  wheat sales now average $3 a bushel, despite a break-even price of $4.50.

Still, wheat sales may rebound this year, Texas A&M agriculture economist Mark Welch said.

"There's still a lot of wheat we're trying to dig out from under, but I think that is tremendous good news," Welch said. "Despite competitive headwind, our export pace is on target."

Decades ago, the U.S. was the leading global wheat exporter, but now it supplies less than 10 percent of the grain worldwide. Other countries  including some that once were its best export customers  have ramped up their own wheat production and become exporters themselves. Now countries such as Russia, China and Canada are outpacing the U.S. in wheat production, even though this country exports almost half of its wheat crop annually.

But Welch said the U.S. still holds a competitive advantage  its wheat is of higher quality than that of some other countries. So while Europe and China ramp up wheat production, they continue to use American wheat to produce quality products.

According to Welch, other countries mix U.S. wheat with their domestically produced grain to make nutritious products such as cereal and beer.

"The Russian and European wheat, that's not the quality of ours," Welch said. "There's a market for quality and cleanliness, especially when you are a quality supplier."

For now, wheat is the No. 1 cash crop in North Texas. The grain is estimated to bring in about $11 million in revenue this year in Wichita County, but that's down significantly from the $15 million it brought in 2013.

Most Texas wheat farmers  93 percent  are insured for a majority of their crops' revenue through the price loss coverage provision of the U.S. Farm Bill. If a crop is sold for less than the break-even price, the federal government will pay farmers the difference.
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OCONOMOWOC, Wis.  While campaigning earlier this year, Donald Trump insisted the unemployment rate in this state was 20 percent. In reality, it was about 4.5 percent then and has only dropped since.

He said Wisconsin has a stagnant economy with a budget deficit of $2.2 billion. In fact, the state is on track to have a balanced budget.

Lying.

They say we all do it, sooner or later. But the cost of being discovered in a lie is painfully high. Usually.

Like when Hillary Clinton absurdly said FBI director James Comey more or less exonerated her in her mishandling of emails while she was secretary of state because he didn't recommend she be charged with a crime. She was accused of lying because he actually said she had shown extreme carelessness in using a private server that could have compromised national security.

She paid a high price, losing the confidence of many voters.

But Trump's pattern of lying is so amazingly blatant there is no comparison. He has crisscrossed the country telling dozens of lies. During four and a half hours of speeches, Politico found Trump lied, on average, once every five minutes. In one town hall meeting, he lied 71 times.

Trump falsely insisted for years that President Barack Obama wasn't born in America. Then he flatly lied by saying Clinton started birtherism and he finished it. He lied by claiming Obama and Hillary "founded" the Islamic State terrorist network.

He said he lost hundreds of friends on 9/11. He did not. He said he saw thousands in New Jersey cheering when the towers fell. It did not happen.

He said he is unable to release his tax returns because he is being audited. That is not true. The IRS says he could release them.

He said it's impossible to vet refugees. That is not true. Refugees face intense scrutiny, involving hours of interrogation and months of background checks.

He said he gives millions to charity through his foundation. Since 2009 he has given no money to his foundation  he used other people's money, what he calls "OPM." He used their donations to settle legal claims against him, according to The Washington Post.

He claims he has a "secret plan" to destroy the Islamic State. He does not. He said crime across the country is at record levels. It is not.

Character matters, and Trump's character is appalling. He is running because he is convinced he can win. A Trump presidency would be alarming. But worse is what he is doing to the already damaged national psyche.

A Trump presidency would shred America's waning optimism because he will not be able to do the things he boasts he'll do  create millions of high-wage jobs, revitalize inner cities, eliminate homegrown terrorism, and send undocumented immigrants home. It is foolhardy to believe he will. Not one of his "policies" stands up to even surface scrutiny.

If elected, Trump will alienate allies, start wars, befriend dictators who are "nice" to him, cut taxes on the rich, ignore the middle class, perpetuate inequality and foster his business interests. (No law requires him to divest his real estate properties, nor would a "blind trust" work.) If Trump loses, he will say the system is "rigged," causing more chaos and discouragement.

This election is not about liberalism vs. conservatism, big government vs. individualism, a can-do, take-charge attitude vs. submitting to the status quo. This is about realism and whether we are willing to work for the country's best interests long term.

This election should not be about change if it means changing for the worse, destroying the fabric of our nation by electing a man who thinks nothing of routine lying, even knowing he will be caught.

Many, not all, politicians have been dishonest. But we are in danger of creating an age of what is being called post-truth politics, where evidence and facts are scorned and the idea is not to search for truth but inspire passion, fear and hatred in supporters.

Trump lies because he wants to tell people what he thinks they want to hear. People believe Trump because it takes more effort to disprove him than accept his lies. He never says he is sorry because he is not.

That is not a great leader. That is a dangerously flawed, inherently insecure little man.

Ann McFeatters is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may send her email at amcfeatters@nationalpress.com.
Lauren Roberts/Times Record News A truck leaves abandoned cars in its wake in front of the Central Boys and Girls Club in the 500 block of Broad Street late Saturday. Wichita Falls received nearly 6 inches of rain Saturday night into Sunday morning. Even areas not usually prone to flooding found motorists stranded.

SHARE Lauren Roberts/Times Record News Cars sit abandoned in front of the Central Boys and Girls Club late Saturday after a sudden drenching rain flooded streets around 10 p.m. Some 5.78 inches of rain fell at the Sheppard Air Force Base monitoring station between 9 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Wichita Falls officially received almost six inches of rain in thunderstorms that began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning.

The heavy downpours kept the Wichita Falls Fire Department and police busy with numerous water rescues as motorists became stranded. The rescues were reported across the city, rather than in isolated locations as usually happens during heavy rain. Areas around Sheppard Air Force Base and busy Kemp Boulevard became inundated when the storms came in before 10 p.m.

Even after sunrise Sunday, a few motorists had to be rescued after trying to drive through standing water.

By press time Sunday evening, the city had received 5.78 inches of rain. The storms surged Wichita Falls' rainfall total for the year to 32.19 inches, almost exactly 10 inches above normal for this time of year.

The National Weather Service predicted more rain through Sunday evening, but by Sunday afternoon most of the heavy rains were well to the south.

The cold front that brought the storms also ushered in fall-like temperatures.

The high Monday is predicted to be only 75 degrees with brisk north winds. Temperatures will gradually warm back into the mid-80s later in the week,

After lingering clouds on Monday, sunny skies should dominate North Texas through the rest of the week.
Contributed photo Remains of a building in Hansapur, Nepal, show the destruction caused by the 2015 Himalayan earthquake. Wichitan Harrison Gibson oversees the construction site for the new Shree Lower Himalaya Secondary School.

SHARE Contributed photo Students and a teacher from the Shree Lower Himalaya Secondary School in Hansapur, Nepal, pose for a picture. Contributed photo Arjun, a student at Shree Lower Himalaya Secondary School in Hansapur, Nepal, stands where his desk used to be before an earthquake in 2015. Wichitan Harrison Gibson is putting his Eagle Scout training to work in Hansapur, organizing construction of a school for Arjun and the other children in the district.

By Judith McGinnis of the Times Record News

It was an easy choice to make.

As Harrison Gibson looked up from a Himalayan adventure trip to see the disaster the April 25, 2015, earthquake created in Nepal, the Eagle Scout knew he had to help.

Weeks were spent working with rescue teams taking food, water, tents and other needs to people who no longer had a place to live.

Gibson made his way to the little village of Hansapur, largely destroyed by the earthquake. There he found a mission to rebuild their school.

"Had a long but successful day at the school today. We're making progress on paperwork," Gibson said during a phone interview. Given the time difference, it was close to midnight in Nepal. "There have been heavy rains, lightening and thunderstorms so I hadn't been able to drive out to the school. It's a dirt road, rocky and rough. But we got a break and I was able to get there."

The paperwork Gibson referred to will finalize construction plans adhering to earthquake preventive measures authorized by the Nepalese government. With fundraising still underway, he hopes there are enough donations to build four classrooms.

"Engineers looked at the land where we're building. What would be standard in the reconstruction is focusing on a firm foundation," Gibson said. "We'll truck in supplies that will stand the test."

The build is planned for mid-October. Six people from Himalayan Volunteers, a Pokhara, Nepal-based charity Gibson worked with after the earthquake, and an American friend, Kate Wooley, will help paid workers.

Based in Pokhara, Gibson makes two-hour drives back and fourth to Hansapur. The village has no electricity, phones or Wi-Fi. As the project to restore the school has moved forward, he has made friends and is on a first-name basis with the teachers and a handful of students.

"The Nepalese are generally friendly and helpful, giving and strong. I've been so accepted they are happy to share a meal," Gibson said. "I'm learning from them and lucky to be in this situation with them. I'm in love with this country."

Gibson has worked to learn the Himalayan language. Interpreters provided by volunteers help him communicate.

"I know a few things, and think I'm reading at a second-grade level," Gibson said, chuckling softly. "This is a wildly different language, but I'm working to bridge the gap."

While other American visitors who were in Nepal during the earthquake quickly left the country, Gibson was good to the Scout oath, "to help other people at all times."

"I think as an Eagle Scout, Scouting gave me a skill set, how to act in an emergency, a natural disaster," he said. "It's a moral code. I saw those in need and chose to do so."

If the effort to rebuild Shree Lower Himalaya Secondary School stays on schedule, Gibson plans to be in California to visit his grandmother for Thanksgiving and see friends he made before graduating from University of California at Santa Barbara.

He looks forward to celebrating Christmas with his parents, Lore and Charlie Gibson.

Gibson has stayed in touch with family when Wi-Fi was available. Like most mothers, Lore worried about his travel adventures.

When he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro or was in "semi-dangerous situation" mountaineering, he wore a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracking/rescue beacon and carried a satellite phone.

"Often at the end of the day, I think about the people I'm so grateful for, who have contributed to this project in so many ways," Gibson said. "Yes, I'm overseeing the project, but the inspiration and tradition of the Scouts, people in Wichita Falls and all the others have made this possible.

"And there is great gratitude for the people who are helping build the school. For Nepal, education is the great equalizer."

WICHITANS CAN HELP WITH NEPALESE REBUILDING

As work begins on the schoolhouse in Hansapur, Nepal, funds are still needed.

Were a little over halfway there, which is low at this point, Harrison Gibson explained in an email. If for whatever reason we dont hit our target goal, $25,000, Ill use the funds as efficiently as possible to help the school.

Gibson is an Eagle Scout from Troop 34, which meets at University United Methodist Church. Troop 34 as been raising funds with garage sales and dinners and has started a GoFundMe page so anyone can donate.

Since there is a nominal fee for providing the GoFundMe service, donations can also be made to a special account at UUMC, 3405 Taft, on behalf of the project in Nepal.
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EDUCATION

SUNY EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE

Elliott Dawes was named chief diversity officer for institutional equity and inclusion. Dawes was previously a civil rights lawyer, professor and academic/student affairs administrator.

HEALTH CARE

HIXNY

Scott Momrow was promoted to vice president, population health strategy, and will lead the development of digital solutions and analytic capabilities. Momrow has held several leadership positions over eight years.

MEDIA

FINGERPAINT

Phil Storer joined the new speciality team, Perpetual Ideation Machine. Storer is an award-winning digital strategist with 17 years of experience.

NONPROFITS

WARREN, WASHINGTON & ALBANY ARC

Barbara Riedell Beauchamp joined as senior director of public relations and development. Beauchamp is responsible for communications and fundraising, as well as the Warren, Washington and Albany ARC Foundation.

Virginia Grey joined as senior director of information technology. Grey is responsible for the IT infrastructure at the Queensbury and Slingerlands locations.

More for you Women at Work Connect

CATHOLIC CHARITIES DISABILITIES SERVICES

Monica Hill joined as senior RN for the residential program.

Donald Anderson Jr. joined as a community supports professional.

Erica Stevens joined as a service coordinator.

Chuck Hansen joined as the residential support staff.

Sean Clarkin joined as IT project coordinator.

REAL ESTATE

REALTYUSA

Andrea Sassone joined as a licensed sales associate in the Clifton Park office. Sassone previously worked at ReMax.

SERVICES

NORTHEAST ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT INC

Amanda Case was promoted to underwriter II at the Public Employer Risk Management Association. Case has eight years of experience in insurance underwriting.

Linda Johnson was promoted to claims coordinator II. Johnson will set up new claims and assist adjusters.

Nilsa Quandt was promoted to executive coordinator. Quandt has 18 years of experience and previously worked at the Retail Council of New York State.

Lisa O. Robinson was promoted to case analyst I. Robinson will handle medical workers' compensation claims.

Jennifer Schacht was promoted to audit supervisor. Schacht is a licensed property/casualty broker, a certified insurance service representative and a workers' compensation professional.

Alan Sweenor was promoted to underwriting manager. Sweenor will provide leadership and direction to the underwriting team, evaluate performance, oversee workflow and handle underwriting administration.

Cindy Wright was promoted to accounting representative. Wright is a designated certified insurance service representative.

COLDEN COMPANY INC.

Jim Cummins was promoted to senior technical specialist. Cummins is responsible for security, disaster recovery and Windows server maintenance and support.

BESTPASS INC.

Joe Scicutella joined as a customer service associate. Scicutella previously served as an associate relations manager at Hannaford Supermarkets.

TECHNOLOGY

NEW YORK INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR

Zachary G. Smith was promoted to vice president of system and resource planning. Smith joined as an associate engineer in 2004 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as director of transmission planning.

 Jennifer Patterson
Donald Trump is the first president in decades with significant connections to New York state. Trump, the son of a Queens real estate developer, was given money by his father to invest in Manhattan, where he resided before the election.

The last president with New York ties  meaning born, raised, served and/or died in the state  was Richard Nixon. Even though he's most commonly associated with Yorba Linda in California, Nixon ran for president in 1968 as a candidate from New York. He changed his residence in 1963 after joining a New York City law firm. He changed his residency back to California during his first term.
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ALBANY  Joseph Nicolla, the city's most prominent developer, appeared Monday morning in City Court to answer charges in an alleged bid-rigging of development projects in Albany. He pleaded not guilty.

A felony complaint was filed Thursday in Albany City Court following a year-long investigation by the attorney general's office that Nicolla colluded with the head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute to win a $27 million student-housing project.

Also charged was Alain Kaloyeros, 60, the suspended president and CEO of SUNY Poly. Kaloyeros pleaded not guilty Friday in City Court after he was arraigned on three state felony charges.

Nicolla, 59, the politically connected president of Columbia Development Corp. and a key player in Albany's revitalization, was traveling overseas last week.

Nicolla's company has received millions in government incentives.

He faces one felony charge of bid-rigging, officially called Combination in Restraint of Trade and Competition. The felony under state general business law carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

Judge Andra Ackerman released Nicolla, and he left the courthouse in a white Ford Explorer.

The scheme was "unusual in its brazenness," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said at a news conference Thursday in Manhattan.

The same day, federal prosecutor Preet Bharara unsealed criminal complaints against several former officials in the Cuomo administration and upstate developers in connection with SUNY Poly projects.

Nicolla's attorney, E. Stewart Jones, issued a brief statement to members of the media.

"Over the past 35 years, Joe Nicolla has revitalized neighborhoods, restored historic landmarks and kept thousands of jobs in our community," he said, "He has done this with the utmost integrity. These allegations are words taken out of context and shaped into a story. Joe welcomes the opportunity to complete the story with all the facts and is confident it will show these allegations are completely without merit."

Jones also spoke to reporters at the courthouse.

"Joe Nicolla never ever would have to engage in bid-rigging. He never has engaged in bid-rigging," Jones said. He added that Nicolla has "played by the rules every day of his life. These charges are brought without facts."

Schneiderman said his office began examining the public contracts last year and coordinating their efforts with Bharara's office as the cases started to overlap.

A law enforcement source said the attorney general's investigation was prompted by Times Union stories on the dealings between Columbia Development and SUNY Poly.
In the latest scandal to hit the state Capital, one of the area's most prominent developers, Joseph R. Nicolla, is accused of colluding with the head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute to win a $27 million student-housing project.

It's not the first time that Nicolla and his company, Columbia Development, have been scrutinized for questions about whether the company has been on the receiving end of government favoritism.

Columbia has received millions of dollars worth of tax breaks and incentives for construction that has transformed high-profile sections of Albany and surrounding communities, including Wellington Row along State Street and the Park South project near Albany Medical Center.

At the same time, Columbia and limited-liability companies connected to it have contributed generously to a slew of political leaders from former Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Government deals related to Columbia's many endeavors, which were also linked to its one-time close partner BBL Construction, also have stoked questions over the years. Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners, for example, has called the county's 2012 purchase of the Clinton Avenue Family Court building from Columbia a "boondoggle," saying the $22.8 million price tag was well above the building's $8 million assessment.

Jennings, who was mayor of Albany from 1994 to 2013, developed a personal relationship with Nicolla, whose politically active lifestyle included hosting a lavish 2009 fundraiser for Jennings at his sprawling Guilderland residence. A month after the fundraiser, the Times Union profiled the close ties of Nicolla and Jennings and the many professionals who attended that event and, in some instances, were deeply involved in the city's political and business landscape.

On Sunday, Jennings said Nicolla's accomplishments should stand apart from the felony charge outlined in the state Attorney General's complaint filed last week that accuses Nicolla and SUNY Poly President Alain Kaloyeros of rigging the bidding process for a dormitory project, to match Columbia's proposal to build the project on land next to the college the company purchased in advance.

"The transformation in a lot of the cities, as well as our downtown, are attributable to the work done by this company," Jennings said. "That is something that should not be second-guessed."

Many of Columbia's tax breaks have come from the city of Albany's industrial development agency, a public authority tied to City Hall. The incentives have included reductions in property taxes, or the elimination of sales and mortgage tax payments.

In 2015, Columbia benefited from $1.8 million in tax exemptions for its developments including the refurbished Wellington Row and buildings on New Scotland Avenue that are part of the Park South revitalization, according to filings with the state Authorities Budget Office.

The Troy Industrial Development Agency has also approved numerous projects that benefit Columbia, including $100,845 in tax breaks last year for what the company said would be the rehab of 26 properties at Beman Park near Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Other benefits include tax breaks slated through 2031 for Columbia's redevelopment of the Chasan Building and Proctor's Theater on Fourth Street in Troy.

Columbia also received $4 million from the Albany Convention Center Authority, a state entity that was largely created under Jennings' urging, to buy a Howard Street property that's scheduled to be the site of a future convention center.

Along the way there has been some push back on government enrichments for Columbia. The Albany County Legislature has not considered a $1 million payment that Columbia, and its partner on the deal BBL Construction, wants for the Vista Technology Park off Route 85 in Bethlehem. Columbia said the companies met their job goals for the $1 million grant that was promised them during former Albany County Executive Michael Breslin's tenure. But there has been no tech companies that have set up shop there, and nowhere near the 500 jobs that were promised under the original deal.

Nicolla's attorney, E. Stewart Jones, said Sunday the Attorney General's complaint, charging Nicolla with felony bid-rigging, is "preposterous." Jones said an email the Attorney General included in the complaint that was sent from Kaloyeros to Nicolla, and outlined the details of the multi-million dollar dorm project before it was put out, proves only the men were sharing information about the project. Jones said the email does not provide the full picture of what was occurring and that his client did nothing wrong.

Nicolla was traveling abroad last week and is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony complaint in Albany City Court at 9 a.m. Monday.

"Much of what has been built up in this region he can take credit for," Jones said. "He's been an extraordinary contributor. This allegation is very unfortunate and undesirable."

lstanforth@timesunion.com  518-454-5697
[September 26, 2016] Allakos Antibodies Shown to Inhibit Fibrosis, a Common Cause of Organ Failure

New preclinical research presented by Allakos, Inc., shows the potential of the company's recombinant antibodies to Siglec-8, an inhibitory receptor selectively expressed on the immune system's mast cells and eosinophils, to inhibit fibrosis. The data, presented today at the 1st International Conference on Tissue Repair, Regeneration and Fibrosis in Rhodes, Greece, demonstrate the ability of an anti-Siglec-8 antibody to inhibit multiple elements of the fibrotic process in rodent models of skin and lung fibrosis. Fibrosis is the formation of fibrous connective tissue in the body and is often part of the repair process in response to injury. However, excessive fibrosis can occur as the main pathology in many diseases - such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and liver and kidney fibrosis - where it interferes with normal organ function and can lead to organ failure and increased mortality. Mast cells and eosinophils are important cells in the developmentand progression of fibrosis, where they mediate many processes that result in tissue damage.



Allakos has developed a portfolio of antibodies that bind Siglec-8, a receptor present on mast cells and eosinophils. Previous research has shown that Siglec-8 antibodies can inhibit mast cell function and trigger apoptosis of tissue eosinophils. Allakos has also developed novel Siglec-8 antibodies that can kill mast cells and eosinophils by a natural defense mechanism within the body called antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. The company is currently completing a Phase 1 safety study of an anti-Siglec-8 antibody, AK002, in healthy volunteers, with plans to initiate testing in patients with fibrotic disease in the second half of 2017. "Our preclinical results demonstrate that a Siglec-8 antibody can reduce key fibrotic processes in multiple animal models," said Nenad Tomasevic, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at Allakos. "The action of these Siglec-8 targeting antibodies is highly specific to mast cells and eosinophils, and has the potential to benefit a wide spectrum of patients with severe, often life-threatening, conditions where fibrosis is a major contributor to the disease."

About Allakos Allakos is a privately held, clinical-stage company developing a pipeline of novel therapeutics that selectively target mast cells and eosinophils - important immune effector cells that are involved in a broad spectrum of allergic and inflammatory conditions as well as several rare proliferative diseases with high unmet need. The company's lead drug candidates, AK001 and AK002 use novel approaches to target mast cells and eosinophils. AK001 is in a Phase 2 trial in patients with moderate to severe nasal polyposis with or without asthma, and AK002 is currently in two Phase 1 trials - 1) in healthy volunteers and 2) in patients with systemic mastocytosis. Allakos is located in San Carlos, California. For further information, visit www.Allakos.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005346/en/

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[September 26, 2016] InnoTrans 2016: Driving Growth, a Platform for Innovations and an International Stage for the Industry

Berlin became the pre-eminent meeting place for the global railway industry from 20 to 23 September when this year's InnoTrans took place there. This four-day event ended on a high point with the best results in its history. Compared with its immediate predecessor, exhibitor numbers rose by seven per cent and trade visitor participation by four per cent. 2,955 exhibitors from 60 countries presented their products and an extensive range of services on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. All available space on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds was occupied, a total of 112,000 square metres. The Outdoor Display featured 127 innovative vehicles. Among the highlights were 149 products making their international debuts - convincing proof of the innovative strengths of the railway industry and the appeal of this trade show as a marketing platform and its ability to promote innovation. This year's InnoTrans attracted 144,470 trade visitors from more than 140 countries to Berlin. Satisfaction levels among the trade visitors were in excess of 90 per cent. InnoTrans gives an impetus to business Once again this year InnoTrans justified its reputation as the world's largest market place for the industry. Contracts worth millions and numerous joint ventures were signed and announced at the trade show. For example, Vossloh and CRCC High-Tech Equipment Corporation Limited (CRCCE) have signed two contracts for the construction of self-propelled high speed grinding machines and an agreement has been signed between Solaris and the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe for the delivery of 14 of the latest generation of Solaris Urbino 18 buses. Stadler announced several successful negotiations leading, for example, to an order from Alpha Trains for the conversion of 44 electric multiple units. Bombardier Transportation and the manufacturer China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) have extended and intensified their cooperation with the signing of a strategic joint venture agreement. InnoTrans is also gaining in importance as a hub for communication between politics and industry. For example, during the trade fair the Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) approved support for two development projects for alternative drive systems, one with a value of four million euros for Bombardier and a further eight million for Alstom. Highlight: Vehicle presentations on the Outdoor Display Trade visitors were able to inspect no fewer than127 rail vehicles on the Outdoor Display. Leading domestic and foreign exhibitors made use of the trade show to present their latest vehicles to an international audience for the first time, or for the symbolic handover of vehicles to their customers. Alstom exhibited its new regional train, the fuel cell-powered Coradia Lint, on the Outdoor Display. Siemens demonstrated the "Velaro (News - Alert) Turkei" high-speed train and the "Metro Riad" underground train. Both celebrated their world debut. Johannes Max-Theurer, managing director of Plasser & Theurer, handed over a new Series 705.1 tunnel inspection vehicle to Dr. Roland Bosch, head of Production at DB Netz AG. Stadler handed over the new EC250 "Giruno" Eurocity train in the presence of Andreas Meyer, CEO of the Swiss national rail operator SBB, and Peter Spuhler, Group CEO and proprietor of Stadler. Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks presented its new road-rail Unimog. Survey of exhibitors and trade visitors Exhibitors and trade visitors revealed that they were very satisfied with the outcome of InnoTrans 2016. According to a representative survey, around 90 per cent of exhibitors would recommend this event to others and clearly intent to take part in the event again. Some 90 per cent of exhibitors anticipate commercial results following the trade show. Trade visitors obtained a positive overall impression of the trade show, the range of exhibits and the commercial results. Trade visitors attending InnoTrans 2016 again included a high proportion of leading decision-makers. Within their respective companies half of all trade visitors exercise a decisive or contributory influence on purchasing and procurement decisions. This was also reflected in the large number of business deals that were finalised. 90 per cent of the trade visitors would recommend this trade show to others. InnoTrans Convention offers an outstanding dialogue between experts For visitors and industry experts the InnoTrans Convention offers a level playing field for professional discussions. There were eleven events in the five main forums, dealing with mobility issues of current and future relevance. For example, at the Dialog Forum the focus was on digitalisation in rail passenger and freight transport, and on the technology for digital services. With some prominent figures the Rail Leaders' Summit took place under the heading of "Innovation in the Digital Age: Rail faces the challenges of the Future". Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure, emphasised the innovative strengths in the railway sector. The railways have always set the tone for innovations. The International Design Forum provided an arena for discussions about closer links between design and mobility. The discussions by the speakers at the DB Innovation Forum took place under the heading of "Open [email protected] - Creating a better and more sustainable mobility". Among the topics dealt with at the International Tunnel Forum were the added value of building information modelling (BIM), i.e. interconnected design, planning and building in the construction of tunnels. Public Days attract 16,000 tain enthusiasts



On 24 and 25 September some 16,000 train enthusiasts and adventurous families gathered on the Outdoor Display at Messe Berlin. The 3,500 metres of track featured the latest freight cars, locomotives, trams, entire trains and special rail vehicles. Providing plenty of enjoyment away from the tracks were several bouncy castles, a super Fun Slide and the country's largest toy train set that visitors could walk around, covering 120 square metres. There were talks by Deutsche Bahn about regional railway topics, vocational training, construction projects and environmental protection. On Sunday Deutsche Bahn organised the Railwayman's Day, where visitors' question were answered by, among others, Berlin's Transport Senator Andreas Geisel and the Deutsche Bahn representative for Berlin, Alexander Kaczmarek. Exhibitors opinions about InnoTrans 2016

Dr. Ben Mobius, Chief Executive, German Railway Industry Association (VDB): InnoTrans in Berlin provided impressive evidence of the high degree of digitalisation in the rail industry. It offers the best opportunity anywhere in the world to see rail technology at its best - with the emphasis on efficiency, comfort and protecting the climate. It was very apparent that rail transport is increasingly a mobile part of the Internet of Things. As a result mobility on the rails is becoming the best it has ever been. It was also very evident that there is one pre-eminent address when it comes to advanced mobility - InnoTrans in Berlin. Klaus Deller, Chairman of the Board, Knorr-Bremse AG: Extremely keen interest among the trade visitors, the many visitors who thronged to the Knorr-Bremse display, numerous discussions at a very high level, the signing of various contracts and an award from Russian Railways: that was the outcome of the trade show for Knorr-Bremse. The intelligent interconnection of sub-systems is very much in tune with the times, and is one way that we are currently offering secure and efficient solutions for manufacturers and operators. Dr. Michael Holzapfel, Head of the Business Division Rail Europe, Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG: The successes at InnoTrans 2016 exceeded our expectations. Once again this trade show provided an effective setting for constructive discussions with international business partners, making it the perfect industry meeting place. Very interesting discussions took place about our new products and solutions for urban and interurban mobility of the future. Our digitalisation concepts met with keen interest. We are looking forward to InnoTrans 2018. Dr. Jochen Eickholt, CEO, Division Mobility of Siemens AG (News - Alert): For us InnoTrans 2016 was an outstanding event. One of the main focuses of our presentation was on digital technology that will enable our customers to compete more effectively and to strengthen their position on the market: automated driving for an increased and more flexible throughput, digital services to provide maximum availability, and IT-based systems for outstanding passenger comfort. The extraordinary level of interest from so many of our customers confirms the importance of digitalisation for our industry. We intend to continue developing our technological leadership in this field. Philippe Citroen, Director General of the Union of the European Railway Industries (UNIFE): Once again, InnoTrans proved to be the most attractive exhibition for the rail industry. UNIFE took the opportunity of such a remarkable event to present the results of the World Rail Market Study, sign an important Memorandum of Understanding on ERTMS and reinforce its cooperation with European and international stakeholders. I was impressed by the vitality and innovations of our industry and I am already looking forward to the 2018 edition. Dr. h.c. Hans M. Schabert, Chairman of the Board, Vossloh AG: Cost management, noise reduction and efficient route availability were certainly the right choices for our agenda, as was confirmed by the in-depth discussions with our customers. Once again InnoTrans was the ideal experts' forum for discussing the latest developments on the worldwide railway market. Our customers are increasingly seeking integrated solutions from a single source, and we can offer them this through the successful way in which we combine our skills and resources. This is accurately summed up by our slogan 'Connecting expertise'. Laurent Troger, President, Bombardier Transportation: InnoTrans 2016 more than met my expectations. The main thrust of our message was on mobility and the concept of connecting people. This was borne out by the many participants who engaged in passionate discussions about improved mobility within and between cities. For four days we took part in an intensive dialogue with customers from all over the world, who were concerned with ways in which we can work together to design innovative and sustainable mobility solutions. Today digitalisation certainly has a key role to play. With this in mind we took our visitors on a journey into the future, on the 'Virtual Reality Tour', to enable them to discover our new products and solutions. Didier Pfleger, Vice President, Alstom Germany & Austria: InnoTrans is always a highlight for Alstom and our international customers. The success of the world's largest trade fair for the rail sector is due to its flawless organisation and a fantastic range of new products and innovative technologies. We look forward to 2018. Steffen Straub, Director of Trade Fairs and Events, Deutsche Bahn AG: By providing quality and digital expertise we are contributing to progress and the future of mobility. InnoTrans offers the ideal platform for us to put this to the test. Herbert Zimmermann, Chief Executive, Electric Railways and Vehicles Division of the ZVEI: Once again InnoTrans 2016 was a resounding success. Digitalisation was the dominant theme. The German mobility industry - and especially the member companies of the ZVEI - provided impressive demonstrations of their innovative capabilities, for example with driverless trains and predictive maintenance. Dr. Christoph Hoppe, CEO, Thales (News - Alert) Germany: InnoTrans once again lived up to its reputation as the leading international trade fair for transport technology. As a key player Thales was able to meet its customers from Germany and abroad, welcome political stakeholders and hold many interesting meetings. Jurgen Fenske, President of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV): Already on the first day of this trade show the massive potential of the industry, and its future prospects, were very evident. These impressions were confirmed time and again during the course of the event: The past few days have shown that rail transport around the world is an efficient, modern and ecological form of transport for the future. Those responsible for setting up this trade show, including the Association of German Transport Companies, can be justifiably proud of the fact that InnoTrans has become internationally acknowledged as a leading railway event, where manufacturers and operators can present their latest innovations. J. Wolfgang Nagel, Head of Marketing, Nokia Networks: We were very satisfied with the reactions we received this year. There was a notable increase in interest compared to the last event and we had over 100 trade visitors on our display. Our meeting rooms were booked all the time and our press event, at which we presented our pilot project for an integrated LTE (News - Alert) network on the Paris metro, was an all-round success. Paul Denton, Senior Vice President Marketing and Analytics, Progress Rail: It is always a great opportunity to attend InnoTrans for a global view of the world's best rail customers and suppliers. We were very excited to showcase our latest technology and appreciate the response by our customers and the media in attendance at the trade show. Barbara Hendricks, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety: By 2050 at the latest transport must become predominantly greenhouse gas-neutral if we are to meet the climate protection objectives of the Paris Agreement. In order to achieve this the railways should play a greater part in handling our transport requirements, and there should also be an increased commitment to the use of electrical energy. We can only achieve zero emissions if ultimately all our energy comes from renewables. InnoTrans showcases innovative solutions that point exactly in this direction. Marina Winder, Group Management and Director of Communications & PR, Stadler: InnoTrans went very well for us. This trade fair provides us with a good opportunity to meet all the key market players. We exhibited six new products and must surely be among the companies with the highest number of innovations. Dirk Junghans, Managing Director & Head of Sales, Marketing & Customer Services, Liebherr Transportation System GmbH & Co KG: For us InnoTrans continues to be the number one trade fair for transport technology. It provides us with an ideal platform for showcasing our innovative solutions to an international audience, including eco-friendly air-conditioning and electro-hydraulic systems. This year the official presentation of our new MACS 8.0 modular air-conditioning system at InnoTrans marked a world debut. Zhou Li, General Director of Science & Technology Management Department, China Railway: As the largest of all railway trade shows InnoTrans exercises a major influence. We operate the world's largest high-speed rail network, and we make use of this platform in order to help international trade visitors to gain a better understanding of China Railway, as well as to discuss joint ventures in the technology field with our friends from around the world. Xu Houguang, Director of the Press Department, CRRC Corporation Ltd: InnoTrans, which takes place every two years in Berlin, Germany, is the leading trade show for rail transport technology. It is the premier event for the rail industry and provides the market leaders with an important platform for presenting themselves and their products. Zbigniew Palenica, Member of the Board, Solaris: I would like to express my admiration for the way that InnoTrans has developed. We are very happy to be here. Our visitors came from many countries, from the Baltic to Italy, and we met many potential partners from Asia. Tetsuya Takahashi, Head of the Transport Systems Division, Mitsubishi (News - Alert) Electric Europe: For us InnoTrans went very well. The commercial and political contacts were outstanding. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005695/en/

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[September 26, 2016] Innovative Technologies to Propel Growth of Digital Wound Measurement Devices Market

Wound is defined as a disruption in the continuous structure of the skin, which may at times extend to internal layers lying deep below the skin. Traditionally wound was defined as any bleeding of extremities or vital organs visible from outside, modern science has currently included the occurrence of internal wounds within the definition of wound. The nature of a wound may vary from simple abrasion, to complex tissue damage. Wound care is therefore often dependent upon the nature of the wound and its location. In some cases wound area needs to be understood in order to provide adequate care to the region. This provides a basis for the application of wound dressing in terms of material required and at the same time measures the progression of wound healing process. Besides being a mandatory practice to study the progress of wound healing, wound measurement and regular tracking of wound size is integral in terms of insurance coverage, litigation and reimbursement. Wound measurement devices were initially surgical scales and rulers. These are now described as simple devices and are considered as crude or inaccurate, although they are still in use in many countries worldwide.







Description of Digital Wound Measurement Devices Market is available at: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/digital-wound-measurement-devices-market.html Simple devices use the concept of rectangular or quadrilateral area (l*b*0.785) calculation measured with the help of conventional rulers or scales. Another way to measure wound is by using a transparency sheet to outline the area which can be later measured in an area grid map. Complex devices are expensive and are more accurate in comparison to simple devices. Complex devices include optical instruments such as stereophotogrammeter (SPG) or structured lighting to obtain wound images which can be later on rendered by a computer to make a 3D image for further study and monitoring of the wound care. Wound measurement devices are yet in the developing stages with new innovations arising every year. However, common conclusion is that novel complex technologies are better in monitoring progress and examining the wound coverage area. Wound care has seen a great quantum of development in the present ages with the assistance from wound measurement devices. Hand held computers and smart phones are now being integrated using both simple and complex techniques to get a complete solution. Laser based wound terrain identification technology is also under development that shall monitor real time 3D image of the wound and its healing rate. The software program that develops photo-digital planimetry with its PictZar Digital Planimetry Program Software, a product of BioVisual Technologies, LLC, Elmwood Park, NJ. It is capable to load in the surface area of the wound without depending on a drawn perimeter.



Download the Industrial Forecast of Digital Wound Measurement Devices at: http://bit.ly/2dloMv0 The report studies the digital wound measurement devices market across four key regions: Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. In 2013, North America dominated the overall market, with the U.S. alone accounting for 40-50% of the market. Europe was the second largest region in the market. However, Asia Pacific witnessed a rapid increase in sales of digital wound measurement devices in the same year. The growth rate of this regional market was higher than North America and Europe. The growing prevalence of skin cancer among the geriatric population in countries such as Japan, India, and China has contributed towards the growth of the digital wound measurement devices market in Asia Pacific. During the forecast period, the Middle East holds the highest potential for market growth owing to the presence of a large number of diabetic patients across Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.





The report profiles some of the prominent players in the global digital wound measurement devices market such as Derma Sciences Ltd, Smith & Nephew PLC, and Medline Industries Inc. As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments.

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[September 26, 2016] Medical Properties Trust, Inc. to Invest $1.25 Billion in Nine Acute Care Hospitals

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (the "Company" or "MPT") (NYSE: MPW) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the real estate interests of nine acute care hospitals operated by Steward Health Care System LLC ("Steward"). The $1.25 billion total value of the transactions includes a $1.2 billion investment in hospital real estate and a $50 million equity investment in Steward. Per share accretion of approximately 10% is expected, after consideration of previously disclosed dispositions of approximately $800 million, approximately $300 million of previously disclosed and pending acquisitions of German hospitals and permanent financing of the transactions. Steward is owned by its management team and premier private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management ("Cerberus"), and is the largest for-profit hospital system in the highly innovative Massachusetts market. MPT's interests in the hospitals will be subject to a master lease and mortgage loan arrangements with cross default provisions and backed by a corporate guaranty. The master lease represents approximately $600 million and has a 15-year initial term and three five-year extension terms, and a GAAP yield of 10.1%; the cross-defaulted mortgage loans, with a similar aggregate value, have identical rates, including CPI-based escalations, generally within a two to five percent band. MPT is also investing, alongside Cerberus and management, $50 million in Steward, which in addition to attractive investment characteristics, provides certain protective rights concerning Steward's credit decisions. A Cerberus affiliate has agreed to invest $150 million in MPW's common stock in a private placement transaction concurrent with or soon after closing. In addition to the premiere portfolio of irreplaceable hospital assets announced today, the agreement also includes a right of first refusal for MPT to acquire future Steward hospitals. "As a result of our strategic asset sales earlier this year, along with the opportunistic utilization of our ATM program and refinancing of long term debt, MPT has reduced our leverage to among the best in the industry at 5.0 times EBITDA," said Edward K. Aldag, Jr., MPT's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The successful execution of our strategy has made possible this new relationship with Steward, which represents tremendous opportunity for MPT, as Steward similarly positions itself for rapid growth. "Since Steward's inception in 2011, they have achieved outstanding results and now rank as the second largest hospital operator in New England, with the largest community-based network of physicians. Dr. Ralph de la Torre, Steward's Chairman and CEO, is recognized for his thought leadership in the healthcare industry, demonstrated by Steward's innovative model in delivering healthcare to over 150 communities across Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Southern New Hampshire. e are very excited about the opportunities this relationship creates for both of us."



Benefits of the Transaction Achieves Immediate Accretion.

Expands Acquisition Pipeline. The transaction aligns MPT with an industry-leading acute care provider and provides the Company with right of first refusal to purchase real estate resulting from Steward's future growth.

The transaction aligns MPT with an industry-leading acute care provider and provides the Company with right of first refusal to purchase real estate resulting from Steward's future growth. Reduces Tenant Concentration. Subsequent to the Steward and MEDIAN transactions, MPT's exposure to its largest tenant improves to 17.8% from 20.8% and its two largest tenants combined improve to 33.9% from 40.2%.

Subsequent to the Steward and MEDIAN transactions, MPT's exposure to its largest tenant improves to 17.8% from 20.8% and its two largest tenants combined improve to 33.9% from 40.2%. Improves Diversification. The transaction improves geographical diversification with MPT now being represented in 30 states at the close of the transaction. Acute care facilities as a percentage of MPT's U.S. portfolio increases to 80%, up from 75% as of June 30, 2016.

The transaction improves geographical diversification with MPT now being represented in 30 states at the close of the transaction. Acute care facilities as a percentage of MPT's U.S. portfolio increases to 80%, up from 75% as of June 30, 2016. Increases Critical Mass. The transaction, combined with MEDIAN transactions, increases MPT's total gross assets 29% to approximately $7 billion on a pro forma basis. Further, it adds nine hospital properties and approximately 1,800 beds to MPT's portfolio increasing the total number to 248 and approximately 27,000, respectively.

The transaction, combined with MEDIAN transactions, increases MPT's total gross assets 29% to approximately $7 billion on a pro forma basis. Further, it adds nine hospital properties and approximately 1,800 beds to MPT's portfolio increasing the total number to 248 and approximately 27,000, respectively. Establishes New Operator Relationship. The transaction adds Steward to MPT's industry-leading group of 30 hospital operators. Steward provides the largest fully integrated community-based healthcare delivery system in New England. About Medical Properties Trust, Inc.

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. is a Birmingham, Alabama based self-advised real estate investment trust formed to capitalize on the changing trends in healthcare delivery by acquiring and developing net-leased healthcare facilities. MPT's financing model allows hospitals and other healthcare facilities to unlock the value of their underlying real estate in order to fund facility improvements, technology upgrades, staff additions and new construction. Facilities include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and other medical and surgical facilities. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.medicalpropertiestrust.com. This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of securities laws of applicable jurisdictions. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may," "will," "would," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "aim," "estimate," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "objectives," "outlook," "guidance" or other similar words, and include statements regarding MPT's plans, strategies, objectives, targets, future expansion and development activities and expected financial performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company or future events to differ materially from those expressed in or underlying such forward-looking statements, including without limitation: the satisfaction of all conditions to, and the timely closing (if at all) of the Steward and MEDIAN acquisition and related transactions; the Company's financing of the transactions described herein; Steward's and MEDIAN's expected rent coverage; the capacity of Steward, MEDIAN, and the Company's other tenants to meet the terms of their agreements; Normalized FFO per share; expected payout ratio, the amount of acquisitions of healthcare real estate, if any; capital markets conditions, the repayment of debt arrangements; statements concerning the additional income to the Company as a result of ownership interests in certain hospital operations and the timing of such income; the payment of future dividends, if any; completion of additional debt or equity arrangements, and additional investments; national and international economic, business, real estate and other market conditions; the competitive environment in which the Company operates; the execution of the Company's business plan; financing risks; the Company's ability to maintain its status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; acquisition and development risks; potential environmental and other liabilities; and other factors affecting the real estate industry generally or healthcare real estate in particular; and the value of our real estate assets, which may limit our ability to dispose of assets at attractive prices or obtain or maintain equity or debt financing secured by our properties or on an unsecured basis, and the factors referenced under the section captioned "Item 1.A Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and "Item 1.A Risk Factor" in our quarterly report Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016. Actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any projections and forward looking statements and the assumptions on which those statements are based. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and MPT disclaims any responsibility to update such information. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926006394/en/

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[September 26, 2016] New Stamford Hospital Opens, Bringing New Era of Care to Region

Today, Stamford Health President and CEO Brian Grissler, other Stamford Health executives and Stamford Hospital staff participated in a celebratory ribbon cutting commemorating the official opening of the new Stamford Hospital in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The $450 million project opened on schedule and on budget - representing one of the largest hospital projects in the country this year, according to healthcare construction data. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926006329/en/ Stamford Health staff and volunteers join President and CEO Brian G. Grissler to cut the ribbon outside of the Emergency Department and celebrate the official opening of the new Stamford Hospital. Photo courtesy of Brad Hess for Stamford Health. (Photo: Business Wire) "This new facility was designed to provide a unique healing environment, and is likely the only new hospital of its kind created in Connecticut for the near future," said Brian Grissler, President and CEO of Stamford Health. "Today culminates more than ten years of thoughtful, diligent planning and dedicated implementation - the result is this beautiful building that will support advanced care, leading clinicians and a more calming and welcoming atmosphere to benefit our patients, visitors and staff."



"The new hospital symbolizes our commitment to our Planetree philosophy and a patient-centered model of care," said Kathleen Silard, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Stamford Health. "The care environment supports collaboration and coordination that will drive the best outcomes for our patients."

Some of the key features of the new hospital include: 180 all-private patient rooms with private bathrooms to provide comfort, promote healing and prevent infection.

A new Emergency Department, double the amount of treatment space, offering separate and dedicated treatment areas for cardiac care, behavioral health, trauma and pediatric patients.

Two family lounges per patient floor and centralized nurses' stations to deliver more flexible care.

Significantly larger operating rooms to accommodate both current and future technology.

A central location for all Heart & Vascular Institute services, including electrophysiology, interventional and non-invasive cardiology. About Stamford Health Stamford Health is a not-for-profit healthcare system in lower Fairfield County. The system provides inpatient, outpatient and ambulatory services through Stamford Hospital, a 305-bed acute care tertiary hospital; Stamford Health Medical Group, a partnership of primary and specialty care physicians; Stamford Hospital Foundation; and a diverse and growing number of retail and ambulatory locations across the region. Stamford Health is affiliated with the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and is a major teaching affiliate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Stamford Health's Carl and Dorothy Bennett Cancer Center is a member of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Care Collaborative. Stamford Hospital received Magnet Designation for nursing excellence in 2016, and the Planetree Distinction Award for Leadership and Innovation in Patient-Centered Care in 2014. For more information, visit StamfordHealth.org. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926006329/en/

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[September 26, 2016] SERMO Polls Reveal U.S. Doctors' Sentiments on Healthcare Issues at the Forefront of Policy Debates

As candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton prepare to face off in their first presidential debate, SERMO, the leading global social network exclusively for physicians, polled its network of U.S. physicians on crucial healthcare issues facing the next administration. Poll Key Findings 56 percent of physicians believe the government should stop allowing drug companies to make deals with generic drug makers that delay generic competition;

43 percent of U.S. doctors polled support a broader use of interoperable Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) across state lines; 1

U.S. physicians are split on whether to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA); and

67 percent of physicians support federal funding for Planned Parenthood. "Conversations about the U.S. presidential election are dominating social media, and doctors are taking part in political discussions on topics ranging from EpiPen prices to gun policy every day on the SERMO network." said Osnat Benshoshan, SERMO's Chief Marketing Officer. "With election rhetoric boiling over, SERMO offers physicians an anonymous space to speak their minds, debate the issues, and consider the profound impacts that healthcare policies can have on doctors and patients among their peers." For an infographic of selected poll results, please click here. Prescription Drug Pricing

Recent spikes in the price of prescription drugs have resulted in contentious political debates, fueled most recently by Mylan's Epi-Pen price increases. This month, SERMO polled 993 physicians on potential solutions to address skyrocketing drug prices. 65 percent of those surveyed agreed that pharmaceutical companies should be required to disclose their budgets for developing, manufacturing, distributing and advertising each of their products. A staggering 89 percent agreed that the FDA should expedite generic drug applications for competing products when the original drug has significantly jumped in price. When asked to select the best option from a slate of proposals to rein in drug prices without restricting the development of new treatments, doctors chose: Create a regulatory panel to monitor and respond to unjustified price hikes - 33 percent

Speed up FDA review of generic drugs - 24 percent

Allow importation of similar drugs - 20 percent

Fine companies that excessively raise prices on existing drugs - 14 percent

It's not the government's place to intervene - 9 percent In October 2015, 1,594 SERMO member physicians responded to a SERMO poll on what they think should be done to lower drug costs. Fifty-six percent of the U.S. physicians polled believe the government should stop allowing drug companies to strike deals with generic drug makers that delay inexpensive versions of brand-name drugs. One pediatrician stated on the SERMO network that there is no silver bullet to solving the inflated pricing of prescription, noting, "This is a multidimensional problem that cannot just be laid at the feet of pharmaceutical companies alone. Pharma helps to design, study, and manufacture the meds. They o spend a great deal on marketing, as do all major players in most industries."



Similarly, a family medicine physician added, "One of the main reasons that prices skyrocket is that big pharma companies have been allowed to buy up small pharma companies and create a monopoly on the manufacturing of these long lead-time, very cheap generics. They can then charge whatever they like for these meds. If it's not the responsibility of the FDA, then surely the FTC (News - Alert) should be stepping in to protect the public from price gouging. This is not free market level field competition, but a cornering of the market on certain drugs for which there is no comparable equivalent." Opioid Abuse

Curbing the prescription drug and heroin abuse epidemics has become a key issue in races at the federal, state, and local levels, and SERMO asked doctors for their thoughts on solutions to the crisis. A plurality of U.S. doctors polled (43 percent) believe a broader use of interoperable Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) across state lines would be the most effective option.2

One U.S. physician suggested, "Utilizing PDMPs across state lines would enable prescribers to identify more easily those individuals seeking drugs for non-medically indicated usage." Doctors are more concerned about awareness of opiate antidotes like Naloxone (Narcan), the medication used to reverse the effects of opioids especially in overdose, than they are about access to those antidotes. An overwhelming 81 percent of physicians agreed that awareness campaigns to educate the public about Naloxone would be the most important step in the fight against opioid abuse.3 By contrast, only seven percent of physicians believed increased access to Naloxone for those at risk for overdose would be the top priority, and when asked whether Naloxone should be available over the counter, doctors were split 50/50.4 Affordable Care Act

With President Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) under scrutiny again this election season, a SERMO poll of 2,239 U.S. physicians found that doctors are split 50/50 on whether they want the next president to keep the ACA implemented or repeal it completely. However, SERMO network physicians are in agreement across the board that consumer's healthcare options should not be limited by state. If the ACA were to be kept in place during the next president's term, 63 percent of physicians would want consumers to be able to purchase insurance across state lines. Furthermore, 62 percent of responding physicians support a proposed nationwide marketplace that would allow consumers in all 50 states to shop for health insurance, instead of each state having its own exchange. Abortion

Abortion policy has become a mainstay of election rhetoric. SERMO's query found that a majority of the 1,032 U.S. participants polled are pro-choice, both as physicians (75 percent) and as private citizens (70 percent). Furthermore, 67 percent of physicians support federal funding for Planned Parenthood. One U.S. emergency medicine physician commented, "The passage of Roe v. Wade did not mean suddenly women got abortions; it reduced the number of women dying from abortions. Whether one thinks abortion is murder, unethical, against society's interests, or appropriate, it will continue to happen. Sanctioning it or not, if we go back to the days of back-alley abortions, it will be a grim spectacle." For more information on the methodology of SERMO polls, please visit http://www.sermo.com/polls. About SERMO

SERMO is the leading social network for physicians - the world's largest virtual doctors' lounge where doctors talk real world medicine. SERMO's mission is to revolutionize real world medicine by providing physicians a safe, private and trusted platform for free and open dialogue on an unprecedented global scale. SERMO has 600,000 fully verified and licensed members and is now available for doctors in 30 countries: the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Argentina, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, France, Finland, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Poland and Germany. SERMO is also the world's largest health care professional polling company with 1.8 million HCPs in both the social network and a digital research network, spanning 80 countries. SERMO conducts 700,000 surveys a year. Learn more at www.SERMO.com 1 http://www.sermo.com/media/press-releases-view/73

2 http://www.sermo.com/media/press-releases-view/73

3 http://blog.sermo.com/2016/01/12/doctors-weigh-curb-opioid-epidemic ACA

4 http://www.sermo.com/media/press-releases-view/73 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005795/en/

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[September 26, 2016] Skkynet's SkkyHub Powers Becker Mining Demo at MINExpo 2016

Mississauga, Ontario, Sept. 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (Skkynet) (OTCQB: SKKY), a global leader in real-time cloud information systems, announces that its SkkyHub technology is being used to provide real-time, remote data displays for a Becker Varis SSFM-100 smartsense Atmospheric and Environmental System demonstration at MINExpo 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Show participants will be able to view live data from the SSFM-100 on a display monitor, as well as securely from their mobile phone browsers over their own cellular connection, in real time. The SSFM-100 smartsense monitor provides a lighted display on the sensor itself for a user to read data directly, and it also supports standard industrial data communications protocols like Modbus and OPC. Connecting in this way to SkkyHub enhances the SSFM-100 by allowing its data to be viewed by any authorized users computer or mobile phone, with SkkyHub WebView. Connecting to SkkyHub makes the SSFM-100 IoT-ready, said Jian Zhao, Engineering Manager - Environment and Safety at Becker Mining Systems. Mine managers can monitor the gas levels in the mine from a computer in the office, while ventilation maintenance personnel can see the same data from their smartphones from any location. Here at our offices, we can also use that data for routine or emergency maintenance on the equipment, as needed. This demonstration is a real-world example of the practical value of the Industrial IoT, and SkkyHubs implementation of it, said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet. Its all about putting useful or critical data into the hands of people who need it, on-site or remote, at any level of the organization. The smartsense fixed monitor SSFM-100 with its integrated controller functions as a black box storing critical information such as calibrtion record, Alarm History and Data Logging for post-accident investigation. The SSFM-100 is an all-in-one package and eliminates the need for complex cables connections and troublesome programming, out of the box the SSFM-100 is the most versatile and hassle free Atmospheric and Environmental System on the market. The SSFM-100 system design has taken into account the requirements of the industry and placed on the security and features into a single compact design but still maintaining the main requirement of reliability / accuracy / low power consumption. The SkkyHub service allows industrial and embedded systems to securely network live data in real time from any location. It enables bidirectional supervisory control, integration and sharing of data with multiple users, and real-time access to selected data sets in a web browser. The service is capable of handling over 50,000 data changes per second per client, at speeds of just microseconds over Internet latency. Secure by design, it requires no VPN, no open firewall ports, no special programming, and no additional hardware. About Becker Mining Systems Becker Mining Systems is a system supplier for mining infrastructure with its headquarters in Friedrichsthal, Germany. With 1,800 employees in every essential mining region, the company, which is completely family-owned, sells its products to the leading mining companies of the world. In addition to Germany, Becker Mining Systems is also represented by its own subsidiaries in France, Poland, Russia, China, South Africa, Australia, the United States, Canada and Chile. Since the middle of the 1980s, Becker Mining Systems has followed a consistent internationalisation strategy and thus countered the receding mining market in its home country. About Skkynet Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: SKKY) is a global leader in real-time cloud information systems. The Skkynet Connected Systems platform includes the award-winning SkkyHub service, DataHub, WebView, and Embedded Toolkit (ETK) software. The platform enables real-time data connectivity for industrial, embedded, and financial systems, with no programming required. Skkynets platform is uniquely positioned for the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 because unlike the traditional approach for networked systems, SkkyHub is secure-by-design. For more information, see http://skkynet.com. Safe Harbor This news release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, and results of new business opportunities. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, such as the inherent uncertainties associated with new business opportunities and development stage companies. Skkynet assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements. Although Skkynet believes that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Investors should refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in Skkynets annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. Paul E. Thomas, President Office: (888) 628-2028 Fax: (888) 705-5366 Web: http://skkynet.com Email: [email protected]

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[September 26, 2016] Toshiba Digital Signage Engages Visitors at Crazy Horse Memorial

Toshiba America Business Solutions is helping to enhance the visitor experience at Crazy Horse Memorial - the world's largest mountain carving - through the inclusion of the company's Ellumina digital signage line. The monument, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is dedicated to Lakota leader Crazy Horse and preserving the rich culture of Native Americans throughout North America. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005267/en/ Toshiba's (News - Alert) Ellumina digital signage improves guest experience at South Dakota's Crazy Horse Memorial. (Photo: Business Wire) Toshiba's Virtuoso interactive touch screen displays - the signature hardware element of its Ellumina line - are prominent throughout the Crazy Horse Memorial visitor complex. Featuring a broad array of information including highlights of the day's activities, illustrated maps and tips for improving visitors' tour experience, the interactive displays help inform and guide guests. "Toshiba's digital signage has truly enriched the experience for our visitors and helped us better tell the great story of the Memorial," said Jadwiga Ziolkowski, CEO of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. "Their Ellumina team intuitively understood what we wanted to accomplish and designed a comprehensive interactive experience that our guests have embraced. Toshiba's digital signage is definitively improving our visitors' experience from the moment they arrive and enables us to maintain a relationship with our guests once they leave." Toshiba's interactive touch screen displays (ranging from 46- to 55-inches in diameter) are integrated throughout the spacious visitor complex including the Welcome Center, the Indian Museum of North America, Native American Educational & Cultural Center, Mountain Carving Room and Covered Porch. The Covered Porch sits on the footprint of the home of the monument's original sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski. "We are pleased to have been chosen by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation to leverage our state-of-the-art technology and digital content expertise for such an important aspect of their mission," said Toshiba America Business Solutions Chief Marketing Executive, Bill Melo. "Working with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Team to bring this project to life has been exciting and we look forward to a long-lasting relationship." Toshiba's Virtuosos are helping museum guests immerse themselves in the history of the Memorial and the culture of North American Indians. The interactive displays specifically allow visitors to sign-up for newsletters, complete visitor surveys to share their insights about the experience, and register to 'Become a Storyteller,' by making a charitabl gift to the Foundation.



Toshiba interactive digital displays are providing exclusive content within the following areas of the Crazy Horse Memorial visitor complex: Welcome Center: Toshiba's display educates visitors on the Memorial's mission to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of North America Indians while continuing progress to complete the Crazy Horse sculpture.

Indian Museum of North America: Virtuoso content informs guests about the distinct native cultural aspects of different regions, including the varying housing, clothing, food and art of Native Americans indigenous to North America. Native American Educational & Cultural Center: Toshiba's Virtuoso content spotlights local artists and the unique collection of art they've created. Moreover, Toshiba's digital signage educates visitors on the museum's assembly of Native American flags while outlining the history exclusive to the tribes associated with each flag. Covered Porch: The Virtuoso pinpoints the vast array of touchstone events surrounding the creation of Crazy Horse Memorial and the Ziolkowski family. The Memorial's timeline also provides visitors with a vivid photographic glimpse of the sculpture's progress, from the time it started on June 3, 1948 to its current state. Mountain Carving Room: This unique digital signage application contrasts the size of the massive Crazy Horse Memorial with such iconic historical structures as the Great Pyramids, Taj Mahal, Roman Colosseum, Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore. Click-to-Tweet: Toshiba Digital Signage Engages Visitors at Crazy Horse Memorial About Crazy Horse Memorial Crazy Horse Memorial is a public charity and educational and humanitarian project of national and international scope. Its mission is to protect and preserve the culture, traditions, and living heritage of the North American Indians. Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation demonstrates its commitment to this endeavor by: Continuing the progress on the world's largest sculptural undertaking, carving a Memorial of Lakota leader Crazy Horse riding his steed out of the granite of the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota proclaiming, "My lands are where my dead lie buried";

Providing educational and cultural programming to encourage harmony and reconciliation among all people and nations;

Acting as repository for Native American art and artifacts through the Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Educational and Cultural Center.

Establishing and offering academic programming in the Indian University of North America, and when practical, a medical training center. About Toshiba America Business Solutions Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) is a subsidiary of Toshiba TEC Corporation, a global leader in office printing and retail solutions. TABS provides multifunction printers, managed document services and digital signage for businesses of all sizes throughout the United States, Mexico, Central and South America. The company's award-winning e-STUDIO copiers and printers provide quality performance with the security businesses require. Complementing its hardware offering is a full suite of document workflow, capture and security services including Encompass, the company's industry-acclaimed Managed Print Services program. Encompass enables clients to print less and optimize workflow while improving energy efficiency. TABS' Ellumina digital signage offering includes all of the hardware, software and services needed to implement dynamic and interactive digital signage installations. TABS provides content creation and management, displays, integration, installation and project management services as well as financing for solutions ranging for a single screen to the biggest arenas and stadiums. TABS comprises five divisions: the Electronic Imaging Division; the Toner Products Division; the Document Solutions Engineering Division; the International Division; and Toshiba Business Solutions. Follow Toshiba:

Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/ToshibaCopiers

Twitter (News - Alert): @ToshibaMPS

YouTube (News - Alert): youtube.com/toshibacopiers

Blog: business.toshiba.com/blog

RSS Feed: http://business.toshiba.com/rss-news.jsp

Newsroom:

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[September 26, 2016] WISeKey Appoints Bernard Vian as General Manager of VAULT-IC France, the Semiconductor Business Segment Recently Acquired by INSIDE Secure

WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey", SIX: WIHN), a leading cybersecurity company announced today that it has appointed Bernard Vian as General Manager of VAULT-IC France, its IoT semiconductor business segment recently acquired from INSIDE Secure. Mr. Vian brings more than 25 years of experience in the Secure Semiconductor Industry for IoT. Prior to joining WISeKey, he served as Executive Vice President of INSIDE Secure Semiconductor Division (since 2013), following the acquisition of the smart card division of ATMEL by INSIDE Secure. He joined INSIDE Contactless (News - Alert) as Vice President of Business Development in 2002, then a start-up pioneer company in the NFC technology, where he helped positioned the company as a leader of NFC payment chip supplier in the US. Mr. Vian started his career at Gemplus (now Gemalto (News - Alert)), where he held multiple positions in sales and marketing. During his carrier at Gemplus, he revolutionized the company's business to introduce the 1st EMV Payment Smart Card program - the 'VISA Smart Breakthrough Program' in the United States and established Gemplus' San Francisco office in 1996. Carlos Moreira, WISeKey's Founder and CEO noted, "We are thrilled to have Bernhard joining our team. His tremendous expertise and insight will be highly valuable as we integrate the Vault-IC semiconductor business with WISeKey's unique Root of Trust and Identity technology and create the first ever comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT). At WISeKey, Bernard will continue to lead the VAULT-IC team of 70 people and manage a business segment which is expected to generate approximately (pro fora unaudited) US$34 million revenue for full year 2016. He will be playing a key role in WISeKey's long-term growth strategy."



Bernard Vian added, "I'm excited to join WISeKey organization and help Carlos in executing his vision of making WISeKey a global leader in the Cybersecurity and IoT markets. I will be coordinating with WISeKey's bright and talented team of designers, engineers and programmers to executive this vision. It is wonderful to be part of such a great team dedicated to technology driven innovation and excellence." About WISeKey

WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey", SIX: WIHN) is a leading cybersecurity company and selected as a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company. WISeKey is currently deploying large scale Internet of Things ("IoT") digital identity ecosystems and has become a pioneer of the 4th Industrial Revolution (News - Alert) movement launched this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. WISeKey's Swiss based Cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com. Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160925005054/en/

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[September 26, 2016] Infosys Announces the Winners of Infy Maker Awards in India

BANGALORE, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services, today announced the winners of the first Infy Maker Awards, India. The Infy Maker Awards are testimony to Infosys' commitment to encourage the concept of 'Making' in India, acknowledging those individuals that have an interesting or innovative solution for real-world issues or a knack for leveraging technology to make things easier. These Awards were initially launched in the U.S. by the Infosys Foundation USA in June 2015 in support of President Obama's Nation of Makers initiative. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 ) Mr. Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys said, "The Infy Maker Awards in India aim to recognize some of the best minds, and unleash the power of creativity and imagination of the next generation of thinkers. We believe that these awards will ignite the spirit of 'making' in India and celebrate excellence in innovation. Through these awards, we aim to inculcate and foster an ecosystem of forward-thinking makers. Infosys intends to steadily empower and reward such makers in India across communities and organizations." Congratulating the winners on their achievement, Vandana Sikka, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation USA said, "The Infy Maker Awards program celebrates the spirit of making that is innate to all of us. These awards seek to recognize and reward the creative excellence of makers throughout India whose ideas and solutions have the potential to address the various challenges facing our world today. We believe that this initiative will spark thinking, ignite curiosity and fuel the spirit of innovation across the maker community in India. Building on the success of this awards program in the U.S., the Infy Maker Awards program in India is a reaffirmation of our commitment to contribute significantly to the larger global community and inspire the next generation of makers. The future is, and has always been, shaped by those who make." In the first Indian edition, 20 winners were selected from more than 280 entries and more than 2,500 registrations. The winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges representing technology, academia and the business community. The jury, comprising Ms. Kiran Mazumder Shaw, Chairperson & Managing Director, Biocon; Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, Author; Mr. Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Aarin Capital Partners; and Mr. Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, evaluated and selected the winning entries that were relevant to real-world problems, used technology in an innovative way, displayed originality of ideas and brought forward quality presentations. The Infy Maker Awards India enable the creation of an ecosystem of innovation through 'making', one that will help India contribute more deeply to the larger global community of inventors and entrepreneurs. The 20 winning ideas will be presented an award of INR 5 lakh each, a trophy and a certificate. Highlights: 20 winners were chosen across different categories: Health, Energy, Education, Sound & Music, Social Change Solutions, Robotics, Art & Design, Artificial Intelligence, Electronics among others

Here is a list of the winners of the first edition of the Infy Maker Awards, India : Social Change Solutions: ASSISTYOU - Communicative glove solution for hearing impaired people to communicate - Sourabh Alagundagi, Sandeep Patil and Shreya Gudasalamani Regenerative brakes for cycle rickshaw to make pedaling easier and safer - Sanjeev Arjun Gaur Multi-functional elevator to move in a vertical and horizontal direction - Vuppari Kalyani RASS device to ensure safety and communication amongst linemen - Ilampothigai K., Vignesh V., Anand Gopi and Ibrahim Ahmed Hassan Awad Maritime border warning system for fishermen - AravindS., Balaji V. and Aravind G. Selfiee Innovators - Public over-dump limiter sensor to track garbage levels - Arun Kumar S . and VishnuPriya S. Invisible bus bay to ease parking in overcrowded areas - Chetan Prasad Shour - The smarter way to shower by conserving water - Aakash Goel TycheeJuno - BPPC technology to self-track and cure punctures - Sameer Panda , Dr. K.N. Panda , Smritiparna Satpathy and Jayant Pradhan





Health: Heartbeat monitoring system using light-fidelity (Li-Fi) - Deepika Giri , V. Krishna Kumar , Kavitha Sowndararajan and L. Jamuna Clinic-in-box for pregnant rural women who do not have access to healthcare facilities - Shantanu Pathak and Aditya Kulkarni Arduous therapist for stroke patients for physiotherapy needs - C. Cornelius Durai , T. David Thevaram and S. Sairam VTALK solution for autistic people to help them communicate - Abhinav Shekhar Vashistha SitAby - a posture proctor to alert wrong posture at work - Dr. Lovi Raj Gupta , Kunal Panchal , Yerra Prasanthi, Satish Reddy and Vishakha Choudhary FIZIO to ensure that physiotherapy is on the right track - Veerpal Sharma , Divyanshu Varshney and Roopam Sharma

Energy: Low cost wind turbine - Krishnanand Venkatasubramanian and Senthilvel S.



Artificial Intelligence: Human safety system for two wheeler vehicles - Kannabiran S., Gokul Srinath V . and Boobalan B.

Electronics: Weather proof liquid level switch and indicator to prevent water overflow- Nagarjuna Paturi

Others: Fermedicius - Solution to figure out if irrigation is required for a particular land and control mechanism for water supply from a tubewell - Subhajit Biswas , Nithin Raju D . and Nitesh Kumar Walking stick for visually Impaired - Abhishek Matlotia



About Infosys Ltd. Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 190,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake. Visit https://www.infosys.com/to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that the date of this press release is September 26, 2016, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law. ANNEXURE - WINNERS LIST Team Team Members Names/Inventions Category Link to the video 1. Sourabh ASSISTYOU Alagundagi 2. Sandeep Patil Communicative Glove solution for hearing Social 3. Shreya impaired people Change Gudasalamani to communicate Solutions https://youtu.be/J-ILkXQFFHg Regenerative brakes for cycle rickshaw to make 1. Sanjeev Arjun pedaling easier Gaur and safer https://youtu.be/R9Z6c7OhqUU Multi-Functional Elevator to move in a vertical 1. Vuppari and horizontal Kalyani direction https://youtu.be/pwVi6w_XUAE 1. Ilampothigai K. 2. Vignesh V. 3. Anand Gopi RASS device to ensure safety and 4. Ibrahim Ahmed communication Hassan Awad amongst linemen https://youtu.be/IWbSq92G-Jc 1. Aravind S. 2. Balaji V. Maritime Border Warning System 3. Aravind G. for fisherman https://youtu.be/EAI8O0WVS3c Selfiee Innovators 1. Vishnupriya S. Public Over Dump Limiter sensor to trigger 2. Arun Kumar S. garbage levels https://youtu.be/gS28Fa1rEfQ Invisible Bus Bay to ease parking in overcrowded 1. Chetan Prasad areas https://youtu.be/NEe-AJsNC5c Shour The Smarter Way to Shower by 1. Aakash Goel conserving water https://youtu.be/T2qgwiLnDiE 1. Sameer Panda 2. Smritiparna Satpathy 3. Jayant Pradhan TycheeJuno's https://youtu.be/BzeLGY6JdaI BPPC Technology to self-track 4. Dr. K.N. and cure Panda punctures

Team Names/Invention Team Members s Category Link to the video 1. Deepika Giri 2. V. Krishna Kumar 3. Kavitha Sowndararajan Heart Beat https://youtu.be/ZneQDYSqf2Q Monitoring System Using Light-Fidelity 4. L. Jamuna (Li-Fi) Health 1. Shantanu Clinic-In-Box Pathak for pregnant rural women who do not have access to 2. Aditya healthcare Kulkarni facilities https://youtu.be/RY41S8OuPdM 1. C. Cornelius Durai 2. T. David Thevaram Arduous Therapist for stroke patients for 3. S. Sairam physiotherapy https://youtu.be/NfBang6KOM8 VTALK solution https://youtu.be/DbeeO7pA_BI for the 1. Abhinav Autistic people Shekhar to help them Vashistha communicate 1. Dr. Lovi Raj Gupta 2. Kunal Panchal 3. Yerra Prasanthi SitAby 4. Satish Reddy The posture proctor to alert wrong 5. Vishakha posture at Choudhary work. https://youtu.be/K3FDQ9M-jX0 1. Veerpal Sharma 2. Divyanshu Varshney FIZIO to ensure that physiotherapy is on the right 3. Roopam Sharma track https://youtu.be/oVBQ_nsgMZA 1. Krishnanand Venkatasubramani an Low cost wind 2. Senthilvel S. turbine Energy https://youtu.be/PA1zf1YET04 Weather Proof Liquid Level Switch and Indicator to 1. Nagarjuna prevent water Paturi overflow Electronics https://youtu.be/qYka4fH5IgI 1. Kannabiran S. 2. Gokul Srinath V. Human safety Artificial system for Intelligenc 3. Boobalan B. bikes e: Fermedicius Infymaker 1. Nitesh Kumar Awards Application Video to figure out if 2. Subhajit irrigation is Biswas required for a particular land and controls the water 3. Nithin Raju supply from the D. tube well Others https://youtu.be/k6Wx-PVvJ2s Walking Stick 1. Abhishek For Visually Matlotia Impaired https://youtu.be/0tDGakY5pyw

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[September 26, 2016] Seven Finalists Selected for the Inaugural Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award

BANGALORE, India, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Telstra today announced seven finalists for the inaugural Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award, recognising outstanding business leaders from Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Cynthia Whelan, Telstra's Group Executive of International and New Businesses, said Telstra was thrilled at the interest the Award had generated among successful business women across Asia and was proud to be shining a light on a group of inspiring leaders. "Introducing the Telstra Business Women's Awards in Asia is an opportunity for us to celebrate women living and working in Asia who have succeeded in their own businesses or led their industries. This is an important part of overcoming the fact women continue to be under-represented on Boards and executive teams in Asia and around the world," said Ms Whelan. "Our finalists are successful business women who possess impressive entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen, integrity and a commitment to the community. Among the finalists we have leaders from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures, from developed and developing countries, and from established companies like Thomson Reuters and Linfox to new technology businesses like Bubu in Indonesia and iGene in Malaysia." Finalists for the 2016 Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award are:







Name Company Location Anu Sheela Themudu iGene Sdn. Bhd. Malaysia Beth Lui APEC Schools The Philippines Gabrielle Costigan Linfox International Group Pty Ltd Thailand Kimberley Cole Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Marion Fromm Cambodian Harvest Dried Fruit Co., Ltd Cambodia Rituparna Chakraborty TeamLease Services Ltd India Shinta Witoyo Dhanuwardoyo Bubu.com Indonesia

The finalists for the Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award will join the 2016 Australian State/Territory winners in Melbourne for judging on Tuesday 15 November, followed by the National Workshop on Wednesday 16 November and a Gala Dinner on the same night. For more information on the Telstra Business Woman in Asia Award and to nominate brilliant business women for the 2017 Awards, visit https://www.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com/ Media contact: Charlene Leung / +852-6131-9387

Email: [email protected] About Telstra Telstra is a leading telecommunications and information services company. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets in Australia, operating the largest mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Globally, we provide end-to-end solutions including managed network services, global connectivity, cloud, voice, colocation, conferencing and satellite solutions. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the United States and offer access to more than 2,000 points of presence across the globe. For more information visit www.telstra.com. Finalist's bio Rituparna Chakraborty

India Rituparna Chakraborty is a co-founder of TeamLease Services Ltd. Established in 2002, TeamLease is one of India's leading providers of human resource services, with a vision of 'Putting India to Work' by enabling young workers to have a formal job, providing them with secure wages, social security and healthcare. As Executive Vice-President, Rituparna is responsible for managing the temporary staffing division, as well as India's first Public Private Partnership (PPP) apprenticeship program, National Employability Through Apprenticeship Program (NETAP). With an MBA in sales and marketing, she has been instrumental in growing the business through innovative sales and marketing, as well as the implementation of sophisticated web and mobile-based technology workflow, enabling scale and significant productivity gains for customers and staff. Today, the company employs more than 1,000 full time staff across its eight regional offices, and currently has 115,000 temporary staff and 15,000 apprentices on its books. To date, TeamLease has provided employment to approximately 1.6 million people.

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[September 26, 2016]

Vectrus awarded prime seat on Navy's Global Contingency Services Multiple Award Contract

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vectrus Systems Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vectrus, Inc. (NYSE: VEC), has been awarded one of five positions on the U.S. Navy's Global Contingency Services (GCS) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) II. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract was awarded by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific in Hawaii, and has an expected completion date of September 2024.

"Vectrus has broad experience and a long history of providing for the needs of our customers in the most challenging environments in the world," said Ken Hunzeker, chief executive officer and president at Vectrus. "Winning this position will allow Vectrus to apply that experience in support of the Navy's most challenging short-term contingency missions under the GCS MAC II."

Work on the contract will include short notice facility support services and incidental construction in support of natural disasters, military efforts, and humanitarian support for the Defense Department and other customers around the world.

"This is the second long-term IDIQ in support of global contingency efforts that we have been awarded, the first was the prime seaton a similar Air Force IDIQ in June 2015," said Matt Klein, chief financial officer at Vectrus. "Since this is a contingency-based contract, we recognize that opportunities will be based on world events, but we are very pleased to be part of the effort and able to propose effective and affordable support while developing and strengthening our relationship with the Navy."







About Vectrus

Vectrus is a leading, global government services company with a history in the services market that dates back more than 70 years. The company provides infrastructure asset management, information technology and network communication services, and logistics and supply chain management services to U.S. government customers around the world. Vectrus is differentiated by operational excellence, superior program performance, a history of long-term customer relationships, and a strong commitment to their mission success. Vectrus is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and includes about 6,000 employees spanning 132 locations in 18 countries. In 2015, Vectrus generated sales of $1.2 billion. For more information, visit our website at www.vectrus.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Contacts:

Media

George Rhynedance

(719) 637-4182

[email protected]

Investors

Mike Smith

(719) 637-5773

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160621/382112LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vectrus-awarded-prime-seat-on-navys-global-contingency-services-multiple-award-contract-300333592.html

SOURCE Vectrus
[September 26, 2016] Laminated Busbar Market Worth 955.6 Million USD by 2021

PUNE, India, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Laminated Busbar Market by Insulation (Epoxy Powder Coating, Kapton, Mylar, Nomex, Tedlar, and Teonex), End User (Power Electronics, Alternative Energy, Transportation, Telecom, Datacenters, A&D, Industrial), and Region - Global forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 723.6 Million in 2016 to USD 955.6 Million by 2021, registering a CAGR of 5.72% from 2016 to 2021. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 65 market data Tables and 42 Figures spread through 136 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Laminated Busbar Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/laminated-busbar-market-211931233.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The global market is witnessing significant growth due to development of smart cities, increase in the contribution of renewable energy sources to the global power generation mix, and increasing awareness about energy efficiency and saving. Epoxy Powder Coating segment is expected to hold the largest share of the laminated busbar market, by insulation material, during the forecast period The epoxy powder coating segment led the overall Laminated Busbar Market in 2015, owing to the increasing demand for busbars across the globe. Epoxy powder coating also costs relatively less in comparison with other types of insulation, which makes them increasingly favoured by the end-use industries, and as a result, the market for this insulation type is the largest. However, the tedlar insulation material sub segment is expected to register a higher growth rate during the forecast period. Make an Inquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=211931233 Alternative energy to be the fastest growing segment in the global laminated busbar market Th alternative energy sector is expected to be the fastest growing sector in the global Laminated Busbar Market during the forecast period. Power generation through alternative energy requires the creation of DC feeds through a low inductance laminated busbar into an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and capacitor circuit, delivering safe and efficient power which means there would be high demand for laminated busbars in this sector.



Europe: The leading market for laminated busbar In this report, the Laminated Busbar Market has been analysed with respect to five regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. Europe is expected to dominate the global laminated busbar market, given the increasing utilization of steel in various industries such as mechanical, shipbuilding, automotive, appliances, packaging, construction, and transportation.

To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes profiles of some of the leading players in the laminated busbar market. These players include Amphenol Corporation (U.S.), Idealec SAS (France), Methode Electronics, Inc. (U.S.), Mersen S.A. (France), Rogers Corporation (U.S.), and Sun.King Power Electronics Group Limited (China). Leading players are trying to penetrate the markets in developing economies and are adopting various strategies to increase their market share. Related Reports: Busbar Trunking Market by Power (Lighting, Low, Medium, & High), by Conductor (Copper & Aluminium), by Insulation, by End-User (Industrial, Commercial, Residential, Wind & Solar, Public Infrastructure and Transportation) - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/busbar-trunking-market-267448154.html Busbar Market by Power Rating (Low, Medium, and High), End User (Utilities, Industrial, Residential, and Others), & by Region (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa) - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/busbar-market-181939364.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact:

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[September 26, 2016]

Media Advisory - Bell and MTS to make exciting announcement supporting technology innovation in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Sept. 26, 2016 /CNW/ - MTS, Bell and North Forge Technology Exchange will be joined by Premier Brian Pallister and Mayor Brian Bowman to announce important new support for innovation and growth in Manitoba's digital economy.









When: Tuesday, September 27, 2016

2:00 p.m. CDT



Where: Adelaide Street (between McDermot and Bannatyne)



Who: Premier Brian Pallister (Province of MB)

Mayor Brian Bowman (City of Winnipeg)

Jeff Ryzner (President  North Forge Technology Exchange)

George Cope (President and CEO  BCE Inc. and Bell Canada)

Jay Forbes (President and CEO  MTS)



Local businesses and tech startups will also be in attendance, including Assent Works, CEO Crawl, Eureka Project, ICTAM, Meet Up Winnipeg, New Media Manitoba, Ramp Up Manitoba, Ramp Up Winnipeg, Red River Tech Students and TedX Winnipeg.

A block party will follow the formal announcement and conclude at 7:00 p.m. CDT.

Event photos can be requested at [email protected].

SOURCE MTS
Briggs: Elkharts RV workers are only essential until a recession

RV sales are great for job security in Elkhart, yet horrible for human bodies.
With two EPs under their belt, NSW outfit The Tambourine Girls have are announcing their self-titled debut album is on the way, and have released a lyric video for new single Cupo to celebrate.

Theres a huge 70s influence at work here, and of course a dash of tambourine, but the warmth and reverb belie less happy themes, as frontman Simon Relf examines what life would be like for him had he grown up in Iraq, rather than Australia.

Cupo was recorded with Tim Whitten (Powderfinger, The Go- Betweens, Hoodoo Gurus and Augie March), and follows on from fellow album track Police, which has racked up a huge amount of plays. Everything weve heard so far promises a lot from the upcoming record, described as a mix of folk, rock, psychedelia and Britpop.

The Tambourine Girls wasnt very rehearsed at all because I wanted to catch the feeling of the band discovering the music, says frontman Simon Relf of the upcoming release. Theres one track on the album which was done in only one take, and it was actually the first time wed ever played it as a band.

Its exciting to be able to do that, and its great that we have an unwritten understanding as a band to deliver under that kind of self-imposed creative pressure.

Having supported the likes of The Preatures, Dustin Tebbutt, Holy Holy and Megan Washington since the release of their debut EP, were looking forward to seeing what these guys can do when they drop The Tambourine Girls EP on Friday November 4.
Remember back in June when the Aussie Gig of the Century went down and you missed it and felt really bad about it? Yeah, were about to make you feel like that again, because Dune Rats have revealed they played a secret show with buzz magnet Alex Lahey the other night.

Ahead of Laheys appearance at Sounds of the Suburbs festival, Dune Rats took to their official Facebook page to share a photo of the typical Dunies revelry and to give some props to MEGA LEGEND Lahey.

Lahey, a triple j Unearthed prize winner and the recipient of the Josh Pyke partnership and mentorship, recently made headlines after she hit back at media outlets who constantly compare her to fellow Aussie muso Courtney Barnett as sexist and lazy.

Im a huge fan of Courtney I think shes one of the best songwriters in the world, she said. Im humbled to be compared to that. But I dont think that its accurate, especially from a musical perspective, we play very different types of music.

Meanwhile, its been a big 12 months for the Dunies boys. Taking to Facebook recently, they revealed that theyve signed a big-time publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music, which is set to net them a nice bundle of cash.

Meanwhile, theres no date yet for when we can expect the new Dunies record, but triple js 2016 Aussie Release Schedule claims the release will be an EP which will drop some time before the end of the year.

The EP was recorded with FIDLAR frontman Zac Carper, whom the band met when they toured North America together. Carper was behind the mixing board for the Dunies last single, Bulls**t.

The band recently took to Instagram to proclaim that their new record is finished and sick, having previously revealed that theyd been busy writing with DZ Deathrays, with whom they are set to tour North America and Europe.

Alex Lahey National Tour Dates

Friday, 30th September 2016

Brighton Up Bar, SYDNEY

Saturday, 1st October 2016

Sad Grrls Festival, Melbourne

Thursday, 6th October 2016

Karova Lounge, Ballarat

Friday, 7th October 2016

Sooki Lounge, Belgrave

Saturday, 8th October 2016

Birregurra Festival & Art Show, Bireegurra

Saturday, 8th October 2016

The Gasometer, Melbourne
Violent Soho are the latest Aussie band to have their very own beer and they couldnt be happier. A milestone in the career of any band, Mansfields favourite sons will be celebrating their new Stone & Wood collaboration with a string of national launch parties.

The East Coast Crusher, as its called, is only Sohos most recent dalliance with Stone & Wood, having previously featured the beloved Australian brew in their music video for Dope Calypso. After the Stone & Wood crew reached out to show their gratitude, a relationship was born.

Sohos own brew is an Aussie unfiltered Kolsch thats been dry hopped with Ella and Victorias Secret. Its whats known as a Pilot Batch, which means its an experimental, rare, and limited edition brew which until now, has never existed (sort of like a TV pilot).

Working with good, like-minded people from our community to brew good beer is what were about. The Violent Soho boys are our biggest fans and so we were stoked for them to be able to brew their own beer with us, Stone & Wood say.

People get to do collaborations with companies all the time but very rarely do you get to collaborate with the best in the industry. We feel like the luckiest dudes in the world that we got to hand craft our own beer with Stone & Wood in the Byron Bay Brewery, Soho add.

We cannot wait for everybody to try our East Coast Crusher. Youll have a chance to sample the East Coast Crusher for yourself during the bands launch parties, which will kick off next month just ahead of Sohos massive tour with The Bronx.

The first 50 people to show their ticket receipt for the October/November tour at one of the launch parties (check below for dates) will get their first taste courtesy of Violent Soho. Meanwhile, the East Coast Crusher will be available for a limited time via the Stone & Wood website later this month.

Violent Soho East Coast Crusher Beer Launch Parties

Thursday, 13th October 2016

Bank Street Social, Adelaide

Thursday, 13th October 2016

Crowbar, Brisbane

Thursday, 13th October 2016

Flyrite, Perth

Thursday, 13th October 2016

Lord Gladstone, Sydney

Thursday, 13th October 2016

Yellow Bird, Melbourne

**Free Entry  6pm Onwards  18+ only

**Exclusive first taste of Violent Soho x Stone & Wood East Coast Crusher

**Ticket + Merch Giveaways on the night
Footage has emerged of security at the Perth instalment of Listen Out, which took place at HBF Arena in Jonndalup over the weekend, struggling to contain swarms of fence jumpers who rushed the festivals perimeter fence and gatecrashed the event.

As Tone Deaf reported this morning, police attended the venue after gatecrashers overwhelmed security and three people were reportedly arrested following altercations with officers. Sadly, its not the first time that Listen Out has been forced to deal with fence-jumpers.

As Tone Deaf reported this time last year  in a repeat of events that ensued the previous year  a number of would-be punters were caught on camera attempting to break through a wire fence at Perths Ozone Reserve.

As footage at the time showed, after breaking through a wire fence, the gatecrashers were forced to run back and scramble when they hit a second fence, right as a car of police officers arrived.

In 2014, a 29-year-old security guard was left with a ruptured spleen and suffered internal bleeding after he was trampled over by a horde of gatecrashers who rushed the fence during the Sydney leg of Listen Out.
Weekend Shooting at KCKCC Student Housing

Dear Colleagues:





There is news that must be shared with you. I waited until information regarding the victim was available.





On Saturday morning, September 24th, at approximately 9:40AM, a 911 call was placed referencing shots fired at 7300 State Avenue, KC, KS, Building 800 (KCKCC Student Housing Complex). KCK Police and KCKCC Police arrived at the scene to find one male victim and one male suspect. The suspect was immediately apprehended. The victim and suspect were both transported to a local hospital. There were no other individuals involved or injured in this incident





KCKCC administrators arrived immediately, organized counseling sessions, and invited students who live in student housing to join us in Lower Level Jewell. The students came, talked with a counselor and expressed their concerns. The latest information is that the victim came out of surgery yesterday afternoon and remains in stable condition.





Our heartfelt prayers are with our student victim of this tragic shooting and his family who are with him. We are hopeful for a complete recovery. All questions should be directed to Dr. Delfina Wilson, Dean, Student Services.





Doris Givens, PhD

President

Amid a violent weekend . . . This report offers more detail and a teaching moment for local college students as Kansas City area violence continues to impact every social strata . . .There was shooting on the KCKCC campus Saturday morning. Below is an e-mail to that KCKCC President Givens sent out to the campus regarding a shooting that appears to happen in one of the KCKCC student housing building.Thebut does not mention that it happened on KCKCC campus. I have not see a story about this in the other news outlet yet . . .#######################
CHECK CONGRESSMAN CLEAVER SHOUT OUT TO KCPD AND ITS LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP IN PREVENTING CIVIC UNREST AT HOME!!!

A myriad of debate and fighting over the past few days has captured the attention of partisans and kickstarted the ongoing culture war. In the midst of so much debate, Congressman Cleaver sends a shout out to the KCPD in a way that's much more meaningful than rallying around an embattled police Chief.This one almost got lost amid a busy weekend but it's worth revisiting . . .Start of the. . .Credit not just to the current Chief but leadership. . .. . .In the coming weeks and month we expect more challenges to local law enforcement via social media and beyond but for right now this statement is important and signifies that KCMO elected leaders realize that the work to protect this town is important.Developing . . .
The Greek Ministry of Culture congratulated the new board of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles

The Greek Ministry of Culture congratulated the new board of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, elected during a meeting of all the national committees on Monday.

The new board consists of Louis Godart, President (Italy), Anna Marangou, Vice President (Cyprus), Paul Cartledge, Vice President (United Kingdom), Matthew Taylor, Vice President (Canada), George Vardas, Secretary (Australia) and Andrew George, Treasurer (United Kingdom).

Godart, beyond his role as an advisor of the Italian President on Cultural issues, is a renowned researcher of Egyptian archaeology, while he has specialized in issues of the Linear A and B.

As a friend and supporter of Greece, we believe he [Godart] will be essential in intensifying efforts for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. We wish the new board every success to and assure them that both the Ministry of Culture and Sport, and the Special Advisory Commission on the return of the Parthenon Marbles will be on their side and always assist their work, the ministry said in a press release.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has arrived in London, following a trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has arrived in London, following a trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly where he held meetings with world leaders, members of the UN Security Council, and the UN Secretary General regarding the ongoing negotiations for the Cyprus problem.

The President, an announcement said on Monday, will remain in London for two days, and is set to meet with UK Prime Minister Theresa May and other British officials.

Specifically, President Anastasiades will meet with Ms May on Tuesday, after first meeting with the UK Archbishop Gregorios.

On Monday night, the President will be welcomed at a dinner held in his honour by the head and the Secretariat of the UK Cypriot Federation.

President Anastasiades will head to Paris on Wednesday to have a meeting with French President Francois Hollande in the morning.

The President has been accompanied by the government spokesperson Nikos Christodoulides, the Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, and other delegates.

He and his team are set to return to Cyprus in the evening on September 28.

On Sunday evening President Anastasiades said that he was 'completely satisfied' with his meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.

The UNSG's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, previously told CNA that it is important both leaders do not let the opportunity to solve the Cyprus problem slip by.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Twelve private Greek islands and two large coastal areas are on sale on the privateislandsonline.com site

Twelve private Greek islands and two large coastal areas are on sale on the privateislandsonline.com site for prices that range from 2,9 to 40 million euros.

Several of them have been on sale for several years now since potential buyers seem to be worried about various beauraucratic restrictions regarding their use and development as experience has shown.

The list of private Greek islands on sale includes:

ISLAND OF PATROKLOS

A culturally and historically rich 643 acre Greek isle close to Athens, Patroklos has been coveted by investors for years.

STROGGILO ISLAND

The island of Stroggilo is a 54-acre island located near the popular island of Marathos, in the Aegean Sea.

NISSOS SOFIA

Named Nissos Sofia and part of the Echinades complex, the small island is a green paradise of protected natural environment.

NISSOS MAKRI

This private island in the center of the Ionian Sea is one of the southern Echinades, called the Ouniades or Oxeiae, in the Ionian Islands group.

KYTHNOS ISLAND PARCEL

Kythnos Island is located west of Cyclades and is surrounded by the Aegean Sea and just an hour from Athens by boat. Blue water and clean yellow sand surround the entire island.

NORTHERN AEGEAN ISLAND

Private island in the Aegean Sea, located approximately 30 minutes from Athens by speed boat.

DULICHIUM ISLAND

Dulichium is located in the Ionian Sea near the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth and is part of the Echinades Islands.

KARDIOTISSA ISLAND

This large property in the heart of the Aegean Sea could easily be transformed into Greece's newest resort hotspot in the Folegandros and Sikinos island chain.

KATO ANTIKERI ISLAND

Kato Antikeri is a 272 acre island that is perfectly suited as a private retreat, dive resort or as a clean energy facility.

TRAGONISI ISLAND

Ideal for a luxurious personal retreat, Tragonisi has an excellent location close to the sophisticated city of Athens.

LIHNARI PENINSULA

Prime for a luxurious resort or residential development, this gorgeous peninsula reaches deep into the sparkling Mediteranean Sea.

VOUVALOS ISLAND

Swim with the dolphins off of this gorgeous isle, in a gulf surrounded by majestic views of mountainous Western Greece.

ST. THOMAS

A stunning large Grecian isle in the Diapori chain, located conveniently close to Athens and Corinth.

ST. JOHN'S ISLAND

Set amid the ancient mountains of the Peloponnese, this sun-swept isle is attractively close to civilization at a mere 2h drive from Athens.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Cyprus and Bulgaria discuss the possibility of further cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons and renewable energy sources

The first meeting of the technical group that was set up between Cyprus and Bulgaria to discuss the possibility of further cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons and renewable energy sources convened on Monday, it was announced by the Energy Ministers of the two countries, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and emenuzhka Petkova.

In remarks after a meeting the two Ministers held in Nicosia, Lakkotrypis welcomed his Bulgarian counterpart and said it was the continuation of the President of the Republics visit to Bulgaria earlier this year when it was agreed to form technical groups to examine the possibility of promoting cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons and renewable energy sources.

Lakkotrypis said he exchanged views with Petkova on the prospects of energy sources in Eastern Mediterranean and the possibility that these will form a new energy corridor from Greece, Bulgaria and from there on to mainland Europe.

The Minister said they agreed that Cyprus will be informed on the results of the technical committees regarding the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System (INGS) project and the Interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria to see the possibilities to cooperate in the field of natural gas in Eastern Mediterranean

Renewable energy sources

They also touched upon the renewable energy sources issue and energy efficiency building, the prospects created for green energy and the challenges both sides face in this field.

We look forward to closer cooperation for the common good of the two countries, he added.

In her remarks, Petkova said the two countries boast excellent relations and this excellent relationship was reconfirmed after President Anastasiades visited Bulgaria this year. During the visit, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two ministries was signed and it is an excellent basis and ground for cooperation in the energy sector, she said.

Speaking through an interpreter, Petkova said she was very satisfied with the mechanism to implement the contents of the memorandum, namely by creating the Joint Working Group. Today the JWG will have its first session and during our meeting today we had the opportunity to discuss current energy issues, she added.

Petkova informed Lakkotrypis on the progress of the Interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria as well as the desire and intention of the Bulgarian government to take part in the creation of the Alexandroupolis LNG, noting these two projects are extremely important not only for Bulgaria but for the entire south-east European region.

Natural gas issues

She presented to Lakkotrypis her countrys concept of creating a gas pipe on the territory of Bulgaria and the possibility on the side of Cyprus to have a new source for this hub, namely Cyprus.

The Bulgarian minister said they discussed renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures as well as the conditions that one needs to fulfil in terms of EU policy.

I believe that our successful cooperation will continue in the future, she concluded.

Replying to a question about natural gas issues, the Energy Minister said that preparations are underway for extraction at the existing licensed fields but there are also discussions on the new round of licensing. A lot, he added, will depend on the results of the third licensing round which we hope will be completed early next year.

Source: CNA

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
the OECD is thoroughly thinking about how to develop careers and the image of jobs. But also about training in tourism,

in general, in tourism, jobs have less added value than in other sectors,

also green innovation with the sustainability of companies for instance, and creativity with cuisine in France, among others,

the government must reinforce its support of innovation.

Unfortunately, on this point, tourism is not often considered like a sector of the future,

France must also betterOn this topic,states the manager of the OECD tourism committee.This is an essential question becausehe notes.As for theBut not only technological,explains Alain Dupeyras.He believes thatTourism needs it to launch new equipments, bring old equipments to the current norms and improve the quality of its services.laments the OECD manager.The presidential election, with the take-off of its campaign, may be the opportunity to shake things up.
The Reunion Island is always intense with its Miss France committee that is coming back this year with the contenders waiting to succeed Iris, the current Miss France.But besides the event, the destination is on a roll.While the rate of tourist arrivals remained identical as in 2015 over the first 8 months of 2016, with nearly 200,000 passengers, according to Willy Etheve, Director of the Tourism Office,Visitors from Metropolitan France made up 82% of visitors five years ago but the diversification efforts of the markets are bearing fruit. The island is aiming at developing the Chinese, South African and Indian markets.Insofar, the metropole remains important in terms of tourist arrivals.Proof: around forty Reunion professionals traveled to introduce their products at the IFTM Top Resa. And the comeback of the Intense Island logo makes us want to experience it ourselves!
Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, has secured substantial contracts in connection with the development of the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan during 2016.



The two contract wins announced in the second and third quarter together represent revenue of more than S$500 million. The two contracts bring Topazs backlog to approximately $1.6 billion.



Under the terms of the main contract awarded by Tengizchevroil (TCO) to a consortium comprising Topaz and Blue Water Shipping A/S, Topaz will commission the construction of 15 Module Carrying Vessels (MCVs). The vessels will be owned and operated by Topaz and will commence work in Q2 2018 for a minimum contract period of three years. Topaz has also been appointed the technical managers of three additional MCVs by a consortium comprising Blue Water Shipping A/S and Kazmortransflot (KMTF).



Rene Kofod-Olsen, chief executive officer, Topaz Energy and Marine, said, We are honoured to have been entrusted to run vessel operations for this crucial project. The two recent project awards have added tremendously to Topazs backlog and therefore improved our earnings visibility and credit strength in these challenging times for the OSV industry.



The Tengiz oilfield is operated by Tengizchevroil LLP; a Kazakh partnership that explores, develops, produces and markets crude oil, LPG, dry gas and sulfur. Current partners are: Chevron, 50 per cent; KazMunaiGas NC JSC, 20 per cent; ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., 25 percent and LukArco, 5 per cent.  TradeArabia News Service
Industry thought leaders will converge in Bahrain from today (September 26) to discuss the sector outlook and review technological advancements at the largest gathering of downstream oil and gas professionals in the Middle East.



The 10th Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Conference and Exhibition (Middle East Petrotech 2016) is expected to attract over 3,500 attendees over four days who will utilise the event to initiate new business, learn, benchmark and network with associates from across the globe.



Held under the theme Teaming Up for Excellence: Industry, Government and Education, the event takes place under the patronage of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. It will run till September 29.



Middle East Petrotech is a networking and knowledge sharing opportunity for the international and Middle East downstream sector, which is not only rich in hydrocarbon resources, but also has a large pool of talent and experience and potentially vast opportunities for growth, innovation and investments, said Middle East Petrotech 2016 chairman and president and CEO of Kuwait Petroleum International Bakheet Al-Rashidi.



This year we aim to intersect the realms of education, government and industry to underscore distinctive elements of collaboration that will yield superior industrial development. This will be demonstrated during the conference with examples that reinforce concepts of collaboration, and the sharing of real-life successes in the GCC region. Leaders from industry, key decision makers from the government and academics from top universities will discuss future long term and short term strategies, collaboration on industry and research, government policies to promote investments, educational opportunities and ideas for the implementation of new technology, he continued.



It is imperative to unlock the full potential of collaboration in the pursuit of building prosperity for tomorrow. This has never been as important as now for the Middle East region given structural economic challenges, political uncertainties, increasing competition and the new younger demographic reality, Al-Rashidi added.



The conference has secured an impressive line up of speakers, beginning with a pre-conference forum and the conference opening ceremony today at the Ritz Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa.



The pre-conference forum will discuss the roles of industry, education and government across three sessions. Invited speakers include: Professor Jean M J Frechet, vice president of research, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Dr Jawaher Al-Mudhahki, CEO, the Bahrain National Authority for Qualifications & Quality Assurance of Education and Training; Dr Roy Blatchford, advisor on education reform, Government of Bahrain; Abdulaziz Al Abdulkarim, VP

procurement and supply chain management, Saudi Aramco; Rebecca Liebert, president and CEO, Honeywell UOP; Jean Sentenac, chairman and CEO, Axens; Lord David Howell of Guildford, Former UK Minister of Energy and writer on energy issues; and Dr Ihsan A Bu-Hulaiga, principal consultant, Joatha Business Development Consultants.



The conference opening ceremony will begin with a welcome address from Bahrains Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and the Middle East Petrotech 2016 chairman Bakheet Al-Rashidi.



An executive plenary session will follow under theme The Economic Downturn and Its Effect on the Oil Downstream Industry with addresses from Amin H Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco; and Nizar Al-Adsani, CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.



Over the next three days at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, the conference will feature 63 technical sessions with insights on case studies, best practices and industry advancements across nine distinct tracks: operational excellence, plant reliability and integrity, project challenges, energy management, HSE and risk management, smart plant and technology, market intelligence, catalyst management and people development.



Daily keynote sessions led by presidents and CEOs further examining the roles of government, education and industry will also take place.



New for 2016, a series of Meet the Experts sessions will provide delegates with the opportunity to meet, consult and learn from recognised authorities on 10 key topics. They include: hydrotreating process, instrumentations and analysers, fired heaters, reforming process, process safety, corrosion, hydrocrackers, rotating equipment, steam traps and FCC.



The Middle East Petrotech 2016 exhibition of refining and petrochemicals products and services showcases over 100 companies from 20 countries and runs from September 27  29 at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.  TradeArabia News Service



.


Work is progressing well on the Barakah nuclear power project in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with about 70 per cent of the construction completed at all the four units of the plant, said a report, citing the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec).



The major contract for the four 1,400-MW nuclear power plants was awarded by Enec to a consortium led by the Korean Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), the worlds third largest nuclear energy company.

As per the deal, the consortium will design, build and operate the plants in the UAE. The first unit is expected to start operation next year, while the other three are scheduled for completion by 2020.



Enec chief executive Mohamed Al Hammadi said it was proud of the progress made in the development of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme, according to state news agency Wam.



"All four units are about 70 per cent complete, an amazing achievement, considering that we started construction a mere four years ago," Al Hammadi was quoted as saying in the report.



"Most recently, we installed Unit Threes reactor vessel, completed the construction of the concrete dome for the Unit Two reactor containment building, and are progressing steadily through the testing and commissioning phase at Unit One, where the structural integrity and integrated leak tests were recently completed,'' he added.
Tourism Ireland, CEO, Niall Gibbons made a special visit to Dubai yesterday to open the Emirates Airline and Tourism Ireland Sales Mission at Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, Dubai.



The Sales Mission is part of Tourism Irelands continued efforts to drive tourism from the UAE to the island of Ireland and provides a unique networking opportunity for Irish suppliers and the UAE travel trade community.



With six speakers, five presentations and a networking session followed by a series of one to one sessions with Irish suppliers, the mission was attended by 90 tour operators and included a key note speech from Gerald Lawless, head of Tourism and Hospitality at Dubai Holding. Nine Irish suppliers attended the mission, including DMCs, hotels, retail outlets and attractions. The Sales Mission showcased the island of Irelands filming locations of hit TV series Game of Thrones and blockbuster movie, Star Wars.



Speaking at the event, Gibbons said: The Sales Mission comes at a time when visitor numbers to the island of Ireland from the UAE are increasing significantly. Tourism Ireland estimates that 65,000 visitors travelled to the island of Ireland in 2015, representing an 18 per cent growth in visitor numbers from the previous year. We have every indication that we will continue this success in 2016.



He continued: We have seen an increase in demand from Irish companies to visit the UAE as they continue to focus on developing their offering for this region. The Sales Mission offers a unique opportunity for local travel representatives to learn about specific Ireland products and attractions, and to learn how to promote the destination. For the Irish companies, it offers a chance to learn more about the UAE market and how they can adapt and develop their products for the local traveller. A hugely important factor in growing tourism to Ireland from the UAE has been the availability of direct, convenient and competitive air service to Dublin with Emirates Airline. Emirates has been a great support to us and we look forward to continued cooperation and growth in the coming years.



During his visit to the UAE, Gibbons also met with Mohammed Al Rais, CEO of Al Rais Travels. Tourism Ireland and Al Rais Travel have recently joined together to bring one of the regions top bloggers, Taim Al Falasi, to tour the island.



During the Sales Mission, Al Rais Travel launched a new seven-day itinerary Taims Ireland Experience, allowing fans of the blogger to follow in her footsteps and experience Ireland. As part of the destinations focus on innovation to attract new audiences, Tourism Ireland also invited agents and partners to view a series of Virtual Reality Films during the roadshow which brought stunning itineraries to life including The Wild Atlantic Way and Belfast City through personal VR viewers made available to attendees. - TradeArabia News Service
A Vietnam Tour Packages website showcasing all the destinations plus useful tips and news



(TRAVPR.COM) VIETNAM - September 26th, 2016 - Hanoi, Vietnam 26 Sep 2016: Viet Center Tourist & Event., LTD (www.vietnamtourpedia.com) is a long established tour operator offering tours and holiday packages within Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia & Burma (Myanmar). Announced today the launch of its newly designed high ranking and mobile friendly tour website. This newly designed website offers variety of well planned Vietnam tour packages all with highlghy competetive price per person on a privately guided tour, also, the website offers easy access to essential information and travel tips in order for travelers toplan their vacation with the latest updates on visas, best places to visit, best time to go and the top touring destinations. Said Hamid, Online Marketing manager of Viet Center Tourist & Event.

The website vietnamtourpedia.com has also a comprehensive company news and blog updates to which features the travel blogs for south-east of Asia.

The new website has a very clean design with easy navigation to access all tours and holiday packages, the destination menu navigate to 4 destinations which company offer their best packages such as Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. In addition, the theme menu will help online clients to select and book their tour based on their traveling style, added Hamid, online marketing manager of Viet Center tourist & Event.

Vietnamtourpedia.com will be updated regularly to add and update its best and top selling tour packages, Halong Bay Cruise and as well as day tours. In addition, the website features some of the well displayed photos of each destination to let online clients who are looking for their next vacation to South-East of Asia get more inspired while navigating through the website.

As a tour operator in South-East of Asia Viet center tourist & event has always tried to offer well organized tour packages that allow visitors to travel to must see destinations as well as seeing local lifestyle while traveling through the destinations we offer a tour to, in such my favourite Cambodia tour packages are well organized to let travelers feel the culture, sampling the foods and many more, said, Ms, Tran Hoa, the Sales & Makrting manager.

The foundation and the tour packages displayed on the website are hand crafted based on the market we are targetting, we focus on UK market and offer custom designed tours and holiday options, luxury packages, high-end resorts and hotels as well as well-equipped transportation all in a reasonably prices tours throguh the website VietnamTourPedia.com, said Mr. Pham Huy Thong, CEO & Founder of Viet Center tourist & Event,. LTD

About Viet Center Tourist & Event., LTD

Established in 2008 with aim to provide high quality custom tour packages within Vientam, Cambodia, Laos and Cambodia which latter abonded to Burma ( Myanmar), With more than 8 years of tourism experience, Viet Center Tourist & Event (http://www.vietnamtourpedia.com) is now a tour operator with more than +35 qualified and expert desintaion advisor that are ready to offer services both for online client as well as TA and TO from all around the globe.

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Two more Russian cosmonauts chose Anemos Luxury Grand Resort for the recuperation program



(TRAVPR.COM) GREECE - September 26th, 2016 - After the successful visit of the famous Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, two more Russian cosmonauts are expected to visit Anemos Luxury Grand Resort in Georgioupolis of Chania in the upcoming days. They consider Crete their second home that is the reason they choose this destination for the physical rehabilitation.

Mr Alexey Ovchinin and Mr Oleg Kripochka are expected to visit Anemos Luxury Grand Resort at the end of September. They will visit Crete in order to follow an intensive program of physical rehabilitation after their visit to space. They stayed at the space station Soyuz TMA- 20M for 172.

As Yuri Malenchenko and his medical team mentioned after their visit, Crete is considered the ideal destination for relaxation, physical and mental recuperation. All these benefits for the human body are significantly important that is why Crete is considered one of the best destinations for cosmonauts.

Anemos Luxury Grand Resort

Anemos Luxury Grand Resort is a brand new 5-star luxury hotel in Georgioupolis of Chania in the north-western part of Crete. It is only 36 km away from the city of Chania and 19 km away from the city of Rethymnon. It offers a magnificent view of Lefka Ori and overlooks the Cretan Sea.

Contact Details:

Giorgos Shinarakis, General Manager

Tel.: +30,28250-62550, F: +30,28250-62555,

Web: www.anemosresort.gr E-mail: info@anemosresort.gr

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Malaysia Airlines Press Release



(TRAVPR.COM) UK - September 26th, 2016 -

Malaysia Airlines has launched a new offer for UK passengers travelling to Penang. Famously known as "The Pearl of the Orient", Penang has long been one of Asia's greatest travel destinations. The island offers travellers everything from a wonderful array of temples, to ruins, museums and of course, their beautiful beaches. George Town, capital of Penang, is a highlight of the Malaysian tourist scene, with a rich multicultural heritage recognised through its status as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Capital City.

Between now and 15 October, travellers can book flights with return fares starting as low as 479. Special fares are available through to 30 June 2017

The journey begins at London Heathrow airport onboard one of our twice daily Superjumbo A380s to Kuala Lumpur. From here a convenient and seamless connection will take travellers onto Penang.

To take advantage of this offer, book now at malaysiaairlines.com or via a local travel agent.

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Fez Travel is a leading travel agency for tours to Turkey. Located in Turkey, the company is celebrating its 20 years by opening an office here in Sydney, Australia.



(TRAVPR.COM) AUSTRALIA - September 26th, 2016 - The Sydney offices are run by Ms. Derya Bartli Phillips. Our company focuses on specialising in the best service and advice, in organising your travel arrangements to Turkey and or Greece at affordable prices Ms. Phillips said

We can organise discounted flights with leading airlines of the world; Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Turkish Airlines etc, accommodation, transfers, rental cars, group tours, guaranteed tours and sailing holidays.

Fez Travel is also one of the leading tour operators for Gallipoli and run extensive packages and tours all year and specifically for ANZAC Day.

We guarantee to beat any written Group Quote and offer exceptional savings on land arrangements. Ms. Phillips said.

Ms. Derya Bartli Phillips has extensive knowledge in this area, having lived most of her early years in Istanbul and her adult life in Sydney, she has unique insight into what Australians want to see and do whilst travelling through Turkey. She is Turkish speaking and understands the culture, having worked with hotels and tour operators for over 20 years. She has the experience in operating tours to Turkey, has the local knowledge to enhance your visit to Turkey and experience Turkey like a local.

We are excited about the new opportunities on offer for all the travelling public. Ms. Phillips said.

Fez Travel has announced an opening promotional offer of 10% discount on all Fez Travel tours for bookings effective immediately until 31 October 2016. This is also in conjunction with a 50% off the 2nd person on all tour bookings.

2017 Early Booking Offers

Fez Travel is offering two special early booking incentives. Travellers booking and paying in full for an Turkey / Turkey & Greece combination / Greece / Balkans for any escorted group tour by 31st Jan 2017 will save 20%. Travellers who book and pay in full for any escorted small group tour between 31st Jan to 31st March 2017 receive a 15% discount. These savings are also available for bookings made through travel agents.

Early Bird Airfares for 2017 have been released starting from just $1,210.00 per person to Istanbul return from Sydney.

For more information on the early bird specials check Fez Travels hot deals.

For all enquiries, please drop into our office located at:

12 Civic Road

Auburn NSW 2144

For all media enquires

Email Derya on derya@feztravel.com

Tel: 02 8599-3585

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SC Vasudeva

Please advise how to avoid tax deduction at source on interest income accrued on an HUF FD account. There is no other income of HUF. Is Form 15G acceptable in such cases? vs chaudhri, ias (retd)

Form 15G cannot be filed by an HUF if the income from interest credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the previous year in which such income is to be included exceeds the maximum amount which is not chargeable to income tax. Therefore, in case income of HUF is below taxable limit, it may be possible to file form 15G with the Principal Officer of the agency which is required to deduct tax at source. There is no other way whereby such an agency would not deduct tax at source in respect of interest income accruing to HUF.

My son has formed an HUF with his wife and two minor sons with a cheque of Rs 10,000 given by me. I and my wife have further made contribitions of Rs 10 lakh each to this HUF on the birthday of my son's younger son. I and my wife are both pensioners and are regular income taxpayers. Kindly advise whether we can contribute to our sons HUF regularly and if any documentation needs to be done? Is there any limit to our contributions in future and if so, what is the remedy? RK saini

Section 56 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (The Act) provides that when an individual or a HUF receives in any previous year, from any person or persons on or after the first day of October 2009 any sum of money, without consideration, the aggregate value of which exceeds Rs 50,000, whole of the aggregate value of such sum shall be treated as income of the recipient and brought to tax as income from other sources. This provision does not apply to a receipt by the HUF from any member of the HUF. In view thereof, the amount of Rs 10 lakh contributed by you and your wife, as both of you are not members of your sons HUF, would be treated as part of the taxable income of the HUF of your son. It would be advisable to draw up a gift deed for the amount of gift contribution of Rs 10,000 as well as of Rs 10 lakh made by you and your wife. The maximum permissible limit is Rs 50,000 in a financial year, with regard to the receipt of gift from a person who is not a relative.

My daughter along with her family migrated to Canada and at the time of their leaving India, some of the LIC policies of my daughter and son-in-law were in existence. The branches concerned of LIC were informed in writing about their moving to Canada and to continue their existing policies. Later on, they got citizenship of Canada and this fact was also brought to the notice of the authorities concerned in writing. The premiums of these policies are being paid regularly and policies are running.

Now the LIC is asking every policyholder about their bank account details so that as and when any amount becomes due to the policyholder, that will directly be credited to his/her account. Kindly advise on the following points:

Can they furnish their Canada bank account details to LIC?

Will they have to open some NRI account in India and submit thereof details? Balbir Singh Batra

It would be advisable to open an NRO account by your daughter in her name wherein the maturity amount of the policy can be deposited. It may not be possible for the LIC to remit the amount to Canada because of the foreign exchange regulations. The particulars of the bank account so opened in India should be made available to LIC so that the maturity amount can be deposited in such NRO account.

(Readers can send their queries to info@scvasudeva.com)
Malvinder Mohan Singh, Chairman, CII Invest North 2016, talks to Sanjeev Sharma

The northern states need to leverage their true potential in terms of entrepreneurial spirit, skilled manpower, consumer base, physical and social infrastructure, agriculture, raw material and market base, says Malvinder Mohan Singh, Chairman, CII Invest North 2016 and Executive Chairman, Fortis Healthcare.

Q: What has been the focus of CII Invest North 2016?

A: The states of Northern Region contribute as much as 26% share in the national GDP with 32% share in the countrys population. Around 64% working age population resides in North, constituting of almost 31% of geographical area.

Therefore, the investments flowing into the region can be significantly higher given its size and potential. CII has always believed that North can play an instrumental role towards the larger objective of double-digit economic growth by attracting investments. However, to achieve this, the northern states need to leverage their true potential in terms of entrepreneurial spirit, skilled manpower, consumer base, physical and social infrastructure, agriculture, raw material and market base.

CII Invest North 2016 aims to showcase the untapped investment potential of these states. Against this backdrop, CII recently organised 5th edition of Invest North at New Delhi. This years focus was on leveraging the flagship national missions and programmes like Make in India, Start-up India, National Solar Mission, Digital India & E-commerce, Cooperative & Competitive Federalism.

Q: What has been the response of potential investors?

A: One of the major objectives of Invest North is to facilitate connecting businesses/ investors with the state governments and Central agencies. This is done through one-to-one meetings between corporates and senior government officials. This year, there were around 90 such meetings with the governments of Haryana, Himachal, J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The engagements with the state governments have been encouraging, and we expect positive outcome from these interactions.

Q: How are the states in the region gearing up for investments?

A: In order to promote an investor-friendly environment, the state governments in the region have undergone a whole gamut of administrative and procedural reforms to bring quick decision making, reduce red tape, provide single-window clearance etc to encourage private investments.

In the ongoing Business Reform Action Plan of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), states from the northern region have performed exceedingly well. Uttarakhand and Rajasthan are high on implementation with more than 90% implementation scorecard. These two states along with four other states  Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have scored more than 60%.

Q: Is there a jump in investor interest due to reforms initiated by the government?

A: Since 1991, the regulatory environment in terms of foreign investment has been consistently eased to make it investor-friendly. In addition, the measures taken by the government are directed towards opening new sectors for FDI (like defence and insurance sector), increasing the sectoral limit in existing sectors, simplifying the FDI policy and easing out regulations governing FDI. This is evident from the increase in FDI in the country from 2013 to 2016 which is almost 1.5 times higher than 2013-14.

A similar trend is seen in the northern states where the FDI has increased considerably over the years from 2013-16. According to DIPP, during 2015-16, about 38% of the total FDI inflows into the country were attracted by the northern states.

Q: What reforms are needed at the state level to attract more capital?

A: Progressive steps like GST are required to improve the business climate. The state government needs to focus and bring reforms in the critical sectors like healthcare and education to improve the productivity and quality of life.

Q: What impact will GST rollout have on the economy?

A: The GST is a revolutionary step in the field of indirect taxation. GST integration will help improve economic efficiency and effectiveness.
Charu Chhibber

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

The future of Aedes aegypti mosquito is in the hands of astrologers, now! Adding up to the team of health officials combating dengue menace is an army of astrologers who are devising ways and means to astrologically kill the dreaded dengue dacoit.

Such is the panic among city residents that they are making a beeline for soothsayers seeking astrological treatment for dengue and ways to dodge the disease.

Confirming the same, city-based astrologer Madan Gupta Spatu says, In the past one week, I have dealt with about 10-15 such cases. People are looking for astrological remedies for dengue fever.

He, however, says his foremost duty as a responsible citizen is not to mislead such persons but to guide them properly as they already in distress. In such cases, I recommend medical treatment, Gupta says matter-of-factly.

And kid yourself not by thinking that these are the people with lower or no educational level or those from the lower strata of society. Most of the people who have approached me over the past few days seeking ways to dodge dengue are well-educated and from well-to-do families, many residing in Sectors of 8, 9 and 35. I even received a query from an IAS officer whose son is suffering from dengue as to how more pain and trouble could be warded off, says another city-based astrologer and tarot reader Disha A. Singal.

Singal reflects that there is widespread panic among residents of the city and surrounding areas about dengue. She, like Gupta, suggests such people to approach a medical specialist and ensure cleanliness in and around their homes.

Santosh Mishra, a Panchkula-based astrologer, says, It is true that a large number of people are queuing up on the doorstep of astrologers and priests with requests to forecast their future and organise special prayers for their families to help them evade dengue and other illnesses. While prayers never harm anyone, one must not solely depend on them. Seek expert medical help before it is too late. We cant agree more!
Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

After a wait of almost three years, the work has finally begun on the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) Hospital at Mullanpur on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Mullanpur is being developed as New Chandigarh.

The Union Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has awarded the construction work to Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which will raise the Rs 480-crore project within 24 months, Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab told The Tribune, here today.

The total cost of the project is Rs 480 crore. This includes equipment and construction. The present contract is only for the construction and the total amount is Rs 218, exclusive of taxes, Mahajan disclosed.

The development assumes significance as the work on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badals dream project was awaited ever since the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laid its foundation stone on December 30, 2013.

The work started on this second-of-its-type state-of-the-art cancer institute only after Badal recently impressed upon the Centre to make this hospital operational at the earliest.

On August 27, the Punjab Chief Minister wrote a demi-official letter to the DAE Secretary, Dr Sekhar Basu, to expedite the construction work of the project.

As there is no state-of-the-art cancer setup in the public sector in this region, there is an urgent need to make this facility operational. It is requested to expedite the construction of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at the Medicity in Mullanpur so that the services can be started early to make this facility a reality, Badal urged Basu.

The Punjab Government had allotted 50-acre land, worth almost Rs 100 crore, in Medicity to the TMC to establish a world-class cancer institute. The TMC had already been undertaking cancer management in Punjab and had already set up Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Sangrur. It is functioning very well and extending excellent support to cancer patients of this region at very affordable cost, the CM added.

The project report

The DAE will spend Rs 480 crore on setting up the 100-bedded second-of-its-type cancer hospital, on the lines of the TMC Hospital in Mumbai.

According to the project report, it will be a world-class institution for a noble cause with a mandate for service, education and research. To be set up on the lines of the TMC, Mumbai, the institution will aspire to be a tertiary care centre for cancer, promoting prevention, cure, rehabilitation and palliation for the population of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The infrastructure of outpatient services will aim at maximising ambulatory care and minimising the need for hospitalisation. The provision of ambulatory services in an outpatient setting will minimise morbidity and costs involved in hospitalisation and maximise services with revenue optimisation.

The outpatient services will comprise consultation, diagnostic investigations, daycare surgery, biopsies and stent placements, minimal access surgeries, laser surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The diagnostic services will comprise laboratory and imaging services. These will be juxtaposed between the outpatient and inpatient areas, preferably in a standalone building to ensure quick access and logistics management.

Surgical oncology, operation theatre complex, radiation oncology facilities, medical oncology and intensive care complex will constitute therapeutic facilities.

The inpatient services will be consistent with the intensity of care and will comprise patient rooms, general wards, intensive care unit, high dependency unit, bone marrow transplant ward, isolation rooms and mortuary.

The hospital will also provide preventive oncology service, telemedicine, rehabilitation services, support services infection control and waste management, education and training and logical clustering of facilities.

Punjab Government allotted 50-acre land in Medicity

100-bedded second-of-its-type cancer hospital
Lt Gen Kamal Davar (retd)

CONFLICTS have a nasty habit of creeping up the escalatory ladder, the absence of empirical or historical precedents notwithstanding. Conflict escalation is the process by which conflicts grow in severity over time. Between two nations, from non-kinetic to the various stages of kinetic engagements, is a matter of time if not controlled.

Last week, for the nth time, Pakistan's mischief was witnessed in full flow in Jammu and Kashmir, culminating in the Uri attack on HQ 12 Inf Bde. Eighteen fatal casualties were inflicted on Army troops and 20 were wounded in Pakistans determined efforts to infiltrate maximum number of terrorists before the snows come in across the Line of Control(LoC). Whipping up an insurgency-like situation in the Valley has, once again, raised the hackles in India. That the nation, in unison, is clamouring for a swift and an overwhelming punitive response against a terror-exporting Pakistan is only but an expected emotion of the Indian public.

The Indian government and its security establishment would now be considering options to finetune the strategy against a more-than-errant Pakistan. Many functionaries in the government have strongly assured the nation of a befitting response by this muscular, no-nonsense government, notwithstanding its past record of muted responses following the terror strikes at Dinanagar in 2015 and the early January 2016 strike at the Pathankot airbase. That the government must respond effectively but prudently will be merely highlighting the obvious. However, mere recourse to rhetoric will further damage the nation's credibility not only among the comity of nations but, importantly, with rogue states like Pakistan.

A nation's Comprehensive National Power (CNP) is the sum total of all its diverse strengths and resources. It includes its economic might, its military strength and prowess, its science and technological base and its population, among other factors. CNP not only encompasses the diverse material strengths but its ideational ethos and diplomatic/ international influence which will stand it in good stead whenever crisis situations confronts it. In all these constituents which go to make a nation's CNP formidable or otherwise, India is well ahead of Pakistan. Therefore, India must employ all the genius and abundant resources at its command to teach a befitting and long- overdue lesson to Pakistan. That Pakistan will always indulge in nuclear sabre-rattling must be factored in.

India, after taking due precautions, will have to call off Pakistan's nuclear bluff, sooner or later, one fine day  either in concert with members of the international community or even independently.

India, since the last decade or so, is well on its way to becoming an economic giant working for the welfare of many of its teeming millions still impoverished. It naturally does not want war futile and mutually destructive that it will be. But, for Pakistan, the sole raison-detre of its miserable existence  appears overly obsessive, self-destructive anti-India formulations in whatever it undertakes. Pakistan has not learnt any lesson from the dismemberment of its eastern wing in December 1971 at the hands of the Indian armed forces. It is all attributable to its policies of discrimination and genocide against its own citizens. The continuing genocide against hapless Balochistan and also the Shias in PoK/Gilgit Baltistan regions will surely boomerang one day.

If war is thrust upon India, for whatever reasons, India has to be fully prepared to take it to its logical and victorious conclusion. However, prior to such an eventuality, there are options that India could consider. As far as Pakistan is considered, after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's diatribe, the longest by any Pak PM ever, at the UNGA, crying over Kashmir and peppering his talk with half-truths, the gloves are really off. Thus India must now move swiftly and, yet be fully prepared, to go the whole way if Pakistan thrusts war on it.

Firstly, India must downgrade its diplomatic relations with Pakistan and pack off the undiplomatic anti-India Pakistan High Commissioner based in New Delhi back to Islamabad. Secondly, India must withdraw the most-favoured nation (MFN) status given to Pakistan and stop all trade and economic ties and any interaction with it.

Thirdly, a major diplomatic blitzkrieg must be launched against Pakistan to ostracise it in the global community. It is a global pariah and some of our common neighbours think so too. We will have to firmly remind the US, supposedly our strategic partner now to stop pussyfooting with Pakistan.

All the terror woes of the US and others find their roots in Pakistan, aptly dubbed the Ivy League for terror globally. The US, UK, Iran, Russia and EU nations must be strongly advised to keep economic ties with Pakistan to the barest minimum. If anything will teach Pakistan a lesson, it will be shutting off the economic largesse given to it by many nations that ultimately finds its way in financing terror activities by Pakistan.

Importantly, India too must set its own house in order by ensuring that we do not encourage internal dissensions and social instability among our own people. Regrettably, some fringe elements are already doing so and in the current adverse political climate obtaining in the region, India can ill afford to have its own tail on fire. Primarily, we have to reach out to our Kashmiri brethren to calm them and apply the healing touch. For that, stern action against the intensely pro-Pak Hurriyat leaders must be undertaken as per our anti-sedition laws. They need to be arrested and moved out of the state. Otherwise, they will keep stoking the fires inside the Valley at the behest of their Pakistani masters.

India has weathered many crises since its Independence in 1947 and come out with flying colours. It is time that all those who love India rise above their petty affiliations  political, religious, regional, caste or creed  and rise in unison to defeat the dark forces within and in our neighbourhood. We can recall what renowned British historian Arnold Toynbee said many years back, At this supremely dangerous moment in history, the only way for salvation for mankind is the Indian way.

The writer was India's first Chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
Jayshree Sengupta

FOR the last 21 months, exports have been falling except in June  mainly because of global recessionary trends as well as the tough competition from other developing countries. But the future of Indian exports looks good to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who told visiting US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker that he would like India-US trade to grow five times  from the current $109 billion to $500 billion. An ambitious target that would depend on the pace of the US economic recovery and Indias own manufacturing growth.

One way of increasing the bilateral trade between the US and India is to invite American companies to set up shop in India and manufacture goods which could be sent back to the US. Jaitley rightly observed that the passage of GST will help American companies to do business in India. Hitches still remain as India has a lower ranking (130th) than China (84th) in the World Banks ease of doing business index, comprising 189 countries. The GST will help because otherwise the cascading effect of various taxes will make their products uncompetitive. American companies want stricter Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regimes for their technology transfer. The US companies have objected in the past about Indias slackness in data protection, poor application and enforcement of patent rights. The patent processes are long drawn and there are copyright and trademark infringements. In India, IPR infringement offences are not considered serious and there is no significant disincentive to stop infringers. With the help of the police and customs, there can be criminal enforcement of IPR violations. The imposition of criminal and monetary penalities for the circumvention of digital rights management have however been introduced through the amendment to the Indian copyrights Act 1957, in 2012. Stricter IPR regimes will help attract more FDI.

India passed the Bankruptcy Law recently which should help foreign companies to wind up business when they want. Infrastructure remains a big constraint and there is need for upgrading state and national highways as well as improve freight handling capacities primarily through improving railway services.

FDI limits in industries like telecom, pharmaceuticals and retail have been raised to promote FDI and a number of incentives like duty drawback and stamp duty exemption have been introduced to attract foreign investment. A technology acquisition and development fund will be set up to develop technologies and create a patent pool, and an e-business portal has been introduced to expedite licence applications and the number of forms required to be filled by exporters has been reduced from nine to three.

Indias exports to the US are mainly in services and in a few important items like gems and jewellery, textiles and drugs. In services, exports between the two countries have grown 93 per cent since 2002 and currently stand at $34 billion. Software services comprise half of the service exports from India growing at 19 per cent. But for service exports from India visa issues are important and there has been much concern about the US doubling visa fee for H1B and L1 temporary software workers. L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa enabling US employers to offer intra company transfers to employees with specialised knowledge. According to NASSCOM, the visa fee hikes impact could be between $100 million to $499 million for Indian companies. India pays over $1 billion annually to the US government in the form of social security, though there are no possibilities of refund. In aviation services, the US Federal Aviation Administration has downgraded Indian aviation safety rating thus impacting on plans of Indian carriers like Air India and Jet Airways to increase the number of flights to the US.

In exports of manufactures, pharmaceutical exports are increasingly important. India is now a global manufacturing and R&D hub and exports to over 100 countries. The total value of Indias pharma exports is $14.84 billion (2013-14). India exports around $4 billion of pharmaceutical products to the US which comprises 26 per cent of Indias total pharma exports. According to experts, India has to agree on certain regulatory practices firmly. In 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration issued 21 warning notices concerning the quality of drugs, half of which were directed at Indian companies. There is also a misperception among American doctors that Indian drugs are of poor quality. Thus quality control has to be central to the export drive. Additional hurdles as perceived by Indian business who are exporting to the US are bureaucratic delays and hidden taxes in the form of petty corruption in India.

In textiles, India is the second largest exporter after China. With economic slowdown in China, more textiles, especially handlooms and organic cotton, can be exported to the US. The biggest trade item between India and the US is precious stones. India imports rough diamonds from the US and exports finished diamonds to the US. Surat is the biggest diamond cutting and polishing hub in India. More value addition could be achieved if Indian firms get into jewellery making and retailing in the US. In general, more skill training of labour force and R&D would help India harmonise standards and allow Indian companies to integrate into the global value chain.

To increase trade volume, India should increase imports from the US also. But trade disputes have been frequent. The US took India to the WTO dispute settlement body for refusing to import American chicken as it feared bird flu virus. The US won the case. The US also took India to the WTO for discriminating against US solar panels on the basis of local content criterion. Again it won. There have been problems with individual companies like Monsanto which introduced Bt Cotton in India. On March 8, 2016, India slashed the royalty fees of Monsanto because the technology had lost its efficacy in resisting certain types of pest attacks. Monsanto has decided to withdraw an application seeking approval for its next generation of GM seeds in India. Dispute resolution is important for a trade surge.

India can import more from the US air and defence equipment, infrastructural projects, medical equipment and educational services to harmonise standards in IT specially. Increasing trade to $500 billion is probably then attainable!
Sandeep Dikshit

(Click here for enlarged graphic)

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down for a Power Point presentation on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on Monday, he must have seen two crucial slides on earlier Indian attempts to squeeze Pakistans jugular on water. Both came unstuck because of frenzied international mediation as well as the fear of self-damage to Indias reputation in the world.

The first incident took place shortly after Independence. Angered by Pakistans attempts to settle the Kashmir dispute by force, India had shut down sluices on canals carrying water into West Punjab. As the blocked water began backing up into Indian agricultural land and the world community started getting the jitters, the government was forced to backtrack. This episode played havoc on Pakistans sense of insecurity about river waters from India. A couple of years later, when the IWT was finalised, the neutral mediator made India cough up over Rs 15,000 crore (in todays value) to help Pakistan build an independent canal network.

The second incident happened barely six years back. India had at long last completed the Baglihar hydropower project over the Chenab. As is the case today, bilateral relations were going through a rough patch. The time chosen by India for one-time filling of the dams pondage coincided with the sowing season in Pakistan and low water flows in the river. Pakistan agriculture in a few districts was affected during the one month it took to fill Baglihar.

Today, the options for punishing Pakistan through a water war essentially remain the same as they were half a century ago. But there is an added complication. In the absence of trust, India undergoes the same insecurities as Pakistan when it comes to sharing the river waters of the Brahmaputra with China in the east. If the Pakistani media periodically raises the bogey of water terrorism by India, the media at home is not far behind in raising a similar flag against China.

But before this logic runs away with the ball, here is a reality check. Any Indian attempt to put a squeeze over water flowing to Pakistan suffers from two infirmities. First, there is no way to control the fast flowing waters of the Indus, at least in India. Unless, India builds dams and forces the India-friendly population of Ladakh to undergo the trauma of massive displacement. Not only will this move punish a region that has never associated itself with the unrest in Kashmirs streets, Indian military camps located on the banks of the Indus will also have to be shifted. It is not without reason that Indian planners have never even toyed with the idea of setting up a hydel project on the Indus.

Having scared Pakistan once by filling up Baglihar during a period of lean flow, India can be tempted to try this option again. It also has plans ready with a virtual procession of dams planned on the Jhelum and the Chenab with names like Sawalkot, Dul Hasti, Pakuldul, Gyspa and Bursar. If Baglihar is an example, Pakistan is bound to approach an international tribunal to contest Indias construction parameters  the height, pondage, etc  for each dam. The possibility of litigation slowing down the pace of work coupled with the extremely difficult terrain will mean it will take an enormous amount of the nations resources to build a single dam. The minimum period will be at least a decade. The Prime Minister cannot hope to scare Pakistan into submission with such a long range plan filled with several ifs. India has squeezed the maximum out of the three eastern rivers  the Beas, Ravi and the Satluj. Any effort to control the residual flow will mean a large-scale appropriation of prime agriculture. This strategy is unlikely to resonate well with the people of Punjab.

Skeptics may ask if China may pay back India in the same coin to take the pressure off Pakistan? Theoretically, China can do so. In Pakistan, China is racing to complete a dam where the Jhelum and the Neelum (called the Kishanganga in India) converge. In case India build its dams and decides to release the water in one go to trouble Pakistan, the pondage (water storage of a hydel dam) of this Chinese project would absorb most of the excess flow.

In China, the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra are now dotted with dams under construction. And India is copying the China/Pakistans Jhelum-Neelum hydel project strategy by building dams in Arunachal that are close to the border. So in the unlikely eventuality of China releasing copious amounts of water sometime in the distant future, the pondage in Indian dams should stop the overflow from inundating agricultural land.

A closer examination shows the fears of both lower riparian states (India vis-a-vis Brahmaputra and Pakistan about the three Western Rivers) may be misplaced. This is because bulk of the catchment area of the Brahmaputra falls in India. A great scare was raised when China was constructing the Zangmu dam. Today, the dam is operational but no new element has been added in the India-China discourse on common rivers.

The same is true for the Indus, the mightiest and most consequential of the common rivers to Pakistans agriculture. Over 70 per cent of its catchment area is in Pakistan and it increases after the Kabul river joins the Indus.

Therefore, whether it is Brahmaputra or the IWT rivers, one-time filling of pondage may give rise to a temporary shortage, especially if it is done between December and July, when the flows are lean. This was tested while filling up Baglihar, but the impact was limited to a few Pakistani districts. To keep Pakistan in perpetual anxiety, several more dams will have to be built. But if Pakistan also readies a few dams on its side, as it is doing with the Neelum-Jhelum project, the excess water released by India will have no impact.

The other option is to deny Pakistan water during the sowing season by undertaking the one-time filling of a dam around the same time. As Baglihar has shown, it is only a one-time tactic.

Even China realises that it cannot blackmail India by water terrorism.

However, India has more to fear from Chinas tactics than Pakistan with respect to India. This is because the IWT has a large number of in-built confidence and trust building measures. These were the product of a neutral expert and Indias willingness to be generous in sharing the waters. But China has played hard ball with India (as well as other countries such as Kazakhstan and Vietnam) in parting with data on water flows of common rivers. Should India then play the same game of obfuscating exchange of data and building projects on the sly with Pakistan when it vigorously protests China trying the same trick with India?

Idealists would want to widen the discourse and suggest that all countries sharing the waters of a common river should sit together and formulate plans to jointly develop the entire basin. The idea is altruistic and worthy of consideration. But it is impractical in a situation where states dont want to share water with their neighbours. It would be too much to expect countries to indulge in a bit of give and take to settle their water disputes. This possibility can only happen if there are statesmen like former Brazil President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. When Bolivia and Paraguay objected to a massive hydel project in Brazil on a common river, Lula was reported to have told his countrymen: Look we are within our legal rights to be harsh with them. But these are poor countries and we have to show generosity to them. With these words and the country behind him, Lula doubled the compensation to Paraguay and tripled it to Uruguay.

The threat over choking off water to Pakistan is not just vacuous. It needlessly pits India against the people of Pakistan by playing on an insecurity that has a deeper psychological effect than the threat of a war. The IWT has never been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. In the case of Baglihar and Tulbul (navigation project), both sides have shown the willingness to listen to a referee. It would be best to allow sleeping dogs lie than open up a time-tested settlement on an emotive issue like water.

sandeep4731@gmail.com

The good in IWT

Long-drawn negotiations led to closure on all possible issues.

Simple-to-implement formula: eastern rivers to India, most waters of western rivers to Pakistan.

Exchange of river flow data keeps away Pakistani fears and insecurities.

Neutral experts competently dispose of prickly disputes: Baglihar, Tulbul

Can be an example for India-China water-sharing pact for the Brahmaputra.

The bad
THE public address at Kozhikode on Saturday must have been the most difficult speech Narendra Modi had had to make these last thirty months as Prime Minister of India. It was an occasion when he was billed to break his inexplicable and uncharacteristic silence since the Pakistan-trained terrorists had attacked an army camp at Uri in which 18 soldiers lost their lives. Emotions had been running high since then. At Kozhikode the Prime Minister was expected to finesse Indias response to the Uri outrage. A certain kind of hype had been cranked up about the speechmostly by his supporters and admirers in the media. The others  especially Pakistan and the rest of the international communitywere also looking for a clue as to how the Prime Minister would carry forward his promise that the perpetrators of the Uri terror attack would not go unpunished. A sense of drama got injected into the evening show when it was let out that the Prime Minister had on Saturday morning summoned the top military brass for last-minute counsel.

In the event the Prime Minister put in a spirited performance, though without his trademark vim and vinegar. And he did well to reiterate the nations resolve not to feel intimidated by terror tactics. He eloquently juxtaposed Indias success story with Pakistans failed national narrative. His direct outreach to the people of Pakistan may not add up to much but the chancelleries across the world are bound to note that the Prime Minister has framed his competition with Pakistan in developmental terms. He was almost Manmohansque in his invocation of the challenge of unemployment and poverty as the common enemy for India and Pakistan.

This marked absence of overheated military rhetoric can only be understood as an end of the muddle-headedness towards Pakistan. Beneath the careful bombast was the dawn of a new maturity. The Uri attack must have cured the Modi establishment of the let-us-break-bread-in-Lahore naivety. We are in for a long haul. Geography provides Pakistan certain advantages; its internal structures would not permit any entente with India. Our biggest challenge is not to let Pakistan distract us from our national journey of economic prosperity and democratic vibrancy. There was a hint of this realisation at Kozhikode.
A somewhat unhappy denouement on the India-Russia-US menage a trois has been long in the making. Thus far, India was sitting pretty, basking in the attention from the two suitors while Moscow felt the jitters. Mouth-watering military deals in Russia's bailiwick were slipping away to its Western rivals, orders for nuclear reactors got caught in a technical tangle and trade failed to respond to governmental ministrations. The number of Indians travelling to Moscow was a trickle compared to the hordes aspiring for a visa to any Western country. The odds were stacked against Russia but Indian diplomacy displayed dexterity in keeping Moscow in good humour. That was till Narendra Modi opted for an unabashed strategic embrace with the US.

Russia read the writing on the wall and decided to play all sides in the region. Six months after Modi became Prime Minister, Russia sent its Defence Minister to Islamabad carrying an approval for a major military sale, the first in nearly four decades. The US had achieved this milestone in India in 1999 with the sale of weapon locating radars. In other words, 15 years after India broke bread with the US, Russia also opted to enlarge its arms market by doing business with New Delhis arch rival. Only the inveterate Russophobes would view the latest development  joint Pakistan-Russia military exercises  as the thin edge of the wedge.

The world has become more promiscuous as memories of the Cold War recede. Israel, whom the Indian right wing holds so dear to heart, does business with China despite receiving billions in American military. Nor is it averse to holding military exercises with Pakistan (and US) although Indian orders give its defence companies the volumes it could never get. Russia has overlooked international rules to accommodate India's security requirements while New Delhi has given diplomatic comfort to Moscow whenever it has felt internationally friendless. Rather than giving the impression of appearing jilted, Indian diplomacy needs to evolve as well as make course corrections.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

The BJP candidates today emerged victorious in 15 out of 30 wards in Sirsa Municipal Council elections. While, the Haryana Lokhit Party won 6 seats, Cong  5, Independents  3, the INLD was reduced to only 2 seats.

Prominent among the winners was Vaishali Ratusaria, wife of BJPs district secretary Pradeep Ratusaria. She is touted as the possible choice for the post of MC chief. Krishna Phogat, district president of the womens wing of the INLD and member of the Municipal Council for the past two consecutive terms, is among the prominent losers.

Similarly, two family members of Lila Dhar Saini, former vice president of the MC, also lost the election.

Over 70 per cent voters had casted their vote in the polling held today.

It is for the first time that the BJP has won as many seats in Sirsa MC election. The results are also being seen as a setback for the INLD as the party enjoyed majority in the outgoing house.

Though the party won Sirsa assembly seat once in 1967 and then again in 1996 in coalition with Bansi Lals Haryana Vikas Party, the district has witnessed contests between the INLD and the Congress.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 26

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear contempt proceedings should have been initiated against the Haryana Chief Secretary in connection with the selection of Assistant Professors.

The development took place on an appeal filed by Additional Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan and Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) former secretary Bhupinder Singh. They had challenged a Single Judges order of March 30, holding them guilty of contempt.

After hearing counsels Ravinder Malik, BS Rana, Akshay Bhan, Ashwani Talwar and other lawyers, the Bench set aside the impugned order of the Single Judge.

Disposing of the contempt appeals, the Bench of Justice M Jeyapaul and Justice Sneh Prashar said the contempt court should have looked into the Chief Secretarys conduct and appellants alleged role.

The court, which dealt with the contempt has, in fact, made an observation that the contention of the Chief Secretary shall be considered on the next date of hearing. In the fitness of things, contempt proceedings should have proceeded against the Chief Secretary, along with other contemners, more especially when his role is found to be intertwined and interlaced with the role played by the appellant Vijai Vardhan, the Bench said.

It added that the counsel for the respondent (petitioner in the contempt case) also intended to make the Chief Secretary and others as parties to the contempt proceedings. Let him do so. Thereupon, notice be issued to the Chief Secretary and others concerned in the contempt proceedings. After affording sufficient opportunity to all parties concerned, let the court dealing with contempt, pass a composite order in the Contempt Petition.

The contempt petition was filed by Sunil Kumar. The Court had, in February 2014, directed the HPSC to make recommendations by October 2014. The state was, thereafter, asked to complete the process of appointments by December 31, 2014. The deadline was extended to February 15, 2015. But the requisition sent by the state to the commission was withdrawn.

The HC was told the court orders were duly communicated. But the government represented by the Chief Secretary communicated to the appellant that the government had decided to withdraw all requisitions, including 1,396 posts of Assistant Professor, college cadre, in various subjects. It was submitted the appellant was completely restrained from giving effect to the orders passed by the court on account of directions from the Chief Secretary.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 26

Even as the state government is trying hard to make Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana a success, its own cooperative banks are undoing its efforts by choosing not to insure crops of farmers.

Sources said Haryana State Cooperative Apex Bank Limited (HARCO Bank), a cooperative bank of the state government, advanced loans to 2,22,485 farmers as on August 10. However, out of the 2,22,485 eligible farmers, the bank covered merely 69,094 farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and collected a premium of Rs 5.69 crore from them.

In contrast, nationalised banks together had 4,59,394 eligible farmers whom they had advanced loans for the crops. The banks covered 4,56,626 of them under the PMFBY and collected Rs 78.83 crore from them as premium.

Similarly, private banks in Haryana advanced loans to 28,938 farmers and covered 28,517 of them under the PMFMY, collecting a premium of Rs 16.38 crore.

Together, commercial and private banks covered 4,85,143 farmers under the crop insurance scheme out of 4,88,332 who obtained loans from them.

While private and commercial banks have complied exceptionally well to the governments direction on PMFBY and registered 99.34 per cent of the total eligible farmers, governments own cooperative bank HARCO seems to have worked for the failure of the scheme by covering merely 31 per cent of its borrowers, said sources.

Among the commercial banks that covered maximum farmers are Punjab National Bank (1,67,597), SBI (50,391), State Bank of Patiala (46,371) and Central Bank of India (26,711).

Among private banks, HDFC covered all 19,893 farmers who availed loan from its branches.

Satbir Sharma, Managing Director, HARCO Bank, said while private and commercial banks pledged land for loans, the funds advanced by his bank were clean loans without any tangible security.

Initially, we also started insurance of crops, but we had to hold back due to protests from farmers. We hope to perform much better next year because farmers were gradually becoming aware of the benefits of the PMFBY, said Sharma.
Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, September 25

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today exhorted the INLD leadership to follow the example of his state and ban liquor in Haryana. This, he said, would bring sadbhavana (harmony) in the state. He was speaking at the Sadbhawna Samman Divas Rally here to mark the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

Kumar asked INLD to make efforts for imposing prohibition that, he said, would lead to a change. Bihar is celebrating 100 years of Mahatma Gandhis Champaran Satyagraha and 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. Prohibition is a tribute to the Father of the Nation and 10th guru of Sikhs.

The Bihar Chief Minister urged people to give a strong message to communal forces and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fooling people. He said people of India were awaiting achhe din.

Kumar called the BJP anti-farmer because it had not fulfilled its pre-poll promise of implementing the Swaminathan Commission report.

He claimed GM crops were against the interests of farmers. I had opposed BT cotton when I was the Union Agriculture Minister. Now, being the Chief Minister, I am opposing GM crops.

He lauded the INLD for organising rallies on the birth anniversaries of Devi Lal and BR Ambedkar. Such efforts will make the spirit of brotherhood strong. Janata Dal (United) general secretary KC Tyagi criticised the Centre for its crop insurance policy and claimed only insurance companies would benefit from it.

Shivpal Yadav, UP Samajwadi Party president, took a dig at the BJP government at the Centre and in Haryana, but praised the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh for working for farmers welfare.

He criticised the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana for corruption and poor state of farmers.

Abhay Chautala, Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, blamed the Congress and the BJP for inciting people to violence during the Jat agitation for reservation in February. He read out a message from INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala, who is in jail.

Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala asked the gathering to vote INLD to power in 2019.

State INLD chief Ashok Arora opposed the scheme of shifting electricity meters out of houses and announced to dump the meters in the Ganga if voted to power.
Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, September 25

A married woman of Katesara village in the district, who was allegedly raped on the intervening night of September 23 and 24, allegedly committed suicide at her house this morning.

The woman was found hanging in her room by her family members and neighbours, who informed the police. A police team reached there and sent the body for a post-mortem examination.

However, the case has taken a new turn with the police maintaining that the complainant, who had initially alleged gang rape, later conceded that she had gone on her own with Sunil of the same village, who raped her.

Rohtak SSP Rakesh Arya told The Tribune that in her statement recorded before the Magistrate, the woman had alleged that she was kidnapped by five youths as she stepped out of her home on Friday night. The kidnappers dragged her into their car and sped away. The woman had alleged that the youths raped her and later abandoned her in an unconscious state on Pilana road.

However, when we got her counselled by a woman advocate, the complainant admitted that the gang rape allegation was not true. She said she had gone with Sunil on his motorcycle but he later raped her, Arya maintained.

But before her new statement could be recorded before the Magistrate, she ended her life.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested Sunil (26) of Katesara village in the district. Sunil was named in the police complaint lodged by the woman. As per the police, Sunil is a relative of the deceased.

Sunil was produced before a local court today, which remanded him in police custody for one day.
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 26

The Supreme Court today stayed till October 4 the trial of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 1999 rape case pending in a Panchkula court.

A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit passed the order on a plea by the dera chiefs senior counsel V Giri that his client was unable to defend himself as the CBI had refused to provide copies of the statements of the two alleged rape victims.

Giri said the CBI had also dropped its investigation officer KL Raina, who had recorded victims statements, as a witness in the case despite his clients objection.

Without issuing formal notice, the Bench directed that a copy of dera chiefs petition be served on CBI counsel PK Dey so that the agency could come up with its response at the next hearing on October 4.

On July 1, the apex court had refused to entertain two petitions of the dera chief seeking additional handwriting samples of the alleged rape victim and another for producing further evidence in the trial court at Panchkula.

The accused had pleaded that more handwriting samples of the victim were crucial for establishing his innocence. The Bench, however, said the accused should not argue that the victims purported I love you statement implied I am available.

If it was a rape or consensual sex will be examined by the trial court by going into the evidence, the Bench had remarked while dismissing the appeals against the high court rulings.
Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, September 25

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) today batted for the revival of the third front during the Sadbhavna Samman Divas rally here. The rally was organised by the INLD to mark the 103rd birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal and 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bimrao Ambedkar.

In the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, leaders of the INLD and the SP urged various political parties to unite for the formation of the third front against the BJP and the Congress, but the JD(U) remained silent on the issue. However, JD(U) general secretary and Rajya Sabha member KC Tyagi emphasised to follow the principles of Ram Manohar Lohia and Devi Lal.

Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party president Shivpal Yadav and Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly Abhay Singh Chautala urged parties to reunite for the third front. Former Parliamentarian Santosh Bharti referred the presence of Nitish Kumar and Shivpal Yadav as a good attempt of the INLD to bring the two powers on one platform.

While paying tributes to Devi Lal, Shivpal Yadav urged parties to unite to root out the communal powers from the country.

Abhay said that now the time had come to unite. People have been opposing the Union and the state governments. The political parties should keep aside their differences and come forward for the formation of the front, he said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a close associate of the INLD, gave a miss to the rally. INLD leaders claimed that due to elections in Punjab, SAD leaders could not attend the rally. Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah also did not attend the rally.
Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, September 26

Hundreds of residents of Kalram, Ariapura, Bharatpur, Amritpur Kalan and Lalupura villages today set out for the Chief Ministers office in Chandigarh.

They demand cancellation of chakbandi (demarcation of land) during land consolidation in 1999.

With their houses locked and belongings loaded in tractor-trailers, their plan was to protest outside the CMs house. But the administration stopped them in their tracks near Jat Dharamsala on the National Highway-1.

In the evening, the villagers returned home on SDM Yogesh Kumars assurance of a meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Karnal on Tuesday.

Pardeep from Kalram village said villagers had been running from pillar to post for justice, but no one was paying heed to their concern.

In 1965, land was consolidated and registered in their names. In a similar exercise in 1999, revenue officials made wrong entries in records. As a result, we lost ownership of the land, one of the villagers claimed.

The matter was investigated into and it came out officials had made wrong entries. Land was snatched away from us during land consolidation. Some unscrupulous revenue officials in connivance with land mafia changed girdawari in April 1999, said Sunil Chopra, another protester.

They have petitioned all and sundry, including Khattar who assured them justice.

The SDM said the matter was pending in the court of Rohtak Range Commissioner.
Lisbon, September 25

A Portuguese man spent 43 years in a wheelchair because of a mistaken medical diagnosis, finally re-learning to walk only in his fifties, a newspaper reported.

When Rufino Borrego was 13, he was diagnosed by a Lisbon hospital as having incurable muscular dystrophy, the Jornal de Noticias reported.

After that he used a wheelchair to get around for more than four decades - until a neurologist realised in 2010 that he in fact suffered from a different disease that weakens the muscles, myasthenia.

The rare disease can be treated simply by taking asthma medication - and just a year after his new diagnosis, Borrego was able to walk for the first time to his usual neighbourhood cafe.

"We thought it was a miracle," Manuel Melao, owner of the cafe in Alandroal, southeast Portugal, told the newspaper.

Now aged 61, Borrego is able to live a normal life, requiring only two physiotherapy sessions a year.

He insists he harbours no ill-feelings against the hospital that made the original diagnosis, acknowledging that myasthenia was almost unknown in the medical profession in the 1960s.

"I just want to make use of my life," he said.  AFP
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 25

The controversy over the appointment of secretaries by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) and subsequent resignation by two secretaries refuses to die down as Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh triggered another controversy, saying that he did not ask for the resignation of two secretaries, Pradeep Verma and Kusum Verma. He added that the blueprint of the resignation was prepared in the HPCC office.

I did not ask for the resignation of the secretaries but it was HPCC president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu who outlined the whole thing and the resignation was prepared in the HPCC office, Singh said during an informal chat with mediapersons here today.

Reportedly, Virbhadra Singh said his contention was that before making appointments of secretaries, the block and district Congress committees should be taken into confidence.

I never said these people are not competent but calling them to the Congress office and seeking their resignation is not right, he said, adding that he had been chief minister six times and HPCC president five times but such a situation never arose.

Earlier in the day, the two secretaries met the Chief Minister at his residence and conveyed that they were hurt by his remarks.

Unhappy with the apointments, Virbhadra had said despite repeated pleas, the HPCC had not provided him the list containing names and postal addresses of the HPCC office-bearers so that they could be intimated about the policies and schemes of the government.

He had also opposed the creation of new Block Congress Committees (BCCs) in various districts.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, September 25

About Rs 300 crore spent by the government on the scheme to provide polyhouses to farmers and make the state bowl of off-season vegetables has not achieved the desired results.

Barring a few progressive farmers in the state, common farmers who had purchased polyhouses with about 90 per cent subsidy being provided by the state government have either abandoned polyhouses or sold them to the adjoining state.

Due to failure of the scheme, the state Agriculture Department has also tightened norms for farmers who want to take the benefit of the polyhouse scheme. The state government has now made it mandatory for farmers who wanted a subsidy under the polyhouse scheme to get training from the Palampur agriculture university.

Dr Kanwar, Director (Research), Palampur Agriculture University, when contacted, admitted that farmers would now have to undergo a certificate training course with the institute for getting a subsidy under the polyhouse scheme. He said farm practices under polyhouses were different from general agriculture.

In Lahaul-Spiti, farmers initially complained that their polyhouses were getting damaged due to heavy snow in winter. The university then suggested changes in the design of the polyhouses that were to be brought up in cold desert areas like Lahaul-Spiti. We got mesh wire installed in polyhouses due to which they were able to sustain in winter. Many farmers in Lahaul and Spiti were now producing vegetables till November, Dr Kanwar claimed.

Farmers also faced technical problems in installing polyhouses during the stint of the previous BJP government. A large number of farmers had reported that their polyhouses had got infested with pests and had become unviable. Experts from the Palampur Agriculture University suggested that polyhouses should have two doors to prevent attack by pests.

Farmers were asked to spend money from their own pocket for converting polyhouses from single door to double door. Since most of the farmers failed to do so, their polyhouses got infested with pests and were rendered useless.

Farmers of Kangra district do not have a proper market for selling their produce. Even the local markets in Kangra district receive vegetables from Punjab. If the state government creates a market for selling vegetable produce of farmers of Kangra, farmers can be encouraged to produce more and take benefit of the polyhouse scheme of the government.
Suhail A Shah

Our Correspondent

Anantnag, September 26

Five CRPF men were injured in a grenade attack by militants in Wanpoh area of Kulgam district on Monday.

According to police reports, the grenade was hurled at the CRPF and army men deployed along the highway in view of the ongoing protests in the Kashmir Valley.

The particular spot is sensitive and protests in the area are common, a police source told The Tribune.

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To contain the protests and keep the highway open for traffic an army vehicle remained parked by the roadside, where the CRPF men were standing.

The attack was carried out around 2.15 pm, a police official said.

The injured CRPF men have been shifted to hospital, two of them in a critical condition.

The area has been cordoned off and searches are being conducted.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 25

With the Army apprehending two Jaish-e-Mohammad guides from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri, security agencies are now looking into the possibility of their connection with the Uri attack on September 18, in which 18 soldiers were killed by four Jaish militants.

Sources said security agencies had been questioning the two Jaish guides to know if they had helped the fidayeen in attacking the Armys brigade headquarters in Uri.

Joint teams are questioning the duo and trying to establish if they had any role in the Uri attack. The NIA team probing

the Uri attack may

question them, said the

sources in the secu-

rity establishment.

Col Rajesh Kalia, defence spokesman in Srinagar, on Saturday said two Jaish guides  Ahasan Khursheed, alias DC, of Khaliana Kalan and Faisal Hussain Awan of Pottha Jahangir, both in PoK  were arrested in a joint operation by the Army and BSF on Wednesday.

However, the arrest of the duo was not officially disclosed for at least three days. The duo was recruited two years ago by Jaish-e-Mohammad and were guiding terrorists to infiltrate across the LoC, he had said. The duo had not been handed over to the police yet.

The sources said details provided by the duo from PoK, who were not carrying any weapon at the time of arrest near Gawaltha in Uri, close to the LoC, were being examined and cross-checked at various levels by security agencies. Initially, the duo had told interrogators that they crossed the LoC inadvertently.

During questioning, they told interrogators that they had helped over a dozen militants infiltrate into Kashmir. We are corroborating this claim with various security agencies. We are trying to find out whether they had any local contact here, the sources said.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 25

The Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) today alleged that to appease the separatists and other anti-national elements, the PDP-BJP coalition government is denying ex gratia to the kin of Uri martyrs, who belonged to the Jammu region. The party regretted that instead of honouring the martyrs, the government was brazenly disrespecting the bravehearts.

Addressing activists of the party during a protest against BJP-led NDA government for its failure to give a befitting reply to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack, PYC chief Pranav Shagotra took state BJP leaders to the task for disrespecting Dogra soldiers who laid down their lives for the nation. He said other states of the country had already announced ex gratia for the kin of the martyrs of the Uri terror attack but the J&K Government had not made any such announcement.

Shockingly the BJP, which is an equal partner in the coalition, has urged the government to announce ex gratia rather than making its own announcement.

It is shameful that the Deputy Chief Minister went to the houses of the martyrs but he could not dare to announce ex gratia due to fear of separatist leaders, the PYC chief alleged, adding, The priority of this government is to appease the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist groups of the Valley thus this regime is not going to take any decision in favour of the armed forces.

He said the UP Government had announced an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh each to next of the kin of the bravehearts. Similarly Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra Governments had announced a relief of Rs 11 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and 15 lakh, respectively, to family members of the martyrs hailing from the respective states.

The Youth Congress activists also burnt effigy of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for supporting and harbouring terrorism.

Shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the activists staged a protest at Tawi Bridge and disrupted vehicular movement. A large number of locals also joined the activists protest.
Manipur's Irom Sharmila and other civil rights activists, as well as youth from war-ravaged countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Libya, will participate in the 11th edition of the Global Youth Peace Festival (GYPF), which opens in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

"Over 200 young change-makers will participate in this unique festival to make an ardent appeal for peace. Joining them in this mission would be the Iron Lady of Manipur, Irom Chanu Sharmila. The festival will bring together peace crusaders from across the world, including the war-torn countries of Syria, Liberia, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and others, to celebrate the spirit of global citizenship and universal peace," organiser of the festival Pramod Sharma, co-ordinator of NGO Yuvsatta, said.

Sharmila will address the gathering of international youth activists on Wednesday, Sharma said.

Despite heightened tensions between India and Pakistan since the last week over the issue of Jammu & Kashmir, activists from Pakistan are also expected to participate in the festival.

Young peace activist from Pakistan, Aliya Harir, who spearheads the Aaghaz-e-Dosti, an Indo-Pakistan friendship initiative; Julie Shen, Asia Representative of Good Deeds Day and Deputy Secretary-General, Taiwan Association for Volunteer Effort; and Eamonn Fahil Elbom, a medical professional from Tripoli, Libya, whose tireless work to treat patients in war-torn situations has won global laurels, will be honoured at the festival with the Global Youth Icon Awards this year, Sharma added.IANS
Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 25

Ten days after the maiden international flight from here to Sharjah, the Mohali international airport is all set to connect with Dubai tomorrow.

An IndiGo Airlines 180-seater (all economy class seats) Airbus A320 plane will take off from Mohali at 4.15 pm and land at Dubai at 7.50 pm (IST). Before that, the same flight from Dubai will reach here at 11.10 am after taking off from Dubai at 7.35 am (IST).

So far, 170 passengers have booked seats for the maiden flight to Dubai from here, sources said. The non-stop flights between Mohali and Dubai will take place daily from tomorrow onwards.

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The all-inclusive return fare for the flight is Rs 9,999.

Meanwhile, a team of two judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today visited the airport to inspect the facilities available for the passengers at the terminal. The judges also visited the CITCOs food counter. A public interest litigation has been filed in the HC regarding inadequate facilities for passengers at the airport.
Lucknow, September 26

Tainted former UP Mines Minister Gayatri Prajapati, against whose reinduction a social activist had petitioned the Governor, was on Monday sworn in along with three others, in perhaps the last expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav Ministry before the 2017 UP Assembly poll.

Six MoS were also elevated in the expansion.

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The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Ram Naik at the Raj Bhavan to Manoj Pandey, Shivakant Ojha and Ziauddin Rizvi, besides Gayatri. Rizvi was not able to take oath in June when the Cabinet was last expanded as he was abroad.

Three Mos (Independent) Riaz Ahmed, Yasir Shah and Ravidas Mehtrotra, and Ministers of State Abhishek Mishra, Narendra Verma and Shankhlal Majhi were elevated to Cabinet rank.

Interestingly, Raj Kishore Singh, who too was dropped along with Prajapati, failed to stage a comeback.

Prajapati was sacked by Akhilesh two weeks back as part of efforts by the Chief Minister to refurbish the image of his government before the Assembly elections.

His action, however, triggered a political crisis and his re-induction was part of a compromise formula hammered out by ruling Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to douse the flames in the Yadav clan.

But, hadly 48 hours before the swearing-in ceremony, activist Nutan Thakur petitioned the Governor against making him Minister again. In her petition, she said Prajapati was removed as Minister on serious corruption charges after the order of the Allahabad High Court for a CBI inquiry.

Nutan said when Prajapati was removed as Minister, he had lost the pleasure of the Governor. Hence, he cannot be reinducted in the Ministry unless the facts and reasons on which he had lost the pleasure of the Governor get removed.

The Akhilesh Ministry now comprises 32 Cabinet ministers, 9 MoS (Independent Charge) and 19 MoS.

This was the eighth expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav government since it assumed office in 2012.The UP Council of Ministers now has the maximum strength of 60 ministers.

Akhilesh had sacked Prajapati at a time when there were indications that the CBI was set to tighten the noose around Prajapati and officials of the state Mining Department.

The High Court had asked the CBI to look into the role of government functionaries in allegations of illegal mining.

Prajapati was in news when Nutan had lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta, accusing him of corruption and gathering wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. The Lokayukta had, however, dismissed the complaint on grounds that no such evidence was found against him.

But, as his sacking on September 12 set off a tsunami in the ruling party circles, the SP supremo had to chip in to end the impasse and as a compromise formula it was decided that he would be re-inducted, but with a different portfolio.

Akhilesh was said to be unhappy with the Minister who was mired in controversy over allegations of promoting illegal mining.

The Opposition, however, alleged that the sacking of the Minister was just an eyewash to hide the corruption in mining sector.

Prajapati began as Minister of State for Irrigation in February 2013 and was given the lucrative portfolio of mining, directly under Akhilesh who handled that department as Cabinet Minister.

In July 2013, Yadav elevated Prajapati to MoS (Independent Charge) and in January 2014, he was made a Cabinet Minister.  PTI
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 25

Two days after asking Pakistani artistes working in Bollywood to leave Mumbai, Raj Thackerays Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has claimed victory.

The 48-hour deadline (we have set for the Pakistani artistes) is over and all Pakistanis working in the city have left... We will hunt down anyone still hiding in Mumbai, said Amey Khopkar, MNS 'Chitrapat Sena' head. Justifying the threat against Pakistani actors working in Bollywood, Khopkar said they could be carrying out reccees on behalf of the authorities of that country and passing off information to them. He thanked Subash Chandra, promoter of Zee Television, for stopping telecast of Pakistani serials.

The MNS and its leader Raj Thackeray have, however, come in for criticism from top Bollywood personalities. Filmmaker Karan Johar, whose Ae Dil Hai Mushkil starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, is due for release near Diwali condemned the attack on actors from the neighbouring country. I understand the anger and the anguish that surround us and I empathise, my heart bleeds for the lost lives..... I completely feel the pain and anger. If my film is targeted because of this, it will make me exceptionally sad because my intent was to put out a product out of love and nothing else, Johar told a television channel.

Other Bollywood personalities like Ritesh Deshmukh and producer Mukesh Bhatt have also condemned the MNS for the boycott of Pakistanis.
New Delhi, September 26

Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Monday left on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two West African nations besides participating in a number of events.

His visit to Nigeria is at the invitation of his counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.

From Nigeria, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.

The Vice-President is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal and MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim.

In Abuja, Ansari will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.

He will also meet the governor of Lagos and deliver an address at the joint business forum at the University of Lagos.

The vice president will inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex at Abuja and interact with members of the Indian community both in Abuja and Lagos.

The Vice-Presidents visit (to Nigeria) intends to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, expand and diversify bilateral economic engagement and explore new avenues of partnerships on a wide range of issues of shared common interest, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

In Mali, Ansari will meet the president, the prime minister and also address the National Assembly.

The visit to Mali is aimed at boosting the relationship between the two countries and explore new areas of cooperation to expand and diversify bilateral relationship.  PTI
Beijing, September 26

For the second time in less than a week, China on Monday snubbed Pakistan by declining to back reports in Pakistani media claiming Beijings support for the country in the event of any aggression and backing it on the Kashmir issue.

As a neighbour and friend, China once again appealed to India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue to properly resolve disputes, including the Kashmir issue which, it said, was left over from history, and jointly work towards regional peace and stability.

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Asked about the reported remarks by the Consul General in Lahore that China will support Pakistan against any foreign aggression and backs Islamabad on the Kashmir issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a media briefing here that he was not aware of any such remarks made by the envoy.

I am not aware of the situation you mentioned. But Chinas position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear, he said.

As the neighbour and friend to both Pakistan and India, we hope the two countries will properly address their differences through dialogue and consultation, manage and control the situation and jointly work for the peace and stability of South Asia and the growth of the region.

With regard to the Kashmir issue, we believe it is an issue left over from history. We hope the relevant parties will peacefully and properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation, he said.

He was replying to a question about the remarks attributed to the envoy made during his meeting with Chief Minister of Pakistans Punjab province Shahbaz Sharif.

In case of any (foreign) aggression our country will extend its full support to Pakistan, Consul General of China in Lahore Yu was quoted as saying in a press release by the Punjab Chief Ministers Office, according to a report by Pakistani daily Dawn.

We are and will be siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in (India)-held Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris, the report had quoted Yu as saying.

Chinas reaction on Monday is the second time since September 22 that it distanced itself from the Pakistani media attributing Beijings support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

China has declined to confirm Beijings backing to Islamabad on the issue during the meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang had told PTI here when asked about reports that Li extended support to Pakistans stance on Kashmir.

A report in Dawn said Li had assured Sharif that China would continue to support Pakistans stance on Kashmir. It had quoted Li telling Sharif that we support Pakistan and we will speak for Pakistan at every forum. PTI
New Delhi, September 26

The Congress on Monday demanded that a special session of Parliament be convened to declare Pakistan a terrorist state in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

It also alleged that the Narendra Modi government has responded only with "jumlas (gimmicks) and rhetoric" since the attack took place and favoured withdrawal of the most favoured nation status to Pakistan and imposition of economic sanctions on it.

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"We believe extreme situation demands extreme decisions. By now, Pakistan should have been declared a terrorist state. They failed in that also," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters, accusing the government of doing "precious little" to put Islamabad in the dock.

"We demand near absolute economic sanctions on Pakistan. There should be a special session of Parliament to discuss our security situation and declare Pakistan a terrorist state," he said.

The government's response to the attack has been only through "rhetoric and jumlas" and the Prime Minister's speech at Kozhikode demonstrated "strategic ambiguity". India is "looking weak, having failed to deliver meaty blows" to Pakistan, Singhvi said.

"We do not want this to lead to a strategic confusion, make India a laughing stock. It should not let the world think that India has an aimless political strategy. Aimless political strategy is not a synonym of strategic restraint," he said targeting the government.

Noting that the Congress also believed in strategic restraint, Singhvi said that such restraint in the face of such provocation should not mean the absence of a strategic response.

"People of India want concrete actions against the rogue state of Pakistan," he said, adding the terror attacks at Uri and Pathankot have together taken a toll not seen in the last 20-22 years.

We demand the considerable scaling down of Pakistan's High Commission in Delhi," he said and wondered why there was delay in considering and finalising the asylum request of the Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti.

In a veiled attack on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, he said, "Political and administrative accountability" of the highest offices have to be also fixed in the context of those responsible for security.

Singhvi alleged that the Prime Minister's message at Kozhikode, has "unfortunately delivered unsatisfactory and somewhat worrisome response".

"India is looking weak as it failed to deliver meaty blows to Pakistan. Security situation is under serious threat and what the nation wants is concrete action against Pakistan, a rogue state flourishing under the government of that country and its military," he said.

Singhvi said the UPA government came out with a series of measures to tackle terror after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and had activated the concept of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

"We fought for it. Hardly one or two states objected. But the Central government under the NDA has not even notified NCTC," he alleged.

The party alleged that similar is the fate of NATGRID - a centralised Internet-based information grid to fight all forms of terrorism.

"It is sad, it is distressing and it is astonishing that NATGRID has still not been activated. In fact, I am sorry to say that the chief executive officer of NATGRID was sacked after this government came to power," Singhvi alleged.

Four hubs for the NSG commandos were created. The NDA had promised two more hubs, but nothing has happened," he claimed.  PTI
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Kozhikode, September 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have opened the Pandoras box with his thoughts on Muslims today.

Speaking at the partys National Council meeting here, echoing the thoughts of party ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay, the Prime Minister said the Muslims should neither be rewarded or considered a vote bank, nor shunned or treated with hatred. They should instead be purified and considered our own. (Musalman ka na puraskar karen, na tiraskar karen, unka parishkar karen. Vote ki mandi ka maal na manen, na ghrina ki vastu, unhe apna samjhen)."

Editorial: Message from Kozhikode

Claiming the word parishkar meant empowerment, BJP leaders maintained, The PM was talking about the need to empower the Muslim community and not just treat them as a vote bank. However, the dictionary meaning of the word is "refinement, cleansing and purification.

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The RSS believes that the Muslims in the neighbourhood were originally Hindus. Therefore, they should be purified through ghar wapsi and integrated with the majority community.

Notably, the PM, addressing a rally at the Calicut beach yesterday, had sought to remind the people of Pakistan about their territorial loyalty to India. Let me remind the people of Pakistan that before 1947, your ancestors considered this land (India) as their motherland, he had said.

Quoting RSS ideologue Upadhyay to make clear the BJPs viewpoint about the Muslims, the PM said many had made the mistake of misunderstanding the BJP and had distorted the definition of secularism. Sarv jan sukhaye, sarv jan hitaye. No part of the society should be untouchable for us.

Fifty years ago, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay had given this idea to us. It is not a mere election slogan. We sincerely believe in the uplift of the Dalits, the backward communities, the downtrodden, the exploited and the farmers," Modi said.

The BJP meeting in Kozhikode is intended to reaffirm the ideology of Upadhyay, who was elected president of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh 50 years ago, with the launch of the partys garib kalyan agenda. The BJP functionaries say this is important if the party is to win the next elections. Economic reforms must lead to garib kalyan, they say. The focus on garib kalyan marks a reorientation of the politics of the BJP, traditionally seen as a party representing the urban middle class.

Speaking on antyodaya, Modi said: Bharat Mata will not progress if any state or region remains under-developed and backward.

The PM condemned attacks on BJP and the RSS workers allegedly by Left supporters. The perpetrators of these atrocities will not be spared. We will expose them in a democratic manner, he said.
Itanagar/New Delhi, September 26

Chinese troops came 45 km inside Indian territory in a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month, built temporary shelters and claimed the territory belonged to them, reports indicate, six months after incursions were reported in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.

Initial reports from Anjaw district said more than 40 Chinese troops set up a temporary shelter at 'Plum post', an area 45 km inside the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the district earlier this month.

Official sources said on Monday that the incursion was detected by a joint patrol of ITBP and army on September nine, after which a mandated banner drill was conducted.

However, the Chinese troops claimed that the territory belonged to them and were reluctant to leave, the sources said.

The 'Plum post' has witnessed frequent incursion bids by the Chinese troops every year at least two to three times but it was for the first time that they entered the area, the sources said.

Some of the Chinese troops left on September 13 and the others followed after India and China held a flag meeting on September 14 on the Chinese side, the sources said.

In a bid to end the repeated incursions from the Chinese side in this area, the two sides would be meeting again on October 1.

Chinese troops have to travel through dense forests while Indian troops have a jeep track in larger areas and after have to trek for a distance to reach 'Plum post', the sources said.

Chinese troops had earlier entered into Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh but were pushed back.  PTI
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi dwelled on Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attacks in his Mann ki Baat address today and from Kozhikode yesterday, not many in the diplomatic service are optimistic about his grand strategy to isolate Pakistan globally. They say it is a task easier said than done.

But the good news is that the PMs plain speaking, which will be continued tomorrow when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York, has got everybody on board that Pakistans terrorist activities need to be talked about and the global community must be forced to address this problem that has ceased to be just an India-Pakistan issue. Says Veena Sikri, who has served as Indias High Commissioner to Bangladesh: I fully support the PM on his Pakistan view. He has made all gestures of friendship towards Pakistan, but there has been absolutely no let up in the terror attacks.

She says the people stand united against terrorism and the realisation the world over of Pakistan being a source of terror is an achievable task.

Ashok Sajjanhar, who has served as Indias Ambassador to Sweden, says the PM has upped the ante and has rightfully raised the issue of terrorism at various multi-lateral fora, such as the G-20 summit in China, the East Asia summit and ASEAN summits. But he has a word of caution when it comes to isolating Pakistan.
Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, September 25

An Aaam Admi Party (AAP) volunteer was shot dead by an Akali leader over a property dispute at Bhinder Kalan village in Moga district tonight.

Former Akali sarpanch of Bhinder Kalan village Jagsir Singh allegedly went to encroach upon a piece of agricultural land belonging to Jagroop Singh, an AAP volunteer.

As Jagroop put up resistance, Jagsir fired at him with his revolver. Jagsirs brother Pritpal Singh was also injured in the incident. After first-aid, the injured were taken to the DMC, Ludhiana. Jagroop succumbed to his injuries at DMC, Ludhiana, at 10 pm, while Pritpals condition remained critical.

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A senior police officer said Jagsir and his associates, Manjit Singh and Rajdeep Singh (all SAD workers) also suffered injuries in the clash. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Dharamkot.

Jagroop and Jagsir have been reportedly involved in a land dispute for the past over 12 years. A case in this regard was pending in a local court.

Dharamkot police station SHO Satwinder Singh Virk said, We are registering a case of murder against the alleged accused and have deployed security personnel at the Civil Hospital where they are undergoing treatment.

Senior AAP leader HS Phoolka visted the DMC Hospital, Ludhiana, and met the family members of the deceased party volunteer. He demanded stern action against the accused in the case.

Secretary of the PCC Ravi Grewal has also condemned the incident and demanded a stern legal action against the Akali workers who killed Jagroop and injured his brother.
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modis Pakistan talk as mere rhetoric, a joint Opposition today described his government as the weakest ever on national security and sought accountability for frequent terror attacks.

A day after the PM called upon Pakistan to wage a war on poverty, the Congress reminded him of his pre-2014 election politics when he was habitual of projecting himself as the sole leader capable of taking on Pakistan.

The PM has become a victim of his own platitudes. For 10 years, he played politics on national security portraying himself as the only he-man around as if others were lesser men. Today when the time has come for him to act after the Uri attack, he is cleverly changing the goalposts to hide his governments failures on the security front. We are way ahead of Pakistan on development indicators. Its shameful for an Indian PM to suggest we need to race Pakistan on that track, Congress leader Manish Tewari said.

Left parties too questioned PMs statements on Pakistan, saying there was something lacking in the governments policy on Pakistan and Kashmir. The PMs speech is nothing, but rhetoric. He is asking for a war on poverty. How does one fight that warBy buying Rafales in a response to Pakistans F-16s? The PM is the very man who indulged in war mongering post-Mumbai attack. Today he talks otherwise, CPMs Mohd Salim said.

Left front partner CPI spoke of the need for the PM to win over the hearts of Kashmiris to isolate Pakistan internationally. Restraint, which the PM yesterday advocated, is good but diplomatic isolation of Pakistan is a must. That cant happen unless we win over Kashmiris. The PMs no-war doctrine will also help only if he assures people that terror attacks wont be repeated, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy said.

Reddys CPI colleague D Raja sought introspection into why Uri and previously Gurdaspur and Pathankot attacks became possible. We must probe our own lapses also, he said.

Privately, opposition leaders said the PMs war not an option stand articulated yesterday from Kozhikode was good and was along the expected lines because had military options existed, the previous UPA government would have exercised those after 26/11.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

As Prime Minister Narendra Modis radio programme Mann ki Baat completed two years today, he reached out to the people and spoke on a host of issues. He started with the recent militant attack in Kashmirs Uri.

This came a day after he hit out at Pakistan for exporting terrorism at the BJPs national council meeting in Keralas Kozhikode. Today, Modi reiterated that the perpetrators of the Uri attack would not go unpunished.

Recently, 18 bravehearts laid down their lives in Uri. Such a cowardly attack was enough to stir the nation. I am sure that our soldiers would keep foiling such acts in the future, Modi said in his monthly radio address. While politicians speak, military shows bravery, he said.

He mentioned young Harshvardhan, who wrote to him after the Uri attack.

The PM also spoke about the recent unrest in Kashmir in which around 80 persons have been killed and thousands injured.

Fruit growers are worried to get their crops to the market, he said, adding that the state administration had taken measures to maintain law and order, but the local authorities should remain cautious and exercise restraint.

They want their life to get back on track. All of us know that peace and unity is the only solution to our problems Our resources are there to give a peaceful life to the Kashmiri people, he said.

He made a special mention of Indias paralympic contingent that brought back two gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal in the recently concluded Paralympic Games in Rio. Paralympians have made India proud, he said, as he praised their spirit and courage.

I came to know that some of these paralympians equalled and sometimes broke the records held by normal athletes. I want to tell the country through Mann ki Baat that my government will empower these paralympians, he said.

As the NDA governments Swachh Bharat mission completes two years, Modi announced a new helpline number 1969 for feedback and to petition for starting new projects.

Modi said 2.48 crore toilets had been built in rural areas, while 1.5 crore would be built in the next year.

What he said

Politicians speak, military shows bravery

Recently, 18 bravehearts laid down their lives in Uri I am sure that our soldiers will keep foiling such acts in the futureWhile politicians speak, military shows bravery.

Will back paralympians

I came to know that some of these paralympians equalled and sometimes broke the records held by normal athletes. I want to tell the country through 'Mann ki Baat' that my government will empower these paralympians.
KV Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

Amid the stirring of cauldron over sharing of river waters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive a briefing on the contours of the seven-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and related facets.

After the Uri attack, a vociferous section is suggesting India abrogate the 1960 agreement. The argument being advanced is that turning off the river waters which irrigate Pakistan will force the country to turn off the tap on terrorists. This section also suggests that when Pakistan does not adhere to both the Shimla and Lahore declarations with India, why should New Delhi be obligated to follow an international agreement with Pakistan.

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A source privy to the development said the Prime Minister will get a detailed briefing on the treaty from top officials. The pact is an international commitment made between two sovereign countries through negotiations conducted by the World Bank. The treaty is cited among the best water-sharing agreements that withstood three wars and the roller-coaster relationship between the two neighbours.

Earlier, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said for any such treaty to work, mutual trust and cooperation are important and it cannot be a one-sided affair.

Arguments running counter to stopping water to Pakistan state that the pact shows India as a responsible upper riparian state. Any attempt to alter the arrangement will have to factor that India is a lower-riparian state to Himalayan rivers like Brahmaputra where China is the upper riparian state.

China is said to be building dams across the river that flows into Northeast India and could be held as a counter leverage affecting India.

In addition, it would once again bring to focus water as the bone of contention between the India and Pakistan that dogged early phase of relations. The pact was signed on September 19, 1960 between PM Jawaharlal Nehru, President Ayub Khan and World Banks representative W A B Illif at Karachi outlining the sharing of the Indus system of rivers comprising three Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej and their tributaries) and three Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and their tributaries).
Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 25

For the first time in 13 weeks of unrest that has paralysed the regions businesses, major markets in Kashmirs main city Srinagar opened during the day and received a huge rush of shoppers on Sunday, as separatists called for a 16-hour break in shutdown, the lengthiest so far.

The citys commercial heartland, Lal Chowk, opened at 2 pm as the longest spell of relaxation in shutdown began. As shops opened in the afternoon  for the first time in three months since the unrest began on July 8  shoppers thronged markets, jamming the city roads at several places.

Almost every shop in Lal Chowk, whether of phone repair or bicycles, was jampacked in a rush reminiscent of pre-festivity shopping spree.

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The last time the markets in Srinagar had opened during the daytime was on July 5, a day ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr festival and three days ahead of the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.

His killing on July 8 evening had sparked off widespread protests, leading to shutdowns that remain uninterrupted so far.

The separatist leaders, who are steering the unrest by issuing weekly calendars of shutdowns and protests, had faced a defiant reaction from protesters when they had called for daytime relaxation on July 26. As a result, the separatists refrained from daytime relaxation and limited the shopping hours to evenings.

However, as the unrest enters its 13th week, many protesters have been arrested and fatigue has also set in on the demonstrating crowds, limiting the intensity and spread of protests.

Much of the traffic during the relaxation was made up of private cars and motorcycles, while public transport services except auto-rickshaws remained off road.

Ayaz Ahmad, an auto-rickshaw driver, said he abstained from work for the first 45 days of the unrest but when there was no money left, he took his auto out during morning hours. A leader is like the head of a family and he should consider the problems of everyone in the family, he said.

For some, however, there was no relaxation. In Srinagars old city, protesters attempted to take out a rally, which was foiled. In Batamaloo, unknown youths made announcements from mosque loudspeakers asking residents that relaxation will not be observed.
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Kozhikode, September 25

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modis diplomatic response that evoked mixed reactions, BJP chief Amit Shah struck a more strident pose. Speaking at the BJPs national council meeting, he attacked Pakistan calling Kashmir an integral part of India and asserting that we will have the final victory against terrorism.

While the PM, in a statesman like approach, talked of war, but against the social maladiesan attempt aimed at addressing both Indian and international audience, the BJP presidents speech was more in-your-face and direct, strictly meant for the in-house consumption.

The Uri attack was an outcome of frustration after security forces foiled 17 infiltration attempts, he said.

Warning Pakistan, he said, This is a long war. If anyone thinks Uri is a conclusion, let me tell that the fight is on. The BJP is with the government and the final victory will be ours.

Let me assure that the BJP-led government has always had zero tolerance towards terrorism, he said. An appropriate reply will be given to the mischievous activities of terrorists and Pakistan, he added.

And then, appealing to all political parties to join hand in the fight against terrorism, Shah said anyone who day-dreams of taking away Kashmir should keep in mind that this is a BJP government and it will not allow it to happen.

Shah said the statement by Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif at the UN General Assembly was a strong proof of the neighbouring countrys open endorsement of terrorism.

Sharif terming a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist a peace-loving youth has left the world baffled. Pakistan is spending billions of dollars to prepare terrorists to launch into the world. This is the reason Pakistan, over the past few years, has emerged as an epicentre of global terrorism, he said.

The country is committed to giving a strong reply to this Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, he said asserting that it is no less than a war crime if terrorism becomes part of a governments policy.

In a clear message to the Kashmiri separatists, Shah said the Centre would not have talks with those who did not believe in the Indian Constitution, but with only those who consider themselves Indians.
New Delhi, September 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said "blood and water cannot flow together," as he chaired a review meeting of the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty during which it was decided that India would "exploit to the maximum" the waters of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, under the water-sharing pact.

Held amidst heightened tension between India and Pakistan, the meeting also decided to set up an inter- ministerial task force to go into the details and working of the treaty with a "sense of urgency", government sources said.

Attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary and senior PMO officials, the meeting also noted that the meeting of Indus Water Commission could "only take place in an atmosphere free of terror". The Commission has held 112 meetings so far.

"Prime Minister Modi's message at the meeting was that 'rakt aur paani ek saath nahin beh sakta' (blood and water cannot flow together)," sources said.

Apart from deciding to exploit to the maximum the capacity of three of the rivers that are under Pakistan's control Indus, Chenab and Jhelumin the areas of hydropower, irrigation and storage, the meeting also agreed to review the "unilateral suspension" of the Tulbul navigation project in 1987.

Sources asserted that the decision to maximise the water resources for irrigation would address the "pre-existing" sentiment of people of Jammu and Kashmir, who had complained in the past about the treaty not being fair to them.

The meeting came as India weighed its options to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead, triggering demands that the government cancel the water distribution pact to mount pressure on that country.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six riversthe Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelumwere to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining about not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in a couple of cases. PTI
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

It would be premature to equate Prime Minister Narendra Modis direct address to the people of Pakistan yesterday as the closure of optionsdiplomatic, military, economic or information warfarein dealing with the neighbour after the Uri attack in Kashmir.

Addressing people of Pakistan, Modi yesterday blamed their hukumrans (rulers) of exporting terror.

Former Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia (retd) says, No signal came from the PMs speech that any of the four options, diplomatic, military, economic or information warfare, were closed. Lt Gen Bhatia is now the Director of the Ministry of Defence-backed think-tank, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS).

A lack of visible military activity may not give an indication since it is designed to be that way. The cold-start doctrine  tweaked in military exercises over the past one decadedoes not require the armed forces to make any visible preparations to move. The doctrine was established following Operation Parakaramlaunched in December 2001 after the terror attack on Parliament. The neighbour got enough time to react as it took almost two months for the forces to deploy fully.

Lt Gen SL Narsimhan (retd) a former defence attache to China says, I see no change. The military option remains to strike at the place and time of our choice. Yes, the Pakistani media is trying to project it as change of stance, but this is erroneous, said Lt General Narsimhan, who recently retired as the Commandant of the Army War College at Mhow.

The modern Army, the Air Force and the Navy have their own launch pads that are fully stocked. Missiles like the BrahMos (300-km range) are forward located; artillery guns (40-km range) dot the Radcliffe Line; all three strike corps backed by tanks face Pakistan; frontline fighter jets such as Sukhoi 30-MKI are stationed less than 150 km away from the western border; specialised planes fitted with high-resolution Israeli radars can pick up movements across the entire breadth of Pakistan; a flotilla of the Navy is always sailing in the Arabian sea. To back this, the forces have their own dedicated satellite.
Sriharikota (AP), September 26

In its longest-ever mission spread over two hours, Indias workhorse launch vehicle PSLV on Monday successfully launched eight satellites, including the countrys SCATSAT-1 and seven satellites from other nations, into two different orbits to achieve another milestone.

There were two Fourth Stage Engine restarts for the purpose of injecting the satellites into different orbits.

SCATSAT-1, the 371 kg primary satellite, was first injected into a 730-km Polar Sunsynchronous Orbit (SSO) after 17-odd minutes after the 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C35 lifted off at 9.12 am from the spaceport here.

The rocket then achieved with precision the designated task of injecting the other satellites after over 2 hours and 15 minutes into a lower polar orbit of 689 km.

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The total weight of the payloads carried by PSLV in its 15th flight in XL configuration was about 675 kg.

Besides SCATSAT-1, the other satellites which were injected into orbit were two Indian university satellites, PRATHAM and PISAT, three from AlgeriaALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N and one each from the US and CanadaPathfinder-1 and NLS-19, respectively.

ISRO said the SCATSAT-1 is a continuity mission for Oceansat-2 scatterometer to provide wind vector data products for weather forecasting, cyclone detection and tracking services to the users. The satellite carries Ku-band scatterometer which is similar to the one put onboard the Oceansat-2. The mission life of the satellite is five years, said the ISRO.

ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar congratulated the scientists and described the achievement as a landmark and said data from SCATSAT would be made available within 180 minutes.

After a long gap of almost two hours where the fourth stage has been manoeuvred, it has been restarted and the entire mission had gone on very successfully... let me take this time to congratulate the entire ISRO team for the excellent job they have done....

Today has been an indeed a landmark day for us... we have been able to achieve a launch of eight satelites... our own scatterometer which is actually a stop-gap arrangement between Oceansat-1 and Oceansat 2. This is a satellite which is going to provide ocean wind vectors to the global community for numeric weather forecasting model.

This data will be made available within 180 minutes of acquisition of data.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director, K Sivan said, This mission is an exciting mission... an excellent mission. It is a longest mission with a lowest dispersion. We got the orbital dispersion from less than one kilometre. It is unbelievable.

... and all other customer satellites (three from Algeria and one each from the US and Canada) are injected precisely into the required orbit ... this is the first time ISRO has established this in an orbited mission.

Commenting on future launches by the ISRO, he said, We have historic GSLV Mark-III mission we are planning for year-end.

We also have human space programme also. Like that, exciting days are ahead...

Satish Dhawan Space Centre Director Kunhi Krishnan said, An exciting mission has been accomplished by PSLV.

Incidentally, the eighth launch of ISRO this year has delivered eight satellites into orbit.

As (VSSC Director) Dr Sivan mentioned this was the longest mission of PSLV... it is 2 hours 15 minutes but in the shortest campaign (process of integrating launch vehicle among others) in just 35 days. And this is for the first time two launches have taken place from Sriharikota in the same month, he said.

Coming days are going to be very hectic, very interesting with a variety of missions including the first developmental flight of GSLV Mark-III, he said.

The two academic satellites are PRATHAM, from IIT, Bombay, and PISAT, from BES University, Bengaluru and its consortium. While PRATHAMs objective is to estimate Total Electron Count, PISATs mission is to design and develop a nanosatellite for remote sensing applications.

Algerias ALSAT-1B is an earth observation satellite meant for monitoring agriculture, environment and disasters, ALSAT-2B is a remote sensing satellite while ALSAT-1N is a technology demonstration satellite built for students.

Pathfinder-1 from USA is a commercial high resolution imaging microsatellite while the Candadian NLS-19 (CAN X-7) is again a technology demonstration satellite built to perform experiments to help reduce space debris and for tracking commercial aircraft.  PTI
Sitapur (UP), September 26

A shoe was hurled at Rahul Gandhi by a man during his roadshow here on Monday, prompting the Congress vice-president to blame the BJP and the RSS for the incident.

Hariom Mishra (25), the man who hurled the shoe at Rahul, was immediately overpowered by the police and taken into custody for questioning even as the "missile" missed the Gandhi scion narrowly, the police said.

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Rahul targeted the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS for the incident and said he was "not afraid" of such things.

"Anger of the BJP-RSS is their weakness. I was just travelling on a bus and a shoe was thrown at me. It did not hit me. I want to tell the BJP and the RSS that you can throw as many shoes at me (as you want) but I am not backing down. I am not scared of you. I will continue to believe in love and harmony and you can stick to hate," he said.

Rahul was riding in an open-top vehicle through Sitapur town, around 85 km from Lucknow, when the shoe came flying at him.

Mishra, who claimed to be a journalist, said he was angry over Rahul taking part in a roadshow, instead of paying tributes to the Uri martyrs.

Maintaining that he had no regrets for his act, Mishra said Rahul was today showing concern for the people when he could have worked for ameliorating their lot when his party was in power.

According to an eyewitness, Mishra, a resident of Shastri Nagar locality, was heard saying, "The roadshow is useless."

He had hurled his shoe from a distance at Rahul at Transport Crossing, from where the roadshow started.

"The Congress has left the country down in the dumps in the last 60 years. I have been a journalist for two years and I know. What were they doing when they were in power?" he said, while being whisked away in a police van.

One of the most protected politicians in the country, the attack on Rahul was seen as a breach in the security, though "shoe missiles" are increasingly becoming an "occupational hazard" for politicians.

An unfazed Rahul, an SPG protectee, continued with the roadshow and held the BJP and the RSS responsible for the incident, the first-of-its-kind during his ongoing 'Deoria to Dilli Kisan Yatra'.

Commenting on the incident, senior Congress leader Sanjay Sinh said the party which "feared the Congress the most" must be behind it.

"People will give what they have...those who have shoes will give shoes and those who have good words will give them...there are three parties which are extremely worried by our yatra," he said.

Rahul (45) is on a month-long 'kisan yatra', his farmers' outreach programme in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are due early next year. The Congress vice-president has completed over 2,200 km and has around two more weeks to go before he concludes the yatra in Delhi.  PTI


New Delhi, September 26

The Supreme Court on Monday was urged to hear a plea challenging the constitutional and legal validity of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.

As the petitioner, advocate ML Sharma, urged the court to hear the petition on an early date in the course of the mentioning, a Bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar said it would come up in the normal course.

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Also read: Modi to get briefing on Indus treaty

When the petitioner advocate pressed for an early hearing, the court asked him where he was all these years.

The petitioner has challenged the constitutional validity of the sharing treaty on the ground that it was signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Pakistani president, and Field Marshall Ayub Khan.

He has contended that the treaty should have been signed by the President of India.

IANS
Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, September 26

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today came under a shoe attack as he was riding in an open-top vehicle through Sitapur town during his campaign for the UP Assembly elections.

Targeting the BJP and RSS, Rahul said he was not going to be frightened and would continue his campaign. You can throw as many shoes at me as you want. You RSS and BJP people have a lot of anger inside you. There is no anger inside me. Get as angry as you want to, I will continue with my task. None of your anger can dissuade me, he said.

Rahul was near Transport Chauraha when the shoe came flying at him. It hit the hand of former Union Minister Jitin Prasada, who was standing just behind him.

The incident occurred on the first day of the second phase of his Deoria to Delhi Kisan Yatra, which started from the Lucknow airport this morning. The accused, Hari Om Mishra, claiming to be a journalist with a news channel, was nabbed and detained at a nearby police station. He said he was angry at Gandhi not waiving farmers debt and halving power tariff during the 60 years of Congress rule.
KV Prasad in Taiwan

T rade and investment continue to drive India-Taiwan relations and the new administration in Taipei is looking to enlarge this engagement.

Do you know why Taiwan is keen on promoting trade and investment with India? Because you are the seventh economic power in the world after the United State, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom and France, Tien-Chin Chang, Deputy Minister in the Tsai government, told a group of visiting Indian journalists.

Foreign trade is Taiwan economys principle driver and the countrys bilateral trade volume stood at US $588 billion in 2014, with exports of around $314 billion and imports at $274 billion. The trade with India has grown over the past two decades but compared to rest of the world, it is somewhere around $5 billion.

The chances of an Indian citizen either using or being aware of a consumer product made by Taiwan include Acer in computers and HTC in mobile phones, but that does not reflect that some 80 Taiwanese companies have branches in India and engaged in auto parts, consumer electronics, construction and financial services.

Last year in August, Foxconn, the manufacturer of iPhones, announced plans to invest across several sectors like manufacturing, start-ups, energy and e-commerce portals. The company, which has manufacturing plants in China, produces phones for leading brands. The company chairman, Terry Gou, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later announced $5 billion investment in India.

Minster John Chen-Chung Deng, tasked with trade negotiations, said manufacturing is the countrys strength and the administration encourages companies to engage with various countries, including India. One of the advantages is that it can work to realise the Make in India idea and work towards environment protection.

Besides Information and Communication Technology, IT-enabled services, auto components, electrical, machinery, chemicals, textiles and telecom are some of the key interests that Taiwan has in India.

In 2013, the countrys first synthetic rubber manufacturing plant was inaugurated at Panipat as a joint venture between a Taiwanese-Japanese firm and Indian Oil to produce 120 kilotonnes of the product. Early next year, Maxxis, a leading supplier of automobile tyres, hopes to inaugurate its plant at Sanand, Gujarat.

The company currently sources the supplies to leading Indian carmakers from its factory in Thailand. The group, which ranks seventh in the world, has made a $400 million investment to set up the plant that initially would produce 1 lakh tyres for two-wheelers and employ 2,000 people, its vice-president Leonard Liao told the journalists.

Of course, companies have to factor challenges in the form of regulations that vary from state to state, problems of infrastructure, including road connectivity, and liveable environment for personnel from Taiwan who have to be in India.

(To be concluded)
KV Prasad in Taiwan

Over two decades after India and Taiwan began engaging with one another, the new Democratic Progressive Party government of President Tsai Ing-wen is working to roll out its initiative  South-Bound Policy  which includes greater interaction with 18 countries, including 10 in Southeast Asia and India.

The end of Cold War in the early 1990s saw India easing travel restriction to the country and preferred a working trade and cultural relationship. New Delhi does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan as it recognises the one-China policy. President Tsai won elections this January, promising a policy different from the China-oriented approach of her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou of Koumintang or Nationalist Party. Since assuming office as the first female President in May, she has been working to take steps to set future course for the benefit of 23 million people. As in case of most democracies, her popularity is said to be sliding since the 56 per cent popular vote gave her party 68 of the 113 seats in the national assembly.

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Perhaps aligning with Indias Act East Policy, the Tsai administration wants to build upon trade and economic ties with New Delhi, a country that is in the middle of its plans. India is very important and the South Bound Policy focuses on 18 countries, including 10 in South East Asia, six in Asia, Australia and New Zealand... India possesses strong influence in international sphere and we need to earn Indias friendship we need friends John Chen Chung Deng, a Minister without portfolio tasked with trade negotiations, told a group of visiting Indian journalists.

Bilateral trade grew over the past decade and a half from US $1.19 billion in 2001 to $5 billion last year with Indian exports standing at $3billion and imports at $2billion in 2015. Both have a number of agreements, including double taxation avoidance agreement, agriculture and air transportation. Besides, there are over 1,000 Indian students pursuing higher education in a place that boasts of having fine institutions, including some among top internationally ranked universities. Then there are some 2,000-odd professionals from the field of information technology. Taiwan, which is strong in hardware, hopes to work closely with software experts that India offers to the world.

Minister Chen Chung Deng is hopeful that domestic companies would work with Indian firms to take forward the Make in India campaign since manufacturing contributed from 25 to 30 per cent to its economy.

The bottom line of the new policy appears to have a sense of community between Taiwan and countries in Southeast Asia and Asia without appearing to tread on the toes of China across the straits. Yet, some strain in the relationship is developing probably on account of DPPs preference for a separate identity and status.

(To be concluded)
R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 26

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre seeking its response to former Union law minister Ashwini Kumars PIL plea for making custodial torture by police and other law enforcement agencies a criminal offence in line with the United Nations 1987 Convention against Torture to which India was a signatory.

Arguing before a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, the senior advocate-petitioner acknowledged that he had failed to put in place such a law when he was the minister, but now as a citizen wanted to prevent the brutal treatment being meted out to those in police custody for various reasons on a daily basis.

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He said he had come to the judiciary as the Centre maintained that there was no need for a separate law. The government was also non-committal on a time-frame for an alternative solution involving amendment to Sections 330 and 331 of the IPC despite the fact that India had signed the UN Convention far back in 1997.

Earlier, realising that India did not have a law to deal with custodial violence, the Centre had formulated The Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, which the Lok Sabha passed on May 6, 2010.

Subsequently, Rajya Sabhas Select Committee, headed by the petitioner, recommended in December 2010 that the legislation be enacted with some additions and modifications. But the Bill lapsed following the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

The apex court has also sought the response of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as the petitioner pleaded that the commission was taking cognizance of only the incidents of torture that resulted in custodial death.

There are thousands and thousands people who are brutally tortured but do not die and such cases were not being taken into account either by NHRC, nor the National Crime Records Bureau and as a result did not come into public domain, he pleaded.
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 26

The Supreme Court on Monday took the Bihar government to task for seeking immediate cancellation of the bail granted to gangster-turned-RJD leader Mohd Shahabuddin by the Patna High Court, after failing to take timely legal action to prevent him from coming out of jail.

You could have shown the urgency earlier, a Bench of Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy told Bihars counsel who contended that extreme urgency was required to send Shahabuddin back to jail to protect witnesses involved in about 45 cases of murder and other heinous crimes pending against the RJD leader from Siwan district.

Shahabuddin was facing the charge of murdering two brothers and then the third brother, who was a key witness in the first case. If he continued to be out of jail, there would be a threat to the life of the father of the three victims, the Bihar government pleaded.

The Bench, however, adjourned the hearing for September 28 as Shahabuddins senior counsel Shekhar Naphade sought time to prepare the defence of his client. Naphade contended that his client was a victim of an unjust medial trial, which should be stopped immediately.

The high court had granted bail to Shahabuddin on September 7. On September 19, the apex court had issued notice to the convict on pleas by the state government and the victim-petitioner Chandrakeshwar Prasad whose three sons were murdered. Now, Prasads wife has also approached the court protesting the bail.

Appearing for the victims, senior counsel Prashant Bhushan said Shahabuddin was facing as many as nine cases of murder. Of the 45 cases pending against him, 21 cases attracted imprisonment for not less than seven years. The RJD leader had already been convicted in 10 cases and awarded two life sentences.

When another lawyer for Shahabuddin pleaded that the allegations in the present case pertained to 1986, the Bench wanted to know as to how many witnesses had been murdered so far. At this stage, we do not want to pass any order, the Bench said posting the hearing for Wednesday.
Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

The five agriculture debt settlement forums established by the state government are yet to become operational as only two of the five retired judges picked as chairpersons have assumed charge so far.

The government has also not announced the names of the representatives of commission agents and farmers, each of whom will be designated as a forum member. Each forum, headed by the chairperson, will have three members.

Sources said Roshan Lal Ahuja and HS Dhaliwal had joined at Jalandhar and Ferozepur, respectively. The other forums have been set up in Ropar, Patiala and Faridkot.

Financial Commissioner (Development) NS Kalsi had issued the appointment orders to the retired judges on September 8.

The state government will pay Rs 7,500 per sitting to each chairperson. The maximum number of sittings per month has been fixed at 14. The government will not pay allowance for accommodation, conveyance, travel and medical reimbursement. The two forum members will be paid Rs 3,750 per sitting. The maximum remuneration is Rs 1 lakh per month for each chairperson and Rs 50,000 for every member.

Sources said one of the chairpersons had informed the government about his reluctance to take up the responsibility due to the flawed terms and conditions.

Director, Agriculture, JS Bains, confirmed that two officers had joined duty.
Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

Suspended AAP MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhis efforts to form a fourth front got a lukewarm response from potential stakeholders as the round-table meeting convened here today was attended mostly by former party activists.

Akali rebel Pargat Singh, a key leader of Awaaz-e-Punjab, addressed the meeting, but he clarified that he was present in his individual capacity. No representative of the Bains brothers or Navjot Singh Sidhu turned up.

Talking to the media, Dr Gandhi said he had contacted Bains brothers several times, but they failed to make it. The MP added that he was not able to get in touch with Sidhu.

Former state AAP convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur was represented by former AAP leader HS Kingra and others.

State-level leaders of the Left parties were also conspicuous by their absence. CPM state secretary Charan Singh Virdi said neither they nor the CPI received an invitation for the meeting.

When asked, Manjit Singh of the Democratic Swaraj Party  which is part of Dr Gandhis front  said they would invite the Left parties at an appropriate time.

Dr Gandhi stressed the need for a genuine regional political party. He said the Akali Dal had betrayed Punjab, while AAP and the Congress had compromised the states interests on the directions of their high command. We will work to build an alternative, he said. It was also decided that the front would not confine itself to contesting the 2017 elections, but aim at being active afterwards too.
Moga, September 25

A 16-year-old city girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her room late last night after the police reportedly failed to take action against a youth accused of harassing her.

Following the girls death, the police immediately swung into action and arrested the alleged accused youth, Gaurav Sharma. A case of abetment to suicide was registered against him at Moga city-I police station, confirmed Jaswinder Singh, SHO. Sources said the girl recently told her parents that Gaurav, a youth living in their neighbourhood, had been harassing her on her way to school and return.

Following this, her mother and elder sister gave a complaint to the police on September 15, but no action was taken. Instead, they were forced to enter into a compromise. Had the police taken action against the youth, my daughter would have been alive, the mother told the media at the district hospital where the girls body was brought for a post-mortem examination. She said her daughter was scared because the youth had threatened to abduct her. She was dejected after the local police failed to take action against the accused, she alleged.  TNS
Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 25

The Amritsar police today rounded up Raghubir Singh, owner of the Jawahar Singh and Kirpal Singh Printing Press, regarding yesterdays incident of sacrilege in Jalandhar.

Jalandhar Police Commissioner Arpit Shukla said the publisher was identified after his firms name was found printed on the bir pages recovered from the Bist Doab canal. He said a team of the local police would go to Amritsar tomorrow to further investigate the matter.

Shukla said the pages seemed to be from a three-decade-old proof readers copy of the holy book which was discarded for reasons yet to be ascertained.

There is a procedure to dispose of old saroops. It was not followed in this case, he added. Raghubirs name has been added to the FIR registered at Basti Bawa Khel police station yesterday.

Meanwhile, local Sikh organisations left the dharna site at the Kapurthala chowk here, while some other groups decided to stay put.

Sukhjit Singh Khosa, president of the Satkar Parchar Committee, said typographical errors had been detected in the pages recovered, which suggested foul play.
London, September 25

British physicist Stephen Hawking has warned against announcing our presence to any alien civilisations, especially to those more technologically advanced than humans.

Our first contact from an advanced civilisation could be equivalent to when Native Americans first encountered Christopher Columbus and things didn't turn out so well, Hawking said in a new online film.

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The film, Stephen Hawking's Favourite Places, takes viewers to five significant locations across the cosmos, on his spacecraft  the SS Hawking.

In the film, Hawking performs a hypothetical flyby of Gliese 832c, a potentially habitable exoplanet located 16 light years away.

Also read: China commissions world's largest radio telescope



"One day we might receive a signal from a planet like Gliese 832c, but we should be wary of answering back," he said.

"They will be vastly more powerful and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria," Hawking warned.

"As I grow older I am more convinced than ever that we are not alone. After a lifetime of wondering, I am helping to lead a new global effort to find out," he was quoted as saying by 'The Guardian'.

It is not the first time Hawking has warned about the prospect of hostile aliens.

Launching the Breakthrough Listen project, which will scan the nearest million stars for signs of life, last year Hawking had suggested that any civilisation reading our messages could be billions of years ahead of humans.

The Breakthrough Listen project will scan the nearest million stars for signs of life, but I know just the place to start looking," he said, in the film that appeared on the online platform CuriosityStream.  PTI
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, September 25

Chief Minister Harish Rawat today claimed that the standard of education had gone up in the past four years, with the state government focusing on this sector majorly.

Rawat stated this while speaking as the chief guest at a felicitation ceremony of meritorious students at Nirbhaya farmhouse, Pherupur village, here today.

Citing figures, the Chief Minister said in America, 28 per cent of students were taking up higher education post intermediate but the figure in Uttarakhand stood at 38 per cent this year.

More than 150 Industrial Technical Institutes (ITIs), 75 polytechnic colleges and 500 model schools were being developed in the state which would take education to a next level, he said.

The Chief Minister announced establishment of statues of Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan and former Union Minister Rajesh Pilot in Bahadrabad by the end of this year. He said the younger generation needed to be informed about freedom fighters, historical figures and politicians who had contributed to the nation and society.

He also stressed on the need to form women self help groups for providing employment and engaging women in various activities.

Ranipur-BHEL legislator Adesh Chauhan, Congress leader Anupama Rawat, Purushottam Sharma, former women commission chairperson Dr Santosh Chauhan, Kshatriya community representatives Rajendra Chauhan, District Magistrate Harbans Singh Chugh and SSP Rajeev Swarup were present on the occasion.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 26

The Dehradun Bar Association lawyers took out a peace march to pay homage to the soldiers, who attained martyrdom in the Uri terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, here on Monday.

The lawyers demanded that the Union Government should take stringent action against terrorists.

The lawyers, led by Dehradun Bar Association president Manmohan Kandwal, gathered at the court complex. They took out a silent march which passed through Court Road, Darshan Lal Chowk, Gandhi Road, Rajpur Road, Paltan Bazaar and Raja Road and the march culminated at the court.

They strongly condemned the Uri terrorist attack in which 17 brave soldiers were killed by terrorists. They demanded that the Army should strongly act against terrorists and Pakistan. The lawyers said effective measures should be taken by Indian armed forces to tighten security along the Line of Control. They demanded an offensive action against terrorists in the country.

Dehradun Bar Association secretary Anil Gandhi, Shambu Prasad Mamgain, Bhanu Pratap Sisodiya, Sunita Prakash, Prakash Pal, Ashutosh Gulati, RS Bharati etc. were present.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 25

Women self-help groups can help in bringing economic prosperity in rural areas of the state. Many policy decisions have been taken to convert villages to centres of economic activities.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat stated this while inaugurating the weekly Women Haat under Mukhyamantri Mahila Swayam Sahayta Samuh Sashtikaran Yojana at Vikas Bhawan here on Sunday.

Rawat said the state government was making efforts to connect the rural economy with urban economy and for this purpose, more such weekly markets had to be started.

The Chief Minister said many women self help groups were working well and others needed to take inspiration from them.

Under the initiative, instructions had been given to organise weekly women haat in every district so that rural products could be made available in cities, he said.

A bank account with initial amount of Rs 5,000 for every woman self help group was being opened by the state government and Rs 20,000 would be provided to the active women self help groups. Apart from this, Rs 1 lakh as grant would be provided to the Mahila Mangal Dal or women self help groups that are involved in community farming on land taken on lease, Rawat said.

He congratulated Principal Secretary Manisha Pawar and Chief Development Officer, Dehradun, Alok Kumar Pandey for starting the weekly rural haat in Dehradun. Rawat said initiatives taken for empowering self help groups by the Chief Development Officers should be included in their ACR. He also called upon the officials to propagate and encourage weekly women haats.

He hoped that the concept of weekly women haat would get popularity gradually. The Chief Minister went to every stall and talked to the women about their products.
Mexico City, September 26

A human rights group is urging the nearly one million US citizens who live in Mexico to vote in hopes of keeping Republican Donald Trump out of the White House, organisers have said.

We are going to Mobile the almost eight million Americans who live abroad, a million of them in Mexico, and we want them to vote to stop Donald Trump, said Joseph Huff-Hannon yesterday, a campaign leader at Avaaz, an activist organisation for political, environmental and human rights issues.

Under the shadow of Mexicos Angel of Independence monument, about 200 people gathered to register to vote next to a billboard-sized placard featuring an anti-Trump cartoon, one day ahead of the first presidential debate between Trump and his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Passersby posed with an effigy of Trump while a mariachi band serenaded them.

The bureaucratic complications of registering to vote when Americans are abroad can discourage people from casting ballots and the Avaaz campaign is aimed at making the process easier.

Trump has vowed to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by migrants to Mexico to make their country pay for a massive wall across the border. He has also called Mexican migrants rapists.

Lets hope we never see this gentleman in the White Houseor the wall, Huff-Hannon said.

Dont forget that in 2000 George W Bush won the White House by something like 500 votes in Florida, he added.

Trump has fervently ruled out any legal status for undocumented migrants. In practice this would mean an extension of a precarious limbo status for millions of migrants, mainly of Mexican origin, who have been waiting for years or even decades to come out of the shadows.

Most Americans favour some sort of immigration reform.  AFP
London, September 26

Baloch activists have launched a week-long sit-in in front of the Chinese Embassy here to protest against China-Pakistan nexus in resource-rich Balochistan.

During the week-long protest two Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) members will sit in front of Chinese Embassy every day and night for six days and end with a big demonstration on October 1, which is Chinas National Day.

FBM described the protest as a peaceful campaign against the China-Pakistan nexus in Balochistan.

China has now become the 21st century East India Company in Balochistan. Their expansionist designs are well known in the region. Its neighbouring country Vietnam is the prime example of Chinese diabolical nature which endured 17 Chinese military invasions. Today we can see that it doesnt respect the international laws over the South China Sea, the FBM said in a statement.

It further says that Pakistan is in conflict with Balochistan because the morally bankrupted state, dominated by Punjab, has occupied Balochistan in March 1948 in blatant violation of international norms and law just in the name of Islam.

China has intensified its efforts to consolidate its permanent grip over Balochistans Gwadar coast and other areas where in 2001 it sought to anchor its military outpost in the name of Gwadar deep-sea port project, the statement adds.

Activists began their protests with placards which read: CPEC [China Pakistan Economic Border] is the corridor of death and destruction for Baloch and China: Hands off Balochistan.

FBM has called on all pro-freedom Baloch and other human rights activists in the UK and Europe to take part in this protest campaign.  PTI
Toronto, September 25

An elderly Canadian couple who gained international sympathy when they were forced to live in two different nursing homes after 62 years of marriage has been reunited after a heartbreaking photo went viral.

Wolfram and Anita Gottschalk, 83 and 81, were sent to live in different nursing homes in late August after space ran out at the home where Wolfram was being treated for lymphoma. The couple were captured in a heartbreaking photo wiping their tears before they parted ways.

Now the two have been rejoined in the same Surrey, British Columbia nursing home, their granddaughter, Ashley Bartyik said. Thursday our family joyfully witnessed the reunification of Wolfram and Anita Gottschalk. Wolfram has finally been moved to the same facility as Anita at the residence at Morgan Heights, she wrote on Facebook. The joyful couple appear in a video celebrating their reunion, touching each others faces, smiling and sharing a kiss.

The reunion saw tears of joy for all involved. They can now be under the same roof for their remaining years, and we couldnt be more grateful, Bartyik said.

Bartyik blamed backlogs and delays by the Canadian health care system for the separation of her grandparents. The tearful photo of their separation was shared more than 3,000 times. Bartyik thanked everyone around the world that liked, shared or discussed their story and credited the international attention for their reunion.

Bartyik says the couple will now spend their final years together, The Canadian Press reported. She says the family will continue to advocate for other couples experiencing similar challenges of separation.  PTI
Washington, September 26

Half of America's likely voters will rely on the presidential debates to help them make their choice between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday.

The results show the stakes for the White House rivals as they prepare to face-off on Monday (6.30 am IST on Tuesday) at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, for their first of three one-on-one debates, a prime-time TV spectacle expected to draw a Super Bowl-sized audience of 100 million Americans.

Some 50 per cent of likely voters think the debates will help inform their decision of whom to support, 39 per cent said the debates will not help and 11 per cent said they did not know how the debates would affect them.

In a strong signal that most viewers will also be hoping the debates bring clarity, some 72 percent of respondents said they want to see moderators point out when a candidate says something that is untrue. That included 73 per cent of people who identified themselves as Trump supporters and 82 per cent of those who said they back Clinton, according to the results.

It helps the audience, particularly me, to recognise what's bull crap and what's real, said Harvey Leven, 63, a teacher from Farmington Hills, Michigan. It's easy for the candidates to quote a statistic and people accept it.

Clinton currently leads in most national polls and holds critical advantages in key swing states like Ohio and North Carolina. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Clinton leading Trump nationally by 4 percentage points.

Clinton had seen her popularity dip in recent weeks after more questions arose about her family foundation and the use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Many voters are hoping to see a relatively civilised debate, after months of mutual attacks between Trump and Clinton on the campaign trail. Trump has called for Clinton to be jailed for her handling of emails as America's top diplomat. Clinton has accused Trump of racism and of being temperamentally unfit for the Oval Office.

Of those polled, 61 per cent said they are not interested in those kinds of attacks. Quit picking on each other, said Lisa Miller, 48, of St. Louis, Missouri. This isn't a playground. Grow up and talk about your plan.  Reuters

Leaf from history: Some top debates that made an impact

Beginning with the very first televised presidential debates in the 1960s, the candidate face-offs have served as some of the most pivotal moments in the history of American politics. Although the debates were not repeated until in 1976, they have been a staple ever since. The debates draw attention, despite the superficial blunders or theatrical, or scripted lines-as they reveal much about the candidate.

September 26, 1960 (John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon): The first televised presidential debate in US history was widely viewed as playing a crucial role in Democrat John F. Kennedy's victory over Republican Vice-President Richard Nixon in that year's general election. Political mythology holds that Americans thought Nixon came off better but Kennedy's cool, attractive demeanor on television provided a winning contrast to Nixon's sweaty discomfort.

October 22, 1976 (Gerald Ford vs Jimmy Carter): After a 16-year gap of televised debates, the face-offs between Democrat Jimmy Carter and Republican President Gerald Ford, were not really memorable. However, they did produce a moment which significantly impacted the final result. After maintaining sizeable lead throughout, Ford squandered the momentum when he stumbled over a question regarding Poland, when he insisted it was not under Soviet domination-which it was, and Ford had to retract his statement-feeding into a perception that he was in over his head. Ford narrowly lost to Carter that November.

October 28, 1980 (Ronald Reagan vs Jimmy Carter): Though the 1980 US election is best remembered for Republican Ronald Reagan's landslide victory, their first and only televised debate mattered. Although there was widespread dissatisfaction with Carter, there were also deep concerns about Reagan's experience and temperament. However, Reagan succeeded in convincing the American voters that he was up for the job, and devastated the less dynamic Carter with a single one liner (There you go again); and an FDR-inspired closing statement (Are you better off now, than you were four years ago?) to which Carter never mustered a memorable retort.

October 11, 1992 (George H.W. Bush vs Bill Clinton vs Ross Perot): The unusual inclusion of a third party candidate and an eccentric one at that-businessman Ross Perot-ensured an even greater level of interest in the 1992 presidential debates. They were also the first to introduce the so-called town hall format, which later turned into a staple. This format was perceived as especially favourable to then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, who had become known for his intense eye contact and physical comfort with voters on the campaign trail. President George H. W. Bush was on the other hand, much more awkward in these kinds of encounters.

October 3, 2012 (Mitt Romney vs Barack Obama): After a lackluster first debate, President Obama saw his re-election chances in real peril as he headed into his second prime-time sparring match with Republican Mitt Romney. During a back-and-forth over the recent embassy attack in Benghazi, Romney tried to take Obama to task for allegedly not calling it a terrorist attack. A confident Obama urged moderator Candy Crowley to get the transcript, she eventually interjected and confirmed that the president had called the incident an act of terror. IANS
Amman, September 25

A gunman shot dead Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar on Sunday outside the court where he was to stand trial on charges of contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature seen as insulting Islam, witnesses and state media said.

The gunman was arrested at the scene. A security source said he was a 39-year-old Muslim preacher in a mosque in the capital.

Hattar, a Christian and a anti-Islamist activist who was a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was arrested last month after he shared a caricature that depicted a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women and asking God to bring him wine and cashews. In the cartoon, the man also asks God to clear his dishes and put a door on his tent and knock before entering.

Many conservative Muslim Jordanians considered Hattar's move offensive and against their religion. The authorities said he violated the law by sharing the caricature.  Reuters
United Nations/Amman, September 26

The United States accused Russia of barbarism in Syria on Sunday as warplanes supporting Syrian government forces pounded Aleppo and Moscow said ending the civil war was almost impossible.

A diplomatic solution to the fighting looked unlikely as US and Russian diplomats disagreed at a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss the violence, which has escalated since a ceasefire collapsed last week.

Rebels, who are battling President Bashar al-Assads forces for control of Aleppo, said any peace process would be futile unless the scorched earth bombing stopped immediately.

Capturing the rebel-held half of Syrias largest city, where more than 2,50,000 civilians are trapped, would be the biggest victory of the civil war for Assads forces.

They have achieved their strongest position in years thanks to Russian and Iranian support and launched a fresh offensive for a decisive battlefield victory on Thursday. Residents and rebels say thousands have been killed in the new strikes.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter terrorism, it is barbarism, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told the 15-member council.

Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war.

Instead of helping get lifesaving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive. The French and British foreign ministers also took aim at Russia, saying it could be guilty of war crimes.

But Russia defended its position.

In Syria hundreds of armed groups are being armed, the territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately and bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now because of this, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council.

Scorched earth

In the first major advance of the new offensive, Syrian forces seized control of the Handarat Palestinian refugee camp, north of Aleppo.

Rebels counter attacked and said on Sunday they had retaken the camp before the bombing started.

We retook the camp, but the regime burnt it with phosphorous bombs, said Abu al-Hassanien, a commander in a rebel operations room that includes the main brigades fighting to repel the army assault.

The army, which is also being helped by Iranian-backed militias, Lebanons Shiite Hezbollah militant group and a Palestinian militia, acknowledged rebels had retaken Handarat.

The Syrian army is targeting the armed groups positions in Handarat camp, a military source was quoted on state media as saying.

Planes continued to pound residential areas on Sunday, flattening buildings, rebels and residents said.

The Assad regime and with direct participation of its ally Russia and Iranian militias has escalated its criminal and vicious attack on our people in Aleppo employing a scorched earth policy to destroy the city and uproot its people, a statement signed by 30 mainstream rebel groups said on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said at least 45 people, among them 10 children, were killed in eastern Aleppo on Saturday.

The army says it is targeting only militants.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the civil war and 11 million driven from their homes.

Diplomatic efforts

Russia and the United States agreed on September 9 a deal to put the peace process back on track. It included a nationwide truce and improved humanitarian aid access but it collapsed when an aid convoy was bombed killing some 20 people.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who hammered out the truce in months of intensive diplomacy, pleaded with Russia to halt air strikes.

UN Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura appealed to the Council meeting to come up with a way to enforce a ceasefire.

I am still convinced that we can turn the course of events, he said, adding that he would not quit trying to bring peace in Syria.

However, Russia is one of five veto powers on the council, along with the United States, France, Britain and China. Russia and China have protected Assads government by blocking several attempts at council action.

Chinas UN envoy Liu Jieyi repeated a call for all sides to work harder to help find a political solution but also said counter-terrorism was a very important component to a resolution, state news agency Xinhua said.

The Syrian conflict has led to the rise and spread of terrorism; without rooting out terrorism, there will be no peace for the Syrian people, and there will be no security for regional countries, Liu said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia was guilty of prolonging the war in Syria and may have committed war crimes by targeting an aid convoy.

We should be looking at whether or not that targeting is done in the knowledge that those are wholly innocent civilian targets, that is a war crime, he said in a BBC interview aired on Sunday.

The rebels said they could not accept Russia as a sponsor of any new peace initiative because it was a partner with the regime in its crimes against our people.

It said Russian-backed Syrian forces were using napalm and chemical weapons without censure from the international community.

UN investigators are looking into the alleged use of the incendiary weapons phosphorus and napalm in several cities.

The war has ground on for nearly six years, drawing in world powers and regional states. Islamic State - the enemy of every other party to the conflict - has seized swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

World powers appeared to believe that neither Assad nor his opponents were capable of decisive victory on the battlefield.

But Russias apparent decision to abandon the latest peace process could signal it now thinks that victory is in reach, at least in the western cities where the majority of Syrians live.

Assads fortunes improved a year ago when Russia joined the war on his side. Since then, Washington has worked hard to negotiate peace with Moscow, producing two ceasefires. But both proved short-lived, with Assad showing no sign of compromise.

Outside Aleppo, anti-Assad fighters have been driven mostly into rural areas. Nevertheless, they remain a potent fighting force, which they demonstrated with an advance of their own on Saturday.  Reuters
Amman, September 25

Warplanes bombed a strategic camp on the northern edge of Aleppo on Sunday as Syrian government and rebel forces battled for control of the city in a Russian-backed offensive that appears to have buried any hope for diplomacy.

The United Nations Security Council will discuss the sharp escalation in violence since a ceasefire collapsed last week. But the rebels said any peace process would be futile unless "scorched earth bombing" by Russian-backed government forces stopped immediately.

Capturing the rebel-held half of Syria's largest city, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped, would be the biggest victory of the civil war for President Bashar al-Assad's forces. They have achieved their strongest position in years thanks to Russian and Iranian support and launched a fresh offensive for a decisive battlefield victory on Thursday. In the first major advance, they seized control of the Handarat Palestinian refugee camp, north of Aleppo.

Rebels counter attacked and said on Sunday they had retaken the camp before the bombing started. We retook the camp, but the regime burnt it with phosphorous bombs," said Abu al-Hassanien, a commander in a rebel operations room that includes the main brigades fighting to repel the army assault. The army, which is being helped by Iranian-backed militias, Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militant group and a Palestinian militia, acknowledged rebels had retaken Handarat.

"The Syrian army is targeting the armed groups' positions in Handarat camp," a military source was quoted on state media as saying.

Planes also continued to pound residential areas on Sunday, flattening buildings, rebels and residents said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said at least 45 people, among them 10 children, were killed in eastern Aleppo on Saturday. The army says it is targeting only militants.  Reuters
More than a third of all doctors on the payroll at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections have been sanctioned at some point during their medical careers, The Oklahoman has found.

The physicians have been disciplined for medication prescribing issues, insurance fraud, alcohol and drug abuse and other behaviors prohibited by the boards that oversee physicians, including two state medical boards and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

Two state-controlled boards  one for medical doctors, the other for osteopaths  handle the bulk of disciplinary matters involving licensed health-care providers.
A Tulsa police officer was taken to the hospital after her car was rear-ended on 71st Street on Monday morning.

The officer was driving westbound on 71st Street near Elwood Avenue when she stopped behind another car attempting to turn left sometime around 7 a.m., Sgt. Kurt Dodd said.

A Camaro also heading westbound attempted to change lanes when he rear-ended the stationary police car, Dodd said.

The officer was taken to an area hospital via ambulance in unknown condition, though Dodd said she was moving around and alert.

The driver of the Camaro was not injured. He received a citation as a result of the crash.

Check tulsaworld.com for updates.
The CEO of Ramps Logistics says he is "really really disappointed" with the Guyana Revenue A
Norway is already feeling the impact of warming, and Foreign Correspondents cameras are there to capture giant slabs of ice crashing into the sea.

Oil-rich Norway has adopted the radical goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. But, as Eric Campbell reports, theres a catch to this green revolution.

For decades Norwegians have savoured the good life, courtesy of a bounty of oil.

Im part of the oil generation here in NorwayWe dont even have to pay to go to the dentist.  oil analyst, Thina Saltvedt

They dont just spend their North Sea riches on high living standards. They bank them too, prudently stashing away nearly US$900 billion  about $170,000 per person  in the worlds largest national sovereign wealth fund.

But now the parliament of this fossil fuel-endowed country has voted for carbon neutrality by 2030, two decades earlier than previously planned.

Already much of Norways electricity already comes from clean hydro. The conservative government has long supported a carbon tax and its heavily subsidising electric cars to help phase out petrol guzzlers as part of a wider push to a greener economy.

So wheres the catch? It may lie deep in the Arctic seabed.

In May the Government issued 13 companies with oil and gas exploration licences in the south Barents Sea along the Russian border.

To maintain our position as a supplier of energy resources to a global population we have to continue exploring new acreage.  Energy Minister, Tord Lien

So while Norwegians debate how they will attain carbon neutrality in just 14 years, the Government is potentially opening up vast new oil and gas export fields on the edge of the high Arctic.

The idea of Norway being such a great contributor to solving climate change is a scam. Were contributing to the problem much more than were contributing to the solution.  Greens MP, Rasmus Hansson

As Eric Campbell discovers, Norway is already feeling the impact of warming, perhaps nowhere more dramatically than at its northernmost tip. Here, as vast glaciers melt away, Foreign Correspondents cameras capture giant slabs of ice crashing into the sea.

When you see blocks the size of skyscrapers coming down, its awe-inspiring. Its hard to believe were having such an impact on things this big.  Tom Foreman, environmental scientist

9.30pm on Tuesday September 27 on ABC.
Due to a recent decision by the Turkish government that the country will no longer observe daylight saving time means that, as of 30 October, the time difference in Turkey will be at CET +2 hours (as opposed to the current difference of CET +1 hour).

The kick-off times of certain matches in the second half of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League group stages have been therefore been impacted, due to a need to change the local time kick-off of matches in Turkey, or in some cases to accommodate the competition regulations requiring matches within a group to be played simultaneously on the last matchday of the group stage (Art. 23.02 UEFA Champions League regulations, Art. 22.02 UEFA Europa League regulations).

Below is the list of impacted matches along with the new kick-off times which have been set by UEFA in accordance with the competition regulations.

UEFA Champions League matches:

1 November  Besiktas (TUR) v Napoli (ITA) will now be played at 18:45 CET (20:45 local time)

23 November  Besiktas (TUR) v Benfica (POR) will now be played at 18:45 CET (20:45 local time)



UEFA Europa League matches:

3 November  Fenerbahce (TUR) v Manchester United (ENG) will still be played at 19:00 CET but this is now 21:00 local time

24 November  Fenerbahce (TUR) v Zorya Luhansk (UKR) will now be played at 17:00 CET (19:00 local time)

8 December  Konyaspor (TUR) v Gent (BEL) will now be played at 17:00 CET (19:00 local time)

8 December  Braga (POR) v Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) will therefore be played at 17:00 CET (16:00 local time)

8 December  Osmanlspor (TUR) v Zurich (SUI) will now be played at 17:00 CET (19:00 local time)

8 December  Villarreal (ESP) v Steaua Bucuresti (ROU) will therefore be played at 17:00 CET


Militants launched 14 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center.

In particular, terrorists violated ceasefire five times in Donetsk direction. The militants used 82mm and 120mm mortars to shell Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk). The enemy also fired at Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk), using grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small arms.

Six ceasefire violations were recorded in Luhansk direction. The terrorists shelled Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk) and Popasna (90 km north-west of Luhansk), using grenade launchers and small arms.

In Mariupol direction, three ceasefire violations were spotted. The militants used grenade launchers and small arms to shell Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk), Pavlopol (30 km northeast of Mariupol), and Novotroitske (32km south of Donetsk).

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No Ukrainian servicemen were killed, but two soldiers were wounded in ATO area in eastern Ukraine over the past day.

Spokesman for the Presidential Administration on the ATO Oleksandr Motuzianyk said this at a briefing in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

No Ukrainian servicemen were killed, but two soldiers were wounded as a result of armed hostilities in ATO area in Avdiyivka, Donetsk region, over the past day, he said.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree on the demobilization of servicemen, who were mobilized during the sixth wave.

He wrote this on his Twitter page

"The servicemen, who were mobilized during the so-called sixth wave, will return home until the end of October. I have signed the relevant decree," Poroshenko wrote.

The President emphasized that as soon as the servicemen of the sixth wave were dismissed, only contractor soldiers would remain on the front. "This is another step towards a professional army," the Head of State noted.

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If the International Monetary Fund will recognize that the draft state budget of Ukraine for 2017 is unrealistic, Ukraine may not get funding from the IMF.

Co-chairman of the Strategic Advisory Group for Reform Support, Advisor to the President of Ukraine, well-known economist and politician Leszek Balcerowicz said this in an interview with Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper.

"The current plans to reach the deficit level of 3% of GDP are quite realistic. It is important not to destroy this financial realism at later stages of work. I know for sure that we cannot increase spending. The draft budget will be agreed with the IMF, and if the budget is recognized unrealistic, Ukraine may not receive assistance from the Fund," he said.

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On September 26-27, 2016, the first meeting of the Ukrainian-Norwegian intergovernmental commission on cooperation in trade, entrepreneurship and economics will be held in Oslo (Norway), the Government portal reports.

Ukrainian State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving Chairman Sergiy Savchuk will visit Oslo (Norway) on September 26-27, 2016 as a member of the government delegation headed by Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk. Within the framework of the visit, Sergiy Savchuk will participate in the first meeting of the Ukrainian-Norwegian intergovernmental commission on cooperation in trade, entrepreneurship and economics, the report states.

In particular, Savchuk is planning to define the potential of bilateral investment cooperation between Norway and Ukraine, namely in the area of energy efficiency and renewable energy sector.

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he is pleased to know that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is very informed about the current situation in Ukraine.

President Poroshenko said in an interview with CNN, when commenting on his recent meeting with the presidential candidate.

"She is very well informed, in particular, about recent changes in Ukraine. I was pleasantly surprised, President Poroshenko said, noting that he knows Clinton more than 16 years.

As Ukrinform earlier reported, on September 20, President Poroshenko met with Hillary Clinton and before that with Bill Clinton.

On September 21, the Ukrainian president delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

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The European Parliaments Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Monday, September 26, will vote on a report and draft resolution for abolition of visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens.

The voting on a report by Bulgarian MP Maria Gabriel is scheduled for 6.40 p.m. Kyiv time, own Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels reports.

The relevant committee at the previous two meetings supported a draft legislative resolution on putting Ukraine on the list of the third countries whose nationals are abolished visa requirements for short-term travel within the European Union (except the UK and Ireland).

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The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations (AFUO) will financially support the Embassy of Australia in Kyiv Cultural Program, own Ukrinform correspondent reports referring to the AFUOs press service.

First of the initiatives will be the arrival of Ana de la Vega, a highly regarded Australian flautist based in Berlin. She will be performing at the Philharmonic in Kyiv on Monday, September 26, in concert with the Kyiv Camerata chamber orchestra. This concert will be part of the Philarmonics standard program season.

In addition, Ana de la Vega will be leading a masterclass at the Tchaikovsky Musical Academy.

On October 1 and 1, the famous Australian will be performing in Lviv at the Philharmonic, as part of the Contrasts contemporary music festival.

According to the AFUO, its supports of the project will promote cultural exchange between Australia and Ukraine.

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| By Alex Likowski

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Jay A. Perman, MD, and other UMB faculty and officials met with counterparts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) Sunday, Sept. 25, to ratify the extension of a successful student exchange program and to explore opportunities for other cooperative activities, such as joint research or training, exchange of scholars for seminars and conferences, and increased exchange of students and faculty for research, teaching, and study.

The meeting on HUJs Ein Kerem campus was one of many during the governors nine-day trade mission to Israel, much of which focused on building business and academic relationships in obvious areas of synergy, such as cyber security and life sciences. (Photo Gallery)

"Todays agreement will further strengthen the successful partnership between these world-class universities and help to advance research in Maryland, particularly in the study of military medicine, Hogan said. Exchanging students and faculty will bring new perspectives and new opportunities for collaboration to both the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Hebrew University of Jerusalem and we are excited they are continuing their important work together.

Dr. Perman visits children on the hematology-oncology ward of HUJ's Hadassah Medical Center.

During a 2013 Middle East trade mission, Perman and Hebrew University President Menahem Ben-Sasson signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to begin student exchange programs and explore further avenues of cooperation. In 2014 and 2015, groups of senior students from HUJs Military Track of Medicine from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hadassah Medical School spent four weeks observing clinical care at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the nations first and foremost trauma care center. Several HUJ students who participated in the exchange in 2014 and 2015 shared their experiences, including observing procedures and techniques in initial resuscitation, management of acute injury operations, and orthopaedic trauma service. They also attended grand rounds, practiced clinical techniques in the Simulations Center, and observed Shock Traumas unique organization and team approach. Shock Trauma is one of the few such facilities that operate as a complete center, not a unit of an emergency department.

Since 2013 we have strengthened the already impressive degree of collaboration in research and education between our two universities, said Perman. We are committed to providing even greater opportunities for our students and faculty and to share our expertise in such critically important areas as trauma medicine.

The obvious success of the first phase of collaboration between UMB and HUJ sparked an energetic discussion of possible next steps, such as collaborative research and training, and the exchange of faculty for teaching assignments.

One area of possible collaboration is in military medicine. In 2013 HUJ established the national Institute for Research in Military Medicine (IRMM) in cooperation with the Israel Defense Forces. The institute, directed by professor David Gertz, MD, PhD, focuses on research and training with emphasis on the development of new treatments and technologies of direct relevance to force protection and homeland security.

"The Hebrew University of Jerusalem welcomes the collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore, a world leader in the field of trauma and operational medicine, said Ben-Sasson. Due to the challenging security conditions in the Middle East, the State of Israel has a great and ongoing need for excellent military medical officers who can function well in emergency situations. We look forward to many years of cooperative work and hope to expand the areas of collaboration between the two great institutes of education."

The agreement, signed by the two university officials, extends the collaboration for five more years, and anticipates continuing student exchanges as well as the development of other mutually beneficial education and joint research projects.

Other members of the UMB delegation present included James L. Hughes, MBA, vice president and chief enterprise and economic development officer; Andrew N. Pollak, MD, chairman, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Department of Orthopaedics; Aaron Rapoport, MD, professor of medicine; Morton Rapoport, MD, past president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System; Leonard Attman, member of the Board of Visitors of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center; and Abba David Poliakoff and Michael Greenebaum, members of the UMSOM Board of Visitors.

After the agreement was signed, Perman and Hogan visited children on the hematology-oncology ward of the university's Hadassah Medical Center, and were struck by the diversity of patients and the commitment of the faculty, staff, the hospital and the university to treat all children, regardless of nationality, race, or religion.

The governors nine-day trade mission also yielded other benefits for the University of Maryland, Baltimore. On Sept. 22, Perman held discussions with Dan Blumberg, vice president and dean of research and development at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), on areas of mutual interest, including cybersecurity and community-oriented health care. Blumberg also heads BGU's Homeland Security Institute.

Following Perman and Blumberg's visit, the two joined a meeting of BGU leadership and faculty, and the rest of the Maryland delegation to discuss a wider range of opportunities to establish educational and research relationships. (Photo Gallery)

BGU is named for Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who famously predicted the creative future of Israel would lie in the Negev, the nation's southern desert region. The university's location, the city of Be'er Sheva, is frequently likened to Silicon Valley - a rapidly growing hub of high-tech research and startup businesses. While there, Perman and the governor's delegation also got a chance to meet and speak with many of the leaders of Israeli cyber companies at CyberSpark, a joint venture of BGU, the Israel National Cyber Bureau, the municipality of Be'er Sheva, and a large number of cyber businesses.

Earlier in the week, Perman met with Israeli technology entrepreneurs and the leadership of Tel Aviv University. In his keynote address, Hogan told the 250 conference attendees, Maryland truly is at the forefront of science, technology, business, and policy, and we want Israeli companies to continue to be a key part in our success. He added that, We are committed to creating a culture in our state where all businesses can grow and thrive, and in this increasingly competitive economy, where companies can  and do  locate virtually anywhere. Two areas of particular interest for collaborations with UMB are in cybersecurity law and policy, and aging research. (Photo Gallery)

The University already has a strong connection with one of the stops on the trade visit. Bioscience company VAYA Pharma recently moved its U.S. headquarters to the University of Maryland BioPark. With more than 85 employees, VAYA Pharma is an innovator of lipid-based medical foods that are used to manage nutritional imbalances associated with certain diseases and health conditions. Perman and Hogan met in Tel Aviv with executives of Enzmotec, VAYA Pharmas parent company, shortly after arriving in Israel.
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BOGOTA, 26 September 2016  UNICEF welcomes todays official signing of a final accord between the Government of Colombia and FARC-EP, the countrys largest armed opposition group, to end Colombias five-decade war and build sustainable and long-lasting peace.



For the thousands of children affected by the conflict in Colombia, the signing of this agreement couldnt have come soon enough, said Roberto de Bernardi, UNICEF Representative in Colombia, speaking from the signing ceremony in Cartagena. Today peace prevails  at long last.



National data show that out of more than 8 million people in Colombia who are registered as victims of the conflict, around 2.5 million  or 1 in 3  are children. Some 2.3 million children have been displaced and 8,000 disappeared since data collection started in 1985.



UNICEF will continue to support national efforts to assist children affected by the conflict, and looks forward to the release of all boys and girls from the ranks of the FARC-EP.



###



Notes to Editors
The University of Hawaii is facing more than $100,000 in fine after the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Office (HIOSH) discovered that it has violated a number of safety violations which resulted in an explosion that injured a researcher in March this year. The explosion happened at the university's Manoa campus which is is part of the Hawaii Institute of Energy.

Thea Ekins-Coward, a researcher for the Hawaii Energy Institute, was preparing a gas mixture which consists of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen when an electrostatic discharge was released in the tank and ignited the mixture. The mixture is reportedly used to feed bacteria and to produce biofuels and bioplastics.

According to the investigation issued by the University of California Center for Laboratory Safety conducted in July, the origin of the explosion was a digital pressure gauge from a 49-liter tank.

The investigation also revealed that the university's employees did not have proper security training nor does it enforce strict use of proper safety gear. Aside from that, the university also did not have a proper exit route, failure to comply with safety procedures, and did not make any improvements to reduce occupational hazards. The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Office has found the university guilty of 15 safety violations in all.

The HIOSH has ordered the university to pay around $7,700 for each violation it committed as well as fix the said violations until October 21. After the incident, the university has decided to close down all its laboratories that have highly flammable and volatile elements until they have improved their safety. The university also asked the HIOSH if it can clarify and make adjustments on the citations.

"Safety officers and leadership have been working diligently to further strengthen the culture of safety on the Manoa campus and foster an environment where hazard recognition and risk assessment are the standard of care for all activities," according to an official statement issued by the university.
The University of Delaware has been "reprimanded" recently for citing that one of its distinguished professors share the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. The university took immediate action and said that it was the result of a simple error.

"The University follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's guidelines on references to its 2007 Nobel Prize. The website in question is new as is the individual who posted the incorrect information on the site. It was a simple error on the University's part created by cutting and pasting from outdated text, " a University of Delaware spokesperson said.

It can be remembered that prior to the statement, Junk Science brought into the university's attention that a page on its website provided wrong information about John Byrne as sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which former Vice-President Al Gore was also a part of.

According to the website page, which provides information to prospective students about Environmental Policy, John Byrne is a distinguished professor of Energy and Climate who has contributed to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports since 1992. It also stated further that the professor was a member of a working group who received the Nobel Prize in 2007.

Junk Science stated that even though the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize, the IPCC issued a memo that says the leadership of the organization has agreed to send personalized certificates which feature a copy of the Prize to those scientists who have made substantial contributions to the reports. These include coordinating lead authors, lead authors, staff of the technical review units, Bureau members, review editors, and staff of the secretariat who had been part from the very beginning of IPCC since 1988. On the other hand, it also added that it did not send "such certificates to contributing authors, experts reviewers, and focal points."

After the spokeswoman issued the statement, she also added that the university has taken immediate action and corrected the error.
Just three days ago Donald Trump won Iowa but that love affair seemed short-lived as it ditched the Republican's anointed in favor of Cruz in recently held caucuses. The question now is whether Trump will manage to win the Iowans back and win the elections there.

A few days earlier, Trump had a seven-point impressive lead against Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton which seemed to have sealed his win in the Democrat stronghold. The poll average showed trump garnering 46.3 percent against Clinton's 40 percent.

Trump's loss to Cruz was a game changer because it shows that Trump's performance got worse while Rubio's got better. But what are the reasons Trump lost? Some political analysts and experts list different factors as to why it happened.

Cruz's win can be accounted to the large turn-out of evangelicals who made up 64 percent of caucus-goers. The numbers showed that one-third of the evangelical population in Iowa supports Cruz compared to Trump's 2 out of 10.

Aside from the evangelicals, strong conservatives also seem to favor Cruz where he got 40 percent of their nods. Trump, on the other hand, got a high rating from the moderates where he got 34 percent. However, the moderates only represent 14 percent of the Republican voters.

The greatest game changer from the Iowa electorate, however, comes from the first-time voters who showed up in the caucuses. However, not all of these first-timers showed up for the Republican firebrand. Polls revealed that only 3 out of 10 support Trump, just a little above Cruz's 1 out of 5 support.

Despite this recent turnout, experts say that this does not really mean if the numbers will translate to votes.

"While it's true that the ground game matters more in a caucus state than it does in traditional primaries, it is not clear right now whether polling is doing an accurate job of identifying 'likely' voters when it comes to Donald Trump," said Nancy le Thorneau at the Washington Monthly.
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org.keycloak.adapters.tomcat.AbstractAuthenticatedActionsValve.invoke(AbstractAuthenticatedActionsValve.java:67)

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org.keycloak.adapters.tomcat.AbstractKeycloakAuthenticatorValve.invoke(AbstractKeycloakAuthenticatorValve.java:181)

org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:143)

psiprobe.Tomcat90AgentValve.invoke(Tomcat90AgentValve.java:38)

org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:92)

org.apache.catalina.valves.AbstractAccessLogValve.invoke(AbstractAccessLogValve.java:687)

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The initial site visit to the Scott Monument conjured up images of Jack and the Beanstalk, faced with an imposing blackened tower, crowded with illegible Gothic detailing. Both dominating and delicate, a new lighting scheme was needed to bring the Scott Monument back to life.



The masonry is immensely fragile and conservation requirements are rigid, therefore we restricted our brief to using existing mounting points. We endeavoured to avoid additional punctures that could cause cracking or structural issues in the future.



We visualised our concept in real scale, testing various colour temperatures, beam angles and LED lamp options directly onto the monument. It became apparent that the monument itself would drive our concept. Essentially the stone decided where and how we should use light. It sparkles under the Xicato. Separated Phosphor technology. Not the Artist or Vibrant range, they both created a greenish tint to the masonry. Only the standard 83 Ra module would suit. We punctuated this with direct sources to the crown and Sir Walter Scott statue. The light glides over the stonework, defining key architectural features. Our final design includes eight additional doubled-headed custom bollards.This allows the base of the monument to be illuminated, linking the structure with its urban surroundings, the people of Edinburgh and visitors to the city.



Is the new scheme more efficient? We have designed the majority of luminaires with a local manufacturer, who fabricated the fittings in Edinburgh. The luminaries can all be maintained from the monument itself. Each beam angle has been visually tested to graze the stonework in a controlled and sympathetic manner, revealing forgotten features. Comparing the new scheme with the historic one, watt per watt, the new scheme has modestly reduced the electrical load but greatly reduced energy consumed through re-lamping and access equipment.


September 26 2016

Susan Stephen Architects has brought forward plans for 11 backcourt mews properties off Edinburghs Bernard Street on behalf of J&M Cameron Properties.Encompassing three separate sites the scheme will also entail conversion of two B-listed office buildings to residential use with the new build element taking the place of a former office extension.This seeks to form an inner courtyard by defining the perimeter of existing backcourts with a contemporary zinc and untreated larch clad addition with each flat having access to its own private external space.In their design statement the architects observed: There is a charming tradition in Edinburgh where contemporary mews designs are located behind grander stone faced buildings which in turn face the public street. Many of these mews delight on discovery, and allow architects to explore relevant design themes including sustainable use of materials.In this project the site lies behind impressive historic (and listed) stone faced buildings on Bernard Street. There is an opportunity to design a contemporary mews building which creates its own welcoming ambience.
(Updates share performance in paragraphs 5,6)

By Guillermo Parra-Bernal

SAO PAULO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Cia Siderurgica Nacional SA is considering selling part of its stake in Congonhas Minerios SA, Brazil's No. 2 iron ore producer, to China Brazil Xinnenghuan International Investment Co, two people familiar with the deal said on Monday.

According to the people, the Chinese mill known as CBSteel is interested in buying about 25 percent of Congonhas directly from CSN. They said CSN, as Brazil's No. 2 listed flat steelmaker is known, would remain in control of the unit, adding that talks are advancing slowly and may not necessarily result in a deal.

The first person, who asked for anonymity since the talks are private, said any deal valuing Congonhas north of $20 billion is more likely to succeed. The transaction also hinges on CSN being able to secure long-term supplying contracts from CBSteel, the same person noted.

CSN, which owns about 88 percent of Congonhas, declined to comment. Efforts to contact CBSteel's media representatives in Brazil were unsuccessful.

Shares of CSN reversed early losses and gained 0.3 percent to 8.76 reais in mid-afternoon trading, underscoring optimism among investors that a Congonhas Minerios deal would help CSN accelerate cutting the largest debt burden among Brazilian steelmakers, currently at about 26 billion reais ($8 billion).

The stock has more than doubled this year, partly on hopes Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Steinbruch will push forward with asset sales to cut debt. The six Asian companies that own a combined 12 percent of Congonhas would keep their stakes unaltered if a deal between CSN and CBSteel takes place, the people said.

On Aug. 19, O Globo newspaper reported intentions by CBSteel to buy 30 percent of the unit.

Congonhas Minerios was created at the end of 2014, through the merger of CSN's fully owned Casa de Pedra mine and Namisa - an ore production joint venture with the Asian companies. Casa de Pedra has one of Brazil's best-quality iron ore reserves.

According to bankers and analysts, CSN agreed to combine both assets to avoid paying $3 billion in penalties to the partners for missing Namisa's expansion goals. The Asian consortium includes Japan's Itochu Corp, Nisshin Steel Co Ltd, JFE Steel Corp and Kobe Steel Ltd as well as Korea's Posco Ltd and Taiwan's China Steel Corp.

($1 = 3.2441 Brazilian reais) (Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Editing by David Gregorio and Alan Crosby)
(Photo by Alfred Hart)

In this photograph by Alfred Hart taken between 1865-69, a Native American looks down upon a newly completed section of the Transcontinental Railroad, 435 miles from Sacramento, California. The stark composition of both man and progress facing a distant haze conveys emotions as complex as the cultural impact behind Americas westward expansion. The railroad was a massive undertaking, with three companies building the 3,069 km (1,907 mi) line over six years. With the final Golden Spike driven into the ground in May 10, 1869, the revolution in transportation allowed a flood of people and goods to travel directly from Council Bluffs, Iowa all the way to Sacramento, California.Although, by the 1860s, Native Americans had signed away the rights to much of their land in treaties with the federal government, they likely never imagined that a disruptive and massive system like the railroad would be constructed through their traditional hunting grounds. The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad had dire consequences for the native tribes, forever altering the landscape and causing the disappearance of once-reliable wild game. The railroad was probably the single biggest contributor to the loss of the bison, which was particularly traumatic to the native tribes who depended on it for everything from meat for food to skins and fur for clothing, and more.Tribes increasingly came into conflict with the railroad as they attempted to defend their diminishing resources. The Native American tribes found themselves at cultural odds with the whites building the railroad and settlers claiming ownership over land that had previously never been owned. What had been a long and dangerous journey for a family heading west now was considerably easier and safer. Railroads encouraged immigration more directly. All but one transcontinental line had been financed through massive grants of public lands meant to be sold to help pay for construction. To unload these lands, railroads hired hundreds of promoters across the East and Europe, offered cheap fares, and even provided temporary housing for any who could come. New towns and spreading ranches and farms pressed against shrinking native homelands, disrupting economies and triggering disputes that almost invariably ended badly for Indians.In response, Native Americans sabotaged the railroad and attacked white settlements supported by the line, in an attempt to reclaim the way of life that was being taken from them. If they were not taking aim at the railroad tracks and machinery, they would attack the workers and abscond with their livestock. Ultimately the tribes were unsuccessful in preventing the loss of their territory and hunting resources.(Image: Library of Congress, via Rare Historical Photos ).
Rice is one of key goods that Viet Nam could export to Cuba.-VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

Speaking at an investment promotion conference, Cuban Consul General to HCM City Bernabe Garcia Valido, said investors can seek investment and trade opportunities in science and technology development, technology transfer, upgrading transport infrastructure and industrial park infrastructure and exploitation of recyclable energy and bio-energy.

The Cuban Government has encouraged investment in many forms of co-operation and joint ventures between domestic and foreign enterprises, he said.

Cuba is also a potential market for Vietnamese goods since most of products consumed in the country are imported.

Cuba has great demand for garment and textile products, construction materials, cosmetics, food, pesticides, fertiliser, paper and carton, and agricultural machinery, he said.

Tran Ngoc Liem, deputy director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's HCM City branch, appreciated the trade and investment incentives the Cuban Government has given to Vietnamese businesses.

This is a good time for both sides' businesses to enhance investment and trade ties, he said, adding that Vietnamese firms should take advantage of opportunities to boost exports to Cuba.

Trade between Viet Nam and Cuba has significantly increased in recent years, but it was still modest compared to the potential of the two countries, he said.

Bilateral trade reached US$218.2 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 4.65 per cent, of which, Viet Nam's export revenue to Cuba accounted for $214.6 million, he said.

Viet Nam's main export items to Cuba include rice, coffee, chemicals, ceramics, machinery and spare parts while it imports vaccines and pharmaceutical products from Cuba.Some Vietnamese firms have invested in Cuba, including the PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) under the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, the Viet Nam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation, and electronics producer Hanel Co Ltd, he said.

Meanwhile, Cuba firms had two investment projects in Viet Nam.

According to delegates at the conference, investment in each other's countries was still modest due to the limited access to market information and the investment policies of enterprises from both sides.

The conference would strengthen co-operation between the two nations' business communities, they said.
Labour was against Brexit and when the result of the June 23 referendum came in, shocked MPs launched a coup against leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn, who they accused of a lacklustre campaign. (AFP/Oli Scarff)

There are concerns the lack of an alternative could result in a "hard Brexit", where Britain agrees to leave the European single market as the price of cutting EU immigration - and forges a free market-driven future on its own.

"It's about jobs, as well as environmental policies, workers' rights or maternity rights that we fought for years to get," Glenis Willmott, an MEP and the leader of European Parliamentary Labour Party, told AFP.

"We have to make sure that we are part of the discussion, and we are not just sat on the sidelines," she added.

Labour was against Brexit and when the result of the Jun 23 referendum came in, shocked MPs launched a coup against leftist leader Corbyn, who they accused of a lacklustre campaign.

The 67-year-old on Saturday saw off an ensuing leadership challenge, but many Labour members remain livid at his apparent ambivalence on the EU, still talking about feeling "stabbed in the back".

"He doesn't see Brexit as a central issue and he doesn't have a very fixed position of what the policy should look like," said Simon Usherwood, reader in European studies at the University of Surrey.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government has also yet to outline its strategy for Brexit, which could present an opportunity for Labour to shape the terms of the debate, the analyst said.

"If someone was bold enough to set out a vision then I think they could go a long way. But Jeremy Corbyn is not going to be that man," he told AFP.

IMMIGRATION CONCERNS

Labour's foreign affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry blamed the Conservatives for Brexit and said they could not be allowed to set its terms.

"It does not give them a mandate to put themselves in a locked room and do whatever the hell they want with this country," she told party activists. "We have to leave but we have to get the best deal possible."

She acknowledged the party had yet to set out its strategy - "we are still considering" - noting that it depended on the position of the Conservatives and other European leaders.

But the lack of a strategy also reflects how Labour is divided over whether to sacrifice access to the single market, which most Labour MPs want, to restore control over migration.

More than one third of Labour voters backed Brexit, largely over concerns about the impact of a huge influx of European workers on wages and public services.

Corbyn says controlling migration is not the answer, but some MPs fear that ignoring voters' worries will drive them into the arms of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP).

"The big challenge now is between respecting the result of the referendum and maintaining some of those things about the European Union that most of us campaigned for," said MP Rachel Reeves.

SECOND VOTE MULLED

The government has refused to give any details of its plan or the progress of talks so far, but there is speculation that lawmakers may have a vote before formal exit talks begin, likely early in 2017.

Corbyn has held meetings with European socialists and is planning a conference later this year together with European trade unionists to discuss the way forward.

Labour lawmakers in the European Parliament have also been discussing their strategy, including whether to put forward their proposals now or wait for the Tory plan.

"Until we know what is exactly the deal they want, it's extremely difficult," said Willmott, but added: "I spoke to Jeremy. I think he will speak out more."

Richard Corbett, a Labour MEP for northern England, mooted an idea put forward by Corbyn's challenger, Owen Smith, saying: "We should not rule out a referendum on a Brexit deal."
A fire broke out on a tanker belonging to the Mexican state oil company PEMEX, causing no injuries, according to a company official. (AFP Photo)

The state-owned Pemex ship has been on fire for 24 hours just off the eastern port city of Veracruz.

The 31-member crew has been safely evacuated. The vessel was carrying 80,000 barrels of diesel and 70,000 barrels of gasoline.

Pemex, navy and other crews worked to put out the flames. "You can see fire on the water, and that is a sign that the fuel is leaking," said Antonio Chedrahui, a navy firefighting official.

It took four hours to get special fire-retardant foam to the site of the fire, and Pemex was also slow in setting up floating containment barriers to prevent the spill from spreading, he added.
Loggers use motorbikes to transport illegal wood.-Photo courtesy Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Forest Ranger Unit.

According to a report by the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Forest Ranger Unit, at around 3pm on Wednesday, Mobile Ranger Team No 2 and forces of the Hoa Son Ranger Station detected a suspicious 16-seater van travelling from Hoa Son Commune, Minh Hoa District to Ho Chi Minh National Highway.

During a search, they found that the van, driven by inh Minh Tuong, was transporting 20 boxes of wood, which was some 1.5cu.m.

Failing to prove the legality of the wood, Tuong, a resident of Hoa Son Commune, and some people who had accompanied the van on motorbikes reportedly threatened to throw rocks on the rangers car. They then used a sword and an iron tube to attack the rangers, leaving Duong Quyet Thang, deputy head of the Mobile Ranger Team, injured.

Another person drove the 16-seater van into the rangers car, following which the van plunged into a field on the side of the road.

The group of 15-20 people continued to attack the rangers and used motorbikes and another car in which they transferred the wood. They also managed to push the van back up to the road and escape.

The rangers could only seize four boxes of wood, which were brought to the Hoa Son Ranger Station.

Illegal logging is rampant across forest and mountainous areas in Viet Nam, with loggers becoming increasingly violent in recent times.

In August, an official was killed and two others were injured after being attacked by illegal loggers in the Central Highlands province of Lam ong.

Early this month, a group of loggers, also in Lam ong, was prosecuted for assaulting rangers with weapons in July.

According to estimates of ak Lak Provinces Forest Ranger Unit, there were 14 cases in which illegal loggers fought against rangers and forest protection forces since the beginning of 2015 to July 2016 in the province alone.
According to a recent report by global real estate service firm JLL Vietnam, investors from Japan, Thailand, France and South Korea have flocked to find opportunities in Vietnam.

Thai firm, Berli Jucker Plc bought Metro Cash and Carry Vietnam for EUR655m, making it the biggest merger and acquisition transaction in 2014. Not long later, another big player from Thailand, Central Group also acquired Nguyen Kim electronics chain and then the Big C Supermarket.

In 2015, South Korea's top retailer Emart discount store chain was opened in Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, another supermarket brand from South Korea, Lotte, has successfully opened 11 supermarkets and aims to increase the number to 60 by 2020.

After two years joining the retail market, Japan's Aeon Mall now owns four shopping malls, nearly 50 shops and said it expected to open 20 shopping centres in Vietnam by 2020. France's AuchanSuper also decided to expand the business by opening 17 supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City and 20 shops in the northern region by 2020 after the success of its three Simply Mart stores and assessing the potential growth of local retail market.

As incomes per capita increases, locals now can afford to spend more, and Gap, Mango and Topshop are becoming more familiar with young people. In early September, Zara opened its first flagship store in Ho Chi Minh City and H&M is said to be completing procedures to enter Vietnam early next year.

The report pointed out that Vietnam's retail market has lots of room for growth with people aged 15-64 accounting for 70% of its 90 million population. From 2015 to 2020, its urban population is predicted to growth by 2.6%, one of the highest growth rates in the region.

Trang Bui from JLL Vietnam said, "Vietnam is the most dynamic emerging economy in South East Asia thanks to its increasing disposable incomes, rapid urbanisation and rising living standards."

American consulting firm Boston Consulting Group also assessed that the middle and upper classes will double in size by 2020. People with monthly incomes of over USD714 are the main target of retailers.

In addition, credit cards have become familiar with the public and consumers are less worried about spending more. Increasing international tourists and better infrastructure are also important factors to attract investors.

"The competition has become increasingly fierce and only retailers with right strategies to meet market demand will gain greater market share," JLL wrote in its report.
Syrian government forces gather amidst destruction in the largely deserted Palestinian refugee camp of Handarat, north of Aleppo, after they captured the area following multiple Russian air strikes. (GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP)

US Ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism" during a Security Council emergency meeting called to demand that Moscow rein in its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and halt the intense air strikes.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war," Power said. "What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism."

At least 124 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo since the army on Thursday announced an operation to take it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," French Ambassador Francois Delattre said, calling for action to ensure the atrocities do not go unpunished.

Britain's envoy spoke of "a new hell" unleashed on Syrians with bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry used in air strikes pummelling residential areas.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

Britain, France and the United States had called for the urgent talks after days of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage a US-Russian ceasefire deal ended in failure at the weekend.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the "chilling" escalation making use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has left more than 300,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.

To protest the attacks in Aleppo, the US, French and British ambassadors walked out of the Security Council chamber as the Syrian ambassador delivered his remarks.

ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE PEACE

Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that "bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now."

Churkin again laid blame for the failed diplomacy with the United States, accusing Washington of being unable to convince armed opposition groups that it backs on the ground to distance themselves from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and abide by the ceasefire.

A US-Russian ceasefire deal that would have charted a way forward towards peace talks was broken by the "sabotage by the moderate opposition", he asserted.

Churkin however said that reviving the ceasefire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of a "collective" effort on all sides.

Despite the recriminations, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said a "tiny window of opportunity ... still exists" for Russia and the United States to help Syria.

He appealed for renewed efforts to allow Syria to "step away from the brink of more years of bloody conflict which risks to become even worse."

Residents said cluster bombs rained down on Saturday night on eastern parts of the city, where an estimated 250,000 people are living under a government siege.

At least 19 children were among those killed in the assault, which has included missile strikes, barrel bomb attacks and artillery fire, the Syrian observatory said.

"All night long they were dropping cluster bombs. I couldn't sleep until four in the morning," said 62-year-old Ahmed Hajar, who was out looking for bread in the Al-Kalasseh neighbourhood.

WE'RE CIVILIANS HERE

In the nearby neighbourhood of Bab al-Nayrab, 30-year-old Imad Habush was baking bread in a small wood-burning oven outside his house.

"None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread," he said.

"I don't know why the regime is bombing us in this barbaric way. We're civilians here. We're not carrying weapons, and we're besieged. We have no way to escape."

Air strikes were continuing on the eastern neighborhoods on Sunday, the Observatory said, with at least 25 civilians, including two children, killed since dawn.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by war and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.

The eastern portion of the city has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages.

A truce deal hammered out by Russia and the United States this month was meant to allow aid to be trucked into the east of the city.

But the ceasefire fell apart before any assistance was brought in. And the army and its Russian ally have since pounded the eastern neighborhoods with a force that residents say is virtually unprecedented.

More than 300,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

Successive attempts to reach a political solution have failed, and the latest bid by Moscow and Washington has virtually collapsed, despite ongoing talks to save it.

Syria's foreign minister said on Saturday that his government was confident of "victory" with support from "true friends" including Russia, Iran, and Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

"Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab army is making great strides in its war against terrorism," Walid Muallem told the UN General Assembly.
Uniben Food Company has put into operation its new fish sauce, seasoning and instant food factory in Pho Noi A Industrial Park, Hung Yen Province.-Photo Uniben

"With the new factory in Hung Yen Province and the use of modern production processes and advanced quality management systems that follow international standards, we believe that Uniben's Reeva and 3 Mien products will continue to be the first choice of customers in Viet Nam and international markets," Uniben General Director Vu Tien Dung said.

Designed by DWP, as well as construction consultants Royal Haskoning DHV (Holland), the factory was built on six hectares, with a modern production line that is nearly fully automatic, having been imported from Germany and Japan.

The factory can manufacture more than 1.2 billion unit of products per year, to meet the increasing demand of local and international markets.

Established in 1992, Uniben has two essential brands, including Reeva and 3 Mien, offering a variety of products, including instant noodles, rice porridge, noodle soup, fish sauce, and seasoning to serve local and export demands.

According to the latest report of the world's top market research firm, Kantar Worldpanel, "3 Mien" brand of Uniben Company is the best value and favorite brand in rural areas, as seen during the past year.
Tra fish being processed. Now 60 Vietnamese firms are allowed to export catfish to the US.-Photo VNA

According to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD), this brought the number of Vietnamese firms allowed to export Siluriformes fish to the United States to 60.

The two new firms are Hua Heong Food Industries Viet Nam and Cuu Long Fish Import-Export Corporation.

NAFIQAD asked the two firms to actively check its catfish products to ensure requirements of the US Food Safety and Inspection Service are met.

In addition, firms must register to get certificates for seafood exports at one of the NAFIQAD branches, which was compulsory to export catfish to the United States. From the beginning of October, certification for seafood exports will be conducted via the national window system.

According to NAFIQAD, the United States will inspect food hygiene and safety of Siluriformes fish products exported from Viet Nam to the United States, expecially tra and basa fish, from July 7 to October 15.

Recently NAFIQAD asked firms which have never exported Siluriformes fish to the United States to stop registering for exporting to this market. It said the United States would not permit new exporters with no previous experience in exporting Siluriformes fish to the country during the period of evaluating the food safety supervision system of Viet Nam on tra fish.

According to the Viet Nam Seafood Exporters and Processors, the United States is the largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish, with an export value of nearly US$255 million in the first eight months of this year, rising by 22.4 per cent over the same period last year.

The United States was followed by the European Union markets, with export revenue of more than $177 million.

In the first eight months of this year, Viet Nam earned $1.1 billion from exporting tra fish, representing a rise of six per cent against the same period last year.

The association expects tra fish exports to maintain the growth rate in the remaining months of this year and reach revenue of $1.65 billion for the full year.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed off on plans to remove three air force units from airports in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang City ceding much-needed runway space to commercial carriers.

The military has occupied and conducted training in portions of the country's main airports since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Overloading, particularly at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, moved the city to pursue land occupied by the Ministry of National Defense.

On Friday, Major General Hoang Viet Quang, the vice director of the Defense Ministrys Department of Operations, said the country's biggest airport would soon have room to grow.

Air Force Regiment 917 moved from Tan Son Nhat to Bien Hoa Airport in the bordering province of Dong Nai in March. The regiment will again relocate to the new airport underway in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho when it opens in the second quarter of next year.

Vietnam is working to expand Tan Son Nhat to receive more than twice the passengers in the next 10 years as a rapid growth in traffic strains its overloaded facilities.

The city government is working to coordinate with the ministries of transport, defense and natural resources to expand Tan Son Nhat's cramped 21-hectare (52-acre) operation eastward into land vacated by the air force.

Major General Quang says the Ministry of Transport would assume control of the extra land by October.

The new 850-hectare (2,100-acre) Tan Son Nhat should be able to accommodate 50 million passengers, annually, by 2025 at present, it's designed for just 20 million.

The extra land can't come soon enough.

The airport saw over 26.5 million passengers last year, a figure that's expected to increase to around 31 million this year.

Meanwhile, in Hanoi, Air Force Regiment 921 will leave Noi Bai International Airport for a new base in the northern province of Yen Bai. Work on Yen Bai Airport began in July and is scheduled to finish in the second quarter of 2018.

Meanwhile, Air Force Regiment 929 will leave Da Nang International Airport for Chu Lai Airport in the central province of Quang Nam. The new facilities should come into operation in the third quarter of 2019, if everything goes according to plan.

Vietnam's aviation market has boomed in recent years. An average of 650-750 flights come and go every day from airports addled by regular delays and cancellations.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan led the Vietnamese delegation to the event.



In his opening speech, South African President Jacob Zuma highly valued participating countries proposals on measures to control wildlife trading, saying that wildlife poaching and trafficking have affected nearly 500 species, especially rare wild animals such as elephant, rhino and lion in Africa and other places in the world.



The President has called on the international community, especially CITES member states to discuss and put forth urgent and effective protection measures for rare and valuable fauna and flora species in Africa and the world in the coming time.



Addressing the event, Head of the Vietnamese delegation Ha Cong Tuan said after more than two decades of joining the CITES, Vietnam has made positive contributions to the international organisation. In free trade agreements it has signed, the country always commits to addressing the wildlife trafficking.



The country has inked cooperation agreements on the issue with many countries, including China, Laos, Cambodia, South Africa and Indonesia.



With its efforts made over the past ten years, Vietnam has succeeded in cutting the demand for rhino horns, with a reduction of 38% in three recent years, he said, stressing that the Government has pledged to eradicate illegal wild animal trading, as well as combat all wildlife-related crimes.



On the occasion, the Deputy Minister informed that Vietnam will host the 17th and 18th international wildlife trade conference (IWTC) in Hanoi this November.
Photo by PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Megan Bixler, 21, a Point Park University student, and Elena Castiglione, 18, a University of Pittsburgh student, participate in Love Trumps Hate: Rally for Economic and Climate Justice on Sept. 22 in Pittsburgh.


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Kang Sopha became a US citizenship in 2005, but has not voted in the last two presidential elections.

The now retired 70-year-old understands the importance of civic participation.

She voted in Cambodian elections before immigrating to Oakland in 2000. She rented her house in Pursat province to the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodias election mission in the early 1990s. She even worked for Cambodia's National Election Committee for a year.

Kang Sopha is also better educated than earlier Cambodian immigrants, having worked as a primary school teacher after the Khmer Rouge years in the 1970s.

Yet, the obstacles Kang Sophas lists as reasons for not voting are similar to those faced by earlier Cambodian residents in Oakland.

In starting a new life in the US, Kang Sopha simply had little time to vote outside of working long hours to support her family. She also struggled with language and cultural barriers in a city that lacks strong Cambodian associations that might have otherwise provided assistance. And, in a country where the car is king, she does not drive.

Now, Kang Sopha is voting in the forthcoming presidential election thanks to the US postal service, and the vote-by-mail process. She first voted by mail in California's primary elections in June after learning about that option to post her vote.

Voting by mail has made the process easy for someone in her situation, she said.

It's very convenient for those who don't drive, for those who are a little sick, they all can vote just by asking their children to help fill out the ballot once it is mailed to your house, she told VOA Khmer.

Voting by mail saves both time and money, especially for elders who don't drive, it is very convenient, she said.

Many elderly Cambodians in the Oakland area cited the same reasons as Kang Sopha's for not voting this year. If they could simply mail their ballot papers, they would be interested in voting, they said.

Local community leaders and election workers believe that the vote-by-mail system could significantly increase Cambodian voter participation in Oakland.

Citizens still need to register to vote first, a fact made difficult because of the lack of Cambodian associations to help local voters with the process, said Ho Maleny, a Khmer bilingual voter trainer for Alameda County, which includes Oakland.

Once voter registration is completed, voters receive a mail-in ballot paper, which allows them vote easily from home.

When the real voting period comes, our office will mail ballots and envelopes to them. All they have to do is to tick on the ballot and not forget to sign on the envelope, Ho Maleny told VOA Khmer.

California also allows registered voters to vote permanently by mail.

At Oakland's Wat Thmey or new Buddhist temple, Thach Chhiv said he had never heard of the vote-by-mail option before but the apparent ease of the process had made it an attractive option.

The 62-year-old had never voted before and had recently become visually impaired.

I'm interested in voting now, Thach Chhiv told VOA Khmer.

If I can tick according to what I want, the candidate that I loveand I can mail back the ballot myself.

With some help and encouragement from local community activists, a few days after this interview, Thach Chhiv was registered to vote by mail in the upcoming presidential election.

But the vote-by-mail system is not without its problems for Khmers-speaking immigrants in Oakland.

Ly Sambo, manager of interpretation services and the refugee health program at an Alameda County hospital, said many older Cambodians, like Thach Chhiv, are still unaware of the vote-by-mail option.

While voting by mail can improve Cambodian voter turnout, she said the system's biggest problem for immigrants is the language barrier, and trust.

If you vote from home, what language will it be? If it is only in English, there will be a problem for them, Ly Sambo said.

Even in Khmer writing, it can still be a problem as they have not been reading Khmer for a long time. So many elders are neither literate enough in English nor Khmer, she said.

Their children can help, but in the process might influence their parents' decisions.

One solution could be to have voting instructions available in an online audio format, Ly Sambo said.

Kang Sopha said she trusts the US postal system, but agreed that the language barrier and trust can be an issue for Cambodian-American families with different political preferences, and where parents heavily depend on their children's better command of English.

If the children don't follow their parents choice of candidate and tick the one [candidate] they personally prefer, than I would not know what to do as parents depend on trust with their children, Kang Sopha said.

Ho Maleny said another solution could be ballots that include Khmer writing. The vote-by-mail system is already in five major languages and she hopes Khmer will be included in the future, although it is will not be available for the presidential election in November.

Voting by mail starts from October 10 and runs until November 8, the actual presidential election day.

Kang Sopha agreed that Khmer-language instructions on ballot papers would greatly help first time vote-by-mail voters like her.

It's very good [if it is in Khmer], she said.

We can choose the candidate we love and mail back the ballot, without having to depend on the children.
Afghanistan's ambassador to Islamabad has released a statement confirming the killing of a top Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan.

Hazrat Omer Zakhilwal said in a statement Monday "The killing of top TTP commander, Azam Tariq, in an operation by Afghan security forces in Paktika is yet another proof that Afghanistan is not in business of harboring terrorists as 'assets,' regardless of who they intend to target; and does not distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' of them."

Pakistani authorities allege TTP extremists use Afghan sanctuaries with the help of the neighboring countrys spy agency for staging and plotting cross-border deadly attacks on civilians as well as security forces.

Kabul, which has long blamed Islamabad for covertly supporting the Afghan Taliban, rejects the charges.

Media reports Sunday said suspected U.S. airstrikes in southeastern Afghanistan were believed to have killed a top commander of the extremist Pakistan Taliban and several of his partners.

The overnight attack took place in Bermal district of the Paktika province adjacent to the Pakistani border.

Rais Khan, also known as Azam Tariq, of the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the TTP, and his son were among those reported killed in the attack, according to militant sources.

The U.S. military Sunday confirmed to VOA it carried out two airstrikes in the area, but refrained from discussing details for operational security reasons.

TTP has been waging a deadly insurgency on the state of Pakistan for over a decade. Most of it leaders and a large number of fighters fled to Afghanistan two years ago when the Pakistan military launched a major ground and air offensive against them in border areas.

The Pakistani Taliban is blamed for the killings of thousands of people in Pakistan during the past decade in terrorist attacks.
The formal peace agreement between the Colombian government and the rebel group FARC that will be signed in the port city of Cartagena on Monday, ending the longest running conflict in the Americas, faces one more hurdle before its implementation.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC rebel leader Timoleon Timochenko Jimenez agreed to a cease-fire in June, signaling the end of 52 years of war.

After the signing, the agreement will go before voters for approval on October 2.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he is hopeful the agreement will be implemented.



I think this is an achievement of historic proportions. It ultimately will be good for the region and the people of Colombia. It took a lot of courage and a lot of hard work by a lot of people," Obama said.



More than 220,000 Colombians have been killed in the war, and more than 7 million displaced.

WATCH: Related video report





Under the accord, high-ranking FARC members can avoid prison if they make reparations as part of a truth-and-reconciliation process.

In return, FARC would become a legitimate political party and be given seats in congress.

But the pact may not end the violence



I think you would have to be pretty naive [to think] that after this agreement there is all of a sudden going to be no more violence, no more drug trade. This is going to take, under the best scenario; it is going to take a very long time to implement," said Michael Shifter of the Interamerican Dialogue.



On the streets of Cartagena reaction was mixed.



Colombia needs an opportunity to have peace so that it can go forward and grow and develop the country," said Jorge Rodriguez Sosa.



Right now theres a lot of unemployment, and they are going to give a lot of privileges to a lot of people [from FARC] who have caused a great deal of harm," complained Maritza Paraga.



Polls on the referendum have fluctuated wildly, and the outcome could go either way.
Aid workers in the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo say Syria and its Russian allies stepped up their bombing campaign on rebel-held eastern parts of the city Monday, killing nearly 100 people on the fourth consecutive day of mayhem and death.

Relief workers from the Society of Anglican Missionaries, writing on Twitter, said the dead included children. They also said medical personnel and hospitals are "overwhelmed," with no additional supplies arriving.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, responding to those reports, said the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad and its Russian allies "seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process."

Kerry also discounted a televised report from Damascus quoting a top Syrian diplomat as saying the Assad government is prepared to take part in a unity coalition.

"While they're pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated," Kerry said from the Colombian city of Cartagena.

Monitors from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say nearly 250 people have been killed in Aleppo and outlying areas since a shaky cease-fire disintegrated earlier this month. That truce, negotiated by Russian and U.S. diplomats, was called to allow aid workers to distribute critically needed food and medicine to hundreds of thousands of civilians cut off from supplies.

However, observers, pointing to the deadly bombing of a relief convoy last week near Aleppo, say the cease-fire failed almost from the beginning.

Pressure mounts

The onslaught at Aleppo triggered a flurry of accusations Sunday at an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia and Syria of conducting an "all-out offensive" to retake the divided city.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get lifesaving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive," she said.

Power has repeatedly lambasted the Assad government and its Russian allies for their ongoing assault on the city, and Sunday she described Russia's role in the conflict as "barbarism."

She was joined by British diplomats and French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who said "war crimes are being committed here in Aleppo." He then described Aleppo as a "martyred city."

Russia reacts

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, speaking Monday, denounced the latest Western accusations of complicity in the destruction of Aleppo, pointing to what he called "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States."

Peskov also told reporters that Moscow remains "gravely concerned" by what it sees as "terrorists" in and near Aleppo using the tattered cease-fire to rearm and attack Syrian government forces.

Referring to evidence of al-Qaida-linked extremists fighting alongside rebels in Aleppo, Peskov said, "There has been no separation of moderates from terrorists.

Naturally," he said, "the fight against terrorists is ongoing, and it must not be stopped."

Aleppo, the country's largest city, has been divided among government troops, rebel militias, Islamic extremists and Kurdish fighters since 2012 -- a year after the country erupted into civil war.

U.N. officials estimate that 400,000 people - most of them civilians - have been killed since then.
The arrests of 24 Kurdish teachers, accused of supporting the PKK Kurdish rebel group, has intensified criticism of the Turkish government's use of the emergency powers it introduced following July's failed coup.

Early Sunday, loud banging on the door woke up the Dogan household. Heavily armed anti-terror police stormed into their apartment and arrested Gulizar Dogan, a teacher and a mother of two, including an eight-week-old baby.

At the door were five to six heavily armed police officers with their weapons drawn, said Gulizar Dogan's husband, Zeynel. A few other masked policemen stood behind with shields. Zeynel Dogan says he told the offciers to calm down, and they started beating him and asking this was the home of Gulizar Dogan.

Gulizar Dogan teaches art at a local high school in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. She is among 24 teachers detained during the past few days under the same emergency powers that were used to suspend more than 11,000 teachers in the Kurdish region pending investigations for allegedly aiding terrorism. The government says it introduced emergency rule to track down those who were behind July's failed coup attempt.

Completely unlawful process

The teacher's arrests are part of an alarming trend in the government's use of emergency powers, according to Sezgin Tanrikulu, a human rights lawyer and deputy leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, the CHP.

The dismissal of more than 11,000 teachers who had nothing to do with the coup attempt, and now the taking of teachers in custody in Diyarbakir, is a completely unlawful process against union-related activities, he said.

The detained teachers are all reportedly union members who participated in a strike calling for a peaceful solution to the armed conflict between Turkey's government and the outlawed Kurdish PKK.

Turkey's largest teachers' union says the latest arrests represent a worrying escalation in the crackdown on its members.

Allegations of overreach

The CHP supported the introduction of emergency rule, but its leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, now accuses the government of using its powers to target opponents, rather than coup plotters. The CHP is challenging some of the emergency powers in Turkey's constitutional court.

The government insists it is determined to defeat what it calls the twin domestic threats of coup plotters and the PKK.

Human rights groups say the crackdown on the PKK is increasingly targeting members of Kurdish civil society, including locally elected officials of the People's Democratic Party, the HDP, Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party.

CHP deputy leader Tanrikulu says the sweeping powers of emergency rule are exacerbating the Turkish state's worst tendencies.

This is a habit of this state since its beginning, he said, to associate all union activities or all oppositional stances against the government with membership in secret organizations or terrorist organizations.

Under emergency rule, the detained teachers can be denied access to their families or lawyers for up to 30 days. But Gulizar Dogan, nursing her eight-week-old baby, is being allowed daily access to feed her child.
Support in Australia for action on climate change is at its highest in almost a decade, according to a new report. The survey, compiled by an independent research organization, shows the majority of respondents believe Australia should be a world-leader in solutions to tackle the effects of rising temperatures.

The Climate of the Nation report is Australias longest running survey of public views on climate change. It was compiled by the Climate Institute, an independent research body. The survey of 2,000 people showed that most Australians trust the scientific evidence of climate change and believe there are employment and business opportunities in renewable energy.

About 65 percent of respondents want to see Australia lead the world in finding solutions to climate change, up from just over 50 per cent in 2012.

John Connor, the head of the Climate Institute, says attitudes have shifted significantly.

We have seen conditions now as strong as they have been since 2008 and and certainly up from the lows of 2012 when scare campaigns and attacks on the science were rampant," said Conner.

Cause and effect



Connor puts those shifting attitudes down to Australians seeing for themselves the effects of changing temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events across the country, including severe storms, droughts and floods.

According to the survey, 90 percent believe the Australian government has a responsibility to help combat the effects of warming temperatures, but Connor says few respondents believe the current center-right administration is doing enough.

Over two-thirds expect national leadership, but, yes, they only get about 19 percent in good performance," said Conner.

The government has promised to curb greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, which has some of the highest per capita rates of pollution in the world. It has also set a target for 23.5 percent of Australia's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.

About 60 percent of Australias electricity is currently generated by burning coal.

Australia also has a small but vocal minority of climate change sceptics who believe that man is not responsible for rising temperatures, which they say are part of a natural cycle.
The attorney general of the central-western Mexican state of Michoacan said a priest was found shot dead Sunday, becoming the third cleric to be kidnapped and killed in the country within a week.

Authorities said Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen, who had been missing since late last Monday, was found dead on a highway. Autopsy results indicated the priest was likely killed five days before his body was found.

The killing came less than a week after two other priests were kidnapped from their church in Poza Rica and later found dead in the eastern state of Veracruz.

While there has been no claim of responsibility and no motive has been given for the killings, some priests in Mexico over the years have denounced drug gangs and their violence.

Reports say at least 31 priests have been murdered after a decade of drug violence in the country.

The archdiocese has released a statement urging investigators to solve the latest crime. We lament these violent acts and the insecurity in our state, the statement said.
The United States has announced criminal charges and economic sanctions against a Chinese company for alleged support of North Koreas nuclear weapons program.

Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Developmental Company Limited (DHID), as well as its chairwoman Ma Xiaohong and three top executives, were charged with conspiring to evade sanctions against North Korea, including by facilitating money laundering through U.S. financial institutions.

DHID also is under investigation by Chinese authorities for its connection with Kwangson Banking Corporation, a North Korean bank suspected of financing Pyongyangs nuclear weapons program. Ma Xiaohong was detained by Chinese authorities last month.

This shows we can work cooperatively with China; we both see it in our interests to apply greater pressure on North Korea, said State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner on Monday.

Toner added its necessary to take actions to maintain the integrity of sanctions imposed by the United Nations and by the United States when North Korea continues to disregard international obligations.

Kwangson Banking Corporation was previously designated by the U.S. and United Nations for providing financial services in support of North Koreas weapons proliferation.



In a coordinated move, the Justice Department charged Dandong Hongxiang employees with using dozens of fake businesses and bank accounts to evade U.S. sanctions on North Korea's nuclear and weapons program. At the same time, the Treasury Department froze the assets of the company and its employees, including 25 bank accounts and 21 alleged front companies.

The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege that defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world, surreptitiously moved money through the United States and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear weapons program, said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.

Last week, Chinese authorities said they were investigating Hongxiang, based in Dandong, a northeastern city on the North Korean border. Police and China's foreign ministry said the company was suspected of unspecified "serious economic crimes.'' That was an unusually explicit announcement for Beijing, whose dealings with the North are shrouded in secrecy.

China signed on in March to the stiffest U.N. sanctions yet that limit trade with the North. It has tightened controls on cross-border flows of goods, but that hasn't allayed suspicions that North Korea still can conduct illicit business through China. U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibit nuclear weapons development by the North and all ballistic missile activity.

We have been earnestly and faithfully implementing Security Council resolutions related to North Korea in their entirety and fulfilling our international obligations in non-proliferation export controls, said spokesperson Geng Shuang on Monday.

International concern about Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs is deepening following its fifth and largest atomic test this month, its second this year. That's fueling worries that North Korea is moving closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland.

A defiant North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho defended Pyongyangs ballistic and nuclear programs, questioning the legitimacy of the United Nations Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions against North Korea.

The United States has no more qualifications to force U.N. member states to implement this undeserved resolution while the member states have no moral obligation to implement this unfair and unjust resolution, said Ri in New York last week.
Tongues as well as tails were wagging Sunday as dogs drew crowds at the eighth annual Surf City Surf Dog competition in Huntington Beach, California, near Los Angeles.

Dozens of big and small dogs, along with their owners, braved unusually high surf as they took to the water, and there were some wipeouts along the way. The pooches, however, appeared undeterred as they took to the waves.

Event spokesperson Marcie Taylor said the surf dogs competed in four weight class and size divisions, So there are different categories according to weight: small, medium, large and extra-large dogs. We also have the tandem heats so it's like two dogs on a surfboard, and a dog and a human."

Taylor says there was also the most difficult "Shredder" category, in which the canines were judged on a variety of skills, including the length of their ride and their confidence on the board.

Bono, a Brazilian Labrador that came from Rio de Janeiro with his owner Ivan Moreira, nabbed the "Shredder" prize.
France says Britain must play a bigger role in resolving a shared cross-channel migrant problem, and vowed a vast and squalid camp in the port city of Calais will be fully dismantled.

Making his first trip to Calais as president Monday, Francois Hollande did not visit the so-called "Jungle," now bursting at the seams with up to 10,000 migrants.

However, the camp was the main focus of his trip, following protests against the increasingly brazen tactics of asylum-seekers trying to cross the channel to Britain.

Hollande said the migrant camp, which was partly razed earlier this year, must be completely dismantled, but also that the migrants must be treated with humanity and dignity.

He said London must play its role in handling what he called the humanitarian effort in Calais. Apparently referring to Britain's decision to leave the European Union, he said the exit did not mean London could disengage from its obligations toward France.

The Calais camp has become symbolic of Europe's larger quandary over handling the flood of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. The subject has deeply divided the European Union, and dominated a Balkans summit Saturday in Austria.

Closer to home, Calais has become a political flashpoint before French presidential elections next year. The far-right, anti-immigrant National Front party is popular in the region. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running again for office, called for renegotiating a migrant treaty with Britain during a visit to Calais last week.

London is financing a highly controversial wall going up in Calais. It aims to keep migrants from trying to board trucks bound for Britain; but, at a time when anti-migrant walls and fences are sprouting across Europe, the Calais construction is taking on a bigger significance.
French President Francois Hollande has vowed to shut down a migrant camp in Calais by the end of the year.

During a visit to the port of Calais Monday, Hollande said the migrant camp must be definitely dismantled. He shared plans to relocate the residents to other centers around the country where they could eventually apply for asylum.

The French president also called on British authorities to do their part in supporting newcomers.

I am determined to see the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking [in Calais], Hollande said.

It was Hollandes first visit to the camp as president where between 7,000 and 10,000 migrants have immigrated from Sudan and Afghanistan, and are currently living there.

We are nearing a solution, Hollande said, adding that the closing of the camp would be finalized in accordance with the values of the Republic.

Officials plan to move refugees to 164 centers before winter in France.
A global rights defender has called for Pakistan to overhaul its Colonial-era police system, alleging it is filled with disgruntled and corrupt officers who commit abuses with impunity.



The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), while releasing findings of a new report Monday, said it has documented a range of police abuses in three of the countrys four provinces, including torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, extra-judicial killings and other ill-treatment of detainees, at times resulting in the deaths of suspects.

Provincial police forces in Punjab, Baluchistan and Sindh face improper pressure from politicians and local elites, as well as a dearth of ethical and professional standards, but successive governments have for decades failed to carry out reforms, or hold abusive police to account, the report noted.

Retaliation fear



It asserted families of victims are deterred from filing complaints against police out of fear of harassment or being falsely accused in retaliatory trumped-up cases.

Those from marginalized groups  refugees, the poor, religious minorities, and the landless  are at particular risk of violent police abuse, according to the 102-page report.

A rights respecting, accountable police force is key to addressing grave security challenges facing Pakistan, said Brad Adams Asia Director of HRW.

Instead, law enforcement has been left to a police force filled with disgruntled, corrupt, and tired officers who commit abuses with impunity, making Pakistanis less safe, not more, warned Adams.

The report is based on interviews with dozens of police officers of varying ranks, victims of police abuses, their families, experts, activists and witnesses to police abuses.

Call for reforms



It also called for improving working conditions and professional incentives for police officers of the under-resourced and under-equipped police, noting they are not trained in methods of professional investigation and forensic analysis, and thus resort to unlawfully coercing information and confessions.

Pakistani authorities have not yet commented on the findings.

Human rights activists and local media frequently draw attention to and report on police abuses.

Custodial torture remained one of the gravest and most pressing human rights issues in Pakistan," noted the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its latest annual report.

Critics say that Pakistani politicians when in power use the police force to suppress opponents and to try to maintain influence in their traditional constituencies, which effectively has discouraged governments from bringing reforms and punishing abusive police officers.

The new report documents a range of human rights violations committed by police, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
Iran says it has released a retired Canadian-Iranian professor, who had been detained on "security charges."

A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Homa Hoodfar was released on humanitarian grounds.

Hoodfar, 65, who most recently taught at Concordia University in Montreal, was arrested June 6 after a visit to Evin prison in Tehran.

Her passport had been confiscated and she was banned from leaving Iran, according to her family.

Iran does not recognize dual citizenship and has arrested multiple dual nationals over security-related issues.
Islamic State fighters are preparing for a major battle in a critical war-ravaged province, where government troops have successfully driven out rebel forces.



IS has been fighting Syrian forces in eastern Homs province for weeks, gaining ground in villages with hopes for an assault on the beleaguered central city of Homs.



In a video released on social media over the weekend, IS warned government forces that its fighters will advance on central Homs, showing fighters doing training exercises for the battle. The video featured what IS said are the bodies of Syrian soldiers who died in battles with IS.



Homs is a natural area of operations for [IS], said Nicholas A. Heras, a Middle East researcher at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. [Their] would-be caliphate already has a long-established military presence in the contested areas.





Homs has been decimated by war since 2012. The city was one of the first battlegrounds between rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and government troops. Thousands of soldiers, rebels and civilians have been killed and wounded in the fighting. Tens of thousands of residents fled, and those left behind faced urgent humanitarian needs as the embattled city was virtually cut off from international aid.





With the help of Russian airstrikes and Lebanese Hezbollah militants, government troops have maintained a grip on the city of Homs since 2014, ridding Homs of rebels and expanding their operations into the northern part of the province.

Oil for sale



In recent months, defeated rebels agreed to withdraw from Homs and allow humanitarian aid into the city, giving the city its first relative peace in some four years.



However, IS remains in control of much of eastern Homs Province and vows to use it as a base for further attacks.



Taking control of more territory in Homs Province would provide easier access for IS fighters to advance towards Damascus and its suburbs, connecting its territories in eastern Syria to the Syrian capital.



IS restarted operations this week of a major oil field in eastern Homs. Al-Shaer field was non-operational since IS militants regained control from government troops in May.



According to local reports, IS produces nearly 7,000 barrels of oil per day at Al-Shaer and analysts say profits from smuggling of the oil production will boost IS struggling coffers.



Al-Shaer is a rich field, said Tammam Baroudi, an economist at the Syrian Economic Forum. It has large quantities of natural gas too.



The reopening the oilfield gives IS some leverage in the conflict economically and politically, Baroudi said, adding that IS is not only becoming fuel sufficient, it also has the ability to sell it to the (Syrian) regime, which means IS would have the upper hand in certain areas. he said.



Opposition groups often accuse Syrian government of collaborating with IS fighters in oil dealings even as Syrian troops fight IS on the battlefield. Analysts say that middlemen conduct the transactions so that IS and Syrian brokers have no contact. The Syrian government has denied any alleged oil dealings with IS.



The Syrian government has pledged to stop IS from expanding militarily in Homs. State-run media reported on Monday that Syrian troops foiled at least two IS attacks and killed several IS fighters.



A local media activist, speaking on condition of anonymity from Homs, told VOA that having pushed out most rebels from Homs city, regime troops are in a better position to focus on battling IS in the countryside, having already driven most rebels out.

Strategic city

Homs is strategically important for the Syrian regime because it connects Aleppo in the north to the capital, Damascus, in the south.



It also represents a gateway to Syrias coastal region where Alawites make up the majority. Alawites, viewed as infidels by IS, are the backbone of the Syrian regime in the countrys civil war.



For now, IS is setting sights on regaining control of the ancient town of in Homs province, according to local reports. IS was driven from Palmyra in March by Syrian troops. It continues to maintain a strong presence in several neighboring villages, staging occasional attacks on government forces inside Palmyra.





Dislodging Assad from Palmyra again would be a propaganda victory for IS, analyst Heras said.
Officials and witnesses in Afghanistan say fighters linked to Islamic State have regained control of most of the militant group's former strongholds in the country, weeks after retreating to remote mountain hideouts in the face of major Afghan security operations.

The troubled areas are located in Achin, Naziyan, Kot and Haska Meena districts of the eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

A reporter for VOAs Afghan service this week traveled to Achin, the main IS base in the country, and says government security forces have relocated to positions they were occupying prior to the launching of an anti-IS Qahr-e- Sellab offensive in June.

Regional military spokesman Shreen Aqa confirmed to VOA that IS militants have returned to parts of the troubled districts, but said Afghan forces are preparing to undertake a fresh offensive for their eviction.

Warning not heeded



Tribal elders from the area have repeatedly warned IS was trying to return to its former bases and criticized Afghan authorities for not paying attention or establishing permanent security posts after concluding the previous operations.

IS launched its regional operations early last year in about 10 districts of Nangarhar, but stiff resistance from the rival Taliban and repeated U.S. counterterrorism drone strikes confined them to three or four districts, according to officials.

The operations in June and July were very successful because they eliminated IS regional chief, Hafiz Saeed Khan, along with 11 other top leaders and killed 25 percent of its fighters, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. military commander in the country, noted last week.

We estimate there numbers are 1,200 or 1,300 fighters. They have some enclaves in (neighboring) Kunar province, but primarily they are in Nangarhar province, Nicholson told reporters on Friday.

Primarily Pakistani ethnic Pashtun militants who were previously part of the anti-state Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in the neighboring country fill Islamic State's regional ranks, the general said.

Their goal is to establish their caliphate, the Khorasan province, with Jalalabad as the capital and Nangarhar as their initial caliphate, he added.

IS has declared Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Iran as its Khorasan province.



General Nicholson confirmed there are linkages financial, leadership and strategic communication between the Nangarhar militants and the main Islamic State back in Syria.

IS has also claimed responsibility for several attacks in Pakistan. But the Pakistan military earlier this month announced it has "forestalled" attempts by the group to expand influence in the country.

An army spokesman said security forces have arrested more than 300 militants linked to the Middle East-based terrorist group, including its main leadership, since it began operations in Pakistan last year.
Japan warned China Monday about sending fighter jets over a disputed territory that both countries claim in the East China Sea.

On Sunday, China sent warplanes to the skies over the Miyako Strait, east of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu islands. Chinese officials say about 40 aircraft were involved in the maneuver.

The Associated Press reports Japan scrambled at least one fighter jet after the Chinese aircraft flew over the area.

Japan said the aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace, but that it was the first time Chinese fighter jets had flown over the strait.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament Monday Japan would "never tolerate attempts to unilaterally change the status quo" in the disputed waters or "wherever else in the world."
Meet Michel Elefteriades, producer, nightlife big shot, and a man in search of utopias in Lebanon, a country beset by challenges. With old wounds barely healed from its Civil War two and a half decades ago, and overspill from Syria causing further difficulties, Elefteriades has created his own country - Nowheristan - in an attempt to forge a new political and cultural path. John Owens reports from Beirut.
In a country unable to elect a president, one man continues to reign as a self-appointed emperor.

Michel Elefteriades is a well known and occasionally controversial figure in Lebanon, a former militia leader turned producer and king of Beiruts nightlife.

Having grown up through Lebanons civil war and seen his nation unable to shed the ghosts and divisions of its past, he is a man in search of a new way of doing things.

Sporting a cane and a potent sense of the absurd, step forward Emperor Michel E of Nowheristan - a nation with followers across the world.

Utopia Now

Redeveloped at great cost and controversy after Lebanons civil war, downtown Beirut is pricey paean to Lebanons wealthy.

But amid the designer shops and glass swathed high-rise buildings lies a small den of the bizarre; a place where valuable antiques jostle for place with the kitsch and the worthless, and slogans compete for space on the walls.

"Utopia Now" reads one, "People have the power" another.

Here, in the HQ of Nowheristan, is one of the places that Elefteriades says he is trying to bring about change.

Launched in 2005 in the presence of both a U.N. representative and the countrys then culture minister, the well-connected Elefteriadis decided he wanted to start a revolution.

But you start by making the revolution around you, he explained, in your neighborhood.

Since then, it is claimed, there are now one million Nowhereistanis from around the world - its as easy as signing up online. The ideals he espouses, listed in their own book, are universal, an embrace of diversity and rejection of inherited prejudices among them.

But many have particular resonance in Lebanon, where an inability to elect a president is just one manifestation of a country deeply stifled by its sectarian divisions and still largely run by its old war lords.

I feel like telling the people here that they should stop living through the lives of their parents and grandparents, he explains, that they should stop inheriting the problems of the past.

It is not surprising that Elefteriades is passionate about the dangers of not moving on from a violent past. He witnessed, and participated in, that past himself.

Dragged into the war

As a sensitive teenager growing up in an area controlled by Christian militias during the civil war, which spanned from 1975-1990, Elefteriades made the mistake of going public with his interest in communism.

It is something, he says, that led to his torture at the age of 14.

This event brought me to reality, he explained. It dragged me to the Lebanese war and helped me understand that even a stupid war like that is influenced by philosophy and ideologies.

Drawn into the politics of the war from then on, he eventually led his own militia. He says he has no major regrets regarding his past. But the end of the war in 1990 saw him exiled, living variously in France and Cuba, before returning in the late '90s.

Having sworn off politics, he made the fateful decision to go into music, producing an array of hits and gradually building a formidable business empire.

Along the way, he has created another utopia of sorts, albeit a rather profitable, hedonistic one.

His two Music Hall venues are among Lebanons best known nightlife spots, showcasing fusion music that has upset traditionalists and won him loyal fans. He has expanded into Dubai and had plans to go global.

He speaks of both the venues and blending of cultures in his music in ideological terms, describing the motivation behind launching the second Music Hall in 2013 as a reaction to the escalating Syrian war.

I said Im going to create a kind of bunker - an oasis of music and culture - and I will protect it, he told VOA.

Intentionally absurd

Of course, he also returned to politics, though he claims to be scornful of politicians.

A participant in last years You Stink protests, sparked by the countrys trash crisis, he is downbeat about how the movement dissipated. Though trash is once again building up on the streets, the mass participation movements of last summer seem a distant memory.

And while Elefteriadis may have friends in high places he clearly has enemies there too. He is still awaiting a court case over allegations of satanism, a charge the Elefteriades, an atheist, vigorously denies.

Perhaps in keeping with the Nowheristani embrace of contradictions, with Elefteriades it is hard to separate the canny businessman from the utopian idealist, the man from the well-constructed myth.

He admits - in a nod to his role as emperor and everything that goes with it - to purposefully using an absurdist vehicle for his beliefs in order to gain attention. But he maintains his intentions are utterly serious, quoting Oscar Wilde that progress is the realization of utopias

Meanwhile, when it comes to Lebanon and its divisions, he is adamant.

All these things are going on too long, he tells VOA.

They have to stop. Or else we will always be manipulated by people who want this area to be unstable ... we will always be living in medieval times.
Many people still dont know who they want as U.S. president. New tech tools, created by startup companies aiming to increase political participation, can help.

One such firm is Brigade, a nonpartisan mobile app and website that wasn't around in the last presidential election.

Matt Mahan, Brigades co-founder and CEO, said increasing civic participation requires solving a couple of problems.

We need to give people easy access to the information they need to make decisions, but we also need to embed that within their social lives. We need to to make that part of the conversations theyre having with their friends, and we need to create cultural norms around participating, Mahan said.

Some tech people say these tools are disrupting the old way of political engagement by creating new ways for involvement. Brigade, for instance, allows users to debate issues and try to sway others to their positions. Users can also see how their views align with political candidates and pledge to vote for a certain candidate.

Mahan actually sees the startup as a way back to political discourse.

"The point of democracy is to create this public square where people can discuss and debate their values and their perspectives on issues and ultimately create trade-offs and come to a conclusion about whats the best way to move forward to create the greatest good for the most people," he said.

Crowdfunding candidates

Crowdpac is another politically minded, San Francisco-based tech company that emerged since the 2012 election cycle.

Were using technology to try to help the average citizen to connect and engage in politics, said Crowdpac's co-founder and COO, Gisel Kordestani.

The nonpartisan site describes itself as the first crowdfunding platform designed for politics. Crowdpac provides information about people running for office, helps users find and support the candidates that share their views and helps those running for office raise money.

Kordestani said tech companies that create new avenues for political participation give politicians more reasons to pay attention to Silicon Valley.

This region has just grown over the last four decades. [It] has grown into not a powerhouse just in the U.S. but globally, and [is] setting the technology, the platforms and the rules of engagement for society, for work, for the environment globally.

Kordestani said many tech companies in Silicon Valley are also realizing its important to work with politicians and the government to create positive change.
Gabons president Ali Bongo is due to be sworn in on Tuesday after the countrys highest court validated his re-election Friday. Opposition leader Jean Ping rejected the courts ruling and said he "will not retreat" but his next steps are unclear.

Bongo has called for political dialogue after this months contentious election.

Ping also claimed to have won the August 27 poll. He called the Constitutional Court's ruling on Friday "a miscarriage of justice."

But his options now are limited, says Paul Melly, West and Central Africa analyst at London-based Chatham House.

Jean Ping is probably realistic. He knows that in the normal constitutional process, it is highly unlikely that there is any possibility for the election results being reversedSo I think what Jean Ping is trying to do is to maintain the political pressure on Ali Bongo, he said.

Ping is a former ally of Bongos father, who ruled the country for over four decades until his death in 2009.

Deadly violence erupted in Libreville earlier this month after the electoral commission announced that Bongo had beaten Ping by a margin of just under 6,000 votes.

France joined Ping in calling for a recount of ballots in disputed areas. The United States called for the release of results by polling station. The government refused. The European Union continues to express concern about the fairness of the poll.

Analysts say Bongo has also faced pressure at home with several members of the ruling party defecting even before the vote.

He had, in his first term, tried to position himself as a reformer, and he made some progress with that. But it was patchy," said Melly. "And it may be that now, the combination of international pressure and domestic political pressure, would force him to make wider concession, for example we could imagine that in municipal elections or parliamentary elections He might have to cede a genuinely transparent and credible process in those types of vote.

Analyst Gilles Yabi, founder of the West African think tank WATHI, says electoral reforms could very well be on the table during the proposed political dialogue.

Yabi says that we could imagine that at some point a deep reform of the Gabonese electoral system will have to be discussed, including the lack of presidential term limits and the current practice of a single-round election. He says reforms would be needed to open the way for a change in leadership through credible and transparent election results.

Ping has not said whether he will answer Bongos invitation for political dialogue.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said his government is not ready to negotiate with Boko Haram until it is clear who is leading the terror group.

I gave directives on three different occasions and I am not ready to go beyond this unless the leaders of Boko Haram come out in the open and say that they are leaders of Boko Haram, he told VOA last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"Then I will be ready to talk to them but not [to] somebody coming to tell me that they are bringing one person or two people today and that they are leaders of Boko Haram," he said, speaking in Hausa.

In recent weeks, longtime leader Abubakar Shekau and former spokesman Abu Musab al-Barnawi have each stated they are leading the Islamist extremist group.

Buhari also said the frustration over the inability to liberate the Chibok girls needs to be put in perspective.

He said that Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 Nigerians since it began its insurgency in 2009 and the kidnapping of the 230 girls from the northeastern town of Chibok in 2014 is just one of many atrocities they have committed.

He added the government will work to reunite Chibok girls with their parents and make sure that they return to school.

Niger Delta Avengers

Buhari stated that a new group targeting the oil industry in the Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Avengers, is not only causing security issues but also hindering economic and development progress in the country.

The militant group has claimed responsibility for attacks in the south and at one point, cut the countrys oil output in half, according to Bloomberg. He said the insurgents are blowing the pipes providing electricity services to the Nigerians.

However, Buhari said this is not going to prevent the government from addressing Nigeria's electricity and power shortfalls. The government is planning to construct more dams in the northeastern area known as the Mambila Plateau to provide hydropower as well as add dams in other locations, he said.

We are working toward this tirelessly," he said.

Buhari added that his government will negotiate with the Avengers if they are open to it, but cautioned that he is fully prepared to continue the military campaign to its conclusion.

If they are not ready for compromise, so be it. We are ready for them, he said.

Corruption in government



Buhari acknowledged the longstanding, ongoing problem of corruption of Nigeria, but said he cannot deal with it in the same manner as in 1983 when he came to power through a coup.

During that time, commonly known as the war against indiscipline, his government was able to arrest and swiftly imprison those suspected of corruption.

Now, he said, things are different.

We have to investigate, confirm before arresting people, Buhari said. We have to observe or follow due process before we prosecute them. This is what is wasting our time. Irrespective of this problem, we were able to recover a lot of money both in Nigerian currency and foreign currency.

Buhari came back to power when he defeated incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election.
In the race to be the worlds top diplomat, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has positioned himself as the one to beat.



In a fifth round of U.N. Security Council informal ballots on Monday, Guterres came first  for the fifth consecutive time. He was the only candidate of the nine to garner the necessary minimum nine votes. He received 12 votes encouraging his candidacy, two discouraging it and one expressing no opinion.



Many diplomats believe one of the two "no" votes is from New Zealand, which is trying to raise the fortunes of its former prime minister Helen Clark who is also in the race, but has been having a disappointing showing so far. Mondays vote left her at the bottom of the pack.



The bigger question remains whether a veto-wielding member of the council is casting the other negative vote. Some have speculated Russia might block Guterres  a Western European  in favor of an Eastern European candidate.



Eastern Europe has fielded a total of six candidates in the race, saying they are the only region not to have held the post and hope to fill it starting January 1, 2017.



Their candidates had a solid showing in Mondays informal ballot, with former Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic coming in second and current Slovakian foreign minister Miroslav Lajcek coming third. The two men swapped places from the last round of voting, in which Lajcek came second.



But both men had only eight countries supporting their candidacies, putting them below the threshold of nine and far behind Guterres in support.



Bulgarias candidate, Irina Bokova, has been the subject of much speculation. After a fifth place showing in the previous straw poll, rumors began to circulate that if she did not place first or second on Monday Sofia would withdraw her and replace her with Kristalina Georgieva, an EU commissioner.



After a week of campaigning on the sidelines of last weeks U.N. General Assembly, Bokova placed a disappointing fifth (fourth place was a tie) with only six countries encouraging her candidacy  one less than last time  and two more discouraging her.



The council will hold its next  and possibly most decisive straw poll  on October 5. During that vote, the permanent council members  Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States  will have colored ballots and their discourage votes will equal vetoes, which could torpedo candidates aspirations.
The size of the bomb craters is becoming larger and the destructive power is growing of the missiles that Russian and Syrian government warplanes are launching at civilians and rebels in Aleppo.

Since the breakdown last week of a U.S.-Russia negotiated cease-fire in Syria, the ferocity of the onslaught on rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo suggests Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his overseas backers, Russia and Iran, are determined to overrun the insurgents in Aleppo, delivering a devastating blow to the five-year campaign to oust the Syrian strongman.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power accused the Assad regime on Sunday of mounting an all-out offensive to retake Aleppo.

Analysts and Western diplomats say in the past few weeks, Russian and Syrian warplanes have been pounding Aleppo with munitions designed to penetrate hardened military bunkers, not shallow cellars shielding civilians from round-the-clock airstrikes. They say the weapon of choice to subdue the eastern half of Syrias once prosperous commercial capital is the bunker-busting BETAB-500 air bomb.

Advanced weaponry

A year ago, when Russia started its military intervention to prop up Assads then-floundering forces, Kremlin-controlled websites like Sputnik News boasted how the BETAB-500 air bombs were being used in Syria to eliminate Islamic State command centers, which are multi-level underground bunkers made of reinforced concrete.

On Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the use of advanced weaponry and bunker-busters against civilians could amount to war crimes. He didnt spell out the exact nature of the high-tech munitions that are inflicting a new hell on the war-exhausted civilians and rebels in Aleppo. Nor did he detail what precision air bombs like the BETAB-500 can do.

According to Robin Yassin-Kassab, Syrian activist and co-author of the book Burning Country, Bunker busters dig five meters into the ground and can cause the collapse of three apartment buildings. Theyre designed to destroy military bunkers. The Syrian regime and Russia are dropping these bunker busters on neighborhoods in Aleppo, killing entire families.

Video footage posted online of craters in Aleppo are consistent with what would be expected to be seen from BETAB-500's, say military analysts. Their explosions send out powerful shockwaves, collapsing nearby buildings.

The 500-kilogram BETAB-500's have been used regularly by the Russians against the Islamic State terror group, as noted frequently by Russian military spokesmen.

On November 3, 2015, Colonel Igor Klimov, a Russian air force spokesman, told journalists in Syria, Today, Russian strike aircraft used two BETAB-500 bunker buster bombs against ISIS targets.

A few days later, Klimov assured Sputnik News, BETAB-500 bombs are used to destroy extremely protected and fortified underground bunkers; they are not dropped on cities.

As the Russian news-site noted, The concrete-piercing BETAB-500 bombs are equipped with a jet booster, which allows the bombs to completely destroy any underground installation.

Families, clinics being shelled

The underground installations that have been hit in the past three days in an estimated 200 airstrikes are destroying basements where families are trying to shelter from the relentless air-raids, say local residents and aid workers. They are also striking makeshift clinics that have been set up in cellars.

On Friday, Russian and Syrian warplanes struck three of the four bases in eastern Aleppo of the White Helmets, the Syrian volunteer rescue group whose workers have been fearless in their efforts to tend to the injured. The group has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. A rescue center was destroyed that was featured in a Netflix documentary about the organization and released earlier this month.

"You can see or hear groups of warplanes overhead the whole time," Zakaria Malahefji, an official with an Aleppo-based FSA [Free Syrian Army] militia, told VOA. "The earth shakes under the bombing."

A resident contacted by mobile phone described apocalyptic scenes: warplanes dropping an array of weaponry, from incendiary munitions and cheaply made barrel bombs  to smart, bunker-buster bombs  all crumpling and razing eastern Aleppo.

There is not much you can do when you hear the jets; theres nowhere thats safe, said Mohammed Ghassan, a father of two.

At the beginning of Russia's intervention, military analysts noted its warplanes were dropping more so-called "dumb" or gravity-dropping munitions without any guidance systems, like the high explosive FAB-500 bombs. As the intervention has progressed, laser and satellite-guided munitions have been launched in greater numbers, including KAB-500's.

Their effect on eastern Aleppo is clear to see; the weapons wiping out whole blocks are targeting key civilian and rebel infrastructure, from clinics and a water-pumping station to roads and local council buildings.

Since Friday, at least 200 civilians have died in the airstrikes, according to estimates from Syrian opposition and aid workers.

"The death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situations, and due to missing people under the rubble," reported the pro-opposition monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia says it is not losing hope for reaching a political resolution to the crisis in Syria, but that statements made by U.S. and British envoys at the United Nations could hurt the process.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Monday "terrorists" were using a cease-fire to regroup and rearm themselves. The Syrian government, a Putin ally, often refers to rebels as terrorists.

The comments came a day after the U.N. Security Council held urgent talks about the deadly surge of violence in Aleppo, where Syrian and Russian jet fighters bombarded the rebel-controlled eastern sector of the city.

"The Assad regime is explicit, it believes only in a military solution," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the U.N. Security Council. "It says it is going to conquer militarily every last square inch of Syria. And it does not care whats left of Syria in pursuing that military solution."









Power slams Russia, Assad



The United States, France and Britain called the emergency session to pressure Russia to control its ally Syria to end the attacks on the 275,000 people trapped in the city.

The assault, missile strikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire have flattened buildings, leaving streets filled with debris and chunks of concrete. The United States says more than 200 people have been killed in the offensive.

Power said more than 150 airstrikes had hit the city in the past three days, accusing Russia and Syria of conducting an "all-out offensive" to retake Aleppo.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive," she said.

"Russia should be creating, not destroying, the conditions necessary for the resumption of political talks," British ambassador Matthew Rycroft said. "If it does not take these steps, and more, Russia will only confirm its status as an international pariah."





France cites war crimes



"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," said French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who compared what is happening to the ancient city to battles in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Guernica during the Spanish civil war. He said Aleppo has become a "martyred city."

The territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately and bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now because of this, said Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin.

U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura gave a bleak update on the situation, saying it is impossible to count the airstrikes.

Sources on the ground tell us they no longer have the capacity to count them accurately, he said. We heard the words unprecedented in quantity and also in scale and type, in the types of bombings."

He urged the cessation of hostilities not be "buried under the dust of Aleppo's rubble" and called on the Security Council to press for a stop to the violence, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and institute weekly unconditional 48-hour pauses to get humanitarian aid in and the seriously wounded out.



Aid convoys



U.N. special envoy Jan Egeland said on Twitter convoys were able to reach Madaya and four other towns late Sunday after not being able to access them for 150 days. He called for a cease-fire and the same access to those who need help in Aleppo.

Syria's U.N. envoy Bashar al-Ja'afari also addressed the Security Council, vowing the Syrian government will recapture all of Aleppo. The U.S., French and British ambassadors walked out when the Syrian envoy delivered his statement.

Late Saturday, foreign ministers from the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Britain and high representatives of the European Union pushed Moscow to support humanitarian assistance, stop bombings on Syrians, and renew truce efforts.

The burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts to restore a cessation of hostilities, allow unfettered humanitarian assistance and create the conditions necessary for the resumption of U.N.-led talks about a political transition, the statement said.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC that Russia is "guilty of protracting this war and making it far more hideous" and suggesting that Moscow was possibly guilty of war crimes in the bombing of a humanitarian aid convoy near Aleppo last week that killed 20 people.

Islamic State



The allies maintained their commitment to dismantle the Islamic State group and asked Russia to focus on al-Qaida-affiliated groups in Syria.

As the Russian-backed Syrian military pressed its Aleppo offensive Saturday, the country's foreign minister said Syrians would "not relent in their fight against terrorism."

His remarks reinforced Western concerns the Assad government is seeking a military end to the conflict, not a politically negotiated one, and that Russia supports that goal.

Aleppo, the country's largest city, has been divided among government troops, rebel militias, Islamic extremists and Kurdish fighters since 2012.
Like many South African university students, Nontsikelelo Selleo is angry. And, like many young black South Africans, she says she struggles financially, but has yet to see the equality and prosperity promised with the end of apartheid two decades ago.

The effects of that anger have been seen across South Africa this week, as student protests for free university education have escalated, prompting several institutions to temporarily close, just as students are preparing for end-of-term exams.

Several large schools have reported vandalism against university property and scuffles between security staff and protesters. The University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, reported that authorities found fire bombs on campus over the weekend, tweeting a photo of what looked like homemade Molotov cocktails.

Protesting students barged into classes Monday at the University of Johannesburg, prompting Selleo's lecturer to cancel class. Now, says the 21-year-old accounting student, she's mad  at the protesters.

"As someone who's about to finish their degree now, and then this strike affects them, they fail or then something happens, then they have to repeat the modules next year," she said as she stood outside the university gates Monday.

At least four South African universities have closed as student protests turned violent following the governments proposal last week of tuition hikes of up to 8 percent.

No end in sight

Students inside the movement say they won't let up until their demands are met.

Jafta Kolisang, a 28-year-old student getting a masters degree in history, has been lurking outside the gates of the University of the Witwatersrand since he was suspended in June for participating in protests earlier this year.

"I don't regret it," he said. "I'm doing it for black students. Yes, myself, I've been in similar situations. When I completed my matric [high school diploma], I couldn't go study because I didn't have money. So we can't have that cycle of, I mean, that is violence itself."

His friend Josh Nel, who is white, is majoring in political philosophy and delivered a dialectic on why he supports the movement. He says he thinks the government should tax the super-wealthy to fund tuition.

"This is a long-overdue movement challenging the very economic foundations that continue to justify and perpetuate the super-exploitation of black labor by white capital," Nel said.

Free education called impossible

The head of the University of the Witwatersrand, Vice Chancellor Adam Habib, told VOA that while he sympathizes with the call for free education, South Africa's government doesn't have the means or the infrastructure to pull off such a feat.

His university will vote later in the week whether to close temporarily, as the issue rages throughout South Africa. Habib, a political scientist, offered a theory as to why this is happening now.

"I think we are reflecting the broader polarization in the society, which itself is a product of inequality, he said.

Habib and others expressed concern over the violence and strong vein of populism that has distinguished the student movement. Many student protesters say they want universities to distance themselves from their colonial underpinnings; others have outright condemned university leaders for being "too intellectual."

Habib says he worries about this sentiment, and says it reminds him of anti-intellectual political supporters in the U.S.
Former South Sudan First Vice President Riek Machar has called for an armed struggle against the government of President Salva Kiir  a move that could mark a renewal of the country's civil war.



The call came in a statement issued over the weekend, following a meeting in Khartoum of Machars Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO).

The movement signed a peace deal with South Sudan's government in August 2015 but implementation was delayed and largely fell apart after the sides clashed in the capital in July.



Stephen Par Kuol, a senior member of the SPLM-IO political bureau, said the call is in reaction to the Juba governments repeated attacks on SPLM-IO positions.

We have been waging armed resistance since 2013 when this was imposed on us. We had suspended that until we were attacked recently in Juba. Be also informed that the government is launching attacks on our positions everywhere in the country. So, we are putting up resistance now, Par Kuol said.

A spokesman for South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Ateny Wek Ateny, said Machar is a warmonger who has nothing good to offer the people of South Sudan who, he said, are yearning for peace.



"I actually read the statement and came up with the conclusion that Riek Machar will be Riek Machar. He will never have anything better to offer to the people of South Sudan apart from war, Wek Ateny said.



Wek Ateny said President Kiir and the government of national unity in Juba have decided never again to return to war again.



We have reached the conclusion that we are not going to go back to war. We are not going to give anybody war because the people of South Sudan deserve more than war. They deserve peace, something better than war, Wek Ateny said.



Not warmongers



Par Kuol denied Machar and the SPLA-IO are warmongers. Instead, he said the SPLA-IO is confronting a violent, ethnocentric regime of Salva Kiir."

These wars have been destructive. But you must understand that the people are just responding to these massacres, to these genocides, to the systematic killings by the government which pretends to be the government of the people, Par Kuol said.



Machar, who is in Khartoum recuperating from injuries he sustained in July, has not been made any public statement.



Par Kuol thanked the United Nations for helping to extricate Machar from the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Sudan where he is recuperating.



But he accused the U.N. of issuing empty threats against President Kiir for violating the peace agreement without any consequences.



Ateny said the government will continue to work for peace with Taban Deng Gai, the new leader of the SPLA-IO, who replaced Riek Machar as first vice president of South Sudan.



Par Kuol said Taban Deng Gais appointment violates the peace agreement.



If you read the transitional constitution of South 2011, the terms of Riek Machar and Salva Kiir as running mates out of the election of 2010 expired in July 2015. They were legitimized together only by the agreement. So the two are bound to work together, or both leave the political scene of South Sudan, Par Kuol said.
A final peace agreement between Colombias government and a national guerrilla movement was signed Monday, bringing an end to the longest-running insurgency in the Western Hemisphere.

Nobody has given up their ideology, said the maximum leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Rodrigo Londono (better known by his alias of Timochenko), in a speech after signing the peace pact with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

The rebel leader asked for forgiveness for all the harm his movement had caused over the decades.

FARCs funding was primarily derived from the countrys illicit cocaine industry, and its armed movement was the last full-blown one inspired originally by Cuban and Soviet ideology against democratic institutions in the Americas.

No more war, declared Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in his remarks following Timochenko. I welcome you to democracy, change weapons for votes and weapons for ideas.

The conflict since the mid-1960s displaced millions of people and left more than 250,000 dead.

The front page of Mondays El Tiempo newspaper put it more precisely: "La paz luego de 267,162 muertos. (Peace after 267,162 dead)."

Speaking to the press after the signing of the agreement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he normally wouldnt travel during the opening days of the U.N. General Assembly, which is currently taking place in New York, but he wanted to reinforce his personal commitment to the peace process in Colombia.

I commend the parties for their adherence to the cease-fire, and for the initial release of a group of minors from the FARC-EP, he said. Both sides have also acknowledged responsibility for human rights violations during the decades of conflict  an important admission that can help the process of healing.

Ban said the U.N. already has 200 unarmed observers on the ground in Colombia working with victims, and the organization will remain vigilant in moving forward with the ceasefire.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Monday in the Caribbean port city, founded in the 16th century, that depending on the implementation of the peace pact, the United States could remove the FARC from its terrorism list.

The announcement is an idea, Kerry said. The implementation are facts, so lets see how it proceeds, but we clearly are prepared to review and make judgments about that as the facts come in.

De-mining

The FARC also has agreed to cooperate with de-mining, an effort being led by the United States and Norway.

Colombia has the second highest number of land mines in the world after Afghanistan, and the explosives have killed an estimated 11,500 people since 1990.

The United States is taking some of the credit for bringing about the peace pact, which diplomats in Washington describe as a transformational event for Colombia and the region and one that President Barack Obama has described as one of the most important achievements during his presidency.

Colombian President Santos, who has staked his reputation on ending the war, had asked the United States to increase its engagement in the four-year negotiating process, which mostly took place in Cuba. A special envoy, Bernard Aronson, was named to participate in the talks.

This war is all about real people and real suffering, and seeing that come to an end is very, very gratifying, Arsonson told VOA hours before the ceremony.

The U.S. government, in fiscal 2017, plans to spend $450 million to help Colombia bring government services, security, police, education, health, roads and economic development to the vast stretches of the interior that have been left out of national life during the decades of conflict.

Proponents of the deal also note the commitment to work with farmers to get land titles as well as access to transportation networks for their harvests of legal crops, rather than coca leaf production. It includes transitional justice efforts that proponents hope will lead to reconciliation in the countryside.

They also predict it will be the catalyst for Colombias GDP to grow at twice its current pace and triple foreign investment following years of negative growth and capital flight.

Its very hard to beat the economics of coca but it comes with coercion and violence, said Marcela Escobari, assistant administrator for the Latin America bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Hoping compromise pays off

Not everyone supports the deal on which Colombians will render a verdict in a nationwide binding referendum set for October 2.

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe contends the deal gives total amnesty to drug trafficking by labeling it a political crime. He said, Colombians have learned over decades of attempted negotiations with other terrorist groups that impunity always becomes the seed of new forms of violence.

Recent public opinion polls in the country, however, show a double digit advantage for the Yes camp, despite widespread loathing for FARC and a robust No campaign spanning the political spectrum.

"The consequences of a loss would be catastrophic," Humberto de la Calle, the government's chief negotiator, said in announcing the agreement.

Other peace threats

The peace pact includes a large new security commitment by Colombias government to go after the extremely violent "bandas criminales" (known by the acronym BACRIM). Some are successors to right-wing paramilitaries that clashed with FARC fighters and other left-wing guerrillas, but also engaged in cocaine production and smuggling along with the killings of labor and human rights activists.

The immediate, biggest threat to the October 2 peace referendum could be low voter turnout. To be valid, the referendum must be endorsed by at least 13 percent of all registered voters.

Besides BACRIM, the smaller Marxist-Leninist rebel National Liberation Army, or ELN, remains active, and even with the Cartagena signing, total peace in Colombia will remain elusive.
A top member of Yemen's armed Houthi rebel movement has offered to stop attacking targets on the Saudi Arabian side of the border, if a Saudi-led air coalition stops bombing Houthi targets inside Yemen and lifts a blockade of the country.

The proposal came Sunday from Saleh al-Samad, the head of an Iran-backed Houthi political council seeking to wrest control of Yemen from the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Samad, whose fighters are backed by Shi'ite Iran, called on Saudi Arabia to stop what it called "naval, air and land aggression." He also urged the Saudis to "cease air aids and lift the naval blockade of our country."

There was no immediate Saudi response to the proposal, which Samad made in a document published on an official Yemen website.

The Houthis, who rose up against the Hadi government in 2014, are allied with soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. They later seized Yemen's capital, Sana'a, and forced President Hadi to flee to the Saudi capital.

For their part, Hadi's supporters have repeatedly accused Saleh of using Islamic State and al-Qaida fighters loosely allied in the fight against the government to target Hadi's forces.

In March 2015, the Saudis responded to Houthi military operations by forming a coalition of regional Sunni governments that began launching air strikes in Yemen in support of Hadi, after his return to the southern port city of Aden.

The United Nations says at least 10,000 - more than half of them civilians - have been killed in the conflict.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are making last-minute preparations for the most anticipated event of the 2016 presidential campaign so fartheir first face-to-face debate.

One hundred million people are expected to watch their Monday night showdown at Hofstra University near New York City, which would be the largest audience ever to see a presidential debate.

The two candidates are locked in a tight national contest, with political surveys showing Clinton with a slight edge. This will be the first time Americans will see the two candidates face-to-face on the same stage.

Clinton and Trump already have made their positions clear on many vital issues, including the economy, immigration, the military and terrorism -- so Monday's event may be more about temperament and likability and trustworthiness.

TV viewers and political commentators will be watching both for signs of who appears the more presidential. The slightest body language, smile or grimace, or sign of impatience and exasperation will be analyzed and interpreted.

Monday's debate will be divided into six 15-minute segments. There are three announced topicsAmerica's Direction, Achieving Prosperity and Securing America.

Debate officials said Clinton will get the first question, with two minutes to answer, followed by Trump's two-minute response.

In Photos: Hofstra Hosts 1st Presidential Debate

Different debate styles

Clinton, looking to become the first female U.S. president, is the more seasoned debater, having gone head-to-head against political opponents over the last 16 years, including Obama in the Democratic presidential nominating contest she lost to him in 2008. She is experienced in keeping a tone of moderation under pressure.

Trump, seeking his first elected office, engaged in his initial debate just last year, eventually winning the party's nomination over 16 other Republican presidential contenders, many of them long-time politicians.

Trump has a reputation for being sharp tongued and at times insulting. He has admitted that he regrets some of his more vicious comments. This will be his first one-on-one debate as a political candidate, and he must refrain from wisecracks if he wants to appear presidential and cool.

Chance to repair image

Polls show that U.S. voters hold unfavorable views of both candidates, him a bit more than her.

U.S. political analysts say that leaves Clinton to convince voters she is trustworthy after questions about her truthfulness surrounding her use of an unsecured private email server while she was the country's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013. Investigators concluded that her actions were "extremely careless," but not warranting of criminal charges.

The analysts say the often-fact-challenged Trump has to prove he has a command of U.S. policies and can be trusted to become the next commander-in-chief.

Moderator role

NBC News television anchor Lester Holt is moderating the debate and the way he plays his role could be important as voters judge the candidates.

It is not clear whether Holt plans to point out obvious falsehoods the two candidates might make, as the Clinton campaign wants, or leaves it to the two candidates to rebut something factually wrong the other one says, as Trump wants.

Trump argues that journalists asking questions at the debates should be moderators, not fact-checkers.

"You're debating somebody, and if she makes a mistake or if I make a mistake, we'll take each other on," he said.

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told NBC, "We don't want Donald Trump's lies, distortions to be a distraction." He said if Clinton is forced to rebut any factual errors expressed by Trump, it would leave Clinton with less time to talk about her policy plans.

Mook said he was worried that after the debate, analysts might hand Trump "the most improved award," while Clinton would be judged on "the fine points of policy."

Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said the debate will show the "natural connective tissue he has with the people. I can see that this man is ready for tonight."
The United States and South Korea conducted naval exercises Monday as the potential for regional conflict is incrementally growing over North Koreas advancing nuclear threat.

The USS Spruance, an American destroyer ship equipped for both anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare joined South Korean destroyers, submarines, anti-submarine helicopters and aircraft in a maritime operation on the East Sea, which is also called the Sea of Japan.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea said the joint naval drill was organized to showcase the unwavering strength and resolve of the American military allies to defend against North Koreas unprovoked acts of aggression.

In the face of North Koreas rapidly increasing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, Washington and Seoul are placing a greater emphasis on military readiness to prevent or respond to a possible attack.

Last week the U.S. temporarily deployed two B-1B bombers from Guam and flew the nuclear capable aircraft near the inter-Korean border.

Nuclear North

The Kim Jong Un government continued to flout a U.N. ban on its nuclear and missiles programs, and increased international sanctions imposed this year, by conducting a fifth nuclear test this month and numerous missile launches.

With each test North Korea comes closer to acquiring reliable and wide-ranging nuclear missile capabilities that could potentially strike targets in South Korea, Japan and the U.S. mainland.

At the United Nations last week North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country needed a nuclear deterrent of its own to defend against the increased nuclear war threat of the United States.

Military options

North Korea is building its nuclear weapons force while neglecting much of its conventional military capability, according to Victor Cha who holds the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University in Washington.

Writing in the South Korea newspaper the Korea Joongang Daily Monday, Cha argues that Pyongyangs growing reliance on a nuclear deterrence is not buying it more security. It is instead compelling the Unites States to consider military options.

Cha says the U.S. and its allies must now assess whether the next North Korea long-range rocket launch is carrying a peaceful satellite or nuclear warhead, and consider launching a possible preemptive strike on the launch site or intercept the missile in flight.

Kim has ordered the military to prepare for another satellite launch as soon as possible and some speculate it could occur next month on the anniversary of the founding of the countrys Communist Party.

Under Kim Jong Un, North Korean provocations have not led to any deadly confrontations.

Northeast Asia analyst Daniel Pinkston with Troy University in Seoul says both sides understand that a nuclear attack would lead to a devastating war on the Korean Peninsula. But as tensions increase the risk that one side might launch a preemptive attack is a serious concern.

If one or both sides reach a point where they believe conflict is unavoidable and inevitable, they have a very strong incentive to strike before the adversary, said Pinkston.

Nuclear South?

In addition to deploying the U.S. THAAD missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, more conservative members of Parliament in Seoul are calling for the South to develop its own nuclear tactical weapons.

Earlier this month 31 ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers released a statement calling for a parliamentary special committee to discuss South Korea's independent nuclear armament.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, however, continues to support the current deterrence and containment regime that involves a close military alliance with the U.S. and increasing international pressure on the Kim Jong Un government.
Huge orange flames and plumes of smoke filled the air at Nairobi National Park in April, a sobering image as 105 tons of elephant ivory and 1.35 tons of rhino horn were destroyed.

Kenya conducted the event to demonstrate that ivory has no value to anyone except elephants. President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged his country's support for a complete ban of the ivory trade at the conference for the global conservation body known as CITES, which opens Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa.

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, is expected to make a determination on whether countries in Africa should destroy seized ivory or be allowed to sell it to fund conservation efforts. The question has sparked heated debate on the continent, with some arguing that the future of elephants is at stake.

"Our philosophy has been to burn the entire stockpile, said Judy Wakhungu, Kenya's Cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, because this is one way of demonstrating to the world that if you offer trade in ivory, we give the misimpression that, actually, ivory is available. And yet it's this very ivory that's endangering our species."

Tens of thousands of elephants have been killed in recent years for their ivory, as a result of strong demand from Asian markets. The recent "Great Elephant Census" showed a 30 percent decline in African savanna elephants between 2007 and 2014.

About 30 African countries, including Kenya, want a comprehensive ban on all international trade in ivory.

"Nobody should buy ivory in the world," said Paul Udoto, corporate communications manager for the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Request to sell

Namibia and Zimbabwe have officially requested through CITES the right to sell their ivory stockpiles. Along with South Africa, these countries say they want to put the proceeds toward conservation efforts.

Zimbabwe's finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, suggested to parliament in July that there could be other uses for the funds from ivory sales.

We have $9.6 billion worth of ivory in the country, sufficient to write off our debt, Chinamasa said. So this is the paradox of Africa. Rich Africa, poor Africans. Because the policies are coming from outside, and imposed on us. They don't have elephants, but they become members of CITES to ban and stop us from disposing of our own assets.

South Africa says destroying ivory makes it scarcer, upping the black market price and driving more poaching.

For the good of the elephants

Kenya argues that previous "one-time" sales have demonstrated the opposite is true, and that opening up trade for some countries puts elephants across the continent at risk.

"It is very, very hard to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory," said Philip Muruthi, vice president of species conservation at the African Wildlife Foundation. "And that means that having a legal supply of ivory in the market perpetuates the killing. And so, the cycle continues. Where you have trade, you have benefits going to a few kingpins, and you deny livelihoods to communities, and the populations continue to suffer."

Muruthi also emphasized the importance of a united African voice during the upcoming CITES talks.

"I know there are challenges, but I do believe an agreement will be found and it will be found for the good of the continent. It will be for the good of the elephants, and for the many, many communities and national economies that depend on elephants," he said.

Although elephants are the top issue for Africa at the CITES talks, trade restrictions and allowances for close to 500 other plant and animal species  including pangolins, tigers, snakes, sharks and rosewood  will also be on the table.
Members of the Movement for Democratic Change led by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai say they suffered in the hands of police and suspected Zanu PF activists, who detained and beat them up following a nationwide protests recently over lack of electoral reforms in Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 general elections.

Some of the severely tortured activists are still recovering in hospitals amid fears that the police have allowed Zanu PF activists to work with them to suppress any dissent against President Robert Mugabes rule.

Tsvangirai and some top MDC-T officials met with some of the brutalized activists, including Ostallas Gift Siziba, Lennon Muzanenhambo, Glenview North Member of Parliament Fani Munengami, Ronia Bunjira and Kerina Gweshe Dhewa.

They all told the MDC-T officials that they were tortured by the police, operatives of the Central Intelligence Organization and suspected members of the police.

Protesters are urging Mr. Mugabe to step down for allegedly failing to properly run the southern African nation.

Some of the activists told VOA Studio 7 that they have deserted their homes because of a resurgence in politically-motivated violence.

At the same time, some members of former Vice President Joice Mujurus Zimbabwe People First party in Guruve, Mashonaland Central province, were Sunday attacked by axe-wielding ruling party youth in what is widely seen as an upsurge in cases of politically-motivated violence ahead of the 2018 polls.

Zanu PF has indicated that it will field President Mugabe, who will be 94 in 2018, in the presidential election.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned the unwarranted attack on the people and the countrys Constitution by the police commissioner-general, Augustine Chihuri.



Chihuri last Friday at a meeting on Public Order and Security Act (Posa), vowed to crush any peaceful demonstrations staged against Robert Mugabes misrule and the citizens demands for key electoral reforms before the 2018 elections.



The meeting was attended by officers commanding police districts and provinces. What we find shocking is that Chihuri has chosen to declare war on innocent people and disregard the countrys Constitution. As the PDP we note that Chihuri has decided to replace Saviour Kasukuwere as Zanu PFs political commissar.



However, the party urged him to remove his police uniform and join Zanu PF structures fulltime as it is wrong and unconstitutional for him to shield behind the police force and issue out unguided political statements.



His utterances are clearly from a factional Zanu PF member who masquerades as the countrys top cop while forgetting that his constitutional mandate is to serve every Zimbabwean in a non-partisan manner and without bias. Instead of ensuring that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is protecting the people of Zimbabwe, Chihuri has instead turned the ZRP into an extension of Zanu PFs security department.



PDP said Chihuri should be aware that peaceful demonstrations are a right to every Zimbabwean as clearly defined in the Constitution.



The correct facts on the ground are that it is instead the police that are using brute force to quell peaceful and lawful demonstrations. Unfortunately, hundreds of law-abiding protesters have been injured in the process due to the polices brutality and terror campaign while an even higher number have been remanded in custody.



The unprofessionalism and abuse of the countrys Constitution by the police was one of the issues raised at the High Court today, when Justice David Mangota, expressed anger over the continued illegal detention of Linda Masarira.



The party further noted that it was regrettable that Chihuri wants to allegedly unleash terror on peaceful civilians whose only crime is the demand for Zanu PF to respect the countrys constitution and provide jobs.



To address the issues of violence, fear and impunity, the PDP proposes the independence of institutions that protect the security of the person, the rule of law and the judiciary. Some of these institutions are; the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Human Rights Commission, the Media Commission, the Gender Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the ZRP.

Chihuri was not available for comment.
It could be the defining moment of the 2016 campaign.

Mondays first presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump may draw, by some estimates, 100 million viewers, who will be able to take the measure of the candidates for the first time on the same stage together.

The stakes for both contenders are enormous. Viewers will not only be paying attention to what is said, but how its said and how the candidates react to one another.

Which Trump will show up?

The debate will be a key moment for Trump, who has closed the polling gap in recent weeks against Democrat Hillary Clinton in part because he has presented himself as more disciplined than he has in the past. He has also focused on his central theme:

We will make America strong again. We will make America safe again, and we will make America great again! Trump told supporters at a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, one of the critical swing states where he has drawn even with Clinton in recent polls.

For her part, Clinton looks to the debate to reassure her supporters and to push her message of wanting to build a more inclusive economy, as she did during a recent rally in Orlando, Florida. We are all of value. In the United States of America, the greatest country in the world, we believe everyone is created equal!

Intense scrutiny amid tightening polls

The first of the three debates, traditionally the most watched, comes at a potentially game-changing moment, said Matthew Dallek of George Washington University. Right now the election is closer than a lot of people anticipated, and so it matters a great deal for both of them.



WATCH: Young voters at Hostra University ahead of the debate

Televised presidential debates began in 1960 with Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. Since then, the debates have had an impact on some but not necessarily all presidential elections. In a normal year, the debates are one of the only ways to move the needles after the conventions. They are the moment where more people tune in and watch, said George Mason University associate professor of government Jeremy Mayer.

Prepare or just wing it?

Trump and Clinton appear to be prepping for the debates in different ways. Clinton has spent a lot of time in debate practice, including mock face-offs with surrogates portraying Trump.

Trumps advance work has been reportedly less time-consuming and intense. He also took a swipe at Clinton during a rally in Pennsylvania. Well, they say she has been practicing for the debate. Some people think shes sleeping.

Democrats hope a more reckless version of Trump shows up in the first debate, more in keeping with his past performances in some of the Republican primary debates. But Trump's new campaign staff seems to have had some success of late in keeping him focused and less distracted by the temptation of launching personal attacks.

Different audience

Both Trump and Clinton performed well in their respective party primary debates earlier this year. It is possible to argue that Trump won the Republican nomination by making the most of his debate performances and his slashing attacks on rivals like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

But Trump will be playing to a different audience in the debates with Clinton. He will be seeking to improve his image with moderate Republican voters and undecided independents who likely wont be swayed by the kind of partisan attacks he launched in the primary debates.

Clinton will also be able to call on her experience in the primary debates with her main challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton generally was able to hold her own in a number of the debates with Sanders and often put him on the defensive by raising questions about the practicality of some of his proposals.

But Clinton has her challenges as well. Polls show a majority of voters don't trust her. The controversial way she handled questions about her use of a private email server while secretary of state continues to dog her in the final weeks of this election campaign.

Trumps unpredictable nature also presents a challenge for Clinton as she prepares for the first debate, said Georgetown Universitys Stephen Wayne. The thing about Donald Trump is that he is not as disciplined as Hillary Clinton. If you get under Donald Trumps skin, he is apt to react in a very personal way.

Opportunity and risk

Both contenders suffer from high disapproval ratings from voters, and the debates represent both opportunity and risk. What a debate can do is give a candidate a second chance to make a different impression or cement a negative impression, said Jeremy Mayer.

In recent years, presidential debates may have been less consequential to election outcomes than they were early on. We can think of two presidential debates in American history, the first between [Democrat John] Kennedy and [Republican Richard] Nixon (1960) and the second between [Republican Gerald] Ford and [Democrat Jimmy] Carter (1976), where mistakes were made or appearances didnt look right that seemed to have an impact on the outcome, said Georgetowns Stephen Wayne.

There will be a total of three presidential debates and one face-off between the two vice-presidential candidates, Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence.
Speaking at the dedication Saturday of a new U.S. museum devoted to the history of African-Americans, U.S. President Barack Obama said their history is central to America's history dating back to the country's traditional founding fathers.

"Too often we ignored or forgot the stories of millions upon millions of others who built this nation just as surely," Obama said.

At times brushing away a tear, Obama pointed out the highs and lows of being black in America, from slavery and Jim Crow segregation to voting rights and election of the first black president.

"We are not a burden on America, or a stain on America ... we are America. And that's what this museum explains," he told the thousands who had gathered on the National Mall for the event.

After years in the making, the newest museum on Washington's National Mall, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, officially opened to the public Saturday.

Wanda Moore attended the celebration with her daughter Celeste.

"A lot of people don't want to talk about slavery, but I think it's very important, because our ancestors came from Africa. They were brought over here," Moore said. "They were slaves, and I don't think it's something to be ashamed of. I think they're very strong that they made it this far."

With the current tensions in race relations, she said she thought the museum, with its artifacts and information, would allow for more thoughtful discussions on race.

Obama echoed that thought, saying the museum tells a story of America that will promote healing and reconciliation.

"By knowing this other story, we better understand ourselves and each other. It binds us together, it reaffirms that we are all Americans," he said.

WATCH: President Obama's full speech at museum dedication

The new museum "symbolizes all of the contributions, the culture and the crisis of black America," the Rev. Howard-John Wesley, pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, whose members donated $1 million to the museum, told the Associated Press. "It's a beautiful thing, especially in this day and time when we're fighting to remind ourselves how important black lives are."

Alex Davis from Michigan, who participated in civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s, told VOA he participated in his first march in 1962 while in college. "I joined that march and I never stopped."

"I think the kids today need to know that there was a history that needed to be changed. It's like I tell my kids: 'I march so you don't have to,' " Davis said.

Others at Saturday's ceremony included former President George W. Bush, who signed the bill authorizing construction of the facility in 2003, and U.S. Representative John Lewis of Georgia, a civil rights icon who called the bronze-colored museum "more than a building, it is a dream come true."

To officially open the museum, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama rang a bell from a historic African-American church.

On Friday, the president told a group of about 750 guests in the Grand Foyer of the White House, gathered to celebrate the museum's opening, that "the timing of this is fascinating."

The crowd, many of whom were African-American, laughed and applauded at the understatement.

The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been rocked by nights of protests following the police shooting of a black man Tuesday. Also this week, a court in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, charged a white police officer with manslaughter after she fatally shot an unarmed black man last week.

Continuing his remarks, Obama said, "In so many ways, it is the best of times. But in many ways, these are also troubled times. History doesn't always move in a straight line. And without vigilance, we can go backward as well as forward."

The new museum, first proposed by a group of black Civil War veterans in 1915, is situated among war memorials and cultural institutions, with a clear sight line to the U.S. Capitol.

"My hope is that, as people are seeing what's happened in Tulsa or Charlotte on television, and perhaps are less familiar with not only the history of the African-American experience, but also how recent some of these challenges have been, upon visiting the museum may step back and say, 'I understand. I sympathize. I empathize. I see why folks might feel angry and I want to be part of the solution, as opposed to resisting change,' " the president said.

Weekend of celebration

Friday's White House reception  attended by many of the museum's contributors  was the kickoff event in a weekend of festivities, which included an outdoor festival.

Nicholas Lorenz has been anticipating the opening for a long time.

"I heard about the museum before they broke ground, and we have been following their Facebook page for two or three years," Lorenz said of himself and his wife, both educators in Miami, Florida. "We got tickets through the [museum] website the morning they were made available. We got 24 tickets of the 30,000 they made available that day. Apparently, they all sold out within 45 minutes, so we feel lucky!"

The Lorenzes are a mixed-race couple: he is white, and his wife, Liz, is biracial. The distinction is "irrelevant" now, they say, but it would have been illegal in the United States just a few decades ago. To children of today, that part of history may seem unthinkable.

Painful past

Many of the stories in the museum are difficult to think about.

The lowest level of the museum deals with the arrival of Africans in North America  as slaves. Generations of blacks remained in bondage to white farmers for more than two centuries, and the racial divide that system created resonated throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the Black Lives Matter movement that has sprung up in response to conflicts between white police officers and black civilians today.

The museum's founding director, Lonnie Bunch, has been on the job since 2005 and had a part in deciding the museum's look: dark bronze-colored layers of metal, in contrast to the white Greek Revival structures that dominate the National Mall.

Bunch has said the building should reflect the troubled past the museum describes.

"I wanted a darker building," he told The New Yorker magazine in April. "There's always been a dark presence in America that people undervalue, neglect, overlook. I wanted this building to say that."

The museum's very location is a reminder of the dark past. While the National Mall, home to more than half of Washington's Smithsonian museums, is known as "America's front yard," it was also once home to slave pens, where human beings of African origin were held like cattle to be bought and sold.

Upward and outward

Because of height limits designed to preserve views of all the monuments, 60 percent of the museum is underground.

Visitors start in the basement, with the ugly history of the slavery era. As they advance to higher floors, the story grows more uplifting, although still fraught with conflict.

The narrative of upward movement is reflected in the architecture designed by British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye. The building appears to rise from the ground, with exterior panels opening upward and outward toward the blue sky.

Upper levels tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement, when the federal government finally passed laws allowing blacks the same legal rights as whites.

Despite slavery being outlawed in 1864, it took a century for blacks to achieve full legal rights with whites in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Supreme Court decision removing barriers to interracial marriage, the issue that the Lorenzes might have faced, did not happen until 1967.

The top level of the museum, where light pours in and visitors can see a sweeping view of the Mall and the monuments, is a showcase for African-American art.

WATCH: Obama on importance of African-American museum

The Smithsonian Institution has other museums dedicated to American art and African art, but here, the mingled cultures are allowed to shine together.

The museum also features thousands of artifacts from famous African-Americans and everyday citizens. There are so many pieces that the museum plans to exhibit them on a rotating basis.

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, ranked by Forbes magazine 21st among the world's richest women, was a major donor to the museum, contributing not only $20 million from her charitable foundation but also a pair of slave shackles from the mid-1800s, donated from her private collection of artifacts.

Ironically, the collection also includes a pair of handcuffs used in the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested outside his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2009 by an officer mistakenly assuming Gates was a burglar.

Other artifacts in the collection include:

Several items from a sunken slave ship excavated off the coast of South Africa.

An entire slave cabin, originally found on Edisto Island in South Carolina.

A hymnal and silk shawl owned by Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who led hundreds of other escaped slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

The glass-topped casket used to display and bury the body of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American whose racially motivated torture and murder in 1955 touched off the Civil Rights Movement.

A dress belonging to Rosa Parks, the woman who started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the first acts of mass civil disobedience during the civil rights era.

A PT-13D Stearman biplane trainer aircraft used by the U.S. Army Air Corps to train the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation's first black military flying unit.

A trumpet played by jazz legend Louis Armstrong.

A Cadillac convertible that belonged to rock n roll singer Chuck Berry.

Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves.

A collection of costumes from the Broadway show The Wiz.

A pair of size 22 tennis shoes owned by basketball star Shaquille O'Neal.

While the story the museum tells is often difficult and sometimes painful, Obama and museum founding director Bunch say the story of black Americans is relevant to all Americans.

Museum-goer Lorenz believes that, as well.

He said understanding the black experience was crucial to understanding what the United States is, even if some of the lessons it teaches are painful for whites to consider.

"This is an essential and foundational aspect of our shared culture and history," he said. "We welcome the opportunity to engage with all of it  the good and the bad. White guilt and white fragility have kept us from knowing our history for too long as it is."

More important, Lorenz said, ignoring history bars the way to progress. "Naming our history and fully facing its implications is the only way forward."

WATCH: Attendees of museum opening talk about historic event
Zimbabwe's president said Saturday that the African Union was planning to form a splinter group with countries such as Russia, China and India if the U.N. Security Council did not include members of his continent next year.

President Robert Mugabe said the African Union was still concerned that it had no permanent seats on the Security Council.

Upon arrival in Harare from New York and this year's U.N. General Assembly late Saturday, the 92-year-old Zimbabwean leader told ZANU-PF supporters that the African Union wanted to be on the Security Council if veto powers of the five permanent members  China, France, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and Russia  were not removed.

"It is not all permanent members being tough. It is Britain, France and [the United States of] America," he said. "If they remain adamant, they must not cry foul when we agree to form our own organization with countries like China, India and other Asian countries. This is what we want to do next year in September, when we have made a commitment."

During his 30-minute speech, Mugabe did not refer to calls made Thursday by his Botswana counterpart, Ian Khama, to step down and allow fresh blood to improve Zimbabwe's economy.
The cease-fire in Syria lasted no longer than the week of Eid. There have been many cease-fires since the signature of the peace treaty between the United States and Russia. This one lasted no longer than the current peace or the previous cease-fires.

Lets review the facts  on 12 December 2003, President George W. Bush signed a declaration of war against Syria, the Syrian Accountability Act. After a series of attempts to open hostilities (the Arab League summit of 2004, the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005, the war against Lebanon in 2006, the creation of the Islamic Salvation Front in 2007, etc.), US special forces took the offensive at the beginning of 2011, organising a hoax intended to make people believe that this was an interior Syrian revolution. After two vetos by Russia and China in the Security Council, the United States finally accepted a peace treaty in Geneva which they signed, in the absence of the Syrian delegation, on 30 June 2012.

First remark

Those who pretend that the current conflict is not an exterior aggression, but a civil war, can not explain the consequences of the declaration of war against Syria by President Bush in 2003, nor why the peace treaty of 2012 was signed by the major powers in the absence of any Syrian representative.

Since the signature of the peace treaty, four years ago, the war has started again, despite multiple attempts to find a solution, negotiated alone by Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian opposite number, Sergey Lavrov.

Throughout these last four years, I have noted, one by one, the conflicts within the US state apparatus (the manuvres by Jeffrey Feltman and Generals David Petraeus and John Allen against President Obama, as well as the problems within CentCom). Today, according to the US Press, operatives of the CIA and those of the Pentagon have been waging a fierce war on one another in Syria  while Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter stated publicly that he did not believe that his men would apply the agreement signed by his colleague, John Kerry, who in turn said he was sceptical about his own capacity to enforce the respect of his signature by his country.

Second remark

Not only is President Barack Obama unable to impose his will on the different branches of his own administration, but he is also unable to mediate between them. Each branch pursues its own policy, both against the other branches and against exterior enemies.

The United States have changed their war aims many times, which makes their policy hard to analyse.

 In 2001, Washington was attempting to control all the available oil and gas reserves in the world, convinced as they were that we were moving towards a period of penury. It was with this goal that the US united its allies against Syria. However, by the end of 2010, it abandoned the peak oil theory, and began working, on the contrary, towards energy independence.

 In 2011, Washington organised the seige of Deraa, hoping that this would spark a popular uprising and enable the replacement of the secular Syrian government by the Muslim Brotherhood. This was the model for the Arab Spring. And yet in 2013, after the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi in Egypt, it drew the conclusions of the failure of this experience, and abandoned the idea of handing over power in the Arab countries to the Muslim Brotherhood.

 In 2014, since the war was still raging, Washington decided to use it to undercut President Xi Jinpings project for the restoration of the Silk Road - at which point it became nesessary to transform the Islamic Emirate in Iraq into Daesh.

 In 2015, after the military intervention of Russia, and without abandoning the anti-Chinese objective that it had set for itself, Washington added a second objective  to prevent Moscow from contesting US hegemony and the unipolar organisation of international relations.

Third remark

These changes of objective were obviously refused by the powers involved, which paid for them dearly - Qatar concerning the energy questions, and the Muslim Brotherhood concerning the overthrow of the regime. But these actors are supported by powerful lobbies in the United States - Exxon-Mobil (the most important multinational in the world), the Rockfeller family for Qatar, and the CIA and the Pentagon for the Muslim Brotherhood.

On the battlefield, the means deployed by Russia clearly demonstrate the superiority of its new weapons over those of NATO.

Fourth remark

For the chiefs of staff and the inter-army combat commanders of the United States (CentCom, EuCom, PaCom, etc.), the end of their domination in terms of conventional equipment can not allow their status as primary military power in the world to be contested. This forced them to dissociate themselves from the CIA concerning their use of the Muslim Brotherhood, while at the same time remaining their allies concerning the prevention of the Chinese deployment, and thus support for Daesh.

The Russo - US agreement of 9 September was clearly aimed at separating several groups  whose leaders had been judged acceptable by both parties  from the other jihadists [1]. Then to establish a military cooperation to crush the jihadists. and finally to form a government of national union which would include the leaders of the jihadist groups which had been separated  on the model of the local governments imposed by the European Empires on the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.

The Pentagon accepted this agreement under two conditions  first of all, the Silk Road had to be cut. This led to the US bombing of the Syrian Arab Army in Deir ez-Zor, in order to prevent it from finally bypassing Daesh via the Euphrates valley. Then to work with the Russians, but on an equal footing.

The first condition is an act of war against Syria, in the very heart of the cease-fire, which offends the entire international community. The second is obviously inacceptable for Russia.

In order to mask the crimes committed by the Pentagon and the United Kingdom in Deir ez-Zor, the British agency MI6 organised the affair of the bombing of a humanitarian convoy.

In reality, this convoy had been searched by the Syrian Arab Army. It did not contain weapons (or no longer contained weapons), and had been authorised to continue across the border after the end of the cease-fire. It had been chartered by the Syrian Red Crescent, a NGO linked to the Damascus government, and was destined for the Syrian populations occupied by the jihadists. Contrary to Western declarations, it was never bombed, as demonstrated by the images broadcast by MI6 under the label of the White Helmets. There are no bomb craters anywhere, and no structures have been damaged. The convoy was attacked from the ground and burned. Images taken by a Russian Army drone show the presence of jihadists at the moment of the attack, although the area was supposed to be demilitarised.

Whatever the facts are, the United States accused Russia of having violated the cease-fire, which it had not done, and which it had itself done by bombing the Syrian Arab Army in Deir ez-Zor. The Anglo-Saxon propaganda was repeated on 21 September, straight-faced, by the Ministers and Presidents of the Western camp, John Kerry (USA), Petro Porochenko (Ukraine), Jean-Marc Ayrault (France) and Boris Johnson (United Kingdom).
The President: I wish to warmly welcome the

Heads of State and Government, the Secretary-

General, Ministers and other representatives present in

the Security Council Chamber. Their presence today

underscores the importance of the subject matter under

discussion.

In accordance with rule 37 of the Councils

provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative

of the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in this

meeting.

In accordance with rule 39 of the Councils

provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Staffan de

Mistura, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for

Syria, to participate in this meeting.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration

of the item on its agenda.

I now give the floor to the His Excellency Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon.

The Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon: I thank Prime Minister Key

for organizing this very important meeting.

The Syrian tragedy shames us all. The collective

failure of the international community should

haunt every member of the Security Council. Well

over 300,000 Syrians have been killed, half of the

countrys population has been uprooted and much of

its infrastructure lies in ruins. Many Syrians fear the

fragmentation of their State could follow, with Daesh

and Al-Qaida affiliates poised to exploit further

chaos. Neighbouring countries are hosting millions

of Syrian refugees, while many lose their lives trying

to reach Europe. Forces unleashed by the conflict are

destabilizing the region. Terrorist attacks linked to

the crisis have struck around the world. Global norms

of humanitarian law have been flagrantly violated.

We have seen indiscriminate attacks on civilians and

civilian facilities, the medieval tactic of sieges and the

weaponization of hunger, the use of chemical weapons,

including attacks recently attributed to Daesh and the

Syrian Government. Tens of thousands of men, women

and children remain in arbitrary detention, in appalling

conditions and systematically subjected to unspeakale

torture. Meanwhile, foreign fighters and arms flow

to all sides. All of that defies the resolutions of the

Council.

Tragically, the divisons inside Syria are too often

amplified by regional divisions, and then mirrored

in the Council. Those divisions condemn Syria to its

terrible fate. Yet we know that international unity can

make a difference. Council unity and resolve led to

the elimination of Syrias previously denied chemical

weapons and attribution of responsibility for their use.

Food and medicine have been delivered to millions of

Syrians, including across front lines and via air drops to

besieged and hard-to-reach areas. And the formation of

the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) provided

fresh momentum to the search for a settlement and

paved the way for resolution 2254 (2015).

A cessation of hostilities, albeit fragile, began in

late February, with positive results for a few months.

In that window, the United Nations intensified

humanitarian operations and brought the parties to

Geneva for talks. But that process was once again

overwhelmed by violence. The long-sought agreement

between the Russian Federation and the United

States concluded on 9 September represents a new

opportunity. The attack on a United Nations-Syrian

Arab Red Crescent humanitarian convoy two days ago

was an outrage that resulted in several casualties and

forced the United Nations to suspend aid operations.

I am looking at options for vigorously investigating

that and similar atrocities against civilians. I am also

concerned about the earlier attack in Deir ez-Zor, in

which dozens of lives were lost. I take note of the rapid

acknowledgement by the United States of that strike

and look forward to more information.

We must remain determined that the ceasefire

will be revived. I urge everyone to use their influence

now  today  to ensure that it does. This is a

chance to reinstate the cessation of hostilities, faciliate

humanitarian aid to Aleppo and throughout the country,

ground the Syrian air force and see joint military

action against terrorist groups, such as Daesh and the

Al-Nusra Front. If we can do that, it would open the

road to political talks.

As soon as a new round of intra-Syrian negotiations

begins, they must focus on the fundamental issues for

a viable transition, in particular 

and I use the exact words of the mediators summary of the last round of talks  how power is to be exercised in practice by the transitional governance, including in relation to the presidency, executive powers and the control of Government and security institutions. The ISSG has already signalled its support for that approach. It urged the parties,to reach agreement on a framework for a genuine political transition, which would include a broad, inclusive transitional body with full executive power.

And the ISSG co-Chairs formally requested that the United Nations develop proposals as a starting point for future tasks. With my strong backing, Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura will be ready to present to the parties a draft framework of proposals as a starting point for negotiations for a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political transition. We are fully guided by resolution 2254 (2015), the Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex) and the ISSG statement, as well as the clear agenda for intra-Syrian talks laid out in resolution 2254 (2015). I have asked the Special Envoy to work intensively towards convening formal negotiations as soon as possible. I call on the Security Council to fully support the Special Envoy as he proceeds in that manner, with no ifs, ands or buts. We have to unequivocally move ahead towards a credible political process. I expect all to use their influence with the Syrian parties to make sure they come to talks ready to genuinely negotiate the core issues of political transition. No countrys destiny should rest on what happens with a single individual. If one side continues to insist that the powers of the Office of the President are not subject to negotiation, by definition there cannot be a negotiated settlement. If another side insists that the President simply depart at the very outset of a transition, it is difficult to see a genuine negotiation take place. Transition is not an end in itself; it is a process by which the Syrian people can achieve a new, peaceful and democratic reality while protecting their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence and uniting against terrorism. The transition must ensure the continuity and reform of State institutions and public services in the country. That requires an inclusive set of governance arrangements that ensure that power is exercised differently and responsibly from the way it has been until now. There is also a profound need for accountability. The Government has mercilessly trampled on human rights. Opposition groups have done some of the same. Terrorist groups parade images of their cruelty before the global public with perverse glee. For the world not to pursue the perpetrators of such brutality would be a grave abdication of duty. It would deny Syrian justice and healing. It would shred the credibility of an international community that claims to be concerned about upholding our common humanity.

I note that the Security Council itself has said that those who use chemical weapons in Syria must be held accountable. I repeat my call on the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. Members of the Government who gave orders or were part of the chain of command must be brought to account. Others on the battlefield must also be brought into the halls of justice. And there can be no doubt that any durable settlement will have to ensure a proper framework for transitional justice and reconciliation if Syria is to overcome the horrors of this war.

We are at a make-or-break moment. I challenge everyone to use their influence now to restore our cessation of hostilies, enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance everywhere it is needed, and support the United Nations in charting a political path for the Syrians to negotiate a way out of the hell in which they are trapped. In their service as members of the Security Council, those present have no higher responsibility now.

The President: I thank the Secretary-General for his briefing.I now give the floor to Mr. De Mistura.

Mr. De Mistura: The Secretary-General has spoken powerfully about this terrible conflict and the need to open the road to political talks that focus on the fundamental issues for a viable transition. He has requested that I be ready to present to the parties a draft framework of proposals as a starting point  nothing more than a starting point, but an important starting point  for negotiations for a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political transition. And we are ready. Let me offer now a few observations in this regard. We owe them to the Security Council.

First, we believe that the United Nations has done its due dilligence in order to understand the needs and fears of all sides, even if their own starting positions continue to be distant. Over the past two years, the United Nations has engaged extensively with Syrian stakeholders, whether in Geneva consultations or in three rounds of formal proximity talks, technical discussions, shuttle diplomacy in the region and through the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and the 18 Special Envoys from all over the world, civil society  and, frankly also to a large extent, with the Syrian Womens Advisory Board  with representatives of Syria. I have taken into account all the input from these engagements.

Secondly, despite the horrors on the ground, we have been pleasantly surprised by the fact that some points of convergence have emerged from the intra-Syrian talks about what essential governing princples should frame the transition and any end-state consititutional arrangement for Syria in the future. These commalities demonstrate how potentially close the visions of each side are, at least on the following point: an open, civil, all-inclusive, non-sectarian, pluralistic, democratic, unified State based upon the rule of law, in which all components of Syrian society are recognized, respected and whose fundamental freedoms are enshrined and protected in a new constitution. These are, at least verbally, what they seem to be agreeing upon.

Thirdly, in the third round of our intra-Syrian talks, both sides have accepted that the agenda was indeed a political transition. The Secretary-General referred to the mediators summary a few minutes ago, which in fact has captured further commonalities on a transition and set out the issues that need to be addressed to ensure a viable transition. That summary was subsequently endorsed by the ISSG  and I am glad that we have the ISSG; we had been waiting for it for more than a year, and it does provide a lot of support to the Special Envoy, as we were alone before it  as the basis for the next round of intra-Syrian negotiations. The ISSG urged the parties to reach agreement on a framework for a genuine political transition. It was within this context that on 26 July the ISSG requested that we develop some proposals. As soon as the talks resume, it is my intention to put proposals to all sides as a starting point for negotiations and as a means by which to move to direct talks, and no longer just proximity talks. The Secretary-General has indeed been encouraging me and requesting that I present a draft framework to move the sides towards a transition through negotiation.

Fourthly, any proposal that I may present would proceed upon the basis that the conflict in Syria cannot be resolved militarly  we say that all the time, but sometimes fail to practice it  but rather only through a a Syrian-owned and -led political negotiating process between the Government and the opposition, in which a framework is agreed based upon mutual consent, capable of effecting a genuine and irreversible political transition leading to a new constitution, and free and fair elections under international supervision, while preserving continuity  we are not looking for what happened in Libya, for instance  and reformed State institutions, in accordance with resolution 2254 (2015).

Fifthly, in our view, any viable transition must inevitably do the follwing. First, it must address how power is to be exercised in practice by the transitional Government, including in relation to the presidencys executive powers and control over Government and security institutions. This is something that the Syrians have to decide, but they need to address it among them. Secondly, the transition must involve power-sharing and a phased and genuinine power-devolution exercise during transition in an agreed manner in accordance with good governance, principles and subject to domestic and international guarantees. Thirdly, it must require the creation of collective transitional bodies to oversee a national ceasefire, humanitarian relief, the creation of a calm, neutral environment to enable free, peaceful political activity to occur in relation to the adoption of a new constitution, and the holding of free and fair elections under international supervision. I know it seems like a dream, but that is the plan, and if we do not do that it will not be possible to actually get there. Fourthly, it must be accompanied by sustained, international efforts to help reconstruct Syria, discussions are already taking place about how to prepare for reconstructing Syria as soon as genuinine and verifiable transition gets under way.

Therefore, ideally, the Government would need to understand that the transition involves a genuinine devolution of power and not just the absorption of the opposition into the current Government. While the opposition should also understand that the transition is not solely about one person or one presidency, but it is actually related to a transfer not only of power from one political group to another, but actually it is about how power should be exercised differently as Syria moves forward through Syrian negotiations.

Above all, the sides need to recognize that any transition needs to be all-inclusive and agreed among them  as the Geneva communique (S/2012/523, annex) clearly states  through mutual consent. I take note of the inputs that we have received from both sides, the Government and the opposition, in this process. I also take note of the High Negotiation Committees description of its own recent vision statement as a living document, and therefore a document that can evolve. This is the kind of approach that negotiations need to have in order to be developed.

I appeal, therefore, to the Security Council to reflect carefully on what the Secretary-General has just said. It was an important statement. It was a statement that he made by choosing his words carefully, because he feels strongly about this terrible conflict, which has been ongoing for five years of his tenure. I have added a few points and I hope that all Syrian parties understand that if peace is to be made and they are to save their own country, there is a need for a transition that will require a genuine readiness to negotiate and compromise. They should also be present at the next talks. This is an opportunity we would like to offer them.

Let me finish by saying, because obviously we cannot ignore the elephant in the room, that all of this will and can be heavily affected if we build on the agreement reached on 9 September between the two co-Chairs of the ISSG, which gave us a lot of hope, and on the basis of which we have been working even harder to renew talks.

The President, M. Key (New-Zealand): I thank Mr. De Mistura for his briefing.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as Prime Minister of New Zealand.

New Zealand has convened todays high-level meeting on the situation in the Middle East for one simple reason  no other issue more urgently demands the attention of world leaders. The Syrian civil war is the most devastating conflict of the twenty-first century. We see a country shattered, terrorism and extremism rampant, and the daily horrors of the deliberate displacement, starving and killing of civilians. We join the Secretary-General in condemning Mondays attack on a humanitarian convoy. There is no justification for attacking those who are trying to save lives. Longer term, we will need to hold to account those most responsible for the appalling atrocities we have witnessed. This includes those responsible for chemical weapons attacks.The scale of the Syrian refugee crisis has shocked the world. It has impacted millions of people in the region and beyond. The conflict has created security threats that reach well beyond Syrias borders. After more than five years of violence, Syria has become a byword for failure  failure of the parties and their supporters to put peace and the lives of innocent people ahead of self-interest and zero-sum politics; failure to respond to the crisis early to prevent this tragedy; and a collective political failure, including on the part of the Security Council, to do what must be done to end the conflict.

Todays meeting is a chance for an open and honest discussion on how peace can be achieved. It is critical that we rewrite this narrative of failure and help set Syria on a path to peace. Let me be clear. No one will benefit from a continuation of this conflict. The Syrian Government, which bears responsibility for starting this war, cannot win, nor can the many others whose support is allowing the conflict to continue. Ultimately, Syrians must reach an agreement on their future Government, but at this point it is clear that Syrians by themselves cannot end this war.

The problem is not a lack of direction. The pathway for ending this conflict was set out by the Security Council in resolution 2254 (2015) in December 2015. The resolution identified the steps required: a nationwide ceasefire, negotiations on a political transition and a united front for fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and other terrorist groups. It also established a timetable for implementing them, but that timetable itself was never implemented. Today, we all need to commit to restoring the cessation of hostilities, delivering aid to those who need it, and restarting political talks. Last weeks arrangement between United States Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov represents the best hope we have seen in some time. We encourage Russia and the United States to show sustained leadership and not let this opportunity slip away.

The next few days will be critical in restoring the cessation of hostilities and getting humanitarian aid flowing. We urge the Syrian parties to abide by the arrangement. The Council should unite to back those efforts. A political solution needs to address the causes of the conflict and establish a new form of inclusive Government. It must provide more than just cosmetic change with regard to the central question of President Bashar Al-Assads future. A political solution will involve unpalatable choices for both sides. It will take courage and, most of all, pragmatism. Anyone who insists on political red lines that block the necessary compromises will have to measure the delay they cause in terms of more lives lost, more refugees and more suffering. Those with influence must reinforce the message to the parties and to the Syrian Government that a political solution is the only way out of this conflict, and they must back these words with their actions. This means encouraging the parties to seek outcomes around the negotiating table, rather than on the battlefield. It also means not using the fight against terrorism as an excuse to shift our focus from achieving a political solution. Terrorism is a major consequence of the Syrian war, but it did not cause it.

Those countries with greatest ability to influence events have a particular responsibility in this regard. I speak in particular of those the Secretary-General identified in his General Assembly address last year (see A/70/PV.13) as being key to resolving this conflict: the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. We call on those countries to work together to restore the cessation of hostilities over the next few days. Advancing a political solution must be the priority in the weeks ahead. The people of Syria deserve this much.I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council.

I give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): It is clear that the region of the Middle East and North Africa is undergoing a period of serious upheaval as a result of the conjunction of inter-ethnic and inter-religious clashes with the unprecedented eruptions of terrorism and extremism that have enveloped Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria and have disturbed a number of other countries, including some in Africa. The potential deterioration of the situation presents the likelihood of increasingly serious threats to international stability and security.This is hardly the first time that such a state of affairs is the direct consequence of the heinous practice of geopolitical engineering, interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States, and attempts to replace objectionable regimes, including by violent means. It is fair to say that the situation in Syria is particularly worrying. Since the very beginning of the crisis, Russia has consistently advocated an exclusively peaceful solution arrived at while respecting the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of that ancient nation. We continue to believe firmly that there is no alternative to a political process based on a mutually respectful, inclusive intra-Syrian dialogue without preconditions, while ensuring an end to hostilities, the expansion of humanitarian access and a more effective fight against terrorism.

That complex position has been clearly affirmed in the decisions of the International Syria Support Group and the Security Councils resolutions, particularly resolution 2254 (2015). In order to fulfil the provisions of that resolution, Russia and the United States, as co-Chairs of the International Syria Support Group, arrived at a specific arrangement, which took more than six months to produce and was completed on 9 September, after the Presidents of Russia and the United States, meeting three days earlier in China, had reached final agreement on the last remaining issues to be resolved.

I apologize for referring to documents that almost no one in the Chamber has seen. As ever, Russia is prepared to make them public and distribute them within the United Nations. It is important to note that the Russian-American agreement emphasizes that one of its key priorities is distinguishing the opposition forces from those of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Jabhat Al-Nusra, in order to put the ceasefire into effect, resolve humanitarian issues and, most importantly, end terrorists attempts to evade punishment by using the pretext of their cooperation with the so-called moderates participating in the ceasefire regime.

The arrangements came into force on 12 September, and I should say once again that the fact that they are not yet publicly available prevents us from comparing them with what has been done and by whom, but I can give one example. The arrangements required ensuring safe passage for humanitarian access along the Castello Road and that therefore both the Government and the opposition, which were controlling various sectors of that road, should withdraw their forces to an equal distance from the road. That distance was specifically fixed in the agreements. The Government forces began to withdraw, as required in the Russian-United States agreement, only to see that the opposition was not only not reciprocating but in fact began shelling the Government forces. That happened more than once, and the opposition has still not withdrawn from the Castello Road, as the 9 September agreements required. In general, through its Ministry of Defence, Russia has been continually monitoring the activity on the Castello Road and around Aleppo, and the Ministrys website shows very clearly who is complying with the agreements and who is not.

Last week, through the operational monitoring centre we established in Geneva with our United States partners, we informed our American colleagues about 300 cases of violations of the ceasefire regime by Ahrar Al-Sham and a number of other opposition groups, including some whose names were provided to us as supposedly participating in the ceasefire. There were violations in Aleppo and the provinces of Hama, Homs, Latakia and Dara, as well as in the suburbs of Damascus. I would like to stress that the information we passed on is reliable. It comes not from Internet or media reports but was obtained on the ground by Russian military monitoring groups and it corresponds to specific facts. The violations include shelling using light weapons, mortars, multiple rocket launchers and homemade shells. The strikes on 16 September by the opposition coalition against Government forces positions in Deir ez-Zor were a clear violation of the ceasefire, and as soon as they occurred, ISIL launched an attack on the Government forces. Another unacceptable provocation took place on 19 September, when a United Nations humanitarian convoy was attacked near Aleppo in an opposition-controlled area. It should be noted, by the way, that on that same day, in the same area, known as the Ramusa road, Jabhat Al-Nusra and its allies carried out an aggressive attack on Government forces. As a result, the jihadists were able to make progress in the 10-70 sector.I do not have any proof, but I am certain that such coincidences should be thoroughly analysed and investigated, particularly the attack on the humanitarian convoy. Many people said that it could have been a rocket or artillery shelling  that was what we were informed originally  and then they started talking about helicopters and then airplanes. I think we should restrain the emotional instinct that makes us instantly reach for the microphone to comment and should rather conduct a thorough, professional investigation. I should mention that the distance between where the incident occurred and the epicentre, to the west of Aleppo, where Al-Nusra is, is no more than five or seven kilometres. Russia has provided all the information it has obtained about the attack on the convoy, including real-time video. In general, in spite of our appeals, which are to be found in Security Council decisions on the importance of exerting influence over the various armed opposition groups, the results have so far been extraordinarily limited.

I mentioned the list provided to us by our American partners of the 150 or so organizations named as participants in the ceasefire regime, but for a long time now, and officially since 12 September, more than 20 of them have declared that they will not comply with the agreement. That list also includes Ahrar Al-Sham, which, by the way, when drafting resolution 2254 (2015), we proposed including on the list of terrorist organizations, together with another group, Jaysh Al-Islam. At the time, however, our partners said that would make it impossible for us to work effectively, and as a gesture of goodwill we decided not to insist on that, limiting the terrorist list to Jabhat Al-Nusra and the so-called Islamic State. Well, after the ceasefires entry into force, on 12 September, the leadership of Ahrar Al-Sham stated officially that it would not abide by the agreements because they describe Al-Nusra as a terrorist organization. Ahrar Al-Sham does not consider it to be a terrorist organization, and in fact works closely with it.I believe, therefore, that the time has come to think about revisiting the list of terrorist organizations, especially since a specific incident occurred in the past few days in the north of Hama province, where Syrian forces were defending against attacks by the Jund Al-Aqsa group in the El Khabare and Maan areas. Regarding the fighting there, some have accused the Syrian Government forces of violating the ceasefire, but yesterday the United States stated that it had added Jund Al-Aqsa to the list of terrorist organizations, so I hope that no one will demand that we cease hostilities against that group. I just wanted to mention that example, on top of what I just pointed out about Ahrar Al-Sham, since they will probably require that we revisit the list. There has to be an end to covering up for those who are opposed to peace and refuse to comply with the agreements and with the Security Councils resolutions, and they should be considered equivalent to terrorists. In the past few days, in the Damascus area, Jaysh Al-Islam has been trying to gain territory in eastern Ghouta, while at the same time there have been intensive attacks on Government forces by Jabhat Al-Nusra and Failak Al-Rahman, which is also working in coordination with Al-Nusra in the suburb of Jobar, from where they often use mortars for shelling civilian neighbourhoods in Damascus.

Another lesson that we should like to draw from the latest events is that, in ensuring security during humanitarian operations, the effective participation of all parties to the conflict is necessary, not only that of Syrian and Russian armed forces, to which everyone usually addresses all appeals and requests. The armed groups and their sponsors need to provide relevant guarantees as well. Representatives of the United Nations also need to escort the convoys after receiving such guarantees.The International Syria Support Group met yesterday, and many colleagues were present. Everyone spoke in favour of resuscitating the cessation of hostilities. Initially the proposal was to ensure three days of calm. We are convinced that that can be achieved only by all the parties to the Syrian conflict without exception, taking simultaneous, parallel steps. Otherwise, nothing will happen. There will not be any unilateral pauses. We have done that already. There were unilateral pauses around Aleppo for 48 and 72 hours, and each time the result was that the insurgents, including Jabhat Al-Nusra, were provided with re-enforcements and military equipment and ammunition during these periods of calm. We therefore can no longer even discuss unilateral measures.What is needed is that every single member of the International Syria Support Group, especially those mentioned by the President of the Council, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, need to formulate serious guarantees in order to ensure that those units on the ground on whom they have influence will comply with all the provisions of the cessation of hostilities agreement. If we can agree on that type of comprehensive approach, then I believe that the viability of a cessation of hostilities will have a chance. Of course, it will not be enough to reach an agreement, we will have to make sure that the agreement is actually implemented.

Finally, I would like to say that we have always made a top priority of the intra-Syrian political dialogue, without any preconditions, as demanded by resolution 2254 (2015) and with the participation of representatives of all ethnic and religious groups, in order to implement the road map set out in the resolution, which should lead to a solution to the Syrian crisis within 18 months  as we had hoped at the time. Otherwise, we will not be able to achieve a lasting solution and preserve Syria as a single, territorially integral State, restore its economy and ensure the return of refugees and internally displaced persons.We support the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, and we call on him to continue working with the Syrian parties to the conflict to ensure the continuity and inclusive character of the negotiating process. Attempts by certain participants to put forward preconditions or ultimatums to sabotage resolution 2254 (2015) are unacceptable. Unfortunately, such attempts have continued, and the United Nations and the Special Envoy should not yield to such blackmail. Negotiations should resume urgently. Those who insist on preconditions should be told that such decisions run counter to the demands of the Security Council. We are ready to contribute in every way to the efforts carried out by Mr. De Mistura, including by further working with all parties  the Syrian Government and all members of the opposition  without excluding anyone.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. John Kerry, Secretary of State of the United States of America.

Mr. Kerry (United States of America): I want to thank my colleague from New Zealand in particular for convening this very important meeting on the crisis in Syria. I believe that it is appropriate that we are gathering here a couple of rooms over from where yesterday so many Heads of State came together in what I thought was a remarkably moving and eloquent statement of the consequence of the war in Syria. I listened particularly to King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein talk about the impact on his country and the millions of people who are distorting its economy, putting huge pressures on the social structure of the country, living under the worst circumstances and, in some areas, presenting a threat because of the ability of Daesh/ the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham or the Al-Nusra Front to slip people in, posing a security threat to the country.

We listened to the young Olympian tell us about her dreams and how she was able to compete this year because of a refugee Olympic team. We saw the images in a video beautifully narrated by Bono that really made us think about the consequences of that. I hope that everybody will come here today really focused on those consequences and not engage in word games that duck responsibility or avoid the choices that this great institution has in front of it with respect to war and peace and life and death.

I listened to my colleague from Russia, and I felt as though I were in a parallel universe here. He said that nobody should have any preconditions to come to the table. Well, we twice met in Vienna. We met here in New York and embraced a Security Council resolution. We met again in Munich. And in each place, the International Syria Support Group and the Security Council embraced a ceasefire applicable to all parties. That is not a precondition. That is an international agreement  arrived at four times. Countries have said that they will do this, and four times it has been shredded by independent actors and spoilers who do not want a ceasefire. That is therefore not a precondition.How can people go sit at a table with a regime that bombs hospitals, drops chlorine gas  again and again and again and again and again and again  and acts with impunity? Are you supposed to sit there and have happy talk in Geneva under such circumstances, when you have signed to a ceasefire and do not adhere to it? What kind of credibility do you have with any of your people? It is not a precondition. It is something upon which we all agreed in the United Nations and the International Syria Support Group.

I have to say with regard to the documents that we are prepared release  as we told people and announced yesterday at the International Syria Support Group, and people in the Support Group have the documents  you do not need to read them to understand that it is against international law to bomb hospitals. You do not need the documents to understand that you do not drop barrel bombs on children. Those are flagrant violations of international law.Therefore, I do not want to obfuscate this process. I did not come here this morning to do that. Supposedly, we all want the same goal  I have heard that again and again. Russia, Iran, the United States, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia  everybody sits here and says that they want a united Syria: secular and respectful of the rights of all people, and where the people of Syria can choose their leadership. However, we are proving woefully inadequate in our ability to get to the table, to have that conversation, to make it happen. Everybody in this Chamber understands that there are proxies at this table and proxies outside of the Chamber  and we know who they are  who have the ability to have an impact on the players in this conflict that has provided the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War.

Let us review the sequence of events. I was privileged to serve in the United States Senate with a fellow who spent a lot of time here: he was the Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He would famously remind us that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts. As President John Adams once said, facts are stubborn things. If we are going to deal with this situation, I do not think that we can let anybody here have their own set of facts about Syria.

Everybody here understands the depth of the human tragedy. One wonders why people in various parts of the world are so angry about governance: it is because all they hear are words. We know how many times we have demanded action, which then does not take place. Therefore, I want to share some facts with you this morning. Last night we received reports of air strikes that hit a medical facility near Aleppo and four aid workers were killed, despite the fact there was supposed to be a cessation of hostilities. There are only two countries that have aeroplanes that are capable of flying during the night  or flying at all  in that particular area: Russia and Syria.

As Minister Lavrov said, let us examine the facts and see what happened. On Monday, 20 aid workers were killed in an outrageous sustained two-hour attack directed at a fully authorized humanitarian mission near Aleppo. All of the permits had been given, and everybody was on notice. That attack has dealt a very heavy blow to our efforts to bring peace to Syria, and it raises a profound doubt about whether Russia and the Al-Assad regime can or will live up to the obligations that they agreed to in Geneva.

Questions are also raised  not by that attack but by other events  about some of the opposition. Those are facts. The simple reality is that we cannot resolve this crisis if the major parties who come to the table and agree to do something are unwilling to do what is necessary to avoid escalation. We do not get anywhere by ignoring the facts and by denying common sense. The United States-led coalition did hit people on Saturday; it was a terrible accident, and within moments of it happening we acknowledged it. We did not cast out a series of obfuscating facts, instead we said that it was a terrible thing and that it happened. The United States Department of Defence apologized, and we tried to find out how it happened.

But people with guns running around on the ground, seen from the air, is a very different thing from trucks in a convoy with big United Nations markings all over them. I want to lay out those facts because they underscore why, at this moment, we just cannot do business as usual. We cannot walk out of this Chamber and say that we are going to try to continue to have a ceasefire, when everybody knows it cannot work. The facts require countries to restore credibility to this process. That is what is critical. Let us think about what happened in the last couple of days.

First, President Putins Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, claimed that the attack on the humanitarian convoy was somehow a necessary response to an alleged offensive by al-Nusra elsewhere in the country: that was the first claim. Then a Russian ambassador said that Russian and Syrian forces were not bombing the area, but that they were targeting the village of Khan Tuman. Then we heard a completely different story: the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation said that the aid convoy had been accompanied by militants in a pick-up truck with a mortar, of which we have, however, seen no evidence. In any case, that would not justify a violation of the cessations of hostilities. In addition, that mortar could never have inflicted the damage caused to those trucks.Then the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation switched completely and denied Russias involvement. According to Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, neither Russia nor Syria conducted air strikes on the United Nations humanitarian convoy in the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo. Then Konashenkov went further and said that the damage to the convoy was the direct result of the cargo catching fire, that the trucks and the food and the medicine just spontaneously combusted. Does anybody here believe that? This is not a joke we are involved in. We are in serious business here. If we can stand up and say that we did accidentally have a strike, then we should have some responsibility. Maybe it is an attempt to distract attention or somehow deflect the issue, but I think what it underscores is that we have a responsibility here to find a way forward.

Everything I just quoted from Russian sources is contradicted by public information, by conclusions already reached by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, independent journalists and aid workers on the ground, by eyewitnesses. The eyewitnesses will tell you what happened. One of them said that he was standing on the ground, and all of a sudden the place became hell and the fighter jets were in the sky. That is an eyewitness report; the place turned into hell, and fighter jets were in the sky.

There is a lot more that I am not going to go into because I really want the key here to be an acceptance of responsibility, so that we can change this equation, responsibility on the part of everybody here. The primary question is no longer what do we know; the primary question is, collectively, what are we going to do about it?

In other words, this is a moment of truth. It is a moment of truth for President Putin and Russia, it is also a moment of truth for the opposition. It is a moment of truth for the people who support the opposition. For too long some elements of the opposition have relied on an unholy alliance with Al-Nusra. Al-Nusra is Al-Qaida  Al-Qaidas branch in Syria. We cannot look the other way if some groups are on the ground fighting alongside Al-Nusra, an organization that overtly rejects a political solution to this crisis and is an enemy of all of us in this Chamber.

It is a moment of truth for the international community, too. If we allow spoilers to choose the path for us, we will encounter a path of escalation. If we decide not to do what it takes to make this cessation of hostilities work, then make no mistake, my friends, the next time we convene here we are going to be facing a Middle East with even more refugees, more dead, more displaced, more extremists and more suffering on an even greater scale. That is a certainty.

There is only one choice, and that is to get to that table with Staffan de Mistura, to get to a negotiation and get a ceasefire so that we can stop the flow of refugees, stop the suffering, and provide the people of Syria with a chance to breathe, a chance to live. When the ceasefire first began, a few weeks ago, guess what: it worked. Months ago, people were actually out in the streets; they went to cafes again. Some people even demonstrated, felt they had political rights. Other people were able to walk from one place to another with a sense of safety. All of that has dissipated.

I want to emphasize this, and I emphasize to Russia that the United States continues to believe that there is a way forward, which, although rocky and difficult and uncertain, can provide the most viable path out of the carnage. Our shared task here is to find a way to use the tools of diplomacy to make that happen. That is exactly what we have been trying to accomplish.

For weeks over the summer, experts from my Government worked with our counterparts from Russia in good efforts to develop a plan that would take into account the lessons learned from the original cessation of hostilities. The key elements of that plan, launched in Geneva two weeks ago, include the renewal of the cessation of hostilities, excluding only Daesh and Al-Nusra. Importantly, it included arrangements for the unfettered delivery  unfettered delivery  of humanitarian aid to people in Aleppo and elsewhere in the country. It also envisioned the possibility  provided that the delivery of humanitarian assistance was unimpeded and sustained and provided that there were at least seven days of consecutive adherence to the cessation of hostilities  that the United States and Russia would begin to coordinate their efforts against Daesh and Al-Nusra.

I wish to make one thing clear. Under President Obamas orders, all preparations were being made in order to achieve that cooperation, involving our military and intelligence community in the work we would do. We are committed to that. It was also a very importantly part of the plan that, when those efforts of cooperation commenced, Syrian warplanes would be prohibited from flying over areas where the legitimate opposition and Al-Nusra were present in order to give us an opportunity to work at separating the two.

I have said to Russia many times: it is very hard to separate people when they are being bombed indiscriminately. While Al-Assad has the right to determine whom he is going to bomb, because he can go after Al-Nusra and in the process go after the opposition at the same time because he wants to, confusion is created that is impossible to separate out, and the ceasefire cannot be preserved. That is why we need to get to the prohibition on flying, my friends. That would prevent Syria from doing what it has done so often in the past, which is to attack civilian targets with the excuse that it is just going after Al-Nusra.

Our purpose in the negotiation was to put an end to the kind of horrific and indiscriminate attacks that have been the primary cause of fear, suffering and displacement. Under our plan, all of this could be quickly accompanied by serious negotiations between the parties aimed at a political transition and a conclusion to the conflict. So I wish my colleagues to know that the United States remains convinced that the objectives outlined in the Geneva agreement are the right objectives. As for the tools, many of them are the right tools, but they may not be complete.

Our hope was that the renewal of the cessation of hostilities and the resumption of aid deliveries, the isolation of Al-Nusra and Daesh, and the beginning of the Syrian-led negotiation process would provide a pathway out of the conflict and make possible the restoration of a peaceful Syria. Now, clearly there are some people, including Al-Assad and his allies, as well as Al-Nusra and Daesh on the other side, who fear that very outcome. Al-Assad is a spoiler; he does not believe in a ceasefire. Al Nusra and Daesh are spoilers. They do not want a ceasefire; they want to keep fighting Al-Assad.

Therefore, the question for us here today is whether we bend to their will or continue to pursue our agenda, as best we can and in every way that we can, to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Those who believe that the crisis in Syria cannot become even worse are dead wrong, as are those who believe that a military victory is possible. This could be like Carthage and the Romans, if one can call that a victory.

The plan announced in Geneva is far from perfect, but I have yet to hear an alternative that is remotely realistic and would lead to a better outcome. If we could get monitoring on the ground, that would be ideal. We would love to have monitoring on the ground. But most of the countries one talks to and asks if they would go in to monitor are very quick to say, not on my life.

As my colleagues from the International Syria Support Group will attest, yesterday we had a meeting. There was near unanimity in that room that this process, the ceasefire, as troubled as it is, gives us the best chance available to bring relief to the people of Syria. Now, here is the nub of it. We have said for days that it will take significant and immediate steps now to try to get things back on track. How do we get things back on track? How do we restore the concept of a ceasefire? How do we give people, who have again and again seen this process fall apart, some sense of confidence in the process? Believe me, there are a lot of people who believe that it cannot happen. There are some people who believe that the major parties do not want it done.So, I believe that in order to restore credibility to the process, we must move forward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flying in those key areas in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded. If that happens, there is a chance to give credibility back to this process. In Geneva, Russia related that Al-Assad was prepared to live by the cessation of hostilities and would accept the idea of not flying over agreed-upon areas. But because of what has happened in the past few days, my friends, we have no choice but to try to do that sooner, not later, to move immediately to restore confidence and demonstrate the readiness to implement a genuine ceasefire now.

The future of Syria is hanging by a thread. I urge the Council not to give up, but instead to support the steps outlined by the United States and Russia in Geneva. I call on every party in Syria and those who support them. I call on all members of the opposition to cooperate and revive this plan. I call on every country to cease providing support of any kind to any party that is trying to sabotage this plan. I call on the international community to support United Nations efforts to begin a real negotiation in Geneva on a political transition that can provide the only durable route to peace. I urge the entire international community to get behind the best chance that we have had yet to reduce the violence, to provide humanitarian assistance and to open up the space for negotiations.

The President: I give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of Egypt.

President Al Sisi (Egypt) (spoke in Arabic): Let me begin by thanking Mr. John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, for convening this meeting.I would like to express my deepest condolences to United Nations workers who were targeted by a cowardly attack two days ago while trying to fulfil their mission to bring humanitarian assistance to civilians. That should not go uncontested.We are here today not merely to examine the heartbreaking tragedy in Syria, which we have all been following on a daily basis, but rather to assume our responsibility as member States of the Security Council, charged with the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security and to find a practical and swift formula to stop the bloodshed in Syria and to bring an end to the five years of conflict and reach a unified vision for a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis  one that rescues our brethren in Syria from their prolonged ordeal.

Five years have passed, and the bloodshed in Syria has not stopped, with hundreds of thousands of Syrians killed and with millions of refugees and internally displaced persons. The political solution remains elusive. Syria continues to suffer the rapacity of regional and international parties that are seeking to exploit its predicament for their own narrow interests, thereby creating a breeding ground for vicious terrorism, which is hijacking the future of Syria.

Allow me to speak frankly about what I believe to be the root causes of the problem and the inherent flaws in prior attempts to contain the crisis. An honest and critical reading of the Syrian crisis over the past five years is imperative if we are to overcome our differences and move forward to save Syria and its people. I would like to summarize my remarks in three key points.

First, any honest and fair reading of the previous attempts to deal with the Syrian crisis thus far leads us to one conclusion: we have become overly preoccupied with the symptoms rather than the root causes of the problem. We continue to be consumed in recurring debates on reaching interim arrangements, ceasefires or cessations of hostilities to reduce the killing and destruction, or in attempts to alleviate the ensuing humanitarian disaster, and so forth. We have failed, however, to move forward in addressing the core problem, which is the absence of a just and comprehensive political solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria. We welcome the cessation of hostilities reached a few days ago thanks to the efforts of Russia and the United States. This cessation of hostilities led to a decrease in violence despite certain violations and the refusal of certain parties, supported by the outside, to uphold their responsibilities, and insisting on hijacking the future of Syria. Despite all of those violations, the agreement was necessary to reduce violence. However, such an agreement in itself is not enough. It must be complemented by an immediate resumption of political negotiations in order to reach a just, final and comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis. I hereby call upon Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura to invite all parties to the next round of negotiations as soon as possible.

Secondly, the broad outlines of any political solution in Syria are quite obvious. However, transforming those outlines into practical measures on the ground requires upholding the principles of the national unity and territorial integrity of Syria and maintaining equality among each of its citizens across the political and social spectrums, with the single exception of terrorist organizations, which cannot have a place in the future of Syria that we all hope for. There is no place for terrorism in Syria, nor is there room for attempts to re-brand the terrorist organizations. We therefore categorically reject any attempts to circumvent Security Council resolutions that designate those groups as terrorist organizations.

Thirdly, it is important that we recognize that we are running short of time. Every day that passes by with Syrias wounds still open offers yet another opportunity for terrorism to flourish and for sectarianism to undermine the foundations of the nation-State in Syria and the Levant. Let me be honest: anyone who thinks that there can be a military solution to the Syrian crisis is mistaken, and anyone who believes that terrorist organizations can play a role in Syrias future is delusional.

Our experiences during the Geneva and Vienna meetings and with resolution 2254 (2015) have proved beyond any doubt that finding common ground among the key stakeholders of the Syrian crisis is not impossible and that we can make significant progress towards a political settlement in record time should there be a political will to do so. Egypts experience in hosting an all-inclusive conference for the various moderate Syrian opposition groups in June 2015, which brought together Syrians from across the political spectrum, with no foreign interference, has shown that these parties can agree on comprehensive documents that draw a road map for the transition out of the current plight in Syria. The Cairo Conference documents were produced by Syrians without any interference from a non-Syrian party. They clearly demonstrate that it is possible to find a Syrian solution to the crisis. Council members must have all noticed that these documents have been the foundation of every subsequent effort, Syrian or international, to put forward a practical political settlement.The road ahead is clear. The implementation of the cessation of hostilities should be developed into a comprehensive ceasefire in Syria, which would, in turn, guarantee the free passage of humanitarian assistance to civilians in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. As Council members know, Egypt has succeeded in delivering humanitarian aid on two occasions to more than five besieged areas in Syria, thanks to our open channels of communications with all the different parties and stakeholders. We continue to count on the commitment of all parties to the agreement on the cessation of hostilities as a necessary step towards easing the humanitarian tragedy and delivering aid to those affected by the conflict. We reaffirm our readiness to provide all kinds of support to this endeavour. However, the revival of serious political negotiations remains a necessary condition for the cessation of hostilities to hold and for humanitarian access to continue. History has taught us that no ceasefire arrangements have ever endured without a political prospect that addresses the root causes of the crisis. Syria is no exception.

Egypts vision of a solution in Syria is based on two pillars. First, the national unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian State must be preserved and the collapse of its institutions prevented. Secondly, the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people to rebuild their own State through an acceptable political solution that represents them all and creates an enabling environment for reconstruction efforts must be upheld. From this point of view, we value the efforts of Special Envoy De Mistura and we support his work for the resumption of political negotiations immediately and without delay. In that context, we reaffirm the importance of including representatives from the Syrian Government together with all opposition groups without discrimination in the negotiations, in order for the negotiations to bear fruit, in accordance with resolution 2254 (2015).

We have no more time to lose. With the passing of each day more blood will be spilled and more innocent Syrians will continue to suffer. Egypt remains eager to communicate with all parties to the Syrian crisis and is committed to working with our partners in the region and the international community to provide every kind of support for the much-needed political solution in Syria. It is our collective responsibility to restore hope to the people of Syria. It is time for us to assume this responsibility and tackle the root causes of the problem immediately and without any delay.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine.

President Poroshenko (Ukraine): First of all, I would like to thank Prime Minister Key for his initiative to convene this important high-level meeting. I also commend the presidency of New Zealand for the excellent manner in which it has organized the work of the Security Council this month.

The Security Council was created 71 years ago to bear the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It was meant to stop ongoing conflicts and prevent looming ones. Back in 2000, upon the initiative of Ukraine, the Council held its historic, first-ever summit meeting (see S/PV.4194), in which it adopted a declaration pledging, inter alia, to ensure the effective functioning of the collective security system established by the Charter (resolution 1318 (2000), annex). That summit became one of many success stories throughout the history of the United Nations.Yet, there have been many dramatic failures. One of them has been unfolding in front of us in Syria for over five years. The conflict in that country is a tragedy for millions of people and a serious challenge for the international community. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed; over 13 million have been forced out of their homes. These numbers are appalling, and all the more so when we think of the countless personal tragedies behind them.

The conflict has already had many serious negative consequences: uncontrolled migration, the escalation of terrorism, the expansion of the Islamic State and other extremist groups, to name but a few. Yet it poses other serious risks, including igniting a wider sectarian war in the region. We are of the view that the Syrian Government bears full responsibility for its countrys present condition and for the terrible sufferings of the Syrian people.

It was with the utmost dismay that we learned just two days ago of a barbaric attack on a humanitarian convoy in Aleppo. That crime came after the Syrian regimes unilateral withdrawal from the week-long ceasefire. It is nothing but a clear proof of the culture of impunity that has fuelled the Syrian conflict. That outrageous lack of accountability is a stain on this Council.

At the same time, it is external support for the Al-Assad regime, in particular from Russia, that has contributed significantly to the disastrous status quo and to the recurrent waves of violence. As was the case in Ukraine, those actions were part of an intentional policy to first stir up hostilities, raise the stakes and then offer yourself as a mediator in the settlement process. In the meantime, you may grab ground and secure your position for imposing any solution you please. That strategy sounds pretty familiar to my own country, Ukraine, which continues to be a testing ground for very similar Russian tactics.

The United Nations and the Security Council have failed to bring peace and security to Syria. That failure undermines the whole mission of the United Nations and challenges its very existence. The inaction of the Council in dealing with the armed Russian aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea has allowed Moscow to use the peninsula as a military outpost for projecting power in Syria. As war there rages on, huge numbers of Russian war assets are deployed to Syria via ships based in Crimea, occupied by Russian troops. That highlights once again the absolutely urgent and critical need to reform the Council, particularly with regard to the veto power. No veto should be able to block the Councils action when it has to respond to situations of mass atrocities. With so many lives lost in recent decades due to such crimes, we must finally start the process of removing that obstacle to ensure a more effective Security Council.

We strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons, barrel bombs, torture and other crimes being committed in Syria, specifically against civilians. Again, these are flagrant violations of international law. We insist that those responsible for these horrific crimes be brought to justice. The recent findings of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism must be duly taken into account by the international community. Furthermore, we condemn the denial of humanitarian access to those in need  let along the bombing of aid convoys  and sieges against civilian population. Any and all employment of such tactics as a tool of war is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and must be stopped immediately.

Ukraine once again reaffirms the imperative of full compliance with the fundamental principles and norms of international law everywhere, at all times and by all. The political process in Syria should be aimed at restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and establishing a credible, inclusive transitional governing body with ample executive power. That should be done in full compliance with the Geneva principles of 30 June 2012 and resolution 2254 (2015). That is to be followed by the drafting of a new constitution and elections.

A genuine political transition should be the first and foremost priority for the Council and for all those involved. The parties to the conflict, both inside and outside Syria, will have to prove with deeds  not words  that they are committed to meeting their obligations and to fulfilling their agreements, including the most recent. We are convinced that there is no alternative to a diplomatic solution of the conflict and call for consolidating international efforts to put an end to this tragedy.

Sixteen years ago, in the declaration I referred to at the beginning of my statement, our predecessors pledged, to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in addressing conflict (resolution 1318 (2000), annex, p.2). We cannot afford to fail this time.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal.

President Sall (Senegal) (spoke in French): At the outset, I would like to thank Prime Minister Key for convening this timely high-level debate on the human tragedy ravaging the Syrian people. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his recent briefing and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura.

Whatever ones point of view on the Syrian conflict, which is entering its sixth year, there is one clear image in all of our minds  a country ravaged by war; a country in ruins; a land of fire, tears and blood. The situation in Syria is one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time. Over 300,000 dead have left behind broken families scarred by mourning and suffering, and there is no end to the gruesome accounts emerging. How many orphans, how many widows, how many elderly people abandoned to their sad fate without any assistance, how many wounded and disabled for life, how many refugees and displaced people have been created? No one really knows.What is happening in Syria is untenable. Meeting after meeting takes place, negotiation after negotiation is held, and resolution after resolution is adopted while thunderous bombs continue. Human lives have been devastated and homes, markets, schools and hospitals destroyed, in total violation of international humanitarian law. Despite the laudable efforts of humanitarian organizations of goodwill, an entire people is dying and the economy and above the centuries-old sociocultural heritage of an entire country is collapsing. How much longer can this go on?

The cause that gathers us under one roof at the United Nations is peace, which is not only desirable but necessary. It is mandatory and it is achievable. The price of peace is never higher than the cost of war. It is certainly Senegals hope that a negotiated solution to the Syrian crisis is still possible. We saw evidence of that recently with the first ceasefire agreement on which the Russians and the Americans were able to agree. Regrettably, it was quickly breached, but if both were to take the necessary measures and shoulder their share of responsibility in the tragedy, I believe that they would be able to assist the Security Council in discharging its mission.In Africa, we say that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. The Security Council has reached its limits. No resolution can be drafted because of the right of veto. That is why the Security Council must be reformed. Could a veto be vetoed, perhaps, when there is a risk of genocide or crimes against humanity? Should we allow the right of veto to prevent humankind from ending the situation unfolding right in front of us? We see the impact of the movement of Syrian refugees to Europe. Many democracies could crumble under the weight of extremism. We see its effects in North Africa  terrorism is taking place in Syria and Libya and has reached the Sahel and Somalia. Should we wait until the world collapses under the weight of the Syrian crisis to act? I believe that it is time for the Council to take up the tools it needs to discharge its mission and end the conflict.Senegal supports the efforts of the International Syria Support Group and all efforts needed to achieve effective and lasting peace throughout Syria and to allow for the unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance. We also support the establishment of a joint command centre for information-sharing and improved cooperation to combat terrorism. I welcome Egypts proposals, which could very much assist its neighbours in the quest for peaceful solutions. Senegal welcomes the adoption of a joint, consistent, global strategy to ensure that the terrorists who are driven out of Syria are unable to settle elsewhere in North Africa, in particular, and in the Sahelo-Saharan region.

Similarly, peace must be made among all Syrian parties in good faith towards a political solution to the conflict. Such peace is possible because war cannot be the future of an entire people. I hope for momentum in the Russian-American dialogue because peace will depend on a serious agreement being reached between those two great countries. We should reflect on the wisdom of a great man of the twentieth century, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Fifty-three years ago, in this very Organization, he himself delivered the following words, Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind (A/PV.1013, para. 40). Let us make the right decisions.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan.

Mr. Abe (Japan) (spoke in Japanese; English text provided by the delegation): Our agenda today, the situation in Syria, is an urgent one. This ongoing international crisis requires a show of solidarity from the Security Council. We discussed Syria at the Group of Seven (G-7) Ise-Shima Summit this year and confirmed the importance of cooperation among G-7 members. Today, I would like to reaffirm our commitment in the Security Council.

We deeply deplore the situation that the nationwide cessation of hostilities based on the agreement between the United States and Russia is in danger. The International Syria Support Group was convened yesterday and the commitment was reaffirmed that the international community as a whole will support the agreement. Japan took part in that commitment. The Security Council must strongly promote the transition to a political process in which violence is ceased and humanitarian access is improved under the leadership of Special Envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura.

The joint investigation of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons identified those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria last month. This month, it was reported that chlorine-based attacks were conducted in Syria. The use of chemical weapons is utterly unacceptable in any circumstances. The Security Council must unite in order to hold perpetrators to account and bring those responsible to justice. As a member of the Security Council and the International Syria Support Group, Japan calls on the international community and all relevant stakeholders to fully abide by the Security Councils Syria-related resolutions.

In collaboration with the United Nations and other international organizations, Japan has provided non-military assistance and aided in creating as conducive a climate as possible for the political settlement of the Syrian crisis. Japan has supported efforts to build societies that are resilient against violent extremism by combining urgent humanitarian assistance with development assistance for the people of Syria and neighbouring countries. That support has centred on three areas.

First, Japan has extended assistance to all Syrians inside and outside of Syria. Secondly, Japan has provided support to vocational training and capacity-building programmes for women. Thirdly, Japan has provided assistance to alleviate the burdens faced by neighbouring countries in support of regional stability. It is especially important to bolster efforts to build societies that are resilient against violent extremism. In collaboration with the United Nations, Japan has supported territories liberated from violent extremism in order to promote stabilization. We have provided assistance to people who are socially marginalized and have not received even basic assistance.

As one example, Japan has collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme to implement the Emergency Employment Project in northern Jordan, where the unemployment rate has risen amid a wave of Syrian refugees. That project has supported job-seeking and business ventures for more than 1,000 young people. Nadia, a Jordanian woman, recalled, I cannot forget the moment when I heard over the phone that I had been accepted to participate in the project. Nadia, who has three children, acquired the necessary knowledge to start a business and decided to open a kitchen utensil store. We believe that promoting womens social participation and developing a sense of involvement among young people are effective means to create resilient and tolerant societies and to prevent violent extremism.

With that in mind, Japan provided more than $1.26 billion to Syria, Iraq and neighbouring countries from 2011 to 2015. In addition, Japan is implementing $1.13 billion of assistance to Syria, Iraq and neighbouring countries this year. Japan is focusing in particular on implementing humanitarian aid, including the provision of food, water and vaccinations, as well as assistance for economic development and social stability, including education and vocational training in collaboration with the United Nations and other international organizations.

However, the success of Japans efforts depends on how we resolve the current Syrian crisis. Japan reiterates its determination, as a member of the Security Council, to work on the matter in a responsible manner because, first of all, a ceasefire is absolutely important. Once again, Japan will continue to work on this issue.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs of Malaysia.

Mr. Hamidi (Malaysia): I thank you, Sir, for convening todays meeting and presiding over the Council today. Malaysia believes that this meeting is especially timely and important in the light of the most recent development in Syria.

I take this opportunity to place on record my delegations appreciation for New Zealands strong leadership, alongside Egypt and Spain, particularly on the Councils efforts to address the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict.

My delegation wishes to underscore its deepest appreciation and respect for the unflagging efforts of the United Nations in spearheading the international response to the Syrian crisis. In this connection, I thank both the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, for their presence and participation today.

Malaysia is horrified and outraged by the attack on the United Nations-backed humanitarian convoys near Aleppo on Monday night. We strongly condemn the killing of unarmed civilians and humanitarian workers in that incident as yet another flagrant violation of international law, which reflects the absolute disrespect, disregard and contempt that the parties to the conflict have for the values of humankind.

Malaysia stands in solidarity with other friends of Syria in helping to alleviate the situation of its citizens amid this grim reality. In this regard, we have taken certain steps, including making modest, direct financial and in-kind contributions to Syrians in need, especially those in the border areas. We have also committed to taking several thousand Syrians fleeing the violence in their homeland, and I am pleased to share with the Council the fact that this initiative has been implemented.

The bloody and protracted conflict in Syria continues to sorely test the Councils ability to unite around a common approach for a credible and sustainable political solution to the crisis. Since 2011, the conflict has metastasized, spawning a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions that we are all struggling to contain, as well as provided space and an enabling environment for the cancerous growth of terrorism, most notably the rise of Daesh, whose heinous acts and barbaric atrocities have reverberated far across the globe.

Against that background, the Council must remain resolute and continue to strive for unity and coherence in both its purpose and action in order to effectively discharge its Charter-mandated responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. In noting the various formats pursued in the process of seeking to resolve the Syrian conflict, I wish to underscore that the Council can never be sidelined and has a central role to play.

At this critical stage, despite some highly publicized setbacks in recent days, the Russia-United States package of agreements reached on 9 September represents the latest concrete effort towards, first, halting the violence and subsequently laying the groundwork for a credible and inclusive political process on the future of Syria.

We have also listened very carefully to the views of the Secretary-General and Special Envoy De Mistura on a possible power-sharing agreement between the parties to the conflict. We understand that the primary aim of these proposals is to end the hostilities, an aim that we strongly support.

As a current member of the Council, Malaysias support for the implementation of its decisions on Syria is unwavering, especially those related to the cessation of violence and on the humanitarian situation.

Particular attention must be given to the protection of children as the most vulnerable group in any violent conflict. We were shocked to the core by the bombing of a maternity hospital in Idlib, which sent babies crashing to the floor in their incubators. We winced at images of children gasping for their last breath after being attacked with chemical weapons; and we were heartbroken by the sight of 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh, covered in dust and blood, sitting quietly, alone and in shock, waiting in an ambulance after he was pulled from the rubble of his family home; many others, sadly, did not make it out alive.

Despite the countless horrific incidents of children being bombed, gassed and starved, the parties to the conflict in Syria seem to have wilfully jettisoned all reason and humanity, unable to say enough is enough so as to prevent more casualties, especially of children. We strongly demand that the conflicting parties respect international humanitarian law, particularly in providing unfettered humanitarian access and in protecting civilians and civilian objects, including children, relief or rescue personnel, schools and hospitals.

While the 2012 Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex) remains relevant, Malaysia is of the view that moving the political process forward should be guided by the provisions of resolution 2254 (2015), taken in parallel with the implementation of the 9 September Russia-United States arrangement. We call on all interested partners and stakeholders to support the way forward as outlined by Special Envoy De Mistura.

Finally, I wish to underscore that Malaysia remains committed to seeking accountability for the various violations and abuses committed in the course of the conflict in Syria. We stand ready to cooperate with all interested partners, and we will support initiatives towards this end.I wish to also convey Malaysias utmost appreciation and respect to the many United Nations system and other humanitarian actors and agencies, toiling untiringly in the field and bringing some measure of hope and dignity to a war-ravaged people.

We can never hope to repay such a debt; however, it behoves all of us to redouble our efforts to achieve a durable political solution, so that the guns will fall silent and that peace, reconciliation and rebuilding of the Syrian nation can soon commence.

The President: I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, Minister of Peoples Power for Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Ms. Rodriguez Gomez (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) (spoke in Spanish): Today, as we celebrate the International Day of Peace, is the ideal moment to examine the situation in a sisterly country that is part of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, that is, the Syrian Arab Republic.

This year, 3 September, which was just a few days ago, marked exactly a year since the dissemination of an image that shocked the international community: that of the lifeless body of the child Aylan Kurdi, on a beach in Turkey. That image truly prodoundly touched the human conscience, embodying as it does the humanitarian tragedy that the country is living through: 300,000 deaths; 6.6 million internally displaced persons; 13.5 million people in situations of humanitarian emergency; and 4.8 million refugees. The international community, and we deeply regret having to say this, has become accustomed to such numbers as if they were a normal part of daily life. We have lost the humanitarian dimension in what is really happening in the situation in Syria. The question is how we got to this point. It was not due to happenstance or divine intervention. It was because of the interference of international Powers that have violated international law through violation of Syrias sovereignty, its independence and the fundamental purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and sought to overthrow a legitimate Government, ignoring the desire of the Syrian people.We have not arrived at this point by chance. We have heard about the use of chemical weapons. We must seek the truth because, while the international community has many regrets, it has also been the victim of imperial lies. Or have we perhaps forgotten the case of Iraq, where supposed existence of weapons of mass destruction led to military intervention in that country in the Middle East. That was not done to provide happiness, progress or development but, rather, to sow violence, death and destruction. The only goal was to grab the natural resources and energy resources of that fraternal country, which is also a member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.

The international community cannot continue to be subjected to lies sold by the centres of Power through the international media conglomerates. I have heard here that citizens are tired of their Governments. No, we citizens are not tired of our Governments. Citizens are tired of certain Powers attempting to govern the world. That is what we are tired of. We are tired of the lack of norms and regulations, because in our Governments we comply with the multilateral system of the United Nations and abide by international treaties.

Just a few days ago, on Saturday, 17 September, when we met in Margarita at the historic Summit of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, we painfully witnessed with shock an attack by the United States against the army of a brotherly country, Syria. That incident facilitated the advance of terrorist groups on the ground. How many more such mistakes will we see? It is very easy to state afterwards that mistakes were made. But such mistakes cost hundreds of thousands and even millions of human lives. We cannot simply remain silent before such a situation when we are told that mistakes have been made. There are those who are responsible for the mistakes and we have called on the Security Council to take action.

When we see that terrorist groups are trying to take the place of a legitimate Governments and to disregard the will of the people, we ask ourselves, in this place, where we are in charge of the maintenance of international peace and security, who is supporting them, who provides weapons and who finances the logistical support for terrorists? Those are truths that cannot be hidden. Or must we wait another 10 years before the truth is known?

One cannot continue to lie to the world so shamelessly and immorally. Clearly, in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, we see that our Constitution considers the development of peace not only as a founding principle, but a fundamental right. We advocate for the right of the Syrian people to peace and development and for safeguardng their right to sovereignty. In that regard, we would join any effort to promote a peaceful political solution, based above all on respect for the Syrian Arab Republics State institutions and on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that brotherly country.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay.

Mr. Nin Novoa (Uruguay) (spoke in Spanish): At the outset, I wish to thank the New Zealand presidency for convening this informative, high-level meeting to address the challenges of one of the main threats to international peace and security, namely, the current conflict in Syria, on which we have focussed since the very beginning. Uruguay particularly appreciates this meeting because we are convinced that the Security Council can do much more to mobilize the necessary political will with a view to achieving negotiated long-term solutions for the Syrian people.

Every three months, the Council meets to analyse the situation in the Middle East. At each of those meetings, all Council members emphatically express the urgent need to find solutions to the crisis. Also at those meetings, my country has stressed the serious humanitarian crisis facing the Syrian people and the need to move towards sustainable political solutions. We have agreed on the need to take measures in that regard. However, we meet again today to discuss what more we can do and should do. We are concerned that, despite the efforts made at the international level, we have not achieved effective solutions to respond to the current conflict. We have not been able to overcome the obstacles to achieving lasting peace, or to end the suffering of millions of people. After five years of conflict, we continue to witness the loss of thousands of innocent lives. We have seen violations of all human rights of the civilian population. We have observed the use of warfare tactics such as hunger. We have struggled to overcome existing obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid to those most in need. Worst of all, we have witnessed indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets, including hospitals and schools.Those who have been able to flee are unable to return to their homes. Their lives have been destroyed, families have been separated and their futures erased. They do not understand economic, political or strategic interests. They want solutions, actions, measures and firm political commitments.

That is why we are here today: to shoulder the responsibility that has been assigned to the Security Council. The Syrian population needs an urgent response from every one of us meeting here. We must therefore renew our commitment, set aside our differences and commit to a negotiated solution that will make possible a way out of the current crisis. Dialogue requires that all stakeholders respect their obligations under international law, particularly international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It is imperative to respect the provisions of the Councils resolutions.Just over four months ago, the Council adopted resolution 2286 (2016), on the protection of hospitals and humanitarian personnel in situations of armed conflict. However, despite the fact that the resolution was co-sponsored by more than 80 United Nations States Members, hospitals continue to be bombed. No mistake can justify such action while the most vulnerable continue to be attacked.

Now and forever, we condemn the increasing use of chemical weapons against the civilian population, which is one of the most flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, and we repudiate the use of barrel bombs that do untold harm to the local populace. Those who are responsible must be identified by the Joint Investigative Mechanism. In that context, I reiterate Uruguays firmest condemnation of the activities of terrorist groups operating in the region. We are convinced that there can be no justification for such acts, be it political, ideological, philosophical, religious, ethnic, racial or of any other nature. Similarly, we are concerned about the growing destabilizing impact of these groups in the conflict in Syria, which adversely affect the ability to achieve sustainable solutions to the aforementioned conflict.We therefore consider it essential that, together with the political efforts being exerted in the Syrian conflict, the commitment to the implementation of effective and efficient measures against the financing of terrorist groups be renewed, with a comprehensive and long-term approach. Similarly, greater efforts should be made with respect to arms trafficking, regulating trade and ensuring the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty. This decision requires the commitment of all States of the international community, which we humbly request.

We must continue to support the work and efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura. It is essential to restore the dialogue between the parties so as to reach without further delay a political, peaceful and Syrian-led solution that takes nothing but the interests of the Syrian people into account. Uruguay stresses the importance for this process to enjoy the support of the United Nations and the key actors in the conflict.

In that regard, we are deeply concerned about the fragility of recent ceasefire agreements. We are convinced that without the strict compliance of all stakeholders, a long-term political solution that ensures peace for the Syrian people will not be possible. Similarly, the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance is essential, and guarantees for such effective delivery are linked directly to the aforementioned ceasefire. There can be no humanitarian action without a ceasefire. We must not forget that the commitment to peace and security in the region and with the Syrian people is now a shared commitment.

The shocking images that continuously bombard us with the horror of this conflict remind us of the primary role of the Organization and of what we should be doing. It is in our hands. We can and must do more.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Jean-Marc Ayrault, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development of France.

Mr. Ayrault (France) (spoke in French): While Syria has been mired in tragedy for five years, and while each passing day propels the country further into chaos and its people into horror, it is more urgent than ever to work together to seek to end the conflict. That is our collective responsibility. The peoples of the world are watching. They will judge us severely if we fail to uphold the mission that the Charter of United Nations entrusts to the Security Council.

An agreement was signed last week by the United States and Russia. France welcomed it as a response to an emergency  that of saving human lives. For five years, civilians have borne the heaviest toll of this appalling war. Aleppo, a martyr city, symbolizes the horror of this war. The fighting must stop, humanitarian assistance must be delivered, and a momentum for peace must be launched with a view to reaching a political solution that includes reconstruction and the return of refugees who have fled by the millions.

All of us around this table know how difficult that is, as recent developments have unfortunately demonstrated. Yet again, the logic of violence has prevailed; yet again, the truce has collapsed; yet again, the Syrian regime has stubbornly pursued its headlong military strategy, although the military solution is doomed. We are forced to wonder whether the unspoken goal may be, after all, the fall of Aleppo and the de facto partition and effective control of Syria.

This vicious cycle has lasted long enough. It has lasted too long. In this conflict, where there are more unknowns than knowns, one thing is certain  after five years of a war that has claimed more than 300,000 dead and displaced millions, it is obvious that nobody can win by force. There will be no winner, other than the terrorist organizations that will continue to benefit from the widespread chaos that will prevail. If there is one certainty about this conflict, it is that its outcome can only be political. In the face of the Syrian tragedy and the risk of failure, the time for second thoughts, short-sighted calculations, tactical considerations and double-talk is over, inside the Security Council and out. We must first ensure the sustainability of the cessation of hostilities. In that regard, the Russian-American agreement is for now, I repeat, the only proposal on the table. But we must be clear-sighted; the numerous violations on the ground are in their overwhelming majority the acts of the regime and its allies. The heinous bombing of a humanitarian convoy in Aleppo, which has been mentioned several times this morning, has outraged international public opinion. It is a sorry illustration of the spiral of violence. The constant bombings of medical facilities and personnel are yet another aspect. The full truth behind these tragedies and their sponsors must be revealed, as the Secretary-General noted earlier. Our common moral duty is to join forces to ensure respect for the cessation of hostilities. Our collective commitment must be to ensure the effective, just and lasting implementation of the truce.I emphasize that effectiveness is critical if Syrians are to feel the concrete impact of the cessation of hostilities. Humanitarian assistance must therefore be delivered. It can longer be subject to the regimes haggling. All bombing of civilians and moderate opposition groups must stop. Strict monitoring is vital. Experience teaches us that the regime exploits truces, applied locally, to focus its military efforts on other fronts. Why, then, do we not require the regime to canton all its soldiers, since the effectiveness of the truce depends on that? I propose, on behalf of France, that the Security Council work practically to that end.The second requirement is that of justice, which demands that no crime be ignored, even in exchange for a truce. It has been proved that the regime has used chemical weapons, as has Daesh. The perpetrators of those crimes must be punished. There will be no lasting peace in Syria if there is impunity. It therefore up to the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, to condemn those attacks and punish the perpetrators. It is a moral duty, but also an obligation of the international community, which has wanted to eliminate chemical weapons forever.

And the third necessity is that of sustainability. The ceasefire agreement must be sustainable, for it is essential for creating the conditions for a future peace. A new governance arrangement must open up political prospects and create a collective space. Certainly, one cannot generate new hope around a figure who divides Syrians and sows mostly death and destruction. Resolution 2254 (2015), which Mr. De Mistura evoked again a while ago, provides a road map for a political transition and a devolution of power.

The United States and Russia of course have special responsibility for the implementation of the agreement they negotiated: they co-chair the International Syria Support Group. But as I said at the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting, as well as to Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry, and as I have said here before members, France is convinced that only collective mobilization will make it possible to achieve the goals that I just mentioned. Everyone must take up their responsibilities. It is true that this approach has its value, but it also has its limitations. France is therefore ready to take on its responsibility as part of the new credible and effective monitoring mechanism we are proposing. Such a mechanism must make possible a shared assessment of violations of the truce and the obstacles to humanitarian access, as well as to determine consequences. We must leave behind the approach of mutual accusations, which precipitated the failure of previous agreements and was not conducive to an atmosphere of confidence. There is too much mistrust  a feeling I also noted at the ISSG meeting. We must therefore create propitious conditions to move forward. I therefore make this proposal for a new monitoring mechanism. I have circulated here among all Council and ISSG members the non-paper we prepared for discussion.Once an effective truce is in place and humanitarian access is assured, which is the priority, negotiations for a genuine political transition can, and must, resume. We know what the parameters are, namely, the 2012 Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex) and resolution 2254 (2015), which was mentioned frequently by previous speakers. The High Negotiations Committee has presented proposals and is ready to play a constructive role for a Syria that is open, democratic and respectful of its diversity. What have we seen from the regime if not propaganda and delaying tactics? But proposals for a negotiation? None to date. The burden of evidence is therefore with them and its allies.Finally, what is at stake in Syria is also a major battle against terrorism. That fight has not ended, nor must it. It must continue, both against Daesh and all other groups in Syria that espouse the same ideology and violence, including, again Daesh, as well as Al-Qaida and the Al-Nusra Front. France again reiterates that that must include all non-jihadist armed groups, which should distance themselves from those terrorist organizations  and fast.

France is playing its part in this common fight of the international community against terrorism alongside the coalition. We are acting militarily against Daesh and are prepared to do the same against any terrorist group, which we must prevent from taking advantage of the truce to strengthen themselves and prosper. But nothing will be more useful in the fight against Daesh than our collective mobilization to ensure that at long last Syria once again finds its way towards peace and stability. If we yield to impotence, fatalism and resigning ourselves, I think we will bear a heavy responsibility. The press are already saying that it is all over, definitively stating that we have failed and that there is not even a slight chance for a ceasefire to take. It is up to us here to demonstrate that that is not true and that there is still hope. We must show that we do not want to be complicit in the fall of Aleppo  which I again say is a martyred city  or in the martyrdom of the Syrian people. France will not resign itself to that. And I have heard statements here this morning that inspire me to hold out that hope.What we need is a burst of will, a burst of responsibility and a burst of unity to end a conflict that has lasted far too long. That is the appeal I make before the Council today in the name of France.

The President: I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain.

Mr. Garcia Margallo (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): My statement will focus on previous views on the conflict, the humanitarian situation, remarks about terrorism, the political process and the role of the United Nations. With regard to earlier perceptions, we all agree that, as with other conflicts in the Middle East, th
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On the set of Narcos, during filming of scene of Pablo Escobars death. Photo: Juan Pablo Gutierrez/NETFLIX/Juan Pablo Gutierrez/NETFLIX

Though the fate of coke kingpin Pablo Escobar was sealed from the moment Narcos began, it was still cathartic to see the megalomaniac who says things like, Sometimes Im God. If I say a man dies, he dies the same day, get gunned down. Sure, it took the combined forces of the Colombian government, D.E.A., and the vigilante group Los Pepes to get to the climactic gun battle depicted in Al Fin Cayo! Filming that roof shootout also had its challenges, not the least of which, says showrunner Eric Newman, was saying good-bye to the productions heart and soul, Wagner Moura. So shooting the sequence, done in one day with handheld cameras, was saved until the end of production. Newman broke down what else went into creating Escobars last stand.

The show compressed time so Escobar could die on his birthday.

Though its true the narco-terrorist was caught after the Search Bloc located his phone signal while he was talking to his family, he was actually killed the day after his birthday, on December 2, 1993.

The authentic Medellin locations didnt include Escobars last hideout  because its now a brothel.

The current owner of his last safe house wouldve happily let the show shoot there. But a nearby interior was used instead, because, Newman says, it wouldve been too hard to retrofit the Escobar-themed whorehouse, with its stripper pole, and drawings of the drug trafficker above the beds. Since a second story had been added onto the building Escobar jumped to and was killed on, an adjacent roof subbed in. The show supplied its own tiles to protect Mouras bare feet from the 33-year-old surface.

The actual brothel, which they didnt end up shooting in. (Courtesy Eric Newman)

Trujillo, the Colombian cop who executed Escobar, was based on three policemen.

Newman says two of the cops, one of whom was Hugo Aguilar, worked closely with the vigilantes. Google Aguilar, and youll see a photo of him standing over Escobars body. He became a politician, got busted for corruption, and went to jail; the other cop became a drug dealer. The third, known as El Negro, was also said to have pulled the trigger.

As for D.E.A. agent Steve Murphys unfinished voiceover after Trujillo executes Escobar  You take a good long look at evil and it reminds you of one thing   Newman says nothing more was written because it felt like enough was said.

Murphy didnt call Pena from the roof.

The D.E.A. agent, who was not on set when the shootout was filmed, told Newman he actually spoke to his exiled partner either later that night or early the next morning, and Pena was on a plane to Medellin the next day.

Photo: Juan Pablo Gutierrez/NETFLIX/Juan Pablo Gutierrez/NETFLIX

Yes, Escobars mother showed up at the crime scene  but the Castano brothers and Don Berna probably didnt.

After she identified herself, Newman says police asked Hermilda to identify her son. When she was first shown his drivers, Limons, body she mocked them, thinking theyd killed the wrong guy.

Showing the drug lord with his brains blown out, and re-creating the photo of the cops standing over his body, was always the plan.

The reality is he died with half his head missing, on a rooftop in Medellin, grossly overweight, and alone, except for one guy who hung in there, Newman says. As for the shot of the real Murphy and Pena toasting his death in a bar, Newman says they always wanted the cops, who served as show consultants, to do a cameo.

Narcos will pick up with the Cali cartel next season.

Newman says the tragic story will begin with their takeover in 199394, but he wouldnt say whether Pedro Pascals Pena will be back.
On soap operas, the oldest trick in the book is to suddenly introduce a never-before-mentioned, long-lost relative. Dynasty started out as a show about a man with two children, but by the end of its final episode, the total was at least five or six, played by nine or ten different actors. In that spirit, the good folks at Bravo have sent us a Trojan horse in the form of (married) lipstick lesbian couple Robyn and Christina.

But first, lets talk about Jacqueline and Siggy. These two are suddenly BFFs and making the rounds to stir up shit, despite Siggys best efforts to remain above the fray. Like middle-schoolers huddling to gossip after a prank, Jacqueline and Siggy can barely wait to jump on the phone with Kathy and Rosie to find out about the lunch with Teresa. This is where the serious trouble starts. Kath and Ro seem to take the high road, glossing over the heated details with a positive spin: We both said our doors are always open, we laid the foundation, and on and on. This leads so directly to unexpected conflict that I can only conclude it was a setup by the producers.

Even more egregious, Jackie and Sig stop by Posche  you heard me, Posche  to visit Kim D.  yeah, that Kim D.  for some bad tidings and worse fashions. Kim D. is delighted to inform them that Melissas store manager, Derek, was the one who sold stories about Teresa, which has something to do with taking cash at a book signing. Seems like small potatoes compared to the major fraud the Giudices were charged with, but I suppose theyre in no position to cut corners.

And so, the ladies Vermont weekend becomes a much shakier proposition than it originally seemed to be. Regardless, it affords the Giudice girls some quality time with Joe before he leaves for prison. If there was ever any doubt that Milania needs her own show, these scenes should clear that up real good. She may no longer lob hilarious one-liners like, Youre not a cooker, youre a hooker, but shes still pretty freaking funny. And Ill be damned if the kid doesnt have real depth and heart, more so than most characters in Bravos fake Real universe. You think shes just being a brat when she demands Joe bring her water  and he certainly responds as such  but then her dejected little, I always get you water when you ask me, paints a different picture. Its suddenly very real. Isnt that what happens in families? Youre sitting around watching TV, and when someone gets up, you ask them to get you some water. My mom will bring you a glass of ice water with a lemon wedge and a napkin. My brother will fart in your face. Milania, with her perfect pancakes, appears to fall into the nurturing category.

Im just gonna take this moment to point out that Melissa told Joe hes hung like a horse. Its somewhat ambiguous in context  and sure, it may have been a joke  but still, attention must be paid.

Also, in thinking about the dumbing down of America, this week offered a tidy example  I mean, in addition to the entire series being evidence of it. As the ladies (plus Melissa and Jacquelines husbands) board the party bus to Vermont, we hear a stray comment: I have to sit as close to the back as possible so I dont get nauseous. Um, no. This is the very process of misinformation. This is how stupidity spreads. I cant counteract everything, but if youre reading this, please believe me: If you get carsick, stay up in front.

We do learn something worth knowing, which is that Teresa and Chris once went on a date. OMG. The details are scant: It was years ago, Dina set them up, and Tre talked about Joe the whole time. Cute story.

Then we get into the Kathy and Rosie stuff. Jacqueline is mighty aggressive tonight, isnt she? The nice slant that Kathy and Rosie tried to put on their Teresa lunch backfires big time when Jacqueline, Siggy, and Chris assume there was some kind of miscommunication, that Tres feelings were not made clear to her cousins. Teresa is understandably incredulous, although to be fair, she is harsher about it on the bus than shed been face-to-face. Still, the message was delivered loud and clear. And why in the world is Jacqueline getting so upset? Why is Chris jumping on it, too? Hes nice about it, but its still odd that theyre both so convinced they know what happened when they werent there.

And were back to that Trojan horse. What is happening between Jacqueline and Robyn? I mean, I guess its partly to do with Jacqueline being Team Rosie (who wouldnt be?), since Robyn and Rosie had some hitherto un-broadcasted beef. But, either way, things get heated real fast. And just when you think Jacquelines gonna get violent, she gets freaky instead, sitting on Robyns lap in an oddball power move.

The whole thing is just so strange and complicated  fabricated perhaps, but complicated nonetheless. Tre completely keeps her cool, but joins Melissa in bashing Jacqueline in the monologues. Siggy and Dolores stand firmly at Jacquelines side, although theyve made it pretty clear theyll never cross Teresa. Even Jacqueline, for all her antics, maintains some level of good nature toward Tre. Then theres Robyn and Christina, of whom only Robyn is volatile; Christina seems reasonable and mild-mannered. Teresa likes them, but her buddies Sig Sig and Dololo are convinced this new couple spells bad news. Is it possible that after years of a two-party system of mutual haters, the RHONJ landscape is about to become a sprawling archipelago of thorny cross-loyalties? Maybe I was wrong about Jacqueline, Kathy, and other peripheral characters being not long for this world. If anything, theyre multiplying.
I wouldnt necessarily say Im not optimistic, says Vince Staples. Conversations with the Long Beach, California rapper tend to quickly stray into discussions of perspective and experience  Would you believe what you believe if you werent who you are?  and ours, held in a boardroom in the New York offices, is no exception. I see the worst-case scenario and I operate based off the worst-case scenario. Ive always been like that. Thats whats kept me out of jail. Ive always thought of whats the worst possible thing that could happen, and then you work up from there. Hes wearing simple clothing: a T-shirt, pants, and sneakers of no special distinction, plus large glasses that could only be described as nerdy. Loud or soft, his voice has a certain private register to it. Hes gifted at maintaining your attention while considering his words and himself at a remove. Not in an egotistic way, but in a soberly bemused, meditative, isnt-it-strange kind of way.

Were convening to discuss Prima Donna, Stapless third major-label project and second EP. Staples has a predilection for the shorter collection. His breakout mixtapes had an average length of 30 minutes; likewise, his debut album, last years justly laudedSummertime 06, is broken into two halves of roughly 30 minutes each. This hardly means Staples lacks for substance: Rather, its a testament to his capacity to speak his piece succinctly. In an era where overproduction seems like a prerequisite to breaking through, hes committed to concision and quality; in a world where the only exposure for a rapper is overexposure, he strives to maintain a low profile.

Of course, hes aware  painfully aware  of the enticements offered to a young rap artist on the cusp of stardom. For at least a generation, the rapper has been an increasingly prominent archetype as it inexorably displaced the rock star as a hero of hedonism  gangster gone Gatsby, in Stapless pithy formulation on the EPs centerpiece Loco. As its title suggests, Prima Donna is an examination of this figure conducted by an artist uniquely well positioned to observe and report on it. As well as imagine: Stapless ability to remain fully grounded while also hovering above himself is hardly limited to interviews. Theres a subtle weirdness to his art, a sense of spiritual displacement that easily gets overshadowed by more obvious characteristics such as his mordant wit, verbal technique, and realism. This strangeness is what separates Staples from his fellow West Coast Crip and sometime collaborator Schoolboy Q, with his more thorough devotion to concrete existence, just as the open-ended nature of that strangeness separates Staples from the more programmatically spiritual Kendrick Lamar. Staples doesnt have all the answers: His declaration near the start of our hour-long conversation that I dont know where Im going is bracketed near the end by his statement that Ive always been comfortable not knowing. In contrast to the future-oriented, aspirational tendencies of most rap artists and the memorial impulses that drove Summertime 06, hes aimed in Prima Donna to create a work of art that lives entirely in the present moment.

That moment is, its safe to say, troubled and often desperate. Stapless penchant for plotting out the worst case and then building up from there is fully evident on an EP envisioning his own self-inflicted death. The examination of the ties between success and self-destruction is hardly limited to rap (its no accident that Wavves and Kurt Cobain are name-checked on Prima Donna, or that the track Smile, with its anthemic resonance, stomping pace, and guitar solo, is a rock song in all but name), and even within rap, its hardly a new topic. Inaugurated by the Geto Boys Mind Playing Tricks on Me (1991) and Ready to Dies Suicidal Thoughts (1994), the habit has been carried on to the present in albums as disparate as Drakes Take Care and Kendrick Lamars To Pimp a Butterfly. As is the case with these latter two albums, Stapless collection is necessarily self-centered, but beyond this it operates in a different register. For Drake the self is all there is; with Kendrick, its the selfs capacity for redemption that matters above all else. If his words and actions are any indication, Staples isnt interested in status anxiety and he doesnt present himself as a savior with solutions. What fascinates him on Prima Donna is not the self, but fate and its reversibility.

Since its first track begins with the (implied) death of the artist by his own hand and ends with the artists celebrating his rise to fame, moving forward on the EP means moving backward in its story, and vice versa. Stapless sense of being in and out of ones self, so evident in our conversation, is translated by a narrative sense of being in and out of time. And reinforced musically: Aside from Smile, the album alternates between interludes where Staples morosely sings simple lyrics without accompaniment (We all waste away, Sometimes I feel like giving up, I just want to show you better) and digitized instrumentals bristling with abrasion, distortion, dissonance, and irregular rhythm whose complexity the artist matches with a conjunction of wit, nimble prosody, and endlessly inventive delivery. Heightened by a pounding beat charged with thin stabs of synth and topped off with incrementally higher snatches of an emergency-klaxon-like noise connoting ever-rising anxiety, the flawless execution of the amphibrachs, spondees, dactyls, and trochees on Loco stuns as its jump-cut progression of images dizzies:

I write the James Joyce,

Dont need the Rolls-Royce;

I need a straitjacket 

Finna go batshit;

Sick of these rappers 

Stealing my swagger,

Trying to run with the penmanship practiced.

Gangster gone Gatsby;

Fades with no lotion:

Get this shit cracking,

Crack his jaw open;

Crack in my system:

Daddy loved smoking

Like he loved smoking niggas, no joking.

Here and in conversation, it isnt hard to discover the artists keen awareness of the roots of his disorientation. Staples is a gangster rapper with a penchant for studying history, both his own, his familys, and that of his native Southern California in general: He recommends I read City of Quartz, the landmark Los Angeles history composed by Marxist urban theorist Mike Davis, which details the citys original control by a Wasp elite grown rich from real-estate speculation and the citys long-standing division along ethnic lines, with separate neighborhoods of the city settled by Wasps, Irish, Italians, Jews, Mexicans, Asians, and black Americans and neighborhood boundaries ruthlessly enforced by both the LAPD and white vigilante gangs. Immigrants from the West Indies, Stapless grandparents lived in Los Angeles during a postwar period of relative prosperity but also saw their hard-earned economic gains destroyed in the wake of the stagnant and violent 1970s, when former members of a Black Panther movement shattered by FBI surveillance and infiltration created a street gang that came to be known as the Crips and rival street gangs responded by coalescing to form the Bloods.

Stapless maternal grandfathers experience of this historical turbulence was immediate. An Army veteran turned black nationalist turned Crip, he raised his children within the social context of gang life. We come from a generation where our parents are the gang members, he says. Its a fraught heritage, but its a heritage regardless, and once Staples, an excellent student (particularly in English), was expelled from his majority-white high school on trumped-up charges, there was nothing left for him to do but embrace it in full, despite his parents wishing otherwise. As a child, when your parents are working so hard to provide for you and keep you locked from [gang life], theres no way to not see it. You know where their energys going. If you walk into the house every morning and your mothers like, Hi, son, how are you doing?, and your fathers like, Hi, son, how are you doing?, and theyre standing in front of a door blocking it, you might not notice for a little bit. But one day, youll be like, What the fuck is in there?

Staples is reticent about the specifics of the years of his life spent as an active member of the Naughty Nasty Crip set who roved in the vicinity of Poppy Street and Ramona Park on the north side of Long Beach. Though he witnesses to its brief elations in his lyrics, its not a life he ever glamorizes. Hes seen too many people suffer, among them those dearest to him: My cousin, my closest friend, one of my best friends in the world, he got shot, went into a coma. I was like, who else is going to be next? Its going to be me. We were the same age, born a week apart. We grew up together. So when I saw him, I saw me. Realizing his mother and sister would be left destitute once he died, Staples decided on a change.

He stepped back from gang activity and devoted himself to rap. He found his way into the orbit of Earl Sweatshirt and Odd Future and Mac Miller and made a name for himself as a nimble and incisive chronicler of his past life: Stuck in my ways / The love and the hate / Was both shoved in my face / Gotta stay on your toes / Head starts in the race / Just wasnt given to those / Who came up where I stay. Currently, things have never been better for him. Hes recording and touring and can live comfortably for the first time in his life. But the price hes paying for breaking with his past  I turned my back on my friends, I turned my back on my home, I left the street where Ive grown to chase the yellow brick road  is anything but minimal. The second and third thoughts that he once suppressed in the interests of maximizing his physical survival have returned in full force. The cover of Prima Donna displays Stapless upper body isolated against an off-white background: His head disproportionately inflated, he gazes past the viewer with a sad, tired expression. The EP begins with the artists despondent singing of This Little Light of Mine cut off abruptly by a gunshot, and vivid references to self-annihilation pepper the remaining tracks: Need a breather from the tripping: either that or my brains to the ceiling; Buy a million-dollar home and blow my dome to paint the kitchen; No room to think, kaboom on the sink; Blood rushing through my brain, sometimes I want to kill myself. Much as the human body, designed to resist Earths atmospheric pressure with its own internal pressure, explodes from that same internal pressure in the vacuum of outer space, the combination of solitude, ease, and fame available to a young man whose mind was forged under drastically more adverse conditions has the potential to destabilize him, make him literally lose his integrity.

Photo: Yayo

In verses as in life, his means of relief are few. He never drinks, never smokes, and never does drugs; furthermore, his distaste for the mood-altering dogmas of religion has been witnessed to time and again back to his early mixtapes. What my pastor say? Some shit that I dont believe. What my master say? Nigga, you wont be free. Though Stapless devout mother and Christian-school education ensured that he would be fluent in the doctrine, and though hes not above praying for rescue on Prima Donna, his prolonged exposure to the promise of salvation seems to have sharpened his skepticism. As the parallelism of the quote above suggests, hes well aware of how Christianity has been used by states to license imperial conquest and instill obedience in subject populations. When he reviews his parochial education, hes reminded of the link between its thoughtless repetition and a military worldview: We raise soldiers. When I first saw Full Metal Jacket, I thought it was hilarious. I thought it was the funniest thing Id ever seen in my life. Im like, these motherfuckers are crazy. But then I started to notice things that translated into everyday life. Then it was like, Oh, this is mylife.

Whether in the next world or this one, Staples seems determined to come by his pleasures honestly and humanely, if at all. Hes dated only two women, both of whom figure prominently in his recent collections  one appears as a voice berating him in Spanish on Loco and its Summertime 06 counterpart Loca, and the other is mournfully addressed in the a cappella coda to Prima Donnas Smile and Summertime 06s Summertime. Hes no longer dating either woman. The end of the relationship with the woman of Summertime, which had been off and on for over a decade, seems to have hit him especially hard: It finally snapped for good under the strain of the chronic absenteeism that Stapless musical career demands of him. I want people to be happy in life, he says, referring to his ex as he reviews the breakup for what cant be the first, or last, time. If I see someone that has the potential to be a happy person, I want that for them. When asked if he has such potential, he responds, I dont know. I honestly dont know. I would hope so.

What isnt in doubt for him, though, are the vital roles that women have played in his life. If, with his no-nonsense temperament, Staples partly resembles the West Coast gangster rappers of a bygone era, nothing could be further from his spirit than the unfeeling misogyny associated with N.W.A and its successors. Even Pimp Hand, Prima Donnas seemingly unambiguous ode to male dominance, is subtly ironized by the narrative of the collection at large: Whether one reads the EP forward or backward, the benefits of lording it over women come at the expense of ones own soul. His sympathy with women began at home. When I was a kid, I was just so sad that I had a mother and sister. Cause I was like, Their life must be so hard. And I cant do shit for them, know what I mean? You just see what they go through every day and it just makes you feel bad. In your head, being a kid, you know, its like, Oh, can I help them, am I part of the problem? Why did my dad make my mom cry? Why did my sisters boyfriend make her cry? Why doesnt she get paid as much as this guy  dont they do the same job? (One of the primary reasons he committed himself fully to his Crip set was his desire to provide for his mother, ailing from cancer, and his sister, who had been shot.) Hes convinced that women, if compensated fairly for their labor, would deserve far more than men: Women get nothing close to what theyre worth. If they gave women equality to men, theyre still undercutting them enough to get fucking sued for everything that we have.

His personal appreciation for women is matched by his appreciation for female musicians. Despite being profoundly influenced by Kanye West (as seen in his blunt assertions of black identity and his skepticism toward education), he readily acknowledges that Missy Elliott is the most creative rapper hes ever heard. My favorite people that have ever made music were women. Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill, and Beth  Beth referring to Beth Gibbons, the vocalist of Portishead, the group whose songs were, for Staples, the first music I ever heard in my life that connected to me. When I venture the opinion that what seems most distinctive about Third, the 2008 Portishead album, is the subtle, inimical relationship between the lyrical content and the production, he adds, I cant wait till the day Im able to create that music. Thats what keeps me going, just knowing that I have something that I have to make one day. Given that the self-questioning content of Prima Donna is paired with production (from a dream team of James Blake, DJ Dahi, and NO I.D.) whose synthetic textures simulate the unreality of fame and whose lopsided rhythms mimic the spiritual instability the EPs speaker strives to overcome, that day may be closer than Staples realizes, or perhaps dares to hope. His wiry, expertly staccato rapping doesnt much resemble Beth Gibbonss densely layered invocations, but what he and the English songstress share at heart  a sober conviction that ones worst enemy is oneself  is, I think, far more significant and essential. Even if, as he says to me, Staples isnt yet prepared to work with Portishead producer Geoff Barrow, it seems clear that very soon he will be.

Several hours after our conversation, I attend the screening for the music video accompanying Prima Donna. The event was an efficient affair: A Soho store specializing in sound systems had been rented out after closing. There was a small open bar; bags of quasi-artisanal popcorn were provided. The ten-minute video traces a narrative in which Staples, playing himself, gradually goes mad in the process of exiting the set of a music video, riding in an old-fashioned cab, arriving at a hotel, and entering his room, and dies on the floor of a forest, presumably by his own hand. Much as the EPs percussive forces gradually imprint themselves upon the ear, the video, with its lurid, gorgeous colors, feels like a retinal tattoo. Its impressive, especially when one considers that the concept for the video, as with all of Vince Stapless music videos, came directly from the artist himself. The frequency with which he refers to the visual arts is striking. Brain paintings aside, Prima Donna also cites the Mona Lisa, Van Gogh, da Vinci, and Richardson fashion magazine, and its music video is heavily influenced by The Shining; in our interview, he referred to Warhol, Van Gogh, and the trailer for the upcoming Japanese Godzilla film and mentioned that he built his albums sound based on visual ambiences from TV and film. (I was surprised to learn from him that the way Summertime 06 sounds was inspired, in large part, by the way The Andy Griffith Show and American History X look.)

Staples isnt a record producer or a visual director, but he does have visions, and his rising reputation means that, more and more, he can find the producers and directors (in the case of the Prima Donna video, Nabil) who can faithfully translate those visions into reality. Though signed to a major label, he has minimal obligations to Def Jam: In exchange for a smaller budget, hes been granted the time and aesthetic control to develop a body of work that he can take pride in without exception. The figure responsible for these sweetheart arrangements is Stapless manager Corey Smyth, a kindly 43-year-old who, having managed artists for more than half his life, can offer his artist access to connections and resources typically available only to more commercially oriented performers. No less a manager than a mentor, Smyth exudes a sense of hard-earned optimism that can temper Stapless less sanguine view of reality: In the midst of a forecast shared between Staples and myself that the future was guaranteed to be burning, violent, and famished, Smyth interrupted us to offer his prediction that science and technology would save the day. Regardless of whether there will be a 22nd century, its clear to the artist that hes in good hands. I have the best person I could possibly have as far as helping me do what I want to do. There are no limits to what he will do to make sure Im able to do what Im able to. Ive spent my whole life worrying. This is the first time I havent had to worry about if something was going to be okay.

Its humbling to recall that, after having endured (and inflicted) infernal levels of grief and trauma and after having raised that experience to the level of art without falsifying its reality, Vince Staples is only 23 years old. No sane person would begrudge him a measure of self-indulgence or importance, yet he refuses arrogance as he would refuse any other intoxicant. Hes determined to view himself as a novice when he could easily claim to be a master, yet this only heightens the suspicion that his conception of knowledge and excellence is beyond what even his admirers are capable of imagining. Its easy to overlook how radical it is to admit to ones ignorance in an era where snide lecturing and querulous condescension are the dominant modes of discourse, just as its easy to overlook the latent genius of such an admission: The only way to learn more is to accept that one doesnt already have all the answers. I dont believe anything is absolute and I dont believe that anything is false. Cause I know for a fact I dont know.
Photo: Getty Images

No, you wont be seeing Donald Trump trading insults with Zach Galifianakis between two spore-producing plants. Galifianakis, host of Funny or Dies Between Two Ferns, whose past guests include Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, isnt about to host Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. That doesnt interest me, Galifianakis told the Los Angeles Times. Hes the kind of guy who likes attention  bad attention or good attention. So youre dealing with a psychosis there thats a little weird. I wouldnt have somebody on thats so mentally challenged. I feel like Id be taking advantage of him. And you can print that.
Immigration 4x3

The policy gap between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is unprecedented, particularly when it comes to one of the most controversial issues in this election cycle  US immigration reform.

Trump is determined to a build a wall and potentially deport some immigrants living in the US illegally, while Clinton has pledged to protect some undocumented immigrants from deportation and help them integrate into American society.

Experts from all sides of the immigration debate have criticized both candidates' plans to varying degrees. Some have cast Trump's proposals as "un-American"and Clinton's as "undermining immigration laws."

Business Insider takes a closer look at where the candidates stand on immigration reform  specifically on border security, deportations, refugee resettlement, detentions, paths to citizenship, visas, and work permits.

Immigration Graphic

Border security

Donald Trump's most prominent proposal  building a wall along the US-Mexico border  includes assertions that Mexico will pay for the wall, which would could cost between $5 billion to $10 billion, according to the Trump campaign.

"I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall," Trump first told the crowd when announcing his presidential bid in June 2015 and has said at almost every campaign rally.

A boy looks as U.S. workers build a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

If Mexico cannot make a one-time payment, a Trump administration could compel the country to pay for the wall in several different ways, like intercepting wire transfers initiated by undocumented immigrants. Only those who can prove their legal status would be allowed to wire money outside the US. Trump also proposes increasing fees on visas, tariffs, and border-crossing cards  a major cause of overstays.

Story continues

After meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who made it clear last month that Mexico would not pay for the wall, Trump recommitted his support for a physical wall and insisted Mexico will "100%" foot the bill.

Clinton calls for "[protecting] our borders and national security" and supported the 2013 Senate immigration bill that would have funded an enhanced border-security plan, including additional border fencing.

She asserts that the US-Mexican border has been enhanced and is now "the most secure border we have ever had," and that it is now time for "a comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship."

Clinton even mocked Donald Trump's proposed border wall as a "fantasy."

Deportations

Trump vowed to deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants when he launched his campaign in June last year. He promised to create a "deportation force" and to impose criminal penalties on those immigrants whom he painted as rapists and drug dealers.

Immigration activists rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court

This area of the real-estate mogul's immigration platform proposes tripling the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from 5,000 to 15,000. Trump also wants ICE officers to cooperate with local law-enforcement on gang raids, specifically targeting undocumented immigrants who are believed to have gang connections.

But the candidate has been wavering on his overall immigration platform of late. The Trump campaign spent several days in August adjusting its tone and language on the matter.

There could certainly be a softening," Trump said in an August interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, "because we're not looking to hurt people."

He then quickly refused to rule out some form of mass deportation, returning to a hardline approach reminiscent of the primary campaign.

Clinton focuses on detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants "who pose a violent threat to public safety," according to the Democratic nominee's immigration platform.

She defends President Barack Obama's stalled executive orders on the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the Deferred Actions for Parents of Americans (DAPA) programs  intended to protect undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria from deportation.

Refugee resettlement

Syrian refugees.

Trump's stance on refugee resettlement focuses primary on screening refugees who seek asylum in the US. He called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" following the San Bernardino shootings, shifted to a temporary ban applied to immigrants with "a proven history of terrorism," then linked Syrian refugees to ISIS.

"We don't know who they are. It could be one of the great Trojan horses," Trump has said.

Clinton has pledged to welcome Syrian refugees and allow refugees and asylum seekers "a fair chance to tell their stories."

She proposed to accept 65,000 Syrian refugees to help alleviate the crisis created by the Syrian war.

"We have always welcomed immigrants and refugees," Clinton said. "We have made people feel that if they did their part, they sent their kids to school, they worked hard, there would be a place for them in America."

Detentions

people are detained for being in the country illegally and are transferred out of the holding area after being processed at the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Tucson, Ariz.

Trump has pledged to end catch-and-release practices, and detain and deport immigrants caught illegally crossing the US-Mexico border. But he recently told Bill O'Reilly that he was "not going to put [immigrants] in a detention center."

Clinton calls for supervised release instead of detention for families who do not pose a public-safety threat, and in particular for terminating family detention for parents and children who arrive at our border in desperate situations.

A Clinton administration would close private immigration-detention centers  which now hold about two-thirds of the 31,000 detainees in custody on a typical day  but would get Congress to fund more public immigration detention centers.

Path to citizenship

Immigrants take the oath of citizenship to the United States in the Great Hall of Ellis Island

Trump wants to end birthright citizenship  which he claims as "the biggest magnet for illegal immigration"  suspending the policy that grants automatic citizenship to children of undocumented parents born in the US.

He believes that immigrants won't fully assimilate with American culture and proposes an "ideological certification" test to ensure the "right" immigrants get into the country  those who share American values and "love" American people.

Trump also proposes defunding sanctuary cities that shelter illegal immigrants  where local police departments refuse to contact immigration officials when they apprehend undocumented aliens.

Clinton says she wants to make it easier for immigrants to become US citizens. The former US secretary of state says she's aiming for a pathway to full and equal citizenship within her first 100 days in office.

She wants Congress to end regulations that force undocumented immigrants to leave the US before starting the process of becoming American citizens.

Clinton also says she would expand outreach efforts for people seeking US citizenship, in part by mitigating language and economic barriers that make it difficult for undocumented immigrants to navigate the process.

Clinton also proposed a national Office of Immigrant Affairs to work on integration and naturalization services.

She supports sanctuary cities.

Visas and work permits

office workers

Trump, who believes that illegal immigrants "compete directly against vulnerable American workers," promises to "ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first."

He wants to boost wages paid to H-1B visa recipients so that companies will be forced to give entry-level jobs to unemployed Americans, and regulate visas like the H-1B to require companies to first turn to the domestic workers before recruiting foreign workers.

Clinton claims that "immigration has been and continues to be good for our economy."

She supports DACA and DAPA programs that enable qualified undocumented immigrants to obtain work permits. She hasn't mentioned the H-1B visa reform, and only brought the idea up when saying it was "heartbreaking" some American workers end up training their replacements from foreign countries, but discussed no specific reforms to tackle the problems.

In an interview with Vox, Clinton implied that she won't push the H-1B visa reform only as part of a comprehensive immigration reform, saying that "I dont want to mix that with other kinds of changes in visas and other concerns that particularly high-value technical companies have. In fact, I think keeping the pressure on them helps us resolve the bigger problem ..."

A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found "little to no negative effects on overall wages and employment of native-born workers in the longer term," adding that high-skilled immigrants had a great "positive impact" on American-born workers by inspiring innovation and creating jobs.

NOW WATCH: 'They have done so much for the African-Americans': Listen to Trump praise the Clintons in 2011





More From Business Insider


Her majesty, like her daughter Princess Anne, is said to have a mouth on her. The Americans would call it a "potty mouth," which is kind of disgusting. At the very least, it would be a royal chamber pot. According to a pair of journalists lurking in the woods of Windsor Castle hoping to catch Lady Di with her betrothed, a familiar scarfed woman suddenly loomed in their paths. What followed was reportedly a most colourful blast of the Queen's English.

As Mel Brooks said, "I've been accused of vulgarity. I say that's bullshit." Prince Philip would concur. Well-known for his sailor's lingo, the 94-year-old was recently caught on camera at the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain telling a photographer "just take the f---ing picture." The Queen was probably amused.

Coming from a polite home where the worst word we ever heard was damn, I realise some people may occasionally be taken aback by my vocabulary. The fact is, however, it's not what you say. It's who you say it to. One person's idea of vulgar is another's shopping list.

When a friend announced that she was going to stop swearing, I assured her I had no intention of joining her. Not only is it good for the health, but as Lenny Bruce once said, life is a four-letter word.

One can only imagine the scene when Princess Anne's bull terrier, Dotty, killed her mother's favourite corgi, Pharos. We all have our limits.

Once, while filming a documentary about the porn industry in the USA, I spent a lot of time on set watching the action. On a "high end" production being filmed by the business's biggest player, the producer turned to us and said. "You know what really disgusts me?" I stared at the scenes of debauchery being acted out around us, and wondered what on earth could be worse than this. But her attention was focused on the yet-to-be unclothed actors waiting for their cue to undress. "When their labels stick out of their clothes," she snarled. "It turns my stomach."

Contrary to belief that swearing is a sign of low IQ or deficiency of vocabulary, a British (who else?) study claims that it is in fact a rich emotional and creative language  a coping mechanism which makes us feel more resilient. Testing the theory that it acts as an analgesic, participants in an experiment were handed a glass of water filled with ice, and split into two groups. One group was instructed to swear and another told to keep quiet. I doubt Ladbrokes was giving odds on who held on longest.

In the history of experiments, it wasn't the most exciting or revelatory. Anyone who has witnessed a woman in labour could have told them that screaming a few choice words is the way to go. Indeed, the scientist conducting the experiment was inspired by his own wife's birthing experience. Presumably in real life he had never heard her telling anyone to stick it where the sun don't shine in such an unladylike way.

Unlike Russia, where President Putin has reputedly just outlawed cursing in the arts, Australians are given a pretty long leash with their speech. One of the most endearing qualities of the politicians here is their frequent reference to bloody this and that, things being stuffed up and buggered. Queensland, Victoria and NSW, however, all have laws regulating offensive language. Public swearing is a summary offence and may send you to the slammer for six months.
Same-sex couples could be left waiting until the 2020s to get married if Labor blocks the plebiscite proposed for February next year, Attorney-General George Brandis says.

In a blunt warning to the federal opposition, which is all but certain to oppose the national vote, Senator Brandis suggested the political will to change the law could dissipate if the plebiscite is not held in this term of parliament and same-sex couples could be forced to wait well beyond the next election, due in 2019.

That could mean the law change was pushed back until the next decade.
Illustration: Matt Golding In a Senate estimates hearing in May, Labor senator Jenny McAllister raised the issue of Ms Holzapfel's donations with electoral commissioner Tom Rogers. She raised concerns about whether the donations genuinely originated with Ms Holzapfel and asked if the Australian Electoral Commission would consider if there had been a "deliberate attempt to conceal the nature of the donor". Ms Holzapfel insists the money came from her own pocket, angrily rejecting suggestions she merely channelled money that really came from her developer clients, which include Sunland. Contacted by Fairfax Media, Mr Robert refused to comment on the claims: "I don't speak about donations. Political parties talk about donations, individuals don't." But Mr Robert  who was sacked from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's frontbench in February over a scandal involving a major Liberal donor  maintains he has done nothing wrong and says claims to the contrary are "rubbish".

That's despite top LNP officials publicly calling the Fadden Forum candidate donations "inappropriate". Mr Robert declined to say if he had been contacted or interviewed by the CCC. Ms Holzapfel did not respond to Fairfax Media's request for an interview but recently told the Gold Coast Bulletin she is a regular LNP donor. "My question is: What's wrong with that? I'm entitled under the law to donate to the Liberal Party and any party of my choosing," she told the paper. "This demonising of people who donate to the Liberal Party is unfair." Sunland  which is fighting for Gold Coast City Council approval for a 44-storey development in an area with a three-storey limit  is one of many developer clients Ms Holzapfel's SHAC Communications has represented. Mr Robert, who has long-standing links to Sunland, has lobbied the council to approve the development even though it is outside his electorate.

"It's a good development," he told Fairfax Media. "I think all developments in the Gold Coast should go ahead. This whole city has been built on development." Mr Robert attended Sunland's proposal launch in September last year and subsequently wrote the council a glowing letter of support. He insists that is the only lobbying he has done. However, Fairfax Media can reveal that, during a council meeting held to discuss the Sunland issue on September 13, Mr Robert sent text messages to councillor Cameron Caldwell, a strong proponent of the plan. Mr Robert helped get Cr Caldwell elected in 2012. Cr Caldwell, who is now chair of the city's planning committee, supports the Sunland plan. However, the council's own city planners have recommended the proposal be rejected.

Mr Robert admitted sending Mr Caldwell a "five word" text during the council meeting but declined to say what it was about. Fairfax Media does not suggest that Mr Robert, Ms Holzapfel or Cr Caldwell have broken any laws. Mr Robert was accused in 2012 of pressuring other candidates into preferencing Cr Caldwell in his initial council election bid. He denied the claims. Cr Caldwell was formerly an LNP state candidate but was sacked after revelations he visited a swingers' club dressed as a pirate. Cr Caldwell did not respond to requests for comment.

There is strong opposition from local residents to the Sunland plan. Mr Robert's Liberal colleague Steve Ciobo, the federal Trade Minister who also represents the Gold Coast, is understood to support the retention of the three-storey limit. The notion the council could be stacked by stealth is not without precedent. In 2006, the Queensland CCC  then known as the Crime and Misconduct Commission  found "secrecy, deceit and misinformation" had corrupted the 2004 Gold Coast City Council election. It found that candidates who presented as totally independent were actually secretly funded by sitting party-aligned councillors who were pro-development. Sunland was among the companies that provided money. The CMC report found Sunland paid $10,000 into a trust account that would be channelled to "candidates whom Sunland would be happy to support".

Those findings ultimately led to new disclosure rules, which require candidates to declare if they are affiliated or part of a grouping or bloc before the election, which Ms Boulton and Ms Stevenson are now accused of breaching. Ms Stevenson declined to comment when approached by Fairfax Media. Comment was sought from Ms Boulton. This is not the first time Mr Robert's connections to Sunland have come under scrutiny. He has been accused of overstepping his role as an MP when he intervened in a dispute between Sunland and Australian man Marcus Lee, who spent five years trapped in a legal nightmare in the Middle East. Mr Lee was arrested on fraud charges in Dubai in 2009 after a land deal between his company Nakheel and Sunland went bad. He spent years in jail and under house arrest before being acquitted in 2013.

Mr Robert became involved in the saga when he made two speeches in Parliament defending Sunland.



Speaking under parliamentary privilege, Mr Robert was critical of Mr Lee while lauding Sunland as a "solid Australian corporate citizen" and its directors as "fine, upstanding men" and "pillars of the community". The speeches sent shockwaves through Mr Lee's camp, which felt Mr Robert had damaged his chances of freedom. Mr Lee is now suing Sunland and its directors for more than $10 million for loss of income, distress and legal costs. Ms Holzapfel has also represented Nimrod Resources, the mining company led by big Liberal donor Paul Marks that was at the centre of the controversy that led to Mr Robert being sacked from the frontbench. Mr Robert was accused of using his ministerial office to open doors for Mr Marks during a trip to China in 2014. Labor has signalled it will pursue Mr Robert over the new scandal. "If he is found to have engaged in corrupt conduct he ought to be expelled from the Liberal Party," shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus told Fairfax Media. "Anything less will prove that Malcolm Turnbull is an even weaker leader than we thought."



The scandals have bred resentment of Mr Robert in the Coalition party room and Liberals are furious he is making their fundraising efforts more difficult.
In a scathing and bizarre piece of writing, a British newspaper columnist has dismissed Emma Watson's speech at the UN summit in New York last week as "whining, leftie, PC crap".

Referring to Watson's role in the Harry Potter movies, The Sun columnist Rod Liddle began his wrap of her address in Friday's paper with "Hermione Granger has been addressing the United Nations General Assembly. Nope, not kidding."

Liddle continued, "Anyway, instead of telling them all the rules of quidditch or how to turn someone into a frog, she bored them all rigid with whining, leftie, PC crap.

"Just like all actresses do if people are stupid enough to give them the chance."
History is repeating itself at Channel Nine's Willoughby bunker, with Christian Wilkins  son of TV legend Richard  now chalking up ratings wins for the network.

The number of viewers tuning in on their TVs isn't as important as it was when Wilkins snr got his start on air. Now executives need multi-platform results, something the young social media tsar was recruited for. He is fast becoming a behind-the-scenes star.

Christian Wilkins, an avid fashion fan, at the Camilla show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney earlier this year. Credit:Caroline McCredie

Instagram is the latest battleground for likes, fans and followers and for the past year Wilkins and the network's senior stylist Kara Wilson have been working on the social media strategy for the official wardrobe department, the Instagram account @Channel9Style.

Like the tight contest between Today and Sunrise, the account has recently overtaken Seven rival @SevenStyling, with almost 21,000 followers.
Houston: A Houston lawyer whose business was struggling opened fire on morning commuters on Monday, injuring at least nine people before being shot dead by police, authorities said.

Six people were taken to hospitals and three were treated at the scene after being shot at while inside their vehicles in the affluent neighbourhood of West University Place, acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo told reporters.

One victim was in critical condition and another was in serious condition but both were expected to survive, officials said. The FBI said there was no indication that the shootings were linked to a radical group.

Police declined to identify the suspect, but local media reported that he shot at vehicles from a black Porsche registered to Nathan DeSai.
Amman: A Jordanian Christian writer and journalist who was facing blasphemy charges was shot dead outside a courthouse in the country's capital on the weekend.

The writer, Nahed Hattar, 56, was shot three times, and a suspect was arrested near the scene, according to Petra news agency. Mr Hattar, a Christian, was arrested in August and charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam after sharing a cartoon on Facebook that showed a bearded man in bed with two women ordering God to bring him some wine and cashews.

Relatives and friends of prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar hold pictures of him and chant slogans against the government during a sit-in in the town of Al-Fuheis near Amman on Sunday. Credit:Raad Adayleh/AP

His post was widely denounced on social media, and he removed it shortly after. He deactivated his Facebook account and released an apology that said he "did not mean to offend anyone". The apology, using another name for the Islamic State, also said the cartoon "mocks ISIS terrorists and their concept of heaven". He was released on bail earlier this month.

He had gone to the court for the trial when he was shot.
Both major nominees face skepticism from a majority of likely voters about their trustworthiness and their willingness to tell the public everything it wants to know to decide if they're fit to serve. More than seven in 10 rate Clinton's truthfulness as "just fair" or "poor," while more than six in 10 say that of Trump. "It will be hard for either candidate to criticise the other too harshly on this form of integrity," Selzer said ahead of the debate. "They are the pot and the kettle." About two-thirds of likely voters, 69 per cent, say Trump should maintain 40 years of tradition for presidential nominees and release his tax returns. Trump is rated better than Clinton on physical health, with 61 per cent calling his "excellent" or "good" compared to 36 per cent who give Clinton good marks. Just 8 per cent call Trump's health "poor" compared to 31 per cent for Clinton. Still, half of likely voters say they aren't bothered at all that Clinton didn't immediately tell the public about her pneumonia.

After Trump recently acknowledged President Barack Obama's U.S. birth for the first time, three quarters of likely voters say Obama was born in the U.S., while 11 per cent say he wasn't and 14 per cent aren't sure. Among Trump's supporters, 22 per cent say they don't think Obama is American-born and therefore eligible for the presidency, and another 22 per cent say they're not sure. Clinton's standing in the two-way race is helped by her greater support than Trump's among suburban women (55 per cent to 38 per cent) and non-whites (67 per cent to 23 per cent). Independent voters back her 45 per cent to 40 per cent. Trump's appeals to non-white voters don't appear to be working. His share in this poll is about the same as his 25 per cent in August. Trump is helped by his strength among whites (55 per cent to 38 per cent), Protestants (54 per cent to 39 per cent), those with no college degree (50 per cent to 42 per cent), and likely voters in the South (54 per cent to 38 per cent). Johnson is taking some support from younger voters that might traditionally go to a Democrat. Among those under 35 years old in the four-way race, he's getting 11 per cent, with the rest split 40 per cent for Clinton and 36 per cent for Trump.

Trump and Clinton have secured the same share of their party loyalists, 90 per cent, a measure that Clinton led when establishment Republicans were more hesitant about Trump. Trump's supporters are slightly more excited about their candidate, with 65 per cent saying they're fairly or very enthusiastic. Among Clinton supporters, 61 per cent say that. Clinton sees a generation gap in this question, with 52 per cent of those under age 35 saying they're fairly or very enthused by her compared to three quarters of those 65 and older. Among five potential voter concerns about Clinton-including her delayed pneumonia disclosure-the one that tests highest as bothering voters a lot, at 57 per cent, is Clinton's use of private e-mail as secretary of state. For Trump, the highest-testing issues relate to his charitable foundation and to his now-defunct real-estate program, Trump University. Each prompt 46 per cent of likely voters to say they're bothered a lot. If the point of Monday's debate is to get to the heart of issues that matter most to voters, two stand out. For 35 per cent of Republicans, it's terrorism. That's about twice as many as for Democrats or independents, and Trump leads 71 per cent to 25 per cent among those who pick it as their top concern.

Democrats and independents are more likely to pick as their top issue either the decline in real income or jobs and the economy. Among those citing one of those economic issues as their main concern, Clinton wins 56 per cent to 35 per cent. Trump's praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't appear to be good politics when compared to Clinton's calls to do more to stand up to him. About half, 49 per cent, say they side more with Clinton while 40 per cent back Trump's approach. Clinton and Trump are each viewed unfavorably by more than half of likely voters, 56 per cent. Clinton, meanwhile, has a stable full of campaign surrogates who score higher than she does: Obama and former President Bill Clinton are viewed favorably by 51 per cent and 49 per cent of likely voters, while first lady Michelle Obama scores even higher at 58 per cent. Obama's job approval rating stands at 49 per cent, even as 66 per cent of likely voters say the nation is heading in the wrong direction. On a generic ballot that asked whom likely voters support for the U.S. House in their district without any candidate names being offered by the pollster, 46 per cent of likely voters picked Democrat or leaned that way, while 44 per cent selected Republican or leaned that way.
The risks and rewards for Trump are plenty. If he can calmly frame Clinton as untrustworthy and an agent of the financial and political establishments, he could leave the stage having given some voters pause about her character and associations. If he is scattered and conspiratorial, and neglects to use his most potent material, he could leave voters wondering more about his coherence than her record. 2. Temperament Trump's innate understanding of what makes for electrifying political theatre was crucial to his success during the crowded Republican primary debates. On Monday, he will be on a far more subdued stage, staring back at one opponent, and with the question of his temperament at the fore. Viewers will be evaluating whether he seems "presidential," that enigmatic blend of qualities befitting a statesman, chief executive and commander in chief. Even those who chuckled at his quips or cheered him in the primaries may now wonder whether he should be entrusted with the nuclear codes. How Trump handles the setting  and especially how he responds to Clinton's likely provocations  could shape the consensus on his performance. Will he become distracted and furious if Clinton supporter Mark Cuban, a billionaire Trump frenemy, is smirking in the front row? Will he lose his cool if Clinton baits him into an exchange about his net worth, his charitable foundation, his bankruptcies or Trump University?

A flurry of red-faced outbursts that veer into the awkward or the strange could doom him. A night where he balances crackling showmanship and a reassuring disposition could lead to gains. Clinton's temperament is less of a factor because she is so well known as a seasoned and measured political actor. But her reactions to Trump's shots will be a significant test. Being dismissive about personal comments about her stamina or Bill Clinton's affairs, for instance, could win her sympathy from voters who consider him out of bounds. Dismiss him entirely, however, and she risks her incredulity being seen as aloofness, as Al Gore's famous yawning sighs about George W. Bush became a touchstone in 2000. 3. Clinton's vulnerabilities Ask undecided voters what they think of Clinton and they use words such as corrupt and untrustworthy, uninspiring and disingenuous. On Monday, she not only has to convince these voters that Trump is unfit to be president, but also that she would be a president they could support and admire. Clinton's team considers this high-stakes moment her best chance to do so, not so much by addressing her vulnerabilities directly but by selling her attributes and accomplishments. For the past month, she has laid the groundwork for this approach, trying to raise her standing on questions such as trustworthiness and likeability in several speeches.

Still, one variable will be whether Clinton shows any contrition on the issue of her private email server as secretary of state. That controversy has dogged Clinton's campaign for more than a year, and her defensive, strained and lawyerly handling has fed the impression that she is covering something up or hiding the complete story. How Clinton handles questions about her emails from the moderator and, perhaps more important, forceful allegations of wrongdoing from Trump could be critical to her cause. Will she sound overly defensive? Or will she own up to some mistakes and find a way to diffuse the issue? More broadly, Clinton backers call her disciplined but some voters do view her as overly scripted, in contrast to the more freewheeling Trump. And those voters may be watching to see whether she comes across as authentic and capable of spontaneity, even if her supporters say such issues are frivolous or sexist. If her recent interview with comedian Zach Galifianakis on his Between Two Ferns online series is any indication, Clinton will strive Monday to show some levity, without going too far. 4. Ideology

Trump's campaign has skewered the normal partisan boundaries of modern presidential politics, putting a New York real-estate mogul and Democrat-turned-Republican atop the GOP ticket with a pitch that strays from party orthodoxy. Unlike many Republican leaders, Trump isn't inclined toward a hawkish worldview, wants to preserve federal entitlement programs such as Medicare and opposes free trade. Trump's challenge will be articulating his jumbled ideology and describing his positions as an overture to voters in the centre and on the left who are frustrated with both political parties. If he is unable to do so, he risks being defined solely on Clinton's terms and as a hardliner on immigration who speaks in incendiary ways about race and ethnicity. That would be a lost opportunity for Trump's populism-infused campaign. Clinton's ideological dance will be similarly complicated, although her challenge will be less about defining herself to the electorate at large than in rousing liberal voters who remain skeptical, notably young voters. Without lurching so far to the left that she loses her appeal to moderates, Clinton will have to convince the backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt., and those tempted by third-party candidates that she embodies their desire for advancements on social and economic policy. Although Trump's temperament has been Clinton's main target, she may try to fully connect him with the Republican Party and all that entails ideologically, linking him with the unpopular congressional GOP agenda to restrict abortion rights and overhaul Social Security, as a means of erasing his self-portrait as something different from them. 5. The moderator

Who is responsible for correcting falsehoods and exaggerations, the debate moderator, Lester Holt, or the opposing candidate? This is one of the night's looming questions, and both the Clinton and Trump campaigns, and their supporters, are strongly advocating different approaches that are shaping early perceptions. Trump's camp says the moderator should simply ask questions; Clinton's says the moderator has a responsibility to interject and educate the audience. Her advisers say she will be prepared to call out any lie by Trump, although she'd rather see Holt intervene. Speaking Sunday on ABC's This Week, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said it would be unfair for Clinton to have to play "traffic cop" as she makes her case to voters. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, also on ABC, dismissed "these virtual fact-checkers" at news organisations and said moderators should not do the bidding of campaigns. According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan host, moderators are supposed to ask questions to spur discussion, but the onus falls on the candidates to correct each other. Perception will be everything in the expected disputes over what the Holt, the host of NBC's Nightly News, does (or doesn't do). This will be particularly true if Trump, who routinely makes inaccurate or misleading assertions, is seen as advancing his candidacy without being called on a particularly glaring statement, or if Clinton is seen escaping scrutiny or being overly subject to it.

The country's eyes will be on Holt and whether he can deftly navigate the sparring, all while not appearing too hot or too cold in his willingness to step in. When are the debates? September 27, Hempstead, New York, 11am (AEST)

October 5, St Louis, Missouri 12pm (AEDT)

October 20, Las Vegas 12pm (AEDT) How can I watch in Australia? ABC News 24, BBC World, Sky News, Fox News and Al Jazeera will telecast the first debate. Facebook and Twitter will provide a live stream service.

Who organises the debates? The Commission on Presidential Debates, which is controlled by the Republicans and Democrats. What does the Commission do? It selects the dates, venues, format and moderators in a manner to avoid accusations of bias. Do the candidates have to participate?

No. But each major candidate has participated in at least two debates since 1976? Who are this year's moderators? Lester Holt from NBC (Sep 27)

Martha Raddatz from ABC and Anderson Cooper from CNN (Oct 5)

Chris Wallace from Fox News (Oct 20) How long are the debates? 90 minutes
Blame it on jet lag or maybe a precocious knowledge that his great-grandmother is Canada's head of state but Britain's 3-year-old Prince George just wasn't going to be charmed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Landing in Canada on Saturday on a weeklong official visit with parents Prince William and Kate Middleton, George, holding his father's hand, ignored Trudeau when he squatted down to the toddler's level to offer a high-five variation, the low-five.

The Royals arrive at the Victoria Airport in Victoria, Canada. Credit:Getty

Trudeau then switched his palm for a high-five and subsequently offered a handshake, both of which were seemingly rebuffed, creating an awkward moment on the airport tarmac in the western province of British Columbia.

Canadians felt the princely snub acutely, accustomed as they are to seeing their young premier win over millions of fans around the world and attain social media star status.
On 21 September, the Canadian Ambassador to El Salvador, H.E. Ms. Maryse Guilbeault, met with the San Salvador officials who were attending the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) training.

El Salvador has recently joined this programme of the WCO and UNODC to strengthen its risk profiling capacities on containerized cargo in seaports. Currently, 31 countries participate in the CCP and funding for additional 23 countries is available.

The theoretical training held in San Salvador from 12 to 23 September 2016 marked the first stage of the implementation of the structured CCP training concept; a series of training activities will follow and add additional layers of expertise.

Canada is a major donor to CCP activities, in particular in Latin America and Southeast Asia. H.E. Ambassador Guilbeault underlined the importance of the engagement of the Canadian Government in the Central and South American region, and the relevance of the CCP in the fight against illicit goods in general as well as the proliferation of strategic goods in particular.

The WCO training experts and the officials of El Salvador were honored by the visit of the Canadian Ambassador and confirmed their commitment to set up a functioning Port Control Unit to tackle illicit trade whilst ensuring the facilitation of legitimate shipments.
WSU Professor to Speak about American Wests Environmental History

September 26, 2016

OGDEN, Utah  The environment and geography of the American West is sometimes overlooked as a powerful player in history. Sara Dant, a history professor at Weber State University, will discuss the relationship between the West and its inhabitants as part of the Weber Historical Society Lecture Series, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Hurst Center Dumke Legacy Hall.

Dants lecture, Avoiding the Great Filter: Climate Change and the American West, will focus on the contemporary climate change issues confronting the West.

As we move into the 21st century and confront the effects of our long-term exploitation of nature and the challenges of global climate change, undeniable in the West, we must learn the environmental lessons of the past or suffer the consequences, Dant said.

Dants research indicates that, historically, when humans have exceeded the carrying capacity of their surrounding environment, they have paid with cultural decline and then scattered. She relates this dilemma to the Fermi Paradox, which asks why, among the hundreds of billions of stars that are likely to have Earth-like planets, other intelligent life forms have not evolved sufficiently to make contact with Earth. The best answer is the Great Filter idea, which posits that life, especially intelligent life, hits a developmental dead end beyond which it cant survive to engage in interstellar travel. Dant suggests that climate change may be our Great Filter.

The riddle of Fermis Paradox provides a cautionary prospective for considering the present and future West, Dant said. There is nowhere left on earth to scatter to today. As Fermis Paradox contends, something is preventing interstellar travel; is it possible for a planet bound species to evolve technologically without destroying itself?

Dant has spent years studying and researching the Wests environment and wrote about it in her new book Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West.

Although many people take it for granted, nature is an active participant in human affairs, not just a passive stage upon which the human drama plays out, Dant said.

Through the study of environmental history, Dant hopes to promote more sustainable lifestyles where humans and nature can coexist.

In the end, we care about what we know, Dant said. Both this talk and my book endeavor to connect readers with this place, whether the West is home, a vacation destination or merely a source of curiosity. No matter where we live, we all need clean air, clean water and a healthy environment, which makes all of us environmentalists.

This event is part of the Weber Historical Society Fall 2016 Lecture Series. It is presented by the WSU Alumni Association, the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, the Department of History, Stewart Library and the Weber Historical Society.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

For high-resolution photos, please visit the following links:

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The following was released Sept. 23:

The Louisiana Department of Health is providing updated information about West Nile and Zika virus cases in the state. There have been two additional West Nile and three additional Zika cases confirmed.

Weekly Arboviral Reports with more detailed information about West Nile and Zika infections in Louisiana are available here.

The Department of Health has also produced several video public service announcements about mosquito bite prevention. These videos can be found here.

West Nile Virus

The total number of confirmed West Nile virus cases this year in Louisiana now stands at 26. Of those, 16 were neuroinvasive disease, eight were fever and two were asymptomatic. There have not been any West Nile-linked deaths in the state in 2016.

Zika Virus

There have been 31 total confirmed cases of Zika virus in Louisiana. None of these cases were contracted from a local mosquito bite; all are travel-related. Once a travel-related case is identified, public health officials and local mosquito control agencies are notified to take action to minimize the potential for local spread.

Preventing Mosquito-Borne Diseases

All travelers to areas where Zika virus is active should be aware and take the following steps to protect themselves from mosquito bites:

Use an EPA-approved insect repellent.

Wear light-colored, long sleeves and pants.

Sleep under a mosquito net if you are outdoors or in an area without door and window screens.

The same precautions apply at home, and people should also make sure their house is mosquito-proof by ensuring their windows and doors have intact screens. Once a week or after every rainfall, empty standing water from any containers around your home, especially small containers.

Dr. Frank Welch, medical director of community preparedness at the Louisiana Department of Health, stressed Zika virus is most dangerous to pregnant woman and to women who are considering becoming pregnant.

We continue to remind people that Zika virus is spreading rapidly in many Latin America countries, and the virus can have devastating effect to fetuses. In addition to birth defects such as microcephaly, there is also evidence the virus can cause premature birth or a miscarriage, Dr. Welch said. Women who are traveling to these regions, especially those who are pregnant or considering pregnancy, should seriously evaluate the Zika risks associated with travel.

According to the CDC, other birth defects that have been linked to Zika include eye defects, hearing loss, and impaired growth. The CDC has a list of travel notices for these areas here. Because Zika can spread through sexual activity, pregnant women should have their partners use a condom correctly every time or abstain from sex.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 25, 2016 | 09:15 PM | FRANKFORT, KY

Twenty-five high school students were honored in a ceremony in the State Capitol September 20th as part of the first Kentucky GEAR UP Week Celebration. More than a hundred students, parents and educators gathered in the Capitol Rotunda to recognize the GEAR UP Students of the Year for their leadership among their peers, personal accomplishments, and academic achievements.Today, we celebrate the next generation of Kentuckys leaders, said Bob King, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. Programs like GEAR UP are vital in making sure our high school students, especially those who are the first in their family to attend college, are ready to succeed when they graduate  academically, financially, socially and emotionally.GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is a federally funded program designed to create a sustainable college-going culture and increase the number of students who stay in school and succeed in postsecondary education.Our GEAR UP high school students received more than 156,000 hours of college and career advising just last year and thousands visited a college campus, said Dr. Aaron Thompson, interim president of Kentucky State University and board chair of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships. As a result, weve seen more students meeting college readiness benchmarks and taking the necessary steps to plan for college and a career.One GEAR UP Student of the Year was nominated by program staff in each participating school as an emerging student leader in good academic standing with proven leadership among their peers and consistent participation in program and school activities. All nominated students submitted a video essay entitled What GEAR UP Means to Me.The event occurred during National GEAR UP Week when 127 GEAR UP projects across the nation celebrated the impact of the program. In recognition, Governor Bevin proclaimed Sept. 19-23 as GEAR UP Week in Kentucky.Kentucky has four GEAR UP programs: the state grant administered by the Council on Postsecondary Education and three GEAR UP partnership grants led by Berea College. Combined, these programs help more than 46,000 Kentucky students and families in 130 low-income middle and high schools understand how to plan, apply and pay for college.GEAR UP Kentucky 2015-16 Students of the YearBoyd: Nathan Nishimoto, Paul G. Blazer High SchoolCalloway: Tabytha Reed, Calloway County High SchoolCampbell: Jarid Casebolt, Bellevue High School, Samara Hall, Newport High SchoolClark: Elizabeth John, George Rogers Clark High SchoolFayette: Mercedes Adams, Paul Laurence Dunbar High SchoolFleming: Emily Steele, Fleming County High SchoolGallatin: Ashley Platte, Gallatin County High SchoolGraves: Ian Puckett, Graves County High SchoolGreenup: Hannah Darnell, Greenup County High SchoolHart: Rachel McIntire, Hart County High SchoolKenton: Mikayla Lawrence, Holmes High SchoolMarshall: Alisha Boone, Marshall County High SchoolMetcalfe: Jacob Bennett, Metcalfe County High SchoolMonroe: Elliott Hammer, Monroe County High SchoolOwen: Jessica Hardin: Owen County High SchoolRobertson: Carley Turner, Robertson County SchoolTrigg: Summer Cottrell, Trigg County High SchoolTrimble: Jaiden Beatty, Trimble County High SchoolWashington: Kyle Schrader, Washington County High SchoolGEAR UP Promising Appalachian Leaders in ServiceBell: Cole Raines, Bell County High SchoolEstill: Abby Winkle, Estill County High SchoolLaurel: Martina McClure, South Laurel High SchoolMadison: Jordan Cottrell, Madison Central High SchoolOwsley: Emalee Patton, Owsley County High School
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Sep. 26, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 26, 2016 | 01:44 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A Paducah man is in custody, and another is being sought in connection with a break-in Monday morning at a Paducah business.



Officers responded at 3:23 am to a burglar alarm at Bargain Hunt on Irvin Cobb Drive. An officer said he saw a man climbing down from the roof of the building. When the man saw the officer, he climbed back up to the roof and disappeared.



Other officers arrived and surrounded the building. A K9 unit found 21-year-old Tyler A. Sharp hiding under some merchandise in a store room. Police said the other man escaped down another side of the building before officers arrived.



Police said Sharp had three backpacks stolen from Bargain Hunt, which contained a stolen dagger and several knives. Tyler was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools and booked into McCracken County Regional Jail.



The second man has not been identified. Police said he was wearing a light-colored hoodie and carrying a red backpack.



Anyone with information about the burglary or the second mans identity is asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8550 or Crime Stoppers at 270-443-TELL.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 26, 2016 | 10:52 AM | MARSHALL COUNTY, KY

A Nebraska woman faces drug charges after a traffic stop Saturday in Marshall County.

The Marshall County Sheriff's Office said a deputy stopped a car for speeding on Big Bear Highway. As he approached, the deputy said he could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

During a search of the car, the deputy reportedly found about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine, scales and two needles. The driver, 28-year-old Michelle Margritz of Kearney, NE, was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was booked into the Marshall County Detention Center.
Even with 5-0 lead, Verlander can't get 1st World Series win
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Roberto Firmino should probably start keeping an eye out because it would appear that Liverpool have a new No.11 on their hands.

Indeed, Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven on Netflixs supremely successful 1980s-flavoured sci-fi hit Stranger Things, has nailed her colours to the mast

The 12-year-old actress, who was born in Spain and raised in Bournemouth (making her accent in Stranger Things all the more impressive), thanked the club for sending her a personalised shirt before donning it for a quick photo.

Hang on. Funny we should mention Bournemouth
A worker looks on at the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim oil refinery outside Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo

By Barani Krishnan and Amanda Cooper

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil settled up 3 percent on Monday as the world's largest producers gathered in Algeria to discuss ways to support prices, with nervous trade driving volatility to its highest since a similar meeting to freeze output in April in Doha which failed.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers led by Russia are meeting informally on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26-28 to tackle a crude glut that has battered prices for two years now.

Key OPEC member Iran, the fourth largest crude exporter which is still trying to recapture output before Western sanctions in 2012, downplayed the chances of a deal while some OPEC members remained hopeful.

"Unless there's an impressive production cut by OPEC on top of a freeze, I think we'll give back everything we've gained by the end of this week," said Tariq Zahir, an oil bear at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York.

Brent crude futures (LCOc1) settled up $1.46, or 3.2 percent, at $47.35 a barrel after trading between $45.74 and $47.66.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures (CLc1) rose $1.45, or 3.3 percent, to settle at $45.93 after a session high of $46.20 and low of $44.43.

Both benchmarks moved in a near $2-band between the highs and lows, one of the widest swings in weeks.

Implied volatility, a gauge of how much oil prices move, was at its highest since April 18, when the meeting in Doha among OPEC members to discuss an output freeze ended in an impasse, leaving crude at just above $40.

Scepticism about a deal being reached in Algiers had prompted money managers to cut their bullish bets on U.S. crude futures to a one-month low last week, with prices falling nearly 5 percent. [CFTC/]

Some analysts believe an output freeze will only be implemented after OPEC's all-important policy meeting beginning in Vienna on Nov. 30. Until then, the group and non-members, including No. 1 producer Russia and top oil consumer the United States, are likely to ramp up production.

Story continues

OPEC pumped near a multi-year high of 33.24 million barrels per day in August, data showed. Russian production hit record highs of 11.75 million bpd last week. U.S. output has fallen this year but its oil rig count, which signals future production, has risen for 12 of the past 13 weeks. [RIG/U]

"If more Libyan and Nigerian production come online and Iranian production continues to increase, then by November the surplus could be high enough and prices low enough to encourage OPEC to act," said James Williams, analyst at WTRG Economics in London, Arkansas.

A Reuters poll showing that U.S. crude stockpiles had risen by as much as 2.8 million barrels last week after three prior weeks of declines also caused concern for some market participants, analysts said. [EIA/S]

(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in LONDON and Keith Wallis in SINGAPORE; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Louise Heavens)
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/09/2016 (2226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Hazelwood Mosque  the first in Manitoba  is celebrating its 40th anniversary by changing its name to the Pioneer Mosque.

Idris Elbakri, president of the Manitoba Islamic Association, said Sunday the new name is a nod to the handful of Muslim families living in Winnipeg at the time that fundraised and built the mosque in what was then a new subdivision in St. Vital at 247 Hazelwood Ave.

We owe these pioneers a great debt of gratitude, Elbakri said. When I see this (mosque) I think anything is possible.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A special event at the newly renamed Pioneer Mosque on its 40th anniversary, Sunday.

Elbakri and others officially unveiled the sign over the mosques front door, a brass plaque commemorating the anniversary, and the sign showing the honorary renaming of the street in front of the building.

The honorary street name is Pioneer Mosque Way.

During the 1960s, the Muslim population of Winnipeg, numbering only 10 families, met in homes, churches and other locations to pray before deciding they needed their own place.

Abdul Malik, a former association president and one of the mosques founders, said the lot was purchased because it was priced reasonably and the few Muslim families here at the time lived nearby.

Malik said they spent a few years fundraising  and began to believe building a mosque was out of reach  until they received two large donations.

He said one was from the Council of Muslim Communities in Canada and the other from King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

But then, with the building still under construction, the project was put into jeopardy when the contractor went bankrupt.

We had given him all our money  what could we do? Malik said. Thankfully, we had people. They built the rest by hand. This is how we built this hall.

Without Saudi help and our devotion this mosque would not be here.

Ahmad Ashraff, the first president of the association, said when he came to Canada in the early 1960s there was only a handful of Muslims in Winnipeg.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ezzat Ibrahim, one of the pioneering members, speaking at the newly renamed Pioneer Mosque on its 40th anniversary, Sunday.

Now Ashraff said there are now seven mosques in Winnipeg, 11,000 Muslims in Manitoba and more than one million across the country.

I anticipated that we would grow, he said.

Now there are other mosques here and there is one in Thompson.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said he has always felt a warm welcome when he goes to the mosque.

This is not just an Islamic celebration  this is a Canadian celebration, Mayes said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Incontinence, erectile dysfunction and fatigue are subjects most men dont want to talk about.

Jeff Hegarty knows first-hand. When the retired RCMP officer was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he didnt know much about what symptoms he could face even though his brother had the same diagnosis.

We dont openly share and talk. I dont know whether its the place that (prostate cancer) happens  or the fact that its cancer period. Its a guy thing, Hegarty says.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSProstate cancer survivor Jeff Hegarty signed up for a prostate cancer exercise class led by Reh-Fit Centre employee Jennifer McLaren.

Gals are a lot more open and emotional  and hug and talk. Not so much with guys.

The 76-year-old Lockport resident hopes that will change when he starts an exercise class designed just for men with prostate cancer. He heard about the program during a prostate cancer support group he attends.

Prostate cancer and its treatment can leave men with weakened pelvic-floor muscles and extreme fatigue.

The class will focus on weight training, how to strengthen the pelvic floor (the muscles that control urination), yoga and stress reduction.

The free program, called TrueNTH, launches Tuesday at the Reh-Fit Centre. The Taylor Avenue facility is one of several centres across Canada  and the only one in Winnipeg  implementing the program, which is funded by Prostate Cancer Canada and the Movember Foundation.

University of Calgary researcher Nicole Culos-Reed developed TrueNTH to help men ease their prostate-cancer symptoms and improve their quality of life. She is compiling data on the national program based on participants fitness assessments and feedback.

Her goal is to determine just how exercise affects men with prostate cancer.

Physical activity and cancer is a favourite subject for Culos-Reed, a professor of exercise physiology. She has studied how exercise affects childrens cancers, breast cancer, lung cancer, head, neck and brain cancer.

We pretty much know that there is not a downside to exercise. As long as we screen and provide it in a safe and supportive environment, exercise has nothing but potential benefits Culos-Reed says. Thats the key  potential. Because individuals actually need to engage in the exercise to get the benefits. They cant kind of do it once in a while.

Culos-Reed says most cancer survivors do not take part in physical activity.

Maybe as low as 20 per cent are and up to 50 per cent are, depending on which study you look at, she says, noting that men tend drop out of exercise programs unless they have ongoing support and resources.

Its really about harnessing the power of something in their own communities that they can tap into to really enhance their quality of life and then take that sense of control thats really gone with cancer.

Participants must register in advance for the Reh-Fit Centres prostate cancer exercise program. The sessions will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m., says Jennifer McLaren, a Reh-Fit Centre fitness professional who will teach the class.

TrueNTH also offers an online support service.

Janet Cranston, the Reh-Fit Centres director of health and fitness, says 10 people have enrolled in the program so far. She anticipates a lot of interest once word is out, so will offer a second run. Classes will take a maximum of about 15 people.

Hegarty cant wait to start the class. He hopes to gain the 15 pounds he lost during his cancer treatment something he thinks can happen with the right kind of weight training.

Hes also looking for answers about how to stop his urinary incontinence  a result of prostate surgery almost a year ago.

Hes heard about Kegel exercises and wants to know more.

Kegel exercises, according to doctors, strengthen the pelvic floor  a set of muscles that affect the bladder, bowel and sexual function.

If I start to understand it better and really work my tail off and do it faithfully more often, if thats the magic, (Ill do it), says Hegarty. Its not a nice feeling having a damn diaper on. Thats kind of the way I feel.

Its very, very frustrating when you have this problem downstairs.

Have an interesting story youd like Shamona to write about? Contact her at shamona.harnett@freepress.mb.ca

shamona.harnett@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The $4-million restoration of two rundown heritage buildings on south Main Street to their original early-1880s glory, complete with windows consistent with that time period is underway.

Scaffolding and protective netting went up about two weeks ago on the St. Mary Avenue side of the Fortune Building on the southwest corner of Main and St. Mary. That enabled workers to begin removing paint from the bricks and to repair and re-point them where necessary.

Within the next couple of weeks, crews will remove and replace the partially caved-in roof on the 134-year-old retail/office building, new owner John Pollard said. Once the new roof is installed and it gets too cold to work outside, crews will move indoors and begin restoring the interior of the three-storey structure.

Trevor Hagan / Winnipeg Free Press The Fortune Building at the corner of Main Street and St. Mary Avenue, and the adjoining Macdonald Building are undergoing extensive changes that will be done in October 2017.

Pollard, who is co-CEO of Pollard Banknote, said some time this winter, crews will start renovating the inside of the adjoining three-storey Macdonald Building at 226 Main St. That building originally had a wholesale grocery store on the main floor and offices on the top two floors. The top floors were later converted into a hotel and then into a rooming house.

Pollard said about 25 people still live in the building. Renovations cant begin until the current owner  Pollard said he wont be taking ownership for a few more weeks  finds rooms for them in his other properties.

There is also one tenant left in the Fortune Building  the iconic Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club.

Pollard and Times Change(d) owner John Scoles said its not going anywhere.

Scoles said the club will stay open during renovations, since its only open at night from Thursday to Sunday, and construction crews work during the day.

Not only will the music club stay open, but this fall and early winter it will expand into the one-storey annex at the rear of the building, which used to be home to Sign Source.

Scoles said that will double the size of the club to 2,400 square feet.

By moving the kitchen, washrooms and bar into the new area, it will expand its seating area to about 135 people from 80.

That (2,400 square feet) is a nice size, Scoles said.

Not too big and not too small. We want to be careful that we continue to be charmingly quaint.

He said if all goes well, the newly expanded club should be operational before Christmas.

Pollard plans to complete the Fortune and Macdonald building renovations by October 2017.

Construction projects sometimes take longer, but thats what were hoping for, he added.

He said whatever exterior work doesnt get done this fall will be completed in the spring. Theyll also install new windows in both buildings and restore some of the original Main Street storefront entrances that were bricked over.

Because the Fortune Building has its original windows, the new windows for both buildings can be designed to look virtually identical to the original ones, Pollard said.

When the renovations are completed, there will be four 1,800-square-foot retail spaces on the ground-floor level  two in each building  and offices on the top two floors. Pollard said he never thought about retaining the top two floors of the Macdonald Building as residential space.

Its kind of funky. Its a bit more cut up (by todays standards) but we think the right kind of tenant will love it. John Pollard

My goal is to do a true restoration. I want to restore it to its original state, and it was built as an office building.

He said the office space on the top two floors of the Fortune Building has been vacant since 1974, and is still in its original configuration. The plan is to keep it that way.

Its kind of funky. Its a bit more cut up (by todays standards) but we think the right kind of tenant will love it.

Although market demand will determine what kind of retail tenants move in to ground-floor units, the executive director of the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone said he hopes theyre authentic, locally owned operations. Those retailers are helping to revitalize downtown, Stefano Grande said.

He said its great both buildings will feature a mix of retail and office tenants. That fits nicely with the redevelopment/revitalization plans for south Main Street.

Were also going back to what we know works for downtown, which is a mixed-use approach, he added.

Grande said its great Times Change(d) is staying on as an anchor tenant because its a unique music venue that draws people downtown.

Scoles led the fight to get the two buildings designated as heritage buildings, which prevented the former owners from selling them to Toronto developers who wanted to demolish them and build a 150-room hotel. That paved the way for Pollard to buy the properties.

Pollard said when cost of acquiring the two buildings is added in, the project will cost him more than $5 million.

But theyve looked pretty crappy for a lot of years, and were excited about restoring them to their former glory. Theyre beautiful old buildings when you clean them up.

Pollard is also interested in acquiring the nearby Winnipeg Hotel, at 214 Main St., and an adjoining gravel parking lot. The owner of the Macdonald Building also owns those two properties, and Pollard said those negotiations are continuing. He declined to elaborate on what he would do with those properties until a deal is struck.

Know of any newsworthy or interesting trends or developments in the local office, retail, industrial or multi-family residential sectors? Let real estate reporter Murray McNeill know at the email address below or at 204-697-7254.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a tough week for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Last week, Premier Brian Pallister summarily rejected the AMCs demand to allow the Aseneskak Casino on the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in The Pas to relocate to Winnipeg.

The chiefs argued Aseneskak is not economically viable at the remote location. Only a move to Winnipeg, they insist, will help the casino generate the revenue necessary to benefit all First Nations.

For those reasons, the chiefs threaten to proceed with relocation in defiance of the premiers edict.

The chiefs make a very strong moral and political argument in favour of their proposal. They correctly point out that, by denying First Nations casinos access to the Winnipeg market, the province is employing a double standard. They also note correctly that as operator of the two biggest casinos in Manitoba, the province is inherently in a conflict of interest in keeping First Nation casinos on the fringe of gaming in remote locations.

Notwithstanding the strength of their argument, the path to relocation will be arduous.

The Winnipeg market is saturated with gambling options. A recent report commissioned by the province and AMC concluded there is no business case for adding a casino to the capital region. Given that the province relies on the profits of the two government-owned casinos to feed general revenue, its unlikely Pallister will relent while the budget is still deep in deficit.

Legally, the province holds authority over gambling in any form. The chiefs could challenge that authority in court, but short of a Supreme Court ruling that First Nations inherent right to self-government trumps the Criminal Code provisions on gambling, its not a winning strategy.

The situation is maddening for the AMC. Pallister announced he was rejecting the relocation plan in a Free Press interview, without consulating the chiefs. Its a minor skirmish now, but it looks like it could grow into a huge political battle in the near future.

What are the chiefs options?

They could stand toe to toe with the premier and trade punches. Or, they could leverage their frustration on the casino file to make progress on other, more pressing issues.

For example, at the same time as Manitobans watch the debate over casinos, the province released two audits on costly economic development partnerships between First Nations and Crown agencies.

One audit looked at development partnerships between First Nations and Manitoba Hydro for construction of the Keeyask generating station. The second looked at development agreements between First Nations on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and a Crown agency overseeing the construction of an all-weather road.

In both cases, the audits found a lack of government oversight of millions of dollars in payments to First Nations, and little evidence of the benefits  if any  that accrued from that government largesse.

Although the projects are different, a common thread connected the two audits: the lack of support and advice for First Nations involved in complex economic development agreements.

In both cases, the province provided money to hire consultants to advise First Nations on dam construction and setting up small businesses to participate in the construction and maintenance of the all-weather road.

The audits did not look at where the money went or the effect it had on individual communities, but it is generally agreed much of this money was drained out of the First Nations and into the pockets of consultants in the south.

This is an old and troubling narrative. Even in cases where the advice is sound, there is little residual economic benefit when all the money goes to hire off-reserve professionals.

Viewed in the context of the casino dispute, the audits raise an important question: rather than focusing so much time and energy on relocating a casino, perhaps the AMC and other aboriginal political organizations could help their communities acquire professional services at a reasonable price.

Many of these communities do not have the resources to retain full-time lawyers, planners, engineers and project managers. As a result, when there are opportunities to partner with government on big capital projects, the communities have to hire professionals from the south at what appears to be premium rates.

This scenario is worrisome, but it also represents an opportunity for the AMC. Perhaps now is the time for the political organizations that represent First Nations  AMC, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the Southern Chiefs Organization  to become more directly involved in finding professional services at a fair price.

This would mark a significant evolution in the relationship between First Nations and their political organizations, which have typically focused on broad issues and refrained from getting involved in the affairs of any one community. First Nations cling fiercely to their independence, both from non-aboriginal governments and from each other.

Still, theres an opportunity here for the political organizations to become more directly involved in sourcing the right people  perhaps even bringing some of these services in-house  so that rates are standardized and individual communities are not exploited by outside consultants.

The AMC has to admit gambling is not an economic panacea for First Nations. Casinos create employment and revenue to share, but these benefits come at a cost: low-wage, low-skill service-industry jobs vulnerable to lurches in the economy, and a raft of social problems.

It is more than a little unfair for the province to insist First Nations casinos remain in remote communities, but relocating to a market already saturated with gambling is hardly a viable option.

Perhaps aboriginal leaders could channel their frustration on casinos to get government support to solve the chronic shortage of professional services in First Nation communities.

Its a gamble for the AMC, but the payoff could be huge.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shamattawa First Nation has a store once again  in a temporary location  but theres still much work to be done to get the remote northern community back on its feet after last weeks devastating fire.

JESSICA BOTELHO-URBANSKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeggers drop off donations of water and baby food on Selkirk Avenue Friday. The supplies will be flown north to Shamattawa First Nation by Perimeter Aviation

The Northern Store, the only place to buy food in Shamattawa, was destroyed along with the band office, the 911 call centre and radio station by the fire that was intentionally set at about 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Shamattawa is a community of about 1,200 people located about 750 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. It can be reached only by air, except in the winter, when a 190-km road is open.

Derek Reimer, the North West Companys director of business development, said the store opened for business in what had been the gym in the communitys old school.

We want to service the community but weve got employees that rely on the employment so we really wanted to get the store up and running, Reimer said, noting the store employs 15 people.

Weve seen people put in tremendous amounts of effort over the days since this happened to ensure that we were able to provide the community with (donated) food and, secondly, look at restoring the service (of a store) which we know they rely on. Were grateful for the partners that have worked with us, the community and chief and council.

The former gym requires some renovations but store will operate there until an insurance claim is paid and a new building goes up.

Reserve receives donated goods

Unfortunately after the store burned down, the community was without a store but we were able to send up about (5,400 kilograms) of donated goods, mainly food items and essential everyday items. That was about six pallets and that was distributed on Friday, Reimer said, adding another delivery of donated goods was made Monday with the co-operation of the Canadian Red Cross and Perimeter Aviation.

Were really wanting to turn this tragedy into an opportunity to create longer-term solutions for Shamattawa.-Michael Redhead Champagne, Winnipeg-based activist

We sent a shipment and some product on hand. Well be able to offer a fairly reasonable assortment initially, and well expand that over the coming days and weeks. It will include items like bread, chicken burgers, beef, cheese, milk, infant supplies, coffee about 90 (types) of items in total.

Reimer said refrigeration units were sent to Shamattawa during the weekend for perishable items in the stores temporary location.

Representatives from the Canadian Red Cross  which is on contract with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to aid Manitoba First Nations during an emergency  and Perimeter Aviation did not respond to requests for comment.

A 12-year-old boy was arrested by RCMP and is facing charges. Five other children under the age of 12 are believed to be involved in setting the fire but are too young to be charged.

Shamattawa Chief Jeff Napoakesik told the Canadian Press that RCMP said the children got into the band office and lit the office equipment on fire.

Band officials and other community members were at a funeral at the time.

The communitys fire truck, less than two years old, could not be used to fight the fire because it needs repairs to address a mechanical issue. Community firefighters used water from three nearby hydrants and a truck normally used to distribute water to homes.

Campaign launched to raise funds

Michael Redhead Champagne, a Winnipeg-based activist who was named the 2016 Young Humanitarian of the Year by the Canadian Red Cross, said an online fundraising campaign called Shamattawa Support has been started with a goal of $50,000 at www.gofundme.com/shamattawasupport.

RCMP HANDOUT RCMP say the fire that destroyed the only food store on a remote Manitoba reserve was set by several kids.The fire erupted Thursday in Shamattawa, and destroyed the community's grocery store, band office, radio station and 911 centre.

Redhead Champagne said the money collected will be used to improve emergency-response supports, pay for more youth activities and strengthen relationships between on-reserve and off-reserve community members.

He said about 1,800 kg of donated food and supplies were collected Friday night on Selkirk Avenue by the Meet Me at the Bell Tower organization. He said Perimeter Aviation transported the donated items to Shamattawa.

Were really pleased with how Winnipeg has come together, said Redhead Champagne, noting Shamattawa is his home community.

Redhead Champagne said community members want to direct energy away from prosecuting the young people responsible for the blaze and toward community improvements.

Were really wanting to turn this tragedy into an opportunity to create longer-term solutions for Shamattawa.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for her office said she is on holiday this week and had limited availability.

The Shamattawa band office is also being temporarily relocated to the old school.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C.  In the fall of 1973, six-year-old Phyllis Webstads grandmother took her to the local general store and bought her an orange shirt for her first day of school. She was proud of this beautiful new shirt and beamed as she wore it.

When Phyllis arrived at St. Joseph Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, B.C., the shirt was taken from her, and she had to wear the school uniform.

You would think young Phyllis would be told she could keep her shirt and wear it for special occasions. She wasnt. The beautiful, precious shirt her grandmother gave her was never returned.

Later, Phyllis saw other children at the school wearing it. She knew it was hers and said so, but no one listened. One can only imagine the confusion and sadness this child experienced.

These feelings went unresolved for many years.

Its said our greatest sufferings can bring about our greatest triumphs. Forty years later, Phyllis spearheaded the Orange Shirt Day movement to raise awareness about crimes committed against aboriginal children from 1831 to 1996 in the residential school system and to promote healing.

Today, Canadians wear orange shirts Sept. 30 to honour the children who endured residential schools.

The intent of the residential school system was to kill the Indian in the child, historic documents tell us. All these people held dear was taken away. For generations, children were forced to leave the warmth of their families to attend cold, overcrowded institutions where abuse was rampant.

Children and their parents often didnt see each other for years. Villages were devoid of laughter, and parents and grandparents had no one to teach. Children, far away at the schools, had no one to wipe away their tears.

In these institutions, children were not allowed to speak their language or to learn their traditions. They were taught to do manual labour deemed worthy by white culture instead of the work their people had done for centuries, work that allowed them to thrive in the harsh Canadian environment. Ironically, they had taught the skills of their culture to the first European settlers so the settlers could avoid dying of hunger, cold and scurvy.

Its significant to note the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention defines genocide, in part, with this phrase: Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Is it any wonder Canada expressed reservation about the document and didnt ratify it until 1952?

It was not until 2008 that the Canadian government officially apologized to the victims of these schools, and it was not until 2015 that the government-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission officially referred to the residential school system as cultural genocide.

The effect of the residential school system has been devastating. It has resulted in the virtual loss of languages and traditions. It has ravaged a once-healthy family system. It has contributed to severe health issues among the aboriginal populations. Numerous other social indicators demonstrate healing is required for First Nations people, from above-average rates of incarceration to similarly high rates of violence against aboriginal women.

When we acknowledge where our problems come from, we can begin to do something about them. Today, in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation report, we see a resurgence of aboriginal culture. There is reason, then, to believe things are getting better.

As more of us participate in Orange Shirt Day, we not only honour the victims of Canadas residential school system, we become a part of our nations necessary journey of healing and reconciliation.

Gerry Chidiac is a high school teacher who has lived on four continents and speaks four languages. He specializes in genocide studies.

 Troy Media
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canadas (958 Ferry Rd.) latest exhibit takes visitors across the Atlantic and back in time to explore Ukraines aerospace industry as far back as the 40s.

Exhibits co-ordinator and designer Paul Balcaen said Zoom to Zenith was inspired by the number of people asking about the massive Oleg Antonov-designed Antonov AN-124 plane  the second heaviest in the world  that lands in Winnipeg a few times a year.

I thought it would be great to talk about that, and about Antonov, who designed this aircraft, Balcaen said. Antonov came up with some very original ideas on how to make an airplane that you can use for multiple purposes  cargo, people, and landing, being able to land anywhere and a lot of places around the world dont have beautiful runways like we do.

Alana Trachenko Zoom to Zenith is on now at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

Antonovs work as an aerospace designer sparked the creation of Antonov State Company (formerly the Antonov Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex), which is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine. Founded in 1946, the company has led the way in many aerospace advances.

Balcaen said that like Ukraine, we have had to transport people and cargo to remote, northern locations and as a result have designed similar planes.

Ukraine, Russia and us, were all in the same boat and we need aircraft to go to remote regions, so I thought this exhibit would be great in making a connection in showing what other countries are doing and because we have a large population of Ukrainian people here in Manitoba, I thought this is nice, itll be something different.

In the exhibit, Balcaen is even able to compare two bush planes  one from Ukraine, and one from Canada  that are almost identical.

Antonov designed this little bush plane, a biplane called the An-2, it looks a lot like our de Havilland (Canada DHC-3) Otter, he said. What (Antonov) did was during the Cold War and during that, up until the 90s, there was no sharing of technology or ideas across that iron curtain, as they would call it.

Alana Trachenko

Great minds in different countries were thinking of the same thing and very similar solutions.

The designer said although there is more communication between the countries now, Canada has advanced enough in its own design that we dont borrow much from Ukraine. In fact, they use some Canadian avionics (electronic equipment fitted in an aircraft).

Balcaen said the countrys ability to move forward technologically while dealing with the fall of the Soviet Union is an impressive feat.

For a little country thats had a really tough time, they were able to pick up the pieces and were able to find a market for this stuff. Its a very resourceful country.
St. Katharine Drexel Parish hosted a blood drive with BloodCenter of Wisconsin.

The drive was a huge success with the help of 72 donors who took the time out of their busy day to participate. Every single donation that was made helps to save the lives of three patients.

Special thanks to the six gentlemen who helped save 12 lives by making a double red cell donation. In addition, a most sincere thank you to the BDCH Foundation for providing a grant that helped offset the expenses of the blood drive. With this grant, The BDCH Foundation acknowledges the importance of making BCW local drives a success.

We were honored to recognize our Community Emergency Responders at this drive in recognition of the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 disaster in New York City.

Thank you to local businesses who donated items to present to our local heroes, including Black Waters Coffee, Culvers of Beaver Dam, Recheks Food Pride and Beaver Dam Piggly Wiggly. And not to be forgotten, thanks to the many volunteers who made our drive a success. This included parish volunteers who coordinated the drive with the parish staff and BCW staff, the Knights of Columbus volunteers who helped with setup and donor check-in, and wonderful volunteers who worked at the refreshment area. Thank you also to WBEV and the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen who advertised for the drive.

BloodCenter of Wisconsin is the source of blood used for patients at Beaver Dam Community Hospital. It is crucial that the people in Beaver Dam support the BCW drives in our area so this critical blood supply can be maintained for patients at BDCH.

If you are a blood donor and want to support our hospital and its patients, watch for BloodCenter of Wisconsin blood drives that are held in our area. There are 12 BCW blood drives hosted in Beaver Dam every year, giving interested donors many options to participate. In addition, there are 12 drives in other communities in the immediate area.

Anyone interested in making a donation can do so every eight weeks throughout the year at any one of the BCW donor drives. Donation at BCW blood drives assures that your donation is directly helping your family, friends and neighbors at BDCH. Watch for announcements for other BCW drives coming up in Daily Citizen notices.

The next opportunity to donate will be at the upcoming drive for BCW at the YMCA of Dodge County on Oct. 7 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and a drive at Grace Presbyterian Church on Nov. 3 (1 to 6 p.m.).

Thanks again to all the people who in any way help support BloodCenter of Wisconsin at local drives. If you would like more information on BCW drives you can call BCW at 1-877-BE-A-HERO (1-877-232-4376) or going on-line to www.bcw.edu.

Phyllis Tratar and Dr. Ed Cody at St. Katharine Drexel Parish Jeannine Reszel, Representative at BloodCenter of Wisconsin
Immanuel Lutheran in Reeseville will serve turkey dinner Sunday

Immanuel Lutheran Church in Reeseville will be serving an all-you-can-eat turkey dinner on Sunday, Oct. 2 from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the churchs Fellowship Hall. The church is located at 210 Lincoln Ave.

The meal will be served family-style at your table. The menu will include the following items: roasted turkey, homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, vegetable, cranberries, dinner rolls, coleslaw, beverages and dessert.

Tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the meal only and will cost $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 6 through 10. Children ages 5 and under can eat for free.

Carryouts will be available for a cost of $11 each.

To place a carryout order, or for more information, please call the church at 927-5734.
The Columbus Lions Club, which is celebrating its 30th year of service to the community, is now holding its annual Vande Walles Candies fundraiser.

Candy bars are being sold for $1 each at the NAPA Auto Part Store, the Columbus Public Library and Farmers and Merchants Bank (West Branch) or from any Columbus Lions member. Candy bars are available in the following flavors: mint truffle, chocolate truffle, peanut butter meltaways, English toffee, milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

Proceeds from the candy bar sale will go to supporting Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt, Wis. Lions Camp is a state-of-the-art facility that serves approximately 1,250 children, as well as adults who are visually impaired, hearing impaired or those with intellectual disabilities or diabetes. The camp instills in them the confidence to pursue activities that they thought were not possible.
1966

Walter Bock and his father John purchased a dray line in 1908 from John Tobin. The population of Columbus was 3,000 and all mail, machinery and lumber was shipped into Columbus from the train by horse-drawn wagons. A horse-drawn bus traveled between the train depot and the Tremont Hotel, taking many traveling salesmen from the train to the hotel.

Worship services at Zion Lutheran Church will be held in the school auditorium instead of the church for a few weeks. A new floor will be laid in the sanctuary and new pews will be installed.

1976

A recent fishing trip to Canada brought some extra excitement to Danny and Gary Hegge. Gary, a Columbus barber, reports it was a hair-raising experience. While at Moose Bay Lake, a 350-pound black bear tried to tear a hole in the tent they were sleeping in. The next morning the bear returned and appeared a few feet away from Danny. Gary shot at the bear and chased him away.

Gene Niehoff was named the new manager at the Columbus Mills, Division of Vita-Plus Corporation.

1986

The David and Beverly Meister family have donated a six-acre parcel of land at North Ludington and Middleton Streets to be developed into a new city park. The park, located along the Crawfish River, will be called Meister Park. It will include at least one softball diamond, playground and picnic area.

The city will install a new communication center Centrix phone system in City Hall. Anne Henning of the answering service will be promoted to full time and become assistant clerk-treasurer.

1996

James Russell, a senior at Columbus High School, was named a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship program. Russell is the son of Jerrold and Jeanne Russell of Columbus.

The construction of a 50-room Super 8 Motel on Industrial Drive will begin in early October. The motel will include an indoor swimming pool.
Leatherberry Acres is open for its second season and has added a handful of new activities for visitors this fall.

The 14-acre corn maze and pumpkin patch, located off Sauk County Highway A just north of Baraboo, features a 200-foot zip line, a petting zoo and an air-powered cannon capable of launching pumpkins hundreds of feet through the air.

Tyler Leatherberry and his wife Karalee started the business with the goal of entertaining and educating families about agriculture. Were trying to move in a direction that includes more education about farming and where food comes from, Karalee Leatherberry said.

Thats why their new zip line, which they call the Bee Line, has signs with information about honey bees that visitors can read as they slide down the line.

The corn maze offers facts about agriculture as well, but in the form of a game that has the potential to get visitors lost in the nearly four miles of trails. The Which Way game asks maze-goers a question about farming at a fork in the trail, and they must go either left or right based on their answers.

Visitors are given a map of the maze, but people have gotten lost before, so Tyler Leatherberry recommends giving it to the most responsible person in the group.

Karalee Leatherberry is the mastermind behind the design of the maze. From above, it depicts a scene from the Old Testaments Jonah and the Whale. Preparations for the maze began in the summer when the corn was only a few feet high. The Leatherberrys hired a designer to set up the maze and cut the trails with a mower.

In addition to exploring the corn maze, visitors can enjoy the expanded petting zoo. Leatherberry Acres is now a USDA licensed zoo and features miniature ponies, rabbits, pigs, goats and other cute critters.

But what really sets Leatherberry Acres apart from other pumpkin patches in the area is its massive, air-powered pumpkin cannon. For $3, visitors get to aim and launch a pumpkin at an old van parked a few hundred feet away.

And the money goes to a good cause, as the Leatherberrys donate their profits beyond operating costs and wages to local charities.

We want to help out the community, Tyler Leatherberry said. That was our goal when we started it.

Now in their second year of running the corn maze and pumpkin patch, both Tyler and Karalee said they are enjoying the business and all the new people they meet in the process.

Its like our motto, Tyler Leatherberry said. Were watching families make memories.
Donald Trump recently got a 30-second standing ovation from an audience in Pensacola, Florida, when he declared that he would shoot out of the water any Iranian little boat whose occupants make gestures at our people that they shouldnt be allowed to make.

Wow, 30 seconds of hooting and hollering for a presidential candidate who would risk starting a war because an Iranian sailor gives us the finger. Road rage on steroids, I guess. Are we sure Hillary Clinton wasnt right when she suggested that half of Trumps backers are deplorables  racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it?

Its always enlightening to watch these tough guys who never spent a day in the military cavalierly supporting going to war to give some country a lesson for dissing us. They, after all, wont be the ones sacrificing life or limb to teach that lesson.

There are a lot of dangerous things about Donald Trump. His intolerance of immigrants and Muslims is just the start. He has a history of barring blacks from renting his apartments. He makes fun of folks with disabilities. Anyone who disagrees with him is a loser. His presidency would ensure that our already-polarized country would become and remain even more so.

But the most dangerous thing of all is his apparent willingness to challenge adversaries to a fight  a real fight involving troops and weapons  at the drop of a hat. Earlier in his campaign, Trump asked why America has nuclear bombs if it should not use them, sending chills up the spine of anyone who knows what atomic warfare would mean to human civilization.

Trumps lack of knowledge and naivete about the military was summed up by his comments earlier this year  that he feels like he was in the military because as a boy he went to a military-themed boarding school where he got more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military.

According to him, putting on a school uniform and practicing marching on the schools lawn between classes is equal to a real soldiers basic training, which includes crawling through barbed wire and mudholes on your belly while real bullets whiz by overhead.

After first declaring that longtime prisoner-of-war and now U.S. Sen. John McCain is not a hero because he was captured after his plane was shot down over Vietnam, Trump now calls the American armed forces a disaster and in shambles.

The Washington Posts Dana Milbank suggested in a recent column that Trump has declared war on the military and especially on its generals who, he believes, have been reduced to rubble.

If elected, Trump boasts, he will replace these embarrassing generals with the tough retired generals who have endorsed him for president.

According to Milbank, that includes retired Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, now an official at the Family Research Council who believes satan is working through Islam and who says gay rights are an evil that must be opposed by Gods army.

Then theres Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a Fox News commentator who supported an Army officer who refused to deploy to Afghanistan, claiming that President Barack Obama was foreign born and therefore an illegitimate commander in chief.

Trumps over-the-top bravado has alarmed not only American diplomats who work feverishly to settle our conflicts peacefully, but has the rest of the free world worried about what will happen if this guy becomes the next U.S. president.

Weve had one president who dashed off to start a war over false pretenses and weve been dealing with the mess it created for nearly 15 years now, squandering a trillion dollars or more, but worse, squandering the lives and health of thousands of young American men and women.

We cant settle the worlds problems with yet more war. But Donald Trump obviously doesnt know that.
The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the 5th largest bank in the world and the largest in the U.S. The current company is the result of a series of mergers that began in the earliest days of American banking history and include more than 1,200 original banks. The oldest predecessor is The Bank Of The Manhattan Company which was founded in 1799 by Aaron Burr. At the time, The Bank Of The Manhattan Company was the 3rd oldest bank in the U.S. and the 31st oldest in the world. The Chase Manhattan Bank, a precursor to JPMorgan Chase, was later formed when The Bank Of Manhattan Company purchased Chase Bank which was established in 1877.

JPMorgan & Co came to life in 1895 in order to finance the United States Steel Corporation. Itself a result of merger, the company also financed other early American businesses as well as aided the federal government by backing a bond offering. It wasnt until the year 2000 and after several more mergers that JPMorgan Chase & Co was born. It will be four more years before the merger with Bank One which is notable because it brings CEO Jamie Dimon into the picture.

JPMorgan Chase & Co was instrumental in aiding the US government during the 2008 financial crisis. It backed the accounts of several major banks including Bear Stearns and eventually took over their operations. Today, JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide with operations on every continent and in more than 60 countries.

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates through four segments that are Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). Services are available in branches in 48 of the 50 US states and around the world. Services are available via ATM, online, mobile, and telephone.

The CCB segment offers traditional banking services to consumers that include but are not limited to deposits, loans, mortgages, and lines of credit. The CIB segment provides investment banking products and services to businesses, institutions, and governments that range from prime brokerage, insurance, corporate strategy, and access to capital markets, to lending, cross-border financing, and derivative instruments. The CB segment provides financial services for small, medium, and large businesses including commercial real estate banking of all types.

The AWM segment provides investment management solutions to institutional and retail investors. This segment also provides retirement products, brokerage, trusts and estates, and investment management products.
AutoZone, Inc. retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs. In addition, the company offers maintenance products, such as antifreeze and windshield washer fluids; brake drums, rotors, shoes, and pads; brake and power steering fluids, and oil and fuel additives; oil and transmission fluids; oil, cabin, air, fuel, and transmission filters; oxygen sensors; paints and accessories; refrigerants and accessories; shock absorbers and struts; spark plugs and wires; and windshield wipers. Further, it provides air fresheners, cell phone accessories, drinks and snacks, floor mats and seat covers, interior and exterior accessories, mirrors, performance products, protectants and cleaners, sealants and adhesives, steering wheel covers, stereos and radios, tools, and wash and wax products, as well as towing services. Additionally, the company provides a sales program that offers commercial credit and delivery of parts and other products; sells automotive diagnostic and repair software under the ALLDATA brand through alldata.com and alldatadiy.com; and automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through autozone.com. As of November 20, 2021, it operated 6,066 stores in the United States; 666 stores in Mexico; and 53 stores in Brazil. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.
U.S. stock-index futures fell on Monday, indicating a lower start to trade on Wall Street as global shares fell ahead of the oil producers' meeting in Algiers.

Dow futures fell 100 points, while S&P and Nasdaq futures dropped 9 points and 28 points, respectively.

Crude oil prices gained early on Monday, after media reports cited the Algerian energy minister saying all options were possible for an output cut or freeze among members of the oil-producing cartel OPEC . That came ahead of this week's meeting of major oil-producing countries in Algeria. OPEC member countries will meet informally on the sidelines.



Globally, investors are also watching the upcoming debate between U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday evening. Recent polls have shown the two candidates neck-and-neck ahead of the election in November.

Financials were also under pressure before the bell, with the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) (NYSE Arca: XLF) falling 1 percent as Deutsche Bank shares hit a record low.

U.S. economic data due on Monday include monthly new home sales.

U.S. companies posting earnings on Monday included Carnival Corporation (CCL) and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) ahead of the market open. Vail Resorts (MTN) also posted quarterly results before the bell.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Johnson & Johnson: 3Dintegrated ApS, ALZA Corporation, AMO (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Beijing Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Guangzhou Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd., AMO ASIA LIMITED, AMO Asia Limited (Korea Branch), AMO Asia Limited Taiwan Branch (Hong Kong), AMO Australia Pty Limited, AMO Australia Pty Limited (New Zealand Branch), AMO Canada Company, AMO Denmark ApS, AMO Development LLC, AMO France, AMO Germany GmbH, AMO Groningen B.V., AMO International Holdings Unlimited Company, AMO Ireland, AMO Ireland Ireland Branch, AMO Italy SRL, AMO Japan K.K., AMO Manufacturing USA LLC, AMO Netherlands BV, AMO Nominee Holdings LLC, AMO Norway AS, AMO Puerto Rico Manufacturing Inc., AMO Sales and Service Inc., AMO Singapore Pte. Ltd., AMO Spain Holdings LLC, AMO Switzerland GmbH, AMO U.K. Holdings LLC, AMO United Kingdom Ltd., AMO Uppsala AB, AUB Holdings LLC, Abott Medical Optics, Acclarent Inc., Actelion Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc., Actelion Treasury Unlimited Company, Akros Medical Inc., Albany Street LLC, Alios BioPharma, Alza Land Management Inc., Anakuria Therapeutics Inc., Animas Diabetes Care LLC, Animas LLC, Animas Technologies LLC, AorTx Inc., Apsis, Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Asia Pacific Holdings LLC, Atrionix Inc., Auris Health, Auris Health Inc., Backsvalan 2 Aktiebolag, Backsvalan 6 Handelsbolag, Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co. Ltd., BeneVir BioPharm Inc., Berna Rhein B.V., BioMedical Enterprises Inc., Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd., Biosense Webster Inc., Branch of Johnson & Johnson LLC (RU) in Kazakhstan, C Consumer Products Denmark ApS, CSATS Inc., Calibra Medical LLC, Campus-Foyer Apotheke GmbH, Carlo Erba OTC S.r.l., Centocor Biologics LLC, Centocor Research & Development Inc., Cerenovus Inc., ChromaGenics B.V., Ci:Labo Customer Marketing Co. Ltd., Ci:Labo USA Inc., Ci:z Holdings, Ci:z. Labo Co. Ltd., Cilag AG, Cilag GmbH International, Cilag Holding AG, Cilag Holding Treasury Unlimited Company, Cilag-Biotech S.L., CoTherix Inc., Coherex Medical Inc., ColBar LifeScience Ltd., Company Store.com Inc., Conor MedSystems, Cordis International Corporation, Cordis de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Corimmun GmbH, DePuy Hellas SA, DePuy International Limited, DePuy Ireland Unlimited Company, DePuy Mexico S.A. de C.V., DePuy Mitek LLC, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Products Inc., DePuy Spine LLC, DePuy Synthes Gorgan Limited, DePuy Synthes Inc., DePuy Synthes Institute LLC, DePuy Synthes Leto SARL, DePuy Synthes Products Inc., DePuy Synthes Sales Inc., Debs-Vogue Corporation (Proprietary) Limited, Dutch Holding LLC, ECL7 LLC, EES Holdings de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., EES S.A. de C.V., EIT Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Europe) GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., Ethicon Endo-Surgery LLC, Ethicon Inc., Ethicon LLC, Ethicon PR Holdings Unlimited Company, Ethicon Sarl, Ethicon US LLC, Ethicon Women's Health & Urology Sarl, Ethnor (Proprietary) Limited, Ethnor Farmaceutica S.A., Ethnor del Istmo S.A., FMS Future Medical System SA, Finsbury (Development) Limited, Finsbury (Instruments) Limited, Finsbury Medical Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics International Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics Limited, GH Biotech Holdings Limited, GMED Healthcare BV, GMED Healthcare BV (Branch), Global Investment Participation B.V., Guangzhou Bioseal Biotech Co. Ltd., Hansen Medical Deutschland GmbH, Hansen Medical Inc., Hansen Medical International Inc., Hansen Medical UK Limited, Healthcare Services (Shanghai) Ltd., Hickory Merger Sub Inc., I.D. Acquisition Corp., Innomedic Gesellschaft fur innovative Medizintechnik und Informatik mbH, Innovative Surgical Solutions LLC, J & J Company West Africa Limited, J&J Pension Trustees Limited, J-C Health Care Ltd., J.C. General Services BV, JJ Surgical Vision Spain S.L., JJC Acquisition Company B.V., JJHC LLC, JJSV Belgium BV, JJSV Manufacturing Malaysia SDN. BHD., JJSV Norden AB, JJSV Produtos Oticos Ltda., JNJ Global Business Services s.r.o., JNJ Holding EMEA B.V., JNJ International Investment LLC, JOM Pharmaceutical Services Inc., Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy (Holding) Limited, Janssen BioPharma LLC, Janssen Biologics (Ireland) Limited, Janssen Biologics B.V., Janssen Biotech Inc., Janssen Cilag C.A., Janssen Cilag Farmaceutica S.A., Janssen Cilag S.p.A., Janssen Cilag SPA, Janssen Development Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Diagnostics LLC, Janssen Egypt LLC, Janssen Farmaceutica Portugal Lda, Janssen Global Services LLC, Janssen Holding GmbH, Janssen Inc., Janssen Irish Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Korea Ltd., Janssen Oncology Inc., Janssen Ortho LLC, Janssen Pharmaceutica (Proprietary) Limited, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Janssen Pharmaceutica S.A., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical Sciences Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceutical Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Japan Branch, Janssen Products LP, Janssen R&D Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Research & Development LLC, Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC, Janssen Supply Group LLC, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., Janssen Vaccines Branch of Cilag GmbH International, Janssen Vaccines Corp., Janssen-Cilag, Janssen-Cilag (New Zealand) Limited, Janssen-Cilag A/S, Janssen-Cilag AG, Janssen-Cilag AS, Janssen-Cilag Aktiebolag, Janssen-Cilag B.V., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Lda., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Ltda., Janssen-Cilag GmbH, Janssen-Cilag International NV, Janssen-Cilag Kft., Janssen-Cilag Kft. Branch Office, Janssen-Cilag Limited, Janssen-Cilag Manufacturing LLC, Janssen-Cilag NV, Janssen-Cilag OY, Janssen-Cilag Pharma GmbH, Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutical S.A.C.I., Janssen-Cilag Polska Sp. z o.o., Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd, Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd (Branch), Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag s.r.o., Janssen-Pharma S.L., Jevco Holding Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson (Angola) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson (Egypt) S.A.E., Johnson & Johnson (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Ireland) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Jamaica) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Kenya) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (DHCC Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (JAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. Service Center (DAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Mozambique) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (New Zealand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Thailand) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (Trinidad) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Vietnam) Co. Ltd, Johnson & Johnson - Societa' Per Azioni, Johnson & Johnson AB, Johnson & Johnson AB Eesti filiaal (Branch), Johnson & Johnson AG, Johnson & Johnson AG (Zuchwil Branch), Johnson & Johnson Belgium Finance Company BV, Johnson & Johnson Bulgaria EOOD, Johnson & Johnson China Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Thailand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer B.V., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Care Switzerland Branch of Janssen-Cilag AG, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Holdings France, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Dominican Republic Branch), Johnson & Johnson Consumer NV, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Services EAME Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Del Paraguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson Dominicana S.A.S., Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation Inc., Johnson & Johnson European Treasury Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson Finance Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Finance Limited, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH (Branch Office), Johnson & Johnson Gateway LLC, Johnson & Johnson Gesellschaft m.b.H., Johnson & Johnson GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Guatemala S.A., Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Commercial and Industrial S.A., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Consumer Products Commercial Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson Hemisferica S.A., Johnson & Johnson Holding GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Inc., Johnson & Johnson Industrial Ltda., Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc., Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Limited, Johnson & Johnson International, Johnson & Johnson International (Belgian Branch) (European Logistics Center), Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Branch), Johnson & Johnson International Financial Services Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson K.K., Johnson & Johnson Kft., Johnson & Johnson Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Korea Selling & Distribution LLC, Johnson & Johnson LLC, Johnson & Johnson Lda, Johnson & Johnson Limited, Johnson & Johnson Limited (Sri Lanka Branch), Johnson & Johnson Luxembourg Finance Company Sarl, Johnson & Johnson Management Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Proprietary) Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Suzhou) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical B.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group - Latin America L.L.C., Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical NV, Johnson & Johnson Medical Products GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical S.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.C.S., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.p.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical SAS, Johnson & Johnson Medical Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Ankara Branch), Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Izmir Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East - Scientific Office, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ - LLC (Lebanese Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Ghana Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Kenya Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC Branch (TSO) (Saudi Arabia Branch), Johnson & Johnson Morocco Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson NCB (Belgian Branch), Johnson & Johnson Nordic AB, Johnson & Johnson Pacific Pty Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pakistan (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Panama S.A., Johnson & Johnson Personal Care (Chile) S.A., Johnson & Johnson Poland Sp. z o.o., Johnson & Johnson Poland sp. z o.o. oddzial w Warszawie "Consumer", Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd. Korea Branch, Johnson & Johnson Pty. Limited, Johnson & Johnson Romania S.R.L., Johnson & Johnson S.A., Johnson & Johnson S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson S.E. Inc., Johnson & Johnson S.E. d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson SDN. BHD., Johnson & Johnson Sante Beaute France, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision India Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson UK Treasury Company Limited, Johnson & Johnson Ukraine LLC, Johnson & Johnson Urban Renewal Associates, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson de Argentina S.A.C. e. I., Johnson & Johnson de Chile Limitada, Johnson & Johnson de Chile S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Colombia S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson de Uruguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Venezuela S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Ecuador S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Peru S.A., Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Industria E Comercio de Produtos Para Saude Ltda., Johnson & Johnson for Export and Import LLC, Johnson & Johnson s.r.o., Johnson Y Johnson de Costa Rica S.A., Johnson and Johnson (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson and Johnson Sihhi Malzeme Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, LTL Management LLC, La Concha Land Investment Corporation, Latam International Investment Company Unlimited Company, Legal Entity Name, MDS Co. Ltd., McNEIL MMP LLC, McNeil AB, McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., McNeil Denmark ApS, McNeil Healthcare (Ireland) Limited, McNeil Healthcare (UK) Limited, McNeil Healthcare LLC, McNeil Iberica S.L.U., McNeil LA LLC, McNeil Nutritionals LLC, McNeil Panama LLC, McNeil Products Limited, McNeil Sweden AB, Medical Device Business Services Inc., Medical Devices & Diagnostics Global Services LLC, Medical Devices International LLC, Medos International Sarl, Medos International Sarl succursale de Neuchatel (Branch), Medos Sarl, MegaDyne Medical Products Inc., Menlo Care De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Mentor B.V., Mentor Deutschland GmbH, Mentor Medical Systems B.V., Mentor Partnership Holding Company I LLC, Mentor Texas GP LLC, Mentor Texas L.P., Mentor Worldwide LLC, Micrus Endovascular LLC, Middlesex Assurance Company Limited, Momenta Ireland Limited, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., NeoStrata Company Inc., NeoStrata UG (haftungsbeschrankt), Netherlands Holding Company, NeuWave Medical Inc., Neuravi Limited, Novira Therapeutics, Novira Therapeutics LLC, NuVera Medical Inc., OBTECH Medical Sarl, OGX Beauty Limited, OMJ Holding GmbH, OMJ Ireland Unlimited Company, OMJ Pharmaceuticals Inc., Obtech Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals NV, Ortho Biologics LLC, Ortho Biotech Holding LLC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, Orthospin Ltd., Orthotaxy, PT Integrated Healthcare Indonesia, PT. Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, Patriot Pharmaceuticals LLC, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pharmadirect Ltd., Pharmedica Laboratories (Proprietary) Limited, Princeton Laboratories Inc., Productos de Cuidado Personal y de La Salud de Bolivia S.R.L., Proleader S.A., Pulsar Vascular Inc., Regency Urban Renewal Associates, RespiVert Ltd., RoC International, Royalty A&M LLC, Rutan Realty LLC, SYNTHES Medical Immobilien GmbH, Scios LLC, Sedona Singapore International Pte. Ltd., Sedona Thai International Co. Ltd., Serhum S.A. de C.V., Shanghai Elsker For Mother & Baby Co. Ltd, Shanghai Elsker Mother & Baby Co. Ltd Minghang Branch, Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sightbox LLC, Sodiac ESV, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Company, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Partnership, SterilMed, SterilMed Inc., Surgical Process Institute Deutschland GmbH, Synthes Costa Rica S.C.R. Limitada, Synthes GmbH, Synthes Holding AG, Synthes Holding Limited, Synthes Inc., Synthes Medical Surgical Equipment & Instruments Trading LLC, Synthes Produktions GmbH, Synthes Proprietary Limited, Synthes S.M.P. S. de R.L. de C.V., Synthes Tuttlingen GmbH, Synthes USA LLC, Synthes USA Products LLC, TARIS Biomedical, TARIS Biomedical LLC, TearScience Inc., The Anspach Effort LLC, The Vision Care Institute LLC, Tibotec LLC, Torax Medical Inc., UAB "Johnson & Johnson", UAB Johnson & Johnson Eesti Filiaal (Estonian Branch), Vania Expansion, Verb Surgical, Verb Surgical Inc., Vision Care Finance Unlimited Company, Vogue International, Vogue International LLC, Vogue International Trading Inc., WH4110 Development Company L.L.C., XO1, XO1 Limited, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Beijing Branch Office, Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Shanghai Branch Office, Zarbee's Inc., and Zarbee's Naturals.

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Telefonica Brasil S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile and fixed telecommunications services to residential and corporate customers in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G as well as mobile value-added services and wireless roaming services. The company also offers data services, including broadband and mobile data services. In addition, it provides pay TV services through direct to home satellite technology, IPTV, and cable, as well as pay-per-view and video on demand services; network services, such as rental of facilities; other services comprising internet access, private network connectivity, computer equipment leasing, extended service, caller identification, voice mail, cellular blocker, and others; wholesale services, including interconnection services to users of other network providers; and digital services, such as entertainment, cloud, and security and financial services. Further, the company offers multimedia communication services, which include audio, data, voice and other sounds, images, texts, and other information, as well as sells devices, such as smartphones, broadband USB modems, and other devices. Additionally, it provides telecommunications solutions and IT support to various industries, such as retail, manufacturing, services, financial institutions, government, etc. It markets and sells its solutions through own stores, dealers, retail and distribution channels, door-to-door sales, and outbound tele sales. The company was formerly known as Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S.A. - TELESP and changed its name to Telefonica Brasil S.A. in October 2011. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services. It offers pineapples, fresh-cut fruit, fresh-cut vegetables, melons, and vegetables; non-tropical fruits, such as grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and kiwis; other fruit and vegetables, and avocados; and prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and meals and snacks. The company also engages in the sale of poultry and meat products; and third-party freight services business. In addition, it manufactures and sells plastic and box products, such as bins, trays, bags, and boxes. The company offers its products under the Del Monte brand, as well as under other brands, such as UTC, Rosy, Fruit Express, Just Juice, Fruitini, Mann's Logo, Arcadian Harvest, Nourish Bowls, Broccolini, Caulilini, Better Burger Leaf, RomaLeaf, and other regional brands. It markets and distributes its products to retail stores, club stores, convenience stores, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.
Winnebago Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells recreation vehicles and marine products primarily for use in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The company operates in six segments: Grand Design Towables, Winnebago Towables, Winnebago Motorhomes, Newmar motorhomes, Chris-Craft Marine, and Winnebago Specialty Vehicles. It provides towable products that are non-motorized vehicles to be towed by automobiles, pickup trucks, SUVs, or vans for use as temporary living quarters for recreational travel, such as conventional travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding camper trailers, and truck campers under the Winnebago and Grand Design brand names. The company also offers motorhomes, which are self-propelled mobile dwellings used primarily as temporary living quarters during vacation and camping trips, or to support active and mobile lifestyles under the Winnebago and Newmar brand names. In addition, it offers other specialty commercial vehicles for law enforcement command centers, mobile medical clinics, and mobile office spaces; commercial vehicles as bare shells to third-party up fitters; and boats in the recreational powerboat industry under the Chris-Craft and Barletta brand names. Further, the company is involved in the original equipment manufacturing of parts for other manufacturers and commercial vehicles. The company sells its products primarily through independent dealers in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Winnebago Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1958 and is based in Forest City, Iowa.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. engages in designing, building, overhauling, and repairing military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding, and Technical Solutions. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. It also provides nuclear-powered ships, such as aircraft carriers and submarines, as well as refueling and overhaul, and inactivation services of ships. In addition, the company offers naval nuclear support services, including fleet services comprising design, construction, maintenance, and disposal activities for in-service the U.S. Navy nuclear ships; and maintenance services on nuclear reactor prototypes. Further, it provides life-cycle sustainment services to the U.S. Navy fleet and other maritime customers; high-end information technology and mission-based solutions for Department of Defense (DoD), intelligence, and federal civilian customers; nuclear management and operations and environmental management services for the Department of Energy, DoD, state and local governments, and private sector companies; defense and federal solutions; and unmanned systems. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia.
BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
OPKO Health, Inc., a healthcare company, engages in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and internationally. The company's Diagnostics segment operates BioReference Laboratories that offers laboratory testing services for the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of diseases, including esoteric testing, molecular diagnostics, anatomical pathology, genetics, women's health, and correctional healthcare to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, employers and governmental units; and a novel diagnostic instrument system to provide blood test results in the point-of-care setting, as well as 4Kscore prostate cancer testing services. Its Pharmaceutical segment offers Rayaldee to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in adults with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease, and vitamin D insufficiency; OPK88004, an orally administered selective androgen receptor modulator; OPK88003, a once-weekly administered peptide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and associated obesity that is in Phase IIb trials; and hGH-CTP, a once-weekly human growth hormone injection that completed Phase III clinical trial in partnership with Pfizer, Inc. This segment develops and commercializes longer-acting proprietary versions of already approved therapeutic proteins. The company also offers specialty APIs; develops, manufactures, markets, and sells pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, veterinary, and ophthalmic products; commercializes food supplements and over the counter products; manufactures and sells products primarily in the generics market; and imports, markets, distributes, and sells pharmaceutical products in a range of indications, including cardiovascular products, vaccines, antibiotics, gastro-intestinal products, hormones, and others. In addition, it operates pharmaceutical platforms in Ireland, Chile, Spain, and Mexico. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides technical, professional, and construction services. The company's Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear segment offers scientific, engineering, construction, nuclear, environmental, and technical support services to the aerospace, defense, technical, and automotive industries. Its Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities segment develops/rehabilitates plans for highways, bridges, transit, tunnels, airports, railroads, intermodal facilities, and maritime or port projects; develops or rehabilitates critical water resource systems, water/wastewater conveyance systems, and flood defense projects; and provides engineering design, construction management, design build, and operations and maintenance. This segment also designs and constructs buildings; offers consulting, engineering, procurement, construction management, and delivery services for life sciences clients; and provides services relating to modular construction and other consulting and strategic planning services, as well as offers services in containment, barrier technology, locally controlled environments, building systems automation, off-the-site design, and fabrication of facility modules. The company's Energy, Chemicals and Resources segment offers services relating to onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, processing facilities, gathering systems, and transmission pipelines and terminals; feasibility/economic studies, technology evaluation, conceptual engineering, front end loading, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and commissioning services; and engineering, procurement, and construction solutions. This segment also provides services, such as manufacturing complex, expansions, modifications, and management of plant relocations; construction management and field construction services; and services to operate and maintain facilities. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Robert Half International Inc. provides staffing and risk consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Temporary and Consultant Staffing, Permanent Placement Staffing, and Risk Consulting and Internal Audit Services. It places temporary services for accounting, finance, and bookkeeping; temporary and full-time office and administrative personnel consisting of executive and administrative assistants, receptionists, and customer service representatives; full-time accounting, financial, tax, and accounting operations personnel; and information technology contract professionals and full-time employees in the areas of platform systems integration to end-user technical and desktop support, including specialists in application development, networking and cloud, systems integration and deployment, database design and administration, and security and business continuity. The company also offers temporary and full-time employees in attorney, paralegal, legal administrative, and legal secretarial positions; and senior-level project professionals in the accounting and finance fields for financial systems conversions, expansion into new markets, business process re-engineering, business systems performance improvement, and post-merger financial consolidation. It is involved in serving professionals in the areas of creative, design, marketing, advertising, and public relations; and placing various positions, such as creative directors, graphics designers, web designers, media buyers, front end developers, copywriters, digital marketing managers, marketing analytics specialists, brand managers, and public relations specialists. The company provides internal audit, technology consulting, risk and compliance consulting, and business performance services. It serves clients and employment candidates. Robert Half International Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
Rogoff: China is the biggest threat to the global economy right now

A slowdown in China is the greatest threat to the global economy, Kenneth Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard University, told the BBC in an interview published on Monday.



"I think the economy is slowing down much more than the official figures show," Rogoff, who is a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , told the U.K. broadcaster. He added that China is going through a "big political revolution," hinting at Beijing's high-profile campaign to tackle corruption and transition its economy to being more consumer led.

"If you want to look at a part of the world that has a debt problem, look at China. They've seen credit fueled growth and these things don't go on forever," he said.

China, the biggest economic story of the last 30 years, has soured in the eyes of many analysts, with a stock market crash that began in the country last summer highlighting the difficulties facing Chinese lawmakers. Billionaire financier George Soros has warned several times on the country, stating that China's debt-fueled growth bears an "eerie resemblance" to the conditions leading up to the 2008 financial crash.

After years of triple-digit growth, the economy is slowing and the IMF expects China's GDP (gross domestic product) to grow by 6.6 percent this year. Rogoff said the country's economy was having a "pretty sharp landing already," adding that he was worried about China becoming "more of a problem."



"We've taken it for granted that whatever Europe's doing, Japan's doing - at least China's moving along and there isn't really a substitute for China," he told the BBC.

"I think India may come along some day but it's fallen so far behind in size it's not going to compensate."

Read the full interview on the BBC's website here.





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VIMS collaborates with federal partners to study algal blooms

Satellite view of algal bloom Chlorophyll in the lower York River on Aug. 29, 2016, as indicated by the ESA Sentinel-2a satellite sensor. This false color image is a band ratio of 705 nm near-infrared reflectance to 665 nm red reflectance. In this blue-to-red display, blue represents water relatively clear of chlorophyll while red indicates higher chlorophyll content. Copernicus Sentinel data (2016)/ESA

York River bloom View of algal bloom on Aug. 5, 2016, looking southwest toward Yorktown Naval Weapons Station Photo by W. Vogelbein/VIMS

Mainstem bloom patches Massive bloom patches are visible on Sept. 12, 2016, looking westward from Virginia's bayside Eastern Shore. Bloom bands were evident nearshore all the way south to Cape Charles. Photo by W. Vogelbein/VIMS Photo - of - Hide Caption

Algal blooms, which peak in lower Chesapeake Bay in mid- to late summer each year, are notoriously challenging to study. A partnership between William & Marys Virginia Institute of Marine Science and both NASA and NOAA is now addressing that challenge, using the latest in satellite technology to better track where the rapidly shifting blooms might be on a given day.

Satellite images really help direct our sampling efforts, says VIMS Professor Kimberly Reece. Otherwise, you can chase your tail around trying to figure out whats going on where. With reports of this years Bay blooms ranging from near the Maryland border to Cape Charles on Virginias Eastern Shore, any help in pinpointing their location can be of great benefit.

In addition to their fluidity  algal blooms tend to occur in patches and tendrils that shift with tides, winds, and currents  they also challenge researchers with their changing mix of algal species. Only some of these  and only under certain conditions  produce the toxins that can transform an otherwise benign aggregation into what scientists call a harmful algal bloom or HAB. HAB toxins can harm both marine organisms and human health.

After years of relying on water-level sightings of Bay algae  the most common local species stain the water a rusty red  scientists at VIMS have in recent years been lifting their gaze, first using aerial photography and now reaching even higher to get a space-based view of bloom events.

Developing a collaboration

The NASA collaboration began last summer, when the DEVELOP Program, headquartered at NASA Langley, partnered with Reece, fellow VIMS professor Wolfgang Vogelbein, colleagues at Old Dominion University and officials in Virginias Department of Environmental Quality and Office of the Secretary of Natural Resources.

Kenton Ross, national science advisor for DEVELOP, says the goal of the program is to showcase how NASA investment in earth observations can be used for societal benefit. He adds, We find that our 10-week projects are a great way to expose institutional partners to NASAs information products and sensors, and how those can assist them in some of the work they do.

Serendipitous spectra

In summer 2015, program participants explored how data from U.S. satellites could be used to help monitor HABs in real-time, document associated water-quality conditions, and predict future blooms.

{{youtube:small:right|O13jxUt3JpI, Video from the NASA DEVELOP Program describes the 2015 collaboration.}}

They initially focused on data from NASAs Aqua and Terra satellites, which sample Chesapeake Bay on a daily basis and in wavelengths that capture the chlorophyll signature used to identify algal growth. They also examined data from Landsat, a satellite developed, launched, and operated by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat doesnt sample the wavelengths ideal for detecting algae in coastal waters, and only passes over the bay every 16 days. But it can yield indications of algal blooms, and offers data of greater resolution, with 250-meter pixels compared to 1-kilometer pixels for the MODIS sensor on the Aqua and Terra satellites.

Reece continues to rely on MODIS data for tracking bloom activity in the open waters of Chesapeake Bay, where its relatively coarse resolution is of lesser concern. The MODIS is really helpful for the mainstem, she says. Our colleagues at NOAA, Rick Stumpf and Shelly Tomlinson, are able to process and send us daily MODIS images that show theres been a very persistent bloom patch right out in the middle of the Bay for the last few weeks.

But the real breakthrough in the NASA project came from an unexpected direction, when toward the end of the summer a team from NASA Goddard flew an airplane equipped with a hyperspectral sensor over the lower bay. As the name implies, this sensor records wavelengths at very fine intervals across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from infrared through visible light to ultraviolet.

Says Ross, We happened to get hyperspectral imagery from the lower York River during a dense Alexandrium bloom, and we saw a big response, a strong peak in the region from 705-710 nanometers. Alexandrium monilatum is one of the two main species of algae implicated in recent Bay blooms, and is known to release toxins harmful to other marine life, particularly larval shellfish and finfish.

Ross says that discovery of this spectral peak was an insight that we were just beginning to understand as the 2015 project was wrapping up. But fast forward to this year  when Ross saw aerial photos of another Alexandrium bloom that Vogelbein had shared with project partners  and a light bulb went off in his head.

On August 29th, Wolfgang put out a set of aerial photos of bloom activity in the lower York and adjacent areas," says Ross. "I recalled what we had done the year before, and was aware of a new European sensor that might give Kim and her group some insight.

That sensor flies aboard the Sentinel-2a satellite launched in June 2015 by the European Space Agency. Ross says, It just happens to sample in the specific set of 700-nanometer wavelengths that our work last year had shown was really important for seeing chlorophyll in water. The sensor also samples in very high-resolution, with image pixels as small as 10-meters square.

The Sentinel imagery is really helpful, says Reece. The resolution is much higher, which gives us the ability to look into the rivers  the York, the Rappahannock, and the James. With the higher resolution you get a much clearer, cleaner picture. Its dramatically different.

The MODIS sensor  with its coarser, 1-kilometer resolution  remains a mainstay for the bays open waters, as the advantage of its daily return interval outweighs its lack of detailed imagery.

Future plans

Although use of Sentinel imagery already portends better monitoring and prediction of algal blooms in the Chesapeake and other coastal waters, the researchers believe the future holds even greater promise.

For instance, a current drawback of the Sentinel-2a is its lengthy return time of 10 days. But, says Ross, the planned launched of a sister satellite could halve that to every four to five days. The launch of Sentinel-2b is scheduled for 2017.

Researchers at NASA and VIMS are also excited about the potential for deploying chlorophyll-sensitive sensors aboard unmanned aerial vehicles. Hyperspectral sensors are fully capable of being miniaturized, says Ross. When you think of getting the short, daily return times that the Commonwealth and VIMS would like [for monitoring blooms], a drone with the right spectral bands would be just the ticket.

One advance that Reece would particularly like to see is a sensor with the capability to identify and distinguish between different algal species. Wed really like to be able to distinguish blooms of Cochlodinium from blooms of Alexandrium, she says, so we could see when its doing that transition. In recent years, algal activity in lower Chesapeake Bay has typically begun with a bloom of Cochlodinium polykrikoides in mid- to late-July, followed two to three weeks later by blooms dominated by A. monilatum.

Ross says Species differentiation is a future research project that will take more work, and seems excited to continue collaborating toward that and other goals with Reece, Vogelbein, and other marine scientists.

I foresee the partnership going forward in an informal way, says Ross. Were scientific neighbors and we love to collaborate. Reece agrees. I think its been a very productive, interdisciplinary partnership  an integration of a lot of different people with different expertise and different tools all trying to get at a very complex question.
UK site investigations nearing completion

26 September 2016

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Extensive geotechnical and geophysical site characterization at the Moorside site in West Cumbria, UK, will be mostly complete by the end of the year, according to geotechnical survey specialists Fugro. The campaign has included onshore and offshore geological investigations.

Onshore seismic investigations for the Moorside project (Image: Fugro)



The survey work is being carried out to facilitate NuGeneration's (NuGen's) proposed construction of a new nuclear power plant at Moorside, near the Sellafield site. Including both marine surveys and onshore drilling, it is one of the largest UK site investigations to be let as a single package, according to Fugro.

Onshore and offshore characterization work has involved geotechnical, hydrological, topographical, geophysical and geo-environmental data acquisition with the aim of providing sufficient geological and geotechnical information to inform the detailed design of foundations and ancillary structures and to determine tunnel alignments. The data gathered from the surveys will also be used to support licensing, planning applications and other consents for the planned power station.

Five vessels have taken part in marine surveys that began in December 2015 and have included bathymetric surveys, borehole studies and seismic surveys.

The onshore drilling program has involved the drilling of 300 boreholes at depths of up to 220 metres to gather hydrogeological data, extract rock samples and carry out seismic studies.

Data from the land-based and marine studies will be used to provide a continuous "land-to-sea" profile to inform the infrastructure design and construction process. The land-based site characterization will be supplemented by drilling and groundwater monitoring to support radiological screening undertaken by Amec Foster Wheeler.

NuGen, the UK joint venture between Japan's Toshiba and France's Engie, plans to build a nuclear power plant of up to 3.8 GWe gross capacity at Moorside using Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology.

Global geotechnical, survey, subsea and geosciences company Fugro's UK geotech companies were integrated into Fugro GeoServices Ltd last year. The company's facility for over-water drilling and marine construction equipment gained Fit For Nuclear (F4N) status from the UK's Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. The F4N award shows that a technology supplier meets an appropriate manufacturing and quality management standard for nuclear work, as assessed to internationally respected criteria.

Fugro has also recently carried out marine site characterization works for Horizon Nuclear Power's proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear site on the isle of Anglesey.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Europe needs to revise nuclear strategy, says committee

26 September 2016

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A consultative body of the European Union has called for the European Commission to adopt a "more comprehensive" nuclear strategy. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says the commission should highlight nuclear energy's positive attributes.

The European Commission is mandated by the Euratom Treaty to periodically issue a new Nuclear Illustrative Program (PINC) to indicate targets and a program for nuclear production and the corresponding investment required. The Commission issued its latest PINC in April this year.

According to the EC, there are currently 129 nuclear power reactors in operation in the EU with a combined generating capacity of 120 GWe. Together they provide 27% of the bloc's electricity.

However, the Commission forecasts that there will be a decline in EU nuclear capacity up to 2025 due to ageing reactors being retired and some member states ending or reducing their reliance on nuclear energy. With new reactors starting up and lifetime extensions of existing reactors, this trend is expected to be reversed by 2030. Nuclear capacity is likely to remain between 95 and 105 GWe by 2050, when it will account for about 20% of the EU's electricity production.

Around 90% of the EU's existing reactors would be shut down by 2030 without long-term operation programs, resulting in the need to replace large amounts of capacity, the EC said.

Having reviewed the PINC, the EESC says it is calling for "substantial revisions to the communication notably to include sections on the competitiveness of nuclear power, related economic aspects, its contribution to security of supply, climate change and carbon targets, and public acceptability, liability for nuclear damages, transparency, and effective national dialogue."

The committee also suggests the Commission "takes this opportunity to propose in the PINC a clear analytical process and methodology offering a consistent, voluntary framework for nation decision-making about the role - if any - of nuclear power in the energy mix." It says priority should be given to improving national coordination between EU member states, improving cooperation between stakeholders, as well as greater transparency and public participation in nuclear issues.

"The wide variation across the EU on public attitudes to nuclear power is a little understood reality with significant effects on political acceptability," the EESC said.

"The European Commission's proposal does not offer a clear and comprehensive approach to the future of nuclear power in Europe," deplores EESC rapporteur Brian Curtis. "The recent Hinkley Point controversy shows it again: after the Fukushima catastrophe, our citizens rightly demand long-term planning for nuclear energy. Today's EESC opinion aims at re-balancing perspectives on the European energy mix which will ultimately help deliver on the Energy Union commitments."

The EESC raises a number of "major uncertainties", including the extent to which the Paris Agreement on climate change will be implemented; the volatility of the international market in fossil fuels; the rate at which new technologies will be applied; and even which countries will be in the EU. It also says it is uncertain how much influence the global economic outlook will have on the EU and how much of the investment required in the whole energy chain will be forthcoming.

The committee's recommendations will be presented by Pierre-Jean Coulon, president of its energy and transport section, to the European Nuclear Energy Forum Plenary meeting in Bratislava in early October.

Coulon said, "I will bring to the attention to Europe's decision-makers these concrete ideas from civil society, and I will insist on the vital role of public understanding of the energy 'dilemma'. Indeed, we are faced with sometimes conflicting objectives of energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability. But we have to embrace these aspects to shape a solid energy policy equipped to face the challenges of our future. Transition means time."

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by World Nuclear News



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The number of enforcement notices served by English and Welsh local councils against regulated industrial operations fell by 27% in 2009/10, according to an environment department (DEFRA) report.

The councils also started only half as many new prosecutions as in 2008/09. Over the same period the number of regulated sites declined by only 1.5%.

In total, councils served 104 enforcement and prohibition notices across the 18,765 sites in England and Wales regulated under the environmental permitting regime.

One hundred were imposed on less-complex, part B installations, down from 131 in 2008/09 (ENDS Report, January 2010). Part B installations, such as crematoria, printworks and dry cleaners, make up the bulk of all council-controlled installations.

The remaining four were served on more complex part A2 installations, down from 11 in 2008/09.

There are 381 part A2 installations, including foundries, glassworks and carcass renderers. Their more-polluting processes are subject to the EU integrated pollution prevention and control regime.

The most complex A1 installations, such as power stations, are regulated not by local authorities but by the Environment Agency.

Six industrial prosecutions were initiated by councils in 2009/10, half the number in the previous year. Four cases continued from previous years.

Five cases were concluded, netting a total of 26,000 in fines; the remainder had not been heard by the end of the financial year. The haul from 08/09 was 12,750 from five cases.

Three councils were markedly more active prosecutors than their 355 counterparts.

Leeds City Council, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council and the London Borough of Newham all had two prosecutions either concluded or pending over the period.

The largest fine, of 10,000, was imposed on renderer John Knight (ABP) Ltd in June 2009, for two breaches of its environmental permit (ENDS Report. July 2009). Newham council had received 80 odour complaints caused by the open-air storage of animal by-products.

Leeds City Council prosecuted printers Team Impressions Ltd for operating without a permit. It was fined 6,000. Another Leeds firm, since dissolved, was fined 5,000 for not complying with permit conditions, but the council was unable to provide further details.

Ethos Recycling was fined 4,500 on 8 September 2009 for failing to comply with an information notice and operating an unpermitted cement batching plant, following a London Borough of Barking and Dagenham prosecution (ENDS Report, December 2009). Costs were 6,598.

Lastly, Canvey Dry Cleaners, of Canvey Island, Kent, was fined 500 on 11 January 2010 for exceeding solvent emissions limits in its permit.

There is no obvious explanation for the sharp decline in the number of legal proceedings started and notices imposed. The report, published late last year, offers no explanation.

The sharp reduction could be due to random variation. But councils could be receiving poorer intelligence as the number of inspections they undertake continues to decline. Average inspection rates have declined steadily since the 2003 introduction of risk-based regulation (ENDS Report, February 2003). Environment Agency inspections have taken a similar course (ENDS Report, May 2010).

Excluding reduced-fee activities, namely waste oil burners, service stations, dry cleaners and vehicle refinishers, part B inspection rates fell to 1.36 per installation in 2009/10 from 1.5 the previous year.

DEFRA and Welsh Assembly guidance requires high-risk installations to receive two full inspections and one check inspection annually, with medium-risk plants having one of each. The required frequency for low-risk plants depends on their type.

But councils appear to be paying little heed to the guidance. For high-risk part B installations, 29% received fewer inspections than required, and 10% received too many. For the same group of plants, 40% received too few checks, and 16% too many.

Patterns for medium-risk plants were broadly similar. A2 inspections were also off-course.

Only 3.5% of all Part B installations have not yet been risk-assessed.

Nevertheless, the report shows that environmental risk among standard part B installations is continuing to decline. These exclude vehicle refinishers, mobile plant and reduced-fee activities.

The proportion deemed low-risk is now 68%, up from 59.3% in 2005/06. Those deemed to be medium-risk dropped from 36.3% that year to 28.6% in 2009/10. But at 3.4%, the proportion deemed high-risk has remained fairly stable.

The A2 inspection rate varied widely by industry: food industry sites received an average of 20 inspections, incinerators only 1.7.

The number of applications for part B processes and the number determined were both around 700, up a little on 2008/09.

But at 786, rather more were revoked, as businesses closed due to the recession. Many were service stations, continuing a long-standing trend that began before the economic downturn.

There were only eight A2 applications made in 2009/10, continuing another long-term decline.

Within four months of seeking a permit, 82% of part B applications had been decided upon. Due to their complexity, A2 applications took longer: 58% were decided within six months.
Historical Context



In 1991, after the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, it splintered into several republics gaining independence one after the other, one of them is Macedonia, now known as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. That new name was adopted by the newly independent Macedonia (from the breakup of Yugoslavia) after Greece opposed its entry into the EU and NATO using the name of Republic of Macedonia. Although the name dispute goes way back to World War II when, Macedonia was still a unit of Yugoslavia. Greece contends that FYR Macedonia has no right to that name because the Macedonia name originated inside Greece.

Geopolitical Context

In 1995, Greece and FYR Macedonia established diplomatic relations to resolve the naming issue. The case of the latter country was made worse when it erected statues of Alexander the Great and Philip II of ancient Greek Macedonia in their home country in the former Yugoslavia. Greece also opposed the use of the Vergina Sun symbol, related to Philip II of ancient Greek Macedonia. FYR Macedonia also adopted some aspects of ancient Greek history as their own. The long -term effect that the Greek government fears is a continuation of the claim of late President Tito of Yugoslavia about the territorial claims of Great Macedonia.

Socioeconomic Contexts

Northern Macedonia is part of present Greece which is approximate to ancient Macedonia territory which FYR Macedonia has been hinting as a possible inclusion to a Greater Macedonia ambition. As a result of these developments in the early 1990s, Greece declared a trade embargo on FYR Macedonia to 1995. But an Interim Accord between the two countries resolved the issue of the embargo, allowing FYR Macedonia access to Greek ports. This developed into an economic relationship that made Greece its biggest investor and closest trade partner. FYR Macedonians migrated to Greece and vice-versa allowing for mutual economic gains. Despite these close ties, the naming issue remains unresolved. It has been a hindrance in FYR Macedonias ambition to the EU and NATO membership status. The Greek government seems to have given more in terms of allowances such as the waiving of visa requirements for FYR Macedonian citizens.

International Organizations Accessions

The 1995 Interim Accord signed between the two countries specifically states that Greece must not oppose or block FYR Macedonia in any of its moves to join the NATO and EU. However, Greece has made it clear that unless the naming dispute is resolved, it would continuously veto such aspirations. Any acceptable name change would have to be erga omnes, for everyone worldwide and not just for Greece. Although some see Greece as obstinate in its opposition, it has continuously provided economic stability to its neighbor with infrastructure construction and job creation. However, the dispute may only be worsened in the long term by the FYR Macedonian governments provocative reactions and position to every support that Greece applies. In the past, this has included the circulation of a new border map of the ambition of a greater Macedonia.
Saka Haphong along the Burmese border is the highest point in the low-lying nation of Bangladesh. Mountains in Bangladesh stand distinctly since almost 80% of the country sits on the low Bangladesh Plain. Most of the countrys highest peaks are located in the Chittagong Hills. The mountains have long been home to various tribes, which still inhabit around the mountains in a modern day Bangladesh. The highest points in Bangladesh by elevation are looked at below.

Saka Haphong

Saka Haphong Mountain, with an elevation of 3,451 feet, is the highest peak in Bangladesh. The peak is also known as Mowdok Taung in the local Tripura tribal language. The mountain is part of the Greater Mowdok Range. The mountain is unofficially the highest mountain in the country, as no other higher peak has yet been recorded. The mountain supports little vegetation and is home to different local communities.

Zow Tlang

Zow Tlang Mountain is the second highest mountain at an elevation of 3,353 feet. The mountain is part of the Mowdok range of the greater Chittagong Hills. The mountain is also known as Mowdok Mual in the tribal Bawm language. The mountain has been named as one of the wildest peaks in Bangladesh, with wild bears, horn-bills, and wild boars roaming the region. Vegetation in the mountain lower parts consists of dense grass that grows to between 5 and 10 feet and bamboo plants.

Dumlong

Dumlong Mountain is the third highest peak in Bangladesh, rising to 3,314 feet. The mountain is the highest point of the Rang Tlang mountain range and is situated in the Rangamati District in Chittagong. The position of the mountain as the third highest mountain in the country has recently been a cause for debate. The mountain has been termed as the second highest mountain in Bangladesh, a case strongly put forward by Md. Wadud Mohosin Rubel together with his three fellow climbers.

Keokradong

The fifth highest peak in Bangladesh, Keokradong, stands at 3,235 feet. The mountain is the most renowned of the mountains in Bangladesh, and is a popular tourist destination. The mountain is in Bandarban and has been controversially regarded as the highest peak in Bangladesh by some sources. The mountain is home to dense virgin forests that provide habitats to an abundant and diverse wildlife, mainly birds and animals. The mountain is also teeming with unique tribal life, courtesy of the various tribes that reside in the region. The mountain is credited as having set the pace for the growth of outdoor activities in Bangladesh.

Mountain Tourism and Ecology

Other high mountains in Bangladesh, and their respective elevations in feet, include Jogi Haphong at 3,251 feet, followed by Thingdawl Te Tlang (3,149 feet), Rang Tlang (3,123 feet), Kapital Peak (3,090 feet), Sippi Arguing (2,940 feet), and Kirs Taung (2,900 feet). Although there has been an increase in tourism on mountains of Bangladesh in recent years, tourism infrastructure in the nations peaks remains largely underdeveloped. The mountains have been spared of environmental degradation and continue to support flora, fauna, and community life. Increased tourism could threaten this delicate balance and policies are needed to safeguard the mountains ecosystems.

Border Disputes

Bangladesh has had territorial disputes with both India and Myanmar (Burma, and in 2011 Bangladesh and India signed a protocol referred to as the Land Boundary Agreement. This treaty called for the settlement of their long standing boundary disputes dating back to 1974.
The Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa that borders South Africa to the south, Zimbabwe to the northeast, and Namibia to the west. Botswana has a population of slightly over 2 million. Its core economic activities are mining, tourism and cattle keeping. It is a member of the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community. Botswana gained her independence from the British on September 30, 1966.

5. Description

The Okavango Delta of Botswana is a tourist destination with the Okavango Delta one of her most visited areas. The delta is formed in the area where the Okavango River flows to a tectonic trough in central Kalahari. Annually, approximately 6.8 cubic miles of water spreads over the 3700-9320 square miles. Okavango Delta has been named one of Africas seven wonders. Much of the water that flows into the delta is lost through transpiration and evaporation. With only 2% of the water flowing out of the Delta to Lake Ngami, minerals deposits accumulate resulting in high salinity.

4. Historical Role

The Okavango Delta has largely influenced the ecosystem. Wildlife and plants depend directly on the Delta and water. The delta is also home to crocodiles, fish, birds, and amphibians. With the Kalahari desert covering much of Botswana, the Delta acts as an oasis and a barrier to the spread of the desert. Five ethnic groups directly depend on the Delta including the famous Bushmen. The ethnic groups view the Delta as their ancestral home. The Batawana, one of the ethnic groups, depend on the Delta for their livestock and have lived in the swamps since the 19th century.

3. Tourism and International Renown

The Okavango desert is on of Africas wonder. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. It is the third largest inland delta in Africa behind the Sudd and Inner Niger Delta. Due to its diversified ecosystem, tens of documentaries about the documentary have been made. The wildlife in the Delta attract thousands of tourist to the region. The Delta is home to more than 400 species of birds and is a preferred place for bird watchers. Elephants and buffalo numbering to their thousands make trips to the Delta every year.

2. Habitat and Biodiversity

The Okavango Delta has green vegetation and experiences annual rainfall of 450mm. It is home to wildlife that depends on the water and the vegetation in the Delta. The African elephant makes migrate to the delta from the Gumare park in search of greener pasture. It is home to more than 71 species of birds including various species of the catfish. The lechwe antelope make up the largest population of mammals in the Delta. Their number near 60, 000, the antelopes feed on aquatic plants. The papyrus rafts and reeds cover a large area of the As the delta floor is sandy, the two species of plants float on the water and provide shelter for hundreds of crocodiles.

1. Environmental Threats and Conservation Efforts

The Okavango Swamp in the Delta is home to thousands of species of animals, insects, and plants that depends on the water and the climate around the delta for survival. These species are under threat as the government plans to build a hydropower station in River Okavango. The construction of the hydropower station will regulate the water flow to the Delta. The Delta is also threatened by human encroachment and the plans by Angola and Namibia to use water from the tributaries of the Okavango river for irrigation.
Lucky the two headed cow with its owners

By: Chan Yuan

(Scroll down for video) A farmer in Kentucky, said he named a cow with two heads aLucky,a since it is rare for such an animal to be born alive.

Stan McCubbin of Taylor County, was walking on his farm on Friday, when he thought he was the lucky owner of two new cows.

When he went to get a closer look on the cows in his farm on Spurlington Road, he realized that it was really one cow with two heads.

McCubbin revealed that the cow suffers from multiple health problems. The cows middle two eyes are unable to stay shut and it has a problem walking straight.

The cow can get up on its own, but when it starts walking in circles, it quickly falls over. Area residents have been coming to the farm in order to come up and close with the rare cow.

5-year-old Kenley McCubbin, who is the cowas proud owner, declared that she loves the new animal despite her two heads, the childas mother Brandy said.
Wrexham to Host First North Wales Annual Autism Conference

This article is old - Published: Monday, Sep 26th, 2016

A unique event which will bring together educators, researchers and specialists working in the field of autism, will take place in Wrexham next month.

The first North Wales Annual Autism Conference is an opportunity for individuals with an Autism Spectrum Condition, families and professionals to network and access credible information from educators, researchers and specialists working in the field of autism.

The conference, which will take place at Wrexham Glyndwr University, has been organised and planned by Angie Atherton, from AA Autism Support, which provides an autism-specific childcare service for families in north east Wales.

Angie was inspired to launch the event as she has family and friends with Autism Spectrum Conditions.

She said: This is an opportunity to hear professionals and specialists share their knowledge, experiences, research and methods of good practice about how we can all work in partnership to reduce the barriers within education, employment, healthcare and in the wider community.

This will enable individuals to progress in every area and therefore improve self-esteem, confidence and develop opportunities for everyone to feel valued, understood and included in society.

Angie has been supported by Willow Holloway, founder of the Autistic Womans Empowerment (AWE) Project, a user-led peer support network for Autistic and Neuro-Divergent women and girls around the UK.

The conference will include speakers Dr Luke Beardon, senior lecturer at The Autism Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, who has worked in the field of autism in various capacities ranging from practitioner, researcher, and consultant in many specialist areas of autism for more than 20 years.

Also presenting at the conference will be Edinburgh Festival award-winning comedian, John Williams.

Angie said: Johns unique way of telling and sharing his story about him and his amazing son, titled My Sons Not Rainman, has been performed all over the country to sell out audiences in theatres, comedy clubs, headteachers conferences, autism events, teacher training days and fund raising events.

Other presenters include local speaker Alex Lowery, autism educator and public speaker, David Reiser, highly-specialised speech and language therapist, Dr Linda Buchan, a consultant clinical psychologist at Axia ASD Ltd in Chester, speaking about Statistics from a Clinician.

Also speaking is Dr Jacqui Jackson, an autism researcher, consultant, author and parent of eight children, five with neurological shades of difference as she describes them.

Actress Helena Bonham Carter played the supermum in a film about her life, Magnificent 7.

Mark Isherwood AM, chair of the cross party autism group, will be chairing the event; NAS Cymru will be attending to give an update on the cross party autism group and autism development in the National Assembly for Wales and MP David Hanson will be attending to give an update from Westminster.

Angie added: Willow and our conference team would like to see the conference grow and develop into an annual event that individuals, families, professionals and the wider community will look forward to, and which will allow everyone to come together to access a programme of renowned specialist speakers in the field of autism.

The North Wales Annual Autism Conference will be held at the Catrin Finch Centre, Wrexham Glyndwr University on Friday, October 7 from 8.30am-5pm.

Tickets for the event can be purchased here. Alternatively you can call 01978 293494.
On Friday, former Prime Minister Alain Juppe, the favorite in the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party primaries for the 2017 presidential elections, spoke to Le Monde to declare his concern over the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hysteria dominating the election campaign. Juppe said that major candidates were inciting so much ethnic hatred that France risked sliding into civil war.

Juppe told Le Monde, We must absolutely calm down the climate that exists in France today. Simply saying the word Muslim leads to a hysteria that is totally disproportionate. He added, We must calm down the situation. If we continue the way we are going now, we are heading towards civil war. But I want civil peace.

This extraordinary remark comes after deep attacks on Muslims in France in the last two years, after terror attacks in France and Belgium by Islamist networks fighting for NATOs proxy war in Syria. Thousands of Muslim homes have been raided under the state of emergency. President Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party (PS), which imposed the state of emergency, has repeatedly invited Marine Le Pen, the leader of the neo-fascist National Front (FN), to the Elysee presidential palace. The FN is expected to easily qualify for the presidential run-off in May.

Since the Charlie Hebdo attacks of January 2015, the French people have been subjected to relentless propaganda, including from Juppes own LR party, denouncing Muslims. Thus, in one column after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Nouvel Obs commentator Jean Daniel wrote that, Yes, we are at war, and whats more it is a war of religion.

Nearly two years later, a former prime minister of France is admitting that the state of emergency has cultivated a hysterical atmosphere that brought ethnic and religious tensions to a fever pitch.

The immediate target of Juppes remarks was the provocative comments of his main rival for the LR nomination, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is building his campaign around appeals to neo-fascistic sentiment and the worship of French ethnic identity.

Last Monday, Sarkozy said: If one wants to become French, one lives as a Frenchman. We will no longer tolerate an integration that doesnt work, we will demand assimilation. In a reactionary and bizarre reference to ancient Gaul, the region of Europe encompassing most of present-day France that was first inhabited by Celtic peoples, Sarkozy declared, Once you are French, your ancestors are the Gauls.

This statement violates fundamental juridical principles that French citizenship is a legal and not an ethnic or blood relationship, and flies in the face of Frances large ethnic Arabic, African, Italian, and Portuguese populations. Sarkozys promotion of views that French identity is a blood tie echoes the conceptions of Charles Maurras of the anti-Semitic Action Francaise movement before World War II. They are in line with the views of his top advisor, Patrick Buisson, a former editor of the far-right Minute magazine who is known as a devotee of Maurras.

Juppes remarks reflect growing concern in sections of the ruling elite that, amid the deepest crisis of European and world capitalism since the 1930s, their longstanding promotion of anti-Muslim and law-and-order prejudices has taken on entirely new dimensions.

Since 2003, French bourgeois politicians of all stripes have backed bans on the veil in the public schools, or on the burqa. Such anti-Muslim campaigns were promoted not only by right-wing forces, but also by the PS and its pseudo-left allies like the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA), Lutte Ouvriere (Workers Struggle, LO), and Jean-Luc Melenchons Left Front.

Today, after nearly a decade of intense economic crisis, however, and mounting anti-Muslim sentiment after the Paris terror attacks and under the state of emergency, the level of tensions are far higher. Calls for banning the burkini or dismantling refugee camps in Calais reflect the growing emergence of politicized anti-Muslim nationalism as a key force in French bourgeois politics.

Sympathizers of the Action Francaise, which formed the key basis of the Nazi-collaborationist regime in Vichy, play increasingly visible roles as advisers and associates of the PS and the pseudo-left. In particular, Melenchon developed close ties with both Buisson and far-right journalist Eric Zemmour, whom the NPA-linked news site Mediapart also promoted.

The defense of democratic rights in France and across Europe cannot be left to any faction of this utterly corrupt and reactionary political establishment. This is a task that falls to the working class, mobilized in struggle on a socialist program.

Juppe himself was at pains to reassure Le Monde that his limited criticisms of anti-Muslim hysteria did not mean that he would not firmly crack down on Muslims and the population at large. Of course, I am aware of how serious the situation is, he said, citing Montaigne Institute polls purporting to show that over two-thirds of French Muslims accept the laws of the Republic.  but one quarter of them do not.

Juppes claim that one-quarter of French Muslimswell over one million peopleare in rebellion against Frances legal system is ludicrous. By making it, Juppe showed that he himself helps stoke law-and-order hysteria against Muslims. He went on to call for undertaking a major campaign of de-radicalization, together with the leaders of the Muslim community.

Moreover, while he expresses his reservations over anti-Muslim hysteria, Juppe has no viable alternative to propose, and he himself approves measures targeting Muslims and immigrants. While distancing himself from more outrageous anti-Muslim incidents like the expulsion of a Muslim student from school for wearing a long skirt or the banning of burkini swimwear on beaches, Juppe supported banning certain types of Muslim dress.

Juppe falsely presented such bans not as appeals to racism, but as simple police measures. He told Le Monde, On the niqab, the State Council took a position: it must be banned not for religious reasons, but because it is contrary to the need to identify all faces in any public location. [But if one accepts religious bans,] The next thing that is posed is the question of bans on veils in universities, on burkinis, or even one day on long skirts

The basic lines of Juppes police-state and austerity policies are virtually indistinguishable from those of Hollande and the PS, and there can be little doubt thatshould he be electedhe will also rely on anti-Muslim rhetoric, as Hollande did, to disorient popular opposition.

Juppe plans an escalation of law-and-order measures and a prison build-up. As he told Le Monde, I propose to create prison places for 10,000 new inmates, and to launch under the authority of the justice ministry a penitentiary police that will carry out intelligence work in the prisons and support prison guards. Finally, we need prison compounds to fight radicalization.

With Frances economy stagnating, its budget deficits are set to rise. It therefore has to implement further budget cuts to keep the deficit below the 3-percent-of-GDP limit set by the European Union. Juppe is therefore vowing to carry out deep attacks on social spending, should he come to power.

After the election, we wont be at 2.7 percent but 3.5 percent if you look at all the [current PS] governments promises, he said. From the start of my term in office, I will launch major structural reforms that have been too long delayed, like setting the pension age at 65 or deregulating the labor market. Overall, I will make 80 billion in spending cuts so we can finance 30 billion in tax cuts and 50 billion in structural reduction of the deficit.
September 26 marks the second anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students (normalistas) from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College. The students were kidnapped in the city of Iguala, Guerrero State, in the course of an armed police assault on busloads of students on the way to a Mexico City protest. Six other students were killed and 25 injured.

To this day, the Mexican governments official version is that the municipal police delivered the students to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang that then killed them and burned their bodies in a refuse dump in the neighboring town of Cocula. The ashes were then supposedly bagged and thrown into the San Juan River.

That story has been shown to be false, and is universally repudiated by the public, by the parents of the missing youth and by The Independent Group of Interdisciplinary Experts (GIEI). The GIEI, appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), an arm of the Organization of American States, presented evidence in April of complicity by the Mexican Federal Police and the Armed Forces in the disappearance of the 43 students.

Throughout these two years, the Mexican government interfered with the work of the GIEI and blocked all serious leads, particularly on the role of Mexican military and Federal Police.

It has become an open secret that on the night of the attack, the 27th Infantry Battalion, stationed in Iguala, was at the scene; and that it shielded the Federal Police and other attackers and refused to help the survivors, following the kidnapping of their comrades.

The indifference of the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto to the Iguala kidnappings and its contempt toward the demands of the parents of the missing normalistas was made very clear two weeks ago when Tomas Zeron de Lucio, author of the discredited definitive report on the fate of the 43 students (it was presented as the historical truth) was fired from the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC).

While the parents group had long demanded the firing, accusing Zeron of obstructing justice, within hours of his removal he was named Technical Secretary of the National Security Council, a cabinet level appointment. Relatives of the victims and their supporters denounced the governments action as a cruel mockery and a guarantee of impunity for the government gangsters.

Zeron had been fired from the AIC only a day after the publication in Science magazine of a report on an experiment from the University of Queensland, Australia, simulating the incineration of the disappeared students, that proves beyond a doubt that the government story is impossible, confirming strong suspicions raised by the GIEI in 2015.

Mario Gonzales, whose son Mario Cesar Gonzalez is one of the disappeared, stated that, while the parents have no personal vendetta against Zeron, they always saw him as an example of the corrupt officials who invented the historical lie and hid and falsified evidence. His new appointment makes a mockery, not just of the parents of the 43, but of the entire Mexican people, declared Gonzales. The parents are sad and angry. Clearly we face a corrupt, fascist and incompetent State  [the parents] demand to know whom the government are protecting by hiding the truth, and demand that, for the first time ever, the government provide justice.

Other parents accused Pena Nieto of creating a wall of impunity around Zeron by keeping him in the cabinet. Among the evidence uncovered by the GIEI, are videos and photos of Zeron planting and hiding evidence and carrying out fraudulent interrogations as far back as October 28, 2014, thirty-two days after the Iguala kidnappings. Zeron constructed the official story mentioned above, that the cadavers of the 43 normalistas had been incinerated in a Cocula garbage dump, that the ashes had been deposited in garbage bags, and that the garbage bags had been dumped in the San Juan River.

Not only have those allegations been proven to be absolutely false, but also Zerons hands are stained with blood. In addition to his manipulation of evidence, there is evidence that he met near the San Juan River with Agustin Garcia Reyes, a known member of the Guerreros Unidos criminal gang allegedly involved in the September 26 kidnappings. Also, Chilean musician and academic Maxwell Ilabarca accused Zeron of torturing him in November 2014 to extract a false confession from him of terrorism and anarchism.

The Department of Government (Segob) cynically justified Zerons new appointment: Zeron Lucios appointment is a recognition of his past activity, of his experience and capacity.

A brief opinion article by journalist Jose Gil Olmos appearing in last weeks edition of Mexico Citys left-leaning Proceso magazine comments that, while the Ayotzinapa missing are the most iconic among thousands of other victims produced by a decades-long war (Gil Olmos coins the phrase guerra negra, black war, to distinguish it from the guerra sucia, or dirty war of the 1970s against left wing students and peasant guerrillas), there have been thousands of bodies, executed, mutilated, tortured, incinerated, dissolved in acid, or hung along the roads. The targets of this on-going war, according to Gil, are the leaders of social movements, and its purpose to create a state of permanent terror against peasants and workers.

A decade since it began, during the administration of President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012), this black war has yielded 80,000 dead and 30,000 disappeared, while entire communities have been internally displaced. Mexico now takes on the character of a police state ruled by an unholy alliance of government officials, security agencies, the armed forces and criminal gangs, in the interest of big business, the Mexican landed and financial aristocracies, and Washington.

Along with the increasing militarization of the Mexican State, since 2012, there has been an acceleration of cross border ties between the US and Mexican militaries, training of Mexican troops, and arms sales. The Mexican governments close military ties with the Obama administration and US armed forces are reflected in the increasing expenditures by the Pena Nieto administration on weapons purchasing and manufacturing. Since the turn of the century, and despite ups and downs, US military sales to Mexico have shot up from less than $50 million to $1.2 billion in 2015. These purchases include helicopters, airplanes, military vehicles and high technology rapid-fire machine guns.

The group of parents of the 43 has repeatedly denounced the enormous militarization reflected in the purchase of billions of dollars in arms and equipment by Mexico and the criminal willingness of the Obama administration to brush off Mexican human rights violations.

Since the September 26 kidnapping of the 43 students, Obama and Pena Nieto have met several times, avoiding any mention of the disappeared normalistas.

Mirroring the increasing military expenditures are draconian cuts in government social spending, most notably in education. On Sunday September 18, the Mexico City daily La Jornada reported that the 2017 budget currently being discussed by the Mexican Congress includes a 71.8 percent cut in resources, equipment and improvements for public schools, as well as for teacher training.

The cuts will impact 19 out of 23 education programs for children and teenagers, some of them associated with the controversial education reform that the government has been fighting to implement against the resistance of dissident teachers in southern and central Mexico.

The part of the education budget having to do with improvements in buildings and in quality education projects will be reduced from 7.7 billion pesos this year to 2.4 billion pesos. Teacher training will be slashed from 2.65 to 1.65 billion. So-called education equity programs, school quality and book subsidies are to be slashed 50 percent, 41 percent, and 35 percent respectively, from 2016 levels.

While the Pena Nieto administration has touted the education reform law as its most important structural reform in his six-year term, the cuts in education demonstrate that it is in reality an attack on Mexican teachers, on the system of rural schools that came out of the Mexican Revolution, and its replacement by a class-based education system at the service of big business.

The group representing the parents of the 43 Ayotzinapa students has called for protest demonstrations across Mexico and around the world to mark the anniversary of their disappearance.
Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate Jerry White and vice presidential candidate Niles Niemuth will appear on the Louisiana presidential ballot. This accomplishment followed efforts of SEP members in Louisiana, who traveled throughout the states six congressional districts to get the required electors.

The SEP is not attempting to get on the ballot in other states, most of which have enormous hurdlesoften tens of thousands of signaturesfor independent candidates even to appear on the ballot. In many states, the SEP candidates will have official write-in status, though some states (often those with the most onerous ballot access laws) do not even allow write-in candidates.

Workers throughout Louisiana spoke to SEP campaigners about social conditions and voiced their dissatisfaction with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Randy, a foreman at a carpentry studio, expressed fear about a Trump presidency coupled with reluctant support for Clinton, but he readily agreed to be the SEPs elector for Baton Rouge.

Reporters encountered more dismay when they visited the Triple S Foodmart in North Baton Rouge, where Alton Sterling was brutally murdered by Baton Rouge police in July. Students from north Louisiana had traveled to the store in remembrance of Sterling and were eager to discuss their outrage about the epidemic of police violence and state repression. Most of them were deeply concerned with racism, though many were open to the SEPs opposition to racial politics and its call for the unification of all sections of the working class.

At the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, the SEP met with a young, unemployed man named Brock, who recounted his experiences in the protests after Sterlings death. He expressed alarm at the militarization of police and their violent attacks against peaceful protesters. He signed on as an elector for the SEP in District 3.

From Lafayette, SEP campaigners traveled to Alexandria, where they spoke with doctors and patients about the 2014 closure of the Huey P. Long Hospital, which had been Alexandrias only charity hospital. They also visited Incarnate Word Clinic, which operates from a small, crowded building where the poor and uninsured seek medical care. One of the patients, who, at over 60 years of age works as a painter, had recently injured himself at work. He described the difficulty he and other workers face seeking medical care since the closure of the charity hospital. He stated that the same issues were common to everyone he knew.

Reporters found Incarnate Word crowded, understaffed and underfunded. Patients reported that they are often forced to visit several different sites to access care, whereas previously they could receive most of the care they needed at the hospital.

Students at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston discussed their disillusionment with presidential politics, particularly after the end of Bernie Sanders campaign and his endorsement of Clinton.

A Louisiana Tech anesthesiology student named Dalton spoke about his anger over Sanders support for Clinton, and about the difficulty young people have finding employment. He said he opposed US-backed wars and asserted the need for people to unify across race, gender and nationality.

In Shreveport, the SEP met with Allen, a retired lawyer who became interested in Marxism after reading about surplus value. He spoke of the need to directly address workers and tell them the truth. He agreed to sign up as the SEPs delegate in Shreveport.

As the SEP completed its ballot access work in Louisiana, the state was deluged by historic floods. Thirteen people were killed and over 20,000 were rescued from flooded homes. Over 106,000 households registered for FEMA disaster assistance. The state has still not completely recovered from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, which inundated New Orleans and other parts of coastal Louisiana in 2005.

The states flood abatement infrastructure is grossly inadequate to protect against predictable floods. This is exacerbated by the tolls exacted upon the coast of the state by successive oil spills. Three separate spills occurred over 10 days between July and August, adding to the damage done by the catastrophic 2010 BP/Deepwater Horizon spill.

The SEPs ballot access victory stands out against a backdrop of increasing pressures on Louisianas working class. Police brutality and repression, environmental damage inflicted with impunity by oil companies, decreasing access to health care, inadequate infrastructure and lethargic disaster responses have pushed Louisiana workers away from the bourgeois political establishment.

The ever-growing threat of world war has also impressed itself upon Louisiana workers. The SEPs elector in District 2, a student named Larry, stated: I decided to sign up as an elector in order to put the SEP on the ballot as a means of introducing people to the idea that there is an alternative to the capitalist system, growing poverty, misery and a stifling lack of freedom.

Daniel, the SEPs elector for District 1, said, By offering up our own socialist candidates we begin to draw people towards a conscious rejection of imperialist slaughter, austerity and the hypocritical methods of the ruling elite. People are desperate for a way out of the current morass. Only the clarity of the Socialist Equality Partys program can provide the means for the overthrow of the entire system.
In an effort to quell ongoing unrest, officials in Charlotte, North Carolina released multiple videos Saturday that show portions of Keith Scotts fatal encounter with police officers on September 20.

The fierce protests that erupted over Scotts death were met by an immediate official state of emergency, the imposition of a curfew, and the activation of the National Guard. Protests continued for the sixth day on Sunday. On Saturday, hundreds demonstrated in front of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department headquarters in defiance of the midnight curfew. Heavily armed police units also prevented protesters from blocking traffic on a nearby freeway.

The Charlotte police originally refused to release videos of the Scott shooting on the grounds that it would only incite more anger. Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney directly opposed the release of the videos: It will inflame the situation and make it even worse. It will exacerbate the backlash. It will increase the distrust. In other words, the more criminal the behavior of the state and its agents, the more reason for those crimes to be kept secret.

After angry protests continued unabated throughout the week, the Charlotte officials reversed themselves and released the videos Saturday. In one video, taken from a dashcam, Scott is shown calmly walking backwards. His arms are at his sides. His demeanor is not threatening or aggressive, and he appears to be listening to and complying with the officers commands. It clearly shows that nothing is in his right hand, though it is not clear if anything is in his left hand (Scott was right-handed).

Video of the shooting of Keith Scott

Another video, taken from a body camera, provides a shaky perspective of another officer present at the shooting, but with the audio preceding the shooting missing. Scott is mostly not visible in this video, except for one glimpse where his right hand is empty and relaxed at his side. Before cutting off, the video shows Scott being handcuffed as he lies on the ground moaning, while an officer asks for a bag from the back of his car.

Before the videos were released, Putney had claimed that they showed Scott had something in the hand and that he pointed it at an officer. The video, however, shows nothing of the sort.

It does not make sense to us how this incident resulted in the loss of life...and its not clear in the videos that were released, Ray Dotch, Scotts brother-in-law, said in a statement.

Only part of the video evidence has been released, but police also released a photo purporting to show a gun by the feet of Scotts corpse. However, in cellphone video taken by Rakeyia Scott, Keith Scotts wife, no object appears in that area, leading to questions as to whether the police tampered with or planted evidence. While her view is partially obstructed by nearby vehicles, her voice can clearly be heard begging the police not to kill her husband.

Dont shoot him. Dont shoot him. He has no weapon. He has no weapon. Dont shoot him. He didnt do anything, Rakeyia Scott tells the officers. He doesnt have a gun. He has a TBI [traumatic brain injury]. Hes not going to do anything to you guys. He just took his medicine. After a sudden burst of four gunshots can be heard, she screams, Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him?

A witness who saw the shooting, Taheshia Williams, told reporters that Scott was complying with the officers instructions. Obviously, complying still gets you murdered, she said, because thats what happened. Williams also heard Scotts last words, which were, What is the problem? What did I do? Whats wrong?

Another video has surfaced on Facebook of Scotts daughter staggering hysterically around the area of the shooting, screaming, My daddy is dead! On that video, police can be seen swarming the streets while local residents angrily confront them.

The Charlotte demonstrations, developing spontaneously and fueled by mass popular anger over social inequality and the ongoing epidemic of police brutality, provide some indication of the explosive tensions in America. Hundreds of youth blocked local roads on the night of the shooting, facing down phalanxes of heavily armed riot police who fired tear gas grenades into the crowds and charged, tackled and handcuffed demonstrators.

Justin Carr, 26, was killed during the protests. During a chaotic melee with riot police, Carr was discovered with a gunshot wound to his head. Minister Steve Knight of Mission Gathering Christian Church in Charlotte declared via Twitter that Carr was killed by the police: It was an ambush. The victim was shot while he stood between two ministers, and we believe he was shot by police. The authorities, meanwhile, have charged Rayquan Borum, 21, with his murder, and the motive is unclear. Carrs mother told reporters Friday that her son died for a cause.

By now, the American population has had a long experience with police departments providing utterly fictional accounts of shootings that take place, only to shamelessly revise their stories later after video evidence contradicts the original story.

The police also routinely plant or tamper with evidence at the scenes of shootings. On September 22, St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was charged with murder after a video emerged showing him executing Anthony Lamar Smith with an AK-47 and then planting a gun on him. A dashcam recorded Stockley during the pursuit boasting, Im going to kill this motherf-----! Dont you know it!

The official media accounts have presented Keith Scotts death in purely racial terms, while presenting police brutality as a merely a pattern of crimes perpetrated by white police officers against unarmed black men. While racism is indisputably a factor in many police shootings, Brentley Vinson, the police officer who shot Keith Scott, together with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief, who opposed the release of the videos, are black.

According to the web site killedbypolice.net, police have killed 849 people so far in the year 2016. In the five days since the death of Keith Scott, who was number 840, nine more people have been killed. Data aggregated and analyzed by the Washington Post reveals that black men represent about a quarter of the total number of deaths, while white victims account for approximately half.

Both widely despised presidential candidates for the 2016 US elections, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, have sought to exploit the events in Charlotte for their own ends.

Trump, who presents himself as the law and order candidate, addressed his sympathies to the police. Hopefully the violence & unrest in Charlotte will come to an immediate end, Trump tweeted. To those injured, get well soon. We need unity & leadership.

Hillary Clinton, for her part, attempted to adapt herself to the enormous popular anger over police brutality. Charlotte should release police video of the Keith Lamont Scott shooting without delay, she tweeted on Friday, We must ensure justice & work to bridge divides. H This missive was issued after three days of protests, and only the day before the Charlotte authorities released the videos.

Notwithstanding Clintons cynical posturing six weeks before the elections, the Obama administration consistently defended police brutality in the Supreme Court, where the administrations lawyers insisted that the police should have qualified immunity from lawsuits based on violations of civil rights, such as the use of excessive force. Throughout the eight years of the Obama administration, the epidemic of police violence and the militarization of the police continues unabated, with local police departments receiving billions of dollars in grants and military equipment.

While Charlotte authorities released two videos over the weekend, a new North Carolina law goes into effect on October 1 that will bar the release to the public of any future recordings from police body cameras or dashboard cameras. The new law has the full support of the states police organizations.
By Sarah White

MADRID (Reuters) - An EU court ruling defending the right of temporary workers in Spain to receive severance pay is fuelling calls from Spanish unions and politicians for one of Europe's most uneven labour markets to be fixed.

Spain has the European Union's second-highest unemployment rate after Greece and its labour market is more reliant on temporary contracts than any other in the bloc bar Poland.

The high jobless rate -- 20 percent of the workforce at the last count and affecting close to half of young people -- has been a blot on what has otherwise been a three-year economic recovery, nine months of which has been without a full-functioning government.

Short-term workers are cheaper to fire than permanent ones and have borne the brunt of job losses in bad times, but previous Spanish reforms have struggled to eradicate the two-tier labour system.

The European Court of Justice blew open the issue after it argued in a Sept. 14 ruling that a Spanish woman who was employed as a temporary substitute for a civil servant over seven years was entitled to the same severance pay as a permanent employee when she was let go.

Worker unions have welcomed the ruling, demanding measures to give all temporary workers equal severance rights and encouraging them to seek compensation through the courts until a reform is put forward.

"This could really blow up, you could see an avalanche of law suits," said Fabian Valero, a labour lawyer at Galicia-based firm Zeres.

Valero most recently defended nine hospital workers who successfully argued they were fraudulently hired as temporary staff on contracts that were rolled over for several years, when they should have been treated as permanent staff - another common gripe which politicians have vowed to deal with.

Legally, temporary workers have to be considered permanent after a period of two years in Spain and should only be hired for short-term projects or seasonal jobs.

But loopholes in Spain's complex labour framework, which comprises dozens of different contract types, mean many people are employed on short-term contracts when they shouldn't be, while substitute workers are governed by different rules.

Story continues

Under Spanish law, temporary workers get 12 days pay for every year worked when they are laid off, versus the 20 days for permanent employees and nothing for those on temporary substitute contracts.

GAMECHANGER?

Acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos -- holding the fort in the absence of a formal government -- said last week that the labour market could be improved, though possibly by making the hiring of permanent staff more attractive.

"In Spain the number of temporary jobs ... is excessive and that somehow needs to be corrected," de Guindos told local radio. Spain's labour ministry was studying the implications of the EU ruling, he added.

It is unclear how far-reaching the fallout will be, though the ruling cannot be appealed.

Temporary workers make up about a quarter of salaried employees in Spain, or 3.9 million people.

But any top-to-bottom labour reform likely will have to wait, as Spain has been without a new government since inconclusive elections last December and in June.

Spain's People Party (PP), which has been governing in an acting capacity, said last week it would put forward a parliamentary motion to abolish temporary substitute contracts only, of which there are some 300,000.

Other political parties have called for greater changes, including liberal Ciudadanos ("Citizens"), which advocates a one-size-fits-all contract system.

Hiring on temporary contracts has helped propel Spain's job market recovery, with unemployment falling from a peak of nearly 27 percent in 2013. But critics argue this leaves workers exposed to further crises and is fuelling an abundance of low-paid, low-skilled jobs.

(Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Angus Berwick/Jeremy Gaunt)
The parliamentary election in Croatia on September 11 failed to resolve the continuing political crisis of the youngest EU member state. The massive rejection of the entire political elite by the population was expressed in mass abstention. Only 54 percent, slightly more than half, of eligible voters took part in the election, 10 percent fewer than in the last election 10 months ago.

The nationalist conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the most votes. According to the official results, it won 61 seats, slightly more than the Social Democrats (SDP), who won 54 seats. The Most party (Bridge) achieved third place, winning 13 seats. HDZ and Most won a combined total of 151 seats, not enough to form a majority government.

The Party zivi zid (Living Wall) also achieved parliamentary representation. It won votes with its criticisms of the big parties and the raging corruption and privatizations in the big cities. Party members were recruited from the civil rights movement, and from small nominally left groups and former members of the SPD. It is pro-capitalist and calls for the Croatian Central Bank to play a larger role in order to strengthen competition.

The regional party IDS (Istrian Democratic Assembly), the party of Milan Bandicwho was mayor of Zagreb for many years and who faces an ongoing trial on charges of bribery and organized crime also made it into parliament. The fascistic HDSSB led by the war criminal Branimir Glavas also secured a seat. Eight seats went to representatives of national minorities.

Under the circumstances, building a ruling coalition is viewed as an extremely difficult task. Due to extreme tensions between HDZ and SDP, a grand coalition is unlikely, so the HDZ will need at least two coalition partners. The Most party, which was also part of the last government, is viewed as a possible coalition partner.

On the night of the election, Most head Bozo Petrov voiced his conditions for joining a coalition. He said that he would only consider joining a coalition if it really carried out reforms. Most wants a massive reduction in taxes for corporations and smaller management, in other words, mass layoffs in the public sector. Petrov gave the HDZ and the SPD five days to address his demands. In this way he said he hoped to avoid a long political impasse.

New elections became necessary in Croatia after the ruling coalition government led by the non-party pharmaceutical manager Tihomir Oreskovic collapsed in June, after only four months. Oreskovic, the former head of a North American pharmaceutical company, had headed a coalition of the HDZ and the right-wing neo-liberal Most. The aim of his government was to carry out hard reforms in Croatia.

The election in November 2015 had led to a stalemate between the HDZ and the SDP. Most became a kingmaker and agreed with the HDZ to name Oreskovic as prime minister.

The economic crisis in the former Yugoslavian state has continued unabated since it joined the EU in 2013. After six years of recession, the official unemployment rate is 14 percent overall, while youth unemployment stands at 43 percent. A study performed by the IFO Institute in Munich draws attention to the extremely high cost of living in Croatia and, above all, the high cost of food. Because of the precarious living conditions for large segments of the population, increasing numbers of people are leaving Croatia to seek employment abroad. The number of young and well-educated Croats who have left has risen by 33 percent.

In its last country report, the IMF had called for wide-ranging cuts, primarily on the public sector. Some 12 percent of the Croatian working population are employed by a state-owned enterprise, twice the average in the EU as a whole. This is a thorn in the side of the international financial elite.

Both the HDZ and the Social Democrats also advocate further attacks on the working class. The HDZ is led by Andrej Plenkovic, an experienced politician who, unlike his predecessor Tomislav Karamarko, enjoys a good reputation in Brussels and is expected to follow a strict course of reforms. Plenkovic is a jurist and former diplomat and has been a member of the European Parliament since 2013, when Croatia joined the EU. For years, the EU has demanded that Croatia reduce its state debt and budget deficit and improve conditions for foreign investors.

The ruling class has reacted to the social, economic and political crisis by encouraging extreme nationalism, which raises the spectre of a renewal of conflict in the Balkans. According to the Financial Times, the relationship between Serbia and Croatia has deteriorated to its lowest point since 1995. Open nationalism has now become political mainstream in Croatia.

The election on Sunday was preceded by a vile campaign in which the parties strove to outdo each other with their nationalism. Both of the big parties vehemently defended the closing of the so-called Balkan route for refugees. They also fuelled tensions between the former Yugoslavian states.

The SDP and its lead candidate, former head of state Zoran Milanovic, outdid all the others. At a meeting of the Croatian veterans of the war from 1991 to 1995, he called Bosnia a failed state. He called neighbouring Serbia a wretched gang that wants to rule half the Balkans.

Belgrade and Sarajevo reacted immediately. Serbias President Tomislav Nikolic compared Milanovics statements to those of the fascist Ustasha regime. Bosnian Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak reacted just as sharply, rejecting the insults levelled at Bosnia and Serbia. Previously, Serbias Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic had called Croatia the greatest disgrace of the EU.

Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovac (HDZ) recently worsened relations between Croatia and the other Balkan states when he blocked a new round of negotiations between the EU and Serbia. At a meeting with war veterans, Milanovic announced that he would continue and intensify this policy.

Immediately before the election, Branimir Glavas, who in 2009 was judged guilty of the murder of Serbian civilians in Osikek in 1991, was rehabilitated and acquitted by the Supreme Court. The self-avowed fascist used his acquittal to propagandize against Serbia during the election. The suspension of the 1946 sentence of Alojzije Stepinac, the former Cardinal of Zagreb, also created a stir. By supporting the fascistic Ustasha at the beginning of the 1940s, Stepinac shared responsibility for the murder of Serbs in the 1940s.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) conducted interviews across the United States at welcome week events at the beginning of the school year. Many students expressed anger about the two-party system and the social conditions confronting youth. Due to mounting tuition costs and the increasing cost of living, students are often forced to work one or two jobs and take out student loans in order to obtain an education.

In this video, students speak about their opposition to war and inequality and offer their thoughts on the 2016 elections.

Students at Wayne State and San Diego State universities speak on war and the 2016 elections
The Japanese military scrambled a fighter jet yesterday as the Chinese air force sent more than 40 military aircraft into the western Pacific via the Miyako Strait near Okinawa Island in Japans southern island chain. The Chinese exercise and the Japanese response are another sign of sharp tensions in North East Asia amid the US pivot to Asia and continuing military build-up in the region.

While Beijing described its exercise as routine, the number of aircraft involved is unusually high. A military spokesperson, Shen Jinke said various types of aircraft were involved, including H-6K long-range strategic bombers, Su-30 fighters and air tankers. The drill involved reconnaissance and early warning, attacks on sea surface targets, and in-flight refueling to test the air forces fighting capacity on the high seas.

Japans defence ministry acknowledged that none of the Chinese aircraft infringed on Japanese territorial air space but noted that a Japanese fighter was scrambled as eight Chinese planes flew over the strait. The aircraft passed between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island, which is one of Japans southernmost islands. The Miyako Strait is one of the few international waterways through which ships and aircraft can pass from the East China Sea to the western Pacific.

The Chinese military is hemmed in by what it calls the first island chain: the string of islands off the Chinese mainland running from Russias Kuril Islands in the north through Japans islands to Taiwan, then to the Philippines and Borneo in the south. As part of its military expansion in Asia, the US has been strengthening its ties with military allies, Japan and the Philippines.

The US military formally occupied strategically-located Okinawa until 1972 when control was handed back to Japan. There are some 26,000 US military personnel on the island, on 32 bases and 48 training sites that cover around 25 percent of the land.

Chinese air force planes first flew through the Miyako Strait in May last year. Sundays exercise followed a drill earlier in the month in which Chinese bombers, fighters, early warning and refuelling aircraft flew over the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the northern Philippine island of Luzon. After that exercise, the Chinese military announced that the air force would be conducting regular drills beyond the first island chain.

The latest Chinese flight appears to be aimed at sending a message to Japan after Defence Minister Tomomi Inada declared last week that the Japanese navy would carry out joint patrols with US warships in the South China Sea. The US has deliberately inflamed territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and its neighbours over the past five years, encouraging the Philippines, in particular, to more assertively press its claims against Beijing.

Japan is already involved in a tense standoff with China over disputed islets in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. With US backing, Tokyo escalated the confrontation in 2012 by buying the rocky outcrops from a private Japanese owner. Since coming to power, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has refused to even recognise that a dispute exists with China over the islands.

As a result, Chinese and Japanese ships and planes are regularly involved in close encounters in the waters near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. In the fiscal year ending March 2016, the Japanese air force scrambled fighter jets 571 times in response to Chinese military and surveillance aircraft. Many of these incidents would have been around the disputed islands.

The danger of an incident leading to conflict was highlighted in June when the Chinese defence minister accused Japanese fighters of lighting upthat is, locking on fire-control radarChinese SU-30 fighter bombers over the East China Sea. At the time, Ian Storey, an analyst from the Institute of South East Asian Studies, told the Financial Times that a radar lock was a very dangerous move because the targeted plane had just seconds to decide whether it was under attack and how to respond. Japanese officials denied the Chinese claim.

While a great deal of media attention has focused on the danger of clashes in the South China Sea, the standoff between Japan and China in the East China Sea is just as dangerous. US President Barack Obama has affirmed that the US-Japan Security Treaty would cover the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. In other words, the US and its nuclear arsenal would back Japan in any war with China over the small, uninhabited outcrops.

A recent poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre found that 35 percent of Japanese respondents were very concerned and another 45 percent somewhat concerned that the dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands could erupt into open conflict with China.

In its annual report to Congress on Chinas military in April, the US Defence Department claimed that Chinese air force flights into the western Pacific could place US forces on the island of Guam at risk of being targeted by cruise missiles launched by Chinese long-range bombers.

The claim stands reality on its head. Since Obama announced the pivot to Asia in 2011, the Pentagon has been rapidly proceeding with the deployment of 60 percent of its air and sea assets to the Asia Pacific region by 2020. The military build-up has been accompanied by the systematic strengthening of military ties and partnerships throughout Asia with the object of encircling China in preparation for war.

The response to Sundays exercise by Chinese aircraft underscores the danger that a miscalculation or mistake could precipitate a far broader conflict.
Even as newly re-elected Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn again offers an olive branch to the 172 MPs who sought his removal, the Labour right is openly discussing how best to resume their offensive.

The scale of Corbyns victory was bigger than a year ago, with 61.8 percent of the electorate against challenger Owen Smith. But far from accepting this as a democratic mandate, all that is under discussion in the media and the Labour party is how leadership can be restored to the Blairites, accompanied by a further programmatic shift to the right.

The Financial Times complained that Smiths challenge was lamentable because he purported to share Mr Corbyns radical leftwing instincts. Dissident MPs must think how to win the hearts of the partys members without offering the meaningless mush of Mr Smiths Corbyn-lite.

An example to be followed is the suggestion from a group of moderate MPs that the sacred cow of free movement of people may have to be sacrificedproof that some in the parliamentary party still care about winning elections.

This is in reference to a Fabian Society paper, drawn up by nine Labour MPs including leading coup plotters such as Stephen Kinnock, Angela Eagle and Chuka Umunna, as well as Gisela Stuart who led the Labour Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum. Her inclusion is striking, given that the central charge on which moves to depose Corbyn were based was that he did not do enough to support the case for European Union membership.

The FT also ran an op-ed column by Matthew Taylor, a former head of the Downing Street Unit under Prime Minister Tony Blair. He too calls for a renewed leadership struggle, but this time with organisation in place, with a coherent and distinctive narrative and with a credible leader...

Jeremy Cliffe writes in the Economist, It may be that the party will need to split in the future... But for now they should make at least one more big push to take back the party... It is not yet clear when the opportunity for a new, good-as-can-be challenge to Mr Corbyn will come: perhaps after the partys inevitably unimpressive results in the local elections of 2017 or 2018, or after a Labour rout at an early election called by Mrs May. But when it does come, the moderates must be ready.

Blairite Dan Hodges writes in the Mail on Sunday that there can be no dignified return, peace with honour, no truce or dignified armistice.

After yesterday, Labours moderates have a simple choice. They hand Jeremy Corbyn their unconditional surrender. Or they fight, fight and fight again to save the party they profess to love.

The Independent, which advances itself as a liberal voice, editorialises that Corbyns cult of personality puts Labour ever further from power because the party is moving further and further to the left, well away from its social democratic tradition, let alone the election-winning ways of Blairism.

In the Sunday Telegraph, former Labour Cabinet minister, Yvette Cooper, states that someone online had said she should be beheaded, which the newspaper says is an example of the increasingly vicious internet abuse that Labour MPs suffer.

However, its use as a hook for Coopers accusation that Corbyn had failed to stem a rising tide of online abuse was exposed as a fraud by her own admission that The worst I get as a Labour MP is usually from the far right. Recent grim tweets include an Australian who wants to behead me, and a Trump supporter who hates refugees.

Coopers real concern was for Corbyn to personally oppose the Facebook campaigns by his supporters who are calling for moderate Labour MPs to be de-selected.

Cooper has elsewhere said she is not opposed to going back to Labours front bench!

The Observer, the Sunday sister paper of the Guardian, ran the most comprehensive outline of the courses of action now open to Corbyns opponents by citing a memo circulating among MPs and drawn up by former party leader Ed Milibands director of strategy, Tom Baldwin.

The first suggested line of attack is to ensure that the shadow cabinet is made up of anti-Corbyn forcesin order first to isolate him, then to ensure that party policy is not changed and, most importantly, to provide a focus for opposition in the Parliamentary Labour Party as a whole. It cites former shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander that A new top team, elected by the PLP, will give MPs a respected team around which to coalesce.

With little chance of this demand being met, however, the Observer concludes that a party within the Labour party could be in the process of forming.

Baldwins memo states that Corbyn would demand MPs pledge public loyalty to the leadership until the next election and to rule out another challenge.

The answer must be that an alternative team of spokesmen in areas such as migration and learning should emergecalled the 2020 groupwhich would be able to set out an alternative set of policy positions to the leadership, while avoiding any kind of formal split.

This alternative leadership, referred to by others as a shadow shadow cabinet, will urge right-wing policies including ending freedom of movement and supporting Tory education policies.

The end goal remains the same, as indicated by the Observer s reference to conspiratorial talk of challenging Corbyn again in a year or 18 months. It already looks doubtful that Saturdays most definitive of results has really settled anything at all.

The Sunday Times also reported that Assem Allam, a Labour donor who has offered to bankroll a new party, said he had spoken to around 30 MPs and peers about forming a breakaway party after Corbyn won the leadership last year and predicted they would act before Christmas.

In the face of such naked scheming, and reports that only a dozen of the 65 MPs who resigned are prepared to return to his shadow cabinet, Corbyn and his allies continue to pretend that unity is possible thanks to a mutual desire to take on the Conservatives.

The Observer article even began by recounting how Labours shadow chancellor John McDonnell was seen by reporters after Corbyns re-election consoling leading Blairite coup plotter John Woodcock MP. Asking him, You OK? he touched Woodcocks arm and told him, Im seriouslets have a cup of tea soon.

Corbyns first major television appearance following his re-election Saturday was on the BBCs Andrew Marr on Sunday. When asked about threats of deselection, Corbyn replied that the vast majority of Labour MPs have no need to fear.

His remarks were of a piece with his evasive answer to the question, What is your view of capitalism? Is it broadly good, or broadly bad?

He replied that he supports a mixed economy, while also a pledging that he was not proposing to nationalise key industries.

Corbyns appearance was followed by McDonnells own on rival ITVs Peston on Sunday alongside Tristram Hunt, MP. When host Robert Peston asked whether Hunt would be welcome back to the shadow cabinet, McDonnell replied that he would. Hunt responded that he cannot take up such an offer because he disagrees too much with Corbyn on policy.

The net effect of the political prostration of Corbyn and McDonnell is to demobilise and disarm all those who looked to them as an alternative. Their role is to neuter opposition to the right-wing cabal that is the Parliamentary Labour Party, even as it prepares the next stage in its offensive against Labour members and the entire working class.
Rough sleeping doubles

Figures released by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee show that the number of people rough sleeping (sleeping on the streets) in London at some point during 2015-16 has doubled since 2010, rising 7 percent in the last year alone, to 8,096 people.

Research by the Crisis charity shows that the number one cause of homelessness is the ending of assured short-hold tenancies in the private rental sectoraccounting for one third of all homeless acceptances by local councils.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said, The number of people rough sleeping in London is the highest in the country and for the first time in many years numbers are increasing in all parts of England. The biggest reason someone finds themselves homeless is the end of a private rented tenancy.

Dying homeless in London

More than 8,000 people sleep rough in London, and for these vulnerable citizens, the average life expectancy is just 47 years. The average for the UK as a whole is 81.5 years.

Many of Londons homeless die violent or lonely deaths.

This summer, a spate of deaths in Camden Borough due to poisoning from synthetic cannabis led to an outcry from residents. The drug, once legal in London, is peddled to homeless residents for 1 per cigarette as a cheap alternative to marijuana. However, the strength of the synthetic drug is unpredictable, sometimes with devastating consequences.

This past June the decomposing body of Joseph Coughlin was found in his homeless hostel, three days after he had died. Social services and hostel managers failed to check on him, and his death went unnoticed until residents complained of a foul odour coming from his room.

Last year, former concert pianist Anne Naysmith, nicknamed The Car Lady of Chiswick, died after being hit by a lorry in West London. Naysmith had been living in her car until Hounslow Council towed it away in response to complaints from residents. After this, she lived in various places, including an alleyway behind an Italian restaurant, Charing Cross Hospitals boiler room, and shrubbery behind Stamford Underground Station.

Last year a Kensington resident discovered the body of an unknown man impaled on a spike in the prosperous Conservative-controlled borough. After an exhaustive search, police discovered he was a Polish immigrant worker. He left behind a family in Peterborough.

Homeless university students in London

A survey of undergraduate students at London Metropolitan University (LMU) School of Social Professions found that 27 of the programmes students are homeless. These homeless students were too ashamed to admit their situation and seek help from the university.

At LMU, the least expensive single student room with shared facilities is 584 per month, on par with private bed-sit rentals in London. This extortionate sum is forcing many low-income students to sleep on floors or couches or in hostels and local council emergency accommodation.

Martin Blakey, chief executive of Unipol housing charity for university students in Leeds, Nottingham and Bradford, said the survey findings dont surprise him, telling the Guardian :

Its hard to get figures on homelessness because universities dont monitor it, but I strongly suspect that it is a problem not just for LMU. Even in Leeds, when we hold viewings for family accommodation we find that people want to move in within days. When we ask about their present contracts, they are often extremely vague about where they are living. In London, student accommodation is being left to the market, so special groups, such as students with families, need greater help and support if theyre to survive in the market-driven jungle.

According to the Degrees of Debt report by Sutton Trust, the average English university student can expect to graduate with around 44,000 of student loans. For the first time, English university students are now graduating with more debt than their American counterparts.

Homelessness and health

In 2015, at least 2,521 homeless London residents had identifiable psychiatric needsa 260 percent increase from 2009, according to figures released by St. Mungos homeless charity that year. Mental health problems are the most common cause of homelessness.

In addition, homeless people also experience higher incidences of common diseases as well as diseases that were all but eradicated in the Victorian era, such as tuberculosis.

According to a Crisis charity survey of homelessness and access to general practitioner health care, one in 50 homeless people reported having tuberculosis, 25 times the national average. Responses from survey participants also revealed that homeless people are twice as likely to suffer from diabetes and five times more likely to suffer from epilepsy. Eighty percent of survey participants reported they are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

The Crisis survey reports that access to health care by homeless people is limited by a number of factors, including difficulty registering with a surgery, lack of trust in institutions and authority figures, and lack of awareness or understanding of their own health situation.

Children transferred out of boroughs suffer abuse and neglect

An Independent newspaper investigation, published earlier this year, revealed the tragic deaths of children who were lost by social services authorities after being moved away from their local area. These included the death of a six-month old child from head injuries, the death of a 13-month-old child from ongoing abuse, the death of a neglected one-year-old baby, and the miscarriage of a baby after the eight-month pregnant mother collapsed from stress and exhaustion.

Councils moving homeless and vulnerable families to a new borough have a lawful duty of care to notify the new borough council of the familys situation through a system known as Notify2 in London, especially when there is a history of child abuse and neglect. However, local authorities report that transferring councils routinely do not provide critical information about these families.

The Independent reports that between July 2011 and June 2015, London Councils moved 64,704 homeless families, with 4,053 of these families moved out of Greater London area entirely.

Boroughs targeting homeless with Public Space Protection Orders

Councils across London are increasingly threatening to criminalise rough sleeping individuals through the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs).

PSPOs were first introduced in 2014 as part of the UK Governments Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, an anti-democratic bill with sweeping powers to criminalise everything from congregating in groups to sleeping rough, and particularly discriminating against the homeless. An investigation by Vice.com revealed that 36 local authorities are using the PSPOs to target rough sleepers, slapping them with a 100 penalty and possible criminal record and a further fine of 1,000 if they fail to pay the original penalty.

Under pressure from homeless advocates, Hackney Council in East London recently dropped its plans to charge homeless 100 on the spot for anti-social behaviour such as begging, street drinking, and rough sleeping in designated hotspots. But the council is undergoing a review of the use of PSPOs by other boroughs to determine if they will reintroduce them in the near future.

Tens of thousands of London homes stand empty

There are currently 56,000 empty homes in London. One of the main reasons is the phenomenon known as buy to leave. Property investors simply buy a house, leave it empty for a period until house prices rise enough to sell it on and make a substantial profit.
On Wednesday evening at 7:12 pm, Cass County Sheriffs Deputy Tyler Reiff shot and killed 23-year old Austin M. Baier in Louisville, Nebraska, after the latter allegedly became aggressive during a traffic stop.

According to Sheriffs Office, Reiff had stopped Baiers 1992 Buick Century after receiving a complaint of reckless driving in which the young mans vehicle had been identified. After initially stopping at the officers request, Baier accelerated again before getting out of his car to confront the officer. The officer then shot Baier. Witnesses recall hearing four shots fired.

Subsequent attempts by Reiff and medical personnel to revive the young man were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterward. Reiff has been placed on desk duty pending further investigation into the killing.

Baier had no prior criminal record and co-workers described him as free-spirited and caring. Meiah Yale-Barton, a co-worker of Baiers at Louisvilles Main Street Cafe, told reporters from the Omaha World-Herald that Baier struggled with mental illness and access to medication.

In comments to the Lincoln Journal-Star, Baiers family members stated they suspected the young man might have been intoxicated at the time of the traffic stop.

The Nebraska State Patrol, which is investigating the killing, has released no information on whether Baier had been armed or whether he had threatened Reiff in any way to justify the shooting. Cass County Attorney Nathan Cox has refused to state whether any video footage of the altercation exists and has withheld the results from an autopsy conducted Thursday pending a grand jury review of the evidence.

According to a state law passed in April, a Nebraska grand jury is permitted to withhold the autopsy findings until its review of a specific case has been concluded, which could take months.

Baiers death is the first officer-involved killing in Cass County since 2004, when sheriffs deputies were involved in a stand-off that ultimately took the life of an unstable man in the nearby town of Avoca (population 242 in 2013).

According to the Guardian, Baier was the seventh person killed by police in the state of Nebraska since the beginning of the year.

On September 6, Omaha police shot and killed 25-year-old David L. Anderson in a South Omaha residential neighborhood after the latter attempted to evade arrest. According to a statement released after the killing, Omaha police officers Michael Jones and Scott Kuzminksi and three other deputies sought to apprehend Anderson, who had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear before his probation officer on six different occasions. Anderson had been convicted on drug charges in 2013.

After officers approached Anderson, whose vehicle had been parked in a residential driveway, the latter tried to flee by repeatedly ramming the unmarked police car blocking his escape. Officers Kuzminski and Jones let loose a volley of gunfire, striking Anderson eight times. Anderson later died from his injuries.

According to Omaha policing regulations, an officer is allowed to fire on a moving vehicle in self-defense or defense of another, but under no circumstance should purposefully seek to place themselves in the path of a vehicle or open fire without similar cause. The Omaha Police Department has presented no evidence showing that any of the officers were in danger of being struck by Andersons vehicle before deciding to open fire.

Baier and Andersons deaths at the hands of the police further give the lie to claims presented by the advocates of racialist and identity politics that the rising wave of police brutality in America is a reflection of an unbridgeable racial hatred among whites against African Americans. Both Anderson and Baier were white, as are the police in both incidents.

Police brutality in the United States routinely claims the lives of poor and working people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, with a recent analysis done by the Guardian newspaper showing that whites make up nearly half of all those killed by police in recent months.

Earlier this month, Omaha police concluded a three-month multi-agency push entitled Operation Triple Beam. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the aim of the local, state and federal crackdown was to arrest fugitives, gang members and violent offenders, resulting in the apprehension of 268 individuals. According to Mark Martinez, U.S. Marshal for the district of Nebraska, It goes to the old saying, Two heads are better than one, [the operation was able to] locate people and make arrests in a more expedient manner. Martinez noted that the program was heavily funded by the US Department of Justice.

Omaha, a former industrial manufacturing and meatpacking hub in the central US, has been decimated by the closure of industry in the region. According to the U.S. Census, in the meatpacking industry alone, major factories in the Omaha-Douglas Metropolitan region have closed or been moved to non-urban centers far from the city. According to the Census, as of 2007 the average wage stood at $13.10 an hour, less than $3 more than the average wage of $10.70 in 1947.

Meanwhile, the militarization of local police units continues apace, with the Nebraska Crime Commission, the states top law enforcement body, recently announcing its decision to rewrite rules allowing for speeding up the process for military police officers seeking transfer to civilian policing. According to the Associated Press, under the new rules military police officers could bypass nearly half of the nine-month training course given to new recruits.

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Police violence and the social crisis in America

[24 September 2016]
An annual report released at the beginning of this month by the Keystone Research Center, The State of Working Pennsylvania 2016, underscores the economic decline the working class has experienced over the past almost half century, while the ruling class carried out a radical redistribution of wealth. Not only have blue-collar workers experienced declining or stagnating wages, but also those with college education.

Overall hourly earnings for workers at the median percentile on down reveal stagnation or decline, while the higher percentiles grabbed significantly more wealth. Those workers at the 50th percentile have had a 4.8 percent gain in wages over a 36-year period, or barely over a tenth of one percent raise each year. Workers at the bottom, the 10th and 20th percentile, have had negative wage growth since 1979. The 90th percentile, on the other hand, has seen a dramatic 31.1 percent increase, to about $40 an hour.

The largest portion of workers in the state, those without a four-year college degree, or roughly 7 out of 10 working age adults, have seen their wages go backwards since the 1970s. For white males, the current real median wage is $2.18 per hour below 1979-1981, or $4,500 less per year for a full-time yearly worker. Black males correspondingly earn $3.90 less per hour. In 2013-2015, the median wage for white males was $17.34 and for black males, $13.05.

While white womens median hourly wages increased 13 percent from 1979 to 2015, from 2000 to 2015 the percentage change was nil. For the same time periods, black women saw a 1 percent decline and 7 percent decline, respectively.

Workers with a college education have experienced wage depreciation as well since 1979. College-educated white and black mens wages have dropped 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively, while white women have undergone a 1 percent decrease and black women a precipitous 22 percent fall.

The report also references the steady drop in the labor participation rate for males without a college degree. Since the 1980s, this figure has declined by 8 percent. Twenty-one percent of working-age white males, 18-64, are not working or actively trying to find work, while 34 percent of black males have stopped looking and are unemployed.

One dynamic contributing to such a low participation rate for workers is the fact that manufacturing jobs have been decimated throughout the state or are paying low wages and have abysmal benefits or none at all. At the end of August, Harley-Davidson, with the collusion of the International Association of Machinists union, announced mass layoffs at its York plant, threatening hundreds of jobs.

Pervasive inequality in the state is also documented by an earlier report published by the Economic Policy Institute for the Economic Analysis Research Network (EARN) in June of this year. It notes that the top 1 percent in Pennsylvania have usurped 89.2 percent of income growth since 2009. In 2013, the average income of the top 1 percent was about $930,000; the bottom 99 percent, only $45,781. The cutoff for entering the pantheon of the top 1 percent in the Keystone state is $360,343 in annual income.

Mark Price, the labor economist at the Keystone Research Center and co-author of the EARN report, said: Rising inequality is one of the most pressing challenges we face in the Commonwealth. Its a persistent problem here and throughout the countryin big cities and small towns, in all 50 states.

The State of Working Pennsylvania, moreover, analyzes the increase in worker productivity compared to compensation. Since 1979, hourly productivity of workers rose 71 percent, while compensation such as wages, pensions and health benefits rose only 9.7 percent during the same time frame. The top 1 percent of families, 69,000, have captured 51 percent of income growth since 1979.
US and allied diplomats went on the offensive against Russia at a UN Security Council meeting Sunday, provocatively accusing Moscow of war crimes in Syria and demonstrating their readiness to risk a direct military confrontation with the nuclear-armed power.

The emergency Security Council meeting was called by permanent members the United States, Britain and France with the explicit aim of making unsubstantiated allegations of war crimes against Russia.

Referring to the attack on a UN aid convoy last Monday, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told the meeting, What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it is barbarism.

She went on to charge that the Syrian government, which began an offensive on Thursday to take rebel-held parts of Aleppo, was indiscriminately bombing residential areas with Russian support. Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get lifesaving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive, claimed Power.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson went even further, telling an interview on the BBC Sunday that Russia should be investigated for war crimes.

The handwringing of US and British politicians over alleged human rights abuses is thoroughly hypocritical. In truth, the collapse of the weeklong ceasefire early last week was triggered by the deliberate bombing of Syrian army positions by US aircraftpositions that were well known to coalition forces. The attack enabled Islamic State fighters to assume control of the area. In addition, US-backed rebels dominated by the hardline al-Nusra Front, the former Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, systematically violated the terms of the ceasefire. The subsequent attack on the aid convoy could have been perpetrated by these forces, who have been accused of blocking civilians from fleeing.

Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin stated that reaching a peace deal in Syria was almost impossible due to Washingtons continued support for al-Nusra. They are armed with tanks, APCs, field artillery, multiple rocket launchers dozens and dozens of units, including heavy weaponry Of course, they couldnt have made this equipment themselves. All of this has been received by them and is still being shipped to them by generous Western backers, with the US, presumably, turning a blind eye, Churkin commented at the Security Council meeting. He went on to accuse al-Nusra of blocking humanitarian aid to Aleppo and launching indiscriminate attacks on government-held areas.

Clashes intensified throughout the country Sunday. Between 26 and 43 civilians were reported killed in bombing raids on eastern Aleppo, which is controlled by anti-Assad forces dominated by al-Nusra. Meanwhile, rebels shelled government-controlled Masyaf for a second day running.

It is becoming increasingly evident that Washington and its allies never saw the ceasefire as a means of bringing an end to the five-year conflict. Instead, they agreed to the deal in order to buy time to resupply their proxy forces, which were coming under mounting pressure from Assads troops, backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters, and to prepare a massive intensification of the war for regime-change in Damascus.

This was made clear Sunday, when a statement was released rejecting any talks to end to the war. The statement was signed by a large collection of rebel groups, many of which are backed by the US. It declared, Negotiations under the present conditions are no longer useful and are meaningless."

In a public demonstration that they would accept nothing short of full capitulation by the Assad government to their plans for regime-change, Power and the French and British UN ambassadors left the Security Council chamber as the Syrian ambassador spoke.

The transparent aim of the aggressive denunciation of Russia is to provide a fraudulent pretext for war. From the claim that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was preparing to massacre civilians in Benghazi in March 2011, to the lying allegations that Syrian government forces launched a poison gas attack in August 2013, and now the unsubstantiated allegations about Russian war crimes against the civilian population, Washington and its allies have repeatedly utilized such "human rights" propaganda to legitimize a vast escalation of military violence throughout the Middle East.

The corporate-controlled media has gone into overdrive in its efforts to demonize Russia and cast the US as a morally outraged bystander. Articles and television news reports routinely cite the aid convoy attack, which they attribute to Russia and the Syrian government without any hard evidence, as the cause of the ceasefire breakdown.

The New York Times published yet another propaganda piece Saturday entitled From Paradise to Hell: How an Aid Convoy in Syria was Blown Apart. The authors, Anne Barnard and Somini Sengupta, all but categorically asserted that Russia was to blame. Based on conversations with anonymous sources, including some aligned with pro-US and anti-Assad rebels, the Times proclaimed, Together, the interviews and other material indicate that there was a sustained, coordinated attack carried out by Russian or Syrian aircraft, probably both.

Reports then appeared Sunday alleging that cluster munitions, white phosphorus, chemical weapons and barrel bombs were being deployed against Aleppo neighborhoods.

The US-incited war for regime-change in Syria has already claimed the lives of close to half a million people, forced more than half of the countrys population to leave their homes, and further destabilized the entire region.

The demonization of Russia is preparing the ground for a war that would quickly draw the major powers into a regional and global conflict. This was underscored by the remarks of General Joseph Dunford to Congress last week. Asked by Republican Senator Roger Wicker if the military could take decisive action to impose a no-fly zone, Dunford responded, For now, for us to control all the airspace in Syria would require us to go to war with Syria and Russia. Thats a pretty fundamental decision that certainly Im not going to make.

The military top brass in the Pentagon never supported the ceasefire deal and had no intention of abiding by it. As Dunford frankly admitted to the senators, Russia is the most significant threat to our national interests.

Despite the open acknowledgement that a no-fly zone would mean war, the incendiary policy is finding growing support, including from Secretary of State John Kerry. In August, the US backed a Turkish incursion into northern Syria to oust Kurdish rebels from the border region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to establish a so-called safe zone across a large area of the north of Syria. This would entail the permanent presence of troops from a NATO member state within Syria, creating yet another flashpoint with Russia.

Washingtons reckless drive to war in the Middle East is being met with growing intransigence from its opponents in Damascus and Moscow. Speaking at the UN General Assembly debate last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem labeled the US bombing of the Syrian army outpost, which killed over 60 soldiers and injured over 100 more, a deliberate act. Damascus puts all the responsibility for aggression on the US, he continued, before adding, This vile aggression proves that the US and its allies are accomplices of Islamic State and other terror groups.

Muallem also denounced Turkeys incursion in strident tones, declaring that the US-backed operation was a flagrant breach of Syrian sovereignty.

In a lengthy interview on Russian television Saturday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the Kremlin was increasingly unwilling to compromise in the face of Washingtons provocative actions. Lavrov charged that no progress had been made in separating the al-Nusra Front and other Jihadi forces from the so-called "moderate" opposition. Unless Washington took steps to do this, our suspicions that this all is being done to take the heat off al-Nusra Front will strengthen, he declared.

Reiterating even more explicitly comments he made on Thursday, the foreign minister continued, If everything again boils down to asking Russias and Syrias Air Forces to take unilateral stepssuch as, Give us another three- or four-day pause and after that we will persuade all opposition groups that this is serious and that they must cut ties with al-Nusra Frontsuch talk will not be taken seriously by us anymore.
At the contract ratification vote for General Motors workers in Oshawa, supporters of the World Socialist Web Site distributed hundreds of copies of the statement Vote No on GM Contract. Build rank and file committees to resist Unifor sellout! as workers arrived to hear Unifor highlights of the framework agreement.

As workers passed by and took leaflets, many denounced the Unifor leadership for refusing to release the so-called framework agreement to the membership. We really dont know what were voting on. Theyre only showing us the parts they want us to hear, said one disgruntled worker.

Campaigners spoke with dozens of workers both before and after they cast their ballots at the General Motors Centre in downtown Oshawa.

Personally, as a thirty-year veteran, this contracts got nothing for me, said Rob. One of the things they were hinting at was that wed be getting more production. A new product. Well, turns out were just going to be doing final assembly, with the truck bodies getting shipped in, and not the full product. In other words, the union didnt really tell the truth.

I voted No, said Eddie, a veteran worker on the Flex Line. No incentive to retire for us older workers and the new hires get screwed altogether because the union took away a guaranteed pension. We got a whole lot of nothing. GM knows hundreds of guys are retiring in the next few years and then they can bring in kids at half the price. Jerry Dias knows it too. Hes thinking along the same lines as management. He might as well put on a suit and tie and join the company.

Another worker who was listening to the conversation then jumped in. Dias doesnt need to join the company. Hes doing their bidding right where he is. Every four years we take another big haircut. I want to know how much of a haircut the national reps have taken over the past few years. They get raises. We get givebacks.

A retiree approached a campaigner to ask for more leaflets for his friends. Ive followed what you guys have been writing and I agree with a lot of it. Retirees dont have a vote but if I did Id be turning this deal down. No cost-of-living (COLA) for us. Our pensions keep getting eaten away. Look at this highlight. We havent been getting COLA for years and now theyre gonna give fifteen hundred bucks to anyone who retired before 1987. Theyre gonna save money there all right. Half those guys are already dead.

A veteran electrician was visibly upset as he exited the building. Even though this contract doesnt affect me, he began, its sad to see how the younger guys are being treated. These workers, old and new, have made a hell of a lot of profit for this company, and the company just doesnt care. The rate these young guys are getting paid, even with this new contract, is just criminal.

Indicating the lack of confidence they had in the union, other workers who stopped to talk said they were voting for the deal even if they didnt much like it, but only because they saw no alternative.

You never know the fine print of these agreements, said Dave. I have thirty years and Im out of here in another year. I was here when they all patted themselves on the back in 2008 that the union had saved the Truck Plant. But it was a bunch of hooey. After we held our nose and voted for that crap of a deal, they turn around and close the plant. The deal doesnt really hurt me. I think a lot of us older guys think the same way. Its the new ones coming in that have to fight for whats coming at them.

Ryan, a veteran worker, lamented that the contract wasnt good, but its as good as its gonna get in the face of the companys opposition. However, when asked what he thought about the auto companies strategy of pitting Canadian autoworkers against their class brothers and sisters in the US, Mexico and internationally, he immediately fired back, Well, we should all be one, right? No matter how GM does internationally, (CEO) Mary Barra gets a nice fat pay cheque, and millions in bonuses too. One day were gonna shut GM down across the continent and show them whos really the boss.

One worker, in a hurry, didnt even stop to hear the Unifor highlights presentation. I have better things to do than listen to Dias. It didnt take me long to put in a No vote. The contract or framework or whatever theyre calling it now, its just one big bag of crap.

Vladimir, with over twenty years on the assembly line, minced no words when calling Unifor and GM a bunch of cowards and imperialists. There are over a thousand people here with over twenty-five years of experience, and theyre getting screwed, being scammed. This is a despicable company. It makes me sick to work beside a nineteen-, twenty-year old whos only making twenty dollars for the exact same job. Somethings gotta give, and Im sure one day it will.

We encourage autoworkers at GM, Ford and Chrysler to send us their comments regarding the current contract negotiations, and to sign up for the WSWS Autoworker Newsletterthe only media publication telling the truth about Unifors role as an errand boy for the auto bosses.
On Friday, US President Barack Obama vetoed a bill passed unanimously in Congress that is intended to allow Americans to sue foreign governments alleged to be responsible for terrorist attacks in the US. With overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill, titled Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), Congress is expected to override Obama's veto later this week.

The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month, in the aftermath of the release of 28 pages of secret government documents detailing the role of the government of Saudi Arabia in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. It has been sponsored by organizations representing September 11 victims and their families who aim to sue the Saudi government.

Spurred on by the Pentagon and CIA, as well as a desire to maintain close ties to the Saudi regime, the Obama administration opposes the bill for a number of reasons. Above all, increased litigation on the 9/11 attacks threatens to further expose the fraudulent character of both the official investigation into the attacks, as well as the so-called war on terror launched in their aftermath.

The attacks provided the pretext to initiate longstanding plans to wage aggressive wars in pursuit of the oil resources of the Middle East, as part a broader effort to maintain American imperialism's hegemony throughout the region and the Eurasian continent as a whole. Through the war on terror begun under Bush and deepened under Obama, the US has destroyed entire societies from Afghanistan, to Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Syria, in the process killing over a million people.

The central lies deployed by the Bush administration in 2003 to justify its attack on Iraq were that Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government bore responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction.

In reality, the country most deeply implicated in the attacks was Saudi Arabia, home to 15 out of 19 of the hijackers, as well as Osama bin Laden. Saudi ties to the 9/11 attacks were confirmed by the 28-page segment from the report issued by the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, released to the public last July. The 28 pages had been stowed away in a Capitol Hill basement vault since 2002, with only members of Congress allowed to read them, barred from taking notes or discussing their content with the outside world.

The redacted document begins by stating, While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi government. It goes on to detail that at least two of the hijackers were provided substantial assistance by Omar al-Bayoumi, whom the FBI identified as a Saudi intelligence agent, while some hijackers received paychecks for no-show jobs from a company financed by the Saudi Ministry of Defense.

In order to maintain official ties to Saudi Arabiaalongside Israel, Washington's principal Middle East ally for over 50 years and the largest buyer of American weaponsthese facts had to be suppressed. While claiming without any evidence that Iraq bore responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, the US was forced to bury real and substantial links to the Saudi regime.

During the buildup and launching of the war in Iraq in 2003, many of the same congressmen now professing their desire to find justice for the 9/11 victims supported the campaign of the CIA and Saudi monarchy to keep the Saudi role a secret by suppressing the 28-page document. The present bipartisan congressional support for JASTA is thus a cynical and hypocritical political maneuver.

The release of the document and the passing of JASTA coincides with the 2016 presidential election campaign, in which the two candidates have been jockeying for the support of the military and are both campaigning on aggressively antiterror platforms, portraying the US as virtually under siege. Both Clinton and Trump released statements criticizing Obama's decision, saying they would have signed the bill into law.

The support of the candidates and Congress for the bill is also a manifestation of the deepening rift between the US and Saudi Arabia. Last year, against the wishes of the Saudi regime, the Obama administration began a rapprochement with Iran through the signing of a nuclear agreement. Most recently, there have been rising tensions between Washington and Riyadh over US foreign policy in Syria and the broader Middle East.

At the same time, the countrys continuing importance is highlighted by the fact that influential sections of the national security apparatus were able to pressure Obama to veto the bill, as part of an effort to maintain good relations with Riyadh. A bipartisan group of former national security officials, including President George W. Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley and attorney general Michael Mukasey, President Bill Clinton's secretary of defense William Cohen, and Richard Clarke, a national security aide to both Clinton and Bush, penned an open letter to Obama urging him to veto the bill.

They wrote, The harm this legislation will cause the United States will be both dramatic and long-lasting, and if enacted, the bill will most certainly undermine our relationship with one of our most important allies, Saudi Arabia, and damage our relationship with the entire Middle East.

While not explicitly naming Saudi Arabia, Obama made clear in his veto letter that the bill threatened US foreign relations. He writes, A number of our allies and partners have already contacted us with serious concerns about the bill. By exposing these allies and partners to this sort of litigation in U.S. courts, JASTA threatens to limit their cooperation on key national security issues, including counterterrorism initiatives, at a crucial time when we are trying to build coalitions, not create divisions.

In his veto message to Congress, Obama also expressed concern that setting this precedent in the US could encourage foreign governments to act reciprocally and allow their domestic courts to exercise jurisdiction over the United States or U.S. officialsincluding our men and women in uniformfor allegedly causing injuries overseas via U.S. support to third parties.

In other words, if similar legislation were enacted in virtually any country in the world, lawsuits could be brought against the US government to demand reparations for decades of imperialist slaughter. In the past quarter century alone, American imperialism has laid waste to entire societies, killing and displacing millions of innocent people and creating the largest refugee crisis since the end of World War II.
LIBERTY COUNTY, FL (WTXL) -- Agents have arrested a man in connection with a shooting that left one dead in Liberty County.

Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested 61-year-old Floyd Parrish for second degree murder with a firearm. They said that Parrish is accused of killing James Nesmith on Wednesday at his home.

Agents said that Nesmith was visiting Parrish when the two began arguing and the shooting happened. Parrish was arrested and booked into the Liberty County jail.

At the request of the Liberty County Sheriff's Department, FDLE said that it has taken over the investigation of this incident.
By Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal ALGIERS (Reuters) - Iran downplayed on Monday the chances of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers clinching an output-restraint deal in Algeria this week even though several other members of the group said they still hoped for steps to tackle a price-eroding glut of crude. Oil prices have more than halved from 2014 levels due to oversupply, prompting OPEC producers and rival Russia to seek a market rebalancing that would boost revenues from oil exports and help their crippled budgets. The predominant idea since early 2016 among producers has been to agree to freeze output levels, although market watchers have said such a move would fail to reduce unwanted barrels. Sources told Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia had offered to reduce its output if Iran agreed to freeze production, a shift in Riyadh's position as the kingdom had previously refused to discuss output cuts. As delegations gathered in Algiers, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said expectations should be modest. "This is an advisory meeting and that's all we should expect from it," he was quoted as saying by oil ministry news service SHANA before he left Tehran. "The talks among OPEC members can be used for the OPEC summit in Vienna in November." Crude prices rose by 3.5 percent on Monday, recouping most of the losses sustained on Friday, when hopes for an output deal in Algeria faded. One OPEC delegate said the focus was now firmly on trying to persuade Iran to freeze output at levels acceptable for the rest of the producer group. Iran's output has been stagnant at 3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the past three months, close to what the country produced before the imposition of European sanctions in 2012. The sanctions were eased in January 2016, and Iran has said it wants to achieve output of more than 4 million bpd. On Monday, an OPEC source said Iran was still insisting on being allowed to reach 4.1-4.2 million bpd before freezing production. "SIGNIFICANT ACTION" Some ministers and officials expressed hope that a deal could emerge this week. "For us in the UAE, we are for a decision. We think a freeze will help if it is agreed. We hope that all are going to agree," the United Arab Emirates' energy minister, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, told Reuters. Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said everyone in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed that the market was badly oversupplied and the situation had worsened since the last OPEC meeting in June. "Credible and significant action is needed to help the market rebalance ... One fundamental aspect is that OPEC production should be significantly below the level of August. The second is that the effort must be shared out." "Third is that any agreement be limited to the time it takes to reabsorb oil stocks. And the fourth is that the action should be credible in the eyes of the market and verifiable," Bouterfa told French-language Algerian daily Liberte. Members of OPEC will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, from Sept. 26-28. Russia is also attending but there is no evidence the country is preparing to participate in any production action. (Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)
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Trinna Hugill is about to practice saving someones life. But first, she checks her surroundings to make sure shes not in danger. Then she gets to work, kneeling by her mock patient.
On Tuesday morning, the IDF set up a roadblock inside the village of Bani Na'im, southeast of Hebron . The decision to erect the roadblock was not based on secret intelligence sources but on experience gained since the summer of 2015.

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Two young people left the village recently to carry out terror attacks and did not return  one was killed, the other was seriously wounded. After these two, there was bound to be a third one. And he in fact arrived. When the soldiers at the roadblock ordered him to stop, the terrorist pulled out a knife. They shot to wound him. He flashed the knife and was killed.

They are not dying for the sake of Palestine, they are not dying for the sake of Islam or for the sake of killing Jews; they are dying for the sake of despair, in order to sanctify themselves. The goal is to die; the soldiers are the tool.

IDF soldiers in Hebron (Photo: EPA)

It's the exact opposite of what happened in the previous waves of terror, when the soldiers were the goal and death was the tool. Like Bara'a Ramadan Owaisi  the 12-year-old girl who arrived Wednesday at the Eliyahu crossing with a bag containing no weapon, not even a knife, and refused to obey the soldier's orders  told her investigators: "My father earns a meager salary at the Qalqilya Municipality, my mother is unemployed. I wanted to die." She ended up with a wounded knee.

I spent Tuesday in Hebron, which is called H2 in the agreements, an area where 40,000 Palestinians and 400 Jews were supposed to live under Israeli rule. The numbers have changed: The Arabs declined by several thousand, the Jews grew by several hundred.

What remains unchanged is the depression. Every time I arrive in Hebron, I am struck by the depression all over again. There is no other place which is more depressing, troubling, hostile between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea  not even Gaza's refugee camps.

The Shuhada checkpoint is one of the crossings between the two parts of the city. Not exactly Checkpoint Charlie. Occasionally, youth on the Palestinian side throw stones at the Nahal soldiers on the Israeli side. The soldiers respond with stun grenades and teargas. The gas burns.

A Palestinian family  a father, a mother and three small children  walks on the desolate street, which the Arabs call Shuhada and the Jews call King David. The mother is the first to smell the gas. She warns the children, and they quickly cover their faces with the edge of their shirt. The children dont cry, dont complain. They were born into the gas.

The depression was borne from the closed shops: There used to be hundreds of shops on this part of Hebron and all of them, apart from a few which received a permit to open, are locked with iron doors; it was borne from the fences, barbed-wire fences and net fences and security fences; from the abandoned homes; from the uncleared trash; from the large number of soldiers everywhere; and mainly from the emptiness, the silence, like a battlefield, like no man's land. Death reigns here, wrote Yoram Taharlev in The Ballad of Yoel Moshe Salomon. Salomon heard birds sing and relaxed. In Hebron there are no birds; the gunshots drive them away.

'Take them all away'

Near the Cave of the Patriarchs, opposite the Jewish souvenir shop, there is a store offering tourists pottery items  red clay pomegranates for the Jewish New Year, Armenian-style saucers, hookah stands.

"I don't sell my goods here," says the owner, Muhammad. "I sell at Jaffa's flea market, at stores in Tel Aviv." He is 48 years old and meticulously dressed. He has an apartment on the Israeli side and an apartment on the Palestinian side. His car is there too. "At nine they lock the gates," he explains. "If you're stuck, you're stuck."

Why do the young ones carry out terror attacks, I ask. "There is no work, no money," says Muhammad. "If (someone) gets a job, how much will he earn? Maybe 1,500 shekels (about $400) a month. He can't go to Jerusalem, to Tel Aviv, to the sea. The youth have nothing left to be afraid of."

Cave of the patriarchs in Hebron (Photo: Medabrim Tikshoret)

His worker sits at the store's entrance and paints the Armenian saucers, with the hand of an artist, before they are put in the oven. He raises his head. "It's one big prison," he says. "One big prison."

"These young people are not thinking about Palestine," Muhammad says. "They have nothing to lose. If this situation continues, everything will blow up."

What's the solution, I ask.

"How much is 4000 divided by five?" Muhammad responds with a question. "Eight, right? There are 50 seats on a bus, 400 Jews in Hebron. They should bring eight Egged buses and take them all away."

He looks at me as a winner. There is such a simple solution, so easy, and no one has thought about before.

Two states? I ask.

"One state," he rules. "Without Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) and without (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."

The humiliated children

IDF officials belieced that the wave of violence would resume a year after it began.

"We said, let's see what we have learned, how we can improve. We are a learning organization," says a military source.

An analysis of the first attacks revealed that knives can kill or wound citizens, mainly women. An encounter between soldiers and a knife usually ends better.

Then came the shooting attacks. In most cases, the weapons were locally produced, "improvised weapons." It turned out that there are professionals behind the improvisation: There is a thriving weapon industry in the West Bank. The rifle they manufacture  or create from an air rifle  is an efficient tool. It can fire a semi-authomatically and automatically. This was the type of rifle used in the attack at Tel Aviv's Sarona compound

Curfew in the village of Bani Na'im. It's not the problem that has changed but the solution, being a shahid (Photo: AFP)

The IDF shut down 30 Palestinian arms factories, the largest one in Bethlehem. The machines discovered in Bethlehem were of a high automation level. The owner was arrested, and as a result of the arrests, the prices of weapons in the West Bank have increased. A locally-manufactured Carl Gustav, which cost NIS 2,000 ($530) a year ago, costs NIS 4,000 ($1,060) today. An IDF M-16 rifle costs NIS 80,000 ($21,260).

Most of the vehicles used in vehicular attacks were old cars which were sold in Israel to be used as scrap metal. In Arabic they are called "mashtuba" (erased). Instead of being dismantled, they reached the West Bank. The police and army acted against the merchants.

An effort was made to complete the construction of the separation fence to make it more difficult for terrorists to cross into Israel. Actions were taken to reduce the number of illegal residents. On the other hand, the IDF insisted on continuing to allow the Palestinians to work in Israel legally, transfer money and ease restrictions during the holidays. The government didn't like it, but accepted it. Some 300 terror attacks came out of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories throughout the year, but according to IDF estimates, 2,000 were thwarted.

The army developed the "expanding split method." The father, the teacher, must be influenced. They may be able to calm the young ones down. The parents receive phone calls. So do the teachers. The call may arrive from Israel or from someone in the Palestinian Authority. Indeed, the teachers played a positive role this year. They explained to the students why going out to the checkpoint carries no hope.

The geographical story is fascinating. In the wave which began last year and died out by April, 40 percent of the terrorists came from seven villages, cities or neighborhoods. Fifty percent of the attacks occurred in seven places.

One hundred cases were selected and fully investigated. It turned out that each one had a personal story: Humiliated children. Not people from the margins of society, like in the previous intifada, but from good families. But each youth carrying a load on their back.

This explanation doesnt say much: After 50 years of occupation, every Palestinian teenager has a personal issue  a relative who was killed or one who is sitting in prison, humiliation at a checkpoint, pressure by the Shin Bet and IDF, pressure by the Palestinian security apparatus, destroyed families, etc. It's not the problem that has changed but the solution. There is a solution: Being a shahid (martyr).

"It's a virus," says a military source. "Like a virus comes, it goes away and comes back. There are people who are more sensitive to the virus and people who are less sensitive."

It's easy, perhaps too easy, to explain why the virus has returned: The anniversary, Eid al-Adha, the upcoming High Holy Days, which announce the mass arrival of Jews on the Temple Mount, the killing of children, including a four-year-old girl who crossed Road 60, the Jerusalem-Hebron Road, and was run over by a settlement resident. The Palestinians didnt ask themselves what a four-year-old was doing on an interurban road. They compared the running over to murder.

And in just a few weeks, the olive picking season begins.
CANBERRA -- Australia's trade minister will this week lead the first Australian business delegation to visit Iran in 14 years after sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program were eased.

Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said Monday that he will leave on Tuesday for the visit that will include reopening an Australian trade office that was closed in 2010.

Ciobo said he will be accompanied by 20 representatives of Australian companies with expertise in health, water management, agribusiness, mining, education and training.
BEIRUT -- At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers.

The United States, Britain and France, who called the emergency meeting, heaped blame on Moscow for supporting the Syrian offensive which UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war.
The two US Presidential candidates met with Prime Minister Netanyahu a day before the candidates are set to face off head to head for a debate in Long Island.

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After hearing from Donald Trump that his administration would recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, Netanyahu met with Hillary Clinton in New York on Sunday for about an hour.

.

At the end of the meeting, the Democratic nominee made it clear that she would oppose any attempts to impose an outside solution on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. A statement from the Clinton campaign said that, "Clinton has confirmed her commitment to work towards a two state solution and to direct negotiations between the parties to ensure the future of Israel as a Jewish, secure and democratic state with recognized borders, which would provide the Palestinians independence, sovereignty and dignity. Clinton reaffirms her opposition to any attempt by external forces to impose a solution, including the UN Security Council."

PM Netanyahu and Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton (Photo: Kobi Gidon)

In her meeting with Netanyahu, Clinton stressed that a "strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States because the two countries share strategic interests and the common values of democracy, equality, tolerance and pluralism." It was reported that "Clinton emphasizes her unwavering commitment to the relationship between the United States and Israel and her plan is to take the partnership between the countries to the next level."

At the meeting, Clinton positively noted the security agreement recently signed between the US and Israel, and emphasized that if elected president, she "will continue to strengthen the security and intelligence bond between the two countries, and will work closely with Israel in order to ensure Israel's military advantage." Clinton also emphasized "the commitment to dealing with attempts to delegitimize Israel, including through BDS".

Photo: Kobi Gidon

Additionally, Clinton pledged that she "will continue to work closely with Israel to enforce and implement the nuclear deal with Iran, aggressively oppose terrorism in the region under Iranian patronage, and work together with Israel to address regional challenges, including the conflict in Syria and threats from ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah."

The Prime Minister's Office said that "Netanyahu presented to Mrs. Clinton Israel's position on regional issues related to the security of Israel and its efforts to achieve peace and stability in our region." It also said that "Netanyahu thanked Mrs. Clinton for the friendship and support for Israel." The meeting was attended Israel's ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, and Clinton's senior adviser, Jake Sullivan.
As far as the Syrian regime is concerned, Aleppo is like Tel Aviv: Syria's economic-cultural center. Whoever controls Aleppo basically owns the country's beating heart, which infuses blood to the rest of its organs. Without Aleppo, Bashar Assad will not be able to rule Syria effectively, regardless of it size.

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On the eve of the ceasefire declaration , the Syrian army was in the midst of an attack on Aleppo. Assad, like the Russians, did not consider stopping for even a second. So there was no chance for it. The American strike on a Syrian company post in Deir al-Zour was just an excuse to continue the fighting.

Since the agreement was signed, Aleppo looks more and more like destructed Stalingrad (Photo: AFP)

For four days now, the Russian and Syrian air forces have been attacking densely-populated neighborhoods in Aleppo, and the Arabic-language Russian television channel has been proudly announcing strikes on ISIS targets. ISIS has become the fig leaf. The Russians and Syrians are taking advantage of the momentum as the rebel forces in Aleppo grow weaker, and are making a brutal military effort, using all means - including destroying humanitarian convoys - to subdue Aleppo before the world wakes up. On Saturday, the United Nations' Security Council convened to discuss the situation in Syria, and the clock is ticking.

After conquering Aleppo, Assad will be able  with Russian support  to arrive at the negotiation table in a much stronger bargaining position. He already controls most districts in Damascus, and in Homs he has already taken over the al-Waer quarter, which was controlled by the rebels. Meanwhile the city of Hama is quiet. These four cities and the Alawite region in the western part of the country are what he calls "effective Syria." The Syrian president has so much confidence in himself that  in cooperation with the Russians  he has made the SSRC (Scientific Studies and Research Center) operational again. The research center focuses on creating non-conventional weapons and long range missiles.

The horrific images of the massacre in Aleppo , which have been flooding the world in recent days, are also the real face of the legacy US President Barack Obama is leaving behind in the Middle East. The man who began his presidency eight years ago by trying to appease and appeal to the Arab world with his famous Cairo speech is ending it with images of a massacre after another failed agreement brokered by his administration.

There were those in the West who believed that the secret agreements on the Syrian issue - signed last week between the American and Russian foreign ministers - conceal a sort of Sykes-Picot Agreement on dividing Syria into areas of influence. The partners from the Kremlin, however, are not exactly the gentlemen from the previous century. President Vladimir Putin's ruling style is more reminiscent of the Soviet Union's dark days, when its foreign policy was essentially managed by the KGB directors.

Aleppo (Photo: AFP)

Putin, a former KGB man himself, surrounded himself with a group of people that does not use the acceptable diplomatic tools of foreign relations. His working methods are taken from the school of deception, fraud, lies and eliminations  the end justifies all means. When the Russians signed the Syria ceasefire agreement with the Americans, they had no intention of upholding it and did not restrain Assad. On the other hand, the Americans did not succeed to restrain the rebels they support either.

Since the agreement was signed, Aleppo looks more and more like a destroyed Stalingrad.

One of the innovations of the Syrian war effort on the ground is the introduction of the Palestinian element into the fighting. Syrian propaganda has made a point of stressing that a Palestinian force called the Al-Quds Brigade took part in the battles for the occupation of the Handarat refugee camp northeast of Aleppo.

At the same time, the Syrian army took over another area south of Aleppo, called the military colleges' area. Another 250,000 people are currently trapped under a Syrian army siege in a huge pocket in eastern Aleppo, which the regime has managed to besiege.

Israeli officials believe the fighting in Syria will last at least one more year. But a Syrian-Russian victory in Aleppo strengthens the option that Assad will get to keep his seat, this time not just with Russian and Iranian support but also with Turkish and American consent.

On the Turkish border stands a huge convoy carrying thousands of tons of food and humanitarian equipment to the 250,000 people besieged in the Aleppo pocket. This convoy is only 60 kilometers away from these hungry people, but it won't reach them. The food has already begun to rot.
Josef (Yulek) Hermatz, a partisan fighter who was a member of the Jewish Avengers after World War II, was laid to rest on Friday. He passed away at the age of 91 and left behind two sons and a fascinating battle record.

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Hermatz was born in January 1925 to a well-established family in Rokiskis, Lithuania. With the occupation of Vilnius by the Nazis, he joined the United Partisan Organization which was based in the Vilna Ghetto. Hermatz successfully managed to escape to the Rudniki forest and together with the partisans, conducted acts of sabotage against the Nazis and collaborators.

Josef Hermatz and his partisan group (Photo: Yad Vashem)

Josef Hermatz during WWII

"After dad lost his family, he decided to join the resistence," says Ronel Hermatz, Josef's son. "He smuggled fighters through the sewers to the forests where they fought with Abba Kovner's group until the end of the war. After Lithuania's liberation, the organization and my father left the Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel where they joined the Avengers. The goal of the group, which was under the command of Abba Kovner, was revenge against the German people. They chose a few large cities in Germany and dad was responsible for Nuremberg, where he was to take revenge against as many Germans as possible."

Hermatz and Shimon Peres

Hermatz and Golda Meir

In one of their operations, members of the Avengers planned to poison Germany's water supplies with poison Kovner got from the Weizmann Institute. The Jewish population found the idea to be very radical and Kovner was arrested on a ship on his way to Europe. Just before his arrest, he managed to throw the poison into the sea and the plan was never implemented.

Hermatz and Margaret Thatcher

In another operation, members of the group managed to poison bread meant for Nazi POWs and members of the SS. "The number of casualties was never officially reported, but they got an important message acrossthe Jews had not forgotten what the Germans had done to them," said Hermatz.

Hermatz concerned himself later in life with bringing Jews to Israel. During his work at the Jewish Agency, he chartered ships and managed to bring around 100,000 Jews from Eastern Europe and North Africa to Israel. "He belonged to a generation that is going extinct. A generation of leaders that can definitely be used as a role model for the younger leaders of today," said Ronel Hermatz.
The following factors are likely to influence Malaysian palm oil futures and other vegetable oil

markets.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Malaysian palm oil futures declined in trade on Friday, weighed down by lower demand and

profit-taking, but posted their biggest weekly gain since mid-August.

* U.S. soybean futures fell 2.1 percent to a one-week low on Friday on reports of big harvest

yields and heavy farmer sales on the cash market, traders said.

* Oil prices tumbled 4 percent on Friday on signs Saudi Arabia and arch rival Iran were making

little progress in achieving preliminary agreement ahead of talks by major crude exporters next

week aimed at freezing production.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares began the week under a cloud on Monday after losses on Wall Street, as investors'

attention turned from central banks to American politics ahead of the first U.S. presidential

debate.

RELATED

> British PM May rebuffed calls to play bigger role in EU referendum campaign

> China slaps anti-dumping duties on U.S. animal feed ingredient

> Harvest halts, processors close as rains swamp upper Midwest

> India cuts import taxes on wheat, palm oil, refined oils

> Green Plains sees China buying U.S. distillers grains despite duties

DATA/EVENTS

> Cargo surveyor ITS releases Malaysia's Sept 1-30 palm oil export data on Sept 30.

> Cargo surveyor SGS releases Malaysia's Sept 1-30 palm oil export data on Sept 30.

* For a table on Malaysian physical palm oil prices, including refined oil, Reuters Terminal

users can double click on or type.

* To view freight rates from Peninsula Malaysia/Sumatra to China, India, Pakistan and

Rotterdam, please key in and press enter, or double click between the brackets.

* Reuters Terminal users can see cash and futures edible oil prices by double clicking on

the codes in the brackets: To go to the next page in the same chain, hit F12. To go back, hit

F11.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 0052 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL OCT6 0 +0.00 0 0 0

Story continues

MY PALM OIL NOV6 0 +0.00 0 0 0

MY PALM OIL DEC6 0 +0.00 0 0 0

CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN7 5742 -6.00 5686 5746 342736

CHINA SOYOIL JAN7 6378 -26.00 6352 6380 149400

CBOT SOY OIL DEC6 33.57 -14.50 33.48 33.6 2578

INDIA PALM OIL SEP6 582.40 -14.50 576.90 595.9 5046

INDIA SOYOIL OCT6 660.2 -10.60 654.7 669.5 96740

NYMEX CRUDE NOV6 44.91 +0.43 44.57 44.95 8946

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CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound

Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne

India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg

Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

Vegetable oils --

Malaysian palm oil exports --

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CBOT soybean futures --

Indian solvent --

Weekly Indian vegetable oils --

Dalian Commodity Exchange --

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Zhengzhou rapeseed oil --

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(Reporting by KL newsroom)
The Israel Prosecutor's office has advised that a Palestinian terrorist should be sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after being convicted of two counts of attempted murder.

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The terrorist was arrested after trying to carry out a stabbing attack in Pisgat Zeev October 2015.

The advisement was given during the sentencing hearing for the 14 year old terrorist, Ahmed Manasra, on Sunday. The defense claimed that the terrorist "didn't stab anyone," a claim which the prosecution rejected out of hand. Mansara, who attempted to murder a 13 year old Jewish boy  named Noar ben Ezra  said that "he was sorry for what happened."

Manasra in the hospital after trying to kill 2 people, and after Abbas said he was killed

"This isn't a real apology" Noar ben Ezra's father said. "He was told what to say by his lawyer so that he would receive a lighter sentence."

Mansara was 13 years old at the time of his attack, and turned 14 in January. He carried out the attack with his cousin after the two were discussing the "situation" in al-Aqsa mosque and in Gaza after school. The two decided to become martyrs and carry out an attack.

They went to one of their parents' bedrooms, took a 6 inch knife from the closet, and went to the main shopping area in Pisgat Zeev. They stabbed the 13 year old Jewish boy also wounded a 21 year old man. Security forces that arrived at the scene shot and killed one of the boys, and wounded the other one.

After the attack, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the ''execution of the martyr Ahmed Manasra." He was immediately proven wrong when it showed Manasra alive in a hospital bed in Jerusalem.
MADRID -- Spanish police have arrested two Moroccan men accused of supporting Islamist militants and potentially planning an attack on European soil, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said one of the accused had planned on joining the Islamic State group in Syria and had travelled to the country's border with Turkey to meet a member of the organisation to be trained before returning to Europe to take part in an attack.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is considered a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but in his first interview since entering office he clarified that his ties with Netanyahu are not as close as some might believe. He also stressed that regardless of the nature of his ties to the prime minister, it will not affect the legal examination concerning Netanyahu that he's currently overseeing.

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"I did not have a friendly, familial or political relationship with the prime minister, and I have not been to his home in Caesarea," Mandelblit told Naama Cohen-Friedman in an interview set to be published in the Rosh Hashanah issue of the Israeli Bar Association's periodical.

Mandelblit insisted that the fact he served as the cabinet secretarywhich is a position that entails working closely with the prime ministerbefore being appointed attorney general, has not affected the legal examination into Netanyahu's activities.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit (Photo: Zvika Tishler)

The attorney general also rejected the implication that he was trying to hold back police investigators in an effort to avoid a criminal investigation.

"I held a professional position, not a political one," he stressed. "Did I have good working relations with the prime minister and the ministers? Yes. But I was careful not to take it to a place of a personal friendship or anything of the sort. I also made sure I kept my role as professional, as previous cabinet secretaries had done."

Mandelblit with his predecessor Yehuda Weinstein (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Mandelblit asserted there was no problem in the fact he was appointed attorney general without a cooling-off period between positions.

"Eventually, this is a question of being professional and being able to make that separation and be fair and honest when you make decisions, both in providing legal advice and in enforcing the law," he said.

"We're all adults and we all understand what's allowed and what isn't. And I think everyonenot just me but also the prime minister and ministersunderstand that," the attorney general asserted. "There are ministers that are currently under criminal investigation... and there's the prime minister and there's a legal examination concerning him, and we know how to make that separation. I'm in contact with the prime minister and those ministers, working with them, and we all know how to separate the things and not discuss issues we're not supposed to discuss."

Mandelblit with Defense Minister Lieberman (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

The legal examination concerning Netanyahu had begun three months ago, but Mandelblit rejected claims of foot-dragging or attempts to stall for time, noting there is simply no reasonable suspicion at present that necessitates launching a criminal investigation against the prime minister.

"A criminal investigation can only be done when there is a reasonable suspicion that an offense had been committed, and this isn't the situation at the moment," the attorney general determined. "If there's a reasonable suspicion, it will become a criminal investigation and it doesn't matter to me who is being investigated."

Prime Minister Netanyahu and then-cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit (Photo: Reuters)

He went on to explain that "even though the final decision (on whether to launch a criminal investigation) is mine, my responsibility, I don't make it alone and I don't just pull it out of a hat. I consult with many officials beforehand in professional discussions, and in general of course with investigation officials and the State Attorney's Office."

"The examination is still ongoing," he continued. "And there are still actions that need to be taken by the policewhich I authorizedand this is why the case is not yet on my table pending a decision."

"I hold many meetings on the topicabout once a week. No one has an interest in delaying the matter, no one is gaining from a delay," he added, noting he can't predict when the examination will end and a decision is made.

Mandelblit withh Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Before serving as the cabinet secretary, Mandelblit served in 2004-2011 as the military advocate general. Now, in an unusual move, he is fully backing current Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek, who is currently overseeing the trial of Sgt. Elor Azaria. Azaria is facing manslaughter charges after shooting dead a seriously wounded terrorist in Hebron.

"The military advocate general should ignore all of the background noises around him and make the most professional decision he can, based on the existing evidence and based on his values and worldview," Mandelblit said, likely referring to political support for Azaria. "He has full backing from me."

Mandelblit himself is not involved in the Azaria trial. "I wasn't involved in the decision made on the case, but I did receive an update in real time from the military advocate general," he said. "I don't plan on talking about the case itself since it's still ongoing at the military court, but I think it's very important to the IDF and the state that the military advocate general and his office are able to make independent and professional decisionsand I have no doubt that this was the case here as well."

Speaking of the state of corruption in the State of Israel, the attorney general opined that "I don't think the country is corrupt."

"Overall, we have a good public system and the cases of corruption that are exposed in it are still unusual," he explained. "However, when I entered the attorney general's office I discovered that the situation was far worse than what I had initially thought. I don't want to undermine the local authorities, but there are quite a few problems there."

The attorney general concluded that "We must check, locate, investigate, and identify centers of corruption and deal with them with the utmost seriousness, including conducting (criminal) investigations and filing indictments. This actually points to the strength of the system and its determination to deal with these phenomena."
DUSHANBE - China plans to finance and build several outposts and other facilities to beef up Tajikistan's defense capabilities along its border with Afghanistan, the Tajik government said on Monday.

The Central Asian nation's 1,345-km border with its southern neighbour is leaky and Dushanbe routinely reports clashes between border guards and armed drug smugglers there.

The increased activity of Afghan Taliban in the northern Kunduz province is another source of concern.

In a decree published on Monday, the government instructed the State National Security Committee to sign an agreement with the Chinese side which provides for the construction of eleven outposts of different sizes and a training centre for border guards.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, during a weeklong trade mission to Israel, says the University of Maryland, Baltimore is expanding ties with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Hogan said the "agreement will further strengthen the successful partnership between these world-class universities and help to advance research in Maryland, particularly in the study of military medicine."

He said a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Sunday "to explore opportunities for joint research or training, exchange scholars for seminars and conferences, and increase the exchange of students and faculty for research, teaching, and study over the next five years."

Hogan is in Israel leading a delegation of business and academic leaders along with state officials as part of a weeklong economic development trip. Meetings focused on cybersecurity, biotech and medical industries.
More than 15,000 people gathered in Helsinki on Saturday to protest against racism and violence, after the death of a man assaulted during a neo-Nazi rally in the city earlier this month.

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Following an influx of asylum seekers last year, anti-immigration sentiment has been on the rise in the small Nordic country, which has little experience in taking in large numbers of refugees.

Finnish protest against racism in Helsinki (Photo: Reuters)

Police a week ago detained a member of a far-right movement on suspicion of attacking a Finnish national in central Helsinki who died of his injuries a few days later.

Holding placards showing peace signs and red lines crossing out swastikas, demonstrators said it was time to break the silence that they said had allowed racism and far-right violence to grow in the country. Similar events were held in other towns.

"People really feel that there's not enough talk about racism here. There's too much neglect. We should all speak more against racism, including the leaders," said a demonstrator who gave her name as Rosa.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who has been criticized for being cautious on his comments about far-right movements, joined a similar anti-racism rally in the city of Kuopio.

"People are here for a just cause. Actions by violent extreme movements are a worry to the silent majority of the nation," Sipila told public broadcaster YLE.

Finnish man killed in suspected far-right attack

He said the government was planning to tighten legislation regarding extremist movements and hate speech.

The 26-year-old man arrested has been charged for aggravated manslaughter. He is a member of Finland's Resistance Movement, a far-right group that the Finnish Security Intelligence Service says aims to create a national socialist state. He has denied being involved in the incident.

Last year, police detained people at a demonstration by the group in central Finland saying that some of the demonstrators had assaulted bystanders.

In Helsinki, a small group of people on Saturday gathered for a counter demonstration they titled "Close the borders", saying that critics of immigration policy should not be called racists.

Police said all demonstrations on Saturday went ahead peacefully.

About 32,000 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq, came to Finland last year. As in other Nordic countries, the government has subsequently toughened up its immigration policies, such as by tightening the asylum criteria for people coming from Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
The widow of Misha Miskan, who famously went on a 67-day hunger strike to protest the eviction of Yamit in the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, has approached the Israeli government for assistance. While her husband, who died eight years ago, refused to accept any monetary compensation from the state after he was forced from his home, his widow explained that her current financial situation necessitates her request for the money.

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After losing 44 kilos during his hunger strike, Mishkan relented after then chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef asked him to break his fast. Yosef came to meet Mishkan and warned him that if he were to die from the fast, a civil war might break out as a result.

The 1982 Yamit evacuation

As the Mishkans do not have children, his widow would be entitled to the money that would have gone to her husband, if he would have accepted it at the time. The Prime Ministers Office responded to the request, stating that it is under consideration.

Misha Mishkan made headlines once more, in 1995, when he arrived at Yitzhak Rabins funeral with a sign around his neck that read: I am ashamed. When asked about it, he explained that While I didnt agree with (Rabins) opinions and his last courses of action, I certainly appreciated him on a personal level.
The trial over a deadly 2012 bombing of a tour bus full of Israelis in Bulgaria, which was due to start on Monday, has been pushed back to November because of a procedural error, prosecutors said.

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The opening was delayed because the Sofia court had failed to inform the victims' families of the start date, prosecutors told AFP.

Scene of Burgas terror attack (Photo: AP)

The proceedings against two alleged suspects in the attack, who are on the run and being tried in absentia, will now start on November 10.

A Franco-Lebanese national, identified as Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini, blew up a bus carrying Israeli tourists at the airport of the Black Sea coast resort of Burgas on July 18, 2012.

Five Israelis, their Bulgarian driver and the bomber himself died in the attack, which left 35 other Israelis injured.

Bulgarian authorities identified the attacker's alleged accomplices as two Lebanese men with links to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, named as Australian passport holder Meliad Farah and Canadian citizen Hassan El Hajj Hassan.

The attack -- which both Israel and Bulgaria blamed on Hezbollah -- was the deadliest attack against Israelis abroad since 2004 and played a role in a subsequent European Union decision to blacklist Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization.
ANKARA -- A significant portion of Kurdish YPG militia fighters who were in the northern Syrian town of Manbij are withdrawing to the east of the Euphrates river in a move welcomed by Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters on Monday.

Ankara has demanded that the YPG forces move east of the Euphrates, viewing the group as closely linked to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants fighting in southeast Turkey and deeming both groups terrorist organisations.
BEIRUT -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in a TV interview broadcast Monday that an internationally-brokered cease-fire for Syria is still viable, as rescue workers in Aleppo cleaned up from what they said were the worst airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years.

Al-Moallem, in the interview on Mayadeen TV from New York, also said President Bashar Assad's administration is prepared to take part in a unity government, incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past by his opponents.
Hungarian authorities are hunting for a man who detonated a homemade fragmentation bomb that seriously wounded two officers in central Budapest, the country's police chief said Sunday.

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Police were the targets in the blast late Saturday near the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, national police chief Karoly Papp said.

"We have established, without a doubt, that our police officers were the targets of the attack," Papp said. "They wanted to execute my police officers."

Papp didn't say why the suspect wanted to harm police officers. But he didn't rule out terrorism, one of seven working theories established by investigators in the case categorized as an attempted murder.

Police forensic experts examine the explosion scene in central Budapest (Photo: AP)

Papp offered a 10-million-forint ($36,700) reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect, believed to be 20-25 years old and 170 centimeters (around 5'6") tall.

"We will find the perpetrator and discover his motivation," Papp said, adding that several hundred officers and investigators were working on the case.

Several streets and an important avenue near the site of the explosion were still closed to traffic late Sunday as investigators searched for evidence. Papp couldn't say when they would be reopened.

A 23-year-old female officer suffered life-threatening injuries while her 26-year-old male partner was also seriously wounded while they were on foot patrol. Both were recuperating in intensive care after surgery.
Lev Tahor (Pure Heart), an ultra-Orthodox group whose members reside mostly in Guatemala, has found itself in hot water yet again after the groups compound was raided two weeks ago by Guatemalan authorities due to cases of suspected child abuse.

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The raid prompted its members to leave the site to a new location in Eastern Guatemala on Sunday, and complain that they are being persecuted because of their faith.

Considered to be a cult by the Israeli Center for Victims of Cults, Lev Tahor is made up of roughly 230 members from Israel, the US, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador and several European countries.

Lev Tahor members leaving their Guatemala home (Photo: AFP)

One of the groups leaders, Rabbi Uriel Goldman, cited harassment as the reason for the move. Guatemalan officials said that the raid was carried out at the request of Israeli authorities, which have been trying to locate a kidnapped young girl and to get to the bottom of a string of abuse allegations.

Waiting to relocate (Photo: AFP)

An official stated that during the raid, evidence against heads of the group was gathered, as part of a pending investigation against Lev Tahor, which includes some 150 miors in total.

Members of the group have been wandering the globe for years, after allegations of child abuse have followed them to Israel, Canada and the US. All of these allegations are false, theyre nothing but a scare tactic, said David Sandoval, a member of Lev Tahor.

We cant stand it anymore, Goldman continued. Were going to start over. The group is planning on moving 50km from the capital of Guatemala City, where they purchased land with the intent of building houses on it. For the meantime, though, they are living in tents.

The groups high leader, Shlomo Erez Helbrans, decided to covertly move the group to Guatemala after Canadian officials began fighting him over moving the children into foster care. The families of the groups Israeli members have claimed that Helbrans abuses the children by locking them in basements and hitting them with clubs, coat hangers and iron rods. Quebec officials additionally claimed that the children were given melatonin as a behavior modifying drug and forced to enter into marriage at the age of 14.

Two weeks ago, several of the groups leaders were arrested, and dozens of Israeli children and babies were taken into protective care.
After months of tangling from afar, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will confront each other face-to-face for the first time in Monday night's presidential debate, laying out for voters their vastly different visions for America's future.

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The high-stakes showdownthe first of three presidential debatescomes as both candidates are viewed negatively by large numbers of Americans, with Democrat Clinton facing questions about her trustworthiness and Republican Trump struggling to convince many voters that he has the temperament and policy depth to be president.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (Photo: Reuters and AFP)

Interest in the presidential race has been intense, and the campaigns are expecting a record-breaking audience to watch the 90-minute televised debate at suburban New York's Hofstra University.

Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, is banking on voters seeing her as a steady hand who can build on the record of President Barack Obama, whose popularity is rising as he winds down his second term in office. She's called for expanding Obama's executive orders if Congress won't pass legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system and for broader gun control measures. Overseas, she's called for a no-fly zone in Syria but has vowed to keep the military out of a large-scale ground war to defeat the Islamic State terror group.

For Clinton, victory in November largely hinges on rallying the same young and diverse coalition that elected Obama but has yet to fully embrace her. Her campaign manager, Robby Mook, told "CBS This Morning" on Monday that she fully understood she still needs to earn voters' trust.

"When she's had the opportunity to talk about not just what her plans are to make a difference in people's lives, but how this campaign is really part of a lifelong mission to fight for kids and families, she's done really well," Mook said.

Donald Trump (Photo: AFP)

Trump has tapped into deep anxieties among some Americans, particularly white, working-class voters who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying nation. While the real estate mogul lacks the experience Americans have traditionally sought in a commander in chief, he's banking on frustration with career politicians and disdain for Clinton to push him over the top on Election Day.

Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said Monday that she saw her candidate as "ready for tonight."

That natural connective tissue he has with people, and his ability to communicate directly with people through the noiseor through the silence, whatever the case may bewill be on display tonight," Conway said.

The centerpiece of Trump's campaign has been a push for restrictive immigration measures, including a physical wall along the US-Mexico border and an early proposal to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from coming to the US. But he's been less detailed about other ideas, including his plan for stamping out the Islamic State group in the Middle East, and Conway suggested he'd be similarly coy in Monday's debate.

"You will get his view of how best to defeat the enemywithout telling ISIS specifically what it's going to be," Conway said on MSNBC, using another acronym for IS.

Hillary Clinton (Photo: AFP)

Clinton's camp is worried that Trump will be held to a different standard in the debate and is particularly concerned that the notoriously hot-headed businessman will be rewarded for simply keeping his cool. Clinton backers have been publicly pushing moderator Lester Holt of NBC News to fact-check Trump if he tries to mislead voters about his record and past statements.

"We also are concerned that Trump is going to continue to lie," Mook said.

The billionaire's advisers have indeed been urging him to keep calm on stage, mindful of voters' concerns about his temperament. On Saturday, Trump showed a glimpse of the traits his advisers want to keep in check, announcing on Twitter that he might extend a debate invitation to Gennifer Flowers, a woman who had an affair with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Trump's campaign said the candidate was responding to Clinton's decision to invite businessman and Trump critic Mark Cuban to the debate, and that Trump floated the invitation to remind people of his ability to punch back. By Sunday, his campaign said Flowers would not be attending.

Trump was often a commanding presence in the Republican primary debates, launching biting personal attacks on his rivals. But at times, he appeared to fade into the background, especially during more technical policy discussionssomething he'll be unable to do with just two candidates on stage.

Clinton has debated more than 30 times at the presidential level, including several one-on-one contests against Obama in 2008 and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. But Monday's contest will be her first presidential debate against a candidate from the opposing party.
Lord Parry Mitchell, a Jewish official in the British Labour Party, officially announced Sunday his resignation from the party after Jeremy Corbyn was reelected as party leader on Saturday.

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During an interview with Ynet Radio, Mitchell explained his reasons for his resignation, citing Corbyns long-standing anti-Israel stance and rampant anti-Semitism within the party itself. If I didnt take this decision, I am not sure Id be able to look myself in the mirror, he said.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn (Photo: Reuters)

Prior to the Labour leadership elections, Mitchell declared that he would tender his resignation if Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected due to what he described as his failed complaints on the issue of anti-Semitism in the party.

Mitchell, 73, also told Ynet that despite his opposition to Corbyn, he had been willing to give him a chance. Corbyn was absolutely not the person I wanted leading the Labour Party but I decided to give it a year just to see how it went and a year has come and a year has gone and in my view the situation in the Labour Party has got worse.

Lord Parry Mitchell

Corbyn has been fighting repeated battles over allegations of anti-Semitism and extremely hostile comments which he has expressed about Israel throughout his political career.

Beset by a political rebellion staged by even his closest allies, dividing its supporters over hard-line socialist policies and having lead the party into almost unparalleled disarray, Corbyn still managed to clinch 62% of the vote in Saturdays leadership elections leaving his opponent Owen Smith with a meagre 38%. Indeed, the mandate Corbyn received this time round only served to consolidate a tenuous grasp on power.

Mitchell went on to say that the Labour Party had been infiltrated by a group of young radical leftists, who did not represent the core of the partys supporters. Nor did the leader, he insisted, reflect an inherent anti-Semitic sentiment within the party itself.

Photo: Reuters

I speak to lots of Israelis and it would be a big mistake to assume that the Labour party is anti-Semitic...In fact I think England is a pretty good place to be Jewish, Mitchell said.

Asked whether he thought Jeremy Corbyn was sympathetic to anti-Semitism, Mitchell responded, I dont know if (Corbyn) is sympathetic to anti-Semitism. In the minds of anybody who hates Israel  which he does  anyone who supports Israel is therefore bad...He does not see anti-Semitism as racismHe cant mention the word Israel. It is very hard for him.
Senior PLO member Saeb Erekat has condemned statements by US presidential candidate Donald Trump during the latter's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York last week.

Trump told Netanyahu that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people, and that if he were elected he would acknowledge it as such. Erekat said this shows a contempt for international law by the Republican candidate, and that it is ignoring US State Department policy regarding Jerusalem's standing.

US administrations from both major parties have remained neutral on the question of Jerusalem, since both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim ownership of parts of the city or all of it.
With the passing of a tumultuous year in Israel, characterized by terror attacks including stabbings, shooting and car-rammingsmany of which took place in Jerusalemand with a seeming renewed thrust behind the wave of terror, maintaining healthy tourism rates is no simple challenge.

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Nevertheless, opinions on whether tourism is on the decline differs. Michael Weis, chairman of the Tourist Forum in Jerusalem, believes that the situation is actually more relaxed than ever. Any 16-year-old boy who waives a knife is a terrorist. This is a meaningless event in the fabric of Jerusalemboth to residents and tourists, he said.

Israel Border Police in Jerusalem (Photo: Eli Menedelbaum)

By contrast Yehudah Aslan, who heads the Association of Restaurant Tours, pointed to many cancellations resulting from the security situation and even argues that the tourism industry in the capital is in serious jeopardy. You see the cancellations that we receive and in the end what helps us is the people from Jerusalem themselves who never stop going out, Aslan said.

Eilat Lieber from the Tower of David Museum, one of Jerusalems most visited sites, believes that the attacks only affect certain spots. First of all, people know that we are talking about Jerusalem which is a big city and people know how to distinguish between problematic areas and places which are safe to visit, she insisted.

Tower of David Museum (Photo: Eli Mendelbaum)

Walking through the streets of Jerusalem and its famous tourist hot spots however, one would hardly know that terror had affected the tourism industry as languages from all corners of the globe continue to be heard.

Leah and Lizzie from Hamburg, who are aware of the new impetus behind the cycle of violence, say that no amount of terror will deter them from visiting the holy sites. People told us it is dangerous in Jerusalem but our faith in Jesus brought us here and nothing will change thatnot even the terror, they said as they stood between the Kotel Tunnels.

Leah and Lizzie (Photo: Eli Mendelbaum)

Jonis, who is visiting Israel for two weeks from Germany, said that the highlight of his trip was his visit to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. We Germans know first-hand what terror is, and all over the world there is terror. In fact, the feeling here is more safe thanks to increased security and the presence of soldiers and police officers on every corner, Jonis said.

Jonas: 'here feels safer than everywhere else' (Photo: Eli Mendelbaum)

Many school trips can also be seen in the Jewish Quarter. One such tour was organized by a school in Modiin which arrived the celebrate a Bat Mitzvah in the Kotel. Itai Navon, a mother of one of the participants told Ynet: There were a few parents who worried. We did a vote and it was decided that we would go, but accompanied by a security detail.

Pini Rafael from a development company in the Jewish Quarter agrees that there has been no increase in the number of cancellations. However, he recognizes the complexity of the current situation. People insist when it comes to the matter of security, but they come en masse to the city, he said.
Israeli teenager Moran Hadid hasn't yet reached the age of 18, but he's already going for a Guinness world record. Hadid, 17, plans on being the person to visit the largest number of European countries.

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"I'm a person who really really likes traveling, who enjoys it a lotsearching for new people, new friends, different worlds, different cultures," he told Ynet, "I've always wanted to break a world record and visit as many European countries as possible before the age of 18."

A critical question for this matter is money. How did you fund these travels?

"I work. I funded the trip. Of course, supported by my parents, no doubt, but in principle the funding came 80 percent from me."

You're not the only one trying to break this record.

"That's right, I have a competitor, a 19-year-old Chinese guy who has 'conquered' nearly all of Europe. I'm now in the process of breaking his record, but I haven't yet received an answer on the matter."

So, what, you just call Guinness and say, 'Hi, I'm Moran, and I'm breaking a world record?'

"Not exactly that way. You fill in forms in detail, bring proof, and explain. They examine things and come back to you later. In the meantime I'm waiting, but I'm optimistic."

You have two months until you're 18 and you need to visit five countries, which are they?

"Portugal, Russia, Belarus, Croatia, and Slovenia."

The video is starting to go viral now, What are the responses like?

"A lot of 'likes' an shares, people have really been enthusiastic."

Moran Hadid during his travels. (Photo: Moran Hadid)

Is there any envy?

"Of course, I won't say (there isn't). But in principle, (my) friends are supportive. Not everyone does this trip at this age."

Moran hasn't just visited Europe, he's also spent some time living in Berlin. "That was a personal initiative as well," he said. "I come from a very active place in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I traveled with delegations in which I represented the state in this and that event, so I wanted to enrich (myself), learn a language, and I went to study German there for three months."

Is there some ideology beyond just fun that pushes you to do this?

"Of course. I was an ambassador of the state. In every trip I take (note of) the diplomatic aspect. That is a responsibility for me."

Which destination was your favorite?

"London, without any doubt."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus security detail was forced to push aside two women as they attempted to approach him at a Broadway theater ahead of a performance of the musical Hamilton, according to a Saturday report in Britains The Daily Mail.

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During the prime miniser's trip to New York, he addressed the UN General Assembly met with President Barack Obama and with presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton

Netanyahu enters the Richard Rogers Theater in Broadway, New York

The incident took place at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York when two women began shouting verbal abuse at the prime minister, calling out "Free Palestine."

The women then attempted to barge their way through the security entourage and were quickly repelled.

According to a report in the New York Post, members of the audience shouted abuse at Netanyahu as well.

Theater-goers were not happy with the Israeli prime minister. It isnt enough that it is hard to get tickets to a Saturday night show. Netanyahus arrival turned the theater into an airport, one theater-goer wrote online.

Liz Hoffman, who was also present during Netanyahus visit, wrote: It is perhaps the biggest security presence in the theater since Obama visited here. Netanyahu is in da house.

Another spectator told the New York Post, All the focus was on him. There was lots of applause but also boos.
Mehmet Kaman | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images. A rise in right-wing extremism is posing a serious threat to the economy in East Germany, according to a government report.

A rise in right-wing extremism is posing a serious threat to the economy in East Germany, according to a government report.

One such industry affected is tourism. The Dresden marketing organization told CNBC via telephone that domestic visitor numbers, based on overnight stays in the city, were down 3.7 percent year on year in the period of January to July 2016.

This is a significant amount when you take into consideration that domestic holidaymakers account for 80 percent of the total tourism in Germany, according to the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

The visitor drop in Dresden was partly blamed on xenophobic statements made during Pegida demonstrations. Pegida is a far right, anti-immigration group originating in Dresden.

Slightly offsetting the domestic fall, international tourist figures in Dresden were up 4.4 percent in the same period.

Iris Gleicke, the German official behind the governmental report published earlier this week, said that: "Right-wing extremism in all its forms poses a very serious threat for the social and economic development of the 'new' states." The report is published annually and assesses Germany's reunification process.



For GNTB CEO Petra Hedorfer, the news was not a surprise. She added that: "Across Germany too we are currently observing a slowdown in the growth of inbound tourism, which had previously been booming."

Hedorfer acknowledged that the phenomenon's effects could be more wide ranging: "Right-wing extremism, xenophobia and terrorist attacks are damaging Germany's image abroad and could have an impact on the volume of inbound travel to the country that would then affect its tourism economy."

According to a report by domestic intelligence agency BfV, the number of attacks per million citizens inspired by right-wing sentiments in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was five times higher than western German states, falling at 58.7. Here, the far right Alternative fur Deutschland party saw election success earlier this month. Two weeks ago, residents clashed with asylum seekers in the East German town of Bautzen.



Story continues

Several analysts CNBC spoke to pointed out that rising tensions between immigrants and far right groups  and the potential impact on tourism  was not just occurring in Germany, but across Europe too.

But, Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, added that: "There is a much more pervasive fear of Islamist militancy than right-wing extremism. Caucasian tourists are far less likely to be targeted by right-wing extremists. The specific intent of Islamist militants to target Western civilians in general means that there is a greater risk from this angle."

Hedorfer suggested that: "International travelers have a growing awareness of social responsibility and of the political and social trends that are playing out in the destinations that they visit."

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.


f35 helmet

WASHINGTON, D.C. The F-35 Lightning II is without doubt one of the most intricate weapons systems in the history of the Department of Defense, and the custom-made helmet used to fly the jet matches its sophistication.

"It is the only aircraft that has ever had the helmet made in conjunction with the aircraft," said US Air Force Maj. Will "D-Rail" Andreotta, commander of the F-35A Lightning II Heritage Flight Team. "We have so many systems and sensors on the aircraft, so as they were building the F-35 they basically thought about how the helmet would help."

hey gorgeous

Lockheed Martin's Helmet Mounted Display Systems (HMDS) is designed to give F-35 pilots "unprecedented situational awareness" by displaying airspeed, altitude, targeting information, and threat warnings on the helmet's visor.

"Pilots thrive with situational awareness aids," John "JV" Venable, a retired US Air Force Colonel and senior research fellow for defense policy at Heritage Foundation, told Business Insider. "As a pilot, if you can make it simple for me to detect the enemy that's great, and if you can make it simple for me to see the enemy that's even better."

In short, as Andreotta said, "you can't fight what you can't see," and the jet's Distributed Aperture System (DAS) system helps do just that.

f35a

"I have six cameras around the aircraft called DAS, and with a flip of a switch I can put it to my helmet and have a full 360-degree view of what I'm seeing."

"Think of Wonder Woman's' invisible airplane, that's exactly what this aircraft has the capability to do because of the HMDS," Venable told Business Insider. "If a pilot needs to he can look between his legs and see through the airplane. That's how extraordinary this aircraft is."

hey gorgeous

Story continues

"It does take a while to get use to the HMDS, but as soon as you master that, it's one of the greatest gifts you can give a pilot," Venable said.

afa f35 amanda

Trying on Andreotta's custom-fitted helmet, I found the equipment to be extremely light, weighing approximately 4.5 pounds.

The inside shell of the helmet is molded to each pilot's head for a comfortable and snug fit.

According to Andreotta, a former F-16 pilot with a total of 2,000 flight hours, the F-35 helmet offers a better weight and center of gravity.

"When I flew an F-16 they basically took an old helmet and but a big computer in front of it."

Andreotta also explained the five minute process it took in an F-16 to switch to night vision during combat missions in Afghanistan:

"I literally had to take my helmet off, I had to unstrap my JHMCS [Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System] computer ... then I had to put the bracket on for my night vision and then I had to put my goggles on my night vision bracket itself and then I put my goggles down to use them and then I'm ready to go." "This whole time I'm not in the fight because I'm trying to get myself ready for night and my wingman is basically a one man ship."

f35 night

"But gone are those days, so now, I flip a switch near my thumb and flip another switch and in a span of less than a second, I have night vision."

"That's a huge improvement, because you improve the kill chain and I can get bombs on targets faster," Andreotta said.

NOW WATCH: This is how pilots train to fly America's most expensive fighter jets





More From Business Insider


C-130 PLAQUE ADDED TO UNIT WALL

A C-130 Hercules Tactical Airlift Mission Plaque was added to the Unit/Mission Wall at the Southeast Asia Pavilion along the Association of Graduates Heritage Trail on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016.

A good crowd, including some those who played a role in the C-130 tactical airlift effort in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, was on hand to witness the unveiling of the plaque.

Those attending the special ceremony near Doolittle Hall on the United States Air Force Academy grounds enjoyed a lunch while the plaque was permanently attached to the Unit/Mission Wall.

View photos from the event.




Opening November 12th, 2016 from 5-8 PM thru December 4th, 2016 my lifelong dream has finally come true. The fine art of Little Red Tricycle is being presented in animated art form. The image of Zoe and the Little Red Tricycle meets Gumbo will be exhibited in Lafayette Louisiana at the Acadiana Center of the Arts. The exhibition consists of 20 paintings and the animation which is the newest art form of the series of Little Red Tricycle. For more information visit acadianacenterforthearts.org
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Imagine everyone calling you big ears. <br><br>Not that big ears are bad things to have; think of all the extra earrings you could wear (for girls) and all the extra earrings you could wear (for boys)! But for a minimalist like me who cant really stand jewellery, having big ears becomes a bitermheavy on the head. <br><br>So, before all those who rejoice in reminding me of my twin assets (OFCOURSE, ears I mean), I drop names of some personalities with similar anatomy- Gandhi, Buddha, Ganesh.the last name warms ones heart, no? But as far as Ganesh goes, I am happy that the similarities end at ears.<br><br>For, imagine everyone calling you big nose, big paunch, elephantine and toothy, apart from big ears. Of course, only the ignorant can call Ganesh such names intending literal meanings. There, I wish, were more similarities between Him and me. <br><br>Ganesh doesnt have a pan-India approach for nothing. With Mallus cladding Him in mundu, Gujaratis depicting Him as the ideal dandiya boy, the northerners happy to see Him perched on a rat and the ancient Afghans sculpting Him in their traditional turban et al, I dare say Ganesh one of most popular Gods of the Indian pantheon and with the unique position of being prayed to first. <br><br>And, as I said, its not for nothing.<br><br>Such is the appeal that from the millennia old Rig Veda to the Shahrukh Khan starrer Don, no one can do without a swish of His ears and the aroma of His modak. Though the Rig Veda, contend a few, may not be referring to the Ganesh that we welcome to our homes every year with a lot of pomp and show.<br><br>May we worship Ganapati,<br>The Protector of Noble People,<br>The Best Poet,<br>The Most Honourable,<br>The Greatest Ruler and<br>The Treasure of all Knowledge<br><br>(Rig Veda 2.23.1)<br><br>goes an invocation to Lord Ganapati in the oldest Veda. This probably is the only reference to Ganapati- another name of Ganesh. But is that the same elephant headed God who is being sung about in the Veda? Cant say, for the imagery that we associate with Ganesh appeared only in the Gupta period. <br><br>But, better late than never!<br><br>We should thank Ganesh for appearing and Adi Shankaracharya for categorizing Him as one of the 5 eternal deities of Hindu religion (the other 4 being: Sun, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga) <br><br>Just imagine (again) whom would we call upon to clear our path of obstacles had it not been for Ganesh; the Karmayogi Krishna (would probably say: You will reap as you sow) or the Mahayogi Shiva (would just mutter Ommm)? <br><br>But why is Ganesh called Vighneshwara, the Lord of Obstacles, if he is supposed to destroy the obstacles? In Hinduism and Buddhist tantra, Vinayakas were four mischief-making entities. If they were propitiated, they obliged one by not causing any trouble. Some just point out that it is Ganeshs job to give trouble to those who are up to no good, thats why the name. <br><br>Whatever the history/hearsay, the reason that Ganesh endures as the God of small and big things even today is that He is so real and ideal at the same time. <br><br>He is the child in all of us. He wants to be loved by His parents- even more than His sibling. Even if He has to forsake his desires (symbolized by flashy mounts viz lion, bull, peacock etc.) and choose the humble mouse, he will happily do so just so His parents favour Him. <br><br>Like a good, obedient lad He will follow instructions of the mother even if He has to risk His ego (symbolized by the human head that Shiva axed). In return, He got the dignity, respect and wisdom that are captured only in the head of an elephant. That wisdom made him circumambulate his parents when he was asked to take the round of the Earth- Shiv Parvati are His world. <br><br>With that one sacrifice, Ganesh the boy became Ganesh the God. <br><br>And he is loved by millions because He is always ready to listen. His big ears are a solace to those who have been wronged and need to empty their troubled souls. His trunk helps Him discriminate between right and wrong- as also indicating His great reach. His beady eyes enable Him to see only the good in people. His single tooth signifies that there is only One God, that He is all wisdom (elephant head) & love (the modak). <br><br>Bowing to Ganesh means understanding and appreciating all of the above, hence attaining the Truth. The 10-day Ganesh festival also has a deep meaning to it. Though an ancient tradition, it was turned into the grand affair that it is today by Lokmanya Tilak to drum up nationalistic pride and unity among people. <br><br>But Ganesh is beyond any country. He has got nothing to do with national pride (though, internationally, He is an India icon) but everything to do with existential essence. <br><br>For Ganesha is called Pranavakaar- in the shape of OM. <br><br>To You whom the wise exclaim<br>As the single-syllabled Supreme sound,<br>Stainless & peerless<br>Primeval One, I bow in adoration<br><br>(Adi Shankaracharya in Ganesh Bhujangam) <br><br>Ganeshs form resembles OM and in that He is a universal entity, present at the very core of Being. <br><br>Welcoming of Ganesh means bringing out the Lord that resides within us, in order to thank Him and serve Him. For 10 days, everything & everywhere becomes Ganesh i.e one sees the good aspect within all. At the end of the festival, we ask Ganesh to not just remain outside but enter our stream of consciousness- that is Visarjan. And all of it is done with joy and playfulness- as Ganesh likes it. <br><br>For thats what being Ganesh is: giving up the ego, remaining above materialism (symbolized in His one feet always being above the ground and one on the seat), yet using materials when needed, being an exceptional leader (Gana-pati) and yet keeping humble (He travels on a mouse). In short, living it and loving it too. <br><br>So this time, when you are grabbing a modak after prayer and somebody calls you Big Paunch, just know that there is someone else who is a big paunch and its doing a lot of good!
Allahabad: A PIL has been over Baloch Republican Party (BRP) founder Brahumdagh Bugti`s asylum request to India and the matter will be heard at the Allahabad court on Monday.

The PIL was filed to the Lucknow bench of Allahabad Court. This development comes after Bugti last week announced that he would appeal for a political asylum in India.

Bugti said that the decision was taken in his party`s central committee meeting.

"The meeting of our central committee ended today. And in the meeting the members of the central committee have decided with majority that I will appeal for a political asylum in India," Bugti told ANI.

Bugti said that the he would seek an appointment with the Indian embassy in Geneva.

"This decision has been taken and we will start working on it right away. Within two to three days, we will seek an appointment before the Indian embassy and we will present our case based on that," he added.

Bugti had earlier clarified that he has not made a formal request to India for asylum, but added that he would certainly consider it if given an opportunity in the future.

"Our people in Balochistan and Afghanistan are in a very difficult situation. Very few of them are able to come to Europe, rest are living there only. So, we want that the Indian Government should open there doors for them and provide them access, including myself. Right now, I`m here (Switzerland), but I face problem regarding my travel. So, if I get an option to be in India, I will definitely go there," Bugti told ANI.

When asked as to why he is seeking asylum in India, Bugti said, "India is our neighboring country.

In Europe, even if a government or the immigration department knows the problem, the people don`t. But in India, the people know about our problems, we will have their support. We share the same culture. We will be closer to our people and our people can easily seek asylum there, and it is easier for them to reach there with their families."
Washington: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should not be elected as the next US president as he is "unfit" for the post and makes "crude generalisations" about nations and religions, two of America's most influential newspapers have said in their editorials.

Editorial boards of 'The Washington Post' and 'The New York Times' yesterday made a strong case that Trump should not be elected as the president.

The editorials came ahead of an all-important first presidential debate in Hofstra University tonight.

"It is beyond debate that Donald Trump is unfit to be president," said The Washington Post, while 'The New York Times' argued the case in its lead editorial 'Why Donald Trump should not be president'.

A day earlier 'The New York Times' endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as the next president of the US.

The elections for the next occupant of the White House would be held on November 8. Latest polls show that the two are in a dead heat.

About a month ago, Trump, 70, was trailing Clinton by more than seven-eight points on an average.

"Voters attracted by the force of the Trump personality should pause and take note of the precise qualities he exudes as an audaciously different politician: bluster, savage mockery of those who challenge him, degrading comments about women, mendacity, crude generalisations about nations and religions," The New York Times editorial Board wrote.

"Our presidents are role models for generations of our children. Is this the example we want for them?" the daily asked.

As Americans prepare to watch the first presidential debate, The Washington Post editorial board said the challenge for today's audience was to avoid the trap of thinking of this debate as yet another opportunity for "the real Trump" ? or even a "new Trump" ? to emerge, either stylistically or substantively.

"It's way too late for that. The real Trump has been before the citizenry ever since he announced his candidacy in a rambling jeremiad that blamed Mexico for 'sending' 'rapists' to the United States as illegal immigrants. It has been said that the true test of an ordinary person's character is how you behave when no one is watching," it said.

"The corollary standard for a presidential candidate could be: how you behave repeatedly in public, before the one big night when everyone is watching. Even by that more forgiving standard, Trump has already flunked," The Washington Post said.

The editorial said Trump had amply demonstrated his "unworthiness" to occupy the Oval Office.

"It's beyond his capacity in the upcoming 90-minute question-and-answer sessions to reverse or even substantially modify that conclusion," the daily said.

Meanwhile, the Trump Campaign slammed 'The New York Times' for endorsing Clinton.

"The New York Times' Editorial Board is the embodiment of the rigged system Donald Trump is running against," said Jason Miller, senior communications adviser to the Trump Campaign.
Burlington: The gunman believed to have opened fire with a rifle at a Washington state mall, killing five people, was captured on Saturday one day after the attack, authorities said.

Authorities identified the shooter as Arcan Cetin, 20, a resident of Oak Harbor, Washington. Police said he was taken into custody without incident in Oak Harbor, some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Burlington where the shooting occurred 24 hours earlier.

The gunman began shooting at the Cascade Mall around 7 p.m. local time on Friday in the cosmetics section of a Macy`s department store, police said, killing four women as well as one man who died later at a hospital.

Police told reporters nothing is yet known about Cetin`s possible motive but they were not ruling out anything, including terrorism. They described his demeanor when apprehended as "zombie like," and said he was unarmed.

They said he was born in Turkey, and described his status as that of a "legal, permanent resident" in the United States.

Surveillance video from the mall in Burlington, around 65 miles (105 km) north of Seattle, showed the gunman walked into the shopping center without a rifle, but later caught him brandishing the weapon, Mount Vernon Police Lieutenant Chris Cammock said

The rifle was later recovered at the mall, said Cammock, commander of the Skagit County Multi-Agency Response Team.

Authorities have not identified the victims, but local media said they ranged in age from mid-teens to mid-90s, and included a mother and her daughter.

Steve Sexton, the mayor of Burlington, described the shooting as a "senseless act."

"It was the world knocking on our doorstep and it came to our little community here," he said before acknowledging the response by law enforcement. "I know now our support goes with them to bring this son of a bitch to justice."

The mall attack followed a series of violent outbursts at shopping centers across the United States, including the stabbing of nine people at a Minnesota center last weekend.

"We have no indication that we have a terrorism act," said Michael Knutson, assistant special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation`s Seattle office. "I can`t discount that, but I can`t conclude it either."

Cetin`s family, who immigrated from Turkey when Cetin was a child, was said to be cooperating with authorities.

Police told reporters the suspect had one prior arrest for "simple assault." He was due to appear in court on Monday.

The mall remained closed on Saturday as investigators sifted for evidence and attempted to recreate the crime scene.

The shooting comes less than a week after a man stabbed nine people at a mall in the central Minnesota city of St. Cloud before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer. The FBI is investigating that attack as a potential act of terrorism.
District of Columbia: Violent crime in the United States rose last year, the FBI said Monday, reporting data that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump could use in the debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The FBI said that in 2015 there were 1,197,704 violent crimes, an increase of 3.9 percent compared with the previous year.

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased 10.8 percent, and firearms were involved in two-thirds of those cases, the agency said.

The increase in the murder rate was due mainly to rises in seven major cities: Chicago, Baltimore, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Washington.

On the very day the FBI report was released, a gunman in Houston wounded nine people near an apartment complex before being shot and killed by police. Last Friday, a young male shooter killed five people in a department store in the state of Washington.

Despite the uptick, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the statistics showed that the violent crime rate had fallen 15 percent since Obama took office.

"The president believes there`s more that we can and should do," he said. "And there`s no area where the president has been more outspoken than taking action on common-sense gun safety measures that would make it harder for criminals and others who shouldn`t have them to buy a gun."The FBI figures were released hours before the hotly awaited first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump. Crime was expected to be one of the key topics for discussion.

It is one of the pet issues of Trump, who depicts himself as a tough law-and-order candidate.

Trump, who is backed by the powerful US gun lobby, hammers away at his idea that America is a country threatened by uncontrolled illegal immigration, which he blames for violent crime and drug trafficking.

Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, dismisses Obama`s administration as soft on crime, and could allude to the FBI report during Monday night`s debate to press this argument and bill himself as the solution to crime.

Last week Trump expressed support for profiling -- the discriminatory police practice of targeting people for suspicion of crime on the basis of their race, ethnicity or religion. Most victims are either African American or Latino.

Although violent crime increased last year, overall the tendency over the past 20 years has been a decline. Crime levels these days in America are far below the peak years in the 1990s.

The FBI said it collects data on the violent crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

The FBI said burglaries fell 7.8 percent and larceny-thefts declined 1.8 percent, but motor vehicle thefts increased by 3.1 percent.

The release of the report comes as murder rates have risen in several US cities in 2015 and 2016, mainly Chicago, where authorities have reported more than 500 homicides since January. That is more than all of last year.

Experts say different factors come into play depending on the city, mainly drug trafficking, gang wars and the availability of guns.
Seoul: China is investigating executives of a North Korean bank believed to finance the illicit procurement of arms and materials related to the isolated country`s banned nuclear programme, South Korea`s JoongAng Daily reported on Monday.

China and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in the U.N. Security Council and in law enforcement channels after North Korea`s fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, the White House said last week.

While China is North Korea`s sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programmes.

The Chinese-U.S. cooperation includes targeting the finances of Liaoning Hongxiang Industrial, a Chinese conglomerate headed by a Communist Party cadre, that the Obama administration thinks has had a role in helping North Korea`s nuclear programme, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

The JoongAng Daily said Chinese authorities were investigating a top official of the Kwangson Banking Corporation at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong.

The U.S. Treasury designated the bank in 2009 under an order that targets entities supporting North Korea`s arms trafficking because of its suspected involvement in procuring "dual-use" technology with both civilian and military application.

"The head of the branch, Ri Il Ho, temporarily returned to North Korea, so the deputy executive is being investigated," a source told the JoongAng Daily.

The paper did not identify its source, who it said was "well-informed on North Korea affairs".

In March, after the latest round of U.N. sanctions, the United Nations extended an asset freeze to all funds held abroad by the bank.

The bank branch in Dandong then moved to an office in a building also used by Hongxiang and continued to operate, though without a sign, the JoongAng Daily said.

Asked about the report of the Kwangson probe, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he did "not understand" the situation.

But China has fully followed United Nations resolutions on North Korea, which put wide-ranging sanctions on the country, and fulfils its international obligations when it comes to non-proliferation export controls, Geng added.

A report by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and the C4ADS think-tank in Washington last week identified more than $500 million in trade from January 2011 to September 2015 between the North and the Liaoning Hongxiang Group, which states on its website that it trades heavily with the North.

More than 20 customs and city officials in Dandong are being investigated over favours to Ma Xiaohong, Hongxiang`s founder and top executive, the JoongAng reported, citing a source "knowledgeable about relations between Beijing and Pyongyang".

In recent weeks, Chinese authorities have frozen certain assets related to Ma and some of her relatives and associates, according to government and corporate filings cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Other unidentified "North Korean employees" living in China were also under investigation, the JoongAng said.
Dhaka: A Dutch tourist has been detained in Myanmar for insulting religion after being accused of pulling the plug on a speaker relaying a late-night Buddhist sermon in Mandalay.

Klass Haytema, 30, has been held since Friday night when he allegedly disconnected the cable linking an amplifier and a speaker at a hall playing the sermon after he complained that it was disturbing him, police said.

"The religious hall is not far from the hotel where he was staying... he said he did it because it was too noisy for him," Kyi Soe, police chief at Maha Aung Myay township, told AFP.

An angry crowd followed the man back to his hotel, where he was taken into custody by police and later transferred to a Mandalay prison.

"We detained him for insulting religion," he said, adding it was under section 295 of Myanmar`s penal code.

He is yet to be charged but the law carries up to a two year jail term and fine.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar is deeply devout and several foreigners have been found guilty of insulting religion.

In July a Spanish tourist was deported from Myanmar after monks complained about a tattoo of Buddha he had on his leg.

Last year a New Zealand bar manager spent 10 months in jail for "insulting religion" by using a Buddha image to promote a cheap drinks night.

Buddhist nationalism has surged in Myanmar in recent years, with the country`s Muslim minority -- around five percent of the population -- facing particular pressure.
Jerusalem: Facebook has apologised for disabling accounts of several Palestinian journalists and activists, saying "the pages were removed in error and restored as soon as we were able to investigate".

An anti-Facebook campaign was launched after the social networking giant deleted the accounts of Palestinian journalists and several publications last weekend, TRTWorld reported on Monday.

"Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong. We`re very sorry about this mistake," a Facebook spokesperson told Al Arabiya English.

The Facebook action sparked anger among Palestinian activists and bloggers who began an online campaign, urging the users not to post anything on Facebook.

"We demand the Facebook administration to further clarify the mechanisms implementing agreements between Facebook administration and States, including this agreement and to announce the conditions allowing Facebook administration to violate personal freedoms of internet users, and to enter into agreements with regimes and authorities to restrict these freedoms," the statement from the online campaign read.

According to the campaign organisers, the Facebook move was linked to a pact wherein Facebook bowed under pressure by the Israeli government to rein in content that, Israel feels, incites violence.

The users were also asked to protest on the micro-blogging site twitter under the hashtag #fbCensorsPalestine.
Peshawar: At least nine persons, including four policemen, were injured on Monday when militants targetted a police van with an explosive device in Pakistan's restive northwest region.

The incident occurred in Sarokalley area of Charsadda district.

Police said the mobile van of Sarokalley police station was on routine patrolling when it was targeted with remote controlled IED near Masal Khan village in Shabqadar tehsil.

Four policemen and five civilians have been injured in the incident, police said, adding that a probe has been launched into the matter.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday posted the hearing on a bunch of pleas challenging the bail given to RJD strongman Mohd Shahabuddin on September 28 after his lawyer sought more time to defend his client.

During the hearing today, victim's lawyer Prashant Bhushan informed the apex court that there were 45 cases against Shahabuddin, out of which nine are murder cases.

Bhushan argued that in at least 10 cases, Shahabuddin had been convicted by the lower courts.

Calling him as a serious threat to the society, Bhushan strongly pleaded the apex court to cancel his bail in the best interest of the society. However, Shahabuddin's lawyer asked for more time to respond in the matter.

Shahabuddin, who is accused in several cases including murder, was recently released from the Bhagalpur Jail following a Patna High Court order.

In fresh trouble for the RJD leader, the mother of three youths, who were brutally killed by henchmen of the controversial politician, had moved the Supreme Court on Sunday seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in the case in which he has already been sentenced to life.

The woman, whose two sons were killed and her third son, who was an eye-witness to the incident, later on murdered allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, has challenged the Patna High Court's March 2 this year order granting regular bail to him during pendency of his appeal.

While a sessions court in Siwan had convicted Shahabuddin for the offence of murder and kidnapping for ransom in the twin murder case and had awarded life imprisonment to him, the trial in the murder case of the eye witness son is going on.

In her plea, Kalawati Devi has claimed that the high court had "completely lost sight" of the fact that Shahabuddin was a "dreaded criminal, who has absolutely no regard for the law, and granting bail to him even though he has been convicted for heinous offences like murder, abduction etc and is still facing trial in many of the cases lodged against him would be travesty of justice".

On September 19, the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Devi's husband Chandrakeshwar Prasad challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court in the murder case of their third son.

The apex court is also hearing a separate plea filed by the widow of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, who was murdered in Siwan allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi.

In her plea, Devi has said that as per an affidavit filed by the Bihar government in the apex court, till November 2014, trials in at least 38 cases were pending against him in which he was facing alleged heinous charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting with deadly weapon, extortion and others.

Devi has said in her plea, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, that her two sons, Girish and Satish, were abducted by Shahabuddin's henchmen and after being brutally assaulted, they were killed by acid poured on them and their bodies, packed in a sack full of salt, buried.

With PTI inputs
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday mocked the avowed seriousness of the Bihar government in pursuing its petition challenging a Patna High Court order granting bail to RJD strongman and former party MLA Mohammad Shahabuddin, asking if it was so serious then why did it not challenge the order in the first instance.

As senior counsel for the state government Dinesh Dwivedi said that "it's a matter of extreme urgency and we are pursuing the matter seriously", the bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy said "You should have acted before" and challenged it.

The observation by the bench assumes significance as the Bihar government moved the Supreme Court challenging the grant of bail to Shahabuddin by the high court only after Chandrakeshwar Prasad -- the father of the murder victims -- approached the apex court.

Having made light of the Bihar government's claim of urgency and seriousness, the court deferred the hearing for Wednesday after the senior counsel appearing for Shahabuddin sought a week's time so that they could arrange a number of bail orders passed by various courts for placing them before the bench.

As senior counsel Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Shahabuddin, sought adjournment for one week, another advocate also sought a week's time, so that senior counsel Ram Jethamalani, who too would appear for Shahabuddin, could be briefed.

However, as Naphade sought a week-long adjournment, alleging that Shahabuddin has become a victim of trial by the media, the bench said they would not like to postpone the hearing even by a day.

"Since allegations and counter-allegations have been made, we don't intend to adjourn the matter. So many witnesses have been bumped off. You want to wash away everything," the court asked.

But, later, the judges indicated that they would adjourn the matter until Wednesday considering that defence counsel Ram Jethmalani is yet to be briefed on the matter.

Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner and slain Rajiv's father Chandrakeshwar Prasad, urged the court to stay the September 7 Patna High Court order granting Shahabuddin bail. But Justice Ghose declined to put on hold the high court order immediately, saying: "We don't intend to pass an order of stay at this stage."

Dinesh Dwivedi pleaded: "There is only one eye-witness in the case and if he is bumped off, then both cases -- the twin-murder (of two sons of Prasad) case and the Rajiv Roshan murder (of his third son) case -- would collapse."

As Bhushan pressed for a stay on bail, Naphade drew the attention of the bench to the dates saying that the high court granted bail to Shahabuddin on September 7, he was released from jail on September 10 and the petition challenging the decision to grant bail was filed on September 16.

Opposing the plea by Bhushan, senior counsel Naphade told the court that they are seeking adjournment also because they have to file some orders granting bail to Shahabuddin from various courts in Bihar.

The top court had on September 19 issued notice to Shahabuddin on a plea by Prasad, challenging the grant of bail to him in a murder case by the Patna High Court.

Prasad has moved the apex court against the granting of bail to Shahabuddin, as the trial in the Rajiv Roshan murder case is yet to commence.

Even though Shahabuddin was already in jail in the twin-murder case, in the Rajiv Roshan case, the Siwan strongman was shown as arrested on November 27, 2014.

Rajiv was allegedly killed by the henchmen of Shahabuddin, who was sentenced to life in the twin-murder case. Shahabuddin's henchmen killed Rajiv, as he was the sole eye-witness in the twin-murder case.

The petition describes Shahabuddin as a "hardened criminal" with no scope of his being reformed. The petitioner has said that Shahabuddin was involved in 58 cases, of which in at least eight, he has been convicted. In two cases, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and 10 years' jail in another case.


Chennai: Now taking up a distance education programme is just a touch away with the central Pondicherry University rolling out an App for direct delivery of courses such as MBA on mobile phones and laptops.

Aimed at helping students and professionals in tier-II and III cities, the university has launched select programmes, including Master of Business Administration, through the Android app, a university release said today.

About 2,500 students have already enrolled under the new initiative, it said, adding for online delivery of courses, students can download the Android application from the Avagmah Technology Platform.

"At Pondicherry University, by adoptive technology, we have endeavoured to make quality education accessible to deserving students in far-flung areas who would otherwise have no access to good education," Director, Distance Education, Pondicherry University, Sibnath Deb said.

Professionals who are unable to attend classes have taken advantage of the launch and are accessing the courses through the application, he said.
New Delhi: The Modi government's review meeting of Indus Waters Treaty on Monday rose speculation that New Delhi may be considering to close the 'water tap' to Pakistan in response to Uri attack. In such an eventuality, here are the seven scenarios Pakistan could face almost immediately.

1/ Scrapping of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will inflict deeper wounds on Pakistan, and perhaps more than the one fought with weapons. The immediate consequence of which could be chaos and unrest in the society.

2/ The Indus treaty gives Pakistan the right to use waters of three rivers - Indus, Chenab and Jhelum  the lifeline of the country's Indus region. The abrogation of the treaty will create water scarcity, drought and misery.

3/ The region supports 90 percent of the country's agriculture, the backbone of the country's economy and its 195 million people. Water scarcity will hit agri sector, resulting in famine-like situation.

4/ The agri sector also contributes over 19 percent to the countrys GDP and largest employer (over 42 percent) of the countrys total labour force. The impact of which will also be felt in this sector. Unemployment rate will rise.

5/ Pakistan uses Indus water for irrigation, power generation and drinking. Most importantly, the Indus region plays a crucial role in the country's Hydro-power generation. Water scarcity will hit industrial production.

6/ The agri sector provides raw materials to industries and helps in poverty alleviation. Already, some 60 million Pakistanis live under the poverty line. Such a move would again impact the overall economy of Pakistan.

7/ Finally, the closing the Indus water tap could unseat the government of Nawaz Sharif as a result of the effects of famine, agrarian and economic crisis.
New Delhi: The ongoing tension between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack has got its first victim as the trade fair - 'Aalishan Pakistan', which was scheduled to be held in India this year has been called off.

In a brief announcement, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) said the fair aimed at showcasing Pakistani goods in India in September/October had been cancelled.

Due to the current situation between Pakistan and India which is beyond TDAPs control, the event planned for 2016 has been called off, it said.

The TDAP held the first edition of the event in 2012 and second in 2014, says the announcement.

Relations between Islamabad and New Delhi have soured following Sundays militant attack on an army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of eighteen soldiers.

The armed militants lobbed grenades into their tents and barracks, while the soldiers were sleeping. The ensuing fire led to a large number of casualties. Twenty-eight injured soldiers are being treated at a military hospital.
Dispur: In a major breakthrough, the authorities on Monday arrested six operatives belonging to the Bangladesh-based terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is believed to have played a role in the Burdwan blast in October 2014.

According to initial reports, five out of the six arrested terrorists are wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Burdwan blast case.

They have been arrested by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police, which was been tracking their activities for a long time.

Out of those arrested, 3 are from Bangladesh, and the remaining three are from India.

News agency PTI said six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh activists have been arrested from West Bengal and Assam by Kolkata Police Special Task Force.

The authorities have also seized a large cache of arms and ammunition including detonators, cables, mobile phones etc. from them.

With the arrest, the Special Task Force claimed to have busted a major terror module of the Bangladesh-based terror outfit.

The arrested operatives were planning to carry out more attacks on the elected government in Bangladesh and in bordering Indian states.

They will be interrogated by the NIA sleuths for more leads in connection with the case.

The arrest has also exposed the link between India's Bodo militants and the Bangladesh based Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen.

The NIA, which is probing the case, had earlier chargesheeted at least 21 people in Burdwan blast case that took place in October 2014.

The charges against the accused include criminal conspiracy and waging war against the nation.

The agency had taken over the case from the West Bengal police a few days after the explosion. Investigators have found that Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were being fabricated in the house and later smuggled to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Beijing: China on Monday distanced itself from the reported remarks of its consul general in Lahore that Beijing will support Islamabad in case of foreign aggression and hoped that India and Pakistan will engage in dialogue to address their differences.

Beijing also hoped the two sides will manage and control the situation and the Kashmir issue will be resolved peacefully through dialogue between relevant parties.

Responding to reported remarks of Chinese Consul General in Lahore Yu Boren about Beijing`s support in case of "any foreign aggression", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said he "was not aware of the situation you mentioned."Boren about Beijing`s support in case of "any foreign aggression", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said he "was not aware of the situation you mentioned."

"China`s position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear. As neighbour and friend to both Pakistan and India we hope the two countries will properly address their differences through dialogue and consultation, manage and control the situation and jointly work for the peace and stability of South Asia and the growth of the region," Shuang said.

"With regard to Kashmir issue, we believe it is an issue left over from history. We hope the relevant parties will peacefully and properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation," the spokesperson added.

A statement issued by the Pakistani Punjab Chief Minister`s Office last week had said that China has assured Pakistan in unequivocal terms of its support in case of "any foreign aggression" and also supported Islamabad`s stance on the Kashmir dispute.

The statement was issued after meeting of Consul General of China in Lahore Yu Boren with Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan after the September 18 terror attack in Uri close to the Line of Control that killed 18 Indian soldiers earlier this month. India has blamed the attack on militants from Pakistan.
Itanagar: Chinese People's Liberation Army personnel intruded inside Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India and put up a temporary camp earlier this month, an official said on Monday.

On September 9, the Chinese army intruded 45 km inside Arunachal Pradesh`s Anjaw district and set up a temporary shelter at `Plum Post`, an Indian official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

"The Indian Army held a Flag Meeting with the PLA on September 14 at Damai area under China to defuse the intrusion. Initially, they (PLA) claimed that the Plum Post area belongs to them," the official said.

When IANS contacted, Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Kumar Waii said, "I do not like to comment anything on it now. I am waiting for the reports."

Last month, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had told journalists that the reported intrusion by Chinese Army into Indian side in Arunachal Pradesh was "not intentional" and may have happened as there were no clear demarcated border lines in the Line of Actual Control along the Indo-China border, in some areas of the frontier state.

Rijiju had said there were two cases of intrusion by the Chinese Army in Arunachal, one in Kibitho in Anjaw district and another reported in Thangsey area in Tawang district where the Chinese soldiers reportedly intruded in Indian Territory by crossing the LAC.
New Delhi: In a blow to Pakistan's belief that its all-weather friend China will stand by it, irrespective of the circumstances of the day, Beijing has rejected media reports that it has extended full support to Pakistan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Yu Boren today said that he was not aware of comments attributed to him in Pakistani media that China will extend its full support to Pakistan incase of any (foreign) aggression.

I am not aware of the situation you mentioned. But China's position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by NDTV.

A recent report in Pakistani newspaper DAWN, citing a press release issued by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's Office, had also quoted Yu as saying: Were and will be siding with Pakistan on Kashmir issue...There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in...[India-] held Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris.

In response to the statement, Yu said, With regard to the Kashmir issue, we believe it is an issue left over from history. We hope the relevant parties will peacefully and properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation."

It is the second time in recent days that China had to come up with a clarification against statements attributed to it.

Earlier, the Chinese had also refused to confirm whether Prime Minister Li Keqiang had offered support during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan have been rising after the September 18 terror attack on an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 18 Indian soldiers.

India has blamed the attack on militants from Pakistan which has rejected allegations of its involvement.

With inputs
New Delhi: The Congress on Monday extended support to India's stand to corner Pakistan over the latter's continuous policy of sponsoring terrorism while demanding the Narendra Modi government to convene a special Parliament session to discuss country's security situation.

The grand old party also put forward a proposal to declare Pakistan a 'terror state' and sought the Indian government to withdraw the 'Most favoured Nation' (MFN) status accorded to them (Pakistan), a media report said.

"Pakistan should be declared a terrorist state immediately, a special Parliament session should also be called," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said today.

Congress' demand has come at a time when PM Narendra Modi chaired a meet today to review the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's President General Ayub Khan in Karachi in 1960.

In the wake of the Uri attack, there have been calls on revisiting the treaty by India to apply pressure on Pakistan.

The treaty gives Pakistan access to three western rivers - Jhelum, Indus and Chenab whereas India holds control of three eastern rivers - Ravi, Beas and Sutluj.
Washington: Democrat Hillary Clinton will press Republican Donald Trump to provide more specifics on his policies in their presidential debate on Monday, two top Clinton campaign aides said ahead of a face-off that could set US television audience records.

On the eve of the debate at Hofstra University in suburban New York, aides to Clinton have sought to cast Trump, a New York businessman and former reality TV host, as lacking the temperament and experience to serve as president.

Trump`s aides for their part have sought to reinforce voter doubts about Clinton`s trustworthiness.

The debate, the first of three face-to-face matchups between the two candidates, will begin at 9 pm on Monday (0100 GMT on Tuesday). It comes as opinion polls show a tight race between Clinton, a former secretary of state, and Trump, six weeks before the November 8 election.

"Were going to have a lot of people really tuning into this election for the first time. Theyre going to see these two candidates onstage," Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said on Sunday in an interview with ABC`s "This Week." "I think theyre going to see that Donald Trump is unfit, unprepared, and over his head. I doubt he will have a command of the issues."

Mook said Clinton would challenge Trump at the debate "to reveal what his plans are. You know, for example, he has not revealed any plan whatsoever to defeat ISIS (Islamic State) militants."

Trump has said he would work closely with NATO allies to defeat Islamic State and vowed to wage a "military, cyber and financial" war against the militant group.

"Donald Trump`s been all about himself. But she`s got to tell people what she wants to do for them," John Podesta, chairman of Clinton`s campaign, told NBC`s "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

Trump`s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, in a separate "This Week" interview on Sunday, attacked Clinton`s trustworthiness.

"You know, if you`re running against a Clinton, veracity is certainly always on the table," she said. "Hillary Clinton`s casual relationship with the truth is well known to Americans. I`m sure we`ll see it on full display tomorrow night."

The Trump campaign put to rest on Sunday the prospect that he might invite Gennifer Flowers, who had an affair with Clinton`s husband, former President Bill Clinton, to attend the debate.

After Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, a Clinton supporter and vociferous critic of Trump, tweeted that he had a "front-row" seat to watch the Hofstra debate, Trump raised the possibility in a tweet of inviting Flowers to the debate.

But Mike Pence, Trump`s running mate, told "Fox News Sunday" that Flowers would not attend the debate.

"Donald Trump was using the tweet yesterday really to mock an effort by Hillary Clinton and her campaign to really distract attention from what the American people are going to be focused on tomorrow night, which is on the issues, on the choice that we face," Pence said.

Supporters of both candidates sought to manage expectations before the debate.

Mook said the moderator of Monday`s debate, NBC News anchor Lester Holt, should fact-check candidates` statements, although Trump`s campaign said it should be up to American voters to gauge who they thought was telling the truth.

To prepare for the debate, Clinton has been holding mock debate sessions where longtime aide Philippe Reines plays the role of Trump.

Trump aides said their candidate, who like Clinton participated in numerous TV debates during their respective parties` nominating races, was preparing for Monday`s event but not doing mock debates where someone plays the role of Clinton.

Trumps advisers said the Republican presidential nominee was going up against a highly seasoned politician.

"Hes the outsider, he`s a person who has never run before, let alone be in a presidential debate, but he`s going to be ready," said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. "And I think one of the things Donald Trump has going for him is hes got very good instincts."
New Delhi: While the Centre is set to review the India-Pakistan Indus Water Treaty on Monday in the aftermath of the dastardly terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri, the heightened tensions between the two countries has put the spotlight back on the treaty signed in 1960.

With India maintains that there have been differences over the implementation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, stating that a treaty could not be a one-sided affair, it is equally crucial for Pakistan for which it is a major source of water. Here is all that you need to know about the treaty.

Indus Waters Treaty

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing arrangement signed by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan on September 19, 1960, in Karachi. It covers the water distribution and sharing rights of six rivers - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The agreement was brokered by the World Bank.

The need for signing the accord

The agreement was signed because the source of all the rivers of the Indus basin were in India (Indus and Sutlej, though, originate in China). It allowed India to use them for irrigation, transport and power generation, while laying down precise dos and don'ts for India on building projects along the way.

Pakistan feared that India could potentially create droughts in case of a war between the two countries. A Permanent Indus Commission set up in this connection has gone through three wars between the two countries without disruption and provides a bilateral mechanism for consultation and conflict-resolution through inspections, exchange of data and visits.

What does the agreement entail?

The treaty gave the three eastern rivers of Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India for use of water without restriction. The three western rivers of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum were allocated to Pakistan. India can construct storage facilities on western rivers of up to 3.6 million acre feet, which it has not done so far. India is also allowed agriculture use of 7 lakh acres above the irrigated cropped area as on April 1, 1960.

What is the dispute?

Although the two countries have been managing to share the waters without major dispute, experts say that the agreement is one of the most lop-sided with India being allowed to use only 20 percent of the six-river Indus water system.

Pakistan itself in July this year sought an international arbitration if India sought to build hydro power projects on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. Though the agreement has been seen as one of the most successful water-sharing pacts, the current tension between the two South Asian neighbours might well lead to a flashpoint. Strategic affairs and security experts say that future wars could well be fought over water.

Could India abrogate the agreement?

This is unlikely since the treaty has survived three wars between the two countries. Although on Thursday India raised the issue, saying that for a treaty to work there had to be mutual cooperation and trust between the two sides, this seems to be more pressure tactics than any real threat to review the bilateral agreement. And the idea that India can intimidate Pakistan by threatening to cut of river waters is nothing new. It has arisen before every major conflict. A unilateral abrogation would also attract criticism from world powers, as this is one arrangement which has stood the test of time.

Short of abrogation, can India do something?

Some experts have said that if India starts making provision for storage facility involving the western rivers, which it is allowed under the treaty of up to 3.6 million acre feet, this may send a strong message to its neighbour. Pakistan has often sought arbitration proceedings just on mere impression that India may do so, seeking to dissuade its larger neighbour from tinkering with the status quo.

With IANS inputs
Delhi: Taking a tough stand on the Indus water, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that blood and water cannot flow together, as he chaired a review meeting of 56-year-old treaty.

Held amidst heightened tension between the India and Pakistan, the meeting also decided to set up a inter-ministerial task forces to go into the details and working of the treaty with a "sense of urgency", senior government sources said.

At the same time, it has emerged that India will exploit to the maximum the capacity of Pakistan-controlled rivers - Indus, Chenab, Jhelum as per the treaty, as per PTI.

The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

Sources said that Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, Water Resources Ministry, and Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to PM, were also present at the meeting along with other senior officials from the PMO, as per IANS.

At the same time, India to expedite construction on three dams on River Chenab - Pakul Dul Dam, Sawalkot Dam and Bursar Dam, as per ANI.

Apart from deciding to exploit to the maximum the capacity of three of the rivers that are under Pakistan's control - Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - in the areas of hydro power, irrigation and storage, the meeting also agreed to review the "unilateral suspension" of 1987 Tulbul navigation project. The project was suspended in 2007.

The sources asserted that the decision to maximise the water resources for irrigation will address the "pre-existing" sentiment of people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have complained in the past about the treaty not being fair to them.

The meeting came as India weighed its options to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead, triggering demands that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on that country.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said last week that there were differences between India and Pakistan on implementing the Indus Waters Treaty.

He had also said that any cooperative arrangement requires goodwill and mutual trust on both sides.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six rivers - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining about not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in a couple of cases.

Jammu and Kashmir has been demanding a review of the treaty as it robs the state of its rights to use the water of the rivers.

The meeting on the Indus Waters Treaty is being seen as an indication that the government could be looking at more options to exert pressure on Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Water Ministry sources said, "You will get to know soon whatever the government decides."

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: At a time when the Centre is set to review the India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty, a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional legality of the water sharing accord signed between the two nations in 1960.

According to reports, the PIL has been filed by a Delhi-based lawyer ML Sharma on the ground that the Indus Waters Treaty was not signed by the then President of India.

The PIL claims that the treaty is not constitutionally valid since it was signed by the then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru, who was then Prime Minister and not the head of the state at that time.

The petitioner had urged the apex court to hear the petition on an early date in the course of the mentioning, however, a bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar said it would come up in the normal course.

When the petitioner advocate pressed for an early hearing, the court asked him where he was all these years.

Advocate Sharma had contended that the treaty should have been signed by the President of India.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing arrangement signed which was signed by the two sides on September 19, 1960, in Karachi.

It covers the water distribution and sharing rights of six rivers - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The agreement was brokered by the World Bank.

The agreement was signed because the source of all the rivers of the Indus basin were in India (Indus and Sutlej, though, they originate in China). It allowed India to use them for irrigation, transport and power generation, while laying down precise dos and donts for India on building projects along the way.

Pakistan feared that India could potentially create droughts in case of a war between the two countries. A Permanent Indus Commission set up in this connection has gone through three wars between the two countries without disruption and provides a bilateral mechanism for consultation and conflict-resolution through inspections, exchange of data and visits.

In the aftermath of the Uri terror attacks, the Centre has called a high-level meeting today to review the Indus Waters sharing treaty with Pakistan. PM Modi will meet relevant officials from various ministries today, including External Affairs and Water Resources.

The Prime Minister, sources say, wants to discuss the pros and cons of taking action against Pakistan. This confirms that among the various options on the discussion table for India's response to the Uri attack, reconsidering the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan could be one.

Over the last week, there has been clamour for action against Pakistan, after terrorists of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, attacked an army base in Kashmir's Uri, killing 18 soldiers.

One of the suggestions is to turn off the Indus river tap that waters much of Pakistan. It is perceived that the pressure could compel Pakistan to crackdown on non-state and state actors acting against India.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday praised External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for her speech at the UN General Assembly, where India censured Pakistan for the first time for perpetrating the 'worst form of state oppression' in Balochistan.

The PM said that the EAM had made 'firm, effective and fine articulation' of a range of issues.

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA. https://t.co/9ZgwAbfPDr  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, Swaraj in her address at 71st UNGA session said there are nations 'in our midst' where UN designated terrorists roam freely and deliver 'their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity', an apparent reference to Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

She also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become 'their calling card'.

"In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account," Swaraj asserted in her nearly 20-minute speech.

"These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations," Swaraj said, in essence making a call to the international community to isolate such nations.

In a strong rebuttal of the 'baseless allegations' made by Sharif from the podium of the General Assembly about human rights violations by India in Kashmir, Swaraj said, "I can only say that those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression," as per PTI.

Her speech came just over a week after 18 Indian jawans were killed in a deadly attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists from across the border on an army base in Kashmir's Uri.

Swaraj asserted that terrorism deeply concerns every member of the UN General Assembly, with people from New York, Kabul, Uri and Istanbul bearing the brunt of the growing scourge.

"This month we marked the 15th Anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on this city. Tragically, less than 15 days ago, another attempt at killing innocents was made through an act of terror in this same city," Swaraj said reffering to the bombings in Manhattan and New Jersey earlier this month.

"We, who have suffered in Uri recently, understand the pain inflicted by the same forces. The world has been battling this scourge for long. However, despite the blood and tears of innocent victims, attacks this year alone in Kabul and Dhaka, Istanbul and Mogadishu, Brussels and Bangkok, Paris, Pathankot and Uri as well as daily barbaric tragedies in Syria and Iraq, remind us that these malevolent forces are yet to be defeated," she said.

Swaraj underlined that the international community must acknowledge that terrorism is undoubtedly the biggest violation of human rights and is a crime against humanity.

"History proves that those who seed extremist ideologies, reap a bitter harvest. The germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster, backed by technological sophistication that threatens the peace and harmony of our world," Swaraj said.

She called on the international community to unite across our differences to defeat terrorism, saying the fight against the global scourge cannot be won if distinctions are made between terrorists.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Monday, chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan.

The meeting at PM's official residence was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, PM's principal secretary Nripendra Misra, and officials from the Water Resources Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs.

The officials are believed to have briefed the Prime Minister on different aspects of the treaty.

Under the 56-year-old treaty, which was signed by Jawaharlal Nehru and Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.

However, in view of Pakistan's sustained involvement in anti-India terror activities, the latest being the attack on an army camp in Uri, India appears to be mulling a review of the water sharing agreement.

In fact, on September 22, India had made it clear that 'mutual trust and cooperation' was important for such a treaty to work.

"For any such treaty to work, its important that there must be mutual cooperation and trust between both the sides. It cannot be a one-sided affair," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said cryptically when asked if the government will rethink on the treaty given the growing strain between the two countries.

He had also noted that the preamble of the treaty itself said that it was based on 'goodwill' and had said that there were differences over its implementation between the two countries.

Pressed further if India will scrap the treaty, he had refused to elaborate and had only noted that in diplomacy everything was not spelled out and that he had not said that the treaty was not working.

Meanwhile, on September 24, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said the state would fully support whatever decision was taken by the Union government on the 1960 agreement.

"The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir" as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities," Singh had said.

"The state government will support whatever decision is taken by the central government on Indus Waters Treaty," he had added.
New Delhi: After Uri attack, a number of WhatsApp users are getting a message about 'petition to declare Pakistan terror state'.

The message has gone massively viral as it talks about signing a petition about how Pakistan can be declared terror state.

But, is it a hoax or genuine message? Here is the truth -

This MESSAGE going viral on WhatsApp:-

"Guys, the white house has a petition process. If u create a petition and 1,00,000 people sign it within 30 days the President has to consider it and react to it. People have created a petition to declare Pakistan a terror state.

We can't fight at our borders to protect our country but we can do this.

Not just people in the USA. Anybody anywhere can sign it.

You will receive an email to confirm, please do

Please sign it here:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/we-people-ask-administration-d..."

TRUTH about WhatsApp message - Yes, you sign the petition to declare Pakistan a terror state

Here's the link to the page where a common man can sign petition - https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/we-people-ask-administration-declare-pakistan-state-sponsor-terrorism-hr6069

Details about the petition - http://poe.house.gov/2016/9/chairman-poe-introduces-the-pakistan-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-designation-act

To know how this petition works - https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/about#step-by-step

Congressman Ted Poe introduced Act to designate Pakistan a State Sponsor of terrorism

A bipartisan group of two powerful American lawmakers had introduced an act in the US House of Representatives to designate Pakistan a State Sponsor of terrorism.

"It is time we stopped paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a state sponsor of terrorism," said Congressman Ted Poe, who is Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism.



"Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the US for years," Poe said.

"From harboring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the War on Terror. And it's not America's," he alleged.

Uri attack

In a separate statement, Congressman Pete Olson supported every effort to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Uri terrorist attack.

"I strongly condemn this terrorist attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that resulted in the death of 18 Indian soldiers. India is a strong partner and ally in peace," he said.

18 Indian soldiers were martyred in Uri terror attack.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an urgent hearing on a PIL seeking declaration of the India-Pakistan Indus Water Treaty as unconstitutional.

"There is no urgency in the matter. It will come up for hearing in due course," a bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar said.

Advocate ML Sharma, who filed the PIL in his personal capacity on the issue, sought urgent hearing of the matter saying the treaty was unconstitutional as it was not signed as per the constitutional scheme and hence should be declared "void ab initio".

"Keep politics aside. The matter will come in due course," the bench said when the lawyer insisted on an urgent hearing.
New York: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is all set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday with all eyes set on her speech in which she is expected to deliver a stinging response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's "tirade" on Kashmir.

Reportedly, Sushma Swaraj has a proof to corner Pakistan over terror and human atrocities from UNGA platform.

What's the proof?

The fact that Balochistan Republican Party leader Brahumdagh Bugti formally sought asylum in Delhi will be showcased by Sushma Swaraj as proof against Pakistan's terror activities and human atrocities, according to a report in CNN-News18.

Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti's application seeking political asylum in India was received by the Home Ministry which is examining it.

"We have received Bugti's application for political asylum and it is under examination," a Home Ministry official had said.

Bugti had applied for asylum in Indian consulate in Geneva three days ago and the application was subsequently forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs, which in turn sent it to the Home Ministry. India does not have a comprehensive asylum policy.

As per the United Nations, there are at least 6,480 asylum seekers in India but the government does not recognise them.

Swaraj is expected to give a stinging response to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's UN General Assembly (UNGA) speech, in which he had focused elaborately on Kashmir.

Swaraj arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon and will address the UN general debate on Monday.

"Leading India's delegation to the 71st UNGA. EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives in New York," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday with all eyes set on her speech in which she is expected to deliver a stinging response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's "tirade" on Kashmir.

How to watch LIVE address of Sushma Swaraj?

Sushma Swaraj's speech at UNGA can be watched LIVE here - http://webtv.un.org (UN Web TV Channel)

Timings and schedule of the Swaraj's address

Reportedly, Sushma Swarajs speech will be around 7 PM IST.

Even if there are delays, it's most likely well before 9 PM IST because the entire list of 18 speakers have to wind up by around 11 PM IST.

Oman is first up at 9 AM EST (6:30 PM IST same day), followed by Bahrain and then India.

Swaraj arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon

"Leading India's delegation to the 71st UNGA. EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives in New York," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Jalandhar: A protest has been launched by Sikh Talmel Committee and some Hindu organisations at Kapurthala chowk in Jalandhar after several torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib andBhagavad Gita were found in canal.

Huge number of police personnel were deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident as tension gripped Jalandhar, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Reportedly, over 200 torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib and several pages of the Bhagavad Gita were found floating in the Bist-Doab canal in Sher Singh colony near Kapurthala chowk.

The incident came to light after one Prince Pal Singh, who said he was returning from a Gurdwara, spotted the torn pages in canal.

As soon as the news broke out, a number of people entered the canal and started collecting the torn pages of religious books.

Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Saturday condemned the incident.
Raipur: Three Naxals, including two commander rank cadres, were today killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar division, police said.

"While two hardcore Maoist commanders were gunned down in Narayanpur district, another rebel was killed in neighbouring Kondagaoan district early this morning," Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) SRP Kalluri told PTI.

In Naryanpur, a surgical operation was launched by District Reserve Group (DRG) based on the input that a platoon of military company (no. 6) of Maoists led by Shobhi would be coming towards Jhara police camp in Narayanpur to target Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawans, the IG said.

Security forces had laid an ambush near the jungles of Banspal and Toinar, located around 400 kms away from here, on the route tipped off to be followed by the Naxal party while moving toward Jhara (in Narayanpur), he said.

"On reaching the spot, about 20 armed cadres smelled the presence of security forces and opened indiscriminate fire on them prompting police to retaliate," Kalluri said, adding the exchange lasted for one hour in Narayanpur after which Naxals escaped from the place taking cover of dense forest.

During search, bodies of two Maoists?identified as Tirupati alias Akash, a native of Madded in Bijapur, and Lokesh alias Ramesh from Dhaudai region of Narayanpur, were recovered from the spot, he added.

"They both were active as commanders in military company 6 of Maoists," the IG said calling the operation as "stunning" success for security forces.

"Drag marks and blood stains found at the spot indicate that more Naxals were either killed or injured in the encounter but their colleagues managed to take them away from the spot," he added.

Besides, weapons and other Naxal items were also recovered during search of the area.

Meanwhile, reinforcement was rushed to the spot to trace the ultras fled from the spot after the incident, the IG added.

In another incident, body of a rebel clad in ?uniform? was recovered after an exchange of fire between a joint team of security forces and Naxals in the forest of Mardapal police station limits in Kondagaon.
New York: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is set to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the aftermath of the dastardly terror attacks in Uri as she addresses the UN General Assembly on Monday evening. EAM Swaraj is expected to deliver a stinging response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech last week in which he had focused on Kashmir and glorified slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.

Swaraj, who arrived in New York on Saturday, is expected to speak after 7:20 pm (India time) today. Here is why EAM Sushma Swaraj's speech is important.

Isolating Pakistan on terrorism

Swaraj's speech is expected to take forward India's effort to diplomatically isolate Pakistan after terrorists from that country attacked an Army base in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri, killing 18 soldiers last week. India will not forget Uri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a strong message to Pakistan over the weekend, warning, "The sacrifice of our 18 soldiers will not be forgotten. We will ensure that the international community works to isolate you." He accused Pakistan of exporting terror and its leaders of reading out "speeches written by terrorists."

In its Right of Reply to Sharif's 20-minute speech at the UNGA, India called Pakistan home to the "Ivy League of Terrorism" and a "terrorist state" that commits "war crimes" by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

Outlining India's focus for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, India's envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin had said that terrorism is the "primary concern" for India as well as for nations across the world. The EAM is likely to prove before the world that India is a victim of terrorism that is emanating from across its borders and threatening peace in South Asia.

Diplomacy over war

Though the government is fully aware of the anger in the masses and the rising anti-Pakistan sentiments after the Uri attacks, it is highly unlikely that India will fall into the trap of sounding the war bugle. Prime Minister Modi also gave an indication in this regard through his speech in Kozhikode last week, where he said that India is not going to plunge South Asia into another war. PM Modi appears to have made this statement after assessing what India might lose in the event of a war with hostile Pakistan. Hence, India's response will expectedly be on these lines - 'We are ready for war' and 'War against terrorism' etc.

Rights violations in Balochistan

In a bid to counter Pakistan, EAM Sushma Swaraj is likely to highlight the incidents of massive human rights violations in Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK. Through Sushma Swaraj, New Delhi would attempt to nullify any negative propaganda from the Pakistanis on Kashmir by showing them the mirror on Balochistan. After PM Modi's open support for Balochistan, EAM Swaraj is expected to take India's Baloch agenda forward, thus explaining the rational behind its decision to grant political asylum to Brahmdagh Bugti.

No talks till Pak acts on terror

India is likely to stick to its policy of ''no talks'' until Pakistan gives concrete evidence of its commitment to eliminate terror from its backyard. EAM Swaraj is expected to give a stern response to Nawaz Sharif's speech last week during which he said that India was imposing unnecessary pre-conditions for dialogue. Sushma is expected to reiterate that India's only condition for talks is to end terrorism.

No compromise on Kashmir

During today's speech, EAM Swaraj is expected to once again reiterate before the international community Kashmir will always remain nan integral part of India and there can be no compromise on it. However, Swaraj is also expected to put up a strong defence over the past 80 days of unrest in Kashmir, which led to several unfortunate deaths in the Kashmir Valley.

EAM Swaraj is expected to put the blame for triggering unrest on Pakistan-backed separatist leaders, who have time and again refused to toe India's line on Kashmir. The EAM will also not forget to mention before the world how Pakistan continues to glorify terrorists taking cue from Nawaj Sharif's speech in which he had called slain militant Burhan Wani as a young civilian leader.

India in UNSC

During her speech at the 71st UNGA, EAM Sushma Swaraj is likely to make a strong pitch for India's inclusion in the UN Security Council to join the global fight against the global menace of terrorism.
New Delhi: Hamid Ansari today left on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two West African nations besides participating in a number of events.

His visit to Nigeria is at the invitation of his counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.

From Nigeria, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.

The vice president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal and MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim.

In Abuja, Ansari will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.

He will also meet the governor of Lagos and deliver an address to the joint business forum at the University of Lagos.

The vice president will inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex at Abuja and interact with members of the Indian community both in Abuja and Lagos.

"The vice president's visit (to Nigeria) intends to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, expand and diversify bilateral economic engagement and explore new avenues of partnerships on a wide range of issues of shared common interest," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

In Mali, Ansari will meet the president, the prime minister and also address the National Assembly.

The visit to Mali is aimed at boosting the relationship between the two countries and explore new areas of cooperation to expand and diversify bilateral relationship.
Srinagar: In yet another incident of violence, at least five CRPF jawans were left injured on Monday in a grenade attack by suspected militants in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The police said suspected militants hurled a grenade at a road opening party of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) near Wanpoh village of Kulgam, some 60 km south of Srinagar.

The grenade missed the target and exploded on the roadside.

Five CRPF men received splinter injuries and have been hospitalised.

Kulgam district is the worst affected region in the ongoing Kashmir unrest that has killed 90 people in over a month-and-a-half of violence triggered by the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Most of the deaths in the unrest have been in Kulgam.
Srinagar: Controversial Independent MLA from Langate Sheikh Abdul Rashid was on Monday detained along with several of his supporters as he tried to march towards the local office of the United Nations Military Observers Group.

Rashid and his supporters were detained by police near Sher-e-Kashmir Park while marching towards Sonawar office of the UN Military Observers, a police official said.

The MLA and dozens of his supporters were taken to Kothibagh Police Station.

A spokesman for the MLA said they were marching to the UN office to demand plebiscite for settlement of Kashmir issue.
New Delhi: A delegation of heads of eminent Khanqahs and Dargahs led by the Chief of the Ajmer Sharif have appealed to people in the Kashmir Valley to keep calm and peace there and help the government to return normalcy in the state.

Calling on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here today, they assured him that they would go to Kashmir to request their brothers and sisters to work for the restoration of peace.

Led by Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, Spiritual Head of the shrine and the Sajjadanashin of Dargah Khwaja Sahab, Ajmer Sharif, the delegation shared their concern on the situation in Kashmir and expressed confidence that the Union Home Minister would do everything possible to bring normalcy in Kashmir in order to remove pain and miseries of the people.

The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation prevailing in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years.

The delegation further mentioned that over the last many years, we see a decline in social values and ethos, and an onslaught of Western culture on one hand and an increase of radicalism among Muslims on the other hand, doing incalculable loss to the shared cultural values, peace and happiness for the mankind.

Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb said that the spiritual leaders are concerned and pained on the situation and the sufferings of the people in our country and all over the world. Worst, we see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism, he added.

The delegation opined that those creating disturbance in the world must know that there is no bigger power than the power of peace. Violence can only bring more sufferings and solve no problem of humanity, they noted. They emphasized that together we make a beautiful country for all to live in peace and harmony and progress faster.

The delegation highlighted that India is the land of Sufism and spiritual powers. Khwaja Saheb Dargah in Ajmer Sharif, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah in New Delhi and hundreds of Sufi centres all over the country have been the source of spiritual strength and guidance to the people of India and the world for over 800 years. These Khanqahs and Dargahs have been removing pains and miseries of millions of people seeking divine help every year, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

The delegation of Sajjadanashin of all biggest dargahs in the country including Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi, Dargah HZT. Khaja Banda Nawaz, Gulbarga, Karnataka, Dargah Fathepur Sikri U.P., Dargah Maner Sharif, Bihar, Dargah Yusufain Nappalli, A.P., Dargah Ambetha Sharif, Gujarat and Dargah Haradarwaza, Hyderabad.


New Delhi: The Karnataka Government on Monday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking modification of the court`s order on providing water to Tamil Nadu.

The apex court will hear the matter tomorrow.

The petition came three days after Karnataka Assembly passed a resolution saying the river will be used only for meeting drinking water needs of villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru.

However, the resolutions did not mention the apex court's order directing the state to release 6,000 cusecs of water every day to Tamil Nadu till September 27.

Karnataka has said its citizens would go thirsty and crops ravaged if it released any more water to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka, including the capital of Bengaluru has witnessed violent protests over the water-sharing, provoking an appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calm. Earlier on September 11, one person was killed when the police opened fire to deal with a riot in Bengaluru over the water dispute.

At least 15 policemen were wounded after protesters set cars and buses on fire and pelted people with stones.

In 1990, the Central government created a tribunal to examine the Cauvery water dispute. In 2007, this tribunal delivered its verdict on how water should be shared between Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry and Kerala. However, the states have challenged the divide.
Bengaluru: Powerful Congress leader KJ George, who is known to be close to the party high command, was reinducted into the state cabinet on Monday.

The development came after the Karnataka CID gave him a clean chit in the case related to the alleged suicide of DySP M K Ganapathy.

George was sworn in by Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan in presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, ministers, and other dignitaries.

According to media reports, George is likely to retain Bengaluru Development and Town Planning portfolio. He had also served as Home Minister in the past.

George had resigned on July 18, soon after a court in Madikeri, Kodagu district directed police to register a FIR against him and two police officers in connection with the suicide of 51-year-old Ganapathy.

Ganapathy was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a room at a lodge in Madikeri on July 7, prior to which he gave an interview to a local TV channel saying the Minister and AM Prasad (now Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety) and Pranab Mohanty (now on central deputation as Additional Deputy Director General of UIDAI) would be responsible "if anything happens to me."

The court had issued directions based on a private criminal complaint by Ganapathy's son, Nehal, requesting it to direct police to take up investigation against the minister and the officers for allegedly abetting his father's suicide.

Karnataka CID which investigated the case, on September 17 gave a clean chit to George and two senior police officers in its 'B' report, filed to a court in Madikeri.

Following Ganapathy's death, the Government had come under attack from the Opposition, which had stalled the Assembly proceedings by staging a day-night agitation inside the House demanding a CBI inquiry, to which the government did not budge.

Both opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have expressed their strong exception to the reinduction of George into the cabinet.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah on September 5 had expanded his Cabinet by inducting M Krishnappa into his Ministry, he was allocated Housing department.

In a major revamp, the Chief Minister had sacked 14 ministers and inducted 13 members into his Council of Ministers on June 20 which had led to discontent within the Congress with several senior leaders openly coming out against the party's state leadership.

With PTI inputs
Kozhikode: Businessman Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Karnataka, was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Kerala unit of the BJP-led NDA, on Monday.

Speaking about the appointment, Chandrasekhar said he always felt Kerala's politics needed a strong alternative.

"An alternative political front based on equitable development for all including the many lakhs of downtrodden as well as opportunities for the youth. The National Democratic Alliance with its rapidly growing vote share and popularity is that alternative", said Chandrasekhar, Chairman of Asianet TV channel.

The names of the new committee were announced in Delhi, soon after Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah met with leaders of the allies of the BJP in Kerala.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the National Council meeting on Saturday and Sunday.

Monday was the last day of the meeting that began on Friday and was attended by all the top leaders of the BJP.

State BJP President Kummanem Rajashekeran was the chairman of the committee, while the convenor was Tushar Vellapalli, who heads the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and is also the son of Hindu Ezhava leader Vellapalli Natesan.

This is the first time that Chandrasekhar, who is a Keralite settled in Bengaluru, has been given a party post in Kerala.
Panaji: The Congress on Monday welcomed the change in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's perception of Kerala, from a place which he had once compared to Somalia, to "God's own country".

"We congratulate the Prime Minister for his change in perception of Kerala, from a state which he compared to Somalia, to 'God's own country'," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told reporters here.

Modi during his speech at a BJP meet held in Kerala over the weekend, had said: "When we think of Kerala, we think of God's Own Country, it has an impression of purity and holiness".

During the run up to the state legislative assembly elections held in Kerala earlier this year, Modi had said that the child dead ratio among the Scheduled Tribe community in the southern state was worse than Somalia.


Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Monday hit out at the BJP-led central government for neglecting the northeastern region of India.

He claimed that in the last two and a half years of the Narendra Modi government, nothing worth mentioning has been done.

Addressing women workers at the Congress office here, Ibobi Singh said: "Central ministers have been coming to the NE region frequently and we hoped that something positive would come out. So far nothing has materialised."

He also said that the Congress has done many things for the people in the last 15 years.

"As people know we have delivered the goods to them we are sure of coming back to power after the February 2017 elections," he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam who was also present in the function, said: "Some spent forces of the Congress had joined the BJP." He likened them to medicines which had expired a long time ago and said that it would be injurious to consume these "medicines".

Recently one Congress lawmaker, who is a former Minister, had resigned from the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Senior BJP leader Nimaichand Luwang however said that the charges of the Chief Minister are baseless.


Agartala (Tripura): The Tripura Trinamool Congress burnt effigies of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over the weekend, saying both were anti-Indian.

The TMC targeted Sarkar for his remark made at a business summit where he allegedly said India has a big brother approach to its neighours.

TMC activists organised a protest procession during which they raised anti-Manik Sarkar and anti-Pakistan slogans. The effigies were burnt at the busy Orient Choumuhani crossing on Sunday evening.TMC youth leader Sushanta Choudhury called Chief Minister Sarkar a traitor and maintained that the CPI-M has never stood by India and that the former is echoing the sentiments of Pakistan.

CPI-M state secretary Bijan Dhar said that it is unfortunate that the TMC is burning the effigy of Sarkar instead of Prime Minister Modi and who is trying to destabilize the peace, tranquility and secular fabric of the India constitution.

Dhar alleged that the TMC (with financial support) is trying to show Sharif and Sarkar as same and which a strategy of the imperialist America to oust the Left Front government which is the only alternative.He suggested that India should continue dialogue with Pakistan to resolve issues relating to Kashmir.
Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday informed the Odisha Assembly that action would be initiated against those responsible for the killing of five persons, including a two-year-old boy, in Kandhamal district.

Replying to a written question by BJP member Dilip Ray, Patnaik said, "The government will take action based on the reports of the Odisha Police's Special Investigating Team (SIT) and the Judicial Commission probing the incident."

Patnaik said the incident took place at Gumudumaha village under Baliguda block of Kandhamal district during an anti-Maoist operation by SOG personnel on July 8.

He informed that the state government on July 22 had appointed the District and Sessions Judge, Kandhamal, to head the judicial commission probing the incident.

The terms of reference of the commission would cover the incidents before police firing at Gumudumaha village, whether police firing was justified and required, whether police should open fire in such situation, Patnaik said.

He said the commission will also suggest the state government on how to avoid such incidents in future.

Five innocent villagers were killed and seven others injured while they were allegedly caught in crossfire during an anti-Maoist operation.

The villagers were returning to their houses after collecting MGNRGGA payment.

Both the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes have already visited the Gumudumahan village and opined that the police opened fire on the villagers without any provocation.
Chandigarh: An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker was shot dead on Sunday by a local Akali Dal leader over a property dispute in Moga district of Punjab.

The incident took place yesterday evening at Bhinder Kalan village of Dharamkot in Moga.

Jagroop Singh, an AAP worker was shot at by Jagsir Singh, former sarpanch of Akali Dal, after the two got into a heated argument over a property matter.

Jagroop was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

According to sources, the AAP worker was shot in the chest and was admitted in a critical condition.

The city police has registered a murder case against the Akali Dal leader Jagsir Singh, however according to reports, no arrest has been made so far.
Chennai: The toll in the road mishap near Jayakondam here has risen to 14 with seven more persons succumbing to injuries, police said today.

An official release in Chennai said in all 14 persons were killed and 11 injured when the mini-van they were travelling in collided with a lorry at a village near Udayarpalayam in this district yesterday.

Ariyalur Police said of the injured, three persons died last night while four succumbed to injuries early this morning.

The occupants of the van were returning home after attending a condolence meet at Katchiperumal village when the mishap occurred, they said.

Expressing grief over the deaths, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced a solatium of Rs one lakh to be given to the kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Jayalalithaa issued ordered to Thanjavur district administration along with hospital authorities to offer good treatment to those hospitalised, a release from the Chief Minister office said.

She announced that Rs 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured while Rs 25,000 to those who suffered minor injuries from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, the release added.
Chennai: DMK President M Karunanidhi today condemned the murder of a Hindu Munnani functionary in Coimbatore last week and urged police to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to justice.

Expressing his condolences to the bereaved family, Karunanidhi in a statement said it was a painful to hear about the murder and added the violence that took place following the attack was "highly condemnable".

Referring to reports that anti-socials were involved in the violence, he alleged that of late such incidents were increasing day by day in Coimbatore.

"It is not desirable that after the incident, Hindu Munnani activists took law into their hands by threatening innocent people to close shops in Coimbatore," he said.

"In particular, there were reports of violence in schools, houses, shops run by minority communities. Police should not give any room to such people and should arrest those involved in the attack without any delay," he said.

Karunanidhi also condemned incidents of petrol bombs being hurled at BJP offices in Dindigul and Coimbatore.

Sasikumar (36), the Hindu Munnani's Coimbatore district spokesperson was returning home on September 22 night at Subramaniampalayam on the outskirts of Coimbatore on his two-wheeler when unidentified assailants chased him on motorcycles and attacked him with sickles.

He was taken to a private hospital, where he died.
New Delhi: BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Monday condemned the shoe attack on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, saying this is no way to convey anger against anybody.

"I condemn this... Throwing shoes, throwing ink is not a good thing," said Thakur while commenting on the incident which took place during Rahul's roadshow.

The BJP youth wing president said people can convey their views or anger, if any, through various peaceful means rather than indulging in such acts.

"India is one of the world's largest democracies. It is a very open system where we have lot of independence, freedom of speech. So, you can convey on social media, you can convey in person in any peaceful manner," he said.

He also disapproved of burning of buses and destroying public property as part of protests.

A local youth identified as Hariom Sharma flung his shoe from a distance at Rahul in Sitapur during his roadshow. However, the shoe did not hit the

Congress leader.

The youth was immediately detained by the police and taken to the city police station.

The youth was heard saying "roadshow is useless", according to an eyewitness.

Police said prima facie, the youth has no political links and the matter was being probed.
New Delhi: After the incident of a shoe being thrown at him in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the BJP and the RSS, saying that "such acts will neither scare him away nor weaken his resolve to fight for the farmers".

"The BJP and RSS people think if they hurl shoes, Rahul Gandhi will stop fighting for the farmers. I am not going to step back. I am not scared of your shoes and anger," Rahul Gandhi wrote in his Twitter account in Hindi.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, briefing the media persons on Monday, said, "Rahul Gandhi will not get intimidated by such attempts. This reflects how much the RSS and the BJP are scared. They are worried and that`s why they are resorting to such attempts. These attempts will only strengthen our party and weaken the BJP."

"We condemn such dastardly acts by them," he added.

A shoe was thrown at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday during his ongoing `Kisan Yatra` in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, police said. The shoe missed the Gandhi scion by a whisker and he looked at the shoe as it zipped past him.

A youth has been arrested in this connection and taken to the Kotwali police station for interrogation.

He has been identified as Hari Om Mishra, resident of Hargaon, a police official told IANS.

Gandhi resumed his "Kisan Yatra" on Monday after a two-day break.
Lucknow: Tainted former UP Mines Minister Gayatri Prajapati, against whose reinduction a social activist had petitioned the Governor, was today sworn in along with three others, in perhaps the last expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav ministry before the 2017 UP Assembly polls.

Six MoS were also elevated in the expansion.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Ram Naik at Raj Bhawan to Manoj Pandey, Shivakant Ojha and Ziauddin Rizvi, besides Gayatri. Rizvi was not able to take oath in June when the cabinet was last expanded as he was abroad.

Three Mos (Independent) Riaz Ahmed, Yasir Shah and Ravidas Mehtrotra, and Ministers of State Abhishek Mishra, Narendra Verma and Shankhlal Majhi were elevated to cabinet rank.

Interestingly, Raj Kishore Singh, who too was dropped along with Prajapati, failed to stage a comeback.

Prajapati was sacked by Akhilesh two weeks back as part of efforts by the chief minister to refurbish the image of his government before the Assembly elections.

His action, however, triggered a political crisis and his re-induction was part of a compromise formula hammered out by ruling Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to douse the flames in the Yadav clan.

But, hardly 48 hours before the swearing-in ceremony, activist Nutan Thakur petitioned the Governor against making him minister again. In her petition, she said Prajapati was removed as minister on serious corruption charges after the order of Allahabad High Court for a CBI inquiry.

Nutan said when Prajapati was removed as minister, he had lost the pleasure of the Governor.

Hence, he cannot be re-inducted in the Ministry unless the facts and reasons on which he had lost the pleasure of the Governor get removed.

The Akhilesh ministry now comprises 32 cabinet ministers, 9 MoS (Independent Charge) and 19 MoS.

This was the eighth expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav government since it assumed office in 2012.The UP council of ministers now has the maximum strength of 60 ministers.

Akhilesh had sacked Prajapati at a time when there were indications that the CBI was set to tighten the noose around Prajapati and officials of the state mining department.

The High Court had asked the CBI to look into the role of government functionaries in allegations of illegal mining.

Prajapati was in news when Nutan had lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta, accusing him of corruption and gathering wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The Lokayukta had, however, dismissed the complaint on grounds that no such evidence was found against him.

But, as his sacking on September 12 set off a tsunami in the ruling party circles, the SP supremo had to chip in to end the impasse and as a compromise formula it was decided that he would be re-inducted, but with a different portfolio.

Akhilesh was said to be unhappy with the minister who was mired in controversy over allegations of promoting illegal mining.

The opposition, however, alleged that the sacking of the minister was just an eyewash to hide the corruption in mining sector.

Prajapati began as Minister of State for Irrigation in February 2013 and was given the lucrative portfolio of mining, directly under Akhilesh who handled that department as cabinet minister.

In July 2013, Yadav elevated Prajapati to MoS (Independent Charge) and in January 2014, he was made a Cabinet Minister.
Mexico city: A human rights group is urging the nearly one million US citizens who live in Mexico to vote in hopes of keeping Republican Donald Trump out of the White House, organisers have said.

"We are going to Mobile the almost eight million Americans who live abroad, a million of them in Mexico, and we want them to vote to stop Donald Trump," said Joseph Huff-Hannon Sunday, a campaign leader at Avaaz, an activist organisation for political, environmental and human rights issues.

Under the shadow of Mexico's Angel of Independence monument, about 200 people gathered to register to vote next to a billboard-sized placard featuring an anti-Trump cartoon, one day ahead of the first presidential debate between Trump and his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Passersby posed with an effigy of Trump while a mariachi band serenaded them.

The bureaucratic complications of registering to vote when Americans are abroad can discourage people from casting ballots and the Avaaz campaign is aimed at making the process easier.

Trump has vowed to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by migrants to Mexico to make their country pay for a massive wall across the border. He has also called Mexican migrants "rapists."

"Let's hope we never see this gentleman in the White House -- or the wall," Huff-Hannon said.

"Don't forget that in 2000 George W Bush won the White House by something like 500 votes in Florida," he added.

Trump has fervently ruled out any legal status for undocumented migrants. In practice this would mean an extension of a precarious limbo status for millions of migrants, mainly of Mexican origin, who have been waiting for years or even decades to come out of the shadows.

Most Americans favour some sort of immigration reform.
Beirut: Dozens of air strikes hit rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo overnight, a monitor and defence worker said, continuing a fierce air campaign by Syrian government and allied forces since a ceasefire broke down almost a week ago.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of air strikes hit the rebel-held half of the divided city, the target of a fresh offensive announced by the Syrian army on Thursday.

Aleppo has become the main battle ground of a conflict now in its sixth year. Capturing rebel districts of Syria's largest city, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped, would mark the biggest victory of the civil war for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad`s forces.

Bebars Mishal, a civil defence worker in rebel-held Aleppo, said the bombardment continued until 6 a.m.

"It`s the same situation. Especially at night, the bombardment intensifies, it becomes more violent, using all kinds of weapons, phosphorous and napalm and cluster bombs," Mishal told Reuters.

"Now, there`s just the helicopter, and God only knows where it will bomb. God knows which building will collapse," he said.

Another civil defence worker, Ismail al-Abdullah, said the overnight bombardment had been less intense than it had been in the past few days and the morning was relatively quiet.

The Observatory said it had documented the deaths of 237 people, including 38 children, from air strikes on Aleppo city and the surrounding countryside since last Monday when the ceasefire ended. Of those documented deaths, 162 were in rebel-held east Aleppo city.

Civil defence workers say about 400 people have died in the past week in the rebel-held parts of the city and surrounding countryside.

Rescue efforts have been severely hampered because bomb damage has made roads impassable and because civil defence centres and rescue equipment have been destroyed in raids.

Civil defence worker Ammar al Selmo said rescuers have only two fire trucks and three ambulances left in Aleppo and that three fire trucks, two ambulances and three vans had been hit in the past week.

"We are trying to respond ... but we don`t know what tomorrow will bring," Selmo said, speaking from Gaziantep, Turkey after recently leaving east Aleppo.

Brita Hagi Hassan, president of the city council for opposition-held Aleppo, said the bombardment over the past three days has been exceptional.

"The planes are not leaving the skies at all ... Life in the city is paralysed. Everyone is cooped up in their homes, sitting in the basements. These missiles are even targeting the basements and shelters that we`d set up to protect people," he said from the Aleppo countryside. Hassan has been unable to get back into east Aleppo for several weeks because of the siege.

On Saturday a pumping station providing water for rebel-held eastern Aleppo was destroyed by bombing.

"People are now relying on water from the wells, and that water is not suitable for drinking. It was being used for other things, like washing, cleaning and so on. Now, the people are relying on it as drinking water," Hassan said.

Selmo said eight people died on Monday in air strikes on east Aleppo and the surrounding countryside.

REBELS EVACUATED

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in Syria`s civil war and 11 million driven from their homes.

"I don`t know what`s going to happen in the future. But it looks like there`s more killing, more bombardment, more blood on the horizon," Hassan said.

In Homs, a second group of Syrian rebels began to be evacuated from their last foothold in the city on Monday, state news agency SANA said.

The Observatory said around 100 fighters were in the group scheduled to leave to the northern Homs countryside.

The first batch of around 120 fighters and their families left on Thursday. The evacuations are part of the Syrian government's attempts to conclude local agreements with rebels in besieged areas that have resulted in rebels being given safe passage to insurgent-controlled areas.
Aleppo: Syria's Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages on Monday and warplanes again pounded the city as Russia condemned what it called "unacceptable" Western rhetoric after allegations of war crimes.

A fresh wave of intense air strikes battered Aleppo`s opposition-controlled east, said an AFP correspondent in the city facing its worst violence in years.

During an emergency session of the UN Security Council, US ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism", while the British and French envoys went even further.

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," Francois Delattre of France said, while Britain`s envoy spoke of bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry unleashing a "new hell" on Syrians.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said Britain`s Matthew Rycroft.

The Kremlin hit back.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations".

Despite the exchange, the violence showed no signs of abating on the ground, with people in Aleppo saying food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said at least 12 people, including three children, were killed in Monday`s raids on several rebel-held districts.Including the latest deaths, a total of 140 people, nearly all civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

They include 23 children and 10 women, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said Monday.

It was the fourth day of intense bombardment since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington.

Since the truce fell apart, a total of 248 people have been killed in Aleppo city and the wider province by Russian and government bombardment, the Observatory said.

A Syrian military source told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas.

"The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision," the source said, reiterating the regime`s goal was to "recapture all regions of Syria" outside its control.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," the source told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations."

With Aleppo back under siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were left reeling from food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as intensifying violence.Several charity kitchens in Aleppo`s rebel-held east were closed in fear of strikes, while water remained cut after pumping stations were damaged at the weekend.

"We endured through years of bombardments and did not leave Aleppo. But now there is no bread, no drinking water, nothing in the markets. The situation is getting worse every day," said Hassan Yassin, a 40-year-old father of four.

On Monday, dozens of rebels and their families quit the last opposition-held district of central Homs city as part of a deal struck with the regime last year.

A total of 131 fighters and 119 family members were bussed out of Waer, devastated after a three-year regime siege, to rebel-held Dar al-Kubra further north, said a source from Homs governorate.

An estimated 600,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the UN, with most encircled by regime forces though rebels also use the tactic.

The UN`s World Food Programme said it delivered food aid on Sunday to civilians in four besieged towns in Syria for the first time since April.

Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, are encircled by government forces while Fuaa and Kafraya in the northwest are besieged by hardline rebels.

A convoy of 53 trucks entered Madaya and Zabadani, with another 18 to Fuaa and Kafraya, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.

At Sunday`s Security Council meeting, US envoy Power voiced some of the strongest criticism yet of Russia`s support for President Bashar al-Assad`s regime.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," she said.

Russia`s year-long air war has helped Assad`s forces regain ground lost to a wide range of opposition forces.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has killed more than 300,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
Beirut: At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria.

At the start of that meeting the UN's top envoy to Syria accused the government of unleashing "unprecedented military violence" against civilians in Aleppo.

Staffan de Mistura said Syria's declaration of a military offensive to retake rebel-held eastern Aleppo has led to one of the worst weeks of the 5 and 1/2-year war with dozens of airstrikes against residential areas and buildings causing scores of civilian deaths.

He said the offensive targeting civilians with sophisticated weapons including incendiary devices may amount to war crimes.

Medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighborhoods throughout Aleppo's rebel-held eastern districts as an announced government offensive entered its fourth day.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7.30 PM and said it expects the toll to rise.

Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defense search and rescue outfit said hospitals and rescuers have documented the deaths of 43 people so far.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the city's opposition quarters.

"I've never seen so many people dying in once place," he said from a hospital in the city. "It's terrifying today. In less than one hour the Russian planes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 200."

The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians have been killed by airstrikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since a US-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening.

De Mistura, at the Security Council meeting, warned that if the Syrian government is intent on taking Aleppo, it is going to be "a grinding" a street-by-street fight where all the infrastructure in the city will be destroyed, but it won't lead to victory.

"A so-called military solution is impossible, including in Aleppo," he stressed.
New Delhi: Urging scientists to draw up focused targets in agriculture to boost exports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that Indian farmers can benefit by meeting the demands of the Gulf countries.

"Due to water crisis in the Gulf countries they have to import all their food items which leaves them worried about an ever increasing population. Can't we keep the requirements of Gulf in the mind and fulfil them through export," the Prime Minister said at Vigyan Bhawan here, marking the platinum jubilee function of the CSIR.

He said at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) function that there's a huge demand of agricultural products in the Gulf and Indian farmers could provide them a cheaper alternative to capture that market.

"Scientists should focus on developing new varieties. We should not be limited to production and consumption locally but also focus on export," Modi said, adding that the country is proud of its scientists.

Saying that no nation could progress without scientific innovation, the Prime Minster called for a "talent hunt" for the scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs.

"Just like the reality shows go on talent hunt and come up with best talents of the country, a similar talent hunt is required for the scientists and innovators," Modi said.

On the occasion a number of scientists were awarded for their contribution. The Prime Minister asked the awardees to adopt schools and groom a few chosen students to become future scientists.

Modi highlighted the CSIR's 75 years as a "journey dedicated to nation".

He expressed his gratitude to the CSIR for the range of domains where the institute has left an "indelible mark".

"From agriculture to aerospace, chemicals to climate change, drug development to deep sea explorations... from health to housing, from UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to underwater vehicles CSIR has registered its presence," Modi alliterated.

"Sometimes I think that I have very high expectations from you... but one asks from only those who can deliver," he said. Union Minister for Earth Science Dr Harsh Vardhan also praised the efforts of nation's scientists.

Calling for technology intervention in waste management, Modi said, "we can turn waste to wealth through technology ... Their is a huge opportunity to grab in that sector, which would not just generate businesses but also keep the nation clean".

The Prime Minister also dedicated seven new indigenously developed varieties of plants to the nation and interacted with the farmers through videoconferencing.

Modi interacted with the farmers from Hyderabad, Jammu, Cuddalor (Tamil Nadu), Jorhat (Assam) and Palampur (Himachal Pradesh).

The new varieties of the plants that have ornamental and medicinal qualities were developed by the CSIR laboratories, especially Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).

The plants include new varieties of lemongrass, citronella, vetiver and canna lily plant.

Established in 1942, CSIR is a leading autonomous body and India's largest research and development organisation. With a network of 38 laboratories, CSIR has about 3,500 scientists and 3,000 technical personnel.
Ottawa: A Canadian diplomat's teenaged son was deported to Canada over his involvement in a drug-related double shooting that killed his older brother and another teenager, media reports said.

American immigration agents escorted Marc Wabafiyebazu, 16, from Miami to Montreal on September 6 where he was reunited with his mother, senior diplomat Roxanne Dube, CBC News Canada reported.

"It's done. It's done. It's done. He has his life ahead of him," Dube said in an interview from Ottawa.

Wabafiyebazu is back home in Ottawa studying privately for his high school equivalency and reconnecting with family and friends as he relaunches his life shattered by the gunfire in March last year that killed Jean Wabafiyebazu, 18, and another teenager.

In March 2015, Marc's elder brother Jean Wabafiyebazu, 18, and another teenager were killed in an attempted armed robbery involving a botched marijuana deal in Florida.

Marc pleaded no contest to reduced charges of felony third-degree murder and was sentenced to nine months of military boot camp, followed by two years of house arrest and up to eight years of probation.

But the federal immigration authorities did not allow him to serve his probation in the US and picked him up from the camp in July, a move which was opposed by state authorities.

A series of court hearings followed till September 2, when Circuit Judge Teresa Pooler relented and Marc was deported to Canada.

"I really see a child or a young man who wants to make a contribution to society in a good way," said Dube, who is now Global Affairs' director general of the Canadian Foreign Service Institute in Ottawa.
Canberra: Australia's trade minister will lead the country's first business delegation to visit Iran in 14 years after sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program were eased.

Steven Ciobo said he will leave Tuesday for the visit that will include reopening an Australian trade office that closed in 2010.

Ciobo said he will be accompanied by 20 representatives of Australian companies, with expertise in health, water management, agribusiness, mining, education and training.

Two-way trade between Australia and Iran fluctuated between 350 million Australian dollars and 600 million Australian dollars a year while Australian sanctions were in place, he said.

"With the sanctions easing, there is ... Significant potential for that figure to move north of there," Ciobo told Australian Broadcasting Corporation today.

"There are still challenges," he said, citing Iran's difficulty in fully reconnecting to the international financial system.

Australian eased sanctions in January after Iran implemented its nuclear pact.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity. And it spelled out the West's obligations to end many financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran's economy.

Mark Vaile, the trade minister at the time, led Australia's last business delegation to Iran in 2002.
Sanaa: A top official in Yemen`s armed Houthi movement on Sunday offered to stop attacks on Saudi Arabia and an amnesty for Yemeni fighters opposing the group if the kingdom stopped air strikes and lifted a near blockade on the country.

The move falls short of demands by Yemen`s government and their backers in Saudi Arabia, but offers rare hope for a pause to 18 months of fighting which has killed at least 10,000 people and pushed impoverished Yemen toward famine.

"(In exchange for) stopping the aggression against our country by land, sea and air, stopping the air strikes and lifting the siege imposed on our country, in return (we will)stop combat operations on the border," Saleh al-Samad, the chief of a Houthi-backed political council, said in a speech.

Hailing from Yemen`s Zaydi Shi`ite sect, the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and pushed the government out of its last stronghold in Aden in March 2015.

The advances by the Iran-allied group prompted an intervention by a Saudi-led coalition that has launched thousands of air strikes on the Houthis and their allies in Yemen`s army but has failed to push them out of the capital.

A near-blockade on Yemen`s ports, which the coalition says is aimed at arms bound to the Houthis, has also hobbled Yemen`s already struggling economy and created a humanitarian crisis.

For months, the Houthis have retaliated with attacks on Saudi Arabia from its mountainous strongholds in northern Yemen and has launched around a dozen ballistic missiles at the kingdom, all of which were intercepted.

Fighting has also raged within the country between pro-Houthi and pro-government militiamen, soldiers and tribal gunmen - a tangle of armed groups so complex that any peace initiative would struggle to contain them.

Samad said the group was prepared to pardon its foes.

"(We call) all fighters on the side of the aggression on the various fronts to respond to a general amnesty and come back into the national fold," he said.

Two shaky truces accompanied previous efforts mediated by the United Nations to end the conflict, and the leader of the Houthi group warned last week that the conflict would last "God knows how long".

Yemen`s internationally recognised government say that any move toward peace can begin only when the Houthis heed a 2015 UN Security Council Resolution mandating that they quit Yemen`s main cities.

Saudi Arabia has said the conflict is an internal Yemeni matter and that it will not negotiate with the Houthis.
New York: Libya's prime minister called for a national reconciliation initiative to repair the divisions in a fragmented country reeling from the turbulence that has followed the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Fayez Seraj also told Reuters in an interview that the battle against Islamic State militants in their former stronghold of Sirte was in its last stages, although bombings and booby traps still posed a challenge.

Gaddafi`s fall in 2011 brought chaos that splintered the North African country into rival armed fiefdoms. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has been seeking endorsement for months as it tries to extend its authority beyond its base in Tripoli, in western Libya.

"In the last five years, Libya has been through a very difficult and critical phase ... many political divisions," Seraj said in New York, where he was attending an annual U.N. gathering of world leaders. "There was disintegration of the social fabric as a result of bloody conflicts.

"So we need a real reconciliation between Libyans inside and Libyans abroad ... there will be no exclusion of any political faction," he said. "Reconciliation will provide political stability, which will give way for economic stability."

Seraj said he expected to begin the drive before the end of the year but he faces an unenviable task.

General Khalifa Haftar, who has been waging a military campaign against Islamists and other opponents in Benghazi and the east, and his backers in eastern Libya have been in a stand-off with the GNA for months. They have blocked a parliamentary vote to endorse the GNA and challenging the U.N.-mediated deal to unify Libya.

Haftar also has resisted the GNA`s efforts to integrate his self-styled Libyan National Army into the national armed force.

The eastern-based parliament has twice rejected lists of ministers put forward by the GNA`s leadership, or Presidential Council, which is meant to represent all sides of Libya`s fractured politics.

The Presidential Council has struggled to win popular support and secure the loyalty of Libya`s political and armed factions since they arrived in Tripoli from Tunisia in March.

Frustration has mounted at its inability to tackle everyday problems including a liquidity crisis, frequent kidnappings, power cuts and a failing health system.

"We expect within coming weeks to end negotiations on shaping a new government," Seraj said.

"We have, until now, not received any official letter from the parliament to present again a newly reshaped government. Despite that we dealt positively with the results of the parliament ... (it) has to now bear its responsibility and carry out its duty," he said.

Seraj has said repeatedly he was open to talks with Haftar, whose recent seizure of oil ports has risked deepening the long-standing east-west divisions and alarmed the west.

"As a Presidential Council we are open to all political factions ... I have no reservations. Anything that helps solve the Libyan crisis and that can open bottlenecks, we are ready to meet anyone," he said.

Seraj struck a conciliatory tone over the port seizures but warned that protection of the vital installations had be done by the internationally recognized government.

"We would not have hoped that there would be escalation in the area but what happened has happened ... and we tried to deal with it with wisdom and calculation," Seraj said.

"But we sent a clear message that oil installations must be protected and should not be damaged ... Whoever protects the oil must be under the umbrella of the Presidential Council," he said.

Haftar`s forces handed operational control to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), which Seraj said operated under the Presidential Council.

Libya is heavily dependent on oil export revenues and needs to revive production to prevent economic collapse.
Reykjavik: Iceland complained Monday that Russian air force bombers have been flying too close to civil airliners, the most recent incident involving a flight from Reykjavik.

The Icelandic foreign ministry said three Tupolev Tu-160 bombers flew between 6,000-9,000 feet (1,800-2,700 metres) below the plane flying from Reykjavik to Stockholm last Thursday.

The ministry told AFP it "has repeatedly objected to unidentified Russian military flights, due to the danger this may pose to passenger flights" and would be doing so again.

But Aleksei Chadisky, spokesman for the Russian ambassador to Reykjavik, said the danger had been exaggerated.

"It is quite understandable that this is how the matter is presented in the local papers. This is an excuse to open the (US) naval base in Keflavik again," he told the Morgunbladid newspaper.

Earlier this year Washington and Reykjavik signed a deal authorising the occasional return of US forces to Iceland -- a NATO member with no military of its own -- amid rising tensions with Moscow,

During World War II, the Keflavik military base was a key US base and it remained important to the NATO alliance during the Cold War.

Its usefulness to the alliance then dwindled over the years, prompting Washington to withdraw its armed forces in 2006.

But in the past two years, the US military has run surveillance missions in NATO airspace operated from Icelandic territory.

"The old Russian bogey is being brought to life again," Chadisky said.

Gudni Sigurdsson, spokesman for the Icelandic Aviation Authority ISAVIA told AFP that airline pilots had been alerted about the problem.

"This is international airspace so nothing illegal was going on," he added.

Other Nordic countries have made similar complaints about Russian military flights in recent years which have switched-off transponders, devices that allow radars to identify planes and prevent collisions.

The Icelandic foreign ministry said that, in the latest case, the transponder failed to transmit the plane`s altitude and speed.
London: A suspected hacker was bailed by British police following reports that 3,000 photographs had been stolen from Pippa Middleton, sister-in-law of Prince William, and were up for sale.

The pictures were reported by The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers to have been stolen from Middleton's iCloud account and included shots of her sister Kate, plus her and William's children Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, one.

The Sun said it had been asked for USD 65,000 for the shots, after someone contacted the newspaper via the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp.

London's Metropolitan Police said on yesterday a 35-year-old man arrested a day earlier had been released on bail, to return to a police station in the British capital in late November.

Police said the suspect, whom they did not name, was arrested in the central English county of Northamptonshire on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offence.

Detectives received a report on Friday regarding the alleged hacking of a personal iCloud account, police said, without naming Middleton as the victim.

Pippa Middleton, 33, is the younger sister of Kate and found fame after acting as bridesmaid at the 2011 royal wedding.

She is engaged to hedge fund boss James Matthews and the couple are expected to marry next year. The allegedly hacked photos also reportedly included shots of her own wedding preparations.

William and Kate and their two children started an eight-day tour of western Canada on Saturday.
Aleppo: Syria`s Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages on Monday and warplanes again pounded the city as Russia condemned what it called "unacceptable" Western rhetoric after allegations of war crimes.

A fresh wave of intense air strikes battered Aleppo`s opposition-controlled east, said an AFP correspondent in the city facing its worst violence in years.

During an emergency session of the UN Security Council, US ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism", while the British and French envoys went even further.

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," Francois Delattre of France said, while Britain`s envoy spoke of bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry unleashing a "new hell" on Syrians.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said Britain`s Matthew Rycroft.

The Kremlin hit back.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations".

Despite the exchange, the violence showed no signs of abating on the ground, with people in Aleppo saying food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said at least 12 people, including three children, were killed in Monday`s raids on several rebel-held districts.Including the latest deaths, a total of 140 people, nearly all civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

They include 23 children and 10 women, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said Monday.

It was the fourth day of intense bombardment since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington.

Since the truce fell apart, a total of 248 people have been killed in Aleppo city and the wider province by Russian and government bombardment, the Observatory said.

A Syrian military source told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas.

"The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision," the source said, reiterating the regime`s goal was to "recapture all regions of Syria" outside its control.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," the source told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations."

With Aleppo back under siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were left reeling from food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as intensifying violence.Several charity kitchens in Aleppo`s rebel-held east were closed in fear of strikes, while water remained cut after pumping stations were damaged at the weekend.

"We endured through years of bombardments and did not leave Aleppo. But now there is no bread, no drinking water, nothing in the markets. The situation is getting worse every day," said Hassan Yassin, a 40-year-old father of four.

On Monday, dozens of rebels and their families quit the last opposition-held district of central Homs city as part of a deal struck with the regime last year.

A total of 131 fighters and 119 family members were bussed out of Waer, devastated after a three-year regime siege, to rebel-held Dar al-Kubra further north, said a source from Homs governorate.

An estimated 600,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the UN, with most encircled by regime forces though rebels also use the tactic.

The UN`s World Food Programme said it delivered food aid on Sunday to civilians in four besieged towns in Syria for the first time since April.

Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, are encircled by government forces while Fuaa and Kafraya in the northwest are besieged by hardline rebels.

A convoy of 53 trucks entered Madaya and Zabadani, with another 18 to Fuaa and Kafraya, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.

At Sunday`s Security Council meeting, US envoy Power voiced some of the strongest criticism yet of Russia`s support for President Bashar al-Assad`s regime.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," she said.

Russia`s year-long air war has helped Assad`s forces regain ground lost to a wide range of opposition forces.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has killed more than 300,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
Ankara: A significant portion of Kurdish YPG militia fighters who were in the northern Syrian town of Manbij are withdrawing to the east of the Euphrates river in a move welcomed by Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters on Monday.

Ankara has demanded that the YPG forces move east of the Euphrates, viewing the group as closely linked to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants fighting in southeast Turkey and deeming both groups terrorist organisations.
District of Columbia: The United States moved to tighten the economic noose around North Korea Monday, charging and sanctioning a firm owned by a prominent Chinese businesswoman for extensive trade ties with the regime.

In a move designed to choke-off North Korea`s external economic lifeline, the US government targeted 44-year-old Ma Xiaohong and her vast conglomerate based in China`s frontier city of Dandong.

The firm, Dandong Hongxiang, and a host of officials are accused of making up a "key illicit network supporting North Korea`s weapons proliferation," according to Treasury sanctions tsar Adam Szubin.

Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington.

That could have been enough to fund North Korea`s uranium enrichment facilities, and to design, make, and test its nuclear weapons, the report said.

Some of the items traded included aluminum ingots, aluminum oxide, ammonium paratungstate and tungsten trioxide, materials used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges and missile design.

US officials said Dandong Hongxiang had acted on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, which has already been blacklisted by the United States and United Nations for its support for North Korea`s nuclear and other weapons efforts.

The Justice Department placed three other individuals, Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu on the sanctions blacklist, banning American individuals or companies from doing business with them.

The department also moved to seize 25 bank accounts controlled by Dandong Hongxiang, on grounds that they "represent property involved in money laundering."The sanctions came after Pyongyang carried out a series of tests on weapons aimed at developing a missile-borne nuclear weapon.

On September 9 North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test triggering international outrage and threats of still further sanctions against the deeply isolated nuclear-armed country.

US President Barack Obama recently met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China and urged stricter implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea.

He later met premier Li Keqiang in New York "and resolved to strengthen coordination" regarding the Korean peninsula, including "invigorating cooperation... in law enforcement channels on North Korea."

Obama`s call appears to have been heeded, at least in part.

Shortly after Obama`s meeting with Xi, the Chinese authorities also announced they were investigating the company.

Dandong`s provincial public security department said it had placed Dandong Hongxiang and its bosses under investigation for "serious economic crimes involved in trade activities."

Ma Xiaohong -- a communist party member -- had been open about her trade with North Korea.

China has been increasingly concerned about Kim Jong-Un`s provocations, but has been loath to destabilize the regime.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea`s $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Korea`s state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China`s total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 percent year-on-year to $291.3 million, Customs data showed.
Washington: Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine has predicted that his running mate Hillary Clinton would "shine" during Monday's presidential debate, while her Republican rival Donald Trump would fumble when asked about specifics.

Trump and Clinton will face off in the first of three scheduled presidential debates on Monday night at the Hofstra University on Long Island, New York.

"When the lights are bright like they are now she brings the A-plus game. She'll be very, very good tomorrow. Donald Trump's a performer and an entertainer, I'm not taking that away from him," Kaine said at the Miami-Dade College on Sunday.

"But he can't get away with the 15-second thing and then walking away.  No, it's 90 minutes,"

The Virginia senator himself acknowledged that things had gotten closer than many Democrats had hoped, repeatedly calling Clinton's lead "narrow". But he also suggested that Monday night could change all that.

"You're going to see him have to get into specifics and Hillary too. But we're going to see who can answer the specific questions. I mean Donald Trump hasn't answered a basic question that's been asked of presidential candidates: show us your tax returns," Kaine said.

"Donald Trump's had problems with the specifics so far, tomorrow night we're going to see: Can he give some specifics?"

Kaine barely mentioned Mike Pence, Trump's running mate, even though the two will debate at Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia on October 4.
Washington: Donald P. Gregg, national security advisor to George H.W. Bush during his tenure as vice president, has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, saying she would make an "extremely good president".

"We now have a person at the top of the Republican ticket who I believe is dangerous, doesn't understand the complex world we live in, doesn't care to, and is without any moral or international philosophy," Gregg said in a statement on Sunday.

"I've met Hillary Clinton a number of times and followed her career in public service. I'm impressed with her knowledge and experience. She would make an extremely good president."

Gregg, 88, served as Bush's national security adviser from 1982 to 1989 and was part of late President Reagan's administration for eight years. He was ambassador to South Korea from 1989 to 1993.

George H.W. Bush was also voting for Clinton, it was revealed last week by Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, the former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.

Bush's national security advisor during his presidency, Brent Scowcroft (1989-1993), has also endorsed Clinton.
Seoul: South Korea and the US conducted a joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan on Monday amid tensions with North Korea carrying out its recent nuclear test and other military developments.

The operation was a response to the recent North Korean provocations and sent a strong message of unity and determination against the continuous acts of aggression by Pyongyang, said a statement issued in Seoul by the US Naval Forces Korea (USNFK).

In the one-day drill, the allies displayed their strength with guided missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111), submarines, antisubmarine helicopters and patrol aircraft.

USNFK Commander Rear Admiral Brad Cooper reaffirmed the US commitment to "remain by South Korea's side to defend against North Korea's unprovoked acts of aggression".

This new show of force by Seoul and Washington comes after the deployment of the US bombers to South Korea twice, the last time on September 21.

After the bombers flew over South Korean territory, Pyongyang accused the US of escalating tensions in the region towards a nuclear war at a time of great conflict following North Korea's fifth nuclear test on September 9.

The latest test by Pyongyang was strongly condemned by the international community, and the UN Security Council is likely to impose new sanctions on North Korea.

Pyongyang, however, ignored the criticisms and defended its nuclear and missile development on grounds of self-defence against the US.

Since the Korean War (1950-53), the US maintains a military alliance with South Korea and is committed to defend it against any possible conflict with North Korea.
The Opportunity for Ag Robotics Startups

On September 12, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed a historic bill into law that requires agriculture businesses and farm operators to pay overtime to farmworkers for any time worked after eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Sponsored by United Farm Workers of America, the bill was seen as a major win for the roughly 1.2 million full-time farmworkers in the United States. Nearly one-third of these farmworkers are employed in California.

The bill stands to particularly impact horticulture producers in California where over 60 percent of domestically-grown fruits and nuts and roughly 33 percent of US vegetables are grown. Before the bill was passed, the law required farm businesses to pay workers for any time worked in excess of 10 hours a day or 60 hours in a week. The remainder of Californias farmworker labor laws represent a scattered and often non-cohesive assembly of exemptions, exceptions, and other nuances.

The new bill received hefty opposition from agricultural lobbying groups, which warned that the new requirement would put a massive financial strain on many farmers and cause an already strained industry to endure added pressures. They also pointed out that many farmers and businesses may simply reduce the number of hours they provide to employees, downsize their payroll, or pass on the extra costs to consumers. It may also make it harder for some producers to compete with the lower cost of foreign imports.

It also exacerbates an already difficult labor situation in California and beyond. Some reports indicate that farm labor shortages have affected as many as 20 states, largely as a result of a lengthy visa process for migrant workers. Although farmers have few other choices than to wait for the paperwork to be approved, crops are far less patient.

Ag robotics startups can enhance human labor

But, as with the old adage that one mans trash is another mans treasure, the developing farm labor dynamic in California and beyond spells good news for one group: agriculture robotics startups. The small but growing crop of ag robotics startups are betting on the need for farm operators to transfer some of the work performed by human workers to robots in the mid-to-near future.

Labor costs are very difficult for farmers to control, BreAnn Washburn, director of operations and marketing at Smart Vision Works, tells AgFunderNews. Immigration policies have created labor shortages, essentially a supply and demand problem. Farmers had to pay employees more to keep them and to stay competitive, even before this new legislation.

If farmers were struggling to stay profitable before, increasing their costs will only encourage them to find alternative solutions to their labor needs. New technologies are one way that farmers can cope with labor shortages and increasing labor costs, she adds. In our experience, farmers are not looking for new technologies that will replace employees, but technologies that will help them be more efficient with the employees they already have.

The Utah-based company uses proprietary machine learning algorithms to aid in sorting and grading produce in agricultural processing lines. Picture massive warehouses in California where thousands of oranges, lemons, and other fruits are examined, sorted, and processed. Typically, farmworkers perform the vital function of determining which apples are prime to place on store shelves and which ones should be chopped up and turned into apple juice.

For the date industry, Smart Vision Works has developed a platform that can sort by size, color, shape, texture, and even ripeness. The company claims its clients 47 percent in labor direct labor costs.

Finding labor to help harvest, transport, sort, grade, inspect, and package produce isnt as simple as it sounds. Agribusinesses have to spend several hours training new employees on how to handle produce and all the technicalities involved in the work. A poorly-trained or unskilled employee could make mistakes that affect a huge portion of a business total crop, which quickly translates to lost profits.

You have heads of broccoli that come in which have to be prepared correctly. So, there is on-the-job training that has to happen. The employee is very important to the quality system, and they have to pack these things correctly, even if we are talking about a mixed vegetable tray, Carl Vause, CEO at Soft Robotics tells AgFunderNews. Lets automate the low-skill, dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs and use the labor supply we do have for meaningful positions and then pay overtime to those employees. If I will pay overtime, I would much rather pay it to the most important positions.

Soft Robotics has developed a robot that can help with processing, and maybe one-day picking. The machine has a mechanical arm with grippers  octopus fingers  that can manage delicate products like fruits.

Agricultural business operators experience roughly 30 percent turnover in these positions, he says, which is unsurprising when it comes to what he refers to as the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks that are necessary to getting produce from the fields to the store shelves. He recalls one major berry producer in the Central Valley who was forced to leave about 20 percent of its total crop unpicked in the field due to the labor shortage.

The margins on food are traditionally very low. Anytime you have a substantial rise in labor costs, which is the biggest cost in their business, it puts obvious pressure on margins, he explains. At the same time, they are more concerned about the availability of labor and making sure they have enough employees.

A small ecosystem

Despite these increasingly attractive fundamentals, there are very few machine labor-based and robotics startups in the agtech universe. Other examples alongside Soft Robotics and Smart Vision Works include Abundant Robotics, AGROBOT, RowBot, France-based Naio Technologies, Californian weeding robot attachment Blue River Technologies, and Spains PlantTape, which has developed an automated plant transplanting system.

There are a few other robotic laborers around including vineyard-pruning winebots, nursery assistant robots, and livestock herding bots. The majority of these solutions, however, are far from reaching widespread commercialization or affordability for the majority of producers.

More food and ag-related startups are using robotics for other applications. Zymergen taps robotics to produce microbial DNA, and 3D Robotics, which applies the technology in the context of drones. So does Florida-based Prioria Robotics, which offers precision ag-focused robotics solutions.

Smart Vision Works sees a few large-scale competitors in the machine -labor segment, but they dont offer many products for small-scale agribusinesses budgets.

Smaller niche agricultural markets have never been attractive for the larger machine labor companies because those farmers cant really afford the tech, says Washburn. With new regulations, they cant really afford not to. I think we will see larger robotics/machine labor companies increasing their focus on the smaller markets or developing broader use technology.

Washburn thinks this bill will spur new demand for robotics-based labor solutions and promote more innovation.

She is not alone in this sentiment. According to the Wall Street Journal, autonomous robots may be the warehouse workers of the future across a variety of industries.

I think we will see machine-based labor solutions, but I also think we will see a lot of impact and response in cloud-based software solutions, pesticides, herbicides, and others, says Washburn. There may also be a demand for products tailored to niche markets where the mainstream solutions created for citrus and other produce groups with similar qualities dont always fit, she adds.

She also points out that the new bill will likely have an impact on the entire agricultural supply chain, where a splash at one end of the system will almost always creates some ripples down the chain.

Challenges for robotics startups

There are, of course, some challenges to innovating robotics solutions in agriculture. The first is cost and development time.

Regardless of whether this new bill promotes more innovation and a greater number of robotics startups, farm operators, and agribusinesses will still have to wait before a bevy of solutions hit the market.

Robotics R&D is usually expensive and time-consuming, which has put some investors off. During 2015, non-drone-related startups raised just over $45 million out of the $4.6 billion total funding collected by agtech startups, according to AgFunder data. It was a very small portion of the $389 million raised by drones & robotics companies collectively. And during the first half of 2016, AgFunder did not record any non-drone-related robotics funding transactions. Some investors are concerned that robotics companies are too capital intensive compared to software companies, and that hardware is easier to copy but more expensive to distribute.

Adaptability is another challenge.

Robotics are not very adaptable right now. Agriculture is very unstructured by definition. No tomato is the same size, shape, and weight. Robotics became popular originally in very structured environments like automotive assembly and airspace, says Vause.

Ensuring the robotics solutions comply with stringent food safety protocols is another element to consider with innovation, he adds.

Of course, many producers also have some hesitation when it comes to incorporating robotics into their operations. What if the machine breaks? Who will be able to fix this complicated piece of machinery?

Vause sees this as a massive opportunity for younger generations to fill in the tech-savvy blank for some farmers and agribusinesses. He has seen it happen in other industries, including the automotive industry in Detroit where one major car maker teamed up with a local college to create an associate degree in automation. According to Vause, that car maker went on to hire every single graduate from that degree program. Some of Californias ag-focused institutions like UC Davis or San Luis Obispo could take a similar approach to creating a robotics in agriculture degree program.

If you think about skilled trades, whether its welding or any of those skills, tradespeople do very well. Robotics in agriculture is a skilled trade. Theres a huge opportunity to create that type of skill and apprenticeships around robotics, says Vause.

While the challenges may keep the pace of innovation and number of options on the market for farmers at bay, theres little doubt that robotics will form an increasing part of the farm in years to come. And some investors have identified robotics startups as a particular area of interest within agtech, especially those coming from other industries. Yamaha Motor Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the Japanese automotive giant, is one example. Other investors that have placed bets in robotics include Pontifax AgTech, Syngenta Ventures, and Monsanto Growth Ventures, which all funded Blue Rivers recent $17 million Series B. Meanwhile business development organization Ag Ventures Alliance funded Rowbot, and French VC firm CapAgro invested in Naios $3.37 million seed round alongside cleantech and mobility tech firm Emertec, and crowdfunding platform WiSeed.

What do you think? Why have robotics startups been so underfunded by the venture capital community? Email Media@AgFunderNews.com.

Image: Ag robotics startup Naio Technologies.
Antonio Palocci was arrested on September 26, 2016 on suspicion of accepting bribes from the construction company Odebrecht, one of the main firms involved in the huge Petrobras pay-to-play scandal

Brazilian police on Monday arrested former finance minister Antonio Palocci, the latest high-level suspect in the huge Petrobras corruption probe, prosecutors said.

He joins a long list of top officials accused of taking part in a huge bribery scheme linked to the state oil company, which has rocked the political establishment in Latin America's biggest economy.

Palocci, 55, served as finance minister under former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and as chief of staff for his successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached this month.

Palocci was also a key figure in the leftist Workers' Party. His lawyer Roberto Batochio rejected the accusations as a "show."

The suspect "was detained in Sao Paulo on a temporary detention order for five days and must leave today for Curitiba," the southern city where a judge is leading the probe, an official in the state prosecution service told AFP.

Palocci was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes from the construction company Odebrecht, one of the main firms involved in the huge Petrobras pay-to-play scandal.

Evidence from emails and mobile telephones shows "that the ex-minister Antonio Palocci... acted in favor of the Odebrecht group between 2006 and late 2013," a statement from the prosecution service said.

Investigating judge Sergio Moro ordered the arrests of two further suspects and the freezing of assets belonging to them worth tens of millions of dollars, it said.

Police said in a statement they were investigating "negotiations between the Odebrecht group and the ex-minister to try to pass a law" that would bring "immense fiscal benefits" to the firm.

Federal police commissioner Filipe Hille Pace told a news conference in Curitiba that authorities had evidence that "between 2008 and 2013 more than 128 million reals ($40 million) were paid to the Workers' Party and its associates, including Palocci."

- Lula faces trial -

Last week the police briefly detained Palocci's successor as finance minister, Guido Mantega, also in connection with the Petrobras scandal.

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A judge also ruled that Lula himself must stand trial for corruption in the Petrobras case.

Lula has dismissed the case as a politically motivated "farce."

He is the highest-profile figure to face trial in a case that has taken down some of the country's most powerful business executives and politicians.

The charges allege that Lula, 70, masterminded the corruption racket and received the equivalent of $1.1 million in bribes.

Among the accusations are charges that the former union leader and his wife received a beachside apartment and upgrades to the property from a major construction company, OAS, which was one of the players in the Petrobras scheme.

- Big corruption probe -

The arrests are the latest phase of "Operation Car Wash," the federal probe into the Petrobras scheme.

The scandal has upended Brazilian politics since it was launched in 2014.

Along with Rousseff's impeachment over a separate case, it threatens to sink the Workers' Party, a once-mighty force of leftist politics in Latin America.

Under the corruption scheme, Petrobras allegedly gave inflated contracts to big construction firms in exchange for hefty bribes.

Brazil's new conservative president, Michel Temer, and his PMDB party were allied with the Workers' Party before splitting in March, a prelude to Rousseff's impeachment.
Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus, has financially backed a partisan group devoted to circulating Internet memes besmirching Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the Daily Beast reported Thursday.

The group, called Nimble America, describes itself as a "social welfare 501(c)4 non-profit" in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the report said.

Luckey, who sold his virtual reality company Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion in 2014, said that despite being listed as NimbleAmerica's vice president on its website, he was just the group's money man, adding that the group "sounded like a real jolly good time," the report said.

In an auto-response to an email sent by CNBC outside office hours, Nimble America said it takes positions on a variety of public policy matters and that it creates ads to promote "common sense conservatism." It said it didn't consider its activities to be political as defined under U.S. tax code.

Responding on September 26 to CNBC's inquiry, Nimble America did not address its sources of funding, but said via email, "As an advocacy organization, Nimble America may also support or oppose political candidates that share or oppose the ideals of Nimble America."



In a Facebook post on September 24, Luckey apologized for actions that may negatively impact perceptions of Oculus and its partners.

He confirmed that he had donated $10,000 to Nimble America, but denied that he was a founder or employee of the group and added that he didn't plan further donations to the group.

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) didn't immediately return CNBC's emailed request for comment, sent outside office hours, on whether Luckey was an employee of the company.

The full Daily Beast report can be read here.



Clarification: This article has been updated to include statements from Nimble America and Palmer Luckey.





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The Durand family acquired the Heronniere farm in 1961 and has produced Camembert since 1987

It's a cheese maker's take on David and Goliath.

Camembert, the village that gave its name to France's most famous -- and imitated -- cheese, has only one remaining traditional "fromagerie" still making the speciality.

And it's holding its own against big industry.

As they tend cows and ladle curdled raw milk into low, wooden cylindrical moulds, the Durand family and their employees don't look like militants in a Gallic culinary battle against globalisation.

But they are on the front line in this Normandy locality, population 200, on a picturesque hillside where Camembert was first created during the French Revolution.

Dairy producers "are really in dire straits," said Nicolas Durand, 43, owner of the Heronniere farm in the northwestern French region where Europe's biggest dairy group Lactalis has bought out numerous farms like his.

For a small operation, the "only way to survive is through direct distribution," he said.

Durand's family acquired the farm in 1961 and has produced Camembert since 1987.

Today his seven employees turn 90 percent of the milk from his 90 cows into 700 to 800 cheeses a day, up from 600 in the year 2000.

Durand sells the minuscule remainder of his output to Agrial, one of France's top agricultural cooperatives and food processors.

- French way of life -

Dairy production is a hot-button issue in France. Only last month, the agriculture ministry had to step in to mediate between Lactalis and farmers angry over what they say are unsustainably low milk prices.

Lactalis today is France's biggest maker of Camembert, mass-producing it for sale in supermarkets at home and abroad under labels like the ubiquitous "President" brand.

But ask anyone at a Heronniere farm how a "Durand" differs from a factory-produced Camembert and they will laugh, saying even the question is an "insult".

Real Normandy Camembert -- a soft-cheese staple on France's post-dinner cheese plates -- finally won the coveted AOP, or Protected Designation of Origin, only 33 years ago.

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The label ensures that a product's origin and fabrication is within a strict geographical area and adheres to traditional methods and craftsmanship.

Local pride is such that a stone monument in honour of Marie Harel -- who invented the creamy cheese in 1791 with, as legend has it, the help of a priest -- stands in Vimoutiers, the nearby village where she died.

Camembert itself has a museum recounting the history of its speciality, a symbol of the "French way of life".

Yet half the museum is rented by Lactalis, whose industrial Camemberts tend to be made with pasteurised -- not raw -- milk.

And since it is not necessarily from Normandy and is ripened quickly, it cannot bear the "AOP Camembert de Normandie" label.

- Bloomy white rind -

Durand notes that his cheese is not only AOP it is also "fermier", or entirely made on one farm -- a mark of distinction in a France struggling to defend "terroir", an almost untranslatable notion evoking the goodness of a particular patch of countryside.

"It's made with milk from our cows and not from a mixture of milk from different farms. That is important for the taste," Durand says.

"Durand's flavour stays with you" and it has a stronger, richer scent, said one cheese seller from the Normandy port of Caen.

While an industrial version costs a couple of euros in the supermarket, a Durand Camembert is costlier, fetching 4.40 euros (about $5) on the farm and 5.60 euros (about $7) at the Caen merchant's store.

But the scene at Durand's farm looks like just like the cheese making portrayed in the ageing black and white celluloid film at the museum.

The milk preparation is set in moulds to drain for half a day in rooms heated to 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheit).

Because modern sanitary standards require farmers to sterilise the cows' teats -- removing both good and bad bacteria -- lactic acids must be added to aid coagulation.

The forms are then taken to the "haloirs" or drying rooms, and kept at between 12 and 17 degrees Celsius. Salt is added as well as penicillin, which helps to form Camembert's characteristic bloomy white rind.

This part takes two weeks, after which the cheese is left again to mature properly.

While Durand's supply is necessarily limited, demand is strong and the farm is already attracting some 10,000 visitors a year.

He is working with partners to develop his marketing strategy and to ramp up tourist interest even more.

The cheese maker says he brings in around 2,000 euros ($2,250) a month, of which he must pay off 500 euros in loans until 2018.

He also needs to replace his brother and sister-in-law, who left the farm to open a cheese store at Granville on the Normandy coast last July.

Numerous candidates have shown interest, including some from as far away as China and Russia. But Durand says one thing he'll not be doing is selling up, to Lactalis or anyone else.
Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington

The United States moved to tighten the economic noose around North Korea Monday, charging and sanctioning a firm owned by a prominent Chinese businesswoman for extensive trade ties with the regime.

In a move designed to choke-off North Korea's external economic lifeline, the US government targeted 44-year-old Ma Xiaohong and her vast conglomerate based in China's frontier city of Dandong.

The firm, Dandong Hongxiang, and a host of officials are accused of making up a "key illicit network supporting North Korea's weapons proliferation," according to Treasury sanctions tsar Adam Szubin.

Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington.

That could have been enough to fund North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities, and to design, make, and test its nuclear weapons, the report said.

Some of the items traded included aluminum ingots, aluminum oxide, ammonium paratungstate and tungsten trioxide, materials used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges and missile design.

US officials said Dandong Hongxiang had acted on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, which has already been blacklisted by the United States and United Nations for its support for North Korea's nuclear and other weapons efforts.

The Justice Department placed three other individuals, Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu on the sanctions blacklist, banning American individuals or companies from doing business with them.

The department also moved to seize 25 bank accounts controlled by Dandong Hongxiang, on grounds that they "represent property involved in money laundering."

- Turning the screw, slowly -

The sanctions came after Pyongyang carried out a series of tests on weapons aimed at developing a missile-borne nuclear weapon.

On September 9 North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test triggering international outrage and threats of still further sanctions against the deeply isolated nuclear-armed country.

Story continues

US President Barack Obama recently met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China and urged stricter implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea.

He later met premier Li Keqiang in New York "and resolved to strengthen coordination" regarding the Korean peninsula, including "invigorating cooperation... in law enforcement channels on North Korea."

Obama's call appears to have been heeded, at least in part.

Shortly after Obama's meeting with Xi, the Chinese authorities also announced they were investigating the company.

Dandong's provincial public security department said it had placed Dandong Hongxiang and its bosses under investigation for "serious economic crimes involved in trade activities."

Ma Xiaohong -- a communist party member -- had been open about her trade with North Korea.

China has been increasingly concerned about Kim Jong-Un's provocations, but has been loath to destabilize the regime.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea's $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Korea's state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China's total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 percent year-on-year to $291.3 million, Customs data showed.
The Justice Department said Dandong Hongxiang and four Chinese company officials also named in an indictment had conspired to evade US sanctions on North Korea

The United States announced criminal charges and economic sanctions Monday against a Chinese company, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development, for alleged support of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The Justice Department said Dandong Hongxiang and four Chinese company officials also named in an indictment had conspired to evade US sanctions on North Korea, violated US regulations against support for designated "weapons of mass destruction proliferators," and engaged in money laundering.

The department also moved to seize 25 bank accounts controlled by Dandong Hongxiang, on grounds that they "represent property involved in money laundering."

In parallel the Treasury added the company and the four officials, Ma Xiaohong, Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua, and Luo Chuanxu to its sanctions blacklist, which ban American individuals or companies, including especially financial firms, from doing business with them.

US officials said Dandong Hongxiang had acted on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, which has already been blacklisted by the Untied States and United Nations for its support of North Korea's nuclear and other weapons efforts.

"The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege that defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world, surreptitiously moved money through the United States and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear weapons program," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell in a statement.

The move came after Chinese authorities also announced they were investigating the company, which is located in Dandong city in the northeast Liaoning province, on the border with North Korea.

Liaoning's public security department said earlier this month that they have placed Dandong Hongxiang and its bosses under investigation for "serious economic crimes involved in trade activities".

According to a report released last week by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington, Dandong Hongxiang logged more than $530 million in two-way trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015.

The Justice Department said that Dandong Hongxiang had created and acquired a number of offshore front companies to process US dollar transactions through the US financial system on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking between 2009 and 2015.
English | Publisher: Louisiana State University Press, 2007 | PDF | 288 pages | 7 MB

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Bobby Braddock, one of the most successful country songwriters of all time, is a living legend. His smash hit "He Stopped Loving Her Today" won the Country Music Association's Song of the Year Award in two consecutive years and was voted "Song of the Century" in a poll conducted by Radio & Records magazine and "greatest country song of all time" in a poll conducted by the BBC. In this captivating narrative, Braddock demonstrates that he is as much at home writing the story of his life as crafting an award-winning country tune. Warm, candid, intimate, and laugh-out-loud funny, Down in Orburndale -- the title plays on the Southern pronunciation of Braddock's hometown of Auburndale, Florida -- recounts his colorful saga up to age twenty-four, when he decides to move to Nashville and pursue a career as a professional songwriter.Braddock retains enormous affection for his Florida upbringing, back in the mid-twentieth century when "Florida was still Southern," oranges were more essential than tourists to the state's economy, and every small town seemed to be populated with actual eccentric characters right out of a Southern novel -- like Bobby's father, twenty-four years older than his mother, with a voice that was "a cross between Foghorn Leghorn and W. C. Fields." Braddock's sensory memory of his childhood infuses his storytelling with the sights, sounds, smells, and significance of everyday living.When he tells tales of playing rock 'n' roll music in the Deep South of the early 1960s, readers experience some of the decade's most significant moments from a different perspective (for example, his band was in Birmingham, Alabama, when the Ku Klux Klan murdered four little girls). Along the way, he battles depression, hypochondria, and panic disorder, marries, and finally finds his true calling.Rednecks, religion, Florida, oranges, swamps, politics, racism, love, sex, illness, family, murder, and dreams -- all fill the pages of Braddock's compulsively readable ode to his youth. But it is music, above all else, that drives the story, providing a soundtrack for a life lived large.
TORONTO (Reuters) - An agreement signed between Canada's border agency and China will result in the faster deportation of Chinese citizens deemed inadmissible by Canadian authorities, a Liberal government spokesman said on Sunday. The deal will allow Chinese officials to travel to Canada to interview Chinese citizens considered inadmissible, with the aim of verifying their identities and documents, said Scott Bardsley, press secretary to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Bardsley said the verification process could otherwise take a long time and had often delayed deportations. According to Canada's immigration department, those deemed inadmissible include people with criminal records, serious health or financial issues or who have lied on their visa applications. The agreement, a one-year pilot program, was part of law enforcement accords signed during Premier Li Keqiang's Canadian visit last week. The border agency agreement, which will not be in place immediately, is similar to one China has with the European Union, and officials from both countries will revisit the matter in November, said Bardsley. The Chinese Embassy in Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both countries are also talking about an extradition treaty, which China has long wanted so it can press for the return of what it says are corrupt officials who fled to Canada. Human rights advocates are opposed, citing what they say is a flawed Chinese justice system. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, elected last year, is trying to improve ties and increase trade with China, the world's second-largest economy, after a decade of rocky relations under his Conservative predecessor. The countries on Thursday settled a trade dispute and said they would start exploratory talks on a free trade pact. The countries also signed a memorandum of understanding under which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ministry of Public Security of China will cooperate to combat a broad range of crimes. Bardsley said the memorandum was a renewal of a similar one signed in 2010 that called for broad cooperation. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) - Inside the election war rooms of Paris, French politicians on both left and right are waking up to the threat Emmanuel Macron poses ahead of next year's presidential election and stepping up attacks on the fresh-faced former economy minister. Macron quit President Francois Hollande's government last month, pledging to "transform France" and taking the most concrete step so far towards a presidential bid he has not yet made official. Government and opposition politicians have branded the 38-year-old former M&A banker a "traitor" and "populist light". With poll after poll showing far-right leader Marine Le Pen assured of getting to the second round but losing the runoff in May to whoever faces her, Socialists and conservatives realize Macron's pitch for the middle ground could cost them the remaining place. "Macron is a danger for us," a government minister said on condition of anonymity. "He's going to steal votes on the left and the right, although he can't possibly do more than 18 percent and reach the second round himself." Former prime minister Alain Juppe, the leading candidate in the center-right's primaries, called Macron "Brutus" after his resignation from Hollande's government, and also has reason to fear him, even if his entourage plays down that threat. "There's a window for him if (former president) Nicolas Sarkozy wins the primaries and Hollande is not a candidate," Juppe's campaign chief Gilles Boyer told Reuters. "But he's prisoner of events beyond his control." Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, close advisors within the "En Marche!" political movement Macron created last April say the backlash has failed to tarnish his public image. His popularity jumped four points after his resignation, according to an Odoxa poll published this month, with 45 percent of respondents considering he would make a good president, the second-highest score after Juppe. In one scenario tested in an Elabe poll that assumes Sarkozy, not Juppe, is the conservative champion, Macron is seen coming third in the first round with 18 percent, one point behind Sarkozy, who would just manage to reach the runoff. PRACTICAL CHALLENGES But Macron has very practical challenges to tackle. With only a dozen permanent staff, people in the movement say they need to hire another half a dozen by mid-October. Never having been elected, Macron cannot count on public funding for a presidential campaign like candidates backed by established parties, and needs to raise funds which under French law are capped at 7,500 euros per person per year. Critics also point out the movement's 80,000 members were able to sign up for free, and do not amount to the army of grassroots activists other candidates will mobilize. Macron nonetheless managed to deploy hundreds of volunteers this summer in 50 cities in a door-to-door campaign meant to collect voters' grievances. The small team is now preparing a "diagnosis" for the country - struggling with high unemployment and which has endured several deadly Islamist attacks - that Macron said he would unveil in October in three rallies outside Paris, the first in Strasbourg on Oct. 4. "We want people to think 'that's the first time a guy tells me what I'm suffering from'," a source in his inner circle said. A "transformation plan" with 6-7 priorities will follow mid-November. Only then will he consider whether to run for president, the advisor said. DIRTY TRICKS Meanwhile, Hollande's party officials are working behind the scenes to strongarm lawmakers into not rallying behind the former minister, Macron's advisors said, with Socialist Party chief Jean-Christophe Cambadelis threatening to expel Macron supporters from the party. Asked about the allegations, a party official said according to party rules members should support the party's official candidate in any election. Several French and European policymakers canceled their appearance at a gathering of European Social Democrats in Lyon where Macron was invited to speak at the weekend. Investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine said Hollande had asked Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to turn down the invitation. The French president's office denied it had intervened and Renzi's office said he was never scheduled to attend the Lyon summit. Macron's team say if Hollande's ratings, the lowest for a president in France's post-war history, fail to pick up by the end of the year, more politicians will rally behind him. One recruit to his cause is Daniel Cohn-Bendit, hero of the 1968 student protests, who said Macron was best placed to prevent a Sarkozy-Le Pen runoff next year. Macron's advisor said finding enough candidates to run in France's 577 parliament constituencies in June would not be a problem either. "En Marche can field candidates everywhere. Our goal is to build something for the long term." Others are not so sure. "He's a brilliant guy," junior minister Jean-Vincent Place said. "But he is deluding himself on who will really support him and where he will be in two or three months." (Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Ingrid Melander, Jean-Baptiste Vey, Elizabeth Pineau and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Crispian Balmer in Rome; Editing by Andrew Callus and Janet Lawrence)
Data & Analytics

Citation Monitoring Tool Adds Data from Open Syllabus Project

A company that helps institutions and publishers monitor the reach of their scholarly output has begun tracking data from the Open Syllabus Project (OSP).

Altmetric aims to capture the reach and impact of content beyond traditional citation-based measures by including references from public policy, coverage in the mainstream media, discussions on social media and blogs, and "mentions" in other sources such as Wikipedia, Mendeley and post-publication peer-review forums.

The OSP, a project hosted at Columbia University's American Assembly, crawls through university websites to collect course syllabi. The goal is to extract citations and other metadata from them in order to learn how fields are evolving that could influence teaching and publishing. Currently, the project has collected more than a million syllabi from 4,000 institutions, whose referenced texts can be explored on the project's website. OSP doesn't share the underlying documents themselves; it aggregates and shares statistics about sources mentioned in the syllabi.

The Altmetric addition to that work is intended for its own users, who can go to "details" pages on the Altmetric website and see all of the original shares and mentions for specific research that now also includes the data from OSP syllabi. Users can click on the name of an institution to be taken to the associated OSP record, which lists all books referenced by that institution in its course syllabi.

"One of our main aims in launching the Open Syllabus tool was to help authors, scholars and libraries get a better understanding of where books were having an influence in the classroom," said OSP Project Director Joe Karaganis, in a press release. "We're really pleased to see Altmetric integrating our data into their platform, adding another level of visibility to our efforts."
Paris could set up an outdoor naturism area near a lake in Bois de Vincennes (AFP Photo/Martin Bureau) (AFP/File)

Paris (AFP) - Paris could set up an outdoor naturism area as early as next summer, in a possible first for the capital of a country which is the world's top destination for clothes-free leisure lovers.

Paris lawmakers voted late Monday to approve a proposal by ecologists to set up the zone, possibly in one of two major wooded areas on the edge of the city.

Naturism "is developing and Paris so far has nowhere" that it can be practised, said David Belliard, co-chairman of the ecologist group in the city council.

He noted that two million French people practise naturism, which is already possible in several European cities including Barcelona, Berlin and Munich.

With over 100 clothes-free beaches and numerous holiday camps, France is the world's number one destination for naturists, said Bruno Julliard, deputy to Paris's Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Describing the "respectable demand" for somewhere to bare all in the French capital, he said the next step was to choose a location.

This could be in one of Paris's two main woods -- the Bois de Boulogne to the west, and Bois de Vincennes to the east -- "near a lake, in a regulated setting so that there is no threat to public order," added Julliard.
Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington (AFP Photo/Greg Baker) (AFP)

Washington (AFP) - The United States moved to tighten the economic noose around North Korea Monday, charging and sanctioning a firm owned by a prominent Chinese businesswoman for extensive trade ties with the regime.

In a move designed to choke-off North Korea's external economic lifeline, the US government targeted 44-year-old Ma Xiaohong and her vast conglomerate based in China's frontier city of Dandong.

The firm, Dandong Hongxiang, and a host of officials are accused of making up a "key illicit network supporting North Korea's weapons proliferation," according to Treasury sanctions tsar Adam Szubin.

Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington.

That could have been enough to fund North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities, and to design, make, and test its nuclear weapons, the report said.

Some of the items traded included aluminum ingots, aluminum oxide, ammonium paratungstate and tungsten trioxide, materials used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges and missile design.

US officials said Dandong Hongxiang had acted on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, which has already been blacklisted by the United States and United Nations for its support for North Korea's nuclear and other weapons efforts.

The Justice Department placed three other individuals, Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu on the sanctions blacklist, banning American individuals or companies from doing business with them.

The department also moved to seize 25 bank accounts controlled by Dandong Hongxiang, on grounds that they "represent property involved in money laundering."

- Turning the screw, slowly -

The sanctions came after Pyongyang carried out a series of tests on weapons aimed at developing a missile-borne nuclear weapon.

On September 9 North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test triggering international outrage and threats of still further sanctions against the deeply isolated nuclear-armed country.

Story continues

US President Barack Obama recently met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China and urged stricter implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea.

He later met premier Li Keqiang in New York "and resolved to strengthen coordination" regarding the Korean peninsula, including "invigorating cooperation... in law enforcement channels on North Korea."

Obama's call appears to have been heeded, at least in part.

Shortly after Obama's meeting with Xi, the Chinese authorities also announced they were investigating the company.

Dandong's provincial public security department said it had placed Dandong Hongxiang and its bosses under investigation for "serious economic crimes involved in trade activities."

Ma Xiaohong -- a communist party member -- had been open about her trade with North Korea.

China has been increasingly concerned about Kim Jong-Un's provocations, but has been loath to destabilize the regime.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea's $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Korea's state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China's total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 percent year-on-year to $291.3 million, Customs data showed.
Europe's first test area for UAV-based traffic management opens at Twente Airport in the Netherlands

Nokia signs collaboration agreement to support development and testing of its drone traffic management platform at Twente Airport

Initiative lays foundation for future global standards for automated traffic management to ensure safe drone use in the vicinity of manned flight operations

Twente, the Netherlands, Sept. 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nokia is to support Europe's first dedicated testing facility for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for traffic management. The facility, at Twente Airport, near Enschede in the Netherlands, will enable Nokia to develop and trial its UAV Traffic Management (UTM) system for the use of drones in proximity of urban areas, people, manned aircraft, other drones and hundreds of other objects.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Municipality of Enschede, the Province of Overijssel, Unmanned Systems Center B.V. and Area Development Twente, Nokia will design and deliver the infrastructure to test and develop the Nokia UTM system at Twente Airport through real-life simulations and commercial demonstrations.

The Nokia UTM solution will provide the flight automation, no-fly zone control and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) capability that will be vital for the safe operation of UAVs in densely populated cities, as well as remote rural areas. UAVs must be able to operate without endangering manned aircraft operations, requiring the development of highly dynamic no-fly zones together with enforcement of civil aviation regulations.

The Nokia technology is underpinned by a combination of expertise in LTE and 5G development, a well as Mobile Edge Computing, to ensure the extreme low-latency and ultra reliability required for UAV traffic management. Drones equipped with Nokia's UTM modem (comprising an LTE modem, GPS transceiver and other telemetry modules), combined with the computing and processing power of the Nokia AirFrame platform, monitor airspace and, flight paths. They can also handle the exchange of telemetry data as well as extablishing dynamic no-flight zones, ensuring safe operation around other civil airspace users. A Nokia UTM smartphone app, working with the UAV Traffic Management interface, provides drone operators with real-time flight permissions, real-time no-fly zone information as well as information about local regulatory rules, giving an extra degree flexibility and awareness.

The Nokia UTM platform can also be adapted to the individual regulatory requirements of different countries, potentially providing the basis for global standardization of such systems.

During an opening day event of Space 53, the test area at Twente Airport, visitors will be able to see a wide range of demonstrations of UAV uses in agriculture, search and rescue, public safety and airport anti-bird protection.

Thorsten Robrecht, head of Advanced Mobile Networks Solutions at Nokia, said: "UAVs are rapidly becoming commonplace tools in many industries, enhancing safety, security, inspection, maintenance and many other activities. However, it is critical that they function faultlessly and safely in complex, real-world environments. This requires more than just a smart drone, but a system of intelligent traffic control that is thoroughly tested and fully developed. Nokia is the only communications vendor currently building such a system and we are working with regulators to achieve the necessary standardization."

Onno van Veldhuizen, mayor of Enschede: "Space53 is a unique concept, which in turn is a necessity for the all the major players in the drone, autonomous, and unmanned systems sector. A test centre like Space53 will be required for the growth of this sector - not just here in the Netherlands, but worldwide. Nokia joining us proves the point, and we're very pleased with their involvement as a technology partner."

Did you know?

In May 2016, Nokia launched its Ultra Compact Network, a rapidly deployable 4G solution that can be carried by a drone to provide connectivity at high-traffic events, remote areas or when a macro network is compromised in an emergency situation - creating yet another use for UAVs.

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Iran Frees Iranian-Canadian Academic on Humanitarian Grounds

Homa Hoodfar, the retired professor of Canadian universities, who had been detained in Iran on certain charges, was released this afternoon on humanitarian reasons such as [her] illness, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday.He added that the scholar had left Tehran for Canada through Oman.Hoodfar, a retired sociology and anthropology professor from Montreals Concordia University, was detained in Iran in June on several charges, including collaboration with a hostile government.The report of her release came after Qassemi announced that Tehran and Ottawa have been holding bilateral meetings in recent months to improve the severed relations.In his weekly briefing session on Monday, Qassemi told reporters in Tehran that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Canadian counterpart Stephane Dion met in New York on September 21 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.The sides discussed mutual relations, regional issues, and consular affairs. The meeting came as the two countries had severed bilateral relations more than four years ago.The expert-level talks will be continued in future, and if we manage to overcome political and legal issues, a major change can be made in Tehran-Ottawa bilateral ties, he said, as reported by Tasnim and translated by IFP.Given the presence of hundreds of thousands of elite Iranians in Canada, our consular presence in the North American country is of great importance. I think, given the regional position of Iran, the issue is important for Canada as well. However, we should wait and see what it will lead to, Qassemi said.
Victoria Sanchez began her career nearly 30 years ago, specializing in residential design in the District area. In 2013, Sanchez opened Victoria at Home in Old Town Alexandria, where she stocks furnishings and decor that define the casual elegance for which she is known.

In this years D.C. Design House, opening Oct. 1, she created a quiet and calming master bedroom suite. She has participated in numerous local show houses. Shes here to answer your questions on show houses or your own interior design dilemmas.

Every week, Jura Koncius helps you in your quest to achieve domestic bliss. She and weekly guests, whether Martha Stewart, the Property Brothers or Nate Berkus, answer your decorating and design questions. Jura is always happy to whip out her paint chips, track down a hard-to-find piece of furniture or offer her seasoned advice on practical living and decluttering. For more than ten years, Home Front has been an online conversation about the best way to make your home comfortable, stylish and fun. We invite you to submit questions and share you own great tips, ideas and gripes. No problem is too big or too small, send them over.
Report Shows Payoff of Roadway Safety Investments

"This is about improving outcomes for people and communities," said Saul Billingsley, executive director of the FIA Foundation. "We encourage investors, donors, and the international financial institutions to come together to realize the potential of these new investment models."

A new report from the FIA Foundation, a UK registered charity, shows that investing early in safe infrastructure to prevent injuries to motorists pays financial dividends and saves lives. In case studies launched Sept. 22 at the World Bank in Washington D.C., "Investing to Save Lives: An impact investment case for preventing road trauma," the foundation shows the value of strategic investments in preventative road safety measures. The case studies were developed by Social Finance UK and Impact Strategist and examine road safety programs in Australia and Cambodia.

The NTSB highlighted their release on its Twitter feed.

The analysis uses an impact investment approach that is designed to deliver better outcomes and financial return and to measure both. The foundation reported that the Australian case studies demonstrate the powerful financial case for frontloading investment in safer road infrastructure, while in low- and middle-income countries the incidence of road accidents is higher and rising, and there are a range of hidden costs for health care systems, insurers, victims, and their families.

"This is about improving outcomes for people and communities and reducing the impost on government, business and donor agencies of the rising toll of road traffic death and serious injury," said Saul Billingsley, executive director of the foundation. "We encourage investors, donors, and the international financial institutions to come together to realize the potential of these new investment models."

"The catastrophic costs to households of road traffic injuries in countries like Cambodia is too often overlooked, but if we are to achieve the SDGs we must tackle road safety in low and middle income countries head on. We see great potential for social investment to bring greater focus on this important issue from a broader stakeholder group, and open up new funding opportunities for governments," added Mirjam Sidik, CEO of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation.

The report was launched at the iRAP Innovation Workshop hosted by the World Bank, with report co-author Jane Newman, international director of Social Finance UK, presenting its findings.
Study Links Longer ITO Exposures to Respiratory Damage

The researchers found that workers who had been exposed to respirable indium for nearly two years or more exhibited shortness of breath, lower lung function, and higher levels of markers in the blood for lung damage.

A study conducted by researchers from NIOSH and colleagues has found that workers making and reclaiming indium-tin oxide (ITO), which is used to make products that include flat-panel displays, touch screens, solar panels, and energy-efficient windows, are at risk for indium lung disease.

The study by K.J. Cummings, et al. from NIOSH, the Institute of Health and Environment at Seoul National University (Korea), the Translational Pulmonary Science Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine was published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine and highlighted this month by NIOSH in its Research Rounds bulletin.

Titled "Respirable indium exposures, plasma indium, and respiratory health among indium-tin oxide (ITO) workers," the study examined the connection between levels of exposure and indium lung disease, which is described as a potentially fatal condition. The researchers found a correlation between the amount of indium in the workplace air and early signs of lung disease among a group of 87 ITO workers, with workers who had been exposed to respirable indium for nearly two years or more exhibiting shortness of breath, lower lung function, and higher levels of markers in the blood for lung damage than did workers with less than two years of exposure.
Starbucks Amcorp Tower Buy 1 FREE 1 and FREE Classic Donut Giveaway

Starbucks Malaysia is offering special promotions, celebrating new opening at Amcorp Tower. Promotion offered includes Buy 1 FREE 1 promotion, special discount on merchandise, FREE Classic Donut giveaway. Terms and conditions apply. While stock last.



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Buy 1 FREE 1 on selected beverage from 27 September  3 October 2016. from 5pm  7pm

Enjoy 30% off on selected merchandise with purchase of any Grande size handcrafted beverage from 27 September  15 October 2016

Get a complimentary Starbucks Classic Donut when you spend RM30 on food and beverage in a single receipt, from 27  30 September 2016

Starbucks

Starbucks, whose name was inspired from a character in the novel Moby-Dick, was first established in 1971 at Seattles historic Pike Place Market. The name was chosen by its founders for evoking the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of early coffee traders. In 1981, Howard Schultz enjoyed his first cup of Sumatran coffee at a Starbucks store and was instantly captivated by it. A year later, he joined the company and was given the positions of chairman, president, and CEO. Howard travelled to Italy in 1983 and was charmed by Italian coffee bars and its connection with people. He brought his experiences back to Starbucks and set out to make the company into one that not only celebrated coffee and its traditions, but to connect people together. Since then, Starbucks has grown exponentially and currently has up to 23,000 outlets worldwide, putting a smile on customers faces one cup at a time

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Digital Signage Engages Visitors at Crazy Horse Memorial

Toshiba Interactive Technology Helps Guide and Educate Guests

CUSTER COUNTY, S.D. (Sept. 26, 2016)  Toshiba America Business Solutions is helping to enhance the visitor experience at Crazy Horse Memorial  the worlds largest mountain carving  through the inclusion of the companys Ellumina digital signage line. The monument, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is dedicated to Lakota leader Crazy Horse and preserving the rich culture of Native Americans throughout North America.

Toshibas Virtuoso interactive touch screen displays  the signature hardware element of its Ellumina line  are prominent throughout the Crazy Horse Memorial visitor complex. Featuring a broad array of information including highlights of the days activities, illustrated maps and tips for improving visitors tour experience, the interactive displays help inform and guide guests.

Toshibas digital signage has truly enriched the experience for our visitors and helped us better tell the great story of the Memorial, said Jadwiga Ziolkowski, CEO of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Their Ellumina team intuitively understood what we wanted to accomplish and designed a comprehensive interactive experience that our guests have embraced. Toshibas digital signage is definitively improving our visitors experience from the moment they arrive and enables us to maintain a relationship with our guests once they leave.

Toshibas interactive touch screen displays (ranging from 46- to 55-inches in diameter) are integrated throughout the spacious visitor complex including the Welcome Center, the Indian Museum of North America, Native American Educational & Cultural Center, Mountain Carving Room and Covered Porch. The Covered Porch sits on the footprint of the home of the monuments original sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski.

We are pleased to have been chosen by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation to leverage our state-of-the-art technology and digital content expertise for such an important aspect of their mission, said Toshiba America Business Solutions Chief Marketing Executive, Bill Melo. Working with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Team to bring this project to life has been exciting and we look forward to a long-lasting relationship.

Toshibas Virtuosos are helping museum guests immerse themselves in the history of the Memorial and the culture of North American Indians. The interactive displays specifically allow visitors to sign-up for newsletters, complete visitor surveys to share their insights about the experience, and register to Become a Storyteller, by making a charitable gift to the Foundation.

Toshiba interactive digital displays are providing exclusive content within the following areas of the Crazy Horse Memorial visitor complex:

Welcome Center: Toshibas display educates visitors on the Memorials mission to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of North America Indians while continuing progress to complete the Crazy Horse sculpture.

Indian Museum of North America: Virtuoso content informs guests about the distinct native cultural aspects of different regions, including the varying housing, clothing, food and art of Native Americans indigenous to North America.

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Native American Educational & Cultural Center: Toshibas Virtuoso content spotlights local artists and the unique collection of art theyve created. Moreover, Toshibas digital signage educates visitors on the museums assembly of Native American flags while outlining the history exclusive to the tribes associated with each flag.

Covered Porch: The Virtuoso pinpoints the vast array of touchstone events surrounding the creation of Crazy Horse Memorial and the Ziolkowski family. The Memorials timeline also provides visitors with a vivid photographic glimpse of the sculptures progress, from the time it started on June 3, 1948 to its current state.

Mountain Carving Room: This unique digital signage application contrasts the size of the massive Crazy Horse Memorial with such iconic historical structures as the Great Pyramids, Taj Mahal, Roman Colosseum, Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.

About Crazy Horse Memorial

Crazy Horse Memorial is a public charity and educational and humanitarian project of national and international scope. Its mission is to protect and preserve the culture, traditions, and living heritage of the North American Indians. Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation demonstrates its commitment to this endeavor by:

 Continuing the progress on the worlds largest sculptural undertaking, carving a Memorial of Lakota leader Crazy Horse riding his steed out of the granite of the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota proclaiming, My lands are where my dead lie buried;

 Providing educational and cultural programming to encourage harmony and reconciliation among all people and nations;

 Acting as repository for Native American art and artifacts through the Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Educational and Cultural Center.

 Establishing and offering academic programming in the Indian University of North America, and when practical, a medical training center.

About Toshiba America Business Solutions

Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) is a subsidiary of Toshiba TEC Corporation, a global leader in office printing and retail solutions. TABS provides multifunction printers, managed document services and digital signage for businesses of all sizes throughout the United States, Mexico, Central and South America.

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About 10 employees in the city was dismissed.

Paul Tudor Jones, an American businessman who founded the US$11 billion hedge fund Tudor Investment Corp., has closed the firm's Singapore trading desks amid global cut.

According to Bloomberg report, Tudor dismissed 15% of its workforce last August while accelerating its focus on quantitative research, as hedge funds have struggled to navigate markets since the global financial crisis.

There are around 10 people working for Tudor in Singapore before the firm closed the trading desk.

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French President Francois Hollande said Monday the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais would be dismantled by the end of this year under a plan to spread asylum seekers around the country. "I have come to Calais to confirm the decision that I took with the government... to dismantle (the camp) definitively, entirely and rapidly, that means by the end of the year," Hollande said on his first visit to Calais as president. Hollande called on British authorities to help in assisting the migrants, most of whom are desperate to reach Britain. "I am determined to see the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking" in Calais, Hollande said, flanked by security forces. Between 7,000 and 10,000 migrants are currently living in the "Jungle", the launchpad for their attempts to stow away on lorries heading across the Channel to England. Hollande met police, local politicians, NGOs and business leaders in the northern port city but was not expected to visit the camp itself. - 'British obligations' - The Socialist president has been under pressure from right-wing rivals to close down the "Jungle". A flurry of preparations in Calais suggest the operation to raze the collection of makeshift shelters may begin shortly. The government has said the migrants, who are mostly from Sudan and Afghanistan, will be moved to 164 reception centres around the country "before winter". Hollande said Britain's vote to exit the European Union did not diminish its responsibility for the migrants camped across the Channel. "Just because the United Kingdom has taken a sovereign decision, it does not mean it is freed from its obligations towards France," he said. Hollande said the vote also had no effect on the bilateral Le Touquet agreement which effectively means that the British border extends to Calais's ferry ports, where British immigration officials check passports and inspect vehicles. Hollande's visit comes just days after his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy -- who is hoping to return as president in next year's election -- visited Calais to promote his tough line on migration. Migration has been a low-key issue of Hollande's four-year presidency. But he has been forced to take a stronger stance on the issue, under pressure from Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. - Key election theme - Both Sarkozy and Le Pen have made immigration and national identity key themes in early campaigning for next year's election, which has echoes of the US race for the White House. On a visit to one of the new reception centres in the central city of Tours at the weekend Hollande said France would not be a "country of camps." Calais has become a symbol of Europe's failure to resolve the migration crisis that continues to divide the continent, after people fleeing war and misery across the Mediterranean began pouring into Europe in unprecedented numbers. Plans to relocate the Calais migrants have sparked controversy and protests, with residents in some parts of the country vehemently opposed to taking them in. Several hundred people demonstrated at the weekend in Versailles, west of Paris, against plans to move a group of migrants there. The "Jungle" camp has also become a sore point in relations between France and Britain. Last week, building work began on a British-funded wall to clamp down on repeated attempts by migrants to stow away on trucks heading for Britain. Rights groups have criticised the hardship and dangers facing the migrants living in the camp, particularly the hundreds of unaccompanied minors. A 14-year-old Afghan boy was killed by a car earlier this month as he tried to climb aboard a truck. Under EU rules, under-18s travelling alone are allowed join family in Britain. Around half of the unaccompanied minors in Calais are estimated to have family across the Channel. But the process of trying to reunite them with their relatives has been dogged by delays.
Lithuania said Monday it is in talks to buy Norwegian anti-aircraft missile systems to address the defence gap on NATO's eastern flank, amid concerns over Russia. The NASAMS medium-range air defence systems, which would be the first such shield in the Baltic states, would cost around 100 million euros ($115 million), defence ministry spokesman Vaidotas Linkus told AFP. Tensions between the 28-member NATO defence alliance and Russia are running high following Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Last week, NATO jets were scrambled seven times from its Baltic bases to escort Russian military aircraft over the Baltic sea, according to Lithuania's defence ministry. NATO agreed in July to deploy four battalions of around 1,000 troops each in the three Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- and Poland to assuage their fears of Moscow. Long seen as NATO's Achilles heel, Baltic forces alone would be incapable of resisting a full-scale attack brought on by Russian forces and bolstered by Moscow's overwhelming air superiority. But experts say that their ability to fend off Moscow until NATO could scramble a broader response is decisive. New air defence capabilities would also make any attack more costly. "The lack of air defence systems increases the likelihood of a successful snap attack with limited forces. Our military power is important for deterrence," retired colonel Ignas Stankovicius told AFP. Moscow denies any territorial ambitions and accuses the US-led alliance of destroying Europe's military balance around Russian borders.
The size of the deal was undisclosed.

BandLab Technologies, a social music startup founded by the third son of Singapore-based agribusiness tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, has acquired a 49% share in Rolling Stone.

This is the first time the 49-year old American publisher allowed outside investors to buy into the property.

The size of the deal was not disclosed.

BandLab, which was launched last year, is headed by Kuok Meng Ru, a 28-year old Cambridge graduate. It is a social network for musicians and fans and backed by private investrs, including Kuok's father and JamHub Corp., a maker of audio mixers.

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Total claims amount to $817,157.

Otto Marine, builder of ships that service offshore oil and gas facilitiies, is seeking advice and plans to dispute a court action filed by three creditors to wind up its subsidiaries in Australia.

A Bloomberg report says Otto Marine is facing three applications with the Supreme Court of Western Australia to wind up Go Inshore Pty and Go Marine Group Pty amounting to A$787,204 (S$817,157).

The cases will be heard on November 8.

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The Norwegian airline came up with a dazzling and amusing advertisement campaign, based on the star couple's split. When the whole world was still discussing the minute details and the implications of the split-up, Norwegian, which is Europe's third largest low-cost carrier, quickly announced a new London to Los Angeles cheap-flight campaign.

The ad said 'Actor. LA. Newly Single. Seeks like-minded partner with GSOH' without directly mentioning either Pitt's or Jolie's name, although the allusion was crystal clear and spurred a lively response on social media.

In no time, the ingenious marketing solution was taken to the next level, as Norwegian's formerly discontinued line Oslo-LA was re-launched with a straightforward-yet-witty print ad: 'Brad is single.'
PLATTSMOUTH  A Cass County man will spend time on probation for stealing items from several people near Elmwood last year.

Murdock resident Noah E. Tays, 20, appeared in Cass County District Court Monday morning for a sentencing hearing. Tays pled no contest to three charges of theft-unlawful taking $0-$500 and one charge of attempted possession of controlled substance-methamphetamine in July. The first three charges are Class II misdemeanors and the fourth charge is a Class I misdemeanor.

Cass County Sheriffs Office deputies began a criminal investigation after they responded to three thefts near Elmwood from Oct. 28-30. A resident on Adams Street reported that someone had broken into his car and stolen his wallet on Oct. 28. Two Elmwood residents reported they had items taken from their vehicles during the next two days. The items included gift cards and money.

Authorities spotted Tays in a car near Elmwood Park on Oct. 30. Deputy Cass County Attorney Colin Palm told the court a deputy noticed a strong odor of marijuana near the vehicle and obtained permission to conduct a search. The deputy found traces of marijuana during the initial search.

Palm said the deputy also found the first victims wallet and the gift cards and money from the other two victims. Tays admitted he had stolen the items. He told the deputy he had been intoxicated when each of the thefts took place.

The deputy conducted a more thorough search of Tays car after the admission. The deputy found a plastic self-sealed bag that contained white residue. State crime lab workers confirmed the substance in the bag was methamphetamine.

Palm said Monday that the state was willing to recommend probation because of Tays actions following his arrest. He said Tays had paid $237 in restitution to the victims and had completed an outpatient treatment program. He said Tays had also expressed remorse for his role in the thefts.

Defense attorney Sanford Pollack also asked for probation. He said his client was a low risk to re-offend and had completed an aftercare program.

He regrets his actions and feels terrible, Pollack said. Hes taken the steps that are necessary to have an opportunity on probation.

Interim District Court Judge Paul Korslund sentenced Tays to 24 months of probation on the Class I misdemeanor charge and 12 months on the three Class II misdemeanors. He set a total probation time of 36 months.

Tays must abstain from all alcohol and drugs, submit to random drug tests and appear at all scheduled probation meetings. Korslund also required Tays to complete a moral recognition therapy class and become a member of a civic group.
The reason why Fahima decided to commit "suicide" lies in the discrimination of women in her country.

Although her "suicide" was a symbolic, not actually real, Fahima carried out serious preparations for the ceremony to be as traditional, as possible.

She chose the headstone, let the date of her symbolic death be engraved on it and sent out invitation cards to her close friends.
Azam Khan Tariq, considered the TTPs fourth top leader, was killed in the fierce clash in the Afghanistans Paktika province that borders Pakistan's South Waziristan, Pakistans Daily Times reported.

The news came from the militant group members who contacted reporters via phone, according to Pakistans The International News portal. They said that Tariq was killed along with other militants including his son.

"I confirm the killing of Azam Tariq along with at least 10 other Pakistani Taliban in Paktika province," AFP quoted a senior militant commander loyal to Tariq as saying.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Modi will meet senior officials from different ministries, including external affairs, to discuss the 1960 treaty, possibly as a potential leverage over Pakistan, the broadcaster reported.

Government sources told to Sputnik that officials also presented various implications including Chinas possible reaction in case of Indias tough stance.

The Indus Water Treaty brokered by the World Bank outlines the share of the six local rivers by India and Pakistan with special provisions for how the water may be used and in what quantity.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the Pajhwok news agency, the prison from which the detainees were freed is located in the Helmand Province.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency, while other extremist groups have also expanded their activities in the country and in neighboring states.
ASTANA (Sputnik)  The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have vowed to jointly counter security threats in the Central Asia region at the meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

"The heads of the foreign ministries have stressed the unity of their visions and a full decisiveness to jointly counter challenges and threats to security and stability in the region of Central Asia, including fight against terrorism and extremism, illegal drug trafficking and organized crime. The sides also pledged to strengthen border security as well as to implement the goals of the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone," the statement reads.
Perhaps we shouldnt have imposed those sanctions, maybe we should have sanctions against military exports to North Korea, but not economic ones. Perhaps we should have engaged with North Korea by using a different kind of argument, Bluth noted.

He added that nobody wants to take military action against North Korea. They just want to do something and sanctions are the only instrument they have at the moment.

But the problem is that [the sanctions] are driving Pyongyang more and more into the arms of China, make it more isolated and, therefore, reduce the impact other countries may have on North Korea, Christoph Bluth emphasized.

When asked whether some people in the West were actually trying to engage North Korea, to start a business dialogue with it, he said that it is the kind of policy [the West] had ten years ago, but because of the failure to prevent nuclear testing in North Korea, the only hope now is for a long-term change in North Koreas political system and society, so they are trying to engage. The European countries are trying to engage on a cultural level with educational projects and student exchanges thus increasing interaction between North Koreans and the outside world.
New Delhi  India is set to open the 9.15 kilometer long Dhola- Sadiya Bridge on the Brahmaputra river by the middle of next year.

The bridge will reduce the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by around four hours. The bridge is crucial for Indias defense preparedness as it will allow Army tanks to pass over thus significantly reducing the travel time for defense forces and equipment to reach the state of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China.

Work on the two lane bridge started in November 2010 with the total length of project being 25.8 kilometers including 16.65 kilometers of approach roads.
"We are producing fully capable engines on the production line," Bogdan said, according to the CT Mirror, adding that the engine problem "was unfortunate, but we are putting it behind us."

The $1.12 trillion dollar aircraft  the most expensive weapon ever built  has been riddled with problems throughout its development. Last week, Bogdan pointed out that as many as 42 F-35s still on the production line will need to have their fuel tank insulation replaced. This includes models meant for Norway, Italy, Israel, and Japan.

These ongoing issues were not highlighted during Fridays JASDF roll-out ceremony.

Speaking to Radio Sputniks Loud & Clear, F-16 designer Pierre Sprey pointed out that the F-35s "sophistication" may be overstated, particularly with regard to its stealth capabilities.
"As we work together to modernize our security alliance and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief across the Pacific, we will be aided greatly by the integration of effort that this agreement makes possible," she said.

While the amended ASCA does not allow weapons provisions, it does permit Tokyo to provide ammunition to US forces involved in information gathering, antipiracy operations, or snap drills.

The United States and Japan have drawn steadily closer in an apparent bid to stymie Chinas growing influence in the region. In the East China Sea, Tokyo and Beijing are at odds over the Senkaku islands. Earlier on Monday, Japan scrambled jets in response to Chinese military air drills flying over the nearby Miyako Strait.

The Chinese government called Japans response an overreaction.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Friday, Augusto Santos Silva official met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We discussed bilateral relations and decided to increase the number of flights between Moscow and Lisbon, we are also preparing a new agreement on economic and technical cooperation  it could be signed this year," the minister told Russia's Kommersant newspaper in an interview.
If the election was today, would you vote for Trump or Clinton as the next U.S. President?
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The French tax authorities have requested the largest Swiss bank UBS to provide them with personal information about some 45,000 French clients as part of the ongoing tax fraud investigation.

"The assets of the listed clients exceed 11 billion Swiss franks [10.1 billion euros], which may result in a several billion euros shortfall for the French treasury," a letter sent in May by the French tax authorities reads as quoted by Le Parisien newspaper.
TOKYO (Sputnik)  The construction may reportedly receive a final approval in 2017 while the platform's operations may start as early as 2022.

"[The Sakhalin II] has been one of our most successful projects in the last 10-15 years If there's enough demand in Japan, we will make the expansion of this business a top priority, creating a pillar for future cooperation between Russia and Japan," Medvedev was quoted as saying by the Japanese Nikkei Asian Review newspaper.

The Sakhalin II project is the first and currently the only LNG plant in Russia. Sakhalin Energy is the operator of the project. Gazprom owns about 50 percent of the Sakhalin II shares, while Anglo-Dutch Shell owns over 27 percent. The Japanese companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi own 12.5 percent and 10 percent of the shares, respectively.
According to the deal, Iran must store no more than 130 tonnes of heavy water during the first year after signing the agreement.

On June 1, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced plans to sell 92 tonnes of Iranian heavy water to the United States, Russia and several European countries.

Russia intends to support the reelection of Yukiya Amano as the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kirienko said.

"We provide constant support to IAEA Director General Mr Amano, who overall manages to maintain a balanced professional approach in a difficult situation We plan to support his election for a third term."
VIENNA (Sputnik)  Russia's Rosatom nuclear agency CEO Sergei Kirienko and Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Slim Khalbous have signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy usage for peaceful purposes in Vienna.

"We are glad we have signed an agreement with Russia, hope it will enhance our ties," Khalbous said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The United Arab Emirates calls on oil-producing states to join efforts of Russia and Saudi Arabia to stabilize oil prices on the international market, the country's energy minister told Sputnik on Monday.

"The cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Russia has been great, these are two largest producers. I think both of them are keen to have a market stabilization and we need to help them, everyone needs to do their part to help for any joint agreed decision," Suhail Mohammed Faraj Mazroui said.
EDINBURGH (Sputnik)  The company specially commissioned eight Dragon-class ethane carrier vessels and claims the transatlantic shipments will help it secure 1,400 local jobs for the next 10 to 15 years.

In its background preview to the shipment arrival, the company claimed its new ethane ships are the largest, most flexible and advanced multi-gas carriers yet to be built.

The chemicals giant aims to process the imported liquid ethane into ethylene and polyethylene to be used in a variety of industrial uses.
Recently, the British government approved the construction of the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant with participation of Chinese investors. Two months ago the decision was delayed due to the need to assess the consequences of Chinese investments into Britains strategic industries.

The government introduced new protective measures in order to preserve control over foreign investments in strategic infrastructure projects, including atomic energy.

The Hinkley Point case is an example that the British government does not want to lose non-European strategic partners. At the same time, the new British cabinet will avidly protect national security since Londons foreign economic policy has become more independent after Brexit, Ekaterina Arapova, an expert of the Russian International Affairs Council, wrote in an article.
ALGIERS (Sputnik)  Sun said he had received "a lot of support" from Russia, one of IEF's 72 member states, since his appointment as IEF chief in August and would like it to play a bigger role in the forum.

"I'm going to have a meeting with the minister and we'll discuss how to further improve this relationship," the IEF secretary general said at an energy conference in Algeria.

IEF countries account for around 90 percent of global supply and demand for oil and gas. It seeks to foster greater mutual awareness of common energy interests and promote energy dialogue.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On September 20-21, CAAC/ATMB and Rosaviatsiya held bilateral negotiations in Shanghai, which resulted in the respective agreement, according to the statement.

"Substantial agreements were made on a number of key issues, including the opening of new flight corridors in the space above the Russian-Chinese border," the statement reads.

The parties also agreed to facilitate cooperation between air traffic controllers and national providers of air navigation services and to exchange information on navigation systems, the statement added.
ALGIERS (Sputnik)  The informal meeting of 12 OPEC member states and possibly non-OPEC oil producers, like Russia, is expected to set out plans to reverse the drop in global oil prices amid ongoing overproduction.

According to Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the meeting is expected to be held on September 28.

"We hope that we have an agreement we hope that we can find it" del Pino told reporters.
PLATTSMOUTH  A Bellevue man who led authorities on a car chase through Plattsmouth last spring pled guilty to a criminal charge Monday morning.

David T. Forbes, 37, entered a plea to one Class IV felony count of flight to avoid arrest during a hearing in Cass County District Court. The state agreed to dismiss an additional Class IV felony charge of possession of a destructive device in exchange for the guilty plea.

Iowa authorities attempted to stop Forbes in Mills County on the evening of April 29 after they noticed one of the headlights in his car was out. Deputy County Attorney Richard Fedde said Forbes began leading police on a chase westbound through Mills County. The pursuit soon involved vehicles from the Glenwood Police Department, Mills County Sheriffs Office and Iowa State Patrol.

A Cass County Sheriffs Office deputy heard about the high-speed chase and drove to the west end of the Plattsmouth Toll Bridge. Forbes sped across the bridge and swerved in front of the CCSO vehicle. The chase went through Plattsmouth and ended in a field along Bay Road near the Highway 75 intersection.

Fedde said Forbes called 911 soon after the pursuit finished. He said Forbes told officers that he wanted to say goodbye to his children and wanted to harm himself. CCSO deputies, Plattsmouth police officers and Nebraska State Patrol troopers soon surrounded the vehicle. They were able to take Forbes into custody without further incident.

Authorities searched the vehicle and found an improvised explosive device (IED) and a replica handgun. Bomb technicians from Lincoln arrived on scene to secure and deactivate the IED.

Forbes remains free on bond. Sentencing will take place Nov. 28.
ALGIERS (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said that the meeting would take place on September 28 on the sidelines of the IEF event in Algiers. OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said it would only happen if consultations prior to it were successful.

"The OPEC meeting will happen on the 28th afternoon," the IEF head said, adding that the meeting was confirmed.

In April, major oil-producing states failed to reach an output-freezing agreement in Doha, Qatar. Saudi Arabia, which had previously said that it would freeze output only if Iran followed suit, cited Tehrans absence from the talks as the reason for not supporting an output freeze.
Russian products are in good demand in our country because they have a reputation for being environmentally friendly, so they are healthy, Zhenwei said.

The Chinese middle class is increasingly looking for imported products on the shelves of markets, as they do not completely trust the quality of local produce. However, the main problem in China is the lack of farmland. The space available is not sufficient to feed the population of 1.3 billion people. Therefore, Russian production will be in demand in the Chinese market, the general secretary said.

According to Zhenwei, an increase in exports of Russian food to China will take place due to three factors: Chinese investment in the Russian food industry, creation of optimal production and supply chains in both the countries and recognition of Russian brands in China.

These matters will be a key item on the agenda of the Russian-Chinese business forum, which will take place on October 21 in Beijing as part of the eighth China International Investment Fair.

There will be a vast exhibition of Russian and Chinese food presented during the fair and representatives from over 20 regions of Russia will arrive to Beijing for the fair.




TEL AVIV (Sputnik)  The EEU, encompassing Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, was launched in 2015. It is an international organization that encourages regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services, and people within the union. Over 40 countries and international organizations, including Indonesia, India, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Israel, have expressed desire to create a trade zone with the EEU.

"The first formal round of talks is currently due to be held. The place and the date are under discussion. I hope it will take place this year. Usually, such talks cannot be limited by a single round but require two or three years of discussions," Elkin, who also co-chairs the Israeli-Russia intergovernmental commission, told RIA Novosti.

The decision to launch negotiations with Israel was reached at an EEU summit of Russian, Armenian, Belarusian, Kazakh and Kyrgyz leaders in October 2015.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Republika Srpska voters backed the initiative to make January 9 a state holiday in a Sunday referendum that the Bosnia and Herzegovina court declared illegal, media reported.

The preliminary results showed that out of 70 percent of ballots already counted, 99.9 percent supported the idea of the holiday, according to Financial Times newspaper.

Republika Srpska is one of the two autonomous entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the other is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their relations are largely affected by the civil war among Serbs, Bosnian Muslims and Croatians in 1992-1995.
No one wants a repetition of the situation we had here in 2015. Neither do I, she said.

Angela Merkel believes that she should have anticipated the coming migrant crisis instead of relying on the so-called Dublin accords meant to prevent a massive influx of asylum seekers in Germany.

If I could, I would go back in time to be better prepared for the refugee crisis in 2015, for which we were rather unprepared, Merkel said.

In fact, the government is already backing down from its open door refugee policy, toughening the asylum and temporary residence rules, introducing sanctions against migrants who stay away from interaction courses and restricting their freedom of movement across the country.

It had earlier signed a migration pact with Turkey, initiated by Angela Merkel, and agreed to the closure of the so-called Balkan corridor used by migrants to reach Western Europe.

These measures have already been bearing fruit resulting in a dramatic fall in the number of refugees arriving in the country.
Shah, whose organization assists victims in countries around the world where the judiciary and medical infrastructure is lacking, told Sputnik that it's those survivors who need the most help.

Acid attacks are on the rise in Britain. The first time I heard of a case was the attack on @KatiePiper_ pic.twitter.com/LhM3ZBUd7q  Ireland / Tara (@ireland) November 19, 2015

"Their cases aren't being effectively investigated by police and they have less chance of collating evidence, so there are fewer prosecutions overseas," Mr. Shah told Sputnik.

"In the UK, we have seen some fairly successful outcomes with some fairly high imprisonment terms. For us, as a small organization, we focus on those countries with higher attacks and less support for survivors."

Meanwhile in the UK, Mr. Shah says a lack of data means that acid attacks remain relatively inconspicuous.

"There's no definitive holistic data that matches up. The police reports are probably the closest we have to understanding the number of acid attacks reported in the UK," Mr. Shah told Sputnik.

Between 2012 and 2015, more than 500 offenses involving acid attacks were recorded by 23 police forces across the UK.

Acid attacks double in a year to place Sussex fifth worst in the UK https://t.co/AuqFDaXx9Z  Maxine Smeaton (@maxinesmeaton) July 19, 2016

The figures obtained by the Press Association in 2015, reveal that there were 242 reports of violent crime involving acid or another corrosive substance between 2014 and 2015, compared to 186 alleged offenses in 2012 and 2013. That's a rise of 30 percent in two years.

However that figure, could be just the tip of the iceberg, according to Mr. Shah, who suggests data is still missing.

"The problem with hospital data is that it doesn't quite tie in with the number of reported cases, nor does it include sufficient details whether acid burns are a result of an accident or a premeditated attack. There isn't much data around the demographics of survivors either."

Learn what to do in the case of an #acidattackhttp://t.co/2621omGQ4W pic.twitter.com/2fW49wFJ3c  Acid Survivors Trust (@Acid_Survivors) January 2, 2015

Mr. Shah suggests that the data collected from police forces in the UK does reveal that Britain bucks the global trend with an increasing number of male victims of acid attacks, whereas globally, it's predominantly women or girls who are victims of premeditated acid attacks.

"In most other countries, 70-80 percent of victims are female, but there needs to be more analysis and more research to get a clearer picture of the extent of acid attacks.

"There's a degree of speculation based on limited data  but we are aware of only two other countries with fairly sizeable numbers of male victims of acid attacks and that's Uganda and Cambodia. There is also anecdotal evidence that the Caribbean has fairly high number of attacks on men."

Shah says that better recording data would be a step forward in identifying trends around acid attacks in the UK.

Acid attacks UK legislation needs to be reviewed. Significant increases in sentencing is required. 48 attacks in NW in last two years  Steve Carter (@SteveCarter001) January 14, 2016

"The fear is that if no action is taken and access to acid remains easy, with low imprisonment terms compared to a knife attacks, then it could be the case that criminals might view it as a weapon of choice for those reasons," Mr. Shah told Sputnik.
"I cannot hold a press conference with [Angela] Merkel and [Francois] Hollande if I don't agree with their positions on immigration and the economy," he said.

Juncker, Timmermanns and Schulz will need to address the massive issue over immigration. Hungary again made clear in Bratislava that it would continue to oppose the Brussels plan to relocate refugees around Europe via a mandatory quota system  a position Hungary shares with its Visegrad partners, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Only 5,290 out of 160,000 refugees have so far been relocated because of opposition to the scheme, backed by Juncker. However, a split has occurred after the Visegrad group proposed an alternative to the quota system  "flexible solidarity"  under which member states would take in refugees on a totally voluntary basis, which Schulz said he would be inclined to accept.
One of the zoos employees noticed that Eva was holding something strange in her mouth. It later appeared, it was an unexploded shell of a howitzer. Thankfully, Eva lives in a separate aviary so sappers were able to walk in, said Margarita Hodylu.

According to the representative, the zoo was closed for several hours. Sappers had to search the territory using special equipment to make sure there was no danger left. Zoo authorities intend to ask military engineers to search one more area, where an extra holding pen for bears, leopards and panthers will be built.

As Margarita announced, it is not a big surprise that Eva found the item as the zoo is located within a historic fort.
Critics have already slammed the initiative and accused Americans of possessing an "occupation mentality."

Despite certain financial difficulties, the US wants to maintain its presence in Europe with the help of so-called "rotational units," which replace each other every 9 months, the newspaper wrote.

So far, the total number of soldiers at the two bases is 1,000. Around 2,000 soldiers are expected to be deployed at the bases next year, although these plans have not yet been officially approved.
"The inquiry should establish the facts, collect and preserve information related to violations and abuses with a view to ensuring that those responsible for crimes are brought to justice in fair trials."

Increasing Pressure on the UK

Following the revelations, the UK  a key western ally of Saudi Arabia  which had worked to scupper plans for an independent investigations, critics have taken aim at Theresa May's government, particularly over the continued sale of arms to Riyadh.

"If arms export controls mean anything, then the UK must stop arming the Saudi regime and work towards a peaceful solution. It must call for an independent investigation into the conduct of the war and end its uncritical political support for the Saudi regime," Andrew Smith, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), told Sputnik.

Watch as British MP Crispin Blunt, head of Foreign Affairs Committee, justifies UK complicity in Saudi war crimes https://t.co/No2Fl0OXG1  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 17, 2016

CAAT has initiated legal proceedings against the British government, calling on PM May to out aside geopolitical ties and suspend arms sales to Riyadh.

"Unfortunately, the UK government has supported the Saudi regime for decades now. There will be a number of geopolitical considerations, but Saudi Arabia is by far the largest buyer of UK arms. The government has put arms company profits ahead of human rights," Mr. Smith said.

Human rights groups estimate that 3,800 civilians have been killed since Saudi Arabia joined the conflict in Yemen in March last year, with Saudi officials accused of targeted civilian targets and residential areas throughout its sustained bombing campaign.
PLATTSMOUTH  A Plattsmouth man admitted Monday morning that he had violated numerous probation terms after he was convicted of a Class IV felony last year.

Anthony D. Briand, 32, appeared in Cass County District Court for sentencing on the states motion to revoke probation. Briand was arrested Sept. 19 after he failed to appear for a court hearing in January. He remained in custody at Monday mornings hearing.

Briands legal issues began after he was ordered in May 2008 to pay $191 per month in child support. Prosecutors pressed criminal non-support charges against him after they discovered he had made only one payment since 2011. Briand owed $14,528.57 in child support in February 2015.

Former District Court Judge Jeffrey Funke ordered Briand to begin serving 60 months of probation at a hearing in June 2015. Briand was required to attend probation meetings and drug testing sessions and obey all laws over the next five years.

The state asked the court to revoke Briands probation after they learned he had violated many of those requirements. Briand failed to report for office appointments in October and November and missed six drug testing sessions between October and December. He admitted using marijuana in September 2015 and failed to complete a mandatory chemical dependency evaluation.

Deputy County Attorney Richard Fedde said Briand also pled guilty to a charge of third-degree assault in Cass County Court on Sept. 20. That charge is a Class I misdemeanor.

Briand will be sentenced in the assault case in Cass County Court on Nov. 17. He will be sentenced on the probation violation case in Cass County District Court on Nov. 28.
VIENNA (Sputnik)  Seventeen Russian TUK-19 specialized transportation casks were loaded with 135 pounds of the HEU spent fuel and sent to Russia, making Poland the world's 31st HEU-free country, Ernest Moniz said.

"The removal and return of HEU is an example of the international community working collectively to improve global security," Moniz said at the IAEA general conference in Vienna.

Poland's Maria Research reactor is now using low enriched uranium using French fuel assemblies.
Thus, she confirmed her statement made in May in an interview with RT France, when she also said that Paris will recognize the legitimacy of the Crimean reunification if she is elected to run the country.

"Given the historical realities, as well as the choice which was clearly expressed during the referendum on accession, I will recognize Crimea as part of Russian territory if elected," Le Pen said.

Le Pen is well known for her support for Russia and criticism of anti-Russian sanctions.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Last week, the Hungarian government said it may demand reforming the European Union's fundamental Lisbon Treaty to gain more independence from Brussels if people reject the migrant quota system during the referendum scheduled on October 2.

"European treaties are not the Holy Bible, so they can be reviewed. We provide our sustain, our support to Hungary and maybe we should take the same path. Italy should get more sovereignty and independence in making decisions," Ferrari, who is also the vice president of the Lombardia Russia Cultural Association, said.
BELGRADE (Sputnik)  In September, Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak chairman of the country's presidency, said he was going to file a lawsuit against BiH's autonomous region of Republika Srpska over its referendum on its right to mark the Republic Day on January 9.

"BiH Prosecutor General Goran Salihovich has issued an order selecting a group that will work on the case. With this order, the case is designated as a priority and all prosecutors will be provided with the necessary resources needed for an effective work," Grubeshich said.

According to the preliminary results of the referendum which took place on Sunday, 98.8 percent of Bosnian Serbs supported the January 9 Republic Day.
"On the one hand, it is a wish to demonstrate the strength of NATO troops; on the other hand, that means nothing else but an attempt to blackmail our country and to involve our country in the arms race. In other words, a new round of the Cold War. We remember how it ended for the Soviet Union," deputy head of the Russian State Duma Committee for Security and Anti-Corruption Dmitry Gorovtsov told RIA Novosti.

"That is not the first statement and not the first attempt to boost NATO troops near the Russian borders. The statements that these steps allegedly do not jeopardize our country are the favorite US policy of double standards. There is no truth in that."

The Lithuanian government has allocated 575 million euros on defense this year. The Defense Ministrys budget will increase to 725 million euros next year.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Rudd is expected to attend the ceremony of the formal signing of the peace deal at the Convention Center in the Colombian city of Cartagena later in the day. The representatives of the European Union, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will attend the ceremony as well.

"I congratulate the government of Colombia and the FARC-EP on reaching this historic peace agreement. Colombia is enjoying its most peaceful period in more than a generation and the UK has consistently been a strong and proud supporter of the peace process," Rudd was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the UK government website.

She added that the British government was looking forward to the visit of President Juan Manuel Santos to the United Kingdom in November, the first state visit by the Colombian leader to the country.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Colombia was mired in a half-century war between the FARC and the Colombian government, which has claimed lives of a quarter of a million people.

"Exactly today, the European Union Council will make the decision to suspend FARC from its list of terrorist organizations. This decision will take effect upon the signing of the Peace Agreement," she said.

The European Union is ready to continue its support for the Colombian ceasefire focusing on the implementation of the agreement, according to the statement.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The oil fields are expected to produce about 17 million cubic meters (600 million cubic feet) oil every day, he added.

For a long time we have been successfully holding negotiations with the biggest Russian company Rosneft headed by Igor Sechin. On October 7, he will be here in Venezuela and we hope to sign the cooperation agreement with [Rosneft]  at least on two more oil fields: Patao and Mejillones, del Pino told the RT broadcaster.

The minister said that the Rosnefts share would amount to 50 percent along with other 50 percent belonging to the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  Shown live by the Telesur channel, the ceremony is taking place in the Colombian city of Cartagena and is being attended by numerous foreign guests.

The agreement was signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC commander in chief Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, nicknamed Timochenko.

The signing was done with special pens made from bullet shells. This symbolizes a transition from violence to education and a new future for the country, according to the Colombian leader.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The bomb on the tracks badly damaged the locomotive and derailed four wagons apart from causing wounds to the personnel, Anadolu agency reported Saturday, citing the regional governor's office.

PKK is outlawed in Turkey as a terrorist organization. A ceasefire between Turkey and Kurdish militants collapsed in July 2015, prompting the Turkish authorities to launch a military operation in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern region.

An estimated 700 Turkish military forces and police have been killed in clashes with the PKK since last summer, with over six thousand deaths among the Kurds, according to he General Staff's figures.
On the west side of Lincoln, I stood on a country road looking out over the vast stretches of rolling farmland, surveying the beautiful green, yellow and brown hues of the corn at near harvest.

In the distance stood an old silo, like a sentry at its post, watching over the morning calm of the fields. The clouds in the overcast sky were giving way to blue above.

Such scenes are so familiar to us in Nebraska that we sometimes take their power for granted. But something was different about this particular view. As the land is about to bring forth its yield of corn, another type of harvest is now taking place each day through the power of the sun. Nestled within the farm setting is 35 acres of solar energy panels. Built for the Lincoln Electric System (LES), the SunShare community solar facility is a first of its kind and size in our region. The solar panels will create enough power for about 900 homes.

We are not talking about Florida, Arizona or California. We are talking about large scale solar on the Great Plains.

We tend to think only of energy policy when gas prices spike. However, our current energy settlement remains in need of a significant upgrade. Americas environmental, economic and national security are inextricably intertwined. Meeting this challenge requires energy and environmental diplomacy where we build bridges with innovation, technology, and willful choice to a rebalanced portfolio with renewable sources.

As I prepared to speak at the solar facility dedication ceremony, my thoughts turned to the great Nebraskan George Norris, a former senator and representative who served in Congress for 40 years. He died in 1944 after a storied career of policy innovation in agriculture and energy. In his autobiography, he describes electricity in a way somewhat strange to modern ears. He is quoted as talking about the importance of our country moving toward an electrified future. He alludes to electricity as a labor saving tool, a mechanism for creating the conditions in which humanity can flourish. Norris believed electricity would save people not only from drudgery, but from physical harm. It would be a new type of power that would further everyones wellbeing.

Since then, as weve developed our economy through large scale industrial processes, we tend to associate energy production with that which is dirty, remote, and entangled with the foreign affairs of the Middle East. To be fair, from the perspective of public utilities, electricity providers in the 1970s were told to build as much power output as possible, as cheaply as possible, and then sell it to consumers. Now the general message has changed. It is widely understood that utilities need a course correction that harmonizes the values of conservation, environmental stewardship, and sustainable living into a new vision for energy production. At the same time, utilities are caught by certain dilemmas. They face the difficulty of paying for the infrastructure of the legacy of the industrial model of energy production while working to embrace a new energy vision that includes the more robust use of wind, solar, geo-thermal, and hydro, and on the horizon doing so through local, distributed energy production models.

Far from a lab experiment, a symbolic gesture, or a nice idea, the LES solar project is a concrete, innovative, and economically viable pathway for greater energy diversity. Renewable energy sources now constitute about 48 percent of the power purchased by LES customers. LES, the Omaha Public Power District, and the Nebraska Public Power District have all taken steps, particularly through wind, to take advantage of price competitive renewable sources made possible by technology advancements and certain public policies.

At the ribbon cutting, I reacquainted with the farm family who owns the land. I inquired about the nature of the deal they had worked out with the utility, then I thought of another idea  a crop in between the solar panels. I suggested sunflowers.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) sent an aid convoy with food and other necessities to besieged Syria settlements, the organization said Saturday.

"71 trucks delivering aid to 60,000 people in 4 towns incl. food, medical supplies & hygiene kits," ICRC Syria posted in its Twitter blog along with the photos of the convoy.

On September 19, a deadly attack hit a joint UN-Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy carrying humanitarian aid for Syria's Aleppo province. The tragic incident left 18 out of 31 trucks wrecked and at least 21 people killed, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow will continue demanding a comprehensive investigation into the attack on a humanitarian aid convoy last week near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"We will demand the most thorough investigation," Lavrov said in an interview with the NTV broadcaster.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The detention was performed by Turkey's counterterrorism police in four provinces throughout the country on the grounds of detention warrants issued by the Izmir courthouse, according to Hurriyet daily.

Manhunt for 25 more suspects is reported to be underway.

Some of the detainees allegedly communicated via ByLock application, used by Gulen movement to connect around 180,000 members, the newspaper said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The international community bears responsibility for what is happening in Syria and should do more to help Lebanon hosting a huge Syrian population, an adviser to the Lebanese Democratic Party (LDP) leader told Sputnik.

"They are giving us nothing absolutely even though the international community is the one responsible now for what is happening to Syria and in Syria," Saleem Hamadeh said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The ruling Lebanese Democratic Party (LDP) counts on Russia to offset the US influence in the Middle East, specifically in Syria, and restore balance of powers, an adviser to the party leader told Sputnik.

"Now we are counting on the Russian role to return the balance of forces in the region," Dr. Saleem Hamadeh said. "The only thing that we can expect in the future [is that] the United States of America will not play alone again in this region."
MOSCOW(Sputnik)  The United States must be called to account for the recent bombing of the Syrian governments army positions which was in violation of its deal with Russia, an adviser to the Lebanese Democratic Party leader told Sputnik.

"They [US] have no rights absolutely to bomb the Syrian army," Dr. Saleem Hamadeh said. "That is why we can say that this is a violation of the agreement and the Americans, I think, should be [held] responsible and accountable for this."
"The Syrian Army intercepted a conversation between the Americans and Daesh before the air raid on Deir ez-Zor", Hadiya Khalaf Abbas said as quoted by the Al Mayadeen broadcaster.

US warplanes hit Syrian government troops near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor on September 17, leaving 62 military personnel killed and a hundred wounded. The Pentagon said initially that the airstrike was a mistake and targeted Daesh militants.

The head of the Syrian parliament added during her visit to Iran that after the coalition's airstrikes on the government troops US military directed terrorists' attack on the Syrian army.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Iran is one of the allies of the Syrian government in the military conflict with numerous opposition factions and extremist groups ripping the country apart since March 2011. Tehran denies direct military involvement in the conflict claiming that only Iranian military advisers were supporting the Syrian government.

"No agreement will be made on Syria without Iran's partnership," the ministry's spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, as quoted by Fars news agency, adding that negotiations and democratic elections were essential to settle the crisis.

On September 9, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Lavrov brokered a ceasefire in Syria that took effect three days later. The agreement called for unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and stipulated that only designated terror groups would be targeted in military strikes.
When Alaeddin entered the camp there were some militiamen with their flags and armbands. Surprisingly, inside the camp not a single Syrian soldier was to be seen. The men who had recaptured the city were part of the Liwa al-Quds brigade who had lived their entire life in the Handarat refugee camp.

Our brigade stormed the city, we know every corner here. Our militia was supported by artillery and Special Forces. However, everything was destroyed, there was nothing left of my house, just boulders. We were fighting for our second home, the first was left back in Palestine, such is our fate, militiaman Maher, with a plastered hand, told RIA.

Some of the more interesting things which were found were guns the locals called guns of hell, 3-5 meter artillery tubes each weighing over 40 kilograms and all labeled in Turkish.

You have correctly noticed these cylinders are of Turkish production. We do not make these here and yes, these are the exact ones that fall on the residential neighborhoods in Aleppo, Hamada told the RIA correspondent.

Additionally, other weapons were found, such as 81-mm mortar shells used by NATO, and judging by the markings, made in the US.

The US government, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of other Western countries continue to call the armed groups of Ahrar ash-Sham, Nureddin al-Zenki, Jaish al-Fatah as moderate opposition, despite the fact, that they and dozens of other smaller groups are now fighting under the command of al-Nusra Front.

After the Liwa al-Quds militia captured the city, they were given an order to keep their positions in the camp. Some people we able to return, however they had to use the southern entrance to the city as the northern gate was being heavily shelled by the militants.

However, the Syrian Armys success did not last long. In the morning, the commander of the Liwa al-Quds brigade reported that the Palestinian militia fighters had to leave most of the camp after radical forces launched a counterattack. The rebels had subsequently regained control.

At night, terrorists attacked simultaneously from three sides after preliminary heavy mortar fire. We had to retreat from most areas of the camp, the representative told RIA Novosti.
Over the past year, Daesh's self-proclaimed capital Raqqa has been exposed to almost non-stop bombings by Russian, American, British and French areal forces. The increasingly bleak future has made European jihadists, fighting in the Middle East for Daesh's cause, homesick. Today, some of the 40 Norwegian Daesh supporters in Syria are striving to return to Norway in order to flee "Raqqa's hell," Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported, citing internal reports.

Of late, many Norwegian citizens or holders of residence permits in Norway have communicated with both family members and people in Norway's Islamic community, sharing their opinion of Daesh's bleak future.

"In particular, Saudi, Tunisian and Libyan fighters have already escaped. Several of them went into it for the money, not so much for ideological reasons. Now they are fleeing, as the risk is too high," a source told Dagbladet.
In 2013, the EPA released the private information of Nebraska livestock owners. The agency did so in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from radical environmental groups, who used this information to harass and bully private individuals. In giving this private information, the agency went well beyond what was legally required.

The EPA made public the precise locations of concentrated animal feeding operations. It released information on the type of animal and number of head. It provided livestock owners personal contact information, including their names, phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. The Department of Homeland Security even warned the EPA that releasing this information could be dangerous for these families.

They did it anyway.

This month, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the EPAs release of this personal information was a violation of privacy. The court confirmed what we in Nebraska knew all along: the EPAs actions were illegal.

If this makes your blood boil, it should. Such shameless disregard from a government agency for the constitutional rights of our citizens is completely unacceptable.

In the Senate, I serve on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Through this role, I have worked for several years to hold the EPA accountable. I have supported measures to compel the EPA to respect citizens constitutional rights and operate within, not outside, the law.

After the news broke of the EPAs data release in 2013, I quickly took action. In a letter to then-acting EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe, I joined several of my colleagues to demand answers for the agencys decision to release Nebraskans personal and confidential business information. I also cosponsored legislation, known as the Farmer Identity Protection Act, to make sure it does not happen again.

The agencys reply was not compelling. They asked the activist groups to return the information, but the damage was already done. Thousands of families had their privacy rights violated, and their homes, businesses, and livelihoods were placed at risk.

Fortunately, federal courts stepped in and upheld the rights of Nebraska producers and private citizens. While I am relieved by the courts decision, I remain appalled that these livestock owners had to undergo this ordeal in the first place.

The EPAs actions reflect a somber reality. Instead of serving as a dutiful custodian of our nations environment and precious natural resources, the EPA used its power to cause harm. Reckless with its regulations and rules, the agency continues to pursue misguided outcomes with dramatic consequences, not only for ag producers in Nebraska, but for many citizens across our country.

Most disturbing, the EPA was willing to place Nebraska producers in harms way. This stands against governments core responsibility to protect its citizens. It must not continue.

I will continue to monitor this case and conduct aggressive oversight to ensure the privacy rights of all private citizens and businesses are protected. I hope you will join me by speaking out when violations like these occur.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
"The missiles were handed over directly to us. Americans are on our side," the media outlet quoted the militant commander as saying. The remarks came in response to Jurgen Todenhofer's question whether any intermediaries, including the US-backed Free Syrian Army, were involved in the weapons transfers.

Al-Nusra Front has been one of the Damascus' fiercest opponents. The terrorist group has been fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and establish a caliphate in Syria. The commander confirmed this.

"We will fight until the regime is toppled," he said, referring to Assad's government. Al-Nusra Front wants "to establish an Islamic state that will be ruled according to the Sharia law. We do not recognize any secular state."
ANKARA (Sputnik)  A large part of the Syrian Kurdish forces operating near the Manbij city is moving to the east of the Euphrates River in Syria, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday.

"A significant part of the Kurdish self-defense forces near the Syrian city of Manbij is retreating to the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The militants are leaving the city. This is a very important and positive event for Turkey. We do not stand against the Kurdish brothers, who live in northern Syria. However, at the same time, we know that the creation by terrorist groups of the Syrian Kurds of a corridor will lead to an actual collapse of Syria, like it was in Iraq," Kurtulmus said at a press conference in Ankara.

According to Kurtulmus, Ankara will not allow such a scenario to happen and will interfere in the situation.
ANKARA (Sputnik)  The main role in operations against Daesh jihadist group in Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, should be played by local forces, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.

"We believe that local forces in Raqqa and Mosul must take the lead in operations against IS [Daesh]. The international coalition should control them. It is important that Syrian Kurds' self-defense forces do not participate in operations in Raqqa. As the Free Syrian Army has become a major force in the fight against IS in Jarabulus and al-Bab, here too the moderate opposition should take the lead," Kurtulmus told reporters in Ankara after a meeting of the country's Council of Ministers.

At the G20 summit in China, September 4, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Turkey's intentions to assist in the liberation of Raqqa. However, Turkey will refuse involvement if Kurdish fighters take part in the Raqqa operation, he said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  MONEYVALs annual report, evaluating compliance with the principal international standards to combat anti-terrorist financing and money laundering was published earlier on Monday.

"You need money to conduct a terrorist attack, sometimes small amounts, but detecting terrorist financing can help to detect terrorist cells, can prevent terrorism, can deter terrorists, so thats an important element, it has not been fully exploited yet," Thelesklaf was quoted as saying in a statement published on the Council of Europe website.

MONEYVAL is the Council of Europes counter-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering committee. In 2015, it conducted monitoring of 26 jurisdictions by adopting mutual evaluation and follow-up reports.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On September 17, the aircraft of the US-led coalition against Daesh terrorist group carried out four airstrikes against positions of the Syrian government troops near the city of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria, leaving 62 personnel killed and some 100 wounded. The Pentagon said that the airstrike was a mistake and targeted Daesh militants.

"We think it is highly illegal. The US should be called to account for the airstrike on Syrian armed forces There should be a clear investigation," Gianmatteo Ferrari, who is also the vice president of the Lombardia Russia Cultural Association, said.

On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry presented a new plan to regulate the conflict in Syria, which included a new ceasefire that came into force on September 12. However, because of repeated violations of the ceasefire by Syrian rebels, it was declared ineffective earlier this week.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Haq noted the food and supplies delivery was the first to reach the war-affected areas since April.

"The World Food Program (WFP) yesterday delivered lifesaving food assistance to besieged families in the towns of Madaya and Al-Zabadani in rural Damascus and Fouaa and Kafriya in rural Idlib as part of the joint interagency convoy with UN agencies and Syrian Arab Red Crescent," Haq told reporters.

The 45 trucks carrying food rations and wheat flower the WFP sent are sufficient to feed 60 000 people for one month. The WFP also delivered to Madaya and Al-Zabadani specialized nutritious products for the prevention of malnutrition for 250 children, Haq added.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The press secretary noted that the situation in Syria continues to worsen despite efforts by the international community to put an end to the conflict.

"It [violence] also poses a risk to Russia back home because we know that this kind of violence and chaosonly fuels extremism in Syria and around the world," Earnest said in a briefing.

The Russian authorities, Earnest claimed, will have to invest additional resources in their efforts in Syria as the country draws itself deeper into the sectarian conflict.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Credible threats exist about a possible terrorist attack against US-branded hotels in the town of Adana in Turkey, the US Consulate General in Adana said in a security message on Monday.

"US Consulate General Adana informs US citizens that it has obtained specific and credible threats of potential terrorist activity targeting US-branded hotels in Adana," the message stated.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  According to him, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States have provided the Jabhat Fatah al Sham group with military advisers and experts in usage of satellites and rockets, reconnaissance and thermographic cameras.

"The United States supports the [Syrian] opposition, but not directly. They [Americans] support the countries, which support us. However, we are still not satisfied with this support. They should support us with sophisticated weapons. We are winning battles thanks to TOW missiles We receive tanks from Libya via Turkey. The [Assad's] regime surpasses us only with the combat aircraft, missiles and missile launchers We have taken control over some areas thanks to US TOW missiles which were delivered to us directly," Al Ezz told the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper in an interview published on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow could hardly trust the US-led coalition's actions against terrorist groups in Syria as it exclusively targets the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and bypasses the group formerly known as the Nusra Front.
He also accused Syrias military offensive in Aleppo of forcing opposition fighters partnering with the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.

"When you have the reality of Aleppo with renewed airstrikes, with renewed fighting, with renewed government regime offensive on the ground that only drives the moderate opposition into the arms of Nusra," Toner said, stressing that the US remains in contact with the Syrian opposition to ensure they abide to the ceasefire agreement terms that stipulate separation from designated terrorist groups like the Nusra Front.

Earlier on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow could hardly trust the US-led coalition's actions against terrorist groups in Syria as it exclusively targets Daesh terror group and bypasses the group formerly known as the Nusra Front.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on September 22, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that a recent air strike delivered by the US-led coalition on the Syrian forces in Deir ez-Zor proved Washington was complicit with terrorist groups in the war-torn country.
Trade has helped grow Nebraska for decades. Whether you are a rancher who exports beef to Japan or a center pivot manufacturer who has expanded your operations to China, trade has been critical to growing our Nebraska farms, ranches, and businesses. Just look at the numbers: In 2014, Nebraska exported a total of $10.66 billion worth of goods, of which $6.59 billion worth was ag-based. Whatever pessimism we hear about trade from politicians these days, it is critical we remember how key our trade relationships are to growing opportunities for the next generation of Nebraskans.

To see how trade has benefited our state, theres no better example than our relationship with Japan. Since Kawasaki first put down roots in Lincoln in 1974, Nebraskas trade relationship with Japan has been helping create jobs and growing our economy. Our long-standing relationship with Japan has made the country the states number one direct foreign investor and third largest trading partner.

This relationship has flourished because of a long-term commitment by numerous Nebraska diplomats including previous governors and business leaders. My administration has continued this tradition. In 2015, I led my first trade mission to Asia during which I met with executives from Japanese companies to thank them for their investment in Nebraska and to talk about how we could support future expansions.

The trade mission has borne fruit. Over the past year, Kawasaki announced it would establish its first North American aerostructures line in Lincoln with a multi-million dollar investment. Morio Denki, one of Kawasakis suppliers that produces electrical components for rail cars, also announced their expansion in Nebraska. In addition to these expansions, we have also seen recent investments from other Japanese companies including Marubeni, Kewpie, Itochu, and NTT.

Continuing to cultivate relationships with Japanese companies can help encourage additional investment and build Nebraskas reputation as a great place to do business. Last week, I traveled to St. Louis to attend the 48th Annual Midwest U.S.-Japan Conference. At the event, I addressed the conference and met with Japanese business executives as well as the countrys ambassador to the United States. During my address, I announced that Nebraska would host the association in Omaha for its 50th annual conference in 2018. The event will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Nebraska to showcase our state as a great place to do business for Japanese business executives and leaders looking for opportunities to invest and grow their businesses.

While relationship building through trade missions is key to expanding trade opportunities for Nebraska, we must also work to break down trade barriers that are limiting growth in markets for our products. Right now, Congress is considering the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal that would help expand markets for Nebraskas commodities along the Pacific Rim with countries like Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia among others. The deal would reduce trade barriers, such as tariffs on our commodities like beef, making our products much more attractive to millions of consumers. For example, it would take Japans 38 percent tariff on our beef down to nine percent, and in Vietnam it would go from 20 percent to zero!

Trade deals like TPP are good for growing Nebraska and our relationship with key trade partners like Japan. As Congress continues to consider TPP, I encourage you to contact your congressman and senators. You can find all their information by visiting house.gov or senate.gov. If you have feedback for my office, I hope you will contact me by emailing pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or by calling 402-471-2244.
DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The Homs administration and the Syrian army reached an agreement with the Homs militants on them ceasing fire and leaving the city.

Today, 131 militants and 119 of their family members left the Al-Waer region. They went by bus to the north of the Homs province, controlled by illegal armed groups, Awad told RIA Novosti.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The truce breaches occurred in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia provinces, the ministry said.

"A total of 22 ceasefire violations by militant groups have been registered in Damascus (13), Aleppo (7) and Latakia (2) provinces," the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.

The Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham, formerly known as Nusra Front, and Daesh terrorist groups, which have been outlawed in Russia, are not part of the ceasefire deal.
Breedlove, a four-star United States Air Force General who recently retired as NATOs Supreme Allied Commander blasted NATO for lack of preparation in response to Russias rapid military revolution that has seen major upgrades in both naval and air superiority components. The Generals cautions also come at a time when the West remains completely unable to defend against Russias next-generation hypersonic weapons.

"The unobstructed crossing of the Atlantic to fight a war on the land mass in Europe, I think, is a thing of the past," said the General highlighting that Russia could cut off the US Naval fleet. Americas ability to navigate the Atlantic unimpeded has been a centerpiece of the US and NATOs military defense strategy.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Command-and-staff exercise that involved some 4,000 Russian servicemen and over 1,000 pieces of military equipment, completed in South Ossetia, the Russian Defense Ministry's Southern Military District said in a statement on Monday.

"The maneuvers at Dzartsemi mountain range have involved by some 4,000 troops and over 1,000 pieces of military equipment, including the T-72BM tanks, the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and the Akatsiya and the Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers," the statement reads.

During the drills, that were launched on September 20, the servicemen carried out live fire exercise using the RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher, the AK-74 assault rifle, 120-millimeter mortars, tanks and combat vehicles, practiced air defense.
In the Cold War's heyday, US Army engineers constructed a futuristic secret military base in northwestern Greenland. The so-called Camp Century accommodated up to 200 soldiers in a network of tunnels, containing everything from research facilities to a hospital, a cinema and a church  all powered by a nuclear reactor.

Officially, Camp Century was built to provide the US a laboratory for Arctic research projects, but it was also home to a secret US effort to deploy nuclear missiles. This effort was code-named Project Iceworm and, although never mentioned in the treaty between the US and Denmark, even included a railway under the snow. However, since US scientists found that the Greenland glacier was shifting at a much higher pace than expected, the base was effectively abandoned in 1967, after only three years in action.

Left behind were left copious amounts of polychlorinated biphenyl used in building supplies, tanks of raw sewage and radioactive coolant used in the nuclear reactor that was used in Camp Century. All the toxic waste may soon end up being released into the environment on account of higher temperatures.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the country's defense ministry, two batteries of the Lithuanian armed forces will be equipped with the air defense systems.

"We plan to spend a bit more than 100 million euros," he told the Baltic News Service.

At the moment, the country operates only short-range air defense systems. In May, the Defense Ministry announced it started negotiations with Norway on possible procurement of NASAMS mid-range air defense systems, which are capable of hitting targets at the range of up to 25 miles and at the height of up to 9 miles.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the statement, the US and South Korean navies trained joint response to potential missile threats from North Korea.

"This Combined Maritime operation is another example of the broad range of capabilities the Alliance has to confront North Korea's unacceptable behavior and the threat they pose to the stability on the Korean Peninsula, and the region," US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks said, as quoted in CNFK statement.

US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111), South Korean Aegis destroyers, as well as submarines, anti-submarine helicopters and P-3 patrol aircraft were engaged in the exercises, CNFK statement reads.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A fleet of 16 Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft equipped with long-range radars and sensors can provide an "added value" to the US-led coalition fighting Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq, Alexander Vershbow said.

"We have defense ministers meeting here at the end of October, I think the hope is the mission will be underway at that time," Alexander Vershbow said at a press briefing in Brussels, as quoted by Defense News website.

Vershbow added that nations contributing personnel to AWACS aircraft had to put the issue before their national parliaments, which was going to happen in the coming weeks.
Israeli Air Force helicopter squadrons, along with gunships from the Greek Air Force, conducted joint exercises in the challenging topography of the Olympic Mountains.

Israel's flat terrain does not allow for the effective practice of transporting soldiers to combat areas, evacuating civilians or rescuing pilots from unknown territory. The Greek mountains allow IAF CH-53 Sea Stallion and CH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to simulate operations in a more demanding environment.

An IDF source said Sunday that Israel is grateful to have the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a "complex combat arena that is not available in Israel," the Jerusalem Post reported.
The US takes the same approach to Israel's war crimes against Palestinians. It is a major arms provider to Israel. Last year, at the 29th regular session of the UNHRC, the US was the only country in the world to oppose a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for war crimes.

"This is unfortunately typical of a number of Western nations when it comes to the investigations of war crimes," Zunes said in an interview with Press TV on Sunday. "Despite all the pontificating about human rights by these major powers, it is more of a political issue for them," he said.

"They will highlight and sometimes even exaggerate crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses by countries they perceive as enemy but deny, minimize and cover up for such crimes by governments they consider to be allies," Zunes explained.

"It is important to have a single measurement for international humanitarian law. The very nature of law is that it should apply to everyone equally, regardless of a government's ideology or foreign relations," the scholar concluded.
Some new trees will help spruce up Logan Cemetery.

Five oak and two maple trees will add to the scenic view of the historic cemetery approximately 2  miles northeast of Winslow.

In the meantime, about 10 volunteers were busy Sunday trimming trees and grass and doing other work, said Tim Schafersman, cemetery board president.

All of the work is part of an ongoing effort to help preserve and maintain a cemetery that began as a final resting place of pioneer families.

The cemetery was established in 1865 after George Wagner donated two acres of his farm for it. At this point in history, the United States was embroiled in the Civil War. Nebraska wouldnt become a state until 1867.

Just a year after he donated the land, Wagner died  right before his 56th birthday. He was the first person buried there.

As time passed, German immigrants and Civil War veterans would be buried in this hilly area. So would children whod died of diphtheria.

Time and nature would affect the cemetery, which became overgrown with weeds.

Wagners great-grandson, also named George, and his wife, Allene, were cemetery caretakers until his health forced him to stop in 2000. The Logan Cemetery Board now maintains the property.

On Sunday, volunteers spent about two hours working at the cemetery. A couple of trees had been removed previously and the stumps ground out a month ago. So Sundays work included filling the holes with dirt and seeding in some grass.

It was a general cleanup, Schafersman said.

Mary Schulzkump of Nickerson, who has helped raise funds for trees for Logan and other cemeteries, stopped by.

They were clipping down the plants and trimming around outside the fence, and finishing it off, and getting it ready for winter, she said.

Schulzkump was there mostly to talk about new trees for the cemetery.

In July, Schulzkump had a dinner at Hooper City Auditorium to help raise funds to replace trees at area cemeteries: Logan, St. Johns on the Cuming County Line, and St. Pauls of rural Hooper.

A storm with hail that rolled through the area a few years ago, stripped bark off the trees in those cemeteries. In turn, the large trees began to die.

Through the dinner, Schulzkump said $1,200 was raised and when divided among the three cemeteries, totaled $400 each. She said the Logan Cemetery group raised other money for trees.

Nielsen Tree Farms of Dodge will plant the trees, Schulzkump said.

Volunteers plotted out where the new trees will go.

Schafersman is pleased about the trees.

The new trees will be a nice addition, because there are some older pine trees, probably planted about the time that the land was donated for the cemetery, Schafersman said. Theyre old and getting in bad shape and these new trees will help fill in as these other ones come down.

Schulzkump is pleased as well and was happy to see that the volunteers had nice weather while doing their work on Sunday.

I thought it was a beautiful day to do that, she said. They had a nice sun-shiny day.
"I think it's clear that the ceasefire once again has failed. I think it's also clear that it's failed because there are certain actors in Washington who want it to fail. This is not the first time. Even before this agreement was reached you had the more hawkish voices in Washington, like Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who expressed their objections towards any kind of cooperation whatsoever with the Russian side," the analyst observed.

Rizk maintained that the Syrian ceasefire could only be rebooted if Obama "stands up" to hardliners in Washington, but doubted that the US president will do that.

If the latest deal on Syria falls apart, "a more likely scenario" of more escalation, more widespread terrorism in the Middle East and beyond will unfold. "The Syrian crisis has proved that the more it continues the more terrorism will spread beyond Syria's borders to all parts of the world," he added.
I believe that Donald Trump will have as little intervention as possible all over the world The United States is generally a force around the world that is causing generally more problems than doing any good," Marinelli said.

According to Marinelli, the United States created al-Qaida terrorist group "to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan," and, as a result, the terrorists are currently fighting against the West. The same thing could be said about Daesh and other terrorist groups in the Middle East, supported by the United States, Marinelli added.

Moscow and Washington are the key figures in mediation of the Syrian conflict tearing the country apart since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia, the United States and many other countries worldwide.

The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria since 2014. In Syria, however, the coalition is acting without the permission of the countrys legitimate government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  At the moment, five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States) hold the veto power, which allows them to block any resolutions that other countries push forward.

"I think the veto power is probably one of the worst parts of the UN because it doesnt allow for the equality of the nations It should be the organization of the United Nations but not the group of five nations with veto power. All members should be equal," Marinelli said.

California secession movement has reached new level of popularity as the United Kingdom voted in June to leave the European Union. The organization is collecting signatures to start the process of leaving the United States.
BEIJING (Sputnik)  All sides should comply with the previously adopted UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, including resolution 2254 which provided a roadmap for the Syrian peace process, he added.

"China is concerned about the escalation of the conflictThe cessation of hostilities is a key point for a political solution in Syria and also an important guarantee for improving the humanitarian situation and efficient fight against terrorism. We urge all sides to establish favorable conditions for ceasefire, relaunch peace talks and deliver humanitarian assistance," he said at a briefing.
Turkey is "trying basically to separate the US from the Kurds," he said. This is why President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was "hinting at the Turkish participation with the US in an attack in Raqqa," he added.

Washington was initially hoping that the YPG and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces would form the bulk of the ground troops, who will be tasked with clearing Raqqa, Daesh's de facto capital. However, Turkish officials have recently said that they are against the Kurds taking part in the offensive.

"Supposedly the goal [of the operation in Raqqa] will be to remove [Daesh], but of course part of the goal will be to prevent the Syrian government from defeating [Daesh] and taking control of Raqqa. So there is a lot of maneuvering going on right now, with Turkish forces and US special forces actually being on Syrian territory," Sterling noted.
TOKYO (Sputnik)  The Russian leader is expected to visit the Asian nation on December 15.

"Visit of the president [Putin] to Japan this year may advance negotiations [on the peace treaty] By solving the territorial issue we will put an end to the abnormal situation when our countries dont have a peace treaty 71 years after the end of the war, we will open greater possibilities for the Japanese-Russian cooperation," Shinzo Abe said in the lower house of the local parliament.

Japan and Russia never signed a permanent peace treaty after World War II due to a disagreement over four islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories. The disputed islands, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, were claimed by Soviet forces at the end of the war.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The US-led coalition is failing to meet its obligations on Syria, Lavrov said.

"We can only guess why it was needed to gather an emergency [UN Security Council] meeting in the middle of the weekend, although it is not hard to guess. Clearly, the West, headed by the United States which leads the coalition against Daesh is not speaking about al-Nusra Front in Syria, failing to meet its obligations," Lavrov said as broadcast on the NTV channel.

"The US Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama supported cooperation with Russia, as I was always assured. He himself confirmed this during a meeting with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in China. Apparently, the military does not quite obey their supreme commander."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Sunday, US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism," while her UK counterpart Matthew Rycroft claimed it was "difficult to deny" that Russia and Damascus were committing war crimes.

"We, overall noting the inadmissibility of the tone of the rhetoric of representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, and noting that such rhetoric can damage the reconciliation process and our bilateral ties, we still in the interest of higher ideas of reconciliation tend to distance ourselves from excessive emotions, and we state that the situation is really rather difficult and concerning," Peskov told reporters.

According to the official, Moscow is mainly concerned over terrorists using the ceasefire regime to regroup, fill up their arsenal and to prepare for a new offensive. Another concern is the fact that a distinction between terrorists and moderate opposition has not yet taken place, Peskov added.
The bombing of the SAA base in Deir ez-Zor accomplished what the Pentagon wanted to achieve. The US Central Command issued a statement following the attack, saying that "coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit." According to CENTCOM, the planes targeted a Daesh fighting position.

The journalist doubted that the air raid was unintentional.

"It is always possible that the strike was another of the monumental intelligence failures so common in war," he said. "But the timing of the strike  only 48 hours before the decision was to be made on whether to go ahead with the Joint Implementation Centre  and its obvious impact on the ceasefire make a tight fit with the thesis that it was no mistake."

In addition, US forces were familiar with the area and had monitored it for several days before the airstrike took place.

In Porter's opinion, Russia and Syria viewed the Deir ez-Zor attack as a "clear message" that the US military would not greenlight "any cooperation with Russia on Syria."
"The signing of the Iran nuclear agreement last year widened US-Israeli strategic differences and contributed to a growing perception, shared by Tel Aviv and Gulf Arab capitals, that the United States is tolerating Iran's antagonistic role in the region at the expense of its traditional allies," the experts noted.

The nuclear deal also came at a time when Washington appeared to be intent on disengaging from the Middle East and focusing on Asia.

"As a result, Israel has discovered that its strategic interests are more aligned with those of the Sunni Arab world and Turkey than with the United States," Chen Kane, Seth Carus and Nima Gerami said. "Israel's recent outreach to Gulf Arab states and Turkey is emblematic of their shared sense of abandonment by the United States and a common interest in developing new security relationships to compensate for what they all see as a US desire for rapprochement with Iran and a reduction of America's footprint in the region."

This is not to say that Washington's strategic alliance with Israel will become weaker. Analysts agree that it will most likely remain strong in the coming years, but it does not mean that relations between American and Israeli leaders will drastically improve.
"If you think about it, there are obviously Euro elections coming down the track. I think people will be wondering whether we want to send a fresh batch of UK Euro MPs to an institution which we are, after all, going to be leaving," Mr. Johnson told the BBC.

His comments were quickly slammed by Mrs. May's spokespeople, who made it clear who would be making the decision as to when Article 50 would be triggered.

"The Government's position is clear. The prime minister has said she will not trigger Article 50 before the end of the year. Ultimately it's her decision," a government spokesperson said.

Allies claim Theresa May did not "disappear from view" during Brexit campaign, but concede her lack of reflection in the mirror is baffling.  HaveIGotNewsForYou (@haveigotnews) 26 September 2016

Claims that Cameron never really knew where May stood in regards to the EU referendum have also reared their ugly head.

Could this trigger a Tory party split?

"Yes, Brexit will no doubt create catastrophic problems within the party," Mr. Dunt told Sputnik.

"This debate over immigration won't split the party, what will split the party is Brexit. The Tory party will tear itself up over that."

George in the Shadows

Mr. Dunt also claims that the leader of the Brexit fighting brigade will be non-other than former chancellor George Osborne.

Still annoyed at the fact he was not able to be PM, Osborne is a man waiting to pounce, positioning himself in the background  it appears he knows what's coming and it won't be pretty.

"George Osborne is sitting on the backbenchers in Parliament, waiting for an opportunity to pounce over Brexit. He knows it will damage the economy, and no doubt it will. So as soon as it happens, he is waiting for an opportunity to strike," Mr. Dunt told Sputnik.
On Sunday, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the the situation in Aleppo, where Syrian government forces are carrying out an offensive against Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front and the so-called armed opposition groups. The meeting was initiated by the United States, Britain and France.

During the meeting, Western diplomats criticized Russia and the Syrian government. In response, Russian Envoy to UN Vitaly Churkin said that the Russia-US agreement on Syria has not failed, but if Washington continues to change this will further complicates the situation.

"We outlined our position clearly. We need a serious process, without cheating, without people changing their stances every two days. The agreement was [achieved], and the only thing needed is its implementation instead of changing positions. If they continue doing this, it will be extremely difficult to have serious process," Churkin told journalists Sunday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia launched airstrikes against terrorist positions in Syria on September 30, 2015 at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Since that time and until March 2016, Russian aviation had conducted over 9,000 sorties, helping Damascus turn the tide of war and launch offensives in key regions of the country.

When we launched the operation and our Aerospace Forces were engaged in anti-terror fight, we expected the operation to last only several months. Today we mark the one-year anniversary [of the campaign] and one can see no end to it still," Bogdanov said at a session of the Federation Council committee on international affairs.
At the same time, he stressed the necessity to resume the political process settlement in Syria.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Aleppo, where Syrian government forces are carrying out an offensive against al-Nusra Front and the so-called armed opposition groups.

The agreement between Moscow and Washington on Syria is not being observed, Matuzov told Radio Sputnik.

"We came to an agreement that there can be no alternative to the political settlement in Syria. For several months, Russia and the US worked to sign an agreement on the principles of a political solution. Finally, an agreement was made but it has not been implemented," the expert said.

According to him, the main reason is that the US policy in the Middle East is in a deadlock.

"For five years, the Americans have been creating militant groups fighting against the Syrian government. There are hundreds of such groups in Syria. Amid all the chaos they created they had to make an agreement with Russia. But when it came to the implementation of the agreement it turned out that the US cannot control the monster it created," Matuzov pointed out.
United States Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power blamed Russia for the surge in violence in Syria after the ceasefire agreement collapsed last week following a US-led airstrike in Deir Ez-Zor that killed 62 Syrian Army soldiers and left scores injured causing fighting to intensify to a breaking point. The Russian side believes that that the Deir ez-Zor attack was hardly an "accident" and that it was aimed at deliberately fueling conflict in the country.

"I believe that the US know exactly what they were doing when they hit the Syrian troops," Madsen said. "When they talk about moderate Syrian rebels, that's a joke. There are no moderate Syrian rebels, There may be a few leaders who profess moderation but they are sitting safely in five-star hotels in Istanbul and Ankara," he added.

Russia pointed to the over 300 ceasefire violations by US-backed Syrian rebels in the first days of the ceasefire and the refusal of the so-called "moderates" to adhere to the conditions of the agreement forged by Russia and the United States which called for the rebels to disassociate with the terror group al-Nusra Front, Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate until a recent rebrand.

At the same time, the Syrian ambassador to the UN stressed the possibility of a chemical attack which is being prepared by radicals and which can be later blamed on the Syrian army. According to Madsen, this statement could very well correspond with reality as these rebel groups, he said, have access to chemical weapons, such as sarin gas and others.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Asked why de Mistura takes so long to call for the resumption of Syrian talks, Haq said, What we need is for there to be lasting cessation of hostilities, we need for the aid to be able to get to people who are in need and there is also very clearly a need for the parties to be willing to meet each other in good faith so they can finally get the talks about the transition in the country.

Haq noted that de Mistura did not consider the current environment in Syria conducive to the successful talks. He also stated that calling for the resumption of negotiations right now would not bear good results.

The latest cessation of hostilities in Syria was brokered by the United States and Russia on September 9. After being implemented on September 12, the deal broke apart with repeated violations of the ceasefire from all sides.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  US President Barack Obama is reviewing all available options for the US response to the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said at a press briefing on Monday.

"The President is continuing to get advice from his national security team, including the military leaders at the Department of Defense, reviewing all of the available options," Earnest told reporters.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council convened for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the situation in Aleppo, where the Syrian government forces are carrying out an offensive against Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, and other armed rebel groups.
CHISINAU (Sputnik)  The economic relations between Moscow and Chisinau deteriorated in summer 2014 after the Moldovan parliament ratified the Association Agreement with the European Union. Russia imposed provisional ban on some Moldovan imports over concerns that free flow of the EU goods would spill to the Russian market in reexport.

"Our stance remains firm. We want new and normal relations with Russia given the fact that we signed the Association Agreement with the European Union," Filip stated at a Cabinet meeting.

Filip added that he discussed bilateral economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and would raise the issue during the visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to Moldova.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry presented a new plan to settle conflict in Syria, which included a new ceasefire that came into force on September 12. However, because of repeated violations of the ceasefire by Syrian rebels, it was declared ineffective.

"It is hard to imagine the United States reaching any other negotiated agreement with the Russians until they live up to the commitments they have made to reduce the violence and allow for the free flow of humanitarian access and aid to the communities that need it most in Syria," Earnest stated.

Earnest said that the Obama administrations doubts concerning Russias intentions in Syria are mounting.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  When asked about the current status of the consultations between the United States and Russia on Syria, Toner said, "There was nothing to report on since Friday."

"He [Kerry] has not spoken with Foreign Minister Lavrov since Friday," the spokesperson stated.
Independent military expert Oleg Zheltonozhko said that the appearance of onboard recorders on Armata, Kurganets and Bumerang fighting vehicles was necessitated by their technological complexity and price.

Onboard recorders are normally installed on the most expensive and complex machines like planes, spaceships and helicopters, but the cost and complexity of the latest tanks and armored vehicles is now putting them in the same category, Zheltonozhko said.

According to Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Motherland) journal, Russias T-72B3, T-80 and T-90 tanks now carry onboard systems of fire suppression, which respond to sudden temperature jumps caused by a fire and put out the flames using special foam.

The Russian Defense Ministry unveiled its next-generation Armata tank during last years May 9 Victory Day military parade in Moscow.

It also rolled out a bevy of heavy armored vehicles based on the Armata combat platform, such as the Kurganets-25 tracked infantry fighting vehicle and the Bumerang amphibious wheeled armored personnel carrier.

The Kurganets and Bumerang IFVs are currently undergoing testing ahead of their first deployment slated for 2017.
He said that Reshetnev ISS was making no use of Chinese-made components, at least for now.

Our Chinese partners have come here many times to offer their product and we have sent our experts to their enterprises to assess the quality of what they do. Some of our companies are already buying their components and we at Reshetnev ISS are also studying such a possibility now, Testoyedov added.

Last year, Reshetnev ISS was contracted by Roscosmos to build nine GLONASS K-1 and two GLONASS K-2 new generation satellites at a total cost of 62 bln rubles.

GLONASS K-1s are slated to replace the GLONASS K-2 satellites currently in orbit, starting from 2018.

We have set aside seven GLONASS M satellites we are going to send up whenever necessary, followed by Glonass K ones, Nikolai Testoyedov said, adding that by 2028 the orbital constellation will consist of various generations of satellites.

There are three GLONASS K experimental probes currently in orbit, but they are primarily built from foreign-made components. After the United States banned the export of certain electronic components to Russia, it was decided to switch to the use of domestically-made components.

GLONASS, or GLObal NAvigation Satellite System, is Russias very own space-based satellite navigation system.

It provides an alternative to the American GPS system and is the second alternative navigational system in operation with global coverage and of comparable precision.

By 2010, GLONASS had achieved 100% coverage of Russian territory and in October 2011, the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites was restored, enabling full global coverage.

GLONASS satellites have undergone several upgrades, with the latest version being GLONASS K.
Kiev's refusal to release its radar data suggests that the missile had been launched from Kiev-held territory, Lt. Gen. Konashenkov said.

"It's not a coincidence that the Ukrainian side is hiding information that could help to reveal the whole picture of the crash. The flight MH17 was controlled by Ukrainian radars, air defense units and Ukrainian air traffic controllers."

Ukraine should unveil information on the location of its Buk SAM system's location and air traffic control communication on the day of the MH17 crash in east Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"Kiev has not made public the information on the locations of its Buk missile systems on the day of the crash, negotiations of air traffic controllers, servicemen, on its radars, data on the work of Ukrainian air defense, witnesses' comments."
I guess well have [such weapons] somewhere early next decade, Obnosov said, adding that work on hypersonic projects would give a strong boost to science, above all aerodynamics, computing methods and engine design.

Boris Obnosov said that the TMC was working closely with the Russian Academy of Sciences in its hypersonic research and was also implementing a raft of similar projects with the Future Research Foundation under the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation.
According to the ministry, the new tour attracted the attention of not only Russian but also Chinese tour operators. The first people to travel the Great Silk Road were representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Russia, Chinese airline Hainan Airlines and journalists from both countries.

The Chinese delegation was welcomed with open hands at the international airport of Makhachkala.

Travelling for 7 days, tourists will have a great opportunity to become familiar with the geographic, cultural and culinary diversity of the Russian Caucasus.

Guests can visit a mosque in Grozny, ancient monasteries in North Ossetia and a medieval tower in Ingushetia, as well as ascend Elbrus by a cable car and visit the Honey Waterfalls in Karachay-Cherkessia.

During first day of Great Silk Road journey, the Chinese delegation visited the ancient Russian city of Derbent. Tourists also visited the festival and tried barbecue.

Additionally, the opening of the Great Silk Road will strengthen strategic cooperation between China and Russia, according to the head of PRC State Administration for Tourism Affairs in Moscow.

Tourist trips from China to Russia have increased by 50 percent in the first six months in 2016. I believe that the development of tourism in North Caucasus is of strategic importance for further development of relations between both countries, announced the administrations representative.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Ten days after its launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center the lab is ready to dock with Shenzhou-11 in what will simulate the docking of a future space station, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the report, The Shenzhou-11 will transport two astronauts into space, who will move to the laboratory after the docking and work there for 30 days.

In April 2017, China plans to sent a space cargo ship Tianzhou-1 to deliver supplies to the space laboratory.
Despite the fact that the mattress was launched only some weeks ago with a three-digit price tag, the sought after product was met with overwhelming demand and Sissala is now by her own admission working to expand production.

"We are now making every effort to manufacture more mattresses," Hanna Sissala told Finnish news outlet Uusi Suomi.

Sissala firmly believes that the success of new Finnish start-ups and companies does not have to be limited to mobile applications and games.

"Finns can be pretty good at manufacturing some of the worlds best products for ordinary people," Sissala told Uusi Suomi.

Take it from Dave:"Skip the shopping altogether and get back to worrying about more important things like the baby" https://t.co/g820cjksFT  Finnish Baby Box (@fibabybox) September 1, 2016

Today, Finland is highly regarded as one of the top countries in the world for family and maternity care. For more than 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been handed out 'baby boxes' by the state which serve as a starter kit for their new baby. It contains clothes, blankets, and other newborn necessities, whereas the 'baby box' itself is lined with a mattress and is used as the child's first bed.

Pioneered in 1938, the 'baby boxes' are believed to have helped Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates. In the 1930s, Finland was a poor country and infant mortality was high, but the figures improved rapidly in the decades that followed. In Finland, the baby box' has become part of the established rite of passage towards maternity and fatherhood.
A new "Order a Daddy" app has been launched by the London Sperm Bank , which is based on a Tinder-style app that allows users  or potential customers  to swipe their smart phone from right to left, browsing for sperm donors.

Women are able to pick a potential father for their child based on academic qualifications and physical characteristics, such as height, weight, complexion, hair and eye color.

For US$1,200 customers can pick from applicants who come from a range of professionals, including law, medicine and the arts and pay through the app for a sperm sample which is then delivered to a clinic.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Around 113 million EU households may produce energy, either individually or through a collective, the study said.

"About 161 million can potentially provide flexible demand services with an EV, (smart) electric boiler or stationary batteries. A large share of the households that could have demand flexibility could also be an energy producer," the study carried out by CE Delft, an independent research and consultancy agency, said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The government of Charlotte, a town in North Carolina, overcome with protests after a fatal shooting of a man by a police officer, announced on Twitter that it would abandon the curfew.

"@CLTMayor and Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners Trevor M. Fuller have lifted the curfew, effective immediately," local government said on its Twitter blog late on Sunday.

A wave of protests has swept over Charlotte since Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year old African-American man, was fatally shot by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer. The protesters demanded to see police footage of the shooting.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On September 25, Moscow hosted an international conference dedicated to the right of nations to self-determination. Marinelli attended the event among other fighters for their regions' independence.

"If Donald Trump wins, I think it will seriously invigorate the people of California to support the independence referendum. So in that form, I guess we are going to support Donald Trump, because we believe that he will make Californians believe that independence is the best way out," Marinelli said.

The Yes, California Independence Campaign has an intention to organize a public opinion vote and see how many Californians want to be independent, Marinelli added.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Law enforcement authorities in Houston, Texas, are responding to an active shooter situation in a shopping mall and asked residents to avoid the area, according to an alert released by Houstons Emergency Notification System on Monday.

"The Houston Police Department (HPD) is responding to an active shooter situation in a shopping center near the corner of Wesleyan & Bissonnet in southwest Houston," the alert stated.

Police said the shooting scene was "believed to be contained," but the residents were advised to avoid the area due to ongoing law enforcement activity.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should become the next US president, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council President Chris Crane announced in an endorsement on Monday.

"We can fix our broken immigration system, and we can do it in a way that honors Americas legacy as a land of immigrants, but Donald Trump is the only candidate who is willing to put politics aside so that we can achieve that goal," Crane stated.

The councils president noted that out of some 5,000 members of the union, only five percent supported Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
I watched him come through the door and he say pop his a**. As soon as he said that, dude shot me back, Seals told WBS. You dont shoot a dart and then run electricity through the dart unless they are violently resisting you.

The department fired Crawford, but has not terminated or disciplined Alexis.

Seals has now accrued over $20,000 in medical bills.

They are refusing to pay the bills, so now not only does he have injuries to deal with but has bills to pay, Lamar said.

The Augusta sheriff's office has declined to comment on the case.
Air Force Col John L. Dorrian, spokesman for the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve coalition against Daesh, took to Twitter on Monday to call the militant groups claims baseless. He tweeted that military officials in the operation were aware of errant reports of a US KIA [Killed in action], said the reports are not true and called the claims an example of Daesh propaganda.

The US military has denied similar claims from Daesh in the recent past. In July, extremists claimed to have shot down a US warplane reportedly operating near the Ain Al-Asad air base in Iraqs Anbar province, killing everyone aboard. US Central Command tweeted that there was no truth to the reports and said there was no evidence of a missing plane.
The 148-page document contains information about trafficking crimes since January, with some pages marked with LePages handwritten notes, and shows men and women of a variety of races.

Of the 93 news and booking photos in the binder featuring people, 37 of them appear to be people who are either black or Hispanic, or about 40 percent of the photos in the binder, while 56, or about 60 percent, appear to be people who are white, the Press Herald reported.

LePage also sparked controversy in August, after he delivered an abusive verbal message to a political rival, challenging him to a duel.

Mr. Gattine, this is Gov. Paul Richard LePage, the governor can be heard saying in a recording of the message obtained by the Portland Press-Herald. I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you c**cksucker. I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that Im a racist. Ive spent my life helping black people and you little son-of-a-bitch, socialist c**cksucker. You  I need you to, just friggin. I want you to record this and make it public because I am after you. Thank you.

LePage then invited reporters to hear him double-down on his over-the-top remarks.

When a snot-nosed little guy from Westbrook calls me a racist, now Id like him to come up here because, tell you right now, I wish it were 1825, LePage said. And we would have a duel, thats how angry I am, and I would not put my gun in the air, I guarantee you, I would not be [Alexander] Hamilton. I would point it right between his eyes, because he is a snot-nosed little runt and he has not done a damn thing since hes been in this legislature to help move the state forward.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Obama vetoed the bill on Friday, stressing that the legislation violates the principle of sovereign immunity.

"I ask unanimous consent that on Wednesday, September 28, the Senate proceed to the veto message on S. 2040 that there be two hours of debate [and] the Senate vote on passage of the bill, the objections of the president to the contrary notwithstanding," McConnell stated.
The worker was conducting a routine cleanup around 10:00 AM when he made the grisly discovery. An eyewitness told the local Fox affiliate that the head appeared to belong to an African-American man in his 20s, and did not show any obvious signs of decomposition, meaning that it likely had not been in the water for very long.

The Chicago Police responded quickly and brought in cadaver dogs, as well as divers, in attempts to locate the rest of the persons body, but so far have not found other remains.

"This is still an ongoing investigation. The head has been identified as an adult, probably African-American. And there are some more body parts that have been sent to the Medical Examiner's office, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told the station.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Obama said Mondays conference highlights a commitment to redouble efforts to make sure that every agency of the US government consults, listens and works with Indian communities "sovereign to sovereign."

"By creating the White House Council of Native American Affairs, we have created a permanent institution with a long-term Cabinet focus on Indian Country," Obama told a diverse audience of tribal representatives in native dress.

The presidents remarks followed an earlier announcement by the US Department of Justice of $107 million in grants to boost safety and strengthen institutions of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Kaine said in remarks in Lakeland in the US state of Florida later distributed by the Clinton campaign on Monday that a "guy who would persist in the bigoted lie that President [Barack] Obama wasnt born here, he could lie about anything."

He added that if Trumps tax returns were opened to the American public, they might reveal details of his business dealings with Russia and other aspects of his career and private life.

"The tax returns might show these connections to Russia that are so strange. The tax returns might show that despite claiming that hes Mr. Charity, that hes actually not charitable at all," he argued.
There are some who are against making nuclear weapons more versatile, as it may mean that the weapons are used more often. The notion that the US must approach nations with budding nuclear programs without using nuclear weapons has been around for at least 20 years.

Former Defense Secretary Les Aspin pointed out in 1993 that "nuclear weapons can still be the equalizer against superior conventional forces. But today it is the United States that has unmatched conventional military power, and it is our potential adversaries who may attain nuclear weapons. Were the ones who could wind up being the equalizee," Breaking Defense reported.

The US Defense Department, under President Bill Clinton, developed "counter-proliferation" measures to activate general purpose responses in the event of a nuclear attack. Budgeting and capacity issues prevented this program from becoming realized, and the US, if confronted by an offensive nuclear attack, is now left in the unenviable position of choosing either standard weapons that may be inadequate or nuclear weapons that may not be effective.
The sheriff also warned potential clowns that they are in a Second Amendment county.

Grundy County is a Second Amendment country, Shrum stated. Im a Second Amendment sheriff. If someone wants to be ignorant and run around dressed like a clown to scare people, they stand a chance of getting hurt or killed. They take their life into their own hands  and thats what Im afraid of. If youre going to dress up like a clown and do stupid things, stupid things are going to happen to you.

He also warned potential clown-hoaxers that false police reports are Class C felonies, which could land you two to 20 years in prison.

All these copycats have started in Tennessee and now people are tying up law enforcement, tying up valuable time. Were just not going to tolerate it, said Shrum. Were not going around chasing clowns.

A South Carolina town, Greenville, has been plagued with clown sightings and reports of red-nosed menaces attempting to lure children into the woods since August 21. Police reports about clowns have been steadily rolling in ever since.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The incident took place just hours before the two US major-party candidates debate at Hofstra University on New Yorks Long Island.

@DrJillStein arrives outside Hofstra debate site to shouts of "Let Jill debate!!" pic.twitter.com/CCfDqGSkvY  Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) 26  2016 .

We were on our way to an interview with MSNBC when we were stopped by Hofstra security and Nassau County police just now," Stein wrote in a Twitter message.

According to Stein, officers with the Nassau County Police Department asked the candidate if she had credentials required to enter the debate premises.
VIENNA (Sputnik)  The General Conference will feature a set of events important for the IAEA operations, from assessment of the agency's work in the previous years, especially in 2015, to the budgetary issues and discussions on the IAEAs priorities for the future.

IAEA Secretary General Yukiya Amano is expected to open the organization's General Conference with a statement covering the work of the UN agency through the last 60 years of its existence. The organization remains committed to its Statute, approved on October 23, 1956, that outlined its main goals  assisting member states in using nuclear science for peaceful purposes as well as development and maintenance of nuclear safety standards and their application.

The General Conference is expected to approve the 2015 Annual Report and other budgetary issues, while the side events will feature the Scientific Forum on Nuclear Technology for the Sustainable Development Goals on September 28-29, the Forum of the International Nuclear Safety Group which will take place on Monday, September 26.
Speaking alongside Amano at a joint press briefing, Kirienko underlined the importance of Russias nuclear energy cooperation with the IAEA.

"We believe along with the growth of nuclear power in the world the role and influence of IAEA should grow," he stressed.

The Russian nuclear official presented his IAEA counterpart with a model of the worlds first operating nuclear block with a VVER-1200 reactor of the III+ generation.
Amid the current changes in Latin America and US and Japanese efforts to build ties with Cuba, the visit by the Chinese prime minister is of strategic importance, said Boris Martynov, deputy head of the Institute for Latin American Studies.

Li Keqiang is the first Chinese prime minister to visit Cuba. However, over the recent years a number of Chinese high-profile officials have made numerous trips to the island.

According to Chinese expert Yang Mian the visit would boost ties between Beijing and Havana at a time when the United States admitted the failure of its sanctions policy against Cuba.
He added that the United States has not provided information on the disaster too.

"The US is on Ukrainian governments side. If Washington had information shedding light on the catastrophe it should provide it. But the US cannot do that," Golub said.

According to him, the investigation is deliberately being delayed.

"I think the reason is that the investigation is giving the results the West doesnt like. I dont know if they can manipulate the final result but now they are delaying the probe. I cant rule out that finally the story will turn into a secret of Polichinelle," he suggested.

However, he noted, the situation could change after the presidential election in the US.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The countries "will carry forward our work to negotiate a comprehensive [treaty], including provisions that allow for the exchange of tax information," US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said at a meeting in Buenos Aires with Argentinas minister of treasury and finance, Alfonso Prat-Gay.

In 2015, Argentina implemented the amended Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which outlines rules on sharing tax information among 50 countries. The United States is a party to the original 1995 agreement but has yet to ratify the amended version from 2010.

Lew invited Argentinian officials to visit the Treasury Department in Washington next week to initiate the tax-data-sharing talks.
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- Militant group al-Shabaab has for the last 3 days been displaying bodies they claim are of Kenyan cops who went missing after an attack on a police post in Garissa

- The terrorists displayed their bounty in the town of Jilib which they control and is regarded as their headquarters

Terror group al-Shabaab in the last few days has been displaying bodies they claim are of Kenyan police officers at their headquarters in the southern Somalia town of Jilib.

Al-Shabaab militants display bodies of what they claim are of Kenyan police officers inside a pickup truck.

READ ALSO: Al-Shabaab parades bodies of Kenyan police officers reportedly killed

The militants had claimed to have killed six Kenyan police officers after they attacked Hamey police post in Garissa county on Thursday, September 22.

Al-Shabaab militants display bodes they claim are of Kenyan police to residents of Jilib in Southern Somalia.

READ ALSO: Al-Shabaab launch ATTACK on Kenyan police station, scores feared dead

The militants also displayed several weapons and a police land-cruiser they had stolen from the police.

Al-Shabaab militants pose with a police land-cruiser they had stolen from Hamey police post in Garissa.

The militants posed with a police land-cruiser number plate GK A 398Y, the terror group also covered the vehicle with their black flag in photos circulating online.

Al-Shabaab militants with Kenyan a police land-cruiser, uniforms and weapons they stole from Hamey police post in Garissa.

READ ALSO: KDF kill 33 al-Shabaab militants after military operation

The Kenya police service however denied the claims after the attack but said two officers could not be accounted for with two others seriously injured and flown to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

The militants also displayed several weapons and a police land cruiser they had stolen from the police post.

The town of Jilib where the militants displayed the bodies and weapons they claimed are of Kenyan police officers is regarded as a stronghold of the terror group.

Al-Shabaab militants posing next to a captured Kenya police land-cruiser from Hamey police post.

READ ALSO: 8 dead after attack on KDF convoy in Somalia

The terrorists displayed their bounty in the town of Jilib which they control and is regarded as their headquarters.

Kenya police in their statement said the camp in Garissa was attacked by about 50 militants in two land cruisers.

The statement said the militants escaped after officers in the camp engaged them in a gunfight.

The militants returned later with reinforcements in a lorry and used three bombs to destroy tents in the camp.

Kenyan government has launched an operation to flush out the militants using GSU officers who are using land and air surveillance.

Cover photo: Live from Somalia

Source: TUKO.co.ke
By Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist rebel leader Timochenko used a pen made from a bullet on Monday to sign an accord ending a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people. After four years of peace talks in Cuba, Santos, 65, and Timochenko - the nom de guerre for 57-year-old revolutionary Rodrigo Londono - shook hands on Colombian soil for the first time in front of hundreds of dignitaries. One man waved a large Colombian flag that had an extra white stripe in homage to the peace deal. The end of Latin America's longest-running war will turn the FARC guerrillas into a political party fighting at the ballot box instead of the battlefield they have occupied since 1964. Guests at the ceremony in the Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena were asked to wear white and included United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Cuban President Raul Castro and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Showing its support for the peace deal, the European Union on Monday removed the FARC from its list of terror groups. Kerry said Washington will also review whether to take the FARC off its terror list, and has pledged $390 million for Colombia next year to support the peace process. "Anybody can pick up a gun, blow things up, hurt other people, but it doesn't take you anywhere ... Peace is hard work," he said of a rare diplomatic good news story for the Obama administration as it contends with the seeming intractable war in Syria and other conflicts. PEACE VOTE Despite widespread relief at an end to the bloodshed and kidnappings of the past 52 years, the deal has caused divisions within Latin America's fourth-largest economy. Influential former President Alvaro Uribe and others are angry the accord allows rebels to enter parliament without serving any jail time. Colombians will vote on Oct. 2 on whether to ratify the agreement, but polls show it should pass easily. In Cartagena on Monday, huge billboards urged a "yes" vote, while Uribe led hundreds of supporters with umbrellas in the colours of the Colombian flag urging voters to back "no." The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, began as a peasant revolt, became a big player in the cocaine trade and at its strongest had 20,000 fighters. Now its some 7,000 fighters must hand over their weapons to the United Nations within 180 days. Colombians are nervous over how the rebels will integrate into society, but most are optimistic peace will bring more benefits than problems. "I can't believe this day has finally come," said an excited Juan Gamarra, 43, who sells jewellery in Cartagena. Colombia has performed better economically than its neighbours in recent years, and peace should reduce the government's security spending and open new areas of the country for mining and oil companies. But criminal gangs may try to fill the void in rebel-held areas, landmines hinder development and rural poverty remains a huge challenge. With peace achieved, Santos, a member of a wealthy Bogota family, will likely use his political capital to push for tax reforms and other measures to compensate for a drop in oil income caused by a fall in energy prices. Big screens were set up around the nation of 49 million people so that thousands could watch the ceremony live. "It's such an important day," said Duvier, a nom de guerre for a 25-year-old rebel attending a FARC congress last week in the southern Yari Plains that ratified the peace accord. "Now we can fight politically, without blood, without war." (Additional reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb in the Yari Plains, Patricia Zengerle in Cartagena; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Kieran Murray)
Gov. Susana Martinez made a quick trip to Dallas today for a political fundraiser that will take place tomorrow morning, according to the Governors Office.

While details about the fundraiser were not immediately available, Martinez has reported receiving large financial contributions from Texans in previous years.

The two-term Republican governor has traveled outside the state frequently in recent months, in some cases because of her duties as chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association.

However, shes also maintained a busy schedule in New Mexico, and made several stops around the state last week to discuss higher education issues.

As for her current trip, Martinez will return to New Mexico tomorrow afternoon, a spokesman said.

The governors political committee, Susana PAC, will cover her travel costs.

Pet the state Constitution, Lt. Gov. John Sanchez is serving as acting governor with Martinez outside state lines.
Downtown Albuquerque is ground zero this week for anyone involved in, aspiring to join, or simply curious about New Mexicos burgeoning technology industry.

ExperienceIT, organized by the New Mexico Technology Council, will offer a series of technology-related events and social gatherings starting Tuesday and culminating Friday in an all-day conference and evening walking tour of Downtown technology businesses.

Its an opportunity for the community to come together to discuss and showcase our success, said Technology Council Executive Director Nyika Allen. Were growing the technology scene and industry in New Mexico, and we need collaborative, community efforts like this to network, learn from one another and keep building momentum.

It follows on the heels of Umbrella Week in mid-September, which offered nearly two dozen workshops, festivals and gatherings around Albuquerque for people involved in or interested in the arts, technology and culture.

Both Umbrella Week and ExperienceIT grew out of TechFiesta, an annual celebration that began in September 2013 with weeklong events Downtown.

TechFiesta turned into Umbrella Week this year, Allen said. The title and focus changed a bit this time to be a more encompassing celebration of not just technology, but design, culture and the arts. But the Technology Council also wanted a week of its own, so we organized ExperienceIT.

Many businesses and organizations are participating, but the largest backer is Comcast Corp., which helped sponsor and advertise all the activities, and will contribute a top-notch expert at the Friday conference. The keynote speaker is Comcasts national chief information officer, Scott Alcott, who will discuss how businesses can leverage technology to improve customer experience.

He handles all the information technology systems for Comcast across the country, said Comcast area Vice President Chris Dunkeson. Hes a real technology expert. Were excited to participate because we want to help develop the technology industry here and bring more jobs to the city.

The company will also host a Comcast vipIT reception on Thursday night, an invitation-only event for technology, business and economic development professionals. The event will showcase Comcasts latest technology developments with food and music.

The week kicks off Tuesday night with LaunchIT, a panel discussion organized by the Coronado Ventures Forum that will highlight the challenges and achievements of three technology companies that launched in Albuquerque. That includes the Cyber Security firm RiskSense, the online marketing and brand-building company BoomTime, and CleanSpot, which launched a new ActiveClean all-natural hand sanitizer in Albuquerque this month.

Wednesday night is Yelptropolis, a festival-like social gathering at the El Rey Theater Downtown, with live music and food from 17 local restaurants, breweries and wineries. The Technology Council is organizing that event with Yelp, the national online review site for local businesses.

The festival will include information booths and exhibits by nonprofit organizations, and programs that promote science, engineering, technology and math, or STEM, education.

The Explora museum will occupy the entire top floor of El Rey with an exhibit for adults, Allen said. Its free to get in, but participants need to RSVP through Yelp, and were encouraging people to make donations to benefit the nonprofit organizations and programs.

The all-day conference on Friday at the Andaluz Hotel includes a trade show and dozens of speakers. Its divided into four tracks: customer relations management for technology companies, manufacturing, creative technology businesses and human resource issues, such as how to find or develop technology-related talent in New Mexico.

We selected different tracks for the conference that match problems in the community, or common needs and challenges that people in technology businesses need to talk about, Allen said. Its not just for the techies, but for everyone involved in the technology industry, including sales, marketing and human resource people. Its all aimed at helping technology companies as they grow in New Mexico.

The conference is followed by a walking tour of six technology businesses Downtown, including BoomTime, the ABQid business accelerator, the FatPipe information technology incubator, the online point-of-sale software company Lavu, the online event ticket seller Hold My Ticket, and Rural Sourcing, the software development and support services company that took over the old Flying Star building Downtown.

Overall, ExperienceIT aims to draw more people into the technology community and get them excited about emerging opportunities in Albuquerque, said Gary Oppedahl, director of Albuquerques Economic Development Department.

Were creating a broad platform for innovation here and we want to make sure the whole community is included, Oppedahl said. Its not just about getting people already involved in technology to turn out, its also to attract people who are capable of participating in technology and innovation, but dont know it. We want to get them involved and this week can help highlight that.

Its also a major achievement for the Technology Council, a trade organization with 160 member companies that formed in 1999. Its grown and expanded in recent years, taking a leadership role in Albuquerques emerging technology startup and innovation scene.

The council more than doubled its annual budget to $200,000, growing its staff from one part-time employee to three full-time people. It also received two contracts since last year  $5,000 from the state and $20,000 from the City of Albuquerque  to organize technology-related entrepreneurial events and activities.

ExperienceIT is one of the best events weve seen to date from the Technology Council, said Eric Renz-Whitmore, a former council staff member who is now a consultant for the city. Its working to bring folks with skills and talent together to build the technology community. That helps create a really cool environment for innovation and business activity.

For more information, visit the ExperienceIT website at https://nmtechcouncil.org/experienceit-new-mexico-technology-week/.
DUSHSANBE -- Tajikistan says China plans to finance and build several outposts for Tajik border guards along the Tajik-Afghan border.

A Tajik government decree published on September 26 said the move would bolster Tajik security. The decree said the government instructed the State National Security Committee to sign an agreement with China to provide for the construction of 11 outposts of various sizes, as well as a training center for border guards.

The 1,345-kilometer Tajik-Afghan border is a major concern for Dushanbe, as Afghan drug smugglers regularly clash with Tajik border guards, and Afghan Taliban militants increase their activities along the border.

China, which according to official statistics sells goods worth $2.5 billion a year to Tajikistan, built one outpost on the Tajik-Afghan border, its first one, earlier this year.

With reporting by Reuters

msh/rc
Federal government trade statistics for U.S. metropolitan statistical areas have just been released and the importance of the U.S. border region as a portal for exports is strikingly clear. El Paso MSA, with $24.5 billion in exports in 2015, has become the 11th-largest exporting MSA in the entire U.S., behind only select behemoths, such as Houston, New York and Los Angeles.

Perhaps even more important is the fact that, with $21.1 billion in exports, El Paso jumped from fourth place to overtake Detroit as the No. 1 exporting MSA to Mexico in the U.S. El Paso ranks ahead of giants, such as Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Dallas-Fort Worth, as an exporting base to Mexico. This latest development is even more incredible considering that the El Paso MSA, with just under a million people, has but a fraction of the population bases it bested.

Many people might argue that El Paso benefits from a paperwork effect, in the sense that a product made in other states or countries is accounted for by the customs broker handling the paperwork as an El Paso export, even though it is not. Other people argue that, if the product is simply staged and warehoused in El Paso, once it goes to a country such as Mexico, the MSA is benefiting very little from this trade flow.

Yes, manufacturing and other value-added operations usually require higher skills and pay their workers more, but there is definite value in creating a warehousing/logistics base revolving around exports. The value is generated in the construction of the warehouses that house the product, the taxes paid on these facilities and the equipment inside, the tax base that the workers salaries generate within a community, and the multiplier effect of the operation purchasing local supplies and services.

More good news in the Paso del Norte region (West Texas, southern New Mexico and Juarez) centers on the rise of the Santa Teresa region of southern Dona Ana County as a major export platform in the region. The Las Cruces MSA saw exports rise by 18.3 percent in 2015 to $1.59 billion. The MSA has approximately 213,000 residents and the city of Las Cruces is the largest population element. However, most of the export growth within this MSA is accounted for by the region around the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.

In 2015, exports from the Albuquerque MSA, which is the states largest population and industrial base, rose by 12.6 percent to $1.77 billion. The Albuquerque and Las Cruces MSAs account for approximately 92 percent of New Mexicos worldwide exports, with Albuquerque at 48.3 percent and Las Cruces at 43.7 percent.

If higher export growth occurs in Santa Teresa in the rest of 2016 and future years, this industrial base could overtake the Albuquerque MSA and could soon generate more than 50 percent of New Mexicos total worldwide exports.

At present, the Santa Teresa region is accounting for the overwhelming majority of New Mexicos exports to our southern neighbor, as nearly all of the Las Cruces MSAs exports are destined for Mexico. Well more than a billion dollars in exports (a conservative figure) is being generated by the Santa Teresa region, which is between 60 percent and 70 percent of the states total exports to Mexico. The first half of 2016 saw New Mexicos trade with Mexico rise by another 17.4 percent, with the border region being responsible for most of this increase.

Years ago, I predicted that the biggest economic development opportunity for New Mexico was trade with Mexico, which the El Paso region had discovered in the 1960s. In the 1990s, Intels plant in Rio Rancho was accounting for as much as 80 percent of the total states exports. As New Mexicos exports to Mexico increased during the past 15 years, this percentage has decreased to approximately 34 percent in 2015. Although many people are worried that Intels Rio Rancho plant is on its way to being phased out, the increase of New Mexicos exports in the southern part of the state could pick up some of the slack.

What will sustain the growth in Texass west and New Mexicos southern border regions? It is predicted that Mexico will be producing more than 5 million vehicles per year by 2020. Additionally, Mexicos aerospace and electronics industries are expanding along the border and in the countrys interior. The U.S. border has become a gigantic supply base for these Mexican industries, with U.S. and foreign companies producing plastic components, fabricated metal, electronics, wire and other production inputs for companies south of the border. According to trade specialist Robert Queen, who covers the El Paso MSA and New Mexico for the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, most of El Pasos export growth is accounted for by the expansion of existing businesses in that city, most likely as a reaction to Mexicos growing industrial base.

Santa Teresas growth is also a factor of what is happening in Mexico, but the increased exports are a combination of existing companies expanding and the recruiting of new companies that already have a strong export relationship with a Mexican partner. Approximately 75 percent of Santa Teresas exports to Mexico are products manufactured in Santa Teresa. Thus, the more that New Mexico and West Texas make their border regions attractive for suppliers to Mexicos industrial base, the greater chance they will have to sustain the impressive export growth.

Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com.
Independent oil producers in New Mexico and West Texas are waging a David and Goliath battle to impose import quotas on oil from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

A new Panhandle Import Reduction Initiative, launched last April by prominent producers in the San Juan Basin in the Four Corners and the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas, has support from about 600 local operators and related industry businesses. The independent companies involved say its time for the U.S. to fight back against the OPEC price war that began two years ago and which now threatens to drive many domestic companies out of business.

But they face a steep uphill battle not only to convince federal officials to enact protectionist measures in todays globalized free-market economy, but also to unite the industry as a whole behind such action, since many trade associations and large corporate producers oppose it.

Initiative leaders will hold a public rally in Carlsbad on Tuesday to drum up more public support and to put OPEC on notice that it could face restrictions on access to the U.S. if it continues to deliberately overproduce crude for an already-flooded market, said Daniel Fine, associate director of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, who is working to build the movement.

This is a warning shot for OPEC that were drawing a line in the sand in New Mexico and West Texas, Fine said. Unless they agree to freeze overproduction and abandon the strategy of using low prices to shut down Southwest shale-oil production, they could face import quotas.

Fine has prepared a white paper for action that the movement plans to deliver to the federal government in March, three months after a new U.S. president takes office. The papers central tenets will be unveiled at the Carlsbad rally.

Surging world supply and decreasing demand in the sluggish global economy set the stage for a drop in crude prices in 2014. But a decision that year by OPEC to lift all production ceilings for member countries greatly aggravated oversupply, driving prices for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate down from more than $100 per barrel in mid-2014 to about $43 today.

The domestic oil industry slipped into crisis, leading to some 250,000 layoffs nationwide and about 160 oil companies going bankrupt. In New Mexico, about 6,000 people lost their jobs, and between 12,000 and 18,000 if direct and indirect jobs are included.

The state now faces a $589 million budget deficit caused largely by declining oil and gas revenue, and drops in income and gross receipts taxes in the oil-producing zones. A special legislative session is expected in the next few weeks to deal with the financial fallout.

Industry not united

If the movement hopes to garner federal support, it must first break down opposition in its own ranks. Five trade organizations, including the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and four others in Texas, wrote a letter last May to initiative leaders rejecting import quotas as a violation of free trade that could bring unintended and unmanageable consequences.

It goes against our principles, said Stephen Robertson, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. Were very much for free trade.

The industry successfully lobbied last year for the federal government to lift a 40-year ban on exports of U.S. crude. Rather than restrict imports, trade associations should encourage producers to take advantage of foreign markets, Robertson said.

We fought hard as proponents for lifting the export ban because we want to give our producers opportunities to be in as many markets as they can to get the best value for their product, Robertson said.

Restricting imports could also hurt domestic refineries, said NMOGA Vice President Wally Drangmeister, because many of them are better designed to process foreign imports of heavy crude, rather than the typical light crude pulled from domestic shale formations.

Given the configuration and setup of our refineries, its often more efficient to import heavier crude thats refined on the Gulf Coast and export lighter crude to other refineries around the world that are more efficient at that, Drangmeister said. The free market is better equipped to handle that type of optimization, rather than the government coming in to control things.

Initiative leaders, however, say such opposition largely reflects the lopsided impact of OPECs price war on small and medium-sized independent producers compared with large corporations that already produce and market their products on a global scale.

The bigger companies are vertically integrated, said T. Greg Merrion of the Merrion Oil and Gas Corp. in Farmington. They not only produce, but refine and distribute oil and gas. If youre involved in the entire chain, then perhaps youre not hit as negatively as the independent companies who only produce oil and gas, and sell it at the wellhead.

Independents hardest hit

The import quota initiative is a grass-roots movement based on support in communities directly affected by bust conditions in the oil industry, Fine said.

Its organized by the small and medium-sized companies, who are the ones most damaged by the OPEC price war, Fine said.

There are about 500 independent producers in New Mexico, about 300 of whom are members of the Independent Producers Association of New Mexico. That trade group has not taken a public position on the import quota initiative.

Protecting the smaller companies is critical, said John Yates Jr. of Yates Petroleum in Artesia, which recently merged with EOG Resources of Texas.

Its not in the publics interest to see a viable industry die on the vine, Yates said. The public will end up suffering the pain if Mideastern and Persian Gulf companies gain market share and put us over the barrel again to then speculatively run up prices. Its in the publics interest to keep domestic supplies strong and not be slaves to other countries.

Indeed, initiative leaders say their proposal will put the U.S. back on a path to energy self-sufficiency, which appeared in reach with the U.S. shale-oil revolution until OPEC flooded markets to drive down prices and regain market share in the U.S.

Given OPECs cartel control over production to set prices, imposing import quotas is not a free-trade issue, but one of national security, said Tom Cambridge, owner and chairman of Cambridge Production in Amarillo, Texas.

We have no trade agreements with OPEC countries that wed be violating, Cambridge said. Its about keeping them from driving U.S. producers out of business.

The initiative wants to impose quotas on imports of light crude oil from all countries outside of North America to specifically defend the light oil they produce in shale-rock formations. It would not affect imports of conventional, heavy crude, and it would not apply to Canada and Mexico.
NEW YORK  It is a double-edged cybersword: a negative review of a restaurant or other business, posted for the world to see.

Anyone who peruses Yelp!, TripAdvisor, Google and companies own websites can see complaints about bad food, surly sales associates, late deliveries or defective merchandise. But some business owners, even when they are chagrined or embarrassed, regard a bad review as valuable information that will help them improve.

Jeff Gates, who co-owns eight restaurants in the Boston area, says online reviews give him a steady flow of feedback and likens them to the comment cards few diners fill out. He reads and responds to every post, and consults with staffers to understand what worked and what didnt.

If multiple people are picking up on the same issue, thats something we really want to focus on, says Gates, whose restaurants include Aquitaine and Gaslight Brasserie.

Some negative reviews may be inevitable, especially with a business that has hundreds of customer interactions each day. Miscommunications can lead to mistakes, restaurants can be short-staffed and businesses do fall down on the job.

Gates also looks at whos leaving the reviews. If theres a pattern of skewering restaurants, it could be a customer who cant be satisfied. Jim Turner, who owns Turners Seafood restaurants in Melrose and Salem, Mass., says he knows customers who have too much to drink and are asked to lower the volume will post complaints about how they were treated.

You have to accept that everybody is going to have that, everybody is going to have those customers, says Turner, who responds to each review privately.

Negative reviews can be irritating, Turner says, but because they point out issues like poor service, they spur him to address any problems, which in turn lifts the restaurants ratings.

Owners who contact reviewers are sometimes able to get a bad review updated and improved. But even businesses that take a constructive attitude can find it difficult or even impossible to get a review removed. They can appeal to site operators, but most reviews stand.

Some angry businesses owners have sued people who wrote the reviews but, unless they can prove they were libeled because of false information, theyre not likely to win. Some businesses have also sued sites like Yelp!, but also unsuccessfully. Last week, a federal appeals court ruled against an owner who contended that Yelp! should be held responsible for a negative review.

Lawmakers are taking steps to protect reviewers and review sites. The House has passed a bill that would prevent businesses from requiring customers to sign agreements that they wont post negative reviews. A similar Senate version passed last year, so the two will have to be reconciled before the measure goes to the president. A law outlawing such agreements took effect in California last year.

Brandon Gerson, who oversees marketing for Hudson Allergy, a medical practice in New York, actually considers reviews part of that strategy. Patients are given tablet computers and encouraged to write reviews before they leave the office. If theyre unhappy with any aspect of the practice, they get a response.

Shirley George Frazier says shes posted five negative assessments among about 50 reviews of restaurants, hotels and other businesses. She says reading customer reviews helps her make informed decisions and hopes negative reviews will motivate business managers to correct the situation.

I expect good service and a good environment and, when that goes downhill in whatever way it does, the room or front desk or room service, I am absolutely disappointed, says Frazier, who lives in Paterson, N.J.

An owner who gets a nasty or unreasonable review may want to make a snarky response, but that will only invite more vitriol, says Darnell Holloway, Yelp!s director of business outreach. People who see a contentious exchange may give that business a pass.

A long and angry Google post that complained about the food and service at BBQd Productions in Third Lake, Ill., and made personal comments about the staff felt like a punch in the gut, owner Kris Schoenberger says. He resisted responding in kind, but posted a reply offering to speak with the reviewer.

You have to take the high road, and you have to be bigger and better, says Schoenberger, whose company has a 4.6 rating on Google.

Some owners try to limit the number of jabs people can take. Opera Bracelets owner Cindy Battisti allows only those who have bought her jewelry inspired by opera stories to post reviews on her site  not people who havent had a bracelet in their hand.

If people make disparaging comments on Battistis Facebook ads, she responds with more information about the bracelets and a link to her website.

Its easy to take it personally, because my business is me, but youve got to be professional, says Battisti, who lives in Rochester, N.Y.

Eighty percent of the reviews on Yelp! are three stars or higher, says Holloway. And while businesses want high ratings overall, many owners believe a perfect score looks dishonest.

Theres something sort of suspicious about a business that has an immaculate record, Gerson says. You cant please everyone.

Follow Joyce Rosenberg at www.twitter.com/JoyceMRosenberg. Her work can be found here: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joyce-m-rosenberg
BAGHDAD  An unlikely array of forces is converging on the city of Mosul, lining up for a battle on the historic plains of northern Iraq that is likely to be decisive in the war against the Islamic State group.

The tacit alliance  Iraqi troops alongside Shiite militiamen, Sunni Arab tribesmen, Kurdish fighters and U.S special forces  underscores the importance of this battle. Retaking Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, would effectively break the back of the militant group, ending their self-declared caliphate, at least in Iraq.

But victory doesnt mean an end to the conflict. In a post-Islamic State Iraq, the enmities and rivalries among the players in the anti-IS coalition could easily erupt.

The battle, expected near the end of the year, threatens to be long and grueling. If IS fighters dig in against an assault, they have hundreds of thousands of residents in the city as potential human shields. And as residents flee, they fuel the humanitarian crisis in Iraqs Kurdish region around Mosul, where camps are already overcrowded with more than 1.6 million people displaced over the past two years. Humanitarian groups are rushing to prepare for potentially 1 million more who could be displaced by a Mosul assault.

The biggest prize captured by the militants after they overran much of northern, western and central Iraq in the summer of 2014, Mosul has been vital for the Islamic State group. The reserves in its banks provided a massive cash boost to the group, and the citys infrastructure and resources helped IS as it set up its caliphate across Iraq and Syria.

Mosul was the location chosen by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to make his first public appearance after declaring the caliphate, a triumphant sermon delivered at a historic mosque in the old city. For the past two years, much of the leadership seems to have operated from Mosul.

If Mosul is retaken, it would be a nearly complete reversal of the jihadis 2014 sweep. The group would be left with only a few pockets of territory in Iraq. IS fighters have already responded to battlefield losses by reverting to guerrilla-style tactics or retreating into neighboring Syria to defend the groups territory there, which is also rapidly eroding.

For weeks, the disparate forces have clawed back territory in Nineveh province, where Mosul is located, seizing villages and key supply lines. Still, the Iraqi militarys closest position is some 30 miles south of Mosul and there remain dozens of militant-held villages with civilian populations that the troops must take before reaching the citys outskirts. Kurdish forces are closer, some within 10 miles of the city to the north and east.

U.S.-led coalition forces have sped up training for Iraqi troops and Kurdish fighters, condensing courses that once took more than two months into just four weeks. In July, the Pentagon announced that 560 more U.S. troops would deploy to Iraq to transform Qayara air base, south of Mosul, into a staging hub for the final assault.

Still, Iraqs military is thousands of soldiers short of the estimated 30,000 troops needed to launch the assault, and the existing forces are stretched thin trying to hold other recaptured territory, particularly in western Anbar province.

Iraqs biggest challenge is generating the forces required to get to Mosul, said Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, the head of U.S ground forces in Iraq. If you want to pull someone out of Anbar to go to Mosul, youve got to put somebody else there.

Iraqs military fell apart when it fled Mosul in the face of the IS blitz two years ago, with a third of its troops melting away. In the ensuing months, it was revealed that tens of thousands of troops on the rolls did not exist: They were only names whose pay was pocketed by commanders. Since then, the military has been slowly rebuilding, while other armed forces such as Shiite militias and Iraqs Kurdish forces have steadily grown in strength.

The rivalries within the alliance are already starting to show and are likely to come to a head once IS falls.

The Kurds, who seized large swaths of territory during the fight against the militants, want to keep it. Iranian-backed Shiite militias demand recognition for the political and military strength they have garnered during the war. The Sunni minority is deeply worried about Shiite domination and discrimination, and those fears are likely only to grow as the community tries to recover from Islamic State rule and return to their homes.

The Shiite-led government in Baghdad will have to balance among these factions.

The most immediate question will be whether Shiite militias and Kurdish forces will join the assault into mainly Sunni Arab Mosul. Its a sensitive issue. Shiite militias have been accused of abuses against Sunnis in other areas they have retaken from the Islamic State group. If Kurds capture parts of the city, it gives them a strong card in future negotiations over the territory they hold.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said all forces will participate in the Mosul operation, a nod to Kurdish and Shiite militia demands.

But at a news conference last week, he also said Iraqi military decisions must respect the delicate ethnic balance in Nineveh province, where most of the population is Sunni Arab, with pockets of Kurds, Shiites, Christians, Yazidis and other minority groups.

When asked what role Shiite militias would have in Mosul, al-Abadi was circumspect. I dont want Daesh to make use of sectarian conflicts, he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

Sunnis make up the vast majority of the 3.3 million Iraqis displaced by the conflict. The treatment of civilians in Mosul will likely be seen as a test of the governments commitment to lasting political reconciliation. The marginalization of Sunnis and increasingly sectarian politics under al-Abadis predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki, fueled the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq to begin with.

For al-Abadi, retaking Mosul is a key political prize. In office just over two years, he has faced increasing anti-government sentiment fueled by IS attacks in and around the capital and the failure to fight corruption or bring reconciliation.

Al-Abadi said he believes Iraq is more unified today than when he took office, but difficulties still remain and new challenges are likely to erupt after Mosul is liberated.

Some people tell me we should delay the liberation of Mosul because of these challenges, he said. I say: No.

____

Keath reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Balint Szlanko and Salar Salim in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.
DOUBLE-CHECKING THE TRAMWAY/PASEO TURN SIGNAL: Alan G. emails, its been a few months since the timing of the traffic light at Tramway Boulevard and Paseo del Norte was changed. It appears that this change was to give northbound traffic an advantage to make a left turn west onto Paseo.

And that means traffic heading south on Tramway has to wait unusually long for a green light. The green arrow for northbound traffic to turn west on to Paseo stays on even when there are no cars close to making this turn. Meanwhile, the northbound light on Tramway stays green, while the southbound light remains red, holding up traffic.

Alan says signals should keep the flow of traffic running smoothly, not cause unnecessary delays.

The county agrees.

Bobby Baker, traffic control administrator for Bernalillo County, says that the purpose of servicing this left turn after the north/south green  which is referred to as a lagging left  is to keep the north/south traffic flowing and in coordination. The southbound traffic gets a green prior to the north-to-west left-turn arrow, so they do not have to wait at the beginning of the cycle. Either way, this arrow is going to service and stop southbound traffic whether its at the beginning or the end of the cycle.

However, this left-turn arrow should not service if there are no vehicles in the left-turn lane, so Ill have to double check the programming. Thank you for bring this to my attention.

DID I-25 WIDENING STOP SHORT? After a recent column on widening work on Interstate 25 between Rio Bravo and Broadway (and the new third lane in each direction remaining closed until that interchange is rebuilt to keep drivers from jockeying from two to three, then back to two lanes), Charlie called to ask why the work stopped around a half-mile short of the Isleta ramps.

Bernadette Bell, public relations officer for the N.M. Department of Transportations District Three office, says the six lanes actually stop just short of Broadway.

The reconstruction project, of which the last 1 linear mile was preservation  mill and inlay  tied into the adjacent preservation project to the south of it (that) was recently completed just a couple of years ago. The pavement remains in good condition there, so there was no need to alter it at this time.

WHY SO MANY WRECKS ON I-40 AT RIO GRANDE? Etwexler emails, I get text messages about accidents and am amazed at how frequently accidents occur at I-40 and Rio Grande in the morning.

They are so frequent that I can only guess there is a real design flaw at the location. Do you have any information about the situation there?

Having driven that stretch of highway myself, I would cite serious congestion and bad merging during morning rush hour. But thats just me.

N.M. Department of Transportation folks say they do not always learn about the cause of accidents and recommend contacting law enforcement. Albuquerque Police Department officer Tanner Tixier first offers the disclaimer that he is not an engineer, then adds: I dont believe that there are any design issues that would contribute to these accidents. My best guess would be that its a combination of the amount of cars merging from Coors combined with driver inattention, (but) I havent pulled any accident reports though to confirm my suspicions.

A CALL COULD STOP THE SPEEDERS ON OURAY: Pmontano2 emails, can something be done about the excessive speeding on Ouray between Coors and Ladera NW?  Frequent radar is needed at various times of the day/week. The city is losing revenue by not issuing speeding citations to the drivers.

Tixier says anyone with speed/traffic concerns can contact their local substation, Northwest Area Command in this case, and request speed trailers, extra patrol, etc. The six area command numbers are at cabq.gov; the Northwest number is 768-4850.

AND IT WORKS: This summer, ga27m emails, I called 311 and asked something be done about the speeding on Tingley Beach. I use it go and return about four times a week and experienced an average of three speeders flying around me about 50 mph each week. (Several) weeks ago a sign stating the speed limit is 25 and blinking Your Speed (and the mph) was set up. I got passed yesterday by my first speeder. I want to thank whomever was in charge of placing the sign there. Hugs to you, sign placer! Thanks.

Assistant editorial page editor DVal Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; or P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103.
What a difference a single word can make.

In the case of New Mexicos high-wage tax credit law, simply changing the word or to and could save the state tens of millions of dollars, according to a recent Legislative Finance Committee report.

Enacted in 2004 and amended several times during the following decade, the high-wage tax credit provides eligible companies up to $12,000 per employee making at least $60,000 in urban areas and $40,000 in rural ones, with no limit on the number of credits claimed.

The statute currently reads as follows:  Eligible employer means an employer that: (a) made more than fifty percent of its sales of goods or services produced in New Mexico to persons outside New Mexico during the applicable qualifying period; or (b) is certified by the economic development department to be eligible for (the Job Training Incentive Program).

Changing or to and in the statute would require companies to be eligible for the Job Training Incentive Program, which has guidelines that specifically exclude extractive industries like oil and gas companies.

Those companies are among the top recipients of the credit in recent years, even though such companies are not an intended recipient for the credit, the report said.

The committee has said the credit, which is meant to attract out-of-state companies to New Mexico, and encourage new and expanding companies to pay their employees relatively high wages, is unlikely to alter the behavior of an extractive company, which operates where the resources are available and bases employee wages on macroeconomic factors.

A spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez said she is willing to consider changing the statute.

As she has in the past, the Governor is open to considering legitimate changes to the credit in order to preserve and honor its original intent: to help attract the creation and development of new, high-paying positions in New Mexico, said Chris Sanchez in an email. So long as the intent of legislators is to make it work better, and not to kill this jobs incentive completely, we believe we can agree on certain improvements.

Jon Clark, one of the economists who wrote the report, said the or versus and issue has resulted in tens of millions of dollars going out the door to unintended recipients.

The report estimates that change could save the state as much as half of what it is currently spending on the high-wage credit.

Information provided to the committee by the states Taxation and Revenue Department showed that in fiscal year 2015, 46 percent of the $65.8 million high-wage tax payout went to extractive industries, or about $30 million. In fiscal year 2016, 43 percent of the $58.2 million high-wage tax credit payout went to extractive industries, or about $25 million. For fiscal year 2017, that number is currently 51 percent of $25.5 million, or about $13 million, which only reflects pending payouts and not all the credits likely to be distributed over the rest of the fiscal year.

Jason Espinoza, president of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, said the decision to cut an entire sector out of a tax credit should not be taken lightly.

Credits are necessary to make New Mexico competitive in an unfavorable tax environment, said Espinoza. If theres a chance that the credit incentivizes a company to move a job from the Permian Basin, we should take that into consideration.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

LAS CRUCES  A year into a new federal immigration enforcement program, New Mexico has seen a sharp decline in Immigration and Customs Enforcements use of its controversial detainers, or 48-hour holds, even as the agency continues to target some nonviolent offenders for deportation, according to new data.

The Priority Enforcement Program, or PEP, launched in July 2015. It aims to sharply curtail ICEs use of the so-called detainers, which ask local jails to hold suspects arrested on unrelated charges 48 hours beyond their release dates to give agents time to investigate their immigration status.

The number of detainers issued by ICE has plummeted. But immigrant advocates say that while the new enforcement priorities directed ICE to shift resources toward removing foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes, ICE continues to use detainers to target people with no criminal record.

ICE issued 409 detainers in fiscal 2015 in New Mexico, down from 3,170 detainers issued in fiscal 2011, according to data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The data do not show how many of those individuals were deported.

The peak came at the height of the Secure Communities program that encouraged local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE through the use of detainers and other methods  a program local New Mexico law enforcement broadly rejected and which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he wants to revive.

Sixty percent, or 244, of the detainers issued last year by ICE in New Mexico were connected to individuals with no criminal record, according to the TRAC data.

Controversial tool

Its not clear how much of the decline in detainers is due to the shift to the PEP from Secure Communities and how much of the drop was the result of New Mexico jails increasing refusal to cooperate with the detainers.

The use of detainers grew increasingly controversial after federal courts in some jurisdictions ruled they didnt hold the force of a warrant, leaving local jails  notably Dona Ana and San Juan counties  open to civil liabilities. New Mexico jails largely stopped honoring the holds two years ago.

An ICE spokeswoman told the Journal in an emailed response to questions that the agency cannot comment on an external organizations data analysis, such as the TRAC report.

The PEP initiated by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson encourages ICE to issue requests for notification asking detention centers for a heads-up when suspected immigration offenders are about to get out of jail, but it also authorizes the use of detainers when there is sufficient probable cause to find that the person is a removable alien, according to a 2014 DHS memo.

The PEP outlines priority cases for deporting unauthorized immigrants, specifically people dubbed threats to national security, border security or public safety.

What this tells me is the cases they are looking for are slam dunks, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that advocates for tougher immigration enforcement. The people who ICE are now seeking are almost certainly removable.

Patchy enforcement

Sue Long, director of the TRAC Research Center, said the data show that while detainers are not supposed to be issued unless there are convictions for significant offenses  they are being issued even to those without a conviction.

Although most New Mexico county jails have not been honoring the ICE detainers for at least two years, local law enforcement cooperation with ICE is multifaceted and heavily dependent on relationships in New Mexico, said Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a Santa Fe-based immigrant advocacy group. As a result, federal immigration enforcement can be patchy, tougher in one county than another.

In San Juan County, even though they are not illegally holding people beyond their release times, they are cooperating with ICE and that is what is leading to these individuals being put in deportation proceedings, Diaz said. Based on the anecdotal information, a lot of these individuals dont have serious criminal records, but they might have orders of deportation.

Somos has a pending class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Mexico against San Juan County jail for allegedly detaining a Farmington woman in 2012 for 10 days pursuant to an ICE 48-hour detainer after a judge determined she could be released once she paid a $481 traffic violation fine. The jail allegedly did not allow her fine to be paid and instead turned her over to ICE agents. The lawsuit also names DHS and ICE as defendants.

In 2014, Dona Ana County settled a lawsuit involving two sisters who were held at the county detention center for two months under an ICE 48-hour detainer without being formally charged with an immigration violation. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

At the end of the day, the jails obligation is to comply with lawful orders, said Grace Philips, general counsel for the New Mexico Association of Counties. The one thing jail administrators dont get to do is, they dont get to exercise discretion with respect to who they are holding and who they are releasing.

Deportations down

The decline in ICEs use of detainers reflects a broader decline in overall deportations, according ICE statistics.

ICE removals, which were trending higher each year under the Obama administration, peaked in fiscal 2012 at nearly 410,000, then fell to an eight-year low of about 235,000 in fiscal 2015. Fifty-nine percent of those deported last year had been convicted of a crime, ICE statistics show.

Meanwhile, the backlog at federal civil immigration courts climbed to an all-time high of 496,704 at the end of June 2016. The huge caseload is due in large part to the continuing wave of Central American migrants, many of them women and children, who have arrived at the Southwest border and have requested asylum in the United States.
SANTA FE, N.M.  New Mexico election officials have witnessed a surge in online voter registration activity after 460,000 invitation postcards were mailed to residents who appear to be eligible to vote but have not registered.

The New Mexico Secretary of States Office saw a 10-fold increase in weekly online voter registration and updates to voter records. Elections Director Kari Fresquez said that online registrations and updates increased to 10,849 during the week ending on Saturday, from 1,189 the previous week.

The Secretary of States Office sent out postcards invitations on Sept. 19 to a list of addresses generated by the Electronic Registration Information Center, which checked drivers license records against voter registration rolls to locate likely unregistered voters.

The nonprofit center helps 21 member states improve the accuracy of voter registration lists. New Mexico joined the center in July. The deadline to register for fall elections in New Mexico is Oct. 11, when absentee balloting begins.

State Rep. Nora Espinoza, the Republican candidate running to succeed Secretary of State Brad Winter, has criticized the voter registration mailing, raising concerns that postcards went out to noncitizens who may be encouraged to attempt to register and vote.

Rod Adair, a spokesman for Espinoza, said the Secretary of States Office should be focused on purging voter rolls of inaccurate entries before sending out registration mailings.

The cards are confusing. It says, Register to vote,' Adair said. There are lots of people who do not follow all instruction and the potential for fraud is huge.

Fresquez acknowledged that postcards were received by some people who are not eligible to vote, while noting that basic registration requirements  including U.S. citizenship  are clearly stated on the cards and that all registration applications are vetted by an online registration system or local county clerks or both.

Its just a postcard, Fresquez said. Its not an automatic registration.

Fresquez said that there is no easy way to filter out noncitizens from the mailing list because New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division records do not flag noncitizens.

The $114,000 mailing was paid for the by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which helped create the Electronic Registration Information Center in 2012, and by county clerks across the New Mexico.

The Democratic nominee for secretary of state, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver, supports the new state efforts to contact eligible, unregistered voters.

There is really not any harm because theyll have to go through the process of the online registration portal, she said. If someone is a noncitizen and they attempt to register, thats a crime and that can affect a potential path to citizenship. We should have a zero-tolerance policy.

The number of registered voters in New Mexico increased by nearly 50,000 between January and August to 1,247,911. Registration increases among Democrats have outpaced those of Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
SANTA FE, N.M.  New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is traveling to Dallas for a political fundraiser.

Spokesman Mike Lonergan says Martinez traveled on Sunday to attend a Monday-morning fundraiser. More details about the event were not available. The governors political committee is paying for the travel.

The second-term governor travels beyond the state regularly as chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, recently attending a campaign event for North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory as he seeks re-election. The association is a fundraising arm of the GOP dedicated to electing Republican governors.

Martinez plans to return Monday afternoon to New Mexico.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  The University of New Mexico will pay homage this week to acclaimed Mexican-American novelist Rudolfo Anaya, who was recently awarded the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama.

The lecture was created through a donation from the Pastura, New Mexico-born author who also founded the schools creative writing program.

Novelist and poet Rigoberto Gonzalez is scheduled to speak Thursday at an event that is part of the Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya Lecture on the Literature of the Southwest. Anayas novel Bless Me, Ultima was made into a movie in 2013 and an opera based on the book is in the works.

Gonzalez said he is honored to speak at the Anaya lecture, especially since Anaya mentored him as a young writer.

I still have an old, signed copy of Bless Me, Ultima. It has gone with me in all the places Ive lived, said Gonzalez, author of Our Lady of the Crossword.

Gonzalez wrote the summary for Anayas National Humanities Medal.

Literary critics say Anayas Bless Me, Ultima, a World War II-era novel set in New Mexico about a boy and a traditional healer called a curandera, influenced a generation of Latino writers. Its imagery and Mexican-American cultural references were rare at the time of its 1972 publication.

Despite the popularity of Bless Me, Ultima on college campuses throughout the years, the novel was banned in some Arizona schools after a campaign by some who said the book promoted the overthrow of the federal government.

Latino literary critics have called those claims outrageous.

University of New Mexico English professor Bernadine Hernandez said the school was proud to host the lecture series after Anayas recognition by Obama. She said in previous years Acoma Pueblo poet Simon Ortiz and Latina playwright Denise Chavez have been keynote speakers for the lecture series.

Rigo is an example of what Rudolfo Anaya started, Hernandez said. So we are very excited to hear what Rigo has to say.

___

Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/russell-contreras
The Philippines (winter 2014)Western US (fall 2011/2012/2013/2014)Turkey (fall 2010)France/Germany/Denmark/Hollan (summer 2010)Uganda/Tanzania/Kenya (winter 2010)China (fall 2009)France/Italy (summer 2009)South Africa/Lesotho/Mozambique (winter 2009)Southern U.S. (fall 2008/fall 2010/spring 2011)Spain and the Camino de Compostela (summer of 2008)Israel (winter 2008)Eastern U.S. (fall 2007)Great Britain (summer 2007)Venezuela (winter 2007)Japan (fall 2006)Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland (summer 2006)Western US (fall 2005)Ecuador (winter 2005)Italy (spring 2004/summer 2009)France (summer 2004/2005/2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019)Iceland (summer 2003)Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia (Fall 2002)Minneapolis to Chicago (summer 2002)Bolivia (spring 2002)Scandinavia--Finland, Norway, Sweden (summer 2001)Hes followed the Tour de France seventeen times beginning in 2004 , riding much of each year's route, fully loaded, before or after the peloton and sent out regular reports during the race, also posted here.He has a long-running email list that he sends updates to every few days when he's on tour.You can write him at: george6567@yahoo.com. If you like, he'll add you to his e-list.He spends the rest of the year also on a bike, working as a messenger in Chicago.He's also an independent film enthusiast, attending or working at several major film festivals annually, including Telluride and Cannes. His coverage of Cannes is also included here in May of 2004-2015.For a "Chicago Tribune" article on George see the January 17, 2002 entry of the blog. There is also a "Hollywood Reporter" article posted October 25, 2005, and a "Streetwise" cover story posted on April 17, 2010 and stories in French newspapers the past few summers.(I'm Jeff Potter and I helped George get his blog going. I run OutYourBackDoor.com , where I report on a wide range of everyday, affordable, healthy outdoor action. I also sell some hard-to-find indy culture media and other goodies. Lotsa bike stuff!)
The presidential race has undeniably tightened, and it would seem that the stakes of Monday nights first 90-minute debate couldnt be higher.

Of course, that elides the fact that many debate moments have not had a critical impact on the race. Mitt Romney had an outstanding first debate against Barack Obama but did not win. Lloyd Bentsen gutted Dan Quayle, but George H.W. Bush still defeated Michael Dukakis. Ronald Reagan stumbled badly in his first debate with Walter Mondale, but one quip in his second debate and that was that.

Of course, there are other examples when a debate moment seemed to matter: the first Kennedy-Nixon televised debate; Gerald Ford declaring that Poland wasnt under Soviet domination; George H.W. Bush checking his watch in a town hall debate. Except that if you look at John Sidess analysis from 2012 in Washington Monthly, even those debate moments were not all that consequential. The one exception might be the 2000 debates, which contributed to a two-point swing from Gore to Bush. As Voxs Andrew Prokop concludes, it seems that debates likely havent changed the outcome of any recent election except, perhaps, for 2000, which was so close that any number of things could be said to have made the difference.

As for the expectations for this debate, writers ranging from Breitbart to Talking Points Memo believe that Clinton will have the edge. Of course, that means that the expectations bar is higher for Clinton than Trump. She also has the challenge of Debating While Female whereas Trumps proxies make grandiose claims on his behalf. As his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, tweeted: Hes a brilliant debaterHes like the Babe Ruth of debating. He really shows up & swings & does a great job.

Perhaps we should look at this debate in a different way, however. What could Trump or Clinton do Monday night that would be game-changers? Things that would be replayed endlessly on cable news and social media, things that simply cannot be spun?

Here are four possible moments that I think would have an unambiguous effect on the presidential race going forward, ranked in ascending order of probability:

4. Clinton takes ill. Its one thing for Clinton to wobble as a result of a pneumonia diagnosis. If, two weeks later, she seems unwell on the national stage, then she will have played into every Trump claim about her weakness that he has made this entire election cycle. All of the problems with Trumps opacity will fade next to a major-party candidate who is seen to be covering up a serious health problem. If Clinton faints on stage, thats the ballgame.

3. Trump leaves the debate early. This is my favorite wild card. The debate is 90 minutes, one-on-one, without commercial interruption, and without audience participation. In the primary debates, Trump could withdraw for long stretches while the other candidates tried to whack each other. Thats not an option this time. Trump is very skilled at pushing the buttons of a sympathetic crowd, but one-on-one policy debates require a very different skill set. Imagine a scenario in which Trump makes gaffe after gaffe while Clinton remains poised. His Hail Mary move could be to reject the debate as rigged and storm off the stage in a huff.

2. Either candidate seeks help from moderator Lester Holt. With all the fact-checking brouhaha going on, what will matter is whether either candidate seems to need Holt to help them out in a tough moment. I suspect Trump will try to interrupt Clinton repeatedly to rattle her, and I also suspect that Clinton has a few surprises ready to lob at Trump when he says something predictable. The question at that moment is whether the candidates confront each other or turn to Holt as an ally.

To be clear, appealing to Holt will not play well  we expect presidents to be able to hold their own on a debate stage (Clinton did this once in a 2008 debate against Obama, and it did not go well).

4. Trump curses at Clinton. Trump in general displays poor impulse control, and 90 minutes of uninterrupted, one-on-one debating can frustrate even the most poised of candidates. Add in the fact that Clinton is a woman, and Trump doesnt deal with strong women terribly well in the best of times.

Clintons goal is to make Trump look unpresidential, because thats the electorates biggest concern about Trump. The quickest way for Trumps temperament to become the issue is for him to get angry and lose control. Given how he responded to the news that his prominent critic, fellow billionaire Mark Cuban, would be in the debate audience, it seems like this could be a live option.

I would not put money on any of these things actually happening. All of these scenarios are low-probability events. But theyre the most conceivable low-probability events I can conjure up. And, much like people watch NASCAR races to see if there will be a crash, I suspect many people will be watching this debate to see if something analogous happens to either of the major-party candidates.

 Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a regular contributor to PostEverything.

debate-scenarios
BEIRUT  Syrias foreign minister said Monday that an internationally-brokered cease-fire is still viable, as rescue workers in Aleppo sifted through the rubble from the heaviest airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaking to Mayadeen TV from New York, also said the government is prepared to take part in a unity government incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past.

Opposition activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week under a sustained aerial campaign that U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war. The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and Western powers.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, its barbarism, said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Its apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.

Airstrikes on Aleppo on Monday killed at least six people, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run collective. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported hours later that 12 were killed, including three children.

President Bashar Assads media adviser told Al-Mayadeen TV that the Syrian government abided by the cease-fire but the rebels did not. Bouthaina Shaaban said once the truce expired, our Syrian Arab army resumed its operations against terrorists.

Al-Moallem accused the U.S., Britain, and France of convening the Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support terrorists inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is not dead.

Syrias military declared the cease-fire ended one week ago.

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the cease-fire is ineffective, but that Moscow is not losing hope for a political solution to the countrys crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the Kremlin is concerned that terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks.

Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the United States and Britain over Russias actions in Syria.

He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Syrian and Russian governments seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process.

While theyre pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated, Kerry said during a visit to Colombia.

He said the Syrian opposition wont be particularly excited about having a negotiation when theyre being bombed and starved, adding that statements by the Syrian government are almost meaningless.

The White House meanwhile said its difficult to envision any military cooperation with Russia in Syria because Moscow has repeatedly failed to fulfill its commitments to the cease-fire deal.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Syrias government has launched a concerted campaign to strike civilian targets, and that Assads forces are trying to bomb civilians into submission. He says government forces have also targeted the Civil Defense, volunteer first responders also known as White Helmets.

In the central Syrian city of Homs, meanwhile, a second group of rebel gunmen and their families began evacuating from an opposition neighborhood.

Some 120 gunmen and their families are expected to leave al-Waer as part of an agreement to restore the governments authority over the neighborhood, Homs Governor Talal Barazi said.

The agreement struck over al-Waer was in keeping with Assads determination to settle the war on his own terms, securing surrenders through sieges and staying in power at least through an interim period to steer the country out of crisis.

Pro-government forces have kept al-Waer under a steadily tightening siege since November 2013, prohibiting food and medical supplies from reaching the remaining 75,000 residents, down from 300,000 before the start of the war in 2011.

In exchange for the evacuations, the government is permitting aid convoys to supply the neighborhood with badly needed food and medical supplies.

A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district Saturday.

U.N. humanitarian officials have condemned the sieges against civilians as medieval and in contravention to international law.

In New York, al-Moallem reaffirmed his governments proposed roadmap to end Syrias war, saying Damascus would support a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.

___

Associated Press writer Vivian Salama in Cartagena, Colombia, Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.
New Mexico had the third-highest violent crime rate and second-highest property crime rate in the nation in 2015, according to new data released by the FBI on Monday, which also shows an increase in Albuquerques crime rates.

The data show that there were 656.1 violent crimes per 100,000 New Mexico residents last year, more than five times the rate of low-crime states in New England such as Maine and Vermont. The national average was 372.6 violent crimes per 100,000 people.

Violent crime is defined as including murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

And New Mexico was second only to Hawaii in terms of property crime rates with 3,697.4 per 100,000 people.

The data sets are part of Crime in the United States or the Uniform Crime Report compiled each year by the FBI. Law enforcement agencies nationwide voluntarily report their crime data to the FBI, which releases the report to the public the following year.

New Mexico mirrors national trends of a small jump in violent crime rates and a large jump in murders.

Nationally, the violent crime rate rose 3.1 percent in 2015, whereas in New Mexico it rose 9.8 percent.

The rate of murders and non-negligent manslaughters jumped across the country by 11.4 percent, while in New Mexico the rate increased by 16.7 percent.

The property crime rate rose 4.4 percent in 2015 across the state.

Both violent crime and property crime in Albuquerque also increased last year, by 9.2 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively.

The violent crime rate  which was 966 per 100,000 residents  was higher than rates in cities with comparable populations, including Tucson, Louisville, Ky., Las Vegas, Nev., and Oklahoma City.

The property crime rate was also higher than that of Las Vegas, Oklahoma City and Louisville, while slightly below Tucsons.

Through a spokesman, Gov. Susana Martinez responded to the rising crime rates Monday by calling for harsher penalties on repeat offenders and noted the Democratic-controlled state Senate did not pass some crime-related bills she supported.

This is yet another reason legislators need to find the courage to get tough on crime and strengthen penalties against violent offenders, wrote spokesman Michael Lonergan.

Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, the Senate majority whip, said he believes the root causes of the high crime rates are poverty and poor job opportunities.

Crime reduction is everybodys responsibility from the Legislature to the governor, he said. When you see a statistic like this, it is time for Democrats and Republicans to come together to solve these issues in a bipartisan fashion.
Cathy Colvin of Albuquerque has been named the 2016 real estate agent of the year by the REALTORS Association of New Mexico.

She is an associate broker with Vista Encantada Realtors in Albuquerque.

Also winning an award from the association was Marketta Damonte, qualifying broker for Vista Encantada Realtors. She won the Peggy Comeau Leadership Award, given to a member to recognize loyalty and selfless contributions to the association, according to a news release.
Q: Why do we only laugh when someone else tickles us? Why cant I tickle myself?

A: Heres what science has to say:

Your question touches on one of the great mysteries of the human mind. No joke.

Our inability to tickle ourselves has to do with self-awareness. At all times, without even thinking about it, we are conscious of where our limbs are and what our body is doing. And that means no funny business.

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a neuroscientist at University College London, has hooked people up to fMRI machines and monitored how their response to a tickle from a scientist compared with attempts to tickle themselves. When being tickled by someone else, the participants somatosensory cortex (the part of the brain responsible for sense of touch) and anterior cingulate cortex (which deals with emotion, rewards and impulse control) light up like a Christmas tree. But when they try to tickle themselves, that area stays relatively dull while the cerebellum  which is involved in coordinating and regulating muscular activity  gets all the action.

This led her to conclude that the cerebellum is somehow involved in predicting the specific sensations of certain motion  and tamping down the brains response ahead of time. In other words, the cerebellum knows where the hand is heading, determines, Thats gonna feel funny! Shut it down! and cuts off the somatosensory cortexs response before the participant even starts to giggle.

But why? To understand the reason for this response, you have to think about why humans are ticklish in the first place.

That question has a long history  even Darwin wondered about it. Well start in 1897, when psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin coined the first technical terms for tickles (say that 10 times fast). Theres knismesis, the prickly feeling you get when something lightly brushes across your skin. Then theres the far more mysterious gargalesis, the laughter-inducing sensation that only another person can cause.

It seems easy to imagine an evolutionary function for knismesis, Christine Harris, a psychologist at the University of California at San Diego, wrote in a book chapter on the subject. The annoying sensation prompts one to scratch or rub the tickled spot, thereby removing insects or parasites that might be crawling on ones body.

Lots of mammals exhibit this response to a light touch, but only primates are known to get gargalesis. Primatologist Marina Davila Ross has conducted experiments in which she tickled young orangutans, gorillas, chimps and bonobos and recorded laughter-like vocalizations. Chimps even display laugh faces, smiling with their teeth bared, while playing. Ross believes that humans inherited our ability to laugh from our last common ancestor with great apes.

Interestingly, a 2000 study found that lab rats respond to being tickled by scientists with the same chirping noises they use while playing with each other.

Its not entirely clear what the evolutionary benefit of this sort of ticklishness might be. Some argue that laughter  including the ticklish kind  is linked to social intelligence. If youre an animal that has to live and work in groups, it pays to be able to pal around. Robert Provine, a psychologist at the University of Maryland, has suggested that tickling provides a means of communication between parents and infants before the babies are able to talk. Laughing in response to a playful touch could provide positive feedback for parents, making the adults more attentive and their babies more likely to survive.

Another theory suggests that ticklishness promotes protection of vulnerable areas  on the stomach, under the armpits, the soles of the feet  resulting in an adaptive advantage during hand-to-hand combat. (Harris pointed out that this theory doesnt explain why you should laugh and smile while someone tickles your belly.) Alternatively, perhaps tickling makes us both giggly and squeamish in order to encourage other people to tickle us while motivating us to defend ourselves. This would promote rough-and-tumble play that may help the development and acquisition of combat or other skills that have survival benefits, Harris wrote.

Harriss own research suggests that ticklishness is a low-level, automatic physiological response, a biological behavior that we dont have conscious control over. In this, its a lot like being startled, she said  we cant control it or induce it, because if our brain knows whats coming based on signals about muscle movement in the cerebellum, it cuts off the physiological response. From an evolutionary standpoint, theres an obvious advantage to this system: it keeps us alert to possible predators but prevents us from wasting time being startled by our own movements, which arent going to do us harm.

But there are ways to get around it. In her studies on self-tickling, Blakemore has used machines to create a small delay between the movement of the participants hand and the actual tickling motion. The longer she delayed the reaction, the more tickly the participants felt. So it might be possible to tickle yourself, if you are willing to invest in a couple of robots, she wrote in Scientific American.

Monash University professor Jakob Hohwy has achieved the self-tickle by tricking participants into thinking they were in someone elses body (participants wore goggles hooked up to a camera on another persons head). Hes also found that people with schizophrenia are more likely to be able to tickle themselves.

This research sounds silly, but Hohwy says it helps scientists understand how humans make sense of the world. He believes that our brains are hypothesis testers that learn by comparing expectations about our environment to our actual perceptions.

Its a constant, ceaseless function  predictions being tested against what actually happens, and then error-corrected, Hohwy said in a statement. It may explain the basis of perception, learning and action, from birth onward.

science-tickle
Actor Bill Nunn, who played Radio Raheem in Spike Lees classic movie Do the Right Thing, died at age 63 on Saturday. He had been battling cancer and died in Pittsburgh, his wife confirmed to the Associated Press.

While he went on to play numerous other roles, both on film and on stage (including as Joseph Robbie Robertson in the Spider-Man series), Nunn was best known for his role as Radio Raheem, a neighborhood fixture who carted around a giant boombox blasting Public Enemys Fight the Power and wearing love and hate knuckle rings. He is a pivotal character in Lees 1989 movie.

Radio Raheem  who explains the struggle between love and hate to Lees character, Mookie  has a standoff with the neighborhood pizzerias white owner that erupts into a fight. His death, at the hands of police officers who put him in a chokehold as the neighborhood looks on, is the plots climax, the breaking point for anger and frustration that boils over into rioting on the hottest day of the year.

The Radio Raheem character has increasingly been invoked in recent years, as videos of fatal encounters between police officers and black civilians have become headline news, prompted protests and spurred a national conversation about racial bias in law enforcement.

Ironically for these times one of Bills most notable roles is Radio Raheem the [black] man who died from police brutality, tweeted Morehouse College President John Silvanus Wilson. Nunn was an alumnus of the college.

Bill Nunns depiction of Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing illuminated the murder of black men by police before recent real life videos, actor Wendell Pierce tweeted.

Lee himself has highlighted the relevance of Radio Raheem today, particularly following the 2014 death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Staten Island man who died during a police takedown caught on bystander video. I cant breathe, Garner gasped, and those words became a rallying cry as protests ignited across the country after a grand jury declined to indict the officer involved.

Shortly after footage of Garners death went viral, Lee posted a video combining the footage with the Do The Right Thing scene showing Radio Raheems death by chokehold. Garner had been described in the news media by those who knew him as a Gentle Giant, and Radio Raheems was depicted as a towering character.

Do The Right Thing was inspired by real-life incidents, and the movie ends with a dedication to families of Eleanor Bumpurs, Michael Griffith, Arthur Miller, Edmund Perry, Yvonne Smallwood and Michael Stewart, all black New Yorkers who had been killed in the years leading up to the films release.

In a 1989 interview with the New York Times, Lee said the idea for the movie first came about as he read accounts of the 1986 Howard Beach incident. Three black men were attacked by a group of white teenagers outside of a pizzeria in the neighborhood; Griffith, 23, was chased into traffic on the Belt Parkway, hit by a car and died.

In his production journal from 1987, Lee wrote Im making an allusion to the Howard Beach incident by using a pizza parlor as a central element in the plot.

If a riot is the climax of the film, what will cause the riot? Spike Lee wrote in 1987, about the films making. Take your pick: an unarmed black child shot, the cops say he was reaching for a gun; a grandmother shot to death by cops with a shotgun; a young woman, charged with nothing but a parking violation, dies in police custody; a male chased by a white mob onto a freeway is hit by a car.

Of the Radio Raheem character, Lee wrote he envisioned him as the misunderstood Black youth, that he is sympathetic but not an angel, either. Hes lost.

Lee wrote, white people cross the street when they see him coming. The Bernie Goetzes of the world want to kill him. (Bernard Goetz was acquitted of assault and attempted murder for shooting four black youth he told police he feared were going to rob him on a subway car in 1984.)

In the movie, Lee wrote that in the climactic scene, the cops arrive and put a choke hold on Raheem, a la Michael Stewart, the young graffiti artist from Brooklyn who was killed while in police custody.

Stewart was an aspiring artist and model who in 1983 was arrested for tagging a subway station and lapsed into a coma while in police custody, dying 13 days later.

In Do the Right Thing, a crowd watches as police officers restrain Radio Raheem, choking him with a nightstick. A bystander says, They did it again. Just like Michael Stewart. Another says, Murder. Eleanor Bumpurs, a black woman killed in 1984 by two shotgun blasts from a police officer during an eviction dispute in the Bronx.

Even before the films release, controversy swirled around it. Some top critics wrote that the movie would incite real-life rioting. Lee, speaking in 2014, described such responses as racist, essentially as saying black people werent intelligent enough to make the distinction between whats happening on screen and what happens in real life  so they would come out of theaters and riot all across America. You can Google it! Blood was going to be on my hands.

Lee continued: I dont remember people saying people were going to come out of theaters killing people after they watched Arnold Schwarzenegger films.

Years after Do the Right Thing, Nunn recalled what it felt like to film that final, dramatic scene, telling ABC in 2014 that the day was electric.

I felt an electricity in the air, Nunn said. It was palpable throughout the whole neighborhood. I felt a responsibly to the story. I wanted to get it right  get it authentic if we could.

The 25th anniversary of the movie coincided with the same year Garner was killed. Of that bystander video, Nunn said, youre watching a guy lose his life. It was incredibly sad.

For me, Im just getting a little tired of watching these mothers on television, these poor mothers grieving their sons and children, Nunn said. It makes me wonder sometimes where the compassion is.

nunn-appreciation
A critical part of the coalition that elected Barack Obama was younger voters. In 2008, voters under the age of 30, a group that was almost entirely made up of what we often call millennials, backed Obama by a 2-to-1 margin on his way to a blowout victory.

Whether Hillary Clinton can similarly win over younger voters could be the key to her success. One recent poll showed her essentially tied among voters under the age of 35  tied with Libertarian Gary Johnson. Hotlines Josh Kraushaar tweeted about one bit of data from a recent poll that he found surprising.

As people quickly noted, though, white voters under the age of 30 actually preferred Mitt Romney in 2012. In only three of the past 11 presidential races have voters under 30 preferred the Republican, according to exit polls: 1972, 1984 and 1988. In all 11, white voters have backed the Republican. In eight of those 11, white voters under the age of 30 have also backed the Republican. In 1992, it was a tie.

In fact, over that period, white voters under the age of 30 have consistently voted a lot more like white voters overall than like voters under 30 overall. Since 2000, young white voters have voted 23 points more Republican than other young voters on average, and only about 9 points more Democratic than whites on the whole.

In 2004, young white voters backed George W. Bush by 11 points, 14 points closer to how whites voted than how younger voters cast their ballots. In 2008, they were only 2 points closer to whites overall, but in 2012 that difference expanded to 17 points.

Why does Clinton continue to see an edge among younger voters in most polls? Because of her stronger support from young nonwhite voters. Over time, nonwhites have made up a larger percentage of the electorate, particularly among younger voters. Obama did well with younger white voters in 2008, but did phenomenally with young nonwhites. He won the under-30 vote in 2008 by 34 points and won it by 23 points in 2012, despite losing 17 points of support from younger white voters over that period.

One question for Clinton is if she can count on the same depth of support from those voters. Its a question far less of young white voters than young nonwhites. In most polls, the number of nonwhite voters under the age of 30 that are included are relatively small, making this hard to gauge. During the primary, polling suggested that Clintons strength with black voters in particular was much softer among younger black voters, who were more likely to support Bernie Sanders.

This is why Clinton is eager to have Sanders out on the stump as frequently as possible. Its also why shes got Barack Obama making his pitch in Philadelphia and why shes made a concerted effort to woo younger voters.

Sure, Clinton could be doing better with younger white voters, but they typically lean more Republican than other young voters. The part of the younger Obama coalition Clinton needs to replicate is everyone else.

whites
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.  Two Southern California residents have been arrested in Arizona on suspicion of murdering a man who lived on their property and whose body was later found in a shallow desert grave.

The Victorville Daily Press reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2d3Lwx5 ) that 45-year-old Dale Brewster and 48-year-old Debbie Harris were arrested last week at a motel in Seligman, Arizona, about 75 miles west of Flagstaff.

They were wanted in the killing of 39-year-old Allan Godfrey, who was reported missing by his family last April. His body was found in December buried near the California desert community of Llano.

Brewster and Harris, of Phelan, California, are held in lieu of $1 million bail and could face murder charges. It wasnt immediately known if they have attorneys.

___

Information from: Daily Press, http://www.vvdailypress.com
HOUSTON  The Latest on a shooting at in Houston neighborhood (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

Houston police and state and federal agents are still investigating the area where a gunman opened fire at random on passers-by, wounding nine people  six with gunshot wounds and three with eye injuries due to flying glass.

Houston Homicide Capt. Dwayne Ready said investigators believe the gunman, whom police are not yet identifying, acted alone. But with the investigation still underway, Ready said no doors are being closed.

Ready says that other weapons besides the handgun found by the gunmans body and the tommy gun found in his vehicle were at the mans home. Ready would not describe those weapons.

The FBI said there was no immediate indication of any involvement with terrorist groups.

Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database show that the Porsche police were searching at the scene is registered to Nathan DeSai, who lives at the condo complex nearby.

___

4:45 p.m.

Houston police say the gunman in the shootings had two weapons and more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition and was shooting randomly.

Homicide Capt. Dwayne Ready said the gunman was wearing military-style apparel, found some old Nazi emblems in his personal effects at the scene as well as vintage military items dating to the Civil War in his apartment.

Authorities said the man had two legal guns, a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a tommy gun, as well more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition at the scene.

Ready and Interim Police Chief Martha Montalvo did not identify the man and did not have information about a motive.

Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database show that the Porsche police were searching at the scene is registered to Nathan DeSai, who lives at the condo complex nearby.

Nine people were hurt, six of them were shot. Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen says the mayor spoke with the families of people in critical and serious condition, who were told that the wounded will survive.

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4:25 p.m.

The former law partner of the man who randomly opened fire on vehicles in a Houston neighborhood disputes authorities descriptions that he was a disgruntled lawyer with issues.

Authorities have not identified the gunman who was shot and killed Monday morning, but Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database show that the Porsche police were searching is registered to Nathan DeSai, who lives at the condo complex where the shootings occurred.

Kenneth McDaniel said he and DeSai closed their law firm in February due to economic conditions related to Houstons energy industry downturn. McDaniel said the 12-year general law practice had good years and bad years.

McDaniel said DeSai wasnt fired and that hes had no contact with him lately.

Police called McDaniel on Monday morning to check on his safety, and he began to understand what was going on after seeing reports of shootings involving a lawyer.

Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV that the lawyer was disgruntled and was either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm.

McDaniel says that he didnt know DeSai to pull a gun on anyone and that descriptions of him having issues were amazing.

___

4:10 p.m.

Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database show that the Porsche police were searching at the scene of the Houston shootings is registered to Nathan DeSai, who lives at the condo complex where the shootings occurred.

Authorities have not publicly released the name of the gunman, but the license plates of the car matched the DMV registration and a known address at the condo complex for DeSai. The property manager of the condo complex also confirmed that police were going through DeSais residence.

Calls placed to phone numbers connected to DeSai and his father were not answered. DeSais father also did not answer the door at his home.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV earlier Monday that the lawyer was disgruntled and was either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm.

Six people were shot and wounded, while three were hurt by glass and debris.

___

2:40 p.m.

Police are searching the condo of the Houston shooting suspect, who was shot and killed after injuring nine people.

Jason Delgado, the property manager of The Oaks at West University condo complex, confirmed that police are going through the residence belonging to the suspect, who has not been identified by authorities other than as a lawyer.

Delgado said that the suspect twice recently became upset about things at the complex.

Delgado said last week the man became upset because of water pressure problems at his home, asked for maintenance help and expressed his displeasure in an email to the management firm that implied hed intimidate his way to getting what he was asking for.

And in August, police were called after roofers working in the complex said he pointed an assault-style rifle at them. He says there wasnt enough evidence to move forward with charges because the suspect contended he didnt point the gun at roofers.

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11:35 a.m.

A resident of the Houston condo complex where several people were shot says her husband was injured by glass when his windshield was shot at.

Jennifer Molleda says she first heard shots about 6:12 a.m. Monday, when her husband left for work. She called him shortly after and he told her Im hit, Im hit. After the gunfire stopped around 7:15 a.m., she said she found her husband, Alan Wakim, at a strip mall parking lot with two bullet holes in his windshield. He was taken to the hospital.

The suspect was shot and killed by police and has not been identified by authorities.

Lee Williams lives in a home in the neighborhood where the complex is and began directing traffic away after he heard gunfire in the area. He said one car ignored him and immediately was shot at.

Williams says people cut through the neighborhood to avoid some busier intersections.

___

10:50 a.m.

A resident of the Houston neighborhood where a gunman opened fire at passing cars says the man once showed a weapon when he became upset.

The suspect has not been identified by authorities, who said he was a disgruntled lawyer and that there was numerous weapons found at the scene.

Nine people were wounded Monday morning, one critically. Houston Fire Department spokesman Ruy Lozano said six were shot and three had minor injuries related to glass.

Jennifer Molleda, who lives in the same condo complex as the shooter, says the most recent incident came a few weeks ago, when the man brandished an assault-style weapon at roofers in the complex. She didnt have more details.

___

10:05 a.m.

Houston bomb squad technicians are inspecting a Porsche believed to belong to the man police say opened fire at passing cars in a neighborhood, wounding nine.

Interim Police Chief Martha Montalvo says the gunman had several weapons but declined to immediately describe them.

Authorities havent identified the gunman, except to say he was a lawyer that lived in the neighborhood who was having problems with his law firm. Bomb squad officers also were examining his residence.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was in Cuba for a trade mission but told KTRK-TV that it was very, very early in the investigation.

One witness, 30-year-old Antwon Wilson, says he inadvertently drove into the shooting scene after dropping off his girlfriend at work and could literally hear the gunfire flying. He managed to flee and escape injury.

One person is in critical condition and another is in serious condition.

___

9:25 a.m.

The Houston police chief says that the suspect who wounded nine people in southwest Houston was a lawyer and there were issues with his law firm.

Chief Martha Montalvo did not identify the shooter at Mondays news conference.

The shootings began at about 6:30 a.m. When the officers found the suspect, the suspect began firing at them and police shot the suspect. The suspect, who lives in the neighborhood, died at the scene.

Numerous weapons were found at the scene, and a bomb-squad robot is looking at a car thats believed to be the shooters.

Montalvo says nine people were wounded, three were treated and released from a hospital. One is in critical condition and another is in serious condition.

___

8:50 a.m.

Houston police say the suspect is dead in a shooting near a strip mall that wounded six people.

Police said on Twitter that the suspected shooter was DOA, describing the shooting scene as still active but contained.

Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Mann says six people were injured in the shooting early Monday.

The shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall that left five people dead. On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.

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8:05 a.m.

Houston police say several people have been shot at a strip mall in the citys southwest and that officers shot the gunman.

Police said via Twitter Monday that an active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers and that there are no reports of other suspects at this time.

Police say several people have been taken to the hospital but that they cannot provide details about how many were shot or the severity of their injuries.

The Associated Press has left messages seeking comment from the police.

The shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall that left five people dead. On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.
Gennifer Flowers is probably not coming to the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tonight, but thats not really the point. When Clinton invited Mark Cuban, a businessman and sharp critic of Trump, to the debate, Trump responded (whatever his campaign says now) not by inviting someone who questions Clintons credentials to be president, like Patricia Smith, whose son died in Benghazi, to join him. Instead, he suggested that he might bring along a woman who had an affair with Clintons husband. The point wasnt to debate Clinton but to reduce her, yet again, to being nothing more than Bill Clintons wife.

Theres no question that Hillary Clintons marriage is an important part of her biography and resume, or that the Clintons themselves made their relationship a selling point during the 1992. I found Bill Clintons rendition of the fractured fairy tale that is their marriage at the Democratic convention this summer to be touching. But its maddening to watch the conversation about Clinton narrow, time and time again, to her marriage.

Witness the fuss over what Bill Clinton will be called should his wife become the president, whether hell pick out china patterns, and how the country can possibly survive if the presidents spouse does something other than the ceremonial duties that have traditionally been the purview of the first lady.

Less flippantly, Ive been disappointed to see some otherwise smart conservatives express concern that by giving Bill Clinton a role in policy, Hillary Clinton will be setting him loose to harass his new co-workers. Somehow, a legitimate question about how Clinton might pursue harassment policies for 2.6 million civilian federal employees, not to mention 1.5 million members of the military, which has its own shocking weaknesses when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual assault, comes down to a question about one man.

And while conservatives have often focused on Clintons responses to individual women who have said they had relationships with her husband, or accused him of sexual harassment or sexual assault, they tend to ignore her substantive work on behalf of women around the world. I dont have to like the way Clinton spoke about these other women, or to pretend that going to Beijing and declaring that womens rights are human rights somehow wins Clinton some sort of pass to be unkind to other women, to see that the sum of Clintons life and work are more than her reactions to her husbands actions.

But here we are, yet again, in a place where Donald Trump thought that the proper response to Cubans criticisms of Trumps business success and dishonesty about Trumps charitable giving, was to remind the world that Hillary Clintons husband cheated on her.

In a sane world, wed recognize that one of these things is manifestly not like the other. Trump is responsible for his falsified reputation as a businessman and his failures to follow through on his charitable pledges. Bill Clintons inability to control himself is his problem, not a failing of Hillary Clintons making. And in that universe, it might have seemed particularly foolish or hypocritical of Trump to draw attention to the difficulties in the Clintons marriage, which has survived, given that his own unions have not.

But Hillary Clinton has never gotten any credit for keeping her marriage together. Instead, the people who might be inclined to admire another wife who preserved her union in the face of humiliation and insult have instead used the Clintons marriage as evidence of Clintons hunger for power.

And in a way, the fact that the Clintons stayed together while Trump has twice divorced and remarried actually bolsters Trumps brand. He traded up, while the Clintons  those suckers  stayed together. Calling attention to Bill Clintons adultery is a way to ridicule him for staying and to mock Hillary Clinton as a woman who could keep her husband legally married to her, but not compel his fidelity.

When a man leaves a woman, Trump told reporter Marie Brenner for a 1990 profile in Vanity Fair that chronicled his divorce from Ivana Trump and his marriage to Marla Maples, especially when it was perceived that he has left for a piece of [a]  a good one!  there are 50 percent of the population who will love the woman who was left. But Ivanas temporary surge in popularity didnt seem to have soured Trump on this particular deal. In the same piece, he said of Maples, Shes smart, shes very nice, and not ambitious. 

Hillary Clinton is very smart. She has not always been very nice. And she is definitely ambitious. But unlike Ivana Trump or Marla Maples, shes not merely another wife Donald Trump can trash when he finds his next bauble.

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MASON CITY  A Cerro Gordo County jury awarded $900,000 in damages Monday afternoon to the family of a now-deceased Good Shepherd resident in a lawsuit the family filed against the Mason City nursing home.

The jury, which deliberated for about 2 hours on Friday afternoon and for more than six hours on Monday, determined Good Shepherd was negligent in its care of Maria Savas OBrien.

The jury also determined the nursing home showed willful and wanton disregard for the rights and safety of another. However, this conduct was not directed specifically toward Savas OBrien, according to the verdict.

Savas OBriens children will receive $150,000 in damages as compensation for her past physical and mental pain and suffering while she was at Good Shepherd. The jury did not award any damages for loss of function of her body.

Good Shepherd witness says fall did not lead to health decline MASON CITY  An expert testifying for the defense in a Mason City nursing facilitys civil s

The family also is entitled to $750,000 in punitive damages, according to the jury.

Savas OBriens children  Kristine Christensen, Stephanie Prohaski, Anthony Savas and Theodore Savas  had been seeking more than $10 million in damages.

Prohaski, a Mason City resident, said the family feels vindicated.

She said they did not file the lawsuit to make a fortune but to hold Good Shepherd accountable.

Hopefully nursing homes will remember they are dealing with loved ones lives and treat residents the way they deserve to be treated, Prohaski said.

Good Shepherd is expected to release a statement Tuesday in response to the verdict.

Savas OBrien was at Good Shepherd for 2 years. She was taken from Good Shepherd to the hospital in late March 2015 and died in early April 2015 at age 84 while in hospice care.

She weighed 127 pounds when she entered the nursing home and lost 43 pounds while she was there.

Expert witnesses for the family testified during the nine-day trial that a fall OBrien had in March 2014 caused a downfall in her health and was preventable.

Testimony also was presented alleging possible medication overdoses and staff failure to follow Savas OBriens care plan, and mice in her room that left droppings on her bed, her bedside table and her religious icons.

Savas OBrien ran the former Poodle Lounge on North Federal Avenue for decades and was active in Mason Citys Greek community and the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church.
In the 2004 presidential debates, most critics declared then-Sen. John F. Kerry the winner over President George W. Bush  and by Oxford debating rules, they were right. But the truth is Kerry lost the debates because he was the only candidate on stage who made a damaging gaffe  declaring any U.S. decision on the use of force must pass a global test  that haunted him going into the final weeks of the campaign.

Bush quickly turned the Democratic nominees comment into an ad, and the global test immediately became a staple of Bushs stump speech. In the debate  he said that America has to pass a global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves, Bush said. I have a different view. When our country is in danger, its not the presidents job to take an international poll. Its the presidents job is to defend this country. Kerry was put on the defensive, trying to explain his comment. (The test I was talking about is a test of legitimacy  not just in the globe, but elsewhere, he said during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.) As the saying goes, if youre explaining you are losing  and lose Kerry did a few weeks later.

The lesson is that the candidate who wins a presidential debate is not necessarily the better debater  its the one who avoids saying something their opponent can seize on to make voters question their fitness for the Oval Office.

Whenever presidential debate season comes around, we love to recall the memorable lines  such as Ronald Reagans famous declaration that he would not make age and issue in this campaign and exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth and inexperience. But in truth, the zingers are few are far between, while devastating debate gaffes are plentiful.

In 1976, President Ford looked completely out of his depth when he declared during a debate with Jimmy Carter that Poland was independent, autonomous of the Soviet Union (which was news to Poles trapped behind the Iron Curtain). When challenged, Ford refused to admit his mistake: There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration. Any advantage he had on national security evaporated.

Then in 1980, it was President Carters turn to cede national security to his opponent, when he declared I had a discussion with my daughter, Amy, the other day, before I came here, to ask her what the most important issue was. She said she thought nuclear weaponry  and the control of nuclear arms. Consulting his 12-year-old daughter on nuclear weapons made Carter look weak  and Reagan exploited that weakness.

Gaffes are most devastating when they seem to confirm a negative impression of the candidate. In 1988, Michael Dukakis was seen as wooden and stilted, so when he was asked If Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?  and replied with a dispassionate, monotone defense of his opposition to the death penalty  voters cringed.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush was battling the impression that he was out of touch with the struggles of ordinary citizens. His unspoken gaffe was to look down at his wrist to check the time just as a woman asked how candidates could relate to the economic hardships facing the average American.

In 2012, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was battling the impression that his command of the issues was less than deep, when he announced that he planned to shut down three government agencies as president  and forgot the third one. Oops, he said. He was done.

The challenge for the candidates Monday night, then, is not to get in that memorable zinger, which is often hard to pull off  as Hillary Clinton learned in 2008, when she tried to hit Barack Obama for plagiarizing the speeches of then-Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick (Lifting whole passages from someone elses speeches is not change you can believe in, its change you can Xerox, Clinton declared to boos from the audience).

Rather, the challenge Monday night is for both candidates to avoid disqualifying mistakes. Trumps advantage going in is that he has already made a number of gaffes that might have destroyed other candidates, but have left him relatively unscarred. So the threshold for what can hurt him is relatively high.

Clinton, by contrast, needs to avoid doing anything that confirms voters concerns about her health and her honesty. Polls show that less than 40 percent of Americans think she is in good-enough health to serve as president while another 23 percent are not sure. So if she seems tired or confused  or has some sort of health episode during 90 uninterrupted minutes under the debate stage lights  it could finish her. And with just 11 percent of voters believing she is honest, she needs to avoid any factual whoppers or innovative new excuses for her emails.

Bottom line: To win on Monday, the candidates dont have to land a knockout punch, they just need to avoid delivering one  to themselves.



Marc A. Thiessen, a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute and former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush, writes a weekly online column for The Washington Post.

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Thousands of government representatives and conservationists are meeting in South Africa to discuss how to save elephants, rhinoceroses and other iconic wildlife from vanishing. The gathering, called CITES COP17, focuses on regulating the international trade of endangered species, and you can read all about it in this primer.

But its not just elephants, rhinoceroses and other species killed and sold for body parts, that are getting attention. On Monday, some meeting participants in Johannesburg gathered to talk about animals that are decidedly less glamorous: Africas vultures.

These birds win no beauty contests, and theyve got a dark rap as grimy beacons of death that circle over carcasses and feast on their decaying innards. But many vulture species are now at risk of dying off themselves, and in their flight toward extinction are serving as symbols of the interconnectedness of ecosystems.

Thats because vultures have become collateral damage of the African poaching epidemic, as well as of human conflict with carnivores. In the first major report on threats to African vultures, researchers last year found that populations of seven of the continents 11 species had declined by 80 percent or more over three vulture generations.

Vultures talent for spotting carcasses has made them targets. Darcy L. Ogada, a wildlife biologist with the Peregrine Fund, wrote in the New York Times in 2014 that the birds can zero in on a freshly-killed elephant within half an hour of its death. Illegal hunters, on the other hand, might need twice that long to sever the ivory tusks they desire. So to keep authorities from using hovering vultures as clues leading to a kill site, the poachers poison the carcass  and that can lead to all-out vulture massacre.

In 2012, authorities found 191 vulture corpses around one dead elephant. BirdLife, which organized the forum in Johannesburg, tweeted Monday that the casualties can be far higher.

Its not just poaching that causes vulture death. When lions and other predators kill livestock, African farmers sometimes poison their animals carcasses in hopes of exacting revenge on the killers. But those dead bodies, usually poisoned with potent and widely available agricultural pesticides, also lure and kill vultures. In some countries, including Nigeria, vultures are also killed for their heads and other body parts that are prized as talismans or for their purported curative powers.

Ogada and other vulture advocates have called for stricter regulation of pesticides and poisons as well as stronger laws and penalties against those who poison the birds or traffic in their parts.

There are good reasons to care about the plight of the vulture, even for those who arent particularly moved by the birds themselves. For one thing, vultures role as a front-lines cleanup crew can prevent the spread of diseases that harm people, such as rabies. When feral dogs get first dibs on rotting carcasses, their populations can explode, and they can spread the disease widely.

For another, the ominous circling they do above corpses makes them key intelligence officers in the efforts to save elephants, rhinos and other illegally killed species.

Money and expertise to fight the new wave of elephant and rhino poaching has been pledged by Western nations, Ogada wrote in the New York Times. But if we dont also devote effort and money to saving Africas vultures, can we really expect that the war on poaching will ever be won?

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AUSTIN  The Texas campaign launch for Evan McMullin, an independent presidential candidate who is not on the ballot  he must be written in  was held in the vinage room of a wine bar near the citys convention center. Badge-holders from the Texas Tribune Festival had trekked downtown, joining some intrigued local activists noshing on brie, crackers and falafel. As McMullin searched for parking, the omnipresent McMullin strategist Rick Wilson held court and took compliments from people whod seen him on cable.

Thank you for giving us a choice.

Thank you for giving us something to vote for.

When McMullin arrived, the crowd of a few dozen people swarmed his way. After a few minutes of small talk, the candidate headed to the front of the room, where a TV cameraman had found good lighting. He was running for president because no one else wanted to pick up the banner of pragmatic conservatism, he said. Donald Trump, McMullin added confidently, had hijacked a Republican Party that had wanted and deserved better.

The majority in opposition to Donald Trump stayed fragmented, and he gained momentum, said McMullin. I was sitting in Congress then, and I watched members of Congress first say he was a joke. I watched with them as he gained steam. And I watched one by one as they caved  and I advised them not to do it. I said he posed a threat to our Constitution and our civil liberties. And they said, well, this is politics, and youve got to make compromises.

McMullin, the last-ditch candidate of the #NeverTrump movement, entered the race when it looked like those Republicans would be humiliated. After the Democratic National Convention, Trump trailed in every poll by margins that suggested a Hillary Clinton landslide. Trump is weak, McMullin said in one of his first interviews. Trump is a weak candidate and he is losing badly to one of the most unfit Democratic candidates to appear before the American people in quite some time.

Trump, who has rarely ignored the bait dangling in front of him, ignored McMullin  and stopped losing. New polls of Pennsylvania, where Democrats have counted on appalled suburban Republicans to back Clinton, show Trump capturing close to 90 percent of his adopted partys vote. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, whod been booed out of the Republican National Convention, used the Tribune festival to explain that he was never #NeverTrump and had decided to vote for him.

Im disappointed but not surprised, said Ben Howe, a writer for RedState who became a regular cable news guest for rejecting Trump. I also think Reince [Priebus] wielding RNC support like a weapon to smash any dissent among those running for reelection in the next few years probably helped. It was a message to everyone that they are taking names.

It was the primary all over again, asymmetry growing between the accepted voices of conservatism and the Republican electorate. Most dramatically, Clintons effort to showcase Republican endorsements, including newspapers that had never endorsed Democrats and the quiet support of George H.W. Bush, had made little impact on conservative voters. Each one fit snugly with the Trump campaigns narrative, of an unbought tycoon being opposed by the establishment. Each angered the Democratic left, elements of which have proven more resistant to Clinton than a senator who was personally humiliated in the primaries was resistant to Trump.

The #NeverTrump movement did not count on this. On Sept. 10, during a McMullin meet-and-greet at publicist Juleanna Glovers D.C. mansion, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol (who had urged McMullin to run) confessed his surprise that the election was close. Im surprised shes not doing better, he said of Clinton. But #NeverTrump was confident that voters would reject Trump and look for decency.

Im amazed at how many former Bernie Sanders supporters come up to me and say, look, we know we dont agree with you on every issue, but were going to be voting for you, said McMullin to two rooms full of reporters and political commentators. I get emotional when I see our supporters confronting the bigotry, the misogyny, the intolerance of Trump.

At the Austin meet-and-greet two weeks later, with Clinton still ahead but even more narrowly, Kristol wondered how many protest voters could stay that way.

I think if Hillary opens a big lead, its better for Evan, said Kristol. They can say, Im voting my conscience but Im not electing Trump. Evan gets three or four or five percent in that scenario. If its close, some of that goes away.

Trumps polling surge has been clarifying, separating anti-Trump voices into two camps. The first camp, exemplified by Cruz, opposed Trump not just as a populist interloper but as a surefire election-loser. His recovery presented the chance of stopping Hillary Clinton and filling the empty Supreme Court seat that Republicans have put a wall around until after the election. The second camp, exemplified by McMullin, opposed Trump on moral grounds.

If its close, the rationale of #NeverTrump  and all anti-Trump voters  will be challenged. In August, it looked as if Trumps political style could be discredited by a rout, the way that Barry Goldwaters defeat discredited opposition to the Civil Rights Act, or that George McGoverns defeat discredited the New Left. McMullin was set to play a role in that, building a new conservative movement on the Trump rubble.

In a friendly interview with the Weekly Standard, McMullin strategist Joel Searby said that the tighter polls actually gave McMullin a real chance to make a significant difference. But while McMullin gets attention from conservative media, hes running third among third-party candidates. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian whose social liberalism and unapologetic goofiness sent the #NeverTrump forces scrambling for an alternative, appears on every state ballot and draws real crowds. Just two hours after McMullins Austin event ended, Johnson packed hundreds of voters into a rally at a Sixth Street concert venue. Another hundred voters waited in a line around the block, missing the speech but grabbing signs that they pasted around the citys most famous stretch.

Still, McMullins conservatism is far better represented in media and politics than Johnsons libertarianism. That was proved Sunday, when McMullin closed out the festival with an hour-long public Q&A, then headed to a stately, vacant part of the local student union for an hour-long media roundtable. A supporter grabbed him first, asking whether hed talked to the Koch brothers about coming off the fence to support him.

We need to engage with them more, said McMullin. Theres just a difference between saying that youll refuse to support Trump, and that youll spend money against him.

When he sat down, McMullin was quizzed as if the election was a three-way or four-way contest  like he had as much a chance of anyone as being elected president. He criticized Hillary Clintons State Department for the half-hearted adventurism that led to the Benghazi attacks, analyzed the root causes of terrorism, and pitched a long-term strategy for preventing Ebola-style outbreaks in Africa. How about we realize the several million dollars, or dozens of millions of dollars, to improve the health systems there?

John Davidson, a writer for the Federalist, prodded McMullin on the ways he could restore sanity to the political debate. For a lot of people, immigrations kind of a watchword for something else, and that is anxiety about the decline of their community, said Davidson. This is particularly the white working class in the rust belt and Appalachia. What is your message to voters  and apparently, there are a lot more than we thought in this part of the country  who blame immigration for the loss of manufacturing jobs? They see immigration as an ongoing threat.

It was the sort of question Trump has repeatedly answered with table-banging promises to build a wall and browbeat manufacturers into sticking with the United States. McMullin did not bang his table.

Their frustration is justified, said McMullin. A lot of Americans have suffered under stagnant wages for decades. I think the Republican Party has ignored these people. Well, the Republican Party has become the party of big corporations. Its crony capitalism.

So what would you do? asked Davidson.

Well, look at Germany, said McMullin. They have these apprenticeship programs. I lose my job making coats in a factory in Mississippi, and that job isnt coming back. So maybe a high-tech firm  it makes LEDs, or whatever  is hiring, but I dont have the skills. So the government offers tax incentives if they hire me and train me.

It was not a Trumpian answer. It was closer to what Democrats, once dominant in Appalachia, now promise to do  to voters who could not care less. And in much of Appalachia, he would not appear on the ballot.

nevertrump
DENVER  A high-ranking Air Force Space Command officer who was charged with rape and other crimes was found dead in his Colorado home after civilian police received a report of a suicide, officials said Monday.

The body of Col. Eugene Caughey (KAW-hee), 46, was found Sunday at his off-base home in Colorado Springs, city police said.

Authorities havent said how he died.

Caughey was relieved of his duties in June 2015 after the rape investigation began, the Air Force has said. His court-martial was scheduled for Oct. 17.

The officers who found him dead were responding to a report of a suicide, Colorado Springs police Sgt. Tim Stankey said.

The coroners office said it could be four to six weeks before the findings of an autopsy are released.

Caughey had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. The unit operates military communications and weather satellites, as well as global positioning system satellites, which have broad civilian and military uses.

Caughey was accused of raping a woman in late 2014 or early 2015. He was also charged with adultery, indecent filming or photography, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Prosecutors accused him of photographing his exposed genitals while in uniform and groping women twice.

His civilian attorney, Ryan Coward, said Caughey was looking forward to his day in court and had been participating in his defense.

I think this surprised everybody, Coward said, adding that his client had served honorably for 20 years. This is just a very tragic event that occurred for him and his family.

Caugheys family had no comment, Coward said.

Caughey joined the Air Force in 1993. He said he survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the Pentagon, according to a story on the Schriever Air Force Base website.

I was a captain inside the Pentagon that morning when a plane crashed into the west side of the building, Caughey wrote.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the police officers last name was misspelled.

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott.
BATON ROUGE, La.  A federal appeals court on Monday asked two judges to respond to a petition by a Louisiana sheriff who claims another judge was improperly removed from his criminal case without explanation.

A letter from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Chief Judge Dee Drell of the Western District of Louisiana and U.S. District Judge Donald Walter in Shreveport are invited to file written responses by Oct. 6. The appeals court also asked two federal prosecutors to respond to Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackals arguments.

Ackals attorney, John McLindon, argued in a court filing Friday that U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldis mysterious removal from the sheriffs case violated court rules and apparently was done without her consent earlier this year.

McLindon also is challenging Walters decision to hold the trial in Shreveport instead of Lafayette, where the case originated.

The letter from the 5th Circuit doesnt specify what issues the judges and prosecutors should address in their responses to Ackals petition. The letter indicated that they discussed the matter by telephone on Monday morning.

Ackal awaits trial next month on charges over the alleged beatings of jail inmates. Nine former employees of the sheriffs office already have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the Justice Departments civil rights investigation.

Minaldi originally was assigned to preside over the high-profile cases against the sheriff and 11 of his subordinates. But Drell abruptly reassigned the cases to Walter in March, two days after Ackals indictment. Drell didnt give a reason for the switch in his one-sentence orders.

Four days before Minaldis removal from the cases, she was in the middle of accepting guilty pleas by two former sheriffs deputies when a prosecutor cut her off mid-sentence and asked to speak to a defense attorney. Then, after a short break and private discussion with the attorneys, Minaldi adjourned the March 7 hearing in Lake Charles without giving a reason on the record.

Those two former deputies pleaded guilty later that day in Lafayette, more than 70 miles away, in front of Drell. At the start of those proceedings, Drell noted that the hearing before Minaldi was unable to be completed but didnt specify a reason.

Do yall wish to make any record with regard to that at this point? Drell asked defense attorney John Lane Ewing Jr., according to a transcript obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

None from the defense, Ewing responded. Only that we consent to this proceeding happening as planned.

Minaldi and Drell havent responded to requests for comment.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the location of the court hearing referenced in the 9th paragraph was Lafayette, not Alexandria.
LAS CRUCES, N.M.  New Mexico State Police say two suspects have been arrested in connection with a homicide case.

They say 24-year-old Adrian Banda and 18-year-old Damika Childs both are being held on suspicion of an open count of murder and other charges.

Its unclear if either Las Cruces resident has a lawyer yet.

State Police Investigation Bureau agents responded to the Dona Ana Mountains on Thursday about a reported aggravated battery and a vehicle fire.

They say the body of a man was found burned in the trunk of the car.

The body has since been identified as that of 20-year-old Johnny Ramirez of Las Cruces.

Police say a woman suffered received a stab wound to her neck, but escaped the vehicle fire.

She remains in stable condition at a Texas hospital.
MOUNT VERNON, Wash.  The 20-year-old man accused of fatally shooting five people at a Macys store in Washington state before evading a manhunt for 24 hours was charged with five counts of first-degree murder Monday morning.

Arcan Cetin stood calmly before a Skagit County District Court judge and said he understood the charges, each of which carries a minimum of 20 years in prison. His bail was set at $2 million.

The packed courthouse about 60 miles north of Seattle included tearful family members of some of the victims. Cetins mother was visibly distraught.

Cetin admitted to the shooting to detectives, according to court documents released Monday by the Skagit County Superior Court. Authorities said they had uncovered no motive for the Friday evening attack in Burlington. When investigators interviewed Cetins stepfather, David Marshall, about his sons whereabouts, he told them he had dinner with Cetin earlier on Friday and also discovered that his Ruger rifle and ammunition were missing, according to court documents.

The only thing that we want to say at this time is that we both are totally devastated by what happened, Marshall told reporters after the hearing. He said that Cetin had unspecified mental health problems.

According to documents, detectives said surveillance video showed it took Cetin only about one minute to shoot all five victims  a teenage girl near some clothing racks, then four adults in the makeup department.

After the shooting, Cetin left the Ruger rifle with a 25-round magazine on top of a cosmetics counter, then fled the mall in a vehicle, the documents said.

A legal permanent resident of the United States who immigrated to this county as a young child from Adana, Turkey, Cetin graduated last year from high school in Oak Harbor, a rural community in western Washington about 30 miles from the mall where he is accused of opening fire. Sheriffs deputies apprehended him Saturday evening as he was walking on a sidewalk hear his home, carrying a satchel with a computer inside.

Oak Harbor is a military town on Whidbey Island, reached by bridge or ferry, where visitors are welcomed by two radar-jamming EA-6B Prowler aircraft. Gung-ho locals call the constant roar of Navy aircraft the sound of freedom.

The manager at Anchor Pointe Apartments, where Cetin lived, said owners had told her not to talk about their tenant. Im as clueless as everyone else, she said.

His apartment on the second floor has a porch with an orange and brown lounger, a coffee cup with yellow tulips and a big red daisy clipped to the deck. His mother and stepfather help pay the rent, she told investigators, according to the criminal complaint, and had visited him there on Wednesday.

Court records indicate a string of charges in which hes accused of assaulting his stepfather and court requests for mental-health evaluations, as well as court requests for substance-abuse evaluations. It is not clear from the records how the cases were resolved.

A Navy base spokesman confirmed to The Washington Post that Cetin worked at the commissary on the base between 2012 and 2013 when he was in high school.

The spokesman said Cetin was a dependent of a Navy retiree but did not specify who that was. Because of that, he said, Cetin also had a dependents identification card that allowed him access to various facilities at the Naval base, including the gym, which Cetin used.

Friends and neighbors described a young man who had gotten in trouble with the law several times, with three assault charges since 2015.

Several of Cetins former classmates described him as a socially awkward teenager who later was given to inappropriately touching female students.

Mehmet Ecder, an 18-year-old high school student who grew up with Cetin in Amana, Turkey, said Cetin came from a troubled family and was struggling to connect with American girls after he moved to Washington state. He liked living in the United States, but, He says, American girls hate me,  Ecder said in an interview from Turkey.

Cetin had mentioned a young woman who had rejected him, Ecder said.

He says he doesnt know how to talk to girls, said Ecder.

Cetin is Muslim, said Ecder, but was never particularly observant.

Arcan apparently worked at the Wendys on base. Taylair Graham, 16, said Monday that was quiet, but he wasnt really all there. Bryce Atwood, 16, has a cousin who works with him at Wendys. Of Arcan, he said, He was a pretty chill guy, and then he decided to just go . . . shoot up a mall.



The Washington Posts Abigail Haulohner, Julie Tate and Alice Crites contributed to this report.

shooting-macys-1stld-writethru
Murders in the United States jumped 11 percent last year, according to federal data released Monday, but nonviolent crimes declined, an unusual divergence thats puzzling criminal justice experts.

While an increase in homicide is usually associated with more minor crimes as well, that was not the case in 2015. The number of murders nationally increased by the largest percentage in decades, but violent crimes overall increased just 4 percent and property crimes declined 3 percent.

Despite the increase, American streets remain safe relative to recent years. The rate of murder and manslaughter per 100,000 people (excluding negligent manslaughter) increased to 4.9 last year from 4.4 in 2014, which was the fewest of any year since at least 1961. In 1980, the rate exceeded 10 killings per 100,000.

Still, what to make of the sudden increase in homicides is not clear. Some criminologists say the data is evidence against the Ferguson effect  a popular theory that suggests homicides have increased because police have become reluctant to interact with potential criminals on the street. According to this argument, cops fear becoming involved in a violent altercation that could result in protests such as those in Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Police can deter potential criminals not just by being a watchful presence on patrol. They can stop people who appear to be involved in criminal activity, talking with them to gather information or to disperse people who are fighting. Police can also search civilians for firearms, knives or tools for breaking locks and windows.

These activities make committing all kinds of crimes more difficult, not just homicide. If the increase in homicides were due to hesitance on the part of police to stop civilians, some criminologists say they would expect an increase in other street crimes, including burglary and robbery.

However, just 3.1 percent more cars were stolen last year, and the number of robberies increased just 1.4 percent. The number of burglaries declined 7.8 percent, according to the new federal data.

People who are talking about Ferguson effects  why do you find it in homicide and not burglary? asked Franklin Zimring, a criminologist at the University of California in an interview earlier this year. Thats just not very good logic, and its not consistent.

Other experts are not convinced by that argument. Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University, is one of those who believes that changes in police officers behavior might account for the increase in lethal violence last year. He argues that a subtle shift in police behavior might not noticeably affect minor street crimes, since so many of them are committed.

Undoubtedly, theres a skittishness on the part of police, he said. They dont want to be caught in some compromising situation and put their own careers, if not their liberty, at risk.

Research does suggest, however, that an increase in police presence reduces crime rates, especially for street crimes.

For instance, economists Jonathan Klick and Alexander Tabarrok found that when the Bush administration issued warnings about potential terrorism, police in Washington intensified their presence on the streets and that the additional manpower resulted in significantly fewer crimes.

Working with other researchers, Klick studied the district surrounding the University of Pennsylvania that is patrolled by both the Philadelphia Police Department and the schools privately funded police agency. Compared to otherwise similar blocks patrolled only by Philadelphia police just outside the district, there were significantly fewer robberies, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts and aggravated assaults on streets where there were additional patrols from the university. The researchers could not detect any difference in killings, though, possibly because homicide is so rare in general.

The pure street crimes  burglary, robbery and, to some extent, auto theft  are better indications of police activity, Zimring said.

At the same time, the federal data are notoriously unreliable. Each police and sheriffs department is responsible for reporting its own numbers, and smaller departments often lack the resources to do a thorough job of collecting the data. Elsewhere, differences in definitions of offenses  along with political reasons for understating the extent of crime  can skew the figures.

My hunch is its mostly a lot of noise, Blumstein said.

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BATON ROUGE, La.  Relatives of a black man who was shot and killed during an altercation with two white Baton Rouge police officers called Monday for a swift resolution to the Justice Departments investigation.

Three of Alton Sterlings aunts joined dozens of protesters Monday for a raucous rally at City Hall, where a group of community leaders discussed police reforms in Baton Rouge following Sterlings July 5 shooting.

Sandra Sterling, one of his aunts, expressed frustration with the pace of the federal investigation. She said it seems as if her nephews death has been overshadowed by historic flooding that damaged tens of thousands of homes in the Baton Rouge area in August.

Ive been keeping the peace, but its been 90 days now, she said, vowing to do her part to keep the peace just a little while longer.

Two of Sterlings other aunts angrily shouted at East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III as he left the City Hall meeting. Moore recused himself from any state investigation of Sterlings death, citing his professional relationship with the parents of one of the two officers involved in the shooting.

Yall dont care about Alton! Lorna Sterling yelled at Moore. Its just another dead black man on the street to yall!

Moore didnt respond to Sterlings aunts in the hallway.

There is nothing that I can say from any standpoint to alleviate their emotions, Moore later wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. I understand their emotions.

Sterling, 37, was fatally shot during a scuffle with two officers outside a convenience store where he had been selling homemade CDs. The officers had responded to a callers complaint that Sterling had threatened the caller with a gun outside the store. Cellphone video of the deadly encounter circulated within hours of the shooting, triggering protests in Baton Rouge and beyond.

The federal investigation will look into whether the officers willfully violated Sterlings civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force. The Justice Department hasnt indicated how long it will take to complete its investigation. Similar investigations, which often take many months to resolve, were opened following the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York.

Federal investigators must meet a high legal burden to bring a civil rights prosecution, establishing that an officer knowingly used unreasonable force under the circumstances and did not simply make a mistake or use poor judgment. Many federal probes conclude without criminal charges.

Roughly 50 people attended a rally outside City Hall before they packed the meeting on police reforms. Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. was among the meetings participants.

During the rally, Sandra Sterling alluded to other recent deadly encounters between black men and police officers, including in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The same thing that happened to Alton here happens all over, she said. We have to do something now because tomorrow is not promised to us.

__

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  Late last year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack strode into the Oval Office to tell President Barack Obama that he wanted to resign.

Mr. President, he said, I think its time to go.

Vilsack had survived nearly eight years in Washington as Obamas model Cabinet secretary  a disciplined and efficient technocrat who understood the inner workings of his department, worked well with lawmakers and did not cause trouble for the White House.

Lately, though, that approach did not seem to be enough to fix the problems he was seeing in the country. Vilsack was frustrated with a culture in Washington that too often ignored rural Americas struggles and dismissed its virtues. I just sometimes think rural America is a forgotten place, he often said.

Vilsack sometimes felt forgotten, too. The number of consequential issues crossing his desk had dwindled. There are days when I have literally nothing to do, he recalled thinking as he weighed his decision to quit.

The Oval Office conversation would change the trajectory of Vilsacks career and affect him personally in ways he that could not have predicted. Obama asked him to take over the administrations response to the opioid crisis that was ravaging rural America.

The new assignment would force Vilsack to confront not only the immediate drug crisis in the country but also the frustrations and feelings of economic hopelessness that had taken root and allowed the epidemic to flourish.

Soon Vilsacks days were consumed with coordinating the federal governments response. Each morning his staff passed him statistics that tracked the administrations top priorities: its push to train physicians on the risks of opioid addiction; the latest on its effort to get the overdose reversal drug naloxone out to more communities; the status of federal grants earmarked for struggling communities.

He visited hard-hit places, such as New England, Nevada and Appalachia. Recently he was in Missouri, a state with a surging overdose death rate, where his staff had set up a meeting with doctors, police detectives and drug counselors who waited for him in a gray-carpeted conference room in Olivette, Missouri, near St. Louis.

I am here to learn and here to listen, Vilsack told the group. I want to make sure that when I walk out of here, I have a very good understanding of the problem.

He pulled out a stack of index cards and a pen from his suit pocket to jot down notes.

The last time I was on ER call at one of our local hospitals I delivered three mothers who were opioid addicted and had no prenatal care whatsoever, one doctor said.

We have no resources here, the health director for St. Charles County said.

We see a ton of overdoses, said the next doctor from a hospital just south of St. Louis. This Fourth of July we had three firework injuries and 23 overdoses.

Wow, Vilsack muttered under his breath. He scribbled 3/23 on an index card and slid it back into his suit pocket.

  

The opioid epidemic was the kind of crisis that too easily escaped the attention of powerful people in Washington. It had developed slowly, over the course of decades, in parts of rural America that were isolated, poor and often overlooked.

Its effects, though, were devastating and were a major factor in the startling surge since 1999 in the death rate for white women between the ages of 25 and 55.

For Vilsack the crisis was personal. A former small-town mayor and two-term Iowa governor, Vilsack had spent his adult life fighting for rural America. He was also the child of an alcoholic and prescription drug addict.

The story of his mothers addiction and her suicide attempts had long been a part of his political identity; one that he had told hundreds of times on the campaign trail. Sometimes he used it to explain away his shyness and his gruff, workaholic manner.

In other instances, he told it inspire voters, focusing on his mothers recovery, her religious faith and transformation into a steady and sober parent.

Now, as he traveled the country, the story served a different purpose. Vilsack used it to make the case for the kind of help that Washington could provide: more money for doctors, drug counselors and mental-health clinics to treat those who were suffering.

When I was a kid, I judged my mom, he had said earlier that morning in Missouri. I thought she could just decide tomorrow to stop doing what she was doing. I had no idea it was a disease. I do now.

Vilsack walked out of his meeting and into the bright sun of a Missouri afternoon, mostly pleased at the possibilities the roundtable had offered. His shaggy hair, which hung over his ears, had not changed since boyhood. But his tall and rangy frame was now slightly stooped. At 65, he moved with the stiffness of advancing age.

He ran a sprawling bureaucracy with 93,000 employees and a $150 billion budget but knew that he did not have money for anything ambitious. An urgent request from the White House earlier this year for $1.1 billion to battle the opioid epidemic was stalled in Congress. His departments discretionary budget, which he could use to fund clinics, was $2 billion less than it had been in 2010.

So Vilsack channeled his energy into little things: A police officer he had met complained that prices of naloxone, the overdose-reversal drug, had tripled since January to nearly $160 per dose, making it too costly for many rural police and fire departments. Vilsack promised to raise the issue with the White House.

Someone else showed him a chemical treatment bag that could be used to safely dispose of old prescription drugs. You cant just dump them in the sewers. The disposal bags could help, Vilsack said.

But, he was most excited about a four-state pilot program he was developing to use USDA grants to build a small number of regional mental-health and addiction clinics.

Vilsack had spent most of his adult life fighting these kinds of battles. He grew up in Pittsburgh but moved to tiny Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 1975 when his father-in-law wrote him a seven-page letter asking him to join his tiny law practice. The salary: $1,000 a month.

Some of his first clients were farmers fighting to stave off bankruptcy during the 1980s farm crisis. They would come in and say, Save my farm. Save who I am,  he said. You all of a sudden think, Jesus, what are we doing here? What can I do? 

After a psychologically damaged World War II veteran and former POW opened fire during a city council meeting in 1986, killing Mount Pleasants mayor, the deceased mayors father urged Vilsack to run for the office.

There was a short stint as an Iowa state senator followed by a successful, long-shot run for governor. For the first time in 70 years, we reversed the outmigration of people from Iowa, Vilsack said of his two terms.

Vilsack knew that the past 15 years had hit rural America especially hard. Rural child poverty rates had begun climbing in 2003, peaking at levels last seen in the 1960s. Only in the past few years had they begun to edge back down. Rural Americans were older, more likely to be obese, less likely to go to college and more likely to become pregnant in their teenage years than people in the rest of the country. And now the opioid crisis.

At a recent news conference in Missouri, reporters peppered Vilsack with questions about whether the administration was moving fast enough to address the epidemic.

There is some frustration that it took so long . . . , one reporter said.

Why wasnt this done years ago? another asked.

They were versions of a line of questioning that had begun to piss me off, Vilsack said.

He did not blame the president for the lack of attention to rural America, though his last one-on-one meeting with Obama had taken place 10 months earlier when he tried to resign.

His frustration was with the rest of the country  the media, Congress and the private sector  which he felt had ignored the struggles and contributions of a region that produced most of the countrys food and, during 15 years of war, had disproportionately filled the ranks of its military.

Publicly, Vilsack often played the role of booster, citing modest economic gains as proof of rural Americas remarkable comeback, after years of stagnation.

Privately, he let his anger and frustration with Washington flash. He was sensitive to the smallest slights directed at rural America or his record. Denis McDonough, the presidents chief of staff, sometimes referred to Vilsack as the cranky Cabinet secretary.

Maybe I have been here too long, Vilsack grumbled. He gazed up at his sprawling Beaux-Arts style office with its gold filigree columns, massive windows and stunning views of the Mall.

I have to be cranky, he continued, because people dont pay attention to this part of the country.

  

Vilsack told staff organizing his Missouri meetings that he did not want to spend his time listening to stories of people fighting addiction or parents who had lost children. He wanted to hear from the people battling the epidemic. Were here to talk solutions, he said.

The exception was Karla Jaques, a USDA employee from Dexter, Missouri., whose 28-year-old daughter, Alicia, had died of a heroin overdose in April.

Vilsack was waiting for her in a small room at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, when Jaques walked in carrying a picture of Alicia wearing her crisp, white sailors uniform, taken in 2007 just a few hours after her daughters Navy boot camp graduation.

She was so happy and so proud of herself, Jaques told Vilsack. She always was until all of this.

I have some understanding, Vilsack said.

He then recounted the story of his own mothers addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Vilsack had recently started to probe his adolescent memories, trying to piece together what might have caused his mothers addiction. He tried to recall exactly when his mother had begun to grapple with drugs and alcohol. Was it when she went in for gallbladder surgery and the doctors gave her pills for the pain? Did she like that sensation and need more of it? he wondered. Did her problems begin when his father suffered his first heart attack or when his fathers real estate business began to fail?

These were the same questions Jaques was asking about her daughter, who had been embarrassed by her addiction and avoided her family in the year before she died. Most of what Jaques knew about her daughters problems came from journal entries Alicia had written in rehab.

She wrote that her addiction began in 2010 when she had eye surgery and was given painkillers by Navy doctors in Jacksonville, Florida. I would get a prescription every few months so if I was given a urinalysis test I would pass, one journal entry read. The prescription provided an excuse when her urinalysis tests came back positive.

A military career that began with promotions, overseas deployments and awards faltered and then fell apart. Her first arrest for heroin possession came in October 2014, six months after she left the service. Last fall, one of Alicias Navy friends called Jaques to tell her that Alicia was an addict and down to a skeletal 85 pounds. There was a second arrest for heroin possession followed by a four-month stint in prison rehab.

I want to rebuild my relationship with my mom, she wrote during that period. I will call her more often and share pictures of myself and what Im doing so she can help with my recovery. . . . I want to go back to Missouri. . . . I want to go back to school. . . . I want to be comfortable with myself. I want to be able to talk in front of people and not be afraid I sound stupid.

Four days after her release, she died of a heroin overdose. Jaques was upset that the Navy had just punished her daughter, rather than providing medical help. If you have a good person and all of a sudden things start going down hill, they need to find out whats going on and not just harass them and kick them out, she said.

Decades earlier, Vilsacks mother had written a letter to her sister in Philadelphia describing her recovery and hopes for the future. Like Jaquess daughter, she had been sober for only a few months.

She wrote about rehab and looking for steady work and an apartment in the same neighborhood where Vilsack was living with his father.

I simply cannot afford to take any more chances, she wrote. I have all the confidence in the world in myself now  something that I havent had in a long time. . . . I am sure if I do my part, God will help me.

Vilsack had read and reread the 1964 letter, trying to piece together what had allowed his mother to find sobriety after so many failed attempts. Her faith had been central; she found a good job at a bank that had helped ease the familys financial strains.

Then you start thinking about the little things, like my dad used to be a bourbon drinker, Vilsack said. When his parents moved back in together, his father switched to vodka. What was with that? Vilsack wondered. Maybe it was his effort to help mom? Maybe the smell or color of bourbon triggered a craving? Vilsack guessed.

Downstairs another town hall meeting had begun. A drug-treatment court judge was saying that more than 50 percent of the nonviolent offenders coming through her courtroom were hardcore heroin addicts who only a few years ago would have been sent to a criminal court. We are dealing with people who we would never have considered taking in the old days and getting much better results, she said. But our funding is lacking.

Vilsack talked about the need for more federal spending, and he outlined his four-pillar plan to revitalize struggling rural economies. The answer, he said, was more investment in organic farming, eco-tourism, biofuels and bio-based manufacturing.

He slid his speaking notes into his suit pocket and glanced up at Jaques, who was sitting in the front row. There had been so much that Jaques had wanted to tell him and so much that she still did not know. I was worried that I covered everything, she said.

When he was finished speaking, Vilsack sought her out in the crowd. His staff and security detail were hovering just out of earshot. His government SUV and driver were waiting outside to ferry him to the airport. Vilsack told her that he had already shared her daughters story with Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

He promised that he would talk about it in Washington.

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CHARLES CITY  Tina Slinger doesnt live anywhere near the Cedar River, but the Charles City resident spent Monday morning pulling flood-damaged debris out of her basement.

Water started coming into her basement on E Street Wednesday night. It was bubbling up through the drains on Thursday, some six inches deep, and more groundwater seeped in on Friday.

I took out a bunch of stuff last night. I have more to get out today, said Slinger, whose street was dotted with piles of flood debris pushed to the curb. Its gonna be a tremendous project for many people for several days.

In this particular instance I suspect the majority of our damage is going to be in the north end of town, said Charles City Mayor Jim Erb.

Officials estimated 100 to 150 homes in the citys north and north-central neighborhoods were swamped Friday by flash flooding on Hyers Creek.

At Slingers home, last weeks disaster was worse than the record flooding in 2008.

I know in 2008 it was better for me: I got more water this time (and) more drain backup this time, said Slinger, whos lived in the neighborhood 15 years. In 2008, I had maybe two inches. This year I had six.

Flooding was less severe than expected along the Cedar River, which crested at 21 feet at 11:45 p.m. Friday. That was three feet less than originally anticipated. The river had dropped below the 10-foot mark by Monday evening.

The highest level ever recorded was 25.33 feet on June 9, 2008.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds met with city and county officials on Monday morning and toured Charles Citys now-repaired wastewater treatment plant.

The plant was knocked offline on Friday when a valve malfunctioned, allowing water to flood and short-out four large motors that move water through the facility.

Im very proud of the way that people here have responded, Branstad said Monday at Charles City Hall. I know that they underwent some hardship because of the wastewater treatment plant and losing the use of that for a few days, but they got it back in operation very quickly and the cooperation of the community and the people of the whole county is really something to be very proud of.

Residents and visitors were strongly urged not to flush or pour water down the drains until the three motors could be repaired and returned, which meant no showers, doing laundry or doing dishes.

City officials said people complied with their plea to not flush water, greatly reducing inflows to the Shaw Street facility until the restrictions were eased Sunday afternoon. They were lifted completely Sunday night.

The governor has declared 14 counties disaster areas due to flooding.

Floyd and Wright were among the first named to the list last week. Cerro Gordo, Worth and Mitchell were added on Monday.

Branstad also deployed the Iowa National Guard to assist with the flood response.

The last time the Guard was deployed for this reason in 2011 in the Sioux City area for historic and prolonged flooding of the Missouri River.

State and local officials are in the process of gathering information about the financial impact of the damage. The total financial impact will determine if the area receives a presidential disaster declaration, which would free up federal resources.

Based on what hes seen, Branstad thinks its a possibility.

Itll probably be a week or so, maybe a couple weeks before we know for sure on that, but I would not be surprised considering the extent of the damages that we will be eventually applying for that as well, he said.

Among the assessments will be the battered Floyd County secondary road system.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Kuhn said damage to the system may exceed the historic flooding in 2008. So many roads were closed in Floyd and Chickasaw counties that road crews ran out of road-closed signs, he said.

Virtually every road in the southern half of the county and many in the northeast were closed, Kuhn said.

Forty-one roads in rural Floyd County were covered in water at the height of the flood. Four  one with a bridge and three over culverts  remain closed on Monday due to structural damage.

Officials said the bridge was damaged but they do not expect to need to replace it. They hope to have it open soon.
MEXICO CITY  A lawyer for Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman said Monday he will argue that his client has been the victim of torture.

Attorney Jose Refugio Rodriguez said the convicted Sinaloa cartel boss legal team has submitted evidence of alleged abusive treatment of Guzman in prison.

Cruel and unusual treatment is torture, Rodriguez said.

Guzmans lawyers have complained in the past that he is not being allowed to sleep, mix with other prisoners or receive enough visits. They said that caused him anxiety and elevated his blood pressure to dangerous levels.

The government says special security measures are needed following Guzmans escape from the maximum-security Altiplano prison near Mexico City in 2015, when he fled through a mile-long tunnel dug to the floor of his shower. That was his second prison break.

After Guzman was recaptured in January, prison authorities woke him every few hours for head counts but later softened that security procedure.

Lawyers have filed appeals seeking to prevent Guzmans extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapons and murder charges. The torture allegations are not related to those appeals.

On Monday, a judge postponed issuing a ruling on the extradition appeals at a hearing.

Another of Guzmans lawyers, Andres Granados, said it could take up to three months before there is a decision. Either side could then appeal.

Guzman is currently being held in a federal prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso, Texas.

However, he has won an initial judgment in favor of sending him back to the Altiplano prison, which is closer to where hearings in his case are being held.

A federal official said prosecutors have appealed that decision. The official was not authorized to be quoted by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Harry Reid has called Donald Trumps policies racist. Hes called Donald Trumps remarks racist. And on Monday  six hours before the first presidential debate  Reid called Donald Trump the person a racist too.

Heres what the Senate minority leader said on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, according to a C-SPAN transcript:

Virtually every time Donald Trump says or does something discriminatory  and thats often  the media has a bunch of words to describe his actions. The press uses words like prejudice and bigot to name but a few. Yet theres always one word that many of the press conspicuously avoids: Racist. They never label Trump as a racist. But he is a racist. Donald Trump is a racist. Racist is a term I dont throw around lightly.  Weve all, with rare exception  I dont know who it would be  but have said things that are not politically correct. But I dont know of anyone that, when that happens, doesnt acknowledge it and, if necessary, apologize quickly. But Donald Trump doesnt believe the racist things he does and says are wrong. He says them with full intent to demean and denigrate. Thats who he is.

Reids message was hard to miss. Out of the 11 sentences that we excerpted from the Nevada Democrats (much longer) speech, Reid said the word racist five times  all of it in the context of calling Trump one. And then he repeated his claim on Twitter, linking to a Huffington Post article declaring some of Trumps comments racist.

This, perhaps, doesnt come as a surprise. Reid has long been one of Trumps most outspoken and colorful critics. In a speech in June, he blamed the Republican Party for creating the Trump phenomenon:

For years, Sen. McConnell and other Republican leaders embraced the darkest elements within their party. The Republican Party made anti-woman, anti-Latino, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and anti-Obama policies the norm. Trump is the logical conclusion of what Republican leaders have been saying and doing for 7 1/2 years.

Reid is retiring at the end of this year after three decades in Congress, and the insults he hurls at Trump have become much more colorful of late. He recently called Trump a con artist, a spoiled brat and a human leech. Oh, and he body-shamed Trump at a news conference: Take a look at this character thats running for president.  Hes not slim and trim. He brags about eating fast food every day. Several days ago he made an unsubstantiated claim that he knew why Trump wasnt releasing his tax returns.

But Reid is far from the only person  on either side of the aisle  to criticize some of Trumps remarks in the context of racism. After Trump said he didnt think a federal judge could preside fairly over a Trump University lawsuit because of the judges Mexican heritage, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Trumps comments fit the textbook definition of racism  a fact Reid cited Monday to bolster his point.

Still, this is the first time this year a high-profile U.S. political leader has flat out called the Republican presidential nominee racist. And thats a notable moment. Reid is not just saying that something Trump said or a policy he championed is racist. Reid is saying the problem is the candidate himself.

Reid has found himself critiqued for his own language on race. In 2010, he apologized following revelations that during the 2008 campaign he had referred to Obama as light-skinned and as having no Negro dialect.

In an interview with CNN 10 days ago, Reid was offered the chance to call Trump a racist. At that point, he declined. I dont know, he said in response to a question from CNNs Manu Raju about whether Trump is a racist. All you guys have a job to do. You make that decision. Im not going to. Im just telling you what hes done and weve seen it. Hes a man of no morality.

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The New Mexico Supreme Court has accepted a brief on climate change filed by 38 organizations, the latest pivot in the labyrinthine San Juan Generating Station case that has been ongoing for three years.

The friend-of-the-court brief was filed in support of New Energy Economy. The group is challenging a December 2015 decision by state regulators to allow Public Service Company of New Mexico to purchase 197 megawatts of coal-powered electricity to replace lost power from two shuttered units at the coal-powered San Juan station.

PNM agreed to close the units as part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency aimed at reducing air pollution in the Four Corners area.

Whats extraordinary is that such a diverse group of people came together in support of New Energy Economy, said Paul Hultin, attorney for the organizations represented in the brief.

Those represented in the filing include the city of Santa Fe as well as national, Native American, Hispanic, regional, state and community-based nonprofit organizations. The brief describes coals contribution to climate change and alleges the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission failed to consider climate change in its decision.

The brief also reiterates the central argument of New Energy Economys appeal: that the PRC was biased in PNMs favor before hearing any evidence in the case, and that it ignored the regulatory mandate to prefer resources that minmize environmental impacts when the cost and service quality of resources are equivalent.

The PRC maintains it acted appropriately in the case.

The case has divided the states environmental community, with some organizations claiming the partial closure of San Juan will provide a better outcome for the state than rejecting the PRCs decision outright.

I think the issues contained in the brief are largely, in my opinion, not relevant to the appeal, said Steve Michel, attorney for Western Resource Advocates. WRA agrees whole-heartedly that climate change is the issue of the day. Why that is being brought up at this point in the case is another question.
WASHINGTON  The Treasury Department and Justice Department took a series of actions Monday against four Chinese individuals and one Chinese company for conspiring to aid North Koreas nuclear weapons program in violation of U.S. economic sanctions.

The unsealing of criminal charges and the imposition of new sanctions are aimed at shutting down a major Chinese node supporting North Koreas weapons proliferation, officials said.

The Justice Department charged the individuals and the trading company with money laundering and evading sanctions. The four individuals and the company are all located in China.

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions against the firm, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. Ltd. (DHID), and the individuals, including Ma Xiaohong, DHIDs majority owner. Ma, who lives in Dandong, China, on the border with North Korea and has conducted business with that country since 1996, stood to benefit the most financially by the transactions, the government alleged.

The actions come almost seven months after the U.N. Security Council, which includes China, unanimously adopted harsh sanctions against Pyongyang to pressure it to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

DHID, Ma and three colleagues operated through front companies in the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere to conduct U.S.-dollar financial transactions through the U.S. banking system to facilitate sales of goods to North Korea and purchases of coal for North Korea, the government alleges.

The Justice Department on Monday also filed a civil complaint in federal court in New Jersey seeking forfeiture of all funds held in 25 Chinese bank accounts associated with DHID. Through those accounts, the government alleges, DHID and its front companies laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through U.S. banks.

Todays action exposes a key illicit network supporting North Koreas weapons proliferation, said Adam Szubin, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department. Treasury will take forceful action to pressure North Koreas proliferation network and to protect the U.S. financial system from abuse.

The charges result from a long-running investigation into illicit financing of North Koreas nuclear program. In 2009, the Treasury Department sanctioned Pyongyang-based Korea Kwangson Banking Corp. (KKBC) for its ties to the countrys weapons program. KKBC has a branch in Dangdong.

According to the criminal and civil complaints, DHID allegedly worked openly with KKBC prior to the 2009 Treasury sanctions designation. Between 2009 and 2015, Ma allegedly conspired with three other individuals  Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu  to create or buy a total of 22 front companies to conduct U.S.-dollar transactions designed to evade U.S. sanctions.

The companies were in the British Virgin Islands, the Seychelles, Hong Kong, Wales, and Anguilla. The front companies facilitated transactions funded or guaranteed by KKBC in violation of sanctions, the government alleged. At times, DHID and its shell firms managed the full logistical chain of commodity contracts conducted illicitly on KKBCs behalf, it alleged. At other times, they served as financial intermediaries for U.S.-dollar transactions between North Korean-based firms and suppliers in other countries in a bid to evade sanctions, the government said.

As part of the scheme, the front companies were involved in money laundering through U.S. correspondent bank accounts. DHIDs transactions at Standard Chartered Bank in Newark alone increased from $1.3 million prior to KKBCs designation to $110 million from 2009 to 2015, the government alleged.

The U.S. government actions came as China this month announced its own criminal inquiry into DHID after two visits by Justice Department officials to Beijing. As a result of the visits, the two governments entered into a mutual legal-assistance agreement. We expect China will assist us with requests submitted in accordance with that bilateral agreement, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said.

China has always been the linchpin to disrupting North Korea proliferation, said Zachary Goldman, a former senior official at the Treasury Departments Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. So anything the United States can do to goad the Chinese into greater action is going to be important, said Goldman, who is executive director of New York Universitys Center on Law and Security.

After the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions in March, China severely curbed cross-border trade, reducing it to almost a trickle. But in recent months, trade between the two countries is believed to have shot back up, according to analysts.

  

The Washington Posts Carol Morello contributed to this story.

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The company behind Kinesio Tape now has some room to stretch out.Kinesio Holding Corp. has moved into its new headquarters, a $1.5 million Journal Center building that is twice as big as the companys previous office near Montgomery and Louisiana NE.

Kenzo Kase, the chiropractor who pioneered the therapeutic Kinesio tape product and its application method, showed off the new, 10,000-square-foot building during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

Kase said he has moved around about a half-dozen times during his 35-plus years in Albuquerque, but this marks the first time the company has built its own place.

The new office at 4001 Masthead NE is next to Cre-Med, Kinesios manufacturing center.

We are fortunate we are in Albuquerque, because the lands not so expensive, said Kase, whose tape is sold in 93 countries and has been seen on the bodies of numerous Olympic and professional athletes.

Kinesio, which has 45 employees in Albuquerque, sells about 180,000 rolls of tape each month. It recently came out with two new products, including one for sensitive skin, and it now has a designated research and development area in its new office.

Its giving us a lot more room to grow, said Amy Wander, Kinesios international business developer. We were tripping over each other at the old building.
WINSLOW, Ariz.  A life-size bronze tribute statue to the late singer-songwriter Glenn Frey of the Eagles has been installed in the Standing On The Corner park in Winslow, Arizona.

It joins the statue that many feel looks like Jackson Browne that has stood in the citys downtown area since the late 1990s.

Browne and Frey co-wrote the Eagles song Take it Easy in 1972 that included the lyric standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Two morning radio personalities from Phoenix classic rock station KSLX  Mark Devine and Paul NeanderPaul Marshall  helped fund the $22,000 Frey statue, along with the Standing on The Corner Foundation and the City of Winslow.

Last weekends installation ceremony kicked off Winslows annual Standing On The Corner music festival.

Devine said in a statement that after Frey died in January at age 67, we thought a statue would be a great way to pay tribute to his everlasting impact on Arizonas history.

Marshall said the song has two writers, so we thought adding another statue that will last forever would be perfect.

The statue depicts a long-haired, mustachioed Frey  the way he looked in the early 1970s.

The other statue that resembles Browne is of a man with boots, jeans and a guitar. In front of it is a Route 66 shield painted on the road and behind him is a mural with a woman looking in his direction  a visual reference to the lines in the song: Well, Im standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. Its a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin down to take a look at me.

The origins of the song date back to the early 1970s when Frey was living below Browne in a $60-a-month Los Angeles apartment.

Frey said in a 2003 interview that Browne came up with the Winslow line after getting stranded there once but was stumped on how to finish the verse. Frey suggested the flatbed Ford line, and it clicked.

Shops around the Winslow park display Eagles tour posters and sell T-shirts, magnets and mugs depicting the hit song and its lyrics.
Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, received a plaintive fundraising request this weekend. You are our countrys only hope, read the email, which urged him to make a generous contribution.

The sender? Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

It was the second missive that Fox received to his personal email address this month seeking donations for the Trump campaign, according to a spokesman for the former president. On Sept. 9, Fox got a message from Trump that concluded, I know you wont let me down friend.

This is puzzling for a number of reasons.

The first: Fox is no friend of Trump. In fact, he may be his most vocal foreign critic, having accused the real estate developer of being a false prophet and compared him to dictators. Campaigning in Mexico? Fox mocked Trump on Twitter after getting the first request for financial support. Running out of money and friends?

But secondly, and even more importantly: It is illegal for an American candidate to solicit funds from foreign nationals. The law was brought to the attention of the Trump campaign back in June, when reports surfaced that lawmakers in Scotland, England, Iceland, Australia and other countries were getting a barrage of fundraising emails from the Trump campaign. Two campaign finance watchdog groups, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, filed complaints in June with the Federal Election Commission.

But the emails kept going out to foreign leaders. That prompted Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center to write a letter in July to the Justice Department, asking them to investigate whether the Trump campaign had engaged in knowing and willful violations of campaign finance laws, which could carry criminal penalties.

They have been put on notice that they are illegally soliciting contributions from foreign sources, said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21. This is one of the most arrogant acts I have ever seen in the world of campaign fundraising, where they are willing to completely ignore the statutes that prevent a federal candidate from soliciting contributions from foreign interests. Its pretty mind-boggling.

Trump campaign officials did not respond to queries about how Fox got on their email list. The missives were sent from email@goppresidential.com, a domain used by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee between Trumps campaign and the Republican National Committee. It is common for campaigns and committees to rent email lists in an effort to expand their donor pools, but RNC officials could not immediately provide information about where the committee obtained the list that it is using.

trump-fox
Ares Management is reportedly seeking to raise more than $45bn for its latest batch of funds.
GREENE  As friends and family members loaded trailers and trucks with damaged appliances, furniture and belongings to throw away, Loretta Miller sat with her dog in her living room Sunday.

Im what you call homeless right now, Loretta said.

Loretta, owner and resident of Miller Apartments on Traer Street in Greene, rattled off the damages to her home and her tenants homes  flooring, drywall, flooded basement and more.

After the flood of 2008, Miller turned the building into apartments, so there was much more to be lost than before.

Its going to take at least two months to fix, she said. Its going to be expensive.

Her daughter, Sandy Mouw, said they had to scoop mud and sludge off of the hardwood floors, leaving a gritty mud coating.

Its a mess, Mouw said. The smell is getting worse.

One of Lorettas greatest concerns is for her dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Charlie.

He doesnt know what to think; hes confused, Loretta said. He doesnt like me to be too far away from him now.

Lorettas great-nephew, Jeremy Miller, helped haul furniture out of the fully furnished apartments. Most of her furniture and appliances were thrown out.

Shes taking it pretty hard, Jeremy said. Seeing a lot of her stuff thrown away, its pretty tough. Its almost all gone.

Miller was unable to remove her belongings before the flood, but she did manage to move some things to higher ground.

Shes 80 years old and she just didnt have enough help when that water came up pretty quick Wednesday night, Jeremy said.

Miller will stay with family in town.

Though the floodwaters have not completely receded, throughout the community the cleanup has begun.

The city of Greene designated a portion of road near the Fire Department for a debris pile. All food-damaged items could be brought there in the afternoon.

Sara Wiegmann stood by the pile as an overseer as truckload after truckload of belongings came in.

I think this was somehow worse than 2008 because people lost more stuff, Weigmann said, talking about some people who lost everything last week. The water came from all sides, so it was different this time.

Residents covered in mud and sweat tossed shelves, doors, childrens toys and more onto the growing pile.

Shawn Spain brought several loads of debris from his six rental properties that were damaged.

It could be worse. I mean, no one died, Spain said. Just have to clean up and move on.
MASON CITY  A Mason City man accused of killing a kitten during a dispute has been sentenced to 65 days in jail.

Jerrick S. Rinnels, 28, also was fined $315.

Rinnels, originally charged with misdemeanor animal abuse, received that sentence Friday after entering an Alford plea to a reduced charge of animal neglect resulting in death or serious injury.

Mason City man accused of killing kitten arrested MASON CITY  A Mason City man sought by police for allegedly killing a kitten during a dispu

In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors could likely prove the charge.

The Mason City Police Department asked the publics help in finding Rinnels, who was accused of taking a kitten from someone and slamming the animal into a solid object on May 27.

Police say Rinnels had been arguing with the person holding the cat.

The kitten died before it could be taken to a veterinarian.

Mason City police searching for man accused of killing kitten MASON CITY | Police on Friday were searching for a Mason City man accused of killing a kitten.

Rinnels was arrested May 29 after police received an anonymous tip about his whereabouts.

Rinnels also received a 14-day jail sentence Friday for driving while barred. The two sentences are to be served concurrently with each other.

 Mary Pieper
MASON CITY  Tricia Sandahl has helped hundreds of victims put their lives back together since the devastating flooding of 2008.

As the citys floodplain administrator, it was her job to sort through the details involving more than 800 homes that were flood-damaged and 170 that qualified for buyouts because of the severity of the damage.

The heavy rains last week were nothing compared to 2008  but they carried the potential and they brought back memories.

Sandahl has become an expert on flooding and can talk in technical terms such as peak discharges and cubic feet per second.

But she also can talk about the personal impact.

What really struck me (last week) was what I didnt see. I didnt see the police and fire department evacuating what are now buyout neighborhoods, she said. I dont see piles of debris along the streets in these areas. I dont see the tears of flood victims that I saw in 2008.

The technical side of her emerges when she explains what happened eight years ago.

The flood in 2008 was a 1 percent-annual-occurrence-flood, what is commonly called a 100-year-flood.

That doesnt mean the flood happens every 100 years. It means there is a 1 percent chance of the flood happening in any given year, said Sandahl.

She said the best way to measure floods is not through elevation but through the peak discharge  the amount of water in cubic feet that would flow past a specific point in 1 second at a specific flood stage.

The peak discharge at the gauge just upstream of the 12th Street Northeast bridge on June 8, 2008, was 13,000 cubic feet per second, she said.

The peak discharge Thursday was 8,950 cfs, which put it in the range of slightly more than a 10 percent annual chance of flood  a 10-year flood range, said Sandahl.

As flood events go, this was a minor flood, she said.

But then her thoughts reverted to the human element. She said she drove around the city Thursday.

Driving down Birch Drive, I could see that the effluent pump installed at the Water Reclamation Facility (after the 2008 flood) was working. You could see the effluent discharging into the river, despite the high river levels.

That kept our plant operational and avoided what Charles City is experiencing, she said.

Sandahl said she was sad to see that the Autumn Park apartments had to be evacuated.

I really would have loved to have included them in the 2008 buyout, but the owners declined to participate, she said.

She said she still tries to keep in touch with buyout families.

I ran into one woman who used to live on Maryland Avenue. She was so happy that she could now enjoy a summer thunderstorm instead of dreading the possibility of a flood, said Sandahl.

Another buyout participant posted on Facebook that Thursday made her realize that the buyout was the right choice. Their former property was under three feet of fast-moving water and their house would have been flooded again.
Modified On Sep 26, 2016 07:15 PM By CarDekho

CarDekho.com meet in Ahmedabad focuses on tech-enabled imperatives for the sector

In the highly competitive automobile sector, dealers need to put technology on the driver seat of their businesses to fuel efficiencies and accelerate returns. Indias leading online automobile portal CarDekho.com has underlined digital solutions as the crucial torque factor within the sector.

At the CarDekho.com auto dealers meet in Ahmedabad, the focus was upon the dealers presence in the digital space to maintain a competitive edge in the current era. The annual meet defined that the Digital Dealer is one in sync with the future of better sales effectiveness and profitability and uses new technology and digital marketing for automobile business.

Emphasising on the link between technology and better RoI in a todays digitally enabled business environment, Nalin Kapoor, COO-new cars, CarDekho.com said: Digital is the scalable medium to enhance customer reach and acquisition. CarDekho.com is poised to transform dealership and service experience with technology. As much as 75% buyers go online to research before buying a car and 54% rethink after undertaking such a study. They search for right affordability, dealership and service and it is important to exploit the opportunities of the Internet. CarDekho.com is equipped to assist dealers with inherent measureable tools that ensure cent per cent customer connect, cost-per-lead reduction and end-to-end solutions in a car-purchase journey.

A case in point is CarDekho.coms CRM offering that make user experience seamless. Such solutions are offered to CarDekho.com partners to manage the entire customer lifecycle covering all touch points. These comprise Web and mobile app-based solutions in lead management systems, post sales management tools, call tracker solutions, online engagement tools and so on.

With CarDekho.coms lead management systems, the dealerships experience a massive turnaround. With our classifieds solution, the cost of leads generated through digital media is reduced about 10 to 12 times when compared to conventional print media and marketing initiatives. Dealers online are able to cover geographies without the requirement of capex. Further, CarDekho.com has a digital roadmap in place for brand building, buyer search, lead generation and conversion of sales and service.

Driving digital adoption at the dealer-partner level in order to up sales and profitability, is at the heart of CarDekho.coms business proposition. The leaders technology solutions equip dealers to deliver differentiated buying experience to customers and keep them engagement exponentially.

Along with such cloud-based solutions, the Ahmedabad dealers meet deliberated upon various innovative technologies such as virtual showroom and augmented reality platforms. The meet had participation from dealer and automobile manufacturing communities from all over India.
CDC adds St. Kitts and Nevis to interim travel guidance related to Zika virus

Media Statement For Immediate Release: Monday, September 26, 2016

Contact: Media Relations,

(404) 639-3286

CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing spread of Zika virus. Today, CDC posted a Zika virus travel notice for St. Kitts and Nevis. CDC has issued travel notices (level 2, practice enhanced precautions) for people traveling to destinations with Zika. For a full list of affected countries/regions, visit http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information.

As more information becomes available, CDCs travel notices will be updated. Travelers to areas with cases of active Zika virus transmission who have not already been infected with Zika virus can get it from mosquito bites. Mosquitoes that spread Zika bite during the day and night. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika virus. The best way to avoid Zika virus infection is to prevent mosquito bites.

Some travelers to areas with Zika will become infected while traveling but will not become sick until they return home and they might not have any symptoms. To help stop the spread of Zika, travelers should use insect repellent for three weeks after travel to areas with Zika to prevent mosquito bites.

Some people who are infected do not have any symptoms. People who do have symptoms have reported fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. The sickness is usually mild with symptoms that last from several days to a week. People usually dont get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. Travelers to areas with Zika should monitor for symptoms or sickness upon return. If they become sick, they should tell their healthcare professional when and where they have traveled.

CDC has received reports of Zika virus being spread by sexual contact with sick returning travelers. Until more is known, CDC continues to recommend that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant take the following precautions.

Pregnant women

Should not travel to any area with Zika.

If you must travel to or live in one of these areas, talk to your healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.

If you or your partner live in or travel to an area with Zika, use condoms*, the right way, every time you have sex or do not have sex throughout the pregnancy. Sex includes vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

*Barriers that prevent passing Zika through sex include male and female condoms and dental dams. Dental dams are latex or polyurethane sheets used between the mouth and vagina or anus during oral sex.

Women trying to get pregnant

Before you or your partner travel, talk to your healthcare provider about your plans to become pregnant and the risk of Zika virus infection.

You and your partner should strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.

For additional information on preventing the spread of Zika through sex, visit www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/sexual-transmission.html. Current CDC research suggests that Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is strongly associated with Zika; however, only a small proportion of people with recent Zika virus infection get GBS. CDC is continuing to investigate the link between GBS and Zika to learn more.

For more information on Zika, visit www.cdc.gov/zika .

###

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon
European stocks closed lower on Monday, as investor sentiment was curbed by a report suggesting the German government had ruled out offering Deutsche Bank assistance in its negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended around 1.5 percent lower, with all sectors and major bourses in negative territory.

The German DAX index closed down around 2.3 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 performed a little better, ending provisionally down 1.3 percent and 1.8 percent.

Asian stocks declined overnight and U.S. stocks fell in early trade, with investors cautious as major oil-producing countries meeting in Algeria and the U.S. hosts its first televised debate between the two presidential candidates.
Fintech providers need to find a balance between whats new and what works, eMoney Advisors new CEO Ed OBrien said at the eMoney Advisor Summit this week.

Innovation is great when its fast, he said, but it has to be precise and accurate to help financial advisors remain compliant in such a highly regulated industry.

Drew DiMarino, head of sales for eMoney, noted at the conference in Orange County, Calif. that, since 2010, $50 billion has been invested in fintech companies. Fintech is exploding, he said.

OBrien said although a wave of integrations in the industry is driving advisor productivity, simply counting the number of integrations a financial institution offers isnt enough to distinguish it as tech-driven. Most advisors are now telling us that its not the number, its What does that integration do? How does it make me a better advisor? he said.
Australia has been announced as the worlds best steak producer at the World Steak Challenge.

Jacks Creek, the family owned ranch in New South Wales, has taken the title for the second consecutive year.

Entries in the second World Steak Challenge were received from 17 countries, nine of them securing Gold medals.

The Gold medal winning countries are Australia (3 Golds), Northern Ireland (2), Poland (1), Scotland (2) and Wales (1).

The expert international judging panel shortlisted the 2016 champion and gold medal award winning steaks from a long list of 83 sirloins.

There are 12 silver medal winners and 12 bronze winners.

'All-round quality'

Chair of judges and butcher Keith Boxley said the winning steak picked up the top prize thanks to its all-round quality.

"Every gold medal winner was worthy of winning the top prize, but the overall winner was outstanding. It scored highly on appearance, quality, taste and tenderness."

He explained what consumers are looking for in terms of meat. "People are getting more selective about the meat they eat and they want something more prepared.

"As a butcher judging this competition, I'm looking for something that looks and tastes nice that has no gristle."

Rod Addy, editor of GlobalMeatNews, said: "The high quality of entries this year is a testament to the hard work put in by producers around the world.

"The fact we had so many more entries this year highlights the pride that they take in their product and the eagerness to win such an accolade.

"For a producer to retain the title of Worlds Best Steak is an amazing achievement and shows a high level of consistency in production."

'A win for Australia'

Patrick Warmoll, managing director of Jacks Creek, was overwhelmed to win the award for the second time.

"We spend a bit of more time selecting the entry and this win confirms that were the best in the world again.

"Winning last year was one of the biggest things to happen to us. Our brand awareness has just exploded since winning and its been great for business. This is as much a win for Australia as it is for us.

Frank Albers of Albers GMH which entered the steak into the competition said this win proved the producer had hit upon a winning formula. "Were stunned and didnt believe it would happen, he said.

"Its the perfect combination of genetics with the right amount of marbling. Its the right concept for the best steak."

Albers added that this might put more pressure on them in the future.

"We may have to justify ourselves and the competition but once people taste our steak, theyll understand. Well definitely be back next year."

'Tribute to farmers'

Technical judge Josh Anderson of Meat & Livestock Australia said the standard of entries was higher than last year.

"It was hard to increase the standard on last year but the producers have managed to do it.

"It's a tribute to the farmers the level of quality on display."

With Australia winning two years on the trot, Anderson said steak and the World Steak Challenge hit mainstream news.

"There is a desire for good beef and the World Steak Challenge showcases this."

Professor Jeff Wood, formerly of the University of Bristol, said the competition was stiff this year.

"This was my second year judging the World Steak Challenge and the standard was as high this year.

"All of the steaks were tender and tasted great, making it a tough competition to judge."
Food valued at 1.8bn wasted on UK farms each year, report says
A West Wales farmer has been fined for allowing a ram lambs horns to grow into its eyes blinding it.

An animal health officer discovered the lamb separated from the rest of sheep farmer Lewis Jones flock, walking around the field in circles.

The lambs horns had been allowed to grow into its eyes leaving it blind.

See also: Cumbrian farmer must pay 27,000 for record-keeping failures

The animal had been suffering for weeks, Aberystwyth magistrates were told.

It is normal practice for farmers to trim sheeps horns when there is a risk they may grow inwards.

The lamb made a full recovery after it was rescued and had its horns trimmed.

Mr Jones, 76, was also found guilty of letting his flock suffer from sheep scab.

Worst case of sheep scab

One sheep was suffering so badly that an expert described it as the worst case of sheep scab he had ever seen.

The animal had lost most of its fleece and had little protection from the weather during some of the coldest and wettest times of the year.

Animal health officers from Ceredigion County Council (CCC) discovered the issues after they visited land at Tanycastell, Rhydyfelin, Aberystwyth, on 24 December 2015, following a complaint from the public.

Mr Jones was convicted of two charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep in his care.

Mr Jones, who has been farming all his life, was fined 200 for each offence and told to pay 2,564 of prosecution costs along with a 30 victim surcharge.

Sentencing him, district Judge John Parsons told Mr Jones: The inspections of your flock have simply been inadequate.

We know that the council inspector was easily able to find and identify the suffering of the ewe.

And he was able to identify the ram as suffering from its behaviour.

Unacceptable welfare standards

Speaking after the case, Huw Williams, of CCC, said: Our animal health officers work with the local farmers and the agricultural community in general to ensure that good animal welfare standards are maintained in the county.

The vast majority of farmers work hard to ensure that the highest possible welfare standards for their livestock.

Unfortunately, there are instances where the husbandry and welfare standards fall far short of what is acceptable.
India today is faced with a hostile Pakistan. In the face of such dire challenges, a strong Kshatriya Dharma is required, which obviously means not only diplomacy but also the possible use of force.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was practising Lord Krishnas ahimsa when his armies fought against the tyrannical rule of Aurangzeb in the seventeenth century. The Hindu resistance to foreign rule that continued for over a thousand years, from the first Arab invasion in the eighth century to the British rule in the twentieth century, was rooted in the true meaning of Vedic ahimsa  which is actively working to remove the forces of adharma from the world, even if force is required. Ahimsa as merely avoiding the use of force, or not using weapons, is something any coward can do.

True ahimsa does not mean non-violence under all circumstances, nor does it require surrender to the forces of darkness in order to avoid conflict. It means reducing the amount of harm going on in the world, which requires a proactive policy. It does not imply only passive resistance but also empowers active resistance when necessary. In this regard, the Indian freedom fighters that used force against the unrighteous British rule were also practising ahimsa, though perhaps not of the Gandhian variety.

Kshatriya Ahimsa

The Mahabharata and Vedas extol ahimsa on several levels, notably what Arjuna practised under Krishnas guidance, which is a good example of Kshatriya ahimsa  the ahimsa or removal of harmful forces that is the duty of the Kshatriya or the warrior/military class of society to fulfill.

Vedic Dharma only brings in the use of armed conflict if all other diplomatic efforts do not work, but does not reject it outright. Krishna though the greatest diplomat of his time could not convince the Kauravas to give up their arrogant efforts to usurp power and not give the Pandavas even five villages of their own.

Arjuna himself in the Mahabharata speaks eloquently on the use of the danda, the rod, symbolising punishment. He says that the danda protects Dharma and that if the danda is not used to protect people, the world falls into blinding darkness.

Ahimsa as the rejection of all use of force, we should note, was also never a state policy in Buddhist countries, as the great Buddhist scholar, Sri Lokesh Chandra has said. We find Buddhist kingdoms with armies and a Buddhist tradition of martial arts extending from India to China and Japan.

History of Hindu resistance from monks, yogis and swamis

Monks, yogis and sadhus took vows of ahimsa, but this did not exclude defending people from adharmic attack. The Nath Yogis stood on the front lines, protecting temples and holy sites against Muslim invaders seeking to destroy them. Swami Vidyaranya, in the Shankaracharya line of Sringeri Math, organised the Vijayanagar Empire to protect Hindu Dharma from the Islamic onslaught, inspiring armed resistance that included removing Islamic kingdoms like the Sultanate of Madurai.

The Sikhs as under Guru Gobind Singh employed the same Kshatriya Dharma in fighting the Moguls, for which they were often tortured and killed. The valiant Gurkas of Nepal have a Kshatriya tradition going back to Gorakhnath and the Nath Yogis. Even Brahmins and Sadhus took up resistance to Alexander the Greats assault on India over 2,000 years ago.

This practice of self-defence is the true history of India, not surrendering without a fight under the pretext of following a higher Dharma of ahimsa, meaning desisting from all use of force. Of course, there were instances of Hindu or Buddhist kings behaving unrighteously, but this also was in violation of Dharma and was not honoured either.

Great gurus of modern India like Sri Aurobindo raised a call for a new Kshatriya spirit, a strong military and active resistance when needed. Aurobindo supported the Allied efforts against the Nazis in the Second World War, when Gandhi did not. He also supported the American defence of Korea against the Chinese communist invasion during the Korean War, and warned India of the great dangers of communism that Nehru failed to see.

Need to defend not compromise Dharma

We should question the belief of those who hold that Hindus violate their true Dharma of ahimsa by taking up arms against those who attack them. This implies that Hindus who honour the Kshatriya Dharma are violating Dharma and yogic principles. The contrary is true. By denying the right of defence to Hindus, Dharma is violated, not supported and may suffer greatly.

India today is faced with a hostile Pakistan that makes the Kauravas look like saints. In the face of such dire challenges, a strong Kshatriya Dharma is required, which obviously means not only diplomacy but also the possible use of force.

Gandhis ahimsa and Nehrus diplomacy exacerbated the Kashmir problem in the beginning by not taking all of Kashmir back into India after the initial invasion of the region in 1947. Its overemphasis on ahimsa as avoidance of conflict and its failure to fully honour a Kshatriya Dharma discredited Indias true martial spirit and made those in the armed forces feel apologetic about their roles.

The Vedas speak of the need of Brahma and Kshatra to go together  meaning that worldly and political power should follow a higher spiritual and yogic Dharma. This principle should be remembered.

The Hindu tradition has never promoted conversion by force, nor has India ever invaded other countries promoting religious wars of conquest. Hindu Dharma considers that moksha or the liberation of the inner self, which exists in the hearts of all, is the ultimate goal of every person. It tells us that we should seek all means of peace and reconciliation in human conflict.

Yet it also holds that we should never compromise truth or Dharma. If you appease a bully, his bullying efforts will only get worse, as Swami Rama Tirtha once said. If the forces of adharma do attack, they must be opposed by all relevant and necessary methods.

To give up without a fight, or to compromise Dharma to avoid conflict, will be taken by the forces of adharma as surrender and an invitation for them to take over. Today India has to stand firm as a military, economic and spiritual force in the world. This is certainly its way of progress for the future in all fields and on all fronts.

Following Lord Krishna today means becoming new Arjunas and boldly facing all possible modern Kurukshetras!

Source : Swarajya
By Raghu Raman

To my brother officers, troops and those interested in defence of the nation

In this crowded space when many Generals & other accomplished security experts, like television anchors and page 3 socialites, are offering security advice, in the aftermath of the Uri attack, when cross-border militants killed 18 Indian soldiers, here are some steps that just might help strategically.

1. Stop jingoism designed to play to the gallery

Covert Ops are not announced like TV programs, though TV channels undoubtedly want to be the First to announce Covert attacks.

These operations based in TV studios are designed to get them Television Rating Points and celebrity status. Most TV anchors, politicians & some Generals will fight until the last drop of your blood.

Doesnt help strategically or even tactically.

Keeping the enemy on tenterhooks is far better than a few skirmishes. It forces the Pakistani Army to stay on high alert (huge cost & stress on formations) and forces dilution of troops in their Western border with Afghanistan  thus easing Pakistani pressure on pro-India factions in Afghanistan, allowing them time and space to consolidate and gain momentum.

Keeping Pakistani troops committed in their Eastern border for months, awaiting the anticipated retaliation, is far worse for them than actually carrying out a few raids.

2. Recognise that there are three Pakistans: Pakistani Army, Pakistani politicians & Pakistani people

Devise three different strategies for each faction.

Pakistani Generals want to continue ruling the longest running military dictatorship in the world.

(Pakistan has been a de facto military state since soon after independence when the leadership vacuum created by its founder Muhammad Ali Jinnahs death in 1948 was exploited by the army, which continues to this day)

Consider this. Their current Prime Minister when he was Prime Minister last time  sacked the military chief while the latter was mid-air.

Before Pervez Musharrafs aircraft landed, Nawaz Sharif was deposed, and Musharraf was President of Pakistan. Despite being ousted and charged with nothing less than treason, General Musharraf gallivants the world and even visits India as the chief guest of summits.

If that doesnt tell you what the real leadership institution of Pakistan is, then stop reading this post and read Alice in Wonderland instead.

3. Generals run Pakistan not their Prime Minister or the politicians.

Recognise which Sharif to apply pressure on. Army Chief Raheel controls Prime Minister Nawaz, not the other way round.

Pakistani Generals are part-time soldiers & full time businessmen. Attack their business interests. Hit Pakistan commercially. Map every export of Pakistan and every market they sell to. Subsidise own products in those markets and undercut the pricing in such a way that Pakistani farmers and small businesses feel the squeeze.

For the cost of less than few fighter aircrafts, India can devastate Pakistans commodity export economy.

Leverage Indias global buying power & tell the world they have to choose between Indian or Pakistani market access. They cant have both.

Every multinational corporation operating in India should get the same message from the government, corporations, and private citizens. Choose where you want to do your business. India or Pakistan.

Now the government may have some challenges in implementing such a strategy because thats contrary to world free trade agreements, but what stops citizens from boycotting every McDonalds, Coke, Pepsi, Honda, Vodafone, Unilever etc with the simple caveat. If you do business in Pakistan, forget about our wallet shares.

Instead of jingoism on WhatsApp, forgo your Coke. Thats far more effective. You dont need divisions to wage a war. You can start becoming a warrior yourself!

4. You dont need to use weapons to win a war. You just need to buy them instead

India is the largest weapons-buying country in the world. This is not because we are arming ourselves suddenly, it is because most of our equipment is now end of life cycle and we are replenishing them.

This means that entire assembly lines in the world will shutdown if India does not buy their equipment.

So Rafale will shut down if India doesnt order from them, Bofors will cease to exist if India does not place an order. Thousands of jobs (and millions of votes) in those countries depend on Indias orders.

Tell the Frances of the world that they cant expect India to buy Rafale if they continue selling submarines to Pakistan. Show China that we can stop buying their electronics if they continue to support Pakistan.

5. Reach out to the people of Pakistan

Show them how their military is sucking their progress dry. Invite their youth to India and let them see the power of true democracy first hand.

Encourage them to start demanding financial accountability rather than empty jingoism.

Reveal the truth about the Pakistani military businesses that have nothing to do with defence. (Pakistani military, aka Pakistani Generals, run banks, corporations and businesses that account for substantial amounts of their GDP)

Prompt them to ask their radicals as to why their own children are studying / working in India and other countries  while the fanatics encourage others to attain jannat, heaven in martyrdom. Empower Pakistani youth to question their fanatical leaders hypocrisy .

Reassure them that India has no nefarious designs on their future. Its their own leaders who are stymieing their progress.

6. Rebuild own institutions strategically

Rearm the Armed Forces on a war footing. Implement recommendations of countless committees advocating modernisation of the Army/police/paramilitary forces.

Modernise processes so that procurement of equipment does not take decades. Bring in professionalism and efficiency and hold DRDO accountable for performance. Dont keep condoning inefficiencies and delays. Ask why projects are not completed on time.

Why is a country that is sending spacecraft to Mars, not able to make an indigenous rifle? If you demand accountability from the defence forces, why not from those who are supposed to equip those same forces?

7. Realise that every country will get the army (or for that matter, the political leadership) they accept

Realise that patriotism is not an emotion to be paraded when provoked. Patriotism is an ongoing value system. Those who ask why the army is not retaliating must also ask why the army is not given its due. Those who are baying for revenge and blood should ask how much of mindshare or TV time was given to veterans asking for their decade-long dues.

Those who say that the armed forces is not a coveted career must ask what this nation has done to make them feel coveted through the year  not just when there are floods, or earthquakes or #UriAttack.

18 soldiers died in this latest attack on India. They must be in heaven because they have already done their time in hell.

But a question that every Indian needs to ask himself/herself is how are they different from the dead, if they are not keenly interested in the institution that stands between them  and death.

They say war is too serious a business to be left to Generals.

Thats true.

But war is also too serious a business to be left to TV anchors, socialites and politicians.

Its your war. Its your children who will face the consequences of a weak army, grandstanding leaders, tactical and short term plans. If you dont play an active participative role in that, there is no point in blaming Pakistan.

If it wasnt them, someone else would have exploited our voids and weaknesses.

Jai Hind!

Raman was the founding CEO of NATGRID, and group president, Reliance Industries. Hepreviously spent eleven years in the armed forces.

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this article stated: Pakistan has been a military state since just two years after their independence. That was rephrased to explain the de facto nature of Pakistan militarys dominance since Jinnahs death, even when a civilian government is in power.

Source : Yahoo News
Intellectual integrity and truth are obviously unwanted in our times. These have been displaced by political correctness. Why this happened is a mystery, but mainstream media and other agencies vehemently enforce the politically correct opinion. They drum into us powerfully what we should think even if it goes against common sense.

Let me give an example:

When in 1999, the Pope declared in India that the Church will plant the cross in Asia in the 21stcentury, media portrayed it as ok. After all, the Church has the duty to spread Christianity all over the world, so the Pope is just doing his duty.

When people like Zakir Naik conduct mass conversion of Hindus to Islam, media ignores it or tells us that it is ok. After all, Islam also needs to spread till all of humanity has become Muslims.

When, however, a Hindu group brings back some of those who had converted out of Hindu Dharma, the media goes hyper: those Hindu groups are communal and divisive forces who want to disturb the plural fabric of our society and establish an intolerant Hindu rashtra. The ranting goes on for days on TV channels.

Why do media get it so wrong? Clearly, the truth is the opposite. Of the three religions, only Hindu or Sanatana Dharma is not divisive and not communal. Only this eternal Dharma considers all as family  Vasudaivam kutumbakam  without any precondition.

In contrast, Christianity and Islam, which are sort of newcomers in the religious field, divide humanity into believers and unbelievers. The believers are right and the unbelievers wrong. The believers are loved by the Supreme and can go to heaven and the unbelievers, even if they lived a virtuous life, are thrown into hell by the Supreme personally. And all those claims are made without any proof.

Are these unsubstantiated claims not intolerant, communal and divisive, apart from not being true?

So in all fairness, the term divisive forces must be applied to Christianity and Islam and not to Hindu Dharma. Yet even suggesting this is likely to get the liberal elite into fits. They are dead sure that only Hindu Dharma is divisive and needs to be stopped from spreading. But WHY are they so sure?

To explain it, lets go back to the 18th and 19th century, when the ancient knowledge of the Vedas first reached western universities. The intellectual elite there were deeply impressed and wanted more of it. Prominent personalities like Voltaire, Mark Twain, Schopenhauer, the Schlegel brothers, Paul Deussen and many others spoke in glowing terms about Indias heritage. In the early 20th century scientists like Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Pauli, Oppenheimer, Einstein or Tesla were in their research inspired by Vedanta and acknowledged it.

So what changed? How did Hindu tradition lose the esteem of people worldwide  so much so that now it is considered even by western academics as the worst of all religions?

The reason dawned on me when I recently read that Voltaire, too, had praised the Vedas as the greatest gift for humanity.

Voltaire was in the forefront of fighting the Church. He went to prison for it. Clearly the Church was not amused that western intellectuals praised Indian wisdom as much superior to Christianity. There was real danger that the Church would lose her sheep as it had already lost the power to punish those who dared to disagree with the Church.

The Christian view of the true God, who sits in heaven, is jealous of other gods and sends all those who are not baptized into eternal hellfire, was no match for the Indian concept of Brahman which is the one conscious essence in all the different forms, like the one ocean is the essence in all the different waves.

Brahman is not what the eyes can see but That whereby the eyes can see. Brahman is not what the mind can think but That whereby the mind can think (Kena Upanishad).

Such profound insights severely challenged the simplistic view of a personal God who cruelly punishes all those who worshipped him under another name or form. The Church must have been genuinely worried that the Christian God would be seen as an invention by the Church to keep its members under control and submissive  which in all likelihood comes close to the truth but of course must never be known to the common people.

So it would make sense that the Church  in collaboration with state powers which also had an interest to keep the myth of western superiority intact  developed a strategy to put an end to this praise of Indias great civilization. And the strategy was simple and time-tested:

Teach children all over the world negative aspects about Hinduism (all Indian traditions got an ism- ending in the English language which made them look dogmatic) and after some 15 years, the new generation will not even want to know anything about Hinduism. They will be convinced that it is worthless because their teachers said so.

And what were these negative aspects they wanted students to associate with Hinduism? Obviously first and foremost an oppressive caste system and next idol-worship.

The most unfortunate part was that this strategy was implemented in India, the source of this ancient knowledge, as well. Thomas Macauley correctly analyzed that the Sanskrit culture is Indias backbone. It needed to be broken if the British wanted to subdue the natives. Macauleys advice was followed and the Sanskrit education system was replaced with the English one. And even more unfortunate  this English education system continued even after Independence till now.

The strategy worked.

Already in primary school in a small Bavarian town, I knew that India had a terrible caste system and untouchables. We saw pictures of poor, miserable Indians and it left a bad, lasting impression. At that age, I knew nothing about the Holocaust of Jews and gypsies in Germany. It was left to the initiative of our Latin teacher in High School to impress on us what happened in the concentration camps by showing us a documentary.

Neither were we told in school that all societies have a caste or class system and that the Vedic analogy of a society being like a human body was actually ingenious. Caste as such is not bad. Every society needs to be structured. Looking down on lower castes is bad. Yet this is a human weakness all over the world and not advocated by sacred texts.

Since the claim India has the most terrible caste system was, and still is, a strategy to put Hinduism and Hindus down, fairness was not to be expected. Otherwise it would become quickly clear that the sins against humanity by the Whites and Arabs were far greater than those by Indians. Slavery, colonialism, the Christianization of the Americas, the Muslim invasions, and even today discrimination against women, racism especially against Jews and Blacks, cruel oppression and terrorism in the name of religion took the lives of many millions of human beings.

Indians come nowhere near their horrific record and have no need to go on the defensive. Yet unfortunately Hindus fall into the trap and become defensive. They enact more laws in favour of backward castes or women, but they of course cannot satisfy those who do not want to be satisfied.

Virulent attacks on Hindus and their tradition continue in Indian and foreign media, often from persons with Hindu names  Macauleys children. These attacks have the same purpose as the indoctrination of kids with distorted, insincere info on Hinduism: nobody should discover the depth and profundity of the Indian tradition, least of all Hindus.

Fortunately for India and the world, there are still highly knowledgeable Sanskrit pandits, yet the mainstream, especially the youth, tends to look west for inspiration which will make them feel lost and without direction in the long run.

Isnt it time to set things right, turn around and ask uncomfortable questions for example during the next Interfaith Dialogue? Ask on what basis Christianity and Islam claim that the Supreme Being, the creator of us all, is so cruel and unfair that he throws billions of humans, including all Hindus, for all eternity into hell after one single life, that might have lasted only a few days or may have been lived virtuously and with greatest integrity for 100 years?

If they say that the Highest himself has revealed this truth, tell them that the Vedas also have been revealed by the Highest (as well as other scriptures) and the Vedas claim that the Supreme Being is present in all as blissful awareness and nobody is damned forever. All get chance after chance to realize their divine essence.

So since there are divergent views, there needs to be an intelligent debate about which view is more likely to be true and which can possibly even be proven to be true. However, Christian and Muslim delegates may not be interested in truth as this would endanger the basis on which their whole religious system is built  blind belief in unverifiable dogmas.

Therefore, to bring truthfulness to the discourse is the sole responsibility of the Hindu delegates. That they fulfill their responsibility is in the interest of all humanity, including Christians and Muslims, except maybe of those who earn their livelihood by peddling religion.

Many Christians turned atheists, because they lost faith in God, but didnt realize that there is a very different perspective of God possible which makes far more sense than atheism  the perspective of the Indian Rishis.

If Hindu Dharma were better known  and it needs to spread for the benefit of humanity  it will become clear that it was portrayed as the worst option for humanity, because nobody should know that it is actually the BEST option.

Source : Maria Wirth Blog
Gardai have charged a man in connection with a robbery in Dublin yesterday.

Two men, one armed with a gun, asaulted a male member of staff at the entrance of a convenience shop at Neilstown, Dublin 22, at 7am yesterday.

They fled the scene on foot with cigarettes and alcohol.

Shortly afterwards, Gardai arrested a man close to the scene of the robbery and then found a firearm, a baton, cigarettes and alcohol in a follow-up search.

He is being held at Ronanstown Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

The 44-year-old man is due to appear before Blanchardstown District Court, tomorrow morning.

A second man remains at large.

The injured shop worker was taken to Tallaght Hospital with minor injuries.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information is asked to contact them at Ronanstown Garda station on 01 6667700 The Confidential Line, 1800 666111 or any Garda Station.
CARSON CITY, Nev., Sept. 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mexus Gold US (OTCQB:MXSG)(Mexus or the Company) President Paul Thompson is happy to report that his recent visit to the Santa Elena mine was successful and confirmed that the project is still on track to be in production late October 2016. The recent storms which passed through the area slowed progress at the mine site but the crew continues to push forward.



The company also announced today that Mexus and its partner, MarMar, have a new gold and silver project called the San Marco mine. This property sits in the municipality of Pitiquito, 200km S of Puerto Penasco and 250km NW of Hermosillo, Sonora in the community of Puerto Libertad. The mine encompasses a total of 970 acres. Most importantly, the previous owners of this property reported 110,000oz. of gold identified through prior geological evaluations which provides a strong basis for future work. The 50/50 agreement with MarMar on this project is similar to the one at our Santa Elena mine. MarMar plans to submit for permits immediately. Marco Martinez, CEO of MarMar, feels that these permits will be completed about the time the Santa Elena mine is processing 15,000 tons of ore a day.

Added CEO Paul Thompson, Mexus and MarMar are keeping with our promise to bring additional projects on board. This new property, with its excellent drill results and mineable gold, is a small example of what MarMar brings to the table. I hope our shareholders can clearly see that this partnership has been and will continue to be a win.

Photos and maps found here

About Mexus Gold US

MEXUS GOLD US is an American-based exploration company with holdings in Mexico. Mexus' fully owned Julio/Santa Elena property is located 54km NW of Caborca, Mexico. The property sits in an area which is currently being mined by some of the largest mining companies in the world. Mexus has drill results which show a high grade, multi vein system throughout the property. Mexus also owns the rights to the Ocho Hermanos property, which is located 80km NE of Hermosillo, Mexico. This property will be drilled to show a proven reserve once our flagship property is in full production. Preliminary drilling on this property has been extremely promising. Founded in 2009, Mexus Gold US is committed to protecting the environment, mine safety and employing members of the communities in which it operates.

For more information on Mexus Gold US, visit www.mexusgoldus.com.

Cautionary Statement

Forward looking Statement: Statements in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including the failure to complete successfully the development of new or enhanced products, the Company's future capital needs, the lack of market demand for any new or enhanced products the Company may develop, any actions by the Company's partners that may be adverse to the Company, the success of competitive products, other economic factors affecting the Company and its markets, seasonal changes, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any statements in this press release.




It didnt take much last winter for the Pirates to re-sign utilityman Sean Rodriguez, who inked a one-year, $2.5MM contract after a poor season. Considering Rodriguez has drastically improved his output this year, Pittsburgh wont be able to bring him back during the offseason at such a low cost, which general manager Neal Huntington knows.

Wed love to have Sean remain in a Pirate uniform, Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Given what hes done this year, we would fully anticipate that theres going to be quite a market out there for him.

Rodriguez has lined up everywhere but pitcher and catcher this season, though he has spent the lions share of his time at first base, the middle infield and right field. Offensively, the 31-year-old is amid a career campaign, having slashed a terrific .264/.345/.518 with 18 home runs through 320 plate appearances. Rodriguezs overall line and homer total are easily personal bests since he broke into the majors with the Angels in 2008, and the longtime Ray has helped his cause with a 10 percent walk rate. Thats significantly better than the 2.1 percent mark Rodriguez posted in 2015, when he logged one of his worst seasons.

In assessing Rodriguezs value, Huntington said, Seans just done a remarkable job. The defensive versatility and the impact, its hard to measure.

Rodriguez hit an uninspiring .228/.295/.371 across 2,093 PAs entering this season, but he could seek a multiyear deal worth around $5MM per annum on the heels of a strong 2016, writes Biertempfel. That would likely price him out of Pittsburgh, per Biertempfel, who notes that the club has potential in-house replacements in Adam Frazier and Alen Hanson. Frazier seems especially likely to take over for Rodriguez, as the 24-year-old has spent time at multiple infield and outfield positions and slashed .311/.361/.432 in his first 144 major league trips to the plate.
- Some Boko Haram militants, soldiers and Civilian JTF members died in Borno towns of Miyanti and Dareljamal after an ambush on the army by the insurgents

- The Army also quelled an attack on a community in Kaduna state on Sunday, September 25, killing many insurgents and arresting six suspects in the fight.

- Four local vigilantes were killed in the Kaduna attack while 9 others were wounded and the military is trailing the fleeing insurgents

Soldiers standing over Boko Haram militants kiled in Logomani

The Nigerian Army has killed not fewer than three Boko Haram militants in Borno state on Sunday, September 25 and arrested another 6 in Kaduna state.

According to an initial statement from army public relations officer, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Nigerian troops were ambushed by Boko Haram militants at some towns in Borno state but three of the insurgents lost their lives in the process.

READ ALSO: Biafra Agitation: Judge allegedly commits terrible blunder on Kanus case (photos)

But the army also suffered losses that included that of an unnamed officer and three soldiers.

He wrote: Today, troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE on administration patrol from Maiduguri encountered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and ambush between Miyanti and Dareljamal, Borno State.

The ambush was cleared and 3 Boko Haram terrorists were killed by the troops. They also recovered a Machine Gun, 1 AK-47 Rifle and some quantity of ammunition.

Unfortunately, we lost an officer and 3 soldiers, while 16 soldiers and 3 Civilian JTF sustained injuries during the encounter.

Similarly, 2 vehicles that entered the IED were badly damaged. The wounded have since been evacuated and are in stable condition.

In a separate statement late on Sunday, September 25 night, Col. Usman confirmed the arrests of six Boko Haram suspects as the Army clashed with insurgents in Godogodo community in Kaduna state.

Soldiers looking at more Boko Haram militants killed in Logomani

Working with the police, troops inflicted heavy casualty on militants that carried out a coordinated attack on the town.

Usmans statement read: Gallant troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army in a joint operation with personnel of Nigeria Police and local vigilantes have today repelled a coordinated attack by gunmen on Godogodo town of Kaduna State.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Army reacts to Shekaus new video, says Boko Haram leader unstable (watch video)

The troops fought off the attackers and pursued them into the bush inflicting heavy casualty on them.

The combined security team also arrested the following 6 suspects : Lawal Gambo, Yau Sani, Bala Amodu, Ibrahim Maikaru, Abubakar Hassan and Bashiru Isa Ciroma.

Unfortunately 4 local vigilantes lost their lives while another 9 were wounded in the course of countering the dastardly attack meant to cause more loss of lives and properties of law abiding citizens of Godogodo Town.

The situation in Godogo Town has since returned to normalcy and efforts are ongoing to track the remaining fleeing bandits.

We wish to reassure citizens that the effort to safeguard life and property will continue with renewed vigour until all the rampaging bandits are brought to justice.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has confirmed that another clash between soldiers and members of the Boko Haram terrorist group on Sunday, September 25 left 22 insurgents four soldiers killed.

Two other soldiers were injured in the clash that happened along the Dikwa-Gamboru road in Borno state at about 1:00 am, according to a statement issued by Army spokesperson, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman.

Source: Legit.ng
CARSON CITY, Nev., Sept. 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Del Toro Silver Corp. (OTCPink:DTOR) (Del Toro or the Company) is pleased to announce that on September 20, 2016, the Company entered into a convertible loan agreement with Lazarus Mining LLC, a registered Nevada limited liability company. Under the terms of the convertible loan agreement, Lazarus Mining LLC has agreed to loan the Company the sum of US$55,000, which was advanced to the Company on September 20, 2016.



On September 21, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with Asher Enterprises, Inc providing for the payment to Asher of $50,000 in full and final settlement of two outstanding convertible notes which had a combined principle balance of $63,665. The notes were initially issued in October and December of 2013.

According to Del Toro CFO Patrick Fagen This new debt structure not only saves the Company money, it also provides more constraints for conversions on the debt, which protects shareholders from excessive dilution. It will enable us to operate with greater certainty in regards to our share structure and budgeting."

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, operating with greater certainty in regards to share structure and budgeting. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc., a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), hosted its largest group of college interns this summer with 79 students. In the past three years, Aerojet Rocketdyne has hired 196 interns from more than 50 different universities across the nation.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/db69c845-b612-41b9-b71f-a2f7e41c6947

Our internship and co-operative education programs are central to transferring knowledge within the company to the next-generation. We are also able to take advantage of their fresh perspective and incorporate new thoughts and ideas into the company, said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake.

Aerojet Rocketdyne offers internships to students pursuing many areas of study, including finance, economics and business; however, the majority of the opportunities are in the engineering field. The company matches its interns with a mentor who provides guidance and assigns them a project based on their abilities, college courses completed and area of study. Interns are also included in a program called Launch which was created to ease the transition of newly hired recent graduates from college to the work environment through mentoring, social networking and identifying potential leadership opportunities.

As an intern at Aerojet Rocketdyne I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most experienced and talented engineers in the aerospace industry, said Bryce Chanes about his experience this summer working as a Project Engineer Intern at Aerojet Rocketdynes Los Angeles facility. With their guidance and mentorship, I was able to hone my engineering skills and enhance my professional toolset in a way that no other experience can.

Chanes worked on the important AR1 engine, which will end reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine, currently used to power the nations most reliable launch vehicle. AR1 is taking advantage of the latest manufacturing processes, materials and technology to be able to rapidly develop and certify an engine by 2019 that will be more capable than the RD-180.

I am so impressed with our current class of Aerojet Rocketdyne summer interns and the exciting projects they were able to work on, like AR1. They are our future leaders in engineering, science and business, said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. I cannot wait to see what they do next.

I believe every college student should have the opportunity to try out the career they think they want to pursue as early as possible to get a feeling about what its like to walk in those shoes. I am lucky in that I knew from an early age that this is what I wanted to do, said Chanes about his experience.

Aerojet Rocketdynes internship program currently has interns at eight of its 14 sites and plans to grow the internship program to meet the increased need for qualified employees with real world experience.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com.
Lots of Zimbabweans are in a financial trauma as you read this, all thanks to the popular Ponzi scheme called MMM.

Thousands of people living in Zimbabwe, among them civil servants, vendors and more, were said to have lost thousands of dollars to fraudulent online pyramid scheme MMM Global Zimbabwe after the system collapsed recently. The social financial network, which relied on an accelerating number of new members to pay off the old, abruptly terminated its services without any prior notice last week leaving participants stranded.

MMM pyramid scheme (bitcoinhub)

Iharare.co reports that these Zimbabweans joined the online investment scheme with the sole aim of getting rich quickly. It was said that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe warned its people about the system, saying the scheme was fraudulent.

The scheme prides itself as a mutual aid fund under which recruited members contribute money to assist others and are promised investment returns of 30 percent per month. Some of the people left counting their losses told The Herald that they received emails that the scheme had been suspended until September 15.

READ ALSO: MMM: Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes and the complicit thievery of an educated elite

One of the participants, Mr Tinashe Muza of Harare said: All along things were moving in the right direction and we now have nowhere to claim our investments. When we started putting our funds in the scheme one could get assistance within seven days but things later changed to 14 days and when we were shut out the waiting period was 21 days. What it simply means is that the number of people in need of help has outnumbered the number of people joining. Right now we have nowhere to get our money which we invested.

MMM stands for Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox and takes its name from its founder, Sergei Panteleevich Mavrodi of Russia. He founded MMM in 1989 and the scheme was declared bankrupt three years later leading to the disappearance of Mavrodi until his arrest in 2003.

While some people who were skeptical about the scheme started with small amounts, it is believed some poured in thousands of dollars anticipating higher returns. The RBZ said the schemes were fraudulent as existing investors were paid money not from genuine market investment of their funds, but from contributions made by new investors, until a point when the scheme can no longer attract new investors.

Sergey Panteleevich Mavrodi is a Russian criminal and a former deputy of the State Duma. He is the founder of the  series of pyramid schemes

Currently, the scheme is in Nigeria and it is called MMM - Federal Republic of Nigeria. Lots of Nigerians are on the scheme and the scheme actually works (just like how it was working well at first in Zimbabwe). MMM Nigeria, is a Ponzi scheme that originated in Russia that has now set up in Nigeria. Wikipedia says the company was involved in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the 1990s. It was estimated that thousands of people lost up to $10 billion dollars.

Well, a lot of people think the scheme is legit and not a scam but the history of the company says the opposite. Only time will tell.

Source: Legit.ng
- President Muhammadu Buhari claimed militants in the Niger Delta region were sponsored by treasury looters

- A coalition of groups from the Niger Delta region rejected the claim and insisted that militants were fighting for resource control

- The groups also blamed the president for his policies that were against the Niger Delta region

A coalition of several groups in the Niger Delta region have thrown their weight behind the Niger Delta Avengers and disagree with President Muhammadu Buhari that the militants were sponsored by looters.

The president during his visit to the US for the United Nations General Assembly had said that people who had looted the countrys treasury were sponsoring the vandalism of oil and gas pipelines.

Sahara Reporters reports that some groups from the region denied the allegation and insisted that the fight for resource control was not a new one.

The groups are Niger Delta Security Watch Organisation of Nigeria, Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, Ijaw Human Rights Monitors and Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade.

READ ALSO: Shell cannot confirm Niger Delta Avengers' bombing claim

Read the statement below:

"The pan Niger Delta civil societies find it difficult to stomach President Buhari's assertion that looters of Nigerian common wealth recruited militants against his administration. While the many follies of Mr President on issues relating to NIGER DELTA agitation are forgiveable in the sense that Mr President has already admitted that age will limit his capacity, we however find it difficult to forgive the ignorance displayed by Mr President's nephews, cousins and friends who are presently the handlers of the President's functions in Aso rock. If the handlers of Mr President were good students of history, they ought to have known that the NIGER DELTA agitation for self-determination and political autonomy or better still equity participation of the resources in their lands predated Nigeria independent and even oil discovery.

"In 1954 constitutional conference, our forefathers agitated for a separate state of our their own. The agitations for COR State by the minority ethnic groups in the East and Mid-Western State by the Niger Deltans in the West gave birth to minority agitation for political autonomy. That was why in the 1957 constitutional conference, the ethnic minorities in the Niger Delta region presented their agitation for separate states. This was the reason why the British Government recommended a commission for the region instead of a separate state. Today's Avengers armed struggle is a rehearse of what our forefathers have done in the past.

"The Niger Delta struggle has evolved into different stages. During the pre-colonial period, it was a combination of armed and nonviolent struggle. At the colonial time, it metamorphosed into a full blown nonviolent struggle. However, six years after Nigeria got her independent precisely in 1966, Major Jasper lsaac Adaka Boro introduced arms into the struggle which has now been redefined by successive militants groups from time to time. It's on record that different armed groups have sprang up after Isaac Boro to wage armed campaign against the Federal Government over the unresolved issues bordering on oil ownership and the defective and one side-favoured federal structure.

READ ALSO: MEND attacks 'immature' Avengers over renewed hostilities

"The question we want to ask; who were the looters that recruited our forefathers to agitate for resource control in the pre- colonial era with particular reference to the King Koko's rebellion against the British Government in response to the later's gunboat diplomacy? Who were the looters that recruited the Niger Delta elders to demand for COR State from the MacPherson's led-Colonial administration in 1939? Again, who were the looters that encouraged Maj. Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro to declare Niger Delta Republic which culminated in the famous 12 days Revolution? The late environmental activist, Mr Ken Kunle Saro- Wiwe, the ljaw Youth Council (IYC) and MEND at various times threw down the gauntlet against successive Governments in the past over ownership of oil. Were they also recruited by looters to wage war against the past Governments? It's time Mr President stopped the fantasies of Government and face the real truth he is evading. When he allowed power players in his Government to execute anti-Niger Delta agenda against the region, didn't he knew that they have murdered peace?

"To ascribed the present agitation by the NIGER DELTA Avengers to looters tells volume of how Mr President and his handlers misconstrued the clamour for a better NIGER DELTA which has been in existence from the pre-colonial era to date. What compelled Isaac Boro, Saro-Wiwa, IYC, MEND and others to cause civil disorder against the Federal Governments in the past is what pushed the Niger Delta Avengers to embark on this renewed armed struggle. The Avengers or any of the genuine agitators are not recruited to wage war against Buhari Government. We want to state here equivocally without fear of contradiction that the Niger Delta agitation will never stop even after Buhari leaves office as long as the age long issues pertaining to oil governance is not addressed. Mr President should not shy away from the responsibilities of his Government. He cannot say he is not aware of the demands of the Niger Delta Avengers."

Source: Legit.ng
- The Federal High court today, September 26, ruled in favour of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu

- Justice John Tsoho in his ruling disqualified himself from hearing the criminal case against Kanu

- The judge's ruling came after Kanu in a petition to the National Judicial Council called for an investigation of Justice Tsoho over two conflicting rulings he made

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu

A Federal High Court judge John Tsoho has disqualified himself further hearing the matter against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu by the Department of State Services.

In his ruling today, Monday, September 26, Tsoho said: "I deem it unnecessary to allow the learned DPP (director of public prosecution) M. Labaran to make any response."

Tsoho's statement came after counsel to the defendants Chuks Muoma informed the judge of a petition against him before the National Judicial Council (NJC).

The petition sent to NJC by Kanu queried the judge's conflicting ruling on an application by the DSS to conduct a secret trial for him (Kanu).

Also, during the ruling, Kanu who was initially absent was brought into the court dressed in an all white attire by the prison wardens.

READ ALSO: Biafra: Nnamdi Kanus trial commences

The judge said: "Luckily, the procedure would have been to await the response of the NJC."

The judge however said any action by the court would preempt the decision of the judicial council.

He also said the defense team is focused on stampeding the court before the decision of the NJC.

"This court is minded not to prolong the issue, especially since they (the defense team) did not state which court it wants the matter to handle its case," Tsoho said.

READ ALSO: Biafra: Nnamdi Kanus trial begins today

He further announced that he will no longer preside over the matter stating that the essence of justice is based on confidence in the court by all parties involved.

"I have disqualified myself from sitting over this case, thereby the case file shall be transferred to the office of the chief justice of the Federal High Court.

"This shall be the position of this court even if the NJC decides otherwise," Tsoho concluded.

Watch video below:

The federal government through the DSS had accused Kanu treasonable felony, mismanagement of an unlawful society and concealing of goods in a container.

This allegations comes after three different courts had on three occasions squashed all cases - including terrorism - against him and two others, David Nwawuisi and Benjamin Madubugwu.

Source: Legit.ng
A social media backlash has trailed President Muhammadu Buharis plan to sell the nation's assets as a way of reviving the ailing economy.

The organized labour has warned that the government would be playing with fire should it go ahead to sell the assets.

Recall that some eminent Nigerians among whom are Aliko Dangote and Senate president, Bukola Saraki, recommend that the federal government sells the countrys national assets to pave the way for economic recovery.

READ ALSO: NUPENG, TUC, NLC, others set to shut down Nigeria

But the organized labour, comprising of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that the government would be playing with fire should it go ahead to sell the assets.

Though the minister of budget and planning Udoma Udo Udoma has said that the federal government would not sell critical national assets, the labour has insisted that a sale of the assets will trigger a mass revolt and civil unrest that will be worse than the anti-SAP riots of 1989.

READ ALSO: Agbakoba cautions Buhari against hasty sale of national assets

Similarly, some Nigerians took to social media to support the labour stance against the sale of the assets, accusing President Buhari of trying to sell the assets to his cronies.

Others called for a serious campaign to bring back Goodluck Jonathan back to government to "frustrate the plans by the Buhari administration to mortgage the future of Nigerians by selling the nations assets".

See reactions below:

Meanwhile, Shehu Sani, has once again blasted the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government.

The senator representing Kaduna central senatorial district has criticised the federal governments moves to sell national assets in order to revive the ailing economy.

The Kaduna state Senator had earlier declared that all those calling for the sale of national assets because of the economic recession are economic predators carrying out heists and roguery.

Source: Legit.ng
University of Benin popularly known as (Uniben) is one of the biggest federal universities in Nigeria and the school has made successful people.

Notable alumnus from the school include, RMD, Omoni Oboli, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Minister for housing, works, and power Fashola, Victor Uwaifo, Modupe Ozolua and lots more who has made names already in the world.

READ ALSO: Young Nollywood actor speaks on his LOVING relationship with older mentor

Check out the famous, successful people from the school.

1. Richard Mofe Damijo

Richard Mofe-Damijo popularly known as RMD was born July 6, 1961, he is a Nigerian actor and politician.

RMD was born in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. He had his secondary education at Midwest College, Warri and Anglican Grammar School. While in secondary school, Richard was a member of the Drama Club. After his secondary education, he got admission into the University of Benin, where he studied Theater Arts. He later studied law at the University of Lagos and graduated in the year 2004. He is the most crushed on male in the Nollywood industry. He won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the year 2005. He is also a one-time Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State.

2. Babatunde Raji Fashola

Born on June 28, 1963 in Lagos, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) is a truly made in Nigeria product. He obtained his First School Leaving Certificate [FSLC] from the Sunny Fields Primary School, Adelabu Surulere, Lagos, after which he proceeded to Birch Freeman High School, Surulere, Lagos and later Igbobi College, Yaba from where he acquired the West African School Certificate [WASC]. He, thereafter, went to the University of Benin, Benin City and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws [LLB Hons] degree in 1987. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in November 1988 after undertaking the statutory training for Barristers and Solicitors.

He is the current minister of housing, power and works in Nigeria

READ ALSO: Good News: 24-hour electricity on the way as 300 world experts make move

3. Victor Uwaifor

Victor Efosa Uwaifo was born on March 1, 1941 in Benin City, Nigeria. He attended Western Boys High School Benin City and St. Gregorys College, Lagos. He later proceeded to Yaba College of Technology, where he studied Graphics and won a scholarship as the best student.

Prof. (Sir) Victor Uwaifo holds a Bachelors degree in Fine and Applied Arts (First Class Honors and Valedictorian, 1995) and a Master of Fine and Applied Arts University of Benin in 1997; an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the same University in 2009. He was appointed a visiting professor to the American Heritage University, California, U.S.A. in 2009. He is also a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.

Victor Uwaifo is the also inventor of the double neck magic guitar with 18 strings which he rotates 360 degrees at the speed of sound.

4. Emmanuel Uduaghan

Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan is a native of Abigborodo in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, born on October 22, 1954 to Chief Edmund D. Uduaghan and Mrs Cecilia Uduaghan.

Emmanuel Uduaghan attended Baptist Primary School, Mosogar in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State, between the years 1961 and 1966. After his primary education, he attended Federal Government College, Warri, between 1968 and 1974. Emmanuel Uduaghan later studied Medicine at the Univesity of Benin and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). He further went for a Diploma in Anesthesia.

On May 29. 2007, Emmanuel Uduaghan was sworn-in as the governor of Delta State. On 26 April, 2011, He was re-elected for the second term in office.

5. Modupe Ozolua

Miss Ozolua had her early education in Nigeria, where she attended University of Benin Primary & Secondary School, Queen Idia Girls College (Benin City). Her secondary education was completed at Apata Memorial High School, Isolo, Lagos. She left for the United States of America in 1989. She studied in South Western College, San Diego, and Devery International University, Los Angeles, California (19891995). She was recognised in the 1994-1995 edition of the NATIONAL DEANSS LIST. She majored in Graphic Design & Business Administration.

She has won various awards including, Nigeria Women Awards, Dame International for Pioneering Action Award 2003, City People for Female Achiever in the Beauty sector 2001, Moremi Hall Executive Council, Obafemi Awolowo University for Award of Excellence 2002, City People for Beautician of the Year 2001.

READ ALSO: See stunning photos from RICH WOMANS star-studded surprise birthday party

6. Omoni Oboli

She was nominated for the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 2011 Africa Movie Academy Awards. In 2014, Omoni won Big Screen Actress of the Year award, at the 2014 ELOY Awards, for her movie Being Mrs Elliot.

Oboli was born in Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. She is a descent of Mosogar in Delta State. Oboli studied Foreign Languages at the University of Benin majoring in French. In 1996, while still at the university, she shot her first films. She then took a 10 year break, got married, and returned to the screen in 2009 with the movie Entanglement. In 2010, Oboli featured in the award-winning film The Figurine, which won the Best Picture award at the 2010 Africa Movie Academy Awards.She is an award winning Actress, Movie producer and script writer.

Source: Legit.ng
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Lets get one thing straight: the Royal Family of the United Kingdom are a group of leeches merely counting down the days until their ossified, necrotic institution is cast into the sands of time and forgotten.

But until that happens, they still hold a bit of flex in Commonwealth countries. Prince Williams family is currently visiting Canada, and the big yarn to come out of that is that baby Prince George, destined to rule as a cruel despot over the British Isles, simply refused to high-five Canadian PM / lowly peasant Justin Trudeau.

Look at this. Whatever your feeling about Trudeau, he is a democratically-elected leader that this little shorts-wearing boy-king sees fit to snub. Bah! Guards! Take him away!

Look at this kid. You just know that he wishes he still had the royal power to behead people:

Despite the snub, Trudeau seems keen that the Royal Family is visiting. I want to commend you and thank you for introducing our part of the world to Prince George and Princess Charlotte, he told the Duke and Duchess. Although let me caution you from my own experience, if they are anything like our kids, getting them back on the plane after a visit to our beautiful west coast will really be a challenge.

Ban the Royal Family.

Source: TIME.

Photo: YouTube.
Mountains, Swinging Bridges, and Fear of Loss in Poker

September 26, 2016 Robert Woolley

Last week my girlfriend and I went to Grandfather Mountain, part of the Blue Ridge mountain chain in western North Carolina. It's not the tallest of the bunch, but it has amazing views in every direction.

To get to the best vantage points, you have to walk across Swinging Bridge. Up above is a photo I took of it. Though the picture shows you the basic appearance of the bridge, it doesn't convey the depth of the gorge over which you're walking. It's a long way down.

I have mild acrophobia  fear of heights. It's not paralyzing, and it rarely keeps me from doing anything I'd otherwise want to do, but it does make me seriously uneasy in some situations that are objectively safe. This was one of them.

Lots of other people were stopping halfway across the bridge to enjoy the beautiful views. I glanced over the edge once, just so I could say I didn't miss it entirely, but really the only way I could get across was by fixing my gaze at the walkway just ahead of my feet, and forcing myself to keep moving.

Once on the broad peak on the far side, I had a similar problem. I couldn't appreciate the best views that many others were getting because I was so disturbed by the feeling of exposure and vulnerability. I felt unsteady on my feet, as if a gust of wind or one wrong step or an accidental brush from a passing stranger might cause me to fall off the mountain. Even though I was nowhere near any edge where that could even be a possibility, I could stand up only briefly, feeling much more secure sitting or crouching for the added sense of stability.

In reality, though, I was never in any meaningful danger. The bridge has been there for decades without collapsing and without anybody falling off, and millions of people have stood on the peak to which it led without plummeting to their deaths. I knew these things, but that knowledge wasn't enough to keep my fears from nagging at me every second.

I pride myself on having a rational brain that is firmly in command of my primitive, irrational, emotional impulses. And I suppose it partially was, because it was only self-talk from that rational side that allowed me to cross the bridge and take in the views from the peak at all. Fully yielding to my instincts would have meant staying in the parking lot and visitors' center.

Of course, a fear of heights is a survival mechanism, encoded deep in our ancient DNA. Those who had too little of it tended to venture where it wasn't safe, and die before reproducing. But those who had too much wouldn't explore their whole environments, and would thus miss out on chances to find shelter, or hunt and gather food that the more adventurous could get.

The Fear of Loss, and "Loss Aversion"

Now, why would I spend 500 words talking about fear of heights in a poker column? It's because we have other built-in fears for which acrophobia is a useful point of comparison.

In particular, we all have a deep-seated fear of loss of resources. We feel more pain from a loss than we feel pleasure from an equivalent gain.

Here's how it's explained by Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow  a great book that you should definitely read if you want to understand how we humans make decisions:

For most people, the fear of losing $100 is more intense than the hope of gaining $150. We concluded from many such observations that 'losses loom larger than gains' and that people are loss averse. You can measure the extent of your aversion to losses by asking yourself a question: What is the smallest gain that I need to balance an equal chance to lose $100? For many people the answer is about $200, twice as much as the loss. The 'loss aversion ratio' has been estimated in several experiments and is usually in the range of 1.5 to 2.5. This is an average, of course; some people are much more loss averse than others.

It's great in poker when you have a 50-50 chance of either losing $100 or winning two, three, or four times that much. Even the rankest amateurs are comfortable with such gambles.

But those opportunities are rare. We're much more often faced with decisions that are more comparable to flipping a coin for $110 in possible gain versus $100 in possible loss, or taking a 55-45 edge with even money on both sides. Your long term poker prospects depend on correctly making those much more difficult decisions on a consistent basis. The more experience you have with gambling generally, and with the mathematics of gambling specifically, the more willing you tend to be to take such small edges.

Kahneman explains how "Professional risk takers in the financial markets are more tolerant of losses, probably because they do not respond emotionally to every fluctuation." He goes on to describe participants in an experiment being told to "think like a trader," after which "they became less loss averse and their emotional reaction to losses (measured by a physiological index of emotional arousal) was sharply reduced."

The fear of loss, in other words, can be reduced with experience  just as I could probably learn to relax and enjoy the views from that bridge and the peak to which it leads, rather than having to fight to suppress my instinctive fears, if I traversed it every day for a few weeks or months.

But we're unlikely to overcome our loss aversion completely. Like the fear of heights, it has been bred into us by powerful biological forces.

"This asymmetry between the power of positive and negative expectations or experiences has an evolutionary history," Kahneman explains. "Organisms that treat threats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance to survive and reproduce."

It Hurts More to Lose Than It Feels Good to Win

Consider a real-world situation. You're at the end of a cash game session. You've been successful, turning a $300 buy-in into about $1,000. On what you have decided will be your last hand, you are dealt .

If I'm honest, here's roughly the thoughts that would run through my brain:

"Oh, for cripe sakes  why now? With aces, as the saying goes, I'll probably either win a small pot or lose a big one. I sure don't want to lose a big pot now, and I don't care much about winning a small one. Maybe I should just throw it away, leave, and lock up my nice profit."

The worst thing you could do would be to play the hand cautiously, passively, trying to lose as little as possible. Though I can't prove it mathematically, I'm confident that that approach has a negative expected value, whereas the expected value (EV) of folding is just zero.

Obviously, the most positive EV decision would be to play the hand aggressively, the same way you would have an hour ago, when you had no immediate plan to leave. Objectively, nothing material has changed since then. Aces are the most strongly positive EV hand you can be dealt, so of course you should play them. And I would, despite my knee-jerk misgivings. I've played poker long enough to have absorbed pretty deeply the desirability of seeking EV over emotional comfort.

But I fully understand how the rational decision-making process can be derailed by the natural drive to loss aversion, and I freely confess to still falling victim to it from time to time.

And you know what? If you find yourself in a situation in which you just can't pull the trigger on the mathematically optimal, EV-maximizing decision because of the emotional power of loss aversion, it's okay. Really, it is. Don't beat yourself up over it. I absolve you. I absolve you for being human rather than a poker-playing bot.

Over time, though, if you want to get better at poker and increase your average hourly win rate, you have to learn how to handle such decisions. In theory, if you're offered the poker equivalent of a coin flip for a $101 win or a $100 loss, you should take it in a heartbeat, every time it's offered to you. But it takes a long time to whittle that inbred loss-aversion ratio from the 1.5-2.5 that we seem to be born with down to the 1.01 that it would take to accept that wager.

Conclusion

Don't kick yourself for the times that you can't quite pull the trigger on a correct but razor-thin call or value bet  the times when your fear wins out over your rational decision-making. Those instances just mean that you have a normal, healthy, evolutionarily driven loss-aversion mechanism, and that you need more work on getting it to submit to your higher decision-making processes, as the latter become more finely honed with poker experience.

But do work on it, because the views from the other side are really spectacular.

Robert Woolley lives in Asheville, NC. He spent several years in Las Vegas and chronicled his life in poker on the "Poker Grump" blog.
Glenne Headly (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mr. Holland's Opus) and James Kyson star in the Garage's acclaimed world premiere production about the 1980s 'Japanese Tainted Blood Scandal' in which 2,000 people died from contaminated blood.

By: The Garage

BLOOD

Contact

The Complex, Lucy Pollak PR

***@lucypr.com The Complex, Lucy Pollak PR

End

-- An American reporter in Japan uncovers a conspiracy to cover up the government-sanctioned sale of HIV-contaminated blood products in a new political thriller with music inspired by true events. Written and directed by Obie and New York Outer Critics Circle Award-winner/DGA Award, two-time Golden Globe and five-time Emmy Award nominee, and starring Glenne Headly () and James Kyson (NBC'sVoted one of "Hollywood's 25 Hottest" by TV Guide),returns to thein Hollywood beginningIn the early 1980s, nearly 2,000 people, most of them hemophiliacs, died of AIDS after U.S. companies knowingly sold contaminated blood to Japan, where pharmaceutical companies continued to distribute non-heat-treated blood products despite the existence of heat treatments proven to prevent the spread of infection. The scandal triggered public outrage against the drug industry and the Japanese government officials charged with regulating it. Charges were filed against high-ranking officials in theMinistry of Health and Welfare, executives of the manufacturing company involved and a leading doctor in the field of hemophilia. The trial lasted over a decade. It wasn't until Feb. 25, 2000 that thereported "In a landmark decision that raises the standard for corporate accountability in Japan, an Osaka court Thursday sentenced three former pharmaceutical executives to prison for continuing to sell blood products they knew could be tainted with the AIDS virus even after safer substitutes were available.""One of the reasons this case took so long to unfold is that none of the victims or their families were willing to come forward," explains Ackerman, who lived and worked in Tokyo for nearly two decades. "Being polite, softspoken and deferential to authority is ingrained in the culture. To be sick with AIDS was a source of great shame. Even when the case finally went to trial, the plaintiffs testified from behind black curtains. In the end, it was a young boy who broke the silence, although even he did not publicly reveal his name for another 10 years. Today, Ryuhei Kawada, who miraculously survived, serves as a member of the Japanese Parliament."Ackerman has blended fact and fiction to dramatize real events and added music to create a highly theatrical and stylized production. Hewas initially inspired by the recent nuclear accident at Fukushima. But contaminated blood products were back in the news last December whenwas asystematically faking records to hide its wrongdoing. Now, the play takes on an even greater urgency in light of recent events closer to home, such as the methane gas leak at Porter Ranch in California and the discovery of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan.Over a dozen rave reviews for the production when it premiered last spring include the("dazzling a formidable display of small-theater invention"),("lively, haunting, provocative and funny"),("smart, involving, totally wrenching") and("heady Stuff a witty treatment of a subject that matters so much").Also in the cast areandfeatures original music and songs by "The Virgins" bassistand "Jet" drummer/vocalistThe creative team includes set and costume designer, projections designer, lighting designerand sound designerPerformances oftake place onandatandatthrough. General admission is; students with valid ID areis located at.,. To purchase tickets, callor go to www.plays411.com/ blood
Lombardi Aguilar Group partner Alvaro Aguilar-Alfu will participate at the conference

By: Lombardi Aguilar Group

Alvaro Aguilar-Alfu, LLM

Contact

P Oakes

***@laglex.com P Oakes

End

-- The law firm of Lombardi Aguilar Group will be present at the 2016 STEP Latin American Conference to be held September 28-30 in Panama City, Panama: "Where Common Law and Civil Law Converge: The Cross Roads of The Future". STEP LATAM 2016 is the pre-imminent conference for wealth structuring and trust and estate practitioners. It is known by practitioners as a "can't miss" conference, with leading edge speakers and a program designed to inform and engage.Partner Alvaro Aguilar-Alfu, TEP, a full member of STEP, will be participating for the law firm in the conference. Full members of STEP are the most experienced and senior practitioners in the field of trusts and estates.Mr. Aguilar is a graduate of Universidad Santa Maria la Antigua (LLB) and Washington College of Law at The American University (LLM). He has 20 years of business law experience on behalf of local, European and U.S. companies and family groups doing business in Latin America.***The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners is a unique professional body providing members with a local, national and international learning and business network focusing on the responsible stewardship of assets today and across the generations.STEP provides education, training, representation and networking for its members. Members advise clients on the broad business of the management of personal finance. STEP has over 18,500 members worldwide in 80 jurisdictionsLombardi Aguilar Group is a partnership of consultants created as an alternative for clients worldwide who seek fast, innovative and effective solutions to their legal problems. The firm currently provides services to individual and corporate clients in Panama as well in the Americas, Europe and Asia and is part of the Prae Legal network of 252 independently-owned law firms in 141 countries worldwide. Its partners maintain a commitment with professional ethics and social responsibility by participating in the board of directors of groups such as the Panama Bar Association, the Alliance Francaise, the German and the American Chambers of Commerce (AMCHAM) of Panama, and the Association of Chinese-Panamanian Professionals (APROCHIPA).The firm centers its law practice in private client services and asset protection (Private Interest Foundations, Trusts), business structures (Offshore Corporations), tax planning, real estate and e-commerce. It also advices in areas of Law such as Corporate, Commercial, Intellectual Property, Maritime, Tax, Environmental, Life Sciences and Immigration Law as well as related litigation.For more information, contact +507 3406444, e-mail info (at) laglex.com, or see: Lombardi Aguilar Group http://www.laglex.net Keyword: International consulting firm, Private Client Services, Incorporation and Management of Companies, Trusts and Foundations, Family Office, Immigration, Real Estate, Tax, E-Commerce.
Early Sunday morning a woman died after she accidentally fell off the roof of the Midtown apartment building where she lived. Police say that Elena Gladkikh, 27, was on the roof of 449 W 37th Street near 10th Avenue around 8:45 a.m. Sunday when she lost her balance, fell off a ledge and landed between two buildings. Cops believe she was intoxicated at the time.

The Post now reports that Gladkikh, who was a consultant for Mary Kay cosmetics, was allegedly with her boyfriend at the time. The two apparently got locked out on the roof, so she called her husband, who was in their apartment down below, to help them get back in. She fell before he arrived, and the boyfriend had to tell the husband what had happened.

The Post adds: "Gladkikhs date told cops he met her at a restaurant where she bartended part-time. He said she was already drunk when they went to watch the sun rise on the rooftop with a six-pack of beer."

James Proctor, a porter at a nearby building, witnessed the aftermath: "When they brought her out she didn't look alive," he told the Daily News, adding she wasn't wearing any clothing besides her underwear. "The bruises she had, you could tell it was from a fall...She looked really bad." She was taken to Bellevue Hospital where she died.

Gladkikh's family have started a GoFundMe page to raise money "so that we can send her body home to be reunited with her family in Russia."
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--PhotoScissors is positioned as a really easy photo editing and retouching tool and it fits this role very well. With it, a user can remove a background from a photograph or replace the background with a more picturesque one in less than a minute. PhotoScissors automates 99% of the work and has a very simple user interface, so retouching a bad photo is really easy with the tool.Now the tool has updated to the version 3.0 and has brought in a new exciting feature. "Moving the object on the picture is a rather common request", comments Max Gapchenko, the chief developer at TeroeX. "So, we decided to let our users do this with minimum effort."The process of moving an object on the picture is simple. The user roughly marks the object on the picture and the background. No precise selection or pixel hunting is needed. Then the program automatically cuts the foreground object from the background and analyzes the surrounding textures to automatically fill the hole when the user moves the object somewhere else. For even better fit, a number of filters and adjustments are available in the program too.Such intuitive approach allows adjusting the picture with very little effort. Move a couple closer to each other; move a statue a bit to make it better fit the Rule of Thirds; dislocate a boat on the horizon or a tree in the woods. Possibilities of PhotoScissors are unlimited and are very accessible even to users with no photo-editing experience.The price for a single license of PhotoScissors is $19.99. PhotoScissors is available both for Windows Vista or higher and for Mac OS X 10.7 or higher.TeoreX is a developer of a number of graphics tools and utilities for end users. Each tool typically does one complex retouching operation in a very simple way. The product line of the company covers easy background removal, smart retouching, intellectual cropping and other operations that typical require professional software.Product page link: http://www.photoscissors.com/Download link: http://www.photoscissors.com/ download.html Screenshot: https://www.photoscissors.com/images-photoscissors/screenshot4.jpg
New member firm in Afghanistan joins the UHY network. We welcome, Ahmed Hassan Naeem Chartered Accountants.

Media Contact

UHY International - Dominique Maeremans

***@uhy.com

+44 20 7767 2621 UHY International - Dominique Maeremans+44 20 7767 2621

End

-- We welcome Ahmed Hassan Naeem Chartered Accountants, our new member firm in Afghanistan, to the global accountancy network UHY, extending our coverage within the Asia-Pacific region.Ahmed Hassan Naeem Chartered Accountants, with a team of 33 staff including 4 partners, is based the capital city of Kabul and was established with the support of the UHY's member firm in Pakistan, UHY Hassan Naeem & Co. The partners bring extensive experience in audit, accounting, tax, and management consultancy combined with an inspiration to nurture talent and create a quality hub to cater for the ever increasing demands of their existing client portfolio and the wider business community in the region, including Iran and Tajikistan.Managing partner, Waqas Ahmed of Ahmed Hassan Naeem Chartered Accountants says: "We are based in an economy with a huge potential for future growth and this combined with the reputable UHY brand, regional knowledge and global resources will give our firm a competitive edge in Afghanistan and the wider region."Bernard Fay, chairman of UHY comments: "We are delighted to welcome Ahmed Hassan Naeem Chartered Accountants to the UHY network. The mineral rich Afghanistan is strategically located as a trade route between Central and South Asia. The firm's membership extends our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region and strengthens UHY's regional market expertise and capabilities to support clients' needs and opportunities."The firm is in the process of adopting the UHY branding and will be known as UHY Ahmed Hassan Naeem, Chartered Accountants.
Dfest to provide festivals & fairs with innovative social media marketing solutions.

The Virtual Photo Booth provides memorable event photos

Media Contact

Marshrae Harris

Mobilize Solutions

marshrae@mobilize.solutions Marshrae HarrisMobilize Solutions

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-- As festival representatives from all over the world gather this week at the Annual International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) Convention in Tucson, Arizona, dfest will unveil its new line of service, the dfest Virtual Photo Booth.For 58 years dfest has been a partner to fairs & festivals nationwide. The new partnership with Mobilize Solutions will allow dfest to provide high impact photo and social media solutions to engage event attendees.Taking photos at fairs and festivals today is a large part of the attendee experience. As a result of their partnership with Mobilize Solutions, the dfest Virtual Photo Booth will offer a fresh new approach to enhance this experience by branding photos from the event and sharing them with friends and family on social media."Our customers are looking for new and innovative ways to reach their audience. Adding the Virtual Photo Booth to our product suite makes perfect sense." -The Dixie Flag Event Services Team, dfest, was created to help event professionals find unique and affordable solutions to festival challenges. They specialize in creative design, custom decorations, flags, banners, mascot characters, and much more.: Virtual Photo Booth is a mobile app developed by Mobilize Solutions based in Irvine, California.The company was formed in 2013 and produces innovative apps that help businesses and events engage customers in a new way.is an impactful and cost effective way to increase awareness and drive new traffic. To learn more visit www.mobilize.solutions
Fleewinter has announced that after a quiet period, Morocco is now very much back in vogues, especially since the Brexit vote!

By: Fleewinter

Hike in the Atlas Mountains

Contact

Mick Thompson, Travel Dog PR

***@traveldogpr.co.uk Mick Thompson, Travel Dog PR

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-- Independent UK operator Fleewinter has announced that Morocco is well and truly back as a hot destination.Comments Alisdair Luxmoore, Founder of Fleewinter: "Bookings have increased dramatically over recent weeks; Morocco has always offered excellent value for money, and people are especially attracted to countries outside of the Eurozone since the Brexit vote, and the subsequent increase in the cost of European destinations."There is no doubt in my mind that Morocco is one of the safest destination in the world and the King's reform programme continues steadily, as they take slow, careful steps towards democracy."This bounce-back is great news for the huge numbers of people who rely on tourism to feed their families and feel they have been unfairly punished for problems in others parts of the world."Nowhere else is so close and so exotic and Fleewinter offers a wide choice of holiday experiences to Morocco; from city breaks to the Imperial cities including Marrakech and Rabat  with accommodation in traditional riads  Atlas mountain escapes, staying in peaceful retreats or five star Kasbahs, Sahara Desert experiences in tented camps, and stays on the Atlantic coast (or combinations of one or more of the elements).A three night Marrakech Riad Value Weekend ( http://www.fleewinter.com/ morocco/marrakech- riad-weekend/ ) costs from 135 per person (two sharing). This includes private airport transfers, and three-nights' B&B in a traditional riad in the Medina (within the ancient city walls), close to the main square and souks.The three-night Desert with the Nomads ( http://www.fleewinter.com/ morocco/desert- with-the-nomads/ ) trip costs from 470 per person (two sharing). This includes private 4X4 transport with driver (and camel), and three nights' half board. An upgrade to a luxury camp is 150 per person (two sharing).A week-long B&B stay at the luxurious Rebali Riads (http://www.fleewinter.com/morocco/accommodation/Rebali_Riads_Boutique_Hotel)in the village of Sidi Kaouki, 20 minutes south of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast, costs from 295 per person (two sharing). Pre-bookable activities include kite/wind/board surfing lessons, camel safaris, Berber picnics and cookery demonstrations. The price also includes return transfers from Essaouira airport.The two-week Grand Tour (http://www.fleewinter.com/morocco/the-grand-tour/) of Morocco costs from 1250 pp (14 nights' B&B). The itinerary includes Fez, the Sahara, Atlas Mountains, Marrakech and the coast.Call 020 7112 0019 (www.fleewinter.com)
Industrial packaging supplier to donate 100,000 meals to malnourished children around the world.

Media Contact

Ashley Nalepka

***@rocketindustrial.com

800-826-4405 Ashley Nalepka800-826-4405

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-- Leading retail and industrial packaging supplier, Rocket Industrial, plans to donate 100,000 meals to starving children around the world through its innovative new program, Project 100K, in partnership with Minneapolis-based charity, Feed My Starving Children (FMSC)ranked in the top 1% of charitable organizations by Charity Navigator.Project 100K encourages companies to make a difference in the world by changing the way they look at business results. By participating in Rocket Industrial's Packaging Health Assessment, opportunities to reduce waste and save costs are identified and an action plan is developed to guarantee results. A designated portion of the financial savings from Rocket Industrial's action plan is pledged to Project 100K to save children from starvation and provide hope for their future."You have the ability to change the lives of children across the world by going about your daily business," said Andy Carr, VP of Development and Marketing at FMSC. "In our partnership with Rocket Industrial we're helping companies achieve value not only with a monetary change, but also a social difference."FMSC provides daily meals to malnourished people in over 70 countries through various distribution partnerships. In 2016, 272 million meals were packed by volunteers and shipped around the world. FMSC is 100% donor funded, with over 90% of total donations going directly toward food programs."Having gone to Haiti and seen this problem first hand, it's shocking and sad, but FMSC makes a difference,"said Ryan Gallagher, president of Rocket Industrial. "Project100K is a win-win-win, it rewards everyone when results are achievedalbeit in much different magnitudes."For more information on Project 100K and to track the progress of the program, visit www.project100k.org . To learn more about the efforts of Feed My Starving Children, visit www.fmsc.org Rocket Industrial, named a 2016 "Great Place To Work" by Fortune Magazine, specializes in helping engineering, purchasing, and management teams throughout the United States optimize their retail and industrial packaging strategies by providing best-in-class expertise across hundreds of packaging brands and automation equipment alternatives, and by stocking thousands of products in warehouses located throughout the United States. Rocket's vision is to help manufacturers "Package with Less" through a variety of innovative services. Learn more at www.rocketindustrial.com.
By: Polito & Associates LLC

Contact

Humbert J. Polito Jr.

567 Vauxhall St Ext. Ste 230 Waterford CT 06385

***@attorneyrankings.org Humbert J. Polito Jr.567 Vauxhall St Ext. Ste 230 Waterford CT 06385

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-- The Connecticut personal injury law firm of Polito & Associates LLC is pleased to announce that founding member Humbert J. Polito, Jr. has been recognized as a "Lawyer of the Year" in the 2017 edition offor Plaintiff's Personal Injury Litigation New London Area. This distinction is only awarded to one attorney in a given practice area and geographic location, making it a significant achievement and honor. Mr. Polito also received this award in 2013 and 2015.has been published since 1983, and inclusion in it is the result of a lengthy peer-reviewed process through which the publication strives to find the best attorneys in the country. Lawyers cannot pay to be included inlists and the review process is completely confidential. In order to be included, an attorney must be nominated by someone other than themselves. Next, current attorneys who are listed give feedback on the nominated attorney's work. This feedback in then calculated and reviewed and the nominee's eligibility for inclusion is checked. In order to be eligible, an attorney must be in good standing with their bar association. Finally, results are released and thelist is published.It is important to note that the "Lawyer of the Year" award is given to the one attorney who received the overall highest feedback from his or her peers in a given practice area and geographic location.Polito & Associates, LLC is a Waterford, Connecticut personal injury law firm that serves clients throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island and in the Connecticut Tribal Courts. The firm handles a wide variety of personal injury cases, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, nursing home injuries, medical malpractice, dog bites, workplace injuries, trucking accidents, and more. To speak with an attorney at the firm, call their Waterford office at 860-447-3300.
By: GZA

Adam Henry

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-- GZA, a leading environmental and geotechnical consulting firm, announces that Adam T. Henry has been promoted to Associate Principal in the Glastonbury, Connecticut office.A resident of Granby, Connecticut Henry joined GZA in2006. As an Associate Principal with eighteen years of industry experience, he oversees site assessments, investigations, underground storage tank removals and remediation oversight and implementation. Henry also works closely with lenders, developers, business owners and attorneys to complete environmental due diligence during real estate acquisitions, divestiture and refinancing.Henry earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of New Hampshire and his Master of Science in Geology from Virginia Tech.He is a Registered Professional Geologist in the state of Tennessee and has been a Licensed Environmental Professional since 2007. Henry is a member of the Environmental Professionals' Organization of Connecticut.Founded in 1964, GZA is a multi-disciplinary firm providing Environmental, Geotechnical, Ecological, Water, and Construction Management services. GZA maintains corporate offices at 249 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood, MA 02062. The firm has over 560 employees and operates 28 offices in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes and Appalachian Regions of the United States. For additional information, please call William Hadge, CEO at 781-278-3808 or visit the company's website at www.gza.com
Local Authors, Jeff Provine & Tanya McCoy, will be available to sign copies of new book

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--Oklahoma City boasts a rich heritage of gumption and perseverance, but there are many tales only whispered from shadows. A spectral woman may be seen in the upper window of the Overholser Mansion, looking for her long-lost love. The spirit of one of Oklahoma's feistiest leaders is said to dwell in the Governor's Mansion, where he trips guests on the stairs. Perhaps still thirsty for the drink a fatal gunshot interrupted, the ghost of a cheating mobster rattles the glasses at Gabriella's off Route 66. Jeff Provine and Tanya McCoy uncover the curious and creepy tales of the Sooner State capital.is a curriculum developer and lecturer in Norman. He founded the Norman Downtown Ghost Tour and the OU Ghost Tour, a charity walking tour of the spooky stories of the University of Oklahoma campus. His other collections of Oklahoma folklore include Campus Ghosts of Norman, Haunted Norman and Haunted Guthrie, co-written with paranormal investigator Tanya McCoy. Visit his website at www.jeffprovine.com.joined her first paranormal team located in the Oklahoma City area in 2009. In 2011, she formed her own team and in 2012, she joined forces with Investigating Oklahoma's Paranormal (IOKP) founder Dee Park to form Oklahoma Paranormal Association (OPA). OPA teaches new paranormal enthusiasts proper techniques to conduct paranormal investigations. Tanya and her team continue to do private investigations for homeowners and business owners who may be experiencing paranormal activity.Barnes & Noble6100 North May AvenueOklahoma City, OK 73112Monday, October 3rd 2016; 6:00 p.m.Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.The combination of Arcadia Publishing & The History Press creates the largest and most comprehensive publisher of local and regional content in the USA. By empowering local history and culture enthusiasts to write local stories for local audiences, we create exceptional books that are relevant on a local and personal level, enrich lives, and bring readers closer - to their community, their neighbors, and their past. Have we done a book on your town? Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com
AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets has signed a long term lease with Epson, a manufacturer of computer printers, for more than 3,000 sqm of office space at its 28,500 sqm Can Amettler asset, situated in Sant Cugat, on the outskirts of Barcelona. AXA IM - Real Assets manages the

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P3 has celebrated the raising of the first column on the redevelopment of its P3 Bedburg park, close to the Dutch border in the west of Germany, just a month after work started on site. The three-phase project will transform P3 Bedburg into a brand new logistics park comprising seven

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Last year, a "legal technicality" shuttered Harold Moore's beloved Commerce restaurant, but the chef is back with a new restaurant inside the sleek Arlo Hotel Hudson Square, channeling the Southern tradition of the "meat-and-three." Appropriately dubbed Harold's Meat + Three, the restaurant serves a version of the Nashville-based tradition where customers select a protein and then choose three sides to accompany it. Unsurprisingly, Moore's version takes the humble, cafeteria-style offering and turns it all fancy-like.

Fancy as in "Lobster in Citrus Crust" and "Filet Au Poivre" fancy, both of which appear in the $39 section alongside a Prime Rib ($16 supplement) and a Grilled Lamb Chop ($20 supplement), a far cry from the meatloafs of Tennessee. Probably unusual to find Thai-Inspired Pork Ribs and Whole Branzino with eggplant (both $29) down South either, but the Fried Chicken ($19) is a staple of the format, and the Plat du Jour menu ($29) also boasts a Ham Steak (Thursdays) and Smothered Pork Chops (Tuesdays) that wouldn't be out of place in their city of origin either.

Macaroni and cheese, grits, french fries and potato salad share the "and three" space with quinoa, elote corn, an herb salad and Japanese sweet potatoes, another mingling of tradition and gourmetification. Moore's also offering a rare-outside-the-deli salad bar, a la carte ($25) or as a supplement to a meal ($17).

Inside the Arlo Hudson Square at 2 Renwick Street, 212-374-2632

Harold's Meat + Three menu by Nell Casey on Scribd
IC Netherlands, a Dutch subsidiary of the German student housing specialist International Campus AG, has already completed and opened two student residences: the Zeeburgereiland property with 364 student apartments and the NDSM property with 380 apartments close to Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij, which was once Europes largest shipyard. Three properties are

Photos: IC Netherlands



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In the last century, humans realized that space is filled with types of light we can't see -- from infrared signals released by hot stars and galaxies, to the cosmic microwave background that comes from every corner of the universe. Some of this invisible light that fills space takes the form of X-rays, the source of which has been hotly contended over the past few decades.

It wasn't until the flight of the DXL sounding rocket, short for Diffuse X-ray emission from the Local galaxy, that scientists had concrete answers about the X-rays' sources. In a new study, published Sept. 23, 2016, in the Astrophysical Journal, DXL's data confirms some of our ideas about where these X-rays come from, in turn strengthening our understanding of our solar neighborhood's early history. But it also reveals a new mystery -- an entire group of X-rays that don't come from any known source.

The two known sources of X-ray emission are the solar wind, the sea of solar material that fills the solar system, and the Local Hot Bubble, a theorized area of hot interstellar material that surrounds our solar system.

"We show that the X-ray contribution from the solar wind charge exchange is about forty percent in the galactic plane, and even less elsewhere," said Massimiliano Galeazzi, an astrophysicist at the University of Miami and an author on the study. "So the rest of the X-rays must come from the Local Hot Bubble, proving that it exists."

However, DXL also measured some high-energy X-rays that couldn't possibly come from the solar wind or the Local Hot Bubble.

"At higher energies, these sources contribute less than a quarter of the X-ray emission," said Youaraj Uprety, lead author on the study and an astrophysicist at University of Miami at the time the research was conducted. "So there's an unknown source of X-rays in this energy range."

In the decades since we first discovered the X-ray emission that permeates space, three main theories have been bandied about to explain its origins. First, and quickly ruled out, was the idea that these X-rays are a kind of background noise, coming from the distant reaches of the universe. Our galaxy has lots of neutral gas that would absorb X-rays coming from distant sources -- meaning that these X-rays must originate somewhere near our solar system.

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So what could produce this kind of X-ray so close to our solar system? Scientists theorized that there was a huge bubble of hot ionized gas enveloping our solar system, with electrons energetic enough that they could release X-rays like this. They called this structure the Local Hot Bubble.

"We think that around 10 million years ago, a supernova exploded and ionized the gas of the Local Hot Bubble," said Galeazzi. "But one supernova wouldn't be enough to create such a large cavity and reach these temperatures -- so it was probably two or three supernova over time, one inside the other."

The Local Hot Bubble was the prevailing theory for many years. Then, in the late 1990s, scientists discovered another source of X-rays -- a process called solar wind charge exchange.

Our sun is constantly releasing solar material in all directions, a flow of charged particles called the solar wind. Like the sun, the solar wind is made up of ionized gas, where electrons and ions have separated. This means that the solar wind can carry electric and magnetic fields.

When the charged solar wind interacts with pockets of neutral gas, where the electrons and ions are still tightly bound together, it can pick up electrons from these neutral particles, exciting them. As these electrons settle back into a stable state, they lose energy in the form of X-rays -- the same type of X-rays that had been thought to come from the Local Hot Bubble.

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The discovery of this solar wind X-ray source posed a problem for the Local Hot Bubble theory, since the only indication that it existed were these X-ray observations. But if the hot bubble did exist, it could tell us a lot about how our corner of the galaxy formed.

"Identifying the X-ray contribution of the Local Hot Bubble is important for understanding the structure surrounding our solar system," said Uprety, who is now an astrophysicist at Middle Tennessee State University. "It helps us build better models of the interstellar material in our solar neighborhood."

Distinguishing between X-rays from the solar wind and X-rays from the Local Hot Bubble was a challenge -- that's where DXL comes in. DXL flew on what's called a sounding rocket, which flies for some 15 minutes. These few minutes of observing time above Earth's atmosphere are valuable, since Earth's blocks most of these X-rays, making observations like this impossible from the ground. Such short-duration sounding rockets provide a relatively inexpensive way to gather robust space observations.

DXL is the second spacecraft to measure the X-rays in question, but unlike the previous mission -- a satellite called ROSAT -- DXL flew at a time when Earth was passing through something called the helium-focusing cone. The helium-focusing cone is a region of space where neutral helium is several times denser than in the rest of the inner solar system.

"The solar system is moving through interstellar space at about 15 miles per second," said Uprety. "This space is filled with hydrogen and helium. The helium is a little heavier, so it carves around the sun to form a tail."

Because solar wind charge exchange is dependent on having lots of neutral material to interact with, measuring X-rays in the helium-focusing cone could help scientists definitively determine how much of the X-ray emission comes from the solar wind, and how much -- if any -- comes from the Local Hot Bubble.

DXL's data revealed that about forty percent of most observed X-rays come from the solar wind. But in higher energy ranges, some X-rays are still unexplained. DXL's observations show that less than a quarter of the X-ray emission at higher energy levels comes from the solar wind, and the Local Hot Bubble isn't a good explanation either.

"The temperature of the Local Hot Bubble is not high enough to produce X-rays in this energy range," said Uprety. "So we're left with an open question on the source of these X-rays."

DXL launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Dec. 13, 2012. DXL is supported through NASA's Sounding Rocket Program at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, which is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA's Heliophysics Division manages the sounding-rocket program for the agency.
Africa's overall elephant population has seen the worst declines in 25 years, mainly due to poaching -- according to IUCN's African Elephant Status Report launched at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The report is an authoritative source of knowledge about the numbers and distribution of African elephant populations across their 37 range states in sub-Saharan Africa.

It presents more than 275 new or updated estimates for individual elephant populations across Africa, with over 180 of these arising from systematic surveys. The report summarizes -- for the first time in almost a decade -- elephant numbers at the continental, regional and national levels, and examines changes in population estimates at the site level.

Based on population estimates from a wide range of sources -- including aerial surveys and elephant dung counts -- the estimates for 2015 are 93,000 lower than in 2006. However, this figure includes 18,000 from previously uncounted populations. Therefore, the real decline from estimates is considered to be closer to 111,000. The continental total is now thought to be about 415,000 elephants, although there may be an additional 117,000 to 135,000 elephants in areas not systematically surveyed.

The surge in poaching for ivory that began approximately a decade ago -- the worst that Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s -- has been the main driver of the decline, while habitat loss poses an increasingly serious, long-term threat to the species, according to the report.

"These new numbers reveal the truly alarming plight of the majestic elephant -- one of the world's most intelligent animals and the largest terrestrial mammal alive today," says IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. "It is shocking but not surprising that poaching has taken such a dramatic toll on this iconic species. This report provides further scientific evidence of the need to scale up efforts to combat poaching. Nevertheless, these efforts must not detract from addressing other major and increasingly devastating threats such as habitat loss."

With over 70% of the estimated African elephants, Southern Africa has by far the largest number of the species -- approximately 293,000 elephants in systematically surveyed areas. Eastern Africa holds about 86,000 (20%) estimated elephants, while Central Africa has about 24,000 estimated elephants (6%). West Africa continues to hold the smallest regional population with approximately 11,000 (under 3%).

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Eastern Africa -- the region most affected by poaching -- has experienced an almost 50% elephant population reduction, largely attributed to an over 60% decline in Tanzania's elephant population. Although some sites have recorded declines, elephant numbers have been stable or increasing since 2006 in Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, and range expansion has been reported in Kenya.

Central Africa's forest elephant population has been substantially affected by poaching for ivory, since the 1990s. The Democratic Republic of Congo used to hold one of the most significant forest elephant populations in Africa, which has now been reduced to tiny remnants of its former size. Gabon and Congo now hold Africa's most important forest elephant populations but both have been affected by heavy poaching in recent years, as have the forest and savannah populations of Cameroon. The savanna populations of Chad have taken heavy losses and those in the Central African Republic have almost completely disappeared.

West Africa's elephant populations are mostly small, fragmented and isolated with 12 populations reported as lost since 2006 in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Togo, Guinea and Nigeria. The elephant population in the trans-frontier "WAP" complex that straddles the border between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger remains the strong-hold of West Africa's elephant population.

While poaching has not had the same impact in Southern Africa as in other areas, the region is now also facing the emergence of a growing poaching threat. Population declines have been observed in Mozambique and some areas in Zimbabwe, while major populations in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are stable or increasing, and there is evidence of elephant range expansion in Botswana. There is still uncertainty about the size of the KAZA trans-frontier elephant population -- the single largest on the continent -- and it remains critical to undertake a coordinated survey of this population.

"This is the first time since 2006 that we have produced an African elephant status report with a continent-wide update and analysis of elephant numbers and distribution," says Holly Dublin, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission's African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) who led the preparation of the report. "This report highlights how important it is to regularly monitor, assess and analyse the status of the African elephant. Understanding population numbers and their distribution is crucial in order to recognise threats faced by the species, target conservation actions and assess their effectiveness. This has been possible thanks to the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group's incredible network of experts and partners."

Estimates for savanna populations across the continent have improved in both reliability and coverage and many forest populations in Central Africa have been surveyed for the first time.

"This report not only provides information on the changes in elephant numbers but, because it is spatial, it also shows where these changes are occurring," says first author of the report Chris Thouless, Chair of the AfESG's Data Review Working Group. "It tracks many elephant populations over time at the site level, allowing us to learn more about why elephant populations are lost or persist in certain areas. This detailed information is essential for understanding what is driving changes in elephant populations."

The report has been produced by the IUCN Species Survival Commission's African Elephant Specialist Group, in partnership with Vulcan Inc, a Paul G. Allen company, and Kenya-based charity Save the Elephants. It draws on data from the African Elephant Database of the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, which is the most comprehensive spatial database on the status of any wide-ranging mammal species in the wild.
Kristen Voisey was visiting a friend in Los Angeles when she walked into a little shop called Bar Keeper that sold vintage glassware, bar tools and alcohol.

It was around the dawn of cocktail culture in Toronto and Voisey thought a similar concept would go over well in the quirky neighbourhood of West Queen West and as a happy by-product, create a venue for her to sell pieces from her own vintage glassware collection, which was taking over her parents basement in Caledon.

She took out a $60,000 line of credit and opened a store, called BYOB, at 972 Queen St. W. in 2011.

Voisey stocked her shelves with painstakingly sourced bar tools, syrups, tonics and bitters  Harry Potteresque vials of whimsical flavours, like peppercorn bacon, blood orange ginger, rhubarb, arugula and wormword that are a bartenders secret weapon when it comes to concocting signature creations in a city enthusiastically embracing the return of the cocktail.

Voisey says BYOB was profitable within two years and that she hasnt looked back. She opened a second store in Kensington Market, called  oz Cocktail Emporium.

Its when she looks next door to her neighbour on Queen St. that she gets upset.

Voisey is suing her neighbour, Steve Tracey, owner of Organic Boutique at 970 Queen St. W., using a little-known legal argument that he is trying to pass off his store as her store, copying her moves so closely that customers are confused as to which store is which.

The basic question is whether, directly or indirectly, Mr. Tracey is presenting his goods to the relevant consumers in a manner which conveys to the minds of those consumers the impression that they are the goods of BYOB, wrote Voiseys lawyer, Scott Crocco of Berkow, Cohen LLP, in response to questions from the Star.

Its more than just a business dispute  its a matter of public interest, he added.

Importantly, our courts have emphasized that passing off cases are affected with a public interest. A dealer's goodwill is protected, not merely for the protection of her business interests, but in order that the purchasing public may not be enticed and deceived into buying A's product when it wants B's product, according to Crocco.

Tracey said his store, a specialty food retailer, opened in 2004, and was stocking cocktail ingredients long before Voisey arrived on the scene.

We were here before this neighbourhood was cool, said Tracey, in an interview with the Star, adding that Voisey is the one who copied him.

She would come over here and she would buy a gluten-free cookie for $2.75 and then she started switching over, she stole (ideas)  the first thing she took for her establishment was a . . . tonic.

The most recent trigger for Voisey was a negative review on Google from a woman who thought she was at BYOB.

He is deceiving people, wrote Voisey, in a post to the stores Facebook page that featured a photograph of the bad review, and an explanation.

People ask all the time if were affiliated, if were the same store, said BYOB store manager Grainne OFlynn.

The dispute is outlined in the lawsuit filed by Voisey in Ontario Superior Court in 2014.

In it, she alleges that in early 2013, Organic Boutique, which had been operating as a retailer of organic foods and related products, began to sell products similar to and in some cases identical to, products sold by BYOB.

She claims Organic Boutiques storefront was changed to look substantially like BYOB, including painting over the Organic Boutique signage and designing window displays comprised solely of products displayed and sold by BYOB. (Voisey has since painted her storefront pink, to differentiate her store.)

Organic Boutique began placing signs with Y.O.B. Inc. and also press articles about BYOB in the window of the store, creating confusion, the lawsuit alleges.

Also according to the lawsuit, Tracey falsely accused Voisey, in her own store and in front of customers, of engaging in sexual acts with her landlord.

Traceys actions, the lawsuit alleges, have not only caused Voiseys business to suffer, but Voisey is herself also suffering from fear and emotional distress as a result of his actions.

He is not sourcing his own products and building his own business, he is 100 per cent going after brands and products I sell exclusively and work really hard to bring to the city, said Voisey in an interview with the Star.

I am just trying to run my business, and having someone spend their entire being trying to steal it is soul crushing, Voisey said.

Tracey, meanwhile, carries a picture on his mobile phone of a message he found on his store window in June 2014, scrawled in lipstick: You are a dick. Buy bitters at BYOB.

Voisey said she had nothing to do with that.

Tracey said that even if he were copying Voisey  and he is adamant he isnt  you cant stop Tim Hortons from opening up next to Starbucks.

OB Inc. did not and does not have any need or reason to attempt to pass itself off as or imitate the plaintiffs business or storefront, Traceys lawyer, Ian Cantor of Minden Gross LLP, wrote in Traceys defence against the lawsuit.

Contrary to the allegations . . . the selling of common products represents nothing more than a perfectly permissible and normal business competition in our free market economy.

Tracey declined to be photographed and his lawyer responded in writing to a request from the Star for further details.

Although Ms. Voisey has not taken any steps to move the lawsuit forward for the past two years, the matters in issue properly remain in the hands of the court, not the press, for determination. Mr. Tracey declines any further comment, with such declination not be taken as any acknowledgement of the accuracy of anything that Ms. Voisey may have said to you, Cantor wrote.

Interest in cocktails continues to build in Toronto, according to Courtney Stewart, general manager of the Furlough restaurant and cocktail bar.

Its absolutely on the upswing. There are so many young people who are passionate about making it their craft, and taking it very seriously.

Rob Berry, founder of the Bartending School of Ontario, believes thats partly because fewer people are drinking to excess when they go out, so theyre willing to pay more for the one or two drinks they do have, in order to get something that will be a taste sensation without putting them through a hangover the next day.

The feud between Voiseys business and Traceys is known in the neigbourhood and among mixologists in Toronto.

Were like a big family. We realize that people arent going to be happy all the time, always, said Rob Sysak, executive director of the West Queen West Business Improvement Association, which represents more than 300 businesses.

Resident Josh Prout, who manages a nearby bar, says hed like to see Voisey and Tracey patch things up.

They got off on the wrong foot together and they just never sorted it out. Sometimes all you have to do is sit down and have a drink, which is ironic, given what they do.

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OTTAWACanadians are being encouraged to ask more questions about the security of their electronic devices from an unlikely source  an executive at the countrys electronic intelligence agency.

Scott Jones, the deputy director of IT security at the Communications Security Establishment, said Canadians need to start taking a greater interest in how their electronic devices protect personal information.

We should be asking when we go and buy the stuff we have at home, OK, tell me how its being protected, Jones said in an interview.

If its my cellphone, does it have encryption if I lose it? Can somebody just read the data off of it or not? We need to start asking questions like that  We need to start helping each other, and helping citizens, helping businesses, helping the government when were buying these products they need to be secure by default.

It may come as a bit of a surprise to hear an employee at CSE counselling Canadians to protect private information. The agency, which has largely operated in secret since its creation at the end of the Second World War, was thrust into the spotlight after U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowdens disclosures.

CSE is part of the Five Eyes security alliance, which includes spy agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Snowdens disclosures revealed the mass surveillance programs used by those countries, including programs that scooped up their own citizens data.

Jones comments also come as law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada are forcefully arguing for the need to limit encryption  calling for so-called back doors that would let authorities decode citizens data.

The argument is that encryption helps bad guys  terrorists, organized crime, child pornographers  hide their tracks. The everyday uses for encryption, such as protecting credit card transactions, safeguarding personal messages, or protecting sensitive government documents, are brought up less often.

When this is pointed out, Jones agreed the debate is a difficult one to resolve.

I dont take it personally, because I think its a really important question, Jones said.

(We need) a rational debate over the tools that law enforcement needs to do its job, right? I trust law enforcement to keep me safe, but I also trust the legal system to protect my privacy as well, and to find a balance. But we havent been able to have those conversations in this country (yet).

Christopher Parsons, a researcher at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, said there are very good reasons that CSE might want to encourage Canadians to take their security more seriously online.

Parsons pointed to a recent cyber attack where hackers harnessed everything from hijacked security cameras to Internet-connected baby monitors to launch one of the most powerful attacks in the Internets history.

I think that CSE, along with other agencies, are just really becoming aware of the implications of the unsecured Internet of Things in particular, Parsons said in an interview Saturday.

Theyre pretty mindful of the implications of if we have this (Internet) infrastructure all around  just what a nightmare its going to be for them, both in terms of defending government systems, but also in terms of just trying to figure out how the hell theyre going to protect themselves.

Parsons said it was an encouraging sign that CSE, whose very existence was considered a state secret at one time, is actually talking about these issues publicly.

The Liberal government is currently in the middle of a review of both its cybersecurity policies and Canadas overall defence policy  two reviews that could have serious implications on CSEs future role and mandate.

Whatever the outcome of those reviews, cyber issues will only grow in importance. The government will continue to look to protecting their own networks, while considering how much access authorities should have to other peoples information.

Jones said that already cyber is too big for any one government actor to handle on its own.

Cyber is not a singular dimensional problem, its not just a technical issue or the computer system, its also about the objective of the compromise or what the threat actor was trying to obtain, Jones said.

You cant have the master of cyber in a single department, because to do that youd have to create the department of everything.

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MONTREALAs Montreals city council prepares to vote on a contentious pit bull ban, advocates for the breed have been pulling out all the stops to convince politicians and the public their pets dont pose an inherent risk.

Councillors are expected to vote Monday to adopt a bylaw that would ban new pit bulls from the city and place strict rules on existing dogs, including that they be sterilized and muzzled when in public.

The proposed ban was announced in June following a string of dog attacks, including a fatal one involving 55-year-old Christiane Vadnais, who was killed in her Montreal backyard.

The announcement outraged fans of the breed, who maintain that legislation targeting one type of dog isnt effective in reducing dog bites.

Rather, they say a combination of education, regulations and strict penalties for irresponsible owners is the best strategy to ensure public safety.

The public debate has been heated, with dog lovers protesting in the citys streets and lining up at city council meetings to repeatedly question Mayor Denis Coderre on the issue.

The Montreal SPCA has said it will stop providing dog services to the city if the ban is adopted.

Were not going to participate in euthanizing of thousands of healthy dogs, executive director Benoit Tremblay said. Its against our values.

SPCAs across the province joined forces last week to launch a website featuring expert advice that debunks breed bans and provides alternate solutions to reduce dog bites.

We hope the administration will look at this in a scientific light, review their position, listen to real experts, and have a real policy to prevent dangerous dogs, Tremblay said.

Despite the backlash from some groups, Coderre has remained committed to the ban, stating that it is designed to increase safety.

Several other cities, including Quebec City, have announced or discussed bans, and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has suggested he may follow Ontarios lead in implementing a blanket ban.

Ontario has banned the breed since 2005. Pit bulls are also prohibited in many Canadian cities, including Winnipeg.

That has advocates preparing for the worst.

In Westmount, one business held a pit bull spa day on Sunday, offering free baths, grooming and treats to 20 dogs.

Although the municipality is outside Montreal and therefore unaffected by the bylaw, Pampered Pets of Westmount owner Anna Maria Ranieri said she wanted to make a statement that the dogs are welcome.

This is a really emotional time that affects all of us as owners, and I just wanted to give these dogs a good day, she said.

Tremblay says the SPCA will work to send as many dogs as possible to other provinces, although he concedes they will only be able to save a fraction.

Sabrina Sabbah, an organizer of a coalition opposed to the ban, said advocates are prepared to fight the legislation in court.

She noted that dog owners are also planning a demonstration in front of city hall ahead of the vote that will include a moment of silence to remember Vadnais.

I cant imagine losing my mother that way, she said. Its horrific, but we cant lose sight of the real issues and whats about to happen.

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British Columbias First Nations Grand Chief, Stewart Phillip, declined to participate in a planned Black Rod reconciliation ceremony with Prince William, which was to take place in Victoria on Monday.

The provinces First Nations leader said he meant no disrespect but wished to protest what a majority of Canadas First Nations chiefs feel is hesitancy by the Trudeau government to follow up on election promises, and the B.C. governments slow response to the Supreme Court of Canadas Tsilhqotin decision.

In good conscience, I cannot participate in the Black Rod ceremony. The suffering in our communities is too great, Phillip stated early Monday in a news release. I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused with our decision . . . . It is a matter (of) principle.

The ceremony was to proceed as planned, Adrienne Dunton, communications officer for B.C. Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon, said in an email. Guichon was to host the event, where First Nations representatives were slated to hand over a ring of reconciliation to William. Originally planned for 1 p.m. B.C. time at Government House in Victoria, the ceremony was delayed until evening.

The Tsilhqotin decision recognized that First Nations claims to over 1,700 square km of the B.C. interior. Citing a series of meetings in 2014 and 2015, Phillip said B.C. chiefs feel they have made little progress on the matter with the B.C. government.

When asked whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be given more time, on the federal First Nations file, Phillip said: No. Its been a year.

The Black Rod is a ceremonial staff that is used on formal occasions when the Queen, or her provincial representative the lieutenant-governor, is present in the B.C. legislature, according to a Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs news release. The materials and symbols affixed to the Rod are representative of the province and its relationship to the Crown. The shaft of the Black Rod is made of wood from seven trees indigenous to B.C.

Prince William is to add a final ring, symbolizing aboriginal reconciliation, to the Black Rod. The current three rings on the staff represent the Crown, Canada and British Columbia, but the provincial government says there have been requests for a fourth ring to signify the link with indigenous peoples, since the staff was created in 2012 to mark the Queens Diamond Jubilee.

Reconciliation must move forward beyond this eloquent symbolic gesture, Phillip said, referring to the Black Rod event.

Trudeaus office and B.C.s Government House, office of the lieutenant-governor, were contacted by the Star but were not immediately available for comment.

Robert Chamberlin, vice-president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, suggested in a news release the Trudeau government, despite its election promises, has used Conservative-style stall and litigate in its handling of the matter of fishing rights for B.C. Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation.

The fishing rights were won in the Supreme Court of Canada after decades of fighting, Phillip said. But the federal government is refusing to implement the ruling, he said. The Nuu-chah-nulth about a week ago told Trudeau that he is no longer welcome on the Nuu-chah-nulth land, which is about one-third of Anchor Island, B.C., Phillip said.

Phillip also referenced  calling it a betrayal  the government of B.C.s fast track for a hydroelectric dam on the Peace River, the so-called Site C dam in the northeast side of the province.

First Nations are heading to the courts to compel both governments to uphold the honour of the Crown, Chamberlin stated in the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs release.

The deepening poverty of indigenous communities, the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and what First Nations feeling is ongoing negligence in Indigenous Child Welfare policies across this country are some of the other reasons Phillip stated for his opting out of the Black Rod ceremony.

With file from Canadian Press

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John Oliver returned to the Last Week Tonight desk to tackle the various scandals plaguing presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (the latter who he described as "an unambiguously racist scarecrow stuffed with scrunched-up copies of Juggs magazine"). But first he gave this election year the description it needed: It's "the electoral equivalent of seeing someone puking so you start puking and then someone else starts puking and pretty soon everyone is puking 2016." So true.

"Weve spent several frustrating weeks trolling through all the innuendo and exaggerations surrounding Hillarys email and foundation scandals, and the worst thing we can say is that they both look bad. But the harder you look, the less you actually find. Theres not nothing there, but what is there is irritating rather than grossly nefarious," he declared. "And this is where its instructive to compare her to her opponent: Donald Trump, Americas wealthiest hemorrhoid.... hes quantifiably worse."

Oliver basically found that Clinton's scandals are troubling, but overall declared it's "not as bad as it looks. Which is never a satisfying thing to hear or, indeed, read about the buffet at a Golden Corral." He went on to say, "You can be irritated by some of Hillarys [scandals]  that is understandable  but you should then be fucking outraged by Trump." Oliver went on to detail the mogul-turned-dog whistler's scandalsnot releasing his tax returns; using money from his charitable foundation to pay for lawsuits; everything with Trump University; "the alleged use of undocumented workers when building Trump Tower, to the fact that he received an illegal $3.5 million loan from his father in the form of a purchase of chips from one of Trumps casinos."

"Ethical failings in a politician are like raisins in a cookie," Oliver opined. "They shouldnt be there. They disgust people. But most politicians have at least a few raisins." So here's Clinton's cookie:

And then there's Trump: "The man is a fucking raisin monsoon. He is ethically compromised to an almost unprecedented degree."
Bringing attention to forgotten causes and an ancient people, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be meeting with a number of First Nations groups, visiting them and shining a spotlight on their traditions, histories, languages and cultures.

On Tuesday, Prince William and Kate Middleton will mark the conclusion of the 10-year anniversary celebration of the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the 100th anniversary of the University of British Columbia. The institution has a long and deep relation with the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA).

The ONA was formed in 1981 and represents the eight member communities in the territory: Okanagan Indian Band, Upper Nicola Band, Westbank First Nation, Penticton Indian Band, Osoyoos Indian Band and Lower and Upper Similkameen Indian Bands and the Colville Confederated Tribes. The Okanagan (Syilx) peoples territory encompasses land in both British Columbia and Washington, an area of approximately 69,000 square kilometres. According to the ONAs website, the Syilx people still affirm the land is theirs, because a treaty was never negotiated.

The ONA website says that word Syilx takes its meaning from several different images, including combining many into one, and a command for every individual to continuously bind and unify with the rest, concepts the ONA website says underline their consideration of the meaning of aboriginal title and rights.

Okanagan Lake and Okanagan River as well as other water systems were the traditional transportation routes of the Syilx, and they traditionally hunted, fished, farmed and crafted throughout their territory, creating a self-sufficient economy.

On Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess will experience local Tagish traditions, culture and heritage, and witness the innovative economic development initiatives led by the Carcross Tagish Management Corporation, according to their itinerary.

Shortly after arriving in Whitehorse, the royal family will visit the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre, which the itinerary calls a centrepiece of downtown Whitehorse situated on the banks of the Yukon River. The itinerary says the centre features cultural exhibits and local First Nations art, and the couple will view Land of Gold  A Yukon Cultural Celebration, which highlights the diversity and depth of Yukons cultural scene. Dancers, drummers and musicians from a variety of genres and backgrounds share their songs and stories in a dynamic performance, the itinerary reads.

Carcross/Tagish First Nation represents six clans: the Daklaweidi and Yan Yedi clans, who are the Wolf Moiety, and the Deisheetaan, Ganaxtedi, Ishkahittaan and Kookhittaan clans, who are of the Crow Moiety. According to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation website, each clan owns and carries their own crest or emblem, which can be attached to regalia to identify which clan the owner belongs to. Spirituality and respect for the land is held in very high regard within the Carcross/Tagish First Nation; art forms express their spiritual relationship and interconnectedness with each other, the land, water and animals, the website says.

According to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation website, for thousands of years, the Carcross/Tagish First Nation people have lived off the land, using, and still using, trails within Southern Yukon, Alaska and Northern British Columbia, including the famous Chilkoot Trail, to partake in hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering traditional medicines and berries. These activities are still important and part of the First Nations lifestyle today.

On Friday, the Royal couple will visit the Haida Heritage Center and Museum, and will take a tour of the Carving House and Welcome House.

They will canoe from Skidegate Landing to Haida Heritage Centre and Museum in Haida Gwaii, the ancestral home of the Haida Nation.

Traditionally occupying the coastal bays and inlets of Haida Gwaii, about 2,500 Haida  the Aboriginal people  have been living on those islands for about 6,000 to 8,000 years.

The Haida belonged to two social groups  the Raven or the Eagle. Individuals claimed clan membership through sophisticated displays of inherited family crests carved on totem poles that were erected in front of houses and carved or painted on war canoes, cedar boxes and decorative objects, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Today, many Haida are famous for their artwork, while others work in commercial fisheries, ecotourism and forestry.

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The old man was moving at a glacial pace, shuffling and limping through the front doors of a stand-alone TD bank on a busy stretch of Kingston Rd. in Scarborough.

Despite the late June heat, he wore a dark jacket over his plaid shirt, a Gilligan-style bucket hat covering his head.

In his hand was a black attache case containing a note.

Stay calm. Have gun. Withdraw $4,000, large bills. No, no games. 60 seconds. Go.

Outside the bank, undercover Toronto police readied for a holdup by a criminal equally gifted in robbery and disguise.

For eight months, Brett Ryan had stymied police while collecting a total of $28,000 in a rash of bank robberies across the GTA, thanks to his elaborate  and, as it turned out, professional  costuming.

Illustrations by Paul Watson

Moments before, officers had watched as Ryan climbed into his Ford vehicle a youthful 28-year-old. He drove to the bank, then emerged from his vehicle an old man, having donned what had become his trademark accessory: a high-quality fake grey beard.

Once inside the bank, however, Ryan abruptly changed course. He did not approach the till, did not silently slide his holdup note towards the teller, as had been his practice.

Instead, he stood inside the bank for a few moments, then, still aping the gait of an old man, walked right back out the doors and into police custody.

Ryans sudden change of heart at the end of that chain of bank robberies was just one mysterious dimension of a case that, for investigators, prosecutors and an Ontario court judge, was unlike any other.

Transcripts from the January 2009 court proceedings in the so-called Bearded Bandit case detail how both court staff and Ryans friends and family were blindsided by his behaviour.

Last month, seven years later, Ryan would be accused of strangling his mother and slaying two brothers in a bizarre triple homicide possibly involving crossbow bolts. .

Just as those close to Ryan are now questioning how he could be charged with murdering his family just days before his Montreal bachelor party and three weeks before his wedding, relatives and friends had struggled in 2009 to reconcile the Ryan they knew with a prolific bank robber.

The offences  were a shock to the people who know Mr. Ryan, Cynthia Fromstein, Ryans lawyer, told a Scarborough court on Jan. 26, 2009, the day Ryan pleaded guilty to 16 charges in connection with his robberies.

His crimes were entirely out of character, according to friends and family, who knew him as a bright university student, a kind and generous young person who volunteered at Sick Kids, Fromstein said.

The intelligent young men who wrote letters in support of Ryan could never, in their wildest of imaginations, have believed their friend was a bank robber, Justice Paul Robertson said in court.

He understood their shock. For someone with a stellar background and no criminal record to commit a series of bank robberies was, Robertson said, virtually unheard of.

According to a summary of the facts provided in court, Ryans robbery spree began at 11 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2007, when he held up a CIBC bank on Old Kingston Rd. His inaugural disguise was a hooded sweatshirt, with white hospital bandages covering his face and his arm in a sling.

Arriving at the counter, he slipped the teller a note demanding money and warning he had a gun. She handed over $1,155.

Over the next three months, five more banks were robbed in a similar manner. The robber was a lone, limping man who disguised his face, initially with bandages, then with a beard. He typically got away with approximately $2,000 each time.

Toronto police officers investigating the separate robberies were able to link them through fingerprints and holdup notes. Except for small variations, the notes were virtually identical: clipped demands for a few thousand dollars in 60 seconds, and terse instructions: Stay calm. No games.

Police also noted the robberies were taking place at branches close to Highway 401, presumably to aid in a quick getaway.

But while they knew it was a serial robber, police did not have a suspect. With little else to go on, investigators set up surveillance at a selection of banks along the 401, hoping to catch the bandit in action. At its height, the operation saw between 20 to 25 police officers stationed outside various banks.

The surveillance was called off when the Bearded Bandit hit up a west-end bank that hadnt been on police radar.

Investigators got creative. Surveillance video footage from the banks showed that underneath the beard and old man shuffle was a youthful face. So police began researching companies that sold theatrical supplies in the Toronto area, and  after consulting with experts in the movie industry  determined the bandits high-quality disguises could only be obtained at one major supplier in Toronto.

A search through six months worth of sales receipts for relevant items turned up two pertinent sales, but in both cases the customer paid in cash. The clerk remembered selling the items to a young man who claimed they were for his brother and said he would return for further purchases. Police set up surveillance cameras outside.

Around the same time, the Bearded Bandit struck again, robbing a Bank of Montreal on Pharmacy Ave. This time, surveillance footage captured what police believed could be the bandits vehicle.

The licence plate number was impossible to make out, but officers noticed it was a newer Ford model. When they sent pictures to Ford Canada, they were told the car had unique features only available at certain dealers.

As officers were attempting to determine where the car was obtained, police caught a break. An on-duty officer spotted what he believed was the same car used in the robberies. When police ran the plate, they got Ryans name.

Teaming up with Durham officers to help cover the hours, Toronto police started running surveillance on Ryan. They followed him as he led what was, largely, the life of a young, average, single guy. He went to the gym, practised martial arts, went out to eat, socialized with friends.

Then came evidence that investigators were on the right track. On June 9, 2008, police followed Ryan as he cased a handful of banks in the Toronto area  slowly driving by, then briefly entering and looking around, among them the TD branch on the busy stretch of Kingston Rd.

It was the same bank that, 11 days later, Ryan had shuffled into in disguise, only to abandon the robbery once inside.

What caused Ryan to lose his nerve later became the subject of debate. Police suggested that, upon entering the bank, Ryan noticed some construction out front and worried it would threaten his getaway.

Fromstein, Ryans lawyer, offered another explanation. Citing a conversation Ryan had with a psychiatrist, she said he had been guilt-ridden and wanted to give himself up.

Regardless, police arrested Ryan as soon as he left the bank, ultimately charging him with a slew of robbery and disguise charges.

Executing search warrants, officers found in Ryans car a Ziploc bag with hair and some glue. Inside his house, they found dark-rimmed glasses holding lenses without a prescription; a sling and some bandages; $200 in a closet; two dye packs  a device used by some banks to foil robberies by staining cash  and a holdup note: Stay calm. Gun under sling. Use envelope. 60 seconds. Go.

For his spree of bank robberies, Ryan faced a possible 15 years in jail.

All parties agreed it was an extreme sentence for someone with no criminal record. But there was no precedent to help guide sentencing.

I couldnt find a single case, Crown prosecutor Miriam Saksznajder told the court, where someone of Mr. Ryans prior background, no police involvement, no history  there wasnt even a 208 card on him  would embark on this type of spree and offences  with this degree of severity.

Ryans obvious premeditation, evidenced by the disguises, called for a harsher sentence, as did his repeated threats to use a gun during the robberies. On the other hand, no one was harmed and no gun was ever found in his possession.

Saksznajder noted the sentence should also reflect that Ryan was entering a guilty plea, thus avoiding a trial  though she noted Ryan had been caught red-handed, and the evidence against him was so strong conviction was likely even without the plea.

In her sentencing submissions, Fromstein gave some context for her clients crimes. Ryan ran into some significant difficulties at university that caused him to drop out, she said. That included a battle with depression that he chose not to share with his family, for fear of burdening them.

(Documents later filed with the Parole Board of Canada go into greater detail, suggesting Ryan had also gone into significant debt through unhealthy intimate relationships.)

Ryan was genuinely remorseful, specifically regarding the impact on his family, who had supported him despite their shock at what has taken place, Fromstein said.

In his address to the court, Ryan was articulate and forthright.

I would like to say how sorry I am for the trouble and trauma Ive caused everyone, he said. I do realize that regardless of my problems, there is no excuse or any sort of justification for my extreme and selfish, selfish actions.

Justice Robertson was moved. Few individuals who come before him have the understanding of the impact of their crimes that you have indicated to me, he told Ryan.

Though he initially believed a 10-year jail sentence was appropriate, Robertson accepted a joint submission of three years and nine months in jail. The sentence struck the right balance of acknowledging the seriousness of Ryans crimes without crushing all hope of rehabilitation, the judge said.

Warning Ryan that jail was going to be depressing, Robertson told him his intellect would be an asset to him and fellow prisoners. To fight off institutionalization, Ryan should seek the help of prison psychologists and keep reading the books his friends were sending him in jail to keep your mind sharp.

In his parting words, Robertson expressed hope that Ryan could move beyond his crimes, because he wouldnt have to do it alone.

Youre a lucky man, Mr. Ryan, you have a family behind you. I think that family will stick with you.

Ryan, now represented by lawyer John Rosen, made a brief court appearance Friday on the three first-degree murder charges. He is due back in court Oct. 14.

Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca

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In the last federal election Mary Oko had a dilemma: I had a situation where I supported the party leader and the party, but I didnt support the local candidate of that party.

She was among the roughly 100 people who attended a town hall conversation Sunday hosted by Liberal MP Adam Vaughan on electoral reform, ahead of the expected tabling of a new bill by the federal government next year.

Everything from online voting, ranked ballots under various proposals, a more proportionally representative system, and even reducing the voting age was discussed inside Vaughans old battleground, Toronto City Halls council chamber.

We are in a new century. Its time for a refresh, Vaughan, a former city councillor who now represents the Spadina-Fort York riding federally, told the audience.

A national referendum on getting rid of the current way we pick winners was one of the main topics. And Okos hope of being able to vote separately for Prime Minister and the local riding MP was another popular idea among many who attended.

The event was part of a series of public consultations being held in every riding across the country before parliamentary debate next year, when the government is set to introduce a new bill in the spring to deal with changes to the way Canadians vote in federal elections.

Will Molls told the Star he would like to see the voting age reduced to 16. If youre old enough to work and pay taxes, you deserve to vote.

He would also like to see a secure online voting option, along with the traditional paper voting method, to increase voter participation. But Molls, echoing many others, said the governments priority should be getting rid of our first-past-the-post system.

Voting expert Dave Meslin, who is writing a book recommending changes to the current system, was invited to answer many of the questions. He gave first-past-the-post a failing grade.

When the majority of people do not vote for the government that has ultimate authority, thats called a coup in any other country. In Canada, we call it an election.

To make his point about the need to get rid of the system used by all three levels of government in Canada, Meslin pointed out the low percentage of overall votes won by some current members of Torontos council. At least one member won with only 17 per cent of the vote in 2014.

He and others advocated for one of various systems that would incorporate ranked balloting, where voters would rank their preferences in order from first to last.

Ranked ballots effectively work like an election held in rounds  a method parties already use for selecting their leaders  where in each round the candidate with the fewest votes is discarded form the ballot until one candidate wins a majority.

Its a method used all around the world, Meslin said. Canada is the only country of 35 in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) still using first-past-the-post for all levels of government.

Many in the audience criticized first-past-the-post for handing the advantage to elites tied to major political parties, which strategize not on the basis of policy, ideas or reflective representation, but around a numbers game designed to get just enough votes in just enough ridings to form the government.

Would Vaughan like a new system that makes federal politics more reflective of Canadas diversity?

Its time for some change, Vaughan responded to the Stars question. And Im willing to see where that conversation takes us. There are a lot of components to balance, though, beyond just how we cast a ballot  I hear the criticism. You would like the city council of Toronto to look like (the diverse riders on) a subway train.

Vaughan stressed that properly representing Canadian values, including diversity of thought, gender equality, ethnic diversity and other nuances, requires more than figuring out the best way to vote.

Diversity in politics is much, much more about the process by which we govern and how we include people in that process than it is about simply the way we cast our ballots, Vaughan said.

But he acknowledged criticism of the current system.

When we reform the system, do we need to do it with an eye to making sure we have a more representative democracy? Absolutely, thats part of the fundamental reason why were doing this.

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A Toronto doctor has been accused of inappropriately touching a patient while the physician was already under investigation by Ontarios medical watchdog for the alleged sexual violation of another patient.

On Aug. 23, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontarios discipline committee found that Dr. Donato Anthony Ruggiero engaged in sexual impropriety with Patient 1 by placing his penis in her vagina during a medical exam in or around 1986.

Ruggiero is now scheduled to appear before the CPSO discipline committee to face allegations that he touched the breasts of Patient 2 in 2015, more than a year after Patient 1s complaint regarding the alleged 1980s incident was filed.

In 2013, Patient 1 filed that complaint with the CPSO, alleging that Ruggiero sexually assaulted her during an exam around 1986.

According to Patient 1s testimony before a CPSO disciplinary committee, she was lying on the doctors examining table when she sensed something that did not feel right. She said she looked up to see that Ruggiero had unzipped his pants, put a condom on and had his penis halfway into her vagina.

Ruggieros lawyer Jenny Stephenson said the doctor denies these allegations.

He states that he did not do it and I believe that to be true, Stephenson said. And I think that an appeal is likely.

CPSO investigators began looking into Patient 1s complaint in early 2014 and had informed Ruggiero of the complaint against him no later than March 31, 2014, according to the CPSO discipline committees decision.

Ruggiero was allowed to continue practising for another 15 months, because, according to CPSO spokesperson Tracey Sobers, the college has no legal authority to take away a doctors licence or impose practice restrictions while an investigation is underway.

In 2015, according to a notice of an upcoming disciplinary hearing on the CPSOs website, Patient 2 complained to the CPSO, alleging that between March and May 2015, Ruggiero touched her breasts and made inappropriate or sexual remarks to her.

Stephenson would not comment on Patient 2s allegations.

In July 2015, the College suspended Ruggieros licence to practice after its investigators referred Patient 1s case to a disciplinary committee.

In September 2015, the CPSO updated Ruggieros page on its website with the news that he would face another disciplinary hearing in connection with Patient 2s allegations of inappropriate touching and sexual remarks.

The college can impose restrictions on a physicians licence after a referral has been made to discipline, if we have evidence to suggest that the conduct of the member exposes or is likely to expose his or her patients to harm or injury, Sobers told the Star in an email.

Even then, Sobers added, the college is legally required to impose the least restrictive orders that can be made against the doctor while still protecting the public, as the allegations against a doctor are still unproven at that point.

During its investigation of Patient 1s alleged sexual assault, the CPSO entered into a binding agreement with Ruggiero that he would keep them informed of all locations where he practised and post specific signs in each of those locations.

The CPSO alleges Ruggiero failed to comply with either condition of the agreement.

The contents of the signs Ruggiero was supposed to post are not publicly available because the agreement between the doctor and the CPSO is no longer active, Sobers said.

The CPSO stated this month that disciplinary hearing regarding Patient 2s allegations against is scheduled for May and June.

Ruggiero will face a raft of accusations relating to Patient 2. These include touching and making inappropriate remarks to Patient 2, making threats against Patient 2 and her partner, violating Patient 2s doctor-patient confidentiality, failing to comply with CPSO drug prescription and dispensation policies, failing to maintain accurate medical records and failing to comply with the agreement he struck with the CPSO.

Sobers told the Star that the CPSO can provide no further details of the continuing disciplinary case, beyond the allegations posted on its website.

A penalty hearing is scheduled for Oct. 14 to determine further punishment relating to Ruggieros sexual impropriety with Patient 1.

Toronto police say no charges have been laid against Ruggiero.

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I have spent 17 years as a newspaper columnist in Toronto and five more years on the job in Montreal. I merely note that tilting at windmills, taking notes and making enemies of idiots has not been my only calling.

Prior to the papers, I spent a dozen years as a manager and a radio producer at the CBC, and for 10 years before that I worked at various jobs  the most important one, as a community developer  in my hometown of Fort William. All in, I have been earning a living for nearly 50 years.

Time now to step aside.

Because I do not want to be one of those guys who occupies his perch until he starts to drool, also because  and you know this if you are of a certain age  when I look at the long list of things to do and the handful of sand left in the hourglass . . .

It is a fearful business, columny.

The work is not so very hard, but it is fraught, and I have lived for a long time in terror of getting a name wrong, or pooching a fact. The agony of an error lasts a lifetime. The rest of it requires no courage at all.

I simply wandered around town, asking questions, making notes and then writing stories which had a beginning, a middle, an end and a point of view  stories which I hope looked and sounded like the people of the city.

I think of Al Gosling, the octogenarian who was evicted from his bachelor apartment in community housing for petty and pointless reasons  and who died as a result. I weep to think that the bureaucrat who kicked him to the curb is still working; hell, she was promoted.

But I am grateful to have met Justice Patrick LeSage, the wise, witty and elegant man who conducted the inquiry into Als death.

I think of the artist Janos Buda, who died in his apartment and was not discovered until six months later; what kind of community is it in which you can die and not be missed, and not be found, until you are a husk?

Were it not for a bit of luck, thousands of Budas drawings and sketches of life in the city would have been thrown in the trash. I am forever grateful to the good people of the Scarborough Arts Council for saving them.

An aside: a relative of Janos was located in the U.S.A. He came here to take care of the estate, and he met a lovely woman and they married, and he stayed.

Thats something.

I remember Dirty George, who lived in third-world conditions in community housing. Dirty George, because hygiene was his litmus test: if you could stand to be near him, you could be his friend.

He had many friends.

I think of the lovely woman who called years ago to say shed been bitten by bedbugs and had had an allergic reaction; I paid her a visit and found so many bedbug stories that I could not write them all.

Its high time we poured more money into programs to help those whose blood is being sucked because the problem has not gone away.

And then there is Fred Dunn and his Ode to Joy, which is what he called the 85-lb. log he carried on his shoulders when he jogged. I cannot think of Fred without remembering the street nurse, Barb Craig, from whose sneaker Fred once said he would drink champagne.

I remember Zlatni Struni, the Rolling Stones of Bulgaria. I remember Robert who, when his power was cut off at West Lodge, he snaked a string of Xmas lights from the hallway into his apartment and plugged them in so that he could read by the light of the red and green bulbs. I still see him sometimes on the corner.

I think of Wabs Whitebird, the proprietor of Fluffy Records, Cliff Martin and the tenants of 200 Wellesley, and Walter Cavalieri, Holly Kramer, Peter Leslie and all the stalwarts of harm reduction.

I smile at the memory of Cora Graziano, who once made a rhubarb-strawberry pie for the Dalai Lama.

Leo Agwu introduced me to the particular joys of joloff rice. I was there when he brought his bride Joy to Toronto from Nigeria, just as I was there when their firstborn was christened.

I remember my pals in the cannabis community.

I am indebted to this citys legal aid workers, who fight the endless good fight. And then there is Fr. Hernan Astudillo, my saint and a city hero; no one has made so many miracles with nothing more than beans and rice.

And I am indebted to you if you ever, at any time, trusted me to tell your story, or if you sent a kind note of encouragement, or even a sharp word.

From now on I will poke around town on my own dime, taking espresso on St. Clair, apple cake at the Mystic Muffin and pho all over.

I will do these things in memory of my pal Carmin Priolo, the flaneur; it was our shared belief that Toronto is a hard place to like, just as it is an easy place to love.

See you on the corner.

Joe Fioritos new email address: fiorito@rogers.com

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A man in his 40s remains in critical, life-threatening condition after a vat of extremely hot tar tipped over on him in an accident at Logan and Danforth Aves. in Torontos east end, Monday morning.

Emergency responders were called just before 8 a.m., and worked frantically to extricate the man who was trapped in several inches of molten tar, which police estimated was as hot as 200 C.

Initially, crews reported that he was wearing a protective suit that may have saved him from serious injuries, but according to police, he remains in critical condition as the initial injury report was inaccurate, constable David Hopkinson said.

Investigators say that the truck was travelling on Danforth Ave., and stopped suddenly near Logan Ave., apparently causing the vat of hot roofing tar to overturn on the worker.

Fire crews worked cut side of the truck where they found the worker encased in the hardened tar after it had been exposed to the air. After over an hour of being trapped, crews were able to cut him out of the tar and he was transported to Sunnybrook Hospitals burn unit.

This is very unusual, the Toronto Fire platoon chief, Dave Denysek told media. He was partially encased, it required pretty significant extrication.

Denysek also mentioned it was a difficult situation the fire crews had to be careful not to be scalded during the extrication.

The Ministry of Labour has assigned two inspectors to the scene. The provinces labour ministry has also assigned a hygienist and an engineer to assist with the investigation.

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Mayor John Tory is trumpeting efforts to fight gridlock at the citys worst intersections by using measures he says are simple but effective, including retiming traffic signals, adding advance green lights, and installing CCTV cameras.

The mayor discussed the measures on Monday at his latest traffic-themed press conference, where he outlined ongoing work to reduce gridlock at 10 hot spots across Toronto.

Tory first announced the hot spot plan in January. Standing at the corner of Finch Ave. E. and Victoria Park Ave., which is one of the targeted intersections, he said the strategy was not going to eliminate traffic in the city but its going to make it flow better, which is something I think people have a right to expect.

The mayor said the public wants officials to do everything we can to try and alleviate the traffic that is causing a lot of social and economic and environmental issues for us.

Improvements made to Finch and Victoria Park so far include a retimed rush-hour signal plan, the addition of a left turn advance green signal, and the installation of a CCTV camera that will allow transportation staff to remotely monitor traffic conditions. Four signs warning turning drivers to yield to pedestrians and cyclists have also been erected.

Miles Currie, director of transportation services, said adding 15 seconds to the east-west green light time would allow five or six additional vehicles to get through the intersection each cycle. The normal cycle time is 90 seconds.

According to Currie, the improvements to Finch and Victoria Park will cost about $50,000, and the entire hot spot project would cost about $1 million.

The 10 locations that have been identified as the most congested are:

Yonge St.-Sheppard Ave.

Black Creek Dr.-Lawrence Ave.

OConnor Dr.-Don Mills Rd.

Kingston Rd.-Lawrence

Finch Ave.-Victoria Park Ave.

Eglinton Ave.-Martin Grove Rd.

Eastern Ave.-Carlaw Ave.

Mt. Pleasant Rd.-St. Clair Ave./Moore Ave.

Bloor St.-Parliament St.

Yonge-Finch

In addition to the type of improvements made at Finch and Victoria Park, alterations at the other intersections also include retiming signals to give pedestrians more time to cross, adding zebra crossings, lengthening right-turn lanes and implementing dual left-turn lanes.

Tory, who said Monday that to get Toronto moving was a principal task of government, has devoted much of his two years in office to championing anti-gridlock efforts like towing blitzes on downtown streets, co-ordinating road closures, and the police traffic assistance personnel program.

He said Monday that he couldnt yet offer definitive data that showed the citys efforts are alleviating traffic, but he asserted that they are having a positive effect.

I am absolutely confident that things are a bit better, and so on, but Im also very confident, like a hundred per cent confident, had we not taken all these measures, with the tagging and towing, with the construction speed up that were doing on road construction, the signal retiming, things would have been much worse. So I think were doing what we can to make it better.

The mayor also weighed in on statistics released by the police last week that showed that between Jun. 1 and Sept. 22, 1,083 cyclists and pedestrians were hit by cars. Thats the equivalent of one collision every 2.5 hours.

Asked whether posting signs telling drivers to yield to pedestrians and cyclists would reduce the number of crashes, Tory said that the city has a much more comprehensive road safety plan that it is attempting to implement as quickly as possible.

He called the collision statistics profoundly unacceptable and said the objective is to get that number down to zero.

Tory backed the $80.3 million road safety plan, but in July joined a majority of councillors in voting against accelerating the timeline for its implementation from five years to two.

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With a rising number of complaints, Ontarios Ombudsman Paul Dube announced Monday that his office would be looking into Torontos school bus woes.

Nearly a month into the school year, Dube said his office continues to receive complaints from children and parents in Toronto scrambling over no-show buses.

We continue to receive complaints from frustrated families who are experiencing chronic delays or are repeatedly forced to scramble to get children to school when their buses dont show up, Dube said.

Both the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board have been notified, and will be queried on whether the oversight of student transportation and the response to delays and disruptions were adequate.

We will look at what the boards knew about possible transportation problems, how they responded and, communicated with parents, and what can be done to prevent such problems in future, Dube said.

Toronto Student Transportation Group, an organization responsible for providing transportation for students in both boards, wrote on Sept. 13 that a severe bus driver shortage would continue to lead to school bus shortages and delays.

We continue to work with our carriers on a daily basis to look for short and mid term solutions to minimize the impact as a result of the driver shortage, they wrote on their Facebook page.

As of last Friday, the Toronto Catholic District School Board has made some progress on solving the issue. TCDSB spokesperson John Yan said that theyve now matched all students to a bus route, but those routes are heavily modified due to the continued shortage of drivers.

(Students) may not get picked up at exactly the time theyre expecting, there could still be delays anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, said Yan.

The ombudsmans office said it also received 49 complaints about busing problems at other school boards and will keep an eye on those while moving ahead with the Toronto-focused probe.

We have had a few complaints about busing in other areas, and some indicating there is a broader problem with the school transportation procurement process across the province, said Dube.

The Ombudsmans mandate was expanded to include oversight of Ontario school boards last year, and it already has received more than 800 complaints about them.

Correction - September 27, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said the Ontario Ombudsman's mandate was expanded to include oversight of Ontario school boards this month.

With files from Salmaan Farooqui and The Canadian Press

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The province is considering more than 600 applications to remove land from the official Greenbelt, prompting worries from environmentalists that parts of the protected area might be opened for development.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs said in an emailed statement that any changes to the Greenbelt would be minor. The government has received these site-specific requests over the past 10 years, and is now assessing them as part of an ongoing review of the Greenbelt Plan, which was created in 2005.

Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, said hes been told several times that the province has no intention of compromising the 1.8-million acre Greenbelt area, which was established to protect wild areas and farmland against the encroachment of suburban sprawl. Even so, he said, removing any land from the Greenbelt could legitimize calls for development in the protected corridor around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

The whole point of creating the Greenbelt was not allowing incursions into it, Gray said.

Every inch you give, you then are asked to give a mile. Thats the risk.

Earlier this year, a task force chaired by former Toronto mayor David Crombie made recommendations to the province on how to update conservancy and land-protection programs, including the Greenbelt. Municipal Affairs, which oversees these policies, responded in May by calling to add to the Greenbelt land within 21 urban river valleys and wetlands, along with other changes to the conservation plan. The province also proposed to remove four areas from the Greenbelt: four tracts of land near Grimsby that were already subject to development plans when they were included in the Greenbelt in 2005.

The review is now in its final consultation phase. Public feedback on the proposed changes can be made until Oct. 31.

Conrad Spezowka, the ministry spokesperson, said the land removal applications are being addressed through proposed land use policy changes, such as the suggestion to allow greater flexibility for what can be built on already existing farms on the Greenbelt. He added that the ministry is gathering detailed technical information from municipalities, landowners and conservation groups to help decide whether any changes are appropriate.

Examples of changes to the Greenbelt map include places where a bend in a river to be protected is outside the existing boundary, and where the borderline runs through a building or bisects a property.

Spezowka said there will be public consultation if the ministry decides an application has merit.

David Donnelly, an environmental lawyer in Toronto, said he believes the glut of applications is simply a sign that developers are trying to rezone tracts of Greenbelt land in hopes that they become available during the review process. He added, however, that he doesnt think the government will sign off on many of the removal applications.

Theres no indication that Im aware that the government is seriously considering these applications, he said.

Im convinced this is a non-starter.

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The TTCs Presto problems are more widespread than previously thought.

The transit agency has stated publiclythat fewer than 1 per cent of its new Presto fare card readers are out of service at any given time. But an audit the TTC conducted last week revealed that at least 5 to 6 per cent of the devices on its streetcar fleet arent working, and the real number could be higher.

According to TTC chief customer officer Chris Upfold, its difficult to know how many devices are misfiring, because the cellular system that is supposed to automatically detect when they malfunction isnt working properly.

Frankly, it might be higher (than 5 to 6 per cent). I wouldnt be surprised if it was, Upfold said in an interview.

Because the automatic detection system isnt always reliable, the TTC had workers check the readers in person last week, and plans to test readers on buses as well. According to Upfold, its not clear whats wrong with the devices, which allow customers to pay their fare by tapping a prepaid card. But he said its probably a software problem.

Upfold described the rate of glitches as frustrating but said the TTC expected some hiccups as it implemented the new system. He stressed that these are still early days for the fare-card program.

Were still a long way away from saying this is mature and ready for our customers to wholeheartedly endorse. These are the teething pains that happen, he said. But he conceded that wed like to see a higher reliability rate than this.

TTC has been rolling out Presto across its network bit by bit, starting with its streetcars, all of which have had readers since the end of last year. There are about 170 streetcars in service each day, Upfold said, and depending on the model, each has between two and six card readers.

More than 1,270 of the agencys 1,900 buses now have the devices, as do 38 of 69 subway stations. Eleven stations have Presto-equipped fare gates. The TTC plans to make the readers available on all vehicles and stations by the end of this year, and to phase out tokens, tickets and passes sometime in 2017.

Although the devices are installed on TTC vehicles, the fare-card system is an initiative of Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency responsible for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.

Robert Hollis, Metrolinxs executive vice-president for Presto, said hes absolutely not happy with how many of the readers on streetcars appear to have bugs. My aspiration would be a hundred per cent. I would expect the readers to be up all the time, he said.

Metrolinx has installed Presto on 10other transit agencies in the GTHA, including GO Transit, but Hollis said the unique properties of Torontos streetcars have posed unexpected problems for the card readers. The vehicles operate using a different type of power supply than buses, he said, and the rails can cause vibration issues.

Hollis said Presto is still in beta mode, and that the piecemeal rollout will allow the agency to deal with any problems before the TTCs 1.7 million daily customers have to switch to the fare card. He argued the risk of widespread technical failures would have been greater if the TTC had installed Presto system-wide and then switched to it overnight.

By the time were fully deployed, we believe well be in better shape, he said.

But transit watcher Steve Munro argued that Presto deployment has been poorly thought out. He said out-of-service readers are just one problem  users have also complained of the devices charging them the wrong amount.

Munro asserted that the decision not to make Presto available across the whole system at the same time, coupled with the glitches, are undermining public confidence in the fare card and discouraging people from using it.

Its a deterrent, in that the fact that it doesnt work all the time is no secret, he said.

Roughly 5.4 per cent of the 38 million trips taken on the TTC last month were paid for using the fare card.

Malfunctioning fare readers arent the only recent sign that the TTCs adoption of Presto isnt going as planned. The transit agency had pledged to stop accepting all other fare media by mid-2017, but last week announced it wouldnt make the conversion until sometime later next year.

Although the delay will save the cash-strapped TTC an estimated $16 million, agency executives said it wasnt their doing. The transit commission blamed Metrolinx, saying the provincial agency has been slow to install software that would allow the TTC to sell monthly passes on Presto, and wouldnt be able to provide automatic Presto vending machines on time.

But Metrolinx told the Star on Friday that Presto already has the capability to sell monthly passes. Its really up to the TTC when they turn it on, Hollis said.

Metrolinx also said there had been no change to the timeline for delivering the vending machines.

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After a decade as one of Ontarios top watchdogs, Andre Marin says he couldnt resist adding some political bark to his bite.

The outspoken former ombudsman credits Premier Kathleen Wynnes promise of 8 per cent off hydro bills for sparking his run as a Progressive Conservative in the looming Ottawa-Vanier byelection.

Downplaying the estimated $130-a-year tax break as little more than a handful of Snickers bars a month, Marin said Monday that more is needed to help hydro paupers struggling with electricity bills.

Im doing what Ive always done in my career  fight for the little guy. Now Ill be doing it from the inside instead of the outside.

Wynne predicted the byelection, which she has not yet called, will be hard fought.

The Liberals, a distant second to the Conservatives in a recent poll, are keen to hold the riding that has been a stronghold since 1971. The Tories hope Marins reputation and name recognition will carry him over the top.

University of Ottawa law dean Nathalie Des Rosiers and school trustee Lucille Collard, a staff lawyer for the Federal Court of Appeal, are seeking the Liberal nomination.

Marin said he reached out to PC leader Patrick Brown after the pledge to remove the provincial tax on hydro appeared in Wynnes throne speech two weeks ago.

I emailed him and 30 seconds later I got a response: Whats your cell number? 

Marin, who was named the Conservative candidate Saturday after another hopeful dropped out, released dozens of reports slamming the Liberal government during two five-year terms that ended in 2015.

One of his biggest targets was an overbilling scandal for customers of Hydro One.

He sought a third term, but was not renewed, prompting him to file a wrongful dismissal suit against the province, the legislative assembly and the ombudsmans office seeking two years of pay and $3 million in damages.

Marin declined to comment on the lawsuit, but his lawyer Michael Wright said the action against the province has been resolved, but lawsuits against the other two parties are continuing. No details on the resolution were provided.

Although some Conservatives were critical of his social media campaign for an extension as ombudsman, including a retweet calling Ontario a banana republic, Marin said he likes the fiscally responsible and socially progressive tone being set by Brown lately.

Im not too concerned about sex-ed, Marin said of Browns recent flip-flop over scrapping the new curriculum. In the end, he fell on the right side of the issue. What politician hasnt changed their mind?

Brown said Progressive Conservatives concluded there was no point backing Marin for a third term as ombudsman because the Liberals wanted a replacement.

You have to move the process along, the PC leader told reporters.

The riding has been vacant since the retirement last June of Liberal MPP and cabinet minister Madeleine Meilleur.

This is going to be an interesting byelection, said deputy NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party has nominated Claude Bisson, a retired RCMP executive and brother of NDP House leader Gilles Bisson.

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WASHINGTONJames Cook, father of two young girls, has insurance for a house fire, insurance for a car accident, insurance for a health problem.

For the last two years, he has also had insurance for shooting someone.

Cook, a 32-year-old defence lawyer in Colorado, has no plans to shoot anyone. But he is armed with a concealed handgun everywhere he goes except court, and he wants to be prepared for the minuscule possibility he will have to fire it in self-defence.

If the day ever comes, he will call 911. And then, right after, he will call the 24-hour hotline number on a membership card he keeps in his wallet.

Like several hundred thousand U.S. gun owners, Cook now subscribes to a service that promises him immediate legal and financial protection for a shooting he can reasonably argue to be justified.

For just over $10 a month, U.S. Law Shield pledges to get him a good lawyer for zero money. Compared to the legal fees George Zimmerman faced after he killed Trayvon Martin in 2012, more than $1.5 million, he thinks its a bargain.

If I was in that position, and I had to foot that legal bill, theres absolutely no way I could ever come close to paying for that. Id sell my house, get rid of all my property, and Id still be $1.1 million short on it, he said. So the reason its there is definitely a good one.

Assuming, being very generous, I live another 80 years, which is unlikely, itd still be a fraction of the cost of actually having to face a court settlement of some sort, said U.S. Law Shield subscriber Nicholas White, 23, who works in pharmaceutical distribution in Georgia.

The insurance-like services, most of which were created in the last five years, are little known outside the gun community. But their popularity appears to be booming with the explosive growth of concealed carry itself  alarming gun-control advocates who believe they will make gun owners both more likely to pull the trigger and to avoid consequences.

Basically, this insurance is helping people get away with murder. And nothing short, said Geraldine Hills, founder of Arizonans for Gun Safety, whose brother was murdered.

Hills was especially critical of the advice the services offer. The wallet card provided by the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, which claims to have more than 100,000 subscribers, includes a four-point script for what do and say after a shooting.

Item one: Call 911  I was attacked, and was forced to defend myself. Please send the police and an ambulance. Item four: Make Only This Statement to the Police: I WANT MY LAWYER PRESENT BEFORE I ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, AND UNTIL THEN, I INVOKE MY RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT.

The associations platinum package promises to cover up to $1 million in legal fees and civil damages, plus immediate bail bonding up to $10,000 and interrogation and grand jury protection up to $125,000.

All weapons covered, its website says. You shouldnt have to think twice about protecting your family, whether it be with a firearm, knife, or your own two hands.

University of Miami law professor Mary Anne Franks said the quite chilling language deployed by these services is priming people to look for situations where they can use their gun and not worry about any of the consequences after. Rather than emphasizing de-escalation and non-lethal defence, she said, What theyre saying is: Do this risky thing, this risky thing that could be avoided, and then well help you. 

The proliferation of the insurance comes as gun rights are expanding in much of the country. Over the last decade, a majority of states have passed stand your ground laws that allow gun owners to use deadly force against a threat without retreating first. Since 2013, concealed carry has been legal in every state.

All together, Franks said, the legislative changes and the insurance are creating situations where people are much more willing to use deadly force than they would have been.

All of this ideology encourages people to get extremely comfortable with the idea of killing someone, she said.

Some gun control advocates, though, have urged lawmakers to make gun insurance mandatory, partly because it would ensure shooting victims were able to collect on court judgments. Dennis Henigan, a former executive at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said gun insurance is generally a good idea and probably should be required as a condition of a (concealed carry) permit or even required for a permit to own a gun.

So far, there has been only one widely reported case of someone actually using one of the services after a shooting. As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Nick Julian IV, 26, killed unarmed Carlos Garcia, 37, after an argument over loud music Garcia was playing.

Julian left the scene of argument, then went back to his house to get his gun. After he called 911, he partly echoed the script on his U.S. Concealed Carry Association card, telling the operator: He attacked me and I had to use force. I was afraid for my life."

He then called the association hotline.

None of the companies responded to requests for comment. Five gun owners who subscribe, though, said the insurance does not make them any more eager to shoot. They are extremely cautious, they said, and are paying only for peace of mind.

Just because you have homeowners insurance doesnt mean you play with matches, said Jason, 26, an information technology employee for a large corporation in Colorado; he asked that his last name be withheld.

The only thing it really changes is: I do sleep better at night, said Blaine, 31, who teaches gun safety classes in Atlanta and moderates a concealed carry forum on Reddit. Its not going to change my practices of self-awareness, its not going to change my practices in shoot-dont shoot scenarios. Its not going to change how I carry a firearm. Its only going to allow me to keep my house in the event that the worst happens.

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CARTAGENA, COLOMBIAColombias government and the countrys largest rebel movement signed a historic peace accord Monday evening ending a half-century of combat that caused more than 220,000 deaths and made 8 million homeless.

Underlining the importance of the deal, President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed the 297-page agreement before a crowd of 2,500 foreign dignitaries and special guests, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Many in the audience had tears in their eyes, and shouts rose urging Santos and Londono to Hug, hug, hug! But in the end, the two men just clasped hands and the rebel commander, also known as Timochenko, put on a pin shaped like a white dove that Santos has been wearing on his lapel for years. Seconds later five jets buzzed overhead in formation trailing smoke in the colours of Colombias flag.

During a minute of silence for the wars victims, 50 white flags were raised. Everyone at the event wore white as a symbol of peace.

Viva Colombia, Ban shouted at the conclusion of his speech welcoming the peace deal.

Earlier in the day, Santos and foreign dignitaries attended a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans secretary of state, at a baroque church named for St. Peter Claver, a 17th century Jesuit priest revered as the slave of slaves for his role aiding tens of thousands of African slaves brought to the New World as chattel.

In a stirring homily, Pope Francis envoy praised Colombians for overcoming the pain of the bloody conflict to find common ground with the rebels.

All of us here today are conscious of the fact were at the end of a negotiation, but also the beginning of a still open process of change that requires the contribution and respect of all Colombians, the cardinal said.

Across the country Colombians marked the occasion with a host of activities, from peace concerts by top-name artists to a street party in the capital, Bogota, where the signing ceremony was to be broadcast live on a giant screen. It was also celebrated by hundreds of guerrillas gathered in a remote region of southern Colombia where last week top commanders ratified the accord in what they said would be their last conference as a guerrilla army.

The signing didnt close the deal, however. Colombians will have the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum. Opinion polls point to an almost-certain victory for the yes vote, but some analysts warn that a closer-than-expected finish or low voter turnout could bode poorly for the tough task the country faces in implementing the ambitious accord.

Among the biggest challenges will be judging the war crimes of guerrillas as well as state actors. Under terms of the accord, rebels who lay down their weapons and confess their abuses will be spared jail time and be allowed to provide reparations to their victims by carrying out development work in areas hard hit by the conflict.

That has angered some victims and conservative opponents of Santos, a few hundred of whom took to the streets Monday to protest what they consider the governments excessive leniency toward guerrilla leaders responsible for scores of atrocities in a conflict fuelled by the countrys cocaine trade.

To shouts of Santos is a coward! former President Alvaro Uribe, the architect of the decade-long, U.S.-backed military offensive that forced the FARC to the negotiating table, said the peace deal puts Colombia on the path to becoming a leftist dictatorship in the mould of Cuba or Venezuela  two countries that along with Norway played a vital role sponsoring the four-year-long talks.

The democratic world would never allow bin Laden or those belonging to ISIS (Daesh) to become president, so why does Colombia have to allow the election of the terrorists whove kidnapped 11,700 children or raped 6,800 women? he told protesters gathered in a working-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of Cartagena.

The stiff domestic opposition contrasts with widespread acclaim abroad for the accord  a rare example in a war-torn world of what can be achieved through dialogue. On Monday, European Union foreign policy co-ordinator Federica Mogherini said that with the signing of the peace agreement, the EU would suspend the FARC from its list of terrorist organizations.

Asked whether the U.S. would follow suit, Kerry was less willing to commit but expressed a possible openness to similar action.

We clearly are ready to review and make judgments as the facts come in, he told reporters. We dont want to leave people on the list if they dont belong.

The FARC was established in 1964 by self-defence groups and communist activists who joined forces to resist a government military onslaught. Reflecting that history, the final accord commits the government to addressing unequal land distribution that has been at the heart of Colombias conflict.

But as the war dragged on, and insurgencies elsewhere in Latin America were defeated, the FARC slipped deeper and deeper into Colombias lucrative cocaine trade  to the point that President George W. Bushs administration in 2006 called it the worlds biggest drug cartel.

As part of the peace process, the FARC has sworn off narcotics trafficking and agreed to work with the government to provide alternative development in areas where coca growing has flourished.

Only if the accord passes the referendum will the FARCs roughly 7,000 fighters begin moving to 28 designated zones where, over the next six months, they are to turn over their weapons to UN-sponsored observers.

Negotiations, which had been expected to take a few months, stretched over more than four years and had to overcome a number of crises, from the militarys killing of the guerrilla groups then top commander, known as Alfonso Cano, shortly after he authorized a secret back channel with the government, to the rebels capture of an army general who until a few months ago would have been a trophy prisoner.

This is something I waited for my whole life  that I dreamed of every day, said Leon Valencia, a former guerrilla who is one of the most respected experts on Colombias conflict. Its like when youre waiting for a child that is finally born, or seeing an old love or when your favourite team scores a goal.

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HOUSTONA disgruntled lawyer wearing military-style apparel with old Nazi emblems had two weapons and more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition when he randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighbourhood Monday before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

Nine people were injured during Monday mornings shootings on the street in front of a condo complex; six were shot and three had eye injuries from flying glass. One person was in critical condition and another in serious condition, officials said.

Houston Homicide Capt. Dwayne Ready and Interim Police Chief Martha Montalvo did not identify the man and did not have information about a motive. A bomb-squad robot examined a Porsche that police said belonged to the gunman; Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database showed the car is licensed to Nathan DeSai at an address in the condo complex.

The property manager of the condo complex also confirmed that police were going through DeSais residence, where Ready said vintage military items dating to the Civil War and other guns were found in the mans apartment.

Authorities first received reports of the shootings about 6:30 a.m., and the man began firing at officers when they arrived. The man had two legally purchased guns  a .45-calibre semi-automatic handgun and a semi-automatic rifle commonly known as a Tommy gun  and an unsheathed knife, Ready said. He also noted that there were 75 spent casings at the scene, which were from officers and the gunman.

Ready said nine officers  five with the Houston Police Department and four with two other local agencies  engaged the suspect who was shooting randomly at passersby as well as anybody he could put his sights on.

During the shootout, one driver was shot and one of the officers left cover to take that citizen to safety while the other officers engaged the subject, he said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV in Houston that DeSai was a lawyer who was disgruntled and was either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm. But DeSais former law partner, Kenneth McDaniel, disputed that assertion, saying they jointly closed their 12-year-old law firm in February due to economic conditions related to Houstons energy industry downturn.

McDaniel also said he hadnt had contact with DeSai lately and that police called him Monday morning to check on his safety, though they didnt explain why.

He went his way with his practice and I went with mine, McDaniel said, adding, All I can say its a horrible situation. Im sad for everyone involved.

Calls placed to phone numbers connected to DeSai and his father were not immediately answered. DeSais father, Prakash DeSai, told KTRK that his son lived in the condo complex and drives a black Porsche. He also said his son, whom he saw Sunday, was upset because his law practice is not going well and stays upset because of his personal problems.

Perrye Turner, special agent in charge of the FBIs Houston Division, said officials dont believe the incident is tied to terrorism.

The entrance to the condo complex, which is in southwest Houston near the affluent enclave of West University Place, was blocked off with police tape late Monday morning. Several cars with bullet holes and shattered windows were at a nearby strip mall.

Jennifer Molleda and her husband live in the same condo complex as Nathan DeSai. Though she heard gunshots about 6:12 a.m. and called 911, her husband left for work. The 45-year-old called him not long after, and he told her, Im hit, Im hit.

After the shooting stopped at 7:15 a.m., Molleda found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the parking lot of a strip mall. His Mustang had two shots that went through the windshield, and he told her that he saw a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to a hospital to be treated.

He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried, Molleda said, adding that after she saw everything, she believes DeSai was aiming to kill.

Molleda said she didnt know DeSai very well, and described him as quiet. Hes a normal, average Joe, she said.

Jason Delgado, the property manager of The Oaks at West University condo complex, said DeSai was involved in two recent incidents at the complex.

In August, Delgado said, police were called after roofers working in the complex said DeSai pointed an assault-style rifle at them. He says there wasnt enough evidence to move forward with charges because the man contended he didnt point the gun at roofers. Molleda mentioned the same incident.

Last week, DeSai became upset because of water pressure problems at his home, asked for maintenance help and expressed his displeasure in an email to the management firm that implied hed intimidate his way to getting what he was asking for, Delgado said.

Another witness, 30-year-old Antwon Wilson, inadvertently drove into the shooting scene after dropping off his girlfriend at work and could literally hear the gunfire flying. He managed to flee and escape injury.

Lee Williams left his home in the neighbourhood upon hearing gunshots and began directing traffic away from the condo complex, noting that people usually cut through the area to avoid some busier intersections. One car ignored him, he said, and was immediately shot at. Williams couldnt see the gunman because it was dark, but believed he saw the muzzle flashes.

Whatever cars were going by, he was shooting at them, the 55-year-old said, noting he heard at least 50 gunshots over 40 or so minutes. As he was being interviewed, neighbours came by and patted him on the back, thanking him for keeping people safe.

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AUSTINThe Texas campaign launch for Evan McMullin, an independent presidential candidate who is not on the ballot  he must be written in  was held in the vintage room of a wine bar near the citys convention centre. Badge-holders from the Texas Tribune Festival had trekked downtown, joining some intrigued local activists noshing on brie, crackers and falafel. As McMullin searched for parking, the omnipresent McMullin strategist Rick Wilson held court and took compliments from people whod seen him on cable.

Thank you for giving us a choice.

Thank you for giving us something to vote for.

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Trump-Clinton debate showdown: a preview

When McMullin arrived, the crowd of a few dozen people swarmed his way. After a few minutes of small talk, the candidate headed to the front of the room, where a TV cameraman had found good lighting. He was running for president because no one else wanted to pick up the banner of pragmatic conservatism, he said. Donald Trump, McMullin added confidently, had hijacked a Republican Party that had wanted and deserved better.

The majority in opposition to Donald Trump stayed fragmented, and he gained momentum, said McMullin. I was sitting in Congress then, and I watched members of Congress first say he was a joke. I watched with them as he gained steam. And I watched one by one as they caved  and I advised them not to do it. I said he posed a threat to our Constitution and our civil liberties. And they said, well, this is politics, and youve got to make compromises.

McMullin, the last-ditch candidate of the #NeverTrump movement, entered the race when it looked like those Republicans would be humiliated. After the Democratic National Convention, Trump trailed in every poll by margins that suggested a Hillary Clinton landslide. Trump is weak, McMullin said in one of his first interviews. Trump is a weak candidate and he is losing badly to one of the most unfit Democratic candidates to appear before the American people in quite some time.

Trump, who has rarely ignored the bait dangling in front of him, ignored McMullin  and stopped losing. New polls of Pennsylvania, where Democrats have counted on appalled suburban Republicans to back Clinton, show Trump capturing close to 90 per cent of his adopted partys vote. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who had been booed out of the Republican National Convention, used the Tribune festival to explain that he was never #NeverTrump and had decided to vote for him.

Trumps polling surge has been clarifying, separating anti-Trump voices into two camps. The first camp, exemplified by Cruz, opposed Trump not just as a populist interloper but as a surefire election-loser. His recovery presented the chance of stopping Hillary Clinton and filling the empty Supreme Court seat that Republicans have put a wall around until after the election. The second camp, exemplified by McMullin, opposed Trump on moral grounds.

If its close, the rationale of #NeverTrump  and all anti-Trump voters  will be challenged. In August, it looked as if Trumps political style could be discredited by a rout, the way that Barry Goldwaters defeat discredited opposition to the Civil Rights Act, or that George McGoverns defeat discredited the New Left. McMullin was set to play a role in that, building a new conservative movement on the Trump rubble.

In a friendly interview with the Weekly Standard, McMullin strategist Joel Searby said that the tighter polls actually gave McMullin a real chance to make a significant difference. But while McMullin gets attention from conservative media, hes running third among third-party candidates. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian whose social liberalism and unapologetic goofiness sent the #NeverTrump forces scrambling for an alternative, appears on every state ballot and draws real crowds. Just two hours after McMullins Austin event ended, Johnson packed hundreds of voters into a rally at a Sixth Street concert venue. Another hundred voters waited in a line around the block, missing the speech but grabbing signs that they pasted around the citys most famous stretch.

Still, McMullins conservatism is far better represented in media and politics than Johnsons libertarianism. That was proved Sunday, when McMullin closed out the festival with an hour-long public Q&A, then headed to a stately, vacant part of the local student union for an hour-long media roundtable. A supporter grabbed him first, asking whether hed talked to the Koch brothers about coming off the fence to support him.

We need to engage with them more, said McMullin. Theres just a difference between saying that youll refuse to support Trump, and that youll spend money against him.

When he sat down, McMullin was quizzed as if the election was a three-way or four-way contest  like he had as much a chance of anyone as being elected president. He criticized Hillary Clintons State Department for the half-hearted adventurism that led to the Benghazi attacks, analyzed the root causes of terrorism, and pitched a long-term strategy for preventing Ebola-style outbreaks in Africa. How about we realize the several million dollars, or dozens of millions of dollars, to improve the health systems there?

John Davidson, a writer for the Federalist, prodded McMullin on the ways he could restore sanity to the political debate. For a lot of people, immigrations kind of a watchword for something else, and that is anxiety about the decline of their community, said Davidson. This is particularly the white working class in the rust belt and Appalachia. What is your message to voters  and apparently, there are a lot more than we thought in this part of the country  who blame immigration for the loss of manufacturing jobs? They see immigration as an ongoing threat.

It was the sort of question Trump has repeatedly answered with table-banging promises to build a wall and browbeat manufacturers into sticking with the United States. McMullin did not bang his table.

Their frustration is justified, said McMullin. A lot of Americans have suffered under stagnant wages for decades. I think the Republican Party has ignored these people. Well, the Republican Party has become the party of big corporations. Its crony capitalism.

So what would you do? asked Davidson.

Well, look at Germany, said McMullin. They have these apprenticeship programs. I lose my job making coats in a factory in Mississippi, and that job isnt coming back. So maybe a high-tech firm  it makes LEDs, or whatever  is hiring, but I dont have the skills. So the government offers tax incentives if they hire me and train me.

It was not a Trumpian answer. It was closer to what Democrats, once dominant in Appalachia, now promise to do  to voters who could not care less. And in much of Appalachia, he would not appear on the ballot.

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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICASome call it ivory on wings, part of the bill of a critically endangered bird in Southeast Asia that is sought by poachers and carved into ornaments for illegal sale to Chinese buyers.

The helmeted hornbill isnt getting as much attention as the beleaguered African elephant at a wildlife conference this week in South Africa. But the killing of elephants by the tens of thousands for their tusks is intertwined with a surge in the slaughter of the rare bird whose beak part is a coveted substitute for ivory.

Its all part of the rising demand for ivory, said Richard Thomas, spokesman for TRAFFIC, a conservation group based in Britain.

Poaching of the helmeted hornbill has soared since around 2010, particularly in Indonesia. The timing roughly coincides with an increase in elephant poaching that has caused a sharp drop in elephant populations. Last year, the helmeted hornbill was designated as critically endangered on an international red list of threatened species.

Delegates are discussing protections for elephants, helmeted hornbills and other vulnerable wildlife at a meeting in Johannesburg of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES . The 12-day meeting of the U.N. group, which regulates wildlife trade, ends Oct. 5.

The helmeted hornbill is a bird of lore, featuring in an ancient belief that it sits by a river between life and death. Its feathers have been used in traditional ceremonies. During breeding, the female is sealed into a nest, relying on the male to provide food.

The call of the helmeted hornbill is an intermittent, honking sound that slowly builds in tempo until it ends in what resembles, for some listeners, shrieks of laughter. Loud and long, the call helps poachers locate their prey.

In a CITES document , Indonesia asked for more collaboration among law enforcement agencies from countries where helmeted hornbills live, as well as end market nations  a reference primarily to China.

China, the worlds main ivory consumer, has already said it plans to close its domestic ivory market.

A large lump on top of the beak of the helmeted hornbill is made of keratin, a protein also found in rhino horn and other animal and human parts. It has a red tinge is softer than elephant ivory, making it an attractive material for carvers who have fashioned belt buckles, snuff boxes, pendants and images of Chinese deities from it over many centuries.

The upper part of the bill, also known as a casque, is solid, unlike the hollow casques of other hornbill species. Its price on the illegal market is higher than that of elephant ivory. A casque weighs up to 350 grams (0.7 pounds); the average weight of an elephant tusk is five kilograms (11 pounds), though a big males tusk can weigh 10 times as much.

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At least 2,170 heads and bill parts of helmeted hornbills were confiscated from the illegal trade in Indonesia and China between 2012 and 2014, TRAFFIC said.

Investigators found helmeted hornbill products being sold openly in Laos, a major transit point for wildlife traffickers that borders China, according to a TRAFFIC report released this month. Sale locations included a luxury hotel and convention centre in central Vientiane, the capital, it said.

Indonesia said it has arrested more than 20 people in the helmeted hornbill trade and sentenced most of them. Penalties include up to five years in jail and a heavy fine.

On Saturday, rangers in Indonesias Gunung Leuser National Park arrested a suspected helmeted hornbill poacher with a rifle and silencer, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, a group based in New York. The suspect had just entered the forest and did not have any bird parts.

This species needs to be on peoples radars, said Elizabeth Bennett, vice-president of species conservation at WCS.

Illegal logging in Indonesia is shrinking the habitat of the helmeted hornbill. Conservationists fear poachers will focus on the Malaysian population once supply dries up in Indonesia.

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NEW YORKUnfazed by Western accusations of war crimes and barbarity, the Syrian government and its Russian ally intensively bombed Aleppo for the fourth consecutive day on Monday.

Residents and rescue workers there described the bombardment as the worst yet in the 5 -year war.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said dozens of raids had hit insurgent-held neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo in the pre-dawn hours, killing and wounding many people.

Opposition activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week under a sustained aerial campaign that UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 -year war.

Despite the bombings, Syrias Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Monday that an internationally brokered ceasefire is still viable. Speaking to Al Mayadeen TV from New York, he said the government is prepared to take part in a unity government incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past.

Airstrikes on Aleppo on Monday killed at least six people, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run collective. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported hours later that 12 were killed, including three children.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday, the United States, the U.K. and other allies said that the Russians were abetting war crimes in Aleppo by the government of President Bashar Assad.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, its barbarism, said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Its apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.

Al-Moallem accused the U.S., Britain and France of convening the Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support terrorists inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is not dead.

Syrias military declared the ceasefire ended one week ago.

Kerry said the Syrian and Russian governments seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process.

While theyre pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated, Kerry said during a visit to Colombia.

He said the Syrian opposition wont be particularly excited about having a negotiation when theyre being bombed and starved, adding that statements by the Syrian government are almost meaningless.

Stockpiles of food and supplies had dwindled to near nothing on the rebel-held side of Aleppo, according to a report by Agence France-Presse. It also said a shortage of blood for transfusions had forced doctors at the few functioning hospitals to amputate limbs of the seriously wounded.

The volume of bombings in Aleppo has increased since Thursday, residents and rescue workers have said, and incendiary weapons and bunker-busting heavy-duty bombs that can destroy underground shelters have been used for the first time.

Russias government, which has called the military campaign a needed response to crush terrorist groups in Syria, responded harshly on Monday to the Western criticism.

A spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters in Moscow, We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations.

With files from the Associated Press

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The mysterious East continues to beckon. Previous Canadian governments looked to trade deals with Japan and South Korea to massage this countrys economy. Now, Justin Trudeau is focusing on China.

On Thursday the prime minister announced Canada and China have formally agreed to open free trade talks. Many Canadians might be surprised to discover Canada doesnt already have some kind of free trade agreement with China,

From electronics to kitchenware, it is hard to find anything for sale that is not made in China.

On the other side of the ledger, China already freely buys vast quantities of Canadian raw materials, such as wood pulp and oilseeds. In terms of both imports and exports, China is Canadas number two trading partner.

As well, the two countries have signed an agreement to protect each others corporate investors from unseemly government interference, such as environmental regulations that reduce profitability. This Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection Agreement of 2014 is binding for a minimum of 31 years.

What else is there to do? The answer, it seems, is more of the same.

As a senior Chinese official told the Globe and Mail newspaper earlier this year, China would like more Canadian raw materials and agricultural products.

It wants the rule scrapped that limits the ability of state-owned Chinese companies to buy Canadian energy firms.

And it would really like Canada to build a pipeline that would bring Alberta oil to the British Columbia coast, where it could be shipped to China.

The Canada China Business Council estimates a free trade deal with China would generate an extra $7.8 billion in Canadian economic activity over 15 years, or $520 million a year. Relative to the size of the roughly $2 trillion Canadian economy, thats not a very big number.

But in this case size doesnt matter. China has captured the imagination of a prime minister who is already firmly committed to free trade and foreign investment and who sees the path to Canadian prosperity as one that runs through Asia.

On the face of it, Trudeaus fascination with China makes sense. It is the worlds most populous country. It is on track to replacing the U.S. as the worlds richest.

But Asia has long seduced the Western imagination. The French who landed in Canada in the 16th century werent looking for Quebec. They were looking for a sea route to China.

Over the centuries, the sheer size of China made Western business interests slather. The British made money selling opium to the Chinese. The Americans hoped to make money selling everything else.

As the head of the National Biscuit Co. noted when announcing his plan to enter the Asian market in the late 19th century, if every Chinese person bought just one of the firms Uneeda biscuits each day, the profits would be immense.

At different times, Western business fascination with Asia has zeroed in on different countries. In the 1980s, Japan was the focus. It had the most innovative business techniques. Its form of state-directed capitalism was seen as a model for the world.

Canada was aching to sell two-by-four lumber and liquefied natural gas to Japan. In 2012, Stephen Harpers Conservative government opened free trade talks.

But they never went anywhere. Japan lost interest in a bilateral deal when it decided to join the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks that included Canada.

As well, after two decades of economic stagnation, Japan had lost its allure. It was no longer viewed in the West as the premier place to do business. That honour was bestowed on China.

Will a free-trade pact with China make us rich? Will it assuage our economic woes? Is it such a big deal?

Perhaps. But its worth remembering that such arrangements dont always work out as planned.

In 2015, Canadas free trade agreement with another vibrant Asian economy, South Korea, went into effect. Government figures show that in the first year of free trade, Canadian exports to South Korea fell while imports from that country jumped.

Canadas trade deficit with South Korea rose from $3 billion to $3.8 billion.

Im not sure this is the result Canadians expected from pursuing free trade with one of the Asian tigers. It is, however, the result we got.

Thomas Walkoms column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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The possibility of a Trump presidency makes me feel anxious, also angry, appalled, repelled, stricken, unsound, hyperactive, itchy, doctor I just cant sleep.

And I am not even American, although I am at the point where I worry we share lakes with a nation that could vote him in. It is nice to read that NBC/Wall Street Journal poll saying Americans really really like Canada, favouring us over everyone and everything. But do they know us?

Only three per cent of Americans said they disliked Canada, which is troubling because a much higher percentage will vote Trump so why dont they hate our guts? Dont they realize we dislike them? That we find them unconscionable, shockingly ill-informed and possibly not house-trained?

Trump does get the adjectives flowing. I have time to assemble word-strings when I wake at 5 a.m. and have a hard think about 2016 until my coffee arrives, courtesy of a family member, at 7. Im on Twitter at 6, my working life not a pretty sight pre-election.

Then come thought-strings: Donald Trump, Joe McCarthy, Barry Goldwater, Wilbert Lee Pappy ODaniel (Trumpian Depression-era Texas huckster whose slogan was Pass the biscuits, pappy), Dick Cheney (heart pump outside the body), Richard Nixon (anti-Semitism, CREEP, Cambodia, Laos), Jimmy Carter (good), American pie (good), Bruce Springsteen (depressed), Hillary Clinton, Between Two Ferns, white power tie ...

Each week brings a book-length manuscript of chain-link thoughts. I am not alone in my disquiet. The wonderful Michelle Goldberg of Slate has written a convincing anecdotal  there are however a lot of anecdotes  column about Americans going to their therapists about their Trumpy fear and depression, or as she put it, a hallucinatory sense of slow-motion doom.

Once a week I wake up in the middle of the night in clammy, agitated horror, Goldberg writes. This sounds familiar. I usually dream my newsroom is dotted with abandoned mine shafts, or that my editor is forcing me to walk in his huge mens shoes, which flap on my feet and make me angry.

But now I dream of open spaces where people gather to watch arms being severed. Tell me thats not a Trump rally.

American liberals, writes Goldberg, have often been ruled by detestable politicians, but not to the point where they envision the ruin of the country, civil war or possibly the Third World War. What most distresses them is the idea that many of their fellow Americans dont mind Trump. They feel theyre in a Twilight Zone episode.

I was at wedding in Windsor recently  the University of Toronto student I mentor was marrying an American  and I didnt know a single person in the room, which is my idea of a perfect party. There were so many Americans there. Can we discuss Trump? I said. Faces turned. We started talking. We could not stop.

Many of the guests had been to Canada before  so multicultural, they said approvingly  and some asked about moving here. I made encouraging noises and offered hugs.

It was a Jewish wedding. Trumps campaign has been marked by anti-Semitic motifs and Trump himself singles them out in an offensive way. Youre not going to support me because I dont want your money, he told a Jewish audience in Washington in December. Who talks like that?

One lawyer said he thought vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence, a Catholic Democrat turned evangelical Christian, was playing a long game and was actually the bigger threat. Others told me of pleasant friends they would no longer see after they erupted with Clinton conspiracies and open racism.

The wedding couple was living in L.A. Would the bride be expelled by a Trump administration? Come home, fine woman, and well mentor your wonderful husband in the ways of Canada. We do not open-carry, we do not concealed-carry, we do not carry. But of course he doesnt either.

Fear of a Trump presidency is a normal human reaction, of course, not a clinical condition, writes Goldberg. A vertiginous sense of unreality is a symptom of an anxiety attack, but it is also a symptom of being a thinking person in America in the fall of 2016.

Well, what about in Canada? If theres one person we can all turn to, its Bruce Springsteen. He just gave an interview, saying The republic is under siege by a moron, basically.

I think the Boss is losing sleep, too. Will he ever leave Rumson, N.J. for Brampton or Bobcaygeon? It could happen. Hey, were all in this together.

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Earlier this month, Wayne Smith walked out of the Statistics Canada building in Ottawa, climbed onto a bench and explained to the gathered crowd why he had just quit his job as chief statistician. The issue, Smith said, was the centralization of Ottawas computer services and the threat posed to the independence of Canadas world-renowned statistics agency. As he spoke, hundreds of bureaucrats applauded.

Smiths resignation, and the concerns he raised, may seem remote, but they have ignited the passions of policy-makers because they hint at the continuation of two disturbing trends that the Trudeau government was meant to curtail.

The first is the erosion of StatsCans independence. Smith is the second chief statistician in a row to resign over concerns about interference with the agencys work. Munir Sheikh, Smiths predecessor, resigned in 2010 after the Harper government scrapped the long-form census. The Trudeau government rightly restored the census and scored some easy political points in the process, but Smiths account casts doubt on how deep the governments commitment to the agencys independence runs.

The second trend is the havoc wrought by the Harper governments centralization of Ottawas information technology services begun in 2011. The creation of Shared Services Canada (SSC) was a cost-saving measure supposed to contribute to Ottawas deficit reduction goals. The notion that economies of scale can be found through centralization makes some sense, but the move has proved much more disruptive and costly than predicted.

StatsCan is a case in point. Nearly everything the agency does is dependent on IT and thus, under the new arrangement, on the permission of Shared Services. In an interview with Ottawas Hill Times this week, Smith explained that the government took away our authority to  do our job, and they gave that authority to SSC.

Similar problems can be seen across government. Last year, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said the Shared Services takeover of the Mounties tech support was a financial disaster and a risk to public safety. The Supreme Court, too, said IT centralization was a threat to its independence. It considered a constitutional challenge before the Trudeau government agreed to allow the top courts to use their own computer services.

Moreover, the creation of Shared Services has turned into a boondoggle, far from the cost-saver that was promised. The new Phoenix pay system, which messed up the remuneration of more than 82,000 federal public servants, has already cost the government $50 million to repair. The planned move to a government-wide email server, which was supposed to cost nearly $400 million, has been pushed back amid unexpected difficulties.

In the wake of a highly critical Auditor Generals report earlier this year, Treasury Board President Scott Brison promised an independent review. Yet if the government is really concerned about whether centralized IT services can meet the needs of departments, why ignore Smiths criticisms and accept his resignation?

The government isnt saying. It announced Smiths departure in a low-key statement and has talked around his concerns since. But if it hopes to maintain its image as a public-service-friendly, StatsCan-loving, evidence-embracing administration, it will have to explain how the chief statistician got it wrong. These issues may be esoteric, but ask Munir Sheikh if theyre likely just to go away.

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The best thing about New York City's culinary scene is that it's really just an amalgamation of dozens of different countries' cuisines. This week, you can sit down for a fourteen-course Filipino feast, sip on Georgian wine (the world's oldest!), and learn to make your own take on a traditional Haitian mealall without leaving the five boroughs.

On Tuesday, the Queens Dinner Club is getting a taste of one of the world's first fusion cuisines, Filipino food. They'll be heading to Tito Rad's in Woodside for a fourteen-course, family style feast with an expansive menu that includes mini egg rolls, pork and tamarind soup, oxtail cooked in peanut butter, and slow-roasted pork belly. The restaurant is BYOB, so feel free to bring your favorite beer or wine to sip on while you eat. Purchase tickets ($37.50) here.

Plants and herbs are a valuable addition to your kitchen, and even more so to your bar. On Tuesday, herbalist Dawn Petter will be leading a class on herbs at the Brooklyn Grange with a focus on bitters. As part of her hands-on demonstration, you'll learn how to make herbal cocktails (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) which you can drink while touring the Brooklyn Navy Yard farm. You'll also get a copy of each recipe, giving you a chance to incorporate bitters into your liquor cabinet (and to impress your friends the next time you make them a drink). Purchase tickets ($50) here.

If you're looking for another immersive experience, head to Cindy Similien-Johnson's "Cook Like a Haitian" cooking class on Thursday. You'll learn all the ingredients and techniques needed and cook up a traditional three course meal of diri national (rice), banan peze (fried plantains) and poul nan sos (chicken in sauce) while learning about Haitian culture and cuisine. All ingredients and tools will be provided. Purchase tickets ($100) here.

Georgia (the country, not the state) may not be one of the first places that comes to mind when you think of wine, but it should beit's one of the oldest wine regions in the world, and the country's traditional winemaking style is part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. On Thursday, the cheese experts at Murray's will be serving up wines from the CaucasusGeorgia, Armenia, and Turkeypaired with cheese, of course. Purchase tickets ($85) here (and do it quickly, because they run out fast!).
Politicians, its be fair to say, can sometimes be tempted to blur the lines on where they stand on divisive issues if it helps to broaden their appeal.

But whats going on with the leader of Ontarios Progressive Conservative Party, Patrick Brown, is another kettle of fish, indeed.

He hasnt just shaded his positions. He hasespoused polar opposite opinions on hot button issues such as same sex marriage, abortion rights, and Ontarios new sex education curriculum.

Worse, his positions appear to change dramatically depending on who hes talking to: the media or social conservatives.

So we have to ask: Will the real Mr. Brown please stand up?

Take the sex-ed debate. When he was running for the PC leadership in 2015, he courted the support of anti-sex education organizations. And after he was elected to Queens Park he attended anti-sex-ed rallies on the legislature grounds. During the lead-up to the Sept. 1 byelection in Scarborough-Rouge River, his chief of staff, Nicolas Pappalardo, even held negotiations with two anti-sex education proponents Tanya Granic Allen, of Parents As First Educators, and Queenie Yu. Then his campaign issued a letter to 13,000 homes in the riding with his signature saying if the PCs win the 2018 election, Brown would scrap the controversial curriculum.

So one could certainly be forgiven for thinking, as many socially conservative PCs did, that Brown opposes the new sex-ed curriculum.

According to him  at least when hes talking to the media  he does not. In fact, in an opinion piece in the Star, he wrote: In fact, just the opposite is true I do not want the people voting in Scarborough-Rouge River thinking I will scrap sex education. I will not.

The same confusion arises over Browns positions on abortion and same sex marriage. In his previous role as a federal MP he voted in favour of a motion to reopen the abortion debate and vocally opposed the legalization of gay marriage.

And as a candidate for the PC leadership he courted opponents of same-sex marriage and abortion in his victory over centrist Christine Elliott.

But he has since told the media that he supports the status quo on abortion.

And he has not only embraced gay marriage rights, he proudly proclaimed in the Star that he was the first PC leader to march in Torontos Gay Pride parade and the first MP in Barries history to attend a Pride flag-raising.

As if all this doesnt raise enough questions about Browns true positions on important issues, theres another layer of confusion. Right-wing conservatives are now saying that when theyve asked about the contradictions, Brown has told them he has been misquoted in the media.

In the end, the question may be simply this: Who to believe? Mr. Brown  or Mr. Brown?

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Two of McDonald's (MCD) advantages are its kids meals and its breakfast menu. And last week the company announced a perfect combination of both. This could be big news for investors banking on the restaurant chain's seemingly indelible and resilient appeal.

If you grew up in the 1980s or 1990s, you are more than familiar with McDonald's signature Happy Meal. The fast-food company practically invented the kids meal, packaging food at parent-friendly prices with kid-friendly prizes. It was a great restaurant marketing success.

And today the kids meal industry has continued to grow. It now means big profits for companies and investors. And fast-casual restaurants -- which are perceived to be of higher quality than fast-food chains but which also offer quick counter service -- have also entered the kids meal arena.

Panera Bread (PNRA) recently made headlines when it simultaneously slammed McDonald's marketing techniques aimed at children and announced that it is improving its ingredients. Panera's CEO Ron Shaich issued a statement promising not to offer "toys and games" but to serve up "honest food choices."

Panera Bread is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells PNRA? Learn more now.

But now McDonald's is announcing that is will begin testing a breakfast Happy Meal menu at 73 locations in Tulsa, Okla. There will be two selections: two McGriddles or an Egg & Cheese McMuffin without Canadian bacon. Both options come with an apple slice or yogurt on the side.

"Since the launch of the all-day breakfast, more of our customers have been reaching out to us and asking us for these choices for their kids in the Happy Meals," says Pam Williams, a McDonald's director of innovation.

Innovations such as the all-day breakfast, as well as recipe tweaks to include more natural ingredients, have been part of McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook's initiative to revamp the company and take on Panera. McDonald's had fallen by the wayside as fast-casual companies such Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill gained favor among diners.

But then Chipotle suffered a momentous loss when a number of customers were sickened with foodborne illnesses after eating at Chipotle locations. And last week, a Chipotle executive conceded that it is losing customers to McDonald's.

McDonald's efforts at improving the quality of its ingredients appear to be working. And it's winning back customers. Panera might be cutting the high-fructose corn syrup from its menus, but so is McDonald's. And the company is also pledging to use higher-quality ingredients such as cage-free eggs in its products.

If an all-day kids breakfast becomes a staple on menus across the country, it could give a tasty boost to McDonald's profits, indeed.

Investors should grab shares of this long-term, legacy play on any dips.

---

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Oil prices rose Monday as ministers from OPEC countries began gathering for a meeting in Algeria and amid reports that Saudi Arabia had offered concessions to Iran to secure a production cap to support prices.

Brent crude futures were up 61 cents, or 1.3%, on Monday to $46.50, while West Texas Intermediate rose $0.44, or 1%, to $44.92, after briefly breaching $45 earlier in European trading hours.

Monday's gain followed a 5% slump last week, which followed an increase the week before, which....well you get the point. Oil markets are skittish and likely to remain so. Implied volatility, which measures movements in oil prices, on Monday hit its highest mark since April, when OPEC last met.

But despite all the volatility oil remains range bound at between $44 and $50, the lower mark being just below the $45 that appears to be the minimum Saudi Arabia can stomach, while $50 is the generally agreed mark at which marginal U.S. shale operators come back into the market.

The truth is that nothing that comes out of the informal OPEC meeting, which will happen on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum taking place in the Algerian capital of Algers from Monday to Wednesday, is likely to drive oil out of that trading band. That is because nothing that is being discussed will alter the fundamental fact that there is more oil in the market than there is demand.

To be clear, what is on offer from OPEC is a possible production cap, not a cut.

That would mean a freeze in production growth at a moment when Saudi Arabia's output is running at near capacity, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have set new production records and Iran is back to pre-sanction levels. In other words it would be a freeze at a point where OPEC production, at about 33.47 million barrels per day, up 930,000 barrels on a year ago, is near its all-time record, as the International Energy Agency noted two weeks ago.

With Russia also running its pumps at near capacity, global oil production will continue to outweigh supply into 2017 and possibly through to the later months of next year, according to analysts including Goldman Sachs and the International Energy Agency.

That doesn't mean oil won't crest $50 in the unlikely event of a production cap being agreed in Algeria, though a handshake and a nebulous promise to work together to support oil prices remain the most likely outcome.

But sentiment is fleeting in the face of market reality. And the reality for oil is one of continued oversupply at less than $50 a barrel, which is where prices will almost certainly remain for the rest of this year.
General Motors (GM) played its cards shrewdly in negotiations with Unifor, Canada's largest labor union, coming to terms with labor on a four-year contract that will result in continued output from GM's Oshawa manufacturing complex.

GM had signaled to Unifor that it was willing to close Oshawa if terms of a new agreement were too onerous.

Late Sunday, the union issued a statement saying that 65% of its 4,000 members ratified the proposed contract reached earlier in the week, averting a possible strike that would have been costly for the automaker. Under the terms, GM agreed to invest about $420 million in upgrades, processes and new vehicle models at Oshawa.

GM, as well as the other unionized automakers in North America -- Ford (F) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) -- lately have been ramping up investment and production in Mexico, where lower costs, more flexible work rules and favorable trade agreements are turning the country into an automotive powerhouse.

Was GM bluffing? It doesn't matter: Since political, economic and market conditions change constantly, the No. 1 U.S. automaker needs a balanced manufacturing footprint across the continent that imparts maximum flexibility to source vehicle and parts production. Both sides said they are pleased with the agreement.

Imports from China, though quite small, also represent a potential threat to North American auto plants.

Canada, a traditional stronghold for automakers, has declined as a vehicle manufacturing base due to costly union wages, less flexible work rules, periodic labor militancy and currency fluctuations. GM recognized going into negotiations that the Canadian government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a political stake in maintaining automotive employment. Thus, the new labor agreement also will depend on undefined government subsidies and not just GM's promised investment.

Unifor was canny in its approach as well, emphasizing the goal of keeping GM's Oshawa plant open rather and protecting 4,000 jobs instead of pushing for a wage package or work rules that might have resulted in more job loss to Mexico.

The union now turns to talks with Ford and Fiat Chrysler. In all likelihood, the 2% wage increase and $6,000 signing bonus for GM workers will constitute a pattern for other autoworkers represented by Unifor.

"This government is the biggest champion of the auto sector that the province has probably ever had, and we've made it very clear that these are the kind of projects that we would partner on as we have in the past and we expect to in the future," said Brian Duguid, minister of economic growth and development in an interview with the Financial Post last week.

In return for GM's commitment, the union agreed that newly hired workers will be covered under a defined contribution pension plan, preferred by the automaker since it represents less financial risk, rather than traditional defined benefit plan typical for union workers.

"I think we were pleasantly surprised that the best-case scenario happened. My expectation was much lower," Flavio Volpe, president of Ontario's Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, told the Detroit Free Press. "I think we were all surprised. At least I don't think anybody expected this outcome without going through the pain of a work stoppage, or at least a temporary work stoppage."

According to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., Mexico has won nine of the last 11 new North American assembly plants built since 2011. All three of the unionized automakers have shifted production of small cars to Mexico in order to preserve their profitability, which is thinner in U.S. markets due to the rising popularity -- and stronger pricing -- of crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks.

END

Doron Levin is the host of "In the Driver Seat," broadcast on SiriusXM Insight 121, Saturday at noon, encore Sunday at 9 a.m.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
Alaska Air (ALK) said Monday it has agreed not to close its $4 billion purchase of Virgin America (VA) before Oct. 17, giving the Department of Justice additional time to review the deal.

Seattle-based Alaska agreed to acquire Virgin in April in a deal that valued the San Francisco-based discounter's equity at $2.6 billion. The two carriers in June agreed not to close the deal before Sept. 30 to allow regulators time for a review, and agreed to an extension of that deadline late last week.

Alaska has promoted the deal as a chance for two undersized airlines to combine and take on the industry titans created during a round of consolidation that began in 2008 when Delta (DAL) bought Northwest. United Continental (UAL) , Southwest (LUV) and American (AAL) all followed with deals of their own, creating a "Big Four" that currently controls more than 80% of domestic capacity.

A combined Alaska/Virgin would be the nation's fifth largest carrier and give it a significant presence on the U.S. West Coast with hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anchorage and Portland, Ore.

But regulators more recently have shown signs of regret over allowing those prior transactions to proceed, with the DOJ and Department of Transportation launching multiple inquiries into airline pricing and pushing back on smaller deals between airlines to swap assets and gain scale in key markets.

Alaska currently controls about 18% of seats on West Coast domestic flights, according to Raymond James, a number that would rise to 22% should the deal be allowed to close. By comparison Southwest has about 26% of seats and United Continental's share is 17%.

The merger partners in a statement announcing the extension said they "are confident they will address any concerns and obtain regulatory approval to complete their pro-competition, pro-consumer transaction."

Analysts remain confident the deal will not fall apart, though concessions seem likely. The DOJ could force Alaska to sell Virgin America's slots at capacity-restrained Love Field in Dallas, where Southwest and Delta are currently locked in a court fight over access. Virgin America acquired its landing rights there thanks to divestitures required as part of the 2014 merger between American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc.

The combined company's presence in California and in particular Los Angeles is also a likely source of government concern. LAX is one of the most fragmented markets in the country, and Alaska with Virgin would be a major gate holder there. Regulators could ask Alaska to commit to using some of its expanded presence to provide competitive service on key markets.

The merged airline would also be the second largest carrier at San Francisco, which is a major United hub.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Mylan (MYL) were lower in late-morning trading on Monday after the company said its EpiPen pretax profits are 60% higher than it told Congress, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Last week, CEO Heather Bresch testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the high price hikes on its EpiPen injectable drug for life-threatening allergies.

House members pressed Bresh to provide more evidence for Mylan's claim that its profits were $100 for a two-pack of EpiPens even though the list price is $608, the Journal noted.

In response to questions from the newspaper, the pharmaceutical company now says the $100 figure presented by Bresch included taxes, which was not clearly conveyed to Congress.

Mylan substantially lowered its calculation of EpiPen profits by applying the statutory U.S. tax rate of 37.5%, the Journal added.

Without the tax-related reduction, the company's profits on the EpiPen two-pack would be near $160, which is 60% higher than the number Mylan told Congress, the newspaper noted.

The company sells about 4.1 million EpiPen two-packs in the U.S., according to analysts.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Buy" rating with a score of B- on Mylan stock.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, reasonable valuation levels, good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures.

The team believes its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

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: MYL
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Denbury Resources (DNR) were gaining in mid-afternoon trading on Monday on rising oil prices as investors speculate that OPEC would reach an agreement about production levels this week.

OPEC delegates and other major producers like Russia are meeting in Algeria this week during the International Energy Forum to discuss steps to support prices.

Analysts have been considering whether the group will reach an agreement to freeze output levels, and yesterday Algeria's Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said he would not leave the meeting "empty-handed," Reuters reports.

OPEC countries pumped near a multi-year high of 33.24 million barrels in August, according to Reuters.

The International Energy Forum will run through Wednesday.

Crude oil (WTI) was higher by 3.57% to $46.07 per barrel while Brent crude was up 3.27% to $47.39 per barrel this afternoon.

Denbury Resources is a Plano, TX-based independent oil and natural gas company.

Separately, 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 rated this stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D-.

The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: DNR
Associate Professor | College of Distance Education

Professor Sexton began teaching at the U.S. Naval War College in 2001 as a military professor in the National Security Decision Making Department. Upon retiring from the military in 2005, she taught as an adjunct professor for the College of Distance Education (CDE) where she taught over 850 students online before returning to campus as a civilian CDE professor in 2014. In 2018, Professor Sexton was named the program manager for online programs and is responsible for the Naval Command and Staff and electives online programs.
Charles R. Walgreen III, photographed in 2009, helped expanded his grandfathers drugstore chain into a nationally known enterprise. (Walgreen Co.)

Charles R. Walgreen III, who expanded his grandfathers drugstore chain into an $18 billion-a-year company by 1999 when he stepped down as chairman, died Sept. 26 at his home in Lake Forest, Ill. He was 80.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens Boots Alliance  formed by the 2014 merger of Walgreen Co. and the European pharmacy chain Alliance Boots  announced the death but did not provide the cause.

Mr. Walgreen led Walgreen as chief executive starting in 1971, adding the post of chairman in 1976. He stepped down as chief executive in 1998 and retired as chairman the following year. During his tenure, the retailer reported 23 straight years of sales and earnings increases and quadrupled the number of stores to more than 2,400.

It was a big turnaround from 1970 when, according to trade publication Chain Store Age, Walgreen stores had assumed many of the characteristics of the moribund A&P chain.

The company was involved in so many unrelated activities  including Wag restaurants and department stores in Mexico  that drugstore managers were sort of fighting for attention, Charles Walgreen said, according to a 2000 story in Drug Store News.

Mr. Walgreens strategy was to refocus the chain on the drugstore business and modernize it, focusing on pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids as well as photo service. He reconfigured the supply chain and upgraded the stores. Gone were the in-store optical centers and grocery aisles, along with the companys restaurants and south-of-the-border retailers.

By the 1980s, Walgreens stores were appearing in urban areas across the country, often concentrated with several stores in a relatively small area. The 1,000th store opened in 1984 and sales passed $10 billion in 1995.

Walgreen in 2012 bought a 45 percent stake in Bern, Switzerland-based Alliance Boots Holdings for $6.7 billion and in 2014 paid about $15.3 billion for the remainder of European pharmacy chain.

Charles Rudolph Walgreen III was born in Chicago on Nov. 11, 1935. His grandfather, who founded the company in 1901, gave him the nickname Cork, short for his description of the child as a corker, a singular individual.

He grew up stocking shelves in the familys store in Evanston, Ill., but he told John U. Bacon, author of 2004s Americas Corner Store: Walgreens Prescription For Success, that he intended to become a veterinarian. He soon changed his mind and attended pharmacy school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1958.

After college, Walgreen joined the family business and worked in a number of positions before serving as president in 1969. His innovations included a computerized prescription management system.

His marriage to the former Donna Parr ended in divorce. In 1977, he married Kathleen Bonsignore Allen. Besides his wife, survivors include five children from his first marriage; two stepchildren; two grandchildren he adopted and raised as children; a brother, and a sister. A son from his first marriage died in 1996.

 Bloomberg News
The helmeted hornbill is in danger of becoming extinct because of the increasing demand for ivory. (Morten Strange/Associated Press)

A critically endangered bird sought by poachers for its beak has been tied to the rise in the killing of African elephants.

The elephants are the focus of a global wildlife conference this week in South Africa, but conservationists are also urging protection of the helmeted hornbill, a rare bird whose golden beak is an ivory substitute.

Its all part of the rising demand for ivory, said Richard Thomas, spokesman for Traffic, a conservation group based in Britain.

Poaching of the helmeted hornbill has soared since about 2010, mostly in Indonesia. The timing is roughly the same as an increase in elephant poaching.

Delegates are discussing protections for elephants, helmeted hornbills and other vulnerable wildlife at a meeting this week of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

This species needs to be on peoples radars, said Elizabeth Bennett of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Lyles Station, Ind. is a 200 year old farming community that was settled by free African Americans before the Civil War. Stanley Madison grew up in Lyles Station and has dedicated his life to preserving the story of his ancestors. (Erin Patrick O'Connor/Video by: Erin Patrick O'Connor/ Photo by: Bonnie Jo Mount)

The sun is just dawning over a parking lot wedged between a cornfield and a Bob Evans in southwestern Indiana. The farmers arrive early. This is like sleeping in for them. The prospect of this pilgrimage to Washington makes them proud, nostalgic and a little edgy.

Its a busy time to be going, says Glenn Morris, who raises cattle and crops on 425 acres a couple miles away. Youre wondering if you should be on the trip or in the field.

Morris, 78, climbs aboard an idling 56-seat tour bus and takes a place in the second row next to his wife, Julia. Destination: the ribbon-cutting of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 730 miles away. The passengers are all connected by blood or enthusiasm to a soon-to-be famous country crossroads called Lyles Station.





Of all the stories the Smithsonian curators have chosen to tell, theirs is one of the more surprising. Certain familiar themes of the African American story  slavery, Jim Crow, urban migration, civil disobedience  are present, but at the margins. What makes Lyles Station exceptional, in part, is that it was a haven of free blacks who were able to buy land and build their own farms before the Civil War. A century and a half later, that legacy has survived through the dogged sunup, sundown dedication and faith of generations of farming men and women like Morris. Its a missing piece of American history that scholars only recently have begun to uncover. An intimate exhibit on life in Lyles Station  farm tools, personal belongings, even a Ball jar full of soil  introduces this community to the world.

[Take a virtual tour of the African American Museum]

We werent wrote about or talked about, but we were involved in the process of building the country, says Stanley Madison, 66, a farmer and historian of Lyles Station. We dont want a medal. We dont want somebody to give us a catered dinner. We just want to be part of this thing called the United States of America, the freedom country. We just want to be able to share with people to say: This is who we are, and this is how we got here.

But where theyre going as a community is a question. Nowadays, after so much striving, Lyles Station clings to an existence somewhere between history and oblivion, protagonist and museum piece.

In a sense, this bus trip is a journey through the past in the hope of finding the future. A jar of soil is a fitting symbol of Lyles Station now  but in a generation or two, who will own this dream-soaked land?



Cards on display at the Lyles Consolidated School outside Princeton, Ind. The all-black school closed in 1958 and now serves as a museum and an interactive space for students. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Soil taken from land that is still farmed in Lyles Station is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

For the world to see

Several of the bus passengers attended the scanning party the Smithsonian curators held in Lyles Station to make digital copies of family photographs. Residents combed old albums and crumpled cardboard boxes and brought hundreds to be considered.

They also donated a couple dozen objects going back to the 19th century  farm equipment, personal keepsakes, church artifacts.

Yet even during a 15-hour bus trip, they cant quite imagine how the objects will be used in the museum. In fact, they cant envision what an entire museum of African American history will be like. The one thing they know is that familiar parts of their lives will be on display for the world to see.

When we get to Washington, the American people will know that we have built a farming community that has helped feed the United States, Madison says.

1 of 12 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  From the Corn Belt to the nations capital, a bus journey to celebrate a legacy View Photos Residents of Lyles Station, Ind., traveled to Washington to see an exhibit that tells the story of their community at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. Caption Residents of Lyles Station, Ind., traveled to Washington to see an exhibit that tells the story of their community at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. Fog lingers on fields of corn and soybeans in the community of Lyles Station, Ind., which was a haven for free blacks who were able to buy land and build their own farms before the Civil War. Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Black pioneers

It began with another trek, 200 years ago. Charles Grier was born a slave in Virginia in 1782. His owner freed him, and he lit out for the territories, reaching what would become Indiana in 1816. It was the frontier  wild but free. The young republic had declared that slavery would be prohibited in the states carved out of this northwest territory, now known as the Midwest.

Its really important to talk about African American pioneers and how they were involved in the settling of our first free frontier, says Anna-Lisa Cox, a fellow at Harvards Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, whose work informs the Smithsonian exhibit.

Lyles Station, named after the Lyles family, is one of the last of dozens of free black settlements where some of the same land is being farmed by descendants of the pioneers.

This is the story of claiming ones own land, claiming ones own identity at a time when land really means power, says Paul Gardullo, the Smithsonian curator responsible for the Lyles Station exhibit. Political power, social capital, economic capital, during a period when half the countrys enslaved. Presenting it to the public, I think, is going to be eye-opening.



James Wilkerson Sr., 63, center, and his grandson, Josiah, 11, take photos as President Obama appears on the screen during the opening ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Friends and family members with ties to Lyles Station get their first look at the exhibit that tells the story of the communitys farming legacy. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

The journey

The bus is like a vessel containing stories hurtling across Kentucky and West Virginia, and through time.

Im going to post a lot of the journey, says Yolonda Bostic, 50, firing up her Facebook page in the front row beside her mother, Joyce Gooch Granger, 71. I feel so blessed to be living through the lens of my forefathers and my mom.

The stories being told on the bus are about old-fashioned values instilled by elders, about uphill struggles. Universal stories, in other words. But to be on the bus is to be working through what exactly makes your life universal. What makes it special enough to be in a museum?

[Thinking of the past, considering the future. Inside the Museum]

From a humble beginning, the people struggled, especially the farmers, they struggled through segregation and floods, and everything seemed to be against them, says Donnie Morris, 77, Glenns brother. But the people didnt give up.



Glenn Morris, 78, a fourth-generation farmer in Lyles Station, works on his land. Youre wondering if you should be on the trip or in the field, he says of the visit to the new African American Museum. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)

Norman Greer, 79, stands in a field of soy beans in the community of Lyles Station. Im the last one to be farming it thats in the family, Greer says. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)

The property and the land

Half a mile down a one-lane road in Lyles Station, edged by a flood-control ditch, is special ground. This very patch, first owned by Willis Greer in 1855, supplied the soil for the museum exhibit, so chosen because its the field that has been continuously farmed by the same family for the longest time.

Life has moved on in so many ways for America, its people and its producers. Fewer farmers are needed; better futures beckon elsewhere.

Im the last one to be farming it thats in the family, says Norman Greer, 79, great-grandson of Willis. He stands straight and lean in blue overalls. Its just about run its course. Its about the end of owning land. After Im gone, whats going to happen?

Non-farming descendants can make arrangements to rent, rather than sell, ancestral holdings, though money is easier to split than land.

As long as its within my power we will always have the property and the land, says Denise Greer Jamerson, 50, one of Greers five daughters who grew up on the farm.

She says she didnt realize the significance of Lyles Station  it was just her life  until her husband, John Jamerson, told her how his mother used to drive him as a boy from where he grew up an hour away just to witness something incredible in farm country: A black community run by blacks.

In the late 1990s, Madison led an effort to begin to save Lyles Stations past, and the community raised $1 million to restore the schoolhouse. But scarcely a dozen of the early families reside on the land today, and fewer than that are farming.

1 of 59 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene in Washington on the African American Museums opening weekend View Photos The National Museum of African American History and Culture opens its doors to the public. Caption The National Museum of African American History and Culture opens its doors to the public. Sept. 25, 2016 Crowds make their way toward the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the first full day of the museums opening. Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Race on the farm

Not long after the bus crosses the Ohio River, Lenora Cole, 77, tells about the time when her father, Wayman Stewart, then a teenager, was on the back of a wagon hauling a plow, while her grandfather managed the horses in front. A train hit the rig.

At the age of 13, my dad became the man of the house, and quite a frugal man, Cole says. He grew into one of Lyles Stations respected farmers, but outside the community, it was always: Wayman Stewart is a good black farmer, which he was; not, Wayman Stewart is a good farmer, which he also was.

Generally, the old-timers have an indirect way of talking about race.

If you were reared, you knew your boundaries, says Dewight Cap Greer, 81, a cousin of Normans.

You knew how far to go, lets put it like that, Morris says.

How far?

I mean, a black man couldnt jump up and rent the ground like a white man could, he says.

Once, Morris had been farming a patch of rented ground for a number of years, spending extra effort to clear it and improve it. The owner died, and the new owner took it from Morris and rented it to a white farmer who appeared out of nowhere.

You may be a lot better farmer than they was, but that didnt make a difference, Morris says. The bitter taste stays there for a long time after you done all that work.

Thats how the undertow of race made itself known, through economic slights, unequal access to capital, compounded over generations. The black-owned farms remained comparably small, with some exceptions.

We got the mudholes, they got the good land, Norman Greer says. He adds: I never borrowed a damn penny in this town [neighboring Princeton], because they wouldnt let me have it.

Even after the schools integrated, the children of black farmers couldnt join their friends at the local candy store and soda fountain. Mondays were the only nights when black kids could go to the local roller skating rink. Well into the 1960s, the local movie palace, the Princeton Theatre, maintained a separate entrance for African Americans, who were relegated to a section of the balcony under careful watch by theater management.

There was little marching or protesting that anyone can remember. The concentration of African Americans was but a drop in nearly all-white Gibson County, and remains so.

The rage and resistance seemed far away. I never paid attention to none of that, Morris says. I was always busy.

But a few of the leading Lyles Station citizens did chip in money to hire a lawyer to pressure the theater to end its audience segregation.

In Lyles Station, a different kind of black power was being practiced.



Stanley Madison, in a restored schoolhouse that is now a museum, is the founder and chairman of the Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corporation. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Paula Wilkerson and her husband, James, listen to President Obama during the museums opening ceremony Saturday. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Humble eloquence

To kill time on the bus, they watch a documentary about Indianapolis in the 1950s, in which the black side of life is represented by a few strategically placed talking heads in a parade of white. This puts everyone to sleep.

The morning of the ribbon-

cutting, Josiah Wilkerson, 11, starts taking pictures with his tablet on the bridge over the Potomac. Hes the youngest person on the bus, traveling with his grandparents and great-aunt on their first trip to Washington.

This is a chance for him to see what his ancestors and the black race contributed, says James Wilkerson Sr., 63, Josiahs grandfather. The history books dont teach you that several races built this country.

On the National Mall, the Wilkersons take up a position facing a big screen. When President Obama speaks, he underlines the grandfathers lesson that African American history is American history:

But too often, we ignored or forgot the stories of millions upon millions of others, who built this nation just as surely, whose humble eloquence, whose calloused hands, whose steady drive helped to create cities, erect industries, build the arsenals of democracy.

Not to mention those whose calloused hands helped clear the land and feed the nation.

Meanwhile, back in Princeton, in proud appreciation of the local connection to African American history, the new management of that theater where the segregated balcony used to be is live-streaming the opening ceremony.



Soybeans and corn flank the main road leading into Lyles Station. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Many fabrics

At first, they are overwhelmed, speechless. The bus riders have come straight to the Lyles Station exhibit on the third floor on Sunday.

The spirits are here in this room, the ancestors, you can feel them, Madison says.

They begin to focus on the details  all the family photos, the farm equipment, the baby dolls, a church pulpit, a quilt. Theres the 19th-century plow that Madison rescued from a ruined barn 46 years ago; only now does he understand why it mattered.

Morris squints and asks, Wheres the ground  that little jar over there? He moves in for a closer look at the soil from the old Greer place. It has been heat-treated and dried to live in vacuumed perpetuity. Its good ground.

The objects and the images seem to exhale stories they know in their bones.

Bostic continues the Facebook journal of the journey that she began in the first hour on the bus. She aims her phone at a vintage photo  now certified museum-quality  and narrates into the microphone: My mom in the field as a little girl, on the melon wagon with no shirt on and her back turned.

Other visitors to the museum begin to realize that they are in the presence of the living community thats portrayed in the exhibit. They want pictures; they have questions.

Do you live on the land? a woman asks Morris, posing him in front of the display.

Im the fourth generation, he says.

Here, then, is how Lyles Station might begin anew: as a legend, and a place of teaching. Now the museums rich intersection of story lines comes into focus. Nearby are exhibits of other powerful places  the Bronx at the birth of hip-hop; Chicago and the Great Migration; Greenville, Miss., and the era of racist terror.

Its an amazing feeling to see all of the many fabrics of African American history in this museum and to be a small part of it, Bostic says. I feel very accepted today.


D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, shown at a gathering at Georgetown this month. She is leaving her job at the end of the week. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Kaya Henderson is ready to rid herself of the habits she formed during more than five years as the head of D.C. Public Schools.

She is ready to stop shopping at Lord & Taylor 30 minutes before the store closes. Shes ready to go to a grocery store in the afternoon, not at 6 a.m. And shes ready to leave the public spotlight as she leaves her job as chancellor.

I am tired, Henderson said in a recent interview with The Washington Post. One of the things I am happy to leave in this job is the very public-facing position.

For a decade  first under former chancellor and lightning rod Michelle Rhee and then in the top postition  Henderson has worked to turn around one of the nations most troubled school systems.

Though the school system still struggles with vast gaps on test scores and graduation rates between white and black students, at the end of this week, Henderson will leave the school system on what she considers a high note: Under her leadership, D.C. schools have seen increased enrollment, better test scores and higher graduation rates. That has some wondering if she wants to move up in the world of public education, perhaps to become secretary of education if Hillary Clinton is elected president.

No, thank you, Henderson said.

I am appreciative of the opportunity to serve in the government, but I would like to serve in a different sector, she said. She plans to move into a more private life.

In her last days as chancellor, Henderson said she is spending a lot of time reflecting on her work. There also have been a lot of cupcakes arriving at her office, and her staff recently threw a surprise party, complete with a DJ and signs with the hashtag Thank you Kaya.

She wants people to see that D.C. schools are up again, hot and sexy. She believes the system is turning a corner, becoming more desirable even in the face of numerous education options for D.C. residents.

Families who for decades have been fleeing the system are now putting their kids back, and we are happy about it, Henderson said.

A former Spanish teacher and Teach for American executive, Henderson, 46, arrived at D.C. Public Schools in 2007 as a deputy to Rhee. Rhee had a combative approach to reforming the school system and an antagonistic relationship with the citys teachers union. The citys school system became one of the first in the country to judge teachers and principals based in part on how students performed on standardized tests. Hundreds were fired under Rhee, and more than 20 schools were shut down.

Henderson, a self-described people person, also shut down schools and fired teachers and principals, but her softer approach means she has largely been seen as a contrast to Rhee.

Henderson said the criticisms of her former boss arent fair. In literature, people need a bad guy and a good guy, and they try to paint us like she was the bad guy and I was the good guy, she said. I dont think thats true.

Although she defends Rhee, Henderson said one of her hardest days on the job was under Rhees leadership, when she had to fire a couple hundred central office employees as part of a reorganization.

I had to go all around the city and deliver termination notices to people, many of whom had been with the district for a really long time, she said. The experience taught Henderson that it mattered how she went about letting people go and making other difficult decisions. The worst days that I have had here are days when I felt like we havent treated people the right way.



Kaya Henderson dances with a student at Jesus Suarez Gayol High School in Havana in February. Henderson was among a delegation visiting Cuba with D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)

Henderson laid out five goals to meet by 2017. The district is close to meeting three of them.

She wanted to boost enrollment: Its up 7 percent since 2011. She wanted 90 percent of students to say they like their school: 83 percent do. She wanted the graduation rate to reach 75 percent: The rate was at 64 percent in 2015, and the 2016 rate is slated to be released this week.

But the citys schools are far from meeting her goals for academic achievement. She strove to have at least 70 percent of students scoring proficient on math and reading exams by 2017. That number is closer to 25 percent, but Henderson said she set the proficiency goals when the city was taking the DC CAS exam, not a national standardized test linked to the Common Core academic standards.

Henderson said her highlights have included sending D.C. students across the world for study abroad experiences and creating an intensive training program for school principals at Georgetown University. Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, one of Hendersons pet projects, opened its doors in Northeast Washington to 110 students, all of whom are black and Latino males. The school is Hendersons attempt to focus resources on improving achievement for minority males.

[The countrys newest all-boys public high school opens its doors]

The decision to have an all-boys public high school has been controversial because there is not a similar high school for girls. Since the school opened in August, the American Civil Liberties Union has tried to pressure the district to change its admission policies.

They are suing me, or will sue me, because I am not doing the same thing for girls as I am doing for boys, Henderson said. Thats the point.

The school systems research shows black and Latino boys need more help academically, while the girls in the district need different types of supports, Henderson said, mainly social-emotional resources that help them deal with self-esteem issues and relationships.

Henderson said that school systems for too long have looked at education as a one-size-fits-all challenge and have only recently begun to focus programs specifically on closing achievement gaps. The District continues to have wide achievement gaps, particularly for black males.

We have just recently woken up, she said. We will begin to see results.

Another one of Hendersons priorities was to build better relations with the Districts charter schools, which enroll nearly half of the citys public school students. Though the citys relationship between charters and traditional public schools has received praise as compared to other cities, Henderson said she thinks the two sectors continue to act as rivals.

Its inefficient, Henderson said of the Districts 230 public and charter schools that serve 85,000 students. We are spending too much on education across two sectors that are getting the same results.

Henderson was particularly upset in 2014 when a science-themed charter school opened across the street from a science-focused neighborhood school in Eckington.

The point is providing every kid in this city with a good education, so why duplicate resources in the name of competition? Henderson said.

She would not say who she wants to see take the reigns of D.C. schools  she said her opinion does not matter  and that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) should be focused on listening to feedback from community members. Bowser hopes to name a successor soon.

Hendersons departure doesnt have anything to do with politics, she said, stating definitively that she has a good relationship with Bowser and wasnt asked to leave.

But Henderson is eager to move on, choosing to leave early  she had planned to leave in 2017  and in the midst of an academic year, in part, she said, to ease the long-term planning process the next chancellor will need to begin immediately.

Instead of overseeing an urban school system, Henderson will devote at least six months to traveling and spending time with her family.

She also will be listening to podcasts. She recently sent out a tweet asking for recommendations, and she didnt want just those that focus on education. She received more than 50 suggestions, which she wrote all down on a piece of paper she keeps in a notebook.

She started listening to some of them, but the hour-long episodes are turning her off.

I am listening to this stuff, and I am thinking, talk faster, get to the point, she said. I dont have an hour to listen to these people.

The frenetic pace of the chancellors job has made it very hard for her to focus on any single thing for much time.

Thats another habit shes ready to break.
Inova Loudoun Hospital officials announced this month that they will alter procedures and enhance the emergency room at the Lansdowne campus in an attempt to attain designation from the Virginia Department of Health as a Level III trauma center.

If the effort is successful, it would be the first trauma center in Loudoun County.

Hospital officials made the announcement Sept. 7, when they revealed plans for a $5 million renovation and expansion of the emergency room at Lansdowne.

The hospital currently treats hundreds of patients with traumatic injuries every year, hospital officials said. As a trauma center, it would be able to treat patients who would now be transported to the trauma center at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

For trauma patients, minutes matter, and the quicker you can intervene, the better the outcomes are, Edward Puccio, the hospitals director of emergency medicine, said. We felt strongly that we need to be able to intervene on these patients here, and save time and save lives locally.

Functioning as a trauma center would also allow more patients to remain at Lansdowne for treatment after they have been stabilized, making it more convenient for their family members to visit, said April Brown, the hospitals senior director of emergency services.

We know that family is important in the healing process, having that support emotionally, Brown said. Keeping residents in our community hospital is very important so we can provide that support, not only to the patient, but to the family.

Stephanie Boese, the hospitals trauma program coordinator, said that Level III trauma centers are required to have surgeons and operating room staff members on call at all times, and they must be able to be on site within 30 minutes of the patients arrival.

Level I centers, such as the one in Fairfax, have neurosurgeons and other medical specialists that are not required at Level III centers, Puccio said.

Doctors, nurses and other clinical staff members at Inova Loudoun are being trained to work as trauma teams, Boese said. She said the hospital might get a call that someone has fallen off a ladder and is on the way to the emergency department.

Everyone thats on the trauma team will be in that room before that patient arrives, Boese said. The team will conduct a head-to-toe assessment, followed by a CT scan to see whether there are internal injuries.

If we see a bleed inside the brain . . . well immediately bring the patient back in the trauma room, someones already calling for the helicopter, and well transfer them to Fairfax, Boese said. If we didnt do that systematic approach, we could miss something.

Puccio said the pursuit of the trauma center designation involves the entire hospital.

The operating room has to be ready to take that patient, he said. Then the intensive care unit has to be ready to receive this trauma patient from the operating room. And then the other medical units need to be able to handle these patients and recognize potential complications of a traumatically injured patient.

It lifts the entire hospital up, because if you can do all the things to manage trauma, you just naturally get better at everything else you do, Puccio said.

Attaining the trauma center designation would take about 18 months, Boese said. On Oct. 1, the hospital will send a letter of intent to the Virginia Department of Health. That will begin a six-month trial period, during which the hospital will implement the trauma-team approach, measure its performance and change policies and procedures as necessary.

After six months, a site review team from the state would assess how well the hospital is doing. If it meets the states standards, the hospital would receive the trauma center designation on a provisional basis for one year, after which the state would determine whether to make the designation permanent, Boese said.

H. Patrick Walters, chief executive of Inova Loudoun Hospital, said that Loudoun County has grown to the point that it needs its own trauma center.

Our county is now 370,000 people and growing, [and] its not getting any easier to get from here to Fairfax, he said.
BLOOD DONATIONS

BLOOD DRIVES Oct. 7, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, 801 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Oct. 15, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Leesburg Public Safety Center, 65 Plaza St., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Oct. 15, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Brambleton Community Association, 42645 Regal Wood Dr., Ashburn, 800-733-2767; Oct. 15, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Sterling United Methodist Church, 304 E. Church Rd., Sterling, 800-733-2767; Oct. 21, 1:30-6 p.m., St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St., Leesburg, 800-733-2767.

INOVA BLOOD DONOR CENTER Mondays noon-8 p.m., Tuesdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fridays 6 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays noon-4 p.m. Dulles Town Center, 45745 Nokes Blvd., Sterling. 866-256-6372 or inova.org/donateblood.

FIRST AID

FIRST AID/ADULT, INFANT AND CHILD CPR/AED Fauquier Hospital Medical Office Building, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Call for schedule. 540-316-3588. $85. Registration required.

HEARING

DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER Technical assistance through the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and presentations to businesses, civic groups and schools. Third Tuesdays 2-5 p.m., Workplace, 205 Keith St., Warrenton. Call for an appointment, 800-648-6324; TDD, 540-373-5890. Free.

FREE HEARING TESTS Age 18 and older. Mondays-Thursdays 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Center, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 201, Lansdowne. 703-858-7620. Registration required.

HEARING LOSS, TINNITUS AND MENIERES SYNDROME SUPPORT For all ages, including parents of children with hearing loss. First Fridays at 2 p.m., Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-430-2906.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING Age 18 and older, second Tuesdays 10 a.m., Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400.

HEARING LOSS OUTREACH Free referrals. Fourth Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Loudoun County Workforce Center, 102 Heritage Way, Leesburg; third Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. Free appointments: 703-430-2906 or nvrcloudoun@aol.com .

MENTAL HEALTH

COUNSELING FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVIVORS Provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice. 703-771-9020.

CRISISLINK Suicide and crisis intervention. The organization provides community education, has a volunteer crisis response team and offers CareRing, a daily telephone outreach program for the elderly and disabled. 703-527-6016, volunteer@crisislink.org or crisislink.org.

PIEDMONT CHAPTER, NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS Serves Fauquier, Orange, Madison and Rappahannock counties. Support group, education classes and events for people living with mental illness and their family members. First Wednesdays 7-9 p.m. Fauquier Hospital, 500, Hospital Dr., Sycamore Room A, Warrenton. 571-426-8213.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID A public education program offered by the Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services that can help communities understand mental illness seek intervention and save lives. For information, go to loudoun.gov/mhfirstaid.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA CHAPTER, NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS A support group, classes and programs for people living with mental illness and their family members. naminorthernvirginia.org.

PREGNANCY, PARENTING

ADOPTIVE FAMILY PRESERVATION Adoptive families discuss common experiences; registration required. Third Tuesdays 12_2 p.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd. Call 703-941-9008, Ext. 23, or email jmellario@umfs.org .

BIRTHRIGHT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY Free pregnancy tests, baby clothing, transportation and support throughout pregnancy, 823 S. King St., Leesburg. 703-777-7272.

BOND BETWEEN US A nonprofit organization that offers support to birth parents when children have been placed for adoption. Fourth Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. Call for location. 703-771-7844.

BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT Mondays 9:30-10:30 a.m., Fauquier Hospital Family Birthing Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588.

DAD SUPPORT New and expectant fathers share ideas. First Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. 703-858-6360.

FOR THE CHILDRENS SAKE A group for separating or divorcing parents to share advice. Four-hour session weekly. Information: 703-391-8599 or fitsfoundation.org.

LA LECHE LEAGUE Mother-to-mother support and breastfeeding information. 10 a.m. second Wednesdays in Warrenton, 540-351-6103. Third Fridays 10:15-11:45 a.m., call for location, 703-444-7386. Second Fridays 10:15 a.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd., 703-829-0349; Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Panera Bread, 43670 Greenway Corp. Dr., Ashburn, email lllashburn@gmail.com. Third Fridays 10:15 a.m., Christ the Redeemer Church, 46833 Harry F. Byrd. Hwy., Sterling, 540-338-4637.

LOUDOUN FATHERHOOD PROGRAM Fathers discuss the joys and challenges of being a parent. Meets every other Saturday for two hours for four months; sponsored by Northern Virginia Family Service. 571-748-2796. Free.

LOUDOUN NURTURING PARENTING PROGRAM Positive parenting techniques; children attend with parents. Registration required. Call 703-771-3973, Ext. 27, or email nurturingprogram@lcsj.org. Free.

MOTHERNET/HEALTHY FAMILIES LOUDOUN Program links first-time parents with medical, social and educational resources to give children a socially and physically healthy start in life. Family support workers meet with participants in homes. English-Spanish translation provided. 703-444-4477, Ext. 217 , or inmed.org.

NEW MOTHERS SUPPORT Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 a.m. Inova Loudoun Medical Pavilion, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg, main entrance. Babies welcome. 703-858-6360.

YOUNG PARENT SERVICES Support for teenage parents. Loudoun County Department of Family Social Services, 52 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg. Call for times. 703-771-5375.

ONLINE CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION PROGRAM Inova Loudoun Hospitals Web-based program uses animation, videos and interactive activities to guide users through the basics of childbirth, breastfeeding and caring for newborns. 703-858-6360. thebirthinginn.org/classes.

PARENTING ALONE GROUP For parents of school-age children who have lost a spouse or partner to cancer. Second Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-698-2536 or email jennifer.eckert@inova.org .

PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH SUPPORT Childbirth Solutions Resource Center, 8393 W. Main St., Marshall. 571-344-0438.

SENIORS

EXERCISE EQUIPMENT: Weights, treadmills, bikes and a cardio-glide. Instruction provided. Age 55 and older. Weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

FLU SHOTS Age 55 and older. Oct. 6 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Take your Medicare part B card for payment of plan to pay $34 for standard shot or $52 for the high dose. 571-258-3400.

FITNESS FOR PEOPLE 55 AND OLDER Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1-1:45 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400. $36, 12-visit card.

EYE CARE LensCrafters staff members will clean glasses and make minor repairs. Second Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-430-2397. Free.

INOVA LOUDOUN MOBILE VAN Blood pressure checks. Second and fourth Tuesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling, 571-258-3280; first Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

LAUGHING YOGA FOR SENIORS I mprove flexibility and balance. Thursdays 9:30-10 :30 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

LOUDOUN ADULT DAY CENTERS For seniors with physical limitations or memory loss, a safe and social environment, therapeutic activities, individualized care and respite for caregivers. Limited transportation. Sliding-scale fees. Weekdays in Leesburg, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 703-771-5334; Purcellville, 571-258-3402; and Ashburn-Sterling, 571-258-3232.

SENIOR OUTREACH SERVICES Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Senior Center at Cascades. First and third Wednesdays 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280.

SENIOR OUTREACH SERVICES Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Sign up in the Leesburg Senior Center lobby. Second and fourth Thursdays 11 a.m.-noon and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

SENIOR OUTREACH SERVICES Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Carver Center. First and third Mondays, 12:30-5 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 703-737-8741. Free.

TAI CHI Stretching and strengthening movements. Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

ZUMBA GOLD CLASS Age 55 and older. Wear rubber-soled shoes and comfortable clothing; bring water and a towel. Tuesdays 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m. Senior Center of Leesburg, 102 North St. NW, Leesburg. 703-737-8039. $24 per month.

ZUMBA: For people 55 and older who are learning Zumba for the first time, or those who prefer a lower-impact version. The fitness program combines Latin and international music with dance.Thursdays 11 a.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280. $12.

SUPPORT GROUPS

AL-ANON SERVICE CENTER OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA A volunteer is available 24 hours with information for spouses, family members and friends of problem drinkers. 703-534-4357 or 877-339-8350. Mondays 8 p.m. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 125 W. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-554-2747; Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg, 877-339-8350; Fridays 8:30 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 6507 Main St., The Plains, 800-344-2666; Tuesdays 12:15 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, Route 29 N., 540-347-7448; Tuesdays 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 p.m. Warrenton Presbyterian Church, 91 Main St. 800-344-2666.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Various meeting times and locations in Loudoun County. 800-208-8649 or 703-876-6166. nvintergroup.org.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVER SUPPORT For those who care for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Fourth Wednesdays 4-5:30 p.m. The Villa at Suffield Meadows, 6735 Suffield Lane, Warrenton. 540-316-3800.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVERS SUPPORT For those caring for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Second Mondays 7-8:30 p.m. Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-430-9229. galileeumc.org.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVER SUPPORT Emotional, educational and social support for family members and friends of people with the disease. Third Saturdays 10 a.m. Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, 20145 Ashbrook Pl., Ashburn. Call 703-771-5407 or email lesley.katz@loudoun.gov.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831 or alz.org.

ALZHEIMERS SUPPORT First Tuesdays 10-11 a.m. Spring Arbor Assisted Living, 237 Fairview St. NW, Leesburg. 540-338-6520.

ALZHEIMERS SUPPORT First Wednesdays 4 p.m. Leesburg Adult Day Center, 16501 Meadowview Ct., Leesburg. 703-771-5334.

ALZHEIMERS SUPPORT Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400.

TALK ABOUT CURING AUTISM A nonprofit organization educating and supporting families affected by autism. tacanow.org.

AUTOIMMUNE SUPPORT Last Thursdays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Jackson Building, 209 Gibson St., Leesburg. Email autoimmunesupport@hotmail.com .

BEREAVED PARENT SUPPORT One-on-one counseling is available. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. scsm.tv.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT For those experiencing loss because of the death of a loved one. Age 18 and older. Third Mondays 1 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-957-1800.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT Fourth Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Tower, Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-0588.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT For those with new diagnoses or starting treatment. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 5-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT For those who have finished treatment, have had a recurrence or metastatic breast cancer. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857. Free.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT ASSISTANCE FUND Loudoun County residents who have received a diagnosis or have undergone treatment in the past 12 months are eligible to apply for financial assistance. Areas included are wigs, bras, puffs and prostheses, mammograms and medical bills, food and help with utilities, rent or mortgage, and transportation costs. The Pink Assistance Fund has been established by the Loudoun Breast Health Network. lbhn.org.

CANCER SUPPORT Oncology nurses, social workers and spiritual care providers offer education and support to patients, families and caregivers. Second Mondays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2273.

CANCER SUPPORT Life with Cancer, for patients, family members and friends. Second Thursdays 7 p.m. Ashburn Presbyterian Church, Room 202, 20962 Ashburn Rd. 703-729-2012. ashburnpresbyterian.org.

CAREGIVER SUPPORT Provides emotional, educational and social support. Encourages caregivers to maintain their personal, physical and emotional health while caring for people with demenita or other chronic illness. Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831.

CAREGIVER SUPPORT AND RESOURCE GROUP Wednesdays 10:30 a.m.-noon (no meeting first Wednesdays), Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. scsm.tv.

CARING FOR AGING PARENTS Support group. Confidential. Fourth Wednesdays 7:30 p.m., Family Focus Counseling Service, 20-B John Marshall St., Warrenton. 540-349-4537.

CHADD PARENTS SUPPORT For parents of children with ADD/ADHD. Fourth Sundays 3 p.m. KinderCare, 44051 Ashburn Village Shopping Plaza. chadd.nova loudoun@gmail. com .

CHRONIC ILLNESS SUPPORT Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 a.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministries, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814 or scsm.tv.

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION: Support for those discouraged because of illness, bereavement, caregiving or a loved one in the military. Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS For parents who have experienced the death of a child. First Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg. 540-882-9707.

CREATING AND CONNECTING Two-hour art therapy and relaxation workshop for cancer patients. Every other month, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-858-8850.

DEPRESSION BIPOLAR SUPPORT ALLIANCE OF WESTERN LOUDOUN Saturdays 3 p.m. Purcellville Library, 220 E. Main St., Carruthers Room. Call 703-431-7160 or email kathy@dbsanca.org.

DROP-IN GRIEF SUPPORT For those coping with a death. Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. St. Davids Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Pkwy., Ashburn. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-597-1781.

FAMILIES OVERCOMING DRUG ADDICTION SUPPORT First and third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-9221 or email myfodafamily@gmail.com.

GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER YOUTH AND PARENT SUPPORT A group in partnership with Metro DC PFLAG. Fourth Sundays 4-6 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church, 22135 Davis Dr., Sterling. 703-328-6518.

GRIEFSHARE Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Tuesdays through Dec. 6 from 7-8:30 p.m. Purcellville Baptist Church, 601 Yaxley Dr., Purcellville. Call 540-338-0918 or email caring@purbap.org . Workbook, $15.

GRIEFSHARE Nondenominational seminar and support group. Tuesdays 7:30-9 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-2:30 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. Free.

GRIEF SUPPORT Sponsored by Hospice Support of Fauquier County. Individual counseling available. First and third Thursdays 3:30-5 p.m. Hospice Support Office, 42 N. Fifth St., Warrenton. Registration required. Call 540-347-5922 or email hospicesupport@verizon.net.

GRIEF SUPPORT Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

HOSPICE SUPPORT Free medical-equipment loan facility for Fauquier County residents. Especially needed are donations of wheelchairs, bedside commodes, rolling walkers, electric hospital beds, shower benches and chairs, adult diapers, lift chairs, Ensure and hospital bed mattresses. 540-347-5922.

LOOK GOOD, FEEL BETTER For women undergoing or emerging from cancer treatment. Every other month, 6:45 to 9 p.m. ,Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-776-2820. Free.

LOUDOUN CHADD SUPPORT Led by Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Third Thursdays 7 p.m. Leesburg Town Hall, lower-level conference room, 25 W. Market St. 703-669-2445.

LOUDOUN INTERGROUP OF OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS Fellowship and support. For locations and times, call 571-420-2012. oa.org.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT Fourth Sundays 2-4 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Conference Room A and B, Leesburg. Go to natcaplyme.org or email loudounlymeadvocates@gmail.com.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT Third Thursdays at 7 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, 6398 Lee Hwy. Access Road, Warrenton. 540-347-7265 or email lymeinfauquier@gmail.com.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT Third Thursdays at 7 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, 6398 Lee Hwy. Access Road, Warrenton. 540-347-7265 or email lymeinfauquier@gmail.com.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT Age 18 and older. First Tuesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Email charphealy@yahoo.com.

MADD LOUDOUN VICTIM SUPPORT For those who have been affected by drunken driving. Third Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. 210 Wirt St., Leesburg. 540-338-6491.

MAN-TO-MAN CANCER SUPPORT Sponsored by Loudoun Cancer Care Center, for prostate cancer patients and their families. Second Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. Call 703-858-8857 or email karen.archer@inova.org.

MENDED HEARTS Northern Virginia chapter, for heart surgery patients and families and friends of heart disease patients. Third Saturdays 11 a.m., Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg (Patient Information Lounge) . 703-924-6244 or mendedhearts200.org.

MENOPAUSE SUPPORT Third Thursdays 6:30-9 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg (second floor, Patient Education Room). 703-858-8060.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SUPPORT Saturdays 10:30 a.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-2826.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SUPPORT Last Sundays 2-4 p.m. Cascades Library, 21030 Whitfield Pl., Potomac Falls. 703-771-4256.

NAR-ANON FAMILY SUPPORT For those affected by loved ones with addiction. Meaningful Mondays, 7-8 p.m., Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-203-9792; Wisdom Wednesdays 7-8 p.m., St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 37730 St. Francis Ct., Purcellville, 703-606-7125; Serenity Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. Leesburg Presbyterian Church, 207 W. Market St., Leesburg, 703-606-7125.

PARKINSON'S SUPPORT Open to those with Parkinson's disease, their family members and caregivers. First Tuesdays 1:30-3 p.m. Call for Ashburn location. 571-442-8851.

POST-PARTUM SUPPORT Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Cornwall Campus, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg. 703-909-9877. Email lamckeough@gmail.com. Registration required.

REACH TO RECOVERY Home visit program for mastectomy and lumpectomy patients. Temporary prostheses, exercise instruction and encouragement. 703-938-5550.

SEXUAL ASSAULT AND INCEST SURVIVORS GROUP COUNSELING Services provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice and the Loudoun Abused Womens Shelter are free and confidential. 703-771-9020.

SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS EMPOWERMENT SUPPORT Sponsored by Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative. Child care available with 48-hours notice. Mondays; call for times and locations. 540-349-7720.

SPIRITUAL SUPPORT GROUP For cancer patients, family members and friends. Third Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8850.

STROKE SURVIVORS AND CAREGIVERS SUPPORT Second Wednesdays 11 a.m.-noon, Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second floor, Patient Education Room. 703-858-6667 or robynthomson@inova.org.

SUICIDE COUNSELING Third Wednesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Leesburg Town Office, Conference Room 2, lower level, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg. 703-587-1618 or survivorsofsuicidelossleesburg@gmail.com.

WOMENS SUPPORT Sponsored by Services to Abused Families. Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Confidential location. 540-825-8876.

WIDOW AND WIDOWER SUPPORT Third Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

WOMENS CANCER SUPPORT Woman to Woman, first Wednesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Registration required. 703-858-8850.

MISCELLANEOUS

BRAIN TRAUMA SURVIVORS BROWN BAG LUNCH For survivors and caregivers, first Tuesdays, noon-1:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second-floor Patient Education Room. Call 703-737-3150 or email jberg@braininjurysvcs.org. Free.

ASK THE EXPERT LECTURE Robotic Joint Replacement: Whats New in Hip and Knees? Tuesday at 6 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, Conference Rooms A and B, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. A presentation by Nauman Akhtar, orthopedic surgeon and medical director of Inova Loudoun Hospitals joint replacement program. 855-694-6682. Free. Registration required.

CHILD DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS For ages 2-5. Children may not be kindergarten-age-eligible. Sponsored by the Loudoun County public schools Child Find Center. 571-252 - 2180.

CHOLESTEROL PANEL DISCUSSION Take Care of Your Heart, Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Blood pressure, BMI and non-fasting cholesterol screenings will be offered and the lecture. Call 540-316-3588 or go to fauquerhealth.org. Free. Register.

CHOLESTEROL SCREENINGS Weekdays 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Fauquier Health LIFE Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2640. Registration required. $35.

COMMUNITY LECTURE Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack, Oct. 12 at noon, Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. A presentation by Rana Kayal, neurologist. 540-316-3588. Free. Register.

EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLIES Loudoun residents who are in need can receive a free three-day supply of groceries. Supplies are distributed Mondays through Saturdays by Loudoun Interfaith Relief. 703-777-5911 or interfaithrelief.org.

FAUQUIER FREE WALK-IN MEDICAL CLINIC Patients must call Thursdays from 12:30 to 1 p.m. to register for the clinic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Patients are also seen by appointment Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fauquier and Rappahannock residents only. Bring proof of address for the first visit. Patients cannot have Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. Information: 540-347-0394 Tuesdays or Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

FAUQUIER HOSPITAL BISTRO SENIOR SUPPER CLUB Nutritious meals and fellowship for people 55 and older. Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Bistro on the Hill, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. $5.49.

HEROES (Hometown Enabling Relationships, Opportunities and Empowerment through Support) is a program for military families. A trained volunteer provides support to military members and their families, from pre-deployment up to two years post-deployment. Assistance includes financial help, job placement, family care and mental health services. Go to heroescare.org or email caring@purbap.org .

LOUDOUN CARES INFORMATION AND REFERRAL HELP LINE Call for help in finding resources for county residents who are dealing with rent eviction, utility cut-offs, needed health care, employment and more. 703-669-4636.

MARSHALL HEALTH FAIR Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Marshall Community Center, 4133 Rectortown Rd., Marshall. Free and reduced health screenings, health and fitness demonstrations, childrens activities and giveaways. 540-422-8582.

MOTOR SKILL SCREENINGS Birth to 21 months. First Thursdays, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Center, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 201, Lansdowne. Call for an appointment. 703-858-7620. Free.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN Call for help in resolving complaints related to long-term-care facilities. 703-324-5861.

PREVENTING FALLS, WORKSHOP AND SCREENING Balance, Balance and More Balance, Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, 20145 Ashbrook Pl., Suite 170, Ashburn. 703-771-5407. aaasupport@loudoun.gov. Free.

ROAD TO RECOVERY For cancer patients who need rides to appointments. 410-781-6909. Email jen.burdette@cancer.org. Free.

SAFE SITTER CLASSES For girls and boys ages 11-14. First Saturdays except for holiday weekends. 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. To receive a Safe Sitter Certificate, students must pass practical and written tests on babysitting concepts and handling an emergency. Take a lunch from home or buy lunch in the cafeteria. $70, includes handbook and snacks during the day. Registration required. Call 703-858-8818 or email charlene.martin@inova.org.

SEVEN LOAVES FOOD PANTRY Individuals and families can receive a three-day supply of food, distributed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 10 a.m.-noon. 540-687-3489, sevenloavesmiddleburg.org.

TREE OF LIFE FOOD PANTRY Serving western Loudoun County. Food is delivered Wednesdays and Saturdays. 703-554-3595.

 Compiled by Sandy Mauck

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Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) remains popular in the state, according to a new poll. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

A majority of Marylanders support Gov. Larry Hogans executive order mandating a post-Labor Day start for public schools, according to a new statewide poll, but state residents are divided over the gas-extraction method known as fracking.

Results from the Goucher College survey, released Monday, show that 68 percent of Marylanders back Hogans move requiring public schools to start after the September holiday and end by June 15, even though 54 percent said executive orders should be used rarely or never.

The poll did not ask whether residents would support the change even if it means school systems had to cut into spring break or other days off, which some critics say is likely.

[Hogans school-start order leaves Democrats squirming]

Among the 76 percent of respondents who said they have heard about fracking, 43 percent said they would support a statewide ban, while 32 percent said they would oppose it. Those who had heard nothing about the practice were not asked for their positions.

The poll came as the states Environment Department is trying to meet a legislative deadline next month for proposing fracking regulations, and it also comes weeks after Hogan (R) side-stepped the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and school officials by issuing his start-date order.

A moratorium on fracking is set to expire in October 2017. The drilling method, technically known as hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground to break up rock and release natural gas.

Supporters say fracking could provide economic benefits for job-hungry Western Maryland and new revenue for the state, but opponents have raised concerns about groundwater contamination, air pollution and earthquakes.

Hogan has been a strong supporter of fracking, saying the extraction method should be allowed with safeguards. But several lawmakers have said they will push for a permanent ban.

[A new fracking fight is brewing in Maryland]

The governors executive order for schools allows jurisdictions to apply for exemptions to the start- and end-date requirements. Similar plans have been proposed in the legislature for the past several years, but the bills have died in committee.

School officials and teachers unions say the order infringes on local control and could hurt students who struggle academically, especially poorer children who lack access to high-quality summer camps and programs. Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned Hogans authority to implement such a measure without the legislature.

A lawyer from the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) said this month that the executive order may not hold up if it is challenged in court and that state lawmakers could override it with legislation.

The Goucher poll also showed that Hogans popularity in the state remains high, with 70 percent of respondents saying that they approve of the job he is doing as governor.

Sixty-five percent said the state is heading in the right direction.

Education ranked as a top concern for Marylanders, with 22 percent saying it was the most important issue, compared with 13 percent for economic growth and development, and 10 percent for unemployment.

The survey of 668 Maryland residents was conducted from Sept. 17 through Sept. 20. It included a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.
The young woman told a judge she had just arrived in Alexandria after a night out clubbing and was waiting in the car as her two companions got out to talk. Then she heard gunshots.

She testified that she watched through the window as Saquan Hall, the man she had been out with, started to run but collapsed. A man caught up to Hall, got over on top of him and started shooting, the woman said.

Before the gunman left, she said, he walked past the car and looked inside.

The woman, who described the July 2 shooting during a Monday hearing in Alexandria court, said she had never seen the gunman before that night. In court, she identified him as 30-year-old Dijuan Clark, whose brother was killed nearby in June.

The woman testified in open court, but prosecutors asked that her identity be withheld for her safety. She reluctantly identified Clark, at first refusing to point to or look directly at the defendant. Only under pressure from defense attorney Gary Smith would she do so.

As a result of her testimony and that of two police officers who arrived at the scene, an Alexandria District Court judge found probable cause for Clark to be charged with murder.

The witness said she went to a club in Tysons Corner the night of July 1 with a friend who knew Hall. Hall came back to Alexandrias Old Town area in their car, she said, and they stopped on First Street, where Hall asked her friend to get out and talk. They had been planning to head to a cookout nearby, she said, at Halls suggestion.

The woman said Hall parked the car, and the pair got out and walked away. Sitting in the car, she testified, she heard gunshots and saw Hall run towards the street corner and fall. Her friend ran back to the car and got in, as the woman yelled and waved her phone in the air for illumination. Her friend said she didnt know what was happening. As they sat in the car, the witness testified, she saw a man overtake Hall and fire.

The man then walked by the car, she said, and looked inside at her and her friend. After he left, she said, they got out of the car and saw Hall on the ground.

An officer testified that Hall, who had been shot twice, had a pulse when police arrived. But the victims heart stopped beating on the way to George Washington University Hospital in the District, where he was pronounced dead.

Clarks 28-year-old brother, Pierre Clark, was shot and killed in North Old Town in June. Halls home was searched after that murder and Halls mother, Patrice Hall, has said that she believes her sons death was an act of mistaken revenge.

Clark was arrested in North Carolina on July 22, and his case will go before a grand jury. Smith, his attorney, declined to comment.
A former senior State Department official working on counterterrorism was convicted Monday of soliciting a detective posing online as a 14-year-old girl, a Fairfax County prosecutor said.

Daniel Rosen, 46, of the District pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors following the 2014 sting staged by Fairfax County police, said Fairfax Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jessica L. Greis-Edwardson. Rosen will be required to serve a mandatory five-year sentence, but a judge will determine the amount of time suspended and on probation.

[Former State Department official admits secretly recording women]

The conviction follows another in summer 2015, in which Rosen was found guilty of peeping and recording videos of more than two dozen women in their D.C. homes. By day, Rosen worked a high-powered federal government job, but by night he crept around the back alleys of D.C.'s Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan and U Street neighborhoods, filming women under the guise of walking his dog.

The charges in that case stemmed from the Fairfax County case. In November 2014, Rosen responded to an ad on a website that was posted by a Fairfax County detective, according to a search warrant. In a message, Rosen described himself as a "sane and clean" 40-year-old and asked whether the detective was into older men. The detective responded that she was a 14-year-old girl.

After Rosens arrest in the Fairfax case, detectives discovered a trove of videos taken during his peeping outings in D.C.
Separate shootings Sunday in a small corner of Northeast Washington left one person dead and three others wounded, including a 93-year-old woman, police said.

The fatal shooting occurred about 2:45 a.m. in the 400 block of Riggs Road NE. Police identified the victim as Marcellus Thomas, 22, of Northeast Washington.

That evening, about 7:30, a man and two women who were on a street two or three blocks away were hit by gunshots fired from an automobile, police said.

All were said to be conscious and breathing, including the 93-year-old, when they were taken to a hospital after the attack in the 500 block of Oglethorpe Street NE.

Police said the elderly woman received a graze wound and was not seriously hurt.

No connection had been established Sunday night between the two shootings.

Interim D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham, who went to the scene, said he did not know whether the Oglethorpe Street attack could be considered random.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) also went to Oglethorpe Street. She said there was only a vague description of the car.

The 500 block of Oglethorpe is a residential street lined by two-story redbrick houses. Many of its residents are retired.

One resident of the neighborhood told a reporter Sunday night that he had heard the gunfire, eight to 10 shots.

The neighborhood is northeast of the Fort Totten Metro station and near Eastern Avenue.
A man who said he came to the White House to take pictures of the president was arrested Sunday after police found unregistered firearms in his vehicle.

L Hue Firle, 65, of Collins, Miss., was arrested at about 4:30 p.m., about a block from the White House in the 800 block of Connecticut Avenue NW, after he told D.C. police he there to take pictures of Obama, a D.C. police spokesman said.

Firle told police he had a pistol, a rifle and ammunition in his vehicle, according to a police report, and the vehicle was searched with his consent. Police found a .38-caliber revolver and a bolt-action .270-caliber rifle in the vehicle, as well as ammunition for both weapons, the report said.

Firle was placed under arrest for possession of unregistered ammunition and unregistered firearms. No one was injured in the incident, police said.
About 40 people gather at a busy intersection near the Third Street Tunnel in Northwest Washington before dawn on Sept. 26 to protest the fatal shooting of Terrence Sterling by D.C. police earlier this month. (WUSA9)

At 4:30 a.m. Monday, Steven Douglass stood in downtown Washington and shouted into a bullhorn.

Douglass acknowledged that the noise from the small band of protesters around him was disturbing neighbors, but he unapologetically declared his intent: to wake up the city to demand answers in the fatal shooting of motorcyclist Terrence Sterling by D.C. police.

This demonstration at Third and M streets NW was among a few small efforts in past weeks to seek transparency into the investigation of the killing at the intersection during a confrontation early on Sept. 11.

[D.C. officer fatally shoots man who crashed motorcycle into police cruiser]

Sterling, 31, of Fort Washington, Md., was shot by an officer after police said he intentionally drove his motorcycle into a police cruiser. Police have said they were called because the motorcycle was being driven erratically but released few other details.

At the Monday protest, scheduled to begin around the time Sterling was shot, people held signs that read, Justice for Terrence Sterling. They chanted: We have questions. We need answers.

Officials have said the officer who shot Sterling should have turned on his body camera at the start of the pursuit but did not do so until after he fired. Police have updated their policy, and officers now are required to confirm with dispatchers that the cameras are on when they respond to calls.

[D.C. police update body-camera policy following fatal shooting of motorcyclist]

The two officers involved in the incident  the shooter and the driver  have not been publicly identified. They are on administrative leave. No video of the incident has been released.

D.C. police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck on Monday said the department is committed to a fair and thorough investigative process. He also noted that recruits, as well as veteran officers, are being trained to use body cameras.

Mondays demonstration followed a Friday night ride by about 175 motorcyclists, who traveled from Maryland into the District to urge leaders to release more information.

We want to know why the cameras werent activated. We want to know what was the threat. We want to know, are we next? yelled Self Justice, a New Jersey rider.

Justice urged the group to keep Sterlings name in the atmosphere, because Terrence Sterling was a good dude who didnt deserve to get shot, he said.

Jason Downs, an attorney representing the Sterling family, said family members appreciate the community support and were seeking a transparent investigation.

If the officer is innocent, then the community needs to know and the family deserves to know. But if the officer committed some form of wrongdoing or broke protocol, the community and the family deserves to know, said Downs, an attorney with Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, the firm that represented the family of Baltimores Freddie Gray.

At a vigil honoring Sterling days after his death, friends lifted their hands in a bikers salute. Some, using Sterlings nickname, called out to the 31-year-old as if he were standing with them.

Chicken!

KFC! KFC baby!

Sam Brown, 40, had been a friend of Sterlings for almost eight years. He said one of Sterlings first jobs was working at the fast food restaurant for which he was later nicknamed. It was his neighborhood name, and it stuck.

The first time Brown heard people call his friend by his birth name was this month, days after he was killed.

The pain kicked in immediately, and I just want to know what happened, Brown said of the shooting.

At the Monday demonstration, another organizer, Thomas Ruffin Jr., said the group had several demands, including the release of the names of the officers involved and the body camera video.

We need justice for Terrence Sterling, Douglass said. We cant let this slip under the rug.



Protesters gather Monday morning near 3rd and M streets NW, where Terrence Sterling was fatally shot by police. (Clarence Williams/The Washington Post)

Keith L. Alexander and Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.
A U.S. appeals court panel that barred Kansas, Alabama and Georgia from adding a proof-of-citizenship requirement to a federal voter registration form wrote Monday that federal law leaves it to a federal elections agency  not the states  to determine whether such a change is necessary.

The 2-to-1 written opinion follows a Sept. 9 order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The panel wrote that although the document requirement unquestionably hinders voter registration groups ahead of the November elections, there was precious little evidence of voter fraud by noncitizens, the problem the states said the measure is intended to fight.

The Kansas secretary of state had told the court that between 2003 and 2015 eighteen noncitizens had tried to or successfully registered to vote. Only one of them attempted to use the Federal Form, the judges wrote.

[Without conservative Supreme Court majority, voter-law challengers make gains]

U.S. Appeals Court Judges Judith W. Rogers and Stephen F. Williams granted a preliminary injunction Sept. 9 that told the states to process the federal voter applications filed since January as if documented proof of citizenship were not required.

Voting rights groups asked for the temporary halt to enforcement as they continued to challenge the document requirement in a case before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon.

Mondays opinion, which noted that voting rights groups probably would win their lawsuit at trial, likely is the final word before the Nov. 8 presidential election but sets up the legal battle over proof-of-citizenship laws for the 2018 federal elections.

Judge Rogerss opinion is flawed because it fails to address all of the statutory issues in this case, as well as a 1994 federal regulation, said Kansas Secretary of State Kris W. Kobach after the ruling on Monday. Kobach pointed to the dissent from U.S. Appeals Court Judge A. Raymond Randolph, who called the court order unconstitutional.

It is the States, and the States alone, who have the authority and the power to determine the eligibility of those who wish to vote in federal elections, Randolph wrote.

He added, Neither the Congress nor the President nor any federal commission and, most certainly, not two federal judges sitting in Washington, D.C. (or even eight or nine) have the authority to prevent Kansas, Georgia and Alabama from enforcing their laws in the upcoming federal elections.

[Appeals court strikes down proof-of-citizenship voting requirement in 3 states]

The decision came in a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters and other groups, which sued after what they called an unauthorized and unilateral decision on Jan. 29 by Brian D. Newby, executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to grant the three states requests to alter the federal registration form to incorporate state identification requirements.

Kansas is the only state enforcing a demand to show documentation such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers to register to vote in federal races, instead of allowing applicants to check a box, sign and swear under penalty of perjury that they are citizens.

In an unusual move, the Justice Department did not defend Newbys action, siding with voting rights groups and leaving it to outside parties, including Kansas, to intervene in court.

In Mondays opinion, the appeals court said that Newby acted unilaterally, without a vote by the four-member federal elections panel, and also without determining that the states request was necessary to enforce voter-qualification rules.

The groups that sued argued that citizens who lack documents tend to be poor, rural and African American, and the Supreme Court has said the federal form is meant to provide a backstop and guarantee a simple way to register to vote in federal elections  no matter what hurdles states impose.

[U.S. appeals court skeptical of proof-of-citizenship voting requirement in 3 states]

Permitting the states to dictate the contents of the Federal Form would undermine its role as a backstop, the two-judge majority wrote. The Commission, not the states, determines necessity.

If the proposed change to the Federal Form is necessary to enforce voter qualifications, then the [National Voter Registration Act] and probably the Constitution require its inclusion; if not, the NVRA does not permit its inclusion and the Constitution is silent, the judges said.
A 30-year-old woman was killed in a car crash Sunday evening in Montgomery County, police said.

At around 6:20 p.m., authorities responded to the area of Randolph Road and Denley Road in Wheaton for the report of a collision, Montgomery County police said in a statement.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a 2011 Hyundai Sonata driven by Michelle Renee Sears of District Heights was traveling southbound on Denley Road at Randolph Road while a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by 25-year-old Pedro Garcia Huerta of Silver Spring was traveling westbound on Randolph Road, the statement said.

The two cars collided for reasons that are still unclear, police said, and Sears was transported to a local hospital where she later died of her injuries. Huerta was not injured, according to police.

Police asked anyone with information about the collision to call them at 240-773-6620.
Phyllis Gray in 2005 after her third son, Carlos Phillips, was shot and killed. On Sept. 17, a fourth son, Alonzo Phillips, 31, was killed at a community barbecue in Southeast Washington. (Susan Biddle/The Washington Post)

The fourth time around, it doesnt get any easier to bury a son lost to gun violence.

Phyllis Gray is 53 and tired. Tired of the calls, tired of the funerals, tired of T-shirts with the faces of four dead sons. Tired of no justice.

She tried to lift her spirits a bit over the weekend with a new haircut, but, of course, it didnt help.

Justice is what I want, she told me, leaning against the fence outside her apartment building on a leafy street in Southeast Washington, where three young boys  like hers once were  played soccer on the small lawn.

For the fourth time in her life, Gray got the news that a son had been gunned down on a D.C. street.

Evidence markers are scattered around the crime scene on Birney Place in Southeast Washington, where two people were killed and seven others injured on Sept. 17. (Faiz Siddiqui/The Washington Post)

And as the nations elite  a president and a former president, billionaires, lawmakers and celebrities  gathered just a few miles away to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gray was stuck in a cycle all too familiar in her neighborhood.

Violence, silence. Violence, silence.

Over and over.

The first time she became a grieving mother was in February 2001, when her son Samuel Phillips, 23, was killed at a D.C. halfway house.

A suspect was arrested, but before his trial began in 2004, Gray got the call again. Samuels 21-year-old brother, Demetrius, one of the prosecutions witnesses, was killed. No one was convicted in either sons death, Gray said.

No justice.

[Woman loses a third son to violence]

A shoot out at Dorsey Day, an annual neighborhood block party at Barry Farm in Southeast Washington killed two men and wounded several others. (WUSA)

I met Gray the day before Thanksgiving 11 years ago, right after she received the same call a third time.

On a November night it was Carlos Phillips, 26, who was living in an apartment that his mom kept up for him because she said the father of nine was mentally disabled.

Again, for 11 years, there was no justice. And Gray kept working as a home health-care aide, and her remaining four children got older, finished school, gave her grandbabies.

And then the call came again this month.

It was her fourth son, Scorpio-Rodney Alonzo Phillips. He made it to age 31. Like his three dead brothers, hed gotten into trouble with the law. But for the past five years, hed been living a relatively quiet life. He worked as a landscaper, rooted for the Redskins and had a daughter who just started first grade.

On Sept. 17, he was at Dorsey Day, an annual neighborhood block party at Barry Farm, where there was barbecue, a bounce house and go-go bands.

About 8 p.m., when the party was going strong, two men pulled up, unloaded their guns into the crowd and sped off. Nine people were shot, two of them died.

[ D.C. barbecue disrupted by gun fire; residents ask why police werent there]

Still, no arrests. Do these black lives matter?

There will be a candlelight vigil for Phillips this week, but no protests. No outrage. Just resignation.

Its a complex problem, this persistent cycle of violence that plagues Americas poorest neighborhoods. The victims and shooters are mostly young black men.

Homicide rates may rise and fall  heck, D.C. went from 248 homicides in 2003 to 88 in 2012, then back up to 162 last year  but the rate at which they are solved stays relatively the same, which is about 60 percent nationwide.

And its that heartbreaking lack of closure that helps feed the cycle of mistrust and, sometimes, of people exacting their own form of street justice.

Violence, then silence, then violence again.

Detectives often struggle to solve crimes in places where mistrust for the police runs deep. Phyllis Gray knows the deadly repercussions of talking to police all too well, after one son was killed as he was about to testify about the death of another.

So the detectives ask questions, no one talks and no one is arrested, let alone convicted. And the lack of justice only deepens the divide between the community and those who are sworn to protect it.

In Southeast Washington, many people describe being hassled or harassed by officers. How does a community trust police who have pulled a son over a dozen times, but cant find his killer after that horrific call comes?

In Charlotte, in Baton Rouge, in Dallas, in Baltimore, in Ferguson, protesters demand accountability when a black man gets killed at the hands of police under questionable circumstances. And justifiably so.

But Phyllis Gray and mothers like her still want police to solve the killings of their sons. In their neighborhoods, black lives matter also means finding a way to end the cycle of violence, then silence.

Twitter: @petulad
The Confederate memorial statue, "Appomattox" at the intersection of S. Washington and Prince streets in Alexandria. (Dayna Smith/The Washington Post)

The mayor of Alexandria met with the president of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy for the first time last week, hoping to get her cooperation in moving a controversial Confederate statue from the middle of a busy Old Town intersection to the lawn of an adjacent historical museum.

But there is no sign that any such partnership will be forthcoming, and several state lawmakers say it is extremely unlikely that the City Councils Sept. 17 vote to evict the Appomattox statue from its 127-year-old post will be successful.

We shared our frankly different perspectives but in a cordial, friendly way, Mayor Allison Silberberg (D) said of her meeting with UDC chapter President Deborah Mullins. I respect her right to her opinion  I respect we have a different perspective on where the statue could be.

The mayor would not say whether Mullins agreed to move the seven-foot bronze of a southern-facing Confederate soldier, which is owned by the Southern heritage group but located on city land. Mullins, in an email, declined to comment.

In 2009, she told The Washington Post, Whats offensive to me might not be offensive to you, and vice versa. Everybody should be able to celebrate their heritage. This week, she referred calls to the national headquarters of the organization, whose president, Pamela Trammell, did not return messages left for her.

A sign on the the statue titled Appomattox calls the Alexandria City Council cowards. The council voted Sept. 17 to try to relocate the statue. (Linda Kramer Jenning /For The Washington Post )

But the groups cooperation is just the first problem the city would have to solve to accomplish its goal of moving the monument, which the council voted to do on the same day it decided to rename the Alexandria portion of Jefferson Davis Highway.

[Alexandria will seek to move Confederate soldier statue]

Virginia law prohibits municipalities from moving war monuments or memorials. To move the statue, the city would have to get that law changed or rescinded  an unlikely prospect in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, which tried this year to strengthen the existing prohibition, only to have that bill vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D).

Alexandria officials said they will include a proposal to modify or eliminate the ban as part of their formal legislative package, which is typically completed in late November. But lawmakers who represent the city are not optimistic about the chances of moving the statue to the lawn of the Lyceum, Alexandrias history museum, which is located on the same corner. The lawn is also owned by the city.

I dont think its a viable proposal, unless the Daughters of the Confederacy are willing to stand up and testify. I think its a non-starter, said state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria).

A spokesman for House Majority Leader William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said it would be difficult to predict how the citys request would fare before the legislature.

The Appomattox statue has long been a source of controversy in this town, which was occupied by Union troops the day after Virginia seceded. Reportedly based on a drawing of an unarmed Confederate soldier observing the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, the statue depicts a soldier facing south, head bowed in deep contemplation.

It was erected in 1889, at the site where a local regiment mustered to beat a hasty retreat just ahead of the Union occupation, and was intended to honor the local Confederate war dead. About 100 names are inscribed on its granite base.

In 1890, the United Confederate Veterans persuaded the legislature to pass a law that said that the monument shall perpetually remain as at present erected and located at the intersection of Prince and Washington Streets . . . [it] shall not be repealed, revoked, altered, modified, or changed by any future council or other municipal power or authority.

When a drunk motorist smashed into the statue and toppled it 98 years later, residents were divided about whether it should be restored.

Former City Council member Nelson E. Greene Sr., a black community leader, said at the time that the city should not re-erect the statue, and should view the accident as a sign that the Lord works in mysterious ways.

[From the archives: Wreck topples Old Town bone of contention]

Do you reckon that theyll put it back? one Lyceum volunteer asked another, according a 1988 Washington Post article about the accident.

They better, the reply came. Theyll have an uprising if they dont.

That person was right. A few months later, the City Council voted to restore the statue. The city also built a median strip on Washington Street, south of the statue, to guide traffic around it.

Last year, there was a fatal shooting of nine people at a historic African American church in Charleston, S.C. The man charged with the killing was earlier photographed with a Confederate flag. In the months since, states and municipalities throughout the nation have been reexamining their Confederate memorials.

In Alexandria, the council banned the flying of the Rebel flags by the city, which had been a tradition on Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lees birthday.

Feelings about the councils latest decision remained raw last week. City clerk Jackie Henderson said the council had received a couple dozen phone calls and about 100 emails. Early Wednesday, someone posted a handwritten sign on the Appomattox statue that said: Alexandria City Council Cowards!
Pocahontas Island is a peninsula located within the city limits of Petersburg, Va., and it is said to be one of the oldest black communities in the United States. Richard Stewart, the unofficial mayor of the town, has dedicated his life and earnings to preserve what he calls a "very sacred place." (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

He roams from house to house along the quiet streets of this little neighborhood, giving voice to its history and spirits. The collection of modest homes, tucked between an empty lumber factory and an abandoned rail yard, doesnt look like a rare and haunted place.

But in Richard Stewarts eyes, Pocahontas Island is alive with an unexpectedly dramatic past. Using a black magic marker, Stewart scrawls the words of 12 generations of ancestors on old porch rails, doorways and window frames.

Aint no looking back master Im at the promised land.

1861-65 we were called black confederate

Nat Turner father sold less than a mile from here

Pocahontas Island  70 acres in the middle of the Appomattox River next to downtown Petersburg  is home to one of the oldest African American communities in the United States. Pocahontas became a town in 1752, a center of tobacco trade and, later, shipping and railroads. White people lived here, too, but the community always had African Americans at its heart.

The richness of the soil and its history  cant no money replace that. This is my holy land, Stewart said. This is my place.

A retired federal worker, Stewart, 72, has used his pension and a little family money to buy several properties on Pocahontas Island and create a homespun historical park. Its solitary, back-breaking work. He cuts the grass, patches walls, even reframes collapsed roofs. He installed a Black History Museum in one of his houses, and he painted the others in eye-catching colors, festooning them with flags to catch attention.



Richard Stewart is the proprietor of the Pocahontas Island Black History Museum on Pocahontas Island, Va. On display are these shackles that were used during the slave trade years in nearby Petersburg, Va. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

If his work seems a little frantic, thats because Stewart is trying to capture something even well-funded museums struggle to conjure: the soul of a place. Pocahontas Island is significant not just because its old, but for its connections to the Revolutionary War, the slave rebellions of the early 1800s, the Underground Railroad and the Civil War.

You may have a museum in Washington D.C., Stewart said, but we are on natural ground. We are on land where slaves walked, where abolitionists walked. This is our native land.

A place of self-reliance

Stewart grew up here when it was still full of life, and he swam in the river and played Civil War in the woods. He was orphaned by age 16, but others on the island looked out for him. He left to work for the military and civil service, but always came back. As the neighbors got older, some gave him discounts to buy their property, with the understanding that he would take care of it. So, it became his lifes work.

[Thurgood Marshalls interracial love: I dont care what people think. Im marrying you.]

And along the way, he absorbed stories.

One of his ancestors, Charles Stewart, was profiled in an 1884 edition of Harpers Monthly magazine under the headline, My Life as a Slave. Richard Stewart tells how Charles, who had money because he was a champion horse trainer, went to Richmond to buy a wife for $350.

After four years, Betsey Dandridge had borne him three children and done untold amounts of laundry and cooking. But Charles grew frustrated that she wouldnt give up voodoo, Richard Stewart said. So he took her back to Richmond, sold her  and the children  for $350 and used the money to buy a horse. Betsey and the children wound up somewhere in Chesterfield County, but Richard Stewart doesnt know their fates.

Slaves and free blacks lived side by side on Pocahontas Island, which was a port on the Appomattox before joining the city of Petersburg. It became an island after a canal was built in the late 1700s. Today, its more of a peninsula, as the main channel of the river clogged after a flood in the early 1970s.

Petersburg was one of the busiest slave markets in the old South, but it also had one of the highest concentrations of free blacks, attracted by jobs and by the presence of a community of their own. For a time, in the spirit of liberty after the Revolutionary War, a few planters freed their slaves.

And Pocahontas Island was where many went to live. That means history has played out here from an African American point of view from before the Revolution until today.

It is an active African American community that has direct ties to that period of not only Petersburg but Virginia history, and by extension the nations history, said Louis Malon of the nonprofit Preservation Virginia, which plans to catalog sites on the island beginning this month. In 2014, the organization listed Pocahontas Island as one of the most endangered historic sites in the state.

About 50 houses, one chapel and a community center are laid out on five streets. The population is down to roughly 60 people, from a high of several hundred in the mid-20th century, and all the stores and businesses are gone. The only brick building is the Jarrett House, built in 1810 and once home to a free black woman and her children. The city of Petersburg bought it and has stabilized it, but is mired in budget woes, so restoration is on hold.

Richmond writer and entrepreneur Free Egunfemidiscovered Pocahontas Island when researching her familys history, and has become a passionate advocate, writing articles in a local news blog.

It is a place, Egunfemi said, of self-reliance and black freedom.

Stress of slavery

The rooms of Stewarts history museum are crammed with too much for the eye to take in. He has slave shackles, countless pictures and artifacts dug up from nearby yards: a dolls head, iron locks, bottles, shells. The 1860 sheet music for the Virginia Polka by Tom the Blind Negro Boy Pianist sits next to a one-year contract to hire a slave in 1836. And all of it is papered with hand-lettered signs, some listing rolls of blacks who fought in the Revolution or even for the Confederacy.

Outside, Stewart has bought the small house next door, which he said was built in the early 1800s by a mixed-race man whose white mother sold him into slavery as a child because she couldnt be seen with him. Stewart painted it pink and yellow and covered it with words and pictures related to Nat Turner.

At least one man who helped Turners bloody slave rebellion in 1831 in nearby Southampton County hid, for a time, in the woods on Pocahontas Island, Stewart said.



An ode to Nat Turner is on the old William Walthall house that was built in 1837 to 1838. It may have turned into a secret hiding place for fugitive slaves during the time of the Underground Railroad. Richard Stewart owns the house now. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Folks here provided him food, he said.

This is the kind of detail of history thats hard to prove. Stewart has the word of older generations, but not much was documented in any formal way.

Across the street stands an empty duplex wrapped in faux-stone composite paper. Stewart doesnt own this house, but he watches over it nonetheless. According to city records, the house was built in 1809, and according to local lore, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Look up under here, Stewart said on a visit, pointing to a hole in the homes foundation. This will give you an idea what the Underground Railroad was like. Below the house is a dirt-floored crawl space, unusual for this area, and just high enough for an adult to stand upright. Even more striking: a brick fireplace, directly beneath the main fireplace of the home. Soot still stains the bricks from where someone  a runaway slave?  once made fires.

Some of the islands landmarks remain in memory only. Where the empty lumber factory stands was once a home that belonged to Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who ran a small fishing business while cutting hair in Petersburg. He left in 1829  the state had appropriated money to send blacks back to Africa, Stewart said. In 1847, Roberts became the first elected president of Liberia. Pocahontas Island used to hold an annual festival in his honor.

[He tried to check out a Robert E. Lee book from the library. He got jailed instead.]

Stewart talks about slavery in an offhand way that can seem jarring. He credits his stature and strong build to what many regard as the myth of selective breeding. In colorful terms, he tells how mixed-race children were sent to live on the island: We had a lot of out-of-wedlock mulattos over here. You might have seen a child walking along over here white as snow, and [the] mama walking along dark as a bag of coal.

His stories have a way of making a troubling past seem disconcertingly close. And to Stewart, it is.



Stewart grew up on Pocahontas Island when it was still full of life, and he swam in the river and played Civil War in the woods. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

When he looks at the issues of today  racial tensions, police shootings, economic disparities  he sees their roots in the post-traumatic stress of slavery. Emancipation was left unfinished. Families who never accumulated wealth or property had nothing to pass down to their children, who could never break the cycle of poverty.

The post-traumatic stress of slavery did not leave you any generational wealth, he said, and thats whats wrong with America, in my opinion.

I see the spirits

In 1993, Pocahontas Island was devastated by a tornado that also destroyed significant parts of downtown Petersburg. Two good things came of it, Stewart said: College students and other outsiders descended on the neighborhood to help it clean up. And an old junkyard was cleared away.

Previous owners, he said, had prohibited locals from cutting through the junkyard to get to the Appomattox River, where Stewart grew up playing under the trestles of a bridge that Robert E. Lee once crossed on his way to Richmond.

I told God if I ever got a chance to buy this property, theyd never deny my people going to the river again, Stewart said. So when I got the chance, I bought it.



The home of William N. Stevens, who was born in 1850 to a Petersburg, Va., family that had been free for three or four generations. The home is now owned by Richard Stewart, the proprietor of the Pocahontas Island Black History Museum. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

On slow days  most days  Stewart likes to walk on the path along the riverbank. He takes stock of his property, and worries about the work still ahead. At his age, he said, hes running out of energy. He doesnt know whether Pocahontas Islands traditions will survive beyond him.

But he tells himself hes done everything he could. Your history is here. Its living. Its American history, thats whats here, he said. I walk the nature trail and look at Pocahontas and see the spirits of yesterday. I know I sound crazy. I see the spirits of yesterday, and they speak to me and tell me Im doing all right.
This house on Witten Street may have been used to hide fugitive slaves during the era of the Underground Railroad. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Lots of old neighborhoods make the claim: See that house? It was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

So much mythology has grown up around the subject  such as the debunked idea that railroaders communicated via symbols sewn onto quilts  that scholars are skeptical of most claims. Especially in the South, where it was too dangerous for any one place to be used repeatedly.

One of the primary attractions on Pocahontas Island is a home with just such a reputation. The community, founded in 1752, is one of the oldest African American settlements in the country. Underground Railroad tour groups from many states have visited for a look.

[One mans quest to preserve the haunting black history on Pocahontas Island]

But is the empty, two-residence home at 215 Witten Street the real deal?

Cassandra Newby-Alexander, a professor at Norfolk State University who has researched efforts to free slaves in Virginia, was doubtful when told of the claim.

I would be very surprised if there were any houses at all in the South that you could identify as providing havens for enslaved people trying to escape through the Underground Railroad, she said.

Pocahontas Island, though, has some points in its favor. First, Petersburg - where the island is located  was a hotbed of slaves seeking freedom. An authoritative history of the Underground Railroad published in 1872 by William Still, who was instrumental in running the operation in Philadelphia, is packed with references to slaves fleeing through Petersburg for New England and Canada.

One of the most famous cases was known as the Keziah Affair, in which five slaves who escaped from Petersburg were found hidden on the schooner Keziah after it ran aground in the Appomattox River in 1858. Local tradition has it that those slaves left from Pocahontas Island.

And the privately owned house on Witten Street has some intriguing features that make the Underground Railroad connection seem plausible. It has a dirt-floored, six-foot-deep crawl space, a feature most nearby homes lack. And there is a fireplace down there, directly beneath the homes main fireplace, so smoke wouldnt seem suspicious.

Newby-Alexander acknowledged that those features could indicate the home was used, at least once, to hide someone running for freedom. I would say that sounds interesting, she said.

Louis Malon, of the nonprofit group Preservation Virginia, is familiar with the house and is reasonably convinced.

I think its pretty well accepted, he said. Theres a lot of good evidence but very little written record that would support it. But [the evidence] would certainly lead one to conclude that it was a stop if not a terminus on the Underground Railroad.
The medical team encircled Mackenzie Hilds bed, their somber expressions reflecting the gravity of the news they were about to impart to the Harvard sophomore and her mother, newly arrived from California.

Weve done all these tests, and theyre all normal, Hild recalls one doctor at the renowned Boston hospital telling them. To treat Hilds life-threatening weight loss, which the 19-year-old claimed was the result of searing abdominal pain triggered by eating, doctors were sending her to an inpatient center specializing in eating disorders.

Medical Mysteries is a monthly column recounting the diagnosis of a puzzling medical case. (Cam Cottrill for The Washington Post)

Hild, who at 5-foot-3 then weighed 75 pounds, remembers weeping as she tried to explain that she didnt have anorexia. She desperately wanted to eat, she insisted, but couldnt.

I didnt know how to convince them this is not in my head, recalled Hild of the September 2010 encounter. And the more I tried to convince them, the crazier I sounded.

For the next five years, Hild would repeatedly confront the erroneous belief that her pain, which began soon after eating or drinking and lasted about four hours, was the result of stress, perfectionism, attention-seeking or just plain hunger. There were times I wasnt sure myself, she said.

Exhaustive testing and treatment at several of the nations most prominent hospitals failed to uncover a physical explanation. Removing her gallbladder didnt help. For five years  while attending college, during two summers working on Navajo reservations and a 10-month fellowship in South Africa  Hild was kept alive by a feeding tube. She tried to avoid focusing on what seemed a near-impossibility: an explanation for the relentless pain and a treatment that would vanquish it.

Last year, an extraordinary confluence of events would make both a reality.

The catalyst was a chance meeting between Hilds parents and a medical school professor on a remote hiking trail in Californias Sierra Nevada.

Intrigued by Hilds case, he asked a fourth-year medical student to review it. The tenacious student zeroed in on an overlooked clue buried in Hilds voluminous file, then reached out to a surgeon in Chicago. In March 2015, the surgeon performed the 2 -hour operation that restored Hilds life.

Mackenzie Hild suffered with excruciating abdominal pain for 5 years. Hilds weight plummeted to 75 pounds and she had to be fed through a tube before doctors reached the right diagnosis. (The Washington Post)

Drug reaction?

Since childhood, Hild, now 26 and a second-year medical student at the University of Washington in Seattle, wanted to work in Africa as a doctor. In the summer of 2009 before entering Harvard, Hild spent three months at a rural clinic in Uganda. Within days of her arrival, her stomach began to hurt after she ate. Hild, who lost 15 pounds, suspected that an antimalarial drug was responsible.

Back home in rural Nevada City, Calif., and off the drug, the pain lessened but did not disappear. Because of Hilds travel history, she was tested for parasites. Tests were negative and she regained the lost weight. She spent the following summer in Rwanda working with HIV patients as part of the medical aid group Partners in Health.

When she got off the plane in August 2010, Hilds family was shocked. Always thin, she had lost 35 pounds  more than a third of her body weight  a consequence of stomach pain that had worsened dramatically. Doctors again tested her for numerous tropical diseases and she underwent a thorough work-up for HIV as well as serious digestive disorders, including Crohns disease. All tests were negative.

Mackenzie Hild, 26, a medical student who spent this past summer in Kenya, said her ordeal has given her a totally different perspective on medicine and a new level of empathy. (Courtesy of Mackenzie Hild)

At school, her health worsened. A few weeks into her sophomore year, she went to the student health center. They said, Youre too skinny, were putting you in an ambulance, Hild said, recalling her admission to the Boston hospital.

After her confrontation with the medical team, Hild spent nearly a month in a unit for people with eating disorders. Despite intense pain, she managed to gain nearly 20 pounds. She took a medical leave and spent the year at home, seeing doctors in a futile attempt to determine the cause of the stabbing pain right below her diaphragm, which was accompanied by bouts of nausea.

In the spring of 2011, the pain was so debilitating that Hild opted for a feeding tube that snaked up her nose, down her throat, through her stomach and into her small intestine. Doctors hoped it would allow her gut to rest and enable her to resume eating.

When her weight reached 105 pounds, doctors approved her return to Harvard. I loved college, and I was desperate to go back, Hild said. But there was still no answer. And I was getting 100 percent of my nutrition delivered through my nose.

After months of tube feeding, her Boston gastroenterologist, who had ruled out anorexia, grew concerned that her stomach might start to atrophy. He urged her to consume small amounts, such as a few sips of a high-calorie nutritional drink, several times a week.

I would eat at 8 p.m. and for the next four hours would lie on my bed in a fetal position, she recalled. The feeding tube also caused repeated sinus infections and frequent hoarseness.

Hild was determined not to let her condition rule her life. She carried a full course load, did volunteer work with the homeless and had supportive friends who included her in their plans. In a nod to her major, Hild approached not eating as an anthropology experiment.

I got used to explaining it, she said, adding that it was amazing how much of college revolves around eating.

In May 2012, San Francisco surgeons replaced her feeding tube with a less conspicuous one implanted in her abdomen. They also removed Hilds gallbladder. The pain was undiminished.

Hild pictured with adults and children in Kenya this past summer. Despite her illness, Hild managed to graduate from Harvard, spend two summers working on Indian reservations and volunteered in South Africa. (Courtesy of Mackenzie Hild)

Hild spent the next two summers doing medical work on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. She saw a world-famous GI expert at a major medical center in the Midwest and spent a week there undergoing a regimen to speed digestion; it didnt help. I had high hopes that this would be the answer, she recalled. She began taking a new drug that enabled her to better manage the pain and nausea. I began to think that maybe someday Id get my stomach back.

Hild had always planned to take a year off before medical school and was eager to return to Africa. I sat down with my doctors [in Boston] and said, Which countries would you let me go to? They looked at me like I was crazy and then said, Okay, South Africa.  Her gastroenterologist helped arrange care for her with a specialist he knew in Cape Town. She departed a few days after her May 2014 graduation to work on a maternal mortality project in the impoverished townships.

A few months later, the serendipitous meeting that changed her life would take place more than 10,000 miles away.

Extraordinary coincidence

In August, Hilds parents struck up a conversation with a fellow hiker on a backcountry trail in the Sierras. He turned out to be a doctor at the University of California at San Francisco who specializes in advocating for patients with complex cases. The Hilds mentioned Mackenzie, and the doctor asked if he and a colleague might contact her. They were teaching a course on medical advocacy, and her case sounded promising.

Over the next few months, the doctors, along with student Jessica Gould, held a series of Skype chats with Hild.

I was flabbergasted that Mackenzie was so accomplished and so graceful despite her illness, recalled Gould, 29, now a family medicine resident at the University of California at Davis. And I remember feeling completely and totally intimidated. She had been seen by some of the top experts at some of the top hospitals in the country. What could I as a fourth-year medical student possibly offer?

With her professors, Gould devised a series of questions that would guide the inquiry. She then spent 50 hours chasing down leads, gathering thousands of pages of records from several hospitals and scouring medical databases.

Early on, Gould typed postprandial abdominal pain (pain after eating) into a medical search engine. One of the hits was a condition called MALS  median arcuate ligament syndrome. First described a century ago, MALS occurs when a band of connective tissue called the median arcuate ligament, which extends from the base of the diaphragm and crosses over the aorta, compresses the celiac artery, which supplies blood to the stomach and other organs.

While such compression is common  between 10 and 20 percent of the population has this anatomical variation  only 1 percent develop severe abdominal pain. A leading theory is that compression restricts normal blood flow to the digestive organs. Rapid weight loss or illness appears to be a trigger; MALS overwhelmingly affects females, sometimes young children. It is a diagnosis of exclusion based on symptoms and imaging, made after other disorders, including anorexia, have been ruled out.

Surgery to relieve the compression alleviates pain in 70 percent of cases, experts say, but there is no definitive way to tell who will benefit. Some doctors remain skeptical of the diagnosis.

Gould had never heard of MALS, but was struck by the similarities to Hilds symptoms. I thought, Oh, my gosh, this is what she has.  She soon discovered that MALS had been ruled out years earlier.

A few months later, after hitting multiple dead ends, Gould, at a professors suggestion, decided to take a second look. She emailed three prominent experts asking about testing required to check for MALS. The only response was from Christopher Skelly, chief of vascular surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Skelly agreed to review Hilds case. It did look like she had MALS, he said, after examining images from earlier tests that appeared to contradict the written report ruling it out.

During a January 2015 phone call, Skelly told Hild that he thought she had MALS and that surgery might help. She would need to meet with him and undergo additional testing as well as a psychiatric evaluation Skelly requires of all patients before surgery. And, he cautioned, the operation might not reduce her pain.

Skelly, who heads Chicagos MALS program and has operated on more than 200 patients, said he was struck by Hilds resilience. The psychological effects of dealing with chronic abdominal pain are really difficult, he said. Mackenzies ability to adapt and cope was amazing.

Hild was euphoric at the prospect of a diagnosis after six years of misery  and five years on a feeding tube. I made this crazy, spontaneous decision to fly to Chicago as soon as he could see me, she said. Four weeks later, testing confirmed Skellys suspicion. An earlier CT scan had been performed incorrectly, producing a false negative result.

My first reaction was complete disbelief, Hild recalled. I couldnt believe so many doctors had missed this. And I was just so happy to have an answer.

She underwent surgery March 18. The next day, Hild ate a spoonful of hospital scrambled eggs  and waited. When she felt no pain, she burst into tears. Hild battled weeks of postoperative nausea, which dissipated as her stomach grew accustomed to eating. Her pain has not returned.

Hild spent the summer in Kenya working on a clinical trial for the prevention of tuberculosis. I even gained two pounds, she said. She believes her ordeal has given her a totally different perspective on medicine and a new level of empathy I dont think I could have gotten any other way.

Gould, whom Hild calls her hero, said she is still surprised that her role as a mere med student was so pivotal. I think theres something to be said for an outside eye, she said.

1 of 26 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The case files: Medical mysteries View Photos From a daily afternoon fever to a debilitating reaction to chemotherapy, heres a look at perplexing medical mystery cases. Caption From a daily afternoon fever to a debilitating reaction to chemotherapy, heres a look at perplexing medical mystery cases. Doctors were stumped by this 2-year-old boys symptoms. He had swollen thumbs, bleeding gums and anemia. He cried whenever anyone touched his legs. Doctors were running out of time. Read the case Cam Cottrill/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Submit your solved medical mystery to sandra.boodman@washpost.com. No unsolved cases, please. Read previous mysteries at wapo.st/medicalmysteries.

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California

Teen, 2 others arrested in triple homicide

Fullerton police have arrested three people, including a 17-year-old, in connection with a triple homicide at a residence from which a teenage girl was reported missing and considered at risk, authorities said Sunday.

The suspects and family are known to each other, Sgt. Jon Radus told reporters at a news conference. This is not a random act of violence.

Two suspects were identified as Josh Acosta, 21, of Fort Irwin, and Frank Felix, 25, of Sun Valley. The juvenile was not identified.

Radus would not say whether the juvenile was Katlynn Goodwill Yost, 17, whom police had identified as the missing person. But police did say that the teenager had been located.

The homicide victims were identified as Christopher Yost, 34; Jennifer Goodwill Yost, 39, who is the mother of Katlynn; and Arthur William Boucher, 28, a friend who occasionally stayed with the family.

Police did not say how the victims were killed.

 Associated Press

Nevada

One dead in shooting at Las Vegas Starbucks

One person is dead after a shooting at a Las Vegas Starbucks, and the police are searching for suspicious devices among the suspects belongings.

Police said in a briefing that two people were arguing Sunday inside the coffee shop and that one shot the other.

Authorities said the victim was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

One person at the scene was detained.

 Associated Press

Iowa

Residents evacuate ahead of flooding

Residents were leaving low-lying areas of Cedar Rapids, adhering to a request by authorities to clear out by 8 p.m. Sunday because of the risk of flooding from the Cedar River.

The river crested Saturday night in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, which are about 55 miles upstream from Cedar Rapids, Iowas second-largest city with about 130,000 people.

The water levels in Cedar Falls and Waterloo were slightly lower than had been expected, but they still reached levels that were second only to those in 2008, when a major flood devastated the region.

The National Weather Service predicted that the river would crest at 23 feet in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday morning. Officials asked those living in about 5,000 downtown homes near the river to evacuate. They said it could be days before people would be able to return home.

The Cedar Rapids school district said it is canceling classes through Wednesday.

 Associated Press

1 dead, 11 hurt in tour bus crash: The California Highway Patrol said one passenger was killed and 11 were injured when a tour bus carrying students from China hit a tree near Yosemite National Park and went down an embankment. The Fresno Bee reported that the highway patrol said Sunday that the Chinese tourist who died was one of four passengers with serious injuries. The highway patrol said 22 people were on the bus that crashed Saturday near the tiny village of Fish Camp. Most were 12- to 15-year-old students and their adult chaperons.

Semi driver flees police with 2 kids: A man driving a tractor trailer with his two children inside fled police officers, totaled four cars and eventually tried to run away with the kids, said police in Daytona Beach, Fla. They said Matthew Berthel, 30, initially smashed his semi into three cars Saturday. Berthel was arrested on child endangerment and other charges.

 Associated Press
When we discuss community vitality, very often were talking about a lively Main Street, statistics about housing starts, and the overall business climate. Today we are considering another essential element of a flourishing community: the nonprofit sector.

Helena is home to several hundred nonprofit organizations. We sometimes hear people laughingly say you can't walk down the street without tripping over a nonprofit. In fact, excluding churches, who aren't required to file a tax form, there are 273 Helena nonprofits with annual incomes exceeding $1,000. In 2014, 187 Helena nonprofits were employers -- putting 4,319 men and women to work and directly contributing almost $477 million to the local economy.

And what a mighty contribution they make, both economically and to the quality of life that draws people to Helena.

Consider open space, clean streams, hiking and bike paths, and the fairgrounds -- all supported by nonprofits. Helena is one of the best arts communities in the country: the Archie Bray, the Clay Arts Guild, the Myrna Loy Center, the Holter, Grandstreet Theatre and Queen City Ballet are all nonprofit gems in our town.

Think about how Helena takes care of our most vulnerable: Florence Crittenton, Helena Industries, Intermountain, Food Share, Angel Fund, Head Start, Youth Homes, Career Training Institute, and more.

Many Helena nonprofits are a force for good statewide and beyond: Indian Law Resource Center, Disability Rights Montana, Montana Wilderness Association, Carroll College, the Montana Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Rural Employment Opportunities.

Nonprofits are so much a part of our lives we almost take them for granted. But we ought not to. Montanas nonprofit sector needs thoughtful care and attention every bit as much as our environment, business climate or social infrastructure. In the same way that our lands and watersheds are a resource, so too is the nonprofit community -- contributing in an essential way to our well-being and the quality of life we enjoy in Montana. And, like any other resource we value, we have a responsibility to be stewards -- both now and for the future.

Fifteen years ago, the Montana Nonprofit Association (MNA) was founded by a group of citizens and leaders who saw the wisdom of an organization whose sole focus would be the strength of Montanas nonprofit sector. Today, MNA is 700 members strong.

Thousands of nonprofit staff members, volunteers and board members have availed themselves of MNAs management and leadership training in the last decade. Nonprofit organizations have saved millions of dollars through MNA programs -- money that was redirected toward mission achievement. Today, through the efforts of MNA and many others -- nonprofits have more partnerships, resources and support than ever before, all for the benefit of communities large and small across the state.

On Sept. 28-29, 400 nonprofit leaders from more than 50 Montana communities will gather in Helena for MNAs annual conference. During that time we will celebrate MNAs 15th Anniversary. We hope you will share in our thanks and appreciation for the hundreds of thousands of Montanans engaged as nonprofit volunteers, board members, donors, advisers and staff.

We also recognize thanks are not enough. Lets double down to preserve and strengthen Montanas nonprofit sector, which serves as the fabric of our communities, yet often goes unnoticed. We can fulfill our responsibility as stewards in so many ways in addition to volunteerism and philanthropy. We can ensure our elected officials tangibly support the work of nonprofits. We can engage our children in volunteerism and service learning.

Together, we can increase understanding and awareness the role nonprofits play in our economy and in our communitys vitality. And we can speak out when civic action or civil discourse are threatened. All of these are essential to a thriving nonprofit sector.

More than anything else, nonprofits are a response to societal issues and a reflection of what we want for ourselves and our neighbors. Our lives and those of people we care about are better because of nonprofit endeavors. Lets do everything we can to ensure our states future is rich with possibility by taking care of the extraordinary resource we call Montanas nonprofit sector.

Liz Moore is the executive director of the Montana Nonprofit Association, and Russ Cargo is a Montana Nonprofit Association board member and CEO of Helena Industries. Montana Nonprofit Association is located in Helena and can be reached at 406-449-3717.
In his final appearance before the U.N. General Assembly a few days ago, President Obama didnt have much to say about the civil war between Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his enemies.

Theres no ultimate military victory to be won, he said, and so the United States would pursue the hard work of diplomacy that aims to stop the violence, and deliver aid to those in need, and support those who pursue a political settlement.

Then he moved on to other matters.

Given that Syria is his greatest humanitarian and strategic failure, where even as he spoke his latest diplomatic initiative was about to collapse, the brevity wasnt surprising.

But, Obama being Obama, you can be sure he had given the issue a lot more thought than his few words would indicate. And if hed been thinking aloud, heres what you might have heard:

Of course Kerrys latest peace deal will collapse. Vladimir Putin is winning, why should he stick to a deal? And even if Putin wants to play nice, why would Assad go along? Hes winning, too  if he wants to destroy the last human beings in Aleppo, whos going to stop him?

So is it unfair to keep letting John head out on these doomed missions? Year after year, he promises to get a deal and swears well move to Plan B if the Syrians or Russians renege. Time after time, they double-cross him, and he goes back for more. There is no Plan B, because I wont approve a Plan B.

But John gets praised for his tirelessness. And we all look like were trying. If I can just pull it off one more time, the whole mess will be Hillarys. Or, God forbid, the other guys.

The truth is, no one should want Assad gone, as odious as he is. I cant say that aloud, of course, since I got roped into pronouncing him finished years ago. Yes, hes a mass murderer and a torturer. Hes even showing me up by using chemical weapons again after Vladimir and I supposedly solved that problem. The chlorine loophole.

But whats the alternative? The moderate opposition? Dont make me laugh. Maybe I shouldnt have mocked them as farmers or teachers or pharmacists, but honestly  al-Qaeda or ISIS would waltz into Damascus if Assad went down.

Oh, I know what Hillary would say. If I had listened to her back in 2011 and 2012  and to Petraeus, and Panetta, and the rest of them  the moderate force would be stronger now. We should have trained them and carved out safe spaces for them and given them a chance against Assad. John tried the same argument on me when he started. He thought he could give it a new spin and sucker me in where Hillary had failed.

Well, I know what the I-told-you-so crowd is saying. I wouldnt go for it, because I worried that if we sent troops terrorism would spread, the country would fall apart, youd get millions of refugees and even Russia might get involved. So we didnt get involved, and, yes: Terrorism spread, the country fell apart, you got millions of refugees, and Russia got involved. And, yes, all of Europe is unstable because of Syria.

President Obama at the 71st annual U.N. General Assembly in New York last Tuesday. (Peter Foley/Via Bloomberg)

But you know what? It could have been worse. You could have had all these bad things happen  hundreds of thousands killed, half the country driven from their homes  and U.S. troops in the middle of it all. Thats the Bush way. I protected us from that.

So now its Putins problem. Is that so bad? Maybe it hasnt turned into a quagmire for him yet, like I said it would, but wait. Syria isnt finished with him yet.

And what will the next president do? Theres a reason youre not hearing ideas from either of them. No-fly zones? A little late for that, with Russian air-defense systems blanketing the country. Safe zones? Whos going to keep them safe? Bad enough that Im having to do an LBJ in Iraq, sending troops back in 500 at a time.

It looks bad, I get that. I hate the whole mess. Id rather talk about climate change or Burma or even Ukraine, for Gods sake. And, yes, a generation from now some president may travel to whatevers left of Aleppo and express remorse, like Ive done in Laos and Hiroshima and everywhere else.

Thats fine. Comes with the territory. I just hope they understand this much: It always looks easier in hindsight. There was no obvious right answer. Sometimes civil wars just have to burn themselves out.

Now, wheres John? I just need him to buy me four more months. Four more months, and its somebody elses problem from hell.

Read more from Fred Hiatts archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
In the 2004 presidential debates, most critics declared then-Sen. John F. Kerry the winner over President George W. Bush  and by Oxford debating rules, they were right. But the truth is Kerry lost the debates because he was the only candidate on stage who made a damaging gaffe  declaring any U.S. decision on the use of force must pass a global test  that haunted him going into the final weeks of the campaign.

Bush quickly turned the Democratic nominees comment into an ad, and the global test immediately became a staple of Bushs stump speech. In the debate. . . . he said that America has to pass a global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves, Bush said. I have a different view. When our country is in danger, its not the presidents job to take an international poll. Its the presidents job is to defend this country. Kerry was put on the defensive, trying to explain his comment. (The test I was talking about is a test of legitimacy  not just in the globe, but elsewhere, he said during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. ) As the saying goes, if youre explaining you are losing  and lose Kerry did a few weeks later.

The lesson is that the candidate who wins a presidential debate is not necessarily the better debater  its the one who avoids saying something their opponent can seize on to make voters question their fitness for the Oval Office.

Whenever presidential debate season comes around, we love to recall the memorable lines  such as Ronald Reagans famous declaration that he would not make age and issue in this campaign and exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth and inexperience. But in truth, the zingers are few are far between, while devastating debate gaffes are plentiful.

In 1976, President Ford looked completely out of his depth when he declared during a debate with Jimmy Carter that Poland was independent, autonomous of the Soviet Union (which was news to Poles trapped behind the Iron Curtain). When challenged, Ford refused to admit his mistake: There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration. Any advantage he had on national security evaporated.

These six moments from the 2016 primary debates have the context you need before you see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump go head-to-head in the first general election debate Sept. 26 (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Then in 1980, it was President Carters turn to cede national security to his opponent, when he declared I had a discussion with my daughter, Amy, the other day, before I came here, to ask her what the most important issue was. She said she thought nuclear weaponry  and the control of nuclear arms. Consulting his 12-year-old daughter on nuclear weapons made Carter look weak  and Reagan exploited that weakness.

Gaffes are most devastating when they seem to confirm a negative impression of the candidate. In 1988, Michael Dukakis was seen as wooden and stilted, so when he was asked If Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?  and replied with a dispassionate, monotone defense of his opposition to the death penalty  voters cringed.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush was battling the impression that he was out of touch with the struggles of ordinary citizens. His unspoken gaffe was to look down at his wrist to check the time just as a woman asked how candidates could relate to the economic hardships facing the average American.

In 2012, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was battling the impression that his command of the issues was less than deep, when he announced that he planned to shut down three government agencies as president . . . and forgot the third one. Oops, he said. He was done.

The challenge for the candidates Monday night, then, is not to get in that memorable zinger, which is often hard to pull off  as Hillary Clinton learned in 2008, when she tried to hit Barack Obama for plagiarizing the speeches of then-Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick (Lifting whole passages from someone elses speeches is not change you can believe in, its change you can Xerox, Clinton declared to boos from the audience).

Rather, the challenge Monday night is for both candidates to avoid disqualifying mistakes. Trumps advantage going in is that he has already made a number of gaffes that might have destroyed other candidates, but have left him relatively unscarred. So the threshold for what can hurt him is relatively high.

Clinton, by contrast, needs to avoid doing anything that confirms voters concerns about her health and her honesty. Polls show that less than 40 percent of Americans think she is in good-enough health to serve as president while another 23 percent are not sure. So if she seems tired or confused  or has some sort of health episode during 90 uninterrupted minutes under the debate stage lights  it could finish her. And with just 11 percent of voters believing she is honest, she needs to avoid any factual whoppers or innovative new excuses for her emails.

Bottom line: To win on Monday, the candidates dont have to land a knockout punch, they just need to avoid delivering one . . . to themselves.

Read more from Marc Thiessens archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
I dont envy Lester Holt. No matter what he does in the first presidential debate, hell be denounced. But this certainty should be liberating. If you know the brickbats will come one way or the other, you might as well do the right thing.

But is there a right thing that doesnt coincide with someones political agenda? That is precisely the wrong question, because any choice Holt makes will be interpreted as favoring one candidate over the other. What should matter are the obligations of journalists in a democratic society.

For debate moderators, both on Monday and in future encounters, three duties stand out. The first is to do all they can so viewers come away with an accurate sense of the facts. The second is to promote a real exchange of perspectives between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, not only on issues journalists deem to matter but also on what a president can realistically do to leave the country better off four years from now.

The third is the trickiest: Holt and his colleagues Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace need to keep in mind that they are far more affluent than most of the people watching the debates. They should think hard about what life is like for those  from Appalachia to Compton, Calif., from the working class in Youngstown, Ohio, to the farm workers in Immokalee, Fla.  who find themselves in less comfortable circumstances than those at the medias commanding heights.

It tells us a great deal that the Clinton camp wants the moderators to call out the candidates when they lie, while Trump wants to leave this task to his opponent. Never has a candidate signaled as clearly as Trump that he is terrified of fact-checking.

The veteran CBS reporter, who moderated three presidential debates, looks back at key moments from those clashes and gives advice to his 2016 counterparts. (Adriana Usero,Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)

But lets remove this argument from a partisan frame. The notion that moderators can take themselves out of the debate is absurd. I wish we had Lincoln-Douglas style debates in which a moderator was simply a timekeeper, but we dont. As they are currently organized, debates already give moderators enormous influence over their outcomes by virtue of the questions they ask or dont ask, by how and when they enforce the rules, and by which questions they choose to follow up on.

And if one candidate actually does lie more than the other, moderators who are passive in the face of whoppers place the more honest candidate at a profound disadvantage. She or he has to use precious time to highlight the lie. Moreover, since everything candidates say in a debate is presumed to be about getting themselves elected, they can hardly be expected to serve as (or to be seen as) independent verifiers of fact. And if journalism isnt about getting the facts right, whats the point?

Debates also need to catch up with social media. Tens of thousands of journalists and citizens will be checking the accuracy of what the candidates are saying. Debates should not be hermetically sealed from the truth-gathering going on around them. If those busy information-mongers find that a candidate has said something utterly untrue, a moderator should use the information to challenge the candidate and invite a response.

We all have concerns we want addressed. Personally, I want Trump pressed about whether foreign interests have helped prop up his business empire and then asked how voters can possibly judge the truthfulness of his answer if he refuses to release any tax returns. I am sure Trump supporters want Clinton queried about servers and emails.

But this campaign has been billed as the one in which Americans who have not fully shared in our prosperity would finally have their say. Please, moderators, dont let candidates get away with vague promises  or pledges they can never keep. And insist that they lay out the steps they can plausibly take to make the lives of struggling individuals and families better. The same goes for national security. You know a lot about the world. Dont fear bringing that knowledge to bear when candidates try to slip through with nebulous or scary talk.

And, to go back to the beginning, forget about the critics and think instead of how you will feel years from now about how you discharged your responsibilities as journalists. Your job is not to bend over backward so you offend no one. Its to help your fellow citizens learn as much as they can in preparing to make one of the most consequential decisions they will ever render in a voting booth.

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Children have their faces painted with the colors of the Colombian flag during a peace concert in Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia, on Sept. 25. (Fernando Vergara/Associated Press)

The Sept. 19 front-page article U.S. intervention helped turn the tide in Colombia left out much of the human tragedy that accompanied the U.S.-funded military and counternarcotics strategy.

From 2000, when Plan Colombia was launched, to 2013, nearly 4 million people were internally displaced. Six million Colombians became victims of the conflict. Brutal paramilitary violence was at times aided and abetted by members of the Colombian armed forces and politicians. More than 1,000 trade unionists were murdered. And more than 4,000 Colombians, mainly poor young men, allegedly were murdered by members of the Colombian armed forces and dressed in guerrilla clothing  an event which received front-page coverage in The Post in 2008 . This vicious practice peaked at the high-water mark of U.S. assistance, from 2004 to 2008.

We celebrate the signing of the peace accords and support the Obama administrations efforts to advance peace. But no one should forget the terrible costs of the U.S. governments backing of Colombias brutal war.

Lisa Haugaard, Silver Spring

The writer is director of the Latin America

Working Group Education Fund.
President Obama will leave office having failed to use the tools at his disposal to make significant progress on getting child soldiers off the battlefield. Thats the consensus among human rights groups who point to the fact that for six consecutive years, the Obama administration has subverted U.S. law requiring the president to sanction foreign governments that force children to fight.

As early as this week, the administration will announce for the final time a list of waivers and exemptions to the Child Soldiers Protection Act, a law passed in 2008 that forbids the United States from giving military aid to any foreign government that systematically uses children in its armed forces. According to officials involved in the process, the president will either fully or partially waive sanctions for every abuser country that receives U.S. military assistance.

Its a familiar pattern the president has followed each year since 2010, the first year he was required to sanction abuser countries under the law. The Obama administration has given more than $1.2 billion in military assistance and arms to governments that use child soldiers since the law was enacted and withheld only $61 million, according to the Stimson Center. The presidents final decision on waiving sanctions under the law is due Oct. 1.

This is Obamas last chance to get it right, said Jo Becker, advocacy director of the childrens rights division at Human Rights Watch. In a Sept. 14 letter, several advocacy groups urged Obama to use the law in his final year to help end the practice.

Administration officials told me that no final decisions have been made, but that following an interagency process Obama is expected to fully or partially waive sanctions for Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan, all under the justification of national interest. Waivers are not required for the other countries identified by the State Departments own reporting on human trafficking as using child soldiers because they dont receive U.S. military aid. These are Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The child advocacy community finds South Sudan to be a particularly egregious example as that government, which is slated to receive $30 million in U.S. assistance related to peacekeeping operations in 2017, has drastically increased recruitment of child soldiers amid a deepening crisis, often conscripting them by force.

Administration officials have repeatedly used partial waivers for South Sudan, and the president will issue another one this year, an administration official said. The leeway is meant to allow support for peacekeeping to continue and to maintain some leverage and influence with a government the United States has long supported.

We are not seeing change, said Rachel Stohl, senior associate at the Stimson Center. Theres no evidence partial waivers have worked to change South Sudans poor behavior and impunity.

Afghanistan, which also saw a rise in the use of child soldiers this year, was not even included on this years list of countries eligible to be sanctioned. The State Departments legal office made an unprecedented and highly controversial ruling that, because the abuses occur largely in the Afghan National Police, rather than the army, the practice doesnt meet the legal definition of armed forces under the law.

They did bureaucratic somersaults to claim that the groups using child soldiers in Afghanistan are not government supported groups, said Stohl.

Supporters of the administration point to some limited successes in the effort to pressure countries to demobilize child soldiers. Ben Marter, a spokesman for Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), one of the laws original champions, told me that waivers have led to positive government action in Chad. Other officials also point to Congo, which has greatly reduced its use of child soldiers.

There are also distinctions made between types of military aid. For example, waivers are often issued for aid used to train foreign military officers because such training can be valuable to the effort to professionalize these militaries and build constructive relationships. Aid is also seen by the administration as a carrot to be dangled; Burma does not receive direct military assistance but will get a full waiver this year as a signal that the United States hasnt ruled out the idea.

Still, even supporters of limited waivers believe the administration has gone too far. There are some habitual violators that at some point seem no longer worthy of this approach, Marter said.

When the administration announces its final list of waivers, it will cement the presidents shameful legacy on child soldiers. In his narrow construction of U.S. national interest, Obama has undermined Congresss efforts and missed his opportunity to significantly help the vulnerable victims of this abhorrent practice.

Read more from Josh Roginss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
The Sept. 22 World article Turkey and the West feel their way in a tense partnership captured what is at stake: The Wests response to the recent coup attempt in Turkey threatens to complicate how the United States and its NATO allies work with a country on the front lines of the global fight against the Islamic State.

The United States and Turkey need each other for a host of reasons. Turkey lies at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East  affecting trade flows, energy supplies, refugee movements and political stability in all directions. It is also home to NATOs second-largest army and has been critical in the fight against the Islamic State. Access to the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey has put U.S. forces mere hours from the fight, allowing them to target terrorist networks that were previously out of our reach.

Fortunately, both sides appear to be lowering the temperature and the worst tensions seemed to have eased, as the article said. U.S. policymakers must recommit to the bilateral relationship and demonstrate political support for a NATO ally that has withstood a violent assault on its legitimacy.

Halil I. Danismaz, Washington

The writer is president of the

Turkish Heritage Organization.
The conversation  or argument  weve been having on immigration has been remarkably skewed. Its been all about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, otherwise known as the undocumented. Actually, what counts far more are the estimated 31 million immigrants who are here legally and the roughly 1 million who gain legal entry every year.

Of course, the question of undocumented immigrants is important. As a society, its intolerable to have so many people living in a legal twilight zone, often despite years of responsible and law-abiding behavior (two-thirds of illegal immigrants have been in the United States for 10 years or more, reports the Pew Research Center). Still, one powerful reason for settling this issue  to legalize most of those already here and to suppress new illegal flows, even with a wall  is to move on to larger subjects.

We need an immigration system that gives priority to skilled over unskilled workers, rather than todays policy that favors family preferences for green cards. This sort of system would promote assimilation (because skilled workers have an easier time integrating into the workforce and society), increase economic growth (because skilled workers have higher value added than unskilled labor) and reduce poverty (because many unskilled immigrants have incomes below the governments poverty line).

Although we cant easily quantify these benefits, they would promote the greater good for an aging society with a sputtering economy. Anyone who doubts immigrations pervasive influence should examine a massive report issued last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Its titled The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration. Here are some highlights.

 Immigration is no longer a side issue. From 1995 to 2014, the number of immigrants increased from 24.5 million (9 percent of the population) to 42.3 million (13 percent). When the children of immigrants are added to the total, nearly 1 in 4 Americans is of immigrant stock. Immigrants are increasingly shifting from traditional gateway states (California, New York, Florida) into nontraditional states (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Nevada).

 The number of illegal immigrants has stabilized at about 11 million since 2009. The number of Mexicans illegally in the United States declined from 6.4 million in 2009 to 5.8 million in 2014. Others have taken their place. All these figures represent net changes  illegal immigrants entering the United States minus those leaving. Although these flows now roughly balance, theyre still huge, averaging about 300,000 to 400,000 annually.

 Poor immigrants  heavily from Latin America  have increased U.S. poverty. In 2011, the poverty rate (the share of the people below the governments poverty line) was 35 percent for Mexican immigrants and their children and 22 percent for El Salvadoran immigrants; by contrast, the poverty rate was 11.1 percent for Korean immigrants and their children and 6.2 percent for Indian immigrants. The poverty rate for all native-born Americans was 13.5 percent.

 Immigrants and their children impose costs on government, mainly for local schooling, which the Supreme Court has decreed must be provided for all immigrant children. By contrast, Congress has barred even legal immigrants from receiving some federal benefits. In 2013, the study estimated, immigrants costs to government exceeded their taxes by $388 billion, slightly more than 2 percent of gross domestic product.

What justifies immigration if it generates more in government costs than in taxes? The answer is that the benefits of immigration can  and, in this case, do  go beyond taxes. By one estimate, immigrants (including their entrepreneurial activity) have increased the size of the U.S. economy by 11 percent or about $2 trillion. With baby boomers retiring, all the projected growth in the U.S. labor force from 2020 to 2030 stems from immigrants and their children, the study reported.

The gains from immigration would be magnified if we emphasize high-skilled workers. Productivity would be higher, poverty lower. Interestingly, this also would help low-skilled Americans, both natives and recent immigrants. They wouldnt have to compete against new low-skilled immigrants, who would vie for their jobs and depress wages.

Whether we have the political competence and courage to face these issues candidly is an open question. The study deliberately steered away from policy prescriptions; it was mainly a fact-finding exercise, reflecting (presumably) the subjects controversial nature.

The presidential campaign offers little ground for optimism. Donald Trump has used immigration as a wedge issue and shows little understanding of the underlying substance. Hillary Clinton seems intent on placating her Hispanic supporters, many of whom surely support family preferences for immigrating legally to the United States.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump described his proposed wall along the Southern U.S. border during an immigration policy speech Wednesday. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

But the underlying realities will not retreat no matter how much we wish they would. If we cannot maneuver immigration to our advantage, it will almost certainly work to our disadvantage.

Read more from Robert Samuelsons archive.
WASHINGTON -- The conversation -- or argument -- we've been having on immigration has been remarkably skewed. It's been all about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, otherwise known as the "undocumented." Actually, what counts far more are the estimated 31 million immigrants who are here legally and the roughly 1 million who gain legal entry every year.

Of course, the question of illegal immigrants is important. As a society, it's intolerable to have so many people living in a legal twilight zone, often despite years of responsible and law-abiding behavior (two-thirds of illegal immigrants have been in the United States for 10 years or more, reports the Pew Research Center). Still, one powerful reason for settling this issue -- to legalize most of those already here and to suppress new illegal flows, even with a wall -- is to move onto larger subjects.

We need an immigration system that gives priority to skilled over unskilled workers, rather than today's policy that favors family preferences for green cards. This sort of system would promote assimilation (because skilled workers have an easier time integrating into the workforce and society), increase economic growth (because skilled workers have higher "value added" than unskilled labor) and reduce poverty (because many unskilled immigrants have incomes below the government's poverty line).

Although we can't easily quantify these benefits, they would promote the greater good for an aging society with a sputtering economy. Anyone who doubts immigration's pervasive influence should examine a massive report issued last week by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It's titled "The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration." Here are some highlights.

-- Immigration is no longer a side issue. From 1995 to 2014, immigrants increased from 24.5 million (9 percent of the population) to 42.3 million (13 percent). When the children of immigrants are added to the total, nearly one in four Americans is of immigrant stock. Immigrants are increasingly shifting from traditional "gateway" states (California, New York, Florida) into nontraditional states (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Nevada).

-- The number of illegal immigrants has stabilized at about 11 million since 2009. The number of Mexicans illegally in the United States declined from 6.4 million in 2009 to 5.8 million in 2014. Others have taken their place. All these figures represent "net changes" -- illegal immigrants entering the United States minus those leaving. Although these flows now roughly balance, they're still huge, averaging about 300,000 to 400,000 annually.

-- Poor immigrants -- heavily from Latin America -- have increased U.S. poverty. In 2011, the poverty rate (the share of the people below the government's poverty line) was 35 percent for Mexican immigrants and their children and 22 percent for El Salvadoran immigrants; by contrast, the poverty rate was 11.1 percent for Korean immigrants and their children and 6.2 percent for Indian immigrants. The poverty rate for all native-born Americans was 13.5 percent.

-- Immigrants and their children impose costs on government, mainly for local schooling, which the Supreme Court has decreed must be provided for all immigrants. By contrast, Congress has barred even legal immigrants from receiving some federal benefits. In 2013, the study estimated, immigrants' costs to government exceeded their taxes by $388 billion, slightly more than 2 percent of gross domestic product.

What justifies immigration if it generates more in government costs than in taxes? The answer is that the benefits of immigration can -- and, in this case, do -- go beyond taxes. By one estimate, immigrants (including their entrepreneurial activity) have increased the size of the U.S. economy by 11 percent, about $2 trillion. With baby boomers retiring, all the projected growth in the U.S. labor force from 2020 to 2030 stems from immigrants and their children, the study reported.

The gains from immigration would be magnified if we emphasize high-skilled workers. Productivity would be higher, poverty lower. Interestingly, this also would help low-skilled Americans, both natives and recent immigrants. They wouldn't have to compete against new low-skilled immigrants, who will vie for their jobs and depress wages.

Whether we have the political competence and courage to face these issues candidly is an open question. The study deliberately steered away from policy prescriptions; it was mainly a fact-finding exercise, reflecting (presumably) the subject's controversial nature.

The presidential campaign offers little ground for optimism. Donald Trump has used immigration as a wedge issue and shows little understanding of the underlying substance. Hillary Clinton seems intent on placating her Hispanic supporters, many of whom surely support family preferences for immigrating legally to the United States.

But the underlying realities will not retreat no matter how much we wish they would. If we cannot maneuver immigration to our advantage, it will almost certainly work to our disadvantage.

Robert J. Samuelson is a columnist for The Washington Post.
Here are the key moments from the first 2016 presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Sept. 26. NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt moderated the debate at Hofstra University in New York. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Here are the key moments from the first 2016 presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Sept. 26. NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt moderated the debate at Hofstra University in New York. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton clashed in unusually personal terms during a taboo-breaking first general-election presidential debate on Monday evening, with Clinton accusing Trump of pushing racist lies about President Obamas birthplace, and Trump accusing Clinton of lacking the stamina to be president.

She doesnt have the look. She doesnt have the stamina. I said she doesnt have the stamina. I dont believe she does have the stamina, Trump said, when moderator Lester Holt asked him about a past comment that Clinton lacked a presidential look. You have to be able to negotiate our trade deals I dont believe that Hillary has the stamina.

Clinton responded that she had traveled to 112 countries as secretary of state, and negotiated trade deals and other agreements. If Trump did that, she said, He can talk to me about stamina.

Trump responded that Hillary has experience. But its bad experience.

Clinton also noted that Trump has called women pigs, slobs and dogs.

That was a fitting end to a debate in which Trump repeatedly interrupted both Clinton and Holt, and accused both of misrepresenting his past statements, even though they were often right. The GOP nominee brought a flavor of the rowdy Republican primary into the normally staid world of late-fall debates, with asides, eye-rolls and complaints about the way he had been treated by Clinton, onstage and off.

Its not nice, Trump said at one point, referring to Clintons TV advertising against him. And I dont deserve that.

Clinton seemed thrown off-guard at several moments, at one point letting out a whoo! of apparent surprise, after a Trump attack on her temperament.

[Live updates and fact-checking: Trump-Clinton debate]

Trump and Clinton accused each other of not possessing the proper temperament to be president, with Trump saying Clinton is not being strong enough, and Clinton saying Trump is too easily taunted.

During a discussion of national security, Clinton criticized Trump for saying that U.S. Navy ships should open fire on Iranian boats that had taunted them in the Persian Gulf. She re-used a familiar line from earlier in this campaign: His cavalier attitude about nuclear weapons is so deeply troubling.A man who can be provoked by a tweet should not have their finger anywhere near the nuclear codes.

That ones getting a little bit old, Trump said,

Its a good one, Clinton said.

Trump had accused Clinton, earlier, for going along with President Obamas foreign policy  criticizing her, in particular, for the nuclear deal with Iran, which he said had empowered Iran to become a major power and U.S. adversary.

We lose on everything, Trump said, striking a theme that he hit a number of times, on subjects ranging from trade to debt to cyber-attacks to military rivalries.

Trump also criticized the NATO military alliance, repeating a charge that the U.S. allies in that alliance were not paying enough for the defense that the U.S. provides.

The 28 countries in NATO, many of them arent paying their fair share. And that bothers me, Trump said. When he made similar comments, weeks earlier, Trump was criticized for undermining the Wests primary military alliance.

Trump later got into a brief argument with Holt about the Iraq War, which Holt had said he supported just before it began.

I did not support the war in Iraq. That is a mainstream media nonsense, Trump said. Wait a minute. I was against the war in Iraq. Just so you put it out.

The record does not show that, Holt said.

The record shows that Im right, Trump said. He downplayed a 2002 interview with radio host Howard Stern, in which Trump had said he supported the war before it began. I said,very lightly, I dont know, maybe, who knows.

In another part of the debate, cyber-attacks on the Democratic National Committee, which revealed internal emails embarrassing to Democrat Hillary Clinton and her supporters.

I dont think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She says Russia, Russia, Russia, Trump said. It could also be somebody sitting on their bed, that weighs 400 pounds.

Trump has been accused of being too friendly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Later, in the debates last half-hour, the two candidates sparred about the Iraq War, and about who was responsible for the rise of the Islamic State. Trump blamed President Obama, saying that the U.S. had withdrawn too many troops, too quickly, and had failed to take the oil out from under Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

Now they have the oil all over the place, Trump said, including those territories and the Islamic State affiliates in Libya.

Earlier, Clinton accused her Trump of pushing a racist lie that President Obama was not born in the United States.

It cant be dismissed that easily. He has really started his political activity based on this racist lie that our first black president was not an American citizen. There was no absolutely no evidence for it. But he persisted, he persisted year after year, Clinton said. She cited 1970s lawsuits, in which Trump was accused of discriminating against black tenants: He has a long record of engaging in racist behavior.

Trump claimed credit for pushing the false notion that Obama was not born in the United States, saying that I think I did a good job.

Nobody was pressing it, nobody was caring much about it, Trump said, when Holt asked why he had continued to support the birther theory, even after Obama had released his birth certificate from Hawaii. But I was the one who got him to produce the birth certificate, and I think I did a good job.

Holt had asked Trump what he would say to black voters, who were unhappy that Trump has persisted so long with the false notion.

Trump said earlier that African Americans and Hispanics in U.S. cities are living in hell, because the cities are so violent. He said he would restore law and order, in part by using the aggressive stop-and-frisk enforcement tactics once employed by the New York city police.

Secretary Clinton doesnt want to use a couple of words, and thats law and order. We need law and order. If we dont have it, were not going to have a country, Trump said. We need law and order in our country.

Holt told Trump that stop-and-frisk tactics had been ruled unconstitutional, because it disproportionately targeted blacks and Hispanics.

No, youre wrong, Trump said, blaming a judge who was biased against police, and blaming a New York City administration for giving up on the case. The argument is that we have to take the guns away from these peopleThese are people that are bad people.

Trump declined again to release his income-tax returns, offering two explanations  first, that his returns were under audit and second, that the returns would not be that revelatory anyway.

You dont learn that much from tax returns, that I can tell you, the GOP nominee said, after Holt had questioned the first rationale, saying that the IRS would not prohibit the release of tax returns under audit.

That exchange came during a period in which Clinton sharply criticized Trump over his taxes, suggesting that perhaps Trump had not paid any income taxes in recent years.

That means zero for troops, zero for vets, zero for schools and health, Clinton said.

Trump did not seem to push back against that suggestion. At one point, when Clinton suggested that Trump should have paid more taxes to improve the countrys infrastructure.

It would be squandered too, believe me, Trump said.

Trump responded by saying that his business acumen was exactly what the country needs now: We have a country thats doing so badly, thats being ripped off by every single county in the world. Thats the kind of thinking that our country needs.

The debate turned unusually contentious even in its first half-hour, with Trump repeatedly interrupting Clinton, and Clinton telling Trump, Donald, I know you live in your own reality.

At one particularly unusual moment, about 25 minutes in, Trump attacked Clinton for posting her plan to fight the Islamic State on her website. That, he said, was not something that Gen. Douglas MacArthur  a leader of American forces in World War II and the Korean War  would have done.

Well, at least I have a plan to fight ISIS, Clinton said.

Youre telling the enemy everything you want to do, Trump said. He followed with a charge that was not true: You have been fighting ISIS your entire adult life. The Islamic State has not existed for the bulk of Clintons adult life

Trum frequently talked over Clintons responses. Later, Clinton said she felt that Trump had blamed her for things beyond her control.

Why not? Trump said.

Clinton, who was said to have prepared to deal with an unpredictable opponent, still seemed caught off guard: Just join the debate by saying more crazy things, she said, seeming to assemble a zinger one word at a time.

The debate began with Donald Trump bemoaning the state of the country, and Hillary Clinton bemoaning Donald Trump.

Trump, the GOP nominee, answered the first economics-focused questions of Monday nights debate by saying that the U.S. was being hoodwinked and taken advantage of by Mexico, China and other countries. He talked about manufacturing jobs leaving the U.S., and promised  as he had in the primary  to impose penalties on companies that take jobs offshore.

Our countrys in very deep trouble. We dont know what were doing, Trump said. Of countries like China, he said, What theyre doing to us is a very, very sad thing.

Clinton began her first answers with an appeal to common purpose, talking about her two-year-old granddaughter. But she quickly turned to attacks on Trump, saying that he had rooted for the housing-market collapse a little less than a decade ago (Thats called business, by the way, Trump interjected), and saying that Trump would raise the debt by offering huge tax cuts to high earners.

I call it Trumped-up trickle down, because thats what it would be, Clinton said, referring back to the trickle-down economics model of the 1980s.

Robert Costa in New York, Anne Gearan in Hempstead, N.Y., and John Wagner in New York contributed to this report.
President Obama told a gathering of hundreds of tribal nation representatives in Washington on Monday that he had done his best to fulfill his 2008 promise to be a champion for them and their causes.

And I want everybody in this auditorium and all the folks back home in you respective communities to know that whole time Ive heard you, I have seen you. And I hope Ive done right by you, Obama said. And I hope Ive set a direction that others will follow.

The eighth annual White House Tribal Nations Conference, Obamas last, comes at a critical moment in relations between Native Americans and the federal government. The president was welcomed with a tribal honor song and a ceremonial blanket was draped around his shoulders, and Obama used the opportunity to recount steps he has taken to elevate the tribes role in federal decision-making. But the leaders want even greater input.

[How a pipeline galvanized a national movement among U.S. tribes]

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, for example, have successfully pressured the administration to temporarily halt construction of the Dakota Access crude-oil pipeline near their reservation. Tribal leaders argue that the Army Corps of Engineers did not adequately consult them about the 1,172-mile project, which they said could imperil their water supplies and disturb ancestral burial sites.

[Obama administration settles long-standing suits with 17 tribes]

A District Court judge ruled Sept. 9 that the pipeline construction could proceed, but that same day the Corps of Engineers and the Justice and Interior departments issued a joint statement pausing it to consult with the tribe.

It took courage from the administration to do something like this, and it was necessary, the tribes chairman, David Archambault II, said in an interview Monday. He said it was too early to predict what would happen to the project. There is no timeline, there is no definite outcome. Its up to us to build relationships and have our voices heard.

[With Obamas help, native Hawaiians may form their own government]

Obama used similar words when he alluded to the controversy: I know that many of you have come together across tribes and across the country to support the community at Standing Rock. And together, youre making your voices heard.

An energy-industry coalition has launched an advertising blitz aimed at policymakers, complete with full-page ads in The Washington Post, that takes the administration to task for reconsidering a $3.78 billion infrastructure project that is already more than halfway built and has received state and federal permits.

Many tribal officials said the president had enhanced their influence in Washington by signing an executive order that required every agency to develop a plan for government-to-government consultation with the tribes.

Aaron Payment, chairman of the Chippewa Indians Sault Ste. Marie Tribe, said the 2009 executive order led to the creation of panels such as the Health and Human Services Departments Tribal Advisory Council, on which he sits.

It created a level of accountability up through the administration, Payment said. Ive been telling other leaders here, dont take this for granted. Theres no guarantee that the next administration will keep the tribal advisory councils, or even the consultation executive order. It matters who is president.

While Obama did not predict who would succeed him, he did emphasize he would continue to work on tribal issues after leaving the White House.

Even after my time in this office comes to an end, Im going to be standing alongside you, he said.


Real estate magnate Donald Trump and girlfriend Marla Maples are seen at the Holyfield-Foreman fight at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City on April 19, 1991, when he was still married to Ivana Trump. (AP)

Donald Trumps threat to seat Gennifer Flowers, who had an extramarital affair with Bill Clinton, in the front row at Monday nights presidential debate focuses new attention on Trumps own history of infidelity and could further weaken his support among female voters.

Trumps suggestion, delivered Saturday via a tweet, was widely seen as an effort to rattle Hillary Clinton ahead of Mondays high-stakes debate and fired up some of his hardcore supporters. Trumps campaign reversed course Sunday, saying Flowers was not going to be invited to the debate.

Even so, some analysts questioned whether it was wise for Trump to even bring up the issue in an attempt to smear Clinton for the failings of her husband, especially given his own playboy past.

Why is he doing this to Hillary Clinton? said Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist. This is not about her behavior, its something that happened to her. Women will not see this as fair.

His base will love it, but the very voters he needs  white, college-educated women  will not, she said. It will hurt him.

Surrogates for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton on Sept. 25 weighed in on several controversies a day before the first presidential debate. (Bastien Inzaurralde/Video: The Washington Post/Photo: Melina Mara/Washington Post; Chris Goodney/Bloomberg)

Polls show Trump and Clinton virtually deadlocked among all voters, but Clinton has far greater support among women. Among likely voters who are women, Clinton leads by 19 points, 55 percent to 36 percent, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday. It found Clinton up 2 points overall among likely voters.

[Gennifer Flowers said she would attend first debate but Trump camp now says no]

Trump is currently losing among likely white female voters with a college degree by 25 points, according to the same poll. In 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney won that group by six points. Trumps deficit among white, college-educated women is unprecedented in exit polls going back to 1980.

Trumps invocation of Flowers came after news reports that billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, a frequent Trump nemesis who has advised Clintons campaign, would be sitting in the front row at Mondays debate at Hofstra University in New York. Trump responded with a tweet: If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him!

Later in the day, Flowers said she would take Trump up on the idea, only to be rebuffed by the campaign Sunday.

Trump takes a picture of Bridget Marks after interviewing her for Playboy magazine in May 1993. (AFP/Getty Images)

A statement from Trump said that Clinton invited a low-life degenerate named Mark Cuban to go as her guest to the debate. I only suggested inviting Ms. Flowers to offset the stupidity of that invitation.

Katie Packer, a Republican strategist who worked on Romneys 2012 presidential campaign and who ran an anti-Trump PAC during the GOP primaries, said research shows that even women who arent immediately inclined toward Hillary are sympathetic toward her when people punish her for her husbands infidelity.

They feel its very sexist to hold her responsible for his bad behavior, she said. About Trump, she said: He is a serial philanderer, too, and has publicly bragged about it. He has no moral high ground.

Trump  who has been married three times  separated from his first wife, Ivana, after his affair with Marla Maples became widely known. Trump and Ivana finalized their divorce in 1992. Trump married Maples in December 1993, two months after she gave birth to a daughter. Trump divorced Maples in 1999 and married Melania Knauss in 2005.

After his second divorce and at other times when he was single, Trump was frequently seen out on the town with different women. He appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine, wrote in his books about all the women chasing him and publicly boasted about his sex life.

I havent thought about it, Trump said in April when asked if he thought his affair with Maples while he was married to his first wife would come up in the general election if Bill Clintons affairs were aired again. I dont see it as a very big situation. It was a long time ago, he said. I may be wrong. I am learning everything I do is a big deal.

[From playboy to president? Trumps past crude sex talk collides with his White House bid]

Trump insists that his affair with Maples, who was quoted in tabloids saying, Best sex Ive ever had! about Trump, is not like Bill Clintons infidelities. Those, Trump said in the interview, are from another planet.

Trump insisted that even though his marriage with Ivana Trump had not officially ended, it was over when he began seeing Maples.

But his first wife was stung. Ivana Trump  who has kept an exceptionally low profile during the 2016 campaign  said at the time of the affair that she overheard her husband talking to Maples on the phone when the couple were staying in an Aspen, Colo., hotel with their three children at Christmastime in 1989. Ivana Trump and Maples then famously had a public spat over Donald Trump on the ski slopes.

Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist who backed Jeb Bush in the primaries, said Trump would have been wiser to tweet that he was bringing a woman widowed by the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, to the debate. While Trump made the kind of media noise that he loves to create, Murphy said, this move was typical Trump: all impulse and no strategy.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
Gyaltsen Norbu, the Chinese government-supported 11th Panchen Lama, center, is accompanied by Tibetan monks while attending the Kalachakra ritual in Xigaze, in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Purbu Zhaxi/Xinhua via AP)

In the contest for Tibetan hearts and minds, a 26-year-old Buddhist monk is emerging into the spotlight. He is the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama, and he is being groomed by the Communist Party to fill an important political and religious role in Tibet.

Obedient to the party and loyal to the Chinese state, the Chinese Panchen is being pushed forward as an alternative to the Dalai Lama, a man widely loved by Tibetans as their supreme religious leader but reviled by the Chinese Communist Party as a wolf in monks clothing trying to split Tibet from the motherland.

Experts are skeptical about whether ordinary Tibetans will accept this young mans credentials: His status as the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama  Tibetan Buddhisms second-most-important living religious figure  is the subject of bitter controversy.

Yet there is no doubt that, with the Dalai Lama now 81, the contest for Tibet is entering a new phase, and decades of Communist Party preparation for the older monks eventual demise are gathering pace.

Officially at least, the Panchen Lama will become the most important religious figure in Tibet when the Dalai Lama dies  that is, until the older monks reincarnation is found. And he will also play a key role in the Chinese governments efforts to install a new Dalai Lama who is more amenable to Communist Party rule than the current one.

Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama, is being pushed forward by Chinas Communist Party as an alternative to the Dalai Lama. Experts are skeptical whether ordinary Tibetans will accept him as an important religious leader. (2012 photo by How Hwee Young/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY)

In July, the young, bespectacled Gyaltsen Norbu, dressed in Tibetan religious finery, presided over an important and rare ritual inside Tibet before a large audience of laypeople, monks and nuns. Since then, he has been busy visiting monasteries, temples, schools and hospitals across the high plateau.

An increasingly active Panchen Lama is expected to mitigate the Dalais influence, announced the nationalist Global Times tabloid last month, citing speculation that this process was being encouraged to prepare for a post-Dalai Lama era.

Chinese state media said that 100,000 people had attended each day of the four-day gathering, called a Kalachakra ceremony, braving rain and cold weather, and quoted monks praising the young mans attainments.

But on a recent visit to Tibet, it was hard to find much enthusiasm for the Chinese Panchen Lama, as many people know him.

Indeed, mention the Panchen Lama to many Tibetans and they start talking about a 6-year-old boy, recognized by the Dalai Lama as the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama in 1995, who immediately disappeared into Chinese custody and was referred to as the worlds youngest political prisoner.

His name is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, and he has not been seen since, but a Tibetan official claimed last year that he was living a normal life and did not want to be disturbed.

In Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, a shop selling photographs of leading Tibetan religious figures contained none of the Chinese Panchen but several of a predecessor, the 10th Panchen Lama, who was vilified and imprisoned during Chinas Cultural Revolution.

There were also many images of the Karmapa Lama, another important reincarnated lama, who was recognized by China before fleeing to join the Dalai Lama in exile in India in 2000 at age 14  a decision that embarrassed Beijing but won him credibility among many Tibetans.

One shop worker said there simply wasnt any demand for images of the Chinese Panchen, while another man dismissed him as a Chinese Buddhism official.

Similarly, images of the ninth and 10th Panchen Lamas were easy to find at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibetan Buddhisms holiest site, but images of the Chinese Panchen Lama  the 11th  were not on obvious display.

The Tibetan government-in-exile, representing refugees and based in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, said Tibetans had been forced to attend the Panchen Lamas Kalachakra, with severe penalties for failing to do so.

Sonam Dagpo, the exile administrations international-relations secretary, called the Kalachakra a political sham and said it was ironic that it had been organized by a self-declared atheist government during some of the worst repression of religious freedom in Tibet.

But whatever Tibetans think of the Chinese Panchen, he will be thrust into the limelight after the Dalai Lama dies.

The ninth Panchen Lama, for example, was instrumental in the search for the boy who came to be recognized as the 14th and current incarnation of the Dalai Lama in the 1930s. The Dalai Lama in turn played a key role in identifying the 10th Panchen Lama in the 1950s.

The Dalai Lama said that he might decide not to reincarnate at all but that if he does, it would be in a baby born outside China. Beijing almost certainly has other plans.

Ultimately, China has made the necessary plans to find and choose a Dalai Lama of its own once the present Dalai Lama passes away, said Elliot Sperling, a professor at Indiana University and an expert on Tibet. And certainly the Chinese Panchen Lama will play a big role in that process.

Chinas enthronement of both the Karmapa Lama and the Panchen Lama can be seen as dress rehearsals for the eventual nomination of a new Dalai Lama, experts said.

In the case of the Chinese Panchen Lama, the authorities have found that they can indeed install a lama who is rejected by large segments of the Tibetan population, and maintain him in his position by simple coercion and state power, Sperling said. This is significant because they will certainly find little support for a Dalai Lama chosen by the Chinese state.

Gyaltsen Norbu was born in Tibet in 1990 to parents who were Communist Party members. He has lived in Beijing, reportedly under protective guard, since being enthroned in 1995 as the Panchen Lama.

He has always stressed his loyalty to the Chinese state, declaring last year that the lives of the masses are moving toward wealth and civilization and that the Tibetan future is bright like the endless light of the golden sun.

He has praised the party for liberating Tibet from feudal serfdom when its troops moved into Lhasa in 1951. But he caused a stir when he expressed some concerns in a 2015 speech, complaining that official quotas for the number of monks allowed in the Tibetan Autonomous Region were too low and that there was a danger of Buddhism existing in name only.

The International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington-based advocacy group for Tibetan democracy and human rights, said those comments may have reflected concerns relayed to him by senior lamas during his visits to monasteries in Tibet.

Tsering Shakya, a Tibetan historian and scholar at the University of British Columbia, said the fact that the Panchen Lama does not live in his traditional seat in Tibets Tashi Lhunpo Monastery shows that monks there still do not accept him.

Read more

In Tibet, the door cracks open for foreign media  and then slams shut]

In the Dalai Lamas home town, a moment of limbo]

A womans gruesome hanging shocked Tibet  but police have silenced all questions]

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
A prospective buyer inspects the quality of fresh tuna before an auction at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. The newly elected leader of Tokyo has postponed a plan to relocate the worlds biggest fish market. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

Even before the reports about cyanide and arsenic being found in the soil, the plan to move Tokyos famous Tsukiji fish market to a new site was controversial.

Sure, the swanky, new $6 billion glass-and-steel market might be easier for the hordes of tourists to navigate, but where, the critics asked, is the character? It looks more like a public library than the epicenter of one of Japans finest culinary traditions, they said.

Now, less than two months before the tenants in the ramshackle old Tsukiji market were due to make way for infrastructure related to the 2020 Summer Olympics, the plan is on ice.

Tokyos new governor, Yuriko Koike, this month postponed the market move, planned for early November, after revealing that a 15-foot layer of soil meant to guard against contamination at the new site, previously home to a gas plant, was never laid under five key buildings.

Instead, there are hollow spaces under the buildings  designated for selling fish and other marine products, as well as fruit and vegetables  where water has been accumulating.

Scientists declared over the weekend that it was potentially polluted groundwater, not just rainwater that had pooled under the structures.

This has left vendors  many of whom were reluctant to move but have come on board over time  annoyed, alarmed and at a loss to know what to do.

[Japanese sushi chain pays $117,000 for a tuna. Yes, one tuna.]

We dont know whats going on, said Kiyoshiro Sugama, who has sold sea bream, flounder and octopus at the Tsukiji site for almost 40 years.

The only way that we get information is through media reports, and we keep hearing about all the carcinogens at the new site, he said, eating instant noodles and reading a comic book in his little truck after the morning rush. Im really worried. We cant sell food at a place thats polluted.

Keiko Kobayashi, who sells sheets of dried seaweed from a shop thats been at Tsukiji for more than seven decades, had similar concerns.

We deal with something that people eat, so if theres a risk of contamination, its best to be on the safe side, she said.

Tsukiji, the worlds biggest and busiest fish market, has been supplying Japanese restaurants and retailers from the current site since 1935.

But with the economic boom of the 1980s, and the growing popularity of sushi abroad, the market  and particularly the tuna auction held before dawn  has become a must-see stop for visitors to Japan.

Throngs of camera-wielding tourists now wander through the dilapidated old market, where three-wheeled trucks ricochet around like pinballs, never diverting their course for the pesky gawkers. Signs in English at the entrance advise tourists not to bring strollers or wear flip-flops on the wet pavement, and certainly not to touch the fish.

[A seafood drama, from start to fin]

The fact that the market was never designed as a tourist destination, combined with the impending Olympic Games, led the Tokyo metropolitan government to decide to move it to a custom-built, 100-acre site a little farther south on Tokyo Bay that is not just more tourist-friendly but was also designed to be more sanitary. The authorities were going to build a road through the Tsukiji site to connect two Olympic villages.

But news that the decontamination work was not carried out as ordered means that the new market cannot open Nov. 7 as planned.

Tests are being done to see if the water found under the new site contains chemicals that would be dangerous to workers and potentially taint the food. Previously the site was home to a Tokyo Gas plant that converted coal into gas, a process that involved benzene and cyanogen, among other toxic substances.

Groundwater tests at the site have found minute amounts of benzene, arsenic and chromium hexavalent, although the various chemical concentrations were within acceptable levels as set by health and environmental regulations, metropolitan government officials have been quoted as saying in the local media.

But Koike, a former environment minister, has not ruled out nixing the project.

Ill wait for an objective judgment, she said at a news conference this month. Then I will choose the wisest way to spend taxpayers money.

She has reconvened a council of experts to advise her on what to do and will release the results of soil pollution testing this week.

[Shes a renegade conservative. Now shes running Tokyo.]

It will be difficult to fix the problem using the old plan, said Tatemasa Hirata, who was the head of the council that recommended eight years ago that the soil be cleaned and a new layer put on top. The metropolitan government spent $830 million on soil decontamination, but the elevation of the ground, meant to insulate the new market from the dirt below, was not carried out.

We will discuss what should be done without the elevated land, Hirata said at a news conference, suggesting that engineers would have to figure out how to proceed with the market as it is.

This weekend, as he presented the finding that groundwater had seeped under the buildings, Hirata told reporters that the level of chemicals in it presented no safety issue. Still, the rubber-booted population of Tsukiji is in limbo.

Now everything is up in the air, said Yusuke Chiku, who works at a transportation company that delivers fish around the country. I personally think it would be better to solve the problems, then make a decision.

But Sugama, the wholesaler, said he was worried that the controversy would damage the reputation of Tsukiji, just five years after the triple meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear reactor led to concerns about Japanese fish being contaminated with radiation.

Tsukiji has always been associated with high quality, he said. But this wont be the case if people think Toyosu is contaminated. Were worried that rumors might spread overseas, that people might again question whether Japanese food is safe or not.

Read more

The worlds most dangerous predator is you

In Jiro Dreams of Sushi, chef's philosophy is reflected in filmmakers approach

Tokyo elects first female governor to tackle Olympic-size tasks

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos, left, and the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Rodrigo Londono, known by the alias Timochenko, shake hands after signing a peace agreement. (Fernando Vergara/AP)

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the country's main guerrilla group signed a historic peace accord Monday, in a ceremony meant to promote their agreement to end the countrys 52-year armed conflict.

Held in the colonial city of Cartagena, the event marked the first time that Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, publicly appeared together on Colombian soil.

U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Cuban President Raul Castro and other heads of state attended the ceremony, all of them dressed in white, as a show of support for the pact.

As a binding document, though, the agreement will matter little unless Colombian voters approve it in a crucial referendum on Sunday.

[Colombias war has displaced 7 million. With peace, will they go home?]

By scheduling the signing ceremony ahead of the vote, the Santos government and the guerrillas hope to boost public support for their accord and send the message that the pact is irreversible. Both sides say the agreement  the result of four years of painstaking negotiations  is a finished product whose rejection by voters would simply prolong a conflict that has killed 220,000 people over the past half-century.

To chants of no more war! from an audience dress in white, symbolizing peace, Santos told Colombians in an emotional speech that their long horrible night of violence is over, and that a new dawn of peace is here.

In a statement aimed at critics of the deal, Santos said every pact is imperfect, but called the accord with FARC the best deal possible.

I would rather have an imperfect agreement that saves lives than a perfect war that continues sowing death, he said.

He was preceded by FARC leader Londono, who drew the biggest applause when he apologized on behalf of the guerrillas to all the victims of the conflict for any pain we have caused. Colombian military jets streaked overhead as he finished his speech, startling him but bringing a smile.

Londono said the rebels were ready to fully embrace Colombian democratic politics. Our only weapons will be our words, he said.

The latest surveys indicate that the accord will be approved by a wide margin on Sunday, but many analysts say the outcome could be closer than expected. Former president and Santos archrival Alvaro Uribe has led a campaign against the deal with the slogan Paz Si, pero No Asi (Peace Yes, but Not Like This), calling the accord a disgraceful and costly capitulation to a terrorist group.

Santos pursued the accord with a single-minded determination that will probably make him a leading candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize if voters back the deal. He also insisted on giving Colombians the final say, submitting the agreement to a democratic vote.

But the unconventional tactic could backfire if voters dont go along. With the countrys economy slowing, Santoss approval ratings are slumping, and public perceptions of his peace partner  the FARC  are even more negative.

Londono, better known by his guerrilla alias Timochenko, remains an unfamiliar sight to a Colombian public that until recently saw him mostly on Wanted posters. He and other FARC commanders led a gathering of rebel forces last week in a remote part of eastern Colombia under guerrilla control, but he has never appeared at a public event in a major city.

[After peace deal, Colombias rebels not sure what to do with their fake names]

The accord calls for the FARCs 7,000 or so fighters to move into camps  which would be monitored by the United Nations  to begin handing over their weapons. In one of its more controversial provisions, it would guarantee the rebels 10 seats in Colombias congress for two terms, opening a path for rebel commanders to enter politics.

The leftist guerrillas have not announced a name for their future political party.

Kerry told reporters on Monday that the FARCs presence on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations remains unchanged but could be reviewed once the peace accord is implemented.

Read more:

Colombian peace deal could mark rare victory for U.S. diplomacy

The paradox of Colombias peace deal for FARC

Here are the details  critics would say the devils  in Colombias peace deal with FARC

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been effectively blocked from seeking a return to office after Irans supreme leader decided that the firebrand populist would prove too divisive in next years election, state media reported Monday.

The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signaled a preemptive strike against possible attempts by Ahmadinejad to build a movement to challenge the reform-minded Hassan Rouhani in the May presidential election.

Khameneis remarks, carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, also suggested that Rouhani and his government still retain some support among Irans ruling clerics after being given the green light to negotiate last years nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers.

[One year after nuclear deal, signs of dismay in Iran]

Ahmadinejad has remained mostly out of the public eye since leaving office. But his anti-Western rhetoric and combative style still resonate among many Iranian conservatives, and he was widely viewed as among the most formidable political figures capable of unseating Rouhani.

Ahmadinejad, who served two terms from 2005 to 2013, had not publicly announced plans to seek a political comeback. But he has made policy speeches and other outreach recently, fueling speculation that he may want to challenge Rouhani.

Iran sets a limit of two consecutive presidential terms, but it is possible to run again after being out of office.

Ahmadinejad came to me and I told him not to stand for the election, Khamenei said, according to IRNA.

It will create polar opposites and divisions in the country, which I believe is harmful, the supreme leader added, according to the report.

Khamenei, who has final say in all major state affairs, cannot technically block a candidate on his own. But an oversight group closely aligned with him and the ruling clerics vets all names for major elections.

[How a dispute over political crackdowns changed Irans leadership plans]

Khameneis comments appear to sink any potential plans for another run by Ahmadinejad, whose disputed reelection in 2009 set off the most serious unrest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Ahmadinejad further antagonized the West with diatribes against Israel and questions about historical accounts of the Holocaust.

A former hard-line member of Irans parliament, Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, confirmed Khameneis comments on the news website Khabar Online, the Associated Press reported.

Khamenei also could be dealing a bit of payback to Ahmadinejad, who openly feuded with the ruling clerics during his final years in office over issues such as cabinet appointments.

Rouhanis political base includes many who have opposed the ruling system and its heavy hand against critics, including the house arrest of two leading opponents of Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election. But Rouhani received crucial backing from Khamenei to move ahead with the talks that led to the nuclear pact, which set limits on Irans uranium-enrichment program in exchange for the easing of many international sanctions.

It is unclear who will seek to challenge Rouhani on next years ballot. Candidates are normally not approved until several months before the vote. Last month, a prominent commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, said he did not plan to seek the presidency.

Read more:

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
BILLINGS  Bataan Death March survivor, artist and educator Ben Steele will be remembered for his heroism and his warm, caring personality.

Steele died Sunday in Billings at age 98 with his wife Shirley and daughters Julie Jorgenson and Rosemarie Steele at his side.

Everyone knows his war stories and what he went through as a POW, but its his personality, his warm caring personality that made people love him, Jorgenson said. His students would come up to me and say, Ben and I have a special bond. But he made everyone feel special; every student had that special bond with him.

A documentary film, Survival Through Art, has just been completed by filmmaker Jan Thompson. A private screening is set for November, but Jorgenson said there will be other upcoming opportunities to see it.

Steele was born on Nov. 17, 1917, in Roundup and grew up on riding horses and roping cattle in the Bull Mountains. One of his biggest and earliest influences was the cowboy artist Will James, Jorgenson said.

Dad used to deliver art supplies to Will James, who was a loner, but he liked Dad. His parents told him not to hang out much with Will James because he was a drinker, but Dad never said a bad word about him.

Steele later used his skill at drawing to keep his sanity when he was a prisoner of war. His powerful drawings of his time in captivity are housed at the University of Montana in Missoula.

In 2015, when School District 2 was naming a new middle school on Grand Avenue and 56th Street West, Shannon Burns Johnson pushed to have it named for Steele. She rallied the community, obtaining 2,000 signatures in a matter of days to get Steeles name on the list.

When I went to tell Ben about the idea, he just stared at me for a minute, then he got this huge grin on his face and said, Ben Steele Middle School -- that would be a great name, Johnson said.

Ground was broken on the middle school in March, and Jorgenson said her father considered having his name on the school one of his highest honors.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, who met Steele on the Big Sky Honor Flight in 2013, issued a statement Sunday about Steeles heroism.

Montana has lost an American hero and a state treasure, Daines said. Ben Steele will be remembered for his service, his courage and his artistic legacy.

Steele was a U.S. Army Air Corps private in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked and captured his unit. At least 7,000 soldiers died during a 66-mile march under a hot tropical sun  a march so horrific that the Japanese commander was later executed for war crimes.

Steele was bayoneted, starved and beaten. He suffered dysentery, malaria, pneumonia, beriberi and septicemia. He gained the emotional strength to stay alive in part by sketching pictures. His heroic journey is told in the 2009 New York Times bestseller Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath by Michael and Elizabeth Norman.

Ohio teenager Lexi Winkelfoos traveled 1,000 miles to meet Steele in 2015 after she read the book for a history project.

Winkelfoos said she wanted to hear Steele's laugh and know that he found happiness.

"After reading the book, I just wanted to know that he was happy after everything he had been through," Winkelfoos said.

After the war, Steele pursued college and graduate degrees in art and returned to Billings to teach at Eastern Montana College and Montana State University Billings.

Steele met Harry Koyama, a student of Japanese heritage, in his art class in the 1960s. Steele said he learned to forgive his Japanese captors because of his relationship with Koyama, which Steele talked about in Tears in the Darkness.

Hes been a part of my life since I met him in college in the 1960s, Koyama said. Thats even more of a humbling experience to know that I had not just an effect, but a positive effect on his life. Ben was just a great person and an excellent art teacher. I still use some of the techniques Ben taught me.

Another former student, Jacque Kittson, said Steele was actively painting and drawing up until the final weeks of his life. A show featuring some of his new works and those of his friends will be on display Oct. 8 at the Carbon County Arts Guild in Red Lodge.

I was so blessed to have him as my teacher, friend, mentor and second father, Kittson said.
The Treasury Department and Justice Department took actions Monday against four Chinese individuals and one Chinese company for conspiring to aid North Koreas nuclear weapons program in violation of U.S. economic sanctions.

The unsealing of criminal charges and the imposition of new sanctions are aimed at shutting down a major Chinese node supporting North Koreas weapons proliferation, officials said.

The Justice Department charged the individuals and the trading company with conspiring to launder money and with evading sanctions. The four individuals and the company are all located in China.

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions against the firm, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. Ltd. (DHID), and the individuals, including Ma Xiaohong, DHIDs majority owner. Ma lives in Dandong, China, on the border with North Korea. She has conducted business with that country since 1996 and stood to benefit the most financially by the transactions, the government said.

The actions come almost seven months after the U.N. Security Council, which includes China, unanimously adopted harsh sanctions against Pyongyang to pressure it to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

[U.N. adopts sweeping new sanctions on North Korea]

DHID, Ma and three of his colleagues operated through front companies in the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere to conduct U.S.-dollar financial transactions through the U.S. banking system to facilitate sales of goods to North Korea and purchases of coal for the country, according to the government.

The Justice Department on Monday also filed a civil complaint in federal court in New Jersey seeking the forfeiture of all funds held in 25 Chinese bank accounts associated with DHID. Through those accounts, the government alleges, DHID and its front companies laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through U.S. banks.

Todays action exposes a key illicit network supporting North Koreas weapons proliferation, said Adam J. Szubin, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department. Treasury will take forceful action to pressure North Koreas proliferation network and to protect the U.S. financial system from abuse.

[North Korea conducts fifth nuclear test, claims it has made warheads with higher strike power]

The charges result from a long-running investigation into illicit financing of North Koreas nuclear program. In 2009, the Treasury Department sanctioned Pyongyang-based Korea Kwangson Banking Corp. (KKBC) for its ties to the countrys weapons program. KKBC has a branch in Dandong.

According to the criminal and civil complaints, DHID worked openly with KKBC before the 2009 Treasury sanctions designation. Between 2009 and 2015, Ma allegedly conspired with three other individuals  Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu  to create or buy a total of 22 front companies to conduct U.S.-dollar transactions designed to evade U.S. sanctions.

The companies were in the British Virgin Islands, the Seychelles, Hong Kong, Wales and Anguilla. The front companies facilitated transactions funded or guaranteed by KKBC in violation of sanctions, the government alleged. At times, DHID and its shell firms managed the full logistical chain of commodity contracts conducted illicitly on KKBCs behalf, it alleged. At other times, they served as financial intermediaries for U.S.-dollar transactions between North Korean-based firms and suppliers in other countries in a bid to evade sanctions, the government said.

As part of the scheme, the front companies were involved in money laundering through U.S. correspondent bank accounts. DHIDs transactions at Standard Chartered Bank in Newark alone increased from $1.3 million before KKBCs designation to $110 million from 2009 to 2015, the government alleged.

The U.S. government actions came as China this month announced its own criminal inquiry into DHID after two visits by Justice Department officials to Beijing. The two governments have a mutual legal-assistance agreement. We expect China will assist us with requests submitted in accordance with that bilateral agreement, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said.

China has always been the linchpin to disrupting North Korean proliferation, said Zachary Goldman, a former senior official at the Treasury Departments Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. So anything the United States can do to goad the Chinese into greater action is going to be important, said Goldman, who is executive director of New York Universitys Center on Law and Security.

After the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions in March, China severely curbed cross-

border trade, reducing it to almost a trickle. But in recent months, trade between the two countries is believed to have shot back up, according to analysts.

Carol Morello contributed to this story.

Read more:
Traditional Aztec dancers chant during a rally Sept. 13 in San Diego, in support of protesters at Standing Rock, N.D., who are fighting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images)

The Obama administration has settled lawsuits with 17 Native American tribes that accused the federal government of long mismanaging their funds and natural resources.

With these settlements, the administration will have resolved the majority of outstanding claims, some dating back a century, with more than 100 tribes and totaling more than $3.3 billion, according to the Justice and Interior departments.

This is an important achievement that will end, honorably and fairly, decades of contention that not only sapped valuable resources but also strained relationships, said Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.

The settlements announced Monday, totaling $492.8 million, come at the same time that thousands of Native Americans representing tribes from across the country have joined the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota to protest the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline, which they say threatens their water supply and traverses sacred Indian burial grounds.

[Showdown over oil pipeline becomes a national movement for Native Americans]

An anti-pipeline protest in North Dakota has become a rallying point for Native Americans across the United States. Here's what you need to know. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

This month, a federal judge ruled against the Standing Rock tribes request to halt construction of the crude-oil pipeline. But the decision by District Judge James E. Boasberg was effectively put on hold when the departments of Justice, Army and Interior announced that the Army Corps of Engineers would not grant an easement before it determines whether it needs to reconsider previous decisions about the pipeline. It has yet to make that determination.

Meanwhile, thousands of Native Americans remain camped out in a nearby field in protest. Native leaders also protested the pipeline Monday in Washington outside the White House Tribal Nations Conference, where tribal leaders met with President Obama.

Many tribal leaders say Obama has done more for Indian Country than any other president. They point to the administrations efforts to improve the justice system on reservations and work directly with the tribes on long-standing disputes over land, such as the settlements announced Monday.

[Coolidge got a headdress, and Obama got a hat]

The 17 tribes affected include the Gila River, Colorado River and San Carlos Apache tribes in Arizona; the White Earth Nation in Minnesota; and Oregons Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation. They had accused the federal government of mismanaging trust lands, which are leased for timber harvesting, farming, grazing, and oil and gas extraction, among other uses.

The Interior Department manages about 56 million acres of trust lands for federally recognized tribes and more than 100,000 leases on those lands. The department also manages about 2,500 tribal trust accounts for more than 250 tribes.

Its a huge deal when you can sit down with the tribal leaders and see in their faces what this settlement will mean for their tribes and the fact they think they are being heard for the first time in a meaningful way, said Jim Gette of the Justice Departments environment and natural resources division.

Four years ago, the Justice and Interior departments reached settlements totaling more than $1 billion with 41 tribes for similar claims. Since then, the departments have settled the claims of 57 more tribes, including those announced Monday. In 2014, the Obama administration agreed to pay the Navajo Nation, located in parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, $554 million in the largest settlement with a single American Indian tribe.

Settling these long-standing disputes reflects the Obama administrations continued commitment to reconciliation and empowerment for Indian Country, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement.

Read more:

Federal government moves to halt oil pipeline construction near Standing Rock Sioux tribal land

A major Native American site is being looted. Will Obama risk armed confrontation to save it?

The big fight over the Dakota Access Pipeline, explained
Despite continued revelations of abuses inflicted on incarcerated asylum seekers who sought protection in Australia, the Liberal-National government has not only maintained its stance of refusing entry to all refugees, but proclaimed its border protection regime as a model for governments to adopt worldwide.

Invited to address the United Nations summit on refugees in New York this week, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claimed that only by addressing irregular migration through secure borders could governments focus humanitarian assistance on those who need it most.

Before his speech, Turnbull touted Australias refugee policy as the best in the world. He sought to justify the indefinite detention of nearly 2,000 asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island by declaring that public opinion will not accept a generous humanitarian program unless the government is seen to be in command of its borders.

By generous, Turnbull evidently meant his governments pledge to grant humanitarian visas to 18,750 carefully-selected people annually. This is a drop in the ocean compared to 65 million displaced people across the globe, most of them fleeing the horrific wars triggered by the US and its allies, including Australia, in the Middle East.

Tacitly, Turnbull criticised the governments of Europe for not yet following Australias lead and totally shutting their borders to the desperate people trying to escape war and impoverishmentwhich would leave millions of people languishing in over-crowded refugee camps in some of the worlds poorest and most war-torn countries.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who was also invited to the UN summit, sought to defend the appalling conditions in the Australian-controlled Pacific island camps by claiming they were better than those in countries such as Syria and Jordan. But the conditions in the Australian camps, which were re-established by the previous Labor government, are deliberately punitive, precisely to deter refugees from trying to leave camps in the Middle East and seek protection in Australia.

In reality also, governments internationally are vilifying refugees in order to curb popular support for the displaced millions and to justify shutting borders, imposing police-state measure and continuing the wars and regime-change operations that have fuelled the worst refugee crisis since World War II.

The Australian model is one of cruelty and inhumanity. The recent leak of over 2,000 incident reports from Nauru, dubbed the Nauru Files, provided a picture of the violations of basic legal and democratic rights that occur daily in Australias offshore processing centres. Former staff members have spoken out bravely against the abuses, defying the threat of being jailed under the governments secrecy provisions.

Speaking at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute recently, Dutton boasted of maintaining the camps in the face of sustained activist opposition. Dutton insisted that the governments relationship in this regard with Nauru will continue for decades. In other words, despite the overwhelming evidence of violations, the camps while remain open indefinitely.

The Labor Party and the Greens attempted last week to distance themselves from their own role in imposing these policies by co-sponsoring a motion in the Senate for a committee inquiry into the leaked reports. It was the 201013 minority Labor government, kept in office by a formal agreement with the Greens, that re-opened the Nauru and Manus facilities, for the express purpose of ensuring that detainees would have no advantage over the millions of refugees trapped in camps elsewhere.

Labor and the Greens are working together to try to head off the mounting disgust among broad layers of people and promote political illusions that some modification of the border protection regime can be made within the parliamentary framework.

The motion was tabled by Labor Senator Murray Watt without any Greens or Labor senator speaking. The only speaker was Liberal Senator James McGrath, who declared that the government will not waver in our commitment to the strong and consistent border protection policies. Despite the motion, the governments policy would not change and no-one in regional processing centres will be resettled in Australia.

The truth is that the Senate inquiry will seek to whitewash the political responsibility for the crimes committed against refugees by successive Australian governments.

The Labor Party unequivocally supports the indefinite detention of asylum seekers. It was the Keating Labor government that instigated mandatory detention within Australia in 1992. And today, Labors leaders insist that the Gillard Labor government stopped the boats by reopening the offshore camps in 2012.

Initially, the Greens proposed a royal commission into the Nauru abuses, which would only serve as a more sophisticated form of cover up. Very quickly, however, the Greens complied with Labors call for yet another Senate inquiry, sending a wider signal of their readiness to collaborate with Labor.

Greens immigration spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said the Greens were disappointed by Labors lack of support for a royal commission, but thank them for their constructive approach on this inquiry.

McKim said: We need to close the camps and bring the people there to Australia. But until that happens, we need to reveal the truth. This only serves to cover up the fact that numerous reports, inquiries and investigations, including a previous Senate inquiry headed by the Greens, have failed to shift the governments policy in the slightest. Nor has Labors support for offshore detention altered one bit.

In August last year, a Senate inquiry with Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young as deputy chair, produced evidence of systematic abuses of detainees, including sexual assault and torture, but did not demand closure of the camps. Instead, it called for more transparency and an open centre model, which still left detainees highly restricted.

Over the past year there has been a further escalation in suicides and protests, with two asylum seekers self-immolating. Despite this and Papua New Guineas highest court ruling the Manus camp illegal, both prison camps are still operating.

The working class must come to the aid of refugees and those displaced by war. They must have the basic democratic right to live and work where they choose, with full civil and political rights. The closing of borders to asylum seekers is a damning indictment of the entire nation-state system, which divides the international working class along national lines in the interests of corporate profit.
25 Years Ago | 50 Years Ago | 75 Years Ago | 100 Years Ago

25 years ago: Military coup in Haiti

The Haitian military carried out a bloody military coup on September 30, 1991. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was seized from his home after soldiers rampaged through the capital city, Port-au-Prince. Hundreds, if not thousands, were shot down by the military. Heavily armed patrols fired indiscriminately into working class neighborhoods like Cite Soleil, while the assassins of the new military junta systematically hunted down suspected opponents of the army.

Moreover, indications grew that the US would seize upon the coup as the pretext for mounting a military intervention in Haiti. US Marines were positioned in the Caribbean with the supposed mission of protecting American lives.

The Washington Post in its October 2 editorial spelled out the thinking of the US ruling class: A peacekeeping force is going to be required. That is the first item that the OAS needs to consider. Many OAS countries have military forces to do the job ... Haiti needs a period of stability in which its desperate and frightened people can learn something about the government they have adopted ... Without an effective force in the country to preserve order, Haitis democracy will be lost.

In the days since the coup, mass demonstrations by Haitian immigrants in several North American cities gave powerful expression to the determination of the masses of Haiti not to be thrust back to the type of savage dictatorship which ruled during the 30-year Duvalier dynasty.

After taking office, Aristide combined demagogic rhetoric about rooting out the Tonton Macoutes with an economic policy dictated by the International Monetary Fund and the US Embassy. The working class and rural poor faced deepening poverty in the eight months of his regime, while the IMF, the multinationals and US Ambassador Alvin Adams praised him for his moderation.

At the same time, the Aristide regime worked deliberately to disarm the masses. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the leader of the September coup, was himself appointed by Aristide as the head of the supposedly democratized army. All of Aristides talk about a national reconciliation between the classes and of a marriage between the army and the people served only to open the door to lull the masses to sleep as the military prepared its counterrevolutionary violence.

It was reported later that CIA agents were with Cedras at army headquarters during the coup.

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50 year ago: Klansman acquitted of murder of Viola Liuzzo

On September 27, 1966, a state court in Alabama acquitted Eugene Thomas, one of four Ku Klux Klan members who murdered Detroit civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo on March 25, 1965, after just one day of trial. Liuzzo was shot dead by four Klansmen as she drove a car carrying civil rights activists to the Montgomery airport after the famed Selma to Montgomery marches that fought for equal voting rights for blacks in Alabama.

The jury, which included eight black members and four whites, was not allowed to hear testimony from a paid FBI informant who participated in the murder. State Attorney General Richmond Flowers, who handled the prosecution, determined that the testimony of the informant, Gary Thomas Rowe, would hurt the states case more than help it, according to one media account. The defense, meanwhile, produced witnesses who falsely claimed Thomas had been with them at a bar at the time of the killing.

Collie Leroy Wilkins, the shooter, had already been acquitted. A third assailant, William Orville Eaton, died of a heart attack before going to trial. Rowe, the FBI informant, was placed in the Witness Relocation Program. Wilkins and Thomas were in the process of appealing a conviction on federal conspiracy charges for which they would ultimately serve 10-year sentences. But no one was ever convicted for the actual murder of Liuzzo.

The FBI protected its informant, Rowe, who later admitted to participating in Liuzzos murder and other violent provocations, including the notorious 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four young African-American girls. At the same time, on the instructions of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, the bureau conducted a smear campaign against Liuzzo, wife of a Teamsters union official, alleging that she had been on drugs and had engaged in extramarital sex shortly before her killing, and that her husband Jim was involved in organized crime.

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75 years ago: Stalin appeals for American and British aid

On September 28, 1941 representatives of American and British imperialism began three days of meetings in the Kremlin with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to discuss the establishment of avenues for military aid to the USSR in its desperate battle to halt Hitlers advancing armies.

The Red Army had suffered major defeats at the hands of the German b litzkrieg. Leningrad was encircled, Ukraine was occupied and German armies had made breakthroughs against Soviet units in their drive to capture Moscow. In the fighting, the Red Army had lost 22,000 guns, 18,000 tanks and 14,000 aircraft, and suffered 2.5 million casualties, along with massive civilian and infrastructure losses.

Stalin dropped the anti-imperialist rhetoric against Britain, France and the United States employed during the period of the Stalin-Hitler pact and announced a popular front alliance with democratic imperialism:

Our war for the freedom of our Motherland will merge with the struggle of the peoples of Europe and America for their independence, for their democratic liberties. It will be a united front of the peoples who stand for freedom and against enslavement and threats of enslavement by Hitlers Fascist armies.

Stalin instructed the communist parties outside of the Soviet Union, which had only recently been engaged in heated rhetoric against involvement in the war against Nazi Germany, to now subordinate their activities to the western imperialist powers. On September 26, Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky met in London with Charles de Gaulle and the Council for the Defense of the French Empire, and pledged the unification of the French CP-led resistance movement to Nazi occupation with de Gaulles supporters. Maisky gave assurances that after the defeat of Germany, Stalin would guarantee French capitalism against any danger of revolution.

In Yugoslavia, where the guerrillas under the leadership of the Communist Party occupied two-thirds of the countryside after inflicting major defeats against German occupying forces, Stalin ordered Communist Party leader Tito to establish a wartime popular front between his partisans with the nationalist and anticommunist Cetniks. By November, the Cetniks would launch joint attacks with the Nazis against partisan positions.

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100 years ago: The Battle of Thiepval Ridge at the Somme

On September 26, 1916, British forces launched an attack on Thiepval Ridge as part of their new offensive in the final stages of the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest engagements of World War I. The assault was the first large offensive conducted by the Reserve Army, an amalgam of divisions of tanks, artillery and infantry forces from Canada, Australia, and Britain. It was part of a sequential offensive that involved French and British forces.

At this stage in the Battle of the Somme, the British forces were experimenting with new techniques in gas warfare, machine gun bombardment, and tank-infantry cooperation. During the preliminary bombardment on Thiepval Ridge, British forces fired 60,000 field artillery and 45,000 heavy artillery rounds and 500 gas shells into German defensive positions.

Airplanes were also being used extensively in reconnaissance and offensive roles. As well as observing German positions and movements from the air, the British air squadrons supporting the offensive on Thiepval Ridge bombed strategic German targets and attacked the airfield that was being used to launch German planes.

A lack of reserves and reinforcements forced the German troops to retreat. British forces shifted their attack from Thiepval Ridge, pushing forward and forcing German troops to retreat to Ancre Heights.

It is not certain how many casualties occurred at Thiepval Ridge. However, September was the month during the Battle of the Somme in which Germany suffered its largest number of casualties, with approximately 135,000 injured or dead. The 1st Canadian Division, part of the Reserve Army and participants in the Battle of Thiepval, reported 6,234 casualties during September. The 11th Division suffered 3,615 casualties, including over 1,000 dead or missing, between the September 26 and 30.

By the end of the five-month Battle of the Somme, which changed nothing strategically, over 1 million men were lost dead, wounded, or captured: Allied forces had suffered over 600,000 casualties, while Germany lost as many as 500,000.

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Hugo Fearnley of Whitby, England is studying the potential of bee-produced medicines for the treatment of human diseases. Fearnley, CEO of BeeVital and Director of the Apiceutical Research Centre (ARC), recently earned a Churchill Travelling Fellowship to fund his research and coalition-building in...

Hugo Fearnley of Whitby, England is studying the potential of bee-produced medicines for the treatment of human diseases. Fearnley, CEO of BeeVital and Director of the Apiceutical Research Centre (ARC), recently earned a Churchill Travelling Fellowship to fund his research and coalition-building in four African countries.

One potentially promising compound for Fearnley is propolis, sometimes called bee glue: a mixture of plant resins and wax used for structural purposes in hives. Researchers are studying the roles of propolis in insect disease resistance and the evolutionary benefits of propolis for bees. But Fearnley aims his studies on propolis for treatment of malaria, leishmania, and sleeping sickness, diseases among the most prevalent in Africa.

According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, several studies have evidenced that propolis has strong hepatoprotective, antitumor, antioxidative, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Scientists are working to find out if propolis can discourage infections in humans or act as an antibiotic. Fearnleys BeeVital specifically focuses on propolis for periodontal issues, skin problems, wound healing, ulcers, immune deficiency diseases, and herpes simplex virus.

The pharmacological benefits of propolis for human health are most widely recognized in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America.

The interest in propolis runs in the Fearnley family. Fearnleys father has researched the medicinal nature of propolis for decades. Fearnleys company BeeVital won a government research award to study future licensable bee-based medicines. Fearnley spoke recently at The First International Conference on Apiceutical Research, which focused on the potential of propolis.

Other bee products the pair cite as harboring medicinal properties include honey, royal jelly, pollen, and bee venom. Fearnley calls the beehive a flying pharmacy.

Fearnleys recent project, which has led him to travel to Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia, is called Bee Pharma Africa. Bee Pharma Africa will not only conduct the research, but also join scientists, bee product producers, and health and governmental agencies to work together to further understand, develop, and deliver honey bee-derived medicines and health support, with particular emphasis on these three major protozoal diseases.

Story continues

Bee Pharma Africa, with its consortium and through the ARC and Natures Laboratory, Ltd., aims to collect, profile, and test samples in the primary regions of interest. It also pledges to develop local systems of delivery and promote beekeeping for economic development.

Bee Pharma Africas approach is a local one. The ubiquity of beekeeping, critical to many rural African economies, means bee products are readily available. Local bee products might also be more effective in their original settings. For example, the ARC says that propolis contains chemicals and properties that relate to the local environmental disease patterns. Where sleeping sickness is prevalent, propolis contains anti-trypanosomal elements to combat the parasites that cause the disease. This is something Fearnley wants to learn more about.

In addition to the availability of bees and local specificity, Bee Pharma Africa hopes its consortium will build a base for local research in rural Africa and stimulate economic development in the beekeeping field.

Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana are potential future targets for building a Bee Pharma Africa consortium for this research.
Once again, Prince George steals the show!



All eyes were on the eldest child of Prince William and Princess Kate as the royal foursome touched down in Victoria, Canada, on Saturday to begin the family's official royal tour.



Holding hands with his parents as he deplaned (with Kate holding onto adorable Princess Charlotte), George wore a blue knit sweater with wooden buttons over a traditional blue and beige plaid shirt, teamed with navy blue wool shorts, all from the Spanish brand Pepa & Co.



"Once again, I feel honored that the Duchess of Cambridge has selected our brand of Spanish clothing for Prince George's outfit on his arrival in Canada" Pepa Gonzalez, founder of the Fulham-based brand tells PEOPLE, adding: "I love how the whole family are color coordinated in shades of blue  they look adorable."







While the traditional checked shirt which retailed for $50 has already sold out, the winter shorts which cost $49 are still available and the cozy knitted jumper at $54 is available on a four-week waiting list.A The 'Prince George effect' hit the brand back in July when the three-year-old wore a Breton whale jumper from Pepa & Co for his official birthday portraits  hundreds of orders were placed within days.





All About Prince George's Adorable Arrival Look in Canada| The British Royals, The Royals, Prince George, Princess Charlotte

Back in his signature Amaia knee-high socks which retail for just $10, his look was classic, understated and elegant and notably included some rather grown up footwear. Wearing the 'John' in navy from the British brand Start-rite the $71 design have already sold out in many sizes.



 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.



The look was reminiscent of the blue ensemble he wore when he first met his baby sister after Kate gave birth. However, back then, George wore a blue Amaia cardigan and light blue shorts.





All About Prince George's Adorable Arrival Look in Canada| The British Royals, The Royals, Prince George, Princess Charlotte

Related Video: Prince George's $100 Cardigan Sells out 'Overnight'







All About Prince George's Adorable Arrival Look in Canada| The British Royals, The Royals, Prince George, Princess Charlotte

But Saturday wasn't just about George. Charlotte looked equally adorable in a white and blue floral smocked dress with blue leather shoes.



The little princess was dressed in her usual traditional style ( signature Amaia hair bow firmly in place).
Drake's highly anticipated short film that loosely accompanies his last album Views has arrived. The rapper released the film, titled Please Forgive Me, via Apple Music early Monday morning. Anthony Mandler (Rihanna, Beyonce) co-directed the short film.

The first half of the film borrows heavily from the 1993 drama Indecent Proposal, with Drake's girl, played by Belgian model Fanny Neguesha, offered $1 million to spend the night with a shadowy millionaire. However, instead of fulfilling the parameters of the deal, Drake, his girl and associate Popcaan take out the liaison at the rendezvous point and make off with the cash.

The rapper then goes to return the money to the pissed-off crime boss, and that's when all hell breaks loose in the short film, leading to a violent, explosive conclusion.

Within Please Forgive Me, two songs from Views are showcased as in-film music videos: His smash "One Dance" takes place at a fiery dance party in Johannesburg, while "Controlla" features Neguesha dancing alone in the deserts of Namibia.

In addition to a handful more Views tracks  "Weston Road Flows," "9," "Views" and "Summer's Over Interlude"  Please Forgive Me also features new music composed by the rapper's go-to producer Noah "40" Shebib and incidental music like Fela Kuti's "Colonial Mentality."

Drake's album Views was a substantial breakthrough for the rapper. Released in April, the record held the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 for 12 consecutive weeks on the strength of five hit singles. "One Dance" became Drake's first Number One single as lead artist. Coming five months after the album, Please Forgive Me is likely to reinvigorate sales of Views, which has sold more than 1.4 million copies in the U.S.



Drake's last foray into film was in 2015 with Jungle, the 14-minute clip that found the rapper pondering the price of fame and the point of life. Jungle was intended as a preview of his fourth mixtape If You're Reading This, It's Too Late.

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Related Content:
A good point or a bad moment can make or break a campaign in a presidential debate.

Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford at 1976 debate in Philadelphia

While there were political debates in the 19th Century, presidential general election and primary debates are a 20th Century phenomenon. In 1948, Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen took part in a radio debate before the Oregon primary. Until the famous Nixon-Kennedy debates in 1960, just three other debates with presidential candidates, all in primaries, had taken place.

Heres a look back at some big debate moments on the eve of Mondays presidential nominee debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

1. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas set the debate gold standard. In 1858, the two legendary speakers met seven times in Illinois during a Senate contest. Each had to make a one-hour opening statement followed by a 90-minute rebuttal  outside and without microphones! Lincoln and Douglas argued over Lincolns claims that a house divided couldnt stand on its own.

2. The FDR debate that never happened. In 1940, Republican Wendell Willkie challenged incumbent Franklin Roosevelt to a series of debates. FDR declined, perhaps knowing that Willkie bested future Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson in a 1938 radio debate. Given Roosevelts ability as a public speaker, this could have been interesting!

3. John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon made debates relevant. In 1960, the Kennedy-Nixon debates riveted the nation and established television an important national political tool. In the first debate, a fresh-looking Kennedy stood in contrast to Nixon, who had a 5 oclock shadow and was coming off an illness. Radio listeners though Nixon was the better debater.

4. Fords mistake proved debates were still risky. Nominated presidential candidates avoided debates for 16 years after the Kennedy-Nixon debates (primary debates still took place). Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter resumed the practice in 1976, with Ford making a key mistake in stating the Poland and Eastern Europe werent under the Soviet Unions influence.

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5. Ronald Reagan: debate master. The former actor and California governor usually excelled on the debate platform. In 1980, he swung around a contentious New Hampshire primary debate by reminding debate organizers that he had paid for that microphone. Reagan later did well in debates against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale.

6. Mondale dominates Gary Hart in a primary debate. Former Vice President Mondale got in a few telling shots against Hart in a Georgia primary debate in 184 where he attacked a lack of details in Harts proposals. When I hear your new ideas, Im reminded of that ad, Wheres the beef? Mondale said as he launched a potent debate zinger that slowed Harts campaign momentum.

7. Bush and Clinton tackle the debt question. In a critical moment in the second 1992 presidential debate, President George H.W. Bush is seen checking his watch when asked a question about the national debt, while candidate Bill Clinton engages in a personal conversation with an audience member that showcased his political skills.

8. Al Gore sighs and sighs. Vice President Gore gets gored in the press after he repeatedly sighs and rolls his eyes in his first debate with George W. Bush. Polling data after the debate showed that Gores antics helped Bush in a critical campaign moment.

9. Lloyd Bentsen schools Dan Quayle. In a 1988 Vice Presidential campaign debate, Bentsen knew Quayle would make comparisons between himself and John F. Kennedy when asked about his age. Bentsen delivered one of the great zingers in political history. Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, youre no Jack Kennedy, Bensten said to loud applause from the audience.

10. Rick Perry and the Oops moment. In a 2011 GOP Primary debate, the Texas Governor forgets the answer to a question he had started about eliminating three federal departments. After Ron Paul offers to help, Perry admits he cant remember the third agency. The gaffe effectively ended the Perry campaign.

Recent Stories on Constitution Daily

How the Kennedy-Nixon debate that changed the world of politics

Great debates? It started with Lincoln and Douglas

10 famous political debate moments
An eight-year effort to identify and root out corruption in the government of Afghanistan was largely window dressing, and cases of bribery and embezzlement amounting to as much as $100 million went unprosecuted, according to a new report by a U.S. government watchdog.



The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said the High Office of Oversight, set up in 2008 to combat corruption in the Afghan government, was largely ineffective because high-level officials failed to cooperate. It quoted a HOO adviser as saying the office was essentially a ruse designed to keep the international community happy while the government bought more time."



Related: US Has Given Nearly $1 Billion in Property to Afghanistans Government

Of 47 high-level government officials who left office between 2008 and 2014, only eight filed the required asset declaration forms, and even former President Hamid Karzais declarations were incomplete.

In 2009, while Karzai was still in office, he declared cash in two German bank accounts, [but] did not provide the bank account numbers for verification purposes. Additionally, he said personal effects in the form of jewelry but did not give the owners name, the purchase cost, or the date of purchase, the report said. The Presidents declaration stated that he had no fixed assets to declarewhich would include an apartment, a house, land, business land, shops, a market, a company, or a vehicle.



When Karzai left office in 2015 he again listed cash in a German bank but no bank account number was given, and the source of the money was also left blank. Under personal effects, the President listed jewels but again provided no purchase date, no current value, and no source of income to purchase the asset. Again, no fixed assets, loans, or education expenses were listed, the report said.



Related: How Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Were Wasted on Afghan Mining Projects

Karzais Second Vice President, Mohammad Karim Khalili, declared that he had no cash assets or any personal effects when he took office in 2009. He declared a house but provided no information, the report said, and on leaving office again reported no cash assets or vehicles.

SIGAR said enforcement efforts were further stymied by the unwillingness of the Attorney Generals Office to investigate and prosecute corruption cases referred [that] involved embezzlement, bribery, and forgery ranging from bribes of $1,000 to cases involving more than $100 million, and implicated ministers. It was unable to find any cases that had been prosecuted.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
From Richard Nixons flop sweat to Rick Perrys Sorry Oops, candidates have often stumbled at the podium during presidential debates.

1960: During the first televised presidential debate, Richard Nixon refused to wear stage make-up, revealing his sweaty forehead under the hot TV lights. This made the younger John F. Kennedy look much more confident.

1976: Gerald Ford claimed that he didnt believe that Eastern Europe was under Soviet domain, which proved to be an unpopular opinion, as the moderator repeated the question in bewilderment.

1980: When the moderator tried to silence Ronald Reagans microphone during a Republican primary debate, Reagan shouted: I am paying for this microphone! The line became a political home run for Reagan. It was also borrowed it from the 1948 film State of the Union.

1980: In a general-election debate between incumbent president Jimmy Carter and Reagan, Carter said, I had a discussion with my daughter Amy the other day before I came here to ask her what the most important issue was. She said she thought the control of nuclear weaponry. Carter was mocked for taking policy advice from his 13-year-old daughter, helping Reagan to win the election.

1988: Michael Dukakis may have lost the election when he said he would still oppose the death penalty even if the killer raped and murdered his wife, Kitty.

1988: Vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle compared himself to Jack Kennedy and got hammered by Democratic rival Lloyd Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, youre no Jack Kennedy.

1992: George H.W. Bush checked his watch and tucked in his shirt during his debate with future president Bill Clinton, looking impatient when asked about the economy.

2000: Al Gore sighed during a debate with George W. Bush, which was widely perceived as condescending. It was so bad, aides made him watch the SNL parody of the gaffe before the next debate.

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2008: Hillary Clinton attacked Barack Obama for allegedly lifting lines from the speeches of Massachusetts politician Duval Patrick. She had a good zinger that didnt quite have the effect she was hoping for. Lifting whole passages from someone elses speeches is not change you can believe in, its change you can Xerox, Clinton said  but the audience booed.

2008: When a moderator asked Hillary Clinton if she had the personal appeal to overtake Barack Obama, the future president interjected that Clinton was likable enough.

2008: While illustrating a point about a Bush/Cheney energy bill that Obama had signed, Arizona Senator John McCain referred to the future president as that one.

2011: Texas Gov. Rick Perry shifted his reputation from budget-slasher to bungler when he blanked on the names of all three federal agencies he proposed to eliminate as president: I cant, the third one. I cant. Sorry. Oops.

2012: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney claimed that Obama didnt call Benghazi a terrorist attack. Obama confidently asked Candy Crowley to clear up the charge, which she does, pointing out Romneys mistake.
Tara Malone didn't know what she wanted to major in when she was vetting colleges as a high schooler.

"It killed me because I am that type of person that, I always want to plan and I usually have everything together, and so I came in undecided and I was just, I was very, very flustered about it. I wasn't happy about it at all," says Malone, now 19 and a sophomore at Louisiana State University--Baton Rouge studying chemical engineering.

"A lot of high schoolers these days are just overwhelmed with the amount of options that are out there," says Liz Fujita, a coordinator in the Center for Pre-College Outreach at Michigan Technological University and a 2012 graduate of the school, who works with local middle and high schoolers. She was undecided on a major at first, too, but ultimately earned a dual degree in mathematical and social sciences.

[Find out the pros and cons of applying to college as an undecided major.]

But Malone, a Mandeville, Louisiana, native, also had some reservations about the school she chose.

"I looked at the schools and there wasn't one that was calling to me the most, but I knew I had to make a decision and I did and I ended up loving it," says Malone. "Sometimes you really do have to just jump into something and you won't know until you are in it."

Here are three factors that undecided students should consider when vetting colleges.

1. A strong general education curriculum that allows students to explore: A strong, structured core curriculum allows students to explore many different academic areas and opportunities they have intellectually, says Wes Waggoner, associate vice president for enrollment management at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and a former high school counselor.

Sammie Farmer, a senior at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, landed on her major of international affairs, with a concentration in peace studies and a minor in economics, by taking a course as part of the college's core requirements freshman year.

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The now 21-year-old took an international politics class and really liked it. She realized she had taken many other core courses that fit within international affairs, an interdisciplinary major that covered many of the topics she wanted to learn about.

[Get advice from current students on choosing a college major.]

2. A lot of academic programs to choose from: But students should see if schools are flexible with students changing or adding majors and minors if they decide they want to study something else, says Waggoner.

If they go to a school that's too big, it may be harder to move around, he says.

Ohio State University--Columbus has more than 200 majors, which can be intimidating to some students, says Amy Treboni, director of the university exploration program.

But undecided students shouldn't limit their options by selecting a school just because it doesn't have as many majors, she says. Majors have similarities, so if students determine they don't like a particular subject, such as biology, they could rule out similar majors or ones that share characteristics they don't like.

Treboni suggests students look for schools with many resources and guidance to help students choose a major.

3. Faculty that are available to students: Undecided students may find faculty can be helpful when picking a major. Faculty can provide mentorship, ideas and inspiration, and show students the possibilities within a particular major or subject area, says Waggoner, of SMU.

Francesca Thomas, a 22-year-old senior at Miami University--Oxford in Ohio, says she was undecided on a major when she started school. After connecting with Ritter Hoy, a family friend in the news and public information office at the school who is now her mentor, she was inspired to major in media and culture. Later she added a family studies major.

Waggoner suggests prospective students see how willing faculty are to talk when they visit campus, or by phone or email. They could also look at a school's faculty-student ratios, average class sizes, especially for freshman courses, and figure out who teaches freshmen -- tenured faculty or graduate students.

[Consider out-of-school experiences to help choose a college major.]

Thomas says undecided students should take everything they feel into account when vetting schools. One campus visit isn't always going to help students make a decision, she says, and that's OK.

"You don't necessarily have to fall in love right away."

Farmer, the Marquette student, tells applicants, "It's a one-year decision."

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

Alexandra Pannoni is an education Web producer at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at apannoni@usnews.com.
The Daily Beast

Patrick Pleul/AFP via GettyJust days after he promised advertisers that Twitter would not become a free-for-all hellscape, Elon Musk used the platform he now owns to amplify a baseless conspiracy theory about the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosis husband by an intruder.There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye, Musk tweeted Sunday morning in reply to a tweet by Hillary Clinton blasting the Republican Party for creating a toxic environment that lays the gr
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG was founded in 1810 and is recognized as a renowned insurance company in the U.S. The company believes that human-centric investing can create solutions and advisor tools that not only strengthen bottom lines, but strengthen advisor-client relationships by helping investors better realize their true life goals.

Hartford Funds  a segment of Hartford Financial Services  has total assets of $74.9 billion under management (as of June 30, 2016). The company claims to manage more than 45 funds across a wide range of styles and asset classes.

Below we share with you four top-rated Hartford mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1(Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of Hartford funds.

Hartford Small Cap Growth HLS IB HBSGX invests the bulk of its assets in common stocks of small-cap companies with impressive growth prospects. The fund may invest about one-fifth of its assets in securities of non-U.S. companies. Hartford Small Cap Growth HLS IB has a three-year annualized return of 7%.

HBSGX has an expense ratio of 0.90% as compared to the category average of 1.37%.

Hartford Stock HLS IB HIBSX seeks capital appreciation over the long run. Though HIBSX invests in equity securities of companies irrespective of their market capitalization, it invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of companies with market capitalization similar to those listed on the Russell 1000 Index. The fund may also invest a maximum of 20% of its assets in securities of foreign companies. Hartford Stock HLS IB has a three-year annualized return of 9.4%.

Donald J. Kilbride is the fund manager of HIBSX since 2012.

Hartford Healthcare HLS IA HIAHX invests a large chunk of its assets in securities of both U.S. and non-U.S. health care companies. HIAHX invests in securities of companies located in several countries, irrespective of their size. The fund seeks growth of capital for the long run. Hartford Healthcare HLS IA has a three-year annualized return of 16.2%.

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HIAHX has an expense ratio of 0.86% as compared to the category average of 1.31%.

Hartford Growth Opportunities HLS IA HAGOX seeks capital growth and maintains a diversified portfolio by investing mainly in common stocks of growth-oriented, mid- and large-cap companies. HAGOX may invest not more than 20% of its assets in securities of foreign companies. Hartford Growth Opportunities HLS IA has a three-year annualized return of 12.5%.

As of July 2016, HAGOX held 101 issues, with 4.36% of its assets invested in Amazon.com Inc.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Hartford mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

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Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >>



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Zacks Investment Research
Oil prices rose early on Monday in Asia as expectations heightened that prominent oil producing countries may make headway on a production freeze deal. Statements made by various members of OPEC over the weekend suggested that an agreement could be arrived at.

These countries have assembled in Algeria to discuss methods to prop up the market for crude. Given the volatile nature of oil prices, this is a significant development and means that it could be a good time to pick up oil stocks.

Algeria Lifts Deal Hopes

Noureddine Bouterfa, oil minister of Algeria said that it was likely that a deal on fixing a production limit could reached this week. Underlining that fact oil could slump back to as low $30 per barrel, Bouterfa warned of the consequences that would follow in case a deal could not be reached. He claimed that members could not afford to end the meeting on a negative note.

Of course, Bouterfa was quick to acknowledge that it was likely only the elements of a deal may be arrived at during the meeting. Ever since dates of the meeting were revealed in August, Brent crude prices have swung within a narrow range of $45 to $50. The major catalyst for these movements has been statements from several representatives of oil producing countries.

Saudi Arabia, Iran Could Spoil the Party

Meanwhile, officials from Saudi Arabia said that they did not expect several prominent oil producing countries to reach an agreement during the meeting. Such a statement has created some amount of uncertainty among market watchers. The oil producing majors clash with rival Iran over the extent of production controls seems to be the major impediment toward reaching a deal.

Saudi Arabia had proposed to push production below the recent peak yearly average of 10.6million bpd. However, Iran, which has just emerged from major sanctions, seems to be unwilling to agree. This is because it would force the country to fix output at 3.6 million bpd. This is lower than the stated target of 4 million bpd, a level which president Hassan Rouhani proclaimed Iran has every right to produce.

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Our Choices

Despite murmurs among discontented members, OPEC members may be forced to come to an agreement in the immediate future. Failing to do so would spell doom for oil and send it back to lows where it was languishing before its recent recovery.

This is why it makes sense to add oil stocks to your portfolio at this point. However, picking winning stocks may prove to be difficult.

This is where our VGM score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM score.

Evolution Petroleum Corp. EPM is involved in acquiring, exploiting and developing onshore crude oil and natural gas assets in the U.S.

Evolution Petroleum has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 4.5% over the last 30 days.

NGL Energy Partners LP NGL is a limited partnership operating a vertically-integrated propane business.

NGL Energy Partners has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of B. The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for the current financial year (F1) is 16.62, lower than the industry average of 20.83.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. SNP, or Sinopec, with its head office in Beijing, China, is one of the largest petroleum and petrochemical companies in Asia.

Sinopec has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of B. It has a P/E (F1) of 18.10, which is lower than the industry average of 34.48. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 3.9% over the last 30 days.

Ultra Petroleum Corp. UPLMQ is an independent, exploration and production company focused on developing its long life natural gas reserves in the Green River Basin of Wyoming, and oil reserves in Bohai Bay, offshore China.

Ultra Petroleum has a VGM Score of A. The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 13.2% over the last 30 days. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

TOTAL S.A. TOT, based in France, is among the top five publicly traded global integrated oil and gas companies based on production volumes, proved reserves and market capitalization.

TOTAL S.A. has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 0.1% over the last 30 days. It has a P/E (F1) of 14.37, which is lower than the industry average of 23.95.

Where Do Zacks' Investment Ideas Come From?

You are welcome to download the full, up-to-the-minute list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buy" stocks free of charge. There is no better place to start your own stock search. Plus you can access the full list of must-avoid Zacks Rank #5 "Strong Sells" and other private research. See the stocks free >>



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Zacks Investment Research
From Cosmopolitan

The suspect in the Washington mall shooting has been arrested and charged with five counts of first degree murder, according to Skagit County jail records via CNN.

Arcan Cetin, 20, was taken into custody Saturday night after a nearly 24-hour manhunt. On Friday night, he shot and killed four women and one man in a Macy's at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, just north of Seattle, before fleeing toward an interstate on foot.

People fled, customers hid in dressing rooms, and employees locked the doors of nearby stores after gunshots rang out just after 7 p.m. Friday at the Cascade Mall. A helicopter, search teams, and K-9 units scoured the area for a rifle-carrying man.

"We are still actively looking for the shooter," Washington State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Francis said at a Friday night news conference. "Stay indoors, stay secure."

Authorities said four females, whose ages were not given, died after the gunman opened fire in the makeup department of a Macy's store. An adult male who was wounded in the shooting died early Saturday, officials said. His location in the mall was unclear.

Police said they were looking for a man wearing black and armed with a "hunting-type" rifle and last seen walking toward Interstate 5. The description, including that he appeared to be Hispanic, was based on statements from witnesses, said Given Kutz, a spokesman for the Skagit County Emergency Operations Center.

Authorities said the motive was unknown for the shooting about 60 miles north of Seattle.



The FBI was assisting local authorities as dozens of police officers searched for the suspect. The FBI's Seattle office said on Twitter that it "has no information to suggest additional attacks planned" in Washington state but did not elaborate.

Though the four female victims were in the makeup area, it is unclear where the male victim was when he was shot.

Tari Caswell told the Skagit Valley Herald that she was in the Macy's women's dressing room when she heard "what sounded like four balloons popping."

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"Then I heard seven or eight more, and I just stayed quiet in the dressing room because it just didn't feel right. And it got very quiet. And then I heard a lady yelling for help, and a man came and got me and another lady, and we ran out of the store," Caswell told the newspaper.

Stephanie Bose, an assistant general manager at Johnny Carino's Italian restaurant near the Macy's store at the mall, said she immediately locked the doors to the restaurant after hearing about the shooting from an employee's boyfriend.

"He was trying to go to the mall and people were screaming," she told The Associated Press. "It was frantic."

She said he could see police at the doors with assault rifles and said they were no longer guarding the doors as of 9:30 p.m.

Francis said at about 8:30 p.m. that the mall had been evacuated and emergency medical personnel were cleared to enter. Francis said authorities were still doing a "final clear" of the 434,000-square-foot mall late Friday night. He said 11 search teams and two K9 units were involved.

The parking lot was closed and emergency management officials told people they would be able to retrieve vehicles Saturday, though the mall said it would be closed for the day.

Gov. Jay Inslee said tragedy had struck the state.

"We urge residents to heed all safety and detour warnings. Stay close to your friends and loved ones as we await more information and, hopefully, news of the suspect's capture," Inslee said in a statement.

The Cascade Mall is an enclosed shopping mall that opened in 1990, according to the mall's website. It features J.C. Penney, TJ Maxx, and Macy's stores, among other stores, restaurants and a movie theater.

On Sept. 17 a man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. Authorities say Dahir Ahmed Adan, 20, stabbed the people at the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The Associated Press.

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As we long for artisanal charcuterie, our children crave fries.

While we dream of fluffy Spanish omelets, our kids want chicken fingers shaped like dinosaurs.

As we thirst for earthy reds, our youngsters hope for fizzy sodas -- preferably served in a plastic take-home cup.

While you and your kids might disagree on what makes a good meal, you can enjoy a night out together regardless of what's on the table. If your kids agree (however reluctantly) to take a few bites of broccoli or give lobster a try, you can reward them with a meal at one of their favorite restaurants.

And after treating your kids, you might be surprised when you take a look at your bill at the end of the meal. Many eateries offer free kids meals on certain days of the week, when you can take out your whole family for dinner on the cheap.

[See: 10 Fun, Frugal Ways to Spend Your Free Time.]

Read on for a list of restaurants and dates when little ones can eat free. Keep in mind that these offers are typically for children who are 12 and younger and usually require the purchase of an adult entree.

Double check our restaurant schedule, load your tykes into the minivan, and head to one of these nine spots with free kids meals.

1. Applebee's

Dates: Varies

Applebee's entices young diners with a colorful menu of kid classics. Kids can pair mains like grilled cheeses and chicken grillers with nutritious sides. Think apple dippers, carrots and yogurt. Meanwhile, you can enjoy dishes from a diverse menu of pasta, seafood, burgers and salads. Only select locations participate in kids eat free nights, so be sure to check in with your local Applebee's.

2. Bennigan's

Dates: Tuesdays after 4 p.m.

This Irish-themed eatery features a mix of American favorites and Irish classics. The kids menu includes several healthy options, including a chicken salad, chicken wrap and roasted veggies. Meals include a side and a surprise.

[See: How to Live on $13,000 a Year.]

3. Denny's

Dates: Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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Though Denny's is famous for its 24-hour breakfast, it does have a selection lunch and dinner comfort foods. Your kids can opt for breakfast-for-dinner selections, such as chocolate chip pancakes and French toast. Or they can go for more traditional supper items, such as spaghetti and junior cheeseburgers. You'll be faced with the same choice (breakfast food or dinner food), plus the decision of whether to give into temptation and order the chocolate lava cake.

4. Dickey's Barbecue Pit

Dates: Sundays

The kids menu at Dickey's Barbecue Pit is short and simple. Your kiddos have a choice of three meals: chicken nuggets, a sandwich plate or a meat plate. It's an opportunity to introduce your kids to the wonders of hickory smoked barbecue while you enjoy your own plate of beef brisket and pork ribs.

5. Ikea

Dates: Tuesdays

Hidden among the sofas and build-it-yourself dressers at IKEA, you'll stumble upon a Swedish-style bistro. After a long Tuesday of shopping for furniture, you can reward your kid with a free meal. Your youngsters can sample the tastes of Sweden with a plate of Ikea's famous Swedish meatballs. We suggest ordering a plate for yourself, too.

6. IHOP

Dates: All week long

IHOP treats youngsters to free meals not one, not two but seven nights of the week. The kids menu focuses on breakfast items, including the whimsical make-your-own face pancakes. You have the opportunity for culinary creativity too with create-your-own omelet and breakfast combos.

7. Pizza Hut

Dates: Tuesdays

To unlock this deal, purchase the adult pizza buffet. While you peruse an endless selection of pizza, pasta, salads, and more, your little ones can look over the kids menu. The children's selection includes pizzeria classics, such as spaghetti, garlic sticks and -- of course -- pizza.

[See: 12 Habits of Phenomenally Frugal Families.]

8. TGI Fridays

Dates: Mondays and Tuesdays

An American-favorite since 1965, TGI Fridays boasts an extensive menu of freshly grilled steaks, burgers and imaginative cocktails. While you flip through the many-paged menu, your kids can choose from classics designed for "smaller appetites" and "heartier appetites." All kiddie meals come with carrots and celery sticks.

9. Uno Chicago Grill

Dates: Tuesdays

In addition to kid's classics, the Uno children's menu includes a make-your-own pizza option. Your children can happily decorate dough with sauce, cheese and toppings while you dig into Uno's signature Chicago-style deep dish.

Maria Lalonde honed her deal-hunting skills while traveling through South America and Southeast Asia, combing colorful local markets for unique finds. Her love of blogging and thirst for deals brought her to Offers.com, where she blogs about savings tips.
A sneak peek for the second episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.s fourth season (airing Tuesdays at 10/9c, on ABC) drops the first major clue about who exactly is the new boss of Coulson, May et al.

RELATEDAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 Premiere Recap: Hot Wheels

In the clip below, the aforementioned field agents pay a visit to the new Director (played by Jason OMara), whom Coulson addresses by the first name of Jeffrey.

Meet the new Director! #AgentsofSHIELD is all-new tomorrow at 10|9c. pic.twitter.com/4wEliwof0a  Agents of SHIELD (@AgentsofSHIELD) September 26, 2016

When OMaras casting was first announced, it was said that hed be playing a character whose Marvel roots go back to the 1940s. The actor himself told TVLine in August that the Director has a very manly name. Add in the seemingly trivial fact that OMara will be working sans his native Irish brogue and one must wonder: Is this the patriotic, 70-year-old character he is playing?

RELATEDAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fall Preview: The Team Deals With a New Director, and a Fiery Foe

Watch the sneak peek above and share your current theory on the new boss identity, as well as his managerial style/worrying about Daisy and optics.

Related stories

S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: Catch the Spirit -- Plus, the New Director Is [Spoiler]

Ratings: This Is Us Opens Strong, No. 2 for the Night; Bull Matches NCIS

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 Premiere Recap: Hot Wheels
Since 2000, an art installation called the Gateway Pylon Project, featuring an array of 100-foot-tall translucent glass towers, has presided over the entrance to LAX. The columns are synchronized to change colors in complex 15-minute sequences experienced most fittingly at dusk while stuck in a logjam near the intersection of Century and Sepulveda boulevards. It's the light show that presages the shitshow ahead.

"LAX just sucks," says Paul Guyot, an executive producer on TNT's The Librarians and the upcoming Nat Geo series The Black 22s. "The traffic is horrendous. I purposely schedule flights to avoid the worst traffic, but it still can take 20 minutes to cover the last few miles. After you get there, even if you fly first class and get in one of those 'fancy people' lines, you still have to do the Bataan Death March to get through security. Then the food choices are awful: a stupid food truck in one terminal, some faux French bakeries and crappy fast food masqueraded as 'gourmet' burgers. The whole thing is so L.A. - pretending to be better than it actually is."

That's in line with the opinions of 13.5 million air travelers surveyed in an annual ranking of the world's top 100 airports released by researcher Skytrax. In the 2016 report, LAX rose seven spots to No. 91, behind such esteemed hubs as Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and Detroit Metro. (Singapore's Changi earned top honors.) Participants expressed a litany of complaints about a lack of terminal seating, poor food choices, terminal cleanliness, staff friendliness and immigration lines - in short, nearly everything.

Read more: How LAX and Its Airlines Are Upgrading to First Class

In the same vein, J.D. Power recently released the findings of its 10th annual study of North American airport satisfaction, and after asking travelers to rank terminal facilities at the 31 largest U.S. airports, LAX - the nation's second-busiest airport - finished 29th, edging out LaGuardia and Newark in the basement. Not to be outdone by market researchers, the Los Angeles City Controller's office released a 240-page critique of LAX in February that meticulously itemizes the airport's complicated problems. (Commenting on the arrivals area, the report calls the lower level "dark, noisy, impersonal, congested and unclear regarding which direction to walk.") While other U.S. airports are unveiling spa services, free lactation pods, fenced-in dog parks, rentable private daybeds, farm-to-table dining, luxury shopping, elaborate play zones for kids, live music, art-gallery spaces, sophisticated intra-terminal people-movers and even complimentary yoga studios, travelers at LAX can't count on finding a seat at their gate or someplace to plug in a phone or a Starbucks in every terminal.

Story continues

Fortunately there is hope in the not-too-distant future. Several big construction projects are underway to bring the airport, which is landlocked, historically underfunded and uses terminals built during the 1960s, into the 21st century: improved terminals (the ongoing $14 billion modernization plan is tackling Terminals 1, 7 and 8), a new Metro station far closer than the Green Line's Aviation/LAX stop, a centralized rental-car facility, a new station to siphon shuttle buses away from the terminals - all connected by a sophisticated tram system. (The airlines have plans, too, including American's Flagship Lounge for business and first-class passengers, set to open in 2017, and a $1.9 billion project to move Delta into radically modernized Terminals 2 and 3 that recently was approved by airport officials.) In a decade or so, we'll be golden. But until then, prepare to suffer.

A sea of headlights is an everyday sight on Sepulveda.

HORRIBLE TRAFFIC

The problems begin on the approach to the airport - typically in a car or shuttle bus, but first-class travelers in limos or UberLux cannot bypass the logjam. ("I get stuck in traffic at LAX all the time," says Jason Priestley. "I seriously wish I could get in and out of there by helicopter.") LAX served nearly 75 million passengers in 2015, and the airport is struggling to handle the volume. LAX officials say they are dealing with factors beyond their control: lower airfares spurred by declining fuel prices, larger planes, more flights - and, of course, a rising tide of people from around the world who want to visit L.A. (and then fly home). An average of more than 75,000 vehicles a day entered the central terminal area in 2015, a jump of 10,000 compared with only two years earlier.

"We don't have the luxury to close the airport or phase in improvements over decades - we have to deliver the future LAX while operating 24/7," says Charles Pannunzio, a spokesperson for Los Angeles World Airports, the city department that manages LAX. "Over the next few years, passengers will see a lot of traffic - but they'll see progress, too."

Although Pannunzio notes that every effort is made to staff up construction projects during off-peak hours, the road to progress likely will involve years of misery that cannot be circumvented by Waze - nor is the 30-minute ordeal that is the simple act of hailing an Uber ride avoidable now that the inner pickup lane at Terminal 1 is shut down around the clock.

Customs lines top 40 minutes on bad days.

LONG LINES, SLOW DOWNLOADS

First-class passengers and A-listers can circumvent some of the worst if they qualify for American's Flagship program or Delta One - services that offer private entrances, check-in, food services, elevators and expedited security to VIPs - but everyone else faces lines and more lines. According to the TSA, security lines at LAX are third-worst in the nation, with an average wait of 16 minutes, and a private-sector analysis concluded LAX has the fourth-worst customs wait time, topping 20 minutes.

If you think that's slow, try downloading a show before boarding a flight without Wi-Fi. Market researcher RootMetrics published a comprehensive report of mobile-network performance at the 50 largest U.S. airports, and LAX ranked 48th (ahead of only San Diego and Philadelphia). After testing all four major carriers at LAX, the fastest download of a 45-minute HD TV episode, smack in the travel hub of Hollywood, took 30 minutes (on Verizon); by contrast, the same show was downloaded at Atlanta Hartsfield in less than two minutes.

But there's a medium-bright spot at LAX: a 77 percent on-time arrival rate - merely unremarkable among big U.S. airports. Of course, there's a catch: Frequent fliers have noted the psych-out of landing on schedule or a little early, only to hear that the taxi process will be lengthy or the gate isn't ready. A MileCards.com study found that LAX's runway taxi times - nearly 11 minutes on average - are worst in the nation. With multiple runways (some far from the terminals), high flight volumes with a limited number of gates and immense Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 jets paralyzing taxiways, you often land "on time" and still get to the baggage carousel late.

Read more: The Insider's Guide to 24- and 48-Hour SoCal Summer Staycations

TERRIBLE FOOD

With the closure of the Jetsons-era Theme Building, the only presecurity restaurant at LAX is a pizza place in the Tom Bradley International Terminal. And while the TBIT is full of fine L.A.-specific choices, once you penetrate TSA, the other terminals charitably can be labeled hit-or-miss. Just ask fliers on JetBlue and Virgin America who use Terminal 3, where the only food options are Starbucks, Burger King, a La Brea Bakery kiosk with shrink-wrapped sandwiches and a Gladstone's 4 Fish pub. Compared with options available to domestic travelers at SFO (Lark Creek Grill), JFK (La Vie and Piquillo), Newark (Cambodian sandwiches at Vo Banh Mi) and Boston Logan (Legal's Test Kitchen and Todd English's Bonfire), the choices in most LAX terminals resemble the food court at a Torrance shopping mall. "I spend more of my life than I'd prefer to admit at LAX, and the food situation is a catastrophe," says interior decorator Jeremiah Brent (Hollywood clients include Rachel Zoe), who has a new show on TLC with husband Nate Berkus. "I'd kill for a nice, fresh salad and a great coffee before I get on the plane."

Actress Betsy Brandt has more realistic wishes: "Hopefully they improve the airport bars, even if they can't fix the traffic. I like to have a drink before I fly."

***

5 LAX HACKS

Know your security-line wait before you arrive and other inside secrets

1. DO NEXT-LEVEL MAPPING

Using Waze or Google Maps to outsmart airport traffic is essential, but they can't predict the odd timing of the myriad con- struction projects throughout LAX. To do that, peek at the real-time traffic map at LAXIsHappening.com.

2. FLIP THE SCRIPT

A trick favored by Uber drivers: LAX traffic generally is most insane on the upper level (departures) early in the day and on the lower level (arrivals) in the late after- noon and evening. It could save 15 minutes or more to get dropped off or picked up on the opposite level - all terminals have curbside escalators or inside elevators for those laden with bags. Bonus tip: Traffic tends to be lightest in the early morning and early afternoon.

3. UBER SMARTER

If one level is far less congested than the other, arriving passengers can select a driving service to take advantage of the imbal- ance. UberX and XL must pick up on the upper level, while UberBlack, SUV and Lux use the lower level.

4. IF POSSIBLE, TIME YOUR DEPARTURES

TSA lines aren't as unpredict- able as you might think. Look up real-time waits at https://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/ mytsa/wait_times_home. aspx (checked for 5 p.m. on a Friday, waits ranged from zero for a TSA Precheck passenger in Terminal 7 to 30 minutes for Terminal 4). Search average wait times for any terminal, day and time at https://airports-airlines.com/ security-wait-times-LAX. html. Bonus tip: if Precheck and first-class lines are the same length, the waits for Precheck - where belts and shoes stay on - usually will be shorter.

5. PLAN THE WALK BETWEEN TERMINALS

Unlike many modern big airports - such as Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth - that have speedy people-movers to whisk trav- elers from one terminal to another, LAX is a pedestrian affair. But in many cases, passengers with connec- tions unnecessarily pass through security and walk the lower-level sidewalks. With the completion of an upper-level connector between Terminal 4 and the TBIT, travelers now can walk from Terminal 8 to the inter- national terminal without dealing with security. It's hardly elegant - some of the walkways are below- ground tunnels, others are elevated connectors - but it's a way to avoid an unneces- sary TSA headache. A map of the system can be viewed at https://www.laxishappening .com/assets/pdf/LAX-CTA- South-Tunnel-Map.pdf

This story first appeared in the Sept. 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
By Tom Polansek

CHICAGO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is looking into concerns that global consolidation among major seed and agricultural chemical companies may squeeze supplies of the building blocks for widely used genetically modified seeds, a farm group told Reuters.

The department has asked the American Soybean Association for details about how small and independent seed companies license seed traits from developers, said Steve Censky, chief executive of the association.

The federal inquiries started after Dow Chemical said in December that it would seek to merge with DuPont in a $130 billion deal. In recent months, department officials have also asked how farmers select seeds, Censky said.

Such questions are common in antitrust reviews, as regulators try to decide whether to approve, reject or place conditions on a merger.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Smaller companies need to license corn and soybean traits, which can protect against insects and other threats, because they cannot afford the more than $100 million it costs to develop them.

Major seed makers often license traits and other genetic material to smaller dealers that have close relationships with farmers and can help place products on more acres.

Independent seed sellers said the proposed Dow-Dupont merger could hurt them if the companies decide to hike licensing fees or to keep their best traits for themselves. They have similar concerns about subsequent announcements that Bayer AG would seek to buy Monsanto Co and that Chinese state-owned China National Chemical Corp aimed to acquire Syngenta AG. All three deals are still pending.

"It's the big question that everybody is looking at right now," said Todd Martin, CEO of the Independent Professional Seed Association, about the future of licensing. "Anything that does not support the expansion of the licensing market, we are against."

The association has asked Dow and DuPont to expand licensing as part of their merger. The soybean association, which represents more than 20,000 U.S. farmers, told the Justice Department that trait licensing by major companies needs to be preserved, Censky said.

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LICENSING PLANS UNCERTAIN

Unlike Dow, Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta, DuPont has not been active in licensing traits.

That has raised concerns among small seed companies that a combined Dow-DuPont could pull back on licensing the technology, a prospect Martin said would be "incredibly negative" for independent sellers.

Independent companies supply about 20 percent of corn and soybeans seeds in North America, giving farmers choices as they work to boost harvests in a downturn. Without licensing, the number of brands of corn seed would probably drop to less than a dozen from about 200 currently, Martin said.

Dow told Reuters it has not made decisions on trait licensing because its deal with DuPont has not been finalized. Monsanto said it was "too soon to have any of those answers" about whether its $66 billion acquisition by Bayer would affect licensing.

Syngenta said its $43 billion acquisition by ChemChina will not change its licensing conditions.

DuPont and ChemChina did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trait licensing was on the agenda at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, where executives of top companies defended their planned mergers and acquisitions. Bayer CropSciences's CEO told senators it had "no plans to discontinue" trait licensing.

But Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and the committee chair, was one of several lawmakers who worried the deals would slow innovation in seeds and pest control.

Sonny Beck, CEO of Beck's Hybrids, the largest family-owned U.S. seed company, told Reuters the company pays to license nearly all its traits from larger companies, including Dow and Monsanto.

"If they say, 'we're going to keep it all for ourselves,'" he said, "that would hurt us."

(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Brian Thevenot)
By Steve Holland NEW YORK (Reuters) - (This story corrects sixth paragraph to say Matt Schlapp was White House political director, not deputy.) Dozens of former appointees of the administration of former President George W. Bush announced their support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Sunday in a bid for party unity ahead of Trump's first debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Bush family and many connected to it remain cool to Trump. Former President George H.W. Bush reportedly plans to vote for Clinton in the Nov. 8 election while his Jeb, a former Trump rival, has said he will not vote for Clinton or Trump. George W. Bush has avoided the presidential race while helping raise money for Republican congressional candidates. But a number of former Bush appointees have decided to endorse Trump, the New York businessman who is in a tight race with Clinton and is to debate her one-one-one at Hofstra University on Monday night in Hempstead, New York. Fifty former Bush appointees were on a list of people described as founding members of a coalition of Bush alumni supportive of Trump. The list was provided by a Republican official close to the Trump campaign. The list included former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, former Treasury Secretary John Snow and former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. The list also included former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi and former White House political director Matt Schlapp, who is chairman of the American Conservative Union. Thompson, in a statement, explained his decision to be on the list. "Americans want to trust our leaders again, to know that they are fighting for everyday Americans by creating jobs, growing our economy, defending our nation from terrorism, and respecting the voters enough to be straight-forward and honest with them," Thompson said. Trump has struggled to rally many in the Republican Party behind him. On Friday, he received the endorsement of former rival Ted Cruz, but many establishment figures remain skeptical about him, such as Ohio Governor John Kasich. (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Robert Birsel and Bill Trott)
By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly 40 aid workers have been evacuated from a northern area of South Sudan due to deteriorating security, the U.N. food agency said on Monday. The World Food Program (WFP) said 38 people from three U.N. agencies and three aid organizations were flown out of Jazeera and Nhialdu in Unity State last week amid signs that fighting was imminent. Fighting erupted in South Sudan at the end of 2013 between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former deputy Riek Machar. A peace deal signed in 2015 proved shaky and fresh clashes flared in the capital, Juba, in July, raising fears the young nation could slide back into civil war. The conflict has helped fuel a hunger crisis, affecting an estimated 4.8 million people. WFP said its rapid-response team had registered nearly 25,000 people for food assistance in Jazeera before being pulled out. They have been relocated to the central town of Rumbek. Other humanitarian staff were working on education, water, sanitation and protection programs as well as projects to rebuild livelihoods. They were flown to Rubkona town. "We hope the security situation will improve enough to allow re-deployment of our team as soon as possible so we can get people the food assistance they need," a WFP spokeswoman said. "Extended fighting always tends to make humanitarian needs worse." The Danish Refugee Council confirmed seven of its staff working on food security and protection had been relocated and would return as soon as tensions eased. Insecurity across South Sudan has uprooted some 1.6 million people from their homes and another 1 million have fled the country. South Sudan had more attacks on aid workers than any other country last year, including shootings, rapes and mass lootings. At least 57 aid workers have been killed since the end of 2013 and many more are missing. (Editing by Ros Russell; 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.)
Congratulations are in order for Alan Tudyk!

The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star married his fiancee, choreographer Charissa Barton, at The Paramour Estate in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood on Saturday, the newlyweds confirmed via People.

Barton wore a gorgeous, strapless Vera Wang gown, while Tudyk was quite dapper in his Armani tuxedo and bow tie.

EXCLUSIVE: Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk Dish on 'Con Man,' 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' and Wild Comic-Con Fans

Family and friends enjoyed food from Contemporary Catering and dessert, including cake and ice cream sandwiches, from Vanilla Bake Shop & Ron's Artisanal Ice Cream, while flowers were provided by Catalina Neal, according to People.

On Friday, Tudyk -- who is also known for roles in the cult series Firefly, as well as movies like DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, A Knight's Tale, and Tucker & Dave vs. Evil -- jokingly tweeted to fans, asking for tips on what to do on his wedding day. Barton responded in hilarious fashion: "@AlanTudyk Get married at the same time that I do, same venue, same altar. #cantwait."

@AlanTudyk Get married at the same time that I do, same venue, same altar. #cantwait https://t.co/LGmefXSGE0  Charissa Barton (@charissabarton1) September 23, 2016

ET's Cameron Mathison spoke with Tudyk in February, shortly after he got engaged, where the 45-year-old actor joked about how lucky his then-fiancee was to be taking on his last name. "She's going to be Charissa Tudyk," he said at the Zootopia premiere in Los Angeles, before teasing his bride-to-be, "You lucky lady!"

WATCH: Josh Brolin Marries Kathryn Boyd in Gorgeous North Carolina Ceremony

Related Articles
Expectations for Hillary Clinton are high going into the first general election debate. Nearly half, 47%, of voters think Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will best Donald Trump during the prime time debate on Monday, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. Thirty-three percent think Trump will win.

The poll comes just a day after Clintons running mate Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia raised the bar on expectations ahead of the debate, telling a crowd in Florida on Sunday that his running mate will be very, very good on stage at Hofstra University. When the lights are bright like they are now she brings the A-plus game, Kaine said.

The stakes will be high for both candidates at the debate with the race between Clinton and Trump narrowing in recent weeks. The ABC News/WaPo poll shows 44% of likely voters would vote for Trump if the election were held today and 46% would vote for Clinton. A new Bloomberg Politics poll finds the race even closer with the candidates tied, 46-46, among likely voters in two-way contests.

The key to both of the candidates standing among voters is their core supportersfor Trump, the non-college educated white men who support him 76-17 and the college-educated white women who support Clinton 57-32. In all, the poll shows, Trump leads by 16 points among white voters and Clinton leads among minority voters by 50 points. The electorate also appears to be divided starkly by gender, with both candidates leading voters of their respective gender by 19 points.

The poll was conducted between Sept. 16 and Sept. 22 among 1,001 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
EATONTOWN, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / American CryoStem Corporation (CRYO), a leading developer, marketer and licensor of patented adipose tissue based cellular technologies for the regenerative and personalized medicine industries with laboratories in New Jersey, and licensed labs in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, today announced that John Arnone, CEO of CRYO will moderate The World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress Stem Cell Panel and will also be presenting the Company's adipose derived stem cell products and services at the Educational Breakout Session titled "Science Fiction to Science Fact: Get to Know Stem Cells as the Future of Medicine". The World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress is being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington DC on September 25th-28th, 2016.

The Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress (WMTC) is the most comprehensive international healthcare conference and medical tourism tradeshow in the industry. WMTC is the only global event where organizations can connect with leaders from healthcare, insurance, government, and industry from nearly 100 countries.

"We are pleased to be invited to lead the stem cell panel discussion at the 9th annual meeting" stated John Arnone, CEO of American CryoStem Corporation. "This venue creates a global networking opportunity for companies to build international business relationships and exchange information about medical products and services and the latest trends in the global Regenerative Medicine industry."

About American CryoStem Corporation:



American CryoStem Corporation (OTC Pink: CRYO), Founded in 2008, is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of life-enhancing, stem cell technologies in the field of Personalized, Regenerative Medicine. The company offers researchers, physicians and patients a proprietary stem-cell collection, processing and cryogenic storage platform to prepare patients for (current or future) regenerative applications using their own adult stem cells to address the impact of aging, injury and other medical disorders. Adipose derived stem cells use in Regenerative Medicine has many applications, the pure fat tissue may be used as a natural-cosmetic filler to restore a younger appearance, or the cells may be used to address the wear and tear of joints and in other degenerative diseases especially where a family history of illness is known.

Story continues

For more information please visit: www.americancryostem.com

SOURCE: American CryoStem Corporation
The eighth annual amfAR Milano gala raised a record amount of nearly $2 million over the weekend for the fight against AIDS.

The black tie dinner, which was hosted by the jewelry house Harry Winston in conjunction with Milan Fashion Week, honored the entrepreneur Lapo Elkann and attracted some of the fashion industry's most powerful figures. Actress Heather Graham, burlesque icon Dita Von Teese and Victoria's Secret angels Adriana Lima, Karolina Kurkova and Sara Sampaio were just a few of the stars who attended the event. Model Lottie Moss, Italian TV chef Carlo Cracco and fashion designer Kenneth Cole were also present at the party, which featured live performances by Charli XCX and The Brazilian Girls.

AmfAR Chairman of the Board Cole spoke about the organization's efforts to find a cure for AIDS by 2020. Praising the fashion industry's commitment to the cause, he said: "They have had a consistently generous impact on the struggle and certainly on amfAR's efforts from day one." Meanwhile Elkann, who received an 'Award of Courage' in recognition of his outstanding personal commitment to the fight against AIDS, said: "It's not about me. It's about AIDS. It's about being generous."

The funds were partly raised via a live auction, which featured an array of luxury items including a portfolio of 25 lithographs by renowned surrealist painter Salvador Dali, which sold for 45,000. Tickets to the 2017 Golden Globe Awards sold for 80,000 and seats at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and after-party fetched 100,000. Additional pieces included a one-of-a-kind Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection 1985 gift box, Harry Winston earrings and a 1961 Douglas Kirkland photograph featuring a nude Marilyn Monroe.



AmfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, is a leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy. Since its first international benefit, held in 1993 with the help of Dame Elizabeth Taylor, its glamorous galas in Milan, New York, Cannes, Venice and Rome have helped raise millions for critical research programs.
The news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitts divorce created quite a stir globally. Now as per a popular international weekly magazine Angelina and her children have moved out from the house she lived in with her estranged husband Brad Pitt.

Recommended: Angelina Jolie quits movie to avoid working with Brad Pitt

According to reports, the Salt actor now lives in a rental house in LA with her six children. A source said that Jolie rented the home during the second week of September, a month before she filed for a divorce from Brad. The source further stated, You could tell Angelina was in a rush to find a new house. Her people signed a lease very quickly. They only seemed concerned about if it was an appropriate house for kids."

Angelina filed for divorce this week on September 20 ending her two-year-old marriage with the Fight Club actor. She even asked for the custody of the children giving Brad only visitation rights.

Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children and three biological kids.


Men who experience excessive anxiety may be at increased risk of dying from cancer, a new study from Europe suggests.

In the study, the researchers analyzed information from more than 15,000 people ages 40 to 79 in the United Kingdom, who were followed for 15 years.

Results showed that men who had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder were twice as likely to die from cancer during the study period compared with men who had not been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. No link between anxiety and cancer was found for women.

Generalized anxiety disorder is a mental health condition in which people experience excessive and prolonged anxiety or worry, and may also have physical symptoms, such as muscle tension, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. [11 Tips to Lower Stress]

Although more research is needed to confirm the findings, the results raise new questions about the potential health effects of anxiety, said study co-author Olivia Remes, a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge.

"With this study, we show that anxiety is more than just a personality trait, but rather, it is a disorder that may be associated with risk of death from conditions such as cancer," Remes said in a statement. "Society may need to consider anxiety as a warning signal for poor health."

Previous studies have looked at whether anxiety is linked with premature death from major causes of disease, but results from those studies have been mixed, the researchers said. The new study is the largest to look at the link between anxiety and cancer, and the first to find an association between anxiety and cancer death in men, Remes said.

The findings held even after the researchers took into account other factors that might affect death from cancer, including age, smoking and drinking habits, and physical activity level, the researchers said.

Still, the researchers noted that their findings do not show that anxiety causes cancer. The study found only an association between the two conditions, and more studies are needed to determine the reasons for the link, the researchers said. It's possible that men with anxiety have other risk factors that increase their chances of developing cancer but that the new study was not able to take into account, Remes said.

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More studies are also needed to determine whether anxiety is linked with a higher risk of death for certain types of cancer, and whether treatment for anxiety would reduce the risk of cancer death, the researchers said.

The findings were presented this week at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress in Vienna. The study has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed science journal.

Original article on Live Science.

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Arts Alliance Distribution has bought U.K. rights to U.S. horror movie The Eyes of My Mother, Nicolas Pesces debut film, which premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance in January. The film will be the first release under Park Circus new Future Classics label.

Park Circus is well-known for its distribution of classic studio titles. But in recent years, Arts Alliance CEO Nick Varley said, Park Circus has increasingly been asked to handle studio festival acquisitions, which led to the distributor looking at the possibility of occasionally putting out an independent release on its own.

The Eyes of My Mother is visually stunning, and we decided to pick it up, Varley told Variety. He said the new label is not intended to be a new independent film distributor in Britain but is a sub-brand intended to differentiate new acquisitions from the classic titles that form Park Circus core business.

We are not in the business of acquiring lots of first-run independent films, says Varley. Well use [the Future Classics label] two to three times a year to put out some new films from new filmmakers that we feel are marketable to an audience. We want to present them as the next generation of classics.

The Eyes of My Mother tells the story of a young woman, unfazed by death from an early age, whose desire to connect with the world around her takes a distinctly dark form.

The film, which Variety called an impressive, highly original horror fable and the stuff of very beautiful nightmares, receives its U.K. premiere during the BFI London Film Festival in October. Future Classics will release it theatrically in Britain in early 2017.

Related stories

Sundance Horror Film 'The Eyes of My Mother' Sells to Magnet Releasing (EXCLUSIVE)

Film Review: 'The Eyes of My Mother'
From Cosmopolitan

When Ashley Graham moved to New York to model in 2005, she didn't have the best spending habits. She spent the majority of what she was making without putting much, if any, money away. She always took cabs instead of the subway and enjoyed the nightlife without much thought to her wallet. A major turning point when she realized she ought to make a change, she notes, was when she had to pay her taxes each year. Too real, Ashley. Too real.

On stage Saturday at Cosmopolitan's Fun Fearless Money conference, held in partnership with finance company SoFi, Graham and model-turned-mogul Tyra Banks discussed female mentorship, motivation, and career goals. And Graham explained that, with guidance from friends like Tyra and trusted advisers, she now recognizes the benefits of saving in order to fuel what pretty much everyone hopes will be a lengthy career. Its so important to be on a budget constantly, she told the audience. It doesnt mean youre broke, it doesnt mean you cant have things that you want, you just budget differently. Cosmopolitan.com caught up with Graham right before she took the stage to talk brands, beauty, and the models she thinks should be making headlines.

Youve built this amazing brand of body activism, and its all about positivity. What does it feel like when people come after you on social media whenever they see a photo of a certain angle and accuse you of losing weight?

At the end of the day Im tired of addressing it on social media, because I already wrote about it on Lenny Letter ... Look, people, if you cant get on the bandwagon, sayonara. But body shaming on every spectrum has to stop.

Tim Gunn wrote in the Washington Post that he felt like the fashion industry didnt have plus-size womens back, and that some designers were of the mind that they wouldnt like the way their clothes would look on those women. How does it make you feel hearing those remarks?

I think for so long, fashion hasnt coincided with curvy women of the world, but now they [designers] are. And I think in the last two years youve been able to see it more than ever. Youve seen curvy women on the covers of magazines, and commercials, and movies. And I was never even able to say the names of five curvy women I could look up to, and now I can. More than ever, designers are putting women my size on the runway, putting us in their campaigns. Is it where we want it? No. But were on the way, so, I feel like fashion is finally jumping on the bandwagon and saying, "You know what? Diversity of age, race, and size is necessary, and were bringing it to you now."

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A lot of curvier women have expressed disappointment with how hard it is to get designers to dress them for red carpet events. Have you ever run into that problem where its been hard to get people to dress you?

Everything has to be custom, because Im not a sample size. So thats where you run into the problem. Its not about designers not wanting to, its more about, Do we have time to make you something? And when its fashion month, its a little bit harder, but when you have a week or two, its a lot easier. Naeem Khan made me a dress, Bao Tranchi, Christian Siriano, Jonathan Simkhai made me custom gowns. And they want to. Its out there. And I also have these amazing stylists who have these connections, so its really teamwork makes the dream work.

Your career has just skyrocketed this past year. What are some of the surprising downsides of this kind of fame and recognition?

The paparazzi taking a photo of you as youre eating! [Laughs]. You just have to work a little harder. When youre not in the limelight, its a little less work, but when youre in the limelight, you have to work hard to stay there. I love what I do and I love where Im going. I love how the world is changing right before my eyes. I like to say that my cellulite is changing someones life out there.

Who are some other curvy models you know that you want the rest of the world to know about?

Marquita Pring, Precious Lee, Eva Kay, Georgia Pratt, Sabina [Karlsson], Tara Lynn. Any girl that was in my lingerie runway show, they have to know about. I put my friends in, but I also put some new girls in there as well.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Follow Ali on Twitter.

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By Elinor Comlay

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Reuters) - Atlantic City, New Jersey's fiscally distressed gambling hub, stands to gain $100 million by selling a defunct municipal airstrip to the city's quasi-independent public water utility, Mayor Don Guardian and other officials said on Monday.

The land deal is part of a fiscal recovery plan that the city must present to New Jersey soon or else face a possible state takeover. The city's casino industry, and subsequently its property tax base, has shrunk drastically over the last five years because of gambling competition in neighboring states.

The much-needed cash from the water utility could help the beleaguered seaside resort city balance its 2017 budget, which was a requirement the state set when it issued a $73 million emergency loan earlier this year.

Atlantic City expects to present a recovery plan the week of Oct. 17 that will show it can pay down debt and meet its bills, Guardian told a news conference on Monday.

New Jersey officials have long said the city could make more money from the water utility, which is called the Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA), through privatization, leasing or some other means.

But city officials and the utility have resisted a sale to private operators, and the deal to buy the airfield could make such a sale less appealing.

The MUA would have to borrow to buy Bader Field, the defunct former airstrip owned by the city, saddling it with debt that would effectively be a poison pill for potential private buyers, Guardian said in a phone interview.

The MUA could also sell pieces of the airfield in the future to developers, meanwhile continuing to allow concerts and special events there, Guardian said.

"If you can wait, it's a wise investment long term," he said.

However, under the loan terms, the city had to agree to begin dissolving the MUA so that it could fully control and get more revenue from the utility.

The City Council did not do that, putting it in violation of the loan. The state gave it until Oct. 3 to fix the violation.

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It is not clear whether the latest plan will appease New Jersey officials, fix the loan violation or gain support from the City Council.

If the state were to force repayment of the loan now, the city believes it could use more than $60 million from casino taxes to pay it back, Guardian said.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay in Atlantic City; Additional reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Alan Crosby and Bill Rigby)
Leisure becomes as important to men as to women.

Companies may now need to rethink their gender marketing strategies with the latest survey from HSBC pointing to a gender neutral consumption habits among Singaporean men and women.

The report showed that leisure was roughly as important to women (94% agreed) as it was to men (92% agreed). Similarly, with work, 90% of men stated it was important or very important, and 90% of women said the same.

Steven Cranwell, Head of Commercial Banking for HSBC SingaporeCranwell said: Questions that businesses should ask themselves are: how do we respond to the more homogenous outlooks of men and women? Is there some middle ground in bridging the gender marketing strategies and making them more aligned?

For companies, understanding these shifts and recognising what will influence consumers in the future will be increasingly important. Making sense of the answers will help companies to successfully target an increasingly tech-focused generation.









More From Singapore Business Review


BERLIN (Reuters) - Audi's head of technical development Stefan Knirsch is leaving the carmaker with immediate effect, Audi said on Monday, as investigations continue into the diesel emissions scandal.

An investigation by U.S. law firm Jones Day, which was tasked last year by VW's supervisory board to clear up the scandal, found no evidence against Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler after questioning.

But the departure of Knirsch, previously Audi's head of engine and transmissions development, is adding to signs that VW's flagship luxury brand may be more deeply entangled in the scandal than previously thought.

Audi said in a statement that Knirsch was leaving with immediate effect in consultation with the supervisory board. It cited no reason for his departure and did not name a successor.

Knirsch and Jones Day's office in Germany did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"We have made clear from the start that we have no regard for big names and take action if necessary" to clear up the scandal, Audi Deputy Chairman Berthold Huber said in a separate statement on behalf of the 10 labour representatives on Audi's 20-member supervisory board.

"This departure underlines our position," Huber said.

Audi, the main contributor to VW group profit, has admitted its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine was fitted with emissions-control software, deemed illegal in the United States where VW's emissions scandal broke a year ago.

Knirsch was appointed in January, replacing the former top engineer at Audi and the VW group, Ulrich Hackenberg. He quit last year after being suspended with two other executives closely associated with the development of the VW engine at the centre of the scandal, code named EA 189.

With Knirsch, Audi is losing its fourth head of research and development in as many years at a time the carmaker is battling with German rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz for leadership in new technologies.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; editing by David Clarke)
On Sep 23, 2016, we issued an updated research report on AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS.



AXIS Capital continues to benefit from new business opportunities across its lines of business and also makes the most of the scopes available worldwide. These, in turn, help the insurer deliver growth in premiums.



AXIS Capital remains focused on augmenting its portfolio mix, and improving underwriting profitability. The insurer also strives to strengthen its casualty and professional lines in the insurance segment, particularly motor and reinsurance.



These apart, it undertakes strategic initiatives to accelerate growth.



The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) property and casualty (P&C) insurer engages in effective capital deployment on the back of its operational strength, thereby enhancing shareholders value. These initiatives not only help it to retain investor confidence but also attract potential investors to the stock.



However, AXIS Capital is a P&C insurer and hence, remains exposed to catastrophe events. As a result, its underwriting results remain volatile.



Also, escalating expenses are a concern. To this end, the company intends to lower expenses by $50 million to $60 million by the end of 2017. Increasing competition in the reinsurance industry can also decelerate growth and lower profitability for AXIS Capital.



In the absence on any near-term catalysts fueling growth, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has been revised downward over the last 60 days.



Nonetheless, AXIS Capital continues fortify its Specialty Insurance, Reinsurance, and Accident and Health in expectations of long-term growth. The expected long-term earnings growth is currently pegged at 8.5%



Stocks to Consider



Some better-ranked insurers are National Interstate Corporation NATL, Erie Indemnity Company ERIE and Cincinnati Financial Corp. CINF. While National Interstate and Erie Indemnity sport Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Cincinnati Financial carries Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Erie Indemnity, which provides sales, underwriting, and policy issuance services for the policyholders on behalf of the Erie Insurance Exchange, has witnessed upward revision in the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 but downward revision in the same for 2017 over the last 60 days.



National Interstate, a specialty P&C insurance provider, has witnessed upward revision in the Zacks Consensus Estimate over the last 60 days for both 2016 and 2017.



Cincinnati Financial, a property casualty insurer, has witnessed upward revision in the Zacks Consensus Estimate over the last 60 days for both 2016 and 2017.

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By Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan held a referendum on Monday on extending the presidential term from five to seven years, a step that a European democracy watchdog said would hand unprecedented power to President Ilham Aliyev. Aliyev, 54, succeeded his father as president in 2003 and can seek re-election indefinitely after term limits were scrapped in another referendum seven years ago. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) across Azerbaijan and close at 7 p.m. (1500 GMT). There are 5.3 million eligible voters in the oil-producing, former Soviet republic. The authorities argue that a longer presidential term will make for more continuity in decision-making, which they describe as vital after a slump in world oil prices halted Azerbaijan's long run of economic growth. "One of the main tasks of the referendum is implementation of economic reforms in the post-oil boom period in Azerbaijan, the elimination of bureaucratic mechanisms and creation of an effective governing system," said Ali Hasanov, the president's assistant on political issues. European democracy watchdogs have said previous votes in Azerbaijan have been marred by vote-rigging and unequal access to the media. The Baku government denies the accusations. The Venice Commission, an advisory unit of the Council of Europe, a rights and monitoring body of which Azerbaijan is a member, said of the referendum: "Many proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving 'unprecedented' powers to the president." Some rights activists also criticized other proposed amendments, which would give the president power to declare early presidential election at his convenience, as well as to dissolve parliament. "The referendum has been accompanied by arrests and intimidation from the beginning," Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement. "Those who have attempted to criticize and campaign against these proposals have faced assaults and harassment by the authorities." The Central Election Commission reported a turnout for the referendum of 64 percent by 5 p.m. "I voted in favor of all changes, although I have not read what those changes are about," Sanuber Muradova, 40, a school teacher, said after casting her ballot. "Politics is not for ordinary people, but I'm a teacher and I have to go and vote." Aliyev's rule long benefited from an economic boom fueled by oil pumped to Europe from a region where the West and Russia are vying for influence over huge energy reserves. But a slump in global oil prices in the past two years has weakened the Azeri currency, the manat, and shrunk the economy. (Additional reporting and writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Baku (AFP) - Azerbaijanis have overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes extending President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power in a referendum denounced by opposition and rights groups as a ploy to cement the Aliyev family's dynastic rule.

With all ballots counted from Monday's nationwide referendum, more than 91 percent of voters had approved constitutional amendments extending the president's term in office from five to seven years, the Central Election Commission said on Tuesday, adding that turnout was 69.7 percent.

Other changes endorsed in the referendum introduce a new position of powerful first vice president, who will rule in the president's absence, and also allow the president to call snap leadership polls at will and easily dissolve parliament.

Another amendment to axe the current age minimum of 35 for standing as president has been criticised by Aliyev's opponents as a scheme to pave the way for his children to take the helm one day.

Aliyev has two prominent socialite daughters Leyla, 32, and Arzu, 27, and a student son, Heydar, 19.

Opposition groups staged protests ahead of the ballot, attacking it as a bid to extend the Aliyev family's more-than two-decade grip on the levers of power.

The authorities have dismissed the criticism, arguing that constitutional reform would streamline running of the country.

In contrast, the Council of Europe's constitutional law experts said the draft changes to the constitution "would severely upset the balance of power" and give the president "unprecedented" authority.

Amnesty International said the amendments would lead to violations of the right to freedom of association and that the vote "has been accompanied by arrests and intimidation" of critics.

Aliyev, 54, has led the ex-Soviet country since his father Heydar, a former Communist-era boss, died after a decade in power in 2003.

He won a landslide election victory in 2013 despite OSCE observers pointing to significant problems with the vote. The next elections will be held in 2018.

Story continues

He is allowed to stand for an unlimited number of presidential terms after a previous disputed referendum in 2009 scrapped a two-term limit.

Activists have raised concerns over Azerbaijans poor rights record, with Human Rights Watch in May accused the country of cracking down on activists and critical journalists.

"President Ilham Aliyev is the person most responsible for Azerbaijan's appalling human rights record of the last decade," Freedom House, a pro-democracy watchdog, said last week.
* Freight market struggling with low rates, too many ships

* Regulatory approval for takeover likely - sources

* SGX wants to expand presence in shipping (Adds further detail, comment)

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Baltic Exchange shareholders approved on Monday an 87 million pound ($112 million) takeover by Singapore Exchange for one of London's oldest institutions, in a deal giving SGX access to the multi-billion-dollar freight derivatives market.

As the global shipping industry struggles with poor market conditions, SGX offered - after months of talks - Baltic shareholders 160.41 pounds per share.

Shareholders will receive separately 19.30 pounds per share from the unlisted Baltic as a final dividend, giving the privately owned business a total valuation of about 87 million pounds.

At its general meeting, 95 percent of those voting, or 228 shareholders, approved the deal. Many of the Baltic's shareholders are in the shipping industry and include ship brokers, companies and individuals.

"This is about people actually taking a step back and saying is this a fair and appropriate way of moving the Baltic forward?" Outgoing Baltic chief executive Jeremy Penn told Reuters.

"Had the shareholders and members felt this was a bad deal, a bad thing, they would still have turned it down," he said.

The takeover, unanimously recommended by the Baltic's board last month, is one of the latest developments in a long string of mergers, bidding wars and failed deals among global exchanges.

SGX is looking to expand its global presence in shipping and has been developing Asian pricing benchmarks for commodities such as iron ore, liquefied natural gas and coking coal.

"We now look forward to completing the transaction and realising the growth opportunities as we bring together two important maritime centres," SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye said in a statement.

The deal will need regulatory approval, which shipping industry sources say is likely to be given.

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The Baltic also named Mark Jackson its new CEO. Jackson, currently chief commercial officer of AM Nomikos Group and a former chairman and director of the Baltic Exchange, is expected to take up his appointment early in 2017.

Founded in 1744 as a forum for chartering vessels, the Baltic Exchange now produces benchmark indexes for global shipping rates and owns a trading platform for the freight derivatives market.

The Singapore Exchange, started in 1999, made its offer despite freight costs remaining under pressure, after a slump in commodity markets coincided with an increase in the number of vessels.

The Baltic Exchange has been located in the heart of the City of London since its founding in a coffee house. Its later flagship building was extensively damaged in an Irish Republican Army bomb attack in 1992. It moved to different premises and the Gherkin tower now stands on the site.

The London Metal Exchange, CME Group, ICE , state-run conglomerate China Merchants Group and Platts were among other potential bidders, sources told Reuters previously.

($1 = 0.7739 pounds) (Editing by Veronica Brown and Susan Thomas)
A Bangladesh court on Monday ordered banks to freeze the assets of the owner of a factory hit by a deadly blaze, as firefighters pulled three more bodies from the rubble to take the toll to 39.

The High Court made the order after rights organisations filed a writ alleging basic safety measures had not been taken and demanding compensation for workers and bereaved relatives.

Around 100 people were working at Tampaco Foils Limited factory on September 9 when a fire caused by an explosion in the boiler room tore through the four-storey building.

It was Bangladesh's worst such disaster since the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment complex in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people.

"The court asked that the Tampaco owner's accounts be frozen for three months," said Mahbuba Akhter, spokeswoman for one of the rights groups, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust.

Relatives of the victims have already filed a private murder case against the owner, who remains at large, and the government has launched an investigation into what caused the fire.

The deputy district police commissioner S.M. Alam said most of the workers listed as missing had now been accounted for.

"I think we are almost near to an end of the operation and soon we will call it off," he told AFP.

The blaze was the latest in a series of deadly accidents to hit impoverished Bangladesh, whose $27-billion garment industry is the world's second largest behind China's.

The Rana Plaza collapse triggered international outrage, forcing US and European clothing brands to improve deplorable safety conditions at the factories that supply them.

But labour rights groups say much more needs to be done and have urged the Bangladesh government and Western companies to work harder to protect workers in their supply chains.
New York (AFP) - Bank of America will lay off 20 senior investment bankers in Asia due to slowing activity in the region, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

Goldman Sachs is also cutting staff in the Asian region due to a slump in deal-making according to published reports Monday.

Bank of America employees affected by the layoffs work in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, a person familiar with the move told AFP. The plans are still being finalized, including the exact number of workers affected.

Bank of America also cut about 150 investment bankers in the region in March.

Goldman plans to lay off more than 25 percent of 300 investment bankers in the region, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Goldman staff will be cut in Hong Kong and Singapore, but workers in Japan will be spared, the report said.

Officials with Bank of America and Goldman Sachs declined comment.

Besides more sluggish business conditions in Asia, large western banks are facing tougher competition from local banks in Asia. Earlier this year, Swiss bank UBS also cut staff in Asia.
Another figure from Bill Clinton's past is volunteering to appear at the first 2016 Presidential debate for team Trump.



Paula Jones told Inside Edition, Monday, that she would "absolutely" have attended the New York debate if she had been invited.



"I'm a big Trump supporter," she explained.



Jones, 50, famously sued President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment during his tenure. The former Arkansas state employee claimed that the then-Governor exposed himself to her in a hotel room.







Jones and Clinton reached an out-of-court settlement in 1998, with the former President agreeing to pay her $850,000 if she dropped the lawsuit.



Earlier this week, Trump threatened to invite Clinton's former mistress Gennifer Flowers to the debate  which she accepted. Flowers will not, however, attend.



"Me and maybe the other women can sit up there and make Hillary a little bit nervous," Jones told Inside Edition.





RELATED VIDEO: Does Donald Trump Rattle You?





Trump's threats to dig up the past have not fazed, Hillary Clinton, however. A campaign source told PEOPLE on Sunday that the former Secretary of State won't be sidetracked by Trump's antics.



The full Inside Edition interview with Paula Jones airs Monday. Check your local listings for stations and times.
By Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co must turn over some records sought by its former star bond fund manager Bill Gross, who is pursuing a $200 million lawsuit claiming he was forced to resign so that his bonus could be divided among others.

In an order dated Monday, California Superior Court Justice Deborah Servino in Santa Ana granted part of Gross' request for documents, including details on Pimco's bonus pool, possible leaks to the press about internal dissension prior to Gross' departure, and succession plans.

Gross was also permitted to conduct depositions of several Pimco officials, including Dan Ivascyn, his successor as group chief investment officer.

But the judge said Gross was not entitled to all the materials he sought, calling some of his requests "impermissibly broad and unreasonable."

She urged both sides to avoid "gamesmanship," and to focus on preparing for a possible trial next Sept. 18.

Pimco has long maintained that Gross' lawsuit has no merit.

"As to the majority of Mr. Gross's requests, the court held that 'the far-reaching categories of documents sought here are impermissibly broad and unreasonable," its lawyer David Boies said in a statement. "We will promptly provide the additional discovery that the court held is appropriate."

Patricia Glaser, a lawyer for Gross, said she was "very pleased" with the decision.

Gross sued Newport Beach, California-based Pimco last October over his sudden September 2014 departure.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE, has said Gross' "egregious misconduct" would have given it good cause to terminate his employment, and that the lawsuit was part of his "sad obsession" to attack his former firm.

Gross now runs the $1.5 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund for Janus Capital Group Inc.

He had previously built Pimco Total Return into the world's largest bond fund, with $293 billion of assets. The fund is now less than one-third that size.

Story continues

Gross is worth $2.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine, and has pledged to donate proceeds from his lawsuit to charity.

The case is Gross v. Pacific Investment Management Co et al, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 2015-00813636.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
On Sundays episode of Rob & Chyna, the couple headed to D.C. to visit Blac Chynas mom for the Fourth of July.



The episode started off with Chyna chatting with her mom, Tokyo Toni, about their upcoming plans. She invited Chyna to spend the holiday with her in D.C., but Rob Kardashian is apprehensive about going.



This D.C. trip means so much to me and if Rob doesnt go this could be a make or break in our relationship, Chyna told the camera.



After Chyna convinces Rob to go along with her to D.C., the 29-year-old cant seem to find any excitement in it, but knows he needs to be there for his fiancee.



For more Rob & Chyna videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.



We are going to D.C. and being around people I dont know and out of my comfort zone, he said during his interview. But my relationship with Chyna means everything to me so I am willing to do this.



Later on in the episode, when the couple finally land in Chynas hometown, she decided to take Rob on a tour of her old schools and neighborhood.



At one point, she has the driver pull their SUV over so she could take photos with fans, but Rob was not happy about it. He was concerned about his weight and appearance in the photos and wound up getting upset and jumped back into their SUV.





RELATED VIDEO: Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna Cant Wait for You to See The Real Us



Things only continued to get worse from there. Later on at dinner, Chyna introduced Rob to her half-siblings and her parents  who arent together and havent actually seen each other in roughly 10 years.



Within minutes, Chynas parents began to argue over the fact that her dad fathered multiple children with different women all within five months of each other.



My dad was a player, Chyna said during her interview. I hope my mom can keep it together and we can have a good dinner.



The tour continued throughout the episode with Chyna taking Rob to her former strip club and then to a bowling alley to meet her friends.



Im really happy and surprised that Rob decided to come out with my family, Chyna told the camera. I hope he keeps this up back in L.A.



Things seemed to be simmering down until Tokyo Toni got a hold of Rob.



During a family bbq party at Tokyo Tonis house, Chynas mom started questioning Rob about his relationship with her daughter.



When [are] you going to get married? she asked the couple.



Both Rob and Chyna tried to explain to Tokyo Toni that there are things they need to work out first before they can focus on a wedding. This ultimately got Chynas mother upset and she told Rob he needs to be a man and stop acting like a baby.



You gotta stop what youre doing, Tokyo Toni tearfully told Rob. [Chyna] dont need a baby she needs [you to be] a father  You cant do what youre doing. Youre going to ruin it.



Rob & Chyna airs Sundays (9 p.m. ET) on E!
HERE map software

BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are sharing data to advance their driverless car efforts and take on the likes of Google.

The three automakers are supplying digital map maker HERE with real-time data gathered by their cars. The data will include detailed information on traffic jams, potential road hazards like inclement weather, speed limit changes, and open parking spots, HERE wrote in a press release.

BMW, Mercedes, and Audi acquired HERE, the former mapping division of Nokia, for $3.1 billion in 2015.

Having detailed maps is a huge part of advancing self-driving cars to the point where they can hit the roads entirely on their own. Essentially, the maps give self-driving cars a template of what they can expect to see when on a certain route. If the cars then detect something nearby using their sensors that isn't on the map, like a pedestrian, they know to stop and assess the situation.

Crowdsourcing real-time data picked up by BMW, Mercedes, and Audi cars will help advance HERE's digital maps in a way that can't be done when only one automaker is contributing the data.

Waze Screenshot

Take Toyota, for example, which gathers information from its customers' camera-equipped vehicles to create high-precision maps. Its maps may be less sophisticated than the ones generated by HERE simply because they have less data to pull from for accurate, real-time traffic information.

Google paid a little over $1 billion for Waze in 2013 and is truly the company to beat when it comes to maps.

Anyone who drives around with Waze opened on their phone is providing real-time data on traffic conditions and roads. It's a smart way to get up-to-date information on routes because it isn't limited by which vehicle you drive since anyone with a smartphone can use it.

HERE plans to eventually pull data from other automakers aside from just BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, it wrote in the press release. If HERE can get enough automakers on board, it has a real shot of competing with Google's Waze.

Story continues

HERE's crowdsourced mapping system will roll out in the first half of 2017.

NOW WATCH: Tesla made a big software update after a Chinese company remotely hacked the brakes of a Model S





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Sarajevo (AFP) - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik was summoned on Monday by state prosecutors to a hearing over a controversial referendum held at the weekend despite a constitutional court veto.

On Sunday, Serbs in Bosnia voted overwhelmingly to keep celebrating a statehood day in January, a date tied to the divided nation's brutal 1990s war and a sensitive issue for the country's other ethnic groups.

The head of Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb-run entity of Bosnia, Dodik "was summoned for a hearing by the prosecutor's office as a suspect," prosecution spokesman Boris Grubesic told AFP, without providing a date for the hearing.

Bosnia's constitutional court had cancelled the referendum, ruling that the holiday is illegal because it discriminates against non-Serbs, but Dodik pressed ahead, despite disapproval from the United States and the European Union.

The violation of constitutional court decisions is punishable with prison sentences from six months to five years.

The referendum showed the fragility of central Bosnian institutions that link the country's two semi-independent entities, the RS and the Muslim-Croat federation, as agreed by the Dayton peace accord which ended the country's 1992-1995 war.

There was no immediate reaction from Dodik to the summons.

The United States, which had earlier warned that the referendum would lead the RS to "isolation and uncertainty" and that the Dayton agreement "cannot be challenged without consequences," on Monday supported the prosecutor's move.

"Acting in disregard of a decision of the Constitutional Court blatantly violates the rule of law, and we count on competent institutions to address that violation in accordance with the laws of BiH (Bosnia), while we evaluate appropriate consequences," the US embassy in Sarajevo said in a statement.
By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia's chief prosecutor has summoned the president of the country's Serb Republic for questioning after he defied the top court by holding a banned referendum on whether his autonomous region should mark a national day. Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik played down the threat of prosecution, labeling the investigation politically motivated. The vote on whether the Serb Republic should celebrate a "Statehood Day" on Jan. 9 was widely seen as Dodik's attempt to explore the limits of the region's independence from authorities in Sarajevo, the capital. "It is impossible to expect someone to build a state based on arresting political opponents," Dodik said. "The referendum will remain an undisputed fact and it does not matter if Milorad Dodik is held responsible or not." Bosnian Serbs voted overwhelmingly on Sunday in favor of the holiday, which Bosnia's Constitutional Court had ruled discriminatory against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats because it coincided with a Serbian Orthodox Christian festival. The United States condemned the "illegal referendum" and would support local institutions as they sought to hold the Bosnian Serb leadership accountable for undermining the rule of law, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. Western powers fear the vote could bring about instability in the country which only last week made its first major step toward joining the European Union. On Monday the Office of the Disciplinary Council, a national judicial body, called for Goran Salihovic, the chief prosecutor behind the summons of Dodik, to be dismissed for alleged violations. "The reason is that I have opened the investigation against Milorad Dodik, who has received a summons for the first time ever," Salihovic said in a statement sent to Reuters. The Bosnian conflict was ignited by Serbs' declaration on Jan. 9, 1992, of an independent "Serb Republic" in the north and east of Bosnia. The territory became the autonomous region of the same name under the peace agreement which ended the war. Most Bosniaks and Croats opposed Sunday's referendum out of fear that the Serb Republic could be preparing to secede, destroying the delicate federal structure put in place after the war. A Western diplomat told Reuters that secession for the region, which has a third of Bosnia's population of 3.5 million, remained a "red line". Russia, a traditional Bosnian Serb ally, backed the vote on "Statehood Day". (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Editing by Thomas Escritt, Andrew Roche and Lisa Shumaker)
(Repeats Sept. 25 story for wider distribution)

By Theopolis Waters

CHICAGO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Halloween enthusiasts need not take fright over the state of this year's U.S. pumpkin crop. Supplies of the orange-yellow fruit are much more plentiful than last year, easing concerns of a possible shortage for carving jack-o'-lanterns and buying filling for pumpkin pies.

U.S. store supplies of canned pumpkin have almost overcome the effects of last year's shortage, which was caused by damage to crops from heavy rains in parts of the Midwest.

"We're rebuilding our inventory right now and as soon as we have enough pumpkin canned we'll begin releasing the 2016 Libby's pumpkin to our retail partners," said Roz O'Hearn, spokeswoman for Libby's, supplier of more than 80 percent of U.S. canned pumpkin. "So by end of the month, the 2015 shortage will be behind us."

For Illinois farmer Mark Berg, who grows roughly 120 acres of pumpkins for Libby's, 2016 promises to be a pumpkin-palooza.

Berg has just wrapped up his harvest ahead of schedule, averaging 30 tons of pumpkins per acre, well above his historical average of 25 tons and worth about $500 per acre.

Last year, he harvested just two to three tons per acre and revenue fell short of $100 per acre.

"You have to take the good with the bad. This year we're fortunate," said Berg, attributing his good fortune to sufficient rains and above-average heat this summer.

Last year's U.S. pumpkin harvest totaled 754 million pounds valued at $90 million, the smallest crop since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began tracking the sector in 2000.

Illinois, which typically produces about 90 percent of the United States' canned or processed pumpkins, last year harvested only 318 million pounds of pumpkin worth $12 million, according to USDA.

University of Illinois plant pathologist Mohammad Babadoost said this year, Illinois' average pumpkin yields could be above 22 tons per acre.

Nonetheless, with the harvest possibly stretching into November and vulnerable to weather, Babadoost remains cautious after heavy rains in 2015 spawned various diseases that robbed Illinois producers of nearly half their expected yield.

Added Libby's spokeswoman O'Hearn: "So far, we appear to be in much better shape than we were in 2015." Harvesting for Libby's, a unit of Swiss-based Nestle SA, started last month.

(Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Matthew Lewis)
Sao Paulo (AFP) - Brazilian police on Monday arrested former finance minister Antonio Palocci, the latest high-level suspect in the huge Petrobras corruption probe, prosecutors said.

He joins a long list of top officials accused of taking part in a huge bribery scheme linked to the state oil company, which has rocked the political establishment in Latin America's biggest economy.

Palocci, 55, served as finance minister under former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and as chief of staff for his successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached this month.

Palocci was also a key figure in the leftist Workers' Party. His lawyer Roberto Batochio rejected the accusations as a "show."

The suspect "was detained in Sao Paulo on a temporary detention order for five days and must leave today for Curitiba," the southern city where a judge is leading the probe, an official in the state prosecution service told AFP.

Palocci was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes from the construction company Odebrecht, one of the main firms involved in the huge Petrobras pay-to-play scandal.

Evidence from emails and mobile telephones shows "that the ex-minister Antonio Palocci... acted in favor of the Odebrecht group between 2006 and late 2013," a statement from the prosecution service said.

Investigating judge Sergio Moro ordered the arrests of two further suspects and the freezing of assets belonging to them worth tens of millions of dollars, it said.

Police said in a statement they were investigating "negotiations between the Odebrecht group and the ex-minister to try to pass a law" that would bring "immense fiscal benefits" to the firm.

Federal police commissioner Filipe Hille Pace told a news conference in Curitiba that authorities had evidence that "between 2008 and 2013 more than 128 million reals ($40 million) were paid to the Workers' Party and its associates, including Palocci."

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- Lula faces trial -

Last week the police briefly detained Palocci's successor as finance minister, Guido Mantega, also in connection with the Petrobras scandal.

A judge also ruled that Lula himself must stand trial for corruption in the Petrobras case.

Lula has dismissed the case as a politically motivated "farce."

He is the highest-profile figure to face trial in a case that has taken down some of the country's most powerful business executives and politicians.

The charges allege that Lula, 70, masterminded the corruption racket and received the equivalent of $1.1 million in bribes.

Among the accusations are charges that the former union leader and his wife received a beachside apartment and upgrades to the property from a major construction company, OAS, which was one of the players in the Petrobras scheme.

- Big corruption probe -

The arrests are the latest phase of "Operation Car Wash," the federal probe into the Petrobras scheme.

The scandal has upended Brazilian politics since it was launched in 2014.

Along with Rousseff's impeachment over a separate case, it threatens to sink the Workers' Party, a once-mighty force of leftist politics in Latin America.

Under the corruption scheme, Petrobras allegedly gave inflated contracts to big construction firms in exchange for hefty bribes.

Brazil's new conservative president, Michel Temer, and his PMDB party were allied with the Workers' Party before splitting in March, a prelude to Rousseff's impeachment.
By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's No. 1 for-profit education firm Kroton Educacional estimates default rates on government backed student loans could reach 30 percent, as swathes of students graduate amid the country's worst recession in 80 years, an executive said.

Carlos Lazar, director of investor relations at Kroton, said the number of students graduating would rise sharply toward 2018 as people who took up for the loans, known as Fies, complete their college programs -- which typically last four or five years.

The government has said that the number of students with Fies loans rose almost 10-fold between 2010 and 2014 to a record 732,000 contracts a year. The growth subsided in 2015 at the start of ex-President Dilma Rousseff's second term as the economy slid into recession.

A sharp rise in delinquencies could call into question the current model of Fies funding, at a time when companies and the government are working to improve the model for Brazil's for-profit education sector, one of the largest in the world.

As a result of the harsh economic downturn, student loan delinquencies should rise through the end of 2016 and stabilize next year, Kroton's Lazar said.

Brazil's $2 trillion economy - the ninth largest in the world - is expected to return to tepid growth next year. However, a fall in unemployment, running at more than 11 percent, is expected to lag an eventual return to growth.

Under the Fies rules, students should start repaying the principal on their loans 18 months after graduation.

"I believe defaults will rise in 2016 and stabilize from the second half of next year," Lazar said. "We estimate 20 to 30 percent of Fies loan defaults after graduation."

The government has said general Fies delinquencies are running at only 3.5 percent of total loans, according to a statement sent to Reuters.

However, a new government, which took office after Rousseff was dismissed from office last month on charges of breaking budget rules, is reviewing the default data.

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Since Rousseff's ouster, the new government "found discrepancies in Fies default data for students who are amortizing their loans," the Ministry of Education said in a statement.

Nearly a fourth of Kroton's graduate student base is financed through the Fies, or 216,000 students. Next year, Kroton and a bank will offer private loans as an alternative to the Fies, Lazar said, declining to provide any further details.

Education firms are liable for about 1.5 percent of a defaulted loan and are required to set aside 5.63 percent of the value of the loan against default into a government-managed fund known as FGEDUC.

The government budgeted 18.7 billion reais ($5.77 billion) for the Fies program this year and the FGEDUC has about 4.4 billion reais in assets.

Some analysts have questioned the social benefits of Fies, asking whether pumping money into the system was by itself enough to improve education in Brazil. ($1 = 3.2420 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Joseph Ax

NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - The one-line email to David Wildstein, an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, arrived at 7:35 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2013.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," wrote Bridget Anne Kelly, a top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Weeks later, thousands of cars were stuck in a mammoth traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge, after Wildstein had executed the plan, he testified on Monday in federal court in Newark, New Jersey. He had closed access lanes in Fort Lee, New Jersey, to punish the town's mayor for refusing to back Christie's re-election bid.

Wildstein also testified that Bill Stepien, the campaign manager for both Christie's successful gubernatorial runs, knew about the plot. Stepien is now an adviser to the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The testimony came as prosecutors continued to present evidence against Kelly and Bill Baroni, another Port Authority executive. Both Baroni and Wildstein were Christie appointees.

The two defendants face charges including conspiracy and fraud. Wildstein has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Though Wildstein conceived the plan, he said he was acting with the approval of Baroni, his superior at the Port Authority, and Kelly.

"Ms. Kelly was the deputy chief of staff to the governor," he said. "She was among the people I considered my boss."

After Kelly's email set the plan in motion, Wildstein said Stepien asked about a cover story. Wildstein testified that he told Stepien he would invent a fake traffic study.

In an email, Stepien's lawyer, Kevin Marino, said his client had "no role" in the scheme and has not been charged despite an exhaustive government investigation.

"Mr. Wildstein's sad and self-serving accusations from the witness stand may help him avoid prison for his admitted crimes, but they will not help the jury or the public learn the truth," Marino added.

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On Friday, Wildstein outlined how Christie's office turned the Port Authority into a "goodie bag" from which to dispense favors to favored local officials.

Christie has denied knowing about the scheme, which damaged his unsuccessful presidential bid. Prosecutors said at the trial's outset that the governor was aware of the lane closures at the time.

On the morning of Sept. 9, 2013, Wildstein went to the bridge to see his handiwork before calling Kelly to report the traffic was "an absolute mess."

"She was pleased," Wildstein said.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David Gregorio)
Istanbul (AFP) - Boris Johnson on Monday made his first visit to Turkey as Britain's foreign secretary, seeking to ease tensions after leading the successful Brexit campaign that played on anti-Turkish sentiments.

Johnson, who is partly of Turkish ancestry, began his trip with a visit to a camp for Syrian refugees in the southeast, before heading to Ankara for political talks.

The flamboyant former London mayor may find aspects of his visit awkward after he penned the winning entry in a competition on offensive poetry about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published by the conservative British magazine The Spectator.

The trip is the highest-level visit to Turkey by a British official since the failed coup on July 15 in which a rogue military faction tried to overthrow the Turkish strongman.

Johnson vowed that London would stand "shoulder-to-shoulder with Ankara" and said Turkey had a "vital role to play" in the global arena.

- 'Help Turkey' -

He indicated Britain would still support Turkey's bid to join the EU despite the British vote to exit the bloc.

"We may be leaving the European Union but we are not leaving Europe. And Britain... will help Turkey in any way," he said at a news conference with EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik.

Johnson, one of the most prominent public faces of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, previously made a strong case for Turkish membership of the bloc.

But the Brexit campaign repeatedly raised the spectre of millions of Turks being free to live in Britain as a reason to pull out of the 28-nation bloc.

David Cameron, who resigned as British prime minister after the Brexit vote, also said during the campaign that Turkish EU membership was not "remotely on the cards" and may not happen until the year 3000, further angering Ankara.

- Turkish great-grandfather -

Before the Brexit vote, Britain was always seen as one of the strongest supporters of Ankara's bid for EU membership.

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Extolling trade between the countries, Johnson boasted that he was the proud "possessor" of a "beautiful" Turkish washing machine.

Johnson earlier visited the Nizip refugee camp in the region of Gaziantep near the Syrian border.

Turkey, a fierce opponent of President Bashar al-Assad, is hosting nearly three million Syrian refugees who have fled the war, and has been pressing for a safe zone on the Syrian side of the border to house refugees.

Johnson said he had seen "some of the remarkable work that Turkey is doing" and added he congratulates "President Erdogan for the generosity you are showing."

Johnson has also made headlines in Turkish media because of his Turkish great-grandfather Ali Kemal, who was a politician and a journalist in the early 20th century. He said he had "met some of my relatives" in the last 24 hours.

Turkey's relations with Europe have soured after the coup attempt due to concerns over Ankara's subsequent crackdown on alleged coup plotters.

Ankara has angrily rejected the criticism that the vast purge might breach rights norms that Ankara must meet for accession into the EU.
Ankara (AFP) - Months after winning a competition for an offensive poem about the Turkish head of state, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson clearly needed to make himself feel welcome in Ankara.

But true to his flamboyant reputation, London's top diplomat chose an original course by singing the praises of his Turkish-made washing machine.

Speaking at a news conference in Ankara alongside Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik, Johnson talked up the relationship between London and Ankara as crucial even after Britain's vote to leave the EU.

"We are lucky in the United Kingdom to be one of the biggest recipients of Turkish goods," boasted the ex-London mayor, who is himself of partly Turkish ancestry.

"I am certainly the proud possessor of a beautiful, very well functioning Turkish washing machine," he said.

He did not reveal the brand of the much-loved machine in the Johnson household but several Turkish brands in household goods have broken into the international market in recent years.

As another example of the strong relationship, Johnson said Turkey every year receives 2.5 million British tourists.

"It's an extraordinary act of kindness, if I may say," he said with typical humour. "I hope they (the tourists) behave themselves...well... I am sure they do," he added.

Johnson had in May penned the winning entry in a competition on offensive poetry about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published by the conservative British magazine The Spectator, aimed at demonstrating free speech to Ankara.

This was during the campaign in the referendum for Britain to leave the European Union which Johnson helped to lead and eventually win.

Turkish officials at the time played down any damage in the two countries' relationship, saying British-Turkish ties are too important to be hostage to such statements.

Johnson, who quipped that he and Celik were both descendants of Ottomans, is due to meet Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday.
Sofia (AFP) - The trial over a deadly 2012 bombing of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, due to start on Monday, has been pushed back to November because of a procedural error, prosecutors said.

The opening was delayed because the Sofia court had failed to inform the victims' families of the start date, prosecutors told AFP.

The proceedings against two alleged suspects in the attack, who are on the run and being tried in absentia, will now start on November 10.

A Franco-Lebanese national, identified as Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini, blew up a bus carrying Israeli tourists at the airport of the Black Sea coast resort of Burgas on July 18, 2012.

Five Israelis, their Bulgarian driver and the bomber himself died in the attack, which left 35 other Israelis injured.

Bulgarian authorities identified the attacker's alleged accomplices as two Lebanese men with links to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, named as Australian passport holder Meliad Farah and Canadian citizen Hassan El Hajj Hassan.

The attack -- which both Israel and Bulgaria blamed on Hezbollah -- was the deadliest hit against Israelis abroad since 2004.

It played a role in a subsequent European Union decision to blacklist Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organisation.
One of the first things youll hear when you start considering homeownership is that youll need a hefty chunk of change upfront. Most financial planners recommend putting down a 20% down payment. On the current national median home price of $306,700, that comes to $61,340. And thats serious money.

But if you dont happen to have that kind of cash on hand, youre not alone. Quicken Loans Vice President of Capital Markets Bill Banfield notes that the most common barrier to homeownership isnt being able to afford the monthly mortgage paymentits being able to save the down payment.

Thankfully, there are other ways to go about buying a home that dont require you to put 20% down, like the following:

Federal Housing Administration loans

The Federal Housing Administration requires a down payment of only 3.5%. Compared to 20%, thats pretty sweetbut these government-backed mortgages arent for everyone. To be eligible, youll need a decent credit score, of at least 580. Scores as low as 500 may qualify, but then youll need to put 10% down.

Another stipulation is that youll have to pay mortgage insurance, an extra fee thats required on home loans where less than 20% has been put down. There are also limits on how much money you can borrow, with a minimum and maximum between 65% and 115% of the median home price in an areaon average between $271,050 and $625,000. Still, in spite of these restrictions, these loans are plentiful and a boon to home buyers, particularly those who are entering the housing market for the first time.

VA loans

If you or your spouse has served in the military, Uncle Sam has your back! You may quality for a Veterans Affairs loan, which requires 0% down and, unlike FHA loans, no mortgage insurance, since the Department of Veterans Affairs insures the loan on your behalf.

To get a VA loan, youll need to present a certificate of eligibility, proving one of the following requirements:

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90 consecutive days of active duty during wartime (including from Aug. 2, 1990, to the present; see other qualifying dates), or 181 days during peacetime.

six years in the National Guard member or reserves.

You were wounded in service, even if you served for less than the specified time.

Youre a widow or widowers of a member of the military forces who died in action or from injuries suffered while on duty.

USDA rural development loans

The United States Department of Agriculture also offers 0% money-down loans to home buyers who qualify as having low or moderate income. And the threshold for moderate can be quite high depending on where you live; in San Francisco, it amounts to $141,000 for an individual.

And while eligible properties are typically in rural regions where space isnt at a premium, this doesnt necessarily relegate you to the sticks. A full 97% of the United States is covered under USDA loans; check whether any address or area is covered at USDA.gov.

State and local home buyer programs

The federal government isnt the only one offering down payment assistance. In fact, there are 2,290 down payment programs across the country that offer financial assistance, kicking in an average of $17,766, according to one study.

Generally, these programs have income limitations and require you to take a home-buyer class. Find programs in your area on the National Council of State Housing Agencies website, or at the Down Payment Resource, which offers a calculator that can show you what you may be eligible for.

Credit unions

You may be able to get a mortgage with no down payment or a limited down payment from a credit uniona nonprofit banking cooperative whose members can typically borrow at lower rates.

In order to qualify, you will probably have to meet limited income requirementssuch as a maximum of 80% of the median area income. Youll also need a decent credit score. But the policies can vary widely, so check. For instance, the San Francisco Federal Credit Union recently offered 100% financing for up to $2 million to borrowers with an average credit score of 747 and $219,000 income.

How to find down payment help in your area

Start by talking with a lender, mortgage broker, or your Realtor to determine not only what home you can afford, but also what programs and financial assistance you might be eligible for. You can also see how much home you can afford by punching your numbers into realtor.coms mortgage calculator.

The post How to Buy a Home Without a 20% Down Payment appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.
Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM) reported its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Monday. Overall this quarter was a disaster on both the top and bottom lines, but with the investor reaction it would seem that earnings were only slightly off. Numbers for this quarter were primarily driven lower from a very weak shell egg market.

The company posted a net loss of $0.64 per share on $239.8 million in revenue. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates had called for a net loss of $0.33 per share and revenue of $274.57 million. In the same period of last year, Cal-Maine posted EPS of $2.96 and $609.89 million in revenue.

ALSO READ: Worst States for Black Americans

First-quarter results were also affected by lower co-pack business and a small decline in specialty egg volume compared with the prior year period. Sales of specialty eggs accounted for 22.9% of total number of shell eggs sold and 46.7% of shell eggs revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

Operations ran well during the summer months, but the company experienced higher farm production costs primarily due to ongoing capital improvement and conversion projects. Feed costs per dozen produced were marginally higher than last year as well.

On the books, Cal-Maine's cash and short-term investments totaled $306.85 million at the end of the quarter, compared to $389.5 million at the end of the previous fiscal year.

ALSO READ: These 5 Sin Stocks Have Solid Upside Potential and Pay Big Dividends

Dolph Baker, board chair, president and chief executive, commented:

Our results for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 reflect a disappointing shell egg market with more challenging market conditions and significantly lower market prices than the first quarter of fiscal 2016. Average customer selling prices dropped 58 percent from the record high levels we experienced a year ago. As the supply of shell eggs moved higher after the disruptions created by the Avian Influenza outbreak in the spring of 2015, market prices declined. Retail demand remained favorable; however, lower institutional demand for egg products and reduced egg exports pushed inventory levels higher and created additional pricing pressures. As cited in recent USDA Chickens and Eggs Reports, the increase in chicks hatched indicates the national laying flock will continue to expand. Based on this report, we expect the shell egg supply will continue to grow through calendar 2016, and then we may begin to see a correction early next year.

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ALSO READ: Giant Biotech and Energy Insider Buys Highlight Wild Market Week: Chesapeake Energy, Cheniere Energy, Phillips 66 and More

Shares of Cal-Maine were last seen down 2.5% at $41.10, with a consensus analyst price target of $39.00 and a 52-week trading range of $39.60 to $63.25.

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Being 16 is hard. You're all moody because you are pretty much convinced no one understands you. You're not an adult, not a child, too old to listen to whatever your parents tell you and too young to really know what the hell you're doing on your own.

Listen to deadmau5's Full 'Strobe' Remix EP

Unless you're Callie Reiff, and you seemingly have it all figured out because you're about to drop your insanely bangin' EP on the always-cool Fool's Gold Records. The New York City native precedes said release with this tasty morsel, a collaboration with KANDY called "Jawbreaker." Don't choke on its brash basslines. Do dance to its head-bangin' beat.

"I'm so excited to release my new single in collaboration with my good friend KANDY," Reiff says. "This song has been done for awhile, but I'm glad it found its home at NYC-based Fool's Gold Records as part of my EP."

Check "Jawbreaker" at your own risk below.
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada confirmed on Sunday it has become aware of a citizen taken hostage in Libya and is "diligently pursuing all appropriate channels to obtain more information." Libyan authorities said last week a Canadian and two Italians had been kidnapped in the country's southwestern desert, possibly by a criminal gang. The Canadian government then called the matter "unconfirmed." On Sunday, Global Affairs Canada, the country's foreign department, called the kidnapping "troubling," but declined to provide more details. "The Government of Canada will not comment or release any information which may compromise ongoing efforts to secure their release or endanger the safety of Canadian citizens," a spokeswoman said in an email. The three victims, who were working on airport projects, were abducted between the towns of Ghat and Tahala, near the border with Algeria, early last Monday, according to Ghat's mayor Gomani Mohamad Saleh. It is not immediately clear who was responsible or what the hostages' current circumstances are. Numerous criminal and armed groups are active in Libya's vast southern desert, and al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants have long had a presence across the border between Libya and Algeria. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada confirmed on Monday it has found the wreck of HMS Terror, the second of two British ships lost in the disastrous Franklin Arctic voyage of 1845, and said the government will work closely with northern aboriginals on ownership of the artefacts. Parks Canada, a federal agency, said in a statement it will work on "joint ownership" of the wreckage from the journey through Canada's Northwest Passage. The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that the Arctic Research Foundation, a private group participating in the search effort, had found the ship in pristine condition at the bottom of a bay. Sir John Franklin and his 128-member crew on the Terror and HMS Erebus all died after the vessels became stuck in ice during a search for the fabled Arctic passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The fate of the ships remained one of the great mysteries in Canadian history for almost 170 years until a team found the wreck of the Erebus in September 2014. The expedition has become part of Canadian folklore, in part because of the crew's appalling fate. Tales handed down from the Inuit people describe cannibalism among the desperate seamen. Parks Canada will determine ownership in conjunction with the Inuit aboriginals in the northernmost Canadian territory of Nunavut and unnamed "government organizations," the agency said, without giving details. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Dan Grebler)
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian economic growth this year is less than the government initially expected, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Monday, in a sign Ottawa could run budget deficits for longer than planned. The Liberal government based the federal budget in March on an average private sector growth forecast of 1.4 percent for the 2016-17 fiscal year. The document also included a C$6 billion ($4.6 billion) adjustment for risk. "In our last budget we made provisions about the level of growth and we put in a level of prudence. Now I can say we made a good decision because the level of growth is a bit lower than forecast," Morneau told reporters. He did not give details. The budget forecast a deficit of C$29.4 billion, three times larger than the Liberals initially promised, in order to boost spending on infrastructure and other areas in hopes of stimulating the economy. The government typically provides a fiscal update to the budget in November or December and Morneau indicated Ottawa might provide a further boost if needed. Asked whether the update would be a mini-budget with additional fiscal stimulus, he replied: "We will look at the economic situation in order to figure out what we should be doing, not only in November, but in our upcoming budget." Although Morneau said in late March that Ottawa would balance the books in about five years, the official opposition Conservative Party says the spending plans are excessive and will result in long-term deficits. "If nominal growth is lower it would probably mean revenue growth isn't as strong and it would imply a larger deficit if nothing else changes," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada. "The question is ... will it be offset by what they propose in the update or will they allow the deficit to come in larger? We'll have to see." Morneau said a decade of sub-par global growth "is continuing to present real challenges in Canada." He also said he was staying focused on the housing market and welcomed recent moves by the Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank to tighten rules for foreign home buyers. "We are pleased to see they are taking a look at the risks they have in the market and taking action they think is appropriate," he said. A recent acceleration in home prices in Vancouver and Toronto has raised fears that Canada's housing market is over-valued. ($1=1.32 Canadian dollars) (With additional reporting by Leah Schnurr and Andrea Hopkins in Ottawa; Editing by David Gregorio and Meredith Mazzilli)
From Harper's BAZAAR

Canada has been blessed with the gift of a royal visit and locals are pretty excited about it. (Obviously.)

Creative Canadians are ready to welcome The Duke & Duchess in #Victoria! #RoyalTourCanada #RoyalVisitCanada pic.twitter.com/Vpo2QO3mBL - The Crown in Canada (@TheCrownCa) September 24, 2016

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George & Princess Charlotte have arrived in Victoria: here we go on the 2016 #RoyalTourCanada! pic.twitter.com/WLvvMYikK2 - The Crown in Canada (@TheCrownCa) September 24, 2016

But just in case they get a little too excited, the Department of Canadian Heritage has issued a set of ground rules-an etiquette guide, if you will-for meeting Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Here's the list of the do's and don'ts:

1. No selfies allowed.

The Department of Canadian Heritage warns locals that selfies won't be possible because they take too much time.

(Unless you're Serena Williams, then I guess the Duchess has time for your selfies.)

Jennifer Gehmair of Yukon's Department of Tourism and Culture says it's more about not turning your back to the royals. "Turning your back to the Duke and Duchess and taking a selfie is discouraged if at all possible. I know it's fun to do, but they much would rather see your face."

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2. Do not call them by their first names.

"The key thing is how to address them. You're not supposed to call them, 'Hey Will or hey Kate'," Canadian etiquette consultant Carey McBeth explains. And under no circumstances should you shout or yell.

Photo credit: Getty

When addressing the Duke or Duchess, you're not to call them 'Your Majesty'-that is reserved for the Queen. Instead, they may be addressed as 'Your Royal Highness', and then 'Sir' or 'Ma'am' as the conversation continues.

3. Make polite conversation, but don't get personal.

"If they stop to talk to you, don't ask personal questions, ask them how their trip has been," McBeth advises. "They are the masters of small talk, it's brilliant how they maneuver through a crowd and even if they've only talked to you for 30 seconds they make you feel like the only person there. What Canadians should do is welcome them."

Photo credit: Giphy

4. And definitely don't make jokes.

"Absolutely no jokes, no wisecracks," says McBeth. "They're very inappropriate."

Photo credit: Getty

Clearly, this construction worker who made Kate Middleton giggle with his comments did not get the memo.

5. You do not have to curtsy.

It's perfectly acceptable to shake hands.

Photo credit: Getty

But if you do choose to curtsy or bow, there's a specific way to do it: Men should bow at the neck with little more than a head nod, and women should curtsy by placing their right foot behind their left heel and bending slightly at the knees.

Photo credit: Getty

6. Any physical contact beyond a handshake is a total breach of protocol.

That means no hugging, kissing cheeks (or kissing at all, for that matter), putting your arm around them, etc.

Photo credit: Getty

Kids, however, are an exception to this rule.

Photo credit: Getty

7. Don't splurge on fancy clothes.

"The Royal couple does not wish anyone to be put to unnecessary expense by buying special clothes, hats or gloves," the guide states. Besides, we all know Kate Middleton is no stranger to repeating an outfit that works.

Photo credit: Getty

8. Hats are not to be worn after 6:30 PM.

Especially if you have hair as perfect as Kate Middleton's. If you wear gloves, they must be taken off before greeting the Duke or Duchess.

Photo credit: Getty

9. Never toast with a cocktail.

Water or wine are preferred.

Photo credit: Getty

Photo credit: Getty

10. Don't act like the paparazzi when you see Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Kensington Palace has been adamant about protecting the Royal youngsters from the intrusive, and at times aggressive, paparazzi. So as much as you may want to get a great close-up pic of Prince George's adorably chubby cheeks, respect their privacy and don't turn into a wild, photo-snapping lunatic.

Photo credit: Getty

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By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is assessing data from bidders to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets, a Boeing Co executive said on Monday. The country's Liberal government promised during last year's election that it would launch an open competition to replace Canada's CF-18 fighter aircraft. It pledged not to buy Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 jets, as the previous Conservative government had planned to do, calling them expensive and unnecessary. While the government has yet to release details on such a competition, it requested data this summer from five companies that have fighter aircraft in production or planned production, including Lockheed and Boeing, which wants Canada to buy its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The government sought up-to-date information on areas including capabilities and economic benefits. "The focus on data was very clear, very strong," said Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, the unit which handles Boeing's strategy and operations outside the United States. "It gave all of the suppliers a chance to set down in black and white what it is their platform does." Since then, Boeing has been engaged in a "ping-pong" set of questions and answers with the government, said Allen. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said the government foresees a growing capability gap in the 2020s and that there is an urgent need to replace the CF-18s. "They know it's imperative to solve that capability gap," said Allen. "They are moving in a way that says they understand that." Allen said ordinarily it can take multiple years from when an order is placed to when jets are delivered. The other potential fighter jet suppliers are Saab AB, Dassault Aviation SA, and the Eurofighter consortium , which includes Airbus Group. As Boeing campaigns to win the contract, it is citing the work opportunities that would be available to Canadian firms across the country if the federal government were to purchase the Super Hornet. Allen did not rule out giving work to struggling planemaker Bombardier Inc, noting that Boeing always works with its competitors. "We're not going to rule out anybody from the perspective of who would be a good partner," he said. Boeing earlier this month formally challenged a decision by the Danish government to pick the F-35 fighter jet over the Super Hornet, citing a flawed evaluation process. Allen said that was a very particular circumstance and that Canada's process was calibrated to ensure an accurate analysis. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Bill Rigby)
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(Adds union comment on GM pledge to eliminate pension deficit)

By Ethan Lou

TORONTO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Canada's Unifor union has ratified a deal with General Motors Co that will see C$554 million ($420.84 million) invested in local plants, the labor group said on Sunday as it prepares for related talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

The deal was ratified after 64.7 percent of workers voted approve it, Unifor said in an evening statement.

Unifor, which represents some 4,000 GM workers, reached the deal on Monday. The four-year deal granted job security and wage increases, but less favorable pensions than before.

GM's Canadian arm also pledged to eliminate the C$2.3-billion deficit in the pension plans for unionized workers and retirees, the union said.

The ratification is expected to affect some 16,000 Unifor workers with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ford Motor Co, whose contracts also are up for negotiation.

Under a process called patterned bargaining, Unifor's agreement with GM will be used as a template for talks with the other companies, which are expected to agree to similar terms.

Unifor has said it will negotiate next with Fiat Chrysler, and has set a tentative strike deadline of midnight Oct. 10.

Fiat Chrysler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Unifor President Jerry Dias said the union will be in talks with Fiat Chrysler on Monday, and that a significant issue will be the future of the company's plant in Brampton, west of Toronto.

"We need some clarification," he told Reuters by telephone late on Sunday afternoon, before the ratification results were released. "We need some answers. We ultimately need some commitment."

Unifor has said it will ask Fiat Chrysler to upgrade an outdated paint shop at the plant, which makes the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger and Charger sedans.

Dias said he does not expect talks with Fiat Chrysler to be easy, but it will be hard for the company to ignore the GM precedent.

Story continues

GM spokesman Tom Wickham said in a statement the company is "pleased," and that it is working toward "potential support agreements" with federal and provincial governments to "optimize the competitiveness" of its Canadian operations.

In the GM deal, the union gave up defined-benefit pensions for new hires. Dias has said concessions were necessary. Canada's once-thriving auto industry has been losing investment to the Southern United States and lower-cost Mexico.

($1 = 1.3164 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Bill Trott and Sandra Maler)
By Ethan Lou

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Unifor union has ratified a deal with General Motors Co that will see C$554 million ($420.84 million) invested in local plants, the labor group said on Sunday as it prepares for related talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

The deal was ratified after 64.7 percent of workers voted approve it, Unifor said in an evening statement.

Unifor, which represents some 4,000 GM workers, reached the deal on Monday. The four-year deal granted job security and wage increases, but less favorable pensions than before.

GM's Canadian arm also pledged to eliminate the C$2.3-billion deficit in the pension plans for unionized workers and retirees, the union said.

The ratification is expected to affect some 16,000 Unifor workers with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ford Motor Co, whose contracts also are up for negotiation.

Under a process called patterned bargaining, Unifor's agreement with GM will be used as a template for talks with the other companies, which are expected to agree to similar terms.

Unifor has said it will negotiate next with Fiat Chrysler, and has set a tentative strike deadline of midnight Oct. 10.

Fiat Chrysler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Unifor President Jerry Dias said the union will be in talks with Fiat Chrysler on Monday, and that a significant issue will be the future of the company's plant in Brampton, west of Toronto.

"We need some clarification," he told Reuters by telephone late on Sunday afternoon, before the ratification results were released. "We need some answers. We ultimately need some commitment."

Unifor has said it will ask Fiat Chrysler to upgrade an outdated paint shop at the plant, which makes the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger and Charger sedans.

Dias said he does not expect talks with Fiat Chrysler to be easy, but it will be hard for the company to ignore the GM precedent.

GM spokesman Tom Wickham said in a statement the company is "pleased," and that it is working toward "potential support agreements" with federal and provincial governments to "optimize the competitiveness" of its Canadian operations.

In the GM deal, the union gave up defined-benefit pensions for new hires. Dias has said concessions were necessary. Canada's once-thriving auto industry has been losing investment to the Southern United States and lower-cost Mexico.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Bill Trott and Sandra Maler)
(Adds further comment from minister)

By Ethan Lou

TORONTO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Canada is working closely with automakers to increase investment in the industry, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said on Monday, welcoming an agreement between Canada's Unifor union and General Motors Co.

"We're currently working closely with the automakers to make sure that we look at means to bring investment and I'm very delighted to hear about the agreement between GM and Unifor. That's a very positive development," he told reporters.

Unifor, which represents more than 20,000 Canadian autoworkers, on Sunday ratified a deal with General Motors that will see C$554 million ($420.81 million) invested in local plants.

It is also preparing for talks over similar deals with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ford Motor Co.

GM spokesman Tom Wickham said on Sunday that the company is working toward "potential support agreements" with federal and provincial governments.

Bains said the government is talking to GM about supporting its Canadian investments and expects to give further details "in the coming weeks and months".

"We have many tools in our toolbox and the idea is for us to engage with them to increase investment," Bains said.

Canada's government said in its 2016 budget that it would extend the country's Automotive Innovation Fund, which uses government funds to encourage industry investment.

The federal government recently agreed to offer automakers grants rather than loans, which helped both sides reach a deal, according to a source directly involved in the talks. Bains declined to comment on the grant situation.

($1 = 1.3165 Canadian dollars) (With additional reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by W Simon and Marguerita Choy)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Canadian Zeolite Corp. (the "Company") (CNZ.V) (CNZCF) (ZEON.F) is pleased to announce that Dr. Gerardo Rodriquez-Fuentes one of the world's leading experts in the applications of natural zeolite will be meeting with Mr. Ray Paquette CEO over the week of September 26, 2016. Dr. Rodriguez-Fuentes is a Doctor in Science at the Zeolite Engineering Laboratory, Material Science and Technology Institute, University of Havana, Cuba.

During Dr. Fuentes' visit he will be delivering a scientific lecture at the University of Northern British Columbia titled "The Environmental Applications of Zeolites." Dr. Fuentes states; "The impact of natural zeolites in the environment is more significant than the one of synthetic zeolites. Even when the products based on synthetic zeolites have a large global revenue - about 3.5 billion USD in 2015 - because their main applications are in 1) Catalyzers of oil refining processes, 2) Detergent builders and 3) Absorbers.

The products based on natural zeolites are applied in many environmental fields: 1) Animal feeding, 2) Pet litter, 3) Odor control, 4) Cement production, 5) Water purification, 6) Waste-water treatment, 7) Fertilizer carrier, 8) Fungicide or pesticide carrier, 9) Gas absorbent, 10) Air filtration, 11) Oil absorbent, 12) Desiccant, 13) Aquaculture, 14) Building material production, 15) Plant substrates and 16) Nuclear disaster containment.

The global market of the natural zeolite industry is about 500 million USD (2015), for the reason that the natural zeolite products are treated as commodities. Nevertheless, when natural zeolite products are designed and developed following the methodology named Natural Zeolite Engineering, the value added is higher because there is a unique solution to specific problems using an exclusive technology.

Our innovative products are designed to solve several environmental issues. These new materials and technologies do not replace the traditional uses of natural zeolites. We have also developed technologies to improve the performance of ordinary applications of natural zeolites: fertilizer carrier, soil amendment, treatment of animal feces to compost production, etc."

Story continues

"Dr. Fuentes' lecture and the opportunity to spend time with this world leader in zeolite technologies is of great interest and benefit to Canadian Zeolite as we expand our efforts to increase zeolite awareness, to introduce new green technologies and marketing opportunities for our natural zeolite both nationally and internationally," states CEO Ray Paquette.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Ray Paquette"

President & CEO

604.684.3301

www.canadianzeolite.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.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete contemplated work programs and the timing and amount of expenditures. Canadian Zeolite does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE: Canadian Zeolite Corp.
These candles smell like your home state, we need them immediately

These candles smell like your home state, we need them immediately

What does your home state smell like to you? Well, a candle brand aptly named Homesick Candles wants to answer that question for you with a smell for every state!

Homesick Candles boast the scents of sweet tea and peaches (Georgia), sandalwood and Oranges (Florida), cherries and chocolate (Michigan), and many more sure to evoke feelings of being back in the state you grew up in.

But you know, without running into your high school teachers at Starbucks.

Perfect for the days you find yourself longing for the holidays and seeing your high school friends, Homesick Candles burn for 60 to 80 hours so you can revel in the scents of home wherever you are.

While some of the scents may not make any sense at first glance, they seem to pull from the state flowers, fruits, and other agriculture that are grown during harvest seasons.

Not every state is available just yet, but you can sign up to be notified when Homesick makes a candle scent for the state you rep.

And great news: Homesick Candles ships internationally so you can have the scents of your state sent to you while youre abroad!

While this obviously isnt a replacement for the smell of moms banana pancakes or your best friends hugs, this candle is a great smelling, not super expensive (each candle will run you about $30 a pop)  and cute!  way to get a slice of home no matter where you are.

The post These candles smell like your home state, we need them immediately appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Photo  IANS

The Cauvery water issue took a serious turn on Monday with the Karnataka government telling the Supreme Court that it cannot release water to Tamil Nadu till the end of the year.

Acting on the mandate from both the Houses of the legislature to draw Cauvery water only for drinking purposes of Bengaluru and other towns in the state, Karnataka filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a modification of the apex courts order of September 20.

The Apex Court order had asked Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water on a daily basis from September 21 to 27.

Earlier, the Congress party said that the Karnataka government needs to prove to the court that there is no intentional disobedience involved in not releasing waters of the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu, as the quantity of water available is not sufficient.

After the Karnataka state assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Friday to only release water to meet the basic needs of people living in Bengaluru and those icinity of the Cauvery Basin, Congress leader and senior advocate K T S Tulsi said, The Government of Karnataka cant produce water if there is none, and therefore, they will have to convince the court there is no intentional disobedience, but these are circumstances that are beyond their control.

Defending the resolution passed by the Karnataka state assembly, Tulsi said, According to the information that has been given to the legislative assembly, only 27,000 metric tons of water is available for meeting the drinking needs of Bangalore, Mysore and other places in the Cauvery Basin and all reservoirs taken together, only 27.6 pmc is available. So, if the water is just not there, how will they release it, how can there be contempt?

The Cauvery Supervisory Committee had on September 19 asked Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs per day from September 21 to 30, but the apex court had on September 20 doubled the quantum to 6,000 cusecs from September 21 to 27 after Tamil Nadu pressed for water to save its Samba paddy crop.

The Supreme Court had also directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the Cauvery Water Management Board as directed by Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its award.

Backed by an all party mandate, the state cabinet had on Tuesday decided to defer the release of water to Tamil Nadu and convene a days legislature session to discuss possible outcomes related to the escalating row between the two neighbouring states. (ANI and Agencies)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP said it will buy a majority stake in South African promotional products and clothing supplier Amrod and plans to expand the business in other markets. The Washington D.C.-based private equity house will fund the investment through its Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa Fund, while the three founders of Amrod will reinvest alongside Carlyle, the firm said in a statement. Carlyle said it expects the transaction to close in 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and gave no further financial details. Like other private investors, Carlyle has been targeting rapid economic growth and growing consumer spending in sub-Saharan Africa, however a weak economy and falling currencies have now taken the gloss off a decade of optimism. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander Smith)
The cast of Will & Grace reunited and it has us screaming COMEBACK

The cast of Will & Grace reunited and it has us screaming COMEBACK

While people freak out every other week about the possibility of a Friends reunion, theres anther long running sitcom that weve totally missed from our screens: Will & Grace.

Airing on NBC for eight years, Will & Grace centered around the (often co-dependent) relationship between Grace Adler, played by Debra Messing, and her gay best friend Will Truman, played by Eric McCormack. Also featured were the duos foil pair in the shape of Jack, played by Sean Hayes, and Karen, played by Megan Mullally, who were notorious for drinking too much, saying outrageous things, and getting into heaps of trouble.

Would you believe that its been 10(!) years since Will & Grace ended? Where HAS all the time gone? Well, if youre Karen probably in an alcohol blackout.

Karen

Of course such a momentous occasion couldnt go uncelebrated and all four cast members of Will & Grace all got together over the weekend for the first time in years and it has us screaming COMEBACK.

Meeting up at Megan Mullallys husbands show, all four cast members shared this adorable selfie and its full of nostalgia.

Only smiling because of where Eric's hand is! #ericmccormack @seanhayes @meganomullally A photo posted by Debra Messing (@therealdebramessing) on Sep 24, 2016 at 9:30pm PDT

Omg, its almost like NO TIME HAS PASSED AT ALL!

That wasnt the only cute AF picture that was shared, however.

You smell the same! @EricMccormack A photo posted by Debra Messing (@therealdebramessing) on Sep 24, 2016 at 7:00pm PDT

my new wife and i are so happy @therealdebramessing A photo posted by @meganomullally on Sep 24, 2016 at 11:02pm PDT

You smell the same! @EricMccormack, Debra Messing wrote on Instagram and omg were crying.

Its always SO nice to see people who obviously became a work family come back together and witness the love they still have for each other.

Story continues

However, could there be more to this meet-up than meets the eye?

Taking to Twitter, each (former) cast member shared some pretty cryptic tweets

Beverly Leslie comes up to here on me. pic.twitter.com/CQRfoKRvJN  Sean Hayes (@SeanHayes) September 26, 2016

I remember this place. pic.twitter.com/Elwgvx7Sof  Megan Mullally (@MeganOMullally) September 26, 2016

I used to be able to do this without glasses... pic.twitter.com/l9ctYCZqH6  Eric McCormack (@EricMcCormack) September 26, 2016

I feel like something BIG is going to happen tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/oIy0nCxirb  Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) September 26, 2016

Okay, were *totally* freaking out right now! What do you think Debra meant by I feel like something BIG is going to happen tomorrow?

Do you think that, possibly, the show could be coming back? Or maybe theres a special episode being made to celebrate the shows momentous anniversary?

In 2016, anything is possible. The advent of streaming services means that many of our favorite shows are coming back or getting picked up again after being cancelled.

Back in 2014, Eric McCormack denied claims that the show was coming back. Speaking to Digital Spy he said that the whole rumor was started by just one Australian website. Despite this, a representative for NBC didnt deny that something could happen in the future.

I cant speak for ever, they said at the time, but there are no talks right now.

We think that 10 years after the show finished would be the PERFECT time for a comeback, if one is on the cards. In fact, wouldnt a six-park mini-series on Netflix totally be amazing? Oh, how we long for the return of this!

Jack and Karen

The post The cast of Will & Grace reunited and it has us screaming COMEBACK appeared first on HelloGiggles.
(Reuters) - Emergency crews have erected nearly 10 miles (16 km) of temporary flood barricades and laid a quarter-million sandbags in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as residents braced on Monday for what could be the second-largest flood in the city's history, officials said. Iowa's second-biggest city is hoping to avoid the widespread destruction caused by the U.S. Midwest floods of June 2008 that inundated hundreds of businesses and thousands of homes in Cedar Rapids. "It's crunch time in Cedar Rapids," Mayor Ron Corbett told residents and reporters on Monday. "The next 48 hours are the most critical. The next 48 hours are the most dangerous." The Cedar River, which winds through the city of around 126,000 in eastern Iowa, is expected to crest early on Tuesday morning at 23 feet (7 m). The water had reached over 16 feet on Monday, which is considered major flood level. The city management office said that around 5,800 homes and businesses were in the evacuation zone, which runs along the banks of the river. "If you are in the evacuation zone, go pack up the suitcase right now and head to higher ground," Corbett said. He said he expected that residents in the evacuation area would likely be able to return to their homes and businesses on Saturday. The National Guard was expected to be in position by noon on Monday to man traffic checkpoints and aid in evacuation efforts. The Red Cross, which is operating two shelters, said personnel were being brought in to assist with those who had left their homes. Schools will remain closed until Wednesday, the Cedar Rapids Community School District said. The city was hard hit by widescale flooding eight years ago which swamped towns and farms across the Midwestern United States. More than 10 square miles (26 sq km) containing 5,400 homes and 700 businesses in Cedar Rapids were flooded in 2008. (Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
EAST CHICAGO, Ind.  When the mayor in this industrial town ordered the evacuation of a 40-year-old public-housing complex this summer because of severe lead contamination, many people wondered: How could the problem have been overlooked for so long?

The complex, in a blighted corner of Indiana just across from Chicago, had been built on ground once occupied by a lead-products factory. Some yards had lead levels more than 70 times the federal safety standard.

The abrupt order to remove more than 1,000 residents, including about 700 children, made headlines across the country.

But it turns out the hazard wasn't, or shouldn't have been, a surprise to anyone in public office in East Chicago or responsible for the safety of the West Calumet Housing Complex.

A review of public documents and news coverage dating back to the 1960s shows officials at half a dozen local, state and federal agencies were aware residents were living on and playing in lead-tainted soil, though some of the most alarming readings weren't widely known until recently.

In 1985, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management found elevated lead levels in yards just east of the complex, according to department records. The same year, the Indiana Department of Health found high lead levels in blood samples of some residents' children.

In 2008, an EPA memo described "an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health, welfare and the environment."

Instead of prompting urgent action, the situation in East Chicago instead became an example of how longstanding problems can linger indefinitely in some industrial hubs and how environmental cleanups are often grindingly slow.

"It's mind-boggling. You have so many people who could have and should have done something," said state Sen. Lonnie Randolph, an East Chicago native who's represented the city since 2008. "The bottom line is somebody just didn't care."

The history and local politics of East Chicago, a poor community of about 30,000, also played a role. People were unlikely to complain about factories that provided their livelihood, some here say, and the town's top public officials have often been corrupt.

The housing authority director who chose the site in the late 1960s was indicted years later for taking kickbacks from the developer who built the project, records show. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and agreed to testify against other defendants.

Two of the last three mayors were convicted of corruption. The third, defeated in 2004 after serving more than 30 years, was cited in a malfeasance lawsuit against the city administration that resulted in a $108 million judgment.

The evacuation order came in the wake of a highly publicized scandal in Flint, Mich., where local and state officials were accused of making a lax response to lead contamination of the local water supply.

East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland has refused interview requests, deferring to City Attorney Carla Morgan, who says officials acted quickly after learning the latest soil sampling results in May.

She also told AP that the problems had been aired in public hearings over the years.

"The public knew everything we knew," Morgan said.

However, in 2010 the EPA interviewed 25 residents and noted in a report that "the majority of people said that they knew little or nothing about the site."

For years, the signs welcoming people to East Chicago proclaimed the city the "Industrial Capital of the World."

One of the industries was the Anaconda Lead Products plant, which operated from at least 1938 to 1965. Just to the south sat the sprawling U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, or USS Lead, which salvaged lead from old car batteries and scrap metal. Lead dust filtered by the smelter's smokestacks was piled on the ground, open to the wind.

Blowing dust from USS Lead was probably responsible for most of the area's contamination, according to the EPA. But according to a city letter to the EPA, utility workers also found signs of toxic demolition debris from Anaconda under housing project homes. That was one of numerous red flags to emerge since USS Lead closed in 1985, according to documents reviewed by AP.

In 1991, USS Lead agreed to pay a $55,000 fine and place tarps over the lead dust piles. But it was almost another decade before the EPA conducted what it called "time-critical" removal of contaminated soil in nearby residential areas.

In May, after the EPA gave the city the results of testing last year that showed alarming hotspots, Copeland delivered the news that everyone would have to leave. Residents, meanwhile, are struggling to find new places to live with the HUD vouchers they received, but tenants say some landlords won't rent to housing project residents.

Shantel Allen, whose yard is one of the most contaminated, said she's been notified that her 2-year-old daughter's blood lead levels were six times beyond what the Centers for Disease Control considers concerning.

Allen, who's married and has four other children, says the family's health problems  from ADHD to headaches  "make sense now."

"I'm upset because we were the last to know," she said.
Date night for six.



Three celebrity couples headed to the same Mexican restaurant in New York City for dinner Saturday night, sparking rumors of a red carpet-worthy triple date.



Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky, and John Krasinski and Emily Blunt dined at La Esquina in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood over the weekend, just two days before the first presidential debate of 2016.



The couples were spotted chatting outside the restaurant after their meals. Clinton and her husband went for a casual look in jeans, while Blunt wore a black dress with floral print and carried a jacket. Krasinski paired a black leather jacket with dark pants and white shirt.









Celebrity Triple Threat! The Damons, Clintons & Krasinski-Blunts Head to Dinner at Same New York Restaurant





Krasinski, who welcomed a second daughter to the family this summer, recently spoke about the importance of keeping the spark with his wife alive.



"Itas important to preserve your relationship,a the actor says of balancing kids with spending one-on-one time with his spouse. aItas really fun because I have an amazing wife who also will go out on dates on me. We do one date a week at least where itas just us.a



Clinton and Mezvinsky as well as Damon and Barroso have young children at home too, but this was an adults-only night out.
Chance the Rapper's Magnificent Coloring Day festival was a crowning achievement for Chicago's most celebrated young artist. The 23-year-old Chatham native threw the day-long festival -- it began at 1 p.m. with Francis and the Lights and ended at 11:30 p.m. with a performance by Skrillex -- at the White Sox's Cellular One Field in the heart of Chicago's South Side on Saturday (Sept. 24). Chance set an attendance record at the park with upwards of 47,000 in attendance, per a rep, marking the first time the park sold every single seat. In one of the country's most heavily segregated cities, throwing the party at "the Cell" was as much of a statement as the existence of the festival itself, the first of its kind in Chicagoland.

The lineup was especially diverse -- comedian Hannibal Buress, who appeared after a performance from John Legend, joked that it seemed as if it was programmed by the shuffle button on Chance's playlist. It also contained its fair share of surprises, including Buress' set, an appearance by Chicago Bull Jimmy Butler, and a guest performance from Common. But the biggest moment was the well-publicized arrival of Kanye West, who ran through a series of his own hits including "Gold Digger," "Black Skinhead" and Can't Tell Me Nothing," and was joined by Chance for a performance of their gospel-rap collaboration from The Life of Pablo, "Ultralight Beam." Kanye's arrival caused pandemonium throughout the park: enthusiastic kids jumped from Porta Potties and past security to get closer to the stage at Sox park, like a bizarro version of the park's famed 1979 disco demolition night.

The unorthodox lineup turned out to be the festival's strength: energy rarely flagged, and Chance's curatorial flair - R&B from stars of an older generation, like Alicia Keys and John Legend, rubbed up against hip-hop from a slightly younger one, like Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, which followed hip-hop from even more recent performers like Tyler, the Creator and Lil Uzi Vert. (Young Thug, perhaps the most anticipated performance from this new era, arrived late and was unable to perform.)

Story continues

Chance the Rapper Announces Magnificent Coloring Day Festival With Lil Wayne, Skrillex, John Legend & More

The most exceptional performances came from ColleGrove (2 Chainz and Lil Wayne's combined set), Alicia Keys, and of course Chance himself. (Closer Skrillex put on a thrilling, high-energy show but the stylistic shift was so sudden it felt more like a festival victory lap than a full-on performance of its own.) 2 Chainz and Wayne ran through hits, mixtape cuts, classics and recent records from their joint project ColleGrove. Keys' set, meanwhile, was a reminder not only of her powerful voice but the surprising depth of such catalog hits as "Fallin'," "Karma" and "If I Ain't Got You."

Chance, who hit the stage in all-white as if Labor Day never happened, quickly made it clear why he was the main event as cell phone screens lit up the stadium like a star field during songs like "No Problem." Chance focused primarily on the best records from his recently released project Coloring Book before fireworks were launched from behind the screen to "All We Got." It was difficult not to recognize the historic improbability of it all: how four years earlier, when he was still just a teenager, he appeared before 400 teenagers on a freezing night in January just 25 blocks north.

So much happened over the course of this show that it's worth highlighting three characteristics that separated the Magnificent Coloring Day from other festivals.

The New Pioneers: Chance the Rapper Is One of the Hottest Acts in Music, Has a Top 10 Album and His Own Festival -- All Without a Label or Physical Release

The Magnificent Coloring aesthetic

One of the most fascinating aspects of Chance the Rapper's rise has been his fairly extreme approach to hip-hop. It's evident not just in his music -- look to songs like "Nostalgia" from his first 'tape, 2012's 10 Day, verses that make references to "diagonal grilled cheeses/And back when Michael Jackson was still Jesus," or the Social Experiment's cover of the Arthur theme -- but the very concept of a "Magnificent Coloring Day," the earnest, innocent, nostalgia for childhood that pervades his merch and posters, puppet-driven stage show, and entire conceptual project.

Chance lets the seams show

There were a few slip-ups throughout the night: Young Thug's no-show, the "obstructed view" seating (reportedly criticized by Tyler, the Creator), and some long pauses and awkward transitions within Chance and the Social Experiment's own set. Led by a Lion-like puppet named Carlos, who helps guide Chance through some kind of moral dilemma involving show sequencing, Chance's stage show was imaginative and bold, but also at times, nearly felt like community theater. And, of course, the crowd ate it up anyway.

"I appreciate you guys for letting me do whatever the f--k I want," Chance said at one point, chuckling.

Kanye West Surprises Hometown at Chance the Rapper's Festival: Watch

Chicago businesses get a platform

Kanye West may have made a great guest but surely someone must wonder why it's taken so long for a Chicago rapper to throw a major festival on Chicago's South Side. Kanye's relationship with the city can be a little fraught -- after all, he came up in an era when rappers had to leave the city to get on, and Chicago didn't really get behind him until he'd found success elsewhere first. Some in the city have gone so far as to criticize him for placing his "Chicago" pop-up shops in the suburbs. Then again, Yeezy performed "All Falls Down," which features shout-outs to Chi-Town, the South Side and the West Side.

Regardless of whether this critique is fair, it's not one Chance will face. Since 2012, when Chicago hip-hop first began to pop off in the city, much has been made about how so much of an artist's operation can be homegrown in this new era. And Chance continues to support, offering local businesses (Jugrnaut, Fat Tiger Workshop, Chicagoland NW Indiana Honda Dealers) and restaurants (Harolds, Haire's Gulf Shrimp) a chance to serve concert-goers.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) [CNNCC.UL] has sought antitrust approval for its $43 billion bid for Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta <SYNN.S> from the European Union and a decision is expected by Oct. 28.

State-owned ChemChina filed its request on Sept. 23, the European Commission's website showed on Monday.

The EU competition enforcer can either clear the deal, with or without concessions, or it can open a full investigation if it has serious concerns that ChemChina's takeover of the world's largest pesticides maker could harm customers and rivals.

ChemChina cleared one of the biggest hurdles last month when a U.S. national security panel approved what would be the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company.

The deal is one of several in the agrochemicals sector, including the planned $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical <DOW.N> and DuPont <DD.N>, Bayer's <BAYGn.DE> $66 billion bid for Monsanto <MON.N> and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan's <POT.TO> proposed merger with Agrium <AGU.TO>.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by David Clarke)
David Rabe (Streamers, Hurlyburly), a playwright in the midst of a creative resurgence, delivers a heavy but fascinating drama on the futility of understanding human relationships in Visiting Edna, now getting its world premiere at Chicagos vaunted Steppenwolf Theater. The tale of an mother and her grown son trying desperately to make a fulfilling connection after she has been diagnosed with terminal illness, Rabes play mightily resists traditional dramatic twists or revelations, insisting on a realistic depiction of a complex relationship, loving but bafflingly unsatisfying to both. Jolly or joyful this is not, but the work ultimately has a deeply searing power, both because of and despite an insistent slow burn and an absence of explosions.

At its intensely realistic core, we find Edna (an outstanding Debra Monk), who is in her late 70s and feels just fine, except she also has an apparently untreatable form of cancer. She lives alone in the Midwest  her husband died years ago and her kids and grandkids live on the East coast. Her grown son Andrew (an equally excellent Ian Barford) comes for a visit, spending time with his mother as an extension to a work trip, well aware that it may well be the last days they have together, no matter how robust she appears on the surface.

While the central relationship could not be more realistically depicted, Rabe provides Edna and Andrew with some more company: two fanciful theatrical figures who introduce themselves at the start. Actor One (Sally Murphy) explains that she will portray Television, and throughout, with relentless cheeriness, she encourages Edna and Andrew to fill uncomfortable silences with whatevers on. Actor Two (Tim Hopper) is cancer itself, and more specifically the cancer that has found a host in Edna and is determined to take her.

Hes sincere and dour but nonetheless provides moments of comedy, not because anthropomorphized cancer has a sense of humor, but because his efforts to appeal to the worst possible temptations, such as regret and resentment, are so brazen as to be funny. I wish you still smoked, he says to Andrew, with a sense of genuine sadness. But Rabe is not a writer of black comedy; the bigger impression is that of cancer simply accompanying Edna into her bedroom at night.

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These devices are quite brilliant. While Television can at times be a touch hokey, and the literal presence of cancer can feel unsubtle, the actors and director Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County) manage to find a comfortable balance. For the most part they magnify rather than distract from Rabes focus on his two core characters. Edna and Andrew  whether together or alone  are pulled in two polar directions: to focus on mortality and get swept into negativity, or to give in to the temptations of mostly empty distraction.

For the most part, they do neither, at least for long. Instead, we see them making halting efforts to be together as fully as they can, to find meaning, to connect. On occasion, they succeed, and leave it to Rabe to leave those moments offstage, and to connect happiness to something as mundane and superficially negative as getting a flat tire.

They do the oh-so-typical things that such a mother and son do. They plan to go to a movie but dont. Edna encourages Andrew to go out with old friends, and, predictably, feels abandoned when he takes her up on it.

In a more typical play, the tensions would boil over, or the revelations about the past  explored here through long and often beautiful monologues  would lead to moments of deep insight, would explain the frostiness of their relationship. But Rabe, to his credit, resolutely refuses to go there. That time Andrew, as a young child, saw people jump to their deaths due to a hotel fire? It gnaws at them both, but explains little. For Andrew, its an obsessive memory, but not one he admits has caused identifiable trauma. For Edna, its a source of guilt, but not any more than hitting her kids. At other moments, they show real love. He calls her Mommy throughout. At times they lapse into talking to each other in baby talk.

The play hasnt quite found its ending; it currently has a couple of them. Rabe almost seems tempted to allow an interpretation, to find a way to give it just a touch of a sunny spin. But that wouldnt be right. Visiting Edna should remain no more than what it is: a beautifully agonizing depiction of spending time with a loved one who is dying, trying to make the time have meaning, and usually failing.

Related stories

Chicago Theater Review: 'Mary Page Marlowe' by Tracy Letts

Broadway Review: Larry David's 'Fish in the Dark'

'Fish in the Dark' Director Anna D. Shapiro on Why She Talks Just Like Larry David
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said it will extend anti-dumping measures on imports of U.S. broiler chicken products for a further five years, effective from Sept 27.

A suspension of the measures would potentially hurt Chinese firms, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website on Monday.

China first imposed the duties on chicken imports from the United States in 2010 on the grounds that they were priced below fair market value and this was injuring Chinese producers.

The commerce ministry said on Aug. 22 that China would extend anti-subsidy measures on imports of U.S. broiler chicken products for a further five years, effective from Aug. 30.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Beijing (AFP) - China has sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan, the two governments said Monday, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea.

More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China's defence ministry website.

The Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace.

Japan's defence ministry said it was the first time Chinese fighters had passed over the strait.

The drill is aimed at "testing far sea combat capabilities", the Chinese statement said. It follows China's first military flight, carried out by spy planes, over the Miyako Strait last year.

The move comes after Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said earlier this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, dismissing rival partial claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours. It rejects any intervention by Japan in the waterway.

In recent months Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal, which said Beijing's extensive claims to the waters had no legal basis.

Tokyo, a key US ally, is also strengthening defence ties with other countries in the disputed region. Japan and China are already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China Sea.

That dispute relates to uninhabited islets controlled by Japan known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese.

Abe said on Monday Japan would "never tolerate attempts to unilaterally change the status quo" in the disputed waters, or "wherever else in the world", in an apparent response to the Chinese move.

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"We pledge to protect Japan's territory, and in the sea and air," he said in a speech to open a new parliamentary session.

Japan and China "share a mutual understanding that we're significantly responsible for regional peace and prosperity", he added.

In its statement the Chinese defence ministry said it had also mobilised an unspecified number of bombers and fighters to patrol the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Beijing sparked alarm after it unilaterally established the ADIZ in 2013. It demanded all aircraft submit flight plans when traversing the zone, which covers the islands disputed with Tokyo and also claimed by Taipei.

"Normalising far sea drills out in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ is based on the need for China's Air Force to protect national sovereignty and security and ensure peaceful development," air force spokesperson Shen Jinke said in the statement.

The Chinese military has been monitoring and identifying foreign military planes that entered the ADIZ and "took measures according to different air threats" since it was set up three years ago, the statement added.
A sector turnaround is expected by 2018.

Moody's Investors Service says that slow but steady demand growth from China and India underpins its stable outlook for the Asian refining and marketing (R&M) industry, despite a likely modest earnings contraction

through 2017.

"Increased refinery run rates in China, capacity additions and high stockpiles in the region continue to weigh on refiners' profitability, and we expect EBITDA for the industry will decline by 1%-3% through 2017," says Rachel Chua, a Moody's Analyst.

"However, we expect China's refined-product demand will grow at 3% in 2017-18 and Indian petroleum consumption by 6% per annum over the same period," adds Chua. "These two countries together account for 80% of Asia's refined-product demand growth."

Despite the modest growth in China and India, Moody's does not expect a material improvement in demand-supply dynamics over the next 12-18 month as demand growth will only match or marginally exceed total supply additions.

Against bloated supply and the lagged effect of crude-price fluctuations on petroleum product prices, refining margins will be volatile through 2017. Still, Moody's expects a modest recovery in the Asian refining margin to $5.00-$5.50 per barrel over the next 12-18 months, which is broadly in line with long-term average levels.

In Moody's view, low profitability levels will force small-scale, low-complexity refiners with a higher cost of production to cut back on output.

At the same time, Moody's expects the healthy integrated downstream petrochemical operations of most Asian refiners -- accounting for 20%-40% of earnings -- will somewhat cushion the impact of lower refining profits through 2017. For the aromatics players in particular, product spreads will likely be supported by strong demand. Lower naphtha feedstock prices will also maintain the improved profitability of naphtha-based petrochemical producers.

Moody's could change the industry outlook to negative if net refining capacity additions and increasing refinery output in Asia materially outpace growth in demand, such that projected EBITDA for the industry declines by more than 10%; or if demand from China and India contracts.

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Conversely, Moody's would consider a positive outlook if regional demand overwhelms capacity additions such that refining margins exceed $8 per barrel on a sustained basis, leading Moody's to raise its EBITDA growth forecast to above 10%.







More From Singapore Business Review


BEIJING (Reuters) - China has launched a 350 billion yuan (40.59 billion pounds) state enterprise restructuring fund to advance its 'supply-side' reforms as the world's second-largest economy undergoes its most significant transformation in two decades.

China has made reform of its lumbering and uncompetitive state-owned enterprises (SOEs) a priority as weak global demand drags on economic growth and excess capacity and idle workers bleed what precious resources companies have at their disposal.

Earlier this year, China said it was planning to allocate 100 billion yuan to help local authorities and SOEs finance layoffs in its struggling coal and steel industries. Up to 1.8 million people in the sectors could lose their jobs, official estimates showed.

The capital raised by the China State-owned Enterprises Restructuring Fund will focus on boosting the competitiveness of some SOEs and their international operations, including overseas acquisitions, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which will manage the fund, said in a document.

"Among SOEs controlled by the central government, some have excess capacity while others are suffering from a severe lack of capacity," state radio cited Xiao Yaqing, head of SASAC, as saying on Monday.

"Setting up this new fund will help concentrate state capital on strategic and forward-looking industries."

The fund will have an initial registered capital of 131 billion yuan provided by 10 SOEs.

The 10 firms investing in the fund include China Mobile Ltd , China Railway Rolling Stock Corp and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp .

Key investment areas of the fund include assets pertaining to national security and are of economic importance such as strategic reserves of natural resources, oil-and-gas pipelines, power grids and telecommunication infrastructure, according to the SASAC document.

The fund will also focus on restructuring SOEs.

For some sectors like coal and steel, restructuring has meant closures of mines and plants, and layoffs. For others, it has meant high-profile marriages to create national champions with the heft to compete globally.

Story continues

Last year, Beijing ordered the merger of top train manufacturers China CNR Corp and China CSR Corp.

"This fund aims to facilitate the destocking and deleveraging process," said Zhou Hao, senior emerging markets economist at Commerzbank.

China's state sector employed around 37 million people in 2013, and accounts for about 40 percent of the country's industrial output.

The retrenchments are China's most significant layoffs since the restructuring of SOEs from 1998 to 2003. That round of reforms led to around 28 million redundancies and cost the government about 73.1 billion yuan in resettlement funds.

China is not the first country to create a fund to support state firms going through hard times. The South Korean government has approved a $9.5 billion fund to help recapitalise state-run banks exposed to the country's troubled shipping sector.

China will reduce the number of SOEs this year to no more than 100 from 106, state media reported in July, citing SASAC Deputy Secretary-General Peng Huagang, who added that 10 central SOEs were in talks to create five groups.

China's central SOEs will complete their restructuring by the end of next year by introducing private capital and strategic investment, the Economic Information Daily reported earlier this month, citing unnamed insiders.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Cheng Fang, Judy Hua and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Neil Fullick)
July and August were the hottest months for the planet since record keeping began. Scientists are confident that 2016 will be the hottest year. Rising sea levels have made flooding commonplace in several major U.S. cities. And meanwhile, one of our leading presidential candidates says climate change is some kind of Chinese hoax.

Elections have consequences, and this is one of the most fateful: Anyone who takes climate change seriously had better do everything possible to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.

Believe it or not, there are issues more important than Trump's latest offensive outburst or Hillary Clinton's score on the likability scale. Clinton accepts the scientific consensus on climate change, which is increasingly supported by what we see and feel every day. She would build upon President Obama's efforts to address the issue, which include the historic Paris agreement, seen by many experts as our last best hope to prevent catastrophe.

Trump, by contrast, is a bald-faced denier. "Obama's talking about all of this with the global warming and ... a lot of it's a hoax," he said at a December rally in South Carolina. "It's a hoax. I mean, it's a moneymaking industry, OK? It's a hoax, a lot of it."

He tweeted in 2012 that "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive." He later said this was a joke, but during the campaign he has again said he does not believe in climate change and claimed that action to limit carbon emissions "is done for the benefit of China."

The Paris pact represents the first time the world's two biggest emitters, China and the United States, have formally agreed to hold down the amount of heat-trapping carbon they spew into the atmosphere. Trump would renounce the agreement -- and also scrap Obama administration rules limiting emissions from coal-fired power plants. He has promised greater fossil-fuel production and scoffed at alternative energy sources such as wind power.

Clinton recognizes the potential economic benefits of developing the technology to lead the world toward a clean-energy economy. Trump would rather let China, Germany and other nations compete for that prize.

The differences could not be more stark. And the evidence for climate change has never been clearer.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 15 of the warmest 16 years on record have come since the turn of the century. By examining air bubbles preserved for centuries in polar ice, scientists know the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 40 percent since the Industrial Revolution, when large-scale burning of fossil fuels began.

Global warming is affecting weather patterns worldwide. Deniers point out that it is not possible to conclusively blame any given storm or localized heat wave on climate change -- and that, yes, it still gets cold in the winter. But the phenomenon is clearly visible in melting glaciers and ice caps, the opening of ice-free sea lanes through the Arctic and, most urgently, sea-level rise.

The oceans are rising because warmer water occupies a greater volume than cooler water and because so much land ice is melting. According to NOAA, average sea level is rising by about 1.2 inches per decade. That may not sound like much, but it has already been enough to at least triple the amount of "nuisance" flooding that coastal cities have to cope with when onshore winds coincide with high tide.

In Norfolk, Va., some low-lying intersections flood so often that officials have installed gauges so residents can tell when the water is too deep to drive through. In Miami Beach, some frequently flooded streets are being elevated. In New York, officials are debating how to prepare for the next storm that takes the path of Hurricane Sandy, which caused an estimated $75 billion in damage in 2012.

Last November, in Time magazine, Clinton wrote that "I won't let anyone take us backward, deny our economy the benefits of harnessing a clean energy future, or force our children to endure the catastrophe that would result from unchecked climate change."

Neither her policies nor Trump's will reverse the climate effects we're already seeing. But it is possible, and necessary, to keep the impacts from becoming completely unmanageable. Obama leaves behind a framework for coordinated international action, more than two decades in the making, that still could fail -- but that might, just might, succeed. Trump boasts that he can't wait to tear it all down.

The choice is ours.
* Fund will be managed by state-asset group SASAC

* Initial registered capital is 131 billion yuan

* Reform of state owned enterprises is a priority (Adds comments from SASAC)

BEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China has launched a 350 billion yuan ($52.5 billion) state enterprise restructuring fund to advance its 'supply-side' reforms as the world's second-largest economy undergoes its most significant transformation in two decades.

China has made reform of its lumbering and uncompetitive state-owned enterprises (SOEs) a priority as weak global demand drags on economic growth and excess capacity and idle workers bleed what precious resources companies have at their disposal.

Earlier this year, China said it was planning to allocate 100 billion yuan to help local authorities and SOEs finance layoffs in its struggling coal and steel industries. Up to 1.8 million people in the sectors could lose their jobs, official estimates showed.

The capital raised by the China State-owned Enterprises Restructuring Fund will focus on boosting the competitiveness of some SOEs and their international operations, including overseas acquisitions, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which will manage the fund, said in a document.

"Among SOEs controlled by the central government, some have excess capacity while others are suffering from a severe lack of capacity," state radio cited Xiao Yaqing, head of SASAC, as saying on Monday.

"Setting up this new fund will help concentrate state capital on strategic and forward-looking industries."

The fund will have an initial registered capital of 131 billion yuan provided by 10 SOEs.

The 10 firms investing in the fund include China Mobile Ltd , China Railway Rolling Stock Corp and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.

Key investment areas of the fund include assets pertaining to national security and are of economic importance such as strategic reserves of natural resources, oil-and-gas pipelines, power grids and telecommunication infrastructure, according to the SASAC document.

Story continues

The fund will also focus on restructuring SOEs.

For some sectors like coal and steel, restructuring has meant closures of mines and plants, and layoffs. For others, it has meant high-profile marriages to create national champions with the heft to compete globally.

Last year, Beijing ordered the merger of top train manufacturers China CNR Corp and China CSR Corp.

"This fund aims to facilitate the destocking and deleveraging process," said Zhou Hao, senior emerging markets economist at Commerzbank.

China's state sector employed around 37 million people in 2013, and accounts for about 40 percent of the country's industrial output.

The retrenchments are China's most significant layoffs since the restructuring of SOEs from 1998 to 2003. That round of reforms led to around 28 million redundancies and cost the government about 73.1 billion yuan in resettlement funds.

China is not the first country to create a fund to support state firms going through hard times. The South Korean government has approved a $9.5 billion fund to help recapitalise state-run banks exposed to the country's troubled shipping sector.

China will reduce the number of SOEs this year to no more than 100 from 106, state media reported in July, citing SASAC Deputy Secretary-General Peng Huagang, who added that 10 central SOEs were in talks to create five groups.

China's central SOEs will complete their restructuring by the end of next year by introducing private capital and strategic investment, the Economic Information Daily reported earlier this month, citing unnamed insiders. ($1=6.67 yuan) (Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Cheng Fang, Judy Hua and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Neil Fullick)
SEOUL (Reuters) - China is investigating executives of a North Korean bank believed to finance the illicit procurement of arms and materials related to the isolated country's banned nuclear program, South Korea's JoongAng Daily reported on Monday. China and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in the U.N. Security Council and in law enforcement channels after North Korea's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, the White House said last week. While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programs. The Chinese-U.S. cooperation includes targeting the finances of Liaoning Hongxiang Industrial, a Chinese conglomerate headed by a Communist Party cadre, that the Obama administration thinks has had a role in helping North Korea's nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The JoongAng Daily said Chinese authorities were investigating a top official of the Kwangson Banking Corporation at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong. The U.S. Treasury designated the bank in 2009 under an order that targets entities supporting North Korea's arms trafficking because of its suspected involvement in procuring "dual-use" technology with both civilian and military application. "The head of the branch, Ri Il Ho, temporarily returned to North Korea, so the deputy executive is being investigated," a source told the JoongAng Daily. The paper did not identify its source, who it said was "well-informed on North Korea affairs". In March, after the latest round of U.N. sanctions, the United Nations extended an asset freeze to all funds held abroad by the bank. The bank branch in Dandong then moved to an office in a building also used by Hongxiang and continued to operate, though without a sign, the JoongAng Daily said. Asked about the report of the Kwangson probe, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he did "not understand" the situation. But China has fully followed United Nations resolutions on North Korea, which put wide-ranging sanctions on the country, and fulfils its international obligations when it comes to non-proliferation export controls, Geng added. A report by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and the C4ADS think-tank in Washington last week identified more than $500 million in trade from January 2011 to September 2015 between the North and the Liaoning Hongxiang Group, which states on its website that it trades heavily with the North. More than 20 customs and city officials in Dandong are being investigated over favors to Ma Xiaohong, Hongxiang's founder and top executive, the JoongAng reported, citing a source "knowledgeable about relations between Beijing and Pyongyang". In recent weeks, Chinese authorities have frozen certain assets related to Ma and some of her relatives and associates, according to government and corporate filings cited by the Wall Street Journal. Other unidentified "North Korean employees" living in China were also under investigation, the JoongAng said. (Reporting by James Pearson; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will prosecute former senior officials of energy giant Sinopec Group and China Southern Airlines as well as a one-time top security official in Tibet for suspected graft, the prosecutor's office said on Monday.

President Xi Jinping launched a sweeping crackdown on deep-rooted corruption after assuming power almost four years ago, ensnaring top politicians, leaders of state enterprises and senior bankers.

In a short statement on its website, the state prosecutor said it had begun proceedings against former Sinopec Group president Wang Tianpu, former China Southern Airlines general manager Si Xianmin, and Le Dake, once a senior security official in restive Tibet.

It was not possible to reach any of the three for comment and unclear who their lawyers are.

A Sinopec spokesman said the firm supported the case against Wang, as corruption was tolerated by neither the ruling Communist Party nor the state, and contradicted the company's core values.

China Southern officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The prosecutor said all three are suspected of taking bribes and abusing their positions for personal advantage.

It added that the prosecutor had protected the rights of the accused, in line with the law, and heard the opinions of their defence teams. The statement gave no details.

The announcement is the next step in the legal process before the three face trial, which could still be several months away and is likely to happen behind closed doors.

The three have already been investigated by the party's internal anti-corruption watchdog and will almost certainly be found guilty, as Chinese courts are controlled by the party and do not challenge its accusations.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Chen Aizhu; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will prosecute former senior officials of energy giant Sinopec Group and China Southern Airlines as well as a one-time top security official in Tibet for suspected graft, the prosecutor's office said on Monday. President Xi Jinping launched a sweeping crackdown on deep-rooted corruption after assuming power almost four years ago, ensnaring top politicians, leaders of state enterprises and senior bankers. In a short statement on its website, the state prosecutor said it had begun proceedings against former Sinopec Group president Wang Tianpu, former China Southern Airlines general manager Si Xianmin, and Le Dake, once a senior security official in restive Tibet. It was not possible to reach any of the three for comment and unclear who their lawyers are. A Sinopec spokesman said the firm supported the case against Wang, as corruption was tolerated by neither the ruling Communist Party nor the state, and contradicted the company's core values. China Southern officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The prosecutor said all three are suspected of taking bribes and abusing their positions for personal advantage. It added that the prosecutor had protected the rights of the accused, in line with the law, and heard the opinions of their defense teams. The statement gave no details. The announcement is the next step in the legal process before the three face trial, which could still be several months away and is likely to happen behind closed doors. The three have already been investigated by the party's internal anti-corruption watchdog and will almost certainly be found guilty, as Chinese courts are controlled by the party and do not challenge its accusations. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Chen Aizhu; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
China's coal imports from North Korea have surged in recent months, government data showed Monday, raising questions about Beijing's commitment to international sanctions intended to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

As the isolated country's sole ally and main provider of trade and aid, Beijing's participation in the UN-imposed restrictions is crucial for their success.

But in August China imported 2.465 million tonnes of North Korean coal worth $113 million, 60 percent more than in April when sanctions were imposed and 35 percent more than a year ago, according to data on the Customs website.

Imports of North Korean iron ore also rose, from 110,500 tons in April to 197,000 tons last month, data showed.

The UN Security Council in March agreed to impose sanctions on certain North Korean exports, including coal and iron, But it also said it would allow trade to continue for "livelihood" purposes -- if the proceeds did not go towards funding Pyongyang's nuclear or weapons programmes.

The UN did not set criteria for making that determination, leaving each country to make its own decision.

In April China announced it would place restrictions on imports of both items, among others.

Trade with the world's second largest economy is crucial for the isolated and impoverished North, which has suffered regular food shortages and an outright famine in the mid-1990s.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea's $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Koreas state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China's total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 percent year-on-year to $291.3 million, Customs data showed.

The figures come just weeks after North Korea tested its fifth and most powerful nuclear device.

China has said it "firmly opposes" the test, but analysts believe it has resisted targeting the North's fragile economy for fear of provoking the regime's collapse.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

The international community has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy to try to persuade China to use its leverage with Pyongyang.
Hempstead (United States) (AFP) - Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off Monday in one of the most consequential presidential debates in modern US history, with up to 100 million viewers to tune in for the hotly-anticipated political duel.

With polls tightening into a virtual dead heat, the stakes could hardly be higher: the first woman to win the White House nomination for a major US party, against a New York tycoon turned reality star who has upended the political establishment.

Commentators call it a clash of the titans: a 90-minute endurance test between Clinton the Democrat, arguably the most experienced US presidential candidate ever, and Trump the Republican, perhaps the least experienced nominee for a major party.

The outcome of this political show for the ages could shape the last six-week stint of an election that has deeply polarized the country and left Trump fighting to overcome allegations of bigotry and sexism.

Wall Street stocks tumbled Monday in anticipation of the first of three live, televised debates before the November 8 election.

A decisive win for Clinton could see her pull ahead. A strong performance from Trump could keep the vote competitive or even possibly see him pull out in front.

Hosted at Hofstra University on Long Island, a mere 60-minute drive from Manhattan and chaired by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, the debate may attract an audience closer to the size of the Super Bowl when it kicks off at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday), beamed live around the country.

The questions will revolve around three themes: "America's direction, achieving prosperity, and securing America."

Both candidates, the most disliked US presidential rivals in contemporary history, have spent days furiously prepping and honing which strategy they believe will inflict maximum damage on the other.

- Sweet spot -

Clinton, 68, is nothing if not experienced with four decades of public service tucked under her belt -- a veteran of 34 primary debates, having run and lost for president in 2008 against Barack Obama.

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"When the spotlights are at the brightest and the pressure is the most intense, that's when she brings her A-plus game," said Clinton running mate Tim Kaine.

Trump, the 70-year-old maverick billionaire, has refused to play by the rules. He has never held public office but stormed through the primaries, crushing his 16 opponents with a populist, say-it-how-it-is message that has resonated among Americans fed up with establishment politicians.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 53 percent of Americans voters do not believe that Trump is qualified to be president, lacking the temperament and knowledge.

The Republican Trump is unrivalled at hogging the limelight, but considered weak on policy.

But while Clinton is masterful when it comes to policy details, she suffers from perceptions that she is untrustworthy and dishonest.

And Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says for all Clinton's proficiency it has not translated into campaign success.

"She's smart, but this isn't her sweet spot," she told MSNBC, calling her boss "a natural debater" by comparison.

"I have been in politics for 28 years," she said. "And I think Donald Trump has gifts and skills that sometimes escape typical politicians."

- Polls tied, stocks tumble -

Monday's target will be the estimated nine percent of American voters who are still undecided. Can the Democrat win their minds, if not their hearts? Can Trump persuade them that he has the gravitas to lead?

Clinton will no doubt aim to seize on Trump's toxic campaign trail rhetoric, using his words to paint her rival as a divisive demagogue.

But if Trump remains disciplined and focuses on issues, he could earn credibility among college-educated whites, according to veteran Democratic campaign strategist Joe Trippi.

"I do expect Donald Trump to be more genteel and a calmer force tonight, and I expect her to try to bait him out," Trippi told Fox News.

Stocks skidded on Wall Street with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.9 percent to 18,094.83 amid unease over the debate.

The latest opinion polls have Clinton and Trump virtually tied: 41 percent each according to the Washington Post-ABC poll and 43 for Clinton to Trump's 42 percent according to Quinnipiac University.

The Quinnipiac poll found that voters expect Clinton to win the debate 41 to 32 percent, and that 84 percent said they intend to watch.

Clinton's campaign has expressed concerns of being held to a double standard, saying the bar is higher for her while Trump stood to win praise for a merely adequate performance.

"All that we're asking is that if Donald Trump lies, that it's pointed out," Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook told ABC.

Trump has already stated that he does not believe Holt's role as moderator is to police each candidate.

Obama, who is likely to be working in the White House with the debate "on in the background," believes Clinton needs to show Americans what motivates her to want to be president, spokesman Josh Earnest said.

"He obviously believes that she's got a strong case to make," Earnest told reporters.
By John Whitesides and Steve Holland HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will seek to win over undecided voters on Monday in their first, high-stakes presidential debate, which could rank as one of the most watched and highly anticipated political showdowns in U.S. history. The tight race for the White House and the unpredictable clash in styles between two well-known but polarizing opponents has generated wide interest in the potentially pivotal debate, which comes six weeks before the Nov. 8 election after a campaign that has stretched over more than a year. The gap between the two candidates in recent national opinion polls has narrowed in the past week, with the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling showing Clinton ahead by 4 percentage points, with 41 percent of likely voters. The debate could help swing undecided and independent voters who have yet to make up their mind about either candidate. Clinton recently pulled ahead of Trump in the crucial battleground state of Florida, according to the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project released on Monday. If the election were held today, Clinton would defeat Trump, with an 88 percent chance of reaching the 270 electoral college votes needed, according to the project, which is based on a weekly online tracking poll of more than 15,000 Americans. The debate will be the first time Clinton and Trump go toe-to-toe, and the size of the television-viewing audience is expected to challenge the record of 80 million Americans who watched 1980's encounter between Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Republican Ronald Reagan. Some commentators forecast Super Bowl-sized viewership of about 100 million. Unlike the single-party debates held during the Republican and Democratic nominating campaigns, the audience will be asked to remain silent and not applaud or respond to the candidates' answers. The debate will be divided into six 15-minute segments. Clinton won a coin toss and chose to take the first question. She will have two minutes to answer, after which Trump will be given equal time. Trump will then be given the first question at the beginning of the next segment. The 90-minute debate will begin at 9 p.m. (0100 GMT on Tuesday) at Hofstra University on New York state's Long Island. It is the first of three planned presidential debates. MARKET JITTERS With the contest tightening and the looming debate putting it in stark relief, Wall Street investor jitters increased on Monday, contributing to stocks' fall. Some investors see the close race sparking volatility in certain sectors, including health insurers, drugmakers and industrials. <.N> Both Trump and Clinton, who polls show are the least liked White House candidates in modern history, hope to use the debate to erase lingering voter doubts and address campaign-trail weaknesses. The volatile Trump, a New York businessman and former reality television star, will get an opportunity to show a depth and steadiness worthy of a commander in chief, while the cautious Clinton will be able to try to connect directly with voters who do not trust her, strategists said. But Trump, a political newcomer who has often shown more affinity for put-downs than policy, could benefit from lower expectations from voters. "There is no question it's a lower bar for Trump," said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist and now a political scientist at the University of Southern California. "He doesn't have to be brilliant, he just can't be too bombastic." The stakes are enormous. Clinton once had a sizable lead, but that has evaporated amid more questions about her family's foundation and use of a private email server while secretary of state under President Barack Obama. A second Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed half of America's likely voters would rely on the debates to help them make their choice. More than half, 61 percent, were hoping for a civil debate and were not interested in the bitterness shown on the campaign trail. Two other candidates in the election - Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein - were not invited to participate in the debate because neither had obtained at least 15 percent support in national polls, the threshold established to qualify. GRUDGE MATCH Clinton, 68, and Trump, 70, have regularly exchanged sharp insults, raising the prospect of a fiery grudge match. Trump frequently refers to Clinton as "Crooked Hillary" and has called for her jailing for the email controversy. Clinton condemns Trump as temperamentally unfit for the White House. Trump dominated the crowded Republican debates with rapid-fire attacks on his rivals but has no experience in a one-on-one debate setting that requires more prolonged discussion of issues. Clinton has participated in many one-on-one debates on the national stage: with Obama during her unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign and with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic nominating race earlier this year. Clinton's camp has done its best to raise the bar for Trump, and in television interviews on Monday both campaigns tried to frame expectations. "What we don't want to have is some sort of double standard where Donald Trump can get the most-improved award, but Hillary Clinton ... is getting judged on the fine points of policy," Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told NBC News, calling Trump "an entertainer." Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said Clinton's vast experience was unlikely to translate onto the debate stage, where Trump held an advantage. "He's not going to be robotic and scripted," she said separately on NBC. The role of moderator Lester Holt of NBC News also has come under scrutiny before the debate, with the Clinton campaign and her Democratic supporters urging him to correct Trump if he makes false claims. Trump also has tried to influence Holt and the moderators of the other showdowns with Clinton, saying the candidates should be the ones to correct the record. But in a year when outsiders like Trump and Sanders have made a mark, Trump's best argument could be that he is a better agent of change than Clinton, said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican operative who is now chief strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "He's got to draw the contrast between Trump as the candidate of change and Clinton as the candidate of more of the same," Reed said. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Ginger Gibson and Susan Heavey in Washington and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bangalore)
By John Whitesides and Steve Holland HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump face off for the first time on Monday in a high stakes presidential debate that could shift the course of the neck-and-neck 2016 campaign for the White House. The highly anticipated clash between the Democratic former secretary of state and Republican real estate tycoon has generated wide interest nationally and internationally six weeks before the Nov. 8 election. Opinion polls show the two candidates in a very tight race, with the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling showing Clinton ahead by 4 percentage points, with 41 percent of likely voters. The 90-minute debate, set to start at 9 p.m. EDT, could sway undecided and independent voters who have yet to make up their minds as well as voters from both parties who have tuned out the election until now. A second Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed half of America's likely voters would rely on the debates to help them make their choice. More than half, 61 percent, were hoping for a civil debate and were not interested in the bitterness shown on the campaign trail. The size of the television-viewing audience is expected to challenge the record of 80 million Americans who watched 1980's encounter between Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Republican Ronald Reagan. Some commentators forecast Super Bowl-sized viewership of about 100 million people. By contrast with the single-party debates held during the Republican and Democratic state nominating contests, the audience will be asked to remain silent and not applaud or respond to the candidates' remarks. The debate will be divided into six 15-minute segments. Clinton won a coin toss and chose to take the first question. She will have two minutes to answer, after which Trump will be given equal time. Trump will then be given the first question at the beginning of the next segment. The debate, at Hofstra University on New York state's Long Island, is the first of three planned presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. MARKET JITTERS With the contest tightening, Wall Street investors grew more jittery on Monday, contributing to a fall in stocks. Some investors see the close race sparking volatility in sectors that include health insurers, drugmakers and industrials. <.N> Both Trump and Clinton, shown in opinion polls to be the least liked White House candidates in modern history, hope to use the debate to erase lingering voter doubts and address campaign-trail weaknesses. The volatile Trump, a former reality television star, will have an opportunity to show a depth and steadiness worthy of a commander in chief, while the cautious Clinton, a former U.S. senator and first lady, will have a chance to connect directly with voters who view her as too secretive, strategists said. Trump, a political newcomer who has at times shown more affinity for put-downs than policy, could benefit from lower voter expectations. "There is no question it's a lower bar for Trump," said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist and now a political scientist at the University of Southern California. "He doesn't have to be brilliant, he just can't be too bombastic." The stakes are enormous. Clinton once had a sizable lead, but that has evaporated amid more questions about her family's foundation and use of a private email server while secretary of state under President Barack Obama. If the election were held today, Clinton would still defeat Trump, with an 88 percent chance of reaching the 270 electoral college votes needed, according to the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project, which is based on a weekly online tracking poll of more than 15,000 Americans. Two other presidential candidates - Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein - were not invited to take part in the debate because neither had obtained at least 15 percent support in national polls, the threshold established to qualify. GRUDGE MATCH Clinton, 68, and Trump, 70, have regularly exchanged sharp insults at a distance, raising the prospect of a fiery grudge match. Trump refers to Clinton as "Crooked Hillary" and has called for her jailing for the email controversy. Clinton denounces Trump as temperamentally unfit for the White House. Trump dominated the crowded Republican debates with rapid-fire attacks on his rivals but has no experience in a one-on-one debate setting that requires more prolonged discussion of issues. Clinton has participated in many one-on-one debates on the national stage: with Obama during her unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign and with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic nominating race earlier this year. Clinton's camp has done its best to raise the bar for Trump, and in television interviews on Monday both campaigns tried to frame expectations. "What we don't want to have is some sort of double standard where Donald Trump can get the most-improved award, but Hillary Clinton ... is getting judged on the fine points of policy," Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told NBC News, calling Trump "an entertainer." Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said Clinton's vast experience was unlikely to translate onto the debate stage, where Trump held an advantage. "He's not going to be robotic and scripted," she said separately on NBC. The role of moderator Lester Holt of NBC News also came under scrutiny before the debate, with the Clinton campaign and her Democratic supporters urging him to correct Trump if he makes false claims. Trump also has tried to influence Holt and moderators of the other showdowns with Clinton, saying the candidates should be the ones to correct the record. (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Jeff Mason and Susan Heavey in Washington and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bangalore; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller)
As reported by WisPolitics.com, the Joint Finance Committee approved redirecting more than $21 million in bonding to offset rising costs for Milwaukee and Racine counties as they build new facilities for young offenders. Meanwhile, one committee member warned inflation will likely raise the 
Riyadh (AFP) - The Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of Yemen's government would prefer a broad political settlement to a ceasefire, its spokesman said on Monday.

"I think now it's not a question of talking about a ceasefire," Major General Ahmed Assiri told AFP.

Late on Sunday a Huthi rebel leader, Saleh al-Sammad, proposed a truce on the country's border with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a halt to Saudi-led air strikes on his forces.

Assiri said the coalition welcomes "any effort to have a genuine political settlement" under a peace initiative proposed last month by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

This is preferable to a "short ceasefire without any control, without any observation", he said, adding that "the Saudi border is not and will not be the subject of any discussion".

Previous truces in the 18-month war collapsed.

After talks in Saudi Arabia with his Gulf counterparts, Kerry outlined a plan which offers the Huthis participation in government in exchange for an end to violence and a surrender of weapons.

The Huthis are allied with soldiers loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"If they want to have a ceasefire they know what they have to do," Assiri said, referring to terms of the Kerry plan which were to be refined under United Nations mediation among the parties.

The initiative calls for a rebel withdrawal from seized areas including the capital Sanaa which they have held since late 2014.

Sammad heads a new council appointed in August by the rebels and their allies to run Yemen, a move which led to the suspension of UN-brokered peace talks.

His council is not recognised by the international community.

In a speech published on the sabanews website, Sammad called for an end to Saudi "aggression" and the lifting of a coalition blockade in exchange for "an end to combat operations on the border and to (rebel) missile launches into Saudi territory".

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The United States and Saudi Arabia say Iran, Riyadh's regional rival, has supplied missiles and other weapons to the Huthis.

The coalition intervened in March last year after the rebels overran much of the country.

Riyadh faces mounting international scrutiny over civilian casualties in its Yemen air campaign.
Cartagena (Colombia) (AFP) - Colombia's leftist FARC rebel force signed a historic peace accord with the government Monday and apologized to the countless victims of the country's half-century civil war.

In an emotional open-air ceremony, President Juan Manuel Santos welcomed the communist rebels into the political sphere after signing the accord with FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, alias Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez.

Dressed in white, the former mortal enemies signed and shook hands, smiling before an audience of international dignitaries, drawing loud cheers.

The ceremony in the Caribbean coast city of Cartagena followed a four-year process to end the last major armed conflict in the Americas. The accord remains to be ratified by referendum in a week.

"We are being reborn to launch a new era of reconciliation and of building peace," Timochenko said.

"In the name of the FARC, I sincerely apologize to all the victims of the conflict for any pain we may have caused during this war."

Colombian authorities estimate the territorial and ideological conflict has killed 260,000 people, left 45,000 missing and uprooted 6.9 million.

"Let no one doubt that we are moving towards politics without weapons. Let us all prepare to disarm hearts and minds," Timochenko said.

Santos then addressed a message to the thousands of FARC fighters preparing to disarm in their jungle camps.

"When you begin your return to society... as head of state of the homeland that we all love, I welcome you to democracy," he said.

"Swapping bullets for votes and weapons for ideas is the bravest and most intelligent decision that any rebel group could take."

The 2,500 guests at the signing included UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

Ban welcomed the agreement creating "conditions for a lasting peace."

An array of Latin American heads of state, including Cuban President Raul Castro, sat near the signatories on stage as the crowd waved white handkerchiefs and shouted "No more war!"

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A squadron of planes flew overhead at sunset, prompting Timochenko to quip: "This time, they're coming to salute peace and not drop bombs."

- FARC's political future -

The FARC launched its guerrilla war against the Colombian government in 1964, after a peasant uprising that was crushed by the army.

Over the decades, the conflict drew in several leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.

Under the deal, the FARC will now relaunch as a political party. Timochenko, 57, is expected to remain its leader.

At a remote jungle camp in El Diamante, western Colombia, FARC fighter David Preciado celebrated the accord by playing football with his comrades.

"The government did not defeat us, and we did not defeat them. Our 52 years of war were not in vain," he told AFP.

"We are aware that we have to move forward together, united... to finally achieve victory, giving power to the people by political means."

- Amnesty -

The rebels came to the negotiating table after being weakened by an army offensive led by Santos, 65, when he was defense minister.

After he became president, four years of talks hosted by Cuba yielded a final, 300-page accord last month.

It grants an amnesty for "political crimes" committed during the conflict, but not for the worst atrocities, such as massacres, torture and rape.

The FARC's fighters -- estimated by authorities to number more than 7,000 -- are to leave their mountain and jungle hideouts and disarm in a UN-supervised process.

- No to 'terrorists' -

Recent polls show the "Yes" camp in the lead to ratify the accord in a referendum on October 2.

But some Colombians resent the concessions made to the FARC.

Former president Alvaro Uribe led a demonstration against the deal on Monday.

"The Americans would not grant impunity to Osama Bin Laden. The French would not grant impunity to (Islamist militants) ISIS," he said.

"Why should we Colombians grant total impunity to terrorists?"

At the ceremony, Santos said: "I prefer an imperfect accord that saves lives to a perfect war that keeps sowing death and pain."

Kerry met with Santos on Monday and told the Colombian president that "a lot of hard work's been accomplished, but we have a lot of hard work ahead of us."

"The United States is very committed to being there with you, not just at the beginning... but now as people will look to see the result," he said.

The European Union suspended the FARC from its list of terrorist groups, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

The government has yet to begin planned peace talks with another, smaller leftist rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), saying it must first stop kidnappings.
Roofers work on new homes at a residential construction site in the west side of the Las Vegas Valley in Las Vegas, Nevada April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

New home sales fell 7.6% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000 in August, according to the Census Bureau.

That was a sharp pullback from a strong pace last month, by an upwardly revised 13.8% at a rate of 659,000, which was the strongest since at least 2007. But monthly housing data are among the most volatile.

Economists had forecast that sales fell 8.3% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 600,000, according to Bloomberg.

"Looking past the monthly noise, we think the trend is generally stronger for home sales and construction, but it remains a bumpy path toward recovery," wrote Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists in a preview.

"Despite our expectations of continued improvement, we think residential investment will likely be negative in 3Q, serving as a very slight drag to GDP growth."

Once again, sales in the south accounted for the lion share of new sales, with 56%. Migration to the region and strong foreign investment are among the factors that have supported home sales.

Additionally, new homes that cost between $200,000 and $299,000  below the median price of $284,000  had the biggest spike in sales.

"The median price of a new home is still higher than the median price of an existing home, but as more homes come on line, we expect to see prices continue to soften as the year winds down, however modestly, which will give buyers a small bit of breathing room," said Svenja Gudell, Zillow's chief economist, in a note.

At the sales rate in August, there were 4.6 months of housing supply on the market, up from 4.2 months in July, but below levels seen earlier this year.

NOW WATCH: This brick-laying robot can build a house in just two days





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Rapper/actor Common has emerged as one of music's loudest voices for social activism in the last few years, most recently releasing the stirring video for his "Black America Again" anthem, which paid tribute to the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Watch Common Pour His Heart Out in 'Black America Again' Video

Soon, Common will shift his focus to the New York City school system. It was announced on Monday (Sept. 26) that the Chicago native will appear as both a speaker and performer at Wednesday's (Sept. 28) #PathToPossible March in Brooklyn. The march will protest New York's racial achievement gap in public education while celebrating the titular campaign's efforts to increase the reach and impact of public charter schools. The cause's specific goal is to spur city officials into doubling the public charter sector, from reaching 100,000 children a year to 200,000, by the year 2020.

"Every kid from every neighborhood deserves a great education, and New York City's public charter schools are bringing this vision to life," Common said via press release. "I'm proud to support charter school families in their fight to put 200,000 students on the path to possible."

The march will take place in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. You can sign up for #PathToPossible at the movement's website here.
By Ramanathan S - The News Minute



Coimbatore is on the boil again. Large-scale violence has been reported from across the city. Vehicles are being burnt, shops looted and religious establishments targeted.

The violence broke out following the death of C Sasikumar, the spokesperson of the Hindu Munnani in Coimbatore. Sasikumar was brutally hacked on Wednesday night, and on Thursday night, he breathed his last.

By Friday morning, Coimbatore was witnessing a bandh, which soon erupted into violence.

Journalists who have been in regular touch with Sasikumar say that he was an affable man who spoke gently, although he had been putting up pro-Hindutva messages on social media. It is still not clear what led to his hacking.

Was it religious fundamentalists? Was it personal enmity? Was it business rivalry? Several theories are floating around, and in the absence of any credible results from the police investigation on the death, they are only adding fuel to the communal fire.

The family members of Sasikumar are angry, and some of them also have close ties with the Hindu Munnani.

But even if it is not justified to expect immediate answers from the police on what seems to be a well-planned murderous attack on Sasikumar, it is imperative to ask if the police did enough to prevent violence.

Communal violence is not new to Coimbatore. We all remember the riots and police firings of November-December 1997, in which 18 Muslims were killed, and the deadly blasts of 1998, in which 58 people died. Islamic fundamentalist group Al Ummah was found guilty of orchestrating 12 bomb blasts on one single day in February 1998.

But in reality, the Hindu Munnani and Islamic fundamentalist outfits have been in play since the 1980s and early 90s. After the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, Islamic outfits strengthened their ranks. Ever since, Coimbatore has remained a communally sensitive area.

With this being the reality, it is surprising that the police allowed a long funeral procession for Sasikumars body, which whipped up passions across the city and led to violence. The police did march along with tight security, but it was of no avail. Just as the procession went along, shops were targeted, petrol bombs were hurled.

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Compare this with the way the police handled the funeral of Dalit youth Sankar who was killed earlier this year for his inter-caste marriage. In that case, knowing that a funeral procession would create further trouble, the police had transported his body to the crematorium and cremated the body amidst tight security.

According to ground reports, the police reinforcements from Karur, Namakkal and Madurai also came too late. They landed in Coimbatore only in the evening, when the violence had started subsiding. But even as this is being published, reports of kerosene-bombs being hurled are coming in.



With communal passions being stirred up openly  TN state president of the Hindu Munnani party Kadeswara C Subramaniam has warned of another Gujarat if the attacks against functionaries of their party do not stop  it would bode well for the TN government to intervene at the highest level.

The present political dispensation in Tamil Nadu has close ties with the top rung Hindu and Muslim leadership in Tamil Nadu who can intervene at this stage to prevent the situation from blowing up. A stern message from the CMs office to the various groups stoking violence, via the political parties with links to them, be it the BJP or the Muslim parties, could put tensions to rest.

The CM does indeed rule with an iron hand, and it is time to slam down hard with it. Otherwise, we are risking another cycle of communal violence which will only cost more lives.

Note: The views expressed here are the personal opinions of the author.


A Connecticut man was found alive after he and his mother disappeared during a fishing trip last week  but the woman is still missing.



A freighter found 22-year-old Nathan Carman drifting on a life raft about 100 nautical miles from Martha's Vineyard on Sunday, about two days after the Coast Guard suspended its search for Nathan and his mother, Linda Carman, 54, the Associated Press reports.



The duo, of Middletown, went missing on Sept. 18 after they left Rhode Island to go on a fishing trip in a boat called "Chicken Pox," the AP reports.



Nathan was found in good condition, but Linda is still missing, CBS News reports.



The mother's whereabouts are "under investigation," a Coast Guard spokeswoman told the Hartford Courant.



"She was not in the raft," Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Groll told the Courant. "The whole situation is under investigation."



Sharon Hartstein, Linda's close friend, said the mother-son pair usually go on fishing trips together.



"Linda and Nathan go out at least monthly," the friend said. "They like to fish."



It is unclear whether Nathan has given any information about his mother's whereabouts to officials.
A white paper released by the Donald Trump campaign on Monday claims that the Republican presidential nominees economic plan, which has been criticized for adding trillions to the national debt while slashing taxes for the wealthy, is nearly revenue neutral, thanks in large part to its proposed overhaul of US trade policy.

In the 31-page defense of Trumps economic plan, University of California-Irvine economist Peter Navarro and private equity investor Wilbur Ross argue that criticism of the GOP nominees proposals are unfair because they do not take into account all the positive effects it will have on the economy.

Related: As Debate Looms, Paul Ryan Polishes a Participation Trophy for Trump

In considering how to score these competing plans fiscally, it is important to note that the Trump plan generates positive and substantial tax revenue offsets from its synergistic suite of trade, regulatory, and energy policy reforms, they write. Any analysis that scores the Trump tax cuts in isolation is incomplete and highly misleading.

As it turns out, the effects of Trumps trade policies are expected to do most of the heavy lifting, adding an estimated $1.74 trillion in additional tax revenue to the US Treasury over the space of 10 years.

The problem is that when economists and international trade experts not affiliated with the Trump campaign started reading it, they were not impressed. Nonsense, an economist from the Tax Foundation called it. Another from the CATO Institute tweeted out the hashtag #WeAreAllDoomed. A conservative Canadian financial columnist warned a colleague not even to try reading it, saying, you will poke your eyes out with hot spikes.

Commentators took special exception to Navarros and Rosss discussion of the nature of the countrys Gross Domestic Product and its relationship with the trade deficit.

Related: There Are Still Some Big Holes in Trumps Plan for Economic Growth

The growth in any nations gross domestic product (GDP)  and therefore its ability to create jobs and generate additional income and tax revenues  is driven by four factors: consumption growth, the growth in government spending, investment growth, and net exports. When net exports are negative, that is, when a country runs a trade deficit by importing more than it exports, this subtracts from growth.

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By simply exporting more and importing less, they argue, US businesses and workers would enjoy much healthier economic growth. However, as experts like economist Alan Cole, pointed out on Monday, the interplay between the elements of GDP is much more complicated than that. Every widget sent overseas is a widget that isnt consumed domestically. So while sending it overseas helps bring down the negative impact of a trade imbalance, it does so by reducing the impact of domestic consumption on GDP.

To be sure, it is possible to increase the productivity of US workers, creating more widgets but theres precious little evidence in the white paper that suggests that would suddenly occur. In fact, with the Trump plan restricting foreign competition -- as it promises to do -- claiming that US industries would respond with increased efficiency and innovation flies in the face of the laws of economics.

There is so much wrong with it in terms of basic facts and policy, said Scott Lincicome, a trade attorney and adjunct scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Related: Clinton Ups the Ante on the Estate Tax with Her Tax-the-Rich Plan

Lincicome seemed particularly amazed at a section of the paper in which the authors essentially promise that a Trump administration would play chicken with the World Trade Organization to force a change in Value-Added Tax policy that they believe disadvantages US exporters. (Whether or not it does is very much in question.)

The stick that Trump would be wielding in those negotiations would be a US exit from the WTO.

Donald Trump understands that the only way to correct this unfair tax treatment is for the US to use its status as the worlds largest economy, the worlds largest consumer, and the worlds largest importer to put pressure on the WTO to change this unequal treatment, Navarro and Ross write. Without the US as a member, there would not be much purpose to the WTO, but prior occupants in the White House have been unwilling to lead on this issue despite its significant negative impacts.

First, according to Lincicome, the idea that Trump could strong arm the WTO  a body where major decisions must be unanimous  is absurd.

Related: Millions Could Lose Their Health Insurance Under Trumps Plan to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

While Trump might have the authority to pull the US out of the WTO, he could not unilaterally change the countrys existing tariff laws. However, said Lincicome, US withdrawal would permit every other trading partner in the world to unilaterally block US exports, unilaterally infringe on US intellectual property.

Beyond that, he added, A US exit from the WTO would just crash markets. The economic uncertainty that would be unleashed by the worlds largest economy leaving a body that has been a pillar of the global economic framework since the 1940s? It would be devastating.

This list of complaints about the Trump proposal from Lincicome and others was long, but the attorney said he managed to find one bright spot.

There is a sliver of good news in this, he said. Even right now during campaign season, when politicians are at max hyperbole, we are not seeing any advocacy of the broad-based across the board tariffs that Trump has threatened to do at certain points.

Some have argued that a president Trump actually would have the legal authority to do this kind of stuff, Lincicome said, though he doubts it himself. At least, he added, Were not seeing Trumps most protectionist trade advisors arguing for that.

In this campaign season, thats what passes for good news.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
(Adds details, quote, background)

By Michael Flaherty and Arathy S Nair

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Pipeline operator Williams Cos Inc said on Monday it added two new directors, prompting activist investor Corvex Management LP to withdraw plans to replace the company's entire board.

The company named Stephen Chazen, former chief executive of Occidental Petroleum Corp, and Peter Ragauss, former chief financial officer of Baker Hughes Inc, to its board.

Williams said it expects to name two new independent directors by the annual shareholders' meeting and that three directors, who served prior to 2016, will not stand for re-election.

Corvex, which is run by Keith Meister, said it welcomed the changes to Williams' board and withdrew its plan to unseat the board. The New York hedge fund is Williams' fourth-largest shareholder.

Williams appointed three new directors on Sept. 15, and has promised to add two more, meaning that seven of the company's 11 board members will eventually be new.

"Though the stock could still use some help, this looks like a successful outcome for Keith Meister's hedge fund," said Don Bilson, head of event-driven research at Gordon Haskett.

Just before Williams' board nomination deadline for its Nov. 23 meeting, Meister proposed 10 of his employees as nominees to serve as directors. Meister promised to replace the employees with experienced industry professionals, in a rare proxy fight tactic known as a placeholder slate.

Meister, previously a Williams director, resigned in June, along with five others, after failing to oust Williams CEO Alan Armstrong.

The resignations came a day after Energy Transfer Equity walked away from its more than $20 billion deal to buy Williams.

(Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
BELLEVUE, Neb.  Some leaders in a blue-collar Nebraska suburb that's home to Offutt Air Force Base are borrowing an idea from a vastly more liberal state: Ban apartment renters from smoking cigarettes and e-cigarettes inside.

The proposal, which would be one of the few such restrictions outside of California and is similar to federal rules for public housing across the U.S., isn't meant to protect the health of the city's 50,000 residents, but instead to prevent fires.

Councilman Don Preister proposed the ban, which wouldn't affect duplexes and single-family homes, in August after cigarette smoking at a single Bellevue apartment complex led to two fires a month earlier. The second fire destroyed the building, displacing dozens of people, and injured four, including a firefighter.

"We had firefighters in the building ... when the floor started giving way," Preister said. "Had they not evacuated, we could have lost lives in the fire. I want to prevent that going forward."

But some residents in the city that borders Omaha set in a deeply conservative state see the proposal  set for a vote by the City Council today  as an example of government overreach.

"I don't see how you're going to tell people what they can do in their homes," Brent Clatterbuck, who owns three apartment complexes in Bellevue, told the City Council earlier this month. "You're messing with somebody's home."

Even some anti-smoking advocates noted that Nebraska would seem an odd choice for the proposal.

"It would be surprising, if it had come up in isolation," said Pat McKone of the American Lung Association, an anti-smoking group. "But there was a fire. We all understand  no matter what our political persuasion  that fire kills."

The ban, which Preister acknowledged would have secondary benefits of reducing health problems caused by secondhand smoke, is similar to those in dozens of California cities. Federal officials have adopted similar rules in public housing nationwide, but cities have rarely taken up the effort.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the anti-tobacco group SmokeFree Nebraska, said it couldn't find any local ordinances in Nebraska or surrounding states that are similar to the Bellevue proposal.

"Smoking is both a health and safety issue," McKone said. "I'm not sure why we separate the issues of secondhand smoke and fire safety. Both are a danger to those living in multifamily dwellings."

Preister, who said he has nothing against smokers, argues that such a ban would also lower insurance premiums by preventing expensive fires. U.S. Fire Administration statistics show smoking is the No. 1 cause of home fire deaths.

Opponents of the proposal said officials haven't thought through the proposed change.

Margie Guy, a smoker who also rents four apartments located above her bridal boutique, recently told council members that three of her four renters smoke and two live on fixed incomes.

"Who are we to tell them they can't smoke in their own homes?" Guy asked. "What are the costs of actually enforcing these laws? Has anybody looked at that?"

James Hardy, a smoker who lives in an apartment, argues the measure would violate a state law that says people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own homes. He also contends it relegates apartment dwellers, who are often poorer than homeowners, to second-class citizens.

"By passing this law, you're effectively saying to the whole country, 'If you're a private property owner, you may still exercise your personal liberties and still have a reasonable expectation of privacy within your own dwelling' ... you're saying to the denizens of all apartments that this new class of citizen must surrender their civil liberties by virtue of where they chose to live."

David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc., which owns the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said there are places where smoking should be banned, such as in small enclosed areas, such as elevators, and places where children primarily are, such as schools.

"Complete bans go too far," he said. "Owners of private residences and other private places should determine the smoking policy for that particular location."

Preister understands the arguments against his proposal. He's not backing down.

"I can empathize with smokers who are continually feeling put upon," he said. "However, smoking is a choice. It's not a protected class. ... They just need to go outside or to a safe place."
Zagreb (AFP) - Ivo Karlovic is to return to Croatia's squad for the Davis Cup final against Argentina in November after a four-year absence, team captain Zeljko Krajan said on Monday.

"Karlovic returns to the squad -- this is the most important news that we could have got," Krajan told reporters.

Karlovic, ranked world number 20, made the decision to come back as teenage star Borna Coric faces knee surgery, making him a doubt for the final.

Coric's absence would heap pressure on Ivan Dodig to play both the singles and doubles despite nursing injuries, Krajan said.

Karlovic "understood the situation that we are facing... He had mercy, he realised we needed another player of his quality," Krajan said.

Karlovic, 37, withdraw from the squad in 2012 explaining that he wanted to focus on his own career.

The 19-year-old Coric will undergo an operation on his right knee on Tuesday, but Krajan said he has not yet ruled out the youngster.

"Rehabilitation after such a surgery is between four and eight weeks... He is still in the squad and I hope that he will contribute."

Croatia -- who won their only Davis Cup title in 2005 -- beat nine-time champions France 3-1 in the semi-finals earlier this month.

World number 42 Coric, already playing in pain due to injuring his knee at Cincinnati in August, was defeated by Richard Gasquet 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.

The Davis Cup final takes place from November 25 to 27 in Zagreb.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Cruz Capital Corp (CUZ.V) (OTC Pink: BKTPF) (BRO2.F) is pleased to announce that Cruz Capital Corp has now been cleared by FINRA and now fully quoted on the OTC Markets under the symbol BKTPF.

James Nelson, President of Cruz stated "We are pleased to be fully quoted on the USA market. We have institutional and individual shareholders based in the USA that have taken part in our financings already and we have had an extremely strong interest from additional individuals and institutions based in the USA. Now showing a full quote will help facilitate an easier entry for those prospective shareholders. We are very optimistic about the short and long term prospects for cobalt and want all our current and future shareholders of Cruz to have access to a liquid market on their local exchange."

Cobalt prices have continued to show strength and once again closed at 6 month highs.





To view an enhanced version, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4754/22720_a1474845394044_39.jpg

Cruz is actively engaged in acquiring and developing Cobalt assets globally. Cruz has currently acquired numerous high grade cobalt assets located in North America. Seven cobalt projects are in Canada and one in Idaho. The goal of the company is to make Cruz the foremost cobalt project generator and developer on the TSX Venture Exchange. Management feels that cobalt is at the early stages of a significant bull market and we are pleased to be positioning Cruz at the forefront of this cycle.

If you would like to be added to Cruz's email list please send an email to info@cruzcapitalcorp.com or twitter @CruzCapitalCorp

James Nelson

President

604.899.9150

www.cruzcapitalcorp.com

twitter @CruzCapitalCorp

SOURCE: Cruz Capital Corp
And here are ways to teach financial literacy in Singapore.

Cybercrime attacks are becoming increasingly rampant, especially in Singapore and Asia Pacific as a whole. This is largely due to the widespread use of digital banking  Singapore reputedly the highest in Asia  and the fact that many major multinationals have Asian headquarters in Singapore. Read more here.

Online travel agency Kiwi.com has recently produced a ranking detailing countries of the world which offer the least and most expensive flights. India offers the least expensive flight prices per 100km of travel at US$3.25 (S$4.38) and to no surprise, the United Arab Emirates charged the most at US$105.71 (S$142.42). But it doesn't make sense for Singaporeans to fly to India just to fly to our destination. Find out more here.

The life of a Singaporean kid is pretty fast paced. Theres school, PokeStops, tuition and tweets filling up every other minute of their lives. Itd be a shame if they werent educated about the one thing that fuels every necessity and perk in their lives  money. Kids are still at that age to absorb a lot of knowledge, so there is no better time to teach them financial literacy than during their formative years. Read more here.











More From Singapore Business Review


When David Bowie began work on 1. Outside, it had been a decade since he'd had a mainstream hit, and he was well beyond caring. "He said to me that he didn't like the commercial things he did in the 1980s when he was pressured by his record company," says keyboardist Mike Garson. "He said, 'For this next album, I'm going to pick all my favorite musicians who inspire me. We're going to improvise on two big 48-track machines and just play and play. ... Brian will cut it all up and make songs.'"

Bowie meant Brian Eno, whom he hadn't worked with since 1979's Lodger. They reconnected at Bowie's wedding and began work two years later with Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels, guitarist Carlos Alomar and Garson, back in play after defecting from the Church of Scientology. "The chemistry between us is just tremendous," Bowie said of working with Eno. "He will take things from low art and elevate them to high-art status. I tend to do exactly the opposite.

They convened at Montreux's Mountain Studios  where Bowie and Eno worked on Lodger  and made up everything on the spot. Bowie created the trippy lyrics by typing articles on outsider art into a computer program that rearranged them into random phrases. Eno took a similar approach by handing band members flashcards that gave them roles to play. "They'd say something like, 'Today you're going to think of yourself as a 21st-century pilot in a planet that's light-years away and you're the commander of the ship,'" Garson recalls. "'Play from that viewpoint.'"

The result was Bowie's most experimental album since his Berlin period. It attempts to tell the story, complete with dialogue, of a police officer four years in the future investigating a series of murders. Listeners were baffled. Nine Inch Nails fans walked out of amphitheaters in droves when Bowie filled his co-headlining set with Outside songs. But he believed in the music and continued playing highlights like "Hallo Spaceboy" and "The Motel" up through his final shows in 2004.

Related Content:
(Repeats to widen distribution)

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Sotheby's on Monday previewed the contemporary art collection of late rock star David Bowie at their gallery headquarters in New York ahead of its auction in November.

"Overall, we will be selling over 350 items. The low estimate is 10-15 million pounds ($13-$19.5 million). We divided it into three sales: two sales of modern and contemporary art and then a whole sale of post-modern Italian design," Simon Hucker, a senior specialist in modern and British Post-War Art at Sotheby's, said about the auction, to be held in London on Nov. 10-11.

Bowie, who died in January at age 69, amassed a huge collection of art for which he was well known.

Among the top lots in the sale is a piece by the late New York painter Jean-Michel Basquiat titled, "Air Power," estimated at $3.3 million to $4.6 million.

The painting titled, "Head of Gerda Boehm" by Frank Auerbach, would affect Bowie's mood and inspire him to make sounds that reflected the way the painting made him feel, according to Hucker.

"I think it's more to do with his wider interest in creativity, in the way that artists work, in the artistic process," explained Hucker about the music pioneer's attraction to art.

Bowie was deeply engaged in the world of art, especially in modern and contemporary British art, as an artist, critic, patron, publisher and magazine editor.

He joined the editorial staff of Modern Painter magazine, where he interviewed artists like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

As an actor, Bowie played Andy Warhol in Julian Schnabel's 1996 biopic "Basquiat," also starting Jeffrey Wright, Gary Oldman and Dennis Hopper.

The collection will move to Sotheby's in Hong Kong next month before Bowie's entire private collection is put on public display in London in November in the week leading up to the auction. ($1 = 0.7711 pound) (Reporting by Reuters TV, writign by Melissa Fares, editing by G Crosse)
KINSHASA (Reuters) - The death toll from militia clashes with security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week was at least 49, more than three times the number earlier reported, the governor of the province hit by the violence was quoted on Monday as saying. Fighters from militia group Kamwina Nsapu, seeking to avenge the death of their leader of the same name, battled security forces on Thursday and Friday in the town of Kananga in the centre of the vast central African country. U.N.-funded Radio Okapi quoted Alex Kande, governor of Kasai Central province as saying that 27 of the dead were militiamen, 16 were members of the security forces and six were civilians. Initial estimates had put the toll at 13. The militiamen first entered Kananga on Thursday morning and continued attacks on Friday, including against the town airport. Tensions between local authorities and Kamwina Nsapu, whose men are often armed with little more than clubs and magic amulets, has erupted into deadly violence on several occasions. A decade after the end of a 1996-2003 regional war in Congo that killed millions, the mineral-rich country remains a tinderbox of armed groups and ethnic militias. (Reporting by Amadee Mwarabu; writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Donald Trump may not end up winning the presidential election, but even if he falls short in November, hell be able to console himself with the participation trophy that House Speaker Paul Ryan appears to be polishing for him.

Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, appeared on Face the Nation Sunday and struggled to agree with any of the Trump policies as host John Dickerson brought them up. But he was usually quick to praise the GOP nominee for at least making an effort.

Related: With Clinton and Trump in a Virtual Tie, Mondays Debate Could Tip the Balance

For example, Dickerson asked Ryan about Trumps recent proposal requiring businesses to offer paid maternity leave, noting that Ryan himself has characterized similar proposals as an unacceptable unfunded mandate on states and businesses.

Look-- look, I think he's trying to get at an issue that we all want to get at, which is there are women in the workforce that have additional challenges, Ryan said. We have problems that need to be addressed. And so what I'm excited about is he's...jumping into the policy realm, offering ideas and solutions. That's the kind of debate we would want to have.

He added, I welcome the fact that he is offering concrete policy solutions to fix problems that we need to address in this country. And that's a great step in the right direction.

Even if they're ones with which you disagree? Dickerson asked.

Sure, no problem, Ryan said.

Related: There Are Still Some Big Holes in Trumps Plan for Economic Growth

Dickerson also asked Ryan to address Trumps economic proposals from a budgetary perspective.

Let me ask you about debt... You have worked with the Center for Responsible Budget. They've scored the Trump plan as creating $5.3 trillion dollars in increased debt, he began.

Ryan said he didnt necessarily agree with that assessment.

But is Donald Trump's responsible? Dickerson asked.

Well, I-- I haven't looked at the details -- the -- his latest plan -- his -- you're talking about his tax plan? His latest tax plan was much closer to the one we're offering.

Story continues

But it still has a huge deficit number. He doesn't want to touch entitlements --

Well -- so obviously we are offering, again, comprehensive health care and entitlement reform. We think we'll have a nominee-- we think Donald Trump will be more than willing to work with us on this. But more importantly on the tax plan you've got to get tax rates down to create more economic growth. Our plan does that. His plan is similar to ours. So I think we're all going in the right direction.

Dickerson continued to push, eventually asking if Trump had at least some responsibility to present a plan that more or less adds up.

Related: 4 Reasons Trumps Economic Policies Would Be a Disaster

Sure, Ryan said, before effectively exempting Trump from the requirement because...well, hes inexperienced. But at least hes trying!

So I think Donald Trump is new. He's a business guy running for president. So you're not going to see a conventional campaign because he is not a conventional politician. He's not even a politician.

One of the strangest elements of the conversation was related to Trumps belated attempt to mend fences with the African American community. Trump, with a long history of racially insensitive comments, spent the first year of his campaign avoiding largely black audiences. In recent months, hes spent some time among carefully-curated samples of the African American community in an effort to broaden his appeal.

Ryan, sensibly, praised the idea of a presidential candidate getting out into a community that doesnt necessarily welcome him.

Each of us have to get better perspectives, get outside of our comfort zones, understand what other people are thinking and saying and what they see, he said. And then try and come up with common ground solutions and that's, to me, the kind of healing that has to occur.

Then, things started to go off the rails.

I think the effort is very important. Half of it is just showing up. Showing up and trying and learning and listening.

Related: Trump Is Trouncing Clinton When It Comes to Running Up the Debt

Trump, of course, has been showing up at events packed with people who were guaranteed to support him. So the value of the listening at those events is questionable.

Dickerson also asked Ryan to address Trumps recent claim that, "Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they've ever been in before ever, ever, ever. You take a look at the inner-cities, you get no education, you get no jobs, you get shot walking down the street. They're worse, honestly, places like Afghanistan are safer than some of our inner-cities.

I don't see it that way, Ryan said. That's not how I would describe it. But I'm glad he's actually going into these communities and trying. I think it's important to show up. And I think it's important to show up and listen.

He again praised Trump for even trying. I am pleased that he's making the effort. Not every person running for president does that. This is something that Republicans need to do more of. More of us need to go in communities where we don't expect to get a single vote. But we hope to get a perspective so that we can come up with solutions.

Related: Millions Could Lose Their Health Insurance Under Trumps Plan to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

Actually, though, pretty much everybody running for president at least makes an attempt to speak to the African American community. And they start a little earlier than Trump did. But Ryan seemed intent on giving Trump credit for it anyway.

Ironically, Dickerson also asked Ryan to give his partys nominee some debate-prep advice.

Over prepare, he said. Look, Hillary Clinton's been doing this most of her life. She is the consummate pro. This is new for Donald. So I think he should obviously over prepare for it. And the, the thing I believe, obviously I prepared for these myself. You have to offer the country a vision, go on offense, prosecute your case, hold your opponent accountable. But then, but then show the country the direction you want to go and, and prepare, prepare, prepare. And I hope he's doing that.

But hes not. So, best to keep polishing that participation trophy.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Washington (AFP) - Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump can expect tough questions during their first presidential debate Monday night on the blunders and controversies incurred in their race for the White House.

Here are some of the issues on which the Democrat Clinton is seen as potentially vulnerable, and those that could bedevil her Republican rival:

- Hillary Clinton -

-- Trust: Many voters say they simply don't trust Clinton. She has countered by reminding voters of her decades-long work on behalf of children. But she is on the defensive notably over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, which many Americans perceive as a sign she feels the rules don't apply to her.

-- "Deplorables": Clinton used the colorful expression during a fundraising event to describe Trump's backers. She later regretted having said "half" his base was made up of racists, xenophobes and homophobes. But Republicans zeroed in on the condescending remark to drive a wedge between her and white voters of modest means.

-- Clinton Foundation: It has the whiff of conflict of interest, although no one has been able to prove any wrongdoing. The family foundation created after the end of Bill Clinton's presidency has raised nearly two billion dollars to fight AIDS and other global illnesses. But critics allege that foreign donors were given undue access to Clinton while she served as secretary of state.

-- Trade: As secretary of state, Clinton was a long-time defender of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, but now says she's firmly against it. The about-face has been hardly reassuring to opponents of globalization.

-- Iraq, Libya: As a senator Clinton voted in favor of the use of force in Iraq in 2002, and as secretary of state she pushed for the 2011 intervention in Libya. She has said she regrets her vote for the Iraq war, but Trump blames her for the chaos in Libya.

- Donald Trump -

Story continues

Here are some key issues on which Trump is seen as potentially vulnerable:

-- Trade and the economy: Trump has vowed to halt the movement overseas of US jobs, by renegotiating trade treaties, notably with Mexico. But his detractors criticize the lack of detail in his proposals, and fear he could unleash a trade war.

-- Tax returns: The billionaire refuses to release his tax returns, breaking with a tradition of transparency respected by all recent presidential candidates. He justifies his refusal by saying his taxes are under a near permanent audit.

-- Trump Foundation: It's nowhere near as big as the Clinton Foundation, in funds or programs. But Trump has used the foundation for personal and political ends, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post, and dubious transactions are under investigation by New York prosecutors.

-- Abortion: In 1999, Trump said he personally abhorred the idea of abortion but was "very pro-choice." During the Republican primaries, however, he said he was firmly opposed to abortion and thought there had to be "some form of punishment" for women who undergo illegal abortions. He later revised the statement, saying that the doctors, not the women, should be punished.

-- Islamic State group: Trump insisted on the campaign trail that Obama and Clinton were the "founders of ISIS." He also says he opposed the war in Iraq, although in his only public comment on it in 2002 he said he was in favor of it.
On Monday, shares of struggling Deutsche Bank DB are falling, down over 7% in late morning trading after reports surfaced over the weekend that the German government has ruled against giving state assistance to the bank.

Shares of Deutsche Bank have lost more than 53% over the past year, and are currently trading about $11.86 per share, a new low for the bank. According to CNN Money, shares in Germanys biggest bank havent been this low in over 20 years.

Over this past weekend, German magazine Focus reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel would not give any state-sponsored assistance to Deutsche Bank, citing unnamed officials who stated that the German government would not get involved with the Department of Justices suit or bail out the bank. The DOJ is currently seeking $14 billion from Deutsche Bank over its role in the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

The bank said it has "no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the number cited. Check out this video from Zacks' David Bartosiak detailing the decision:

In a statement, however, Deutsche Bank said it has never "asked Chancellor Merkel to intervene in the issue with the U.S. Department of Justice. This question is not on our agenda: Deutsche Bank is determined to meet the challenges on its own," it said.

This is just the latest controversy to hit Deutsche Bank. It reported weak second quarter financial results back in July, with gross profit declining 66.8% year-over-year thanks to lower revenues and higher provisions negatively impacting results, as well as restructuring costs and a disappointing trading and investment banking performance.

Currently, DB is a #5 (Strong Sell) on the Zacks Rank.

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Deutsche Bank (DB)  The German Bank is under pressure following reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel wont help with its US legal troubles. The US Justice Department wants Deutsche Bank to pay $14 billion to settle a probe tied to mortgage-backed securities.

Wells Fargo (WFC)  Former Wells Fargo employees have filed a class action in California against the bank, seeking $2.6 billion or more for workers who tried to meet the companys demanding sales quotas. The suit is on behalf of people who worked for Wells Fargo in California over the past 10 years.

Marriott (MAR)  Morgan Stanley (MS) upgraded Marriott International to overweight from equal weight, and Goldman Sachs (GS) initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating. Morgan Stanley upped its price target to $78 per share while Goldman set a price target of $81.

Microsoft (MSFT), Adobe (ADBE)  Microsoft and Adobe have reached a new deal. Adobe will use Azure for its cloud services and Microsoft will use Adobe for its Dynamics marketing.

Staples (SPLS)  Shira Goodman has been named full-time CEO of Staples, effective immediately. Goodman was originally appointed interim CEO in May.

Pfizer (PFE)  The pharmaceutical giant has decided to remain one company after completing an extensive evaluation. The company was considering splitting into two, Pfizer Innovative Health and Pfizer Essential Health.
By Kathrin Jones and Joseph Nasr

FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> said on Monday it had no need for German government help with a $14 billion U.S. demand to settle claims it missold mortgage-backed securities, as its shares hit a record low.

German magazine Focus reported at the weekend that Chancellor Angela Merkel had met Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan over the summer and had indicated he could expect no help from Berlin in resolving the bank's dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Merkel had also ruled out state aid to Deutsche Bank, the magazine said, citing government sources.

Germany's biggest lender responded on Monday by saying it did not require assistance from Berlin and had not requested it.

"John Cryan at no point asked the German Chancellor for the government to intervene in the U.S. Justice Department's mortgages case," a Deutsche Bank spokesman said, adding that the bank would meet its challenges on its own.

Deutsche Bank shares hit a record low of 10.62 euros on Monday and were 6 percent lower at 10.72 euros by 1140 GMT.

The lender's litany of legal troubles, of which the $14 billion DoJ claim is only the latest, have spurred worries it may need to raise capital to stanch the damage.

Those concerns have contributed to a 50 percent drop in its share price since the start of the year. But the bank spokesman said capital raising was not on the agenda.

"There is currently no question of a capital increase. We are meeting all regulatory requirements," the spokesman said.

In a separate television interview, the spokesman stressed what he said were Deutsche Bank's strong credit portfolio and liquidity, and low value-at-risk.

"The third quarter is almost over and I can tell you today we are fine and very comfortable here," he told CNBC.

BERLIN EXPECTS FAIR RESULT

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday said there were no grounds for speculating about the government assistance to Deutsche Bank mentioned in the magazine report.

Story continues

"There is no reason for such speculation as presented there and the federal government doesn't engage in such speculation," Seibert said during a regular government news conference.

The German government was aware that the DoJ had settled with other banks in the past and Berlin expected a "fair result" would also be achieved in Deutsche Bank's case, he said.

Seibert declined to comment on whether there had been any contact between Deutsche Bank and the German government. Merkel regularly holds talks with senior business figures, he said.

A person close to the matter told Reuters that Cryan and Merkel had met in July to discuss Brexit repercussions, but did not touch on potential help with U.S. legal proceedings.

Deutsche Bank said in mid-September it was fighting the DoJ's $14 billion demand, but the size of the demand has put analysts and investors on edge about the outcome.

Mediobanca said a rights issue looked inevitable.

"John Cryan always said that a rights issue would only be triggered by a larger-than expected litigation charge and it appears increasingly likely that Deutsche Bank investors will be asked to post bail for Deutsche's past crimes," Mediobanca analysts said in a note to clients.

(Writing by Arno Schuetze and Jonathan Gould; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Frankfurt (AFP) - Shares in Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, sank to a historic low Monday after reports at the weekend that Berlin had refused state aid for the embattled lender.

The shock sell-off saw shares plunge by 7.5 percent to end the day at 10.55 euros ($11.9), dragging down Frankfurt's DAX 30 which closed 2.2 percent lower.

"Given the state of the news, people are selling almost in a panic," said analyst Michael Seufert of NordLB bank.

Investors were blindsided by news earlier this month that US regulators were seeking a $14-billion fine from Deutsche Bank over its actions leading up to the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008.

German news weekly Focus at the weekend reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel had ruled out any chance of offering state aid or interceding with the US authorities.

Analysts offered some crumbs of comfort for Deutsche watchers, with Seufert noting "there's no reason at the moment why the bank would have to ask the government for help".

Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert meanwhile said there were "no grounds" for reports that Deutsche might receive state funding.

But the government would be unlikely to allow Deutsche to fail in the event of a true crisis, Andreas Utermann, chief investment officer at Allianz Global Investors, told Bloomberg Television on Monday.

With around $2 trillion of assets on its balance sheet, Deutsche Bank is "too important for the German economy" for the government to allow it to fail, Utermann said.

In the near term, investors fear that even if Deutsche negotiates a much lower deal with the US Department of Justice, the looming fine will still exceed the $5.5 billion the bank has set aside to cover its roughly 8,000 open legal cases.

A larger fine could force chief executive John Cryan into raising more capital, potentially diluting the value of existing Deutsche Bank shares.

Even once a deal has been reached with the DoJ, Deutsche is still under investigation by the New York Department of Financial Services over alleged money laundering in the bank's Russian arm.

Deutsche Bank stock has lost half of its value on the Frankfurt exchange since January, after the lender booked an almost 7.0-billion euro loss in 2015.
* Israeli firms sign deal to export gas to Jordan

* 15-year deal expected to be worth $10 billion (Adds details on regional gas ties in paragraphs 2,7)

By Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Backers of Israel's massive Leviathan natural gas field signed a $10 billion deal on Monday to supply 1.6 trillion feet (tcf) of gas to Jordan's National Electric Power Company.

The deal marks a significant step forward in Israel's efforts to exploit its offshore gas reserves, although it is still looking for a partnership with Egypt or Turkey, or both, which would give it far more export volume and the possibility of linking up with markets in Europe.

"Subject to regulatory approvals from Israel and Jordan, sales ... are anticipated to commence," said Texas-based Noble Energy, the project's operator.

Talks on the contract began more than two years ago.

The 15-year deal for Leviathan, which holds an estimated 22 tcf of gas, should help the U.S.-Israeli group secure funds to bring it online.

Production is expected to begin around 2019 or 2020.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often played up Israel's potential as an economic partner with Sunni Arab countries in the region.

In that respect, the deal with Jordan represents a breakthrough. While Israel and Jordan signed a peace deal in 1994, relations are not always good, but as economic ties deepen, Israel hopes they will become firmer.

The Leviathan group has also been in talks to export much more gas to companies in Egypt, and there have been contacts with Turkey, Cyprus and Greece on potential cooperation, either for the export or trans-shipment of gas.

Shares in the Israeli partners - which include Ratio Oil , Delek Group and its subsidiaries Avner Oil and Delek Drilling - rose around five percent on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange following the announcement.

Leviathan, discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in 2010, is one of the world's largest offshore gas discoveries of the past decade. Egypt has also made large offshore finds in the past year, boosting expectations for East Mediterranean gas.

Last year, Israel approved plans for a 15.5 kilometre (9.6 mile) pipeline near the Dead Sea to export gas to Jordan.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Additional reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Jason Neely and William Hardy)
Dish Network Corp DISH is facing charges from a federal whistleblower and some of its business partners, claiming that the company owes about $540 million to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Dish Network has supposedly claimed unscrupulous discounts in relation to the AWS-3 wireless spectrum auction held in 2014.

Source of Conflict

Dish Network had participated via three designated entities (DE)  American AWS-3 Wireless, Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless  in the spectrum sale. Since these DEs qualified for small business discounts under FCC rules, Dish Network claimed a 25% concession, which amounted to $3.3 billion.

FCC Reversal

In Aug 2015, the FCC reversed its decision to offer the discount to Dish Network. As per the lawsuit, the company agreed to return 27% of the spectrum licenses it had won in the auction and also agreed to pay $540 million to cover the FCCs cost of auctioning the returned licenses.

Dish Networks Response

In its defense, Dish Network stated that the latest lawsuit holds no merits and that the federal government has refrained from getting involved in the legal proceedings. Notably, Dish Network had challenged the FCCs verdict over the spectrum issue. The company argued that it has been quite clear with the DEs about the terms and had received FCC approval for the same.

The Bottom Line

Dish Network has been steadily building its wireless spectrum portfolio to prepare ground for the launch of its wireless TV services. The companys pay-TV business model is facing serious customer churn to over the top (OTT) service providers like Netflix Inc. NFLX. Additionally, wireless players like Verizon Communications Inc. VZ and AT&T Inc. T have come up with video streaming apps like Go90 and DIRECTV Now, respectively. Dish Network has also launched Sling TV app to offer Internet TV to its subscribers. To expand its Sling TV service and possibly launch its wireless service, Dish Network is in need of wireless spectrum. Thus, it is imperative for the company to preserve its spectrum portfolio.

Story continues

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Disney/Shutterstock

Twitter is, according to rumor, getting ready to sell itself to the highest bidder. And there are plenty of usual suspects in the mix, like Google, and slightly more unusual nominees, like Salesforce.com. But one of the most surprising might be none other than the Mouse itself, Disney.

According to Bloomberg, Disney is seriously considering a bid for Twitter. The issue appears mostly to be a financial one; Disney wants to see if the numbers work. Most interestingly, it appears Disneys biggest interest is in Twitters video capabilities, using both embeds and tools like Periscope to get video out there.

Related Links:





This wouldnt be the first time Disney has decided to attempt a takeover of the internet. Disney bought Go.com back at the height of the early 2000s internet bubble and you can still find it in all of Disneys websites, stubbornly reminding the company of its folly. But Twitter both has a far more active userbase and more to offer a company like Disney, especially as a vehicle for hype.

That said, Disney is still an unlikely suitor, and even if it does make a bid, its more likely Twitters board will prefer to work with a tech company as it sells itself off. But it might make for a much more thrilling sale than you usually find in Silicon Valley.

(via Bloomberg)
(Reuters) - Walt Disney Co and Microsoft Corp joined a list of potential suitors for Twitter Inc, according to media reports on Monday.

Twitter shares were marginally down at $23.33 in after-market trading.

The microblogging service has reportedly started talks with a number of technology companies to sell itself, including Google parent Alphabet Inc and may receive a formal bid soon. A source told Reuters that Salesforce.com Inc is also in pursuit.

Salesforce is working with Bank of America on a potential bid, a Bloomberg report on Monday said. (http://bloom.bg/2d0WfLi)

Walt Disney is also working with a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid for Twitter, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. (http://bloom.bg/2d0WfLi)

Jack Dorsey, who returned to Twitter as chief executive more than a year ago, has been a part of Disney's board since 2013.

Microsoft is also among the list of potential suitors, although Facebook Inc is not likely to have an interest in the social network, CNBC said, citing sources, following the Bloomberg report. (http://cnb.cx/2d4j924)

A sale could occur in the next 30 to 45 days, CNBC reported.

"At this moment, Microsoft has nothing to share," said a spokeswoman for the company.

Facebook declined to comment on the matter while Twitter and Disney were not available for comment.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Anet Josline Pinto; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Where to go to college if you want to earn the most money
Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that as president he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, his campaign said on Sunday.

The statement, which was made during a meeting that lasted over an hour at Trump Tower in New York, would mark a shift in American foreign policy as the U.S. as well as almost every other country in the world does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv. The international community does not accept Jerusalem as Israels capital because its status has not been resolved since Israel established itself in West Jerusalem in 1948 and then effectively annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Six Day War.

Trump told the leader that under his administration the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel, the campaign statement read, repeating his promise to move the U.S. embassy to Tel Aviv.

Hillary Clinton also met Netanyahu for less than an hour in Manhattan, CBS reports. Reporters were barred from covering either event.
Mexico City (AFP) - A Mexican judge held a hearing on Monday on whether Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman can be extradited to the United States, although the drug kingpin could have to wait anything from a day to weeks to know his fate.

One of Guzman's lawyers, Jose Refugio Rodriguez, said the Sinaloa drug cartel leader was "very serene" as he waits for the decision but that he has "lost a lot of hair" while enduring prison treatment amounting to torture.

The foreign ministry gave the green light to Guzman's extradition in May, but the former most wanted man won a temporary injunction in June, which the judge must decide whether to make permanent or strike down.

After a hearing that lasted less than two hours, another Guzman lawyer, Andres Granados, said the judge in Mexico City told him he would examine the case but did not indicate when he would issue his ruling.

"If it's not favorable to us, we will request a review" by a higher court, Granados told reporters after the closed-door hearing.

A US government official told AFP that a ruling is not expected on Monday, unlike previously thought, and could take 15 days. Granados said it could take days or up to two months.

If the judge approves the extradition, Guzman would have 10 days to appeal to a higher court of appeals, which would then take several weeks to rule, his lawyers said, warning that he could take the case to the Supreme Court.

The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Guzman could be in US custody before the end of the year. He faces charges ranging from murder to drug distribution in courts in Texas and California.

Guzman was captured in February 2014 after 13 years on the lam, but he escaped a year later from the Altiplano maximum-security prison near Mexico City through a 1.5-kilometer (one-mile) tunnel, humiliating President Enrique Pena Nieto.

After he was recaptured in January in his northwestern home state of Sinaloa, he was sent back to the same prison.

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But he was abruptly transferred in May to another prison in Ciudad Juarez, a city bordering Texas once known for its cartel turf wars.

Pena Nieto had balked at extraditing Guzman before his escape in July 2015, preferring to put him on trial in Mexico.

But after he was recaptured, the president ordered the attorney general's office to speed up the extradition process.

- Torture claim -

Refugio Rodriguez told AFP his client's health has "deteriorated a lot" while in prison.

"He's doing very badly. He's isolated. He lost a lot of hair because he takes a lot of medicine. He lives in constant physical stress," the lawyer said.

Guzman's lawyers are claiming in another court that his treatment amounts to torture.

"Lawyer visits are once a week and (during that time) three (guards) with cameras on their helmets come in and they stay next to us. They write everything down, record everything, violating the privacy rights of Guzman and the lawyer," Granados said, adding that his client is "depressed."

The government denies mistreating Guzman and says it stepped up security measures because he has escaped twice from prison in the past 15 years.

His lawyers are seeking a court ruling for him to be sent back to the Altiplano.

Guzman's extradition would set up a major trial in the United States for a man whose cartel has been accused of murdering countless people in Mexico while providing tons of cocaine and other drugs to users in the United States.
- By Akshansh Gandhi





FireEye (FEYE) has been in a downtrend for over a year now and it still does not look like the stock has bottomed out. The company is facing many problems and is being outsmarted by the competition in the cybersecurity space. Investors should be really cautious holding onto FireEye and new investors should definitely not try to catch this falling knife.





Problems Are Not Over for FireEye

FireEye is facing many problems due to slothful growth in top line and billings. In the previous quarter, the company's revenue surged 19% yearly and billings enhanced only 10%. These figures are terrible as all other cybersecurity companies are reporting stronger growth.

The reason behind the company's underperformance is that the competition is rising at a rapid pace in the cybersecurity market, and demand for the company's on-site appliances is plummeting as businesses move in the direction of cloud-based services.

To sustain in the cybersecurity industry, FireEye is also shifting these customers over to its own cloud-based subscription service, but that shift is having a negative impact on its top-line growth. This is because subscription revenue must be acknowledged over extended periods than sales of only appliances.

Apart from this, the company's GAAP losses are also broadening because of stock-based compensation appealing one-third of its overall revenue in the previous quarter.

Not only this, the main thing to worry about is that the company's cash and equivalents reached $184 million from approximately $402 million at the end of 2015, signifying that it could take off new convertible debt proposing in the short term.

On the other hand, FireEye's revenue is decelerating abruptly, and even more concerning is that the company's management was entirely unaware of that drift. Moreover, the company expressively lowered its guidance for the initial two quarters of this year and has strategized to alter course entirely, from placing its attention on growth to instead concentrating on profit.

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This clearly suggests that the demand for the company's services is merely not strong enough for it to carry on ignoring its earnings.

Furthermore, keeping in mind the company's 2016 performance, it has become agonizingly clear that FireEye's market share in the continuously growing cybersecurity market is declining. The company found itself in the obstinate position of being a growth company with deteriorating growth.

Final Words

FireEye has definitely missed the plot since it is being outsmarted by competition. Slowing revenue growth in a growing market is definitely a cause for concern for investors, and thus, I think the stock is a strong sell.

Disclosure: No Position.

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A Dutch tourist has been detained in Myanmar for insulting religion after being accused of pulling the plug on a speaker relaying a late-night Buddhist sermon in Mandalay.

Klass Haytema, 30, has been held since Friday night when he allegedly disconnected the cable linking an amplifier and a speaker at a hall playing the sermon after he complained that it was disturbing him, police said.

"The religious hall is not far from the hotel where he was staying... he said he did it because it was too noisy for him," Kyi Soe, police chief at Maha Aung Myay township, told AFP.

An angry crowd followed the man back to his hotel, where he was taken into custody by police and later transferred to a Mandalay prison.

"We detained him for insulting religion," he said, adding it was under section 295 of Myanmar's penal code.

He is yet to be charged but the law carries up to a two year jail term and fine.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar is deeply devout and several foreigners have been found guilty of insulting religion.

In July a Spanish tourist was deported from Myanmar after monks complained about a tattoo of Buddha he had on his leg.

Last year a New Zealand bar manager spent 10 months in jail for "insulting religion" by using a Buddha image to promote a cheap drinks night.

Buddhist nationalism has surged in Myanmar in recent years, with the country's Muslim minority -- around five percent of the population -- facing particular pressure.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Ecuador Gold & Copper Corp. (EGX.V) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has arranged a private placement to raise gross proceeds of US$250,000 (C$329,125) through the issuance of 548,541 common shares at a price of C$0.60 per share to investor(s) in the Company. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the private placement for working capital. The common shares issued under the private placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date of the private placement. The private placement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Company also announces that in connection with an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") entered into between the Company and Odin Mining & Exploration Ltd. ("Odin") dated August 2, 2016 and amended and restated September 9, 2016, the Company has arranged to settle a total of US$322,883 (C$425,075) in debt (the "Debt") owed to Heye Daun, Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company. The Debt consists of: (1) management fees of US$140,000 owed or to be owed to Mr. Heye for the months January to October, 2016; (2) outstanding expenses incurred by Mr. Heye of US$14,883.20 from January to October, 2016; and (3) a severance payment of US$168,000 in the consulting agreement dated January 1, 2016 between the Company and a private nominee services company in which Mr. Heye Daun holds a direct or indirect beneficial interest, which will be triggered as a result of the completion of the Arrangement. The Company is proposing to settle the Debt by issuing a total of 708,458 common shares (the "Debt Shares") of the Company at a deemed price of C$0.60 per Debt Share. All Debt Shares issued to settle the Debt will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of issuance of the Debt Shares. Settlement of the Debt will be subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). Subject to receipt of Exchange approval and shareholder approval of the Arrangement, management anticipates that the Debt Shares will be issued prior to completion of the Arrangement.

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About Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.

Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp. is a Canadian exploration and mining company focused on its gold and copper mineral properties located in the Province of Zamora-Chinchipe in southern Ecuador. The Company has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment of its Santa Barbara Gold and Copper Project dated May 29, 2015, and is currently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EGX". For additional information, please visit us at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com.

For further information please contact:

Heye Daun

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Telephone: +1-604-687 2038 (Vancouver Office)

Email: hdaun@ecuadorgoldandcopper.com

Cautionary Note

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws.

SOURCE: Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.
Cairo (AFP) - Egyptian police on Monday detained the owner of a vessel that capsized in the Mediterranean last week drowning at least 168 migrants, a security official said.

Up to 450 migrants may have been on board the fishing boat when it sank off Egypt's coast on Wednesday en route to Italy.

At least 168 bodies have been recovered and 163 passengers were rescued, according to the health ministry and the military.

The boat's owner will be questioned by prosecutors and is expected to face charges of human trafficking and involuntary manslaughter, a police official and a judicial source said.

Officials said a specialised ship with divers belonging to a petroleum company is working at the site of the shipwreck some 12 kilometres (eight miles) off the coast to pull the boat back up to the surface.

Survivors have said many migrants were trapped in the boat's hold when it keeled over.
It comprises 27.4% of total output.

The manufacturing sector emerges from the red in August after output increased 0.1%. While it is below market expectations of 0.5% the growth is better than July's contraction of 3.5%, thanks to the star performance of the electronics sector.

According to UOB, gains were seen in the electronics (+10.8% y/y), chemicals (+1.8% y/y), and precision engineering (+11.6% y/y) clusters in the month of August.

More specifically, the output of semiconductors grew 19.7% y/y (from 34.4% y/y in July), and registered the 6th month of double-digit growth, and in line with the nine consecutive months of expansion in the US SEMI Book-to-Bill ratio.

According to UOB, the strong electronics output coincided with the better-than-expected August export orders in Taiwan that was released last week, boosted by electronics exports.

Furthermore, over in the U.S., the research firm said that telcos such as T-Mobile and Sprint Corp reported that they had received almost 4 times as many orders for the iPhone 7 compared to previous models and this will likely boost the demand for semiconductors in the months ahead.



UOB cautioned though that however optimistic the electronics cluster may be, it is only 27.4% of total manufacturing activities.

"Concerns on the still-weak exports conditions, particular the uncertainty evolving Brexit and its impact on Singapores exports to the EU, will mar the prospects on other manufacturing clusters, (more specifically for a Euro-zone dependent biomedical manufacturing cluster)," it said in a report.

UOB also added that the transport engineering cluster still remains in the doldrums.

"We maintain our 2016 industrial production growth forecast 1.0%. This implies a 3.0% y/y growth in the remaining 4 months till the end of 2016," it said.





More From Singapore Business Review


By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan believes U.S. federal attorneys had ulterior motives in including references to him and his wife in court papers related to their prosecution of a gold trader, Turkish media on Sunday quoted him as saying. Reza Zarrab, a dual Turkish-Iranian national, was arrested in Miami in March. He was charged with helping Iran process millions of dollars in transactions that violated U.S. sanctions against Tehran in effect at the time. The 33-year-old businessman, who lived in Turkey, remains in custody in New York. He has pleaded not guilty. In court papers, U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara's office included references to a 2013 corruption investigation in Turkey that targeted Zarrab, cabinet ministers and members of Erdogan's family which was subsequently been dropped. Private broadcaster NTV quoted Erdogan as telling a group of reporters he had raised Zarrab's detention in talks with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in New York last week. Erdogan said U.S. prosecutors were trying to implicate him by including in the indictment Zarrab's donations to an educational charity called Togem, according to NTV and other Turkish media. "They are not pursuing the law, but are after a network of relationships. It's interesting that the indictment refers to my wife setting up Togem and my ties with that association. My wife and I are not among the founders of that association. "The effort to mention our names in court proves there are ulterior motives," he said. Erdogan also accused U.S. officials involved in the case of travelling to Turkey as guests of a religious movement led by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey classifies the movement, dubbed FETO, a terrorist organisation that it blames for a failed military coup in July. "The U.S. Department of Justice is being represented by people who were wined and dined by FETO. I told Biden this and he said he was unaware," Erdogan said. A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer for Zarrab, declined comment. Zarrab's lawyers last month filed a motion asking the federal judge, Richard Berman, to recuse himself due to comments he made about Zarrab's prosecution in Turkey at a 2014 conference. Turkey wants the United States to arrest Gulen, who resides in Pennsylvania, and return him to Turkey. Gulen, once a close ally of Erdogan, denies involvement in the coup attempt. Erdogan said he told Biden that Turkey's justice and economy ministries have investigated Zarrab and determined he was innocent, as had Iranian authorities. He added that he would not remain "indifferent" to the detention of a Turkish national in the United States. The arrest of Zarrab, a frequently photographed figure among Turkey's jetset, sent shockwaves through Turkey and cheered Erdogan's opponents who viewed the U.S. case as a blow to the Turkish leader, in power since 2003 as prime minister and, since 2014, as president. Separately, newspapers on Sunday reported that Zarrab's wife, Turkish pop star Ebru Gundes, filed for divorce last week. (Addtional reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Clelia Oziel)
Brussels (AFP) - The EU is preparing to suspend sanctions against Colombia's FARC rebel group as soon as it signs a historic peace deal with the government later Monday, European sources said.

The guerilla movement will however remain on the 28-nation European Union's list of terrorist organisations following the signing in the city of Cartagena at 2200 GMT, the sources said.

"We are preparing the suspension. As soon as the treaty is signed the sanctions will be suspended, though FARC will stay for the time being on the EU terror list," one diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The EU needs the approval of all 28 member states to suspend sanctions.

Slovakia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, is withholding its official approval for "symbolic" reasons until the moment the deal is signed, in agreement with the other 27 EU states, European sources said.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC rebels, Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, will sign the pact in the coastal colonial city to end five decades of war.

"The EU has strongly supported the peace agreement in Colombia," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told a news briefing on Monday.

The sanctions will be suspended for an initial period six months, after which they will be reviewed, the diplomatic source said.

"It could be possible to delist FARC completely at a later point," the source said.

The EU ambassador to Colombia, Ana Paula Zacarias, said on Sunday that the guerrilla group could be definitively removed from the blacklist after a six-month review process in which the bloc could have "political dialogue with guerrilla members".

The FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group, launched its war on the Colombian government in 1964.

It was added to the EU list of terrorist organisations in 2002. The list was created after the September 11 terrorist attack in New York in 2001.

After the FARC was added to the list, the EU froze the funding and financial assets of the group.
By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders will explore next month the possibility of improving strained ties with Russia in response to growing irritation among some member states over economic sanctions imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis. But the sanctions appear likely to remain in place for now, especially those slapped over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula seized by Russia in March 2014, despite the legal and political challenges of maintaining them. A series of Reuters investigations recently showed how European companies including German retailer Metro and France's Auchan were doing business in Crimea despite the punitive sanctions regime there. EU leaders will review the state of relations with Russia at a summit on Oct. 20-21, with the hawks' camp weakened by Britain's decision to leave the bloc and by increased strains between Brussels and Poland's nationalist-minded government. Countries skeptical about extending sanctions include Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia and Hungary. They are keen to return to doing business with Russia, the EU's main gas supplier, not least to help offset Europe's sluggish economic growth. "It will be increasingly difficult to go on extending the sanctions. But this could be done if the key skeptics are convinced that there are other elements in the EU's policy on Russia, not just sanctions," said a senior EU official. "There will be those who want to lower the bar for Russia, give a signal that if only Moscow makes a little move, the EU would want to normalize the situation a bit. Then there will be those who want to raise the bar," a second EU official said. "Eventually we'll stay more or less where we are. The advantage of those who want easing is that you need unanimity to extend sanctions. But no one wants to be alone in blocking (an extension). It would be different if a few of them came out together." "MUTUAL INTERESTS" The EU first imposed sanctions after Russia seized Crimea following a Western-backed uprising against a pro-Russian leader in Kiev. It then widened the sanctions over Moscow's backing for rebels battling Kiev's forces in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 9,500 people since April 2014. The sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes on people and entities; curbs on energy, financial and defense dealings with Russia and limits on doing business in Crimea. But in a sign of how difficult it is proving to implement the measures, a recent Reuters report showed that products for sale in the Crimean stores of Metro and Auchan were being shipped there from Russia via a ferry and port that are subject to the EU sanctions. Both retailers said they were not violating the sanctions because the stores are operated by their Russian subsidiaries, which are not subject to the EU sanctions. Reuters also revealed in August that a Russian power-plant builder bought turbines from a joint venture of German engineering group Siemens and had them earmarked for Crimea. The company since said it would sell them elsewhere and there was no suggestion that Siemens knew of or condoned the planned transfer of its turbines to Crimea. Italy has urged a thorough EU debate on sanctions instead of allowing a technical extension every six months. The economic sanctions are next due to be extended in late January. States less friendly towards Russia increasingly accept that some concessions may be needed to maintain unanimous backing for sanctions. "We do need to talk about our mutual interests with Russia but remain united on sanctions," said one such diplomat. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, backs this approach. But with distrust between Brussels and Moscow running high, it will be tough to make progress even in areas where they have shared interests such as fighting terrorism or drug-trafficking. Other ideas for improving ties include encouraging more international cooperation. But deep disagreements between Russia and the West over Syria highlight the difficulties here. Further out, it seems all but impossible that the EU and Russia will be able to hammer out an accord over Crimea. Russia says it will never return the peninsula to Ukraine while the West refuses to accept its annexation. Meanwhile, EU officials say they are aware of cases of European companies exploiting legal gray areas to continue doing business in Crimea but said this did not undermine the wider sanctions policy. "Throughout history we see surreptitious ways of busting sanctions," said an EU official who deals with Russia. "But the key ones are the economic sanctions and the most important objective is keeping unity on that." (Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald, writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Gareth Jones)
* repeats to attach to alerts, no changes to text

* Proposed changes would penalise European banks- European sources

* U.S. regulators support proposals

* Tension mounts ahead of Basel meeting in November

By Andreas Kroner, Jonathan Gould and Huw Jones

FRANKFURT/LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The European Union may opt out of new global rules aimed at preventing another financial crash because officials are worried they put European banks at a disadvantage at a time when they are losing market share to U.S. rivals.

European regulatory and banking sources said the rules, nicknamed "Basel IV" by bankers because they are an addition to "Basel III" capital rules that are already in place, unfairly penalise Europe's banks.

U.S. regulators, and other supporters of the proposals, say they are needed to make sure banks have enough spare capital to match the amount of risk they have taken.

The plans would change the way banks assess risks on their balance sheet, which then determines how much capital they must hold as an emergency buffer.

EU officials say the changes will make European banks and their large loan portfolios look more risky, and hence need more capital, than U.S. banks which provide more bond financing and package mortgages on for trading elsewhere.

"If we can't reach a compromise that's acceptable for us, we have to pull the emergency brake and opt out," a European regulatory official said on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity over the Basel talks.

"Nobody wants that, because it would damage the trust in European banks and regulators. But it's clear that there are red lines for Europe."

The Basel Committee, a group of global regulators, which drew up "Basel III" capital rules after lenders were rescued by taxpayers in the 2007-09 financial crisis, wants the extra changes to be agreed by the year end.

But the appetite for regulation is waning as policymakers prioritise growth and if European regulators refuse to sign on to the new rules, the project could be undermined.

Story continues

Even if they are agreed by members of the committee, the rules are not legally binding until they have been approved by the European Commission, EU parliament and jointly by EU states.

Any of the 28 member countries could decide not to apply the rules which would undermine the goal of a global approach to preventing financial crises.

A spokeswoman for the Basel Committee declined to comment on Monday.

NO CAPITAL INCREASE PLEASE

EU leaders want to avoid forcing banks to significantly raise capital requirements, a message that Basel's oversight body headed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi passed on to the committee.

"We expect the Basel Committee to honour its commitment of not significantly increasing its capital requirements," a spokeswoman for the European Commission said on Monday.

European banks, by and large, already meet or exceed the Basel III bank capital rules well before they take full effect in 2019, but bankers say "Basel IV" could force them to increase their capital buffers by up to 10 percent.

Michael Lever, head of prudential regulation at banking trade body AFME, said the new rules will likely increase capital at least by 6 percent on average.

And as U.S. banks gain market share in Europe, this could be damaging for business.

European bankers and regulators say that in the current proposal, the risk weightings would particularly raise capital requirements for low risk mortgages.

"There would be effects that are not justified," a second European regulatory source said.

An EU official said the bloc would "decide on the best course of action" if the final rules from Basel point to a big hike in capital.

Basel Committee Secretary General William Coen said this month the aim was not to increase capital but to end big differences in how banks set aside capital. The body headed by Draghi has endorsed the direction of the reforms, he said.

U.S. CONDITIONS

Europe is particularly sensitive to Basel's rules as lenders provide the bulk of financing for its economy, unlike in the United States where markets are the main source of cash.

Investors are already questioning whether banks in countries like Italy are not holding enough capital, and Germany was prompted on Monday to dismiss "speculation" that Deutsche Bank needs state aid.

U.S. regulators are pushing for the changes, which include a tougher "floor" or level of capital a bank cannot go below irrespective of its internal risk calculations. Some U.S. officials have said they suspect that some banks have been gaming risk-weightings to ease capital requirements.

The United States is already going further than the planned Basel rules in some respects by reining banks' ability to use their own models for calculating capital, and instead use a standard approach provided by regulators.

Some European regulators say the floor undermines the core objective of Basel rules, that capital requirements should be directly linked to the level of risk at a bank. Regulators in Japan also have reservations about Basel's proposals.

"A standardised floor would not be in line with our objectives and should not be part of the final framework," an EU official said.

Bankers say, however, that keeping the floor proposal is a U.S. condition for accepting a dilution of the curbs Basel has proposed on the use of models at banks for capital calculations - a more widespread practice in Europe.

Bankers said Europe's threat to derail the rules could be little more than "pounding the table" ahead of the next round of Basel meetings in Chile on November 28-29.

"I think the deal will get done. There is too much political capital behind it not to be done," said AFME's Lever.

However, some elements could be delayed, such as reform of weightings for operational risks, though they constitute a far smaller portion of overall capital requirements, bankers say.

"Credit risk, including the floor, is the whole ball of wax, so if you delay that, you delay the whole thing," a banking industry official said.

(Additional reporting by Mayia Nikolaeva in Paris, editing by Anna Willard)
Brussels (AFP) - The European Union has decided to "suspend" Colombia's FARC rebel group from its terror group list, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced on Monday.

In a statement, Mogherini said the EU would "suspend FARC from its list of terrorist organisations. This decision will take effect upon the signature of the Peace Agreement."

The Colombian government and the leftist FARC rebels were scheduled to sign their historic peace agreement at 2200 GMT Monday in a ceremony in the colonial city of Cartagena.

The suspension will allow the temporary lifting of sanctions against FARC, including the freezing of its assets. FARC was added to the EU terror list in 2002.

"We are ready to continue our support, focusing on the implementation of the agreement," Mogherini said, adding that the EU was also ready to activate a 600-million-euro package to support the peace deal.

"Today peace is in the hands of the Colombian people," she said.

"An endorsement of the agreement would send positive shockwaves through the continent and the entire world. It would send a message of reconciliation. It would send the powerful message that all conflicts can come to an end."

Earlier, a diplomatic source said the sanctions would be suspended for an initial period of six months, after which they would be reviewed.

On Sunday, the EU's Colombia envoy Ana Paula Zacarias said the guerrilla group could be definitively removed from the blacklist after a six-month review process in which the bloc could have "political dialogue with guerrilla members".

FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group, launched its war on the Colombian government in 1964.
Brussels (AFP) - The EU warned Switzerland on Monday over a vote by one of its cantons backing curbs on migrants, an issue being closely watched in London as a possible template for Brexit negotiations.

A measure making it more difficult for foreign workers to be employed won 58 percent of the vote in a referendum on Sunday in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy.

Brussels said the vote would further complicate thorny negotiations over a national vote in early 2014 in which Switzerland voted for similar curbs, despite them violating the EU's free movement rules.

"The EU and Switzerland have been in intense talks for months now in order to find a solution on how to implement the Swiss popular vote on free movement in a way that respects obligations under the free movement agreement," said Margaritis Schinas, spokesman for commission head Jean-Claude Juncker.

"Yesterday's vote will not make the already difficult talks any easier," he told a daily briefing.

EU Commission President Juncker will visit Switzerland at the end of October to continue discussions in order to find "an agreement acceptable to both sides", said Schinas.

Switzerland is not an EU member but is signed up to the bloc's Schengen agreement, which allows passport-free travel and free movement of workers.

The referendum in Ticino was presented by the conservative Swiss People's Party. The vote's result still requires approval from the Swiss federal government.

However Bern is unlikely to look kindly at the Ticino vote, as it struggles to repair frayed relations with the EU and figure out how to apply the 2014 vote.

The EU is keen to take a hard line on Switzerland shirking its duties from bilateral agreements ahead of the bloc's negotiations with London over its departure from the bloc.

Pro-Brexit campaigners want Britain to limit migration from EU countries but keep access to the single market -- a combination that EU leaders have repeatedly warned is impossible.
BRUSSELS/ROME (Reuters) - Economic imbalances within the euro zone risk destabilising the currency bloc, top European Central Bank officials said on Monday, stressing the responsibility of governments to help boost growth while respecting EU rules.

ECB President Mario Draghi and board member Benoit Coeure also acknowledged the limitations of the ECB's ultra-expansionary policy of low interest rates and money printing.

"In our Economic and Monetary Union, in particular, the economic governance framework is essential to avoid imbalances that would eventually risk destabilising the euro area," Draghi told a European parliamentary committee in Brussels.

"And for the euro area to thrive, actions by national governments are needed to unleash growth, reduce unemployment and empower individuals, while offering essential protections for the most vulnerable."

Draghi has long called for greater spending by countries which still have fiscal space, but his appeal has fallen on deaf ears as Germany, the country with the biggest surplus, is reluctant to end its commitment to balancing the books.

Echoing his comments, Coeure told an audience in Rome that if governments failed to play their role, the euro zone risked a long period of weak economic growth and low central bank rates.

"Moving from interest rates being 'low for long' to being 'low forever' would severely limit the room for manoeuvre for conventional monetary policy tools, but even more worryingly, it would threaten the contract between generations as well as risk tearing up our social fabric," Coeure said.

With inflation still hovering near zero, the ECB is weighing tweaks to its 1.74 trillion euros ($1.96 trillion) money-printing program, which is due to end in March at the earliest.

But the ECB's negative deposit rate and aggressive asset purchases since 2015 have already come under fire, particularly in richer countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, for eating into banks and pension funds' profits.

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While defending the ECB's stimulus policy, Draghi and Coeure acknowledged it had side effects.

"If no other policy is in place, the length of time for the effectiveness of our monetary policy will be longer," Draghi said.

"Now this is not without a cost; it's pretty clear that very low interest rates for a very long time do have side effects, that especially affect financial stability."

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Korany in Frankfurt, Gavin Jones in Rome and Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Miami (AFP) - More evidence of possible water plumes erupting from the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa has been spotted using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the US space agency said Monday.

Europa, one of more than 50 moons circling the gas giant, is considered by NASA as a "top candidate" for life elsewhere in the solar system because it is believed to possess a massive, salty, subsurface ocean that is twice the size of Earth's.

The latest finding has given scientists fresh hope that a robotic spacecraft could one day fly past these potential plumes and learn about their contents without having to drill miles deep into the moon's icy shell.

"Today, we are presenting new Hubble evidence for water vapor plumes being expelled from the icy surface of Europa," William Sparks, astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore told reporters on a conference call.

Using ultraviolet images taken by Hubble, a space telescope that was launched in 1990, the potential plumes are seen around the southern edge of Europa and appear as "dark fingers or patches of possible absorption," Sparks said.

They were spotted on three separate occasions over the course of 15 months in 2014 when scientists observed Europa passing in front of Jupiter.

The potential plumes were only observed three out of 10 times when Europa passed by Jupiter, suggesting that the eruptions are intermittent, he said.

They also appeared to emerge near the same places, mostly along Europa's southern edge, where a previous team of scientists in 2012 -- using a different instrument aboard Hubble -- detected evidence of water vapor reaching more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) into space.

"If plumes exist this is an exciting finding because it potentially gives easier access to the ocean below," said Sparks.

However, he cautioned that more evidence is needed for scientists to be certain, whether by more Hubble observations, or by some independent observing technique.

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"I do want to stress that the observations are at the limit of what Hubble can do," he added.

"We do not claim to have proven the existence of plumes but rather to have contributed evidence that such activity may be present."

- Future mission -

NASA announced last year that it intends to send a robotic spacecraft, equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, to circle Europa in the 2020s.

This mission will not seek to find life, but will measure the habitability of Europa, to see if conditions exist that could sustain living organisms on the moon which orbits Jupiter every three and a half days.

Last year, data from Hubble confirmed that Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, has an underground ocean that contains more water than Earth's, broadening the hunt for places in the solar system where life might be able to exist.

Only one other moon is known in the solar system -- Saturn's moon Enceladus -- to have icy plumes, based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

NASA's latest mission to Jupiter, known as Juno, slipped into orbit around the fifth planet from the Sun in July, but will stay away from Europa in order to avoid the risk of Earthly contamination, NASA said.

NASA's next generation space telescope, known as the James Webb Space Telescope, launches in 2018, and it will also hunt for signs of water on Europa using infrared wavelengths of light.

"For a long time, humanity has been wondering whether there is life beyond Earth, and we are lucky to live in an era when we can address questions like that scientifically," said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters.
San Fernando de Henares (Spain) (AFP) - Former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato went on trial Monday accused of overseeing a "corrupt system" that helped him and other executives misuse millions when he was the boss of a major Spanish bank.

Protesters shouted "thief" and "fraud" at the former economy minister and ex-deputy prime minister as he arrived at the courthouse outside Madrid.

Rato is standing trial with 64 other former executives and board members at Caja Madrid and Bankia, whose near-collapse sparked an EU bailout of Spain's financial sector.

Rato, 67, entered the courthouse without saying a word at the start of the trial, which is expected to last until December.

Uncovered in 2013 by a journalist who saw a hacked email alluding to "black credit cards", the case threatens to land the one-time star of the ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) in jail and with a hefty fine.

It is also another thorn in the PP's side after repeated failed attempts to form a government following two inconclusive elections, due to a lack of support that is in large part due to corruption scandals sullying the party.

Rato, who led the International Monetary Fund from 2004 to 2007, and the other executives are accused of having paid for personal expenses with credit cards put at their disposal by both Caja Madrid and Bankia, without ever justifying them or declaring them to tax authorities.

Altogether, they allegedly spent 12 million euros ($13.5 million) between 2003 and 2012 -- sometimes splashing out at the height of Spain's devastating economic crisis.

The money was used on items such as luxury bags, five-star hotels, alcohol and even petrol.

According to the indictment, Rato maintained the "corrupt system" established by his predecessor Miguel Blesa when he took the reins of Caja Madrid in 2010.

Rato replicated the system when he took charge of Bankia, a group born in 2011 out of the merger of Caja Madrid with six other savings banks, prosecutors say.

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With his undeclared credit card, Rato is accused of having spent 99,000 euros in two years.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years and a 2.6-million-euro fine for Rato.

He has denied any wrongdoing and said the credit cards were for discretionary spending as part of the pay deal for executives.

Prosecutors are seeking the longest prison sentence for Blesa -- six years.

Blesa, 69, a former tax inspector and close friend of former PP prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, is accused of spending a total of 436,000 euros with "black" credit cards between 2003 and 2010.

- Hacked emails -

The first day of the trial was dedicated to procedural issues. Blesa is expected to take the stand on Friday, with Rato following.

During a break in the proceedings Blesa -- who stands accused of charging over 100,000 euros in restaurant meals to "black" credit cards -- bought a sandwich from a vending machine in the courthouse.

Online newspaper eldiario.es broke the scandal at the end of 2013 after it received 8,000 e-mails that were hacked from Blesa's professional account by a handful of anti-corruption activists.

During Rato's career as a banker, Spain was rocked by another banking scandal considered the country's biggest ever.

Thousands of small-scale investors lost their money after they were persuaded to convert their savings to shares ahead of the flotation of Bankia in 2011, with Rato at the reins.

Less than a year later, he resigned as it became known that Bankia was in dire straits.

He is the third former or current IMF chief to face trial.

His successor Dominique Strauss-Kahn was tried in 2015 on pimping charges in a lurid sex scandal, and was acquitted.

And Christine Lagarde, who took over from Strauss-Kahn and is the current IMF chief, will be in the dock in December over a massive state payout to French tycoon Bernard Tapie when she was finance minister in France.
CHAMPAIGN (AP)  A suburban Chicago man shot dead on the University of Illinois campus was planning to start a career as a nurse.

Officials at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville say 22-year-old George Korchev of Mundelein was expected to start Monday as a registered nurse. He recently passed his nursing board exam.

Korchev was killed early Sunday in one of a pair of shootings in Champaign. He was shot when a fight broke out a party on Champaign campus. Three others suffered non-critical wounds. Police say he was walking by when the shooting happened. A fourth person was shot and injured a half-hour later a few blocks west of campus.

Police say the two shootings may be related. They are searching for a suspect.

Hospital officials say Korchev was "known as a skilled, empathetic and selfless caregiver."
Madrid (AFP) - Former Spanish finance minister Rodrigo Rato was hailed for kicking off a golden decade of growth in Spain's economy from the late 1990s and later led the International Monetary Fund.

Now the 67-year-old is on trial over alleged spending sprees on company credit cards by him and other ex-managers in the finance group Bankia, whose near-collapse sparked an EU bailout of Spain's financial sector in 2012.

He faces another probe into the Bankia's failed stock market launch which left hundreds of thousands of retail investors nursing heavy losses.

Rato has denied wrongdoing in both cases but for many Spaniards he is the face of Spain's financial crisis and the alleged rule-bending that preceded the 2012 collapse of large parts of the Spanish banking market.

In 2010 former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar called Rato the "best economy minister" in Spains modern history.

But when asked by reporters about him after the credit cards revelations first broke in 2014, acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy would not even pronounce Rato's name.

The allegations that Rato and dozens of others spent a total of more than 15 million euros, reportedly on luxuries such as nightclubs and safaris, have embarrassed Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and sparked a string of resignations.

"It alarms and outrages us," said the current leader of the party, Maria Dolores de Cospedal, who in 2014 had called prominent PP member Rato "the author of Spain's economic miracle".

- 'No political future' -

Rato was thought a natural successor to Aznar and was expected to run for prime minister in 2004, but mistimed his bid. Rajoy beat him to the candidacy but later lost the election.

Rato promptly left Spain to become managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the global emergency lender that later played a key role in tackling the eurozone debt crisis.

He left the IMF in 2007 for "personal reasons" and was later handed the job of managing Caja Madrid, one of the regional savings banks that fused to form Bankia in 2010.

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Rato oversaw the stock market listing of Bankia in 2011, seen as a triumph after the previous three years of financial turbulence. But the euphoria did not last.

In May 2012 the government had to nationalise Bankia to save it from ruin. Spain then had to turn to the eurozone for a 41-billion-euro bailout to save its whole banking sector.

Seven months after Bankia was rescued, Rato found himself walking into court for questioning. Furious customers who said the bank had lost their savings yelled at him: "Thief! Go to jail!".

The scene was repeated on Monday as he arrived at a courthouse at San Fernando de Henares just outside of Madrid for the start of his trial, accused of overseeing a "corrupt system" that helped him and other executives misuses funds with credit cards.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years and a 2.6-million-euro fine.

Rato at the end of 2014 suspended his membership of the PP, a previously "unthinkable" move, according to political consultant Antoni Gutierrez Rubi.

"He has no political future," said Rubi. "There is a feeling that Rato has destroyed his shining reputation. He had a halo of superiority and triumph everywhere he went. Now he has fallen."
By Angus Berwick MADRID (Reuters) - (Please note offensive language in fifth para) Crowds jeered at former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato when he arrived at a Madrid court on Monday to face trial for his alleged misuse of company credit cards on extravagant personal expenses. Rato and 64 other executives and former board members from lender Bankia and its founding savings bank Caja Madrid are accused of illegally spending 12 million euros ($13.48 million) for personal use on so-called "black cards" between 2003 and 2012. Prosecutors are seeking a four-and-a-half year prison sentence for Rato, Bankia's chairman shortly before it needed a state bailout in 2012 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis. Rato, a former Spanish finance minister and one-time contender to lead the ruling center-right People's Party, has denied wrongdoing in the case, as has Miguel Blesa, his predecessor at the bank. The case has infuriated Spaniards who were hurt by the crisis. As the two former managers arrived at the court in the outskirts of Madrid for the trial's preliminary proceedings, a group of people who had lost money following Bankia's bailout shouted "hijo de puta" (son of a bitch) and other insults at them. Blesa will return on Friday to testify, a court spokeswoman said, with Rato likely returning early next week. Blesa's lawyer, Carlos Aguilar, declined to comment. Ratos' lawyer, Ignacio Ayala, did not respond to requests for comment. Aguilar told the court that the evidence presented was "invalid" since they infringed on the accused's rights, El Pais newspaper said. Tales of luxurious spending on the "black cards" sparked widespread public anger when the scandal broke in 2014, at a time when Spain was only just emerging from financial crisis triggered in part by Bankia's near-collapse. The cards were used to buy jewels, holidays and expensive clothes, according to documents filed with the court, but also to fund more mundane trips to the cinema. Rato is accused of notching almost 100,000 euros of bills over his two-year tenure at Bankia. Rato, who headed the IMF between 2004 and 2007, has paid back the amount, according to previous court statements. Prosecutors want a six-year sentence and 9.3 million euros in damages for Blesa, who was chairman of Caja Madrid from 1996 to 2010. Caja Madrid later merged with other banks to form Bankia. Bankia's stock market listing, which took place under Rato's watch in mid-2011, is also being investigated by Spain's High Court, though there is no decision yet whether that case will go to trial. Many ordinary Spaniards lost money after their shares plummeted in value following the bank's bailout. The credit card case is one of several high-profile corruption investigations which implicate the PP and that are now coming to trial. The so-called Gurtel investigation into allegations the party's top brass had a slush fund bankrolled by friendly businesses reaches trial on Oct. 4. PP leader and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is still looking for support to try and form a government to end a nine-month political deadlock and avoid Spain's third election in a year. ($1 = 0.8899 euros) (Editing by Sarah White and Angus MacSwan)
Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell found love at the end of the last season of The Bachelor, and the two are still going strong, even in the face of critics who have been body shaming the 26-year-old flight attendant for being too skinny.

The couple spoke to ET at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, where they opened up about dealing with online haters and moving on with their lives.

"It is hard because you start to question yourself, but I think for me, I've really tried to accept who I am and honestly accept that you can't change that," Bushnell shared. "We're very busy, so I'm not going to spend free time that I have trying to change the person I was made to be."

WATCH: Inside Ben Higgins & Lauren Bushnell's Life in Denver

"I've tried to accept the role that I've been given and try to tell young women that it's OK to be who you are," she continued. "No matter how you're built or who you are, be who you are, because that's the most beautiful that you will ever be -- ever!"

As for her fiance, the 28-year-old former Bachelor praised his future wife for handing her critics "very well," but admitted that it's not always easy to brush off the mean comments, especially considering how ubiquitous body shaming and bullying is these days.

"The moment that really sticks out to me is when we were sitting on the couch one day and she was reading through some of the stuff, and she was like, 'You know, I'm a confident, independent woman who is in love with somebody. What do the people out there, the middle schoolers, the high schoolers, how do they feel about themselves when they hear this when they feel alone?' Higgins recalled. "It's tough, but as a couple, we work through it."

WATCH: Lauren Bushnell Reveals Wedding Plans With Ben Higgins!

The 28-year-old reality star also opened up about meeting with the upcoming Bachelor, Nick Viall, and the personal advice Higgins shared about finding love.

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"For Lauren and I, we're in love and we've made this work, but it hasn't always been easy. We don't want to hide that, but it's been really good. My advice to Nick was, 'You can come out of this with a very serious relationship, but before you do, make sure it's someone you want to commit to,'" Higgins said. "'Make sure it's someone you want to pursue, that you wanna work through all this with, because if not, it can get hard.'"

"The reason I think it was easy for Lauren and I was because, no matter what [happened] and no matter argument we're having, no matter what situation was brought up, at the end of the day, we were both looking at each other like, 'This isn't going to break us. We just gotta get through it,'" he added.

WATCH: Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell Show Off Massive $100K Engagement Ring

Higgins and Bushnell might be glad to be out of The Bachelor's shadow, but they aren't done with reality TV just yet. The couple are starring in their own reality show, Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, which premieres Oct. 11 on Freeform.

When the couple recently sat down with ET, Higgins opened up about passing on the Bachelor torch to Viall, explaining, "I'm excited to no longer be referred to as 'the Bachelor!" Check out the pair's adorable sit-down in the video below.

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By Katya Golubkova and Olesya Astakhova

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil majors Rosneft and Gazprom Neft are raising the share of production from hard-to-recover reserves, to counter declining conventional output, showing the complexities facing producer nations seeking to tackle a global oversupply of crude.

Top Russian producer Rosneft <ROSN.MM> expects the share of hard-to-recover oil production to rise to 11 percent of its total crude output by 2020, from 7 percent this year, it told Reuters by email in response to queries about its output plans.

It said the cost of production of such crude was between $10 and $35 per barrel. This makes it feasible to develop even in the current downturn, with prices hovering below $50 a barrel.

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of state gas producer Gazprom <GAZP.MM>, is raising its share of output of hard-to-recover oil by tapping more reserves at the Messoyakha project and other assets, First Deputy Chief Executive Vadim Yakovlev told the Reuters Russia Investment Summit.

Hard-to-recover oil refers to reserves trapped between layers of rock which cannot be accessed using conventional, vertical drilling. It requires techniques including drilling horizontal wells and fracking, similar to methods used to extract shale gas and shale oil.

As part of Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, the United States imposed restrictions on providing shale technology, in an effort to slow the growth in Russian oil output. But despite the sanctions on the Russian oil industry, oil production, including hard-to-recover, is growing.

Taming global oil output - to tackle on oversupply that has helped drive down prices since mid-2014 - is the central issue facing the world's major producers, including Russia and OPEC members, who are meeting in Algiers this week.

While any output freeze deal is likely to be short-term, the Rosneft and Gazprom Neft plans for coming years illustrate the complexities of global co-operation, as countries including top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia seek to guard their market share in the long-term.

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SIBERIA

The bulk of Russian oil production still comes from conventional - cheaper, easier-to-access - reserves located in west Siberia. But they are dwindling and production in the region is declining at 1.5 to 2 percent a year.

Russia's oilfield licenses regulator Rosnedra puts the country's hard-to-recover oil reserves at around 12 billion tonnes, or 88 billion barrels - two-thirds of total oil reserves, and enough to cover 20 years of the world's total oil needs.

Rosneft is drilling for hard-to-recover oil through its biggest-producing unit, Yuganskneftegaz, where the share of this type of crude is expected to triple by 2020 from 5 percent last year.

It total, Yugansk is expected to produce 68 million tonnes of oil a year (1.37 million bpd) by 2020, a 9 percent increase on 2015. Rosneft said that hard-to-recover oil accounts for around 24 percent of Rosneft's total oil reserves.

Rosneft said it also expected hard-to-recover output to increase at its other assets in western Siberian including Uvatneftegaz, Nyaganneftegaz, Tyumenneftegaz, as well as from fields in east Siberia and the Urals-Volga region.

Horizontal wells account for around 40 percent of Gazprom Neft's total wells.

Hard-to-recover oil accounts for a big part of the Messoyakha project, a joint venture between Gazprom Neft and Rosneft which started oil output last week, Yakovlev told the Reuters summit this month.

Out of its total of around 600 million tonnes of hard-to-recover reserves, Gazprom Neft has gradually brought 150 million tonnes into the production process since 2011, Yakovlev said.

"This means we are bringing on line 30 million tonnes each year and plan to bring on line 200 million tonnes more by 2020 - so the dynamics are growing," he said.

Under the Ukraine sanctions, Western firms are prevented from helping both Rosneft and Gazprom Neft tapping deep water, Arctic offshore or shale oil.

But Rosneft said that sanctions had had no material impact on its development of hard-to-recover oil.

"The bulk of technology and equipment for exploring of hard-to-recover oil using horizontal wells with multiple fracking are Russia-produced," it said.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Olesya Astakhova; Additional reporting by Dmitri Zhdannikov; Editing by Pravin Char)
By Manunphattr Dhanananphorn and Eveline Danubrata

BANGKOK/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Thailand is studying plans to toughen tax collection rules for internet and technology firms like Alphabet Inc's Google, the head of the Revenue Department told Reuters, as the tax affairs of these firms comes under growing scrutiny in Southeast Asia.

The plans would also cover the mobile transfers and internet payment sector, Prasong Poontaneat, director general of Thailand's Revenue Department, told Reuters.

Thailand is focused on changing existing regulations, Prasong said, adding that a working committee had been set up to find solutions on tax collection for companies such as Google and other technology firms.

"We are studying this issue and have set up a committee to look into this over the past two months," Prasong told Reuters.

"The idea is to seek appropriate solutions for Thailand and it could involve an amendment in some regulations because current laws are outdated and have been used for more than 50 years," said Prasong, adding that he expects the committee to come up with solutions by the end of this year.

Reuters telephoned and e-mailed Google Thailand for comment, but there was no immediate reply. Google Asia Pacific's spokesman did not immediately respond to an email and a phone call seeking comment.

Indonesia is pursuing Alphabet Inc's Google for five years of back taxes, and the U.S. search giant could face a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone if it is found to have avoided payments, a senior tax official told Reuters last week.

Singapore's low tax regime and its generous tax incentive programs make it a big draw for multinationals like Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp to Google, and also from other sectors, to employ regional teams there.

They justify booking large revenue and profits in Singapore as they usually run main business functions such as finance and operations, hold intellectual property rights there or base regional executives in the city state.

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Singapore's finance ministry said in an emailed statement last week that "profits should be taxed where activities giving rise to the profits are performed and where value is created" and that it does not condone the "artificial shifting of profits".

INVESTOR PRESSURE

American business groups in the region warned that the tax crackdown risks slowing planned investments by multinationals.

Investment worth millions of dollars could become stalled due to disputes with the country's tax office, which has taken an "aggressive" approach, Lin Neumann, managing director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said.

"There's just been a feeling for some time among big taxpayers that they're like the low-hanging fruits because they're in the system," Neumann said, noting that many multinational companies are accountable to public shareholders.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that four UK fund houses - Legal & General Investment Management, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Royal London Asset Management and Sarasin Partners - had written to the board of Alphabet to raise concerns about its tax arrangements.

In December last year, Australia's tax office published the tax rates of every company with annual earnings over A$100 million, a move it said it would repeat annually in the hope of pressuring entities with "overly aggressive" tax structures.

Apple Inc paid A$74 million tax on its A$247 million taxable income, in line with the country's 30 percent tax rate but a small fraction of the total A$6.1 billion it made in the country that year.

Google paid A$9 million tax on A$91 million in taxable income, a third of the company tax rate and dwarfed by the A$357 million it made in the country.

The Australian government has since passed laws requiring consumers to pay a goods and services tax on all online purchases - not just online purchases from Australian retailers - from next year.

(Reporting by Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in BANGKOK and Eveline Danubrata in JAKARTA; Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano and Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Cod Satrusayang in BANGKOK; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Carolyn Everson

Facebook's ads boss, Carolyn Everson, admitted the company messed up in how it explained an error in the way it measured video viewership.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the social network had exaggerated its "average viewing time" metric by potentially as much as 80% for more than two years.

Several weeks before the article was published, Facebook had acknowledged in a post on its Advertiser Help Center that the metric had not included video views lasting fewer than 3-seconds. The company said it had informed its clients and that it had introduced a fix to provide a more accurate metric: "Average Watch Time."

On stage at Advertising Week New York on Monday, Everson reiterated Facebook's previous statements on the matter: "We did have an error. It was one of 14 [metrics] in our dashboard. We noticed it about a month ago and we immediately notified clients and agencies and corrected the error. Thankfully it did not have anything to do with advertising ROI [return on investment] or billing."

Everson went on to explain how Facebook plans to do better in future.

"We should have just said in public that we found this error a month ago and made the correction, and not just called our clients and agencies," she said.

Everson added that Facebook takes "great pride" in trust and transparency with its partners.

"Our promise is we will and need to do better."

After the video view issue first emerged, Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of the world's biggest advertising group WPP, which spent $1 billion of its clients' money on Facebook last year, said the error highlighted the need for third-party measurement.

He said: "That's why we invested in comScore and built a media measurement business in over 50 countries around the world. We have also been calling for a long time for media owners like Facebook and Google not to mark their own homework and release data to comScore to enable independent evaluation. The referee and player cannot be the same person."

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On Monday, Everson said: "Lastly, I also want to reiterate from a Facebook perspective that we deeply believe in third-party verification. Make no mistake: We don't believe in simply grading our own homework."

Everson said Facebook has been working with measurement company Nielsen for years, and video measurement firm Moat for over a year.

She also announced a number of new measurement partnerships, including with Nielsen Catalina, to help marketers measure their offline sales and Oracle Data Cloud, to enable small businesses to work out whether Facebook is the right platform for their advertising.

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Now that Secretary of State Kerrys latest effort to forge a ceasefire in Syria is in ruins, he was right about at least one thing: That was the Obama administrations last, best hope to lead warring sides toward a settlement.

Its over. Despite Kerrys insistence otherwise, his deal with Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, ended ever since a relief convoy en route to Aleppo was attacked, which the U.S. blames on Russia. Given the startling haste and vigor with which Syrian and Russian forces resumed bombing in Aleppo, the ObamaKerry strategy now lies in the Syrian desert looking like the wreckage of those helicopters Jimmy Carter sent into Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis.

Related: The Failed Syria Ceasefire Pushes US-Russia Relations to the Brink

Now what? If the only way to a resolution in Syria is to work with the Russians and this administration cant see its way to doing so, it follows that President Obama will shortly hand his successor what the English call a dogs dinner.

Here are three ingredients of that spoiled stewthree new realities the next president will have to face on Day One:

 No matter how much this administration and many pundits pretend Russia is playing catch-up as a wannabe great power, it has decisively trumped the Obama administration in Syria. Moscow is now in charge, at least for the time being.

Early indications are that this means an escalating war short on common mercies. The speed and force of the new SyrianRussian campaign suggest that with the collapse September 9 deal, Moscow has decided that Washingtons not serious about a common solution and can be shoved to the side without much immediate risk.

Lavrov now has a lot of egg on his face at home for his efforts with Kerry. Even more significantly, President Putin has lately taken severe criticism from his nationalist right for his (modest) attempts to work with the Obama administration.

Related: As Syria Cease-Fire Fails, Obama May Leave Successor 'Problem From Hell'

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 Whatever Washington may do for the rest of Obamas time in office and under his successor, its time to drop the moderate rebels theme. Its now a proven loser.

Both sides failed to accomplish the tasks the collapsed ceasefire assigned. The significant point for the U.S. is that Kerrys commitment to separating moderates from radicals on the battlefields was foolhardy because it cant be done.

There are several reasons for this, some merely practical. Eliminating whats called the marbling of rebel groups of various stripes would require some to leave their towns and districts to fight in unfamiliar areas where they have no ties. Thats not how Syria works.

But the biggest reason Kerry failed in this respect is that there seems to be little air between moderates and groups deemed more radical. More than Washington wants to admit, most of the militias on the battlefield are ideologically consonant.

Related: Britain Says U.S, Russia Track on Syria 'Near End Of Life'

In effect, the freedom fighter template doesn't apply in Syria, suggesting policy and strategy require a complete rethink. But theres no sign, regrettably, that anyone in Washington is planning one.

 Russian air support for the Syrian forces quick return to combat suggests Moscows watching the calendar carefully. It wants to get as much done as it can before our elections in November, the concern being a Clinton victory.

Russias clear as to its intentions in Syria, as it has been all along: It wants to destroy the Islamic state and defend Damascus so that whatever a postAssad era may look like can be negotiated in an orderly fashion.

Washington has instead favored strategic ambiguity. It does and doesnt want to oust Assad; ISIS is and isnt the No. 1 priority. This policy lies in ruins now, toothe Russians having grown self-evidently fed up with the Obama administrations impossible-to-read blur.

Related: Russia Guilty of Prolonging War in Syria: UK Foreign Minister

Moscow has long worried that Hillary Clinton, if elected, will bring a more aggressive U.S. approach to the White House and her State Department. Its probably the only reason Putin takes Donald Trump at all seriously, although the talk of a bromance is vastly overstated for political effect.

Russians are right to worry. Clinton has been banging the antiRussian drum for months on the campaign trail. During the Democratic debates, she again called for a no-fly zone in Syria  a controversial position because it risks putting U.S. jets into conflict with Russians flying bombing missions.

Its not Clintons new ideas that should worry either Russians or Americans. Its the likelihood that shell sponsor what amounts to a more-of-the-same strategy in Syria: Arm moderates even as they remain marbled with alNusra militias, continue to oppose Damascus even as its forces fight against alNusra and the Islamic State.

Einstein said it best long ago: Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them.

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Designer Marc Jacques Burton wearing his own custom made MJB Leather Jackets during London Fashion Week [Photo: Instagram/marcjacquesburton]

During his career Marc Jacques Burton has worked in the London luxury nightlife industry and founded lifestyle brands Mahiki, Whisky Mist and Tonteria as well as his own shoe brand extending to leather jackets.

His designs have attracted the interest of numerous international Celebrities and featured Will IAM, Zayn Malik and recently David Guetta.

I first met Marc back then when I was working in a fashion press office in Mayfair and ever since weve chatted over drinks press launches, attended some amazing events together. Despite all these shared experiences, I realised there was more to Marc Jacques Burtons life as a renowned nightlife entrepreneur

Tell me about yourself, where did you study and do you feel this has prepared you for a creative career in business?

MJB: Having studied Economics at Bath University, I immersed myself into entrepreneurial literature from a young age and this is what inevitably drew me to wanting to run my own businesses. I started off in the nightlife sector promoting for different nightclubs. Eventually I founded and opened venues in London such as Mahiki, Whisky Mist and Tonteria. I still have Tonteria which is the most fun Mexican tequila spot.

I have always had a creative entrepreneurial mindset and have always had that desire if if there isnt something that you want; you can go out and create it. At the root of being an entrepreneur is the belief that you can create your own reality and so naturally I was drawn in by the fashion industry because of this. I started my fashion business eight years ago.

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Would you say a traditional fashion background is essential as you produced successful footwear accessories beforehand? Did you acquire a certain skill set e.g. design/pattern cutting to learn your trade before producing MJB leather jackets?

A traditional fashion background is not essential; rather, it is a case of knowing what you want and going out to get it. I always loved art at school even though I was never the greatest at drawing, I practised a lot. I loved going to galleries and observing artists at work. I do not have a specific skill set for fashion. I am able to visualise what I want and then draw it in my own way.

Have you always been interested in fashion growing up or did being a profound nightlife entrepreneur help encourage you to diversify your business interest into other projects.

Ive always had a real passion and interest for fashion. Nightlife is an incredible place to see so many different forms of style and fashion. I was always observing and developing my personal style.

What was your first job in fashion and how did you get a first foot in the door?

I never had a job in fashion. Initially, I created my own label. I started off designing monogram slippers which caught the attention of several global music stars. I then decided to focus on leather jackets as I had always wanted to create my dream leather jacket. As the jackets gained momentum, I had more belief within myself and experience. Since the beginning, I have had to push through some tough setbacks. It takes a lot of persistence and grit to gain your place in the fashion industry.

You have managed to meet the most inspirational people during your career and who would you most like to see wearing your MJB designs.

I have been very fortunate in the sense that some incredibly inspirational people have been wearing my designs already. At the heart of my label is the fact that we are designing for the man living his dream. These men are pushing the frontiers in their lives and work.

It has been amazing to have people such as Zayn, David Guetta, Usain Bolt, Wale and Will.I.Am wear my pieces but at the core of all we do is to make rare handmade pieces for the man living his dream.

Most brands target a certain type of client. Im not trying to dress anyone specifically but rather I dress for the man living his dream, and I visualise that man in all my clients. He isnt just one type of person, he could be a rockstar, an artist, an actor or an entrepreneur. As long as he is living his dream, we cater for him.

Tell us the biggest challenge you face as an Entrepreneur in your career at present. With regards to the recent Political Referendum will Brexit have an impact on your business and the fashion industry.

I didnt ever have any formal training in fashion but knew I had the self belief to try it. I had no contacts in the fashion business and found that one of the greatest difficulties I had when starting up was actually getting the stuff produced. It took me 3 years to find a suitable manufacturer. I tried China, but they wanted huge quantities and the quality was poor. I also tried Spain and Portugal. It was Italy that was able to produce for me. There were numerous times that I wanted to give up as it seemed like it just wasnt happening however I learned that you have to really be persistent and dig down deep to that self belief, especially in the first few steps of a new venture.

Brexit, right now has increased the cost of production for me.

Who are your favourite Style Icons and why. You collaborated with Jack Guinness for your forthcoming Campaign. How has this helped inspire you and influence your work to create a signature collection style

I have always really loved the style of Gianni Agnelli, the founder of Ferrari. He was so bold for his time and created his own individual style that you would instantaneously recognise. He wore his wrist watches over his shirts. He was unapologetic and unafraid of expressing himself. He taught me a lot about not fearing or worrying about opinions. When you stand out you get a lot of love but also a lot of hate. You just have to have that self confidence and boldness to be yourself. I also really admire the style of my good friend, and stylist to the stars, Ugo Mozie. He has an amazing hat brand and is so effortlessly cool with his style.

Marc Jacques Burton is a British brand and we wanted to find someone who could really represent the Britishness of the label and more importantly, someone who could carry the values of the brand. Jack Guinness is true British man living his dream and loves his life. He presents, he models, he writes; he is a really modern man living his dream and working on things he is passionate about.

Would you encourage others hoping for a career in fashion to start up their own label, what advice would you give them?

Starting your own label is incredibly hard and you need to be extremely dedicated and disciplined as it takes a lot of grit to pursue with it. Everyone who is living their dream has found what their passion is. Not everyone is born to be an entrepreneur or a businessman. The key is to figure what youre passionate about and good at and then find something that combines them both. I have both worked for and run a business, both of which taught me a lot. Start off working for someone else and learn from them for 4 or 5 years then start something very small yourself. Try and create a niche, dont try and take on too much. Find one thing that you can be really good at. With me, I chose leather jackets just for men. I have had many requests for women but I have decided to just stay focused on mens jackets.

Who are you favourite designers and why. Which designers do you see yourself collaborating with for a capsule collection if the opportunity came along?



Ive been incredibly impressed with Alessandro Michele and how he has transformed Gucci. He has brought his unique identity to the brand and yet you still know that it is Gucci. I love and hugely respect how he is combining both the heritage and craftsmanship of Gucci with his own inimitable vision.

Id love to collaborate and put the MJB pattern on some limited edition Vans.

Share with us the best advice a mentor has given you and what role has this played in improving your business acumen in a competitive fashion market.

It wasnt advice that played a major role but it was more through mentors leading by example. The first one is my father Glenn. He was a self made advertising entrepreneur and he used to read a lot of books about entrepreneurs and successful people and I took on his example of reading a lot. In doing that it opened my eyes up to business and the mindset needed to overcome many of the obstacles and inner doubts you will face on your journey as an entrepreneur. The big lesson I learned was that often in the press you just hear about the successes of people whereas when you read a book about them you understand what they were like before they were successful and you understand and realise they have the same issues and problems as anyone else and they developed a certain mindset to overcome them and create their success. My other mentor was Nick House. He was the continual example of someone who would work incredibly hard and was obsessed about learning and improving.

The secret to finding great personal style is

Personal style is all about being yourself and wearing clothes that make you feel good. The truly stylish people are not following the trends, they are creating the trends and they are creating them by being themselves and doing what feels right to them. They are unapologetic about being themselves.

Your little black book for recommending secret shopping destinations and favourite boutiques internationally.

I have always loved the creativity and uniqueness of Colette and LEclaireur In Paris. A couple times a year I am in Paris for the fashion weeks and I always make time to check them out. In London I like Layers, The Library and Dover Street Market as they all stock a lot of unique brands that are exclusive to them and limited edition pieces. When Im in New York I can spend countless hours in Melet Mercantile, which is the most incredible vintage shop Ive seen in my life.

What are your most desired aspirations and ambitions for MJB in the future

From when I started MJB, my underlying goal was always for me to live my dream, which was to create this label. It is important that Im progressing and continually moving forward with the collection in order for me to keep this dream alive. The belief of the label is that everyone has a dream but not everyone lives their dream. The message that we are continually expressing through our label is the desire to make people aware that they too should go out and live their dream. This message is incredibly important to me as the world needs more people to live their dream.

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On Monday, the FBI released its annual report on crime, and a hailstorm of divergent opinions will likely follow. In cities with over one million residents violent crime is up three percent, but alarms will probably sound about the 10.8 percent increase in murders. One group, the Brennan Center for Justice, which analyzed crime data for 2015 and 2016 for the 30 largest cities in the country, has already placed the blame for that particular figure at the foot of three major cities: Baltimore, Chicago, and Houston. Chicagos spike of 234 murders alone constitutes nearly half of the additional murders committed year over year, according to Brennans analysis.

But the FBIs annual look at trends in crime only measures eight crimes, which only add up to about 18 percent of all arrests, according to John Pfaff, a Fordham University law professor. He also stresses the narrow definitions for violent crime (murder/manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crime (larceny/theft, burglary, arson, car theft). Those are important to consider in light of the astronomical rise in cybercrimes in the last decade. In other words, no matter what the numbers say on Monday, theres a lot moving around we arent measuring/tracking, he said in a Twitter post.

Overall, crime is at historic lows, including violent crime and murders. Some estimates put the figures at about half their peak in the early 1990s. Thats not to minimize the fact that some cities have, in fact, gone through crime spikes in recent years. Chicago is among them, even if Brennans researchers consider it an outlier and believe no other large city is expected to see a comparable increase in violence.

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On paper, Chicagos 9.1 percent increase in overall crime and 16.2 jump in violent crime seem to pale in comparison to, say, San Antonios experience: 23.3 percent increase in crime, 52.2 spike in violent crime, and 52.9 percent climb in murders. The key difference is ratios versus actual numbers. Far fewer crimes and murders have to happen in a less populated and less violent city for it to see a significant jump in its per capita rates.

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The Brennan report singles out Chicago for its higher concentrations of poverty, increased gang activity, and fewer police officers. In general, the authors posit that in cities, conditions like persistent high poverty, racial segregation, and unemployment can create conditions that lead to short-term spikes in crime. But Brennan analysts concluded that no real pattern emerges across the biggest 30 cities, and that spikes are created by as-of-yet unidentified local factors.

Ames Grawert, one of the authors of the Brennan report, pointed to some potential local factors. We found in cities that had a pronounced increase in the murder rate both this year and last year, those were cities that had less healthy institutions, higher-than-average poverty and a higher-than-average unemployment rate going back 10 years or so, he said.

With figures provided by the San Antonio Police Department, the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, and Brennan, I put some of those theories to the test in San Antonio, one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and one that faces similar socioeconomic challenges as Chicago, though on a more moderate scale.

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Bexar County, which encompasses San Antonio, had a 10 percent population increase between 2010 and 2015, with a projected 20 percent increase expected by 2021. Today, 1.8 million call it home, according to the Census, with 20 percent of them living in poverty. Its unemployment rate is 4.2, compared to the national average of 5.6, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures from August. The poverty rate has oscillated between 13 and 21 percent in the last decade.

Grawert also believes its worth exploring whether cities that are growing very rapidly might have a harder time coping with increases in violence. They might not be able to scale their police force and their law enforcement as rapidly to match the growing population, he said. Might there be a tipping point? Would single-digit or double-digit growth accelerate the incidences of crime?

I dont think its just us here, said George Saidler, Bexar Countys deputy chief for criminal investigations. Any time you have a rise in population, its going to cause some type of rise in crime stats because you simply have more people. I dont know that theres some type of ratio for that, or that anybody has a formula.

Grawert said that the Chicago detective force shrunk by 300 detectives and that, nationally, there are fewer police officers than there were a few years ago. The latest numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics puts the total of sworn police officers at 477,000 in 12,000 local police departments through 2013. And since 1987, the number of officers has steadily increased, rising by 34 percent (or 122,000).

I dont actually think the crimes have gone up, but the reporting has gone up.

In San Antonio, the biggest concern is murders. The violent crime that sticks out most right now is the number of homicides that have taken place here in San Antonio, which we dont have a clear explanation for, Doug Greene, the police departments public information officer, said. He said SAPD has been aggressive in solving them, with about a 70 percent clearance rate so far. Their efforts have been helped by city residents who seem resolute to see violence slow down in their town.

There is one significant exception to the tracking of homicides: police-involved fatalities. All deaths are considered as homicides, its just that some are justifiable. Thats where some of the problems in reporting them come in, Saidler said. He drew a parallel between deaths at the hand of police and a homeowner protecting his property by shooting an intruder. That could be filed as robbery or as homicide, Saidler said. Both the Bexar County sheriffs office and the San Antonio police department separate justified homicides from other categories of homicide, like capital murder, vehicular homicide, and negligent homicide. Through June 2016, there were six documented deaths that involved SAPD officers.

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Durant Frantzen, a criminologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, has been studying crime and policing in San Antonio for several years and offered some insights. In terms of the increases in violence, you see pockets of this happening. I think a lot of it is gang activity. But a lot of it is ebb and flow, not a consistent pattern thats been on the rise over several years. Its too early to speculate based on a one-year increase in violence.

The beginning of the year saw a couple of homicides tied to gang violence. The response from SAPD and city leaders was to come up with creative ways to help these individuals get out of gang violence by creating pathways to jobs and further education, according to Greene. (Grawert noted that in Chicago a disproportionate number of crimes were being committed by the same people, many of whom were on the polices strategic subject list, comprised mostly of repeat firearm offenders, and which also overlap with gang membership. In essence, it translates to a small number of people committing a disproportionate number of offenses, he said.)

Frantzen sees several factors as influential in the current crime spike in San Antonio, including rapid population growth, lower-than-average household incomes, concentrated poverty, and a large disparity in terms of income status. Were seeing the violence in the lower-income high-poverty area of the city, he said. But he maintains that those characteristics are not atypical or out of the ordinary for fomenting violence in cities. Whats happening now is a combination of the presence of the gang activity and gang members seeing whats happening in other cities. They know, for example, whats going on in Chicago, which is the leading city in the nation for gang violence. As a way of drawing attention to themselves they act out in similar ways that others in cities like Chicago do, he said.

I think its safe to say that a lot of them are taking place in some of our impoverished areas around downtown. Weve seen them all over, but mainly those areas. Thats why were trying to take another approach and trying to give individuals an opportunity to find employment and transitioning them out of that criminal life and into a productive life, Greene said. Most of San Antonios poor are concentrated in the zip codes that surround the city center. Those areas are also among the most densely populated.

Frantzen believes that has been the case on the East Side section of San Antonio, which he described as a distressed neighborhood, and which has seen in increase in gang-related activities. That side of town has always been a bubble, but the violence has not been as pronounced as it has been this year. But its been getting to that point, its been simmering, he said. A lot of it also comes from the fact that we are integrated as a society through social media. Weve seen a lot of high profile police shootings. Weve seen mass violence in certain cases as retaliation. I think that a lot of this is people looking at the legitimization of violence. They observe it in another community and they think that its an acceptable response to the abuse of power. It legitimizes violence. Violence is one way to get attention from authorities and the media, he said.

But the sheriffs office has been identifying areas that pose special concern and begun to dedicate teams of deputies to addressing them. Theres a family violence task force made up of prosecutors, judges, NGOs, and five deputies. Its role is to educate residents so they seek out social or other services if theyre in domestic situations in which someone might be injured or end up dead. Though they dont track homicides that result from domestic-violence situations, Saidler estimated that about 50 percent of such crimes stem from these cases and another sizable number from gang-related activities. Greene emphasized that domestic violence cannot be prevented. The main thing we can do is try to react as quickly as possible, he said.

Its hard to compare our crime stats from the national stats that come out from the FBI, Saidler said. I dont actually think the crimes have gone up, but the reporting has gone up. Specifically, property crimes, identity theft, and other forms of cybercrimes have gone up in the county. And national events, like the breach on 500 million Yahoo accounts, will eventually trickle down as locals begin to report that they were victimized. Ensuing scams, like unauthorized withdrawals from personal bank accounts could be classified as thefts, much like shoplifting at a store.

Both the police department and sheriffs office attribute the increase in calls and reported crimes to continued efforts to educate residents. One result is that it appears that family violence and childrens crimes are up. But Saidler believes much of that is due to stricter enforcement of mandated-reporter laws that require professionals like teachers and pediatricians to report suspected abuses or face legal consequences. The specialized focus on crimes by type also led to the creation of a child-abuse unit, with three deputies that handle all crimes related to child victims for any crime under the age of 15. Any relevant crime statistics wont show up with family violence figures, including simple assaults and sexual assaults.

In general trends, I think when the economy is doing fine, I think the crime rate goes down. When the economy goes down as a whole then the crime rate rises, Saidler said. He recalled seeing a jump in property crimes during the 2008 recession because people out of jobs go to the grocery stores and steal to support their families, he said. Overall, theres a lot of contributing factors to take into consideration when youre talking about and looking at types of crimes, he said. Frantzen agrees: In terms of predictions, I would be reluctant to support the idea that those trends will continue. Its too early to speculate about that.

I dont think theres any one thing that stands out. We cant say, lets attack this and thatll knock down the homicide rate, Saidler said. Looking for trends or predictive models is more a theoretical exercise in policing, which pales in comparison with approaches that focus on intervening, redirecting, and reinforcing shared values. In San Antonio, policing with an aim to educate the public, engage them in healing their neighborhoods, and addressing collective woes, seems to have inadvertently yielded higher crime rates in some instances. But the upside is that more people are learning to trust and rely on officers for their safety.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Vladimir Soldatkin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - As Russian energy minister Alexander Novak flies to Algeria this week for talks with OPEC on output cuts, developments at home indicate non-OPEC Russia is not preparing for any coordinated production action.

Five leading Russian oil companies, responsible for three quarters of output in the world's largest producer, all say they will be boosting output next year after reaching record levels in recent months.

No doubt, all these companies would obey if President Vladimir Putin ordered them to curtail production.

But so far Putin has had no meeting with leading Russian oil producers - state-owned or private - and even the energy ministry has yet to hold such consultations to sort out details and logistics of any output action.

"We think that it is impossible to agree... No one trusts anyone, everyone has been just ramping up production (within OPEC and outside)," a source at Russia's leading oil producer, Rosneft, said.

Kremlin-controlled Rosneft (ROSN.MM), which accounts for over a third of Russian production, has been the biggest opponent of the global oil freeze deal since it was first discussed at the beginning of the year.

Rosneft's influential chief, Igor Sechin, a close ally of Putin, has said internal differences were killing OPEC and its ability to influence the market.

The Rosneft source said the firm's position has not changed despite the latest developments, which even saw Putin meeting Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in China in early September and the country's ministries agreeing to work together to help stabilize oil markets.

Days after the pact was signed Russia reported a new post-Soviet production record of over 11 million barrels per day.

The Russian oil landscape is also dominated by No.2 firm, private Lukoil (LKOH.MM), private producer Surgut (SNGS.MM), state-owned GazpromNeft (SIBN.MM) and Tatneft (TATN.MM).

The companies plan to raise production by around 1.6 percent on average in 2017, according to their forecasts and Reuters calculations as they benefit from a weaker rouble and cheaper costs at home.

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NEW RECORDS

The jump in production comes not only thanks to conventional oil deposits but also as Kremlin oil champions Rosneft and GazpromNeft are increasing output of hard-to-extract oil, despite Western sanctions on Russian shale projects.

Analysts from Swiss bank UBS forecast a rise of 2.7 percent next year of Russia's overall oil production.

"I am skeptical not only about the agreement but about the results too," said Vladimir Drebentsov, chief economist for BP in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

"As price is rising, production in the United States is rising too," he said.

On Monday, Iran played down chances of OPEC and non-OPEC producers clinching a deal in Algeria later this week even though several other OPEC members said they still hoped oil nations would finally take steps to address the global glut.

BP has a 20 percent stake in Rosneft, whose boss Sechin has long argued that any oil price increase as a result of joint actions by OPEC and non-OPEC will allow the United States to resume production growth from high-cost shale deposits.

The Russian energy ministry has itself delivered contradictory statements over the past week with Novak saying he was still supporting a freeze but swiftly denying his deputy Kirill Molodtsov's remarks that Russian could in theory cut output by up to five percent.

"Production is breaking new records... It would be stupid to freeze production, let alone cut it, as state coffers need money and companies are starting new fields," a source close to the energy ministry said.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Olesya Astakhova, Oksana Kobzeva and Katya Golubkova; additional reporting by Nina Chestney in London, editing by William Hardy)
The title may read Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, but there can be no doubt for anyone buying a ticket: This is really Tim Burtons Home for Peculiar Children. Not since Sweeney Todd, and before that all the way back to Sleepy Hollow, have the studios found such a perfect match of material for Hollywoods most iconic auteur. Its gotten to the point where the mere addition of Burtons name to a movie title can justify an otherwise iffy prospect: You dont want to see a Planet of the Apes remake? Well, how about a Tim Burton Planet of the Apes remake? Now youre interested! Here, theres nothing forced about the coupling of Ransom Riggs surprise best-seller with Burtons playfully nonthreatening goth aesthetic and outsider sensibility, which should put the director back on the blockbuster charts.

One of the kid-lit spheres freshest recent surprises, Riggs novel was inspired by the authors personal collection of vintage photographs  including a floating girl, an invisible boy, and other such darkroom dodges (not unlike retouch artist Mark Mothersbaughs Beautiful Mutants series)  and may as well have been written for Burton to direct. Known as peculiars, this eccentric mix of wartime refugees are like a cross between the Addams Family and the X-Men, each one blessed with some outre ability, from spontaneously igniting anything they touch to bringing inanimate objects (i.e. skeletons and dolls) to life.

While collateral damage from a Nazi bombing destroyed their beautiful Victorian orphanage during World War II, these kids have had few direct enemies, tucked away on the tiny Welsh island of Cairnholm, for more than seven decades. But thats changed, now that a shape-shifting goon named Barron (Samuel L. Jackson) is on the hunt for peculiars, gobbling their eyes with great relish (and no one plays great relish, eye-gobbling or otherwise, like Jackson).

The kids have been safe all this time thanks to Miss Peregrine (embodied by Burtons new muse, Eva Green), who possesses the gift of creating protective loops, or 24-hour safety bubbles wherein her charges can hide in a Groundhog Day-like cycle, forever repeating the day before the bomb struck. As guardians go, Miss Peregrine is what one might call an ymbrine, a rare breed of peculiar capable of transforming into a bird  in her case, a peregrine falcon, though there are others (including Miss Avocet, played by Judi Dench). Her ebony hair streaked with blue and swept up into a birds-nest do, Green cleverly suggests her avian alter ego, standing rigidly upright in her peacock-blue satin gown, glowering down through exaggerated eyeliner, and brandishing her long, slender fingers as if they were talons. Riggs may have imagined her, but she has clearly become a Burton creation, just one of many among her brood of adolescent oddities, who might otherwise be mistaken for so many sideshow freaks.

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While hardly as elaborate (or inventive) as Hogwarts, Miss Peregrines eccentric quasiorphanage shares the quality of remaining a well-kept secret from polite society. Even the other Cairnholm residents dont realize who their neighbors are, so none can imagine why a boy named Jacob Portman (Asa Butterfield, who has literally grown up  if not necessarily into those endearingly big ears of his  since starring in Martin Scorseses Hugo) would travel all the way from Florida to visit what remains of the old house. An aspiring discoverer, Jacob is reeling from the murder of his paranoid old grandfather, Abe (Terence Stamp), who died trying to defend himself from a long-limbed, eyeball-snatching creature called a hollowgast. (Of all the films design improvements, the hollowgast represents its most inspired, looking like a malicious, tentacle-mouthed twist on The Nightmare Before Christmas pumpkin king Jack Skellington.) No one quite believes Jacobs firsthand account, though he cleverly manipulates his therapist (a hilariously understanding Allison Janney) into endorsing the trip to Wales, on the condition that his washed-up dad (Chris ODowd) accompanies him.

In the grand tradition of kid heroes who must circumvent their fuddy-duddy parents in order to accomplish great feats, Jacob manages to ditch his dad and locate Miss Peregrines loop, stepping back into 1943 to meet the children who had once been Abes closest companions. Some traits are undeniably genetic, and Jacob has inherited both his grandfathers peculiarity and his taste in women. In fact, given the time-travel conceit, Jacob has the unique opportunity to swoon for the very same girl that Abe had loved so many years ago, a borderline-albino blonde bombshell named Emma (Ella Purnell), for whom screenwriter Jane Goldman (Stardust) has devised some deliciously romantic interactions, including a splendid reverse-Titanic love scene that sets up several key elements of the films finale, including a skeleton battle to rival the imagination of Ray Harryhausen.

Goldmans frequently amusing script is the secret ingredient that makes Miss Peregrine such an appropriate fit for Burtons peculiar sensibility, allowing the director to revisit and expand motifs and themes from his earlier work: With its time-skipping chronology and family-reconciling framing device, the entire tale could be another of Burtons Big Fish stories (from the film of the same name); it offers opportunities for Frankenweenie-style stop-motion; there are ostracized freaks (and even a dino-shaped topiary) straight out of Edward Scissorhands; and its elaborate, meticulously decorated mansion manages to improve upon the wonky houses seen in Beetlejuice and Dark Shadows.

Perhaps its all a little bit too familiar for those whove been following Burton since the beginning. Although the director repeats more than he innovates this time around, for younger audiences, the film makes a terrific introduction to his blue-hued, forever-Halloween aesthetic. Its clearly also an excuse for him to work with Green again after Dark Shadows, and rather than leaving audiences with the icky feeling that hes twisting his leading lady to fit his admittedly kooky sensibility (as seemed to happen with Helena Bonham Carter and Lisa Marie), he appears to have met his match in Green. The already-outre Penny Dreadful star walks that razor-fine line between dignity and camp perhaps better than any other current actress  making for a partnership we can only hope to see continue.

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A fire on an oil tanker from Mexicos state-owned oil company, Pemex, was still burning on Sunday, September 25, after it broke out off the coast of Veracruz the previous day. The vessel Borgus was reportedly traveling from Pajaritus to Veracruz when the fire started a few miles off the coast of Boca del Rio.

According to a Pemex statement, all 31 members of the crew were evacuated and there was no risk to the safety of local residents or to local facilities. Local media reported that the vessel was carrying 160,000 barrels of oil.

This video by Veracruz-based journalist shows attempts to put out the blaze on Saturday. Credit: Instagram/ilsemuse
NEW YORK  On Monday night, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump will face off for the first time on one stage at the first presidential debate of their general election matchup, predicted to be one of the most-watched televised events ever.

Much of the hype stems from the epic clash of personalities pitting the typically wonkish, staid former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady against the generally rakish, self-described New York real estate magnate who has more experience on reality TV than he does in holding public office  much less national security.

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced that moderator Lester Holt of NBC had chosen three broadly defined topics  Americas Direction, Achieving Prosperity, and Securing America  for the 90-minute debate in New York, beginning at 9 p.m. ET, and broken into six, 15-minute time segments.

Viewers will have to wait for the second Clinton-Trump bout for the foreign policy-centered presidential debate. Their polar opposite approaches on that key issue will still provide as much gunpowder as Monday nights anticipated explosive exchanges over personality.

Theres plenty of fodder  in the previous week alone, a U.S. citizen of Afghan descent was arrested in connection with bombings that rocked New York and New Jersey. A ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Russia described as a last resort for finding a political resolution to the war in Syria crumbled amid incessant violations, an inadvertent U.S. strike on Syrian soldiers, and an attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy officials claim was conducted by Moscow. And on Friday, a Yahoo News report revealed that a manager of an energy-focused consulting firm whom Trump has described as a key foreign policy advisor is under federal investigation for meetings with  and potential promises to  Kremlin cronies currently sanctioned by the United States.

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National security is one of the sharpest dividing lines between Clinton and Trump in the 2016 election. Though they may not swing the most votes, stances on security could prove much more telling for each candidates style for fitness as commander in chief. So listen up for these three key foreign policy issues.

Who will keep you safe?

Polls from Fox News to CBS News/The New York Times indicate that broadly, Clinton is better trusted to deal with terrorism, national security, and related crises  a lead shes maintained even as national polls overall have tightened, and despite the GOP traditionally being more trusted on defense.

Each candidates response to explosions in metropolitan New York a week ago provide a test case.

Trump responded to the reports emerging last Saturday night by immediately hinting at an act of terror, before the cause had been confirmed by authorities, and folding it into his stump speech in Colorado.

I should be a newscaster, because I called it before the news, he later said, following a pattern in prior attacks of seeking to take credit for calling them.

He then used the non-lethal attacks to repeat calls for halting immigration from the Middle East or predominantly Muslim countries. But then he went even further, calling for racial profiling and a return to the controversial stop and frisk law enforcement practice thats come under legal scrutiny.

Theres many foreign connections, he said last Monday, though officials have yet to confirm them. He continued, Were not allowed to profile. Give me a break.

Clinton was cautious in her immediate response, but then suggested Trumps jump to scapegoating was boosting the Islamic States propaganda.

I am the only candidate in this race who has been at the heart of decisions to take terrorists off the battlefield, she said in a press conference that Monday. We know a lot of the rhetoric weve heard from Donald Trump has been seized on by terrorists, in particular ISIS, because they are looking to make this into a war against Islam.

Judgment

Much of the Clinton campaigns attacks against Trump have wielded her substantial foreign policy experience against its absence from his resume  and much of his response has centered on judgment.

As the former secretary of state has sought to distance herself from the Obama administrations foreign policy failures, her Republican rival has used the sitting presidents 2008 tactic of accusing Clinton of bad judgment to tie her back to them  particularly the 2011 intervention in Libya. Trumps also hit her on voting for the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the Republican Bush administration.

Her policies in Iraq, Libya, and Syria are responsible for the rise of ISIS, Trump said last Tuesday at a rally in North Carolina. Its time to break with the corruption, the bad judgment, and the failures of the past.

Both Clinton  and frankly, Holts  response will be tricky. Trump, like Clinton, supported both the invasion of Iraq and intervention in Libya, but how forcefully she reminds him and viewers of that also risks reviving criticisms that her decisions on foreign policy havent borne out the stability she had sought.

Mother Russia

U.S. defense officials have consistently named Russia as Americas No. 1 security concern in the wake of Moscows invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014, and its subsequent entry into the war in Syria. And while immigration and a trickle of ISIS-inspired or -invoked terrorist attacks in the U.S. are likely what Holt had in mind when choosing Securing America as a debate theme  and not Russian President Vladimir Putin  the latest reports of the Trump campaigns coziness with the Kremlin make it a timely topic.

On Friday, Yahoo News reported that Carter Page, a businessman Trump once described as a foreign policy advisor, is under investigation for suspected meetings with sanctioned Russians and potential promises that punitive financial strictures would be loosened if Trump were elected. It follows the resignation of Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort after ledgers surfaced showing hed been paid millions by pro-Putin Ukrainian politicos, and murky ties between Moscow financiers and Trump and his familys businesses.

Expect Clinton to raise the growing pile of troubling reports as a key example of the threat she claims Trump poses to U.S. national security and the global order, or at least, his naivete, whereas shell draw a much harder line.

But even as Republican national security leaders alike express their concern over Trumps policy proposals for Russia, their nominee has been defiant. Hes reiterated his admiration for Putin and recommended that the U.S. either work with Moscow in Syria, or step back and leave the mess to Russia. And, somewhat bizarrely, he points out simultaneously that Obama and Clintons so-called Russian reset failed  after it sought to find common ground with Moscow  but also that Clinton didnt really believe in it, anyway.

And even if none of these come up Monday, stay tuned for the Oct. 9 debate, which will focus on global affairs.

Photo credit: Drew Angerer / Staff
The BET Networks has announced its first wave of talent to appear as part of its "Soul Train Weekend 2016" event -- with Jill Scott, Tyrese, Monica, Anthony Hamilton and Jazmine Sullivan confirmed for the line-up.

The four-day series of events -- the lead-in to the "2016 Soul Train Awards" -- will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas November 3-6, with Monica, Sullivan and Yuna to appear first on November 3 as part of the "Acoustically Speaking" concert at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay (via Billboard).

Scott, Tyrese, Hamilton and Tish Hyman will perform next at the "Soul Train Music Festival" show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, with Saturday's "Soul Train Day Party" at the resort's Daylight Beach Club to then feature Bell Biv DeVoe and Kid Capri.

Tickets to "Soul Train Weekend" are set to go on sale from September 30, with additional events and talent for "Soul Train Weekend 2016" and the "Soul Train Awards" to be announced within the coming weeks. The annual awards show will be held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on November 6.
MIAMI (AP) -- Investigators are trying to determine whether Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was at the wheel of his sportfishing boat when it slammed into a jetty in the early-morning darkness, killing him and two others on board.

The three men died when the 32-foot SeaVee slammed into rocks jutting off the southern tip of South Beach at about 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office. A Coast Guard crew going out on patrol discovered the wreck about 15 minutes later.

The boat registered to Fernandez had landed upside-down, with its engines partially submerged, its bow pointed skyward and debris scattered over the large jagged rocks. Investigators are now examining the wreck at a secure facility, according to Monday statement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

There's no immediate indication that alcohol or drugs were involved, commission spokesman Lorenzo Veloz said.

Also killed were Emilio Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25, according to Darren Caprara, operations director of the medical examiner's office.

The wreck happened at the mouth of Miami's Government Cut, a busy channel for cargo and cruise ships, smaller fishing boats and personal watercraft. While the area is well lit at night by South Beach's neon hotels and condominiums, this also creates a glare that can make spotting a safe route through the channel more difficult, said Terry Claus, a fishing charter captain.

''Especially if you're going fast, there's too much to take in,'' Claus said. ''There's a lot of lights, there's a lot of markers for the cruise ships - red lights flashing, green lights flashing, white lights flashing, and there's a lot of boats running around. You have to be alert, and you have to slow down.''

Nighttime speed limits have been established in the waters off Miami for holidays, but officials have resisted requiring licenses and safety training for adult boaters, said Claus, who advocated for tougher safety regulations after a July 4, 2014, crash in Biscayne Bay killed four people.

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News photos of the boat involved in Fernandez's death appear to show that it had blue interior lights, a decorative feature that Claus said could have impaired the driver's vision if they were on.

''You're surrounded by all this blue light, and you can't see what's in front of you,'' Claus said Monday. A boater safety course would have explained the danger, he added.

''Those blue lights are supposed to be on at the dock to make the boat look pretty, but when you're on the ocean, everyone can see you but you can't see anyone else.''

Wildlife commission spokesman Rob Klepper said he could not confirm whether the vessel had interior lights that may have impaired the driver's vision.

At 3:15 on Sunday, it was nearing high tide and the jetty that protects its entrance was partially submerged. So if the boat was going fast enough for the bow to rise out of the water, ''then it's very possible that he could not see any of those rocks in front of him,'' Claus said.
The world is watching Algiers for signs that oil producers will agree to freeze production, but many analysts see a devastating crude glut persisting no matter the outcome of the meeting.

Oil prices climbed more than 3 percent on Monday ahead of a hotly anticipated statement from OPEC members and other producers led by Russia as to whether they will act to stabilize oil prices. The rally came despite skepticism that the producers would reach a deal as they meet at the International Energy Forum in the Algerian capital.

Goldman Sachs said last week it is looking past the meeting and instead looking toward easing conflicts in Iraq, Libya and Nigeria that could return sidelined crude supply to markets and potentially push it back into glut territory.

"In our view, thawing relationships between parties in conflict in areas of disrupted production would be more relevant to the oil rebalancing than an OPEC freeze, which would leave production at record highs and could prove counter productive if it supported prices further and incentivized activity elsewhere," Goldman said.

Goldman still sees the crude market reaching a supply deficit of 230,000 barrels per day in the final six months of the year, but said a recovery remains fragile.

Its "conservative" estimate calls for returning supply from Iraq, Libya and Nigeria to add 100,000 barrels per day to global supply. But if an additional 500,000 barrels per day were to return, Goldman said, it would reduce its average 2017 price forecast for U.S. crude to $45 a barrel from its current $52.50 projection.

While Iraq has signaled its willingness to cap production, operations also restarted this month at the northeastern Kirkuk oilfield following a breakthrough that eased a prolonged pricing and budget dispute between the central government in Baghdad and leaders of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.



That comes as Iraq has already pushed production to historic highs amid an international battle for market share as the oil price rout approaches a third year.

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Meanwhile, Libya last week began shipping oil out of a long-closed port , raising the prospect that the country could begin clawing its way back toward its pre-2011 level of 1.6 million barrels a day  though a recovery to that level remains far off.

While the country remains fractured by internal strife, efforts to keep the crude flowing from ports have gotten support from heavy hitters. U.S. and British diplomats have spoken with rival factions in recent weeks in order to facilitate exports, fill the government's coffers, and make Libya stable enough to effectively fight ISIS militants, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Nigeria also could be poised to produce more oil as militants known as the Niger Delta Avengers entertain a cease-fire following a months of infrastructure sabotage that cratered crude output, the country's lifeblood. However, as recently as this weekend, the Avengers had claimed responsibility for an attack on an export line.





Despite weeks of posturing by Russia's oil minister ahead of the meeting in Algeria, Moscow's top five oil firms have all pumped at record levels this year and say they intend to increase production in 2017, Reuters reported Monday. Russia is the world's top oil producer, and this handful of companies accounts for 75 percent of its output.



"There's been some indication, on paper at least, the Saudis and Russians are in agreement, but the facts cut the opposite way," Petrie Partners Chairman Tom Petrie told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday. "It's pretty clear that Russia has intentions of increasing its production over the next three years in significant way."

"I think it's in their interest to look like they're playing ball with the Saudis," Petrie said, "but whether there's a real constructive agreement there is doubtful."

Even if Russia did reach a deal with OPEC members, many analysts think the freeze could backfire as rising oil prices would encourage U.S. producers to put rigs back to work. The number of oil rigs operating in U.S. fields has rebounded 32 percent to 418 rigs since the end of May as American drillers squeeze profits out of their best acreage, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

Saudi Arabia's two-year policy of allowing the market to rebalance on its own has largely been seen as an attempt to wash out U.S. shale producers, who must spend big to pummel rock formations with a mix of water, minerals, and chemicals to release oil and gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing.

Emma Richards, senior oil and gas analyst at BMI Research, said Monday it would actually be better in the long run if prices remain lower for longer to allow the rebalancing process to play out.

"We've seen massive reductions in the cost curve in U.S. shale, so there's a lot of capacity there that could be ramped up relatively quickly if prices recover too quickly or too strongly," she told CNBC's "Street Signs."

To be sure, about half of the respondents to a CNBC survey said a deal to rein in supply would have a meaningful impact on prices.







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Regarding the upcoming Georgian parliamentary elections scheduled for October 8, the Council of Armenian NGOs of Samtske-Javakh and Kvemo-Kartli has announced that as of now it will not be supporting any of the candidates in the race.

The Council says it is willing to organize meetings with all political forces to discuss solutions to the primary issues facing Armenians of Javakhk.

The Council says that after such meetings it will announce its positions regarding candidates vying for seats in the new parliament.

The ruling Georgian Dream coalition, led by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, is seeking re-election for a second term in office.

Opposition parties in the running include the former ruling party, the United National Movement, the Free Democratsformerly a member of the Georgian Dream coalitionled by Irakli Alasania, and the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia.

Georgian Dream currently has 87 seats in the countrys 150-member parliament. The United National Movement has 90.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish authorities blocked from entering the country a Dutch former member of the European Parliament who used to write columns for a newspaper close to the alleged mastermind of the July 15 failed putsch, he said Monday.

Joost Lagendijk was briefly held by Turkish authorities at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport on the Asian side of the city on Sunday and was being sent back to the Netherlands on Monday.

"Turk(ish) authorities stopped me on my return from Neth(erlands) at Sabiha Gokcen airport. I am not allowed in," Lagendijk wrote on his official Twitter account.

It was not immediately clear why Lagendijk, who is married to a Turkish journalist, was banned from entering Turkey.

But he was a former columnist for English-language Today's Zaman newspaper which was taken over by the authorities and subsequently shut down over links to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen.

Gulen is blamed by Ankara for attempting to stage the putsch and the authorities have since embarked on a relentless purge to eradicate all trace of his influence from Turkish life.

He had served as an MEP for the Dutch GroenLinks party from 1999-2009 before moving to Turkey. In Istanbul, Lagendijk had also worked as a university lecturer.

Lagendijk wrote on Twitter he was told to apply for a "special visa" at the Turkish embassy in the Netherlands.

"Hope it is only a bureaucratic obstacle and not a decision to block me forever," he wrote.

Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director of Human Rights Watch, said on Twitter she saw the former MEP at the Istanbul airport, urging the Turkish government to end the ban.

She said he was "one of most even-handed & balanced commentators on Turkey" adding that the entry ban was "scandalous".
By Susanna Twidale

LONDON (Reuters) - Four British power generators have called on the government to maintain the country's carbon tax until at least 2025, according to a letter seen by Reuters, putting them at odds with industrial groups who want it scrapped.

The carbon tax is paid by power generators for each tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit, and was frozen in 2014 at 18 pounds per tonne until 2021.

Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to provide details on what will happen to the tax after 2021 in his autumn statement on Nov. 23.

Most British power companies support the carbon tax.

Its cost is passed on to consumers through higher electricity bills, meaning companies with low-carbon generation such as nuclear or renewables can then benefit from the higher electricity prices.

"We are calling on the UK government ... to maintain the carbon price floor beyond 2021, by keeping the carbon price support rate at least at its current level until 2025 to maintain secure and reliable energy supplies," a spokesman for power generator SSE (SSE.L), one of the letter's signatories said in an email on Monday.

The other signatories were Drax (DRX.L), Vitol [VITOLV.UL]owned VPI Immingham and Calon Energy.

Industrial groups have called for the government to abandon the tax, saying it has made electricity prices in Britain uncompetitive.

"The UK has some of the highest electricity wholesale prices in the EU and this is in large part due to the carbon price floor," Richard Warren, senior energy and environment policy adviser at Britain's manufacturers' organisation EEF, said in an email.

EEF estimates the carbon tax adds around 8-10 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh) to British wholesale power prices, which currently trade at around 40 pounds/MWh (TRGBBD1).

The power firms said the carbon tax encourages them to invest in low-carbon power generation and said it is central to the country's efforts to meet its climate change goals.

But EEF's Warren said the government already helps low-carbon investment though other schemes, such as its contracts-for-difference which provides a guaranteed price for electricity production.

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Power generators pay the carbon tax on top of their obligations under the EU's Emissions Trading System, which forces companies to surrender one carbon permit for every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit.

Benchmark prices in the EU ETS (CFI2Zc1) have plummeted from around 30 euros a tonne in 2008 to below 5 euros, rendering them too cheap to encourage investment, the power firms said.

Britain has a legally binding target to cut its emissions by 80 percent on 1990 levels by 2050 and has embarked on electricity market reforms aimed at spurring investment in low-carbon nuclear and renewable power.

Britain also plans to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2025.

(Editing by Susan Fenton)
By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) - Four British power generators have called on the government to maintain the country's carbon tax until at least 2025, according to a letter seen by Reuters, putting them at odds with industrial groups who want it scrapped. The carbon tax is paid by power generators for each tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit, and was frozen in 2014 at 18 pounds per tonne until 2021. British chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to provide details on what will happen to the tax after 2021 in his autumn statement on Nov. 23. Most British power companies support the carbon tax. Its cost is passed on to consumers through higher electricity bills, meaning companies with low-carbon generation such as nuclear or renewables can then benefit from the higher electricity prices. "We are calling on the UK government ... to maintain the carbon price floor beyond 2021, by keeping the carbon price support rate at least at its current level until 2025 to maintain secure and reliable energy supplies," a spokesman for power generator SSE, one of the letter's signatories said in an email on Monday. The other signatories were Drax, Vitol [VITOLV.UL]owned VPI Immingham and Calon Energy. Industrial groups have called for the government to abandon the tax, saying it has made electricity prices in Britain uncompetitive. "The UK has some of the highest electricity wholesale prices in the EU and this is in large part due to the carbon price floor," Richard Warren, senior energy and environment policy adviser at Britain's manufacturers' organization EEF, said in an email. EEF estimates the carbon tax adds around 8-10 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh) to British wholesale power prices, which currently trade at around 40 pounds/MWh. The power firms said the carbon tax encourages them to invest in low-carbon power generation and said it is central to the country's efforts to meet its climate change goals. But EEF's Warren said the government already helps low-carbon investment though other schemes, such as its contracts-for-difference which provides a guaranteed price for electricity production. Power generators pay the carbon tax on top of their obligations under the EU's Emissions Trading System, which forces companies to surrender one carbon permit for every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit. Benchmark prices in the EU ETS have plummeted from around 30 euros a tonne in 2008 to below 5 euros, rendering them too cheap to encourage investment, the power firms said. Britain has a legally binding target to cut its emissions by 80 percent on 1990 levels by 2050 and has embarked on electricity market reforms aimed at spurring investment in low-carbon nuclear and renewable power. Britain also plans to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2025. (Editing by Susan Fenton)
Gothenburg (Sweden) (AFP) - Four men were injured, one critically, in the centre of Sweden's southern city of Malmo, in what police said appeared to be a targeted attack by gunmen riding scooters.

The shooting broke out shortly before 7pm (1700 GMT) in a street in the southern city's Fosie district. Police in the area evacuated one of the wounded to the city hospital.

"The three other injured were able to make their own way to hospital," the police said in a statement.

According to witnesses interviewed by the SydSvenskan newspaper, local residents were able to take the injured to hospital in their cars before emergency services arrived.

"The attackers were able to flee on scooters. An inquiry has been opened for attempted murder. No suspect has been apprehended," the police statement said.

Multiple eye witnesses told Swedish media that there had been a car chase, with the four victims in one vehicle and two scooters pursuing them.

The car ended up ramming into a tree before multiple individuals on the scooters, who all had their faces covered, opened fire on the vehicle, shooting off some twenty rounds, local media reported.

"They were firing automatic weapons," one eye witness said.

One of the victims was hit in the head and remains in critical condition.

While Sweden is generally a peaceful, safe country with low crime rates, police have had difficulty addressing violence in poorer neighbourhoods in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.

In recent years, there have been grenade attacks, shootings and incidents of car arson.

At the end of August, an eight-year-old child was killed when a grenade was thrown into the apartment where he was sleeping.

One of the people registered at the address was a person who had been convicted for murder in a settling of scores between members of the Somali community in Gothenburg, police said at the time.
Fox Searchlight is launching a nationwide voter registration initiative to encourage Americans to vote. The company is aligning with theatre chains and voting organizations to hold voter enrolment in theatre lobbies on September 27, National Voter Registration Day, prior to special promotional screenings of Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation. Initiative will continue into the opening weekend of the film on October 7-9. The films stars Parker, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King and Gabrielle Union have recorded the following PSA to raise awareness about exercising the right to vote:

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Zenly

Location sharing apps have always bordered on the creepy, but investors are starting to bet that an app out of France might be the one to finally make it cool.

Benchmark's Peter Fenton is leading a big funding round in Zenly, a popular app in Europe that lets friends share their locations with each other, according to multiple sources.

One source pegged the funding at roughly $20 million. This is following a $11.2 million funding round announced in May.

Fenton, an early investor in Twitter and other internet hits such as Yelp, would represent the startup's first marquee-name Silicon Valley backer.

The app has taken off in Europe where teenagers have latched onto knowing who is doing what and where they are that minute. It preys a little bit on FOMO  or fear of missing out  but people keep coming back to make sure they're not the ones missing out on a hot party or event with their friends.

In May, the company told TechCrunch it was close to hitting 1 million registered users and had around 340,000 monthly active users. Data from Apptopia through this September shows it now has 1.7 million downloads on iOS and Android devices.

Still, nearly half of the downloads are in Europe.

Zenly iOS downloads

One reason Zenly stands a chance compared to other location-tracking apps is that it doesn't constantly monitor your location and kill your battery as a result. Instead, the app only pings your phone's location when a friend opens it up to look for you so it's not constantly running in the background.

That solves the technology barrier of location-tracking apps, but Zenly still needs to work on building it into a social network that doesn't turn creepy.

For instance, most people don't use Apple's "Find my Friends" feature or are even hesitant to let Facebook let people know when they're around  and those are two apps that many already have installed. Zenly though is already spreading through word of mouth, and is rumored to be growing at 8% week-over-week.

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Both Fenton and Zenly did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Zenly still has a long way to go to make sure it's used less for creeping on people and more for fun, but it's already proving itself to be an early success  and attracting the investor cash as a result.

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PARIS (Reuters) - A man who opened fire near a supermarket west of Paris and seriously injured two people is an incident not at first sight considered to be a possible act of terrorism, said a spokeswoman for the Versailles public prosecutor's office. The spokeswoman said the man, believed to be in his 60s, went back to his home and elite police were now at the building. The incident happened near a supermarket in Port-Marly, about 20 km or so west of Paris. "He went home and the RAID (elite police unit) is readying for negotiations with him," said the spokeswoman. (Reporting by Chine Labbe; Writing by Brian Love; editing by Michel Rose)
Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Syria's Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages and warplanes again pounded the city as Russia condemned what it called "unacceptable" Western rhetoric after allegations of war crimes.

A fresh wave of intense air strikes battered Aleppo's opposition-controlled east, said an AFP correspondent in the city facing its worst violence in years.

During an emergency session of the UN Security Council, US ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism", while the British and French envoys went even further.

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," Francois Delattre of France said, while Britain's envoy spoke of bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry unleashing a "new hell" on Syrians.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said Britain's Matthew Rycroft.

The Kremlin hit back.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations".

Despite the exchange, the violence showed no signs of abating on the ground, with people in Aleppo saying food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said at least 12 people, including three children, were killed in Monday's raids on several rebel-held districts.

- Blood shortage, more amputations -

Including the latest deaths, a total of 140 people, nearly all civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

They include 23 children and 10 women, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said Monday.

It was the fourth day of intense bombardment since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington.

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Since the truce fell apart, a total of 248 people have been killed in Aleppo city and the wider province by Russian and government bombardment, the Observatory said.

A Syrian military source told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas.

"The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision," the source said, reiterating the regime's goal was to "recapture all regions of Syria" outside its control.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," the source told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations."

With Aleppo back under siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were left reeling from food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as intensifying violence.

- 'End the nightmare' -

Several charity kitchens in Aleppo's rebel-held east were closed in fear of strikes, while water remained cut after pumping stations were damaged at the weekend.

"We endured through years of bombardments and did not leave Aleppo. But now there is no bread, no drinking water, nothing in the markets. The situation is getting worse every day," said Hassan Yassin, a 40-year-old father of four.

On Monday, dozens of rebels and their families quit the last opposition-held district of central Homs city as part of a deal struck with the regime last year.

A total of 131 fighters and 119 family members were bussed out of Waer, devastated after a three-year regime siege, to rebel-held Dar al-Kubra further north, said a source from Homs governorate.

An estimated 600,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the UN, with most encircled by regime forces though rebels also use the tactic.

The UN's World Food Programme said it delivered food aid on Sunday to civilians in four besieged towns in Syria for the first time since April.

Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, are encircled by government forces while Fuaa and Kafraya in the northwest are besieged by hardline rebels.

A convoy of 53 trucks entered Madaya and Zabadani, with another 18 to Fuaa and Kafraya, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.

At Sunday's Security Council meeting, US envoy Power voiced some of the strongest criticism yet of Russia's support for President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," she said.

Russia's year-long air war has helped Assad's forces regain ground lost to a wide range of opposition forces.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has killed more than 300,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
Armenias First Deputy Minister of Defense Tavit Tonoyan (photo) discused the current situation along the Karabakh Line of Contact with Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

Tonoyan told Kasprzyk that Artsakh soldier Sevak Khachatryan was killed yesterday by Azerbaijani fire.

Tonoyan said that such ceasefire violations were unacceptable.

Kasprzyk expressed his concerns over the incident and the subsequent loss of life, promising to take steps to prevent instability in future.
By Atul Prakash

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Monday and made its worst one-day performance in three months, with Lloyds (LLOY.L) pushing banks lower after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs and miners tracking weaker metals prices.

InterContinental Hotels (IHG.L) fell 5.7 percent, the worst performer in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE), after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "equalweight" saying U.S. revenue growth was expected to continue to weaken.

A downgrade by another broker bank hit Lloyds (LLOY.L). The British bank fell 3.1 percent after Goldman Sachs cut its rating for the stock to "sell" from "neutral", saying it faced incremental competition from HSBC (HSBA.L).

The FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) ended down 1.3 percent, its worst one-day percentage decline since late June when Britain voted to leave the European Union (Brexit).

Resource-related stocks also lost ground, with the UK mining index falling 1 percent, as prices of major industrial metals tumbled. Shares in Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Glencore (GLEN.L) retreated by 0.8 to 2.1 percent.

"The UK market has started the week on the back foot, with some major stocks hit by downgrades by heavyweight investment banks. Nervousness ahead of a meeting of OPEC is also hurting sentiment," Securequity senior trader Jawaid Afsar said.

OPEC members are meeting on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria until Wednesday and will be debating a possible output-limiting deal. [O/R]

Monday's decline was widespread, with only three stocks in the FTSE 100 index staying in positive territory.

However, the UK market index has surged nearly 18 percent since a post-Brexit sell-off three months ago and is up more than 9 percent so for this year thanks to supportive central bank policies and the resilience of leading economic indicators.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Mexico City (AFP) - A massive fire that burned for more than 24 hours aboard a fuel tanker ship loaded with thousands of barrels of oil on board was put out without having caused spills, a Mexican state-owned oil company said.

The 31 crew members of the oil firm Pemex's Burgos tanker were safely evacuated. The vessel, which burned just off the eastern port city of Veracruz, was carrying more than 160,000 barrels of diesel and gasoline.

Pemex, navy and other crews worked to put out the flames. Equipment and personnel were deployed from around the country, and Pemex also relied on fire control advisers from Houston, Texas.

Pemex spokesman Israel de la Pena told AFP that the fire was put out late Sunday, but about 100 emergency relief workers were still monitoring the boat.

Earlier, navy firefighting official Antonio Chedraui had said there was fire on the water, "a sign that the fuel is leaking."

But Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Anaya denied there had been any environmental damage.

The ship "has a double hull that prevents the fuel it carries from being spilled," Anaya told a press conference in Anaya.

He said environmental authorities found no spills in the Gulf of Mexico.

About 70,000 liters of foaming liquid were deployed and 3,200 meters (10,500 feet) of containment barrier were prepared in case fuel had spilled into the sea, according to Anaya.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

Chedraui had said it took four hours to get special fire-retardant foam to the site of the fire, and Pemex was also slow in setting up floating containment barriers to prevent the spill from spreading.
Interior decor and furniture retailer West Elm is expanding into the hotel business.

The Brooklyn-based retailer and subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma announced Monday that it will be opening West Elm-branded hotels across the US beginning late 2018.

The move follows on another upscale home furnishings chain, Restoration Hardware, in making a foray into hotels. The Restoration Hardware property is slated to open in New York's meatpacking district.

Meanwhile, no two West Elm hotel will be alike, the company said, and each will feature designs that reflect its neighborhood with artwork commissioned from local artists, handicrafts and decor sourced from the community and local coffee roasters, craft distillers, and bakeries represented on their bar and pastry shelves.

Properties will include restored historic and heritage buildings.

Their Detroit, location, for example, will reflect the city's industrial legacy; its Savannah location will pay homage to visionary preservation; while the property in Charlotte will embody the city's pride in craftsmanship.

Other locations include Indianapolis and Minneapolis.

There is a growing desire among modern travelers to immerse themselves in the place they are visiting. They want a boutique experience, and expect great, reliable service that caters to their needs, said David Bowd, co-founder of hospitality management and development company DDK which will be partnering with West Elm on the project.

Our general managers will serve as innkeepers, and West Elm Hotels will focus on making real community connections for visitors and residents alike.

The concept is similar to the philosophy behind Hilton's Canopy-branded hotels, designed to serve as extensions of their neighborhood and reflect the community, be it with locally-inspired design, art, music, food and drink.

West Elm sells modern furnishings and design with 85 stores in the US, and locations in Canada, Mexico, Australia, the UK and the Middle East.






Libreville (AFP) - Gabon president Ali Bongo has insisted that the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) will go ahead in his crisis-ridden country.

The CAN is due to take place from January 14 to February 5 next year but was thrown into doubt after violence broke out following Bongo's controversial re-election in August.

"As we speak, there is no reason for this Cup not to take place here," said Bongo in an interview with state TV channel Gabon Television, which was reproduced on Monday by Union newspaper.

"The stadiums are ready and we'll have some great matches."

Bongo was speaking following Saturday's decision by Gabon's constitutional court to validate the disputed election results.

Gabon's opposition claimed Bongo's victory on August 27 was obtained through vote fraud.

Four days later, violent clashes erupted as demonstrators set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made a thousand arrests.

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed. The government has given a toll of three dead.

The draw for the CAN tournament is due to take place in the capital Libreville on October 19.

Champions Ivory Coast are among the 16 nations taking part in a tournament originally awarded to Libya before it was switched to Gabon in the wake of violence and instability breaking out in the north African country following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson raised plenty of eyebrows on Sunday by declaring that mankind eventually will have to flee to the far reaches of outer space to save itself when the Earth finally either succumbs to global warming or is obliterated by the sun.

"We do have to inhabit other planets, Johnson explained to George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC News This Week. The future of the human race is space exploration.

Related: Third Party Candidates Johnson and Stein Suddenly Hit a Rough Patch

Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who is playing spoiler in the 2016 presidential sweepstakes, did little with his comments to help overcome his increasingly loopy public persona, marked recently by confusion about the war in Syria and domestic terror attacks. However, he placed himself squarely in the ranks of U.S. politicians who have talked up interplanetary travel.

Yesterday he was responding to a question about comments he made back in 2011 about the long-term effects of climate change. Essentially, he said then that nobody had to worry because the sun was eventually going to destroy the planet anyway.

Cant we have a little humor once in a while? Johnson chortled to Stephanopoulos, as if there was anything remotely funny about that. And that is long term, plate tectonics at one point, Africa and South America separated... and I am talking now about the Earth and the fact that we have existed for billions of years and will going forward.

Look, what it points to also is the fact that we do have to inhabit other planets, Johnson explained to an increasingly incredulous looking Stephanopoulos. The future of the human race is space exploration.

Related: Abolish Social Security? Gary Johnson's Libertarian Party Gets a Closer Look

In fairness to Johnson, discussion of futuristic space travel has a long, storied tradition in this country among policy makers, scientists and politicians. The U.S., after all, was the first country to put a man on the moon. And after a long hiatus in NASAs manned space program, the privately funded Mars One project is seeking to establish a permanent human settlement on the red planet, while SpaceXs Elon Musk plans to announce a competing plan to colonize Mars.

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Moreover, libertarians have toyed for decades with the idea of interplanetary space travel, even to the point of advancing the idea of a free-market space colony. But presidential candidates typically have had to tread lightly in expounding on their visions of space exploration and colonization to avoid being mocked by their rivals as dreamers, big spenders or even sci-fi fanatics

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia learned that lesson the hard way during his failed campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. In January of that year, Gingrich told a cheering crowd along Floridas Space Coast, near Cape Canaveral, that if elected president, he would establish a permanent colony on the moon and develop a spacecraft that could reach Mars -- all by the end of his second term.

Related: Could Libertarian Gary Johnson Play the Spoiler in November

Gingrich, a long-time space enthusiast and futurist, told the crowd that he didnt mind being attacked by his opponents for being grandiose in his visions for space travel. I would just want you to note: Lincoln standing at Council Bluffs was grandiose, he said. The Wright Brothers standing at Kitty Hawk were grandiose. John F. Kennedy was grandiose. I accept the charge that I am grandiose and that Americans are instinctively grandiose.

But former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the GOP frontrunner, dismissed Gingrichs proposals as zany, and insisted that they would not stand up to voter scrutiny in a general election campaign against President Obama. The idea of a lunar colony? I think thats going to be a problem in the general election, Romney said at one point. Romney went on to beat Gingrich and a handful of other rivals for the GOP nomination that year.

Two years before his unsuccessful campaign for president, former Democratic vice president Al Gore also dreamed aloud about a mission to deep space that many in the government deemed impractical and too costly. Gore in 1998 proposed the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a satellite designed to observe the Earth from great distances. He said his idea was inspired by The Blue Marble -- Apollo 17s photograph that provided the first images showing the fully illuminated face of the planet.

Related: Libertarian Gary Johnson Scores a Major Victory in His White House Bid

Gore said that he awoke one night with a vision of providing a clearer view of our world. In a subsequent speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gore challenged NASA to send a satellite to a spot one million miles from Earth in the direction of the sun, where the two bodies gravitational pulls are in equilibrium, according to media reports. After many years of delay and agency resistance during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, DSCOVR was finally launched with little fanfare from Cape Canaveral a board a Space X Falcon 9 rocket on February 11, 2015.

While space travel and exploration has barely registered a blip on the radar screen of the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in August that a commercialized NASA space flight program would be an incredibly high priority for him if he were elected president.

One of the real problems with the Obama administration is theyve de-emphasized space exploration, said Cruz, the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on science, space and competitiveness. Theyve de-emphasized the hard sciences, and theyre diverting more and more of the NASA budget to political agendas like studying global warming instead of fulfilling the core mission of NASA.

Related: Johnson Says the GOP and Democrats Are Dinosaurs Headed for Extinction

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said during a campaign rally in New Hampshire in response to a question that sending people to Mars honestly is wonderful. But then, rolling his eyes, he added that I want to rebuild our infrastructure first.

For her part, Clinton appears to be more interested in extraterrestrials than future space travel.

When she was asked by Jimmy Kimmel in a late-night TV interviews about U.F.O.s, she quickly corrected his terminology, the New York Times reported in May. You know, theres a new name, she said. Its unexplained aerial phenomenon. U.A.P. Thats the latest nomenclature.

Clinton pledge that  barring any concerns about breaching national security -- she would open up the government files on the subject, in a reversal of Obama administration policy. According to The New York Times, Her position has elated U.F.O. enthusiasts, who have declared Mrs. Clinton the first E.T. candidate.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Frame this! Former President George W. Bush and first lady Michelle Obama hugged it out when they attended the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, September 24.

The adorable embrace went down when Obama, 52, and President Barack Obama joined Bush, 70, and former first lady Laura Bush at their seats. FLOTUS wrapped her arms around him from behind. He leaned back and smiled while resting his head on hers.

PHOTOS: Celebrity BFFs

Photos of the sweet moment quickly went viral. "Someday I want to be as happy as George W. Bush is when he's being held by Michelle Obama," one person wrote via Twitter.

A second posted the pics, and joked: "We're gonna be OK, you guys. WE'RE GONNA BE OK."

Even Larry King had an opinion. "That picture of @MichelleObama hugging George W. Bush makes me smile...#ItsMy2Cents," the veteran journalist wrote.

PHOTOS: Malia and Sasha Obama's Best Styles Through the Years

Reddit users took the opportunity to Photoshop the images into hilarious memes. Some made it look like Bush was wearing a Batman onesie and that Michelle was hugging an actual bush.

That wasn't Bush's only memorable moment. At one point, he enlisted POTUS, 55, to take a photo after an unsuccessful attempt at a selfie. He tapped Barack on the shoulder, who appeared happy to take a pic of Bush and an event attendee.



"Sometimes it's just easier to have Obama take the picture," one commenter teased. Another tweeted: "George Bush had to have Obama help him take a selfie, which is so 2016."



PHOTOS: First Children

The two couples bonded just days before Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's first presidential debate. The Democratic and GOP presidential candidates will go toe-to-toe at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Monday, September 26. Us Weekly will be live-blogging the event, which will be moderated by NBC's Lester Holt.

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Read more reactions below:









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Frankfurt (AFP) - German business confidence soared to its highest level in more than two years in September, the Ifo economic institute said Monday, recovering from a post-Brexit slump and signalling a rosier outlook for Europe's largest economy.

The closely-watched index unexpectedly jumped to 109.5 points from 106.3 points in August to reach its highest reading since May 2014, the Munich-based Ifo said.

"The German economy is expecting a golden autumn," Ifo president Clemens Fuest said in a statement.

Analysts surveyed by Factset had predicted the mood to stay unchanged.

The figure is all the more surprising after the index suffered a steep fall in August, when Ifo said the German economy had fallen into "a summer slump" as companies worried about the fallout from Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

"The prominent Ifo index suggests that Brexit fears have disappeared as quickly as they had emerged," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Diba.

Ifo said morale had improved across the board, from manufacturing and retailing to the services sector, with confidence in the construction industry reaching a new high.

"Companies are clearly more optimistic about the months ahead. They are also more satisfied with their current business situation," said Fuest.

- 'Pinch of salt' -

But analysts cautioned against reading too much into the survey, after a recent string of disappointing data out of Germany pointed to a gloomier picture.

German exports plummeted in July as demand weakened from outside the euro area, while industrial production shrank and demand for industrial orders showed only a slight increase.

Nordea Markets' Holger Sandte said the September optimism should be taken "with a pinch of salt". "We find the improvement a bit too strong to really reflect what is going on in the economy," he said.

Capital Economics analyst Jennifer McKeown agreed.

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"In all, we doubt that growth will be as strong as the Ifo now suggests, particularly with a modest rise in inflation set to damage the previously healthy consumer recovery," she said.

"But it does suggest that the German economy will continue to outperform its peers and reduces concerns raised by the latest hard data that growth could be grinding to a halt."

Ifo's headline figure is based on a survey of some 7,000 businesses who are asked about the current climate and their expectations for the next six months.

Within the index, current business sentiment climbed from just under 113 points in August to 114.7.

Confidence in the future outlook soared from 100.1 points to 104.5.

Germany's Bundesbank expects the economy to grow by 1.7 percent this year and 1.4 percent in 2017, according to forecasts released before the Brexit referendum was held in June.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Justice Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday the German government could take legal action against Facebook and other social media groups if they do not intensify their fight against illegal hate speech or Islamist "terror phantasies". Maas said Facebook, Twitter and Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, were removing illegal content from the Internet more frequently and quickly, but more work was needed. He said the social media groups responded mostly to requests by government-funded organisations but did not take private complaints as seriously. "Of the illegal content reported by users, Twitter deletes about 1 percent, YouTube just 10 percent, and Facebook about 46 percent," Maas said. Those rates were too low, he said. Maas said he would decide on next steps after government study was completed in March, could not rule out legal measures. He did not elaborate. "The situation has improved, but it's not nearly good enough," Maas said. "We have to keep up the pressure on the companies." German political leaders and regulators say the world's largest social network, with 1.6 billion monthly users, has been slow to respond to hate speech and anti-immigrant messages. European Union Commissioner Vera Jourova told the news conference with Maas that she was counting on voluntary steps by social media firms and preferred to avoid deadlines. Konstantin von Notz, deputy leader of the Green party's parliamentary group, said the German government had ignored the problem for too long, and Maas' deadline only put off any real action for another six months. "This problem is too important for our society. The chancellor should take the issue in hand herself. Her justice minister is clearly in over his head," he said in a statement. Mathias Doepfner, who heads Germany's Axel Springer media group, told newspaper executives that media organisations should be regulated like telecommunications firms, which are "not held responsible if people use their phone to talk about stupid or dangerous stuff". "If these quasi-monopolistic technology platforms are also responsible for content, the consequences will be grave - for business and society," he said. Facebook touched off a firestorm earlier this month when it deleted an iconic Vietnam War photo of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack, saying it violated restrictions on nudity. The company later reinstated the photograph after it received multiple complaints, including from Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who accused Facebook of censorship and of editing history. [nL8N1BO3IX] (Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Hans-Edzard Busesmann and Andrea Shalal)
Bochum (Germany) (AFP) - Germany's former top spy, Werner Mauss, went on trial Monday accused of hiding some 15 million euros from the tax authorities.

The 76-year-old dubbed the "German James Bond" had often been sent on classified operations abroad, but it is his secret financial dealings that are now under scrutiny.

He risks up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of shortchanging the state out of 14.5 million euros ($16 million) in taxes and some 795,000 euros in other contributions between 2002 and 2013.

Prosecutors accuse Mauss of placing large sums of undeclared funds in offshore accounts, including in the Bahamas, national news agency DPA said.

Mauss denies any wrongdoing and claims the business fronts were set up to channel funds used in relation to hostage freeing operations.

The retired agent, who appeared in court wearing a navy parka with the hood pulled over his head, declined to make a statement on the first day of his trial in the western city of Bochum.

His lawyers said Mauss was unable to mount a "proper defence" because he was still bound by confidentiality agreements linked to his decades of undercover work.

Investigators first got on his trail after one of his aliases was found among names of UBS account holders on a CD which the state of North-Rhine Westphalia had purchased from a whistleblower, according to business daily Handelsblatt and Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Mauss had allegedly failed to declare an account that he holds with the Luxembourg subsidiary of UBS.

He was briefly detained in late 2012 before making a four-million-euro payment to the tax office. He also paid bail of one million euros, according to the indictment read out in court.

After the UBS revelation, his name subsequently emerged in connection with several shell companies listed in the so-called Panama Papers -- leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that exposed the murky offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous.

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During the trial, the court will seek to clear up if the letterbox companies were used to pay for "humanitarian actions" linked to his assignments, as Mauss claims, or if they were simply created to hold illicit income.

On his website, Mauss says he was "involved in the smashing of more than one hundred criminal groups and in the arrests of around 2,000 individuals" during his long career in the secret services.

He notably claims to have helped negotiate the release of hostages in Colombia, and boasts of tracking down 41 barrels of toxic waste that had gone missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in Italy in 1976.

His trial is expected to last until December.
According to Reuters, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS has plans to cut nearly 30% of its 300 investment banking workforce in Asia, outside of Japan. This will be effective primarily in the banks main Asian offices, including Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

Affected employees would comprise bankers working on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and equity and debt capital market deals.

Per a source with knowledge of the matter, one of the main reasons behind this job cut is reducing deals in the region. Also, growing investment banks in mainland China have been hurting profits and market share of the western banks. This, in turn, has been providing fierce competition to the western banks.

According to a Reuters report, the total value of M&A in Asia has plummeted around 23.2% this year to $573 billion.

Goldman has been facing its worst Asia ranking in equity issuance since 2008. Further, in July this year, the banks CFO announced cost-cutting initiatives, which would save $700 million a year. The banks investment banking revenues fell 11% year over year in the last reported quarter.



The Overall Scenario



Global investment banking firms have been under pressure to curb costs primarily due to the recent regulatory oversight.

In Jun 2016, Goldman retrenched employees in its investment banking division in London, New York and Hong Kong. This was done in the wake of reduced deals, along with a slump in profits. The positions included managing directors, executive directors and vice presidents in the mergers and debt and equity capital market units.

Further, in Aug 2016, the bank announced its plan to eliminate 15 additional jobs by the end of 2016 in the New York investment banking unit.

Barclays PLC BCS declared in January that it would trim nearly 1,000 positions in its investment bank operations worldwide, with major reductions in Asia.

Morgan Stanley MS is also slashing staff at its fixed income division. Additionally, many other major foreign companies, including Credit Suisse Group AG CS and Deutsche Bank AG , are reducing their workforce.

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Goldmans stock declined around 1.7% in the last trading session to close at $165.13. Currently, the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



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Google's Made With Code -- an initiative which seeks to address the gender imbalance in STEM fields -- had its moment in the limelight at Saturday's Global Citizen Festival. Just before a set by Ellie Goulding, actress Priyanka Chopra introduced several of Code's young members onstage before 70,000 attendees. During a video presentation that explained Made With Code's commitment to helping young women use coding as a tool to bring forth social change, the festival stage's high tech screens were emblazoned by the images created by the program's students using code.

Hours earlier, girls who took part in Made With Code's program gathered for a lunch at New York's Sugar and Plumm celebrating their achievements before attending the concert. Over grilled cheese sandwiches, waffles and milkshakes, they reflected on their indoctrination into coding, which had them working with Google's Student Experience Manager Errol King and others to embark on projects that included creating their own emojis.

Global Citizen Festival 2016: Rihanna Shines, Metallica Rocks Out & Eddie Vedder Duets with Chris Martin

"To be 100% honest with you, in the beginning when we first came I wasn't quite into coding and stuff like that. By the time that we finished I felt like I wanted to start a career in it," said Raisa Baraka, 15. Her sister Assata Baraka, 13, responded to the challenge that a Google employee's tutorial on 3D printing presented. "I thought it was so cool because he explained to us how it works, how they made it, how long it took. It was really complicated. A lot of girls they decided that they would do the emoji or the 2D laser cut because 3D printing was so hard but I just thought, 'maybe if you put your mind to it'" she said.

Fifteen-year-old Judy Goncalves put a great deal of effort into her emoji, which changed its skin tone and hairstyle. "At one point I cried because I was getting so frustrated but I'm like people do this everyday. If they can do it, then I can sit here, suck it up and just persevere and create my product. That way I can be proud of it," she said.

It was important to the Made With Code staff to not only provide coding instruction but to also introduce them to young women who had forged careers based on coding skills in the tech field as well as other industries. "The more that technology advances, most jobs that a majority of people in this world have involve coding, whether they know it or not," said Raisa Baraka. "So for us to be able to go to a tech program and do stuff like that, it was basically preparing us for the real world."
Hangovers could soon be a thing of the past! [Photo: picography.co via Pexels]

Its one of lifes biggest bummers. The happy high of a night spent chugging the cocktails followed by the crushing low of a head-pounding, nausea-inducing hangover. How many times have you vowed the morning after that youre Never. Drinking. Again? Well this common weekend dilemma could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the discovery of a new type of synthetic alcohol, which promises to kick hangovers to the curb!

A professor from Imperial College London claims to have officially created hangover-free alcohol. Alcosynth is non-toxic and specially designed to create the same positive effects of alcohol, but without the debilitating morning-after symptoms. Yep thats right no more throbbing heads, sickness or dicky tums. This is huge people!



The drink is the genius brainchild of Professor David Nutt who has created 90 varieties of the compound  two of which are now being tested for mass use. Apparently one compound is completely tasteless, while the other has a bitter flavour, and works well in mojitos. Lovely!



Professor Nutt told The Independent he hopes alcosynth will completely replace normal hangover-inducing alcohol by 2050  well within most of our lifetimes. Hooray!



Cheers to hangover-free booze! [Photo: unsplash.com via Pexels]

Though the specific formulas of the new drinks remain secret, Nutt and his team of scientists claim to have created them by researching substances that have a similar impact on the brain to alcohol. And as well as being hangover-free, drinking synthetic alcohol also can also help reduce the risk of liver and heart damage.



We know a lot about the brain science of alcohol; its become very well understood in the last 30 years, the professor told The Independent.



So we know where the good effects of alcohol are mediated in the brain, and can mimic them. And by not touching the bad areas, we dont have the bad effects.



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Could feeling like this be a thing of the past? [Photo: Giphy]

The only downside to the news is that it could be a while before were able to order an alcosynth colada a) because funding a whole new drug is expensive and b) because they have to iron out any potential concerns over regulations.



And while we wait this magical new drink to transform our happy hours forever, its probably worth remembering that hangovers are our bodys natural way of telling us that we probably over did it on the porn star martinis. So though feeling like death-warmed up is never a pleasant experience at least hangovers are natures way of letting us know were probably not ready to get back on the sambucas just yet. Unless of course you subscribe to the hair of the dog school of thought.



Would you give alcosynth a try? Let us know @YahooStyleUK

This organisation will pay you to drink red wine

This Is What Gin Lovers Have In Common, Apparently
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) went ahead to glut the market with even more oil after it failed to reach a production freeze agreement in April.

In a note to clients on Sunday, Barclays commodities researchers wrote that, led by Gulf States, the cartel of oil producers has increased its output by 500,000 barrels per day since the meeting in Doha.

OPEC is meeting again this week to try and solve the excess supply that helped drive oil prices to the lowest level since 2003 earlier this year.

The much-hyped informal meeting in Doha in April ended without an agreement to cap production after Saudi Arabia declined to participate without the involvement of Iran, its geopolitical rival. The formal meeting in Vienna in June also ended without a deal.

Barclays' Warren Russell and his team anticipate that when OPEC members meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum this week, they'll reach the same outcome.

From the note:

"Do not forget the real impetus of the upcoming producer meeting in Algiers: a ministerial level meeting of the International Energy Forum ("IEF"), a forum for open dialogue, and information sharing among energy-producing and consuming nations. The Riyadh-based IEF supports the Joint Oil Data Initiative and its transparency mandate has received a boost with the recent Saudi-supported nomination of a Chinese official to head the organization.

Thus, key IEF members, such as Saudi Arabia and OPEC secretary general Barkindo, are ensuring that the much-touted OPEC/non-OPEC producer meeting does not overshadow the IEF meeting."

Russell wrote that unlike the Doha meeting, OPEC members will commit to monitoring the market and meeting again if conditions change.

Business Insider's Elena Holodny noted in her full preview of the meeting that OPEC members still hold political grudges and have long-run strategic interests that could keep them divided for now.

opec 9 26 16 COTD

NOW WATCH: KRUGMAN: Obamacare was done 'on the cheap' and now it is struggling





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This is the strangest cure weve ever heard of. (Photo: Getty Images)



A Michigan State University urologist has some advice for people who struggle with kidney stones: Hop on a roller coaster.

David Wartinger, D.O., a professor emeritus in the Department of Osteopathic Surgical Specialties, conducted a study and discovered that riding a roller coaster helps people pass kidney stones nearly 70 percent of the time (the results are published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association). How did he find a link? He took a fake kidney on thrill rides  seriously.

First, a kidney-stone primer: According to the Mayo Clinic, kidney stones form when your urine contains more crystal-forming substances such as calcium, oxalate, and uric acid, than the fluid in your urine can dilute. The crystals can end up sticking together, creating kidney stones. People with certain medical conditions like hyperparathyroidism or a family history of kidney stones are at risk of forming them, but even being regularly dehydrated can cause them to form. And patients say the process of passing them  i.e. when they work their way through your kidney to get out of your body  is excruciating. Passing a kidney stone is like giving birth to a porcupine, Wartinger says.

Wartinger didnt just randomly come up with the roller-coaster idea: He says he decided to test the theory after hearing from several patients that they had passed kidney stones while riding roller coasters. I live in East Lansing, Mich., and this place is a ghost town in the spring  half of the population goes to Orlando for spring break, he tells Yahoo Beauty. My patients would come back and tell me that they had passed kidney stones while they were in Orlando. Wartinger started to notice a trend, but didnt think it was really legitimate until one patient told him he went on a roller coaster, passed a stone, went on again, and passed three stones in a row.

Dave Wartinger, associate professor of osteopathic surgical specialties, poses with a silicon cast of the inside of a kidney. (Photo: G.L. Kohuth, Michigan State University)



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At that point, I said, Patients arent just thinking this is happening  this is real, he says. We had to invent a model to test this, because we didnt think anyone would believe us.

Wartinger and his study co-author created a synthetic 3D model of a hollow kidney, filled it with urine and three kidney stones, traveled to Orlando, and took it on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (a popular ride with his kidney-stone-passing patients) 20 times. Since he figured that two adult men riding the same ride repeatedly with a backpack would raise suspicion, he and his colleague went to guest services first, where they explained what they were trying to do. They got a little help from a manager who turned out to have suffered from a stone himself. He called the ride before we got over, and said, Whatever they want, you cooperate with them, Wartinger says.

So, Wartinger and his colleague took their fake kidney on the ride, and discovered that it passed a stone the majority of the time. However, not all seats were created equal: Wartinger found that they had the best luck when they sat at the back of the ride.

He explains why this works: The inside of your kidney looks like the branches and trunk of a tree. Kidney stones form near the rim, where the branches and leaves would be, and have to work through a maze to get to your bladder. The vibrations and force from certain types of roller coasters help vibrate the stones through your kidneys inner maze and out to your bladder. Sitting in the back is particularly helpful, because those seats tend to be subjected to the most force and be the bumpiest.

Not all roller coasters are created equal, though: Wartinger says Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is likely good because its fast and rough, which can help vibrate a stone loose. But rides that would go too fast or upside down might actually create a centrifugal force that pins the stone in place and might prevent it from passing. And, since the inside of each persons kidney is different, the twists and turns that help one patient pass a stone may not work for another person. You have to find the roller coaster that works best for you.

People who have had a stone in the past have a 50 percent chance of getting another within 10 years, Wartinger says, but its possible to pass them before they become large, and therefore more painful. For that reason, Wartinger recommends kidney-stone sufferers take a spin on a roller coaster regularly.

So far, hes only been able to test his theory at Disney World (other amusement parks either didnt get the concept or thought the idea was too weird to cooperate), but hes been able to at least prove that theres an association. Wartinger hopes to get more cooperation from other amusement parks in the future to further validate his theory.

Since current methods for passing stones of under 4 millimeters typically involve drinking plenty of liquids, OTC pain relievers, and a lot of just having to deal with the pain, Wartinger is hopeful that his method will help a lot of people. If we can prove that were right  and Im sure we are  then we have a much more fun way of getting rid of kidney stones, he says.



Read more health stories



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Rising domestic borrowing costs feared.

Retail trade firms with persistent erosion of profit margins amid rising labor costs and weak-end demand is presenting the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) with policy conondrum. BNP Paribas warns that re-centering the SGDNEER lower could boost export earnings but is likely to spur borrowing costs.

Aggregate revenue growth for the roughly 22,000 retailers has been hard to come by. According to BNP Paribas retail trade firms posted 5-year nominal CAGR of 1.2% which likely reflects slower domestic growth and the impact of macro-prudential tightening.

On expenditures, the research firm noted that retailers have grappled with labour market policies spurring strong wage gains of 5Y CAGR of 7% and, more recently, rising debt service.

As a result, it estimates industry-wide pre-tax profits fell by 30% over the last 5 years. "Were it not for impressive cost-cutting to constrain operating cost growth (5Y CAGR of 4%), the outcome could have been much worse," it said.

According to BNP Paribas, similar trends in profit margins are evident in the rest of the service sector. Labour market data indicates firms are now attempting to pass the problem on to households by shedding jobs. In turn, these developments allude to slower wage income growth and a potential vicious cycle as highly-indebted households struggle with their own debt service, it said.

This backdrop poses a conundrum for the MAS. But while easing policy via a re-centring of the SGD nominal effective exchange rate lower may boost export earnings, BNP Paribas warned that it does little to address the underlying problem of weak final demand. Furthermore, in response to MAS easing, domestic borrowing costs may rise as foreign investors seek greater yield compensation to offset lost potential FX gains against a backdrop of reliance on wholesale funding by the domestic banking system," it added.

Yet, with Fed tightening already likely to increase debt service for businesses and highly-indebted households, MAS easing may deepen the demand rut and amplify the pincer movement on margins, said the research firm.

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BNP Paribas suggested that the best course of action for the MAS to achieve policy objectives is to leave settings unchanged. "It may not reverse the growth situation, but it should avert a deeper downturn," it said.





More From Singapore Business Review


From Cosmopolitan

Earlier this year, Jennifer Rosen Heinz's seven-year-old daughter Lily made a declaration at the dinner table: She wanted to change her name to Lillary so she could be a "girl president."

Rosen Heinz, who does business development for BRAVA magazine and is a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, was so moved by her daughter's statement that she submitted the comment to Hillary Clinton's website. She didn't respect a response, but she thought some people working on the campaign might get a kick out of her daughter's words.

However, on Thursday, Rosen Heinz was checking her mail and found an envelope addressed to Lily from Hillary Clinton.

"I picked [the letter] up and thought, 'hmmm that's funny,'" she told Cosmopolitan.com. "I was assuming as I brought it in that it was maybe a form letter, or, god forbid, a fundraising letter, addressed to my 7-year-old. I held the envelope up to the light. I decided to open it because I didn't want to build this letter up and then have Lilly open it and be disappointed."

Well, Rosen Heinz shouldn't have been worried, because in the envelope was a personal letter from Hillary Clinton to Lily.

In it, the Democratic presidential candidate wrote, "I received a terrific message from your mom, and was touched to learn that you want to change your name to 'Lillary' so that you can be president when you grow up. I think Lilly is a great name -- and I hope you know that you don't have to change it to become president; if you dream big, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in, there's no limit to what you can achieve."

Rosen Heinz says she was deeply moved by the gesture and the contents of the letter.

"[Hillary Clinton] spoke to [my daughter] in a way that only someone who really knows how kids think could do. She said she was flattered, but that Lilly didn't have to change her name, or change anything to do what she wants to do, and to be who she wants to be," She told Cosmopolitan.com

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But it's her daughter Lily's reaction that touched her most.

Rosen Heinz told me that Lily's mouth dropped open when she saw the letter from Clinton.

"I handed her the letter and she read it out loud to us. Not to brag (because it's all HER), Lilly's a very thoughtful, expressive reader. She was quiet at parts, and then at other parts she smiled ear to ear (she has only one front tooth at the moment, so it was acutely adorable). She especially loved the part about carving out your own space... and she read the end of the letter as almost a cheer!"

Rosen Heinz told Cosmopolitan.com that she learned something from Hillary's letter, too. "Even though I get that kids have role models, this really brought it home to me," she said. "Because Hillary can be president, little girls not only know it as a hypothetical. It's real."

And if you're curious how Hillary Clinton's Republican opponent treats girls and women, look no further than this ad.



You can read Hillary Clinton's entire response to Lily below:

Dear Lilly:

I received a terrific message from your mom, and was touched to learn that you want to change your name to "Lillary" so that you can be president when you grow up. I think Lilly is a great name -- and I hope you know that you don't have to change it to become president; if you dream big, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in, there's no limit to what you can achieve.

I know that it may seem like a lot now, but as you grow and learn and search for your own place in the world, I hope you'll consider how you can make your voice heard. Speak your mind in your classes, and at meetings once you have a job. Proudly take credit for your ideas. Have confidence in the value of your contributions. And if the space you're in doesn't have room for your voice, don't be afraid to carve out a space of your own. Don't be discouraged. Don't give in. Don't give up. Don't quit -- on yourself, on your dreams, on your future. You really can be anything you want to be. I may become the first woman president, but you, Lilly, could be next.



With warm wishes, I am



Sincerely yours,

Hillary Clinton

Follow Laura on Twitter.



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BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Justice Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday the German government could take legal action against Facebook and other social media groups if they do not intensify their fight against illegal hate speech or Islamist "terror phantasies".

Maas said Facebook, Twitter and Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, were removing illegal content from the Internet more frequently and quickly, but more work was needed.

He said the social media groups responded mostly to requests by government-funded organisations but did not take private complaints as seriously.

"Of the illegal content reported by users, Twitter deletes about 1 percent, YouTube just 10 percent, and Facebook about 46 percent," Maas said. Those rates were too low, he said.

Maas said he would decide on next steps after government study was completed in March, could not rule out legal measures. He did not elaborate.

"The situation has improved, but it's not nearly good enough," Maas said. "We have to keep up the pressure on the companies."

German political leaders and regulators say the world's largest social network, with 1.6 billion monthly users, has been slow to respond to hate speech and anti-immigrant messages.

European Union Commissioner Vera Jourova told the news conference with Maas that she was counting on voluntary steps by social media firms and preferred to avoid deadlines.

Konstantin von Notz, deputy leader of the Green party's parliamentary group, said the German government had ignored the problem for too long, and Maas' deadline only put off any real action for another six months.

"This problem is too important for our society. The chancellor should take the issue in hand herself. Her justice minister is clearly in over his head," he said in a statement.

Mathias Doepfner, who heads Germany's Axel Springer media group, told newspaper executives that media organisations should be regulated like telecommunications firms, which are "not held responsible if people use their phone to talk about stupid or dangerous stuff".

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"If these quasi-monopolistic technology platforms are also responsible for content, the consequences will be grave - for business and society," he said.

Facebook touched off a firestorm earlier this month when it deleted an iconic Vietnam War photo of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack, saying it violated restrictions on nudity.

The company later reinstated the photograph after it received multiple complaints, including from Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who accused Facebook of censorship and of editing history.

(Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Hans-Edzard Busesmann and Andrea Shalal)
By Elizabeth Pineau CALAIS, France (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande said on Monday that France will completely shut down "the Jungle" migrant camp in Calais and called on London to help deal with the plight of thousands of people whose dream is ultimately to get to Britain. "The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it," Hollande said on a visit to the northern port city where as many as 10,000 migrants from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan live in squalour. "We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively," he said. France plans to relocate the migrants in small groups around the country but right-wing opponents of the Socialist leader are raising the heat ahead of the election in April, accusing him of mismanaging a problem that is ultimately a British one. The migrants want to enter Britain, but the government in London argues that migrants seeking asylum need to do so under European Union law in the country where they enter. Immigration was one of the main drivers of Britain's vote this year to leave the EU. It is also likely to be major factor in France's presidential election. If France stopped trying to prevent migrants from entering Britain, Britain would ultimately find tself obliged to deal with the matter when asylum-seekers land on its shores a short distance by ferry or subsea train from France's Calais coast. Hollande bluntly reminded Britain of that, saying that he expected London to fully honour agreements on managing a flow of migrants. "I also want to restate my determination that the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking and that they continue to do that in the future," Hollande said. London and Paris have struck agreements on issues such as the recently begun construction of a giant wall on the approach road to Calais port in an attempt to try to stop migrants who attempt daily to board cargo trucks bound for Britain. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Brian Love Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Tonight's presidential debate - the first face-off between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump - is expected to draw near-Super Bowl-sized ratings. And many of those viewers will be tuning in to hear what questions moderator Lester Holt asks of the nominees. While the entire world waits in anticipation, The Hollywood Reporter pressed a few industry insiders on what they would like to see on Holt's "must ask" card.

Elizabeth Banks: "I want to know how the candidates think they will be able to deal with the gridlock in Congress. That's what I'm interested in. There hasn't been enough compromise on either side and it's gone to this really ideological place. Leaders have forgotten that these are everyday people with everyday problems. Can we start solving things already? I'd like to know how they feel they can address that.  I also want to know where the tax returns are. Where are the tax returns?"

William H. Macy: "Maybe it's the Frank Gallagher in me [his character on Showtime's Shameless] but I would want to ask them what they think about legalizing marijuana. And I would keep poking at them to embarrass them. I would say to Hillary, 'Seriously, never? You never got stoned? How could that be?' I'm not sure I would want a president who has never been stoned. I don't know if that's safe. With Trump, all you have to do is wind him up and we'd get something funny out of him."

Jay Pharoah: "I want to know who is going to do their hair - that's what I want to know."

Tony Hale: "I'm tired of hearing about issues people bring up just to cause tension. The whole email stuff with Hillary - let's move on. It's a rehash of what is always in the press. It's like, guys, let's get to the issues."

Dana Brunetti (producer, Relativity president): "They should be asked how did it end up just being the two of them out of the 300 million people in the United States. How did we end up with these two?"

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David Hollander (show runner, Ray Donovan): "I want to know their parenting tips."

Lesli Linka Glatter (director, Homeland): "I would like to hear about real policy issues. Let's get down to how they both would deal with education to foreign policy issues."

Read more: First Presidential Debate: The Little Things That Can Mean a Lot
Eric Risberg/AP Photo

Homeowners making moves out of state are increasingly selling out of expensive markets like California, where price escalation is steep, and buying into lower-cost markets such as Texas and Arizona, according to an analysis by data company CoreLogic.

Overall between 2000 and 2015, 2 home sellers left California for every out-of-state buyer coming into the state, the study found, whereas in Texas, Arizona and North Carolina there have been more buyers coming than sellers leaving. That trend has accelerated as the housing recovery has progressed, with out-migration increasing among homeowners in fast-appreciating markets like California and Colorado, and decreasing in more affordable markets such as Texas.

When most people move, theyre either moving for opportunity or affordability, said Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic, who analyzed the data. Moving across state lines you get a little bit of both. I can leave a place thats expensive and rapidly appreciating, and I can get a job that pays the same or is better, but the cost of living is lower.

The study drew on public records data that tracks and matches those selling homes in one state and buying in another over time, providing a window into regional patterns in mobility and price disparity. Though more owners are moving out of states like California than moving in, the overall percentage of sellers that move to another state has declined since 2008 across the U.S., according to CoreLogic.

For all homeowners who moved across state lines between 2000 and 2015, prices were appreciating significantly faster in the markets where they sold homes than where they ended up buying, the data showed. Prices increased 62% on average over that time in areas where movers sold homes, compared with a 37% price increase in markets where they moved.

California offers a prime example. The median sale price for homeowners leaving the state was $495,000, compared with a median purchase price of $315,000 in the markets where they moveda 36% decrease.

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For Californians moving to Texas, the gap was even wider: a $510,000 median selling price in California compared with a $307,663 purchase price in Texasa drop of 40%.

Sahar Pezeshki, a Dallas-area agent at the real-estate brokerage Redfin, said she has seen Californians coming in by the busloads to Texas in recent years. The reasons run the gamutjob relocations, retirementbut she said most buyers are chasing the significant cost savings.

One recent client sold his condominium in west Los Angeles and discovered he had the money to buy two new homes in Dallasone for him and one for his daughter.

We cant compete with the beaches of California, Ms. Pezeshki said. But when you have enough leftover money, you can go travel there once a month.

The post Homeowners on the Move Are Choosing More Affordable States appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.
(HOUSTON)  A disgruntled lawyer wearing military-style apparel with old Nazi emblems had two weapons and more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition when he randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood Monday before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

Nine people were injured during Monday mornings shootings on the street in front of a condo complex; six were shot and three had eye injuries from flying glass. One person was in critical condition and another in serious condition, officials said.

Houston Homicide Capt. Dwayne Ready and Interim Police Chief Martha Montalvo did not identify the man and did not have information about a motive. A bomb-squad robot examined a Porsche that police said belonged to the gunman; Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database showed the car is licensed to Nathan DeSai at an address in the condo complex.

The property manager of the condo complex also confirmed that police were going through DeSais residence, where Ready said vintage military items dating to the Civil War and other guns were found in the mans apartment.

Authorities first received reports of the shootings about 6:30 a.m., and the man began firing at officers when they arrived. The man had two legally purchased guns  a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a semi-automatic rifle commonly known as a Tommy gun and an unsheathed knife, Ready said. He also noted that there were 75 spent casings at the scene, which were from officers and the gunman.

Ready said nine officers  five with the Houston Police Department and four with two other local agencies  engaged the suspect who was shooting randomly at passersby as well as anybody he could put his sights on.

During the shootout, one driver was shot and one of the officers left cover to take that citizen to safety while the other officers engaged the subject, he said.

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Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV in Houston that DeSai was a lawyer who was disgruntled and was either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm. But DeSais former law partner, Kenneth McDaniel, disputed that assertion, saying they jointly closed their 12-year-old law firm in February due to economic conditions related to Houstons energy industry downturn.

McDaniel also said he hadnt had contact with DeSai lately and that police called him Monday morning to check on his safety, though they didnt explain why.

He went his way with his practice and I went with mine, McDaniel said, adding, All I can say its a horrible situation. Im sad for everyone involved.

Calls placed to phone numbers connected to DeSai and his father were not immediately answered. DeSais father, Prakash DeSai, told KTRK that his son lived in the condo complex and drives a black Porsche. He also said his son, whom he saw Sunday, was upset because his law practice is not going well and stays upset because of his personal problems.

Perrye Turner, special agent in charge of the FBIs Houston Division, said officials dont believe the incident is tied to terrorism.

The entrance to the condo complex, which is in southwest Houston near the affluent enclave of West University Place, was blocked off with police tape late Monday morning. Several cars with bullet holes and shattered windows were at a nearby strip mall.

Jennifer Molleda and her husband live in the same condo complex as Nathan DeSai. Though she heard gunshots about 6:12 a.m. and called 911, her husband left for work. The 45-year-old called him not long after, and he told her, Im hit, Im hit.

After the shooting stopped at 7:15 a.m., Molleda found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the parking lot of a strip mall. His Mustang had two shots that went through the windshield, and he told her that he saw a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to a hospital to be treated.

He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried, Molleda said, adding that after she saw everything, she believes DeSai was aiming to kill.

Molleda said she didnt know DeSai very well, and described him as quiet. Hes a normal, average Joe, she said.

Jason Delgado, the property manager of The Oaks at West University condo complex, said DeSai was involved in two recent incidents at the complex.

In August, Delgado said, police were called after roofers working in the complex said DeSai pointed an assault-style rifle at them. He says there wasnt enough evidence to move forward with charges because the man contended he didnt point the gun at roofers. Molleda mentioned the same incident.

Last week, DeSai became upset because of water pressure problems at his home, asked for maintenance help and expressed his displeasure in an email to the management firm that implied hed intimidate his way to getting what he was asking for, Delgado said.

Another witness, 30-year-old Antwon Wilson, inadvertently drove into the shooting scene after dropping off his girlfriend at work and could literally hear the gunfire flying. He managed to flee and escape injury.

Lee Williams left his home in the neighborhood upon hearing gunshots and began directing traffic away from the condo complex, noting that people usually cut through the area to avoid some busier intersections. One car ignored him, he said, and was immediately shot at. Williams couldnt see the gunman because it was dark, but believed he saw the muzzle flashes.

Whatever cars were going by, he was shooting at them, the 55-year-old said, noting he heard at least 50 gunshots over 40 or so minutes. As he was being interviewed, neighbors came by and patted him on the back, thanking him for keeping people safe.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Graczyk contributed to this report.
LONDON (Reuters) - Governments worldwide should pass new laws to facilitate the sharing of information between themselves and the private sector in order to better combat financial crime, HSBC's top lawyer told a banking conference in Geneva on Monday.

"Put simply, the way we do financial crime compliance is outdated," Stuart Levey, chief legal officer at HSBC <HSBA.L> told the annual Sibos financial conference.

Levey, who was under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. treasury department from 2004 to 2011, called on the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to set far-reaching global standards to help banks share information with governments and vice-versa.

National secrecy and privacy laws often prevent such sharing, Levey said, hindering cross-border efforts to stop illicit money flows.

"...data privacy and bank secrecy restrictions are increasingly tough in a number of countries," Levey said, without naming which countries he was referring to.

HSBC is among a number of major European banks fined and criticized in recent years by U.S. authorities for failing to adequately prevent money laundering.

The bank paid $1.9 billion as part of a global settlement in 2012 for failing to stop drug cartels from pumping at least $800 million through the bank.

HSBC has since stepped up efforts to improve its own controls, including hiring the U.S. Treasury's top anti-money laundering official Jennifer Shasky Calvery in April to lead a new Financial Crime Threat Mitigation team at the bank.

Levey said all countries should create information-sharing authorities similar to that which exist in the United States under the PATRIOT act and in Britain via the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Task Force, established by Prime Minister Theresa May when she was Home Secretary.

Levey said failure to promote better solutions would lead to the worsening of the current problem whereby banks exit riskier business areas for fear of financial penalties, excluding some legitimate businesses such as charities from the system.

(Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mark Potter)
Europa and plumes

Its not aliens. And its not exactly surprising, despite NASAs advance billing. But new evidence of water plumes emanating from Europa, an ice-covered moon of Jupiter, have added to the excitement over a proposed mission that could sample the water for signs of life.

The evidence comes in the form of splotchy ultraviolet images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, operating at the limits of its sensitivity. Scientists say the images appear to show intermittent emissions of water vapor near Europas south pole.

If plumes exist, this is an exciting finding, William Sparks, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, told reporters today during a teleconference.

Sparks is the principal author of a paper describing the observations that will appear in the Astrophysical Journal. The ultraviolet readings were taken in 2014 by Hubbles Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, or STIS.

Three years ago, a different team of researchers said spectrographic readings from STIS pointed to towering water plumes at Europa, but they werent able to confirm those observations. A study based on data from the Cassini mission turned up no evidence of the plumes, raising doubts.

Sparks and his colleagues tried a different method. They had Hubble look at Europa while it was passing across the disk of Jupiter, which reflects an even glow of ultraviolet light from the sun. Then they painstakingly analyzed millions of readings to find spots along Europas edge where the light was apparently filtered through the plumes of water vapor.

The fact that two different methods pointed to water plumes strengthens scientists confidence that the phenomenon is real and not just a quirk in the data. However, Sparks emphasized that still more data would be needed to nail down the hypothesis. NASAs James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to Hubble thats due for launch in 2018, could deliver the goods.

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Sparks also said the evidence suggests that the water isnt always there. Only three of Hubbles 10 readings showed evidence of plumes. If theyre real, they have to be intermittent, he said.

Europa images

Sparks estimated that the plumes should contain a few million kilograms of water, and rise about 125 miles above Europas surface. That would put them in a league with the more obvious water plumes that have been seen emanating from Enceladus, an ice-covered moon of Saturn.

Like Enceladus, Europa is thought to have a deep water ocean beneath its ice, potentially heated by tidal stresses and strains in its rocky core. The presence of liquid water would make Europa and Enceladus prime candidates for missions to gauge their potential habitability.

The fact that the moons are covered with ice poses a challenge: How do you get to the water? Now scientists are more confident that a proposed Europa mission could analyze the plumes during repeated flybys, including close flybys that would let the probe taste the water as it passed through.

A mission thats already on the books for launch in the 2020s could make such observations, said Curt Niebur, Europa mission program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Niebur emphasized that the Europa spacecraft would not be built specifically to detect the presence of life. We know how to measure habitability.  When it comes to finding life, we dont have as much experience, he said.

And even if microbes (or freeze-dried fish) were to spew up from beneath the surface, the Jupiter systems radiation environment and the cold vacuum of space would kill them off, Sparks said. Wed have to look for the remains of something that was once protected in the ice, or by the ice, he said.

Before todays briefing, NASA said the scientists would be sharing surprising evidence of activity that may be related to Europas ocean  while making clear that they wouldnt be reporting the discovery of alien life.

NASA spokesman Steve Cole jokingly referred to the alien angle at the top of the briefing. Spoiler alert: Despite what some media have reported recently, this finding has nothing to do with detecting life on Europa, he told reporters.

The scientists distanced themselves even more from the hype. Sparks told GeekWire he was neutral on the question of whether the findings were surprising. Britney Schmidt, a planetary scientist at Georgia Tech who has been studying Europa for years, struck a similarly circumspect tone.

I usually say to people, Im not surprised, Schmidt said. Im excited, and skeptical.

More from GeekWire:
By Irene Klotz (Reuters) - Astronomers on Monday said they have spotted evidence of water vapor plumes rising from Jupiter's moon Europa, a finding that might make it easier to learn whether life exists in the warm, salty ocean hidden beneath its icy surface. The apparent plumes detected by the Hubble Space Telescope shoot about 125 miles (200 km) above Europa's surface before, presumably, raining material back down onto the moon's surface, NASA said. Europa, considered one of the most promising candidates for life in the solar system beyond Earth, boasts a global ocean with twice as much water as in all of Earth's seas hidden under a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness. While drilling through the ice to test ocean water for signs of life would be a daunting task, sampling water from the plumes might be a simpler project. "If the plumes are real, it potentially gives us easier access to the ocean below ... without needing to drill into miles of ice," said lead researcher Williams Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Greenbelt, Maryland. Europa is about 1,900 miles (3,100 km) in diameter, slightly smaller than Earths moon. Among Jupiter's four largest moons, Europa is the second closest to the biggest planet in the solar system. The telescope observed the plumes three times in 2014, mostly around Europa's southern polar region, scientists told a conference call with reporters. On Earth, life is found everywhere where there is water, energy and nutrients, so scientists have a special interest in places elsewhere in the solar system, like Europa, with similar characteristics, said Paul Hertz, director of NASA's astrophysics division. The findings, which will be published in The Astrophysical Journal, follow an initial Hubble sighting of a water vapor plume over Europa's south pole in December 2012. Scientists got their first hint that bright, icy Europa, which is crisscrossed by dark bands and ridges, contains an underground ocean from NASA's twin Voyager probes, which flew by Jupiter in 1979. The follow-on Galileo spacecraft, which circled around and through Jupiter's system from 1995 to 2003, detected a magnetic field that likely was triggered by a salty, global ocean beneath Europa's surface. Two more missions are in development to visit Europa. A NASA spacecraft, targeted for launch in the mid-2020s, would make more than 40 close flybys of the moon and possibly sample material in any plumes shooting out from its surface. Jupiter has 67 known moons, plus many smaller ones that have not yet been named. (Reporting by Irene Klotz in Guadalajara, Mexico; Editing by Will Dunham)
A humpback whale spotted off Newport Beach and Dana Point in California appears to be the same whale that had previously been seen entangled in bait traps and fishing line since August, according to officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Officials are using photographs and video showing distinctive markings to confirm that it is the same whale and that the animal is free..

Dana Point Whale Watching provided the following information: Happy ending to this story. The humpback whale in this video taken by our own Captain Frank Brennan with his DJI Drone is named Scarlet or CRC-11227 for scientific purposes. She has been entangled in the rope on her left pectoral fin since August. According to recent news it seems as though she has disentangled herself and is free from the rope. Take a look at the Orange County Register article for more information and background here. Credit: Dana Point Whale Watching
The Hurt Locker producer Greg Shapiro has joined the independent studio IM Global as president of feature film production.

Shapiro will oversee all feature film production and financing activity.

Its a tremendous boost for our already vibrant film production and financing operation to have such a highly respected and commercially successful heavyweight as Greg join to head the team, IM Global founder and CEO Stuart Ford said on Monday. We have an exciting slate of filmmaker-driven productions in the pipeline for 2017 and we hope Gregs arrival will give us even greater momentum as we end 2016 on a high note.

Shapiro won a best picture Academy Award as a producer on Kathryn Bigelows 2008 drama The Hurt Locker. He was also an executive producer on Bigelows Zero Dark Thirty and is producing her untitled project, currently filming in Boston.

Shapiro most recently produced Child 44, starring Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace; and James Grays The Immigrant, starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner, which premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in competition. Other credits include The Conspirator, The Rum Diary,  The Rules of Attraction, and the Harold and Kumar franchise.

IM Global is a partner on upcoming awards contenders Hacksaw Ridge from director Mel Gibson and Martin Scorseses Silence. Its also teamed with Blumhouse to co-produce Incarnate, starring Aaron Eckhart; was a financing partner on Gary Ross Free State of Jones; and produced and financed the Julia Roberts mystery Secret in Their Eyes, directed by Billy Ray.

IM Global was a producer on Southside With You and financed the supernatural thriller The Autopsy of Jane Doe with Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox. It will start production early next year on the Mila Kunis comedy Jackpot from director Will Gluck.

The companys U.K. productions include the political drama The Journey, starring Timothy Spall, and Eon Productions drama Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool, starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, and Julie Walters

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Stuart Ford has built an impressive company that has consistently evolved and thrived amidst an ever changing landscape of film and television production, Shapiro said. Equal to his success as a content creator is the collaborative culture that he has fostered at IM Global, and I look forward to joining forces with not just Stuart, but his entire team.

Matt Jackson had served as president of film production at IM Global until departing earlier this year for The Mark Gordon Company.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles-based Tang Media Partners assumed a controlling ownership position in IM Global to help accelerate the companys growth initiatives and arranged a new television production joint venture, IM Global Television, among IM Global, TMP, and Tencent Holdings. It also launched the PR and marketing unit GO Global, which is focused on representing Chinese media companies, brands, and talent in the international festival arena.

Shapiro was represented in the negotiation by attorney Darren Trattner from Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein. Chris Bosco negotiated for IM Global.

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Mel Gibson's Andrew Garfield-starrer 'Hacksaw Ridge' Sells Out for IM Global (EXCLUSIVE)

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By Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor's South Korean labor union staged its first full nationwide strike in 12 years on Monday over stalled wage talks, putting the automaker's earnings and sales targets at risk. The full-day walkout came after a series of partial stoppages since July at the automaker's factories across South Korea, its biggest manufacturing base which produces nearly 40 percent of its vehicles sold globally last year. The disruption, led by union boss Park You-ki, has led to lost production of 114,000 vehicles worth 2.5 trillion won ($2.26 billion) as of Monday, the biggest strike-related output loss for the automaker in terms of value of vehicles. The union plans to stage a partial strike for the remainder of this week and stoppages could continue into next week depending on the company's response, union spokesman Jang Chang-yeal said. "This year's strike is lasting longer than expected. The third-quarter earnings should disappoint," Samsung Securities auto analyst Eim Eun-young said, also citing weak domestic demand. Hyundai, the world's fifth-biggest automaker along with Kia Motors, said in a statement it was "obviously disappointed" with any halt in production and was continuing to work with the union to resolve the dispute. Hyundai Motor shares ended down 1.1 percent at 140,500 won, compared with a 0.3 percent fall on the broader market. Hyundai Motor's unionized workers in South Korea last month overwhelmingly voted down a tentative wage deal which was less generous than last year's package. PROLONGED STRIKE Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan urged Hyundai Motor's union to resolve the dispute, saying the strike would "throw cold water on the exports recovery". He said India overtook South Korea as the world's fifth-biggest car producing country from January to July this year, adding that rigid industrial relations and higher wages would worsen the competitiveness of the domestic car industry. Hyundai posted its tenth consecutive quarterly profit fall in the April-to-June period, hit by an emerging-market downturn and its failure to tap into strong global demand for sport utility vehicles. Analysts expect Hyundai Motor to post weaker-than-expected profits for the third quarter, hit by the strike and slowing domestic demand after a cut in excise tax expired in June. Hyundai and Kia Motors were expected to see global sales slip 0.6 percent to about 7.96 million vehicles this year, below their targets of 8.13 million vehicles, NH Investment & Securities analyst Cho Soo-hong said. Hyundai Motor has been hit by strikes in all but four of the union's 29-year history. ($1 = 1,107.1300 won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Stephen Coates)
GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Leading North American tea retailer Immortalitea announced today the results of their first crowdfunding initiative. In July of this year Immortalitea introduced their customers to a struggling farming cooperative in rural Chunan county, Zhejiang province, China.

Chunan country is the birthplace of the revered Dragon Well Green Tea. Unfortunatley, due to the combined effects of intense commercialization and pollution, true handcrafted Dragon Well tea has become so rare and expensive only the Chinese elite have access to it.

Meanwhile, copycat lesser quality teas using the name Dragon Well abound in Western tea markets. Ralph Kenney, founder of Immortalitea, explained in the company newsletter that a new farming cooperative in Chunan had approached him. The cooperative had obtained permission to harvest an abandoned government owned tea field. Due to remote location, they were able to harvest this tea just once per year and the scale of the operation is such that they can only process the tea by hand using traditional methods.

After sampling the tea, Mr. Kenney decided to use his Immortalitea Insider's Club to launch a small crowdfunding effort. The company announced today declared the crowdfunding a success.

Said Kenney, "We were able to purchase all of the remaining 2016 harvest from this small cooperative. Most of our purchase went immediately to the participants of our crowdfund. Early feedback form customer is that they loved the tea. We kept a small amount of the tea for sell on our site."

The members of the cooperative have received their payments as well and happily report they have pooled their money to buy a truck. It's red.

"I don't know if we will do this again." said Immortalitea's founder. "I feel good about what we did but it was effort intensive. Let's see how the harvest goes next year."

More information about the Dragon Well tea is available at the company website.

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Contact The Immortalitea Company:

Margo Chupeido

530-554-1380

margo@immortalitea.com

2885 Sanford Ave. SW Grandville, MI, 49418

SOURCE: The Immortalitea Company
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f222821%2fap_16269402036984

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will ratify the Paris Agreement climate change pact on Oct 2.

SEE ALSO: The Paris climate agreement just took a big step toward becoming international law

Modis announcement on Sunday is seen as a major boost to the implementation of measures at international level in an attempt to control global warming. Modi added that the country has chosen Oct. 2 to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who lived his entire live with minimum carbon footprint.

"There is one work left in the CoP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it. Today on the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, I announce that India will ratify the decisions on October 2, the birth anniversary of mahatma Gandhi," Modi said.

More than 190 nations have agreed on regulating global warming and helping poor nations that face climate catastrophe. The participating countries are expected to come up with plans to limit greenhouse gas emission by the end of the year. They will aim to keep global temperature rise to below 2-degree Celsius this century.

Indias stand on the Paris Agreement has been critical as it alone accounts for 4.5 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. For the Paris Climate Agreement to come into effect, at least 55 percent of the participating nations accounting for 55 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions need to ratify it.

The Indian government took additional time to announce its stand because it wanted to complete some projects. These projects, many of which are heavily relying on usage of fossil fuels, will need amendments when the country complies with the Paris Agreement climate pact guidelines.

Modis announcement came as a surprise to many, especially since the Indian government refused to commit to the Paris Agreement earlier this year at G20 summit. But India also risked losing the advantage of first-mover, letting China and the U.S. set rules with their best interest in mind, according to Hindustan Times.

The United States welcomed Indias take on Paris Agreement.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - India's foreign minister on Monday used her address at the UN General Assembly to accuse Pakistan of terrorism, warning that India will not give up control in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Tensions between the longtime rivals have spiked over a recent attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

"Pakistan remains in denial. It persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets," Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told the assembly.

"My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so."

Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the disputed Himalayan territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

The Indian army has blamed the latest attack on the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was also implicated in an audacious attack in January on an Indian air force base in Pathankot, in the northern state of Punjab, that left seven soldiers dead.

The foreign minister said it was time to isolate Pakistan over its alleged ties with terror groups.

"In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it and export it," she said.

"To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account."

"Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations," she added.

Several rebel groups have fought an estimated 500,000 Indian forces deployed in Kashmir, demanding independence for the Muslim-majority region or its merger with Pakistan.

- Response to Sharif -

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the General Assembly last week that his country was committed to peace but that New Delhi was making unacceptable demands.

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"Pakistan wants peace with India. I have gone the extra mile to achieve this," he told the gathering in New York. "But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue.

"Let us be clear: talks are no favor to Pakistan," he added. "Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to resolve our differences."

The Indian foreign minister responded to Sharif in her address, rejecting the accusation that her government was imposing preconditions and arguing that it had taken unprecedented steps to improve relations.

"And what did we get in return? Pathankot, Bahadur Ali and Uri," she said, referring to the Kashmir attacks and a suspect held in custody.

"Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror," Swaraj said.

India has vowed to push to make Pakistan a pariah state in the eyes of the international community.
* Group CEO Lie says IPO planned in March, declines to detail size

* Exec says 3 Boeing 777-200s ordered, will lift fleet size to 57 (Adds details of plan, industry background)

JAKARTA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indonesian airline operator PT Sriwijaya Air plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of equity shares in March, owner and group chief executive Chandra Lie told reporters on Monday.

Sriwijaya Air's plan to go public next year comes as domestic rival Lion Air, the country's biggest budget carrier, is also considering floating its shares on the stock market.

Lie declined to disclose the size of the planned share sale. He said bankers for the IPO have been appointed but declined to name them.

"We are preparing. We will make sure this company is good and fit (for an IPO)," vice director of finance Lukcimo Jahja told reporters separately.

Sriwijaya Air, which is categorized as a medium-service airline, has a current fleet of 54 airplanes. It has ordered three Boeing 777-200s to cater to flights for Indonesian haj pilgrimage travellers, which will start arriving next year, Jahja said.

Without disclosing the amount, Jahja said the company saw significant revenue increase last year due to flight route expansion, including an additional flight to China.

Sriwijaya Air carried more than 800,000 passengers per month, according to its website. In comparison, flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk and its subsidiary carried more than 2.7 million passengers per month in 2015.

(Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is fast gaining pace as pharma companies look to innovate and keep up with technology to help patients and physicians better monitor and track diseases. With a couple of deals being announced this month, IoMT seems like the future of healthcare.



IoMT  A Healthcare Revolution



IoMT involves the bringing together of technology and medical devices and applications. Chronic diseases which require frequent monitoring can be tracked effectively so that patients receive timely and proper treatment. It is already a part of our daily lives in the form of wearable devices like Apple Watch, Fitbit and Samsung S Health which help users achieve their fitness and health targets.



Pharma and tech companies are now taking things a step further and are collaborating to make devices that can track chronic and lifestyle associated diseases like diabetes which are growing at a fast pace.



In fact, the scope for innovation in this area is endless -- contact lenses that can detect glucose levels, a device that can monitor caloric intake, bioelectronic medicines that can tackle and maybe treat a wide range of chronic diseases, robotic-assisted surgery  all these are actually some of the widely interesting areas covered by IoMT.



As more deals between pharma and tech companies get announced, it makes sense to take a look at some of the key players in this rapidly evolving area.



Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. TEVA signed up with Intel Corporation INTC in mid-September to develop a wearable device and machine learning platform that can be used in Huntington disease (HD). Patients in an ongoing study will use a smartphone and wear a smartwatch equipped with sensing technology which will continuously monitor their general functioning and movement. The data will be wirelessly streamed to a cloud-based platform specifically developed by Intel to analyze data from wearable devices. The data will then be translated in near real-time into objective scores of motor symptom severity which in turn will help improve understanding regarding disease progression and the impact of treatment. Intel is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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INTEL CORP Price and Consensus

INTEL CORP Price and Consensus | INTEL CORP Quote

TEVA PHARM ADR Price and Consensus

TEVA PHARM ADR Price and Consensus | TEVA PHARM ADR Quote

Another pharma-tech deal that made news this month is the joint venture (JV) between French drugmaker, Sanofi SNY, and Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet GOOGL company. The JV, Onduo, will be focused on the development of comprehensive solutions that combine devices, software, medicine, and professional care to enable simple and intelligent disease management for diabetics. Sanofis expertise in diabetes will be combined with Verilys experience in miniaturized electronics, analytics, and consumer software development.

SANOFI-AVENTIS Price and Consensus

SANOFI-AVENTIS Price and Consensus | SANOFI-AVENTIS Quote

Qualcomm Incorporated QCOM is another company that is quite active in the area of healthcare Internet of Things (IoT). Through its subsidiary Qualcomm Life, Inc., Qualcomm recently signed a deal with Boehringer Ingelheim that will see the companies collaborating to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care. The deal covers the development of a connectivity solution for Boehringer's Respimat inhaler to help improve COPD treatment outcomes.

QUALCOMM INC Price and Consensus

QUALCOMM INC Price and Consensus | QUALCOMM INC Quote

Earlier this year, Qualcomm had signed up with Swiss pharma giant, Novartis AG NVS -- under the deal, Qualcomm Life will provide a technology solution for the connectivity of the next generation of Novartis Breezhaler, a device used for the companys COPD treatments.

NOVARTIS AG-ADR Price and Consensus

NOVARTIS AG-ADR Price and Consensus | NOVARTIS AG-ADR Quote

Meanwhile, Sanofi is not the only pharma company to be collaborating with Verily. British pharma company GlaxoSmithKline plc GSK is setting up Galvani Bioelectronics in collaboration with Verily for the development of bioelectronic medicines. Bioelectronic medicine is a pretty new scientific field involving the use of miniaturized, implantable devices that can modify electrical signals that pass along nerves in the body, including irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses.



According to Glaxo, which has been active in this field over the last four years, chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes and asthma could potentially be treated using these devices.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE Price and Consensus

GLAXOSMITHKLINE Price and Consensus | GLAXOSMITHKLINE Quote

In Conclusion



With technology touching most aspects of our lives, it wont be surprising to see more such collaborations going forward. According to a report issued by P&S Market Research earlier this year, the global IoT in Healthcare market was valued at approximately $24.7 billion in 2014, and is expected to grow 37.6% (CAGR) during 2015 - 2020.



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
* Kaeser ousted predecessor Loescher in 2013 boardroom coup

* CEO has raised profitability, share price

* Kaeser faced opposition at last AGM in January

By Georgina Prodhan

FRANKFURT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser has signaled he wants to renew his contract when it runs out in 2018, a move welcomed by investors who have grown to trust the 59-year-old company veteran.

Kaeser ousted his predecessor Peter Loescher in a boardroom coup in July 2013 when he was finance chief. Since then he has streamlined the German group to focus on its strengths in industrial engineering, raised profitability and seen the share price respond this year.

There is still work to be done but investors believe Kaeser deserves a new contract.

The trains-to-turbines group trails rivals with its enterprise value of 9.7 times estimated 2016 core profit, below multiples of 17.3 for General Electric, 10.5 for ABB and 10.4 for Schneider Electric.

But after a clean-up of underperforming businesses, almost 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in cost cuts and the sale of Siemens' last consumer operations, investors see the group as well placed to take advantage of opportunities in its markets.

"We are happy with his work. The first successes of his revamp are visible. Profitability is rising and we're not at the end yet by a long way. We see a lot of upside," said portfolio manager Christoph Niesel of Union Investment, a top 20 investor.

Kaeser is expected to oversee a spin-off of Siemens' healthcare unit, valued at about 20 billion euros, within the next year or two after Kaeser separated it legally and operationally from the rest of the group.

WINNING OVER CRITICS

German business daily Handelsblatt wrote on Sunday that Kaeser had signaled to Siemens' supervisory board he would be happy to continue beyond 2018, citing company sources.

The report came two days after long-serving and respected Chief Technology Officer Siegfried Russwurm said he would not extend his contract beyond next March, by "mutual agreement" with the supervisory board.

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Russwurm was regarded as a potential alternative chief executive.

A Siemens spokesman declined to comment on the Handelsblatt report and a supervisory board member said the issue had not been discussed.

Kaeser's popularity is perhaps higher than at any time since he took over.

As recently as January's annual meeting, shareholders were bitterly complaining about Siemens' lagging share price, the dangers of ambitious new projects such as a deal to build energy infrastructure in Egypt, and the ill-timed acquisition of U.S. oilfield equipment Dresser-Rand -- at $7.8 billion, Siemens' biggest-ever takeover.

Since then, the share price has risen by one-sixth, outperforming the German blue-chip DAX by 8 percent, while the oil price has jumped by almost half, improving prospects for the Dresser-Rand business.

The Egyptian project, Siemens' biggest-ever contract, is on track so far, unlike other large Siemens projects in the past, which often ran into problems that regularly caused hundreds of millions of euros in unexpected charges.

"Siemens executes the big projects much better than in the past," said another top 10 Siemens shareholder, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

RUTHLESS STREAK

Kaeser -- a sharp dresser who shaved off his trademark moustache upon becoming CEO and is at ease with the financial community thanks to his seven years as CFO -- has also endeared himself to investors with a 3 billion-euro share buyback scheme over three years.

Operating profitability at Siemens' industrial businesses rose to 10.8 percent last quarter from 6.5 percent before Kaeser took over, and disposals of units including hearing-aids and home appliances brought welcome gains.

At the same time, Kaeser has beefed up Siemens' engineering simulation software with large acquisitions including CD-adapco of the United States this year, making it the only industrial automation player globally with integrated software.

Kaeser's fortunes could change again rapidly, though: In recent media interviews he has said he is "very cautious" about geopolitical uncertainty clouding the investment climate for 2017.

Investors also point to his ruthless nature, which helped him to get the job, as a potential weakness.

"The one point where he has to be a bit careful is to make sure he has the backing of other top management. We've seen Russwurm and other managers leaving," said the top 10 investor.

Others were concerned that Kaeser could be drawing his power from too narrow a base.

Union Investment's Niesel said: "Russwurm is one of the names you'd think of when considering who would lead the company. Everything is now tailor-made for Mr Kaeser and his team. But that's an issue for Siemens management." ($1 = 0.8877 euros) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Keith Weir)
By Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Iran downplayed on Monday the chances of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers clinching an output-restraint deal in Algeria this week even though several other members of the group said they still hoped for steps to tackle a price-eroding glut of crude.

Oil prices have more than halved from 2014 levels due to oversupply, prompting OPEC producers and rival Russia to seek a market rebalancing that would boost revenues from oil exports and help their crippled budgets.

The predominant idea since early 2016 among producers has been to agree to freeze output levels, although market watchers have said such a move would fail to reduce unwanted barrels.

Sources told Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia had offered to reduce its output if Iran agreed to freeze production, a shift in Riyadh's position as the kingdom had previously refused to discuss output cuts.

As delegations gathered in Algiers, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said expectations should be modest.

"This is an advisory meeting and that's all we should expect from it," he was quoted as saying by oil ministry news service SHANA before he left Tehran. "The talks among OPEC members can be used for the OPEC summit in Vienna in November."

Crude prices (LCOc1) rose by 3.5 percent on Monday, recouping most of the losses sustained on Friday, when hopes for an output deal in Algeria faded.

One OPEC delegate said the focus was now firmly on trying to persuade Iran to freeze output at levels acceptable for the rest of the producer group.

Iran's output has been stagnant at 3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the past three months, close to what the country produced before the imposition of European sanctions in 2012.

The sanctions were eased in January 2016, and Iran has said it wants to achieve output of more than 4 million bpd.

On Monday, an OPEC source said Iran was still insisting on being allowed to reach 4.1-4.2 million bpd before freezing production.

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"SIGNIFICANT ACTION"

Some ministers and officials expressed hope that a deal could emerge this week.

"For us in the UAE, we are for a decision. We think a freeze will help if it is agreed. We hope that all are going to agree," the United Arab Emirates' energy minister, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, told Reuters.

Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said everyone in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed that the market was badly oversupplied and the situation had worsened since the last OPEC meeting in June.

"Credible and significant action is needed to help the market rebalance ... One fundamental aspect is that OPEC production should be significantly below the level of August. The second is that the effort must be shared out."

"Third is that any agreement be limited to the time it takes to reabsorb oil stocks. And the fourth is that the action should be credible in the eyes of the market and verifiable," Bouterfa told French-language Algerian daily Liberte.

Members of OPEC will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, from Sept. 26-28.

Russia is also attending but there is no evidence the country is preparing to participate in any production action.

(Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Tehran (AFP) - Iranian-Canadian anthropologist Homa Hoodfar who was arrested and jailed in Tehran in June for "security offences" has been released and has left the country, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

The official IRNA news agency quoted a ministry spokesman as saying that the 65-year-old woman with dual nationality, who had also been accused of "feminist activities", was freed "for humanitarian reasons".

Hoodfar travelled to Oman and on to Canada, he said.

Iranian state television has said Hoodfar was a founding member of a London-based advocacy group, Women Living Under Muslim Law (WLUML).

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians were relieved Hoodfar had been released and would "soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues".

"The government of Canada has been actively and constructively engaged at the highest levels... since her ordeal began," he said.

"I would also like to recognise the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation.

"They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations," Trudeau said in a statement.

"In the absence of diplomatic representation of its own in Iran, Canada worked closely with others who were instrumental in helping secure Dr Hoodfar's release -- most notably Oman, Italy and Switzerland."

Oman's foreign ministry said the sultanate had acted as a mediator in negotiations for Hoodfar's release "in response to a request from the Canadian government", state news agency ONA reported.

A ministry official said arrangements were made for an Omani air force plane to fly her from Tehran to Muscat on Monday before her return to Canada.

Canada severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, after its government criticised the Islamic republic's support for the Syrian regime, its "incitement to genocide" against Israel and its leaders' failure to account for their nuclear programme.

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Ties were also strained by Tehran's jailing of Iranian-born Canadians and authorities denying Canadian detainees consular protection.

Iran does not recognise dual nationality and treats those arrested as Iranian citizens only.

But after a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last year towards lifting international sanctions in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme, Canada announced the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran in February.

Ottawa however said it would maintain restrictions on exports of nuclear goods and technologies, and anything that could help Iran to develop ballistic missiles.

In 2013, Ottawa imposed a near-total trade embargo on Iran that included economic sanctions and travel restrictions against 78 officials and 508 organisations.
By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State militants are "dead set" on using chemical arms and are likely to try them again as Iraqi forces advance on Mosul, a Pentagon spokesman said on Monday, a week after a rocket with a possible chemical agent landed near U.S. troops. The rocket fired Tuesday landed in an unpopulated area near Qayyara West base, several hundred yards from where hundreds of U.S. troops are working to prepare an airfield for an Iraqi offensive to recapture the city of Mosul. No one was hurt in the attack. The shell initially tested positive for a mustard agent, but two subsequent tests have been inconclusive and the device is undergoing further tests, Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. "We fully recognize this is something that ISIL has done before. They've done it many times, at least a couple dozen that we know of where they have launched crude makeshift munitions that are filled with this mustard agent," Davis said using an acronym for the group. An air strike by the U.S.-led military coalition destroyed an Islamic State chemical weapons factory on Friday near Qayyara, the second attack against a chemical arms facility this month. Davis said Islamic State's ability to weaponize mustard agent has been rudimentary. The group typically uses a chemical powder bound together with oil, which leaves behind a telltale oil trace. "It's not generally in a lethal concentration. It's more of an irritant than anything else, but again, not something we view as militarily significant," he said, noting that the gas form of mustard agent used in the First World War was far more lethal. Even though Islamic State has not perfected the ability to weaponize chemicals, U.S. and Iraqi forces still have to be prepared for a chemical attack, Davis said. "We recognize this is real. They're dead set on it. They would love to be able to use chemical weapons against us, against the Iraqis as they move forward," Davis said. "We are making every effort to make sure that we're ready for it." He said U.S. troops deployed to the region have the training and equipment they need to defend against chemical attacks and are working to ensure the Iraqis are prepared and properly equipped as well. Davis said the United States has provided more than 50,000 gas masks to Iraq, with about 40,000 going to Iraqi security forces. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's attorney general has said he would approve a criminal probe of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if "reasonable" grounds were found, countering charges that the two men are too close.

In July, the attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, said he had given the go-ahead for inquiries into a "matter" involving Netanyahu, defining the case as "an examination and not a criminal investigation into the prime minister".

Israeli media said it concerned suspicions of fraud and money laundering against Netanyahu's former chief of staff, Ari Harrow.

Mandelblit, who was appointed attorney general in February after serving for three years as Netanyahu's cabinet secretary, has been accused by some media of dragging his feet over the case.

Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Monday quoted extensively from an interview given by Mandelblit for a coming edition of the Israel Bar Association's magazine in which he says his actions are strictly professional.

"No one has an interest in delaying the probe. No one derives any benefit from it being delayed," he said.

"If reasonable suspicion comes to light, it will turn into a criminal investigation  and I dont care who the subject is."

At this stage that is not the case, Mandelblit said, "but the examination is still not over, and changes are always a possibility".

According to Haaretz newspaper, Harrow was suspected of involvement in the fictitious sale of a business supposedly worth $3 million.

It is not the first time that the premier's name has been linked with impropriety although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

In June, he acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in jail over a $315-million scam involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and the taxes on them.

In May, Israel's state comptroller released a critical report about Netanyahu's foreign trips, some with his wife and children, between 2003 and 2005 when he was finance minister.

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And there have been allegations the couple spent public funds on garden furniture and electrical repairs at their private villa in the coastal resort of Caesarea.

Also, a former butler has accused Sara Netanyahu of pocketing cash from deposit refunds for empty bottles returned from the official residence between 2009 and 2013, money that should have gone to the treasury.

In 2013, Netanyahu reimbursed the state $1,000 but the butler has said the figure should have been six times higher.

On Monday, a new row was brewing after reports Netanyahu had petitioned a Jerusalem court to block a freedom of information request from a local NGO which wants details of his official spending on his family's laundry made public.

Israeli Channel 10 TV reporter Raviv Drucker posted online what he said was the title page of Netanyahu's 27-page request.

Israeli public radio quoted Netanyahu as saying on his return home Monday night from a trip to New York that the "interest in his laundry is sheer pettiness and even the prime minister has a right to privacy".
Jerusalem (AFP) - The US-led consortium leading the development of Israel's offshore gas reserves on Monday announced a first deal to sell natural gas from its Leviathan field to neighbouring Jordan.

US firm Noble Energy, the lead partner, said in a statement that the contract signed Monday with the National Electric Power Company of Jordan (NEPCO) was for "300 million cubic feet per day over a 15-year term".

It includes an option to purchase a further 50 million cubic feet up to a total of 350 million daily.

"Gross contract revenues are estimated to be approximately $10 billion," it said.

Delivery to NEPCO is expected to begin at the same time as the estimated 22 trillion cubic foot field goes online to domestic clients in 2019 "subject to regulatory approvals from Israel and Jordan", Noble said.

Israel's government only ratified the consortium's plans for Leviathan on May 22, after long legal and political wrangling.

Noble is in partnership with Israeli energy firms Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration.

"The signing of the export agreement between the Leviathan project and... NEPCO is an historic day and positions the Leviathan Project in the centre of the regional energy map," Delek Drilling and Avner CEO Yossi Abu said in a statement.

The project was previously blocked by Israel's supreme court as unconstitutional, with critics saying it gave overly favourable terms to the energy companies.

The agreement was then revised to reflect the court's objections and the government subsequently gave it the green light.

Leviathan is the largest of Israel's offshore gas fields, with enough reserves to turn the previously resource-poor country into a significant exporter.

"The partners in the Leviathan project will continue to pursue long-term agreements with other customers in the eastern Mediterranean, including in Egypt, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority," Abu said.

The consortium has already contracted to sell natural gas from the smaller Tamar field to the Jordan Bromine Company and the Arab Potash Company, starting "in late 2016", Noble's statement said.
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Heavy rain that continued last week in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions will improve the size of the upcoming main crop, farmers said on Monday, but more sun is needed to ward off disease. The 2016/17 marketing season in the world's top cocoa producer will officially open on Oct. 1 with the start of main crop harvesting. A new guaranteed farmgate price, based on forward sales, is due to be set this week. Some farmers said they had already started harvesting and selling small amounts of beans to pay expenses such as children's school fees. In the southern region of Aboisso, farmers said they were optimistic about the main crop outlook but concerned about poor bean quality due to lack of sun. "With the abundant rain we've had, we think the trees will be full of ripe pods from November until January," said Etienne Yao, who farms in Aboisso. "What worries us now is the drying of the beans," Yao said, due to the high risk of mold. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers reported heavy rain last week intermixed with sun. "If we get a lot of sun in October, the quality of the beans will be very good," said Kouassi Kouame, who farms in the outskirts of Soubre. Albert N'Zue, a farmer near Daloa, said he expected an abundant harvest because the soil moisture there was good. Good growing conditions were also reported in southern regions Agboville and Divo, in coastal region Sassandra, in eastern region Abengourou and in western region Duekoue. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Nellie Peyton)
Tokyo (AFP) - An online ad featuring a swimsuit-clad teenage girl who turns into an eel was pulled Monday after Japanese internet users complained it was sexist.

Officials in far-south Shibushi yanked the commercial but insisted they had only wanted to draw attention to locally-farmed fish.

The bizarre two-minute spot began with a girl wearing a black one-piece lounging in a pool and asking a man to "feed me".

She is then seen lazing poolside and hula-hooping, before the film cuts to bucolic images of southern Japan.

It then returns to the girl, who jumps back into the pool and changes into an eel.

"We're farming (eels) with care," reads a subtitle that ends the video.

Viewers were unimpressed.

"This makes me think of a girl who is being kidnapped and locked up...it's the delusions of a pervert," said one Twitter user.

Another added: "They should take down this sexist video."

Stung by criticism, city officials pulled the ad, with a local official telling AFP: "we're aware that some people were offended".

"We just wanted to make a video that simply explains the city is known for eel farming."

This is not the first time a Japanese city has found itself in hot water over advertising deemed demeaning to women.

The city of Shima, which hosted G7 talks earlier this year, changed its new female community mascot after it was blasted as obscene and sexist.

The cartoon image of a voluptuous 17-year-old aspiring "ama" diver in search of a boyfriend drew fire from real female divers, who traditionally harvest seaweed, clams and, in some areas, pearls.
Japan issued a warning to China on Monday, after eight Chinese military planes were flown near disputed territories in the East China Sea.

Yoshihide Suga, Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary, said Tokyo would watch Chinas military to ensure that it doesnt violate Japanese airspace, according to the Associated Press.

The government of Japan continues to watch the Chinese militarys activity, which has become expansive and more active, while carrying out our surveillance activity, said Suga. We are determined to defend our land, territorial waters and the skies.

Two fighter jets, four bombers and two reconnaissance planes reportedly flew over the Miyako Strait, between Okinawa and Miyakojima on Sunday. Japan said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the move, which many are calling a show of force by China, the BBC reports. The Chinese planes flew over waters near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China where they are known as the Diaoyu Islands.

It comes one week after Japan announced it would take part in joint training patrols alongside the U.S. in the South China Sea.

The flights, which Chinese state media said were part of a routine exercise that involved about 40 aircraft, did not violate Japanese airspace.

[AP]
Emperor Meiji sat for a photograph in 1872 wearing a courtiers robe and hat that reached for the sky  a symbol of tradition in the East. But to Europeans? Not so much. The 20-year-old leader, despite all the pomp, looked baby-faced and scrawny. But by the time he sat for a new photograph one year later, Meiji was sporting a beard and military regalia, and had parted his hair in a fashion not unlike Jefferson Davis.

In the 1850s, Japan ended its entrenched isolationist policy on the world stage to open its doors. The West rushed in and built trading hubs in Japanese cities like Sapporo and Yokohama. The Meiji emperor, meanwhile, was coming of age, and the young leader  thanks to Japans newly minted Western ties  influenced generations to come on how they would look and dress in Japan.

In 1865, men are in skirts. A decade later, an elite man is to be wearing a suit or growing a beard. Robert Hellyer, Wake Forest University

He was made into a public figure in the European mold, says Robert Hellyer, associate professor of history at Wake Forest University, who teaches about East Asia and Japan. In 1865, men are in skirts. A decade later, an elite man is to be wearing a suit or growing a beard. Throughout his youth, Emperor Meiji was traditionally Japanese. He drank sake (rice wine), wore a kimono like his predecessors and even had 15 children by five different concubines, according to Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912, by Donald Keene. As a young man, he arrived in Tokyo  then still called Edo  in a palanquin, a covered sedan chair carried on poles by men. His subjects were not given a chance to see him, and he lived his days sequestered in the palace, inaccessible to his countrymen and the world.

For more than 200 years, the Tokugawa government micromanaged the nations vestments, according to Ametora, a history of Japanese fashion by W. David Marx. Class barriers dictated some styles  only nobles and samurai, for example, were allowed to wear silk. In the earlier mid-Heian period, those in the Japanese court became less influenced by Chinese fashions. Japanese leaders were rarely seen in public depictions until after they had passed away. But when Japanese ambassadors traveled to the West in the early 1870s, the envoys noted how diplomats carried photos of their leaders around with them. This knowledge led to the staging of photographs of Emperor Meiji, and from there his image spread throughout Japan.

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The emperor wasnt the only one to lead Japan toward Western ways: Author Fukuzawa Yukichi helped usher in Western culture to Japan more broadly. Born in the 1830s, Fukuzawa proved adept at learning foreign languages like English and Dutch, and was among the first group to travel to the United States in an official manner in the 1860s, later penning An Outline of a Theory of Civilization, which promoted imitation of the West.

After the emperor embraced Western fashion, it quickly caught on in Japanese military and diplomatic circles. The emperor went so far as to declare the Dampatsurei Edict, which forced samurai to forgo their traditional top hair knots and instead go with more Western cuts. [The emperor] is converted into what looks like a Prussian general by the 1880s, Harvard history of art professor Yukio Lippit says. Boys and schoolgirls slowly changed their attire, adding boots, hair bows and high collars, and creating a generation that grew up accustomed to Western clothing.

It wasnt just fashion that changed. The emperor also became more involved in the military, like European leaders, and began inspecting troops atop a white horse. The emperors birthday was made into a holiday, a new national anthem was written and Meijis multiple concubines took a backseat, at least in public, to a single wife who was depicted in images as his only spouse. Stylish Empress Masako Ichijo assumed a publicly social role by establishing Japans Red Cross, among other organizations.

But much of the change was merely superficial. Meijis use of European dress was aspirational, Lippit says, noting how change was very slow nationwide. Pre-modern habits were not unusual far into 19th- and early-20th-century Japan, he says, explaining that while homes might have had desks, chairs and tables, people often still preferred to sit on the floor. Some, of course, were opposed to modernization altogether: Military leader Saigo Takamori, for example, famously protested Westernization and even sparked a futile rebellion.

Emperor Meiji died in 1912, having laid the foundations for todays more Western Japanese culture. Todays Emperor Akihito is even contemplating stepping down. And when he said so, he was wearing a sharp black suit, complete with a white pocket square to accent his gray hair.
Passengers, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratts sci-fi romance, dominated social media buzz about movies last week, following its trailer launch, with more than 43,000 new conversation, according to media-measurement firm ComScore.

The Passengers teaser debuted on Sept. 20, laying out the storys premise  Lawrence and Pratt play the only two people awake on a 5,000-passenger spaceship, where the rest of the population is in suspended animation.

Passengers, a co-production from Sony and Village Roadshow, will hit North American theaters on Dec. 21.

Jumanji scored the the second-highest number of new conversations last week with more than 20,000, as Sony released set images and videos and announced several cast additions between Sep. 20 and Sept. 23. Star Kevin Hart also posted a first-look photo from the set.

Cast additions included SerDarius Blain, Madison Iseman, Rhys Darby, Morgan Turner, and Alex Wolff. ComScore noted that Karen Gillans outfit  child-sized clothes, as she called them  in the images also sparked criticism on social media, causing her to defend it. Jumanji roars into theaters on July 28.

Jumanji! Yes I'm wearing child sized clothes and YES there is a reason! The pay off is worth it, I promise! #Jumanji pic.twitter.com/qBshnhwV6K  Karen Gillan (@karengillan) September 21, 2016

Disneys animated Moana generated the third-highest number of new conversations last week with more than 18,000, following the release of an international trailer on Sept. 19. Moana takes sail on Nov. 23.

Fifty Shades Darker followed in fourth with nearly 16,000 new conversations, a week after Universal debuted the steamy teaser on Sept. 12 and first trailer on Sept. 13 and. The trailer generated a record-breaking 114 million views across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other digital platforms in its first 24 hours.

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Fifty Shades Darker opens on Feb. 10.

Lionsgates Power Ranger finished fifth with more than 15,000 new conversations in the wake of a character poster reveal featuring Zords on Sept. 21. Bill Hader was announced to have been cast as Alpha 5 on Sept. 22. Power Rangers launches March 24.

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Shares of Deutsche Bank on Monday slid to a new low, as German President Angela Merkel ruled out the possibility of a state-sponsored bailout for the bank as investors around the world question its financial health.

The German banks struggles are a reminder of similar problems American banks faced in 2008, until they were bailed out by the U.S. government. The topic, though, is not exactly at the forefront of the 2016 presidential race, and its absence has been noted by candidates, including third-party contenders.

The Green Partys presidential nominee, Jill Stein, joined the FOX Business Network and explained how she would, if necessary, bail out banks in the future.

We would ensure that the American people are getting a return on their investment, Stein said. So the bailouts of 2008 were just handouts. They were corporate welfare on steroids, to the tune of $16 trillion when you add up all of it.

Stein, who is in favor of bailout out student debt and providing tuition-free public college education, said there are more options than just bank bailouts.

The bank can be, for example, nationalized and turned into a public bank or broken up into smaller banks, Stein said. We need to correct the problem and not just go back to the same problem of banks that are too big to fail, because thats where we are.

Commenting on the latest news about the struggling Deutche Bank, the Green Party nominee said:

This failure of Deutche Bank has been in the works for a while. And our own banks are more consolidated than ever; more risky than ever. What a President Stein would do upon taking office is insist that we use what are called minimum capital requirements so that the banks are not taking really dangerous risks with taxpayer money. And if they do fail, we need to ensure that taxpayer interests are insured going forward and in the process of that bailout.

Though Stein will not be on the debate stage Monday night due to missing part of the requirements set forward by the Commission on Presidential Debates, she stated that she would be responding to questions online.

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We are virtually opening up the debate through Facebook and through Twitter, Stein said. People can go to social media. They can go to my website and our web media and they can see through Twitter and through a new app. They can basically watch us live, inserted into the debate through this new democratized form of media that is social media, and the open internet.

She added:

The way itll work is that the candidates will each first answer the questions on the stage in the debate arena, and following Trump and Clinton, then I will answer will answer the question. Then well revert to the open discussion, in which I will also take two opportunities to respond to the issues as they come up. So it will be a virtually liberated debate in which the American people can actually hear the real issues in front of us.

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Jim Lehrer has moderated 12 presidential debates. His final debate was the first face-off between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama in 2012. It was watched by more than 67 million viewers; that marked a record since 1980, when 80 million watched President Jimmy Carter debate Ronald Reagan. But Lehrer expects Monday night's Lester Holt-moderated debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to easily eclipse that.

"People want to see these two folks. And that's what these debates are all about. It's the only time in the campaign that the two candidates are on the same stage talking about the same thing and people get to take the measure of them. Not only for what they believe and don't believe, but how they handle themselves. What kind of people they are, their temperament," says Lehrer.

The veteran newsman retired from the anchor chair of PBS' NewsHour in 2011; he came out of semi-retirement to anchor the Obama-Romney debate. (He is now on the board of the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonprofit that sponsors and produces the presidential and vice-presidential debates.) Lehrer came under intense criticism for his handling of that debate in 2012 - the first of a new, more free-wheeling format - especially from supporters of President Obama, who turned in a disengaged performance in the face of verbal jabs from Romney. Lehrer talks to The Hollywood Reporter about the evolution of the debate format, Matt Lauer's handling of that Commander-in-Chief Forum and offers advice for first-time moderator Holt.

Read more: Don't Get Lauer'd: Nervous Networks Prep for Presidential Debates

Any guess at how many will tune in to the debate?

It's going to be probably the most watched presidential debate in history. And the reason is obvious: We've got two candidates who are sharply divided in all kinds of ways, on what they believe, what they stand for and also in personality. And the campaign has gotten very personal between them. And now they will be on the same stage at the same time talking to each other. And that changes the whole dynamic and it makes it very interesting (Laughs.) It could be more than interesting.

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How has the moderators' role evolved?

When they began, they were very controlled. Now the formats are much loser, much more open. The candidates can now talk to each other. They can ask each other questions. The moderator is now in a position to ask follow-ups and, more importantly, generate a give-and-take between the candidates, which is more work for the moderator. The moderator's role has changed because the format has changed. A lot of folks have not picked up on that. It's a different. The controversy that everyone has been talking about is mostly a misunderstanding; I'm talking about Matt Lauer [who was much criticized for a Sept. 7 forum with Trump and Clinton]. That was not a debate. Those were back-to-back interviews. People called him the moderator. But he wasn't a moderator. When you moderate, the whole thing is different. The candidates do the fact-checking back and forth, and the moderator's job is to facilitate that, to encourage it, to get it done.

So the moderator's job is harder now?

Absolutely. The moderator is the one who alone makes the decision about what the subjects are. The moderator alone makes the decision about what questions will be asked. The moderator alone makes the decision about when to move on and when to stay on a subject - and, yes, has much more power. In the beginning, there was a moderator and a couple panelists who would also ask questions. I was the first sole moderator. It's a whole different ballgame. It's changed dramatically for the moderator as well as the people watching.

Obama has called out the media for grading Trump "on a curve." Trump has criticized Holt and Anderson Cooper, who is co-moderating the second debate with ABC's Martha Raddatz. What do you make of all of this noise?

We're in a different world, a different time. Everything is amplified much more than it ever was before. There are more outlets. There are more people involved in the process, in terms of reporting and commenting and analyzing and fact-checking. It's a huge operation. The commotion is part of the importance of the event, in other words, electing the president, and is also the result of all the new ways that are available to amplify the differences, amplify the overall debate, amplify the charges and the counter-charges. It's just a much larger exercise than it was before. In terms of criticizing the moderators beforehand, it just goes with the territory. If you don't want to be criticized, don't be a moderator because there's no way to do it without being criticized. It's oh, you moved on too quickly, oh you didn't stay on that long enough, you didn't do this, this, and this. A lot of people do not understand how these debates have changed. As a consequence, sometimes they're using the wrong standard to judge the outcome, which I'm very sensitive to, of course.

Read more: Will Trump Call Clinton "Crooked Hillary"?: 5 Things to Watch for in First Debate

A recent Gallup poll found that trust in the media has hit a nadir, since 1972, when Gallup has been doing the poll. How do you feel about that?

It disappoints me, obviously. I've spent my whole professional life, 50 years, in that business. And so the fact that people have grown to distrust it more than they have in the past, that's not a good thing. But remember, there's more of it now. Even 20 years ago, the media was your local newspaper, the nightly news on television, local and national programs, and three or four national publications. Now there are hundreds of ways to get information. So when somebody says the media, it isn't just the New York Times or NBC or CBS. It's blogs and cable and talk radio. The fact is there are so many ways to express your opinion, the end result of that is people are going to have more opinions. Serious journalism is shrinking in terms of the piece of the pie of journalism generally. It's a tsunami of information and opinion, and it rushes to the right and the left, it rushes where you want it to go, where you don't want it to go. It's a great thing in that there are many more outlets. It's a bad thing in that we don't have shared information, a shared set of facts. We used to have that.

Do you think Trump has flouted the unwritten protocols of running for office?

One thing about journalism also is that it's divided into what used to be three different categories; straight news reporting, analytical and opinion reporting. I'm in the first category, not the third. That's a pundit question. I'm not a pundit. I report on what others say. I'm not going to analyze or give an opinion about Trump as a candidate, or Clinton as a candidate.

What's your advice to this year's moderators?

It's less about preparing questions than it is about preparing to listen, being comfortable enough to listen to the answer from the candidate and make a decision, live in the moment, about whether to follow up, or go to the other candidate for a response, or move on. So you have to be comfortable enough to make these kinds of split-second decisions, and the only way you get comfortable is to do your homework. You have to know what the candidates' positions are now and what their positions may have been in the past. You can't be thinking of the next question, you've got be listening. You have to be at the ultimate comfort level and the only way you can get there is to do your homework, to get it in your head, not written down on pieces of paper because you'll never be able to read anything. And all moderators have to keep in mind that these debates are not about them. There are two players on the stage, Clinton and Trump. The moderator is not there to show off how smart, or tough he or she is. The more a moderator can stay out of it and facilitate the discussion between the candidates, the better off everybody is going to be. This is done solely for the voters, so they can make a decision for whom to vote. The single most important thing we do in this country is electing our president. This isn't about entertaining people. It can be very tempting to try to show [off]. It isn't about the moderator furthering their career. And these folks know this. These are solid professionals.

What was the most challenging debate in your many years as a debate moderator?

The most challenging was the last one I did, which was the first of the Obama-Romney debates, which was the first one where the candidates were encouraged to talk to each other and question each other. And that was hard going. And I was criticized - a lot - by some folks who thought I let Romney [talk] too much. Most of that came from partisans. A handler doesn't tell the candidates that he or she screwed up. They say it's the moderator's fault. So it was extremely difficult for me. But it was also very exhilarating. I laid back and it wasn't easy to do. And I was criticized: "Why didn't you step in? Why did you let him talk over [Obama]?" Because that's what a debate is! That's what I was there to do. That's what I had signed on to do. And that's going to happen in these 2016 [debates]. And the moderators will be criticized just like I was. Because somebody is going to come out a little bit better. And the people who don't like the result are not going to blame their candidates, they're going to blame the moderator.
Jodie Foster will be this years recipient of the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film at the October ceremony, it was announced on Monday.

It seems fitting that in this 40th Anniversary year of both Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone, we are honoring Jodies remarkable trail-blazing career at the Britannia Awards, said Kieran Breen, chairman of BAFTA Los Angeles, in a statement. It takes a rare and special talent to launch an international career with two amazingly different performances, and Jodies choices as an actor and director have continued to earn a deserved reputation as one of the most versatile professionals of our time.

Fosters 50-year career started at age three as The Coppertone Girl in the television commercial, but it was her role as Iris Easy Steensma in Taxi Driver (1976) that gained her world-wide recognition. Her most prominent roles in film have landed her four Academy Award nominations and she won twice for lead actress for The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Foster has also been a regular on a number of television series, including Mayberry RFD, The Courtship of Eddies Father, My Three Sons, and Paper Moon.

Fosters most recent roles include narrating for Makers: Women Who Make America (2014), Secretary of Defense Jessica Delacourt in Elysium (2013), and Penelope Longstreet in Carnage(2011). She also directed two episodes of Netflixs series Orange Is The New Black (2013-2014), one episode of House of Cards (2014) and the George Clooney-Julia Roberts starrer Money Monster (2016).

Foster joins past recipients Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg and Denzel Washington. Other honorees at the ceremony will include Ang Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Ricky Gervais, Ewan McGregor and Felicity Jones.

The ceremony will take place Friday, Oct. 28, 2016 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel.

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There's no shortage of issues being bandied about in this year's U.S. presidential campaign. But it's one that Joe Walsh feels is NOT being addressed -- issues facing U.S. military veterans of current conflicts in the Middle East -- that led to his new song, "No Man's Land," for the documentary Citizen Soldier, which is premiered exclusively below.

"This is really a forgotten war over there. There's not political candidate that has touched what we're doing over there. Nobody," Walsh tells Billboard. "It's not even talked about and it's not even in the media. Nowhere can you get a report on what's been going on or progress or even deaths or injuries or anything, and that's just not OK with me. And these guys are coming home either missing arms or legs or just completely shattered, mentally. And I see homeless vets and I go, 'That's not OK.'

"I just hope that the documentary is a slap in the face or a wake-up call as to maybe revisiting what we're doing over there and why and giving a f--k about it."

Jackson Browne, Eagles Members Pay Tribute to Glenn Frey With 'Take It Easy' at the 2016 Grammys

Directed by David Salzberg and Christian Tureud, Citizen Soldier tells the story of the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team -- aka The Thunderbirds -- who were deployed to Afghanistan during the latest surge and used Go-Pro helmet cameras to record their day-to-day life there. Walsh was introduced to the film by Tureud and immediately volunteered to write "No Man's Land" after viewing some of the footage.

"It's compelling because it's not a scripted, staged, Hollywood movie. It's the real thing. It's profound, really," Walsh recalls. "I wanted to jump on board and be part of this and hope that it starts some sort of dialogue at home. these guys went to high school together. They say "the only thing we really had was to get each other home. That's why we were fighting. We didn't really know the military objective for the State Department position of our country; We were getting fired at and we just wanted to get the job done and get home to our families.

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"So that's what I wrote the song about -- 'We're out here in nowhere land, and the only way home is my brothers and my god and me. And the people that we're fighting have a God, and our Gods don't agree.' I just wanted to tell their story the way I saw it in the film."

Prince's Secret Charity: Helping Afghan Orphans

"No Man's Land" is not currently available commercially, but Walsh is hoping to make it available for sale in some way to raise money for veterans organization. "I'm not doing this for profit or to have a hit record," he says. "It'll never get any airplay, but if people download it, that money will be used for the guys coming home."

Walsh is just off a busy summer of touring, including a co-headlining run with Bad Company. He recorded a couple of the shows and is considering putting together a live album, possibly for digital download. Meanwhile he's preparing for the Eagles' Kennedy Center Honor ceremony, taking place on Dec. 3 in Washington, D.C., which will be filmed for broadcast on December 27 on CBS. The group postponed the honor from last year because of Glenn Frey's illness, and his passing earlier this year will make the event a bittersweet occasion.

Joe Walsh Dedicates 'Entire Show' to Glenn Frey As 'One Hell Of A Night Tour' Hits Detroit

"It's happy/sad because Glenn won't be there, but we will show up and represent," Walsh says. "We don't have a lot of say in it; We're just supposed to sit there and look like we're cool and we have people in the government to meet and a luncheon and the actual program. I haven't gotten dressed up like that, a black-tie thing, much -- maybe once or twice. I suppose they'll get some people to show up and do Eagles songs; I don't think they'll top Aretha (Franklin, from last year), though. It is an honor and I'm humbled by it and grateful." It may also serve as the true swan song for the Eagles in the wake of Frey's death, too.

"Yeah, I think so. That puts maybe a little closure on it, and it's a lovely, happy ending," Walsh says. "We like that, us human beings."
DSC_0300 DSC_0300

John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha promoted their up coming film Force 2 on Kapil Sharmas show. We have the highlights for you.

Actor-producer John Abraham has heaped praise on his Force 2 co-star Sonakshi Sinha by calling her the best action hero.

The actor, who has impressed many with his action sequences in films like Dishoom, Force and Dhoom, couldnt stop appreciating Sonakshi while promoting her forthcoming film Akira. Sonakshi will be seen in a full-length action role in the thriller.

In a video shared by John on his Twitter account, he said: Akira is releasing on September 2. Kick everybodys a** because you are the best action hero and guys I have seen 'Akira. Its fantastic.

He also wished her luck for the A.R. Murugadoss directorial and said: I know it will rock!

Sonakshi thanked the actor by saying: Thank you John! The force was with me in this one too? Boom.

The film sees Sonakshi as Akira Sharma, a girl who comes to Mumbai from Jodhpur, where she gets into a tiff with goons at a college in which she gets enrolled.

IANS

Photos by YOGEN SHAH
Making his return to HBO after winning the Emmy for Best Variety Talk Series on the eve of the 2016 first presidential debate  forecast to be watched by about 100M people  John Oliver took a long look at the scandal history of the two candidates.

Both candidates rank so low on trust-o-meter this election is The electoral equivalent of seeing someone puking so you start puking and then someone else is puking and pretty soon everyone is puking 2016, Oliver began.

Hillary Clinton, he said, is a woman who, if she loses, will sit there motionless and not speaking until she eventually dies.

He began with a sort of apology: I do know that even talking about her scandals will irritate some of you, Oliver acknowledged of his audience, given that her opponent is an unambiguously racist scarecrow stuffed with scrunched up copies of Jugs Magazine. And that is a fair point. But not being as bad as Donald Trump is a low bar to clear.

Years of political life have left the internet clogged with accusations against the former First Lady/Secretary of State/NY Senator; shes been charged with ordering the murder of the children of Waco, being the butcher of Benghazi, and, Olivers personal fave, having confessed to being satan.

Clintons most famous scandals have been heavily litigated: Whitewater, where more than six years of investigations by three different prosecutors and multiple Congressional committees failed to find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, and Benghazi, which merited eight Congressional investigations that broadly concluded the State Department could have done more to increase security at the embassy but none found evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton.

And then there is the problematic issue of the Swiss file transfer in which, Oliver said, investigators found Hillary was in Zurich at the time of the transfer, and documents show she was aware the transfer took place, and yes, the Clintons did have something to gain financially from it. But, the HBO late-night host continued, the fact is the Swiss file transfer is something I just made up right now. But the very fact that for a second you kind of remembered it says something about the tone of coverage surrounding Clinton.

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Clinton Foundation and Clinton emails also came up.

Next, Oliver moved on to Americas Wealthiest Hemorrhoid, Donald Trump.

If you are struggling with the idea of voting for Hillary because of all this, you need to take a long hard look at TrumpIf youre irritated by her lying, that is understandable. But he is quantifiably worse.

Oliver walked viewers through Trumps refusal to release his tax statements, unanswered questions about his business dealings, his insisting that giving his children control over his companies while he is POTUS is a blind trust because, as Donald Jr. promised George Stephanopoulos It doesnt matter. Trust me.

Also: Trump Foundation allegedly using money given it by people for charitable purposes to settle lawsuits against Trump businesses to the tune of more than a quarter million dollars, according to the Washington Post. Trump having allegedly used foundation money to buy portraits of himself for one of his businesses. Trump University. Reports that Trump allegedly used undocumented workers to build Trump Tower, etc.

Oliver wound up his argument with audio visual aides, likening politicians ethical failings to raisins in a cookie. They shouldnt be there; they disgust people. But, while Clintons ethical failings are like a cookie jammed with 10 disgusting raisins, while Trumps ethical failings, Oliver insisted, are a fucking raisin monsoon, as raisins began to shower over Oliver and his set.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lfd1aB9YI&w=620&h=340]

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Amman (AFP) - Protesters called on Monday for Jordan's government to resign over its failure to prevent the murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar, as the killing was condemned internationally.

A bearded assailant on Sunday shot dead Hattar, 56, on the steps of a court in central Amman where he was facing trial for sharing an anti-Islam cartoon on social media.

His family has so far refused to collect his body for burial, charging that authorities were warned of threats to Hattar's life and had failed to act.

Hundreds of sympathisers and members of the writer's tribe protested outside the premier's office on Monday.

"The people want the fall of the government... No security, they killed Nahed in Amman!" they chanted.

Carrying his portrait, they called for the resignation of both Prime Minister Hani al-Malki and Interior Minister Salama Hammad.

"We handed over 200 names (of people who had threatened the writer) to the governor (of Amman), including that of the assassin, and demanded protection," said Khaled Hattar, one of the victim's brothers.

"But he refused, saying there was 'no real threat'."

Jordan's judiciary on Monday slapped a media blackout on the murder.

The information ministry said the aim was to preserve "the secrecy of the investigation" and that the blackout applied to both social and traditional media.

Hattar had faced charges over a cartoon he posted on Facebook under the title "God of Daesh" (the Islamic State jihadist group) showing a bearded man in bed smoking with two women lying on either side, and addressing God as a servant.

He was hit by three bullets before the alleged assassin was arrested at the scene of the shooting in the capital's Abdali district, official media said.

- Amnesty criticises government -

The assailant -- bearded and robed like a conservative Muslim -- shot him as he made his way up the steps outside the court.

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Amnesty International condemned "this deplorable murder" but also criticised the government.

"By using strict blasphemy laws to prosecute a person for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, Jordanian authorities are fuelling a climate in which violent threats against people whose views are deemed offensive by others are allowed to flourish," said Philip Luther of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa department.

The UN's cultural agency also condemned the killing.

"This crime constitutes a grave attack on freedom of expression and affects Jordanian society as a whole," said UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova.

The gunman, identified as a 49-year-old Jordanian, gave himself up to police after the killing, a security source said.

A judicial source said the assailant was remanded for 15 days and charged with premeditated murder, facing the death penalty if convicted.

The suspect had acted alone and was not linked to any "terrorist" group, a source close to his interrogation said, asking not to be named.

Meanwhile, well-known Moroccan cartoonist Khalid Geddar said on Monday he had asked for police protection after being threatened for reposting the cartoon that led to Hattar's murder.

Geddar, who runs the satirical magazine Baboubi, reposted the drawing on Facebook on Sunday as a posthumous tribute.

Geddar said he received several threatening messages and comments, including: "Your fate is death and slaughter -- you are the enemy of God."

"I consider this comment to be a direct threat, a call to kill me just because I republished the drawing that led to the death of the Jordanian writer," he told AFP.
Almost 200 protesters gathered in front of the Prime Ministry in Amman on Monday (September 26), speaking out against violence and extremism after a prominent writer was shot dead. The writer, Nahed Hatter, was killed on Sunday outside the court where he was to stand trial on charges of contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature seen as insulting Islam, witnesses and state media said. The gunman was arrested at the scene, state news agency Petra said. A security source said he was a 39-year-old Muslim preacher in a mosque in the capital. Protesters held up pictures of Hattar and signs that read, no to violence, no to extremism. Lawyer and activist at the protest, Omar Atout, said Hattar did not commit any crimes. "Freedom of speech is absolute, as long as you have committed no crimes. Nahed Hattar did not draw the caricature, he only shared it. This cartoon refers to the god of Daesh, not to the God of muslims, so I do not think he committed a crime by sharing this caricature," he said. Hattar, a Christian and an anti-Islamist activist, was arrested last month after sharing on social media a caricature depicting a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women and asking God to bring him wine and clear his dishes. A woman at the protest said that freedom of speech must be protected. "The purpose of us being here is to prove that the voice of freedom must remain alive, the Jordanian voice of freedom. Regardless of sects or beliefs or sex or any other considerations, the voice of Jordanians must reign free, without assassinations," said Nany Shahateet. Many of Jordan's conservative Muslims considered Hattar's move deeply offensive. Still, such politically motivated assassinations are rare in the U.S.-backed Arab kingdom, whose relative stability has distinguished it from war-ravaged neighbors such as Syria and Iraq. Two witnesses said the gunman was wearing a traditional Arab dishashada, worn by ultra conservative Sunni Salafis who adhere to a puritanical version of Islam and shun Western lifestyles. While many Jordanians thought Hattar had crossed a red line with the caricature, some of his secular and liberal supporters said his arrest was a breach of freedom of speech. Hattar had apologized on social media and said he did not mean to insult God but had shared the cartoon to mock fundamentalist Sunni radicals and what he said was their vision of God and heaven. He had accused his Islamist opponents of using the cartoon to settle scores with him.
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Protesters in Jordan demanded that the government resign on Monday for its failure to protect a Christian writer shot dead outside a court where he was to stand trial after sharing on social media a cartoon image seen as insulting Islam. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the Prime Minister's office after writer Nahed Hattar was shot by a former Muslim preacher on the steps of the palace of justice on Sunday. The assailant gave himself up to the police near the scene. "No to extremism, no to violence," and "Down with the government," shouted protesters carrying pictures of the slain writer, known for his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and extremist nationalist views. His death has shaken a country unaccustomed to such killings and raised fears of tensions between Muslims and the minority Christians who wield political and economic influence. Hattar was arrested last month after sharing on social media a cartoon image of a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women and asking God to bring him wine and clear away his dishes. The writer was released on bail but charged with contempt of religion and inflaming religious tension under the country's strict blasphemy laws. Family members said the government failed to provide Hattar him with protection after he was released on bail, even after he had received death threats. They have so far refused to collect his body for burial. "We demand at the very least the dismissal of the prime minister," Khaled Hattar, the writer's brother, told Reuters at the protest. A source familiar with the case said the gunman had told interrogators that he acted on his own. Jordanians have condemned the killing, although the cartoon had angered many people in a majority Muslim country where Hattar was accused of disseminating hatred and mocking Islam. Hattar was a controversial figure whose calls for depriving Jordanians of Palestinian descent their political rights had won him many enemies in a country with a large Palestinian population. His killing, however, has worried many liberal Muslims and Christians who now fear radical Islamists may feel emboldened to take violent action against their opponents. UK-based rights group Amnesty International on Monday said the killing "was a deplorable attack on freedom of expression", saying strict blasphemy laws should be revoked. It called on the authorities to investigate the murder. "Jordanian authorities must make it clear that attacks against people who peacefully express their views, however unpopular, will not be tolerated," said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International in a release on Monday. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)
By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - Several hundred people reported to the U.S. courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday for the start of jury selection in the death penalty case against a white man who shot dead nine black parishioners in a church in June 2015.

Prosecutors have said the man, Dylann Roof, 22, is an avowed white supremacist who carried out a racially motivated attack. Defense lawyers have said he would plead guilty if prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Roof sat in shackles and kept his head down as U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel explained the timeline for the trial, which begins on Nov. 7.

Roof faces 33 counts of hate crimes, obstruction of religion and firearms charges in the shooting deaths of the parishioners during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

Twelve jurors and six alternates will be chosen from a total of 3,000 people summoned from several counties for the trial. The final jury panel will be selected after a smaller group is questioned further in court in November.

Jurors will not be sequestered, but the court will pay for their hotel rooms in Charleston, Gergel said.

The judge urged people to avoid researching the case or talking to anyone about it but acknowledged that the killings had received wide publicity.

"I know that many of you have seen, read or heard about this case," Gergel said.

Roof also faces murder and attempted murder charges in state court, with jury selection in that trial set for January.

(Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Editing by Colleen Jenkins; and Grant McCool)
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Only 30 doctors remain in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, where they are in dire need of medical and surgical supplies to treat hundreds of wounded people among a trapped population of 300,000, Syrian doctors said on Monday. At least 40 wounded people in the eight still-functioning hospitals - some of them makeshift centers hidden underground for fear of air strikes and shelling - require medical evacuation, they said. Dozens of air strikes hit rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city overnight, a monitoring organization and a civil defense worker said, continuing a fierce air campaign by Syrian government and allied forces since a ceasefire broke down almost a week ago. "There are 30 doctors who are still inside the eastern Aleppo city," Abd Arrahman Alomar, a pediatrician who works for the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) in opposition-controlled areas, told a news briefing in Geneva. They lack equipment and emergency medicines for treating the many trauma cases and there is only enough fuel to run hospital generators for 20 days. One obstetrician and two pediatricians remain to care for pregnant women and 85,000 children, he said. The group documented more than 280 people killed in the last three days in eastern Aleppo, with 400 wounded, including 61 children, on Sunday alone. "We go into mountains, we work underground, and even our facilities underground and into the mountains were targeted many times, many times," Alomar said. "If this continues, we are going to the point of zero where there are no facilities to be protected, where there is no health staff to be protected." Mazen Kewara, Turkey country director for SAMS, said: "We have a huge need for fluids inside Aleppo. Still there is no IV (intravenous) fluids." Attacks on medical facilities and personnel have devastated the health care system, U.N. agencies and health experts say. "The systematic and widespread assault on hospitals and doctors which is orchestrated mainly by Syrian government forces has cut off access to health care for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Syrians," said Elise Baker of Physicians for Human Rights. Since the conflict began in 2011, the New York-based group has documented 382 attacks on 269 separate medical facilities through June. Some 90 percent were carried out by Syrian government forces or allied Russian forces, she said, citing evidence from video footage and photographs analyzed by weapons experts. "The direct targeting of medical units and personnel has become a shocking hallmark of this horrific conflict in Syria," said Dainius Puras, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to health. Intentional attacks constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity, said Puras. (This story corrects group title in 4th paragraph to Syrian American not Syrian Arab.) (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya Airways is talking to "about three or four" foreign institutional investors and airlines about buying a stake to raise cash for the lossmaking carrier, its chief executive said on Monday. The airline, 27 percent-owned by Air France KLM, has been reducing the size of and modernising its fleet, selling land and cutting jobs to recover from losses caused by a slump in tourism. "We are talking to about three or four parties," Mbuvi Ngunze, the CEO of Kenya Airways, told Reuters. The search for a strategic investor is part of a plan, drawn up with the help of U.S. investment bank PJT Partners, to raise new debt and equity funds. Ngunze did not say how much they planned to raise but the company previously said it would need about 70 billion shillings ($692 million). The carrier is also talking to its creditors, including banks, to amend terms of its debt and provide it with sufficient funds for operation in the short term, he said. The Kenyan government, which has a 29.8 percent stake, said it was still examining the proposals for recapitalisation. "There is ongoing work to determine the nature of the restructuring that is going to take place," said Esther Koimmett, the public investment secretary without offering more details. No one at Air France KLM was immediately available to comment. Ngunze said they were encouraged by the interest the business has received from potential suitors, attributing it to Nairobi's status as a major African hub airport. Kenya Airways has an extensive route network on the continent, operating numerous flights a week to cities like Lusaka in the south and Accra in the west. "We have a fantastic business across Africa ... Africa is where things will grow and it shows you that people have an interest in the business of Kenya Airways in spite of the fact that we have had these hurdles," he said. Forward Keys, a firm that predicts future travel patterns by studying bookings, said last week air travel to Kenya was up 14.9 percent in the first eight months of this year, outpacing a 5.6 percent growth rate for the entire continent. Ngunze attributed the higher demand to some recovery in tourism in Kenya after a spate of Islamist attacks since 2012 had deterred holidaymakers, and more international meetings being hosted by the country. Kenya's attractions have also been highlighted by several famous visitors this year, including music superstar Madonna, who enjoyed a holiday in the summer, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who went on a game drive during a visit earlier this month. Ngunze cautioned, however, that there was a lot that still needed to be done before the sector can fully recover. "We are still significantly behind where we wanted to be," he said. "We have to be patient." ($1 = 101.1500 Kenyan shillings) (Editing by Greg Mahlich)
New Jersey veteran DJ/producer Kerri Chandler took to Facebook on Sunday (Sept. 25) to inform fans that his music bag had been stolen during his appearance at Phonox nightclub in London. Hours later, his music bag was returned to him, as stated in an updated Facebook message posted today (Sept. 26).

"If you were watching a live feed tonight from this Italian girl (she said she was Italian and a DJ) PLEASE CONTACT ME!! IT HAS ALL MY MUSIC AND PERSONAL BELONGINGS!!" the producer said in his initial Facebook message. The girl who allegedly stole the bag said she was a DJ and was doing a Facebook Live stream the night of the incident.

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The DJ threatened to turn the incident over to authorities if the bag wasn't returned in a timely manner. While Chandler's music was returned by a friend of the thieves who claimed they were "drunk," the artist posted that they had gone through his personal belongings and a special item gifted by his daughter was absent from the returned items.

"Words cannot describe my disappointment in these people, but I am completely overwhelmed by the support that everyone has shown and also the assistance from the team at Phonox, Marcia and Simone for all the help in locating these people", Chandler's Facebook message read. "I'm certain that it is this support that led to my bag being returned so THANK YOU!"

See both posts below.
German electronic and pop music band Kraftwerk has confirmed it will kick off an 11-date UK tour in June next year, with speculation that the trip could also end in the group's debut at Glastonbury.

The UK summer tour, which will start off at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on June 9, will mark Kraftwerk's first full tour of Britain since 2004 and will see them perform their unique brand of 3D concerts, which they first played in 2013 at New York's Museum Of Modern Art (via NME).

The tour will continue with appearances at Edinburgh Usher Hall (10), Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (11), Birmingham Symphony Hall (13), Gateshead Sage (14), Sheffield City Hall (15), Bristol Colston Hall (17), and Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (18).

The last two shows are scheduled to take place at Manchester Bridgwater Hall and London Royal Albert Hall, on June 19 and June 21-22 respectively -- just a week before Glastonbury -- prompting reports that the band could be on track to finish its UK run with a first appearance at the famous music festival.






LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - The Labour Party pledged on Monday to ban fracking if elected in 2020, putting it at odds with the Conservative government and raising the risk for investors looking to put money into the nascent industry. "Fracking locks the UK into an energy infrastructure that is based on fossil fuels long after our country needs to have moved to renewables," said Barry Gardiner, Labour's energy and climate change spokesman. He told the party's annual conference in the northwestern city of Liverpool that a Labour government would focus on developing a low carbon energy industry. Britain is estimated to have substantial amounts of shale gas trapped in underground rocks yet fracking applications have struggled to find approval from local communities, concerned about noise and environmental impacts. The industry has the full backing of Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May who in August said some tax proceeds from shale gas developments could be given directly to residents, to try to help win public support for private sector investment. Britain is not scheduled to hold a national election until 2020. But Labour say Britain's vote to leave the European Union, which forced David Cameron to resign as prime minister, will push his successor May to call one sooner. May has said she has no need to do so. (Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Here are some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be watching for you today:

Lands End (LE) shares fell in early trading. The struggling apparel maker has lost another Chief Executive as the companys CEO Federica Marchionni is stepping down, effective immediately. She is the second CEO to leave the retailer since it was spun off from Sears two years ago. The companys chief operating and financial officers will take over as co-interim CEOS.

Deutsche Banks (DB) US listed shares fell sharply this morning after German magazine Focus reported over the weekend that Chancellor Angela Merkel refused to provide Deutsche Bank state aid in its legal battle with the US Justice Department over toxic mortgage securities it sold before the financial crisis. However, the German government dismissed the report, and Deutsche Bank said it was not looking for government help.

Twitter (TWTR) shares were lower after soaring more than 21% on Friday following reports that the social media firm was in talks with several potential buyers including Salesforce.com (CRM) and Alphabets Google (GOOGL). Meanwhile, Oppenheimer downgraded the stock this morning to underperform from perform. The firm said a likely buyer wouldnt pay much above its $17 a share for Twitter.

Chemtura (CHMT) shares soared in early trading. The US speciality chemical company is being bought by German rival Lanxess for $2.7 billion in cash and debt. At $33.50 a share, the price tag is a 19% premium from Chemturas closing price on Friday.
Last Man on Earths Season 3 premiere was called General Breast Theme with Cobras, but wed like to suggest a more apt title: Betty Draper Francis Ultimate Revenge.

In an epic casting coup that Last Man star/creator Will Forte miraculously managed to keep a lid on all summer (and that, yes, was the subject of a certain Blind Item), one of the two gun-toting, hazmat suit-wearing mystery men that stormed the Malibu compound alongside Pat (the returning Mark Boone Junior) was none other than Jon freakin Hamm, aka January Jones onetime Mad Men co-star. (For the record, the other, far luckier uninvited guest was Kenneth Choi, best known for his roles as Henry Lin on Sons of Anarchy and Lance Ito on The People v. O.J. Simpson: American

rime story).

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And in a most meta-tacular twist, it was Jones Melissa who shot and killed Hamms character, Daryl. To put a finer, fourth-wall shattering point on it, a back-from-the-dead Betty Draper murdered her serial-cheater of an ex-husband Don in cold blood.

The biggest surprise? The Mad Men parallel did not dawn on Forte when he pitched the cameo to Hamm (which follows a pattern, seeing as how last seasons Mad Men homage was also initially lost on SNL alum). There was no Mad Men tie-in that we were ever planning, Forte maintains to TVLine. Frankly, I cant believe it didnt occur to me.

One person who instantly made the connection was Jones, who tells TVLine she died laughing when Forte whispered it to me back in July at Comic-Con, adding, I thought it was ingenious given our history together.

Did she take any particular delight that, in the Last Man universe at least, Betty exacted the ultimate revenge against Don? I didnt, because I thought we had such a beautiful ending to our story, Jones admits. I felt like there was closure. As Betty, I didnt feel any anger towards Don. But I thought the fans would get a kick out of it. Thinking back to some of the stuff he did to Betty, maybe theyd see it as a little redemption.

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VIDEOSJanuary Jones Shares Mad Men Creators Reaction to Last Man Homage

Jones describes shooting the top-secret sequence as disorienting. It was surreal, to be honest, she says. I see Jon socially and we keep in touch, but it was very weird to see him on a [non-Mad Men] set  especially one thats so modern  playing other characters. It was bizarre. But it was so much fun. He was such a good sport about it.

Scroll down to view an exclusive behind-the-scenes photo of Jones, Hamm and Forte, and then scroll down further to re-watch my interview with the Last Man crew from #SDCC, during which Forte and Jones presciently discuss the series relative obsession with all things Mad Men.

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Federica Marchionni faced a daunting task when she was appointed the top executive at Lands End by the companys board almost two years ago. Recruited from the New York fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, Marchionni was tasked with remaking the image of the Dodgeville-based clothing retailer and refocusing the company to appeal to younger buyers.

On Monday, it seems, her time ran out when Lands End announced that Marchionni was stepping down as CEO effective immediately and that the company was seeking a new leader.

The task she was undertaking was very difficult and I think at best offered mixed results, said Hart Posen, associate professor of management and human resources at UW-Madisons School of Business. She was asked to help Lands End stand out among a crowded field of mid-level fashion retailers where everyone already is having a difficult time succeeding.

Growth in online shopping is remaking the retail landscape. Many retailers, including Macys, are closing stores, and other chains such as Sports Authority and Aeropostale have filed for bankruptcy in addition to shuttering locations.

To appeal to younger and high-end buyers, Lands End opened pop-up stores including a location earlier this month in New York Citys trendy SoHo neighborhood, which features a cashmere sweater bar for women and assorted clothing lines for men, women and children. The company also introduced Lands End Sport in June and brought back its Canvas line, touted as a youthful, modern collection.

They had less urban clientele and thought that their new approach would be helpful, but what it also did was put them in competition with a bunch of other players, Posen said. Lands End has been in need of a turnaround for a long time and that will be hard to do.

In a statement, Marchionni said she and the board agreed it is time for others to bring Lands End into the future.

The clothing retailer said in a separate statement that its board had appointed Joseph Boitano and James Gooch co-interim CEOs as it begins a search to permanently fill the position.

Boitano serves as executive vice president and chief merchandising and design officer, and Gooch as executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer. Lands End said it has hired Heidrick & Struggles, a leading global executive search firm, for its CEO search.

The companys stock fell 14.12 percent on the news, or about $2.54 per share, to close at $15.46 on Monday.

Lands End has not performed well in recent months and recorded its third consecutive quarterly net loss in its second quarter. For the first six months of 2016, the company reported a net loss of $7.7 million, or 24 cents a share, on revenue of $565.4 million compared with net income of $9.2 million, or 29 cents a share, on $611.8 million in revenue for the first half of 2015.

There just is an awful lot of pressure today to get things done rapidly, Posen said. That whole sector is just struggling and its just a very tough space to be in and it will continue to be a tough market.

In a statement Monday, Lands End Chairman Josephine Linden thanked Marchionni for her creative vision, adding that her work leaves the company well positioned to continue its evolution and capture the growth opportunities that exist for our iconic brand in this dynamic retail environment.

Speaking of the two who will take over for now, Boitano and Gooch, Linden said: The board is confident that Jims financial and operational acumen in consumer retail, combined with Joes widely recognized apparel merchandising and design expertise, make them the right fit to lead Lands End as co-interim CEOs.

Boitano and Gooch said in a joint statement that they were looking forward to working to drive improved financial performance and enhance the customer shopping experience while Lands End finds its next CEO.

Marchionnis employment agreement with Lands End specified that she would not have to move to Dodgeville, and her primary workplace remained in New York. According to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in 2015 Marchionni was paid a base salary of $909,808 with bonuses totaling $1,475,000 and stock awards valued at $3,106,250.

Marchionnis call to feature feminist and abortion rights advocate Gloria Steinem in a Lands End catalog drew the ire of some customers, causing the retailer to issue a public apology and remove Steinem from its website.

The news of her departure also moved the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce to adjust its plans for its annual dinner Wednesday, which originally was scheduled to feature Marchionni and John Burke, president of Waterloo-based bicycle maker Trek, as co-presenters. Burke still is scheduled to speak, though as of late Monday afternoon the chamber had not announced whether it was bringing in another speaker to replace Marchionni.
Weird Al Yankovic and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda bonded this weekend over their love of Star Wars in front of 6,000 people at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall. The cameo was a surprise treat for fans at the sold-out show, where the Broadway favorite belted out the chorus of the 1985 song Yoda (a parody of The Kinks Lola, sung from the perspective of Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back). Watch the full performance above, with Miranda coming in around the 2:39 mark (or cut right to Mirandas cameo here).

On Twitter after the concert, Miranda shared the photograph below, along with a memory of seeing Weird Al at New York Citys Beacon Theater with friends when he was in ninth grade. We screamed Yoda! It was @alyankovics encore, wrote the musical theater star. We truly believed our screams made Yoda happen. It was, at that point, the best moment of my life. Today was a VERY close second.

Lin-Manuel Miranda backstage with Weird Al Yankovic. (Credit: Twitter)

The following morning, Miranda (whose Star Wars fandom led him to a gig writing alien music for The Force Awakens) described the experience using a Harry Potter analogy. You guys I am just watching this footage of last night like Harry in the Mirror of Erised, tweeted Miranda (referring to the mirror that shows the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts, according to Harrys mentor Albus Dumbledore).

Other celebrity guests at Yankovics show included Tina Fey, Taran Killam, and Michael Ian Black. In fact, Black joked that the concert was more impressive than Mirandas Pulitzer Prize-winning musical. Saw Hamilton. Seeing Weird Al, he tweeted. Weird Al is more star-studded (and @Lin_Manuel was at both).
Vilnius (AFP) - Lithuania said Monday it is in talks to buy Norwegian anti-aircraft missile systems to address the defence gap on NATO's eastern flank, amid concerns over Russia.

The NASAMS medium-range air defence systems, which would be the first such shield in the Baltic states, would cost around 100 million euros ($115 million), defence ministry spokesman Vaidotas Linkus told AFP.

Tensions between the 28-member NATO defence alliance and Russia are running high following Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

Last week, NATO jets were scrambled seven times from its Baltic bases to escort Russian military aircraft over the Baltic sea, according to Lithuania's defence ministry.

NATO agreed in July to deploy four battalions of around 1,000 troops each in the three Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- and Poland to assuage their fears of Moscow.

Long seen as NATO's Achilles heel, Baltic forces alone would be incapable of resisting a full-scale attack brought on by Russian forces and bolstered by Moscow's overwhelming air superiority.

But experts say that their ability to fend off Moscow until NATO could scramble a broader response is decisive. New air defence capabilities would also make any attack more costly.

"The lack of air defence systems increases the likelihood of a successful snap attack with limited forces. Our military power is important for deterrence," retired colonel Ignas Stankovicius told AFP.

Moscow denies any territorial ambitions and accuses the US-led alliance of destroying Europe's military balance around Russian borders.
The mother of all political campaign debates was the battle between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, and by todays standards, our modern debaters would be challenged to fit the 1858 format.

Memorial at one of the debate sites in Illinois

For example, in tonights debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, moderator Lester Holt will preside over six segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by Holt and announced at least one week before the debate. Each candidate will get two minutes to respond to Holts specific questions and then have an opportunity to respond to each other.

During the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, the first speaker talked for one hour, followed by a 90-minute rebuttal from the second speaker, and a 30-minute closing statement from the first speaker.

And the environment wasnt genteel. Partisan supporters were in the crowds, some of which were over 10,000 people as the two men argued their positions as part of a campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. (Back then, votes were cast for state legislators, who then named a Senator to send to Washington.)

There are debate transcripts and numerous press accounts of the seven debates, which drew national attention as they confronted the issues of slavery and the 1857 Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court.

Here are some memorial moments from the debates, along with some words that transcended the arguments.

Lincoln framed the debates arguments before they began. Lincoln asked for his partys nomination in June 1858 with his famous House Divided speech. A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe the government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free, he said.

Douglas countered with his own public speech that labeled Lincoln as a dangerous radical. Mr. Lincoln advocates boldly and clearly a war of sections, a war of the North against the South, of the free States against the slave States- a war of extermination -to be continued relentlessly until the one or the other shall be subdued, and all the States shall either become free or become slave, Douglas said, referring to Lincolns House Divided comments. Soon after this, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of seven debates within Illinois.

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The debates started in Ottawa, Illinois, on August 21, 1858 as a crowd of about 10,000 people attending despite the hot weather. I appear before you to-day for the purpose of discussing the leading political topics which now agitate the public mind, Douglas says in his opening statement.

After praising Lincoln and explaining he had known Lincoln for 25 years, Douglas went on the attack and said Lincoln opposed the American effort in the Mexican War; Lincoln supported a radical anti-slavery GOP platform; and Lincoln didnt understand the Supreme Courts Dred Scott decision. Lincolns response: When a man hears himself somewhat misrepresented, it provokes him  at least, I find it so with myself; but when misrepresentation becomes very gross and palpable, it is more apt to amuse him.

The remaining debates covered the problem of slavery, its extension into new states, the rights of African-Americans and the possibility of a sectional war over these issues. Lincoln often referred to the Declaration of Independence in making his arguments that slaves and blacks had some rights under the Declaration.

I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respectscertainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man, Lincoln said.

Douglas countered that the Declaration didnt apply to blacks, but Lincoln forced Douglas into a corner in the second debate, when he got Douglas to acknowledge that some states could decide to bar slavery within their own borders.

Lincoln then seemed to master his debate tactics and was putting Douglas on the defensive as the series concluded. In a debate at Knox College in front of 25,000 people, Lincoln said, Judge Douglas declares that if any community want[s] slavery, they have a right to have it. He can say that, logically, if he says that there is no wrong in slavery; but if you admit that there is a wrong in it, he cannot logically say that anybody has a right to do wrong.

In the concluding remarks of the last debate, Douglas stood by his views that states could determine their own slavery status. All you have a right to ask is that the people shall do as they please; if they want slavery let them have it; if they do not want it, allow them to refuse to encourage it, he said.

Douglas continued to argue that a radical proposition of ending slavery was unconstitutional and a pretext for sectional violence. Suppose one section makes war upon any other peculiar institution of the opposite section, and the same strife is produced. The only remedy and safety is that we shall stand by the Constitution as our fathers made it, obey the laws as they are passed, while they stand the proper test and sustain the decisions of the Supreme Court and the constituted authorities.

In the end, the Illinois state legislature elected Douglas over Lincoln, although a modern analysis of the voting showed Lincoln had more popular votes. But the national publicity over the debates instantly made Lincoln a leading figure in the Republican Party.

Two years later, both men ran for President. While there were no debates in 1860, the edited transcripts of the 1858 debates were used during the campaign. Lincoln won the election after the Democratic Party, like a House Divided, fielded two candidates.

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Many investors like to look for momentum in stocks, but this can be very tough to define. There is great debate regarding which metrics are the best to focus on in this regard, and which are not really quality indicators of future performance. Fortunately, with our new style score system we have identified the key statistics to pay close attention to and thus which stocks might be the best for momentum investors in the near term.

This method discovered several great candidates for momentum-oriented investors, but today lets focus in on STMicroelectronics NV STM as this stock is looking especially impressive right now. And while there are numerous ways in which this company could be a great choice, we have highlighted three of the most vital reasons for STMs status as a solid momentum stock below:

Short Term Price Change for STMicroelectronics

A great place to look for finding momentum stocks is by inspecting short term price activity. This can help to reflect the current interest in a stock and if buyers or sellers have the upper hand right now. It is especially useful to compare it to the industry as this can help investors pinpoint the top companies in a particular area.

With a one week price change of 3.6% compared to an industry average of -0.3%, STM is certainly well-positioned in this regard. The stock is also looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the four week price change compares favorably with the industry at large as well.

Fiscal Year EPS Estimate Change for STM

In addition to price performance, it is also important to take a look at earnings estimate changes for the full year. This can show if STM is poised to make a run based on fundamentals, or if the company is simply moving on speculation.

Over the past month, the full year earnings estimate for STM has risen by 3.3%. On its own this is impressive, but consider that it also beats the industry average of 0 too. The trend is undeniably in STMicroelectronicss favor right now, and it suggests that the momentum might be long lasting for this stock

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STM Earnings Estimate Revisions Moving in the Right Direction

While the great momentum factors outlined in the preceding paragraphs might be enough for some investors, we should also take into account broad earnings estimate revision trends. A nice path here can really help to show us a promising stock, and we have actually been seeing that with STM as of late too.

STMICROELECTRON Price and Consensus

STMICROELECTRON Price and Consensus | STMICROELECTRON Quote

Over the past two months, 2 earnings estimates have gone higher compared to none lower for the full year, while we are also seeing that 1 estimate has moved upwards with no downward revision for the next year time frame too. These revisions have helped to boost the consensus estimate as two months ago STM was expected to post earnings of 20 cents/share for the full year, though today it looks to have EPS of 24 cents for the full year now, representing a solid increase which is something that should definitely be welcomed news to would-be investors.

Bottom Line

Given these factors, investors shouldnt be surprised to note that we have STM as a security with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Momentum Score of A. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

So if you are looking for a fresh pick that has potential to move in the right direction, definitely keep STM on your short list as this looks be a stock that is very well-positioned to soar in the near term.

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By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors asked a court on Monday to approve an arrest warrant for the chairman of the Lotte Group conglomerate on suspicion of embezzlement and breach of trust, a prosecution source with direct knowledge of the matter said. The arrest warrant request comes after Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin, 61, was questioned by prosecutors in an investigation that has battered the country's fifth-largest family-run business group since it became public in June. It further adds to the uncertainty for the retail-to-chemicals group, which was riven last year by a bitter public feud between Shin and his older brother over who would succeed their father, the 93-year-old founder of the conglomerate. The investigation into Lotte has already derailed a planned $4.5 billion initial public offering by the group's Hotel Lotte arm, thwarted billions of dollars in potential acquisitions and served as the backdrop of the apparent suicide of one of the group's top executives last month. The prosecution source declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to media but the Lotte Group confirmed that prosecutors were seeking an arrest warrant and said that Shin will fully cooperate in the probe. Analysts said the group would suffer if Shin were arrested. "Under South Korea's owner-dominated corporate governance structure, daily operations do continue even if the owner is arrested, but major decisions such as investment, M&A and government relationships are greatly affected," said Park Ju-gun, head of research firm CEO Score. Shares in the group's Lotte Shopping Co Ltd <023530.KS> fell 1.67 percent on Monday, worse than the 0.34 percent drop in the broader market <.KS11), and are down 9 percent since prosecutors began raiding company offices on June 10. Lotte Chemical Corp <011170.KS> shares were down 0.35 percent on Monday. The Seoul Central District Court was expected to hold a hearing "soon" to rule on the request for a warrant for activities involving about 170 billion won ($153.52 million), the prosecution source said. A Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office spokesman confirmed the warrant request but declined to give details. A court spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Since the probe began in June, the court has denied arrest warrant requests for other senior group executives, including the CEOs of Lotte Home Shopping and Lotte Chemical. However, Shin's half-sister Shin Young-ja was arrested in July on charges of breach of trust and embezzlement in a separate, but related, prosecution probe. After the court's decision, prosecutors also plan to seek charges against Shin's father Shin Kyuk-ho, as well as his elder brother, Shin Dong-joo, on suspicion of offences such as tax evasion, the prosecution source said. TOP-HEAVY Chaebol, the family-run business groups such as Samsung, Hyundai Motor and SK, dominate Asia's fourth-largest economy. In the past, some chaebol leaders have been charged for corporate crimes such as embezzlement or breach of trust. The top-down chaebol structure that allows for quick decision-making that has partly fueled the conglomerates' expansion in past decades can also create bottlenecks. The CJ Group, whose chairman Lee Jay-hyun was arrested in July 2013 on charges including embezzlement and was given a presidential pardon last month, last year cited Lee's jail sentence as a factor in "considerable difficulties" the group had in executing investment plans. Lotte's woes could also hinder Hotel Lotte's bid to win back a lucrative license for a downtown Seoul duty free shop. The customs agency that awards duty free licenses has said it would judge bidders on criteria including their charitable record and public opinion. Applications for new duty free licenses are due by Oct 4. (Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Dahee Kim; Editing by Tony Munroe and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
All schools in the Sun Prairie Area School District will be closed Monday for inspections for possible mold problems, after mold was discovered this weekend at one school, district officials announced Sunday night.

"We want to take the time to inspect all sites well to ensure our learning environments are clean," Superintendent Brad Saron said in a message to families.

In addition, classes at Eastside Elementary School, where the mold already was found, will be canceled Monday and Tuesday to give faculty members time to plan instruction and set up classrooms at alternate elementary school sites for up to a month or so of off-site instruction while that school is cleaned and closely monitored.

Sun Prairie Area School District officials announced the district-wide cancellation of classes Monday and the Eastside school temporary closure, with a promise to inform parents of the Eastside relocation plans, including transportation information, by 4 p.m. Monday via email, text message and voice mail. Classes for Eastside's 471 students will resume Wednesday at the alternate sites.

All activities before and after school also have been canceled district-wide Monday.

In his message to families, Saron noted Eastside Elementary was monitored for high humidity over the past two weeks. The high humidity affected the library and classrooms, where mold that district officials described as non-toxic has developed.

The district has been working with Environmental Management Consultants on a plan to clean Eastside and remove the mold, Saron said. Outside consultant Servpro also has been hired to help with the problem.

Saron said Servpro is using industrial dehumidifiers to decrease the internal school humidity and air scrubbers to filter the air. Servpro also will do what Saron called a "comprehensive cleaning" of the school building.

Buildings and grounds staff will complete a full building inspection, and outdoor and indoor humidity levels will continue to be monitored to schedule an exact return date for Eastside students, Saron said.

Eastside faculty and district administrators will choose other elementary schools in the district to temporarily relocate Eastside students starting Wednesday, Saron said. Families can contact school district officials with questions and concerns Monday at 608-834-6503, during office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saron said.
When Luke Cage first went into production, the series' showrunner and star had no idea just how important the comic book show would be.

Netflix's third Marvel series (after Daredevil and Jessica Jones) centers around titular superhero Luke Cage (Mike Colter), an African-American ex-con with bulletproof skin and superhuman strength living in Harlem. Given all the violent, gun-related encounters happening between police and black men all over the country recently, Luke Cage is striking a chord with fans as was evidenced by the standing ovation during the show's Comic-Con panel in July. During the panel, executive producer Cheo Coker said that "the world is ready for a bulletproof black man," and the audience responded enthusiastically.

When The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Coker after the Comic-Con panel, he admitted that he didn't realize just how much people responded to his words at the time.

Read more: 'Luke Cage's' Mike Colter: "I Hope the Black Community Can Feel Good About It"

"You know what's funny is that we couldn't really see the audience," Coker tells THR. "I could only see the first three rows, and then because of the sound, the speakers were so loud broadcasting our voices out and I was just trying to focus on everything that [moderator] Jeph [Loeb] was saying, trying not to show that I was nervous. So I'm ecstatic that people responded the way that they did. And not even just to the trailer, but the response to some of the things we said on the panel was cool."

Even though Luke Cage is, at its core, a comic book show, Coker strongly believes it can have an impact on public opinion about human inequity in the real world, especially looking at what's happening in the country today.

"With what's going on with all these shootings, superheroes have always arisen during times of conflict, when people felt helpless," Coker says. "For example, if you look at the history of Superman and the emergence of Captain America during World War II, during periods of American history when people felt disempowered, disenfranchised, that was the function of superheroes. Basically, to look at world events and what's happening in society through the prism of someone that, with their powers, is able to make changes while at the same time, also be entertaining."

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Coker believes that the superhero genre is actually an extension and update of classic Westerns.

"When you get to modern history, people aren't riding horses anymore and superheroes kind of overtook Westerns in that regard," Coker says. "Although Westerns have been around for 70 years and we'll have to see what happens with superheroes. But what I'm saying is that [the comic book genre] was meeting both things. Yes, you have this whole thing that's going on in the world but at the same time, just on a superhero level. You're only beginning to see more African-American superheroes. It's the confluence of both."

But according to both Coker and Colter, it's mere coincidence that Luke Cage comes during a time of such social unrest.

Read more: Comic-Con: Marvel's 'Luke Cage' Debuts First Official Trailer

"It's going on a couple years now since this whole process started and it's been over a year since me and Cheo first had a conversation," Colter says. "I don't think, at the time [when production began], that we knew it was timely. I don't think we ever thought it would be this timely. It's just  wow. It couldn't be more timely."

Regardless of timing, Coker always knew that the issues at the center of the Marvel series were important and needed to be represented.

"The show is really about what happens when, in this world where people are afraid to speak out because if you look at what's happening in real life in any community of color that are facing these issues, when you have people that break the law and the whole thing of not snitching which is true of any community that deals with this, how does that change when you introduce a bulletproof element?" Coker says. "How do both police enforcement and criminal enforcement change when you introduce a character who can't be swayed by normal means? How does that affect everything and what is the ripple effect of that?"

He continues, "Season one of Luke Cage is partially about that, but it's also about the evolution of why does somebody become a hero in the first place? And in becoming a hero, what does it take? Why does somebody do it, because it's a thankless job? And ultimately, what do they realize about themselves when they do that?"

And while Colter didn't necessarily think about the real-world connections in Luke Cage at first, recently he started to understand the importance of bringing this bulletproof character to life.

Read more: Marvel's 'Luke Cage' Taps Cheo Hodari Coker as Showrunner

"Let's be honest, in the world that we're living in right now, I watched a video the other day of a black 'suspect,' and he wasn't even really a suspect, laying down on the ground with his hands up in the air and they still shot him," Colter says, shaking his head. "You're trying to process it. You're trying to figure out what does it take to not be shot, to not be a threat, to not be deemed as someone who is suspicious or someone who is someone you should pull your gun on and shoot, perhaps. You don't know what's going to happen next."

The video Colter is referencing was from a shooting in North Miami, where a police officer shot a man laying down with his hands in the air next to an autistic man playing with a toy truck in the middle of the street. The incident was not captured on video, but there is a recording of the moments before the shooting occurred that clearly showed both men were unarmed.

"I tried to process it because I'm a fair person. I try to look at things from an outside-the-box kind of way and try to add up the pieces," Colter says. "One guy is sitting down playing with a toy truck and one guy is laying down with his hands up in the air and still, a shot rang out from a distance from someone who thought they were under threat. I couldn't process it. I'm still trying to process it. But as I'm playing this superhero who is bulletproof, I say to myself that it's like a symbol."

He continues, "We all feel vulnerable, and as much as Cage would not like to have these powers that he has, he has been imbued with these powers and abilities and he has to own them. And whether he wants to deal with this or not, the time has come to not only use his powers to help the community and society and everyone, but also use it to speak out because he has that ability. He doesn't have to fear ramifications like other people who fear for their life. He is vulnerable, yes, there are things that can hurt him. But not bullets. So he speaks up when he has to, and right now, that's more of a symbol than anything else. And wow, what a refreshing thought, that you can actually say what you what to say and not be shot and not have to worry about getting hurt."

Luke Cage season one will stream in its entirety beginning Friday, Sept. 30 on Netflix.
Efrat Livnys father was a Holocaust survivor who went on to become a renowned scholar in Israel. Part of what he instilled in her was a sense of community and giving.

And when he died five years ago, Livny got an inheritance she wasnt expecting.

I decided to use it towards something that represents the values I grew up by, said Livny, an Israeli native who came to Madison 33 years ago.

That product is Threshold, a community center of sorts at 2717 Atwood Ave., on the same block as Stalzys Deli. There, Livny holds monthly lunches and conversation circles.

Septembers theme was investing and seeding and more than a dozen women went around the circle discussing how those ideas play into their lives. The events are open to men, although this months session drew only women.

The artistically colored, six-room, 4,500-square-foot space was formerly used as a part of the Goodman Community Center, and Ian Gurfield of Ians Pizza bought the building after it had been on the market for at least five years, Livny said.

Gurfields renovation and development of the property was dependent on having a long-term renter and Livny became that person. She has a four-year lease with an option for 10 years.

Threshold, which has loft ceilings, a kitchen and backyard patio, is in turn rented out for retail, work, teaching and training space.

It opened in July 2015, and on Sunday celebrated with a first-ever Harvesting Gifts Festival and open house. Livny invited community members, many of them regular participants in her monthly lunches, to lead two dozen free, mostly hourlong sessions, showcasing their talents.

Those sessions included cooking demos, reiki body work, hypnosis, art projects and tarot card readings. Musicians played throughout the day. Livny plans to offer similar gifting events quarterly.

Sarah Busse, a Madison poet laureate from 2012-15, did a session Sunday called Five Keys to Creativity. She found Livny and Threshold online and knew she had to get involved. I liked the space that shes creating here and what she is providing to our community, Busse said.

Busse attended Livnys last lunch and conversation circle and said it reinforced the importance of deep listening. It was an opportunity to create and model new ways of engaging with others, she said.

Hatheway Rawlinson started out as a volunteer and is now the centers event planner. Her main job is to connect people and allow them to create a meaningful experience for one another, she said.

Rawlinson has attended three lunch circles and said its been a rewarding experience.

We reach deeper places that we wouldnt talk about otherwise, she said. The conversations are deeper, richer. I feel heard and other people feel heard, which is a big contradiction in everyday life sometimes.

As for Sundays gifts festival, Rawlinson called it an initiative to create a culture of generosity.

We are actually redefining what it means to reinvest in our community, she said.

Livny, who also founded the local group Open Doors for Refugees, said she grew up with two parents who were professors and they often entertained guests, including a Nobel laureate in literature. She remembers listening in on lively, interesting conversations as a youth.

That upbringing gave her a great sense of community, sharing and giving, and taught her the importance of original thinking.

Livny stressed Theshold was not designed as a charity organization. She views it as an entrepreneurial community center and is looking for investors or partners to help it be self-sustaining.
Mylan CEO heather Bresch

This is quite the oversight.

The pharmaceutical company Mylan, which makes the EpiPen, is now saying it understated the profits it derives from the life-saving allergy drug by 60% in a congressional hearing last week, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It had said it made $100 off each $608 two-pack of the drug it sold.

The Journal reported, however, that Mylan "substantially reduced its calculation of EpiPen profits by applying the statutory US tax rate of 37.5%."

Mylan paid a 7.4% tax rate last year after moving its business to The Netherlands for tax purposes.

The company's CEO, Heather Bresch, was called to the House of Representatives to answer for why her company had raised the EpiPen's price by 500% since it purchased the drug in 2007.

Bresch didn't have a lot of answers for the House. Her answers about margins and how much her company made on the drug were fuzzy at best, and she refused to say her company raised the price of the drug to make more money.

"If I could sum up this hearing, it would be that the numbers don't add up," Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland said. "It is extremely difficult to believe that you're making only $50 when you've just increased the price by more than $100."

Bresch also didn't bring the documents she was asked for, a fact that left many members less than thrilled.

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah said he didn't think Bresch was "being honest" with the members. Republican Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia asked for more information about Mylan's distribution deals with pharmacy benefit managers, and Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois asked about the company's EpiPen4Schools program.

Mylan told The Journal it had already provided this corrected profit figure to Congress on Monday morning. And in a statement provided to Business Insider, it justified its initial use of the higher tax figure.

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"Tax is typically included in a standard profitability analysis and the information provided to Congress has made clear that tax was part of the EpiPen Auto-Injector profitability analysis. In fact, Mylan has provided Congress with a detailed analysis of EpiPen Auto-Injector profitability," the company said.

"It also is important to note that use of a statutory tax rate for the jurisdiction being analyzed (in this instance, the U.S.) is standard. Just as we did not use a blended global tax rate, we also did not allocate corporate expenses associated with running the business, which would have further reduced its profitability. We believe it is most appropriate, and conservative, to focus entirely on EpiPen Auto-Injector specific costs and associated taxes."

Yeah, OK.

Want more Mylan? Listen to BI's Linette Lopez and Josh Barro talk EpiPen pricing in an episode of their podcast, Hard Pass:

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By A. Ananthalakshmi and Liz Lee

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Malaysian lenders are bracing for a hit to profits this year as they bump up provisions for sour loans to the local oil and gas services sector that has been battered by the slump in energy prices and cutbacks in projects.

The problem mirrors pain playing out in neighbouring Singapore, where the collapse of oilfield services firm Swiber Holdings Ltd has stoked concerns about the size of the city state's biggest lender DBS Group Holdings' exposure to the industry.

Last month, Malaysia's Perisai Petroleum Teknologi , an offshore oil and gas services provider, said it was aiming to renegotiate terms with bondholders on a S$125 million ($92 million) bond.

A day later, Malaysia's biggest bank Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) reported a tripling in loan provisions that was partly responsible for a 27 percent decline in second-quarter net profit - further fanning concern about the sector.

"While Malaysian O&G names are in a relatively better liquidity situation than their Singapore peers, we expect this to continue to remain an issue for these banks due to the volatility in oil prices," said Nomura analyst Tushar Mohata.

But analysts also note that while Malaysian banks' have some $10 billion in exposure to the oil and gas sector overall, this represented just 3 percent of their gross loans as of June.

On an individual basis too, Maybank and rivals CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd all have 3-4 percent of their total loans in the oil and gas sector.

By contrast, loans to the sector accounted for about 6 percent of total loans at Singapore's three listed banks. DBS has some $17 billion in exposure to the sector, Maybank has just $4.6 billion..

"We expect the impact on profits to be manageable. Despite increased stress over the last few years... banks' revenues have been sufficient to absorb the higher impairment costs and profitability has remained adequate," said Elaine Koh, a director at Fitch Ratings.

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Since Maybank reported results last month, 13 analysts have cut their predictions for annual net profit forecast to an average 6.15 billion ringgit, a decline of about 10 percent from last year and 6.6 percent lower than earlier estimates.

Still, chances are more loans to the sector are likely to go sour, particularly if oil prices, which have slumped 60 percent over the past two years, do not see a significant pick-up.

A planned cost cutting drive by state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) of up to $12 billion over four years is also set to exacerbate woes.

UOB KayHian analysts have highlighted several offshore services firms as having risky gearing levels. These included UMW Oil & Gas, which it said had maturing short-term loans worth 2 billion ringgit, as well as Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd.

UMW declined to comment. Dayang said the firm has enough cash to comfortably ride through the next two years.

"Indeed, we have a few sizeable loans but none are due in the next one year, and we have also not defaulted on any loans so far. We will still be able to sustain the company even if operations stops," Bailey Kho, head of corporate affairs at Dayang, told Reuters.

($1 = 1.3575 Singapore dollars) ($1 = 4.1110 ringgit) (Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi and Liz Lee; Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Two teens, one with a handgun, seen rummaging around in cars at a North Side apartment building parking lot Sunday night, were arrested, but not before scaring a victim who thought a real gun had been pointed at his face.

A 13-year-old Madison boy was tentatively charged with armed robbery and a 14-year-old Madison boy was tentatively charged with theft from a motor vehicle and resisting, Madison police said.

The incident happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Northridge Terrace, starting when a 38-year-old Madison man came outside to get his car keys after leaving the keys in the car.

"He found his keys missing, and then spotted a dome light on in a nearby vehicle, with a car alarm going off," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "The man saw the teens, so he yelled at them to give his keys back."

The teens, who were wearing masks, started running and the man took off after them. The keys were in the pocket of the 13 year old.

"He turned back toward the victim and pointed a handgun at him," DeSpain said. "The man put his hands up and pleaded 'I just want my keys, man.'"

The plea was ignored and the teens kept running. The victim and others gave descriptions of the two to officers, who found the suspects.

"Police recovered a real-looking BB gun, several items believed to have been stolen, a ghoul mask and a black mask that covers the face from the nose down," DeSpain said.
Versailles (France) (AFP) - A man in his sixties opened fire on shoppers outside a supermarket near Paris on Monday, severely injuring two people before fleeing the scene, police sources said.

Police surrounded the home of the attacker, where he holed up after shooting a 57-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man in what prosecutors called a "private dispute".

The shooter was already known to police for common law offences.
A gunman allegedly fatally shot a man in a crowded Starbucks on Sunday and then called police to report the crime pretending to be an innocent bystander, according to multiple reports.



Pedro Jose Garcia, 34, is facing murder and several other charges in connection with the incident, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.



"There was an argument inside of Starbucks and the suspect shot the victim and then a proceeded to come outside and he was mixed in with some of the people who were evacuating," Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Dan McGrath said at a press conference on Sunday.



Police said Garcia allegedly entered the coffee shop after his credit card was declined at the drive-thru window. He then allegedly got into an argument with the man, who was a customer, the Review Journal reports.







 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



It is unclear whether Garcia already knew the victim, the Associated Press reports.



At least 12 customers and workers were in the store when Garcia allegedly opened fire, according to the AP. The Review-Journal reports that, after allegedly shooting the man in the chest, Garcia allegedly fired the gun in the air and pointed it at other customers.



"They were treating it as a type of a hostage barricade. We didn't really know what was going on," McGrath said during the press conference. "After the shooting, there were a lot of people inside a [and] trying to determine who was involved and who was not involved took a little bit of time."



According to the Review Journal, Garcia allegedly called authorities and gave a description of the shooter, and subsequently presented himself to officers as a witness.



He also allegedly told officers there was a bomb in an unattended backpack, which prompted police to evacuate nearby businesses, though no bomb was found, the Review Journal reports.



Garcia is charged with murder, robbery, burglary while possessing a gun and discharging a gun in an occupied building, according to jail records.



He is being held at Clark County Detention Center on $65,000 bail, according to the records.



It is unclear whether he has entered a plea or retained a lawyer.
A 22-year-old Connecticut man lost at sea for more than a week after setting out on a fishing trip with his mother has been found alive, two days after the search for the pair was called off.

Linda Carman, 54, of Middletown, and her son, Nathan Carman, vanished after the pair set out from Point Judith, Rhode Island September 17 in their 32-foot aluminum center console boat, authorities said.

After receiving a report that the pair didnt make it back to shore Sunday, officials began combing the area for any signs of the 22-year-old man or his mother, who often went on fishing trips together.

Read: Puppy Found Alive on Island After Getting Lost At Sea for 5 Weeks

Coast Guard crews from numerous stations, including Point Judith and Cape Cod, searched the waters near Montauk, New York, and Block Island, but after five days and exhausting all efforts, the search was called off on Friday.

Two days later, a freighter crew found Nathan Carman alive in a life raft about 100 miles south of Marthas Vineyard. He had been out to sea for eight days.

The young man, who has Aspergers syndrome, appeared to be in good condition and had food and water inside the boat, officials said. He is expected to be dropped off on land on Tuesday.

Read: Why This Diver Recorded His 'Final Hours' Adrift at Sea Before Being Rescued

Nathan Carman, who lives in Vermont, reportedly told authorities the boat took on water and capsized, but it was not immediately clear why his mother was not in the life raft.

Her whereabouts or condition was not immediately known.

Nathan Carman was the subject of a 2011 multistate search when he unexpectedly left town, according to the Hartford Courant.

Four days later the then 17-year-old boy was reportedly found at a vacant store in Virginia. He told authorities that he was looking for a safe place to sleep on his way to Florida.

Watch: Toddler Who Survived Under Capsized Boat Thanks Her Rescuers

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Related Articles:
The seats at The Forum in Los Angeles filled quickly Sunday night with eager fans who waited patiently for Mana to jump onstage for their second, out of four, sold-out shows at the iconic venue.

It's safe to say that for any Mana fan, the concert was an unforgettable one and the setlist, which included a good mix of old hits and new tracks, didn't disappoint. For almost three hours straight, Mana rocked the stage and serenaded the crowd with songs like "Manda una senal," "Oye mi amor," "Corazon espinado," Donde jugaran los ninos?," "Mi verdad," " Como te deseo," "Mariposa traicionera," "Me vale" and, of course, the new urban version of "De pies a cabeza."

Mana Becomes Group With Most No. 1s on Latin Airplay Chart, Thanks to Nicky Jam Collaboration

Throughout the concert, one that all who were present wished wouldn't come to an end, there were many memorable moments and highlights, including a special appearance by the one and only Marco Antonio Solis. Of course, there was also a political agenda within the show -- after all, the trek is billed as a call to all Latinos to show their power and make their voices heard by voting in the upcoming elections.

Below are Billboard's favorite moments from Mana's Latino Power Tour show:

Emotional collab with Mark Goffeney

"A year ago we got a video from an extraordinary musician who has a very strong will that made me reflect on many things. We were able to connect with him and we brought him here as a surprise to you guys," said Fher before inviting Mark Goffeney, a talented musician from San Diego without arms who plays guitar with his feet, to perform their classic "Vivir sin aire." The emotional performance by Goffeney got a standing ovation from the crowd.

Alex soars with drums solo

During an epic drum solo that lasted about 10 minutes, Alex was elevated from the stage to wow the crowd with his impeccable drumming skills that had everyone cheering him on. After giving quite the spectacle and probably one of the best moments of the show, the rock star then gave away his drumsticks to two lucky fans.

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Gracias! Thank you! #losangeles ! Que energia!! #chingonsisimo !#picofthenight #instamoment @theforum #theforum #laforum #drummer #drumlife #tour #tourlife #latinopowertour @manaoficial

A photo posted by ALEX GONZALEZ (@alexgonzalezelanimal) on Sep 26, 2016 at 3:56am PDT

Oldies-but-goodies acoustic session

After Alex's drum solo, Fher and Sergio appeared on the other end of the venue where they had set up for the acoustic/bohemian part of the show. This was the part where fans would sing their hearts out with Fher on songs like "Te llore todo un rio," "El reloj cucu," "Eres mi religion," "Se me olvido otra vez," "Bendita tu luz" and "El muelle de San Blas."

Marco Antonio Solis jumps onstage

To everyone's surprise, Latin music icon Marco Antonio Solis joined Mana onstage while they were performing their version of Solis' "Si no te hubieras ido." "We recorded our version of this song because my mom really liked it and I think we did a pretty good job," said Fher. After singing together, Solis sang another one of his classics "Tu carcel."

Mana y @marcoantoniosolis_oficial en #LosAngeles #LatinoPowerTour 

A video posted by Mana (@manaoficial) on Sep 25, 2016 at 11:24pm PDT

Latino Power message

Of course, the chart-topping band couldn't leave the stage without talking politics and the importance of the Latino vote in the upcoming presidential election in November. The anti-Trump band also took a few swings at the Republican candidate, without even having to mention his name. "We don't accept violence here, this country is multicultural. It is made up of immigrants. And although este cabron might not like it, there are more than 50 million of us Latinos in this country. And how do we hurt him, by voting, voting, voting! Demonstrate your power so they can respect Mexicans and Latinos. To all the gringos that came here tonight, welcome and thank you."

Mana continues their Latino Power Tour through the months of October and November visiting cities like Chicago, New York, Miami, Houston and Atlanta.
By Tom James

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (Reuters) - There is no evidence showing that a man charged with five counts of first-degree murder after confessing to a shooting rampage at a shopping mall in Washington state over the weekend had contact with any known Islamic militant groups or individuals, a law enforcement official told Reuters on Monday.

Turkish-born Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old legal U.S. resident, was advised of the charges against him during a brief hearing in Skagit County District Court in Mount Vernon, Washington, on Monday and ordered held on $2 million bail.

According to charging documents, Cetin admitted to police investigators that he brought a Ruger .22 caliber rifle into the Macy's department store at Cascade Mall in Burlington, about 65 miles (105 km) north of Seattle, on Friday evening and fatally shot five people.

Skagit County District Attorney Richard Weyrich declined to discuss a motive for the shootings. But a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told Reuters there was nothing to suggest that Cetin had had contact with any known Islamic militants.

However, the source said Cetin's motives for the attack were still unclear.

Cetin walked into the Macy's shortly before 7 p.m. PDT (0200 GMT), gunning down a 16-year-old girl near a clothing rack, then opening fire on the other four victims in the make-up department before placing the gun on a cosmetics counter and walking out, prosecutors said in the court papers.

Representative Rick Larsen said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday that the slain girl was high school sophomore Sarai Lara, a cancer survivor.

Also killed in the attack were Shayla Martin, a 52-year-old Macy's makeup artist, Boeing employee and father of two Chuck Eagan, retired probation officer Belinda Galde, 64, and her 95-year-old mother, Beatrice Dotson, Larsen said.

Wearing red and blue jail garb and shackled at the waist, Cetin showed no emotion during Monday's court appearance and spoke only to respond "yes, your honor" several times to the judge.

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"It's a terrible, terrible thing and a terrible tragedy for the whole community," Weyrich told reporters after the hearing, adding prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty against Cetin.

The attack follows a series of violent outbursts at shopping centers across the United States, including the stabbing of nine people at the Crossroads Center in Minnesota on Sept. 17. The FBI has said it considers that attack a "potential act of terrorism."

Cetin was taken into custody without incident Saturday evening after police spotted him near his home in Oak Harbor, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Burlington.

According to the charging documents, Cetin initially walked into the mall unarmed, through a Chuck E. Cheese family entertainment and pizza restaurant, then went back to his car to retrieve the rifle from the trunk, moving the car closer to Macy's.

According to prosecutors, Cetin's father told them that he and his son had had a falling out recently.

The father said he last saw his son at dinner at about 4:30 p.m. on the day of the shooting and that his rifle, which matched the description of the murder weapon, was missing along with ammunition.

(Reporting by Tom James; Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington, D.C., Eric Johnson in Seattle and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Alan Crosby and Cynthia Osterman)
How can braids and dreadlocks keep people from getting hired? (Photo: Getty Images)

When designer Marc Jacobs faced public criticism for using faux dreadlocks on mostly white models for New York Fashion Week recently, his curt response (which he has since apologized for) showed he didnt really get what might have rankled people to begin with.

But examples  of why appropriating and celebrating traditionally black hairstyles could be seen as offensive in the face of ongoing natural-hair discrimination  just keep on coming. In August, for example, we told you of Rachel Sakabo, who says she was fired from her job as a St. Regis hotel concierge in New York City because of her dreadlocks.

Then, on Sept. 15, the very same day that the Marc Jacobs models walked the runway, an appeals court upheld an Alabama insurance companys right to ban a woman from wearing dreadlocks at work. This was despite the racial and cultural implications as argued on behalf of the employee by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

And now we have the story of Savion J. Wright. Hes an Austin, Texas-based musician and 2014 American Idol contestant who told about his unsettling job-interview experience in a Saturday Facebook post, since shared more than 8,200 times.

I went to a job interview. It went extremely well. I dressed in a nice black suit and tie, his post begins. The lady who interviewed me tells me that she is amazed by my great communication, wisdom, and natural leadership abilities. But then she looks up at my hair and says,  But would you mind cutting your hair? We would like our partners to be professional, and I dont think your look would fly well. I mean, it looks like you have a lot of years in there. So, just consider it. I was FLOORED. Ive been growing my hair for 9 years, lady, so no! Im an artist, its a part of me, a part of my identity and it stays on point!

Wright goes on to explain that the interview was not for a professional job, that his hair was neatly done and not posing a security hazard to anyone, and points out the racist overtones of his experience, concluding, Perhaps Im being too critical, but it sounds like one more excuse to keep us from soaring.

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The 12,000-plus reactions to his post range are overflowing with supporters, with one woman noting, I couldnt agree more! I think its just another attempt to attack our identity. So you cant get a job bc of your hair then you have to conform to their standards  for what?? Theyre even attacking our young babies in the school saying their braids & fros are against dress code! She is correct, as stories about school dress codes focusing on dreadlocks and braids occur with regularity, such as with the recent controversy about a Kentucky high schools anti-natural-hair policy for students.

A Facebook critic, though, lashes out at Wright by telling him to grow up, prompting another commenter to leap to Wrights defense and claiming that his brother was murdered by white cops who then got away with it. (Wrights brother Alfred was indeed found dead under mysterious circumstances in Jasper, Texas, back in 2014.)

The issue of appearance and employment, though, is an ongoing quagmire, which typically has employers in the right, even at the interview stage. Thats something Paula Brantner of the organization Workplace Fairness told Yahoo Beauty recently, for a story about a Toronto woman who opted to skip an interview at the Body Shop after she was instructed to show up wearing a full face of makeup.

She added that, while it may be difficult to understand how such rules are acceptable, Throughout the U.S., we have employment-at-will, meaning a company can hire and fire for any reason, as long as its not illegal. So the question is, what would make it illegal? Obvious racism and discrimination based on sexual orientation are examples, Brantner explained, as is clear gender bias  but proving it effectively in a court of law could be difficult.

For now, in the land of Facebook judgment, it seems that Wright may have won. Keep your gorgeous hair, wrote one of a growing swell of supporters, and those years of wisdom that lay within it.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Voters throughout Dane County have the opportunity to cast their ballots weeks before the general election on Nov. 8, with days and times set up in almost all of the countys 61 municipalities.

County Clerk Scott McDonell sent out a comprehensive accounting of where and when people can vote in Dane County ahead of the general election, with some of the municipalities already accepting absentee ballots since Sept. 19.

The early voting by absentee ballot in Madison also expanded to 14 locations for the general election, including all nine branches of the Madison Public Library.

Republican lawmakers had enacted limits on early and absentee voting earlier this year in what they described as an effort to make such voting uniform throughout the state.

The limits blocked weekend voting and established certain hours and dates for in-person voting.

But a federal judge in July threw out many of those laws, saying they were unfair to minority and largely Democratic voters.

McDonell wanted to reiterate that identification needs to be shown when voting early or voting on Nov. 8, with acceptable forms of identification including a Wisconsin driver license, a photo ID card issued by the Department of Transportation, a U.S. passport or military ID, all with expiration dates after Nov. 4, 2014; a naturalization certificate issued within the last two years; an unexpired Wisconsin driver license or state ID card receipt; an ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin; an ID card from an accredited Wisconsin university or college; or an unexpired Veterans Affairs ID card.

The address on the voters ID (card) does not matter for purposes of proving ones identity, McDonell said.

The name on the ID, however, must reasonably conform to the voters name on the poll book.

Registering to vote prior to or on the day of the election is allowed; how to register can be found on the county website, www.countyofdane.com.
matt leblanc fall tv 2016 stars

"Friends" star Matt LeBlanc is returning to host BBC's "Top Gear."

The actor signed a deal to continue with the auto show for two more seasons, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

"Matt was hugely popular with 'Top Gear' viewers last series with his humor, warmth, and obvious passion for cars and for the show, so I couldnt be more delighted that hes agreed to come back and do more for us." said Mark Linsey, the director of BBC Studios.

Chris Harris and Rory Reid will also continue on with the show. Eddie Jordan, Sabine Schmitz and The Stig will make regular appearances.

LeBlanc joined the show last year to cohost with Chris Evans. But Evans resigned in July, amid sliding ratings.

NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos space company is about to blow the top off of its rocket on purpose  heres why





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Men actually ARE intimidated by *this* kind of woman, study suggests

Men actually ARE intimidated by *this* kind of woman, study suggests

When it comes to dating, how often do we wish we could jump inside someone elses head? When it comes to figuring out what our potential lover is attracted to, it can feel like were jumping through proverbial hoops. A recent study suggests that there is one thing men are not attracted to, and frankly, its pretty damn frustrating. A recent study from the Warsaw School of Economics, located in Poland, suggests that men are intimidated by clever women.

Yeah, thats right: Study findings suggest that after a woman reaches a certain level of clever or smart behavior, there is no longer a positive correlation on how attractive her potential partner finds her.

Viola Davis

To gather this data, researchers had 500 people participate in speed-dating activities where they rated the physical attractiveness and intelligence of the people they were meeting. Every few minutes, theyd be matched with a new date and then asked if they would want to meet that person again. Sadly, there is a clear spot in the data where men stop valuing womens intelligence.

Basically, this science suggests that men want smart and clever women, but only up until a point. Which, as we know, is totally ridiculous.

As a note on the study, its important to point out that this research dealt with opposite-sex pairings and the sexual orientation of participants was not explored. Hopefully as we have more data on related subjects, we can better understand how our potential dates are viewing us  and until then, remember everybody: Your intelligence is one of your greatest assets! Find someone who appreciates you for both your beauty and your brains.

The post Men actually ARE intimidated by *this* kind of woman, study suggests appeared first on HelloGiggles.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the European Union needed to establish migrant deals with African countries such as Egypt and Tunisia along the lines of the agreement it already has with Turkey. She also said more must be spent on development aid to deal with the root causes of migration, adding that it was critical "to prevent a repeat of the situation seen last summer". The arrival then of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond marked Europe's biggest migrant crisis since World War Two. "It's important that we give the African countries perspectives for the future," Merkel said during a conference on tourism. "We either have to let people come to us, or we have to combat the root causes of migration so that people see prospects for staying there, close to their homes." Merkel gave no specific details about possible migrant deals between the EU and African countries, which unlike Turkey are not candidates for membership of the bloc, but she has repeatedly raised the issue, including at the recent G20 summit in China. The EU and Turkey agreed in March that Ankara would stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe in exchange for financial aid and the promise of visa-free travel. In June, Merkel described Africa with its population of 1.2 billion people as "the central problem" in the migration issue. Also on Monday, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere met his Tunisian counterpart Hedi Mejdoub in Berlin to discuss security issues, organised crime and illegal migration. The two ministers agreed to form a German-Tunisian working group to expand cooperation on security matters, and to work on a direct exchange of data, expertise and know-how, the German ministry said in a statement. They also signed an agreement about bilateral cooperation on security issues. "Both ministers agreed to intensify the cooperation between the two countries, especially with regards to accelerating the repatriation of Tunisian citizens who had illegally entered Germany," the ministry statement said. Mejdoub also met with the head of the interior committee in the German parliament, a key state official from the German state of Sachsen, and other groups. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Michelle Martin and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Catherine Evans)
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the European Union needed to establish migrant deals with African countries such as Egypt and Tunisia along the lines of the agreement it already has with Turkey. She also said more must be spent on development aid to deal with the root causes of migration, adding that it was critical "to prevent a repeat of the situation seen last summer". The arrival then of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond marked Europe's biggest migrant crisis since World War Two. "It's important that we give the African countries perspectives for the future," Merkel said during a conference on tourism. "We either have to let people come to us, or we have to combat the root causes of migration so that people see prospects for staying there, close to their homes." Merkel gave no specific details about possible migrant deals between the EU and African countries, which unlike Turkey are not candidates for membership of the bloc, but she has repeatedly raised the issue, including at the recent G20 summit in China. The EU and Turkey agreed in March that Ankara would stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe in exchange for financial aid and the promise of visa-free travel. In June, Merkel described Africa with its population of 1.2 billion people as "the central problem" in the migration issue. Also on Monday, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere met his Tunisian counterpart Hedi Mejdoub in Berlin to discuss security issues, organized crime and illegal migration. The two ministers agreed to form a German-Tunisian working group to expand cooperation on security matters, and to work on a direct exchange of data, expertise and know-how, the German ministry said in a statement. They also signed an agreement about bilateral cooperation on security issues. "Both ministers agreed to intensify the cooperation between the two countries, especially with regards to accelerating the repatriation of Tunisian citizens who had illegally entered Germany," the ministry statement said. Mejdoub also met with the head of the interior committee in the German parliament, a key state official from the German state of Sachsen, and other groups. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Michelle Martin and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Catherine Evans)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican priest was found murdered in the central state of Michoacan, the state attorney general said on Sunday, the third to be killed in the country in less than a week. The priest in Michoacan, identified as Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen, was found on a highway between Puruandiro and Zinaparo, the state attorney general's office said. Autopsy results, which revealed gunshot wounds to be the cause of death, suggested the priest was killed five days before his body was found, the office said. The murder comes after a decade of drug violence in Mexico that has frequently touched the Roman Catholic church, with 31 priests killed in the 10 years to 2015, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a rights group. On Sunday, the state attorney generals office said no ransom calls had been made after Lopez was reported missing earlier in the week. His body was identified by relatives. The killing came days after two other priests, identified as Alejo Jimenez and Jose Juarez, were abducted violently from their church in the city of Poza Rica and found dead in the Gulf state of Veracruz. Some priests in the world's second-biggest Catholic country have denounced the violence of drug gangs. (Reporting by Natalie Schachar; Editing by Robert Birsel)
When Lauren Hutton walked arm-in-arm down the runway with Gigi Hadid for the finale of the Bottega Veneta show Saturday morning, it was a moment that crystallized what luxury brands must do right now, which is to bring the past to meet the future, in order to hook the next generation on expensive fashion.

At Milan Fashion Week, which wrapped up Sunday, designers tried to woo millennials with the modeling sisters Hadid, and their combined 30 million Instagram followers. They tried to woo them with streetwear references, sportswear references and sneakers (MGSM, No. 21, Versace), with Insta-ready presentations (Tod's, Fausto Puglisi) and with vlogger front rows (Dolce & Gabbana). Will it work? Only time will tell if experiences and shares translate into sales.

Read more: Milan Day 2: Prada's Screen Queens; Pucci's Jersey Girls; Moschino's Paper Dolls

There was something about Bottega's play that felt nice, maybe because it didn't feel so much like a play.

It's a big year for BV, the 50th anniversary of the anti-flash luxury brand with the slogan "When your own initials are enough," the 15th with creative director Tomas Maier at the helm, and the first time he's shown women's and men's wear together.

LADYLIKE: Looks from Bottega Veneta's spring 2017 presentation. (Photos: Getty Images)

For the show, he chose the fine arts academy Accademia di Brera, with its soaring archways reminiscent of the clean Spanish Colonial architecture of the new BV Rodeo Drive store. And it seems the students may have inspired him as well, from the saddle shoes to the matinee idol look of many of the male models.

You could see the passion in the soft suiting, glossy leather shirt dresses and coats, and lace knits that flattered every curve on Karen Elson, Adriana Lima and others in the diverse cast, which could have come straight off a Hollywood movie set (with Hutton playing the femme fatale in a trench coat, natch). The men looked like 1950s movie stars in colorful polo sweaters, pleated pants and fly boy leather jackets. Adding to the cinematic vibe, Maier recreated 15 bags from the house archives, including the intrecciato clutch carried by Lauren Hutton in the 1980 film, American Gigolo.

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AMERICAN GIGOLO: Looks from Bottega Veneta's spring 2017 presentation. (Photos: Getty Images)

The whole collection felt like it was designed from the heart. For his runway bow, Maier brought his entire design team onto the runway with him, the teacher and his students. Some even had tears in their eyes.

Dolce & Gabbana made a bid for the young ones in a more overt way. "Here come the millennials," the brand announced on its Instagram feed the day before the show, teasing a front row full of vloggers (Cameron Dallas, Luka Sabbat) and celeb kids (Sistine Stallone, Brandon Thomas Lee, Rafferty Law, Sofia Richie), and guaranteeing a hormone-fueled frenzy on the sidewalk outside. (IPhones hoisted in the air, teenage chants of "Cameron, Cameron, Cameron," chasing cars down the street, it was a mega scene.)

The millennials of the evening! Celebrating an evening of fun at #DGMontenapoleone Photo by @fashiontomax @maximsap

A photo posted by Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) on Sep 25, 2016 at 3:25pm PDT

The designers' "Tropico Italiano" themed show was a crazy performance that started and ended with street dancers on the runway, and continued later in the evening with a dinner that shut down the famous Montenapoleone shopping street.

In the middle, on the runway, the trend for spring 2017 was decoration, the more piled on the merrier, including sequins, studs, flowers and pearls.

This was a collection designed to dazzle and share, with light up LED heels and headpieces, pizza-shaped bags, ice cream-printed dresses, ironic logo tees emblazoned with the phrase, "DG La Vera Copia" ("the true DG copy") and even a finale of souvenir T-shirts and flip flops and more, spelling out "Lo Sera," or "I was there." "Clients no longer buy just a dress; they are buying an experience, a memory, a feeling," the designers stated in the show notes.

For all that, the millennial front row didn't look so impressed. They didn't have their iPhones in the air documenting the moment; then again, they are the stars of their own show.

MILLENNIALS RULE: Looks from Dolce & Gabbana's spring 2017 presentation. (Photos: Getty Images)

Elsewhere on the runway, the last two days of Milan fashion week included some old favorites. Missoni showed its famous knits in elongated silhouettes, with sarong style wraps over pants a fresh-looking idea. Marni offered a curiously print-free vision of folded, draped and drawcord cinched layers. And Jil Sander designer Rodolfo Paglialunga put his own spin on Issey Miyake-like pleats and "Working Girl" power shoulders.

Doing the weave @Missoni #MFW pic.twitter.com/YGGX0zU0tS

- @Booth (@Booth) September 25, 2016

Trying to bring back power shoulders at #JilSander #MFW pic.twitter.com/iuVV4mcIOP

- @Booth (@Booth) September 24, 2016

But what really left a lasting impression were Milan's fast-percolating new talents and labels, including Marco di Vincenzo, who may be Italy's answer to Proenza Schouler. LVMH has invested in Vincenzo's label, a modern mix of bold shapes and craftsy textures. There was plenty for actresses to love in the pleating, ruching, fringe and flounces, and a great looking copper sequin dress that someone should grab for a red carpet soon.

RED-CARPET READY: Looks from Marco di Vincenzo's spring 2017 presentation. (Photos: Courtesy of Marco di Vincenzo. (Photos: Getty Images)

Albert Arbesser is another name to know. (He's also creative director of Iceberg.) Taking inspiration from uniforms, he presented a collection of pieces that actually stood out on their own, including a gingham pleated skirt with an iridescent shine, an apron dress with an arrow graphic and bold color blocked polo sweaters.

Then there's Philipp Plein, Milan's new king of bling, and quite possibly the fashion world's new Christian Audigier. Coming off his Fergie-fueled runway show earlier in the week, which Paris Hilton walked, Plein inaugurated his new Milan headquarters by throwing himself a party Sunday night and flying in a Michelin star chef from Paris to feed his guests.

A video posted by Philipp Plein (@philippplein78) on Sep 22, 2016 at 2:44am PDT

The building has 7 floors dedicated to Plein's bedazzled luxe athleisure for men, women and kids (think skull printed leather shorts; crystal studded high top sneakers and hoodies with jeweled zipper pulls). Plein has stores all around the world, including one on Rodeo Drive, and plans to open 30 more in America in the next 5 years. Starting next season, he will begin showing his collection in New York.

He finally arrived fashionably late to his own party, blowing back into town minutes before, after living it up with his girlfriend in Monte Carlo all weekend, and posting videos of her on his Instagram in a brand new Rolls Royce.

What a character! Somebody get this guy a reality show stat. Or maybe more appropriately, a vlog.

Now it's on to Paris.

ALICE IN GHETTOLAND: Looks from Philipp Plein's spring 2017 show. (Photos: Getty Images)

Read more: Milan Day 3: Versace Glam Slam; Etro's Boho Beat; La Perla Launches Kim Kardashian-Ready RTW
Paola Torrente calls herself Miss Italia Curvy on Instagram. (Photo: paola_torrentereal via Instagram)

Paola Torrente broke beauty-pageant ground recently when the size 14 knockout won second place at the Miss Italy competition. Though Torrente was thrilled, not everyone was thrilled for her. According to the Daily Mail, she was ridiculed by other contestants and trolled on social media over her size after she came second in the competition. The mother of the pageants third-place winner took to Instagram to suggest that women with Torrentes curvaceous figure should take part in the Plus Size Miss Italy contest, per a translation by the Daily Mail.

Another vocal critic, Croatian model Nina Moric, declared on social media that Torrente had too much flesh, according to Refinery29. Instagram user @spillth3sugar highlighted a social media post by Moric, in which the model even commented on first-place Miss Italy winner Rachele Risalitis figure, translating her words loosely as, Rachel was too fat to be a beauty queen and the competition was pretty much rigged for fat people.

Moric struck back by claiming @spillth3sugar virtually invented her criticisms, as it was pretty clear I have never expressed any personal judgment on any of the girls of Miss Italy, according to her Instagram. If youre wondering why Moric has such a strong opinion, it may be because she lives and works in Italy, and her boyfriend is from the Naples region, as she points out on her official Facebook. Moric went on to apologize for her words, after she herself received some harsh criticisms.

A body-shaming controversy erupting right after such a big victory might shake someone to the core, but it didnt seem to rattle Torrente. In the midst of the controversy, Torrente let the negativity roll off her back by posting a beaming photo of herself onstage at the pageant alongside a caption that read, Guys so many of you are following me and Id love to thank you and say Im sorry if i cant answer all of you.. I have a photo that reminds me of all the emotions of that night!

Story continues

Story: How to Defend Yourself Like Gigi Hadid

The beauty queen did, eventually, address the shaming words that came flying her way, admitting in an interview with the Daily Mail that the body-shaming initially made her really upset. Regarding Morics comments, she told the publication, I always take words like hers with a smile, saying I feel good in my body, and I love myself for what I am. In response to the angry mother of third-place contestant Viviana Vogliacco, Torrente said, I wasnt upset, just amused. I mean every one has the right to an opinion, even if it is the wrong one!

According to a study cited by Refinery29, the average woman in the U.K. wears a size 16 dress, making Torrente, who is a size 14, smaller than what is considered plus-size. (Information on the average size of Italian women was not available at press time.) The possible eradication of the term plus-size has been the subject of hot debate, as inclusiveness slowly but steadily makes its way into the fashion industry. A movement called #droptheplus has emerged in support of this, pointing out that the average woman is a size 14, while the average model is a size 4. The origins of the term plus size hints at its outdatedness. It arose in the 1920s to describe the clothes that did not meet the decades notorious, slender body ideals, according to the website for #droptheplus.

While #droptheplus applauds the fashion industry for making more clothing available in all sizes, it claims the actual term plus size is a step backward, since double-digit sizes are more common the world over than single-digit ones, according to the site, which notes, Italy, Spain and Israel adopted laws in 2013 to prevent the industry from using models with an excessively low Body Mass Index (BMI) and France is currently in the process of bringing in the same laws. Things are beginning to change for the better.

Story: ColourPop Apologizes for the Names of Its Contour Sticks for Darker Skin Tones

As far as pageants go, Torrente applauds the industry for being more inclusive of voluptuous women. The stereotype of the tall, skinny girl started in the 1990s and girls became skinnier every year, she laments to the Daily Mail. Now a lot of girls that dont fit the beauty ideal of tall and skinny compete. Thats a really good thing, it means mentality is changing, says Torrente, who hits the gym four times a week, lifting weights and doing cardio, and says she eats fresh and organic food.

Miss Italy organizer Patrizia Mirigliani concurs and told the Daily News, Stop the stereotypes. What we want is more female models who are closer to real people, according to the publication, adding that the inclusiveness of curvaceous women was a social initiative to combat anorexia.

For her part, Torrente has taken the high road with her reactions to the body-shaming debacle, even calling out fans for their support. She was the popular choice among the Miss Italy pageant audience, according to the Daily Mail  and shes always the top choice for her boyfriend of four years, a Brazilian-born medical student named Gabriel, who has always been attracted by my personality and my curves, she told the Daily Mail.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
A key to learning for young children is a stable home environment, so a partnership has been established aiming to provide just that on Madisons North Side.

The Northside Early Childhood Zone was announced Monday by the partners in the effort, including the Madison School District, United Way of Dane County, the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation and city and county leaders.

The goal, according to Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, is to bring county and community resources together in the interest of families, with housing and employment assistance for parents to help nurture the youngsters.

The Northside Early Childhood Zone will have home visitation services and behavioral health support for family members, in an effort to get kids, from newborn to the first day of 4-year-old kindergarten, prepared for school, according to a news release.

The effort includes three staff members dedicated to coordinating home visits, housing, employment, mental health services and other critical services, including a bilingual specialist.

The Rennebohm Foundation is the key financial partner, pledging to invest millions of dollars to help young families on the citys North Side for years to come. Foundation president Steven Skolaski declined to give a specific amount.

For the past year, the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation has been engaged in the study of the status of resources in our community for children birth to 3 years old and their families, said Jane Belmore, early childhood project director for the foundation.

Madison has many high-quality resources for families, but the study confirms we do not have enough resources for all families, and we dont always reach the families who need the resources the most, Belmore said.

The zone will be the fourth in the county, joining those in the Leopold Elementary School attendance area in Madison, and the Verona and Sun Prairie school districts.

The new zone takes in the Blackhawk Middle School attendance area, which has four elementary schools: Mendota, Gompers, Lindbergh and Lake View.Mendota Elementary has the highest percentage of low-income students in all of Dane County, closely followed by the other North Side elementary schools, the release says.
The 39-year-old Illinois man suspected of kidnapping his 13-year-old stepdaughter and her 2-week-old son last week has been taken into custody after all three were located in a rural mountainous range south of Charleston, West Virginia on Saturday.



The Madison County Sheriff's Department in Illinois announced Saturday that Katherine Derleth and her infant child, Christopher R. Derleth, had been found after a nationwide search launched following their disappearance on Sept. 18 from their foster care home.



They were located with the girl's stepfather, Christopher M. Derleth, who authorities allege abducted the children. Derleth was taken into custody without incident.



At a press conference last Monday before he was found, authorities said Christopher M. Derleth was charged with aggravated kidnapping and child abduction. He was also charged with allegedly violating a protective order, filed before the alleged abduction, which barred him from having contact with Katherine.





Missing 13-Year-Old Girl and Infant Son Found in West Virginia as Stepfather Arrested on Kidnapping Charges| Crime & Courts, True Crime



The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office in West Virginia announced via Twitter that the children were "ok" and being evaluated at a local hospital.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.





Missing 13-Year-Old Girl and Infant Son Found in West Virginia as Stepfather Arrested on Kidnapping Charges| Crime & Courts, True Crime





Investigators Working to Determine Paternity of Infant

Investigators said they were concerned about health of the newborn and his teen mother, who has a congenital heart defect and a pacemaker and had just undergone a cesarean section delivery.



Authorities told PEOPLE months before the alleged abduction, they were investigating how Katherine became pregnant, and that the investigation focused on Derleth as well as another man Katherine had been living with.



As a result of that investigation, the state removed Katherine and her son from her home and placed them with a foster family, authorities said.



"Once we are able to find out the paternity of the child, there will no doubt be charges of criminal sexual abuse filed against that individual," Greenville, Illinois, Police Chief Lou Lorton previously told PEOPLE.



"The original complaint stemmed from the fact that there was a 13-year-old that was pregnant and there were, at the time, two individuals living with her in the home," Lorton said. "We obviously don't know who the father of the child is, but that's what launched the investigation."



Police are not discussing what prompted the alleged kidnapping but have said they believe it was planned.
In a casting move destined to make the MTV Generation feel their age, Molly Ringwald will play Aurora Greenway in the upcoming U.S. stage premiere of Terms of Endearment.

That's right, the actor who became the embodiment of the intelligent teen outsider in a trio of beloved 1980s John Hughes movies, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, will now be playing the controlling Texas grandmother in Dan Gordon's play based on the Larry McMurtry novel and the 1983 movie written, directed and produced by James L. Brooks.

That film won an Oscar for Shirley MacLaine, who played Aurora on the screen opposite fellow best actress nominee Debra Winger as her rebellious daughter Emma. The movie also won best picture, director, adapted screenplay and supporting actor for Jack Nicholson as the astronaut neighbor with whom Aurora becomes romantically involved for a time.

Starring opposite Ringwald as Emma will be Hannah Dunne, a series regular on Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle, whose credits also include roles in Louie, Horace and Pete and Frances Ha.

Read more: All the Broadway Shows of the 2016-2017 Season

The play will be directed by Michael Parva, beginning performances Oct. 29 at off-Broadway's 59E59 Theaters in a limited engagement that runs through Dec. 11. An official opening night has not yet been set. Lead producers on the show include Julian Schlossberg and Roy Furman, whose Broadway credentials may be an indication of future commercial hopes.

The play explores the loving but volatile relationship between Aurora and Emma as the latter embarks on an ill-advised marriage and then further down the line as she faces challenges that bring the sparring mother and daughter back closer together.

Ringwald has appeared on Broadway in Cabaret and Enchanted April, and off-Broadway in Tick, Tick ... Boom!, Modern Orthodox and How I Learned to Drive.

The stage adaptation of Terms of Endearment was first announced 10 years ago as a Broadway-bound project to star ex-Dallas siren Linda Gray. While the initial U.S. plans fell apart for reasons that were never announced, Gray did appear in the play in a U.K. regional tour.

Oct. 3, 11:40 a.m. Updated with news of Hannah Dunne's casting.
A Missouri familys first real vacation came to a tragic end when they were involved in a deadly collision on a Florida highway that killed both parents and hospitalized their children, authorities said.

Greg Moyers, 40, Sarah Moyers, 39, and their daughters were traveling east in the center lane of I-4 near DeLand at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday when another car drifted into their lane, causing them to veer off the road.

The Moyers' car struck a tree, killing Greg and Sarah Moyers, Florida Highway Patrol said.

Their 13-year-old daughter, Hailey Moyers, was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children to be treated for serious injuries, officials said.

Sophia Moyers, 8, was in critical condition in the same hospital, authorities said.

All four of the cars occupants were wearing seatbelts, FHP said.

Read: World Champion Boxer Rescues Dad And Toddler From Car Wreck

The family was enjoying the tail end of their vacation before returning to Leadwood, Missouri, loved ones said.

Sarah Moyers, a manager at a McDonalds restaurant, and Greg Moyers, who owned a muffler shop, had saved for months to treat their children to the trip.

The family deserved the time to relax, Greg Moyers customers told him on Facebook after he posted that the shop would be closed for a short time.

I hope this is for vacation. You guys need it, one person wrote.

Just for a short vacation, Greg Moyers replied.

Read: Mom Who Lost Unborn Child, Husband in Drunk-Driving Crash Shares Photos From Hospital, Scene

The Moyers visited Disney World and Universal Orlando and were on their way to the beach when they were involved in the fatal collision.

Today we lost 2 amazing people, a devastated friend wrote on Facebook after learning of the couples passing. You will be missed and always loved Sarah Moyers and Greg Moyers.

The Moyers were raising five children together, including two of Sarah Moyers sisters children, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

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Neither Hailey nor Sophia knew their parents died in the crash, a family friend told the newspaper.

What a beautiful family. Simply devastating. God, take these children and help them through this horrific tragedy, another friend wrote on social media.

A GoFundMe page has been created to raise money to help support the girls.

No charges have been against the driver of the other vehicle involved in the collision, identified by FHP as 43-year-old Charles King of New London, North Carolina.

However, the investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials said.

Watch: Newborn Survives Emergency C-Section After Pregnant Mom Dies In Car Crash

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A California mom is feeling praise from moms around the internet after sharing a note that her teenage daughter asked her to write.

Nicole Poppic, from Clarksburg, California, is done coddling her teenager daughter, Cara. Like any high schooler, Cara had a little trouble getting out of bed earlier this month, causing her to be late for class. But in most schools, an unexcused lateness can lead to punishment, so Cara asked her mother for a note to excuse her tardiness.

Unfortunately for Cara, the note was more incriminating than anything else, and Poppic blamed the whole ordeal on Cara's teenage-ism.

SEE ALSO: Stern little kid sends damning note to his mommy

"Adolescents across our great nation are afflicted and there is no known cure," Poppic wrote in the letter. "Symptoms are multitudinous, but this particular morning she suffered from an inability to remove herself from her bed, and also felt the need to talk back to her birth giver."

Ouch. But it gets worse. Poppic also threw Cara's phone out the window during the drive to school, which clearly got her attention.

If that wasn't bad enough, Poppic explains in a blog post that Cara refused to hand the note to the attendance office at her school, so Poppic helped her out and delivered the note with her.

"I got my service dog out of the backseat and we walked into the attendance office together. The attendance clerk cracked a smile, but didnt say anything; she just gave Cara her tardy slip," Poppic wrote on her blog.

Poppic also explains that she retrieved the phone later, but kept it for four days as punishment. She also stressed at the end of the blog that Cara is a good kid who does well in school, but sometimes a lesson is in order.

"I feel it is important for all of my children to realize that no matter what kind of mood a person is in, they are still responsible for their own actions and they are expected to be aware of how those actions affect other people," Poppic wrote.

Bonus: Corgi butts in slow motion
While initiating coverage on brokers, Morgan Stanley said the industry is facing three disruptive threats. As the industry focuses on advice in search of growth, the firm has a sound piece of it for the companies in this space: scale and innovation.

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of four companies in the space:

Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE: SCHW): Overweight with a $37 price target.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.(NASDAQ: AMTD): Equal Weight with a $29 price target.

E*TRADE Financial Corp (NASDAQ: ETFC): Equal Weight with a $34 price target.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: LPLA): Underweight with a $27 price target.

Triple Disruptive Threats

Among the three disruptive threats Morgan Stanley's Michael Cyprys sees are competition for customer assets/activity and response to these, growing regulatory burden and technologies that can transform business models and creating new winners.

Related Link: Trading The Online Brokers

Advice As Growth Vehicle

Morgan Stanley is of the view that advice is ultimately a vehicle to unify control over client wealth. A foray into the segment, according to the firm, would open to the brokers new revenue pools and important long-term and retirement investors.

Edge Over Full-Service Brokers

The firm feels that discount brokers can compete with full service brokers on value/price. The firm also sees them providing efficient delivery, given their digital savviness. Morgan Stanley estimates that the industry's $4.1 trillion in discretionary managed accounts would grow to $7 trillion by 2019. Accordingly, the firm believes that providing advice for a few will create an annuity-like revenue steam, which can help the companies command a higher multiple.

Advice: Sound Indeed!

Morgan Stanley believes shifting to advice opens a $22 trillion wealth pool for the brokers, driving revenues to $36 billion and mid-term earnings per share upside. The firm also believes that the consensus estimates underestimates the pressures on transactional revenues. According to Morgan Stanley, price transparency gives the online brokers a better value proposition.

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Picks

Morgan Stanley prefers brokers with multiple earnings levers and sees Charles Schwab as possessing diversified revenue streams and most EPS upside from the current rates. The firm indicated that it is above consensus for the company, given the faster net new assets and it moving cash onto its balance sheet, boosting economics four times.

Citing a lack of clarity on regulatory and business model, the firm said it is underweight on LPL Financial, with relative downside. The firm noted that revenue/expense pressures drive its earnings per share estimate for the company lower.

Meanwhile, on TD Ameritrade and E*TRADE, the firm remains Underweight, as it sees these companies offering less compelling valuation.

Concluding, Morgan Stanley said its 2017 earnings per share estimate is 3 percent below the consensus estimate. The firm prefers Alts and brokers, which are growing client assets in an expanding market. The firm sees long-term opportunities for brokers and a 24 percent earnings per share boost if rates rise 100 basis points.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

Latest Ratings for AMTD

Sep 2016 Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Equal-weight Sep 2016 CLSA Maintains Outperform Sep 2016 Deutsche Bank Maintains Hold

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 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Rabat (AFP) - The head of Morocco's main secular party has vowed to combat "creeping conservatism" as it takes on the country's ruling Islamists in parliamentary elections next month.

In an interview with AFP ahead of the October 7 poll, Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) chief Ilyas El Omari warned of the dangers of growing reactionary thought in Morocco.

On the west coast of North Africa just south of Spain, Morocco has long been considered among the most liberal of nations in the Arab world.

But Omari said that since the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) came to power in 2011, the country has changed.

"We are aiming to develop society by tackling creeping conservatism both within the state and outside," said the 49-year-old party leader, wearing an open-necked shirt and steel-rimmed glasses.

"What's happening in our society is scary... violent reactions against the modernisation of social mores," he said.

The Islamist PJD led by Abdelilah Benkirane swept to victory in 2011 polls and has since headed a coalition that includes liberals, Communists and conservatives.

It denies any links or support for Islamic extremism and is campaigning on a record of guiding Morocco through the turbulence of the Arab Spring, economic woes and a constitutional overhaul.

Still, Omari said the PJD is "clinging to its ideological positions" and said his party is better placed to run the country.

Speaking to AFP at a hotel where he was launching the PAM's campaign, he said the party was placing women's rights and representation at the heart of its agenda.

He said his party aimed to get 30 women into parliament, which currently has 67 female MPs including 11 from the PAM and 20 from the PJD.

- 'We need women in parliament' -

The PAM has presented two electoral lists entirely made up of women, along with six others headed by women -- a first in the Arab world, say party activists.

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"We want to put our words into action. Everyone is talking about equality today, but we don't see progress. We need women in parliament," Omari said.

The PJD accuses Omari's party, founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, an advisor to King Mohammed VI, of being too close to the royal palace -- an accusation Omari rejected.

"Most Moroccan parties were created by people close to the king -- including the PJD," he said.

"If someone has a problem with the monarchy, the king or his advisors, he should have the courage to say so."

Omari also flatly rejected any possibility of forming a coalition with the PJD.

The PAM sees itself as the defender of modern, democratic values, campaigning under the slogan "Change Now" and warning that another PJD-led government could spell "catastrophe".

Omari called on the Islamist party to clearly distance itself from militant views.

Benkirane, the prime minister, prompted an outcry earlier this year when he quoted Ibn Taymiyah, a militant 13-century theologian who inspires many of today's jihadists.

"We know who adopts Ibn Taymiyah's doctrine. That doctrine... calls for jihad and takfir (denouncing other Muslims as non-believers)," Omari said.

Omari launched his party's election campaign at a hotel in Casablanca that was the scene of a 2003 jihadist attack that left 45 dead.

"Innocents were killed here," he said. "The killers said 'yes to death, no to life'. We have chosen this place to declare the opposite: 'yes to life.'"
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam speaking at a press conference about the Bukit Batok by-election. Photo: Bryan Huang

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the clear favourite of Singaporeans to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as Singapores next Prime Minister, a survey conducted by market research consultancy Blackbox shows.

According to the poll commissioned by Yahoo Singapore, 69 per cent of all 897 respondents said they would support Tharman as a candidate to be prime minister.



The 59-year-old led three other men who emerged as possible contenders: fellow DPM Teo Chee Hean (34 per cent), Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat (25 per cent) and Minister in the Prime Ministers Office Chan Chun Sing (24 per cent).

Of the other possible candidates named in the poll, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin garnered 16 per cent of the vote. National Development Minister Lawrence Wong and Acting Education Ministers Ong Ye Kung and Ng Chee Meng, all got less than 10 per cent.

Clockwise from top left: Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Teo Chee Hean, Heng Swee Keat, Chan Chun Sing,Ng Chee Meng, Ong Ye Kung, Lawrence Wong and Tan Chuan-Jin. Photo: Yahoo Newsroom, Facebook

Respondents were allowed to choose more than one contender for the job.

Heng, Chan, Tan, Wong, Ong and Ng were all recently named by national broadsheet The Straits Times as possible candidates for the top job.

The topic of leadership succession took on new urgency when Lee suffered a fainting spell during his live National Day Rally speech on 21 August. The 64-year-old has had several health scares over the years, including a bout with prostate cancer in 2015 and lymphoma in the early 1990s.

During his rally speech, Lee had said that building up the leadership and preparing for succession was his top priority.

Nothing that has happened has changed my timetable, or my resolve to press on with successionSoon after the next GE, my successor must be ready to take over from me, said Lee.

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The first choice

Photo: Blackbox

Tharman was also named by 55 per cent of respondents as their first choice to be prime minister, far ahead of the next nearest contender, Teo (17 per cent). Chan and Heng were each favoured by 9 per cent of respondents, while Tan got 6 per cent of the vote.

Respondents could only pick one contender as their top choice for Prime Minister.

Tharman was favoured across different age groups and ethnicities, as well as socio-economic status, according to the survey of 897 Singaporeans.

Chinese respondents did express slightly stronger support for Heng and Chan, as compared to Malays and Indians. However, all seemed to agree that Tharman is the best choice among the lot. More than half of all Chinese and Malay respondents chose him as their preferred candidate, while eight in 10 Indian respondents would like to see Tharman as the next Prime Minister.

Tharman, who first entered politics in 2001, has served in various capacities in government. In addition to his political appointments, he is currently chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also previously helmed the Finance, Education and Manpower ministries.

From 2011-15, Tharman was the first Asian to lead the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the policy-steering committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

About the Blackbox survey

Photo: Blackbox



The Blackbox online survey was commissioned by Yahoo Singapore earlier this month. It revealed that the topic of leadership succession is closely followed by Singaporeans, with seven in 10 respondents having recently heard or read news about the topic.
A new so-called dark money group has hit Wisconsin airwaves with more than $200,000 worth of ads praising Democratic state Senate candidate Mark Harris.

The ad, which aired on Green Bay TV last week and Monday, touts Harris financial management of Winnebago County, of which he is chief executive. Harris is running against Republican Dan Feyen in state Senate District 18, which includes Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, in a race that is widely viewed as this years most competitive state Senate contest.

When you see County Executive Mark Harris, tell him to keep standing with taxpayers! the ads narrator says.

Little is known about the group airing the ad, Prosperity for Everyday People, because it and other so-called dark money groups operate mostly in secret. Unlike candidates or political parties, these groups may raise or spend millions on elections without disclosing where the money comes from or how it is spent.

What looked like a possible clue about the groups origins appeared briefly on its website last week. A page on the Issues section of its site said: The Greater Wisconsin Committee takes all the necessary legal steps to make sure our activities are in full compliance with state and federal law.

By Monday, the reference had been scrubbed from the website.

Sam Raymond, executive director for Prosperity for Everyday People, told the Wisconsin State Journal in an email Monday that the group has no affiliation with the Greater Wisconsin Committee, the states largest pro-Democratic outside campaign group.

Raymond described the scrubbed website reference to Greater Wisconsin Committee as a technical web issue on our end.

We used the technical language from the Greater Wisconsin website as only a template. Inadvertently the newly formed website went live before the mistake was corrected, he wrote.

Greater Wisconsin Committee spent about $32.9 million between 2006 and 2015 on electioneering activities  more than any other special interest group in Wisconsin, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It primarily has aired negative ads against Republican candidates for governor, state Supreme Court and other offices.

Democracy Campaign executive director Matt Rothschild said there is a growing trend of dark money groups spawning offshoot groups for branding purposes.

Leading dark money groups on both sides are reproducing themselves to have a less tainted name, Rothschild said.

Greater Wisconsin Committee did not respond Monday to a request for comment.

Prosperity for Everyday People responded to a State Journal inquiry in part by saying it is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)4 organization  a typical means of incorporation for dark money groups. The group was incorporated with the state of Wisconsin last year, state records show. It registered an independent expenditure committee with the state Ethics Commission last week.

The groups response said it is advancing policies that will help everyday people prosper, specifically the promotion of fair taxation and fiscal responsibility, good-paying jobs and increased wages, and proper treatment for our veterans and seniors.

The group also inquired with at least one TV station about rates for potential ads that would mention Republican state Sen. Luther Olsen, an FCC document shows. Olsen is running against Democrat Brian Smith in what Democrats predict will be a competitive race in Senate District 14.

Greater Wisconsin Committee may have its own ad campaign scheduled in the District 18 race, the District 14 race, or both. It has purchased more than $700,000 in TV advertising in the Green Bay area for October and early November, FCC records show.

The group isnt required to disclose which race or races the ads will mention, but the Green Bay market includes most of Senate District 18, part of District 14 and Wisconsins 8th U.S. Congressional District, which is an open seat in this election.

Dark money groups have drawn greater interest in Wisconsin in the wake of the now-ended John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walkers 2012 recall campaign. Under scrutiny in that investigation were Walkers ties to Wisconsin Club for Growth, which aided Walker and GOP senators in the 2011 and 2012 recalls and former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser in his 2011 re-election bid.
Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been forced to take a rest from her state duties after becoming unwell during a state trip abroad, her office said Monday.

The 71-year-old was diagnosed with gastritis after returning from a visit to Britain and the US, her first trip to her Western allies since taking office in March.

Pictures of her being pushed through Yangon airport in a wheelchair posted on social media sparked concern about the Nobel Laureate's health and quickly went viral.

"She feels weak as she did not have much time to rest during the trip," her office said in a statement.

"She has a stomach ache as she did not have time to have regular meals," it added, adding that she "just needs to rest for a while".

Suu Kyi's health has long been a topic of speculation in Myanmar, where she is deeply revered after decades leading the struggle against the former military junta.

Since her release in 2011 from long years under house arrest she has kept a notoriously frenetic schedule despite her advanced years and slight frame.

But occasional bouts of ill health stopped her campaigning in 2012 and forced her to cancel public appearances last year. Earlier this year she also had operations to remove cataracts from both eyes.

Suu Kyi holds several key cabinet positions including foreign minister, as well as leading the government in a specially created role of state counsellor.

Many of her government cabinet members are also fellow democracy veterans of advanced years, leading a country with an otherwise burgeoning youth population.

Her doctor, Tin Myo Win, said he was "very busy with the health of Aung San Suu Kyi" when briefly reached by AFP, but declined to give further details.
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch tried to perform damage control during her testimony before a House committee last week, voicing regret for what many view as unconscionable price hikes on the popular EpiPen epinephrine auto-injector used to combat dangerous allergic reactions.

The company has caused an uproar among lawmakers, consumers and health care policy makers after driving up the list price of the two-pack nearly six-fold since 2007, from $100 to $600. Throughout her testimony to the House Oversight and Investigation Committee, Bresch insisted that Mylan had actually reaped modest profits for the drug dispenser after deducting the costs of health care industry middlemen, research and marketing. She repeatedly blamed the health care system  not Mylan  and said her company cleared only $50 per pen in profit, or $100 per two-pack.

Related: How Mylan Soaked Medicare and Taxpayers for EpiPen Profits

But Mylan admitted on Monday that the EpiPens pre-tax profits were actually 60 percent higher than it told Congress, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mylan had added a 37.5 percent U.S. tax rate into the mix while computing its profits. Without that tax-related reduction, the profits on the EpiPen two-pack would be about $160 per pack  much higher than the $100 figure Bresch gave to committee members last week.

The company sells an estimated 4.1 million EpiPen two-packs in this country annually, worth nearly $1 billion in revenues.

On Monday, Mylan provided new analysis on the profitability of the EpiPen in the U.S. to incensed committee members and the Securities and Exchange Commission, clarifying among other things that the profitability numbers were computed after taxes. For consumers struggling to cover the soaring costs of EpiPen  even after Mylan recently announced some major savings  the companys explanation might sound like mumbo-jumbo.

Mylan claimed that the inclusion of taxes was standard for a product-line profitability analysis like the one that lawmakers requested. "Tax is typically included in a standard profitability analysis and the information provided to Congress has made clear that tax was part of the EpiPen Auto-Injector profitability analysis, the company said in a statement. In fact, Mylan has provided Congress with a detailed analysis of EpiPen Auto-Injector profitability."

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Related: Will Mylans $300 Generic EpiPen Packs Quell Pricing Firestorm?

"It also is important to note that use of a statutory tax rate for the jurisdiction being analyzed (in this instance, the U.S.) is standard, the company added. Just as we did not use a blended global tax rate, we also did not allocate corporate expenses associated with running the business, which would have further reduced its profitability. We believe it is most appropriate, and conservative, to focus entirely on EpiPen Auto-Injector specific costs and associated taxes."

House members and staff who had been widely dissatisfied last week with Mylans responses to their requests for detailed information arent likely to be satisfied with the latest batch of data and likely will press Bresch for a better explanation for why they were misled about her companys profitability last week.

Ryan Baum, an analyst with SSR Health, a health-care investment research firm, told The Wall Street Journal that the 37.5 percent tax rate Mylan applied to EpiPen is unrealistic because the company didnt pay nearly that much tax on its product. He said that Mylan had a low 7.4 percent overall tax rate last year and a negative effective tax rate in the United States where the EpiPen was sold.

Whether Mylan engaged in outright deception last week or lawmakers and staff didnt fully comprehend what they were being told remains to be seen. But given the drug industrys sorry reputation for integrity in pricing drugs and looking out for consumers, Mylan can expect further harsh oversight by members of the House and Senate who are waging a crusade against runaway drug costs.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Paris (AFP) - Paris could set up an outdoor naturism area as early as next summer, in a possible first for the capital of a country which is the world's top destination for clothes-free leisure lovers.

Paris lawmakers voted late Monday to approve a proposal by ecologists to set up the zone, possibly in one of two major wooded areas on the edge of the city.

Naturism "is developing and Paris so far has nowhere" that it can be practised, said David Belliard, co-chairman of the ecologist group in the city council.

He noted that two million French people practise naturism, which is already possible in several European cities including Barcelona, Berlin and Munich.

With over 100 clothes-free beaches and numerous holiday camps, France is the world's number one destination for naturists, said Bruno Julliard, deputy to Paris's Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Describing the "respectable demand" for somewhere to bare all in the French capital, he said the next step was to choose a location.

This could be in one of Paris's two main woods -- the Bois de Boulogne to the west, and Bois de Vincennes to the east -- "near a lake, in a regulated setting so that there is no threat to public order," added Julliard.
NBCUniversal Intl. Studios has set two projects for development as part of its first-look deal with actor Tom Hardys production company Hardy Son & Baker.

Pendulum, a crime thriller set in the digital underworld about an everyman targeted by a serial killer, will be developed as a television series with British writer Adam Hamdy adapting from his own upcoming novel and serving as executive producer. The first in a planned trilogy, Pendulum will be published by Headline in November in Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. U.S. book rights have been acquired by Quercus, which will publish the novel in June 2017.

It was immediately clear to us that Pendulums narrative would appeal to audiences internationally, given the book is a thrilling, high-concept ride about the nature of our digitally connected society, said Tom Coan, senior vice president of scripted programming, NBCUniversal Intl. Studios. We are thrilled to have Adam on board to adapt the book and look forward to taking the project to buyers.

NBCUniversal also acquired rights for Warren Ellis and Jason Howards sci-fi graphic novel series Trees for Hardy Son & Baker to adapt and produce.

Trees is set 10 years after the arrival of aliens on Earth, who stand on the planets surface not moving or communicating and appearing not to acknowledge human life and society. The graphic novels follow the silent pressure and strange changes they exert on global communities from China to the Arctic Circle.

Warren is one of the top names in comics and a bestselling author who has a terrifically subversive perspective on story, says Coan. Its that unique sensibility that sits at the heart of Trees, where he has turned the alien invasion genre on its ear. In addition to being inventive, Trees is simultaneously epic and intimate, a combination that lends itself very well to international television.

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netflix ceo reed hastings

The biggest mistake most companies make when choosing a strategy is "listening to the Hippo  the Highest-Paid Person in the Organization," Neil Hunt, chief product officer of Netflix, told attendees at the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California.

The club presented Netflix with one of its prestigious annual awards on Thursday. Netflix won its Game Changer Award for forever changing how the world watches TV and movies.

Hunt was on stage to accept the award and interviewed by Foundation Capital's Paul Holland. (Holland was a Netflix venture investor who had worked for Netflix founder Reed Hastings at his previous company, Pure Software.)

Hunt says the other mistake companies make is to listening to their customers, because "customers are poor at knowing what they need."

At Netflix, data rules the company. In today's online, cloud computing world, where this philosophy has given rise to "data-driven" companies like Google and Facebook, such advice seems common sense.

But in 1997, when Netflix was founded as a subscriptions service that delivered DVDs through the mail, it was a radical idea.

Hunt says that really committing to this idea means loads of A/B testing and a willingness to accept a high rate of failure.

For instance, a major design change involved 600 A/B tests, of which only "150 had a material win," meaning the other 450 bombed.

This kind of testing requires painstaking commitment. It also means that changes and new product rollouts would be "very incremental, driven by customer feedback."

Kicking out the breadwinners to change the company

Netflix Neil Hunt

But a company that only changes itself in tiny, incremental ways runs a different sort of risk: being put out of business altogether by a new idea that challenges the whole business.

Netflix came close to the brink of that, too, in 2011, when it realized that online streaming was its future  and then bungled its move into that business so badly, it became fodder for a "Saturday Night Live" skit.

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Netflix increased prices and spun out its DVD service into one called Qwikster. The change ticked off customers so badly that 800,000 of them immediately quit the service, and its stock tanked to about $42 from over $300 a few months earlier.

Netflix quickly reversed the Qwikster idea.

Internally, this wasn't just a huge A/B testing fail. The company still believed that internet streaming was its future and that it needed to spin out the DVD businesses. So it stuck to its plan.

"We knew streaming, the internet, was the disruption. Very few businesses get to survive a disruption. Usually the incumbent dies and the challenger succeeds. We didn't want to be the incumbent," Hunt said.

Streaming video required a much bigger investment in technology than mailing DVDs. So it had to raise prices.

And Netflix still split the company apart internally. It selected key people to "spend all of their attention focused on streaming business," building it as if it were a startup.

"We pushed out the DVDs guys. They went into a different office," Hunt said. "Me and my team didn't want to spend any time thinking about the DVD business at all. They went off and continued to produce a nice revenue stream."

"We didn't do it gracefully," he added. "It was a painful lesson, but it's how we were able to pay to attention to new customers and new revenue stream, and not just stay focused on the old business."

Data + vision = transformation

ben mendelsohn

By combining a data-driven focus and streaming video, Netflix was able to respond to another potential threat: the possibility that networks would stop letting it stream their shows.

So the company was able to transform itself once again into an original studio.

With over 80 million subscribers today, Hunt says Netflix has an "unprecedented" level of data that "helps us decide the kinds of shows/movies we should make, and we can predict an audience for them with a surprising degree of certainty."

One more thing Netflix has over traditional studios: It is so good at cloud computing that it has put its "studio in the cloud," Hunt says, and uses cloud computing to do everything from managing logistics (like union drivers delivering cameras to a location) to film editing (uploading the footage to be edited immediately in another country).

And it seems to be working. Netflix shows have now been nominated for over 400 awards and won about 90 of them, including nine Emmy awards last week.

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Luke Cage is ready to take back Harlem for the people in the new trailer for the Marvel/Netflix series of the same name.

Mike Colter plays Cage, who was blessed with unbreakable skin and super strength after a prison experiment went awry.

Initially content to fade into the background, Cage finds that he cant sit idly by while gangsters like Cornell Cottonmouth Stokes (Mahershala Ali) and his cousin, local politician Mariah Stokes (Alfre Woodard), try to choke the lifeblood out of Harlem.

Also Read: 'Luke Cage' First Look: See Theo Rossi as 'Shades' Alvarez

Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Frank Whaley and Rosario Dawson also star in the series, with Dawson reprising her role as nurse Claire Temple from both Daredevil and Jessica Jones.

Cheo Hodari Coker serves as showrunner in addition to executive producing along with Charles Murray and Jeph Loeb, who also serves as Marvels head of television.

The show is the third of five planned Marvel shows on the streaming service. Daredevil and Jessica Jones have already aired their second and first seasons, respectively.

See video: 'Luke Cage' Star Mahershala Ali on Getting Beyond Black Superheroes - and Villains

Next up will be Iron Fist starring Finn Jones as a young man who returns to New York with incredible martial arts skills that allows him to channel his chi energy into his strikes. All four characters will then join forces for The Defenders miniseries.

Luke Cage will debut on Sept. 30 on Netflix.

Watch the video above.

Related stories from TheWrap:

How Marvel Scored on TV by Shifting From ABC to Netflix

'Jessica Jones' Review: Netflix's New Marvel Series Packs a Mean Punch

'Sons of Anarchy' Star Theo Rossi Cast in Netflix's Marvel Series 'Luke Cage'
Netflix is still the gold standard in streaming video, but its rivals are catching up to it in an important area: how happy customers are with the service.

In a note sent on Monday, analysts at UBS said that based on their survey work, Amazon and Hulu are closing the gap with Netflix in overall consumer satisfaction in the US. Hulu still lags a bit, but is close to Netflix at 53% of people "very satisfied." Amazon and Netflix are in a dead heat at 58% and 59% respectively.

Here is a chart that shows that shows the "very satisfied" results for the three companies:

image4

Competition in Europe is heating up as well, with UBS noting that pay TV operators in the US and Europe have made significant strides in making content available for streaming and improving their user interfaces.

Netflix customers are loyal. In research published this April, analysts from Parks Associates found that Netflix subscribers were much less likely to cancel than those of Hulu or Amazon Prime Video. Only 9% of its subscriber base had canceled in the last year, Parks Associates found, compared to Hulu, which saw a full half of its current subscriber base cancel in the last year.

But Netflix saw an unexpected uptick in cancellations last quarter. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings blamed the increase on the way the conversation around Netflixs price hike played out in the media. But perhaps another reason is that streaming competitors are stepping up how much value they are bringing to the table.

We believe demand for consumer media time, attention and wallet is intensifying and investors should continue to monitor competitive threats closely, the UBS analysts wrote.

Original future

One bright spot of Netflixs future UBS pointed to was the success of its original content, which Netflix has said in the future will make up roughly 50% of the service.

We also found viewers of Netflixs original series are growing, with roughly 40% of U.S. subs watching most or all episodes, up from ~31% a year ago, the analysts wrote.

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But there are negatives as well. The second season of "Marco Polo" saw less search interest than its first, and "The Get Down" saw relatively low interest, especially given it cost a reported $120 million.

It is also unclear that originals aimed at demographics where Netflix is underpenetrated, such as older consumers and those living in Middle America, are making headway driving adoption, the analysts wrote. For example 'The Ranch' did poorly among our survey respondents living in the Mid-West.

Here is a chart of the performance of "The Ranch":

image25

Netflix will also face competition from Amazon and Hulu on the originals front. In late July, Amazons CFO said Amazon would double its investment in videos and triple the amount of original content over the rest of 2016.

NOW WATCH: Don't be afraid to cancel cable  here's how to watch all of your favorite shows for less than $42 a month





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Sega/Nintendo

Twenty years ago today, the Nintendo 64 arrived on shelves. In many ways, the Nintendo 64 was a culmination of Nintendos dominance of the home console era. Even though the PlayStation, itself a console with roots in Nintendos history, eclipsed it in sales, the N64 saw Nintendo leap from the second dimension to the third with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Goldeneye. But if things had gone a little differently, it might have been Sonic and Phantasy Star that defined 3D gaming. Sega had a chance to leap ahead, and the story of how that chance slipped through the companys fingers changed the direction of gaming.

Segas Loss

The story begins not in Japan, but in Silicon Valley. Silicon Graphics, founded in 1981, was at the cutting edge of supercomputing and graphical firepower and grew into a billion dollar business as the defining company in the industry, driven by the Hollywood effects boom and industrial need for 3D visualizations. But in 1996, it found itself staring down the increasing dominance of Windows and Intel in a market they controlled all throughout the 1980s.

CEO Ed McCracken observed that video games were a growing market with an increasing need for more and more graphical oomph. So, he put his engineers to work on a chip that consumed less power and cost far less, only $40 compared to the $80 to $200 an SGI processor could sell for at the time. He assembled a pitch for a video game system, and took it to the most forward-thinking man in video games: Tom Kalinske, CEO of Segas American operations.

Sega was riding high and gunning for Nintendo in 1992. The Sega Genesis had been soundly beaten by its rival in Japan, but the Genesis had seen enormous success elsewhere in the world, thanks to Segas successful arcade brand and the Genesis getting into the 16-bit console wars early. It had just introduced CD-ROM gaming, still a novelty even to high-end PC users, with the Sega CD. Sega was edgy, more willing to take risks, and seemed a perfect fit.

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And, at first, it was. Kalinske, in a far-ranging interview with Sega-16, remembers SGIs pitch, and how impressive it was:

We told them that in the U.S., we dont really design consoles; we do the software, but it sounded interesting and we would come over and take a look at it. We were quite impressed, and we called up Japan and told them to send over the hardware team because these guys really had something cool.

But console design wasnt up to Sega of America and Kalinske: It was up to Japanese executives. More to the point, it was up to executives Kalinske later learned had spent years hearing how much better Kalinske was at their jobs than they were. This, while undeniably true, made them eager to assert their authority, and they took it out on SGIs prototype.

At the end of the meeting, they basically said that it was kind of interesting, but the chip was too big (in manufacturing terms), the throw-off rate would be too high, and they had lots of little technical things that they didnt like: the audio wasnt good enough; the frame rate wasnt quite good enough, as well as some other issues. So, the SGI guys went away and worked on these issues and then called us back up and asked that the same team be sent back over, because they had it all resolved. This time, Nakayama went with them. They reviewed the work, and there was sort of the same reaction: still not good enough.

SGI was stunned. Thousands of hours and dollars had been poured into this chip. Kalinske let them down as gently as possibly, and suggested that there were other video game companies out there. Unknowingly, Kalinske had just handed the hated rivals of his Japanese superiors the tools that would ultimately end Sega as a hardware company.

Nintendos Gain

Nintendo seemed like a terrible fit for Silicon Graphics pitch. Nintendo had saved an industry and built a multibillion dollar company out of a simple philosophy, pioneered by company legend Gunpei Yokoi, called Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology. Nintendo saw itself as a toy company using fully tested technology to build its consoles, not a cutting edge tech company that bought fancy processors.

But when SGI met with Nintendo in 1993, they found a surprisingly warm reception. Nintendo was impressed as Sega by the technology, but better appreciated SGIs engineering and frugal nature. Later that year, they announced Project Reality, and, for years, teased everything about the N64. Nintendo returned to arcades with Killer Instinct and Crusin USA, essentially product demos that sat in every arcade in America, while making the company millions.

Sega, meanwhile, flailed. In 1994, it introduced Japanese gamers to the Sega Saturn, the console that the Japanese end of the company had been developing since 1992. It immediately began giving the company problems. With three different processors crammed into the box, the Saturn proved difficult for developers, a fact Kalinske brought up repeatedly to no avail. The launch was a surprise, leaving the Saturn with only Segas titles to promote it and alienating third-party developers.

Then, in 1995, as the Saturn was arriving in the U.S., Sony debuted the first PlayStation, selling more units in days than the Saturn could achieve in months. The Saturns struggle really boiled down to one simple problem: It didnt have enough games. While Sega put out several top-notch, and highly popular, games on the Saturn, the PlayStation quickly became the console of choice for third-party developers. Nintendo, however, didnt put the N64 out until 1996, which provided PlayStation with enough time to cement its number one status. When the N64 did arrive, its chunky construction seemed dated, and cartridge based games similarly alienated third-party developers, who could put out games on cheaper discs on the PlayStation. In the end, both Sega and Nintendo had been beaten by an upstart, and it became a race for second that Sega quickly lost.

Its In The Game

In hindsight, its difficult to see rejecting Silicon Graphics as anything but the beginning of the end for Sega as a true force in video games. The PlayStation took off in large part because Sony achieved what neither Nintendo nor Sega had fully pulled off, delivering a console that catered to both the enormous Japanese market and the increasingly important international one. Sega had some of the pieces in place with the Saturn: A cheaper, disc-based system that cut costs for third parties, less interest in maintaining a family-friendly image, and a strong arcade business it could exploit for games that showed off the 64-bit architecture Nintendo made the N64s selling point. Silicon Graphics offered a brand name that Westerners would recognize, indeed one of the most respected companies in Silicon Valley at the time, and technology unlike anything imaginable in gaming in 1992.

Ultimately, we did get a console that realized this promise: The Sega Dreamcast, which in its short lifespan became the most beloved console Sega ever put out. But by then it was too little, too late, and Sega left the hardware market permanently in 2001. Fans still love the Dreamcast, and wonder what could have been. It seems likely Segas executives looked at the Nintendo 64 back then, and wondered the same thing.
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Tonights first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump falls on the anniversary of the most famous debate in American history: the first Richard Nixon/John F. Kennedy faceoff. Held 56 years ago tonight, it was the first presidential debate ever televised.

More than 70 million Americans watched the debate that night  2 million more than would cast ballots. Kennedy, the handsome Democratic senator from Massachusetts, looked cool and confident, while Vice President Nixon, sweating profusely under the hot studio lights, looked cadaverous  so much so that its been said that a majority of those who watched on television thought that Kennedy had won, while those listening on radio gave Nixon the nod. (Watch the full hourlong faceoff above.)

It was to be a make-or-break moment for both candidates, but Nixon didnt seem to realize it. Kennedy did  and knowing its importance, he flew to Chicago a few days in advance to meet with Don Hewitt, the producer and director of the debate telecast, to go over the ground rules. They met in a hangar at Chicagos Midway Airport, and Kennedy was filled with questions for Hewitt, who years later would gain fame as the creator and executive producer of CBS newsmag 60 Minutes.

He was curious, Hewitt recalled. Where do I stand? Do I stand? Do I sit? How much time do I have to answer? Can he interrupt? Can I interrupt? He wanted to know everything.

Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, watches her husband debate with Vice President Richard Nixon on a nation-wide television program, at her Hyannis Port, Mass. home on Sept. 26, 1960. Harvard professer Archibald Cox sits beside Mrs. Kennedy who was host to a group of Democratic party officials and members of the press. (AP Photo/Bill Chaplis)

Nixon, however, thought the debate with Kennedy was going to be a cakewalk. With his naturally mellow, baritone voice, hed been a champion debater from the fifth grade through college. Kennedy had the good looks and the charm, to be sure; but in a debate format, Nixon felt he couldnt be beaten. After all, hed made Nikita Khrushchev, the head of the Soviet Union, look like a fool the year before in their impromptu Kitchen Debate, and Jack Kennedy was no Nikita Khrushchev. And besides, Nixon hadnt lost an election in 30 years  not since he was in high school.

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Rather than waste time with Hewitt going over the debate format, Nixon stuck firmly to his rigorous campaign schedule, trying to make up for lost time after being hospitalized for two weeks that September with an infected knee.

Nixon I never saw until he arrived that night in the studio, Hewitt later recalled. Kennedy knew how important this television appearance would be. Nixon kissed it off as just another campaign appearance.

On the night of the first televised debate, Nixon arrived before Kennedy at the studios of WBBM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Chicago, and got off to a bad start before the debate even began. Getting out of his limo to go into the studio, Nixon bumped his bad left knee  the one that had landed him in the hospital for two weeks  and nearly keeled over in agony.

Getting out of the car  he banged his knee so bad he could hardly stand up, recalled CBS president Frank Stanton. Nixon looked like warmed-over death. Hed been in the hospital, his color was bad.  He was not a well man.

Then Kennedy arrived. I was standing there talking to Nixon, and all of a sudden I noticed out of the corner of my eye Jack Kennedy arrived, Hewitt recalled. And it was awesome. Here was this guy running for president of the United States who looked like a matinee idol: well-tailored, well-tanned, in command of himself.  I guess Id never seen a matinee idol president before.

Nixon, still nursing his re-injured left knee, was sitting in a chair beneath a large boom-microphone when Kennedy walked onto the stage. Nixon leapt to his feet to greet his rival, but hit his head hard on the overhead microphone.

It sounded like somebody dropped a watermelon, Stanton said. It was terrible.

About an hour before airtime, Hewitt asked Nixon and Kennedy if theyd like some makeup for the cameras. Hed brought one of the best makeup artists in the business, Frances Arvold, to Chicago for just that purpose.

I said, Would you like some makeup? Hewitt recalled. Kennedy, who didnt need any, said, No, thank you, not really. Nixon, who needed makeup, also said no. Im convinced he didnt want history to record that that night he was made up and Kennedy wasnt. So they took him back in an office and the guys that were with him, his handlers, made him up with something called Shave Stick, to cover his beard stubble  and badly. He looked awful.

Just before the debate was about to start, as Kennedy and Nixon took their places onstage, Hewitt looked at the two candidates on camera and was shocked by what he saw.

Kennedy looked great. Nixon looked terrible, Hewitt recalled. So I called Frank Stanton into the control room, and I said, Frank, you better look at this. He took one look and he called in a guy named Ted Rogers, who was Nixons television adviser. And Stanton said, Are you satisfied with the way your candidate looks? And Rogers said, Yeah, we think he looks great. So Stanton took me out in the hall and said: Its none of our business. Thats the way they want it.  And we put them on that night, and thats all anybody remembers about that night is makeup.

That first televised encounter focused on domestic issues, and the main thrust of Kennedys remarks that night was that America can do better.

The question before the American people is: Are we doing as much as we can do? Kennedy asked, looking straight into the camera. Are we as strong as we should be? Are we as strong as we must be if were going to maintain our independence, and if were going to maintain and hold out the hand of friendship to those who look to us for assistance, to those who look to us for survival? This is a great country, but I think it could be a greater country; and this is a powerful country, but I think it could be a more powerful country.

Im not satisfied, he said, going on to cite several key areas of American life that needed improvement. I think we can do better. I dont want the talents of any American to go to waste.

Kennedys charm, ease and striking good looks might have won the debate and won over many undecided voters that night, but it was his powerful words  heralding a call to action and an embrace of the civil rights struggle then sweeping the country  that would win the hearts and votes of millions of black, Hispanic and poor white Americans.

Nixon, counterpunching with facts and figures, argued that America was moving forward on all fronts and had seen much more progress during the Eisenhower/Nixon administration than during the previous administration of Democrat Harry Truman.

When we compare these two records, Nixon said, staring earnestly into the camera, I think we find that America has been moving ahead. He went on to point out that more schools, hospitals and highways had been built in the past 7 1/2 years than during the Truman administration, and that wages and prices had also improved.

Now, this is not standing still, Nixon said. But, good as this record is, may I emphasize it isnt enough. A record is never something to stand on; its something to build on. And in building on this record, I believe that we have the secret for progresswe know the way to progress.

For all his talk about progress, however, Nixon really was trumpeting the status quo, urging Americans who had prospered in the 1950s to embrace a candidate who would extend those good times into the new decade.

It was a momentous night that changed the course of American history. And perhaps, 56 years from now, historians will be saying the same thing about tonights debate.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbrcRKqLSRw&w=970&h=546]

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DUBLIN (Reuters) - A multi-billion euro back tax bill handed to Apple by the European Commission should not be seen as a precedent for future tax cases as it was based on state aid rather than tax law, the OECD official spearheading global tax reform said on Monday. European Union antitrust regulators last month ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in back taxes to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland constituted illegal state aid. Pascal Saint-Amans, who is leading the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's flagship Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, said that under the new OECD rules, most of the tax from U.S. technology multinationals like Apple should be due in the United States, not Ireland. "(In) transfer pricing (terms), the bulk of the profit clearly belongs to the United States" rather than Ireland or any other European country, Saint-Amans told journalists in Dublin. Transfer pricing, the setting of prices for the transfer of goods or services from one subsidiary to another which critics say is used to reduce tax liabilities in relatively high-tax countries, is a key target of the BEPS process. "My understanding is that the (EU) decision is based on a certain form of legalistic state-aid reasoning which is specific to the state-aid investigation. It is not a transfer pricing case," he said. "What is extremely important is that these rules, these standards, be implemented consistently by everybody and that the state-aid cases do not undermine the standard, in particular, on transfer pricing rules," he said. Saint-Amans repeatedly said he could not comment on the merits of the Apple case as the commission has not yet published its full decision and because he was not an expert in EU anti-competition law. Saint-Amans said Apple's tax planning in the period studied by the EU, which he described earlier this month as "outrageous", would not be possible under the BEPS rules. But he said there was possible "friction" between EU anti-competition cases and global efforts to harmonise the taxation of corporations under BEPS. "What is happening with the commission decisions is that you have a picture of the past emerging as we are looking forward, and that makes things complicated," he said. The EU back tax bill was for the years 2003 to 2014 and referred to Irish tax rulings handed to Apple in 1991 and 2007. Saint-Amans said he was hopeful that the Commission would make clear that its rulings did not contradict the BEPS guidelines when it publishes the Apple ruling in full. Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook has described the European Commission's ruling as "total political crap", while France and Germany have both backed Brussels on the decision. ($1 = 0.8884 euros) (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Oil's up.

Prices for Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, are up 3.2% at $47.98 a barrel as of 10:34 a.m. ET.

Russia is gathered with members of the OPEC cartel of oil producers in Algiers, Algeria, for much-buzzed-about informal energy talks.

For the most part, analysts aren't getting their hopes up for any sort of agreement among the producers on a production freeze this time around  though Bloomberg reports that others think "the chance of the group eventually taking action is growing."

"There is considerable speculation that some sort of deal to limit output will be forthcoming, but we are skeptical that agreement will be reached," the Capital Economics commodities team, headed by Julian Jessop, said in a note to clients last week.

Reuters reported on Monday that Bijan Zanganeh, Iran's oil minister, downplayed the talks, noting that "this is an advisory meeting and that's all we should expect from it."

Screen Shot 2016 09 26 at 10.32.02 AM

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By Lauren Hirsch (Reuters) - Online food delivery company FreshDirect LLC said on Monday it had raised $189 million in a round led by JPMorgan Asset Management, as it seeks to expand its geographic footprint. The funding will help Long Island City, New York-based FreshDirect expand its capacity and reach, as it builds on the initial success it has enjoyed in its home area. JPMorgan Asset Management led the fundraising round through its internet and digital media-focused PG Digital Growth Fund. Other participants included existing investor W Capital and the AARP Innovation Fund. Larry Unrein and Ashmi Mehrotra, who serve as head and managing director at J.P. Morgan Asset Managements private equity group respectively, will join FreshDirects board of directors. Launched in 2002, FreshDirect is an online food grocer that delivers fresh meat, produce and other specialty items, primarily in the New York and Philadelphia areas. Its recently introduced FoodKick program in Brooklyn promises to deliver food, alcohol and other products in less than an hour. With $600 million in annual sales, the company says it has been profitable since 2010. It is "too early" to comment on potential plans for either an initial public offering or a sale to a larger competitor, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jason Ackerman said in an interview. Armed with new financing, FreshDirect expects to move into new territory, Ackerman said, declining to give specifics for fear of tipping off tipping off rivals. "We've always felt like a majority of the competition is fought at the local level," he said. FreshDirect has faced increased competition in recent years from meal kit companies such as Plated and Blue Apron, which deliver prepared meal ingredients and instructions, as well as InstaCart, which allows shoppers to home-order directly from their local supermarket such as Whole Foods Market Inc . Internet giant Amazon.com Inc , which first experimented with its food delivery system, AmazonFresh, in 2007, has now expanded to cities that include New York, Baltimore and Los Angeles. Ackerman said, however, that the influx of rivals would help make shopping for groceries online more widespread. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Ece Toksabay ANKARA (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday kicked off his first official visit to Ankara by highlighting his "proud ownership" of a Turkish washing machine and steered clear of his past prize-winning insults of President Tayyip Erdogan. Johnson, the former mayor of London, was named in May as the winner of the Spectator magazine's "President Tayyip Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition" for a five-line entry that involved the Turkish president, wild oats and a goat. Two months later, Prime Minister Theresa May tapped Johnson as foreign secretary, prompting concern about a rift with Ankara. A senior Turkish official said at the time Turkey would draw a line under Johnson's past comments, but warned relations would be damaged if he repeated such insults - a message the foreign secretary seems to have taken to heart. "We are happy in the United Kingdom to be one of the biggest recipients of Turkish goods. I am the proud owner of a digital, very well functioning Turkish washing machine," Johnson told reporters at a news conference in Ankara on Monday, as Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik sat smiling next to him. He said he saw a new partnership between the two countries following the Brexit vote, where the United Kingdom opted to leave the European Union and in which Johnson played a key role. Celik hailed the Oxford-educated former journalist's Turkish roots, referring to him as an "Ottoman" and a strong supporter of Turkey in the aftermath its failed July 15 coup. Johnson's great-grandfather was an opposition figure in the late Ottoman period and was lynched during Turkey's War of Independence in the early 1920s. Johnson said he hoped British tourists - who traditionally flock to Turkey's Mediterranean beaches in the summer - "behaved themselves" in the country. He is due to meet President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Its hard for any entity involved in Syrias brutal five-year civil war to cite consistent stretches of success.

President Bashar Assad would be on the ropes if it werent for Russias intervention. President Barack Obamas track record in Syria has been pockmarked with failure, and likely will leave a lasting stain on his legacy. Moderate rebel groups are fighting to survive. And the one group everyone wants out of Syria, Islamic State, has slowly, steadily been losing territory day by day, acre by acre.

One player in Syria, however, has been able to grow stronger and build on its battlefield victories. Syrian Kurds have expanded the territory they control in the northern part of the country, and have retaken from Islamic State key cities such as Kobani and Manbij. As a result, the Kurds are in the best position to mount an offensive against Islamic State fighters in their de facto Syrian capital, Raqqa.

A victory over Islamic State in Raqqa, coupled with what the West hopes is an eventual ouster of the militant group from its biggest stronghold in Iraq, the northern city of Mosul, would deal a crushing broadside to the militant groups vision of a caliphate in the Middle East. The Islamic State would find itself on the run  hardly a selling point in its online recruiting.

Syrian Kurds pivotal role in the fight against the Islamic State has the White House weighing whether to arm Kurdish fighters. Up until now, the Pentagon has armed militias belonging to the Syrian Arab minority in Kurdish-held territory, but has not been directly arming Syrian Kurds.

Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said bolstering Syrian Kurd fighters military capability will increase the prospects of our success to retake Raqqa. They are our most effective partner on the ground, Dunford said.

Obama has had his share of tough choices to make during the Syrian conflict. Arming Syrian Kurds is one of the toughest  but its the right choice to make.

Reinforcing Syrian Kurds military capability would come with a price. It would further inflame tensions with Turkey, an important U.S. ally in the war against Islamic State but an avowed enemy of the Kurds, who have a history of separatist conflict in eastern Turkish provinces. U.S. relations with Turkey are already fraught, following the detentions and firings of tens of thousands of Turkish military officers, professors, teachers and judges in the aftermath of the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan is already incensed by Washingtons refusal to extradite the man he believes masterminded the coup  Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric and Erdogans primary political rival, now living in Pennsylvania. And theres another major complication: The stronger the Kurds get, the closer they move toward their vision of a transborder Kurdistan state. ...

Syrian Kurds have established a semiautonomous region across northern Syria that they call Rojava, with a separate constitution, instruction in Kurdish in many schools, and even foreign offices set up in Moscow and other European capitals. Together with the autonomous region Kurds have governed in northern Iraq since 2005, Kurdish leaders could one day forge their own de facto state, Kurdistan, stretching from Iran on the east to Turkey on the west and encompassing 9.5 million people.

Can a trans-border Kurdistan co-exist with regimes in Ankara and Damascus that see Kurds as mortal enemies, and a government in Baghdad that uneasily tolerates Kurdish autonomy?

Whats important now is the ouster of the Islamic State from Raqqa, and achieving that success involves arming Syrian Kurds.

Turkey might not acquiesce. One point the U.S. can stress to Erdogans administration is that Kurds wouldnt be getting heavy artillery, just small arms and ammunition. They should also remind Erdogan that Islamic State remains a major threat to Turkish national security. The terrorist raid on Istanbuls Ataturk Airport in June that killed 45 people was carried out by assailants that Turkey linked to Islamic State.

Some of Obamas most embarrassing failures in Syria have involved pinning hopes on the wrong fighting forces. A yearlong $500 million program to train and equip 5,400 moderate Syrian rebel fighters yielded just a handful of troops. Obama can at least start to redeem his record by beefing up the Syrian Kurds arsenal.
Ayotzinapa (Mexico) (AFP) - They turned classrooms at their children's college into dormitories, sleeping on the floor, but parents of 43 Mexican students missing since 2014 won't rest until they find them.

The mothers live in one classroom that still has a whiteboard, while fathers bunk in another. Mosquito nets hang over their mattresses, but that didn't stop one mother from being infect with Zika.

Two tables serve as makeshift altars with photos of their boys next to religious icons. They pray to see their sons alive again, two years after they disappeared in a case that remains unsolved, causing widespread anger at the failure of President Enrique Pena Nieto's government to find the students.

Around 20 parents have made the teacher training college in Ayotzinapa, southern Guerrero state, their home since September 27, 2014, the day after their sons vanished from the city of Iguala.

The night before, dozens of young men from the school had gone to Iguala to seize buses for a protest in Mexico City, but they were attacked by local police.

Prosecutors say the officers handed 43 of the students to a drug cartel, but what happened next has been the subject of heated debate.

The attorney general's office initially said the cartel killed the students after confusing them with a rival gang, incinerated their bodies at a garbage dump and tossed the remains in a river. Only one student has been identified through a bone fragment found at the river.

But independent experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights rejected that conclusion, saying there was no scientific proof of such a massive fire at the landfill.

The parents always doubted the government's conclusions and the report helps them cling to hope that their sons can still be found.

The attorney general's office says it will soon use laser scanning technology to look for clandestine graves in other locations and investigate if police from other towns were involved in the mass disappearance.

Story continues

- 'Don't give up' -

The parents moved to the college because they live in remote parts of the impoverished state, and traveling is expensive for them. They wanted to be closer to the protests, and fight to find their children.

Maria Elena Guerrero's voice shakes when she says she believes her son, Giovanni Galindo, who would be 21 years old today, is still alive.

A cardboard hangs on the wall with verses written by Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti: "Don't give up. Please, don't give up, even if the cold burns, even if fear bites, even if the sun sets and the wind goes silent."

Before the tragedy of September 26, 2014, Maria Elena Guerrero was a stay-at-home mom, caring for her two children and her husband, Alfredo Galindo, a primary school teacher who studied at Ayotzinapa.

She returns to her real home once a month to see her 18-year-old daughter, Sandra, "because she feels lonely," said Guerrero, 45. But it's her own daughter who sends her back to the college , saying "you have to fight for my brother."

Since they left their jobs, the parents receive donations in a shared bank account. A paper hanging on a door says they must attend protests to earn the aid.

Nicanora Garcia Gonzalez has been working since age five. She's a baker who made bread in a wood oven back at her home on the Pacific coast of Guerrero.

But her job now is to find her son, Saul Bruno Garcia. A picture of him rests on the table next to her mattress alongside medicine. She also has a photo of her daughter-in-law's brother, who is also missing.

"They were friends from kindergarten to primary and secondary school. They came here together and they were taken away together," Garcia Gonzalez said.

The 57-year-old woman passes the time crocheting towels, which she sells.

"We stand together because we have no other choice. We're here, in the same place, suffering the same pain. Their pain is my pain and we feel like a family here," she said.

- Proof of life? -

In another classroom, the fathers cook beans and corn in an aluminum can on a small electric stove resting on a slab of concrete.

"It's the food of the poor," said Margarito Ramirez, a farmer who has dedicated his life to his four children.

He lived alone in the United States for eight years to work and send them money. Now he has been living in Ayotzinapa for two years to find one of them, Carlos Ivan Ramirez Villarreal.

Ramirez, 59, collects aluminium cans that he sells. With 70, he can make $1.

He shares the space with another father who sleeps on cardboard because "he couldn't get a mattress."

Ramirez has few belongings. One of the most precious is a copy of the report by the experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, whose investigation found that his son's phone was activated twice the day after the mass disappearance.

It's enough to give him hope that his son is still alive.
Paris (AFP) - Strollers and cyclists can breathe easy on the banks of the Seine after Paris on Monday approved a plan to ban cars on a long stretch of riverside road cutting across the city.

Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed the move as a "historic decision, the end of an urban motorway and the taking back of the Seine."

A centrepiece of her battle against pollution, the plan has divided opinion in the French capital.

"We need to slow down a bit, let go, stop and relax," said Violetta Kolodziejczak, a restaurant greeter.

"If you're in a car, who has time to appreciate all this?" asked the Polish 56-year-old, sweeping an arm towards the turret-topped stone facades on the riverside, with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. "It's magnificent."

A recent opinion poll found 55 percent support for the plan among Parisians.

Nearly 19,000 people signed a petition in favour, while a motorists' association gathered 12,000 signatures of members who oppose it.

The car ban applies to 3.3 kilometres (two miles) of an expressway on the Right Bank of the Seine.

The project, with a cost estimated at eight million euros ($9.0 million), will add wooden walkways and greenery while leaving a lane for emergency vehicles.

As expected, left-wing and environmentalist members of the city council approved the plan on Monday, while the minority right-wing opposition voted against it.

The right-dominated greater Paris region has been hostile to the plan, citing fears that bottlenecks on alternative routes will hurt businesses and delay commuters.

Pensioner Veronique Gryson, out walking along the Seine with her husband, said the car ban could be "an expensive privilege" for pedestrians.

"For us, it's very pleasant," she said. "But during the week if there are 200 pedestrians and at the same time you have 20,000 disgruntled motorists up there (on another road), that might be a problem."

Story continues

Opponents have also complained of a lack of consultation and insufficient testing of the plan.

Paris police chief Michel Cadot, whose remit includes ensuring smooth traffic flows, said Monday that a committee would track the impact of closing the road previously used by around 43,000 cars each day.

- 'Right side of history' -

The banks of the Seine, a magnet for lovers as well as tourists thronging to the Notre Dame Cathedral or the Louvre museum, have been classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

The newly pedestrianised section has been car-free for a month every summer since 2002, for the hugely popular Paris Plages riverside beach bonanza. This year, it remained closed to traffic for an exhibition after the sand was cleared away.

Hidalgo's "Paris Respire" (Paris Breathes) anti-pollution programme has also included banning cars from the Champs-Elysees avenue on the first Sunday of every month.

Another nine new routes are reserved for pedestrians and bicycles every Sunday and public holiday.

The mayor is determined to fight pollution in a city where air quality regularly violates EU norms, sometimes rivalling that of heavily polluted cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Medical experts blame air pollution for 2,500 deaths each year in the city, and 6,600 in the greater metropolitan area.

On Sunday, a large part of central Paris was closed to cars, repeating an exercise first carried out a year ago, when nitrogen oxide emissions dropped by between 20 and 40 percent.

Socialist Environment Minister Segolene Royal has praised Hidalgo's "courage" for the latest initiative, saying that banishing cars from the Right Bank puts Paris "on the right side of history".

To ensure its effectiveness, the city plans to monitor traffic on other main arteries, as well as noise and emissions levels in the area -- as well as use of the river bank by pedestrians, cyclists and rollerbladers.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament must be kept fully informed about the government's strategy for leaving the European Union, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said on Sunday. Prime Minister Theresa May has said parliament would play a role in Britain's exit from the EU but that she will be leading the negotiations and will make the final decision on what deal the country gets. Asked by the BBC's Andrew Marr whether that was democratic, Corbyn said: "I don't think it's democratic and I don't think it's sustainable at all." "This is a huge political issue, it's the most significant economic issue facing Britain in my or your lifetime and I think at the very least parliament should be fully informed." He said Labour had set up a Brexit team to demand information from the government and also get involved in talks. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
A limited edition bottle created for lovers of smoky, peaty whisky has taken the top prize at the Whiskies of the World Awards.

Kiln Embers from independent Scottish bottler Wemyss Malts was named Best in Show at the second annual event held in Austin, Texas recently.

A panel of 17 judges blind taste-tested whiskies on a 100-point basis with a focus on aromatics, flavor and finish.

With a limited global release of 12,000 bottles, the Kiln Embers was developed as a smokier addition to the distiller's range, blended with double the amount of smoky Islay malt whisky than its sister whisky Peat Chimney.

The Kiln Embers is non-chill-filtered with a 46 percent abv. The distiller's tasting notes describe the nose as snuffed smoke mingling with salted lemons and sweet cure bacon, while oats and orange peel toast over embers and heathery peat on the palate.

The result, says Wemyss Malts, is a sweet smoky finish.

Another winner that stands out on the list is Amrut Distilleries in India, which won a gold award for their Amrut Fusion and a silver award for its Amrut Single Malt.

The Kiln Embers was released last year. It is packaged in a gift carton and retails for 42 ($54 USD).

For the full list of award winners, visit http://whiskiesoftheworld.com/awards/.
Minot Air Force Base (United States) (AFP) - Russia could be more willing to deploy nuclear weapons today than the Soviet Union ever was during the Cold War, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned Monday.

Speaking at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota near the Canadian border, he accused Moscow of "nuclear saber-rattling," expressing concerns over Russia's push to overhaul its atomic weapons systems.

It "raises serious questions about its leaders' commitment to strategic stability, their regard for long-established accords against using nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution that Cold War-era leaders showed with respect to brandishing nuclear weapons," Carter told troops.

He was referring to Russian nuclear exercises and President Vladimir Putin's more strident nuclear rhetoric in recent months.

The Pentagon chief also described North Korea as an emerging nuclear threat.

But he praised China, whose military activities he has frequently criticized, for its nuclear conduct.

China "conducts itself professionally in the nuclear arena despite growing its arsenal in both quality and quantity."

Carter is traveling across the United States this week, highlighting America's nuclear capabilities as well as some of its ailing infrastructure, such as missile silos built in the 1950s.

The Pentagon is pushing ahead with plans to replace or modernize all three legs of its nuclear "triad" -- intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarines and bombers -- at a cost experts estimate will hit $1 trillion over the next 30 years.

The future of America's nuclear force is in the spotlight now more than it has been for years, thanks to Russian aggression along the border with Ukraine, North Korea's push to build a nuclear missile, and remarks by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggesting overhauls to longstanding US nuclear policy.

- Minuteman missiles -

Story continues

America's massive nuclear reinvestment comes despite President Barack Obama's memorable speech in Prague in 2009, when he called for the elimination of nuclear weapons, a call that helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize.

But he also said the United States would maintain a "safe, secure and effective" nuclear arsenal as long as the weapons exist.

"We're now beginning the process of correcting decades of under-investment in nuclear deterrence," Carter said, speaking in an aircraft hangar in front of a B-52 superbomber with six cruise missiles strapped beneath each of its vast wings.

Minot Air Force Base is one of three facilities across windswept rural America that oversee the US fleet of more than 400 Minuteman III ICBMs.

The weapons were first designed in the 1960s and the United States plans to replace them all over the coming two decades with a new missile system so far called the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.

For Minot, that means its Minuteman missiles will be switched out and numbers reduced slightly under a 2010 deal with Russia.

Minot is also home to several hundred air-launched cruise missiles, each carrying a warhead packing more explosive yield than 10 of the type of bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II.
Washington (AFP) - The Islamic State group could use mustard gas against an Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, the US Defense Department said Monday.

"We can fully expect that as this road towards Mosul progresses, ISIL is likely to try to use it again," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters, using another acronym for the IS group.

Davis said that the jihadists had already used mustard gas "at least a couple dozen" times, packing a "rudimentary" form of the chemical weapon into crude, makeshift munitions.

According to the spokesman, the IS group's mustard gas is typically a powder bound together with tar.

It is "not generally in a lethal concentration" and "not anything we would consider significant militarily," he said. "More irritant that anything else."

Iraqi security forces, backed by US-led coalition air power, are in the final weeks of preparing operations ahead of an assault to recapture Mosul, which the IS group seized in 2014 and which remains the jihadists' last main stronghold in Iraq.

The Pentagon suspects that the IS group used mustard gas last week in a rocket launched against US soldiers at a base near Qayyarah, a northern town in Iraq considered strategic for retaking Mosul.

The base is in the process of being transformed into a logistics hub to support the Mosul offensive.

US officials estimate that Iraqi forces could be technically ready to launch the attack in early October.

All US soldiers in Iraq who may be exposed to IS chemical arms have received training and the necessary protective equipment, Davis noted.

"They have practiced it many, many times before they will ever get to a place like Qayyarah West where they could encounter it," he said.

The United States also has provided more than 50,000 gas masks to the Iraqi forces, he said.

"We want to make sure that the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmergas (Kurdish fighters) have the ability to detect this and to defend against it," he said.

According to the Pentagon, the jihadists are making the mustard gas, and not taking it from the former stockpiles of the Iraqi or Syrian armies.
Nestle Bottled Water

A new purchase by Nestle is sparking calls for a boycott of the company and reform of the bottled water industry.

The Swiss bottled water giant recently purchased a well in Ontario that Centre Wellington, a small Canadian township, had been trying to buy, reports The Canadian Press.

According to Mayor Kelly Linton, the township had hoped to purchase the well to ensure that citizens had a guaranteed water supply "safe from commercial water taking." As the population of Centre Wellington grows, Linton says that more resources will be necessary  especially water.

Nestle first placed a conditional offer on the well in March 2015. When the township made a counter-offer in July, Nestle exercised its first right of refusal and proceeded with the purchase, which it will use as a supplementary water source for a nearby plant in Aberfoyle that bottles up to 3.6 million liters of water every day.

"Nestle was unaware that the other offer was made by the Centre Wellington township, although, we have had productive discussions with the township since we announced our initial intention to purchase the Middlebrook Water Co.," the company says on its website. "We now look forward to working together and continuing discussions with them for the benefit of the whole community."

Since the news broke of Nestle's well purchase, politicians such as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne have urged bottled water reform, while individuals are calling for a boycott of the company on social media.

Nestle has to be stopped. If you're still buying Nestle products, you're supporting their greed & complicit in their rapacious behaviour. https://t.co/RGqhCQA2wF  Gail Vaz-Oxlade (@GailVazOxlade) September 22, 2016

@JustinTrudeau what the hell is Canada doing allowing multi national companies 2 come in & take over our #FRESHwater https://t.co/mBjHkFnVPp   Merlin  (@MerlinYYC) September 25, 2016

The well controversy is just the latest in a battle between community activists and bottled water companies regarding who should have the right to access local Canadian resources.

Story continues

At the most basic level of these disagreements is the question of fairness, and if companies are getting a better deal on water than local citizens.

For example, this summer, as locals faced water restrictions during a drought, Nestle continued to extract water from the Aberfoyle well. Locals also argue that they are being charged more for this water, with nonprofit Wellington Water Watchers saying that locals pay roughly $1.50 per 1,000 liters of residential water, while Nestle pays just $3.70 for every million liters.

Sparkling Bottled Water

"This commodification of a basic human necessity must stop," reads a petition published earlier this year by activist Amelia Meister. The petition, which now has more than 93,000 signatures, aims to deny Nestle its Aberfoyle water-taking permit.

People have also expressed concern that bottling water could contribute to shortages, now and down the road.

"The danger is youll have private companies squatting on water rights, effectively denying citizens access to their water unless they pay a ransom," NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns said last week, according to the Globe and Mail.

Two thirds of indigenous communities in Canada are currently living under a drinking water advisory, and have been for the past decade.

And, with climate change, surrendering water supplies to bottled water companies could have unexpected consequences in the future.

While Centre Wellington may have lost its well to Nestle, the bottled water battle in Canada is far from over.

"[I]mmediate improvements are needed when it comes to water bottling practices, particularly in the face of climate change, the increasing demand on water resources by a growing population, and concerns about water security," Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne wrote in a mandate letter to her cabinet released on Friday.

Beverage companies like Nestle are increasingly investing in bottled water.

Bottled water sales have more than doubled in the US in the last 15 years, with Americans buying 11.7 billion gallons of the beverage in 2015. As consumers move away from sugary beverages like soda, bottled water is seen as a healthier option  despite the potential negative impact the industry can have on local communities.

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Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of our freedom movement and a proponent of Satyagraha, is regarded a venerable figure by the world for inspiring many lives spanning generations, but that doesnt make him immune to criticisms; like every human, he too, was flawed.

Some of the essays Gandhis wrote during his years in South Africa as a legal practitioner resonated with racist portrayal of the native Africans. Although the aura associated to Gandhis name in the popular narrative accounts to those facts being overlooked, a group of academics from the University of Ghana have brought that to the attention of the world, with an objective to bolster support for their online campaign requesting the removal of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi placed in their campus.

The page was created on 12th of this month, targeting to garner 2,500 signatures; so far, they have received 1,577.

A Twitter hashtag that reads #GandhiForComeDown has been trending ever since.

The petition has cited excerpts from Gandhis writings during the initial years of his political career, which paints a different picture of a man who is regarded one of the greatest statesmen ever lived.

Some of the passages reads:

A general belief seems to prevail in the Colony that the Indians are little better, if at all, than savages or the Natives of Africa. Even the children are taught to believe in that manner, with the result that the Indian is being dragged down to the position of a raw Kaffir.

So far as the feeling has been expressed, it is to degrade the Indian to the position of the Kaffir.

The aforementioned snippets elucidates the argument of the Ghanaian academics, who considers Gandhi as a racist, and therefore wants his statue removed from their campus. While Gandhi vehemently campaigned against the discrimination of Indians in South Africa through his essays and letters, he also made some crass references to the native Africans, calling them Kaffirs expressing an apparent disdain towards their culture and practices.

While piecing it all together, there is a deep incongruity, forcing us to reconsider the widely-held belief that only white people can be racist.

The statue was unveiled earlier in June this year, by President Pranab Mukherjee, during his visit to Ghana, as part of a three-nation African tour. It was a gift by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.
Brazilian state-run energy giant, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras PBR recently announced its plan to divest its stake in Brazilian petrochemical company, Braskem SA BAK, before the end of 2018. The strategy is targeted to reduce Petrobrasdebt and finance its business plan.

The Rio de Janeiro-based state-run producer has included the Braskem stake in its divestment plans in keeping with its aim to raise $19.5 billion through asset sales in 2017 and 2018. The time of divestment, however, has not been decided as yet.

Petrobras is the second-largest shareholder in Braskem, wherein it owns 36% stake of the total capital, 47% of Braskem's common shares and 21.8% of its non-voting preferred stock.

Petrobras, with net debt of around $103.56 billion, is the most indebted energy company in the world. The company is in a deep financial crisis due to low oil prices and the loss of goodwill owing to the discovery of massive corruption within its ranks.

PETROBRAS-ADR C Price

PETROBRAS-ADR C Price | PETROBRAS-ADR C Quote

For the 201516 period, Petrobras plans asset sales of as much as $15.1 billion. The company intends to raise an additional $19.5 billion through divestments and partnerships between 2017 and 2018. Petrobras also foresees divestitures worth $40 billion over the next 10 years. Through these sales, the company intends to reduce debt and exit from peripheral businesses such as biofuels, fertilizers and petrochemicals to focus on the most profitable deep water projects.

Recently, the company sold 90% stake in its natural gas pipeline and storage unit  Nova Transportadora do Sudeste  to Canadian investment fund, Brookfield Asset Management Inc., for $5.2 billion.

Petrobras engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Additionally, the company sells crude oil and oil products produced at natural gas processing plants in domestic and foreign markets.

Story continues

Petrobras currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the broader energy sector include Enbridge Inc. ENB and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. SNP. Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the last four quarters, Enbridge posted an average positive earnings surprise of 4.8%.

China Petroleum & Chemical, on the other hand, posted an average positive earnings surprise of 1,383.3% in the last four quarters.

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By Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), which was considering splitting itself for more than two years, said on Monday it would not do so, prompting shareholders to expect more deals that could bolster its roster of new medicines.

The largest U.S. drugmaker said its lengthy analysis determined that splitting off its low-growth generics from its patent-protected branded products would not boost cash flow or better position the businesses competitively. The move would also disrupt operations, have inherent costs and fail to deliver any tax efficiencies, the company said.

"I never saw the logic behind a split-up," said portfolio manager Les Funtleyder of E Squared Asset Management, which owns Pfizer shares. Buying and developing new drugs in oncology and other therapeutic areas is the key to growth for the company, he said.

"We'd rather see them do some bolt-ons in the $1-to-$10-billion range, which are easily doable for Pfizer," he said.

Pfizer will keep the generics and branded medicines as separate divisions, saying it retains the option to split later if "factors materially change at some point in the future."

Portfolio manager Jeff Jonas of Gabelli Funds, which holds Pfizer shares, said he expected to see deals that could add future branded products, particularly in the highly lucrative oncology area. He cited the recent success of Pfizer's internally developed Ibrance breast cancer drug.

Jonas expects Pfizer to follow its decision to buy Medivation Inc (MDVN.O) for $14 billion with more deals of "that size or smaller." It bought Medivation for its blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi.

Pfizer's $160 billion deal to buy Irish drugmaker Allergan Inc (AGN.N) collapsed in April after a change in U.S. law had negated the tax benefits for companies moving corporate headquarters overseas.

Investors said they did not believe Pfizer's current strategy includes any Allergan-sized deals.

Pfizer said the decision against a split would not affect its 2016 financial forecast. Its shares were down 2.1 percent at $33.55 in afternoon trading, amid a 1.5 percent decline in the ARCA Pharmaceutical Index of large drugmakers (.DRG).

Story continues

Investors had been expecting the company to step back from the split, Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said in a research note.

Pfizer began openly planning for a possible split in early 2014, saying it would track the two divisions' progress for three years before reaching a decision. In August, it said it would decide by year-end.

The company had considered the split largely because its patent-protected medicines routinely enjoyed sales growth while demand for its generics typically declined.

However, Pfizer's $15 billion purchase of Hospira a year ago bolstered the company's wide array of generics, such as the once top-selling cholesterol drug Lipitor. Hospira makes generic injectable hospital products and biosimilars, which are cheaper versions of the world's leading biotech drugs.

Annual sales of Pfizer's generic portfolio should grow by a single-digit percentage rate in coming years, JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note. He forecast a 3 percent rise in the company's overall annual sales through 2020, resulting in 8 percent earnings growth.

(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru and Caroline Humer and Bil Berkrot in New York; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Lisa Von Ahn)
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he would visit Russia and China this year to chart an independent foreign policy and "open alliances" with two powers with historic rivalries with the United States. Duterte said the Philippines was at the "point of no return" in relations with former colonial ruler the United States, so he wanted to strengthen ties with others, and picked two global powers that have been sparring with Washington on the international political stage. Last week, he last declared he would visit China, with which ties remain frosty over a South China Sea arbitration ruling won by the Philippines in July. He said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was expecting him in Moscow. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims. An arbitration court in The Hague in July invalidated China's claims to the waterway in a case brought by the Philippines, a ruling Beijing refuses to recognize. "I am ready to not really break (U.S.) ties but we will open alliances with China and... Medvedev," Duterte told reporters, adding he would open up the "other side of the ideological barrier". He welcomed investment and shrugged off rating agency Standard and Poor's concerns last week about the Philippine economy on his watch. "Never mind about the ratings," he said. "I will open up the Philippines for them to do business, alliances of trade and commerce." The peso fell on Monday to its lowest since 2009, and foreign investors have dumped local shares for six straight weeks, worried about Duterte's anti-U.S. rhetoric and brutal war on drugs, which has alarmed rights groups at home and abroad. In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the Philippine government had not contacted the United States about the comments made by Duterte. U.S. cooperation with the Philippine government remains strong and the United States has not seen anything that would indicate a shift by Manila, Toner said at a daily news briefing. "They're a sovereign nation and we're certainly not going to hold them back from pursuing closer relations with either of those countries. ... It's not a zero-sum game," he said. Duterte also said he would open up telecoms and airlines, two domestic sectors long controlled by local players and criticized for being uncompetitive. He did not elaborate. His vitriol against the United States has become a near-daily occurrence, sparking both amusement and concern. On Monday he accused Washington of "hypocrisy" and "lording it over us". His latest swipe included ruling out participation in any maritime conflict initiated by the United States, despite a 1951 treaty which Duterte said required Manila to back Washington. "I am about to cross the Rubicon between me and the U.S.," he said," without elaborating. "It's the point of no return." Toner said he would dispute Duterte's premise that the United States might start a maritime conflict. "The United states has a strong security presence in the Asia-Pacific region, but we're certainly not looking to start a military action against anyone," he said. It was unclear whether Duterte's outbursts will affect relations between the two countries, whose militaries have scheduled joint exercises in October. On Monday, the U.S. embassy in Manila announced two-week deployment of a pair of C130 planes and 100 troops at an air base in the central Philippines, the third of its kind this year, as part of a rotational troops agreement. Separately, Duterte said the United Nations, European Union and United States would get a free hand to investigate killings in his anti-narcotics campaign, but only under Philippine laws. Deaths in the campaign have averaged more than 40 a day since Duterte took office on June 30. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Enrico dela Cruz; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Martin Petty, Nick Macfie and David Gregorio)
(Recasts first sentence with Obama remarks, adds details of meeting)

By Valerie Volcovici and Julia Harte

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday avoided direct mention of a pipeline that has provoked high-profile protests from Native Americans but urged tribal leaders to use the spotlight to continue pushing for recognition even after he leaves office.

Obama spoke at his eighth and final Tribal Nations Conference, which he created during his first year in office. Leaders of more than 560 Native American tribes gathered for the Washington event as one of the largest Native American protests in decades continues in North Dakota.

In his remarks, Obama acknowledged that Native American tribes have unified around the demonstrations led by the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe that he visited in 2014.

"I know that many of you have come together across tribes and across the country to support the community at Standing Rock and together you are making your voices heard," he said. "This moment highlights why it's so important that we redouble our efforts to make sure that every federal agency truly consults and listens and works with you, sovereign to sovereign."

In recent weeks, protests against the Dakota Access pipeline have drawn international attention, prompting the U.S. government to temporarily block its construction on federal land. Tribal leaders say the pipeline will desecrate sacred land and pollute water.

When fully connected to existing lines, the 1,100-mile (1,770 km) pipeline would be the first to carry crude oil from the Bakken shale directly to the U.S. Gulf. The $3.7 billion project is being built by the Dakota Access subsidiary of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP.

Obama discussed the progress made by his administration over the last eight years to improve relations with tribal nations, and urged leaders to keep fighting for more visibility and input regardless of who succeeds him in the White House next year.

Story continues

"Our progress depends in part on who sits the in Oval Office, and whether they're setting the right priorities, but lasting progress depends on all of us, not just who the president is."

Various Obama administration officials unveiled initiatives aimed at upholding Native American sovereignty at the conference.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced a forthcoming memorandum from Obama that would require federal agencies to consider Native American treaty rights in decision-making on natural resource projects, hoping to avoid future conflicts with tribes such as the current Dakota Access dispute.

The Justice and Interior Departments also announced settlements with 17 tribes that had sued the U.S. government, accusing them of mismanaging monetary assets and natural resources that the government held in trust for the tribes.

The "vast majority" of all such disputes have been settled, according to the government, which has paid $1.9 billion to resolve the cases since April 2012.

Those settlements characterize the Obama administration's effort to mend ties "where we have failed in the past in our trust responsibilities," said Lawrence Roberts, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department, on the sidelines of Monday's conference.

Regan Dunn, 15, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, delivered opening remarks at the conference.

Dunn said afterward she had never imagined a company might try to build a pipeline through her homeland, but that the wide opposition among various tribes - including some she had not previously heard of - has been "heartwarming."

Brian Cladoosby, president of the National Congress of American Indians, which represents more than 500 tribes, praised Obama's legacy on Native American issues and warned the assembly that "there is no guarantee going forward there will be the same commitment from the next administration."

When the Justice Department, Interior Department and the U.S. Army temporarily blocked the pipeline's construction on Sept. 9, the administration called for "a serious discussion" about how tribes are consulted by the government on decisions over major infrastructure projects.

The Army, Interior and Justice departments will hold hearings on the shortcomings of the present process on Oct. 11, and formal discussions with tribes in six U.S. regions from Oct. 25 through Nov. 21.

The deadline for written comments will be Nov. 30, the agencies announced.

On Thursday, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Dave Archambault, told a House of Representatives panel there was no "meaningful consultation" before permits were issued to bring the pipeline through his tribe's territory.

Archambault is scheduled to speak on Monday evening at a rally of pipeline opponents.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)
By Valerie Volcovici and Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday avoided direct mention of a pipeline that has provoked high-profile protests from Native Americans but urged tribal leaders to use the spotlight to continue pushing for recognition even after he leaves office. Obama spoke at his eighth and final Tribal Nations Conference, which he created during his first year in office. Leaders of more than 560 Native American tribes gathered for the Washington event as one of the largest Native American protests in decades continues in North Dakota. In his remarks, Obama acknowledged that Native American tribes have unified around the demonstrations led by the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe that he visited in 2014. "I know that many of you have come together across tribes and across the country to support the community at Standing Rock and together you are making your voices heard," he said. "This moment highlights why its so important that we redouble our efforts to make sure that every federal agency truly consults and listens and works with you, sovereign to sovereign. In recent weeks, protests against the Dakota Access pipeline have drawn international attention, prompting the U.S. government to temporarily block its construction on federal land. Tribal leaders say the pipeline will desecrate sacred land and pollute water. When fully connected to existing lines, the 1,100-mile (1,770 km) pipeline would be the first to carry crude oil from the Bakken shale directly to the U.S. Gulf. The $3.7 billion project is being built by the Dakota Access subsidiary of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP. Obama discussed the progress made by his administration over the last eight years to improve relations with tribal nations, and urged leaders to keep fighting for more visibility and input regardless of who succeeds him in the White House next year. Our progress depends in part on who sits the in Oval Office, and whether theyre setting the right priorities, but lasting progress depends on all of us, not just who the president is. Various Obama administration officials unveiled initiatives aimed at upholding Native American sovereignty at the conference. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced a forthcoming memorandum from Obama that would require federal agencies to consider Native American treaty rights in decision-making on natural resource projects, hoping to avoid future conflicts with tribes such as the current Dakota Access dispute. The Justice and Interior Departments also announced settlements with 17 tribes that had sued the U.S. government, accusing them of mismanaging monetary assets and natural resources that the government held in trust for the tribes. The "vast majority" of all such disputes have been settled, according to the government, which has paid $1.9 billion to resolve the cases since April 2012. Those settlements characterize the Obama administration's effort to mend ties "where we have failed in the past in our trust responsibilities," said Lawrence Roberts, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department, on the sidelines of Monday's conference. Regan Dunn, 15, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, delivered opening remarks at the conference. Dunn said afterward she had never imagined a company might try to build a pipeline through her homeland, but that the wide opposition among various tribes - including some she had not previously heard of - has been "heartwarming." Brian Cladoosby, president of the National Congress of American Indians, which represents more than 500 tribes, praised Obama's legacy on Native American issues and warned the assembly that "there is no guarantee going forward there will be the same commitment from the next administration." When the Justice Department, Interior Department and the U.S. Army temporarily blocked the pipeline's construction on Sept. 9, the administration called for "a serious discussion" about how tribes are consulted by the government on decisions over major infrastructure projects. The Army, Interior and Justice departments will hold hearings on the shortcomings of the present process on Oct. 11, and formal discussions with tribes in six U.S. regions from Oct. 25 through Nov. 21. The deadline for written comments will be Nov. 30, the agencies announced. On Thursday, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Dave Archambault, told a House of Representatives panel there was no "meaningful consultation" before permits were issued to bring the pipeline through his tribe's territory. Archambault is scheduled to speak on Monday evening at a rally of pipeline opponents. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)
New Delhi [India], Sept. 26 (ANI): Taking stock of the 56-year old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan here on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said blood and water cannot flow at the same time.

India would expedite construction on three dams on the Chenab River, named Pakul Dul, Sawalkot and Bursar, the decision came at the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi in the backdrop of the Uri terror attack last week.

According to sources, India will utilise legal rights in the treaty to the fullest and the construction on the Tulbul navigation project, the work on which was suspended in 2007, would also be reviewed.

India would use the potential of 18,000 megawatt of power from the western rivers under Indus Water Treaty, while an inter-ministerial taskforce for the Indian rights would be formed for western rivers under the treaty, said sources on the Prime Minister-Water Resources Ministry meet.

NSA Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Mishra, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Sekhar and other senior officials briefed Prime Minister Modi on the Indus Water Treaty.

The treaty was inked in 1960 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan President Ayub Khan, which allocates 80 percent of water to Pakistan from the six-river Indus Water System, including Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum that flows from India to Pakistan.

The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, is often considered to be one-sided and there has been growing clamour to relook at it. The pact has survived wars and phases of frosty ties between India and Pakistan. (ANI)

All you want to know about the Indus Waters Treaty
Need to catch up? Check out the previous Power recap here.

What happened in Powers packed Season 3 finale? The question should be: What didnt?

Fire up the Notes app on your phone, because youre going to want to keep track of everything that went down during the hour, titled In My Best Interest. Greg realized Mike Sandoval was the mole that helped Lobos  and when Mike figured out that hed been made, he shot and killed Greg. Though Ghost had nothing to do with the murder, he had broken into Gregs apartment earlier that evening so his fingerprints were all over the place when Angela, on a hunch that her ex had been up to some very bad stuff, secretly dusted the place for evidence.

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Meanwhile, Tommy and Ghost put a plan into motion to corner Milan. It worked, and they shot him dead (that Big Bad was quite brief, no?), but Tommy later revealed to Dre that he planned to continue selling the designer drugs in Ghosts clubs  and that Ghost didnt need to know about it. The night was going very well until Angela, armed with the knowledge that the prints she found at Gregs belonged to one James St. Patrick, arrested her former lover right on the dance floor of his very own nightclub.

To complicate matters, Jukebox arrived in New York and was working with Kanan. They drugged Tariq and sent a photo to Tasha, who freaked out when she realized that Kanan was holding her son hostage.

Read on as showrunner Courtney Kemp talks Ghosts predicament, Angelas decision and Gregs death  as well as what Season 4 will look like when the series returns next year.

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TVLINE | Ghost and Tommy: Was there any point this season where you were thinking, Lets completely blow this up. Lets have them end this season as complete mortal enemies?

Well, last year I wanted to give myself no rope. What I mean by that is, I wanted to do everything the show had promised from the beginning, and in that sense I wanted to kind of rid myself of the What do I owe the audience?

Story continues

If you dont [make Ghost and Tommy enemies], then you put the audience in a place where, Oh, I dont know whats going to happen. This makes me uncomfortable because its the reverse of what it used to be. It used to be Ghost was on top, very clearly, and Tommy was Number 2, and then we brought them to this place where Tommy can never really go back to who he was to Ghost. He can never do that. Ghost has done too many horrible things to him, and Ghost has also used Tommy to get rid of Milan, knowing that Tommy would drive them to that place and make it happen, knowing that he needed Tommy to be on board in order to do it and get away with it. Ghost has also used him, so in fact theyre using each other, and thats why it becomes a symbiotic relationship and thats how we can move forward.

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I do think that its on some level, even though theres obviously a love triangle of Ghost and Angela and Tasha, theres also a romance in the show between Ghost and Tommy. Its not a sexual romance, but its a platonic romance that really is about a brotherhood. So I dont know that you can really separate them, because even when you separate them, their lives are still about each other.

TVLINE | That scene where Tommy warns Ghost that hed better choose him, because Tommy had chosen Ghost over Holly? It was intimate.

Its really interesting that Joe [Sikora] and Omari [Hardwick] have that connection, right? So, some of that is on screen. You see that. The two of them are very connected, so thats when you get that relationship on screen, as well.

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TVLINE | When we spoke when you were shooting this season, you mentioned that Season 3 was all about moving characters into position for Season 4. Now that you have the luxury of a two-season pickup, talk to me about what next season will look like.

One of the things Id like to say is: Its fearless television. One of the things that we could have done with the series is never have Ghost be arrested until the last scene of the series, right? Thats a version. We chose not to. We chose to be fearless and go right at it.

So, were going to go right at [the fact that] Ghost was arrested by Angela. Were going to right at [the development that] Tommys the connect now, and were going to right at Tasha having made certain choices having to do with LaKeisha and her own ambitions now being stuck in this role of, Uh-oh, my husband was arrested, my kids are affected, what do I do?

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TVLINE | Mike Sandoval crossed a gigantic line in the episode. Is he still around next season? Or will he try to flee?

Hes definitely in next season, theres no question. The issue is that hes on the prosecution team for a crime that he committed, [Laughs] so well see him behaving in ways to make sure that Ghost is convicted of the crime. Will he be successful? I dont know. Thats important to say.

Power Recap Season 3 Finale Greg Dead

TVLINE

|Lela Loren has said that Angela is really good at not seeing what she doesnt want to see, yet we watch her nurse a suspicion and follow through on it during the finale. Was Gregs death the tipping point for her?

Its two reasons, one which is more charitable and one which is less charitable. The more charitable one is that Greg, for all of his craziness and intensity, is actually a good guy. But it snapped Angela back into her sense of right and wrong. Now, we wanted to keep her consistent, which is that she always breaks the rules in pursuit of a good end. Shes an end-justifies-the-means kind of person, which is why she and Jamie belong together. Right? Its always the end justifies the means, no matter what.

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[But] this is really wrong, you know Hes an innocent as far as shes concerned, and so it snaps her back into the Angela we met in the first season She puts the white hat back on, but she breaks into Gregs apartment and she finds the fingerprints. She does all that st because thats her. Thats the charitable version.

The less charitable version, the one thats closer to my heart, is that she feels responsible. She feels responsible, and like many of us when we feel guilty about something she springs into action.

Now its your turn. Grade the finale via the poll below, then hit the comments to elaborate upon your choice!

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By Ernest Scheyder and Valerie Volcovici

CANNON BALL, N.D./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three days after guard dogs attacked Native Americans protesting an oil pipeline project in North Dakota in early September, an unprecedented event took place at the White House.

Brian Cladoosby, president of the National Congress of American Indians, which represents more than 500 tribes, spoke to nearly a dozen of President Barack Obama's Cabinet-level advisers at a September 6 meeting of the White House's three-year-old Native American Affairs Council.

It was the first time a tribal leader addressed a session of the council, and Cladoosby was invited in his role as the Indian Congress leader.

Cladoosby, a Swinomish Indian from Washington state, spoke twice at the one-hour roundtable. He told Reuters he praised the Obama administration in his opening statement for its track record on Native American issues such as pushing to reform the Indian Health Service.

But when Cladoosby gave his closing speech, he delivered an impassioned request to his audience: stand with Native Americans who have united with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,100 mile conduit to get oil from North Dakota to Illinois.

That plea marked one of the previously unreported turning points in a drama that played out since February and culminated September 9 with an about face by the U.S. government, from giving the pipeline a green light to backing a request from North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux to halt construction of the pipeline.

The tribe fears sacred sites could be destroyed during the line's construction and that a future oil spill would pollute its drinking water.

This month's win for the tribe, which could be reversed by regulators, is a rare instance of protests resulting in quick federal action and the triumph of an unusual alliance between environmentalists and Native Americans, who both say they were emboldened by the defeat of the Keystone XL pipeline last fall.

Story continues

It also was the most galvanizing movement in Native American politics in decades, some tribal leaders said, as Crow, Navajo, Sioux and other traditional rivals united to fight what they considered an assault on their way of life.

Cladoosby did not play a high-profile role in the early days of the pipeline controversy. But that day he spoke to a high echelon of power, including Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, White House Domestic Policy Council director Celia Munoz, and the heads of the Departments of Energy; Agriculture; Education; Health and Human Services; and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a senior administration official who asked not to be named and to a photo of attendees seen by Reuters.

"The world is watching," he said in prepared remarks shared with Reuters.

A few days earlier, video of pipeline security personnel in North Dakota armed with guard dogs and mace trying to disperse protesters went viral on social media.

One of the first videos was taken and posted on Facebook by Lonnie Favel, a member of Utah's Ute tribe who travelled to North Dakota to support the protests.

"I was getting messages of support from New Zealand, from Europe, from all over the world," Favel said.

Until then, Obama had not weighed in on the Dakota dispute even though he personally had visited the Standing Rock in June 2014.

Just a day after Cladoosby issued his plea to administration officials, Obama attended a young leaders conference in Laos where a Malaysian woman asked him about the Dakota Access pipeline and how he could ensure a clean water supply and protect ancestral land.

Obama said he needed to ask his staff for more information, but touted his track record protecting Native Americans' "ancestral lands, sacred sites, waters and hunting grounds," adding, "this is something that I hope will continue as we go forward."

A FATEFUL DECISION

In late 2014, pipeline operator Energy Transfer Partners made a fateful decision.

Dallas-based ETP chose to route its proposed Dakota Access pipeline away from North Dakota's capital, Bismarck, and southward within half a mile of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's reservation.

Part of its rationale, laid out in a report for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates infrastructure projects that traverse certain inland waterways, was that the route would avoid Bismarck and thus pose no threat to the city's water supply. The Bismarck route also is more populated and thus would require more easements from multiple landowners. Ironically, that 139-page report concluded the Standing Rock route would raise "no environmental justice issues" because the pipeline would not cross tribal lands.

The Army Corps decision angered environmental activists and unwittingly introduced a powerful new element into the environmental movement: Indian rights groups, who quickly tapped into an extensive network of green activists forged during five long years of protests against TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which Obama formally nixed last November.

CAMPAIGN GAINS STEAM

The protest gained steam in February when Standing Rock Sioux leaders asked for legal help from Earthjustice, an environmental law group that had previously helped U.S. tribes and Canadian First Nations fight Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline, according to Jan Hasselman, an attorney from Earthjustice working on the North Dakota case, and tribal leaders.

Two months later, about 18 tribe members started praying daily near the pipeline's planned route in North Dakota. The participants would grow in size, creating a group called the Sacred Stone Camp.

The international environmental movement soon took notice, including, 350.org, an environmentalist group that helped defeat the Keystone XL pipeline. In July, the group sent a delegation to the Sacred Stone Camp to see how they could help.

In many ways, the Dakota Access pipeline drew its inspiration from the fight to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, according to organizers from 350 and other environmental groups.

"We didnt have to totally reinvent the wheel, said Josh Nelson of Credo, a progressive advocacy group.

By then the Sacred Stone Camp, located alongside the confluence of the Cannon Ball and Missouri rivers about an hour south of Bismarck, had swollen in size to thousands, forming a de facto town of tents, teepees and trailers, a school, medic, communal kitchen, horse corrals and a legal clinic.

The tribal members and environmentalists agreed to seize on the U.S. Army Corps' "fast-tracking" of permits for the pipeline in late July, which they argued was illegal and a violation of tribal rights, 350.org told Reuters. In this case, the Corps had the right to approve pipelines in general and consider specific local concerns, such as Native issues, if appropriate. The Corps said it effectively considered its due diligence requirement met when it green lit the line in July.

Later that same month, the tribe filed suit against the Army Corps in federal court.

INTERNAL RIFT

While the government's reversal in September caught most by surprise, a March 29 letter from the Department of the Interior to the Army Corps reviewed by Reuters shows that disagreements within the administration had been percolating for months.

The Interior department, which is responsible for protecting Native Americans' welfare, said the Army Corps "did not adequately justify or otherwise support its conclusion that there would be no significant impacts upon the surrounding environment and community" from the pipeline.

Energy Transfer, the Department of Justice, the Army Corps and the Department of the Interior did not respond to requests for comment.

The letter presaged the intra-government fighting ahead of the White House's decision to temporarily block the line.

The federal delay of the pipeline isn't something that just fell out of the sky," Archambault, the tribe's chairman, said in an interview. "We feed (federal regulators) information all the time on everything that's illegal here."

Archambault declined to discuss responses from federal regulators he received.

On September 9, just three days after Cladoosby made his plea at the White House, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg rejected a request from the tribe to block the $3.7 billion project.

Minutes after that ruling, the Interior and Justice Departments, along with the Army Corps, suspended construction on a two-mile stretch of federal land below the Missouri River.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said federal regulators, who could still ultimately approve the project, called the pause to make sure the concerns of all parties were taken into account. James Gette, a senior official in the environment and natural resources division of the DOJ, noted in a September 16 hearing that construction was halted mainly because the Dakota Access pipeline didnt have an easement for the area where the tribe gets its drinking water.

Protesters have vowed not to leave their camp until the pipeline is scrapped or moved far away from their reservation. Their concerns about potential spills, it turns out, have precedent.

An analysis of government data by Reuters shows that Sunoco Logistics, the future operator of the pipeline and a unit of ETP, has had the highest rate of spills since 2010 than any of its competitors. [L2N1BQ1QA] Sunoco told Reuters it has taken measures to reduce its spill rate.

Cladoosby admits he "was really surprised" by the fast moving events after his strategically-timed entreaty.

He will be back at the White House on Monday and Tuesday. Leaders of 567 native American tribes will meet with Obama in Washington to tackle a range of issues facing Native Americans from economic development to environmental protection  including the Dakota Access pipeline.

(Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg, Ruthy Munoz, Julia Harte and Timothy Gardner; Writing By Terry Wade and Ernest Scheyder; editing by Eric Effron and Edward Tobin)
Sept 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** General Motors of Canada Co has pledged to eliminate the $2.6 billion deficit in the pension plans for its unionized workers and retirees as part of a new contract negotiated between the company and Unifor. http://bit.ly/2daxHMa

** Ottawa is cracking down on a growing number of Canadians named in the Panama Papers, with the Canada Revenue Agency warning the 2,671 individuals or firms under review they should not expect a negotiated settlement. http://bit.ly/2dkCEF9

** When Frank Pearl watches Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), sign a peace agreement Monday in Cartagena, it will be the culmination of more than seven years of work to cultivate hope over the suspicion and anger sown from half a century of war. http://bit.ly/2dtfqJj

NATIONAL POST

** Canada's top financial regulator is beefing up capital requirements for mortgage insurers to make sure they are adequately accounting for the creditworthiness of borrowers and fast-rising real estate markets. http://bit.ly/2cPmxKY

** National Bank of Canada has become the second Canadian borrower - but the first private sector entity - to be given approval to issue yuan-denominated bonds in China's Panda market. http://bit.ly/2dvHEWK (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru)
Sept 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

Russia accused of supporting 'barbarism' over Syrian conflict http://on.ft.com/2cwYzbq

HSBC kicks off search for next chief executive but one http://on.ft.com/2cwZf0D

French state bank CDC plans run of sales http://on.ft.com/2cwFTc0

City of London fears May government is shifting towards 'hard' Brexit http://on.ft.com/2cx0w81

Overview

The United States on Sunday called Russia's action in Syria "barbarism," not counter-terrorism, while Moscow's U.N. envoy said ending the war "is almost an impossible task now" as Syrian government forces, backed by Moscow, bombed the city of Aleppo.

HSBC Holdings Plc has hired Russell Reynolds, a leading City of London recruitment firm, to check for gaps in its roster of up-and-coming executives and to search for candidates to fill them.

French state-owned bank Caisse des Depots (CDC) is planning to sell shares worth hundreds of millions of euros in some of the country's largest companies, its Chief Executive Pierre-Rene Lemas said in an interview.

Leading bankers who have held talks with government ministers have told the Financial Times they believe Prime Minister Theresa May will end up taking Britain out of the EU's single market and customs union as political momentum behind a so-called "hard Brexit" grows.

(Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Prince George doesn't just go shaking the hand of everyone he meets!

The 3-year-old royal is currently accompanying his parents, Duchess Kate and Prince William, on their Canadian visit, and upon touching down in the country on Saturday, the trio was greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. However, when the politician went in for a handshake and/or high five, George totally stonewalled him.

WATCH: The Royals Take Canada! William, Kate, George and Charlotte Touch Down for Their Canadian Tour

If science ever figures out a way to get impregnated by a GIF, I choose this one of Justin Trudeau getting snubbed by Prince George. pic.twitter.com/QkFwQeGhEN  Michelle Collins (@michcoll) September 25, 2016

That's ice cold, Prince George!

Watch the video below for an extended look at the unrequited greeting.

WATCH: Kate Middleton Looks Flawless Boarding Sea Plane to Vancouver With Prince William

Of course, Twitter users couldn't help but poke fun at Trudeau after his adorably awkward moment.

Justin Trudeau: "hey lil fella how's it going?"

Prince George: "I own you" pic.twitter.com/9rYRuLsdti  Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) September 26, 2016

Best video on the internet today: Tiny Prince George crushing Trudeau's heart by rejecting PM's high five. HAHA YASSSSS. #WatchIt  Rachel Cannon (@RachelCannz) September 26, 2016

Nevertheless, Trudeau and George will surely be best pals by the end of the royal family's trip on Oct. 1, as it will include touring Vancouver, Kelowna, Yukon, Victoria and Haida Gwaii, learning about mental health issues as well as kid-friendly stops in Great Bear Rainforest on British Columbia's Central Coast!

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WATCH: Prince George Throws a Tantrum, Is Still Adorable at Military Show

Meanwhile, the Duchess has been crushing the fashion game on her trip, at one point rocking a nearly identical dress to Amal Clooney, proving they are style soulmates.



Watch the video below.

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A treat for the little ones! Duchess Kate and Prince William received adorable gifts for their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, during the second day of their tour of Canada on Sunday, September 25.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 34, spent time at a charity in downtown Vancouver that supports vulnerable mothers and pregnant women battling addiction and other issues.

PHOTOS: Prince George's Baby Album: Kate Middleton and Prince William's Firstborn Son

Once there, they were given customized red and black vests for their tykes during a "vest-making" session for teddy bears. The vests were personalized with labels that read "George" and "Charlotte."

"Thank you so much. Charlotte will love this, she loves her teddies," the Duchess said.

Prince William chimed in: "George too, hes a big fan, thank you so much. Youre all such well-behaved children. Im so impressed!"



Soon after, a mother came bustling in a tad late, revealing that she had to change her baby's diaper. Prince William joked that he could relate. "Sorry, we just had a little accident to clear up before meeting you," she said. Prince William laughed: "No worries at all, we know all about that."

PHOTOS: Princess Charlotte of Cambridge: Meet Kate Middleton, Prince William's Daughter

The visit had its somber moments as well. At one point, Prince William appeared visibly moved as Ron Abrahams, a physician, spoke about his late mother, Princess Diana.



"Its wonderful to have you here after all the work your mother did in this field. Its like full circle for us with your family," Abrahams said. Prince William smiled and was "really quite chuffed," an onlooker tells Us Weekly.

The couple then listened thoughtfully to the women's hardships and how they've turned their lives around for the better. "You should be so proud," Prince William told one mom.

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The Duchess appeared touched by the women and addressed a group of mothers during a roundtable discussion. "What youre all carrying as mothers and what youve all been through, is a huge, huge burden and just being able to come here and share your stories with us and each other is amazing," she said. "Youre giving your children an amazing chance by coming here and being able to talk about your stories."



PHOTOS: Kate Middleton's Stunning Post-Baby Body Evolution

Earlier this month, Us exclusively revealed that the Duke and Duchess "want a third baby soon." In the meantime, Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 16 months, are "living as normal lives as possible," thanks in large part to their parents' efforts.

"I think they both would have been overwhelmed at the thought of a third child a year ago, but now it sounds perfect," a friend of the pair told Us. "They've both always wanted a big family."







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Princess Kate packed a few high-fashion dresses for the royal familys tour of Canada  but she also made sure to bring along her favorite well-worn boots!



During a rainy trip to the remote island of Bella Bella on Monday, Kate wore her trusty Penelope Chilvers long tassel boots in a brown shade called conker, which Kate has had in her closet for over a decade.



Handmade from Spanish leather, the $674 boots are fully lined and feature a Goodyear Welted Commando rubber sole, perfect for navigating the wind and rain on Monday. Kate also wore the boots when she went hiking on a five-hour hike in the Himalayas with Prince William in April.







She paired the boots with a Holland and Holland jacket, her go-to Zara jeans and earrings by Canadian designer Pippa Small.







 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.



Itas great to see the Duchess wearing the first boots we made for her in 2004  10 years on, Chilvers previously told PEOPLE. The boots only get better with age. She looks fabulous in them.







Will and Kate traveled without Prince George and Princess Charlotte to see the Great Bear Rainforest  the worlds largest temperate rainforest, which is home to the Kermode (Spirit) bear.







Upon arrival, they were greeted warmly by the historic First Nations owners of the community. They were then honored by the Heiltsuk people, as Hemas  a hereditary chief  and Umaks, a woman of high rank or standing.





Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Welcomes Prince William, Princess Kate and Kids to Canada





George and Charlotte stayed behind in Victoria, where the family is based during their eight-day trip.

For more celebrity videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.
Perhaps when Prince George and Princess Charlotte return from Canada, they can get this royal playdate in the books! Princess Leonore, two, and one-year-old Prince Nicolas' mom, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, recently admitted that she would "love" for her children to play with Prince William and Kate Middletons.

CLICK FOR FULL GALLERY







Both Madeleine and Kate have their hands full with their little ones Photo: Luca Teuchmann/WireImage/Samir Hussein/WireImage

"I would love [a playdate]," the 34-year-old told People magazine at the World Childhood Foundation USA ThankYou Gala on September 16 in New York City.

While they both live in London and are involved with charities that involve children, the Duchess of Cambridge and Madeleine have yet to meet. The Swedish royal said, I'm sure we will cross paths  and who knows what we will do when we do!

THE FUTURE MONARCHY: MEET THESE ROYAL KIDS

No doubt if and when they do meet, the moms-of-two will have an action-filled day with their toddlers. Madeleine revealed, "We try to do a lot of activities because my little Leonore, she has lots of energy, so we have to keep her stimulated and busy.

Despite being away from her native Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philips sister still shares a strong bond with her family. Madeleine confessed, "We've always been quite close  even though I've lived abroad  but when you have kids, it's an extra connection.

Princess Leonore (right) is very close with her cousin Princess Estelle, who lives in Sweden Photo: Photo: Anna-Lena Ahlstrom, The Royal Court

Like her sister, Crown Princess Victoria is also a mom-of-two  Princess Estelle, four, and Prince Oscar, whom she welcomed earlier this year with husband Prince Daniel. Meanwhile, Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia became parents for the first time this year with the arrival of their son Prince Alexander in April.

SWEDEN'S ROYAL BABY BOOM: MEET THE LITTLE PRINCESSES AND PRINCES

"The little cousins, Leonore and Estelle, they're very close  they're more like sisters," Madeleine shared. "Victoria and I try very hard to make it so they really can see each other and play and have fun.

Nicolas mom added, "Cousins are great  they are your friends, but they're family. They can support each other."
Paris (AFP) - Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier was sentenced to two months in jail by a court in Paris on Monday for assaulting a police officer.

But the 23-year-old will not serve any time in prison as he is appealing his sentence which was less than one year.

The Ivory Coast international was later included in PSG coach Unai Emery's squad for Wednesday's Champions League tie at Ludogorets in Bulgaria.

The incident occurred on May 30 outside a Paris nightclub when Aurier was arrested and placed in police custody.

The court heard that the troubled footballer refused to cooperate when asked to leave his tinted-glass Porsche Cayenne which police claimed was incorrectly parked outside the club in the early hours in an upmarket district of the French capital.

Police said the situation turned violent when an agitated Aurier elbowed one of the officers in the chest, causing him to have to take a day off work.

"The driver got out of the car straight away and apologised but the front passenger (Aurier) refused to show his hands," the policeman told the court.

He said he had to grab Aurier to make him exit the car, at which point the player elbowed him.

Aurier denied the charge and was allowed to leave the court.

"The club takes note of his condemnation. An appeal has been lodged at the end of the hearing by the player's lawyer," said a PSG statement.

"Serge Aurier will continue to benefit from the presumption of innocence ahead of the appeal court's decision."

Aurier later took to Twitter to express his "confidence in justice" and that he would await "the appeal ... to express myself again".

The player, who has had recent disciplinary problems with his club, rejected the police account of the incident and said he was the victim of violence.

He has filed a complaint against the police.

Given his lack of remorse, the court went beyond the prosecutor's request for a sentence of two months suspended or with community service. The sentence took into account Aurier's four previous convictions for driving without a licence.

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The court also ordered him to pay 600 euros $674) in damages and interest as well as 1,500 euros in court costs.

- 'Lacked lucidity' -

He was described by the public prosecutor as having "lacked lucidity" during the incident and acted in a "puerile and immature" manner.

Aurier, who said in court he earns 200,000 euros a month, was in trouble with his club last season after making derogatory comments about his then-PSG coach Laurent Blanc and other team-mates, including current Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on a social media video post.

He was suspended by his club for five weeks but owned up to having committed "a stupid mistake".

However, when filming a video to apologise for his comments, Aurier behaved in an "indifferent" manner and needed several takes to get his apology right, according to France Football magazine.

PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi even yelled at him that he would "stay five hours if necessary, but you'll do what we ask", added the magazine.

The year before, Aurier copped a three-match ban from UEFA after reacting to a PSG victory in the Champions League by posting a video on Facebook in which he called the referee a "son of a bitch".

But since returning to pre-season training in July, Aurier has impressed his bosses.

"The club wants to underline the player's professional attitude shown since his return on July 4.

"At the same time, Paris Saint-Germain reaffirms our affection and respect for the forces of order and the jobs they do."

However, his court appearance comes on the back of Aurier being sent off in PSG's 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat at Toulouse on Friday night, their second reverse of the season.
Kerch Strait crimea

Shortly after annexing Crimea in March 2015, Russia has taken bold steps in order show the world its commitment to the Black Sea peninsula.

In order to solidify its footing, it has not only staged large war games earlier this month, but Moscow has also deployed its advanced S-400 missile-defense system into the region.

In order to link the peninsula with the Russian mainland, the country has been constructing the Crimea Bridge, an 11.8 mile undertaking thats estimated to cost $3.2 to 4.3 billion. Equipped with 4 traffic lanes and a railway with 2 tracks, the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2018 and is estimated to transport 14 million people a year.

After Russia took control of Crimea, Ukraine had effectively closed access to the isolated region, inhibiting Russias logistical capabilities. Because supplies had to be airlifted or delivered by sea, the Russians decided to construct the Crimea Bridge, also known as Putins Bridge, from Russias Krasnodar region through the Kerch Strait and to eastern Crimea.

via GIPHY

Although Ukraine has condemned Russias actions, the project was originally supposed to be a joint Russian-Ukrainian venture in April 2010. However, after relations between the two countries faltered, a firm where the majority of its shares belonged to Arkady Rotenberg, Russian President Vladimir Putins former judo partner, decided to take it upon itself to complete the project.

But even with a large firms backing, the bridges construction has seen some setbacks. Inclement weather, including storms in June, have delayed the project by forcing ships to remain in port and keeping workers from their tasks.

In addition to forces beyond their control, engineers also claim that the bridges design is problematic. Sources from NPR assert that the bridge is being built at the wrong place and the wrong way, leaving itself susceptible to mud volcanoes and earthquakes.

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Bridge workers have also complained that after being promised a pay of $80 per day and having housing and meals provided for, the extra housing costs and cost of food were deducted from their pay. Furthermore, NPR reports that workers who took breaks ended up being fired and sent home without pay.

via GIPHY

Earlier this month, the US Department of the Treasury added several companies and individuals involved with the bridges construction into their sanctioned blacklist.

"Treasury stands with our partners in condemning Russia's violation of international law, and we will continue to sanction those who threaten Ukraine's peace, security and sovereignty," said John Smith, the acting director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a Reuters report.

However, regardless of the sanctions, the project looks to be well underway. Shortly after being blacklisted, the Crimea Bridges communication team showed no intention of slowing down their construction efforts.

The sanctions will not affect the construction of the bridge," the Crimea Bridge infocenter explained. "The contractor has all the resources necessary for the timely completion of the project.

via GIPHY

Watch the entire footage of the latest developments from state-sponsored RT:

NOW WATCH: We now know what turned that Russian river red





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LONDON  Prior to making Off The Rails, Adam Irvings previous foray into the world of documentary film-making had been a student short about competitive Ivy League university ballroom dancing. His first feature, however, posed much greater problems, not least because its subject, for most of the three years Irving spent making the film, was incarcerated. Telling the story of Darius McCollom, the film begins in a somewhat light-hearted manner, revealing its subject as a Robin Hood figure whose crimes, bizarrely, involve hijacking New York buses and subway trains  and simply driving them to schedule. The authorities, however, have yet to see the funny side, and although McCollum has been diagnosed with Aspergers, the 51-year-old has spent almost half of his life in jail.

Directed, produced, shot and edited by self-confessed control freak Irving, Off The Rails not only raises awareness of McColloms plight, it also paves the way for the inevitable studio version. Titled Train Man and directed by John Crowley (Brooklyn), it will tell the story from the point of view of McCollums longtime lawyer Sally Butler, to be played by Julia Roberts.

I anticipate that it will have an effect, says Irving. At festival screenings I get asked a lot, Adam, what are you doing to help Darius? Is there a website? Is there a foundation we can give to? Its sort of beyond my powers and resources as a filmmaker, so I havent taken it upon myself to create some sort of movement. But I am very confident that when the Julia Roberts movie comes out next year  which will be a hundred times bigger in its scope and advertising budget than my film  that is going to have an impact. Variety talked to Irving at Londons Raindance Festival

How did you get into filmmaking?

I had a moment when I was a teenager when I discovered the joy of cinema and decided I wanted to be a film scholar, a professor like my father, so I did a Masters degree and a PhD. The idea was to teach film history  film theory, film criticism, that kind of thing  but I dropped out of my PhD programme, moved to LA and decided to make documentaries instead.

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Why was that?

Because within cinema its the most academic [discipline], and it reminded me the most of the process of writing a book or a thesis. Because you do your research, you have your argument  or several arguments  but instead of using words youre using images to make your point.

How did you first get involved with Darius McCollom?

I actually lived in New York for a couple of years and Id never heard of him. It wasnt until I moved to Los Angeles and decided to become a documentary filmmaker that I began looking for ideas. I came upon his Wikipedia page after reading a different page about people who were obsessed with trains, and it gave him as an example. So when I clicked on his article, I was hooked  the first line of his Wikipedia page reads like a logline for a movie.

How easy was it for you to get in touch with him?

He was incarcerated at the time, so it was not easy. I had never in my life known convicted criminals, so I had no idea how to write to, or visit or call someone whos incarcerated. But what I did do is, I flew out to New York and met Jude Domski  shes in the film  who wrote a play about Darius called Boy Steals Train, and she had a professional relationship with him. She told me how to get in touch with him, and so I exchanged over 100 letters and phone calls with Darius over the course of six months, building his trust and getting to know him before I visited him in jail, in person, about six months later.

How was he?

He was very co-operative. He loves attention, he loves his story being told. He wants fame and fortune  hes not embarrassed to say that.

Did anything surprise you about Dariuss story?

Not a ton, because I did a lot of research and I read a lot about him, so there werent any parts of his life that were big surprises. It was more [about] dealing with him as a human being. He was just shockingly normal. He does not come off as someone who has spent 20 years in maximum security prison, with all the abuse and loneliness and fear He just is always even-keeled and jolly, and its something I never got used to.

Why isnt he worn down by it?

Adam Irving: I think part of it is the Aspergers, because it may well have worn him down, but either hes not aware of it or he cant express it, because hes more logical and numerical than emotional. So it either gets buried or its there and he just doesnt know how to express it. The other thing is, as Darius says, you can get used to anything. After 20 years of anything, if youre fighting in wars in the military, eventually you get used to it  or go crazy.

Where is he now?

Adam Irving: He is in New York, in jail, in Manhattan Detention Complex awaiting trial for a crime that he committed.

Did you always see the film as a tool to raise awareness of his situation?

Adam Irving: I saw it quite late in the process, to be honest. When I started the film, I envisioned it as a lighter, quirkier film, sort of like Catch Me If You Can, the Tom Hanks-Leonardo DiCaprio movie, and I thought it would be a tale of his life and all his escapades  there would be suspense and humour, and somehow it would all just work out at the end of this quirky story. But as I got pretty far in the editing process and started testing it out on friends and family, I found that what people gravitated towards was the injustice of it, and the sadness, so I started making the film bigger than just about Darius, widening it out so that its a critique of the American criminal justice system. Thats when I brought in a professional editor to help me craft the film to be more serious, more deep and more of a social justice piece that could not only change Dariuss life but other people like Darius.

Whats next for you?

I am so afraid of my next film not being as good as this one. Im desperately looking for ideas, but because promoting the film was kind of a full-time job, I havent really given it serious thought. But beginning in January, once my film is fully out there, Im going to start looking. I hope to do another character-driven film  because those are the ones that really excite me  rather than [make] a broad issue-oriented documentary about global warming or the war in Syria.

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Camembert (France) (AFP) - It's a cheese maker's take on David and Goliath.

Camembert, the village that gave its name to France's most famous -- and imitated -- cheese, has only one remaining traditional "fromagerie" still making the speciality.

And it's holding its own against big industry.

As they tend cows and ladle curdled raw milk into low, wooden cylindrical moulds, the Durand family and their employees don't look like militants in a Gallic culinary battle against globalisation.

But they are on the front line in this Normandy locality, population 200, on a picturesque hillside where Camembert was first created during the French Revolution.

Dairy producers "are really in dire straits," said Nicolas Durand, 43, owner of the Heronniere farm in the northwestern French region where Europe's biggest dairy group Lactalis has bought out numerous farms like his.

For a small operation, the "only way to survive is through direct distribution," he said.

Durand's family acquired the farm in 1961 and has produced Camembert since 1987.

Today his seven employees turn 90 percent of the milk from his 90 cows into 700 to 800 cheeses a day, up from 600 in the year 2000.

Durand sells the minuscule remainder of his output to Agrial, one of France's top agricultural cooperatives and food processors.

- French way of life -

Dairy production is a hot-button issue in France. Only last month, the agriculture ministry had to step in to mediate between Lactalis and farmers angry over what they say are unsustainably low milk prices.

Lactalis today is France's biggest maker of Camembert, mass-producing it for sale in supermarkets at home and abroad under labels like the ubiquitous "President" brand.

But ask anyone at a Heronniere farm how a "Durand" differs from a factory-produced Camembert and they will laugh, saying even the question is an "insult".

Real Normandy Camembert -- a soft-cheese staple on France's post-dinner cheese plates -- finally won the coveted AOP, or Protected Designation of Origin, only 33 years ago.

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The label ensures that a product's origin and fabrication is within a strict geographical area and adheres to traditional methods and craftsmanship.

Local pride is such that a stone monument in honour of Marie Harel -- who invented the creamy cheese in 1791 with, as legend has it, the help of a priest -- stands in Vimoutiers, the nearby village where she died.

Camembert itself has a museum recounting the history of its speciality, a symbol of the "French way of life".

Yet half the museum is rented by Lactalis, whose industrial Camemberts tend to be made with pasteurised -- not raw -- milk.

And since it is not necessarily from Normandy and is ripened quickly, it cannot bear the "AOP Camembert de Normandie" label.

- Bloomy white rind -

Durand notes that his cheese is not only AOP it is also "fermier", or entirely made on one farm -- a mark of distinction in a France struggling to defend "terroir", an almost untranslatable notion evoking the goodness of a particular patch of countryside.

"It's made with milk from our cows and not from a mixture of milk from different farms. That is important for the taste," Durand says.

"Durand's flavour stays with you" and it has a stronger, richer scent, said one cheese seller from the Normandy port of Caen.

While an industrial version costs a couple of euros in the supermarket, a Durand Camembert is costlier, fetching 4.40 euros (about $5) on the farm and 5.60 euros (about $7) at the Caen merchant's store.

But the scene at Durand's farm looks like just like the cheese making portrayed in the ageing black and white celluloid film at the museum.

The milk preparation is set in moulds to drain for half a day in rooms heated to 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheit).

Because modern sanitary standards require farmers to sterilise the cows' teats -- removing both good and bad bacteria -- lactic acids must be added to aid coagulation.

The forms are then taken to the "haloirs" or drying rooms, and kept at between 12 and 17 degrees Celsius. Salt is added as well as penicillin, which helps to form Camembert's characteristic bloomy white rind.

This part takes two weeks, after which the cheese is left again to mature properly.

While Durand's supply is necessarily limited, demand is strong and the farm is already attracting some 10,000 visitors a year.

He is working with partners to develop his marketing strategy and to ramp up tourist interest even more.

The cheese maker says he brings in around 2,000 euros ($2,250) a month, of which he must pay off 500 euros in loans until 2018.

He also needs to replace his brother and sister-in-law, who left the farm to open a cheese store at Granville on the Normandy coast last July.

Numerous candidates have shown interest, including some from as far away as China and Russia. But Durand says one thing he'll not be doing is selling up, to Lactalis or anyone else.
Real Housewives of Miami star Alexia Echevarrias estranged husband, Herman Echevarria Sr., was found dead on Monday, September 26, the Miami Police Department confirms to Us Weekly.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars Weve Lost

According to E! News, who was first to report the news, and TMZ, Herman was found dead inside a room at Miamis Epic Hotel. His business partner Gonzalo Gonzalez told the Miami Herald that its believed Herman died in his sleep from a heart attack. The Miami police department could not confirm the reports to Us, as an investigation is still ongoing.



PHOTOS: Before They Were Real Housewives!

The Echevarria family is heartbroken over the sudden passing of our patriarch Herman Echevarria this morning, Alexia told Us in a statement. He was a family man, a hardworking businessman, dedicated to helping others and a pillar of his community that was loved by everyone whos life he touched. We ask that you please respect our privacy during this time of grieving.



The couple were both featured on Bravos The Real Housewives of Miami and cofounded Miamis Venue magazine.

Us exclusively confirmed in May 2015 that Alexia and Herman had separated after 15 years of marriage. As documented on the Bravo reality series, Herman was a father figure to her two sons, Peter and Frankie, from her previous marriage to felon Pedro Luis Rosello. (Rosello was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison after being part of one of the largest cocaine smuggling operations in the 1980s.)



Its uncomfortable to have to speak about my ex-husband, the biological father of my children, after we have been legally divorced for over 17 years, Alexia wrote in a 2013 Bravo blog post. As you all know, I've been happily married to Herman for the last 13 years. Peter and Frankie have always lived with me and Herman, she explained of her situation at the time. [They] have been blessed with having two fathers in their lives.

PHOTOS: Stars Who Got Their Start on Reality TV

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According to the Miami Herald, Herman will be laid to rest on Thursday at the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery.



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By now, weve all come to grips with the fact that this is shaping up as the most monumental presidential election in (at least) a generation. The results in November will ultimately determine which way the Supreme Court will lean, who will be allowed into the country, how the nation will deal with Russia and China, even how well pay for the roofs over our collective headsor whether well be able to. Conspiracy theories, email servers, taco bowls Is there any aspect of American life that wont be affected?

Weve got it: Its important. Even so, were getting a just a little bit played out, seeing that ever-changing electoral map every time we turn on CNN, Fox News, MSNBCmaybe even Syfy, Oxygen, and GOD TV.

It seems that every political wonk is obsessively fixated on that darn map, and whether Republican-voting states will remain red, Democrat-voting states will stay blue and where swing states will, well, swing in the upcoming election.

The data team here at realtor.com has already examined the residential real estate and tax policies of both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. So this time, we decided to indulge our other obsessionsdigging deep into the differences in how folks in blue, red, and swing states (which weve not so creatively dubbed purple states) actually live.

Who has the biggest homes? How about the most expensive residences? And while were on the topic, where do millennials stand the best chance of becoming homeowners?

We looked at data from Nielsen Demographics, Nielsen Scarborough, and Nielsen Financial, as well as our own, of course, to come up with our findings. We used Politicos list of those critical 11 swing states where the election will likely be won or lostColorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsinas well as its lists of established red and blue states.

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Our analysis confirmed some long-held beliefs about the differences between the Grand Old Party and the Democratic Party of Franklin D. Roosevelt. But it also upended some of our preconceived notions, and may provide some insight into why each candidate can inspire fervent devotion in some, and sheer, unadulterated terror in others.

It speaks to the diversity that is America, says realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. Its really tough to see that theres any one candidate who could appeal to all Americans. We reflect the cultures and the way of living from where we come from.

So lets head to the realtor.com electoral map! (Click to see a large version.)

red states, blue states real estate

1. Which states have the most expensive homes?

Its long been known that Democratic strongholds, largely based in the Northeast and California, tend to be wealthier. Lucky them! The median household income in those states is $62,564about 23% higher than red states, where its $50,820, and 13% more than in swing states, at $55,524.

And on top of that, 1.4% of households in left-minded blue states bring home $500,000 or more, which makes sense when factoring in all those six- and seven-figure bonuses on New Yorks Wall Street and tech fortunes in Californias Silicon Valley. The percentage of folks making half-a-mil-plus bank may not sound all that high, but its 133% more than the percentage in right-leaning states and 75% more than in purple states.

Since liberal state denizens are earning more, its not exactly a tremendous leap of logic that their residences are also worth more. The median home value is $301,000a whopping 91% more than more conservative swaths of the country and 59% more than those middle-of-the-road regions of America. Hawaii has the most expensive homes, followed by Washington, DC, and California.

The ultra-critical swing state of Ohio has the least expensive homes, followed by the red states of Indiana and Kansas.

What weve seen is a migration of people to the coasts of the country. Its for jobs, its for amenities, says Rachel Meltzer, an urban policy professor at the New School, in New York. [But] theres only so much land to build onso prices are going to go up if people keep wanting to live there.

2. Which states have the most homeowners?

Despite those higher incomes in liberal parts of the U.S., homeownership is highest in red states, where it simply costs less. About 67.9% of households in Republican-supporting states are homeownerscompared to 63.5% in Democratic strongholds and 67.8% in swing states.

Owning a home is more attainable in red states, because the cost difference [in home prices] is substantially more significant than the income difference, realtor.coms Smoke says. [And] you also get more in terms of space.

The state with the highest rate of homeownership was none other than Vermont, the blue-as-you-can-get home of onetime presidential contender Bernie Sanders.

And the city with the highest homeownership rate is in another liberal stronghold, San Jose, CA. The Silicon Valley city is one of the most expensive markets in the nation, as the next big tech stars compete over the very limited number of homes on the market, pushing up prices. The median list price of homes is $767,000 in the city, according to realtor.com.

Washington, DC, the blue district that isnt quite a state, has the lowest homeownership rate, followed by New York. Miami, in the swing state of Florida, was the city with the lowest rate of homeownership.

Many buyers in red states may not be raking in a ton of dough, but achieving the American Dream of homeownership only requires them to fork over about 26% of their median household income. Meanwhile, it takes 32% of a households income to buy a place to live in a blue state.

In a purple state? Itll run you about 25% of your income to purchase your own place.

3. Whos paying the most rent?

Renting aint a cakewalk in the liberal swath of the nation either, at an average $1,381 a month.

Thats quite a chunk of change52.1% more than those in red states, where tenants shell out an average $904 a month. And its 34.9% more than renters are paying in purple states, at $1,204 a month.

The cost of housing is directly tied to how much land is available, realtor.coms Smoke says. The parts of the country that have an abundance of land have the lowest housing costs.

4. Where are the biggest homes?

Homes are biggest where land is cheapestand property is the least expensive down South and in rural America. You probably knew that. And those areas tend to vote Republican. You probably knew that, too.

For example, the median red state listing is about 2,000 square feetabout 210 square feet larger than in more left-leaning states and 100 square feet larger than homes in purple states.

The largest homes in the United States? Youll find em in the red state of Utah. But the two cities with the most spacious digs were in a swing state: Colorados Denver and Colorado Springs.

Meanwhile, the smallest median square footage can be found in bluer-than-blue District of Columbia. Thats followed by the Hawaiian Islands, where space understandably goes for a premium.

The city with the tiniest median digs is Miami. (Notoriously cramped cities like New York likely didnt make the list, as the only data available was at the metro level, which factors in surrounding suburbs.)

5. Where do folks own the most second homes?

Blue state buyers may not own as many homes, but residents in those areas are 14% likelier to own a second home. Got that? Theyre also 9% more likely to own real estate as an investment.

It makes sense, since as we noted above, these folks are raking in more dough than their peers in more conservative swaths of the country.

6. Which states have the oldest houses?

Since many of the blue state cities are older than their red peers, the housing stock also has quite a bit more history. About 19% of all houses were built in or before 1939 in left-leaning hubs. Thats 95% more than red states, and 36% higher than in purple states.

Think about it: New York and Boston were founded more than 200 years before metros like Atlanta and Dallas were established in the mid-1800s.

7. Which states have the most mobile homes?

Those living in conservative states are 33% more likely to live in mobile homes, often found in trailer parks. Theyre also most likely to wind up in manufactured abodes made in factories.

The highest concentration of mobile and manufactured homes are based in the redand poorstate of Mississippi. The metro with the highest percentage of these lower-priced residences is Jacksonville, FL.

The fewest mobile homes? Washington, DC, and the blue state of New Jersey. The city with the lowest percentage of these homes is super-expensive San Francisco.

8. Who has the most solar panels?

Liberal states tend to have more eco-friendly residents, who are 12% more likely to have solar panels installed on the roofs of their homes than those living in other states.

The most panels by sheer number were installed in the blue state of California, whereas Hawaii has the highest percentage of residences with the eco-friendly power source. Silicon Valleys San Jose, CA, is the city with the highest percentage of homes with solar panels.

The fewest number of panels are in the red state of Wyoming. Memphis, TN, was the city where the smallest percentage of residents invested in them.

The bottom line?

[The analysis] was a perfect statement of why there are such differences politically between red and blue states, realtor.coms Smoke says. The way of life is clearly different between the two.

The post Red vs. Blue States: What 8 Housing Differences Can Tell Us About the Election appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.
YOUNGSVILLE, LA / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / RedHawk Holdings Corp. (IDNG) ("RedHawk" or the "Company") announced today it has agreed to acquire up to a 25% interest in Marlin USA Energy Partners, LLC ("Marlin"), the minority owner of Tigress Energy Partners, LLC ("TEP"). The majority ownership of TEP is held by Tigress Holdings, LLC, a limited liability company majority-owned by Cynthia DiBartolo, Chief Executive Officer of Tigress Financial Partners LLC ("TFP").

TEP is a limited liability company formed for the purpose of investing up to $250 million of institutional capital focused on the exploration and production of oil and gas reserves in the south and southwest regions of the United States. Management duties of TEP are handled by Ms. DiBartolo and industry veteran, Michael Robinson.

TFP is an investment banking, brokerage and specialized financial services firm providing expertise in investment banking, investment research, asset management, wealth management, corporate advisory and trade execution services. TFP provides services to corporate entities, institutional investors, high net worth individuals, public and private pensions, and federal, state and municipal governments.

Ms. DiBartolo is responsible for the overall strategic direction and leadership of TEP, including client relationships, marketing, product development, human capital development and financial management.

Mr. Robinson brings a stellar track record in the energy sector. Over the past five years, energy funds managed by Mr. Robinson have achieved internal rates of return between 10% and as high as 66%. Under his direction, these funds have discovered hydrocarbons in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and California. Utilizing innovative drilling and cost saving methods, the performance by Mr. Robinson's funds have greatly surpassed industry standards. Mr. Robinson has thirty years of experience as an independent operator, investor and mineral owner. Between 2007 and 2015, he was President of Gulf Coast Mid West Energy Partners, engaged in the exploration and production of oil and gas reserves in Texas, Louisiana and the mid-continent regions of the United States. Mr. Robinson owns the majority of Marlin.

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Commenting on this new investment, the Company said, "We believe the decline of energy sector has bottomed. While there may still be a period of time before the sector actually improves significantly, we believe the timing is right to now enter this market. TEP partners and key team members have been responsible for more than $500 million in structured transactions ranging from asset acquisitions and project financings to start-up ventures. Coupled with the industry experience of RedHawk's key managers, we believe the timing of this transaction now offers RedHawk shareholders a very interesting and strategic investment opportunity."

About RedHawk Holdings Corp.

RedHawk Holdings Corp., formerly Independence Energy Corp., is a diversified holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in sales and distribution of medical devices, sales of branded generic pharmaceutical drugs, commercial real estate investment and leasing, sales of point of entry full-body security systems, and specialized financial services. Through its medical products business unit, the Company sells WoundClot Surgical - Advanced Bleeding Control, the Disintegrator Insulin Needle Destruction Unit, the Carotid Artery Digital Non-Contact Thermometer and Zonis. Its real estate leasing revenues are generated from various commercial properties under long-term lease. Additionally, RedHawk's real estate investment unit holds limited liability company interest in various commercial restoration projects in Hawaii. The Company's financial services revenue is from brokerage services earned in connection with debt placement services and investments in oil and gas exploration and production. RedHawk Energy holds the exclusive U.S. manufacturing and distribution rights for the Centri Controlled Entry System, a unique, closed cabinet, nominal dose transmission full body x-ray scanner.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical fact. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be," "potential" and any similar expressions are intended to identify those assertions as 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. In evaluating forward-looking statements, you should consider the various factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements including those listed in the "Risk Factors" section of our latest 10-K report. Further, the Company may make changes to its business plans that could or will affect its results. Investors are cautioned that the Company will undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Media Contact:

Julie Calzone

(337) 235-2924

jcalzone@calzone.com

Company Contacts:

Thomas J. Concannon, CEO

(908) 625-7811

tom.concannon@redhawkholdingscorp.com

G. Darcy Klug, CFO

(337) 269-5933

darcy.klug@redhawkholdingscorp.com

SOURCE: RedHawk Holdings Corp.
Is Reese Witherspoon Hollywood's biggest book mogul?



Witherspoon turned Gone Girl into a box-office hit with her production company, Pacific Standard. Then she performed the same magic with Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild, which led to an Oscar nomination for herself.



When she isn't converting books into films, she's posting about them on Instagram for her book club. Using the hashtag #RWBookClub, Witherspoon's favorites range from You'll Grow Out Of It by Jessi Klein to Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. Many of the stories feature edgy, smart, imperfect women, and Witherspoon promises they're all great reads.



To start your own #RWBookClub journey, here are the books Witherspoon loves  and including those she is planning to bring to the big and small screens:











Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Witherspoon will join other stars including Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley in this adaption of Moriarty's New York Times bestseller. Centered around the lives of three families, the novel shows how guilt can expose the flaws in friendship, love and parenting. The story will reveal how "the most innocent of moments can do the greatest harm."







Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

In 2010, a special team of women joined the Special Operations soldiers who were at war in Afghanistan. These Cultural Support Teams questioned the women they encountered during raids  searching for information and weapons. But, most important, they forged cultural connections and proved that women can be just as fierce as the male soldiers.





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Required summer reading for adults, am I right? #LuckiestGirlAlive #BookWorm #RWBookClub A photo posted by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on Jul 7, 2015 at 11:03am PDT





Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

With a dark secret plaguing her, Ani hides behind a look, a job and a man who advertise success. With twists and surprises, the story reveals that despite her "sharp edges and cutthroat ambition," she still has a heart that bleeds.









All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

Jenny Kramer seems to be living a perfect life in a well-to-do Connecticut town, until she is attacked at a party. Though she is given a controversial drug that erases her memory of the assault, she is still tormented by her "emotional memory." In the aftermath, her parents' marriage and the perfect town explode.





#RWBookClub: #OpeningBelle is a smart, biting and honest peek into what it means to be a woman on Wall Street. I loved this book by #MaureenSherry so much that @pacificstandardfilms will be making it into a film!! #WomenOnWallStreet #GirlBoss A photo posted by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on Jan 26, 2016 at 1:31pm PST





Opening Belle by Maureen Sherry

Humorous insight from a former Wall Street insider results in a comical story about Belle  a woman with a high-paying job, sexy husband and great kids  who is wooed by her ex-fiancA-turned-client. Belle does her best to navigate him, an industry filled with excess, and way too much sexism for any modern woman to handle.









The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Suzy's best friend drowns and Suzy is convinced the death was caused by a rare jellyfish. The theory sends her on a journey that begins with grief and ends in wonder... and maybe love?





Ok any of you read this? This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Not going to give too much away but it is a thriller about a woman trying to find her missing sister... #BookClub #SummerReading #SJWatson #SecondLife #RWBookClub A photo posted by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on Jul 21, 2015 at 3:10pm PDT





Second Life by S.J. Watson

In this thriller, Julia's sister is murdered and she goes on a quest to discover what happened. But, along the way, she gets wrapped up with a "dangerous man online." As secrets are revealed, Julia may lose everything...









In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Even the English countryside can be terrifying in this twisted thriller. Writer Leonora goes away for a weekend holiday, only for secrets to spill between friends. In a terrifying twist, they also realize that they're "not alone in the woods."



TV ADAPTATIONS



Reese Witherspoon's Book Club: All About the Books She Loves Most and What She's Adapting for the Screen| Books, Movie News, Reese Witherspoon



Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

Witherspoon is adapting Tiny Beautiful Things into a series for HBO. The book is based on the writings of the once-anonymous columnist, Sugar (now known as Cheryl Strayed). Strayed, also the author of Wild, provides advice on all of the messiest and best parts of life. So, if you've ever wanted to call in to a hotline and didn't, this may be the perfect solution.





My weekend is going to involve these two items...and hopefully a hammock. You? (Have you read #BigLittleLies?) #BookWorm #PerfectBeachReading #RWBookClub A photo posted by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on Aug 21, 2015 at 11:59am PDT





Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Another Moriarty adaption, Big Little Lies will appear as a limited series for HBO in 2017. Starring Witherspoon, Kidman and other big names, the story revolves around a group of moms "whose perfect lives begin to unravel."





Reese Witherspoon's Book Club: All About the Books She Loves Most and What She's Adapting for the Screen| Books, Movie News, Reese Witherspoon





Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley

Supreme Courtship is another book Pacific Standard has optioned for TV, but this time with Sony Pictures TV's TriStar Television. A comedy about reality TV star Judge Pepper Cartwright joining the Supreme Court, this promises to be a hilarious "comedy about [one of] the Washington institutions most deserving of ridicule."


Remy Ishak admits that the threats have been affecting his daily routine.

26 Sep - Local actor Remy Ishak said that he had to hire a personal bodyguard to protect his safety as he is worried that his life is being threatened.



Remy or his full name, Mohammad Zalimei Ishak, said that he had received threats from a woman from Pantai Timur and it has now become a police case.



"At this point, there have not been any developments. I don't know what the exact status is as it is still being investigated by the police," he was quoted as saying to Harian Metro.



Prior to this, the "Redha" actor had received a letter from a woman on 23 August 2016, when the woman's aid had invited him to meet her at an undisclosed location.



Remy had rejected the invitation and this had ignited the fury of the woman who had then resorted to threatening him.



"To be honest I am not comfortable going anywhere now. The investigation is still ongoing so I'll have to be patient," he said.



Following that, the 34-year-old said that the case has been bothering him quite a bit including his focus in acting.



Remy said that he will be getting the advice of a lawyer regarding the case after he has returned to Kuala Lumpur.



Remy is now in the midst of shooting a new film called, "Pulang", directed by Kabir Bhatia at Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.



(Photo Source: Remy Ishak Instagram)
Like many hot sauce heads, Dylan Keenen traces his addiction to the spicy-sweet Asian chili sauce Sriracha. He and his girlfriend Becky Gibbons drizzled it over their dorm food, masking the taste of gelatinous eggs and stale mac and cheese. Their hankering for heat grew, and they amassed a collection of condiments that Keenens father brought home from his travels. When they settled in Alameda, outside of San Francisco, they hunted for local hot sauce shops to restock their stash but found none.

So in true enterprising Bay Area fashion, the young, fresh-faced couple opened their own: Heat Hot Sauce Shop in downtown Berkeley. After three years of business, they temporarily shut down the storefront in search of a larger location. Luckily, they plan to open a new store in neighboring Alameda in the next month or so. Meanwhile, the online store is still humming along and now sells more than 450 hot sauce varieties, offering a taste of Americans obsession with the stuff. According to IBISWorld, the hot sauce industry grew 5.3 percent annually from 2010 to 2015 and generates $1 billion in revenue. Not unlike craft beer, hot sauce is experiencing a renaissance. Scores of specialty producers have surfaced, titillating taste buds with ever more piquant peppers and unexpected flavors, from kiwi to maple syrup.

Hotsauce

Rows of red and black shelves line Heats walls, stocked with gleaming bottles of hot sauce organized by pepper variety. Milder chipotle and habanero-based condiments greet customers near the entryway, while further along lie sauces made with tear-inducing ghost pepper and seven-pot chili, and the even more blistering Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Scorpion cultivars. Keenen reserves the top shelf for extracts of capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their heat, including Pure Evil 9.6 in sinister red-and-black packaging  an extract so scorching that customers must sign a waiver to buy it.

But hot sauciers are challenging our palates with more than just spice. These days, fruit is a trending ingredient. Heats fruit-based selection features sauces made with blueberries, peaches and pomegranates, to name a few. My favorites include Yellowbirds Habanero Sauce, a tart, biting blend of habaneros, carrots and tangerine juice, and Small Batch Organics Yin Yang Sweet & Smoky Habanero Hot Sauce, reminiscent of barbecue sauce but with a crisp sweetness, perhaps from apples (although the company mysteriously lists only organic fruit on the label).

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A second wall of shelves displays hot sauces from around the world, including searing-yet-sweet Jamaican scotch bonnet sauces, creamy African peri peri pepper sauces and garlicky, slow-burn Asian chili oils. Keenen owes much of the hot sauce craze to the recent influx of immigrants and their fiery fare. People want to expand their horizons, he says.

And now they have more options than ever beyond the ubiquitous Tapatio and Sriracha  thanks to an explosion of small-batch artisanal producers. Spurred by a shift toward knowing the origins of their food, people are making their own stuff, says food blogger Joe Di Stefano. Brian Todd, president of The Food Institute, also credits hot sauces convenience  its a cheap, easy way to enliven any dish. Of course, the machismo of downing the spiciest of sauces without flinching  and the ensuing endorphin rush  have also fueled the fire.

Keenen and Gibbons (now 26 and getting married next month) prioritize flavor over heat when sourcing sauces, but they also acknowledge that taste is personal. Whether its a sweet and smoky concoction you desire or low-sodium and gluten-free, the best part about hot sauce is the dizzying variety. Theres something for everyone, Keenen says.

Ready to feel the burn? Check out the list below to find a purveyor near you.

Heatonist, 121 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn, NY

Tears of Joy Hot Sauce Shop, 618 E. 6th St., Austin, TX

Peppers of Key West, 602 Greene St., Key West, FL

Light My Fire, 6333 W 3rd St., Suite 230, Los Angeles, CA

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Investors want their portfolio to comprise of stocks with surging share price and a favorable recommendation. However, Rent-A-Center, Inc. RCII has failed to meet any of these criteria and no longer features in investors good books. The company remains deeply entrenched in the bearish territory as the stock has lost its value by nearly 14% year to date.

This rent-to-own operator has been witnessing a downtrend in the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Moreover, the company currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). This implies that analysts covering the stock are not very optimistic about Rent-A-Centers performance in the near future. So, what led this Plano, TX-based company to fall out of favor? Lets find out.

Why is it a Touch-Me-Not Stock?

After registering an earnings beat in five straight quarters, Rent-A-Center succumbed to a negative earnings surprise in the second quarter of 2016. Notably, this also marked the fourth consecutive quarter of sales miss for the company. Further, both top and bottom lines declined year over year. The decrease in the top line is attributable to a decline witnessed across the Core U.S., Acceptance Now and Mexico segments.

Accelerated point of sale system rollout, persistent sluggishness across the computers and tablets categories, headwinds across the oil-impacted markets and continued smartphones recast impacted results.

Subdued Outlook Triggered a Downtrend in Estimates

Following the dreary performance, management lowered its outlook for 2016. The company now anticipates Core U.S. revenue to decrease in the band of 8.511.5%, with comparable sales decline expected in a range of 58%. Management had earlier projected Core U.S. revenue to fall 46% in 2016, impacted by a comps decline of 13%.

Rent-A-Center now projects Acceptance Now revenue between $805 million and $835 million for the full year, down from the previous guidance range of $850$900 million. Based on these expectations, management envisions 2016 earnings per share to range from $1.65$1.85.

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Analysts polled by Zacks are less constructive on the stock. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 for 2016 and 2017 has declined 31 cents and 37 cents, respectively. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter has dropped 12 cents to 40 cents over the same time frame.

RENT-A-CENTER Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

RENT-A-CENTER Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | RENT-A-CENTER Quote

Stocks that Warrant a Look

It would be prudent for investors to look beyond Rent-A-Center, at least for the time being. Investors may consider better-ranked stocks such as Outerwall Inc. OUTR, The Children's Place, Inc. PLCE and Urban Outfitters Inc. URBN, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Outerwall Inc. delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 75.5% over the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10%.

The Children's Place, Inc. delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 33.1% over the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%.

Urban Outfitters Inc. delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 6.7% over the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%.

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Zacks Investment Research
Colin Kaepernicks kneeling protest of the national anthem has caught and kept the attention of the country, opening up a near-unprecedented scale of dialogue about the political responsibilites of athletes and the myriad ways in which a person can protest. Unfortunately, it has more people talking about those two topics than the one it was designed to call attention to  the systemic oppression of African-Americans, most publicly by the police  but as a means of starting a conversation, it has succeeded on a grand scale.

The backlash against Kaeps protest has been as widespread as it has been belligerent and racially tinged. Most of the hollering has been done over interviews, on the radio and on social media. But one restaurant in Virginia has taken it to another level by taping Kaepernicks jersey to their floor to be walked over by customers.

Of course, as all of the backlash to Kaepernick has been draped in misdirection, so has the restaurant denied there was a racial component to its action. WTKR spoke to the general manager of the establishment, reporting, He told us taping the jersey down was about sportsmanship and Kaepernicks disrespect of the flag  not race.

(Via WTKR)
The Film Follows the Friendship of Two Co-Workers Trying to Make it Through the Day at a Job Where They Sell Boxes

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Brad Foster, a North Carolina-based videographer, recently announced the launch of his latest project, Retail. The R-rated saga-comedy film chronicles the lives of two friends, Jack and Dave, who work at a monotonous retail store that sells boxes.



To learn more about Retail, please visit goo.gl/PSpXQd

In this comedy, Jack, a talented college graduate, feels overworked and underappreciatedalthough he wants to apply for a position in his company's corporate HQ after 10 years. His friend, Dave, has worked in retail for 25 years, and he'd do anything to leavebut he just cannot let go. The two form an unlikely friendship that consists of them trying to survive the day by selling boxes, with their adventures ranging from predictable to insane.

According to Foster, his comedic film follows a precise formula: 40-percent scripted and 60-percent ad-lib story. The crew plans to start shooting in North Carolina during November and December, with postproduction starting after Christmas and a tentative premiere in March 2017.

"Retail: A Retail Saga has been a passion project of mine for many years, and I've decided to turn it into a feature film," said Foster. "You've got in your corner a hard-working, intelligent, determined, creative, thoughtful, loyal, and humorous fellow who will make sure this movie gets done right, within the allocated time frame, produced, and finalized."

At this time, Foster and the Retail team have taken their project to Kickstarter, where they seek the necessary funds to finish filming and editing the movie. The funds raised will also cover legal, equipment, rewards, and other miscellaneous costs associated with the project. In exchange for supporting Retail, Foster is offering a number of perks to donors, including signed movie posters and HD copies of the movie.

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Individuals interested in learning more about Retail can visit the project's Kickstarter page for additional information.

About Retail:

Retail: A Retail Saga is a comedy film that follows the lives of two co-workers at a box store as they just try to make it through the day. Jack, the college graduate that can do it all, is overworked, underappreciated, and looking to apply to corporate HQ just down the road after 10 years at the company. Dave, a 25-year retail veteran, just wants to leave, but just can't let go of it. Retail is what he knows. The story follows their friendship and the hardship of trying to make it through a day selling boxes to the public. For more information, please visit http://goo.gl/PSpXQd

Contact:

Eugene Richards

admin@rocketfactor.com

(949) 555-2861

SOURCE: Retail: A Retail Saga
A retired professor was released from an Iranian prison and returned to Canada on Monday, after spending months behind bars.

Homa Hoodfar, 65, is Iranian-Canadian and was detained in the country in March after traveling there to visit family, according to the Associated Press. Her family has said she was imprisoned in the Evin Prison in Tehran. Shed been there since June, but Iran announced that she and three others were indicted in July.

Hoodfars release comes after her supporters urged Canadian diplomats to bring up the former anthropology and sociology professors case during the United Nations General Assembly. The AP reports Foreign Ministers from both countries met on the sidelines last week. Because Canada does not have an embassy in Iran, the country also worked with others to secure her release.

In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked Italy, Switzerland, and Oman for assisting and said Canadians are relieved that Hoodfar has been released.

The Government of Canada has been actively and constructively engaged at the highest levels in Dr. Hoodfars case  since her ordeal began  working for her release and return to Canada, the statement reads. Our officials have also been providing consular assistance to her family and will continue to do so until their loved one has arrived home safely.

According to the Associated Press, five others are known to be detained in Iran including Siamak Namazi, Baquer Namazi, Robin Shahini, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Nizar Zakka; former FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007.
(Adds context on Perry, industry problems)

By Lawrence Delevingne

NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Perry Capital, the hedge fund firm founded by Richard Perry and Paul Leff in 1988, plans to wind down its main hedge funds, according to a letter sent to investors on Monday and seen by Reuters.

"Although I continue to believe very strongly in our investments, process and team, the industry and market headwinds against us have been strong, and the timing for success in our positions too unpredictable," Richard Perry wrote in the letter.

Perry, whose firm uses a so-called event-driven strategy focused on profiting from corporate shake-ups, added that a "substantial" amount of client capital would be returned in the beginning of October.

A spokesman for the New York-based firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perry also has a London office.

The shuttering underscores continued pressure on the hedge fund industry following a period of poor performance. Industry data tracker HFR reported in September that 530 funds liquidated in the first half of the year, on pace for the second-most shut-downs in a calendar year except for 2008.

After producing a gain every calendar year until 2008, Perry has recently lost money on its investments and its assets under management have declined.

The firm managed $6.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That was down from $8.9 billion as of late 2013 and around $15 billion in early 2008, according to firm reporting seen by Reuters.

Co-founder Leff and former co-chief investment officer David Russekoff have also departed in recent years.

Richard Perry launched the firm after working at Goldman Sachs' risk arbitrage desk, a unit led by Robert Rubin that was famous for producing star hedge fund managers.

(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Alan Crosby and Dan Grebler)
Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Pakistan's police of routinely carrying out extra-judicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, and called on Islamabad to implement urgent reforms of its under-resourced forces.

The findings were contained in a new report based on interviews with more than 30 police officers and 50 victims or witnesses of abuse across three of the country's four provinces.

In addition to noting habitual rights violations -- including more than 2,000 so-called "encounter" killings in 2015, which are often believed to have been staged -- the report said police often found themselves in thrall to powerful individuals who subvert the law for their own purposes.

"Pakistan faces grave security challenges that can be best handled by a rights-respecting, accountable police force," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"Instead, law enforcement has been left to a police force filled with disgruntled, corrupt and tired officers who commit abuses with impunity, making Pakistanis less safe, not more."

In the biggest city Karachi, encounter killings have surged since 2013 as paramilitary forces and police have stepped up raids against Taliban militants, criminals and armed political activists.

The term is used to describe staged confrontations in which police or troops kill suspects and later claim they were acting in self-defence.

The report found that those from marginalised groups - refugees, the poor, religious minorities, and the landless - are at particular risk of violent police abuse.

It said: "Torture methods include beatings including with batons and leather straps, stretching and crushing legs with metal rods, sexual violence, prolonged sleep deprivation, and mental torture, including witnessing others being tortured.

"Senior officials told Human Rights Watch that physical force is often threatened and used because the police are not trained in professional investigation and forensic analysis methods, and thus resort to unlawfully coercing information and confessions."

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Local politicians meanwhile are able to halt investigations against suspects with political connections, and to harass or file charges against opponents.

In addition to being on the frontline of the country's battle against homegrown Islamist terror, Pakistan's police forces contend with high-levels of organised and violent crime -- including kidnappings for ransom and drug trafficking.

A recent wave of high-profile murders of women in the name of family honour have cast a spotlight on blood-money laws which allow the relatives of victims to forgive perpetrators in exchange for money.
Rihanna performing at the Global Citizen Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Whether or not it was intentional, Rihanna paid tribute to Prince at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City this weekend.

No, she didnt perform any of his songs or mention him in her performance. But it seems she raided the musicians Paisley Park closet.

Rihanna took the stage in a Chrome Hearts white kimono top with bell sleeves beneath a pinstripe corseted romper by Adam Selman. She also wore green velvet Manolo Blahnik pumps, orange Gentle Monster sunglasses, and a Fallon Jewelry fishnet sash choker dangling from her neck. She added Kerin Rose Gold crystal hoop earrings and hair extensions down to her bum.

She put on a Snow Xue Gao pinstripe blazer with orange lining for a few songs.

Prince rocking out in a pinstripe suit. See the similarities?

Were assuming it wasnt a coincidence that Chris Martin covered Princes Raspberry Beret right before Rihanna came out.

Rihanna, who was appointed Ambassador of Global Citizen, headlined the festival and gave the audience an abridged version of her Anti world tour, which she is in the middle of right now. Her set list included songs like "Stay, "Cake, Pour It Up, "Numb, "Love on the Brain and FourFiveSeconds.

She looked almost as good as Prince circa 1981 at the Palladium or his Purple Rain tour, but no one can touch Prince.

Rihanna has openly honored the musician before; he passed during her Anti world tour and Rihanna dedicated her song Diamonds to him during her concert in Calgary. A lot of people have started making music and listening to music because of Prince, so right now I just want to honor him, me and my crew. And you guys, pointing at her audience in front of a purple backdrop. Lets shine some light to heaven for Prince now.

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Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) may have had its problems during the time that metals and commodities were falling. At the same time, Rio Tinto remains one of the world's top mining and metals companies. Now the company has launched a $3 billion debt reduction plan as part of its capital management efforts.

It turns out that Rio Tinto has issued redemption notices for $1.5 billion of U.S. denominated notes due in 2017 and 2018. It also has cash tenders for another $1.5 billion in U.S. dollar denominated notes maturing from 2019 through 2022.

Rio Tinto has said that it plans to take advantage of its strong liquidity position, which should allow the company to lower its total debt. And note that it follows the successful completion of $4.5 billion in cash tenders over prior months in 2016.

ALSO READ: Worst States for Black Americans

Unless the offer is extended, Monday's offer for the securities covered will expire at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 24, 2016. The company's statement said:

Todays announcement is part of the Rio Tinto Groups ongoing capital management and follows the successful completion of $4.5 billion cash tender offers earlier this year. In April, Rio Tinto launched a program to purchase $1.5 billion of its 2017 and 2018 notes and in June it announced plans to purchase $3 billion of its 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 notes. Both offers were successfully completed. In June, $1.5 billion of notes also matured and were repaid with cash.

Debt tenders rarely move a stock price, at least not like share buybacks can do. Still, Rio Tinto's revenue was $34.8 billion in 2015, generating gross profit of $6.9 billion and operating profit of $3.61 billion. Rio Tinto's 2015 net income from continuing operations was negative at $1.358 billion.

ALSO READ: These 5 Sin Stocks Have Solid Upside Potential and Pay Big Dividends

At the end of 2015, Rio Tinto's cash was nearly $9.4 billion and its long-term debt was $22.22 billion. The company's total assets at the end of 2015 were $91.56 billion, versus $54.21 billion in total liabilities.

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Rio Tinto was last seen down four cents at $32.37 in New York trading. Its 52-week range is $21.89 to $40.05, and this was a more than $50 stock in just 2014.

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On Rob & Chyna, Blac Chyna takes her fiance, Rob Kardashian, on an East Coast trip to see her roots, in Washington D.C.

For Rob, this was an opportunity to get out of the house and step out of his comfort zone, as the shy Kardashian was still concerned about his weight.

Chyna showed him her old neighborhood, her school, and the house where she grew up, along with some of her favorite haunts.

The trip was also an opportunity for Chyna to meet up with her father and mother. While she has had a strong relationship with her mom, she had only recently connected with her father.

Chyna set up a family reunion to bring her parent together  Chyna had only recently connected with her father and her parents hadnt spoken in 10 years.

After dinner, Chyna took Rob and her parents out to the place where Chyna first started her career: a local strip club.

Watch Rob Kardashian deal with his body issues on Rob & Chyna.

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Cynthia LuCiette, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner is selling 49 percent of the magazine to BandLab, a digital music company owned by the son of an Asian billionaire, Bloomberg reported.

Wenner is planning to sell to Singapore-based BandLab Technologies, a startup digital music company that was founded by Kuok Meng Ru, a son of agriculture-business mogul Kuok Khoon Hong. BandLab, which he launched in 2015, is a social network for musicians as well as fans.

According to Bloomberg, BandLab will run a new, Singapore-based international subsidiary that will focus on developing live events as well as looks for merchandising and hospitality opportunities in Asia. It will have no say in editorial content.

Wenner's son and digital chief, Gus, told Bloomberg that they are hoping to take the brand into "new and different areas and markets." He added that "our growth in digital has been fantastic, but long-term, my dad and myself recognize that in order to truly grow and truly transform the business," they needed to partner with an Asia-based entity.

The deal has been in the works for about 15 months, added Kuok, whose other acquisitions have included Singapore-based guitar distributor Swee Lee; European music-making web service Composr; and San Francisco-based MONO Creators Inc., a creator of musician accessories.

The move comes as many publishing companies are looking to become less reliant on print revenue and seek out more opportunities in the online space and elsewhere. A Rolling Stone spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that advertising pages were down 14 percent from January to August compared to the same period last year.

The magazine also continues to be embroiled in a defamation lawsuit over its since-retracted article about a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity. Just last week, a federal judge denied summary judgment on key issues in the lawsuit, meaning the case is now headed to trial.

Rolling Stone was founded in 1967. The company says it has 22 million domestic digital users a month (comScore puts that number at 17.7 million) and a print readership of 12 million. Wenner, whose company Wenner Media also owns Us Weekly and Men's Journal, has never before allowed an outside investor to own part of the magazine. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal with BandLab doesn't include Wenner Media.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
Paris (AFP) - Once upon a time, two intrepid space adventurers called Rosetta and Philae set out from Earth to explore a comet far, far away.

So begins the fairy tale adventure of Europe's comet chaser and robot probe, steel boxes with charming cartoon counterparts and a global following of fans fated for heartbreak when the pair severs ties with Earth forever.

"I think there will be a lot of tears," European Space Agency (ESA) senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean told AFP ahead of D-Day on September 30.

After two years in orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, hundreds of millions of kilometres (miles) from home, Rosetta will terminate its groundbreaking deep-space mission by touching down on the icy dustball.

Running out of power, Rosetta will join already-spent robot lab Philae in an eternal loop around the Sun on the surface of their new alien world.

The signal will die as the craft's antenna bends away from Earth.

Trouble is -- many children, even some adults, have come to think of the machines as cute cartoon characters -- a sister with her small brother bravely prodding and sniffing a comet and sending data back to Earth.

Do these storybook heroes now die?

Rosetta and Philae's exploits have made them rare science celebrities, each with its "own" Twitter account. They have sold T-shirts, hoodies and plush toys.

Cartoon videos endow the duo with human features -- eyes to see with, mouths for smiling, eyebrows that lift in amazement, as well as arms, hands and for Philae -- a pair of spindly legs.

They are made to exhibit emotions as well: affection, trepidation, courage and exhilaration.

Now the very people who gave birth to the endearing duo face a difficult task.

"In a sort of coldblooded way, we need to make sure that people understand that it really is over," said Mark McCaughrean, who has been closely involved in the mission's public profile.

"OK, we've created these loveable characters and so on, but there's a limit, it has to end."

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- Falling asleep -

The fairy tale began in January 2014, when Rosetta "woke up" after hibernating for nearly three years to conserve energy on her 10-year journey from Earth to 67P -- a veritable deep-space Sleeping Beauty.

ESA released the first cartoon video the previous month, entitled: "Once upon a time."

"We thought we wanted this idea of a fairy story, a princess being woken up, and that just took off -- it took off enormously," said McCaughrean.

Subsequent movies followed Rosetta's journey, Philae perched on her head and jumping up and down as he insists: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

The real drama came in November 2014, when Rosetta released Philae onto the comet surface.

A cartoon depicts Philae strapping on a pair of studded boots and a hard hat, stuffing a cheese sandwich and compass into a backpack, and bidding Rosetta a fond farewell before leaping boldly into space.

Things did not go according to plan.

Washing machine-sized Philae bounced several times before ending up in a shaded crevice, away from the Sun's battery-charging rays. It ran 60 hours worth of experiments and sent results home before entering standby mode.

In the ESA animation, the little lander falls asleep on the cold, dark comet surface, clutching a blanket, at the foot of a cliff it had decorated with photos and newspaper clippings.

"We didn't have to kill Philae. He was falling asleep," said McCaughrean.

The big question at the time was whether Philae would wake up again as the comet moved closer to the Sun.

It did, several times.

With Rosetta, however, the mission will end, irrevocably, as soon as the craft touches the comet surface.

- Gone forever -

The communications campaign was conceived, ESA chief executive Jan Woerner said, to account to the European public "where their taxes go".

"We're duty-bound to play this role with the European public, to try and inspire the new generation," added Fabio Favata of the agency's robotic exploration directorate.

In many ways, anthropomorphisation was an obvious choice. There were two protagonists, communicating with one another and cooperating on a decades-long odyssey into unexplored territory.

Nevertheless, the success surprised many.

Philae has nearly 450,000 Twitter followers. It's first message after briefly waking up in June 2015, "Hello Earth! Can you hear me?", was retweeted 30,000 times and 'liked' 25,000 times.

"I must be frank, it was... surprising, the level of public engagement," said Favata.

Even hard-nosed ESA scientists were taken in.

"The emotion which we will all feel next week, I think even in ESA there will be a degree of the anthropomorphisation," admitted McCaughrean.

For social and consumer psychologist Dimitrios Tsivrikos at University College London, the campaign worked because "it was playful, it was accessible and it allowed people to understand what might be happening without being intimidated."

"I'm a scientist as well, (and) when it comes to communicating about science I think in the past we've been a bit too harsh with the general public," he told AFP.

Tsivrikos does not expect mass mourning.

"At the end of every video game there's a fantastic line that says: 'Game over'," he said. "We are now accustomed to see characters dying."

The end.
Moscow (AFP) - Russia on Monday sought to deflect blame over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, accusing Kiev just days before the results of a Dutch criminal probe into the mass-killing are released.

Ukraine and the West insist pro-Russian rebels blew the Boeing 777 jet out of the sky over war-torn east Ukraine on July 17, 2014, with a missile system likely supplied by Moscow.

An international inquiry concluded last October that a Russian-made BUK missile fired from a zone held by pro-Russian separatists brought down the aircraft, but stopped short of saying who was responsible for killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

Russia and the rebels have consistently denied any role in downing the plane, releasing a series of sometimes contradictory claims that critics say are intended to confuse the issue.

At a specially arranged briefing on Monday, Russia's defence ministry released what it claimed were radar images showing that no missile fired from rebel-held territory in the east could have hit the plane.

"The fact that Ukraine has not yet released information from the radar station suggests that the location from which the missile was launched -- if it was a BUK -- was in territory controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces," Russian army commander Andrei Koban said.

"If the Malaysian Boeing was hit by a missile launched from any area located east of the crash site, it would have been detected by Russia's primary radar," Koban said, without explaining why Russian radar did not cover the areas west of the passenger jet's flight path.

The radar footage released by Russia on Monday appeared to directly contradict earlier claims by Moscow, made in the immediate aftermath of the incident, that a Ukrainian jet was spotted close to the doomed airliner.

Initial results from a Dutch-led criminal probe into the downing of flight MH17 are due to be revealed on Wednesday.

Investigators from the Netherlands -- where the majority of the passengers came from -- have said the results should shed more light on the type of missile used and exactly where it was fired from.

The downing of flight MH17 ratcheted up international tensions over the conflict in Ukraine that started in April 2014 after pro-Russian gunmen took over towns in the country's industrial east, and has since claimed some 9,600 lives.

The tragedy saw the European Union slap tougher sanctions on Russia -- blamed by the West for being behind the rebellion -- and the punitive measures remain in place as the fighting drags on.
Russia school bus farm

Russian Education and Science Minister Olga Vasilieva called for a return to mandatory farm labor for school children, according to Russian state-operated news agency RIA Novosti via The Moscow Times.

Vasilieva said that students should be placed in "agricultural brigades" and forced to clean schools "like we always used to do."

It is one of the first signals from Vasilieva, who was appointed by Russian president Vladimir Putin on August 9, on how she aims to govern her post.

Her move to revert back to some soviet-era schooling policies is, perhaps, unsurprising. Vasilieva reportedly praised Joseph Stalin in a lecture given to Kremlin leaders in 2013, The Moscow Times reported. Her praise of the former Soviet Union leader continues to worry her critics who do not wish to see a return to his ideals permeate the country.

Education under Soviet rule was highly centralized and placed emphasized collectivism and labor for school students.

Japan, too, has a history of using school children to keep buildings clean, NPR reported. In Japan, the practice intends to help students learn to be productive members of society.

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A Pakistan-born UK actor apologised Monday for using "unacceptable language" about Indians, which saw him fired from Britain's most popular TV soap.

Marc Anwar, 45, joined "Coronation Street", the world's longest-running TV soap opera, in 2014 as a member of the show's first Muslim family.

But he was sacked from the show after the Sunday Mirror newspaper published screenshots from his private Twitter account, which hit out at India over the Kashmir dispute.

"Indians killing our Kashmir brothers and sisters," he wrote.

He called Indians "b*****ds" and used other insulting terms.

"I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone that I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening, and especially people from India," he said in a video he uploaded to YouTube on Monday.

"This was never my intention. The language was unacceptable. I feel I've let a lot of people down: my family, my friends and my former colleagues.

"This I again very sincerely apologise for.

"On Friday evening I saw, on the news, children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir.

"This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out. I vented my anger.

"My feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir," he said.

"I hope that everyone that I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

His character, love cheat gym boss Sharif Nazir, will still appear in scenes that have already been filmed for upcoming episodes.

The actor has appeared in Hollywood films including "Captain Phillips" and "51st State".

"Coronation Street", which began in 1960, became the longest-running soap opera in the world in 2010.

Set in a fictional suburb of Manchester in northwest England, it remains one of Britain's most-watched programmes with around eight million viewers.

Guest stars have included Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne.
(Adds details)

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Sanofi SA said on Monday the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) approved $43.18 million in funding to accelerate the development of a Zika vaccine, as efforts to prevent the infection gather momentum.

The funding from the HHS' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will be used for mid-stage trials, expected to begin in the first half of 2018, and for manufacturing, the French drugmaker said.

The contract runs through June 2022, but if the data is positive, the contract includes an option for up to additional $130.45 million for late-stage trials necessary for eventual approval.

Work on the vaccine began in March as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department Of Defense's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), BARDA and the National Institutes of Health. Sanofi in July teamed up with WRAIR to co-develop the vaccine.

Earlier this month, BARDA gave Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co nearly $20 million in initial funding to develop a Zika vaccine.

Sanofi is one of the many companies around the world looking to develop a vaccine against the virus that has spread rapidly since the current outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil.

Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have been infected with Zika in the Americas and parts of Asia. Most have no symptoms or experience only a mild illness.

The virus can penetrate the womb in pregnant women, causing a rare but crippling birth defect known as microcephaly. In adults, it has been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a form of temporary paralysis.

Zika, a member of the flavivirus species that includes dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus, is typically spread by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

It can be also passed on through sex, a unique characteristic among mosquito-borne viruses.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine unit of Sanofi, already has several vaccines approved for others flaviviruses, such as yellow fever, dengue, and Japanese encephalitis.

As of September, the HHS has awarded at least $433 million in repurposed funds to support Zika response and preparedness activities.

(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
When your children are at school, you might expect that a school nurse will always be available to treat any health problems that arise. But according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, collected in 2014, only about half of schools have a registered nurse on staff for 30 hours or more during the week.

That runs counter to new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which call for every school to employ at least one full-time registered nurse regardless of school size. Previously, the group had called for one nurse for every 750 students in a school population that was generally healthy.

Whether your child needs an occasional bandage for a skinned knee or has a more complicated health conditionsuch as diabetes or asthmathat requires regular observation and care, heres what you need to know about school nurses.

Why There Aren't Enough School Nurses

Although there's a shortage of registered nurses in some parts of the country, the scarcity of full-time nurses in schools is more a function of education budget reductions, says Susan B. Hassmiller, Ph.D., R.N., a senior adviser for nursing with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. School nurse jobs are being cut," she notes, or nurses are being given more schools to oversee.

At the same time, school nurses are facing more challenging student health concerns. More youngsters are coming to school with complex medical needs, says Beth Mattey, M.S.N., R.N., president of the National Association of School Nurses. And for the 21 percent of children in the U.S. who live in poverty, a school nurse might help them access healthcare and better nutrition.

Who's Caring for Your Kids?

In schools that have a full-time nurse, youngsters are usually cared for by an R.N., who has, at minimum, a two-year degree, three-year diploma, or bachelors degree, or a licensed practical nurse, who has about a year of nursing education.

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But in other schools, students might be able to see a nurse only during certain hours, or they might not have access to any nurse at all. That leaves school staff to provide care.

So, for example, a teacher or school secretary might be in charge of getting help in an emergency, dispensing medication, or providing first aid. In some cases, teachers and staff might be required to be certified in first aid or CPR, but policies vary from state to state.

Safeguard Your Child's Health

What should you do to make sure your child is getting the right care during the school day? Take smart steps and ask questions such as the following:



Know who is caring for your child. Ask whether it's a nurse or someone else at your childs school, Mattey says. If its a nurse, find out if he or she is on-site full-time. If theres no full-time nurse, ask who's responsible for healthcare the rest of the time, and which staff members are trained to administer medication and have first-aid or CPR training.

Make sure the school has all the information it needs. Your school probably requires you to fill out an emergency contact form and have your pediatrician fill out a form detailing your childs health and medical needs. You might also have to sign a release form authorizing school staff to do whatever is needed in an emergency.

Be medication wise. Under normal circumstances, school nurses and other school personnel aren't allowed to give your child any medicine (prescription or over-the-counter) without your explicit permission. If your child needs prescription medication during the school day, on either a short-term basis (such as an antibiotic, for example) or regularly, youll need to provide written permission that authorizes the nurse (or another school employee) to administer medication you provide. Youll need to do the same if you want your child to be able to take an OTC pain reliever like ibuprofen (Advil and generic) when needed. If theres no full-time nurse, be sure to ask: Where will the medication be stored? Who will be administering it? Do they know when to give medication? Will someone call me first?

Know the emergency exception. In a medical emergency, the school nurse (or another designated employee) acts as a first responder, doing whatever is necessary to save your childs lifewithout phoning you first. At some schools, the medical authorization form you sign gives permission to the nurse or school staff to do whatever is necessary in an emergency. For example, some schools keep treatments such as epinephrine on hand in case a child has an unknown allergy thats triggered at school and needs immediate treatment for a severe allergic reaction.

If Your Child Has a Serious or Chronic Condition

If your child has asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, or another serious medical condition, your pediatrician should fill out an action plan for treatment. It should outline all the necessary elements of care, such as when a youngster with asthma should use a rescue inhaler for asthma, when a student with diabetes should be given insulin, or what steps should be taken in the case of a seizure.

Your school might provide you with an action plan form; otherwise, your childs doctors office might have one. You can also find condition-specific action plan templates from the following organizations:

The school should keep a copy of the plan on file. Mattey also recommends that parents talk with the school nurse or whoever is responsible for in-school care to make sure he or she understands any special care a student needs.

For the most part, if your child needs to take medication during the day, the drugs will be kept in the nurses office or with the school official designated to dispense medicine. Keep meds in their original package and make sure they're clearly labeled with your childs name. If he or she also uses the medication at home, work with your doctor so that you have one container at school and one at home.

Some schools allow students to carry certain medications with them in case of emergency, such as a rescue inhaler for asthma, an EpiPen for food allergies, or insulin for diabetes. Check with your school for its policy, and if your child carries medication during the day, make sure that the nurse has a backup in case it's left at home or lost.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Theres a bright spot in all of this: The CDC reports that almost 10 percent of schools have a full-time or part-time staff physician available to students. In addition, there are more than 2,300 school-based health centers nationwide. They provide primary care and often dental services, mental-health treatment, substance abuse counseling, and reproductive services for varying fees.

And some people are working to increase healthcare services in schools. Last February, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced a bill in Congress that would provide more funding for school nurses in low-income schools. Last year, Oregon created a task force to come up with new ways to pay for school nurses. And Philadelphia, which laid off many of its school nurses several years ago, has now placed a nurse in every school district building, according to a spokesperson.







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Huntington Beach (United States) (AFP) - Dogs big and small, and some in tandem with their owners, braved the large swell that greeted them at a surfing competition with a difference in California.

Some dogs bailed off their boards in spectacular wipeouts as waves pounded the shore, but that didn't prevent many of the pups from wagging their tails at the Surf City Surf Dog event in Huntington Beach.

Dogs and their owners came from as far away as Florida, Australia and Brazil for the eighth edition of the annual event in aid of animal charities.

The rides were the last and most popular phase of the three-day event that started Friday.

Canine and human competitors had 12 minutes to catch their top five waves, with judges evaluating them on their confidence level, length of ride and overall ability to ride the wave.

"We got some small, but mighty SurFurs out there," organizers said on Facebook.

The winner of the dog-only Shredder division was Bono, a Labrador owned by Ivan Moreira of Brazil.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will vote on Wednesday on whether to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill allowing relatives of victims in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. The vote, which Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell set as the chamber reconvened on Monday, would be the first action in an attempt by lawmakers to override Obama's Sept. 23 veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. A successful override requires support from two-thirds of lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives, which are controlled by Republicans. Known as JASTA, the legislation passed the Senate and House in reaction to long-running suspicions, denied by Saudi Arabia, that hijackers of the four U.S. jetliners that attacked the United States in 2001 were backed by the Saudi government. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. In vetoing the bill, Obama warned that other countries could use the law as an excuse to sue U.S. diplomats, members of the military or companies, even for actions of foreign organizations that had received U.S. aid, equipment or training. McConnell said Wednesday's vote will follow two hours of debate divided between Republicans and Democrats. No time for the vote has been set. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Sandra Maler and Dan Grebler)
Chicago (AFP) - A gunman wearing military attire with Nazi emblems opened fire in Houston just before daybreak, authorities said, wounding nine people before dying in a shootout with police.

The shooter was a Houston-area lawyer, the Texas city's police chief Martha Montalvo told a news conference. But authorities would not identify the man by name, pending further investigation and notification of his family.

Authorities and witnesses described a harrowing scene at approximately 6:30 am (1130 GMT), in which the shooter stood next to his car -- using a tree for cover -- and fired a rifle and a handgun indiscriminately at passing cars and at responding officers.

"The shots were coming almost non-stop. Four, five, six at a time," said Jaime Zamora, a cameraman for Houston television station KTRK, who witnessed some of the shooting. He estimated that between 30 and 50 shots were fired.

Local stations broadcast images of multiple cars with bullet holes and broken windows.

Of the nine people injured, six were sent to hospitals, while three were treated and released near the scene of the incident. One person was in critical condition and another in serious condition.

"We have high hopes that all these folks are going to survive their injuries," said David Persse, Houston's medical director.

When police responded to reports of gunfire, they engaged in a shootout with the suspect while approximately 25 yards (23 meters) apart, police said. No officers were injured.

"Multiple officers engaged the suspect, who was shooting randomly at passersby," Captain Dwayne Ready of the Houston Police Department told a late-afternoon news conference.

Federal authorities were assisting in the investigation. Houston police said they have found no connection to terrorism.

The shooter was wearing what appeared to be historic military clothing with Nazi emblems, and employed at least one gun that was popular among gangsters during America's prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s, police said.

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He used a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, a .45 caliber semi-automatic Thompson Carbine rifle, and had 2,600 rounds of live ammunition, police said. Both weapons were purchased legally, and the shooter had a concealed-carry license, the ATF said.

Authorities were unsure of the significance of the Nazi emblems, especially because they said they found other historic military paraphernalia in the shooter's apartment dating back to the Civil War.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK that it appeared the shooter may have been disgruntled over his law firm, which "went awry." But law enforcement said they were not yet ready to ascribe a motive to the gunman's actions.

"We are looking at everything. We are not closing the door on anything," Ready said.

Police were still in search of bullet entry points in cars and inside homes on Monday afternoon, within the residential area of southwest Houston where the incident took place.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP:

To: All Persons or Entities who purchased Bats Global Markets, Inc. ("Bats") (BATS:BATS) stock prior to September 26, 2016.

You are hereby notified that Levi & Korsinsky, LLP has commenced an investigation into the fairness of the sale of Bats to CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE). Under the terms of the transaction, Bats shareholders will receive $10.00 per share in cash and 0.3201 of a share of CBOE common stock, for a total value of approximately $32.50 per share. The agreement also allows Bats shareholders to seek all cash or all stock, subject to proration and adjustment. To learn more about the action and your rights, go to: http://zlk.9nl.com/bats-global-bats or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@zlk.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise in prosecuting securities litigation involving financial fraud, representing investors throughout the nation in securities lawsuits and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. For more information, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys listed below. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP

Joseph E. Levi, Esq.

Eduard Korsinsky, Esq.

30 Broad Street - 24th Floor

New York, NY 10004

Tel: (212) 363-7500

Toll Free: (877) 363-5972

Fax: (212) 363-7171

www.zlk.com

SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of PAREXEL Corporation ("PAREXEL" or the "Company") (PRXL). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

[Click here to join a class action]

The investigation concerns whether PAREXEL and certain of its officers and/or directors have violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

On August 30, 2016, post-market, PAREXEL disclosed that the Company was delaying the filing of its 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K after receiving a report "of an incident of misappropriation of corporate funds by an employee in one of the Company's international operations."

On this news, PAREXEL stock fell $3.08, or 4.33%, to close at $68.03 on August 31, 2016.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Florida, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
Paris (AFP) - French unemployment rose sharply in August, reaching its highest level in years and dealing a serious blow to President Francois Hollande ahead of next year's election.

The number of unemployed in mainland France grew by over 50,000, or 1.4 percent, to 3.56 million, according to the labour ministry.

The rise was the biggest in a single month since January 2013 and follows on a slight decrease in July.

The government said the jihadist attacks in Nice and Normandy in July, which led to a significant fall in tourism, were partly to blame.

Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri said the new figures were "sharply less favourable than those for previous months".

She explained that some sectors had been particularly badly hit by the recent terror attacks.

The economy had been punctured in "areas linked to tourism, notably hotels, restaurants and the leisure industry," the minister said.

The number of unemployed in all of France, including overseas territories, now stands at 3.81 million, the labour ministry said.

The figures are a further setback for the unpopular Hollande, who has said he will not stand for re-election April if he has not made a "credible" dent in unemployment.

Over the past year the number of unemployed has fallen by only 10,900. In the second quarter the unemployment rate was 9.6 percent.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is a candidate for next year's presidential election, said the government was following "an economic policy lacking good sense".

But Mathieu Plane of economic think tank OFCE said the size of the unemployment rise was "worrying" and can't all be explained away by the attacks.

"It is also clear that growth has stalled, after a recovery phase up to the first quarter of 2016," the analyst said.
By Marilyn Haigh ANTWERP, Belgium (Reuters) - Europes second-biggest port has cut a distinct new shape into its skyline. Architect Zaha Hadid's Antwerp Port House, officially opened this week, integrates modern design with the city's history as a pioneer global trading hub and diamond center. Made of 2,000 triangular glass panels, it cost 55 million euros ($62 million). During construction, some Antwerpers saw a ship or a diamond emerging from the brick-built old dockside fire station upon which the Iraqi-born Briton, who died in March, built the new structure, said Antwerp Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx. Leave it to the imagination of people, said Bruyninckx, whose staff will work in the new building overlooking the Scheldt estuary. Be it a diamond, be it a ship, we are happy to live in it. The port authority chose a spot between the port and city center for its new headquarters, where 500 employees will work. Ranked second in Europe behind the neighboring Dutch Rhine Delta city of Rotterdam, the Belgian port is growing fast. Just months before completion, Hadid died suddenly at 65. The Port House adds to her legacy of eye-catching buildings around the world, including the Guangzhou Opera House in China and the London Aquatics Centre built for the 2012 Olympics. Project manager Joris Pauwels said Hadid was adamant about preserving the fire station. The original square building did not have a main facade, so the architects decided to layer the addition on top of the structure to avoid obscuring the front. Concrete pillars and 900 tonnes of steel hold the glass workspace above the fire station, Pauwels said. A bridge level joins the two structures and gives employees a 360-degree view of the port and public square below. After her death, the city council amended its street plan to rename it Zaha Hadidplein or Zaha Hadid Square. (Additional reporting by Hortense de Roffignac; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Ralph Boulton)
Announces Certain Management Changes

ORLANDO, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / On September 26, 2016, Sibling Group Holdings, Inc. (SIBE) (the "Company") and Global Personalized Academics ("GPA") announced that the Company has filed a Form 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to voluntarily deregister its shares of common stock under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). As a result of this filing, the Company's obligation to file certain reports (Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K) with the SEC was immediately suspended. Other filing requirements will terminate upon the effectiveness of the Form 15, which is expected to occur 90 days after filing.

The Company's Board of Directors considered many factors before approving the voluntary deregistration, including the time and costs of preparing and filing periodic reports with the SEC, increased outside accounting, audit, legal, insurance, and other costs and expenses necessary to comply with the reporting requirements under the Exchange Act, and the low trading volume in the Company's common stock.

As a result of the filing of the Form 15, the Company anticipates that its shares will continue to be quoted on OTC Pink Marketplace under the ticker symbol "SIBE". However, no assurances can be given that trading of its common stock will continue in the OTC Pink Marketplace or in any other forum or market, and there can be no assurances that any trading market for the Company's common stock will develop after the deregistration process is complete.

The Company also announced the reorganization of its senior management team and Board of Directors. The executive team agreed that, in order to continue conserving resources and serving customers with excellence, several of its members would step aside once their goals of right-sizing the organization and substantially reducing debt had been met. This reorganization includes the resignation of Julie Young as Chief Executive Officer, and the promotion of Pam Birtolo, current Chief Operating Officer, to the position of President and David Dai, member of the Company's Board of Directors to Interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Todd Jones and Mr. Michael Horn have resigned as members of the Board of Directors. Mr. Horn, as well as Ms. Young, will continue to serve the new management team as ongoing and unpaid advisers.

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Despite strengthening our core business and completion of a restructuring, the Company achieved lower-than-expected revenues in the year ended June 30, 2016 of approximately $2.0 million, resulting in a net loss of approximately $5.2 million. The net loss was principally attributable to certain fixed and variable costs to support the anticipated business in China that did not materialize during the fiscal year. As a result of the substantial net loss, the Company had approximately $395,000 in cash and cash equivalents at year-end. Going forward, management will continue to reduce costs while focusing on existing contracts and clients to achieve profitability.

Investors are encouraged to visit our website located at GPAed.com, where management intends to post future developments and other items of possible interest to investors.

About Sibling Group Holdings, Inc. and GPA

Global Personalized Academics (GPA) is an innovative education company that provides unique educational opportunities for students and teachers around the world. GPA supports schools and students through its online course licensing, U.S. online academy and International dual-diploma program. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, GPA was formed from Sibling Group Holdings, Inc. (SIBE) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Blended Schools Network. For more information, visit www.gpaed.com.

SOURCE: Sibling Group Holdings, Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Silver One Resources Inc. (SVE.V) (BRK1.F) (SLVRF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results at the Company's annual general and special meeting held on September 23, 2016 (the "Meeting").

Shareholders voted in favor of all items put forward by the Board of Directors. Shareholders set the number of directors at five and approved the appointment of Greg Crowe, Luke Norman, W. Barry Girling, Claudia Tornquist and Raul Diaz-Unzueta to the Board of Directors. Ms. Tornquist and Mr. Diaz are newly appointed directors and Robert McMorran did not stand for re-election as a director of the Company. The biographies of Ms. Tornquist and Mr. Diaz are set forth in a news release dated August 22, 2016. The Company wishes to thank Mr. McMorran for his services as a director of the Company.

Ms. Tornquist is an independent consultant in the metals and mining sector and a director of Kennady Diamonds and Dunnedin Ventures. She previously served as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Sandstorm Gold and as General Manager at Rio Tinto where she held a number of roles in business evaluation, M&A, strategy and business development over 9 years. Ms. Tornquist has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich and a Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD.

Mr. Diaz is an exploration geologist with 35 years of experience, much of it with Penoles where he discovered several mines including the Mezcala/Bermejal deposit, part of Goldcorp's Los Filos operation in Mexico, and Capajorco in Peru. He also spearheaded Penoles' internationalization by opening and managing the Peruvian subsidiary until 1999. He has served as V.P. Exploration and Director of First Mining Finance, a successor company of Sundance Minerals Ltd. that he cofounded in 2008. Raul received a Geological Engineering degree from the University of Mexico and master degrees from the University of Arizona and Cleveland State University.

Shareholders also approved the adoption of the Company's rolling 10% stock option plan and adopted a new set of Articles to include, among other things, an "Advance Notice Policy". The purpose of the Advance Notice Policy is to provide a clear process for the shareholders, directors and management to follow when nominating directors of the Company. Such a policy will ensure that shareholders receive adequate notice of director nominations and sufficient information regarding all director nominees and to allow shareholders to register an informed vote after having been afforded reasonable time for appropriate deliberation.

The Advance Notice Policy, among other things, includes a provision that requires advance notice to the Company in certain circumstances where nominations of persons for election to the board of directors are made by shareholders of the Company. This Advance Notice Policy also sets a deadline by which director nominations must be submitted to the Company prior to any annual general or special meeting of the shareholders and also sets out the required information that must be included in the notice to the Company. No person will be eligible for election as a director of the Company unless nominated in accordance with the Advance Notice Policy.

In the case of an annual meeting of shareholders, notice to the Company must be made not less than 30 nor more than 65 days prior to the date of the annual meeting; provided, however, that, in the event that the annual meeting is to be held on a date that is less than 50 days after the date on which the first public announcement of the date of the annual meeting was made, notice may be made not later than the close of business on the 10th day following such public announcement.

In the case of a special meeting of shareholders (which is not also an annual meeting), notice to the Company must be made not later than the close of business on the 15th day following the day on which the first public announcement of the date of the special meeting was made.

For more information, please contact:

Silver One Resources Inc.

Greg Crowe, CEO and President

(604) 974-5274

info@silverone.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's limited operating history, the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations and its ability to complete its acquisition and private placement financing. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

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.

SOURCE: Silver One Resources Inc.
Singapore (AFP) - A Singapore firm headed by a scion of one of Asia's richest families has bought a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone, with plans to diversify the iconic magazine into new business including live events and merchandising.

BandLab Technologies, a music and technology start-up headed by 28-year-old Kuok Meng Ru, bought the stake for an undisclosed sum and will partner current owners Wenner Media, the firms said in a statement late Sunday.

Rolling Stone International, a new subsidiary to be headed by Kuok, will organise events including concerts, and develop merchandising and hospitality services, Bloomberg News reported.

Rolling Stone International will "build on the brand's worldwide appeal and recognition", the statement added.

BandLab will have no involvement in the editorial side of the magazine, and will not have a stake in Wenner Media, Bloomberg reported.

Kuok is the son of Singapore palm oil magnate Kuok Khoon Hong -- founder of Wilmar International, the industry's biggest trader -- and grand-nephew of Robert Kuok, Malaysia's richest man who is worth more than $11 billion according to Forbes.

"Rolling Stone's impact on culture over the years has been immeasurable and I'm truly honoured to be joining the team on the next phase of its journey," said Kuok, a Cambridge graduate.

BandLab Technologies' portfolio already includes a cloud platform and social network for musicians, a music-making website, an instrument accessory design studio and Swee Lee, Southeast Asia's largest distributor of audio equipment and musical instruments.

"We are thrilled to have found an extraordinary partner for Rolling Stone as we focus on the brands global expansion," Gus Wenner, Wenner Media's head of digital, said in a statement.

"We see an enormous opportunity to diversify the brand into new markets and new areas of business."

-- Guitars and Bob Dylan --

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An information and communications technology analyst said the deal was another case of a traditional print brand with a struggling business model attempting to survive in the digital age by diversifying.

"All the money in the music industry now is related to ancillary services like concerts, merchandise, digital, all these kinds of things," Marc Einstein from business consultancy Frost & Sullivan told AFP.

But Einstein noted that venturing into digital marketing comes with its own challenges.

"When competing as a magazine, Rolling Stone only had so many competitors. But when it's competing on YouTube or on a website basis, there are millions of competitors," he said.

Music and pop culture magazine Rolling Stone was founded in 1967 by Gus Wenner's father, Jann S. Wenner, and Ralph Gleason with a $7,500 loan from friends and family.

According to Singapore daily The Straits Times, the deal has been in the works for some 15 months after Kuok was introduced to Gus Wenner.

Bloomberg said the two struck up a friendship over their common interest in guitars and Bob Dylan.

At the time, the Wenners were looking for a way to expand their reach in Asia, home to more than half the world's population.

"It became much bigger than what we began with," Kuok told Bloomberg.

"It was really more of a meeting of minds and visions and long-term partnership that made it possible."

In addition to its focus on pop music, Rolling Stone forged its reputation by featuring some of the best American writers -- such as Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson -- and by turning its covers into showcases for top photographers and controversial subjects.

New York-based Wenner Media owns and publishes 12 international editions of the magazine, as well as Us Weekly and Men's Journal.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's BandLab Technologies will buy 49 percent of Rolling Stone magazine from publisher Wenner Media and plans to expand the business into new markets and boost its profile in Asia, the two companies said in a statement.

The acquisition could lift the music magazine's brand in Asia, where its name does not go as far. It also highlights the struggles of the publishing industry as advertising revenues fall in an increasingly competitive online age.

BandLab, led and co-founded by Kuok Meng Ru, the 28-year-old son of Singaporean palm oil tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, is a group of companies making products for music creators and fans.

The statement gave no financial details of the deal.

"We see an enormous opportunity to diversify the brand into new markets and new areas of business," Gus Wenner, head of digital of Wenner Media, said in the statement.

Rolling Stone publishes 12 international editions in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Russia, and says it reaches an audience of over 65 million people.

The magazine is also known for edgy reporting typified by correspondents like Matt Taibbi, who skewered Wall Street titans during the global financial crisis, and the late Hunter S. Thompson, originator of the gonzo style of first-person journalism.

(Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Brussels (AFP) - The sister of a jihadist killed in a terror raid in Belgium last year has been arrested and charged with terrorist activity, a prosecutor said on Monday.

Chaimaa Amghar, 20, was arrested in the Brussels district of Molenbeek on September 21 after police traced social media messages indicating she was attempting to "commit acts of terror-linked crimes in a conflict zone", the source said.

The suspect is the sister of Sofiane Amghar, one of two suspected Islamic State members killed in a raid in the eastern city of Verviers in January 2015.

Prosecutors later said the group was was under the orders of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of the terror cell that attacked Paris on November 13, 2015.

The two men killed in the Verviers raid, Sofiane Amghar and Khalid Ben Larbi, went to Syria to join IS in April 2014.

Theu then slipped back into Belgium to the Verviers hideout.

Authorities have said the November Paris and March Brussels attacks were the work of the same cross-border jihadist group with deep roots in the Belgian capital.
Russian war crimes in Syria? What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter terrorism, it is barbarism, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, charged at a volatile U.N. Security Council session Sunday, as other members slammed Moscow and Damascus for potentially carrying out war crimes.

Hundreds have been killed in Aleppo since the Syrian regime called off the ceasefire last Monday. Matthew Rycroft, British ambassador to the UN, added that despite the recent ceasefire, the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo.

More bombs, more guns for rebels. Russian and Syrian jets have opened the floodgates on airstrikes and a ground offensive in rebel-held portions of Aleppo after what is widely believed to be Russian planes bombed a U.N. aid convoy last week, killing 20 and destroying about 20 trucks full of food and medicine. The strike ripped to shreds the U.S./Russian peace deal. Syrian rebels, however, are expecting a new batch of heavy weapons to begin flowing from their benefactors in the Gulf states.

Strikes driving rebels to al Qaeda. The failure to halt the fighting is not only a disaster for Syrian civilians, it could also accelerate the merger of mainstream rebel groups in Aleppo with Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS), an al Qaeda-affiliated group formerly known as the Nusra Front, FPs John Hudson reports. Were seeing everything being done to force together all the groups inside Aleppo today, Bassma Kodmani, a senior member of the Syrian oppositions High Negotiations Committee, told Foreign Policy. Thats a deadly direction for everyone.

Would you go to war over Scarborough Shoals? For the moment, at least, the answer coming from Beijing is no. For years, Chinese ships have been hovering around the outcropping of rocks just off the coast of the Philippines, but the Chinese have backed off a bit recently, now that the possibility of relations with the new government in Manilla may be taking a turn for the better. It would be irrational to build it into a fortress now, Zhang Baohui, a professor of international relations at Lingnan University in Hong Kong told the New York Times. The government would like the Philippines to at least remain neutral in the rivalry between the United States and China. Now at least they have a chance.

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Mosul, on the calendar. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday was pretty blunt about when the much-anticipated fight for Mosul will kick off, saying the battle for Mosul against Daesh will kick off on October 19 and that we all have to be prepared for this event, according to a report from Rudaw, a Kurdish news source. He didnt provide the time of day or the angles of approach, but the date, we suspect, is now guaranteed not to be the 19th.

Several U.S. officials have said the assault is likely to begin in the next few weeks, the latest of which was, Brig. Gen. William F. Mullen III, recently returned from a tour in Iraq as deputy commander of operations for the U.S.-led effort. He said last week that, I think itll probably happen in October. I dont think its going to take very long. For what its worth, Erdogan also said that if the U.S. can keep the Kurds out of the fight for the ISIS capital of Raqqa, Turkey is more than willing to take part in the fighting.

Pirates grounded? No cargo ship has been successfully hijacked off the coast of Somalia since the spring of 2012. This year, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported only three incidents. But, FPs Dan De Luce notes, the bad news is that while the counterpiracy recipe seems to have worked, shipping companies are already warning about complacency. Many fear that the United States and other navies operating in the area could declare victory and go home, potentially allowing pirates to return.

Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley

North Korea

American and South Korean ships, aircraft, and submarines on Monday launched a major operation off the souths coast designed to send a strong message of unified resolve against continuing acts of North Korean aggression, according to a statement from the U.S. Pacific Command. This operation showcases the unwavering strength and resolve of the U.S. and ROK navies, said Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. We are by their side today at sea, and we will remain by their side to defend against North Koreas unprovoked acts of aggression.

Paris, Farnborough, Zhuhai, uh, Wonsan? North Korea held its first air show this weekend, the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival. In keeping with the Norths international isolation, the big aviation powers were a no-show. While North Korean Air Force MiG-29s and SU-25s were on display, the closest attendees got to a foreign warplane were scale models of an American F-16 and Chinese J-10. On the southern side of the 38th parallel, the U.S. Air Force held a small air expo of its own, showing off the B-1B bomber to visitors at Osan Air Base for some deterrence PR.

Washington isnt willing to negotiate over its planned deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, as part of international efforts to forge a new set of U.N. sanctions on North Korea after its latest nuclear test. Its critical to get Chinas signoff on any new plan, but Beijing objects strongly to the deployment, saying the systems radar will be able to peek into Chinese territory. Daniel Russel, the senior U.S. diplomat for East Asia, rejected the idea that the THAAD deployment could be part of the talks, saying Friday, no. The two countries have made a decision, to send to South Korea.

Japan

Another day, another move in the increasingly-less subtle claim of territorial brinksmanship in the South China Sea. The latest incident, according to the BBC, involved Japan scrambling fighter jets after Chinese military aircraft flew by Okinawa and Miyakojima. China says its aircraft, which included a bomber and fighter jet, were out and about on exercises. The incident didnt involve any violation of Japanese airspace, but highlights the uncomfortable proximity and increasingly tense atmosphere in the region.

Iraq

American troops in Iraq are using controversial white phosphorus munitions in the war against the Islamic State. The Washington Post spotted the M825A1 155mm rounds in photographs of an Army artillery unit based in Iraq. The controversy over the munitions hinges on how theyre used. Firing the munitions to provide smoke or illumination is generally acceptable, but militaries can run afoul of international law when using them against human targets or in populated areas. Its unclear at the moment how American troops are using the rounds in Iraq.

Gaza

Israel is close to finishing a 40-mile long underground wall meant to block the building of underground tunnels by Hamas in Gaza. The AP reports that the wall burrows several yards deep in an attempt to build what Israeli Defense Force officials say will be a death trap for Hamas forces. Hamas has used tunnels to carry out attacks on Israelis and smuggle weapons and good into Gaza.

Zombie propaganda

al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulas former top propagandist is helping to inspire terrorists from beyond the grave. Investigators looking into the alleged bombings in New York and New Jersey carried out by Ahmad Khan Rahami say theyve discovered Rahami was a big fan of the jihadist American cleric, killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011. And hes not alone. A study carried out by New York University researchers found that 25 percent of American court cases involving the Islamic State touch on Awlaki in some way.

SecDef

Defense Secretary Ash Carter is set to give a speech on nuclear weapons at Minot Air Force Base on Monday. Despite his background as a physicist and nuclear weapons policy specialist, Carter has been hesitant to talk nukes as defense secretary, waiting until the waning weeks of the Obama administration to broach the subject in a speech. Carter has, however, been keener to talk about the other countries nuclear weapons, mostly about the threat they pose.

Saudi Arabia

Support for the U.S.-Saudi relationship in Washington used to be a bipartisan given, but while theres no sign of America ditching Riyadh anytime soon, doubters in Congress are starting to speak up. Twenty-seven senators voted against a $1.15 billion arms deal with the Kingdom last week, ultimately losing but displaying more willingness to challenge the nature of the relationship, as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). Congress also looks set to override a veto from President Barack Obama over his rejection of legislation that would allow 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government  the first and so far only veto override of the Obama presidency.

Photo Credit: THAER MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images
Protesters took to small boats in Venice on Sunday evening (September 25) to demonstrate against huge cruise ships being allowed to pass through the Italian city's canals. Sounding horns and lighting colored flares, the protesters waved banners which read "No Big Ships", as a Thomson Celebration cruise ship sailed down the central Giudecca canal to the international cruise ship terminal. Protests by Venice residents and environmentalists concerned about the damage caused by increasing cruise ship traffic to the fragile city, one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, have been on the rise in recent years. But local authorities and cruise ship owners say the passage of these huge vessels provides the local area with thousands of jobs. In 2013, legislation was brought in banning the largest ships of more than 96,000 tonnes from crossing the Giudecca canal. The number of smaller ships using the canal was limited to five a day. However, that legislation was overturned at the end of 2015. At over 33,000 tonnes, the Thomson Celebration cruise ship is one of the smaller liners to pass down the canal on a daily basis.
Tokyo (AFP) - A Japanese bullet train was forced to make an emergency stop on Monday after a snake was found slithering between the seats, local media reported.

A passenger spotted the 30 centimetre (12 inch) serpent poking between a gap in the seats, prompting the train, travelling between Tokyo and Hiroshima to stop and allow police to capture the slippery stowaway.

Despite its menacing appearance, the brown snake was not believed to be poisonous and no injuries were reported, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, speculating that the reptile could be a juvenile ratsnake.

Train staff made announcements asking if any passengers had misplaced a snake, but no one came forward and police were still looking for the owner, media added.

Japan's bullet trains are famous for their punctuality and the Nozomi 103 service was no exception, arriving in Hiroshima right on time despite the reptilian intrusion.

Five years ago a metre-long Honduran milk snake, also non-venomous despite its fearsome red and black stripes, was discovered on a bullet train near Kyoto, bringing it to a halt.

Bullet train operators prohibit passengers from bringing animals other than small birds or fish in containers on board.

Where seemingly benign issues such as leaves on the track can delay trains in Britain, bullet trains rarely stop in Japan, where it usually takes a major incident such as a suicide or an earthquake to bring them to a halt.
Madrid (AFP) - Spain's Socialist leader faced mounting pressure Monday to let acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy form a new government and end a months-long political impasse, after his party suffered losses in two regional elections.

The Socialist party (PSOE) lost ground in Sunday's elections in the northern regions of Galicia and the Basque Country to new anti-austerity party Podemos, which is seeking to replace it as Spain's main party on the left.

The PSOE finished fourth in the Basque region, behind Podemos, and was tied in Galicia with the En Marea coalition which includes Podemos with 14 seats each.

Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) renewed its absolute majority in Galicia and lost just one seat in the Basque Country.

Pablo Casado, a senior PP member, said Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez "needs to reflect" and allow Rajoy to form a new government and end a months-long political impasse.

But Sanchez told a news conference that his opposition to a PP-led minority government had not changed.

"The 'no' to Mr Rajoy... has never been more justified," he said in his first public comments since the regional polls.

Spain is being run by a government without full powers after inconclusive elections in December and June that saw the PP win without an absolute majority and other parties fail to forge a rival coalition.

Rajoy's PP is six seats short of the absolute majority of 176 seats it needs in a parliamentary confidence vote, even with the support of centrist party Ciudadanos, and one extra seat from a minor Canary Islands party.

The Socialists scored their worst ever showing in both elections, finishing second.

An abstention by the party would be enough to enable a PP-led minority government under Rajoy, in power since 2011.

Parliament must usher in a new government by October 31 otherwise new elections will take place, around Christmas.

- 'Deep debate' -

Rajoy did not directly address Sanchez on Monday, saying only that all political forces needed to "show responsibility" to end the lengthy political impasse which he dubbed a "pitiful show".

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The PP "will continue to try to form a government because it is its obligation," he added.

Sanchez voted against a Rajoy-led government in a parliamentary vote of confidence earlier this month.

He opposes austerity measures imposed by the PP and argues that allegations of illegal financing and graft that have dogged the conservative party under Rajoy's watch have undermined his credibility.

Sanchez reiterated his wish to negotiate a "government of change" with arch-rival Podemos and centrists Ciudadanos.

But this strategy is complicated by the fact that Ciudadanos has steadfastly refused to be part of an alliance with Podemos, in large part due to differences over economic policy.

Sanchez is unpopular among many regional party leaders, or "barons", who think the party should help put an end to Spain's nine-month deadlock by admitting defeat, allowing a right-wing coalition government led by acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to come to power.

Sanchez acknowledged there was a "deep debate" within the party over which path to take and announced he would seek backing for his stance a party leaders meeting on Saturday.

"I think it is very important that the Socialist party speak with a single voice," he said.

Sanchez also announced he would call for a leadership race on October 23 to renew his position at the helm of the party.

"Whoever thinks they can do better should throw in their hat," he said.
"Star Wars" actress Daisy Ridley and Elizabeth Debicki have joined the cast of Sony's live-action/animated film "Peter Rabbit," based on the fictional character made famous in Beatrix Potter's children's stories.

The two will join James Corden (voicing "Peter Rabbit") and Rose Byrne (starring in the live-action female lead role of "Bea"), on the feature, which will be helmed by director Will Gluck from a screenplay by Rob Lieber (via Variety).

The adaptation will be made at Animal Logic, the Sydney-based animation and visual effects production studio behind the global blockbuster "The Lego Movie".

Production on "Peter Rabbit" is scheduled to kick-off in January 2017 and is set for worldwide release in April 2018.
I grew up in the age of Sputnik and the space race. Like most of the youth of my generation, we were challenged in school to beat the Russians to space, driven by President John F. Kennedys promise to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

As I reread that speech, delivered on Sept. 12, 1962, Im struck by how much Kennedy focused on the role technology played in history, and the Presidents vision of how it could impact our future:

To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead. The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school.

Kennedys speech became the rallying cry for my generation. Tens of thousands of students took his challenge seriously. This gave us the engineers, scientists, mathematicians and educators who not only delivered on the promise of putting a man on the moon, but also helped create the core technology enabling modern tools from the Internet to advances in healthcare.

In essence, this challenge to conquer space and make technology a key part of our world in the 60s and 70s became one of the great equalizers of my generation, driving economic growth and setting the stage for many technological breakthroughs of the latter part of the last century.

But educators tell me that by the mid-1980s, without a similar push by either the U.S. government or the schools to emphasize science, technology, engineering and math (STEM for short), we lost almost two decades of youth who chose to go into other fields of learning.

It was not until the tech boom of the late 1990s that we started seeing an uptick in the number of students getting degrees in STEM fields. Theyre now many of the people driving our current technology revolution in fields like computing, communications, virtual reality and more.

Story continues

In a recent piece here in TIME, I wrote about seven areas of explosive growth in tech that will drive our world and economy over the next 10-15 years. There, I said that for us to achieve this level of growth, well need millions of new workers skilled in STEM. At the moment, we just dont have enough of these skilled tech workers to make my vision of a connected world a reality. In fact, when I talk to big companies like Boeing, Intel, Qualcomm and so on, they fear that, as they grow, they will not have enough tech-educated staff to meet their engineering needs. One estimate says there will be 2.4 million STEM-based job vacancies in 2018 alone.

The good news is that there is currently a very strong movement focused on STEM education that, like the space race of the past, has the potential to become the great equalizer of this next generation of workers. Demand for people with STEM skills will only increase, and these workers will be at the heart of the next major tech breakthroughs for the first half of this century.

This push in STEM is partially led by the Maker Movement, which has the support of the White House and many politicians nationwide. Meanwhile, companies like Chevron, Boeing, Intel and others are also supporting STEM skills, in part no doubt to ensure theyll have a talent pipeline to draw from in future years. (A good primer in the Maker Movement and its importance comes from a new book by Dale Dougherty and Tim OReilly titled Free to Make: How the Maker Movement is Changing Our Schools, Our Jobs, and Our Minds. In the book, Dougherty echoes some of the concerns I mention above.)

Special STEM programs are emerging in our schools and through privately funded programs nationwide. Business leaders, educators and lawmakers know that technology will fuel our future, and they understand that preparing the youth of today for the jobs of tomorrow must become a major priority.

Tim Bajarin is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts and futurists, covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin is the President of Creative Strategies, Inc. and has been with the company since 1981 where he has served as a consultant providing analysis to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry.
Stocks slipping late in the trading day, with the showdown between Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump looming tonight. Catch The Final Round with Jen Rogers and Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer.

Winners and losers

Stocks sinking with the broader market include Lands End after the retailer announced the resignation of its CEO, Deutsche Bank on investor concerns over a potential capital raise ahead of an anticipated settlement with the Justice Department, and Retailmenot. Shares of the coupon website falling after a downgrade to sell at Stifel Nicolaus, noting that third-party data suggests that current quarter traffic has deteriorated.

On the flip side, stocks in the green today include chemical firm Chemtura after accepting a $2.4 billion buyout offer from German chemical maker Lanxess, ATM maker Diebold on an upgrade to overweight at JPMorgan, and GW Pharmaceuticals. Shares of the British biotech firm surging after it announced promising clinical trial results for its cannabis-based epilepsy treatment, paving the way for regulatory approval.

Microsofts next big bet

Microsoft is leading the way with its HoloLens project. Yahoo Finances Dan Howley explains why augmented reality could the future of digital.

Looking ahead
By Junko Fujita and Taro Fuse TOKYO (Reuters) - The plan to sell beleaguered Takata Corp <7312.T> to a rescuer, slated by year-end, is likely to extend into next year as some bidders want to drag the air bag maker through bankruptcy to wipe out most of its debt, people with knowledge of the matter said. But creditors such as Honda Motor Co Ltd <7267.T> are likely to resist any bailout that includes bankruptcy because they would have to swallow significant losses, the people said. The ensuing tussle could take months to resolve, the people said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Takata faces about 1 trillion yen ($10 billion) in costs to recall potentially faulty air bag inflators worldwide, according to market estimates. There is also the prospect of legal liabilities related to the inflators which have been linked to at least 14 deaths, mainly in the United States. The firm received bailout bids from five groups last week. Its steering committee hopes to name a sponsor next month and complete restructuring plans by December, the people said. But that timeline is overly ambitious, they said, given the need to agree on how to share the losses among Takata's many stakeholders, which include creditors and both Japanese and foreign automakers. A spokesman representing Takata's steering committee declined to comment. Moreover, an investor is unlikely to be confirmed unless Takata files for bankruptcy, which would establish the extent of liabilities, one of the people said. Bidders include Japanese inflator maker Daicel Corp <4202.T> in partnership with U.S. buyout firm Bain Capital, and U.S. air bag maker Key Safety Systems which is likely to team up with U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group LP , the people said. U.S. buyout firm KKR & Co LP has also bid, they said. Automakers including Honda and Volkswagen AG have recalled vehicles containing more than 100 million Takata inflators after it was discovered that a chemical compound in their propellant can explode. Takata needs an investor to help overhaul its business and shoulder ballooning costs related to the recall. Its stock has tumbled nearly 90 percent since early 2014, when the problems first spread. Takata's steering committee has retained investment bank Lazard Ltd as advisor in its search for an investor. The people with knowledge of the matter said one means of securing an investor would be to wipe out current shareholders by devaluing equities to zero and allowing the sponsor to control 100 percent of Takata. Lawyers specializing in corporate restructuring, who are not involved in the Takata deal, said such a scenario would be easier if the company seeks bankruptcy. (Reporting by Junko Fujita and Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
susan fiske

On Thursday, I wrote an article about a firestorm in the field of psychology.

Susan Fiske, a Princeton University social psychologist and former president of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), had written a column for the newsletter APS Observer arguing that there was a serious problem of anonymous, ad-hominem attacks among researchers in the field. She accused psychologists, who she did not name, of what she termed "methodological terrorism."

The column leaked online ahead of its scheduled publication, and sparked a firestorm of ridicule and critique.

Many researchers say that there's a "replication crisis" in the field of psychology, with many prominent results based on faulty statistics. An algorithm, known as "statcheck," is trawling through old psychology papers looking for errors and posting them publicly. A significant portion of interested people on social media interpreted Fiske's letter and her accusations as a response to the discussion around the replication crisis.

Andrew Gelman, a Columbia University statistician and political scientist who has advanced some of the statistical criticisms driving the debate, wrote a long post on his blog in which he detailed the history of the crisis. He maintained that Fiske exists within a "dead paradigm" of statistically problematic psychology, and that her incentive is to deny systemic problems in order to protect her position in the research establishment.

I included Gelman's post in my coverage. But Fiske was preparing to fly back to the United States from a conference in Germany at the time I was writing, and was not available for comment. However, she made time Friday morning to speak with me by telephone.

A note: Due to the direct nature of some of the specific claims Fiske made in the course of our conversation, we offered Gelman a chance to respond to excerpts from this transcript before publication. You can find his response, emailed to Business Insider Sunday evening, at the bottom of this post.

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What follows is a transcript of my conversation with Fiske, edited minimally for length and clarity.

Rafi Letzter: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I wonder if you could start by talking me through the context for your column in APS Observer?

Susan Fiske: I was invited by the current president of the APS. She had heard, with some shock, from some of the people who have been particularly harassed. And so she asked me if I would write about it. I was reluctant, because I knew I would be putting myself on the line. But I decided that somebody needs to speak for the people who are too afraid to speak.

I have not been personally targeted that much, but I have had conversations with, I would say, 20 or 30 people saying that they feel that they've been singled out and harassed. This is not simply peer review, or post-publication peer review, because we all agree to participate in that process as scientists. These are ad-hominem attacks.

RL: Can you clarify exactly what you're referring to?

SF: So as an example, Andrew Gelman's timeline of changes in open science is very useful. And that's his take on what's happening, and I think it's a pretty good summary of what's going on. The problem is where he accuses me of having published statistically faulty research.

I've published 350 articles and chapters. Let's say half at least are statistical. He identified one correction to, basically, a sub-analysis. But the overall analysis was still intact. When this was pointed out to us, we issued a correction. But it didn't change the conclusions of the paper, and the overall analysis was still significant.

What I knew would happen when I published this column was that I would become a target. I don't think that's scientifically motivated.

RL: What do you think does motivate it?

SF: Well I'm not going to speculate, because that's exactly the kind of problem that we're having. In these unfiltered, un-moderated social media posts people are speculating about others' motivations. And you could no more put that in a peer review for a journal than you could fly.

The editor would jump down your throat for speculating about why somebody is coming to the conclusions they're coming to. It's not respectful.

And then he brings in my editing choices from my time as an editor at the journal PNAS. That's not relevant. Editors make choices. Editors are confined by peer review. I'm confined by peer review feedback. And I publish things that in my judgment are good science.

So to connect my column to my work at PNAS is not relevant. And it's an attempt to smear me.

RL: The argument he makes is that there's an incentive structure for people such as yourself, with distinguished careers in psychology before the replication crisis, to protect a degree of institution prestige.

SF: I think that's outside the bounds of professional behavior. You can say that about anybody. And there's no proof.

It's not really relevant to the quality of people's arguments and the quality of their science. So I think speculating about people's motivations and their place in the power structure  you know, he doesn't know me. He doesn't know what my career has been like. And he has no right to make these speculations, and it's not even scientifically germane.

RL: What do you think a fair and respectful way to check the statistics of old papers would be?

SF: "Fair" and "respectful" are the key terms. You know, if people are going to do post-publication peer review, they need to abide by the same rules as they abide by for pre-publication peer review: not being ad hominem, being respectful, giving the author a chance to respond in a reasonable way.

Some people have set up sort of "gotcha" algorithms that apparently crawl through psychology articles and look for fraudulent p-values [a measure of the likelihood that experimental results weren't a fluke]. But they're including rounding errors that don't change the significance levels of the results, and they're doing it anonymously.

RL: Do you think that the claims of a "replication crisis" in psychology are authentic?

SF: I was not writing about the replication crisis. That's a different column. I was writing about the behavior of people who post comments about their colleagues that would not be tolerated if there were an editor or some other moderator paying attention.

So, the replication issue is complicated. But I wasn't writing about that.

RL: I've seen conversations online among psychologists who feel that they have been personally attacked by the language that you used in the letter. Phrases like 'methodological terrorism,' 'antagonism,' 'self-appointed data police,' and 'vigilantes.' The argument's been made that that was itself beyond the pale of respectful discourse in a psychological journal.

SF: Well, I think people have focused in on that one phrase, "methodological terrorism," and not attended to the argument that I was making. That's unfortunate. It's become a lighting rod.

I had three audiences in mind when I wrote this column. One was the people who feel bullied, cyber-bullied. I wanted them to know that somebody knows they were being cyber-bullied, somebody who was willing to go public and describe the phenomenon. The second audience was people who are not on social media who don't know that this is going on. And then the third group of people are the people who are doing this, and in my view might want to think about changing the norms of scientific discourse to be more respectful.

So I used provocative language on purpose to get people's attention. But I would defend the conceptual basis for that wording.

RL: Do you believe the response to your column itself is bullying?

SF: I think the hostility toward me is an example of the phenomenon I'm talking about.

It's one thing to disagree with somebody and to argue with their arguments. I'm not on social media that much, but I have seen less counter-arguing the points I was making and more objecting to the language that I used, and hostility toward me as a person and speculation about my motives for doing this.

RL: I want to make sure that I clearly understand your answer on this. There are some people who say say the language that you used was itself representative of the sort of behavior you were critiquing.

SF: The difference is I didn't name names. I was talking about norms. And I think there's a huge difference between describing norms in a vivid way and singling out individual people.

I've had people drag my family into their comments about my motives. I've had people drag my advisees in, when they're not relevant. There really seems to be no boundary.

RL: What would you hope would come out of this conversation?

SF: I would like to see more moderated forums. There are some that are moderated, and if people start to flame the moderator intervenes. And I think that's important.

I think there needs somebody who needs to be paying attention to the tone of the discussion. For individual peoples' blog posts, I think they have to be monitoring themselves. And, you know, I hope they'll think twice before they single people out for scientifically-irrelevant attacks and speculations about motives.

If you are doing a peer review of somebody's paper before publication, the editor would not allow you to speculate about the person's motives, about their place in the hierarchy. It's not scientifically relevant.

RL: What do you think qualifies someone to assume the role of moderator?

SF: It's the same question that comes up about who's an adequate journal editor. There ought to be some democratic consent in this process. But that's getting way beyond anything I could really be specific about.

RL: If there is a systemic problem in the methodology of psychological research, do you think the journals are adequate to the task of addressing it?

SF: Well, first of all, you're proposing whether there's a systemic problem or not.

RL: Do you think there is a systemic problem?

F: I think that there have been some helpful reminders in the current discussion, quote, "crisis." Speaking for myself, I was brought up in graduate school to do power analyses, and report effect sizes. And to look at meta-analysis to see the overall pattern of effects, and to replicate my own work before publishing it.

So, you know, many of these messages are not entirely new. But I think it's a helpful reminder that these are important practices.

I think the discussion of the statistical principles is helpful. I don't think going after people publicly is helpful. One could write to somebody and say, "I think there's an error in your paper."

RL: Do you think, broadly, researchers are receptive to that kind of communication?

SF: Yes, I do. I think most people want to get it right.

If you have an effect that nobody can replicate, then your phenomenon fades away. So if you want to to have a legacy, then you jolly well better have an effect that replicates.

RL: And, is there anything I haven't asked about that you'd like to say or you think readers should know?

No, I don't think so. I think you should read the petition titled, "Promoting open, critical, civil, and inclusive scientific discourse in Psychology." It's very thoughtful. I don't agree with every single sentence in it. But it's pretty good.

I was not involved in writing it. They showed it to me in the beginning and they informed me at the end. And I think a variety of people who don't totally agree with one another have signed it. Promoting open and critical and respectful scientific discourse seems like a pretty good goal to me.

RL: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me after what I'm sure has been a difficult week. I hope you get some chance to relax today.

SF: I don't have a chance to relax. But I have gotten dozens of emails of support over the last few days, so. That's helpful to survive this. I knew it was going to happen, so it sort of proves my point.

***

Again, in the interest of fairness, we sent Gelman excerpts from this conversation that directly criticized him. His response, sent to Business Insider in an email, is below. We cut a a few examples he cited of other psychologists whose work has come under fire, inserted two links (for context), and added additional paragraph breaks; otherwise, this is Gelman's response, verbatim:

I find it challenging to respond to Fiske's writing on this topic because we are coming from such different places. She talks about "methodological terrorists," "ad hominem attacks," and "smears," but from my perspective, I just want to help people do better research.

Now, it turns out  and it's only in the past few years that I and many others have realized this  that a lot of published research papers are just hopeless. Not just an omitted variable here or a miscalculated t-statistic there, but, more fundamentally, studies that really have no chance at getting at what they're aiming for. This is a matter of scientific judgment, but I'm not the only one who has this view, and some support for this perspective is lent by a series of failed replications of high-profile publications.

Anyway, the challenge is that if someone does a study which, for statistical reasons, I think is hopelessly underpowered or nonidentified, my best and most useful advice will not be tips on how to calculate p-values better, or how to construct an explanation for some particular data pattern. Rather, my advice will be to start over, to reconsider what you think you already know, maybe to question some prominent work in your subfield, and quite possibly to think a lot harder about measurement, and about the relation of your data to your underlying constructs of interest. My criticism will be firm, it will go to the fundamentals, and I won't be shy about saying that I don't think your p-values say anything useful at all.

And the thing is, this sort of firm criticism can be hard to take. I'm sad that Fiske seems to consider this criticism to be terrorism, and I'm not trying to smear anyone nor do I consider it an ad hominem attack to point out mistakes in published work. But I do understand from her reaction that this has been a difficult time for her and some of her friends and colleagues, and I have no desire to cause her discomfort, beyond the necessary discomfort of having to reassess one's work. These problems are not unique to Fiske, not at all. As I wrote in my above post, as recently as 5 or 10 years ago, almost all of us were routinely trusting the results of published studies. That was the whole point of my post, that things have changed and it can be hard to adjust.

But the more relevant point is that I am very happy with the trends in research communication in psychology and in science more generally. As recently as a few years ago, researchers and journalists would just assume that articles in top journals were correct. But a series of papers on ESP, himmicanes, air rage, the contagion of obesity, beauty and sex ratio, etc etc etc, have made us appropriately wary when we come across flashy claims, even if such claims are attached to statistically significant p-values and published in prestigious outlets such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or the Lancet.

Meanwhile ... well-meaning researchers can routinely find statistical significance even from pure noise, and the careful replications performed by Brian Nosek, Eva Ranehill, and many others have made us aware that these concerns are not merely theoretical. Authors of published papers and editors of scientific journals can, unfortunately, be slow to come to terms with criticism, and it's good that we can use blogs to express specific criticisms of published articles and to use social media to disseminate these criticisms.

I have no doubt that Susan Fiske and her colleagues are deeply committed to research progress in social psychology  I say this in complete sincerity  and it's my impression that the field of psychology is in better shape than ever to allow this to happen.

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It was one teenagers time to shine when he won homecoming king at his Pennsylvania high school  a special honor for a boy battling a rare brain disorder.

Adam Recke, 17, who has Type C Niemann-Pick, a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, was nominated into the homecoming court by a student body vote. On Saturday night, he took home the crown.

Read: Los Angeles Lakers Make Wish Come True for 18-Year-Old Battling Cancer

Adam's mom, Amy, said they were surprised when Sean's nurses came home and told them he was nominated. He's known some of the kids in his senior class since kindergarten.

"I would never have expected it," Amy told InsideEdition.com. "It was very unselfish and classy of his entire senior class."

On the night he was crowned king, Amy said Adam didn't know what to do with himself.

"He was really excited and he was looking forward to the weekend. He didn't care if he won or not," said Amy. "You should have heard the kids, they were cheering his name and I was crying. Adam was tearing up too. It was overwhelming."

Amy said that as a mom, she just wanted to hug all of the kids, and the school's principal commended the class for their actions.

Adam is a great kid in our school. I'm really impressed with our student body... how they recognized the need to recognize Adam, said Principal Mike LaPorta.

LaPorta said that in spite of Adams health struggles, hes still diligent in his school attendance.

Recke reportedly cant metabolize cholesterol and other lipids in his body, which causes them to build up in his liver, spleen and brain at toxic levels that destroy the cells controlling mobility and cognition.

Being a young man with obviously significant physical challenges, he doesn't miss class a lot. He's here as much as he possibly can, said LaPorta.

Read: Man With Spinal Muscular Atrophy Begs Girl, 14, With Same Disease Not to End Her Life

Adams father, Sean Recke, wrote on Facebook that he is proud that Adam continues his fight against his disease.

Story continues

Watch: Baby Born with Brain Outside of Skull Gets Life-Changing Surgery

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Photo of SLE near Woodlands Ave 2 exit: Google Maps



A 19-year-old female car passenger has died after an accident involving the vehicle she was in, a lorry and a van on Seletar Expressway (SLE).

The police were alerted on Sunday (25 September) at 3.47am to the accident along SLE toward Bukit Timah Expressway.

The 22-year-old van driver and two car passengers, aged 19 and 20, were conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where the 19-year-old passenger succumbed to her injuries, the police added. The female passenger has been identified by media reports as Goh Pei Ling.

Yahoo Singapore understands that the car involved in the accident near the Woodlands Ave 2 exit belonged to private car hailing company Uber and was driven by a 22-year-old.

News of Gohs death has led to tributes from her loved ones and friends on social media. One tweet reads, I love you, and I know youre in a better place now watching over me. Youre the sweetest, purest and most innocent girl Ive ever known.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Co and a U.S. subsidiary of Swiss auto supplier Hoerbiger have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the electric car maker over problems with a proposed hydraulics system for the luxury Model X's "falcon wing" doors, court records show.

Both parties have until Oct. 13 to file a joint statement as to the status of the settlement, terms of which have not yet been disclosed.

Tesla and Hoerbiger have delayed filing for a dismissal because certain conditions of the settlement will not be fulfilled until Oct. 4, according to an Aug. 18 filing by the companies.

Lawyers for the companies did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Tesla claimed that a hydraulic system developed by Hoerbiger in 2014-2015 for use in the Model X doors, which open upwards rather than to the side, was riddled with deficiencies, making it an "unworkable engineering solution" that added costs and "more than a year of wasted efforts." It sued the company in January.

The lawsuit over the development of the show-stopping doors shone a spotlight on the intricacies of Tesla's engineering and the complex and dependent relationship with its suppliers. The Model X luxury SUV was, according to Chief Executive Elon Musk, "the hardest car to build in this world."

After its launch in September 2015, with a revised door design using electromechanical parts from a new supplier instead of hydraulic ones, many owners complained the doors did not latch properly or that the sensors malfunctioned.

Hoerbiger in January denied Tesla's claims, saying it had fulfilled the company's specifications and was not responsible for the electronic controls related to the doors' symmetry and overheating problems cited by Tesla in its complaint. It said it was negotiating with Tesla over reasonable compensation.

Tesla had originally sought punitive damages for negligence from Hoerbiger before dropping that claim.

Musk claimed not to know of Hoerbiger when asked by Reuters during a first-quarter results conference call in May.

Story continues

In its lawsuit, Tesla said Hoerbiger's proposed system was prone to overheating, making the doors inoperable, and leaked oil. The doors sagged and did not open properly, it said.

Moreover, "unanticipated complexity" in integrating the system with the car added to assembly time and increased costs above Tesla's expectations, it said.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Joseph White and Richard Chang)
Three people were missing after a South Korean naval helicopter crashed into the sea off the country's east coast Monday night during a joint military drill with the US, the defence ministry said.

The Lynx helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from a warship on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at around 1200 GMT, a ministry spokesman said.

The aircraft apparently crashed into the sea, he said, adding search efforts were underway to find the three who were on board, including the pilot.

Monday's joint naval exercise was the latest display of military might in response to North Korea's fifth nuclear test earlier this month, which raised tension on the peninsula.

It involved US guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance and South Korean warships, and simulated attacks on the North's troops as well as submarine detention, Yonhap news agency said.
Tom Hanks surprised this couple who were posing for wedding pics in Central Park. (Photo: Instagram)

Celebrity wedding crashing is all the rage. From Taylor Swift to Beyonce, a slew of A-listers have surprised unsuspecting couples on one of the biggest days of their lives. Since its such a kind gesture, its no surprise that Mr. Hollywood Nice Guy himself, Tom Hanks, is getting in on the wedding crashing action.

Hanks, 60, was jogging through New Yorks Central Park this past weekend when he came upon Elizabeth and Ryan, who were taking their wedding pics. Hanks congratulated the couple before posing for a few shots with them and gallantly kissed the brides hand. He even posted his own selfie with the duo, along with some heartfelt congrats, on Twitter.

Elizabeth and Ryan! Congrats and blessings! Hanx. pic.twitter.com/Uy2GIqYphU  Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) September 24, 2016

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This isnt the first time Hanks has pulled a wedding crash. Back when he was filming Forrest Gump, in 1993, Hanks got the attention of a woman in Beaufort, S.C., just as she was about to walk into a church to take the plunge. Sitting in his car across the street, Hanks honked his horn until he got the brides attention  and when she approached the car, he hopped out, wished her good luck, and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Later, when Hanks was sent pictures of the newlyweds, he signed one and returned it to them with this inscription: Congratulations! The only bride more beautiful was the one I married  Im just sorry I missed the ceremony! God Bless, Tom Hanks.

But what would you expect from one of Hollywoods truly nice guys? Hanks has been setting the Internet aflame with numerous stories of his gregarious fan interactions and generosity of spirit, proving that good truly does exist in the world. There was the time in 2012 at Hollywood gastropub Stout when he teasingly posed with a fan who reportedly took the actors glasses and pretended to be drunk. When the image went viral, thanks to being posted on Reddit, it inspired a thread thousands of comments long, where others shared their Hanks is a nice guy tales.

Story continues

This will get buried, but I met Tom Hanks about 15 years ago at Disneyland. I was waiting after getting off thunder mountain railroad and he walked up and I introduced myself and just mentioned that I really liked his movies. He shook my hand and was very appreciative. Really nice guy, wrote flocker 92.

Added thescrapplekid, Wow, those made me smile. I think I met him [Tom Hanks] when I was about 13 at Typhoon Lagoon  we were on some lazy river tube thing and I looked over and said you look familiar. The guy goes Oh yeah? Who do I look like? Dumb me UhTom.Tom somethingTom Cruise? The guy let out the biggest Tom Hanks movie laugh  man I was f***ing embarrassed.

Then, in 2013, Hanks met up with superfan Sarah Moretti. Moretti, who is autistic, had crafted a scrapbook of pictures and news clips of Hanks throughout the years. She finally had the opportunity to share it with him backstage during the Broadway run of his show Lucky Guy, and his reaction was truly delightful, as evidenced by the clip that was shared on YouTube.

Look how young I used to be! Hanks exclaimed as he flipped through the scrapbook. Oh, sweetie, how wonderful is it to meet you? I love meeting you!

Also during the run of his Broadway show in 2014, Hanks was surprised by a cab driver who gleefully shouted at Hanks, WIIIIIIILLLSSSSSOOOOOOON!!! when the Cast Away star got in his car. Hanks dubbed the cabbie Mr. Ferrari thanks to the drivers affinity for Ferrari-branded clothing. They took a picture together after Mr. Ferrari got Hanks to his destination, but their interaction continued in a surprising way. Mr. Ferrari somehow wound up continually picking up and driving people who either knew Hanks or had worked with him, so the cabbie would tell them, Tell Mr. Hanks that Mr. Ferrari says hello.

The result? Word got back to Hanks, who responded with an invite to come see his Broadway play. Mr. Ferrari got two tickets and a backstage pass.

And it was only a year ago that Hanks found the lost I.D. of a Fordham University student, then tweeted out that hed arrange to have it returned to her. After tons of responses and retweets, the student named Lauren was alerted by one of her professors about her Internet fame.

Lauren! I found your Student ID in the park. If you still need it my office will get to you. Hanx. pic.twitter.com/Ee9kK4V4qf  Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) October 6, 2015

And this wasnt even Hankss only act of kindness last year. In March 2015, he helped some Girl Scouts sell cookies in Los Altos, Calif.

@tomhanks and Thank you for supporting our local girl scouts #thanxhanx pic.twitter.com/VisfPeaI97  ginny rosenthal (@ginnyrosenthal) March 4, 2015

We cant wait to see where he pops up next. Thanks, Hanx!




Luxury design house Gucci has tapped Tom Hiddleston for its new advertising campaign for its Cruise 2017 Tailoring range reports WWD.



The British actor will appear in advertisements for the collection, shot at Tony Duquette's Dawnridge Estate in Los Angeles. The brand gave a sneak peek on its Twitter account Monday.

The campaign, which was shot by photographer Glen Luchford and styled by Joe McKenna, sees Hiddleston pose amongst Dawnridge Estate's antiquities and paintings accompanied by a range of Afghan hounds.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f22112%2fif_i_were_a_toy_header

LONDON  A new advert for a British toy store is receiving praise on social media for its refusal to conform to gender stereotypes.

"If I Were a Toy" is an advert for Smyths Toys sung to the tune of Beyonce's "If I were a Boy". The video revolves around Oscar, a little kid imagining what he'd do if he was a toy for a day.

SEE ALSO: Eye-opening video reveals how gender stereotypes start young

In the 40-second ad, Oscar flies through space as a rocket, rides alongside Chewie in the Millennium Falcon, and dons a pink dress and crown before waving to his subjects from the roof of a castle.

Smyths Toys have received plenty of praise on Twitter for the ad.

@SmythsToysUK your new advert is the best you've ever done! HOW CUTE!! you made the boy a queen   Penny Crayon (@RealPennyCrayon) September 24, 2016

LOVE the fact the @SmythsToysUK advert with the boy being a queen for a day #its2016  Anthony Francis (@anthonyfranc1s) September 24, 2016

I am so so happy @SmythsToysUK advert shows a boy playing dress-up with Princess costumes #LetKidsBeKids  Jade (@FamoFunk) September 24, 2016

@SmythsToysUK #ifiwereatoy brill advert I think I wanted every toy on it #30yearoldkid never mind my children #greatadvertising  Kirsty Madew (@MrsMadew) September 24, 2016

Well done @SmythsToysUK - great advert normalising children playing with whatever toy they want, regardless of gender.  #ifiwereatoy  Katy Schnitzler (@Katyschnitzler) September 24, 2016

The video was shared on YouTube on Friday. At the time of writing it's been viewed well over 100,000 times.
TransUnion TRU remains focused on making significant investments to modernize its infrastructure and facilitate the seamless transition to the latest Big Data and analytics technologies. This enables TransUnion to expand its business and improve its cost structure. The company recently entered into a strategic partnership with SavvyMoney, wherein both entities will work mutually to enhance their financial data analytical offerings to the customers.

Headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, SavvyMoney is a leading provider of credit information services. It works toward empowering its customers to take full control of their finances by providing easy to understand actionable advice about their credits. The company provides free ongoing access to their credit score, as well as explains the factors that impact it, and recommends actions to improve it.

This deal will help TransUnions consumers get personalized credit information services using SavvyMoneys highly advanced credit system.

The company acquired RTech (Healthcare Revenue Technologies, Inc) as it aims to enhance its healthcare business by leveraging data, technology and analytics to help healthcare providers make the most of its lucrative business potential. In June, the company had also acquired Auditz, LLC, another leading healthcare services organization.

TransUnion is poised on organic and inorganic growth to enhance its portfolio. Such enhancements will enable the company improve its top line, going ahead.

TRANSUNION Price

TRANSUNION Price | TRANSUNION Quote

Headquartered in Chicago, IL, TransUnion is a consumer information services company that offers data and analytics solutions, particularly in credit risk management. The company is one of the three largest credit reporting agencies in the U.S. What sets TransUnion apart is its distinctive and comprehensive datasets, next-generation technology and its analytics and decision-making capabilities that enable it to deliver insights across the complete consumer lifecycle. TransUnion boasts rich domain proficiency across a wide range of industry verticals, including insurance, healthcare and financial services. It also caters to verticals like wireless, real estate and general commercial/business information.

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TransUnion currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include LifeLock, Inc. LOCK, National Research Corp. NRCIB and S&P Global, Inc. SPGI. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

LifeLock belongs to the Business Information Services space. The company beat estimates on every occasion in the trailing four quarters.

National Research belongs to the Business Information Services space. The company has positive average earnings of 7.8%, beating estimates twice in the trailing four quarters.

S&P Global is part of the Business Information Services space. The company has a healthy earnings history, beating earnings all four times in the last trailing quarters.

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* Risk-off trading lifts U.S. bond prices

* U.S. two-year auction ends mixed, but on the soft side (Adds comment, updates prices)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices climbed on Monday as investors sought the safety of government bonds while global equities fell, led by financials on news on Deutsche Bank that dragged its shares to record lows.

Prices also rose on caution ahead of the first U.S. presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, analysts said.

Long-dated yields, which move inversely to prices, fell to three-week lows, while two-year note yields slid to two-week troughs.

"A lot of the gains in Treasuries are safe-haven trades," said Kim Rupert, managing director for fixed income at Action Economics in San Francisco.

"We've had bullish momentum ever since the Federal Reserve decided to maintain its policy stance. Stocks are also looking pretty weak with a lot of concerns about financials with Deutsche Bank."

The German bank has been fighting a $14 billion demand from the U.S. Department of Justice to settle a mortgage mis-selling case.

German magazine Focus reported over the weekend that Chancellor Angela Merkel had met Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan over the summer and indicated he could expect no help from Berlin in resolving the bank's dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Deutsche Bank, however, said on Monday it did not require assistance from Berlin and had not requested it.

U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were last up 7/32 in price, yielding 1.589 percent, down from 1.615 percent late on Friday. Earlier on Monday, yields fell to 1.574 percent, a three-week low.

U.S. 10-year yields briefly rose above 1.6 percent after data showed new U.S. single-family home sales fell less than expected in August even as prices declined and inventories rose.

U.S. 30-year bond prices rose 8/32 in price, yielding 2.325 percent, down from 2.339 percent on Friday. Yields earlier slid to a three-week low of 2.308 percent.

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On the front end of the curve, U.S. two-year notes were flat in price for a yield of 0.741 percent, down from 0.754 percent late on Friday. Earlier, yields touched a two-week trough of 0.738 percent.

The U.S. two-year auction on Monday showed mixed results, with a yield of 0.75 percent, compared with 0.755 percent before the 1 p.m. (1300 EST) deadline. The 0.75 percent yield was a little more expensive than the previous U.S. two-year offerings.

Bids totaled nearly $69 billion, for a 2.65 bid-to-cover ratio, a bit below August's 2.83 and the 2.86 average. Indirect bidders, consisting primarily of major central banks, took 36.7 percent, down from 45.8 percent previously and the 45.6 percent average.

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Meredith Mazzilli)
The ashes of the author Truman Capote, who wrote In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffanys, was sold at auction for $43,750 in Los Angeles to an anonymous buyer this weekend.

The ashes, which are housed in a sealed wooden Japanese box, originally belonged to the late Joanne Carson, ex-wife of former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. She was a close friend of Capote, who died at her Bel-Air mansion in 1984.

We had people from Russia, Germany, China, South America and here in the U.S. who had interest in them, President and Chief Executive of auction house Julians Auctions, Darren Julien, told CNN of the Sept. 24 auction. I anticipated it could sell for over $10,000, but didnt anticipate it going to $45,000.

SOLD for $43,750 A box containing Joanne Carson's portion of #TrumanCapote's memorial ashes  sold at #auction at https://t.co/TiME89uOXn pic.twitter.com/4GbWUWLFUh  Juliens Auctions (@JuliensAuctions) September 24, 2016

As well as his ashes, other personal items of Capote like his trousers, ice skates and a shirt he wore on the day of his death were for sale over the weekend. He asked Joanne Carson before he passed. He told her he didnt want to sit on a shelf, Julien told CNN. This is definitely right in line with his wishes.

[CNN]
Donald Trumps campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says the candidate didnt lie when her erroneously labeled NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, a registered Republican, as a Democrat. Holt will moderate Monday nights presidential debate at Hofstra University. In an interview on MSNBCs Morning Joe, Conway said in order to lie, Trump would have had to know Holts party registration to begin with.

I dont know that he knew what Lester Holts voter registration was, she said. He didnt lie. A lie would mean that he knew the mans party registration.

She added she thinks the candidates goal was to convey that the media are biased against conservatives and in general, more liberal. Thats not, however, what Trump said.By the way, Lester is a Democrat. Its a phony system. They are all Democrats. Its a very unfair system, he said. As TIMEs Zeke Miller reported, Holt is a registered Republican in New York. Conway insisted on Monday the candidate was trying to make a larger point about media.

The thing that concerns usnot the moderators that have been selected by the commission, because they will be seen as fair and even handed, Conway said. What bothers us is the very public and very coordinated attempt to game the refs.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are set to face off directly onstage for the first time Monday night in front of what's expected to be perhaps the largest television debate audience of all time  all at a moment when the presidential race is tighter than ever.

For 90 uninterrupted minutes on a stage at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, the two candidates will discuss issues of national security and the state of the American economy in a debate simulcast on multiple television networks as well as on social-media sites including Facebook and Twitter.

Monday night's program is widely expected to eclipse the debate viewership record  80 million tuned in to watch Jimmy Carter take on Ronald Reagan  and close in on the highest-rated television event of the year: the Super Bowl.

It could hardly come at a more crucial time for either candidate. With a record number of voters expressing negative sentiments about both candidates, some observers argue that the candidate able to put voters' concerns at ease with a memorable line may be able to come out on top.

Matt Mackowiak, the GOP strategist who is president of the Potomac Strategy Group, said the debate would be won by the candidate who is able to best parlay barbs and address his or her own shortcomings head on.

"On a macro level, it's going to be  does Trump address his weaknesses, does she address hers?" Mackowiak said. "Both of them are going to try to deflect away from their weaknesses on to the other person."

'She's got to tell people what she wants to do'

Clinton has been preparing for the debate for months.

Hunkering down with top campaign officials, the former secretary of state has reviewed briefing books on Trump's past statements and business dealings and studied briefings on his psychology and his reactions in past debates.

She also has reportedly prepared strategies to face off against both a subdued Trump attempting to legitimize himself to voters on the fence or a ferocious and an aggressive Trump of the kind who belittled and interrupted opponents onstage during Republican primary debates.

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Clinton has also reportedly scheduled a full mock debate, a tedious process that can eat away at precious preparation time and that often leaves candidates drained. The New York Times reported last week that Clinton aide Philippe Reines would play Trump, signaling to many observers that she was hoping to prepare against someone who was not afraid to go after her personal weaknesses.

"Well, look, I think she has to talk directly to the American people about what she wants to do," Clinton campaign chair John Podesta said Sunday on "Meet the Press."

"You know, I think when you think about what's honest about her, it's that from the day she got, left law school, she has been a champion for women, for children, for families," he added. "She's done it all her life. She's gotten real results for people. In contrast, Donald Trump's been all about himself. But she's got to tell people what she wants to do for them."

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives at a campaign event in Orlando, U.S. September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

'Trump's got a lower bar to get over'

Trump's preparation has reportedly taken on a much different shape.

He has apparently largely rebuffed attempts to nail down concrete one-liners and invest hours into poring over debate preparation books, saying he wants to appear authentic and unscripted. The Times reported that Trump had opted against selecting one person to play his opponent in mock debates, a customary political ritual. And many early debate-preparation sessions reportedly ended without much progress.

Still, Trump has also espoused the value of being unpredictable and could take a steadier approach that would defy some expectations.

Politico reported that Trump was retaining the conservative polling firm Cambridge Analytica to study Clinton's past debate performances and create a psychological profile based on their "psychographics" technique, which attempts to target specific groups of voters based on their psychological profiles.

"Trump's got a lower bar to get over than Hillary does," Mackowiak said. "On the other hand, she's been preparing and he hasn't."

Donald Trump attends a church service in Detroit, Michigan. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

It's tight

Most observers agree the debate could easily set the tone for the next several weeks of campaigning  or at least until the two candidates meet again on October 9.

Polls show the real-estate magnate to be closing in on Clinton in key swing states. According to the RealClearPolitics average of recent reputable polls, Trump leads Clinton in states including Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Maine, Nevada, and North Carolina.

If history is a precedent, a debate win for either candidate could affect the polls. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts cut into President Barack Obama's lead in 2012 after the president delivered a widely panned performance during the first debate.

And many past campaigns have blamed losses on the debates themselves.

Some advisers to Al Gore point to the former vice president's barely concealed contempt for George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, during the first debate as Gore's undoing in the general election. The response of former Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts to a question about his position on the death penalty that some viewed as insensitive was largely seen as a nail in the coffin in his campaign against George H.W. Bush, then the vice president.

NOW WATCH: DICK MORRIS: Here's how Trump can win the first debate





More From Business Insider


NEW YORK  Ahead of their first presidential debate Monday, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump sought, and got, weekend facetime with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to each emphasize support for Israel.

But the contrast of each campaigns readout of the meetings shows a divergence on U.S. policy toward Israel thats one of the more dramatic in recent American elections, in which the Jewish-American community, particularly in New York and swing state Florida, traditionally has played a powerful part.

In their hour-plus meeting at Trumps residence in Trump Tower, the Republican nominee agreed with Netanyahu that peace isnt yet possible in the generations-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict because of Palestinian obstruction.

Israelis want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but it will only be possible when Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish state, according to the Trump campaigns readout.

Trump sparked controversy during the Republican primary for suggesting hed remain neutral on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that the fault of its intractability lay with the Israelis. But his campaign  anti-Semitic dog whistles aside  has since swung back and farther the other way, sounding a more staunchly pro-Israel stance than much of the traditionally Israel-hawkish GOP.

Ahead of the GOPs convention in July, several of Trumps closest aides quietly and successfully worked to insert language into the Republican Party platform that stripped any reference to the two-state solution, the foundation of decades of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy. It was unanimously approved.

In their Sunday meeting, Trump and Netanyahu also discussed Israels successful experience with a security fence that helped secure its borders. It was a less-than-subtle attempt to extend the Israeli leaders legitimization to the Republicans infamous, early-and-often pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Yet one of Trumps most recent attempts to appear presidential on the world stage  a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto  devolved into a Twitter argument over whether the head of state had directly told Trump he wouldnt pay the estimated $20 billion-plus price-tag for the hypothetical wall.

Trump also promised to formally recognize Jerusalem as the undisputed capital of Israel, if elected  a popular American presidential campaign pledge (and a position shared by Clinton for at least a decade), that none have kept.

The meeting had higher stakes for the Manhattan real estate magnate  who has no experience in public office, or deciding foreign policy or national security  than Clinton, the former secretary of state. Though the Trump campaign emphasized the two have known each other for many years, Clintons relationship with Bibi runs far longer, and goes beyond the personal to direct diplomacy.

Democratic President Barack Obamas administration has had an at-times frosty relationship with Netanyahus, particularly over the Iran nuclear deal  which Republicans feel give them an opening with the traditionally overwhelmingly Democratic Jewish-American voter base.

In her own Sunday meeting with the prime minister, Clinton emphasized her support for the record-$38 billion, 10-year memorandum of understanding to help equip Israels military that Obama signed on Sept. 14. She also sought to reassure Netanyahu that she would enforce and implement the Iran agreement she helped secure  and that Trump has said hell renegotiate  as well as aggressively counter Irans sponsorship of terrorism in the region, according to a readout from a senior campaign aide.

During the Democratic primary, Clintons chief rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont  the first Jewish presidential candidate to win a primary  pushed Clinton strongly left on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Sanders challenged her in a heated debate to call Israels 2014 strikes on Gaza disproportionate; she refused. Then his aides lobbied for inserting language in the Democratic Party platform to describe Israeli presence in land Palestinians claim for a future state as an occupation, but they were blocked by Clinton allies.

Still, for the first time, the platform explicitly asserts Palestinians independence, sovereignty, and dignity alongside Israeli security  language Clinton echoed in the Sunday meeting.

The secretary reaffirmed her commitment to work toward a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated directly by the parties that guarantees Israels future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity, the readout said. It also noted Clinton opposes any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including the United Nations Security Council.

The Trump campaign sent out a photograph showing a laughing Netanyahu shaking Trumps hand, sunlight glinting off his gilded decor in the background, though the prime minister met with some criticism for taking a meeting that legitimized Trump.

The Clinton campaigns photo ops were decidedly more stately, if staid, with each smiling and sitting in arm chairs, then shaking hands, before the Israeli and American flag  a pose theyd both struck together many times before.

Photo credit: Handout / Handout
Trumps supreme court picks are super homophobic, and were freaking out

Trumps supreme court picks are super homophobic, and were freaking out

By now, we imagine that you know that Donald Trump is running for president as the republican candidate, and, regardless of who youre voting for (and if youre voting at all), its super important to pay attention to WTF is going on. Recently, The Advocate announced, Trump released his second list of his potential Supreme Court nominees, meaning he would for sure turn to this list of politicians if he became president, pulling from this pool in deciding who would fill the slot left empty earlier this year with the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

And, well, heres the deal: Trumps supreme court picks? Theyre homophobic AF.

So lets chat about his most stress-inducing picks, from both the first and the most recent list.

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah

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Lee supported both the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act and First Amendment Defense Act, both of which seek to protect those who believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. The latter also allows religious objections to justify denying goods and services to same-sex couples. He also argues that same-sex marriage extremists are now trying to use the power of the state to punish those that have traditional religious beliefs about marriage.

Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Diane Sykes

KRT STAND ALONE US NEWS PHOTO SLUGGED: SYKES KRT PHOTO BY GE

In 2006, Christian Legal Society v. Walker took place. The case was about a Christian Legal Society at Southern Illinois Universitys law school that had policies against homosexuality. Sykes supported the right of groups to discriminate against those who engage in homosexual conduct and argued that they should still be recognized, and, therefore, get public funding. Subsidized student organizations at public universities are engaged in private speech, not spreading state-endorsed messages, she argued. Shes been called one of the most blatantly homophobic of Trumps supreme court picks.

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Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady

JUDICIARY BILLS--Charles T. Canady, R-Fla., during House Jud

Basically, Canady was very much against the idea of marriage equality. When DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) was going down, he said, Should this Congress tell the children of America that we as a society believe there is no moral difference between homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships? Should this Congress tell the children of America that in the eyes of the law the parties to a homosexual union are entitled to all the rights and privileges that have always been reserved for a man and a woman united in marriage? Basically, he wanted the room to say, Of course not, in case you didnt get the gist.

Timothy Tymkovich

Denver, Colo., June 11, 2003 -- Denver lawyer Tim Tymkovich in his firm's LoDo office for an interview with The Post. He has been confirmed as an appellate judge at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Denver Post Staff Photo by Brian Braine

When Tymkovich was the solicitor general of Colorado, he defended Amendment 2, which prohibited any cities or counties within the state from banning antigay discrimination. Sounds pretty darn similar to North Carolinas infamous HB2, except that it didnt pass.

So now you know. And we hope youll keep reading, and keep learning, and make your decisions loaded with information from a wide variety of sources. Stay educated, guys, not just on Trumps supreme court picks but on all that is going down this election season. This is important!

The post Trumps supreme court picks are super homophobic, and were freaking out appeared first on HelloGiggles.
An analysis of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code by the advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice is the latest to conclude that, despite promises to the contrary, the proposal would deliver massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and a relative pittance to the poorest.

When Trump appeared before the Economic Club of New York earlier this month to tout his revised economic policy proposal, he said the changes in the tax code would overwhelmingly favor the poor and middle class.

Related: Conservative Economists Mock Trump Campaigns Trade Proposals

[B]ecause we have strongly capped deductions for the wealthy and closed special interest loopholes, the tax relief will be concentrated on the working and middle class taxpayer, Trump assured listeners. They will receive the biggest benefit  it wont even be close.

However, according to the CTJ analysis out Monday, there is literally no sense in which that is the truth. The distributional effects of the tax plan are clearly tilted toward the wealthy from virtually every angle.

When it comes to the raw dollar amount saved by taxpayers at separate ends of the income spectrum, those in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution would save about $200 a year. People in the top 1 percent would save $88,410.

If the criterion is percentage of income, well, the wealthiest do better there, too. On average, the bottom 20 percent recover 1.3 percent of their income under the Trump plan. The top 1 percent recover 5.1 percent.

Related: There Are Still Some Big Holes in Trumps Plan for Economic Growth

And finally, on the percentage of the overall reduction in taxes paid, the wealthiest again come out on top. About 2 percent of the net tax cut accrues to the benefit of the bottom 20 percent. The top one percent collect 44 percent of it.

Trumps revised tax proposal would reduce federal revenues by $4.8 trillion over the next decade, the report determined. Of that, $2.1 trillion would be due to personal income tax and payroll tax cuts; $2.4 trillion would be due to corporate tax cuts, and another $0.3 trillion in revenue loss would be due to repeal of the federal estate tax.

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The Trump campaign has argued that the tax plan will help drive gross domestic product up sharply, thereby offsetting the tax cuts with higher revenues. However, to date even the most optimistic assessments of the plan by outside authorities have determined that Trumps plan would add trillions of dollars to the national debt.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Alana Wise WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Sunday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if elected, the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the campaign said, marking a potential dramatic shift in U.S. policy. During the meeting that lasted more than an hour at Trump Tower in New York, Trump told Netanyahu that under his administration, the United States would "recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel." While Israel calls Jerusalem its capital, few other countries accept that, including the United States. Most nations maintain embassies in Tel Aviv. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of the state they aim to establish alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Netanyahu held a separate meeting later on Sunday that lasted just under an hour with Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump's rival in the Nov. 8 U.S. election. Clinton emphasized her commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship and her plan to take the relationship to the next level, according to a statement from her campaign. She also talked about her commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict "that guarantees Israels future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity," according to the statement. "Secretary Clinton reaffirmed her opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including by the U.N. Security Council," the statement said. During the meeting with Trump, the Republican candidate's campaign said he agreed with Netanyahu that peace in the Middle East could only be achieved when "the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State." The Trump campaign said he and Netanyahu discussed "at length" Israel's border fence, cited by Trump in reference to his own controversial immigration policies, which include building a wall on the U.S.- Mexico border and temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country. Other regional issues, including the fight against Islamic State, U.S. military assistance to Israel - "an excellent investment" - and the Iran nuclear deal, which both parties have criticized, were also discussed. (Additional reporting by Michelle Conlin in New York and Caren Bohan in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Sandra Maler)
In preparation for tonights presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the team at Robb Report recently gathered for a debate of their own. Pitting Trump Winerys 2015 Chardonnay against Clinton Vineyards Victory White 2015 Seyval Blanc in a blind tasting, we attempted to determine which side of the political spectrum is producing the finer wine.

Representing the Republican side was Trump Winery, owned by the Trump family and run by Donalds son Eric since 2011. The winerys 1,300-acre Virginia estate lies just a few miles from Thomas Jeffersons Monticello, the birthplace of American viticulture. The 2015 Chardonnay is made from 100 percent estate-grown grapes, and has been aged 90 percent in stainless steel and 10 percent in French oak.

On the Democrat side was Clinton Vineyards. Though the winery, which is based in Hudson Valley, N.Y., has no official affiliation with Bill or Hillary Clinton, owner Phyllis Feder is a great supporter and friend of the Clinton family. In 1993, Clinton Vineyards was served at Bill Clintons first inaugural dinner. (Coincidentally, both Trump and Clinton wines were served at Chelsea Clintons wedding in 2010). And the vineyard holds regular fundraisers for Hillary Clintons campaign. The 2015 Seyval Blanc (made from the hybrid Seyval blanc grape, which grows well in cooler climes) draws similarities to a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc for its citrus notes and vibrant fruit aromas.

Both the Clinton and (perhaps a bit more surprisingly) Trump wines are affordable, with a price point at just under $20 each. Indeed, the two wines are unlikely additions to the average Robb Report readers cellarbut then again, this years election choices dont seem to suit many tastes either.

Though the wines were served in unmarked glasseswith Clinton marked Wine A and Trump marked Wine Bthe Robb Report team was quick to speculate on the identity of each. Relying largely on the telltale signs of a Chardonnay (bright citrus notes and a creamy finish) many participants guessed correctly. More polarizing, however, was the debate between which of the two wines was better. The Seyval Blanc drew plenty of praise and criticism. Some appreciated its fruity notes while others derided it for being too sweet. Madelyn Kler-Keyes, Robb Reports marketing associate manager, agreed with the latter assessment, calling it adult apple juice. Trumps Chardonnay similarly drew mixed results. Some found it pleasant and crisp; a common criticism however was a steelyeven tinnytaste. Upon sampling both, Amanda Joyce, Robb Reports integrated marketing director, firmly stated I dont like either!perhaps channeling a broader sentiment across America this year.

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After the votes were cast and the ballots tallied, the results proved to be as close as polls predict this years election to be. In the end, Clinton pulled into the leading spot with just four more votes than Trump.

Robb Reports editor-in-chief and resident wine expert Brett Anderson, however, had a different take altogether on the two-party system. Upon tasting the dueling wines, he decided he would instead vote independent. (clintonvineyards.com, trumpwinery.com)

Trump Wine vs. Clinton Wine tasting Trump wine vs Clinton wine #debatenight tasting http://Robb.Social/ftrSI0k Posted by Robb Report on Monday, September 26, 2016

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(FULLERTON, Calif.)  Two men were arrested and a 17-year-old girl was detained Sunday on suspicion of killing three people inside a Southern California home over the weekend, police said.

Fullerton police Sgt. Jon Radus would not say if the arrested teen was the missing daughter of two of the victims.

He did say she has been found since authorities issued an alert looking for her, initially saying they were concerned about her safety.

Katlynn Goodwill Yost has been located and she is unharmed, Radus said. State law prevents law enforcement from releasing the names of juveniles who have been arrested for crimes. That said, a 17 year old female juvenile has also been detained in connection with the murders and is in the custody of the Orange County Juvenile Hall.

The arrests came a day after a child called 911 to report her parents had died.

Officers who went Saturday morning to the home in the southeastern Los Angeles suburb of Fullerton discovered two men and a woman dead with signs of trauma to their bodies. Two girls, age 6 and 9, were found unharmed inside the home.

Radus identified the victims  Christopher Yost and Jennifer Goodwill Yost  as the girls parents and described the third victim, Arthur William Boucher, 28, as a family friend. The cause of their deaths was under investigation.

Suspects Josh Acosta, 21, of Fort Irwin and Frank Felix, 25, of Sun Valley, were arrested Sunday morning and booked into jail for investigation of murder, Radus said.

The sergeant did not disclose a motive for the killings but says investigators believe the victims were targeted by the suspects.

We hope the quick arrest of these individuals will bring comfort to the community and assist the friends and family of those affected by this unthinkable crime, he said.

At a candlelight vigil held outside the familys home, those who knew the Yosts said they were loving parents and friendly neighbors.

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Donna Trice, a former neighbor, said Christopher Yost was an auto mechanic and his wife a stay-at-home mom and jewelry maker.

Theres nothing that can justify what happened and why the parents were taken away from the children, she said.

Neighbors said the family liked to decorate their front yard for Halloween and invited kids to stop for candy and play games.

Friends and relatives of Boucher said he was staying with the Yosts until he could get back on his feet.

He was always standing up for women in his family, me included, his girlfriend Joyce Burchett said through tears. Im at a complete loss.
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A new study extends global average surface temperature records back to 2 million years ago, further back in time than any previous climate research. The research suggests that global warming from human emissions of greenhouse gases will cause far more warming, up to 9 degrees Celsius, or 16.2 degrees Fahrenheit, during the next several millennia than previously expected.

However, prominent climate researchers refuted that more disturbing conclusion in interviews with Mashable.

The study, published Monday in the scientific journal Nature, uses nearly five dozen ocean sediment cores to develop a record of Earth's global average surface temperature dating back to 2 million years.

The study's author, Carolyn Snyder, a scholar at Stanford University and an official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, used these sediment cores to create more than 20,000 climate reconstructions from specific points in the ocean.

SEE ALSO: Climate change poses a major security risk to the U.S. today, intelligence report warns

Like a forensic investigator examining a crime scene, Snyder used a variety of methods  in this case statistics and modeling  to extend the temperature reconstructions to land areas as well.

"Previously, the longest continuous global temperature reconstruction was only 22,000 years long," Snyder told Mashable. "Before that in time, only a few isolated individual windows in time had global temperature reconstructions."

While outside scientists praised the temperature reconstruction as a valuable addition to climate science, several researchers contacted for this article were critical of how Snyder used the temperature reconstructions to infer the climate's sensitivity to changing ice sheets, carbon dioxide levels, and other factors.

In this Jan. 26, 2015 photo, pieces of thawing ice are scattered along the beachshore at Punta Hanna, Livingston Island, South Shetland Island archipelago, Antarctica.

Image: Natacha Pisarenko/AP

The study estimates what is known as the "Earth system sensitivity," which encompasses a variety of feedbacks within the climate system, from the response of the atmosphere and oceans to fluctuations in greenhouse gases to the ways that ice sheet expansion or melting can alter global temperatures.

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However, this metric is a correlation between events, and doesn't pinpoint whether one event caused another. Still, the study estimates an Earth system sensitivity of 9 degrees Celsius, or 16.2 degrees Fahrenheit, per a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over millennium timescales.

In more simple terms, this means that over the long, long-term, our planet will see its global average surface temperature increase by up to 9 degrees Celsius if greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were to double, which they are currently on course to do.

The study found that if all greenhouse gas emissions were to cease today, the climate would still warm by about 5 degrees Celsius, or 9 degrees Fahrenheit, during the next several centuries.

However, the Earth system sensitivity metric is not the same as the similarly named, but altogether different, scientific metric known as climate sensitivity. That metric is defined as how much the globe would warm if greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere were to double.

Climate sensitivity considers the influence of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, alone, while Earth system sensitivity involves a variety of feedbacks between the land, oceans and atmosphere, some of which are not well understood.

With climate sensitivity, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are in the drivers seat, whereas with Earth system sensitivity, there are many drivers, with cars going in different directions and sometimes colliding head on.

Estimates of climate sensitivity tend to be much lower than 9 degrees Celsius, closer to about 3 degrees Celsius.

The problem, Snyder as well as several outside scientists told Mashable, is that it's not clear exactly what was driving temperature changes during some time periods in the past.

"[Earth system sensitivity] is a useful metric that summarizes a combination of interactive feedbacks in the climate system (including temperature, greenhouse gases, ice sheets, vegetation, and dust)," Snyder said in an email.

"But it is a correlation observed in the past, not a test of causation," she said.

Michael Mann, a climate researcher at Penn State University who has published influential studies on the planet's climate history, said he views the new study as "somewhat of an outlier." Mann was not involved in the new research.

"The estimate of earth system sensitivity (9C for CO2 doubling) is so much higher than the prevailing estimates (5-6C) that one has to consider it somewhat of an outlier, and treat it with an appropriate level of skepticism," he told Mashable in an email.

One major problem with the study, Mann said, is that the sensitivity estimate is dominated by glacial and interglacial cycles during the past 800,000 years, and it's tough to untangle the roles played by carbon dioxide in such variations.

This is because carbon dioxide both causes and responds to temperature changes that are driven by other factors, such as variations in Earth's orbit around the sun.

"It is unclear that an estimate of the relationship between global temperature and carbon dioxide under those circumstances is an appropriate measure of the response of temperature when carbon dioxide alone is the major driving force, as it true today," Mann said.

"So I regard the study as provocative and interesting, but the quantitative findings must be viewed rather skeptically until the analysis has been thoroughly vetted by the scientific community."

Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist who directs NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, was more blunt in his views on the new publication.

"The temperature reconstruction is great, but the claims about sensitivity are just wrong," Schmidt, who was not involved in the new research, said in an email. "This is not an argument about methods or what to present in public or whether you like models or observations, it is just wrong."
A Philippine passenger jet heading to Japan was forced to turn back Monday after smoke was detected in the aircraft, while the wheel of a second plane caught fire after it aborted taking off from a separate airport, an aviation official said.

The first incident involved a Philippine Airlines flight to Haneda which had just taken off from Manila, said Eric Apolonio, spokesman for the civil aviation authority.

"Apparently there was information that the pilot detected smoke in the cabin. So as part of safety measures, the pilot had to return to the ground," he told AFP.

The Airbus A340-300 plane, carrying 222 passengers and 13 crew was forced to return to Manila 20 minutes after taking off, a PAL statement said.

PAL said there was no panic and the passengers all disembarked safely and would travel to Japan on another aircraft.

Meanwhile, an ATR 72-500 aircraft from budget carrier Cebu Pacific was taking off from the central island of Cebu when instruments warned of an oil problem in one of the two turboprop engines, Apolonio said.

As it was taxiing off the runway after aborting take off, one of the plane's wheels burst into flames and the 67 passengers and crew were forced to evacuate, he added.

One passenger suffered a slight leg injury during the evacuation, he said.

The cause of the incidents are still being investigated, the two airlines said in separate statements.
A U-2 spy plane that crashed in northern California earlier this week, killing one of the two pilots, focused attention on a normally clandestine aspect of the U.S. military. The U-2 plane has a long and storied history that stretches back to the late 1950s, but how is the reconnaissance aircraft used today?

U-2 planes have been flown by the United States and other nations for more than 60 years, as both a spy plane and an instrument of science. They key to the aircraft's longevity is its robust and efficient design, said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group Corp., which conducts research and analysis on the aerospace and defense industry. He added that Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, the man who designed the U-2, "got it right."

"Those designers at the Lockheed Skunk Works deserve their legendary status," Aboulafia told Live Science. [Supersonic: The 11 Fastest Military Airplanes]

What sets the U-2 apart is its ability to fly higher than any other aircraft for long periods, which is what makes it a good spy plane, he said.

And spy planes are still relevant today, even in the age of satellites. "Satellites are an additional layer," Aboulafia said. "But they can't be retargeted quickly. They are in whatever orbit and they can't be moved, and they are easily blocked by bad weather." Spy planes, on the other hand, have a lot more flexibility. "They can be easily moved from one part of the Earth to another, at any time," Aboulafia said.

Spy in the sky

By the time the first U-2 flew in 1955, the problem of gathering intelligence was becoming more acute. Spy planes were in operation as far back as World War I, when aircraft were used to take photos of enemy positions. But during the Cold War, the U.S. government wanted a way to fly over what was then the Soviet Union without being detected or shot down.

In fact, the U.S. had been flying spy planes into the USSR as early as the 1940s, according to Gregory Pedlow and Donald Walzenbach, authors of "The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974" (Military Bookshop, 2013).

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Pedlow and Walzenbach said the USSR didn't have complete radar coverage of its borders or interior at that time, and modified B-47 bombers would fly in to take photos of sensitive targets, and then fly out. Moscow protested these flights but didn't shoot any down (though they fired warning shots). That changed in 1950, when the USSR shot down a U.S. plane over the Baltic Sea. Later that year, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Moscow adopted a policy of shooting down aircraft that violated its airspace. [Flying Saucers to Mind Control: 7 Declassified Military & CIA Secrets]

The U.S. Air Force asked aircraft companies to submit designs for a plane that could reach altitudes of 65,000 to 70,000 feet (20,000 to 21,300 meters), and just as important, be able to stay there for long periods. One of the changes to previous designs was that the plane didn't have to be equipped with the heavy armor or weaponry that were the hallmarks of military planes before, Pedlow and Walzenbach wrote.  Such specifications added weight, and made it more difficult to design a plane that could fly high enough.

It was Johnson's design that won out. To make the plane efficient at high altitudes, he adopted long and straight wings rather than a swept-back design, to improve lift at relatively low speeds (for a jet). The airframe also wasn't as strong or as heavy as the usual military-grade models, allowing for higher flight with less fuel. Johnson's design also dispensed with conventional landing gear and a pressurized cabin.

In operation

The U-2 was introduced into military service in 1957. Even after the USSR shot down one of the planes in 1960, the aircraft was still used in a number of conflicts such as the Vietnam War, providing intelligence to the U.S. and its allies. (The Christian Scence Monitor reported that a U-2 was even stationed in Cyprus in 2011, to monitor the no-fly zone established in Libya). In 1971, NASA started using U-2s as part of the agency's Earth Resources Aircraft program, flying the plane over the United States to gather scientific data. While NASA no longer uses the original U-2 model, a modified U-2, called the ER-2, still flies for the agency.

The first U-2s carried large-format cameras, but the sensors on board have grown much more sophisticated over the years, as have the controls. The engines, avionics and surveillance equipment have all been updated as technology has improved.

"You can fit a lot more [monitoring instruments] on them now than you could then," Aboulafia said. [7 Technologies That Transformed Warfare]

According to the U.S. Air Force, the U-2 carries an "electro-optical infrared camera, optical bar camera, advanced synthetic aperture radar, signals intelligence and network-centric communication" for reconnaissance flights.

But the U-2 is still a notoriously difficult aircraft to fly, Aboulafia said, even though the only remaining part from the 1950s version of the plane is the airframe.

The U-2 still conducts reconnaissance missions; there are two flying in the Middle East on any given day to monitor the Islamic State, reported the Los Angeles Times. The plane flies high enough to "peer in" to airspaces where they might not be allowed, as it's no longer a good assumption that radar can't detect the planes or that a surface-to-air missile can't hit them. (Although, the kind of missile that could reach a U-2 is more likely to be in the repertoire of a major military power than a small group of militants in a remote area, Aboulafia noted.)

In September 2015, 60 years after the U-2 was introduced, Lockheed Martin said it would unveil a replacement for the venerable spy plane, called the TR-X. According to a report from Defense News, the Air Force hasn't formally committed to it, though there is a plan to retire the U-2 in 2019. That may not happen, though, as the U-2 has already outlasted some of the planes that were supposedly more advanced, including the Lockheed SR-71, which could reach similar altitudes and travel at 3.5 times the speed of sound. The SR-71 was retired in 1998 because it was too expensive to fly regularly.

Original article on Live Science.

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The U.S. on Sunday called Russias actions in Syria barbarism during an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council geared toward curbing attacks on the city of Aleppo by Moscow-backed Syrian forces.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it is barbarism, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power told the chamber, Reuters reports.

Sundays emergency meeting was convened at the request of the U.S., U.K. and France to discuss the escalation of fighting in the besieged city since the Sept. 19 collapse of a cease-fire due to an airstrike on an aid convoy.

U.S. officials have accused Russia of being behind the attack, which killed more than 20 people and destroyed vehicles carrying humanitarian assistance for some 78,000 civilians. Moscow has denied involvement in the attacks.

Read More: How the White Helmets of Syria Are Being Hunted in a Devastated Aleppo

Moscows U.N. envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said at Sundays meeting that finding a peaceful solution to the war in Syria would be an almost impossible task, according to Reuters.

Power and several other envoys reportedly walked out of the meeting as Syrias U.N. envoy Bashar Jaafari stressed support for intensified efforts to fight terrorism.

Amid the tense diplomatic row, fresh government airstrikes reportedly killed at least 26 people in Aleppo on Sunday, the Associated Press says, though subsequent reports cite aid workers claiming the death toll could be as high as 85.

[Reuters]
(Reuters) - The U.S. Consulate in Adana, Turkey, warned Americans on Monday that it had received specific and credible threats of potential terrorist activity targeting U.S.-branded hotels in Adana. "U.S. citizens in Adana are advised to exercise caution when patronizing these establishments," the consulate said in a statement on its website. The warning did not name the hotels. Adana's hotels include properties operating under the Sheraton and Hilton brands. Adana, in southeastern Turkey, is about 10 miles (16 km) from Incirlik Air Base, which the U.S. military uses to launch attacks against Islamic State militants in Syria. The State Department has warned U.S. citizens to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey. (Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Cynthia Osterman)
(Updates with more detail from the letter, comments from Senator Elizabeth Warren)

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Department Secretary Thomas Perez on Monday pledged to conduct a "top-to-bottom" review of all cases, complaints and other alleged violations that the department has received concerning Wells Fargo in recent years.

Perez's announcement, outlined in a Sept. 26 letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, comes after Warren and other Democrats asked the Labor Department last week to launch a probe into possible wage and working-hour law violations involving Wells Fargo tellers and sales representatives who may have stayed late to meet sales quotas.

"Given the serious nature of the allegations, the recent actions of our federal partners, and recent media reports, I have directed enforcement agencies within the Department to conduct a top-to-bottom review," he wrote.

He also said the department has created a web page at www.dol.gov/wellsfargo to help ensure current and former Wells Fargo employees are aware of worker protection laws.

Wells Fargo was ordered to pay $190 million earlier this month to settle civil charges alleging its employees had set up about 2 million accounts and credit cards in customers' names that may not have been authorized.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment after the close of business Monday but the company previously apologized to affected customers and said it fired 5,300 employees over "inappropriate sales conduct."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged that the opening of these accounts was driven by a system that financially rewarded employees.

Federal prosecutors have since launched a criminal probe into the issue, a source previously told Reuters.

The Labor Department polices a variety of things, including wage and hour rules, workplace safety, whistleblower protection laws and employee benefit plans.

Perez said that the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has received a number of whistleblower complaints from Wells Fargo employees over the past five years.

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Most of those complaints are concluded, with some settling and others found to have no merit, he said. Others are still currently under investigation, he added.

"I have asked OSHA to review the entire docket of both closed and open Wells Fargo cases since 2010," he said.

Senator Warren, in a statement to Reuters, welcomed the department's review.

"Every other federal agency with jurisdiction in this matter should follow DOL's lead and promptly determine whether Wells Fargo and its senior executives should be prosecuted or otherwise sanctioned," she said.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker)
KISMAYO, Somalia  For years, Katra Abii dreamed of moving her family back to Somalia. All eight of her children were born in neighboring Kenya, in the worlds largest refugee camp, but she hoped one day they would be able to marry and start families of their own in their home country.

As long as al-Shabab insurgents continued to maim and kill in their quest to topple the weak Somali government, however, she and her children planned to stay put.

Then, in May, Kenya announced its intention to shutter Dadaab, a desolate swath of desert that was home to more than 300,000 refugees, Abii and her children among them, because it claimed al-Shabab had made inroads there. Under pressure from the Kenyan government, which reluctantly hosts the seventh-largest refugee population in the world, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) agreed to accelerate the repatriation of those Somalis who were willing to return home.

Soon, it was sending as many as 1,000 people back to Somalia every day.

But Abii says there is nothing voluntary about UNHCRs voluntary repatriation program, which is partially funded by U.S. government. She agreed to relocate to Somalia in August only because she had been led to believe that the Kenyan government would eventually evict everyone by force. She knew if the army began rounding up refugees and sending them back to Somalia, as it did after a string of terrorist attacks in 2014, there would be no time to take advantage of the limited financial assistance UNHCR was offering to returnees.

So Abii decided to take her children back to Kismayo, even though she knew it wouldnt be a happy homecoming. Once there, she found that even the bare-bones support they had been promised  schools, health care, a meager cash allowance for food  was insufficient or didnt exist at all. She and her children ended up in a camp with internally displaced Somalis  people uprooted by the war who hadnt made it across the border into Kenya. Their new home, one of hundreds of flimsy huts huddled together on a trash-strewn beach, was similar to the one they had left behind in Dadaab. Except it was less secure and there were fewer aid agencies working to keep them alive.

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Katra Abii says the Kenyan government forced her to leave Dadaab. Now in Kismayo, she and her eight children often go hungry because vendors here hike up the prices of basic food items when they see her World Food Programme-issued ration card. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

I was poor in Dadaab, but I am destitute here, said Abii, whose angular features were framed by a flowing blue headscarf tucked tightly beneath her chin. The Kenyans told us its time to return to your home country. They told us we dont have a choice.

Since December 2014, UNHCR has facilitated the return of more than 24,000 refugees to Somalia, all of whom it says went willingly. But as the agency has accelerated the repatriation process to keep pace with Kenyan efforts to close Dadaab, the line between voluntary and involuntary seems to have collapsed. UNHCR now appears to be managing a process that violates the cardinal rule of refugee protection: that refugees and asylum-seekers shall not be returned against their will to any country where they face a threat of persecution.

The principle of non-refoulement, as it is known, is enshrined within the 2013 tripartite agreement between UNHCR and the Kenyan and Somali governments that governs the current repatriation process, as well as the 1969 African refugee convention, to which Kenya is a signatory. Evidence that Kenya is subverting these agreements  and that UNHCR is enabling it to do so  has mounted in recent months as rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have documented incidents of intimidation in Dadaab. But interviews conducted by Foreign Policy in the southern Somali port city of Kismayo offer the first concrete evidence that refugees have been sent back against their will, confirming that a campaign of forced repatriation is underway.

This month, more than a dozen returnees from Dadaab told FP in separate interviews that they were intimidated by Kenyan authorities and ultimately felt forced to leave Kenya. The returnees, as well as multiple aid workers and Somali government officials, described a UNHCR-facilitated repatriation process that is not only coercive but haphazardly executed and unsupported by any long-term plan to prevent returnees from becoming de facto refugees in their own country.

These people are being dumped here with no international support and no plan for how they will be cared for. They have no shelter, no food, no health, and no schools, said Ibrahim Mohamed Yusuf, the mayor of Kismayo. We are a small nation reeling from civil war. People are already dying because of a lack of health care. How can we be expected to care for more people?

A convoy of African Union troops heads toward the town of Merca, about 50 miles north of Mogadishu. (MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB | AFP)

Somalia is still at war. A 22,000-strong African Union force has expelled al-Shabab from most urban areas, but the al Qaeda-linked group continues to strike at will virtually anywhere in the southern and central portions of the country. It has attacked a landmark hotel less than a block from the presidential palace in Mogadishu three times in the last two years, most recently killing 22 people with a truck bomb on Aug. 30. FP previously documented how this violence has affected returnees from Dadaab, some of whom have already fled back to Kenya a second time.

Even before it began accepting returnees from Kenyan refugee camps, the country housed more than a million displaced Somalis within its borders because of conflict and drought. Most live in crowded camps at the margins of cities, paying so-called gatekeepers to avoid being targeted by bandits and militiamen. The few hospitals and schools that are still standing after a quarter century of civil war are mostly private  and prohibitively expensive for all but the richest Somalis. Nationwide, four in 10 people dont have enough to eat, according to the United Nations.

UNHCR has nonetheless certified certain parts of the country as safe for return, including Kismayo. But even its own analysts acknowledge that this is mostly wishful thinking. Civilians continue to be severely affected by the conflict, with reports of civilians being killed and injured in conflict-related violence, widespread sexual and gender-based violence against women and children, forced recruitment of children, and large-scale displacement, UNHCR noted in a May security assessment for southern and central Somalia.

A Somali soldier surveys the wreckage from a March 2014 car bombing in front of the Makka Al Mukarrama Hotel in Mogadishu. (MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB | AFP)

Without adequate job prospects or social services, Somali officials say male returnees are at risk for recruitment by al-Shabab. I wouldnt rule out that some would join the extremists, said Ahmed Nur, the head of Somalias national commission for refugees and internally displaced people, who estimates that around 10 percent of returnees to the Mogadishu area are already living in displacement camps.

In Kismayo, U.N. and other aid workers estimate that the figure for people who end up homeless is closer to 15 percent. Hundreds of returnees from Dadaab have streamed into displacement camps, 86 of which are scattered around the city, according to the regional government. At one called Tawfiq, or Unity, dozens of makeshift dwellings, rigged up with empty grain sacks and whatever else residents could get their hands on, are arrayed across yellow sand dunes that descend into the ocean. Of the 200 families who eke out a living here, 60 are returnees from Dadaab.

It is worse than Dadaab. There is no water, no sanitation, said Ahmed Mohamed Abubakar, who fled fighting in Kismayo with his family in 2009 but returned this year with the assistance of UNHCR. This is my country, but there is nothing for me here. I am homeless, wandering.

A woman and child walk along the margins of Tawfiq displacement camp in Kismayo. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

Returnees described multiple pressures that forced them to leave Dadaab. Intimidation by Kenyan security forces, whom returnees blame for whipping up rumors of forced evictions, left many convinced they could face physical violence if they remained. Many said their community leaders in the camp had told them unambiguously that Kenyan authorities were saying it was time to leave. The appointment of army generals to the government committee tasked with closing Dadaab registered as a clear warning: Stay after Nov. 30, the governments deadline for closure, and risk being caught up in a military operation to clear the camp.

We were afraid they would come with trucks, with soldiers, said Abii, who spoke quickly and animatedly, orange nail polish glinting in the sun.

Unable to answer the question of what would happen after the governments deadline, aid agencies did little to assuage peoples fears. Meanwhile, the World Food Programmes 2015 decision to cut food rations by 30 percent began to look in retrospect to some residents like a covert plan to starve them out.

The only option was to take the little money UNHCR was giving if you left, Abubakar said. People were going hungry in Dadaab.

Mark Yarnell, a senior advocate focusing on Somalia at the lobbying group Refugees International, said the repatriation process amounted to a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Its a sham to call it voluntary return when you have the Kenyans waging an effective information campaign to instill fear, and then you have UNHCR providing inducements for people to return to a place thats unstable and unsafe, he said.

The Kenyan Interior Ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but in the past it has denied that the repatriations are anything but voluntary and humane. However, officials have repeatedly skirted the issue of what will happen to those refugees who wish to remain. In July, Haro Kamau, the deputy commissioner of Garissa County who oversees Dadaab, told FP that it would be very unkind for any refugee to refuse to go home.

The U.S. government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support refugees in Dadaab over the years. It has also called on the Kenyan government to back off its plan to close the camp by Nov. 30. At the same time, however, it supports UNHCRs repatriation efforts. On a visit to Nairobi last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pledged an additional $29 million specifically to help facilitate the return of refugees to Somalia.

We are very concerned by reports that refugee returns from the Dadaab camps in Kenya to Somalia are not truly voluntary, State Department spokesman John Kirby told FP in a written statement. In consultations with both UNHCR and the Government of Kenya, we have stressed the imperative that those individuals enlisting in the voluntary return program are doing so with full knowledge of what they can likely expect in Somalia.

Muhubo Abdulahi was among the first refugees to settle in Dadaab in 1991. She was repatriated by UNHCR in March of this year and now lives in this small hut in Tawfiq displacement camp in Kismayo. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

Women carry firewood on their backs outside Tawfiq displacement camp in Kismayo. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

Children play outside their hut in Tawfiq displacement camp in Kismayo. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

Children walk through Tawfiq displacement camp in Kismayo. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

UNHCR continues to defend the repatriation process as consistent with its mandate to ensure that all returns are voluntary, safe, and dignified. It has acknowledged unspecified concerns raised by human rights advocates but says it is working closely with the Kenyan government to guarantee that refugees rights are respected.

UNHCR is not promoting returns to Somalia but facilitating the movements of those who make an informed and therefore voluntary decision to return, by providing travel assistance, cash grants and an in-kind assistance package, Catherine Hamon Sharpe, UNHCRs assistant representative in Kenya, said in a written statement to FP. The fact that the Government of Kenya has set 30 November as a deadline for the closure of the camp and that no alternative has been provided, obviously creates anxiety among refugees, as a voluntary process cannot be time-bound. It is noted however, that the Government has repeatedly stated that there will be no forced returns.

UNHCRs insistence that a voluntary process cannot be time-bound but that this particular time-bound process is entirely voluntary succinctly demonstrates the corner the agency has backed itself into. In private, current and former UNHCR officials say they were faced with an impossible choice when the Kenyan government made clear that it was serious about closing the camp: If they recused themselves from the process, the Kenyan government might have started its own mass deportations that could have precipitated a humanitarian disaster. But a humanitarian disaster is precisely what the regional government in Kismayo  the Jubaland administration  has called the U.N.s existing repatriation program.

There was this sense that we were preventing the worst-case scenario, which maybe we are, said a UNHCR official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. But you could also argue that we are approaching a worst-case scenario anyway.

Whether or not its making the best of a bad situation, UNHCRs actions provide political cover to a Kenyan government that has long viewed this refugee population as a nuisance. And as the campaign of intimidation has intensified, the agency has found itself on the wrong side of international agreements and norms that its duty-bound to uphold.

The approach thats been taken up until now has been characterized by a lack of honesty, said Jeff Crisp, a former head of policy development and evaluation at UNHCR who is now affiliated with the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University. If UNHCR feels obliged, for one reason or another, good or bad, to get involved in an operation that doesnt meet its own standards, which its put up in public, then its got to explain what its doing and why its doing it. But my sense over the last few weeks is that theyre trying to fudge this.

African Union and Somali troops walk past a mosque in Kismayo shortly after capturing the city from al-Shabab in 2012. (STUART PRICE/AFP/Getty Images)

But its not just that UNHCR has obscured the apparently involuntary nature of the repatriations; it has downplayed the abysmal and often unsafe conditions that await returnees, as well as its extremely limited ability to support them. Abubakar and other former residents of Dadaab complained bitterly that they had been abandoned by the aid agencies, which they believed would do much more to ease the transition to their shattered home country.

UNHCR promised they would give us shelter and schools for our children, said Abubakar, who once manned a small shop in town but is now unable to find work. But we came here and got nothing. The promises, they were false.

Some returnees said they had been given false information about the safety of their home regions, arriving in Kismayo only to discover that their ancestral villages were still controlled by al-Shabab. Virtually everyone said they were going hungry and that the financial support they received from international organizations  an initial lump sum from UNHCR of a few hundred dollars per household, plus a $200 monthly lifeline for the first six months, redeemable with a World Food Programme (WFP) ration card  wasnt nearly enough. Local vendors are said to regularly hike prices for anyone who tries to pay using the ration cards.

Challiss McDonough, a spokeswoman for WFP, said the organization is currently investigating reports of price fixing in Kismayo and that retailers have been warned against this behavior. Anywhere we do cash-based transfers, we have robust monitoring of the retailers to avoid price gouging, for example including spot checks, she said in a statement to FP.

Yet returnees say they continue to go hungry as unscrupulous vendors cash in on the aid that was supposed to sustain them. They know we are vulnerable, Abii said. They see the WFP card, and the price is suddenly double.

School girls walk past the ruins of the old colonial post office in Kismayo. The only schools in this city are private, and therefore prohibitively expensive for most impoverished returnees. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

Jubaland security forces stand in front of a destroyed monument to national unity built by former dictator Siad Barre. It was destroyed by al-Shabab, which controlled Kismayo until 2012. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

The ruins of a Roman Catholic church built by the Italians in the 1930s. It was destroyed by al-Shabab in 2008. (TY MCCORMICK | FOREIGN POLICY)

Conditions have gotten so bad for returnees that the Jubaland administration suspended all return convoys from Dadaab last month. It says it wont accept any more until UNHCR and other aid agencies can ensure a minimum level of support.

Jubaland has requested a halt of returns until we get solutions. Before they start again, we need basic services in place: water, sanitation, housing, said Yusuf, the mayor of Kismayo, who joked that he didnt want the U.S. taxpayers funding the UNHCR-led repatriation process to feel let down.

Yusuf says his administration has set aside land for the returnees but that aid agencies have not made good on their promises to build housing and sanitation. Negotiations are ongoing among the Jubaland administration, the Kenyan government, and UNHCR to resume repatriations to Kismayo.

In the meantime, flights from Dadaab to Mogadishu continue to land several times per week. Passengers leave behind a hard life in the camp, but one with a semblance of a safety net provided by aid agencies. They begin a new one with fewer lifelines, in a place that is less forgiving. Often, it appears, they do so against their will and in violation of international humanitarian law.

Top Image: TOBIN JONES/AFP/Getty Images
BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Europe's car emissions tests have been seen as inadequate for decades, a top U.S. regulator told European Union lawmakers on Monday, saying much stronger enforcement will be needed to stop cheating by automakers like Volkswagen.

Testifying before a European Parliament committee investigating foul play on diesel-car emissions tests, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Christopher Grundler said new EU testing rules were far from enough.

"The European test cycle has been acknowledged quite broadly since the 1990s to be inadequate," Grundler, director of the EPA's transportation and air quality office, said in a written answer to lawmakers' questions.

"Our experience has been that a comprehensive approach is required that means testing vehicles in use as well as having the authority to then follow through enforcement actions."

Brussels has proposed testing vehicles on roads rather than in laboratories after VW's use of a "defeat device" led to scrutiny of loopholes that allowed toxic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to reach up to seven times their European limits.

NOx gases contribute to acid rain and respiratory illnesses which are blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year.

Asked whether the Real-Driving Emissions (RDE) test would stop carmakers from cheating, Grundle said EU regulators "still have more work to do."

Gaps still have yet to be addressed in checking vehicle compliance, he said, such as testing for the robustness of exhaust-curbing technology after vehicles have been in use for some years or for the amount of gases spewed out when the engine is revving up, the heaviest discharge.

"It is not enough to have sound standards and sound test procedures," he told lawmakers. "How they are implemented in practice and the market surveillance aspects are also very, very important ... that is the main challenge."

Automakers say EU law allows the use of software to shut-off technology that lowers tailpipe gases in order to protect a car's engine - an argument EU officials describe as disingenuous when it is triggered by everyday-road conditions.

Grundler pointed to fines totalling $1 billion imposed by the EPA on the auto industry over the use of such devices in the 1990s as a "strong deterrent".

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Alexander Smith)
By Dan Levine

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday filed an administrative lawsuit against Palantir Technologies, alleging the data analytics and security company systematically discriminated against Asian job applicants.

Privately held Palantir helps government agencies track down terrorists and uncover financial fraud. It raised $880 million in funding late last year, for a $20 billion valuation, and is considered one of Silicon Valley's most secretive companies.

The lawsuit alleges Palantir routinely eliminated Asian applicants in the resume screening and telephone interview phases, even when they were as qualified as white applicants.

Palantir denied the allegations in a statement and said it intends to "vigorously defend" against them.

Palantir was co-founded by Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, two of Silicon Valley's more influential investors and entrepreneurs. Thiel spoke at the Republican National Convention in July and is one of the most prominent tech supporters of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

A representative for Thiel could not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

In one example cited by the Labor Department, Palantir reviewed a pool of more than 130 qualified applicants for the role of engineering intern. About 73 percent of those who applied were Asian. The lawsuit, which covers Palantir's conduct between January 2010 and the present, said the company hired 17 non-Asian applicants and four Asians.

"The likelihood that this result occurred according to chance is approximately one in a billion," said the lawsuit, which was filed with the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges.

The majority of Palantir's hires as engineering interns, as well as two other engineering positions, "came from an employee referral system that disproportionately excluded Asians," the lawsuit said.

However, Palantir said the Labor Department relied on a "narrow and flawed statistical analysis relating to three job descriptions from 2010 to 2011."

Story continues

Since January 2010, Palantir has been a party to federal government contracts worth over $340 million, the lawsuit said.

The Labor Department sent Palantir a notice in October 2015 about its findings, according to the lawsuit. Both before and after that notice, labor regulators attempted to secure Palantir's voluntary compliance, the lawsuit said, but they did not succeed.

The lawsuit seeks relief for persons affected, including lost wages.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa Shumaker)
By Michelle Nichols and Suleiman Al-Khalidi UNITED NATIONS/AMMAN (Reuters) - The United States accused Russia of "barbarism" in Syria on Sunday as warplanes supporting Syrian government forces pounded Aleppo and Moscow said ending the civil war was almost "impossible". A diplomatic solution to the fighting looked unlikely as U.S. and Russian diplomats disagreed at a U.N. Security Council meeting called to discuss the violence, which has escalated since a ceasefire collapsed last week. Rebels, who are battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces for control of Aleppo, said any peace process would be futile unless the "scorched earth bombing" stopped immediately. Capturing the rebel-held half of Syria's largest city, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped, would be the biggest victory of the civil war for Assad's forces. They have achieved their strongest position in years thanks to Russian and Iranian support and launched a fresh offensive for a decisive battlefield victory on Thursday. Residents and rebels say hundreds have been killed in the new strikes. "What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter terrorism, it is barbarism," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told the 15-member council. "Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get lifesaving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive." The French and British foreign ministers also took aim at Russia, saying it could be guilty of war crimes. But Russia defended its position. "In Syria hundreds of armed groups are being armed, the territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately and bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now because of this," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council. SCORCHED EARTH In the first major advance of the new offensive, Syrian forces seized control of the Handarat Palestinian refugee camp, north of Aleppo. Rebels counter attacked and said on Sunday they had retaken the camp before the bombing started. "We retook the camp, but the regime burnt it with phosphorous bombs," said Abu al-Hassanien, a commander in a rebel operations room that includes the main brigades fighting to repel the army assault. The army, which is also being helped by Iranian-backed militias, Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militant group and a Palestinian militia, acknowledged rebels had retaken Handarat. "The Syrian army is targeting the armed groups' positions in Handarat camp," a military source was quoted on state media as saying. Planes continued to pound residential areas on Sunday, flattening buildings, rebels and residents said. "The Assad regime and with direct participation of its ally Russia and Iranian militias has escalated its criminal and vicious attack on our people in Aleppo employing a scorched earth policy to destroy the city and uproot its people," a statement signed by 30 mainstream rebel groups said on Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said at least 45 people, among them 10 children, were killed in eastern Aleppo on Saturday. The army says it is targeting only militants. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the civil war and 11 million driven from their homes. DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS Russia and the United States agreed on Sept. 9 a deal to put the peace process back on track. It included a nationwide truce and improved humanitarian aid access but it collapsed when an aid convoy was bombed killing some 20 people. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who hammered out the truce in months of intensive diplomacy, pleaded with Russia to halt air strikes. U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura appealed to the Council meeting to come up with a way to enforce a ceasefire. "I am still convinced that we can turn the course of events," he said, adding that he would not quit trying to bring peace in Syria. However, Russia is one of five veto powers on the council, along with the United States, France, Britain and China. Russia and China have protected Assad's government by blocking several attempts at council action. China's U.N. envoy Liu Jieyi repeated a call for all sides to work harder to help find a political solution but also said counter-terrorism was a "very important component" to a resolution, state news agency Xinhua said. "The Syrian conflict has led to the rise and spread of terrorism; without rooting out terrorism, there will be no peace for the Syrian people, and there will be no security for regional countries," Liu said. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia was guilty of prolonging the war in Syria and may have committed war crimes by targeting an aid convoy. "We should be looking at whether or not that targeting is done in the knowledge that those are wholly innocent civilian targets, that is a war crime," he said in a BBC interview aired on Sunday. The rebels said they could not accept Russia as a sponsor of any new peace initiative "because it was a partner with the regime in its crimes against our people". It said Russian-backed Syrian forces were using napalm and chemical weapons without censure from the international community. U.N. investigators are looking into the alleged use of the incendiary weapons phosphorus and napalm in several cities. The war has ground on for nearly six years, drawing in world powers and regional states. Islamic State - the enemy of every other party to the conflict - has seized swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq. World powers appeared to believe that neither Assad nor his opponents were capable of decisive victory on the battlefield. But Russia's apparent decision to abandon the latest peace process could signal it now thinks that victory is in reach, at least in the western cities where the majority of Syrians live. Assad's fortunes improved a year ago when Russia joined the war on his side. Since then, Washington has worked hard to negotiate peace with Moscow, producing two ceasefires. But both proved short-lived, with Assad showing no sign of compromise. Outside Aleppo, anti-Assad fighters have been driven mostly into rural areas. Nevertheless, they remain a potent fighting force, which they demonstrated with an advance of their own on Saturday. (Corrects to hundreds not thousands killed in paragraph five) (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy in New York, and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Anna Willard; Editing by Alison Williams and Adrian Croft)
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery and equipment wholesaler, a new step in tightening the financial noose around North Korea's nuclear programme after its fifth nuclear test this month. The U.S. Treasury said it was sanctioning Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co (DHID) and four of its executives, including the firm's founder Ma Xiaohong, under U.S. regulations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. It accused the firm of acting on behalf of North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), which has been under U.S. and U.N. sanctions for supporting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. Department of Justice said it had filed criminal charges against the Chinese firm and the executives for using front companies to evade sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The charges accuse the firm and the individuals of conspiring to violate sanctions rules and engaging in international money laundering. The Justice Department said bank accounts associated with the firm and front companies received hundreds of millions of dollars that transited through the United States. "Today's action exposes a key illicit network supporting North Korea's weapons proliferation," Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. "DHID and its employees sought to evade U.S. and U.N. sanctions, facilitating access to the U.S. financial system by a designated entity." The announcement came after the White House said last week that President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed in New York on Sept. 20 to step up cooperation in the U.N. Security Council and in law-enforcement channels after North Korea's latest and largest nuclear test on Sept. 9. CHINESE INVESTIGATION China's Foreign Ministry said last week Hongxiang was under investigation following the provisions of U.N. resolution 2270, which imposed tighter sanctions on North Korea in March. Chinese embassy spokeswoman Fang Hong said Hongxiang Industrial Development Co was being investigated for "illegal behaviour" and "economic crimes." She said China had a "clear and consistent" position of opposing North Korea's development of nuclear weapons. "We have been earnestly and faithfully implementing Security Council resolutions related to (North Korea) in their entirety and fulfilling our international obligations in non-proliferation export controls," she said. On Monday, South Korea's JoongAng Daily newspaper reported that China was investigating a top official of the KKBC at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong. While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs and was angered by its latest nuclear test. Beijing has said it will work within the U.N. to formulate a necessary response, but questions remain as to whether it is willing to agree tough enough steps to force North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons. Discussions are under way on a possible new U.N. sanctions resolution and the senior U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Friday he was confident an agreement would be reached before long, imposing further sanctions and tightening existing ones. Daniel Russel, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said the aims would include preventing North Korea's abuse of international infrastructure, including banking and shipping, to further its nuclear programme. In announcing Monday's sanctions, the Justice Department said it was seeking forfeiture of all funds held in 25 bank accounts associated with DHID and its front companies located in various banks in China. "The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege that defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world, surreptitiously moved money through the United States and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear weapons programme," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said. "The actions reflect our efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. banking system and hold accountable those who seek to evade U.S. sanctions laws," she said in a statement. (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann, Susan Heavey and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Paul Simao and David Gregorio)
DUBAI (Reuters) - UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said in a Twitter message on Monday that the oil market was balancing but that production by some OPEC members was slowing recovery.

"The market is headed toward balancing but the increase in production by some producers before the appropriate time is a cause of its delay," the message said. The minister added that Gulf Arab members would work toward achieving an early recovery in the market.

"The efforts exerted by the Gulf Arab states in OPEC to gather opinions and unify ranks to help the oil market toward an early recovery are not a secret to anyone," Mazroui said.

(Reporting By Noah Browning, Editing by William Maclean)
By Stanley Carvalho ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates will finalize laws to more heavily regulate the sale of drones and their operations soon, aiming to minimize risks posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, an official at the aviation regulator said on Monday. Dubai International Airport was closed for more than an hour on June 12 due to unauthorized drone activity in the surrounding airspace that resulted in millions of dollars of losses for the economy. "Several incidents have happened and to integrate them (drones) safely into the commercial airspace is a challenge," Mohammed Faisal al-Dossari, director, air navigation & aerodromes department, UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said. Current regulations on drones in the UAE, introduced in April 2015, relate mainly to commercial licensing and approving how companies use drones and are under constant development, al Dossari told reporters at a regional conference on drones in the UAE capital. "The Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology (Esma) is working on laws that will have a framework for the UAE for imports, sales and performance of drones," he said. Abu Dhabi has banned the sale of recreational drones since March last year until new laws are issued, saying they posed a risk to aviation. The new laws will also address air-worthiness for heavier drones, standards for pilotless aircraft and pilot training among other issues, al Dossari said. At least 400 drones, mostly commercial, are registered with the GCAA. Drones are used for commercial operations such as mapping, security surveillance, wildlife surveys as well as for environment, transport, agricultural and maritime purposes, among others in the UAE. As a regional aviation hub with two of the busiest airports in the world, the UAE's airspace is congested. And with drones becoming increasingly relevant, there are safety and security risks, Gulf area manager at IATA, the global body of airlines, Michael Herrero, said. "The big question is how to integrate drones into commercial airspace in future, governments need to put it high on the agenda with enforceable legislation," he said. (Reporting By Stanley Carvalho, editing by Sami Aboudi and Susan Fenton)
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda's coffee exports declined 9 percent in August, from the same month last year, due to harsh weather, the sector regulator Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report on Monday. Coffee is Uganda's single largest commodity exports and earnings are a key source of foreign exchange for the east African country. UCDA said shipments were 291,059 60-kilogram bags, down from 320,297 bags exported in August last year. The report said some of the coffee growing areas had experienced dry weather conditions and the crop "was observed to suffer from water stress." (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa)
LONDON (Reuters) - British airline Monarch Airlines said it was operating normally and was on track to make a profit this year, after questions were asked about its future on social media.

"Our flights are operating as normal, carrying Monarch passengers as scheduled," the airline said in a statement on Monday.

Monarch, owned by investment firm Greybull Capital, said that security concerns, and the devaluation of the pound against the euro resulting from Brexit, had made market conditions tougher, and to help fund its growth, it expected to announce an investment "from its stakeholders" in the coming days.

Despite the difficulties, Monarch said it was on track to post core earnings (EBITDA) of more than 40 million pounds in the year ended Oct. 31, in line with a forecast given last year.

Luton-based Monarch sells holidays and flights primarily to British holidaymakers travelling to destinations such as Spain, Italy and France.

The halting of holidays to Tunisia and Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh resort, as well as a drop in demand for Turkey due to security concerns meant that customers were booking flights to Israel, mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.

Monarch issued the statement after passengers tweeted the airline over the weekend asking whether speculation that it was going to "go bust" were true.

It replied to customers on its Twitter feed that it was unsure of where the rumours originated.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by Louise Heavens)
By Andrew Callus PARIS (Reuters) - Britain appears to be heading for a "hard Brexit" under which links to the European Union would be reduced to little more than trade agreements, Scotland's external affairs minister Fiona Hyslop said on Monday, citing "mood music" from recent talks. Pro-EU Scotland's Brexit representative, Michael Russell, has had the first of a series of meetings with Brexit minister David Davis, Hyslop told Reuters. The talks are part of efforts to establish a common United Kingdom position for divorce discussions with the country's European Union partners, as Prime Minister Theresa May has promised. Russell will be lobbying for a "soft" exit "that looks as much like remaining in the EU as possible," ideally including continued free movement of capital and labour, she said. "They've met within the last 10 days. The process for those internal negotiations is currently being established," Hyslop told Reuters in Paris after a meeting with France's European Affairs Minister Harlem Desir. "I'm worried just now that the UK looks as if it's heading to a hard Brexit. However those internal discussions with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have only just started, so we will try and shift that position," she said. "That's the mood music," she added, "but (Prime Minister) Theresa May is keeping everything very close to her chest and is very much determining the UK position," Hyslop said. Some 62 percent of Scottish voters opted to remain in the EU in the June 23 referendum, in which 52 percent of Britons overall voted to leave. Russell and his fellow representatives from Wales and Northern Ireland have no power of veto in their talks with Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. However, Scotland has threatened to push for a referendum on independence if the Brexit terms are not to its liking. A 'hard Brexit' would be entirely unacceptable, Hyslop added. "We're looking to either influence the UK position or have a position that recognises the differences within the UK, including Scotland. But we have also said that if required we are prepared to look at a referendum on independence again. That's not our starting point, but it's there should it be needed." Britain's vote to quit the EU has sent shockwaves through the country and the EU, where it is one of the three main economies. Economists are concerned the divorce will hurt economic growth and pro-EU politicians fear it will weaken the union. May has repeatedly said that Article 50 will not be triggered before the end of the year, and that Britain will not get a bad deal. Although Scots had decided in a 2014 referendum on independence to remain in the United Kingdon, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the Brexit vote meant that the country was now being taken out of the EU against its will and this could justify a second referendum. (Reporting by Andrew Callus; editing by Michel Rose)
On Sep 26, Zacks Investment Research updated the research report on information technology firm Unisys Corporation UIS.



The information technology industry is presently in a transition phase, forging new disruptive trends in cloud mobility, Big Data, social computing and increasing awareness of cyber security. In order to capitalize on the trends, Unisys is rationalizing its services and solution portfolio by shifting its offerings to cloud-based and software-as-a-service delivery models. The company is concentrating on business opportunities in fewer, more profitable sectors in the IT marketplace.



Unisys recently secured a three-year contract from public utility company Empresa de Servicios Publicos de Heredia (ESPH) in Costa Rica to provide endpoint management support to 320 branches, over 2,800 types of computer equipment, 500 corporate servers and more than 400 network elements for ESPH. This is the first contract following the partnership of Unisys and ServiceNow in Latin America. The contract will enable Unisys reach out to ESPHs high-end clients, which in turn will help enhance its foothold in the area.



In order to drive future growth, Unisys is focusing its resources and investments in four targeted, high-potential market areas, including security (IT security and physical security), data center transformation and outsourcing services, end-user outsourcing and support services, and applications modernization and outsourcing services. As it seeks to keep up with the evolution in the IT industry, the companys services unit looks set to take advantage of growth prospects in higher-margin services. The company has also secured quite a few contracts in these segments that should propel top-line growth in the coming quarters.



Unisys has also been restructuring its business to improve profitability. This restructuring strategy includes selling non-core businesses and revamping its sales strategy, while investing in a few higher-growth areas such as outsourcing. We expect the company to continue with its cost-control initiatives and put greater effort towards sales growth, as it strives to overcome its operational weaknesses. Unisys is focusing more to build specialized industry skills and resources required to win industry-specific project opportunities.



The company is investing heavily on developing a team dedicated to pursuing growth opportunities for application-managed services both for existing and new clients. These application-based managed services capability will enable this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock to more effectively pursue long-term outsourcing opportunities, as well as associated application modernization and implementation project work.



Some other favorably ranked stocks in the IT services industry include Acxiom Corporation ACXM, Science Applications International Corporation SAIC and Xerox Corporation XRX, each carrying the same Zacks Rank as Unisys. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Acxiom has a strong long-term earnings growth expectation of 15%. In addition, the stock has a stellar earnings history, beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters.



Science Applications International Corporation is another strong performer in the industry with a solid earnings history, beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters.



Xerox has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 10%. The stock also has a healthy positive earnings history, beating earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters.



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Istanbul (AFP) - The United States on Monday warned its citizens of a potential security threat targeting US-branded hotels in southern Turkey, a US consulate said in a statement.

The consulate in southern Adana province said on its website that "it has obtained specific and credible threats of potential terrorist activity targeting US-branded hotels in Adana."

It advised US citizens in Adana "to exercise caution when patronizing these establishments."

Adana hosts Incirlik air base -- used by the US-led coalition for air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.

The US embassy last week warned of the risk of a terror attack in another Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border on businesses frequented by Westerners, including the popular coffee chain Starbucks.

Turkey has been the target of a string of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants or the IS group.

A suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep last month killed 57 people, 34 of them children, and was blamed by Turkish authorities on IS jihadists.
Vienna (AFP) - US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, an architect of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, rejected Monday complaints from Tehran that Washington had not met its side of the bargain.

"The United States has done all that was asked of us... and more," Moniz said in Vienna where the accord was struck last July.

"The sanctions that were going to be relieved (under the deal) have been relieved."

The agreement came into force in January after decades of rising tensions.

Under it, Iran dramatically scaled back its nuclear activities, seeking to defuse concerns it would develop atomic weapons.

In return, major powers lifted sanctions imposed in previous years related to Iran's atomic activities.

But others -- for example over Iran's missile programme -- remain in place.

On Thursday at the UN general assembly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Washington of blocking Iran's access to the international banking system, hurting its ability to conduct international transactions.

"They scare, they frighten the big banks with the threat of potential action by the United States Treasury. This is something that we oppose," Rouhani told reporters later.

Moniz, speaking at the UN atomic agency's annual general conference, said US officials "at their highest levels" have explained in Europe and to banks how to transact with Iran without falling foul of the remaining restrictions.

"The reality is that Iran has opened up quite a few correspondent relationships with banks, but they are smaller to medium-sized banks as opposed to the big global banks, which obviously is important for bigger transactions," Moniz told reporters.

He added that Iranian oil exports were "essentially" back to their pre-sanctions levels, giving Tehran "considerable extra cashflow", and that the country's economic growth has turned positive.

A day before Rouhani's comments, Airbus and Boeing said they had received US licenses to sell planes to Iran Air, clearing the way for the first Western aircraft sales to the country in decades.
Hempstead (United States) (AFP) - The first US presidential debate, a clash of titans Monday between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, is one of the high points of the campaign, six weeks from the November 8 elections.

This first of three nationally televised debates will give the candidates a chance to introduce themselves -- or re-introduce themselves -- to skeptical American voters who will be watching closely for the slightest misstep, awkward gesture or fatal altercation.

It could shatter records for a television audience, with an estimated 90 million people expected to tune in, drawn by the high contrast between candidates and an extremely tight race.

- Time and place -

Monday at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT), at Hofstra University in the city of Hempstead on Long Island, an hour's drive from New York. Hofstra is no newcomer to presidential debates, having hosted them in 2008 and 2012.

- Length and format -

Ninety minutes, in six 15-minute segments with no commercial interruptions. Questions will focus on three broad themes: "America's Direction," "Achieving Prosperity" and "Securing America."

The two candidates will be alone on the stage, each standing behind a lectern.

The moderator will open each segment with a question. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond; each will then be allowed to reply to the other's response. The moderator will use the remaining time for follow-up questions.

Each broad theme will be discussed for 30 minutes.

- Moderator -

Lester Holt, 57, the respected anchor of NBC's evening news program, the country's most widely watched. He moderated one of the Democratic primary debates in January.

- The stakes for Hillary Clinton -

The bar is higher for the Democratic candidate, given her experience and detailed knowledge of the issues. Clinton will have to show that she is presidential but also honest (66 percent of Americans do not think so), while proving that she has fully recovered from her recent bout of pneumonia. Clinton is not particularly well-liked, and anything she can do to create an emotional bond with voters could boost her cause.

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- The stakes for Donald Trump -

Trump needs to convince voters that he has what it takes to be president, that he has at least an adequate familiarity with the issues and can make it through a high-pressure debate against a single opponent without losing his self-control. He also needs to reassure Republicans that although he is in many ways an outsider, he would serve as a Republican president.

- A new audience record? -

The current record for a televised presidential debate is 80.6 million viewers, set by the 1980 encounter between the Democratic incumbent, Jimmy Carter, and his Republican challenger, former California governor Ronald Reagan. Many analysts expect that to be broken on Monday.

- Third-party candidates -

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, and Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee, were not invited to the debate. They did not reach the threshold, set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, of an average 15 percent support based on five national opinion polls.

Johnson's support is currently at 7.2 percent and Stein's at 2.3 percent.

- Next debates -

October 9 and 19, at St Louis, Missouri, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Geneva (AFP) - US voters are being given the unpalatable choice for president between "warmonger" Hillary Clinton and "madman" Donald Trump, anti-establishment director Oliver Stone said in an interview aired by Swiss television Monday.

"We're between a rock and a hard place," Stone told public broadcaster RTS.

In the interview shown just hours before the first presidential debate is televised in the United States, Stone said he believed Trump was "dangerous" and that Clinton would win.

But he had harsh words for the first woman to get this far in a US presidential election, stressing that "people don't like her. They sense that she is lying, acting."

Stone warned that once elected, people should expect Clinton to be "much more aggressive" than current President Barack Obama, both on the war in Syria and against Russia.

Pointing to her support of intervention in Libya, and for the wars in Iraq and so-called surge in Afghanistan, he suggested that Clinton was driven by the same "impulses" as late former British prime minster Margaret Thatcher.

"Maybe she has something to prove psychologically," said Stone, whose latest movie is a biographical political thriller about Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor who revealed a vast US surveillance programme in 2013.

As for Trump, Stone said he was "charming" and good at doing things that are "watchable on television," but cautioned that "there is a madman inside of him."

"And I think in her there's a warmonger, so it's between a warmonger and a madman," he said.
Hillary Clinton talks a lot about globalization and its discontents, and much of what she says about the world is intelligent and true. Her supporters correspondingly like to cast her as the cosmopolitan in Americas presidential race, the one who really understands how the world works. In this narrative, Donald Trump is the parochial rube, the guy who just doesnt get the big picture. And you can be pretty sure that thats how shell play it in tonights much-anticipated presidential debate.

But is that really true? If you take a look around the world right now, its hard to escape the feeling that Donald Trump is the candidate whos in sync with the zeitgeist. Its a deeply depressing thought. But Clinton ignores it at her peril.

Much of the world currently finds itself in the grip of dark emotions. The democracies of the West seem to be suffering from a collective nervous breakdown. Anxiety about sluggish economic growth is fusing with fears about terrorism and migration to devastating effect. Theres a widespread sense that remote political elites are completely out of touch with the anxieties of ordinary voters.

In the United Kingdom, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson deftly exploited these fears in their campaign to persuade Britons to leave the EU; Johnson has now become the U.K.s foreign minister. Frances Marine Le Pen, who has made a career out of channeling resentment against immigrants, has a real shot at becoming her countrys next president. Hungarys Viktor Orban has vowed to end liberal democracy in his country. Meanwhile, Germans have been voting in droves for a party called the Alternative for Germany, a nativist movement thats been causing big headaches for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Note that all of these European trendsetters (with the possible exception of Johnson) share a striking fondness for a certain orange-hued American politician. Farage has made a new career as a guest star at Trump rallies. Le Pen has endorsed Trump, while Orban has lavished praise on him. The Alternative for Germany has, among other things, proposed a ban on the building of mosques  shades of the Donalds harsh anti-Muslim stance.

Story continues

And thats just the West. In the Philippines, formerly a proud regional champion of democracy, President Rodrigo Duterte has been sneering at the rule of law even as he flings obscenities at Barack Obama, the Pope, and the leaders of the EU. His penchant for demagoguery has earned him the title of the Trump of the Philippines (One could make the case that his current body count makes him worse. For now.)

Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once praised as a model Muslim democrat, is now presiding over the systematic demolition of his countrys democratic institutions, assisted by his Trump-like penchant for the politics of fear. Trumps bizarre bromance with Vladimir Putin is, of course, common knowledge. Less widely noted is his latest man-crush on Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom he recently called a fantastic guy. Sisi, it should be noted, is the leader who rose to power in part by gunning down hundreds of his own citizens in a Tiananmen Square-style massacre in 2013.

Certainly some of reasons for the current populist revolt have to do with economics  the sense that an age of turbocharged technological change and free trade agreements has left too many behind. But purely economic explanations only go so far. What were seeing now around the world cant always be reduced to rational thinking about economic self-interest.

Take that pesky fact that the illiberal surge has coincided in some countries with positive economic trends. In the U.K., one of the strongest pro-Brexit votes came from Cornwall, the county that has received huge amounts of EU subsidies. For voters there, worries about immigration and the loss of sovereignty to Brussels outweighed the potential damage to their pocketbooks. Poland has posted some of its regions highest growth rates in the past two decades  but that didnt dissuade voters from choosing a populist right-wing government with a disturbingly authoritarian streak last year. Clearly, growth wasnt enough. The same goes for the Philippines, where a long-running economic boom has fueled a rise in crime, corruption, and government dysfunction, thus creating the perfect opening for Duterte.

Welcome to the age of the id. More than any other generation in human history, we currently inhabit a world of constant and unrelenting change, and many people are quite naturally responding with uncertainty and fear. Theyre not looking primarily for someone whos proposing rational policy fixes  theyre looking for security, reassurance, and trust, impulses that are all too often salved by strident promises of tribalism or nationalism.

In this world, voters are all too ready to reject the calm voices of reason and experience and to opt instead for a desperate leap into the arms of the demagogue, the leader who promises protection from all the messy turbulence of a world in constant flux. Voters gravitate to strongmen  and note that most of the leaders Ive mentioned above are democratically elected  when they feel the need for protection: from change, from instability, from the other.

Fear, by its very definition, isnt necessarily rational. Study after study shows that peoples perceptions of reality depend less on their own life experiences than on what they think is happening to other people. High expectations, which can be exacerbated by todays promiscuous information environment, also play a role. Even if your situation is relatively good in objective terms, you might not see it as such if you were expecting greater things.

As far as Trump is concerned, many commentators have pointed out that his nightmare vision of the United States  a place mired in recession, weighed down by hopeless African-Americans, and plagued by rampant crime and runaway immigration  doesnt correspond to reality. Poverty is declining, violent crime is down, and immigrants were a larger share of the U.S. population in the early 20th century. Yet Trump supporters, discomfited by a society in the grip of tumultuous cultural and demographic change, see his dark caricature as an accurate reflection of their own nagging worries.

So how should the defenders of liberal democracy respond? Combating inequality and creating greater economic opportunity should obviously be part of the answer. But we also need to acknowledge the power of the id  by paying attention to the less tangible reasons for the current age of anxiety.

We need to think about how to make democracy more effective at cushioning citizens from the shocks of change. We need to think hard about tackling political polarization and creating new space for politics that can actually address pressing problems rather than succumbing to the gridlock that discredits democracy. We need to think about information policies  including media literacy programs  that can offer urgently needed counterweights to the echo chambers and conspiracy factories of the internet.

And if I were Hillary Clinton, Id talk a lot more about my faith in democracy itself. Id tell people that I understand their fears about the perceived loss of control to big government and the faceless forces of globalization, and Id propose reforms to address the erosion of trust  such as radical new policies of government transparency and changes to the electoral system that would enable people to feel that their votes really count. I might even argue that true democracy is impossible without genuine law and order  which you can only have as long as the police and the courts are truly accountable to all citizens. And I would certainly talk about the crucial importance of revitalizing education, since theres no hope for democracy without an informed electorate.

Above all I would argue that its time for the United States to start setting a trend of its own  by showing that strongmen arent the answer. I suspect we can only really succeed in doing that if we acknowledge the deficits of our own democracy. I have to admit that Im skeptical that the next president  whoever he or she is  will be up to the task. But were going to need to start on it sooner or later.

Photo credit: MELINDA MARA/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Correction, Sept. 26, 2016: UKIP MEP Nigel Farage advocated for Britains departure from the European Union. A previous version of this article mistakenly called him Niles Farage.
* Deal to create one of world's largest rail equipment firms

* Wabtec to sell Faiveley's brake pad unit to allay EU concerns (Adds European Commission declines comment, no immediate reply from Wabtec, changes slug)

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. rail equipment maker Wabtec Corp is set to win EU antitrust approval this week for its $1.8 billion bid for French rival Faiveley Transport, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The deal would create one of the world's largest equipment suppliers to public railway companies.

The European Commission had expressed concerns the merger would reduce competition and might lead to price hikes for customers. To allay those concerns, Wabtec pledged in July to sell Faiveley's brake pad unit if it wins control of the French company.

The European Commission has said it would make a decision on the deal by Oct. 24, but the sources said it would come this week.

Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. Wabtec did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Faiveley's share price spiked after Reuters reported on Monday that the deal would go ahead, trading up 1.5 percent at 97.90 euros. Wabtec shares were 1.7 percent higher at $78.12.

Wabtec bid in October last year to buy Faiveley, including its debt, in a cash-and-stock deal with an offer price of 100 euros per Faiveley share.

Pennsylvania-based Wabtec and Faiveley compete with Germany's Knorr-Bremse in rail equipment.

Wabtec, which was created from the merger of Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) and MotivePower Industries Corp in 1999, has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and Africa.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Julia Fioretti and Susan Fenton)
Anushka Sharma is making sure she is having the best time during the shoot of Imtiaz Alis The Ring. She has been posting several pictures and videos flaunting the fun she is having in the cities of Prague and Amsterdam.

Recommended: Blues & whites! SRK and Anushka are twinning in Lisbon for The Ring!

Recently, she posted two videos dancing in the car and shooting it at the same time. First, she danced to the Punjabi track Mundeya Ton Bach Ke from the film Boom. Even though she was distracted by the sunlight, she continued doing the Bhangra while going for a drive. She captioned the video, Desi beats in pardes Schedule wrap in #Amsterdam . Smooth shoot with an amazing crew Next stop #Lisbon . #TheRing.

The team of The Ring have headed to Lisbon in Portugal to commence the third schedule of the film.

A video posted by AnushkaSharma1588 (@anushkasharma) on Sep 23, 2016 at 8:59am PDT

In the next video, she grooved to her own song Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai from her last release Sultan. She rapped the part with such an ease and no distraction from the sunlight this time as the beautiful actor sported sunglasses! About this video, she said, Baby ko base aur drive pasand hai #Amsterdam .



A video posted by AnushkaSharma1588 (@anushkasharma) on Sep 23, 2016 at 9:06am PDT

Isnt she so much fun to watch?


From Harper's BAZAAR

Emma Watson is on a roll with promoting gender equality and she's not stopping soon. Shortly after delivering a moving speech at the UN against sexual assault on college campuses, the actress and activists released a video called "Hurdles," which she made with The Global Goals organization.

"Women and girls have always faced hurdles, but that's never stopped us," Watson narrates over footage of the women's hurdles event at the Olympic finals in 1964. The clip lists milestones in gender equality-granting women the right to vote, passing the Equal Pay Act, having more women than men enrolled in university-as the athletes race in the background, giving off the overall effect of overcoming physical and societal obstacles.

Watch the short film below.

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Tuning into Mondays showdown between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be a cinch, thanks to the variety of streaming options available online.

Among the channels broadcasting the first presidential debate between the two candidates on TV will be ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo and Fox along with the cable channels CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, C-SPAN and FOX Business.

Those without a cable subscription or antenna can still watch live streams online and those are available on social media networks, YouTube channels and directly from many broadcast news networks.

The first debate will air from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Lester Holt, anchor of NBCs Nightly News, is set to moderate.

Below are the ways you can tune into the debate online.

Online Streaming

Time.com will be livestreaming the debate here. Several of the channels offering television broadcasts are also providing online streams, including CNN, Fox News, Hulu, Telemundo, Yahoo, Univision and many others.

YouTube will live stream the debate, as well as feature YouTube live coverage from Complex News and The Young Turks from on-the ground.

Social Media

Bloomberg Television will stream its live broadcast of the debate on Twitter, sandwiched between Bloomberg Politics programming before and after the webcast.

Facebook and ABC News will provide a second-screen experience on the platform on debate day with coverage on Facebook Live, including anchored coverage and live video from watch parties around the country.
Watch Varietys political reporter Ted Johnson and co-editor-in-chief Andrew Wallenstein break down the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Johnson, host of Sirius FMs Pop Politics, talked about the nights big winner as well as some memorable moments during Monday nights primetime showdown.

Moderated by NBCs Lester Holt, the first presidential debate between Trump and Clinton is expected to be one of the most-watched political broadcasts in history with as many as 100 million viewers.

Watch Varietys post-debate coverage below:



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London (AFP) - Syrian and Russian air strikes on Aleppo have prompted accusations of war crimes over claims they involve sophisticated weaponry that can have a devastating effect in residential areas.

It is not clear exactly what armaments have been deployed but UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cited reports of incendiary weapons and bunker buster bombs, while barrel bombs and cluster munitions have also been used previously in Syria.

Which weapons might have been used?

- Bunker busters: named for their use in penetrating hardened targets such as underground military headquarters.

- Incendiary weapons: used to start fires, including materials such as napalm and white phosphorous, which can cause severe burns if they come into contact with skin.

They have a legitimate function of generating smokescreens.

Thermobaric bombs, also known as fuel-air explosives, set a fire that sucks the oxygen out of underground spaces and burns everything in its path.

- Cluster munitions: internationally-banned weapons that release smaller submunitions or "bomblets" over a wider area.

- Barrel bombs: unguided, improvised weapons with a wide impact, often made from an oil drum filled with explosives and metal fragments and dropped from the air.

Why would they be controversial in Aleppo?

"The use of weapons in armed conflict falls under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the direct targeting of civilians and prohibits indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks," said Hannah Brice, assistant head of International Security at the Chatham House think tank.

"The issue with many of the explosive weapons being used in Syria and in Aleppo is their use in residential areas where there is a high civilian population."

She added: "The issue however is complicated when military targets are located within civilian areas."

Brice quoted a report by the NGO Action on Armed Violence which found that when explosive weapons are used in populated areas, 92 percent of those killed and injured are civilians.

Story continues

They also often destroy critical infrastructure, such as healthcare facilities, sanitation, water and power supplies.

Ben Goodlad, principal weapons analyst at IHS Jane's, said: "Both bunker buster and fuel-air explosive munitions are intended for use against hardened, difficult to strike targets.

"The high level of explosive and blast effects caused by these munitions would have a devastating effect on a built-up area with collateral damage being almost unavoidable."

Stephen Rapp, former US ambassador for war crimes, said "any incendiary devices are not going to be in a situation where they can distinguish between (military targets and civilians). They are going to cause horrible loss of life to civilians."
By Allison Martell and Edmund Blair TORONTO/ASMARA (Reuters) - Bemnet Negash never got to say a proper goodbye to his family. In February 2006, government officials arrived at his school in the highlands of Eritrea and put him and his classmates on a bus to a military training camp. He was 20 years old, and still at school because a childhood illness had interrupted his education. Bemnet's father heard what was happening and rushed to the school. "He tried to pass to me my medication and some money through a window of the bus on which I was being taken away, but it was not possible," said Bemnet in an affidavit filed with a Canadian court last year. For much of the next five years, Bemnet toiled for the Eritrean national service, a massive conscription program instituted by the country's autocratic ruler in the mid-1990s. The conscripts become not just soldiers, but an army of cheap labor, forced to work for years for little pay, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has said the program is "similar to slavery in its effects"  a claim the Eritrean government rejects. Bemnet, who slipped out of Eritrea in 2011, did not work just for the government when he was a conscript: In his legal filing he says he helped build a mine for Nevsun Resources, a Canadian company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. His story illustrates the challenges for foreign investors operating in this overlooked part of Africa. The Eritrean government says national service is necessary to protect and build the impoverished country. The risk for foreign companies is that while they may bring jobs and infrastructure, they could become entangled with a state where conscript labor is pervasive. Nevsun says its investment in Eritrea brings social and economic benefits that mitigate the pressure for emigration. Even so, the number of Eritreans seeking refuge in Europe has increased about five-fold since 2008, according to Eurostat. In 2015, more than 45,000 Eritreans applied for asylum there. Bemnet's affidavit is part of a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a team of Canadian lawyers on behalf of Eritreans who allege that between 2008 and 2012 they were forced to work at Bisha, a mine operated and majority-owned by Nevsun. Lodged with five similar accounts from other workers, the affidavit says Bemnet was forced to work for about a dollar a day in harsh conditions. Bemnet and other workers want to claim compensation from Nevsun for "severe physical and mental pain and suffering." In the next few months the Supreme Court of British Columbia is expected to decide whether the legal case can continue. Nevsun, which had revenues of $357 million in 2015, denies the allegations and touts its mine as a model of responsible development. In its own legal filings, it says the Eritrean military never provided labor to the mine. Even if it did, the company argues, Nevsun was not directly responsible for employing the workers. The Canadian company owns 60 percent of the Bisha Mining Share Company (BMSC), which owns and operates the mine, and the Eritrean state owns the remaining 40 percent. BMSC in turn hired Segen, an Eritrean government firm, to do construction work at the mine. Bemnet says he worked for Segen, not Nevsun. But his lawyers say Nevsun should be held responsible for what happened at the mine, alleging Nevsun had authority over Segen and did not take reasonable steps to prevent mistreatment of workers. Todd Romaine, Nevsun's vice president of corporate social responsibility, denied the allegations and said in a written statement that the company "will vigorously defend itself in court." He said BMSC is "an employer of choice" in Eritrea and provides "well-paying, intrinsically rewarding jobs for local people ... The company has made a significant financial contribution to the country in terms of taxation, royalties, local employment (and) supply chain." Romaine said Nevsun has a screening process to ensure that no conscripts work at the mine. "Nevsun is a force for good in Eritrea," he said. Nevsun also says that if its prohibition against the use of conscripts was ever breached, state-controlled Segen was to blame. It says that it had been obliged by the Eritrean government to use Segen to build the mine, and that Nevsun had no control over Segen. Reuters tried to contact Segen via telephone and email, but received no comment. Alem Kibreab, director-general of Eritrea's Department of Mines, said no conscripts worked at Bisha, and that some migrants made up stories of mistreatment in the hope of gaining permission to stay in Europe. In affidavits filed with the Canadian court, several workers from the mine have backed up Nevsun. Kahsay Gebremichael, a foreman with Segen, said that he had worked at Bisha for seven years, by choice. "I was not forced to work at the Bisha Mine by anyone. I can quit my job if I want to," he said in an affidavit filed in November 2015. Bemnet and the other former workers involved in the lawsuit were living in Ethiopia, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland when they swore affidavits in 2014 and 2015. Reuters was unable to contact them and their lawyers declined to make them available for interviews, citing the ongoing legal proceedings. But Reuters has reviewed the former workers' detailed allegations and, while their case is not new, this article draws on court records that have not been previously reported, including Bemnet's affidavit. It also draws on accounts of two former foreign workers who helped build the mine: One said employees of Segen endured tough conditions in 2009 and 2010, working without adequate food, water or shelter. The Eritrean government dismisses criticism of its national service program as politically motivated and biased. Government officials deny that national service involves forced labor and say a program to improve pay began in mid-2015. They insist conscription remains vital for the security of the nation, which only secured independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after decades of conflict. NATION BUILDING Bemnet spent his first weeks of military training at a camp called Wia, near the Red Sea, where he slept on the ground in the open, according to his affidavit. Next he was moved to a desolate stretch of coastline, where he worked seven days a week, completing more training, gathering large stones and building houses. He was still there in September 2006, when, halfway around the world, then Nevsun Chief Executive John Clarke pitched Eritrea to mining investors at one of the industry's top conferences, the Denver Gold Forum. Canada is home to hundreds of small mining companies, many exploring for gold both in Canada and around the world. Staffed by a few executives and a small board of directors, these companies buy mineral claims and raise a few million dollars at a time to pay for exploratory drilling. One strategy is to focus on countries where poor infrastructure, skill shortages or political unrest have made mining difficult, leaving rich deposits untouched. Clarke's presentation focused on Gash Barka, a region in western Eritrea where gold was mined during the colonial era. No one had built or operated a mine in the country for decades because of the risk of conflict and fears the government might expropriate assets. So Clarke promoted the project, which he called Bisha, by emphasising Eritrea's good roads and well-educated people. "Given that it is a poor country, they're just using their resources extremely well, including their youngsters, who do a couple years national service after university, everybody contributing to nation building," he said, in a presentation that until recently was available online. Clarke, who is no longer with Nevsun, did not respond to requests for comment. National service in Eritrea, which still fears attack from its far larger neighbor Ethiopia, has no set length, according to the government. The country has been ruled by former Marxist guerrilla leader Isaias Afwerki since independence. In 1998, in the midst of a border war with Ethiopia, Isaias declared a state of emergency and extended national service. Eritrea's Information Minister, Yemane Ghebremeskel, told Reuters that the length of national service had originally been 18 months, but that it had been "prolonged" because of border tensions with Ethiopia. He did not specify how long national service now lasts. A U.N. commission charged with investigating human rights abuses in Eritrea said in a June 2015 report that all sectors of the Eritrean economy rely on conscripts. Most citizens are conscripted before they finish high school, and undergo limited military training before being assigned to jobs. Some are sent to work in construction or farming, or as civil servants or engineers. In a statement, Eritrea said the allegations of human rights abuses are "totally unfounded and devoid of all merit." "CONTINUOUSLY HUNGRY" By September 2008, the Bisha mine had its permits and work was underway at the site. As mining companies often do, Nevsun hired an engineering, procurement and construction management firm to run construction, selecting a South African company called Senet. One of Senet's employees was Mike Goosen, a civil construction supervisor who arrived in 2009. Day to day, Goosen and other Senet staff supervised Segen, the Eritrean government-owned contractor brought in to do construction work. While Senet declined to comment on its work at Bisha, citing the ongoing legal action, Goosen told Reuters he became friendly with some Segen workers, though they lived some distance from the main camp. He visited their camp and was alarmed by the conditions he found. None of the buildings had proper windows or doors. Workers slept on the floor, with no mosquito nets. "We had a lot of them going down with malaria," he told Reuters. The workers were "continuously hungry," he said, and subsisted on lentil soup and bread. Drinking water was left in the hot sun all day. Goosen said he asked cooks at the main camp to set aside leftover food for Segen workers but Segen managers told him to stop. In affidavits filed to support the lawsuit against Nevsun, former Eritrean workers described rations of lentil soup and bread. "We were always tired and hungry, and fell ill very often," reads the affidavit of Mihretab Yemane Tekle, who said he worked at the Bisha mine from February to October 2010, and now has refugee status in Ethiopia. "Many conscripts caught malaria at Bisha." In an affidavit filed in June 2014, Segen manager Abadi Gebremeskel Alemayo described the death of a worker named Berhane, who he said was a conscript. "One day, he was building partitions in the residences for the foreign workers, and he just collapsed," he said. "In his report, the doctor said it was heat stroke. I buried him myself  I took his body to his village and buried it." Abadi, a safety officer at Bisha, said in his affidavit that he knew some of the workers were conscripts because he attended a Segen meeting in mid-2009 at which the use of conscripts was discussed. Reuters was unable to contact Abadi for comment. ESCAPE Segen workers were on site in significant numbers during the mine's initial construction from 2008 to 2011. In February 2009, for example, more than half the workers on site were from Segen, according to a Senet progress report filed with the Canadian court. In a 2013 press release, Nevsun said it first heard allegations that conscripts were working at Bisha in early 2009. In response, Nevsun instructed Senet to change Segen's contracts to explicitly prohibit the use of national service members. Nevsun also told Senet to start screening workers to ensure there were no conscripts at the mine. Court filings from Senet say screening began in May 2009; the system involved workers providing certificates to show they had finished national service. It is unclear how effective the screening was, said a foreign worker who was on site at the time and spoke on condition of anonymity. Segen would put off filing paperwork, telling Senet that its workers were no one else's business. When papers did arrive, they were photocopies of Eritrean documents that no one outside Segen understood because they were written in the local language of Tigrinya, the foreign worker said. In an affidavit for the court case, Senet project director Pieter Theron described the screening process, and said that as far as he knew, the Eritrean military was not involved in building Bisha. Theron declined requests for comment. In his affidavit, he said allegations about harsh working conditions were not consistent with his observations: "It is simply not the case that individuals worked in dangerous conditions and were often injured or ill." Bemnet arrived at Bisha with the rest of his military unit in February 2010, according to his affidavit. He was told to take off his military uniform, and given grey coveralls to wear, with "Segen" across the back. An officer laid out some rules for his time at Bisha. He was not to tell anyone that he was a national service member. If asked about his pay he should say he was being paid $21 to $22 per day. He would actually be paid 450 nakfa per month, about $1 a day, according to the legal claim. Bemnet and other conscripts were sometimes allowed to spend time in a nearby town. One Sunday in July 2010, he stayed late in town, eating and drinking with a friend, according to his affidavit. In the early hours, a group of military men came to retrieve him. Bemnet said they accused him of trying to desert and leave Eritrea. He was tied up with his friend, he said, with only short breaks for five days, and then sent to prison. Bemnet said he was not sent back to Bisha after his release in November 2010, but remained in national service. In 2011, stationed near the Ethiopian border, he saw a chance to escape and swam across a river with two other men. From Ethiopia, Bemnet traveled to Sudan, Libya and across the Mediterranean to Italy. Like thousands of other Eritreans, he applied for asylum in Germany. Many Eritreans aiming for Europe cross the Sahara into Libya, risking death by dehydration, starvation and violence in the desert. In Libya, some are kidnapped by Islamic State, and executed or enslaved before they can attempt to cross the Mediterranean. The United Nations refugee agency reported that 11,564 Eritreans made it to Italy in the first seven months of 2016. That was more than from any country other than Nigeria. REGRET In 2013, Human Rights Watch published a report about the alleged use of conscripts at Bisha. Anticipating the report, Nevsun sent out a press release that expressed "regret if certain employees of Segen were conscripts ... in the early part of the Bisha mine's construction phase." It hired Lloyd Lipsett, a Canadian human rights lawyer, to assess the mine. Lipsett's reports have focused on the period since he was hired. In a 2015 report he said he had found nothing to corroborate allegations against the company, but that it was difficult to draw conclusions about anything before 2013. In an interview, Lipsett said there were limits to what he could do and how reliable witnesses were. "It's hard in a country like Eritrea where there is, I think, a plausible and potential risk that people may feel intimidated or be threatened with reprisal," he said. "I think you just have to work at it, and see what the weight of the evidence points to ... If someone is directly lying, I can't say that I will always catch that." In February, Nevsun invited Reuters to visit the mine and interview managers and government officials on site and in Eritrea's capital, Asmara. During that tour, Romaine, the company's vice president for corporate social responsibility, said: "We take all allegations very seriously, but to date, based on all our extensive investigations, we have not found any corroborating evidence to support the allegations being made." (Martell reported from Toronto, Blair from Asmara; Additional reporting by Jim Morris and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver, and Selam Gebrekidan in New York; Editing By Richard Woods and Simon Robinson)
They Were Lost Tells the Creepy Tale of a Group of Friends Who Want to Make a Documentary about an Abandoned Mental Institution

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2016 / Writer and producer Dale Hills is pleased to announce the upcoming release of They Were Lost, a new indie horror film that is sure to have audiences jumping out of their seats.

To learn more about the horror film and see short clips, please check out https://goo.gl/HxascN.

As a spokesperson for They Were Lost noted, the indie film scene has a reputation for turning out some amazing horror films.

"Some of the most memorable and popular horror flicks are a result of passion driven projects by indie film crews," the spokesperson said, adding that thanks to the talented team that is behind They Were Lost, horror fans are sure to be delighted with the new film.

They Were Lost follows a group of friends who are planning to make a documentary about an abandoned mental institution.

"In their adventures through the eerie facility, reality slips away. They are consumed by darkness that has been waiting for them, dragging them into the ominous depths of the building's past," the spokesperson said.

The team behind They Were Lost has already been working around the clock to perfect and finalize the script, which was written by Hills.

"The hopes are high for this project. Dedicated filmmakers have been working over the script, page by page, to ensure that the movie tells the story as Hills envisioned," the spokesperson said.

The film will be directed by Benjamin Marlatt and features a talented cast, starring Ian Griffin, Trevor Hutchins, Kelly Eubank, Rick Trombley, Courtney Steward, Jacob Lemieux, Parisa Rashidi, Dale Hills, Courtney Mathews, Tiffany Clark, and DJ Pank.

In order to help pay for the production costs associated with making the new indie horror film, Hills and the movie crew recently launched a fundraiser on Indiegogo. They hope to raise $24,000 to cover lodging, transportation, costume and props. They are also raising funds to cover location rentals, cast and crew salary, and music licensing.

Story continues

About They Were Lost:

They Were Lost started as an idea for a script, and with the efforts of many talented individuals from writers to film makers, it has grown to become a project that will create a wonderful film. The indie horror film, written and produced by Dale Hills, is about a group of friends planning to make a documentary about an abandoned mental institution. For more information, please visit https://goo.gl/HxascN.

Contact:

Pamela Benson

admin@rocketfactor.com

(949) 555-2861

SOURCE: They Were Lost
Clinton and Hillary Clinton

In November 1995, US President Bill Clinton infamously began an affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

For the next year and a half, America's 42nd president would engage in a dozen sexual encounters with Lewinsky, most of which took place in the Oval Office.

And while the nation wouldn't find out about President Clinton's scandal until January 1998, White House staff "witnessed the fallout from the affair and the toll it took on Hillary Clinton," explains Kate Brower, author of "The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House."

"You just felt bad for the entire family and what they were going through," White House maid Betty Finney told Brower. "You could feel the sadness."

According to Brower, the president slept on a sofa on the second floor of the White House for three months during the height of the Lewinsky drama.

"Some on the staff have said that Hillary knew about Lewinsky long before it came out, and that what really upset her was not the affair itself but its discovery and the media feeding frenzy that followed," Brower writes.

"It happened and she knew it happened and everybody was looking at her," former White House storeroom manager Bill Hamilton said of the first lady.

White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier recalled that in the late afternoons, Hillary would call down and quietly ask for her favorite dessert, "Roland, can I have a mocha cake tonight?"

"I made many, many mocha cakes. You better believe it," Mesnier told Brower.

Worthington White, a White House usher, described to Brower another encounter with the first lady during the dark days following the Lewinsky affair:

"One sunny weekend in August 1998, just before the president made his confession to the country, the first lady called Usher Worthington White with unusual request.

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'Worthington, I want to go to the pool but I don't want to see anybody except you,' she said.

'Yes, ma'am, I understand,' he replied sympathetically."

White arranged for the Secret Service agents to abandon the protocol in which one agent would walk ahead of the first lady and another would walk behind her. Instead, they just trailed her.

White met Clinton, who was wearing reading glasses and carrying a few books, at the doors of a White House elevator and then escorted her to the pool  just as she had requested.

"They didn't exchange a single word on the walk to the pool.

'Ma'am, do you need any butler service?' White asked her after she got settled in.

'No,' she responded.

'You need anything at all?'

'No, it's just a beautiful day and I want to just sit here and enjoy some sunshine. I'll call you when I'm ready to go back.'"

White then explained to the first lady that within an hour he would be heading home and therefore another staff member would come to escort her back to the White House.

"Clinton looked intently at him. 'I'll call you when I'm done.'

'Yes, ma'am,' White replied, knowing that that meant he would have to stay until whenever she chose to leave.

He didn't get the call until nearly three-thirty that afternoon.

When he returned, White accompanied the first lady on another wordless walk from the pool to the second floor. Before she stepped off the elevator, the besieged first lady let him know how much his efforts meant to her.

'She grabbed me by my hands and gave them a little squeeze and looked me directly in my eyes and just said, "Thank you."'

'It touched my heart,' White said of her gratitude. 'It meant the world to me.'"

In January 1998, the public found out about President Bill Clinton's affair. On December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton for lying under oath and obstructing justice.

NOW WATCH: How Hillary Clinton survived one of the biggest scandals in American politics





More From Business Insider


What could these two be talking about? What, you dont talk to your dog? (Images courtesy of Gucci)

Tom Hiddleston has managed to emerge as his best self post-Taylor Swift breakup. Hiddleston has landed a new campaign as the face of Gucci, and as a result, he is pictured posing in advertisements for Alessandro Micheles Cruise ready-to-wear 2017 line, Grazia magazine reports.

Showcasing everything from patterned suits to fur-lined slippers and a glitzy jacket, Hiddleston isnt afraid to show off his uncanny ability to wear a power suit extraordinarily well. But the best part? The beautiful Afghan hounds with the most amazing dog hair  or hair on any mammal maybe ever, for that matter  that are in each of Hiddlestons campaign photos.

Sure, Hiddleston looks great in each of Guccis advertisements, but its not only the dogs who seem to outshine him but also Guccis incredible outfits. The proof lies on social media, with one Twitter user even writing, I have a problem with the shoes. The dogs can stay but the shoes  no. See another one of the promotional images for yourself, below:

Image courtesy of Gucci

Each image is beautifully crafted, with the set (actually the former home of Hollywood set designer Tony Duquette) appearing extremely luxurious in its almost regal vibe. But while Hiddlestons suits are meant to be the focus of each image, all we see is those gorgeous pups. Considering how much attention and publicity the campaign has already gotten, were thinking those long-haired pups were Micheles greatest decision for the campaign. Looks like Hiddleston couldnt escape being outshone by a blondie yet again.

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At 3 a.m. on the morning of May 17, 2012, the town of Timpson, Texas, was awoken by the largest earthquake ever measured in the eastern half of the state. The 4.8-magnitude tremor shattered glass cabinets and knocked deer heads off the wall. One respondent reported his fireplace came down inside his residence, and his south exterior brick wall blew off the house, reported a definitive study.

Earthquakes do not often strike Texas: Timpson is closer to tornado alley than the Pacific ring of fire. Timpson isnt even in West Texas, where the states worst quakes have historically taken place. So seismologists soon felt comfortable suggesting that the quake was at least partly manmade or induced; that is, not something that would have happened by itself, but a product of the large fracking operation less than five miles from Timpson.

Yet there were dozens of other fracking wells throughout Texas that never appeared to trigger tremors. Why did Timpson shake when other towns like it didnt? And once that happens, can you predict an induced earthquake before it strikes? Manoochehr Shirzaei, Bill Ellsworth, and a team of satellite analysts and Earth scientists have a new hypothesis, published last week in Science.

Recommended: How a Cool Clinton Drove Trump Over the Edge

The answer could matter far beyond East Texas. Induced earthquakes have become increasingly common in the United States over the last decade, a kind of geological gurgle tailing the surge in natural-gas extraction. Between 1973 and 2008, the central United States saw only about 20 earthquakes per year with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher (which is roughly the threshold for when people start reporting shaking). But then, starting in 2009, the numbers began to surge. By 2013, there were 99 observable quakes per year. Then, in just 2014, there were 659, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Somehow, in less than a decade, the once-solid seeming North American continent had been destabilized.

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The quakes clustered around fracking wells, but seismologists came to believe the quakes arent actually caused by the removal of natural gas itself. Rather, theyre caused by injecting waste water left over from the fracking process back into the earth. Often this water oozes with salt, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals, so drilling companies try to place it beneath the water table.

After fracking began nearby around 2008, four wells of this type were built around Timpsontwo to the east and two to the west. Some of these wells were enormous, pumping more than 2 million gallons of waste water underground every month. And in 2011 and early 2012, tiny earthquakes started to rattle the town.

According to new data from Shirzaei and Ellsworth, the quakes werent the only thing that was changing about outlying Timpson. According to observations they obtained from a Japanese satellite radar sensor called ALOS, all those gallons of water had started to nudge the ground. Land between the injection wells lifted up at a rate of about 3 millimeters per year. This is not an enormous distance, as far as the changing Earth goesCalifornia slides into the Pacific every year at about 11 times that ratebut it is not negligible. In the months before the quake, the ground silently rose as tall as a sesame seed is long.

Recommended: Hillary Did What She Needed to Do

This change, though, didnt happen where the earthquake eventually struck, on a basement fault running beneath the town. Rather, the ground lifted mostly around the wells to the east. The earth beneath the western wells didnt seem to move.

And this is the key of Shirzaeis hypothesis. One of the few differences between the wells was their depth: Eastern wells deposited water about half a mile below the surface into hard rock, where water eventually caused the ground to rise. To the west, the wells forced water much deeper, more than a mile underground, where, Shirzaei believes, it leaked down and irrigated the basement fault. He reached this conclusion by feeding the InSAR data into a model of the earth beneath Timpson and calculating the water pressure at certain depths.

Wells to the west are deep and not sealed from the bottom by harder rock, so fluid injection could reach downward, lubricate faults and trigger the earthquake, he told me. The shallow system was sealed from bottom, so fluid had no opportunity to reach faults.

His conclusions suggest a solution: Disposal wells shouldnt go too deep; or, at least, they should only deposit into rock protected from the underlying fault system.

But Cliff Frohlich, a senior scientist at the University of Texas at Austins Institute for Geophysics, isnt as sure. Frohlich wrote the first study about the Timpson earthquake. He praised the use of satellite data to investigate induced earthquakes, saying that InSAR, a narrow type of radar sensing used by ALOS, was an important new data source. But he wasnt convinced by the papers central finding.

Recommended: Stones Have Been Popping Out of People Who Ride Roller Coasters

When you just look at the paper, you think its gonna see a huge surface signal from InSAR where the earthquake happens. But whats actually there is a huge surface signal 7 to 10 kilometers from where the earthquake happened, he told me.

What this paper didnt show is that the earthquake was related to uplift, he said.

Say you looked at InSAR for 50 injection wells, five of which eventually had earthquakes and 45 of which didnt. Then what is the relationship of the uplift to the seismicity? Is the InSAR method broadly applicable? Is it something one could apply only in retrospect to all induced earthquakes, or also ahead of time?

If uplift was found to regularly happen before an induced earthquake, it would be a significant finding, suggesting a method for predicting earthquakes. It would also mark a change from earthquakes caused by tectonic faults, where uplift mostly tends to follow major temblors, not predate them.

This whole business of earthquake predictionwhen I was beginning my career in the 1970s, seismologists said, We can crack this. Just give us funding for 20 years and we can predict earthquakes. Thirty-five years later, theyre not saying that as confidently. We can sometimes say where and how big, but we cant say when, Frolich told me. But part of my positive feeling about this paper on the Timpson is you cant be too critical of scientists at the beginning if they dont cure cancer.

Shirzaei told me that the team next intends to conduct a comprehensive InSAR study of other disposal wells to see if uplift really does correlate to seismicity across a broader area. A finding like this wont matter as much for the people of Timpson: Shirzaeis model suggests that when the two western wells are shut off sometime this year, the water pressure beneath the town will quickly fall. But it will matter for the hundreds of other disposal wells that dot middle America.

Earthquakes arent frackings only environmental harm: Its unclear whether fracking wells have worsened drinking water quality across the country, and many climate scientists are increasingly worried about the greenhouse effects of natural gas itself. But when it comes to earthquakes, satellite observation could be one tool among many. Earlier this year, Oklahoma began to closely regulate how these wells are created, and early reports indicate the number of quakes there is falling.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
A rise in right-wing extremism is posing a serious threat to the economy in East Germany, according to a government report.

One such industry affected is tourism. The Dresden marketing organization told CNBC via telephone that domestic visitor numbers, based on overnight stays in the city, were down 3.7 percent year on year in the period of January to July 2016.

This is a significant amount when you take into consideration that domestic holidaymakers account for 80 percent of the total tourism in Germany, according to the German National Tourist Board (GNTB).

The visitor drop in Dresden was partly blamed on xenophobic statements made during Pegida demonstrations. Pegida is a far right, anti-immigration group originating in Dresden.

Slightly offsetting the domestic fall, international tourist figures in Dresden were up 4.4 percent in the same period.

Iris Gleicke, the German official behind the governmental report published earlier this week, said that: "Right-wing extremism in all its forms poses a very serious threat for the social and economic development of the 'new' states." The report is published annually and assesses Germany's reunification process.



For GNTB CEO Petra Hedorfer, the news was not a surprise. She added that: "Across Germany too we are currently observing a slowdown in the growth of inbound tourism, which had previously been booming."

Hedorfer acknowledged that the phenomenon's effects could be more wide ranging: "Right-wing extremism, xenophobia and terrorist attacks are damaging Germany's image abroad and could have an impact on the volume of inbound travel to the country that would then affect its tourism economy."

According to a report by domestic intelligence agency BfV, the number of attacks per million citizens inspired by right-wing sentiments in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was five times higher than western German states, falling at 58.7. Here, the far right Alternative fur Deutschland party saw election success earlier this month. Two weeks ago, residents clashed with asylum seekers in the East German town of Bautzen.



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Several analysts CNBC spoke to pointed out that rising tensions between immigrants and far right groups  and the potential impact on tourism  was not just occurring in Germany, but across Europe too.

But, Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, added that: "There is a much more pervasive fear of Islamist militancy than right-wing extremism. Caucasian tourists are far less likely to be targeted by right-wing extremists. The specific intent of Islamist militants to target Western civilians in general means that there is a greater risk from this angle."

Hedorfer suggested that: "International travelers have a growing awareness of social responsibility and of the political and social trends that are playing out in the destinations that they visit."

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.


Pencils of Promise, a global education nonprofit, announced Monday (Sept. 26) that Grammy-nominated rapper Wiz Khalifa will headline the 2016 PoP Gala, joining fellow performers Nico & Vinz.

Go Behind-the-Scenes at Wiz Khalifa & Snoop Dogg's High Road Tour

Khalifa will close the event -- set for Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Cipriani Wall Street -- with a special performance in support of the millions of children around the globe who don't have access to quality education. "Kids should be able to chase their dream. Pencils of Promise is allowing them to do that," Khalifa said in a press release announcing his involvement.

Honorary event chair Grace Raymond and creative director Luam Keflezgy are leading the effort to transform the annual event. "There are 250 million kids around the world who can't read and write. The evening will portray a living world and an environmental utopia, in which all children have access to an education," Raymond said of what guests can expect at the event.

The 2016 gala will feature an awards portion, highlighting the partnership with footwear brand Stuart Weitzman, which has supported Pencils of Promise with their Shoes for Schools campaign, through which they funded the construction of three schools: one each in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos. The night will also recognize the Womble Family/Collis Foundation.

Jay Z & Beyonce Planning Tidal Charity Concert

This year marks the sixth annual Pencils of Promise Gala to raise funds for children's education in developing countries. Previous honorees and performers have included Justin Bieber, John Legend, Usher, Gary Vaynerchuk, Malala Yousafzai and Scooter Braun. The event will contribute to the organization's efforts of improving access to quality education.
An argument over parking escalated quickly at a New Mexico casino late last week when cops say a woman drove her car into her rival for a spot.

Bernalillo County authorities have slapped Yvonne Aragon with charges of assault with a deadly weapon in the encounter at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, which cops say occurred Friday.

Read: The Mother of All Crimes: 2 Moms Arrested after Allegedly Drinking With Their Infants

Cops say the spat became even crazier after the victim tossed his coffee on Aragon's car, at which time she allegedly pulled out a pistol.

Responding officers say they discovered bruises on the victim's leg that matched a skeleton on Aragon's license plate.

"The victim stated that he was saving a spot for his wife to park in," Captain Andi Taylor with the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office told KOB. So he was standing in the parking spot."

Watch: Horrifying Video Shows Driver Intentionally Plowing Into Police Officers: Cops

Police say Aragon admitted to hitting the victim with the car but denied pointing a gun at him.

The 45-year-old faces two felony battery charges for what Taylor said amounted to her ill-advised reaction to her exasperation.

"Potentially she has felonies on her record all because she was impatient and decided to react in a hostile, negative manner," Taylor said.

Watch: Escaped Inmate Steals Car After Posing for Photos With It at Dealership

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Yahoo! Inc.s YHOO streak of bad luck continues as the company has been sued for irresponsibility and negligence over a massive 2014 hacking incident. Many analysts consider this to be yet another blow to CEO Marissa Mayer's efforts to cure the companys ailing fortunes.

Two class-action specialist law firms Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Labaton Sucharow have jointly filed a class action against the company on behalf of Ronald Schwartz, a New York resident and all other users in the U.S. whose personal information have been tampered with.

The Allegation

In a joint statement, attorneys from the two law firms said, Yahoos failure to safeguard its users very personal, sensitive information, in direct violation of its promises, is utterly unacceptable in this day and age. The fact that a breach of this magnitude went undetected at a tech giant like Yahoo for two years is astounding.

The lawsuit was filed in the federal court in San Jose California, just one day after Yahoo confirmed a massive breach of its security affecting about half a billion of its users.

The company confirmed that the stolen data included consumers names, email addresses, telephone numbers, date of birth, encrypted passwords and security questions and answers. However, sensitive information like unprotected passwords, payment card data and bank account information were not compromised with.

Many Questions Still Unanswered

The question that is bothering many is that did Yahoo not know about the situation until recently? If yes, then what took it so long to take stock of the situation? Is the company really capable of securing users data? Again, on what basis should one believe Yahoos claim of a state sponsored" attack?

Its hard to believe that the company did not know about this massive breach of security. Probably by suppressing the matter for some time, it had tried to avoid additional troubles that could hamper its multi-billion dollar deal with Verizon Communications Inc. VZ.

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YAHOO! INC Price

YAHOO! INC Price | YAHOO! INC Quote

Will it Impact the Verizon Deal?

Verizon is in the midst of finalizing a $4.8 billion deal to acquire Yahoos core assets. We believe that the disclosure could have a significant impact if Verizon finds a material adverse change (MAC) in the period between signing and closing.

In response to the breach disclosure, Verizon stated that "We will evaluate as the investigation continues through the lens of overall Verizon interests, including consumers, customers, shareholders and related communities."

Zacks Rank

Currently, Yahoo is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. some better-ranked stocks in the in the broader technology sector include Facebook, Inc. FB and LinkedIn Corporation LNKD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Facebook witnessed eight positive estimate revisions in the last 60 days. LinkedIn saw three positive estimate revisions over the same timeframe.

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Aden (AFP) - Yemeni authorities on Monday deported at least 220 African illegal immigrants, mainly Ethiopians, from the southern port city of Aden, security officials said.

The migrants had been rounded up over the past two weeks and were put on a ship bound for Somalia, from where they apparently came, an official in Aden said.

The boat left from the port at Aden's refinery.

Hundreds of illegal migrants have arrived in south Yemen over the past few weeks despite the ongoing war that has ravaged the country.

In Shabwa province, east of Aden, authorities have arrested more than 500 African migrants over the past two weeks, security chief Awad al-Dahboul said.

Officials in south Yemen have claimed that some migrants are being recruited by Huthi rebels to fight against government forces, a claim that could not be independently verified.

Shabwa and Aden are two of Yemen's five southern provinces that government forces recaptured from the rebels over the summer.
Sanaa (AFP) - A leader of Yemen's Shiite Huthi rebels on Sunday proposed a truce on the country's border with Saudi Arabia in an exchange for a halt in Saudi-led strikes on his forces.

The proposal, coinciding with a surge in fighting after peace talks were suspended last month, was made by Salah al-Sammad, head of a new council appointed by the rebels and their allies to run the country.

Sammad called on Saudi Arabia to "stop naval, air and land aggression, cease air raids and lift the blockade of our country, in exchange for an end to combat operations on the border and to (rebel) missile launches into Saudi territory," he said, in a speech published on the sabanews website.

Sammad, whose body is not recognised by the international community, also urged the UN and "peace-loving states" to exert pressure on the Saudi regime to accept the offer.

He also suggested an amnesty for "combatants who have sided with the aggression," a reference to fighters who back President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

The Huthis are allied with soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In late 2014 they seized Yemen's capital Sanaa before moving into other parts of the country.

Saudi Arabia in March 2015 formed an Arab coalition to begin air strikes and ground support for forces loyal to Hadi, who fled to Riyadh.

More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coalition launched its intervention, most of them civilians, and at least three million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations.

The latest round of UN-led talks between the government and the Huthis ended acrimoniously on August 6 without a breakthrough and a ceasefire that had been in place since April collapsed.

Hadi, in a fierce address to the UN in New York on Friday, accused of Iran of blocking peace moves through its support for the rebels.

"We shall extract Yemen from the claws of Iran. We shall raise the Yemeni flag over every foot of our precious soil," Hadi told the General Assembly.
Aden (AFP) - Yemeni forces killed a suspected local Al-Qaeda chief on Monday in a clash at his house in the southern province of Abyan, security officials said.

A Yemeni soldier also died and another was wounded when troops stormed the residence of an alleged insurgent identified as Abdullah Hubaibat, on the outskirts of the town of Loder, the officials said.

Two other jihadist suspects were wounded in the firefight and a third was arrested, the sources told AFP.

Government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition entered Abyan's capital Zinjibar last month and have recaptured other towns across the province.

The Arab coalition battling Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen has also been providing government troops with air cover throughout their war against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The United States has carried out numerous drone strikes against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in Yemen.

In other unrest, an army colonel and four soldiers have been killed and 19 wounded in clashes with the rebels since Sunday on the frontier between Lahj and Taez provinces in southwest Yemen, a military official said Monday.

Taez province is mostly controlled by the rebels and their allies, while Lahj is one of five southern provinces that coalition-backed government forces recaptured over the summer.

The coalition began its military campaign in March 2015 against the rebels after they closed in on President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in his refuge in the southern port city of Aden.

More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coalition launched its intervention, most of them civilians, and at least three million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations.
Having wrapped up the schedule in Amsterdam, Shah Rukh is shooting in Lisbon for the third schedule of Imtiaz AlisThe Ring.

As was in Amsterdam, SRK and Anushkas pictures and videos from the sets in Lisbon are making the rounds on the internet.

In a video shared on Instagram, we can see the 50-year-old actor filming a rather restless scene at night. The Dilwalestar can be seen walking to and fro, while Anushka is seen reaching out to him.

Recommended Read: Heres what happened when SRK turned DJ for a radio show!

Another pic posted on social media shows SRK in the middle of the shoot in his forever charming self in white shirt and denim.

Notably, this is the third time SRK and Anushka have teamed up for a movie. Earlier, they have collaborated in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
After Zach Galifianakis record-breaking Between Two Ferns episode with Hillary Clinton last week, the actor has no desire to have Donald Trump as a guest on the show.

I wouldnt have somebody on thats so mentally challenged, he told the Los Angeles Times. I feel like Id be taking advantage of him. And you can print that.

He added that he has no interest in doing an episode with Trump because hes the kind of guy who likes attention  bad attention or good attention. So youre dealing with a psychosis there thats a little weird.

Also Read: Hillary Clinton's 'Between Two Ferns' Episode Viewed 30 Million Times in 24 Hours

Clintons episode of Between Two Ferns has proven to be one of the most popular installments of the Funny or Die comedy video website yet. The series brought the Democratic presidential candidate to the show earlier this week, and the episode accrued more than 30 million views in the first 24 hours.

The company also announced the episode was its most-shared social post ever, with more than 500,000 shares on Facebook and 25,000 retweets.

In the episode, Clinton revealed to host Galifianakis what shed do if she were to lose the election.

See Video: Hillary Clinton Reveals What She'll Do If Donald Trump Wins on 'Between Two Ferns'

I would try to prevent him from destroying the United States, she said, speaking of Donald Trump. The caveat is that she wouldnt take up arms to start another civil war. Oh right, because before we were rolling you said you were going to take everyones guns away, Galifianakis responded.

In the L.A. Times interview, Galifianakis praised the Democratic nominee, saying shes cool and she definitely has a sense of humor.

But I will say shes very personable in real life, he added. She really is. There was a laugh or two from her  a really big laugh  that we had to edit out because it wasnt icy enough for us in a weird way for what we were doing.

Story continues

Related stories from TheWrap:

Seth Rogen, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader R-Rated Comedy Bumped From May 2017 Release

Zach Galifianakis' 'Masterminds' Finally Has a New Trailer, Signaling Relativity's Return (Video)

Zach Galifianakis Takes on Sexy Spies Gal Gadot, Jon Hamm in First 'Keeping Up With the Joneses' Trailer (Video)
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  September 26, 2016 - Stocks in this weeks article include: Francesca's Holdings Corporation (FRAN), Argan, Inc. (AGX), Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE), Oclaro, Inc. (OCLR) and Cable ONE, Inc. ( CABO).

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:



5 Promising Liquid Stocks to Boost Your Portfolio

Building a portfolio comprising stocks with favorable liquidity is the way to go for investors seeking healthy returns. Liquidity is a measure of a companys capability to meet its short-term debt obligations. Thus, companies boasting impressive liquidity positions may be considered to be the ones with solid financial health.

However, high liquidity may also signify a companys inefficiency to utilize its assets effectively. It is therefore important to also focus on efficiency alongside liquidity to identify potential winners.

Liquidity Ratios

Liquidity ratios like Current Ratio, Quick Ratio and Cash Ratio are primarily used to identify companies with strong liquidity.

Current Ratio : It measures current assets relative to current liabilities. This ratio is used for measuring a companys potential to meet both short- and long-term debt obligations. Thus, a current ratio  also known as working capital ratio  below 1 indicates that the company has more liabilities than assets. However, a high current ratio does not always indicate that the company is in good financial shape. It may also mean that the company has failed to utilize its assets significantly. Hence, a range of 1 to 3 is considered to be ideal.

Quick Ratio : Unlike current ratio, quick ratio  also called acid-test ratio" or "quick assets ratio"  indicates a companys ability to pay short-term obligations. It considers inventory excluding current assets relative to current liabilities. Like the current ratio, a quick ratio of greater than 1 is desirable.

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Cash Ratio : This is the most conservative ratio among the three, as it takes into account only cash and cash equivalents, and invested funds relative to current liabilities. It measures a companys ability to pay its current debt obligations using the most liquid of assets. Though a cash ratio higher than 1 may point to sound financials, a high number may indicate inefficiency in using the cash.

So, a ratio of greater than 1 is always desirable but it may not always underline a companys financial health.

Screening Parameters

In order to avoid selection of inefficient companies, we have added asset utilization, which is a widely used measure of a companys efficiency, as one of the screening criteria. Asset utilization is a ratio of total sales over the past 12 months to the last four-quarter average of total assets. Since this ratio varies across industries, companies with a ratio higher than their respective industries can be called efficient.

In order to make the strategy more profitable, we have added our proprietary Growth Style Score to the screen with an objective to ensure that these liquid and efficient stocks have solid growth potential too.

Current Ratio, Quick Ratio and Cash Ratio between 1 and 3

(While liquidity ratios of greater than 1 are desirable, significantly high ratios may indicate inefficiency.)

Asset utilization greater than industry average

(Higher asset utilization than the industry average indicates a companys efficiency.)

Zacks Rank equal to #1 (Strong Buy)

(Only Strong Buy rated stocks can get through. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .)

Growth Style Score less than or equal to B

(Back-tested results show that stocks with a Growth Style Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy) handily beat other stocks.)

Just these few criteria have narrowed down the universe of over 7,700 stocks to only 15.

Here are five stocks from the list:

Francesca's Holdings Corporation (FRAN) offers apparel, jewelry, accessories, and gifts for female customers. Francesca's Holdings has a Growth Style Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 15.4%.

Argan, Inc. (AGX) provides inside premise wiring services to the federal government and also provides underground and aerial construction services and splicing to major telecommunications and utilities customers. Argan has a Growth Style Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 13.3%.

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) is a manufacturer of innovative optical and photonic products. Lumentum Holdings has a Growth Style Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 24.5%.

Oclaro, Inc. (OCLR) is a leading provider of high performance optical components, modules, and subsystems for the telecommunications market. Oclaro has a Growth Style Score of A and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of more than 100%.

Cable ONE, Inc. (CABO) provides Internet, cable television and telephone service primarily in the U.S. Cable ONE has a Growth Style Score of B and an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 12.2%.

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Photography: Danilo Scarpati for Yahoo Style

In the five years since Stella Jean won the Who Is On Next? contest sponsored by Vogue Italia, the designer has been quietly building a label known for mixing a Western silhouette with a flair for prints and colors culled from the designers heritage  Stella Jean is Haitian-Italian  as well as from other native cultures around the world.

At a time when topics such as identity and cultural appropriation are being constantly discussed in fashion, Stella Jeans perspective is truly unique. While everyone else struggles with the themes, she is building a business around them.

I was born and raised in Italy in the late 80s, which was totally not prepared for a multiracial family like mine, Stella tells me over the phone a day before her show in Milan, My father is white, my mother is black, and people were staring at us like aliens. I struggled with my identity growing up.

Like that other Italian powerhouse Miuccia Prada, Stella first pursued a political science degree at a university in Rome, and then a brief career as a model. It was during this time that she realized she wanted to work in fashion, just not on the side she was working on. She entered the Who Is On Next? contest twice, before finally winning the top prize on the third try.

The first two times I entered the contest, I didnt show an actual collection  I just showed some beautiful clothes, she recalls. After the second time, the talent scouts told me if you want to participate a third time, try to put your fingerprints on what you do.

With that prompt, Stella realized that the very thing that had kept her an alien in her own country was a point of view sorely missing from the overwhelmingly white fashion industry. I used to go with my father to his tailor, and thats when I started to love and appreciate Italian tailoring, Stella tells me about her first encounters with fashion. Thats why [when it came down to figuring out what I wanted to say with my clothes] I put together an Italian shirt, with a skirt made out of a fabric that represented the African roots of Haiti.

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Haitians are very proud of their blackness, she adds. I thought if I can make these looks work with opposing cultures like mine, then it could work in real life without being a caricature or a parody. I am using fashion as a tool to communicate the beauty of the multicultural.

After winning the contest, Stella found herself unexpectedly being taken under the wing of the designer Giorgio Armani, who offered his space for her to show her Spring 2014 collection. The most important thing [that Armani support] gave me was a sense of possibility. All the international press and buyers from all over the world started to contact us. That was the beginning of the story.

Since then, Stella has explored the traditions and influences of other cultures, like Japan, India, and South American countries. Of course, Im not the first designer who uses African references in fashion, but my point of view is different, she thoughtfully explains. Its not the white, safari point of view, but a different one, which talks about the contemporary [view] of those nations and continents. To further show her commitment to a multicultural perspective, shes part of the International Trade Center Ethical Fashion Initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between the Western luxury market and artisans in underdeveloped countries and their unique skills and products.

This season, her interest has led her to Burma, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Since I heard about her and the resistance she left in her country, I think about the strength she represents: She is as powerful as a new poem, a bomb without violence. Im not about the red carpet star.

While Stella Jean might not be courting the celebrity or social media likes, its only a matter of time before her name becomes ubiquitous. Because in a world where everyone is trying to outdo each other, trying to come up with the next viral hit, she is a woman whos succeeded by being true to herself.

Women like Aung San Suu Kyi show how fashion is a declaration of proudness, Stella Jean revealed at the end of our conversation. Of course, the very same can be said about her.



Yahoo Style is live from London Fashion Week! Keep it here for your front row view of the best looks and buzziest moments.


Kleber Mendonca Filho's Aquarius, which has already screened at film festivals including in competition at the Cannes and earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival, is the first feature-length film entirely remastered using EclairColor, a new digital cinema system that includes high dynamic range (HDR) capabilities.

France-headquartered digital cinema services business Ymagis Group and its postproduction restoration and distribution company, Eclair, recently announced the development of the new format.

Aquarius, a Franco-Brazilian co-production, is scheduled for a Sept. 28 theatrical release in France. With this release, Ymagis also revealed that Paris' Etoile Saint Germain des Pres is the first commercial cinema to be equipped with EclairColor projection technology by its exhibitor services business unit, CinemaNext France. (The projection system is also capable of playing today's commonly-used cinema formats).

Read more: 'Aquarius': Cannes Review

"We are truly offering our audiences a premium experience. Aquarius takes on an entirely new dimension thanks to EclairColor. We are thrilled with this new partnership with CinemaNext and Eclair," said Etoile Cinemas CEO David Henochsberg in a statement.

Effectively a mastering and exhibition process, EclairColor is an ambitious goal as it requires adoption by filmmakers and studios to offer the content in the EclairColor format, and it will need development of a network of digital cinema auditoriums capable of screening EclairColor-mastered content.

The format, according to Ymagis Group CEO and chairman Jean Mizrahi, is based on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) and meets "about 90 percent" of the Digital Cinema Initiatives spec for digital cinema, (including its security system). Currently, only Eclair is equipped to do the mastering, but Mizrahi said the company aims to license its technology to postproduction system manufacturers (likely as a software plug-in) to give productions a wider range of mastering options.

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Read more: Jane Pauley Named Anchor of CBS' 'Sunday Morning'

For exhibition, Mizrahi reported that this would be a software upgrade with no required hardware to an existing digital cinema setup with a projector capable of displaying the format (meaning a potentially large base if accepted).

Of the Paris theater installation and the release of Aquarius in the format, he said in a statement, "Audiences will now have the opportunity to discover for the very first time all the benefits of EclairColor technology  with significantly enhanced image quality through better color fidelity and greater contrast, not to mention more brightness and sharper details. EclairColor is like a stereoscopic film without 3D glasses."

Read more: 'Storks': How an R-Rated Comedy Director and a Pair of Pixar Alums Created a Family-Friendly Film
On Sep 23, we issued an updated research report on cable multi service operator (MSO) Charter Communications Inc. CHTR. The company announced plans to foray into the wireless service business next year, following the footsteps of rival Comcast Corporation CMCSA.

Wireless Plans

Charter Communications will utilize the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement that Time Warner Cable had signed with Verizon Communications Inc. VZ in 2012. Notably, Charter Communications acquired Time Warner Cable this year to form the second largest cable MSO in the U.S. after Comcast. The company plans to provide its wireless network services through the MVNO deal with Verizon. This process involves utilizing Verizons wireless network to provide mobile phone service in lieu of paying a lease. Additionally, Charter Communications intends to install Wi-Fi hotspots across cities to expand its network.

Ethernet Boom

Interestingly, the rapidly developing business services division has become a major growth driver for cable MSOs in the U.S. and Charter Communications has been targeting this space. Recently, it became the third largest player in the U.S. Ethernet market post its merger with Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse Networks. We believe cost synergies and takeover of fiber assets will help Charter Communications carve a formidable position for itself in the Ethernet space.

Cautionary Note

Online video streaming service providers like Netflix Inc. NFLX and Hulu.com pose severe competitive threat to cable TV operators. Online video services provide extremely cheap source of TV content which is much in vogue, even amid volatile economic conditions. Moreover, the impending launch of AT&T Inc.s over the top service  DIRECTV Now  will mount more pressure on Charter Communications.

CHARTER COMM-A Price

CHARTER COMM-A Price | CHARTER COMM-A Quote

Charter Communications currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Violent extremist and hate groups continue to get their materials posted onto social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, despite strong efforts to block it, a US Senate panel was told (AFP Photo/TOBIAS SCHWARZ) (AFP/File)

Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Facebook apologised Monday after temporarily disabling accounts linked to two Palestinian news sites critical of Israel, a move that drew concern over potential online censorship.

Facebook pages of a number of editors of Quds News Network were suspended for several hours last Friday, a campaigner said, in what the social media giant later called a "mistake".

Pages linked to the Shehab News Agency were also disabled, an editor there said.

Quds has 5.2 million likes on Facebook, while Shehab has 6.35 million.

"The pages were removed in error and restored as soon as we were able to investigate," Facebook said in a statement.

"Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong. We're very sorry about this mistake."

The US-based company did not respond to a request for more details on what prompted the closures.

Israel has been in discussions with Facebook to stop what it calls online incitement, including at a meeting of top officials earlier this month.

The country's justice and public security ministers are also seeking legislation banning the use of Facebook to advance "terror" and outlawing incitement from the Internet.

Israeli authorities say such incitement is a main cause of a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks over the past year.

Palestinians say they fear the Israeli campaign will lead to censorship of legitimate information and suspect last week's closures were linked to it.

Activists called on Palestinians to boycott Facebook activity for two hours on Sunday in protest. The hashtag #FBCensorsPalestine was also being used on Twitter.

"We fear that Facebook will assist the occupation and close the only space for free expression for the Palestinians," said Iyad al-Rifai, spokesman for a campaign against such closures.

Hussam al-Zaygh, managing editor at the Gaza-based Shehab, called the closures "a political decision dictated by the Israelis".

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"It is our right as Palestinian journalists to make our voice heard," he said.

Israeli and American victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1-billion lawsuit against Facebook in July over allegations it was used by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to organise violence.

Facebook has also faced criticism over censorship in other parts of the world in recent months.

It backtracked a couple of weeks ago on a decision to censor an iconic Vietnam War photo of a naked girl escaping a napalm bombing, after its block on the historic image sparked outrage.

The company is also due to go on trial in France, where a schoolteacher accused it of censorship for blocking his account after he posted a photo of a painting by 19th-century master Gustave Courbet called "L'Origine du Monde" (The Origin of the World) that depicts a woman's vagina.

Earlier this year, a Danish lawmaker also complained that Facebook had removed her picture of the Copenhagen statue of the Little Mermaid because of its nudity rules.
By Marilyn Haigh BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's bid to champion the "sharing economy" is being undermined in the short-term rental sector by capitals imposing petty rules such as dictating the number of coat hangers home-owners must provide, a complaint filed to the European Commission says. In its complaint, the European Holiday Homeowners Association singled out Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels and Paris as having local regulations that restricted the activities of online platforms such as Airbnb and TripAdvisor and violated the EU's e-commerce directive. The Commission set out guidelines in June aimed at creating a true single market for a rapidly growing sector of the economy, which includes platforms from ride-hailing app Uber [UBER.UL] to accommodation service Airbnb. But the European Holiday Homeowners Association, which represents members of the short-term rental industry and which lodged a complaint with the Commission earlier this month, said restrictive local rules were hurting the "sharing economy". In the Belgian capital, those wanting to rent out accommodation must meet the same standards as a hotel. This meant in practice that they must provide at least two hangers per guest, an electric bath sink light of a specific brightness and a cup or glass per guest. Failure to do so could result in fines ranging from 250 euros to 25,000 euros ($281-$28,125). Carlos Villaro Lassen, head of the home-owners association, said the complaint was designed to prevent what were effective bans on secondary home rentals in Paris and Berlin and to provide common rules on technical and quality guidelines. The Commission's guidelines, which are not legally binding, say full bans on private companies such as Airbnb or Uber should only be used as a last resort. (Reporting by Marilyn Haigh; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Richard Balmforth)
By Manunphattr Dhanananphorn and Eveline Danubrata BANGKOK/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Thailand is studying plans to toughen tax collection rules for internet and technology firms like Alphabet Inc's Google, the head of the Revenue Department told Reuters, as the tax affairs of these firms comes under growing scrutiny in Southeast Asia. The plans would also cover the mobile transfers and internet payment sector, Prasong Poontaneat, director general of Thailand's Revenue Department, told Reuters. Thailand is focused on changing existing regulations, Prasong said, adding that a working committee had been set up to find solutions on tax collection for companies such as Google and other technology firms. "We are studying this issue and have set up a committee to look into this over the past two months," Prasong told Reuters. "The idea is to seek appropriate solutions for Thailand and it could involve an amendment in some regulations because current laws are outdated and have been used for more than 50 years," said Prasong, adding that he expects the committee to come up with solutions by the end of this year. Reuters telephoned and e-mailed Google Thailand for comment, but there was no immediate reply. Google Asia Pacific's spokesman did not immediately respond to an email and a phone call seeking comment. Indonesia is pursuing Alphabet Inc's Google for five years of back taxes, and the U.S. search giant could face a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone if it is found to have avoided payments, a senior tax official told Reuters last week. Singapore's low tax regime and its generous tax incentive programs make it a big draw for multinationals like Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp to Google, and also from other sectors, to employ regional teams there. They justify booking large revenue and profits in Singapore as they usually run main business functions such as finance and operations, hold intellectual property rights there or base regional executives in the city state. Singapore's finance ministry said in an emailed statement last week that "profits should be taxed where activities giving rise to the profits are performed and where value is created" and that it does not condone the "artificial shifting of profits". INVESTOR PRESSURE American business groups in the region warned that the tax crackdown risks slowing planned investments by multinationals. Investment worth millions of dollars could become stalled due to disputes with the country's tax office, which has taken an "aggressive" approach, Lin Neumann, managing director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said. "There's just been a feeling for some time among big taxpayers that they're like the low-hanging fruits because they're in the system," Neumann said, noting that many multinational companies are accountable to public shareholders. The Financial Times reported on Saturday that four UK fund houses - Legal & General Investment Management, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Royal London Asset Management and Sarasin Partners - had written to the board of Alphabet to raise concerns about its tax arrangements. In December last year, Australia's tax office published the tax rates of every company with annual earnings over A$100 million, a move it said it would repeat annually in the hope of pressuring entities with "overly aggressive" tax structures. Apple Inc paid A$74 million tax on its A$247 million taxable income, in line with the country's 30 percent tax rate but a small fraction of the total A$6.1 billion it made in the country that year. Google paid A$9 million tax on A$91 million in taxable income, a third of the company tax rate and dwarfed by the A$357 million it made in the country. The Australian government has since passed laws requiring consumers to pay a goods and services tax on all online purchases - not just online purchases from Australian retailers - from next year. (Reporting by Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in BANGKOK and Eveline Danubrata in JAKARTA; Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano and Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Cod Satrusayang in BANGKOK; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
By Astrid Wendlandt PARIS (Reuters) - When LVMH hired former Apple music executive Ian Rogers to craft a digital strategy, investors may have hoped for some quick results. If so, they are probably disappointed. Almost a year later, aside from drafting in more digitally-savvy people and taking part in a technology start-up fair, his impact on the world's biggest luxury goods group has yet to become visible. Changing mentalities and priorities at LVMH takes time, according to sources close to the 78 billion euro ($88 billion)group controlled by France's richest man, Bernard Arnault. LVMH's online strategy appears inconsistent across its more than 70 businesses and brands. Some labels such as Louis Vuitton and Fendi have made great strides along with cosmetics retailer Sephora, but Celine stands out as an apparent laggard. Arnault hired Rogers, a 44-year-old American who once worked with the Beastie Boys hip hop band, to challenge the digital mindset of his executives. Rivals Prada and Hermes are revamping their websites to offer a wider choice of products and communicate better about the brand with videos, photos and drawings, on top of other digital content. Online sales have become the industry's most important engine of growth. Analysts expect internet transactions will represent 20 percent of all luxury sales in a decade, up from 7-8 percent now. LVMH's total online sales are less than 5 percent, they estimate. Adapting to the Web, to sell and communicate with customers, is a challenge for many in the business. Chris Morton, chief executive of Lyst.com, a multi-brand online luxury retailer in which Arnault's family investment company has a small stake, said no company in the industry could afford to ignore the Web. "A luxury brand that avoids the internet is effectively refusing to engage with its customers where they are increasingly spending time and money," he said. "It is not listening to what its customers want, which is dangerous in any consumer-facing industry." More than 60 percent of luxury goods purchases, online or in-store, depend on what customers see on the Web about the brand, analysts say. "The question is no longer whether luxury brands should enter the digital world, but how," said Nathalie Remy, partner at consultancy McKinsey. DIVERGING VIEWS The internet has been around for two decades but only in the last few years have most luxury goods makers realized why they need to be there. Some customers browse online and then buy in stores, while others engage in "showrooming" - they check out products at a store and then buy online. "For many luxury firms, digital is a hard new reality," the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said in a report last week. "They have to confront the new tension between their traditional world of exclusivity and the web world of access for everyone." It took the industry time to ditch the assumption that the purchasing experience could never be as good online as in stores on the most fashionable streets of European cities. Even now, some question the rush to go digital, such as appealing to mass audiences on Instagram, the industry's most widely-used social media app in Europe and North America. Patrick Grant, a designer at Savile Row tailors Norton and Sons in London, said brands should occupy a rarefied world of luxury and specialness and "step away from the noise and spam of Instagram bloggers and floggers". "Why does a fashion brand need to have a million followers on Instagram? It doesn't feel like fashion to me," Grant told BBC radio during London Fashion Week earlier this month. Another stumbling block may be that some industry executives are struggling to adjust personally. One consultant in the industry told Reuters of clients who still rely on their secretaries to print out emails and type up their replies. "How do you want these people to put the internet at the top of their priorities?" the consultant said. LVMH's digital revolution may be slow partly due to its decentralized nature, with each of its businesses taking different approaches to using technology and the internet. For example, some LVMH managers believe brands should show online which items are available and where. Others argue that if customers know what they want is out of stock, this discourages them from visiting the store where they might have bought something different from what they were initially looking for. "Making stocks public is one of many topics being discussed," said a person who is close to the group. France, along with Italy, is less digitally "mature" than other markets, BCG said in its report based on a survey of about 10,000 consumers in 10 countries. Only 31 percent of French luxury shoppers said they had researched their last product online and bought it in a store, compared with 47 percent in the United States and Brazil, and 46 percent in Japan. JEANS AND SWEATERS Group insiders say Arnault liked the style and attitude of Rogers who appears in jeans and sweaters like most Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, in contrast to the typical LVMH boss in a well-tailored suit. Rogers is Chief Digital Officer but does not sit on LVMH's 11-strong executive committee chaired by Arnault. However, "internally, people respect him because of his track record", said one luxury consultant whose clients include LVMH and did not wish to be identified. After working with the Beastie Boys and Yahoo, Rogers spent less than a year at Apple after it had paid about $3 billion in 2014 for Beats, the music streaming and headphones company he led, backed by Elton John and Pharrell Williams. Rogers steered LVMH's participation this spring at the Paris technology start-up fair Viva Technology, where the group's TAG Heuer company presented its internet connected smart watch. "It must have helped LVMH managers think about the need to invest time and money in technology but in practice, I am not sure what it brought the group," a source close to LVMH said. ONLINE GROWTH The internet has become the make-or-break factor for many luxury brands as growth has become more difficult to achieve. Annual sales growth in luxury goods has dropped to low single digits from above 10 percent four years ago as demand from China weakened and brands no longer benefit from the boost they once got from opening shops and raising prices. Big brands also face heightened competition from small, up-and-coming labels that are increasingly popular on social media. Some of LVMH's fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Kenzo have plowed significant resources into social media, e-commerce and technology. Fendi, which is estimated to generate sales of more than 1 billion euros, has integrated its online and bricks-and-mortar stores. If a sales person helps a customer to complete a purchase online, that entitles the staff member to a commission as if it had been made in the shop. Sephora is one of LVMH's most digitally-minded retailers. It has an e-commerce website that is easy to use, and contacts customers via e-mail or text message to suggest products or offer discounts. Ricardo Tisci, designer at LVMH's Givenchy, is one of the industry's most active on Instagram with 1.7 million followers. Customers can buy on the brand's website through Apple's iTunes and mobile devices. At the other end of the spectrum, Celine - which has an estimated annual turnover of 600 million euros - sells very little on the internet and has no e-commerce website of its own. Young buyers spend more time on social media than reading magazines or watching TV. Yet on Instagram, Celine's official account carries less than 10 posts and only 2,000 followers while its star designer Phoebe Philo is barely present. By contrast, Chanel has 15 million followers and 473 posts while its creative director Karl Lagerfeld has 3 million followers and around 700 posts. That said, many big luxury brands including Chanel and Dior have not yet fully developed their in-house e-commerce websites through which they now sell mostly cosmetics. Like Celine and Louis Vuitton, the two brands also do not sell fashion or leather goods on third party websites such as Net-a-porter while other LVMH labels such as Givenchy, Fendi and Kenzo have done so for many years. ($1 = 0.8884 euros) (editing by David Stamp)
YouTube/Microsoft

Cortana, Microsofts digital assistant, now has 133 million active users, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed on Monday during the Microsoft Ignition Conference.

The India-born chief executive said during his keynote at Microsofts (MSFT) annual Ignite conference that Cortana has 133 million people across 115 countries using it regularly. Even more impressive, those users have asked 12 billion questions since Cortanas launch in 2015 alongside Windows 10.

Cortana is more than just a voice assistant, said Laura Jones, a Microsoft senior marketing product manager.

Jones pointed to Cortanas current slew of features, including voice-to-text, managing events and alarms, and retrieving basic information via Bing like the height of a certain celebrity, what day a specific holiday falls and who the CEO of a particular company is.

But Jones said Cortana is poised to do much more, thanks to machine learning. In other words, Cortana will eventually get smarter and become more useful to you as time goes on. The digital assistant will soon pick out commitments youve made in email, sometimes recap an event or proactively remind you about a commitment youve made.

Also coming down the pike soon for Cortana: health insights, which will combine data about your physical activity and sleep patterns with your schedule and daily routine.

If Im going to miss a workout this week because Im going on a trip, Ill get a prompt for when I can reschedule my fitness routine, Jones explained.

Cortana was just one aspect Microsofts larger artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. As Nadella said during his keynote, We are not pursuing AI to beat humans at games.



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By Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - ForeScout Technologies Inc has interviewed investment banks in recent weeks to hire underwriters for an initial public offering that could value the U.S. network security company at as much as $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. ForeScout's IPO plans are a further sign of a rebound in the IPO market in the United States. Not a single U.S. technology company went public between January and late April due to stock market jitters. The IPO could come later this year, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is not public. A representative for ForeScout declined to comment. Based in San Jose, California, ForeScout provides software to companies that allow them to see in real time every single device connected to their networks and ensure this is done securely. Founded in 2000 by Israeli entrepreneurs, its products are used by over 2,000 companies and government organizations. ForeScout's IPO would come as similar offerings have failed to live up to their promise, amid fierce competition in the sector. Shares of peers FireEye Inc and SecureWorks Corp, which went public earlier this year, continue to trade below their IPO prices. ForeScout CEO Mike DeCesare said earlier this summer that the stock performance of SecureWorks' shares had prompted the wider cyber security industry to reevaluate its IPO plans. However, some cyber security companies have also sold themselves for top dollar. Blue Coat Systems Inc, which had been planning to go public earlier this year, was sold by private equity firm Bain Capital LLC to Symantec Corp in a $4.65 billion cash deal last month. So far this year, there have only been 13 technology IPOs, raising $1.9 billion, less than half the $4.6 billion raised last year, according to Thomson Reuters data. Still, the window may be cracking open. Last week, eight IPOs priced, raising a total of $1.3 billion. Two of these IPOs were technology companies, including ad tech company Trade Desk Inc, which priced its $84 million IPO at the high-end of its indicated range. ForeScout has raised a total of $121 million in eight rounds of funding. It most recently raised $76 million at a $1 billion valuation in January. Its investors include Accel Partners, Amadeus Capital, Meritech Capital Partners and Pitango Venture Capital. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Tonight, in case you're not aware, we will finally have the chance to see Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton fight to the death on stage. Unfortunately, they'll only be using words, but it still promises to be an incredible spectacle.

To try and understand why this election season has been so dramatic, full-time YouTube comedian and occasional journalist John Oliver dug deeper into the scandal surrounding both Trump and Clinton, and produced the only piece of debate prep you need to watch.

DON'T MISS: iPhone 7 review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lfd1aB9YI

The 20-minute clip is fresh from last night's airing of Last Week Tonight, and it broadly delves into the scandals that have mired both candidates. With the frenzy and mud-slinging surrounding Trump and Clinton having devolved into straight-up name calling a long time ago, it's good to have a reasonably clean and objective look at the facts. Now, it's depressing that that objective look at the facts has to come from a comedian on a late-night show, but that's what makes this election year fun.

It's difficult to say who comes off worse from the video. Sure, Trump is described as a "real-life scarecrow" (and worse), but Clinton is painted as a master manipulator, and a long way from trustworthy.

On the Clinton side, the big scandals are emails and the Clinton Foundation. You're probably tired of hearing about both, but Oliver does a good job of explaining the parts you should care about -- mostly, the obfuscation and things that "might not technically be illegal," but don't look good for someone running for President.

For Trump, it's all about the money. From his tax returns to charities and trust funds, there's more questions than answers about his business dealings, which is worrying for someone running for office based mostly on his business history.

All in all, it's a good primer for this evening's debate. Expect to have none of the questions it raises answered, but at least it might help you pick a side (or finally decide that they're both equally screwed).

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Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, the largest national telecom operator in the U.S., is emphasizing on its upcoming 5G fixed wireless network to counter rising competition in the domestic wireless market.

Competition in the U.S. wireless market is likely to intensify in 2017, with the advent of two MVNOs (mobile virtual network operator). Two leading U.S. cable MSOs (multi service operators), namely, Comcast Corp. CMCSA and Charter Communications Inc. CHTR have declared that they will utilize their respective MVNO agreements with Verizon to enter into wireless arena. The cable TV operators will use their existing WiFi networks together with Verizons wireless set up, to offer mobile services.

Although several industry researchers have predicted that a full-fledged 5G network deployment will not commence until 2020, Verizon anticipates some level of commercial deployment in 2017. All other domestic national telecom carriers like AT&T Inc. T, Sprint Corp. S and T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS are currently looking to deploy 5G networks in 2020.

Verizon claims that its 5G network will provide a download speed of 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) resulting in 200 times the throughput of the currently available standard 4G LTE network. The latency period of data delivery will be in single milliseconds. Additionally, 5G technology is designed to be more power efficient than any other standard wireless networks available at the moment. Therefore, 5G-enabled mobile devices are likely to last much longer than their 3G or 4G counterparts.

Notably, in Feb 2016, Verizon entered into a definitive agreement to acquire XO Communications Inc.s dark-fiber optic network. As a part of this $1.8 billion deal, Verizon will also lease XOs LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service) wireless spectrum with an option to buy them by the end of 2018. XO has a portfolio of 102 LMDS licenses in 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands.

The U.S. telecom regulator, FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has approved the airwaves for fixed wireless use. Verizon is expecting to get the FCCs green signal eventually to use them for mobile services. Verizon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Every fishermans story comes with chapters of pain and sacrifice and passages that some would rather forget, narrator Mike Rowe says near the start of Tuesdays episode of Discoverys Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove. Its the franchise at its finest.

Another storm moves into the Pacific Northwest, and the Dungeness crab fleet off Newport, Ore., must make life-and-death decisions: Will rookie Capt. Kenny Ripka risk his 50-foot boat going up against the expected 19-foot breakers to prove himself? Will fledgling Bering Sea transplant Capt. Marc Sehlbach try to fetch gear that is now too dangerously close to shore? Will Capt. Chris Retherford be able to make a run out through the treacherous bar before the worst of the weather arrives?



Related: Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove Sneak Peek: The Little Boat That Could

Its a nail-biting hour that, as you see in the exclusive sneak peek above, does not bring everyone home. The fishing vessel Eagle III (not one of the boats followed on the show) capsizes near the Coos Bay entrance, and four men go into the 45-degree water in the dark of night. The Deadliest Catch cameras capture the Coast Guards search and rescue, which sadly turns into a recovery, and the reactions of the captains as they follow the mission on the radio.

The episode is dedicated both to those who lost their lives during the 2016 Dungeness crab season and to the Coast Guard, and it honors them by showing the latter in action as well as the grieving but proud families of the men who didnt return. It also shows the look on an adult daughters face when she sees the wreckage of her fathers boat and later hears the veteran captain recount his survival and the survivors guilt hell carry with him. And it shows a newborn daughter being held by the teary-eyed father who chose to be in town for her birth. In short, it reminds us that family is both the reason these crews go to sea  to provide, by doing whats in their blood and what they love  and whats at stake.

Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on Discovery.
The happening couple of Tollywood, actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha are likely to come together for the Telugu remake of the Hindi hit 2 States, say reports.

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha to come together for 2 States

By India Today Web Desk: While the Tollywood grapevine is abuzz with Naga Chaitanya's marriage with rumoured girlfriend and actor Samantha, reports now suggest that the couple will be seen together in the Telugu version of Hindi hit 2 states.

ALSO READ: Visaaranai at Oscars 2017- Looking back at all Indian entries since Aamir Khan's Lagaan

ALSO READ: Thodari movie review- Dhanush's train journey is a bland and tedious watch

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According to the IBT, Abhishek Nama of Abhishek Pictures has bagged the rights of the Hindi film for Rs 55 lakh. Based on the novel written by Chetan Bhagat of the same name, the film tells the love story between a Punjabi boy and a Tamilian girl.

The Hindi version had actors Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt playing the lead roles.

Apart from the leads, names of the actors like Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, Ramya Krishna and Revathi have cropped up.

Reports also suggest that the makers of the film are planning to tweak the story for the Telugu audience.

Meanwhile, Naga Chaitanya awaits the release of his upcoming Telugu film Premam, which is the Malayalam remake of the same name.

Samantha is basking in the success of her recent blockbuster film Janatha Garage.

If reports are to go by, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha are likely to team up for another film before their marriage.



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By PTI: Moga (PB), Sep 26 (PTI) An AAP activist was shot dead allegedly by a SAD leader over a property dispute in Bhinder Kalan village here, police said today.

Former Akali Sarpanch Jagsir Singh allegedly went to encroach on a piece of land belonging to AAP worker Jagroop Singh last night, police said.

As Jagroop put up resistance, Jagsir opened fire at him. Another person was also injured in the incident, police said.

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The two were reportedly involved in a land dispute for the past 12 years, police said.

A case of murder has been registered against Jagsir, but no arrest has been made yet. The injured is undergoing treatment at a hospital. PTI corr VJ GVS DV GVS

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Air India has been told to pay Rs 1 lakh to a passenger for serving stale food. (Picture for representation)

By India Today Web Desk: After Air India reportedly served lizard to a flyer on one of its international flights last year, you would think serving stale food is still less cringeworthy.

The country's apex consumer commission, however, doesn't think so. It has rapped the country's national carrier for its bad service, and has asked it to pay Rs 1 lakh (you heard it right) to a passenger who travelled in its Mumbai-New York flight.

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A bench of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, headed by Justice Ajit Bharihoke, said the "nature of deficiency in service" could have affected the "health of several passengers".

ALSO READ: Passenger gets lizard in meal on Delhi-London flight, Air India rejects claims

The Commission dismissed the revision petition filed by the airline and said "we do not find any fault with the order of the State Commission enhancing compensation to Rs 1 lakh (from Rs 15,000)". It also upheld the award of Rs 10,000 as litigation cost by district forum.

STALE FOOD, HAIR IN RICE BOWL

Malti Madhukar Pahade had filed a complaint against the carrier for serving her stale food on her flight from Mumbai to New York. Pahade claimed that she also found a strand of hair in the rice bowl. The district forum had initially asked the airline to pay her a compensation of Rs 15,000.

However, a subsequent hearing by the Maharashtra State Consumer Commission saw the compensation amount getting revised to Rs 1 lakh. The commision increased the compensation on the ground that the passenger could have gone without food during the entire journey, which is not advisable during a long flight.

MEAGRE FINE FOR CATERER



Air India challenged the state commission's order and argued that the compensation was not justified and "highly disproportionate to the negligence/deficiency in service alleged by the complainant".

Much to Air India's dismay, the apex consumer commission upheld the state commission's order. It said a passenger travelling with a reputed airline expected minimum courtesy and proper food for human consumption. The bench also didn't approve of the airline imposing a "meagre" fine of Rs 20,000 on the caterer for providing stale food.

"We do not wish to comment upon the motive or reason of the concerned authority to impose such a meagre amount of fine on the defaulting caterer particularly when the food supplied by the caterer is served to all the passengers travelling in the flight," the bench said.

ALSO READ: Air India pilot prone to extreme mood swings risked lives of 200 people, probe ordered

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Malaysian budget airline AirAsia has launched attractive fares to some of the most popular destinations around the world.

By India Today Web Desk: If you have been longing to travel international, here's an opportunity you must grab. After all, it will be possible at a budget you would use for travelling to any Indian destination.

Oh, yes. You can now fly to Kuala Lumpur at an all-in fare of Rs 3,699!

Malaysian budget airline AirAsia has just launched a Festival Sale, which will let you travel to Kuala Lumpur at highly discounted prices, all from some of the major airports in the country.

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You will have to spend the least if you are travelling from Kochi (Rs 3,699), followed by an all-in fare of Rs 3,999 if you fly from Tiruchirappalli, Rs 4,699 from Visakhapatnam, Rs 5,399 from Chennai, Rs 5,699 from Hyderabad, Rs 5,999 from Kolkata, and Rs 6,699 from Bengaluru.

The all-in fare from New Delhi to Kuala Lumpur is Rs 4,690.

Also read: If you book an Emirates flight after October 3, you will be charged for seat selection



Apart from these direct flights, the Festival Offer is also valid on other connecting flights including an all-in fare of Rs 6,673 from Kochi to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur, from Chennai to Phuket via Bangkok at Rs 7,737, and from Hyderabad to Ho Chi Minh City at Rs 7,649. For more of these affordable flight options, click here.

But wait, there's more. AirAsia is also offering an all-in fare of Rs 8,999 for a flight from Kochi to Perth via Kuala Lumpur. Travelling to Australia under Rs 10,000 sounds like some deal, doesn't it? To know the discounted fares to other destinations, click here.

All of these fares are valid for bookings made till October 2, and for a travel period starting on September 27, 2016 and ending on March 31, 2017.

Can't wait? Visit www.airasia.com for bookings.



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America is going through a creepy clown problem, tackling which is tricky, as investigators sift through hoaxes and real threats.

By Vishakha Saxena: Last week in Athens, Georgia, an 11-year-old was arrested for taking a knife to her school. The young girl informed authorities that the knife was to protect her and her family, fearing stories she had heard of clowns jumping out of the woods and attacking children.

A week prior to the incident, a woman called 911 saying she and her children were terrorised by group of clowns brandishing fake knives - they sprang out of bushes and abandoned houses and chased them from a bus stop.

seriously if i see this damn clown that's it for me im gonna have a heart attack im terrified of clowns IM NOT DYINGautumn smith (@autumnnsmithh0) September 8, 2016

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In Georgia's neighbour Tennessee, a school in the Oak Ridge area went into a 'soft lockdown' of 15 minutes this week, after two students reported seeing a clown in the woods near the school.

Southeast America is currently under the grip of a clown-menace like no other.

Sightings, sightings, everywhere

The creepy clown problem began in South Carolina on August 20, when a resident of an apartment complex in Greenwood County reported that a clown was trying to lure children into the woods with large amounts of money. No police report was filed as the caller refused to identify self.

Later, another woman in the area reported that the same day her child saw several clowns whispering, 'making strange noises' and waving green laser lights in the woods. She claimed her elder son heard chains and banging on their front door that night.

Various other women too approached local police, saying their children reported seeing clowns in the woods nearby. "At first, I thought he was telling a fib and I said, 'Go in the house and we'll talk about this again,' because I didn't want it all over the place," Arnold said. "And then the next day, there was like 30 kids that came up to me and said, 'Ms Donna, Ms Donna, there's clowns in the woods.' My child was with me, so I knew they had to see something. There was more than one kid that seen them, so I feel confident that he was telling the truth," a mother told local newscaster WYFF.

Ultimately, the apartment complex around which all these sightings were reported (within a span of two days), enforced a 10 pm deadline to ensure children's safety.

In another South Carolina town, a 12-year-old told police he saw two clowns in his garden - one with red hair and the other with a white mask and body suit. According to a report by FOX Carolina, the kid claimed a person was taking photographs of children.

Early this month, a 50-year-old woman told police that four men dressed as clowns followed her home in a black car, one of whom waved at her before driving off.

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What began in SC, has now spread across various neighbouring states, with sightings being reported from North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio.

This clown thing is NOT a joke, spread awareness!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/4Nh2VOQMLyHala ?? (@makeyaman_hala) September 7, 2016

In North Carolina, two children reported seeing a clown trying to lure kids into the woods with treats in the in Winston-Salem area, while one adult reported hearing the clown. Later that week, another woman said a male clown wielding a machete tried to lure her into the woods.

More than six clown sightings were reported within the week.

In Alabama, terror spread over Facebook as fake profiles were created under names like Flomo Klown, Shoota Cllown, Bingerman Clownferd and ClappyAndslappy DaClown. These profiles were used to threaten schools, and actually led to multiple schools shutting down.

Fake 'clown' profiles created on Facebook to threaten schools. (Source: Twitter)

Promotional strategy?

In popular culture, clowns are mostly represented as menacing figures - be it the Stephen King's It (horror) or the Joker in the Batman series (thriller). But a coulrophobic's worst nightmare would be serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who worked part time as a clown.

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The only clown remembered in positive light is probably McDonald's Ronald.

It's not a surprise then, that some people are speculating that the sightings could be a hoax or a marketing strategy. Some say this could be an attempt by fans to promote the 2017 movie release of Stephen King's It, while a local TV station suggests this could be marketing ploy for Rob Zombie's upcoming film about a group of kidnapped carnival workers.

The backlash

Clowns have traditionally been seen as source of entertainment and calming humour, especially for children. But the masked, colourful jesters are also known to have an unnerving effect on many people. A full-blown fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia, is relatively rare.

But when the entertainers turn into threats, a backlash can be expected.

In North Carolina, a resident decided to take matters into his hands with a machete, as he chased down a person dressed as a clown, who eventually disappeared into the woods.

In South Carolina, police received calls saying kids chased down two clowns through their apartment complex, who ran to a wooden fence and broke through it to get away. Eye-witnesses claimed one clown was waiting in a car for the other two, who jumped in and took off.

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Authorities have even received reports of gunshots being fired at clowns in Georgia.

The greater victims of these sightings have been professional clowns, who're worried their businesses will take a hit. Others worry for their safety, like some performers in Georgia who have decided to inform police of their movements whenever in costume.

A South Carolina group has already taken a hit, after images of their performers were shared widely on social media in a menacing context.

THP says watch for clowns trying to lure children in to the woods. They are possibly predators. Call 911 or *847 pic.twitter.com/7AaEOj4WuETN Highway Patrol (@TNHighwayPatrol) September 24, 2016

The photo of the "clowns" was not a photo taken in Tennessee. This was a photo circulated throughout social... https://t.co/TMrskBxfPtTN Dept. of Safety (@TNDeptofSafety) September 25, 2016





So what do the authorities do?

Up to this point, officials have not uncovered any evidence - "not even a prankster in a clown suit," according to an AP report.

The greatest challenge is the lack of substantial proof.

In South Carolina, for example, until the beginning of this month, investigators failed to confirm even a single clown-sighting despite eight reports. This is despite a state law prohibiting anyone over age 18 from dressing up as a clown.

Further, clowns are mostly reported by children, with no additional video or photo proofs. In one case in North Carolina, the complainant woman snapped a photo of the clown she saw, but it was too dark to make out.

In many cases, people who report clown sightings even refuse to give their names, making any kind of follow-up impossible.

It also doesn't help that such sightings make great fodder for social media. As the photos go viral, more pranksters come out for fun.

FAKE: deputies say this viral pic of a clown in the woods was NOT taken near a Cleveland County High School @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/lL4zFdf4bG Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) September 7, 2016





In Alabama, officials issued warnings saying people involved in creepy clown hoaxes could be prosecuted.

Seven people, including two adults and five juveniles, face felony charges of making a terrorist threat in the state. One juvenile faces a child in need of supervision charge. And the other, also a juvenile, faces a misdemeanor harassing communications charge from an incident in Rainbow City, according to a report by AL.com

WSPD has investigated all reported clown sightings. At this time, none of the sightings can be substantiated. Call 773-7700 w/ info. .51 cityofwspolice (@cityofwspolice) September 9, 2016

David Wayne Armstrong was arrested on 9/9 & charged with filing false police report related to a clown sighting. 51 pic.twitter.com/lTIG2RxFxy cityofwspolice (@cityofwspolice) September 9, 2016

Authorities are concerned that some cases involve 'copycat' clowns trying to imitate the South Carolina sightings. But their only option to tackle the situation, is to increase the number of officers on patrol.

As they struggle to find even a strand of blue or red hair, police are urging parents to talk to their children about avoiding dangerous situations when dealing with strangers in public. "Parents should tell children never go anywhere with a stranger, even if it sounds like fun."

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By PTI: From Zafri Mudasser Nofil

Abuja, Sep 26 (PTI) Vice President Hamid Ansari today arrived in this Nigerian capital on the first leg of his five-day, two-nation tour which will also take him to the another West African country Mali.

He was received at the Abuja International Airport by his Nigerian counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.

The vice president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim besides senior officials.

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Ansari said his visits are part of governments "very focused approach" to all regions of Africa.

His visit to Nigeria comes at the invitation of Osinbajo.

In Abuja, he will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Osinbajo, address a business meeting organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.

He will also inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex and interact with members of the Indian community.

He will then travel to the Nigerian city of Lagos where he will meet its Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, address the Indian community there and deliver a speech at the University of Lagos.

In Nigeria, an agreement on Bureau of Standards will be signed.

On the second leg of his trip, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.

He will return home on October 1. PTI ZMN ABH

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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) Vice President Hamid Ansari today left on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two West African nations besides participating in a number of events.

He visit to Nigeria is at the invitation of his counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.

From Nigeria, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.

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The vice president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal and MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim.

In Abuja, Ansari will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.

He will also meet the governor of Lagos and deliver an address at the joint business forum at the University of Lagos.

The vice president will inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex at Abuja and interact with members of the Indian community both in Abuja and Lagos.

"The vice presidents visit (to Nigeria) intends to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, expand and diversify bilateral economic engagement and explore new avenues of partnerships on a wide range of issues of shared common interest," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

In Mali, Ansari will meet the president, the prime minister and also address the National Assembly.

The visit to Mali is aimed at boosting the relationship between the two countries and explore new areas of cooperation to expand and diversify bilateral relationship. PTI ZMN DV UZM

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By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: India Today's Kamaljit Sandhu talks to Major General Aziz Ahmed, Director General, Border Guard Bangladesh about cattle smuggling at the border.

What measures have the Bangladesh forces taken to counter cattle smuggling?

At the outset I want to tell you and the Indians, I want to get rid of cattle smuggling. Bangladesh does not want Indian cattle. But we too have limitations. We share fifth largest border in the world with India and it is very porous. We don?'t have link road and border fencing while the Indian side has good roads. Even if I order my soldiers to stand hand in hand at the borders, we still cannot stop cattle smuggling.

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How do cattle smugglers cross the international border despite two forces guarding it 24x7?

The cattle come in thousands through the many rivers Bangladesh shares with India. We cannot just stop it. We have certain areas where there is riverine and in some others there is no fence so cattle comes in. BGB and BSF do regular patrolling. But where there is no fence, is our weak point.



Many cattle smugglers have been gunned down by BSF. Why is this a concern for Bangladesh?

We are more concerned about killings at the border. We are not only one responsible. The cattle come from India. Our concern is our citizens getting killed because of this. It gives opportunity to vested interest to create a wedge between two forces. The killings are very high, and though it has come down from previous years, it is still very high.

Is there a concern that cattle smugglers could be hand in glove with terrorists close to the border areas?

That is right, not only do the cattle which move across borders but also smugglers. It gives very good scope for terrorist to go across the border. This is another reason why Bangladesh supports India in curbing cattle smuggling. It will help bringing down cattle smuggling and keeping terror at bay.

Also Read: Bangladeshi smuggler killed in BSF firing: officials



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Last year, the world witnessed SS Rajamouli's epic fantasy drama Baahubali. With Baahubali: The Conclusion slated to release on April 28, 2017, the team is likely to wrap up the shoot of the sequel this November.

By India Today Web Desk: Ever since the release of Baahubali last year, the fans can't stop asking the question, "Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?" That was the impact of the film.

While the team is rigorously shooting for the climax portion of the film in Hyderabad, reports suggest that SS Rajamouli is likely to wrap up the shoot of the film this November.



ALSO READ: 2 States remake- Naga Chaitanya and Samantha to star in the Telugu version?

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ALSO READ: Sivakarthikeyan's Remo rakes in Rs 32 crore before release

According to reports, Baahubali 2 will have some high-octane action sequences and jaw-dropping visuals which is touted to make Baahubali: The Beginning pale in comparison.

Notably, Rana Daggubati, who plays the menacing antagonist Bhallaladeva in the film has completed his portion for Baahubali: The Conclusion. Also, Bhallaladeva is said to be more meaner and villainous in the sequel.

With the much-awaited film slated to release on April 28, 2017, the first look poster of the film is likely to be unveiled on actor Prabhas' birthday (October 23).

Interestingly, Rana Daggubati himself revealed that the theatrical trailer of Baahubali: The Conclusion will be out in January next year.

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By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: A baby with wrinkles on face, hollow eyes and a shrunken body resembling an 80-year-old's. If you think this is a scene straight out of 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', you are mistaken.

We are talking about a baby boy who was born in Bangladesh's Magura district on Sunday afternoon with a rare medical condition called Progeria. People with Progeria age eight times faster than others.

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FAMILY IS ECSTATIC



Parul Patro, wife of Biswajit Patro, a poor farmer in Bhulbaria village, has been busy meeting relatives and several curious villagers, all flocking the hospital to see if babies, like her son, really exist.

Parul and family are ecstatic to have a new member join their family of three. Tell Biswajit, the father, that his son resembles him, and he breaks into a big smile. "Our first child, Aparna, has taken after her mother. But my boy looks like me, and I am happy," he says.

ALSO READ: 15-year-old boy suffering from progeria dies



Does it concern him that the baby is suffering from a rare condition, and perhaps will always be judged by his looks?

"I am not unhappy, nor do I feel any sorrow that my son is different," Biswajit says without betraying any emotion.

HOPE FOR A LONG, HEALTHY LIFE

Most Progeria patients die very young. The family, however, hopes that the baby will grow into a healthy boy. "The baby looks old because his father also looks more than his age. I just hope that the baby will lead a long and healthy life," says Arabindu Mondal, the baby's maternal uncle.

The doctors at the hospital say that, for the time, both the mother and the newborn are doing well.

In February this year, a 4-year-old boy Bayezid of Khalia village was diagnosed with Progeria. Incidentally, Bayezid's village is not very far from the newborn's. In the first week of August, doctors at the local hospital in Madura suggested that Bayezid be sent to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital for further treatment.

ALSO READ: Here's why a fan suffering from progeria wants to meet Aamir Khan



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Former deputy CM and senior BJP leader Sushil Modi alleged that Nitish has embarked on the path of unethical politics devoid of any kind of ideology to remain in power.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Former deputy CM and senior BJP leader Sushil Modi has attacked Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for not having any aversion to convicts and corrupt politicians and forging alliance with them to remain in power. Modi's comments come in the backdrop of Nitish Kumar attending "Kisan Rally" organized by Indian National Lok Dal in Karnal, Haryana on Sunday. Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala is serving a jail sentence since the last many years for corruption.

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"Nitish is not averse to Om Prakash Chautala, chief of Indian National Lok Dal who is languishing in jail in connection with teachers' recruitment scam, or RJD President Lalu Prasad who himself is a convict in fodder scam and dreaded mafia don Shahabuddin", said Sushil Modi.

Modi alleged that Nitish has embarked on the path of unethical politics devoid of any kind of ideology to remain in power and to make himself relevant in national politics.

He also alleged that Nitish facilitated the release of dreaded mafia don and former RJD MP Shahbuddin without bothering about Supreme Court's scathing observation. He said that the Bihar CM also did not have any dislike for tainted and convicted politicians like Lalu Prasad.

"Nitish forged alliance with BJP to uproot the Lalu-Rabri jungleraj govt and later formed a coalition government with Lalu whom Nitish had sent to jail in fodder scam. Despite being a follower of Karpoori and Lohia, Nitish forged alliance with Congress party, a party which was sunk in deep corruption", remarked the BJP leader," said Sushil Modi.

Also read: BJP leader Sushil Modi asks 10 questions from Bihar CM Nitish Kumar over Shahabuddin controversy



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If this picture is anything to go by, MasterChef India Season 5 will also have Bipasha Basu in it. But in what capacity, we wonder!

Bipasha Basu will soon be seen on MasterChef India Season 5. Picture courtesy: Instagram/bipashabasu; YouTube

By India Today Web Desk: It has been a while since the stunning Bipasha Basu did anything on screen. The Bollywood actress, who was last seen on the comedy reality show, The Kapil Sharma Show, with her actor-husband Karan Singh Grover, is all set to appear on the cooking reality show, MasterChef India Season 5.

Bipasha Basu on the sets of MasterChef India Season 5. Picture courtesy: Instagram/bipashabasu

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Also read:MasterChef India Season 5: Get ready to spice it up with Chef Vikas Khanna and Kunal Kapur



Bipasha recently posted a picture from the sets of the show on her personal Instagram account, and captioned it as: "Today on set of Master Chef India Season 5 for Star Plus. Wearing a gorgeous @gauriandnainika outfit! Styled by @stylebyami ! #Mua @pallavisymons and #hair @pinka25. Celebrating Healthy Food! #loveyourself."

The actress looked stunning in a black and white ensemble as she posed gracefully for a picture. As for her presence on the show, if we take a cue from her caption, then 'Celebrating Healthy Food' is probably what she'll be seen endorsing. The actress has been a proponent for fitness for a long time and it seems like this association will further that message.



I like to move it.. Move it .. ????????????Goofing around...before becoming All Graceful on set like always??? A video posted by bipashabasusinghgrover (@bipashabasu) on Sep 25, 2016 at 6:44am PDT

Bipasha even posted a funny little video before she made her presence felt on the sets of MasterChef India Season 5.

The actress did an adorable dance step, and captioned the video as, "I like to move it?Move it ?Goofing around...before becoming all graceful on set like always."

MasterChef India Season 5 will premiere on Star Plus on October 1 at 8 pm.



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By PTI: Srinagar, Sep 26 (PTI) Two senior BJP leaders, including speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta, today had separate meetings with Governor N N Vohra here, discussing various matters, including the ongoing unrest in the Valley.

"Gupta called on Governor at Raj Bhavan and they discussed matters relating to the prevailing unrest in the Valley and certain issues which need attention for speeding up the socio-economic advancement of the state," an official spokesman said.

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Stressing the importance of peace being urgently restored in the state, the Governor urged Gupta to sustain his endeavours in this regard, he said.

BJP MLC Surinder Ambardar also called on Vohra at Raj Bhavan and discussed matters relating to the rehabilitation, re-settlement and welfare schemes for Kashmiri migrants, the spokesman said.

He said Ambardar also raised issues about the welfare of religious minorities in the state and the hardships being faced by people due to prevailing unrest.

"The Governor stressed the crucial importance of peace being urgently restored in the state and urged Ambardar to sustain his endeavours in this regard and, side by side, to vigorously pursue the efficient implementation of all development programmes relating to his area," he added. PTI MIJ TA AQS RG AQS

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The Turner Prize is counted among one of the most prestigious titles in the world of contemporary art.

'Lichen! Libido! (London!) Chastity!' by Anthea Hamilton on display. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@1whippersnapper

By AP: A model train and bare buttocks are among artworks nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize.

Work by four shortlisted artists went on display Monday at London's Tate Britain gallery.

The show includes Michael Dean's scrap-metal sculptures, Helen Marten's collage-based works, Josephine Pryde's model of a graffiti-covered train and Anthea Hamilton's surrealist sculptures, including a 10-meter (33-foot) tall model of a man's naked posterior.





Photo: AP

Photo: AP

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The winner of the 25,000-pound (USD 32,000) prize will be announced December 5.





Photo: AP

Founded in 1984 and given annually to a Britain-based artist under 50, the prize often sparks heated debate about the value of modern art.





Photo: AP

Named for 19th-century landscape painter JMW Turner, the award helped make stars of potter Grayson Perry, shark pickler Damien Hirst and 12 Years a Slave director, Steve McQueen.







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He said, he has asked the Amritsar Rural SSP, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, to register a case of "attempt to murder" against the culprits, who were no other than the Akali goons.

Replying to a question about Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal's comment on the Congress campaign, Captain Amarinder advised him to better worry about his own party and its campaign. Photo: PTI

By Manjeet Sehgal: Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today condemned the murderous attack on the party workers in Ajnala on Sunday while they were taking out a motorcycle rally.

AMARINDER BLAMES AKALIs

He said, he has asked the Amritsar Rural SSP, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, to register a case of "attempt to murder" against the culprits, who were no other than the Akali goons. He warned them that it was a matter of few months more when each one of them will be set right.

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Replying to a question about Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal's comment on the Congress campaign, Captain Amarinder advised him to better worry about his own party and its campaign.

He said, their (the Akalis') countdown had already begun and it was just a matter of few months more when the elections will be announced and the writ of their government stops running in the state, they will not be able to venture out of their homes for campaigning.

"Take it from me, the Badals and the Majithia will be reduced and restricted just to the social media and they will campaign on the Facebook and Whatsapp only as people will not allow them to come out of their secure environs", he said, while maintaining that the Badals had already realised it and that is why they had sought extra security over and above the Z-Plus they are already getting.

ON INDIA-PAK

The Congress leader said that a war between India and Pakistan will only lead to sufferings of people, particularly those living in the border areas. However, he reiterated that the attacks like those in Uri need to be dealt with iron fist to teach the perpetrators a lesson.

In an informal interaction with reporters after meeting the families of the school bus accident victims here today, Capt Amarinder said, it is the people in the border areas who suffer the worst during the armed hostilities.

That is why, he added, he had insisted on limited retaliation against the Uri attack. He said, it was up to the Army and the Government of India to decide the course of action and retaliation.

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Bangladeshi cattle markets, known as 'khattals', are brimming with cows and oxen from India that travel thousands of kilometers, including water routes, on the sly.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: AMID claims that enhanced vigil on the India-Bangladesh border has brought down cattle smuggling by 99 per cent in last one year, the organised malaise continues to flourish, Mail Today investigations have found.

INDIAN BEEF FETCH HIGH PRICE



Bangladeshi cattle markets, known as 'khattals', are brimming with cows and oxen from India that travel thousands of kilometers, including water routes, on the sly. Traders at these markets admit that demand for Indian beef is high and the scaling down of smuggling activity has only served to push the prices up.

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Also read: Pellet guns now used as deterrent against cow smugglers in Bangladesh



"There is a slump in the volume after the (Narendra) Modi government came to power, but cows and oxen still reach here from villages of Haryana, Rajasthan and even Maharashtra," said Mohammed Rehan, who works at Gabtole, one of the biggest cattle market of Bangladesh, a 13km drive from Capital Dhaka. "On an average, around 3,000 cattle make it to Gabtole daily from India and Nepal. The prices have now gone up due to higher risk and bribe rates."

PRICES HIGH AS Rs 2 LAKH

Depending on its health and specie, a cow can fetch 3,000 to 45,000 takas in Bangladesh. Bigger cow species from Haryana and Rajasthan are sold at a premium. During festival time, such as Eid, the prices could move into one to two lakh takas.

Traders at Gabtole told Mail Today that the cattle are first transported in trucks via UP, Bihar and Jharkhand to enter into border destinations of West Bengal and Assam. From the two border-states, the smugglers use water routes from villages to cross over.

The commonly-used water routes are in rivers Kalindi, Ichhamati, Raimangal and Hariabhanga of Bangladesh. The cows are first kept in remote villages and bound one after another by a long iron-chain. At night these are herded in water by 'Rakhals', young local aides who are good swimmers and know their way even in the dark. For facilitating a pair of cow, a Rakhal gets the equivalent of Rs 3,000.

CATTLE SMUGGLING SINCE BANGLADESH WAS EAST PAKISTAN

The BSF and BGB have also identified many of these "cattle corridors" which include Khulna, Kustia, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Mymensing, Sylhet, Comilla and Chittagong. However, there are always new routes are discovered by the smugglers.

"The business of cattle (smuggling) has been going on since Bangladesh was East Pakistan. Cows come from India, Nepal and Bhutan legally or illegally," said Nadeem Khan, a trader at Gabtole, before he is advised by others against drawing "undue attention".

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Similar stories were recounted by traders at the Paikgachi cattle market, located between Satkhir and Jessore. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the traders said rise in demand for beef has made smuggling even more lucrative. "Only the smugglers are making more money," said one of the traders.



CATTLE SMUGGLING WORTH 5 BILLION DOLLER



Defence expert Maj Gen (Rtd) PK Sehgal told Mail Today the cattle smuggling on Indo-Bangladesh border was worth $8 to 10 billion but after strict instructions by Narendra Modi government, the smuggling has come down. "But it still continues to be worth at least $5 billion dollars. The cattle are pushed in, unfortunately many times in connivance of the force guarding the border."

This is in sharp contrast of the claims made by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) that smuggling on the border has come down by 99 per cent as compared to the previous year.

BSF INCREASE TROOPS TO CURB CATTLE SMUGGLING

The BSF, over the last five months, has plugged some of the vulnerable patches of the 4,096-km border by not only increasing troop strength but also new vehicles and a fresh fleet of attack motorboats to patrol riverine areas. The seizure of cattle by BSF in South Bengal frontier also known as the cattle corridor of India, reflects the trend. In 2014, it was 1,21,887, in 2015 1,51,402, and till August-end this year it has been 1,18,711.

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"GI pipes have been welded to continexisting metal fence as a defence against cattle smugglers," said a top officer in BSF.

Also Read: Holy cow: Haryana deploys special task force to curb cow smuggling



However, smugglers either manage to either cut wires or use unique techniques like makeshift wooden cranes to lift the cattle. On Sunday, BSF guards killed a 35-year-old cattle smuggler, Bahrul Islam, for allegedly trying to cross over near northern Kurhigram area's Roumari Upazila.

CATTLE CAUGHT AT BORDER GO TO AUCTIONS

There is another set of cattle which fetch better prices now. Police and guards often catch cattle that have either moved into Bangladesh or were abandoned by the smugglers for the fear of being caught. "These cattle go to the auction block," said Subash Chowdhry, a local journalist with a Bangladeshi daily at border district of Satkhira said. "Chittigong and Dhaka traders used to get them at a marginal price earlier. But the increased demand now ensures that they fetch good prices for government departments."

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By PTI: Kochi, Sep 25 (PTI) If the old adage about too many cooks spoiling the broth is the rule, Sunday proved an exception with the international cooking competition-?the centrepiece event of the Spice Route Culinary Festival-?laying out a bevy of delectable dishes.

Envisaged as a fresh beginning to the ambitious Spices Route project-?an initiative of Kerala Tourism in association with UNESCO and the Tourism Ministry, the festival has proved to be that and more.

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The international competition was kick started by S Sharma MLA, Vypeen, with the lighting of a traditional lamp at Bolgatty Palace and Island resort in the morning.

He had invited the 15 participant countries to explore and discover not just the cuisines, but also the cultures of the Spice Route, according to a release here.

The inauguration was attended by Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of Netherlands to India, Shigeru Aoyagi, Director and UNESCO Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives,Nepal and Sri Lanka, Moe Chiba, Culture Head at UNESCO India and U V Jose, Kerala Tourism Director.

"Food is a part of culture and helps to connect people. The Dutch government welcomes this wonderful initiative and will support efforts to promote the heritage shared by the countries of the Spice Route," the Dutch Ambassador said.

Noting that chefs are transmitters of culture, Aoyagi said "The Spice Route initiative celebrates not only our common legacy, but also our differences."

Jose thanked the chefs and dignitaries for being part of this unique event and said the culinary festival is a great beginning to the Spice Route initiative.

"It is the first step to realising the true potential of Spice Route as a viable tourism offering for the state. Let us now take this forward through similar projects," he said.

Leading chefs from Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Thailand, Oman, Turkey, Qatar, Netherlands, France, Malaysia, Italy and Japan poured their cooking talents into three dishes -?an entrAe, main course and dessert-?within the three-and-half hour allotted period.

With all-star judges-?noted chefs Vijay Nagpal, Debraj Bhaumik and Montu Saini,executive chef to the President?-doing the rounds, teams had to pull out all the stops to stand out.

The first place team gets a 15-night holiday voucher, second prize is a 10-night holiday voucher and third, a seven night holiday voucher. Winning teams will all receive two airline return tickets, a memento and certificate for each member.

The Turkish team first tabled their appetiser-?an Ottoman Almond Soup-?setting off a chain reaction of raised hands and shouts from contestants to draw the judges attention.

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The question of who will come out on top will be known at an award ceremony ahead of valedictory function tomorrow.

Before that, the finals of Kerala Chef competition-?an initiative to promote local culinary flavours and talent--will round out the mornings proceedings. PTI TGB APR SMJ TRK

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Barely nine days after China sent its top nuclear negotiator Wang Qun to Delhi, his deputy in the Disarmament Department Li Yang was dispatched to Islamabad for talks on September 22.

By Ananth Krishnan: China and Pakistan have held their first official-level dialogue discussing the latter's aspirations to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), signalling that India's path to membership may remain far from straightforward.

PAKISTAN NOW JOINS NSG LINE



Barely nine days after China sent its top nuclear negotiator Wang Qun to Delhi, his deputy in the Disarmament Department Li Yang was dispatched to Islamabad for talks on September 22.

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The September-13 talks in Delhi were seen as a sign of Beijing's willingness to finally bilaterally engage with India on the issue of its entry into 48-member grouping.

CHINA SHARED DETAILS WITH INDIA



Beijing had stymied India's entry at the NSG's plenary in Seoul, insisting that the grouping first needed to agree on criteria for entry of all non-NPT countries before discussing India's specific case.

Also Read: India, China engage on pragmatic talks to discuss India's NSG bid

China said after the Delhi talks, on the question of non-NPT states participation in the NSG, given that it is an issue of major concern to India, China, for its part, shared with India the recent developments as it sees within the Group in relation to the question.

China also shared with India its principled positions and views on the above question.

In the meantime, China listened to and had the inputs from India on this issue, and indicated that it will bring such views and inputs back to the Group for its consideration.

CHINA STALLED INDIA TO SEE PAK REACTION



Beijing issued a near-identical statement after the Islamabad dialogue, saying: "On the question of non-NPT states' participation in the NSG, given that it is an issue of concern to Pakistan, China, for its part, shared with Pakistan the recent developments as it sees within the Group in relation to the question.

Pak seeks Belgiums support for its NSG bid

Some analysts had suggested that Beijing's stance to stall India's entry was because it was keen to draw equivalence between India's and Pakistan's aspirations for the group by insisting on criteria for all non-NPT states.

Its dialogue last week in Islamabad is likely to confirm those suggestions.





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In an interview to Kumar Shakti Shekhar, OP Singh spells out his priorities and challenges before him.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General (DG) OP Singh has been appointed as the new DG of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). A 1983 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Singh earlier served as ADG (Security) in his state while at the Centre, he has served in Special Protection Group (SPG) - the Prime Minister's special security unit.

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This makes him a perfect choice for the CISF's DG post. In an interview to Kumar Shakti Shekhar, Singh spells out his priorities and challenges before him. Excerpts:

Q: What challenges do you perceive as the DG of CISF?

OP Singh: The challenges for heading a para-military security agency like CISF are immense because of the grave threats being imposed by the anti-social elements, particularly the terrorists. Therefore, I plan to make CISF a more robust professional security force.

But unlike the other para-military forces, the profile of CISF is different as it provides protection and security to the most sensitive critical infrastructure and major centers of economic growth of the country. Therefore, the challenges before CISF have to be seen in this perspective.



Q: What plans do you have for modernisation of CISF?

OP Singh: We have a separate wing in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which looks after modernisation of the police. It deals with modernisation of forces as per their requirement.

However, as I said earlier, CISF's role is technically different from the other forces and, hence, its modernisation also requires a different approach. It plays an important role in access control and protection of installations and the public. It requires a quick response system. Hence, my emphasis will be on making CISF a more professional and modern force.

Q: You were the DG of NDRF, another professional force, before joining the CISF. How is your experience in NDRF going to help you in CISF?

OP Singh: There is a significant correlation between NDRF and CISF. NDRF is an emergency management force. The teams of NDRF have been trained by master trainers of CISF in initial years. The CISF has its own industrial safety plans, particularly for the PSUs. This comes in handy for NDRF.

However, I would like to upgrade the skills of CISF and, thus, there needs to be a positive collaboration between NDRF and CISF.

In fact, I served in CISF for a year in 2014 as in charge of security of all the 59 airports of the country. I have also been involved with VIP security. Hence, all these experiences will be helpful in my stint with CISF.

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By Geetika Sasan Bhandari: The first episode of Season 2 of Comedy Nights Bachao premiered last evening on Colors. While some of the old faces-Bharti Singh, Krushna Abhishek, Sudesh Lahiri-have been retained, most of the old names are gone. From Karan Wahi to Shruti Seth, from Anita Hassanandani to Adaa Khan, almost all the contestants from Season 1 are out. Of the new crop on the show, here's what we think of five of the debuts:

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Also read:5 reasons why the new season of Comedy Nights Bachao is really Taaza

#1 Mona Singh

Mona Singh. Picture courtesy: Instagram/monajsingh

Of course it's not going to be easy for Mona Singh to fill the shoes of her predecessors Bharti Singh and Krushna Abhishek, and the producers of the show know that. That's why Bharti and Krushna, now contestants, kept jumping in and going back to their old roles of being hosts, and Mona's only quip to them was to tell them to go back to their seats since they were now just contestants. After a point, the jibe fell flat. Without their interjections, the hosting on the show would have been lifeless. Mona's vivacious personality couldn't help beyond a point, because a show of this nature needs very talented comics as hosts.

#2 Sumeet Vyas

Sumeet Vyas. Picture courtesy: Instagram/sumeetvyas

He's already a star on social media thanks to his stint on two web shows, Permanent Rommates and Tripling, and we're so happy television has finally started recognising talent from the internet. Sumeet's transition to TV was seamless and he was actually one of the highlights of the news season, bringing in a fresh breath of energy to the show. Usually, it's just one crop of TV actors after another, so new faces-new, talented faces, we'd like to add-are always a pleasure to watch. Stand-up comic Manan Desai was another new face from the internet, but Sumeet-paired with Bharti, no less--was a natural. That he managed to hold his own with her is commendable.

#3 Balraj Syal

Balraj Syal. Picture courtesy: Twitter/ColorsTV

Another stand up comedian, Balraj Syal was pretty funny. Paired with Sshard Malhotra and Nia Sharma, Balraj is another bundle of talent who managed to elicit quite a few laughs and will be a face to watch. His bit about being the King of Auditions was both funny and poignant-it's the story of struggle every newcomer will identify with.

#4 Ssumeir Pasricha

Pammi Aunty (actor Summeir Pasricha) made a short appearance-wandered into the show from the parlour she was at--so we're not sure if she's a contestant or will only drop by. While Ssumeir's talent does not need any validation, we're not sure if the same format works on TV the way it does online as short videos. So we'll reserve judgement on this one for now.

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#5 Ssharad Malhotra

A star on the daily soap circuit, Sshard tried his hand at comedy, and did a pretty good job of it. His mimicry was quite hilarious and his act-with Balraj and Nia-was entertaining. Considering he's a seasoned actor, getting into the groove shouldn't be difficult for him. He's another face to look forward to.

Comedy Nights Bachao airs on Sunday at 10pm on Colors.

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People just can't stop talking about Dance Plus 2 winner Tanay Malhara! So, here are some interesting facts about the young super-dancer.

By India Today Web Desk: Remo D'Souza's Dance Plus 2 finally came to an end on Sunday night, and the coveted trophy was won by the super-talented Tanay Malhara, who beat Wild Ripperz Group, Piyusha Bhagat and Sushant Khatri, to take home a handsome sum of Rs 25 lakh.

Here are some of the not-so-known facts about the Dance Plus 2 winner:

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#1 He's only 14!

The Dance Plus 2 winner who wowed everyone with his performances is barely a teenager. Tanay Malhara is just 14 years old!

#2 He hails from Maharashtra

Not many people apart from loyalists of Dance Plus 2 know that the child protege hails from Jalgaon in Maharashtra. We bet people from the place are extremely proud of him after his big win.

Also read:Tanay Malhara, 14, wins Dance Plus 2, takes home prize money of Rs 25 lakh



#3 His role model is...

Tanay, whose stunning moves and antics on the stage have constantly wowed mentors and judges on the show, says Dharmesh Sir is largely responsible for his achievement. The two share a close bond.



#4 He's a pro at dance reality shows



This is not the first time Tanay has participated in a dance reality show. The Dance Plus 2 winner had earlier stunned everyone with his performances on Zee TV's dance reality show, DID Li'l Masters Season 2.

#5 He's already a prolific stage performer

Tanay has even been a part of prestigious shows like Vijay TV awards, and has performed at the Global Sustainable Biotech Congress 2014, held in Jalgaon.

Congratulations, Tanay!



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By Anuj Mishra: The Delhi Police has arrested six people - Devender Kumar, Sonu Giri, Rohit Kumar Mishra, Manish Thakur, Vishal Verma and Pankaj Nayak - for cheating to the tune of Rs 2 crore.

SENIOR CITIZEN DUPED OF RS 80 LAKH



A retired CPWD engineer who had served in India, Nepal and Libya had complained that he was cheated of Rs 80 lakh by some unknown persons who had been making telephone calls to him since January 1, 2015, promising to get the payment of his old unpaid insurance claim released. Keeping the huge amount of money involved in mind, and the fact that a senior citizen was cheated of all his retirement benefits, it seemed to be a collective effort of a gang of cheats.

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The investigation revealed that some people posing as insurance agents from Mumbai and Chennai had contacted the complainant and told him about an insurance policy by the Government of India in his name while he had served in Libya which is still earning huge bonus. The caller promised to get those bonuses transferred in his account. The complaint was duped and made to transfer money Rs 80,50,532 in the bank accounts of various firms like Power Effect Service, Central Union Fund, Fund Value Solution and others.

USED UNSUSPECTING RECEPTIONIST TO OPEN BANK ACCOUNT



During investigations, it came out that Rs 38.5 lakh was deposited by the complainant in the Axis Bank and Yes Bank accounts of Power Effect Service at Laxmi Nagar and Shakarpur. The accounts were opened in the name of Ankur, who was a resident of Burari. Ankur was found in his house in Burari. During interrogation, he revealed that he had worked in the office of Power Effect Service at Laxmi Nagar as a receptionist.

He further revealed that the people who were running the office, Siddharth, Manish and Pankaj, had told him that they were offering tour operator services to customers and needed his ID proof and photograph for opening a bank account of the firm as he had his own house in Delhi. Oblivious of the real motive of these people, he gave them the required documents and a bank account of the firm was opened in his name.

STOLE CUSTOMER DATA WHILE WORKING AT CALL CENTRE



The accused procured the data of the insurance policies of the victims including their contact numbers when they were working in call centres. While telecalling for an insurance company, they collected the required information. Thereafter, they would call customers and lure them to deposit money in the form of refundable income tax in bank accounts. Once the victim deposited the money, they further lured the victim by saying that his dividend on the insurance policy had been increased.



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The wanted gangster, who was on the run for two years, was finally arrested by East Delhi Police.

By Shivendra Srivastava: Delhi Police arrested interstate gangster Akbar alias Dhobi (32). Akbar had 21 cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, robbery and burglary, at various police stations in Delhi-NCR. After being on the run for two year, he was finally arrested and a pistol and live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

The latest case against the wanted gangster was robbing Mohd Aslam with his accomplice Sonu and firing at him. While investigating the case, the police received information about the presence of Akbar in Chauhan Banger. However, when they tried to nab him, he opened fire at the police team and managed to flee.

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He was finally arrested by the East Delhi police after they received information from the Ghaziabad police. Two others were also arrested along with him.

Also read: Delhi: Mobile store owner arrested for sending morphed pictures, threatening 50 teenaged girls



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Dhanushkodi, a place 20 km away from the main town of Rameshwaram, is the place where you can see the Ram Setu.

The town of Dhanushkodi is home to just 500 fishermen folk who live in the 50 odd hutments spread across the place. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Prabhu B Doss/Creative Commons

By Samonway Duttagupta: India is a country full of surprises, both natural and man-made.

While on one side there's a wide variety of landscapes, right from the seas to the mountains, on the other, there's a plethora of languages, cultures and a rich history.

Dhanushkodi, located in the Rameshwaram district of Tamil Nadu, is the place where the wonders of nature and man become one. A place shrouded in mystery, this is a place that's easy to miss by the regular tourist. Not only because it's not really a part of the tourist map, but also because this place is hard to reach.

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Nonetheless, Dhanushkodi is a place an exploring traveller would love to visit and know more about. For reaching this place one needs to cross over to the Pamban Island from the mainland. The best way to do this is by train, through the famous Pamban Bridge.

The amazing Pamban Bridge. Picture courtesy: Wikimedia/Picsnapr/Creative Commons

It's here that the journey to Dhanushkodi begins through several fishing villages, accompanied by the mesmerising views of the Palk Strait on both sides. The Palk Strait is the one that stretches between India and Sri Lanka.

After a rather bumpy ride, which is only possible on 4x4 vehicles, thanks to some large sandy stretches on the way, the 'ghost town' of Dhanushkodi will welcome you. A long time ago, especially during the British Raj, Dhanushkodi was a small yet prosperous town. It had everything you expect a town full of residents to have--railway station, a church, a temple, a post office, and houses, among other things.

Also read: 4 of the most amazing Shiva temples in India other than Amarnath and Kedarnath



Bordered by the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other, Dhanushkodi once used to serve as an important port for both traders and pilgrims. Ferry services were available between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar, a town in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). These ferries used to transport both goods and travellers across the sea, from one country to the other. The town of Dhanushkodi was home to all kinds of facilities a traveller would need--hotels, dharamshalas, and textile shops catering to pilgrims, travellers, and traders. And believe it or not, Sri Lanka is located at a distance of just 31 km from this town.



When everything came to an end

But all of these things is no more than history now, thanks to a cyclone that took place in the year 1964. It destroyed everything, and what remains now is a sandy shoreline with ruins dating back to those days.

The ruins of Dhanushkodi. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Chandra/Creative Commons

Although with the stunning views of the two oceans and a beautiful shoreline, Dhanushkodi is a picturesque place to be, there's an eeriness to the fact that what once used to be a town so significant, is nothing more than a ruin now.

The ruins of what were once the post office and the hospital of Dhanushkodi. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Mike Prince/Creative Commons The ruins of what were once the post office and the hospital of Dhanushkodi. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Mike Prince/Creative Commons

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The only residents of this island now are the 500 fishermen folk who stay here for the sake of their livelihood in about 50 hutments that are spread across the place.

Picture courtesy: Flickr/Chandra/Creative Commons

Ram Setu

Apart from the coastal charm and the mysteries attached to the place, there's one more thing that makes Dhanushkodi a really unique place to visit. And it dates back to none other than our mythological history, Ramayana.

An aerial view of Dhanushkodi. Picture courtesy: Wikimedia/Creative Commons

The town of Dhanushkodi is believed to be the place where Lord Rama had ordered Lord Hanumana to build a bridge which could carry his army across to Sri Lanka, where Demon King Ravana had kept Sita captive. As ordered, Lord Hanuman had obliged and it was here that the Ram Setu was built by the Vanara Sena.

An aerial view of what is believed to be the Ram Setu. Picture courtesy: Wikimedia/PlaneMad/Creative Commons

If myths are to be believed, a particularly beautiful stretch of sandy shore you see from Dhanushkodi is the place from where the Ram Setu starts. This is also believed to be the end of the bridge which Lord Rama had broken using his bow and arrow.

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Also known as the Adam's Bridge globally, no one really knows if this is the Ram Setu, but satellite pictures taken over time, and a recent image released by NASA have confirmed that the a stretch of land formation visible between Dhanushkodi and the Sri Lankan mainland is certainly man-made.

This image released by NASA recently shows traces of what is believed to be the Ram Setu or the Adam's Bridge. Picture courtesy: NASA

We don't know what the real truth is--research is being done over it for years now. But what we can say about this place with absolute certainty is the fact that as a traveller, Dhanushkodi will never cease to charm and surprise you with its unique mix of history, myth, mystery and unparalleled natural beauty. While sea lovers will love this place to the core, it will prove to be a paradise for birders for its population of migratory birds who fly to this place from places as far as Australia, and those having a hobby of collecting shells for this place is home to the rarest of them.



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During the meeting that lasted more than an hour at Trump Tower in New York, Trump told Netanyahu that under his administration, the United States would "recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departs after meeting with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters: US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Sunday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if elected, the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the campaign said, marking a potential dramatic shift in US policy.

MEETING

During the meeting that lasted more than an hour at Trump Tower in New York, Trump told Netanyahu that under his administration, the United States would "recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel."

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While Israel calls Jerusalem its capital, few other countries accept that, including the United States. Most nations maintain embassies in Tel Aviv.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of the state they aim to establish alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

MEETING WITH HILLARY

Netanyahu held a separate meeting later on Sunday that lasted just under an hour with Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump's rival in the Nov. 8 US election.

Clinton emphasized her commitment to the US-Israel relationship and her plan to take the relationship to the next level, according to a statement from her campaign.

She also talked about her commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict "that guarantees Israel's future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity," according to the statement.

"Secretary Clinton reaffirmed her opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including by the UN Security Council," the statement said.

OTHER ISSUES

During the meeting with Trump, the Republican candidate's campaign said he agreed with Netanyahu that peace in the Middle East could only be achieved when "the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State."

The Trump campaign said he and Netanyahu discussed "at length" Israel's border fence, cited by Trump in reference to his own controversial immigration policies, which include building a wall on the US- Mexico border and temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country.

Other regional issues, including the fight against Islamic State, U.S. military assistance to Israel - "an excellent investment" - and the Iran nuclear deal, which both parties have criticized, were also discussed.

ALSO READ:

A wonderful surprise: Donald Trump thanks Senator Ted Cruz for US presidency support

Dalai Lama's epic mockery of Donald Trump takes the internet by storm

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A van outfitted with a air cannon was used to shoot marijuana packages across the US-Mexico border.

By AP: Drug smugglers employ very creative methods to get their loads across the US-Mexico border. But it's not every day they use a van outfitted with a 10-foot (3-meter) air cannon to shoot projectiles into the United States.

Mexican federal police said in a statement last week they found such van parked on a street in Agua Prieta, Mexico, along the border with Douglas, Arizona.

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It was reported stolen from the city of Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora over the summer.

Images provided by the Mexican police show the black van with hole cut in its roof with a cannon in the back of the van that could fire projectiles. Authorities also said they found an air compressor apparently used to launch packages.

U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Vicente Paco said Tuesday that agents regularly see numerous methods used by smugglers to send contraband over the border fence.

Also read: From drugs inside snakes to people in suitcases: When smuggling attempts go beyond bizarre



The most common is lobbying softball-sized marijuana packages over the fence and into the US, often in residential backyards, Paco said in statement. Smugglers pay someone on the US side to retrieve the packages, which are then distributed around the country.

Paco said high-pressure air cannons can launch heavier marijuana packages weighing 60 pounds. The Border Patrol has also seen the use of trebuchets, a catapult-type launcher that can be crafted from wood.

Smugglers have even used heavy equipment and ladders to hoist trucks loaded with marijuana over the border fence, which in parts of Arizona can go as high as 26 feet (7.9 meters).

Video captured in March by a Mexican news station showed two young men who were carrying large loads of what appeared to be marijuana scaling a border fence from Nogales, Mexico, into Nogales, Arizona.

Locals call these types of smugglers "Mexican spidermen" for their ability to rapidly climb and rappel down the fence.

Paco says the use of cannons and other major devices is rare and that authorities spot them only once every couple of years.



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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) Drug firm Kilitch Drugs Indias arm Kilitch Estro Biotech Plc has been alloted land in Ethiopia on 45 years lease by the Ethiopian Bureau of Rural Land and Environmental Protection for an undisclosed sum.

The land ad-measuring 4,317.5 sq meters in Oromia Special Zone in Ethiopia has been alloted to Kilitch Estro Biotech Plc, the companys subsidiary, by Bureau of Rural Land and Environmental Protection, Kilitch Drugs India said in a filing to BSE today.

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The firm was selected amongst more than 80 companies who took part in the said process, it added.

Shares of Kilitch Drugs India today closed 19.94 per cent up at Rs 40.60 ascrip on BSE. PTI AKT ABI

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By India Today Web Desk: India will ratify CoP21 protocol on combating climate change on October 2: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that India will ratify the Conference of Parties (CoP) protocol on combating climate change on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2.

The New York Times endorses Hillary Clinton for President

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The New York Times endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and called upon Americans to vote for her decades of professional experience as a public servant, her programmes and her ideas.

R Ashwin breaks Waqar Younis' record, becomes second fastest to 200 Test wickets

Ravichandran Ashwin achieved the milestone in his 37th Test match, bettering Waqar Younis and Dennis Lillee, who both took 38 Tests.

Happy Birthday Will: 5 of the Suicide Squad actor's most loved films

Will Smith is a different kind of superstar. He is black. There were men before him, there will be men after him. But no one might be able to get near the fan-frenzy that Will Smith generated as a true-blue Hollywood star.

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By PTI: From Zafri Mudasser Nofil

On Board Special Aircraft, Sep 26 (PTI) India today said the "fight" for adequate representation in the decision-making mechanism of the United Nations would not end soon if those holding power in the world body do not allow this to happen.

"We must have our representation, our rights in the UN," Vice President Hamid Ansari told reporters accompanying him on his five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, adding that the UNs structure has changed a lot since the days it was formed.

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"If those in power in the UN do not allow this to happen, this fight will not end soon," he said.

According to the vice president, every country, particularly from Asia, Africa and South America, wants reform of the United Nations.

He said if a country is engaged in work of the UN, it should also get adequate representation in its decision-making mechanism.

"Troops from India, Nigeria and Bangladesh among other countries are usually engaged in UN Peacekeeping missions and not from the US or Russia," he said.

On his current visit, Ansari said it was part of the governments "very focused approach to all regions of Africa".

He said this visit as well as his previous tour of Morocco and Tunisia besides those of President Pranad Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent few months are emanating out of this approach.

"Geographically, there are 54 countries and so any decision globally whether it is UN or elsewhere, Africa is very important as India has long association with it starting from the days of de-colonisation," he said.

Terming Nigeria a country of importance internationally, he said India has old ties with it particularly in the field of defence.

An agreement on Bureau of Standards will be signed with Nigeria during Ansaris visit.

Asked if India was mulling any agreement on renewable energy with that country, he said an MoU is being considered but added, "dont forget Nigerias focus is energy not renewable energy".

He said though Mali is a small country, it is quite important for India and "we have done a number of developmental projects there and has been a success story". PTI ZMN ABH

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Here's all you need to know about the US presidential debates, first of which will be held later today in New York.

By Shreya Biswas: After months of taking digs at each other during their election campaigns, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will now have face-to-face showdowns on international television. The two US presidential candidates will be in three on-stage debates for the upcoming general election scheduled for November 8.

The first of these will take place at 9-10.30 PM East Coast time, which will be around 6:30 AM Indian Standard Time.

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Here's what you need to know about the debates:

What happens in these debates?

The first presidential debate ahead of the upcoming elections will be held in Hempstead, New York. The second will be in St Louis, Missouri, and the third in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The first and the third debates will have the candidates answering questions posed by the moderator on a number of topics, possibly domestic issues, foreign policies, among many.

The second debate, on the other hand, will have an open floor where the audience can shoot questions at the candidates.

Also read: Dalai Lama's epic mockery of Donald Trump takes the internet by storm





Who all will be participating?

Most importantly, Clinton and Trump, who are the Democratic and Republican front runners respectively.

The debates are technically open to other presidential candidates as well. However, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) states that only candidates who have an average of at least 15 per cent support in five recent national polls can participate.

Currently, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party's Jill Stein are running on eight and three per cent respectively, which narrows down the pool to Clinton and Trump.

Also read: This crowd turned its back on Hillary Clinton, only to capture a selfie





Who will be moderating the debates?

The moderators are usually well-known American TV reporters.

The first debate has NBC News channel's Lester Holt as moderator; the second will have CNN's Anderson Cooper and ABC News' Martha Raddatz; the third one will have Fox News's Chris Wallace.



What about the vice presidents?

Vice presidential candidates, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, will have a single presidential debate, held on October 4 in Farmville, Virginia.

CBSN anchor and CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano has been named as the moderator for this debate.

Also read: Hillary Clinton using a body double? Social media is certain she is





What about the controversies?

Trump has a history of throwing tantrums at electoral debates. He had boycotted a primary election debate after he had a war of words with the moderator, Fox News' Megyn Kelly. Therefore, some are worried about him repeating it.



Rumours have it that both Clinton and Trump have plans to carry out off-stage strategies to unnerve each other.

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After Clinton's campaign offered businessman Mark Cuban a front-row seat at the today's debate, Trump threatened to bring along Gennifer Flowers, one of Bill Clinton's ex-lovers.

Also read: Hindu Sena performs havan for Donald Trump



Trump and Cuban have been at loggerheads ever since the latter pitched for Clinton and took to trashing Trump on social media. Trump responded to the news of Cuban's front-row pass on Twitter with much anger.

If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2016

These debates are of much importance not just for the voters, but the candidates as well. One wrong move, and things could go south for either Clinton or Trump.

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By India Today Web Desk: This ambitious yet unassuming goat atop a palm tree can put a coconut tree climber, or even a professional mountain climber, to shame. Goats are born with this agility, and keep engaging in increasingly perilous activities like these.



In the video that is going viral, the frisky goat climbs up the palm tree and precariously clings on to the bark. The goat uses its cleft hooves for grip, making it seem 'bleatingly' effortless.

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Not one soul has a clue as to how the goat made it all the way to the top. Goats are known to go at extraordinary lengths just get some food. This goat might have scaled up the tree in search of some dates but is utterly confused about making his way back to the ground.



The video posted on Facebook three days ago has gone viral with nearly 2,000 likes and more than a 1,000 shares.



Watch the hilarious video below:





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Dev Anand, known as Hindi cinema's evergreen hero was born today (September 26), 93 years ago. Here are 10 memorable songs featuring Dev Anand, one of India's most influential actors.

By India Today Web Desk: Long before Ranbir Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, there came Dev Anand, India's first urbane, suave hero. Regarded as a major, influential figure in Hindi cinema, his films, the dark urban thrillers of the '50s and the romantic films of the '60s, helped in pushing the envelope of Bollywood.



SEE PICS: Tina Munim to Zeenat Aman, take a look at the ladies launched by Dev Anand

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On his 93rd birth anniversary, we take a look back at some of Dev Anand's most memorable songs. Sit back and enjoy!

Gaata Rahe Mera Dil

Film: Guide (1965)





Ye Dil Na Hota Bechara

Film: Jewel Thief (1967)



Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata

Film: Hum Dono (1961)



Tujhe Jeevan Ki Dor Se

Film: Asli-Naqli (1962)

Aasman Ke Neeche

Film: Jewel Thief (1967)

Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar

Film: Hum Dono (1961)

Phoolon Ke Rang Se

Film: Prem Pujari (1970)

Mana Janab Ne Pukara Nahin

Film: Paying Guest (1957)

Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat

Film: Teen Devian (1965)

Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jaye

Film: Prem Pujari (1970)

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Forget wild imagination, the author has had her share of wildness during teenage years.

By India Today Web Desk: So far, we loved JK Rowling for two things--giving us Harry Potter and taking down online trolls in the most kick*ss way.

In a recent interview, however, the author has confessed to having a muso (a person obsessed with music) boyfriend when she was 18 and how she enjoyed smoking, snogging and camping with him at hippy festivals in the early '80s.

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People have mostly known her as the single mother who lived on welfare and later overcame all hardships to become UK's best-selling living author and one of the wealthiest women in the world.

Also read: JK Rowling clears all the fuss around Harambe appearing as a Patronus

Rowling, for the very first time ever, has shared intimate details about her teenage years. The now 51-year-old author said, "The muso I dated in my teens. His parents were Dutch and we hung out mostly at his house because we were allowed to smoke in his attic bedroom."

"I've got happy memories of sunlit wooden rafters and smoke rings and walls covered in black-and-white pictures he'd clipped out of NME magazine, while the Dead Kennedys, Jah Wobble or the Birthday Party blasted out of the speakers," she added.

Rowling also went on to say how she lied to her parents to celebrate her 18th birthday at the Elephant Fayre music festival, accompanied by her boyfriend.

The Harry Potter author, who is now married to Neil Murray, revealed all the details in a tell-all interview with Ruth and Martin's Album Club, a website on which celebrities are asked to listen to an album that they have never heard before to ask them for their honest opinions and thoughts.

Listening to US band the Violent Femmes' debut record from 1983, she said, "I turned 18 the year this album came out, but I was obsessed with The Beatles at the time."

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The vehicle suspected to be involved in the hit-and-run is the newly launched Volvo XC90 SUV.

By Tanseem Haider: In a hit-and-run case, Delhi police zeroed in on a Volvo SUV after checking around fifty such vehicles to see if they match the vehicle suspected to be involved in the crime.

The vehicle suspected to be involved in the hit-and-run is the newly launched Volvo XC90 SUV.

INVESTIGATION

One of the two brothers injured in the hit-and-run at Aurobindo Marg a week ago succumbed to injuries at the hospital and investigations have led the police to the doorstep of a company's office in Noida. The vehicle involved in the hit-and-run is is registered in the name of the company.

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On September 18, the SUV hit Harikesh and Rakesh who were on a scooter and then sped away hitting police barricades on the way.

In this case, the forensics team found some parts of the car at the spot of the accident. "After examining the chunks, it came to our attention that the parts belonged to Volvo XC90 SUV, which was recently launched in India.", said a senior investigator.

Delhi police got a list of 50 people who had bought this SUV in white colour.

Police zeroed in on the vehicle suspected to be involved in the hit-and-run at Sector 10 in Noida.

Police are trying to ascertain as to who was driving the car at the time of the incident so as to take the necessary action.



ALSO READ:

Insensitive Delhi: CCTV captures hit-and-run victim robbed of his phone

Delhi: Yet another hit and run as car rams over two people causing severe injuries





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Seven people were injured in a shooting incident in Houston, Texas today.

By India Today Web Desk: As many as seven people were injured on Monday near a strip mall in Houston, Texas, where a person has been firing upon vehicles, local television news reports said.

Shooter in Houston 'has been shot down by our officers,' no other suspects sought, police said on Twitter.

Several people shot by suspect are being transported to hospitals. The severity of injuries is unknown, police said.

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By India Today Web Desk: The early months of 2016 remained witness to one of the ugliest battles in Bollywood. Kangana Ranaut calling Hrithik Roshan her silly ex opened a can of worms. Soon enough, the ex-files became public and thus began the mud-slinging.

ALSO READ: Mohenjo Daro flop has Rakesh Roshan blaming bad VFX, can Bollywood stars not do without their dads?



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The Queen actor revealed that their love blossomed on the sets of 2010 film Kites. While Hrithik continued to deny such allegations, Kangana said she isn't ashamed of her past.

And after all these months, Hrithik's dad Rakesh Roshan has broken his silence on Hrithik and Kangana's fight.

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Roshan defended his son and said that whenever Hrithik chooses to tell the truth, it will shock everyone.

"Hrithik is different. Even when someone (Kangana) was spreading lies about him, he chose to stay calm and dignified. If he does choose to come out with the truth, it will shock everyone," he told the daily.

Sr Roshan also clarified that it is Hrithik's choice if he wants to speak about the legal battle. "He is busy with his upcoming movie. Once he gets free, he might speak about it. It is his choice," added the 67-year-old filmmaker.

On the work front, Hrithik is currently busy filming for Kaabil, which is produced by Rakesh Roshan. The filmmaker has also announced Krrish 4 with his son, which is set to hit the screens in 2018.



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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) India today handed over to Mauritius a fast patrol vessel, designed and built in-house by Goa Shipyard Limited, which will be used for coastal patrolling, anti-piracy and anti-smuggling besides search and rescue operations.

The contract of the vessel was signed on May 17, 2014 and the keel of this vessel was laid on December 18, 2014.

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Rear Admiral Shekhar Mital (Retd), CMD, GSL said that despite all the challenges, including delay of over six months in supply of steel and being the first ship of the series, they have successfully delivered this ship as per contractual schedule of September this year, within 20 months of keel laying which is a record in itself.

The vessel is fitted with 30 mm CRN-91 Gun, 12.7 mm HMGs, 7.62 mm MMGs besides state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment and is capable of achieving a high speed of 35 knots, an official statement said.

Significantly, trials were undertaken in peak monsoon months and the vessel achieved all design parameters.

GSL is the largest exporter of ships from the Indian subcontinent and is presently executing export orders worth Rs 1,200 crore. PTI SAP PMS RG PMS

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India-US joint military exercise, Yudh Abhyas-2016 is underway at Ranikhet in Uttarakhand, where the focus is on dealing with terror attacks.

By Manjeet Negi: In the backdrop of growing demand for action against perpetrators of the Uri attack, India and United States held joint military exercise at Ranikhet in Uttarakhand. The focus of the Yudh Abhyas-2016 is dealing with the challenges of terrorism.

The two countries have been holding Yudh Abhyas since 2004 and this is the 12th edition of it. Approximately 225 US soldiers and about the same number of Indian troops are taking part in the exercise.

Yudh Abhyas-2016

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While the Indian unit consists of the jawans, who have experience of dealing with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, their American counterparts have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both teams are testing their mettle in the makeshift situation of infiltration and terror attack in the high mountains.

Yudh Abhyas-2016



TWO INDIANS IN US ARMY

An interesting aspect of the joint military exercise is that there are two Indian origin youths in the US unit. Balreet Khera is a sergeant in the US army. She was born in Chandigarh. She quit her higher studies to join US army in 2006.

The Punjabi valour in her got Balreet immediate recognition. The American Infantry Unit sent her to Iraq as part of the special operation team just one year after she joined the army and again in 2009. She was the only woman commander in the entire unit.

Balreet Khera and Gurpreet Singh Gill

Another American soldier of Indian origin is Gurpreet Singh Gill. He was born in Hoshiyarpur Tanda in Punjab. Gurpreet did his intermediate from Jaipur and B Tech from Kota in 2008.

The Kargil war of 1999 inspired Gurpreet to join army. He calls it a mere coincidence that he joined US army not the Indian army.

Speaking exclusively to Aaj Tak Balreet and Gurpreet said that they still loved India deeply. They expressed their eagerness in making the perpetrators of Uri strike pay.

Yudh Abhyas-2016

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Beginning on September 14, Yudh Abhyas-2016 will end on Tuesday. This is the first joint military exercise after India and the US signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) recently.



Yudh Abhyas-2016



As per LEMOA strategic agreement, the two countries can use one another's military base for repair and supply related requirements. It also includes use of bases for refueling, joint-exercise, training, humanitarian help and disaster relief exercise.





Yudh Abhyas-2016

Watch the video here:







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The prime minister held a high level meeting with Ajit Doval, S Jaishankar and Water Resource Secretary Shashi Shekhar mulling options available with the government with regard to Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sent a strong message on Indus Waters Treaty. "Blood and water cannot flow together," said PM Modi.

The prime minister held a high level meeting mulling options available with the government with regard to Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. PM Modi discussed the issue with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Water Resource Secretary Shashi Shekhar at the meeting.

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As per the sources, India will expedite construction of 3 dams on River Chenab that is controlled by Pakistan

"Meetings can take place only in atmosphere free of terror. An inter-ministerial task force will be set up on western rivers for India's rights to be protected," said sources.

"Western rivers carry 135 MAF of water and we have not exploited full potential of water," added sources.

There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of audacious Uri terror attack earlier this week.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries. Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.



Also read:

Indus Waters Treaty: Options before PM Modi

11 things you need to know about Indus Waters Treaty and why it is in news again



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With over 101k Instagram followers, Miquela is active on SnapChat and claims to have a more happening life than most people.

By India Today Web Desk: So, there's a thing on Instagram that behaves like a real person, but is yards away from being one.

Allow us to explain.

Instagram user @lilmiquela has over 101k followers--most of whom are confounded by its very existence.

Reportedly, since the very day Miquela posted her first picture in April this year, she--almost instantly--became a source of intrigue for many.



Miquela is active on SnapChat. Picture courtesy: Instagram/@lilmiquela

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If the regular updates by Miquela are to be believed, she lives in Los Angeles, hangs out with popular stylist-blogger Niki Takesh, FaceTimes with musician Tom Krell and basically, leads a pretty cool life--all of which people believe to be an absolute facade.



Also Read: This very, very creepy selfie is making us question our sanity

An article by The Washington Post spells out exactly why Miquela causes a sense of discomfort among her followers. "The problem with Miquela, you see, is that she acts like a real person but doesn't look like one. Her skin's a bit too glossy, her shadows slightly too flat--she has the telltale uncanniness of a computer animation," the report reads.



She also FaceTimes. Picture courtesy: Instagram/lilmiquela

While the internet 'cult' continues to be a mystery,some people are of the belief that digital artist Nicole Ruggiero is the name behind Miquela.

"Like Miquela, Ruggiero has full lips, a broad nose and blunt-cut brunette bangs - and she's a digital artist who works extensively with 3D models," the report in The Washington Post reads.

But Ruggiero denies any involvement in the Miquela's creation but maintains, "Whoever came up with this is brilliant."

So, what do you think?



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Ambassador Tehmina Janjua, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN in Geneva told the Human Rights Council that the situation in IOK is the tragedy of the Kashmiri people.

By Maha Siddiqui: Ambassador Tehmina Janjua, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN in Geneva told the Human Rights Council that the situation in IOK is about the tragedy of the Kashmiri people being bludgeoned and brutalized by India - the occupying power so that they give up their just struggle for their inherent right to self determination. She added that when this most fundamental right is denied, then all their other rights are trampled upon.

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While totally rejecting India's absurd narrative that the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir is about terrorism, Ambassador Janjua pointed out that over the past two months alone, Kashmiri mothers have buried more than a hundred of their sons and daughters.

Hundreds more have been blinded, and many others have been incapacitated for life. There is a general curfew over a major part of Indian occupied Kashmir with millions being deprived of access to even basic necessities.

NO FREEDOM ONLY ARBITRARY DETENTION, ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES



She underscored that in IOK, there is no right to peaceful assembly and association and no freedom of religion or expression. Instead, there is arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, extra judicial killings and torture.

This is what has happened in IOK. This is the daily experience of the Kashmiri people. Only the intensity of their misery differs at different times; the repression and brutality they face are constant.

Ambassador Janjua added that India should acknowledge that the only solution to the Jammu & Kashmir issue is a free, fair and impartial plebiscite that has been assured to the Kashmiri people by UN Security Council resolutions.

Also read:

Sushma slams Pakistan at UNGA, says Kashmir will always be integral part of India

Sushma Swaraj at UNGA: Full text of the speech



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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the Indus Waters Treaty as part of his diplomatic and strategic offensive against Pakistan, India Today spoke to the officials involved in managing the agreement, to find out the range of options available before the government.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a high level meeting mulling options available with the government with regard to Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The prime minister discussed the issue with national security advisor Ajit Doval, foreign secretary S Jaishankar and water resource secretary Shashi Shekhar at a meeting in New Delhi.

After speaking to officials involved in managing the Indus Waters Treaty, India Today has put together the range of options that the Modi government has in this regard. Officials ruled out abrogation of the Indus Water Treaty or reneging on India's international commitments.

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READ: 11 things you need to know about Indus Waters Treaty and why it is in news again

Instead India can make Pakistan feel the pinch by merely utilising the full extent of river water that it is entitled to use under the Indus Waters Treaty.

INDUS TREATY OPTIONS

India is not fully utilising its entitlement under the 1960-treaty. Without reneging on commitments, the government can commission new projects to utilise India's full entitlement. India currently underutilises water of Jhelum, Chenab and Indus rivers. Run of river dams can be built on the three rivers without blocking the flow. These small dams can help fulfill electricity and irrigation requirements of Jammu and Kashmir. Lack of irrigation water and electricity are among major grouses of people in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indus Water Treaty allows India to develop 1.34 million acres of irrigation in Jammu and Kashmir. So far, only 6,42,477 acres of land has been irrigated in the state. India is allowed to store 3.60 million-acre-feet (maf) of western rivers, i.e. Jhelum, Indus, Chenab. So far, there is practically no storage capacity developed in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the Indus treaty, India is entitled to use almost entire water of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi- collectively called eastern rivers. India can better utilize available water. Completion of Indira Gandhi Canal in Rajasthan is yet another option for the government. The IG canal has not been completed on account of dispute between Haryana and Punjab over Sutlej-Yamuna link. As a result India is to release three million-acre-feet of Sutlej and Ravi water to Pakistan. PM Modi can urge Haryana and Punjab to resolve water dispute, so that Sutlej water doesn't unnecessarily flow into Pakistan. Indus treaty is hailed as the agricultural lifeline of Pakistan. Main cropping areas of Pakistan falls in the basins of Indus system rivers.

ALSO READ:

Rattled Pakistan shifts 17 terror camps in PoK to army bases, civilian areas, say intel agencies

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By PTI: Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 (PTI) A day after meeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellapally Natesan today maintained that Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) has differences with BJP, while his son and party president, Thushar Vellapally dismissed the remark.

Talking to reportersafter a meeting of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, an organisation of backward Ezhava community, at Alappuzha, Natesan said, "I have only expressed the feelings of cadres on the non-fulfillment of promises made by BJP when it entered into alliance on the eve of May 16 assembly polls."

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He further said, "SNDP is not a B team of any political party."

"BDJS has its own opinion and the party would go forward on it," he added.

BDJS is a key partner of BJP in Kerala.

Natesans unexpected visit to Vijayans residence last evening shortly after stating that BDJS has only suffered losses due to its tie-up with BJP, and his lavishing praises on the CPI-M leader had raised many eyebrows.

His meeting with the Chief Minister and his tirade against the BJP, on the eve of National Council meeting of the party, had triggered speculation that BDJS was sending signals to CPI-M. However, when asked about his meeting with Vijayan, Natesan said he had met the Chief Minister to discuss certain things in the education sector.

"No politics was involved in it," he added.

Maintaining his contradictory stand on the issue, BDJS President Thushar Vellapally today said his party has no differences with NDA and the BJP.

He said he would attend the NDA meeting called on the sidelines of BJPs National Council at Kozhikode tomorrow.

BJP state leaders have asserted that there were no differences with BDJS and the warm relation which began during the tie-up period, still continued.

Meanwhile, political observers pointed out that Natesan, known for his shrewed strategies, had aired the feelings of cadres with an intention to bring it to the notice of BJP national leadership, and to a great extent he had succeeded in his attempt.

Natesan, who was instrumental in the formation of BDJS in the run up to the Assembly elections held in May,had yesterday accused the saffron party of not keeping promises made to it. PTI JRK LGKROH BN AJR MAV

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By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Sep 26 (PTI) A Nepal Airlines jet carrying 163 people from New Delhi today made an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the aircraft emitted smoke at 12,500 feet.

The crew detected smoke in the Airbus A320-220 named Lumbini as it entered Nepals airspace this afternoon, officials said.

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The pilots sought permission with the airports air traffic control tower for an emergency landing of the flight 9N-AKX after the smoke was detected while they were flying at 12,500 feet.

The smoke alarm went off at the cockpit, local media reports said.

"Following the detection, the captain asked permission for an emergency landing with the control tower," Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) spokesperson Premnath Thakur said. "Then, we closed the airport as a precaution. All the passengers and crew members are safe."

According to officials at the airport, there were 163 people on board the aircraft including nine crew members and have been safely evacuated.

Several aircraft flying in and out of the airport were put on a hold and the runway was cleared for allowing the plane to land.

The aircraft has been placed at the airports parking way after there was no threat of blaze and is under the inspection of Nepal Airlines Corporations technical team.

According to Thakur, the countrys only international airport resumed operations within half an hour. PTI SBP SAI AKJ SAI

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On a day, when the entire nation awaited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's speech at the UNGA exposing Pakistan, India Today accessed the interrogation report of Lashkar terrorist Bahadur Ali to expose the nefarious designs of the terror outfits operating under Islamabad's tutelage.

LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali is all set to be interrogated by NIA again.

By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: India Today has exclusively accessed the interrogation report of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali, who was apprehended during a gun-battle on July 25, in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. The National Investigation Agency questioned him after his arrest, when he revealed the plan of terror outfits operating across the LoC.



As per the interrogation report, Bahadur Ali told the NIA that he was influenced by Asia Andrabi, head of the all-women separatist group, Dukhtaran-e-Millat. Bahadur Ali is all set to be re-examined by the NIA in the wake of the Uri attack.

Graphic by Arindam Mukherjee

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READ: Has India already avenged Uri by killing 20 Pakistani terrorists in PoK?

RECRUITED BY JuD, TRAINED BY LeT

The NIA report very clearly talks about how Pakistan was pushing terrorists across the border. Bahadur Ali told the NIA he was recruited by the Jamaat-ud Dawa and trained by Lashkar-e-Toiba. He was the fund collector for the JuD.

Bahadur Ali also told the NIA that his father was a police constable in Pakistan. The interrogation report says that Bahadur Ali was brainwashed by his recruiters and trainers. He was shown videos of cow slaughter and speeches of Asia Andrabi.

READ: How to punish Pakistan

WHO IS ASIA ANDRABI?

Asia Andrabi is a separatist leader, who is suspected to have strong links with militants. She is the wife of incarcerated separatist leader Qasim Faktoo

Faktoo is serving life term for his role in the murder of human rights activist and lawyer HN Wanchoo in 1992. He has been in the jail since 1993.

READ: Rattled Pakistan shifts 17 terror camps in PoK to army bases, civilian areas, say intel agencies

In September 2015, Andrabi released a video wherein she slaughtered a cow after a local court ordered a ban on the same. Andrabi then said that she released the video to defy beef ban.

Bahadur Ali apparently referred to this video being shown to him and other terrorists before being pushed through to India.

BAHADUR ALI REVEALS LASHKAR'S PLAN

According to the NIA interrogation report, the 21-year-old Pakistani national said that Lashkar sent him and other terrorists to India to carry out terror attacks. He claimed that Lashkar's eventual goal was to turn India into an Islamic country.

READ: Modi calls Islamabad sole exporter of terrorism; asks people of Pakistan to fight against poverty

Earlier on August 10, the NIA released a video of Bahadur Ali's confession that he had been tasked to fuel unrest in Kashmir Valley following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July, 8.

The Lashkar terrorist had then said that he was asked to throw grenades during a protest but he could not do so. Bahadur Ali also said that he was told at the training camp that Lashkar cadres had successfully created unrest in the Valley after Burhan Wani's killing.

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ALSO READ:

Nervous Pakistan braces for 'Indian response'; many flights cancelled, highways shut for fighter jets

Uri attack: Terrorists deleted GPS logs, used matrix codes to evade location





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By PTI: Alappuzha, Sep 23 (PTI) Taking a contradictory stand after his father and SNDP Yogam chief Vellapally Natesan attacked ally BJP, Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) President Thushar Vellapally today said his party has no differences with NDA.

"There is no difference with BJP. It is the view of SNDP and not that of BDJS," ThusharVellapally told reporters here after a meeting of party leaders here.

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His statement came hours after his father and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) GeneralSecretary Natesan, who was instrumental in the formation of the party in the run up to the Assembly elections,accused the saffron party of not keeping promises made to it before the Assembly elections.

Thusharsaid he had met BJP National President Amit Shah last week and held talks on posts in boards and corporations. "I expect a decision on the issues soon," he added.

BDJS is the key partner of BJP in Kerala.

Asked about the statement of Vellapally Natesan, Thushar said his father had made the remark in his capacity as SDNP General Secretary.

"He might have aired the feelings of some cadres," he said, adding he would attend the meeting of NDA to be held along with BJP national council meet at Kozhikode and also the function to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Raising the issue just ahead of Modis visit to attend the BJP meet, Natesan earlier in the day said workers of the BDJS feel that "nothing" has been given to the party by BJP except promises.

"The Prime Minister had promised to us during Assembly election campaign that the Central University in Kasargod would be named after Sreenarayana Guru. It has not been fulfilled so far," he said.

Natesan, who tried to take Keralas numerically strong Eazhava community to the NDA, said the BJP had made several promises to the BDJS during the time of elections in May this year, "but when it comes to making us a partner in power, we are being treated as untouchables".

Asked whether BDJS was in favour of taking KC-M into NDA, Thushar said if BJP agrees to that, his party would take the initiative to rope in the party headed by former finance minister K M Mani.

KC-M had recently severed its more than three-decades old ties with Congress led UDF Opposition and had decided to function as a separate bloc in the state assembly.

The party has also resolved to have equi-distance from ruling CPI-M led LDF. PTI COR TGB JRK VS SRY NTR

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According to reports, Modi will be meeting officials from various ministries to discuss the pros and cons of 56-year old treaty signed between India and Pakistan.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a meeting on Indus waters treaty today.

According to reports, Modi will be meeting officials from various ministries to discuss the pros and cons of 56-year old treaty signed between India and Pakistan over the sharing of water from six rivers.

However, the officials of the ministries of Water Resources and External Affairs denied any such knowledge of a meeting being convened by the Prime Minister.

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There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of audacious Uri terror attack earlier this week.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries. Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.



ALSO READ:

10 things you need to know about Indus Water Treaty and why it is in news again

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Beijing declined to confirm the comments attributed to its Consul General in Lahore. Reuters photo

By Ananth Krishnan: China today contradicted Pakistani reports of its officials reportedly siding with Pakistan on Kashmir, maintaining there was no change in its position.

Pakistani media reports on Sunday quoted a press release from the Lahore office of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif stating that the Chinese Consul General Yu Boren had pledged China's support "in case of any foreign aggression". Yu was also quoted as saying China "will be siding with Pakistan on the kashmir issue" and there were "no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris", in language markedly different from the usual Chinese stand.

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On Monday, Beijing declined to confirm the comments attributed to its Consul General in Lahore.

"I am not aware of the situation you mentioned," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

"China's position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear," he added. "As a neighbour and friend to both Pakistan and India, we hope the two countries will properly address their differences through dialogue and consultation, manage and control the situation, and jointly work for the peace and stability of South Asia and the growth of the region."

Reiterating China's stand that Kashmir was "an issue left over from history", he said China hoped "the relevant parties will peacefully and properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation".

CHINA SAYS IN TALKS WITH INDIA ON BORDER, LAC NOT DEMARCATED

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also played down reports of an incursion along the eastern sector of the border in Arunachal Pradesh.

Reports said PLA troops had entered into Indian territory on September 9, and a flag meeting was held later to resolve the issue.

Indian and Chinese officials have played down what they call "transgressions" on account of mutually overlapping claim lines of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which both sides are yet to clarify.

"China's position on the boundary question between India and China is consistent and clear," said Geng. "The boundary between the two sides yet to be demarcated. We are engaged in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences in this regard. The border troops of China always abide by agreements of the two sides and strictly follow the bilateral agreements concerning the LAC. We hope the Indian side will work together with us to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas and strive to resolve the boundary question at an early date."

Pakistan in talks with China over NSG entry after India's failed bid



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In the wake of India's diplomatic and strategic offensive, a nervous Pakistan shifts terror training camps of Lashkar, Jaish and Hizbul from their current locations to near residential population and even inside its army bases in PoK.

By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: Intelligence reports from Pakistan indicated that 16-17 terror camps were shifted from their current locations after the Uri attack. According to highly placed sources in the intelligence agencies, training camps of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Hizbul Mujahideen were relocated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Intelligence agencies have gathered that these terror camps were shifted with the help of Pakistani army and Inter-services Intelligence. Four terror camps operating from Mansehra and Muzaffarabad were shifted by the Pakistani army, intelligence sources said.

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READ: India Today at LoC: After Uri attack, India quietly fortifies border positions, locals worry about escalation

NEW CAMPS NEAR RESIDENTIAL AREAS

The new terror camps have been erected near heavily built villages within PoK in an attempt to camouflage with residential population. In some cases, terror camps were shifted within Pakistani army bases.

The rationale behind this move is to evade being identified by Indian agencies, intelligence sources said.

READ: Nervous Pakistan braces for 'Indian response'; many flights cancelled, highways shut for fighter jets

Intelligence sources said that Pakistan looks completely ruffled with India's diplomatic and strategic offensive in the aftermath of Uri terror attack and is doing everything to save its skin. Shifting terror camps from their current location is one such attempt.

Sources in the ministry of home affairs said that Pakistan is preparing to deal with the situation in the event of a possible surgical strike by Indian army.

READ: How to punish Pakistan when a war is ruled out

HIGH LEVEL MEET IN NEW DELHI

Meanwhile, union home minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high level meeting in New Delhi to discuss internal security and situation in the Kashmir Valley. Apart from national security advisor Ajit Doval, Intelligence Bureau chief, RAW chief and senior officials of the home ministry attended the meeting.

Kashmir Valley has been tense for over two months following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani. More than 80 people have lost their lives in clashes with security forces in the Valley.

READ: India, Pakistan get battle-ready at Line of Control

INDIA, PAKISTAN BATTLE READY

The line of control and the border between India and Pakistan have seen hectic activities after Uri terror strike. Both the countries have increased their military presence on the ground.

Pakistan even shut down its airways in PoK and nearby areas to give time to its air force to get prepared for a possible strike by Indian forces. Unverified reports of F16s flying over Islamabad even caused panic in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Manohar Parrikar have repeatedly said that the sacrifice of 19 soldiers, who died in the September, 18 terror attack, would be avenged in a suitable manner and at a time of their picking.



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ALSO READ:

Modi calls Islamabad sole exporter of terrorism; asks people of Pakistan to fight against poverty

Has India already avenged Uri by killing 20 Pakistani terrorists in PoK?

Uri attack: Terrorists deleted GPS logs, used matrix codes to evade location







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The Mirror published a screenshot of the alleged tweets from the actors account, attacking India over Kashmir and calling for Pakistani actors to stop working in the country.

By Press Trust of India: Pakistan-born actor Marc Anwar has reportedly been fired from "Coronation Street" after posting "racially offensive" tweets about Indian people over the Kashmir issue.

The 45-year-old actor, who plays Sharif Nazir in the long-running soap, was dismissed after the Sunday Mirror informed the ITV network bosses about his racist tweets.

Mirror published a screenshot of the alleged tweets from the actors account, attacking India over Kashmir and calling for Pakistani actors to stop working in the country.

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The paper also quoted an official statement from ITV.

"We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar.

"We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect," the statement read.

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Merge J-K with Himachal Pradesh to resolve the Kashmir conflict, says MP Pappu Yadav

Ghana university students say Gandhi was racist, want his statue removed

Racist posters against Sikhs seen in Canadian University campus, Indian students outraged





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A television host in Pakistan was reportedly poisoned by a minor boy who posed as her fan.

By India Today Web Desk: It seems the spate of attacks on women in Pakistan seems never-ending. The latest victim is Sana Faisal, a television host was reportedly poisoned by a fan on Sunday.

Sana hosted the program 'Khufia' on Abb Takk a Pakistan-based Urdu news channel. Sources said that she was approached by a minor 'fan' on Sunday.

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The boy asked Sana to pose for a selfie and later took her autograph. The boy later gave an ice cream to the host which she ate.

She was rushed to Ziauddin Hospital after she complained of discomfort. Police sources said that her health condition is now stable.

Pakistan TV host Sana Faisal at a private hospital in Karachi. (Photo: Facebook)

POLICE FILES FIR

Following the incident the police station officer at Hyderi Market area of Karachi filed an FIR.

The police said that Sana went to Peshawari Ice cream store in North Nazimabad with her husband on Sunday night. A boy about 15 years of age had approached her with the ice cream.

According to the police, she complained of sickness on her way home and had to be taken to the hospital.

Sana's statement was recorded at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where she was shifted from Ziauddin Hospital.

Also read:

8 chilling confessions made by Qandeel Baloch's murderer brother



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Global travellers' all-time favourite destination Paris will soon be home to a park only for the city's nudists.

By India Today Web Desk: Paris has always been your dream destination. The home of art, architecture, culture, romance and so many other reasons make the French capital a desirable destination for travellers from all parts of the part.

Also read: This is how you can explore Paris differently in just 4 days



Very soon, Paris will be home to yet another attraction. But it will only be for nudists.

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Yes, you read that right. The city will soon be home to a park only for nudists.

According to a report by the Daily Mail, The Green Party of Paris has proposed a plan to give the nudists of Paris a dedicated spot where they will be able to strip off in public.

Also read: 5 of the best nude beaches around the world



Although the exact location of this park is yet to be decided, nudists have been making their own proposals.

The Daily Mail report reveals that Jacques Frimont, Vice President of the Association for the Promotion of Naturism in Liberty, has proposed designated area at the Daumesnil Lake, which located within the Bois de Vincennes. In fact, this is reportedly the same place which the government plans to convert into a public swimming zone by 2019.

Also read: A must-add to your Paris itinerary: a museum tracing the history perfumes



The decision to open this nudist park has come up after several complaints put forth by the city's nudist groups with regards to overcrowding. In fact, the pressure has been such that they were forced to hire out restaurants, archery clubs and bowling alleys and other spots for themselves.



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By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Sep 26 (PTI) Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit next month in Goa, where India has invited the leaders of the seven-nation BIMSTEC grouping.

The Nepalese prime minister will meet the Chinese President in Goa on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC meeting, a senior Maoist leader close to Prachanda told PTI.

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The eighth BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - summit and retreat is scheduled in Goa on October 15 and 16. India has especially invited the leaders from Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries to participate in the retreat that will follow the summit on October 16.

BIMSTEC includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand and India.

Xi was earlier due to visit Nepal next month. But there has been no official confirmation about Xis visit to Nepal.

The leader, however, said the proposed visit has not been cancelled and the government was making preparations for it to happen.

Nepal government has previously refuted reports that said the Chinese presidents visit was cancelled as China was unhappy with the new Prachanda-led government who visited New Delhi ahead of Beijing earlier this month.

Reports have said China was unhappy over the lack of preparation for Xis proposed visit and over implementing the pacts reached by Prachandas predecessor K P Sharma Olis government to step up construction of road and rail links to Tibet to reduce landlocked Nepals dependence on India.

Oli followed a pro-China policy, straining Indo-Nepal ties.

The ties had also strained after the new constitution was promulgated in Nepal last year, following which Madhesis, the inhabitants of southern Terai plains who share cultural and family bonds with Indians, began a months-long protests at tborder trading points with India against the Oli government. They claimed the constitution was discriminatory and intented to politically marginalise them.

Media reports here however have sauggested that Prachanda has asked Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat and Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, who are attending the 71st UN General Assembly session, to return to make arrangements for the upcoming visit of the Chinese president.

Meanwhile, Nepal has requested China to expand its railway network to border points besides the planned expansion to Kerung (Geelong port) - the nearest Chinese town from Nepals Rasuwagadhi border point, a Commerce Ministry official said here.

China is considering to extend its Qinghai-Tibet Railway network up to the Geelong Port.

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"We have requested asked the Chinese authorities in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to consider expanding its railway to other border points during the Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee meeting held in Lhasa last week," said Rabi Shankar Sainju, joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry. PTI SBP ABH

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The court observed in its order that it seems like Purohit, co-founder of Abhinav Bharat- a pro-Hindu group conspired in the blasts, which claimed lives of seven people and injured 101 people on September 29, 2008.

In his bail plea, Purohit said that he was acting in discharge of his duty to gather more intelligence

By Mustafa Shaikh: Bail application of Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit - an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case was rejected by a special NIA court today.

COURT QUASHED PLEA

The court observed in its order that it seems like Purohit, co-founder of Abhinav Bharat- a pro-Hindu group conspired in the blasts, which claimed lives of seven people and injured 101 people on September 29, 2008.

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"The court observed in it's order that Purohit is involved in the conspiracy and he was heading Abhinav Bharat...Purohit attended all five conspiracy meetings of the group," said Sharif Shaikh, lawyer of a victim of the blast.

FAMILY SHOCKED

The rejection came as a shock to Purohit's family who were hoping to get the bail. "The new document submitted by us has not been taken in record. He has been behind bars for seven years now," said Aparna, Purohit's wife.

In his bail plea, Purohit said that he was acting in discharge of his duty to gather more intelligence. "The circumstances show Abhinav Bharat a political party," reads the bail plea.

WHY COURT REJECTED THE PLEA

NIA in its chargesheet opposed this claim.

Purohit had proposed the formation of a separate Hindu rashtra at meetings held in Faridabad on January 25 and 26, 2008. Purohit said his senior officials were informed about the meetings, "Documents show the accused was cultivating sources from other agencies for the military intelligence unit," said the plea.

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By PTI: Amritsar, Sep 25 (PTI) Agitating farmers today squatted on railway tracks here affecting railway traffic between Amritsar to Delhi and Amritsar to Pathankot.

The agitating farmers led by Kisan Sangharsh Committee, are demanding enhancement in existing purchasing price of Basmati rice and a write-off of their existing loans.

They are also demanding compensation of Rs 10 lakh along with a government job to the next of the kin of farmers who had committed suicide in the past.

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The farmers agitation affected movement of trains between Amritsar to Delhi and Amritsar to Pathankot. The Shatabdi Express between Amritsar and Delhi and many other trains were delayed due to the agitation, officials said. PTI COR VJ ARK RG

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Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb said that it was unfortunate to see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism. (Photo: ANI)

By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: A delegation of heads of eminent Khanqahs and Dargahs met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and offered full cooperation to bring peace in Jammu and Kashmir. During the 30-minute meeting, the delegation of ten leaders conveyed to the Home Minister that they were concerned over the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley. The group, led by the chief of Ajmer Sharif, Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, has appealed to the people in the Valley to help the government to return normalcy in the state.

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Calling on the Home Minister today, they assured him that they would go to Kashmir to request their brothers and sisters to contribute in creating peace. The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation prevailing in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years.

The delegation rued the loss of shared cultural values and ethos due to the onslaught of Western culture on one hand and increase of radicalism among Muslims on the other. Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb said that it was unfortunate to see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism. The delegation said that there was no bigger power than the power of peace, and that violence solves nothing but only adds to suffering. They emphasised the need for unity for the sake of peace and progress.

Saying that India is the land of Sufism and spiritual powers, the delegation said that Khwaja Saheb Dargah in Ajmer Sharif, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah in New Delhi and hundreds of Sufi centres all over the country have been the source of spiritual strength and guidance to the people of India and the world for over 800 years. These Khanqahs and Dargahs have been alleviating the pain and misery of millions every year, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

The ten-member delegation consisted of representatives of all the biggest dargahs in the country.

Also read: Kashmir unrest: Sufi clerics meet Rajnath Singh, propose to take out Aman Yatra



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By PTI: Rajan Sharma

New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) Latvian saxophonist Artis Simanis, the founder of Riga Saxophone Quartet, says Indian musicians are "breathtaking" and his all time favourite is late Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.

Simanis, on his maiden trip to India with his Quartet, says the country has its own unique musical traditions.

"Some of the Indian musicians are breathtaking. Sitar maestro, Ravi Shankar is an inspiration and all time favourite of mine. I organise a music festival in Riga, it happens every second year and we have had Indian saxophonists and some excellent drummers in the festival earlier," Simanis told PTI in an interview.

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When asked whether he found any similarities between Indian classical music and the European music, the musician said, "The improvisation that comes from Indian musical instruments and music is on of the of the basics that we find difficult to develop with other musical instruments. It is one of the amazing things about Indian music."

Simanis, however, believes that despite the differences of form, music has a common language worldwide.

"Music has that essence which brings together people from different cultures, it is about meditation, the feelings and most amazing thing about music is that it connects people beyond the difference of the language so there are no borders for music," said the musician.

The Riga Saxophone Quartet made its debut in 1992. It marked the beginning of a new era for academic saxophone music in Latvia.

Simanis, currently a professor at the music academy in Latvia, started his journey with playing clarinet but later shifted to saxophone as he saw more opportunities in it.

"I have been experimenting with sax ever since I started my group. We wanted to take it away from traditional Jazz. Now we compose contemporary, and classical Latvian music. We string orchestras with other musicians to present the best of this instrument to the audience," said Simanis.

Simanis said the journey was difficult initially but they have come a long way.

"I had a difficult journey in the beginning of the quartet since we started with giving concerts for children in schools and playing in churches," said the musician, who has been awarded the Latvian Great Music Award ? the highest form of recognition in Latvian music.

"Our quartet introduced classical Latvian music in Latvia. Playing saxophone in church was a really new concept in those days. In the beginning, it was hard and slowly and slowly we flourished," says the musician.

The quartet was in the city on the invitation of the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia. PTI RJS BK BK

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The participation of these prominent leaders as a third front may help them lure the Poorvanchal and Jat vote bank in favour of the Samajwadi party ahead of UP assembly election.

By Ajay Kumar: With the Uttar Pradesh elections coming close, leaders of Indian National Lok Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal (United) came together on one stage in Haryana's Karnal city on Sunday and questioned the BJP leadership's failure to run the country despite complete majority in the center.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar became Chief Minister of Bihar due to Lalu's greatness, says Amar Singh

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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, SP Chief of state Shiv Pal Yadav, JDU leader KC Tyagi, Haryana opposition leader Abhay Chautala and Dushyant Chautala displayed solidarity against BJP during the Sadbhawana Samman Diwas rally.

RALLY TO FORM THIRD FRONT



While addressing the rally, Abhay Chautala called on political parties to form a third front and asked Nitish Kumar to lead the front in the general election in 2019 in order to defeat BJP and Congress party.

SECURE JAT, OBC VOTE BANK



"The people of the country have shifted power from Congress government to BJP with great expectations but Narendra Modi government completely failed on every count related to farmers and common people. The country needs a third front as they are miffed with these two parties and Kumar can play important role to lead this front," Chautala said.

BJP leader Sushil Modi asks 10 questions from Bihar CM Nitish Kumar over Shahabuddin controversy

The participation of these prominent leaders as a third front may help them lure the Poorvanchal and Jat vote bank in favour of the Samajwadi party ahead of UP assembly election. While Nitish Kumar can play vital role in Varanasi, Gazipur, Balia, Gorakhpur to ensure the OBC vote bank.

MODI COMPLETELY FAILED FARMERS



Chautala can play a similar role in Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur, Meerut, Muradabad, Pilibhit and other Jat dominant districts. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said that he has learnt quite a lot from Chaudhary Sahab's (Devi Lal) working style as he tries to ensure betterment of the struggling farmers.

He added, farmers had voted for Narendra Modi with the expectation that their lives will change after this but now their expectations have died. "Modi had promised the farmers to double their profit in five years.

But, Modi government's polices are actually helping industrialists dealing in production of cotton, brinjal and maze which In fact it would hurt in future," Kumar said.









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An RSS officer bearer was allegedly beaten up by policemen in Baihar, Madhya Pradesh, after he was detained by them on charges of posting communally sensitive remarks on social media.

By Rahul Noronha: An RSS officer bearer was allegedly beaten up by policemen after he was detained by them on charges of posting communally sensitive remarks on social media.

The incident occurred in Baihar sub-division of Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh. Based on the the complaint of RSS's district pracharak Suresh Yadav, cases of attempt to murder and trespass have been registered against six policemen, including an additional superintendent of police (ASP), and two others. The inspector in-charge of the Baihar police station, Zia-ul Haq, has been suspended.

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POSTING INFLAMMATORY REMARKS

Inspector General, Balaghat, DG Sagar told India Today that a youth belonging to a minority community had informed the police on Sunday night that a person had posted inflammatory remarks on a certain community on a social media site. The police detained the person, who was later identified as Yadav, and took him to the Baihar police station.

ALSO READ: RSS the most patriotic organisation in India, says Kiren Rijiju



SUPPORTERS CRY FOUL

A large crowd gathered outside the police station and protested against Yadav's detention. They damaged a police vehicle and allegedly roughed up an assistant sub-inspector. The protesters claimed that Yadav was beaten up inside tht police station.

On their demand, cases of attempt to murder and trespass have been registered against ASP (Baihar) Rajesh Sharma, Zia-ul Haq and Sub Inspector Anil Ajmera, three other officers, and two youths. "Our objective is to maintain peace and defuse tension, especially during festival time," said IG Sagar.

Yadav has been referred to Jabalpur for treatment.

ALSO READ: Punjab RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja, shot at in August, dies in Ludhiana



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RTI activist Surjit Singh was trying to unearth corrupt dealings of many builders in the Pandav Nagar area.

By Arvind Ojha: An RTI activist was shot at in Delhi's Mayur Vihar area on Sunday night.



According to reports, RTI activist Surjit Singh was trying to unearth corrupt dealings of many builders in the Pandav Nagar area.

Two unknown people, who came on a bike, fired five rounds at the RTI activist near the police chowki on Sunday night, police said.

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Surjit Singh said, "A person named Dama, from the last few days, was threatening to kill me. I had even submitted a written complaint with the DSP east."



The police have now registered a case and started an investigation into the attack.



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Maharashtra witnessed massive silent rallies by the Maratha community all across the state in the past one month over the Kopardi rape and murder as well as for demanding reservation.

Playing with words, the cartoon has twisted the word "mook morcha "(silent rally) to "Mooka Morcha" (kiss rally).

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: A cartoon poking fun at the Maratha silent rally published in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Sunday has run into controversy.

WHAT IS HAPPENING

Playing with words, the cartoon has twisted the word "mook morcha "(silent rally) to "Mooka Morcha" (kiss rally).

Showing a couple kissing amidst a rally, the cartoon says that some people have taken out some other meaning of the rally. But the intended pun didn't go down well with the protesters as well as other political parties.

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Angry protestors from the community burnt copies of the newspaper and several complaints have been filed in Latur and Aurangabad.

THE CONDEMNING ACT

Maharashtra witnessed massive silent rallies by the Maratha community all across the state in the past one month over the Kopardi rape and murder as well as for demanding reservation.

"The cartoon is in bad taste...It's an insult to women who are protesting against the heinous rape in Kopardi...Not only Saamana, but the Shiv Sena, should also tender an apology to the women of Maharashtra as well the entire Maratha community," said Abhijeet Rane, President of Maratha Mahasangh.

Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) too attacked the Shiv Sena on the issue.

Calling the cartoon an example of perverted mindset, Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, "Silent sallies by the Maratha community have set an example through their discipline. The participation of women in these rallies is unprecedented. By making such perverse comments, the Shiv Sena has insulted women in the rally who call themselves daughters of Shivaji."

The NCP called the cartoon an insult to the Maratha Community. Party Spokesperson Nawab Malik has warned the Shiv Sena to be careful before making such comments about women.

DEFENSIVE SIDE

Meanwhile a fringe Maratha group under the banner of Maratha Kranti Morcha, has come out in defense of Shiv Sena.

"This is an attempt to divert attention from the successful rallies and create a rift between the protesters. One should not pay heed to such gimmicks and maintain the unity" their release said.



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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) Samjhauta Express, which runs between New Delhi and Lahore, will be delayed due to "internal matter" pertaining to labour, India has conveyed to Pakistan.

"Our Ministry of Railways has conveyed that because of internal matter (labour issues) there was disruption of track. Same was conveyed by our Railways through established mechanism to Pak Railways," sources said today.

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"Our Railway Ministry has said Samjhauta will run but a bit delayed," they said.

Samjhauta Express, a bi-weekly train that runs from New Delhi to Attari on the border and then to Lahore, was started in 1976. PTI PYK SAI

--- ENDS ---
Over 500 workers of United Seemac have not been paid for durations ranging from six months to 20 months.

By India Today Web Desk: Foreign working staff at Saudi Arabia construction firm United Seemac have appealed for help as they continue to work despite unpaid salaries and expired work permits. Middle Eastern Eye reported that the firm has said that they will be given back their passports and allowed to leave the country on the condition that they forget the dues owed to them.

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HUNDREDS STRANDED, COMPANY SAYS PASSPORTS WILL BE RETURNED IF DUES FORGOTTEN



Hundreds of stranded employees from India, Pakistan and the Phillipines had submitted a request for their passports on September 9. They were told on Sunday that their application would be accepted only if they sign papers saying that the company does not owe them any money.

According to Middle Eastern Eye, a database compiled by a Pakistani employee revealed that over 500 workers have not been paid for a minimum of six months, while some have gone 20 months without receiving wages. Unable to buy food and living in squalid conditions, forgoing their dues is not an option for these workers, whose families depend on them.

COLLAPSE IN OIL REVENUES SPELL DOOM FOR SAUDI ECONOMY



The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing a financial crisis due to the plummetting of oil revenues that make up 80 percent of government income. The huge budget deficit of $98 bn in 2015 led to the cancellation or suspension of many of Saudi Arabia's construction projects.

Middle Eastern Eye quotes United Seemac as citing non-payment by the government for completed contract work as the reason for not paying the workers their dues. Workers say that neither the Saudi government nor their embassies have made much effort to bring them out of their desperate situation.

WORKERS RISK IMPRISONMENT DUE TO EXPIRED WORK PERMITS



The workers are further in a fix as their work permits (known locally as iqamas) have expired and the company has not paid to renew them. In such a scenario, they risk being jailed or deported. Neither being able to return home, nor being able to seek alternative employment, these workers are reduced to slaves. Middle Eastern Eye claims that although some of the workers have found jobs in other companies, United Seemac is not returning their passports and allowing them to transfer to another sponsor, as stipulated by Saudi Arabia's employment sponsorship system, known as kafala.

The trapped workers had approached a labour court, but have found no recourse there either, as they have little money to fight a legal battle.

NO RELIEF FROM SAUDI GOVERNMENT OR THEIR EMBASSIES



Middle Eastern Eye said that cumulatively, India, Pakistan and the Philippines have over 30,000 citizens trapped in the country. Officials of these countries have visited Saudi Arabia and are in the process of trying to resolve the situation of Bin Ladin and Oger employees, but those working at smaller firms like United Seemac are largely overlooked.

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In this desperate situation, the workers say that they may be forced to take more drastic measures that put them in danger of being jailed.

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Facing flak over fielding a weak lawyer in Patna High Court which facilitated RJD strongman Shahabuddin's release from jail, Bihar government replaced Gopal Singh with a senior Supreme Court lawyer Dinesh Dwivedi.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Bihar government replaced its lawyer in the Supreme court just hours before the scheduled hearing of a petition challenging the bail granted to Mohammad Shahabuddin on Monday.

Facing flak over fielding a weak lawyer in Patna High Court which facilitated RJD strongman Shahabuddin's release from jail, Bihar government replaced Gopal Singh with a senior Supreme Court lawyer Dinesh Dwivedi.

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Opposition had been alleging that Gopal Singh, Bihar govt's advocate in the Apex Court was not competent to argue the case against seasoned lawyer Ram Jethmalani who will arguing on behalf of Shahabuddin.

Nitish Kumar's government last week had challenged Shahabuddin's bail after senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan also challenged the RJD strongman's bail on behalf of Chanda Babu, the main petitioner.

Both petitions by the state government and Prashant Bhushan were heard last week, following which a notice was served to Shahabuddin asking him to reply why his bail should not be cancelled.

Meanwhile, Ram Jethmalani who is also RJD MP will be defending Shahabuddin's bail in Apex court on Monday.

ALSO READ:

BJP leader Sushil Modi asks 10 questions from Bihar CM Nitish Kumar over Shahabuddin controversy

Supreme Court notice to Shahabuddin on cancellation of bail, Bihar govt seeks NBW

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: polls

New Delhi, Sept 26 (PTI) Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who had expressed her desire to contest Manipur Assembly election next year, today met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and sought his advice on how to defeat "major political parties" in her state.

During the 45-minutes-long meeting at Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal assured her of all possible support for fighting the election.

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"In the meeting, she sought the Chief Ministers advice on defeating major political parties in Manipur which is scheduled to go for polls next year," an official said.

She also discussed political strategy with the chief minister and sought to know how he registered such a remarkable victory in Delhi, the official said.

Sharmila also met Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Although she did not talk to the media after the meeting, sources said she also took suggestions on other issues related to Manipur.

On August 9, the 44-year-old Iron Lady broke her 16-year-old hunger strike, the worlds longest such campaign, and declared that she wants to become the chief minister so that she could press for repeal of the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Sharmila has already announced that she would soon float a new regional party under the banner of which she will contest the polls. PTI BUN NSD SC NSD

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Suriya is currently shooting for the climax portion of Singam 3, the third part of the Singam series in Talakona forest near Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh.

By India Today Web Desk: The makers of Suriya-starrer S3 aka Singam 3, which is currently on the verge of completion, are currently canning the climax action sequence in Talakona forest near Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, a source said.

ALSO READ: 2 States remake- Naga Chaitanya and Samantha to star in the Telugu version?

ALSO READ: Thodari movie review- Dhanush's train journey is a bland and tedious watch

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Speaking about the film, a source close to the unit said, "The climax shoot started last week in Talakona forest. They're filming a high-octane action sequence featuring Suriya and Anoop Thakur Singh."

Notably, Suriya, who was supposed to receive India's limited overs captain MS Dhoni when he was in Chennai to promote MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, couldn't make it due to back-to-back shooting schedule.

Interestingly, Dhoni met Suriya's kids and confessed he's a great fan of their father.

S3, the third part in the Singam franchise, is slated for a worldwide theatrical release on December 16.

Directed by Hari, the film also stars Shruti Haasan and Anushka Shetty. Popular television artist Anoop Thakur Singh, will be playing the villain.

Meanwhile, Suriya has signed a plethora of projects. He will team up with director Muttaiah for a rural entertainer and director Vignesh Shivan for an action thriller. Reports also suggest that Suriya is likely to collaborate with director Raju Murugan of Joker fame.

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Kolkata police have arrested six suspected terrorists, five of them wanted by the NIA in connection with Burdwan blast case.

By Indrajit Kundu: Kolkata police arrested six suspected Jamatul Majahideen terrorists on Monday. Five of the arrested suspected terrorists were named in the Burdwan blast case by the National Investigation Agency. Three of the suspects were Bangladeshi nationals, police said.

The Jamatul Mujahideen men were planning attacks in the northeast, police said. Explosives, detonators, mobile phones and laptop were recovered from the arrested men.

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The special task force of Kolkata police was keeping a close watch on these men before it apprehended them. One suspect was arrested from Cooch Behar district of Bengal, two were arrested from Bangaon in North 24-Pargana, two from, Bashirhaat and one person was nabbed from Assam.

ALL SUSPECTS IDENTIFIED

The suspects have been identified as Anwan Hussain, Md Rubel, Zaibrul Islam- all Bangladeshi nationals, Moulana Yusuf, Shahudul Islam and Abul Kalam.

Anwan Hussain said to be the head of JMB-Bengal with Moulana Yusuf, who hails from Bardhaman in Bengal, as his deputy. Police said that Yusuf imparted training at a local madrasa.

Shahudul Islam is from Barpeta, Assam. He was wanted by police and NIA. Abul Kalam is from Barpeta in Assam. According to police he is an IED and a trainer. He carried a bounty of Rs three lakh on his head.

Md Rubel is from Jamalpur in Bangladesh. He is an IED expert and carried Rs one lakh reward, police said. Another Bangladeshi national, Zabirul Islam was wanted by NIA in terror related cases.



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By PTI: Hyderabad, Sep 26 (PTI) The recent incidents of violence in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, over Cauvery water dispute is not a sign of healthy democracy, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

"...because, 69 years after Independence if you start quarreling ... set on fire this bus and that bus. What happened recently in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is not a good thing for democracy...It is not a good sign for healthy democracy," Venkaiah remarked after formally inaugurating the Telangana Postal Circle here. "We are all one people...we are one country...we may be different states for administrative convenience and for developmental purpose. But at the end of the day we all are Indians. This feeling has to be there among us. So, let us keep this spirit in mind and move forward and both states (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) should work (together) and should develop," the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister stressed. Venkaiah further said every issue mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act will be taken to its logical conclusion. "No doubt about it and there is nothing to worry about it. Certain issues may take time...its not that much simple that you divide the state and everything is done. Even sometimes problems erupt during separation of families and it takes time to resolve the problems," he said. He reminded it took lot of time to resolve problems pertaining to (after creation of) Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states. "The government is working speedily though there are certain issues...legal disputes, differences between both the states among others. We at the Centre and Prime Minister are working...efforts are on to solve the problems," Venkaiah added. On maternity leave getting increased to 26 weeks for women, Venkaiah suggested Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya to also think about paternity leave for men. "I am not saying jokingly...they (men) can reach home to serve the wife, who has been serving the family for years," he said adding "though, if both go on leave for 26 weeks then there will be problem...the government will go on leave." PTI VVK DK RCJ

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The Indian Foreign Minister is expected to take matters forward from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first public speech after the September 18 Uri attack at Kozhikode in Kerala on Saturday.

By Indo-Asian News Service: India's much-awaited address at the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled later on Monday with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj expected to focus on the recent terror attack at Uri in Kashmir, up the ante against Pakistan and seek global support to dub it a "terror state".

The Indian Foreign Minister is expected to take matters forward from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first public speech after the September 18 Uri attack at Kozhikode in Kerala on Saturday, where he denounced Pakistan for supporting and exporting terror, besides warning that the neighbouring country will be isolated as a "terror state".

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ALSO READ: Afghanistan attacks Pakistan at UNGA, Vice President says "world knows where Taliban leaders live"

"Rulers of Pakistan, listen. The sacrifices of our 18 soldiers won't go in vain. India has been successful in isolating you. We will force you to be left alone in the world. That day is not far when people of Pakistan will take to streets to fight against the rulers and fight terrorism," Modi had said.

Sushma Swaraj is also expected to give a befitting reply to an earlier address at the UNGA by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Under the UNGA's right to reply, after Sharif's address, the Indian diplomatic mission at the UN was also point-blank and called the neighbouring country the "Ivy League of terror".

In the three-minute rebuttal, Indian diplomat Eenam Gambhir raised the possibility of Pakistan being guilty of war crimes for sponsoring terrorism as an instrument of state policy and ridiculed the country as the centre for terrorism education.

Sushma's tone during her address to the UNGA on Monday is also likely to be equally tough and blunt, diplomats said.

ALSO READ:

7 Nawaz Sharif statements at UNGA discredited with pictures and videos

--- ENDS ---
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her address at the UN, tore in Pakistan, reiterating that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

By India Today Web Desk: A week after Nawaz Sharif's speech glorified Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani at the UN, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today delivered an address at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The foreign affairs minister's speech comes two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphatic statements condemning Pakistan at a public rally in Kozhikode, Kerala.

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Sharif on 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York asserted that foreign forces were trying to destabilise Pakistan.

He raked up the Kashmir issue and said that peace between India and Pakistan is not possible without resolution of the 'Kashmir issue.'

Also read:

Sharif accused India of putting "unacceptable" conditions on dialogue with Pakistan and said the world would ignore the dangers of rising tensions in South Asia at its own peril.

Here is what Sushma Swaraj said:

- Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India, stop dreaming about claiming Kashmir.

- I have been to Islamabad, we had a bilateral dialogue and PM Modi visited Kabul on his way, we approached them with friendship.

- Those criticising India for violating human rights, should first work on their own shortcomings.

- Nations perpetuating acts of terror should not have any place in the global community.

- We will have to keep aside obligations and differences and work together to fight terrorism.

- We cannot win the war on terrorism with blame game.

- Terror strikes across the world is a reminder of where we fall short in countering terrorism.

- We understand New York's pain because of terror attacks. We too have faced condemnable attacks this month.

- Terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights.

Also read:

- India will submit its ratification before the Paris Agreement on October 2.

- Evoked yoga and thanked international community for supporting it for the last two years.

- These initiatives have propelled India as one of the fastest growing nations.

- Digital India, several schemes launched to make Indian youth employable.

- We have been working towards initiatives directed towards sanitation, gender equality, women's welfare and girl's education.

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- In the last two years, we have successfully worked on 17 programs initiated by the UN.

- A year ago addressed the international community, a lot of changes have taken ever since.

- We need to analyse what we have done and what more needs to be done.

Stage set for India.

EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives at UN for her address to 71st #UNGA session pic.twitter.com/GO9Gwg0DRV Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 26, 2016

Also read:





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The photograph of Lalu's younger son Tejaswi and elder son Tej Pratap with accused Jawed Bhath today went viral on the social media.

Earlier, a photograph of Kaif with Tej Pratap Yadav surfaced and went viral on the social media. Tej Pratap denied the charge and feigned ignorance about the accused Kaif. Photo: PTI

By Indo-Asian News Service: Another photograph has surfaced of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's sons - Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav and Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav - with an accused absconding in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.

YET AGAIN

The photograph of Lalu's younger son Tejaswi and elder son Tej Pratap with accused Jawed Bhath today went viral on the social media.

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A CBI team probing the murder of the journalist in Siwan district had visited Bhath's house in search of him last week.

Bhath and another accused in the case Jimmi have been absconding. Under increasing police pressure, two accused Mohammad Kaif and Sonu had surrendered in court.

TEJ HAD REFUTED ALLIANCE

Earlier, a photograph of Kaif with Tej Pratap Yadav surfaced and went viral on the social media. Tej Pratap denied the charge and feigned ignorance about the accused Kaif.

Earlier this month, Kaif was seen in photographs and videos standing along side criminal-turned-politician and former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin after the latter's release from Bhagalpur jail on September 10.

After this, the Supreme Court issued notice to Tej Pratap Yadav and Shahabuddin as to why an FIR cannot be filed against them for allegedly sheltering an accused in Ranjan's murder.

The apex court responded to a petition filed by the journalist's widow Asha Ranjan who sought filing of an FIR against Jawed and Jimmi, who were allegedly seen in the company of Kaif.

Three days ago, Tej Pratap demanded that similar notices should have been issued against BJP leaders whose photographs had appeared with Ranjan murder suspect Kaif and other criminals and tainted persons.

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Rami Adham, a 44-year-old father from Finland, has been on a voluntary mission to help Syrian children, bringing them food, medicines, water, and most importantly, toys.

By India Today Web Desk: Santa Claus may come to town only once a year, but the Toy Smuggler of Aleppo comes, bearing gifts, whenever he gets a chance.

Rami Adham, a 44-year-old father of six, is a Finnish-Syrian who started a voluntary mission to bring food, medicine, water and toys for people affected by the Syrian Civil War, especially the children.

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Adham, who is originally from Aleppo, has been at this mission for five years, during which he travelled to Syria's conflict zones at least 27 times. And after giving almost all he had to bring smiles and a little health to Syrian children, Adham is asking for a little help from us.

Also read: Aleppo airstrike horror continues: Painful photo of dead man and son swathed in blood shocks the world



Adham has started a page on GoFundMe where he is requesting people to pledge any financial support they can for these children, who lives remain at perpetual risk with airstrikes bombing their cities.

"This money I am raising will go to building schools inside Syria close to Turkish borders (where it is safe from constant bombing)," Adham writes on his GoFundMe page. "So I pledge to all of you humans out there, all around the world, to help me to help the ones in desperately in need."



'Nothing can stop me'

"My voluntary mission started around 5 years ago when I dedicated my life to help Syrian kids in any way I can," Adham writes. "I started by using all my savings to buy and deliver food, medicine, water and, of course, thousands of TOYS to displaced Syrian kids (all that I could carry with me)."

Even when Syria's borders were officially closed off, Adham did not quit. He started travelling to Aleppo through different routes, carrying all the toys he can.

"Toys where all I had on me (couldn't let anything stop me), in addition to the money I managed to collect and raise from Finland to help buying all necessary food, medicine, etc. inside Syria," he writes.

A report on The Telegraph says Adham brought 25 Teddy bears and 36 Barbie dolls on his first trip to Syria. As he began distributing among children, he realised something that moved him.

"We'd brought food, but when we started giving away the toys, it created a huge fuss," he told the daily. "Kids were coming from all over. I realised they weren't thinking about food they just wanted a toy."

Adham writes in his GoFundMe page that it is "everyone's right to provide and receive help whenever it's needed."

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"It's also a sign of humanity to care for those who are not so close to us in our everyday living and that's why I signed up up here. To reach out to all of you guys with a heart," he writes.

Adham's target is to collect 20,000 euros, which is around Rs 15 lakh. Right now, the collected amount is 7,769 euros.

If you want to help Aleppo's Toy Smuggler's noble cause, click here to donate.

Rami Adham with children in Syria. Source: Rami Adham/ Facebook

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Tripura has joined the list of the 20 states to have already ratified the Bill.

By Indrajit Kundu: The Tripura Legislative Assembly has unanimously ratified the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Monday. With this, Tripura becomes the third north-eastern state after Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to pass the crucial legislation.

On Monday, Tripura Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha moved a resolution to ratify the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill. The 60-member house then unanimously passed it without any opposition.

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Earlier, President Pranab Mukherjee had given his assent to the Constitution Amendment Bill on September 8.

The 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed by the Parliament on August 8, marking a historic step towards tax reforms in India.

Hailing the decision of the Union Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had termed the Bill 'crucial' for ending tax terrorism besides reducing corruption and black money.

As many as 20 states in the country have already ratified the Bill and more state assemblies are in the process of taking up the Bill.

Also read: Monsoon session of Parliament might pass GST Bill. What does it mean to you and me?



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An Arab man flaunts his camel wearing an expensive gold necklace and gets bashed on social media.

By India Today Web Desk: A video of a man proudly displaying his camel wearing a heavy gold necklace has gone viral but for all the wrong reasons.

While some people were taking pictures of the camel, the excited owner could not stop flaunting. But this has got him some major backlash from social media users.

"His trivial attitude and frivolous behavior is bringing prejudice to the whole community and he should be held accountable for that," posted one user as reported by Gulf News.

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Linking this "disgraceful behaviour", another user pointed out that Islam bans all forms of abuse and that the man was shamelessly abusing the camel.

"At a time when the government is working on providing much better chances for the unemployed and the needy, we have this man who adorns his camel with so much gold," he wrote.

"Instead of counting his blessings and showing gratitude to God, he is showing off in a provocative manner".

Watch the video here:

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By PTI: Thane (Maha), Sep 26 (PTI) A 36-year-old woman from Mumbai was arrested and narcotic drugs worth around Rs 5.96 lakh were seized from her by Navi Mumbai police.

The woman, identified as Shanno Ramzan Sheikh from Antop Hill, was held yesterday.

"Following a tip-off that a woman was coming to CBD Belapur to sell the drugs on a large scale, the officials kept a vigil and nabbed her around 6.30 pm yesterday," Vinod Chavan, Inspector of the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Navi Mumbai police, said.

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"The accused was carrying 127.20 grams of methaqualone and 85.70 grams of ketamine, both narcotic drugs, for selling. The contraband was being carried in a plastic bag. The total value of the seizure is Rs 5.96 lakh," he said.

An offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against the woman. PTI CORR NP RC BAS

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She took out her sandal and started assaulting the guard until other officials came to his rescue.

By Saurabh Vaktania: Wife of 1993 Mumbai blast accused Mustafa Dossa allegedly assaulted an on duty State Security Force guard at the security point of Worli Sea Link Road on the night of September 22.

WHAT HAPPENED

Shabina Khatri alias Simran (30) who is married to Iqbal Khatri was going to her Oshiwara resident when her car allegedly broke the line and sped up on the check post of the sea link.

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This made the security team suspicious, so an offcial, Vishal Vishram Gawas intercepted the car since the city was on high alert after Uran alert.

Shabina who was wearing a burka was asked to step out of the car and further questioned about her whereabouts which irked the lady who in return allegedly started abusing the security official.

WOMAN MANHANDLES

As per the statements given to Bandra police station, the complainant said that Shabina manhandled him primarily by pulling his identity batch off his uniform.

she then took out her sandal and started assaulting him until other officials came to his rescue.

The entire incident has been captured on the close circuit cameras installed on the Sea Link post.

LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED

"She assaulted a government official and the whole incident got captured in the CCTVs installed. Gawas registered an FIR under Sections 332, 353, 504 of IPC...She has not reverted even after summons were issued, therefore we plan to locate and arrest her", said a police officer from Bandra police station.

She is likely to be arrested on Monday.



--- ENDS ---
Insurance Back VIG: Romania is one of our core markets. We need the mid and long term perspective to get better

As MTPL, the most important insurance line in Romania, will be heavily influenced by the recent regulatory changes, for the VIENNA insurance Group (VIG), Romania remains a core market, among the top 5 within the group, said Roland GROLL, Member of the VIENNA Insurance Group Board, at a press conference organized in Bucharest. "Looking at the overall picture in Romania, from an economic point of view, it is extremely positive, especially if we compare it with other core markets. There are not many European countries which have such favorable environment", he added.



The Romanian government recently issued the first law specifically for the MTPL sector, which was governed, until now, by the secondary legislation issued by the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA).



The law was adopted after representatives of the transportation industry protested against sharp price increases in less than a year, which insurers explained were caused by a rise in compensations and claims frewuency, as well as the bankruptcy of ASTRA Asigurari and CARPATICA Asig, two players known for their very competitive price on the MTPL lines.



The most important change brought by the current legislation is that the prices for all segments of customers will be capped for a period of 6 months at a level of reference which will be calculated by the Financial Supervisory Authority until October 15th. Also, the parliament also currently debates another law draft that mentions the possible establishment of a state owned insurer to enter the MTPL market.



Nevertheless, the only restriction in Romania is to make a profit, GROLL said. "If this is possible, there is no intention to change something here in the future".



"If I am informed right, there are rumors in the Romanian public that foreign insurers take the money out of Romania. I can tell you that for VIG it simply is not true and therefore it is not fair", GROLL said, answering accusations from voices within Romania that large insurance groups have the means to take the profit out of a certain country. "We invested a lot in the market and until now we simply were not able, out of different reasons, to show profitability, which is key for us. We are a listed company and we need markets where we have a fair chance to make profit. It is important to mention that we are not a hedge fund. We are a strategic investor. We came to stay. There is no intention to step out. What we urgently need are conditions and that the mid and long term perspective will get better. If you look at MTPL, the combined ratio over the last years was roughly 130 percent, far beyond any chance to be profitable", said Roland GROLL.



"We believe we have a lot of experience in developing markets and we learned to have patience. MTPL is one of the most important issue in this country. We see that Romania is now finding a balance between all groups of interests", said Hans RAUMAUF, Member of the Council, WIENER Stadtische Versicherungsverein, VIG's main shareholder.



"We know (there is a political influence), we can live with this and we know from other situations that it will become normal after some time. We are hoping that the legislation will also take into consideration some economic arguments from the industry. It is not only a question of the premiums. It is the general situation. There are 25% uninsured cars in the country. I am optimistic that if there is a clear and objective discussion, these arguments will be accepted to some extent", RAUMAUF added. "If we have to live 6 month with fixed premiums, we will survive, but we need the future to be clear and fair. We think that the FSA knows well the situation, but they are trying to find a compromise between all different interests".



"If we look at 2015 only on MTPL where we had a combined ratio of 130%. That means a 30% loss, if we reduce the premiums by 30%, the losses will be even higher. In the meantime, I do not see any major changes in frequency or average claims in the future", GROLL explained.



About a potential exit from the MTPL segment, he mentioned that it is too early to give a strict answer. "What we need on a mid and long term perspective is to see a fair chance to make a profit out of this business which was not possible in the past 4-6 years. If we do not have a fair chance to make a profit out of the, by far, the most important insurance business in Romania, it will be hard for us to explain to our investors why we are in Romania. Nevertheless, we will do anything to find solutions and business models to stay in Romania for the next 50 to 100 years. If we look at the income of our sales network or brokers it's not easy to find models without MTPL in which they are able to live. There is, of course, in theory, a strategic possibility (to exit MTPL), but we do not plan this at all. If we step out, who will remain?", Roland GROLL outlined.



Regarding the potential establishment of a Romanian state-owned insurer that will enter the MTPL market, Roland GROLL explained that "if it's a state owned or private insurer is established, competition is welcome. If the state company is able to run this business with significantly lower costs, it is beneficial for us that we will be pressured to be more cost efficient".



VIG is the market leader in Romania, holding a market share of approximately 26%. Currently, it controls 3 local insurers - OMNIASIG on the non-life segment, BCR Asigurari de Viata on the life side and ASIROM as a composite company. Recently it has acquired the local life business of the French group AXA.





Published on 26.09.2016





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The primary is long over, and while most polls still put Hillary Clinton in the lead, her supporters have made clear that there is no excuse for the Left not to rally around herand against Donald Trump. Their tactics for making this argument are varied: Some have been diplomatic: Obama, in an appeal to Bernie voters in his Democratic National Convention (DNC) speech, noted that if you agree that theres too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders supporters have been. But others have taken a less delicate tack.

One of the most common arguments on social media in support of Hillary Clintonoften made with scorn for Bernie-or-Bust protestersis that voting third-party would be an act of privilege. A Quartz piece entitled Privilege is what allows Sanders supporters to say theyll never vote for Clinton, which was written earlier in the election season but resurfaced on social media following the DNC, typifies this argument.

Essentially, those who refuse to vote for Clinton are supposedly those who would be least affected by Donald Trumps policies: straight white Christian men. And to abstain or vote third-party on principle, or due to the misguided belief that Bernie had the election stolen from him, would constitute an exercise in white privilege and an abandonment of marginalized Americans. How privileged do you need to be to imagine that its a good idea to risk the actual lives of vulnerable Americans because you hate Clinton so much that you vow to stay home if Sanders doesnt get the nomination? the article asks.

While these arguments have their strengths and weaknesses, they unwittingly raise an overlooked reality: that voting at all, evenperhaps especiallyfor Hillary Clinton, is an exercise in privilege, too.

Not the privilege of being white in America, or straight in America, or a man in America, but the privilege of being in America. By choosing to vote for Hillary Clinton and embracing her as a positive, progressive choice, her supporters are exercising a privilege restricted to American citizens who, in all likelihood, wont experience the deadly results of her foreign policy.

Looking to Clintons checkered past of foreign interventionism should give us a strong idea of how shell act in the Oval Office. The first and most obvious decision is Hillarys vote for the war in Iraqa war that has left more than 100,000 civilians dead. This was what Barack Obama hammered her on in the 2008 primary, and is a decision she has since renounced.

Clinton has not, however, seemed to learn from the mistake. As Secretary of State, her support for intervention and regime change continued unabated. In 2009, she helped enable the perpetrators of the military overthrow of the democratically elected President of Honduras, refusing to label it a coup despite immediate condemnation from the rest of the international community, and also declining to cut off U.S. aid to the country. In the years since, dozens of indigenous leaders, activists, LGBT people, and other marginalized Hondurans have been killed by the new regime. These killings only top off what The Nations Greg Grandin terms an all-out assault on [the Honduran] peopletorture, murder, militarization of the countryside, repressive laws, such as the absolute ban on the morning-after pill, the rise of paramilitary security forces, and the wholesale deliverance of the countrys land and resources to transnational pillagers.

In subsequent years, Clinton continued to meddle in Latin Americamost notably in Haiti, where her State Department engineered the ascension of their preferred candidate to the countrys Presidency. Michel Martelly, the ally in question, found himself in in third place after the first round of voting, narrowly missing the runoff behind second-leading vote-getter Jude Celestin. That is, until Clinton told Haitis then-President Rene Preval to put him in the run-off anyway, ahead of Celestine, or else Congress would cut off aid to the island nation. Since then, Martelly has operated under a neoliberal, business- and NGO-friendly framework that has led to increased political turmoil and impoverishment of the Haitian people.

Then, of course, there is the crowning achievement of Hillary Clintons State Department, the ultimate interventionLibya. As the North African country devolved into a state of chaotic civil war in 2011, it was ultimately Hillary who persuaded President Obama to intervene with a NATO air campaign. When Colonel Gaddafi, the nations dictator, was killed in October, Clinton crowed to CBS, We came, we saw, he died.

Yet, that wasnt the end of the Libya legacy. A democratically-elected government failed to disarm the fractious militias that had unseated the Colonel, and soon the country had returned to civil war once more. In the years since, the Islamic State has gained a foothold in the northern port city of Sirte, and rival armed governments vie for power from Tripoli and Benghazi.

Even worse, Libyas fall destabilized much of the surrounding region. Tuareg mercenaries hired by Gaddafi during the 2011 war looted the dictators armories afterwards and returned to their native Mali, triggering a series of coups and insurgencies. These weapons also spread to other terrorist groups, including those in countries as far as Yemen, Nigeria, and the Gaza territory.

Its difficult to estimateor even to summarizethe precise destruction wreaked on the world by Clintons term as Secretary of State. As President, she could have an even greater impact, and these past precedents are not the only evidence we have that her interventionism hasnt dampened since she left office. Indeed, her statements about the problems besetting the world today have many progressives worried.

In dealing with Syria, for example, Clinton has promised an even stronger approach than Obamas, and has blamed the rise of jihadists on the Presidents reluctance to arm Syrian rebels. This is despite the fact that such schemes resulted in the disaster in Libya, and when Obama finally gave in and armed Syrian rebels, the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front received many of those weapons.

In fact, although the Obama Administration has refrained from advocating for regime change, seemingly having learned the lesson from Libya, Clinton advisor Jeremy Bash told the Independent recently that dealing with Syria would be Ms. Clintons first key task if elected and she would work to get President Assad out of there. This was just days after a coalition air strike hit a cluster of houses fleeing the besieged town of Manbij in Syria, killing at least 73 civilians, including 35 children.

On the subject of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, which would mark its fiftieth anniversary less than six months after the President takes office in 2017, Hillary has also disappointed. She has unequivocally condemned the nonviolent Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement. At the same time, when discussing Israels 2014 invasion of Gaza, she has repeatedly argued that Israel had the right to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks, refusing to call out Israels disproportionate force. In a speech to AIPAC in March, she said that the United States and Israel must take our alliance to the next level.

At the same time, Clinton remains silent as Israeli soldiers shoot unarmed Palestinian terrorists, or even family members of terror suspects. Her unequivocal support of Israels 2014 war implies such support for the killing of almost 1,500 civilians in that war. And, killings aside, there are still the routine abuses of basic human rightsthe freedom of movement, habeus corpus and access to water, to name a few.

Lastly, Clinton has wholeheartedly endorsed one of the Obama administrations deadliest policies: drone warfare. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, drone strikes may have killed more than 1,000 civilians in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalia. In her memoir Hard Choices, Hillary described drones as one of the most effective and controversial elements of the Obama Administrations strategy. Were she to expand drone strikes to other countries embroiled in the War on Terror, or even keep them going at their current rate, those casualty numbers could balloon even further.

In both her past actions and her promises for the future, Clinton has displayed a brash brand of American interventionism characterized by a shocking disregard for civilian casualties. A vote for Clinton is a vote for hawkish policies supported by neoconservatives that prioritize Americas military supremacy over foreign lives.

Voting for Hillary is exercising the privilege denied to a Syrian civilian who might lose their life to coalition airstrikes intensified after her election.

Voting for Hillary is exercising the privilege denied to a Palestinian civilian who might lose their life to oppressive Israeli policies that she supports.

Voting for Hillary is exercising the privilege denied to a civilian anywhere in the Global South who might lose their life to an unaccountable drone program that could well be expanded if she is elected.

None of this is to say that Trump would by any means be a better President. He would certainly be far worse for marginalized groups in the United States., and would likely be disastrous for civilians abroad as well. The point is that, no matter what, there are hundreds of thousands of people who would be directly and materially harmed by Clintons militaristic foreign policy, and they literally cannot vote.

Americans have the privilege of voting for Clinton knowing that we wont be killed by Predator drones or air strikes gone wrong. We have the privilege of viewing her as a progressive because we like some of her domestic policies, while casting from our minds the thousands of civilians around the globe that would inevitably be killed by a President Clinton.

Were I to vote for a third-party candidate, that would certainly represent an act of privilege because Trumps domestic policies would harm me far less than they would women or people of color. But in a similar vein, voting for Hillary Clinton would be an immense privilege, because I know Im not at risk of being killed by a bomb or drone strike in Western Massachusetts, unlike innocent civilians across the globe.

As activists and as progressives, we are well within our right to vote for Hillary Clinton to stop the threat to the world and to American democracy that Trump represents. But we cannot delude ourselves into whitewashing or sugarcoating Clintons interventionist tendencies, and we must understand that our work does not stop at the ballot box.

In April 2008, the great socialist historian Howard Zinn wrote an article for The Progressive entitled Election Madness, in which he argued that any election must be followed by direct action and holding our elected leaders accountable to their constituents. Would I support one candidate against another? Yes, for two minutesthe amount of time it takes to pull the lever down in the voting booth.

But before and after those two minutes, our time, our energy, should be spent in educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the neighborhood, in the schools. Our objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White House, in Congress, into changing national policy on matters of war and social justice.

If Clinton makes it to the White House, then our work has just begunwe must organize a robust opposition to her foreign policy, lest we abuse the privilege we exercised in placing her there.

Marc Daalder is a writer and student living in Massachusetts. He attends Amherst College, writes for the student publication AC Voice, and spends his spare time tweeting, blogging and writing fiction.
This November, millions of Americans will vote for non-violent revolution by casting ballots for Dr. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka on the Green Party ticket. Let that sink in for a moment. Millions of people rejecting the politics of fear and embracing the vision that together we can transform society.

The Stein/Baraka campaign (for which I am the campaign manager) is not about mere protest, although we are proud of our candidates courageous stand at the Dakota Access pipeline demonstrations. It goes deeper than that. It is a movement campaign that is designed to serve as the electoral arm for the growing demands for structural change. Greens know that unless we transform existing social, political, economic and legal systems, we cannot have a peaceful, just, democratic and sustainable future for our children and ourselves.

This campaign is not about idealism. It is about understanding how power operates and the critical role that serious, credible electoral campaigns have always played. Systemic change requires both social movements and campaigns for elected office.

The movements already existBlack Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, the climate justice movement, the Move To Amend demand to abolish corporate constitutional rights, the Fight for $15, the push for universal healthcare, the call to end the school-to-prison pipeline, and many more. Every day, these movements are larger, stronger and better organized, and they operate independently from the corporate-controlled Democratic and Republican Party leadership.

As necessary as social movements are, they must be accompanied by an electoral expression at the ballot box in order to codify their demands into law. In the mid-1800s, the Liberty Party, Free Soil Party and the newly formed Republican Party brought an anti-slavery agenda to the ballot box, and later, the Equal Rights Party, Prohibition Party and Socialist Party of America championed womens suffrage. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Socialist Party and progressive parties like the Peoples Party, the 1912 Progressive / Bull Moose Party (led by Teddy Roosevelt) and the 1924 Progressive Party (led by Fighting Bob LaFollette), advanced a range of causes, among them Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, food and drug regulations, the 8-hour workday, ending child labor and the direct election of U.S. senators.

The very fabric of what we consider the bare minimum for a just a compassionate society was woven thread by thread, issue by issue, campaign by campaign by alternative political parties. So if we want to win a new world, we must have the courage of those earlier movements.

Here is another reality: Unaffiliated voters are now the single largest voting block in America. Independents far outnumber members of either of the corporate-controlled parties. The reason is simple; most Americans know that the system is rigged. Principled progressives have been lied to and sold out by the leadership of the Democratic Party, who are funded and controlled by Wall Street, transnational corporations and the wealthy elite. And principled conservatives have been lied to and sold out by the leadership of the Republican Party, who are funded and controlled by Wall Street, transnational corporations and the wealthy elite.

The Stein/Baraka Power to the People Plan is revolutionary. It calls for deep system change and provides a comprehensive blueprint to move from the greed and exploitation of corporate capitalism to a human-centered economy. This plan puts people, planet and peace over profit. It offers direct answers to the economic, social and ecological crises created by the policies of both corporate political parties. It empowers the American people to make real the promise of democracy.

This plan will end unemployment and poverty, and address the climate crisis. It will build a sustainable just economy, and recognize the dignity and human rights of everyone in our society and our world. The power to create this new world is in our hands. We simply must have the courage to vote for the future we want, rather than against the future we fear.

The plan in a nutshell:

A green New Deal: Create millions of jobs by transitioning to 100 percent clean renewable energy and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture and conservation.

Meaningful work as a right: Create living-wage jobs for every American who needs work, replacing unemployment offices with employment offices. Advance workers rights to form unions, achieve workplace democracy and keep a fair share of the wealth they create.

End poverty: Guarantee economic human rights, including access to food, water, housing and utilities, with effective anti-poverty programs to ensure every American a life of dignity.

Healthcare as a right: Medicare For All as a single-payer public health program to provide everyone with quality healthcare.

Education as a right: Abolish student debt to free a generation of Americans from debt servitude. Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university. End high stakes testing and public school privatization.

A just economy: Set a $15/hour federal minimum wage. Break up too-big-to-fail banks and democratize the Federal Reserve. Reject gentrification as a model of economic development. Support development of both worker and community cooperatives, and small businesses. Create democratically run public banks and utilities. Replace corporate trade agreements with fair trade agreements.

Protect Mother Earth: Lead on a global treaty to halt climate change. End destructive energy extraction: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal and uranium mines. Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe.

Racial justice now: End police brutality and mass incarceration. Create a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to understand and eliminate the legacy of slavery that permeates our society. Create community policing by establishing police review boards and independently investigating all cases of death in police custody.

Freedom and equality: Expand womens rights, protect LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination, defend indigenous rights and lands and create a welcoming path to citizenship for immigrants. Protect the free internet, legalize marijuana/hemp and treat substance abuse as a public health problem, not a criminal problem.

Justice for all: Terminate unconstitutional surveillance and unwarranted spying, end persecution of government and media whistleblowers, close Guantanamo, and repeal indefinite detention without charge or trial.

Peace and human rights: Establish a foreign policy based on diplomacy, international law and human rights. End the wars and drone attacks, cut military spending by at least 50 percent and close the 700-plus foreign military bases that are turning our republic into a bankrupt empire. Stop U.S. support and arms sales to human rights abusers, and lead on global nuclear disarmament.

Empower the people: Abolish corporate personhood. Protect voters rights by establishing a constitutional right to vote. Enact electoral reforms that break the big money stranglehold and create truly representative democracy: public campaign financing, ranked-choice voting, proportional representation and open debates.

America is ready for a voter revolt. Arent you?

David Cobb was the 2004 Green Party candidate for president, and is the current campaign manager for Jill Stein.
* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020.

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018.

* IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013.

* Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011.

2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100.

* Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010.

* Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010.

* Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010.

* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.
[September 26, 2016] Covalon to Exhibit at the World Union of Wound Healing Societies in Florence, Italy

Covalon Technologies Ltd. (the "Company" or "Covalon") (TSXV: COV), an advanced medical technologies company, today announced that it will be exhibiting its advanced wound care line up of products at the 5th World Congress of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies ("WUWHS") to be held in Florence from the 25th to the 29th of September. In addition to exhibiting, a total of 3 clinical and scientific posters will be presented at WUWHS which will highlight the clinical performance of several of the Company's proprietary products. "The WUWHS event brings together the thought leaders from almost every wound healing society around the world as a captive audience for Covalon to showcase our impressive product portfolio," said Brian Pedlar, Chief Executive Officer of Covalon. "In addition to the opportunity for our team to interface one on one with an incredible collection of wound care clinicians, compelling clinical and scientific studies that highlight the clinical advantages of our ColActive Plus product line that was recently selected as the exclusive advanced collagen dressing for Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health facilities are being presented." WUWHS serves as a highly innovative and valuable event for medical professionals at all levels: physicians, nurses and all those who work in contact with skin wounds on a daily basis. WUWHS 2016 offers an extensive scientific program including numerous symposia, training sessions, workshops and focus sessions with leading international experts in the field of wound management. "With Covalon's ever expanding penetration into international markets, WUWHS is a great congress for us to reach key opinion leaders from more than 40 countries" said John R. Hands, Executive Vice President. "From our CovaWound brand of advanced wound management dressings to our patented ColActive bio-matrix technology designed to heal chronic wounds on limbs that may otherwise face amputation, Covalon's proucts are gaining global recognition as a better alternative to the legacy brands historically used by advanced wound care clinicians."



Covalon offers unique, patent protected infection management and advanced wound management solutions for the wound clinician. Covalon's CovaWound and ColActive brands when used together have the ability to rapidly promote wound closure and healing in both acute and chronic wounds, which has been referred to by experts as major threat to public health and the economy.1 Visit the Covalon Technologies Ltd. booth #61 from September 25-29 at the Fortezza da Basso Congress Center, Florence, Italy.

About Covalon Covalon Technologies Ltd. researches, develops and commercializes new healthcare technologies that help save lives around the world. Covalon's patented technologies, products and services address the advanced healthcare needs of medical device companies, healthcare providers and individual consumers. Covalon's technologies are used to prevent, detect and manage medical conditions in specialty areas such as wound care, tissue repair, infection control, disease management, medical device coatings and biocompatibility. To learn more about Covalon, visit our website at www.covalon.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. This news release contains forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan, "estimate", "expect", "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, including the difficulty in predicting product approvals, acceptance of and demands for new products, the impact of the products and pricing strategies of competitors, delays in developing and launching new products, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks, any of which could cause results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Many risks are inherent in the industry; others are more specific to the Company. Investors should consult the Company's ongoing quarterly filings for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, further events or otherwise. 1 Sen, C. K., Gordillo, G. M., Roy, S., Kirsner, R., Lambert, L., Hunt, T. K., Gottrup, F., Gurtner, G. C. and Longaker, M. T. (2009), Human skin wounds: A major and snowballing threat to public health and the economy. Wound Repair and Regeneration, 17: 763-771. doi:10.1111/j.1524-475X.2009.00543.x View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005125/en/

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Stand Watie

Stand Watie, also known as Standhope Uwatie Degataga, was a leader of the Cherokee Nation and a brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He commanded the Confederate Indian cavalry of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, made up primarily of Cherokee, Muskogee and Seminole Indians.

The majority of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866 supported the Confederacy. Although a few Indians east of the Appalachian Mountains committed themselves to the Union cause.

The Cherokee Indians had their own language, both written and spoken. Since he was Cherokee, Watie occasionally helped write articles for the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper. Being the first Native American newspaper, the Phoenix published articles in both Cherokee and English.

It comes as no surprise that the Cherokee would side with the Confederacy, as the United States Congress passed the 1830 Indian Removal Act, to relocate all Indians from the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River. In 1832, the Government confiscated most of the Cherokee land.

Fearful of the Federal Government and the threat to create a state (Oklahoma) out of most of the semi-sovereign "Indian Territory",

a majority of the Cherokee Nation initially voted to support the Confederacy in the American Civil War for pragmatic reasons, though fewer than a tenth of the Cherokee owned Black slaves.

In October, 1861, Watie was commissioned as a colonel in the 1st

Cherokee Mounted Rifles. Later in the war Watie was promoted to brigadier general. It should be noted that the Indians were not united in any White Confederate units, rather they were organized as Indian units under Indian command.

Watie fought Federal troops, but also led his men in fighting the Creek and Seminole that had sided with the Union. Watie was honored for his role in the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas. Watie's troops captured Union artillery positions and covered the retreat of Confederate forces from the battlefield after the Union took control.

Later in the war, most of the Cherokee Indians supported the Union and this put Watie's family and other Confederate Cherokees in danger. Watie's soldiers kept Union fighting units out of north Texas during most of the war.

On June 23, 1865, Watie signed a cease-fire agreement with Union representatives relinquishing his command. He has the distinction of being the last Confederate general to surrender.

After the war, Watie attempted to stay out of politics and made an effort to rebuild his fortunes. Watie was unsuccessful in his efforts and died on September 9, 1871, at the age of sixty-five. He is buried in Oklahoma.
CHARLESTON -- Eastern Illinois University's president received more than 150 nominations over a two-week period to be considered as part of a new Vitalization Project.

The project charges a task force, of which people in the university community were nominated to, with finding efficiencies and ideas within the university that might better boost enrollment and relieve some financial burdens.

The Taskforce is split up into several work groups saddled with tackling various aspects of the university.

According to the Eastern website, work groups one through six will be identifying efficiencies, assessing the viability and sustainability of existing services or programs, and identifying enhancements that could increase Easterns marketability and success for increasing student enrollments.

Work group seven is tasked with assessing each of EIUs academic undergraduate and graduate programs by the quality of the program, the centrality of the program to the university mission, student enrollment and market demand of program by prospective students, and the revenue/expense profile of the program.

And lastly, work groups eight and nine will be thinking of ideas for the academic affairs division to increase student numbers in each field of study.

Since the projects announcement, some concern and worry have settled among the faculty and staff, according to both staff senate and faculty senate members.

For staff, the worry comes largely from the staffs representation on the task force, Joann Daugherty, staff senate president, said.

Some of the concerns were that with the layoffs, a lot of the staff have trouble getting away, Daugherty said.

She said many of the current staffs shifts have made it very difficult for them to actually take part in the work groups who are expected to meet frequently throughout the week.

Jemmie Robertson, faculty senate chair, said some of the faculty concerns are that the recommendations, namely ones for program or service deletion or outsourcing, that could be made are executed to hastily.

There is a concern there that recommendations could be made without really adequate and broad conversation about what our core mission is, Robertson said.

Both were also interested in seeing the university look at its administration-to-student ratio as well as the faculty and staff-to-student ratios.

Along with the announcement of the project, EIU president David Glassman mentioned an interest in raising faculty-to-student and staff-to-student ratios to be more comparable with the averages.

According to Vicki Woodard, public information coordinator, Glassman has indicated that as part of the Vitalization Project, EIU will be reviewing how other universities are defining administrators so that we can develop comparable data and ratios.

In general, both are concerned where the chips may lay when they do, come January when the official list of recommendations will go before the university board of trustees.

The president does want this process done in a way that evaluates our core mission and makes recommendations along those lines, but it is still scary, Robertson said.

However, Glassman assured that the project's goal is not to find more ways to cut requiring more layoffs.

We are charting our future, he said.

He continued that it is merely about making Eastern the most attractive higher education institute in the state for students to go to because of the offerings available to students.

The task force will be decided by next week, and the first task force meeting will be coming soon after. Tasks laid out for the work groups, which are geared to have five to 10 students, faculty and staff members per group, will largely have to be done by November with revisions to be made throughout the rest of the semester.

We approach (the project) with guarded optimism, Robertson said. We do genuinely believe, I think with a pretty strong consensus, that we need to make some change and we need to make adjustments.
SPRINGFIELD -- Jim Frazier loves being asked about his eldest son.

Illinois Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Jacob Frazier, who had four younger siblings, was killed March 29, 2003, during an ambush in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

When you use his name, it means that you are remembering him too, and we can share that, Frazier said Monday morning during a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda marking Illinois inaugural Gold Star Family Day, held in honor of families whose loved ones have been killed during times of conflict.

We are a group of folks who have had immeasurable sadness in our lives, said Frazier, a Lake in the Hills resident who serves as a support coordinator for the U.S. Armys Survivor Outreach Services program. But today we choose to honor and celebrate the lives of our children that weve lost.

The state of Illinois joined Frazier and other Gold Star family members in honoring their fallen loved ones through legislation Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last month.

Congress first designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mothers Day in 1936, and under the new Illinois law, sponsored by state Rep. Steven Andersson, R-Geneva, and state Sen. Karen McConnaughay, R-St. Charles, the following day will be designated Gold Star Family Day throughout the state.

Today, we remember; today, we honor; today, we pay respect; today, we say, Thank you  to you, your families, your loved one, Rauner said during the ceremony. We owe you a debt of gratitude we can never repay.

The one thing we can do every day is remember your family member -- your loved one, your son, your daughter -- and their patriotism, their dedication, their service, their sacrifice.

The short ceremony, which also included remarks from Andersson, McConnaughay and Harry Sawyer, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, lasted just under 20 minutes and included a moment of silence, followed by the playing of taps, which echoed under the Capitol dome. The attendees, including a handful of Gold Star family members and veterans, sat surrounded by large banners bearing the names and sketched likenesses of about 275 Illinois service members whove been killed in conflicts since Sept. 11, 2001.

Andersson said the idea for Gold Star Family Day came to him from Angel Collins, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan Collins, was killed in Iraqs Anbar province on Aug. 8, 2004, at age 19.

Collins approached the lawmaker about a year ago and said that while she appreciates her status as a Gold Star mother, her husband, Jack, their children and their other relatives suffered from the loss as well.

Shouldnt they also be honored? Andersson recalled Collins asking him. And I said, Absolutely right. Thats exactly what we should do.

The idea is not to take anything away from Gold Star Mothers Day, he said, but to honor the sacrifice made by the rest of the family as well.
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Nebraska Book Company welcomes Rick Bunka as president and chief executive officer, effective September 19, 2016. Bunka succeeds interim president and chief executive officer Ben Riggsby, who will remain on the company's Board of Directors. Bunka was also elected to the company's Board of Directors.

Bunka, an experienced business executive and technology leader with over 30 years' experience driving strategic change in the retail and service sectors, has been serving Nebraska Book Company in a consultative capacity since June 2016 through Point North LLC, a strategic advisory services company he founded in 2013.

Prior to founding Point North, Bunka was president and chief executive officer of Dots, a women's specialty retail apparel chain that operated 420 stores in 28 states and employed over 4,000 associates.

Nebraska Book Company, otherwise known as Nebraska Book Holdings, Inc., began in 1915 as an independent college bookstore and is now a key resources partner to over 2,000 independent college retailers nationwide. With its strategic business services and technology offerings, including localized e-commerce capabilities, back-end system access and support as well as textbook solutions, Nebraska Book Company is devoted to supporting and strengthening independent higher education retailers across the United States. For more information about Nebraska Book Company, visit www.nebook.com.
Nebraska Community Foundation is pleased to welcome new members to our staff with the creation of two new positions to better serve our growing statewide network of affiliated funds.

Janny Crotty works from her home office in Auburn, Neb., providing training and technical assistance to NCF's community-based affiliated funds primarily in southeast Nebraska to build community awareness and engagement, conduct successful fundraising efforts and increase community impact through grantmaking and convening.

Crotty graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a B.A. in communication studies and from Syracuse University with an M.A. in documentary film and history. Prior to joining the NCF team she worked at Peru State College in the School of Education. Earlier she served as development officer at the University of Nebraska Foundation, working with Lincoln's Vision 2015 group and the University of Nebraska.

Kristine Gale works part-time from her home office in Bassett, Neb., providing training and support for NCF affiliated funds in north-central Nebraska. As an affiliated fund development coordinator, she assists volunteer affiliated fund leaders in achieving their fundraising goals and in developing strategies for reinvesting in ways that attract new leadership and build stronger communities.

Gale has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha. In addition to experience in marketing, communications and community development, Gale's previous experience includes serving as economic development director in Bassett, Neb.; executive director of the Fremont Area Community Foundation; and executive director of the Nebraska State Fair 1868 Foundation.

Nebraska Community Foundation is a statewide 501(c)(3) organization using charitable giving to build prosperous communities. NCF works with volunteer leaders serving more than 250 communities by providing training, strategic development, gift planning assistance and financial management for its affiliated funds located throughout the state. In the last five years more than 37,000 contributions have been made to NCF affiliated funds, and more than $125 million has been reinvested to benefit Nebraska communities.
In the wake of the dismissal of five defendants in Beef Products Inc.'s $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC, court officials in a small South Dakota county believe they do not need to move the trial.

The dismissal means fewer lawyers will be present at the June trial and courthouse facilities should be adequate after some minor modifications, said Kim Allison, First Circuit court administrator.

Lawyers last month filed a stipulation to voluntarily dismiss ABC News and four other defendants in the lawsuit. The suit will now focus on what BPI's attorney, Erik Connolly of Chicago, said are the three main defendants: American Broadcasting Companies Inc., former "World News Tonight" anchor Diane Sawyer and news correspondent Jim Avila.

BPI sued ABC, its correspondents, federal officials and a former employee in September 2012 over a series of stories and broadcasts that BPI says defamed the company's lean finely textured beef product. Critics repeatedly referred to the product as "pink slime," and the company lost $400 million in business, forcing it to close all but one plant and lay off more than 700 workers.
The 38-year-old man accused of breaking into the home of the late Husker Sam Foltz's brother made his first court appearance on burglary and theft charges Monday.

Greeley County Judge Alan Brodbeck appointed an attorney to represent Scott L. Davis, who waived a preliminary hearing and a jury trial in the case.

The judge set the case for arraignment Oct. 17.

If convicted, Davis, from Lennox, South Dakota, could get as many as 20 years in prison.

A York County Sheriff's deputy pulled over an eastbound Buick on Interstate 80 about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 4 after getting a report of a possible drunk driver and noticed a gas can with the name Foltz on it, a TV and various tools.

The deputy arrested Davis on suspicion of driving under the influence. After a Foltz family member went to York and identified the stolen goods, Davis was arrested and later charged with burglary and felony theft.

Jordan Foltz returned to Greeley County about 3 a.m. Sept. 4 to find about $1,400 in items missing from his home and car.

He had been at Memorial Stadium honoring his brother, who was killed in a July 23 accident in Wisconsin after a kicking camp, a crash that also claimed the life of former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler.
Barry Reutzel made a quick stop before heading to Branched Oak Lake, grabbing two packs of cold hot dogs at the store.

Minutes after he and his dog Shadow pulled into a cove, they were met by a slender great blue heron. The bird careened into the water nearby.

Feeding time.

Hey, Harry, hollered Reutzel. "Gonna try to help."

Harry the Heron earned his name from the lake's regulars and has been a fixture around Branched Oak Area 5 during warm months for the past three years. But recently, something like seaweed and netting became tangled in his beak, and his fans are convinced it's inhibiting his ability to hunt and fish.

Hes kind of an icon out there and people look for him, said Reutzel, a former state senator who is now retired. Itd be a shame to lose him for something that could be readily fixed.

On Friday, Reutzel pulled out his packs of hot dogs and started tossing them toward the bird, which strutted around in shallow water no more than 50 feet away.

One hot dog for Shadow, the rest for Harry.

The scene happens daily, with Branched Oak regulars helping as well.

Nebraska Game and Parks employees tried luring the bird with bait and catching it with a net gun. They failed, and Harry flew nearly a mile away.

Once they watched it feed, they decided the bird wasn't in serious distress, said Pat Molini, wildlife manager for Game and Parks' southeast district. Besides, continued attempts to capture the bird could harm it.

Nothing prohibits people from feeding the heron or other wild animals at Branched Oak. However, Molini said, Id caution well-intentioned people that its not always a good thing to feed wildlife.

Reutzel plans to keep helping until Harry is freed, along with others who routinely toss the bird gizzards, hot dogs and fish.

An avid fisherman, Reutzel remembers feeling frustrated when nothing would bite.

I could watch (Harry) from 30 yards away on a hunt, and hed have half a dozen fish anytime he wanted. He was real good at it.

Now even the dead fish Reutzel throws in the water will float there as Harry tries to get them, Reutzel said.

Molini said its important to note that polluting the lake area can harm the creatures there.

Trash and line and netting left behind  even a small plastic pop bottle lid  could be detrimental to wildlife."
One might think President Barack Obama would have asked his top military officials to weigh in on his administration's decision in January to send $400 million in cash to Iran.

After all, Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, and terrorists prefer cash to wire payments because it's so difficult to track. And its armed forces have both directly and indirectly threatened the U.S. military in the Middle East.

But Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry did not consult Secretary of Defense Ash Carter or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford.

This news came out of a hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. In response to a question from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, about the cash payment to Iran, Carter made it clear that he had been out of the loop.

"We weren't involved in this," Carter said, adding that it was part of the settlement of a decades-long legal dispute between Iran and the U.S. over arms sales. "I don't know all the details of it, and the chairman and I were not involved in that. It is a decision that was taken by the law enforcement and diplomatic and I would refer you there."

When Dunford was asked about the cash payments, he responded: "I am not trying to be evasive but I don't know the details of that arrangement and it really was a political decision that was made to provide that money and I don't think it's appropriate that I comment on that."

Christopher Sherwood, a press officer at the Pentagon, later told me pretty much the same thing. "It was worked out through the administration. The Department of Defense had nothing to do with that."

All of this is important for a few reasons. For starters, in response to repeated questions about the cash payment, which coincided with an intricate deal to release Americans detained in Iran, the State Department defended the decision by saying it went through an inter-agency process. At an August 4 briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner was asked about whether the payment was a form of ransom. Toner began by saying, "There's always an interagency discussion around any decision like this, and every relevant agency weighs in."

The disclosure that the Pentagon did not participate in the decision-making process also comes after reports that at least some lawmakers were not consulted about other payments to Iran. This week, the Weekly Standard reported that key members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including its chairman Senator Bob Corker, were not told about wire payments to Iran, even after Obama last month said the U.S. had to send cash because such wire payments were not possible. Politico reported this week that the U.S. had been wiring cash to Iranian banks long before the cash payments were flown to Iran.

The disclosure is also the latest example of how U.S. military leaders have been distancing themselves from Kerry's Middle East diplomacy. Senior military leaders could barely disguise their opposition to Kerry's latest cease-fire plan for Syria, which would have resulted in the U.S. cooperating with Russia to select bombing targets had a cessation of hostilities held for a week. It didn't. At the hearing Thursday, Dunford said the Pentagon had no plans to share any intelligence with Russia.

Most important in all of this, though, is that the fissures between the military and the White House, which have been growing since Obama's first term, are coming out in the open in his presidency's final months. Since leaving office, all three of Obama's prior defense secretaries have talked publicly about their frustrations with the White House.

Robert Gates, who was Obama's first secretary of defense, wrote a scathing memoir where he complained about being ordered around by senior White House staff. Leon Panetta, who headed the Pentagon between 2011 and 2013, told the New York Times Magazine earlier this year that he never saw the letters Obama sent to Iran's Supreme Leader, when he served as CIA director or secretary of defense. Panetta's successor, Chuck Hagel, told Foreign Policy last December that he believed the White House had set out to destroy him.

We'll have to wait, but if recent public testimony is any indication Ash Carter will write a lively memoir once he leaves office.
Dear Tulsa Police:

Im not here to debate the shooting of Terence Crutcher.

His death a little over a week ago at the hands of one of your officers has, of course, created a firestorm. Betty Shelby has said she shot the 40-year-old man after he refused to communicate with her or obey her commands, walked back to his SUV, which was stopped in the middle of the road, and appeared to reach inside for a weapon.

Crutchers family and their attorneys say video of the shooting, which was released last week, tells a different story. It shows Crutcher walking with his hands up. And he couldnt have been reaching into the car for anything, they say, because the video shows the drivers side window where he was standing, was closed. Crutcher had no weapon, though youve said you did find PCP in the SUV.

But again, Im not here to argue about the shooting. Im just curious about something I heard on the video right before Crutcher was killed. The footage was shot from a police helicopter circling high above, and one of the officers watching the scene below can be heard to say, That looks like a bad dude, too. Which raises a question for me: how did the officer know Crutcher was a bad dude?

See, I dont like bad dudes and I want to avoid them if I can. That copter was circling at  what?  100 feet, maybe 200 feet, above the action? Yet your officer was able to discern Crutchers character from that distance.

Thats impressive. But then, this isnt the only time weve seen police  and even a certain police wannabe  identify the bad dudes with amazing skill.

In 2014, a South Carolina State trooper somehow knew Levar Jones was a bad dude, even though he was just complying with an order to produce his drivers license.

That same year, a Cleveland Police officer somehow knew Tamir Rice was a bad dude, even though he was just playing in the park with a toy gun.

In 2012, George Zimmerman somehow knew Trayvon Martin was a bad dude, even though he was just walking along the street, minding his own business.

Yet last year, Jesse Kidder, a rookie police officer in New Richmond, Ohio, somehow knew Michael Wilcox wasnt a bad dude, even though he was wanted for murder, even though he led police on a long car chase, even though he refused commands to get down on the ground, even though he was believed to be armed, even though he rushed at the officer crying, Shoot me! Shoot me, or Ill shoot you!

Me, Id have thought: This is a bad dude. Id have shot him. Officer Kidder did not.

Recognizing bad dudes is a valuable skill. So Im hoping youll share some pro tips.

Maybe the officer in the copter knew Crutcher was a bad dude because he was a big guy? But that doesnt make sense. Lots of people are big. Many cops are big. And Trayvon Martin was a slightly built 17-year-old. Tamir Rice was only 12.

Is there a bad dude hand signal? A bad dude walk? A bad dude lapel pin?

Please share for your sake, if not for mine. People are already bringing race into this the way they do every little thing. Theyre already suggesting your officer thought Crutcher was a bad dude just because he was a black dude. Come to think of it, Levar Jones, Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin were also black, while Michael Wilcox, the deranged murder suspect, was not. Interesting coincidence, dont you think?

Anyway, we need you to tell us the real story. Your officer wouldnt have judged Terence Crutcher a bad dude just because he had dark skin, right?

I mean, come on. This is America.
Marijuana advocates in Nebraska have traded in their rolling papers for initiative petitions.

That means voters may soon need to think deeply about the issues of medical and recreational marijuana use.

In Nebraska two groups are circulating initiative petitions to put the question on the ballot in 2018. A group with the limited goal of eliminating penalties for those caught with small amounts of pot has already circulated petitions.

Meanwhile Mark Elworth Jr., who ran as a Libertarian for governor in 2014, plans to circulate petitions to legalize marijuana entirely. Volunteers hope to gather enough signatures by the end of 2017 to show potential donors that were serious, Elworth said.

Four states and the District of Columbia already have legalized marijuana. Another five states  California, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada and Arizona  will note on the issue in November. Polls show legalization leading in every state except Arizona.

Among the issues that Nebraska voters will consider when and if the proposals hit the ballot are the tax implications.

The Tax Foundation  yes, the same organization that is frequently is cited by governors and other elected officials as a Bible on tax issues -- recently calculated the potential tax revenue for each state if marijuana were legalized.

The foundation used sales per capita in Colorado and Washington and assumed a 25 percent effective tax rate to estimate that Nebraska would collect about $52 million a year. (Hmmm. That amount of annual revenue could provide significant property tax relief.)

The Wall Street Journal using a somewhat arcane methodology, suggested that Nebraska had a medium chance of legalizing pot. The state rated least likely to vote for legalization was Alabama.

If the question reaches the ballot in the Cornhusker State it would face implacable opposition from Attorney General Doug Peterson, who suing Colorado over its marijuana policies.

But there are public officials and other prominent voices on the other side of the issue.

Lancaster Public Defender Joe Nigro recently came out in favor of legalizing pot. I simply take the position that prohibition has failed, and we shouldnt treat a health issue in the criminal justice system, Nigro said. Danielle Conrad of ACLU Nebraska said Nebraska spends more than $10 million a year on marijuana enforcement. She suggested that the state should update its laws to focus criminal justice resources on real public safety threats, not small amounts of marijuana intended for personal use.

Marijuana use in the Nebraska is estimated at 5.8 percent of adults, 7th lowest in the nation. Many more have had some personal experience, even if they did not inhale. The issue has been smoldering for decades.
The so-called mainstream news media seems to have totally forgotten about Donald Trump's endorsement by former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke and other white supremacist groups. When he made his immigration speech in Arizona, which was a polar opposite of what he said in Mexico, David Duke and the others tweeted and otherwise chimed in about how wonderful his speech was. I guess I missed the media taking any notice of that. Supporting Trump is supporting these hate groups. Whether Trump declines their endorsement or not, the reasons they endorse him are there still.
First place: Salute Italian Restaurant, 314 Main St., Racine

Second place: Wells Brothers, 2148 Mead St., Racine

Third place: Infusinos Restaurant & Pizzeria, 3225 Rapids Drive, Racine.

Growing up in Cosenza in the southern part of Italy, Ida Alia was exposed to the art of good cooking at an early age.

One of nine children, Ida took copious mental notes while observing how her mother Antoinetta operated in the family kitchen.

Those childhood experiences piqued Idas interest in cooking to the point where she and her husband, John, decided in 1992 to open Salute Italian Restaurant, 314 Main St. in Racine.

The restaurant has become a popular Downtown eatery as vividly illustrated again in this years Journal Times Best of Racine County contest as voters chose Salute the best Italian Restaurant.

Ida believes one of the primary reasons for Salutes success is Were more of a family restaurant.

Indeed, Ida is one of several family members who are heavily invested in the daily operations of Salute, which underwent a major expansion in 2002 because of its popularity.

While John oversees business at the bar and in the restaurant, Ida and her sisters Gemma DeBartolo-Wells and Anna DeBartolo are constantly doing the cooking which, of course, revolves around a diverse menu of Italian foods like ravioli, lasagna, tortellini and gnocchi.

And, as Ida proudly points out, they are all homemade.

About three times a week, Anna, Gemma and I will make handmade ravioli or lasagna or tortellini ... , Ida says. We make everything fresh.

So what is their customers favorite food?

I would say its either lasagna or ravioli, said Ida, who quickly adds, because theyre homemade and good. And you always get a nice big piece. We give a good quantity of food for the price.

Having been in business for more than two decades now, Salute has a large collection of regular customers.

Said Ida: Its like serving our family because so many have been here so long.

Salute, with its 35 tables, is open from Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., and Monday through Saturday from 4-9 p.m.

 Gery Woelfel
RACINE  A Racine man faces two misdemeanor charges after allegedly fighting and carrying a firearm into a bar on Sunday night.

According to the criminal complaint, William E. Smith, 40, of the 1300 block of West Lawn Avenue, was kicked out of Pauls Pub, 2416 Lathrop Ave., after reportedly being involved in a fight with another patron.

Smith told the owner that he would return later. Smith did reportedly return and ordered a beer at the bar and asked to use a phone. The business refused to serve him or let him use a phone and Smith refused to leave when asked, the complaint said.

When approaching Smith, an employee allegedly noticed Smith carrying a gun. Instead of scaring the other patrons, the employee went outside and called police, according to the complaint.

While the employee was talking with police, the employee watched Smith leave. Officers located Smith in his parked car two businesses down from Pauls Pub, the complaint said.

When questioned, Smith said he did not have the firearm on him while in the bar. He told police the gun was in his glove box and police confirmed he had a concealed-carry license for the weapon, according to the complaint.

Smith was taken into custody at the scene and transported to Ascension All Saints Hospital for an evidentiary blood draw, the complaint said.

Smith faces two misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon and carrying a handgun where alcohol is sold and consumed. He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference at 3:15 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave.

He remained in custody as of Monday night at the County Jail, online records indicated.
RACINE COUNTY  In many communities, voting for the November presidential election is already beginning.

Several Racine County communities are starting early voting today, six weeks before the Nov. 8 election that also includes races for U.S. Senate and several local contests, including a contested race for Racine County district attorney.

Wind Point, North Bay, Raymond, Norway, Rochester, Elmwood Park and Dover are among the municipalities where residents can cast an in-person absentee ballot beginning today. Other Racine County communities will begin in October.

Voting is starting earlier than usual after a court ruling struck down state restrictions on early voting, which was previously limited to the two weeks before an election.

Several clerks said after the limits were removed, they worked to start voting as soon as possible.

It works out with the staffing that we have here at City Hall and trying to coordinate that, (Oct. 10) seemed to work the best, Burlington City Clerk Diahnn Halbach said.

The ruling also allowed voting on weekends and in separate locations besides a clerks office. In Racine County, clerks will maintain early voting only in municipal halls, and only the City of Racine is offering weekend voting  on two Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 22 and Oct. 29.

The schedule

Early voting will generally take place during normal municipal building business hours in each community.

The following is a list of early voting start dates and times:

Town of Burlington: Oct. 3. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Town of Dover: Sept. 26. 8 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to noon Friday.

Town of Norway: Sept. 26. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Town of Raymond: Sept. 26. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Town of Waterford: Oct. 24. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Town of Yorkville: Oct. 17. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; open until 5 p.m. Nov. 3 and Nov. 4.

Village of Caledonia: Oct. 3. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Village of Elmwood Park: Sept. 26. By appointment and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Friday.

Village of Mount Pleasant: Oct. 10. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Village of North Bay: Sept. 26. By appointment only.

Village of Rochester: Sept. 26. 8:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

Village of Sturtevant: Oct. 10. 8 a.m. to noon, 1 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Village of Union Grove: Oct 24. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Village of Waterford: Oct. 24. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Village of Wind Point: Sept. 26. 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

City of Burlington: Oct. 10. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

City of Racine: Oct. 10. 8 a.m. to 4:55 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 22 and Oct. 29.
RACINE  Along with the new school year, many Racine Unified School District parents saw a 10-cent increase in lunch prices across grade levels from a previous average of $2.58 per meal to $2.68.

Full-price Unified school lunches have increased to $2.55 for elementary schools, $2.70 for middle schools, and $2.80 for high schools.

According to the state Department of Public Instruction, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program to complete the Paid Lunch Equity tool. The PLE makes sure a the districts have enough funds within their food service account for meals served to students not eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

The USDA wants to make sure the federal reimbursement money for free and reduced meals is not being used to subsidize the cost (labor, raw food cost, equipment, utilities, etc.) of the paid meals, Jessica Lessner, a DPI nutrition program consultant, said in an email.

The district applied for a waiver from DPI to keep the prices down but was denied.

The waiver was denied because we did not meet the USDA criteria of exceeding the three-month operating expense balance to receive the waiver, Kaitlin Miller, food service coordinator for Unified, said in an email.

She also mentioned: Keep in mind that nearly two-thirds of our schools receive free breakfast and lunch.
Colleges and universities across our region are places of great excitement and optimism. At UW-Parkside, were well into our 48th year of delivering quality, affordable higher education to southeastern Wisconsin.

At the recent UW-Parkside fall convocation, we shared a small but powerful card  Be. An Advocate. It highlights many of the ways in which UW-Parkside serves students, alumni and the community. Here are just a few examples:

More than 95 percent of our business and computer-science majors begin rewarding careers upon graduation.

As has been the case for more than a decade, close to 90 percent of our pre-med grads are accepted to the medical schools of their choice double the national average!

A leading professional organization for correctional officers, correctionalofficers.org, rates our criminal justice program No. 1 in Wisconsin.

More than 90 percent of theater arts graduates are employed in theater or are attending graduate school.

More people have graduated from UW-Parkside in the past six years than during any other six-year period in our history.

Because the planning phase for the State of Wisconsin 2017-2019 biennial budget is under way, we need advocates for UW-Parkside. In August, the UW Board of Regents approved what is being described by many as a request for a reasonable funding increase. That request is now being considered by Gov. Scott Walker as he develops his biennial budget proposal. From there, the state legislature takes over, creating its own version of the budget for the governor to approve or modify next summer.

Many of you already know that UW-Parkside offers the most affordable tuition in the UW System  $7,368 for full-time Wisconsin resident students for the full academic year. In the face of reduced state support over the past decade, UW-Parkside faculty and staff across campus have stepped up and taken on added responsibilities to help ensure that our students continue to receive a quality educational experience. The request for additional funding in the next biennium will help us maintain the quality our region and our students expect.

College affordability also means having relevant academic programs that meet the needs of todays students and those offering career opportunities in our region today and tomorrow. In the past year, our Faculty Senate approved a record number of curricular innovations  35 to be exact including new Masters, Bachelors and Associate degree programs; academic minors, concentrations and certificates; and seven additional partnerships with colleges and universities in the area. I applaud the leadership of our deans, and our faculty and staff.

My web page at uwp.edu includes four updates I shared with faculty, staff and students at the beginning of the semester. I encourage you to take a look, especially the update on student success. Our efforts at UW-Parkside align with the recently approved UW System strategic framework 2020FWD and its four key areas of focus: Educational Pipeline; University Experience; Business & Community Mobilization; and Operational Excellence. For almost 50 years, UW-Parkside has been the educational pipeline in southeastern Wisconsin because we value the university experience, being engaged with our community and we strive for operational excellence.

Visit wisconsin.edu to read more about 2020FWD.

UW-Parkside needs your help. We need every member of our community to Be. An Advocate. Read my campus updates, explore the UW System 2020FWD and share that important news with friends and neighbors. If you believe as I do that UW-Parkside and the UW System are valuable resources for our state and region, please reach out to Gov. Walker and your individual state elected officials. Tell them that increased state support is needed to help keep higher education affordable in Wisconsin.

Feel free to contact my office at chancellor@uwp.edu if you have any questions or would like a copy of Be. An Advocate.
A top UW-Madison administrator will meet Tuesday with student government representatives on a controversial plan to contract with Amazon for a package pick-up point in the Red Gym.

Laurent Heller, vice chancellor for finance and administration, will meet with the shared governance committee of the Associated Students of Madison, ASM announced.

UW-Madison officials are finalizing a contract with Amazon that would allow the retail giant to use about 2,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Red Gym, 716 Langdon St., for students and faculty to pick up packages ordered online. Introducing Amazon to the mix of organizations housed in the Red Gym would require existing tenants to shift around and result in the loss of organizational meeting space.

Soon after the UW System Board of Regents gave approval for a deal last month, faculty and student shared governance groups objected that UW-Madison officials had negotiated with Amazon without consulting them. Faculty and student groups also questioned leasing space in a facility where organizations serving minority and marginalized students are housed.

The ASM last week passed a resolution asking UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank to oppose the deal with Amazon.

Its unacceptable that administration disregarded student voice in making its decision, resolution co-sponsor Sally Rohrer said in a statement released by ASM. Students have the right to be included in the process of determining changes on campus that affect us.

Faculty registered their concerns in a letter asking Blank to reconsider the ethics of a no-bid contract for a service that would call into question the campus commitment to inclusion, an issue that has provoked protests at UW-Madison and across the country.

As we approach another state biennial budget cycle fraught with concerns over clear and consistent university decision-making, we urge you to use excessive caution and transparently apply ethical principles beyond reproach prior to entering into this and future arrangements that may harm the university's brand and our ability to successfully advance the best interests of our students and the state, the letter said.

Heller came to UW-Madison this summer, from University of California, Berkeley, where he was directing financial planning and analysis functions for the campus.
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Dr KC begins 9th fast-unto-death

Senior Orthopedic surgeon at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital Prof Dr Govinda KC has begun his ninth hunger strike from Monday. He has already staged eight hunger strikes in the past demanding reforms in medical education sector.
Ex-minister missing as jeep plunges into Trishuli

Former Home Minister Madhav Prasad Ghimire is among the three persons missing after a jeep plunged into the Trishuli river at Dahrechok-3 in Chitwan district on Sunday afternoon.
Farmers elated as DAO starts sending SMSs

Farmers in Morang are elated after the District Agriculture Office (DAO) started to disseminate various information related to farming through text messages to their mobile phones.
Find and solve problems, dont copy ideas

What strikes the minds of ordinary people who want to start a business in Nepal? A clothing store? A beauty parlour? A restaurant? Or a lounge bar?
Form a panel to iron out differences: Gathabandan

Expressing satisfaction at the progress made in identifying the key issues of contention through informal talks, the Sanghiya Gathabandan has asked the government to form a panel to iron out differences.
Get down to business

Govt should increase the size of capital budget and utilise what is allocated for capital spending
Hearing on Krishna Prasad Adhikaris murder starts

The hearing on the 2004 murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari by the then Maoist rebels began in Chitwan District Court on Sunday.
Tika R Pradhan is a senior political correspondent for the Post, covering politics, parliament, judiciary and social affairs. Pradhan joined the Post in 2016 after working at The Himalayan Times for more than a decade.
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.
MBBS fees proposed to start at Rs3.4m

A panel formed to revise the medical education fees has recommended Rs3.4 million to Rs4.6 million for the MBBS course based on the seats approved for a college by the Nepal Medical Council.
NAC airbus makes emergency landing after smoke detection

A Nepal Airlines aircraft coming from New Delhi, India, made an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after smoke was observed in the aircraft on Monday afternoon.
PM asks secretaries for action plan to implement new announcements

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday instructed senior government officials to submit detailed plans with necessary budget to implement the programmes that he announced during his address in Parliament three weeks ago.
Probe at Nepals request

Mahendra Jung Shah, a Nepali national suspected of ISIS links, was arrested by Malaysian police based on a forgery complaint lodged by Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Nepali ambassdaor to Malaysia has said.
Proposed provision could further limit womens citizenship right

A proposed constitutional provision on citizenship has barred women from passing on citizenship to their children independently.
Radio Dhading resumes service

Radio Dhading resumed its broadcast on Sunday, two days after the forest authority in the district ransacked its office built on an encroached land inside Amarawati Community Forest in Neelkantha Municipality.
Seeking justice

Without a credible transitional justice roadmap, path will be open for specific and personally targeted prosecution
Syria conflict: US accuses Russia of 'barbarism' in Aleppo

The US ambassador to the UN has accused Russia of "barbarism" over the bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Syria conflict: US and UK rhetoric 'unacceptable' - Russia

Russia has criticised the US and UK for using "unacceptable" tone and rhetoric in speeches on Syria at the UN, after being accused of "barbarism".
Two more held in connection with explosions in schools

Police have arrested two more cadres of Maoist Communist Centre in connection with the explosions in half-a-dozen schools of Kathmandu.
Upper Trishuli-1 hydroelectric project: Ministry concludes initial PDA signing

The Energy Ministry on Friday concluded initial signing of the Project Development Agreement (PDA) with Nepal Water and Energy Development Company (NWEDC) for the development of 216MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project.
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South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party on Monday cast doubt on the neutrality of National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun after he made controversial remarks during last week's parliamentary session to sack the agricultural minister.

Last week, South Korea's opposition parties passed a motion to dismiss the Cabinet minister over alleged ethical lapses, while the ruling party boycotted the vote and walked out of the session. The Saenuri and the presidential office have argued the dismissal motion was politically motivated and had nothing to do with actual wrongdoing.

In a voice recording obtained by the Saenuri, Chung, who is originally from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, said the ruling party should not "ask something for free."

Political observers said the recording came after Chung unknowingly left his microphone on during the session.

"They (Saenuri) should bring up something, whether it be (the extension of the investigation on) Sewol or something else, but they are not doing it," Chung said in the recording to an unidentified person.

The Sewol ferry, which sunk on April 16, 2014, was en route to the southern resort island of Jeju from Incheon, west of Seoul, with a total of 476 passengers. Most of the 304 dead were high school students on a field trip.












A U.S. House bill calling for banning any future ransom payments to Iran has been amended to also prohibit such payments to North Korea and state sponsors of terrorism, congressional records showed Sunday.

The amendment to the Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act (H.R.5931) was proposed by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) on Thursday and was accepted by voice vote on the same day, the records showed. The main bill overwhelmingly passed the House later in the day.

"The bill would prohibit the United States from making future cash payments to Iran, directly or indirectly, and require regular reports to Congress on settlements and judgments made pursuant to the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague," Duffy's office said in a statement.

"Rep. Duffy's amendment would broaden the prohibition of cash payments beyond Iran and include any country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, as well as North Korea, a country which has detained at least 14 Americans in the past decade. Additionally, his amendment would prohibit payments in precious metal in addition to promissory notes," it said.

American citizens have often been detained in North Korea on charges of antistate and other unspecified crimes. Widespread views have been that Pyongyang has often used the detentions as bargaining chips in its negotiations with Washington.

Two U.S. citizens  college student Otto Warmbier and Korean-American pastor Kim Dong-chul  are currently detained in the North after being sentenced to long prison terms for what Pyongyang calls subversive acts against the country.

The North's inclusion in the legislation banning payments to Iran reflects widespread negative views of the communist nation in the wake of the North's fifth nuclear test earlier this month, as well as a series of banned ballistic missile launches. (Yonhap)
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Rain likely. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain likely. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
ANGOLA  Maria Davis believes people are the main drivers of the downtown.

That was pretty obvious by last Wednesdays large annual Angola Cruise to the Monument event that featured the second Flip Your Seat Auction. Hundreds converged on the downtown to share their love of all things cars and community.

Davis is Angolas downtown services coordinator. Her work is promoting the downtown and its people leading them to a higher quality of life, all with a focus on good fun.

I do what I do and hopefully, good things come out of it, she said. I believe in humans, people as the main drivers in the downtown. Theyre the ones who connect with the community.

Coordination at a large event like the Cruise is tricky. Davis paused from coordinating the events 50-some volunteers and a crowd estimated at 1,000 people. She looked out the window from Angola City Halls conference room and was thrilled with what she saw at the festivities below in Public Square.

What I see is a lot of of people enjoying themselves and thats whats important to me. My mission is to make it fun for everyone. I do think fun is an underrated commodity, she said.

Frankly, her workload hasnt slowed all year, as shes always busy promoting other downtown events and services. Theres the Fourth of July Parade and work with the Angola Historic Preservation Commission.

Angola Mayor Dick Hickman thought so much of the downtown in wanting to promote it that he created Daviss position. Hickman talked at Cruise to the Monument about its importance and all downtown events being crucial to the city.

Cruise to the Monument gives us a great opportunity to showcase our community. Were very proud of whats going on down here with businesses and retailers and offices, Hickman said.

That gets back to Davis. Volunteering and community service has always been a major part of her life. In Steuben County, she served on the Cameron Memorial Community Hospital Ball Finance Committee with her husband, Mitch Davis. She also was a board member and volunteer for the Well Child Clinic, as well as with the now defunct Go Angola Downtown Alliance.

By trade, shes a graphic artist having earned a fine arts degree from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Davis puts her creative degree in action when she designs various promotional items for the city. She has her own website, mariabdavis.com, where she creates photo montages and other forms of digital artistry.

A large part of her job is work with the historic preservation commission. In recent years, the commission has held various Archi-Tours that have been well attended drawing some out of towners. The next tour will be Oct. 1 and will be called If Our Town Could Talk. More details will be upcoming. That date coincides with Indianas bicentennial and citys sesquicentennial.

The tour will be more on the historic part. There will be more stories, she said.

Davis and her family have a vested interest in the city she works for and serves choosing to live, grow up and run a business in.

Davis has been in Angola since 1995. Her husband, Angola native Mitch Davis, runs the family business, Mitchells Clothing and Tuxedos, in the Public Square. The business is now in its 25th year.

Theyve raised their family in the Steuben County seat. Maria and Mitch have a son and daughter, both who are freshmen. Jareds in his first year at Trine University studying engineering and daughter Jenna attends Angola High School down the road.

I was born in Angola and want to stay downtown, Mitch said inside his clothing store. He often passes out promotional Angola literature in downtown to help spread the word about whats happening. Were grounded and I want to stay here.

His wife, Maria, probably wont argue.

Downtown Angola is the seat of Steuben County, as well as the heart of Angola, she said. What happens in the communitys heart affects the rest. The goal is to make it as vital as can be. We take baby steps, as long as we go forward.
ALBION  Noble County residents will get their chance to see the new bicentennial mural when it is unveiled during a short ceremony Thursday.

Last week, workers from Legendary Design in Shipshewana were installing the mural on the south wall of the Noble County Economic Development Corp. office building on South Orange Street.

The mural then was covered until the unveiling on Thursday, which will take place beginning at 5 p.m., according to Tammy Luce, a member of the Albion S.T.A.R. Team and the mural committee chairwoman.

The mural has been designed and painted by Central Noble graduate Daniel McDonald, who is a senior this year at the University of Saint Francis.

Hes a really talented artist, said Dave Ober, of the Noble County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It looks stunning.

He is overjoyed with his completed work, Luce said.

The final design includes representations of all of Noble Countys communities.

It has been a community effort getting the mural completed, led by the Albion S.T.A.R. Team. Every community has donated funds to the $12,000 effort, from municipalities to individual donors.

The list of those who have helped is a long one. Leatherman Construction donated the use of a scissor-lift for installation. The Noble County Convention & Visitors Bureau assisted, as did Noble REMC and The ARC Noble County Foundations.

Weve had all sorts of people help out, Ober said.

The mural is a sponsored Legacy Project endorsed by the Indiana Bicentennial Committee.

The 15-20 minute program will include comments from McDonald.

Members of the mural committee, in addition to Luce, are Joy LeCount, Ober, Mary Ann Troutner and Steve Hook.

In addition to the mural committee, the additional members of the S.T.A.R. Team are Chris Magnuson, Vicki Jellison, Sharon Leitch, Erica Maneke and Matt Young.
CALEDONIA, Minn.  When you get anywhere near the Minnesota Buffer Initiative, youre going find confusion and concern.

But, theres also hope, which Dave Walter, district manager of the Root River Soil and Water Conservation District in Houston County, Minn., noted in his Caledonia-based office.

Were here to help, Walter said. Absolutely.

The contentious initiative deals with the states water quality issues, addressing them by placing buffers on repairing areas on public waters. A public water is classified as anything larger than a two-mile drainage area, Walter said, and most are on private property.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, he said, went through all the mapping decades ago, but the mandate didnt come down for buffers officially until April (it was signed into law in June 2015, but was amended by the Legislature and then signed by Gov. Mark Dayton on April 25, 2016).

All public waters need a buffer with an average of 50 feet or a minimum of 30 feet. Implementation is required, by law, by Nov. 1, 2017.

The reason this is all happening?

What theyre telling us, Walter said, the last meeting I was at, they were talking about sediment load.

Sediment in the streams, coming off the fields and landscape, is one of the biggest pollutants in the world. It clouds the streams, he said, and takes oxygen away, making a hostile environment for all living creatures. Soil particles in the sedimentation, essentially, cause so much woe.

To some, the initiative came out of the blue, although concern for the quality of public waters and the overall health of residents is by no means a new issue.

The documentation for the initiative isnt voluminous, but the work it will trigger in Walters office could well be: He estimated that it could potentially consume up to half the time of a full-time employee. They aim to keep it under half-time.

The largest workload on a certain piece of property in Houston County would entail going over the aerial photos to see if theres any buffer on the farm, inspect the land to see whats needed, put a plan together, visit with the landowner, determine what they want on the buffer (native grasses, cool season grasses, haying, grazing, a seeding plan), mark out the minimum acres needed, and then do a spot check for compliance a year later.

Thats the full container of worst-case scenario of what wed be getting involved with, he said.

The landowner can do it all himself or herself, or call Walters office for help. The cost of implementation is the landowners. Walters office has completed one-third of what is called land truthing throughout the county, which establishes the veracity of where buffers are potentially needed. Most require a site visit.

Theres a calculation that Walter uses, and it goes like this: The linear feet equals X. Taking that linear feet, they need an average of 50 for the buffer. The linear feet is multiplied by 50 feet, and the answer is what a landowner would need to have installed.

There are 34 public waterways in Houston County, according to the official map handed down by the state. Total area in Houston County totals 565 square miles. A lot of the affected land within that 565 square miles, Walter said, is wooded: Automatic compliance. Perennial vegetation is already established. There is also a list of alternative best-management practices that landowners can employ, but some of those wont be entirely clear until mid-November.

Walter stressed his office is the technical provider throughout the county, which means they provide technical advice and recommendations to land owners on best management practices. Theyre not an enforcement agency.

We get direction from the Board of Water and Soil Resources, Walter said, because this is what we do. This is work we do. Putting best management practices on landscape.

He went on to explain that, through science and technology, buffers are proven to work. Its a steep curve up to so many feet, then levels off after so much width, but it works.

Is it a one-size-fits all? Walter said. Absolutely not.

That doesnt mean its not a good practice. Theres also a compensation program potentially available for landowners; that CRP program is courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and its been around a lot longer than the Buffer Initiative, but its possible funds can be used for it.

Another decision yet to made is exactly who will enforce the initiative; Walter could only say that indications are the financial penalty attached will be strong enough to make landowners want to install the buffer.

Its tactics like that causing Eric Johnson a lot of concern.

Johnson, who farms 650 acres outside of Houston, Minn., said this legislation was passed in the middle of the night, as well as being a poorly written bill. He also said Daytons language from the start put farmers on the defensive.

Why cant we farm those acres, Johnson said, and then when the crops are gone, why not plant a cover crop for the winter?

Lack of engagement with farmers is leaving just such questions unanswered, and as for the CRP compensation, even thats dubious in Johnsons mind, at least when it comes to the Buffer Initiative.

Theres no compensation attached to this legislation, he said.

The divisive language from Dayton, who used words such as cesspools when calling for the legislation, seemed to place the blame for poor water quality squarely on the farmers shoulders, Johnson said.

We all want clean water, he said. Were not against buffers; its the tactics we dont like.

In Yucatan Township, Ken Halverson owns 360 acres. He doesnt farm them, although he rents about 16 acres to someone who does, and he has a proactive stance on water quality and conservation issues.

Its probably something that shouldve been looked at before, Halverson said.

He agreed Dayton got off on the wrong foot with landowners and farmers, and that he definitely wasnt using language intent on bringing folks together.

What we have to do is look at this with a balanced view, he said.

In, say, 50 to 100 years, our children and grandchildren will be inheriting this land.

What will we be leaving them? he said.

Halverson said the initiative has to be a team effort, especially with those who work the ground.

Lets be frank, he said, the most important thing to do in any issue is to find and gather the facts, and not sway them for any political point-of-view. Truth and trust have to be built.

Walter is equally sanguine, although he cant deny theres been some confusion and lack of communication from on high, especially when it comes to implementation.

Ive been wanting to put together informational meetings through the county, Walter said, and inform the public at those meetings about this initiative.

That hasnt happened due to lack of information hes yet to get from the state. What he thinks happened is the governor handed down the legislation and then gave it to BWSR (whose job is to read rules and hand down policy).

So, were waiting for direction from the state to give us clear direction, he said.

As soon as more information comes in, Walter will share it with the public. He wants to. He knows theres concern and confusion.

Us more than anybody, I think, he said.
Mario Villasenor and his wife, Griselda Banales, say theyre pleased with customer response to their Senor Villa Mexican Grill & Bar restaurant, which opened two weeks ago in the former Jade Cafe location at 325 West Ave. N. in La Crosse.

Its been really good, Villasenor said of customers comments.

Thats because We have very reasonable prices, good food and a good environment for families, Banales said.

The Mexican restaurant opened Sept. 11 after extensive remodeling. It has new furniture, flooring and kitchen equipment, and the interior has been painted in yellow, brown and coral colors. Villasenor said he and his wife have created a warm environment.

Both are natives of La Piedad, Mexico. Theyve known each other since they were children, began dating in 1993 while both were attending McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and married in 1999. They have a son and a daughter.

Villasenor also has a degree in business administration from Anahuac University in Mexico City.

The family moved from Mexico to Eau Claire 10 years ago after being encouraged to do so by former La Piedad residents who owned a Mexican restaurant in Eau Claire.

Villasenor had nine years of experience as a partner and manager at the restaurant, Cancun Mexican Grill on Clairemont Avenue, before deciding to sell his interest in the business and move to the La Crosse area to start his own restaurant.

Here you have all the (college) students and its an area where people like to go out and eat, Villasenor said of La Crosse. I saw a great opportunity to come here and open this type of Mexican restaurant.

The most popular menu items so far have been fajitas. Of those, the Fajitas Rancheras ranks as the biggest seller. Its made with grilled steak, chicken, shrimp and chorizo.

Burritos also have been popular, especially the Senor Burrito. Its made with grilled chicken or steak and is topped with cheese sauce.

Tacos have been big sellers as well, especially Tacos Pastor (marinated pork tacos topped with onion and cilantro), Tacos Carne Asada (grilled steak tacos topped with onion and cilantro) and Tacos Camarones (grilled shrimp tacos topped with lettuce, pico salsa and cheese).

We also have very good seafood, Villasenor said.

Theres a kids menu for children 11 and under. On Sundays, one child 11 and under can eat for free, for each adult in his or her group.

Also, customers can have a free meal on their birthday.

Patrons receive complimentary tortilla chips made at the restaurant, along with two types of salsa. The restaurant has a full bar.

Senor Villa can seat about 140 people and has about 10 employees.

Villasenor said the restaurants grand opening probably will be in six to eight weeks.
From its quarters in a historic downtown building, the La Crosse office of the architecture, design and planning firm Gensler is involved in projects around the world that help clients make decisions about their real estate.

The La Crosse offices new leader, Joan Meyers, has been with Gensler since 2007. She was named managing director of the office in February and said its focus will remain on people, process and business.

Weve really put an emphasis on our people over the past couple years, and with that comes transparency, Meyers said in an interview at the Gensler office, which occupies the fourth floor of the former La Crosse Plow Co. building at 300 Second St. N. The building was constructed in 1902.

We all share in our successes, Meyers said of transparency. We also share in our challenges. That has built a base for mutual trust and respect. And weve been building off of that ever since.

The company has taken the time to really understand its employees, Meyers said. Thats key, because when we know that, we can provide opportunities that they will seize, challenge themselves, grow and become the best that they can be.

The local office also focuses on process, Meyers said. It really needs to be there, so that when the business comes in, youve got the process in place to handle it, she said.

Julie Henline, who joined Gensler in 2000 and became the La Crosse offices client relationship director in February, will work with Meyers to support new and diverse projects from the La Crosse office. Gensler leaders say theyre excited about the new developments that have been under construction or are planned in La Crosse.

It is an exciting time to be part of the community, Henline said. The growth and development taking place is energizing, and were looking forward to playing a more active role.

The La Crosse office has 50 employees and does work for several hundred clients a year.

As one of Genslers 46 global offices, employees collaborate on projects with colleagues and clients worldwide on a daily basis. We provide tools and services to help our clients understand and manage their real estate portfolio, Meyers said of the La Crosse office.

The La Crosse office was started in 1994 with the goal of bringing new and innovative services to Genslers architecture and design clients.

Today, its cloud-based applications help clients access information needed to make decisions about workspace and real estate. The office services clients around the globe  from start-ups to established Global Fortune 500 businesses.

Currently, Meyers and her team are working with Shell Oil to capture activity and utilization data about Shells 12.5 million-square-foot global real estate portfolio  which includes 100 locations in 20 countries.

Twice a year, Gensler captures activity taking place in each Shell Oil space using its proprietary iPad application, Observe. The information is used to develop a strategy for future use of the space.

The La Crosse team, Genslers analytics team in Chicago and its consulting team in Dallas have resulted in a well-rounded team to support the Shell project and exemplifies Genslers one-firm, firm mentality, Meyers said.

We have a deep bench of talent to pull from as a firm, she said. This means we bring a wide range of experience and knowledge to the projects that we work on.

During her nine years with the La Crosse office, Meyers has worked with such clients as AT&T, Lowes, Gap, LOreal and Time Warner Cable, to provide consulting and technology services that help them manage their real estate portfolios.

She is currently working with a research team to capture data about how students use libraries. Meyers said the information will be used for new design strategies to provide the best environment to meet students needs.

Genslers La Crosse office also recently provided spatial analyses for The Star, a 91-acre multi-use complex that is the new home of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters.

Gensler employs more than 5,000 professionals across its 46 offices and serves more than 3,500 active clients in nearly every industry.

Julie Henline, Gensler La Crosse offices client relationship director
Ten years ago, Clare Wight was 20 years old, out of high school, and unsure of her next step in life. Unable to afford college and looking to travel, she turned to a popular option for young Brazilian women like herself: becoming a Cultural Care Au Pair to a family overseas.

The 25-year-old organization, based in Boston, has placed more than 95,000 au pairs in the U.S. Families and au pairs upload profiles and videos to the companys website and can search for matches by qualifications such as age, gender and country of origin. Initial commitments are 12 months, but can be extended up to another year.

I was terrified of the unknown at first, Wight said. But it clicked right away when I talked to the host dad. We could laugh and joke on the phone.

Wight formed an instant bond with her host family, Michelle and Kevin Bryant and sons Kevin Jr., William, Matthew and Thomas, living with them for two years and feeling so strongly about the experience that she took on a local childcare consultant position with Cultural Care Au Pair last October and now works with five area families in Tomah, La Crosse, Onalaska and Sparta.

Most au pairs want to go to the coast. The way we get information on the U.S. is from movies and TV, and we think, Oh, California, New York, that is America, Wight said. I chose to go to La Crosse because this here, in the Midwest, is the real American life. Im trying to bring more (au pairs) to this area.

The au pairs are responsible for providing 45 hours of childcare per week, as well as light cleaning, preparing meals for the children and running related errands. In exchange, they they receive room and board, two weeks paid vacation and a weekly stipend. Cultural Care Au Pair covers insurance and travel fees, and the au pair must complete six college credits during the stay.

The program is often beneficial for military families, as the au pairs move with them, as well as for those with several children and busy schedules.

With my work schedule and my husbands, we needed some flexibility in child care from week to week versus the general daytime schedule of 9 to 5, Michelle said. The au pair program allowed us that flexibility. We also really liked the idea of meeting someone from another country.

The cultural aspect is different than having a nanny, Wight agreed. Its a chance to see continents without actually going there. Kids are very protected. Becoming more aware of the world  other people who look different, talk different  gives kids that edge.

Wight says that despite a bit of initial cultural friction, when attitudes and expressions were lost in translation, she felt like a big sister to the Bryant boys and a daughter to Michelle, who is godmother to one of Wights three children.

The lines between family and employer get blurred, Wight said. It was really hard to leave. To be able to feel at home without being at home ... everything I had known was not there but I still felt fulfilled.

Clare very quickly became part of our family, Michelle said. She is a very good communicator and was able to adapt to how we wanted our children raised. She built a solid foundation of friendship and love with our children and family that has now lasted over 10 years.

Wight says the ideal family for an au pair is open minded and will embrace an addition to the family.

Youre opening your heart and your home to essentially a stranger and exposing them to the most precious part of your life. But living together takes it up a notch, and (the au pair) will love your kids like they were their own. There is a big brother/big sister feel with the kids. Theyre so excited to have someone else who cares about them and gives them their full attention.

Au pair Amie Keeling, 27, from South Africa, says she has been able to find a welcoming home with Lindsay and Ben Tippets and their children, Rebekah (Reba), 5, Matthew, 3, and Ellie, 18 months, whom she moved in with in early August.

Being able to see the USA and be part of a family, a different type of family, has been really interesting and cool, said Keeling, who has dinner and attends church with the Tippets.

Keeling was a babysitter for many years and joined the au pair program after finding it online when researching ways to come to the U.S. After filling out the majority of the application, Keeling got cold feet before completing it a year later.

Everything is bigger and different here, and I had never gone without seeing my sister for more than three months, Keeling said. But its been really wonderful and its really pretty here with the trees and the river.

Lindsay, a registered nurse in the GI lab and Gundersen Health System, and Ben, a self-employed property manager, are expecting their fourth child this winter and say Keeling has been a big help to the family.

With three little ones in daycare, the price is comparable, says Lindsay, who adds the children quickly warmed to Keeling. We would be in a pickle when other nannies called in sick, and with Amie we have another consistent person. Our youngest has a vigorous therapy schedule (for a hearing impairment) and its nice to have Amie here to help oversee that. I was able to go on Rebas field trip the other day while Amie was with her, and Ben and I have been able to go out in the evenings.

That level of trust is what sets the program apart, says Wight.

Parents are most thankful for getting home and not having to do a single thing but spend time with their family. As a mom now I know how much they appreciate that.

For more information on the local au pair program, visit www.cwight.aupairnews.com or call 608-632-0372.
You may say Oktoberfest has nothing in common with Audrey Hepburn, but theyll say, What about Breakfast at Tiffanys?

And youll say, now that you mention it, and theyll say, Thats not all weve got.

No need to apologize to the star of the Academy Award-winning 1961 film, which was released just a week before the inaugural Oktoberfest. Bekah Kienzle and Julie Pleshe have memorialized the flick in a mural to be unveiled at 6 p.m. today at the South Side festgrounds in La Crosse.

The 8-foot-by-16-foot mural, which the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students created on four panels with about 200 hours of designing, sketching, redesigning and painting, is patterned on the post-World War II souvenir greetings from   post card design.

The pair painted an iconic symbol of La Crosse within each letter, including the Rivoli Theatre, with Breakfast at Tiffanys on the marquee as a historical salute to the fact that Oktoberfest and the film share a birthday.

Kienzle, who has seen the romantic comedy repeatedly and counts it among her favorites, and Pleshe, whose bucket list includes seeing it, had not met before they began the project. Now they are fast friends.

Linking Oktoberfest and Breakfast as creations of 1961 was a way of paying tribute to popular culture of the time, Pleshe said.

One might think that two artistic-minded strangers thrown together on a project would be more likely to joust with paintbrushes than cooperate. Instead, their personalities meshed so well that they laughed through what they described as a minor setback that had the potential to blow up.

Working next to Pleshe one day, Kienzle accidentally dropped a large container of white paint that smacked to the floor with such force that it splattered all over a section of the mural. Whats more, it propelled paint spatter onto an air duct and ceiling above, as well as Pleshes left side  not to mention Kienzle, from toe to head.

As Kienzle yelled ow, ow, ow and started running to find a sink, Pleshe asked what was wrong  and her partner responded that paint had splashed in her eye.

We laughed a lot through all stages of the project, during which they also sang songs in Spanish, said Pleshe, a 22-year-old fifth-year senior from De Pere, Wis., who is majoring in communications and Spanish, and minoring in art.

Every time we put something different on it, we would step back and say, Whoa, said Kienzle, a 19-year-old sophomore from Racine, Wis., who is majoring in psychology and art.

I dont think I could find any better working chemistry for collaboration, said Jennifer Terpstra, the art professor who is their faculty sponsor on the project.

Helping support the project was an Undergraduate Research and Creativity Grant from the university that funded not only the paint but also their travel to Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich., to view murals in those cities, learn techniques from professional mural painters and see Diego Riveras emblematic Detroit Industry murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

They also had financial backing from La Crosse Festivals Inc., the parent organization of Oktoberfest USA in La Crosse.

We actually scrapped the original design after seeing the Detroit graffiti, Kienzle said.

We wanted to make it still visually pleasing, but more colorful, Pleshe said. In Detroit, murals reflected a broken city. For ours, we want to show the whole city and have it be unifying.

Thus, in addition to the Rivoli, the La Crosse Greetings mural features UW-Ls clock tower, the statue of Native American lacrosse players at the citys North Side entrance, the Cass Street Bridge, Fayzes Restaurant and Bakery downtown, the La Crosse Queen cruise boat and the cannon placed in Riverside Park in 1918 as the first part of an area honoring veterans.

Oktoberfest symbols along the bottom include a pretzel, similar to those featured on this seasons Oktoberfest button, and cheese. In the corner is a round image that former La Crosse Tribune artist Bob Hess designed of a German-costumed couple for the first Oktoberfest in 1961 and has continued as a symbol for the festival  and which has found a new home on the newly-released Old Style Oktoberfest beer.

Their original postcard design featured a bottle of beer but they decided to forego the bottle to downplay the drinking aspect of Oktoberfest. Instead, they opted for a button-like design replicating the image and colors of the new brew. Cleverly, their signatures appear on the Oktoberfesters lederhosen and dirndl.

Oktoberfest is one of many icons of the greater La Crosse community, said La Crosse Festivals Board President Alex Lueck. We are pleased that this work incorporates so many of those facets that make this a great place to live and work.

The artists chronicled their work with a blog and on Instagram.

Its a cliche, but its cool to say we left our mark on La Crosse, Pleshe said.
A University of Wisconsin-La Crosse alumnus is the 2016-17 Wisconsin Middle School Teacher of the Year.

State Superintendent Tony Evers recognized Chris Gleason, a band director and instrumental music teacher at Patrick Marsh Middle School in the Sun Prairie Area School District, during his State of Education address earlier this month. As part of the Teacher of the Year honor, Gleason will receive $3,000 from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation.

A project Gleason started in 2009, ComMission Possible, has student musicians collaborating with nationally renowned composers to write a commissioned piece of music for middle school band students. He also believes in the power of connecting music to civic pride, getting his students out into the community through smaller ensembles that perform at local events and larger performances at Sun Prairies senior care homes, the American Family Insurance Holiday Breakfast and in the Memorial Day parade.

Wisconsin needs talented individuals to teach in our classrooms and inspire our young people to seek out careers that will fulfill their dreams, Evers said. A Teacher of the Year recipient demonstrates an unwavering commitment to students, and it is an honor to recognize educators who do so much for Wisconsins public schools.
WASHINGTON  The most telling moments in presidential debates often come out of the blue  an offhand remark or unrehearsed gesture that helps to reveal the essence of a candidate whos already been poked, prodded and inspected for years.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have competing missions heading into Monday nights leadoff debate of the general election campaign: Hers to overcome the trust questions that have bedeviled her for decades. His to convince voters that he has the good judgment and restraint required of a president.

Plenty of subtexts will play out as well over 90 minutes of must-see TV before an estimated audience of 75 million or more viewers  an outsized share of them disenchanted with both candidates.

Some things to watch for on debate night:

Clinton vs. international man of mystery

Just who will show up to debate Clinton? Will it be the say-anything Trump who roiled the primary debates by dishing out a stream of insults and provocations? Or the rein-it-in Trump whos been trying to demonstrate of late that he has the maturity and measured temperament to be president? One possible clue: Watch to see whether Trump trots out the crooked Hillary nickname or puts it on ice for 90 minutes.

Take a deep breath

Expect Clinton to try to goad Trump into losing control, perhaps by questioning the size of his wealth and the success of his businesses or by highlighting his past incendiary statements about minorities, women and others. Trump is promising to stay cool. But 90 minutes could be a long time for the master of improv and theatrics to hew to a script.

Policy pitfalls

Both candidates have policy gaps to fill in and changes in position to explain. At its best, the debate could help flesh out details of both candidates platforms, highlighting similarities and differences. There are pitfalls here for Trump in particular: Weak on policy, hes vulnerable to slip-ups that could feed into the not-ready-to-govern line that Clinton is pushing. Trump has been studying up: You can bet he now knows what the nuclear triad is. (During the primary debates, he seemed not to understand that it represents weapons in silos, submarines and bombers.)

Those damn emails

Clinton largely got a pass during the Democratic primary debates on her use of a private email system when she was secretary of state. Primary rival Bernie Sanders, in their first debate, did Clinton a favor when he declared that people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails. Dont expect Trump to cut Clinton a similar break. She also has more to answer for since the FBI concluded that she was extremely careless in her handling of classified material in the emails. Clinton has been struggling to find an effective explanation: Now would be a good time for her to nail it.

Push-ups, anyone?

They cant exactly drop to the floor for a one-armed push-ups contest. But look for both candidates to more subtly project health and stability. After her much-publicized coughing fits and recent bout of pneumonia, Clinton will be out to show shes got the strength and stamina the White House job demands. As for Trump, critics have speculated he has any number of psychiatric disorders. It would be a good time to show a level head and solid grounding.

Factivism

The candidates wont be the only ones under the microscope. Moderator Lester Holt of NBC News will be under enormous pressure to maintain control and act as an objective referee. In the leadup to the debate, Trump maintained that it would be improper for Holt to try to fact-check the candidates statements in real time. Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon tweeted that if debate moderators dont fact-check the candidates, it is an unfair advantage to Trump, who is a congenital liar.
MADISON  They call her the ID Lady.

Wearing a black T-shirt, with large block letters on one side saying Ask Me and About Voter ID on the other, Molly McGrath moved back to her native state of Wisconsin last year with the mission of helping people vote.

For McGrath, that dedication includes navigating homeless people through the voter registration form, helping people new to Wisconsin get an in-state drivers license, arranging free cab rides to the DMV and even personally driving people to where they can get the required ID.

She also helps explain the complex and seemingly ever-changing election laws in Wisconsin. This will be the first presidential election where voters are required to show photo ID, a law passed by Republicans that has survived a series of court challenges from liberals.

Theres a tremendous amount of unawareness and confusion about the law, McGrath said on a late summer morning inside a church near the state Capitol where she was helping a steady stream of people register. You cant help but think, is this confusion a bug or part of the design?

Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans who swept into power in 2011 quickly passed a law requiring photo IDs at the polls, arguing it was needed to combat fraud despite scant evidence of any widespread voting irregularities.

They didnt stop there.

They also restricted early voting hours to the two weeks before an election with no weekend hours and a limit of one location per municipality. That was a particular blow to Milwaukee and Madison, the states two largest and most Democratic cities, which had expansive early voting.

Liberals fought the changes and in July won big when a federal court struck down more than a dozen Wisconsin election laws championed by Walker and Republicans. The judge said limits on early voting times and locations intentionally discriminates on the basis of race.

I reach this conclusion because I am persuaded that this law was specifically targeted to curtail voting in Milwaukee without any other legitimate purpose, Judge James Peterson said.

Madison and Milwaukee moved quickly to begin early voting Monday.

And while he didnt strike down the voter ID law, Peterson did require the states DMV to quickly issue credentials to anyone trying to obtain a free ID but lacking the underlying documents, such as a birth certificate, needed to get it. A federal appeals court has put on hold a separate ruling that would have allowed those without IDs to sign affidavits at the polls attesting to their identity.

Both sides are bracing for a close election, where turnout  or the lack of an acceptable photo ID for a large number of voters  could tip the scales.

In a 2014 ruling striking down the voter ID law, which was later overturned, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman estimated that 300,000 registered voters in Wisconsin lacked a required ID. For context, Walker won re-election in 2014 by about 137,000 votes and Ron Johnson defeated Russ Feingold in the 2010 Senate race by just over 105,000 votes.

And in 2000 and 2004 the presidential race was decided by the tiniest of margins  about 6,000 votes in 2000 and 11,000 in 2004.

The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton running about even in the state. It also showed Feingold leading the incumbent Johnson by 6 points in the hotly contested Senate race.

That makes every vote all the more crucial. The state Elections Commission is trying to spread the word about the law with radio and TV public service announcements, online display and video ads, pre-show advertising at movie theaters, bus ads and Facebook ads.

Campaigns, political parties and advocates like VoteRiders are also trying to spread the word to people like Duane Dahl. He didnt have a photo ID until McGrath came along. She works with VoteRiders, which helps low-income and people of color get IDs and registered to vote.

Dahl, who has been homeless at times in Madison, said he was confused about the laws, what he needed to get an ID, and where to go. But in March he got his ID and voted in primaries in April and August.

I got lucky, Dahl said. Other people have had a huge struggle trying to get ID.

While McGrath is passionate about her work she tries to remain nonpartisan. When a potential voter tells McGrath Im scared of Trump she laughs it off.

I dont care who you vote for, she says, as long as you vote.
iStock/Thinkstock(POINT JUDITH, R.I.) -- The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday afternoon that it has decided not to re-open a search for a 54-year-old Connecticut woman who disappeared after she and her son went on a fishing trip last week.



Though her son, 22-year-old Nathan Carman, was found alive after eight days at sea, Linda Carman remains missing, according to the Coast Guard.



But, the Coast Guard has decided not to re-open the ocean search for Linda Carman since she likely has had no food, water or a life raft -- and thus, a zero to minimal chance of survival, Coast Guard Petty Officer Nicole Groll said.



Linda Carman and her 22-year-old son, Nathan Carman were first reported missing Sunday, Sept. 18, after failing to return from a fishing trip they began from Point Judith, Rhode Island the previous day, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Nicole Groll.



The Coast Guard performed an exhaustive search for the Carmans for six days, covering an area larger than Georgia, Groll said. The search was suspended on Friday, Sept. 23, after the Guard failed to locate them.



But two days later, a Chinese freighter called the Orient Lucky found Nathan Carman more than 100 nautical miles from Martha's Vineyard, Groll said, adding that he was in a life raft with food and water. Linda Carman, however, was not in the life raft and was nowhere to be found.



Nathan Carman is currently on the freighter and scheduled to arrive in Boston sometime Tuesday evening, Groll said at a news conference Monday afternoon. She added that he was in good condition.



The 22-year-old told Coast Guard officials that their 32-foot aluminum center console boat had taken in water sometime on Sunday, Sept. 18, Groll said.



Nathan Carman said that when he went to escape in the vessel's life raft, he could not find his mother.



Groll said the boat sank near Block Canyon off the coast of New York. She added that no mayday call had been made from the boat, though it was unclear if the vessel had a radio.



Coast Guard officials hope to get a "clearer understanding" of what happened once Nathan Carman gets to Boston, according to Groll.



Meanwhile, yellow ribbons and signs expressing hope have been hung on the Carmans' home by family and friends, ABC affiliate WTNH-TV reported.



Family friend Sharon Hartstein told WTNH that Linda Carman was a "momma bird" who would protect her son "at all costs."



"I was thrilled that they found [Nathan], and then I was devastated that Linda wasnt with him," Hartstein said, adding that she and the family still hope Linda Carman will be found.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Genaro lives in a village in Peru. He is hoping to raise $1,300.

Genaro says he needs the money to grow more coffee trees. He sells coffee seeds, known as beans, to support himself and his two children.

Mrs. Phuc lives in Vietnam. She is hoping for a $2,000 loan to raise pigs so she can earn more money for her family.

And in Ghana, a young man named Richard is looking for $1,275 to pay his college tuition and buy books to take classes.

These are just three of the small loans that Kiva, a group in California, is seeking to finance through donations. Kiva only lists the first names of people requesting loans.

Premal Shah, 40, helped start Kiva 10 years ago. He is now the charitable groups president.

Shah said Kiva makes giving simple. People are not asked to solve big problems like climate change, poverty, or war, he said.

Instead, they are asked to help individual people make their lives and their families lives better.

The Human Connection Has Appeal

There is a basic human connection, he said. People often dont feel they can do very much to produce sustainable change. But here they can make a big change, helping people and their families.

A Kiva loan can help someone who cannot get a loan from a bank develop a business or go to college. But it also helps others, Shah said. People who earn more money will spend more money in their communities, and maybe even give jobs to neighbors.

In Ghana, 25-year-old Sarah Ayi-Mensah said she is trying to earn enough money to support herself and her family. She sells oils, gifts and other things at a small store.

Ayi-Mensah has received two $400 loans from Kiva to help her add products to sell to customers. She has already paid off the first loan and is working to repay the second.

It has been a big help, she told VOA from Ghana.

Ayi-Mensah is not married and does not have children. But she said she is now able to provide more help to her extended family.

Im hoping I will be able to sell even more in the future, Ayi-Mensah said. But she added that the poverty in her village means many people do not have enough money to spend much at her store or other businesses.

$25 Is the Minimum Donation

Here is how Kiva works:

On the charitys website, hundreds of requests for loans are listed by individuals who state what they will do with the money. People wanting to donate can narrow down the requests by country or area. Or they can choose what they want their money to do -- whether it be to help someone pay for school, or expand a business or farm.

People who decide they want to help can do so on the internet. The minimum donation, or loan, is $25.

An individual donation is added to others to produce the loan amount requested. So, if someone asks for a $400 loan, the amount could be funded by 16 $25 donations.

Last week, a Kiva donor received an email saying he received repayments of $5.58 on three loans. Maria Eugenia, for example, repaid 94 cents of her $25 loan so she could add new products to her store in Colombia.

When each $25 is returned, the donor can find another person to help, or get his or her money returned.

Success Stories

There have been lots of success stories, said Kiva president Premal Shah.

One of them is Lindiwe, 22, of Zimbabwe.

She received a $500 loan and business training from Camfed, a Kiva partner. That helped her open up three businesses -- raising chickens, a store selling home-made drinks and another store selling household products.

All this has given her a feeling of independence, Lindiwe said. If I want to help someone who is in need, I can just take my money and help, she added.

Helping Produce More Banana Bread

Chancey Lindsey-Peake used a $2,000 Kiva loan to expand a banana bread business in the southeastern American state of South Carolina.

The loan got me back on my feet, she said.

Her mistake was agreeing to pay the loan back too quickly, Lindsey-Peake told VOA. My timing wasnt good, she said.

She took out the loan and started repaying it in October of 2012, just as the Greenville Farmers Market was closing for the winter. She sold lots of banana bread at the farmers market.

But Im doing well now, Lindsey-Peake said. My head is above water. Im making a little profit, and I now I can pay myself.

By above water, Lindsey-Peake meant she is no longer losing money on her business. What has kept her going is a belief in her banana bread, a belief backed up by happy customers.

My banana bread is excellent, she said.

Kiva is also moving forward. After difficult times during the 2008 recession, Kiva brought in $150 million in loan funding over the past year, Premal Shah said. That is a record.

Over its 10 years, the charity has raised $880 million from 1.5 million people. It has provided loans to over 2 million people in 83 countries. Over 80 percent of the money went to women.

The website Charity Navigator rates charities. It said that Kiva ranks 97 out of a possible high score of 100. Kiva spends over 81 percent of its money on its programs and services, the site said.

Im Bruce Alpert.

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. If you had the money, who would you like to help? If you could get a loan what would you use it for?

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

tuition - n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

sustainable - adj. able to last or continue for a long time

customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

charitable  adj. of or related to helping people who are poor or sick

basic  adj. forming or relating to the most important part of something

minimum - adj. of or related to the smallest possible amount
British Prime Minister Theresa May will let a Chinese company invest in Britains Hinkley Point C nuclear power center.

Some people are concerned the decision will open Britains nuclear industry to more than investment money from China.

The Hinkley Point C power plant, near Somerset, England, is expected to cost $24 billion. The plant is to be jointly owned by Electricity de France and China General Nuclear Corporation. Electricity de France will supply two nuclear reactors.

Observers say the joint project could clear the way for Chinese involvement in another British energy project. A planned nuclear center at Bradwell, in eastern England, could be the first to use imported Chinese nuclear technology in a Western country.

China General Nuclear Corporation says it has already signed an agreement on possible work at the Bradwell center.

Only a few countries, such as Pakistan, use Chinese reactors. However, approval of the Bradwell B project would be important. British approval of a Chinese designed reactor could open doors for Chinese nuclear exports to the west.

Prime Minister Teresa May halted the Hinkley Point project last July, and then ordered a study of security risks related to the project. However, she cancelled that decision after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the recent Group of 20 nations gathering in Hangzhou.

The British government did amend the contract for the Hinkley Point project. It put in place terms barring the Chinese company from gaining majority ownership of the plant if the French company pulls out.

Critics also question a part of the contract that provides for a fixed electricity rate for 35 years. They argue that energy prices are falling, and are expected to be lower in the future.

Nick Timothy is an advisor to the British leader. Timothy has been critical of Chinas part in the project and Chinese investment in Britains infrastructure. He said, No amount of trade and investment should justify allowing a hostile state easy access to the countrys critical national infrastructure.

Others say security is important to May. However, they say she was seeking Chinese investment because of a major need to increase electricity production. The projects also represent a move away from coal-based electricity production.

For China, British approval of the Hinkley Point project can improve the countrys image in an important industry.

David Gosset is director of the research group Academia Sinica Europaea. He called the possible nuclear deal, a highly significant form of cooperation. Gosset added that it might represent an increased level of cooperation between Britain, Europe and China.

We are now witnessing the constitution of a new China-EU-Europe triangle. It is a slow and complex process, but it will be defining the future of the relations between China and Europe, he said.

Im Mario Ritter.

Saibal Dasgupta reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

plant  n. a building or factory where something is made

reactor  n. a large device that produces nuclear energy

contract  n. a legal agreement between two or more parties that requires some kind of action from all involved

infrastructure  n. structures such as roads, ports and energy plants needed for society to operate

triangle  n. an object that has three sides and three angles


What do otters, chimpanzees, and one species of crow have in common?

All three are animals. They also use tools.

Scientists have long known that a crow native to New Caledonia is able to use tools. The birds use them to remove food from deep inside holes and crevices.

Now, American researchers have discovered a second species of crow that uses tools. Researchers with the San Diego Zoo reported on their experiments with Alala crows  a species from the Hawaiian Islands.

Critically endangered crows

There are no more Alala crows living in the wild. But there are some of the birds still living in a protected area in Hawaii. They are considered critically endangered.

In an experiment, the researchers placed pieces of food in crevices inside a big piece of wood. The holes too deep for the birds to reach with their beaks. But, by using small pieces of wood held in their beaks, the birds quickly found a way to get the food.

The scientists said the crows demonstrated the ability to reach food in those cannot-reach-it places. The birds used small objects as tools, sometimes changing them by shortening a too-long stick. They also made tools from plant material.

"Tool use is exceedingly rare in the animal kingdom," said Christian Rutz of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He led the study, which was published in the scientific journal Nature.

Current evidence strongly suggests that tool use is part of the species natural behavioral pattern, Rutz said. It is not just something that happened in captivity.

It comes naturally

Using tools comes naturally to Alala, he added. These birds had no specific training prior to our study, yet most of them were incredibly skilled at handling stick tools, and they even quickly got the food in demanding jobs.

There are more than 40 species of crows and ravens, a similar bird. Many crows and ravens live far from cities in hot, humid areas. Rutz said this means it is possible that other undiscovered tool-users could be out there.

Kevin McGowan is an expert on birds with Cornell University in New York State. He spoke to VOA on Skype. He said finding out that the crows use tools is an important discovery.

It kind of makes us rethink how to look at the whole tool-use idea now and gives us a little more ammunition to go out there and look for things that we may have overlooked before."

Alalas are not the only intelligent crows to use tools. The other is the New Caledonian crow on New Caledonia Island in the Pacific Ocean. The New Caledonian crow can use tools to remove insects and other food from dead wood and plants.

How did crows learn to use tools?

How did these birds learn to use tools? Scientists think their tool-using skills may have resulted, in part, from conditions in their Pacific island habitat.

The two species have one more thing in common: unusually straight beaks. The researchers wondered if this feature might be something they developed over time for holding tools. The birds use their beaks like the way people use thumbs on their hands.

All the Alala crows left in the world live in Hawaii. There were less than 20 Alalas left in the late 1990s when scientists decided to bring them into a protected area to increase their population.

Now, there are over 100 birds living in captivity. The San Diego Zoo said its researchers tested almost all of them and they determined that the vast majority of them spontaneously used tools.

Scientists are working to increase the population so that the Alala can be released back into the wild. They plan to release some of the birds back into the wild later this year.

The Alala crows also showed that they are willing to steal from each other. While one did the work of getting the food, another bird took it, and ate it.

Im Anne Ball.

George Putic reported on this story for VOANews.com. Anne Ball adapted this story for Learning English with additional information from Reuters. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. And find us on our Facebook page.

____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

extinct  adj. no longer existing

crevice  n. a narrow opening or crack in a hard surface

beak  n. the hard usually pointed parts that cover a birds mouth

exceedingly  adv. very

specific  adj. special

prior  adj. before

vast  adj. very great in size or amount

spontaneously  adv. done or said in a natural and often sudden way
scholarship, news and new ideas in legal history
The TECO line streetcar system's expanded service is up and running today in downtown Tampa.

Earlier streetcar time started today at 7 a.m.



Will improve access to jobs in the downtown area, the Channel District, and Ybor City



System makes 11 stops from convention center to Ybor City

TECO Streetcar Line

Recently, Tampa ranked 11th nationally for worst traffic congestion.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn said fixing roads and upgrading the streetcar system could help.

The new weekday morning service is designed to help improve the efficiency of the streetcar service in Tampa.

Expanded morning service will improve access to jobs in the downtown area, the Channel District, and Ybor City. It also will improve connectivity between the districts along the streetcar line.

These trips will complement the existing service that the TECO Line Streetcar System already provides to residents and workers throughout the city.

"This is a golden opportunity to make the TECO Line Streetcar System service more convenient than ever before," said Katharine Eagan, HART Chief Executive Officer. "Plus, it will provide a new way for residents and workers in Downtown Tampa, the Channel District, and historic Ybor City to take transit without the hassle of driving.

"This is just another example of how HART is leading the way in finding new and innovative ways to make transit seamless and easy to use in the Tampa Bay area."
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine appeared at a campaign rally in Lakeland just hours before his running mate's debate with Donald Trump on Monday night.

VP candidate Tim Kaine spoke in Lakeland on Monday



He'll 'be on the edge' of his seat during presidential debates

Supporters said they're hoping for conversation on issues, not insults

Kaine arrived on a campaign jet at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport late in the morning and then appeared before a crowd of about 150 people in a meeting room at the Lakeland Center.

He talked about the economy, health care, national defense and immigration reform. The Virginia senator and former governor predicted he would keep his political winning streak alive.

"I've run eight races and I've won eight races," he told the crowd.

Today starts the closing stretch of the campaign with the debate tonight," he said. "You know, I am real interested in this debate. I mean I'm going to be on the edge of my seat."

Voters at the rally were hoping the debate would feature substance over fireworks.

"He's going to be held to a higher standard than before, said Florida Southern College student Nelson Hill about Donald Trump. He can't just lob attacks."

"Hopefully they put the gloves down and try and get to some issues eventually before November, so that's the goal for me, added Clinton supporter Mike Bonislawski.
Giving us a break from the saas-bahu sagas and love stories revolving around naagins on television, is director Nikkhil Advani. The Kal Ho Na Ho director has helmed POW  Bandi Yuddh Ke, an upcoming Star Plus show that revolves around two Indian soldiers who were taken as prisoners of war during the 1999 Kargil War and return home after 17 years.

Sounds strikingly similar to the plot of the much-loved series Homeland? We dont blame you.

POW  Bandi Yuddh Ke is an adaptation of the popular Israeli series Hatufim, which in turn is the original source material for Homeland.



Hatufim is the original and as some say, a better version of Homeland

Created, written and directed by Gideon Raff, Hatufim premiered on Israels Channel 2 in 2010. The show deals with three Israeli reservists who are captured in Lebanon and put behind bars. Seventeen years later, two of them, Nimrod Klein and Uri Zach return to Israel while the third, Amiel Ben-Horin is dead. The story kicks off as the two soldiers try to rebuild their lives with their families while being questioned by the military officials during in-depth debriefings.

Before Raff had even shot the first episode, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa approached him and discussions for the American version of Hatufim began. The political thriller, starring Claire Danes, aired in October 2011.

Talking about the essential difference between the Israeli show and its American counterpart, Raff had told The Guardian, Homeland is a straight thriller  is he a terrorist or not? Whats relevant for an American audience is the enemy within, whether the war heros been turned. Israeli audiences are more interested in the relationships, the emotional ride, the secrets and suspense.

So whats new about POW  Bandi Yuddh Ke?

Now, the obvious question, for someone who has watched either Homeland or Hatufim, is: Does POW  Bandi Yuddh Ke offer anything new?

The Nikkhil Advani directorial is essentially the same story but in an Indian setting. In an interview to Times Of India, the director admits that he has made the show a more emotional ride rather than a thriller about two prisoners of war. Much like Hatufim, Advanis show too focuses on how a soldiers captivity has direct ramifications on his family. A family whose lives remain suspended, unable to return to normalcy until their son returns home. However, when the soldier does return, it only leads to more questions than answers.

Speaking to Times Of India, Advani said, I realised the real prisoners of war are the soldiers wives and families. The wives havent been able to move on with their livesthey have this sense of guilt thats holding them back. They think, What if he comes back?The story has a lot of emotions. Homeland is a little cold for Indians. Indians inherently love emotion.

The 126-episode series features Purab Kohli, Satyadeep Mishra, Sandhya Mridul and Amrita Puri in central leads.

Watch: Nikkhil Advani's TV show P.O.W.  Bandi Yuddh Ke releases thrilling trailer
After a brief lull in the Hrithik Roshan-Kangana Ranaut saga, the actors are back in the news after Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik's father spoke about it in an interview to Hindustan Times.

When asked about the controversy he replied, "Hrithik is different. Even when someone [Kangana] was spreading lies about him, he chose to stay calm and dignified. If he does choose to come out with the truth, it will shock everyone."

Speaking about Hrithik's reason for his silence the filmmaker said that after he is free from his film's shoots he may speak about it. But it is his choice.

Recently Kangana had also spoken about the controversy at an event and said, The incident I faced recently is very different from what I faced in the past. This time there were no legal proceedings against me. There was lot of media drama, threats, lot of slut shaming but there was no case filed against me. There was no question of fighting it legally.

The last we heard from Hrithik about this was during Mohenjo Daro promos. When asked if he was unhappy with the lack of support from Bollywood during his troubled times he said, When truth is on your side you dont need support. Be patient. Patience is the mother of all virtues.

The row began when Kangana mentioned 'silly exes' in an interview. Hrithik (although he wasn't named in the interview) shot off a legal notice to Kangana asking her to retract the statement. This lead to some mud-slinging, where the actress with her lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee took too countering all of Hrithik's claims.
The run-up to the US Presidential election hasnt been without its share of anxiety and drama: who will the American citizens vote for  Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?

Well, reality TV star and social media celebrity Kim Kardashian has made up her mind and is not afraid to say it out loud. According to Daily Mail, the 35-year-old released a statement on Saturday saying that she is voting for Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

In a post titled Im With Her, Kardashian wrote: Without a doubt, I stand with Hillary. Im with her. I believe Hillary will best represent our country and is the most qualified for the job. This year, Im not just voting for myself, but also for my children, and I took that into careful consideration when I made my decision.

This should settle the debate that had sparked off when Kardashian, in an interview to Wonderland magazine, was quoted as saying that she is on the fence about whom to vote for.

Elaborating on her support for Clinton, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians actress wrote on her website, I had a long conversation with Caitlyn (her former stepfather), who has always been open about her political views and she encouraged me to do my research before making my decision And so thats what I did. I thought about the things that are so important to me that they outweigh everything else, such as gun control and protecting womens rights to safe and legal abortion.
2 states, the 2014 Bollywood romantic comedy and adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel of the same name, is all set to be remade in Telugu, and will star Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

According to reports, Abhishek Nama of Abhishek Pictures has bagged the rights of the Hindi film for Rs 55 lakh.

Abhishek will be introducing Venkat Kuchem as the director for this project. Venkat Kuchem has previously worked with ace director VV Vinayak.

While, Arjun Kapoor played a Punjabi and Alia Bhatt a Tamilian in the original, according to Deccan Chronicle, the Telugu remake is said to have Chaitanya as a boy from Hyderabad and Samantha will portray a Malayali.

Apart from the lead actors, the makers have also showed interest in casting Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, Ramya Krishna and Revathi as the parents of the young couple.

The buzz around this project is growing, as reports of Chaitanya and Samantha's rumoured real-life relationship, and impending nuptials have been doing the rounds for a while now.

Samantha spoke about her relationship with Chaitanya in a recent interview with IBT Times, but dismissed reports that they would tie the knot this year.

Now, the Hindi version of 2 States showed the contrasts between the North and South, with a young couple convincing their parents that their relationship could triumph over geographical and cultural differences. So, with the Telugu remake, it will be interesting to watch the lead couple of the story in an entirely different scenario.

Also considering Chaitanya plays himself  a Telugu boy  and Samantha is said to have Malayali roots, fans are eagerly waiting to watch the two portray these roles.

Samantha was recently seen in Janatha Garage and Naga Chaitanya is busy working towards Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo and Premam, which are due to release this year.
Lets just admit it, Priyanka Chopra is leading a charmed life at the moment. The actress was recently named as the recipient of the Breakthrough Style Star award  she will receive the award at the second annual InStyle Awards which will be held next month.

Chopra even made an appearance on the popular talk show, Good Morning America, with Blair Underwood as a part of the promotions of Quantico 2.

And lets not forget, she co-hosted the Global Citizen Festival, which was held at Central Park in New York on Saturday, 24 September. The actress shared the stage with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Seeing her staggering success, Chopra was roped in by the Global Citizen to introduce the India tour of the movement.

Now, Chopra has served up some serious #envygoals as she posted a video of herself hanging out backstage with Hugh Jackman and Deborra Lee at the charity music festival.

Backstage madness @thehughjackman Deborra Lee A video posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Sep 24, 2016 at 5:21pm PDT

The Bajirao Mastani actress also shared some pictures from all the backstage fun she had. Chopra was seen bonding with Jada Pinkett Smith and Salma Hayek.
New Delhi: The first Incredible India Tourism Investors' Summit witnessed signing of 86 pacts worth around Rs 15,000 crore for the development of tourism and hospitality projects.

The first investment summit for tourism held in India came to a resounding close on Sunday with several announcements being made to promote investments in the sector.

This summit will be organised annually to boost tourism in the country. Besides, there are plans to set up an investor facilitation desk and task force to promote tourism.

"We will assist and support investors for making India the tourist destination of choice," a statement by industry

body CII quoted Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma as saying.

He was speaking at the valedictory session of the 'Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit (IITIS) 2016'

organised by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the CII and the Tourism Finance Corp.

The Minister assured the support and assistance of the Ministry of Tourism for investment projects. He referred to the tourist helpline in 12 languages and highlighted that a portal is being opened for inviting suggestions. "Let us join hands to give tourists a memorable experience," Sharma said.

Among the major announcements are: institutionalisation of IITIS to be held annually with the next summit to be

organised in September 2017; setting up of a task force headed by Secretary, Tourism, with membership from relevant

ministries, states, and industry associations to undertake strategic planning and setting up of an investor facilitation desk to handhold investors and facilitate projects.

Besides, such meets will be organised in states with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said at the valedictory session. States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh exchanged 86 MoUs during the session and many more are in the pipeline, aggregating close to Rs 15,000

crore, the statement said.

Gujarat exchanged MOUs worth around Rs 9,000 crore, Karnataka with Rs 2,600 crore, Rajasthan Rs 1,000 crore,

Uttarakhand Rs 500 crore and Chhattisgarh Rs 12 crore. Also B R Shetty group is keen to invest Rs 450 crore and

Costa Cruise Rs 750 crore, Triveni Singapore close to Rs 800 crore in the country.

Global Director, Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank Cecile Fruman noted that the tourism sector is among the top sectors with potential to create jobs.

The World Bank is supporting India's Buddhist Circuit development and will provide support for sustainable tourism

development including through funds, she added.
Theere are reasons to believe that the Narendra Modi government's decision to merge the railway budget with the general budget is part of the government's larger strategy to privatise Railways, India's largest public carrier.

But, it is important to understand that unlike other public sector units, privatisation of the railway is not going to be an easy task for the government. To under stand this, let's look at the larger context. The proposed scrapping of the railway budget is part of the reforms for which the NITI Ayog stands for. Budget is part of 'Planned Development'. The government has to put money to run its various schemes. This rationale will apply to the railway's as well. The railways operates independently and it has multiple linkages with rural and urban economy of India. Its earning is higher than any other ministry in the government, with the figure standing at Rs 1.68 lakh crore in 2015-16.

The department also provides employment to 13.2 lakh and being an employer in itself, needs its own financial management. Scrapping the railway budget makes railway dependent on the general capital support system of the government, which will also result in the department losing financial autonomy. The fiscal responsibility and budget management act and other regulatory mechanisms will then apply to the railways as well.

But, the problem is that the railways cannot be treated as any other public sector companies in India. It is not only one of the largest employers; the railway owns the huge infrastructure and land. For this reasons, the NITI Aayog proposal is not considered as a well thought out plan to improve the efficiency of the railway.

If one looks closely, it is apparent that NITI Ayog has been after the Indian Railways since it is formed. The NITI Ayog's report titled, Reviewing the Impact of Social Service Obligations by the Indian Railways offers a clear indication of the direction in which NITI Ayog wants to look at the future course of the railways. The report has noted that the Railways has consistently incurred losses in its passenger transport business.

Why the Railways matters to economy?

The railways is critical since its services complement many other sectors and the broader economy. It commutes workers with less charge, transport of goods and food materials. Hence, lack of functional or capital autonomy would affect other sectors too which are dependent on the railways. Scrapping rail budget restricts the organisation's capacity and finally leads to the privatisation of services. The impact will not just be on the cost of travel, it will also affect the price of raw materials and food security of millions. NITI Ayog is not keen on the larger support system which the railways offers to the economy and it sees only the government spending on the railways and not even the warnings.

In the past too, there have been opinions that the social service orientation of the passenger transport business has impacted the railways' flexibility to operate on commercial principles. This NITI Aayog report notes that guiding the railways with the social service obligations has, in some manner, resulted in pushing the railways into losses. The question is how to assess the railways contribution to the economy and society? Beyond numbers what one should look at is how crucial is the department for the Indian economy, primarily due to its connectivity and affordability. It is the cheapest travel and freight option for the millions of Indians and contributes about one percent to the GDP.

According to press note by the Railway Board chairman the railways accounts for 6 percent of the total employment in the organised sector directly and an additional 2.5 percent indirectly through its dependent organisations. It has invested significantly in health, education, housing and sanitation. With its vast network of schools and investment in training, the railways plays an important role in human resource development. Its nearly 63,000 route kilometres fulfills the country's transport needs, particularly, in respect of long distance transport of goods.

Freight trains carry nearly 1.2 million tonnes of originating goods and 7,500 passenger trains carry nearly 12 million passengers every day. Besides, it plays a major role in controlling the price of essential commodities country. The railways, coupled with Food Corporation of India (FCI), is the best supply chain management in India. FCI operates only because of railways ensure low cost transport.

The Indian Railways has a history of its own. Bogart and Chaudhary (2013) explains in their paper titled 'Engines of Growth: The Productivity Advance of Indian Railways, 1874-1912,' that its growth rate during 1913 was larger than both developed and developing economies put together. One can attribute this to the colonial government's interest but it indicates its importance even during the colonial period.

The proposed idea of scrapping the railway budget has to be analysed in this context.

The author works with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Beijing: As China's telecom firm Huawei starts manufacturing in India, official media here has raised the red flag, warning that Beijing needs to worry about job cuts due to shifting of production bases as economic rivalry increases between India and the world's second largest economy.

"China needs to worry about effect of industrial transfer to India on production chain," an article in the state-run Global Times said today.

"As Chinese manufacturers show an increasing interest in setting up assembly lines in India, the economic competition between the two countries is likely to enter a new stage as India and China vie to expand their industry chains," it said.

Huawei, "joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market" would result in job cuts if mobile manufacturing shifted to India. "In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain, but what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India," it said.

"Frankly speaking, China can't afford that. The country has to ensure its competitiveness in production chains at a time when India is becoming a new processing base for manufacturers. This will require Chinese local suppliers to maintain technological advantage through continuous innovation," it said.

Another article in the same daily said as Chinese investments are on the raise, China's firms must understand Indian company and labours laws before investing.

"India's relatively stable political environment, sustained economic growth momentum, huge population dividend and cheap labour costs have attracted numerous international investors," it said.

Referring to survey by 2014 Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) which ranked India to be the most preferred destination for future investment, it said China's direct investment to India soared last year to USD 870 million, six times than in 2014. "However, India was not among the 13 countries which received direct investment from China exceeding one billion in 2015 and China's investment in India only accounted for 2.2 per cent of the total USD 39.3 billion foreign direct investment received by India in 2015," it said.

"With increasingly more Chinese firms and investors casting their eyes to India, it is urgent to rationally assess the political and economic risks of investing in India," it added.
Hyundai Motor's South Korean labor union staged its first full nationwide strike in 12 years on Monday over wages, putting the automaker's earnings and sales targets at risk.

The full-day walkout came after a series of partial stoppages since July at the automaker's factories across South Korea, its biggest manufacturing base which produces nearly 40 percent of its vehicles sold globally last year.

Sporadic strikes since July had led to lost production of 101,400 vehicles worth 2.23 trillion won ($2.02 billion) as of Friday, the biggest output loss for the automaker in terms of value of vehicles.

"This year's strike is lasting longer than expected. The third-quarter earnings should disappoint," Eim Eun-young, an auto analyst at Samsung Securities, said, also citing weak domestic demand.

Hyundai, the world's fifth-biggest automaker along with Kia Motors, said in a statement on Monday it was "obviously disappointed" with any stoppage in production and was continuing to work with the union to resolve this dispute.

The 48,000-member union plans to stage a partial strike for the remainder of this week while continuing annual wage talks, a union official said.

Hyundai Motor has been hit by strikes in all but four of the union's 29-year history, although it usually makes up for lost output by the end of each year.

The company posted its tenth consecutive quarterly profit fall in the April-to-June period, hit by an emerging market downturn and its failure to tap into strong global demand for sport utility vehicles.

Cho Soo-hong, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said Hyundai and Kia Motors were expected to see global sales slip 0.6 percent to about 7.96 million vehicles this year, below their targets of 8.13 million vehicles..

Shares of Hyundai Motor were down 2 percent at 139,000 won ($125.63) as of 0240 GMT, about half of the record-high level posted in May 2012.

Late last month, Hyundai Motor's unionized workers in South Korea overwhelmingly voted down a tentative wage deal which was less generous than last year's package.
New Delhi: As row between incumbents like Airtel and new entrant Reliance Jio escalated, telecom regulator Trai today stepped in and said it will slap show cause notices on operators for call drops that are far exceeding the norm.

With Mukesh Ambani-led Jio charging dominant incumbent operators of providing far fewer points of interconnect than needed for its users to complete calls on rival networks, Trai Chairman R S Sharma said the regulator has reviewed data and it will issue show cause notices.

"We have received the data. It shows call failure level is far far in excess of prescribed limit under Quality of Service rules. Prima Facie this constitutes to non compliance of licence condition related to interconnection and QoS norms on congestion levels at points of Interconnection (PoI)," he told PTI here.

Jio has claimed that it has been witnessing 75-80 per cent call failures over the last few weeks. It had said that over a period of 10 days alone, 52 crore calls failed cumulatively on the networks of the three incumbent operators Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

Trai had asked telecom operators to submit their network congestion details from September 15-19, 2016 to examine their claims.

Trai, Sharma said, has "decided to issue show cause notice to concerned operators and also issue direction to them to ensure compliance of licensing condition in connection with the PoI issue".

He refused however to name the operators.

"Whenever we notice violation, directive and show cause notices will be given to those," he said. "Unfortunately, customers are worst sufferers in this situation.

They have no reason to suffer. It is our job to ensure that this issue is resolved at the earliest."

Reliance Jio has alleged over 12 crore calls fail daily between Jio and the networks of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

Jio has said blocking of calls is a breach of licence conditions by the incumbent operators and severely impacts customer interests.

Idea Cellular last week said it has agreed to provide 230 per cent additional inter-connection capacity to help users of Reliance Jio complete calls, a move Jio termed it as "grossly inadequate" displaying lack of intent to resolve the critical issue.
Members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) have reacted with anger to what they think is unsolicited advice put forth by Abid Rasool Khan, chairman of the minorities commission of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Many of them have conveyed to Khan over telephone that they do not take kindly to his suggestion that the Board should relook at the practice of the triple talaq. On 17 September, Khan had written to Moulana Syed Mohammed Rafi Hussaini Nadvi, the president of the AIMPLB that unless the Board reconsidered its decision, it could lead to a derecognition of the Islamic personal law.

Khan also wrote a similar letter to the Jamiat-Ulema-I Hind.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat Ulema by Firstpost on Scribd

"Triple talaq in the manner in which it is practised, is leading to harassment of women. It is quite likely that the practice will come under the scanner and pave the way for the imposition of uniform civil code,'' said Abid Rasool Khan.

The minorities commission of Telugu-speaking states said that the original practise was to spell out the talaq over a period of three months, to give the woman enough time to make alternative arrangements but over a period of time, the practise has been abused and misused. To buttress his argument, Khan cited several instances of how Muslim husbands abused the institution of talaq, leaving the woman to fend for herself.

"In three years that I have been the chairman of the commission, I have received over one hundred complaints of harassment due to triple talaq. The fact that the woman's parents would have scraped the bottom of their savings to give a hefty dowry for her marriage only makes the situation worse,'' says Khan.

What seems to have displeased the members of the Board is the reference Khan has made to the Bombay High Court judgment in the Haji Ali Dargah case. "It is possible that a similar action may be taken in the case of the triple divorce. If that happens, the AIMPLB would have been instrumental in opening the door for the eventual imposition of the Uniform Civil code,'' wrote Khan in his 13-page letter.

The Centre and the AIMPLB are bracing for a showdown with the former expressing its decision to take a tough stance against triple talaq in the Supreme Court. But the Board has maintained that even though the triple talaq is not a well appreciated means of divorce, it was permitted under the Muslim personal law. On 5 September, the court gave the Centre four weeks to respond to petitions from Muslim women in the case.

Khan charges the Ulema of not taking a proactive stand on issues that concern the community, saying this is the time for the Board to advise the priests that they should counsel everyone to do the right thing.

But though some members of the Board have frowned upon his letter, Khan says he has also received messages of support from different quarters and members of the community on the need to purge the system.

"With many husbands going away to other countries to work, the practise of triple talaq through phone, Skype and even Whatsapp. The community needs to stand up to stop this,'' says Khan.
With heavy downpour pummelling Telangana over the past few days, authorities are keeping a watch on the flood situation even as over 1,000 villagers were evacuated in Karimnagar district.

The water from the under-construction Mid Manair Dam in Boinapally mandal of Karimnagar had started overflowing from the bund and the earthen embankment had got breached, resulting in floods in the area.

"Over 1,000 villagers staying in six villages near the Mid Manair dam, which was overflowing, were evacuated last evening. It was a precautionary evacuation... the situation has now improved and they will be sent back on Monday," Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Pradeep Chandra told PTI on Monday.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had on Sunday directed his ministerial colleagues to stay in their respective districts and monitor the flood situation and supervise relief and rehabilitation works.

In view of the flood situation, Rao cancelled the Cabinet meeting scheduled on Monday and asked the ministers to work in coordination with district-level officials and ensure evacuation of people from the low-lying areas to safer places.

In the wake of increasing flow in Godavari river and its tributaries following heavy rains in the catchment areas of the river in Maharashtra, the Chief Minister directed the district ministers, officials and also the police of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts, to remain alert.

Rao further directed Warangal district administration to be on high alert as river Godavari is in full spate. The river is receiving huge inflows, therefore those living on the banks of the river should be alerted.

Similarly, the CM asked the minister T Nageshwara Rao to maintain alertness in Khammam district as the water level in the river could reach danger level at Bhadrachalam in the district.

Hon'ble CM held a review meeting at Camp Office with CS and Sr Officials on the situation arisen due to heavy rains and floods  Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) September 25, 2016

"We are taking measures in view of the heavy rains in the past few days in the state including in Hyderabad, which is unprecedented after the 1908 floods in the city," he said.

DIG (Warangal Range) Ravi Varma told PTI, "We are keeping a watch on the water level in Warangal and Khammam districts. Our personnel have been deployed in the villages along the river bank, if necessary, the process of evacuation will begin."

Telangana Irrigation Minister Harish Rao had informed the Chief Minister that all projects in Godavari basin have received inflows to their full capacity and also briefed him about the necessary measures taken to handle the situation.

So far, 11 people have died in rain-related incidents in Telangana. While eight deaths were reported in Medak district, three were from Warangal.

In capital Hyderabad, some of the low-lying areas are still inundated, even as Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and some NGOs are offering essential food items, such as milk, for relief of those affected.

Also, four columns of Army are already deployed in rain-affected areas of Hyderabad and neighbouring Ranga Reddy district. Besides, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was kept on standby in Hyderabad to participate in rescue work, if necessary.

A total of 17 NDRF teams comprising over 550 personnel have been deployed by the Centre

in the flood-affected regions of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

The central force has also deployed about 60 boats and teams of paramedics to help those stranded after the heavy rainfall in the last few days in these areas.

"While three teams are pre-positioned at Peduguralu,Narsarapet and Amravati areas of Guntur district, one team each is pre-positioned at Hyderabad and Vizag and two teams each are pre-positioned at Srikakulam and Nellore districts," the National Disaster Response Force said in a statement.

Similarly, it said, five flood rescue teams comprising 158 rescuers and 16 boats have been deployed at various flood prone areas of Telangana.

"One team each is pre-positioned at Medak and Nizamabad and three teams are pre-positioned at Hyderabad," the NDRF said.

In Karnataka, three teams comprising 84 rescuers have been deployed in Bidar, Kalaburagi and Bengaluru districts.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted pictures of the flood-affected areas.

To provide food &essentials to flood victims, rehabilitation efforts are on. Here are some images captured by drones pic.twitter.com/ZV1dAhWN1g  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 25, 2016

Have alerted & directed officials to ensure people's safety, following very heavy rains in the state. Spoke to Guntur Dist. Collector too.  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 22, 2016

Efforts are on to rescue stranded people in Guntur. I appeal to people to stay safe as more rainfall is forecast in the next 24 hours.  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 22, 2016

Reviewing situation from Command & Control Centre. We have alerted our officials. We're evacuating people from low-lying areas. (1/2)  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 22, 2016

NDRF & SDRF teams have been put in place. Directed officials to set up control room & ensure food, water supplies for those evacuated. (2/2)  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 22, 2016

Conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit areas to assess the damage to fields and infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/KxBte5lZxe  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 24, 2016

While rescue operations are underway, there was this 14-year-old boy, who held the trunk of a tree for eight hours (see video) and saved himself while three of his family members were washed away in floods in Andhra Pradesh.

With inputs from agencies
Gunshots were heard after security forces cordoned off Bagtor area in Gurez village in north Kashmir's Bandipora district near LoC on Monday.

Intelligence inputs suggest the presence of militants in the Gurez village where massive combing operations are now underway, state TV reports.

According to reports, many areas in the region, including Uri and Naugam sector, are put on high alert.

More details are awaited.

On Thursday, an encounter had broken out between militants and security forces in where one of the terrorists was gunned down.

These attacks come just days after the Uri attacks which claimed the lives of 18 soldiers, leaving several others injured. Explosions and gunfire had erupted as the militants attacked the camp, which is located barely few metres away from the Army's Brigade Headquarters in Uri town, 102 km from Srinagar.

According to an IndiaSpend report, the armys combat death toll in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is 64 this year (until 18 September), the highest since 2010, when 69 soldiers died.

A total of 87 civilians and two local policemen have also died in clashes between mobs and the security forces in this period.

Kashmir remained shut for the 80th consecutive day, although markets in Srinagar had opened and were booming with customers.

With inputs from agencies
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday slammed Pakistan in her address to the United Nations General Assembly after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs speech last week. While she was lauded and praised her effective speech by most, the Congress party said it was a meek response.

Pakistan too responded to Swarajs address, as reported by CNN-News18. It asked if Kashmir is such an integral part of India then why is it on the Security Council agenda. Swaraj had said that Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India during her address.

Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif said that India is unwilling to address historical disputes like Kashmir.

India unwilling to address historical disputes like Kashmir, that directly fan misunderstanding: Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her for a firm, effective and fine speech.

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA. https://t.co/9ZgwAbfPDr  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

Shashi Tharoor too said that it like all Ministry of External Affairs speeches, Swaraj's speech too was well-crafted.

Like all MEA drafted speeches it was a well crafted and well written speech: Shashi Tharoor on EAM Swaraj's #UNGA speech pic.twitter.com/zRhQ13kI4i  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

I think the thrust of the message was a good one and that Indians can stand behind the message: Shashi Tharoor on EAM Sushma Swaraj  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Kumar Vishwas of Aam Aadmi Party called her one of the finest orators of Indian politics.

Daring voice of Indian Pride in #UNGA #SushmaSwaraj Di  One of the finest orator of Indian Politics.  Dr Kumar Vishvas (@DrKumarVishwas) September 26, 2016

Raj Thackeray called it a "thunderous speech".

Thunderous Speech By #SushmaSwaraj At #UNGA Powerful Words 2 Thrash Pakistanis On International Platform

Time 4 Ground Level Action

Jai Hind  Raj Thackeray (@MNSRajThackeray) September 26, 2016

However, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena was not happy with the speech. He asked why India could not even name Pakistan in our speech?

Indians were delighted with Swaraj's speech and thought it was a befitting response to Sharif and Pakistan. Some even mocked our neighboring country.

#SushmaSwaraj delivered a dashing #CurryNinda speech and served it to the world with Kashmiri mirch  CurryNindaIndian (@psr1026) September 26, 2016

#SushmaSwaraj talked in hindi so tht Pakistan can undrstnd wht she really said unlike Nawaz Sharif's stnd up comedy.#ExplosiveSpeech #UNGA  Hrishikesh (@Rserious00) September 26, 2016

Balochistan's exiled leader Brahamdagh Bugti praised Swaraj's speech and said it was a good step. Bugti added that he hoped India would continue its support to the Baloch cause.
Amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after 18 soldiers were killed following a terror attack in north Kashmir's Uri Sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi to review the Indus Waters Treaty and decided not to cancel the Treaty. However, in a bid to rattle Islamabad, the officials said that India is planning to increase the use of water that flows from India but is controlled by Pakistan.

While meeting with water ministry officials, Modi said, "Blood and water don't flow together."

PM Modi said 'blood & water can't flow together at the same time' in meeting with Water ministry officials on Indus Waters treaty: Sources  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Quoting a source, NDTV said, "The decision is to store water and maximize irrigation area. With this we would be able to irrigate land in Jammu and Kashmir for nearly six lakh hectares," and added that the decision also addresses the sentiment of people of the state, who believe the treaty isn't fair to them. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the water resources secretary, Principal Secretary to the PM Nripendra Misra and senior PMO officials were present at the meeting.

Government sources quoted by ANI said that India would use its fullest legal rights in the Treaty. Construction of Tulbul navigation project, which was suspended since 2007, would be reviewed and India would use potential of 18,000 megawatt of power from the western rivers under the Treaty. An inter-ministerial taskforce for India's rights would also be formed. ANI reported:

#FLASH: India to expedite construction on 3 dams on River Chenab; Pakul Dul Dam, Sawalkot Dam and Bursar Dam  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Discussed in the meeting chaired by PM Modi on Indus water treaty: 'India to use fullest legal rights in the treaty', say Sources  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Construction on Tulbul navigation project to be reviewed by India again, work had been suspended on this in 2007  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Construction on Tulbul navigation project to be reviewed by India again, work had been suspended on this in 2007  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Construction on Tulbul navigation project to be reviewed by India again, work had been suspended on this in 2007  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

ANI quoted water ministry officials and reported:

Presentation given to PM Modi about the implications for India-Pak: Water Ministry sources after meeting with PM Modi on Indus Water Treaty.  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

You will get to know soon whatever the Govt decides: Water Ministry sources after meeting with PM Modi on Indus Water Treaty.  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Since the terror attacks in Uri, there have been consistent calls from different sections and political parties in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack. Under the treaty, which was signed by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Pakistani counterpart Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river  Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum  were to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said last week that his state will fully support whatever decision is taken by the Union government on the 1960 agreement.

"The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir" as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities, Singh had said.

"The state government will support whatever decision is taken by the central government on Indus Waters Treaty," he had said.

India had last week made it clear that "mutual trust and cooperation" was important for such a treaty to work.

According to sources, officials from the Union Water Resources Ministry gave a presentation to the prime minister on the treaty and the projects involved.

"The Ministry Secretary (Shashi Shekhar) made a presentation on the facts and current positions with regard to the treaty before the Prime Minister," the sources told PTI.

"Any decision regarding the treaty will be taken at the higher level which will be conveyed by the Foreign Office. The Ministry's role was limited to putting forth facts regarding the treaty," the sources said.

With inputs from PTI
The Jammu and Kashmir government has made a series of arrests under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) to quell the ongoing protests in the valley and those, who have been detained without trail, include a psychiatric patient, an aid worker, and a human rights activist.

According to sources, more than 250 people, including separatist leaders and stone pelters, have been detained under what Amnesty International termed a lawless law, under which a person can be detained without a trial for at least six months.

Earlier in the month, the government slapped the PSA on 32-year-old psychiatric patient, Riyaz Ahmad Dar, for being a chronic stone pelter and for participating in all the Challo calls given by the separatists groups, after the death of militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on 8 July, according to a dossier prepared by police.

Dar, a Bachelor in Arts from Amar Singh College in Srinagar and father of two infant children, has been going through treatment at the Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital for the last ten years. Medical records seen by Firstpost and the patient profile file number in the hospital describes Dar as a known patient of a major depressive disorder from last ten years.

However, despite Dar's family producing medical records to ascertain his innocence, the Kashmir police still went ahead and arrested the alleged accused and slapped the PSA on him.

His condition in the jail will deteriorate because he needs constant medication, it is long legal battle and proving his innocence will be expensive, Maimoona, Dars, wife told Firstpost. The police denied commenting on this particular case.

CPM MLA from south Kashmirs Kulgam district, Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, told Firstpost that such draconian laws were causing the victimisation of youths by alienating and creating resentment among the successive generations of Kashmiri youth. In most of the cases, Tarigami said, the Act was slapped on youth without grounds being substantive and valid.

Slapping a PSA is unnecessary, should be stopped and harassment of the people should be put to an end. This will do no good, Tarigami, told Firstpost.

Towards the end of August, Hassan Babar Nehru, head of the NGO Ababeel and a lawyer based in the mountains region of Doda in Jammu, was arrested and booked under the PSA. A fierce critic of present the state administration he had, according to his colleague, exposed lapses of the district administration by protesting outside Deputy Commissioners office against non-implementation of decisions taken for welfare of the people of the district. It is an act of vengeance of the administration, nothing else, Syed Asim Hashmi, president, Doda Bar Association, told Firstpost.

Those who know Nehru, describe him as a passionate aid worker who slept in a truck for five days during the relief carried out in the initial days of 2014 floods in Kashmir. And most recently, he had been involved in evacuating victims of traffic accidents, Doda had the highest rate of road accidents in entire Jammu and Kashmir.

The dossier prepared by the DC against Nehru does not mention current Kashmir unrest anywhere and Shanaza, Nehrus wife, says he has been even blamed for leading a procession in connection with death of an infant at District Hospital and communising the situation. It is another matter that the state government for dereliction of duty suspended the doctor.

Shanaza, said that her husband had never differentiated between Hindus and Muslims when it came to his work and those who have benefited from his relief work have been people from both the communities. When my husband used to give blood to people who were injured in accidents, he didn't check if his blood was given to Hindus or Muslims. These are politically motivated charges and should be revoked, she said.

Kashmir's Sheikh Abdullah had introduced Public Safety Act (PSA) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1978 against timber smuggling, but since then its use has been often been criticised by politicians across the political spectrum. Human rights groups have long called for its abrogation. Despite facing harsh criticism the Jammu and Kashmir government continues to put hundreds of people in jail under the PSA.

Successive governments in the state have used the law to crush dissent and crush political opponents. Last week, one of the most vocal critic of this Act, Human rights activist Khurram Parvez too was arrested under PSA, raising questions over states' use of the controversial laws to deal with the unrest.

Parvez, was arrested on 15 September; earlier he was barred from travelling to Geneva to participate in a UN Human Rights Council session. His work on the mass graves of Kashmir, documentation of Human rights violations in Kashmir has earned him fame across the world. As many as 52 activists, scholars, writers and lawyers have written an open letter demanding his immediate release

Parvez is programme coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, he was not given any reason at the time of his arrest but was set free by a court only to be arrested and slapped with a charge under PSA later. He has been a vociferous critic of the government.

SSP of Srinagar described him as an anti-social element known for his anti-national activities and that he has achieved a prominent position in separatist camps under the hidden cover of being a human rights activist.

In November 2014, vice-president Hamid Ansari has said that the use of laws such as PSA to commit human rights violations, reflect poorly on the state and its agents.

In a recent report, Amnesty said that an estimated 8,000-20,000 people have been detained under the PSA since 1991 in Kashmir. In its report on the law, the rights group organisations says: Research has showed that the implementation of the PSA is often arbitrary and abusive, with many of those being held having committed no recognizably criminal acts. The PSAs vague and over-broad provisions facilitate a range of human rights violations in practice.

Bashir Sidiq, general secretary of Jammu and Kashmir high court bar association said it is most misused law in the state and that he was not surprised that Pervaiz, the rights activist, was not even read the charges against him when arrested.

It is unique practice here, if the (state government) wants to book you under PSA even if you get bail after an year, you will be again arrested after you come out of the court. They never challenge the bail because the grounds in most of the cases are pathetic, Sidiq said.

In Kashmir, officials say, over 3200 stone pelters and trouble makers have been arrested by the police since July. Out of these, around 2500 have been released on bail while over 500 are in police and judicial custody and 250 have been booked under PSA.
In what could give rise to fresh stand-off between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Karnataka government on Monday moved Supreme Court seeking the modification of the 20 September order asking the state to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to its neighbouring state. Expressing its inability to release water as directed by the apex court the Karnataka government told the court that its reservoirs don't have adequate water. The state further stated that it could only comply to the Supreme Court order only by the end of the year as major cities in the state will be in serious distress over drinking water, according to a report in NDTV.

The apex court had also directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) as directed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in its award.

The move comes after Karnataka Legislative Assembly and the Council adopted a resolution, on Friday, deciding not to provide water for any other purpose except to meet drinking needs, citing "acute distress" and "alarmingly low levels" in its dams. Acting on the resolution, in what is being seen as an unprecedented move in the more than century-old Cauvery dispute with the neighbouring state, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday apprised the Prime Minister of its decision to approach the apex court seeking modification of the order, according to a report in The Hindu.

"An impossible situation wherein it is not possible to comply with a court order has been created," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, as after the 23 September resolution was passed in the Assembly, which rallied behind the government cutting across party lines.

The resolution which did not refer to the apex court 20 September order to the state to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from 21 to 27 September, came two days after the state cabinet decided to "defer" the release till Friday, following an all-party meeting on the issue. Siddaramaiah maintained that the state was in "severe distress" and struggling to meet even the drinking water needs in the Cauvery basin while repeatedly stressing that his government held the judiciary in great respect and there was no intention to disobey the Supreme Court order.

"Nobody should construe as if we are challenging the Supreme Court," he said, adding, his government had equal respect for all the three organs  legislature, executive and judiciary, "more so for judiciary." "People have given us a mandate. We cannot defy it," he said, asserting, otherwise, "it would be a dereliction of duty on our part."

Prefacing his remarks on the water crisis in the state, Siddaramaiah said, "We have great respect for the judiciary. The intention is not to disobey the judicial order. We will not think of it even in our dreams."

The resolution highlighted the "state of acute distress", and said it was "imperative" that the government ensures that no water from the present storages be drawn "save and except" for meeting drinking water needs of villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru. The interests of the inhabitants of the state are likely to be gravely jeopardised if water in the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin was in anyway reduced other than for meeting the drinking water needs of the people, it said.

With inputs from PTI
The countrys bizarre fascination for the word strong is going strong. Count the number of times it comes on your television screen, particularly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a statement, and you realise the fascination borders on the pathological. The response to his speech in Kozhikode is a case in point. His supporters expected him to be all fury and revenge over Uri, but he surprised them with a mature and sober prime minister-like speech. It didnt exude raw aggression; it spelled out firm intention in a measured way. Most channels interpreted it as strong warning to Pakistan even though both strong and warning were less than conspicuous in the actual speech.

This is a problem Modi would find difficult to get rid of. His supporters, bhakts to be more exact, accustomed to a crude notion of strength  it involves expression of muscularity in word and action  would find it hard to digest when he behaves like a statesman or someone who is a regular at high tables across the world. Modi himself, who launched himself in national politics with loads of brashness, juxtaposing himself with a weak Manmohan Singh, is partly to blame for the situation.

He built very unrealistic expectations. He made all complex challenges of history and legacy look frivolous and the faithful took it hook, line and sinker with no all disbelief suspended. But to be fair to him, he has been trying to live down that image over the last two years; the speech at Kozhikode being the latest example. The only problem is that the bhakt crowd wont let go of it. For them it would be tantamount to betrayal if he turned out different from how they perceive him to be.

So, how do they perceive him? Well, Modi has been all things to all people. But to the true bhakt, he is many persons rolled into one. Here we go:

The comic book superhero: Whenever the world is in distress, the superhero shall fly in and all trouble would vanish in a jiffy. We dont know how he would do it but we know he would, quick and all by himself. Be it the attack at Pathankot or Uri, or problems with the economy or society, the superhero  read Modi has all the quick-fixes. Being the force that he is, isnt it easy for him? Two years on, as he faces a rather disillusioned crowd, the prime minister has to take some blame himself. He understood his enemies but he failed to assess the stupidity of his bhakts. If only at some point he had told them that prime ministers and superheroes are different creatures.

The friendly neighbourhood goon: Modi takes no-nonsense, and he is always game for a good fight, and he fears none. In the face of terrorist attacks he wont be a sissy like people before him. He would give it back to Pakistan real hard, then and there. He wont balk even if its China or any country for that matter. He would overawe everyone with power. Ah! How Modi would like to tell the bhakts that this is not how civilised countries function. A local goons power is all about physicality and intimidation; countries, particularly democracies like ours, have to function at a more cerebral level. Obviously, the bhakts took the 56-inch chest claim too seriously.

He is like us, one of us: The deep attachment of bhakts to Modi needs no overstating. It stems from the fact that they see him as an extension of themselves, in every way negative or positive. The bhakt never had a chance express hatred towards a whole of things. He hates Muslims, he hates beef-eaters, he hates liberals, he hates seculars, he hates intellectuals, he hates who he thinks are anti-nationals, and of course, he hates Pakistan. For some reason, he came to believe that in Modi he had a perfect like-minded leader. While the intellectuals of the Indian Right would insist that political rivals gave him that kind of a negative image, the reality is it is the bhakts who would like to see him in that image, nothing beyond. Vision and statesmanship can go to hell.

The real challenge for the prime minister now is to convince this lot to re-imagine him as the leader of the country. He has to tell them that the notion of being strong is different for a prime minister than it is for the man on the street. His party would do well to tone down and be more realistic about his image. After the Uri attack, Modi and the party have been admirably dignified. The sense of calm and unhurriedness displayed by the government behoves a country aspiring to be in the global big league.

It may be difficult to change the bhakt though.
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Before Swaraj's response and address to the UNGA, Swarup said that India does not need any dossier because the entire world is aware of Pakistans role in promoting terrorism. He was responding to Sharif's statement that Pakistan has sent a dossier to UN secretary general about the atrocities in Kashmir.

"If Kashmir is an integral part of India, why is it on the Security Council agenda," asks Pakistan.

Swaraj disowns UNSC resolution on Kashmir and that too at the UN, said Pakistan in response to Swaraj's speech as CNN-News18 reported.

While the entire country is lauding Swaraj, Congress said that the Modi government failed us again by a meek response at the UNGA, CNN-News18 reported.

With the Kashmir Valley facing one of its worst crises since militancy in the 1990s and the Indian Army facing one of the worst terror attacks in Uri, and after Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif's tirade on Kashmir during his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) speech, the world will be watching External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as she addresses the UNGA.

At 7.30 pm IST on Monday, Swaraj is expected to deliver a stinging response to Sharif's address, who asked the UNGA to take steps to demilitarise the Valley. Sharif's address, which came soon after rising tensions in Jammu and Kashmir following the Uri attacks, hailed the slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani as a freedom fighter and claimed that Kashmiris want freedom from India. Sharif reminded the UNGA of its commitment to holding a free and fair plebiscite in Kashmir and called Pakistan a 'victim of terrorism'.

The Narendra Modi government came under immense pressure after the Uri attacks as pressure mounted on the Centre to give a befitting reply to Pakistan for brazenly sponsoring terrorism across the border. Despite the clamour, the Modi government held its own and decided to opt out of military offensive and resolved to pursue an active diplomatic offensive route at the UNGA meet where Swaraj addresses the Assembly.

This isn't Swaraj's first rodeo and Modi seems to be sending his best to trample on Pakistan's claims on Kashmir on the world stage. Right after the Uri attacks, at a high-level meeting chaired by the prime minister himself, Modi and his trusted team of ministers (Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Manohar Parrikar and NSA Ajit Doval) had decided that the end result should be isolating Pakistan on a world stage. And Swaraj will be striking the firmest blow to that effect.

In October 2015, without beating around the bush, Swaraj told Pakistan a 'one-point' proposal  give up terrorism and then sit at the negotiating table.

The theme won't be different at all during this year's address as well. In her 25-minute speech in Hindi last year, Swaraj set the template for India-Pakistan bilateral relations from New Delhi's political leadership's perspective and reminded the Pakistan Prime Minister to go by what was discussed in Ufa in July 2015 and reiterated India's stand that terror and talks do not go hand in hand.

What to expect in this year's speech?

It is all speculation till now but Kashmir issue and Pakistan's role in global terrorism will be the focus of Swaraj's address. The external affairs minister is expected to seek global help to dub Pakistan as a 'terror state'. Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first public speech, post the 18 September Uri attack, on Saturday in Kozhikode, where he openly warned Pakistan of isolating it internationally, Swaraj is likely to take a tough stance, and is likely to be blunt, with the western neighbour.

"Listen, rulers of Pakistan. The sacrifices of our 18 soldiers won't go in vain. India has been successful in isolating you. We will force you to be left alone in the world. That day is not far when people of Pakistan will take to streets to fight against the rulers and fight terrorism," Modi had said.

Speaking to mediapersons, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "the whole world and the entire nation" will be waiting to hear from Swaraj, however, he did not elaborate on elements of Swaraj's address but said "you can expect a continued focus from India on the theme of terrorism which is today undoubtedly the single biggest challenge to international peace and security."

India's strong Right of Reply to Sharif's speech called Pakistan home to the "Ivy League" of terrorism and a "terrorist state" that commits "war crimes" by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

With a growing call among the international community to put in place a stronger mechanism to combat terrorism, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said India is considering all options, including "voting" to ensure that the seminal Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is brought into force asserting that the will of the majority cannot be continuously blocked by a limited number of countries.

He said the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, an initiative that India launched in 1996 to fight against terrorism has seen "enormous" forward movement except for what would be the exclusion from the definition of terrorism. "That is the debate. As far we are concerned given the crescendo of support in the General Debate, there is a majority that exists in support of that effort. The issue is only a procedural one of how do we convert that majority into a legal document," he said.

Why will the world watch Sushma Swaraj speak?

Words spoken by Sushma Swaraj tonight will be India's stand on Jammu and Kashmir and cross-border terror attacks. The address holds added importance at this juncture because the Kashmir issue has been raised by Sharif at a stage where it could get most international visibility. This aside, the terror attacks in Uri, which killed 18 Indian soldiers, was condemned by countries like the US, Russia, UK and China.

Swaraj is expected to bring up Kashmir as a dominant point in her speech. After India's fresh and strong posture on Balochistan and Sindhs demand of cessation from Pakistan, it is anticipated that they will also find a mention in her address.

Monday's speech by Swaraj, while yet to be delivered, is already being compared with former defence minister VK Krishna Menon's seven-hour-48-minute-long address at the UN in 1957.

"Why is that we have never heard voice in connection with the freedom of people under the suppression and tyranny of Pakistan authorities on the other side of the cease-fire line. Why is it that we have not heard here that in ten years these people have not seen a ballot paper? With what voice can either the Security Council or anyone coming before it demand a plebiscite for a people on our side who exercise franchise, who have freedom of speech, who function under a hundred local bodies?"

The address was made in response to Pakistans speech at the UN on 16 January, 1957, in which they raised the what they claimed was Kashmirs spurious accession to India.

Observers have also said that Pakistan's efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue has failed to resonate with the rest of the world. Akbaruddin said that what is finding resonance among the international community is the terror threat that India is facing and not what Sharif focussed on his speech - the issue of Kashmir.

Akbaruddin pointed out that in the plethora of bilateral meetings and multilateral engagements that Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar held on the sidelines of the General Assembly session, "there was resonance" of India being a victim of terrorism and of solidarity with it. "The resonance of India being a victim of terrorism, India tackling terrorism diligently has gone way beyond distance. In all bilateral meetings, including with Sri Lanka, there has been resonance and immediate response" on the attack on the army base in Uri, he said.

Swaraj, known for her oratory skills, has a lot riding on her second consecutive speech at the 193-nation body. With the Uri attacks still fresh in the memory, the nation is high on nationalist frenzy. Even though, Modi has made it clear India's will strike with diplomatic offensive, the pressure now is on Swaraj to make the offensive as scathing as possible. As the foreign minister, this is probably one of the biggest challenges that Swaraj might face  she will be watched as hawk by everyone who has a stake in the India-Pakistan strife.

With inputs from PTI and IANS
In a powerful speech at the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj slammed Pakistan for being a terrorist haven. Hitting out at the Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistani government, Swaraj said that in exchange of friendship with the neighbouring country, India always got terrorism in return  in the form of Pathankot, Uri and Bahadur Ali.

In response to Pakistan's constant provocation that Kashmir is an international issue, Swaraj said, "Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and will always remain a part of India."

In her rebuttal to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech at the UNGA, she used the proverb, "People living in glass houses should not throw stone at others" and said that brutalities against the people of Balochistan represent the worst form of oppression.

Referring to Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, she said, "Bahadur Ali is a living example of Pakistan's cross border terrorism."

Bahadur Ali is a living example of Pakistan's cross border terrorism: EAM Sushma Swaraj  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Swaraj appealed to the international community to join the fight against terrorism and said, "Terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights."

EAM @SushmaSwaraj at #UNGA: Terrorism is the biggest violat'n of human rights, a crime ag't humanity itself. But we must ask - who benefits? pic.twitter.com/hjTEn4JMNB  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 26, 2016

"In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account," she said.

In response to Sharif's allegation that "India posed unacceptable pre-conditions to engage in dialogue," Swaraj said, "We took the initiative to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship! We have in fact attempted a paradigm of friendship in the last two years which is without precedent." She said despite showing evidence of cross-border terrorism, Pakistan has remained in denial.

Swaraj called for the implementation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and said, "We are unable to develop a norm under which terrorists shall be prosecuted or extradited. Therefore it is my appeal that this General Assembly acts with fresh resolve and urgency to adopt this critical Convention."

We should adopt Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to develop norms to prosecute terrorists: EAM Swaraj at UNGA  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

External Affairs Minister arrived in New York on 25 September for the UNGA.

Leading India's delegation to the 71st UNGA. EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives in New York pic.twitter.com/hFJp0nImDR  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 24, 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Swaraj "for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues."

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA. https://t.co/9ZgwAbfPDr  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

You can watch her entire speech here:

After Sharif's vitriolic speech, all eyes were on Swaraj and her rebuttal. "The whole world and the entire nation" is waiting to hear from Swaraj, who will deliver India's "vision document" External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said ahead of her speech, reported PTI.

Earlier, India's envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin had said that terrorism is the "primary concern" for India as well as for nations across the world.

Earlier this week, while Sharif's tirade against India under right to reply, the Indian diplomatic mission at the UN was also point-blank and called the neighbouring country "Ivy League of terror".

Land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centers of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of Terrorism - India responds @un pic.twitter.com/ytfT3SR53u  Syed Akbaruddin (@AkbaruddinIndia) September 22, 2016

Moreover, in a three-minute rebuttal, Indian diplomat Eenam Gambhir raised the possibility of Pakistan being guilty of war crimes for sponsoring terrorism as an instrument of state policy and ridiculed the country as the centre for terrorism education.

In his speech at the UN last week, Sharif conveyed to the world community that Pakistan accords martyr status to killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and said, "The men, women and children come out to demand freedom everyday and Pakistan stands with the people of Kashmir."

The Pakistan prime minister also termed Wani as a symbol of the latest Kashmiri "Intifada." Playing the victim card, Sharif claimed Pakistan has gone the extra mile to ensure peace with India. However, "India posed unacceptable pre-conditions to engage in dialogue," he had said.

He also drew attention to the human rights violation in Kashmir and said that Pakistan will share dossier with the UN Secretary General on Indian brutalities in Kashmir and demanded demilitarisation of Kashmir.

Modi on Saturday had said India will totally isolate Pakistan in the international arena for "exporting terror". He further said that every nation holds one country responsible for terrorism that is providing a safe haven for terrorists.

"Terrorists should hear out clearly that India will never forget the Uri attack.... I want to tell the leadership of Pakistan that the sacrifice of our 18 jawans will not go in vain," Modi had said while addressing a public meeting in Kozhikode on Saturday.

With inputs from agencies
United Nations: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday lauded India for its "swift action" over the decision to ratify the Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking forward to receiving New Delhi's instrument of accession.

"The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift action by India. He looks forward to receiving India's instrument of accession," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on 2 October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.

The agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.

Specifically, it seeks to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius. The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least

55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.

A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Ban said this week that since more than 55 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, a critical threshold has been crossed that will help bring into force the landmark pact that seeks to put the world on a path towards low-carbon growth and a more sustainable future.

"I am confident that, by the time I leave office, the Paris Agreement will have entered into force," the UN chief has said "This will be a major achievement for multilateralism," he said.

India, which along with the US and China is among the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.

It has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the governments plan to supply electricity to every household. India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photo-voltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.
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Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party leader, is scheduled to expand his Cabinet on Monday. This will be the eighth such expansion in the Akhilesh Yadav-led government since it came to power in 2012.

Gayatri Prajapati and another sacked minister Raj Kishore Singh are likely to be re-inducted in this expansion, according to a PTI report. Sacked for alleged corruption and land grabbing, Prajapati will probably be taking oath of office and secrecy for the fourth time in the past three years.

Akhilesh Yadav had made claims of "zero tolerance" on the issue of corruption and allegations of land-grabbing against some ministers and axed Prajapati based on allegations of promoting illegal mining.

Social activist Nutan Thakur approached Governor Ram Naik with a petition to prevent Prajapatis re-induction, with a likely meeting with the governor later in the day. Prajapati had been removed as minister on serious corruption charges after the order of Allahabad High Court for CBI inquiry, she said in her petition.

The Governor is scheduled to administer the oath of office and secrecy to some new ministers, a Raj Bhawan communique said. Nutan Thakur filed the petition before the Governor just 48 hours before the oath ceremony requesting him not to re-induct Prajapati. The activist couple Nutan and Amitabh Thakur made corruption allegations against him and others, having filed a complaint with the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta. It is one of five cases against him by various persons, all of which have either been quashed or withdrawn according to The Indian Express.

The Deccan Herald reported, A minister is removed from office under provisions of Article 164 of the Constitution, when he loses the pleasure of the governor.... when Prajapati was removed as minister, he had lost the pleasure of the governor and hence, he cannot be re-inducted in the ministry unless the facts and reasons on which he had lost the pleasure of the Governor get removed, she said.

Prajapati began as Minister of State for Irrigation in February 2013 and was moved to the lucrative berth of mining, directly under Yadav who handled that portfolio. In July 2013, Yadav elevated Prajapati to MoS (Independent Charge) and in January 2014, he was made a Cabinet Minister.

His re-induction is on the cards as part of a compromise formula to douse the flames in the Yadav clan that took the hue of a major political crisis recently where Mulayam Singh Yadav removed his son, Akhilesh Yadav as state party chief and then the CM stripped his uncle Shivpal Yadav of four key portfolios. The re-induction was announced by CM Akhilesh Yadav to end the all-out war in the party triggered by the sacking of Mining minister Gayatri Prajapati and Panchayti Raj minister Rajkishore Singh, and the resignation of Shivpal Yadav.

All the members of the Samajwadi Party have repeatedly said that any solution by Mulayam Singh Yadav would be acceptable to them and an apparent solution seems to be that Shivpal Yadav will continue to remain the state president and a new position of an executive president might be forged for Akhilesh Yadav, therefore making sure that Akhilesh Yadav is not replaced as the CM but his image of a courageous, upright visionary is hurt, according to Ratan Mani Lal of Firstpost.

The UP council of ministers can have 60 ministers and there are three vacancies at present. Another probable swearing in could be that of Ziauddin Rizvi, who was not able to take oath in July when the cabinet was last expanded. He was abroad then.

With inputs from agencies
The Delhi High Court judgement has certainly brought to an end the Catch-22-like situation which prevailed in the capital city before August. But it can be said, with almost as much certainty, that the judgement has spawned trends inimical to Indian democracy. Not only have elections in the National Capital Region been rendered meaningless, but a new style of vicious retribution could become a feature of our political culture.

To fathom what had been Delhis Catch-22 situation, recall Joseph Hellers eponymous novel set in World War II. In it, airmen could opt out of bombing missions if they were insane. However, an airman citing insanity as the reason to escape flying missions unwittingly provided proof of his sanity, as his very plea implied he was conscious of his own safety  a trait said to be absent in a mad person. Since he was deemed sane, he had to undertake dangerous missions.

Hellers satirical novel can be read as the propensity of the powerful to frame paradoxical rules which always give them the upper hand  and have them winning.

The Catch-22-like paradox was created in Delhi even more insidiously. Having kept the 2013 Assembly in suspended animation for months on end, presumably to provide the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the chance to split the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and form a government, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had left none in doubt that he was capable of roiling the waters for AAP, regardless of the party having won all but three of 70 seats in 2015. This shadowed the relationship between Jung and AAP.

No doubt, there was the issue of different interpretations of the Constitutional provision governing the relationship between the Delhi government and the Lt Governor. This can be summed up as: Who is the government in Delhi? A party swept into power on a popular vote or the central governments appointee  the Lt Governor? Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thought he was. Jung claimed otherwise.

Given the difference in interpretations, as also compelling evidence of Jungs growing proximity to the Centre  which, as starters, defanged the AAPs Anti-Corruption Bureau  Kejriwal could seek the Lt. Governors prior approval on policy matters, but also run the risk of either encountering inordinate delays in executing his pet projects or outright rejection. Or he could press ahead with his decisions unilaterally  and invite charges of violating the Constitution.

Either way, the dice was loaded against Kejriwal.

He didnt seek Jungs prior approval on many matters, but at least had the satisfaction of watching some of AAPs projects take off. Indeed, as long as the Constitutional issue  that is, who is the government in Delhi  was pending in the high court, the battle between Kejriwal and Jung was even steven. The AAP government took one decision after another  and the BJP, as also the Congress later, clamoured that these were in violation of the Constitution.

In August, the Delhi High Court ruled that the Lt Governor is indeed the government in Delhi. The victory is decisively Jungs, unless the Supreme Court annuls the high court verdict. As expected, the paradox of Catch-22 now unfolds in all its severity.

For example, the Delhi High Court verdict has inspired Jung to constitute a three-member panel to examine 400 files pertaining to executive decisions that were taken without his approval. The panel is to fix responsibilities, including criminal liability. This could mean filing of more cases against AAP leaders. You could say this isnt unusual as a good many combative politicians have paid a hefty price in the past for challenging status quo.

But what is certainly unusual is the paralysis of the Delhi government. Officials no longer care to listen to ministers. They have taken their cue from the arrest of Kejriwals principal secretary, Rajendra Kumar. They know the central governments caged parrot  the Central Bureau of Investigation  has a beak long, and sharp, enough to wound anyone.

When officials engaged in the AAP governments pet projects can be transferred out, often without rhyme or reason, why would anyone heed to a popularly elected government? Really, is this what is meant by Constitutional authoritarianism?

Should the Supreme Court uphold the high courts August verdict, it makes immense sense to abolish the entity called the Delhi government. There is no point spending money on elections, 70 MLAs, and ministers if the Lt General is 'the government', as it was before Delhi was given the Assembly. Indeed, the system of dyarchy  which divides the executive into authoritarian and popularly accountable segments  introduced in colonial India in 1919  has been incredibly thrust upon Delhi in 2016.

In case we wish to continue with the sham of elections, we should enact a law declaring that the party at the Centre will also rule the Delhi state, regardless of whether it wins three seats or none at all! Because this is what the Modi government is guilty of  ruling Delhi without a mandate.

Yet the BJP should know its present could come to haunt it in the future. For instance, during his days as chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi mocked then Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Pakistan policy, once declaring that a riposte to Pakistan had to be in its own language  that is, violence must beget violence. Two years in power has tempered Modi, evident from his governments response after the attack in Uri. This underscores the importance of Opposition parties eschewing irresponsible behaviour.

It is equally true that a party in power shouldnt violate the spirit of democracy, if for nothing else, at least to ensure it doesnt provide a precedent to its successor. And so it might be that whenever the BJP bows out of power at the Centre, its successor could cite the Delhi example to abort or torment its state governments or party units.

Pundits say a future BJP government of Delhi would never undergo the treatment meted out to AAP. This is because the only alternative to the BJP at the Centre is a Congress-led formation  and neither gun for each other beyond a point.

They cite the example of Hindutva terror cases which the UPA government never expedited. This hypothesis will be tested over the next two years and a half on the evidence of steps the BJP government in Haryana will take to probe the allegations that Sonia Gandhis son-in-law, Robert Vadra, was involved in dubious land deals.

As of now, the BJP and Congress stand on the AAP government is remarkably similar. For instance, both wanted to be impleaded in the Election Commissions hearing on whether AAP MLAs who held the offices of profit should be disqualified; both allege AAPs mohalla clinic generates illegitimate wealth for its MLAs; both think the Delhi police have been right in booking MLAs.

Obviously, the Congress has no reason to provide comfort to the AAP government. No Opposition party ever does, more so as AAP, in its Indian-against-corruption avatar, had flung charges of corruption against members of the Manmohan Singh government.

But what is surprising is the Congress partys silence on issues of Constitutional propriety. We are yet to know whether it believes a democratically elected government should be subservient to the Lt. Governor who hasnt been elected  and whom the UPA government had appointed. And to think, the Congress went ballistic when its governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were dismissed! AAP did at least formally take a position against these dismissals.

Congress apart, such is the bitterness among AAP leaders and volunteers that should AAP win Punjab, it is almost certain its volunteers, and even its government, will harass the BJP and RSS there. Any government, in states or the Centre, can snare even an innocent politician in court cases. Certainly, the BJP-RSS has been too long in politics to not have a past which can be investigated  and exploited.

Not only AAP, but other parties too will be tempted to pursue the politics of vengeance even more viciously than before. This is the enduring legacy of the Modi governments AAP policy.

(The author is a journalist based in Delhi. His novel, The Hour Before Dawn, is available in bookstores.)
New York: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will address the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday, where she is expected to lead India's attack on Pakistan and seek global support to dub it a "terror state", following the Uri terror attack that killed 18 soldiers.

Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first public speech, post the 18 September Uri attack, on Saturday where he openly warned Pakistan of isolating it internationally, the External Affairs Minister is likely to take a tough stance, and is likely to be blunt, vis-a-vis the western neighbour.

"Leading India's delegation to the 71st UNGA. EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives in New York," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a tweet.

Modi on Saturday said India will totally isolate Pakistan in the international arena for "exporting terror".

Earlier this week, while responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's tirade against India under right to reply, the Indian diplomatic mission at the UN was also point-blank and did not hesitate to call the neighbouring country "Ivy League of terror".

Sushma Swaraj's tone during her address to the UNGA on Monday is also likely to be equally tough and blunt. India's much-awaited address at the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled later on Monday with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj expected to focus on the recent terror attack at Uri in Kashmir, up the ante against Pakistan and seek global support to dub it a "terror state".

"Rulers of Pakistan, listen. The sacrifices of our 18 soldiers won't go in vain. India has been successful in isolating you. We will force you to be left alone in the world. That day is not far when people of Pakistan will take to streets to fight against the rulers and fight terrorism," Modi had said.

Sushma Swaraj is also expected to give a befitting reply to an earlier address at the UNGA by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Under the UNGA's right to reply, after Sharif's address, the Indian diplomatic mission at the UN was also point-blank and called the neighbouring country the "Ivy League of terror".

In the three-minute rebuttal, Indian diplomat Eenam Gambhir raised the possibility of Pakistan being guilty of war crimes for sponsoring terrorism as an instrument of state policy and ridiculed the country as the centre for terrorism education.

Sushma's tone during her address to the UNGA on Monday is also likely to be equally tough and blunt, diplomats said.
New Delhi: Blaming civic bodies for the poor sanitation conditions of Delhi, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday that the BJP-run municipal corporations have "miserably failed" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Jain added that the three municipal corporations do nothing "except harassing people" and "making money" through corruption.

"The three MCDs, which are controlled by the BJP, have miserably failed Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and have shown a mirror to the BJP, apart from severely hurting the image of the nation," he said.

Jain's remarks come after his meeting Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday on the cleanliness issue.

"The sanitation condition of Delhi is very bad and Delhi is burdened with garbage. Both LG and I are worried about the state of affairs," Jain said after the meeting.

He said that in the wake of a serious spike in the number of vector-borne diseases in the city, Lt. Governor had ordered the MCDs to focus on cleanliness for at least one month.

"LG has also directed them to clean 'dhalaos' twice a day, which the MCDs, so far, claim to clean every day," Jain said.

"Have MCDs done any work except making money? They just take bribes and do nothing else. If you make a list of things done by the MCDs, you will realise that they only harass people and make money from them," he said.

Last week, Aam Aadmi Party had launched "Spot the Kachra (garbage)" social media campaign to put pressure on the MCDs on the sanitation issue.
BJP leaders in Kerala had feared that the Uri attack might sideline the state at the partys national council meeting in Kozhikode. But the three-day crucial meet that concluded on Sunday, devoted considerable time for the host state. Though the next election in the state is due only in 2019, it figured prominently along with Uttar Pradesh and four other states that go to polls next year.

The party has already put the cadre in the state on their toes by giving them an ambitious target of winning 12 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and winning power in the state in the 2021 Assembly elections. The BJP wants a few seats from Kerala in the Lok Sabha in 2019 since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is not expected to repeat its 2014 poll performance. The seats it may gain in Kerala could partly offset the loss elsewhere.

Hence the two leaders have asked the state unit to start preparations for the polls early by identifying candidates to be fielded for the 20 seats in the state. The BJP chief has even suggested that the state leadership should look for winnable candidates from outside the party fold. Political analysts consider the target an uphill task in a state like Kerala that defied the saffron surge for more than three-and-a-half decades. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amith Shah are confident that the party can achieve this and more.

Both the leaders are apparently relying on the martyrs the party has got in the state in the last three decades to help the NDA in the election. In fact, Modi feels that the sacrifice made by the partymen in Kerala can even inspire the BJP in the rest of the country. The party brought the political killings to national focus by compiling the sacrifices of the Sangh workers in a book. Releasing the book entitled Ahuti on the sidelines of the national council meeting, Modi urged the media to discuss it at the national level.

BJP workers have sacrificed their lives for the cause of democracy. Violence is not the right road to democracy. Ahuti must be discussed at the national level. People in the rest of the country should know what is happening in Kerala, Modi said. A five-member national committee that toured the state to study the issue prior to the conclave, had squarely blamed the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) for the violence that claimed more than 200 lives in the northern district of Kannur alone in the last two decades.

The political killings, in fact, came up for animated discussion at the national council. The sacrifice the partymen made in upholding the Sangh ideology was even discussed with the same verve with which it referred to the 18 Uri martyrs, who were killed by terrorists on 18 September. The focus on political violence is believed to be part of a clear strategy by the BJP to make inroads into the Communist strongholds that the saffron party failed to accomplish by using muscle power all these years.

The BJP had targeted the CPI(M) support base by forging an alliance with Bharth Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a political outfit of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, a socio-cultural organisation of the backward Ezhava community. However, the alliance could not break the traditional kinship of Ezhavas with the CPI(M), which contained the damage by mounting a massive offensive against the alliance forged in violation of the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru, the spiritual guide of the Ezhavas, and highlighting the corrupt deals of SNDP top leadership.

The BJP hopes that the topic of political violence would strike a chord with the Ezhavas, who form the backbone of the communist movement, since the victims of the violence are poor workers.

To add to this, the party has sought to evoke the religious sentiments of the Hindus, who are backing the CPI(M), by highlighting its anti-Hindu stance on various Hindu rituals and traditions such as lighting lamps and signing religious hymns at public functions and entry of women at the Sabarimala hill shrine. However, the party is aware that it will not be able to fulfil its objectives without the support of minorities, who constitute nearly 44 percent of the population in the state. Though the party has been able to make little inroad into the Christian vote bank by forging alliance with certain organisations, Muslims, who constitute 26 percent of the population, has remained a hard nut to crack.

A subtle shift in BJPs approach towards Muslims indicated by Modi in his speech at the national council may be intended to help the state unit of the party in wooing some of the Muslim organisations that support either the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) or the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).

The CPI(M) is trying to prevent this by hardening its stand against BJPs communal agenda. The CPI (M)'s attempt is to offset the loss of Hindu votes with the minority votes by projecting itself as the sole bulwark against communalism. In fact, the party has been engaged in physical confrontation with the Sangh Parivar mainly to cement its position as the protector of the minorities.



This paid off well in the last Assembly elections in which the LDF made major gains in both Muslim and Christian belts. The exit of the pro-Christian Kerala Congress (M) from the UDF after the electoral debacle has made matters further easy for the LDF. N N Pearson, a political commentator based at Kochi, said the CPI(M) was focusing on minorities as it had lost its ideological capacity in fighting the communal forces. It has been trying to contain the Sangh Parivar by taking them on physically.

"After it failed to yield the desired result, the CPI(M) started involving in Hindu festivals and celebrations. Now it is opposing some of the rituals. This shows the ideological vacuum and confusion in the current communist leadership," he said. Pearson told the Firstpost that the BJP was trying to gain roots in Kerala by making use of the ideological vacuum in the CPI(M) and the minority appeasement policy being pursued by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

"I am not surprised by the targets set by the BJP for 2019 and 2021. The saffron party may draw close to the target if the two fronts fail to mount an ideological battle against the Sangh Parivar," says Pearson. The Congress alleges a conspiracy by the BJP and the CPI(M) to knock the UDF off the political scene in the state. Former state Youth Congress president M Liju said that the CPI(M) was allowing the BJP to occupy the UDF space by concentrating on the minorities who supported it traditionally.

Liju said that the attempt by the LDF wass to weaken the UDF. They dont mind the saffron party occupying the second space as long as they stay in the reckoning in the state. "Both the parties are trying to create an impression among the people that the future electoral battles in Kerala will be between the two. This may be the reason why the BJP remained silent on the Congress at the BJP national council meet despite the party being the BJPs main opponent in four out of the five states where Assembly polls are due next year," says Liju.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President VM Sudheeran has dismissed the BJPs poll calculations in Kerala as a day dream. He said that the BJP will never be able to occupy the UDF space as the saffron party had grown its maximum in the state.

Sudheeran said that the electoral setback the Congress suffered in Kerala was a temporary phenomenon. The party will bounce back before the next elections.
Chandigarh: With Assembly elections just a few months away, the national and regional parties of Punjab were handed a tough opponent on Sunday with the coming together of all splinter groups, smaller regional forums, fronts and political parties. The much-anticipated Mahagathbandhan (or Fourth Front )  an initiative of sacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and others  was formed in Punjab after a day-long series of deliberations by like-minded groups and political organisations. The Fourth Front, whose name will be announced soon, plans to contest the forthcoming Punjab Assembly elections as a strong regional outfit.

The announcement of the Fourth Front was made by Gandhi at the end of the 'Round Table Conference' in Chandigarh on Sunday. Awaaz-e-Punjab leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was conspicuous by his absence, although his friend and ally Pargat Singh attended the programme. Gandhi pointed out that he had come in his individual capacity and not as an Awaaz-e-Punjab representative.

While addressing a press conference later, Gandhi said that representatives of the Democratic Swaraj Party, Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Party, Amritsar Voluntary Group, Apna Party Group and several other smaller political fora and groups from Punjab agreed on the formation of a strong regional front to tackle the burning issues including the sand, land and drug mafia, unemployment, health issues, deteriorating law and order problems etc.

Gandhi said the front has the full support of Sucha Singh Chhotepur and Pargat Singh too. Chhotepur could not attend the 'Round Table Conference', but sent his representative Hardeep Singh Kingra. Gandhi said the stand of Sidhu (and consequently, that of Awaaz-e-Punjab) was not clear on whether or not he would join the Fourth Front. An invitation had been sent to him, but he did not come, said Gandhi.

He added that leaders from all the groups and political organisations agreed on the formation of a strong regional outfit to take on the might of the national parties as well as the ruling regional party: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The Fourth Front will work for the welfare of Punjab and Punjabiat, said Gandhi. On the issue of front leader Chhotepur planning to form a party next month, Gandhi said the party will be a part of the Fourth Front.

At the 'Round Table Conference', three issues were chalked out, which will be the guiding principles of the Fourth Front.

"First, we want a genuinely democratic federal India. Second, we want to democraticise Punjab, where there will be no space for criminalisation and politicisation. It will truly be peoples rule in the state. Third, we want to democratise Punjabi society and remove all drawbacks therein. We want to create a casteless society and change the patriarchial mindset of the people," Gandhi elaborated.

Gandhi regretted the fact that all the parties in Punjab including SAD, BJP, Congress and AAP have only indulged in looting and plundering of the state without giving a single thought to the issues and problems of the people. He said the need of the hour is to have a strong regional outfit which works for the welfare of the people and ends the mafia raj in the once flourishing state of Punjab.

He went on to claim that successive Central governments have always done an injustice to Punjab. "There is no justified riparian law for the state. The water of Punjab has to be given to Rajasthan at the states own cost of Rs 13 lakh crore. The ground water level in Punjab has gone down alarmingly, but no one cares. Dark zones in the state have gone up to four and the lands of Punjab are turning fallow. Punjab doesnt have a capital of its own. All parties have only exploited Punjab. All this must end," warned Gandhi.
Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Minister KJ George was on Monday reinducted into the Siddaramaiah government, close on the heels of being given a clean chit by the CID in a case related to the alleged suicide of a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

George, a close confidant of the Chief Minister, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at a ceremony held in Raj Bhavan.

KJ George takes oath as Karnataka Minister after getting a clean chit by CID in DySP Ganapathy suicide case. pic.twitter.com/2Uq8AsRkLj  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

"I'm grateful and will take this opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka," George said after his reinduction.

I'm grateful and will take this opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka: KJ George on his reinduction into Karnataka Cabinet pic.twitter.com/hgNSgAUjdc  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

George had resigned on 18 July, soon after a court in Madikeri in Kodagu district directed police to register a FIR against him and two police officers in connection with the suicide of 51-year-old MK Ganapathy.

Ganapathy was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a room at a lodge in Madikeri on 7 July, prior to which he gave an interview to a local TV channel saying the Minister and AM Prasad (now Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety) and Pranab Mohanty (now on central deputation as Additional Deputy Director General of UIDAI) would be responsible "if anything

happens to me."

The court had issued directions based on a private criminal complaint by Ganapathy's son, Nehal, requesting it to direct police to take up an investigation against the minister and the officers for allegedly abetting his father's suicide.

Karnataka CID, which investigated the case, on 17 September gave a clean chit to George and two senior police officers in its 'B' report, filed in a court in Madikeri.

George is likely to retain Bengaluru Development and Town Planning portfolio, which he had held when he stepped down amid a huge political storm in the state with the Opposition gunning for him. He had also held the Home portfolio earlier.

With the reinduction of George, the strength of the Siddaramaiah ministry now stands at 34, the maximum constitutional limit for the state.

Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, Congress legislators and senior government officials were present at the swearing-in.

Both opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have taken exception to the reinduction of George.

Earlier this month, Siddaramaiah on 5 September had expanded his Cabinet by inducting M Krishnappa into his Ministry.
Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar gave a mantra of Learn, Unite and Agitate. He gave this mantra and appealed to his followers to unite because he was aware of the significance of being united even after independence as much as before independence.

There is no other option before the elements of society but to get united in order to attract the attention of the prevailing political system toward their vital demands and burning problems. Moreover, whether it is the ruling party or parties in opposition, both get attracted towards the possibility of gaining votes from such a united front of concerned social elements. Every political party desires to offer their active support and necessary help to all such united fronts either because of the temptation of winning votes united under the patronage of such fronts (provided they address the demands) or because of the apprehension that the opposition parties will benefit if they themselves fail to introduce a solution for their problems.

The entire state of Maharashtra is experiencing this reality against the background of the massive processions being organised by the Maratha community through the length and breadth of the state. It is precisely because of this reason the ruling coalition has been compelled to pay attention to the demands raised by the Maratha community.

In fact, one must accept that these massive processions of the Maratha community are being rated as a truly historical phenomenon. I say this not only because these processions will probably make an impact on the political structure of the state in the near future. This is particularly so because barring a few organisations or bodies, this community lacks the background of a united social strength. Besides, the social, economic and political problems confronted by the Maratha community too are different subject to different geographical regions of the state since this community is geographically scattered throughout the nook and corner of the state. Most often, this geographical diversity is also preserved during matrimonial alignments. Above all, social discrimination on the basis of 96 Kuli, Deshmukh, Patil and Kunabi Maratha, too are adhered to in this community till this date. It is for this reason that there has been a widespread belief that it will be impossible for this community to form a united front in spite of its impressive numerical strength. So it must be considered an exceptional event that such a huge agitation comes into being in a remarkably disciplined manner.

It must be said that the Maratha community was completely ignorant of its might except when its clout was taken into consideration in politics. But today, not only the people belonging to the Maratha community but also the prevailing political organisations are being forced to take a serious note of the growing strength of this community, thanks to the massive crowds gathering at these gigantic processions. The political pundits who were more keen on nabbing the prime mover, real or imaginary, hidden behind these processions are now being compelled to study the social panorama that has ignited this flame. Most importantly, no political party is in a position to simply brush aside these processions as shrewd political manoeuvres of the opposition parties since no political party has sponsored these processions.

It is expected that the government will pay more careful attention to the demands of the Maratha community, especially if all the elements such as senior citizens, students, educated elite and married women have developed a feeling of injustice being meted out to them. Some of their demands are fully justified and they should be accepted forthwith and the government should seek a communication with this community about what can be done about their remaining demands. It is only through such exercises that peoples faith in the political system can be preserved. The government must not undertake any steps which are rooted in political bias. Rather, it should exhibit its sincerity by addressing the problem immediately.

The main demand of the Maratha community is pertaining to reservation. There is no doubt that reservations are not the only remedy for the communitys backwardness. However, if reservation is the only political remedy available in the present political system to other backward communities, why should the Maratha community not get it? Nobody has any doubts about the backwardness of the community. I am myself a member of this community and I travel widely and frequently in Konkan (also throughout the state). So, I observe at close quarters harsh and fierce reality of the economic backwardness of my brethren. Large parts of Konkan are mountainous. And landholdings do not yield sufficient agricultural income. Agriculture is therefore declining in importance as a source of income. Want of education forces most people of this region to Mumbai in search of small and medium jobs. This explains why many of Mumbais slums are occupied by Marathas from Konkan. In Marathwada too, a large proportion of families are dependent solely on agriculture. That is why majority of the suicides are committed by members of this community.

The whole of this social phenomenon is being seen as the discrimination between the established and the displaced  the haves and the have-nots. Along with the leaders from the Maratha community, leaders from other communities too have occupied important posts. In those communities also, there is a so-called established class. But the Congress party has enjoyed political power for most of the past years and unlike the RSS ideology, the Congress party leadership refuses to take only one community into consideration. Therefore, talk of the rift between the established and the displaced as the reason for such massive protests is clearly intended to divert the attention from the demands of the community and thereby create a division in the agitation.

The chief minister has assured the students of the Maratha community about the reimbursement of their fees. But this promise cannot be fulfilled without reservations. He also said that reservation in government service is unlikely to result into substantial gains and there is a need to foster entrepreneurship in the community. But he has not made it clear how the entrepreneurship of only the Marathas will be developed. Such promises are therefore likely to engender a feeling that the government is not serious about reservations.

The next demand is about the changes in the Atrocity Act. This act, passed by the Congress, is aimed at protecting the Dalit community from violence. Leaders of those who participate in the Maratha processions have made it abundantly clear that their demand is not that the Atrocity Act should be repealed but that it should not be abused. Dalit leaders too have echoed the same opinion. If such a large section of the population is expressing such apprehensions, who can say that the demand for governments attention to this issue is misplaced? The patronage of the Atrocity Act belongs to the Union government. Under such circumstances, if the minister in charge makes misleading and mischievous statements, it surely is a disgrace to him. In the Solapur Maha-Morcha, a TV journalist had asked a teenage participant why she garlanded Babasahebs statue at the start of the morcha. Her reaction is highly eloquent. She said, "I am a daughter not only of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but also of Dr Bheemrao Ambedkar."

Congress is firm in its resolve that the Atrocity Act must not be repealed. Our policy takes its source from our commitment to the Dalit community.

Finally, we turn to the Kopardi rape case. This case is being put forward as the immediate cause of the ground swell that has risen in support of the communitys demands. The public from all over the state has unanimously condemned the act and has demanded that the perpetrators be hanged. However, it is manifestly wrong to look at such issues from the communal angle. Communal considerations should never be allowed to enter into considerations of such crimes. The government ought to give the impression that it is determined to punish the guilty regardless of their community. One therefore wonders what the governments intention was in refusing permission to some leaders to visit Kopardi.

Fortunately, the Maratha communitys agitation, unlike the agitation of Patels in Gujarat and Jats in north India, has been free from violence. But it certainly is strong enough to compel the introspection upon the political leadership. The government therefore has the opportunity to demonstrate its seriousness about the communitys demands. A clandestine effort also is being made to use the agitation to create division between the Maratha community and other communities. Ministers of the government are themselves indulging in opportunistic handshakes to launch similar agitations of the other backward communities. If such fishing in troubled waters is avoided, a peaceful and democratic solution of the problem can surely be found.

The Maratha agitation has performed a path-breaking effort in this direction.

The question is whether the government will respond with due earnestness.

(The author is the General Secretary and spokesman of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have revisited his earlier speeches and statements made on Pakistan, especially in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha Election, when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister before he rose to address a huge gathering at Kerala's Kozhikode during BJP's National Council Meet.

Thanks to social media, these things are easy to track and find. Amid India's strained relationship with Pakistan, a clip, which is just over a minute, of the then Gujarat chief minister and the current Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi speaking on India TV has resurfaced. To a question, "What would you have done differently, when it came to dealing with Pakistan?", Modi, in this clip, is heard saying, "I would have done what I have done in Gujarat. I wouldn't have taken time. We should respond in their (Pakistan) language. Stop writing these love letters." Watch the clip here.

One of the biggest contribution by Modi as a politician has been his initiative to bring an information revolution by utilising social media. However, this same information can hurt the prime minister and his image, especially after his speech at Kozhikode where he sang a different tune. "I call upon people of Pakistan to come forward,fight a war on who defeats unemployment, poverty, illiteracy first. Lets see who wins?" Modi spoke of fighting a war but not by military means.

Modi's USP as a leader, both as a politician and an administrator in the government, is built over the years as a strong, clear-headed, decisive and a person who is aware of his actions both in the immediate and the medium run. When he addressed the audience in Kozhikode, he reflected the same clarity of ideas, catering to one kind of audience at one time. And then we heard the spontaneous chants of 'Modi Modi!'

Modi has been taken as a walking embodiment of BJP and Sangh Parivar's philosophy of Prakhar Rashtrawad or robust or assertive nationalism, suitably garnished with vision of strong and developed nation, the one who had courage and conviction to talk straight and call anyone's bluff, howsoever mighty, least of all to Pakistan.

When Modi rose to speak in Kozihode, his first public speech after the brazen Uri attacks, the air was loaded with expectations and when he finished after an hour and half, he had not done justice to those expectations. Before leaving for Kerala, Modi had recorded his Mann ki Baat where he said that the current mood of the nation was similar to how the nation was feeling ahead of 1965 war. So he clearly knew what the nation wanted from their prime minister. He had also met the Army Chief, Air Force Mrashal and Vice-chief of Navy. No one knows what transpired in that meeting, but it can be safely assumed that it was focussed on preparedness of the armed forces for post-Uri response.

Kozhikode rally would forever remain distinct for two reasons:

First, it was a rally where in departure from Modi's own style, he sought to address four disparate audiences  domestic, international community, people of Pakistan and its rulers. He couldn't really convince his core social constituency and a vast mass of his supporters. The speech seemed like a takeoff from his pre-May 2014 public speeches where he would talk of a competition or spirited fight between Maa-Bete ki sarkar at the Centre versus his sarkar in Gujarat.

Secondly, since 2012 December when the public had hailed Modi at the Ahmedabad rally, it was the first time in Kozhikode that those characteristic chants were missing and especially when Modi spoke on a subject close to the heart of Indians.

There are two possible inferences that can be made from Modi's speech. When he says that a time would come when Pakistani people would revolt against their "present rulers who read speech written by terrorists," it possibly means that the people of Pakistan will soon rise against the oppression of their own leaders or the unrest happening in Pakistan provinces  Sindh, Baloch, PoK  will eventually stand up to the Pakistani leadership. That situation is surely building and India is now not shying away from highlighting it.

Meanwhile, Modi is turning no stone unturned to unleash diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan on the gobal stage but that's easier said than done. Remember China has deep interests to back Pakistan and so do several other Islamic nations.

A section argued that Modi wanted to strike all the right notes to address international community through his Kozhikode speech so to prepare right build up and not to be seen as a war monger. The right to strike in self defence is granted in all situations.

Second, only Modi knows the kind of war preparedness India has, if a limited strike spirals into a full-fledged war. There have been several reports including Parliamentary standing committee which reflected a bleak state of military preparedness.

The question here remains  Is Modi's current outwardly pragmatism and restraint deceptive approach is something which Pakistan should continue to fear? Well, nobody other than Modi has an answer to that.
The series of morchas by Marathas, witnessed in over a dozen towns across Maharashtra, are silent and peaceful, the demands voiced only through placards and petitions handed over to district collectors. They are spectacular too and with good reason.

This is perhaps the only such big mobilisation of a single community the state has seen. They are larger by any yardstick compared to the Dalit morchas which led to the renaming of the Marathwada University after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. They too were non-violent, but the undertone was militant.

The turnout at each rally has been overestimated by the media, as being in the tens of lakhs, but the reality is that while the numbers are huge, they're certainly not that huge. The angst of the Maratha youth is probably because of being left out from the traditional dominant place in society. They belonged to the elite, and now are seeking supportive discrimination.

The question that eludes a response as of now is whether the demands of modifying  meaning weakening  the Atrocities Act in force since 1989 which protects Dalits against discrimination by word and or deed, and whether quotas for the community would be met in full or part.

Diluting the Act which protects the Dalits, and which the Dalits say is not being adequately enforced, is going to be hard because seeking to douse an issue in one state, cannot find acceptance across the country. The Act is a central legislation applicable to all states and Dalits are not yet equals in the society.

Quotas have been rejected by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court has turned its face away. If they were brought in, it would be by reducing the share of the OBCs who, as of now, are quiet. Like the Dalit groupings are about the demand for modifying it to avoid misuse, impression is that personal scores are being settled by threat of invoking the Act.

The other question is who is going to benefit by this unprecedentedly massive mobilisation? The morchas have been deliberately kept faceless and apolitical. It is not any political party's baby as emphasised time and again. After flexing its numerical muscle, they are unlikely to quietly evict themselves from the scene.

Political leaders may not be at the forefront of the rallies but they certainly are at the back of it, both literally and figuratively. The rallies may be attended by circulation of messages on social media but the logistics bear the mark of experienced political hands. It costs a pretty penny. At the Nashik preparatory meeting, Maratha leaders  politicians or businessmen  committed support in cash and kind.

But this class is unlikely to remain in the background for long. The itch to hog the limelight has been reported from Pune. Political leaders, who joined the Maratha community's march on Sunday in the city and tried to hog the limelight with television cameras panning over to them, found themselves in a spot.

Politicians, regardless of which party they are from, do not provide free lunches.

People hooted and organisers repeatedly announced that the march had been put together by the community and political leaders must not try to pretend they have a role in this show of strength. But they have had a role. In Thane on Sunday, the politicians were present, as Loksatta reported, at the preparatory meeting for the rally next month.

The Indian Express has named two leading Ahmednagar politicians, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Congress, and his local rival, Balasaheb Thorat, both Marathas, as being involved in managing the logistics. Why are the politicians as silent as the morcha-participants? When would they stop walking at the end of the procession  so humiliating!  and claim credit? They dont like being shown their place as an equal.

Quotas are to mainstream the deprived and the backward because they have no means to compete with the others, and cost of education is a major reason why many are deprived of good education, and thus, good paying jobs. It is ironical that most of the private educational institutions are owned and run by Maratha politicians who also hold a leverage in government  local to Centre.

The conversion of providing education has been nicely turned into a business, the fulcrum of which is political connections. They have sold seats at absurd prices, and controlling them has not been easy, and if a sincere government  a big if, that is  wants to curb their ways, it would pay a political price. The morcha has not demanded making easier access to education, which is curious.
On 22 September, just four days after the Uri attack, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released a statement accusing Pakistan and its military and spy agencies of betraying Kashmiris. Issued by AQIS spokesman Ustad Usama Mahmood, the statement says: "History testifies to the fact that fighting under the supervision and with the cooperation of Pakistani agencies is tantamount to wasting the fruitage of jihad and getting injustice on oppressed Kashmiris to increase."

Earlier in mid-July, an AQIS statement had urged Kashmiris to follow in the footsteps of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander killed by the security forces.

With regard to statements from within Pakistan attributed to jihadi groups, we know the following: one, the Pakistan military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) continued to release statements in the name of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Muhammad Omar for several years after his death in 2013, which was ultimately revealed by the Afghan government on 29 July last year. Two, a 32-page Urdu document attributed to the Islamic State was handed from within Pakistan to a US journalist last year in which the Islamic State warned India of an Armageddon-like terror attack. But, there is credible reason that the document was authored by ISI. It was definitely not issued by the Islamic State.

Not many analysts grasp that Al-Qaeda, though led by Arab terrorists, is fundamentally a Pakistani organisation, a branch of ISI. It was established in Peshawar in 1988. This is a critical year when the Soviet troops stood defeated in Afghanistan. And the ISI  which had commanded the jihadi groups during Afghan jihad with the aid of US arms and Saudi money  had emerged victorious. The ISI thought that it had defeated the Soviets, the mighty power of the time, and birthed a plan to achieve a similar feat in Kashmir. There is no way Al-Qaeda could have been established in Peshawar without the ISI's knowledge and support.

It is from Pakistan that Al-Qaeda spread to the Middle East. It is in Pakistan that Al-Qaeda's top leadership, Osama bin Laden to Ayman Al-Zawahiri, has been protected, like the ISI protected Mullah Omar and continues to protect current Afghan Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhunzadah, Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Syed Salahuddin, who calls himself supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen but behaves like a sheepish peon before Pakistani officials in Muzaffarabad. Also, both the ISI and Al-Qaeda share the jihadi ideology to establish an Islamic Caliphate, with the only difference being that the ISI longs for Pakistan to be the head of such an international caliphate.

Both the ISI and Al-Qaeda are known to function in close cooperation. So, in all probability the 22 September statement was issued by AQIS to draw attention to the current unrest in Kashmir. It urges the Muslims of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to support the Kashmiris, and adds: "ending the oppressive pagan system in the Subcontinent is also an obligation on us." Kashmir is an ideological war for both Al-Qaeda and the ISI. In recent years, Al-Qaeda underwent ideological turmoil and frustration in recruiting Muslims from India, but its message did reach some two-dozen Indian Muslims who joined it and some of them have now moved to Syria to be with the Islamic State.

Ever since 9/11, Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf adopted a policy of pleasing Americans by offering 'sacrifices' of jihadis  by killing them and by arresting and handing them over to the US. Each time General Musharraf would land in Washington to meet with George Bush, some jihadi fighter would be arrested in staged operations and extradited to the US. Over the years, three types of disaffection emerged in Pakistan-based jihadi groups. First, Al-Qaeda began reviewing the Pakistani military's relationship with Muslims sometime around 2010. This was the result of Arab fighters being killed in the border region in Pakistani army operations.

In its review of the Pakistani military's relationship with Muslims, Al-Qaeda came out with a jihadi interpretation of South Asia's history. Al-Qaeda statements and videos questioned the Pakistan army's historical relationship with Muslims through past three centuries  back at least to the Battle of Plassey in 1757, or 190 years before Pakistan was created in 1947. Al-Qaeda videos pointed out that the Pakistan army  i.e. including the Muslim soldiers of British Indian army  killed Muslims both before 1947 and after it. Al-Qaeda argued that Muslim/Pakistani soldiers were involved in killing Muslims in Plassey in 1757, in Delhi in 1857, during missions in Iraq and Palestine during the World War I and II, in Dhaka in 1971, in Jordan in Black September 1970 commanded by General Zia-ul-Haq, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas during post-9/11 years, and so on.

Two, an ideologically committed core of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan split from some of its leaders who played in the hands of the Pakistani intelligence agencies, notably Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Asmatullah Muawiya. Third, Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and other arms of ISI underwent ideological turmoil, especially after Pakistan launched the 2007 military operation in Lal Masjid of Islamabad. JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, though worried, remained loyal to Pakistan. But his deputy Shamsh Kashmiri split from the organisation over this issue. The ideological split also occurred because the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters were tortured in Pakistani jails.

In this context, the ISI felt betrayed by the Pakistan army commanders and some of its soldiers went on to launch assassination attacks on General Musharraf. But the ISI remains part of the army, much as the jihadi groups continue to function as the long arm of the ISI. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated in a testimony before the US Congress in September 2011, that the Haqqani Network, the dominant unit of Afghan Taliban, was "a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence." Also, the US military officials classified the ISI as a terrorist organisation. As per the WikiLeaks revelations in April 2011, the US designated the ISI as one of the 32 "militant forces or organisations" with which Al-Qaeda had "an established working, supportive, or beneficiary relationship for the achievement of common goals."



Both the ISI and its jihadi organisations continue to work in tandem to advance Pakistan's objectives. The ISI is very much a jihadi organisation with a global ideological outlook. While being part of the Pakistani military which guards Pakistan's territorial border, the ISI has nursed an ideological commitment for the Islamic Ummah and it stands to guard the ideological border of Pakistan as Madina-e-Sani (the second Medina), the first one being the Islamic state established by Prophet Muhammad in the Saudi city. The AQIS statement of September 22 observes: "The Kashmir dispute is not just a problem of the Muslims of Kashmir. It is problem of Pakistan and India's Muslims, rather a problem of the entire Ummah's 1.5 billion Muslims. The basis of this dispute is creed. Its basis is the very dispute between a Hindu and a Muslim." This eternal Hindu-Muslim dispute, noted in this AQIS statement, is also the Two-Nation Theory that led to the creation of Pakistan and has been the bedrock of Pakistani thinking.

So, why is it that the AQIS statement of September 22 accuses the Pakistani intelligence agencies of betraying Kashmiris while simultaneously advancing the cause of the ISI in Kashmir  and at a time it is known that the entire Intifada in Kashmir is planned, funded and executed by the ISI? For now, it appears that the September 22 statement seeks to defend its parent organisation the ISI by giving it believable deniability of any role in Kashmir. While Al-Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East have adopted operational autonomy, Indian security analysts must not fall into the trap that the AQIS and the ISI are different organisations.

Former BBC journalist Tufail Ahmad is a contributing editor at Firstpost, and executive director of the Open Source Institute, New Delhi. He tweets @tufailelif
London: Baloch activists have launched a week-long sit-in in front of the Chinese embassy in London to protest against "China-Pakistan nexus" in resource-rich Balochistan.

During the week-long protest two Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) members will sit in front of Chinese embassy every day and night for six days and end with a big demonstration on 1 October, which is Chinas National Day.

FBM described the protest as a peaceful campaign against the "China-Pakistan nexus" in Balochistan.

"China has now become the 21st century East India Company in Balochistan. Their expansionist designs are well known in the region. Its neighbouring country Vietnam is the prime example of Chinese diabolical nature which endured 17 Chinese military invasions. Today we can see that it doesn't respect the international laws over the South China Sea," the FBM said in a statement.

It further says that Pakistan is in conflict with Balochistan because the "morally bankrupted state, dominated by Punjab, has occupied Balochistan in March 1948 in blatant violation of international norms and law just in the name of Islam".

"China has intensified its efforts to consolidate its permanent grip over Balochistan's Gwadar coast and other areas where in 2001 it sought to anchor its military outpost in the name of Gwadar deep-sea port project," the statement adds.

Activists began their protests with placards which read: "CPEC [China Pakistan Economic Border] is the corridor of death and destruction for Baloch" and "China: Hands off Balochistan".

FBM has called on all pro-freedom Baloch and other human rights activists in the UK and Europe to take part in this protest campaign.
Houston: A troubled lawyer opened fire on morning commuters in Houston on Monday, injuring at least nine people before being fatally shot by police, authorities said.

Six victims were taken to hospitals and three were treated at the scene after being shot at while inside their vehicles in the wealthy neighborhood of West University Place, acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo told reporters.

One of the victims was in critical condition and another was in serious condition.

Montalvo declined to identify the suspect but said he was a lawyer. She said the FBI was assisting with the investigation and did not mention terrorism as a motive.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, in Cuba on a trip to develop trade relations, told reporters, "The motivation appears to be a lawyer whose relationship with his law firm went bad."

The police bomb squad was securing the suspect's car, a black Porsche, which had numerous weapons in it. Police were planning to search his house.

Broken glass from shattered car windows littered a parking lot in an upscale shopping center near where the suspect fired 20 to 30 shots.

An unidentified woman, standing next to a car with two bullet holes in the windshield, told a local television station she heard "the bullets literally whiz by my window."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on the Indus Waters Treaty on Monday afternoon in a meeting with senior officials of the departments concerned with the implementation of the treaty.

The Supreme Court on Monday was also urged to hear a plea challenging the constitutional and legal validity of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.

Needless to say, ever since Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup made it clear that "mutual trust and cooperation" was important for such a treaty to work, the Indus Waters Treaty has become a critical point for discussions linked with India-Pakistan ties.

The treaty, brokered by the World Bank between the two countries in 1960, divides the control over six north Indian rivers between India and Pakistan. Under the treaty, India got control over the rivers Beas, Ravi and Sutlej whereas Pakistan got control over Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

It is is considered to be one of the most successful water-sharing agreements in the world today. Thus, the fact that India is even thinking about abrogating the treaty could have an effect on its ties with Pakistan.

As Dinesh Unnikrishnan points out in this Firstpost article, the Indus Waters Treaty is "the backbone of Pakistans agricultural economy, which constitutes 19.8 percent of that countrys GDP and is the largest employer (42.3 percent of the countrys total labour force)."

The three rivers controlled by Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty support 90 percent of the country's agriculture.

Brahma Chellaney, professor at the Centre for Policy Research, further pointed out in this article in Livemint that Pakistan has regularly backed away from following the provisions under bilateral agreements with India. "When Pakistan refuses to observe the terms of the 1972 peace treaty signed at Shimla, it undercuts the IWT. It cannot selectively demand Indias compliance with one treaty while it flouts a peace pact serving as the essential basis for all peaceful cooperation," he said.

Moreover, the treaty is a highly one-sided agreement, according to this Firstpost article by Srinivasa Prasad.

"Nehru virtually gifted to Pakistan 80 percent of the water, amounting to some 5,900 tmcft every year. You can imagine how huge a quantity this is, if you see that the Supreme Courts order to Karnataka to release 3.8 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu has created ruckus," said the article.

The article said that because India gave away control over the three rivers to Pakistan, this led to shortage of power generation and lack of industrial development in Jammu and Kashmir. "In other words, it keeps the Kashmiris frustrated with the Indian government. The feeling of the average Kashmiri is that India had made his state a 'sacrificial goat' in signing the treaty," said the article.

Another fact which strengthens the reason for abrogation of the Indus Waters Treaty is that China has stealthily built a dam on the Indus.

But Prasad also said in the article that cutting down the water supply to Pakistan will take a lot of time and effort because India has to build dams on the rivers to store water, which will take time. The dams might also become targets of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Stopping the waters from flowing into Pakistan without taking adequate measures could harm India as this could cause floods in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

According to this DNA article, the three rivers under Pakistani control could not be connected to the other rivers because the Pir Panjal mountains insulated them from the rest of the country.

Even the United Nations is of the opinion that the treaty should not be abrogated. "In the second half of the 20th century, more than 200 water treaties were successfully negotiated. The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan has survived two wars, and remains in force today," PTI had quoted UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson as saying.

The UN opinion is especially significant because this shows that India's reputation in the world may be damaged if it abrogates the treaty. "A measure like stopping water for agriculture and other uses will hit ordinary people the most and trigger a humanitarian crisis. It might work as a strategy to bring Pakistan on its knees but it would take the moral sheen off India, particularly in the eyes of the international community which the government has managed to wean in its favour after the Uri attack," Akshaya Mishra wrote in this Firstpost article.

The article also said that such a provocative measure may, in fact, ironically result in a full-fledged war between India and Pakistan, something the measure aims to avoid in the first place.

Strategic affairs expert G Parthasarthy also warned in this NDTV article that abrogating the treaty might not be viewed favourably by China.

If China decides to divert the Indus, India could lose as much as 36 percent of river water. Moreover, China is building 11 dams on the Brahmaputra and "is in a position to hurt India's interests".

Another article in Daily Mail said that because the Indus Waters Treaty was brokered by the World Bank, "Indias open withdrawal from the treaty will automatically draw the World Bank into the dispute - and in support of Pakistan." The article also said that if the abrogation did take place, Pakistan could take the issue to the International Court of Justice and most probably win the case.

An article in Hindustan Times explained that India abrogating the Indus Waters Treaty could have an adverse impact on other water-sharing pacts.

With inputs from agencies
Editor's note: This article was originally published on 26 September, 2016 in the wake of the Uri attack. It is being republished in light of the Government of India's decision on Thursday to divert water from the 'Eastern Rivers' to Jammu and Kashmir and keep it from flowing into Pakistan.

Pakistans fragile economy and its 195 million people should fear a water war with India more than the one fought with weapons. If that happens, Uri will find place in Pakistans history records as, perhaps, the biggest price it paid for state-sponsored terrorism. Reason: it could inflict deeper cuts in Pakistans psyche damaging its only major source of water available for irrigation, power generation and even for drinking.

Such an action from Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be ruled out. An embattled PM, facing severe pressure to avenge Uri, is reportedly weighing alternative options to military strike, including scrapping the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT). Given that Modi wouldnt want risk his own hard-won image of a matured diplomat internationally choosing a full-fledged war, strategic options such as re-looking at IWT seem possible.

Why should Pakistan fear about IWT? Three rivers under the IWT pact in the Nehruvian era, whose rights went to Pakistan Indus, Chenab and Jhelum  are the life energy for the Indus region, which, according to various estimates, supports 90 per cent of the Pakistans agriculture. It is the backbone of Pakistans agricultural economy, which constitutes 19.8 percent of that countrys GDP and is the largest employer (42.3 percent of the countrys total labour force), according to latest data from the Pakistan government.

According to 2015-16 Pakistan economic survey, agriculture sector is a vital component of Pakistans economy as it provides the raw materials to down the line industries and helps in poverty alleviation impact. In the last year, the farm sector contracted by -0.19 percent mainly due to decrease in production of cotton, rice and maize, the survey says. In other words closing the water tap, even partially, could result in famine and agrarian economic crisis for Pakistan that can lead to internal unrest. Pakistan government wont be needing Indian military then to fight with.

Already, the textile sectorone of the largest employers in Pakistan is facing one of the gravest crises in its history. According to a 21 September, Bloomberg report, which quoted Saleem Saleh, acting secretary general of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, about 100 member factories in Pakistan have shut down and at least 500,000 people have lost jobs in the past two years alone, on account of power scarcity and buyers shifting to other markets.

Of course, this is also due to Pakistans infamous image of being a terror prone area, which makes foreigners scared to land in Karachi, which isnt the case with other markets such as India, as the reports says. But, the point to note here is that here again, the Indus regions role in contributing to Pakistans Hydro-electric power projects is crucial.

Pakistans agricultural output, as that countrys economic survey points out, is closely linked with the availability of irrigation water (logically from Indus region). The situation is already bad. This is what the survey says:

During 2015-16, the availability of water for Kharif 2015 stood at 65.5 million acre feet (MAF) showing a decrease of 5.5 percent over Kharif 2014 and 2.4 percent less than the normal supplies of 67.1 MAF. During Rabi season 2015-16, the water availability remained at 32.9 MAF, which is 0.6 percent less than Rabi 2014-15 and 9.6 percent less than the normal availability of 36.4 MAF.

Presently, a third of Pakistans population is already reeling under severe poverty. According to a report in Pakistan daily, Dawn, which quoted the government data, 60 million Pakistanis are living under the poverty line. The report, which quoted a 2013-14 survey, said the number of poor households in the crisis-ridden country is at 6.8-7.6 million.

An economy in distress

The fact is that the Pakistan economy is in perils. A war, of any sort, could reduce that country to a pile of debris and yet another symbol of poverty and anarchy to the world. The ability of Nawaz Sharif government to face an economic emergency is doubtful. It is already is fighting a crisis with near-empty coffers. According to 15 February Bloomberg report, Pakistan is fighting an external payment crisis. About 40 percent of Pakistans outstanding debt  both local and foreign  is due to mature in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thats roughly $45 billion, of which about 4.3 trillion rupees ($41 billion) is in local currency, the report said, adding already 77 per cent of Pakistans budget is for debt servicing. Sharif took a $6.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan in 2013, which pushed up Pakistans external debt by 79 per cent. This debt is coming up for repayment by end of this year.

For Pakistans fragile economy, Modis water warfare will be tough to deal with even though it might still avoid a full-fledged war flashing its nuclear warheads. Having said this, it wouldnt be easy for India to tinker with the IWT since it will raise questions on the fate of other international water treaties, mainly with China. It will be hard call for Modi to take, but not an impossible one if the PM convinces the world that his action is a necessary, unavoidable outcome of Pakistans continuing hostility on the Indian soil. Modis action on IWT will be justified then. But, thatll push the country, born out of contempt in 1947, to the corner.

One can only guess the ultimate consequences then.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that India will ratify the Conference of Parties (CoP) protocol on combating climate change on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on 2 October.

"Now the time has come to ratify the COP21 protocol. India will do it on Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October," Modi said while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national executive meet in Kozhikode, Kerala.

In the UN climate change conference COP21 in Paris, 195 countries adopted the first universal, legally binding global climate deal. The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2Celsius. The agreement is due to enter into force in 2020.

Modi said India will formally join the landmark accord struck in 2015 in Paris, through which countries commit to take action to stem the planet's rising temperatures.

The step by India, the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter, will help bring the deal a step closer to reality.

The ratification and India's stand

The accord needs ratification from 55 countries that account for at least 55 percent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.

Specifically, it seeks to limit global temperature rise to well below 2Celsius and to strive for 1.5Celsius.

A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification of the agreement, representing more than 47.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Modi said he had chosen that date, 2 October, because Indian Independence leader Mahatma Gandhi had lived his life with a low carbon footprint.

The treaty moved closer to taking effect earlier this month when a string of countries joined during the UN General Assembly.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon voiced confidence then that the accord would come into force by the end of the year.

China and the United States, the two largest emitters, gave a major boost to the accord when they signed on during a summit earlier this month between presidents Xi Jinping and Barack Obama.

After a meeting with Obama in Vientiane, Modi said India would formally join the agreement later this year.

Points of divergence

India has not agreed to cap or cut its carbon emissions outright like some countries, maintaining that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.

Instead, it says it will hike its use of green energy and reduce its emissions relative to its gross domestic product by up to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels  meaning emissions will continue to grow but at a slower rate.

India has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the government's plan to supply electricity to every household.

It also seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photo-voltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.

India, which relies heavily on coal-fired power plants for electricity, argues that stricter emissions targets would compromise efforts to boost living standards of more than a quarter of its 1.2 billion population which lives in poverty.

UN chief lauds decision

Ban lauded India for its "swift action" over the decision to ratify the Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking forward to receiving New Delhi's instrument of accession.

"The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift action by India. He looks forward to receiving India's instrument of accession," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.

Ban said this week that since more than 55 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, a critical threshold has been crossed that will help bring into force the landmark pact that seeks to put the world on a path towards low-carbon growth and a more sustainable future.

"I am confident that, by the time I leave office, the Paris Agreement will have entered into force," the UN chief has said.

"This will be a major achievement for multilateralism," he said.

With inputs from agencies
Islamabad: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement violates all UN and international charters against non-interference in internal affairs of other countries, according to a top Pakistani official.

The remark was made by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry in an interview with Dawn News.

Responding to Modi's address in Kerala on Saturday, where he denounced Pakistan for supporting and exporting terror, besides warning that the neighbouring country will be isolated as a "terror state", Chaudhry said that several UN resolutions recognised Islamabad as a party to the Kashmir dispute and India too recognised that status.

But India has no justification for interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs, he added.

The Foreign Secretary said it was unfortunate that the Indian leadership "continues to indulge in a vilification campaign against Pakistan by making provocative statements and hurling baseless accusations".

He said that such display of irresponsible behaviour at the highest political level was regrettable.

"It is evident that, as an act of desperation, India is trying to distract world attention from the atrocities perpetrated by its occupation forces against innocent and defenceless Kashmiris, including women and children," Chaudhry said.

The Foreign Secretary said that while casting aspersions on Pakistan, India continued to "sponsor terrorism in Pakistan directly through its state apparatus".

The arrest and confessional statement of Kulbhushan Yadav  the Indian national arrested in Pakistan on charges of being a RAW agent  had proved India's involvement, he added.

He pointed out that the international community had taken notice of blatant human rights violations, with concern expressed by several countries as well as the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

"There are increasing demands for independent investigations and fact-finding missions to be sent to Kashmir," Chaudhry added.

Ambassador Jilani said that by making such statements, Indian leaders were trying to hide the atrocities their forces were committing against the people of Kashmir. "We reject the statement. This is highly irresponsible. The content of the statement is a distortion and counter-intuitive," he said.

Meanwhile, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington, believed that Modi's statement shows India's nervousness with the situation in held Kashmir.

Jilani said that to hide their guilt and nervousness, Indian leaders had forgotten the language of diplomacy, Dawn News reported on Monday.

"With such statements, they cannot draw a curtain on their brazen acts of terrorism and crimes against humanity in Kashmir," he said.

The situation in Kashmir demanded a responsible and realistic response, but "unfortunately, India is acting in a highly irresponsible manner", Jilani said.

"India is making a wrong example and it will hurt everybody," he said, adding "If India continues on this path, it will end up isolating itself instead of Pakistan."
United Nations: Britain, France and the United States lashed out at Russia on Sunday over the worsening carnage in Syria as Syrian and Russian warplanes pounded Aleppo in one of the heaviest bombing raids of the five-year war.

US Ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism" during a Security Council emergency meeting called to demand that Moscow rein in its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and halt the intense air strikes.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war," Power said. "What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism."

At least 124 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo since the army on Thursday announced an operation to take it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," French Ambassador Francois Delattre said, calling for action to ensure the atrocities do not go unpunished.

Britain's envoy spoke of "a new hell" unleashed on Syrians with bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry used in air strikes pummelling residential areas.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

Britain, France and the United States had called for the urgent talks after days of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage a US-Russian ceasefire deal ended in failure at the weekend.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the "chilling" escalation making use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has left more than 300,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.

To protest the attacks in Aleppo, the US, French and British ambassadors walked out of the Security Council chamber as the Syrian ambassador delivered his remarks.

Almost impossible peace

Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that "bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now."

Churkin again laid the blame for the failed diplomacy with the United States, accusing Washington of being unable to convince armed opposition groups that it backs on the ground to distance themselves from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and abide by the ceasefire.

A US-Russian ceasefire deal that would have charted a way forward towards peace talks was broken by the "sabotage by the moderate opposition", he asserted.

Churkin, however, said that reviving the ceasefire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of a "collective" effort on all sides.

Despite the recriminations, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said a "tiny window of opportunity ... still exists" for Russia and the United States to help Syria.

He appealed for renewed efforts to allow Syria to "step away from the brink of more years of bloody conflict which risks to become even worse."

Residents said cluster bombs rained down on Saturday night on eastern parts of the city, where an estimated 250,000 people are living under a government siege.

At least 19 children were among those killed in the assault, which has included missile strikes, barrel bomb attacks, and artillery fire, the Syrian observatory said.

"All night long they were dropping cluster bombs. I couldn't sleep until four in the morning," said 62-year-old Ahmed Hajar, who was out looking for bread in the Al-Kalasseh neighborhood.

We're civilians here

In the nearby neighborhood of Bab al-Nayrab, 30-year-old Imad Habush was baking bread in a small wood-burning oven outside his house.

"None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread," he said.

"I don't know why the regime is bombing us in this barbaric way. We're civilians here. We're not carrying weapons, and we're besieged. We have no way to escape."

Air strikes were continuing on the eastern neighborhoods on Sunday, the Observatory said, with at least 25 civilians, including two children, killed since dawn.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by war and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.

The eastern portion of the city has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages.

A truce deal hammered out by Russia and the United States this month was meant to allow aid to be trucked into the east of the city.

But the ceasefire fell apart before any assistance was brought in. And the army and its Russian ally have since pounded the eastern neighborhoods with a force that residents say is virtually unprecedented.

More than 3,00,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

Successive attempts to reach a political solution have failed, and the latest bid by Moscow and Washington has virtually collapsed, despite ongoing talks to save it.

Syria's foreign minister said Saturday that his government was confident of "victory" with support from "true friends" including Russia, Iran, and Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

"Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab army is making great strides in its war against terrorism," Walid Muallem told the UN General Assembly.
London: British physicist Stephen Hawking has warned against announcing our presence to any alien civilisations, especially to those more technologically advanced than humans.

Our first contact with an advanced civilisation could be equivalent to when Native Americans first encountered Christopher Columbus and things "didn't turn out so well", Hawking said in a new online film.

The film, Stephen Hawking's Favourite Places, takes viewers to five significant locations across the cosmos, on his spacecraft  the SS Hawking.

In the film, Hawking performs a hypothetical flyby of Gliese 832c, a potentially habitable exoplanet located 16 light years away.

"One day we might receive a signal from a planet like Gliese 832c, but we should be wary of answering back," he said.

"They will be vastly more powerful and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria," Hawking warned.

"As I grow older I am more convinced than ever that we are not alone. After a lifetime of wondering, I am helping to lead a new global effort to find out," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

It is not the first time Hawking has warned about the prospect of hostile aliens.

Launching the Breakthrough Listen project, which will scan the nearest million stars for signs of life, last year Hawking had suggested that any civilisation reading our messages could be billions of years ahead of humans.

"The Breakthrough Listen project will scan the nearest million stars for signs of life, but I know just the place to start looking," he said, in the film that appeared on the online platform CuriosityStream.
Afghanistan: Afghan security forces have killed one of the top Pakistani Taliban commanders along with at least 10 other militants in a border area operation, sources said Sunday.

Raeas Khan, also known as Azam Khan Tariq, had a 20 million rupee ($190,740) bounty on his head and was the fourth-highest ranking commander in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

"I confirm the killing of Azam Tariq along with at least 10 other Pakistani Taliban in Paktika province," a senior commander loyal to Tariq told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The nature of the operation was unclear, but three sources in the militant group said Tariq and his associates were killed in the Laman area of the Afghan province, which is near Pakistan's South Waziristan region.

Tariq worked as chief TTP spokesman from 2009 until 2013 and was a close aide to former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan in 2013.

In 2009 the Pakistani government offered $5 million for information leading to the capture of TTP commanders.

Tariq was top of the list as three other commanders had been killed  either in US drone strikes or in Pakistani military operations.

He had been working as spokesman for the Mehsud faction of the TTP prior to his death.

Pakistan has demanded that Kabul hand over fugitive TTP chief Maulana Fazlullah, who is reportedly hiding in eastern Afghanistan.

Both nations have accused each other of allowing militants to shelter in the border regions and launch bloody attacks that threaten regional stability.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, over the weekend defended the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) from a critical report issued by the Commission of Audit.

The report, which found that several leisure spaces under the supervision of IACM had fallen into disrepair and now posed a danger to the public, criticized the bureaus mismanagement of the issue.

However, Sonia Chan has come out in IACMs defense, arguing that the bureau has solved 80 percent of the problems that were pointed out in the report.

IACM has fixed 80 percent of the weaknesses in the report [and] the rest of the problems need construction works to be repaired, she said, as cited by public broadcaster TDM. They have already made a plan [to improve the situation] and will solve the problems as early as possible.

The secretary added that there is still more work to be done in improving IACMs management of these spaces. Therefore she has requested the bureau to submit an improvement proposal as soon as possible, which would include measures to enhance the supervision of the IACMs contractors.

She also called on the public to understand that the remaining 20 percent of the problems cannot necessarily be solved with a simple solution.

For example, the stone floor around Nam Van Lake is quite fragile but its not as simple as changing one piece of stone, Chan explained, according to TDM. DB
The worlds largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life yesterday in a project demonstrating Chinas rising ambitions in space and its pursuit of international scientific prestige.

Beijing has poured billions into such ambitious scientific projects as well as its military-backed space program, which saw the launch of Chinas second space station earlier this month.

Measuring 500 meters in diameter, the radio telescope is nestled in a natural basin within a stunning landscape of lush green karst formations in southern Guizhou province. It took five years and USD180 million to complete and surpasses that of the 300-meter Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, a dish used in research on stars that led to a Nobel Prize.

The official Xinhua News Agency said hundreds of astronomers and enthusiasts watched the launch of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, in the county of Pingtang.

Researchers quoted by state media said FAST would search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

The ultimate goal of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe, Qian Lei, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told state broadcaster CCTV.

In theory, if there is civilization in outer space, the radio signal it sends will be similar to the signal we can receive when a pulsar [spinning neutron star] is approaching us, Qian said.

Installation of the 4,450-panel structure, nicknamed Tianyan, or the Eye of Heaven, started in 2011 and was completed in July.

The telescope requires a radio silence within a 5-kilometer radius, resulting in the relocation of more than 8,000 people from their homes in eight villages to make way for the facility, state media said. Reports in August said the villagers would be compensated with cash or new homes from a budget of about $269 million from a poverty relief fund and bank loans.

CCTV reported that during a recent test, the telescope received radio signals from a pulsar that was 1,351 light-years from Earth.

The radio telescope has double the sensitivity of the Arecibo Observatory, and five to 10 times the surveying speed, Xinhua said.

China has also completed the construction of tourist facilities such as an observation deck on a nearby mountain, reports said. Such facilities can be a draw for visitors  the one in Puerto Rico draws about 90,000 visitors and some 200 scientists each year.

Earlier this month, China launched the Tiangong 2, its second space station and the latest step in its military-backed program that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years. In August, the country launched the first quantum satellite experts said would advance efforts to develop the ability to send communications that cant be penetrated by hackers. Gillian Wong, Beijing, AP
After installing more wind and solar farms than anywhere else on the planet, China is ratcheting back the pace of growth in an industry thats helped lower the costs of green energy worldwide.

Installations of new wind and solar farms in China are expected to drop 11 percent in 2017 from a record high this year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That would be the first decline in the history of the modern renewables business, now a little more than a decade old, for a nation that has provided about a third the investment for the industry.

After five years of breakneck growth in the supply, Chinas electricity demand is stagnating along with a pause in the nations economic expansion. President Xi Jinpings government has started re-calibrating subsidies for the business, a move thats likely to hit the industrys leading manufacturers, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. and Trina Solar Ltd.

China shapes the whole world market, Paolo Frankl, head of the International Energy Agencys renewable energy division, said in an interview.

The move is crucial for renewables because China has been the single largest developer of the technology for eight years. Its demand for panels and turbines has pushed manufacturers to build factories throughout Asia, and the scale of its projects helped bring down the cost of electricity from low-polluting sources everywhere.

While global clean energy capacity is expected to swell 17 percent in 2017, its still the slowest in at least a decade, according to BNEF, a researcher based in London. Chinas wind and solar capacity will grow 41.8 gigawatts next year, down from a record 46.9 gigawatts in 2016, BNEF estimates. A gigawatt is about as much as a nuclear reactor produces.

The insanity in China gave a false sense of security to manufacturers to ramp up new capacity, said Charles Yonts, an analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Hong Kong. Now they need to slog it out.

The slowdown could be short lived. China has a history of working to prop up its manufacturers, and if makers of turbines and photovoltaic panels stumble, authorities may unleash new incentives. Chinas current plans for investing in clean power suggest that installations will rise again by 7 percent in 2018, BNEF estimates. Bloomberg
Syrias top diplomat told the worlds nations Saturday that his countrys belief in military victory is greater now because the army is making great strides in its war against terrorism with support from Russia, Iran and Lebanons Hezbollah fighters.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Syria is more determined than ever to eliminate terrorism from the country. The Syrian government refers to all those fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad as terrorists, including Western-backed opposition groups.

Al-Moallem accused the moderate armed opposition of committing crimes and massacres against Syrians that are no less barbaric than those of the Islamic State extremist group and al-Qaida. The Syrian government in turn has been accused by the U.S. and other Western nations of the indiscriminate killing of civilians, dropping bombs filled with chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, and torturing and killing opponents.

The Syrian official addressed the U.N. General Assemblys annual ministerial meeting after frantic but unsuccessful efforts by the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers to revive a cease-fire that came into effect on Sept. 12 but collapsed after a week following attacks by both sides. The truce was aimed at enabling the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid and paving the way for a resumption of talks between the government and opposition.

Syria was stepping up its military campaign even as talks were taking place between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting on reviving the cease-fire.

As of Saturday, rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo had come under a blistering wave of airstrikes that residents said was without precedent in the 5 1/2-year conflict which has killed over 300,000 people and driven half the countrys population from their homes. The airstrikes killed dozens, toppled buildings and sent wounded people flooding into poorly equipped clinics.

Aid was never delivered to Aleppo, and on Saturday government forces captured an area on the edge of the city, tightening their siege around the rebel-held east.

Global reaction was swift and condemned the new Syrian offensive in harsh terms.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is appalled by the chilling military escalation in Aleppo and underlines that the use of indiscriminate weapons including incendiary devices and bunker buster bombs in densely populated areas may amount to war crimes, his spokesman said, adding that Ban considers this a dark day for the global commitment to protect civilians.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, called the bombing of Aleppo beyond the pale, accusing the Syrian government of laying siege in medieval terms to an entire community. Speaking at Tufts University in Boston, he demanded that Russia help bring peace to Syria instead of an unacceptable precedent [] for the entire world.

Al-Moallem said the Syrian government remains committed to political negotiations in Geneva under U.N. auspices but he stressed that any solution must follow two parallel tracks: intensified counter-terrorism efforts and an intra-

Syrian dialogue that allows Syrians to determine their future without foreign interference.

He said a political solution should begin by establishing a government of national unity comprising representatives from the government and the opposition, in all its factions, and tasked with creating a constitution drafting committee.

Once a new constitution is approved by Syrians through a referendum, he said, parliamentary elections should follow leading to formation of a new government.

That proposal is contrary to the roadmap for a Syrian political transition adopted by key nations in Geneva in June 2012 including the five permanent U.N. Security Council members  the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France  that has been the basis of subsequent Geneva talks.

It starts with the establishment of a transitional governing body, vested with full executive powers, and ends with elections, and requires Assad to relinquish power at some unspecified point.

Al-Moallem made no mention of Assad stepping down as president and envisioned a military victory  something Russia, the U.S. and the U.N. say is impossible.

Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab Army is making great strides in its war against terrorism, with the support of the true friends of the Syrian people, notably the Russian Federation, Iran and the Lebanese national resistance, al-Moallem said. He was referring to Lebanoons Shiite Hezbollah militia.

Syrias uprising began in March 2011 with mostly peaceful protests against the Assad familys four-decade rule, but escalated into a civil war following a brutal government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency.

Al-Moallem accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of spreading terrorism in Syria by sending in mercenaries equipped with the most sophisticated weapons. He also accused Turkey of opening its border to let in tens of thousands of terrorists from all over the world, and providing them with military and logistical support.

The Syrian minister reiterated the governments condemnation in the strongest possible terms of a U.S. attack on a Syrian army site near Deir El-Zour airport on Sept. 17, which he said allowed Islamic State fighters to gain control of the site.

The Syrian government holds the United States fully responsible for this aggression, because facts show that it was an intentional attack, and not an error, even if the United States claims otherwise, he said. Edith M. Lederer, United Nations, AP
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying pledged to provide more land to build apartments for low-income people in a bid to lower housing prices in the worlds least-affordable city.

Less than 25 percent of Hong Kongs land has been developed, according to government figures. That is the reason housing is expensive and land supply is short, Leung said Friday at a banquet hosted by the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre think tank, according to a statement on the governments website.

Every piece of our land could be used for building houses, as long as we, the Hong Kong people, want to do it, Leung said. We should have a clear sense on what matters most and what matters little, and it looks to me making sure Hong Kong people have a place to live is the absolute No. 1 priority.

The government faces opposition to plans to rezone rural green-belt sites for housing, or build new apartments in already overcrowded areas.

Increased housing density in certain areas may cause traffic jams, but its only a matter of inconvenience, Leung said in the speech. Addressing sub-divided apartments in Hong Kong is a matter of safety, which should override inconveniences, he said.

Leungs speech came just a few days after the Hong Kong leader defended his decision to postpone two phases of a large public housing project in the citys northern outskirts.

Leung, who must decide soon whether to seek a second five-year term as chief executive, has spent much of his tenure struggling to subdue housing costs.

Hong Kongs housing supply will reach 93,000 apartments in the next three to four years, the highest since 2004, Leung said. The extra supply will help reduce prices by HKD1 million (USD129,000) per apartment, saving buyers HKD93 billion in total, he said.

We cannot be satisfied with what we have managed to achieve, Leung said, referring to the new apartments available. The only way to solve Hong Kongs housing problem is to continue to provide more land and build more apartments, he said. Aibing Guo, AP


Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Cubas capital for an official visit designed to deepen commercial and political ties between the two countries.

Li was greeted at Jose Marti International Airport by First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other Cuban officials. The Chinese premier then attended a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday at the Monument to Jose Marti, overlooking the iconic Revolution Square in central Havana.

Officials say the two countries signed several bilateral accords, including ones related to investment in tourism and telecommunications.

China is Cubas second-largest trading partner, and Lis visit, which includes a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, is seen as an effort to boost investment in the island nation. AP
Africa is divided over whether to sell the ivory of its elephants, whose continent-wide population has plummeted because of poaching.

Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa will argue for the right to sell ivory at an international wildlife conference that starts Saturday in Johannesburg. They are opposed by about 30 African countries that want to tighten an international ban on the ivory trade amid growing concern over elephants, which have been slaughtered in the tens of thousands in recent years.

Additional resistance to the pro-trade lobby includes a plan by China, the worlds main ivory consumer, to close its domestic market. The United States has announced a near-total ban on the domestic sale of African elephant ivory.

Namibia has said it does not expect the Johannesburg talks at the meeting the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, to go in its favor. It has argued that it has a large elephant population that often comes into conflict with communities, and that funds from ivory sales can go back into conservation programs.

South Africa supports Namibian and Zimbabwean proposals for international ivory sales, said Edna Molewa, South Africas environment minister. While there is opposition from some African brothers on the continent, southern countries with robust elephant populations should not be treated the same way as other nations hit hard by elephant poaching, she told foreign correspondents last week.

Some 3,500 delegates are expected to attend the meeting of the CITES group, which has 183 member countries and aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Proposals that are put to a vote require a two-thirds majority to be accepted.

CITES had allowed a one-

off sale of elephant ivory that was completed in 2009. In that sale, ivory from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe went to China and Japan.

The number of savannah elephants in Africa dropped by about 30 percent from 2007 to 2014 because of poaching, according to a recent study. Christopher Torchia, Johannesburg, AP
Baby lobsters might not be able to survive in the oceans waters if the ocean continues to warm at the expected rate.

That is the key finding of a study performed by scientists in Maine, the state most closely associated with lobster. The scientists, who are affiliated with the University of Maine Darling Marine Center and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, said the discovery could mean bad news for the future of one of Americas most beloved seafood treats, as well as the industry lobsters support.

The scientists found that lobster larvae struggled to survive when they were reared in water 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the temperatures that are currently typical of the western Gulf of Maine, a key lobster fishing area off of New England. Five degrees is how much the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expects the Gulf of Maines temperature to warm by the year 2100.

The paper appears this month in the scientific journal ICES Journal of Marine Science. It could serve as a wake-up call that the lobster fishery faces a looming climate crisis that is already visible in southern New England, said Jesica Waller, one of the studys authors.

There has been a near total collapse in Rhode Island, the southern end of the fishery, and we know our waters are getting warmer, Waller said. We are hoping this research can be a jumping off point for more research into how lobsters might do over the next century.

Right now, the countrys lobster catch is strong, prices are high and steady and the industry is opening up new markets in Asia, where a growing middle class is hungry for one of Americas seafood status symbols.

U.S. fishermen have topped 100 million pounds of lobster for seven years in a row after having never previously reached that mark, and their catch topped a half billion dollars in value at the docks for the first time in 2014.

But signs of the toll warming waters can do to the fishery are noticeable in its southern reaches, where scientists have said rising temperatures are contributing to the lobsters decline. The lobster catch south of Cape Cod fell to about 3.3 million pounds in 2013, 16 years have it peaked at about 22 million in 1997.

The studys authors found higher temperatures caused baby lobsters to develop faster  something that could help them avoid predators in the wild  but few survived. They performed the work by raising more than 3,000 baby lobsters from the moment they hatched. Patrick Whittle, Portland, AP
Did notorious gangster Al Capone have a soft spot? An intimate letter he penned from prison suggests the ruthless racketeer could handle tenderness almost as skillfully as his Tommy Gun.

The three-page letter  which is being auctioned off next week  is addressed to Capones son, Albert Sonny Capone. The mobster signed it, Love & Kisses, Your Dear Dad Alphonse Capone #85, which was his number at the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay.

Junior keep up the way you are doing, and dont let nothing get you down. When you get the blues, Sonny, put on one of the records with songs I wrote you about, Capone wrote.

Later, he added: Well heart of mine, sure hope things come our way for next year, then Ill be there in your arms.

Its an exceedingly rare personal letter showing the softer side of the notorious gangster, said Robert Livingston, executive vice president of Boston-based RR Auction, which is handling Mondays auction at a hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and expects it to fetch around USD50,000.

Youd think that figures like this would be despised, but instead, theyre kind of deified in the consciousness of the American public, he said.

The legendary Brooklyn-born mobster, who ruled gangland Chicago during Prohibition, is best known for his 1929 Valentines Day Massacre of seven members of rival bootlegger Bugs Morans gang.

The feds finally caught up with Capone in 1931, when he was charged with income tax evasion. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison, much of which he spent at Alcatraz. Capone was finally released a few years early in 1938 and returned to his Miami Beach mansion. Riddled with syphilis, he suffered a stroke and died in 1947 at age 48.

Though the letter to his then college-aged son is dated only Jan 16th, experts say he likely wrote it in 1938, four years after the man dubbed Public Enemy No. 1 was transferred to Alcatraz.

In a somewhat surprisingly cheerful tone, his letter describes the daily grind in prison, which Capone tried to relieve by playing banjo and mandola, a stringed instrument similar to the mandolin. While at Alcatraz, Capone put together an inmate band he dubbed The Rock Islanders.

Sonny I got a Song like Rainbow on the River, that was sung by Bobby Breen, in the Rainbow on the River picture, I sure hope you seen it as we saw it out here, he wrote.  When I come home, I will play not only that song, but about 500 more, and all mostly Theme Songs from the best Shows. In other words Junior, there isnt a Song written that I cant play.

Capone ended the letter encouraging his son to stay strong.

Well Sonny keep up your chin, and dont worry about your dear Dad, and when again you allowed a vacation, I want you and your dear Mother to come here together, as I sure would love to see you, he wrote. AP
The Macau Portuguese School (EPM) is unaware of the projects that both the Ministry of Education and Science of Portugal (MEC) and the president of the schools foundation (FEPM) reportedly have in store for the future of the institution.

As reported by the weekly bilingual (Chinese and Portuguese) newspaper Plataforma, the MEC has been working on a project that aims to create the internationalization of the school institution in both the region and in mainland China.

The idea involves offering lessons in European languages like Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Although the project is not a new one it seems that there is now a greater will to take the school brand to the next level, developing it locally and expanding it into mainland China, where there is reportedly a great demand for different kinds of international schools.

This demand has been attributed by the FEPM to the strong results that the school has been achieving in comparison to its overseas counterparts in the Portuguese education system.

Beijing and Shanghai were two of the major Chinese cities raised as possible destinations for the first delegations of the Portuguese School in the mainland.

The measure would also consider in the long-term changes within the schools administrative level, but for the time being the plan is set to be implemented under the current administration.

Plataforma quotes a source in the MEC that said that such plans are already in the final stage of consideration.

According to the same media source, the subject is on the agenda of higher ranked officials of both Macau and Portugal and might have been addressed recently during the visit of the Chief Executive Chui Sai On to Portugal, where he co-presided together with the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, a meeting of the Macau-Portugal Joint Committee.

[The idea] is to strengthen Portuguese, French and Spanish, and Portugal is the foundation of Europe there, said to Plataforma Roberto Carneiro, president of FEPM, adding, and then enter [into] China creating a network of European schools.

According to Carneiro, the new school would not require additional funding from either the MEC or the Macao Foundation, since it would be self-sufficient and funded by its own tuition fees, similar to other international schools.

Although the plan seems to be in an advanced stage of development, the Macau Portuguese School board of directors seems to be unaware of such ideas.

Questioned by the Times, the vice president of the board, Zelia de Oliveira Baptista, said that the schools board of directors is unaware of such a project since the MEC didnt speak about it with the school, providing no further comment.

China: Demand for pricey international schools surging

Once limited mainly to foreign children, during the last two decades international schools have been allowed to open up their campuses to Chinese students jointly with local companies. While the Chinese government has sought to tighten its ideological control over textbooks and limit perceived Western influences, international schools offer a valuable infusion of new teaching methods and options for Chinas middle class.

Western prep schools in China advertise a smoother pathway to acceptance into overseas universities, with teaching methods that emphasize critical thinking over memorization, and classes based on the International Baccalaureate program or other internationally recognized curriculums. This opening has brought in some of the worlds biggest brand names, joining long-established international schools in Beijing and Shanghai.

Britains Dulwich College now runs schools for Chinese students in the eastern city of Suzhou and the southern city of Zhuhai, while Hurtwood House operates in association with a school in eastern Ningbo. AP
Singapore has done it again. The city-state beat New Zealand to rank first in a survey of expat destinations for the second year running. Among nearly 27,000 expats in 190 economies, Singapore is the best place to live, work and raise a family abroad, according to the latest and ninth edition of HSBC Holdings Plcs annual Expat Explorer report.

While New Zealand came close to Singapore in most areas, what dragged down its ranking was economics  the category covering earnings and career prospects. New Zealand was rated 41st for personal finances in the survey, far behind Singapores eighth place under this metric.

No other Asia-Pacific economy made it to the top 10 overall ranking of expat destinations, with Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan rounding up the top 20. The U.S. placed 30th overall.

Heres a breakdown of why Singapore is the favorite:

Money and Economy  Expats in Singapore earn on average about USD139,000 annually, 43 percent more than the global average. Expats in Hong Kong are paid even more, at $170,000. Switzerland is the top country for personal finances, with annual incomes averaging $188,000.

The highest-paid expats live in Zurich, where more than two in five earn over $200,000, compared with almost one-third in Shanghai.

Expats in Singapore are the most assured about the economy of their adopted country, with almost three-quarters saying they feel confident, compared with 52 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.

Quality of Life  Here is where New Zealand beats Singapore  in overall experience. New Zealand tops the category, which includes quality of life and ease of social integration, with Singapore coming in at fourth place.

Almost three-quarters of expats in New Zealand say theyve achieved the goal of improving their quality of life, beating the global average of 52 percent.

Expats consider Japan to be the worlds safest country, followed by Singapore and South Korea. More than eight in 10 expats living in Singapore feel safer than back home, compared with 52 percent globally.

Career Prospects  More than six in 10 expats working in Singapore believe it is a good place to advance their careers. Singapore ranks second behind Hong Kong. China, in seventh place, and India, in ninth, are the only two other Asian countries within the top 10. New Zealand is in 18th place.

About 58 percent of expats in Singapore say it is a good place to start a business, beating the global average of 38 percent.

London and New York attract executives looking to boost their careers. More than 70 percent of expats in both cities say working there will improve their job prospects when they return home, surpassing the 46 percent globally.

Family, Education  Sweden remains the best place in the world for families abroad, taking the top spot in the overall family category including school and childcare quality and cost of bringing up kids. Singapore is in third place and New Zealand in fourth. Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia round up the Asia-Pacific entries in the top 20.

Singapores quality of education is rated the best in the world. Among expats in Singapore, 75 percent consider the quality of education there better than in their home country, compared with 43 percent overall in the survey. New Zealand ranks eighth, followed by Japan in ninth place and Hong Kong in 11th. Livia Yap, Bloomberg
A new policy granting tariff reduction to third countries or regions will be implemented, starting from October 1.

The policy, called the Free Trade Agreement Transshipment Facilitation Scheme (FTA Scheme), rules that consignments routed through a third location are qualified to apply for tariff reduction if they remain under the administration of the Customs Services.

The voluntary scheme provides traders with Customs supervision, and issues certificates of non-manipulation to certify transshipment cargo that have not undergone further processing during their stay in Macau.

The cargo will then be regarded as having undergone direct transportation to the third location, and will be eligible for tariff reduction.

The FTA Scheme will cover transshipment cargo in Macau heading for mainland China under several agreements, such as the China-Korea Free Trade Agreement and the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Once the cargo has been approved for tariff reduction, it will be allotted a certain period of time to stay in the city, which can vary in length from 60 days to 12 months.


SYRIA At least 23 civilians were killed in renewed government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said yesterday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria. More on FT

CHINA The worlds largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life yesterday in a project demonstrating Chinas rising ambitions in space.

THAILAND A homemade bomb planted in a road killed three police officers Friday in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand, officials said. Police said they believe Muslim separatist insurgents were behind the attack.

INDONESIA announced Friday its candidacy for membership on the U.N. Security Council, saying its commitment and contribution to the worlds body make it a true partner for world peace.

PHILIPPINES and the U.S. have scheduled military drills next month in the Southeast Asian nation, the U.S. embassy in Manila said, days after President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged that his country did need American troops in the South China Sea.



SOMALIAs Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer says that as a result of successful joint operations by the Somali military and the African Unions peacekeeping force we have militarily defeated the evil that is al-Shabab.

US The California Highway Patrol said 12 people were injured when a tour bus carrying Chinese teens struck a tree near Yosemite National Park and went down an embankment. Twenty two people were on the bus, most of them 12- to 15-year-old Chinese students and their adult chaperones who were heading to their hotel in Fresno after visiting the park.
Computer hackers swiped personal information from at least 500 million Yahoo accounts in what is believed to be the biggest digital break-in at an email provider.

The massive security breakdown disclosed last week poses new headaches for beleaguered Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer as she scrambles to close a USD4.8 billion sale to Verizon .

The breach dates back to late 2014, raising questions about the checks and balances within Yahoo  a fallen internet star that has been laying off staff and trimming expenses to counter a steep drop in revenue during the past eight years.

At the time of the break-

in, Yahoos security team was led by Alex Stamos, a respected industry executive who left last year to take a similar job at Facebook.

Yahoo didnt explain what took so long to uncover a heist that it blamed on a state-sponsored actor  parlance for a hacker working on behalf of a foreign government.

The Sunnyvale, California, company declined to explain how it reached its conclusions about the attack for security reasons, but said it is working with the FBI and other law enforcement. Yahoo began investigating a possible breach in July, around the time the tech site Motherboard reported that a hacker who uses the name Peace was trying to sell account information belonging to 200 million Yahoousers.

Yahoo didnt find evidence of that reported hack, but additional digging later uncovered a far larger, allegedly state-

sponsored attack.

We take these types of breaches very seriously and will determine how this occurred and who is responsible, the FBI said in a statement.

The Yahoo theft represents the most accounts ever stolen from a single email provider, according to computer security analyst Avivah Litan with the technology research firm Gartner Inc.

Its a shocking number, Litan said. This is a pretty big deal that is probably going to cost them tens of millions of dollars. Regulators and lawyers are going to have a field day with this one.

Yahoo says it has more than 1 billion monthly users, although it hasnt disclosed how many of those people have email accounts. In July, 161 million people worldwide used Yahoo email on personal computers, a 30 percent decline from the same time in 2014, according to the latest data from the research firm comScore.

The data stolen from Yahoo includes users names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, scrambled passwords, and the security questions  and answers  used to verify an accountholders identity. The company said the attacker didnt get any information about its users bank accounts or credit and debit cards.

Security experts say the Yahoo theft could hurt the affected users if their personal information is mined to break into other online services or used for identity theft. All affected users will be notified about the theft and advised how to protect themselves, according to the company.

Yahoo also is recommending that all users change their passwords if they havent done so since 2014. If the same password is used to access other sites, it should be changed too, along with any security questions similar to those used on Yahoo. Michael Liedtke, San Francisco, AP

report of data dump on dark web

In July, Yahoo! Inc. received a report of a hacker claiming to have 280 million user account credentials for sale on the black market. An initial investigation found no evidence to back that up, according to a person familiar with the probe. Claims like these are common nowadays. However, Yahoo decided to conduct a deeper, separate investigation and, piece by piece, the company slowly accumulated evidence of an even larger breach. Earlier this week, the person said there was enough evidence to tell Verizon Communications Inc., which had agreed to buy Yahoos web assets for USD4.83 billion on July 25.
TWIN FALLS  A pretty good year is how potato growers describe 2016s crop.

Mike Telford, who farms north of Paul, says its too early to tell how his crop is going to yield, but from what hes sampled and heard from other growers, he expects to find a high quality crop once he starts harvesting in earnest.

Its probably comparable to last year, yield-wise, he guessed, but theres a really good crop under there.

Potatoes benefited from the same weather conditions that favored both cereal grains and corn this year  early warmth allowed the crop to get a quick start but cooler temperatures during the summer reduced crop stress.

The crop got a really early start, but then the vines seemed to die early, Telford said.

While rain the end of last week kept him out of the field, he was hoping that it would mean it wouldnt have to irrigate to loosen up the potatoes so he could dig more easily. Because he has very junior groundwater rights, his farms water allocation was cut 20 percent to comply with the water agreement reached between ground and surface water users last spring. That works out to taking two pivots out of production.

Telford needs about three weeks of Indian summer to get his potato crop in the cellar. But in Caribou County, located in the heart of potato seed country in southeaster Idaho, growers are already 35 to 40 percent harvested.

That mirrors the National Agricultural Statistics Services estimate on September 19, which put harvest at 33 percent complete, well ahead of the five-year average of 17 percent.

Seed producers got a slightly earlier than normal start to harvest, but have been chased out of their fields by rain for a couple of days, said Steve Harrison, University of Idaho Extension educator in Caribou County. Harrison estimates that about half the potatoes in his area were dug without being irrigated.

From what hes seen and heard from folks checking cellars, the quality of this years crop is excellent. According to NASS, 85 percent of Idahos potato crop was rated good to excellent.

Idaho and Washington State continue to dominate the nations potato supply, accounting for over half the U.S. fall potato crop.

According to the U.S. Department of Agricultures 2015 Potato Production Report, released on Sept. 15, Idaho growers produced 130.4 million 100-pound sacks in 2015, down 2 percent from the 2014 crop. Washingtons production totaled 100.3 million sacks, down from 101.5 million the previous year. Overall, the U.S. fall potato production totaled 405 million sacks.

Growers in both Idaho and Washington overwhelmingly plant one variety of potato  Russets accounting for 91 percent of Idahos crop and 82 percent of Washingtons crop. White potatoes are the second largest category at 5 percent in Idaho and 11 percent in Washington.

About half of Washingtons crop has been harvested, a little behind the 5-year average of 53 percent.

Despite the promise of a good harvest, not all growers will be happy. Fresh potato prices are horrible, Telford said. Fortunately french fry demand remains strong.

Frozen french fries and other frozen products utilized 166 million sacks of raw potatoes in 2015 according to the USDA, up 2 percent over 2014.

Growers are pretty optimist about that part of the industry, Telford said.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  Between the guinea pigs, a chinchilla duo, rabbit, hedgehog, gecko, turtle and tank of sea monkeys, some of the halls at Bloomington Junior High School are starting to resemble Noahs Ark.

Sometimes, school isnt the place all kids want to be. Having pets in the classroom gets them excited about coming to class, said sixth-grade teacher Kelly Rosendahl.

Rosendahls classroom is home to two chinchillas, Moe and Larry, and two guinea pigs, Billie Jean and Pretty Mama.

Its a great way to teach kids about research; what the animals eat, what kind of homes they live in and what they need in their environment, Rosendahl said.

Rosendahl said guinea pigs are ideal classroom pets because of their mild temperament.

They let the kids hold them. If kids are having a hard day, they can sit in a bean bag chair, hold an animal and calm down, she said.

After one lunch period last week, sixth-grader Alex Kimmel explained how she plays with and feeds the guinea pigs before class starts.

Theyll come up to the cage in the morning and look at us, Alex said as she held Pretty Mama to her chest, feeding the guinea pig a handful of carrots. I want to learn more about chinchillas. I know they have floating rib cages.

Sixth-grader Morgan Masters eased Billie Jean out of her cage and began wiping her belly and paws clean with a cloth.

Pretty Mama likes people and food, Morgan said. Billie Jean doesnt really like people.

Even though he has pets at home, Sean Ndorongo said theres something different about having animals in the classroom.

You cant pick up a dog like this, Sean said while playing with the guinea pigs.

The students also helped Rosendahl give Moe and Larry a dust bath. She shook some dusting powder into a plastic tub and the students held it up to the open cage. Both rodents hopped into the tub and began spinning in the dust, coating their fur.

Rosendahl said a high cost can come with classroom pets for such things as food, bedding, items for the cages and cleansing dust for the chinchillas.

Thats one downside: it can get really expensive, Rosendahl said. We do use some of our classroom budget or buy things ourselves.

Rosendahl said her past and present students have hosted fundraisers to collect money for pet adoption fees and supplies.

Jen Swiderski said the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to having a classroom pet. A Holland Lop rabbit named Harley lives in her sixth-grade classroom at BJHS.

There are lots of benefits for students with a traumatic past, Swiderski said. They really form relationships with the animals and it always puts a smile on the kids face.

She utilizes the rabbit during teaching time, especially for science research projects and math problems.

A lot of kids shut down for math, but if I can tie the bunny into a word problem, they want to answer it, Swiderski said.

During summer and winter vacations, students in Rosendahls class have to fill out applications to take the pets home and care for them over break. The applications must include why the student wants to take the pet home, a parents signature and a letter of recommendation.

Swiderski said in order to take the rabbit home, her students must have good grades.

I tell them, If you cant remember to turn in an assignment, how will you remember to feed the rabbit? The kids get really excited about taking care of them, Swiderski said.

Many other schools in the Pantagraph area are using classroom reptiles, rodents, fish and therapy dogs in their teaching curriculum.

For 20 years, Britta Armstrong has kept mice as pets in her kindergarten classroom at Prairieland Elementary School.

This year, the little rodents are Nora and Bianca, named after characters in the book Noisy Nora and the childrens film, The Rescuers.

A lot of them think mice are icky, especially in kindergarten, Armstrong said. By the time the year is over, they think they are cute and will pet them.

Armstrong said she uses the mice to teach students about the needs of living things. The mice are also used as incentive for good behavior.

We use the mice to talk about how all living things need water, food and shelter, Armstrong said. Its something fun they will remember.
BEND, Ore. (AP)  Climbing to the summit of Oregons third-tallest peak is supposed to be a wilderness experience, as the South Sister Climber Trail is in the Three Sisters Wilderness.

But when hundreds of other hikers are also trekking to the summit, it is hard to consider the climb as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, as reads part of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

Officials with the Deschutes National Forest and the Willamette National Forest are considering changes to possibly limit use in the most popular areas of the Three Sisters Wilderness in order to maintain the wilderness character of those locations.

One of the things we are mandated to do under the Wilderness Act is to preserve and protect wilderness character, says Lisa Machnik, the recreation, heritage, lands and partnerships staff officer for the Deschutes National Forest in Bend. And part of that is opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation. And when youre sharing the trail up to the top and the summit with 300 of your closest friends, we do hear from people that thats not consistent with a wilderness experience.

Planning will likely start this winter, and it will eventually include multiple opportunities for public input, according to Machnik. Areas in the Three Sisters Wilderness along the Cascade Crest could be affected. The most popular spots include Devils Lake Trailhead, where a 6-mile nontechnical trail allows beginner climbers the opportunity to reach South Sisters 10,358-foot summit, and Green Lakes Trailhead, where a 4-mile hike features waterfalls, canyons and emerald pools near South Sister and Broken Top.

The two trailheads are just a 30-minute drive west of Bend along Century Drive and Cascade Lakes Highway. The Deschutes National Forest requires self-issued wilderness permits (at no charge) for anyone entering the Three Sisters Wilderness.

In 2012, about 14,600 visitors were recorded at the South Sister, Green Lakes and Moraine Lake area, based on wilderness permits filled out. That number dramatically increased to about 22,800 in 2015. (These numbers only reflect the hikers who actually filled out a permit, and not all of the hikers who filled out the permit identified the number of people in their group.) A nice-weather weekend in August and September can often mean more than 400 hikers attempting to climb South Sister.

Just looking at the increase in visitor use that weve seen over the past couple of years, I really dont expect interest in climbing South Sister to fade anytime soon, Machnik says. Looking back over the past few years weve seen a steadily increasing level of use.

The Three Sisters Wilderness extends nearly 300,000 acres across both sides of the Cascade Range and includes some of Oregons most spectacular scenery.

Options abound for limiting the number of hikers entering the wilderness from certain trailheads.

Those range from the reservation system, which opens on a certain date and on that day people can start calling in or applying, Machnik explains. Or it might be a system where every day the next chunk of dates opens, sort of a rolling system. And some (permits) you can reserve online or by calling in and theres a certain percentage every day that are open for walk-ups. There certainly are options out there and nothing is off the table.

One option for limiting high use in the Three Sisters Wilderness is a permit-controlled, limited-entry system.

The Obsidian Trail Limited Entry Area, on the Willamette National Forest side of the Three Sisters near McKenzie Pass, requires a permit to hike or backpack. Each day from May 1 to until snow shuts down state Highway 242, 30 day-use and 40 overnight permits are issued for entry. It is the only trailhead in the Three Sisters Wilderness with limited entry.

Reservations and permits are used to regulate the number of climbers on Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwest Washington.

On Mount St. Helens, climbing permits costing $22 each are required for climbers going above 4,800 feet on the volcano from April 1 to Oct. 31. The Forest Service limits the number of climbers going above that elevation to 100 per day between May 15 and Oct. 31.

On Mount Adams, climbing permits are required for anyone going above 7,000 feet between June 1 and Sept. 30. Cost varies: a weekend pass for anyone over age 16 is $15; an annual pass is $30.

Well look at what the issues are in terms of visitor expectations and experience, resource protection, wilderness character, and really considering all the options on the table in terms of how to best manage that area going forward, Machnik says of the Three Sisters Wilderness. A big question is resource protection, and what does it mean to have a group walking together on the trail, and how do trails expand and get braided? What is the impact on the physical environment?

Machnik emphasizes that the Forest Service will look at the entire Cascade Crest area of the Three Sisters Wilderness, not just the South Sister Climbers Trail.

Its like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, she says. If you restrict one trailhead, then youve got all this displaced use that will just go someplace else. With all the outdoor recreation opportunities, things are getting busier and busier as the tourism market is recovering and people are exploring outside a little bit more.
Twin Falls

Senior Citizen Center

530 Shoshone St. W., Twin Falls. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $5, seniors 60 and older; $6, non-seniors; $3, children 9 and younger. Other items: cinnamon roll, $2; coffee 50 cents; soup to go, $3; lunch to go, $5.50. For lunch take-out, 11 a.m. to noon daily: 208-734-5084.

Today: Spaghetti with meat sauce

Tuesday: Polish sausage in a bun

Wednesday: Pork ribs

Thursday: Chicken enchilada casserole

Friday: Hamburger stroganoff

Today: Quilting, 9 a.m.

Fit and Fall Proof exercise, 10:30 a.m., free

Mega Monday game, 11:45 a.m.

University of Idaho Extension Service presentation on Why Protein is Important as You Age, 11:45 a.m.

Bridge, 1 p.m.

Art class, 1:30 p.m.

TOPS meeting, 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday: Tai Chi exercise class, 9 a.m., free

Foot clinic, 10:30 a.m.

Ticket Tuesday, 11:45 a.m.

Hand and foot canasta, 1 p.m.

Art classes, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Pinochle, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday: Cinnamon roll sales, 7:30 a.m.

Quilting, 9 a.m.

Fit and Fall Proof, 10:30 a.m., free

Music by Tom Lancaster, Beryl Bevercombe and friends, 11:30 a.m.

Bridge, 1 p.m.

Laughter Therapy, 5:30 p.m.

Thursday: Tai Chi, 9 a.m., free

Organ music by Pat Blessin, 11:30 a.m.

Thunder Thursday game, 11:50 a.m.

Visually Impaired Support Group meeting, 12:45 p.m.; information: Verna Motes, 208-732-0627

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Art classes, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Ladies AA, 6 p.m.

Friday: Quilting, 9 a.m.

Fit and Fall Proof, 10:30 a.m., free

Bingo, 11:45 a.m.

Art class, 1:30 p.m.

West End

Senior Citizens Inc.

1010 Main St., Buhl. Lunch at noon, suggested donation: $5, seniors, 60 and older; $7, non-seniors; $7 for take-out dinners; and $4, children 10 and younger. Sunday buffet at 1 p.m.: $5, seniors, 60 and older; $7, non-seniors; $4, children 10 and younger. Bus for lunch pickup: 208-543-4577 by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Today: Surprise soup, egg sandwich

Tuesday: Meatloaf

Wednesday: Breakfast, biscuits and gravy

Thursday: Beef pot pie

Sunday: Pork roast

Today: SilverSneakers exercise program, 10:30 a.m.

Pinochle, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: Board meeting, 1 p.m.

Wednesday: SilverSneakers, 10:30 a.m.

Bingo, early bird starts at 6:45 p.m., doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Filer Senior Haven

222 Main St., Filer. Lunch at noon Tuesday through Thursday. Suggested donation: $5. 208-326-4608.

Tuesday: Tacos

Wednesday: Ham and beans

Thursday: Fried chicken

Today: Bingo, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: Puzzles, 11:30 a.m.

Bingo, 12:45 p.m.

Wednesday: Puzzles, 11:30 a.m.

Bingo, 12:45 p.m., $2

Thursday: Puzzles, 11:30 a.m.

Bingo, 12:45 p.m.

Cards, 1:30 p.m.

Ageless

Senior Center

310 Main St. N., Kimberly. Salad bar at 11:30 a.m., lunch served at noon; take-out; home delivery. Seniors 60 and older, suggested donation is $5, under 60, $6.50 (not donations); children 10 and younger, $3. 208-423-4338.

Wednesday: Meatloaf

Thursday: Chicken and noodles

Friday: Roast beef

Today: Exercise, 10 a.m.

AA meeting, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday: Snooker, 1 p.m.

Bingo, 7 p.m.

Wednesday: Exercise, 10 a.m.

Thursday: Crafts, 1 p.m.

Snooker, 1 p.m.

Friday: Exercise, 10 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Gooding

Senior Citizen Center

308 Senior Ave., Gooding. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $3.50 for seniors. 208-934-5504.

Today: Poor mans steak

Tuesday: Sweet and sour chicken

Wednesday: Hay stacks

Thursday: Spaghetti

Today: Fit and Fall Proof exercise, 11 a.m.

Pinochle, 12:30 p.m.

Pool, 1 p.m.

Tuesday: Pool, 1 p.m.

Hand and foot, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday: Fit and Fall Proof, 11 a.m.

Pool, 1 p.m.

Shuffleboard, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday: Morning out, 9 a.m.

Pool, 1 p.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Friday: Duplicate bridge, 1 p.m.

Bingo, 6 p.m.

Wendell

Senior Center

380 First Ave. E. Lunch served at noon. Suggested donation: $4 for seniors; $6 for under 60. 208-536-9951.

Today: Pork enchiladas

Friday: Chili burger

Hagerman Valley

Senior and

Community Center

140 E. Lake, Hagerman. The center is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $5, seniors 60 and older; $7, non-seniors. All take-outs, $6. 208-837-6120.

Today: Swiss steak

Wednesday: Tacos

Friday: Stuffed chicken breast

Today: Blood draws (by doctors order), 8 to 10:30 a.m.

50/50 raffle and Bridge Club, 1 p.m.

Friday: Two bingo games

Jerome Senior Center

520 N. Lincoln St., Jerome. 208-324-5642. Salad bar at 11:30 a.m.; lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $4, seniors (age 60 and older); $5, non-seniors; $3, children under 12.

Today: Parmesan chicken

Tuesday: Beef stroganoff

Wednesday: Pizza party

Thursday: Chili dogs

Friday: Pork chops in white sauce

Today: Fitness classes with certified instructors, 10:30 a.m. and 5:20 p.m.

Music by Ricki Lee, 11:30 a.m.

Bridge, 12:30 p.m.

Bunco, 12:45 p.m.

Tuesday: Fitness class, 10:30 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Wednesday: Fitness class, 10:30 a.m.

Country Boys Band, 11:30 a.m.

Womens pool, 1 p.m.

Pinochle, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday: Yoga, 10:30 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Hand and foot, 1 p.m.

Fitness class, 5:20 p.m.

Womens pool, 7 p.m.

Friday: Fitness class, 10:30 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Bingo, 6 p.m., doors open at 5 p.m.

Sunday: Potluck and dance with the Music Melody Masters, 2 to 5 p.m.; cost is $5

Silver and

Gold Senior Center

210 E. Wilson, Eden. Lunch at noon Tuesday and Thursday. Breakfast at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Suggested donation: $5, seniors (age 60 and older); $6.50, non-seniors. 208-825-5662.

Today: Coffee, 7 a.m.

Tuesday: Coffee, 7 a.m.

Ham

Wednesday: Bible study, 7 a.m.

Breakfast, muffin, sausage link, 8 a.m.

Thursday: Coffee, 7 a.m.

Sloppy Joes

Friday: Coffee, 7 a.m.

Richfield

Senior Center

130 S. Main, Richfield. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $4, seniors; $5.50, under 60.

Today: Fried chicken

Thursday: Hot dogs

Golden Years

Senior Citizens Inc.

218 N. Rail St. W., Shoshone. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $4, seniors 60 and older; $5.50, non-seniors. 208-886-2369.

Tuesday: Liver and onions

Wednesday: Meat sandwich

Friday: Roast beef

Today: Quilting, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday: Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Friday: Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Blaine County

Senior Center

721 Third Ave. S., Hailey. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $5, seniors; $7, non-seniors. 208-788-3468.

Today: Chicken tenders

Tuesday: Salisbury steak

Wednesday: Pot roast with brown gravy

Thursday: Old-fashioned chicken and dumplngs

Friday: Beer-battered cod

Today: Fit and Fall Proof exercise, 11 a.m.

Connection Club, 11 a.m.

Tuesday: Walking class, 9 a.m.

Connection Club, 11 a.m.

Bingo, 1 p.m.

Wednesday: Fit and Fall exercise, 11 a.m.

Kiwanis lunch, 11:30 a.m.

Watercolor painting class, 1 p.m.

Thursday: Connection Club, 11 a.m.

Card games, 1 p.m.

Friday: Connection Club, 11 a.m.

Fit and Fall exercise, 11 a.m.

Card games, 1 p.m.

Camas County

Senior Center

129 Willow Ave. W., Fairfield. Breakfast, 7:30-11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $4, seniors 60 and older; $5, non-seniors; $2.50, children 10 and younger. 208-764-2226.

Tuesday: Chicken enchilada

Wednesday: Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwich

Friday: Fried chicken

Monday: Exercise class, 9 a.m.

Tuesday: Cards after lunch

Wednesday: Fit and Fall exercise class, 9 a.m.

Cards after lunch

Thursday: No art class

Friday: Cards after lunch

Minidoka County

Senior Citizens Center

702 11th St., Rupert. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $5, seniors; $6, non-seniors; $3, children 10 and younger; $4.50, home delivery. 208-436-9107.

Today: Chili frito

Tuesday: Chicken Caesar salad

Wednesday: Chili Relleno casserole

Thursday: Chicken and dumplings

Friday: Ribs

Thursday: Pinochle, 6 p.m.

Friday: Bingo, 7 p.m.

The Senior Junction

2421 Overland Ave., Burley. Lunch at noon. Suggested donation: $5, seniors and children 12 and younger; $6, non-seniors.208-878-8646.

Today: Spaghetti

Tuesday: Hamburgers

Wednesday: Parmesan chicken

Thursday: Senior appreciation dinner

Friday: Sloppy Joes

Today: Open billiards, 9 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Tuesday: Pinochle, 6 p.m.

Wednesday: Open billiards, 9 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Thursday: Art with Shirley, 1 p.m.

Bingo, 6 p.m., doors open at 4 p.m.

Friday: Open billiards, 9 a.m.

Pinochle, 1 p.m.

Lorna Reed

Senior Center

424 Market St., Albion. Open Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; lunch at noon. Suggested donation, $5 seniors, $5 non-seniors. Take-out available ($8.50), call by 11:30 a.m. 208-673-6210.

Wednesday: Beef stroganoff
Seniors wellness

The Twin Falls Senior Center will hold a presentation for senior citizens at 11:45 a.m. Monday, Sept. 26, at 530 Shoshone St. W.

Rhea Lanting with University of Idaho Extension Service will discuss Why Protein is Important as You Age.

Free; 208-734-5084.

Weight loss support

TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), a nonprofit weight-loss support group, will meet weekly at several locations.

Local chapters will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W., 208-734-2641 or 208-734-5300; and at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at 2025 S. Highway 81 in Malta, 208-645-2438;

Also at 9:15 a.m. Thursday at the Jerome Public Library, 100 First Ave. E., 208-324-6693; 9:30 a.m. Thursday at 410 E. Third St. in Rupert, 208-436-6037 or 208-679-3518; and at 5:30 p.m. Friday at 1800 J St. in Heyburn, 208-678-8706 or 208-678-2622.

Recovery for Life

Recovery For Life groups meet at 7 p.m. Mondays at Twin Falls Reformed Church, 1631 Grandview Drive N., in the white building.

Groups and classes include GriefShare, Parenting Skills, Hope 12-step, Divorce Care, Special Parents Special Kids, Cooking Matters, Codependency, and Recovery Womens Bible Study. A free meal begins at 6 p.m.

Free child care and transportation. Information: 208-733-6128.

Womens and

Childrens support

Voices Against Violence will offer support groups at 212 Second Ave. W., No. 200, Twin Falls.

Womens Sexual Assault Support Group will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; Womens Domestic Violence Support Group, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays; and Childrens Domestic Violence Support Group, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays.

All groups are facilitated by licensed mental health professionals. Childcare is provided. All services are free.

Information and to register: case manager, 208-733-2558.

Laughter exercise

Laughter therapy class, 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W., with Mary Martinat, a retired physical education instructor.

Learn how laughing can relieve stress and improve your breathing.

Free. 208-734-5084.

Alzheimers support

Alzheimers Association, Greater Idaho Chapters Caregiver Support Group meeting, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at DeSano Place Suites, 545 Nevada St., Gooding.

The group meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays every month.

Information: 208-934-4623.

Vision support

Visually Impaired Support Group meeting, 12:45 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W., Twin Falls.

Topics: glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes-caused vision problems.

Information: Idaho Commission for the Blind, 208-734-2140, or Verna Motes, 208-732-0627.

Anxiety support

Anxiety Support Group, 6 p.m. every Thursday at Magic Valley Fellowship Hall, 801 Second Ave. N., Twin Falls.

Support for those who experience anxiety, panic attacks or depression. Learn about the signs, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and coping skills.

Information: Cathy Shaddy, 208-410-2768.

Grief support

Griefshare meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Lighthouse Church, 960 Eastland Drive, Twin Falls.

Anyone who has lost a loved one and/or friend is welcome to attend. A separate class for teens will be possible if there is interest.

Participants can begin at any session. Enter through the east doors at the rear of the building.

Blood drives

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30, at the Lincoln County Community Center, 201 S. Beverly St., Shoshone. Donors of all blood types are needed.

To schedule an appointment to donate, use the blood donor app, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767.

Vision support

The National Federation of the Blind of Idaho has a chapter in the Magic Valley. The Central Idaho Chapter invites all who are blind or visually impaired, as well as sighted family members and others, to find out more about the organization.

Information: Chris Jones, 208-308-8876 or clj1@cableone.net.

Grief support

Auburn Crest Hospice is offering a Grief Support Group for those in the community who have experienced any type of loss in their life. The support group will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at 397 Blue Lakes Blvd. in Twin Falls. The group will meet on the first and third Thursday of each month for six sessions.

The group plans to come together to support one another, share memories of loved ones, process through stages of grief, gain tools to navigate the grief process, and to prepare for coming holidays.

Everyone is welcome. Information and reservations: facilitators Sandy and Sheri, 208-735-7450.

Fitness

South Central Public Health District has announced a new Fit and Fall Proof program site in Burley. The exercise-based fall prevention program is designed for older adults and classes will be from 10 to 11 a.m. every Thursday and Saturday, beginning Oct. 6, at Pomerelle Place Senior Living, 1301 Bennett Ave.

The exercise classes are open to the public. Wear comfortable clothing, appropriate footwear, and bring a water bottle

Information: Adria Masoner, Fit and Fall Proof program coordinator at the health district, 208-678-8221.

To do for you is a listing of health-related activities, events and education. Submit information by noon Thursday for publication in the following Mondays edition to ramona@magicvalley.com.
Should we build a Latino Smithsonian museum? Some Hispanic politicians think so. Piggybacking on the attention garnered by the opening this weekend of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, they have renewed a push for the creation of a National Museum of the American Latino.

Its an idea that sounds gooduntil you think about it for about three seconds.

This is not just because museums are for dead things (The Louvre is a morgue; you go there to identify your friends, the French artist Jean Cocteau famously complained), but because it would breathe life into concepts from which we need to move away.

The Latino museum is being championed by Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-California, who doesnt even bother to hide the me-tooism. Just a couple of weeks before the opening of the African American Museum, Becerra introduced a bill calling for the Latino museum to be placed in the Arts and Industries Building on the Mall. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, moved parallel legislation in the Senate.

It provides inspiration, and it really does give you locomotion to try to move this forward, Becerra told The Post. So many [of the African American Museums supporters] have come to me and said, Youre next. It pumps you up.

And thats just it. Of all the reasons this is a bad idea, we can start with the fact that the experiences of African-Americans cannot be compared to those of any other groupespecially immigrants and their descendants.

That would include the vast majority of the 56 million people the Census Bureau instructs to identify themselves as Hispanicwho cant all be descended from the estimated 100,000 people who chose to remain in the Southwest at the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848.

The notion that they constitute an ethno-racial pentagon along with African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans and non-Latino whites is a dubious social construct of very recent pedigree. That a museum would help perpetuate this divisionliterally cement itis a second reason to oppose it.

Dividing the country along these cleavagesan official policy that began only in the late 1970s and quickly migrated to the academy, the labor market and the culturehas contributed to a degree of social fragmentation that is only now becoming apparent.

What started as a perhaps well-meaning concept stands behind much of todays palpable societal angst. Even liberals are starting to worry about what national fracturing is doing to social solidarity.

The multicultural dispensation that resulted depends on indoctrinating members of four of the groups into believing that they are historical victims of the fifth. This is on its face a nonsensical proposition for those who willingly came here, and for their descendants, and has led to misallocations of priorities and funds.

Many non-Latino whites are disadvantaged socially, as this years runaway bestseller Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance makes abundantly clear. As a very good review in last weeks New Yorker explained, poor whites also face economic and cultural barriers to upward mobility.

At the same time, many members of the designated minorities also are very socially advantaged and do not need set-asides to get a government contract or be accepted into Harvard University.

Which is the third important reason the Smithsonian should not open a Latino national museum: Such an institution could only perpetuate the notion of victimhood.

This is a corrosive idea because it tells individuals, especially the young, that they lack agency, that their problems were created by others. We dont have to imagine what politicians would do with thiswe see it every day.

There are small museums here and there for German Americans, Italian Americans and Jewish Americans, which is fine. There could be a repository for the definitive story of Cuban Americans, most of whom are here as a result of the traumatic dislocation caused by the Cuban Revolution; for Mexican Americans, whose incredible cultural imprint in the Southwest is at least as important as that of Vances Scots-Irish in Appalachia; for Puerto Ricans, etc.

But, please, no Smithsonian museum for an ethnicity created by 1970s federal bureaucrats. Defenders of immigration make the case that todays immigrants will assimilate as members of previous surges didwhich is what undoubtedly will happen, but only if they are treated as those earlier arrivals were.

That is, as immigrants on their way to being Americans, not as members of a permanent national minority.
When Republican Sen. Mike Crapo was last up for election, and was overwhelmingly favored for a re-election he easily won in a landslide, he showed a little vulnerability at one point.

That was amidst his debate with Democrat Tom Sullivan, who lobbed one tough debate point after another at Crapo. In Idaho terms it was not out of bounds but was pungent. What went on inside Crapos mind only he knows, but he looked to be steaming, furious, and he didnt come across well. If the race with Sullivan had been close, it might have been seriously up for grabs after that debate.

Crapos first Senate debate, in 1998, was a different matter. There, his sparring with Democratic Boise attorney Bill Mauk was no less intense than the 2010 model. But it also was so high-minded, so intelligently geared to ideas and issues that people spoke of it afterwards in terms of being Idahos version of a Lincoln-Douglas debate. It may be the best joint debate performance Ive ever seen in Idaho. One of the things it accomplished was this: Whether you were a Republican or a Democrat, you got your side of the case made solidly by those two candidates.

Today, if youre an Idaho Republican, you may not feel as if you need your side of the case explained: Unless the state this year takes an abrupt left turn from what its done for the last quarter-century, it will vote down the line Republican, mostly if not entirely in landslides. Still, absent some kind of formalized debate  and Idahos debate structure is better formalized than some states have  theres no explanation for it. An unchallenged position can become a mindless one.

But if youre an Idaho Democrat, when you heard that the states three Democratic candidates for Congress  Jerry Sturgill for the Senate and James Piotrowski and Jennifer Martinez for the House  all missed the filing deadline for the debates, you probably were appalled. The phrase political malpractice circulated around Democratic circles, and for good reason.

For Democrats, the debates are not only the best place during campaign season they have to make their own case, and the best place to criticize the Republicans, theyre also the one singular spot where theyre on a playing field with Republicans thats level. Differences in money, in organization, in incumbency, in interest groups  none of it matters.

In a debate, therere just two candidates saying their piece. Its the most dramatic point in a campaign: Two antagonists going head to head. The presidential debate on Monday will get a big audience for that reason. The Idaho debates could draw a decent audience too, in Idaho terms. They still have the potential to change a few minds.

How it happened that all three Democratic congressional candidates missed the deadline for filing is unclear. The Idaho Debates organization, which includes people from Idaho Public Television, the League of Women Voters and the Idaho Press Club, for years have been the organizers of the states only statewide debate series; the filings they require are intended among other things to show that the candidates involved are running serious campaigns.

The Democratic candidates and the state party were, at this writing, trying to put together another debate series through some other media outlets. Whether they can get the media support and the Republicans to go along is another question.

Incumbents generally would just as soon pass on debates if they can; its probably the most stressful single point along the way for a strongly-favored incumbent, as the current Idaho three are.

But they could pick up some points for participating. And it would keep them in practice for when the next closer call comes around. In the larger picture, everyone gets something useful out of campaign debates, even if its sometimes just an uncomfortable look in the mirror. Or sometimes, a stretch into stronger thinking and communicating.
Local conservative radio show hosts are setting a bad example for the youth of our community.

Southern Idaho is such a wonderful place with some of the most friendly people. The fact is these radio hosts have become a public nuisance with hate-filled comments targeting news outlets both local and national in slanderous ways as well as targeting Native Americans, transgender women and other LGBT people, local college employees, children, local city councils, hardworking people in the Medicaid gap, refugees, people with mental illnesses and millennials who are our brothers, sisters, children, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren.

The millennial generation is roughly about 40 percent of active military fighting the wars. My point is we as a local community are paying for it as consumers because of the advertisers sponsoring these shows. I don't blame the sponsor. I blame the radio show hosts that are biting the hands that feed them. These show hosts invite hate groups into our community and provide a platform for them to spread their ignorance and intolerance.

I have to say as a Christian I am appalled by the targeting of myself, friends, family and neighbors. Those who are sponsoring this should consider the way it makes their business look and how it taints the reputation of our communities and the wonderful and diverse people who call this valley home. We need to keep the Magic Valley majestic.

I have no doubt I will be targeted again for my opinion.

Brynn Close

Murtaugh
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- For the first time in President Obamas tenure, the Senate is set to override his veto of a bill that would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts.



The president vetoed the bill Friday, citing concerns that it could open the U.S. government to similar lawsuits.



"Our concern extends not just to the impact this would have on our relationship with Saudi Arabia, but rather the impact that this could have on the United States' relationship with countries around the world, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Friday.



The White House is also concerned that the bill could tarnish the U.S. relationship with the Gulf nation. Saudi Arabia has itself spoken critically of and personally lobbied against the effort, maintaining it had no role in assisting the 9/11 terrorists.



But the bill passed with unanimous voice votes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, meaning the veto override, set for a Senate vote Wednesday and House vote by Friday, will likely get the two-thirds majority in both chambers needed to pass.



I look forward to the opportunity for Congress to override the Presidents veto, provide these families with the chance to seek the justice they deserve, and send a clear message that we will not tolerate those who finance terrorism in the United States, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement Friday.



Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also indicated she would sign the legislation into law if she wins the presidential election.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A telephone discussion between intelligence officer Major General Wael el-Safty, head of Palestinian Affairs at Egypts General Intelligence Directorate (GID), and controversial Palestinian figure living in exile, Mohammed Dahlan, has been leaked with the two ridiculing Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas.

Only Saftys voice was audible. He could be heard saying Abbass concentration isnt at full capacity and he isnt smart at all. He claimed that the issue of the age also comes into it as Abbas, 81, doesnt want to change or do anything to solve the Palestinian crisis and conflict with Israel because he has nothing to offer.

Despite Dahlan voice not being heard, it is believed that Safty was talking to him because he said Abu Fahdi, the years are passing. Dahlans traditional Palestinian name is Abu Fahdi.

The two also discussed Fatah. Safty said the movement is completely screwed and Abbas cant even contain the factions within it as some of these factions have begun to align their positions with Hamas.

Safty admitted that some of these people (leading such factions) drove me absolutely crazy. He said the Palestinian Liberation Organization is even worse. The intelligence officer said Abbas has lost control of the group and the track is running out, if you excuse the phrase.

Egypt has been portraying itself on the international stage as a credible mediator between Fatah and Hamas as well as in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but the leaked conversation, broadcasted by Mekameleen, a Turkey-based Egyptian satellite television channel, could raise eyebrows even though the TV channel is known to be close to the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

There have been reports that Cairo supports Dahlan to take over the leadership in Palestine after Abbas. Dahlan had attempted to overthrow Hamas in 2007 after their electoral victory and he is also being held responsible for triggering an arms race in Palestine. The controversial figure has been exiled from both Gaza and the West Bank but enjoys close ties with the UAE monarchy. Abbas continues to refuse reconciliation with Dahlan.

Egypt has two other intelligence services, the Office of Military Intelligence Services and Reconnaissance (OMISR) and the Egyptian Homeland Security (EHS), but the GID is responsible for both domestic and overseas intelligence.
Egypts former assistant foreign minister for Arab Affairs, Ahmed al-Quesni, said Cairo could intervene in neighboring Libya militarily to safeguard its own national security and stability.

Egypt will not let the oil ports be taken away from the Libyan people and the deployment of Egyptian troops will send a message to Western countries forcing them to think twice before intervening in the war torn country, Ahmed al-Quesni said in an interview with Alwasat.

Quesnis remarks hint that the Egyptian air force might have intervened in Libya after several reports talked of unidentified warplanes bombing troops battling renegade Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar who took over the control of the major oil ports in the country from the Petroleum Facilities Guard led by Jadhran this month.

The former senior official said a probable Egyptian intervention would be focused on securing the borders through air surveillance, monitoring military operations and securing Libyan sea ports.

Cairo is close to the Tobruk-based parliament supported by Haftar and its intervention in Libya is unlikely to be approved by the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA.)

The GNA has ruled out foreign intervention in the country although several western countries have some troops on the ground.

In another development, Prime minister-designate of the GNA, Fayez Serraj, said there is need for a real reconciliation between Libyans inside and Libyans abroad. He said, There will be no exclusion of any political faction despite the many political divisions.

For Serraj reconciliation of all Libyans including Tobruk-based House of Representatives, its allied government and armed faction led by marshal Khalifa Haftar will provide a ground for political stability that will spur economic stability.

Since establishing his team in Tripoli, late March, Serraj has been struggling to win nationwide support. Even in Tripoli, Serrajs authority has been on a downward mode due to growing social discontent related to repeated and prolonged power cuts, kidnappings, lack of cash

As a Presidential Council we are open to all political factions  I have no reservations. Anything that helps solve the Libyan crisis and that can open bottlenecks is welcome; we are ready to meet anyone, Serraj stated.

The GNA cabinet failed to get the vote of confidence of the Tobruk-based parliament as required by the Libyan Political Agreement.
France and the United Kingdom have joined the tense diplomatic tussle between Russia and the US over Syria at the UN Security Council that has dominated the headlines of this years General Assembly.

British Ambassador to the UN, Mathew Rycroft said after five years of conflict, Assads regime continues its barbarity against its own people with the support of Moscow and the renewed bombings of Aleppo, that began this weekend, have plunged the city to new depths and unleashed a new hell making it difficult to deny that war crimes are being committed.

His remarks echoed some of his US counterparts, Samantha Power, who said Russia is committing barbarism in Syria and the UN Security Council should have the courage to say who is responsible for this and in a single voice tell Russia to stop.

Russias Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said their airstrikes target terrorists who are trying to use women and children as a human shield. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova of the Foreign Ministry also called on London to look into its closet.

She posted on Facebook that Foreign Minister Boris Johnsons statement to the BBC that Russia is guilty of protracting civil war in Syria and, possibly, of committing war crimes in the form of air attacks on convoys with humanitarian aid would be correct if Russia was replaced by Great Britain and Syria by Iraq.

More than 200 people have reportedly been killed since the end of the Russia-US brokered ceasefire last week. UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura described the situation as unprecedented military violence. The bombs have created fireballs of such intensity that they light up the pitch darkness in Aleppo as if it were daylight, he said.

France, Great Britain and the US walked out of the Security Council when the Syrian Ambassador was about to speak.
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.
Ali Bongo, 57, was confirmed winner of August presidential elections after a re-count of votes ruled by the countrys constitutional court.

The waited ruling upheld Alis lead on rival Jean Ping who contested the interior ministrys August announcement of final results of the presidential election. According to the court, Ali Bongo won 50.66 per cent of the votes against 47.24 per cent for Ping.

The mood in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, before the announcement of the Courts ruling was marked by fear as the population was still shaken by the violence which erupted after the first announcement of the polls results. People queued up before banks and cash machines to withdraw money. Streets in the capital were empty on Friday.

Security forces, riot police were fanned out across the capital on Thursday and Friday to head off protests from Pings side.

Speaking shortly after the ruling, in a televised address, Ali Bongo, in power since 2009, called for dialogue.

I call all political leaders, including the defeated candidates in the August 27 election, for a political dialogue, he said.

Pings camp rejected the court ruling.

Earlier on, Leon-Paul Ngoulakia; a cousin of Ali Bongo and former Head of the intelligence services who joined the opposition was arrested Friday, Jeune Afrique reports.

He was arrested after security forces found in his car a huge amount of money and leaflets calling for uprising, Jeune Afrique reported quoting security sources.

Leon-Paul Ngoulakia headed Gabons intelligence services from 2009 to 2013. He distanced himself from his cousin in 2016 after the latter announced his candidacy. Ngoulakia also ran for the August 27 election before joining Pings camp.
Morocco Friday in New York officially handed its demand to join the African Union (AU), two months after king Mohammed VI announced the North African countrys desire to reintegrate the African family.

The Kingdom of Morocco has officially submitted a request to accede to the African Union Constitutive Act, and therefore, become a Member of the Union, the AU said in a statement.

Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chair of the African Union Commission, confirmed the Moroccan move in a tweet: Foreign Affairs Adviser to #Moroccos King, Fassi Fihri, handed me a copy of the Kingdoms request to join the #AU.

In a message to the African Unions chair last July, King Mohammed VI stated his countrys strong desire to be back in the organization, 32 years after it walked out of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the AU, to protest the OAU decision to admit the Sahrawi Republic, SADR, self-proclaimed by the Algeria-based separatist Polisario Front, as a full-fledged member.

Since then, Morocco has been conditioning its return to the pan-African body on the withdrawal of the SADRs membership and the respect of the UN-brokered political process to settle the Sahara issue.

In his strong-worded message to the AU July Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, King Mohammed VI underscored Moroccos attachment to the black continent and role the North African country can play in the development of Africa.

Moroccos desire to join the AU received support from many African states.

The AU decision on Moroccos request is expected next year, in January, in Addis Ababa during the summit of Heads of States.
Looking through the microscope: The image illustrates the differences in tumor cells in glioblastoma patients. The red dye is a special tumor marker; the skeleton of the in part gigantic tumor cells is shown in green; the cell nuclei in blue. Credit: Roman Reinartz / Institute for Reconstructive Neurobiology of the University of Bonn

Glioblastomas are incurable malignant brain tumors. Usually the patients affected survive for only a few months. In addition, every tumor is quite different, which makes treatment very difficult. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now developed a completely new method as the basis for creating custom-tailored, two-stage therapies. Using tumor samples from a patient, they do lab tests to determine which substances can first make the different types of cancer cells uniform and then effectively kill them. The study has already been published online and will soon appear in the print edition of the technical journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Glioblastomas are among the most common and malignant of brain tumors. "The tumor cells characteristically display great variety," says Professor Dr. Bjorn Scheffler of the Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology at the University of Bonn, who recently began doing research at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and is a Professor at the Essen University Hospital. The cells in such a brain tumor can display very different characteristics, such as varying cell size or number of cell nuclei. Because the different cancer cells within a tumorous tissue also develop different modes of defense against therapeutic measures, the treatment of patients is extraordinarily difficult. After surgical removal, radiation, and chemotherapy, this type of tumor often returns; drugs are then usually no longer effective.

A team under Professor Scheffler, consisting of researchers from the Bonn University Hospital, the Life & Brain Center, The German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, Tufts University Boston/Massachusetts, and other institutes in the USA, has now developed a new method that is expected to combat such complex brain tumors better. From tissue and cell samples from five glioblastoma patients, the scientists obtained 33 individual cancer cells capable of reproduction, which grew into very different tumors in the lab. For each patient, multiple representative test systems were thus available to study the different facets of a tumor representatively and individuallyseparately.

For each individual cancer cell, 180 active substances are tested

To find the best therapy for each one of these 33 tumor facets, the researchers tested about 180 different active substances. In doing so, the scientists made a surprising observation: "One and the same active ingredient caused most of the tumor facets to die," reports lead author Roman Reinartz of Professor Scheffler's Team. However, the cancer cells of individual other tumor facets of the same patient survived the treatment and were even able to reproduce much more intensively. "These initially resistant tumor facets could then be combated much more effectively with other active ingredients."

The different nature of the tumor cells requires the use of combined therapeutic measures. How many drugs were then needed to combat all the facets of a tumor effectively? "In the best case scenario two," explains Reinartz. Instead of using the combined chemotherapies simultaneously, as was previously the case, the researchers want to proceed step by step in the future. This is how the therapy of the future could look like: In order to prevent the further spread of the tumor in the brain, parts will be removed surgically, as is the current procedure. In the future, the tissue samples obtained could be subjected to lab tests, in order to catalogue the response behavior of the various tumor facets. For each patient, the suitable combination treatment could then be designed, which, in the first step, would turn the variety of different tumor cells into a mass of cancer cells of the same type. In the second step, the precise substance would be found selected from the catalog that would be the most effective weapon against the specially particularly enriched tumor facet.

Scientists bring order to chaos

Until now, the differences in the types of cancer cells in a glioblastoma have prevented successful treatment, because some of the resistant tumor facets might reproduce more intensively under the chemotherapy. With their method, the scientists are creating order from this seeming chaos. Professor Scheffler provides a comparison for the procedure: "Like a car that is disassembled into its individual parts to check for damage, we examine the different cancer cells." Once the characteristics of the cells of the tumor are known, this knowledge can be used to steer the complex system in the right direction.

With funding from the Lichtenberg Program of the Volkswagen Foundation, the researchers under Professor Scheffler at the University of Bonn have spent about eight years studying the characteristics and mechanisms of glioblastomas. "Our strategy can be expected to improve therapeutic chances substantially in the future, because this route makes it possible for us to make very precise predictions for the custom-tailored treatment of patients", says Professor Scheffler. The researchers have already carried out this step successfully in mice. In order to make the therapy available to people as well, further research will be necessary.

Explore further Brain cancer: Study focuses on forgotten cells

More information: R. Reinartz et al. FUNCTIONAL SUBCLONE PROFILING FOR PREDICTION OF TREATMENT-INDUCED INTRA-TUMOR POPULATION SHIFTS AND DISCOVERY OF RATIONAL DRUG COMBINATIONS IN HUMAN GLIOBLASTOMA, Clinical Cancer Research (2016). Journal information: Clinical Cancer Research R. Reinartz et al. FUNCTIONAL SUBCLONE PROFILING FOR PREDICTION OF TREATMENT-INDUCED INTRA-TUMOR POPULATION SHIFTS AND DISCOVERY OF RATIONAL DRUG COMBINATIONS IN HUMAN GLIOBLASTOMA,(2016). DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-15-2089
Figure shows the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) in rates of thyroid cancer over the period of study. Credit: University of Sheffield

A widescale review of research into thyroid cancer has confirmed that the increased incidence of the disease globally is most likely due to overdiagnosis.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield looked at all English language studies reporting on the incidence and risk factors for thyroid cancer published between 1980 and 2014. Most studies recorded a significant increase in the disease over the last 35 years, the highest in South Korea - over 900% in a 12 year period.

The increase has been predominantly in a common and slow growing type, called papillary thyroid cancer. But since mortality rates have remained relatively stable over the same period, the researchers conclude that the increased detection is not due to an actual increase in the occurrence of these tumours. In many cases, they believe, the disease may not have progressed to cause symptoms or become life-threatening.

"Thyroid cancers are now increasingly picked up incidentally as small nodules, during neck scans for non-thyroidal illnesses or thyroid surgery for benign disease," says lead researcher and consultant surgeon Saba Balasubramanian, a senior lecturer in the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

"Currently, as part of standard treatment in the UK and elsewhere, this incidental detection leads to further scans and/or biopsies and, in many cases, surgical treatment. If, as our research and other recent studies1 indicate, these cancers are 'dormant' and not life-threatening, the treatment currently considered as standard may not be the best approach."

The review also explored the results of autopsy studies, which can provide an idea of dormant disease in the population. Although women are thought to be two to three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than men, the review found that thyroid cancer identified during autopsy was equally common in both sexes.

"A lot of research has tried to explain why thyroid cancer affects women more than men, by looking at risk factors related to hormones or reproduction," says Dr Balasubramanian.

"No definite cause and effect relationship has yet been found, so the higher rates in women may also be due to over diagnosis, rather than increased risk. Women are more likely to undergo investigations for benign thyroid disease and are probably more in contact with the health care system, all of which increases the likelihood of dormant thyroid cancer being picked up."

The review  carried out by two medical undergraduates, Joe Wiltshire and Tom Drake, together with Dr Balasubramanian and Dr Lesley Uttley from the University of Sheffield's School of Health and Related Research  included 60 studies from across the globe; although the majority were undertaken in developed countries, mainly Europe and North America. Some of the highest increases in incidence of thyroid cancer were seen in Italy, South Korea and the USA, countries where the use of imaging and thyroid surgery is generally on the increase.

"Although countries such as South Korea have seen a nearly 10-fold increase, the risk in UK is several-fold lower. However, we still need to consider the implications of this research and other studies that have reached similar conclusions," said Dr Balasubramanian. "Over diagnosis inevitably leads to unnecessary investigations and treatment. We need to take a step back and consider whether incidentally detected thyroid lumps should be managed conservatively and whether monitoring these tumours would be better than providing surgery  which has several serious risks related to effects on voice, calcium metabolism and thyroxine treatment.

"Further research is needed to improve our understanding of the natural history and prognosis of incidentally detected disease, so we can better inform clinicians and patients about benefits and risks of proposed treatments."

The review also suggests that some of the increased incidence is likely to be real, but that little research has been done into potential risk factors underlying this. Suspected risks include greater exposure to ionizing radiation from increased medical imaging, or from atomic bomb radiation and accidents at nuclear reactors. The Sheffield team has called for further study into potential risk factors.

Explore further Review links obesity to increased thyroid cancer risk

More information: Joseph J Wiltshire et al. Systematic Review of Trends in the Incidence Rates of Thyroid Cancer, Thyroid (2016). Joseph J Wiltshire et al. Systematic Review of Trends in the Incidence Rates of Thyroid Cancer,(2016). DOI: 10.1089/thy.2016.0100
HIV-infected cells are not always easy to spot. A project by the Austrian Science Fund gives new insights into how the virus successfully escapes detection. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/C. Goldsmith CDC

In spite of ever more effective therapies, HIV keeps managing to survive in the body. A comprehensive project conducted by the Austrian Science Fund FWF has clarified the molecular processes which contribute to this effect. In the process, approaches were discovered for possible therapies to combat the hidden reservoir formed by the virus.

Thanks to modern therapies, HIV infections have become controllable  but these treatments cannot provide a cure. Antiretroviral therapies do indeed manage to keep the number of HI-virus particles in the blood of those infected so low that the outbreak of AIDS is prevented. But the virus cannot be removed entirely. Because it is a master at hiding.

Cellular hiding place

One hiding place of the virus that is known are special immune cells called macrophages. The virus can survive inside these cells  beyond the reach of drugs. A team led by Regina Grillari from the Department for Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, has found out how the virus can also manipulate the cells to make them more stress-resistant and longer-living. The main focus of the project lay on the enzyme, telomerase, which is active when cells divide and prevents chromosome shortening. Little has been known until now about its activity in cells which, like macrophages, do not divide. The results presented by Grillari were all the more astonishing, as she explains. "We were able to show that the HIV virus induces telomerase activity in macrophages. This was surprising to the extent that the enzyme's known function was connected to cell division which in this case doesn't even take place."

No function?

A further result showed that telomerase in macrophages does not even pursue its real function  that of lengthening chromosomes  in spite of activation by the HI-virus. Another experiment then supplied clear indications of the role played in this case by telomerase in infected cells. To do so, the reactions of infected and non-infected macrophages to so-called oxidative stress were investigated; oxidative stress is also increased by HIV infections. Results showed that infected cells are able to cope with this stress much better than non-infected ones  and that this is connected to telomerase activation.

As Grillari explains: "It seems that the hidden virus particles make their host cells more stress-resistant through telomerase activation, thereby securing their own survival in the long term. A sensible strategy from the perspective of the virus."

Elite research

In another part of the project, so-called elite patients were examined. Although these patients are infected with HIV, their bodies manage to so heavily restrict replication of the virus that they can live free of symptoms for years with no therapy. While it is not known how this happens, there are indications that special RNAs (miRNAs) play a role here. Grillari and her team analyzed whether there were differences in the types and frequency of miRNAs circulating in the blood between infected elite patients, "normally" infected and healthy persons. Three different types were indeed identified which occurred in markedly different concentration in the plasma of elite patients than in the other groups. Grillari comments: "In future we could use them as biomarkers in order to determine whether people infected are in the elite category or not, and thereby to tailor a therapy to their particular status." The study also succeeded in showing that two of the miRNAs restrict the replication of the virus under laboratory conditions  which means that they could certainly be interesting for new therapeutic approaches.

Altogether in this FWF project, Grillari's team succeeded in identifying molecular mechanisms which the HI-virus uses to make macrophages more resistant, thus reprogramming them to become an ideal virus reservoir. At the same time, starting points were found from which it may be possible to combat this reservoir formation with miRNAs.

Explore further Researchers prove HIV targets tissue macrophages

More information: R. Reynoso et al. HIV-1 Induces Telomerase Activity in Monocyte-Derived Macrophages, Possibly Safeguarding One of Its Reservoirs, Journal of Virology (2012). R. Reynoso et al. HIV-1 Induces Telomerase Activity in Monocyte-Derived Macrophages, Possibly Safeguarding One of Its Reservoirs,(2012). DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01495-12 Rita Reynoso et al. MicroRNAs differentially present in the plasma of HIV elite controllers reduce HIV infection in vitro, Scientific Reports (2014). DOI: 10.1038/srep05915 Journal information: Journal of Virology , Scientific Reports
A visiting health care worker records medical information in Bamako, Mali. The study compared the impact of such visits to that of free or very low-cost clinic appointments on health care demand. Credit: Morgan Hardy

Free or subsidized health care helps families with young children meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for medical care, according to a new study.

The studyauthored by Anja Sautmann, assistant professor of economics at Brown University, with Mark Dean, assistant professor of economics at Columbia University, and Brown graduate student Samuel Browntested the theory that subsidies for health care are likely to cause overuse of medical care or unnecessary clinic visits that waste precious medical resources.

"The useand usefulnessof primary health care depends crucially on the health status of the child in question," Sautmann said. "Putting it drastically, giving a group of children additional medical care could mean we that we are saving lives, or that we are wasting resources on, and possibly even endangering, completely healthy children. When studying policies that aim to change the demand for health care, we therefore have to take the child's underlying health into account. This requires new approaches to collecting data."

For the working paper, "Subsidies, Information and the Timing of Children's Health Care in Mali," the authors followed 1,544 children over nine weeks and looked at the impact of subsidies on families' decisions to seek care at the time it was needed, as well as the role of health care workers who visit families and provide them with important health information.

Sautmann and her co-authors, who were funded by a Development Frontiers Award from the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for International Development (UK), worked with the non-governmental organizations Mali Health and Innovations for Poverty Action. Under Mali Health's Action for Health program, children were provided with either free health care for a set of common illnesses, or biweekly visits from community health workers, or both. Innovations for Poverty Action provided the in-country support to collect detailed health diary data for all study children.

The community health workers supplied medical information intended to help parents discern the seriousness of their children's symptomssuch as coughing, fever, vomiting or inability to drink or breastfeedand to understand when the parents should seek medical care.

The timing of care seeking, the authors wrote, is a crucial measure of efficient utilization of medical resources: "There may initially be a good chance that the child will get better without medical care, and only when symptoms persist it becomes likely that the child is suffering from a serious illness and will not recover on her own."

Therefore, the researchers evaluated efficient use of medical care based on "not just if, but when the expense of a doctor visit is warranted," Sautmann and her colleagues wrote.

Sautmann, Dean and Brown found that subsidies increase care seeking by over 250 percent, and they do so mostly for children who require that care, as defined by WHO guidelines, rather than for children who are not seriously ill.

Overuse of medical care, the authors found, is rare with or without the subsidy, while underuse remains relatively high even with free doctor visits.

The team found that subsidies reduce the cost of a doctor visit for a family by about 65 percent. But aside from the cost of the visit itself, barriers to accessing care include the expense of transporting a sick child to the doctor's office and taking time away from work or household duties. As a result, even with the subsidy, about 70 percent of sick children who require medical care do not see a doctor. The program reduces that number from about 90 percent.

Surprisingly, Sautmann said, the data suggests that health workers contributed to families' decisions to delay or avoid clinic visits.

"If families learn from the health workers how to tell when their child is not in immediate danger, and they disagree with the policymaker on the need for care in less severe cases of illness, underuse may actually increase," the authors wrote.

In addition to countering the standard economic viewpoint that subsidies are likely to cause overuse and waste, the study gave the researchers information on more than 3,000 spells of illness and 500 doctor consultations over a nine-week period. This very detailed symptom information, Sautmann said, could be quite useful for epidemiological research and public health policy.

Explore further Child care subsidies boost quality of care for some but not all

More information: Subsidies, Information, and the Timing of Children's Health Care in Mali: Subsidies, Information, and the Timing of Children's Health Care in Mali: docs.google.com/a/brown.edu/vi  iMDUyZGU4MTM1NmZmOTA
Spotted hyenas in the Serengeti. Credit: Marian L East/IZW

Sapoviruses are an emerging group of caliciviruses, well-known agents of gastric enteritis, but very little is currently known about their role in wildlife ecology or the genetic strains that infect wildlife. Research findings by a group of scientists led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) describe for the first time sapovirus infection in African wild carnivores in the Serengeti ecosystem, including the spotted hyena, the African lion and the bat-eared fox. The results from two decades of monitoring reveal several sapovirus outbreaks of infection in spotted hyenas and, counter-intuitively, that the risk of infection declined as group sizes increased. These findings were published in PLOS ONE.

Viruses within the Sapovirus genus are well known agents of gastric enteritis in people and domestic pigs. Sapoviruses are transmitted by the faecal-oral route and considered a major risk to human health. Sapovirus strains from people in the USA are known to have infected domestic dogs and Californian sea lions, suggesting these viruses have a considerable potential for cross-species transmission. Currently, little is known about sapovirus infection in wildlife and before this study, nothing was known about sapovirus infection in wild carnivores in Africa.

Results of the study, which was based in the Serengeti ecosystem in northern Tanzania, describe for the first time sapovirus infection in African wild carnivores, including the spotted hyena, the African lion and the bat-eared fox. Genetic sequence data revealed that the strains identified from these African carnivores were new to science and that they showed some host-species specificity. Long-term monitoring of infection incidence among individually known animals in three spotted hyena groups revealed several outbreaks of sapovirus infection, and, counter-intuitively, that the risk of infection decreased as group sizes increased. "This type of effect has been termed either a dilution or an encounter-reduction effect, and in our study this effect is most likely explained by levels of herd immunity in a clan modulating infection risk" said Ximena Olarte-Castillo, Ph.D. student at the Leibniz IZW and lead author on the study.

Marion East, head of the research team at the Leibniz IZW, emphasised the importance of long-term monitoring of pathogens in wildlife, noting, "Our results not only track the genetic diversity of strains and changes of infection prevalence across two decades, they also provide a benchmark against which future studies can gauge the potential impact of ecological and human induced changes on sapovirus infection in the spotted hyena population in the Serengeti."

Explore further The first kobuviruses described from Africa

More information: Ximena A. Olarte-Castillo et al. Divergent Sapovirus Strains and Infection Prevalence in Wild Carnivores in the Serengeti Ecosystem: A Long-Term Study, PLOS ONE (2016). Journal information: PLoS ONE Ximena A. Olarte-Castillo et al. Divergent Sapovirus Strains and Infection Prevalence in Wild Carnivores in the Serengeti Ecosystem: A Long-Term Study,(2016). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163548
Credit: George Hodan/public domain

Why do more men die when they attempt suicide than women? The answer could lie in four traits, finds scientists.

There are over 6,000 British lives lost to suicide each year, and nearly 75 per cent of those are male. However, research has found women are more likely to suffer from depression, and to attempt to take their own life.

Scientists wanted to know why men's attempts at suicide were more likely to be fatal in a study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Although men tend to choose more lethal methods than women do. It was found that even when men and women try to kill themselves using the same method, men are still more likely to die.

Prof. Gopikrishna Deshpande and his team from Auburn University in USA found there are four traits defined as "the acquired capability for suicide" which men are more likely to have than women.

The traits are fearlessness of death, pain tolerance, emotional stoicism and sensation seeking. People experiencing a desire to commit suicide will not do so without first losing their fear of dying and developing the necessary pain tolerance to endure making a lethal attempt.

There is also a level of emotional stoicism that is needed to go through with a lethal act. Finally, some individuals, as a means of release, will actively pursue the sensations of pain that are related to suicidal action.

However, despite many explanations as to why men are more likely than women to exhibit these traits, it is up for debate whether these characteristics are innate or formed through life experience.

Deshpande believes that, if the specific brain networks that have been highlighted by this study are confirmed as being involved in suicidal action, then perhaps, "in the distant future techniques such as deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic and electrical stimulation and focused ultrasound could be used to make individuals less suicidal."

They also noted that, in men, the networks involved motor regions which are more associated with action, while the networks in women were dominated by brain regions which determine the emotional state of a person.

Prof. Deshpande said: "this may support the fact that suicidal desire generally leads to decisive fatal action in males while in females, it manifests as depression, ideation and generally non-fatal actions."

Explore further Only about half of suicidal patients asked if they have access to firearms

More information: Gopikrishna Deshpande et al. A Neural Basis for the Acquired Capability for Suicide, Frontiers in Psychiatry (2016). Gopikrishna Deshpande et al. A Neural Basis for the Acquired Capability for Suicide,(2016). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00125
THE TRUE COST OF ALL THAT 'CHEAP' LAOR THAT DESTROYED AMERICA THE BIG SECRET DEMOCRATS DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW: Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has testified before a Congressional committee that in 2004, 95% of all outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles were for illegal aliens; in 2000, 23% of all Los Angeles County jail inmates were illegal aliens and that in 1995, 60% of Los Angeless largest street gang, the 18th Street gang, were illegal aliens.
Montanas prisons and jails are over capacity. What changes in statute and/or funding at the state level  if any - do you think are necessary? If no changes, why not?

First, reduce the population. In fact, the governor could start looking at that right now. According Biennial Report of Corrections the top offenses that land people in prison are: males  felony DUI, possession of drugs, criminal endangerment, theft, burglary, distribution of drugs. Only one of these, criminal endangerment, is a violent crime. We should consider commuting, pardoning, or paroling drug offenses, making the necessary changes in law if needed. Female assault does not even get to the top 10. We have too many women in prison. Then look other methods to provide a consequence for property crimes and DUI.

Has the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adequately guided the states hunting and fishing concerns, or does the Legislature need to give the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks more specific direction regarding topics such as land acquisition, wildlife management, predator control, and bison?

Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) seem to being doing pretty well. However, the predator control program and bison around Yellowstone park are implemented by the Department of Livestock. The killing and harassment of bison has been poorly managed. The stated concern about the transfer of brucellosis from bison to cattle, leaves unstated the conflict about who gets to eat the grass. Bison are a native species of Montana and should be managed as wildlife. While FWP is trying to sort out the problem of brucellosis in elk, we have a different department dealing with bison.

Many Montanans depend on the extraction of fossil fuels for jobs, yet there is a strong demand for clean and renewable energy in the region, especially since prices for the latter are falling. How do you propose to help workers in the coal, oil and natural gas industries find jobs in this new economic landscape?

President Obama is the Oil President  realizing the unfulfilled dreams of the Bushes. The short-term mindset has led us to this problem. The fuel industry cycles like most commodity businesses. The falling prices are, in a fair part, due to the aggressive support of fracking by the current administration  and the slowing of the Chinese economy. The boom of the Bakken was bound to go bust. A boom to unleash a new technology to massively increase supply is bound to result in falling prices. When you push out that much oil and gas, prices fall.

According to Montana University System records, as recently as 1992, the stated funded 76 percent of the university system. Now, though, state support has fallen to 40 percent, which means tuition funds 60 percent of the system  putting higher education out of reach for some Montana families. Do you as a legislator have a responsibility to help and if so, how? If not, why not?

I read one report that 30 percent full-time equivalent goes to teaching in Montana's University System. This is backward. Thirty percent to 40 percent should be doing the administration and the rest should go to teaching  the university's purpose. But, it seems the trend is going in the wrong direction with 34 percent faculty laid off according to the November 2015 announcement. Oh! I will hear hand-wringing all the way to Hamilton. But, the state university system I went to is having trouble increasing enrollments! It is agonizing about how to solve a 50 percent faculty-to-administration ratio, not a 30 percent.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

There are two: The need to lower the cost of labor while increasing pay for lower-income workers and the justice system, which I will respond to here. Both the criminal and civil justice systems are broken. The core idea of justice is "swift and sure." In Montana it is neither one of these. Instead it is expensive and grossly unfair. Civil litigation is like a game of Russian roulette. You can get sued anytime, by a plaintiff with a predatory law firm, spend years proving what you already knew was not true and spend tens of thousands dollars.
Montanas prisons and jails are over capacity. What changes in statute and/or funding at the state level  if any - do you think are necessary? If no changes, why not?

Years back, Gov. Racicot provided good leadership and we dialed in on corrections, built more capacity stop the revolving door of lawbreakers. It has worked! First, lets look at the reasons people end up in jail. Many times our fellow citizen with idle time on their hands can lead to drug use that leads to violence and then jail. Seems like the best way to keep people out of jail is a good-paying job.

Has the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adequately guided the states hunting and fishing concerns, or does the Legislature need to give the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks more specific direction regarding topics such as land acquisition, wildlife management, predator control, and bison?

Strange question! There will always be differences of issue between a FWP board appointed by a liberal governor and an elected conservative Legislature. Being in the Legislature, yes, the FWP commission needs our guidance and counsel on many matters before it. We are directly elected by the public and our constituents expect us to represent them in these matters!

Many Montanans depend on the extraction of fossil fuels for jobs, yet there is a strong demand for clean and renewable energy in the region, especially since prices for the latter are falling. How do you propose to help workers in the coal, oil and natural gas industries find jobs in this new economic landscape?

We should start by supporting these extraction industry jobs! If there is a natural change due to solid economic influence to move from coal to solar or wind electricity, then fine, the consumers of electricity whom this industry is to support call the shots and the change happens. What we have today, though, is an out of touch-reality federal government, by President Obama, that is dictating the closure of our coal and other extraction industries in Montana by fiat! He is using bad science, bad government policy, and Montana workers and consumers are the victims of this socialistic federal government!

According to Montana University System records, as recently as 1992, the stated funded 76 percent of the university system. Now, though, state support has fallen to 40 percent, which means tuition funds 60 percent of the system  putting higher education out of reach for some Montana families. Do you as a legislator have a responsibility to help and if so, how? If not, why not?

Costs of higher education make it very difficult for many Montanans to attend! Lets remember that there is a plethora of help on the lower-income end to help many Montana kids afford a university or vo-tech degree. The high-end income families do not need our help; it is the medium-income families we need to try to help as much as possible. The best way to start this process would be for the university system to examine and find cost reductions in all sectors first, get the cost down for all, then lets look at more net funding.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

This is the most important question you asked and should be first. Our most urgent problem in Montana is declining state revenue due to major hits to our coal, timber, gas, natural gas and extraction industries. These revenue sources are down, under our expected revenue, and affect other major revenue sources of corporate and individual revenue. These declining revenues will affect state-funded programs, our local schools, human services, local government and university system. We need vibrant, strong leadership in the governors office to make sure these extraction industries recover and that our state revenues recover as well.
A ninth-grade boy, age 14, is in need of a gently used trombone to participate in band class as the school does not have any more available for rent. If you have a trombone that you would be willing to donate to the school for this young man to use, please contact My Student in Need and let us know how you can assist. Big Sky No. 1761.

A 10th grade boy, age 14, is in need of a gently used trombone to participate in band class. The school does not have any more available for rent. If you have a trombone that you and would be willing to donate it to the school for this young man to use, please contact My Student in Need and let us know how you can assist. Big Sky No. 1760.
Nearly a century and a half ago John Wesley Powell, the famous leader of the first expedition to follow the Colorado Rivers wild path through the Grand Canyon, was appointed the second director of the U.S. Geological Service. This remarkable man is remembered by many for one of his most prescient observations about the American West. Due to the areas arid nature, Powell believed that only about 2 percent of the land would be suitable for agricultural development and then, only those lands near water sources. Last week Montanas Supreme Court basically re-affirmed Powells prediction by invalidating an administrative rule that allowed certain wells to be drilled without permits throughout the state.

While the intricate details of Western water law are extremely complex, suffice it to say that in 1973 Montana realized that unregulated use of surface and ground water simply would not work. Among the many components of the water right and permit provisions adopted by the state was the requirement for those seeking new wells to obtain state permits. The primary reasoning was that new water users should not be able to infringe upon the water supply of existing ground or surface water users.

A simple and much used analogy is that the available water supply can be envisioned as a milkshake, while wells are like straws. Its easy to understand that the more straws you stick into the milkshake the quicker it is consumed and, ultimately, the less any one straw can suck up as the volume decreases.

While agriculture was primarily Powells concern, modern Montana is dealing with considerably more straws coming from subdivision development these days. As residential development fills the Gallatin, Missoula, Flathead, Helena, Yellowstone and Bitterroot valleys, just to name a few, the number of individual wells being drilled has vastly increased to serve those residential developments.

The problems, as we witnessed rather dramatically this summer, have likewise escalated with low flows, record high temperatures and massive fish kills in our world-famous rivers as groundwater that would have recharged the rivers is dramatically decreased by thousands of new straws in the supply every year.

Those problems have been exacerbated by a 1993 decision by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to implement an administrative rule that allowed drilling a well without a permit providing it used less than 35 gallons a minute or 10 acre feet of water a year. Prior to that move, if those individual wells were determined to come from a connected water source, as in a single aquifer, they would need a permit, which would allow existing water users and water right holders the ability to protest the new wells if they felt their water supply would be threatened.

As conflicts arose and new subdivisions faced dwindling water availability, the reality became obvious  unlimited water extraction was not working and was having deleterious impacts on existing water users such as springs and surface water sources drying up.

Finally, a group of water users, joined by the Clark Fork Coalition, took the state to court to overturn the new rule and revert to the previous requirement for new wells, where two or more tapped into a combined source to be permitted. In 2014 a district court agreed and invalidated the 1993 exempt well rule.

That decision was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court by a number of development oriented organizations, including the Association of Montana Realtors, Montana Well Drillers Association and the Montana Building Industry Association.

The Supreme Court re-affirmed the lower court decision in a 6-1 vote and with Justice Laurie McKinnon writing the opinion for the majority. As McKinnon noted, there are already a rather astounding 113,000 exempt wells in Montana with a predicted increase of 78,000 more wells by the end of the decade.

The focus of those seeking to reinstate the well-drilling free-for-all will now turn to the upcoming legislative session, where they will likely seek to change the law to allow unpermitted wells.

Should they succeed, their gain will be a loss for other Montanans and ultimately, our rivers, streams and springs. As John Wesley Powell predicted all those long years ago, water in the West is a finite resource and, ultimately, the limiting resource for ongoing development. Kudos are due for now, however, for a Supreme Court that is looking very realistically at the ongoing and predicted impacts and acting to protect Montanas most precious resource from over-appropriation.
I have lived in Montana for eight years and he for 25 years. He considers himself to be a true Montanan, but not me. Even after I have lived here for 25 years it will not be enough because he will have lived here for 42. My classmate, typical from what I have heard from other Montanans, wants change to end the day he moved here. He is a retired mason who profited and raised his family by indirectly encouraging people here as a result of the stores he helped build in Missoula and other cities in Montana. Now my classmate cannot figure out why he has to deal with more people and his way of living is affected.
HELENA - Stacked beneath tarps in Lincoln are the logs that once constructed what is apparently the community's oldest structure.

The logs that were once the Matt King home have been disassembled and stored until the day they are put back together.

Erin Dey, the business manager for the towns newspaper, the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch, said the Lincoln Heritage Alliance obtained financing for the $40,000 purchase of the logs and three people, who were not named, are guaranteeing repayment.

Had the 2-foot diameter logs not been purchased, they could have been resold by the company that acquired them.

About $29,500 is left on the financing, Dey said.

Last week, she met with the Lewis and Clark County Heritage Tourism Council to update it on the status of the project.

Council members voted to endorse the restoration/renovation of the building and to say the council would, to the best of its abilities, help fund that work.

Members of the council also offered suggestions on possible sources of grant funds that could be used toward the work and to say that these funds could also be used as matching money for even larger grants.

Jerry Burns, president of the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society in May 2015, wrote to the Lewis and Clark County Commission and Pam Attardo, the countys historic preservation officer, to say King arrived at Fort Benton in 1869 and then went to Lincoln Gulch where he devoted his attention to mining for several years.

While he lived other places, he settled in the vicinity of Lincoln where he operated a ranch.

Speaking on behalf of the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society, we would like to see this important piece of our history remain in the Lincoln area, his letter stated.

The most ideal situation would be to purchase this building and reassemble it at another location to be used, potentially, as a museum and interpretive center, which would provide a cultural and economic benefit to the community as a whole.

Construction on the structure by H.B. Chapman began in the 1880s, Dey said, and was completed in 1901.

She showed the Heritage Tourism Council members a scrap of board taken from the structure when Sheetrock was removed from its walls. Inscribed in pencil on the board were Chapmans and Kings names and the date 1901.

Reassembly of the building after the financing is repaid, she said, will involve a lot of volunteer time.

Some local people may offer services for the reassembly and will be asked for assistance, she said.

It shouldnt be that bad to put back up, Dey said and explained that the structure isnt complicated and each piece was tagged as the structure was disassembled.

Just where the home will be placed hasnt been finalized, she said, and added that a Main Street location would be ideal.

A potential site, next to the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch, is about 2.5 acres and has businesses located around it whose security cameras would be beneficial to the structures protection, Dey said.

Other locations along Main Street are available but would cost $150,000 or more. Their secluded locations would mean less opportunity to monitor the building.

Once land for the building is obtained, other historical structures now under the care of the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society could be moved to the property, Dey said.

While noting that moving buildings involves a significant amount of work, she said that if they arent currently getting enough public attention they could be relocated to the center of town.

A more prominent location could result in greater attention, additional donations and more people to volunteer their time, she said.

I just think itd be a great stopping place, Dey added.

There are other buildings around town  and I havent approached anybody yet because we dont have a plan where to put them or money to buy them. If anybody wants to donate one, thatd be cool. But weve got to start somewhere.

She said she doesnt envision the buildings being operational, although one could be made to provide a temperature-controlled environment for the storage of the communitys historical documents.

Lincoln is home to about 900 in the winter months and perhaps twice that during the summer, by Deys estimate.

Assembling historic structures from the towns past in one location is seen as helping drive the communitys potential for tourism.

The opportunity, Dey explained, is to bring commerce to town as people stop to see the two-story Matt King residence and the other buildings.

I can envision it being pretty enough to have a wedding out there, she added.

Theres a lot of potential, and Lincoln needs help. We dont have any industry. We dont have mining. We dont have logging; its pretty much gone."

Tourism, she continued, may be whats kept the town going even as times changed and logging and mining no longer sustained the community.

Fourth of July activities provide a significant boost to the towns economy, Dey said.

Adding to the reasons for tourists to stop in Lincoln is the sculpture park, "Blackfoot Pathways: Sculptures in the Wild," that features both permanent and temporary artwork inspired by the communitys environmental and industrial heritage.

The county budgeted money this year to improve the bathroom in Hooper Park and add a shower facility to help attract bicyclists who pass through each summer.

A shower, it was noted during commission discussions, would give bicyclists more of a reason to spend a day or longer in Lincoln.

Despite the lack of economic opportunity for the community, it has other and less measurable qualities that endear it to residents.

I just love it there. Its calm, its relaxing, its far enough away from the city that you can run to town if you need to. Other than that its very quiet, Dey said.
LIVINGSTON (AP)  In a tidy workshop tucked behind Steven Hughes' home here, four men from across the country meticulously worked on carving their own gun stocks.

As they worked, Hughes went from student to student, offering tips and advice, showing the men how its done. Three were creating Winchester Model 70 bolt action rifles while the fourth, a left hander, was creating stock for a single-shot rifle.

"That guy's an artist," Nate Woltering said of Hughes as he worked on his stock.

The Livingston gunsmith, who has been in the gun making business for four decades, has often shared his knowledge, teaching private lessons and gunsmithing classes, writing monthly columns for national publications, and writing three books.

But about five years ago, he came up with his own curriculum and began holding small week-long seminars in his own workshop.

"I feel my job is to give as much as I can in the five days," Hughes said.

This year's seminar recently started in Hughes' gun shop, reported the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (http://bit.ly/2cOvDuq). The course is designed to give participants an introduction to custom stock making.

Each day is more than eight hours of instruction, discussion and hands-on work. They started the week by hand making their own scrapers, which are steel tools they use throughout the week.

"You cannot buy this tool," Hughes said.

Then using walnut imported from Australia, the group learns inletting, which is the fitting of the wood stock to the metal of the gun.

In addition to their hands-on work, Hughes spends each morning giving the group a lecture on different topics. On a recent Wednesday, he spoke about stock design.

Hughes said getting to teach his annual seminar is a privilege.

"It truly is. And I treat it as such," he said.

This class features four students from Connecticut, New York, Kansas and Ohio.

Shawn Massey, 45, drove 1,100 miles from his home in Kansas to take part in Hughes' workshop. An owner of a small gun shop, Massey said he didn't have much experience in building his own firearms.

"I really want to learn how to do this," Massey said while carefully working on his stock. "I figured I better come learn from the best."

At 34, Woltering was the youngest of the students. From Columbus, Ohio, Woltering said he's done small repairs on guns, but "nothing of this caliber." And Hughes' seminar offers an opportunity found nowhere else, he said.

"His influence has been very wide sweeping in the fine gun world," Woltering said.

___

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com
BUTTE - Uptown panhandling is causing a spirited dialogue among Butte business owners, who say that behavior from a small, identifiable group of individuals is hurting their bottom line.

Things reached a boiling point Sept. 9 when Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Matt Vincent called a public meeting to discuss the issue.

Business owners came to the meeting in full force, armed with impassioned statements outlining their grievances. Several spoke of urination and drunken behavior near their storefronts while others outlined specific instances in which they felt harassed or threatened by panhandlers.

Merchants and community leaders also spoke on the aesthetics of the situation and how the behavior of about six to 10 individuals Uptown could potentially hurt Buttes efforts to revitalize the community.

Vincent told The Montana Standard on Wednesday that he was sympathetic to the experience of Uptown business owners.

Its a very personal issue. I mean, it involves people and their livelihoods, said Vincent. Whether your livelihood is selling antiques or baking cupcakes or trying to get the means you need to fuel an addiction. So obviously theres a lot of emotion brought to the table on this.

Kelley Klamp of For Heavens Cakes bakery and coffee shop at 33 N. Main St. agrees  for her, its personal.

She and business partner Lauren Barnes moved the business from Boulder to Butte in October of 2015 and arrived in the Mining City with high hopes, which they expressed to the Standard in a February story.

In February they spoke about the joys of running a small business but also the struggles. In the end they proclaimed they were the epitome of two broke girls as the Standard snapped a photo of Klamp, smiling, holding what seemed to be an endless row of brightly colored cupcakes.

But several months later, the mood seems to have changed at For Heavens Cakes.

On Thursday Klamp told the Standard that her conflict with Uptown panhandlers started immediately at the Uptown bakery.

At first, Klamp said, she gave a dollar here and there, but soon she realized doing so was drawing more and more panhandlers to her storefront.

However, Klamp said once she made the decision to stop offering money, the panhandlers became aggressive. In one particularly tense moment, Klamp said, a woman raised her hand, gesturing as though she were about to hit Klamp. Klamp said the presence of panhandlers is negatively impacting her business and that she believes some people stay away from Uptown because of the activity.

Klamp added that she enjoys being in Uptown Butte and wants to stay but that she and Barnes have come up with an exit plan if things reach a crisis point.

This is our dream, and if this isnt the place for our dream, then our dream continues on, said Klamp.

When asked what solutions she would be willing to support, Klamp said she would like to see more recreational areas for panhandlers to congregate, the installation of public restrooms, and an anti-panhandling ordinance.

RALLY FOR SOLUTIONS

An anti-panhandling ordinance similar to one in Missoula was discussed at length during a Sept. 14 public meeting, during which members from the Vagrancy/Panhandling Task Force gathered to discuss the issues at hand.

The group adjourned with a few action items that they hope will curb Uptown panhandling.

These included, among other things, increasing foot patrols in the Uptown area, plans for case managers to accompany officers on the Uptown beat once a week, and installing locks on select dumpsters along Main Street to prevent scavenging for alcohol.

Representatives from the Human Resources Council and the Southwest Montana Continuum of Care were also there and provided information for business owners on how to de-escalate aggressive behavior.

One group that wasnt present: the panhandlers themselves.

On Tuesday the Standard met with Rocky Lyons, executive director for the Butte Rescue Mission, who facilitated a discussion outside the Knights of Columbus with a few members from Buttes homeless population. Twice a week advocates pass out food to people in need at the 224 W. Park St. location.

Incidentally, many of the people who spoke with The Montana Standard said they agreed with business owners: aggressive panhandling is wrong.

Jack Brown said he thinks panhandling is OK so long as its not aggressive.

Theres yin and yang. I mean, it hurts when people are rude to us, said Brown. But I just walk past and say thank you, and thats what everyone needs to do.

However, Tanner Christian Lofton, 28, expressed frustration over what he sees as unfair labeling of all homeless people as aggressive panhandlers, adding that out-of-town homeless people are partly to blame for the aggressive behavior.

They really put a damper on the people who really need it. Most of them are trying to get a drink or drugs, he said.

When asked what he wanted the people of Butte to know, Lofton replied, 'Not all homeless people are drunks or druggies' would be the main thing  Some have just decided to go the wrong way and really need help turning around.

Lofton says hes trying to turn things around.

After serving five years in prison in Wyoming for possession of a deadly weapon, Lofton said hes had a hard time getting back on his feet.

He said many employers wont hire someone with a criminal record and, whats more, his situation became even more difficult after someone stole his backpack, which contained his Social Security card and ID.

After that, you get labeled as a 28-year-old who's just out for no good, said Lofton. I dont have a Social Security card. I dont have a birth certificate. I dont have an ID. Theres no way I can prove myself to get a job, said Lofton.

Lyons, meanwhile, said barriers like this are common among Buttes homeless.

She said people can be homeless for any combination of reasons, which can include things like an unexpected illness, losing a job, substance-abuse problems, incarceration, and a lack of life skills.

She added that in a place like Butte, where nearly 20 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty line, its easy to find oneself a stones throw away from a life on the street.

I think one thing that we really have to keep in mind is that in our current economic state, any of us could be in the situation of being homeless at any given time, said Lyons. Very few of us have a nice little nest egg that we can fall back on. Were all living paycheck to paycheck, and if something happens and that paycheck is gone, we can be in this very situation.

Margie Seccomb, head of Buttes Human Resources Council, said often what separates a person from becoming homeless or not is access to a support system like family members or a group of friends.

Seccomb said in the early 1990s her organization helped build Homeward Bound, an apartment building at 304 N. Main St. that provided transitional housing for homeless people. Today, she said, HRC is shifting its approach away from transitional housing and into a model known as rapid rehousing or housing first.

Unlike a transitional housing model that usually involves communal living and sometimes a sobriety requirement, rapid rehousing is aimed at getting people off the street and into permanent housing regardless of their barriers, Seccomb said.

Seccomb said HRC transitioned to rapid rehousing last year, so the verdict is out on its success, but so far she likes the numbers that she sees.

Between 2015 and 2016, she said, HRCs rapid-rehousing program served 170 households while Butte also saw its homeless population drop from 164 to 95.

Seccomb said its too early to tell whether there is a correlation between the new approach and the numbers but she hopes the homeless population will continue to decline.

BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE

Sheriff Ed Lester says for as long as hes been practicing policing in Butte, problems related to homelessness have been an ongoing debate in the Mining City.

This is the most recent time that its reared its head, said Lester, who got his start in the Butte police department in 1989.

He said that people who are experiencing aggressive panhandling should leave their contact details so that police can gather the information necessary to make an arrest.

While sitting on a park bench or panhandling are not illegal offenses in Butte, what is illegal are things such as blocking a persons egress, public urination, and extreme intoxication.

Most of the behaviors that we see are covered in the disorderly conduct statute, said Lester.

Lester said hes hopeful that the addition of service advocates on foot patrols will help his officers establish relationships with everyone involved.

The spirit of community policing is to try to build rapport with everybody. Not just business owners or not just the transient population.

But Heath Eisentrager has a less optimistic view.

He said he worries increased foot patrols will equate to the harassment of homeless people and panhandlers. Furthermore, he said, he feels that many of the people causing the problems have probably already been through housing and mental-health services before.

Eisentrager, 40, said hes been homeless by choice off and on throughout his adult life.

He said wanderlust caused him to choose the lifestyle and that hes traveled to nearly every state in the United States except Rhode Island and Delaware.

When asked if he represented a majority or a minority of homeless people, he said that most people are not homeless by choice.

I would say the vast majority of people dont intentionally put themselves on the street, he said.

But he added that he doesnt believe homelessness is the real issue but rather public intoxication and Buttes lack of a ban on open containers of alcoholic beverages carried on the street.

BETTER PATH FORWARD

As for Klamp, she said she hasnt enjoyed the spotlight her business has been taking after the task force meetings.

She maintained that while shes willing to fight for her business tooth and nail, shes sympathetic to the experiences of homeless people because she knows what its like to live on the street.

During her teens, she said, her family was homeless for a period of time.

But you have to get to the point where you dont want to do that anymore, she said, wiping away tears. The things that we have accomplished with this business alone are proof that you can come back from the worst downfall.

She said she hopes more business owners will speak out about their experiences and join her at the task force meetings.

Brown, meanwhile, who spoke with the Standard outside the Knights of Columbus Hall on Park Street, says he loves Butte just as much as any other resident.

Although he was born in Billings, he said his Butte and Anaconda roots run deep.

He said his grandfather worked in the smelter in Anaconda, and he had an uncle Larry who worked in the Butte mines and taught Brown the difference between real and fools' gold.

As for a bus ride out of the city, Brown said he doesnt plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

Weve got history, all of us, said Brown. I love Butte, and I will never leave. Ill be buried here. I dont care where its at, whether its on the street (or somewhere else). This is where Ill live and Ill die.
When Autumn Dempewolf married her husband, Zane, he had two requests. He said that we are going to get married Catholic and send our kids to a country school.

There was a hiccup this year when their son, Dace, started kindergarten. They werent sure if hed have a teacher.

The family lives on a ranch about 10 minutes out of Glendive, but Dempewolf sends her son to Deer Creek Elementary, a small school of about 25 students. The family is within the Deer Creek boundary, but the decision not to drive into town is rooted in culture as much as education.

We want our kids to be cowboys, Dempewolf said.

She grew more and more nervous as the school year approached and Deer Creek didnt have a teacher for its lower-grade classroom. The school finally found one about a week before school started.

Across the nation, experts have been sounding the alarm on an impending teacher shortage. Fewer enrollees and graduates from teacher training programs will result in a coming supply shortage, they say.

Others argue that the teacher market is more nuanced, and can likely weather dips in teacher production. Teacher supply affects markets differently in each state, they say.

The differences between Glendive Schools and Deer Creek are significant, but Glendive is still a small rural school by most reckonings.

The comparison illustrates nuances in Montana education that escape national brush strokes; in this case, officials at both Glendive and Deer Creek didnt need anyone to tell them there was a teacher shortage.

Rural needs

Most elementary teachers across the nation will teach one grade. High school teachers will mostly teach one subject, likely with a few different classes.

In Montanas smallest elementary schools, teachers are asked to juggle multiple grades in the same classroom, sometimes with only one student per grade. In small high schools, teachers might teach every class within a subject, or even multiple subjects.

When Katrina Kinnan was going to college in Kansas, her professors told her to pick a subject  art or history  whichever she liked more. She got certified to teach both anyway.

I was a little bit of a weirdo, she said.

When Winnetts superintendent got wind of her four years ago, he just about tackled me and said, you must work here,  Kinnan said.

Theres a lot of small schools that are like, We need this and this,  she said. Colleges do tend to be like, Youre going to train to be one thing. 

Current Winnett superintendent Walt Stevens describes her as a home-run hire; a good teacher with a unique skill set. In Terry, a new teacher is working to become certified as a librarian in addition to teaching several other subjects.

Thats a challenge that resonates with some teachers.

I would be really bored if I had seven years of teaching beginning woods, said Adam Tholt, Winnetts shop teacher who teaches students machining, welding and computer courses  and woods.

But its also tough. Teachers need to prepare more lesson plans for different classes or grade levels. There are often no colleagues within a department to seek advice from. Its simply not what most teachers envision when theyre in college.

A Helena administrator, Jilyn Oliveira, studied recruitment and retention at Montana's smallest schools for research finished in 2015; she found that a major indicator of teachers staying in a rural school was feeling that their own education prepared them for the job. But only about a third of teachers she surveyed said their own education prepared them for a rural school.

'Quick answer'

Sara Bacon has been a paraprofessional in a multi-grade elementary classroom at Deer Creek School for the past five years.

Some teachers struggle with multi-grade, she said. Theyve had little training in college about how to balance different grade levels. The importance of things like routine and classroom management become magnified in a multi-grade room; students often work in small groups with minimal oversight.

Montanas college pipeline isnt getting bigger. Almost every program has seen a drop in bachelor's degree graduates since 2010-11. The one increase over that time period, Montana State University, has seen graduates drop over the past decade despite burgeoning overall enrollment.

John Demming, a science teacher in Circle, previously worked as a professor in the education program at Winona State University in Minnesota. Before academia, he taught in the central Montana town of Stanford.

The quick answer for whether teachers are prepared for a rural setting coming out of college is "no, Demming said. Teacher prep programs are designed to teach best practices to students for an environment that theyre likely to teach in. Nationally, teachers are much more likely to end up in a school district like Missoula, Bozeman or Billings than one like Circle.

Some experts have said a dip in teacher preparation programs is a delayed effect of the great recession, and as market factors change, it will likely rebound.

In Montana, its difficult to tell how many education graduates end up as Montana teachers. The majority are employed in Montana within a year of graduating, but the Montana University System data doesnt distinguish between general employment and teaching jobs.

At Winnett, Kari Weingart is student teaching. Shes going to school in New Mexico, but her husband is from Montana.

If I were doing my student teaching in Las Cruces, that might have helped with finding jobs in Las Cruces, she said.

The Montana Rural Education Association announced a new program this fall trying to find more housing for student teachers. Weingart said housing would have been an obstacle if she didn't have connections to the area. The Montana University System also created a task force to examine how universities can address teacher shortages.

Oliveira has called on universities to offer more rural-focused education and field opportunities.
BILLINGS  State officials are working to replace the antiquated process used to maintain the state's Sexual or Violent Offender Registry.

The list contains more than 6,000 names and is updated during the week by two state employees. There are as many as 300 updates a day, which come from 70 different state agencies through either email, fax, the mail or by phone.

Each month, as many as 50,000 searches are conducted by law enforcement investigators or by civilians wanting to know if there are any violent or sexual offenders in their neighborhood.

Maintaining the list is a difficult and cumbersome process, said Butch Huseby, the Department of Justice's chief of the state Crime Information Bureau.

The bureau hopes to have a more efficient system in place within the next two years. It is working with web designers to create a new site allowing county officials to enter information on the site themselves. Under the new system, the two analysts would only have to verify the information listed by the counties, Huseby said.

Although sexual and violent offenders are compelled by law to register in their county, the state can't force county officials to use the state system, Huseby said. Many counties may continue to pass the information to the state they way they have in the past.

The new site also wouldnt decrease the amount of time it takes to get an offender registered.

Robert James Robbins was convicted of deliberate homicide in 2002 and then paroled in June. Although his name did appear on Yellowstone County's offender list, he wasn't listed with the state until Sept. 21, after The Billings Gazette asked about the omission.

Robbins and several others were late to the list because of a backup in fingerprint verifications, Huseby said.

The states Identification Services Section, staffed by two fingerprint technicians, processes 383 criminal fingerprint cards and 533 civil fingerprint cards per month. That number increases drastically in the months before the school year starts, when all the school districts in the state send in more than 5,000 fingerprint cards for processing.

The new website won't change the possibility of this type of delay. The majority of registering agencies still have a manual ink-rolling system of capturing fingerprints for offender registration. Those fingerprints will still need to be sent to the state through the mail.

Some agencies do have devices called Live Scans that capture fingerprints electronically and are then submitted to the DOJ. But the technology would be an extra financial burden on the offices of small county sheriffs, who are a large portion of registering agencies.

In addition to trying to streamline the information being received by the state, the bureau is also encouraging violent offenders on the list who have stayed out of trouble for 10 years to file for removal from the registry.

About 58 percent of the offenders registered are on the list for a violent offense. Another 40 percent are registered for a sexual offense and about 2 percent are registered for both. Sexual offenders are required to be on the list for life.

Montana Division of Criminal Investigation agent Mike Howell is one of two DCI agents assigned to verifying those who need to be registered as a sexual or violent offender. When Howell comes across a violent offender registered for more than 10 years, he provides them resources on how to get removed from the list.

The process can be intimidating, costly and time-consuming, though, Huseby said.

Offenders who have moved from the county where they committed the crime would have to complete the process through the original court. They might also need to hire an attorney.

Reducing the number of offenders on the list, though, would help reduce the bureau's workload, even as it continues to increase, Huseby said. In the two years Huseby has overseen the bureau, the rules regarding monitoring sexual offenders have changed.

The registry now keeps track of the 130 sexual offenders who are required to live at least 300 feet away from places where there are large populations of children, including schools and day care centers. The 300-foot law was passed by the 2015 Montana Legislature. Huseby's agents have already had a handful of these offenders relocate because of their proximity to children.

The updating of the registry comes out of DOJ-requested grant funding through the National Criminal History Improvement Project to improve criminal history data systems and exchanges across the entire state.
A man facing a federal charge for allegedly organizing a prostitution ring that included teenage girls was being supervised by a Missoula probation officer before he was arrested in Billings.

Terrance Tyrell Edwards, 34, has been charged with felony sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and made his initial appearance by video in U.S. District Court in Great Falls on Monday. He is being held without bond in the Yellowstone County jail.

Court records list five women and girls as victims in the case. Edwards met the first woman through the social networking website MeetMe.com earlier this month, according to a sworn statement by Missoula police detective Guy Baker, who is also a FBI task force officer. The affidavit did not identify the woman or her hometown, but authorities in Lake County and with the Montana Department of Justice previously identified her as a 22-year-old from Polson.

The woman traveled to Missoula, thinking she and Edwards were going to start dating, according to Baker's statement. Instead, Edwards bought red lingerie, took pictures of her in the lingerie for advertisements to be posted on the internet and told her he planned to make money with her, Baker said in the statement. On the first day, the woman earned $1,400 for sex with multiple men, according to the statement.

As the woman had sex with men for money in Montana and in Salt Lake City, Edwards went to Washington state to pick up a second woman who was brought into the operation, Baker said.

At one point, Edwards struck one of the women in the face for looking at a man who was not a customer, and he then required her to check in with him every two hours, Baker said.

That Polson woman told Baker that on Sept. 19, she drove Edwards to Missoula so that he could be released from probation for a prior prostitution conviction. Edwards has two prior felony prostitution arrests in Missoula.

One dates to 2010, when he was charged with promoting prostitution for arranging and forcing a 19-year-old Missoula woman to meet clients for paid sex. In February 2011, District Court Judge Robert Dusty Deschamps gave him a five-year sentence, all of it suspended, after Edwards pleaded no contest as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

In January 2012, Edwards was arrested in Texas, where he had moved without telling his probation officer, and new charges for promoting prostitution and witness tampering were filed against him and his brother after investigators found he had been recruiting more women.

His suspended sentence was revoked in June 2012 and Deschamps sentenced him to five years in the Montana State Prison, with credit for 269 days already served in custody.

According to the Montana Department of Corrections, Edwards was granted parole in September 2015 under the conditions that he complete chemical dependency and sex offender counseling. He was released from custody at the start of March and was under the supervision of the Missoula office of Adult Probation and Parole until Sept. 19, two days before his arrest, when he was discharged because his sentence was completed.

In a statement Monday, Department of Corrections Deputy Director Loraine Wodnik said around 38 percent of the men released from prison in Montana are re-incarcerated within three years.

At the Montana Department of Corrections, were emphasizing evidence-based treatment and other programming. Our probation and parole officers do a tremendous job of working with caseloads of up to 85 felony offenders in many of our bigger urban areas. We as a department do our absolute best to assist in the rehabilitation of all offenders, but ultimately, it is each offender who makes the decision to change, she wrote.

According to his federal court complaint, Edwards traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, on Sept. 20 and picked up three girls ages 15, 16 and 17; two are from North Dakota and one from Minnesota. One of the girls did not know the purpose of the trip, Baker wrote.

When Edwards left the state, one of the women he left behind contacted authorities with a cellphone Edwards apparently gave her for customer calls, Baker said.

Police arrested Edwards on Wednesday morning outside a Billings hotel. The three girls were returned to North Dakota, Baker said.
 Mrs. Clinton pressed Mr. Trumps repeated claim, contradicted by public statements he has made in the past, that he had opposed the Iraq war from the beginning. Donald supported the invasion of Iraq, she said. That is absolutely proved over and over again. Wrong, Mr. Trump interjected. Wrong.

 Mr. Trump insisted again that he had opposed the Iraq war, calling any suggestion otherwise a mainstream media nonsense. Lester Holt, the moderator, said, The record shows otherwise. Mr. Trump went on to appraise his own temperament, calling it my strongest asset, maybe by far, before attacking Mrs. Clintons. She smiled. Woo! O.K., she said, beginning her response.

 Mrs. Clinton hit Mr. Trump for his record of praise for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, lamenting that Mr. Trump had publicly invited Putin to hack into American communications, as Mr. Trump shook his head. Mr. Trump said he did not think anybody knows if Russia was behind the recent hacks of Democratic organizations, wondering aloud if it might instead be China or a single hacker who weighs 400 pounds and sits at home.

 After Mrs. Clinton suggested she was worried about Mr. Trump getting his hands on the nuclear codes, Mr. Trump replied, That line is getting a little bit old. Mrs. Clinton mocked Mr. Trumps secret plan, as she called it, to fight the Islamic State, saying he had no true strategy. She also sought to reassure American allies that the country would honor its international commitments, saying some of Mr. Trumps comments during the campaign had startled them.

 Asked about his propagation of the conspiracy theory raising doubts about Mr. Obamas birth, Mr. Trump tried to blame Mrs. Clinton, suggesting falsely that she, too, had questioned the presidents birthplace. She failed to get the birth certificate, he said. When I got involved, I didnt fail. Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Trump had really started his political activity based on this racist lie that our first black president was not an American citizen, calling his efforts very hurtful.
iStock/Thinkstock(LONDON)  East Aleppo saw what witnesses describe as an unprecedented and relentless offensive as United Nations diplomats demanded a halt to the violence Sunday.



On Monday morning airstrikes continued to hit the rebel-held part of Aleppo, say locals.



Six have died at the hospital so far since airstrikes started to hit this morning, Abu Rajab, a nurse at an Aleppo hospital, told ABC News.



Sunday's airstrikes were heavier than anything he had seen or heard since the Syrian war started over five years ago, he said.



It felt like the ground was shaking under you, like an earthquake, he said of the strikes. The explosions sounded loud and strange like nothing weve heard before in five years of war. It was a bloody day. No words can describe what happened yesterday.



He said the hospital received around 180 injured people from Sunday's attacks, but had to refer some of them to other clinics because they didnt have the capacity to treat all of them. Around 40 percent of the wounded were children and 20 percent women, he said. The intensive care unit was so filled up with patients that one surgeon had to conduct an operation on the ground.



Since midnight Saturday, at least 27 people were killed by strikes from warplanes and government helicopters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday.



At least 70 people have been killed in three days of airstrikes on east Aleppo from Friday to Sunday night, activists in Syria told ABC News.



The United Nations said the recent attacks on Aleppo could amount to war crimes.



Repeated airstrikes and the use of bunker-busting and incendiary bombs in densely populated areas could well prove to be war crimes, David Swanson, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told ABC News.



The U.N. has 40 trucks with aid ready to enter eastern Aleppo. The aid has been sitting by the Turkish border for about two weeks and is still waiting by the border in Syria customs area. Once the U.N. gets the green light, the first convoy carrying a month's worth of wheat flour for more than 150,000 people will be sent to Aleppo, according to the U.N.s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The shipment will be followed up by a delivery of enough food rations to feed 35,000 people for a month.



The distance from the Turkish border to east Aleppo is only some 40 miles, but the journey could take about four to five hours.



While up to 275,000 people in eastern Aleppo are still waiting for the aid they need, humanitarian assistance entered the four besieged Syrian towns of Madaya, Foah, Zabadani and Kefraya Sunday.



On Wednesday evening, one out of two water pumping stations in east Aleppo, was destroyed by airstrikes. In retaliation, rebels turned off the second water pumping station that mainly serves the government-held western part of the city. That means that close to 2 million people in Aleppo are currently living without running water.



At an emergency meeting Sunday, Western U.N. diplomats condemned the recent escalating violence in Aleppo and blamed Russia and the Syrian government. Samantha Powers, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., accused Russia of committing barbarism under the guise of "counter-terrorism."



Instead of pursuing peace Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing humanitarian convoys, hospitals and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive, Powers told members of the Security Council Sunday.



It seems the only items that make it into eastern Aleppo these days are barrel bombs and incendiaries that witnesses report seen dropped by Assad's forces and Russian forces. Russia of course has long had the power to stop this suffering. Even now, we will continue to look for any way possible to restore the cessation of hostilities.



Powers walked out of the emergency session along with the French and U.K. ambassadors to the U.N. in protest when Syrias ambassador was called to speak.



The U.S., the U.K. and France had requested the emergency meeting after the Syrian military on Thursday announced a new offensive on east Aleppo.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Police reports

DUI

Randal Armstrong, 54, of Butte was arrested for DUI, his sixth offense, near the M on Sunday. Police say he refused to comply and drove away in a Bronco before fleeing on foot with a dog and hiding.

Alcohol was detected on him. He refused a Breathalyzer; a warrant was sought for a blood test. He was also booked on misdemeanor counts of fleeing from or eluding police, displaying plates assigned to another vehicle and a felony probation violation.

A Butte woman, 58, reported Jeffry Williams, 38, struck the rear of her vehicle in the area of Amherst Street and Continental Drive on Sunday and smelled of alcohol. He was driving a 2008 Ford F-150 pickup truck. A Breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit.

EMBEZZLEMENT

James Rigby, 29, of Butte was arrested Friday for felony theft by embezzlement. Police say he worked as a cashier at Safeway, 2500 Massachusetts Ave., and embezzled over $1,800.

RANTING, RAVING

Shon Thorson, 57, of Pocatello, Idaho, allegedly caused a disturbance Friday at Mountain Hot Tub, 1601 Harrison Ave., and then crossed the street, yelling at vehicles as he passed them. He entered another business where he ranted, appeared agitated and claimed his daughter was molested.

Police say he may have mental health issues. He was arrested for disorderly conduct.

WANTED MAN

Robert Sayler, 36, of Butte was recognized by police on the 200 block of South Montana Street about 6 p.m. Friday. He refused to stop and provide his name. At the jail, a small baggie of marijuana was found on him.

Sayler was wanted on two warrants issued in Butte city court totaling $4,000. He was also booked on criminal possession of dangerous drugs and obstructing a peace officer, both misdemeanors.

SHOPLIFTING

Adam Shettel, 34, of Butte was stopped by a Walmart employee shortly after 11 p.m. Friday as he was leaving the store. He was accused of attempting to leave with a stolen hat and Marvel Comics wallet. He denied the allegation and was arrested for shoplifting.

ASSAULT, DRUG ARREST

A 25-year-old woman reported Clayton Dryden, 24, of Butte threw her on the ground and hit her several times at their residence on the 10 block of North Clark Street. She suffered an abrasion to her chin and cuts to a knee and hand.

Police later arrested him at home Saturday, where he gave a false name. At the jail, Dryden was found to be in possession of two glass pipes and a small amount of suspected methamphetamine.

He was booked on a felony count of criminal possession of meth and obstructing a peace officer, partner or family member assault and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, all misdemeanors.

FIGHTING WOMEN

Paige Edwards, 24, of Butte was arrested for misdemeanor assault after police say she grabbed a womans hair and punched her several times outside a bar about 1 a.m. Sunday on the 10 block of W. Park Street. A police officer and a male bystander broke up the fight.

The victim, 20, had no apparent injuries. Earlier in the night she and the suspect had exchanged words.

SPITTING MAN

Police responded to St. James Healthcare on Sunday morning for a report of a male causing a disturbance. Sean Krebs, 26, of Butte was arrested after initial resistance. At the jail, he was placed in a restraint chair and allegedly spat at an officer.

He was booked on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and assault with bodily fluid, both misdemeanors.
Methodists were second only to Catholics in number in early Butte, and by 1900 there were nine Methodist (or Methodist Episcopal, as they were called at the time) churches in Butte. Both Mountain View at Montana and Quartz and St. Pauls at Idaho and Galena contain stained glass that was likely manufactured by the Butte Art Stained Glass Works in the 300 block of South Main. Both are in the same style.

Noted architect William White designed St. Pauls church. It cost $10,000 in 1899, including a steeple (since removed) above the entry. Architect White was in partnership with A. Werner Lignell in 1900; their offices were in the Silver Bow Block (the old one, where the parking lot stands today just west of Main on Granite Street). In 1901 Whites independent office was in the Bee Hive Building on East Broadway (part of the old NorthWestern Energy buildings today) and he was living at 1035 Caledonia.

By 1918, the church was owned by mortician (and later Silver Bow sheriff) Larry Duggan, a sympathizer with the incendiary Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The building then housed the Butte Daily Bulletin (later known as the Butte Strike Bulletin), a radical newspaper voicing policies of the anti-Anaconda Nonpartisan League and published by William F. Dunne. On September 13, 1918, local police and federal troops under Major Omar N. Bradley raided the Bulletin, arresting 24, men including Dunne, and thwarting a miners strike. The Finlander Hall on North Wyoming (north of the Motel 6 today) was another IWW stronghold that was raided that night.

Omar Bradley had been posted to Butte earlier in 1918 to keep the peace in the ongoing labor unrest. Its unlikely that Bradley was happy to be here; he wanted to be in Europe fighting the Great War. His first child was stillborn in Butte, and even when he was promoted and sent toward the war soon after the raid on the Butte Strike Bulletin, he only made it as far east as Iowa. The great influenza epidemic took hold in October 1918, and the war ended in November, so Bradley had to wait more than two decades before rising to become Eisenhowers second in command in the European Theater of World War II.

Bill Dunne was elected to the Montana Legislature in November 1918 while awaiting trial for sedition for the editorial content of the Butte Bulletin (he was convicted). He went on to become a founding member of the American Communist Party and editor of its newspaper, the Daily Worker, but he was expelled from the party in 1946 for being too left-wing, even for the communists.
It sometimes takes a team to win an Emmy Award.

New York glitz and gala aside, Butte native Wesley Meeks and his Valley Uprising technical team scored big.

A graphic artist, Meeks and his colleagues pulled off an upset, beating nationally known heavy-hitters to win the Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction award.

It was an absolutely unbelievable experience I never thought would happen, Meeks told The Montana Standard.

I didn't really think it was real when they called out Valley Uprising. I just followed Barry up on stage and tried to look like I knew what I was doing.

Its the type of shocked response higher-profile actors, directors, and producers typically express at the main Emmy Awards, held on Sept. 18. It was broadcast nationally.

The behind-the-scenes and technical awards were held on Sept. 21.

Presenter George Stephanopoulos was probably the highest-profile individual in the room full of graphic designers and other such technicians.

After it started to sink in, I was just so thankful to Barry Thompson for bringing us together and helping us make some amazing graphics, said Meeks.

While Emmy winners often attend dazzling after-parties, the Montana team seemed to celebrate in a true-blue Montana way.

We didn't really do an after-party, but we all went and had a drink at a bar afterward and chatted and processed what had happened, said Meeks.

Before the ceremony, the team hobnobbed at a buffet dinner, but it wasnt for the faint-hearted among first-time nominees.

We got to talk with several people, but it was pretty overwhelming so I don't remember what they were nominated for exactly, said Meeks.

Valley Uprising portrays the hard-core climbers in Yosemite and their counterculture lifestyle of Dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service, as filmmaker Sender Films of Boulder, Colorado, describes the plot on IMDB.com.

Meeks built many of the 3D models in the visual design process then handed them to team leader Barry Thompson and colleagues to composite, said head compositor/animator Gregg Twigg, UM professor in the Media Arts department.

Meeks earned an undergraduate degree in media arts then a masters in integrated digital media from UM. He taught himself design principles and 3D animation. He lives in Lolo but works at Warm Springs Productions in Missoula.

At the time I worked on Valley Uprising, I was a student, and it was pretty much my first professional freelance job, said Meeks.
I know you are, but what am I?

Maybe you remember that one from the schoolyard. It was one of those unanswerable taunts  Im rubber, youre glue was another -- widely favored by smart-alecky kids, a bit of verbal judo that took an attackers thrust and turned it back against her.

I know you are, but what am I?

Most of us outgrew the riposte about the same time we outgrew passing notes in class. Apparently, Donald Trump never did. Far from leaving it behind, he has honed it into a potent political tool perfect for this era of post-factual lassitude and cognitive dissonance. As Campaign 2016 grinds toward a reckoning, we are seeing that tool employed with breathtaking shamelessness.

It works like this: Whatever Trump is called or accused of, he turns it back on the accuser. Did you ever see that scene in The Equalizer where a bad guy points a gun at Denzel Washington and, faster than the eye can follow, Denzel snatches the gun and points it back at him? Its something like that, except with words.

So the man who claims that hes always opposed the Iraq War (even though he didnt), the man who said the election is rigged, (even though it isnt), the man who told us Barack Obama founded ISIS (even though  duh!  he didnt), the man whose PolitiFact scorecard rules over 80% of his rated statements as half-truths and untruths  that man complains that Hillary Clinton is a world-class liar.

And the man whose idea of releasing medical information is a brief note from his doctor so loopy, imprecise and filled with wild, extravagant claims (Trump will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency) that one doctor dubs it medically illiterate  that man tells us its the mysteries of Hillary Clintons health we ought to be concerned about.

And the man who said a judge was unfit to judge because he is of Mexican heritage, the man who wants a ban on Muslim immigration, the man who retweets racists and anti-Semites, the man who is openly beloved by white supremacists to the point that former Klansman David Duke seems about ready to kiss him on the lips  that man condemns Hillary Clinton as a bigot.

In psychology, they have this phenomenon called projection. The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology defines it as a primitive defense mechanism that involves the unconscious warding off of negative experiences or emotions by denying an experience, perceiving it in another person and then seeing that negative experience as being directed back at the projector.

Which sounds like what were seeing here, except there is nothing unconscious about it.

No, this is calculated, born of a conviction that there really is a sucker born every minute  and that an alarming proportion of them vote in American elections. So the challenge here is simple: What will we say in response? How will we answer this insult to intelligence?

Or are we too sick of it all to care? One has a sense of an electorate pummeled into emotional submission. Which is hardly surprising. Its been a long, dispiriting campaign largely bereft of ideas, proposals and uplift. But it is important to remember that November will be a moment of truth in more ways than one. Indeed, November will answer a critical question.

You say Trump is an ignorant narcissist unfit for the White House? Yes, we know he is.

But what are we?

-- Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla., 33132. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.
Gianforte's campaign ads that equate refugees with terrorists are dishonest and yet another example of how he just isn't qualified to be Montana's governor.

Actual facts, instead of junk mail rhetoric, show that refugees are not a threat to our security. Refugees receive the highest level of scrutiny of anyone who comes to America, including months of interviews, biometric data collection, and extensive background checks. It is literally the most difficult way to get into the United States.

The families who go through the refugee resettlement process do so because they have been forced from their homes by war, violence and torture. The millions of women, men, and (mostly) children fleeing Syria and other conflict zones are escaping violence, not spreading it. We have a moral responsibility to help people in need, not vilify them for political points. Data also show that we ultimately benefit from refugee resettlement, as newcomers adopt American values and jump into our workforce.

Immigration is a complicated issue, and people can respectfully have different opinions. Greg Gianforte's inaccurate rhetoric and his ignorance of the facts of refugee resettlement suggest yet again that he is just not qualified for the job of governor.

-- Dave Chadwick, Helena
The Great Depression resulted in high rates of unemployment, disenfranchisement and anger worldwide. In Germany, Hitler exploited this anger and rallied a segment of the German population against the Jews. He convinced some Germans the Jews were to blame for their economic woes. At the time, Hitler and his supporters most likely were not considered deplorable, at least not until it became known he was exterminating Jews. Today, I bet nearly everyone considers Hitler and his supporters to be deplorable.

Trumps strategy of blaming Muslims and immigrants for Americas economic woes is reminiscent of Hitlers strategy. Trump seems to have found a segment of our population that is so angry they need to find someone to blame, and they agree with Trump that Muslims and immigrants are to blame for Americas problems.

The resulting hostility against Muslims and immigrants is frightening. Hillary recently referred to this segment of Trump supporters as the basket of deplorables. Not all of Trump supporters fall into this basket, but, with our knowledge of Hitler and of the dangers of harnessing hate and prejudice, how can we fault Hillary for using that term? It seems to fit a certain group of voters.

 Clare Kearns, Helena
BILLINGS  Bataan Death March survivor, artist, and educator Ben Steele will be remembered for his heroism and his warm, caring personality.

Steele died Sunday in Billings at age 98 with his wife Shirley and daughters Julie Jorgenson and Rosemarie Steele at his side.

Everyone knows his war stories and what he went through as a POW, but its his personality, his warm caring personality that made people love him, Jorgenson said. His students would come up to me and say, Ben and I have a special bond. But he made everyone feel special; every student had that special bond with him.

A documentary film, Survival Through Art, has just been completed by filmmaker Jan Thompson. A private screening is set for November, but Jorgenson said there will be other upcoming opportunities to see it.

Steele was born Nov. 17, 1917, in Roundup and grew up on riding horses and roping cattle in the Bull Mountains. One of his biggest and earliest influences was the cowboy artist Will James, Jorgenson said.

Dad used to deliver art supplies to Will James, who was a loner, but he liked Dad. His parents told him not to hang out much with Will James because he was a drinker, but Dad never said a bad word about him.

Steele later used his skill at drawing to keep his sanity when he was a prisoner of war. His powerful drawings of his time in captivity are housed at the University of Montana.

In 2015, when School District 2 was naming a new middle school on Grand Avenue and 56th Street West in Billings, Shannon Burns Johnson pushed to have it named for Steele. She rallied the community, obtaining 2,000 signatures in a matter of days to get Steeles name on the list.

When I went to tell Ben about the idea, he just stared at me for a minute, then he got this huge grin on his face and said, Ben Steele Middle School  that would be a great name, Johnson said.

Ground was broken on the middle school in March, and Jorgenson said her father considered having his name on the school one of his highest honors.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who met Steele on the Big Sky Honor Flight in 2013, issued a statement Sunday about Steeles heroism.

Montana has lost an American hero and a state treasure, Daines said. Ben Steele will be remembered for his service, his courage and his artistic legacy.

Steele was a U.S. Army Air Corps private in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked and captured his unit. At least 7,000 soldiers died during a 66-mile march under a hot tropical suna march so horrific that the Japanese commander was later executed for war crimes.

Steele was bayoneted, starved and beaten. He suffered dysentery, malaria, pneumonia, beriberi and septicemia. He gained the emotional strength to stay alive in part by sketching pictures.

His heroic journey is told in the 2009 New York Times bestseller Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath, by Michael and Elizabeth Norman.

Ohio teenager Lexi Winkelfoos traveled 1,000 miles to meet Steele in 2015 after she read the book for a history project.

Winkelfoos said she wanted to hear Steele's laugh and know that he found happiness.

"After reading the book, I just wanted to know that he was happy after everything he had been through," Winkelfoos said.

After the war, Steele pursued college and graduate degrees in art and returned to Billings to teach at Eastern Montana College and Montana State University Billings.

Steele met Harry Koyama, a student of Japanese heritage, in his art class in the 1960s. Steele said he learned to forgive his Japanese captors because of his relationship with Koyama, which Steele talked about in Tears in the Darkness.

Hes been a part of my life since I met him in college in the 1960s, Koyama said. Thats even more of a humbling experience to know that I had not just an effect, but a positive effect on his life. Ben was just a great person and an excellent art teacher. I still use some of the techniques Ben taught me.

Another former student, Jacque Kittson, said Steele was actively painting and drawing up until the final weeks of his life. A show featuring some of his new works and those of his friends will be on display Oct. 8 at the Carbon County Arts Guild in Red Lodge.

I was so blessed to have him as my teacher, friend, mentor, and second father, Kittson said.
HELENA  From shaggy to sleek, the Lewis and Clark Strutt Your Mutt Community Walk and Pet Fair on Saturday featured many of the Helena areas finest four-legged residents.

More than 150 dogs and owners ventured to Pioneer Park Saturday morning to check out pet-related vendors, compete in various games and take a walk with proceeds going to the dogs and cats waiting for adoption.

All the pledges go back to the shelter and back to the care of these animals, said Kelsee Dalton, LCHS development director.

Attendees of the annual event purchase a $30 entry, which includes a shirt and the walk. Others raised money through pledges for the walk, which topped out at $510 for one particularly dedicated fundraiser.

Along with the many dogs and owners, a collection of dogs available for adoption tugged volunteers through the crowd -- just a few of the many animals LCHS is hoping to find homes for.

Our (dog) population is pretty good right now, Dalton said. Were always looking for homes.

The population includes two remaining dogs from Korea that arrived in Helena in July after being saved from slaughter. The two pups will need a gentle and patient home, Dalton said.

Offering information on an important service for pets was Spay Neuter Incentive Project (SNIP) Helena. The local chapter of Spay Montana and its new committee provides low-cost spaying and neutering events as well as vaccinations.

Were here in the community of Helena trying to reach those folks that need spaying and neutering for their pets, and some people simply cannot afford it, said committee member Tabitha Stephenson. The shelter has had a lot to do with this in the past and providing volunteers because we see it as so important to keep our pet population in check.

SNIP does not try to compete with veterinarians in offering services, but Stephenson sees the need among low-income pet owners for an affordable alternative. Events are offered about once a month with the next coming up on Oct. 30. More information is available at 459-4731.

Among the attendees were Avon residents Linda Brander and Arlo, a red healer cross that might be mistaken for a fox. Brander and her 3-year-old companion proved their connection in taking first place in a game resembling musical chairs, where dogs must sit on command when the music stops and the last to sit is eliminated.

I got him from the Humane Society, and hes very good and very smart, she said. I come out to support this every year, and usually its Arlo that comes with me.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  In-office absentee voting for the upcoming General Election begins September 29, 2016, according to Muscatine County Auditor Leslie A. Soule. The Election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

Absentee ballots may be obtained either in person at the Auditors Office (September 29th through November 7th) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.  4:30 p.m. or by returning an Official Absentee Ballot Request Form to the Muscatine County Auditors Office, 414 E. Third Street, Suite 201, Muscatine, IA 52761.

The Auditors Office will also be open for in-office absentee voting the two Saturdays before the election (October 29th and November 5th). The Official Absentee Ballot Request Form may be obtained from the Auditors Office or from the Muscatine County website www.co.muscatine.ia.us.

Further questions can be answered by calling the Auditors Office at 563-263-5821.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  On a range of issues, Democrat Hillary Clinton is the best choice for president, while Donald Trump will irreparably harm the U.S., Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a campaign stop here Saturday.

Vilsack made a series of visits to eastern Iowa on Friday and Saturday to campaign for Clinton.

The former Iowa governor urged the 40 or so campaign workers and volunteers at a campaign headquarters here to talk up the former secretary of state to their friends, saying she has the best ideas on how to improve the manufacturing sector, fight terrorism, rebuild the countrys infrastructure, provide child care assistance and raise the minimum wage.

"Our friends and neighbors need to see us talking about her passionately, and effectively, because then we can convince them to vote for her, he said.

Vilsack also warned, darkly, that Trump would be a disastrous choice for the country.

We do not, do not, want four years of Donald Trump. It will irreparably, irreparably damage this country, he said. "Shes got a plan and he doesnt. She cares about you. He couldnt care less.

He said Trump had built his career by "stiffing" others and called the Nov. 8 election a choice between two types of America.

Trumps Iowa campaign manager, Eric Branstad, responded that Donald Trump is a lifelong businessman who has created thousands of secure, well-paying jobs across the country. Hillary Clinton has never created a job in her life, and instead lost countless American jobs through her support of bad trade deals, high regulations and high taxes."

Vilsack was in Burlington and Muscatine on Saturday, before heading to Mount Pleasant. He is one of a number of prominent surrogates that the Clinton campaign has dispatched across the state to plead the case for the former secretary of state.

Recent public opinion polls say that Trump is leading Clinton by 6 to 8 percentage points in Iowa. However, Democrats are eyeing the onset of early voting on Thursday to try to gain an advantage over the Trump campaign and the Republicans, believing they have the stronger grass roots organization.

Vilsack urged the volunteers here to work hard on the early vote, saying that building up an advantage will be important going into Election Day.
The first Clinton-Trump debate is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 26. Here's what you need to know about that event and the other proposed debates
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 []
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has encouraged US automotive and energy storage company Tesla to explore the possibility of setting up shop in South Africa.

The company expressed interest of investing in South Africa during a business breakfast session in Washington, DC in the United States, where Minister Davies was addressing investors on Sunday.

This, as the Minister is in the US to attend the 15th Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.

Tesla Motors designs, manufactures and sells electric car components and batteries. The founder of the company is South African born Elon Reeve Musk.

Minister Davies indicated that South Africas automotive programme already has an additional incentive that applies to the electric vehicles. He further stated that government understands that electric vehicles are where things are going, including hybrids and fuel cells.

Minister Davies highlighted that government is still on track with the Independent Power Producers Programme (IPP) on renewable energy. He emphasised that investors had informed him that South Africas IPP programme is one of the best power purchasing programmes in the world.

The business breakfast preceded the one day AGOA Forum on Monday. The Forum is an annual forum that takes place on an alternating basis between sub-Saharan Africa and the United States.

The theme for this years Forum is Maximising U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment: AGOA and Beyond. The forum will focus on the implementation of AGOA utilisation strategies, as well as, the US-Sub-Saharan Africa trade and investment relationship beyond AGOA.

AGOA is a unilateral US trade preference programme that provides duty-free, quota-free treatment for over 6 400 tariff lines into the United States market.

US President Barrack Obama signed into law the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 that contained the AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act, which extended AGOA for 10 years until 2025 with South Africa included.

More on Tesla in South Africa

The first Tesla Powerwall in South Africa  photos

Tesla Model 3 coming to South Africa

Tesla getting Cape Town office  new employees wanted

South Africas first Tesla-approved installers getting trained
Two of the teams competing in the bi-annual Pretoria to Cape Town Sasol Solar Challenge smashed records this past weekend.

Dutch team Nuon travelled 707 kilometres on Saturday, breaking the record for the furthest distance travelled overall by a solar-powered car in a single day.

The South African teams held their own, with North-West Universitys solar team breaking the record for the longest distance covered in a single day by a South African team  560 kilometres in their custom-built solar car.

NWUs team almost did not participate in this years challenge after their car was damaged in an accident on the race track during scrutineering earlier this week.

Thanks to the help of some of its competitors, NWU was able to rebuild its car in time for the race start on Saturday morning.

Teams will race for eight days on a route between Pretoria and Cape Town which covers more than 2,000 kilometres, with some teams doing as much as 4,000 kilometres on optional loops on the routes.

The aim is to cover as much distance as possible powered by the African sun before the race ends on 1 October 2016 at the V&A waterfront.

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The Western Cape Government has published its Alcohol Harms Reduction Green Paper, aimed at minimising alcohol consumption and reducing unnecessary harm to people.

Alcohol causes more damage to our communities than we realise, and there is a lack of support to fix the damage caused, the Western Cape Government said.

Our existing laws and policies focus on the regulations of licensing, production, distribution and sale of alcohol, but do not address the impact and consequences of alcohol-related harms on society.

According to the Green Paper, the manufacturing and retail of alcohol contributed R93.2 billion to the economy or 3.9% to GDP.

This contribution is important, especially in the Western Cape, but the cost of alcohol-related harms outweighs the contribution, it said.

The Green Paper suggests numerous interventions, including a national ban on alcohol advertising that is visible to anyone under the age of 18, and limited alcohol trading hours.

Among the focus areas of the paper is alcohol and the road environment, where it wants to reduce and even eliminate road deaths caused by alcohol use.

One of the suggested interventions is to introduce alcohol-detecting ignition interlocks (vehicle starting system breathalysers) to the vehicles of certain drivers.

This means that some high-risk drivers will not be able to start their vehicles without doing a built-in breathalyzer test first.

The paper further suggests better random breath testing, placing an alcohol limit on pedestrians, and stricter alcohol limit and zero tolerance licensing system for young or new drivers.

The Alcohol Harms Reduction Green Paper is open for public feedback and comment until 30 November 2016.

More on alcohol

Alcohol is far deadlier than you think

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The 2016 PriceCheck Tech & E-Commerce Awards were announced at an event in Cape Town last night, with Takealot.com named the overall winner, and receiving the Peoples Choice Award.

Awards were also given to new entrants and established brands like OneDayOnly, SweepSouth, Funky Tights, bidorbuy, DHL, Zando, SnapScan, Uber, OLX, FNB, Travelstart, and wiGroup.

PriceCheck said it wants to recognise outstanding South African businesses and individuals in the e-commerce and technology spheres with its awards.

Candidates for each award were selected by public nomination, provided they met certain criteria. The list of nominees was then submitted to a panel of judges who selected the top three nominees per category before finally choosing a winner.

The full list of winners of the 2016 PriceCheck Tech & E-Commerce Awards are as follows:

Best Fintech Platform 2016: wiGroup

Best Payment Service 2016: SnapScan

Best Mobile Shopping Experience 2016: Zando

Best Overall Shopping Experience 2016: Zando

Best Travel Booking Service 2016: Travelstart

Best On-Demand Service 2016: Uber

Best Online Financial Services Platform 2016: FNB

Best Small Online Business 2016: Funky Tights

Best Online Classified Platform 2016: OLX

Best Marketplace Platform 2016: bidorbuy

Best Delivery/Logistics Provider 2016: DHL

Best Customer Service 2016: takealot.com

Best Black Tech/E-Commerce Entrepreneur 2016: Aisha Pandor (SweepSouth)

Best Female Tech/E-Commerce Entrepreneur 2016: Aisha Pandor (SweepSouth)

Employer of the Year 2016: OneDayOnly

Peoples Choice Award 2016: takealot.com

Overall Winner 2016: takealot.com

More on e-commerce in South Africa

Online shopping fight: Yuppie Gadgets vs Yuppiechef

Use WhatsApp to order from this Western Cape online shop

Getting your online shopping parcels through the Post Office

South Africas best online shopping deals tested  the result is clear
Two of the teams competing in the bi-annual Pretoria to Cape Town Sasol Solar Challenge smashed records this past weekend.

Dutch team Nuon broke the record for the furthest distance travelled overall by a solar-powered car in a single day, a massive 707 kilometres.

The South African teams also held their own, with the North-West Universitys solar team breaking the record for the longest distance covered in a single day by a South African team  an incredible 560 kilometres in their custom-built solar car.

Theres still a long way to go, as teams race for eight days on a route between Pretoria and Cape Town which covers more than 2,000 kilometres.

You can follow a daily recap of the event, here.

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MOUNT VERNON, Wash.  The young man accused of killing five people in a Washington state shopping mall before leading authorities on a nearly 24-hour manhunt has confessed to the slayings, according to court documents released Monday.

The documents filed in Skagit Court say Arcan Cetin told detectives who interviewed him that "he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all 5 victims."

The 20-year-old was arrested Saturday evening following the slayings at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, on Friday evening.

Cetin, who faces five charges of premeditated murder, will be making an initial court appearance late Monday morning. Authorities are asking that he be held on a $2 million bond.

Cetin was described by a neighbor as so "creepy, rude and obnoxious" that she kept a Taser by her front door. He also had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather.

As investigators tried to piece together information on Cetin, a picture emerged of a troubled young man. Court records show more than a half-dozen criminal cases in Island County alone since 2013.

Authorities said the gunman in the attack at the Cascade Mall opened fire in the department store's cosmetics department Friday night, killing a man and four females ranging from a teenager to a senior citizen. The killer then fled.

Cetin said nothing and appeared "zombie-like" when he was taken into custody on a sidewalk outside his apartment complex some 30 miles away in Oak Harbor by a sheriff's officer who recognized him as the suspect in the rampage, authorities said.

Cetin immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey and is a legal permanent resident, officials said. He is expected to make an initial court appearance Monday.

As the surrounding area absorbed news of the arrest, critical questions remained, including the gunman's motive. The FBI said early Saturday that there was no indication the shooting was terrorism, but local authorities said later in the day that they were ruling nothing out.

On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer. Authorities said they are investigating the attack by Dahir Ahmed Adan as a possible act of terrorism.

On Monday, nine people were wounded when a man opened fire near a Houston strip mall. Police said the gunman, who was shot and killed by police, was a lawyer who was having problems with his law firm.

In Washington state, investigators searched Cetin's vehicle and the apartment complex Sunday and were seen carrying boxes from a rear, upstairs unit. The four-unit building was surrounded with yellow police tape. Detectives would not say what they found.

Amber Cathey, 21, lived in an apartment next to Cetin for the past three months and said she was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a stun gun handy. Cathey said she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch.

"He was really creepy, rude and obnoxious," Cathey said. She said she would try to avoid him by walking the long way around to her apartment if she saw his car in the parking lot. The two were in high school together as well, and Cathey said he acted the same way then.

The Seattle Times reported (http://bit.ly/2cWhxJY) that court records show Cetin faced three charges of assaulting his stepfather. The newspaper said Cetin also was arrested on drunken driving charges. It gave no details on when the arrests took place or how the cases may have been resolved.

In the assault case, Cetin was told by a judge last December that he was not to possess a gun, the newspaper reported. However, the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was "going through a hard time."

Attempts to reach Cetin's family for comment by phone and social media weren't immediately successful. It wasn't clear if Cetin had a lawyer yet. A man who came to the door Sunday morning at an Oak Harbor address believed to be where Cetin's stepfather and mother live asked an Associated Press reporter to leave the property.

Police said that they interviewed the suspect's former girlfriend, who has worked a different Macy's. No other details were released, including her name.

Social media accounts apparently belonging to Cetin showed he had a fondness for the military and video games.

A Twitter account showed, among other things, selfies, photos of him in younger years and pictures of Turkish food. He once participated in paintball and said he "can't wait for Halo 5," the first-person shooter video game. He also tweeted: "Shout out to the ROTC peeps." A Facebook account showed he liked military-related sites.

Cetin also appeared to have blogs on the site Tumblr that had not been updated in many months. They included seemingly random posts about serial killer Ted Bundy, a collection of selfies, the top-secret Area 51 Cold War test site and photos of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The two blogs linked back to each other and one of them linked to what appeared to be his Twitter page.

Oak Harbor is a city of 22,000 on Whidbey Island with many military families associated with the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
The city of Napa will get its first three-star Michelin chef when Kenzo restaurant opens on Nov. 15.

But more than that, Chef Hiroyuki Kanda, and Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto are planning to bring to Napa an experience so authentically Japanese that it is as close as you might get to experiencing Japan without a passport.

Chef Kanda was in Napa last week, and, with the Tsujimotos, gave tour of the restaurant still under construction in the former Pearl space at 1339 Pearl St. and a view of their plans.

The Tsujimotos are the owners of Kenzo Estate Winery in Napa, as well as four restaurants and tasting rooms in their native Japan.

They have long been friends with Kanda, who spent five years honing his skills in Paris. After returning to Tokyo, he opened Kanda restaurant in 2004. It promptly garnered three Michelin stars and has retained them for nine consecutive years.

Kanda traveled to the Napa Valley for the grand opening of the Kenzo winery, and the idea of opening a restaurant in Napa has been been in the works ever since.

A restaurant needs two things: a philosophy and investment, Kanda said in an interview at the restaurant taking shape on Pearl Street. Kenzo is providing the investment, and I have the philosophy.

Kenzo Tsujimoto was the founder of Capcom, a Japanese developer and publisher of video games. His interest in wine brought him to the Napa Valley, where he purchased a 4,000-acre property to build a winery on Mt. George in eastern Napa. Until now, most of the wines produced at Kenzo have been shipped to Japan, although visitors can taste and purchase Kenzo wines at the Napa winery.

It was important, he said, to have a place in downtown Napa, where guests will be able to taste the Kenzo wines, but most of all they want to share the true essence of Japanese culinary traditions.

The 27-seat restaurant will seat 10 at tables, and 10 more at a sushi bar; an additional private tasting room will accommodate 10. The restaurant will offer both a traditional pre-fixe kaiseki menu as well as sushi, which, in accordance with Japanese tradition, will be prepared at the bar as guests watch.

Kaiseki is a multi-course meal, in some instances serving as many as 15 courses. Renowned for its meticulous preparation and exquisite presentations, the sophisticated kaiseki tradition is often compared to French haute cuisine. According to Japan-talk.com, Theres no formula for kaiseki. Each kaiseki meal is the creation of a master chef. Presentation of kaiseki dishes is guided by Japanese aesthetics.

Kanda described his food as contemporary kaiseki.

Jude Radeski, president and CEO of Kenzo Estate, said he has happily served as guinea pig for the Napa restaurant, traveling to Japan to dine at Kanda and offering his viewpoint as an American diner. Its been great, he said.

The authentic Japanese dining experience, however, encompasses more than food, Kanda explained. It is not just to feed the customers but to entertain them. Dining Japanese-style, he said, is an entire experience for the all these senses. Every element, the counters, walls and ceiling, is important, he said. The total is the art.

To this end, Natsuko Tsujimoto, who said it has been her dream to introduce these traditions in Napa, has closely participated in the design of the restaurant. She and Kanda traveled to Kyoto, Japan, to choose the dishes for the Napa restaurant. The stone for the floors has been imported from Japan, as has the pale gold Japanese cypress for the construction of the counters, which craftsmen came from Japan to construct on the site. Speaking through a translator, she showed the details of the chairs, which, along with the tables, are being made in Japan.

I have the utmost respect for the philosophy and approach of chef Kanda and I admire his incredible passion and craft, she said. It is of course a challenge to recreate the same level of quality, authenticity and beauty of his cuisine outside of Japan, but I believe with our vision and his talent, we absolutely can achieve the goal we set out to accomplish with Kenzo.

She said that the late Margrit Mondavi, who had traveled to Japan with them, had urged her to go forward with the Napa project. We will have a seat here for her, she said. Her spirit will dine here.

Kanda, who will oversee the menu, has been training a culinary staff at his Tokyo restaurant to ensure that performance, preparation and presentation all meet his exacting standards. He plans to close his Japanese restaurant twice a year for two-weeks at a time and bring his staff to Napa to ensure that the quality and mindset  the essence of his philosophy is maintained.

We can do this because of Kenzo, he said.

Not many people travel to Japan, Kenzo Tsujimoto said. I want people to be able to have a taste of Japanese culture. That is the important thing.

Kanda added, I want people to say, I did not have to get a ticket to go to Japan.
Angwin resident Elsa Cairo Carlos joined 1,200 other people in a special ceremony in Oakland in early August. She took an oath and became a United States citizen.

Joining Carlos was her husband, Jorge Vicente Carlos Poma, and Blanca Dixon, who is the Immigration Program coordinator for the UpValley Family Centers. Dixon and Carlos first met when Carlos went to the Centers St. Helena office on Spring Street to pay her PG&E bill. They got to talking and Dixon convinced Carlos to sign up for a citizenship class.

That process ended Aug. 3 with the naturalization ceremony, but it really began 16 years ago when Carlos first wanted to become a U.S. citizen. In 2000, she didnt finish the process, though, because during an oral interview the officer didnt treat me well, Carlos said. This time, though, it was different, in great part because of Dixons encouragement and friendship.

Carlos doesnt speak English, so for this interview, Dixon acted as the translator, going back and forth between Spanish and English.

Carlos said she was so happy to be a part of the ceremony in Oakland. Most of those becoming citizens were either from China or Mexico, she said, and she stood up with four other people when officials announced Carlos home country, Peru.

After the ceremony, Carlos, her husband and Dixon went out to lunch to celebrate. During the lunch, Dixon said the new U.S. citizen shared so many stories, including when she first came to the United States with her husband and oldest daughter, Joselin, who is now 24. They were escaping the terrorism that plagued Peru in the 1980s and were granted political asylum in the United States.

Dixon, who also grew up in Peru, said she remembers the terrorism from those days. I was a child there, 6 or 8 years old, she said. I remember being in that situation. They were so lucky to escape from that. Then, Dixon asks, Why did we have to suffer so much?

As a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), Carlos could have traveled back to her homeland, but she didnt. Since she became a U.S. citizen, Carlos has gone to the Social Security office and changed her status, obtained a U.S. passport and registered to vote in the November election.

She and her husband will take their three children, Joselin, Dayana, 20, and Emanuel, 16, to Peru in December. Dayana and Emanuel were born in the United States and this will be their first trip to Peru, to see where their mother grew up. They also will visit the family Carlos left behind when she emigrated to the United States. She hasnt seen those family members for 22 years.

Carlos has another plan as a U.S. citizen. She wants to petition the U.S. government to obtain legal status for her brother, who has been in the United States for the past five years. Dixon said the process of getting that legal status can take many years.

Carlos is so thankful for Dixons help and she encourages anyone who wishes to become a U.S. citizen to go to the UpValley Family Centers to start the process. The UpValley Family Centers are one of four nonprofits that are part of the One Napa Valley initiative, which helps foreign-born Napa County residents become U.S. citizens. The initiative is possible because of a grant from the Napa Valley Community Foundation, and the nonprofits work with the International Institute of the Bay Area.

Dixon and Carlos have a lot in common. Both were born in Peru and came to the United States and both have families. Soon, they will have another thing in common: Dixon has passed all the tests and will soon become a U.S. citizen. She said she is proud to work for the UpValley Family Centers to help people become citizens.

Overall, I feel how important it is when you come to our center, we can start everything from zero, Dixon said. The only thing is you have to be an LPR. We have classes, we have tutoring program, we have workshops where you can get help in filling out the application, we have attorneys, we have IIBA reps, we have everything for you. It is just connecting the dots. We are here to help, to guide you to become a citizen.

Carlos wanted to add one more comment to the interview. She only had to pay $50 for the IIBA rep to fill out the form, she qualified for a fee waiver for the $680 requested by the Department of Homeland Security. Also, she said, I want to thank the IIBA for their help.

For more information on becoming a U.S. citizen, contact Blanca Dixon at bdixon@upvalleyfamilycenters.org.
With one of the nations most anticipated presidential elections barely six weeks away, a team of volunteers on Sunday helped add more Napans  mostly Latinos and many of them new citizens  to the November voter rolls.

A booth outside Puertas Abiertas in downtown Napa became a way station to democracy for a succession of visitors, who stopped by the community resource center to get help filling out the forms needed to weigh in on local races, state ballot measures  and the White House showdown between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Workers with Puertas Abiertas and its co-sponsor the International Institute of the Bay Area, a provider of immigration legal services, met with 22 voters-to-be at three Napa locations. Outside the groups Napa Street office, a half-dozen mostly older Latino residents already were waiting their turn under a stifling afternoon sun when the registration booth opened just before 1 p.m.

Its important for me to give the Latin community a voice, Luis Martin, who has lived in Napa for more than two decades, said through an interpreter shortly after completing the paperwork to get a ballot mailed to his home in mid-October.

For Martin and some others, the fear of a Trump presidency hung heavily over their decisions to join the local voter roll. The Republican nominee has closed a polling gap since August with Clinton and the Democratic Party despite repeated attacks on Latino immigrants as criminals, and an oft-repeated promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and force the Mexican government to foot the bill.

Its nerve-wracking, because the Republican is so aggressive, you just dont know whats going to happen, said Martin, who became an American citizen earlier this year.

Im doing this for the benefit of a president that will be able to support us, said Genoveba Galvan Aguilar, the first of the people in line.

Its very important to be able to be able to help Latinos, the 30-year U.S. resident and two-year citizen said in Spanish, adding succinctly: We dont want Trump.

However, organizers of Sundays pre-voting workshop said their effort is more about helping Napas newest citizens exercise their rights fully, whatever the particulars of federal, state and local races.

Our voter registration is nonpartisan; we encourage all our clients to register, regardless of their party affiliation, said Melissa Patrino, executive director of Puertas Abiertas. The presidential race is discussed, but because were a nonprofit, we try to be apolitical.

Patrino pointed to rates of political participation that remain markedly lower for Latinos than for other segments of the U.S. population.

A record 27.3 million Latinos, out of a population of 57 million, are eligible to vote this year. However, the last presidential campaign in 2012 still showed Latino turnout (48 percent) lagging the levels for African-American (66.6 percent) and white (64.1 percent) voters, according to a Pew Research Center report in January.

That percentage rose by a sliver with the arrival Merari Fuentes, 28, who had driven up from her Vallejo home to register a year after gaining her citizenship.

First of all, I became a citizen so that from now on, I can vote, she said after a half-hour of forms, advice and a few drops of Wite-Out. My voice is important because Id like to vote for a better future for my kids, for my city.
A Napa developer wants to expand the number of hotel rooms is his commercial project proposed for the Oxbow area.

In 2015, Andrew Siegal, owner of the property at 728 First St., adjacent to the Wine Train tracks, asked the city to build a four-story building featuring a 17-room inn with a restaurant. Today, hed like to increase the number of rooms to 27.

Its the perfect location for a boutique hotel, said Siegal. I think it will be a strong contributor to the Oxbow district.

Currently, the district is anchored by the wildly popular Oxbow Public Market, with the Culinary Institute of America about to open a second campus on the former Copia property.

This is the third iteration of Siegals project, which is estimated to cost $10 million to $12 million.

In 2014, Siegal received approval from the city to build a mixed-use project at the site that included a microbrewery, offices and apartments. In 2015, he revised his plan to feature a 17-room inn and restaurant instead.

The 2015 application said the project would include an underground garage with 17 spaces. Sixteen valet parking spaces at the Wine Train lot would also be available.

After a deal to share parking with the Wine Train fell through, that required us to go back to the drawing table, Siegal said. Losing the Wine Train parking was like a blessing in disguise, he said.

It forced us to discover a new design for parking  an underground automated puzzle parking system. The mechanism stacks cars three high and accommodates more than 50 vehicles. At the same time, the 17-room inn wasnt penciling out financially.

We sat down and reapproached the whole design and layout  so we could accommodate more rooms, said Siegal.

This revised plan includes the underground parking, a lobby and restaurant on the first floor, and guest rooms on floors two through five. The fifth floor is actually loft space for the hotel rooms on the fourth floor.

The previous building size was about 26,000 square feet, said Siegal. The current building size totals 31,404 square feet.

The design of the building was also refined, he said.

I felt it needed a little more timelessness to it. We really took a lot of time to think that through and get a design people will love. I want it to be an organic development from Napa thats about Napa.

He doesnt want to create yet another cookie-cutter hotel room, he said.

Siegal said he hopes the city will see the hotel as a benefit to the community and appreciate the design and authenticity of it.

Siegals not the only developer who wants to add hotel rooms to the Oxbow area. In early September, Napa businessman J.B. Leamer filed an application with the city to build a 74-room inn along with condos and other commercial space across the street from Siegals parcel.

Siegal said hes not worried about another hotel project interfering with his plans.

The Downtown Specific Plans calls for an additional 303 lodging rooms, he noted. I think there is a lot of room for different hotels.

Because this project was just submitted, the city has not yet had an opportunity to review it, said Rick Tooker, the citys community development department director.

Projects of this magnitude take months to evaluate  let alone conduct the thorough analysis to determine if they can be supported and under what conditions, he said.

Tooker said developers arent automatically allowed to build more rooms simply because the city analyzed a greater number of rooms in the Downtown Specific Plan and that number has not yet been reached.

A project is reviewed on the merits of its design, quality, compliance with adopted policy and regulations, and potential impacts on traffic, parking, infrastructure, etc. on the property itself and in the greater downtown, Tooker said in an email.

In addition, Not all projects submitted for consideration are viable and they frequently change over time, including altering the land use mix or being withdrawn altogether, he said.

Rick is right in making sure there is balance, said Siegal. I think our project provides balance because its a boutique hotel. I think it synchs up nicely with the vibe of the Oxbow.

Oxbow founder Steve Carlin said hes aware there is interest in hotel sites and the Oxbow district,

I think the city is going to take a broad view of all of these projects and not look at anything in an isolated form. I encourage them to do that, he said.

Siegal said he hopes to break ground in the next 10 months. The project would take about 18 months to build.

Its scary but also exciting, he said. Youre putting your whole life into it. Youre leveraging yourself to the hilt.

As an entrepreneur, its in his nature to seek out such projects, he said.

That entrepreneurial spirit has sometimes complicated his plans, he admitted.

In 2011, a food truck gathering at Siegals Oxbow site failed after the city and Siegal clashed over permits and other requirements for such a project.

I felt the city was meddling at the time, Siegal said. Being an entrepreneur, he wasnt used to the city approval process, he said. My mindset was never like that.

Five years after that conflict, Siegal called it a good learning experience.

If I had to do it over again, I would have approached Rick (Tooker) and worked with him differently, he said.

Siegal said several things helped give him a new perspective, such as going through the Leadership Napa Valley program.

Siegal also became a father to two young boys, now 5 and 3 years old.

Being a parent was probably the biggest thing that changed me temperamentally, he said. That made me calm down.

You really start to see your investment with the community differently when you have kids, he said. It definitely integrated me more with the community around me.

I still find myself bristling at some things, but, I want a positive relationship with the city. I really want to contribute. And I want the city to understand that.

At the same time, Im still Andrew. I come up with kooky ideas.
Japan to establish new unified command to manage operations of land, sea and air forces

French Foreign Minister calls on Russia to reconsider its decision on grain deal

Ferrari unveils 499P hypercar with all-wheel drive

Russian Foreign Ministry hopes that Putin, Pashinyan and Aliyev meeting will help conclude peace treaty

Pashinyan to meet with Putin in Sochi, followed by trilateral meeting of Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders

Reuters: Border Agency building set on fire in Britain

US recognized as most powerful country in world for seventh time

Iran accuses Israel of organizing terrorist attack in Shiraz

Reuters: NATO urged Russia to urgently resume grain deal

Guterres intends to achieve resumption of Russia's participation in grain deal

Resistance Movement calls rally on November 5

La Stampa: Italian farmers fear rising cereal prices due to disruption of grain deal

Beglaryan: About 33% of the entire population of Artsakh gathered at the Renaissance Square in Stepanakert

Sweden's new government is ready to supply Kiev with heavier weapons

Babayan: Any proposal in which Artsakh will be considered part of Azerbaijan will be rejected

Dozens of female students protest in Afghanistan

Biden confuses number of states in U.S.

Peskov: Russia cannot be someone's vassal

Minibus carrying party members overturns in Ankara

Dashnaktsutyun: Any document that will include Artsakh into Azerbaijan must be torn up

Speaker: We hope that no document ignoring the Artsakh issue will be signed in Sochi

Italian MFA comments on Russia's withdrawal from food deal

Economist: High inflation took Western countries by surprise, which were wrong in their forecasts

Artsakh National Assembly issues statement: Artsakh has never been and will never be part of independent Azerbaijan

Parliament of Republic of Artsakh unanimously adopts statements

NA holds extraordinary meeting in Artsakh: Big rally takes place on Renaissance Square (photos)

Lavrov confirms Putin's readiness for negotiations with Ukraine

La Repubblica: Italy supplied Kiev with 20-30 M109L artillery guns and PzH 2000 howitzers

Typhoon in Philippines affects more than 932,000 people

Source: Turkey conducts 'telephone diplomacy' on food deal

Television and partially radio broadcasts will be turned off in Armenia for two hours on October 31

Borrell: The EU urges Russia to revert its decision

Haiti PM Ariel Henry: The leader of a political party was murdered in the republic

Armenia MFA expresses condolences to South Korea over Seoul tragedy

Seoul receives more than 3,700 missing persons reports after crush

Armenian Defense Ministry: Private received fatal gunshot wound

Toivo Klaar: I emphasised the European Unions continued strong engagement in the peace process

Arrested for assaulting Speaker Pelosi's spouse faces charges

Major crush in Seoul: There are victims

Britain needs air defense in connection with war in Ukraine

France to plant 1 billion trees by 2030

Armenian FM meets participants of World Armenian Summit

The Swiss are going to set record for longest passenger train in the world

At least 146 people killed and 150 more injured in Seoul as they were crushed by crowd

Europeans frightened by growth of household appliances exports to Armenia, Kazakhstan

Russia requests UN Security Council meeting in connection with Ukraine's attack on Black Sea Fleet ships

Michel Aoun: Lebanon could slide into constitutional chaos

Zelensky intends to have Patriot SAMs, Abrams tanks and aircraft from US

President discusses latest foreign political developments around Artsakh

Azerbaijan officials considering opening embassy in Israel

Pashinyan receives Youri Djorkaeff

Thierry Breton talks Twitter purchase by Elon Musk: In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules

Armenia PM, EU Special Representative for South Caucasus discuss regional security and peace

Nikol Pashinyan, Garo Paylan exchange views on Armenia-Turkey normalization process

Quake hits Armenia-Turkey border zone

Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Garo Paylyan discuss prospects of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations

Armenia ruling party adopting new vision regarding Karabakh conflict settlement

Russia MOD: Ukraine carried out terrorist attack on Black Sea Fleet ships, civilian ships in Sevastopol

Premier: CSTO should plan force operation, restore Armenias territorial integrity

BloombergNEF: Gas reserves from the U.S. will not be enough to fill the gaping hole left by Russia in Europe

Armenia PM: All countries consider Karabakh to be part of Azerbaijan

Armenias Pashinyan: CSTO does not exist

Kremlin responds to question on extending mandate of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh

Armenia premier: We need to know, ultimately, what Russian peacekeepers are doing in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia PM: Im ready to sign document, accept that Russian peacekeepers term in Karabakh be extended 10-20 years

Armenias Pashinyan: We are ready to delegate border guard service operation to Russian border guards

Finland, Sweden promise to join NATO together

European Parliament calls on Armenia to consider diversifying its security partnerships

Visiting Armenia MPs brief Canada lawmaker on recent Azerbaijan military aggression

Armenia PM at ruling party congress: We declared repairing states foundation our primary task

UK prime minister may freeze foreign aid for two more years

Karabakh President: Russia leaders statement inspires certain hopes

Armenia ruling party congress kicks off

Man breaks into US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home, demands to speak with her, beats husband with hammer

EU-Armenia Joint Committee on Research and Innovation first meeting to be held in November

Provincial governor of Armenias Gegharkunik: EU monitoring mission already started

US accuses Russia of disinformation regarding Washington intentions towards Armenia, Azerbaijan

Mexico fully legalizes gay marriage

Newspaper: Azerbaijan not inclined to sign anything with Armenia in Russias Sochi

Armenia ruling party convening closed convention

India's ruling party spokesman sues news portal

Archaeologists discover 240-year-old American camp for British prisoners of war

Subglacial river of 460 kilometers long discovered in Antarctica

Italian prime minister demands that she be addressed as prime minister in masculine form

Pentagon to send Ukraine new aid package worth $275 million

Europe will ban sale of one type of car

European Commission head announces new aid and investments for Serbia

Biden calls Putin's rhetoric on nuclear weapons 'dangerous'

Lukashenko on Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: What are you fighting for in these mountains, where not even goats walk?

Swedish authorities offer to create united northern army

Lukashenko: Conflict issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be resolved now - with Ilham Aliyev

Lukashenko about situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border: Where are we racing horses, where are we rushing to?

Pashinyan: Armenia-Diaspora relations undergo profound substantive changes

Lukashenko to Pashinyan: Sit down with Aliyev and make a decision, if you don't make it today, it will be worse

Bulgarian interim government urges to speed up transition to euro zone

President of Karabakh: It is necessary to unite all national potential and efforts

IMF: China's sharp and uncharacteristic economic slowdown will stall growth in Asia by the end of 2023

Iran: Riots in country were planned by the intelligence services of the USA, England, Israel and the KSA

Steinmeier: Ukraine war caused 'epochal break' in Germany's relations with Russia

Gas prices in Europe remain high in coming years
YEREVAN.  The First Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia, Davit Tonoyan, on Monday had a telephonic conversation with Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office.

The interlocutors discussed the present-day situation along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces.

In this connection Tonoyan informed the OSCE official that Armenian military serviceman Sevak Khachatryan (born in 1997) on Sunday sustained a fatal gunshot wound from a bullet fired by the adversary.

The deputy defense minister of Armenia considered the violation of ceasefire to be impermissible, and stressed that all accountability for this fatal incident falls on the Azerbaijani side.

Ambassador Kasprzyk, for his part, expressed concern by what had occurred and the resultant loss of life. And he promised to take steps to avoid further destabilization of the situation.
The EU will provide financial aid amounting to 15 million to Moldova for the public administration reform.

The relevant agreement was signed here by the prime minister of the republic Pavel Filip and the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Negotiations for Enlargement Johannes Hahn, TASS reported.

As the European representative specified, the money will be provided to Chisinau only after signing of new memorandum on cooperation by Moldova and the International Monetary Fund which, according to him, is expected in October.

Hahn said that the reform will give opportunity to see less politicized, as well as more open and transparent government bodies.

He confirmed Brussels' commitment to promote political association and economic integration of Moldova into the EU.

According to Filip, Brussels support is extremely important for the cabinet of the republic which seeks to regain trust from the western donors after series of corruption scandals.

He said that implementation of the road map of reforms approved earlier by the EU, as well as the plan for 2017-2019 were discussed during the meeting with European Commissioner. As Filip assured, the cabinet headed by him is ready to follow the obligations undertaken after signing of the agreement on association with the EU even if they are not supported by citizens of the country. PM specified that in the future the republic should undertake difficult administrative and territorial reform and make changes to the pension system.
Negotiators in Afghanistan on Thursday signed a draft of a long-awaited peace agreement that would bring a notorious former warlord into the government fold while forgiving allegations that he was responsible for serious war crimes.





The deal commits Gulbuddin Hekmatyar  a chameleon-like militia commander, former

asset, prime minister and ally of the

and Osama bin Laden who has been involved in fighting in Afghanistan for four decades  to renounce violence, cut ties to extremist groups and respect the Afghan Constitution.





The accord is also believed to grant amnesty to Hekmatyar and leaders of his Hezb-i-Islami militant organization for suspected crimes during the Afghan civil war of the 1990s. Hekmatyars forces are blamed for indiscriminate rocket attacks against Kabul that killed hundreds of civilians, as well as the forced disappearances of political opponents.





It provides for the release of Hezb-i-Islami members being held in Afghan jails, and the removal of Hekmatyars name and those of senior Hezb-i-Islami leaders from U.S. and United Nations terrorism blacklists.





The draft was signed by representatives of the Afghan governments High Peace Council, charged with negotiating truces with insurgents, and Hekmatyars representatives. It now must be approved by Hekmatyar, who is living in an undisclosed location away from Kabul, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.





The United States, which added Hekmatyar to the State Department global terrorist list in 2003 over his support for Al Qaeda, has said it would consider lifting sanctions on Hekmatyar if he fulfilled the terms of a peace deal.





Human rights groups described amnesty for Hekmatyar as the latest blow to efforts to seek accountability for war crimes in Afghanistan.





Hekmatyar is not alone in enjoying impunity. None of the Afghan warlords from the 1990s has been held accountable, Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher for

, wrote in a commentary.





That, and the failed disarmament of abusive militias, have crippled reforms needed to build effective government institutions crucial for a lasting peace.





The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it welcomed the agreement as a step in bringing the conflict in Afghanistan to a peaceful end.





Ahead of a major conference of donors in Brussels in early October, the United States,

and other allies are looking for signs of progress in Afghanistan and have quieted their calls for accountability, analysts said.





Many other former jihadis that have committed similar atrocities now occupy key positions within the state and have long been indispensable, Sharan said. Transitional justice for Afghans has long been dead.

-
YEREVAN. - The people want to see almost all the high-ranking officials killed.

Heritage Party MP Zaruhi Postanjyan made the aforementioned scandalous statement at the parliamentary hearing on Monday.

In her words, in the run-up to the local elections in Gyumri and Vanadzor cities, there has already been a victim: A young man was killed (she probably meant the death of the Gyumri mayor candidate Vadevan Grigoryans son, who, according to the investigation results, committed suicide).

There is already no doubt that his death was violent. This murder shows that new disturbances await the society if the people see that only attacks can put an end to injustice and arbitrariness. Thus, any official can become a target of attack. Already now the people want to see almost all the high-ranking officials killed. You havent left them another choice if 50 percent of the Armenian people are starving. If you dont punish the thieves, the people will do this themselves, Postanjyan noted.
To integrate repentant militants into the society, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has inaugurated the Amnesty Committee headed by his wife, chi, to undertake the task.



Until they laid down their arms, the militants were terrorising the oil producing areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta Local Government Areas.



Other members of the committee are the Transition Committee Chairmen of the oil-producing local government areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta, the House of Assembly members from the two state constituencies, the Managing Director of Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC) and the Special Assistant to the Governor on Niger Delta, Kingsley Uju.



In the terms of reference to the committee, the governor charged them to come up with programmes and ideas that would ensure the sustenance of the peace recently restored in the oil producing areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta following the positive response of the militants.



The governor equally asked the committee to address all the issues that were raised by the repented militants.

He recalled that the disturbances by the militants were provoked by the oil companies operating in the areas.



Part of the terms of reference would also be to define what should be the role of the oil companies in the areas and to make them stop igniting crises in the areas.



Okorocha, who disclosed this through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, noted that it was discovered from the testimonies of the repentant militants that some of the traditional rulers from the areas were also culpable, considering their roles in the crisis that enveloped the oil producing areas, especially for their own selfish reasons.



The governor cancelled all the memorandum of understanding (MoU) the communities or traditional rulers must have entered into with the oil companies while directing that the government must be aware of any of such MoU henceforth.



The committee is also mandated to write to the oil companies not to deal with the communities or traditional rulers again without the approval of the state government with the committee also directed to meet with all the relevant bodies and persons.



The governor further directed the members to work towards ensuring that the names of the militants who surrendered their weapons and embraced peace are removed from any record or list of militants, organise medical tours in the oil-producing areas and ensure special employment of 1,000 Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta youths into the state civil service.






President Jacob Zuma has received the latest call for his resignation from his own brother, according to a media report, as the South African leader clings to power despite a string of scandals.



Zuma's younger brother, Michael urged him to quit or risk being killed, the Sunday Times reported.



The president has survived accusations of corruption and even rape before he took office in 2009, showing no signs of leaving office before 2019 when he is required by law to step down after two five-year terms.



"My brother is having a very difficult time and I have never seen such difficulty," said Michael Zuma, speaking from the family's rural home of Nkandla in the KwaZulu-Natal province.



"My brother has such difficulty in such a way that you fear that they are going to kill him," he said, without elaborating on any death threats.



Presidential spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said he could not comment on family matters, while State Security Minister David Mahlobo told Reuters he could not comment on Zuma's safety. "We never discuss any security details of the president," he said.



The leader of Africa's most industrialized nation has faced calls to quit from several members of the African National Congress (ANC) after the ruling party suffered its worst losses in municipal elections in August. But the ANC's top echelons have backed the president.



On Thursday, anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a former first lady and wife of the late Nelson Mandela, said South Africa needed fresh leadership, but stopped short of asking Zuma to resign.



The opposition failed in a bid to remove Zuma through a motion of no-confidence in parliament in April following a scandal over lavish improvements including a swimming pool and amphitheatre at his Nkanlda home. Zuma has since paid back the money spent on non-security features.
22:24

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the presidential debate showed Donald Trump "doesn't have the preparation, the temperament or the core values of inclusion and making everybody have opportunity that would take our country forward."





Speaking on "On Air with Ryan Seacrest," Obama -- a frequent critic of the Republican nominee -- said he enjoyed watching "what was a pretty vigorous debate about where we need to take our country."





He said he watched the debate from the Treaty Room in the White House.





Obama told Seacrest his biggest concerns for his daughters' generation were the spread of nuclear weapons and the risks posed by climate change -- two issues where he said Trump falls short.





"I get worried when I hear somebody like Donald Trump start saying, 'Well, I don't necessarily know whether Japan or Korea should be protected by us,'" Obama said.





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NEW DELHI: With the aim to exchange information and best practices on cyber security, the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), a premier body on cyber security, on Saturday launched its first global chapter in Singapore.

The DSCI Singapore chapter will help build linkages with various stakeholders in the government, industry and academia and establish channels of collaboration on policy deliberation, industry development and capacity building on security privacy and cyber crime investigation, among others.

"Cyber Security is a global issue and needs attention of all stakeholders. It is essential that countries become partners to address this issue collaboratively," said Vijay Thakur Singh, High Commissioner to Singapore, in a statement.

"In the light of recent affirmative steps by both the countries on the issue of cyber security, these initiatives reinforce the vital role played by global thought leaders like DSCI in bringing the stakeholders together to address this common issue," Singh added.

The Singapore chapter will help the community bridge cyber security skills gap between India and Singapore and explore opportunities for developing niche capabilities in cyber security product space.

"The formation of this chapter will be instrumental in building strong linkages between India and Singapore in the area of cyber security. We are working with governments across the globe to charter the way forward to address the issues in the cyber space, including the cross border data flows, internet governance, privacy and others," noted Rama Vedashree, CEO, DSCI.

DSCI has created a network of over 4,000 security and privacy professionals in India with 12 chapters operating successfully in different cities.

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She will be accompanied by senior ministry officials and a business delegation.

During her three-day visit, Sitharaman will be meeting with Sri Lanka's Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malick Samarwickrama.

Her visit is a reciprocal trip coming after Samarwickrama's visit to India in July where several issues of economic cooperation between the two countries were discussed.

Sitharaman will also call on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wicremsinghe.

The proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) between the countries is likely to figure prominently during her discussions with the Sri Lankan leadership.

The visit comes ahead of a meeting to further discuss the agreement in New Delhi.

Both sides have begun negotiations on the draft agreement and first round of talks was held in Colombo last month.

India and Sri Lanka have a free trade agreement in place since 1998 and ETCA seeks its expansion to investment and service sectors along with deepening trade relations in goods. (ANI with inputs)
"If the company does not want to move forward together, we are going to show them the consequences of their actions," said the union of workers in a pamphlet, EFE news reported.

The activity in Hyundai's South Korean factories came to a grinding halt at 6.45 p.m. local time on Sunday after the workers rejected the latest tentative wage deal offered by the management.

Under the agreement, Hyundai had offered to increase workers' basic monthly pay by 58,000 won, provide one bonus payment of 3.3 million won and to withdraw a heavily-criticised wage ceiling.

Nearly 50,000 union members (more than 78 per cent) representing the vast majority of Hyundai's approximately 6,50,000 employees here, voted against the tentative wage deal.

In recent months, both sides have sat down to negotiate up to 26 times together. A total of 19 partial strikes have been staged this year, costing the company around 1,01,400 vehicles or 2.23 trillion won loss in production.

The Hyundai labour union said they will continue the strike for six-hours each day this week, except for days when negotiations are scheduled with the employer.

--IANS ss/vm

( 225 Words)

2016-09-26-12:50:10 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet leaders of various denomination of the Church in Kerala tomorrow, as part of BJP's strategy to strengthen the state unit of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Mr Modi, who will be in this North Kerala city for two days, will have a luncheon meeting with Church leaders and and also those belonging to the NDA allies in Kerala tomorrow, party sources said here today. Political issues are also likely to come up during the discussions. BJP wants to improve its relation with the Christian community as it is crucial for further expansion of it's base in Kerala. The party managed to win a seat in the state Assembly for the first time earlier this year. The state has a Muslim population of 27 per cent and Christian population of 18 per cent. Top leadership of the saffron party is under the impression that further growth of BJP in Kerala mainly depends on its cordial relation with the Christian community. BJP is interested in bringing Kerala Congress (M), which severed its ties with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) recently, to the NDA fold. The KC(M), with a majority Christian support, got four per cent vote share and has six MLAs in the 140-member Assembly. BJP president Amit Shah is also making every attempt to strengthen the NDA in the state. Mr Shah would convene a meeting of the state unit of NDA here on September 26 to discuss strategies to expand its footprint in the state. The meeting, to be organised immediately after the three-day BJP National Council meeting, assumes significance as the party wishes to win some seats from the state at any cost in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Party sources said here that expansion of NDA and strengthening of the party were two main topics in the agenda.UNI CR RJ 1450 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-948386.Xml
Seven Youth Congress (YC) activists were taken into custody, when they hoisted black flags and shouted slogans against Health Minister K K Shailaja, during a function attended by the latter, today. Ms Shailaja and Port Minister Ramachandran Kadanappally had come to the photo exhibition, arranged by the Public Relations Department (PRD) at Municipal High School, as part of the completion of 100 days of LDF government, at Kannur. The activists were led by Kannur Parliamentary Mandalam president Rijil Makutty, who reached the spot from the back side of the school, hoisted black flags and shouted slogans against the Minister to protest against the self finance education issues in the State. However, police blocked them and forcibly removed them from the venue. Later, Ms Shailaja inaugurated the function, while Mr Kadanappally presided over the function. A water conversation workshop has also been organised. MLAs James Mathew and C Krishnan, District Panchayat President K V Sumesh, Corporation Mayor E P Latha and District Collector Mir Muhammed Ali also attended the event.UNI AK RJ 1743 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-948692.Xml
The Indian seafood industry is expecting a favourable outcome of the ongoing 'Sunset review' on anti-dumping, a protectionist tariff imposed by the United States for imports that it classifies as sold below exporters' domestic value and thereby, 'dumped' in its markets. According to MPEDA and SEAI Officials here, the technical forum on Marine and Seafood trade in the 20th India International Trade Fair, currently underway here said the industry had never 'dumped' frozen shrimps in the US. Indian seafood exporting companies are currently charged a duty of about 2.5 per cent and a further easing is bound to increase exports of Indian shrimps into the US. The rigid stand taken by the US, generally seen as a move to protect its own domestic market while creating more employment opportunities, has resulted in Indian seafood industries paying a hefty sum of over USD 15 million as Anti-dumping duty (ADD), until 2015. These amounts, the speakers felt, would not have been paid but for 'zeroing,' a practice used to artificially inflate dumping margins. According to the Speakers, this duty was provisional in the US in 2004 and stood at 10.17 per cent. It was later reduced, giving exporters a refund on the excess duty paid. They pointed out that the system may soon undergo a change and if exporters were able to prove that they did not stand to gain an ADD margin, the next Sunset review might just be won. As per the US anti-dumping laws, ADD margins are decided after choosing and studying all details of the exporting company. The US under pressure from several exporting countries like India, Thailand, China and Vietnam is now considering lifting anti-dumping duties. India is one of the largest exporters of shrimps to the US and it is felt that any further increase in ADD will result in a shift to other markets, which may not be as consistent. The speakers at the technical session included Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Joint Secretary (EP-MP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry; RaghavanRamabadran, Partner, Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan, Chennai; Elias Sait, Secretary General, Sea Food Exporters Association of India (SEAI); K Shivakumar, Consultant, SEAI; Tapan Mazumder, Director (Rules Desk), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Nirdosh Chopra, Regional Manager, ECGC Limited, Bangalore. UNI BSR RJ 1746 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-948760.Xml
Tension prevailed in the Chennai-bound IndiGo aircraft from Singapore, when smoke emanated from aSamsung mobile phone kept in the hand baggage of a passengerat hat rack seat, this morning. The smoke was noticed a few minutes before the flight was about to at Chennai. A statement from the airliner said ''IndiGo confirms that a few passengers travelling on 6E-054 flight from Singapore to Chennai noticed the smoke smell in the cabin this morning and immediately alerted the cabin crew on board. The crew quickly identified minor smoke coming from the hat-rack of seat 23 C and informed the Pilot-in-Command who further alerted the ATC of the situation on board.'' Taking all precautionary measures, the cabin crew relocated all passengers on other seats, and further observed smoke being emitted from a Samsung note 2 which was placed in the baggage (of a passenger) in the overhead bin. The crew discharged the fire extinguisher as per the Standard Operating Procedures prescribed by the aircraft manufacturer, and quickly transferred the Samsung note 2 into a container filled with water in lavatory. The aircraft made a normal landing at Chennai airport, and all passengers were deplaned as per normal procedure. This equipment (Samsung mobile) will be further examined by the concerned departments. IndiGo has voluntarily informed the DGCA. ''We are thankful to passengers for their vigilance and cooperation extended to the crew on board'', it said. Meanwhile, a release from Samsung said ''we are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority. We are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information, and are looking into the matter''.UNI GV -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-947722.Xml
Two Telugu professors, who were kidnapped in Libya, allegedly by Islamic State (IS) terror group and released on September 15 have returned home in the early hours of today. They were given a warm welcome by their family and friends. The two professors -- T Gopi Krishna,and C Balaram Kishan arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad near here and they had reached their respective homes at around 0430 hours, according to family sources. The two Telugu professors were abducted by suspected IS militants at a checkpoint near Sirte in Libya on July 29 last year along with two other Indians Lakshmikanth and Vijay Kumar from Karnataka. However, Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar were rescued just days after the kidnapping. Gopikrishna, an Assistant Professor at University of Sirte in Libya, is a native of Tekkali in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. However, his family is residing in Hyderabad. Balaram, an English Professor, also works at the same University and hails from Karimnagar district of Telangana. His family also stay in Hyderabad. Among the four Indians kidnapped in Libya, three are Professors in University of Sirte and one works at the university. "We are very happy and thankful to the External Affairs Ministry for taking steps to bring them back to India safely. Both were not in a position to talk to the media, family members of both professors said when contacted over phone.UNI KNR CS 1145 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-948125.Xml
Tension prevailed in Southern district of Dindigul, after miscreants hurled petrol bomb at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) District Office, burnt the party flag and set fire to a car belonging to party functionary, today. Police said the miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at the BJP district office on the Dindigul-Karur road in the town at 0400 hours this morning. The bomb hit the iron shutter of the office and exploded. The miscreants also burnt the BJP flag and fled. However, no one was injured in the attack. It is learnt that BJP party men used to stay at the office at night and luckily none stayed overnight. Similarly, unidentified gang have poured petrol on the car of B.G.Bose, who is BJP's state executive committee member and set it on fire at Azhagu Nagar locality in Dindigul town. The front portion of the car was burnt in the fire. An empty plastic can was recovered near the car. Bose is a senior functionary of BJP in the district and he had received life threats in the past. Tense moments prevailed in Dindigul after the attack on party office which spread like a wildfire. A large number of party men and activists of pro-Hindu outfits assembled before the office and shouted slogans demanding police to arrest the culprits immediately causing a tense situation. Senior police officials visited the BJP office and the house of Bose. Forensic experts and sleuths of Tamil Nadu Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad also held inquiry. A large number of police men were deployed in the sensitive areas to prevent possible untoward incidents. Special teams have been formed to nab the miscreants. A senior police officer, after visiting the BJP office said Dindigul has been one of the communally sensitive districts recently and it looks like attempts were made to disturb communal harmony. It may be recalled that S.Sankar Ganesh (27), Dindigul District Executive Committee Member of the Hindu Munnani was attacked with lethal weapons by an unidentified gang in Dindigul town on Monday last. This incident had caused tension in the district last week. UNI GSM CS 1157 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-949492.Xml
In a shocking case, a 27-year-old village temple priest was arrested on the charges of sexually assaulting a mentally-ill minor girl for over two weeks at Jayankondam in Ariyalur district, today. Police said the 16-year-old victim was raped by the priest of goddess Kaliamman temple A.Ramkumar, when she was taking bath in a farm located back to her house on September 11. Ramkumar lured her into the house and raped, when her parents were away from home. Since, then he had been sexually assaulting the victim for the past two weeks. Her parents came to know about the incident last evening, when they took their daughter to a local doctor after she complained of pain in her private parts. The doctor after examining the victim told her parents that she had been sexually assaulted. The victim pointed out about the alleged rapist, based on which the Jayankondam All Women Police registered a case against Ramkumar under various sections of IPC and POCSO Act and arrested him today. The girl was admitted to government hospital for medical examination. UNI GSM CS 1238 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-949533.Xml
As part of her Swacch Bharat and Swacch Puducherry mission, Puducherry Lt.Governor Kiran bedi today visited Thirukkanur village near here. She inspected the tenements constructed for the Adi Dravidar people at Koonichampet . Interacting with the villagers later, Dr.Bedi said she came to know about the grievances of the villagers and directed the officials to initiate remedial measures. 'I came to the village to know whether her directions were fulfilled properly', she said and advised the youths of the village not to fall prey to drinking habit. Dr.Bedi also played volleyball with the villagers, forming the Lt.Governor's team and the legislator T P R Selvam's team.UNI PAB CS 1243 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-949537.Xml
Expressing disappointment over low productivity of oil seeds and expressing concern over increase in the quantity of import, the edible oil industry stakeholders wan reduction in import duty and increase in minimum support price. During the two day Globoil India 2016, 20th International Conference, Exhibition & Awards of the Edible Oil Industry which concluded yesterday, the speakers said the imports were increasing and had reached almost 70 per cent. The industry hoped that Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform could bring about a change for edible oil industry. Speaking during inauguration, Adani Wilmar CEO Atul Chaturvedi said the Indian vegetable industry was in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and there was shortage of seeds to crush. Stating that fate of refinery industries was not better, he said there was need to take corrective steps given the fact that edible oil industry was a major chunk of the market. He complained that 'Make In India' initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conveniently ignored by the policy makers. According to Kailash Singh, Director of Teflas, India is a major importer of vegetable oil and this year import of edible oil is expected to be 150 million tonnes while by 2021 it would become 210 million tonnes. Praveen Lunkad, President of The Solvent Extractors Association of India, stressed the need to increase palm oil plantation and productivity as according to him India will continue to be a major importer of vegetable oil to the extent of 70 per cent. According to industry leaders, more than half of annual demand of India which is 16-17 million tonnes of cooking oil is met through imports of palm oil. It also buys close to one million tonne soya oil from Latin America and same quantity of sunflower oil from Black Sea nations. According to Sandeep Bajoria, Chairman, Globoil and CEO, Sunvin Group, said though India was the world's leading cooking oil importer, it was should have adopted policies to promote domestic oilseed production, but that has not been happening.'' In addition to focusing on the Demand Supply & price trends for Oil seeds, Oils & Meals- Globoil features analysis on a whole gamut of issues and subjects which are a part of the changing paradigm of the global vegetable oil & related agri-commodity industries. UNI AKM JS AW1318 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-948288.Xml
The Navy has officially called off its search operation since last evening, but other agencies continued, sources said.

Other agencies such as Special Task Force, Maharashtra Police, CISF and Maharashtra's Force One (a specialised counter-terror force) continued with the combing operation in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai for five suspected terrorists.

The security forces yesterday released the sketches of two suspects with masks on their faces.

As per witnesses account, five to six armed men in Pathani suits and backpacks were seen moving in a suspicious manner in Uran.

Navi Mumbai Police commissioner monitored the situation throughout the night along with other top officials. A strict vigil by police and other security agencies is being maintained in the area.UNI ST SS SB PM1609

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-948423.Xml
Deputy Mayor of Shimla and CPI(M) leader Tekinder Singh Panwer today greeted people of this civic body for getting national incentives grants to the tune Rs three crore under Attal Mission fro Rejuvenation and Urban Development (AMRUT). Addressing mediaperson here today, Mr Panwar congratulated the people of the town for getting a quantitative leap in AMRUT and said (SLIP) State Level Integration Plan for the city was prepared by the internal strength and capacity of the staff and without taking assistance of a single consultant .He said MC could not hire consultants as several roadblocks were laid by the UD department of state as it could not release the grant under AMRUT to MC Shimla due to political victimisation."Despite the non-cooperation of the UD department with a complete prejudice and bias against Shimla, the team MC was still able to sail and steer through. The State UD department was marred with paranoia of just 'one town' vision and that is why even the amount of (SBM) Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been completely diverted to one city," Mr Panwer said attacking Himahcal Minister for Urban Development Sudhir Sharma who belonged to Dharmshala assembly segment.Commenting on the statement issued by Mr Sharma informing about Shimla MC getting AMRUT incentive grant CPI(m) leader argued former who have stated on the floor of Himahcal Pradesh Assembly to dissolve the CPI(M) ruled MC government and announced to receive the incentive grant himself as it would be handed over by Prime Minister.UNI ML PS AE BD1657 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-946898.Xml
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today vowed to put an end to 'raid raj', once his party forms the government in Punjab in 2017. Speaking on the occasion of Maharaja Agarsen Jayanti here, Mr Kejriwal said the AAP government in Delhi has already abolished 'raid raj' in the national capital. "It is our observation that raid raj instead of curbing the corruption, rather encourages the same among the corrupt bureaucrats and inspectors. "Besides, the practice also mops adequate revenue for the government. Therefore, it is very important that the government must discourage the raid raj in any state," Mr Kejriwal said, adding that during raid raj, corrupt officers instead of filling the coffers of the government, fill their own pockets. "When we came to power in Delhi, about 150 raids were being conducted in a month, which we stopped and now, the raid is being allowed only in case the department is having ample evidences against whom the raid to be conducted", the Delhi Chief Minister said. Mr Kejriwal said that he was informed by the business community that the Income Tax Department is conducting raids in pan India to meet their target of recovering the black money. "Instead of conducting such raids, IT sleuths should raid Vijay Malya and I am sure their target of at least Rs 7000 crore could have been fulfilled", he remarked. "Giant corporate houses are being let free for loot, which indicates the government's intention on the issue of black money", the AAP supremo alleged. Shifting his gun towards the issue of drug menace in Punjab, Mr Kejriwal said "We have to curb this menace of drugs from Punjab and once it is curbed, there would be dire need of employment for rehabilitated youth, where the business community could help the state to give job to such youths so that they may not again get trapped in drug abuse." He said earlier, BJP used to be tagged as a "Party of Business Community", but now that tag has been given to AAP due to the business-friendly policies of Delhi Government, which reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on many items from 12.5 per cent to five per cent, that too without asked by the traders for it. Senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Prof Sadhu Singh, Gurpreet Singh Waraich (Ghuggi), Himmat Singh Shergil and former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar were also present on the occasion.UNI DB RJ BL1812 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-949967.Xml
Hundreds of youth, under the banner of Gym club, Kalayat, organised an anti-Pakistan demonstration in Kalayat and later burnt an effigy of Pakistan, calling it a terrorist state sponsoring terrorism in India and other parts of the world. The youth, carrying tri-colour flags, raised pro-India and anti-Pak slogans and marched on roads. They dragged the Pakistan effigy and set it on fire amid 'Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan' slogans on the national highway. The agitators also paid homage, to martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country. The youth expressed their anger against Pakistan for killing 18 jawans in Uri sector of J&K recently and said that Pakistani soldiers will not be able to bear the assault of brave Indian soldiers and if Pakistan continued its anti-India policy, it will vanish from the world map. The protestors also urged the Indian government to give a befitting reply to Pakistan and assured that they will stand by the government and were even ready to go to borders, to fight anti-India forces.UNI XC DB RJ RK1900 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-949984.Xml
12th edition of Mount biking Himalaya was flagged off at historic Ridge ground here today.Chief of Staff- Army Training Command (ARTRAC) Lt General Raman Dhawan who was the chief guest, flagged off the event.Earlier addressing the bikers he said, "We appreciate the great amount of effort put into the race by all riders. I wish you my best, enjoy the ride, enjoy the views, Goodluck!" .63 riders were participating in the race competition this year including Professional riders from teams like Kona Factory team, Rocky Mountain team which are participating in the touted most difficult race across Asia.The 8 stage cross country stage is in it's 12th edition now and is organised by HASTPA and supported by Hero Cycles.The race is taking a completely new route this year and will travel from Shimla to Dharamshala this year, covering the most toughest riding spots on the Himalayan map.Team has been been choosy to handpick the best campsite locations and the traditional Himachali cuisine serve as another delight for the foreign riders. The riders travelled a distance of 67.5 kms and attained an elevation gain of about 1680 mts on this stage. The stage called Balkhu's epiphany started in Shimla and concluded for the day at Gadaguffar.Former King of Himalaya- Cory Wallace finished the day 1 stage in 2 hrs and 47 mins followed by Thomas Turner about a minute behind the Canadian Champion.Former Queen of Himalayas- Catherine Williamson finished with a timing of 3 hrs and 22 minutes at 9 in the overall category followed by Hero Action Team's Shiven.Rocky Mountain team participating under team of two are currently dominating the category. They finished at 4 and 5 in the overall category.With this edition of the race, MTB Himalaya also initiated an initiative - SMILE, which aims at motivating and encouraging young people to dream and put those dreams in action.The team is covering all the possible schools on the way trying to reach and help as many students as possible, helping the society grow.UNI ML SZ RJ VN1918 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-950010.Xml
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) of Himachal Pradesh has decided to set up ''Jan Avishdhi'' medical shops in all the district headquarters to provide quality generic medicines to people on cheaper rates in the state. IMA of Himachal Pradesh spokesman Dr Dinesh Sood told UNI here today that a meeting of the state executive of the association was held here recently under the presidentship of Dr Atul Mahajan which was attended by all the executive members. The meeting resolved to provide quality and cheaper generic medicines to patients in the state through 'Jan Avshidhi' medical shops which will be opened at all the district headquarters of the state by the IMA. He said it was also resolved to observe ninth day of every month as free antenatal check up day for a specified period displayed conspicuously in the department concerned under Pradan Mantri Surikshit Matritav Abiyan (PMSMA). Dr Sood said it was also resolved to support government to initiate action against quacks in the state and the IMA will prove as a facilitator to identify the quacks and to provide data to the government agencies concerned. The IMA resolved to take up matter with state government to revive state health advisory committee and the district health advisory committees and the association will facilitate smooth implementation of the health programs in the state, Dr Sood disclosed. He said that IMA decided to hold HIM-MEDICON 2017 at Una to update its members about the recent advances in the medical sciences. UNI XC DB RSA RJ RAI1722 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-950080.Xml
"Special Task Force of Kolkata police has arrested six Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists," Joint CP Crime, Visal Garg, told a media meet.

All of them are actively involved with JMB, said the police official.

Garg said four of them are wanted in connection with the Khagragarh blast case in Burdwan district in 2014.

Police have seized laptops, mobile phones, wire, detonators, a powder like substance and fake ID proofs from them.

"We had information that these people were hiding in the north-eastern states and in some parts of south India. They were under physical and technical surveillance of the STF. We were able to crack their encrypted communication system," Garg said.

Two suspected terrorists were killed and a third injured in the Burdwan blast.

--IANS mgr-ssp/rn

( 157 Words)

2016-09-26-14:48:08 (IANS)
Renowned spiritual speaker Anandmurti Gurumaa laid emphasis on inner well-being for leading a stress free life.Gurumaa was speaking at the 'Guru Series Lecture' at the Solan based Shoolini University on Friday evening.Author to several books, Gurumaa's has extensively spoken on subjects like mind, meditation, emotions, health, indulgence, etc. and given erudite commentaries on numerous scriptures including Srimad Bhagawad Gita, Sri Guru Gita, Gurbani.She has also devised a vast array of meditation methods to foster growth. Her discourses, meditation retreats and workshops are held from time to time at different places across the globe.Under Shoolini University's 'Guru Lecture Series', luminaries from different sectors of society share their experiences and knowledge about excelling in life and how to go about it.In her lecture, which boasted of music and singing of hymns, Gurumaa gave several examples of how to deal with stress in day-to-day life.Addressing the gathering of staff and students, she said, "In order to be happy, we do not need money, but have control over our mind which will eventually come from practice."She urged students to practice yoga every day in order to relieve themselves of stress and move towards inner well-being.Talking about India's ancient wealth like Ayurveda and Sanskrit language, she said, "Today, there is this role reversal going on where we are blindly adopting what the western world has now stopped using. Similarly, the western countries are not only learning and adopting our ancient knowledge, but also conducting research on it."Shoolini University Vice Chancellor Prof P K Khosla thanked Gurumaa's for sharing her valuable knowledge with the students. He said that the time was not far, when Indians would be going to western countries and paying hefty fees to study our language and culture. UNI XC DB AKC RJ VN1545 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-950851.Xml
Terming that in any eventuality of Indo-Pak war both the East and West Punjab across international border would be the worst sufferers, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the national government of Pakistan to refrain from pushing both the countries to war through their nefarious acts.Interacting with the media persons on sidelines of Sangat Darshan program in Lambi assembly segment, he said that Punjab on both sides of border would have to bear the brunt in case of an outbreak of war between both the countries. He said that Pakistan must understand that it was on record that both East and West Punjab would be the worst affected by the war and should try to diffuse the situation at the earliest. "The national leadership of Pakistan is also aware of this fact and they must try to normalize the situation," he added.Replying to another query, Mr Badal said that the Union Government was fully competent and wise enough to take an appropriate call on the issue of Indus water Agreement. He said that every decision taken by Centre would be in the interest of the country and would aim at protecting the unity and integrity of the country.The Chief Minister said that the matured and visionary leadership of the country was absolutely capable of taking decisions to safeguard the interests of the country.On another query, he said that the fronts mushrooming up in the state would have no effect on the state polity. He said that the SAD-BJP alliance was not at all worried about these fronts as the people of the state were solidly behind the pro-people and development oriented policies of alliance. He said that every front and every person was welcome to test their waters in the ensuing state Assembly polls.MORE UNI DB SZ RJ PR1611 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-950871.Xml
The conference was held jointly with the 52nd Congress of Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology and was attended by 1200 nephrologists from China, Japan, Australia, Korea and other Asian countries.

Dr Chugh had been associated with the Foundation of Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology (APSN) and was elected as the 3rd President of the Society from 1986-92. The publication of the highly rated Journal of 'Nephrology' was started during his tenure as the President.

Dr Chugh had organised several CMEs and Updates in Nephrology in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other Asian Countries with invited faculties from advanced centres.

Dr David Harris, incumbent president of APSN, presented the award to him during the award function on September 20 for his pioneering contribution to the promotion of research and development of nephrology in the Asian countries.UNI DB DJK 1908

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Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal laid the foundation stone for a mega food park at Ladhowal village, near here, today. This is the first-of-its-kind mega food park of the state, which is being developed by the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation of Punjab government. Speaking on the occasion, Ms Badal suggested that this project be named as "Gurkirpal Mega Food Park" because the speed at which Punjab has witnessed all-round record development is due to the "Kirpa" of our "Guru". She said this multi product mega food park is the gift of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Punjab and will give benefit to farmers and processors of Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Jalandhar, Moga, Sangrur and Barnala districts of the state. Ms Badal informed that this food park will be set up with the project cost of Rs 117.61 crore in an area of 100.20 acres. It will have facilities of 500 kg/Spiral Freezer, 1000 MT cold store of onion and garlic, 1000 MT frozen cold store of vegetable produce, 10000 MT dry warehouse, 10000 MT silos, 100 MT ripening chamber (ECRC), 1 MT/Hr dehydration line (air dried), 400 MT cold storage, reefer vans, food incubation center (ICRESAT) and testing laboratory. She said in order to give impetus to the growth of food processing sector in Punjab, the Ministry has approved three mega food parks in the state. Out of these three, first mega food park at Fazilka has already become operational, the foundation stone of a second mega food ark promoted by Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd was laid today and the third mega food ark (M/s Sukhjit Mega Food Park) has been approved by the Ministry in Kapurthala district, the foundation stone of which would be laid next month. She further stated that under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries is focusing on boosting the food processing industry, so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and becomes the engine of growth to drive the 'Make in India' initiative of the Prime Minister. The Food Processing Industries ministry has identified creation of modern infrastructure for food processing as a focus area and is encouraging private investment. As a step in this direction, the ministry has been implementing the mega food park scheme in the country to give a major boost to the food processing sector along the value chain from the farm to the market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach, she added. Ms Badal said the Ladhowal Food Park would be treated as a central processing centre and four primary processing centres- at Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Fazilka and Bathinda would also be set up. She said that this project would not only help the farmers, but would also generate job avenues for the youth.MORE UNI DB RJ 2003 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-951577.Xml
A Magistrate court here today reprimanded the special investigation team (SIT) of city police for not allowing defence lawyer to meet Dr Virendra Tawade, who has been arrested inrationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar murder case and later re-arrested as second suspect in senior CPI leader Govind Pansare murder case, despite court's permission. Defence lawyer Sameer Patwardhan had filed two petitions of contempt of court against SIT for not letting him meet accused Tawade in police custody on September 4, even as the court had permitted him to meet accused during the investigation. Secondly, SIT officials had not covered the face of Tawade while he was being taken to the Chhatrapati Pramila Raje Hospital here for a medical check-up on September 4 and as a result, the photographs of the accused were published by some local dailies. Mr Patwardhan said in the petition that as per law, police should have covered the face of accused and complainant till the case comes to an end, but police did not put a mask on accused Tawade while he was being taken for medical examination at hospital and this act was the contempt of the court. On this, First Class Judicial Magistrate V V Patil directed public prosecutor Chandrakant Budhale to submit his reply on October ten on the issue of publication of photographs of Tawade in local newspapers. Then, Mr Budhale requested the court to give some time for submission of the reply. Judge Ms Patil ordered to submit his statement on October 10, while fixing the next hearing on the issue of SIT having denied permission to the defence lawyer to meet accused and to be present at the time of investigation on September 30. Tawade is currently lodged in magisterial custody in Yervada Central Jail at Pune.UNI SSS SS SB 2056 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-951663.Xml
Luke was in police custody from September 22 and was produced before a court on expiry of the remand.

The deceased, Chinnappa Mandri (45), was employed as a cook in this residential school and allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a tree in the school campus, had not received salary for past few months.

After the suicide, enraged relatives and striking employees led by some Shiv Sainiks allegedly roughed up the principal and tore his clothes.

About 94 employees of the school are on strike since past eight months, including Mandri.UNI RDS SS SB 2322

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President Barack Obama today vetoed legislation allowing families of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, which could prompt Congress to overturn his decision with a rare veto override, the first of his presidency.Obama said the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act would hurt US national security and harm important alliances, while shifting crucial terrorism-related issues from policy officials into the hands of the courts.The bill passed the Senate and House of Representatives in reaction to long-running suspicions, denied by Saudi Arabia, that hijackers of the four US jetliners that attacked the United States in 2001 were backed by the Saudi government.Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.Obama said other countries could use the law, known as JASTA, as an excuse to sue US diplomats, members of the military or companies - even for actions of foreign organizations that had received US aid, equipment or training."Removing sovereign immunity in US courts from foreign governments that are not designated as state sponsors of terrorism, based solely on allegations that such foreign governments' actions abroad had a connection to terrorism-related injuries on US soil, threatens to undermine these longstanding principles that protect the United States, our forces, and our personnel," Obama said in a statement.Senator Chuck Schumer, who co-wrote the legislation and has championed it, immediately made clear how difficult it will be for Obama to sustain the veto.Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, issued a statement within moments of receiving the veto, promising that it would be "swiftly and soundly overturned." He represents New York, home of most of the September 11 victims.SOME DOUBTSIf two-thirds of the lawmakers in both the Senate and House vote to override, the law would stand, the first such override since he became president in 2009, and possibly the last.Obama leaves office in January. Today's veto was the twelfth of his presidency.An override has been expected, despite some lawmakers saying they had doubts about the measure.In a letter seen by Reuters today, Republican Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, said he would oppose the override."My primary concern is that this bill increases the risk posed to American military and intelligence personnel, diplomats and others serving our country around the world," Thornberry wrote in a letter encouraging his fellow Republicans to sustain the veto.House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday he thought there were enough votes to override a veto, but had concerns. "I worry about trial lawyers trying to get rich off of this. And I do worry about the precedent," he told reporters.The "9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism" group, which has pressed Congress to uphold the legislation, called Obama's veto explanation "unconvincing and unsupportable."The Saudi government has lobbied heavily to stop the bill, the European Union has formally opposed it and Gulf States have condemned it.Major US corporations such as General Electric and Dow Chemical have also pressed lawmakers to reconsider."The bill is not balanced, sets a dangerous precedent, and has real potential to destabilize vital bilateral relationships and the global economy," GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports the bill. REUTERS RSD 0403 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-947983.Xml
The United States was relegated to the sidelines of the Syrian war as an all-out assault by Syrian government and Russian forces on opposition-held Aleppo threatened to unleash a new refugee wave and drive US-backed rebels into the ranks of al Qaeda's Syrian branch, US officials and experts said.Moscow's direct participation in the offensive left fading hope for US-Russian peace efforts, raising the likelihood that US President Barack Obama's successor will inherit a worsening conflict.Entering its sixth year, the Syrian civil war already has left some 250,000 people dead, uprooted more than 11 million and provided a base for Islamic State to launch and inspire attacks in the West."For the next president on Day One, this becomes the problem from hell," said Frederic Hof yesterday, a former Obama adviser on Syria who is now at the Atlantic Council think tank. "It's a problem that's going to persist in one way or another throughout the first term of the next president and probably beyond."A US official suggested White House plans to keep Syrian chaos under control as Obama leaves office have been upended."It was hoped that they could turn over a simmering mess to the next president," said a US official. "But what happened was that the simmering mess blew up and now they are going to have to figure out what to do."US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Russian aircraft, long-range artillery and special forces advisers were directly participating with Syrian government forces in the drive to conquer eastern Aleppo, the largest urban stronghold of the US-backed moderate opposition.Shiite militiamen from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan also were involved in the assault on the devastated enclave, where an estimated 250,000 civilians were suffering the most intense airstrikes of the war, they said."The Russians are actively participating in the current offensive in Aleppo," said one US official. "It appears to be a no-holds barred attempt to crush the opposition."Russian aircraft were flying sorties at the same rate - about 40 per day - as they were before Washington and Moscow negotiated a failed ceasefire between the Syria government and opposition forces in February, the officials said.Some US intelligence officials believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking advantage of Obama's refusal to intervene militarily in Syria and his lame duck status to seize as much territory as possible before the new US president takes office.These officials argue that Russia has not sincerely engaged in peace-making efforts and that Putin aims to weaken the opposition as rapidly as possible, a goal in which he is gradually succeeding.Damascus announced the offensive on Thursday as Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov failed to salvage a ceasefire that collapsed on Monday. The ceasefire was supposed to lead to US-Russian cooperation on airstrikes against Islamic State and al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, formerly known as the Nusra Front.OBAMA'S OPTIONSWhat course Obama will now take remained unclear."There doesn't seem to be a Plan B right now," Hof said.Obama has sought to restrict US involvement in Syria, repeatedly rejecting proposals by advisers for actions such as establishing a no-fly zone or arming the moderate opposition fighting to topple President Bashar Assad."One of the things that haunts me the most was our failure to ask ourselves about the consequences of inaction," said one former senior official involved in Syria policy. "We were always focused on the consequences of action ... But we should have also considered how doing nothing for several years might have an impact on US credibility and the conflict more broadly."Obama has limited the US role to supporting groups fighting Islamic State in northeastern Syria. He has pursued talks with Russia, which intervened on Assad's behalf in September 2015, on a peace accord between US-backed moderate rebels and Damascus.Obama, however, no longer can count on securing a ceasefire that will keep a lid on the crisis until his successor is sworn-in on January 20, experts said.Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute think tank said he doubted that Obama would adopt a more robust policy."Given the posture the Obama administration has developed with regards to how it faces the war in Syria, I don't see it shifting the strategy," he said. "That would be the most extraordinary foreign policy shift in the last eight years."Obama, however, faces the prospect of a deepening humanitarian disaster, officials and experts said.The fall of Aleppo could unleash a new wave of migrants fleeing toward Europe, which has been struggling since last year to accommodate more than 1 million refugees.Moreover, US-backed rebels, dismayed over what they saw as Obama's abandonment of Aleppo, could begin joining al Qaeda's Syrian branch. It is widely regarded as the most effective opposition group and has vehemently rejected a negotiated settlement with Assad, US officials and experts said.Lister, who maintains contacts with rebels inside Syria, said opposition leaders are growing disillusioned with US efforts to negotiate a diplomatic solution with Assad's main military backer."Things are deteriorating so quickly now. The US is losing leverage on the ground every week," he said.REUTERS RSD 0423 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-947985.Xml
Dozens of armed National Guardsmen took up positions on street corners in Charlotte, North Carolina after the family of a black man fatally shot by police released its own video of the encounter that has sparked three days of sometimes violent protests.Few people were on the streets as the sun began to set and crowds were sparse in bars and restaurants in the Uptown section of the city. Some people heading home after work stopped to chat with Guardsmen.The family of shooting victim Keith Scott continued to urge officials to release their own recordings of the slaying as they called for peace in Charlotte.The moment when a black police officer shoots Scott, a 43-year-old father of seven, cannot be seen in the two-minute video recorded by his wife, Rakeyia, who can be heard urging officers not to fire."Don't shoot him! He has no weapon," she can be heard telling officers as they yell at Scott, "Drop the gun!"Several gunshots can be heard in the video, which was released to US media, followed by her screaming, "Did you shoot him? He better not be dead."The video was filmed from a nearby curb as the drama in the parking lot unfolded in front of Rakeyia Scott.CNN quoted a source close to the investigation as saying that a loaded gun had been recovered at the scene of the crime and that fingerprints, DNA and blood on it matched Scott's.The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Protesters have dismissed police officers' claims that Scott had a gun. Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts yesterday also called for release of the police videos, in an interview with CNN. "I do think it would help in terms of transparency to release that footage," she said.Scott's death was the latest in a succession of police killings of black people, mostly men, which have unleashed protests and riots across the country and intense criticism of the use of excessive force by police.A United Nations working group on Friday compared the killings to the lynching of black people by white mobs in the 19th and 20th centuries.Scott was the 214th black person killed by US police this year out of an overall total of 821, according to Mapping Police Violence, a research group whose members include protesters of a 2014 police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. There is no national-level government data on police shootings.Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has said that video taken by police body cameras supported the police version of events, but he has refused to release the video publicly. He told reporters yesterday that releasing it now could harm the investigation into the shooting, being led by the state."I know the expectation is that video footage can be the panacea and I can tell you that is not the case," Putney said, adding that he would eventually agree with the release of the video. "It's a matter of when and a matter of sequence."Scott's family initially contended that he was carrying a book, but after viewing the police video on Thursday the family said it was "impossible to discern" what, if anything, Scott was carrying."There's nothing in that video that shows him acting aggressively, threatening or maybe dangerous," Justin Bamberg, one of the lawyers representing the family, said in an interview early yesterday.No gun can be seen in Mrs. Scott's video.Governor Pat McCrory, a Republican locked in a tight re-election race, signed a law last week that would require authorities to obtain a court order before releasing police video. Critics have said it would prevent the sort of transparency that is needed to defuse public anger after police shootings.Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton added her voice to calls for release "without delay" of the video. "We must ensure justice and work to bridge divides," she said on Twitter yesterday.She announced plans to go to Charlotte on Sunday.The UN working group recommended that the United States create a reliable national system to track killings and use of excessive force by law enforcement officials, as well as ending the practice of racial profiling.Yesterday, Charlotte police arrested a civilian and charged him with murdering a protester who died on Thursday after being shot the previous night during protests, Putney told a news conference.Police identified the suspected shooter as Rayquan Borum, 21, and the victim as Justin Carr. They did not disclose Carr's age. The Charlotte Observer reported that he was 26.POLITICAL BATTLESThe killing of Keith Scott and its aftermath are playing out in a state that has been at the forefront of some of the country's most bitter political fights in recent years.North Carolina's Republican-dominated state legislature has tightened voting laws, slashed education spending and passed a law prohibiting transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice.Civil rights leaders have said that state officials who pursue these policies are partly to blame for this week's unrest."It's somewhat hypocritical to cry out against violence when you pass violent policies," said the Rev. William Barber, who heads the North Carolina unit of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. REUTERS RSD 0521 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-947998.Xml
The US ambassador to the UN has accused Russia of "barbarism" over the bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo. According to the BBC, at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Samantha Power said Russia had told the council outright lies about its conduct in Syria. She said Russia and the Syrian regime were "laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city". Russia said Syrian forces were trying to remove terrorists from Aleppo while harming as few citizens as possible. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin did not say Russian forces were involved. But he said that bringing peace to Syria was "almost an impossible task now". He also accused opposition armed groups of sabotaging the ceasefire. The northern city of Aleppo has become a key battleground in Syria's bloody five-year civil war. Power told the meeting that Russia, which is supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had "long had the power to stop this suffering". "Instead of peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of getting life-saving aid to Syrians, Russia and Assad are bombing hospitals and first responders," the BBC quoted Power as saying. She accused Russia of preparing air strikes against eastern Aleppo even at the very moment its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was telling the UN that Russia was committed to a peaceful solution. Power went on to call on the council to "have the courage to say who is responsible and tell Russia with one voice to stop". Several representatives at the meeting suggested Russia may have committed a war crime over the bombing of a humanitarian convoy near Aleppo on last Monday. Russia has denied carrying out the attack, which destroyed 18 of 31 aid trucks. It has said that rebel shelling or a US drone were responsible. Russia has not admitted to bombing Aleppo since the end of the recent ceasefire, the BBC added. The UN meeting, requested by the US, UK, and France, follows an intensification of the bombing campaign over Aleppo. UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said at least 213 civilians had been killed since the offensive began, many of them women and children. He said the conflict had reached "new heights of horror". Hours after the end of a week-long cessation of hostilities on Monday, the Syrian regime declared a new offensive against eastern Aleppo and jets began pounding the area, where 275,000 people are trapped. --IANS lok/ ( 419 Words) 2016-09-26-05:24:08 (IANS)
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry has hit out against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement in Kerala warning of action against the Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that it violates all United Nations and international charters against non-interference in internal affairs of other countries. In an exclusive interview to Dawn, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington, stated that the Prime Minister's statement shows India's "nervousness" with the situation in Kashmir. Responding to his address in Kerala, the two diplomats asserted that several UN resolutions recognised Pakistan as a party to the Kashmir dispute and India too recognised that status, however, adding that India has no justification for interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs. Stating that it was unfortunate the Indian leadership "continues to indulge in a vilification campaign against Pakistan by making provocative statements and hurling baseless accusations", Chaudhry said that such display of behaviour at the highest political level was regrettable. "It is evident that, as an act of desperation, India is trying to distract world attention from the atrocities perpetrated by its occupation forces against innocent and defenceless Kashmiris, including women and children," he said. Further accusing India of continuing to sponsor terrorism in Pakistan directly through its "state apparatus", the Foreign Secretary said that the arrest and confessional statement of intelligence operative, Kulbhushan Jhadav, had proved India's involvement. He also pointed out that the international community had taken notice of 'human rights violations' in Kashmir, with concern expressed by several countries as well as the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Ambassador Jilani said that by making such statements, Indian leaders were trying to hide the atrocities against the people of Kashmir. "We reject the statement. This is highly irresponsible. The content of the statement is a distortion and counter-intuitive. With such statements, they cannot draw a curtain on their brazen acts of terrorism and crimes against humanity in Kashmir," he said. Meanwhile, during their interaction with world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, Pakistani diplomats dismissed the notion of a war with India. "There will be no war. We have no intention of starting one and India also realises that a war at this stage will destroy its economy," said one diplomat. (ANI)
Investigators were working to determine what led a gunman to open fire and kill five people in a department store at a Washington state mall, police said today after arresting a 20-year-old suspect in the deadly rampage.Police took Turkish-born Arcan Cetin into custody yesterday evening in Oak Harbor, about 48 km southwest of Burlington where the shooting occurred on Friday night.Cetin's demeanor when apprehended was "zombie like," police said at a news conference. He was unarmed and did not run from officers, they said.A motive for the rampage remains unclear and Cetin, who is due to appear in court tomorrow, has not been charged.The FBI said while they had no indication the attack was a "terrorism act," it could not rule out that possibility.Cetin, who police said is a legal, permanent resident of the United States, is accused of opening fire in the cosmetics section of a Macy's department store at Cascade Mall, killing four women and a man.Surveillance video showed the suspect entering the mall without a rifle but he was later spotted on video in the store brandishing a weapon, police said. The rifle was recovered at the mall.The attack followed a series of violent outbursts at shopping centers across the United States, including the stabbing of nine people at a Minnesota center last weekend.It comes at a time of heightened tensions in the United States after a succession of seemingly random attacks in public places, ranging from a gay night club in Orlando, Florida, to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado.Investigators planned to search Cetin's Oak Harbor residence, vehicle and interview witnesses on Sunday to collect evidence and "build as good as a case as you can," said Sergeant Mark Francis, a spokesman for the Washington State Police.Police have reports that Cetin's ex-girlfriend worked at the Macy's, Francis said. The possible connection was under investigation.Cetin has a criminal record that includes three domestic violence charges in which his stepfather was the victim, the Seattle Times reported, citing court records.He also was arrested for drunken driving and barred by a judge in December from possessing a firearm, the newspaper reported without providing details. Reuters was unable to confirm the reports.Police did not identify the victims but local media said they ranged in age from mid-teens to mid-90s, and included a mother and her daughter. The Skagit County Coroner's Office said it planned to release information about shooting victims tomorrow. REUTERS RSD 0058 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-950363.Xml
President Tayyip Erdogan believes US federal attorneys had ulterior motives in including references to him and his wife in court papers related to their prosecution of a gold trader, Turkish media today quoted him as saying.Reza Zarrab, a dual Turkish-Iranian national, was arrested in Miami in March. He was charged with helping Iran process millions of dollars in transactions that violated US sanctions against Tehran in effect at the time.The 33-year-old businessman, who lived in Turkey, remains in custody in New York. He has pleaded not guilty.In court papers, US Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara's office included references to a 2013 corruption investigation in Turkey that targeted Zarrab, cabinet ministers and members of Erdogan's family which was subsequently been dropped.Private broadcaster NTV quoted Erdogan as telling a group of reporters he had raised Zarrab's detention in talks with US Vice President Joe Biden in New York last week.Erdogan said US prosecutors were trying to implicate him by including in the indictment Zarrab's donations to an educational charity called Togem, according to NTV and other Turkish media."They are not pursuing the law, but are after a network of relationships. It's interesting that the indictment refers to my wife setting up Togem and my ties with that association. My wife and I are not among the founders of that association."The effort to mention our names in court proves there are ulterior motives," he said.Erdogan also accused US officials involved in the case of travelling to Turkey as guests of a religious movement led by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.Turkey classifies the movement, dubbed FETO, a terrorist organisation that it blames for a failed military coup in July."The US Department of Justice is being represented by people who were wined and dined by FETO. I told Biden this and he said he was unaware," Erdogan said.A spokesman for Bharara declined to comment. Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer for Zarrab, declined comment.Zarrab's lawyers last month filed a motion asking the federal judge, Richard Berman, to recuse himself due to comments he made about Zarrab's prosecution in Turkey at a 2014 conference.Turkey wants the United States to arrest Gulen, who resides in Pennsylvania, and return him to Turkey. Gulen, once a close ally of Erdogan, denies involvement in the coup attempt.Erdogan said he told Biden that Turkey's justice and economy ministries have investigated Zarrab and determined he was innocent, as had Iranian authorities.He added that he would not remain "indifferent" to the detention of a Turkish national in the United States.The arrest of Zarrab, a frequently photographed figure among Turkey's jetset, sent shockwaves through Turkey and cheered Erdogan's opponents who viewed the US case as a blow to the Turkish leader, in power since 2003 as prime minister and, since 2014, as president.Separately, newspapers today reported that Zarrab's wife, Turkish pop star Ebru Gundes, filed for divorce last week. REUTERS RSD 0130 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-950367.Xml
Dozens of air strikes hit the northern Syrian city of Aleppo overnight, a monitor and defence worker said, continuing a fierce air campaign by Syrian government and allied forces since a ceasefire broke down almost a week ago.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of air strikes had hit the rebel-held half of the divided city overnight, killing and wounding a number of people.The air attacks follow a week of escalating bombardment after a week-long ceasefire broke down. On Thursday the Syrian army said it launched a fresh offensive in the city which has become the main battle ground of the conflict, now in its sixth year.Bebars Mishal, a civil defence worker in rebel-held Aleppo, told Reuters the bombardment continued overnight until 6 a.m. (0830 IST)."It's the same situation. Especially at night, the bombardment intensifies, it becomes more violent, using all kinds of weapons, phosphorous and napalm and cluster bombs," Mishal said."Now, there's just the helicopter, and God only knows where it will bomb. God knows which building will collapse," he said.The Observatory said it had documented the deaths of 237 people, including 38 children, from air strikes on Aleppo city and the surrounding countryside since last Monday when the ceasefire ended. Of those documented deaths, 162 were in rebel-held east Aleppo city. REUTERS AKC AN1422 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-950763.Xml
Iran's supreme leader has told former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to stand again in next year's elections, state media reported today, effectively eliminating a major challenger to pragmatist incumbent Hassan Rouhani.Ahmadinejad had not announced any plans to run in the vote scheduled for May, but has made several speeches in recent months, prompting speculation of a political comeback.Commentators had suggested the firebrand populist, who frequently enraged the West with his rhetoric during his eight years in office, would have given Iran's conservatives their best chance of regaining power.But the instruction by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reported by state news agency IRNA, effectively destroys his chances of getting the wider backing he would need to run a successful campaign."He (Ahmadinejad) came to me and I told him not to stand as I think it is not in his interest and that of the country," Khamenei was quoted as saying."It will create bipolar opposites and divisions in the country which I believe is harmful," Khamenei added.Rouhani's popularity surged after last year's deal with world powers that lifted most sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.Another potential rival - Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani, the most high-profile face in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - said this month he would not stand in the vote.Ahmadinejad was first elected president in 2005. His disputed win in the 2009 election prompted the Islamic Republic's biggest protests and a security crackdown in which several people were killed and hundreds were arrested.Iranian law bars a president from seeking a third consecutive term. But Ahmadinejad would have been able to run again after the gap caused by Rouhani's term. REUTERS AKC AS1523 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-950893.Xml
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said today he would visit Russia and China this year to chart an independent foreign policy and "open alliances" with two powers with historic rivalries with the United States.Duterte said the Philippines was at the "point of no return" in its relations with former colonial ruler the United States, so he wanted to strengthen ties with others, and picked two global powers with which Washington has been sparring with on the international political stage.He last week declared he would soon - and often - visit China, with which ties remain frosty over a South China Sea arbitration ruling won by the Philippines in July. He said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was expecting him in Moscow.China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than 5 trillion dollar of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.An arbitration court in The Hague in July invalidated China's claims to the waterway in a case brought by the Philippines, a ruling that Beijing refuses to recognise."I am ready to not really break (US) ties but we will open alliances with China and... Medvedev, he is awaiting there for my visit," Duterte told reporters, adding he would open up the "other side of the ideological barrier".He welcomed investment and shrugged off rating agency Standard and Poor's concerns last week about the Philippine economy on his watch and his unpredictability."Never mind about the ratings," he said. "I will open up the Philippines for them to do business, alliances of trade and commerce."The peso fell to its lowest since 2009 today and foreign investors have dumped local shares for six straight weeks, worried about Duterte's anti-US rhetoric and brutal war on drugs, which has alarmed rights groups at home and abroad.Duterte also said he would open up telecoms and airlines, which are two domestic sectors long controlled by local players and criticized for being uncompetitive. He did not elaborate.The volatile leader's vitriol against the United States has become a near-daily occurrence and source of both amusement and concern. Today he accused Washington of "hypocrisy" and said Americans were still "lording it over us".His latest swipe included ruling out participation in a maritime conflict should it be initiated by the United States, despite a 1951 treaty between the two countries under which Duterte said Manila was legally obligated to back Washington."I am about to cross the Rubicon between me and the US," he said," without elaborating. "It's the point of no return."It is unclear whether Duterte's outbursts will impact relations between the two counties. Militaries of both sides are due to carry out joint exercises in the first half of October.The US embassy in Manila today announced two-week deployment of a pair of C130 planes and 100 troops at an air base in the central Philippines, the third of its kind this year, as part of a rotational troops agreement.Separately, Duterte said the United Nations, European Union and United States would get a free hand to investigate the killings in his anti-narcotics campaign, but only under Philippine laws.Deaths in the campaign have averaged over 40 a day since Duterte took office on June 30. REUTERS AKC PR1733 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-951165.Xml
Mr Premanshu Biswas, Director General of India's Central Vigilance Commission, was received at the airport yesterday by officials of the National Accountability Bureau, the host of the conference on anti- corruption measures.

Besides Mr Biswas, delegates from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan have also reached here to participate in conference, a report in daily Dawn said.

The two day event is being organised from today by the NAB in collaboration with the SAARC secretariat.UNI XC SS SB 2029

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The United States has kept its side of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran has no reason to complain that Washington has not done enough on lifting sanctions against it, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said today.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last week that Washington had not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement, which places restrictions on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.Major foreign banks are wary of doing business with Iran because of fears that they would violate restrictions on US banks, which are still banned from doing business with Iran because of core US sanctions that remain in force."The sanctions that were to be relieved have been relieved. That's what was the commitment. That has happened." Moniz told a news conference on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog's member states."The consequences of that in terms of how many companies make foreign direct investments in Iran is not for the government to decide, that's for companies to decide," he said.Iran's top envoy to the meeting, Ali Akbar Salehi, however, repeated his government's complaint today."Expectations regarding comprehensive and expeditious removal of all sanctions as stipulated in the JCPOA have yet to be met," Salehi said in a speech to the meeting, using the deal's full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.Moniz said Washington had gone beyond its obligations under the deal, and senior US officials had informed European banks of what the lifting of sanctions meant for them, but so far only small and medium-size banks had done business with Iran."Banks are going to have to have more clarity, going to have to have more business confidence, which will take time," he said.Iran is, however, exporting oil at roughly the same level as before the sanctions were imposed, providing "a considerable additional cash flow", he said.Rouhani said last week the US approach to sanctions in recent months was "flawed" and "should be rectified forthwith".What steps Iran intends to take if its demands are not met remains unclear but Salehi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the deal's future depended on it."Reciprocal and full implementation of the commitments by the five plus one is the crucial foundation of the JCPOA and the fundamental part of the agreement for its durability," he said, referring to the six countries that struck the deal with Iran. REUTERS AKC PR1927 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-951512.Xml
Six Turkish soldiers were killed and one was injured today in clashes with militants in the largely Kurdish southeast, security and hospital sources said.The clashes with militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) broke out in the Uludere district of Sirnak province at a check point near a prison, the security sources said.The autonomy-seeking PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency in southeast Turkey, home to most of the country's 15 million Kurds. Fighting flared anew in July 2015 after a two-year ceasefire collapsed, and hundreds of rebels, security forces and civilians have died in the violence. REUTERS AKC PR1937 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-951532.Xml
Only 30 doctors remain in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, where they are in dire need of medical and surgical supplies to treat hundreds of wounded people among a trapped population of 300,000, Syrian doctors said on Monday.At least 40 wounded people in the eight still-functioning hospitals - some of them makeshift centres hidden underground for fear of air strikes and shelling - require medical evacuation, they said.Dozens of air strikes hit rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city overnight, a monitoring organisation and a civil defence worker said, continuing a fierce air campaign by Syrian government and allied forces since a ceasefire broke down almost a week ago."There are 30 doctors who are still inside the eastern Aleppo city," Abd Arrahman Alomar, a pediatrician who works for the Syrian Arab Medical Society (SAMS) in opposition-controlled areas, told a news briefing in Geneva.They lack equipment and emergency medicines for treating the many trauma cases and there is only enough fuel to run hospital generators for 20 days. One obstetrician and two pediatricians remain to care for pregnant women and 85,000 children, he said.The group documented more than 280 people killed in the last three days in eastern Aleppo, with 400 wounded, including 61 children, on Sunday alone."We go into mountains, we work underground, and even our facilities underground and into the mountains were targeted many times, many times," Alomar said. "If this continues, we are going to the point of zero where there are no facilities to be protected, where there is no health staff to be protected."Mazen Kewara, Turkey country director for SAMS, said: "We have a huge need for fluids inside Aleppo. Still there is no IV (intravenous) fluids."Attacks on medical facilities and personnel have devastated the health care system, U.N. agencies and health experts say."The systematic and widespread assault on hospitals and doctors which is orchestrated mainly by Syrian government forces has cut off access to health care for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Syrians," said Elise Baker of Physicians for Human Rights.Since the conflict began in 2011, the New York-based group has documented 382 attacks on 269 separate medical facilities through June.Some 90 percent were carried out by Syrian government forces or allied Russian forces, she said, citing evidence from video footage and photographs analysed by weapons experts."The direct targeting of medical units and personnel has become a shocking hallmark of this horrific conflict in Syria," said Dainius Puras, UN special rapporteur on the right to health.Intentional attacks constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity, said PurasREUTERS CJ BD2058 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-951728.Xml
Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari on Monday said that the repeated attacks of the Nigerian nationals in India were just "stray incidents" and were neither specific to citizens of any particular country nor racially motivated. Addressing the media onboard Air India Special Flight on way to a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, Vice President Ansari said that it was however important to note that the law enforcement agencies had quickly responded wherever and whenever such incidents had taken place. On reported attacks on Nigerian nationals in India, the Vice President said that these were stray incidents and were not specific to citizens of any particular country nor racially motivated. What was however important to note, he stressed was that law enforcement agencies had quickly responded wherever and whenever such incidents had taken place. On May 20 this year, a Congolese national in New Delhi was beaten to death by three men, after an altercation over hiring of an auto-rickshaw in the Vasant Kunj area turned violent. Immediately following this, at least seven Africans, including four women, were allegedly attacked and racially abused by a mob in Rajpur Khurd village in South Delhi's Mehrauli. The two incidents prompted the 54-member African Group of Heads of Mission in Delhi to cancel the Africa Day celebrations in their embassies. They also came close to pulling out of the celebrations conducted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). (ANI)
After Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Monday advised Islamabad to abandon its dream of separating Jammu and Kashmir from India, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said her today's statement at the 71 session of the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) was well-measured and fitting, and she has expressed New Delhi's vision on all those issues which are crucial to the international community. "As you know that our Foreign Minister gives to the point answer and her today's statement was well-measured and fitting, and she expressed India's vision on all those issues which are crucial to the international community," Swarup told ANI here. With Swaraj saying "jinke apne ghar shishe ke ho, unhe dusro par patthar nahi fekne chahiye (those whose houses are made of glass should not throw stones at others)", while responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's statements at the UNGA on September 21, the MEA spokesperson said, "A few days back, the Pakistan Prime Minister on this very platform had given baseless statements against India; and today the Foreign Minister has given befitting reply to all those things." "Moreover, she has said the countries sheltering terrorism, financing them and providing them with weapons, such countries do not have any place in the international community which, in my opinion, was a very important and powerful message that she delivered today," he added. When asked whether he thought that Pakistan was isolated on the international platform, Swarup said, "That is evident. As you have seen when the Pakistan Prime Minister delivered his speech, his speech got no comments in their support; whereas there is a consensus in the world on India's statement on terrorism and there is a common consensus that fighting terrorism is, at present, utmost necessary." On Balochistan also, the Foreign Minister commented on the atrocities committed there, he said. Delivering a very strong message to Pakistan at the UNGA, Swaraj said, "My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so." Responding to Sharif's statements at the UNGA, where he accused India of "committing brutalities in the Kashmir Valley" and hailed Hizbul-Mujahideen terrorists Burhan Wani as "young leader", she said "On 21st September, the Prime Minister of Pakistan used this podium to make baseless allegations about human rights violations in my country. I can only say that those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression." Going hammer and thongs at Pakistan, Swaraj said, "In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account. These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations." (ANI)
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said today the German government could take legal action against Facebook and other social media groups if they do not intensify their fight against illegal hate speech or Islamist "terror phantasies".Maas said Facebook, Twitter and Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, were removing illegal content from the Internet more frequently and quickly, but more work was needed.He said the social media groups responded mostly to requests by government-funded organisations but did not take private complaints as seriously."Of the illegal content reported by users, Twitter deletes about 1 percent, YouTube just 10 percent, and Facebook about 46 percent," Maas said. Those rates were too low, he said.Maas said he would decide on next steps after government study was completed in March, could not rule out legal measures. He did not elaborate."The situation has improved, but it's not nearly good enough," Maas said. "We have to keep up the pressure on the companies."German political leaders and regulators say the world's largest social network, with 1.6 billion monthly users, has been slow to respond to hate speech and anti-immigrant messages.European Union Commissioner Vera Jourova told the news conference with Maas that she was counting on voluntary steps by social media firms and preferred to avoid deadlines.Konstantin von Notz, deputy leader of the Green party's parliamentary group, said the German government had ignored the problem for too long, and Maas' deadline only put off any real action for another six months."This problem is too important for our society. The chancellor should take the issue in hand herself. Her justice minister is clearly in over his head," he said in a statement.Mathias Doepfner, who heads Germany's Axel Springer media group, told newspaper executives that media organisations should be regulated like telecommunications firms, which are "not held responsible if people use their phone to talk about stupid or dangerous stuff"."If these quasi-monopolistic technology platforms are also responsible for content, the consequences will be grave - for business and society," he said.Facebook touched off a firestorm earlier this month when it deleted an iconic Vietnam War photo of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack, saying it violated restrictions on nudity.The company later reinstated the photograph after it received multiple complaints, including from Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who accused Facebook of censorship and of editing history.REUTERS CJ RAI2313 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-951835.Xml
Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif today said his nation's efforts against terrorism are continuing and but its complete elimination is only possible with optimum cooperation between neighbouring countries. He also claimed that terrorists sanctuaries and hideouts in Pakistan are eliminated completely. "Pakistani security forces have valiantly fought terrorists upfront through an across the board, indiscriminate operation against terrorists of all hue and colour along with their abettors, financiers and sympathisers," a report in the Express Tribune quoted the Army Chief as saying at a conference in Stuttgart, Germany today that was attended by heads of various armed forces. General Raheel was in Germany on a day-long official visit to participate in a conference of Chief of Staffs of the Armed Force being held under the auspices of US Centcom. "With unflinching support of entire nation terrorists' ideologies and their narrative have been defeated and their sanctuaries and hideouts completely eliminated," he told chief of armies of Afghanistan, Kazakhastan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the host General Joseph Votel, Commander US Centcom.UNI XC SS CJ SB 2339 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-951850.Xml
Ban Ki-moon (C), secretary general of the United Nations, takes part in a social event prior to the opening of G77+China Summit in the Ramon Tahuichi Stadium in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on June 14, 2014. (Xinhua/Pedro Mera)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said that the Group of 77 (G-77) and China are an important force in carrying out the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a blueprint for global development efforts for year leading up to 2030.

The statement came as the secretary-general was speaking at the 40th annual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of 77, which was held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly.

"The United Nations and the G-77 have an invaluable partnership," Ban said. "Together, we have made enormous progress for human rights and human dignity."

"The G-77 and China was also a driving force behind the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development -- our truly transformative plan for the planet and all people," he said.

"I call on the G-77 countries to live up to the New York Declaration -- and pressure the developed world to do its part," the secretary-general said, referring to an international document adopted here by UN member states to address the issue of large movement of refugees and migrations.

"It is critical to address root causes," he said. "Poverty, human rights abuses and violence drive people from their homes."

"Migration should always be a choice," the secretary-general said. "That is why it is so important to carry out the 2030 Agenda," which includes 17 SDGs.

"We need to create jobs, especially for young people," he said. "And we need to continue the fight for full equality for women."

The G-77 was set up in June 1964 by 77 developing countries signatories of the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries" issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

The Group of 77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the United Nations, which provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, and promote South-South cooperation for development.

The G-77 kept its distinctive name even after the membership expanded to 134 countries.
by Xinhua writer Zhang Jianhua

LONDON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The public respect in China for teachers is "a great credit" to the country, a former headmaster of Britain's prestigious Eton College has said.

Eton College, founded in 1440, is a world-renowned independent boarding school for boys in Britain. It has educated 19 British prime ministers and many members of the British Royal Family, including Prince William and Prince Harry.

In an interview with Xinhua, Tony Little, who served as Eton's headmaster from 2002 to 2015, said he was very struck by the great respect that Chinese teachers enjoy from parents and students in the country.

"That couples with a very attractive Chinese philosophy of respect to age, so older people are valued and venerated in society," he said.

Teachers in China are held in the highest regard by parents and the public, according to a Global Teacher Status Index published in 2013 by the Varkey Foundation, a major international charitable organization focused on improving education.

The index compared attitudes to teachers in 21 major countries, including China, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Portugal, Greece, Brazil and others.

"This is a great credit to China," Little said, "It is the only country in the world in the survey where teachers are perceived to be of the same status as doctors."

He expressed the hope that the Chinese people could help identify more really good teachers.

"Maybe it's a parent who is very impressed with the teacher of their child, or maybe it is a school that wishes to identify (a teacher)," he said.

He added that he wanted to see more Chinese teachers nominated for The Global Teacher Prize, which is dubbed "Nobel Prize for Teachers" by international educators.

The Global Teacher Prize is a one-million-U.S. dollar award presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession.

"There will be in China, such a huge country, teachers who have given their lives, who have made a career out of helping young people," he told Xinhua.

The prize, which aims to raise the status of teaching globally, is also supported by Britain's Prince William, officially known as the Duke of Cambridge.

The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry has partnered with the Varkey Foundation on a variety of programs which support teachers and help the young people in some vulnerable communities.

In the interview, the former Eton head noted that there are "impressive aspects" in both Chinese and British educational systems, and there is a great deal the two countries can achieve together.

"When I speak with Chinese educators, particularly Chinese head teachers, there is a commonality of vision about what we would like to achieve," he told Xinhua.
BOGOTA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The right-wing party, Democratic Center, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, has become the flag-bearer for the campaign to reject the peace deal struck between Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The peace deal will be formally signed on Monday and the following plebiscite has become a matter of "political life or death" for Uribe, who seeks to stand during the 2018 presidential election, said political analyst on Sunday.

With the agreement being put to a national plebiscite on Oct. 2, Uribe is hopeful that the population will decide the deal is too favorable to the FARC and grant many of its members impunity.

According to Uribe's "No" campaign, a rejection of the peace deal does not mean a rejection of peace altogether.

Speaking to the press on Friday, Uribe said that "the agreement gives them an open amnesty for very serious crimes such as drug trafficking...and other crimes against humanity, such as the rape of little girls."

"We are now facing a plebiscite with an armed FARC, who have not begun the disarmament," he added.

Additionally, he fears that the peace agreement "is delivering" the country to the FARC, who will seek to change the economic model.

His campaign, which he says calls for Yes to peace by voting No in the plebiscite, seeks to return to the negotiating table and achieve different terms.

Fernando Giraldo, a political expert from the Pontifical Xavierian University, told Xinhua on Sunday that the plebiscite has become a matter of "political life or death" for Uribe, who seeks to stand during the 2018 presidential election.

"It has become more than a matter of honour, it is about political survival as he has based his political platform on the peace agreement with the FARC. If he triumphs, he would have succeeded in changing the entire conversation," said the analyst.

Giraldo also warned that, if he loses, the Democratic Center would be likely to seek other mechanisms to defeat the peace agreement between the government and the FARC.

For example, "one of their campaign strategies would be to promise the people that, if elected in 2018, they would reverse the agreement. They will turn that election into a fight against the rebel group, which would be a political movement by then," he said.

Recent polls have shown a clear lead for the Yes camp but the opposition has not given up yet.

During the official signing ceremony on Sept. 26, during which Santos will host foreign dignitaries such as President Raul Castro of Cuba, Uribe will be holding a rally of his own.

Named "Colombia Does Not Surrender", the rally will happen at the same time and see a march against the peace deal.

"President Santos is preparing a party, an extravagance, an abuse in Cartagena. Instead of this costly show on Monday, we want debate and arguments," commented Uribe.
U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump delivers a speech during a luncheon meeting of the Economic Club of New York in New York, the United States, Sept. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

By Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are headed toward their first presidential debate on Monday, at a time of ongoing tensions between blacks and police.

The two will lock horns on the debate stage on Monday, amid ongoing protests in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina that have seen a dozen police officers injured by protesters.

The protests happened after a black man was shot and killed by police, the latest in a string of high-profile incidents in recent years in which police have shot young, black men. In this most recent case, the police officer himself was black, but many cases have seen white officers shoot African American young men, giving the issue a racial component as well.

The two candidates view the situation differently. Republican candidate Trump has touted himself as the law-and-order candidate, and has on numerous occasions expressed support for the police. At the polar opposite side of the spectrum, Democratic candidate Clinton has called for social justice.

One of the topics to be discussed on Monday' s presidential debate will be the general direction of the country, and Trump is likely to argue that he is the man to set things straight in a chaotic world.

"Trump will take advantage of urban unrest to say things are out of control and the nation needs a strong leader to restore order. He will say the police are under attack by protesters who don't understand law enforcement," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

These appeal well with Trump's white voters who don't like disorder and who fear minority protesters taking over urban streets, West said.

Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that Trump understands how those law-and-order trends tap into support from his base.

The race is now reverting back to a more traditional, highly-partisan election where both sides are concerned about shoring up their base or attracting people who generally wouldn' t vote rather than reaching towards the increasingly small pool of moderates and independents.

Trump has to carefully navigate a path where he talks about law and order in a way that continues to generate enthusiasm among his base. At the same, he should avoid making comments that are seen as antagonistic or racist, which alienate the more moderate and pragmatic Republican voters, Mahaffee said.

Indeed, Trump has in recent weeks taken on a more presidential demeanor, shying away from the off-the-cuff and obnoxious remarks that have been characteristic of his campaign up until the last few weeks, But it' s not certain that he can resist the temptation to spout off at Clinton during the first debate.

For her part, Clinton will likely take the social justice stance on the issue of blacks and police. And that will likely show up in Monday's debate, although she is also likely to go after Trump about his controversial rhetoric, which some have deemed to be racist.

"I think Clinton will continue to make this debate about Trump' s temperament, where a lot of 'law and order' comments can also be seen as racist and authoritarian," Mahaffee said.

Furthermore, Clinton is desperate to rebuild the Obama coalition of 2012, which drew strong support from minorities and urban communities, he said.

This allowed Obama to win the reelection, while carrying the fewest number of counties across the nation in electoral history. This reflected the strength of his turnout and support from urban areas-across demographic groups, he argued.

"For Hillary to address the law and order issue, I think she needs to continue to emphasize that law and order cannot be an aegis for racism, isolationism, and authoritarianism," Mahaffee said.
CANBERRA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese investment mogul behind the vetoed 285 million U.S. dollar bid for Australia's largest pastoral land holding said he had "given up" the dealing with Australia, urging the government not to "close the door" on foreign money.

Charles Liu, founder and chairman of billion dollar company HAO Capital, told local media on Monday that the MalcolmTurnbull's government's "protectionist" attitude toward Chinese and foreign investment would continue to discourage investors from taking their money there.

Liu, who has invested in Australia for 20 years, said the process surrounding the failed bid for pastoral company S. Kidman and Co. was reminiscent of the "unfortunate trend" of closing the door on Chinese money by other Western nations.

"(The government) should have made clear at the beginning (of the Kidman & Co. bidding process) -- if that were the case - that a Chinese bid would not be acceptable," Liu told The Australian newspaper.

"If this is the attitude of the Australian government, one has to totally give up on the Kidman deal."

He added that Australia's previous Tony Abbott-led federal government which put together the historic China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) "was quite supportive, and then came the change of the administration".

Liu said Australia seemed to be heading down the same path as other Western nations which have been hesitant to fully embrace a global marketplace and economy, adding that his concerns were shared by "many people in China".

"This is an unfortunate trend developing in Western countries today, with de-globalization and xenophobia, populism and protectionism on the march," Liu said.

"Domestic politics in the West, including in Australia, is increasingly heading in that direction the massive change under way in countries' ethnic composition."

"It's unfortunate that entrepreneurial and hardworking Chinese people get caught up in this negativity, everyone being lumped together."

Liu said Australia should continue to embrace Chinese money as "there aren't so many people with deep pockets any more except the Chinese".

"If people take a positive attitude, then an overwhelming amount of business can be done," he said.
By Feng Yingqiu

NAY PYI TAW, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi returned home Sunday night from an official visit to the United States from Sept. 16 to 24.

According to a press release of the Foreign Ministry on Monday shortly after her return, Aung San Suu Kyi held talks with U.S. President Barack Obama and secretaries of the administration and lawmakers during her visit and attended the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York where she delivered a general policy speech.

Suu Kyi participated in the ratification ceremony of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and delivered a public speech at the event organized by the Asia Society, the release said.

After the bilateral meeting between Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi, a statement that the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, a preferential tariff system, would be reinstated, was made.

The GSP program will be reinstated effective on Nov. 13 this year after a 60-day Congressional-notification period. This decision will give Myanmar the opportunity to export nearly 5,000 products to the United States duty-free, according to the statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative in Washington.

The United States suspended the GSP benefits to Myanmar in 1989 due to labor rights concerns. In 2013, Myanmar began engaging in negotiations for the reinstatement of the GSP, compiling the GSP eligibility criteria.

After the recent bilateral meeting, Obama said that the United States is preparing to lift remaining sanctions on Myanmar and will complete the process soon.

The joint statement by both countries said that the United States will also terminate the national emergency with respect to Myanmar, which has been in place since 1997, and will revoke the executive order-based framework of the Myanmar sanctions program.

According to the statement, the move represented Washington's recognition of the progress towards democratic transition that Myanmar has achieved including through the election of a civilian-led government.

When in Boston, Suu Kyi accepted the 2016 Humanitarian of the Year Award at the University of Harvard, the release also said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar hailed the U.S. recent lifting of sanctions and reinstatement of the Generalized System of Preferences program which will create better investment environment for the Asian country, vowing to make appropriate preparations in order to maximize the benefits of the recent policy adjustments.

The United States also lifted restrictions on Myanmar's financial institutions and certain transactions related to U.S. individuals living in the country were allowed in May this year. Seven state-owned enterprises and three state-owned banks were removed from the U.S. blacklist.

Overall the United States has only 17 businesses with trade here amounting to 248.216 million U.S. dollars as of August of this fiscal year 2016-2017. Bilateral trade relations restarted after a civilian government was formed in 2011. The bilateral trade value reached 196.902 million U.S. dollars in the previous fiscal year 2015-2016, which is comparatively less than with other countries.

During the former government's era, U.S. investments were made through third-party countries due to restrictions, limiting Myanmar's access to trade and income.

Before her trip to New York, the state counselor had visited London where she met with 12 Myanmar ambassadors to Europe, Middle-East and Africa and also held talks with leaders of Britain, the release added.

It was Suu Kyi's second visit to Washington in nearly four years after the first one in 2012.

Myanmar-U.S. relations started to improve in 2012 with President Obama having visited the country for two times in November 2012 and November 2014 and then Myanmar President U Thein Sein made a reciprocal visit to the White House in May 2013.

The U.S. officially began lifting some sanctions after a civilian government was formed in 2011. In December 2015, the United States temporarily lifted such restrictions as general license 20 for trade transactions through airports and harbors for six months.
A Su-30 fighter and an H-6K bomber of the Chinese Air Force take part in a drill, Sept. 25, 2016. The Chinese Air Force on Sunday sent more than 40 aircraft of various types to the West Pacific, via the Miyako Strait, for a routine drill on the high seas, a spokesperson said. Bombers and fighters of the PLA Air Force also conducted routine patrol in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). (Xinhua/Tian Ning)

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- More than three years ago, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made improving the army's combat strength a major focus in building a strong army, an idea that has since been the key goal of the military.

At a meeting with national lawmakers from the armed forces on March 11, 2013, Xi, also chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC), raised the capability to win wars as one of the fundamentals of building a strong army, the others being the command of the Party and having a proper working style.

Over the past three-plus years, the military's day-to-day training, military drills and its overall reform have all targeted honing combat strength.

From 2013 to 2015, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted at least 383 drills of various kinds, and the drills all focused on honing real combat capability.

On Sunday, the Chinese Air Force sent over 40 aircraft of various models to the West Pacific, via the Miyako Strait, for a routine drill to test high-seas real combat capability.

The PLA Army deployed for the first time a full infantry battalion for a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan in 2015. The PLA Navy has been conducting regular high-seas training missions.

Servicemen and women have also been plunged into non-military operations, including earthquake, flood and other disaster relief and rescue.

The military has been slashing expenditures on unnecessary items so that more funding goes to weaponry, battlefield construction, education and training.

In 2015, 24,934 public vehicles were cut. Administration costs above the corps level were cut by at least half compared to the previous year.

In March 2014, the CMC issued a guidance demanding the level of military training be raised to actual combat standards to improve the army's capabilities.

The guidance, which stressed that strengthening combat readiness should be viewed as a top priority, outlined concepts, principles, major tasks and measures to raise the level of military training.

Following the requirements, the PLA Army has carried out extensive evaluation of its combat capability. The navy has boosted fierceness and complexity of drills.

The Air Force removed restrictions on airspace used in drills and the PLA Rocket Force troops expanded their manoeuvering range and worked on their ability to deter and strike across the entire defense area.

The military has also been correcting irregularities that may render drills and training ineffective. Over the past three-plus years, more than 600 officers have been subject to punishment such as postponed promotion due to not treating drills or training seriously.

On Dec. 31, 2015, China inaugurated the general command for the Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the PLA Rocket Force and the PLA Strategic Support Force. It is part of the overall reform of the PLA's organization.

On Feb. 1, Xi conferred military flags to the five newly established theater commands of the PLA, and demanded the building of a joint battle command system that is "absolutely loyal, resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding, and courageous and capable of winning wars."

Through the reform, a two-tiered command system, including the CMC and theater commands, was established, a move to help boost the CMC's role in strategic command and better coordinate various services with joint command by five theater commands.

By cutting 300,000 standing troops and streamlining of the multi-layered command system, China's military will optimize its structure and the officer-to-soldier ratio.
CHENGDU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua ) -- Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, is set to open nine new direct international flights, local authorities said Monday.

Agreements with the city government and airline companies from home and abroad were signed at the 22th World Route Development Conference on Sunday.

The flights will go to Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, Madrid, Sochi, Addis Ababa, Dubai, Moscow and Auckland.

All the routes are expected to open steadily over the following year.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and Cuban President Raul Castro witness the signing of some 20 cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication, environment protection, and inspection and quarantine after their talks at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cubans from all walks of life are paying close attention to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit and highly value the island country's relations with China, expecting bilateral relations will be enhanced through high-level exchanges of visits and economic cooperation.

State media have highlighted Li's visit to Havana with photos and reports. Besides major news outlets on the island, people in the street have a lot to say about the visit.

Silvio Alvarez, a 73-year-old Havana resident, told Xinhua, "relations between Cuba and China are very good, in recent years economic cooperation has increased substantially. The collaboration with China is important to many sectors of the country such as transport, trade and industries."

In his talks with Cuban leader Raul Castro, Premier Li said China wants to focus on development and cooperation with Cuba, support the island's industrialization process and cooperate with Cuba in infrastructural construction and industrial equipment production.

These initiatives have been welcomed by the Cubans who have seen Chinese-made equipment as well as buses, home appliances, clothing and Chinese technology increase on the island.

"It's the first time a Chinese premier visits Cuba and I believe it is a trip of great connotation. Both countries should continue working on areas that positively impact the Cuban economy and we are on a good path to deepen our relations," said Carmen Mejias, a retired teacher.

On Saturday, Castro and Li witnessed the signing of a series of cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication and environmental protection, among others.

For Cubans it is very important to continue strengthening ties with China, a long-time friend that shares many political and social views with Cuba.

"Cuba's relations with China have been very stable for many years. Today China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner and the visit of the Chinese premier will deepen bilateral ties. I think this visit will be very important for Cuba because it will reaffirm economic, political and social links with Beijing," said Mario Hernandez, a 58-year-old worker.

The impact of bilateral cooperation in the daily lives of Cubans is also felt as thousands of Chinese-made Yutong buses run around the country, induction cookers and many other home appliances are sold at stores and LED lights illuminate the main avenues of Havana and other cities.

"There have been many contributions from China in the last few years and it's a reliable trading partner. Our lives are better today because we have access to Chinese-made equipment and technology, thanks to the active cooperation between both countries," said Roberto Souto, a Havana resident.

Miriam Legon, a Cuban state worker, also referred to the increasingly close ties with the Asian nation.

"There isn't a Cuban who does not experience firsthand the impact of this relationship. In my house we cook food with a Chinese induction cooker and watch TV with better quality thanks to a digital signal decoder built by a Chinese company," she said.

Young Cubans believe China's development and good will can help the island overcome a series of economic obstacles, particularly due to the U.S. embargo.

"This visit by the premier will boost bilateral links. China is one of the top technology makers in the world and Cuba is in need of technological advances in all areas of the economy," Victor Fernandez, a young Cuban, told Xinhua.

Li arrived in Havana Saturday for a three-day official visit to Cuba, the first such visit by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960.
SYDNEY, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A seriously ill Australian grandfather who sexually abused two generations of his family over a 30-year period is facing the prospect of dying behind bars, Fairfax Media reported on Monday.

The 78-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, confessed in the Wollongong District Court near Sydney on Friday to molesting his daughter in the late 1960s, his eldest granddaughter in the mid 1980s and his youngest granddaughter in 2000.

All of the victims were around the age of five when the incest began.

It was reported that the abuse had continued over a significant period of time, and,however, was never reported to police.

The crimes only came to light in 2013 during a discussion between the mother and both her daughters.

The court heard the man, from the Illawarra in New South Wales, suffered from an array of health matters including heart disease, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and osteoporosis and had the possibility of dying in prison.

The man's lawyers sought a non-custodial punishment. However, Judge Andrew Haesler who was presiding the case has sentenced the man to an overall jail term for three and a half years.

He fixed a non-parole period of only 12 months after finding the man no longer posed a risk to community safety.

The man will only be eligible for parole next September.
by Matt Walsh

CANBERRA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Just one of Australia's 150 electorates has a majority of voters against legalizing same-sex marriage, a new study has found.

The government, however, has warned the opposition not to block the public vote legislation as it would push back the landmark cause until at least 2020.

The Labor opposition has said it would block legislation for a public vote, or plebiscite, as it could affect the mental health of LGBTI Australians, but despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of the legislation, the University of Melbourne has found it would pass easily if it goes ahead.

The study found opposition to changing the Marriage Act ranges from just over 50 percent in rural Queensland and New South Wales-based electorates, to less than 10 percent in more progressive, inner-city electorates in major cities Melbourne and Sydney.

Researchers used modeling from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Vote Compass survey from 2013 and found just a third of voters were opposed to same-sex marriage.

Political scientist Shaun Ratcliff from Monash University told Fairfax Media that while the study used three-year-old data and was not a direct survey of voting Australians, it comfortably showed that Australians were in favor of change.

"Based on our data and other polling, it appears a plebiscite would pass easily," he said.

"But at the same time there has been a majority in favor of same-sex marriage for quite a long time now. I don't think anything's inevitable but suspect on this particular issue we're going to see same-sex marriage legalized. It's just a matter of when."

Also on Monday, the government has yet again warned the Labor opposition against voting down the plebiscite legislation when it is introduced by the government, Attorney-General George Brandis told Fairfax Media that should the legislation get voted down, same-sex marriage would be placed on backburners until at least 2020.

"The government is prepared to negotiate with the Labor Party in good faith because we are committed to resolving this matter by a plebiscite. That was endorsed by the Australian people at the last election," Brandis said.

"And if (they) favor reform to the Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to marry then this is now the only feasible path to that outcome for many years to come."

Brandis said the government was in favor of giving Australians the right to vote on the legislation, and said it would be a shame if Labor robbed Australians of that right.

"It would be a real tragedy to have three marriage equality bills and no legalization of marriage equality," he said.

"We want this to be cross party and it needs to pass by whatever pathway."

Labor has consistently opposed the plebiscite, which would cost up to 100 million U.S. dollars, as they fear the vicious "no" campaign would have a negative psychological effect on the mental health of young LGBTI members of the community.

The party has suggested a conscience vote at the parliament, while same-sex marriage advocates have supported Labor's position, calling for MPs to make decisions and do what they were voted into parliament to do.
MOSCOW, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia may extend its food embargo against Western countries for another five years, Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev said here Sunday.

"We would like to extend it for another five years. But even if it is lifted, nothing serious will happen," Tkachev said in an interview with the state television channel Rossiya 24, referring to the food embargo which is supposed to be lifted in late 2017.

Lifting of the embargo at the end of 2017 will not have a negative impact on Russia's agricultural market as its products are competitive with big support from the state, Tkachev said.

The average profitability of an agricultural company is about 20 percent with state support, and 10 percent without it, he said.

On Aug. 6, 2014, Russia imposed a one-year embargo on food products from the European Union (EU) countries and others, in response to sanctions imposed against the country over its involvement in Ukraine.

Russia imposed restrictions on Ukraine on Jan. 1, 2016 after the latter established a free trade zone with the EU.

Russia has repeatedly extended the food embargo. On June 29, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree extending the embargo to the end of 2017.
Students greet the Chinese Arctic expedition team in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 26, 2016. China's seventh Arctic expedition using the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong returned to its research base in Shanghai on Monday after a 78-day mission. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

SHANGHAI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's seventh Arctic expedition using the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong returned to its research base in Shanghai on Monday after a 78-day mission.

Xuelong set out from Shanghai on July 11 and has since traveled 13,000 nautical miles to explore marine areas such as the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea and the Canada Basin.

The team traveled as far as 82.53 degrees north latitude, and for the first time explored the Mendeleev Ridge in the Arctic Ocean.

Scientists studied marine meteorology, geology and chemistry, and surveyed seven ice stations, while the expedition smoothly completed all its scheduled tasks, said Li Yuansheng, chief scientist on the expedition.

The expedition team laid several observation buoys in various seas and explored deep stratums by creating an artificial seismic wave.

Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, was equipped with two helicopters, research support and emergency equipment during the expedition. The Ukraine-built ship was first put into use in 1994 and can break ice that is 1.2 meters thick.
KATHMANDU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua)-- Nepal has requested China to consider expanding its railway network to different border points besides the planned expansion to Kerung (Geelong port), said a senior official of Nepal's Commerce Ministry.

China plans to extend its Qinghai-Tibet Railway network up to Geelong Port, the nearest Chinese town from Nepal's Rasuwagadhi border point.

"We asked the Chinese authorities in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to consider expanding its railway to other border points during the Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee meeting held in Lhasa last week," said Rabi Shankar Sainju, a joint secretary of Nepal's Commerce Ministry, who led the Nepali delegation for the talks.

Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee is a mechanism formed to promote bilateral trade between Nepal and China's TAR which also works on settling bilateral trade issues.

Its meeting has been taking place every year in each country alternatively.

"We proposed China to consider connecting more border points such as Hilsa, Korala and Kimathanka beside Rasuwagadhi with its railway," said Sainu, adding that such proposal was made considering the ongoing homework to sign the protocol to Nepal-China Transit Transport Agreement signed in March.

During the former Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to China six months ago, the two countries had signed transit agreement which has given Nepal an alternative transit in addition to India.

Nepalese officials believe that more connectivity at border points will give more options for Nepal once the transit agreement is implemented in practice.

As the TAR will be vital for Nepal to use Chinese territory for an access to the sea, Nepal also sought more involvement of local authorities of Tibet in the process of developing the protocol, according to Sainju, who also heads a Nepal government's team to develop the protocol.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed on establishing border area economic zones on both sides.
Newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo (L) meets with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong (R) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 26, 2016. Xiong Bo met with Hor Namhong on Monday, discussing ways to further enhance ties and cooperation between the two countries. (Xinhua/Sovannara)



PHNOM PENH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Xiong Bo, newly-appointed Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong on Monday, discussing ways to further enhance ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Namhong said both sides exchanged views on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation which was elevated in 2010, and explored ways to further promote relations and cooperation between Cambodia and China.

He said he informed the ambassador about the plummeting rice prices in Cambodia, which had been seriously affecting farmers, and called on China to help buy Cambodian rice as soon as possible.

China has recently agreed to increase its rice imports from Cambodia to 200,000 tons for the harvest season 2016-2017, from 100,000 tons, he said.

"China's purchase will be a great help to our farmers," said Namhong, who is the ex-foreign minister.

For his part, Xiong vowed to further deepen all rounds of cooperation between China and Cambodia during his tenure. He said the Chinese government always paid high attention to helping Cambodia boost rice sector.

Xiong succeeded Bu Jianguo, whose three-year diplomatic mission in Cambodia came to an end last month.

He presented credentials to Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Sept. 20.
by Chris Dalby, He Shan, Cesar Marino Garcia

BOGOTA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- For many Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters, the 52-year war with Bogota seems like an eternity and the scars still run very deep.

"They shot me six times in the left arm. They tore me apart. My arm could not be rebuilt," David Preciado, a member of the FARC's 43rd Front, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the organization's tenth national guerrilla conference.

The oldest militia in the region now is longing for peace.

FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez told the conference that a victory of peace had been achieved after more than five decades of war.

"The meaning of a final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace is even more important than it appears ... For the FARC and our people, our greatest satisfaction is and will always be to have won peace," he said.

At the week-long conference that closed Friday, at least 1,500 FARC members invited from all fronts discussed and approved the peace agreement reached between the Colombian government and the FARC. President Juan Manuel Santos and Jimenez will sign the deal on Monday.

Ivan Marquez, a member of the FARC's commanding group, said Friday that "we inform the country, the governments and people of the world that the guerrillas, delegated to this conference, have given their unanimous backing to the final Havana agreement."

Moreover, the conference is considered the most important ever for the FARC as it marked the beginning of drawing a political future for the organization.

Over the years, the FARC has been labelled a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, an enemy by successive Colombian governments and a defender by certain rural communities.

Today, the organization is on the cusp of gaining a new title -- a political party.

Marquez announced at the meeting that the FARC was expanding its central committee from 31 to 61 members, who face the challenge of outlining the manner in which the group will transform into a new political movement.

In a statement, the FARC said that another plenary meeting would be held to further define the political transition and the new name of the group. It will be held after the Oct. 2 plebiscite in which the Colombian people will vote on whether to accept or reject the peace deal.

A poll by Gallup Colombia carried out between Sept. 14-18 found that a majority of Colombians were in favor of the deal, with 67.6 percent planning to vote Yes.

However, should the peace agreement be approved by the Colombian people, FARC members will have to begin the transition to specific protection areas overseen by the United Nations (UN) where they will give up their weapons.

The FARC will have a period of 180 days to complete their disarmament. Once complete, the guns will be melted down and used as part of three monuments as a homage to peace.

Besides, this stage must include protection from the state against continuing paramilitary activity.

This point was a major topic during the meeting as the FARC hoped that continuing violence from right-wing groups would not disrupt the peace process.

For many guerrilla fighters, including Nicolas Garcias, the paramilitary groups are the main challenge for the peace process.

Garcias said 51 rural leaders have been assassinated in Colombia so far in 2016. He said investigations attributed the majority of these to paramilitary groups, who are against the return of lands as pledged by the government.

Despite these fears, many rank and file members of the FARC plan to integrate themselves into civil society and actively participate in politics, learning to juggle their continuing loyalty to the movement and their new social roles.

"I will do what the party says. I am not thinking of breaking with the party. We succeeded with them and we are ending with them. If the party tells me to go and sow yucca, bananas or maize, I will do it," Preciado, a guerrilla fighter who lost an arm in a fight with the military, told Xinhua.
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The supply-demand mismatch in China's coal industry has not seen a substantial change despite prices rebounding this year, an industry association said.

"There are still many uncertainties in the coal market, and we should not be blindly optimistic," Wang Xianzheng, head of the China National Coal Association said.

The cautious tone came as coal prices have risen in recent months amid a government campaign to cut ineffective production. The price increase has seen some local governments and companies wavering in their efforts to cut capacity.

The Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index, a benchmark index, stood at 554 yuan (83 U.S. dollars) per tonne by September 21, a price increase of 49.3 percent since the beginning of the year.

At a press conference last Friday, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) attributed the price rise to increasing coal consumption, a crackdown on illegal production, as well as transport and logistics problems.

But with coal demand set to retreat amid government efforts to consume cleaner energy, the struggles in the industry will continue, Wang said.

By the end of July, China's major coal producers had 3.66 trillion yuan of debts, up 4.7 percent year on year.

To reassure the market, the NDRC said China has plenty of policy tools to stabilize rapidly rising coal prices. If prices rises continue, the government will take steps to increase supply, while ensuring capacity-cutting efforts are not weakened, the NDRC said

China is the world's largest consumer of coal. The industry has long been plagued by overcapacity and has felt the pinch more over the past two years as the economy cooled and demand fell.

During the first eight months of the year, China's coal output fell 10.2 percent year on year to 2.18 billion tonnes. But official data also shows that as of the end of July, China had only achieved 38 percent of its coal cutting targets.

China plans to cut coal capacity by half a billion tonnes in the next few years, with vast funds set aside to help displaced workers.

This year, the government aims to cut coal capacity by 250 million tonnes.
VIENTIANE, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lao officials said the country's mills need to improve rice quality as to meet the needs for exports to China, Lao daily Vientiane Times reported Monday.

Only a mill named IDP Rice Mill in Savannakhet province of central Laos is able to produce rice of sufficient quality to meet the standard required by Chinese buyers, said the report.

There are many rice mills around the country but they are inefficient and the finished product is of low quality. Based on a nationwide survey, only the IDP Rice Mill in Savannakhet has been able to meet Chinese standards.

Lao Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Bounkhouang Khambounheuang, told to reporters on last Friday that Laos began selling rice to China last year. So far, about 3,700 tons of sticky rice and nonglutinous rice have been shipped.

"The Xuanye Company of China received an import quota from the Chinese government to buy rice from Laos," he said. Last year Xuanye was authorized by the Chinese government to import 8,000 tons of rice from Laos and this year has ordered 7,200 tons.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said the rice grown in Laos had pure white grains, was soft and had a pleasant aroma.

Although the rice grown by Lao farmers is of good quality, rice mills must maintain high standards if they hope to export rice to China. Mills that use low quality methods will need to improve their operations and the machinery they use.

This year Lao rice went on display for the first time at the annual China-Asean Expo. The 13th Expo was staged from September 11-14 at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Centre, alongside the 13th China-Asean Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, Quangxi, China.

Lao government has earmarked 10 provinces for the cultivation of rice for export and to ensure food security.

To increase crop yields for food security and commercial gain, the government is continuing to build more irrigation schemes using its own budget and low-interest loans. Higher yields are helping to contribute significantly to socio-economic development and poverty reduction, according to the report.

More than 778,000 hectares of wet season rice and over 126,600 hectares of dry season rice are grown annually in Laos. However, about 226,000 hectares of rice fields in flatland areas are totally dependent on rainfall because irrigation channels have not yet been built in those areas.
JAKARTA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian transport ministry classified that the object, which exploded on the air of East Java of western Indonesia on Monday and fell to a residential area, is not a plane, spokesman of the ministry said.

Spokesman of Transport Ministry Herni Pramuhardjo released the statement following a media report saying the object suspected as a plane exploded at about 10:00 a.m. Jakarta time and the debris fell into Gili Ginting sub-district and to the sea.

"Hoax, the information that it was a plane is hoax. Because, report from authorities in Surabaya there is no a plane losing contact on its air," Pramuhardjo told Xinhua via phone, referring to the provincial city of East Java province.

However, the spokesman said the object could not be precisely identified.
JERUSALEM, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said Monday its troops shut down three unauthorized weapons manufacturing plants in the West Bank and arrested 19 Palestinians.

The raid took place early on Monday morning in the Jenin district, in northern West Bank, and in Dhahiriya, a city south of Hebron.

"Overnight, security forces conducted several operations in order to uncover and seize illicit weaponry," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

In Jenin, the forces closed two weapons manufacturing workshops and seized four pistols, rifle parts, magazines and ammunition, according to the spokesperson.

Another factory was uncovered and shut down in Dhahiriya, the spokesperson said, adding that an improvised rifle was found in the village of Beit Surif, west of Hebron.

The raid followed an operation in August, in which Israeli forces raided seven Palestinian weapons mills in the Hebron and Bethlehem area, in what the military said was the largest crackdown of its kind over the last year.

Israeli forces also arrested 19 Palestinians overnight in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the army said in a separate notice.

"Fifteen of the detainees are suspected of involvement in popular terror activity and violent riots," the statement said without elaboration.

The raid came amid a year-long wave of violence involving stabbing, car-ramming, and shooting attacks, which has claimed the lives of at least 230 Palestinians and 34 Israelis. Israel says the most of the Palestinians were killed amidst attacks or attempted attacks.

The Palestinians and human rights organizations say that Israel is using excessive force to quell the unrest, and in many cases, the Israeli forces kill Palestinian youths who could be stopped without using lethal force.

In several other cases, Palestinians were killed because they were mistaken to be attackers, according to Palestinians and rights groups.

Israeli leaders accuse the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest, while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, home to more than 5 million Palestinians, where they wish to establish their state.
An elephant is seen at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, July 13, 2016. Elephant is among Africa's "big five" along with lion, cheetah, buffalo and rhino. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Africa's overall elephant population has seen the worst declines in 25 years, mainly due to poaching over the past 10 years, according to a report.

The African Elephant Status Report was launched by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) at the ongoing 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spices of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Based on population estimates from a wide range of sources, including aerial surveys and elephant dung counts, the estimates for 2015 were 93,000 lower than in 2006. However, including 18,000 from previously uncounted populations, the real decline from estimates is considered to be closer to 111,000.

The continental total is now thought to be about 415,000 elephants, although there may be an additional 117,000 to 135,000 elephants in areas not systematically surveyed.

The surge in poaching for ivory that began approximately a decade ago, the worst that Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s, has been the main driver of the decline, while habitat loss poses an increasingly serious, long-term threat to the species, according to the report.

"These new numbers reveal the truly alarming plight of the majestic elephant, one of the world's most intelligent animals and the largest terrestrial mammal alive today," said IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. "It is shocking but not surprising that poaching has taken such a dramatic toll on this iconic species."

This report provides further scientific evidence of the need to scale up efforts to combat poaching, he said.

"Nevertheless, these efforts must not detract from addressing other major and increasingly devastating threats such as habitat loss," Andersen said.

File photo provided by Save The Elephants shows a bull elephant named Morgan at Tana River Delta in Kenya, Dec. 16, 2015. (Xinhua/Chris Leadismo)

With over 70 percent of the estimated African elephants, Southern Africa has by far the largest number of the species, approximately 293,000 elephants in systematically surveyed areas.

Eastern Africa holds about 86,000 (20 percent) estimated elephants, while Central Africa has about 24,000 estimated elephants (six percent). West Africa continues to hold the smallest regional population with approximately 11,000 (under three percent).

Eastern Africa, the region most affected by poaching, has experienced an almost 50 percent elephant population reduction, largely attributed to an over 60 percent decline in Tanzania's elephant population. Although some sites have recorded declines, elephant numbers have been stable or increasing since 2006 in Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, and range expansion has been reported in Kenya.

Central Africa's forest elephant population has been substantially affected by poaching for ivory since the 1990s. The Democratic Republic of Congo used to hold one of the most significant forest elephant populations in Africa, which has now been reduced to tiny remnants of its former size.

The savanna populations of Chad have taken heavy losses and those in the Central African Republic have almost completely disappeared.

The report is an authoritative source of knowledge about the numbers and distribution of African elephant populations across their 37 range states in sub-Saharan Africa.

It presents more than 275 new or updated estimates for individual elephant populations across Africa, with over 180 of these arising from systematic surveys.

The report summarizes for the first time in almost a decade elephant numbers at the continental, regional and national levels, and examines changes in population estimates at the site level.
Staff members of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) stack elephant tusks into pyres at the burning site of the Nairobi National Park in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, April 20, 2016. (Xinhua/John Okoyo)

NAIROBI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government said it would lobby for a total ban on ivory trade during the 17th meeting of conference of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which kicked off in South Africa on Saturday.

State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said Sunday that international efforts are needed to deal with illegal trade in ivory products that he said drives supply and demand.

"The trade is simple. Demand for illegal products drives supply. Deal with the trade, requires aggressive law enforcement, effective elephant ivory and rhino horn movement control and influential market dis-incentivization," he told journalists in Nairobi.

"So, we will aggressively seek a total ban on ivory trade at this Johannesburg CITES meeting," said Esipisu during his weekly briefings.

He said the East African nation will lobby the international community to back its proposals on putting an end to trade in trophies during the high-level summit.

He said Nairobi remains committed to playing its rightful role in ensuring that international trade in endangered species does not threaten survival of wildlife species like elephants.

Kenya is a member of the African elephant coalition that has lobbied the international community to support a ban on ivory trade ahead of CITES meeting in Johannesburg.

The coalition will submit a set of proposals at the CITES meeting calling on governments and multilateral agencies to strengthen protection of elephants through outlawing trade in trophies.

David from Save the Elephants (STE) watches elephants at Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, March 1, 2016. A group of elephant defenders have watched the local elephant population in Kenya's Samburu region day and night for the past 18 years. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

Some African countries, however, have voiced opposition against a total trade ban and vowed to block the motion during the summit.

The Namibian government, for instance, have said it did not support the motion to close ivory markets as it is a national sovereign right for a country to decided what to do with its natural resources.

Briefing the media in Windhoek last week, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said they would rather have the ivory market regulated.

"We have the interests of rural communities at heart, with elephants being one of the most important and valuable assets," Shifeta said.

Namibia, Shifeta said, has been consistent over the years on CITES issues as laid down in the Constitution on how to use wildlife resources sustainably to the benefit of all people.

"We have a good record of effectively implementing CITES and our wildlife populations are thriving. We also have one of the best examples in the world of community-based conservation and there is even more wildlife on State land," he said.

Shifeta said while Namibia is currently not conducting any ivory trade, it can offer some solutions to pressing problems including the financing of conservation.
WELLINGTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Official environment watchdogs in New Zealand and Australia will gather in Wellington Monday to discuss how to closer align regulations across the Tasman.

Identifying opportunities where a shared regulatory environment might work were considered by the Australasian heads of environmental regulatory agencies at the meeting hosted by New Zealand's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"In essence, the forum is committed to producing a coherent Australasian regulatory environment covering land, air, ground and marine water, noise and, where relevant, radiation and biodiversity," EPA chief executive Allan Freeth said in a statement.

The forum was in line with New Zealand and Australia's Closer Economic Relations agreement, which included fostering New Zealand's involvement in various Australian government committees.

The two-day conference would also feature a keynote address by New Zealand's Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright.
MOSCOW, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russian inspectors will start regular observation flights over U.S. territory Monday under the Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

"The observation flights will be carried out between Sept. 26 and Oct. 1, from the Open Skies airfield Travis (in California) with a maximum range of 4,250 kilometers," the ministry said Monday.

It said Russian aircraft with U.S. experts on board will monitor U.S. compliance with the treaty.

The observation flights are part of the confidence-building measures in Europe after the Cold War under the international Open Skies Treaty, which was signed in March 1992 and took effect beginning 2002. The treaty has currently 34 state parties, including Russia and most NATO members.
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Bank of Shanghai has been given permission for an IPO on the Shanghai bourse, the latest of China's small and medium-sized lenders to go public after nearly a decade of approval suspension.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced the decision Friday evening.

According to the bank's prospectus, it planned to raise at least 19 billion yuan (2.9 billion U.S. dollars) to replenish capital, the figure is likely to be at least halved as the authority only greenlighted a total of 15.5 million yuan for the bank and another 11 companies.

The second largest city commercial bank in China, Bank of Shanghai's annual profits have grown by an average of more than 20 percent for the last four years. It also owns four village banks, a funding company and a branch in Hong Kong.

China's city banks were formerly urban credit cooperatives, and unlike big commercial banks, they mainly serve small businesses and the regional economy.

Bank of Shanghai's application first applied for an IPO in 2008, but the procedure was suspended that year due to fears that such banks, often with poor risk control, may weigh on an A-share market that was already struggling. Frustrated by the restriction, many city banks turned to the Hong Kong market.

Approval resumed this year and,in June, the Bank of Jiangsu was the first city bank allowed to go public for eight years. Bank of Shanghai will be the fourth, and many more are still waiting for approval. There are more than 130 city commercial banks in China. Some banks that listed in Hong Kong are contemplating a return to the mainland market.

After the IPO, these banks can better serve small companies in need of cash, help the real economy and make financial reform easier, CSRC spokesperson Deng Ge told a press conference early this month.
WELLINGTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand authorities are monitoring the Yahoo hack that comprised up to 500 million user accounts with a view to changing the country's privacy laws, the Privacy Commissioner said Monday.

The hack affected a small portion of the 825,000 e-mail accounts that New Zealand telecom giant Spark provided to users through its partnership with Yahoo, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards said in a statement.

The hack exemplified the international nature of privacy, with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Irish Data Protection Commissioner already working together to make enquiries into the incident, he said.

It was not yet clear when Yahoo learned about the hack, which happened in 2014 and included names, e-mail addresses and security questions and answers used to reset passwords.

"When agencies lose customer data, they need to help those customers take steps to protect themselves by alerting them as quickly as possible," said Edwards.

"This is particularly true with a breach of this size and with such sensitive information."

Proposed reforms to the country's Privacy Act, including mandatory breach notification, were due to be tabled in the New Zealand Parliament in 2017.

"The fact that Yahoo may have known about the breach for a number of months before alerting the public shows why we need mandatory breach notification," said Edwards.

"Every day counts in a data breach and agencies need greater incentive to take a leaf out of Spark's book by promptly telling customers that their personal information has been compromised."

Spark said Monday that it was notified of the hack on Friday and staff have been analysing the data provided by Yahoo to identify the Spark customers who might be affected.

The number of e-mail addresses potentially at risk was 130,000, which was around 15 percent of its e-mail address base, said a statement from the company.
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese prosecutors have filed corruption indictments against former senior Tibet legislator Le Dake and former state-owned enterprises' senior executives Wang Tianpu, Si Xianmin, and Wang Shuaiting.

Le, former deputy head of the Standing Committee of Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress; Wang Tianpu, former general manager of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation; Si, former general manager of China Southern Airlines; and Wang Shuaiting, former vice chairman of China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Limited, are accused of accepting bribes in four separate cases.

Local prosecutors in Henan, Jiangxi and Guangdong have accused the four of taking advantage of their posts to seek benefits for others and of accepting "huge amounts" of money and gifts, according to a statement by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Monday.

Wang Tianpu is also accused of taking advantage of his position to seek illegal interests for others through other officials, according to the indictment.

Wang Tianpu and Wang Shuaiting have been indicted for embezzlement of public funds and property.
ANKARA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Two Turkish soldiers were killed and eight others wounded on Monday in an attack in southeastern Turkey by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Dogan News Agency reported.

A remotely detonated bomb hit a civilian-plated minibus the soldiers were riding on the Kiziltepe-Derik motorway in Derik, a district in the southeastern province of Mardin.

The attack came after clashes on Saturday with PKK militants in the rural areas of the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Sirnak, Dogan reported.

One soldier and one village guard were killed in the clashes.

Over 600 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq since July 2015, local media said.

More than 40,000 people have lost their lives in clashes with the PKK since 1984, when the group first started anti-government attacks.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Turkey.
NEW DELHI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Monday put eight satellites from one rocket into two different orbits, officials said.

The satellites were launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh at 9:12 a.m. (local time).

"India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), in its thirty-seventh flight (PSLV-C35), launches the 371 kg SCATSAT-1 for weather related studies and seven co-passenger satellites into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO)," said a statement issued by ISRO after the satellite launch.

The PSLV was carrying three satellites from India, three from Algeria, and one each from Canada and the United States.

"Co-passenger satellites are ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B, ALSAT-1N from Algeria, NLS-19 from Canada and Pathfinder-1 from USA as well as two satellites PRATHAM from IIT Bombay and PISAT from PES University, Bengaluru," said the statement.

According to ISRO, this was the first mission of PSLV in which it launched its payloads into two different orbits.

SCATSAT-1 was placed into a 720 km Polar SSO whereas, the two university and academic institute satellites, and the five foreign satellites will be placed into a 670 km polar orbit, officials said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to share the news of satellite launch and congratulated ISRO and students from Bengaluru and IIT Mumbai for their efforts.

"Our space scientists keep scripting history. Their innovative zeal has touched the lives of 125 crore Indians and made India proud worldwide," Modi wrote on Twitter.
SANAA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Shiite Houthi group and its ally of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's party have proposed a truce on the Saudi border, in return for a halt in Saudi-led airstrikes and an end to all-out blockade against Yemen, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported on Monday.

"Cessation of air, land and sea military operations by Saudi Arabia, as well as lifting all-out blockade on Yemen, is a prerequisite for stopping the (Houthi) war on the (Saudi) border," Houthi's top official Saleh al-Sammad said.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a mostly Arab military coalition against Houthis and Saleh's loyalists since March 2015 at the request of Yemen's internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Houthis, backed by Saleh's loyal forces, took over the capital Sanaa and half of the country's north in September 2014, forcing Hadi and his government into exile.

Previous peace talks brokered by the United Nations have collapsed. There were new attempts to resume negotiations.

Saudi-led airstrikes and fighting on the ground have since killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced about 3 million others, according to UN reports.
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday established a national fund for structural adjustment of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The fund has an estimated capital of 350 billion yuan (around 50 billion U.S. dollars) and will mainly invest in programs including scientific innovation, international operations and asset restructuring.

The fund will improve resource allocation and raise the efficiency of SOEs, Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, told the fund's founding conference.
HANOI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's agro-forestry-fishery export revenue is expected to reach 23.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2016, up 6 percent year-on-year, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Monday.

Among major agricultural export items, from January to September, the country is forecast to earn 1.69 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 3.76 million tons of rice, down 12.5 percent in value and 16.4 percent in volume year-on-year.

Average export price of rice in eight-month period reached 449 U.S. dollars per ton, up 4.3 percent year-on-year.

During nine-month period, Vietnam is estimated to rake in 2.48 billion U.S. dollars from selling 1.39 million tons of coffee abroad, up 22.1 percent in value and 38.9 percent in volume year-on-year.

Average export price of Vietnamese coffee stood at 1,774 U.S. dollars per ton, down 13.3 percent year-on-year.

Germany and the United States remained Vietnam's largest coffee consumers, with respective market shares of 15.3 percent and 13.3 percent.

During eight-month period, Vietnam witnessed sharp year-on-year increase in coffee export revenue to China (53.6 percent), the United States (45.1 percent) and Germany (32.9 percent) among others.

Meanwhile, exports of 845,000 tons of rubber is forecast to bring in 1.1 billion U.S. dollars for Vietnam during January-September period, registering an increase of 14.6 percent in volume and 1 percent in value year-on-year.

Average export price of Vietnamese rubber hit 1,255 U.S. dollars, down 13.6 percent year-on-year. During eight-month period, China and India were two major importers of Vietnamese rubber, making up 64.6 percent of the market share.

Also, Vietnam is likely to see increase in exports of tea, cashew nuts, and pepper to world markets.

At the same time, the country is expected to pocket 4.9 billion U.S. dollars from shipping wood and wood-related products abroad, down 0.1 percent year-on-year.

The United States, Japan and China were among major markets for Vietnamese wood in eight-month period, accounting for 68.8 percent of total export revenue of the item.

For fishery products, in the first nine months, Vietnam is likely to earn 4.93 billion U.S. dollars from seafood exports, up 4.3 percent year-on-year.

The United States, Japan, China and South Korea are four main importers of Vietnamese seafood, making up 53.7 percent of the total export revenue.
NAIROBI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan arrived in Nairobi on Monday for a state visit aimed at boosting trade and strengthening security cooperation.

"Jordan and Kenya are partners of long standing, and during his time here, President Kenyatta and His Majesty will focus their attention on discussions regarding security and counter-terrorism. They will also witness joint military exercises," said State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu.

Esipisu said that Kenyatta invited the Jordan leader in January when they discussed international efforts to confront terrorism and extremism.

"This visit will renew and strengthen that relationship," added the Esipisu.
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HANOI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is expected to welcome 7.265 million person-times of foreign tourists in the first nine months of 2016, up 25.7 percent year-on-year, said Vietnam National Administration of Tourism on Monday.

Among the figure, some 6.109 million person-times arrive in Vietnam by air, up 29.7 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, as many as 111,231 person-times and 1.045 million person-times of foreign visitors travel to Vietnam by sea and by road, respectively.

During the period, the country witnesses year-on-year increase in number of foreign visitors from most of its markets, including China's Hong Kong (up 79 percent), China (57.7 percent), South Korea (39.9 percent), Italy (31.1 percent), Spain (27.9 percent), Britain (23.1 percent) and China's Taiwan (15.7 percent) among others, said the administration on its website.

At the same time, Vietnam is estimated to receive 48.8 million person-times of domestic visitors in nine months. The country collects 297.161 trillion Vietnamese dong (13.33 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue from domestic and international tourists, up 20.2 percent year-on-year.
HAVANA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) --Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has wrapped up his trip to Cuba aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation.

Li's trip to Havana, the first official visit to Cuba by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960, has attracted attention from the world's influential media.

Reuters underlined the business deals Li and Cuban President Raul Castro signed when Li visited the island country following President Xi Jinping 's visit in 2014.

"The two leaders oversaw the signing of around 30 agreements on economic cooperation in various sectors," the British news agency quoted the Cuban state media as saying.

Screenshot from Reuters' website. (Xinhua)

The Associated Press reported the welcoming ceremony Castro held for Li.

" Li was greeted at Jose Marti International Airport by First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other Cuban officials. The Chinese premier then attended a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday at the Monument to Jose Marti, overlooking the iconic Revolution Square in central Havana, " the mainstream U.S. news agency reported.

Screenshot of the Associated Press report. (Xinhua)

South China Morning Post focused on the economic fruits the two leaders reaped during this visit.

"Premier Li Keqiang said China wants to expand economic cooperation with Cuba as he signed deals for business, debt cancellations and new loans during his landmark visit to the lone communist state in the Americas," the new outlet reported.
DHAKA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- With three bodies recovered Monday morning, death toll has risen to 39 in a factory fire in Bangladesh more than two weeks ago, according to local sources.

"Three bodies charred beyond recognition have been recovered from the rubble of Tampaco Foils Limited factory on Monday," said a local administration official, who did not like to be named.

A boiler explosion reportedly resulted in the devastating fire at a packaging factory in Tongi on the outskirts of the country's capital Dhaka on Sept. 10 at about 6:00 a.m. (local time).

Authorities had earlier put the number of deaths at 36.

Bangladesh Army personnel have also joined the search operation at the factory which collapsed like a sandwich.

At least 24 workers were killed on the first day of the explosion-triggered fire, the biggest industrial disaster since 2013 when the Rana Plaza building collapsed leaving over 1,130 workers dead.

A High Court division bench of Bangladesh also on Monday directed the authorities concerned to freeze the bank accounts of the owner of Tampaco Foils Limited.

Earlier Bangladesh police filed a case against 10 people including the factory's owner Syed Mokbul Hussain and his wife.

Harun Or Rashid, a senior police official, had earlier told journalists that investigators probing the fire incident have found "proof of negligence" by the owner in ensuring the factory's safety.
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 detainees, including security personnel and civilians, were set free Monday from a Talian detention center in the restive Helmand province.

Spokesman for the provincial government Omar Zawak said the liberation came after the government forces overrun the center earlier in the day.

"Units of Special Forces stormed Taliban bastion in Marja district and after capturing a detention center of the insurgents, they freed 101 detainees including civilians and security personnel Monday morning," Zawak told Xinhua.

Taliban militants who had kept the detainees in their custody on charge of supporting government, over the past several weeks and months, have yet to make comments.

The troubled Helmand province with Lashkar Gah as its capital 555 km north of Kabul has been regarded as a Taliban hotbed in Afghanistan.

Taliban militants have been fighting over the past nearly three years in Helmand in a bid to re-establish their rule in the strategically important province bordering Pakistan.
KABUL, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Afghan official called for joint efforts of the international community to fight against drugs on Monday.

"Combating drug problems and getting rid of the menace to the society which is essential for ensuring public health, human rights and sustainable development requires collective efforts," Salamat Azimi, the Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics told audience at a two-day regional conference concluded here on Monday.

"Afghanistan has been suffering from drugs and drug-related violence. Overcoming the war on drugs needs an inclusive, national, regional and global response," she said.

The Afghan government has been firmly determined to control the cultivation and production of the illicit drugs, and it has taken new initiatives and measures to fight the menace, including provision and implementation of National Drug Action Plan (2015-2019), and providing alternative livelihood for farmers in rural areas, she noted.

The 7th Meeting of the Central Asian Counter-Narcotic Quintet Conference was kicked off on Sunday. Member countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Russia. However no Pakistani representative attended the seventh meeting.

The conference participants issued a joint statement, expressing concerns about the current situation of opium cultivation in Afghanistan, and the likely usage and trafficking of new psychoactive substances in the region.

They also stressed urgent need to respond to the serious challenges posed by the increasing links between drugs and their precursors'trafficking, corruption and other forms of drug related organized crime including "money-laundering, cybercrime and,in some cases, terrorism."

The participants also agreed to consistently oppose attempts aimed at undermining the existing international system of combating world drug problem, to look for new and innovative approaches to fight drugs, and to adopt measures to improve sharing of intelligence information on transnational organized drug crime, smuggling and sale of illegal drugs, and their precursors.

They also highlighted the need for international community, including the regional countries to cooperate with the Afghan government on alternative development and livelihood in the country based on the principle of shared responsibility.

The member states are expected to continue cooperation on training specialists of the national Counter-Narcotic agencies.

Vast majority of world's opium poppy, the raw element for making heroin, has been cultivated in militancy-hit Afghanistan, particularly in western and southern parts of the country, where the government security forces have little presence.

In 2015, some 3,300 tons of opium was produced in Afghanistan and some 1.9 million to 2.4 million adult drug addicts have been living in the country.
FUZHOU, Jiangxi, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Four hundred years ago, when William Shakespeare was writing his sonnets with a quill, Tang Xianzu was recording verses with a brush nearly 6,000 kilometers away.

Four hundred years later, to commemorate these literary giants from east and west, plays by both have been staged together in eastern China's Fuzhou city, Tang's hometown.

"They were in the same contemporary period," said Juliet Short, mayor of Shakespeare's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon. "They are very similar, in different aspects, even though they lived in totally different cultures."

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare and Tang. China and Britain have been hosting a series of events to commemorate the anniversaries.

On Saturday, Tang's date of birth, a three-day festival was launched in Jiangxi Province, where people can pay tribute to Tang, open a memorial for him, put on drama performances and hold seminars.

UP AND DOWN IN CHINA

Tang was born in 1550 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a period where he saw much corruption and restrictions on women. His masterpiece, the "Peony Pavilion," tells of a romance between an official's daughter and a poor scholar, as they pursued love and freedom.

In the 1950s, the local government constructed a building close to Tang's tomb and named it after "Peony Pavilion," but it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).

Much Chinese culture was under threat at this time, but Tang Tingshui, a 13th generation descendant of the playwright, managed to preserve the book of his family tree by burying it in cattle dung.

The study of Shakespeare in China was almost halted during the same period.

Shakespeare's name first appeared in Chinese books in 1839. Scholar Zhu Shenghao was the first Chinese translator of Shakespeare's 31 plays, before he died in 1944, and the complete works of Shakespeare in Chinese was published in 1978.

Today Shakespeare is arguably the most influential western playwright in China, and an excerpt from "The Merchant of Venice" is used in middle school textbooks today.

GOING GLOBAL

Steve Ansell has his theory about how Shakespeare gained popularity around the world.

"He was English at a time when we had an empire. We ambled around the entire world taking Shakespeare with us. ... Everybody in the world knows William Shakespeare. That's never going to change," said Ansell, artistic director of stage@leeds in the UK.

In comparison, Tang is less known. In China, Tang is ranked as one of the three masters who died in the same year, along with Shakespeare and Spanish writer Cervantes.

"I'm sure many more Chinese students know and probably study Shakespeare than study Tang Xianzu," Ansell said.

Susan Adams, chair of Stratford-upon-Avon Council, said that she hadn't heard of Tang until last year.

Ansell first got to know about Tang two years ago, when he became artistic director of Tang's play "Dreaming under the Southern Bough."

It is a traditional play depicting a man who dreamed of entering an ant kingdom, before marrying a princess and gaining status, and then being expelled.

In Ansell's version, the hero is a western soldier returning from the Iraq war. The main characters wore western costumes.

"We modernized the story," Ansell said. "It is about now, but it's the same story that Tang tells. I hope it is more appealing to the younger generation."

The play premiered in Leeds in July. The response was tremendous and the show was staged eight times at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, according to Ansell.

"This sort of project will start to open the flood gates," Ansell said. "China and the rest of the world are becoming closer."

Ansell believes that as China's status in the world grows, so does knowledge of its culture, art, cooking and philosophy.

"Great [Chinese] writers and artists will start to spread across the world," Ansell said. "It's great art, but we just don't know about it."

This is a view shared by Zhou Yude, former president of the National Academy of Chinese Theater Art.

"One hundred years ago, such cultural exchange was beyond the imagination," Zhou said.

At that time, China was controlled by warlords, while large areas of Chinese territory were seized by foreign countries as concessions. In spite of its 5,000-year culture, the country lagged behind western countries in economy, military, science and technology.

"In contrast, China is now world's second largest economy, and has dialogue with western countries on an equal footing," Zhou said.

Today, more than 10 versions of "Peony Pavilion" have been performed around the world. "Starting from 1998, the opera 'Peony Pavilion' was put on stage in Vienna, Paris, Rome, London and San Francisco," said Zou Yuanjiang, vice president of Tang Xianzu Studies at the Chinese Opera Society.

NATIONAL CONFIDENCE

Ansell and Leeds University students who starred in the adaption had a rehearsal in Fuzhou, in a park dedicated to commemorating the author, on Saturday. Local people, who have seldom seen westerners in drama, stood to watch, some with babies in their arms, others filming with smart phones.

George Clifford, the lead actor, is a fourth year student in Leeds University. Before the play, he and other performers learned Chinese language and drama techniques.

He told Xinhua that he loved Tang's works. But before doing this project, he found the plays "inaccessible" because of the language.

According to his schoolmate Jonathan Dowsett, language was not the only difficulty.

"In a [U.K.] contemporary theater, people are more used to something avant-garde," Dowsett said. "People can use the audience as part of the performance, while in Chinese theater it is very important to retain the traditional cultural experience."

While he suggests finding a balance to popularize traditional Chinese plays, Ansell said that cultural confidence was necessary.

"Is Tang Xianzu 'China's Shakespeare'? The answer is no," Ansell said. "But it's a very useful connection to make if only to show that it wasn't just Shakespeare who was making great art.

"The key point is that Tang is not Shakespeare. He doesn't need to be. He is the Chinese Tang. That's good enough."

"I think the Chinese need to be proud of the fact that they have Tang."

Britain and China have got a good basis of cultural exchanges, said Susan Adams. "China is opening up. Schools (in UK) now teach Mandarin, and we have lots of exchange visits."

More than 5,000 children in Britain are to learn Chinese as part of a scheme, which allows them to intensively study the language for eight hours per week, according to a recent Daily Mail report.

Zou Zizhen, a professor with the Minjiang University, believed that it is equally, if not more, necessary to popularize the plays domestically.

"If we want to have our culture spread across the globe, we must spread it within China first," he said.

Tang Tingshui, who is also a village doctor, said he had donated all the material he had about Tang Xianzu to the government.

"My fellow villagers and I are not so well educated. It's a bit hard to live up to being descendants of such a great person," he lamented.
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong said Monday that Cambodia wants to see denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s tests of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles "are a threat to security in both the Korean Peninsula and the whole region," he told reporters.

"We want to see the denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula," he added.

He noted that DPRK's nuclear tests have violated relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and urged the DPRK to fully comply with all UNSC resolutions.

Hor Namhong, also an ex-foreign minister, also called on the DPRK to return to the six-party talks in order to maintain regional peace and stability.

The six-party talks, which involve DPRK, South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan, were initiated in Beijing in August 2003, but have been stalled since December 2008. DPRK dropped out of the talks in April 2009.
PARIS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Britain should take part in efforts to manage migration crisis in French port city of Calais, where thousands are camping in rickety tents in hope to reach London, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday.

During a visit to Calais "jungle," Hollande added he wanted "to restate determination that the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking and that they continue to do that in the future."

"It is not because the United Kingdom has taken a sovereign decision that it frees itself from its obligations regarding France," he said.

The French head of state also confirmed that Calais camp, where about 9,000 migrants who fled war zones live, will be "completely" and "definitively" dismantled.

"The situation is not acceptable. Our objectives are clear: we must guarantee the safety of Calais citizens, maintain public order and ensure dignified conditions for migrants," Hollande stressed.

In a visit to migrants reception centre in Tours, southwest Paris, on Saturday, Hollande unveiled a plan to disperse migrants who are living in the French port city into groups of 40 to 50 people for a limited period between three and four months.

The migrants who fit the asylum criteria will stay in France while those who do not will be sent home, according to the French president.

He also pledged to provide thousands of places for Calais migrants at "reception and orientation centres" over the coming weeks.

France promises to receive 30,000 refugees over the next two years as part of European Union proposal to redistribute 160,000 refugees across European states. The move was aimed to help struggling Greece and Italy to cope with chaotic flows of migrants at their doors.

Escalating wars in Syria and Iraq, in addition to persistent political instability in many African countries and in the Middle East, forced millions of people to risk their lives to seek better life in Europe.
MADRID, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The trial of former International Monetary Fund(IMF) chief and deputy Spanish prime minister Rodrigo Rato and 65 other former executives of Spanish banks Bankia and Caja Madrid begins on Monday.

Rato and the other defendants are accused of spending a total of around 12 million euros (around 13.5 million U.S. dollars) between 2003 and 2012, using so-called black credit cards without justifying their expenses or declaring them to Spanish tax authorities.

Rato inherited the system from his predecessor, Miguel Blesa (who is also among the accused), when he took over Caja Madrid in 2010 and is accused of maintaining it when the bank merged with six others in 2011 in order to form Bankia, whose shares were floated on the stock exchange.

The use of the black cards continued as the economic crisis grew in Spain and Rato had to resign in 2011 when Bankia was forced to ask for a bailout of 41 billion euros, which came from the European Union (EU).

As a result of this crisis, thousands of small-scale investors lost their savings after being persuaded by a campaign to convert them into shares in the financial entity. Bankia has so far paid out over a billion euros in compensation after it was ruled the institution misled investors over its true financial situation.

Rato, who was managing director of the IMF between 2004 and 2007 and had been Spain's economy minister, between 1996 and 2004, is accused of using his black credit cards to spend 99,000 euros on a range of items, ranging from alcohol, dinners, five-star hotels and luxury bags.

He denies any offenses, alleging the cards were part of the executive pay deal and for discretionary use, while prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of four and a half years and a 2.6-million-euro fine.
The International Seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative is held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

by Xinhua Writer Liu Chang

XI'AN, China, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Three years ago, Beijing unveiled its Belt and Road Initiative to deepen China's own reforms and opening-up, and better connect itself with the rest of the world in terms of policy coordination, trade, transportation, energy and information facilities.

Beijing wants to see that the bounty of development arising from the landmark initiative can be shared among all who are part of the program.

Over the past three years, significant and broad achievement has been made, which proved the initiative's effectiveness and demonstrated its nature that favors common development.

RICH RESULTS

According to a report issued by China's Renmin University at a two-day international seminar that opened on Monday in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an, more than 100 countries and international bodies are currently involved in the initiative, while over 30 countries along the new Silk Road have signed cooperation agreements with Beijing. China is also working with more than 20 nations on industrial capacity projects.

Among all other things, the most strategic accomplishments have been the successful development policy coordination between China and the countries along the belt and road.

The report said China has already begun the coordination of its signature initiative with the development strategies of many countries involved in the program, including Kazakhstan's the Bright Road and Russia's Eurasian Economic Union.

In boosting facility connectivity, China is working with countries and regions in coordinating infrastructure standards, connecting transportation and energy infrastructure, and boosting information connectivity, said the report.

In trade, the past three years have seen China's consistent efforts to join belt and road countries to promote trade and investment activities by negotiating bilateral agreements to remove trade and investment barriers and create a healthy business environment.

By the end of June, China has signed bilateral investment treaties with 104 countries along the belt and road, while its investment in these countries have totaled 51.1 billion U.S. dollars, said the report.

To ensure adequate financial support for the initiative, China, said the report, has been vigorously pushing forward financial cooperation with countries joining the initiative, as well as RMB trade settlement, currency swap, and other financial services.

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), founded at the end of 2015, considers projects related to the initiative as one of its top priorities.

The bank's 509-million-dollar investment in its first four projects, which was approved in late June, and focuses on power, transportation, urban development and other areas, has all gone to countries along the belt and road.

Meanwhile, Beijing has also attached great importance to enhancing cooperation in education, health care, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges, an effort to win public support for the implementation of the initiative.

WELL RECEIVED AROUND THE WORLD

Ever since China launched the initiative, it has received positive responses worldwide as Beijing has vowed to promote the program based on mutual benefit and the spirit of inclusiveness as well as sustainable development.

Engstrom Anna, analyst for economics, policy and governance at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, told Xinhua that the initiative certainly is getting a lot of attraction worldwide, adding that everyone is "quite excited" about China's idea.

"We are seeing a lot of cooperation from China in Thailand, Serbia, and Hungry," she said, adding that the most substantial achievement for the initiative is that China has actually bolstered its mutual trust with other countries, which she believes is the foundation for their future cooperation.

Jonathan E. Hillman, fellow and director of the Reconnecting Asia Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes the initiative is "hugely ambitious."

He said many in the West are encouraged by the economic potential, because if it works well, it does benefit all the participants, including the West.

Charles Dkechukwu Onunaiju, director of the center for China studies in Nigeria, said the initiative one of China's most important contribution to human kind in the 21st century, and it presents great opportunity to connect the entire African continent, and the Africans take it very seriously.

CHALLENGES & BRIGHT FUTURE

Still, giant as the Belt and Road Initiative is, there is no doubt that it will have to face and fend off risks and difficult challenges along the way forward.

Engstrom Anna believes political risk has to be considered. As many of China's overseas projects under the initiative need many years to finish, they could run into troubles under such a scenario as the change of government in the countries Chinese investors work with.

In Hillman's view, if the initiative to achieve greater success in the future, it needs to set clear priorities, like what kind of projects would be chosen.

"It's like that if you have so many goals, it's hard to implement that. You need to focus on what matters most," he said.

Despite the potential challenges, the initiative is going to have a bright future, for the potential demand is enormous and the benefits are also great for all sides.

According to the AIIB, the belt and road region has about 750 billion dollars for infrastructure a year through 2020.

A recent Bloomberg report said that if these infrastructure investments were to be fully realized, then that would mean 580 million tons in annual cement demands.

The report also said that meeting all of Asia's demand for railways, pipelines and power stations and other projects may generate 272 million tons of demands for steel.

The huge demand in cement and steel bears tremendous opportunities for China to advance industrial capacity cooperation. Those who choose to work with China, especially countries and regions in the less developed world, can use this chance to close up their infrastructure gap to prepare for future economic takeoff.

Moreover, the program could also boost shipping and cargo demands as planned infrastructure investments improve ports that dot the silk route.

Related:

Belt and Road Initiative begins to show positive results

XI'AN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Trade between China and the Belt and Road countries exceeded 600 billion U.S. dollars, 26 percent of China's total foreign trade volume, during the first eight months of 2016, said Fang Aiqin, deputy head of the Ministry of Commerce.

Fang was speaking at a seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative which opened on Monday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Full story

China's Belt and Road Initiative makes significant progress: research report

XI'AN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative has made significant progress since it was proposed three years ago, according to a report published on Monday.

The report was released at a seminar on the Belt and Road in Xi'an, one of the termini of the ancient Silk Road. Full story

China's investment in Belt and Road countries up 38.6 pct
MOGADISHU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- African Union peacekeeping mission (AMSIOM) backed by Somali forces killed two Al-Shabaab terrorists on Monday in Somalia's southern city of Kimaiyo.

AMISOM said the allied forces conducted a security disruption and clearing operation in Caba village outside the port city of Kismayo, where they killed the militants behind terror attacks in the region.

"The forces killed two Al-Shabaab terrorists. Somali and AMISOM troops are working closely to destroy Al-Shabaab and bring peace and security to Somalia," it said in a brief statement.

The allied forces have intensified their security operations in the Horn of Africa nation, which was scheduled to host its indirect elections on last Saturday but postponed the exercise until further notice.

The operation comes after ten people, mostly militants, were on Sunday killed and several others wounded in a deadly fighting between forces loyal to Somalia's South-West State and Al-Shabaab militants in southern Somalia.
Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Salamat Azimi (R) speaks during the 7th Meeting of the Central Asian Counter-Narcotic Quintet Conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Dai He)

KABUL, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Afghan official called for joint efforts of the international community to fight against drugs on Monday.

"Combating drug problems and getting rid of the menace to the society which is essential for ensuring public health, human rights and sustainable development requires collective efforts," Salamat Azimi, the Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics told audience at a two-day regional conference concluded here on Monday.

"Afghanistan has been suffering from drugs and drug-related violence. Overcoming the war on drugs needs an inclusive, national, regional and global response," she said.

The Afghan government has been firmly determined to control the cultivation and production of the illicit drugs, and it has taken new initiatives and measures to fight the menace, including provision and implementation of National Drug Action Plan (2015-2019), and providing alternative livelihood for farmers in rural areas, she noted.

The 7th Meeting of the Central Asian Counter-Narcotic Quintet Conference was kicked off on Sunday. Member countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Russia. However no Pakistani representative attended the seventh meeting.

The conference participants issued a joint statement, expressing concerns about the current situation of opium cultivation in Afghanistan, and the likely usage and trafficking of new psychoactive substances in the region.

They also stressed urgent need to respond to the serious challenges posed by the increasing links between drugs and their precursors'trafficking, corruption and other forms of drug related organized crime including "money-laundering, cybercrime and,in some cases, terrorism."

The participants also agreed to consistently oppose attempts aimed at undermining the existing international system of combating world drug problem, to look for new and innovative approaches to fight drugs, and to adopt measures to improve sharing of intelligence information on transnational organized drug crime, smuggling and sale of illegal drugs, and their precursors.

They also highlighted the need for international community, including the regional countries to cooperate with the Afghan government on alternative development and livelihood in the country based on the principle of shared responsibility.

The member states are expected to continue cooperation on training specialists of the national Counter-Narcotic agencies.

Vast majority of world's opium poppy, the raw element for making heroin, has been cultivated in militancy-hit Afghanistan, particularly in western and southern parts of the country, where the government security forces have little presence.

In 2015, some 3,300 tons of opium was produced in Afghanistan and some 1.9 million to 2.4 million adult drug addicts have been living in the country.

Representatives of the 7th Meeting of the Central Asian Counter-Narcotic Quintet Conference pose for a group photo after signing a joint statement in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Dai He)
ABUJA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian oil workers' union has said it will not support a plan by the government to sell national assets to cushion the effects of economic meltdown.

In a statement reaching Xinhua on Monday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Association of Nigeria, threatened to "halt every activity in the oil and gas sector of Nigeria" if the government carried out the plan.

The reaction came as the Nigerian government last week made known its plan to sell some national assets to augment revenue shortfall.

"We will not watch our national assets sold, especially those in the oil and gas industry such as NLNG (the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas) that has become a huge revenue earner for Nigeria," the statement said.

According to the statement, the planned selling of national assets at this time was unwarranted, and would not serve national interest but would further impoverish the citizens.

The workers urged government at all levels in the country to look inwards and generate funds from other revenue-based sources to revive the dwindling economy, and block the loopholes and leakages in government's finances.
ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Medical insurance saved Jin Kexi 4,854 yuan (730 U.S. dollars) this year, an amount equal to two years of the living allowances he and his wife receive.

Jin, 75, a native of Jiaozuo in central China's Henan province, was hospitalized earlier this year with emphysema. He only paid around 10,000 yuan for his treatment which cost 36,600 yuan in total, thanks to insurance, compensation from a rural medical cooperative and government aid of 4,600 yuan.

"The extra insurance helped a lot," said daughter Jin Lixia.

Jin's wife has been paralyzed since 1996. The family's only breadwinner, Jin's son, was seriously injured in a traffic accident last year and cannot do heavy work any more. The old couple live on a monthly government allowance of 120 yuan per person.

Jiaozuo adopted the new supplementary insurance program in April, targeting 140,000 registered disadvantaged people.

Under the scheme, the government pays a premium of 100 yuan per person to PICC Health Insurance Company. Beneficiaries can receive a maximum of 300,000 yuan from the company each year.

"The insurance is one aspect of precision poverty relief," said Ning Jixue, head of Jiaozuo Health and Family Planning Commission. Since April, more than 900 people in the city have felt the benefit of the program.

Poverty reduction remains a priority of the Chinese government, after the country became the first to meet the United Nations' target of halving its poor population.

China aims to lift the remaining 50 million people out of poverty by 2020, through support for industry, education, employment and medical care.

Poverty and illness are not a good combination, and a common mix in many places. Illness is a great obstacle to the ambitious goal, although the rural medical cooperative system covers more than 97 percent of rural residents, and extends to up to 75 percent of medical fees, in principle.0 The number of households finding themselves in poverty due to illness is around 12 million, more than 40 percent of all registered needy families, according to the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Jiaozuo's current additional insurance scheme is based on a version adopted by the city in 2014. With no cap on the former medical aid plan, the insurance company lost 3 million yuan in one year. The scheme was suspended, reconsidered and reactivated this year after improvements were made.

The insurance plan adopted by Sanya City, Hainan province, at the end of August, has the government paying 100 yuan per person each year allowing beneficiaries 10,000 yuan for serious illnesses and 60,000 yuan for deaths or disability through accidents.

Last year, commercial medical insurance covered 3.6 million people in Tongren City, Guizhou, one of the country's poorest provinces. The city began the insurance plan in 2013.

With basic and commercial medical insurance, participants in Tongren can write off 80 percent of their medical fees when the cost exceeds 100,000 yuan. More than 40,000 people have benefited from the scheme.

"The method is effective in addressing illness-caused poverty," said Shi Huagu, a medical care official in Tongren.
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday instructed the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force to improve its strategic capacity and build a strong and modern rocket force.

Xi, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection of the PLA Rocket Force, as he congratulated the first PLA Rocket Force Party congress.

He described the force as a "core of strategic deterrence, a buttress to the country's position as a major power, and an important aspect of national security."
JAKARTA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian agency has raised the danger status of Indonesia's East Java province's Mount Bromo volcano from level II (alert) to level III (standby), issuing an order to vacate the areas of 2.5 km around the volcano's crater.

The move came following the escalating activities in the volcano.

"As the danger status has been raised, people staying around Mt. Bromo and tourists were not allowed to roam within the vacated area," Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement released on Monday.

The danger level was raised by Indonesia's Center of Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVBMG) on Monday morning at 6.00 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB). It learned from visual observation that persistent escalations in seismic activities around the volcano may lead to potential eruption.

Sutopo said that BNPB would intensify its coordination with East Java provincial and municipal disaster management offices in cities around the active volcano of Probolinggo and Pasuruan in monitoring the developing volcanic activities.

Volcanic activities of Mt. Bromo, East Java's prominent tour destination, continued to intense in the past few years. Its eruption had forced Indonesian authorities to close down operation of several airports in the province in April this year.

Since then the volcano's activities remained intense with volcanic ashes often emitting from its crater.
JERUSALEM, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. and Israeli partners of the Leviathan natural gas field announced on Monday they have agreed to sell a 10 billion U.S. dollar worth of gas to Jordan.

The deal is the first to be signed by Leviathan, a gigantic natural gas reservoir located off Israel's northern shore.

The partners "will supply a gross quantity of approximately 1.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas from the Leviathan field, or 300 million cubic feet per day, over a 15-year term," Texas-based Noble Energy, Leviathan's main control holder, said in a statement.

"Gross contract revenues are estimated to be approximately 10 billion dollars," the statement read.

Leviathan is a 622 billion cubic meter gas reservoir that was found off Israel's Mediterranean coast in 2010.

Gas production at the site is expected to begin in four years.

In Tamar, a nearby smaller gas field, gas production kicked off in March 2013.

In December 2015, after years of political infighting, the government signed a long-awaited agreement allowing Noble and Israel-based Delek Group to develop the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields while forcing them to sell two minor fields.
FLASH: GUNSHOTS HEARD AT SUPERMARKET IN YVELINES NEAR PARIS, SOME INJURED: POLICE
JUBA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Monday welcomed South Sudan's decision to accede to the 1969 Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

UNHCR's Representative in South Sudan Ahmed Warsame said the instruments of accession were deposited at the African Union in Addis Ababa in May, and the Convention has now entered into force in South Sudan.

"This signals South Sudan's commitment to meeting international standards for refugee protection and provides us with additional legal instruments to advocate for refugee rights," Warsame said in a statement issued in Juba.

In addition to becoming the 46th country to have ratified the OAU Convention, South Sudan adopted national legislation on refugees in 2012 and established a Commission for Refugee Affairs to coordinate the government response to asylum matters.

UNHCR works closely with the Commission for Refugee Affairs and partner organization in South Sudan to provide assistance and protection to more than 260,000 refugees in the country.

The vast majority are Sudanese from South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, with smaller numbers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Central African Republic.
MYKONOS, Greece, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition hosted at Mykonos Archaeological Museum, which features more than 200 largely unknown treasures, offers a journey into the history of cycladic jewelry.

The exhibition, under the title "Vanity: Stories of Jewelry in the Cyclades", display a wide range of ornaments from simple, beaded jewels made of shell, bone and ivory to lavish accessories, such as earrings, bracelets and rings in gold, silver and bronze decorated with precious and semi-precious stones, faience, coral and glass.

Dating from neolithic times (5,500 BC) to the 1970s, the artefacts highlight the cultural importance attached to jewels throughout time and reveal a broader picture of the dynamic societies that produced them.

The exhibits display a large number of recent finds that are being shown to the public for the first time and include two murals and a post-Byzantine icon.

Either worn for merely decorative reasons or donated as offerings at sanctuaries, all of them demonstrate the exceptional artistry of local craftsmen and, as Dimitris Athanassoulis, head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, underlined, "they all share a common reference to this timeless human quality: vanity."

However, "Vanity" is not all about history. An annex of 12 modern pieces, custom-made for the occasion by 12 renowned contemporary Greek jewelry designers, provides a valuable link between the past and the future, alluding to the continuity of forms and concepts present in the work of ancient and modern Greek artists alike.

"We intended the items of this exhibition to convey messages that address people today and be admired for their aesthetic value. In this concept, we invited contemporary creators to participate in the venture," stressed Athanassoulis, who is also the coordinator of the exhibition.

Unlike what a visitor would expect to see in a small archaeological museum, "Vanity" was designed in an original and innovative way.

"We wanted to take a whole new approach to what an archaeological exhibition is expected to be. We wanted to think out of the box," Athanassoulis explained.

The result brings to mind the setup of contemporary art shows. The two halls of the museum are covered wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with mirrors, reminding the visitor of a giant jewelry box and amplifying the sense of vanity, while the artefacts are displayed in small, elegant, mirror-paneled showcases.

"We brought the jewels to the modern day, we present them as jewels someone could wear and admire today, regardless whether they know history or not," Athanassoulis said.

The exhibition is part of stepped-up efforts to attract visitors to the archaeological museums.

The 33-island complex of the Cyclades at the Aegean Sea is the heart of international tourism industry, while its iconic landscape is synonymous with Greek summer. In addition to the picturesque scenery, the Cyclades boast a long history and 25 archaeological museums - more than any other district of Greece.

Nevertheless, only a tiny fraction of the touristic masses cross these museums' threshold to admire their impressive collections.

Of the two million visitors to Mykonos every year, only 8,000 visit the local archaeological museum and its significant ancient pottery collection.

Established several decades ago (some of them even at the turn of the 20th century), most of the cycladic museums and their collections are in urgent need of a radical makeover.

Acknowledging this problem, the Ephorate of Antiquities has now set out on a mission to upgrade the archaeological museums of the Cyclades, in a way that will spotlight the rich cultural heritage of the region and, at the same time, appeal to the modern visitor.

It is the Ephorate's hope that "Vanity", launched before the redesign of the permanent collection, will mark the new, broader character of the museum of Mykonos and serve as the inaugural exhibition of a new era.

The Ephorate managed to renovate the Archaeological Museum and launch "Vanity" in only two months, a record-time for a state organization with limited financial resources.

It would appear this new strategy of openness and swift financial decisions has already started to pay off, as in less than two months since its inauguration, "Vanity" has had more than 4,000 visitors.

The exhibition will be hosted at the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos until September 2017. However, it is destined to have a much longer future.

"Since this exhibition concerns all the islands of the Cyclades, it is our intention to take it, partially or as a whole, to other cycladic museums, which will have the chance to come alive again with new content," Athanassoulis announced.
President of Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao (1st R) meets with Director General of Qatar News Agency Ahmed Saad Al Buainain, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Xinhua News Agency president Cai Mingzhao met with director general of Qatar News Agency Ahmed Saad Al Buainain in Beijing Monday, both pledging closer cooperation.

Cai said Xinhua is ready to work with Qatar News Agency to enhance mutual understanding and bilateral friendship between the two nations and contribute to the ever-growing ties.

Briefing the guest on Xinhua's history as well as its new media achievements, Cai said Xinhua was willing to boost cooperation with Qatar News Agency in new media and other fields.

Hailing Xinhua, Ahmed Saad Al Buainain said the two news agencies have a long history of cooperation. He said Qatar News Agency will increase exchanges with the Chinese newswire.
Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, delivers a speech during a commemorative event to mark the 60th anniversary of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (AFROC), in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese political advisor Yu Zhengsheng on Monday called on authorities to better use the strengths of returned overseas Chinese and those still residing abroad to achieve China's two centenary goals.

Yu, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, made the remarks during a commemorative event to mark the 60th anniversary of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (AFROC).

Yu said returned overseas Chinese, their relatives and Chinese compatriots residing abroad are major contributors to China's modernization, its reunification, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

He urged AFROC to solidify cohesion among overseas Chinese, pool their strength and wisdom and protect their interests, which will help with the fulfillment of China's two centenary goals, and help with reform and opening-up and the peaceful development of the world.

Communist Party of China committees and governments at all levels must support the work of organizations linked to AFROC, and help them overcome problems and challenges, he said.
KIGALI, Sep. 26 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda wants to attract more foreign and local investments into manufacturing and other value-added industries to boost the country's manufacturing sector, officials have said.

Emmanuel Hategeka, permanent secretary for trade and industry, told reporters on Monday that the country has laid out a strategy to promote Made-in-Rwanda products which will be successful with massive investments in the local manufacturing.

He was speaking during a meeting with local manufacturers and agro-processing firms in Kigali aimed at promoting locally made Rwandan products.

"We are looking at seeing an increase in number of investments in manufacturing industry to boost the growth of locally made Rwanda products for export," he added. "It's vital to see value-added processing activities taking place in Rwanda. Investment is what makes economies successful."

Rwanda has laid strategies to expand the domestic value chain and to create a good business climate that favors the growth of investments in the industrial and manufacturing sector in Rwanda.

In an effort to reduce the trade deficit and to spur economic growth, Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has created multiple strategies to generate off-farm employment by developing key sectors like manufacturing and industry.

Serge Kamuhinda, RDB chief operations officer, said that Rwanda offers a variety of investment opportunities in the manufacturing sector and other sectors of the economy.

"The most rich and powerful countries across the globe attribute to their wealth from manufacturing. Made in Rwanda products is a large-scale campaign intended to boost the manufacturing sector, create jobs and enhance economic growth," he noted.

World Bank rankings show Rwanda as one of the easiest places to do business in Africa, after Mauritius and South Africa.

According to the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, Rwanda projects an annual economic growth rate of 11.5 percent by 2018, which will help drive the country into a middle income economy with the GPD per capita of 1,240 U.S. dollars.
NICOSIA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus's international lenders have started their first post-bailout evaluation of the eastern Mediterranean island's economy, the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) announced on Monday.

Cyprus was pulled from the brink of bankruptcy in March 2013 under a 10-billion-euro(11.25 billion U.S. dollars) assistance program - then two thirds of its annual economy - that carried a three year economic adjustment program of harsh austerity and a radical resolution of the banking system.

The representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, collectively known as the troika, will concentrate on the banking system in their first six-monthly assessment, CBC spokeswoman Aliki Stylianou said in a statement.

"They will meet CBC officials and the management of the three major banks - Bank of Cyprus, Cooperative Central Bank and Hellenic Bank - to be briefed about progress made so far in managing non-performing loans and their capital liquidity situation," she said.

The troika will return every six months, until Cyprus repays 75 percent of the money it received in assistance loans, amounting to 7.6 billion euros.

The island's economy has performed beyond all projections and it did not need to draw 2.4 billion euros of the amount it was entitled to.

"After the evaluation is completed, the delegations will inform the Finance Minister and the governor of the central bank about their conclusion," Stylianou said.

The troika's reports will not carry any mandatory measures for Cypriot authorities to implement, having complied with all of the troika's recommendations except privatizing major public companies, such as the telecommunications and the electricity production and distribution.

But Cypriot authorities are anxious to have a positive report as it will prompt international rating agencies to rate its loan receiving ability to investment grade, meaning that cost of Cyprus's borrowing will go down.

Last week Standard & Poor's upgraded Cyprus ratings to two notches below investment rate and more ratings are awaited by Moody's and Fitch in October and November.

Non-performing loans are the biggest problem the banks have to face, despite managing to bring their ration down by 9.6 percent to 18.44 billion euros at the end of June.

They are also faced with demands for compensation by depositors or investors who had their assets impaired by 47.5 percent in the first ever bail-in - the recapitalization of banks by seizing the money of their customers.
A general view of the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen, September 25, 2016.(REUTERS Photo)

ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni army troops killed a prominent al-Qaida leader southern province of Abyan on Monday, a security official told Xinhua.

The leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, identified as Abdullah Hubaibat, was killed when government troops raided a number of houses held by al-Qaida militants in Loder, a town in Abyan province, the security official said on condition of anonymity.

Five others were also wounded in raids.

Hubaibat was believed to have been involved in previous armed attacks against security forces in Abyan, according to the source.

In the last two months, Yemeni government forces launched anti-terror offensives and drove out scores of gunmen linked to the al-Qaida and the Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State from key neighborhoods and government compounds in Lahj and Abyan provinces.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009 and claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and government institutions.

The AQAP took advantage of the current security vacuum and ongoing civil war to expand its influence and seize more territories in the south of Yemen.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group which is supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and government forces which are backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Over 6,400 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, many of them civilians.
ANKARA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Six Turkish soldiers were killed and one injured on Monday afternoon in an attack by suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the southeastern province of Sirnak, Dogan News Agency reported.

The attack targetted a Turkish military checkpoint in Uludere, a district in Sirnak Province.

The Uludere incident came just hours after four soliders were killed in a previous bombing attack, also blamed on PKK militants, in Mardin, another southeastern Province.

Over 600 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq since July 2015, local media said.

More than 40,000 people have lost their lives in clashes with the PKK since 1984, when the group first started anti-government attacks.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Turkey.
BRATISLAVA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- EU defence ministers at an informal session here between Sept. 26 and 27 are to talk about the implementation of defense aspects of the EU global strategy in areas of foreign and security policies, the defense ministry informed on Monday.

Ministers will also talk about common steps against hybrid threats and about cyber security. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is to chair the negotiations on Tuesday. The session will also be attended by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. The two officials are expected to discuss the implementation of the Warsaw Declaration that came out of the July NATO summit and EU-NATO cooperation.

During a working lunch, the ministers are expected to discuss missions and operations under the common security and defense policy with a focus on Libya and the Sahel area -- the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south.
A migrant that looks for a chance to jump over the fence and access the Channel Tunnel is driven away by French policemen, in Calais, northern France, Aug. 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Franck Mahe)

PARIS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Britain should take part in efforts to manage migration crisis in French port city of Calais, where thousands are camping in rickety tents in hope to reach London, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday.

During a visit to Calais "jungle," Hollande added he wanted "to restate determination that the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking and that they continue to do that in the future."

"It is not because the United Kingdom has taken a sovereign decision that it frees itself from its obligations regarding France," he said.

The French head of state also confirmed that Calais camp, where about 9,000 migrants who fled war zones live, will be "completely" and "definitively" dismantled.

"The situation is not acceptable. Our objectives are clear: we must guarantee the safety of Calais citizens, maintain public order and ensure dignified conditions for migrants," Hollande stressed.

In a visit to migrants reception centre in Tours, southwest Paris, on Saturday, Hollande unveiled a plan to disperse migrants who are living in the French port city into groups of 40 to 50 people for a limited period between three and four months.

The migrants who fit the asylum criteria will stay in France while those who do not will be sent home, according to the French president.

He also pledged to provide thousands of places for Calais migrants at "reception and orientation centres" over the coming weeks.

France promises to receive 30,000 refugees over the next two years as part of European Union proposal to redistribute 160,000 refugees across European states. The move was aimed to help struggling Greece and Italy to cope with chaotic flows of migrants at their doors.

Escalating wars in Syria and Iraq, in addition to persistent political instability in many African countries and in the Middle East, forced millions of people to risk their lives to seek better life in Europe.
NAIROBI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan rebels said on Monday that peace efforts in the world's youngest nation will only proceed with former vice president Riek Machar as a key player.

James Gatdet Dak, spokesman of Machar's faction of rebels known as Sudan People's Liberation Army-In-Opposition (SPLA/IO), said in Nairobi that the peace deal signed between the SPLA/IO and South Sudan's government in August 2015 has collapsed and can only be revived with Machar on board.

"We issued a communique to the South Sudan government on Sept. 23 for the revival of the peace agreement to avert further clashes," Dak told Xinhua in Nairobi.

"We are still waiting for response from the government, failure to which we would explore other options," Dak said without elaborating.

His remarks follow call by Machar over the weekend that he will "wage a popular armed resistance against the authoritarian and fascist regime of President Salva Kiir in order to bring peace, freedom, democracy and the rule of law in the country."

Machar, who fled to Sudan's capital Khartoum after clashes broke out between his supporters and Kiir's in Juba in July, called on the international community to "declare the regime in Juba as a rogue government and a spoiler of peace that is threatening regional and international peace and security."

The announcement is Machar's first since the fighting broke out.

The peace deal called for the demilitarization in Juba and required the government and the rebels to share control over the nation's oil fields.

Its implementation was delayed, and it fell apart after the two sides clashed in Juba and Machar fled to Khartoum from where, over the weekend, he called for renewed armed struggle against the government of Kiir.
Residents light candles to bless for peace and reconciliation in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on Sept. 25, 2016. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Timoleon Jimenez will formally sign the full peace agreement reached by both sides in August in Havana. (Xinhua/Jhon Paz)

BOGOTA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony in the Colombian city of Cartagena on Monday will mark a historic moment for a country riven by decades of civil war, disappearances and drug trafficking.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top leader of the FARC, Timoleon Jimenez, will formally sign the peace agreement agreed in August in Havana.

However, ahead of this moment, the FARC has had some soul-searching to do. How does one of the foremost guerrilla groups in the world come down from the jungle and enter politics? How do trigger fingers stop gripping a gun to pick up a pen?

These topics have been under intense discussion for the last week at the Tenth National Guerrilla Conference, held by the FARC in the jungle of the southern department of Caqueta.

That the war has ended is not under question. On Friday, Ivan Marquez, part of the FARC's commanding group, told the conference that "we inform the country, the governments and people of the world that the guerrillas, delegated to this Conference, have given their unanimous backing to the final Havana agreement."

Only the FARC's First Front has refused to accept the deal and did not attend the conference, although Marquez invited them to reconsider.

He also announced that the FARC was expanding its central committee from 31 to 61 members, who face the challenge of outlining the manner in which the group will transition into a new political movement.

In a statement, the FARC that another plenary summit would be held to better define the political transition and the new name of the group. This will be held after the Oct. 2 plebiscite in which the Colombian people will vote on whether to accept or reject the peace deal.

A poll by Gallup Colombia, carried out between Sept. 14-18, found a majority of Colombians in favor of the deal, with 67.6 percent planning to vote Yes.

The chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Ivan Marquez (R) and the FARC's top commander, Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, whose nom de guerre is "Timochenko" or "Timoleon Jimenez," participate in the closing session of its 10th National Guerrilla Conference in Llanos del Yari, Caqueta Department, Colombia, on Sept. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Juan Paez/COLPRENSA)

VARIOUS MOTIVES AT CONFERENCE

The FARC's summit, open to the press, also saw a number of people come in search of their relatives who joined the FARC over the years.

One man, of medium build and wearing a hat, spoke to Xinhua but chose to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

Hailing from the mountainous area of Sumapaz, the man had travelled 20 hours to attend the conference to track young men from his community who joined the FARC in the 1980s.

He happily told Xinhua that he had been in contact with seven of the men he now sought. He received their pictures on his cellphone in order to show their relatives that they are still alive.

"They seem well. They are happy to have joined the guerrilla, convinced that it was worth the sacrifice, even though some have not seen their families in 20 years. This will change when they can...enter politics," he explained.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (R) shakes hands with an amputee at the opening of the Inclusive Rehabilitation Center for the Public Force members, while the bilateral and definitive ceasefire between the government and the Revolucionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) takes effect, in Bogota, Colombia, on Aug. 29, 2016. FARC guerrilla group announced on Sunday a definitive ceasefire starting at midnight. (Xinhua/Mauricio Alvarado/COLPRENSA)

FEARS REMAIN DESPITE PEACE

Witnesses Xinhua spoke to during the Conference stated that they fear a renewal of violence once they lay down their arms.

Harvey Arenas, commander of a FARC squad, said that "our fight sought the well-being of all Colombian people...without the (right-wing) paramilitaries who have always terrorized the Colombian people."

"The news said that armed groups had killed two farmers (this week) in the town of San Vicente," he added.

Cristobal Garcia, third commander of the FARC's 43rd Front, revealed that he joined the FARC at just 13 years old as he lived in a region with a heavy paramilitary activity.

"The paramilitaries killed my parents and I was left alone, orphaned, abandoned," he told Xinhua. "Then, the FARC appeared in the region. We got to know the guerrillas, I decided to join them and find another way of life. I now know this is part of history and we must face the political stage with great care."

Pablo Catatumbo, commander of the FARC's Western Front and a member of the negotiating team in Havana, said at a press conference that the issue of paramilitary activity remained a concern.

"There is great concern in the country for the growth of paramilitary groups, as the state has not met its promises to return dispossessed lands. In the agreement, there are mechanisms that will surely bear fruit in times to come," stated Catatumbo.

"Now comes the stage of implementing the accords. The people will have to participate," he added. "Social and political problems are not resolved at a negotiation table, tools are created but the fight must be carried on."

OTHER WITNESSES

Many rank and file members of the FARC plan to integrate civil society in different cities and actively participate in politics. However, they will continue to be linked to the group they have been a part of for decades.

"I will do what the party says. I am not thinking of breaking with the party. We succeeded with them and we are ending with them. If the party tells me to go and sow yucca, bananas or maize, I will do it," David Preciado, a guerrilla fighter who lost an arm in a fight with the military, told Xinhua.

Rudy Guzman, who joined the FARC at the age of 10 after his parents were killed by a far-right group, said he is now waiting for the decision of the Colombian people.

"It is now time for the people to realize why our struggle lasted so many years, why so many fighters, both men and women, gave our lives to see a Colombia at peace. I think it is time for them to support us as this peace is for them, not for us," said Guzman.

On Monday, September 26, Santos and Jimenez will sign the peace agreement in front of world leaders, including Cuba's President Raul Castro, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

However, the world will have to wait one week more until Oct. 2 to know if Colombia will truly remain at peace.
GUANGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A trio who organized strikes were found guilty of disrupting the peace Monday and handed suspended sentences ranging from 18 months to three years by a court in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

Zeng Feiyang was handed a four-year suspended sentence, of which he will have to serve three years should he fall afoul of the law in the four year period. Tang Huanxing and Zhu Xiaomei were each given 18-month sentences suspended for two years. They had all previously worked at a support center for migrant workers, which was founded by Zeng and has since been closed by the industry and commerce authority.

"The defendants ignored national laws and organized mass gatherings that disturbed social order. Their acts, of a severe nature, resulted in an enterprise being suspended and led to grave losses," said a statement by the people's court of Panyu District.

According to the court, Zeng led the center and its work and managed those below him. Tang was responsible for online publicity for the center, and Zhu was in charge of managing migrant workers.

All three pled guilty and chose not to appeal.

In his statement given during the trial, Zeng admitted that he had received funding and training from "some overseas organizations hostile to China, and organized workers to resort to extreme means to safeguard their interests and blow things out of proportion to hype up the consequences."

According to the court, the three confessed to their crimes after they had been arrested, and all were first offenders and repented, facts that influenced the lighter penalties.

In his final statement, Zeng bowed to the court and expressed his "deep regret."

"I accepted training and funding from overseas organizations hostile to China, and, at their request, incited and organized workers to protect their rights in an extreme way," Zeng said.

He said his actions had intended to "blow up the events and create influence."

He said that he had received large amounts of money from overseas organizations and had been touted "the star of labor movement."

"My selfish desires were excessive and I did not repent even after the 'center' was closed," he said.

Zeng admitted that his behavior had caused huge damage to the enterprise, were against the law and he had been used as a tool by overseas organizations to cause disorder in China.

He apologized for the losses caused by his crimes.

"I hope that others will take my case as a lesson and not be conned by such organizations," Zeng said, calling on workers to protect their rights through legal means and channels.

In Tang's final statement at court, he thanked the police and judicial staff.

"I was encouraged by Zeng to join the 'center' and took part in organizing the events under Zeng's instructions," Tang said.

Tang said he was tasked with publicizing the agenda to incite workers not to accept the terms from the enterprise.

"I will keep a sober mind in the future and will not be fooled again," he said.

Zhu said in her statement that she was an ordinary worker at the enterprise and met Zeng during a rights protection event before joining the "center." She was sent to receive training overseas and had accepted their practices and participated in organizing activities.

She said that she came to realize the seriousness of her crimes and called on her fellow workers to protect their rights and interests in accordance with the law.

According to the court statement, during the trial, the two sides fully expressed their views on the facts and sentences of the defendants' crimes.
by Xinhua writer Zhang Jianhua

LONDON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- London mayor Sadiq Khan said he hoped to see more young Londoners of Chinese origin to take part in mainstream politics and have their potential fulfilled.

Khan, the son of a Pakistani immigrant in south London, was elected mayor of London in May, becoming the first Muslim mayor of the British capital.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Khan said he is "passionate" about making sure that all Londoners can take part in mainstream politics.

He added that people are looking forward to "more politicians of Chinese origin, more young people being registered to vote, taking part in election and becoming councilors, governors of their schools, governors of foundation trust hospitals, members of Parliament, GLC assembly members, and helping me as the Mayor of London."

"One of the great things about our country is there are many British people and Londoners of Chinese origin, but we need to recognize that there are challenges that the Chinese-origin community faces," he told Xinhua.

One of the challenges, he noted, is how to protect the Chinatown in London.

He said Chinatown is suffering from pressures from "developers and owners of property choosing to increase rents at levels that are unaffordable to businesses, or to turn those buildings into luxury flats rather than businesses run by members of our Chinese origin community."

"We are working on a London plan that protects the heritage of certain parts of London and recognizes their unique contribution to our city," said the mayor.

During his election campaign in February, Khan vowed to work with the Chinese business community and Westminster Council to secure the future of Chinatown as a hub for Chinese business and the community.

In the interview, Khan said young Londoners of Chinese origin can also benefit from the Skills for Londoners, the Mayor of London's training program aimed at giving youngsters "the skills for jobs of tomorrow."

To ethnic minorities and different faith communities, the London mayor said his city will "allow you to be who you are".

"What's brilliant about London as a city is that this city doesn't simply tolerate differences, but respects and embraces (them)," he said.

"More than 300 languages are spoken here in London. The great thing about our city is to be who you are, whether you are black, Asian, minority ethnic...and you can be who you are," he continued.

In July, Khan launched the London Is Open campaign to show that London will "carry on being open-minded and outward-looking" following the EU referendum.

"We've been open to trade, people and ideas for more than 1,000 years, that's not going to change," he told Xinhua.
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least three paramilitary troopers of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were wounded Monday in a grenade attack in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The attack was carried out at village Wanpoh in Kulgam district.

"This afternoon unknown militants hurled a grenade on CRPF party at Wanpoh," a police spokesman said. "Three CRPF personnel were wounded in the attack."

Reports said police and CRPF contingents cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt to nab the militants. However, no arrests were made until late.

A local news agency said the region's indigenous militant outfit has claimed responsibility of the attack.

Separatist movement and guerilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. Gunfights between the militants and Indian troops takes place intermittently across the region.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Photo provided by Colombian Presidency shows Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (C) taking part in a ceremony to deliver to the Congress the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in Bogota Aug. 25, 2016. (Xinhua/Juan David Tena/Colombian Presidency)

by Chris Dalby, He Shan, Cesar Marino Garcia

BOGOTA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- For many Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters, the 52-year war with Bogota seems like an eternity and the scars still run very deep.

"They shot me six times in the left arm. They tore me apart. My arm could not be rebuilt," David Preciado, a member of the FARC's 43rd Front, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the organization's tenth national guerrilla conference.

The oldest militia in the region now is longing for peace.

FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez told the conference that a victory of peace had been achieved after more than five decades of war.

"The meaning of a final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace is even more important than it appears ... For the FARC and our people, our greatest satisfaction is and will always be to have won peace," he said.

At the week-long conference that closed Friday, at least 1,500 FARC members invited from all fronts discussed and approved the peace agreement reached between the Colombian government and the FARC. President Juan Manuel Santos and Jimenez will sign the deal on Monday.

Ivan Marquez, a member of the FARC's commanding group, said Friday that "we inform the country, the governments and people of the world that the guerrillas, delegated to this conference, have given their unanimous backing to the final Havana agreement."

The chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Ivan Marquez addresses the closing session of its 10th National Guerrilla Conference in Llanos del Yari, Caqueta Department, Colombia, on Sept. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Juan Paez/COLPRENSA)

Moreover, the conference is considered the most important ever for the FARC as it marked the beginning of drawing a political future for the organization.

Over the years, the FARC has been labelled a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, an enemy by successive Colombian governments and a defender by certain rural communities.

Today, the organization is on the cusp of gaining a new title -- a political party.

Marquez announced at the meeting that the FARC was expanding its central committee from 31 to 61 members, who face the challenge of outlining the manner in which the group will transform into a new political movement.

In a statement, the FARC said that another plenary meeting would be held to further define the political transition and the new name of the group. It will be held after the Oct. 2 plebiscite in which the Colombian people will vote on whether to accept or reject the peace deal.

A poll by Gallup Colombia carried out between Sept. 14-18 found that a majority of Colombians were in favor of the deal, with 67.6 percent planning to vote Yes.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is seen at a ceremony during which he delivers the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to the congress in Bogota, Columbia, Aug. 25, 2016.(Xinhua/Jhon Paz)

However, should the peace agreement be approved by the Colombian people, FARC members will have to begin the transition to specific protection areas overseen by the United Nations (UN) where they will give up their weapons.

The FARC will have a period of 180 days to complete their disarmament. Once complete, the guns will be melted down and used as part of three monuments as a homage to peace.

Besides, this stage must include protection from the state against continuing paramilitary activity.

This point was a major topic during the meeting as the FARC hoped that continuing violence from right-wing groups would not disrupt the peace process.

For many guerrilla fighters, including Nicolas Garcias, the paramilitary groups are the main challenge for the peace process.

Garcias said 51 rural leaders have been assassinated in Colombia so far in 2016. He said investigations attributed the majority of these to paramilitary groups, who are against the return of lands as pledged by the government.

Despite these fears, many rank and file members of the FARC plan to integrate themselves into civil society and actively participate in politics, learning to juggle their continuing loyalty to the movement and their new social roles.

"I will do what the party says. I am not thinking of breaking with the party. We succeeded with them and we are ending with them. If the party tells me to go and sow yucca, bananas or maize, I will do it," Preciado, a guerrilla fighter who lost an arm in a fight with the military, told Xinhua.
HOHHOT, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A bus-truck collision, which occurred on Saturday night in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has left 12 people died, including two drivers, according to sources and local authorities.

The accident happened at 8:07 p.m. Saturday on a highway in Yakeshi City, which is administered by Hulunbuir City, the regional work safety bureau said in a statement Monday.

A truck swerved to avoid a horse and collided with a bus headed in the opposite direction. The bus was a long-distance shuttle bus between Hailaer in Hulunbuir and Chifeng City, a journey of over 1,000 kilometers.

Most passengers were migrant workers headed for the potato harvest in Chifeng, sources said.

Eight people, including the bus and truck drivers, were pronounced dead at the scene and four died on their way to the hospital. One of the 25 injured is in a critical condition, the statement said.

The investigation continues.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) holds talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

HAVANA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday wound up a successful visit to Cuba, the first official visit by a Chinese premier, with the two countries signing more than 20 cooperation agreements covering a wide range of areas.

Many experts said the trip has helped boost economic cooperation between Havana and Beijing and promote the Cuba-China comprehensive strategic partnership, while turning a new page of relations between the two traditionally friendly nations after they established diplomatic ties 56 years ago.

Li also visited Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro here Sunday and the two exchanged views on bilateral ties, world peace, regional hot issues, food security and a wide range of other issues of common concern.

The following is a summary of the achievements the two sides has scored so far during the visit and analysts' expectations from the trip.

STRENGTHENED TIES

The Chinese premier has pledged to further promote bilateral ties through enhancing high-level exchange of visits and boosting economic cooperation.

The pledge came as Li held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday.

Hailing the progress made in the past 56 years since the two countries set up diplomatic ties, Li said China has firmly adhered to the policy of China-Cuba friendship, supported Cuba in following a socialist path and promoted bilateral pragmatic cooperation.

China stands ready to further enhance high-level exchange of visits, deepen economic cooperation and step up coordination on international affairs with Cuba so as to push forward bilateral ties, said Li.

Raul Castro, for his part, spoke highly of the historic significance of Li's visit, saying Cuba agrees with China on measures to develop bilateral ties and is willing to learn from China's development experience.

Cuba looks forward to increasing high-level exchanges with China, and expanding down-to-earth cooperation with China in trade and education, Castro added.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of some 20 cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunications, environment protection, and inspection and quarantine.

EXPECTATIONS OF EXPERTS

In many experts' eyes, the visit represents the continuous efforts both China and the island nation have been making to promote bilateral ties over the years.

"This is a historic milestone which crowns a process of improvement and expansion of relations of all types between Cuba and China, not only commercially but politically as well," said former Director of International Relations for the Venezuelan presidency Sergio Rodriguez Gelfenstein in an interview with Xinhua.

China is now Cuba's second-largest trading partner and is vital to the island's growth, said Gelfenstein.

The evolving ties between Beijing and Havana have been a part of China's wish to show its willingness to cooperate with Latin America and the Caribbean in general, he added.

"Latin America has for the first time the possibility of negotiating and creating cooperation mechanisms with a global power like China, which does not impose a preconceived agenda on the region," he said.

China's wish to maintain international ties with all countries in the region, regardless of their current national circumstances, is the pillar of its foreign policy, he said.

Mexican expert Ulises Granados told Xinhua in an interview that Li's visit to Cuba can help strengthen bilateral ties.

Granados, coordinator of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Mexico Technological Autonomous Institute (ITAM), said that the two countries still have more room for cooperation in the sectors of services, medicine, agriculture, infrastructure, biotechnology, renewable energy and special economic zones.

"The visit by the Chinese premier will allow both nations to sign cooperation agreements in these areas," said the expert.

Beyond trade, Li's visit can help Cuba learn from Beijing's economic reforms in recent decades, while China can learn from Cuba's advanced healthcare system, Granados said.

"Cuba's reform process must be a priority in order to improve the lives of its people, for which studying China's reforms would be useful," he said.

"The mechanisms to open and operate special economic zones could be particularly useful to the Cuban side," Granados added.

WARM WELCOME FROM CUBANS

Cubans from all walks of life paid close attention to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit and highly value the island country's relations with China, expecting bilateral relations would be enhanced through high-level exchanges of visits and economic cooperation.

State media have highlighted Li's visit to Havana with photos and reports. Besides major news outlets on the island, people in the street have a lot to say about the visit.

Silvio Alvarez, a 73-year-old Havana resident, told Xinhua, "relations between Cuba and China are very good, in recent years economic cooperation has increased substantially. The collaboration with China is important to many sectors of the country such as transport, trade and industries."

"It's the first time a Chinese premier visits Cuba and I believe it is a trip of great connotation. Both countries should continue working on areas that positively impact the Cuban economy and we are on a good path to deepen our relations," said Carmen Mejias, a retired teacher.

For Cubans it is very important to continue strengthening ties with China, a long-time friend that shares many political and social views with Cuba.

"Cuba's relations with China have been very stable for many years. Today China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner and the visit of the Chinese premier will deepen bilateral ties. I think this visit will be very important for Cuba because it will reaffirm economic, political and social links with Beijing," said Mario Hernandez, a 58-year-old worker.

"There have been many contributions from China in the last few years and it's a reliable trading partner. Our lives are better today because we have access to Chinese-made equipment and technology, thanks to the active cooperation between both countries," said Roberto Souto, a Havana resident.

Miriam Legon, a Cuban state worker, also referred to the increasingly close ties with the Asian nation.

"There isn't a Cuban who does not experience firsthand the impact of this relationship. In my house we cook food with a Chinese induction cooker and watch TV with better quality thanks to a digital signal decoder built by a Chinese company," she said.




Tang Jiaxuan, president of the China-Japan Friendship Association(3rd, R) meets with President of New Komeito Party Natsuo Yamaguchi(3rd, L) in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)

TOKYO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Tang Jiaxuan, president of the China-Japan Friendship Association, urged Japan to make joint efforts with China to bring the bilateral relationship back on normal track while he met with a number of Japanese politicians here on Monday.

Tang, former Chinese state councilor, visited Japan at the invitation of Japan-China Friendship Association. He met with President of New Komeito Party Natsuo Yamaguchi, Vice President of Liberal Democratic Party Masahiko Komura and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, respectively, on Monday.

During his meetings with the Japanese politicians, Tang said that though the China-Japan relationship has been disturbed by negative factors from time to time, it is now faced with important opportunities for improvement, as next year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties, and the year after next marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty.

The two sides shall make joint efforts, based on the spirit of four important political documents between China and Japan and the four-point principled agreement, to bring bilateral relations back on a normal track at an early date, Tang said.

Tang also urged the two sides to further enhance communication between local governments, common citizens and the young people, in order to promote mutual understanding and trust and to cement the foundation of bilateral relations.

The Japanese side said that they are willing to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to properly handle relevant problems and to enhance communication and cooperation in various fields so as to further develop bilateral ties.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and Cuban President Raul Castro witness the signing of some 20 cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication, environment protection, and inspection and quarantine after their talks at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cubans from all walks of life are paying close attention to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit and highly value the island country's relations with China, expecting bilateral relations will be enhanced through high-level exchanges of visits and economic cooperation.

State media have highlighted Li's visit to Havana with photos and reports. Besides major news outlets on the island, people in the street have a lot to say about the visit.

Silvio Alvarez, a 73-year-old Havana resident, told Xinhua, "relations between Cuba and China are very good, in recent years economic cooperation has increased substantially. The collaboration with China is important to many sectors of the country such as transport, trade and industries."

In his talks with Cuban leader Raul Castro, Premier Li said China wants to focus on development and cooperation with Cuba, support the island's industrialization process and cooperate with Cuba in infrastructural construction and industrial equipment production.

These initiatives have been welcomed by the Cubans who have seen Chinese-made equipment as well as buses, home appliances, clothing and Chinese technology increase on the island.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) experiences on a vechile exported by China's Yutong Group during his visit in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 25, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

"It's the first time a Chinese premier visits Cuba and I believe it is a trip of great connotation. Both countries should continue working on areas that positively impact the Cuban economy and we are on a good path to deepen our relations," said Carmen Mejias, a retired teacher.

On Saturday, Castro and Li witnessed the signing of a series of cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication and environmental protection, among others.

For Cubans it is very important to continue strengthening ties with China, a long-time friend that shares many political and social views with Cuba.

"Cuba's relations with China have been very stable for many years. Today China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner and the visit of the Chinese premier will deepen bilateral ties. I think this visit will be very important for Cuba because it will reaffirm economic, political and social links with Beijing," said Mario Hernandez, a 58-year-old worker.

The impact of bilateral cooperation in the daily lives of Cubans is also felt as thousands of Chinese-made Yutong buses run around the country, induction cookers and many other home appliances are sold at stores and LED lights illuminate the main avenues of Havana and other cities.

Workers check "Dongfanghong" tractors to be exported to Cuba, in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, Aug. 16, 2016. In 1958, China's first caterpillar tractor "Dongfanghong" was manufactured in Luoyang Tractor Factory, marking the first step of China's tractor industry. In the past six decades, the factory which renamed as YTO Group Corporation has produced 3.31 million tractors and 2.45 million power machines. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

"There have been many contributions from China in the last few years and it's a reliable trading partner. Our lives are better today because we have access to Chinese-made equipment and technology, thanks to the active cooperation between both countries," said Roberto Souto, a Havana resident.

Miriam Legon, a Cuban state worker, also referred to the increasingly close ties with the Asian nation.

"There isn't a Cuban who does not experience firsthand the impact of this relationship. In my house we cook food with a Chinese induction cooker and watch TV with better quality thanks to a digital signal decoder built by a Chinese company," she said.

Young Cubans believe China's development and good will can help the island overcome a series of economic obstacles, particularly due to the U.S. embargo.

"This visit by the premier will boost bilateral links. China is one of the top technology makers in the world and Cuba is in need of technological advances in all areas of the economy," Victor Fernandez, a young Cuban, told Xinhua.

Li arrived in Havana Saturday for a three-day official visit to Cuba, the first such visit by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960.
President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine is seen on a large screen as he addresses the 71st United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S. September 22, 2016.(REUTERS Photo)

RAMALLAH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The total stocks of external assets of Palestine reached 6.020 million U.S. dollars in the second quarter of 2016, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) said in a joint report on Monday.

The report showed that the assets were divided between 7 percent of foreign direct investments abroad, where the portfolio investments reached 18.6 percent, while other foreign investments abroad, which are mainly composed of currency and deposits, reached 67.7 percent, and reserve assets are totaled at 6.7 percent.

At the sectoral level, the report said that the external investments of of the banking sector posted a large share of the external assets, reaching 74.4 percent of the total value of overall external assets.

The net international investment position, which includes the external assets and foreign liabilities, by the end of second quarter of 2016, was at 1.172 million dollars. This shows that the Palestinians' investment abroad outweighs foreign investment in Palestine.

The report added that residents' cash deposits in foreign banks and foreign exchange in the Palestinian economy represent the bulk of the external assets, standing at 65.2 percents of their total value.

Meanwhile, the total stocks of foreign liabilities in Palestine, including non-resident stocks invested in Palestine, reached 4.848 million dollars.

It said gross external debt was at 1.693 million dollars, with the government sector making up 63.5 percent, banking sector 32.8 percent. Other sectors that incurred external debt included financial and non-financial enterprises, and non-governmental organizations.

The international investment position is a record of investment stocks from residents of Palestine in the world, whether they were individuals, institutions or the government. Their assets are compared against investment stocks that are invested by individuals, institutions or government bodies from abroad as liabilities.

The PCBS and PMA explained that the external debt is accounted for through the records on the debt stocks on different economic sectors that are due to non-residents.
MOSCOW, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine is hiding vital data on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash and is manipulating the investigation of the 2014 catastrophe, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

"It is no coincidence that the Ukrainian side conceals from investigators, relatives of the people killed and the world community the information that would help provide a comprehensive picture of the air crash," the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters.

A Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, most of them Dutch citizens.

Western investigators and Kiev have been claiming that pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine shot down the aircraft, while Moscow has been denying the allegations and retorting that the plane had been shot by a missile from the territory controlled by Ukrainian government troops.

The ministry has also refuted conclusions contained in the Dutch Safety Board report about possible presence of heavy air defense systems in Eastern Ukraine, which were not controlled by Ukrainian government forces.

Andrei Koban, head of the Russian Radio-Technical Troops, said at the briefing that available electronic intelligence data showed Ukrainian radars operating in the area of the disaster, which should have monitored the flight.

According to the official, Ukraine's attempts to hide vital data about the incident could be aimed at covering the launch of the missile which hit the plane from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Russian radars have not registered any missiles shot from the region controlled by the insurgents, Koban said.

Konashenkov said that Moscow intended to provide the Dutch investigators with "objective and irrefutable" data, which would help them to "determine the true causes of the crash."
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- An approaching cold front will help disperse smog in Beijing Monday night, the local meteorological authority said.

After rain Monday morning, winds of up to 28 km per hour over the night are expected to clear the air, Beijing Meteorological Service said.

Shi Shaoying, deputy head of the municipal meteorological center, said smog can be an issue in early autumn.

Beijing experienced serious smog on Saturday and Sunday, with Air Quality Index (AQI) readings above 200. The AQI was still 120 at 9 p.m. Monday.

The density of PM2.5 in Beijing decreased by 12.5 percent year on year in January to August, according to Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.

The average PM2.5 reading in the first eight months was 63 micrograms per cubic meter.

Beijing aims to keep average PM2.5 levels below 60 micrograms per cubic meters in 2017. In 2015, the level was 80.6 micrograms, down from 95.7 micrograms in 2012.
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Qin Mingxiao, 71, watched in awe as a young magician did tricks with two bars of chocolate at the third Beijing International Magic Carnival that closed on Sunday.

Though a magician for over 50 years, Qin admitted he could not see how the trick was executed. "All I know is that the secret is in the chocolate prop," he said.

"The manufacture of stage magic props was booming in the United States in the 1980s," Qin said as he recalled an eye-opening trip to the States. "Now, 30 years later, China is catching up."

The three-day magic event featured a fair for international traders from the United States, the Republic of Korea and South Africa, where designers, prop manufacturers and sellers shared experiences and explored cooperation with their counterparts .

"Chinese magic companies seldom meet with foreign colleagues except at fairs like this," said Wang Ji, one of a team of six specializing in prop manufacturing established last year.

During the trade fair, Wang's team reached agreement with Las Vegas Magic Shop.

"The Americans are interested in how we can do what we do so cheaply," Wang said. "Our next step is to make prototypes to the Las Vegas Magic Shop's specifications."

"Finalizing the deal will be a big step for us," he added.

Small magic companies in China have been doing well in recent years, according Liang Ming, CEO of Magic Alexor Studio. Established only in 2008, Magic Alexor Studio is one of the most important in China.

"More Chinese prop companies are seeking cooperation with foreign rivals," said Liang.

At the carnival, two books on magic for beginners were launched, the first in a series of books to be released in China by American magic company Vanishing. Inc.

"We plan to publish seven books each year in China," said Joshua Jay, CEO of Vanishing. Inc.

"More foreign books will be introduced each year for magic lovers in China," confirmed Liu Quanxin, director of the cultural commission of Changping District, one of the event organizers.
HOUSTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Six persons were injured early Monday morning after a gunman opened fire on vehicles in southwest Houston, the largest city in the U.S. state of Texas.

According the Houston police, it started when police and firefighters responded at about 6:30 a.m. local time (1130 GMT) after reports of a shooting victim at a strip center on Weslayan at Bissonnet.

As of 8:45 a.m.local time (1345 GMT), the scene is secure but a bomb squad was checking the suspect's vehicle.

Several vehicles that stopped near the scene had bullet holes and busted windows. The injured persons were said to be drivers or passengers in the vehicles that were struck.

The suspect was described as a black male wearing dark clothing and police have confirmed that the shooter has been killed and six people were rushed to area hospitals for medical treatment, but their conditions are unknown.

Police said that they have begun to investigate the cause of the shooting.
PARIS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The shooter who seriously wounded two persons on earlier Monday outside a supermarket in Les Yvelines, west Paris, surrendered, according to local media.

The gunman opened fire at 12:30 local time (1030 GMT) outside a supermarket in Les Yvelines at a 73-year-old man and a woman, 57, before he holed up in his flat. The two persons were seriously injured.

According to a parquet source quoted by local media, the shooting is likely linked to a private dispute.

The shooter in his 60s, gave himself up as well as his wife after the police surrounded his flat where search operation is underway.

According to reports, the shooter is known for violent behavior.
(File Pic) Former Colombian President and Senator Alvaro Uribe takes part in a sit-in in front of the Venzuelan consulate in Bogota, Colombia, on Aug. 26, 2015. (Xinhua/Mauricio Alvarado/COLPRENSA)

BOGOTA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The right-wing party, Democratic Center, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, has become the flag-bearer for the campaign to reject the peace deal struck between Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The peace deal will be formally signed on Monday and the following plebiscite has become a matter of "political life or death" for Uribe, who seeks to stand during the 2018 presidential election, said political analyst on Sunday.

With the agreement being put to a national plebiscite on Oct. 2, Uribe is hopeful that the population will decide the deal is too favorable to the FARC and grant many of its members impunity.

According to Uribe's "No" campaign, a rejection of the peace deal does not mean a rejection of peace altogether.

Speaking to the press on Friday, Uribe said that "the agreement gives them an open amnesty for very serious crimes such as drug trafficking...and other crimes against humanity, such as the rape of little girls."

"We are now facing a plebiscite with an armed FARC, who have not begun the disarmament," he added.

Additionally, he fears that the peace agreement "is delivering" the country to the FARC, who will seek to change the economic model.

His campaign, which he says calls for Yes to peace by voting No in the plebiscite, seeks to return to the negotiating table and achieve different terms.

Fernando Giraldo, a political expert from the Pontifical Xavierian University, told Xinhua on Sunday that the plebiscite has become a matter of "political life or death" for Uribe, who seeks to stand during the 2018 presidential election.

"It has become more than a matter of honour, it is about political survival as he has based his political platform on the peace agreement with the FARC. If he triumphs, he would have succeeded in changing the entire conversation," said the analyst.

Giraldo also warned that, if he loses, the Democratic Center would be likely to seek other mechanisms to defeat the peace agreement between the government and the FARC.

For example, "one of their campaign strategies would be to promise the people that, if elected in 2018, they would reverse the agreement. They will turn that election into a fight against the rebel group, which would be a political movement by then," he said.

Recent polls have shown a clear lead for the Yes camp but the opposition has not given up yet.

During the official signing ceremony on Sept. 26, during which Santos will host foreign dignitaries such as President Raul Castro of Cuba, Uribe will be holding a rally of his own.

Named "Colombia Does Not Surrender", the rally will happen at the same time and see a march against the peace deal.

"President Santos is preparing a party, an extravagance, an abuse in Cartagena. Instead of this costly show on Monday, we want debate and arguments," commented Uribe.
TAIPEI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lee Hsien-ning, a diver from Penghu County in Taiwan, has become a star recently. However, he made his name with his feet on dry land.

At the opening ceremony for Penghu Autumn Festival in Magong City, Lee, 42, carried a big temple umbrella and danced like he was playing with a flag.

His performance, during Saturday night's opening event, proved popular with locals and visitors alike.

The bright, colorful temple umbrella, which is often decorated with images of phoenix and dragons, is a regular feature of temple fairs.

Temple statues must be shaded by a temple umbrella whenever they are moved. Over time, the ritual developed into a type of dance.

When people from southern mainland provinces first settled in Penghu hundreds of years ago, they brought with them their religion and established dozens of temples. The residents of Penghu developed their own dance ritual that incorporated martial arts into the performance.

Because their work is connected with gods or goddesses, the temple umbrella dancers are highly respected and it is not difficult to recruit new members.

However, in recent years, as people have moved outside the county to work in big cities like Taipei, it has become apparent that there is a shortage of dancers, casting a shadow over the future of the tradition.

To preserve the art, the local government initiated an educational program encouraging residents to take up the craft, and secured funding of 3 million new Taiwan dollars (about 95,000 U.S. dollars) from the Taiwan authorities in 2012 and 2013.

Lee was one of the first to benefit from the program. He learned the art of temple umbrella dancing from local elders and then took up the baton and became an instructor to pass on the art to the younger generations.

"I have more than 100 students," Lee told Xinhua. "I want to share the pleasure I find in this tradition."

Lee's interest indicates that there is a new generation of dancers willing to keep the art alive, according to Yen Mei-li, head of the Performance Art Division of the county's Cultural Affairs Bureau.

Performing with Lee on Saturday were several elementary students, including his 12-year-old daughter.

In addition, the county has also boosted cultural exchanges with dancers from other parts of China. In 2011, a team of temple umbrella dancers from Penghu, performed at a festival in Quanzhou, a city in the eastern province of Fujian, according to the bureau, which added that another team participated in a cultural event in Macao Special Administrative Region last year.

Lee is upbeat about the future of the art, "I hope there will be more occasions for me to perform on the mainland."
GUANGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A trio who organized strikes were found guilty of disrupting the peace Monday and handed suspended sentences ranging from 18 months to three years by a court in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

Zeng Feiyang was handed a four-year suspended sentence, of which he will have to serve three years should he fall afoul of the law in the four year period. Tang Huanxing and Zhu Xiaomei were each given 18-month sentences suspended for two years.

"The defendants ignored national laws and organized mass gatherings that disturbed social order. Their acts, of a severe nature, resulted in an enterprise being suspended and led to grave losses," said a statement by the people's court of Panyu District.

The trio had all previously worked at a support center for migrant workers, which was co-founded by Zeng and was closed by the industry and commerce authority in 2007. Despite the closure, Zeng continued to organize "rights activities" in the name of the support center.

According to the court, Zeng led the center and its work and managed those below him. Tang, who joined the organization in 2014, was responsible for online publicity for the center, and Zhu was in charge of managing migrant workers.

All three pled guilty and chose not to appeal.

In his statement given during the trial, Zeng admitted that he had received funding and training from "some overseas organizations hostile to China, and organized workers to resort to extreme means to safeguard their interests and blow things out of proportion to hype up the consequences."

A report from the Ministry of Public Security on Monday said a certain "overseas organizations had provided the center with over 700,000 yuan (about 105,000 U.S. dollars) annually since 2010," without naming the group.

In total, Zeng received more than 5 million yuan from "multiple overseas groups and foreign embassies," it said.

The majority of the money was misappropriated by Zeng, it continued, adding that Zeng had used the money to purchase a car and two properties, one of them in the name of his brother-in-law.

In return for the financial assistance, the support center reported on its daily operations to overseas organizations, which also sent personnel to assist in the management of the center and the "rights activities," the report quoted Tang as saying.

"On the surface, we seem to be fighting for workers's rights, but the real intention was to expand our influence, particularly overseas," Tang said, "[...] this helped with applications by the center for funding from abroad."

According to the court, the three confessed to their crimes after they had been arrested, and all were first offenders and repented, facts that influenced the lighter penalties.

In his final statement, Zeng bowed to the court and expressed his "deep regret."

"I accepted training and funding from overseas organizations hostile to China, and, at their request, incited and organized workers to protect their rights in an extreme way," Zeng said.

He said his actions had intended to "blow up the events and create influence."

Zeng admitted that he had received large amounts of money from overseas organizations and had been touted as "the star of labor movement."

"My selfish desires were excessive and I did not repent even after the 'center' was closed," he said.

Zeng agreed that his behavior had damaged the enterprise, and was against the law and that he had been used as a tool by overseas organizations to cause disorder in China.

He apologized for the losses caused by his crimes.

"I hope that others will take my case as a lesson and not be conned by such organizations," Zeng said, calling on workers to protect their rights through legal means and channels.

In Tang's final statement, he took the opportunity to thank the police and judicial staff.

"I was encouraged by Zeng to join the 'center' and took part in organizing the events under Zeng's instructions," Tang said.

Tang said he was tasked with publicizing the agenda to incite workers not to accept the terms from the enterprise.

"I will keep a sober mind in the future and will not be fooled again," he said.

Zhu said in her statement that she was an ordinary worker at the enterprise and had met Zeng during a rights protection event before joining the "center." She was sent to receive training overseas and had accepted their practices and participated in organizing activities.

She said that she came to realize the seriousness of her crimes and called on her fellow workers to protect their rights and interests in accordance with the law.

According to the court statement, during the trial the two sides fully expressed their views on the facts and sentences of the defendants' crimes.
NEW DELHI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- India has decided to suspend Indus water commission talks with Pakistan, local newspaper The Hindu said on Monday.

"The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to review the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries," the newspaper said.

The report quoted Modi as saying "blood and water cannot flow together."

According to India's official broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), the government will soon set up an inter ministerial task force to exploit the full potential of the rivers Indus, Chenab, Jhelum as per the IWT.

Post-partition of the subcontinent water sharing was a major problem between India and Pakistan. The issue was resolved with the arbitration of World Bank, then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and a settlement in the name of IWT was reached out in 1960.

The agreement puts riders on how the two countries use and share water resources.

Out of the six rivers in what is called the Indus basin, India has exclusive rights over waters of the three major Eastern rivers - Ravi, Beas and Sutlej before they enter Pakistan, while Pakistan has rights to three large Western rivers that first flow through Indian-controlled Kashmir - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

The treaty has withstood two wars and numerous other conflicts.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated recently because of the ongoing civilian protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir and a deadly attack last week on an Indian army base in frontier Uri town. The attack killed 18 troopers and wounded over 20 others.

New Delhi blames Islamabad for fanning Kashmir protests and accuses it of sending armed militants into Indian-controlled Kashmir. However, Islamabad says it only provides moral and political support to Kashmiris.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Visitors gather near a model at the annual Cityscape show on September 6, 2014, in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.(AFP Photo)

DUBAI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum urged Monday a timely delivery of all associated facilities of Dubai's Expo 2020, reported the Emirati state news agency WAM.

Al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai, said that timely delivery of infrastructure and associated facilities of Dubai's Expo 2020 will give organizers ample time to put the final arrangements in place before the arrival of exhibitors from over 180 countries, WAM quoted the Emir as saying.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai's Expo 2020 Higher Committee and President of the Department of Civil Aviation, accompanied the 10th ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, during a tour of the Expo 2020 site, along with other members of the Expo 2020 committee.

During a meeting with the committee, Sheikh Mohammed urged them to remain patient, positive and optimistic every morning in order to succeed in their mission.

The six-month 2020 Expo event will take place from April to October 2016, beside Dubai's new international airport, Al Maktoum International Airport in the southwest of the emirate.

It will be the first global Expo hosted by an Arab country.

The ruler of Dubai added that he expects the event to outperform other events with respect to organization, reception, hospitality, promotion and marketing in the UAE, regionally and worldwide.

The emirate of Dubai expects up to 25 million visitors in 2020, or double the number of 14.2 million who visited the Gulf city in 2015.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan poses for pictures as he participates in celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's official 90th birthday at Trafalgar Square in London, June 12, 2016. (Xinhua/Ray Tang)

by Xinhua writer Zhang Jianhua

LONDON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- London mayor Sadiq Khan said he hoped to see more young Londoners of Chinese origin to take part in mainstream politics and have their potential fulfilled.

Khan, the son of a Pakistani immigrant in south London, was elected mayor of London in May, becoming the first Muslim mayor of the British capital.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Khan said he is "passionate" about making sure that all Londoners can take part in mainstream politics.

He added that people are looking forward to "more politicians of Chinese origin, more young people being registered to vote, taking part in election and becoming councilors, governors of their schools, governors of foundation trust hospitals, members of Parliament, GLC assembly members, and helping me as the Mayor of London."

"One of the great things about our country is there are many British people and Londoners of Chinese origin, but we need to recognize that there are challenges that the Chinese-origin community faces," he told Xinhua.

One of the challenges, he noted, is how to protect the Chinatown in London.

He said Chinatown is suffering from pressures from "developers and owners of property choosing to increase rents at levels that are unaffordable to businesses, or to turn those buildings into luxury flats rather than businesses run by members of our Chinese origin community."

"We are working on a London plan that protects the heritage of certain parts of London and recognizes their unique contribution to our city," said the mayor.

During his election campaign in February, Khan vowed to work with the Chinese business community and Westminster Council to secure the future of Chinatown as a hub for Chinese business and the community.

In the interview, Khan said young Londoners of Chinese origin can also benefit from the Skills for Londoners, the Mayor of London's training program aimed at giving youngsters "the skills for jobs of tomorrow."

To ethnic minorities and different faith communities, the London mayor said his city will "allow you to be who you are".

"What's brilliant about London as a city is that this city doesn't simply tolerate differences, but respects and embraces (them)," he said.

"More than 300 languages are spoken here in London. The great thing about our city is to be who you are, whether you are black, Asian, minority ethnic...and you can be who you are," he continued.

In July, Khan launched the London Is Open campaign to show that London will "carry on being open-minded and outward-looking" following the EU referendum.

"We've been open to trade, people and ideas for more than 1,000 years, that's not going to change," he told Xinhua.
Rehab Sidiqi, a trustee of Woman for Refugee Woman and originally from Afghanistan, poses for a photograph among 2500 lifejackets worn by refugees during their crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Chois, in Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 19, 2016.(REUTERS Photo)

ANKARA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) launched Monday its largest humanitarian aid program allocating a monthly electronic cash grant via the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) for one million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

"Today we launch the biggest and largest humanitarian project the EU has ever supported. It will provide a basic source of income for one million Syrian refugees," said Christos Stylianides, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, during a news conference with the Turkish EU Affair Minister Omer Celik.

The Turkish minister welcomed the EU's program of approximately 3 billion euro for refugees in Turkey, yet criticized the funds delivery system through international organizations.

"Delivering the aid through Non Governmental Organizations delays the process," he said.

The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) program will transfer on a monthly basis 100 Turkish Liras (30 euro) per person to a debit card, for basic needs such as food, shelter and transportation, EU officials told Xinhua, requesting to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The most vulnerable refugees will be elected from the applicants and every family will have one Kizilay Card.

Brussels pledged to provide around six billion euro until 2018 to help ease Turkey's burden of hosting around three million refugees, in addition to granting Turkish citizens visa-free travel to Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly warned the EU that Ankara will not abide by the migrant deal if the EU delays on delivering its commitments due to red tape.

Turkey currently hosts over 250,000 refugees in 26 camps, but around 90 percent of Syrian refugees live outside camps in urban and rural areas.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The 71st session of the UN General Assembly concluded its annual high-level General Debate here on Monday, wrapping up discussions on a wide range of topics on climate change, refugees and migrants as well as peace and development.

Over the past week, over 140 world leaders and representatives addressed the General Assembly on the theme of "The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform our World."

On Wednesday, 31 more countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Thailand deposited their ratification of the Paris Agreement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In addition, a summit held on last Monday at the UN headquarters adopted a declaration on refugees and migrants, pledging to build a comprehensive refugee response framework.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the world body. Comprising all 193 UN member states, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues.

The General Assembly meets in regular session intensively from September to December each year. At the beginning of each regular session, the assembly holds a general debate, often addressed by heads of state and government to express their views on the most pressing matters for the international community.
BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- An influential Iraqi Shiite cleric said Sunday the paramilitary Shiite units, known as Hashd Shaabi, must be under the command of the security forces if they want to participate in battles to free Iraq's northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) militants.

Moqtada al-Sadr said it is "necessary that the liberators (of Mosul) to be the army and other official security forces," according to the statement from his office.

As for his own Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) militia, Sadr put several conditions for them to participate in battles to liberate IS-held Mosul, including full coordination with Iraqi security forces, the statement said.

Sadr's comments came amid dispute between some Shiite Hashd Shaabi units and the Sunni Arab residents of Mosul, Kurds and U.S.-led coalition forces upon the former's participation of the battles.

Hashd Shaabi units insist to take part in the long-awaited Mosul battles, while those who opposed it have fears that the Shiite militias might perpetrate in looting and abusing the Sunni residents, which reportedly happened previously in other Sunni cities of Baiji, Tikrit and Fallujah when the Shiite militias participated in liberating them from IS militants.

The argument about who will participate in the battles against IS in Mosul came as the Iraqi security forces and allied U.S.-led coalition forces are gearing up for a major offensive to liberate Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq.

Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, has been under IS control for more than two years since the extremist group seized parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.
ALGIERS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Algerian counterterrorism troops killed on Sunday night two armed militants in the province of Medea, 145 km southwest of Algiers, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

The two militants were killed in an ambush set up in the woods of Boghar, as the troops retrieved a Kalashnikov machine gun, a quantity of ammunition, a grenade, binoculars and six mobile phones, according to the source.

Last June, the Algerian army has killed twelve militants during a military operation that lasted more than a week in the dense forests of this same province.

Algerian army forces have been very active in the last five months, as they have managed to kill nearly 100 armed militants in different operations nationwide.
Police block the site of a shootout in Houston, Texas, the United States, Sept. 26, 2016. Nine people were injured early Monday when a man armed with several weapons opened fire on vehicles in southwest Houston, the largest city in the U.S. state of Texas. (Xinhua/Jia Zhong)

HOUSTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were injured early Monday when a man armed with several weapons opened fire on vehicles in southwest Houston, the largest city in the U.S. state of Texas.

According the Houston police, it started when police and firefighters responded at about 6:30 a.m. local time (1130 GMT) after reports of a shooting victim at a strip center on Weslayan at Bissonnet.

Police block the road near the site of a shootout in Houston, Texas, the United States, Sept. 26, 2016. Nine people were injured early Monday when a man armed with several weapons opened fire on vehicles in southwestHouston, the largest city in the U.S. state of Texas. (Xinhua/Jia Zhong)

As of 8:45 a.m.local time (1345 GMT), the scene is secure but a bomb squad was checking the suspect's vehicle.

Several vehicles that stopped near the scene had bullet holes and busted windows. The injured persons were said to be drivers or passengers in the vehicles that were struck.

Initial investigation showed that the suspect was a disgruntled lawyer, and the police have confirmed that he had been killed.

According to the police, six people were rushed to hospitals for medical treatment, but their conditions are unknown. Three others, suffering from slight injuries, left the scene.

The police said that they have begun to investigate the cause of the shooting.
SOFIA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The first meeting of the capitals of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) under the "16+1" cooperation mechanism kicked off here on Monday.

The three-day event, which is attended by mayors and local government representatives of the 17 capitals, aims to improve cooperation in the areas of transport and logistics, agribusiness and tourism.

A special panel on innovation, innovation industries and the modern city will also be held as a part of the event.

Du Deyin, director of Beijing Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, addressed the brief opening ceremony on behalf of the Chinese capital, expressing hope for closer cooperation between China and the capital cities of the CEE countries.

"Sofia hosts a unique meeting, which we believe will bring many beneficial results for our cities," Todor Chobanov, deputy mayor of Sofia, said at the ceremony that took place in the National Palace of Culture just before a Beijing acrobatics performance.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's ongoing Lava Jato investigation into the Petrobras corruption ring has claimed another prominent scalp, with the arrest of Antonio Palocci.

Palocci, a former finance minister to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and chief of staff to the impeached Dilma Rousseff, was arrested Monday in Sao Paulo.

He stands accused of favoring construction company Odebrecht to secure Petrobras contracts and of receiving bribes, the federal police revealed in a statement.

Palocci was arrested in the 35th phase of the Lava Jato investigation, which saw police carry out 45 searches and raids in seven states across the country.

Palocci is known to be one of the most influential members of the Workers' Party. He was Minister of Finance from 2003 until 2006 under Lula, acted as Chief of Staff for Rousseff in 2012, and coordinated both Lula's presidential campaign in 2002 and Rousseff's in 2010.

The statement explained that Palocci benefited from some of the over 128 million reais (39.4 million U.S. dollars) in bribes paid by Odebrecht to Workers' Party members between 2008 and 2013.

Two other men were arrested, Juscelino Antonio Dourado, Palocci's former chief of staff, and Branislav Kontic, his former campaign adviser. The three are being taken to Brasilia for interrogation.

This new phase of the Lava Jato investigation comes less than a week before Brazil's municipal elections on October 2.
NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices climbed on Monday as world major producers kicks off a meeting to discuss ways to support the market.

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) members and Russia are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26 to 28.

Although countries including Saudi Arabia have downplayed the meeting as "a chance to consult rather than take a decision on output levels", it is still widely expected that the key oil producers may reach an output-cut deal during the meeting to stabilize the market.

The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery added 1.45 U.S. dollars to settle at 45.93 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery gained 1.46 U.S. dollars to close at 47.35 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
AMMAN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The fourth China-Arab States University Presidents Forum kicked off in Jordan on Monday, gathering hundreds of presidents, officials and academicians from Arab and Chinese universities to discuss cooperation in the field of higher education.

The two-day forum, with the aim of enhancing China-Arab friendship and cooperation, is held at Zarqa University in Zarqa City, 30 km northeast of capital Amman.

Chinese Ambassador to Jordan, Pan Weifang, hailed the friendship between China and Arab countries while addressing the opening ceremony, saying that cooperation in the field of education has become a valuable development opportunity in both governmental and non-governmental exchanges.

Jordan's Higher Education Minister Wajih Owais praised the forum as a way to enhance ties between Arab and Chinese universities as well as bolstering cooperation in various academic fields.

Figures show that China has attracted 14,000 students from Arab countries in 2015, while the number of Chinese students in Arab countries has exceeded 3,600.

Moreover, Arabic language is taught at 37 universities in China, and China has launched 11 Confucius Institutes and three Confucius Classrooms in nine Arab countries.

The China-Arab States University Presidents Forum, first held in 2011, has contributed greatly to the promotion of China-Arab exchanges and cooperation in the field of higher education.
UNIETD NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for a full global disarmament as the world faces growing nuclear dangers and tensions, but progress in multilateral nuclear disarmament has come to a "standstill."

"Let us pledge to work for the total elimination of nuclear weapons with urgency and a sense of collective purpose. Our very survival depends upon it," Ban said in his message to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which is observed annually on Sept. 26.

Noting that nuclear disarmament is one of the founding principles of the world body, he said that it was also the objective of the first UN General Assembly resolution.

"Disarmament is in our DNA," the secretary-general said, adding that he has been proud to advance the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, such as by launching, in 2008, a Five Point Proposal on Nuclear Disarmament to spur member states to greater action.

"Sadly, many countries continue to include nuclear deterrence in their security doctrines. But recent developments have shown that nuclear weapons do not ensure peace and security. Rather, their development and possession has become a major source of international tension," the UN chief said.

"As we scan the global horizon, we face growing nuclear dangers. Progress in multilateral nuclear disarmament has come to a standstill," he added.

There are growing divisions on the future of multilateral nuclear disarmament. The next review cycle of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons begins in 2017, and "the world cannot afford another round of inaction," Ban said.

A landmark international treaty opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 1970, and was extended indefinitely on May 11, 1995.

Its objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. It represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.

The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was established by the UN General Assembly in 2013 in a resolution calling for the "urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer and use or threat of use, and to provide for their destruction."
BOGOTA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- At 5 p.m. Monday afternoon (2200 GMT), the oldest civil conflict in Latin America will be consigned to history books when Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader, Timoleon Jimenez, sign a peace agreement, finalized last month in Havana.

The two men will mark the historic moment at a ceremony in the port city of Cartagena, in the company of a number of world leaders and around 2,500 people.

Ahead of the moment, reactions have poured in from across the region.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa spoke to the press at Quito airport on Monday before leaving for the ceremony, saying that "we have been invited by President Juan Manuel Santos, for a historic moment of joy for Colombia, for Ecuador, for Latin America and the entire world."

"President Santos and Colombia know they can count on our total, unrestricted, absolute, unconditional support," he vowed.

Additionally, he said that Ecuador and Colombia have been coordinating for months to work together to face any potential problems arising during the peace process, including the disarmament of the guerrilla group.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, who will also attend, said at an event on Sunday that he would go "to Cartagena to bring the spirit of (Hugo) Chavez. I go there to bring the voice of Venezuela."

Bolivia's President Evo Morales took to Twitter to express his happiness, saying that "it is possible to make a revolution with votes, not with bullets, with the conscience of the people and not with weapons."

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, speaking to the press upon arrival in Cartagena on Monday, highlighted the role Chile played as an accompanying country to the peace talks in Havana.

The conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC started in the 1960s as an uprising for land rights. It has left about 220,000 people dead and millions displaced.

According to Bachelet, Chile has played a very active role in the process that led to the end of the conflict in Colombia.

"We will continue to help the transition toward peace in Colombia through our new role in the search of an agreement with the National Liberation Army (ELN)," she said.

"Chile has 75 personnel, from the army and police, in the (disarmament) verification zones. Furthermore, we will act as a guarantor country in the negotiations with the ELN," continued Bachelet.

Talks between Colombia and ELN, the country's second-largest guerrilla group after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), began in March.

In a positive step for these negotiations, the ELN on Sunday announced it would hold a ceasefire until Oct. 2, when the Colombian people will vote on whether to approve the FARC peace deal.

ELN commander, Pablo Beltran, gave an interview with the group's media wing, Ranpal, to explain that the group would not pressure the people during the vote.

"We are not pushing or stopping the people from voting. Each one is free, which is why there will be no offensive actions by the ELN in these days...to allow the participation of the people," said Beltran.

Beltran, who is one of the negotiators in the early peace talks with the government, said the ELN is not against the peace agreement with the FARC.

"We respect the agreement, there are things we do not like, but we are not an obstacle. Making criticisms does not mean we are against it," added the rebel leader.
CAIRO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday that illegal migration must be combated whether to or from Egypt.

He made the remarks in an aired TV speech, saying the issue is something that Egypt cannot face alone, and stressing the country cannot be a state of refugees.

Sisi also said that there is no justification or excuse for such death of human beings from Egypt and abroad, referring to the migration boat tragedy last week, urging young people to have hope and not seek to migrate.

While the world leaders including Sisi gathered in New York to seek solutions for immigration problems last Wednesday, a migration boat carrying hundreds capsized off Egypt's northern coast of Rosetta.

As many as 178 bodies have been retrieved so far, state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported Monday.

Addressing those who wish to migrate, Sisi urged them to stay in their homeland, affirming that there are job opportunities in Egypt.

Illegal migration via Egyptian Mediterranean Sea shores rose over the past few years in attempts to reach Europe and flee difficult economic conditions in the financially-struggling Arab country, where unemployment rate hits 12.5 percent according to official reports.
Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2016 shows the debate hall for the first U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York, the United States. The first of three U.S. presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, is held Monday at Hofstra University in New York. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hot-headed U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump needs to show voters he can be calm and cool under pressure during Monday night's first presidential debate, U.S. experts said.

If Trump can do this, he may be able to continue closing in on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. If not, he may not be able to catch up, the experts said.

Trump has had a good run in the past few weeks, and has started to close Clinton's lead in the polls, as the controversial billionaire has toned down his rhetoric and focused on the issues in recent weeks.

Indeed, the brash businessman for the past year has become infamous for hurling insults at rival candidates and for what many critics call controversial and over-the-top statements. While that earned Trump much respect from his supporters, it has also alienated him from many independent and undecided voters.

But now, it is crucial for Trump during the debate to refrain from the insults and over-the-top statements that have gained himself so much press in the past year, as he needs to increase support outside his base.

With less than two months to go until November' s presidential election, Trump will have to stay on message and away from the temptation to hurl personal attacks and insults against rival Clinton during the nationally televised debate, experts said.

"He needs to stay on message that he is the agent of change and she (Clinton) represents the status quo. This is his best strength against her. He doesn't have to hit a home run, just to avoid a series of errors that undermine public confidence in his ability to do the job," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution.

Clinton, however, will use Monday's debate as a chance to trip up Trump in hopes that he will engage in his typical name calling and insults. Many voters see Trump as temperamentally unfit to be president, and Clinton hopes to capitalize on this.

"Clinton's goal is to goad Trump into intemperate statements that make him look unfit for the presidency," West said.

If Clinton can get Trump to say outrageous things, it will remind people of his statements that and that he does not appear very presidential, West told Xinhua.

Trump in the past has compared Mexicans to rapists, called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, and has made personal insults against political rivals.

Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that Clinton has to draw Trump's "worse characteristics out."

But whether Trump can resist the temptation to spout off against Clinton on the debate stage remains unknown.

There have been past instances in which the very vocal candidate has seemed to tone it down, delivering serious policy speeches that are argued in a coherent way. But then just days later he would make an off-the-cuff remark that would erase all the gains he made.

Recent weeks have perhaps seen the longest stretch of time in which Trump has refrained from, essentially, being Trump. But it remains unknown whether he can keep it up, especially on the debate stage with Clinton.

For her part, Clinton's challenge is to present herself as more approachable and down-to-earth in a country where citizens want their leaders to understand the struggles of ordinary Americans.

"Her biggest challenge is relating to ordinary voters. People want to know that she cares about them and will undertake meaningful actions that will improve their lives. If she can do that, it will be a good night for her," West said.

Other experts said the debate is crucial for both candidates, as polls show that the two candidates have among the highest negative rates -- essentially the number of people who don' t like them -- in recent presidential history, polls show.

"In an election cycle where so many people have a negative viewpoint of both candidates, this debate is vital for both differentiating each candidate from their opponent, as well as ginning up the base," Mahaffee said.

While it may not be "make or break," it's vital for Trump to use this debate to further his momentum that's seen him close the gap with Clinton, he said.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua that it's not clear Trump wants to resist the temptation to throw personal insults at Clinton.

"I think he will allow some of that Trump to appear, balanced though with the more restrained figure that will be necessary for him to appear presidential," he said.
Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2016 shows the debate hall for the first U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York, the United States. The first of three U.S. presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, is held Monday at Hofstra University in New York. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hot-headed U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump needs to show voters he can be calm and cool under pressure during Monday night's first presidential debate, U.S. experts said.

If Trump can do this, he may be able to continue closing in on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. If not, he may not be able to catch up, the experts said.

Trump has had a good run in the past few weeks, and has started to close Clinton's lead in the polls, as the controversial billionaire has toned down his rhetoric and focused on the issues in recent weeks.

Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2016 shows the debate hall for the first U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York, the United States. The first of three U.S. presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, is held Monday at Hofstra University in New York. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)

Indeed, the brash businessman for the past year has become infamous for hurling insults at rival candidates and for what many critics call controversial and over-the-top statements. While that earned Trump much respect from his supporters, it has also alienated him from many independent and undecided voters.

But now, it is crucial for Trump during the debate to refrain from the insults and over-the-top statements that have gained himself so much press in the past year, as he needs to increase support outside his base.

With less than two months to go until November' s presidential election, Trump will have to stay on message and away from the temptation to hurl personal attacks and insults against rival Clinton during the nationally televised debate, experts said.

Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2016 shows the debate hall for the first U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York, the United States. The first of three U.S. presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, is held Monday at Hofstra University in New York. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)

"He needs to stay on message that he is the agent of change and she (Clinton) represents the status quo. This is his best strength against her. He doesn't have to hit a home run, just to avoid a series of errors that undermine public confidence in his ability to do the job," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution.

Clinton, however, will use Monday's debate as a chance to trip up Trump in hopes that he will engage in his typical name calling and insults. Many voters see Trump as temperamentally unfit to be president, and Clinton hopes to capitalize on this.

"Clinton's goal is to goad Trump into intemperate statements that make him look unfit for the presidency," West said.

If Clinton can get Trump to say outrageous things, it will remind people of his statements that and that he does not appear very presidential, West told Xinhua.

Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2016 shows the debate hall for the first U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York, the United States. The first of three U.S. presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, is held Monday at Hofstra University in New York. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)

Trump in the past has compared Mexicans to rapists, called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, and has made personal insults against political rivals.

Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that Clinton has to draw Trump's "worse characteristics out."

But whether Trump can resist the temptation to spout off against Clinton on the debate stage remains unknown.

There have been past instances in which the very vocal candidate has seemed to tone it down, delivering serious policy speeches that are argued in a coherent way. But then just days later he would make an off-the-cuff remark that would erase all the gains he made.

Recent weeks have perhaps seen the longest stretch of time in which Trump has refrained from, essentially, being Trump. But it remains unknown whether he can keep it up, especially on the debate stage with Clinton.

For her part, Clinton's challenge is to present herself as more approachable and down-to-earth in a country where citizens want their leaders to understand the struggles of ordinary Americans.

"Her biggest challenge is relating to ordinary voters. People want to know that she cares about them and will undertake meaningful actions that will improve their lives. If she can do that, it will be a good night for her," West said.

Other experts said the debate is crucial for both candidates, as polls show that the two candidates have among the highest negative rates -- essentially the number of people who don' t like them -- in recent presidential history, polls show.

"In an election cycle where so many people have a negative viewpoint of both candidates, this debate is vital for both differentiating each candidate from their opponent, as well as ginning up the base," Mahaffee said.

While it may not be "make or break," it's vital for Trump to use this debate to further his momentum that's seen him close the gap with Clinton, he said.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua that it's not clear Trump wants to resist the temptation to throw personal insults at Clinton.

"I think he will allow some of that Trump to appear, balanced though with the more restrained figure that will be necessary for him to appear presidential," he said.
HAVANA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro here Sunday and the two exchanged views on bilateral ties, world peace, regional hotspot issues, food security and a wide range of other issues of common concern.

Li first conveyed the cordial greetings and good wishes of President Xi Jinping, other Chinese leaders and the Chinese people to Castro and extended congratulations to Castro for his 90th birthday.

President Xi, during his state visit to Cuba in 2014, met and held an in-depth discussion with Castro, said Li.

We cherish very much the traditional friendship between China and Cuba, and are willing to consolidate political mutual trust and expand cooperation with Cuba, and to enhance the friendly feelings between the two peoples, the premier said.

While noting that the world's political and economic landscape is currently experiencing complicated and profound adjustment, with old and new issues intertwined with each other and challenges emerging one after another, Li said, no matter how the international situations change, the China-Cuban relationship of comrade plus brother, featuring mutual respect, treating each other on an equal footing and pulling together, will not change.

Castro, for his part, extended congratulations to Li for his successful visit to Cuba, and said Cuba and China enjoy a profound friendship.

While noting that great changes have taken place in China since the two countries established diplomatic relations over 50 years ago, Castro said he is pleased to see the development China has achieved, and expressed admiration to the Chinese people for their diligence and unyielding spirit.

Describing the current world situation as complex and ever changing, Castro said Cuba is willing to safeguard world peace and increase cooperation and communication with China.

The Chinese premier, accompanied by his wife Cheng Hong and senior Chinese officials, was in Havana as guest of President of the Cuban Council of State and Council of Ministers Raul Castro.

Li's trip to Havana is the first official visit to the Caribbean country by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic ties 56 years ago.




WELLINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand is deepening its commercial links with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as it steps up efforts to secure a free trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Trade Minister Todd McClay, who is leading a business delegation to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, said in a statement from his office Tuesday that the two governments were committed to growing the trade relationship further.

The UAE was the gateway for many New Zealand businesses into the Middle East and North Africa, and New Zealand's 11th largest trading partner with two-way goods trade of around 1.3 billion NZ dollars (945.88 million U.S. dollars).

McClay said the Dubai Chamber of Commerce had agreed to establish a New Zealand-Dubai Business Council by the end of this year.

"This is a significant opportunity for New Zealand companies. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce has more than 170,000 members, and has agreed to give a renewed priority to our relationship," said McClay.

"I have also asked officials to work on two opportunities for New Zealand. The first is a New Zealand trade day to pitch Kiwi business to Dubai Chamber members. The second is for the Dubai Chamber of Commerce to organize a business mission to New Zealand to explore new trade and investment opportunities."

McClay also visited Sharjah where areas for cooperation with the UAE's third largest emirate were identified in education, healthcare and environmental planning and protection.

UAE Minister of Cabinet and Future Affairs Mohammed Al Gergawi and Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansouri confirmed in talks that they remained committed to enhance bilateral trade and investment, said McClay.

McClay is hoping press home a free trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council that has been under negotiation since 2009.

Last week New Zealand Prime Minister John Key held talks at the United Nations in New York with Saudi Arabian Deputy Prime Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the ongoing negotiations.

Radio New Zealand reported that Key said after the talks that he thought the trade deal was gathering momentum and could be completed next year.

Last year, Key visited the Gulf Cooperation Council states, and said Saudi Arabia was going to be the stumbling block to the deal.

It is believed that Saudi government took umbrage over New Zealand's ban on exports of live sheep a trade in which Saudi businesses had invested heavily.

However, a controversial New Zealand government-funded agri-hub, including live New Zealand sheep, established in Saudi Arabia in 2013 had helped clear the way for a free trade deal, Key said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, is New Zealand's sixth largest export partner, with annual exports worth over 1.7 billion NZ dollars (1.23 billion U.S. dollars).
CARTAGENA, Colombia, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC commander in chief, Timoleon Jimenez, signed a historic peace deal on Monday afternoon in the city of Cartagena, ending a 52-year conflict.

In a special ceremony attended by world leaders, the two men signed the peace agreement to begin a new chapter in the country's history. The agreement was reached in August in Havana, Cuba after four years of negotiations.
WELLINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Luxembourg has signed its first-ever working holiday scheme with New Zealand during a visit to Wellington by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn.

"This is Luxembourg's first working holiday scheme and will allow up to 50 young people from New Zealand and Luxembourg to live and work in each other's countries," New Zealand Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said in a statement Tuesday.

"This reflects our positive relationship, which has been developed and strengthened through our wider interactions with the European Union," said Woodhouse.

"Working holiday schemes provide young New Zealanders with opportunities to live and work in Europe, while working holiday-makers from countries like Luxembourg contribute positively to New Zealand through tourism, cultural, and inter-personal links."

The scheme would be open to people aged 18 to 30 year olds and was expected to start in April 2017
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian police on Monday killed a drug trafficker, nicknamed "Fat Family", during an exchange of fire in Rio de Janeiro.

He was one of the most wanted men in Rio de Janeiro since he escaped from a hospital in which he was under custody, with one person being killed in the incident.

According to Rio de Janeiro's police, Nicolas Labre Pereira de Jesus, 28, known as "Fat Family" due to his weight, died along with two others in an operation in the municipality of Sao Goncalo.

Fat Family was the chief drug trafficker in the favela of Santo Amaro, in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro.

He was wounded while being apprehended by police in June. However, as he recovered in hospital under guard on June 19, at least 25 armed individuals burst in to rescue him. A patient was killed, while a nurse and a policeman were wounded.

Since then, the police has carried out various operations to rescue him, including putting up a reward for information leading to his arrest.

Fat Family was the brother of another drug lord, Marco Antonio Pereira Firmino da Silva, alias "My Thor", who is in jail after being found to be one of the leaders of Comando Vermelho (Red Command), the city's largest organized crime unit.
Customers visit the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris, France, September 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

The luxury goods industry has suffered from slowing Chinese demand, while terror attacks worldwide have hurt tourism and travelers' spending on luxury items this year.

But even with falling earnings growth and sales that UBS Group AG warns may worsen, many luxury goods makers have increased their dividends in a bid to lure investors, Societe Generale SA analysts wrote in note last month.

The strategy hasn't worked in the past year, with a Morgan Stanley index of shares tracking firms with high and sustainable payouts slumping 16 percent, three times more than the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Higher dividends at a handful of struggling posh-product makers are a luxury they may not be able to affordthat appears to be the consensus view.

Take Richemont and Tod's SpA, for example. Both are down more than 20 percent this year and both are still squarely in the sights of short sellers.

Lingering expectations that they'll raise dividends even after reporting declining sales are attracting bearish traders.

"Despite the softening of their business in some of their key-growth markets, these companies are still growing their dividends," said Simon Colvin, an analyst at IHS Markit Ltd in London. "It doesn't take a lot for the dividend to become unsustainable. You have to be very wary as a dividend investorthat high yield sometimes carries risk."

While Richemont forecast operating profit slumped 45 percent in the first half, analysts see it raising its dividend for an eighth year. For Tod's, which posted a sixth semester of falling earnings, payouts are projected to climb 15 percent.

The companies have some of the most generous dividend yields in the BI Europe Luxury Goods Top Peers, and their short interest of more than 6 percent is among the highest, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Markit.

Like them, Salvatore Ferragamo SpA and Hugo Boss AG are some of the companies most bet-against in the sector, with a short interest of more than 5 percent and shares down this year.

Their payout yield is higher than the average for members of the luxury index, even though they're struggling to turn themselves around. Swatch Group AG, whose first-half profit was the worst in seven years, also has a dividend rate higher than the mean. With a short interest of 27 percent, it's the most-shorted company of the regional Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Kering SA's payout yields are also higher than the industry's average, but the difference is that some of their units have shown an increase in demand. Their stocks are up this year, and their short interest of less than 1.2 percent is lower than the average for the industry.

Hermes International SCA, which scrapped its annual sales growth target, has one of the lowest dividend yields among peers. Its short interest is at 0.7 percent, and the shares are up 14 percent this year.

Even if firms have managed to maintain high payouts so far, the worsening sales will eventually hit, according to Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank AG in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Bloomberg
Police find three Glock pistols in separate searches

According to reports, officers of the Northern Division went to the house of an Arouca man where a search was conducted and a Glock pistol was found. The man was taken into police custody and the firearm seized. Fifty-nine rounds of ammunition and two magazines were also recovered from the house.

Police officers then went to a home on Bamboo #3 and conducted a search, after receiving information.

During this search police officers found another Glock pistol, with ten rounds of ammunition.

One arrest was made in connection to the find.

Police officers also went to Maloney, after receiving information, and found to an abandoned car in the area.

After a search, police found another Glock pistol. No arrests were made in connection to that find.

During police exercises conducted in Mayaro on Friday night, five persons were arrested in connection to robberies and break-ins in the Mayaro area over the past two weeks.

According to police reports, officers of the Mayaro Police Station and Eastern Division Task Force conducted exercises in Mayaro between 8 pm on Friday and 3 am on Saturday.

During the exercise the five men between the ages of 18 and 52 were held in the Mayaro district.

The exercises were conducted under the supervision of Snr Supt Trim, and spearheaded by Insp Lutchman.

The men are expected to go on identification parades during the course of this week.
Suruj: No to devaluation

We must engage in a strategy which does not further impoverish the poor and the middle class. We must avoid drastic devaluation of our currency or we will impose untold hardship, he urged.

Instead we must engage in product substitution and people must be encouraged to participate in this exercise. Rambachan suggested a focus on two areas, construction and tourism.

We cannot build this country nor come out of the recession unless the countrys productivity increases, unless the economy gets a boost by targeting the construction sector in particular.

Unless there are targeted areas for diversification including boosting the tourism sector where the product has to redefined and repackaged in a way that differentiates it thereby giving potential visitors a reason to choose TT. He accused the Government of having no clear plan to save the economy, but rather of being stuck in analysis-paralysis.

Rambachan lamented a near-quarter rise in the debt-to-GDP ratio - from 45 percent last September to 54 percent now - and with no foreseeable strategy to earn more foreign exchange outside of declining oil and gas revenues.

The country has been left without strategic leadership because there is an absence of creative thinking and confidence by citizens about the future. Investments are drying up and there are no signs of marketing because there are no clear strategies identifying sectors where give is prepared to provide incentives. Rambachan bemoaned drug-shortages at public hospitals, non-distribution of textbooks at schools and the inability of the police to solve crimes including the recent kidnapping of housewife Ria Sookdeo.
NSA screening today

The NSA, the political wing of the All Trinidad General Workers Trade Union, is engaging in electoral politics for the first time, and will contest several corporations.

Todays screening is for persons interested in being candidates for the Princes Town Borough Corporation.

Membership forms for the NSA and candidate forms are available at Rienzi Complex from 8.30 am to 5 pm, which can be contacted at 636-2354 or 636- 4280.
Mass mobilization programmes for sanitation awareness taken up across the country

New Delhi, Mon, 26 Sep 2016 NI Wire

Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Shir Suresh Prbhu launch Swachh Bharat Week in Kozhikode

Audio-Visual campaign featuring Amitabh Bachhan, Sachin Tendulkar to be launched tomorrow

Rallies, shramadan, village and ward level meetings were organized today in rural and urban areas across the county for further sensitizing the people about cleanliness on the first day of Swachh Bharat Week.

Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Drinking Water & Sanitation Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu launched the Swachh Bharat Week at Kozhikode Railway Station in Kerala. Members of National Service Scheme (NSS) and public took out a rally in Kozhikode.

Swachh Bharat Week is being celebrated from today i.e birth anniversary of Antyodaya advocate late Shri Deendayal Upadhyaya and will continue till Ocotber 2,2016 i.e the birth anniversary of Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi, who voiced serious concerns about poor sanitation and its consequences, 100 years ago while speaking at the Benares Hindu University, Varanasi.

Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation has drawn up elaborate action plans for the week for rural areas while the Ministry of Urban Development did so for urban areas of the country, centred around celebration of more and more villages, districts and cities becoming Open Defecation Free.

Minister of Drinking Water & Sanitation Shri Narendra Singh Tomar will launch Audio-Visual Campaign in New Delhi featuring Shri Amitabh Bachhan and Shri Sachin Tendulkar, both Swachh Ambassadors nominated by Prime Minister. This campaign seeks behavioral change among the people for using toilets and eliminating open defecation.

On the first day of Swachh Bharat Week today, Swacchagrahis (volunteer Swachh Bharat Dhoots) with support from Self-Help Groups and NGOs took up awareness generation programmes at major open defecation areas in different cities and towns.

In Gujarat, Kadodara and Mandvi towns have been declared Open Defecation Free with Quality Council of India (QCI) presenting third party verification certificates in support of ODF claims by these towns after due verification, as per the Protocol evolved by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Prime Minister will inaugurate a day long INDOSAN (India Sanitation Conference) in New Delhi on the 30th of this month. Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Ministers from States, elected representatives of people, District Collectors, Municipal Commissioners of 500 AMRUT cities, representatives of private sector and NGOs will participate in the day long brainstorming on the achievements of the last two years and challenges ahead in making Swachh Bharat by 2019.

Minister of Drinking Water & Sanitation Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu launching Swachh Bharat Week by flagging off an awareness rally at Kozhikode, Kerala on September 25,2016.

Source: PIB
PM Modi 'Mann Ki Baat' Programme on All India Radio on September 25, 2016

New Delhi, Mon, 26 Sep 2016 NI Wire

My dear countrymen, Namaskar! We recently lost 18 brave sons of our country in a terrorist attack in Uri Sector in Jammu and Kashmir. I salute these valiant soldiers and pay my tributes to them. This cowardly act has shocked the entire Nation. There are strong emotions of widespread grief as well as anger across the country. And, this is not only a loss for the families who have lost a son, a brother or a husband. In fact, it is a national loss. And, therefore, I will just reiterate to you, my countrymen, what I had said that very day, that the guilty will certainly be punished.

My dear countrymen, we have full faith in our armed forces. They will foil with their valour every such conspiracy, and they are the ones to reach the pinnacle of bravery so that we, their 1.25 billion fellow countrymen, can live peacefully and be happy. We are proud of our army. We politicians have many opportunities to speak our mind and we do speak. But, the forces do not speak, they take action.

I also wish today to specially talk to those living in Kashmir. Kashmiris are now beginning to recognize well the true face of the anti-national forces. And as they understand the truth better, they are now separating themselves from such elements and have started moving on the path of peace. Every parent wants the schools and colleges to be functioning properly at the earliest. Farmers also feel that their ripened crops and fruits should reach markets across the country. Economic activities too should be back on track. And during the last few days there has been a movement towards restoration of trading activities. We all know that peace, unity and harmony are the only way to solve our problems and also the way to our progress and development. We have to scale greater heights of development for the sake of our future generations. I am very sure that by sitting together we shall definitely find solutions to our problems, find ways to move ahead and also pave a better path for future generations in Kashmir. Providing security to people in Kashmir is the responsibility of the administration. The government has to take some steps to maintain law and order. I shall also tell the security forces that all our capabilities, power, laws, rules and regulations are basically meant to maintain law and order in order to provide a life of peace and happiness for the common people of Kashmir. We shall strictly abide by this. At times, people thinking differently from us also provide new ideas. These days I get to learn quite a lot through social media. I get an opportunity to know and understand views of different people from all corners of the country and this actually adds to the strength of our democracy. Recently, Harshvardhan, a young student of Eleventh Class has put before me a different type of thought. He has written  I was very much distressed after the Uri attack and strongly felt like doing something. But, I did not know how to go about it as what could a young student like me possibly do. So, I was trying to find some way to be of some service to the nation. And I have resolved that I would devote three more hours daily towards my studies. I shall become a capable citizen so that I can serve the country well.

Brother Harshvardhan, I am happy to know that despite this atmosphere charged with anger, you are able to think in a healthy manner at such a young age. But, dear Harshvardhan, I shall also like to add that the anger in the hearts of our countrymen is of a very high value. It symbolises our national consciousness. This anger has the resolve to do something. Yes! You have presented that with a constructive approach. But, you must be aware that during the 1965-war, Lal bahadur Shastri Ji was leading us and then also similar feelings of rage, anger and patriotic fervour were sweeping the nation. Everyone wanted that something must happen, must be done. Then, Lal Bahadur Shashtri Ji had very aptly tried to touch the emotional universe of the country. He gave the mantra-Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan which inspired the common people of the country to work for the nation. Lal Bahadur Shashtri Ji showed that even amidst the deafening sounds of gunfire and bombardment, there existed an alternative way for every citizen for expressing patriotism. During the freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi also used to mount highly successful experiments to divert the strong energy of that movement towards constructive social work, whenever a lull was needed amidst the extreme intensity in that movement. Now, if all of us, that is, our armed forces, people in the government, fulfill our respective responsibilities sincerely, and all of us countrymen, each citizen make some constructive contribution imbued with the feeling of patriotism, our country will most definitely scale greater heights.

My dear countrymen, Shri T.S. Kartik has written on NarendraModiApp that our athletes who participated in the Paralympics have created a new history and their performance is a triumph of the human spirit. Shri Varun Vishwanathan has also written on NarendraModiApp that our athletes did a commendable job and that I should talk about this in 'Mann Ki Baat'. Not only the two of you but each one of our countrymen has felt an emotional attachment with our athletes who participated at the Paralympics. Perhaps going beyond sporting achievements, these Paralympics and the performance by our athletes have transformed our attitude towards humanity, towards specially-abled, DIVYANG people. And, I shall never be able to forget what our victorious sister Deepa Malik had to say. When the medal was awarded to her, she said  Through this medal I have actually defeated the disability itself. There is great strength in this remark. This time 19 athletes, including three women, took part in Paralympics from our country. Compared to normal sporting activities, when the DIVYANG play, in addition to physical ability and sporting skills, what are needed even more are will power and resolve.

You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that our sportspersons put up their best ever performance this time and won 4 medals including two gold, one silver and one bronze. Brother Devendra Jhajharia won the gold medal in Javelin throw and repeated his gold winning performance after 12 years. One gets older over a period of 12 years and after having won the gold medal once, the passion for the same is also somewhat reduced. Yet, Devendra displayed that physical condition and increasing age could not dent his strong determination and he successfully claimed his second gold medal after a gap of 12 years. And, he was not born a DIVYANG. He lost one of his hands due to suffering electric current shock. Just think about the perseverance and the huge effort put in by him in repeating the feat of winning a second gold medal at 35 years of age 12 years after winning the first one at 23. Mariyappan Thangavelu won a gold medal in High Jump. Thangavelu had lost his right leg when he was just 5. Even poverty could not come in the way of his resolve. He is not from a big city, he does not come from a middle class or rich family. Yet despite facing all sorts of difficulties and physical challenges, at the age of 21, through his unwavering determination he won the medal for the country. As far as Athlete Deepa Malik is concerned, she has won laurels many a times by emerging victorious repeatedly.

Varun C. Bhati won a bronze medal in High Jump. Medals in Paralympics have a significance of their own, but going beyond that these medals have made a very big contribution in transforming the attitude towards our DIVYANG brothers and sisters in our country, our society and our neighborhoods. These have not only inspired our empathy but also changed the way of looking at the DIVYANG people. Only very few people might be knowing as to what stupendous feats were performed by these DIVYANG people in the Paralympics this time. Olympic Games were held at the same venue only a few days ago. Can anyone ever imagine the DIVYANG athletes breaking a record set during the general Olympic Games? It happened this time. In the 1500 meter race, Abdellatif Baka of Algeria set a new record by completing the 1500 meters race taking 1.7 seconds less than the time taken by the gold medalist in the same event at the general Olympics. Not only this, what really surprised me was the fact that the athlete, who finished fourth in this event amongst DIVYANG persons and thus missed winning any medal, actually took less time than the gold medalist of general category in completing the race. I once again congratulate all our Paralympic athletes and India is progressing in the direction of preparing an effective plan for developing our athletes and also the facilities for the Paralympics.

My dear countrymen, last week I had many wonderful experiences in Navsari, Gujarat. It was a very emotional moment for me. Government of India had organized a Mega Camp for DIVYANG persons and a number of world records were established that day. A visually challenged little girl child Gauri Shardul, hailing from far flung forest area in the Dang District, can recite the complete Ramayana epic as she has learnt it by heart. She rendered certain portions before me and when I presented her performance before other persons there, everyone was amazed. I got an opportunity to publicly release a book that day wherein success stories from the lives of some DIVYANG persons had been compiled. These were very inspiring incidents. Government of India created a world record in Navsari which I believe to be very important. The task of fitting hearing aids to 600 hearing impaired DIVYANG people in just eight hours was completed successfully. This deed found a mention in Guinness Book of World Records. Three world records in a single day by DIVYANG people is a matter of great pride for our countrymen.

My dear countrymen, we had launched 'Swachha Bharat Mission' two years ago on 2nd October, the birth anniversary of our revered Bapu. That day too I had said that cleanliness should become our nature, a duty for every citizen and there should be an atmosphere harbouring a sense of revulsion against filth. Now it is going to be nearly two years on 2nd October and I can confidently say that one hundred and twenty five crore people of the country have now become more aware about cleanliness. I had said 'one step towards cleanliness' and today we can say that each one of us has definitely tried to take one step further. This means that the country has taken 125 crore steps in the direction of achieving cleanliness. This affirms that the direction we have taken is correct and also fruits of the action are very sweet. It has also been seen as to how much can be achieved through making small efforts. Everyone, be it a common citizen, an administrator, in Government offices or roads, bus stops or railways, schools or colleges, religious places, hospitals, from children to old persons, rural poor, farming women- everyone is contributing something in achieving cleanliness. Friends in the media have also played a constructive role. I also know that we still have to go much farther. Yet, the beginning has been good so far. Whole-hearted efforts have been made and a conviction has now set in that we shall indeed succeed. This conviction is important. If we talk of rural India, so far 2 crore 48 lakh or say about two and a half crore toilets have been constructed and we intend to build another one and a half crore toilets in the coming one year. From the point of view of sanitation and keeping in mind the dignity of our citizens, especially the dignity of our mothers and sisters, it is necessary to put an end to the habit of defecating in the open. And, with this in view 'Open Defecation Free' or ODF Campaign has been launched. A healthy competition towards achieving liberation from the habit of defecating in open has started at the levels of states, districts and the villages. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala will achieve very soon cent percent ODF targets. I visited Gujarat recently and the officers there informed me that Porbandar, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, will achieve the target of total ODF on 2nd October, 2016. My congratulations to those who have made it possible, and best wishes to those who are trying to reach the target. I appeal to all of my countrymen that to maintain the dignity of our mothers and sisters and for the sake of health of our children, our country needs to get rid of this scourge. Let us forge ahead with a strong resolution. I specially want to suggest a scheme to my young friends who are currently technology savvy. Every citizen has a right to know about the status of the cleanliness mission in his city and the Government of India has provided a dedicated telephone number  1969 for this purpose. We know that Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869. In 1969, we celebrated his birth centenary and in 2019 we are going to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. By dialing this number 1-9-6-9 you will be able to know the progress of construction of toilets in your city and will also be able to submit an application for construction of a toilet. You must avail this facility. Not only this, a cleanliness, that is Swachchhata App has been launched for people to lodge complaints concerning cleanliness and also to know about the progress in resolving these complaints. Please make full use of this facility; especially the younger generation must utilize it optimally. Government of India has also appealed to the corporate world to come forward in this endeavour. They can sponsor young professionals willing to work for Swachchhata Mission. They can also be sent to various districts as Swachchha Bharat Fellows.

It will not be sufficient to keep this Cleanliness Campaign confined to beliefs and habits. Imbibing cleanliness as a nature is not enough. In this age, just as cleanliness is related to health, connecting cleanliness to a revenue model is also equally necessary. Waste to wealth should also be one of its components. It is, therefore, imperative that we need to move towards 'Waste to Compost' along with the Cleanliness Mission. Solid waste should be processed and be converted into Compost and the government has initiated a policy intervention in this regard. Fertilizer companies have been asked to buy the Compost made out of waste. They should supply this to the farmers who are willing to adopt organic farming. This should also be supplied to those farmers who care about the health of their soil and are willing to improve its quality and also to those farmers whose soil quality has deteriorated because of over use of chemical fertilizers. And for this, Shrimaan Amitabh Bachchan Ji is making a significant contribution as a brand ambassador. I invite youngsters to set up new 'start ups' also in this 'Waste to Wealth' movement to develop the means and processes, to develop the suitable technology and accomplish mass production at an affordable cost. This is a task worth doing. There is also a big scope of employment generation and an opportunity for tremendous economic activity and wealth creation from waste is achievable. This year a special programme 'INDOSAN'  India Sanitation Conference is being organized from 25th September to 2nd October. Ministers, Chief Ministers as also Mayors and Commissioners of metropolitan cities will participate in brainstorming sessions on the sole issue of cleanliness. What can be achieved with technology? What can be the financial model? How to mobilize public participation? How can employment opportunities be increased in this sphere? All these topics will be discussed. And I see clearly that the news about cleanliness keeps pouring in. I recently read in a newspaper that students of Gujarat Technological University launched a Jagran Abhiyan (Awereness Campaign) to build toilets in 107 villages. They themselves put in physical labour and contributed significantly in constructing around 9000 toilets. It might have come to your notice some time ago that under the leadership of Wing Commander Param Veer Singh, a team covered a distance of 2800 kilometres by swimming in Ganga from Dev Prayag to Ganga Sagar to spread the message of cleanliness. Government of India has also chalked out an annual calendar for its departments. Each department is to focus exclusively on cleanliness for a period of 15 days. In the coming October month, from 1st October to 15th October, Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, Panchayati Raj Department and Rural Development Department  these three are going to work under a designated roadmap in their respective areas. Then during last two weeks of October from 16th October to 31st October, three more departments, namely  Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Food Processing Industries and Consumer Affairs are going to take up cleanliness campaigns in the concerned areas. I request the citizens also to get involved, wherever they feel that they too can pitch in these programmes. You might have seen that a cleanliness survey campaign is also carried out these days. Earlier, the cleanliness status was presented before the countrymen after conducting a survey of 73 cities. Now, this survey will be conducted in about 500 cities with a population of more than 1 lakh. Each city will imbibe a sense of confidence that, well, we have lagged behind but we will surely perform better next time. In this manner an atmosphere of competition for cleanliness has been created. I expect that all of us citizens should contribute as much as we can in the cleanliness mission. 2nd October is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji. Swachchh Bharat Mission is completing two years on this day. I keep on urging everyone to buy some khadi items between Gandhi Jayanti to Diwali. This year also I request that each family should buy one or the other khadi item so that the poor may also be able to light an earthen lamp and celebrate Diwali. This year 2nd October is a Sunday so can we involve ourselves in the cleanliness mission in some way? You involve yourself physically for 2 hours, 4 hours with cleaning work and I request you to share your cleanliness drive photo on NarendraModiApp. If it is a video, then share the video. You will see that with our joint efforts, this movement will get a fresh boost, a new dynamism. Let us all remember Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri and take a pledge to do something for the country.

My dear countrymen, one gets a special pleasure in giving, one may not realize it, but the pleasure of giving is divine. I witnessed it some time back when I asked the countrymen to give up their cooking gas subsidy and they responded whole-heartedly. This in itself was a very inspirational event in India's national life. Now, many youngsters, small groups, people from the corporate world, schools and some NGOs are jointly going to organize 'Joy of Giving Week' from 2nd October to 8th October. Under this campaign, food items and clothes will be collected and supplied to the needy persons. When I was in Gujarat, all our workers used to walk the streets seeking donations of old toys from families and then presented these toys to Anganwadis in poor neighbourhoods. These toys provided great pleasure to the poor children, which was a great sight to behold. I feel that we should encourage and help these young people who are organising 'Joy of Giving Week' in many cities. This is a kind of a 'Donation Festival', a Daan Utsav. I convey my best wishes to all those young persons who are undertaking this mission.

My dear countrymen, today is 25th September, the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Ji and his birth centenary year commences from today. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay undertook the tremendous task of defining and elaborating upon the political ideology being followed by lakhs and lakhs of workers like me. He was a supporter of a political ideology connected with the roots of India, he presented his own soul stirring political philosophy, the EKAATM-MAANAV DARSHAN alongside the ideology to uphold India's great cultural heritage. The centenary year of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay is commencing from today. 'Sarvajan Hitay  Sarvajan Sukhay', the principle of ANTYODAY - these are his gifts to us. Mahatma Gandhi also talked about the last man standing in the queue. How can the poorest of the poor avail of benefits of development? 'Work for every hand, water to every field' - through only these two words he presented his entire economic agenda. The country should celebrate his centenary year as GARIB KALYAN VARSH, 'Year for Welfare of the Poor'. We can alleviate poverty when everyone including society and governments focuses attention on measures to provide benefits of development to the poor. The place where I live was known as Race Course Road since British rule but now in the centenary year of Pandit Deen Dayal Updhyay this has been named 'Lok Kalyan Marg'. This is a symbolic representation of the 'Year for the Welfare of the Poor', the centenary year of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay. I respectfully pay my homage to revered Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, who has been a source of inspiration to all of us, and an embodiment of our intellectual heritage.

My dear countrymen, I had started 'Mann Ki Baat' on Vijayadashmi two years ago. My sincere effort was that 'Mann Ki Baat' should not become a programme of praising and highlighting only government's achievements; Mann Ki Baat should not become a programme of political oneupmanship, allegations and counter allegations. and sometimes passionate advocacy. Despite numerous pressures during these past two years  sometimes being tempted due the surrounding atmosphere, at times with provocations to say something with indignation - overcoming all such impulses over these two years with your blessings, I have moved through these obstacles and earnestly tried to connect with the common man through Mann Ki Baat. How the common man of this country keeps on inspring me all the time? What are the hopes and aspirations of the common man in the country? And this common man, who occupies my mind all the time, always gets projected in Mann Ki Baat. For our countrymen, Mann Ki Baat may be a source of information. For me, Mann Ki Baat has been the means to feel the strength of my 1.25 billion countrymen, to recall their great capabilities and power and to draw inspiration from the same for my own endeavours and initiatives. On completion of two years of Mann Ki Baat this week, I wish to express my sincere gratitude from the core of my heart to all you listeners who appreciated it, who contributed to improving it and thus blessed me. I am grateful to All India Radio also which not only broadcast my views but also put in their best efforts to transmit it in all languages. I am also thankful to those countrymen who knocked on the doors of the government by writing letters and by sending in suggestions and highlighting shortcomings of the government and All India Radio mounted special programmes on these letters by inviting concerned government functionaries and thus provided a platform to address the problems. Thus, Mann Ki Baat became a new opportunity of social transformation rather than just remaining a mere talk show of 15-20 minutes. What can be more satisfying than this for any one? And therefore, I thank everyone and express my gratitude to all who contributed in making it a successful programme.

My dear countrymen, from next week festive season will be ushered in with Navratri and Durga Puja, Vijayadashmi, preparations for Deepavali and all such activities. This is an occasion for praying to SHAKTI, Unity in society is the power or SHAKTI of the country. Be it Navratri or Durga Puja  how can this SHAKTI-UPASANA become the festival of celebrating social unity? How to make it a festival of social bonding? And that would be the true prayer to Shakti, only then can we celebrate together the festival of victory. Let us bow before Shakti, nurture it, march forward with the mantra of unity. Come, let us celebrate Navratri and Durga Puja festivals with peace, unity and harmony to enable our nation to scale newer heights. Let us celebrate victory on Vijayadashmi.

Thank you very much.

Source: PIB
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It's easy to think that drones are for nothing but trying to photograph celebrities, especially after the recent Mike Rowe ruckus, but drones can do so much more than snap candid pictures from long distances. Nokia (News - Alert) and the Netherlands recently got together to put together a new testing facility geared toward making drone aircraft the focus of a traffic management concept that helps keep cars rolling smoothly along.





The partnership sets up the new testing facility at the Netherlands' Twente Airport, which isn't far from Enschede, where much of the testing will likely take place. With the facility established, Nokia can set up its UAV Traffic Management (UTM) system and use it accordingly to see where things are going right, or wrong, as each case may be. Nokia's UTM system will provide a set of tools to drive the overall testing, including no-fly zone establishment, flight automation systems, and the beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) systems that will be necessary for just about any use of drone aircraft beyond that of the simple hobbyist.

Such systems will require high-speed, high-bandwidth connectivity, and that's a point Nokia has been working frantically towards with not only the further development of LTE (News - Alert) systems, but also aggressive development in 5G systems. Nokia's UTM systems require a variety of support mechanisms ranging from a GPS transceiver to a slate of telemetry tools, and with all that data coming back, the connectivity needs to be at its peak. With this, it can actually be customized according to the various laws and regulations of the country in which it's used, making it that much more effective. Such tools also help the drones' users operate within each country's established parameters for drone operation thanks to that flexibility noted earlier.

Drones have an incredible potential afoot, handling everything from traffic management to small package delivery. Though as with any new technology, extensive testing needs to be done in order to ensure the safety of such systems for users, and hopefully Nokia's UTM will prove just how safe these systems can be. With government regulation often getting in the way of drone development, and some drone systems rendered redundant by other technologiesif the cars are smart, what point is there in drone-based traffic management because the cars handle traffic management individuallygetting drones in play is about the only way to ensure that drones will have a place in tomorrow's technological development.

The time is ripe, one way or the other, for drones to step in and offer value, and only testing platforms like Nokia's will help get these platforms in to users' hands. Whether drones are put to use delivering our food, our DVDs, or keeping traffic flowing smoothly, there's a lot of potential in drones. Until proven safe, however, that potential will never be fully realized.

Edited by Alicia Young
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The Europe Union commission did not congratulate Ai Bongo for his re-election as it cast doubt on the fairness of the constitutional court, which, it said, failed to treat fairly complaints filed by the opposition, reports say.

Federica Mogherini, EUs foreign policy Chief, joined the EUs election observers in Gabon in criticizing the handling of post-election complaints of the opposition for a recount of votes by the constitutional court, which on Friday upheld incumbent Ali Bongos win.

Mogherini and the EU regretted that the constitutional court only allowed the EUs team a limited access to the re-count process  a move the bloc said violates the agreement signed with Libreville.

The EU top diplomat reportedly complained Libreville did not give full flexibility to the African Union legal experts, dispatched to the Gabonese capital to help dissipate anomalies observed during the vote count.

The EU observers and Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping questioned the August 27 presidential elections as they accused Ali Bongos camp of rigging votes in his stronghold of Haut-Ogooue province.

The Central African countrys top court on Friday confirmed Bongos win with 11,000 votes, crediting the 57 year-old president with 50.66 per cent of the votes against 47.24 per cent for his challenger Jean Ping.

EUs foreign affairs diplomat, considering the courts failure to satisfactorily rectify anomalies, argued that the Gabonese people can rightfully question the fairness of the electoral process.

Also commenting on the political development in Gabon, French top diplomat Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday expressed Frances regrets that the Gabonese highest court failed to rectify the anomalies observed.

Paris calls on those who continued to contest the ruling to discard violence and opt for ways, which do not jeopardize the countrys peace and well-being, Ayrault said.
The success of Moroccos counter terrorism strategy hinges on the comprehensive approach addressing the root causes of terrorism as well as the vigilance and proactiveness of security, Head of Moroccos Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) Abdelhak Khiame said.

Speaking to French weekly, Le Journal du Dimanche, Khiame highlighted the results of Moroccos anti-terrorism strategy, which has been gradually honed since the terrorist attacks that hit Casablanca in 2003.

Moroccos security strategy was fostered with the adoption of a law on terrorism, the introduction of biometric identity cards and the creation of specialized police teams as well as mixed police and army units, he added.

Moroccos strategy to counter terrorists is proactive, Khiame said. We arrest individuals before they move into action.

As for those who fight along the ranks of terrorists abroad, Khiame said that these individuals are arrested upon their return to Morocco. They are interrogated then imprisoned for a period ranging from five to ten years, he said adding that the BCIJ interventions are made upon instructions from the General Prosecutor.

Khiame pointed out to the comprehensiveness of Moroccos strategy to address terrorism and extremism by addressing multiple religious, social and economic factors as well as launching economic development initiatives in underprivileged areas.

Thanks to this multidimensional approach, Morocco remains a bulwark against terrorist groups and continues to adapt its strategy to changing circumstances.

At the international level, the Kingdom continues to cooperate with its partners including France, notably in exchanging vital intelligence enabling the localization and busting of several terrorist cells and individuals as was the case with Abaoud, the mastermind of the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015.
French President Sunday hailed the contribution of Harkis in the Algerian 1954-1962 war and acknowledged Frances responsibility in abandoning the Algerian veterans who fought for France in Algerias liberation war.

Marking the September 25 memorial day, Francois Hollande said, I recognize the French governments responsibilities in abandoning the Harkis, the massacre of those who stayed in Algeria and the inhuman accommodation conditions reserved for those who have been repatriated in France.

France has failed its promise, it has turned its back on some families that were actually French, he added.

Hollandes statement received warm welcome from members of the Harkis present during the ceremony that was attended by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Far Right leader, Marine Le Pen.

In 2001, former French President Jacques Chirac had declared the September 25 commemoration as the Day of National Recognition for the Harkis.

Sarkozy had also recognized, in April 2012, Frances responsibilities in the Harkis tragedy.

At the end of the Algerian war, in 1962, between 62,000 to 75,000 Algerian Muslims were reportedly abandoned by the French army. According to records, 62,000 of them were repatriated in France.

At present, some 500,000 French Muslims of Algerian Descent are living in France.
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Who can help you trust? Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released on Sunday found that some 34 percent of registered voters say the presidential debates will be quite or extremely important to their decision on Election Day. While that percentage is consistent with previous election-year polls, this years group includes 49 percent of Hispanics, 42 percent of African Americans, 39 percent of self-described moderates, and 39 percent of voters under the age of 35. In addition, the poll found that 11% of voters are the most persuadable, adding that these voters say the debates will be important and that they are undecided in their choice, are currently backing a third-party candidate or only leaning toward Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton.

Thus, in what has become a suddenly tight race between Trump and Clinton, theres no denying that the debates may make a significant difference, but what remains unclear is exactly how the debate moderators will deal with false statements made by either candidate, particularly when one of those candidates, Trump, has developed a well-earned reputation for repeatedly saying things that arent true. On Sunday, Janet Brown, the executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates  the bipartisan organization which produces the presidential debates  said on CNNs Reliable Sources that, in her opinion, the debate moderators should let the candidates fact-check each other:

The commission asks independent, smart journalists to be the moderators and we let them decide how theyre going to do this. But I have to say, in our history, the moderators have found it appropriate to allow the candidates to be the ones that talk about the accuracy or the fairness of what the other candidate or candidates might have said. I think, personally, if you are starting to get into the fact-check, Im not sure what is the big fact, and what is a little fact? And if you and I [have] information, does your source about the unemployment rate agree with my source? I dont think its a good idea to get the moderator into essentially serving as the Encyclopedia Britannica. And I think its better for that person to facilitate and to depend on the candidates to basically correct each other as they see fit.

Putting aside for a moment that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is arguably the sole reliable source for unemployment-rate information, Browns comment echoes what the moderator of the third debate, Fox News Chris Wallace, recently said about his own role as moderator with regards to the facts. Speaking with Fox News Howard Kurtz, Wallace said of in-debate fact-checking, I do not believe that its my job to be a truth squad. Its up to the other [candidate] to catch them on that. And Wallace is hardly alone in this traditionalist view, which also happens to map onto the position of the Trump campaign. Last week, Trump opined during an interview on Fox and Friends that a moderator should not insert themselves into the debate as a fact-checker, citing the infamous moment during the second presidential debate in 2012 when moderator Candy Crowley controversially corrected Mitt Romney over a claim about Barack Obamas remarks following the Benghazi consulate attack. Said Trump on Thursday:

I think [the moderator] has to be a moderator. Youre debating somebody, and if she makes a mistake, or if I make a mistake, well take each other on. But I certainly dont think you want Candy Crowley again  I really dont think you want that. That was a very pivotal moment in that debate. And it really threw the debate off. And it was unfair. So I dont think you want that. No, I think you have to have somebody that just lets em argue it out

Trump went on to say that he hopes that Lester Holt, the moderator of the first debate on Monday, will not succumb to outside pressure to fact-check what the candidates say.

The Clinton campaign, meanwhile, has been letting it be known that it absolutely expects moderators to intervene if and when Trump starts lying. The campaign has released a debate prebuttal, which lists false statements that Trump has made over the course of the campaign, and Clinton campaign spokesperson Jennifer Palmieri told reporters during a conference call on Friday that it was the job of moderators to call out those lies, and do it in real time, adding that, to not do that is to give Donald Trump a very unfair advantage in the debates. On ABCs This Week on Sunday, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook went on to insist that its unfair to ask for Hillary both to play traffic cop while with Trump, make sure that his lies are corrected, and also to present her vision for what she wants to do for the American people.

Also on This Week, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway responded that, I really dont appreciate campaigns thinking it is the job of the media to go and be these virtual fact-checkers and that these debate moderators should somehow do their bidding. Furthermore, the Trump campaign is already preparing an offensive against the fact-checks:

Trump campaign letter pic.twitter.com/XBFkBaFVJn via @mlcalderone. They know the untruths (and the fact checks after) are coming. Their plan...  Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) September 20, 2016

The Commission on Presidential Debates Janet Brown is correct, however, that presidential debate moderators have historically abstained from live fact-checking. As Voxs Dara Lind pointed out last week, thats because the trick that debate moderators have traditionally tried to perform is to make themselves disappear:

At a glance, this probably seems naive at best and bonkers at worst. If the moderators arent supposed to call out candidates when they lie, whats the point of having them there at all? The answer, though, is that the moderators really dont think they ought to be there at all.



Since the very first televised presidential debate of 1960, moderators have been trying  and failing  to recreate the Lincoln/Douglas debates of 1858: two candidates on a stage, talking about their competing visions of America to the voters, may the best orator win. Its always been a romantic ideal. But its been a tradition for decades of debating. And when it comes to the hidebound world of presidential debates, the combination of idealized discourse and revered tradition is basically enough to guarantee that moderators will treat this election  and these candidates  just like any other.



But this campaign is not like any other, of course, and thats because one of this years candidates, Trump, traffics in demonstrable lies more than any other presidential candidate in living memory. No one understands that better than the Toronto Stars Daniel Dale, who has made compiling them his daily beat on Twitter, and as you can see in the representative example below, he doesnt just collect the big lies, but the smallest ones as well:

Donald Trump said 18 false things today. pic.twitter.com/uTT4zSEFe4  Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 20, 2016

And over the past week, national news organizations have finally started collecting Trumps lies as well. Politico analyzed all of Trumps and Clintons statements over the course of a workweek and concluded that Trumps mishandling of facts and propensity for exaggeration so greatly exceed Clintons as to make the comparison almost ludicrous. They ultimately found that Trump made 87 erroneous statements in five days, which averaged out to one falsehood every 3.25 minutes over nearly five hours of remarks. Alternatively, the publication found that over a five-day analysis of Hillary Clintons statements, her relationship to the truth is solid  but her most brazen misrepresentations come when shes talking about herself. By their tally, she made eight erroneous statements in all, which averaged out to one falsehood every 12 minutes over 1.5 hours of remarks.

Heres how the New York Times introduced their own analysis of a full week of Trumps statements:

All politicians bend the truth to fit their purposes, including Hillary Clinton. But Donald J. Trump has unleashed a blizzard of falsehoods, exaggerations and outright lies in the general election, peppering his speeches, interviews and Twitter posts with untruths so frequent that they can seem flighty or random  even compulsive.



However, a closer examination, over the course of a week, revealed an unmistakable pattern: Virtually all of Mr. Trumps falsehoods directly bolstered a powerful and self-aggrandizing narrative depicting him as a heroic savior for a nation menaced from every direction. Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist, described the practice as creating an unreality bubble that he surrounds himself with.



The Washington Post surveyed seven days of Trumps remarks as well, finding that the candidate revealed himself to be someone who at times seems uniquely undeterred by facts:

An examination by The Washington Post of one week of Trumps speeches, tweets and interviews show a candidate who not only continues to rely heavily on thinly sourced or entirely unsubstantiated claims but also uses them to paint a strikingly bleak portrait of an impoverished America, overrun by illegal immigrants, criminals and terrorists  all designed to set up his theme that he is specially suited to make America great again.

The Post added that, in the aftermath of Trump being widely rebuked for lying about his role in perpetuating the Birther conspiracy theory, he doubled down during the past week on some of his most controversial and debunked statements and made surprising new ones:

It is a strategy Trump has long employed. In his 1987 book, The Art of the Deal, he wrote that I call it truthful hyperbole. Its an innocent form of exaggeration  and a very effective form of promotion. When the media questioned his claims, the former reality TV star called them dishonest and disgraceful, and said the reporters were wacky or crazy or neurotic.

Now Team Trump wont agree with any of these conclusions of course, but while it may be possible to quibble with an individual fact-check here or there, its not like these news organizations arent backing up their conclusions, and the overwhelming evidence theyve compiled proves Trumps lack of veracity poses an unprecedented problem. Peter Beinart, writing in The Atlantic, hopes this years moderators will rise to that challenge:

Since Trump has largely stopped giving interviews to anyone except campaign sycophants and celebrity lightweights, the debates may serve as his last encounter with actual journalists. Those journalists  Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace  must be prepared to confront Trump in ways theyve never confronted a candidate before. The more audaciously he lies, the more audaciously they must tell the truth. The risks of doing so are tremendous. The rewards are being able to say that when Donald Trump threatened American liberal democracy like no candidate in modern history, you met his challenge square on.

And while the New York Times Jim Rutenberg understands that debate organizers want to avoid giving moderators a platform or turning the debate into one big fact-check zone that elbows out substantive policy discussion, he also argues that moderators should weigh in, because what this political season really needs is a confident and credible referee, and thats needed during the match, not after, since news and fact-check organizations cant possibly hope for their post-debate fact-checks to reach the as many as 100 million people that might watch Mondays debate.

But to Alan Schroeder, the author of the book Presidential Debates: Risky Business on the Campaign Trail, moderator fact-checking is a lose-lose proposition, since he doesnt believe the public really trusts the moderators in the first place. Indeed, he thinks viewers should be doing their own homework instead:

Look, its a democracy, and citizens have responsibilities beyond just watching TV. If the only source of information youre getting is what the candidates tell you on TV, then thats your choice. But I think wed be crazy to take anything any politician said to us at face value and just assume its objective truth. The debate is a really important part of the education process during a campaign, but it is not a standalone thing.

Reality is an objective truth as well, of course, and the Washington Monthlys David Atkins worries that just-leave-it-there debating wont help people realize that:

When the candidates are presenting not just different perspectives but different versions of easily verifiable reality, its up to the press to ground the debate in fact. Otherwise its just a spectacle, and one that damages the fabric of the country further as our countrys ideological tribes inhabit not just different cultures and geographies, but different understandings of reality entirely. That serves no one, and its the opposite of objective.

NBCs Holt, who himself was the subject of a false Trump statement when the candidate called the registered Republican a Democrat last week, will be the first moderator to tackle 2016s new reality on Monday. He has sole editorial responsibility for what questions get asked and how he will moderate the debate, though as CNNs Brian Stelter reports, there has been next to no indication how he will respond to false statements from candidates. NBC sources only told CNN that Lester is not going to be a potted plant, when it comes to fact-checking, and that he will work to avoid what happened to NBCs Matt Lauer at the Commander-in-Chief Forum in early September, when Lauer was widely criticized for letting Trump make false statements without pushback, despite the interview format.



Appearing on the Keepin It 1600 podcast last week, fact-check proponent Jake Tapper offered some advice to Holt and others from his personal experience moderating the primary debates:

[I]f youre going to fact-check, you better have the information in front of you to back it up. So the truth in the matter is I did a little bit of fact-checking during the first Republican debate, and the last Republican debate, but people didnt make a thing out of it because I had the information in front of me and I just read it back to them. So my first recommendation is: Be prepared. And its almost always facts that [the candidates] have messed up before. Its seldom new facts, or new lies. If youre not prepared, then its going to be tough.

PolitiFacts Angie Drobnic Holan agrees, and in her own list of tips for moderators, suggests embedding fact-checks inside tough follow-up questions. Speaking with USA Today, the esteemed media scholar Kathleen Hall Jamieson adds that three basic criteria should be met for any intervention, Because doing so interrupts the flow of the debate, requires fact-checking all comparable claims, and being wrong is highly problematic on many counts, fact-checking by moderator should occur very very rarely, if at all, and then only if the statement is clearly and demonstrably false, the moderator is able to concisely recap or quote the evidence used to justify the conclusion, and the public would be seriously misled were it to believe the false claim.

Either way, if Holt does do any live fact-checking, hell be taking a decidedly modern path for presidential-debate moderators. For all the criticism that Candy Crowley received for fact-checking Mitt Romney in 2012, she only did it once, and bucked precedent to do so. Revisiting Dara Linds Vox piece, after surveying how moderators have handled debates throughout American history, she concluded that the notion of candidates debating each other via idealized discourse doesnt suit present-day political times, but its what were probably stuck with for now:

[I]ts an attractive ideal, isnt it? Two candidates, arguing their visions for America before a crowd, with no need for an external authority to keep them on message and civil. Its nice to believe thats the way democracy works. The public complains that they dont hear enough about the candidates policy proposals; what better way to fix that than to have the candidates discuss those plans with America themselves, rather than forcing them to talk about stupid horse race controversies? Matt Lauer got attacked for asking Hillary Clinton tough questions and Donald Trump softballs. If Clinton herself were responsible for pressuring Trump, wouldnt that problem solve itself?



To see the problem with this logic, you have to see the difference between Clinton and Trump not just as a difference of shared values but as an absence of shared facts.



If the point of a presidential debate is to move the discussion between candidates beyond he said/she said, thats kind of the opposite of forcing the candidates to be responsible for correcting each others falsehoods. But as long as the presidential debates are ruled by the traditionalists, candidates will be expected to do both.


Two girls mourn the death of five people in a shooting on Friday. Photo: Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Arcan Cetin, 20, the only suspect being held in connection with the deadly mall shooting in Washington State last week, will be arraigned on Monday. He faces five counts of first-degree murder.

Police say they are confident that Cetin is the shooter, but are not yet sure if he acted alone.

A man fitting Cetins description opened fire with a rifle at the Macys cosmetics counter in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, on Friday evening, killing five people before escaping.

After a 24-hour-long manhunt gripped the area, police took Cetin into custody on Saturday night. He was apprehended walking down the street near his home in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, 50 miles north of Seattle.

Officers described Cetin as zombie-like when he was taken into custody.



Police are still trying to determine a motive in the shooting. Cetin, who was born in Turkey and became a legal permanent resident of the United States, had a previous arrest in the last year for assault and court records show that he had faced three other domestic-assault charges involving his stepfather.

Following those charges, a judge told Cetin that he wasnt allowed to possess a firearm. Police believe he stole the rifle used in the shooting from a relative.

While Cetin had an ex-girlfriend who worked at Macys, it is unclear if she worked at the Burlington location. Officials say they have so far been unable to find a connection between the shooter and any of the victims, who included a 16-year-old cancer survivor and a 95-year-old woman and her daughter.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Cetin already had something of a reputation in the small community where he lived. Bryce Diras, who went to high school with Cetin, told the paper that he was big on guns, and his reputation wasnt great.

Diras said Cetin wasnt right in the head, and as much as it pains me to say it, I wouldnt have put something like this past him.

Police are still unsure if terrorism played a role in his killing-spree, but the Journal noted that on his Facebook page Cetin celebrated the death of Osama bin Laden. Cetin was a member of his high schools ROTC and worked as a bagger in the commissary of the naval base on Whidbey. It was other employees from the base who were able to identify him from the malls surveillance footage.

Police have refused to speculate about Cetins possible motives or mental health due to the ongoing investigation.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The morning of the first general-election debate brought bad news for America and good news for Donald Trump: The murder rate in the United States rose by 10 percent last year, while the total number of murders increased by nearly 11 percent  the highest single-year increase since 1971, according to the FBIs 2015 crime data.



Whats more, a new report from the Brennan Center suggests that this increase was no one-year blip. Using midyear data from police departments across the nation, the legal institute estimates that the homicide rate will rise 13.1 percent in Americas 30 largest cities in 2016. By the end of this year, the report suggests that the national murder rate will have increased 31.5 percent since 2014.



These are very useful statistics for a law and order candidate, allowing empirical heft to Trumps narrative of national decline. But a proper understanding of Americas homicide problem requires seeing the crisis as a local affliction, one falling hardest on the communities least interested in the GOP nominees draconian agenda.



Roughly 1,726 more Americans lost their lives to homicide last year than did in 2014. At least 900 of the additional victims were African-American men. The vast majority of these men were killed by firearms  gun homicides accounted for 1,500 of 2015s additional murders.



The grotesque racial disparity in the homicide data reflects the geographic concentration of Americas murder problem. An early analysis of 2015 homicide data by the New York Times found that just seven cities  Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Washington  produced half of the entire year-over-year increase in big-city homicides.



Nearly half of the projected increase in 2016s murder rate is attributable to Chicago, according to the Brennan Centers report. And half of the 31.5 increase in homicides between 2014 and 2016 were committed in the Windy City, Baltimore, and Houston.



Within these municipalities, homicide is concentrated in areas afflicted by poverty and racial segregation. In 2015, Chicago saw 488 homicides  the most of any city in the nation. But ten of the citys neighborhoods had homicide rates of zero last year  while the neighborhoods of Burnside and Fuller Park each suffered murder rates in excess of 100 per 100,000 residents, according to the Trace, a digital news outlet that focuses on gun crime.

In the rest of the country, crime remains near historic lows. In 2015, property crime hit its lowest point since 1966, and, despite the spike in big-city homicides, the overall violent-crime rate was still 15.5 percent lower than it was in 2006. We do not have a national crime problem fueled by the presidents weakness, love of refugees, and contempt for our men in blue, no matter how confidently the Republican nominee suggests otherwise.



The truth is, most Americans live in a nation where the chance of falling victim to violent crime is near its lowest point in modern times. But some Americans, particularly poor, urban-dwelling people of color, live in a very different country  one where the prevalence of violent crime is rising swiftly toward the highs of a bygone era.

Theres a lot at stake in appreciating this nuance. The combination of scary top-line statistics and local news coverage that follows the if it bleeds, it leads imperative  and Donald Trumps demagogic appeals  threatens to make tough-on-crime politics appealing again.

But our homicide problem is concentrated in some of the most heavily incarcerated communities on planet Earth. To be sure, more effective law enforcement is needed in these neighborhoods  Chicagos abysmal homicide clearance rate emboldens offenders and enables retaliatory violence to proliferate. But sentences for violent crime in America are already aberrantly high, and there is little evidence that such draconian punishments deter crime or facilitate rehabilitation. Which is to say: Increasing the certainty that violent criminals will be punished for their crimes is critical to deterrence; increasing the severity of the punishments they receive is not. Despite this fact, anti-crime politics in the United States have often focused on the latter.

Calls for heightened enforcement of low-level offenses could prove similarly counterproductive. The Justice Departments recent report on the Baltimore police found that the departments zero tolerance approach to policing petty crime produced routine violations of residents civil rights. Effective policing requires community trust and cooperation. Systematic abuse and discrimination is unlikely to encourage such things.

But the Republican nominee thinks otherwise. Last week, he called for Chicago to subject residents to stop-and-frisk policing  a policy that sits in tension with Trumps belief that public safety can be improved through higher gun-ownership rates.

In sum, the new FBI data confirms that the murder rate is moving in the wrong direction in urban communities where there is concentrated poverty, racial segregation, easily accessible firearms, and low homicide clearance rates. We need an anti-crime agenda that reduces the number of neighborhoods defined by those conditions. The law-and-order candidate hasnt offered one.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaving Trump Tower. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump Tower on Sunday where, according to the Trump camp, the two discussed military assistance, security and regional stability.

Following the meeting, Donald Trump announced that under his presidency the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which would be a radical break with more than two decades of American foreign policy.

The two politicians spoke for nearly 90 minutes and were joined by Israels ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, and Trumps son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner.

Readout of my meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:https://t.co/VHuyE65hgi pic.twitter.com/6KDPrQxSED  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2016

While the meeting was closed to the press, Trump has acknowledged that he consulted with Netanyahu about Israels border wall and talked about their shared opposition to the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump would not say if they discussed his planned ban on Muslim immigration, which Netanyahu has been openly critical of.

While Netanyahu has issues with Trumps plan for fighting terrorism, Trump is a big admirer of Israels strategy. He infamously praised the countrys use of profiling during an interview with Fox News, saying that in Israel they profile, and theyve done an unbelievable job, as good as you can do.

Following their conversation, Trump said that he agreed with the Israeli leader that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State.

While Israel has long claimed Jerusalem as its capital, East Jerusalem is still claimed by the Palestinians and its the official policy of the United States not to recognize Jerusalem as belonging to any country (America keeps its embassy in Tel Aviv). Congress has repeatedly tried to move the embassy to Jerusalem but has been blocked by successive presidents for more than two decades. The dispute finally went to the Supreme Court in 2015, which ruled in favor of the president.

Trump hopes to change that.

A statement released by the Trump campaign on Sunday said that Trump has acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.

It appears the Trump-Netanyahu relationship has warmed considerably since since the GOP nominee canceled a planned 2015 trip to Israel over the leaders comments about his Muslim ban. After their meeting, the Israelis released a statement saying, Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Mr. Trump for his friendship and support for Israel.

Netanyahu also plans to meet with Hillary Clinton later in the evening on Sunday.
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. Photo: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

United States, Britain, and France called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday to discuss the worsening violence in Aleppo over the weekend. The meeting quickly descended into hostility as Russia and the other member-states traded barbs.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power had especially harsh words for Russia, saying that what Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, it is barbarism, and telling the 15-member council that instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive.

For its part, Russia hardly offered a more hopeful prognosis of the situation on the ground: [I]n Syria hundreds of armed groups are being armed, the territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately.

Bringing a peace, said Russian U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin, is almost an impossible task now because of this.

Britains U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, joined the U.S. in its condemnation of Russia: The regime and Russia have  plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo. Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes.

Rycroft joined diplomats from the United States and France in walking out of the council chamber when it was Syrian U.N. ambassador Bashar Jaafaris turn to speak.

Any political solution can only be successful by providing the requisite conditions through intensified efforts to fight terrorism, Jaafari said. The real war on terrorism has never started yet. The advent of Syrian victory is imminent.

A tentative cease-fire was effectively scuttled last Monday following the bombing of an aide convoy. Since then, Syrian government forces with the support of Iran and Russia have engaged in what people on the ground have described as a scorched earth approach in retaking Syrias largest rebel-held city, Aleppo.

The regime has been accused of conducting indiscriminate bombing campaigns and using barrel bombs, which flattened buildings in rebel-held districts. On Saturday, a pumping station was bombed, cutting off water to rebel-held areas, and another was shut off in retaliation. The U.N. now claims that almost 2 million people have been left without water.

Over the weekend, Syrian government forces were able to take control of Handarat, a major Palestinian refugee camp north of Aleppo, but by Sunday, rebels had retaken it. And rebels have accused the government of burning the camp with phosphorous bombs in retaliation.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says in Saturdays bombings alone 45 people were killed, including ten children.

The bombings only intensified on Sunday. Activists from the Aleppo Media Center reported that 85 people were killed over the course of the day, with more than 300 injured. The casualties left Aleppos understaffed hospitals overwhelmed, and there are reportedly only 20 doctors left in Eastern Aleppo.

Even before the latest round of bombings, Unicef deputy director Justin Forsyth told the BBC on Saturday, Aleppo is slowly dying, and the world is watching, and the water is being cut off and bombed  its just the latest act of inhumanity.
Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Liberals suffer from an earnest tendency to place inflated hopes in the power of truth-speaking journalists to solve our political dilemmas. The crusading journalist of the liberal imagination is a blend of nostalgia and fantasy, running from Edward R. Murrow denouncing Joe McCarthy and Walter Cronkite denouncing the Vietnam War to Will McAvoy. At the moment, this ideal has affixed itself upon the seductive notion that presidential-debate moderators ought to engage in real-time fact-checking. Hillary Clintons campaign is endorsing fact-checking, and Donald Trumps is denouncing it, and the debate commissions executive director insists moderators will not resolve factual disputes. This is a demand for the journalist to solve problems that exist in the political system.

The fact-checking controversy has revolved around Trump and his unusually flagrant lies. But it may be understood best in the context of two episodes from recent presidential-debate history. The first is the George W. BushAl Gore debates from 2000. The central policy question between the parties in that election was whether to continue Clinton-era domestic policies, or to reorient government policy around a large, regressive tax cut. The Bush campaign was keenly aware at the time that the American public sided with the Democrats on this question. As Karen Hughes recounts in Patrick Healys reconstruction of those fateful debates, We faced a major challenge throughout the campaign: The American economy was going well; times were relatively good. We had to give people a reason to vote for change.

Bushs solution to this problem was twofold: He factually denied the fiscal and distributionary implications of his tax cut, and framed the public debate on personal character rather than policy. The debates proved decisive. Gore attempted relentlessly to pin down the math of Bushs proposal, which overwhelmingly benefited the very rich. Bush presented Gores attempts to do so as a character flaw. (Look, this is a man who has great numbers. He talks about numbers. Im beginning to think not only did he invent the internet, but he invented the calculator.) As Healy recounts, the news media took Bushs side, focusing on Gores demeanor rather than the underlying facts. Throughout the three debates that year, moderators never allowed the underlying factual debate to be resolved. Republicans remember the 2000 debates as a political triumph, and Democrats recall it as a debacle.

The counterpoint to this episode is a 2012 debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, when Romney accused Obama of failing to call the attack in Benghazi an act of terror in the immediate wake of the event. Candy Crowley, the debate moderator, pointed out that Obama had in fact done so. Crowley was correct, though conservatives responded apoplectically.

At the time, it was a triumphant moment for Democrats. But the Republican reaction suggests the party would never tolerate such a role by the media on an ongoing basis. In its contemporary form, the GOP exists within an epistemic bubble that creates its own reality and disregards the findings of mainstream experts in economics, science, and other fields. Conservative media nurture their own hothouse alternative reality and regard any challenge thereto as illegitimate. Conservatives created this alternate ecosystem precisely to insulate their side from scrutiny from journalists who were not working within the conservative movement. And the simple reality is that, if debates become forums for media to subject candidate claims to fact-checking by the standards of independent arbiters, Republicans will refuse to participate in them.

Now, perhaps you think that is the way it needs to go, and perhaps you imagine the GOP would pay a price for such a boycott. I dont. The far more likely outcome is that any political cost associated with boycotting the debates would be brief, short-lived, and subsumed by ordinary partisan rancor, and the end result would be that presidential debates would simply disappear as an institution.

Fact-checking sounds attractive in the age of Trump. But presidential debates are an iterative game. Many liberals are enthusiastic for debates to be fact-checked not only because they believe it would serve the cause of informing the public, but also because they believe that informing the public would aid their own side. Republicans arent going to cooperate with that, and any momentary advantage gained by weaponizing debate moderators would be lost in the next round.

Fact-checking is a crucial and central role of journalism. But there is a place in the world for the two candidates to confront each other face-to-face before the public. Debates may not give Americans all of the information they need to make an informed choice. Nor, for that matter, will cable news. We have to accept the fact that there are some problems in the world from which the news media cant save us.
An everyday, gender-conforming lion. Photo: WLDavies/Getty Images

Sometimes, a headline says it all. Take it away, New Scientist: Five Wild Lionesses Grow a Mane and Start Acting Like Males.

Its a really interesting story:

Five lionesses in Botswana have grown a mane and are showing male-like behaviours. One is even roaring and mounting other females.



Male lions are distinguished by their mane, which they use to attract females, and they roar to protect their territory or call upon members of their pride. Females lack a mane and are not as vocal.



But sometimes lionesses grow a mane and even behave a bit like males. However, until now, reports of such maned lionesses have been extremely rare and largely anecdotal. We knew they existed, but little about how they behave.

As New Scientists Karl Gruber explains, a research team led by Geoffrey D. Gilfillan of the University of Sussex in the U.K. has been observing the lionesses in their habitat at the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. No one knows exactly whats going on, but the researchers think these lionesses bodies are producing more testosterone than is normal for females. In lions, testosterone directly affects the development of manes, writes Gruber. Castrated males, for example, lose their ability to produce testosterone and promptly lose their mane, too.

If thats true, these lionesses could be seen as having an intersex disorder. Some human women, after all, produce more testosterone than is normal for women, and as a result develop some stereotypically manly features. In the lionesses case, some of the behavioral differences were intense: One of them killed two cubs from a rival pride, for example. Thats usually a lions work, not a lionesss. Testosterone can do some intense things.
Photo: Barbara Kinney/Hillary for America

At a campaign event in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend, Hillary Clinton stopped for a brief moment to take a photo with some of her supporters. Perched atop a small riser in a cobalt blue suit, the Democratic nominee posed, one hand waving and a microphone in the other. While she did, the horde of fans in front of her, mostly women, raised their phones skyward, tilted their heads back, and took selfies. So many selfies. (Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign photographer, Barbara Kinney, was on hand to snap a photo of all the people taking photos.)

Online, many people were quick to cry ah! millennials! bad! (Im paraphrasing, but you get the idea) about the selfie-filled image. Hillary Clinton waves to the look at me selfie generation, tweeted one Twitter user. Crowd turns its back on Hillary Clinton as photo captures the age of the selfie reads a dramatic headline from The Telegraph regarding the picture.

Except, the supporters were only obliging Clintons request. The selfie was her idea, Barbara Kinney has since explained.

From Kinney, via Mashable:

Kinney said Clinton stood up on the podium and said, Okay everybody, turn around and well do a group selfie, before making the staffers standing next to her move out of the way so each side of the room could take an aesthetically pleasing photo.

So maybe the supporters in the picture were nothing more than a bunch of selfie-thirsty millennials hungry for Instagram likes. But hey, Hillary asked. It would have been rude not to take a selfie.
Photo: Getty Images

When the duke and duchess of Cambridge touched down in Canada for their weeklong visit on Saturday, notably charming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was there to greet them and their children on the tarmac. But as he bent down to say hello to Prince George, age 3, he was rebuffed with a look of total toddler indifference.

That moment when you high five the future king, Prince George... And fail. It's a moment Canada's PM Justin Trudeau may want to forget. pic.twitter.com/57q4EJH8XO  BBC Newsbeat (@BBCNewsbeat) September 26, 2016

Trudeau attempts a high five, a low five, a high five AGAIN, and then finally settles on trying a handshake. Meanwhile, Prince George refuses to extend nary a tiny royal finger of acknowledgment back. Though at least this time he snubbed a world leader, he was not in his pajamas.
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Wow, looks so good. Can't wait to watch this.

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this trailer looks amazing



(also, the Netflix model of releasing every original content in every country at the same time is great and it's going to be the future)



Edited at 2016-09-26 06:43 pm (UTC)

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I live in Taiwan and I'm SO glad that they release their originals



now if only they'd release the other great stuff the US Netflix has.... *prayer hands emoji*

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US Netflix doesn't have much of an instant selection IMO. Most of the stuff they only have available on DVD. They'll have some shows on instant for a while, but then they take them down and never put them back up (BSG, Stargate for example).

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This looks incredible

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This looks so good.

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the use of the anthem at the beginning is AWESOME



this is going to be great to watch, I can't wait

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yeah, the use of the anthem was really great.



Edited at 2016-09-26 07:15 pm (UTC)

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ia, the usage was a+

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this looks incredible!! damn.



what's the song used in the trailer? the voice sounds familiar but i can't place it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wKzyIN1yk Rag N Bone Man...I've never heard of him. I thought it was a black man, but hes white and kinda looks like Action Bronson.

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This looks amazing. I can't wait.



My mom was a prison teacher for six months and she said it was the hardest job she's ever had. She got fired for giving an inmate a honey bun, after she found out he wasn't getting fed everyday. A bunch of her students couldn't even read well, or spell properly. She had one guy who had been through the GED program ten times, because there "wasn't anything else to do" in prison. Her youngest student was 16. She would come home everyday with horror stories. Her coworkers were worse than the inmates. Her prison was 99% black.

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looking forward to this

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ALREADY SHOOK. This looks amazing

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ready to be enraged by this. glad michelle alexander's part of this because the new jim crow was life changing.

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I am fucking ready for this documentary.

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will there be a post for tonight's debate? for some reason i'm nervous



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there definitely should be, someone'll try to relate it to celebs tweeting about it or some such nonsense

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that's the only way it can be posted here

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what time does it start? Im going to need snacks.

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im going to have a panic attack through the whole thing

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I already have a post made I'm just waiting for it to be closer to the debate time before I submit it (though someone probably already submitted one). If it's related back to celebs, it should get approved.



Edited at 2016-09-26 10:50 pm (UTC)

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You're not the only one with nerves, for sure. I'll be watching, and armed with my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.



Edited at 2016-09-26 10:58 pm (UTC)

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This election has been making my already horrible anxiety even worse. My anxiety is obsessive/paranoid, particularly about disasters (natural, manmade, social situations-related, etc) so I've been spending hours each night reading articles on this election, and when I run out of new ones I read historical articles and international politics about right-wingers where society has gone south to remind myself of how bad things are. It's like I must know how bad things happen so I can go out of my way to inform myself and others and try and prevent it from happening, but mostly it just makes me super depressed. Ugh.



I really don't know if I can watch without Xanax.

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I submitted one with celeb tweets a few mins ago. Watch it get rejected tho "ontd political".

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as he should

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props to the two women for protesting.

i hope he paid for those tickets.

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Good for the crowd. Netanyahu is the scum of the earth.

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I love when people boo politicians. Like that woman from Starbucks. Love her.

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GIVE US BACK OUR $38 BILLION YO!

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Why would he when yall gave it to him on a shiny silver platter ;)

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Sadly, nothing will ever change with respect to Israel. I've given up on that ever happening.

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I am so so sad about everything this year

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not at all surprising

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Meeting with Hillary was done openly while no one knows what the fuck he talked to Trump about.

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ughhhh



give us back our $38 billion [x2]

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hasn't trump been openly anti-semitic??

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why can we not have a president who will hop off Israel's dick?

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lol why do those both look extremely photoshopped?? Are they meant to look like that?

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cool news

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Hillary negotiated a cease-fire between is israel and hamas so at least you know she isnt afraid to go toe to toe with Bebe if need be.

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Like, I know that he's the nominee but it makes me sick that Trump is meeting with all these ppl and getting security briefings, etc.

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I just realized right now that Netanyahu is not Matisyahu lmao

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I don't understand why USA gives Israel a fuck ton of money

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fuck you beebee, you are a terrible person who hoodwinked a country

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YAS. If this FUCK showed up on the day I finally got to see Hamilton it would ruin the whole experience for me.

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poor dat

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he came to my school for a visit last year (?) and protesters got into his talk and started yelling



when I saw wicked earlier this year, this family decided to take some empty seats a little closer because the people hadn't arrived yet, and then they did like 5 minutes later, and THAT was more annoying and disruptive than anything, having like 10 people shuffling around to go back to their assigned seats

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I read this as Matisyahu and was thoroughly confused.

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same!! I was like, why tf is this musician meeting with the candidates? Is he THAT popular?

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lmao loving this mental image

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lol same!!!

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Admittedly, my mind went there as well at first.

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LMAO me too, i was like ?????? why do people care this much about hi-- ohhhhhhhh

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haha

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Lmao, same! I didn't understand why everyone was being so extra.

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Also a PM of a colonial state watching a Broadway show about ppl rising up against their oppressors, how ironic.

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Couldn't the same be said for Obama, though? Obviously Netanyahu is trash but...

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Uh i'm not a big fan of Obama but I definitely wouldn't put him in the same category as this murderous racist hate filled scum bag.

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Mte

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I don't think Hamilton was about Native Americans rising up against European colonists.

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I saw people on twitter wondering why there was a security detail etc at the show, but this'll have been why

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Mexico could auction off shale acreage as soon as the second quarter of next year.

Mexicos energy secretary said last week at Rice University that the government could begin shale auctions at some point after March 2017, another step forward in the countrys historic opening up of its energy sector. Mexico is sitting on what many think are vast shale oil and gas resources in the north, which are thought to be extensions of the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas.

Mexico ended the monopoly ownership of its energy reserves by the state-owned Pemex a few years ago, and began listing reserves on auctions for private companies. The idea was to bring in international capital and expertise to help boost flagging output. Some shallow water auctions in the Gulf of Mexico have already gone forward, but the auctions for shale were scrapped following the collapse of oil prices.

We thought industry wouldnt be interested, Mexicos energy secretary, Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, said at Rice University last week, according to Fuel Fix. But because interest from oil and gas companies has picked up more recently, the government is pushing forward with the necessary governance and regulatory architecture needed before an auction can be held. Everything will be ready by March, Coldwell said, which could be followed soon after by bids from the industry. Related: Oil Rises, Skepticism Too, As OPEC Meets To Talk Output Deal

Mexicos oil production has been in steady decline as Pemex has struggled with aging fields and rising debt. The oil market crash over the past two years has strained the state-owned company even further, with the finances having taken a huge blow, Coldwell said. That, in turn, has dealt a blow to the national governments fiscal position. Bloomberg reports that the cost of insurance on Mexicos bonds has surged, an indication that the markets are losing a bit of confidence in the creditworthiness of Mexican debt. Both Moodys and S&P have a negative outlook for Mexicos credit.

The energy reform initiative will help, Mexican officials hope. Opening up the sector has already led to $22.4 billion in investment commitments from international oil companies. Next year, with new shale acreage on offer, more investment could flow into the country.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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In a U.S. election year that has seen scant public discussion of any substantive issues, beyond the building of walls and the deportation of immigrants, the issue of U.S. energy policy has largely stayed outside the realm of popular discussion. But in advance of the first presidential debate on Monday, September 26, it seems a good idea to review each candidates energy positions in as much detail as possible.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has recently made energy a key part of his platform, arguing that unlocking a treasure trove of American energy resources will boost the economy. He has argued that reducing regulation and increasing investment in coal and natural gas will result in 3.5 percent GDP growth and 25 million jobs over 10 years, citing a study from the Institute of Energy Research. The IER study largely connects the economic boost with opening up all federal lands to drilling and fracking, something that Trump has advocated.

Economists have expressed some doubt that the outcome of less regulated drilling will be as beneficial as the IER study indicates; the organization, it should be noted, has long advocated for a free-market approach to energy production while frequently arguing against the viability of renewable energy and the legitimacy of climate change.

Trump recently delivered a speech at a fracking conference where he promised to cut taxes and reduce regulations, but the industry response has been skeptical. In In July Trump equivocated on his position regarding fracking, expressing sympathy with local municipalities who wish to ban fracking. In his attempt to court both rural, lower-income communities who are wary of frackings long-term consequences and the businesses behind the American fracking boom, Trump is being pulled in two directions at once.

Trumps position on coal represents the same dichotomous thinking. He has publicly argued for both more coal mining and greater natural gas production, despite the fact that cheap natural gas is the reason why coal has struggled, along with tougher environmental regulations.

Mr. Trump has expressed skepticism regarding renewable energy, claiming at one point that wind turbines posed a deadly threat to birds. He has promised to cancel the Paris Agreement on climate change, yet has acted more equivocally in recent days, perhaps due to the fact that the Agreement will have already taken effect by the time a new U.S. president is sworn in next year. Trump has embraced skepticism in climate change, suggesting at one point via Twitter that it is a Chinese conspiracy designed to inhibit American manufacturing.

When asked about the Iraq War, Trump has claimed that the U.S. should not have pursued regime change but instead should have concentrated on taking the oil. Its an idea that he first expressed in 2011, suggesting that seizing Iraqi oil would amount to a reimbursement for the United States expenses incurred during the invasion and occupation. More recently, Trump suggested that taking the oil would pay for a punitive campaign against ISIS.

Mr. Trump has declined to explain how this would be possible, practical or even advantageous for the United States, which imports only a small fraction of its energy from the Persian Gulf and a tiny percentage from Iraq itself. He has not offered an answer to critics who argue that taking the oil, the seizure of property which both by national law and international accord belongs to the Iraqi people, amounts to a war crime.

In general, the issue Trump has taken the clearest and most resolute stance on is reducing environmental regulations and laws limiting domestic fossil fuel development. When arguing about climate change, Trump will usually blame government intervention or bad policies for poor ecological conditions, such as the recent drought in California. Related: The Start Of Something Big? Iran Changes Oil Contracts

It is possible that Trump, who often characterizes himself as a businessman and manager rather than an ideologue, will push for market conditions to determine American energy policy. In this sense, he would be little different than many American presidents who have suggested policies and offered prescriptions while largely letting the energy sector sort itself out. But while a commitment to market principles represents continuity with previous administrations, Trumps rhetoric indicates clashes in policy that would be difficult to reconcile. More generally, he seems poorly versed on energy policy or the economic foundations of the political economy of international energy, and his willingness to appease any and all domestic political factions renders his future policies very difficult to predict.

Hilary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has been more specific regarding her prescriptions for energy policy: in truth, the very density of her policy proposals make them a little overwhelming, particularly when compared to the paucity of detail that characterizes the proposals of her rival.

Mrs. Clinton has pushed for a strong commitment to renewable energy, through her $60 billion Clean Energy Challenge proposal. The plan calls for renewables to supply 25 percent of total U.S. energy by 2025, and Clinton has promised to install 500 million solar panels during her first term, according to the Wall Street Journal. Her campaign has vowed to make the U.S. a clean energy superpower. She has also vowed to do this in a way that takes into account the declining fortunes of American coal mining communities, where she proposes programs for economic development, job training and re-education.

Her campaign has also argued that reducing waste and improving efficiency through energy conservation and better fuel standards will drastically cut down on energy expenses and reduce American energy imports. She has proposed a large-scale infrastructure plan that will focus on repairing leaking natural gas pipelines and bringing hydroelectric power (chiefly from the dozens of dams owned by the Army Corps of Engineers which currently do not generate power) back into the energy infrastructure.

Clinton framed her position on energy as closely linked to her position on climate change, in part to appeal to the progressive elements of her party who see climate change as a serious issue, and who are perhaps less comfortable with Clintons ties to the energy industry. Yet since winning the endorsement of Bernie Sanders, her progressive rival during the Democratic primary, Mrs. Clinton has largely dropped environmental rhetoric from her campaign.

In the past Clinton has supported fracking, but during a debate in March she declared that local communities should be able to ban fracking if they so choose. She went further to say that when all her planned regulations were in place, fracking would likely be possible only in a few select spots within the domestic United States.

This position was likely the result of the tough primary contest with Sanders, who forced Clinton to adopt progressive stances on a number of issues. Yet it also likely reflects public opinion, which has become more divided on fracking, particularly in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Dakota, where the results of the fracking boom have brought both wealth and economic dislocation. Related: The Natural Gas War Burning Under Syria

Her campaign has encouraged greater natural gas use, citing it as a cleaner alternative to coal and a bridge fuel to renewable energies. While Clinton has opposed drilling in the Arctic, she does not support a blanket ban on new oil and gas leases on public lands.

Despite a strong rhetorical stand on climate change and renewable energy, Clintons campaign has proven persuasive enough to draw strong support among oil and gas executives. For the first time in recent memory, a Democratic nominee for president has won more support from the energy industry than the Republican nominee.

Why should Clinton prove more attractive to the industry? Perhaps it is that her policies, while not as friendly to conventional energy as some would like, are laid out in such detail and with such precision that energy executives can predict how a Clinton Administration would influence the market.

Clinton has called for greater government involvement in the energy sector, chiefly through higher efficiency standards and increased investment in renewable energy, and seems determined to stick to the Obama Administrations stand on the Paris Climate Agreement and other international accords on reducing carbon emissions. But she also appears comfortable with increasing natural gas production, albeit within regulatory limits that take into account local political considerations, and her positions indicate an awareness of current market trends.

Her stand on the Arctic, for instance, came just after Royal Dutch Shell was awarded the first permit to drill in those northern latitudes, an expensive investment that the current glut has forced Shell to abandon. Her position on natural gas is both politically useful and generally representative of an enthusiasm for natural gas as a possible bridge between coal and renewables, one that takes existing infrastructure and market considerations into account. Her position on assisting coal miners, offering development and education programs, also indicate an awareness that the decline in coal has as much to do with changes in the market as it does with environmental regulations, not to mention the persistent fact that American coal cannot compete overseas.

Thus, while Donald Trumps pro-business, anti-regulation rhetoric is attractive to those who support greater flexibility within the energy sector, his positions do not appear to reflect a nuanced understanding of existing conditions. Mrs. Clinton, while an advocate for climate-friendly policies and a champion for renewable energy, seems inclined to push her agenda without tampering inordinately in the energy industrys underlying foundations.

By Gregory Brew for Oilprice.com

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Oil producers could see a $10 to $15 spike in barrel prices if the worlds energy leaders agree on a freeze in new output next week, Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino told Union Radio on Tuesday.

"These are decisive days," Del Pino said of the time period leading up to the informal meeting between members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia on September 28th in Algiers. The minister heads the state oil company PDVSA, which is in desperate need of a hike in fuel revenues and favorable financial ratings to fund imports of consumer goods and medical supplies for its citizens and to keep the socialist governments public services afloat.

During the same interview with the Caracas-based radio station, Del Pino called international credit rating agencies, such as Moodys and Standard and Poors, professional speculators for their recent evaluation of his companys $7 billion bond swap proposal.

On Monday, Standard & Poor said PDVSA's swap plan would be "tantamount to default" if it were carried out.

Another evaluation from Moody's said "if executed as planned, (the exchange) would be a credit positive event ... reducing the risk of an immediate payment default."

The negative reports will likely cause potential investors to shy away from participating in PDVSAs last hope for new financing before facing default later this year. Related: Elon Musks Hyperloop Is Heading To India

Next Wednesday, oil ministers representing countries that produce 55 percent of the worlds oil output will hold an unofficial meeting on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum.

For the sake of Venezuelas economic future, Del Pino hopes the countries gathered will quickly reach an agreement, triggering an extraordinary meeting during the IEF, which would allow the ministers to sign off on the deal then and there.

The Nigerian head of OPEC, Mohammed Barkindo, confirmed the possibility of convening an official meeting depending on the proceedings of next weeks informal meeting.

If the countries do not agree on convening an extraordinary meeting, the issue would be delayed, once again, to the next official OPEC meeting on 30 November at the blocs headquarters in Vienna. By then, it might be too late to save PDVSA.

Algeria needs a halt in production just as badly as Venezuela does, but its North African neighbor does not seem keen on cutting outputs.

Libyas oil production jumped by more than 70 percent this month, from roughly 260,000 barrels per day in August to 450,000 barrels per day in September, according to Bloomberg. The war-torn country hopes to build on that momentum with the return of some major export terminals that have been sidelined for nearly two years, including one of the largest. Related: Long Term Consequences Of The Oil Price Crash

Irans commitment to reaching a deal is shaky at best as it builds capacity after the lifting of international sanctions against its oil industry in January. Saudi Arabias refusal to allow Iran an exception to a well-publicized output deal in April caused its last-moment failure.

Iraq, the second-largest OPEC crude producer after Saudi Arabia, has been pumping out crude at higher levels because Iraq is still below what it should produce, according to Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi.

Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, has notoriously been increasing output to prevent Iran from regaining its market share while pressure for a production freeze mounts.

As the oil price crisis closes in on two years at the IEF summit, the conflicting impulses of OPECs most powerful and most vulnerable players jeopardize the short-term future of oil prices and the economic power of the cartel itself.

And if the swap deal falls through and OPEC and Russia cant agree on an output deal in the near future, saving the Venezuelan economy from the bankruptcy of its main government revenue-generating industry will likely be impossible. That holds true even as oil prices make a belabored recovery over the next three years.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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A deal between the operators of the Leviathan oil and gas field off the Israeli coast and Jordan Electric Power Company has just turned Israel into Jordans biggest gas supplier. The 15-year, US$10-billion contract was signed with a consortium, which includes local industrial major Delek Group and U.S. Noble Energy. Jordan will receive 45 billion cubic meters of gas under the deal.

Israeli government officials and Delek representatives praised the deal as historic, marking an important milestone in the development of the Leviathan field, where full-scale production is scheduled to begin in 2019. The field is estimated to hold some 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 34.1 million barrels of condensate.

Indeed, the news is of the groundbreaking sort, as the development of Israels largest gas field has been delayed for years because of regulatory hurdles brought on by political disputes and legal issues. The chief point of contention politically was the possibility that the Delek-Noble Energy partnership would become a monopoly on the Israeli gas market, which would end in higher gas prices for local consumers. Another obstacle was the lack of a government policy regarding the development of Israels gas reserves.

The operator of the field, Noble Energy with a 40-percent stake, was finally given the green light to start development works this June. Delek holds 45 percent in the field.

The exploitation of Leviathan could turn Israel into a regional energy leader, even though the state has no onshore oil and gas reserves. Some of its offshore reserves have also been disputed by neighbor Lebanon, with which Tel Aviv has no diplomatic relations but has been embroiled in a dispute with regarding the maritime border between the two countries and allegations from Beirut that Israel is siphoning its hydrocarbon riches.

The Leviathan field is, thankfully for Israel, not a subject of territorial disputes. Gas extracted from it could also flow to Turkey, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, according to Delek Drilling s chief executive Yossi Abu.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The Niger Delta Avengers announced yesterday that they have bombed the Bonny pipeline, which carries crude to the Shell-operated Forcados terminal. The militant group had agreed a ceasefire with the Nigerian government and was about to begin negotiations on a more permanent solution to the situation in the Delta.

According to the NDA, the pipeline was bombed in response to government attempts of over dramatisation of the so-called dialogue and negotiation process on the side of President Muhammadu Buhari and his government. The group added in its statement that the government will have to work harder to convince them it has the best interests of the Delta communities at heart during the negotiations.

Shell, which operates the pipeline, declined to comment on the NDA announcement, but recently said it was preparing to restart the operation of the Forcados terminal following seven months of force majeure. The force majeure was declared after the NDA bombed an underwater pipeline feeding oil into the terminal.

The Financial Times cites Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari as saying at a meeting with Barrack Obama that the army might need to get involved in the Delta. It is possible, according to Western diplomatic sources who talked to the FT, that Buharis words reached the NDA and the group reacted swiftly.



Related: The Start Of Something Big? Iran Changes Oil Contracts

The attack was condemned by the Pan-Niger Delta Coastal States Stakeholders Consultative Forum, which represents the elders of the communities living in the Delta. The forums leader, Chief Edwin Clark, said in a statement following NDAs announcement of the attack that the NDA had violated the 60-day ceasefire and had no justification. Clark appealed to the militants to lay down their arms and remain calm and peaceful, even in the face of obvious provocation.

The NDA claims it is fighting for a fairer distribution of the oil wealth generated by the crude reserves in the Niger Delta, with a bigger portion of it remaining in the region, where poverty and unemployment are rife.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Debate without dogmatism.

Respect and enjoyment.

Civility and sociability.

These are the goals of the Kantian Dinner Party Initiative, a new project which aims to provide a forum where members of diverse communities can engage with timely topics in a respectful and democratic fashion.

The dinners, which will be conducted according to rules laid out by 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant, will include a maximum of nine guests, including a presiding host who ensures an open, inclusive and flowing conversation. Guests are asked to conduct themselves in a manner that ensures that "mutual respect and benevolence always shine forth." And, in an effort to engender trust, guests are also asked not to repeat anything shared during the dinner party.

The project, which was funded by a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council, is coordinated by Marquette University graduate student Anthony Lanz, alumnus Charles Dobbs and Dr. Ryan Patrick Hanley, Mellon Distinguished Professor of Political Science.

At its best, the a Kantian dinner party aims to encourage guests to entertain perspectives that are often very different from their own, as well as to realize that it is possible to disagree with the ideas of another and yet still enjoy their company.

There is also hope for lasting impact on participants by enabling them to forge new relationships and encouraging them to hold future dinners themselves.

"During this incredibly polarized time, one often hears the complaint that no one is talking to each other and no one is listening," says Lanz by email. "We hope to contribute to alleviating some of this polarization by creating a citizen based forum that people can debate and discuss, instead of keeping it at the political elite level."

Sign up

Six dinners have been scheduled throughout October and November. Each will be held at either Cafe Benelux, 346 N. Broadway, or Story Hill BKC, 5100 W. Bluemound Rd., both of which have donated the meals for attendees. During the dinner, guests can choose dishes from a preset menu provided by the restaurant.

Kantian Dinners are free of charge. However, since seating is limited, participants must apply online in advance to participate in the dinners. The deadline to apply is Oct. 3.

Dates for the dinners are as follows.

Tuesday, Oct. 11: Story Hill BKC

Wednesday, Oct. 19: Cafe Benelux

Thursday Oct. 27: Story Hill BKC

Tuesday, Nov. 1: Cafe Benelux

Wednesday, Nov.: Cafe Benelux

Thursday, Nov. 17: Cafe Benelux

For additional information, visit marquette.edu/kdpi or email kdpi@marquette.edu.
Reprinted from Reader Supported News

You will probably read this after the most watched debate ever. Donald Trump will likely have uttered the words "believe me" a number of times. Trump says those words when he is lying. They are his tell; they signal he is bluffing.

Three weeks ago, I and most of the political analysts thought this race was over. Of course, that would have been a bad thing for the media, who want a close race to increase ratings and advertising revenue.

Over the past three weeks, Hillary Clinton's poll numbers have been dropping steadily in battleground states. If these polls are accurate, Donald Trump could be our president-elect when we wake up November 9th.

I still think the organizational advantage that Clinton has will prevail. I am in a battleground state, and the Iowa combined campaign calls me regularly. It's the top of the ticket that is driving the ground game. The down-ticket candidates are not competitive in Iowa. I rarely see Trump ads, while Hillary has a strong presence on the airways. There are some messages that are positive, but most are anti-Trump, and so far they are not working as planned.

Trump's numbers are not rising. Instead, voters are moving from Clinton to Gary Johnson. Gary Johnson will not be on the stage in any of the debates. He will not win a single state in this election. Johnson may just be the Ross Perot of this election and take enough votes from one of the candidates to influence the result. Without Perot, Bill Clinton might not have become president. Gary Johnson, however, seems to be taking more from Hillary Clinton than he is taking from Donald Trump.

How could that be? The Libertarian Party wants to decimate social programs. The Libertarian platform calls for eliminating Social Security and Medicare. How could any Democrat support that? I think Gary Johnson and Jill Stein have benefited from their ability to define themselves. Voters who don't want either Clinton or Trump are voting against the two party system and haven't really taken a close look at either candidate.

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Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente began his successful business career in California's automobile industry. His involvement in politics includes being elected by the California Democratic Party as a Delegate-at-Large (Super Delegate) to the 1992 Democrat National Convention. De La Fuente ran for President in several Democrat primaries before declaring as a third party and independent presidential candidate.



Roque 'Rocky' De La Fuente

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Rocky De La Fuente: I had unfinished business. When I ran as a Democrat in the primaries, I thought I would be given an equal chance. That was not the case. Some state parties unilaterally blocked ballot access, while others imposed ridiculously high signature petition requirements, which I often became the first person in history to overcome.

Many of the 46 states, territories and the District of Columbia, in which I did qualify, tried to block my candidacy in other ways. Some denied acknowledging me on their websites. Some refused to list me on their caucus sign-in sheets, etc. The bottom line is that they did everything in their power to undermine my campaign along with the campaigns of other candidates who did not represent the political establishment.

I decided that the issue of election manipulation and fraud was too big to ignore. The American people need to know what is occurring and how their votes are being abused -- that's why I am still running.

The need for substantive election reform is far bigger than me. I am trying to bring attention to the issue to force the political establishment to address the issue. Every candidate should be treated equally, and every vote should count. Neither of those positions is currently being honored.

Gemma: You've been quoted as saying, "I have always considered myself to be a Democrat, although what that term means has shifted over the years. I probably best fit the term 'Kennedy Democrat.'" What do you mean by that?

De La Fuente: President Kennedy offered balanced leadership. He did not try to enhance his image by denigrating the image of others. He was far more diplomatic than the typical polarizing politicians we see today. I think leadership involves having the temperament to respect others unless they do something so profoundly inappropriate to merit criticism -- otherwise, if you constantly attack others because their political ideology may differ from yours, you will not be able to build the consensus you need to move forward. President Kennedy was a master at building consensus.

President Kennedy was a social progressive -- as am I -- he blended those beliefs with fiscal responsibility. As a businessman, I know you should not write checks you cannot cash. Too often our government officials view the taxpayer as a limitless resource to fund any political project they might choose to pursue. This is unrealistic, and it is also disrespectful of the fiduciary duty we have to the taxpayer. President Kennedy understood this and led our nation accordingly.

I take the same approach. That is what I mean when I say that I am a Kennedy Democrat.

Gemma: You've also said, "we need a far more efficient and effective way of vetting potential immigrants and providing them a path toward citizenship," and that, "we can secure our borders without abandoning the values upon which our nation was built." What are your views on illegal immigration?

De La Fuente: First, I dislike the term "illegal." While I accept the fact that there are laws in place, the term "illegal" suggests an element of criminal intent that is not at the root of most immigrants' decisions to come to the this country. The vast majority of these people are simply trying to secure a better future for themselves and for their families. While they may be entering the United States in a way that conflicts with our existing laws, they aren't entering our country to be disruptive, and they may not even understand what our laws require.

I think we need to start from a different place. Rather than viewing immigrants as potential liabilities, we need to begin to view them as assets. If we did that, the necessary changes to our archaic immigration laws could begin to be intelligently discussed, and we could make progress toward the comprehensive immigration reform that almost everyone agrees needs to happen.

Today, we vilify immigrants on a generic basis. We also selectively enforce the laws that are on the books, which allows us to ignore how incomprehensively out-of-date those laws are.

Our approach is almost anti-American when you compare it to the values that have always defined our country. We need to de-politicize the issue and work toward effective and comprehensive immigration reform.

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By Dave Lindorff



Wife's video shows killer cop dropping something (a gun?) near victim's body

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Now that the Charlotte, NC Police Department has reluctantly released the body cam and squad-car videos in its possession of the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott, which make it clear that nobody knew whether or not Scott even had a gun in his SUV with him, and that he apparently didn't have one in hand when he exited his vehicle, and did not appear to be threatening anyone, one thing is abundantly clear: Whether he had a gun or not, there wasabsolutely no reason for police to kill him.

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Escaping the Captivity of America's Past

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Yes, strengths and weaknesses abound over the gamut of our flip-flopping politics - both good and bad reaching across the aisle -- violence & hypocrisy, risks & failures Left, Right and Center. However, those who believe in whitewashed history books dearth of truth, are as godless as they claim to be Godly -- wrapped in the flagstone of myth.

More fragmentized than American mosaic, our extreme political and social bookends have become this Democratic Republic's albatross, bending its back on the backs of forgotten or ignored history -- The Right has become extremely wrong.

Now our Ship of State seems mired in the muck of military rape, corporate owned media, religious hypocrisy and racists' hate, anchoring The Land of the Free in the port of revisionist history, walled in by vain glory of trumped up greatness, crying out like a voice in the wilderness for the young to save the old from the rigidity of past sins against charity begins with love thy neighbor as thyself.

Independence & Independents, Liberals & Moderates, advocates and activists, undecided Baby-Boomers and sulking Millennials -- there is no longer a fork in the road -- there is only forward to progressive renewal or back the way we came. Although, getting centered is a goal worthy of the common good, there is no more in-between.

In 2016, being deplorable both comes from and raises fears that America's heart has beat too hard for too long.

The new reality: with an open mind, it's easier to see our leaders of industry & unions, private enterprise and all levels of government are merely the boat -- and when we vote against repeating the gender bias and racial discrimination of our past, We The People are the power of the wind -- and the ocean on which all sail.

Regardless of national heritage, political hope, gender claim, income race for equality, whether LBGTQ or not, if we desert the system, and Democrats, this will become ensconced as authentic American: belittling the disabled, faith in bigotry, hate transparency and permanent second-class citizenship for people of color, girls and women -- echoing the blatant hypocrisy of the Voting Rights gutting Chief Roberts decrying, Brown vs. Board of Education at the opening of the Smithsonian's new African-American museum.

Our trumped nation will resound in main-stream ensemble : It is for us The Right People, tea stained or red tied, to lead us not into the temptation of loving our neighbor as ourselves, but rather deliver us from the evil of Black Lives Matter, as we, the too conservative to see forward, Free Will ourselves to the promised land of blessed assurances that white might is our right. Praise the Lord, pass the trumpet that finally silences, Lift every Voice and Sing, so we are washed whiter than snow, free from the blood of any color.

Whether dreaming forward or looping our rear-view mirror, what we do between day-break and dusk is the only difference we make.

There are millions of Americans of every political, racial, sexual and spiritual hue, wealthy and not, who are decent, loving and giving human beings, but unlike Henrietta Lacks, Sarah Gray, Sam Cooke and Sons of Bill -- Donald Trump, and the GOP that Birthered him, are not among them.

Still our civility and national unity saves us from a trumped fate.
Last week, media coverage of Donald Trump may have hit an inflection point, when major news outlets, while covering Trump's latest birther shenanigans, characterized the GOP presidential nominee's remarks as a lie. Though Trump has scored more pants-on-fire false statements than any other candidate in this campaign, mainstream news outlets have struggled over whether and how to use the L-word when reporting on him. With this birther-driven breakthrough in coverage, there now remain plenty of brazenly untrue assertions -- deliberate lies or not -- uttered by Trump that warrant close examination. One topic ripe for such scrutiny is Trump's associations with organized crime. For years during his business career, Trump worked or associated with proven or alleged mobsters. (Trump's longtime lawyer, the thuggish and deceased Roy Cohn, repped numerous Mafia bosses, some of whom were connected to Trump projects.) Yet when asked about his links to the mob, Trump has repeatedly made false comments and has contradicted himself -- to such a degree it seems he has flat-out lied about these relationships, even when he was under oath.

If elected president, Trump would be in charge of federal law enforcement. So his attitude toward the mob could well be deemed a highly significant campaign issue -- as could his long record of not telling the truth about his ties to organized crime. Here are some of the strongest examples of when Trump has spoken falsely on this matter.

The time Trump falsely denied in a deposition that he associated with any mob associates: In 2005, journalist Timothy O'Brien published a book on Trump, TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald, in which he referenced an already established fact: that in the early 1980s Trump began his casino empire in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by leasing property owned by Kenneth Shapiro and Daniel Sullivan. Shapiro, O'Brien wrote, was a "street-level gangster with close ties to the Philadelphia mob," and Sullivan was a "Mafia associate, FBI informant and labor negotiator." (Trump also had obtained Sullivan's assistance when he had trouble with undocumented Polish workers who were demolishing the Bonwit Teller building in Manhattan to make way for Trump Tower.)
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The figures boggle the mind. Approximately 11 million Americans cycle through our jails and prisons each year (including a vast "pre-trial population" of those arrested and not convicted and those who simply can't make bail). At any moment, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, there are more than 2.3 million people in our "1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 942 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S. territories." In some parts of the country, there are more people in jail than at college.

If you want a partial explanation for this, keep in mind that there are cities in this country that register more arrests for minor infractions each year than inhabitants. Take Ferguson, Missouri, now mainly known as the home of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager shot and killed in 2014 by a town policeman. The Harvard Law Review reported that, in 2013, Ferguson had a population of 22,000. That same year "its municipal court issued 32,975 arrest warrants for nonviolent offenses," or almost one-and-a-half arrests per inhabitant.

And then there are the conditions in which all those record-breaking numbers of people live in our jails and prisons. At any given time, 80,000 to 100,000 inmates in state and federal prisons are held in "restrictive housing" (aka solitary confinement). And those numbers don't even include county jails, deportation centers, and juvenile justice institutions. Rikers Island, New York City's infamous jail complex in its East River, has 990 solitary cells. And keep in mind that solitary confinement -- being stuck in a six-by-nine or eight-by-10-foot cell for 23 or 24 hours a day -- is widely recognized as a form of psychosis-inducing torture.

And that, of course, is just to begin to explore America's vast and ever-expanding prison universe. The fact is that it's hard to fathom even the basics of the American urge to lock people away in vast numbers, which is why today TomDispatchregular Rebecca Gordon focuses instead on what it might mean for justice in this country if we started to consider alternatives to prison. Tom

There Oughta Be a Law...

Should Prison Really Be the American Way?

By Rebecca Gordon You've heard of distracted driving? It causes quite a few auto accidents and it's illegal in a majority of states. Well, this year, a brave New Jersey state senator, a Democrat, took on the pernicious problem of distracted walking. Faced with the fact that some people can't tear themselves away from their smartphones long enough to get across a street in safety, Pamela Lampitt of Camden, New Jersey, proposed a law making it a crime to cross a street while texting. Violators would face a fine, and repeat violators up to 15 days in jail . Similar measures, says the Washington Post, have been proposed (though not passed) in Arkansas, Nevada, and New York. This May, a bill on the subject made it out of committee in Hawaii. That's right. In several states around the country, one response to people being struck by cars in intersections is to consider preemptively sending some of those prospective accident victims to jail. This would be funny, if it weren't emblematic of something larger. We are living in a country where the solution to just about any social problem is to create a law against it, and then punish those who break it. I've been teaching an ethics class at the University of San Francisco for years now, and at the start of every semester, I always ask my students this deceptively simple question: What's your definition of justice? As you might expect in a classroom where half the students are young people of color, up to a third are first-generation college goers, and maybe a sixth come from outside the United States, the answers vary. For some students, justice means "standing up for the little guy." For many, it involves some combination of "fairness" and "equality," which often means treating everyone exactly the same way, regardless of race, gender, or anything else. Others display a more sophisticated understanding. An economics major writes, for instance, "People are born unequal in genetic potential, financial and environmental stability, racial prejudice, geographic conditions, and nearly every other facet of life imaginable. I believe that the aim of a just society is to enable its citizens to overcome or improve their inherited inequalities." A Danish student compares his country to the one where he's studying: "The Danish welfare system is constructed in such a way that people pay more in taxes and the government plays a significant role in the country. We have free healthcare, education and financial aid to the less fortunate. Personally, I believe this is a just system where we take care of our own." For a young Latino, justice has a cosmic dimension: "My sense of justice tends to revolve around my idea that the universe and life are so grand and inexplicable that everything you put into it comes back to you. This I can trace to my childhood, when my mother would tell me to do everything in life with 'love, faith, and courage.' Ever since, I believe that any action or endeavor that is guided by these three qualities can be considered just."

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Surely the answer to the headline question is obvious and fundamental, or at least I hope it is. You need not be an experienced hiker or mountain climber to give a moment's thought to the visual image of finding yourself coming upon a steep and rocky cliff, which you cannot get down or around, given its vast length and depth. Arriving inadvertently at the rim of the Grand Canyon would be a good example for consideration.

What would you do? Indeed, is there any other choice, than to do an about face and head the other way?

David Brower gave this example when presenting his rousing talks, which pulled tens of thousands or more into the environmental movement, decades ago and until near his death in November 2000, age 88. Perhaps he chose this example because he was an experienced and well-known mountain climber, particularly in his younger days. As he walked dramatically to the edge of the stage, talking vividly and encouragingly about this analogy, the answer seemed patently obvious. I don't believe there were ever any dissenters, at least given the several talks I heard from him.

I believe this analogy is pressingly relevant today, more critical than ever before. The United States of America is patently on the mode of self-destruct, about to continue in the direction of the metaphorical and all too literal cliff. We face monumental, rapidly escalating problems, pervasive corruption reaching the highest levels, unbridled capitalism that is tearing apart the fabric of civilization, a frightfully real threat of nuclear war, global and long term effects of climate change, obliteration of species and habitats, not to mention untold deaths of millions of people, from war, famine, lack of health care, and far more. I hardly need to elaborate on these dangers for anyone who even skims the headlines now and then.

Shamefully, we are offered no solutions from our so-called leaders or leader "wanna bees" on these issues. I pondered writing factually as I could about these ego-driven individuals, who do not have anything close to our best interests at heart, and who have failed to express anything close to a viable future for us, let alone humankind. I speak of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, and a gaggle of stragglers who love to make noise even without so much as a deep or basic understanding the problems confronting us; characters who will do their best, intentionally or otherwise, to assure that we indeed do fly off that cliff of no return, via "business as usual"--the very business that got us here, and pursuing trends that lead directly to worse devastation, wider wealth distribution, continued war, possibly if not probably nuclear, and the lengthy list we are all too familiar with.

As an alternative to pointing about what most folks ought to know by now about the "wanna bees," I ask this: What if we could vote for a president who stood firmly against entrenched political and economic power, which day by day leads us further into financial, social and ecological crisis? What if you could vote for a president who would do everything in their power to advance the cause of human rights around the world? Who would stand tall leading by example? Who refuses to accept money from corporations, but works instead to secure peace, justice, and democracy, along with the only livable planet we can conceivably have? A person who puts people, planet and peace over profit? A person who literally dedicated their life to helping others? Would this not be a 180 degree turn from our present course, a walking away from the present cliff, and in fact truly be the only future we can live with?

Voting for such a person might mean setting aside legitimate fears of the jokers in the present mainstream line-up, but likewise demonstrating in no uncertain terms we are dead serious about the only real future we can have, leaving the planet in better condition than it is now. It would mean having two ounces of faith in our own brains, perhaps doing a little more homework, and simply and calmly being sure we're aware of where and when to vote in our own area.

I am of course talking about Dr. Jill Stein, who would begin by making correct choices for her cabinet. And who, once elected, we ourselves would continue to support, along with showing more involvement in actively demonstrating our belief in her ideas?

I presented a link to a talk of hers not long ago, in the form of a letter she wrote to a Russian environmental group. While the letter is in regard to her discussion with that group, I contend that it lays out Jill's broad outlook with her usual clarity and equanimity. Without further adieu, I present that letter below, and encourage you to both read it and "read between the lines." If you like what you hear, I can only suggest that you pass it along in whatever manner you best can, be it a link to this article or simple and calm discussions with your friends about this amazing individual, whom the media chooses to regularly ignore.

Dear Yevgeniya Chirikova and Nadezhda Kutepova,

First of all, thank you for your courageous actions to protect our planet and fight for political freedoms.

Those who stand against entrenched political and economic power often face retaliation from the elites who are leading us into economic, social and ecological crisis. Sadly, this is true in the United States as well as in Russia.

My views regarding Russia, and even my specific statements, have been grossly misrepresented by certain actors in the media and political establishment. There is a growing tendency in American politics to label critics of the established order as agents of Russia working against the United States. For example, when WikiLeaks exposed massive corruption at the highest levels of the Democratic Party, high-ranking Democratic Party officials and their supporters in the media began attacking WikiLeaks as an alleged agent of Russia, despite their inability to produce any hard evidence to support this claim. This tactic of smearing critics as Russian agents is the mirror image of the Putin administration's tactic of labeling Putin critics as agents of the West. It is reminiscent of the shameful history of Russia-baiting attacks against political opposition leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.

In this climate of growing anti-Russian sentiment, my visit to Russia to participate in a panel on international relations became a target. Andrew Weiss, a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and the Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted a video from my Moscow trip with a claim that I was "gushing over Russian support for human rights." Pulitzer Prize--winning journalist Glenn Greenwald quickly pointed out that this claim was completely false. My comments were in reference to the conference on international relations with political figures from around the world, many of whom expressed support for my vision of a foreign policy based on diplomacy, respect for international law and human rights.

At the same time, Democratic political consultant John Aravois spread the claim that I "only criticized the US" and refused to criticize Russia--as Greenwald pointed out, another falsehood. In my comments on international relations I criticized both the governments of the United States and Russia for putting resources into military spending that would be better and more justly spent on critical domestic needs. This is a matter of public record. Yet the fact that I criticized Russian military policy in Moscow was ignored by people like Washington Post reporter Anne Appelbaum, who tweeted that I was a "pro-Putin" candidate. On Joy Reid's show on MSNBC, former Naval intelligence officer Malcolm Nance stated, "Jill Stein has a show on Russia Today," a blatant falsehood that Reid refused to correct even after Adam Johnson of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting publicly brought it to her attention . So it's not surprising that many people are confused after hearing prominent members of the political and media establishment repeat stories that run counter to the facts.

You have asked, "How is it possible to have a discussion with Mr. Putin and not mention, not even once, the fate of Russian political prisoners, or the attacks against Russian journalists, artists, and environmentalists?" The answer is simple: I did not have any discussion with Mr. Putin. Although we sat across from each other at the same table, there was no interpreter present--so there was no opportunity to discuss human rights or anything else with him.

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Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, April 15, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Taiwan's failure to get invited to Tuesday's International Civil Aviation Organization assembly in Montreal, Canada, should not come as a surprise for island leader Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party administration.

Tsai should have expected this ever since she refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, which lays out the one-China principle by the island and the Chinese mainland, on May 20, the day she assumed office.

It is easy for Taipei to misread the failure and lay unwarranted blame on Beijing's opposition to the island's participation in international activities. But finger-pointing can neither solve the problem nor eliminate the main reason behind the ICAO's decision to not invite Taiwan this year.

In 2013 when Taiwan's civil aviation authorities were invited to send representatives as non-voting delegates to the ICAO assembly, it was cross-Straits negotiations based on the understanding that both sides adhere to the 1992 Consensus that resulted in a special arrangement. Under the arrangement, Taipei was invited as a special guest of then-ICAO council president Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez because only sovereign states have the right to participate in ICAO within the UN framework.

The DPP's refusal to adhere to the one-China principle, however, has undermined Taiwan's chances of participating in any international activity. Tsai and her administration have underestimated the damage the refusal to adhere to the one-China principle could cause.

Under the leadership of former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, cross-Straits ties had grown stronger, with the inking of dozens of economic deals, closer personnel and cultural exchanges, as well as practical arrangements for Taiwan's participation in some international organizations and activities.

In fact, the DPP administration's refusal to recognize the political basis of one China has already stalled bilateral communication and almost frozen cross-Straits ties since May 20. The suspension of institutional exchanges between top agencies in charge of cross-Straits relations of both sides and the sharp drop in the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan are some of the signs of the tense ties.

In essence, no way can Taipei participate in international organizations by bypassing the one-China principle, whether it is the ICAO assembly or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting scheduled for November in Peru.

Taipei will meet more dead ends if it doesn't fulfill the prerequisites for its participation in world activities. The DPP administration should realize this, reflect on its cross-Straits policy and come up with a practical solution instead of playing the blame game.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
This month, came up with a new investment platform to acquire conventional power assets. The fund comes at a time when capital goods maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) is seeing 45 per cent of its Rs 1.1-lakh core order book face the challenge of stalled or slow moving projects. A large number of this are stuck due to financial constraints that ICICI Ventures power platform plans to benefit from. Prashant Purker, managing director and CEO of ICICI Venture Funds, spoke to Abhineet Kumar on his plans for that. Edited excerpts:



What is the worth of assets you are targeting to acquire with your $850-million power platform?



Were targeting to acquire $3-3.5 billion worth of (enterprise value) assets in the conventional power segment across thermal, hydel (hydro electric) and transmission businesses.



Clearly, there are a lot of power assets just getting completed or stuck in the last mile of completion with over leveraged situations at company or sponsor level. They need someone who can buy the assets out, inject equity to complete the project and have the capability to operate these assets on a long-term basis . This platform provides that  Tata Power bring operating capabilities and ICICI Venture provide fund management service as sponsors for the fund.



In return, these assets benefit those investors who need long-term yields. This is ideal for our investors such as Canadian pension fund CDPQ (Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec) as well as sovereign funds Kuwait Investment Authority and State General Reserve Fund of Oman .



As a funds-house, what is your strategy for platforms? Can we expect more such platforms to come in the future?



In 2014, we collaborated with Apollo Global Management to raise first special situation funds for India. We raised $825 million under our joint venture AION Capital Partners. Unlike funds, platforms are dedicated to some sort of investments where assets can be aggregated. Our strategy is to identify situations or opportunities in the market that require certain things to be brought together and then bring it with whatever it takes .



With the pedigree and group linkage, ICICI Venture is in a unique position to achieve this. Among domestic institutions, it is the only one which is truly multi-practice with four investment teams across private equity (PE), real estate, special situation and power assets. Across these four, we have $4.15 billion assets under management and it does not include the fund we raised in the venture capital era. Today, we have the largest dry powder of $1.5 billion across these funds .



It has come with our ability to spot opportunity earlier, and bring together whatever it takes. We will continue to look for new platform opportunities.



What is the update on your PE and real estate funds?



For real estate, weve total assets under management of $625 million with two funds fully invested. Now we plan to raise our third fund and have applied to the regulator for approval.



For PE, we are in the process of raising our fourth fund and have concluded interim closing as well as the first two investments. We have also started investing from our fourth fund with a couple of investments  Anthea Aromatics and Star Health Insurance  already made. Our PE fund will remain sector-agnostic and look for growth capital investment opportunities coming from rising consumption . In terms of exits, we have returned nearly half of our third fund to investors from various exits with Teamlease being the latest one where we used the IPO (initial public offering) route. Exit from the rest of the investee companies from the third fund is in the process of using multiple routes of IPOs, secondary sale, or strategic sell-off .



What is the sense you get on limited partners' view for investments in India as you raise your fourth PE fund?

Limited partners are today happier with exits position than they were a couple of years ago. Obviously, markets cant just keep absorbing the capital; it has to return . With IPO markets opening up and given the increasing number of secondary deals, the sentiment for investments has improved. We are also seeing larger traction for strategic buy-outs as Indian promoters are fine with giving up controls . Is it that people are hundred per cent convinced to come to India - we are not in that position. People are looking for quality managers. Many funds would not be able to raise money as investors now want to gravitate to a few who have delivered returns and have a track record to show .



As disruption affects businesses across industries, how prepared are your investee companies to face it?



Today, every company has to be on its toes to look at technology  be it health-care or banking . At every companys board, directors with grey hair are asking about social media presence and how customers are being acquired. So, technological disruption has become truly mainstream .



It is an ongoing process, and they are today definitely more prepared than they were two years back.

but because they have some very savvy investors on board including the Caisse and Kuwait Investment Authority.





Why are these two giant funds investing in India's power assets? Because it's an emerging market that is growing fast and if pensions find the right partners, they can benefit from this growth investing in public and private markets.





Power assets are in line with the Caisse's philosophy under Michael Sabia's watch, ie. slow and steady returns , which is why it doesn't surprise me that they opted to invest in this new platform which will invest in power assets that provide a steady long-term yield.

And the Caisse isn't the only large Canadian pension fund investing in India. Many other Canadian pension funds invest in India, including the

Are there risks investing in India? Of course there are. Extreme poverty, gross inequality, rampant corruption and war with Pakistan are perennial concerns, but this emerging market has tremendous long-term potential even if the road ahead will undoubtedly be very bumpy. And unlike China, India is a democracy with favorable demographics but its infrastructure is nowhere near as developed as it is in China.

Abhineet Kumar of India's Business Standard interviewed Prashant Purker, Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Venture Funds, who said they will acquire power assets worth $3.5 billion Good interview with a bright person who is obviously very well informed on what is going on in India and the opportunities that exist there across private markets.I bring this particular interview to your attention not because I know Prashant Purker or want to plugCanada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) which opened a new office in Mumbai last year to focus on investment opportunities across the Indian subcontinent.As you can see below, one thing India has in common with China is problems with its pension system . The Real News Network reports on why 150 million Indians recently took to the streets to protest in of the largest one day strike in history.I think India should follow China which is seeking aid from Canada's CPPIB to reform its state pensions.Also, Press TV reports that bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have further deteriorated following the recent attack on Indian army soldiers in north Kashmir. New Delhi accused Islamabad of being behind the attack, with Pakistan rejecting the accusation.Let's hope this situation doesn't disintegrate any further than it already has and that these two neighboring countries can coexist peacefully for many more decades.
PHUKET, THAILAND: Phukets celebrated and revamped luxury beach resort THE NAI HARN recently co-hosted a two-day celebration experience in partnership with Thailands national carrier to mark the successful delivery of 12 new Airbus A350s that will join Thai Airways domestic and international fleet.

As part of the experience, VIPs and senior management from Thai Airways joined the airlines corporate clients, sponsors and members of the Thai and international media on a return flight from Bangkok to Phuket aboard one of the new Airbus A350s.

Guest were then transported to THE NAI HARN for an indulgent two-night stay overlooking one of the islands most beautiful beaches, enhanced by the world class services and facilities that have earned THE NAI HARN recognition as Phukets only member of Leading Hotels of the World.

In addition to hosting the visitors from Bangkok, The NAI HARN also jointly hosted a Gala BBQ Seafood Buffet Dinner for 120 people at the resorts expansive infinity-edged rooftop bar, Reflections, with live music, traditional Thai dance performances and a spectacular fireworks display and contributed hotel gift vouchers for winners of the lucky draw.

It was an honour to play a part in such a significant milestone for Thailands national airline, said Frank Grassmann, GM of The NAI HARN. We re-launched the resort earlier this year with a completely new look so we understand the importance of new additions to keep things fresh and appealing. With the new terminal at Phuket now open, the introduction of new aircraft is definitely timely and welcome move by Thai Airways.
This man was buried face downwards  a very unusual form of burial. Credit: Archaologischer Dienst des Kantons Bern

In 2013 archaeologists discovered a cemetery in use as long ago as the early Middle Ages in the Bernese Lakeland region of Switzerland. One of the bodies interred there was buried in an unusual way, and in order to better understand this puzzling situation coins found in the grave have been studied in detail by Empa's x-ray specialists and reconstructed on the computer.

The original idea was to build a new underground garage adjacent to the churchyard wall in the centre of the village of Schupfen. But as soon as building work began it became clear that the project was going to be delayed, for within a few hours human skeletons were uncovered. "The building contractor knew that they were working in a sensitive area," said Christian Weiss, a numismatic expert with the Archaeological Services of Canton Bern. The parcel of land in question had originally been used as a cemetery since the early Middle Ages, and in total the archaeologists found 342 bodies which had been buried there between the 8th and 17th centuries. And under the last 15 bodies to be interred was also the man who, till today, has the archaeologists scratching their heads.

Somewhat separated from the others, this man was laid face down in his grave. "This is quite unusual," according to Weiss. Further evidence came to light as the grave was excavated which confirmed the suspicion that this man had died under unusual circumstances. Next to the body the archaeologists found a knife and several coins, corroded together into a single block of metal  the remains of a purse.

The remains of the purse from the Middle Ages: old coins corroded together to form a single block. Credit: Archaologischer Dienst des Kantons Bern

Why was the man interred in such an unusual way? The archaeologists have put forward several theories in explanation. It is quite possible that the burial had to be done in a hurry, leaving no time to prepare the body, for had the dead man been washed first, as was then the custom, the purse would have been found and removed. The tradition of placing objects in the grave along with the corpse had long passed by the time of burial, so then what exactly had happened? Did the poor chap die from an infectious disease, necessitating immediate burial? Or was this a case of robbery and murder, or perhaps an act of revenge?

Coins could provide evidence

Coins often provide valuable information pertaining to archaeological finds, so the experts wanted to examine the man's purse, which had been placed under his chest, in more detail. Over time, however, the leather had decomposed and the coins had corroded together to form a solid block. The individual coins would, of course, provide more background information, but they were extremely fragile. Even Sabine Brechbuhl, who specializes in restoring metallic objects for the Archaeological Service of Canton Bern, was not able to separate them, the danger of damaging them in the process being too great to risk. Instead, she attempted to view the block of coins using x-rays. However conventional x-ray techniques provided no useful information because the thick layers of coins led to severely overexposed images.

The first x-ray images of the block gave little useful information. Credit: Archaologischer Dienst des Kantons Bern

They turned for help to Mathieu Plamondon, one of Empa's x-ray specialists. "The block of coins isn't very big but it absorbs a great deal of energy, so we needed a very powerful source of x-rays," explains Plamondon. It just so happened that a brand-new instrument of his called DETECT, an x-ray computer tomograph, contained exactly the kind of powerful source that was needed. Using this source in conjunction with a high resolution detector, Plamondon can measure samples better and more precisely than previously possible. Only a couple of other laboratories in Europe have access to instruments of similar performance, reaching resolutions in the micrometer range even with samples of dimensions up to 10 cm. "We didn't know how well it would work though, because it was the very first time we had made a measurement with the new instrument!" says Plamondon.

24 coins of different currencies in the purse

However, even the very first x-ray image was of surprisingly good quality. Twenty-four thin coins could be identified in cross-section, some stamped on one side, some on both. It was even possible to see on the image that some of the coins were made of two different metals. Early coins were often manufactured from copper-silver alloy and before being stamped they would be immersed in a bath of tartaric acid to dissolve out the copper. As a result, the coin is given a shiny silver surface. One of the coins in the purse was in fact made of pure silver. But this initial image was not enough for Empa's x-ray specialist, however, and working carefully and precisely he was able to virtually manipulate the data so that, despite the severe corrosion, suddenly the embossed images and text could be seen on individual coins.

An x-ray image made using the new Empa DETECT instrument shows the first details: there were at least 24 coins in the leather purse, which had over time completely decomposed. Credit: Empa

Of the coins from the purse which bear the year of manufacture, the latest dates from 1629 so the man must obviously have been buried after then. The coins also provide information about how the man lived. "It is possible he was a traveling merchant," Christian Weiss thinks, "because we found coins in the purse from the Fribourg-Bern-Solothurn, Basel-Freiburg in Breisgau and Luzern-Schwyz regions". At the time each of these areas had their own coins in local circulation.

"Taken together, the coins are really just small change," says Weiss. "There is nothing in the purse equivalent in value to, say, a hundred franc note today." He thinks it is unlikely that somebody took the more valuable coins and left the low value ones behind, and this fact counters the robbery  murder theory. It does not exclude murder for another reason, however, such as revenge. What exactly happened and why the man was buried in such an unusual way will probably remain a secret forever.

Empa X-ray tomographic image: the newest of the coins from the purse stamped with the year of manufacture was dated 1629. The burial must obviously have taken place at some later time. Credit: Empa

Explore further Looted ancient coins return to Romania from US
Mummy at the acrchaeological site. Credit: Paul Hanny

The copper used to make the axe blade of 5,000-year-old mummy Otzi did not come from the Alpine region as had previously been supposed, but from ore mined in southern Tuscany. Otzi was probably not involved in working the metal himself, as the high levels of arsenic and copper found in his hair had, until now, led us to assume. His murder over 5,000 years ago seems to have been brought about due to a personal conflict a few days before his demise, and the man from the ice, despite his normal weight and active life-style, suffered from extensive vascular calcification. Scientists from all over the world presented these and other new insights, at the recent International Mummy Congress in Bozen-Bolzano. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Otzi's discovery, the three days of the Congress, from 19th to 21st September, are all dedicated to the man from the ice.

Since the man from the ice came on the scene on 19th September 1991, he has not ceased to fascinate scientists from all over the world. No corpse has been more thoroughly investigated. "In terms of his significance for science, Otzi is not simply an isolated mummy discovery. He could be seen as a typical European from earlier times and is precious for this reason alone," explained the anthropologist Albert Zink from EURAC Research, the scientific leader of the congress. "Otzi is so well preserved as a glacier mummy and through this alone, he serves us researchers as a model for developing scientific methods which can then be used on other mummies," said Zink. "What concerns us most these days is to know who the man from the ice was, what role he played in society and what happened to him in the last days of his life. Sophisticated procedures, now available to scientists, are continually supplying us with new evidence," said Angelika Fleckinger, Director of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology which helped to organise the Congress.

Links to Central Italy

The archaeological site. Credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Lukas Aichner

One surprising new fact has been unearthed which concerns the most extraordinary item amongst Otzi's equipment  the valuable copper axe. In contrast to what had previously been presumed, the copper used in the blade does not derive from the Alpine region (researchers had suggested East or North Tyrol as the most likely provenance) but from Central Italy. Professor Gilberto Artioli's archaeometallurgy research group at the University of Padua has discovered that the metal had been obtained from ore mined in South Tuscany.

In order to determine its origin, Italian scientists took a tiny sample from the blade and compared the proportion of lead isotope  a kind of "fingerprint" of the ore deposits which remains unchanged in any objects subsequently made from the ore  with the corresponding data from numerous mineral deposits in Europe and the entire Mediterranean region. The result pointed unequivocally to South Tuscany.

"No one was prepared for this finding. We will commission further analyses in order to double-check these first results," stressed Angelika Fleckinger. If the original results are confirmed, this new evidence will give researchers some interesting food for thought. Was Otzi as a trader travelling possibly as far as the area around today's Florence? What was the nature of the trading and cultural links with the south in those days? Did the exchange of goods also involve movements of the population? That is to say, did people from the south venture into the Alpine region and vice versa? "This is a particularly exciting insight especially with respect to questions about population development," explained Albert Zink.

Thorax x-ray. Credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Regional Hospital of Bolzano

Was he or was he not involved in smelting copper?

Another question long debated amongst the scientific community, is whether Otzi was perhaps involved himself in the process of copper smelting. Scientists have advocated this thesis because raised arsenic and copper levels have been measured in the mummy's hair, a fact which might possibly be explained, for example, by breathing in the smoke which is released when melting and pouring metal.

Geochemist Wolfgang Muller of Royal Holloway, University of London, who had already used isotope analysis to establish Otzi's South Tyrol origins, has now turned to this question once more. Using highly developed methods of analysis such as laser mass spectrometry and speciation analysis, Muller's team examined not just hairs but also samples from Otzi's nails, skin and organs for possible heavy metal contamination.

Thorax 3D CT scan. Credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Regional Hospital of Bolzano

His still provisional findings suggest that the hypothesis that Otzi was involved in processing metal was premature. Muller did indeed find slightly raised arsenic values in the nail sample, but not in other tissue samples. Raised copper levels were only present at the extremities and this correlates with other change indicators, and thus it is doubtful if one can establish a heavy metal contamination for Otzi's actual life time: Raised values might also be due to environmental influences over the 5,000 years since his death.

Radiological investigations with the latest CT equipment

A new computer tomography (CT) scan of the man from the ice was undertaken by radiologists Paul Gostner and Patrizia Pernter in January 2013 in the Department of Radiology of Bozen-Bolzano Hospital. To do this they used a CT-scanner of the latest generation which, thanks to its large opening, allowed the doctors to run Otzi rapidly through the machine from head to toe despite the way his arm is angled. In addition to the vascular calcification in the arteries of his stomach and legs which had already been known about, the superior image allowed doctors to spot three small areas of calcification near to the outflow tracts of the heart which had hitherto escaped their notice. This substantiates the earlier finding made by molecular biologists in EURAC that Otzi had a strong genetic predisposition to cardiovascular diseases and that this was probably also the main reason for his general arteriosclerosis.

Arrows injury. Credit: Sudtiroler Archaologiemuseum/Museo Archeologico dellAlto Adige/South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Investigations of a "profiler"

Otzi was murdered. The arrow head discovered in 2001 in his left shoulder suggests this. But what were the circumstances surrounding the crime? In 2014, the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology commissioned Chief Inspector Alexander Horn of the Munich Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the "Otzi murder case" using the latest criminological methods. Horn interrogated various "acquaintances" of the murder victim such as archaeologists from the museum who had been looking after Otzi for years, or experts from forensic medicine, radiology and anthropology.

Members of the project team also took part in an on-site inspection of the location in Schnals where the body was found. The results of this investigation were that Otzi probably did not feel threatened shortly before his murder, because the situation at the Tisenjoch location where he was found indicates that he had been resting while enjoying a hearty meal. In the days prior to the murder he had incurred an injury to his right hand, probably as a result of defensive action during the course of a physical altercation. No further injuries could be found, and this might serve to indicate that he had not been defeated in this particular conflict. The arrow shot, which was probably fatal, seems to have been launched from a great distance and took the victim by surprise, from which we may infer that it was an act of treachery.

Further medical findings suggest that the victim fell and that the perpetrator used no further violence. The perpetrator probably did not wish to risk a physical altercation, but instead chose a long distance attack to kill the man from the ice. As valuable objects such as the copper axe remained at the crime scene, theft can be excluded as the motive. The reason for the offence is more likely to be found in some sort of personal conflict situation, in a previous hostile encounter  "a behavioural pattern which is prevalent even today in the bulk of murder crimes," as Alexander Horn explained.

Hands injury. Credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Otzis axe. Credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Otzis axe. Credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Provided by South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology
PPPL intern Mark Thom with a device containing a robotic arm that will be used with PPPLs PTOLEMY experiment. Credit: Elle Starkman/PPPL Office of Communications

Deep in a laboratory tucked away in the basement of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), intern Mark Thom punched commands into a computer as two other students checked a chamber where a silver robotic arm extended from a small port.

The arm will allow scientists studying neutrinos that originated at the beginning of the universe to load a tiny amount of nuclear material into the device while still maintaining a vacuum in the PTOLEMY laboratory.

Thom, along with high school interns Xaymara Rivera and Willma Arias de la Rosa, worked closely with Princeton University physicist Chris Tully and PPPL engineers to get the robotic arm moving again. The crucial device will load tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, into PTOLEMY, the Princeton Tritium Observatory for Light, Early Universe Massive Neutrino Yield.

Tritium can capture Big Bang neutrinos and release them with electrons in radioactive decay. The neutrinos can provide a tiny boost of energy to the electrons, which PTOLEMY is designed to precisely measure in the darkest, coldest conditions possible. It is funded by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation.

"For me it was just amazing that I actually got onto that project," Thom said. "It's exactly the kind of thing I thought I would like to do, being an engineer working on a high-energy physics project."

The robotic arm, together with the portable container and the computer program to operate it, were recycled from another experiment when Thom and fellow interns Rivera and Arias de la Rosa began the project. Thom was responsible for making the arm operational and altering it so it would fit PTOLEMY.

Handling delicate materials

Tully said the device can safely handle very delicate radioactive materials from DOE's Savannah River National Laboratory. Without the device, scientists would have to shut down PTOLEMY completely twice a day to change the tritium sample, he said. Maintaining a vacuum in PTOLEMY is also necessary for the extremely sensitive sensors that measure the energy spectrum of the electrons emitted from the tritium to function properly.

To make the robotic arm function again, Thom had to analyze why the coding was failing, which meant learning the code for the machine. He had to learn an unfamiliar program and then rewrite it to redirect the arm to handle tritium samples, without having worked on a device of that kind before, Tully said.

The students encountered a setback when the arm stopped working. At first, they thought the device would need a new motor, which would cost $20,000. It turned out that the culprit was a circuit that would cost just a few dollars to replace. While Tully fixed the computer, Thom took the arm apart and researched how to install magnetic shielding around the motors and sketched a design for that shielding, Tully said. "Mark was quite amazing," he said. "I was very impressed with him."

Thom also designed a cover for one of the ports that would need to be sealed for the robotic arm to work. Rivera and Arias de la Rosa helped him operate and test the robotic arm and wrote procedures for running it. Thom and the other interns also worked with PPPL engineers Charles Gentile and Mike Mardenfeld, along with senior mechanical technician Andy Carpe and lead technician Jim Taylor.

Gentile, who supervised Thom and other engineering interns, said Thom was one of the best interns he has seen in 25 years of supervising more than 200 interns. "He's an excellent mechanical engineer," Gentile said. "He was a hard worker and he came up with innovative solutions to problems."

The arm connects to PTOLEMY through two ports equipped with valves. One valve connects to the experiment. The other connects to a loading chamber where scientists can insert a tiny sample of tritium on a graphene base.

Researchers would create a vacuum in the loading chamber and attach it to the vacuum chamber of PTOLEMY. The robotic arm could then collect the tritium and graphene sample and deposit it into PTOLEMY. Researchers would next retract the arm and close the valve connecting it to PTOLEMY.

Following parents' footsteps

Thom, who is in his final year of master's degree work at Howard University, is from Trinidad. The son of two engineers, he considered becoming a physician and briefly flirted with the idea of being an actor or music producer before choosing to follow in his parents' footsteps.

Thom studied engineering as an undergraduate at Howard. He learned about the internship when Andrea Moten, PPPL acting director of human resources, and engineer Atiba Brereton met him at National Laboratory Day at Howard University in February. The two passed Thom's resume along to Gentile as a candidate for the engineering apprenticeship program.

The graduate student recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with his wife, Sydney, who is also an engineer and is currently teaching at a Kipp DC Middle School in Washington, D.C. Thom commuted to Washington every weekend on Friday nights to see her and then headed back to New Jersey on Monday mornings. "It was challenging at first," he said. "But after a while I got accustomed to it and I actually began to appreciate those drives because it gave me some time to think."

Thom said he enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere at PPPL. He was surprised when Gentile told him he was overdressed on his first day. But he most enjoyed talking to researchers about their work. "I met some really cool people  a bunch of physicists whom I was able to have certain conversations with, just talking about abstract theories. That's the kind of conversation I enjoy," Thom said. "Being able to interact with people like that in that atmosphere was really enjoyable."

The internship gave him a better idea of possible careers as he prepares to graduate, Thom said. "I had a limited view of the engineering world prior to going into this work," he said. "But now I have a better idea of the kind of environment I'd like to be in, so it gives me an idea of what I should do to prepare for that environment."

Explore further Hunting for Big Bang neutrinos that could shed new light on the origin of the universe
Artists conception courtesy of Robin Dienel.

When a star is young, it is often still surrounded by a primordial rotating disk of gas and dust, from which planets can form. Astronomers like to find such disks because they might be able to catch the star partway through the planet formation process, but it's highly unusual to find such disks around brown dwarfs or stars with very low masses. New work from a team led by Anne Boucher of Universite de Montreal, and including Carnegie's Jonathan Gagne and Jacqueline Faherty, has discovered four new low-mass objects surrounded by disks. The results will be published by The Astrophysical Journal.

Three of the four objects discovered by these researchers are quite small, somewhere between only 13 and 18 times the mass of Jupiter. The fourth has about 120 times Jupiter's mass. (For comparison the Sun is just over 1,000 times more massive than Jupiter.)

"Finding disks in low-mass systems is really interesting to us, because objects that exist at the lower limit of what defines a star and that still have disks that indicate planet formation can tell us a lot about both stellar and planetary evolution," said first author Boucher, who works at her university's Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx).

In a planet-forming disk, the dust grains collide and aggregate to form pebbles, which grow into boulders, and so on, increasing in size through planetesimals, planetary embryos, and finally rocky terrestrial planets (some of which then become the cores for gas giant planets). Astronomers are able to identify these types of planet-birthing disks, because the star heats up the surrounding dust, which affects the way it looks using a telescope with an infrared camera.

However, some disks indicate that planet formation isn't ongoing, but has already finished. These disks are made up of the debris left behind by all the collisions during planet formation and by subsequent collisions of the newly formed planets. Eventually these dusty remains are swept away. But until that happens, a cooler, thinner ring of dust surrounds the star.

Some disks even represent an intermediate stage between the planet-forming and dusty remnant phases.

It's important for astronomers to try to distinguish between these different types of disks, because then they can better chart the way planetary systems, including our own Solar System, are born and change over time.

The research team was able to determine that the disks surrounding their four newly discovered low-mass objects were all likely in a phase of planet forming. None were in the dusty aftermath phase.

Even more interesting, two of the objects are possibly between 42 and 45 million years old. This would make them the oldest objects surrounded by active disk systems ever found.

"There is still so much to learn about disks around low-mass objects such as these four," concluded Gagne, who is also a iREx collaborator. "Hopefully, we can conduct further research on them and be able to narrow down what kind of activity is happening in them and whether or not they would be good targets for future planet hunters."

The other co-authors are: David Lafreniere and Rene Doyon of Universite de Montreal, and Lison Malo of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.

This work was supported by Fonds de Recherche du Quebec - Nature et Technologies, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Quebec.

Explore further The minimum mass of a proto-solar system disk

More information: BANYAN. VIII. New Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs with Candidate Circumstellar Disks, arXiv:1608.08259 [astro-ph.SR] Journal information: Astrophysical Journal BANYAN. VIII. New Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs with Candidate Circumstellar Disks, arXiv:1608.08259 [astro-ph.SR] arxiv.org/abs/1608.08259
A Magellanic penguin at Punta Tombo, sporting a metal tag used for identification purposes. Credit: Dee Boersma

Biologists of all stripes attest to evolution, but have debated its details since Darwin's day. Since changes arise and take hold slowly over many generations, it is daunting to track this process in real time for long-lived creatures.

"We know that evolution occursthat species change," said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington professor of biology. "But to see this process in long-lived animals you have to look at generations of individuals, track how traits are inherited and detect selection at work."

Boersma studies one particularly intriguing long-lived species, the Magellanic penguins of South America. She has spent 34 years gathering information about their lifespan, reproduction and behavior at Punta Tombo, a stretch of Argentine coast that serves as their largest breeding site. Boersma and her colleagues combed through 28 years' worth of penguin data to search for signs that natural selectionone of the main drivers of evolutionmay be acting on certain penguin traits. As they report in a paper published Sept. 21 in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, selection is indeed at work at Punta Tombo.

"This is the first decades-long study to measure selection in penguins, and only the second one for birds overall," said lead author Laura Koehn, a graduate student in the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences who worked with Boersma as an undergraduate.

The scene at Punta Tombo in Dec. 2012. Credit: Dee Boersma

Like all penguins, the Magellanic variety are natural swimmers, where they feed on the bounty of the oceans. But once a year they return to the Argentine and Chilean coasts to mate and molt. Their "serial monogamy"fidelity to one partner per breeding seasonas well as a nagging preference to breed in the same general location each year make it possible to track individual birds over time, Koehn said. Boersma began the project, which is ongoing, in 1982.

To keep track of individuals amid a colony that at its height held 500,000 birds, Boersma and her team attached unique metal bands to the flipper of each penguin they studied. Each breeding season, the scientists would search for tagged penguins that made it back to Punta Tombo, measure basic physical characteristics and tag new chicks to add to their tracking duties.

"We chose characteristics that might be important to the success of individual penguins, like body size and bill depth," said Boersma. "And once we had generations of trackable data for individuals and their descendants, we could ask: do these traits change over time?"

Through natural selection, individuals with traits that allow them to adapt and thrive in their environment can pass their favorable traits to their offspring.

Heads held high at Punta Tombo. Credit: Dee Boersma

"Our question was simple: for these traits, do offspring resemble their parents?" said Koehn.

By measuring an entire populationlike the Magellanic penguins at Punta TomboBoersma's team could see if individuals with certain characteristics, for example a large body, were more successful at breeding over the years.

Koehn and co-authors searched for signs of selection across 28 years of Boersma's data.

She could detect selection in seven of the 28 years for both males and females. Selection is likely acting on these traits every year, but the highly variable conditions at Punta Tombo mean that the "direction" of selection on each trait may fluctuate too much to see over just 28 years, said Boersma. As the study continues, researchers may divine signatures of natural selection over additional years.

Adult Magellanic penguin and two chicks, begging for food. Credit: Dee Boersma

For the seven years the researchers could detect natural selection in males, there was a clear trend. Larger males held an edge in lean years when resources are fewer. In females, they detected selection acting on traits such as foot size, bill depth and body size. But unlike males, they saw no clear trend on how selection was shaping the females of the species over time.

"Those traits appear to be important for survival," said Boersma. "But if environmental conditions change rapidly then selection also constantly changes, and it's harder to see a clear trend over time."

This is only the second time natural selection has been observed over 20 years or more for a bird species. Evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant spent more than 20 years cataloguing traits in seed-eating finches on the Galapagos island of Daphne Major. These are some of the same Galapagos finches that inspired a young Darwin to come up with his theory of evolution by natural selection in the 19th century. The Grants detected signatures of natural selection at work on this island, correlating the changes with the influence of El Nino conditions.

"Now we've been able to track natural selection in a second bird species thanks to these decades of observations at Punta Tombo," said Boersma.

Magellanic penguins at Punta Tombo. Credit: Dee Boersma

Encouraged by her team's findings with Magellanic penguins, Boersma intends to continue collecting datatracking traits and survival for even more generations and repeating this analysis.

"This is only the beginning," she concluded.

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More information: Laura E. Koehn et al. Natural selection on morphology varies among years and by sex in Magellanic Penguins (), The Auk (2016). Laura E. Koehn et al. Natural selection on morphology varies among years and by sex in Magellanic Penguins (),(2016). DOI: 10.1642/AUK-16-50.1
Aurora borealis in Fairbanks, AK. on Monday night March 16. Credit: John Chumack

The Northern Lights have fascinated human beings for millennia. In fact, their existence has informed the mythology of many cultures, including the Inuit, Northern Cree, and ancient Norse. They were also a source of intense fascination for the ancient Greeks and Romans, and were seen as a sign from God by medieval Europeans.

Thanks to the birth of modern astronomy, we now know what causes both the Aurora Borealis and its southern sibling  Aurora Australis. Nevertheless, they remain the subject of intense fascination, scientific research, and are a major tourist draw. For those who live north of 60 latitude, this fantastic light show is also a regular occurrence.

Causes:

Aurora Borealis (and Australis) is caused by interactions between energetic particles from the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field. The invisible field lines of Earth's magnetoshere travel from the Earth's northern magnetic pole to its southern magnetic pole. When charged particles reach the magnetic field, they are deflected, creating a "bow shock" (so-named because of its apparent shape) around Earth.

However, Earth's magnetic field is weaker at the poles, and some particles are therefore able to enter the Earth's atmosphere and collide with gas particles in these regions. These collisions emit light that we perceive as wavy and dancing, and are generally a pale, yellowish-green in color.

Credit: NASA

The variations in color are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The common yellowish-green is produced by oxygen molecules located about 100 km (60 miles) above the Earth, whereas high-altitude oxygen  at heights of up to 320 km (200 miles)  produce all-red auroras. Meanwhile, interactions between charged particles and nitrogen will produces blue or purplish-red auroras.

Variability:

The visibility of the northern (and southern) lights depends on a lot of factors, much like any other type of meteorological activity. Though they are generally visible in the far northern and southern regions of the globe, there have been instances in the past where the lights were visible as close to the equator as Mexico.

In places like Alaska, Norther Canada, Norway and Siberia, the northern lights are often seen every night of the week in the winter. Though they occur year-round, they are only visible when it is rather dark out. Hence why they are more discernible during the months where the nights are longer.

Credit: Universe Today

Because they depend on the solar wind, auroras are more plentiful during peak periods of activity in the Solar Cycle. This cycle takes places every 11 years, and is marked by the increase and decrease of sunspots on the sun's surface. The greatest number of sunspots in any given solar cycle is designated as a "Solar Maximum", whereas the lowest number is a "Solar Minimum."

A Solar Maximum also accords with bright regions appearing in the Sun's corona, which are rooted in the lower sunspots. Scientists track these active regions since they are often the origin of eruptions on the Sun, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections.

The most recent solar minimum occurred in 2008. As of January 2010, the Sun's surface began to increase in activity, which began with the release of a lower-intensity M-class flare. The Sun continued to get more active, culminating in a Solar Maximum by the summer of 2013.

Locations for Viewing:

The magnetic field and electric currents in and around Earth generate complex forces, and also lead to the phenomena known as aurorae. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

The ideal places to view the Northern Lights are naturally located in geographical regions north of 60 latitude. These include northern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Alaska, and Northern Russia. Many organizations maintain websites dedicated to tracking optimal viewing conditions.

For instance, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks maintains the Aurora Forecast. This site is regularly updated to let residents know when auroral activity is high, and how far south it will extend. Typically, residents who live in central or northern Alaska (from Fairbanks to Barrow) have a better chance than those living in the south (Anchorage to Juneau).

In Northern Canada, auroras are often spotted from the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Northern Quebec. However, they are sometimes seen from locations like Dawson Creek, BC; Fort McMurry, Alberta; northern Saskatchewan and the town of Moose Factory by James Bay, Ontario. For information, check out Canadian Geographic Magazine's "Northern Lights Across Canada".

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency also provides 30 minute forecasts on auroras through their Space Weather Prediction Center. And then there's Aurora Alert, an Android App that allows you to get regular updates on when and where an aurora will be visible in your region.

Understanding the scientific cause of auroras has not made them any less awe-inspiring or wondrous. Every year, countless people venture to locations where they can be seen. And for those serving aboard the ISS, they got the best seat in the house!

An image captured of the northern lights, which appear pale purple and red, though the primary color visible to the eye was green. Credit: Bob Kin

Explore further What causes the northern lights?
With the first presidential debate tonight, I thought I would take a look at the respective education plans for Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

Clinton says on her website that she would launch a national campaign to modernize and elevate the profession of teaching, but does not specifically say what she means by that.

She would also provide money to states and school districts so every student can learn computer science because more than half a million open jobs require some computing skills. She said she would also spend money on infrastructure to upgrade school buildings.

Clinton also promises to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline by providing $2 billion in funding so schools can reform their disciplinary practices and implement interventions to assist students social and emotional needs.

She also cites her accomplishments as working as a law student to investigate segregation academies in Alabama and fighting to raise academic standards as first lady of Arkansas.

As U.S. first lady, she convened a summit of Hispanic children and youth to improve their access to educational opportunities. When she was in the U.S. Senate, she helped shape the No Child Left Behind Act.

She does not mention the Common Core standards, which have been the source of controversy. Critics say they are not developmentally appropriate and too difficult.

Trump mentions very little about education on his website, which has videos in which he speaks about different issues. In his 51-second video, he calls for return to local control of education.

We cannot have the bureaucrats in Washington telling you how to manage your childs education. So, Common Core is a total disaster. We cant let it continue, he said.

He also pointed out the fact that the United States spends far more money per pupil on education is rated 28th the world. Trump does not state the measurement to which he is referring.
DEAR ABBY: My daughter and son-in-law are both in the military. Currently her husband is stationed elsewhere. They have a 6-month-old daughter, and Im staying with her to help her out for now. I have a gut feeling that she is cheating. Do I have the right to ask her?

WORRIED MOTHER IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR WORRIED: Of course you do  thats what mothers are for. You also have the right as her mother to point out that if its true, what the consequences of her fling may be when her husband returns. When you talk to her, try not to come across as judgmental as much as concerned, and be prepared to do a lot of listening, because people dont usually start affairs for no reason.

DEAR ABBY: Im fairly certain that you have never heard this one before, but I am a slob. Its embarrassing, but it is what it is. Im working on it, but Im nearly 70, so major change is unlikely.

I suspect a friend of mine used my hidden key and came into my house to clean for me on my birthday while I was out to dinner with my children. She meant well, but I have asked her repeatedly not to help me. She simply refuses to listen to what she doesnt want to hear. She says she cleans because its a stress reliever for her, but it just makes me feel more stressed.

Needless to say, I have taken in all of my hidden keys. I am frustrated by her actions and feel violated, not honored. Honestly, I am just embarrassed. I havent been feeling well for a while, so the house was particularly messy. I suspect shes waiting for me to acknowledge her thoughtfulness.

Abby, please tell your readers that helping a friend is NO HELP if it isnt welcome. I feel what she did was stubborn and selfish since it was what she wanted to do  not what I wanted. Im a big girl, and I can ask for help if I want it.

FRUSTRATED IN THE WEST

DEAR FRUSTRATED: I feel for you, but the person who needs to receive that message is the person who has been doing this for you over your objections. Are you absolutely sure that its this friend whos doing it and not some other well-meaning person  a relative, perhaps? If you are certain, then deliver the message with both barrels.

What concerns me is your statement that you have taken in your extra keys. That means someone may have made an extra copy, which would be not only a huge invasion of privacy but also a security problem. If the problem persists, have your locks changed.

DEAR ABBY: At what age is it acceptable and appropriate for my daughters to move out?

WONDERING IN WICHITA

DEAR WONDERING: Many young adults live with their parents today because they are burdened with student loan debt and are unable to find jobs. I think the logical time for them to move out would be when they are able to support themselves.
FAIR HAVEN, Vermont  A Whitehall man was arrested Friday night on a felony driving under the influence of alcohol charge in Vermont when his blood alcohol content was found to be more than four times the threshold for intoxication, police said.

Gary M. Muzzy, 53, of county Route 12, was stopped on Washington Street in Fair Haven at 10:45 p.m. after Fair Haven Police saw him drive onto the wrong side of the road, authorities said.

He failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.324 percent, more than quadruple the 0.08 percent threshold for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police said he has three DUI convictions in Vermont and three DWI convictions in New York. He was charged with felony DUI in Vermont and driving with a criminally suspended license, and was released pending prosecution in Vermont District Court.
CORINTH  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been described as having a larger-than-life personality.

So, it was only fitting that Corinth resident Brian Lucia got a large 4-foot-by-8-foot sign to show his support for the businessman-turned-politician.

However, Lucia said he was disgusted on Saturday night when he found that the sign at his Pine Street residence had been vandalized.

He said somebody dumped white paint on it, wrote (expletive) Trump and other curse words and Black Lives Matter.

Its just a disgrace  the disrespect people have. This is more than just about what political presidential candidate you stand for. Its wrong, he said.

State Police have conducted interviews involving the vandalism case but have found nothing so far, a State Police trooper said Monday.

Lucia estimates he spent more than $100 on the sign  $60 to purchase the sign itself off the internet and then additional money for plywood to construct a base for it.

He had the sign up for a month and put a spotlight on it because he said other Trump signs in the area have been vandalized.

These scumbags need to get a life. Get a job. Go register to vote. Make a difference. Be a respectable citizen in the community, he added.

Lucia said he is going to try to clean it up the best he can. He said he is not sure if he can remove the paint.

Lucia said he is supporting Trump because he does not trust Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton because he said she caters to special interests, and he cited the controversy over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

We need a president thats going to stand up for the people, for our rights. We need a change. We need somebody thats going to worry about our security and our safety, he said.
A Fort Edward man died of injuries suffered in a Saturday night crash in South Glens Falls that occurred after he fled from state troopers who had stopped the driver at a sobriety checkpoint in Moreau.
Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

Read more
Yesterday I installed the new Google Allo and gave it a first try. My team at Outbrain is responsible building chatbot CMS for publishers. So I was interested to learn about some of the decision made in Allo, and compare them with what we've learned over the last 6 month powering the CNN bots on Facebook Messenger and Kik.

User on-boarding

I downloaded the app, installed it, but then deleted it in the middle of the on-boarding. Why? because Google are being overly transparent. Why do they make such a point that they are going to send my contact list to their cloud now and then? there must be some evil reason for that...

So, I deleted the app. But then I thought to myself, "wait, you're using Google Contacts, and your contacts are already syncing with google. Not periodically, but all the time, in real-time..." I felt stupid, downloaded the app again and completed the on-boarding. And I won't say I felt better when the first few prompts from Allo kept pushing on that sharing thing, as if trying to tell me that I'll be better not use it, if I want keeping private anything...

To sum things up, the on-boarding experience could have done more to instill trust and make me more comfortable. Right now I'm not, and although he is a bit more of a privacy snob than I am, Snowden already made a point about the lack of privacy in Allo.

Content experience

Typed "top stories" - I got relatively fresh stories, but definitely not important ones.

They put the publish time. Seeing that a story published 37 minutes ago give confidence that they deliver news as they happen.

The stories carousel is clean and simple, but I would have liked to be able to take action on a specific story. This is possible in Facebook Messenger using the 'Structured Message' template. Articles' recommendations in Allo feel temporary, since you can't do much to engage with them other than read when you see them. Adding an option to see a summary of an article, save it for later or get more similar stories might give users a better sense of control over the experience and the stories they are seeing.

Google seems to think of Allo as a new interface for search, which makes sense for Google, but make Allo feels like a browser. When searching for something, the first quick reply is "Google results", which once tapped opens the browser and search for your input. I didn't like that it takes me out of the app.

The content in Allo doesn't feel native. Rather, it feels like a patch, a cut and paste from the browser. Again, makes me feel that Allo is just another browser.

Chat-flow and experience

There are no dead ends. Even when chatting with friends, you always have quick replies available. That's great.

There are 'like' and 'dislike' emoji's at the last two positions of every set of quick replies. It didn't make sense to me. As a user, I don't know what they mean, hence probably won't use them.

AI

That's the part that surprised me the most. Allo tries to be smart. It tries as much as it can to be non scriptive. Say "hi" and every time it will answer with something different. The first time I typed "hi", I got the entry point experience, namely the option that I have to interact with the bot. Later, when I wanted to get to the same entry point, I typed "hi" again. This time, though, Allo tried to get into conversation with me. After few more greeting inputs that got me no where, I gave up and typed what I was looking for.

At that early stage, when users aren't educated enough on the conversational design, and are accustomed to more deterministic experiences, trying to be smart is wrong. It's like the early days of the iPhone - the skeuomorphism design helped users get accustomed to use it, through the icons that imitated physical objects. Once they got educated, more than 8 years latter, the flat design was introduced.

To sum things up, my overall impression is ahh. Yeah, it's cool to play with Allo and see how well it handles natural language, but it's no different than Google search. In fact, it feels too much like google search, which is bit outdated. But than again, I'm writing this post with Emacs...
Not only our people  our defense industry partners, too, need stability and longer-term plans to be as efficient and cutting-edge as we need them to be, Carter told the senators.





The lawmakers were far less interested in the war against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) than about the future of the Syrian government, Irans malign influence, and aggression by China and Russia  all ranked far ahead of terrorism on Carter and Dunfords list of security challenges.





The Pentagon had no intention of sharing intelligence with Russia when it came to Syria, Dunford told the lawmakers unequivocally. Secretary Carter explained that the joint implementation councils envisioned by the ceasefire proposal negotiated in Geneva wouldnt share intelligence, just coordinate efforts  but that they were a moot point anyway, since the ceasefire was effectively dead.





Both the lawmakers and the Pentagon chiefs blamed that development on Russia, focusing on the alleged airstrike against the humanitarian convoy in east Aleppo while the US-led airstrike against the Syrian Army fighting IS in Deir ez-Zor went unmentioned.

I dont have the facts, Dunford said, when asked about the convoy attack by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut). It was either the Russians or the regime, he added.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Russians are responsible, whether directly or because they backed the government in Damascus, Dunford said, describing the attack as an unacceptable atrocity.

Carter explained Dunfords logic in a response to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), saying that the Russians are responsible for this strike whether they conducted it or not, because they took responsibility for the conduct of the Syrians by associating themselves with the Syrian regime.





















[Another excellent commentary by Terry James]





It is the geopolitical center of earths most dangerous dilemma from the standpoint of the threat of nuclear Armageddon. It even outweighs the gravity of threats from ISIS, Russia, China, or North Korea.

The very survival or destruction of humanitys future seems to revolve around this nucleus geopolitical matter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced the problem in a recent video.





Israels diversity shows its openness and readiness for peace. Yet the Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: No Jews.

Theres a phrase for that: Its called ethnic cleansing. And this demand is outrageous. Its even more outrageous that the world doesnt find this outrageous.

Some otherwise enlightened countries even promote this outrage.





Out of 138 nations eligible to vote on United Nations Resolution A/67/L.28 , only Israel, the United States, Canada, and the Czech Republic voted against the resolution, while forty-one abstained.





The resolution reaffirms: the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.





U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, in a practically unprecedented such bias-tinged statement, declared recently that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian-controlled territories must end.





As the U.N. world leaders gathered in New York City the past week, the number one-collective thought, if not necessarily expressed as the all-out obsession of most gathered, was the idea to force Israel to give up land for peace. It was the same old, ages-long rant: There cant be peace until Israel gives the Palestinians back their rightful land.









Only, it isnt theirs. God gave it to Israel in perpetuity:





And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17:7-8)





But, if you dont accept that biblical claim, then how about this one?

Israel took the territory in question in a series of modern wars, the most pertinent for this argument being accomplished in the 1967 Six-Day War.





The diplomatic world frets that this is the sticking point for Middle East peace. They fret further that if not forthcoming, acceptance of the demand that Israel give up the land in question for peace will mean World War IIInuclear conflict, and the end of humanity itself.

Actually the inverse is truethus according to Gods Word, which prophesies the following:

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3: 2)





Most all of the leaders of the nations are dead set to do just what this foreboding prophecy foretells. They are determined to part or divide Gods land. At some point, this will be accomplished, because thats what Armageddon is all about. All nations will be brought by the God of Israel into the Valley of Jehoshaphat that is, to the place where Armageddon will unfold.





All of this is shaping up at a rapid pace while most every signal of prophetic significance is coming together in dramatic convergence. We have covered these converging signals of end-times alignment many times in this column.

There is perhaps no such prophetic element so important as the nations of the world dealing treacherously with Gods timepieceIsrael.

























The Gaza Strip and its residents are barreling towards disaster, brought on by crippling unemployment, a nonexistent economy, water and electricity shortages, a growing population and the Islamic dictatorship of Hamas, while the IDF is trying  and thus far succeeding  to keep the coastal enclaves terrorist leaders deterred and contained, a senior IDF officer from the Southern Command said Sunday.





Moreover, reconstruction following the 2014 Gaza war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, has been slow, in part because Hamas has siphoned off a substantial portion of the reconstruction materials in order to create new attack, defense and smuggling tunnels, according to Israeli authorities.





Hamas is not rebuilding Gaza, its rebuilding its military capabilities, the officer told reporters.





As Hamas is working around the clock to rearm and dig deeper fortifications and attack tunnels, the IDF and Defense Ministry are shoring up Israels protection against the threat of terror attacks and rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and preparing for the next round of conflict, he said.

Though many details of the project remain secret, Israel is in the process of creating a barrier that will provide a response to above-ground and below-ground threats, the officer said.





The IDF is also working to improve its subterranean fighting tactics, along with its strategies to defend  and potentially evacuate  Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

Were turning the underground into a death trap for Hamas. Were putting a lot of effort into that, the officer said.

Were preparing to protect communities during an operation and improving the defenses. Were also preparing a plan to evacuate communities. There will be flexibility in making decisions of if we have to evacuate communities, and which ones, he added.

In June, a senior Defense Ministry official (who was almost certainly Avigdor Liberman) told reporters that Israel could not stomach a drawn-out war of attrition so the next confrontation must be the last in terms of Hamass regime.
























































This will be the third edition since it started in 2013 and it will be held in Accra.

The theme for this edition is Transforming Ghanas Online Businesses through Technology, Innovation & Opportunity.

This provides a platform for both exhibitors and patrons to network and also do business together.

In a statement issued by the organisers OML Africa, it stated that close to 50 Ghanaian and international online solutions will be present at the exhibition. They include Tisu.com.gh, Spearhead Networks, Teledata ICT, Pweb Systems, Brandit, Swifta Systems, News Ghana, Zoobashop, Jumia Travel, Africakart Others are mNotify, Ghana Women in Business Online Directory, Nespresso, citibusinessnews.com, Mobile App Solutions, National Express and many others.

READ ALSO: Online platform to track government projects launched

Find Below the press statement

Ghana Gets Ready to Host Third eCommerce Expo

Accra gets ready to host the largest gathering of companies and professionals from online retail shops, Telecoms, Banks, Internet service providers, Software Designers, solution providers in the mobile commerce, online payment, IT security, etc in Ghanas burgeoning e-commerce industry. It is scheduled for October 27-28, 2016 at the plush Alisa Hotel.

Under the theme, Transforming Ghanas Online Businesses through Technology, Innovation & Opportunity, this important event will shape the way modern business is conducted, coming after the highly successful editions in 2013 and 2015.

Over the two-day period, the third Ghana e-Commerce exhibition will provide the platform to exhibitors to:

sign on new businesses or clients

gain market exposure by showcasing their e-Commerce products and services

gain market feedback from thousands of highly targeted potential customers / buyers who need your products and services

launch new and innovative e-commerce and electronic financial transaction products

directly reach potential customers with customized best practices e-commerce solutions

generate leads by face to face conversation with potential stakeholders and e-commerce and e-solution vendors

network with potential e-commerce and e-solutions investors

According to Paul Asinor, Head of Events, OML Africa, the organizers, Consumers are becoming more comfortable with e-Commerce and traditional retailers are adapting their strategies, and drawing in new customers, while sales are increasing year on year. According to Forrester, Mobile payments alone will grow to $142 billion by the end of 2019, up from $52 billion in 2014. This is quite significant and every business cannot lose sight of the fact that the future is online, mobile and digital.

As the Ghana eCommerce Expo is always looking for better ways to feature innovation and champion disruption, exhibition visitors are expected to throng the newly introduced Fintech Pavilion and the LaunchPad at this years event. The Fintech Pavilion will be the hive ofGhanaian innovation in the epayments and electronic financial transactions space whiles the LaunchPad is the springboard where new software, mobile apps and other technological products and services such as latest android phones and PCs never before seen in Ghana will be launched alongside the biggest market players in front of an audience of media and prospective buyers.

The exhibition, which is free to attend will have on display nearly 50 Ghanaian and international online solutions and products with an impressive list of exhibitors including Spearhead Networks, Tisu.com.gh, Teledata ICT, Pweb Systems, Brandit, Swifta Systems, News Ghana, Zoobashop, Jumia Travel, Africakart Others are mNotify, Ghana Women in Business Online Directory, Nespresso, citibusinessnews.com, Mobile App Solutions, National Express and many others.

Mr Asinor continued, The eCommerce conference running alongside the exhibition is designed to cover every aspect of online business with over 100+ delegates to be addressed by leading experts in eCommerce, FinTech, Mobile and Online Banking, Social Media for Business, Digital Advertising and Cyber Security among others.This conference is strategic as businesses adapt their processes to meet the evolving demands and behaviours of Ghanas fast growing middle class who are IT-savvy, trendy, use mobile apps and digital platforms; seek shopping convenience and have disposal incomes.

He concluded,A key highlight of this years conference will be the discussion on mobile bankings strategic approach to consumer money management through smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices as many retail banks in their quest to offer mobile banking services have leaped before looking.

Some invited speakers at the third Ghana eCommerce conference are:

Albert Biga (CEO, Zoobashop)

Kwabena Okyire Appianing (Head of Digital Media, Global Media Alliance)

Sosthenes Konutsey (Financial Inclusion Advocate & Head, Corporate Business, Old Mutual)

Saqib Nazir (CEO, Interpay)

Albert Antwi Bosiako (CEO AND Founder, eCrime Bureau)

Sofiene Marzouki (Country Manager, Jumia Foods)

Daniel Asare Kyei (MD, Esoko)

Stephen Boadi (Director, Digital Marketing, PZ Cussons) and many other reputable experts.

Some of the broad thematic areas to be covered are:

Transforming Ghanas Online Businesses through Technology, Innovation & Opportunity

The Growing Impact of Cyber Crime on e-Commerce

The Power of Financial Inclusion (Banks, FinTech, Mobile-Whats Going On?

Marketplace and Online Retail: Striking the Balance (panel discussion)

Gaining Competitive Advantage with Social Media

Effective Approach to Digital Advertising

Connecting Smallholders to Digital Financial Services
Richmond Bempong, known by his stage name Dewuro, is a Ghanaian musician from Koforidua, in the Eastern region of Ghana.

His recording label DEWUROMUSIC will be releasing a hot track, called Need Somebody at a release party which will include a live band at Kona Cafe and Grill in Osu.

His music is a fusion of reggae, dancehall, hiphop, afro and highlife.

Bempong's stage name Dewuro comes from a traditional type of gong, to bring attention in the Ashanti kingdom palace.

Speaking with Pulse Ghana, Dewuro said his interest in music started in church, where his father was the music director and drummer.

In his early years as musician he was a drummer for United Abbysinia, a reggae band from Accra. He still plays with various live bands.

"I love performing live as it connects me to the audience. It also means you express your emotions and can talk about different situations," he said.

The single will also feature on his debut EP to be released later in 2016.

He composes his own songs and lyrics which are inspired by his environment and life experience. His music is influenced by artists such as Tracy Chapman, Bob Marley, and Ghana high life artist Gyedu Blay Ambuley.

The show will feature a long list of supporting acts, including Wan Row, Joe Morr and King Vuvu among others, as well as Djs and MC Joni Blaze.

The single launch will be from 7pm at the Kona Cafe and Grill in Osu.
Xu Guohua visits a collapsed section of the Great Wall to collect unbroken bricks, which he will save to use in later maintenance of the Wall, in Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei province, on March 22, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

I read it as an April Fools' Day joke in September, but it turned out to be true. A stretch of the Great Wall in Liaoning province, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), has indeed been turned into a smooth, white trail of cement in the name of restoration. To say the irreversible damage caused to the UNESCO World Heritage Site,the pride of the nation, is outrageous would be an understatement.

The Great Wall with a cemented trail is like the Taj Mahal adorned with glitzy modern tiles or the statue of Venus de Milo with restored arms.

Architecture and aesthetics aside, the damage to the Great Wall is also a crime against history. What makes it more deplorable is that, instead of feeling remorse, officials of Suizhong county's cultural relics bureau, who were in charge of the project, insisted they had done nothing wrong, claiming the repair work that started in 2013 and ended in 2014 followed the regulations and laws on the protection of the Great Wall. One official even said netizens who have raised a storm over the "destructive nature of the repair work" do not fully understand how the national treasure is protected.

The depth of folly, as well as the ignorance of law displayed by the officials are shocking. Any sane person can tell that by pouring cement over the ruins of the wall, they have basically erased whatever features were still left of this man-made wonder.

The 8,800-kilometer-long Great Wall is in a perilous state, with more than 30 percent of it having already disappeared, either due to natural erosion or unchecked human activity. Yet preservation work lags behind, with only 10 percent of the Great Wall under some sort of State protection. China is yet to work out a unified set of standards for repair and restoration work on the wall. But experts agree that "minimum intervention" should serve as a guideline for preservation, a principle that has been violated by Liaoning officials.

The Great Wall is protected under Chinese laws, and even theft of its bricks is a criminal offense. Since an investigation by provincial cultural heritage authorities is still going on, we cannot say for certain who or what is to blame for ruining the wall. But those people who are responsible for disfiguring the wall, either because of lax supervision, dereliction of duty or corruption, must be brought to book.

To me, the so-called restored stretch of the Great Wall in Suizhong is no different from the theme park in Beijing's southern suburbs where you can see all the wonders of the world in miniatures. Around the world in a day.

The Great Wall has always been on top of the list of must-see sights for visitors to Beijing. As the saying goes, "he who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true hero". But normally I don't accompany friends or relatives to the Badaling section of the wall, a hot tourist site, unless they insist. The restored section of the wall in Badaling, in my view, has lost its historical glow.

If at all I accompany friends or relatives to the Great Wall, I prefer taking them to the "wild" sections, the real wall, at Jinshanling or Simatai, where its original beauty survives. Those sections give you a sense of history, remind you of the transient nature of time and tell you how human endeavor eventually succumbs to natural forces.

"The wall has life." I still remember a tour guide told me during a trip to the Great Wall as she pointed to the bricks, each carved with the name of its maker hundreds of years ago, a tracking method used in the days of yore to ensure quality.

It is the sacred duty of us all and of the generations to come to keep the Great Wall alive, instead of stifling it to death by pouring cement mixture on it.

The author is a senior writer with China Dailyhuangxiangyang@chinadaily.com.cn
It widely known that most businessmen fail to hit the jackpot on the first attempt until when, with or without others help, they identify their strengths and weaknesses to outsmart their competitors.

A mother, however, has no trial periods to afford experimentation before she achieves proficiency in the role of nurturing her baby or raising a child  all this against the fact that children will be prone to negative societal influence if the mother is not meticulous.

Popular excuses businesses give include: Its not our season, The weather conditions have affected us drastically, sorry for keeping you waiting and these every so often are considered acceptable or normal.

Yet the public scorns mothers at the least unexpected incident that happens to the child. See how the mother...

There seems to be nothing wrong when accounts fail to balance or businesses fail to meet targets. Even when students fail in their examinations, teachers - who were entrusted by the parents to teach them - are not blamed. Rather, the parents (mothers) are insensitively questioned: Do they give enough attention to the children when they come home?

Children are the future leaders of our country as the popular saying goes yet the burden of financing their education often falls alone on the shoulders of mothers.

Read more: The plight of single fathers

Some mothers even sell their garments and other valuables to secure a better future for their children. However, financial institutions are eagerly ready to give loans for failing business to revive themselves but the proposal of mothers who need assistance to pay their childrens academic bills are rejected.

There are several awards schemes set up to appreciate and motivate businessmen for their efforts in the society. The dangers and negative effects eliminating from the operations of these businesses have been looked upon. Must the society blindly wait for Mother's Day to reward mothers for their sacrifice, determination and servitude?

Mothers work effortlessly from January 1 to December 31, 24/7. They neither have leave days nor pay days; they don't get to embark on adventurous cum business trips where staggering per diems are the order of the day. Mothers dont receive any allowances or car bonuses and the like. Mothers basically work pro bono.

They are always having their groove on ready for the expected. When school reopens; they are busily shopping for their children, repeated when schools closes because their children have to look presentable and well-dressed.

Read more: Poor sanitation around food joints needs to be addressed

Mothers can sometimes reach a larger audience than media houses. When their children are graduating from University, they spend their last penny to sew elegant outfits and organise parties for the world to see that their business of investing in their children didnt fail, unlike other entrepreneurial businesses.

The joy, excitement and self-fulfillment of organising their childs wedding is remarkable, the magic of seeing a dream come to life. From the phase of being a toddler through to becoming a matured adult ready to face the obstacles of life with their soul mates, mothers are the most accomplished individuals during such marital celebrations because it represents a proud product of their toil of nurturing their offspring.

Read more: Blind spots in the fashion industry

Just because a mother has reached the menopausal stage doesnt mean she qualifies for retirement. Another bundle of joy and stress has been unleashed into her life. Nurturing her grandchildren has begun.

Mothers are the jack of all trades and master of all. Mothers play barbers to their childrens hair when the need arises. They stitch and sew school uniforms and bags. They braid hair, sing lullabies, give first aid, cook mouth-watering delicacies, drive, organize events. They do everything.

Regardless of their religious affiliations, aged mothers are always praying fervently and interceding for their children; asking for all the good riches and favours.

As mortals, a life well lived calls for proper burial and thanksgiving when she passes on but her ways of getting things accomplished still runs through the family as traditions from generations to generations.
She is currently in the grips of the police.

Narrating the incident to Kumasi-based Ultimate FM, the victim said Mr Owusu got even more provoked when he realised that she was recording his assault on her.

She said parts of her ribs and face have been fractured as a result of the number of slaps and punches she received in the attack.

The victims father, who was interviewed on the incident, said the family will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion. He said his daughter had nothing amorous with the suspect.
The Nsutwa River quickly rose near record flood stage and homes were submerged.

The cause of the flooding is yet to be established but they believe the river is a major factor.

A teacher who spoke to Joy FM said he has lost his documents and electrical appliances after the 30 minutes downpour.

Another resident said he has lived in the area for 40 years and has never experienced such a downpour in his life.

He said houses were damaged and properties destroyed.

I just saw that the water has reached a level we cannot control again so we started to pick some of our things but it got to a time we lost control. The water has destroyed everything; our laptops, our books, everything, another victim told Joy FM.
Speaking to TV3 Kwakye Ofosu argued that the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) has arrested other people in a more bizarre ways than they did with him.

Kwakye Ofosu said Daboussi was arrested because of statements made against President Mahama.

READ ALSO: BNI grants Fadi Daboussi bail

The Ghanaian-Lebanese pilot and author of "59 Years to Nowhere" and an ardent supporter of Nana Akufo-Addo was arrested on Friday at the Kotoka International Airport after a trip from Lebanon.

His lawyer, Hassan Tampuli said he was driven to the BNI headquarters in Accra after he was picked up at the airport.

His home, according to activists who alerted the world about his arrest on social media, was ransacked and copies of his books taken.
President Mahama is currently in Paris where he is participating in an event organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on the occasion of the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

The President will be Co-Chairing the event dubbed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocacy Group of the United Nations. He will take his audience through the importance of information and media to sustainable development, with a focus on Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda.

SDG Goal 16 aims at promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.

Speaking on Accra-based Class FM Madam Asante-Apeatu stated: We can only hope that the president finds it important considering the fact that every sovereignty is said to lie in the hands of the people and for that matter, the government should be acting on behalf of the people. ...If there is some information in the abode of the government and the people have the need and try to ask, it should be easy for the people to access the information.

It should be an urgent call on him to see to the passage of the RTI bill and then to see to its implementation. We are just hoping that this is what he will do when he comes back, she said

Our president has a communication background and is also seen as a media-friendly person, so, in order not to leave the media speculating, I think it is very important for the president to see to the passage of this bill so that the media will have access to the actual information. If you leave that vacuum, they (media) will fill it with their own information. We are fortunate to have a president with a very convenient and appropriate background as a communicator and also a media-friendly person.
The suspect, identified as Sani Mohammed, who is said to be winner of TV3's Ghana's Most Strongest contest in 2013 is currently on police inquiry bail.

Narrating the incident, the Mankranso District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr John Adusei, told the Daily Graphic that around 5 p.m. last Saturday, police received information about an assault incident at Adugyama.

DSP Adusei said Rev. Fr Boateng was travelling from Adugyama to Biemso Number Two in his pick-up last Saturday when Mohammed, who was riding a motorbike, crossed him.

The priest, who got offended by Mohammeds act stopped and advised the suspect not to ride carelessly next time.

The comments did not go down well with the suspect, who subsequently chased the priest on his motorbike to the mission house where he ended up assaulting the priest.

The suspect later inflicted machete wounds on the victims colleague, Father Afum, who intervened to calm nerves.
The president recently told students of the University of Cape Coast that he would not restore the allowances even if that would cost him victory in the December 7 elections.

But Nana Ofori Kissi Ratina in a statement on Monday September 26 said John Mahamas comment is the most irresponsible statement that had ever been made by a civilian government in the political history of Ghana, adding: President Mahama must know that he is a civilian government and the fact that he likes wearing the military uniform doesn't make his government a military government.

Political parties are voted into power to solve the problems confronting the citizenry rather than worsen it. The Mahama-led NDC government has worsened the plight of Ghanaians. The cancellation of the trainee allowances has brought untold hardship to these students and no one would expect a responsible government to come out with such statement.

The allowance was introduced to motivate brilliant students into the teacher and nurse training colleges. A government which prioritises education and health wont take such a reckless decision. Aside from the cancellation of the allowance, after graduation, posting also becomes a problem. Till date, there are nurses who have completed their course for years under Mahama's government and yet haven't been posted. Is this government responsible?

READ ALSO: Nurses Demo

Youth unemployment keeps escalating [plus] high cost of education; prices of goods and services keep soaring, companies keep laying workers off, corruption within government keeps worsening, government keeps taking from the masses in the name of dubious taxes. Are we serious to vote for this government again? The NDC government is ready to lay off workers in 2017 per IMF conditionalities for the bailout. Yet, the government keeps deceiving us.
The president, who is the Co-Chair of the SDG Advocacy Group of the UN will take his audience through the importance of information and media to sustainable development, with a focus on Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda, a statement from the Flagstaff House has said.

READ ALSO: UN General Assembly

Goal 16 is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.

The president has already been in New York where he participated in a number of SDG-related events aimed at contributing to the successful attainment of the SDG Goals.
The management of the company say the dismissed workers misconducted themselves during the protest.

The workers who are part of the local union of the general transport and petroleum and chemical workers union (GTPCWU) called on management of Ghana Gas to provide with favorable conditions because of the risk involved in their job.

However, head of communications at Ghana Gas Alfred Obgamey said the reaction of the workers were inappropriate since their concerns had already been addressed.

The pretest resulted in series of meetings between the Ministry of Employment and Ghana Gas Company over the fate of workers.

Pulse.com.gh has gathered the appointment of 13 workers have been terminated while 32 others have been suspended for taking part in the protest.

The General Secretary of GPTCWU has expressed shock over the matter.
With the access to education, healthcare, and employment being major challenges in Ghana, politicians have managed to couch the best campaign promise regarding those issues.

The New Patriotic Party flag bearer had recently promised a 1-village-1-dam policy to boost agriculture, but opposition groups have argued that it is not feasible.

The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has also promised to implement what it calls a progressive free tertiary education policy, with many arguing that it is a replica of the NPPs much hyped free SHS policy in the 2012 elections.

But residents of the Volta regional capital, Ho believe such promises will mean nothing if they do not reflect meaningfully in their living conditions.

Several of the residents, mainly traders, artisans, transport operators, students, among others, made this known during the Institute of Economic Affairs #IWantToKnow Campaign.

The #IWantToKnow Campaign is aimed at getting questions from the average Ghanaian on the street on what they would want to ask the presidential candidates if they had the chance to meet them.

The campaign has already been rolled out in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi as well as in Accra, where the team interacted with the people to solicit from them what they would want to ask their various presidential candidates.

When the #IWantToKnow Campaign hit the streets of Ho in the Volta region, the situation was no different.

Many who expressed joy at meeting the team said they wanted a change in how affairs are being run in the area and the country as a whole.

Esinam, a trader at the Ho central market said all she wants is an enabling environment which will help grow her business. As she puts it: ...now the school fees is high, so I want them [presidential candidates] to help us so that we will get work and get money for the fees.

For the vegetable seller, Xorlali, all she wants is peace to reign during the election so that she and her colleagues can continue their trade without any hindrance.

Speaking in her local dialect, she said: We dont want any war during this election. We want everything to go on smoothly and peacefully because that is the only way we can continue with our business without any problems.

Other traders also wanted to know what plans the flag bearers have for the National Health Insurance Scheme which they believe is gradually collapsing.

Some taxi drivers and commercial motor riders at the market were also concerned about the many promises made to them which are yet to be fulfilled. The issue of bad roads, insurance premiums, among others were their major concerns.

As one motor rider energetically puts it: We lack places of convenience in the market. When it rains here, many of our traders goods get destroyed. So we are pleading with the next government to come to our aid. We commercial motor riders help a lot with the transport system here, but the police end up chasing us. We have nowhere to go; this is what helps us put food on the table. So we will plead with the presidential candidates to help us do our job.

The campaign team subsequently made stopovers at some major streets, where T-shirts and other paraphernalia were distributed to residents who were excited to receive the team.

Some masons who the team interacted with could not hide their joy at the opportunity which was given to them to ask their flag bearers any question they wanted.

We need the money...we need development. Im a mason but I dont get the work better. There is no money, was the plea of one of the masons who appeared tired from the task he was busily engaged with.

For the foreman, his major concern has to do with high utility bills. He said: The electricity has come down, but as for the water, we are three in number, every month we spend about 50 cedis, that is bad, so they should see to the water rate for us.

When the team made its next stop at the Ho Nurses Training College, many of the trainee nurses did not mince words with concerns about their allowances that have been scrapped by the government.

Franklin, a first-year student at the school said: I want to know if the president that is coming, I want to know if they will bring our allowance back because without the allowance the work cannot move on well since we are dealing with health because our health is our concern. So if they will bring the allowance to us, we want to know.

For Samuel, he wanted to know how the NPP flag bearer will restore their trainee allowance when he comes to power, or whether he intends increasing it for them.

Meanwhile, Noah, a social worker around the Volta regional hospital said he would want to know how the various flag bearers intend financing the major state institutions like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ), National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE), Road Safety Commission, among others.

He believes most of the state institutions are under-resourced since our fourth republic.

A resident around the same hospital said: I want to know this from the NPP flag bearer; the 1 district, 1 factory, I want to know if it can be achievable in this condition.

Meanwhile, the IEA has announced that five people who ask the most compelling questions will have the chance to be in the audience during the debate which will be held in Accra.
The EC, by convention do not count the ballots cast in the special voting but allows party agents to add their seal to that of the EC polling officer and the boxes are kept at the police station.

The ballot boxes are subsequently brought out to the collation centre on Election Day, opened, counted and added to the constituency total.

READ ALSO: Election 2016

But the NPP has raised issues with the procedure and has called on the EC to count and make the results known right after voting.

"We are determined to protect ballot boxes on special voting day till the day they are counted. We will not allow ourselves to be cheated this time round. It is either the EC would count ballots at the end of special voting or we will sleep at where these boxes are kept till December 7," Odeneho Appiah made this known while speaking at Atimatim near Kumasi during the launch of "Mmaa Nsore" (Women Arise) under the women's wing of the NPP for the constituency.

"If our MMDCEs will still be heads of Security Councils within their respective areas how can we trust them for the safety of Special Voting ballot boxes in police stations?, he asked, saying we need representatives of all participating political parties to safeguard every single box placed in police custody."
The Electoral Commission published a list of 81 constituencies which consist of a number of flash points out of the 275, on September 23.

Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, who made this known noted that the Commission is working with together with the Ghana Police Service to map out all the polling stations in the country, especially those in the flash points, to ensure adequate security at all polling centers and the ECs regional offices.

But spokespersons for the youth of Tain have stated in a statement that the area has never seen any election-related violence ever, so this tagging has raised worrying brows to us the youth and the entire people of the district, for the peace of our constituency being downgraded to a potential trouble area."

This phenomenon sees us, the youth of Tain constituency especially, as lawless and violent, which in fact is a frivolous and unfounded claim by the EC.

The statement which was co-signed by Yaw Seth and Mensah Kwadwo noted that: We are, however, aware of some electoral fraud that was perpetrated in the constituency in the 2008 and 2012 elections, yet none of these resulted in violence. So, why this time? We are calling on the [chair of the] Electoral Commission to come out again and tell us the criteria she used in selecting and branding Tain as a violent constituency. We have been able to promote peace in the eyes of the EC, while lacking electoral justice in our area.

The statement added: Tagging our constituency as violent, we believe, will subsequently, unreasonably and unjustifiably, retard development in our area, which we totally disagree [with], and, therefore, refute. We are, hereby, believing that the EC is trying to use the police to intimidate and cow us so that the NDC can easily commit electoral fraud during the 2016 elections and, thereby, traduce that as violence-free and uphold that to the best of peace. Once again, we are calling on the Electoral Commission to come out clear on this so as to remove the fear and panic it has brought on the good people of Tain.

Background;

A list of 81 constituencies which consist of a number of flash points out of the 275 have been published by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.

The list is expected to help manage potential violence which could mar the December 7 elections.

Chairperson of the commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei earlier announced that the Commission has linked up with security agencies to address the 81 constituencies to ensure violence-free elections.

Below is the full list of the 81 constituencies:

(A) UPPER WEST REGION

CONSTITUENCY HEADQUARTERS

(1) Lawra Lawra

(2) Jirapa Jirapa

(3) Wa Central Wa

(B) UPPER EAST

(4) Builsa South Sandema

(5) Navrongo Central Navrongo

(6) Bolgatanga Central Bolgatanga

(7) Zebilla Zebilla

(8) Bawku Central Bawku

(C) NORTHERN

(9) Walewale Walewale

(10) Gushegu Gushegu

(11) Tolon Tolon

(12) Sagnarigu North (Tamale North) Sagnarigu

(13) Tamale Central Bug-Lanfong

(14) Tamale South Lamashegu

(16) Sagnarigu East Kalpohini

(17) Yendi Yendi

(18) Bimbilla Bimbilla

(19) Wulensi Wulensi

(20) Salaga North Kpalbe

(21) Salaga South Salaga

(D) BRONG AHAFO

(22) Tain Nsawkaw

(23) Berekum West Jinijini

(24) Berekum East Berekum

(25) Techiman South Tuobodom

(26) Atebubu/Amantia Atebubu

(27) Sene West Kwame Danso

(28) Sene East Kajeji

(E) ASHANTI

(29) Ahafo Ano North Tepa

(30) Offinso South Offinso

(31) Mampong Mampong

(32) Kumawu Kumawu

(33) Bantama Bantama

(34) Nhyiaeso Nhyiaeso

(35) Manhyia North Buokrom

(36) Manhyia South Manhyia

(37) Suame Suame

(38) Oforikrom Oforikrom

(39) Asokwa Asokwa

(40) Asawase Asawase

(41) Ash Akim Central Konongo

(42) New Edubiase New Edubiase

(F) EASTERN

(43) Nkawkaw Nkawkaw

(44) Akwatia Akwatia

(45) Suhum Suhum

(46) New Juaben North Effiduase

(47) New Juaben South Koforidua

(48) Akwapim South Aburi

(G) VOLTA

(49) Nkwanta South Nkwanta

(50) Hohoe Hohoe

(51) Ho Central Ho

(52) Adaklu

(53) Keku South Denu

(H) GREATER ACCRA CONSTITUENCY HEADQUARTERS

(54) Ningo-Prampram Prampram

(55) Tema Central Tema Comm.4

(56) Tema West Tema Comm.2

(57) Ashaiman Ashaiman

(58) Madina Madina

(59) Amasaman Amasaman

(60) Ayawaso East Nima

(61) Ayawaso Central Kokomlemle

(62) Okaikwei Central Abeka

(63) Ablekuma West Dansoman

(64) Odododiodio James Town

(65) Weija Gbawe New Weija

(I) CENTRAL

(66) Awutu Senya East Kasoa

(67) Awutu Senya West Awutu Breku

(68) Assin Central Assin Foso

(69) Assin South Nsuaem-Kyekyewere

(70) Mfantseman Saltpond

(71) Cape Coast South Cape Coast

(72) Cape Coast North Abura

(J) WESTERN

(73) Shama Shama

(74) Takoradi Takoradi

(75) Kwesimintim Kwesimintsim

(76) Sekondi Sekondi

(77) Tarkwa-Nsuaem Tarkwa

(78) Prestea Huni Valley Prestea

(79) Jomoro Half Assini

(80) Sefwi Wiawso Wiawso
Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM Hassan Tampuli said: Fadi was asked to authenticate a story attributed to him saying the president had impregnated Otumfuo's daughter.

Tampuli said even though his client has written several articles on ghanaweb,

READ ALSO: Fadi Dabboussi denied access to a lawyer by BNI

He further indicated that despite the fact that Daboussi was not manhandled while in the custody of the BNI he was placed a cell which is stinky and mosquito-infested.

READ ALSO: BNI grants Fadi Daboussi bail

The Ghanaian-Lebanese pilot and author of "59 Years to Nowhere" and an ardent supporter of Nana Akufo-Addo was arrested on Friday at the Kotoka International Airport after a trip from Lebanon.

His lawyer, Hassan Tampuli said he was driven to the BNI headquarters in Accra after he was picked up at the airport.
In the 2016 manifesto of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), they state that Ghanas life expectancy at birth has increased from 60 years in 2008 to 63 years by 2013.

Like every other sector in the manifesto, the NDC mentions as many achievements as possible. They mention what they have fulfilled from the 2012 manifesto and also other things that were not in their previous manifesto but have been accomplished.

Some achievements by the NDC from 2013 to date

 Established the National Ambulance Service Training School.

 Expansion of 400-bed Tamale Teaching Hospital to an 800-bed facility.

 Construction of 617-bed University of Ghana Teaching Hospital.

 Construction of new modern Emergency Department for the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

 Completion of the Eye Care Centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

 Renovation and expansion of 104-bed Police Hospital in Accra.

 Construction of 130-bed Maritime Hospital in Tema.

 Upgrading and expansion of Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge in Accra to 620-bed capacity.

 Design, construction and equipping of six 120-bed District Hospitals with an integrated IT system at Dodowa, Fomena, Abetifi, Garu- Tempane, Kumawu and Sekondi.

 Construction of five (5) Polyclinics each in the Upper West, Northern, Western and Brong Ahafo Regions.

 Reduced annual AIDS deaths by 43%.

 Achieved over 50% reduction in transmission of HIV from mother-to-child.

NDCs commitment from 2017-2021

If NDC wins the 2016 general elections they intend to:

Diversify the sources of funding for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). This is one of the few things in the NDCs manifesto that they indicate a possible source of funding. The manifesto states that they will do this by allocating an approved percentage of the ABFA from our Petroleum Revenue.

They also intend to reduce the incidence of malaria and cases of maternal and neonatal deaths by 50% each. In the 2012 manifesto even though they stated that they would reduce malaria cases and maternal and neonatal deaths no percentage was attached to enable monitoring but the 2016 manifesto with a target will make monitoring easier.

The NDC again has the plan to complete on-going Regional Hospitals in Ashanti, Upper West, Upper East, Eastern and Western regions. The Tema General Hospital would also see a massive upgrade. They would also construct 20 polyclinics in Ashanti, Eastern, Volta and Upper East regions.

In 2012 even though the NDC manifesto mentioned mental health, there was no specific plan for mental health care. In this years manifesto, the NDC promises to mainstream mental healthcare into the health delivery system and ensure adequate resourcing and infrastructural development.

Just as they said in 2012 the NDC promises to prioritise mental health care by working with local and international partners to galvanise support for the attainment of the objectives that will drastically improve mental health care in Ghana.

They promise to move the Accra Psychiatric Hospital to Pantang and develop the Pantang Mental Hospital into a first-class mental health facility and also build two additional psychiatric hospitals in Ashanti and the Northern Regions.

An NDC government from 2017-2021 will ensure a better partnership exists between the government and local pharmaceutical companies to make them more efficient, reliable and competitive both locally and internationally.

Under the governance of NDC, they would establish a permanent body to review the Ghana Herbal Pharmacopoeia on a regular basis to strengthen regulatory mechanisms to ensure safe, efficacious and efficient administration of herbal medicine.

Health facilities located by some major highways in the country will be upgraded to Accident and Trauma Centres. Some of these include Sogakope, Anomabo, Half-Assini, Nkawkaw, Kintampo, Techiman, Wa, Hohoe, Gambia No. 2 and Buipe. After the upgrade of these facilities, more doctors will be trained in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) to help in the specialised handling of accident and trauma victims.

Physical Education (PE) would be encouraged in schools to ensure children live a healthy life. In communities, residents would be encouraged to form PE groups which will see to it that Ghanaians live a healthier life.
Last week, we called out the trio of Senate President Bukola Saraki, Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele and business mogul cum Africa's richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote for daring to suggest sale of our national assets as panacea to our present economic woes.

Well, to put it nicely, we lost that war. We were half expecting the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government to bin Saraki, Dangote and Emefiele's proposals, but it's now a matter of when, not if the assets will be sold.

The federal government swallowed the proposals from the very powerful Nigerians, lock, stock and barrel.

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun--three formidable pillars of Buhari's economic team, have revealed what everyone feared--goodbye NLNG, refineries and airports. We won't be missing you.

The fiscal stimulus strategy as designed, will not lead to the sale of ALL national assets, Udoma explained, as he sought to allay widespread fears.

Our opposition to the sale of the assets at Pulse, had nothing to do with the anathema to privatisation as a policy. Heck, some of those assets like the refineries for instance, should have been long auctioned, seeing as we can't maintain anything around here.

We do love privatisation and liberalisation as economic concepts. We just weren't comfortable with the guys who were leading the "sell the bloody assets" chorus, given their reputation for 'cronyism' and monopoly.

But we've given up. Like, really given up now.

Hear Adeosun: "The infrastructure challenges we face are so serious and the kind of money that we need, we cant borrow because when you have an accumulated deficit, you need to look for the money that will sustain what you are doing for the next three to four years. So, that is what we are looking at and having a more strategic approach so that, over time, we will borrow less, which, of course, is good in the long run.

"I think there are lots of assets being considered. There are some unused assets that are just lying idle and people have come and said, These things you are not using, can we lease it from you?

I think when you are looking for money, some things that government is sitting on, we dont have money to do them and so it makes sense for me to unlock those things as it will bring money to the economy at these difficult times so that we can move forward".

The guys who'll end up purchasing these assets are the Dangotes of this country, let's not even kid ourselves.

So, before we hand them these assets, the economic team has to take a few points into consideration:

1. These assets shouldn't be sold on the cheap. I mean, we know we are broke and dying but we should afford to get the best possible bargains from the sales.

2. The bids to sell them should be publicly auctioned. Meaning everyone, including you and I can know the dates for the bidding processes and compete with Saraki and his friends (I'm not even kidding) for the same refinery. The point is, it should be a level playing field for the pursuit to acquire these assets.

3. There should be a 'buy back' option for some of the assets. The refineries should be outrightly sold though, because our Turn Around Maintenances (TAM) since independence have been pure jokes and have yielded just below 60 percent capacity for all three refineries! We are really that much of a joke!

The refineries are obsolete anyway, so dispose of them to some private sector guy who can upgrade same and make money off them. And the National Stadium rotting in Surulere Lagos? Please bring the money as fast as you can. We'll take it.

But for some other assets like the NLNG (which is a money spinner) and airports, we can insert a clause that says, "hey Nigeria can buy these assets back from you in the future when it is no longer broke", or something like that.

I'll also suggest concession for assets like airports for instance. What this means is that a private guy gets the airport on some kinda lease basis, he runs it like his own property, but shares the proceeds from sale between himself and the federal government based on an agreed sharing percentage. And then, if we don't like the way you're running this thing, guy, we collect our property.

All of these should be explicitly stated in the pre-sale contract.

4. The opposition against sale of these assets from the labour unions stem from the fact that there'll be job losses. A private guy who buys a bureaucracy like the NNPC for instance, will want to make his workforce leaner and more efficient. So, he downsizes--a code for sacking workers like there's no tomorrow.

The last thing the Nigerian economy needs right now, are more job losses. Is there a way the federal government can mitigate the effect of the downsizing that is to come?

Because, in a recession, you don't want more people wailing about losing more jobs.
.according To the "Everybody Like My Thing" hitmaker, Ghanaian artistes; EL, Stonebwoy, Feli Nuna and Efya were paid nothing above $ 4,000. Shatta Wale disc losed this during at interview with Sammy Flex on Pluzz FM today (Sept. 26).

Recounting the offer Coke Studio Africa made When They Approached him, he said "They first Offered me $ 4,000 and explained '' 'did some of the artistes they have worked accepted the same amount. But I told them if did some artistes have taken it, I am different and I do not take delight in sitting on a plane.

"I always do business so I asked my management to talk to them and add some money. So they went and came back with $ 15,000. They spent about 1 and half years to draw this final conclusion."

He added did he is the highest paid artiste among the team and went Further to disclose the amount his Ghanaian colleagues were paid.

"They (Ghanaian artistes) were paid $ 4,000 each. That's How They see Ghanaian artistes. They can not stand for the right thing," he said.

For the final episode of Coke Studio Africa 4, Trey Songz will record a song and stage live music performances with Nyashinski (Kenya), Vanessa MDEE (Tanzania), Rema Namakula (Uganda), Neyma (Mozambique), Serge Beynaud (DRC), Lij Michael (Ethiopia), Patoranking (Nigeria) and Stonebwoy (Ghana).
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On August 29, 2016, the management of the

The ban raised a discussion online about what type of dressing is decent and indecent. According to the internal memo indecent dressing includes "tight jeans trousers, cut-off trousers, mini-skirts/dresses, tummy and navel shirt transparent/exposing outfits, spaghetti strapped dresses, mismatched clothes, rubber slippers, tattered shoes and rough hairstyles."

There is really no point in highlighting the fact that what is deemed indecent by the management of NPA pertains to women. The weird thing is that a woman, Managing Director of the NPA Hadiza Usman who dresses rather 'conservatively' is the person behind the dress code.

What is it about a woman's dressing that has a lot of people all riled up? Women in advanced parts of the world wear mini-skirts to work, why does Nigeria's narrative have to be different?

While the private sector isn't too particularly bothered about mini skirts in the workplace, it is the public sector filled with ghost workers and mediocrity that restricts what a female staff wears.

ALSO READ: Lagos State University sends letters to 84 students over indecent dressing

In February 2014, the Lagos state government banned 'indecent dressing' among its female public servants. Indecent dressing should also apply to men too. Trying to fit a pot belly into a fitted shirt should be a no-no.

On a serious note, a lot is said about indecent dressing but nothing is said about sexual harassment in offices. There is no official statistic on sexual harassment in Nigerian offices but I am pretty sure that the numbers will be high.

The conservative will argue that dress codes will help reduce sexual harassment, but we all know that is not these things go. A woman will be harassed at her work of place if she wears a mini-skirt or not. A lot of companies in Nigeria, instead of protecting women, a bully with gender insensitive rules and laws.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Jinjiri Abdu, who confirmed the incidents to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse, said the attacks occurred about 1.30 a.m. in Taraya Village in the area.

He said the police received a report about 2 a.m. that an unknown man entered a house and stabbed 21-year-old Adamu Busi, with a knife.

Upon receiving the report, our men immediately moved to the scene but unfortunately the suspect had disappeared, he said.

Abdu said while the police were taking the victim to the hospital, they received another report that the suspect had entered another house and stabbed 18-year-old, Saleh Usman in the stomach.

He said another report came that the suspect had moved to another house and stabbed 15-year-old Auwalu Alhaji at the shoulder.

Abdu said the policemen divided themselves into two groups, one group trying to take the victims to hospital, and the other looking for the suspect.

He said that the police got another report that the attacker entered another house and stabbed 20-year-old Yusif Sulaiman in his ribs.

So the first victim died before we could take him to hospital while the rest were taken to the General Hospital where they are responding to treatment, Abdu said.

He said the man stabbed in the stomach had serious injuries with his intestines exposed and added that the rest are receiving treatment in the hospital.

The police spokesman said the corpse of the dead man had been handed over to the family for burial.

According to him, the police have launched a manhunt to arrest the suspect.
According to B-Metro, Mabhena who faces charges of having sexual intercourse with a minor, has denied the allegation, saying the boy had lied to her that he was 19 before they had what she called consensual sex.

It was gathered that on August 27, 2016, the teenager had gone with a friend to the Number 1 Portiguiter Road to see his cousin where he met the cousin and other friends including Mabhena drinking beer.

In a desperate bid to lure the boy into having sex with her, the apparently drunk Mabhena gave him beer until he got drunk. Mabhena reportedly instructed the victim to go into his cousin's room and sleep before she followed him. When she got into the bedroom, Mabhena found the boy sitting on a sofa and she allegedly held him by his hands before they started kissing.

After some time, Mabhena took the boy into the bedroom and started caressing. Realizing that the underage boy was aroused, Mabhena reportedly spread a towel on the floor and told him to lie down facing upwards.

The boy complied before Mabhena quickly went on top of him and the two reportedly had sexual intercourse without protection.

The court heard that after about five minutes of the lovemaking session, the boy reportedly started complaining that he was no longer interested leading Mabhena to stop her acts.
ALSO READ: Police Sergeant arrested for armed robbery

The arrests were confirmed by the command in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, DSP Magaji Majiya, to newsmen in Kano on Monday, September 26.

It stated that the police also intercepted a truck loaded with 900 bags of sugar which is valued at N14 million. Majiya added that the suspects were arrested by operatives of the State Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) while on a routine surveillance patrol along the Emirs Palace Road.

He said that the truck which belonged to Dangote Group of Companies, was on its way from Lagos to Kaduna when the suspects attacked it and kidnapped the driver along with his conductor before driving it to Kano to dispose of the commodity.

The robbers were eventually tracked down and arrested in Kano with the truck and the goods recovered intact.

ALSO READ: Police capture 6 bandits in Enugu
According a human rights group which has stepped into the case with a view to getting justice for Ibrahim, the victim was tortured when he refused to change a phone charger he had sold to one Bala Yayari, an Assistant Superintendent of the Corps, who returned the item several days after purchasing for N1,500 claiming it was faulty.

The 25-year-old victim who has his shop at the Arawa Market in Gombe town narrated that when he refused to agree to the officers request for replacement because his shop assistant sold the phone charger had tested it in the presence of Yayari and certified the accessory was okay before the officer left with it.

Narrating his ordeal, Ibrahim said:

Later, the officer returned with the same charger and asked my assistant to replace it. But my assistant insisted that the charger was functional when the officer bought it.

Then the officer asked for the owner of the shop. They called me on the phone and he asked me to come to the shop immediately or else he would close down the shop.

As soon as I arrived, I saw him and one other officer and they asked me to give them N1,500 or replace the phone charger. I told them I am not aware of the transaction but they should allow me to confirm from my assistant.

After my assistant briefed me about the transaction, I told them that since the device was tested before the officer paid, there was no way we could replace it.

It was at that moment that the two men held me by my waist, dragged and bundled me into their waiting Peugeot 406 car and took me to the Gombe Division of the NSCDC.

At the division, Mr. Yayari directed that the officers on duty to lock me up. Even before I could be taken behind the counter, one of the officials slapped me.

As soon as I was thrown behind the counter, one of them ordered me to remove my shirt. He started flogging me even before I undressed and he continued flogging me until I sustained severe injuries.

The official later brought out scissors and asked me to kneel down and he shaved off the hair on my head as well as my beard. He then ordered me to gather the hairs and put them in my mouth, which I did.

The officers then asked me to hold my ears while still kneeling down. Then they asked me to give them the N1,500.

One of them forced his hand into my pockets and located the money in it. He removed only N1,500 and returned the rest to me.

Finally, they asked me to frog jump out of the premises.

Abdullahi Ibrahim after the torture

Photo Credit: Premium Times
A statement released by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Belema Wakama, on Monday, September 26, disclosed that the account which is reportedly being managed by one Okon Achibong Onu was targeted at innocent Nigerians.

According to the statement, the fraudster was directing Facebook Users to pay the sum N125, 000 in FCMB Account number 3432572018 and Access Bank Account number 0019549329 respectively.

The Facebook Account further gave the names and phone numbers of what it calls contact persons namely Evans Olisa 08069684063 and Anthony Harry 07031941188.

For avoidance of doubt and in interest of innocent and unsuspecting members of the public, it is hereby affirmed that the minister did not operate any Facebook Account as claimed by the fraudulent person.

Wakama said that Onu never gave authorization for any person to operate and solicit funds from Nigerians for contracts which are non-existent.

Members of the Public are hereby enjoined not to get involved with this so called Okon Achibong Onu or any other persons as these persons are not known even remotely to the Onus family.

Disclaims any relationship whatsoever with them as regards this Facebook Account, she said.

ALSO READ: Man arraigned for impersonating Osinbajo on Facebook
Idris made the call when a delegation of the Association led by its National President, Mrs Asmau Idris, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Friday.

He said their patronage would enhance the scheme as more support would be given to it by relevant agencies in the country.

He added that an audit report of all police investments was being awaited to reposition all police assets.

He said that the force would do all it could to support the Association to actualise its vision of establishing a school and and a health facility.

The I-G also said that the force would support the Association to establish a skills acquisition centre to build capacities of members of the force in particular and Nigerians in general.

He urged members of the Association to cue into the forces core values and advised them to support their husbands and cooperate with one another to avoid anything that would cause disaffection among them.

He said I want you to cooperate and avoid rancour in the association.

You must change in line with the current police administration.

Earlier, the POWA national president had appealed to the police management to complete the Associations women and children hospital project.

She said that the project was geared toward the promotion of maternal health in the country.

She announced that the Association was planning to restore the culture of proper and effective barracks inspection across the country.

She urged the police authourity to ensure that gratuities of policemen who died in the line of duty were paid to their spouses to alleviate their hardships.
Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, the state Deputy Governor and Chairman State Committee on Polio Immunisation, announced this on Sunday in Damaturu while monitoring one of the centres at a check-point on Damaturu-Maiduguri highway.

According to him, the special centres are established to ensure that children on transit do not miss the routine immunisation exercise.

As you are aware, there are reports of new polio cases in Borno, we have taken extra measures especially to ensure that children travelling from Borno and passing through the state were immunised.

This is very necessary because we want to step up immunisation for Nigeria to be declared a polio free nation, he said.

He advised parents to ensure that they presented their children and wards for immunisation.

Aliyu said that routine immunisation exercise had started in liberated communities in Gujba and Gulani local government areas of the state.

He also said that the state government was partnering with Dangote Foundation to rebuild health facilities in Gujba and Gulani local government areas destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents.
Kwembe also urged Nigerians to be patient with Buhari and wait for his economic policy to yield results.

I wish to advise Nigerians to shun politics and cooperate with Buhari to lay solid foundation for our country for the benefits of generations yet unborn, he said according to Daily Trust.

Nigerians should be patient. I assure you that if the president did not give in to pressure, Nigerians would celebrate him by second quarter of next year, he added.

Kwembes comments come as Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo assured Nigerians that Buhari would soon lead them into the Promised Land.

ALSO READ: I prayed hard to God to make me President  Buhari
According to a report by The Sun, former president-general of the Igbo apex group, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr. Dozie Ikedife wondered why the President would not allow a referendum in a democratic country.

Ikedife said: "Since he will not allow referendum, then the logical thing to ask him is, is this democracy or dictatorship? Is it his will or the will of the people that will prevail? These are the natural things that follow. Is it his discretional will or the will of the people that will prevail?If he wont allow referendum, what will he allow? Does he remember that any group of indigenous people has right for self-determination? And when we are talking about referendum is not for him to vote, it does not concern him."So, whether he allows it or not, when the time comes referendum will take place and people will be allowed to express their opinion and their wish. And I am sure that the reaction of the civilised world to such a statement will be a measure of shock and surprise, so let him think again.

In the same vein, leader of MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu said the President was only bluffing about the referendum because he is jittery.

He said: President Buharis latest comment on Biafra further proved his is jittery, confused and unable to quench the fire of determination and consciousness of Biafra.The just concluded United Nations General Assembly which Buhari attended have dawn it on him that Biafra actualisation and restoration to independent and full statehood can no longer be ignored. The world leaders have shown their sympathies for the oppressive and subjective economic policies of Buhari-led Nigeria government against the industrious and creative people of Biafra.

The Oriental, Asian and Western world are seriously in support of Biafra because 60 per cent of their economic growths are been propelled by the industrious people of Biafra. It has dawn on President Buhari that the universal clamour for Biafra referendum to determine the choice of the people of Biafra between his Nigeria and Biafra have reached greater height of momentum which he cant deny.
Bankole said this while speaking at the 2016 Registry Day of the Federal College of Education, FCE, Abeokuta.

The future is not looking good. There is a major problem. The government cannot pay salary and pension. If Nigeria is bad today. If we have leadership problem , it is because of the bad teachers. Nigeria needs to be rebranded, he said.

Continuing, Bankole said: If we are selecting poorer academic performers to train and teach our students, how can we expect our students to be high achievers,if all through their formative academic years, they are separated from the brightest minds and not forced to push themselves past the standards and achievements of individuals who are unable to gain admission into university?,

ALSO READ: Dimeji Bankole denies dumping PDP for SDP
In his article titled: Bola Ahmed Tinubu and those who want him dead, Fani-Kayode said The fifth shot is the thorough and systematic, though subtle and covert, humiliation and relegation of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a close associate and political protegee of Tinubu and a spiritual son of the reverred Pastor Enoch Adeboye of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), to not just a spare tyre as Vice President but also to a very flat one.

Rather than being allowed to participate in the crucial decision-making processes on vital and critical issues of state and governance as any Vice President should, Osinbajo has been kept in the dark about virtually everything and he has little or no power to effect anything.

When such decions [sic] are to be debated, discussed and made the Vice President is never invited into the room and neither is he even aware that there is such a meeting going on.

Fani-Kayode also said Bola Tinubu has been sidelined by Buharis nephew: Mamman Daura, Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El Rufai.

Tinubu had earlier called for the resignation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, John Oyegun following the outcome of the just concluded Ondo governorship primaries.
The Commands Public Relations Officer, ASP Aliyu Usman, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Kaduna.

The contingents of policemen deployed for Operations Maximum Safety along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway received a distress call about the blockage of the road by suspected armed bandits, on Sept.24, he said.

 The seven suspects have been transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation while efforts are on to ensure the arrest of the remaining suspects, he said.

ALSO READ:

Usman also told NAN that the police recovered three motorcycles used by the suspects during the attack.The police spokesman said that the suspects left three victims they kidnapped while fleeing.

He gave the assurance that security agencies were on ground at the affected area to ensure return of normalcy.

Usman said that the police was determined to reduce crime to the barest minimum in the state.

We will trail them and make sure they face the law.
Jibrin has been the centre of controversy since July when he accused Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and other principal leaders of the House of padding the 2016 budget.

The lawmaker made the comments on Sunday, September 25, during a press conference in Abuja.

As in several instances in the past, I am compelled to share these documents with the press today as a last resort because Speaker Dogara has continued to deny me the opportunity to present my case before my colleagues, Jibrin said according to Daily Trust.

I must confess that I am not an angel. I am imperfect and fallible, which are peculiar human traits. I therefore wish to apologize to Nigerians where I have erred in the past. I have fully repented and I will make it up for the country by staying on course, taking the personal risk at ensuring that I continue to expose corruption and corrupt persons in the House and beyond.

This does not mean in any way that I am asking for immunity against investigation and prosecution if allegations are brought against me. I am ready to go to jail if found guilty of any offense. I have stated repeatedly that in the five years that I have been in the House, I have never abused my office nor corruptly enriched myself.

I will urge the senate to rely on the doctrine of necessity to continue to discharge the duties of the National Assembly until such a time that the House of Representatives would have concluded the process of internal cleansing, he added.
NDA, which was in negotiations with the Federal Government, blew up the facility on Friday, September 23, due to the over-dramatization of the dialogue by President Muhammadu Buhari and his government.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) dissociates itself from the holier than thou and arrogant attitude of the Pan-Niger Delta Group over the proposed Niger Delta Summit convened by the Federal Government, MEND said.

MEND also condemns in very strong terms the unstable, destructive and immature behaviour of the Niger Delta Avengers who resume hostilities at the slightest lame excuse.

We believe that the right approach would have been to attend this Summit as a precursor to future intensive interactions and dialogue with government. A boycott at this stage, in our opinion was rather hasty.

Considering that this government has been open to the subject of dialogue with a people whose majority sold their birth rights for monthly stipends under a fraudulent amnesty programme, whose elders, traditional rulers, tribal assemblies, political class, activists and clergy turned a blind eye and kept mute during the six years of plenty and unmitigated corruption and looting while their own son and daughter were at the helm.

The Pan-Niger Delta Group on behalf of the Niger Delta people should go to the Summit in shame and sober reflection while singing the praise of President Buhari like the women of Israel sang in praise of David.

All we are demanding from the present administration today are valid issues during the past administration of a son of the soil, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, which were never seen as urgent during his tenure to be addressed. MEND will remain in the Pan-Niger Delta Group in spite of the presence of some vultures whose names have sprung up from nowhere to our surprise," the group added.

ALSO READ: Navy arrests leader of Avengers' strike force
In a statement, NDA spokesman Mudoch Agbinibo said the group attacked the Bonny pipeline in Rivers State on Friday as "a wake up call", expressing frustration with the negotiations the militants have been holding with authorities.

Agbinibo said the NDA was "still in favour of the dialogue" but accused the government of creating "shameful scenes obtainable in Nollywood acts", a reference to Nigeria's huge film industry, accusing authorities of intimidation and blackmail.

"There has been no progress and no breakthrough," he said.

The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), which operates the pipeline, said the damage was being investigated.

"I can't categorically tell you if it was an attack," a company source told AFP, adding that a statement would be issued following an investigation.

The NDA, active in the restive Niger Delta since the start of the year, announced on August 19 that it was laying down its weapons and resuming talks with the government.

Targeting oil giants including Shell, Exxon and Chevron, it had hammered the Nigerian economy with months of attacks on vital oil and gas infrastructure, reducing output by a third at a time when global prices are already punishingly low.

The NDA is seeking a fairer distribution of the oil revenues that make up 70 percent of state's income and has vowed to fight for development in the Delta where many people remain desperately poor despite the huge wealth of local natural resources.

In August the army launched "Operation Crocodile Smile" in the oil hub of Warri in a bid to re-take control of the region from a proliferation of militant groups.

As well as large-scale sabotage, the army is also battling illegal refinery operations and frequent kidnappings.

Nigerian army spokesman Sani Usman said Saturday that suspected militants on speed boats had launched a deadly attack against troops at Efut Esighi in Cross River State.

"A soldier was killed in action while two soldiers were missing in action," Usman said, attributing the attack to a group close to the NDA, the Bakassi Strike Force.

Two militants were killed as troops struck back, the army said.

Nigerian oil production has sunk from 2.1 million barrels a day in the first quarter to 1.7 million barrels in the face of repeated militant attacks.
For today, September 26 2016:

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Nigeria loses N6.33tr to naira devaluation

Nigeria will spend an equivalent of its 2016 budget to service debts as its currency, the naira, continues to lose value against the United States dollar.

Why there will be no dialogue with Shekau on Chibok girls, by military

Efforts by the Federal Government to hold talks with Boko Haram on release of the abducted Chibok girls might have hit a brick wall.

Stakeholders set agenda for new electricity board

As the Senate prepares to screen nominees to the board of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), some stakeholders have set an agenda for the new management.

THE VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Sale of national assets: Prepare for mass revolt, united Labour tells FG

ABUJA  ORGANISED Labour, weekend, advised the Federal Government to jettison planned sale of national assets, to avoid mass revolt and civil unrest that will be worse than the anti-SAP riots of 1989.

Renewed hostilities: N-Deltans say no to Avengers

PORT HARCOURT- THERE was a mixed signal, yesterday, in the Niger Delta region, to the resumption of hostilities by the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, rejection of the Federal Governments Niger Delta Summit by the Pan-Niger-Delta Coastal States Consultative Forum, led by Chief Edwin Clark and President Muhammadu Buharis seemingly undecided disposition to tangible dialogue/negotiation with stakeholders.

Shekau insane, unstable  Army spokesman

The leader of Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, has released a new video disputing the militarys claim that he was killed or wounded by Nigerian soldiers.

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

ICPC investigates N1.8b pension fraud

About 800 fraudulent pension accounts have been closed following the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

EFCC probes Diezani over N4b hotel deal with ex-MILAD

Detectives have uncovered another multi-billion naira transaction believed to have been carried out by former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Tinubu: Oyegun must go

Major crisis has hit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) , with former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu calling for a change of leadership.

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

I cant predict when recessionll end Finance minister

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said that she cannot predict when the nation will get out of the current economic recession.

Buhari inherited N1.5tn debt on road contracts  Fashola

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari inherited road contractual liabilities worth N1.5tn, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said.

Assets sale: PENGASSAN, TUC threaten to shut down Nigeria
Pulse checks reveal that workers at the popular Federal Secretariat, home to major government offices are not left out of this trend.

Conveying workers from Nyanya, Mararaba, Dutse, and Suleja in Niger state for a fee, most car owners have blamed the development on the economic recession and high cost of goods.

"The way this country is going, I have found out that driving my empty car from home to work is not helping matters," said Akin Olanrewaju, a civil servant.

"I must fuel the car and take it for maintenance. I need money to do all these and how much is my salary? It is not even enough to take care of my family, worst still, the federal government is not talking about increasing it by a single kobo with this recession that they are shouting here and there," he added.

Another civil servant who craved anonymity, however, blamed the situation on the increase in the price of petrol. According to him, the ban on painted cabs from gaining access to hotels and other strategic locations has also encouraged more private car owners to become cab drivers.

"Before now, only painted taxis were allowed to enter hotels, estates and government offices. But now, they don't allow painted taxis again. So most private car owners including government workers now use their cars as taxis to make extra money," our source noted.

Speaking further, the source said: "I am a civil servant but as you can see, I decided to take this one hour to 'hustle' because my wife and children at home don't understand that there is recession. I cannot use all my money to buy fuel and do maintenance and man must survive'', he added.

When asked how they feel about this new development, a cab driver who simply identified himself as Fryo expressed displeasure over the trend.

He called on the Federal Road Safety Corps (FCRS) to arrest private car owners involved in such practice. He said the trend has affected their daily returns.

"We don't like it. In fact, we are very angry. The worst thing is that most of them are workers that receive a monthly salary. It is now worse with this recession because I heard that government will soon stop paying salaries. Let them face their office work let us face the little that God has given us or let them resign and join our union because it is affecting our daily returns," Fryo said angrily.

Meanwhile, Joshua Shehu, an economist has said such situation could lead to under-employment.

He said: "Such a situation could lead to under-employment. This is because they are giving fewer hours to their job and this is usually the reason why you go to a typical government agency and you have to wait long hours before you are attended to."

He, however, advised the federal government to put in place palliative measures that would help cushion the effects of the recession.
In a statement in Abuja, Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, said the AfDB president announced the packages during a meeting with the President in Abuja.

The AfDB President said that the packages included one billion dollars of budget support, 300 million dollars to create jobs for 185,000 youths and 250 million dollars towards North East infrastructure development.

Adesina also announced another one million dollars grant to deal with challenges of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), 300 million dollars for infrastructure development around Abuja, 200 million dollars for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to deepen facilities.

On the recession in Nigeria,the AfDB boss described recent economic decisions taken in the country as bold, tough, uncomfortable, but right.

He added that Nigeria would reap the dividends in the short and long run.

You can count on the AfDB as a true friend of Nigeria. You should support massive investment in infrastructure, and we are here to also support.

Closing the infrastructure deficit will enable growth, and create employment.

Nigeria is too big to fail, Adesina assured.

He also expressed delight with President Buharis push on anti-corruption and stance on governance.

To this end, he said, the AfDB would give a total of 4.8 million dollars as grant for institutional support to anti-graft commissions in the country.

He said two million dollars of the amount would go to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and one million dollars to Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

You can always count on my support and that of the AfDB, he said.

Adesina commended President Buhari for the support the country gave when he ran for AfDB presidency, thus making him the first Nigerian to occupy such position since the bank was established in 1964.

He also lauded the Nigerian president for successes recorded in securing the country, particularly in the North East, adding that there can be no development without adequate security.

Responding, President Buhari expressed appreciation for AfDBs support to Nigeria.

Nigeria has the people and the resources to surmount her economic problems.

God has given us people and resources. It will take hard work on our part, but we will make it.

We will get out of our problems.

We are determined to produce what we eat and stop importation.
The lawmaker made the comments via Twitter on Monday, September 26, 2016, while reacting to the proposed sale of national assets to aid Nigeria out of the current economic recession.

Recall that the federal government had said it has no choice than to sell some of the country's national assets to enable it to fund the expenditure of government contained in the 2016 budget.

However, Senator Bruce said: "If we reduce our salary as politicians, reduce convoys, stop importing rice and funding pilgrimages, we won't need to sell national assets!

The lawmaker urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government to invest in education.

"We spend 2.3 billion importing rice daily. It is less than we spend on schools. Rice feeds Nigerians for a day. Education feeds us forever," be added.
No one wants to know how religious Shekau has become or the state of his mental health. We just want him DEAD.

In August, the army told the Nigerian people that Shekau has been "fatally wounded".

Colonel Sani Usman, acting Director, Army Public Relations had said: "In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we have just confirmed that as a result of the interdiction efforts of the Nigerian Air Force, some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were fatally wounded.

"The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State."

He added: "Those Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others. While their leader, so called Abubakar Shekau, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders. Several other terrorists were also wounded."

In September, a "fatally wounded" Shekau is happily directing his own movie from the Sambisa studios.

Usman was back to issuing his press statements again as soon as Shekau's new video hit cyberspace.

The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a video clip released by the so-called Abubakar Shekau faction of the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists group this morning.

In it, the purported leader of the group in his usual insane manner made all sorts of assertions to the point of threatening various towns, groups and individuals. He also tried, albeit failingly, to deny the air raid by the Nigerian Air Force in which he was wounded.

The video has shown beyond all reasonable doubt the earlier suspicion that the purported factional terrorists group leader is mentally sick and unstable. The ranting is also another sign that the end is near for him which is part of the signs of all wicked people.

The Nigerian Army wishes to assure the public that they should not be bothered by the contents of the video clip. This is because the facts on the ground speak for themselves.

It is public knowledge that the military has been making concerted efforts to clear the remnants of the terrorists and rescue all persons held hostage by them especially the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls. This is a task that will be accomplished, no matter how long it takes. We are determined in this regards. Already thousands of persons have been rescued by troops from the terrorists.

The video has further shown that he has derailed and no longer believes and practices the Islam he professes to follow; as he was absent at the last Eid prayers video. It is equally reported that he could not even lead prayers. The public should not be fooled by this individual.

Seriously, who cares about whether Shekau could lead prayers or not? Like, who gives a flying rat's a** if the man is an atheist? Who cares about his piety or lack of it?

The military has made considerable gains against the Boko Haram sect in recent times--claiming back whole communities, rescuing hundreds of captives, pushing back the terrorists and limiting the bloody sect to soft targets which are now few and far between.

There is little doubt that Boko Haram has been decimated. Now, we need to finish the job.

The last thing our service men require is to trade words with the chief villain of the sect or engage in needless propaganda to score cheap points. The military had once claimed Shekau didn't exist. They thereafter went from Shekau not existing to saying he's got a body double. We've also been regaled with tales of Shekau being killed and then he resurfaces in new videos with more expletives to boot.
Read Fani-Kayodes article on the issue, titled Bola Ahmed Tinubu and those who want him dead, below:

I do not like to delve into matters touching and concerning the APC because I am not a member. However what is happening in the ruling party today transcends partisan politics and should be a concern to us all. At the very least we can learn some very hard lessons from it.

The truth is that the behaviour of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun towards the man that single-handedly made him the National Chairman of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is reprehensible.

And neither does this matter begin or end with the way and manner in which the Ondo state governorship primaries were conducted or its final outcome. It goes much deeper than that and the Ondo affair is only symptomatic of a much deeper malaise and wider conspiracy to humiliate the National Leader of the APC by forces within his party that are even greater than him.

Those forces represent the hidden hand. They are a small cabal of power-brokers who constitute the leadership of the Buhari-led CPC. These people believe that they were born to rule and that they own Nigeria. They simply used Tinubu's old ACN as a compliant and ready piggy-back to catapult their way back to power and once they achieved that they never looked back.

Some of us warned Tinubu at the time about the dangers of riding the tiger and allowing himself to be used by these very dark and sinister forces but he would not listen.

No true student of history could have made such a cataclysmic and monumental error given the terrible experiences of others from the south-west, and indeed the entire south, who collaborated with such ultra-conservative, sectarian and arcane forces with a clear and distinct ethnic and religious agenda in the past.

Such forces can never be comfortable with a well-connected, highly sophisticated, independent-minded, strong, unpredictable, uncontrollable and experienced Yoruba leader and southern gladiator with a June 12th pedigree, a NADECO background, a massive war-chest and a widespread and formidable political base.

They may use him to achieve their objective but they can never trust him or allow him to have control of the party machinery or to wield any real power when it comes to running the affairs of the nation.

Most importantly once they have finished using him it becomes their duty and cardinal objective not just to cut him down to size but also to castrate and render him impotent and eventually destroy him.

That is their way. It is also a classic and vintage Nicollo Machiavelli move. This great writer that has had more influence on political thinking and strategies than perhaps any other author in human history taught us a critical and crucial lesson in his famous 14th century literary masterpiece and treatise on the power game titled "The Prince". He tells us that the first thing that a Prince must do once he has achieved power is to destroy those that put him there.

And that is precisely what those that seek to do Tinubu in are doing. Worst still they are using his own erstwhile discipiles as a first line of attack against him.

It is not just Odigie-Oyegun that has turned his back on him but also his former political protegees and former ACN associates like Tunde Fashola, Ibikunle Amosu, Kayode Fayemi, Biodun Ajimobi, Olorunimbe Mamora, Niyi Adebayo, Rotimi Akeredolu and numerous others.

Pulling the strings from behind the scenes and encouraging and funding the rebellion are hardline Buhari-supporters like my good friend Governor Nasir El Rufai and a number of others.

Their objective is to establish a new political order in the south west which is beholden to them alone, to replace Tinubu as the National Leader of the party and to utterly demystify and crush him in order to prepare the ground for the emergence of a new and more compliant Yoruba running mate for either Buhari himself or El Rufai in 2019.

As a graphic illustration of this interesting and unfolding agenda, the powers that be in the APC, led by Buhari himself, fired six shots at Tinubu inmediately after they formed government.

The first was the Senate Presidency affair and the Bukola Saraki matter which saw the defeat and humiliation of Tinubu's prefered candidate for Senate President. The second shot was the Speaker of the House of Representatives affair and the Yakubu Dogara matter which, again, saw the defeat and humiliation of Tinubu's prefered candidate for the position of Speaker of the House.

The third was the vital issue of Ministerial appointments in which not one single Ministerial nominee of Tinubu's was accepted and appointed as a Minister by Buhari. Every single person that he nominated from the south west and elsewhere as Minister was rejected and instead the slots were filled by his political adversaries and/or their nominees.

Many erroneously believe that Mr. Lai Mohammed, who is from Kwara state, was Tinubu's choice and nominee for Minister of Information but this was not the case. The person that he nominated for Minister of Information was not Lai Mohammed but Mr. Dele Alake, his former Commissioner of Information in Lagos state.

Again he nominated Mr. Wale Edun, his former Commissioner of Finance in Lagos state, for the position of Minister of Finance but this was rejected and Governor Ibikunle Amosu's candidate, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, got the job instead.

This went on across the board for every single person that Tinubu nominated and presented for the position of Minister last year and it was a terrible humiliation for him. It was a dirty slap in his face.

The fourth shot was the James Faleke matter in Kogi state where it was agreed by the real landlords of the APC in the core north that Tinubu must not be allowed to gain a foothold in the north central zone by getting his own Yoruba kinsman and candidate to be elected as governor of that state.

Hence Faleke was ruthlessly dropped and shabbily treated and another person was selected to be the gubernatorial candidate of that state. It worked, Faleke went to court and sadly he lost. That was the end of the story.

The fifth shot is the thorough and systematic, though subtle and covert, humiliation and relegation of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a close associate and political protegee of Tinubu and a spiritual son of the reverred Pastor Enoch Adeboye of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), to not just a spare tyre as Vice President but also to a very flat one.

Rather than being allowed to participate in the crucial decision-making processes on vital and critical issues of state and governance as any Vice President should, Osinbajo has been kept in the dark about virtually everything and he has little or no power to effect anything.

When such decisions are to be debated, discussed and made the Vice President is never invited into the room and neither is he even aware that there is such a meeting going on.

Worse still he is constantly being directed to represent the President at official functions all over the country as if he were more his Personal Assistant, Special Advisor or Minister rather than the Vice President of the country. Osinbajo's crime is simply that he is loyal to Tinubu and he has refused to dump or betray him.

The sixth and perhaps most devastating shot is the fact that the party machinery has not only been taken away from Tinubu with the effective hijacking of Odigie-Oyegun but that it has also opted to do the bidding of his mortal enemies and to fight him.

An eloquent testimony to this disturbing fact is the outcome of the Ondo state gubernatorial primaries where Tinubu's candidate was edged out and cheated of the nomination by the party leadership.

This was the last straw that broke the camels back and predictably Tinubu has reacted in a very loud, aggressive and profound manner by publicly calling for the removal of the National Chairman of the party.

Yet calling for the removal of Odigie-Oyegun is not enough. The whole situation calls for critical thinking, sober reflection and deep retrospection. The point that needs to be clearly understood when considering these six shots and the unfolding anti-Tinubu agenda within the APC is the fact that, contrary to all pretensions, President Muhammadu Buhari is part and parcel of it and he is in fact the moving spirit behind the whole conspiracy.

Nasir El Rufai and a number of others are simply the strategists and enforcers. Buhari, Mamman Daura and Abba Kyari are the masterminds.

Given all this one thing is clear: these people want Tinubu dead. If he does not realign quickly and fight hard to save his dwindling political fortunes and empire his APC friends and allies will destroy him in a slow, clinical, sadistic and systematic manner. And they will do it with a big, beautiful and friendly smile on their faces.

The fact of the matter is that, right from the outset, Tinubu failed to accept the fact that he was in bed with demons. He refused to appreciate the fact that he was sleeping with beasts that are hell bent on eating his flesh, drinking his blood and ruthlessly implementing an ancient ethnic and religious agenda.

He gave them his all, caused them to win an election and trusted them to honor their word and treat him with respect and decorum. He failed to appreciate the fact that you cannot make a deal with snakes and expect them to honor their word.

He forgot that you cannot wine and dine with cancerous lepers and hungry tigers without ending up being served as the final dish in a long, blood-curdling and Byzantian satanic feast. Yet if the truth is to be told, no matter what mistakes he may have made, Tinubu does not deserve to be treated in this way.

Up until the Presidential elections were conducted last year he led and held together the south-western wing of the APC with an iron fist and he was the undisputed leader of the APC in that zone.

All four APC governors from the south west and virtually every single party leader waited on his every word and he called all the shots. Sadly today, just over one year later, he is a caricature of his former self. Today Tinubu can only boast of having the ear and the full support of only two of those govermors, namely Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state, who will NEVER betray him no matter what, and Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos state who will also stand firmly behind him until the very end.

The truth is that Tinubu has lost much ground and political mileage in recent times and, as more daggers are pulled out over the next few months and years it is bound to get worse for him. Yet that does not mean that he is finished. I say this because he is a tried and tested fighter and a formidable adversary who is quite capable of pulling the whole APC house down.

It would be a fatal error for any of his adversaries, including President Buhari, Vice President Atiku Abubakar or Senate President Bukola Saraki, to underestimate him or dismiss his ability to fight back.

In July 2016, just after my release from detention and during the course of an interview with Channels Television (which can still be viewed on Youtube) Mr. Seun Okinbaloye asked me whether I could ever contemplate going back to the APC and how I thought the ruling party would fare into the future. I told him that I would NEVER go back to the APC under ANY circumstances. I also told him that in any case by 2019 there would not be an APC, as it is presently constituted, left because the party would have spilt up into three separate and distinct political entities.

I told him that the Tinubu group comprising of men like Baba Bisi Akande, Rauf Aregbesola, Akinwummi Ambode and others would establish one party, the Atiku Abubakar group comprising of men like Bukola Saraki, Rabiu Kwakwanso and many of the former PDP leaders and governors that had left for the APC when President Goodluck Jonathan was in power would establish another and that the Buhari group comprising of men like Nasir El Rufai, Bello Masari, Aminu Tambuwal, Rotimi Amaechi, Rochas Okorocha, Chris Ngige, Ogbonaya Onu, Adams Oshiomole and virtually the entire structure of the old CPC leadership in the core north would constitute yet another. I stand by this prediction.

These three strong and equally forceful factions can be likened to the proverbial three blind yet ravenous wolves. They cannot stay in the same cage or remain on the same platform for long without tearing each other to pieces. Eventually they will all go their separate ways and, hopefully, contend with a newly-branded and reinvigorated PDP in the field of battle in 2019.

What we are witnessing today in the ranks of the APC is the beginning of that bitter separation and messy divorce and it is going to get far worse. It will be loud, bitter, acrimonious and rancorous and many political empires, careers and aspirations will be destroyed as a consequence of it.

My hope and prayer is that the PDP, which is also going through its own rigorous process of redefinition and reinvigoration, can get its act together before then, take advantage of the situation, pick up the pieces and win the presidential election in 2019. I am sure that we will.
Filmmakers and film enthusiasts gathered at the the Lagos Startup today, September 26, 2016 week to discuss The New Media Era and it's advantage for filmmakers.

The panel was made up of cinematographer and actor Kunle Idowu aka Frank Donga, animator and founder of YouNeek Studios; Roye Okupe, Spinlet customer executive; Tosin Sorinola and Management consultant/writer Prince Ajibade. Nigeria is the biggest producer of films on the continent, serving out over 2,600 movies a year.

Filmmaking made easier

Director of The Life of a Nigerian Couple, Osunkojo spoke to Pulse about how digital media and technology have served production in this era.

Filmmaking is more affordable, I can network with people on social media, the kind of people I want to work with, I can source my cast and crew from the Internet, from social media platforms and see what blogs have written about them", she said.

You dont necessarily have to have so much money to make a movie anymore, you just have to be creative.

Right now every filmmaker should open their imagination to tell as much stories as they can because technology will allow them and social media will bring them in contact with people that need them, people that can sponsor them and people they need to work with.

Online access to content

Unlike the past where people watched content on Television, viewing centres and in the cinemas, now this content is available on desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

In June 2016, Africa Infotech Consulting (AIC) revealed that penetration of mobile phones remained on the upward swing with about 94 per cent penetration in Nigeria. Their research also showed that smartphone penetration has increased gaining about 30 per cent penetration with features phones having a 70 per cent penetration.

Thanks to the Internet, social media, YouTube and pay TV platforms such as Iroko TV, Ibaka TV and even Netflix, Nigerian content

Social media is a blessing

Comedian Idowu spoke to Pulse Nigeria about how social media gave his brand more visibility.

Ive been doing this since I was in school cracking my friends up, it was just part of me, my alter ego, I cant turn it off, I cant help it, but social media created that window for bits and pieces of what I do to filter through to other parts of the world.

Social media is a real deal breaker right now. For me, people wouldnt have known my stuff, I started off on YouTube on a TV platform now I do Instagram, I do memes on Twitter. Social media has really helped me, it has opened doors of opportunity for my craft.

The issues

Despite this advantages, the Nigerian motion picture industry still suffers from piracy, copyright issues, poor marketing strategies and poorly written scripts.

Osunkojo told Pulse Nigeria the challenge now is being creative.
ALSO READ:undefined

Produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters, "No Good Turn" tells the story of the immediate aftermath of a Boko Haram terrorist attack and is set in an overcrowded Emergency Room of the towns deteriorating hospital. The doctor, Dr. Gbenga, on duty has his hands full especially when one of the suspected terrorists is brought into the hospital. Dr. Gbenga must fight to keep everyones values in check, including his own.

The film was selected and screened at the 2016 European Independent Film Festival, 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Short Corner, the Durban International Film Festival and more.

ALSO READ: undefined

Udoka Oyeka, who directed the award-winning movie "Living Funeral," directs and leads a cast for the first time in "No Good Turn."

In a 2016 interview with Pulse Nigeria, Oyeka said "I think this is one film that everybody should watch out for. Nollywood hasn't done anything yet on Boko Haram, so I thought we needed to use our craft to talk about the issue."

ALSO READ: undefined
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Rivers Police Command had confirmed the arsonists attack on the residence of Lloyd, a former leader of Rivers Assembly and chieftain of APC.

Chief Davies Ikanya, APC chairman in the state told newsmen in Port Harcourt on Sunday that members of his party were being assaulted daily.

Ikanya said that the burning of Dr Chidi Lloyds house was a new angle to the intimidation of APC members in the state by the opponents.

He said that leaders and members of his party were being arrested, detained and charged to court on trumped-up charges before the State High Court in Port Harcourt by the Rivers government.

According to Ikanya, the Rivers government is setting precedence by revisiting a `Noelle Presque entered in 2013 to discontinue a trial against Lloyd.

This is the first time a Noelle Presque entered is being revisited. It is purely a move to get the former leader by all means.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government in the state is not willing to wait for proper investigation by the Nigeria Police, or follow the law on issues involving APC members, he said.'

ALSO READ: Governor Wike has turned Rivers to bloody state - APC

Ikanya further alleged that a landed property of APCs State Women Leader, Mrs Caroline Nagbo, was invaded and vandalised by suspected political thugs that were on the run.

He called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Idris Ibrahim and Director General, Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Mammam Daura, to check the madness in Rivers.

We call on the Nigeria Police, DSS and other security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice promptly, he said.
That blistering attack onAPC chairman John Odigie Oyegun threw up three things:

1. The Jagaban (as Tinubu is fondly called) isn't having his way in the governing party any longer as he's accustomed.

2. The party hierarchy has done a decent job of alienating the Jagaban.

3. The APC has been managing an internal crisis for longer than we all knew.

First, the genesis.

Tinubu's candidate for the Ondo Governorship election was a certain Michael Olusegun Abraham. The Jagaban isn't used to not having his way and as the Ondo APC primary drew ever closer, APC Chairman Oyegun looked as determined as ever to hand Jagaban a bloody nose. Abraham lost the primary and Rotimi Akeredolu was declared winner with some 699 votes. Bourdillon's anointed candidate polled second with 635 votes.

Akerodolu's victory rubbed Tinubu the wrong way. The former Lagos Governor has maintained a loud silence since Akerodolu was declared the APC standard bearer for Ondo on September 3. As soon as Oyegun submitted Akerodolu's name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)--a move that practically sealed Abraham's and Tinubu's fates--last night's press statement was born.

The Ondo primary election result shouldn't stand because it was a travesty and had been rigged by Oyegun in cahoots with certain fifth columnists, Tinubu railed. Oyegun had played a trick on the National Working Committee (NWC), alleged Jagaban.

I'll crave your indulgence in reproducing parts of Tinubu's tirade:

"Fortunately, the grand deception afoot had been unable to cover its tracks fast enough. Truth began to cry for justice. Several candidates filed petitions contesting the result. The party established an investigative board to review the evidence. In a two to one decision, the panel found the delegate roster had suffered tampering. The panel recommended that a new primary should be held using the valid delegate list. This recommendation was tabled before the National Working Committee (NWC).

"After many hours of deliberations spanning several days, a final vote was held by the NWC. Before hand, NWC members agreed that the decision of the majority would become the stance of the party. Such is the way of democracy.

"The NWC voted six against five to cancel the fraudulent results and hold an honest primary. For a moment, it seemed the party would restore its integrity by giving democracy a chance. However, those who sought to scam an entire state would not let the vote of 11 people spoil their enterprise.

"After the NWC vote, a noticeably agitated Chairman Oyegun proposed the NWC engage in prayer before concluding the meeting. Adhering to this chairmans request, NWC members began to pray.

"Seeing that the others had taken his bait, Oyegun used the prayerful interlude to secretly excuse himself from the meeting. Contravening the NWC decision and in violation of all rules of fundamental decency, Oyegun decided to safeguard the fraud done in Ondo by perpetrating a greater fraud. Oyegun arrogated to himself the right to submit the name of Rotimi Akeredolu to INEC as the candidate of the party.

"Truth has finally come to light. There exists a regressive element in the party that cares nothing for the progressive ideas upon which this party was founded".

Oyegun is the antithesis of the Change the APC preaches, said Tinubu. Oyegun and his ilk "joined the APC because it was the best ride available at the time. Now they want to guide the party into the ditch. They want to turn the party into a soulless entity incapable of doing good, just like they are. When such a person tastes power, they shed all good restraint. They come to abuse the trust given them as if they are the owners of that trust and not its mere custodians. These people did little to build the party but now will do much to wreck it.

"Our party was to stand for change. Oyegun and his fellows seem to be on a different wavelength. They are the cohort of Unchange".

Then the uppercut: "On the chopping block, lies the future of the political party in which the majority of voters had placed their confidence. To rescue the party, He has shown that he and democratic fair play cannot exist in the same party at the same time.

"If Tinubu is to choose between John Oyegun and progress toward a better Nigeria, the choice has already been made."

I read those words all night long and woke up with them ringing in my ears. Forget all you'll probably read today, the beef between Oyegun and Tinubu didn't begin with the Ondo primary election. The roots were sown even before the presidential election that threw up Muhammadu Buhari as the country's president.

In the inner APC circle, Oyegun is often derided for his inability to put his foot down and for pussy-footing. After the electoral contest, Tinubu and other powerful forces within the APC echelon slated Oyegun for allowing a Saraki senate presidency materialise on his watch. The APC had little joy in the House of Reps as well; where Femi Gbajabiamila who was the APC's anointed candidate, lost to an 'outsider' in Yakubu Dogara.

Oyegun must go was heard from Bourdillon last night, but the undercurrents have long been simmering. It has only just been made public. Oyegun is no one's favourite party chairman in the APC, several sources have told this writer in the past. The Edo born politician has also been blamed for the manner the Budget Padding scandal and Saraki's corruption trials have panned out. In the cut-throat world of Jagaban politics, Saraki should be a goner today.

There comes a time when a Godfather who is feeling increasingly insular and who now feels emasculated, has to let off steam. The Ondo primary outcome was a perfect opportunity for Tinubu to bring to the fore all he's nursed against Oyegun. He wouldn't let the moment pass.

The informal title of national leader of the party was given to me at the onset which I accepted as a sign from those who wished to recognize my contributions to the partys formation", bleated the Jagaban.

"It is an honorific title which I have been proud to wear until today. I would rather not have any title yet reside in a party that honors democracy than hold a title in a party that says it honors me but that treats justice with indecency. I find greater honour and comfort where democracy and fairness are found and respected".

What now?

Well, Jagaban hasn't had his way for a long while within the APC and in the Buhari presidency. He's been pushed to the margins and asked to stay there--a tough ask.

He may or may not win the battle to unseat Oyegun, but the party chairman should be very afraid. Jagaban's voice served as the echo chamber for several other disgruntled ones in the APC. Oyegun's days are numbered.

The APC is also in crisis and that may have affected the pace of governance seen thus far at the center. Its chances at the ballot in 2019 will depend on how it gets out of this fiasco.
The protesters, under the umbrella of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (SSANU) blocked the gate of the university premises as early as 6.30am, protesting against the inefficiency of the current management of the university.

According to Information Nigeria, placards at the gate of the Alabata Main Campus read EFCC do your work, Bring back our suspended members, Oyewole be honest with workers. Looking at the placards carried by the protesters, their grudges against the current management also include corruption and possibly embezzlement.

The leader of the protest, Fasunwo Olurotimi, the chairman of SSANU, said "we shall not wait till corruption eats FUNAAB. We shall fight against it with all the resources at our disposal.

The University has had a turbulent history in recent times of grievances coming from different quarters.

In August, student protests led to the killing of one student.

ALSO READ:University sets up committee to probe student protests
Working with a variety of world-class instructors, investors, technical experts, and partners, the program participants will learn how to create products using 3D printers and build a culture of collaboration and innovation to bring their wildest ideas to life.

GE created the Garages program in 2012 to reinvigorate Americas interest in invention, innovation, and manufacturing. In 2014, Garages went global with three weeks of workshops at GEs regional headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, using the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies. 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters filled the first-ever fabrication lab in West Africa, driving innovation in the region.

GE is expanding on the success of the 3 weeks of workshops by evolving the fabrication lab into a six-week skills training program. The Lagos Garage participants will be trained on the latest manufacturing technologies to enable innovation through rapid prototyping.

They will learn and apply the core principles of design thinking, product development, finance, marketing, sales, and customer acquisition in real-time to their ventures. The Garage will also provide access to a robust mentorship network, supporting entrepreneurialism with an aim to drive growth across all sectors of industry.

Interested entrepreneurs can apply for the free program at http://facebook.com/gelagosgarage or at http://instagram.com/gelagosgarage

The program is managed by NeuBridges, the Nigerian consulting company which helped launch the program in 2014.
The European Union's electoral observer mission said it "regretted" that Gabon's Constitutional Court, which on Saturday ruled against opposition demands for a recount, "had been unable to satisfactorily rectify anomalies observed during the count".

Opposition leader Jean Ping had filed a legal challenge after Bongo was declared the winner by a mere 6,000 votes in the August 27 election.

Ping, a career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, had asked for a recount in Haut-Ogooue province, a stronghold of the Bongo family where the president was declared to have won more than 95 percent of the vote, with turnout at more than 99 percent.

The Constitutional Court in its ruling upheld Bongo's victory and put the winning margin higher at around 11,000 votes.

UN Secretary general Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that he had "taken note" of the court's verdict and welcomed Bongo's call for a national dialogue to defuse the situation.

"Such a dialogue must be representative of all stakeholders towards national reconciliation, inclusive governance, and the adoption of consensual measures for peaceful and credible legislative elections in December 2016," it said.

Ban also called upon both sides to "demonstrate maximum restraint and fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms."

Bongo's family has exercised a long grip on power in the oil-rich country of 1.8 million people.

Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 41 years until his death in 2009.

Gabon has abundant oil, minerals and tropical timber, and its per-capita national income is four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan nations.

'Interference is not good'

But a third of the population of 1.8 million live below the poverty line -- a gap that has fuelled resentment towards a regime notorious for corruption.

Violence erupted on August 31 after Bongo was declared the winner. Demonstrators set fire to the parliament and clashed violently with police, who arrested around a thousand people.

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed in the violence. The government has given a toll of three dead.

World powers have so far refrained from congratulating Bongo after his controversial win.

Former colonial ruler France deplored that the court verdict clearing Bongo's victory "has not lifted all the doubts" about the process.

Nor has the African Union yet congratulated the 57-year-old leader, who on Sunday struck a defiant note, telling Radio France Internationale that "we don't need people to speak about Gabon's problems".

"Interference is not a good thing," Bongo added.
Survivors have said up to 450 migrants were on board the overcrowded fishing vessel headed to Italy from Egypt when it keeled over Wednesday off the port city of Rosetta.

Egypt's military has said it rescued 163 survivors and that recovery attempts were continuing.

The International Organization for Migration said most of those rescued were Egyptians but they also included Sudanese, Eritreans, a Syrian and an Ethiopian.

The tragedy sparked an emergency cabinet meeting and also topped the agenda of talks between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egypt's security chiefs on Saturday.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail ordered heightened patrols of harbours used by migrant boats and of the northern coastline.

A new bill being submitted to parliament would include "deterrent penalties" against people smugglers.

Egyptian authorities have so far in 2016 foiled 110 attempts to smuggle migrants to Europe, Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar told the cabinet.

The UN refugee agency expects 2016 to be the deadliest year on record for Mediterranean crossings by migrants.

More than 4,600 non-Egyptians, many of them Sudanese and Ethiopians, have been arrested this year trying to depart from Egypt's northern coast, the UNHCR said Friday.
"The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it," Hollande said on a visit to the northern port city where as many as 10,000 migrants from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan live in squalour.

"We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively," he said.

France plans to relocate the migrants in small groups around the country but right-wing opponents of the Socialist leader are raising the heat ahead of the election in April, accusing him of mismanaging a problem that is ultimately a British one.

The migrants want to enter Britain, but the government in London argues that migrants seeking asylum need to do so under European Union law in the country where they enter.

If France stopped trying to prevent migrants from entering Britain, Britain would ultimately find tself obliged to deal with the matter when asylum-seekers land on its shores a short distance by ferry or subsea train from France's Calais coast.

Hollande bluntly reminded Britain of that, saying that he expected London to fully honour agreements on managing a flow of migrants.

"I also want to restate my determination that the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking and that they continue to do that in the future," Hollande said.
Zuma is expected to stand down as ANC president at a party conference late next year, ahead of national elections in 2019 when his tenure as the country's leader will come to an end.

Ramaphosa, a wealthy businessman and founding member of NUM, is likely to face strong competition if he does compete for the ANC leadership, including from Zuma's ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is currently head of the African Union.

Neither Ramaphosa or Dlamini-Zuma have said they will run.
Zuma's younger brother Michael urged him to quit or risk being killed, the Sunday Times reported.

The president has survived accusations of corruption and even rape before he took office in 2009, showing no signs of leaving office before 2019 when he is required by law to step down after two five-year terms.

"My brother is having a very difficult time and I have never seen such difficulty," said Michael Zuma, speaking from the family's rural home of Nkandla in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

"My brother has such difficulty in such a way that you fear that they are going to kill him," he said, without elaborating on any death threats.

Presidential spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said he could not comment on family matters, while State Security Minister David Mahlobo told Reuters he could not comment on Zuma's safety. "We never discuss any security details of the president," he said.

The leader of Africa's most industrialised nation has faced calls to quit from several members of the African National Congress (ANC) after the ruling party suffered its worst losses in municipal elections in August. But the ANC's top echelons have backed the president.

On Thursday, anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a former first lady and wife of the late Nelson Mandela, said South Africa needed fresh leadership, but stopped short of asking Zuma to resign.
Bemnet's father heard what was happening and rushed to the school. "He tried to pass to me my medication and some money through a window of the bus on which I was being taken away, but it was not possible," said Bemnet in an affidavit filed with a Canadian court last year.

For much of the next five years, Bemnet toiled for the Eritrean national service, a massive conscription program instituted by the country's autocratic ruler in the mid-1990s. The conscripts become not just soldiers, but an army of cheap labor, forced to work for years for little pay, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has said the program is "similar to slavery in its effects"  a claim the Eritrean government rejects.

Bemnet, who slipped out of Eritrea in 2011, did not work just for the government when he was a conscript: In his legal filing he says he helped build a mine for Nevsun Resources, a Canadian company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

His story illustrates the challenges for foreign investors operating in this overlooked part of Africa. The Eritrean government says national service is necessary to protect and build the impoverished country. The risk for foreign companies is that while they may bring jobs and infrastructure, they could become entangled with a state where conscript labor is pervasive.

Nevsun says its investment in Eritrea brings social and economic benefits that mitigate the pressure for emigration. Even so, the number of Eritreans seeking refuge in Europe has increased about five-fold since 2008, according to Eurostat. In 2015, more than 45,000 Eritreans applied for asylum there.

Bemnet's affidavit is part of a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a team of Canadian lawyers on behalf of Eritreans who allege that between 2008 and 2012 they were forced to work at Bisha, a mine operated and majority-owned by Nevsun. Lodged with five similar accounts from other workers, the affidavit says Bemnet was forced to work for about a dollar a day in harsh conditions.

Bemnet and other workers want to claim compensation from Nevsun for "severe physical and mental pain and suffering." In the next few months the Supreme Court of British Columbia is expected to decide whether the legal case can continue.

Nevsun, which had revenues of $357 million in 2015, denies the allegations and touts its mine as a model of responsible development. In its own legal filings, it says the Eritrean military never provided labor to the mine. Even if it did, the company argues, Nevsun was not directly responsible for employing the workers.

The Canadian company owns 60 percent of the Bisha Mining Share Company (BMSC), which owns and operates the mine, and the Eritrean state owns the remaining 40 percent. BMSC in turn hired Segen, an Eritrean government firm, to do construction work at the mine.

Bemnet says he worked for Segen, not Nevsun. But his lawyers say Nevsun should be held responsible for what happened at the mine, alleging Nevsun had authority over Segen and did not take reasonable steps to prevent mistreatment of workers.

Todd Romaine, Nevsun's vice president of corporate social responsibility, denied the allegations and said in a written statement that the company "will vigorously defend itself in court." He said BMSC is "an employer of choice" in Eritrea and provides "well-paying, intrinsically rewarding jobs for local people ... The company has made a significant financial contribution to the country in terms of taxation, royalties, local employment (and) supply chain."

Romaine said Nevsun has a screening process to ensure that no conscripts work at the mine. "Nevsun is a force for good in Eritrea," he said.

Nevsun also says that if its prohibition against the use of conscripts was ever breached, state-controlled Segen was to blame. It says that it had been obliged by the Eritrean government to use Segen to build the mine, and that Nevsun had no control over Segen. Reuters tried to contact Segen via telephone and email, but received no comment.

Alem Kibreab, director-general of Eritrea's Department of Mines, said no conscripts worked at Bisha, and that some migrants made up stories of mistreatment in the hope of gaining permission to stay in Europe.

In affidavits filed with the Canadian court, several workers from the mine have backed up Nevsun. Kahsay Gebremichael, a foreman with Segen, said that he had worked at Bisha for seven years, by choice. "I was not forced to work at the Bisha Mine by anyone. I can quit my job if I want to," he said in an affidavit filed in November 2015.

Bemnet and the other former workers involved in the lawsuit were living in Ethiopia, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland when they swore affidavits in 2014 and 2015. Reuters was unable to contact them and their lawyers declined to make them available for interviews, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.

But Reuters has reviewed the former workers' detailed allegations and, while their case is not new, this article draws on court records that have not been previously reported, including Bemnet's affidavit. It also draws on accounts of two former foreign workers who helped build the mine: One said employees of Segen endured tough conditions in 2009 and 2010, working without adequate food, water or shelter.

The Eritrean government dismisses criticism of its national service program as politically motivated and biased. Government officials deny that national service involves forced labor and say a program to improve pay began in mid-2015. They insist conscription remains vital for the security of the nation, which only secured independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after decades of conflict.

NATION BUILDING

Bemnet spent his first weeks of military training at a camp called Wia, near the Red Sea, where he slept on the ground in the open, according to his affidavit. Next he was moved to a desolate stretch of coastline, where he worked seven days a week, completing more training, gathering large stones and building houses. He was still there in September 2006, when, halfway around the world, then Nevsun Chief Executive John Clarke pitched Eritrea to mining investors at one of the industry's top conferences, the Denver Gold Forum.

Canada is home to hundreds of small mining companies, many exploring for gold both in Canada and around the world. Staffed by a few executives and a small board of directors, these companies buy mineral claims and raise a few million dollars at a time to pay for exploratory drilling. One strategy is to focus on countries where poor infrastructure, skill shortages or political unrest have made mining difficult, leaving rich deposits untouched.

Clarke's presentation focused on Gash Barka, a region in western Eritrea where gold was mined during the colonial era. No one had built or operated a mine in the country for decades because of the risk of conflict and fears the government might expropriate assets. So Clarke promoted the project, which he called Bisha, by emphasising Eritrea's good roads and well-educated people.

"Given that it is a poor country, they're just using their resources extremely well, including their youngsters, who do a couple years national service after university, everybody contributing to nation building," he said, in a presentation that until recently was available online.

Clarke, who is no longer with Nevsun, did not respond to requests for comment.

National service in Eritrea, which still fears attack from its far larger neighbor Ethiopia, has no set length, according to the government. The country has been ruled by former Marxist guerrilla leader Isaias Afwerki since independence. In 1998, in the midst of a border war with Ethiopia, Isaias declared a state of emergency and extended national service.

Eritrea's Information Minister, Yemane Ghebremeskel, told Reuters that the length of national service had originally been 18 months, but that it had been "prolonged" because of border tensions with Ethiopia. He did not specify how long national service now lasts.

A U.N. commission charged with investigating human rights abuses in Eritrea said in a June 2015 report that all sectors of the Eritrean economy rely on conscripts. Most citizens are conscripted before they finish high school, and undergo limited military training before being assigned to jobs. Some are sent to work in construction or farming, or as civil servants or engineers. In a statement, Eritrea said the allegations of human rights abuses are "totally unfounded and devoid of all merit."

"CONTINUOUSLY HUNGRY"

By September 2008, the Bisha mine had its permits and work was underway at the site. As mining companies often do, Nevsun hired an engineering, procurement and construction management firm to run construction, selecting a South African company called Senet. One of Senet's employees was Mike Goosen, a civil construction supervisor who arrived in 2009.

Day to day, Goosen and other Senet staff supervised Segen, the Eritrean government-owned contractor brought in to do construction work. While Senet declined to comment on its work at Bisha, citing the ongoing legal action, Goosen told Reuters he became friendly with some Segen workers, though they lived some distance from the main camp. He visited their camp and was alarmed by the conditions he found. None of the buildings had proper windows or doors. Workers slept on the floor, with no mosquito nets. "We had a lot of them going down with malaria," he told Reuters.

The workers were "continuously hungry," he said, and subsisted on lentil soup and bread. Drinking water was left in the hot sun all day. Goosen said he asked cooks at the main camp to set aside leftover food for Segen workers but Segen managers told him to stop.

In affidavits filed to support the lawsuit against Nevsun, former Eritrean workers described rations of lentil soup and bread. "We were always tired and hungry, and fell ill very often," reads the affidavit of Mihretab Yemane Tekle, who said he worked at the Bisha mine from February to October 2010, and now has refugee status in Ethiopia. "Many conscripts caught malaria at Bisha."

In an affidavit filed in June 2014, Segen manager Abadi Gebremeskel Alemayo described the death of a worker named Berhane, who he said was a conscript.

"One day, he was building partitions in the residences for the foreign workers, and he just collapsed," he said. "In his report, the doctor said it was heat stroke. I buried him myself  I took his body to his village and buried it."

Abadi, a safety officer at Bisha, said in his affidavit that he knew some of the workers were conscripts because he attended a Segen meeting in mid-2009 at which the use of conscripts was discussed. Reuters was unable to contact Abadi for comment.

ESCAPE

Segen workers were on site in significant numbers during the mine's initial construction from 2008 to 2011. In February 2009, for example, more than half the workers on site were from Segen, according to a Senet progress report filed with the Canadian court.

In a 2013 press release, Nevsun said it first heard allegations that conscripts were working at Bisha in early 2009. In response, Nevsun instructed Senet to change Segen's contracts to explicitly prohibit the use of national service members. Nevsun also told Senet to start screening workers to ensure there were no conscripts at the mine. Court filings from Senet say screening began in May 2009; the system involved workers providing certificates to show they had finished national service.

It is unclear how effective the screening was, said a foreign worker who was on site at the time and spoke on condition of anonymity. Segen would put off filing paperwork, telling Senet that its workers were no one else's business. When papers did arrive, they were photocopies of Eritrean documents that no one outside Segen understood because they were written in the local language of Tigrinya, the foreign worker said.

In an affidavit for the court case, Senet project director Pieter Theron described the screening process, and said that as far as he knew, the Eritrean military was not involved in building Bisha. Theron declined requests for comment. In his affidavit, he said allegations about harsh working conditions were not consistent with his observations: "It is simply not the case that individuals worked in dangerous conditions and were often injured or ill."

Bemnet arrived at Bisha with the rest of his military unit in February 2010, according to his affidavit. He was told to take off his military uniform, and given grey coveralls to wear, with "Segen" across the back. An officer laid out some rules for his time at Bisha. He was not to tell anyone that he was a national service member. If asked about his pay he should say he was being paid $21 to $22 per day. He would actually be paid 450 nakfa per month, about $1 a day, according to the legal claim.

Bemnet and other conscripts were sometimes allowed to spend time in a nearby town. One Sunday in July 2010, he stayed late in town, eating and drinking with a friend, according to his affidavit. In the early hours, a group of military men came to retrieve him. Bemnet said they accused him of trying to desert and leave Eritrea. He was tied up with his friend, he said, with only short breaks for five days, and then sent to prison.

Bemnet said he was not sent back to Bisha after his release in November 2010, but remained in national service. In 2011, stationed near the Ethiopian border, he saw a chance to escape and swam across a river with two other men. From Ethiopia, Bemnet traveled to Sudan, Libya and across the Mediterranean to Italy. Like thousands of other Eritreans, he applied for asylum in Germany.

Many Eritreans aiming for Europe cross the Sahara into Libya, risking death by dehydration, starvation and violence in the desert. In Libya, some are kidnapped by Islamic State, and executed or enslaved before they can attempt to cross the Mediterranean. The United Nations refugee agency reported that 11,564 Eritreans made it to Italy in the first seven months of 2016. That was more than from any country other than Nigeria.

REGRET

In 2013, Human Rights Watch published a report about the alleged use of conscripts at Bisha. Anticipating the report, Nevsun sent out a press release that expressed "regret if certain employees of Segen were conscripts ... in the early part of the Bisha mine's construction phase." It hired Lloyd Lipsett, a Canadian human rights lawyer, to assess the mine.

Lipsett's reports have focused on the period since he was hired. In a 2015 report he said he had found nothing to corroborate allegations against the company, but that it was difficult to draw conclusions about anything before 2013.

In an interview, Lipsett said there were limits to what he could do and how reliable witnesses were. "It's hard in a country like Eritrea where there is, I think, a plausible and potential risk that people may feel intimidated or be threatened with reprisal," he said. "I think you just have to work at it, and see what the weight of the evidence points to ... If someone is directly lying, I can't say that I will always catch that."
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A Bettendorf woman who was born on the North Dakota reservation where pipeline protests continue is gathering donations for the protesters.

Josie Ironshield, of Bettendorf, said the 1,172-mile Dakota Access pipeline will cut through my reservation, the Standing Rock (Sioux) Reservation.

The only water source at the reservation is the Missouri River, Ironshield said. The pipeline, which also is called the Bakken pipeline, is designed to carry oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota, diagonally through Iowa from northwest to southeast to Patoka, Illinois.

Since April 13 of this year, protesters have been camping in the location of the pipeline, she said.

Ironshield was born and raised on the reservation. My family is still there, she said. My uncle is head of security at the camp. Relatives call her every day to give her updates on the situation.

Ironshield is collecting supplies such as blankets, heaters, tents, batteries and flashlights for those camped out in the area. Ironshields fiance, Lonnie Nellon, of Bettendorf, will rent a truck and the two will leave early Friday to drive the first batch of supplies to the protesters. Ironshield also is taking cash donations to supply gas cards for the protesters.

Anyone who wants to donate cash or supplies should contact Regina Tsosie, president of the Native American Coalition of the Quad-Cities, at 309-631-0124.

The tribe, whose cause has drawn thousands across the globe to join their protest, has challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits for the $3.8 billion, pipeline.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
A Milan man was sentenced Thursday to 13 years in prison for his role in a robbery and assault in March.

Cody D. Melchi, 19, pleaded guilty in Rock Island County Circuit Court to armed robbery, a Class X felony. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed two counts of aggravated battery and one count of felon in possession of a weapon.

Prosecutors also dismissed petitions to revoke or modify his probation in two separate burglary and theft cases.

Rock Island County prosecutors say Melchi and co-defendants Austin D. Dunlop, 22, of Rock Island and Isaiah M. McAllister, 17, of West Frankfort, Illinois, were armed with a .22-caliber Browning handgun and took a mans belt, watch and hat by force on March 31.

The man then was pistol-whipped, causing a skull fracture, according to the documents.

Dunlop and McAllister are charged with armed robbery and two counts of aggravated battery. Dunlop also faces a charge of felon in possession of a firearm.

He has a hearing on a motion to suppress evidence Friday. McAllister has a status hearing Oct. 20.
CEDAR RAPIDS  As the Cedar River was rising to major flood level, members of the Iowas U.S. House delegation called for construction of the Cedar Rapids flood protection to be expedited by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Cedar Rapids project was approved by Congress in 2014 but has not been included in the administrations budget because the Army Corps of Engineers cost-to-benefit ratio is just over one, Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a Senate floor speech Monday.

In anticipation of the House approving the Water Resources Development Act this week, U.S. Reps. Rod Blum, Dave Loebsack and David Young Monday offered an amendment calling for the Corps to prioritize its review of the project.

I spent the weekend working alongside Iowans to prepare for the flooding and will continue working hard in Washington to educate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about the Cedar Rapids project so we can pass this amendment, Blum said.

Passing the amendment would send a strong message to the Obama administration that Congress feels strongly that the Cedar Rapids project should be a top priority, he said.

In recent years, Blum, a Republican, and Loebsack, a Democrat, have sent joint letters to the Corps, the House Appropriations Committee and the Obama administration asking for the Cedar Rapids flood protection funds to be released.

The Iowa representatives language is similar to language Sen. Joni Ernst was able to add to Water Resources Development Act.

Unlike the Senate version passed earlier this month it doesnt include emergency funding to address lead-contaminated drinking water and wastewater needs in Flint, Michigan. House Republicans say they are open to adding that funding when the bill goes to a House-Senate conference committee.
JOHNSTON, Iowa  Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he likely will seek a presidential disaster declaration for 17 counties hit by flooding, and he thinks damage will top the $4.3 million figure needed to trigger federal infrastructure aid for cities and counties and assistance for affected individuals and businesses.

"From what we've seen, it's very likely" that Iowa will qualify for a presidential emergency declaration, Branstad told reporters at his weekly news conference, especially given that weather-related issues earlier this year in Iowa qualified for federal assistance and the current situation along the Cedar River is significantly worse.

"We thank the good Lord we haven't had more rain," Branstad said as officials monitor the flow of the Cedar River as it makes its way south to the Mississippi River.

On Monday, Branstad added four counties to his current state disaster emergency proclamation and announced plans to tour flood damage in Charles City and Greene later in the day.

The governor added Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Mitchell and Worth counties to a declaration that already included Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Chickasaw, Delaware, Floyd, Franklin, Linn and Wright counties.

Branstad said state officials will gather damage reports in the coming days with the expectation of seeking federal matching money of 75 percent on top of the state and local emergency spending.

The governor's proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of flooding and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Program for residents of the 17 affected counties.

Branstad also announced that at the request of Linn County officials, he has extended the deadline for property tax payments by one month beyond the Sept. 30 deadline given that flooding in Cedar Rapids has affected operations at the county treasurer's office.

Also, he announced that more than 300 members of the Iowa National Guard and 53 members of the Iowa State Patrol have begun assisting Cedar Rapids for access control in evacuated areas, which will allow local law enforcement officers to concentrate on other flood-related activities.

Overall, Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, said 412 soldiers are being mobilized to provide support to local law enforcement at 75 evacuation control points beginning Monday in Cedar Rapids and Palo as floodwaters along the Cedar River approach Tuesday's projected crest, officials say. That compares to 4,000 during the record flooding of 2008.

"I don't think I can ever remember a year when we have not had a disaster of some kind  some small, some of significance," Branstad said. "I'm especially proud of the preparation that has gone on this time, and hopefully, that's going to mitigate the extent of the damages."

Paul Trombino, director of the state Department of Transportation, said some secondary and local roads are being affected by floodwater but Interstate 380 does not appear to have any issues and his agency is monitoring Interstate 80 in Cedar County for possible flood-related issues as the floodwater moves downstream.

Mark Schouten, director of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said he has teams assessing damage in affected counties with expectations of requesting a presidential disaster declaration if damages reach the $4.3 million federal threshold. Branstad said President Barack Obama would be welcome to tour Iowa's flood-damaged areas, but he's not formally requesting a visit.

"When you have a major disaster, it's certainly, I think, wise for the president to come," the governor said. "We'd certainly welcome him if he chooses to put that on this schedule."

The state individual assistance program currently in effect provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the current federal poverty level  or a maximum annual income of $40,320 for a family of three.

Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food and for the expense of temporary housing, officials said. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Human Services website. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim.

So far, Branstad said the state has dispatched more than 180,000 sandbags (four dump truck loads of sand), 27 water pumps and hoses, 65 pallets of flood barriers (equal to 4,320 linear feet), 50 traffic barricades, 680 flood clean-up kits, 10 dump trucks and other provisions to flood-affected areas.
SPRINGFIELD  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has denied a request from David Gill that would have allowed him to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot as an independent candidate in Illinois 13th Congressional District.

Gill appealed to the Supreme Court on Friday after the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a lower court order that would have assured him a spot on the ballot alongside U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and Democratic challenger Mark Wicklund of Decatur.

The Bloomington physician, who ran for Congress four times previously as a Democrat, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the states signature requirement for independent congressional candidates after he collected fewer than 8,500 of the 10,754 valid signatures he needed on his nominating petitions.

Gill contends that the requirement is unconstitutional because its out of line with the requirements for major party candidates. Davis and Wicklund each had to collect fewer than 740 signatures.

U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough ordered last month that the Illinois State Board of Elections allow Gill to appear on the ballot because he and his supporters would be irreparably harmed if he were excluded. The Chicago-based appeals court subsequently blocked that order, and the elections board voted unanimously Sept. 19 to remove him.

When Gills attorneys filed their appeal Friday, they acknowledged that going to the Supreme Court is always a long shot but said they had exhausted their other options. The appeals court declined to reconsider its decision or to grant Gill a prompt hearing on his case before Election Day.

Kagan reviewed Gills request because she oversees the 7th Circuit.
A driver was charged with improper lane usage Sunday after two vehicles collided on Interstate 80 near Geneseo, Illinois, according to Illinois State Police District 7.

The accident happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. when a Ford sport utility vehicle was traveling east on Interstate 80 west of Geneseo.

Traffic was slowed because of construction and a lane reduction. The SUV, which was driven by James A. Hougo, 58, struck the rear of a Ford truck driven by Michael J. Wyeth, 38. A media release didn't list the hometowns of the victims.

The truck and the SUV lost control, causing the truck to enter the south ditch and the SUV to roll over on the interstate.

Two male juvenile passengers in the SUV were transported to Genesis Medical Center, Silvis, for non-life-threatening injuries.

Huogo was charged with improper lane usage.

Interstate 80 was closed for about an hour. The crash remains under investigation.
Wapsi Willys' owner is used to annual flooding, just not in September.

"It can happen anytime," said Lance Jorgensen, who renamed the old Fairyland ballroom where Scott Park Road crosses the Wapsipinicon River south of DeWitt.

"It's the Wapsi. It's got a mind of its own."

On Monday, Jorgensen and a few helpers laid sandbags around the entrances in anticipation of flooding along a twisting river that has served as the dance hall's backdrop for more than a century.

The Wapsipinicon is forecast to crest at 13.5 feet by Saturday, which would land this week's flood in the top 10 in the river's history at the DeWitt gauge. The 14.2-foot record occurred two years ago.

The river swelled beyond its 11-foot flood stage last week. Jorgensen, who lives across the river from the ballroom, still had a parking lot to pull into on Monday. But at 13.5 feet, water surrounds the business, which is walled in like a fortress because of relentless flooding over the years.

Jorgensen said he bought Fairyland at a sheriff's sale three years ago with several feet of standing water inside. He could never imagine tearing it down.

"There's too much history to the building," he said. "I had to save it."

Lawrence Welk played Fairyland in the 1940s.

Jorgensen, an Iowa restaurateur, erected interior walls and carved out a year-round restaurant and pub while keeping much of the ballroom under the barrel-vaulted roof unheated to be used for summer concerts.

Wapsi Willys is usually closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Jorgensen said he won't reopen until next week as he rides out the flood.

He expects he will have to access the building this week via boat as the water level climbs. His crew set a ramp at the front entrance so he can get inside. He also poked holes in the floor to pump out water in case any seeps inside.

"Down here, you prepare for 14.2 (feet)," he said.

Farther downriver, Al Kent of rural Camanche said the Wapsipinicon was receding after flooding last week.

"It was up there pretty good for several days," Kent said. "She's settling down a little bit."

Kent lives among a cluster of homes off 292nd Street that sit atop a hill overlooking a bend in the river. He said he's spent most of his life living along the Wapsipinicon.

"I've been an ol' river rat for quite a while," he said. "I keep following her down the stream."

The Wapsipinicon is a 255-mile long tributary that runs southeast through eastern Iowa, snaking around DeWitt and McCausland before emptying into the Mississippi River south of Camanche.

Upriver from DeWitt, it flooded the Independence area on Sunday and is forecast to crest at 24 feet at Anamosa on Wednesday. Flood stage at Anamosa is 14.5 feet, and the record flood of 26.2 feet was set in 2008.

Davenport is preparing for the Mississippi River to crest at 16.9 feet Saturday. Flood stage is 15 feet, and the record 22.6-foot flood was set in 1993.

The city announced that flood protection is being installed around Modern Woodmen Park while South Concord Street and the boat docks at Marquette, Credit Island and South Concord will be closed.

Davenport has provided Cedar Rapids with 2,500 linear feet of Hesco barriers to assist in flood protection while maintaining enough materials for local efforts.

On the Illinois side, Rock Island is preparing to place several water pump discharge hoses across its portion of the bike path if the Mississippi continues to rise.
ABERDEEN | In 2010, Tana Wahl of Langford started her own insurance company and began to carry her own insurance plan.

More recently, however, she also accepted a position as a registered nurse at Sanford Health in Webster, where her benefits include an optional employee health plan.

Prior to the additional employment, Wahl doctored with Avera.

"Throughout the years, our area has pretty much been Avera," Wahl said. "Because of that, many people had established a primary Avera physician who they trust as a provider," she said.

That was the case for Wahl, her children and some of her clients.

"However, when Sanford first came, it opened more doors and it allowed people to really test the waters," she said.

Now, those in rural areas who are likely serviced by either Sanford or Avera might have to choose between the two providers.

That's after Sanford Health announced Aug. 23 that that it would no longer accept DakotaCare and Avera Health Plans.

Geographically, Langford is in a unique position. Residents can travel northeast to Britton, which offers Avera services, or southeast to Webster, which offers Sanford services.

Health care services can seem to be limited in rural areas, Wahl said. But technology, such as online charting and email correspondence, has been helping to change that.

Yet those features don't help in the case of an emergency, Wahl said. Emergency services aren't the only issue affected by the insurance decision. Because emergency responders will take patients to the closest facility  whether it be Avera, Sanford or somewhere else  they play the biggest role in rural care, Wahl said.

Insurance-wise, "that's a big consideration for people," she said.

Patients can often plan in advance procedures or operations. That's not the case with emergencies.

As an independent insurance agent, Wahl can't voice preference of insurance providers or hospitals. But she fields questions from many clients and others who are concerned about the issue. Some of them express interest in moving to a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plan, which is accepted at both health care systems.

Because of the demand for Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wahl believes those rates could increase.

"It's going to be interesting to see how it affects health insurance in South Dakota specifically," she said.

There might be fewer concerns for communities in the region that are served by independent health care system  Bowdle, Faulkton, Mobridge and Oakes, N.D. Those unaffiliated hospitals accept various types of insurance coverage.

Sanford and Avera don't agree on the reasoning behind the Sanford's decision to no longer accept the insurance, which came roughly nine months after Avera purchased broad insurance network provider DakotaCare in November 2015.

However, both health care systems now assert that they will move forward in whatever ways are best for their patients, and they are seeing the same kind of response from those that carry their insurance plans.

Jesse Tischer, executive vice president for Sanford Health Network, said that, since the decision, Sanford has fielded questions about the reasoning.

But, he said, Sanford has had a lot of support once people understand why the decision was made. He said Sanford was essentially just asking for what Avera already had  broad network coverage.

Rob Bates, executive vice president for Avera Health, said Avera has received about 100 phone calls from DakotaCare members, providers, clients and agents who are seeking to better understand the transition.

"Most calls have been from members and the majority of calls have involved questions about continuing care for those in active treatment plans or help in transitioning to a participating DakotaCare provider," Bates said.

Sanford Health insurance agents are also seeing an influx of people and employers who are seeking to at least evaluate different options, Tischer said.

"(Those agents) are also hearing from some communities and patients where we have a Sanford-only provider and they might see an Avera doctor and they want to know where they will go to receive their care," he said.

That is the most common question Avera is being asked  whether or not a DakotaCare policyholder can continue to see a Sanford provider. While that choice is up to the policyholder, it will result in higher out-of-pocket expenses because after the transition Sanford will be considered an out-of-network provider.

However, Bates said, health conditions that require longer-term services such pregnancy or cancer that have already began treatment with a Sanford provider will be treated as in-network until the treatment or process is complete.

Ultimately, choosing a provider comes down to making a decision about what services and what kind of care a person wants to receive, Tischer said.

Avera has more facilities in rural communities surrounding Aberdeen with established Avera Medical Groups. People with DakotaCare in those communities will not see any issues as DakotaCare considers Avera in-network, Bates said.

Because Avera's mission is to provide access to quality health care within its footprint, its goal is to always keep care within any community that its asked to come into, he said.

However, Sanford could increase its presence in rural communities in the future, as the health system's approach to going into new communities is also based on invitation, Tischer said. However, it is unlikely that smaller communities would have both health systems readily available. The economics  including demand and population  simply wouldn't sustain that.

Fortunately for patients, a brick-and-mortar location isn't necessarily required for rural health care.

"Acute care needs can be covered with virtual health," Tischer said, which is one way Sanford hopes to preserve access to rural care.
Eddie Rypkema looked around at shelves filled with mementos from his 37 years selling Dodge cars and trucks, a chapter soon set to close.

On Sept. 30, 53 years of Rypkema family ownership of Rapid Citys Dodge Town comes to an end when it will become Liberty Dodge Ram, one of four dealerships owned by the Patnoe family on Rapid Citys east side.

The toughest part will be cleaning out my office, said Rypkema, 58, who is also looking ahead to spending more time with family and continuing to dabble in the car business as co-owner of R & K Auto Outlet, a pre-owned car lot on West Main Street.

The car lot in The Gap is going to give me a reason to get up every morning, do what I want with my family and allow me to do a little traveling and go to the ranch, he said. Who knows? Maybe another opportunity will arise down the road.

Max Patnoe, fourth-generation member of a western South Dakota family whose involvement in the car business dates back nearly 80 years, is looking forward to finally settling down in an office.

Patnoe, Liberty Superstores general manager, will move to the Dodge Ram dealership from another Liberty showroom nearby. He had just moved from another Liberty office further south on Cambell Street.

My dad said I need to put some pictures on the walls, Patnoe said. I havent had the chance.

The move consolidates Libertys hold at or near the intersection of East Omaha Street and Cambell Street.

Their Liberty Chrysler-Jeep-Fiat showroom is at 1101 E. Omaha St, with Liberty Hyundai-Mazda across the street at 404 Cambell St. Liberty Mitsubishi-Volkswagen is a few blocks to the south at 600 Cambell St.

Itll be a huge asset for us. Well have four rooftops and the largest inventory for about 400 miles, Patnoe said.

Rypkema said informal talks of selling Dodge Town to the Patnoes have been ongoing for several years. Negotiations became more serious at the beginning of the summer, Patnoe said, with a deal to buy the assets of the dealership official on Sept. 30.

Rypkema retains ownership of the property. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Patnoe said current Dodge Town employees will be retained, and the dealership plans to continue its long association with the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo.

The move comes as many other city auto dealerships are completing a migration to spacious, gleaming new dealerships located off of Interstate 90, Exit 60.

Indeed Libertys home to its Hyundai-Mazda dealership was the former location of Granite Nissan, which completed a move to Exit 61 earlier this year.

Patnoe said the Liberty family is more than content to stay put, citing what he said was twice the traffic as on the interstate and room for expansion at the intersection. He said their current showrooms have all been recently updated and remodeled.

Our long-term plan is to stay right here, said Patnoe, whose great-grandfather, Ernest, opened Patnoes Garage, selling Standard Oil products and Chevrolets in the small Mellette County town of Norris in the 1930s.

Maxs grandfather, Larry, came to Rapid City and first opened a mens clothing store downtown. He later became a partner in what was then called Frontier Ford.

When Frontier Ford was sold, Larry bought the AMC Auto Clinic, which eventually became Liberty. His son, Don, entered the business in the '90s and now serves as Liberty president and CEO.

Max joined the family business in 2011 after earning a finance degree from the University of Colorado.

The Rypkemas also have a long history in Rapid City.

Eddies father, Milo Rypkema, bought Dodge Town from John and Carole Hillard in 1966. The Hillards had owned the dealership, then located at the corner of Fifth and Kansas City streets, for three years.

Carole Hillard, who went on to become a Rapid City Councilwoman, state legislator and lieutenant governor for Bill Janklows second two terms as governor from 1995 to 2003, was the daughter of Milos brother, also named Eddie.

Rypkema bought out brothers Marty and Mark after Milo died in 2007. He said the lack of any family members wishing to continue in the business influenced his decision not to follow the exodus of automobile dealers to I-90, Exit 61 and eventually to pursue selling his stake in Dodge Town.

Its a very large investment to go to the interstate and, believe me, if I had the siblings interested in having anything to do with it, I probably would have made the move and stayed in the business, he said.

I dont have any kids that really want to run with it. I wish I did, but I dont, so Im going to go the ranch and get away and do some other things I want to do, he said.

Rypkema said hell miss his employees and customers, many of both groups going back generations.

Its been very good to my family, 53 great years. There were some great years and some lean years in there. Rapid Citys business community and agriculture community has supported our business above expectations, he said.

Patnoe is excited about the future at the new Liberty Dodge Ram, with plans to keep the current Dodge Town staff and boost the inventory of Ram Trucks, Libertys first new truck line, he said. The four dealerships will employ more than 100 people.

When we announced it, our staff was cheering and hollering, he said.

Rypkema said he will be around to help with the transition, but he doesnt expect the new owners to need much help.

They have experienced people, he said. This isnt their first rodeo.

Patnoe stressed his thanks to the Rypkema family for their long tenure at Dodge Town.

Eddie and I have gotten along really well through this transaction, he said.
Since the oil boom started North Dakota officials have been criticized as being too favorable to the oil industry. It took considerable study and prodding to come up with a plan to reduce flaring. The disposal of radioactive waste has been an ongoing issue.

So it was disappointing earlier this month when the Legislatures Administrative Rules Committee postponed five of more than 40 rule changes involving oil development. Among the rules delayed are one that would require berms to better contain spills from oil well sites and regulations for oil and saltwater gathering pipelines.

Legislators on the committee suggested regulators had overstepped their authority and legislative intent in developing the rules. That argument is a little difficult to accept. The rules were developed over a period of time that involved public comments and a review by the Industrial Commission. The commission made changes in the proposed rules to accommodate oil industry concerns. The Industrial Commission cut the berm height from 12 inches to 6 inches in the rule and allowed for exceptions at some sites.

Bruce Hicks, assistant director for the Mineral Resources department's Oil and Gas Division, said the department received 490 pages of written comments and 89 pages transcribed from four hearings. "I don't think we're being unreasonable at all," he told the Forum News Service. Its apparent a lot of time and thought went into the proposed rules.

Ron Ness, North Dakota Petroleum Council president, argues the berm rule will add unnecessary additional costs to the industry. Also, questions were raised over whether a bonding requirement for oil- and saltwater-gathering pipelines, to be applied retroactively to existing pipelines and well sites, was specifically authorized in legislation.

It should be noted that everyone on the legislative committee, Republican and Democrat, voted to delay the berm rule. The rules were held over until a December meeting so lawmakers could get clarifications.

Its certainly the responsibility of legislators to review the proposed rules and to take as much time as they need. The rules were intended to take effect Oct. 1. One thing legislators should consider is if regulators went beyond legislative intent, if that should negate the rules. They may have come up with good ideas.

Hicks said the goal of the rules is to protect the environment. The committee should keep that in mind when deciding on the final rules. The last impression they want to give is that they are catering to the industry over those who developed the rules. Whatever decisions the committee reaches, they need to provide a detailed explanation to the public.
Defendant in Khrunichev space center embezzlement case gets suspended sentence - report

MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  Alexander Ostroverkh, defendant in criminal case over embezzlement at the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center has received a five-year suspended sentence, Izvestia newspaper reported on Monday.

Ostroverkh admitted his guilt in full and cooperated with investigators, so he was the first person sentenced in this case, the newspaper reported.

Vladimir Nesterov, former director general of the space center, has also been charged with embezzlement. Investigators believe that Nesterov created a criminal group to embezzle government funds at the center in 2007. It included Mikhail Yakushin, the centers chief accountant, Dmitry Dyakonov, head of the Ekopravo economic and legal consultancy, and several other unidentified persons.

Their actions are alleged to have caused substantial material damage to the Khrunichev center.

The court approved an extension of the investigation until October 25.

The Basmanny court previously placed Yakushin and Dyakonov under house arrest, both of whom plead not guilty.

According to media reports, Dyakonov allegedly signed an audit and legal services agreement with Alexander Ostroverkh, deputy director general of the Khrunichev center, for a monthly fee of 22,000 euros plus 5 percent of the total amount of fee for the services Ekopravo supposedly provided to the space center from September 2007 to February 2014, including the centers audits until 2011.

In all, Ekopravo has received 285 million rubles ($4.3 million) from the Khrunichev center. According to investigators, money was shared between Dyakonov, Ostroverkh and Nesterov.

The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is one of the country's leading space enterprises. Currently the research centers main priority is construction of Proton and Angara space rockets. In 2014, it was revealed that enterprise faces financial troubles.
Award of $31k to roofers acquitted of placing Ukrainian flag on Moscow skyscraper appealed

MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  Russias Finance Ministry has filed an appeal against awarding over 2 million rubles (over $31,300) in compensation to four base jumpers acquitted of painting a star on a skyscraper in the center of Moscow with colors of Ukraine's flag, the Tagansky District Courts spokesperson Xenia Lyapina told RAPSI on Monday.

The ruling also has been challenged by prosecution.

On September 16, the court ordered the Finance Ministry to pay 667,000 rubles ($10,400) to Anna Lepyoshkina, 414,000 rubles ($6,500) to Yevgenia Korotkova, 632,000 rubles ($9,900) to Alexander Pogrebov and 454,000 rubles ($7,100) to Aleksey Shirokozhukhov.

On August 20, 2014, a Ukrainian flag was spotted on the spire of a skyscraper on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment in the center of Moscow. The Soviet star on the spire was painted blue and yellow, the national colors of Ukraine.

The flag was taken down and the star was repainted.

According to investigators, Ukrainian roofer Pavel Ushevets (Grisha Mustang), who claimed responsibility for the action on his Facebook page, and Vladimir Podrezov from St. Petersburg painted the star, while four base jumpers parachuted from the roof to divert attention. Investigators claimed the goal of the action was to destabilize Moscow and incite hatred.

Base jumpers  Shirokozhukhov, Pogrebov, Korotkova and Lepyoshkina  with special climbing equipment were arrested in the aftermath of the incident, charged with hooliganism and placed under house arrest. The fifth suspect, Podrezov, was arrested a few days later. Unlike the other four suspects, he was put in detention.

The Tagansky District Court has acquitted base jumpers. However, roofer Podrezov was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison. Later, the Moscow City Court changed Podrezovs sentence to 2 years and 10 months of restriction of liberty and he was released from the courtroom.
Fred Geis

Developer Fred Geis has stepped down from the Cleveland City Planning Commission to avoid a potential conflict between his part-time work as a public official and his day job in real estate.

(Lisa DeJong, Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Seven months after he took a seat on the Cleveland City Planning Commission, developer Fred Geis has stepped down to avoid a possible clash between his part-time role on a public body and his day job in real estate.

A city spokesman confirmed by email that Geis tendered his resignation Sept. 12. The spokesman referred all follow-up questions to Geis, who said he made the decision based on the advice of his lawyers.

"I can either do business in the city of Cleveland or be on planning commission," Geis said. "And, at this point, I think I still make a little bit of a greater difference by doing business in the city. ... The city, in no way, played a part in this. It was just something that wasn't feasible on my side."

Mayor Frank Jackson's somewhat unorthodox choice to appoint Geis, a prominent real estate developer, to the seven-member commission met with both applause and criticism early this year.

The planning commission has voting authority over development proposals and plays a key role in decisions that shape the city. Starting with his first meeting in March, Geis recused himself from votes on projects or properties that he's touched. That's what other members do, as well, though Geis had to bow out more frequently than his peers.

That arrangement ran up against a potential roadblock this month, though, in the face of a financing deal between Geis and the city.

Hemingway Development, a company that Geis co-owns, was getting ready to buy city-owned land and to close on financing for an office building called Link59 on Euclid Avenue in Midtown. Two years ago, the city allocated $13 million in federal money - a $3 million grant and a $10 million low-interest loan - to the project.

Cleveland was going to lose competitive federal cash if the land sale didn't happen and related agreements weren't in place this month.

Geis and his partners have used public financing for previous projects, including the MidTown Tech Park on Euclid Avenue and the makeover of the former Ameritrust complex in downtown Cleveland. But the Link59 project was the first one with city financing to approach a closing during Geis's tenure on the planning commission. And it raised red flags.

State ethics law and city rules prohibit public officials from deriving a financial benefit from a contract with the city. As a planning commission member, Geis could be considered a public official. The job comes with an annual stipend of roughly $6,000 - money that Geis said he donated to charity.

Entering contracts with the city related to the Link59 financing could have put Geis in a perilous position. And the potential conflict wasn't going to be a one-time thing.

Geis, in his late 50s, doesn't plan to stop doing deals in the city, where complex real estate projects often hinge on a mix of public and private money because of lingering environmental challenges, property clean-up and gaps between construction costs and rents.

Hemingway expects to develop at least one more new building near Link59, as part of a business park that abuts land where University Hospitals plans to build a primary-care clinic for women and children. Geis and fellow Hemingway principal Jim Doyle also are working with the Cleveland Clinic and tech giant IBM to develop an office building for Explorys, a healthcare data company that emerged from the Clinic and got gobbled up by IBM last year.

Cleveland City Council has approved a low-interest loan, also using federal money, for the Explorys project, along with a partial property-tax abatement deal. That development isn't as far along as the Link59 project. But it was another possible conflict on the horizon for Geis.

"Trust me, I spent a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of money trying to make sure this was absolutely the only solution," Geis said of resigning from the commission. "And it was. I really did enjoy my planning commission position. And you know I feel very strongly about my commitment to the city, and I really like volunteering my time. ... One day, when I truly retire, I think I would actually try to do something like this again."

David Bowen, the commission's acting chairman, said he was aware of Geis's resignation but didn't know the backstory. The commission now has two unoccupied seats, and it's not clear when the mayor will appoint new members. The vacancies won't prevent the commission, which needs three members for a quorum, from voting on proposals or legislation.

"It's a shame," Bowen said of losing Geis, "because I thought he was very active. I thought he was very good. I thought he brought a great perspective. I'll miss him."
This waterfront Auburn home is an ideal choice for a family that enjoys entertaining.

4 Whitetail Run is a 4,994 square foot home that borders the town's Pondville Pond. Featuring four bedrooms and four bathrooms, this 22-year-old house sits on 4.68 acres of land and is a fifteen minute drive from downtown Worcester, slightly under an hour from downtown Boston and just over an hour from downtown Springfield.

Custom trim work can be found throughout the house. The kitchen boasts cherry cabinetry and granite countertops, while the living room features a large fireplace with a time capsule in the mantel. A large game room off the front hall features a wet bar that makes it a great place to entertain guests.

Also included above the three-car garage is a 1,250 square foot one-bedroom apartment.

4 Whitetail Run is on the market for $779,000. For more information, visit the home's real estate listing.
When he finally got a ride to a municipal hospital, two hours after he was shot, doctors there told him that had he been delayed five minutes, he would have died.

Mr. Andres, 21, has been receiving medical care in Mexico City, which has been disruptive for his entire family. His mother gave up her job running a convenience store to move to the capital to care for him, and his younger siblings relocated, too. His father stayed behind in their hometown, San Francisco del Mar, in the state of Oaxaca, to continue working as the director of a primary school and, on weekends, as a farmer.

The government has covered the cost of medical care and lent the family an apartment. Still, the family has run through its savings to cover the higher cost of living in the capital and to supplement the loss of Mr. Andress mothers income.

Mr. Andres spends much of his time in the apartment. When he goes out to see a movie or take a walk, he wears a surgical mask  partly because he is embarrassed by his disfiguration. I fear that people are going to discriminate against me for this, he said.

Photo

The college allowed Mr. Andres to finish his studies this year by working remotely, and he graduated with his class. He still hopes to work as a primary school teacher, but he has added another professional goal: to become a lawyer.

After everything that happened, I think the legal system is messed up, he said. Whos going to protect the people?

Manuel Vazquez Arellano

Mr. Vazquez knew loss from an early age. He grew up in Tlacotepec, a small mountain village in Guerrero State known for opium poppy harvests and violence. He had 12 siblings, five of whom died in childhood from curable diseases.

As a child, Mr. Vazquez worked in the fields, harvesting the poppies and bleeding them of their sap, the key raw material for heroin. When he was 7, he saw assassins fire on a party, killing one person and wounding several others. Years later, one of his brothers was killed in a dispute that, he suspects, had to do with a gang rivalry.

His escape from that life, he thought, was through the teachers college. He became a member of the student committee and immersed himself in the colleges culture of political activism

Photo

On the night of the attacks in Iguala, Mr. Vazquez was among the upperclassmen who rushed to the aid of the younger students and came under fire by unidentified attackers.

Mr. Vazquez, now 28, managed to escape unharmed. In the ensuing weeks and months, as the missing 43 came to symbolize the depth of government corruption and incompetence, Mr. Vazquez emerged as a leading spokesman in the campaign for justice.

He toured Mexico , exhorting people to take to the streets in protest and criticizing the governments handling of the investigation. He eventually took his campaign abroad, to the United States and Europe, raising awareness of the case and lobbying politicians and activists to pressure the Mexican government.

The work gave him a sense of purpose and helped to ward off survivors guilt.

Mr. Vazquez enrolled this year in law school in Mexico City and aspires to become a judge to fight Mexicos relentless corruption.

When he was younger, Mr. Vazquez frequently had nightmares in which he watched himself being killed  such was the climate of violence in which he was raised. Dreams of his own death still color his sleep, but now, he says, he sees himself dying for a cause  with a purpose and a reason.

Photo

Aldo Gutierrez Solano

Mr. Gutierrez has been in a coma since a bullet pierced his brain during the night of violence. He had been riding in one of the stolen buses when it came under fire by the police.

His doctors and family measure his progress, such as it is, in involuntary sounds and micromovements. His eyelids open occasionally. He yawns. His muscles spasm. The doctors say his survival this long is stunning, yet they believe his chances of recovery from the coma are very slim.

His parents and 13 siblings, all of whom live in Guerrero, have organized a rotation to ensure that at least one of them is at his hospital bedside at all times. They have rented a small room nearby, where they rest and bathe between shifts.

The commitment has put a tremendous strain on the family. One of his brothers said that he has spent so much time away from home that his own family is suffering.

I havent been able to take my kids to the park on a Saturday for two years, said the brother, Leonel, 37, who works as a taxi driver in Tutepec, a small town in Guerrero. The trip by bus from his home to the hospital takes six hours.

But the family has made a pact to provide Aldo Gutierrez with the best care possible.

Mr. Gutierrez, 21, never really wanted to become a teacher, his brother said. The school, where he was a first-year student, was simply a way out of poverty. His real dream was to become an officer in the Mexican marines.

The suffering is too big, Leonel said. We still dont understand: Why did this happen to us? How is our government capable of shooting its own citizens?
GE Africa President/CEO, Jay Ireland Appointed as Chair of President Obamas Advisory Council on Business Priorities for Africa

Jay Ireland, President & CEO of GE Africa was named as chair of the second Presidents Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA) by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. PAC-DBIA members  representing small, medium, and large companies from a variety of industry sectors  advise the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on ways to strengthen commercial engagement between the United States and Africa.

"Building stronger commercial relationships with some of the world's fastest growing economies in Africa continues to be a top priority for the Obama administration," said Secretary Pritzker. "Private sector engagement through initiatives like the PAC-DBIA is driving our efforts to expand trade, speed investments, build new technologies, and grow new and transformative industries across Africa."

The appointments are announced in conjunction with the second U.S.-Africa Business Forum. This historic event connects hundreds of American and African chief executive officers and business leaders, along with African heads of state, to discuss overall economic growth and to stimulate additional trade and investment between the United States and Africa.

The varied, diverse, and accomplished appointees of the 2016-2018 Presidents Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa include:

Jay Ireland, President and CEO, GE Africa* (Chair)

Laura Lane, President of Global Public Affairs, UPS (Vice Chair)

Wale Adeosun, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Kuramo Capital Management*

Mimi Alemayehou, Managing Director, Black Rhino Group; and Executive Advisor and Chair, Blackstone Africa Infrastructure LP

Kimberly Brown, CEO, Amethyst Technologies

Takreem El-Tohamy, General Manager of Middle East and Africa, IBM

Peter Grauer, Chairman, Bloomberg LP*

Diane Hoskins, Co-CEO, Gensler

Denise Johnson, President, Caterpillar Resource Industries

Kusum Kavia, President, Combustion Associates, Inc.

Barbara Keating, President, Computer Frontiers, Inc.

Bill Killeen, President and CEO, Acrow Bridge

Tom Klein, President and CEO, Sabre

Jack Leslie, Chairman, Weber Shandwick

Edward Mathias, Managing Director, Carlyle Group*

Ross McLean, President of Sub-Saharan Africa, Dow Chemical Company

Jehiel Oliver, Founder and CEO, Hello Tractor

Andrew Patterson, President for Africa, Bechtel

Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President, and CEO, AGCO*

Fred Sisson, CEO, Synnove Energy

Andrew Torre, President of Sub-Saharan Africa, Visa

Dow Wilson, President and CEO, Varian Medical Systems*

Rahama Wright, Founder and Chief Executive Director, Shea Yeleen*

*Denotes reappointed PAC-DBIA member

As part of his commitment to deepen engagement between the United States and Africa, President Obama signed an Executive Order (E.O.) at the 2014 U.S.-Africa Business Forum to establish PAC-DBIA. The PAC-DBIA has provided information, analysis, and recommendations on U.S.-Africa trade and investment priorities. Such priorities include job creation in both the United States and Africa, developing sustainable commercial partnerships, building entrepreneur capacity, and keeping the private sector engaged in developing policies and strategies on investment in Africa. Highlights of the previous PAC-DBIAs recommendations include launching the institutional investor roadshow with several African countries and convening an East Africa cold chain symposium.

U.S. merchandise exports to sub-Saharan Africa increased 19 percent from 2009 to 2015, reaching more than $18 billion last year. Total U.S. exports of goods and services to the continent of Africa reached $42 billion in 2015, representing total growth of 17 percent in the same period. In addition, between 2009 and 2015, U.S. goods exports to five sub-Saharan African countries  Ethiopia, Togo, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan  and U.S. goods exports to an additional five countries have increased more than 50 percent  Mali, Swaziland, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Benin.

Speaking on the appointment, Jay Ireland said I am truly honored to continue serving on the U.S. Presidents Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa. I am delighted to chair this group strengthening commercial links between Africa and U.S. for economic growth. GE is proud to remain a steadfast partner in Africa's sustainable growth and will continue to invest in people and infrastructure across Africa."

www.trade.gov/pac-dbia/


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Sep-25-2016 21:15 TweetFollow @OregonNews Wells Fargo CEO Steps Down from Federal Reserve Panel After Call from Merkley, Wyden The shocking revelations about how millions of Americans were defrauded on Mr. Stumpfs watch clearly disqualified him" -U.S. Senator Merkley

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf stepped down from the Federal Reserve Advisory Council after controversy involving over 2 million dollars in fraudulent fees surfaced.

Photo courtesy: newsdog.today

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Oregons Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden welcomed news that Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has stepped down from the Federal Reserves Federal Advisory Council. Last Thursday, Merkley and Wyden had joined colleagues in calling on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Franciscos Board of Directors not to reappoint Stumpf to another term on the Council. The Council is responsible for consulting with and offering direct insight to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on a broad range of issues related to the banking system. The Senators made their call in a letter that was also signed by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The letter came after revelations that Wells Fargo, under Stumpfs leadership, opened roughly two million checking and credit accounts without the knowledge of their customers. The leader of a bank responsible for creating millions of fraudulent accounts has no business on an advisory panel that gives input on many important consumer protection issues, said Merkley. Mr. Stumpfs resignation from this council is a good first stepnow he should take further steps to truly take full responsibility for this debacle. The shocking revelations about how millions of Americans were defrauded on Mr. Stumpfs watch clearly disqualified him from continuing to serve on this key advisory council, Wyden said. While I am gratified that he has resigned this position, there is obviously much more he needs to do before his bank can regain the full confidence of consumers. The complete text of yesterdays letter can be read below:

Chairman of the Board, San Francisco Board of Directors

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

101 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94105 September 22, 2016 Roy A. ValleeChairman of the Board, San Francisco Board of DirectorsFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco101 Market StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105 Dear Chairman Vallee:

Given the importance of emphasizing both personal accountability at the senior management level and a healthier internal banking culture in the aftermath of the serious problems that provoked allegations of fraudulent activities at Wells Fargo, we write to urge you and the San Francisco Board of Directors not to reappoint John Stumpf to the Federal Advisory Council for a third one-year term in January 2017. As you are well aware, the twelve members of the Federal Advisory Council are chosen by the Reserve Banks to represent the twelve Federal Reserve Districts at the Federal Reserve Board. The Council normally meets four times a year, and each member typically serves three one-year terms. Section 12 of the Federal Reserve Act grants the Council power to consult directly with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on a broad range of economic, monetary, and financial issues. Members are asked for individual insights into regional trends as well as recommendations in regard to key decisions made by the central and Reserve Banks. It would be ironic if the Federal Reserve, a key federal banking regulator tasked in part with ensuring the fair and equitable treatment of consumers in financial transactions, continued to receive special insights and recommendations from senior management of a financial institution that just paid a record-breaking fine to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for unfair and abusive practices that placed consumers at financial risk. We do not wish to suggest that declining to reappoint Mr. Stumpf to a customary third term on the advisory council is the single corrective action to right all wrongs in this situation. Far from it. United States Senators both on and off the Banking Committee have publicly offered stronger tools for enhanced accountability, including recouping compensation from senior management. To overlook this option, however, would represent a failure on our part to review and identify all measures available to hold Mr. Stumpf personally accountable for the misconduct that took place on his watch. Perhaps even more distressing, it would leave a corporate voice that has admitted to betraying customers trust on a powerful and reputable federal advisory body. This must and can be rectified. Please be advised that this situation may offer lessons for Congress should it seek to improve, through legislation, the membership of the Federal Advisory Council and similar advisory bodies at other federal banking regulators. In closing, we appreciate your consideration of our suggestion as you prepare to reappoint a member to the Federal Advisory Council in January 2017. _________________________________________

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Salford firm fined 18k as 3,700 unsafe counterfeit Disney and Marvel toys seized

Business, Family, Salford News

A Salford importer has been hit with an 18,000 fine after admitting selling unsafe and counterfeit toys.

Over 3,700 items were seized by Salford City Councils trading standards officers during a routine visit to Smartway Imports Ltd on Overbridge Road

The toys included Disney and Marvel branded items.

Inspectors found one Spiderman toy had parts which could have easily choked a small child.

The toys had apparently been imported from Chinese firm Jin Fu Plastic Industry Co Ltd.

At Manchester Crown Court on Friday 23 September the firms owners were fined 10,500 for consumer protection failings and 7,500 for offences under the Trade Marks Act.

At and earlier hearing bosses had pleaded guilty to seven offences relating to unsafe toys and one offence of possessing more than 3,700 counterfeit goods.

The court heard that officers suspected a large quantity of the toys on sale were counterfeit and seized 3,767 items.

They identified 16 separate brands amongst them, most of which were Disney products.

A Spiderman projectile toy, a Disney Frozen figure set and a Disney Frozen doll were safety tested.

None had the manufacturers and importers name and address and two out of the three lacked a required identifying code.

Trading standards officers invited the company directors Shakil Patel and Aiyub Patel for interview but they authorised the manager Mohammed Yusoof, who was present when the goods were seized, to speak on behalf of the company.

The prepared statement provided by Mr Yusoof states that the company deny knowingly obtaining, importing, possessing and retailing any counterfeit goods and that they had acted in all honesty and due diligence in obtaining and retailing the items and that they believed the items to be genuine and in compliance with relevant UK legislation.

Speaking after the case Councillor David Lancaster, Salford City Councils lead member for environment and community safety, welcomed the fine and said: Weve been saying for some time that fines need to be more realistic and Im glad to see that in this case this has happened.

Any business which imports and sells toys must be aware of and comply with the law.

They cannot put profits before childrens safety by skimping on testing and proper labelling of toys.

Salford City Council will not hesitate to take action against any company which does not do the right thing to keep our children safe.

And, with Christmas coming up, Id urge anyone buying toys for children to be vigilant and buy from shops they trust to comply with the law.

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The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an alleged anti-gay hate crime today, following an attack on two tourists outside Fillmore District fast food restaurant.

San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Sergeant Michael Andraychak says that the confrontation began at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, when two 28-year-old men visiting San Francisco from New York dined at the McDonald's at 1100 Fillmore Street, near Golden Gate Avenue.

One of the men, identified by the Chron as Manhattan-based publicist Neal Frias, was confronted outside the restaurant by two suspects who "uttered homophobic slurs," Andraychak says.

"Three additional suspects exited a minivan and also confronted the victim," Andraychak says.

Andraychak says that when he saw the confrontation, Frias' companion, identified by the Chron as Jeff White, "exited the restaurant to join" Frias.

The five male suspects, aged around 25-35, attacked Frias and White with pepper spray, Andraychak says. When White and Frias called for help, the suspects fled the scene in the same blue minivan, Andraychak says. All five suspects remain at large as of publication time.

According to a Facebook post by Frias, "5 guys pulled up in a minivan and came out with mace and started to spray us down while calling us F*gs and telling us we are destroying the institution of family values."

The men were treated at the scene and released, Andraychak says. The Chron reports that the duo was in town to enjoy the Folsom Street Fair, and quotes Frias as saying "I would think what happened last night would happen somewhere else, not here."

They were saying, You fags are destroying family values. I said I didnt want any trouble, and one of them got out of the van. I thought he was going to take a swing at me, but he sprayed me across the face.

It was only when "A nearby woman shouted that she was calling the police" that the assault on the two men ended, the Chron reports.

The thing that was the most remarkable about the situation is how unprovoked it was, White told the Chron. I was literally tying my shoe when they came at me. Its mind-boggling.

Andraychak says that "the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime" and has been assigned to SFPD's Special Investigations Division.

We take these crimes very seriously, SFPD spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi told the Chron, saying that police were seeking surveillance video that might have caught the suspects on tape.

If anybody feels they can attack someone based on their sexual preference, were going to go after them and hold them accountable.

"A conviction for assault with pepper spray (Felony) could result in a sentence to state prison," Andraychak says. "A hate crime enhancement, upon conviction, could result in additional prison time."


The first of three scheduled debates between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump happens tonight, starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, and if you're too nervous or excitable to sit at home and watch, there are a bunch of viewing parties all over town where you can laugh and cry alongside your fellow Americans. Whether you can stomach it or not, Trump is going to get some digs in at Hillary, and Hillary will hopefully lash back with a vengeance, but in any case, it might be better to experience it with other people around.

The Balboa Theater

They're doing a free showing of the debate on the big screen, and per the invite, "If it becomes too much to handle, come out for a snack. And no worries, we have single stall restrooms if you need a moment to cry."

3630 Balboa Street at 38th Avenue

Bar San Pancho

They're doing "debate bingo" at this Mission spot, complete with drink specials and prizes, including a "Make America Mexico Again" hat.

3198 16th Street at Guerrero

The Cafe

Since Hi Tops' watch party isn't super gay, per se, the official LGBTQ watch party in the Castro looks to be happening at The Cafe up the street. As is customary in the 'hood around happy hour, there will be two-for-one drinks.

2369 Market Street near 17th, $5-$10 suggested donation

The Chapel

This free event on Valencia, where multiple bars are likely to be showing the debate, requires RSVP but the RSVP does not guarantee you entry if things get too full.

777 Valencia Street, free with RSVP

Hi Tops

There'll be a pretty earnest, Hillary-supporting watch party at Hi Tops in the Castro tonight, hosted by the Robert F. Kennedy Democratic Club and multiple other Democratic clubs, with a raffle for "some great Hillary gear, gag Trump items, and a chance to whack our Trump pinata."

2247 Market Street between Sanchez and Noe, 5 p.m.

Kawika's Ocean Beach Deli

The deli is offering discounts on sandwiches and wine starting at 5 p.m., and will be screening all three debates.

734 La Playa Street

Madrone Art Bar

The youthful gang at Madrone will be hosting a watch party that will be quickly followed by their popular Monday night Motown party, so any tears could be quickly wiped away by dancing.

500 Divisadero Street at Fell

SoMa StrEat Food Park

The food truck gathering spot will be hosting a watch party with 10 big screens, surround sound, happy hour specials, and six food trucks including Nucha Empanadas, Gyros on Wheels, and Khao San Thai.

436-444 11th Street, free with Facebook RSVP

SPARK Social SF

Over at the other street food park in Mission Bay will be a similar gathering  with more to follow for the other debates  and food trucks will include Torraku Ramen, the Kabob Trolley, Pachitas Pupuseria. The sangria starts flowing at 4 p.m.

601 Mission Bay Blvd North, free with Facebook RSVP

ThirstyBear Brewery

ThirstyBear in SoMa is participating in the national Beer for Hillary movement, and they're releasing a new American Tripel, Double IPA called The Deceiver, I guess named for The Donald?

661 Howard Street, free with RSVP


NEW YORK  It is a double-edged cybersword: a negative review of a restaurant or other business, posted for the world to see.

Anyone who peruses Yelp!, TripAdvisor, Google and companies' own websites can see complaints about bad food, surly sales associates, late deliveries or defective merchandise. But some business owners, even when they are chagrined or embarrassed, regard a bad review as valuable information that will help them improve.

Jeff Gates, who co-owns eight restaurants in the Boston area, says online reviews give him a steady flow of feedback and likens them to the comment cards few diners fill out. He reads and responds to every post, and consults with staffers to understand what worked and what didn't.

"If multiple people are picking up on the same issue, that's something we really want to focus on," says Gates, whose restaurants include Aquitaine and Gaslight Brasserie.

Some negative reviews may be inevitable, especially with a business that has hundreds of customer interactions each day. Miscommunications can lead to mistakes, restaurants can be short-staffed and businesses do fall down on the job.

Gates also looks at who's leaving the reviews. If there's a pattern of skewering restaurants, it could be a customer who can't be satisfied. Jim Turner, who owns Turner's Seafood restaurants in Melrose and Salem, Massachusetts, says he knows customers who have too much to drink and are asked to lower the volume will post complaints about how they were treated.

"You have to accept that everybody is going to have that, everybody is going to have those customers," says Turner, who responds to each review privately.

Negative reviews can be irritating, Turner says, but because they point out issues like poor service, they spur him to address any problems, which in turn lifts the restaurants' ratings.

Owners who contact reviewers are sometimes able to get a bad review updated and improved. But even businesses that take a constructive attitude can find it difficult or even impossible to get a review removed. They can appeal to site operators, but most reviews stand.

Some angry businesses owners have sued people who wrote the reviews, but unless they can prove they were libeled because of false information, they're not likely to win. Some businesses have also sued sites like Yelp!, but also unsuccessfully. Last week, a federal appeals court ruled against an owner who contended that Yelp! should be held responsible for a negative review.

Lawmakers are taking steps to protect reviewers and review sites. The House has passed a bill that would prevent businesses from requiring customers to sign agreements that they won't post negative reviews. A similar Senate version passed last year, so the two will have to be reconciled before the measure goes to the president. A law outlawing such agreements took effect in California last year.

Brandon Gerson, who oversees marketing for Hudson Allergy, a medical practice in New York, actually considers reviews part of that strategy. Patients are given tablet computers and encouraged to write reviews before they leave the office. If they're unhappy with any aspect of the practice, they get a response.

Shirley George Frazier says she's posted five negative assessments among about 50 reviews of restaurants, hotels and other businesses. She says reading customer reviews help her make informed decisions, and hopes negative reviews will motivate business managers to correct the situation.

"I expect good service and a good environment and when that goes downhill in whatever way it does, the room or front desk or room service, I am absolutely disappointed," says Frazier, who lives in Paterson, New Jersey.

An owner who gets a nasty or unreasonable review may want to make a snarky response, but that will only invite more vitriol, says Darnell Holloway, Yelp!'s director of business outreach. People who see a contentious exchange may give that business a pass.

A long and angry Google post that complained about the food and service at BBQ'd Productions in Third Lake, Illinois, and made personal comments about the staff "felt like a punch in the gut," owner Kris Schoenberger says. He resisted responding in kind but posted a reply offering to speak with the reviewer.

"You have to take the high road and you have to be bigger and better," says Schoenberger, whose company has a 4.6 rating on Google.

Some owners try to limit the number of jabs people can take. Opera Bracelets owner Cindy Battisti allows only those who have bought her jewelry inspired by opera stories to post reviews on her site  not "people who haven't had a bracelet in their hand."

If people make disparaging comments on Battisti's Facebook ads, she responds with more information about the bracelets and a link to her website.

"It's easy to take it personally, because my business is me, but you've got to be professional," says Battisti, who lives in Rochester, New York.

Eighty percent of the reviews on Yelp! are three stars or higher, says Holloway. And while businesses want high ratings overall, many owners believe a perfect score looks dishonest.

"There's something sort of suspicious about a business that has an immaculate record," Gerson says. "You can't please everyone."
SIOUX CITY | Sioux City staff are asking residents for their input on ways to make the city's website more user-friendly.

Staff this week posted a 13-question Website Community Survey on the city website's home page to gather community input on the strengths and shortfalls of the current website and suggestions for improvement.

The survey will help the project coordinators design the new site.

Sioux City is currently working with a team from the California-based web development firm Vision for the upgrade. Staff say the new website will be more responsive and easier to navigate.

The survey will close at 5 p.m. Oct. 4. The new website is anticipated to launch in the spring.
SIOUX CITY | A former bookkeeper at a Sioux City law firm has been placed on probation for stealing more than $38,000 from her employer.

Kristin Hermelbracht, 44, of Hinton, Iowa, pleaded guilty Monday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of second-degree theft, which was reduced from first-degree theft as part of a plea agreement.

District Judge Steven Andreasen suspended a five-year prison sentence and placed Hermelbracht on probation for four years and ordered her to continue with mental health treatment. Hermelbracht also must perform 100 hours of community service.

According to court documents, Hermelbracht took $38,445 from Hillige, Frey and Roe from July 13, 2013, through Nov. 10, 2015, by writing at least 12 checks to herself and forging signatures on them. She also took 12 gift cards. Hermelbracht must pay the firm restitution of $7,600, the amount not covered by the firm's theft insurance.
CHEROKEE, Iowa | A Quimby, Iowa, man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide for a crash that killed a Sergeant Bluff man.

Casey Herron, 22, entered his written plea Monday in Cherokee County District Court.

According to court documents, Herron was the driver of a pickup truck that crashed and rolled over at 6:45 p.m. July 30 in rural Cherokee County.

Vitali Zhylka, 21, one of the passengers in the pickup, died of his injuries at Cherokee Regional Medical Center. Herron and two other passengers suffered minor injuries, authorities said.

Court documents said that Herron failed field sobriety tests and a breath test showed that he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.102 percent, above Iowa's legal limit of 0.08 percent.
LE MARS, Iowa | Plymouth County law enforcement are asking the public for information on a stolen vehicle that was found partially submerged in the Big Sioux River Sunday morning.

The Plymouth County Sheriff's Office reports that deputies, members of the Iowa State Patrol and a dive team arrived at the Big Sioux River around 9:30 a.m. Sunday after reports that a vehicle was partially submerged in the river.

Authorities found a white 2015 Chrysler four-door vehicle in the water. No one was located in or around the vehicle.

Around 10 a.m., the vehicle was reported stolen out of Le Mars.

Anyone with information on the case can contact the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office at 712-546-8191 or the Le Mars Police Department at 712-546-4113.

The public can also text the tip to 274637 (CRIMES). To do so, enter 75TXT in the message field with the tip.
If youre in the market for a new pair of sunglasses, theres a new brand to consider. Snapchat  yes, thats right, Snapchat  just revealed a new product: sunglasses that record video.

Like the popular smartphone app, the glasses record video in ten second increments. But since theyre wearable, it gives the user more freedom to record their daily lives.

The glasses cost $130. But this is likely just the start of some new products from Snapchat. The company actually just rebranded. Its website now states the companys name as Snap, Inc. and describes it as a camera company.

This is an interesting shift for the popular mobile app. But after Instagram released Instagram Stories, which includes many of the same features as the Snapchat app, the company needed a way to differentiate itself.

Brand Differentiation Sometimes Takes a Lateral Step

Releasing sunglasses, cameras and other physical products to go along with its app could prove to be a difficult process for the company. But it shows that there are plenty of different ways for businesses to expand and distinguish their offerings. And that goes for your business too.

It might have seemed like a natural progression for Snapchat to simply add some extra features to its app. But the company went a different direction. And that could just set it apart enough to succeed.
If you consider yourself to be creative, then youve already got one of the essential traits of a successful entrepreneur. But you can use your creativity for more than just building a business plan and solving problems. You can actually build a business thats fully centered around creativity. Here are 50 unique business ideas for creative entrepreneurs.

Creative Small Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs

Art Seller

If youre a visual artist, you can create original drawings, paintings or prints of your work and build a business around selling them. You can go to local art fairs or sell on sites like Etsy.

Wedding Photographer

If photography is more your medium, providing photography services at weddings can be a lucrative business.

Jewelry Maker

You can also use your creativity to craft wearable art like necklaces and earings. You can use wire, beads or any number of other materials to put together jewelry and then sell it online or in local boutiques or at events.

Logo Designer

For creative entrepreneurs that want to work with other business owners, you can offer design services where you help businesses design basic branding materials like logos.

Musician

If you play any instruments or are musically inclined, you can build a business as a musician. You can either play at local venues or produce albums to sell.

Blogger

Writers or creative content creators, blogging is a viable business opportunity for entrepreneurs in a variety of different fields and areas of interest.

Mobile App Designer

For those who are at least somewhat tech savvy, app creation has turned into a huge field in recent years. You can offer your services designing apps for businesses or even create your own apps to sell.

Vintage Reseller

You dont have to actually make your own products in order to showcase your creativity. You can curate vintage or secondhand items and then use your photography and writing skills to sell or showcase those items to potential customers online.

Interior Designer

If you have a keen eye for design and home decor, you may be able to build a business working with interior design clients.

Landscape Designer

Or if you prefer the outdoors, you could instead work with clients to design their landscaping and outdoor spaces.

Home Stager

You could even get a little more specific and work with homeowners or realtors who are looking to sell their spaces and just want them temporarily staged so theyll appeal to more buyers.

Art Dealer

You can also use curation skills to start a business as an art dealer. You just need a keen eye for art and enough resources to procure some artistic pieces.

Airbrush Artist

Airbrushing is a popular artform that can translate to a lot of different mediums. You can use your airbrushing talents to customize t-shirts and accessories and sell them online or in local markets.

Clothing Designer

You could also design clothing items from scratch and then work to get your line featured in stores or boutiques or even start your own.

Personal Stylist

If you dont necessarily want to design the clothes but you still have a passion for fashion, you can build a business working as a personal stylist to help clients shop and put together outfits.

Portrait Photographer

For photographers who are more interested in staged photo shoots, you can build a business as a portrait photographer and work with clients for things like senior pictures, family photos, head shots or even pet photos.

See Also: Best Business Idea Articles for Entrepreneurs

Caricature Artist

If you prefer drawing and you have a bit of a sense of humor, you could turn that skill into work as a caricature artist at local events or venues and show off your talent to paying customers.

Prop Stylist

Photographers, event planners and other types of businesses could sometimes use help styling their photo shoots or spaces. So you can build a business as a prop stylist who comes in and arranges items in a way thats visually pleasing.

Tattoo Artist

Tattooing is an ancient art that remains popular with a wide variety of people. If youve got the artistic sense and the training, you can build a successful business providing tattoos for clients.

Hair Stylist

Theres a lot of potential for creativity when it comes to being a hairstylist. You can offer a rang of cuts, updos and even coloring services.

Makeup Artist

Makeup is another area that requires a lot of creativity. You can start a salon type of business or even just travel to work with clients at their location.

T-shirt Designer

Got a cool idea for a t-shirt? You can really easily build a business selling t-shirts that youve designed by using online platforms like Redbubble or Cafepress.

eBook Author

If storytelling is more your cup of tea, you can write your own books and then self-publish them online as ebooks.

Website Designer

Web design continues to be a huge growing field. You can build a web design business by working with clients to build custom websites or even sell pre-made templates on sites like Etsy.

Cake Decorator

Food can be another great area for showcasing creativity. You can decorate wedding cakes and specialty desserts to really show off your artistic skills.

Face Painter

Fairs, birthday parties and other events will often feature face painters and similar activities for kids. If you enjoy that type of atmosphere, you can offer your services to clients in your area.

Video Producer

Online video is a huge growing trend. You can build a business by producing your own videos and earning a share of ad revenue on YouTube or even work with other clients to help them with their video projects.

Tie Dye Artist

If you love the tie-dye look, you can use that art form on everything from t-shirts to socks and sell them online or at local events.

Balloon Sculpturer

Events also often feature balloon artists. You can offer your services to create balloon art for event attendees or even set up balloon installations as part of the event decor.

Card Designer

Cards and similar paper goods are still popular with some consumers. You can design your own cards and sell them online or in local paper goods stores.

Wood Worker

If youre good with tools and enjoy putting things together, you can build and sell so many different items made out of wood, from small sculptures to intricate pieces of furniture.

Disc Jockey

Or if you enjoy music and working at events, you can build a business working with clients as a disc jockey for weddings or other gatherings.

Dance Teacher

There are so many different forms of dance you can learn and teach to clients. You can start a dance studio in your community and work with clients of all ages.
The Wells Fargo Bank fraudulent activities was a jaw dropping news event. We are all aware of protecting passwords online, but the bank magnified potential problems ahead. Upon walking into a bank, one normally trusts the tellers employed to handle bank accounts. The question becomes, is this a unique occurrence or might it happen again? If again, how are patrons of any bank to protect themselves?

No one has all of the answers. However, being proactive toward protecting accounts will save time, money and potentially your business, too. Behind all of the online hacks and unscrupulous behavior in everyday settings, companies are obliged to have solid policies in place. Nothing can be left to chance any longer.

Company Policies

Legal advice is the first avenue to embrace. After being made aware of responsibilities by your attorney, create company-wide policies for in-person and online activities. The CEO and executive team should have regular meetings with the head of Human Resources. Together define policies for all employees.

Establish additional procedures for those employees in charge of the online accounts. Make certain each person in charge is well aware of their responsibilities and liabilities should missteps occur. They are to keep track of account login information and convey all changes that are made to management.

The reason this is so important is that on more than one occasion, employees have departed from the company employing them. They left with all of the account information in hand. The employers never had knowledge of any of it. Consequently, these employers lost control of their former accounts. It becomes extremely difficult and time consuming to try to regain ownership of the accounts in question.

Business Password Tips

Make it difficult for others to guess passwords.

Create a unique password for each account.

Inter-mix a combination of capital and small letters, punctuation marks, and numbers.

Avoid common words.

Use a dozen character spaces.

Change passwords quarterly.

Decide upon a safe storage system to efficiently recall the updated passwords.

Retrieve all passwords prior to an employee quitting and change immediately.

Install the two-step verification for each account.

If access to an account is denied, pursue all avenues to resolve the issue.

Consult with attorneys as needed.

Entrepreneurs

You worked hard to build your personal brand and company brand. Saving both time and money is an essential element for business owners. Avoid long drawn-out grievances attempting to resolve issues as described above. Instead, be pro-active. Securing accounts is the key ingredient for continuing to make positive strides each day. Incorporate a plan of action, today. Review all of your accounts and current passwords. Be vigilant in review to find any strange looking activity.

eMail Check

Maintain a watchful eye prior to opening questionable email. Most phishing email are evident, but on occasion some are not so obvious. Prior to clicking any link or file, click the email address of the sender. This should give clear indication of whether the email is valid or not. This action only takes a second but will prevent much grief in the end.

Sales Tips

Read articles as they become available on the latest security issues. Take time to ensure you follow new suggestions for protection. Consult with an attorney. Trade information with peers. Pose questions regarding protection in your groups. Be proactive by incorporating the suggestions. Actively check your accounts each day. Take immediate action should anything look suspicious. Get help with marking certain email suspect to more easily trash. Train employees on all policies.

Republished by permission. Original here.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
ANNAPOLIS

(Sept. 26, 2016)A Prince George's County farm owned and operated by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is the first farm in the state to be certified by the Maryland Department of Agriculture under the Agricultural Certainty Program.This voluntary program, created by the Maryland General Assembly in 2013, gives Maryland farmers a 10-year exemption from new environmental laws and regulations in return for installing best management practices that meet State or Chesapeake Bay Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL) goals ahead of schedule. The program is administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture in coordination with the Maryland Department of the Environment."Maryland is one of only nine states that either have a certainty program or are developing one" said Susan Payne, Coordinator of Ecosystem Markets and Certainty Programs at the department. " Certainty programs reward the conservation efforts that farmers have already made to protect water quality, and Maryland's farmers should be proud that they are recognized as leaders in protecting the environment not only in the Bay watershed, but across the country."The CBF farmknown as the Clagett Farm once grew tobacco. Its soils grew poorer over time, and the farm now sees soil health as the key to successful farming. Clagett produces over 80,000 pounds of produce a year. Cattle and sheep also are raised on pasture.The department certified 281.2 acres on the Clagett Farm for the Certainty Program. Certification means the farm has implemented best management practices that are consistent with the state's goals to reduce the amount of nutrients and sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and other waters of the state."Working with the Ag Certainty folks from MDA was such a positive experience. I wasn't sure what to expect, but they were really helpful," said Clagett Farm Manager Michael Heller said. "We are also fortunate to have such a strong Soil Conservation District here in Prince Georges County. I'd encourage any farmer to go through the process, and to do so with the confidence that the program staff are there to be helpful and supportive."The program allows participating farmers to conduct business in a predictable regulatory setting while providing assurance that agricultural pollution controls are being implemented. Farmers must address nutrient and sediment runoff on farms using a Soil Conservation and Water Quality? Plan and a current Nutrient Management Plan."Thirty-five years ago, Clagett Farm was started to be a model sustainable farm in the Chesapeake region. We applied for the Agriculture Certainty Program certification to demonstrate that farmers can meet the gold standard of environmental stewardship and still be highly productive food growers," said Maryland Executive Director of CBF Alison Prost. "We hear farmers say environmental regulations change too often. This program provides a solution to that concern. A farm can be certified as having no negative impacts on local water quality. In addition to the satisfaction of being a good steward of the land, a farmer also can have peace of mind for 10 years that he or she won't face additional regulatory requirements."For more information about the program, see mda.maryland.gov/resource_conservation/Pages/agricultural_certainty_program.aspx
LA PLATA, Md.

(Sept. 26, 2016)Since she was in the second grade, Maria Estevez has known she wanted to teach.Her teacher had asked the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. Estevez gave her answer, and she hasn't wavered on that choice."I always put teaching on the list and nothing else," she said. "And I never changed my mind."After graduating from North Point High School in Waldorf, Estevez headed to the College of Southern Maryland for an associate degree, which she earned in May 2016. Estevez wanted to continue in courses in elementary education that were affordable, and she wanted to be able to continue to work while she took classes. She also knew she wanted to student teach in Charles County as part of her education.Estevez didn't have to look far for a program that would fit her needs. She is now on her way to earning a bachelor's degree in education, and she doesn't have to leave Southern Maryland to do it.CSM is able to partner with two major Maryland teacher preparation programs  Towson University and Notre Dame of Maryland University  to offer local access to all state requirements for teacher certification."Students are able to learn and grow as professionals in their communities," said Elizabeth Settle, CSM professor and teacher education program coordinator. "The partnerships are a wonderful way to support local school systems in their efforts to grow their own teachers. Many CSM students have strong ties to the area and are well-suited to move into careers in the same systems where they completed their own education."Prospective teachers can learn about options available to them at CSM. The college will host a teacher education open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at its Prince Frederick Campus.The open house will provide the opportunity to learn about teacher education at CSM as well as certification pathways available in Southern Maryland. Students who are currently in and who have graduated from partnership programs will be available to answer questions, as will be representatives from CSM, Calvert County Public Schools and other CSM partner institutions including Notre Dame of Maryland and Towson.Estevez is participating in the Towson 2+2 program that was originally created to meet the needs of students with family commitments that might prevent them from taking the traditional college route. Even now, 16 years later, the program still appeals to students in a variety of situations."I was drawn to it for many reasons, most importantly so that I could student teach in Charles County, which allowed me to make early connections in my teaching career," Estevez said. "Second, I would save a lot of money by staying at home, and I could keep my current jobs."The 2+2 partnership programs allow students to complete the first two years of their teacher preparation program at CSM. They then apply to one of the partner institutions and complete the remainder of their program through that university but on a CSM campus, earning their bachelor's degree and Maryland state certification, Settle said. The programs are offered in early childhood and elementary education.A key element of the 2+2 program is Towson's relationship with local schools. The Maryland State Department of Education identifies local schools as Professional Development Schools (PDS). Towson collaborates with these schools for the academic and clinical preparation of teacher candidates. Towson has PDS sites in Charles and St. Mary's counties. Notre Dame of Maryland also works with the three local school systems to place students for their internship experiences.CSM offers three teacher education degrees in early childhood education (birth to Grade 3), elementary education (Grades 1-6) and secondary education (Grades 7-12).Estevez has done her teaching practicum in a third-grade classroom at William A. Diggs Elementary School in Waldorf and in first grade at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School in La Plata. She is currently in her first semester junior year and is on track to finish in 2018.She chose to get a degree in elementary education because she likes to teach in all subjects and have one group of students as opposed to teaching only one subject and having many students. "I want to be a teacher because I love working with children. I like how every day is a new day. I love that I am not sitting behind a desk, and I like the idea that I am helping to impact the future and each of my students' lives."The open house at the Prince Frederick Campus will be held in Building B, Multipurpose Rooms 103, 104 and 105. To register online, visit www.csmd.edu/soc For more information, contact Settle at 301-934-2251 or elizabeth.settle@csmd.edu.
Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School held a Spirit Week to celebrate Attendance Awareness Month. Among the themes were Pirate Day, Shades Day and Superhero Day. Students, including fifth graders Monique Daniel, left, Logan Burroughs and Todd Williams Jr., dressed as their favorite superheroes.

LA PLATA, Md.

(Sept. 26, 2016)Missing a school day here or there can be managed with some focused catch-up, but chronic absenteeismmissing at least 10 percent, or 18 days a school yearwidens a gulf that many cannot bridge.Over time, gaps in a child's education as a result of not showing upexcused or notmay result in falling behind academically and failing to graduate.September is Attendance Awareness Month. Nationwide, more than 3 million, or 18 percent, of high school students were chronically absent in 2013-14, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection. By high school, regular attendance is a better dropout indicator than test scores, the data revealed. "A student who is chronically absent in any school year between the eighth and 12th grade is seven times more likely to drop out of school," the report read.Missing days from high school can be learned behavior for a student who was chronically absent in elementary and middle school."Trends start in elementary school and it becomes a pattern," Sheri Morrison, pupil personnel worker for Indian Head and Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy elementary schools, said. A student racking up one or two absences a month as a youngster will likely carry the trait on to middle and high school. "They miss so many opportunities," Morrison said."The gaps in their education are hard to make up," said William Miller, principal of Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy. "When they get older, it's even harder to fill those gaps."To excite students, Mt. Hope and Indian Head held a Spirit Week Sept. 12 to 15. Students took part in Shades Day by wearing their favorite sunglasses. Hat Day, Pirate Day and Super Hero Day also were held.Every Student, Every Day is a national initiative to address and combat chronic absenteeism. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Justice, the program aims to address chronic absenteeism among vulnerable students.According to the education department's reports, more than 3 million high school students -18 percent of all high school students in the countryare chronically absent with African Americans making up 22 percent, multiracial students 21 percent and Latino students coming in at 20 percent absent for 18 or more days per school year.More than 3.5 million elementary school students, which is 11 percent of their population, are chronically absent each year. According to the report, African American elementary school students are 1.4 times more likely to be chronically absent than their white peers.In Charles County, more than 2,300 children missed 20 or more days of school in 2015-16, said Sue DelaCruz, supervising Pupil Personnel Worker. "That works out to an entire month of school," she said. "Many parents don't realize that missing one or two days a month leads to 20 or more days in one school year."Children between the ages of 5 and 17 are required by law to attend school, DelaCruz said. Parents who do not ensure that their children are in school every day and on time, can be charged, she added."Every day of school that [a] child misses is a missed opportunity for emotional and intellectual growth," DelaCruz said. "Make-up work does not replace the instruction and discussions that occur in the classroom."
LA PLATA, Md. (Sept. 26, 2016)Charles County Sheriff Troy D. Berry announced that three officers were named Deputies of the Year and recognized by the Maryland Sheriff's Association (MSA) for outstanding police work in a variety of fields. Corporal Kristian Syvertsen, Detective Patricia Adams and Master Corporal Roger Calloway were honored during an awards ceremony held recently at a banquet in Ocean City, Md.



Corporal Kristian Syvertsen, Traffic Safety



Corporal Kristian Syvertsen was honored for his work in traffic safety. Since the start of his law enforcement career, Cpl. Syvertsen was well-known for his dedication to traffic enforcement and impaired driver arrests. In 2001, despite never riding a motorcycle, Cpl. Syvertsen borrowed a friend's motorcycle, took a safety class and obtained his motorcycle license solely to further his career goal of being a Traffic Operations Officer. In 2015, he was selected for transfer to the Special Operations Division, Traffic Operations Unit. During calendar year 2015, Cpl. Syvertsen stopped 874 vehicles, issued 1,223 violations and arrested numerous impaired drivers.



In addition to keeping the roads safer, Cpl. Syvertsen streamlined the Traffic Operations Unit. On his own, he digitized all traffic operations records and tracking systems, allowing the agency to track all traffic complaints, including school bus complaints and other hazardous violations, and keep a record of resolutions. Furthermore, Cpl. Syvertsen used a speed trailer equipped with statistical data recording software to produce documents that were analyzed and showed speed issues in residential areas. This program allowed for focused enforcement efforts in a more effective manner.



Cpl. Syvertsen also went to work identifying technical solutions on the current fleet of CCSO's motors. Pending the purchase of new equipment, Cpl. Syvertsen used his ingenuity and creativity to outfit the agency motors with temporary computer systems.



Cpl. Syvertsen is the Agency's Breath Test Operator Coordinator. "He undertook this task by volunteering, despite the large amount of work associated with the position. He works diligently both on duty and during his own time to ensure the equipment of the unit functions properly. He applies his knowledge of electronics to repair and upgrade previously unusable equipment which has allowed the unit to make a larger impact on traffic problems throughout the county," said Sgt. Jon Burroughs of the Traffic Operations Unit, who nominated Syvertsen.



"Overall, Cpl. Syvertsen has combined his knowledge of computers and his love of traffic enforcement to help keep Charles County roadways safer," Sheriff Berry said.



Detective Patricia Adams, Crime Prevention, Narcotics



Nominated by her commander, Lt. Robert Kiesel, Detective Patricia Adams was honored for her work in crime prevention. She is a member of the Criminal Investigations Division, Narcotics Enforcement Section and is currently assigned as a Task Force Officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration Tactical Diversion Group.



In 2014, Det. Adams initiated a local investigation of several individuals that were using illicit pain management clinics and pharmacies to obtain large quantities of opiate pain killers for distribution. Over the course of several months, Det. Adams was able to ascertain that her investigation was related to a group of individuals that were also being investigated by the Howard County Police Department. Det. Adams teamed up with an investigator from Howard County and the Department of Health and Human Services to further pursue the investigation, which soon crossed counties and states including Charles, St. Mary's, Calvert, Prince George's, and Anne Arundel Counties in Maryland and parts of the District of Columbia and Virginia.



Based on information gathered from the investigation, 19 individuals, nine vehicles, one house and three bank accounts were included in a federal indictment which was obtained in no small part from the testimony and presentation of the case to the grand jury by Det. Adams.



In May of 2015, federal search and seizure warrants were executed in Maryland and the District of Columbia and one federal search warrant was executed in Virginia. Based on the execution of those warrants, a total of $180,473.34 in currency and additional assets at over $250,000.00 were seized for forfeiture. Four illicit pain management clinics also known as pill mills, three in Maryland and one in D.C., were shut down. Also, four pharmacies in Virginia were shut down. Since May 2015, several additional search and seizure warrants have been executed in Maryland and an additional $157,000 has been seized. There are currently additional suspects awaiting indictment.



"Det. Adams spent thousands of hours doing surveillance, investigation, preparing reports, administrative tasks, writing affidavits, grand jury testimony, raid planning, enforcement initiatives and processing property, evidence and assets. She was instrumental in coordinating the efforts of several local jurisdictions, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Washington and Baltimore Division Offices of the DEA, and she was significantly responsible for the arrests of major drug dealers," said Lt. Kiesel.



"Det. Adams has made a significant difference in keeping these drug dealers off the streets and ensuring justice is served," Sheriff Berry said.



Master Corporal Roger Calloway, Community Service



Master Corporal Roger R. Calloway was honored for his work in community service. M/Cpl. Calloway has been a member of the Charles County Sheriff's Office since December 1993, when he was hired as a Correctional Officer. He was later transferred to the sworn ranks, where he has served for over 22 years. For the past eight years, M/Cpl. Calloway has taught the Criminal Justice Program at North Point High School. M/Cpl. Calloway also heads the Sheriff's Office Explorer Post. These two positions take many hoursboth during the work day and on his own timeto ensure success. M/Cpl. Calloway makes the programs a priority which ultimately has the largest impact in the lives of adolescents.



"Students often write letters regarding their experience with M/Cpl. Calloway. The letters refer to Calloway as an instructor who constantly encourages his students to be better by trying harder. He teaches lessons about expectations and responsibility, and he spends countless hours to prepare his students for life challenges. The letters describe M/Cpl. Calloway as a person who puts an emphasis on academics while teaching the importance of character. Many students say M/Cpl. Calloway has transformed them and helped make them successful," said Lt. Charly Baker, Calloway's supervisor. "With M/Cpl. Calloway's efforts, his students have gone on to careers in law enforcement and the military."



M/Cpl. Calloway's students participate in SKILLS law enforcement eventsa state, regional and nationwide competitiontesting students in all aspects of law enforcement. M/Cpl. Calloway works continuously with these students both during school hours and after hours, when he's off-duty, to prepare them for this challenge. Several months ago, schools were closed due to wintery weather. M/Cpl. Calloway was in his office and practiced traffic stops in the back parking lot with several students. These students came in on their own time to work on their skills. This is just a small example of the dedication and effort M/Cpl. Calloway puts into his job and these students. Under his direction, M/Cpl. Calloway's students regularly come in first or second place in the regional competitions.



When students aren't busy learning or competing in competitions, M/Cpl. Calloway immerses them in community service opportunities. Whether it's the Special Olympics Torch Run, the Charles County Fair, National Night Out, or any of the other dozens of community opportunities, these students learn what it means to volunteer. "They give hundreds of hours to help the citizens of Charles County. Many of these events could not go on if it wasn't for the great help his group provides," said Lt. Baker.



"When the Criminal Justice program is complete, students leave with a greater sense of what it means to give of one's self. They head into the next chapter of their lives with a solid foundation of service and commitment. This foundation can be directly attributed to the effort and hours that M/Cpl. Calloway invests in each one of them," said Sheriff Berry.



"The Charles County Sheriff's Office is committed to excellence in policing and serving our communities the best we can. It is an honor and a pleasure to work with individuals who are dedicated to superior service," said Sheriff Berry.
Quantaz Lamar Shields, age 28, of Leonardtown, Maryland; and Trevone Damone Butler, age 25, of Lexington Park.

HOLLYWOOD, Md.

(Sept. 26, 2016)Trevone Damone Butler, who has been charged both locally and federally for a string of armed robberies last year, has pleaded to federal charges of obstructing interstate commerce, according to federal documents detailing his plea deal back in July.Local prosecutors have stated that they will continue to pursue charges against Butler that alleged he was involved in the robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Leonardtown back on October 28 of last year.Sources close to the investigation of Butler and his alleged conspirator Quantaz Shields say that the defendants were stealing the money in an effort to help pay for the legal expenses of Tyreke Butler, brother of Trevone Butler, who was facing attempted murder charges.Tyreke Butler has since been convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison for the shooting of Robert Blake over a disputed drug deal; the shooting occurred back on Sept. 11, 2015.According to indictments filed in U.S. District Court Shields was the entry man of the pair who committed the actual robberies while Trevone Butler provided the getaway vehicle.Federal authorities with U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein's office alleged that both men took part in the robberies of The Sign of the Whale liquor store, the Super 8 motel and the Papa John's Pizza store in Lexington Park as well as the Dash-In and CVS Pharmacy in Leonardtown.Trevone Butler, 25, of Lexington Park, faces charges of armed robbery, first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, theft, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and the illegal possession of a regulated firearm.Butler is scheduled for a trial in December.
PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (Sept. 26, 2016)The Board of Education of Calvert County Public Schools recognized the Northern High Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members for their second place win at the national competition. The team-led by advisors Nancy Wilt and Theresa Jackson, plus student project coordinators Alissa Lambert, Tommy O'Brien and Christian Kincaid-beat out over 90 other state-level winners at the conference held in Atlanta, Georgia last summer.



"The students and teachers involved in the FBLA program at NHS are outstanding each year with their focus on serving the community in some way," said Dr. Daniel D. Curry, Superintendent. "We're proud of them."



Their project, entitled Partnership with Business, supported End Hunger in Calvert County and chronicled the team's efforts through the year. Students spent over 400 hours volunteering for End Hunger, including working at the organization's fundraisers, volunteering at the End Hunger warehouse, organizing a schoolwide food drive and promoting awareness of food insecurity in the community. Notably, students also broadened their own knowledge of the tax system by helping low-income residents file their taxes for free at End Hunger's Calvert Cash program.



Team sponsor Nancy Wilt, a business teacher at Northern High, said, "The students became passionate about the spirit of volunteerism. They understand the key role of non-profits within our local, state and national economies."



The students qualified to attend the national conference by finishing in first place at the FBLA Maryland Spring State Leadership Conference. At nationals, the students submitted a fifteen-page report outlining the year's project and gave a seven-minute presentation to a panel of judges for the preliminary round. The top twelve from the preliminary rounds then competed in the final round.
Mercury NASA

Its small, its hot, and its shrinking. New NASA-funded research suggests that Mercury is contracting even today, joining Earth as a tectonically active planet.

Images obtained by NASAs MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft reveal previously undetected small fault scarps cliff-like landforms that resemble stair steps. These scarps are small enough that scientists believe they must be geologically young, which means Mercury is still contracting and that Earth is not the only tectonically active planet in our solar system, as previously thought.

The findings are reported in a paper in the October issue of Nature Geoscience.

The young age of the small scarps means that Mercury joins Earth as a tectonically active planet, with new faults likely forming today as Mercurys interior continues to cool and the planet contracts, said lead author Tom Watters, Smithsonian senior scientist at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Large fault scarps on Mercury were first discovered in the flybys of Mariner 10 in the mid-1970s and confirmed by MESSENGER, which found the planet closest to the sun was shrinking. The large scarps were formed as Mercurys interior cooled, causing the planet to contract and the crust to break and thrust upward along faults making cliffs up to hundreds of miles long and some more than a mile (over one-and-a-half kilometers) high.

In the last 18 months of the MESSENGER mission, the spacecrafts altitude was lowered, which allowed the surface of Mercury to be seen at much higher resolution. These low-altitude images revealed small fault scarps that are orders of magnitude smaller than the larger scarps. The small scarps had to be very young, investigators say, to survive the steady bombardment of meteoroids and comets. They are comparable in scale to small, young lunar scarps that are evidence Earths moon is also shrinking.

This active faulting is consistent with the recent finding that Mercurys global magnetic field has existed for billions of years and with the slow cooling of Mercurys still hot outer core. Its likely that the smallest of the terrestrial planets also experiences Mercury-quakessomething that may one day be confirmed by seismometers.

This is why we explore, said NASA Planetary Science Director Jim Green at Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For years, scientists believed that Mercurys tectonic activity was in the distant past. Its exciting to consider that this small planet  not much larger than Earths moon  is active even today.

Managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, MESSENGER launched Aug. 3, 2004 and began orbiting Mercury March 18, 2011. The mission ended with a planned impact on the surface of Mercury on April 30, 2015.

Additional images
The Atlantic Breeders Crown Host Committee is pleased to announce the four Atlantic Canadian harness racing families who will be honoured for their successes and longstanding contributions to the industry during the upcoming Atlantic Breeders Crown weekend at Red Shores Charlottetown on October 8 & 9.

It is only fitting in the 50th year of the Atlantic Sires Stakes program, that the family of Jack and brother Doug Ferguson of Nova Scotia are being recognized. Jack was a longtime proponent of the local breeding program, operating Precentor Farm and serving as the manager of the Atlantic Sires Stakes program for nearly 30 years. Brother Doug produced some of the best known products of the regional stakes program at his Kilkerran Farms in Bay Head, N.S. Kilkerran Ella and Kilkerran Robbie were two of the top stars in the AtSS program in the 1970's. Two-time Atlantic Canadian Horse of the Year, Kilkerran Fury still holds the record for career earnings by a Maritime-bred in the region. Kilkerran Ingle was the last Maritime-bred to win the Gold Cup and Saucer in 1992, while Kilkerran Scot is the richest-ever Martime-bred performer.

The Pineau family from Rustico, P.E.I. has experienced many successes in the Atlantic Sires Stakes over the decades. Brothers Alyre, John and Alphonse all developed and raced numerous stakes performers. Alyre recorded over 1,000 driving wins in a long career, setting the CDP track trotting record on three separate occasions and winning numerous AtSS trot events. John was also a successful trainer and driver in later years and was breeder of a number of top Maritime-bred trotters with the Rustico prefix. One of his homebreds, Rustico Pluto was the first locally bred trotter to break the 1:55 barrier. Alphonse was also a driver and trainer who spent some time on the Grand Circuit in the 1970's. The popular blacksmith also developed several top horses for H.B. Willis. Several other Pineau family members have donned the silks over the years including Alyre's sons, David, Tommy and Joey and Alphonse's son Steve.

From New Brunswick, the family of the late Sonny MacDonald has been involved with standardbreds for over 50 years. Wife Sylvia was the long-serving Clerk of the Course at Exhibition Park Raceway. Sons Clyde, Ross and Bruce all were involved in the family past-time. Ross was a top driver and trainer at EPR in the late 1980's and Bruce has found success in Ontario training some top horses for the Mardon Stables and partner Dan MacIsaac, including Card Trick Hanover, Armbro Choir and Catch The Dream.

From Newfoundland and Labrador, the Dooling family will be recognized for their long involvement in the local industry there.

Presentations to each of the four families will take place at the Atlantic Breeders Crown banquet at the Top of the Park at Red Shores Charlottetown on Saturday, October 8th. The four families from each of the Atlantic Provinces will also be saluted with memorabilia on display in the Memory Lane room on the second level of the CDP grandstand.

(with files from Red Shores)
David Miller kicked off a five-win performance on Sunday afternoon (September 25) at Harrah's Philadelphia driving Bettors Western to a 1:53.2 victory in the Liberty Bell Series for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

After getting away third, Miller sent the Bettors Delight-Western Moonlight colt to the lead past the :28.1 first quarter. He then rated middle splits of :56.4 and 1:25.4 before Bettors Western kicked home in :27.3 to seal the deal. Ozone Blue Chip (Yannick Gingras) advanced from mid-pack down the backstretch and finished second over the early leaver and 3-2 favourite Summer Side (Tim Tetrick).

Bettors Western was purchased for $33,000 at the Harrisburg Sale as a yearling by Synerco Ventures Inc. of Toronto. The Chris Oakes trainee has earned three wins and two seconds in eight starts so far in his career while banking nearly $70,000.

Sent postward as the 9-5 second choice, Bettors Western paid $5.80 to win.

Yannick Gingras had a driving double in the series with the Chris Choate-trained Western Joe and the Ron Burke stable's maiden-breaker Eddard Hanover, both winning their respective divisions in 1:53.2. The other Liberty Bell division was won by Point Somewherelse and Andrew McCarthy in 1:54 for trainer Noel Daley.
Trot Insider has learned that Ivar Remmen of Saskatoon, Sask. died peacefully at the age of 94 on Sunday, Sept. 25.

He was a longtime employee of Standardbred Canada and had many good memories of friends he met in the horse racing industry.

Ivar was predeceased by his wife Irene and will be missed by his five children, Ray (Kerry), Gordon, Larry (Doreen), Barbara and Valerie (Doug), as well as seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

At Ivar's request, there will be no funeral, but a private family service and interment will be held at a later date.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Ivar Remmen.
An official obituary has been posted for trainer Larry Rheinheimer, of Freaky Fete Pete fame, who passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, September 24 at the age of 72.

Most recently, Rheinheimer, of LaGrange, Indiana, enjoyed success as the trainer and breeder of Indiana millionaire pacer Freaky Feet Pete, who was the 2015 Breeders Crown champion.

Harnessracing.com has reported that Rheinheimer collapsed in the paddock area at Hoosier Park on Saturday night. He was tended to by paramedics and was transported to a local hospital. The report has said that Rheinheimer passed away after having suffered a heart attack.

On Monday, September 26, officials with Hoosier Park released a statement in regard to Rheinheimer's passing.

On behalf of Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and Centaur Gaming, we are deeply saddened by the passing of Larry Rheinheimer. Along with the entire Standardbred racing industry, weve lost a great horsemen and friend. We honour Larrys many contributions to and accomplishments in Indiana horse racing over the course of his lengthy career, said Rick Moore, Hoosier Park Racing & Casinos vice president and general manager of racing. Our hearts go out to Mary Jo Rheinheimer and the entire Rheinheimer family during this difficult time.

Hoosier Park, along with Indiana horsemen, will hold a remembrance for Larry Rheinheimer in the upcoming week

The official obituary for Rheinheimer appears below. It can also be accessed by clicking here.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Larry Rheinheimer.

Larry Wayne Rheinheimer, 72, of LaGrange, IN died unexpectedly on Saturday September 24, 2016 at St. Vincent Anderson Hospital in Anderson, IN.

Larry was born on December 3, 1943 in Sturgis, MI to Raymond Bud and Florence (Hooley) Rheinheimer.

Living most of his lifetime in LaGrange and Steuben Counties, he was an accomplished horse trainer. He was a member of the LaGrange Trottingbred Association, USTA, Tri-State Pony Club, and was a director of the Indiana Standardbred Association. In 2015, he was a Breeders Crown Winner with Freaky Feet Pete and awarded the small trainer of the year.

Larry worked for many years for Dutch Housing in LaGrange, IN where he retired as a plant manager.

On June 3, 1967 at Lake Gage, IN he married Mary Jo Larimer; she survives in LaGrange.

Also surviving are three sons and two daughters-in-law, Marty Rheinheimer of Howe, IN, Mark and Michelle Rheinheimer of Orland, IN, and Matthew and Cori Rheinheimer of LaGrange, IN; five grandchildren, Nathan, Jacob, Emily, Sarah, and Katie Rheinheimer; three sisters and brothers-in-law, Shirley and Ben Helmuth of LaGrange, IN, Karen and Mike Coffee of Englewood, FL, and Bonnie and Tom Swihart of Churubusco, IN; a brother, Lonnie Rheinheimer of Hugoton, KS; and a sister-in-law, Darlene Rheinheimer-Mishler of Shipshewana, IN.

His parents, and a brother, Lynn Rheinheimer preceded him in death.

Funeral services will take place on Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at the Frurip-May Funeral Home, 309 W. Michigan St., LaGrange, IN with Cory Hooley and Derek Hooley officiating.

Burial will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery in Orland, IN.

Visitation will take place on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 from 2-8 pm at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, 3293 Wright Rd., Laura, OH 45337.
One America News Network to Provide Live Coverage of Judicial Watch September 29 Clinton Scandal Panel

'Just about everything that we know about the Clintons, we would not have known, if not for Judicial Watch. That's why One America News is pleased to be providing select live coverage' -- OAN CEO Robert Herring

Bestselling Author Jerome Corsi Joins Panel of Experts for Historic Panel Event

Panel to be Shot In-Studio, Three-Camera, Broadcast Quality; Fiber feed available; also at JudicialWatch.org/live

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Judicial Watch announced today that One America News Network (OAN) will provide live coverage of the September 29 expert panel discussion "Clinton Scandal Update  Emails and the Clinton Foundation." The panel, to be shot in studio in broadcast quality HD, three-camera coverage, will be held from 11:00 to 12:30 on Thursday, September 29.

Judicial Watch also announced that bestselling author and WND senior staff writer Jerome Corsi will join the panel. Corsi is the author of Partners in Crime: The Clinton's Scheme to Monetize the White House for Personal Profit.

The "Clinton Scandal Update" panel will be hosted by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. In addition to Corsi, the panel will feature Clinton scandal experts Peter Schweizer, author of the New York Times best-seller Clinton Cash; Joseph E. diGenova, former U.S. States Attorney, District of Columbia; and Judicial Watch Director of Investigations Chris Farrell.

One America News coverage of the Judicial Watch Clinton panel will be anchored by popular news anchors Jennifer Franco at 11:00 AM and Greta Wall at 12:00 noon. Launched on July 4, 2013, OAN is now available in 15 million homes nationwide.

"Judicial Watch has been tenacious in revealing important facts about the Clintons and their network," said One America News Network CEO Robert Herring. "In fact, just about everything that we know about the Clintons, we would not have known, if not for Judicial Watch. That's why One America News is pleased to be providing select live coverage, along with an encore highlight report of Judicial Watch's special presentation 'Clinton Scandal Update--Emails and the Clinton Foundation.'"

"We are pleased and honored to have a network with the reach and reputation of One America News Network providing live coverage of Judicial Watch's historic Clinton scandal expert panel," said Director of Communications Carter Clews. "OAN's growing popularity nationwide attests to the fact that American's prefer their news unvarnished, factual, timely, and on target."
...the view from the sidewalks of Minneapolis and Saint Paul...
BY OLIVIA ROSE

THE FOREIGN and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has vetoed Cabinets decision to deny an additional $3 million dollars for legal aid in the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) trials.





This was confirmed by the Governor`s Office which revealed that the Governor referred Cabinets decision to the FCO in accordance with provisions in the Constitution.





The office told the Weekly News that: "The Minister for the Overseas Territories, Baroness Anelay, wrote to the Governor on 13 September instructing him under Section 3(4) of the TCI Chief Financial Officer Ordinance 2012 to direct the CFO to make the necessary arrangements for the budget allocation primarily for legal aid for the defendants in the trial as requested by the Chief Justice to be made available.





According to the Governor`s Office the Ministers decision was taken to ensure that the defence in the trial has access to the appropriate resources to which it is legally entitled so as not to compromise the compilation and presentation of its case.





"The Minister believes that this is essential for the continued good governance of TCI and the proper administration of justice.





Cabinet on August 3 denied yet another request for additional legal aid funds made by the judiciary for the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) corruption trials.





According to media reports, noticeable changes have been made to the structure of the security detail for attorneys prosecuting the trial: all of the foreign security staff has been replaced by local officers.





This is a stark change, as since the start of the trial this year there have been several (more than five) specially recruited UK security personnel acting as bodyguards for the members of the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT).





The Commissioner of Police also confirmed this change, but would not say why the change was made.





In the 2016/2017 budget $5.2 million was allocated to the SIPT under the police budget.

$2.6million of that sum went to security for the prosecution team, and the remaining for housing and salaries, the Minister of Finance had told this publication.





An additional $4million has already been allotted in the current budget for legal aid costs.





In August last year, Governor Peter Beckingham had approved the initial $2.2M in a separate supplementary appropriation budget for security detail for the SIPT.





The SIPT and civil recovery process records indicate that the price tag has amounted to some $36 million to date, half of which was paid by the UK government.





Already nine months into the trial and prosecutors are already of the view that the trial could last way into 2017.





This realization has evoked widespread concern about the cost of the SIPT trials and its impact on the public`s purse.





Earlier this year, Minister of Finance Washington Misick categorically stated that the cost of the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) trial of former Premier Michael Misick and other corruption accused should be footed by the UK government.





He said: "My view is that those costs should be borne by Her Majestys UK Government.





Misick said that the funds being spent on the trial could be used to further develop the country.





"We have a lot of things that we could be spending that money on, but at the end of the day, it says justice must not only be done it must be seen to be done, and sometimes the wheel of justice turns very slowly.





"My opinion and the opinion of the government and, I believe the majority of the people of the Turks and Caicos, is that if whatever purported wrong was done, it was done while we had a British Governor here and they were sleep-walking.





"If they can indeed prove that theres been wrongdoing, they should pay for it.





"That is unfortunate and unfair to the people of the Turks and Caicos who have to foot that bill.





This is not the first time a request was rejected for the SIPT trial; in August 2015 Premier Rufus Ewing rejected a request for $4.3million to provide security for Special Prosecutor Helen Garlick and her team.





The Premier's move was vetoed by the Governor who later approved the money from Government funds.





According to the 2016/2017 budget statements, the SIPT judicial cost was laid at some $5 million under revised statement for 2015 and 2016, while $4 million is slated for 2016/2017.





The Myrtle Rigby Health centre renovation for the SIPT trial was funded to tune of $1 million through a UK grant.





Since 2009, when they were accused of widespread corruption in the Sir Robin Auld report, Michael Misick and others have awaited their time before the judge.





Former Premier Michael Misick and several others are accused of defrauding the Government of millions of dollars.





Former Premier Misick, who is named as the main defendant in the trial, has since the beginning of the proceedings against him stated that he is being persecuted by the British government.





The SIPT trials began on December 18, 2015, after an in-depth four-year investigation into widespread Government corruption.





The hearings were expected to last six months, but the trial has seen many delays since it began.





And according to lead Prosecutor Queens Counsel, Andrew Mitchell it is very difficult to say when the corruption trial will end.





Mitchell recently disclosed that they have planned and timetabled the Crowns case until June 2017.












BY OLIVIA ROSE

THE GOVERNMENT is pumping some five hundred thousand dollars to actively fight the dreaded Zika virus in the Turks and Caicos Islands.





This comes as the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Laboratories recently confirmed an additional three cases of the infection in the TCI.





These three new cases now bring the total to eleven cases.





According to a Government release issued Monday September 22, 2016 the monies were recently approved from the contingency fund and will go directly towards the management of Zika in the Turks and Caicos Islands.





According to the release, approximately eighty thousand dollars will be used for promotion and awareness initiative by Health Promotion and Advocacy Unit, while another twenty-five thousand dollars will be used for street cleaning by Public Works Department.





The balance is expected to be expended by the Environmental Health Department for staff support and other resource needs.





This is being done in an effort to minimize the spread of Zika,in the islands.





With the recent confirmation of eight Zika cases in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Government has since intensified its house-to-house inspections and increasing fogging exercises throughout the country.





A total of 402 derelict vehicles have been removed and properly disposed in a manner to reduce these vehicles from servicing as breeding sites.





The Minister of Health, Agriculture and Human Services and Premier Rufus Ewing are reminding residence and tourist alike to use approved repellents when outdoors, in order to minimize the risk and further spread of the Zika virus.





Residents are being urged to take immediate steps to stop Zika by eliminating all breeding and potential breeding sites on or near their premises.





In addition to Zika, the TCI is still on alert for other mosquito-borne viruses such as Dengue and Chikungunya, both of which have been public health concerns here in the islands in recent years.





Officials from the Department of Environment recently told the Weekly news during a telephone interview that they are working with an outlined programme of action to delineate the various resources and needs that will be required to step up efforts.





It was noted that presently spraying and fogging is ongoing in a number of islands, including Providenciales.





However, emphasis was placed on the need for more personal protection.





Recently the Director of Environmental Health, Kendrick Neely, outlined some of the measures that will be implemented and those that are already ongoing.





He said: "We have increased house-to-house inspections, because the Aedes aegypti mosquito, we call it the house mosquito. They live around our homes and hotels, so well be stepping that up.





He is urging the community to support the department in this effort by ensuring their surroundings are kept clean.





"Were also going to be having meetings with the pastors fraternity throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands.





"The reason why we are taking this approach with addressing pastors and educating the pastors is because we want them to assist in passing the message on to their congregation and educating them.





"We will also be meeting with civic groups, and were in the schools, and were going to youth fellowships to talk to persons there as well.





According to Premier Rufus Ewing, the Government dipped into its contingency fund to provide the necessary financial resources to procure the essential equipment, such as additional foggers.





"Getting more manpower to provide fogging in Providenciales, North and Middle Caicos, the islands that have the highest index of mosquitoes.





Mosquito nets will also be procured and distributed throughout the islands.





The Zika virus has since been reported in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean from February 2014 to January 26, 2016.





Zika is a viral illness, which is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. This mosquito is found in the TCI.





Most persons with Zika are not aware that they have the illness and may not have any symptoms.





Symptoms of Zika are similar to Dengue and Chikungunya and appear between four to seven days after someone has been bitten by an infected mosquito.





These symptoms include mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye), muscle or joint pain, and general malaise. There is no specific medication to treat Zika and there are currently no vaccines to prevent the illness.





Zika virus can cause Microcephaly in the unborn foetus of a pregnant woman.





Pregnant women should take special precautions to ensure that they are not bitten by mosquitoes. Extra special precautions should be taken when travelling to affected areas and countries. Persons are advised to adopt safer sexual practices e.g the use of condoms during sexual activity; this includes pregnant women for the duration of their pregnancy.








BY OLIVIA ROSE

HOTEL and restaurant workers should receive 100 percent service charge; this is according to Opposition Appointed member of the House of Assembly and veteran politician Clarence Selver, who has drafted a bill to resolve the ongoing issue.





Selver, during an exclusive interview with the Weekly News, said the Service Charge Hotel and Restaurants Amendment bill seeks to reinstate 100 percent service charge to hospitality workers at establishments where it is charged.





Selver said he drafted the bill and took steps to have it on the order paper for the next meeting of the House of Assembly, which will take place on the September 23.





The private members bill, according to Selver, will also seek to clearly define the term "tips in the context of the hospitality sector.





He said :"There is a good reason why I provide that definition, because Im also making a new sub-section, which would make it an offence for an employer to penalize an employee or servant for receiving a tip from a guest or customer that has not been solicited.





He explained that reports reaching him indicate that there are certain businesses that do not want staff to receive tips from their guests because of their own internal policy.





"To me it goes contrary to what is happening elsewhere in the industry, not only in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but further afield. If customers are satisfied with the service being provided by the staff they would indicate that by saying thanks and, in addition,they would give them a monetary reward.





"So to prevent or penalize a staff for accepting a tip, it de-motivates the staff. Here it is that somebody recognizes your good work and your employer denies you that credit.





The Opposition has been beating the service charge drum for some time now, Opposition leader Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, earlier in the year, moved a private members motion in this regard.





She stated that the right approach must be taken to ensure that people are not treated unfairly as a result of the amended law.





She explained that workers in the hospitality sector prior to the implementation of the gratuity policy received their full benefits.





However, following the implementation of the policy, the benefits were significantly reduced at certain resorts.





She said: "No government agency policed this to ensure that workers were protected.





The Opposition leader lamented that it was a disappointing turn of events to see members of the Government give reason as to why it cannot be reinstated.





Pointing out that member from South Caicos, Norman Saunders, who had two weeks notice of the motion, said that he did not know enough to support the motion.





On the other hand, back in May the Government announced the establishment of a Service Charge Committee to review and properly assess complaints emanating from the hospitality

industry.





This was revealed by Premier Rufus Ewing, who told the House of Assembly on Wednesday (May 11), that the Government is seeking to proactively address issues facing workers in the hospitality sector, especially complaints of reduced service charge (tips, gratuity etc).





He said: "We heard the call from the Opposition with regards to the reinstatement of a 100 percent of gratuity, and all of these issues are becoming quite confusing to not only members of this House but also members of the public, who are confusing terminologies and what is provided for in legislation.





He explained that the committee has been established to allow the Government to fully understand what is taking place in terms of actual practice in the industry.





"Because, even if today we were to just go and give a 100 percent service charge to those individuals, without fully understanding what is taking place in the industry, it may not be to the good of those particular individuals.





"What is taking place behind the scene is still not accounted for, so we really need to understand what systems and mechanisms accounts for service charge from employers to employees.





"Theres no doubt within anybodys mind that gratuities and tips that are collected or paid by customers for the benefit of employees should be given to the employees 100 percent.





"The only difference is in situations where these tips are in non-cash form, meaning that they are collected through a system of payment by credit card.





"Those credit cards incur administrative fees in the collection and distribution, and so only then employers may be able to take out the administrative cost on behalf of the employee.





The Premier emphasised that this issue requires the Government to find out exactly what mechanisms can be instated to ensure employees receive their full benefits.





"We know there are a lot of practices taking place in the industry, where some establishments actually provide a number of things for staff, like transportation or subsidised housing, meals at work, uniforms, and training.





"Even though I dont agree that training should be a part of that, because training should be an obligation of the institution to provide for the individual, and not take it out of their charge fee.





The House of Assembly resumes today (Friday September 23).




By Daisy Handfield

OPPOSITION Leader Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, in press conference on Wednesday, refuted allegations that she is being investigated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or by the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT).





The media briefing was held at the PDMs headquarters, in Providenciales, and was attended by most of the local media houses.





During the meeting, she said: "I want to make it clear to the people of the Turks and Caicos that the PDM will not be supporting the degradation, or the pulling down of anyones character in this campaign season.





"We are not going to engage in the responding to a lot of the allegations and silly statements that are being made against us.





"However, there are one or two things that I feel I must clear up to the public.





"I want to make it clear to the people of this country that the statement made that if the PDM were to win, there would be another Commission of Inquiry is totally false, as I have done nothing that I am aware of.





"I know that I have done nothing that would warrant any investigation by the CIA, or any involvement by SIPT.





"I want the country to understand that and know for a fact that that is not so.





The leader is urging the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands to ask for more, and demand more in this election season.





"We want people to ask those that are running, what plans they have for the Turks and Caicos Islands.





"Your campaign platform cannot be about what another party is doing, or is not doing.





"It must be the change that the people are looking for. They want to hear issues and how we

who are running in this election, are going to improve their lives.





Mrs Cartwright-Robinson also clarified that the list of civil servants names that was circulating, stating that they would be terminated if the PDM becomes Government, was false.





She reiterated that neither she nor her party would participate in petty tactics, or political gimmicks.





"Civil servants have a security of tenure, and we are not in the business of uprooting anyones life, but to grow this country and move it forward; and we intend to work with the civil service in order to do just that, the PDM Leader said.




Nigerian Banks remain strong, Central Bank Governor assures Afreximbank Board

The third quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) ended in Lagos, Nigeria, with Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), telling the members that the countrys banks remained strong.

In a presentation to the Board Members, Mr. Emefiele outlined the measures the CBN and Nigeria had put in place to address the problem of foreign exchange scarcity in the country, saying that although some unpopular policies had been implemented, they were already yielding results.

He gave assurance that the CBN would work with Afreximbank to ensure that there were no challenges in the Banks operations in Nigeria, saying that Nigeria remained a profitable investment destination.

Also in a separate session, Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director of Fidelity Bank PLC, and Olakunle Alake, Chief Operating Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, addressed the Board of Directors on their operations and the impacts of the current economic situation in Nigeria.

Welcoming the guests, Afreximbank President Dr. Benedict Oramah has expressed the Banks appreciation for the opportunity to hear directly from some of the most important actors in the Nigerian economy. According to him, a strong Nigeria also means a strong Africa.

The third quarterly meetings, which ended with the 110th Meeting of the Board of Directors, had opened on 23 September with a session of the Executive Committee, followed by those of the Branch Management Committee, the Audit/Risk Committee and the Remunerations Committee.

On 22 September, President Oramah led the Board Members on a tour of the petroleum refinery and fertilizer plant under construction by Dangote Industries Limited in the Lekki Free Trade Zone of Lagos. The delegation also visited the headquarters of Arik Air, where Company Chairman Joseph Aruremi-Ikhide said that the airline had become the largest in the West and Central Africa region through a strong focus on service quality and safety.

www.afreximbank.com
WORKERS employed with the National Health Insurance Plan (NHIP) staged a no-show on Wednesday, leaving many visitors upset and management scrambling to rectify the situation.





Shortly after news of the sick-out by the staff spread around the local media outlets, social media pages and private phone blogs, the management of the agency issued a press release acknowledging that they were aware of the absence of several of its employees.





But they did not say what the reason for that absence was. However, sources close to the agency cited a number of internal issues related the employees raise in pay and the removal of the chief executive officer.





The release stated that as a result of the sick-out by the majority of the NHIP staff, the customer service department will be closed to the public until further notice. Up to Thursday, when checks were made, no one had showed up for work.





The release further advised that the operations department, which deals with overseas treatment and all other medical emergencies, had an on-call team in place to handle all emergencies, which would not affect the service to NHIP holders.





It added that all payment operations remained available online to business owners.





Efforts by this publication to contact the management to see if employees grouses had been resolved proved futile.




THE five families that were affected by Friday (September 17) nights fire have received an outpouring of support from local organisations, as they piece their lives back together again after the tragedy.





On Wednesday, the TCI Gaming Enterprise and Caicos Express Airways presented representatives of the five families with cash donations of $400 and $200 respectively.





Both companies, whose representatives presented the money at the handover, indicated that they were moved to help the families out of kindness as a tragedy such as this could happen to anyone.





On Saturday, the Adventist development relief agency presented each of the families with a $200 cheque to assist them in finding more long term housing solutions.





On Thursday, Mrs Sarah Amachee also held a clothing and toy drive at the International School of the TCI, where students and staff donated items to be given to the families.





DDME Director, Dr Virginia Clerveaux has been spearheading the donations to families over the past week.





She is inviting anyone who may be of a similar bent, to help in whatever way they can, as every little counts.





The families are still in need of many of other items, such as furniture and electrical appliances as they lost everything in the devastating Friday night fire.





Anyone who is willing to help can contact the DDME office.




-Finance Minister blasts court for lack in decision in twelve storey building saga

THE decision by the Court of Appeal not to deliver its judgment in what is seen as a very important point in the future development of the Turks and Caicos Islands has come under attack from the Minister of Finance, Washington Misick.





The decision the appellate has to reach involves an appeal they recently heard in a Providenciales Supreme Court, whereby the Venetian and the Tuscany hotels are asking to direct the Chief Justice to conduct a judicial review of a Government decision made in February, but which she refused to do, due to a number of grounds she presented in her judgement back in July.





That February amendment had paved the way for developers to construct buildings taller than seven storeys, up to twelve, in the TCI.





When the justices adjourned this session of the appellate court on Tuesday, they left without giving the appellants, the respondents or anyone involved in the case, a definitive date as to when they will make a decision on the hotels appeal.





On Thursday (September 22), when this publication contacted the finance minister, he was quite livid with the appellate courts refusal to deliver a swift judgement in the case.





"Clearly the Government is obliged to follow the law, but it is unfortunate [the delay], I think it is actually reflective of a system that is moribund (declining), a sort of an inertia.





"I think justice must be done in all cases, but the wheels of justice mustnt turn so slowly that it impedes the development of the people that that justice is meant to serve, Misick said.





The minister stated that the delay clearly impedes progress in development in the country to some extent.





"As I have said before this could have serious economic impact, because we are tapped out in terms of our room capacity, and we need to have additional room capacity in Turks and Caicos, really quickly for our tourism to grow.





"If the revenue generated from tourism is going to grow in the short-to-medium term we need to start increasing the room count.





He added that whatever decision the court may come to, they need to find a way to hand that down really quickly.





He further noted that one would have to accept that the judges would and can appreciate the problems the country now faces in terms of development.





"I do think that the judgement should be expedited and hopefully they will come through early and hopefully they would find a way to deliver their judgement before next February, the minister emphasised.





Asked if the perception could be drawn that the court is simply being cautious about its decision, given the weight it carries and the importance of the matter, Minister Misick was not inclined to draw that conclusion.





He stated that he does not know what it is, but what he does believe is that the judiciary is somewhat at the level where the number of sittings of the Court of Appeal should be increased, further questioning whether the retirement age for judges should not be looked at seriously.





Expanding on that last point, Misick stated that energy is directly proportional to age and mental capacity, adding that he is aware that in other jurisdictions the current appellate judges would be unable to serve, as they would be considered beyond the age of retirement and dexterity.





Misicks point about the age of judges is one which has been touted and criticised before  in the corruption trial which is currently being presided over by a 78-year-old judge.





- The court of appeal will sit again in January 2017, but it is likely that the decision on the appeal will come before that time. ?




By Daisy Handfield

AN ONLINE survey recently declared the Turks and Caicos one of the safest islands in all of the Caribbean, but it is no secret that the country is seeing an increase in not only robberies, but also gun violence.





Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, PDM leader, addressed the subject of crime during a press conference at the PDM headquarters in Providenciales on Wednesday.





Mrs Cartwright-Robinson explained that she was concerned about the increase in crime, not only against residents and visitors, but also against police officers and other officials in authority.





The politician made reference to a shootout which happened last weekend, where an alleged burglar fired shots at a security officer at the Leeward Gates in Providenciales.





After the robber fled the scene, police engaged him in a high-speed chase, during which shots were fired at the police.





She said: "We have had a number of shootouts with police officers, and there is no outrage and no outcry. This shows that we are reaching a place where we are dismissing authority and those who are here to protect us.





"The increase in robberies, the increase in murders and gun crimes; we are still waiting for a police imprint; we are still waiting to see what it is that the country intends to do.





"When I say the country, I mean this Government, together with police authority.





"What do they plan to do to respond to what is happening in terms of crime in this country.





She said that on Friday, during House of Assembly meeting, a National Security Bill was brought to the table and she is not satisfied that the country is heading anywhere, in terms of setting up a large advisory group, which in her opinion was much needed.





"However, more immediate, we need the training of police officers; we need the resources; we need more manpower and we need more skills, in terms of resolving the crimes and being able to not just detect, but to prevent.





The PDM leader also extended her sympathy to the family of Feliciano Antonia Garcia Quin, a 56-year-old Dominican man, who was killed at his home in Kew Town recently.




India in the past two years is kept on witnessing some transformations in its ecological, social, and educational systems and all credits go to the Modi Government. It is the Prime Minister of India  Mr. Narendra Modi who has brought up several amendments and transformations in the time-honored frameworks of the country in different segments. And the latest step from the Modi Government is going to be an extremely notable step for improving the climatic patterns of India.

While the rate of greenhouse gasses are kept on transforming the Indian climates in an uncertain and risky track, the official functionality of this deal will bring some significant changes to this harsh circumstance. The adverse impacts of Global warming in India are quite notable and truly are the most serious issues facing by the societies today. However, the endorsement of the new protocol will surely bring some positive changes in the conditions.

Modi while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) national executive conference in Kozhikode, Kerala said thatNow the time has come to ratify the COP21 protocol. India will do it on Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October.

As said by Mr. Modi to the media on Sunday, on 2nd October, on the precious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Indian Government is going to sanction the Paris Climate Agreement. Currently, India is ranked as the worlds third-largest articulator of greenhouse gasses, and this pact will bring some improvements in this conditions. As said by the PM of India, the government will officially adhere to the Paris agreement on climate change on October 2 and will sign the new set of rules for climate change for next four years.

On 8th November of this year, the conference of 196 countries at Morocco is scheduled to hold and on this symposium, Indian Government will officially start working on these rules, regulations, and decisions of Paris Climate Change Deal. On the fortunate occasion of the birthday of Nations father Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Government will consent the Conference of Parties (CoP) procedure on hostility climate change with Paris.

In the UN climate change conference COP21 in Paris, entire 195 nations from all over the world embraced the first universal and legally binding international climate pact, and India was one of them. The deal sets out a global activity plan to put the world on track to keep away from hazardous environmental transformations and constraint the pace of global warming below 2Celsius. The declaration is expected to go into power in 2020. Modi previously said that India would formally join the historic deal in 2015 in Paris, through which nations will distinguish the move to stem the planets rising temperatures. The progression, India  the worlds third biggest greenhouse emitter is going to make will bring the reality of the deal a step nearer to authenticity.

As per the rules of the Paris Pact, the agreement demands approval from 55 nations that account for at least 55% of the greenhouse gas emissions of the planet responsible for climate alteration. Particularly, the deal asks the governments to the frontier the rising temperature of the world below 2 Celsius and to struggle for 1.5 Celsius at least.
Audi  The German automobile conglomerate has always been an industry leader in global automobile arena. From high-range lavishing models to mid-went vehicles, Audi always has tried to represent its fine craftsmanship, cutting-edge innovations, and modern approach. And now, the German monster is gearing up to introduce a new high-class sedan to reinforce its existing portfolio of luxurious SUVs. Ahead of Paris Motor Show 2016, Audi released the teaser for its new car  Audi Q5 yesterday, giving some glimpse of its going-to-be-released car.

On Saturday, Audi has published a new teaser video of its latest Audi Q5 SUV model that is going to make a big appearance in upcoming Paris Motor Show. The video clip completely concentrates on portraying the propelled setups of the new lavishing SUV including its cutting-edge LED lighting technology and the evolutionary design approach that Audi has taken with the new Q5. Next week, on 29th September, Audi Q5 SUV is going to make its entrance in global automobile marketplace.

The teasers clearly show that the second-gen Audi Q5 is revived with a ground-breaking spruce up and refreshed with a jagged and raw-boned in terms of design and outline. The all-new Q5 also gets new single-frame grille and Matrix LED headlights that have made it more stylish and lavishing. Based on teaser images released yesterday, the second-generation Audi Q5 is expected to bring up some of the most notable modifications and configurations in standard SUV configurations of Audi. It will have its premiere in next, and its public debut is slated for the 2016 Paris Motor, which will be held on September 29. Previously, Audi was reported to bring some significant changes to its existing SUV styling, and the next-gen Audi Q5 is the true mirror of this statement. Embodied with a revolutionary approach, the 2017 Audi Q5 is outfitted with the trademark Single frame grille, updated LED lights and Matrix LED headlights.

Audi, with the cutting edge Q5, seems to create the trend of LED lighting technology for the upcoming lineup of sedans. With the top-end Matrix light technology, Audi Q5 is expected to deliver a more vivid and smooth riding experience. Apart from this, Audi also has brought up significant modifications to the bottom of the SUV. The MLB Evo, which is located in the 2016 Audi A4, is also teased to come up with the new model of Audi. With high ductile steel, the new Q5 is accounted for to shed around 100 kg.

Like the previous models of Audi  Audi Q7, A4, and A5, the second-gen Audi Q5 is also embodied with the latest MLB Evo platform which has made it quite lighter, weighing around 100 kg lighter compared to the other outgoing model. Apart from this, this new sedan from Audi will be offered with a range of four and six-cylinder TFSI petrol and TDI diesel engines like the Audi A4 has. Transmission variants of Audi Q5 are reported to feature three options like 6-speed manual, 7-speed S Tronic, and 8-speed Tiptronic.

2017 Audi Q5 Teaser Image Galley
Anirudh Regidi

Politics and democracy are funny things. Everyone has the right to free speech, to vote for anyone they desire and to support them in any way they see fit. Its a system that seems to work very well, but only till someone disagrees with you.

As long as the above doesnt interfere with anyone elses rights as defined by the constitution, and said support is legal and aboveboard, anything goes. When people found out that Oculus Rift creator, Palmer Luckey had funded a pro-Donald Trump shitposting (memes, jokes, etc.) group online, everyone lost their minds. But why? Nobody complained when Tim Cook held a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton.

Developers publicly dropped support for Oculus, angry fans vented their frustration on Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels and Luckey was forced to issue an apology and clarify his political stance.

Heres the whole story

Nimble America is a shitposting factory that churns out memes, jokes and other similar content, but with a distinctly pro-Donald Trump stance. It turns out that Palmer Luckey donated $10,000 (around Rs 6,70,000) to the company. Thats pocket change for a man worth $700 million.

If that wasnt enough, Luckey reportedly posted regularly on The Donald subreddit posing as NimbleRichMan. That ID has since been deleted and Luckey denies that the ID belongs to him. With posts like, The American Revolution was funded by wealthy individuals. The same has been true of many movements for freedom in history. You cant fight the American elite without serious firepower. They will outspend you and destroy you by any and all means, one can see why.

The Daily Beast, which first broke the story on Luckey's contributions, quotes him as saying, Money is not my issue. I thought it sounded like a real jolly good time.

Following these revelations and aforementioned community backlash, Luckey issued a statement on Facebook where he apologised and clarified his actions. He claims that he only saw Nimble America had had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters and that hes a libertarian who supports Ron Paul and Gary Johnson.

Its in that same post that he denies writing the NimbleRichMan posts and subsequently deleting the account. He concludes with an apology, Still, my actions were my own and do not represent Oculus. Im sorry for the impact my actions are having on the community.

Money will have its way

Millionaires and billionaires misusing their money to push their own agenda is nothing new. Peter Thiels thirst for revenge pushed Gawker Media to bankruptcy, for example.

Is this morally wrong? Its a matter of perspective. Is it unethical? Again, its a matter of perspective.

Will Luckey vote for Trump? Thats not our concern. Some might feel that Trump is the worst thing to happen to America, and maybe the world, in a century, but he is a US Presidential candidate and he has the constitutional right to do so. He also has the support of millions of Americans.

Palmer Luckey is one of them.

Trump has been called a bigot, a racist, a narcissist and many number of unflattering things, but hes not doing anything illegal. In fact, the same applies to Luckey.

What theyre doing may be unethical, immoral, immature and misguided; we may not like it, but theyre still within their rights to do what theyre doing.

Oculus CEO, Brendan Iribe was quick to come out in support for Luckey, saying that Luckey was deeply sorry, but also pointing out that, Everyone at Oculus is free to support the issues or causes that matter to them, whether or not we agree with those views. He added that Luckeys actions were his alone and that his views do not represent the views of Oculus or its partners.

Palmer Luckey should have known better, but he has every right to do what he did.
tech2 News Staff

Reliance Jio and COAI have been involved in a long, ongoing conflict for interconnection points as Reliance Jio readies for its commercial launch. This launch is slated for next year after the three month Welcome Offer runs its course. Here is the timeline of events that started the conflict between COAI and Reliance Jio.

5 August, 2016

Trai puts out a consultation paper to review interconnection usage charges.

10 August, 2016

The conflict began when COAI filed a complaint with Department of Telecommunication (DoT) against Reliance Jio for offering full-fledged services under the pretext of testing conditions, as reported by The Economic Times. Reliance Jio hits back saying that the charges are "malicious, unfounded, ill-informed and frivolous," as reported by The Hindustan Times.

12 August, 2016

COAI wrote to the Prime Minister's Office blaming Trai for following a "pattern of discrimination" and not acting against Reliance Jio. This move is in response to the Trai consultation paper which suggested doing away with interconnection usage charges.

18 August, 2016

COAI rejects Reliance Jio's request for additional capacity.

22 August, 2016

Reliance Jio threatened to take legal action against COAI for acting as mouthpiece of dominant telecom players and not cooperating with new telecom players.

1 September, 2016

Reliance announced the launch of Jio during their AGM (Annual General Meeting) 2016.

7 September, 2016

COAI informs the PMO that it is not bound to provide interconnect points to Reliance Jio, as reported by Economic Times.

9 September, 2016

The escalation reached an all-time-high after Reliance Jio alleged that the incumbent players were not providing interconnection points, which were resulting in failed calls between Jio and other users on other telecom operators. Trai intervened and fixed a meeting between telecom operators to end the conflict. After the meeting held on 9 September 2016, COAI alleged that its members were kept out of the meeting on a request from Jio.

10 September, 2016

Trai debunked the allegation and asked COAI to apologise for false statements.

14 September, 2016

Following the meeting, five out of six COAI members agreed on issues, including interconnection points. Major telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea issued statements in favour of agreements and welcomed Reliance Jio to the industry. Reliance reports that 52 crore calls fail because of the lack of interconnect points.

21 September, 2016

Reliance Jio released a statement saying that there was no positive response from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone or Idea, despite the agreement.

24 September, 2016

The company countered responses from Idea saying that the interconnection points were not sufficient, resulting in crores of failed calls.

25 September, 2016

In the latest development, Reliance Jio has called for a complete overhaul of COAI over voting rights alleging that COAI is biased towards dominant operators  Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea. In a letter to COAI, Jio said "It is imminently clear from the above that the entire decision-making power and authority rests only with the incumbent dominant operators. The other core members have been reduced to a nullity and their presence or not will always be inconsequential." COAI countered the response saying that the right to vote was an internal matter and that Reliance Jio was a "back door" operator. COAI added "None of the half a dozen new operators who have entered in the last five years have ever accused the Cellular Operators Association of India or in fact labelled the leading operators as incumbent dominant operators. Despite repeated and grave provocations from Reliance Jio, COAI wishes to state that Reliance Jio which entered the sector as a back door operator was welcomed by COAI as a full member," in the statement.

And so the conflict continues.

Disclaimer: Reliance Jio is owned by Reliance Industries, who also own Network18, the publisher of Firstpost and Tech2.
Sheldon Pinto

Every single time one compares an Apple iPhone with an Android device, there's this one topic that always comes up, and that's fragmentation. So what if Google built an iPhone? What if Google built a premium smartphone (price no bar), which ran Google's own software and was loaded to the brim with hardware that was designed specifically for it? Well technically that would be an Android smartphone built using the Apple formula. And it may work wonder for Google's Android.

Let's face it! Apple iPhones with every new update have been growing more and more powerful. We saw this happen with last year's iPhone 6s and even this year with the iPhone 7 that packs in plenty more power with the right software on board. iOS 10 too has not been much of glutton and is not hogging into too many resources, which means that we are beginning to see how Apple with lesser hardware is outdoing even the most powerful Android smartphones on the block (including the recently launched Note 7 by Samsung) as shown in the video below.

Unlike Pixel devices in the past, you will still see smartphones that are manufactured by HTC this year, but things could change in the coming years. Plenty about the Google Pixel and the Pixel XL has leaked out so far, except for one important bit and that's hardware.

Daydream and the Custom Chipset

The currently available Pixel C is powered by an Nvidia X1 chipset and it is a pretty capable one, that supports Vulkan and Direct X12. From the little that we know about Google's biggest VR push called Daydream, we do know that none of the currently available smartphone chipsets fit the bill. They can power Daydream, but will not be able to sustain the experience. So our best guess is that Daydream and the Google Pixel smartphones could be powered by a brand new processor.

Google has been working with Nvidia over the years so surely there is not much to be surprised about if Google announces something new from Nvidia or simply goes the Qualcomm way but with a custom chipset.

This is a big deal as a custom-made chip would be needed to match Apple's formula. Apple's current A10 Fusion on the iPhone 7 is running circles around Qualcomm's current 820 on Android flagships. So far the only evidence we have seen online is a leaked GeekBench result of the Pixel XL and it does not look too convincing as Samsung's S7 performs better. Since it too is not enough for Daydream, a new chipset could be the only way out.

3D Touch for Android?

With this out of the way, it all boils down to software and Google's Pixel smartphones, are expected to pack in something extra compared to the stuff that is already running inside the Nexus 5X and the 6P.

Google is expected to pack in some more software tweaks to make its Pixel special and worthy of the premium price tags that is expected to demand (this ain't no Nexus). Reports so far point to a special new launcher, that should provide a slightly tweaked UX for Pixel owners. Add to this Android Nougat 7.1 that is expected to bring other goodies. According to Pixel launcher teardowns by Android Police, we have new rounded icons for Pixel devices along with Launcher Shortcuts.

Launcher Shortcuts is something similar to Quick Actions from Apple's iOS 9 (Apple's iPhone's currently run iOS 10). We aren't sure how Google plans to activate the same (a new display with Force Touch or a long-press) but we do know that they do work on current generation phones, so Google will need a big excuse if it wants to make them Pixel exclusive. This is because teardowns have revealed that they can work with a swipe or a long-press. Will Google's Pixel devices feature pressure-sensitive display's? Well, we will know soon enough.

A new Google?

Right now there are no hints as to whether Google will cull or retain the Nexus brand, post the Pixel smartphone launch. If Google kills Nexus, we could be looking at a new Google with a new image that seeks to build premium products and leave behind manufacturers to deal with the fragmented mess that it has created.

Not killing the Nexus brand would leave them in the same spot that they have been in for years because this would mean that Google is with fragmentation and variety but it also wants control over hardware and software at the same time. Pixel would be the search giant's first attempt at controlling both with a smartphone (think what Microsoft did with Surface) after the Pixel C.

If Google goes with Pixel and kills Nexus, we could finally be seeing a smartphone from Android that will have no excuses about fragmentation, hardware and software irregularities, and for the first time, 'Android perfection' that should be able to take the Apple iPhone head on!
hidden

In its bid to encourage innovators to make in India, Infosys on Monday announced the winners of its first 'Infy Maker Awards' in the country. In the first Indian edition, 20 winners were selected from more than 280 entries and over 2,500 registrations. The winners were chosen from categories like health, energy, education, sound and music, social change solutions, robotics, art and design, artificial intelligence and electronics, among others.

"The 'Infy Maker Awards' in India aim to recognise some of the best minds and unleash the power of creativity and imagination of the next generation of thinkers," said Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, in a statement. "We believe that these awards will ignite the spirit of 'making' in India and celebrate excellence in innovation. Infosys intends to steadily empower and reward such makers in India across communities and organisations," Rao added.

The 20 winners will be presented with Rs 5 lakh each, a trophy and a certificate. The awards were launched in the US by the Infosys Foundation USA in June 2015 in support of President Barack Obama's "Nation of Makers" initiative. "Building on the success of this awards programme in the US, the 'Infy Maker Awards' in India is a reaffirmation of our commitment to contribute significantly to the larger global community and inspire the next generation of makers," said Vandana Sikka, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation USA.

IANS
tech2 News Staff

Mid-range smartphones typically do not go big on specifications. Even if they do, these would be flagship smartphones from Chinese brands, like LeEco and OnePlus that are usually the mid range for bigger brands like Samsung, Sony, LG and the lot. But Samsung may be about to break this norm by actually announcing a mid-range smartphone with 6GB of RAM.

According to the latest leak, the Samsung Galaxy C9 smartphone that has shown up in plenty of leaks in the past, is expected to arrive with 6GB of RAM. Add a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 to the mix and you get quite a robust kit of hardware to take on any mid-range device. But Samsung's upcoming C9 has plenty more according to leaked AnTuTu and GeekBench results.

The results show a device tagged as the SM-C9000 running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. It features a Full HD display with 64GB of internal storage. Both front and rear-facing cameras are shown to have 16MP sensors while the Snapdragon 652 seems to be clocked at 1.4GHz.

Samsung could be preparing a mid-range weapon here. And going by the official images of its siblings (C5 and the C7), it looks like it will own the segment provided it is priced right.
hidden

India has a satellite launch order book of around Rs 280 crore for third parties. The country is also in discussions with others for contract manufacturing of meteorological satellites, said top Indian space officials here on Monday. The officials spoke to the media here after the successful launch of eight satellites-three Indian and five foreign-with an Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

"Our order book size for launching foreign satellites stands at around Rs 280 crore. This will take us around two/three years to exhaust," said of Antrix Corporation's Chairman-cum-Managing Director S. Rakesh. Rakesh said discussions are on with several parties for orders worth a similar amount. The Antrix Corporation is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). According to Rakesh, the company closed last fiscal with a turnover of Rs 1,923 crore crore and is expected to close the current fiscal with a revenue of around Rs 2,000 crore. He said the company is looking at consolidating the performance and achievements of ISRO.

On making satellites for others, ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said: "Our meteorological satellites have excellent capabilities which, barring the US, others do not have." He said India is in discussions for making meteorological satellites for others. According to Kumar, ISRO will look at the possibilities of contract manufacturing satellites for others along with Indian industry as it has to cater to the country's needs first.

He said there are opportunities and converting them into actual orders depends on various factors. Queried about ISRO's plans to make six-tonne satellites, Kumar said the focus now is to get the same output from four-tonne satellites instead of going for a six-tonner. The move will save sizeable sums for India as it pays to launch heavier satellites through the European space agency's rocket Ariane.

Asked about the launch of Saarc satellite, Kumar said the satellite is being readied, adding that while Pakistan has said it is not interested in the India-built Saarc satellite, discussions are on with Bangladesh and Afghanistan. India on Monday morning successfully put into orbit its own weather satellite SCATSAT-1 and seven others -- five foreign: three from Algeria (Alsat-1B 103 kg, Alsat-2B 117 kg, Alsat-1N 7 kg), and one each from Canada (NLS-19, 8 kg) and the US (Pathfinder, 44 kg); and two Indian: Pratham (10 kg) built by Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) and Pisat (5.25 kg) from PES University, Bengaluru, and its consortium.

With this, India successfully completed yet another multiple-satellite launch in a single rocket mission and is marching towards the milestone of 100 foreign satellite launches. Till date, India has successfully launched 79 satellites for international customers. Interestingly, this was also PSLV's longest launch spread over two hours and 15 minutes. The Indian space agency ISRO also put into commercial use its multiple-burn technology in its rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Simply put, multiple-burn technology is the switching off and switching on of a rocket's engine in space mainly to deliver satellites in two different orbits.

IANS
Fresh strikes hit Syria`s Aleppo as supplies dwindle

Smoke and flames billow from a bus following a reported air strike in the rebel-held Salaheddin district of Aleppo on Sunday.

AFP, Aleppo (Syria) :

Warplanes again pounded rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo on Monday as residents warned of increasing shortages of food and medicine.

An AFP correspondent in the battered city said a wave of strikes hit areas of the opposition-controlled east of the city from dawn, in particular the Al-Mashhad and Sayf al-Dawla districts, sparking large fires.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said "dozens of raids" had hit districts of east Aleppo after midnight on Sunday, with many wounded and at least two civilians killed.

It was the fourth day of intense air raids on the city since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States.

The Observatory said Monday that at least 128 people, nearly all civilians, had been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

Among the dead were 20 children and nine women, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

At least 36 civilians, including 11 children and five women, were killed in raids targeting rural areas of Aleppo province, he said.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties as supplies dwindled.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," the source told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations," he said.

With Aleppo back under siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were having to deal with food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as the increased violence.

The price of a portion of bread had risen to 500 Syrian pounds ($1) from 350 Syrian pounds last week, the AFP correspondent said, and food was becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Several charity kitchens that had distributed food in eastern districts were also no longer operating due to the danger of air strikes.

Aleppo, divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east, has seen some of its worst fighting in years over the last week, raising widespread international concern.

The UN Security Council met in an emergency session on Sunday to address the fighting, with Britain, France and the United States demanding Russia rein its Syrian ally.

The United States called Russia's action in Syria "barbarism", while Moscow's UN envoy said ending the war was "almost an impossible task", as government forces relentlessly bombed the besieged city of Aleppo.

The United Nations Security Council met on Sunday at the request of the US, Britain and France to discuss the escalation of fighting in Aleppo following an announcement on Thursday of a fresh offensive by the Syrian army to retake the northern city, once the country's most populous before the war.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it is barbarism," the US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, told the 15-member council.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive," Power said.

A September 9 ceasefire deal brokered by the US and Russia effectively collapsed on Monday when an aid convoy was bombed north of Aleppo.




China air force holds drills near Japanese islands

Two Chinese Su-30 fighter jets take off from an unspecified location.

Reuters, Beijing :

Patrols launched to monitor "foreign military aircraft" flying over the East China Sea air defence identification zone.

China's air force says it flew more than 40 bombers and other fighter planes through a strait between Japanese islands on their way to military drills in the western Pacific.

Regular long-range drills in the western Pacific and patrols over the East China Sea air defence identification zone were to protect China's sovereignty and national security, China's air force spokesman Shen Jinke said on Sunday, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Defence website.

China drew condemnation from Japan and the United States in 2013 when it imposed an Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea, in which aircraft are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities.

The patrols were to "carefully monitor and judge the foreign military aircraft that enter the anti-aircraft defence zone, to take measures to respond to different threats in the sky, and to protect national airspace", the statement said.

Aircraft of the People's Liberation Army carried out the exercises after flying over the Miyako Strait, a body of water between Japan's islands of Miyako and Okinawa, the air force statement said.

This comes as China has been increasingly asserting itself in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.

China's ties with Japan have been strained by a longstanding territorial dispute over a string of islets in the East China Sea, known in China as the Diaoyu and in Japan as the Senkaku.

The two countries have also clashed over what China sees as Japan's refusal to take responsibility for its wartime past.

China's navy has often used the Miyako Strait, a key strategic route for the military, as a pathway from eastern China to the Pacific Ocean.

Earlier this month, Chinese bombers, fighters and early warning and aerial refuelling aircraft flew through the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan and the Philippines to exercises in the western Pacific.

Meanwhile, Japan says it scrambled fighter jets on Sunday after eight Chinese military aircraft flew between Japanese islands.




PATUAKHALI: Awami League leaders with high officials in Patuakhali district administration handing over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina\'s letter to school student Shishendro and his family at a ceremony recently.
'Professional skills must for success in banking sector'

Rajshahi Correspondent :

Senor bankers asked their branch-level colleagues to attain professional skills as it is inevitable for achieving success in the banking sector.

They urged them to make their banking activities client-friendly so that they get total benefits of the banking service.

They were addressing the inaugural session of a ten-day training course styled "Skill and Attitude Development" for the 49 promoted officers of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (Rakub) at its training institute here on Sunday.

RAKUB,the specialised bank has been putting in its level best effort to establish a dynamic leadership along with accountability and transparency in all its activities to earn confidence of the clients.

RAKUB Managing Director Awal Khan and Deputy Managing Director Nazrul Islam addressed the session as chief and special guest respectively with principal of the institute Ataur Rahman in the chair.

Faculty Members Ronojit Kumar Sen and SM Ahsanullah also spoke.

The speakers highlighted the importance of the bank in agricultural development of the northwest Bangladesh and asked the officers to apply the knowledge to be acquired from the training in the professional field properly for boosting agricultural production in the region.

As the largest development partner in the agricultural sector of the northwest Bangladesh, RAKUB plays a vital role to earn economic emancipation and free the nation from poverty and hunger through boosting credit-flow to the potential agricultural fields, they added.
Japanese academic meets DU VC



Dr Shigeki Masunaga, Professor of Yokohama National University of Japan, on Sunday called on Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University (DU) Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique at the latter's office of the university.

Chairman of the Department of Oceanography of DU Prof. Dr. Md. Kawser Ahmed, Associate Professor of the Department of Fisheries of DU Dr. Mohammad Raknuzzaman and Associate Professor of Patuakhali Science and Technology University Dr. Md. Saiful Islam were present on the occasion, a DU press release said.

During the meeting, they discussed the possibilities of strengthening ongoing collaborative academic and research programs jointly conducted by the University of Dhaka and the Yokohama National University of Japan. They stressed the need for development of education system in Bangladesh.

Earlier, Japanese Professor Dr Shigeki Masunaga delivered a lecture on "Sources of Some Persistent Organic Pollutants in Japan" organized by the Department of Oceanography of DU at the departmental auditorium.
Globalization for everyone

Hernando de Soto :

Nowadays, globalization's opponents seem increasingly to be drowning out its defenders. If they get their way, the post-World War II international order - which aimed, often successfully, to advance peace and prosperity through exchange and connection - could well collapse. Can globalization be saved?

At first glance, the outlook appears grim. Every aspect of globalization - free trade, free movement of capital, and international migration - is under attack. Leading the charge are antagonistic forces - from populist political parties to separatist groups to terrorist organizations - whose actions tend to focus more on what they oppose than on what they support.

In Russia and Asia, anti-Western groups are at the forefront of the campaign against globalization. In Europe, populist parties have tended to emphasize their aversion to European integration, with those on the right often also condemning immigration, while the left denounces rising economic inequality. In Latin America, the enemy seems to be foreign interference of any kind. In Africa, tribal separatists oppose anyone standing in the way of independence. And in the Middle East, the Islamic State (ISIS) virulently rejects modernity - and targets societies that embrace it.

Despite their differences, these groups have one thing in common: a deep hostility toward international structures and interconnectedness (though, of course, a murderous group like ISIS is in a different category from, say, European populists). They do not care that the international order they want to tear down enabled the rapid post-1945 economic growth that liberated billions of developing-country citizens from poverty. All they see are massive, unbending institutions and intolerable inequalities in wealth and income, and they blame globalization.

There is some truth to these arguments. The world is a very unequal place, and inequality within societies has widened considerably in recent decades. But this is not because of international trade or movements of people; after all, cross-border trade and migration have been happening for thousands of years.

The anti-globalization movements' proposed solution - closing national borders to trade, people, or anything else - thus makes little sense. In fact, such an approach would hurt virtually everyone, not just the wealthy elites who have benefited most from globalized markets.

So what is fueling inequality? To answer that question, we must consider what about globalization is generating returns for the wealthy.

A central aspect of globalization is the careful documentation of the knowledge and legal tools needed to combine the property rights of seemingly useless single assets (electronic parts, legal rights to production, and so on) into complex wholes (an iPhone), and appropriate the surplus value they generate. Clear and accessible ledgers that faithfully describe not only who controls what and where, but also the rules governing potential combinations - of, say, collateral, components, producers, entrepreneurs, and legal and property rights - are vital for the system to function.

The problem is that five billion people around the world are not documented in national ledgers in anything approaching an organized manner. Instead, their entrepreneurial talents and legal rights to assets are recorded in hundreds of scattered records and rules systems throughout their countries, making them internationally inaccessible.

Under these conditions, it is impossible for the majority of humanity to participate effectively in their national economies, much less the global one. Without any means of participating in the process of producing high-value combinations, people have no chance of seizing some of the surplus value created.

So it is a lack of consolidated, documented knowledge - not free trade - that is fueling inequality worldwide. But addressing this problem will not be easy. Just determining how many people are left out took my organization, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), two decades of fieldwork, conducted by more than 1,000 researchers in some 20 countries.

The main problem is legal lag. The lawyers and corporate elites who draft and enact the legislation and regulations that govern globalization are disconnected from those who are supposed to implement the policies at the local level. In other words, the legal chain is missing a few crucial links.

Experience in Japan, the United States, and Europe shows that a straightforward legal approach to ensuring equal rights and opportunities can take a century or more. But there is a faster way: treating the missing links as a break not in a legal chain, but in a knowledge chain.

We at the ILD know something about knowledge chains. We spent 15 years adding millions of people to the globalized legal system, by bringing the knowledge contained in marginal ledgers into the legal mainstream - all without the help of computers. But we do not have decades more to spend on this process; we need to bring in billions more people, and fast. That will require automation.

Last year, ILD began, with pro bono support from Silicon Valley firms, to determine whether information technology, and specifically blockchain (the transparent, secure, and decentralized online ledger that underpins Bitcoin), could enable more of the world's population to get in on globalization. The answer is a resounding yes.

By translating the language of the legal chain into a digital language - an achievement that required us to develop a set of 21 typologies - we have created a system that could locate and capture any ledger in the world and make it public. Moreover, we have been able to compress into 34 binary indicators the questions that computers have to ask captured ledgers to determine which provisions should be inserted in blockchain smart contracts between globalized firms and non-globalized collectives.

Information technology has democratized so many elements of our lives. By democratizing the law, perhaps it can save globalization - and the international order.

(Hernando de Soto is President of the Institute of Liberty and Democracy and the author of The Mystery of Capital).

Courtesy: Project Syndicate


Pay heed to UNESCO`s concern over Rampal

THE UNESCO's concern over the impact of Rampal coal-fired power project on the Sundarban remains high, as the government is adamant to build the power plant. The UN body last month sent a letter to the government to know what specific measures the government is planning to check the probable damage that may be caused by hot water and chemical discharge from the power plant. The UNESCO's earlier request to the government to stop the plant closer to the mangrove forest; which is listed as one of the World Heritages to save it from extinction has gone unheeded. It's warning of listing the Sundarbans as 'endangered' World Heritage if the government continues with the project also made no sense. So the global agency this time wanted to know from the government what measures it is going to put in place which will mitigate impacts on aquatic resources, ecology, biodiversity, and wildlife in and around the mangrove forest requesting the government again to relocate the project at a distance.



The 1320 MW coal-fired power plant; which is a joint venture project with India is a mega project but the people of the country are opposing to it because of its critical threat to the existence of the Sundarbans. Environmentalists and the international community are also opposed to the project at its present site asking the government to relocate it. In its reply the Bangladesh government is saying that it will install all state of the art equipment to keep the environmental damage at the minimum. But it remains quite difficult to people as to why the government is not receptive to people's concerns from all levels while they also doubt the use of best technology in the plant. This is because India is shutting most of its coal-fired power plants as they are damaging the environment and polluting water there. Why Bangladesh should set up such a plant buying coal from India remains the big question.



Media report said the government will reply to UNESCO's letter while the State Minister for power has said the construction of Rampal power plant will continue, as no decision has been taken yet to stop it. We would ask the government to pay heed to the local and global concerns to Rampal power plant at its present location. If the relocation of the plant site can militate people's concern and yet the plant can be built, why the government is not flexible to such suggestion is not clearly understood. Why also India is not paying heed to local concern is yet another question when a new Sundarban can't be created while such power plant is always possible.

We share the UNESCO's concern as our own concern and ask the government to find a solution to the crisis steering agitation at all levels.
Aleppo bleeding

Bodies litter floor at makeshift hospital: Russia trades blame on US, UK

Syrian boy awaits treatment at a make-shift hospital following air strikes on rebel-held eastern areas of Aleppo recently.

Al Jazeera News :



Hospitals are struggling to cope in Syria's Aleppo as government and Russian fighter jets continued to pound the city's rebel-held east, killing more than 200 people in under a week.



Al Jazeera's Amr al-Halabi, reporting from a makeshift hospital in the city, described a bleak situation as the hospital overflowed with dozens of dead and wounded people.



"Dead people are on the floor of this makeshift hospital," Halabi said. "The situation here is desperate."



Bodies littered the ground inside and outside the facility, as volunteers and relatives carried severly wounded people inside, looking for somehere to put them down on a floor already full with air raid victims.



"There is not enough space for us. We have to leave immediately to make more room for those injured," Halabi said as a stream of ambulances ferried in the dead and wounded, overcrowding hospital wards.



"It looks like judgement day," he said. At an emergency meeting of the UN on Sunday, the US, Britain and France accused Russia, a key military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, of war crimes.



"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," US Ambassador Samantha Power said. "It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, adding that high-tech weaponry had inflicted "a new hell" on war-weary Syrians. Since a ceasefire deal broke down last week, the Syrian government and Russia have intensified a barrage of air raids aimed at taking the east of the city from rebels. Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that "bringing a peace is almost an impossible

task now". But Churkin laid the blame for the ceasefire collapse with the US, accusing Washington of being unable to convince the rebel groups it backs to distance themselves from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group - formerly known as the Nusra Front and not included in the truce deal - and abide by the ceasefire.



Once Syria's commercial centre, Aleppo has been ravaged by fighting and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.



Its east has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages. Attacks on water installations from both sides have left more than two million civilians without water.



"None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread," 30-year-old Imad Habush from Bab al-Nayrab neighbourhood told the AFP news agency.



Meanwhile, Russia has criticised the US and UK for using "unacceptable" tone and rhetoric in speeches on Syria at the UN, after being accused of "barbarism", adds BBC.



On Sunday, US permanent representative Samantha Power said Russian and Syrian forces were "laying waste" to besieged rebel-held areas of the city of Aleppo.



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that such language might damage efforts to end the five-year civil war. Activists meanwhile reported dozens of fresh air strikes on Aleppo overnight.




MP Rana`s bail plea rejected

A Tangail court has thrown out the bail plea of Awami League MP Amanur Rahman Khan Rana, who is detained in jail pending trial over the murder of freedom fighter Faruk Ahmed.

The Tangail-3 legislator appealed for bail to attend the ongoing session in Parliament on Sunday, court police's Inspector Anwarul Islam said.

First Additional District and Sessions Judge Abul Mansur Mia dismissed his petition on Monday.

On January 18, 2013, Tangail Awami League leader Faruk's bullet-riddled body was found in front of his home at the town's College Parha.

His wife Nahar Ahmed filed the murder case at Tangail Model Police Station three days later.

Police pressed charges against 14 people, including Rana and his three brothers, in February this year.

The ruling party MP on Sep 18 surrendered before the same court.

The court that day had sent him to jail after rejecting bail plea. Rana is currently lodged in Kashimpur prison in Gazipur.
HC asks BB Freeze `Tampaco` owner`s bank account

Staff Reporter :

The High Court (HC) on Monday ordered Bangladesh Bank (BB) to freeze the bank accounts of the owner of 'Tampaco Foils', which was devastated by an inferno on September 10, resulting in the death of at least 39 people.

A HC bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das passed the order after hearing upon a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Ain O Shalish Kendro (ASK) and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) demanding compensation for the victims and legal action against the persons responsible for the fire incident. The court earlier fixed Monday to pass its order.

The court issued a rule asking the authority concerned as to why the victims of the factory fire would not be provided compensation.

The court also ordered that the money would be withdrawn from the owner's bank account only to pay salary and compensation to the workers of the factory.

The court ordered the central bank to submit reports once in every two-month detailing in which sectors the amount so withdrawn from the confiscated account has been spent.

Thirty-nine people had been killed and 40 others injured so far as the devastating fire razed through the 'Tampaco Foils' factory fire in Tongi BSCIC Industrial Area in the early hours of September 10.

Two cases were filed in connection with the devastating fire incident.


Rampal influenced by protesters: AL

Staff Reporter :

The ruling party Awami League on Monday said that the UNESCO report on Rampal power plant was influenced by the plant protesters.

"After going through the report, I have got an impression that the Rampal plant protesters influenced the UNESCO to prepare the report," said Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary Hasan Mahmud.

He said this while addressing a press conference at AL President's Dhanmondi political office in the city after a meeting of the party's sub-committee on publicity and publication formed in connection with the party's council.

The AL leaders said, "I have read the report published in different national dailies. Some funny issues have been raised in it. The report says that rivers will lose their navigability or be destroyed if dredging takes place in a 36-km area." "It is not clear to me how rivers will get destroyed if dredging takes place there," he said.

The former minister said, the government will reply to the UNESCO report soon. The ministries are working on it. He expressed his optimism that the UNESCO will get the real picture.

In a recent report, UNESCO expressed concern over constructing Rampal Power Plant near the Sunderbans, a UNESCO heritage site, and suggested relocation of the plant.

Prime Minister's Political Advisor H.T Imam presided over the meeting. Central AL leader Badiuzzaman Bhuiyan Dablu, Asim Kumar Ukil and Sanzida Khanam, among others, were present.


$ 3.5b credit for Rampal, Payra plants

Anisul Islam Noor :

The government has given approval to the terms and conditions of two separate credit deals of USD 3.5 billion for coal-fired power plants having combined generation capacity of 2640MW, ignoring vast criticism by environmentalists.

Of the two power plants, the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd will operate 1320 MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal Upazila in Bagerhat District, while the Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited will operate another power plant of same capacity at Payra in Patuakhali district. Both the power plants will depend on the imported coal, Power Division sources said. The cost of per unit electricity of Payra coal-power-plant will be Tk 6.65 but that of the Rampal power plant could exceed Tk eight per unit, sources said.

The government has approved the terms and conditions of two separate credit deals involving $3.5 billion for the construction of two large coal-fired power plants with 2,640 MW combined generation capacity to be financed by the Chinese and the Indian banks.

Standing committee on non-concessional loan, headed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, gave the approval on September 15, officials said.

In India, officials of power division and Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company finalised the terms of $1.6 billion credit deal with Indian EXIM Bank on August 26 and 27 for the construction of 1,320MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat, some 14km from the Sunderbans.

They said that the Indian credit would carry one per cent interest and London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) with a 20-year payback period and seven-year grace period.

Curent six-month LIBOR is about 1.24 per cent. The total project cost for Rampal Power Plant was estimated at $ two billion.

On July 12, the friendship power company, a 50-50 joint venture of Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's National Thermal Power Corporation, signed a $1.49 billion contract with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited for engineering, procurement and construction of the Rampal 1,320MW coal-fired power plant.

Under the contract, the Indian company will construct the power plant by 2019, ignoring criticism and protest at home and abroad.

Environmentalists say that the Rampal Power Plant would destroy the biodiversity of the Sunderbans, but the government does not agree with the claim.

In China, officials of Power Division and Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited finalised the terms for $1.9 billion credit with Chinese EXIM Bank on September 2-5 for the construction of the Payra 1,320MW coal-fired power plant near proposed Payra Sea Port in Patuakhali.

Company Managing Director AM Khurshedul Alam said that the Chinese credit would carry about two per cent interest and LIBOR with a 15-year payback period and a four-year grace period.

The company is a 50-50 joint venture between the state-run North-West Power Generation Company of Bangladesh and China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation.

The company is expecting to sell each unit of electricity from the Payra power plant for Tk 6.65 to the Power Development Board while the cost of electricity from the Rampal Power Plant could exceed Tk eight per unit, said the officials.

On March 29, a $1.56 billion contract was signed with a Chinese consortium for engineering, procurement and construction of the Payra Power Plant.

The 660MW first unit of the power plant at Payra is expected to supply electricity from June, 2019. Six months later, the second unit of the same capacity would start power supply, sources said.
Banks go for random write-off bad loans

BB seeks info on top accounts

Kazi Zahidul Hasan :

The central bank has asked all scheduled banks to furnish it with the details of loans they have written off in the last one year along with particulars of top written-off accounts.



It also asked them to provide information of their loan recovery position of top 20 written-off accounts.



The central bank came up with the directive following reports that banks are randomly writing-off their bad loans violating norms.



"We have sent letters to the managing directors and chief executive officers of all scheduled banks on Sunday, asking them to send the information to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) within seven working days," an Executive Director of BB told The New Nation yesterday.



He said the write-off have increased considerably in the last one year underlining the need for investigation into the matter.



"There are allegations banks are violating regulatory norms while writing off bad loans. The move of BB will help determine whether banks violated regulatory norms or not. If banks found involved in breaching norms, remedial action would be taken against them," he added.



The central bank introduced guidelines for writing-off classified loans in 2003 aiming to improve loan recovery and make the financial statements of banks more transparent and accountable.



According to the BB statistics, banks have altogether written-off a whopping Tk 41,437 crore loans as of March 31 this year whereas the amount was Tk 37,252 crore as of March 31 last year.



The cumulative written-off loans by the banks rose by nearly Tk 200 crore to Tk 41,437 crore during the first quarter of the current calendar year from Tk 41,237 crore three months ago.



During the January-March 2016 period, the amount of written-off loans by six state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) rose to Tk 22,078 crore from Tk 22,067 crore in the previous quarter.



On the other hand, a total of Tk 18,041 crore loans were written-off by 39 private commercial banks (PCBs) during the period under review against Tk 17,910 crore three months ago.



Loans, written-off by nine foreign commercial banks (FCBs), rose to Tk 764 crore in the first quarter of 2016 from Tk 706 crore in the previous quarter.



"The written off amount has increased by more than 11 per cent in the last one year indicating banks randomly persuading the policy to reduce bad loans from their books of accounts," Dr Khondoker Ibrahim Khaled, former BB deputy governor told The New Nation yesterday.



Under the existing provisions, the bad loan portfolios remaining for a period longer than five years will come under the provision of writing off. Before making any final decision in this regard, the bank management has to ensure 100 per cent provisioning against the amount to be written-off.



"In many cases, banks are violating the provisions by settling the bad loans due to their better profitability and also to clean their balance sheets," he said, adding, "BB should take stringent measure to stop such illegal practice."


Who are doctors?

Patients at mercy in DMCH

Md Rayhanul Islam :



At least 300 temporary staff at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) are allegedly providing treatment to the patients in the hospital, posing a serious threat to the entire healthcare system, sources said.



These unethical acts of handling patients by other staff of the DMCH are often leading to unpleasant situation in the hospital, the largest medical institution in the country.



It was widely reported that on Friday a sweeper of the hospital Biplob Mondol wearing apron of a doctor treated a patient who later died, causing unprecedented circumstances there. The hospital authorities were forced to form an investigation committee to look into the incident.



Many said this kind of incident is happening almost everyday, but the hospital authorities do not pay any heed to this situation leaving the patients helpless.



"The temporary staff like Ward boys and sweepers are engaged in stitching, dressing, wearing catheter and oxygen mask and fitting corporal machine to the patients though their task is only to help doctors and nurses. But they are now playing the role of doctors due to absence of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned,"

an official of the hospital told The New Nation yesterday on condition of anonymity.



He added: "These are the tasks of permanent doctors and nurses. But they remained absent in the hospital most of the time due to their engagement to the capital's private hospitals. Such a situation led the temporary staff to act as doctors."



The official alleged that sometimes they worked as brokers to drive out patients to private hospitals.



"The situation could not even improved after installation of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras inside the DMCH. The authorities remain aware of the situation but they are yet to take preventive measures for reasons unknown," he added.



According to him, the temporary staff members are also working in the hospital without any appointment.



The DMCH has 2,300-bed and almost 3,500 patients are taking treatment from the hospital everyday. For treating the patients at least 870 permanent staff are working there. In addition, about 300 temporary staff are working in three shifts for helping doctors and nurses, according to hospital officials.



Many temporary staff have been working in the hospital for more than one decade.



There are allegations that the temporary staff enter the Wards and Cabins frequently and sometimes they steal money, mobile phones, medicines and children by cashing weakness of the patients.



There are many incidents of stealing children from the hospitals. On last 22 September, a three months' old Khadija was stolen from the Ward number 200 of DMCH. It is alleged that a temporary staff of the hospital has involvement at the incident.



On Saturday, a three-member probe body was formed to investigate the incident.



In 2003, the hospital authorities increased beds from 800 to 1700 but they did not appoint any staff. After that in 2013, the beds further increased to 2300 from 1700. But the authorities did not appoint any staff.



Meanwhile, the hospital authorities in a letter have urged the government to increase the existing posts from 2017 to 3303. It is now under consideration of the Health Ministry, it was learnt.




Seven die, 3775 infected

Reza Mahmud :

The number of dengue-infected people is rising alarmingly in capital Dhaka and elsewhere across the country.

Sources said, seven people died of dengue hemorrhage fever in the last nine months, crossing all the previous records.

A total 3,775 dengue-infected patients have been detected from January to September 25 this year. At present, around 100 patients are undergoing treatment in city's different hospitals and clinics.

According to a Health Department statistics, 3162 people were infected from dengue fever last year. Of them, six died that year.

"The frequent rains this year have caused the rise of numbers of Aedes mosquitoes which are responsible for dengue fever. Aedes usually breed in clean water. The people should be aware of the non usable clean water. They should not keep water more than two days in any pots," Dr. Mukhlesuzzaman Hero, Deputy Director of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital told The New Nation.

Dr. Mukhlesuzzaman said, if any body falls in fever with pain, he/she should be taken to doctors quickly.

"So far, seven patients died of dengue in this year. Around 3,600 patients have left hospitals after getting treatment," officials of National Health Crisis Management Centre Control Room told The New Nation yesterday.

Medical experts said, June to November is dangerous time for spreading of dengue fever. But this year the number of dengue cases were found from January because of frequent rains.

"Aedes mosquitoes breed in stagnant water. If water stay in any place three to five days, the Aedes mosquitoes laid eggs there. The more rain this year is the cause of rising numbers of dengue patients," said Dr. Ayesha Aktar, in-charge of National Health Crisis Management Centre and Control Room of the Health Department.

Experts suggest, if anyone found with fever more than four days, he/she should be taken to doctors immediately. They said the alarming situation of the infected people is bleedings from

dental gums, nose or with stools. The infected people should not take medicine without doctors' directions.

Officials said, the dengue cases are found more in elite residential areas like Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Dhanmondi, Ramna, Eskaton and Uttara.

According to Health Department data, 373 cases were found in 2014. but no one died that year. Besides, 1478 cases in 2013, 1286 cases in 2012, 1362 cases in 2011 and 409 cases in 2010. Six dengue patients also died in 2010.


11 pc pass DU `Kha` unit admission test

DU Correspondent :

The result of the test for admission to the first year honours courses under 'Kha' unit for academic session 2015-2016 at Dhaka University was published on Monday.

DU Vice-chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique announced the result in the evening.

Only 11 percent candidates passed the entry test.

Some 3,800 out of total 33,255 students who sat for the test came out successful in the test.

Abdullah Majumdar, a student of Tamirul Millat Madrasah, secured the first place scoring 185 out of 200 marks while the second place was grabbed by Emrul Hossain of Sirajganj Govt College with 183.50 marks.

The successful candidates were asked to fill the choice forms from Tuesday to October 9.

Details of the result are available on the following website: .
Tonight, Vermilionville hosts a special Les Vues Free Film Series showing of Chana Gazit's "Fatal Flood," which is a documentary that is much more than a chronicle of one of America's greatest natural disastersthe dramatic story of politics, race and honor, and one that marks the end of an era and the beginning of another.

Last months screening of the film Fatal Flood was cancelled along with the rest of the events planned for the end of the month due to flooding in Vermilionvilles historic village and folklife park.

In the spring of 1927, after weeks of incessant rains, the Mississippi River went on a rampage. Racing south from Cairo, Illinois, the river blew away levee after levee, inundating thousands of farms and hundreds of towns, killing as many as a thousand people and leaving nearly a million homeless. By the time it reached New Orleans, the flood had not only altered the landscape of 27,000 square miles -- an area the size of four New England States -- it had widened the abyss of race relations in the Deep South.

Ultimately, Fatal Flood, which was written, directed and produced by Chana Gazit, is much more than a chronicle of one of America's greatest natural disasters; it's a dramatic story of politics, race, and honor, one that marks the end of an era and the beginning of another.

This showing was originally scheduled for August, but was cancelled due to the floods that ravaged South Louisiana earlier that month. Dr. Michael Martin from the Center for Louisiana Studies will be curating Monday night's film showing, and they will have free seafood gumbo.

Michael S. Martin is director of the Center for Louisiana Studies and holds the Cheryl Courrege Burguieres/Board of Regents Professorship in History at UL Lafayette. His research interests focus on 20th-century Louisiana, and his most recent publications include Russell Long: A Life in Politics (2014), Louisiana Legacies: Readings in the History of the Pelican State (as co-editor, 2013), Louisiana Beyond Black and White: Recent Interpretations of Twentieth-Century Race and Race Relations (as editor, 2011) and Historic Lafayette (2007). Martin is managing editor of the journal Louisiana History, published quarterly by the Louisiana Historical Association.

Admission to Les Vues is free, but the usual suggested $5 donation, which normally goes to cover curating and screening costs, will be donated to flood victims via the Community Foundation of Acadiana. For more information, click here.

Les Vues Film Series screens Fatal Flood on Monday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Vermilionville. For more information visit http://Vermilionville.org.
Iberia Sheriff Louis Ackal's attorney argues that U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi's mysterious removal from the sheriff's case violated court rules and apparently was done without her consent earlier this year.

A federal appeals court on Monday asked two judges to respond to a petition by a Louisiana sheriff who claims another judge was improperly removed from his criminal case without explanation.

A letter from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Chief Judge Dee Drell of the Western District of Louisiana and U.S. District Judge Donald Walter in Shreveport are "invited" to file written responses by Oct. 6. The appeals court also asked two federal prosecutors to respond to Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal's arguments.

Ackal's attorney, John McLindon, argued in a court filing Friday that U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi's mysterious removal from the sheriff's case violated court rules and apparently was done without her consent earlier this year.

McLindon also is challenging Walter's decision to hold the trial in Shreveport instead of Lafayette, where the case originated.

The letter from the 5th Circuit doesn't specify what issues the judges and prosecutors should address in their responses to Ackal's petition. The letter indicated that they discussed the matter by telephone on Monday morning.

Ackal awaits trial next month on charges over the alleged beatings of jail inmates. Nine former employees of the sheriff's office already have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the Justice Department's civil rights investigation.

Minaldi originally was assigned to preside over the high-profile cases against the sheriff and 11 of his subordinates. But Drell abruptly reassigned the cases to Walter in March, two days after Ackal's indictment. Drell didn't give a reason for the switch in his one-sentence orders.

Four days before Minaldi's removal from the cases, she was in the middle of accepting guilty pleas by two former sheriff's deputies when a prosecutor cut her off mid-sentence and asked to speak to a defense attorney. Then, after a short break and private discussion with the attorneys, Minaldi adjourned the March 7 hearing in Lake Charles without giving a reason on the record.

Those two former deputies pleaded guilty later that day more than 70 miles away, in front of a different judge.

Minaldi and Drell haven't responded to requests for comment.

Read more on this issue here and here.
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.
President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war?

You voted:
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
The School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale continues to offer unique opportunities to students to expand their education in exciting and innovative ways.

In May, for the first time ever, the design program offered a course for design majors inviting students to learn about contemporary and historical aspects of design and related areas through visiting site specific locations in California.

Associate Professor of Design Robert A. Lopez accompanied eight design students to Los Angeles and Hermosa Beach, California, to visit art museums, design museums, architectural sites and design landmarks. The trip was used as on-site research for a summer class in which students were able to explore historical and contemporary art, design and architecture in Los Angeles.

Students were then asked to create a designed artifact inspired by something they saw in person on the trip. Stops on the itinerary included the Tesla Design Studio, the Architecture and Design Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, the Eames House, the Petersen Automotive Museum and two design firms: Dogs of Design and Bright Design. What made this trip particularly special was that the Art History Program awarded two competitive travel support grants to qualified students in this course.

Another extraordinary experience the School of Art and Design is able to afford its students is a fully-funded opportunity for 12 undergraduate and graduate students to travel over spring break to New York City. The Art History Program sponsors the annual trip, supported by an endowment which pays for airfare and hotel accommodations.

In the wee hours of the Saturday of Spring Break 2016, these 12 students boarded an SIU bus bound for the St. Louis airport and, ultimately, New York City. Home base for the week was a hotel just a few blocks from the iconic Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side. On Sunday morning, students hit the ground running. They explored the Cooper Hewitt's triennial, titled "Beauty," which included works like a scratch-and-sniff wall inspired by smells from Central Park and jewelry molded from middle-aged wrinkles.

A private tour of objects, images and environments that evoke power in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the first thing on Monday mornings agenda. Objects ranged from the Ghanaian artist El Anatsuis textiles created with found objects to Louis XIVs bed. Marcel Duchamp at the Museum of Modern Art, an installation about surveillance by Laura Poitras at the new Whitney Museum, and a visit to the Brooklyn Museum of Art rounded out the week. Students had plenty of free time to visit other institutions like the Natural History Museum, walk the Highline, and grab a burger at Shake Shack only blocks from the hotel. Undergraduates and graduate students all found inspiration for their studio and design work during their week in New York City.

Through opportunities like these, the School of Art and Design expands the campus experience and offers its students a truly world class education in art and design.
SCDA gets $3.5M for food safety modernization

COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Agriculture has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Food and Drug Administration to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule in South Carolina.

FSMA aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it.

The funds, awarded over five years, will help strengthen partnerships in the food-safety industry while creating a comprehensive, coordinated system that will support the efforts of a nationally integrated food safety system. The program will also encourage the safe production of fresh fruits and vegetables. FSMA affects more than 5,000 farmers in South Carolina who grow peaches, melons, berries, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, kale, broccoli and spinach.

SCDA Consumer Protection Division will be responsible for stakeholder communications, educational outreach, audit assistance, enforcement support and the development of a South Carolina Farm Inventory. Consumer Protection will also ensure that farmers are compliant ready.

Clemson University is a partner in the process and will help in developing a produce safety training plan. Thirty-eight extension agents will assist the SCDA team in disseminating information to growers statewide. SCDA will coordinate with other stakeholders such as South Carolina Farm Bureau and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association to develop outreach, policy, and strategies to assist farmers and others affected by this new legislation.

For more information about FSMA, visit agriculture.sc.gov.

Workshop focuses on reduced energy use

Are your utility bills more than you can handle?

Are your grain dryers old and inefficient?

Want more value for your agricultural products?

Are you interested in installing solar panels?

Need marketing for your agricultural product?

Are your diesel motors getting too expensive to operate?

Do you want to create a renewable energy source?

If these questions have you interested, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development offers agricultural producers and rural small businesses in South Carolina the opportunity to reduce their energy consumption with the assistance of the Rural Energy for America Program.

REAP grants can pay for up to 25 percent of the cost of doing energy-efficiency improvements to a facility, building or a process within the agricultural operation. The maximum grant amount for an energy-efficiency project is $250,000 and the minimum grant is $1,500.

Renewable energy grants are available for a system that produces or produces and delivers usable energy from sources such as a renewable energy source, with a maximum grant of $500,000 and a minimum grant of $2,500.

Applications can be filed at any time, but the awardees are not usually selected until Oct. 31.

RD will be holding a workshop from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Orangeburg County Library meeting room, 510 Louis St., Orangeburg to provide application assistance.

For more information, contact Debbie Turbeville or Stephanie Bittiker at 803-534-2409.
BLACKVILLE  The 2016 peanut harvest is under way in South Carolina and Clemsons peanut specialist said pests and weather have been the main issues affecting this years crop.

Tomato spotted wilt virus is one problem the states peanut growers have had to face.

The tomato spotted wilt virus was greater this year than what weve seen in previous recent growing seasons, said Dan Anco, Clemson peanut specialist. Some folks thought thrips that carry this virus stayed around longer this year than on average. This may have been related to the relatively mild winter temperatures we had that may have contributed to greater survival of thrips in general.

How much the tomato spotted wilt virus affects growers depends on a number of factors, including how susceptible the variety planted is to thrips, Anco said.

Drought conditions the state experienced during the summer is another issue with which South Carolina peanut growers have had to contend.

According to Mark Malsick of the South Carolina State Climatology Office, the average rainfall amount across South Carolina from May 1 to Aug. 31 this year was 3.79 inches. The normal average rainfall amount for these four months is 4.80 inches.

May was the wettest month, with a statewide average rainfall of 4.85 inches. Normal average rainfall for South Carolina during May is 3.25 inches.

June was the driest month, with an average of 2.25 inches of rain falling. Normal rainfall for June is 4.71 inches. Data was taken from Greer for the Upstate, Columbia Metro for the Midlands and Charleston Air Force Base for the Lowcountry.

Anco said these amounts werent the best for producing the greatest yields, adding the majority of the states peanut crop, about 80 percent, is grown without irrigation.

Hurricane Hermine brought a break in the drought, dropping 5 inches to 9 inches of rain on many fields, which didnt create too much of a problem for peanuts, Anco said.

Most fields were dry enough to use it, he said. What really helped out was how for much of the state, the entire week following Hermines rain was hot and dry. This gave the ground time to deal with the water it had.

In addition to being dry, the weather also has been hot, mostly in the 90s, for much of South Carolina. These hot and dry conditions may have contributed to two-spotted spider mite infestations, which have added an element of difficulty for several growers, he said.

The best thing now for growers is to have good weather conditions for digging, drying and later combining, Anco said.

Good weather seems to be in the forecast. The outlook for September, October and November include above average temperatures coupled with normal to below-normal rainfall, Malsick said.

According to the Farm Service Agency, an estimated 106,000 acres of peanuts were grown in South Carolina this year. Figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Statistics Service shows the value of peanut production in South Carolina was more than $52 million in 2015. The 2015 acreage was estimated at 110,000 acres as was the 2014 peanut acreage.
Residents of Nandina Trail in Calhoun County are tired of the rains effects on their road.

Tris Waystack says residents have been facing a number of issues since last Octobers flood.

Every time we get a little one-inch rain event, you get ponding in the road (and) theres water running across the road diagonally, which eats the road out, Waystack said.

Nandina Trail is a dirt road that connects Murph Mill Road and Kennerly Road. Residents recently took their concerns to Calhoun County Council.

Part of the issue is theres water coming off of a state highway, which is Kennerly Road, that funnels through the woods and that water finds its way out of the woods onto Nandina Trail, Waystack said.

Waystack explained that the October storm washed away a large portion of the road, removing up to three feet of land in some areas.

It went all the way down to the creek, about 1,200 feet of affected road, Waystack said. Thats a lot of road gone.

He said that the road was never built properly and now is so low that the water has nowhere drain whenever it rains.

The road was high enough that they could run the water off into the woods. So now that the roads lower, the roads at the lowest point, so youve essentially made the road like a river, he said.

Waystack noted that the water runs along the sides of the road, eating away at the land as it goes, forming small ditches which can pool up in front of residents driveways. That can prevent them from safely entering or exiting their homes.

This also affects his farming business, as trucks constantly need to use the road which is narrower now with less room to maneuver.

I have about 10-12 tractor-trailer runs a week, Waystack said. Theyre barely making it in and out anymore and theyre dragging their rear axles any way they can to get in.

Truck drivers will sometimes refuse to come down the road because they do not feel the conditions are safe.

I cant do business if I cant get trucks in and out of my farm, he added.

The county called the National Guard for assistance. It delivered 22 loads of clay.

Waystack said he had to smooth it out and balance it with his own personal clay.

The county also goes down the road occasionally to scrape the dirt to smooth out the road.

Stephen Hyde, a resident on Nandina Trail, said the last time the county did that, it left a large mound on the side of the road. Part of it blocked his driveway, preventing him from leaving.

In the past, they had done a pretty good job at it, Hyde said. This time, there was a bank of about eight to 10 inches of dirt, which caused the bottom of his car to scrape the ground.

I got out there with a flat shovel and electric wheelchair, Hyde said.

He said he had to knock down the dirt and flatten it while using his wheelchair.

Councilman James Haigler suggested that Waystack bring his concerns to the county transportation committee to place the road into its system.

Its not going on deaf ears. We will look into it and see what we can do, Haigler said.

Waystack said he doesnt mind if the road is paved or graveled, as long as it is in good condition.

I understand that they have basically no money to do anything, Waystack said. I dont want them to spend the money to pave the road. I just want them to put the road back to the condition it was prior to the flood.

We just would like to safely get in and out of our property and get home. At the end of the day, thats what were asking for, he said.
The nation awaits the presidential debate tonight between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. From young to old, Americans will tune in to see just what will happen in an event that has the fanfare of heavyweight fights of years gone by.

A big fight is exactly what Trumps campaign is hoping he does not provoke.

The Associated Press is reporting that his advisers are urging him to keep his cool and resist attempts by Clinton to anger him.

The focus underscores the campaign's concern that too many Americans still don't believe the Republican has the temperament to be president, which could be a difference-maker in a close race with Clinton, the AP report states.

And according to an AP-GfK poll released late last week, the Trump teams concern is real despite what has been perceived as a major slip on Clintons part in characterizing Trumps supporters at a basket of deplorables.

The poll found Clinton's stumble didn't hurt her badly and Trump is the one viewed as most disconnected and disrespectful. Sixty percent of registered voters say he does not respect "ordinary Americans. Yet nearly half of Americans (48 percent) say the same about Clinton.

So both candidates enter the debate with baggage and the lowest popularity ratings of major candidates in history. Perhaps the one best able to cast aside his or her negatives will become the debate winner  and the election winner.

To make that happen, adequate answers are needed to key questions for both. We echo some suggested ones for this or future debates as offered by Kevin Rennie, a lawyer and former state legislator in Connecticut. He is a columnist with the Hartford Courant and writes for InsideSources.com:

 For each of you: How are you feeling tonight? Is telling the truth a virtue or a burden in exercising a public trust? Why should our audience believe anything you say tonight?

 Does the nation need to balance its budget?

 Mrs. Clinton, in your summer interview with the FBI over the private email server you maintained at your home to conduct private business, you responded to scores of questions that you had no recollection. Did you forget that c stands for classified or did you never know that? Why did you fail to turn over thousands of relevant emails to the State Department?

 Mr. Trump, your plan to deport people in the Unites States has been a moving target since you became a candidate for president last year. How many people do you want to deport in your first 100 days in office? Would you separate families? If immigrants are so bad for the economy, why have you hired so many in your businesses?

 You supported NAFTA when your husband was president, Mrs. Clinton. Has it been a failure? You called the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement the gold standard of trade agreements. Why do you oppose it now? Mr. Trump, what would be the consequences to the American economy of trade barriers around the world?

 Mr. Trump, why have you done business with so many mob-affiliated operations in your career? Some of your businesses have been bankrupt. Did you ever pay the debts the bankruptcy courts canceled when your finances had recovered? Mrs. Clinton, please explain your definition of dead broke.

 Mrs. Clinton, has the Obama administrations policy toward Russia been its biggest foreign policy failure? What are long-term consequences of it? What redlines would you draw on the use of chemical weapons and how would enforce them?

 You have repeatedly expressed your admiration for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump. Does your definition of effective leadership include murdering journalists and jailing critics?

 You both loathe the press and want to constrain free speech. What steps would you take to limit the publics right to criticize you?

 Mr. Trump, tell us what authority you believe a president possesses to target for death the families of our nations enemies. Why do you believe international law allows the United States to take Iraqs natural resources? Mrs. Clinton, why do you support offshore oil drilling in Brazil but not in the United States?

 Mr. Trump, your Republican platform is hostile to gay Americans. As a man who took pride in his philandering, whats more of a threat to marriage, adultery or same-sex marriage? Mrs. Clinton, is every American who did not make your recent conversion to supporting same-sex marriage a homophobe with a place in your basket of deplorables?

 Mrs. Clinton, you have promised to make public higher education free. Who is going to pay for it? Mr. Trump, what are the causes of the skyrocketing cost of higher education?

 Mr. Trump, if you were disturbed by Bill Clintons sexual misconduct, why did you invite him to your third wedding? Mrs. Clinton, who were your targets when you talked about punishing super predators in the 1990s?

 For both of you, how do you create a job?
We're happy to host Brittany Stalsburg and Bernard Whitman during their 52 REASONS TO VOTE FOR HILLARY blog tour today! Please leave a comment to let them know you stopped by!

Title: 52 Reasons To Vote For Hillary

Authors: Bernard Whitman & Brittany Stalsburg

Publisher: Prospecta Press

Pages: 160

Genre: Nonfiction/Politics





Pick up your copy:

Book Excerpt:

Hillary Clinton has occupied the political spotlight for more than three decadesas First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States , US Senator from New York , 2008 presidential candidate, and secretary of state. Her professional and personal lives have been analyzed, scrutinized, and criticized incessantly, as she has been the subject of thousands of articles, stories, books, and dinnertime debates.

Despite the fact that Hillary has been in the public eye for decades, a common refrain is that Hillary herself is, in many ways, unknown. The established storyline is that Hillary is aloof, secretive, and inaccessible. This reputation has hurt her in the eyes of voters who yearn more than ever for a leader who seems authentic and in touch with the concerns of American families.

This book seeks to re-introduce Hillary to America and re-tell her story, not only as an experienced, accomplished public servant, but also her life as a real persona daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and role model for women and girls around the world.





About the Authors





Bernard Whitman is a Democratic Party political pollster and strategist in the United States . He makes regular appearances on Fox News, and has appeared as a commentator and strategist on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox Business, ABC and Al Jazeera America .



He is the author of 52 Reasons To Vote For Obama and has been a pollster to political candidates such as Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg. Bernard has been involved in the past eight U.S. presidential campaigns and has served as strategic advisor to numerous heads of state, Fortune 500 CEOs, and some of the worlds leading issue advocacy organizations and nonprofit institutions.



Whitman is the President and founder of Whitman Insight Strategies, a strategic consulting firm that conducts polls and market research to advise corporations, political leaders, and issue-advocacy organizations. He is a three-time recipient of the David Ogilvy Excellence in Research Award, and pioneered the development of The Political Model to identify the swing consumer, and the messages and media channels that can unlock additional votes for a brand or cause.

He is an alumnus of Brown University, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa



Brittany Stalsburg is a communications strategist and creator of the feminist blog, Women Want To Be On Top. She writes about politics and gender issues regularly. As a strategist, Brittany has helped dozens of organizations develop and refine their message to communicate with a variety of audiences.



Her work has been published in several academic journals and books and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pollie Awards for issue campaigns and the New York American Association of Public Opinion Research (NYAAPOR) Best Paper Award.



Brittany holds a PhD in political science from Rutgers University and a BA in political science and womens studies from Providence College.





Visit the authors online:





is a comprehensive guide and re-introduction to Hillary Clintons career and life history to help voters understand why she is the best candidate to lead America forward into the 21st century.
Monday, September 26, 2016 at 11:21AM

Butter and Toast

by ETHAN PETERSON

Bull

creators Paul Attanasio & Phil McGraw

CBS

There is a great tradition in the performing arts of gaining or losing muscle for a particular role. De Niro, Clooney and Russell Crowe all put on about fifty pounds to look like a boxer and two CIA agents. What the point was of Phil McGraw finding a handsome actor (Michael Weatherly) to play him and then making him like a slovenly mess wearing those glasses and oversized sweaters, I'll never know. On Bull, Weatherly looks like he showed up at a Halloween Party dressed as Jonah Hill.

In 1990, McGraw was deep in thought about how he could use his PhD in psychology from the University of North Texas to accomplish his major life goal: making a shit ton of money. Bull is based on those heady years when he started CSI, a jury consulting company. Few of the techniques employed by Dr. Joseph Bull could feasibly have been utilized in 1990, since Dr. Bull's staff includes a hacker (daughter of the show's executive producer Paul Attanasio), a stylist hired away from Vogue, and an ex-police officer.

The hacker in question is named Cable McCrory, which should be indicative of the level of realism we are approaching in this depiction of Phil McGraw's life. Paul Attanasio is most famous for making a lot of money by torpedoing the show House into the ground. I'm genuinely sorry if you liked this show, but it was utter garbage completely carried by Hugh Laurie mugging in every scene and half the plots were identical. Also, it was misogynistic and gross, elements that would probably be a lot more faithful to Phil McGraw's real life in Texas than this Bull.

There are a few things you should know about Dr. Joseph Bull. During every episode of Bull, someone emphasizes how much pain he carries around with him, like his pathway to this questionably moral profession/manipulation of the integrity of the justice system was straight from an orphanage in the Sudan. I'm unclear on what pain Phil McGraw carries with him, the troubled childhood that caused him to ambush Britney Spears in a hospital room and hold a press conference and regularly humiliate people on television.

Most of focus in Bull concerns the good doctor's relationship with teenagers. Phil McGraw has always related best to children as subjects, since they are unlikely to question him. Many have never been bullied before, or in so splendid a fashion, and they are a lot more open to his particular brand of babble. McGraw gave up the practice of psychology long ago, if he ever was interested in it at all. He was always more concerned with the application of his training to the field of self-help, which is not only more lucrative, it is filled with charlatans even worse than McGraw himself.

None of this is what makes Bull so wretched. CBS seems to be using the same soft filter on all its dramas, giving the shows a generic, polished look that instead of obscuring the fact they are all shot on similar-looking sets, emphasizes the generic backgrounds and costumes. It is not necessary to have a big budget to make your show appear like it is actually taking place in a locale. I have no clue where Bull occurs: whenever they show local media coverage, an anchor shouts, "The city is captivated tonight by a major trial!" So I guess Bull lives in the city.

Even though Dr. Bull is consistently disrespectful to his clients in order to establish dominance, he abhors anyone else's lack of common decency. It is as if by being a villain he is the only one fully qualified to identify fellow shitheads. It genuinely seems to make him feel better than other people have less integrity than he does; it may be the only thing he can truly subsist on besides butter and toast.

The genius question that Bull asks potential jurors, the one that gives him a personality baseline for his privacy violations into their lives is this: Where do you get a cold? The intimation is that Dr. Bull himself cannot answer this question, or that he never bothers to get one unless it is professionally helpful for him to be a bit under the weather. Dressed in terrible sweaters and wearing glasses that clearly do not fit his face at all, Bull seems incredibly uncomfortable in his own skin.

Ethan Peterson is the senior contributor to This Recording.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

"Azerbaijani camp" organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Paris held the International City of Gastronomy in Paris to promote national history and culture.

The colorful event brought together participants from 38 countries, Azertac reported.

First deputies of Paris Mayor and the 7th district mayor as well as ambassadors of the participating countries attended the opening ceremony.

The event featured samples of Azerbaijani national cuisine, sweets of various kinds.

National crafts, clothing and jewelry were also demonstrated in the event.

Famous chefs held master classes, rules of making delicious dishes to be shown.

Icherisheher Center of Traditional Arts displayed batiks, ceramics, jewelries and woodcarving created by students.

Icherisheher (Administration of State Historical-Architectural Reserve) describes the regeneration of the Old City of Baku as living tradition.

The partnership with Icherisheher has enabled the Princes School to establish a Centre for Traditional Arts (ICTA) in a specially converted building in the Old City of Baku, managed by a resident team of staff from the Princes School.

The main aim of the project is to nurture the development of skills in applied decorative arts, to produce contemporary designs which reflect the Azerbaijani cultural heritage, and to promote these works in the international community.
By Azertac





By Gunay Hasanova

Ankara expects Washington, which is its ally, to speed up the extradition of the leader of terrorist organization Parallel State (FETO) Fethullah Gulen who is accused on July 15 military coup attempt in Turkey, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with TV channel France 24, Anadolu Agency reported.

He pointed out that the Turkish side has provided the U.S. with the evidence of criminal activity of the organization Gulen and his involvement in the events of July 15.

"We are absolutely sure that behind the attempted coup in Turkey stands FETO. Everyone, including the United States, knows that the coup attempt was organized and implemented by Gulen and his supporters," said the head of Turkish diplomacy.

Cavusoglu stressed that Americans, in turn, expressed their willingness to cooperate with us and offered Turkey to provide proof regarding Gulens involvement in failed coup attempt.

"We also handed a dossier of the documentation directly related to the events of July 15. In other words, the legal process has already begun. Therefore, we expect the United States to extradite Gulen in the nearest future," Cavusoglu said, adding that he is optimistic about it.

"The decision on Gulens extradition date will be made by the court. We are optimistic in this regard and sure that in a democratic society there is no place for persons like Gulen," the minister noted.

Earlier, Turkeys Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag who was accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a visit to New York for the annual UN General Assembly meetings said that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden admitted that Ankara provided "concrete evidence" about terror leader Fethullah Gulen being the mastermind of a recent coup attempt in Turkey.

Ankara maintains that the overthrow attempt was organized by followers of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO terror group.

Gulen is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

A group of servicemen made an attempt for a military coup in Turkey on July 15. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities stated on a failure of the attempt for the military coup.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
By Azernews









By Nigar Abbasova

The citizens of Azerbaijan are voting today to approve or disapprove the changes and supplements proposed to the country's major law - the Constitution.

The voting has began at 08:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) on Monday morning, while the Central Elections Commission, which is eligible to organize referendum, fixed the voter turnout at 12.9 percent as of 10:00. Almost 680,438 people have given their votes for far, according to the Election Information Center.

The CEC has finalized the preparations for the polls so that to ensure every condition for participation of voters. Thus, the 119- year old Hasanova Nubar (Sabail electoral district) and Khanmemmedova Susenber (Zangilan Gubadli electoral district) were the oldest voters to cast the ballots into boxes, which were delivered to their residences.

In a bill sent to the Constitutional Court President Ilham Aliyev proposed amendments to 29 Articles of Azerbaijans current constitution.

The changes envisage extension of the presidential term from five to seven years, establishment of the first vice-president and vice-president positions in the country as well as cancellation of minimum age limit for presidential candidates, dissolution of parliament by the president.

The voting is being conducted in 125 constituencies in 5,627 polling stations.

Some 38 polling stations were set up in Azerbaijan`s diplomatic missions abroad so that citizens in foreign countries could also cast their ballots and express their will. Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UAE Dashgin Shikarov said that the turnout of voters in the station set up in Azerbaijans embassy in the UAE has so far amounted to more than 50 percent.

As many as 26 polling stations in 14 constituencies were set up in prisons and detention centers of the penitentiary service of the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry.

Web-cameras are being used in a number of polling stations to ensure transparency of the electoral process. The latest technologies will be used to inform the public about the voting process.

The CEC also invited both international and local observers to monitor the polls across the country to ensure transparency in the vote.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 33 countries as well as observers from various international organizations have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum. The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Among the observers are mission of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), headed by Deputy Chairman of Council of Federation of the Russian Federal Assembly Ilyas Umakhanov, the international mission, consisting of MPs of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries (TurkPA), an observer mission of the Australian Parliament.

A number of trainings and seminars were conducted for constituency members and heads of polling stations.

Each polling station will send the information to constituencies and then it will be transferred to the special system, created for the transmission of data.

The voting will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4). Final results of the nationwide vote will be announced till October 21.

Referendums were also held in Azerbaijan in 1995, 2002. The last time changes to the Constitution were made seven years ago, following Constitutional referendum held in 2009.
By Trend





More than 50 percent of Azerbaijani citizens in the UAE have cast their votes in the polling station set up at Azerbaijans embassy as part of the referendum to amend the countrys Constitution, Dashgin Shikarov, Azerbaijani ambassador to the UAE, told Trend on September 26.

Seventy six Azerbaijani citizens, temporarily or permanently residing in the UAE, were registered in the electoral list of the 16th Yasamal constituencys polling station set up at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Some 197 people were registered in the polling station in Dubai.

The voting process is being held in conditions of democracy and transparency, the ambassador said. All the conditions have been created for this purpose.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on September 26.
By Azernews





By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission (CEC) has declared the country's referendum on constitutional amendments as valid.

Some 30.6 percent of voters have cast ballot in the constitutional referendum as of 12:00 (GMT +4) and this showed that the referendum was valid. A turnout of at least 25 percent is required for the referendum to be legitimate and a simple majority will be sufficient for the amendments to pass.

The referendum voting, where Azerbaijani citizens are asked to either accept or reject certain proposals is being held in a calm atmosphere and no incidents have been so far recorded, while observers mention high activity of voters. The total number of observers is around 53,000.

Meanwhile, PACE mission consisting of seven people will present its final report regarding the observation of the referendum within one or two months. The mission, which is in Baku to assess the referendum will reveal its initial findings on September 27.

Voters in Azerbaijan were offered several amendments to their founding law, including on extending the presidential term from five to seven years, the introduction of the position of Vice-presidents, as well as a reduction in the age limit, for presidential candidates, dissolution of parliament by the president. Amendments are proposed to 29 articles of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, the turnout at the nationwide vote in Azerbaijan stood at 53.8 percent as of 15:00.

The voting will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4). Final results of the nationwide vote will be announced till October 21.
By Trend





Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev received the delegation headed by Pakistans Defense Production Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain on September 26.

Touching upon the importance of the visit of Pakistans defense production minister to Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev noted the significance of the Pakistani ministers participation in Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2016).

President Aliyev recalled with satisfaction the visit of Pakistani president Mamnoon Hussein to Azerbaijan, praised the visit as a good indicator of sincere and fraternal relations between the two countries.

The president noted the high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the fact that the two countries always support each other at all international organizations and expressed his gratitude for the support in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan, in turn, also supports Pakistan in the Kashmir issue, and added that Pakistan is one of the nearest and biggest friendly countries for Azerbaijan.

He expressed confidence in further successful development of cooperation in the sphere of defense and military industry between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

Pakistans Defense Production Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain expressed satisfaction with his next visit to Azerbaijan.

The minister on behalf of Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif invited President Ilham Aliyev to his country. He noted with satisfaction the highest respect of Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev received the invitation of the Pakistani prime minister with gratitude.
By Trend





Citizens' Labor Rights Protection League and the US AJF & Associates organization have announced the results of the exit poll held among the voters in the referendum in Azerbaijan.

Head of the Citizens' Labor Rights Protection League Sahib Mammadov has said that the exit poll was held at 450 polling stations in 100 constituencies. A total of 900 interviewers and 60 supervisors have been involved in the exit poll.

Executive director of AJF & Associates George Birnbaum has said that 32,400 voters have participated in the exit poll. He added that 88.9 percent of the voters have supported the constitutional amendments.

Birnbaum noted that 87.3 percent of those who participated in the exit poll have supported the changes in the structure of the executive authorities.

Moreover, 89.7 percent of the voters have supported the amendments related to ensuring Azerbaijan's territorial security, while 88.3 percent of voters have said they support the amendments related to human rights. This is while 86.5 percent of voters said they agree with the amendments related to social security.

In general, the voter turnout in the referendum stood at 67.5 percent in the referendum, according to the exit poll.

The referendum on making amendments to Azerbaijan's Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and wrapped up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours).

As many as 117 international observers - MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) - have been accredited by Azerbaijan's CEC to observe the referendum. The total number of the observers is around 53,000.
By Trend





Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has confirmed that he advised the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to participate in the 2017 presidential election, Mizan news agency reported on September 26.

I told him it is not in the countrys and his interests to run for presidency, Khamenei said, adding, I did not tell him not to run.
By Azernews





By Gunay Hasanova

Accession to the EU is still a priority for Turkey, said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmush, TV channel TRT Haber reported on September 26.

Kurtulmush stressed that Turkey also supports the opening of a new stage in the negotiation process between the parties.

He noted that Turkey is closely following the process of abolishing the visa regime between Turkey and the EU.

The Heads of State and the EU Member States' governments agreed with Turkey upon a joint plan to combat the migration crisis in mid-March. The program is focusing on the return of illegal immigrants arriving from Greece to the territory of Turkey and accepting legal Syrian refugees in Turkey by the EU based principle of "one for one".

The European Commission has proposed in May that the European Parliament and EU Council will lift visa restrictions for citizens of Turkey if Ankara will fulfill the remaining conditions for the abolition of visas until the end of June.

The list of pre-conditions included measures to prevent corruption, negotiations on an operational agreement with Europol (the EU police office), providing judicial cooperation with all EU member states, as well as the revision of the legislation on the fight against terrorism.

Earlier, former Minister of Turkey for EU Affairs Volkan Bozk?r noted that Ankara doubts the readiness of the EU to abolish the visa regime for Turkey, adding that the EU requires Turkey to mitigate the law to combat terrorism, which is impossible.

Previously, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that if the EU doesnt cancel visa regime with Turkey in mid-October, Ankara wont be able to receive illegal migrants from the EU.

Earlier Ankara abolished visas for citizens of all 28 EU countries. However, the visa-free regime will come into force only after the EU abolishes visa regime for Turkish citizens.

In accordance with the agreement reached between Turkey and the EU, the citizens of Cyprus will also be able to take advantage of visa-free regime with Turkey.

Turkey has a long waited for its EU membership, while each application to accede to the European Union was frustrating for the government. Turkey, holding a status of an associate member at the Economic Community -- the predecessor of the EU since 1963 -- made an official application for entry on April 14, 1987.
A $1 billion joint investment fund (JIF) launched by Qatar and Indonesia is in its completion stages and is expected to fund major infrastructure and energy projects, a report said.



Indonesias 15 per cent share of the JIF is ready, Dr Alwi Abdurrahman Shihab, special envoy to the Indonesian president for Middle East Affairs, was quoted as saying in the Gulf Times report.



The government is just waiting for the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to select from several projects Indonesia has prepared to start the JIF, he added.



This joint investment fund should be, as soon as we can, made into a reality because the Indonesians have already provided four to five projects to be picked by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in order for us to show the Indonesian people that the investment is there, Dr Shihab said.



The reactivation of the joint investment fund in 2015 is a manifestation to improve the economic cooperation between Qatar and Indonesia. It will be utilised in infrastructure, roads, power plants, ports, mining, and communications. Negotiations are underway, Shihab told Gulf Times on the sidelines of a meeting.



For the JIF, Qatar will provide 85 per cent of the funds, Shihab said.
Dubai has been chosen as the venue for the leading payments event PayExpo Mena, which will be take place from December 5 to 7.

PayExpo Mena (www.payexpo.com/mena) will gather over 1,000 industry leaders from the entire payments chain from all over the world to meet, network, do business and learn in one of the fastest growing and most competitive markets for smart payments in the region.

The comprehensive two-day conference will feature expert speakers from more than 20 countries representing leading regional and international organisations including Uber, Accenture, Blackberry The Bitcoin Foundation, The LEGO Group, Etisalat, Emirates NBD, UAEs Road and Transport Authority and the Oman Arab Bank.

PayExpo Mena will gather experts and senior decision makers from across the retail, banking, fintech, transport, gaming, leisure, telecoms and payment services industries to discuss key growth prospects in the Mena region, hear case studies from across the globe and experience the latest payment solutions and technologies that will revolutionise payment strategies in the years ahead.

Dubai is the ideal location for PayExpo Mena. The UAE has shown a unique ability to adapt to new technologies at break-neck pace, with the recent launch of the digital wallet across the country as a perfect example. PayExpo Mena with its focus on payments innovation is particularly crucial to the GCC region dominated by migrant workers for whom any developments concerning remittance and payroll cards are of major interest. says Zehra Chudry, head of content for PayExpo Mena.

Topics to be explored include the evolution of commerce to enabling cashless payments; the future of banking and payments; global regulation and market evolution; harnessing peer-to-peer in a digitally connected world; payments and the IOT; reality of digital payments; revolutionizing mobile financial services; security, authentication and biometrics.

There will also be a dedicated Transport Ticketing conference stream sponsored by NXP Semiconductors revealing the latest ideas and developments in the closely connected environments of transport payments, tickets and data.

Delegates will be able to try out and learn about the latest product technologies from around the world at a comprehensive exhibition featuring market leading companies such as Telepin Software, eServe Global, Etisalat, Neopay, Novatti, Onpex, Panamax and Vendorcom.

The new CEO & VIP Lounge is set to welcome over 500 C-level executives from across the payments industry. In addition to complimentary delegate passes, these qualified top level executives can also enjoy exclusive networking opportunities.

As well as the conference and exhibition, the event will feature The Payments Dragons Den where FinTech start-ups pitch their game-changing ideas live to experts and investors. The Payments Accelerator will showcase promising up-and-coming FinTech start-ups, connecting them with potential partners and accelerator programmes.

Additionally, The PayExpo Mena Payments Power 10 celebrates the top contributors to the payments industry, as voted for by the global payment audience.

Launching this year, The PayExpo Mena Global Awards acknowledge exceptional achievement and advancement within the Mena payments sector and celebrate those who have worked tirelessly to build, establish and deploy successful programmes across the region.  TradeArabia News Service
Diyar Al Muharraq, one of the leading urban developers in Bahrain, said 70 per cent of the residential units in the first phase of its Deerat Al Oyoun social housing project has been sold successfully.



Located in the heart of Diyar Al Muharraq off Muharraq, the housing community will span across 1.2 million sq m and will comprise an idea residential community with integrated community service centres and green spaces.



Its strategic location also places it in close proximity to schools, shopping malls, public beaches, recreational facilities, mosques, medical facilities, and a modern transportation network. The anticipated date for the project's first phase completion is February 2018.



Out of a total of 133 housing units for the beneficiaries of Ministry of Housing's 'Mazaya' Scheme, 70 per cent of them have been sold in the first phase fetching nearly BD10 million ($26 million) for the developer.



The social housing scheme 'Mazaya' is a housing service represented in the ministry's support offered to the beneficiary to obtain financing from a participating bank for the purpose of purchasing a housing unit, whereby the beneficiary pays back in instalments what represents 25 per cent of his/her monthly income, while the government, through the ministry, is committed to provide its financial support that covers the remaining of the monthly instalments at the financing bank.



Commenting on the success, Diyar Al Muharraq CEO Dr Maher Al Shaer said: "We are very pleased to have received such huge turnout on reservations and sales of the first phase of 'Deerat Al Oyoun'."



"The project has witnessed a high demand from the second day of Eid Al Adha, with keen citizens willingly lining up to get priority on housing units suitable for them. The management team also took the time to eagerly visit queuing customers to ensure their satisfaction and comfort whilst they waited for sale time," he noted.



Benefiting from 'Mazaya' is open to all existing housing applications of any type of housing services or to any citizen, who fulfils the scheme's eligibility conditions.



Diyar Al Muharraq is a masterplanned city for the people of Bahrain offering a range of housing options and quality lifestyle. It offers a cohesive mix of residential and commercial properties with a strong line-up of projects aimed at creating a long-term and sophisticated township.-TradeArabia News Service
More than 4.7 million cu m of earth has been recycled and moved in preparation for the construction phase of Expo 2020 Dubai at the 4.38-sq-km development site in Dubai South, UAE, according to the latest operational update.



Expo 2020 Dubai today (September 26) released the update, which provides a detailed overview of its activities to date in the lead-up to the first mega-event of its kind in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region.



Collaborative platform



 A total of 11 editions of BusinessConnect events starting in September 2015 that have brought 826 businesses in contact with Expo 2020 Dubai to discuss delivering an exceptional experience and meaningful legacy, as well as areas of collaboration. There have been a total of 18 BusinessConnect sessions covering 11 different topics so far and through this and other events, conferences and forums, the Engagement team has liaised with more than 2,000 business representatives



 Several Engagement initiatives have been launched in line with the UAEs Youth Empowerment Strategy and the National Youth Strategy, including YouthConnect in November 2015 and the Apprenticeship Programme in April 2016, both aimed to address youth career development in the UAE. The first YouthConnect event attracted a total attendance of 800



 Approximately 250 attendees representing 132 countries convened for the inaugural International Planning Meeting in May 2016 to discuss participation in Expo 2020



 Expo Live is a 100 million euro programme which aims to create and accelerate the development and deployment of new solutions that encapsulate the spirit of Expo 2020 Dubais overarching theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, and its three sub-theme areas of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability



 400 business representatives gathered at the Collaborative Entrepreneurship Summit in May 2016 to identify opportunities for collaborative growth and synergies among established corporations, multinationals, and startups



 The Expo 2020 Dubai team has 140 employees, with an approximate 50-50 gender split. Two-thirds are under the age of 40 years



Commercial partnerships



 Three Premier Partnerships, worth several hundred million dollars, have been announced to date including Emirates Airline in May 2016, and Etisalat and DP World in June 2016



 Procurement is well underway. So far, more than 8,000 local and international companies have registered on Expo 2020 Dubais procurement portal. The total value of all contracts and purchase orders to date is circa Dh1.95 billion ($530 million).



 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up more than 3,100 of businesses registered on the portal. Of the orders to date, 320 have been awarded to SMEs. 20% of the Expos total direct and indirect spend, representing more than Dh 5 billion in contracts, will be allocated to SMEs, both local and international



The broad outline of activity leading up to the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai is:



2016:

The Content Master Plan has been completed and strategy is being further developed to ensure a strong thematic and cultural impact of Expo 2020, promoting and demonstrating UAE thought leadership and cultural depth.



The site is being prepared for construction and designs will be finalised, including for the signature pavilions. Outreach to participating nations is currently taking place.



Engagement programmes such as Business Connect and Youth Connect are being rolled out, and the first initiative under the Expo Live programme has been launched.



2017 - 2018:



The Expo team will carry out active engagement with participating nations, while initiatives around youth and business engagement will progress. The team will also continue to reach out across the cultural landscape, including with the creative community, to generate excitement and make the connection between the mega-event and its cultural significance.



The main construction will take place and participants will build their pavilions on site.



2019 - 2020:



The site will be handed over to test Event Operations and a series of events will be held in preparation for the Expo.



2020:



On 20 October, the mega-event opens.



2021:



On 10 April, the mega-event closes, followed by a transition to the legacy phase. - TradeArabia News Service
Geepas Tower, an upcoming development in the UAE, entered the Guinness World Records along with the project contractor Gulf Asia Contracting (GAC) - the construction arm of the multi-billion-dollar business conglomerate RP Group - for completing the largest continuous concrete pour (of 19,793 cu m for 42 hours) in the world.



The Dh600-million ($163 million) mid-rise residential tower, which will come up in Al Barsha, Dubai, is owned by Western International Group.



The stellar milestone in the history of the UAEs construction sector was accomplished this month with the help of over 600 skilled workers undertaking the job in multiple shifts.



The concrete for the project was provided by Unibeton Ready Mix, while Chawla Architectural and Consulting Engineers is the project consultant.



The concrete for the project was delivered by Unibeton Ready Mix, which engaged more than 300 transit mixers making more than 2,500 trips from more than three plants to deliver the concrete required for the project.



The concrete pouring was carried out by massive installations of 14 concrete pumps on site with an additional 5 pumps on stand-by. More than 3,000 tonnes of steel were used and 150,000 Man Hours have been put into constructing the raft of the building.

On the record achievement, Dr Ravi Pillai, the chairman of RP Group, said: "This is an impressive feat by GAC which highlights our proven strengths in undertaking complex projects, which demand seamless operational efficiency and top-notch construction expertise."



"We are thankful to Western International Group for awarding us the contract, and by setting the record for the largest continuous concrete pour in the world, we are highlighting our commitment to deliver the contract as per schedule," he stated.



"We also thank all our partners who associated with us on the project and our professional team members, whose dedication and experience made this possible," he added.



KP Basheer, the chairman of Western International Group, said: "We are extremely proud of this historic accomplishment that adds to the pride of Geepas Tower, the first mega project in our real estate venture. This successful milestone and achieving a Guinness title has set the brand on an international landscape and it is an overwhelming feeling of victory."



"We are confident of delivering a truly high-quality residential development that will add to the quality of life of our residents in the country. I would like to congratulate the entire team that has toiled day and night for this project to make it possible," he stated.



Nizar TN, the executive director, Western International Group, said: "We are immensely happy with this Guinness World Records title. We have acquired more than 18 plots in the UAE and are looking forward to bigger challenges."



"The record achievement, and with the support of UAE Government, has given us the confidence and strength to develop and deliver bigger planned projects as fast as possible," he added.



Sreekanth Ramachandran, the manager (Projects) at GAC, said: "With a built-up area of 1.5 million sq ft, the tower is another of the major undertakings by the company in the UAE."



"By accomplishing the record to the highest standards of health, safety and environment best practices, we have proved our expertise in undertaking large-scale projects that call for meticulous planning and seamless on-ground execution strategies," he remarked.



Ayman Salah Bustami, the senior vice president of Unibeton Ready Mix, said: "Since the early 1990s, Unibeton has been at the forefront of ready-mixed concrete innovation in the Gulf region. We are extremely honoured to have participated in such a monumental achievement."



"A Guinness title is not something which comes along every day. On behalf of the management of the Al Faraa Group, I would like to congratulate Geepas for the vision to embark on such an attempt and wish them every success in completing the project, he stated.



Amar Chawla, the chairman of Chawla Architectural and Consulting Engineers, said: "We are proud to be associated with this prestigious tower project as the main engineering consultancy firm for the project from concept designs to handing over of the project and are delighted to get the Guinness title."



"This milestone has added one more feather in our history of achievements so far as a leading engineering consultancy firm in Dubai. The mammoth concreting in record time without any hindrance and in compliance with all local regulations and specifications reaffirms our competence and capability in executing projects of any magnitude," he added.

It was efficiently co-ordinated by the Western International Group and GAC along with Ajit Xavier, senior projects manager of Geepas, Suprabhas Balabhadran, the director of projects at Chawla Architectural and Consulting Engineers and the concrete supplier Unibeton Ready Mix.

With a built-up area of 1.5 million sq ft, Geepas Tower boasts 684 residential units, a fully-equipped gymnasium, health club, swimming pool and 730 space car park.



With two levels of basement parking, ground floor with a welcome lobby, 40,000 sq ft of retail space, and 19 floors of residences, the tower has been designed to the highest standards of aesthetics and is scheduled for completion in March 2018.-TradeArabia News Service
Siemens recently celebrated the arrival of the companys 1,000th gas turbine produced at its Berlin factory for the Umm Al Houl combined cycle power plant in Qatar.



After journeying thousands of miles from Berlin, the fifth of six 11-m-long SGT5-4000F turbines has made it to the plant that will supply around a quarter of Qatars power generation capacity.



The event was attended by Adrian Wood, CEO of Siemens in Qatar; Gianluigi Di Giovanni, senior executive vice president, Power Generation Services, Middle East and North Africa at Siemens; Fahad Al Mohannadi, chairman of Umm Al Houl and general manager and managing director of Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC); Jamal Al Khalaf, CEO of Umm Al Houl Power Company; and John Chang, executive vice president of global business and operations at Samsung C&T. Other customers and officials were also present.



Qatar is witnessing rapid industrial, economic and population growth. With that comes greater demand for electricity and water supply. Our innovative gas turbine technology will help ensure the Umm Al Houl power plant, an essential component of the countrys future power infrastructure, will operate reliably and efficiently for many years to come, said Wood. We are delighted to work with our partners at Samsung and the Umm Al Houl consortium to make this ambitious project a reality and support sustainable long-term development in Qatar.



Weighing 300 metric tonnes, the turbine has travelled from the Siemens factory to Berlins Westhafen port and then to Rotterdam. Upon arriving at the Rotterdam seaport, it was loaded onto a heavy cargo vessel, before voyaging through the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea via Gibraltar. It subsequently entered the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, making its way around the Arabian Peninsula, and finally reaching its destination in Qatar. One SGT5-4000F turbine has a capacity of 300 megawatts, which translates into electricity for 1.8 million people.



QEWCs Al Mohannadi remarked: As our country makes big strides towards industrialisation and developing its infrastructure, this power plant will be integral to boosting its future electricity supply. We are delighted to work with dependable partners such as Siemens and Samsung to execute our long-term plans for expanding Qatars power sector.



The Umm Al Houl power plant is located 15 km south of the capital Doha, adjacent to Qatar Economic Zone 3. When completed, the plant will consist of two power blocks. With a total electrical output of 2.5 gigawatts, and up to 136 million imperial gallons (618 million liters) of drinking water per day, the plant will deliver almost one quarter of the nation's installed power generating capacity. It will ensure adequate power and water supply to accommodate seasonal fluctuations and major events. Commissioning of the first phase is scheduled for 2017, with commissioning of the entire complex scheduled for mid-2018.



In addition to six turbines, Siemens scope of supply includes four steam turbines and 10 generators. The company has also signed a 25-year service agreement for the plants maintenance and servicing. Siemens has been contracted by Samsung C&T, which is building the entire complex together with its consortium partner Hitachi Zosen. The end-customer is the project company Umm Al Houl, a consortium comprising QEWC, Qatar Foundation, Qatar Petroleum, Mitsubishi Corporation and Tokyo Electric Power Company.



John Chang of Samsung C&T said: Today marks another milestone towards completing this prestigious project and paving the way for a more reliable and sustainable power generation landscape in Qatar. We are proud to work with Siemens and look forward to seeing the companys technology in action. -TradeArabia News Service
Agility, a leading global logistics provider, has signed an agreement with Maersk Line, the worlds largest container ship operator, to cut CO2 emissions by 15 per cent per container transported on Agility shipments by 2020.



The agreement is part of Maersks Carbon Pact Challenge, an initiative under which the ocean carrier and its customers work together to drive down harmful emissions and reduce the environmental impact of shipping, said an Agility statement.



As part of the agreement, Agility and Maersk will look for ways to cut emissions by shipping cargo on more fuel efficient ships, optimising shipping networks and routes, and taking other alternative steps to reduce CO2 emissions such as investigating how to integrate CO2 emission indicators into the regular business information flow and procurement of ocean shipping.



Responsible companies are looking for innovative, commercially viable ways to reduce the impact of their business on the environment, said Cas Pouderoyen, Agility senior vice president for global ocean freight. In Maersk, we have one of the most creative and committed partners in the shipping industry. Our Carbon Pact partnership with them will benefit Agility customers and the planet.



The International Maritime Organization says ocean shipping accounts for 10 per cent of global CO2 emissions for transportation. Road traffic (73 per cent) and air transportation (12 per cent) are the leading sources of CO2.

Agility and Maersk are both members of the Clean Cargo Working Group, an international coalition of logistics providers, ocean carriers and retailers committed to improving the environmental performance of marine container transport.



Agility works closely with its customers to measure and improve the environmental performance of their supply chain activities. It also is committed to reducing its own environmental impact, it said.  TradeArabia News Service
Made by Gulf Craft, the largest UAE-built superyacht, the Majesty 155, has arrived in Monaco as part of the companys participation at the Monaco Yacht Show.



Gulf Crafts flagship superyacht continues her journey through the French Riviera following a spectacular presence at the Cannes Yachting Festival, where the Majesty 155 made her European debut and was the largest superyacht on display.



The Majesty 155 is Gulf Crafts first displacement superyacht, boasting 47 meters of unrivalled luxury, from opulent interiors and an ornately designed fountain on the sundeck, to a fully equipped beach club and a beautiful waterfall that cascades from the rear sundeck into the upper deck Jacuzzi.



Guests can visit Gulf Craft in the T-Central area at the Monaco Yacht Show, which kicks off this September 28 and runs until October 1.  TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco plans to invest a total of about $334 billion by 2025, including spending on infrastructure and projects to maintain oil capacity, a senior Aramco official said on Monday.



Abdulaziz Al-Abdulkarim, vice president for procurement and supply chain management, told a conference in Bahrain that the figure included spending on exploring for and developing unconventional resources, such as shale gas.



"Saudi Aramco is forecast to spend around $334 billion. This will be spent on material and services to support service facilities, infrastructure projects, drilling and maintain (oil) potential projects, unconventional resources both in the exploration phase and development and several other projects," he told the conference.



"That is the 10-year investment. It's everything. You talk about pipelines, you talk about bulk plants, you talk about power plants, there is a lot of investment, of course upstream facilities whether it's oil or gas," he later told reporters.



Saudi Aramco outlined a plan known as In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) last year, when CEO Amin Nasser said the company would spend more than $300 billion over the next 10 years, of which 70 percent would be local content.



One of IKTVA's goals is to double the percentage of locally produced energy-related goods and services to 70 percent of the total spent by 2021.



Saudi Arabia has announced its "Vision 2030" plan, aimed at ending the kingdom's reliance on oil, including a proposed conversion of Aramco into an energy holding company and selling up to 5 percent of the company in an initial public share offering (IPO).



"Some companies as a matter of fact have already moved early, quickly and smartly," Abdulkarim said at the conference.



"In the past few months we have seen Schlumberger, General Electric and Siemens explain very robust IKTVA plans as their contribution to the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030," he said.



The local sourcing target comes at a time of significant financial stress in Saudi Arabia, as the Gulf's largest economy adjusts to lower oil prices and reduced state spending and economic growth.



As part of its local focus for the supply chain, Aramco aims to create around 500,000 direct and indirect jobs for Saudi nationals.



In its drive to boost local industry and create jobs, Saudi Aramco also plans to develop an energy industrial city between Al Ahsa and Dammam which includes manufacturing oil and gas equipment and drilling centres for Aramco.



Abdulkarim's speech referred to the city as to be located in Abqaiq. - Reuters
GCC oil companies must have an immediate focus on economic sustainability if they are to maintain the value of the regions natural resources into the future, a senior oil official in Oman has said.



Oil companies across the region must challenge the way they work if they are to succeed in the current economic climate, said exploration director at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) Intisaar Al Kindi.



PDO is recognised as a leader in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), finding innovative solutions to industry problems, the latest example being the pioneering $600 million Miraah solar thermal power project. Due to come online in 2017, Miraah will use the suns energy to produce super-heated steam, which can be injected into oil wells to make the recovery of viscous crude  or heavy oil  easier and cheaper.



Those savings can help offset instability in global oil prices, with the sultanates 2016 budget outlining a 33 percent fall in oil and gas revenues to RO6.15 billion, down from RO9.16 billion in 2015, said a statement.



Ensuring that our business is sustainable is a long-term goal for PDO, but the current global challenges facing our industry also underline the importance of achieving sustainability now, said Al Kindi. To be successful in this objective we still need to deliver on our core activities, including safety, asset integrity, production, early monetisation of exploration opportunities, well and reservoir management, and operational excellence, while mitigating our environmental impact.



It is possible to do all of this through continued business improvement, rigorous cost control, a more collaborative relationship with contractors, and the utilisation of new technologies, she said.



Al Kindi will represent PDO at the Middle Easts largest industry gathering, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) in November, and she is also a member of Adipecs Executive Committee.



Adipec takes place from November 7 to 10 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).



Against this challenging background, Adipec offers an important international platform to present our ideas, to discuss issues of common interest with colleagues from around the world, and learn from industry best practice.



Resilience has emerged as a critical issue for decision makers, and investors, in the petroleum industry. According to the Opec World Energy Trends Report 2015, the oil industry has faced a challenging year, with a cooling economic outlook in non-OECD markets, particularly China, where rapid increases in demand appear to be maturing. However, forecasts show continued growth in the global economy, and oil is predicted to remain the most significant energy source.



GCC suppliers can expect to benefit from this growth as the balance between supply and demand in the oil market stabilises, while the development of high-cost petroleum resources, such as shale oil, is likely to be more subdued as investors question their long-term viability, the statement said.



How the GCC industry responds to the shifting market, both in the short and longer term, will be an important point of discussion during the Adipec gathering, which brings together leading international experts from all sectors of the industry to share knowledge and experience.



The event is expected to attract more than 2,300 exhibiting companies, 8,500 delegates, 700 speakers, and 100,000 trade professionals from 135 countries. Increasingly, Adiepc considers petroleums role as part of a broader energy mix, with the theme Strategies for the New Energy Landscape setting the agenda for a distinguished conference programme in 2016.



We must seize this opportunity afforded by the current economic constraints to challenge the way we work. In doing that, we continue to be optimistic about the outlook, spurred on by the progress that we are making, our robust plans to stay the course, and our ongoing commitment to sustainable development, concluded Al Kindi.  TradeArabia News Service


The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it would back a global freeze in oil output to bolster prices, while some Opec delegates predicted a meeting of producing countries in Algeria this week could still yield a deal to restrain supply.



Oil prices have more than halved from 2014 levels due to a glut, prompting Opec producers and non-Opec Russia to seek a market rebalancing that would boost revenues from oil exports and help their crippled budgets.



The predominant idea since early 2016 among producers has been to agree to limit output, although market watchers have said such a move would fail to reduce oversupply.



Sources told Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia had offered to reduce its output if Iran agreed to freeze production, a shift in Riyadh's position as the kingdom had previously refused to discuss output cuts.



However, oil markets fell on Friday as hopes for a comprehensive deal in Algeria faded, with sources saying the informal meeting was meant only to build consensus ahead of formal Opec talks in Vienna at the end of November. Crude prices recovered on Monday in volatile trade.



As delegations gathered in Algiers, some ministers and officials expressed hope that a deal would emerge this week.



"If all members of Opec are in agreement around a decision, I think there is a high likelihood of getting the support of the others, especially Russia," UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al-Mazroui told Reuters.



"For us in the UAE, we are for a decision. We think a freeze will help if it is agreed. We hope that all are going to agree."



A non-Gulf delegate said: "We hope there will be a production freeze. We expect there will be a pre-agreement".



The focus was on trying to persuade Iran to freeze production at levels acceptable for the rest of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, another delegate said.



Iran's production has been stagnant at around 3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the past three months, close to what the country produced before the imposition of European sanctions in 2012.



The sanctions were eased in January 2016, and Iran has said it wants to achieve output of more than 4 million bpd.



Iranian agency Shana quoted the country's oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, as saying the meeting in Algiers was only "advisory" and expectations should be modest.



Members of Opec are meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, from Septemebr 26-28. Russia is also attending. - Reuters
A former executive of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has been appointed as director-general of the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea), its spokesman said on Monday.



Saif Saleh Al-Sayari, formerly head of energy solutions at Taqa, is the new director-general of Adwea, the state-owned utility's spokesman told Reuters.



He replaces Faris Obeid Al-Dhaheri who left Adwea, he said, without giving reasons for the departure.



Adwea has five subsidiaries that generate, buy, transmit and distribute water and electricity in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.



In May, the board of Adwea was revamped and Abdullah Ali Al-Ahbabi was appointed as its chairman. - Reuters
The cheap package holiday, bucket and spade culture and jetting off for two weeks of sun, sand and souvenirs is on the decline suggests Taleb Al Makhmari, acting director general, Marketing & Media at Ithraa, Omans inward investment and export promotion agency.



Today, there is a new type of tourism - one that could be described as deep travel - it is about getting under the skin of a place. Tourists seeking out authenticity, real experiences rather than fake culture packages made for the masses.



It is about the appreciation of local distinctiveness, the idiosyncrasies and the detail, the things that make a place unique and special, says Al Makhmari.



Tourism is going hyperlocal, he explained.



Increasingly, todays tourists are looking for more than just the tick-box attractions, passport stamps and Instagram photos. Theyre after genuine experiences that are memorable, explains Al Makhmari.



The demand for hyperlocal tourism activities is on the rise. Whether it is climbing mountains, crossing deserts, sailing, relaxing on a beach or shopping, tourists want an authentic experience. In fact, there is a large number of travelers who are looking for offbeat locations to get the local, unique real-life experience, a market worth around $140 billion globally.



Research shows that when tourists are asked to describe their ideal holiday they use words like authentic, discovery as well as relaxing. More and more often, theyre looking to experience distinctive, local culture, too, Al Makhmari pointed out.



He went on to say: And its not just about attracting foreign tourists to Oman, our next happy customer could be closer to home. Google data shows that, since 2010, staycation has enjoyed a 58 per cent rise in search frequency - with a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in 2015 alone - and is forecasted to climb.



Omans small businesses, particularly those working in the creative industries space, can certainly play a role in helping tourists realise their expectations, as well as supporting the local hotels they stay in and the airlines they travel on, he explained. - TradeArabia News Service
The UAE recorded impressive figures for hotel occupancy this Eid Al Adha, with the surge in occupancy estimated to be more than 80 per cent all over the Emirates during the five-day Islamic holiday.



Tamani Marina Hotel Dubai, a family favorable getaway, witnessed an increase in bookings by 3.8 per cent from 2015, with regional and local tourism dominating its overall revenues.



The hotel received 1,275 guests, 441 room nights from bookings within the UAE taking the larger share of 53.8 per cent, an increase of 2.9 per cent compared to the last year, while bookings from Saudi Arabia with total of 606 guests, 235 room nights took and a share of 23.8 per cent, recording an increase of 4.8 per cent from last year.



Sherif Elibrashy, director of sales and marketing at Tamani Marina Hotel Dubai, said: We are honoured to host people from across the GCC during the holiday. Our expertise in the region's tourism market and in-depth understanding of our customers needs have helped us in devising attractive family packages to promote the GCCs reputation as a hospitality destination and make their visit a memorable one. Our family-friendly atmosphere helps make our guests feel right at home, offering every convenience to ensure they are well looked after.



He added: As we look to the future with optimism, our efforts will be wholly dedicated toward delivering high value services to our customers whilst fulfilling our brand promise with the highest levels of satisfaction.



According to the latest market review conducted by Ernst & Young (EY), the UAE hospitality market has already witnessed an increase in occupancy and revenue levels in the month of July, generally considered a low season for the industry. Dubai has registered an increase of occupancy by 6.2 per cent, while Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah posted significant jumps of 11.5 per cent and 36.3 per cent respectively.



Awarded the Dubai Quality Appreciation Certificate and renowned as UAEs preferred hospitality brand, TAMANI Marina Hotel Dubai continues to uphold its position as a family oriented all-suites hotel while and reflecting Dubais traditional culture since its inception in 2008. - TradeArabia News Service
Wyndham Dubai Marina has announced the appointment of Jo-Ella Moore as its new hotel manager.



Moore, who joins the 32-storey, 486-room, four-star property and will be overseeing all operations of the hotel, will be reporting to cluster manager, Rogier M Hurkmans.



With more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Moore has worked with a number of reputable brands including Armani Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group and Six Senses. She brings with her a wealth of expertise and achievements in all areas of hotel operations, sales, marketing and revenue development.



As part of her new role at Wyndham Dubai Marina, Moore will be ensuring the continued success of the property. Her new responsibilities will be focused on all operational departments of the hotel while supporting the cluster general manager. Apart from overlooking day-to-day operations, she will be providing leadership and management guidance, ensuring revenue maximisation, creating excellent guest experiences, brand standard compliance, health and safety compliance, implementing sustainable practices and above all engaging and motivating the associates.



Hurkmans said: We are delighted to welcome Jo-Ella to the Wyndham Dubai Marina property and we are confident that she will be a great leader and play a key role in building on the success of the hotel and provide a high-quality service to all our guests. - TradeArabia News Service
Dubais hotel room inventory is expected to hit 76,500 by the end of the year, up 14 per cent from 2015, with 9,300 keys across 31 new hotels estimated to be in the pipeline, a new report has revealed.



According to a market report released by Deloitte, the tourism industry is fundamental to Dubais economy, with the emirate having the highest overnight visitor arrival expenditure globally, at approximately Dh17,146 ($4,66.8) per city resident.



Total visitors to Dubai in 2015 was 14.2 million, representing 7.8 per cent year-on-year growth. Saudi Arabia drove the largest number of visits to Dubai in 2015 with 1.6 million, followed by India with 0.95 million and the UK with 0.9 million. Iran and China drove the greatest increase in visitor numbers, whilst visitors from Russia declined by more than 15 per cent due to economic and political turbulence and a weakened ruble.



However, Dubai still remains one of the best performing hospitality market globally with regard to occupancy levels, positioned together with New York at 84 per cent, London at 82 per cent, Paris at 78 per cent and Berlin at 77 per cent.



In the short term (2016 to 2017) the delta between hospitality supply and demand will widen leading to a new normal in hotel performance in

Dubai.



Given the market fundamentals, occupancy levels at around 70 per cent to 75 per cent are likely to represent the new normal in Dubai in 2016.



Furthermore, serviced apartments are likely to attract greater attention in 2016, driven by key source market trends, growing visitor demand for longer average lengths of stay and better value accommodation.



In the medium term, the report predicts that demand growth in Dubai's hospitably market will catch up with supply growth, as the market gains traction in the run up to Expo 2020. It considers that planned tourism

infrastructure investment (including a number of major theme parks), Expo 2020 and the prospect of a GCC Schengen-style visa will all have a positive impact on demand in Dubai, driving up visitor numbers and average length of stay.



Looking at the longer term, the report estimates that there are some 23,000 hotel rooms in Dubai's pipeline between 2016 and 2020 and while market fundamentals are strong, investors, developers and lenders should also consider the Expo 2020 and devise strategies for sustaining demand levels beyond 2020, the report indicated. - TradeArabia News Service
Gerald Lawless, chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council, will share his inside knowledge of building Dubai as a destination, as well as the Jumeirah Group, when he addresses the inaugural Asia Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC) in Colombo in November.



The former Jumeirah CEO, now Head of Tourism and Hospitality with Dubai Holding, Jumeirahs parent company, has played a key role in the countrys phenomenal growth for nearly two decades.



His own track record speaks for itself: when he joined Jumeirah from Trusthouse Forte in 1997, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel was about to open. It now has 22 hotels across 11 global destinations and more than 20 hotels are in the pipeline in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.



Dubais overall expansion as a favourite tourist destination is just as impressive. Lawless said: I remember in 1981 the Hyatt opened a hotel with 600 rooms and someone from the industry said, now Dubai has seven five-star hotels  and thats enough. It clearly wasnt. There are now approaching 700 luxury hotels in the emirate with another 67 planned over the next 12 months.



Key to that expansion has been co-operation between government and the private sector. Dubais Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing built a strong rapport with hotel owners and other industry players, as a group, so issues like immigration could be dealt with quickly and efficiently. The development of Emirates airline was crucial too, as was marketing at big international events, and the governments commitment to building infrastructure to cope with the huge influx of visitors.



Visa waivers to tourists from 30 countries  often without reciprocal concessions - also aided the expansion. I had never seen co-operation like that anywhere else in the world, said Lawless. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum really understood the potential of travel and tourism to the country.



The value of tourism as a force for good in the world economy is one of Lawless' key messages in his new roles.



He argues that a worldwide trusted-traveller or e-visa programme  supported by high-level security and international data sharing  would further boost tourism, which already accounts for 10 per cent of the global workforce, while enhancing security.



He also predicts that handled the right way, tourism could account for a hugely increased percentage of GDP in many emerging markets in Asia.



Sustainability  environmental, but also social and economic - is another of Lawless' passions. He cites the example of a new hotel project in an ecologically sensitive area in the interior of a tropical island. He emphasises the importance of training and employing local people there, providing health and education. That way everyones experience  including the tourists  is enriched. We ignore sustainability at our peril, he said.



Lawless keynote address, Building a Tourism Destination, will be delivered at AHTIC in the Hilton Colombo between November 27 and 29.



Jonathan Worsley, chairman of Bench Events, which is organising AHTIC, added: Sri Lanka is on a mission to rebuild its tourism industry after decades of civil war. I am sure that everyone in the audience will be fascinated to hear, in detail, the secrets of Dubais success and to hear Geralds thoughts on how similar success can be achieved in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the region. - TradeArabia News Service


The TransGriot is available for speaking engagements, college lectures, panel discussions, media interviews, conferences or Trans 101 education efforts for your school, business or professional organizations.



For local Houston area, Texas or national events, you can e-mail me at transgriot@yahoo.com



For events outside the Houston metro area, I ask that my travel and lodging expenses be covered.



This is separate from my speaking fee.



If you are interested in having me appear as a speaker or panelist, you can e-mail me with the date and details of your proposed event.

Please book as early as possible because my speaking and event calendar slots during the year rapidly fill up.
Have an event, trend or general energy happening youd like to see in the Energy Journal newsletter? Send it to Star-Tribune Energy Reporter Heather Richards at heather.richards@trib.com. Sign up for the newsletter at www.trib.com/energyjournal.

The grouse

A year ago Wednesday, the Department of the Interior announced that the greater sage grouse would not be listed as an endangered species. In Wyoming, and other Western states, the decision was hailed as a success.

The issue of the birds' decline has been a source of environmental concern for some time. Wyoming has been a leader in organizing conservation work that brought together federal land agents, ranchers, environmentalists and industry representatives.

Production and energy extraction has been cited in the birds' decline.

Nonetheless, last year is still considered a landmark. The work done was unprecedented in its collaborative approach to saving the species, and many spoke out Wednesday to commemorate the day.

The Nature Conservancy has worked for more than a decade with private landowners, states, and the federal government to help conserve more than one million acres of sage grouse habitat, said Len Barson in a statement. Barson is the Conservancys leader on the greater sage grouse. One year post decision, we are encouraged by the actions many people are taking to conserve the American West.

Some still voice concern over the birds fate. Environmentalists say they will continue to monitor the management plans on federal lands, which adopt strict guidelines on development to protect the bird's breeding grounds in energy development areas.

The majority of the sage grouse population resides in Wyoming, particularly in areas like the Powder River Basin that experience a higher-than-average disturbance from industry.

Coal pensions

Sen. Mike Enzi spoke against a bill that would provide federal dollars for coal miner pensions.

The Wyoming Republican said the bill would only benefit coal miners who belong to a union, leaving out the majority of Wyoming coal miners.

The Miners Protection Act would use federal money meant for abandoned mine cleanup to boost the pension plans for United Mine Workers of America.

Rather than address the thousands of underfunded pension plans, today we are considering one bill that helps one underfunded plan, Enzi told the finance committee.

The bill was written to address the thousands of Appalachian coal miners facing pension shortages in the coal downturn that has wracked the region. Appalachian coal has traditionally had a stronger union base than its Western counterparts.

Despite opposition, the bill passed the Senate Finance Committee and will be considered by the whole chamber.

Unemployment down, finally

Some good news in Wyoming: The unemployment numbers that swelled in the downturn have finally turned. Whether this is a blip or a change in trend is uncertain.

Fire season and the small business

The University of Wyoming is hosting a webinar to educate small-business owners, many of whom are hurting from the downturn in the oil and gas industry.

The topic of the webinar is fire season. Every year, millions of dollars are set aside for fire suppression efforts on federal lands, dollars that local vendors from transportation and hauling to food service can capitalize on. The event takes place Oct. 13 and is being sponsored by the Wyoming Small Business Development Center.

Plant worker death

Head trauma caused the death of Michael Smuin, officials said Monday.

The 36-year-old from Kemmerer died Sept. 14 at the Opal Williams natural gas processing plant. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Wyoming division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

In other news

Oil ends the week in the mid-40s and natural gas is somewhat down. The rig count nationwide is up by just two. But in other news 

Trump makes promises

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has promised deregulation in the energy industry if elected.

Wall Street Journal has the story here.

Just a few other things: Bloomberg turned its eye on Wyoming in this piece on Powder River Basin coal. Most of it will be familiar to people in Wyoming, but its an interesting take with a lot of relevant information.

Also, some scientists say earthquakes in Texas were caused by fracking. They used radar from space to gather their data.
The Wyoming Community Foundation announced that Wyoming Dementia Cares Family Caregiver Services Program has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Tony Cate Fund to provide Alzheimers and dementia caregiver support services.

Wyoming Dementia Care is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization founded in 2008 by the late Tom Stroock. The mission of the organization is to help families and caregivers of those with Alzheimers disease and dementia-related illnesses care for their loved ones. WDCs Family Caregiver Services Program provides direct services, support, encouragement, access to community resources and techniques to help caregivers meet the challenges of caregiving.

According to board Chair David Wheeler, M.D., the grant will make a significant difference to Wyoming Dementia Cares ability to continue its outreach and assistance to caregivers. This award from WyCF and the Cate Fund is a significant boost to our local non-profits ability to support caregivers in an immediate and truly meaningful way, Wheeler said.

The financial assistance provided by the Wyoming Community Foundation through the Cate Fund will ensure that Wyoming Dementia Care can continue its direct services to caregivers at no cost to participants. These services include up-to-date information about dementia-related illnesses, assistance with care techniques and long-term planning, weekly support groups with respite care, caregiver counseling, and recreational art and music.

Wyoming Dementia Cares Alzheimers Caregiver Support Groups meet at 10 a.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month at the Senior Center, at 6:30 p.m. on the second and third Wednesday of each month at Meadow Wind Assisted Living, and at 1 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Life Center. There is no cost to participate and respite care is provided. All caregivers of those with dementia-related problems are welcome to attend. For information, call Dani Guerttman at 265-4678 or email wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com.
Gov. Matt Mead is scheduled to speak Tuesday in Casper at the first Governors Symposium on Suicide Prevention, which will be followed by two days of the Wyoming Suicide Prevention Conference.

The events, though separate, will focus on educating people about suicide and initiatives to minimize suicide deaths. Wyoming had the fourth-highest rate of deaths by suicide in the country in 2014, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The governor decided to host the symposium after speaking with families affected by suicide, which kills more than 100 people a year in the state.

Its a high-profile issue and one that seems to affect a lot of people across the state, Meads spokesman, David Bush, said. The governor has heard from families who have lost someone to suicide. Its something that hes worked on for a while.

The governors symposium will include a session on the high risk of suicide among veterans and a talk by Wyoming Auditor Cynthia Cloud, who will speak about losing her son to suicide in March.

The symposium, which will be held from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Ramkota Hotel, will be the first of its kind for the governors office. The event is free and open to the public with online registration.

Bush didnt know whether the governor would host a similar event next year.

The Wyoming Suicide Prevention Conference, in its third year, begins Wednesday and will offer more than 16 educational sessions and panel discussions. The two-day conference, also at the Ramkota, is open to the public with registration and a $75 fee.

The sessions explore a variety of ways suicide affects communities, from techniques to dealing with personal loss to how suicide affects businesses. There are also sessions focusing on populations with high risks of suicide, including veterans with PTSD and homeless youth.

Suicide doesnt discriminate, so the idea is that we reach out to as many people as possible, said Traci Blevins, coordinator of the Natrona County Suicide Prevention Task Force, which is hosting the conference.

Suicide survivors  including those who have survived a suicide attempt and those who have lost a loved one to suicide  are invited to an informal gathering at the end of Wednesdays sessions where they can share support, network and exchange ideas for suicide prevention. Registration to the conference isnt needed to attend the 5:30 p.m. gathering.
TORRINGTON  Lawmakers are again discussing how to allow convicted felons to seek a new trial if new evidence comes forward proving their innocence.

They also are considering if and how to compensate people who have been wrongly convicted.

Wyoming already has a state law allowing for DNA evidence to be used as the basis for granting a new trial.

But there isnt a way for non-DNA evidence to provide for a new trial.

Thats an issue because DNA evidence is only available in between 10 and 15 percent of cases, representatives of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center said previously.

The center advocates for people who have been wrongly convicted, as well as for legislation to protect those who have been wrongly convicted.

During the last legislative session, bills dealing with both non-DNA evidence and post-conviction compensation failed after being amended.

Now, members of the Legislatures Joint Judiciary Committee are taking up the issues again, ultimately deciding Thursday to discuss each issue as a separate bill at the committees next meeting.

Both issues had originally been placed into one bill.

Lawmakers felt that separating the issues could provide better chances for at least one bill passing the full Legislature.

With the history of these two bills, I think they should be separate issues, said Rep. Mark Baker, R-Rock Springs.

Laramie County District Attorney Jeremiah Sandberg, who spoke to the committee on behalf of the Wyoming County and Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said most county prosecutors are in favor of the non-DNA legislation.

However, he said the organization would like to see some changes, including added flexibility in certain proposed time limits, such as one requiring prosecuting attorneys to respond to a request for a new trial in 120 days.

Thats because it can sometimes take weeks to gather evidence from old cases.

On the subject of compensation for those who have been exonerated, providing money to those people after they are released can also protect taxpayers, said Michelle Feldman, a state policy advocate with the Innocence Project, an organization that works with the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center.

Thats because those who are exonerated are less likely to sue the state if they have guaranteed compensation, Feldman said.

Wyoming is one of 20 states that do not have compensation provisions, according to the Innocence Project.

Members of the Joint Judiciary Committee will consider the bills at their next meeting later this year.
Two Montana residents are in custody after leading a Wyoming state trooper on a chase early Monday northwest of Cheyenne.

Justin Fuller, 25, and Taylor Graves, 18, were taken into custody after the chase ended in a pasture near Laramie County Road 216 and Wyoming State Highway 211, according to a news release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Speeds during the pursuit reached 145 mph.

Just before 1 a.m. Monday, troopers were sent to a Chevrolet Corvette driving erratically on southbound Interstate 25. A trooper found the vehicle just north of Cheyenne and tried to catch up, but the Corvette, with Fuller driving, began to head north in the southbound lanes of the highway, the release says.

The Corvette exited I-25, still going the wrong way, at the Vandehei exit and continued north on Bishop Boulevard, according to the release. Then, it proceeded west on Wyoming 211, with the trooper still in pursuit.

The chase then covered county roads and pastures as well as a residential yard.

On County Road 216, Fuller stopped the Corvette in a pasture, and he and Graves fled on foot. Both were caught by troopers and deputies with the Laramie County sheriffs office and taken to the Laramie County Detention Center in Cheyenne.

The Corvette had been reported stolen from Billings, Montana, on Sept. 20.

Fuller has been charged with possession of stolen property, impaired driving, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, interference, fleeing and eluding and reckless driving. Graves has been charged with possession of stolen property and interference.
RAWLINS  Wyoming wildlife officials are asking hunters to help map out a deadly and degenerative disease threatening deer and other wildlife around Jackson Hole and Cody.

Fish and Wildlife officials are asking deer hunters heading to the hunting area near Green River to have their harvested deer sampled for chronic wasting disease.

The disease is often fatal and attacks the central nervous system of white and mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk and sometimes moose.

Currently the deer in the hunt area 131 have not tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

Medical researchers say there is no proof the disease can be transmitted to humans, but they do not recommend humans eat meat from animals that test positive for the disease.
Impeachment is among the most severe and solemn powers Congress has, right up there with declaring war. Not since 1876 has an executive-branch appointee been impeached, and not in the history of the republic has Congress impeached an executive-branch official below the Cabinet level.

Now, Republicans in Congress would change that. On Wednesday, they wheeled out the sacred tool of impeachment  weeks before an election  for the purpose of smearing an honorable public servant, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, in service of a lie.

The IRS has been abusing taxpayers and illegally targeting conservatives and getting away with it, Rep. John Fleming, a Republican Senate candidate in Louisiana and leader of the House effort to impeach Koskinen, says in a new radio ad. The head of the IRS ordered 24,000 emails erased before Congress could review them. ... Im fighting back with an impeachment vote against the head of the IRS.

There are just a few wee problems with the Republicans logic. The targeting of conservative groups ended in 2013. The Treasury Departments inspector general, originally a Republican appointee, reported no evidence of political motivation in the targeting. The Justice Department, too, found no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political, discriminatory, corrupt, or other inappropriate motives and no evidence that any official attempted to obstruct justice. The official responsible for the targeting resigned before Koskinen came to the IRS at the end of 2013. And the same IG said last year that no evidence was uncovered that any IRS employees had been directed to destroy or hide information from Congress, the DOJ, or [the IG].

House Speaker Paul Ryan, eager to avoid the spectacle of the House voting to impeach an innocent man based on false charges without a proper hearing, got impeachment advocates to settle for Wednesdays hearing in which Koskinen testified before the House Judiciary Committee. But that hardly improved matters: To say this impeachment inquiry is a kangaroo court would be an insult to marsupials.

The hearing was called without the usual protocol of a vote of the House authorizing an investigation. The accused was not represented by counsel or given the right to present evidence. He was even denied access to the evidence the House Oversight Committee amassed that forms the basis of the charges against him.

Even the kangaroos on the Judiciary court were denied the secret evidence behind the bogus charges. Does the committee majority have access to the unedited transcripts of the interviews conducted by the Oversight Committee? Democrat Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) asked the committees chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

We do not think so, Goodlatte replied.

If they lacked evidence, Republicans on the panel compensated with hysteria.

We expect this kind of behavior from dictatorships, announced Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.). It represents a direct attack on freedom of religion  excuse me. It represents a direct attack on freedom of speech and, thus, an attack on our Constitution and our democracy.

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) took the unusual tack of accusing Koskinen of refusing to testify even as he sat there testifying: You circled the wagons and clammed up, and you took the Fifth, and you destroyed evidence and betrayed the country.

Rather than join in the wild accusations, several Democrats on the panel chose instead to ask Koskinen about Donald Trumps taxes  a line of questioning that brought an objection from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) because it was outside the scope of this hearing.

The chairman let Issa know that he couldnt tell the Democrats which questions to ask; even a kangaroo court has some standards.

Theres no dispute that Koskinen misinformed lawmakers in 2014 when he said that all evidence had been preserved relevant to the targeting. In fact, IRS workers a few months earlier had destroyed backup tapes that contained relevant emails. Koskinen says he didnt know that at the time. The IG spent a year investigating the matter and attributed the erasure to bureaucratic errors, finding no evidence that the IRS and its employees purposely erased the tapes in order to conceal responsive e-mails from the Congress.

But Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of those leading the charge to impeach Koskinen, doesnt believe that.

Thats just a coincidence? he asked Koskinen on Wednesday about the erasures. That just happened by chance?

Jordan is entitled to his beliefs and his conspiracy theories, even if they run contrary to the evidence. But when it comes to the awesome power of impeachment, the burden of proof should be higher than wild speculation.
Brian Scott was a Wyoming giant.

Many people in the state began their days with his memorable voice, as we welcomed it into our homes, cars and businesses via his morning show on K2 Radio.

We listened as he emceed various charity or arts events in Casper and the state, serving as an advocate for people and groups that needed his help to fulfill their critical missions. He also was a vocal proponent of Caspers downtown and the city itself.

Scott, who was killed a week ago in a motorcycle crash in Montana, left more of an impact on his hometown and home state in his 51 years than many of us will in our lifetimes. His enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication were unparalleled.

There may be no replacing the impact Scott made on Casper and Wyoming, from the arts to nonprofits to politics to simply bringing people together.

But we owe it to him to try.

A loss this deep means that others in Wyoming must pick up the burden that the beloved broadcaster shouldered for so long.

Scotts seemingly boundless energy and devotion connected people in a way that is too rare, in both low- and high-profile ways. He flipped burgers at fundraisers, served as the dapper voice of charity events, enlivened holiday gatherings and was perpetually eager to deliver a firm handshake and heartfelt smile. He put his day on hold to sit with friends in emergency rooms and went out of his way to encourage young people to pursue the arts.

Thats impressive even without placing a price tag on the good he did. But its impossible to overlook that Scott helped local nonprofits, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming, raise millions of dollars. He also lent his expertise to various boards during his career, including the Nicolaysen Art Museum, the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, the Downtown Development Authority, the Casper College Theatre Program and the Casper Childrens Theatre. If you have enjoyed or supported any of those institutions, Scott was part of the reason.

These people and groups, along with many others, continue to need help. Scott was always there to lend a hand. Now, its time for each of us to follow his example in his honor. We should uphold his lustrous legacy in whatever way we can.

Some of us have the resources to give money to nonprofits and other advocacy organizations, funding their efforts. Some have the resources to give time, teaching children or helping organize fundraisers. Nearly all of us have the resources to simply smile at a stranger, listen carefully to a friend in need or say, How can I help?

Whatever you can do, please do it  as Brian Scott did, to fill the void in the community he loved.
At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers.

The United States, Britain and France, who called the emergency meeting, heaped blame on Moscow for supporting the Syrian offensive, which U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5-year war.

When Syrias U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari was called to speak in the council, the ambassadors of the three Western powers walked out in protest.

They had demanded a halt to the Aleppo offensive and immediate council action, and their walkout demonstrated anger and frustration not only at Damascus but at Russia for backing close ally Bashar Assads military campaign while talking about reviving a cessation of hostilities.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, its barbarism, said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Its apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.

As the government offensive entered its fourth day, medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighborhoods throughout Aleppos rebel-held eastern districts.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7:30 p.m. and said it expected the toll to rise. Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defense search and rescue organization gave a higher toll, saying hospitals and rescuers had documented the deaths of 43 people so far on Sunday.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians had been killed by airstrikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since the U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council that oversees medical affairs in the citys opposition quarters.

Ive never seen so many people dying in once place, he said from a hospital in the city. Its terrifying today. In less than one hour the Russian planes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 200.
NEW YORK  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday, giving each candidate fresh foreign policy talking points on the eve of their first presidential debate.

Clinton met Sunday evening with Netanyahu for less than an hour in Manhattan, according to Clinton campaign officials. Her meeting came after Trump sat down with the prime minister at his residence in Trump Tower in the morning, Israeli and Trump campaign officials said.

Reporters were barred from covering either meeting.

Clintons campaign said the two had an in-depth conversation. She stressed that a strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States and reaffirmed unwavering commitment to the relationship.

According to her campaign, Clinton stressed her support for a 10-year, $38 billion military aid package signed between the two countries earlier the month and opposition to efforts to boycott Israel. They also discussed Iran, the conflict in Syria and other regional challenges, including her support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict negotiated by the two parties  not an outside organization like the U.N. Security Council.

Trump and Netanyahu discussed at length Israels use of a fence to help secure its borders, an example Trump frequently cites when hes talking about the wall he wants to build between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism, the campaign said in a statement. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State.

The meetings were designed to put Israel on good footing with the next U.S. president.

The Israeli leader has sought to project neutrality this time after perceptions arose that he favored Mitt Romney over President Obama in 2012.

But it also served to showcase the candidates expertise in foreign policy in the shadow of their first debate Monday, six weeks before Election Day. Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, often says that Trump does not know enough about the world and lacks the temperament to be president.

Trump has argued that he has extensive experience with foreign policy through his career as a business executive and blames Clinton for many of the nations stumbles in foreign policy.

Meanwhile, the candidates deployed their top supporters to the Sunday shows to take early jabs at opponents and lower expectations for a showdown expected to draw 75 million viewers  many of them disenchanted with both candidates, the least-popular presidential hopefuls in history.

Facts and who will determine them during the 90-minute debate seemed to be a top concern of the campaigns strategists, given Trumps habit of saying things that are untrue and the publics general distrust of Clinton.

Robby Mook, Clintons campaign manager, told ABCs This Week that he is concerned Trump will continue his habit of sometimes saying things that arent true and still get a passing grade. He called on moderator Lester Holt to correct any inaccuracies made by the candidates. But Trumps campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said its not the job of debate moderators to fact-check.

Trumps vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, meanwhile, said that Gennifer Flowers will not attend the debate. Trump had tweeted that if frequent Trump critic Mark Cuban attended the showdown, hed put Flowers, allegedly the former mistress of Clintons husband, Bill, in the audience, too. Conway said that Flowers had a right to be there if somebody else gives her a ticket. But Pence drew a harder line.

Gennifer Flowers will not be attending the debate tomorrow night, Pence said on Fox News Sunday.

Conway on ABC defended the tweet, saying Trump wants to remind people that hes a great counterpuncher.

The candidate was focused on other matters Sunday.

Trumps campaign said that during his meeting with Netanyahu, the Republican presidential nominee promised, extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries if hes elected.

Trumps campaign said in a statement that the men, who have known each other for years, discussed many topics important to both countries.

Among those topics: the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against Islamic State militants, military assistance from the U.S. to Israel and other security issues.
Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, that affect your mood, thinking and behavior.

Those conditions may affect your ability to function and relate to others on a daily basis. Mental illnesses are physical diseases just like heart disease or diabetes. With heart disease, the organ affected is the heart.

With mental illnesses, the organ affected is the brain. Anyone can have a mental illness. Its not anyones fault and mental illnesses are treatable.

Did you know that one in five adults experience a mental health condition in any given year? Did you know that one in five or 20 percent of youths between the ages of 13 and 18 experience a mental- health condition in a given year?

Fifty percent of youth between the ages of 8 and 15 with a mental health condition dont receive treatment. The average delay between onset of symptoms and receiving treatment is 8 to 10 years due to stigma and lack of education. Thats where NAMI can help.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the largest grassroots nonprofit mental health organization in the country.

NAMI Southern Arizona is the local affiliate with a mission to improve the lives of all those affected by mental illness. NAMI SA has staff and volunteers who work in the community to raise awareness, provide support and education to those in need.

NAMI SAs vision for the future is to make Southern Arizona a stigma-free community in which abundant resources and support exist to ensure that everyone is healthy in mind and body.

NAMI SA offers educational programs at no cost for those living with mental health conditions, their families and friends, as well as schools, churches and other organizations. These educational programs include:

NAMI BASICS: Provides parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses with the tools necessary to be effective caregivers and advocates for their children.

FAMILY TO FAMILY EDUCATION PROGRAM: For family, friends and loved ones of individuals with mental illnesses. This course provides information on mental illnesses and medications and side effects. Problem solving, listening and communication techniques and strategies for handling crises are discussed.

PEER-TO-PEER: For people with any serious mental illness who are interested in establishing and maintaining their wellness and recovery. This 10-week program can lead to peer mentor training and becoming a peer support specialist.

IN OUR OWN VOICE: For any group interested in hearing firsthand stories from people with mental health conditions. Learn what its like to live with a mental illness and stay in recovery.

PARENTS AND TEACHERS AS ALLIES: For school personnel, parents and the community. It is designed to explain the early warnings signs of mental illnesses in children and adolescents so schools can best communicate with families about mental health concerns. This class was created in response to President George W. Bushs New Freedom Commission report on mental health that called for schools to play a larger role in early identification .

ENDING THE SILENCE: For middle school and high school students. This 50-minute presentation is designed to be held in a classroom and engage students in a discussion on mental health. Students will learn the early warning signs of mental illness and be provided with resources to help themselves or their friends. Signs of mental illness can begin as early as age 14.

SUPPORT GROUPS: For individuals living with a mental illness and their family and friends. There are groups located around Tucson that meet once a month. There are groups for Spanish-speaking individuals. There is also a NAMI Book Club that discusses books related to mental illnesses and a Creative Expressions Group which provides a positive outlet for dealing with the struggles of mental illness.

ADVOCATES: Serve people with mental illness and family members by providing them with assistance and access to resources in the community. Any information shared with the advocates is strictly confidential.

HEART TO HEART: Program creates a friendship between a volunteer and a person with a mental illness with many benefits for both.

For more information on any of those programs, please go to the NAMI SA website, namisa.org, call 622-5582 or visit the NAMI SA office at 6122 E. 22nd St.
A free forum later this month will focus on life along the U.S. Mexico border.

The September 29 event, sponsored by Arizona Public Media and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is designed to be a live, interactive event and will feature four journalists who work along the border.

Organizers aim to take the discussion beyond the often-debated topics of drug violence and illegal immigration. For example, panelists will discuss such issues as U.S.-Mexico trade relations and initiatives, as well as the ways political and cultural perceptions vary north and south of the border.

The journalists also will discuss Donald Trumps and Hillarys Clintons positions on border and immigration issues  and how those positions could impact business, trade and life along the border.

Panelists include:

 Javier Garza: The longtime Mexican journalist has worked extensively to protect reporters working in Mexico, who are often targeted by drug cartels. Garza is a Knight International Journalism Fellow in Mexico.

 Nancy Montoya: Arizona Public Medias border reporter has 35 years experience in broadcast news in the United States and Latin America. With the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, her familys ranch went from being in Mexico to being in the United States almost overnight.

 Curt Prendergast: The Arizona Daily Stars border reporter has lived in South America and covered the border for the residents of Santa Cruz County from 2012 to 2015 as a reporter for the Nogales International.

 Fernanda Santos: The Phoenix bureau chief for The New York Times hails from Brazil and contributed to Latinos in the United States: A Resource Guide for Journalists. She is the author of The Fire Line, a book about the Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire.

Moderating the panel will be Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of the long-running weekly NPR show, Latino USA.

The event is free, but tickets must be reserved in advance. (See accompanying box)
Accreditation inspectors are back on campus at Pima Community College for a visit that has high stakes for all involved.

A team from the Chicago-based Higher Learning Commission is putting PCC under a microscope for the third time in four years  and this time the commissions performance is under scrutiny, too.

The two-day visit begins today and takes place amid mounting federal criticism that accreditors are too soft on schools that dont meet quality standards.

For the most part, accreditation organizations are the watchdogs that dont bark, former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last year.

The federal government, he said, must do a better job at holding accreditors responsible for their work.

PCC has been under accreditation sanctions since 2013 for failing to meet, or just barely meeting, quality standards in several areas.

This week, school officials are showcasing recent changes in a bid to win back the accreditors full favor.

If they dont succeed, PCC could face further sanctions, including the possibility of a show-cause order, which would give the school one more year to either turn things around or lose accredited status.

Commission reviewers have scheduled a general community forum for Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. in the Amethyst Room of PCCs downtown campus, 1255 N. Stone Ave.

Long-term problems

PCCs quality problems went undetected for years when past review teams failed to fact-check the claims of school executives and Governing Board members who said all was well.

In 2010, for example, the college received a clean bill of health even though it lacked the basic underpinnings of a modern educational institution.

Key policies, plans and quality-control systems either didnt exist or hadnt been updated since the era before email. Reports of sexual harassment and cronyism piled up, and those wronged had nowhere to turn because PCC had no complaint-handling system.

The shortcomings didnt come to light until 2012, when news reports and citizen protests spurred the accreditor to action.

Since then, PCC has been trying to make things right, with varying degrees of success.

AREAS OF PROGRESS

The pile of problems the college once faced is smaller these days.

Sexual-harassment issues were dealt with and employees now receive more training than in the past. Many deemed complicit in past problems have quit or moved on.

Last year, the accreditor identified 11 remaining areas of concern including leadership instability, lax monitoring of program quality and a lack of proof that recent fixes, such as a new complaint-tracking system, are effective.

Some changes have a track record of success. A new financial oversight committee, for example, has attracted community experts who advise the college on money matters. Others changes have yet to bear fruit, such as a plan to battle plunging enrollment, which is down by more 30 percent.

Bruce Moses, PCCs accreditation chief, acknowledges the school still has weak spots. But overall, he said, the college can now show that the culture is starting to shift in the right direction.

CRITICISM PERSISTS

For all its efforts, PCC still hasnt won over its biggest critic, the citizens group whose 2012 complaint sparked accreditor action.

The Coalition for Accountability, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility sees the colleges current leadership as secretive and prone to exaggerate the level of progress being made.

The group recently filed another complaint with PCCs accreditor, citing, among other things, the schools repeated failures to comply with state laws that protect the publics right to know.

The board of governors and chancellor continue to engage in the suppression of critical information and key facts, the Sept. 7 complaint said.

Group president Mario Gonzales said he plans to complain to federal officials if the accreditor doesnt do a thorough job this time of fact-checking PCCs improvement claims.

On the SAME PAGE

The team of seven reviewers on-site in Tucson today will be met by a workforce thats been told repeatedly of the need to speak with one voice when the accreditor comes calling.

Fact sheets on PCCs progress were distributed to every employee, and executives drove from campus to campus to drive home the information.

Were not telling them what to say, but showing them information so they understand the facts if they get asked a question, Moses, the accreditation boss, recently told colleges Governing Board.

Having everyone on message is important, he said, because reviewers ears tend to perk up when management and employees arent on the same page.

If management is saying This is how we do things and people are saying the opposite, thats when reviewers key in and drill down and want to ask more questions.

Watching what happens

PCC supporters near and far are watching to see what happens next.

This saga has been going on for too long, said Tucson native Augustine Gallego, a past chair of the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Council on Education and the Institute for Higher Education Policy and the chancellor emeritus of the San Diego Community College District.

Gallego, who lives in Oregon but visits his hometown every few months, said he worries about PCCs future and hopes the current accreditation team is up to the task ahead.

I hope they treat this very seriously, he said. They owe it to the community and the students and the taxpayers of Pima County.

The commission is to decide the colleges fate in February.
PHOENIX  The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld the right of school boards to condemn property for roads leading to their buildings.

Without comment, the justices refused to disturb a year-old ruling by the Court of Appeals in a case out of Pima County that said there is no need for specific authorization in Arizona law.

Wednesdays ruling puts to bed claims by the La Paloma Property Owners Association that Catalina Foothills Unified School District had no right to take control of a private road in the gated community to build a new vehicle entrance to the Valley View Early Learning Center on East Sunrise Drive near East Skyline Drive. The attorney for the homeowners said that right of condemnation is limited to cities, counties and towns.

The appellate court acknowledged the statutes governing schools says only they can condemn property for buildings and grounds.

But the judges said the law also permits condemnations where necessary to create access to school buildings and grounds. And they said the conclusion by the district Governing Board that the new access road was necessary for safety reasons cannot be overturned absent some fraud or arbitrary and capricious conduct.

Court records show when the district acquired the property from the developer, it agreed that vehicles would have to access the school property from either Sunrise Drive or Skyline Drive.

Vehicle access was not to be allowed from Campo Abierto, a private road maintained by the homeowners association that leads to the gated subdivision, with only pedestrian traffic allowed.

The district had tried to use Campo Abierto for vehicular access, only to be slapped down by a different appellate court panel. That led to the decision to condemn the already-existing portion of the road to build a new vehicle access to the school.

Homeowners claim the move damaged property owners who use the same road, creating additional heavy traffic at certain times of the day.

In last weeks order, the Supreme Court upheld a separate part of the appellate court ruling rejecting the contention by homeowners that the district had not obtained required voter approval to condemn the road. The appellate judges said a 2004 bond election authorized the board to acquire the property and spend money for a new preschool facility.
Two educators are vying for the seat of Pima County school superintendent in the November election.

The position has been occupied by Linda Arzoumanian since 2000.

The job, which pays $76,600, is not rooted in policymaking.

Rather, it is heavy with administrative duties including conducting bond and override elections, filling vacancies on school boards, overseeing budgets to ensure reporting is accurate, handling registration of teaching certificates and facilitating training opportunities for educators, among other responsibilities.

Burkolders stands

on the issues

The greatest challenge facing schools: Teacher retention and recruitment. All kids, regardless of where they live, should have access to the best teachers. Improve retention by supporting teachers financially and ensuring they have the power to keep control over their classroom.

Common Core: Supports the standards, which have made free resources more easily accessible online. Appreciates that schools still have the power to design the curriculum utilized in classrooms to meet those common standards.

The Pima County superintendents role in serving teachers: Offer meaningful professional development to support existing teachers in the classroom. She would also advocate for the state to give scholarships to top high school graduates to go into in-demand fields like teaching.

Convincing Gov. Doug Ducey that Prop. 123 was just a first step to improving education funding: Prop.123 was a Band-Aid, but more needs to be done. She would go to Phoenix and speak up when the state isnt following the will of the voters.

Serving Pima County schools, not political parties: The most important asset we have is our children, and we know that. The children become the pawns, and kids cant wait for adults to figure out how to solve problems. Kids need people that want whats best for them, not whats best for their political careers.

Williams stands

on the issues

The greatest challenge facing schools: The states failure to fund public education. While he has no authority to change salaries, he would advocate for stronger lobbying efforts at the state level to ensure the needs of Pima County schools are being met.

Common Core: Its a very good thing, but the politicization of the standards and calls to scrap them at the state level wastes time and money spent by schools that have worked to properly train teachers on how to implement them.

The Pima County superintendents role in serving teachers: Join forces with organizations that offer incentives to teachers, like home-buying discounts. Conduct needs assessments with schools and develop action plans to meet needs.

Convincing Gov. Ducey that Prop. 123 was just a first step to improving education funding: Hold legislators and the governor accountable for the oath they signed to uphold the beliefs of the constitution. He would work to ensure voters are educated and plead with the Governors Office to make sound decisions.
Whats the difference between living on the Sahuarita streets of South Mayford and South Avenida Paso Cortito?

About 400 feet and $110 per year in car insurance premiums, at least according to one study of rates paid across the country.

The former street falls into the Green Valley ZIP code of 85614, and the latter into the Sahuarita ZIP code of 85629.

On average, 85629ers  as they almost certainly do not refer to themselves  pay $1,029 per year in car insurance premiums, while their nearby neighbors pay $919, the lowest rate in Pima County.

The poor souls in 85714, a rectangular chunk of ground between Irvington Road and Ajo Way, have the highest average rate in the county: $1,196, or nearly $300 more than the lowest annual bill. The national average for 2016 so far is $1,323, meaning the overall picture locally is not that bleak.

All those figures come from The Zebra, an online insurance rate-comparing website, which compiled data from a number of different companies across the country over five years. The rates were based on a 30-year-old male with a good driving history behind the wheel of a 2012 Honda Accord EX.

A PDF with the rates for all county ZIP codes studied can be found below.

Your humble columnist learned about this geographic variability the hard way when he recently got a letter in the mail from his insurer, informing him that his annual premiums would be going up by more than $160 a year. That jump was the result of moving from Nogales, Arizona, a border city often unfairly maligned for its supposed lawlessness, to just south of downtown Tucson. So it goes.

To get a better sense of what is at play with insurance rates, and what steps drivers can take to cut down on bills, the Road Runner spoke with the Arizona Insurance Institutes Nicole Farr.

Unsurprisingly, car insurers keep a close eye on certain crime and traffic metrics to gauge how likely claims will be in certain areas. They look at car theft and property-damage rates, traffic levels and accident frequency, among other things.

However, different insurers weight those metrics differently, meaning that moving to an area with more congestion or break-ins may not spell as sharp a jump as youd think. Thats why Farr recommends that motorists shop around. She also said some companies offer discounts for low-mileage drivers who keep their cars parked and walk or bike to work.

The Road Runner took some of that advice and checked quotes for his neighborhood  as well as his less-than-horrible but not-quite-spotless driving record  and found enormous variability.

The lowest quote for the legal minimum coverage was $39 per month; the highest was an absurd $192. His current insurer, who shall remain unnamed, was in the middle of the pack. If anyone with that unnamed company is reading this, youre on notice.

DOWN THE ROAD

Several changes are in order for two upcoming projects the Road Runner reported on last week.

Closures at Colossal Cave Roads railroad crossing near the Old Vail Road will not end Oct. 2, as previously reported, but will extend through Oct. 16 after the arrangement with the Union Pacific Railroad changed.

The extended closure will allow the county and railroad to accomplish most of the work they have planned with a single closure, as opposed to the three closures previously planned.

County transportation department officials said there could still be one more short closure for additional work.

Colossal Cave Road north of the tracks will be accessible from Interstate 10 using the Houghton Road Exit (275).

Also, the work schedule for Rosemont Boulevard previously reported has changed. Work on manhole covers and water-valve covers was set to start last Monday, and will instead start Oct. 10. Milling and road reconstruction will start shortly thereafter.

Residential and business access will be maintained, though delays are to be expected.
The Huachuca Mountains, christened from the Apache language meaning thunder mountain several miles north of the Mexico border, experienced a mining surge shortly after the establishment of Fort Huachuca in 1877.

Sunnyside, 15 miles southwest of Fort Huachuca, was supported by the operations of the Copper Glance Mine. The mining camp was unique in that it was more of a religious colony than a rowdy town. Its founder, preacher Samuel Donnelly, was its head, and his followers were known as Donnellites.

Although the community remained intact after the passing of Donnelly in 1901, the mine soon closed and the community dispersed leaving only remnants of buildings  some still standing today.

Hereford, 14 miles southeast, became the nearest rail access (El Paso & Southwestern Railroad) with ore transported by wagon or truck.

The Huachuca Mountains are divided into the Hartford, Reef and Parker Canyon mining districts. While production from the Parker Canyon District is recorded as negligible, the Hartford district produced quantities of copper, silver and gold from the late 1800s through the 1960s.

The Reef district was renowned for its significant scheelite deposits discovered during World War I. Scheelite, a primary ore of the strategic metal tungsten, has the highest melting point of all metals at 3,410 degrees Celsius (6,170 F).

Development of gold placers on the east flank of the Huachuca Mountains occurred after the 1911 discovery of a gold nugget weighing 22 ounces, probably originating from auriferous quartz veins found in the granite beds upstream. Miners flocked to the area recovering an average of $4 of gold per day. Another large nugget, weighing over 8 ounces, was discovered from the Old Timer placer in Ash Canyon.

Lutz Mines Co., a Pennsylvania-based company, operated seven claims known as the Independence Group on the north fork of Ash Canyon in the Hartford District. The Lutz Tunnel was developed at 1,086 feet of workings. Anton Lutz, along with consulting engineer C.R. Brinton and A. L. Schultz, superintendent, oversaw the operation in 1909 that included equipment remaining onsite today, such as a 17-horsepower gasoline engine and a six-drill Ingersoll air compressor.

James Kelly owned a series of mines known as the James group, comprising several hundred feet including a main adit, drifts and stopes along with open cuts in limestone; 450 short tons of tungsten ore were reportedly mined here in 1918 with stockpiles of scheelite and lead-zinc ore recorded in 1949.

The Pomona Mining Co. acquired the property from Harvey James, improving the road and adding an aerial-tram for ore transport. The property was later owned by the Huachuca Mining and Milling Co.

The Tungsten Reef Mine at 7,500 feet included a quartz-crushing plant and scheelite mill, and supplied water from local springs. The mine, composed of multiple claims, was first operated around 1900 for gold and silver.

Because the veins were exposed, it was named the Exposed Reef. Ore was transported down the steep and rocky Carr Canyon Road. A 100-ton cyanide plan was built in 1906; however, because of low-grade ore it was closed the following year.

Activity resumed in 1916 to meet the demand for tungsten. A former miner at the site by the name of Steel reported favorable feedback to O.T. Smith about a potential tungsten reserve at the mine. Smith optioned the property for $40,000, subsequently milling 12,000 tons of ore, averaging 72 percent tungsten oxide (WO3). At the time, tungsten was averaging between 75 cents to $1.50 per pound.

The Tungsten Reef Mines Co. acquired the mine in May 1918. However, its operation was short-lived, closing soon thereafter due to the declining price of tungsten.

Properties in the Huachuca Mountains have since been mined intermittently.

A study conducted in 1992 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines noted a lack of economically profitable mineralized deposits in the Huachuca Mountains, with the exception of a marginally economic resource of gold-bearing silica flux.

Future large-scale mining is limited, as most of the mineralization occurs in the Miller Peak Wilderness Area, part of the Coronado National Forest.

Mineral collectors and mine examiners have long collected scheelite samples, distinguished from quartz by their ability to fluoresce under ultraviolet light.
Help India!

By IANS,

Lucknow: Tension gripped Uttar Pradeshs Badosarai town in Barabanki district Monday afternoon following a minor clash between Hindus and Muslims over Holi celebrations.

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No one was seriously injured in the incident, police said.

The clash between the two communities erupted when some Hindus, who were moving in a procession, tossed in the air coloured water-filled balloons, one of which hit a Muslim girl standing a few metres away from the procession.

This infuriated members of the Muslim community and they resorted to pelting stone at the procession. Hindus, in the procession also retaliated. The timely intervention of security personnel brought the situation under control, police added.

We acted swiftly and defused the tension within no time. The clash was a minor one. No one has been seriously injured in the incident, Deputy Superintendent of Police A.P. Mishra told reporters at Barabanki, some 35 km from Lucknow.

The incident could have snowballed into a major issue, if our teams had failed to act in time. The situation is completely under control, he added.

Additional security force has been deployed in the town following the clash.

We are not going to take any chances. Security in and around the town has been strengthened. Along with the regular police, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) has also been deployed at the sensitive site, police inspector Har Prasad told reporters in Barabanki.


Help India!

By Imran Inamdar, TwoCircles.net

Jalgaon ,Maharashtra: Jalgaon-based North Maharashtra University has formed a Minority cell in an attempt to help minority students and institutes associated with the University.

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Sudhir Meshram, Vice chancellor of the University, recently issued a notification forming the 11-member cell and allocated the responsibility to President Abdul Karim Salar.





North Maharashtra University website



Speaking with Twocirlces.net, Salar, who is based in Jalgaon, informed that during the last five years, the Central government has started number of scholarships and schemes for the betterment of minority students and institutions. Unfortunately most of the students were unaware about the same and facing difficulties in filling forms and updating data. Three districts-Jalgaon, Nandurbar and Dhulia fall under the North Maharashtra University wherein thousand of minority students (including Muslim, Jain, Sikh,Christian and Parsi) are studying and doing research in their respective fields and nearly 100 colleges are imparting education in various departments, he said.

Salar said this demand had been pending for the last three years. We are really grateful to Meshram and thank the concerned authorities and for taking such an initiative for the enhancement of the minorities in education sector, he added.

He further added that with the advent of the minority cell, helping students will become hassle free as it will provide all kinds of assistance to students and conduct lectures, trainings etc for the same.
Help India!

By TCN News,

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Unit of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Sunday submitted a memorandum with the District Magistrate, Ahmedabad addressed to the Governor of the state and demanded compensation for the family of Mohammed Ayyub who was brutally thrashed and killed by cow vigilantes in Vatva village of Ahmeadabad.

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Vatva Gujarati youths Mohammed Ayyub (29) and Sameer Shaikh (36) were mercilessly beaten by cow vigilantes accusing them of transporting cow. Ayyub succumbed to his injuries on September 16 resulting into the nationwide outrag.





SDPI, Gujarat submitting memorandum to DM, Ahmedabad



The memorandum requested Governor to check the case of brutal killing of a youth by cow vigilantes and provide victims family with essential sustenance. It also contended that the plight of victims family was sad and highly deplorable, as it has suffered unbearable loss considering the fact that deceased was the sole earning member of the family.

Those present on the occasion and handed over the memorandum to the District Magistrate were Imran Memon, Gujarat State General Secretary, Kalpesh Chauhan, Kamala Ben Rathore, Jashoda Ben Shah, Sadik Hussain, Sajid Hindustani and Rafee.

Earlier on July 18, the delegation of SDPI had met family members of Ayyub namely, father Ishaq, mother Meraj Banu, unmarried sister Yasmin Banu, unmarried brother Mohammed Arif and his widow with two siblings, one aged 4 years and the other aged 2 years. The delegation had assured the family of raising voice for them.

Related:

Compensate the family of youth killed by cow vigilantes in Gujarat and immediately arrest culprits: SDPI


Help India!

By TCN News

A delegation of heads of eminent Khanqahs and Dargahs led by the Chief of Ajmer Sharif have appealed the people in the Kashmir Valley to keep calm and peace there and help the Government to return normalcy in the state. Calling on the Union Home Minister here today, they assured Shri Rajnath Singh that they would go to Kashmir to request their brothers and sisters to contribute in creating peace.

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Led by Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, Spiritual Head of the Shrine & Sajjadanashin of Dargah Khwaja Sahab, Ajmer Sharif, the delegation shared their concern on the situation in Kashmir and expressed confidence that the Union Home Minister would do everything possible to bring normalcy in Kashmir in order to remove pain and miseries of the people. The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation prevailing in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years.





Press Information Bureau, Government of India



The delegation further mentioned that over the last many years, we see a decline in social values and ethos, and onslaught of Western culture on one hand and increase of radicalism among Muslims on the other hand, doing incalculable loss to the shared cultural values, peace and happiness for the mankind. Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb said that the spiritual leaders are concerned and pained on the situation and the sufferings of the people in our country and all over the world. Worst, we see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism, he added.

The delegation opined that those creating disturbance in the world must know that there is no bigger power than the power of peace. Violence can only bring more sufferings and solve no problem of humanity, they noted. They emphasized that together we make a beautiful country for all to live in peace and harmony and progress faster.

The delegation highlighted that India is the land of Sufism and spiritual powers. Khwaja Saheb Dargah in Ajmer Sharif, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah in New Delhi and hundreds of Sufi centres all over the country have been the source of spiritual strength and guidance to the people of India and the world for over 800 years. These Khanqahs and Dargahs have been removing pains and miseries of millions of people seeking divine help every year, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

The delegation of Sajjadanashin of all biggest dargahs in the country including Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi, Dargah HZT. Khaja Banda Nawaz, Gulbarga, Karnataka, Dargah Fathepur Sikri U.P., Dargah Maner Sharif, Bihar, Dargah Yusufain Nappalli, A.P., Dargah Ambetha Sharif, Gujarat and Dargah Haradarwaza, Hyderabad.
Since its very launch in September 22, 2006, hinode, which is an international space mission between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the USA and the UK, has been observing the Sun uninterrupted. Doing so, it has provided valuable information about our sun and other stars in the universe. To perform a variety of studies on the sun, hinode is equipped with three main instruments, including a solar optical telescope (SOT), an X-ray telescope (XRT) and an Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS).

The sun

The sun is the main source of energy in the solar system and it is made of hot plasma.

Convective motion in the interior of the sun generates a magnetic field through a dynamo process that produces electric currents. It has a diameter of more than a hundred times that of earth and a mass of approximately 330,000 times that of earth. Three quarters of this mass is hydrogen, the remaining is helium and traces of heavier elements. Scientists believe that the sun can serve as the best physics laboratory in the solar system.

Hinodes highlights

Hinode has helped scientists observe solar explosions, solar spicules (dynamic jets), the suns chromosphere, active regions of the suns magnetic field, solar filaments, sunspots and solar flares and convection cells. HInode has also captured Venuss atmosphere as it transits the sun and the moon during an annular eclipse.The three major instruments with which Hinode has been equipped have helpedstudy in detail the processes that occur at the sun during solar activity.

Hinodes Mission

Hinodes objectives include the understanding of the way in which the energy that is produced by the suns magnetic fields is transported to the solar upper atmosphere; to understand the way in which that energy effects the dynamics and the structure of the corona and to determine how all these processes-energy transfer and atmospheric activities influences the interplanetary space environment.

The sun has been studied for almost one hundred years, and though scientists know much about it, they still dont know much about the way in which energy is transmitted inside. Scientists are trying to understand the way in which one of the most important forms of stored energy that in the magnetic fields is released and the way in which this energy finds its way into the suns corona.
China considers making mining rules closer to int'l standards Updated: 2016-09-26 10:40 (Xinhua)

TIANJIN-- China is considering changes to its mineral deposit classification and reporting rules to bring them in line with international standards and open up its mining sector, government officials have said.

Mining is an important sector for China's opening up, said Yu Haifeng, an official in charge of mineral reserves with the Ministry of Land and Resources at the China Mining Congress and Expo held in the northern port city of Tianjin.

Compared with the standards of CRIRSCO (Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards), China's classification for solid mineral resources is suitable for government oversight, but has not allowed financial capital markets to be fully utilized, said Li Jian, another official with the ministry.

Differences in classification and reporting standards have led to higher costs for China's mining firms in international cooperation, said Wang Jionghui, general manager assistant of China Minmetals Corporation.

Modifying its system to be closer to the CRIRSCO standard system will enhance China's influence in the international mining market and help China build a highly efficient and sustainable mining market, said Wang at the expo.

Formed in 1994, CRIRSCO is a grouping of representatives of organizations responsible for developing mineral reporting codes and guidelines in Australasia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Europe, Mongolia, Russia, South Africa and the United States, according to its official website. The combined value of mining companies listed on stock exchanges in those countries and regions accounts for more than 80 percent of the listed capital of the mining industry.

China Mining Congress and Expo, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, is one of the largest mineral exploration and mining trading platforms. It plays an important role in communication and cooperation for mining communities globally.

China has become the world's largest producer, consumer and trading nation of mineral commodities.

Over the past five years, China's total production of primary energy hit 11.7 billion tons of standard coal and its total output of iron ore reached 6.8 billion tons, Minister of Land and Resources Jiang Daming told the congress.

During the same period, China's total trade volume of mineral products was close to $5 trillion, an increase of 81 percent, said Jiang at the opening ceremony of the congress on Friday.

China has invested 568 billion yuan ($85 billion) in geological exploration over the past five years and discovered more than 730 large and medium-sized mineral deposits, Jiang said.

As China's economy enters a new normal, the country's mining sector should seek new momentum through structural reforms, he added.

The minister said China will gradually open up the exploration and development market in oil, gas and new energy and improve government supervision in the sector.

All countries should strengthen exchanges in policy, technical standards and codes in the mining field to facilitate investment, he said.

Booming global industrial cooperation and technological innovation have brought new opportunities to the mining industry, Jiang said.

China has made continuous efforts in a bid to bring its system in line with international mining reporting systems. In 2015, China launched a program to establish technical standard systems for mineral reserves.

CRIRSCO representatives said China has been proactive in bringing its standards in line with the organization and they appreciate what China has done in this regard.
China to build first homemade luxury cruise in Shanghai Updated: 2016-09-26 13:19 (chinadaily.com.cn)

The world's largest cruise ship, the 361 metres long, Harmony of the Seas, arrives in port for her mayden voyage, in Southampton, Britain May 17, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

The first batch of homemade luxury cruise vessels will be built at the shipyard of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and the first delivery is expected in 2022, the China News Service reports.

China's largest shipbuilder China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), China Investment Corp, cruise operator Carnival Corporation & PLC, Italian cruise shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, CSSC Cruise Technology Development Co Ltd, and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd jointly signed the letter of intent for the 2+2 133,500 ton Vista class luxury cruise vessels on Friday.

The agreement, which marks a new step into the homemade luxury cruise project, came three months after an agreement for the establishment of a joint venture between CSSC and Fincantieri was signed in Shanghai.

The letter of intent covers two cruise vessels to be built for a cruise brand owned and operated by a joint venture between Carnival Corp, CSSC and China Investment Corp, with an option for an additional two ships.

The vessels, with a deadweight tonnage of 135,000 tons and capacity for nearly 5,000 passengers, will be built at the shipyard of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a company under CSSC.

CSSC's homemade luxury cruise project was launched in October 2013.

Last October, CSSC, State-owned sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp and Carnival Corp formed a $4 billion joint venture to launch a cruise line focused on the fast-growing Chinese market.

Chinese cruise tourists reached 1.11 million in 2015, up 50 percent year-on-year. Last year was the first time their number surpassed the 1-million mark, according to the 2015 China Cruise Industry Development Report.

Some 4.5 million Chinese consumers are expected to embark on cruise travel by 2020, making China the world's second largest cruise market after the US. The number of Chinese cruise travelers is expected to reach 10 million by 2030.
US to maintain 'one country, two systems' in HK: US Consul General Updated: 2016-09-22 21:00 (Xinhua)

HONG KONG - "One country, two systems" policy is the key framework that makes Hong Kong "special" and competitive, Kurt Tong, US Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau said here on Thursday.

"US's view on this is crystal clear," he said, "The United States recognize that Hong Kong is part of China. We also very much value the high degree of autonomy that Hong Kong enjoys under the 'one country, two systems' policy," Tong addressed a luncheon held by the American Chamber of Commerce.

Tong said the construct of "one country, two systems" has been highly successful in protecting Hong Kong's open society and institutions.

Hong Kong's specialness not only lie in the geography, economy and culture sectors, while the most important factor is the strong rule of law, transparency and openness, which cerate the basis for business and trade to succeed, he added.

He said the relationship between the United States and China's Hong Kong has been quite "successful" in areas such as finance, trade, investment, education and exchange programs, and the United States aims to streamline the visa appointment process in future to attract more students and visitors.

It was the first public speech Tong has made after he assumed the duties on Aug 26 this year.

Prior to his service in Hong Kong, Tong was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the Department of State.
Shenzhen looking to lead the field Updated: 2016-09-26 08:17 By Tang Yue(China Daily)

The national average of psychiatric hospital beds for every 10,000 residents is 1.71, but in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the number is just is 0.58. Now, that is set to change.

At the start of the reform and opening-up policy, Shenzhen was chosen as the site of China's first special economic zone. Now, the country's fourth-largest city in terms of gross domestic product is in the vanguard once again, leading efforts to absorb the experiences of mental health professionals and treatment overseas.

In July, the city government hosted a group of mental health social workers from New York, and last year, police officers from Melbourne, Australia, who are experienced in the field, were invited to share their experiences with their counterparts in Shenzhen.

In recent years, the city government has also introduced Assertive Community Treatment, a client-centered, recovery-oriented treatment model that originated in North America.

So far, 321 people have been classified as ACT cases, and they are supported by a team of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists and social workers.

"Just leaving hospital is far from a full recovery for most patients. They need even more attention afterward," said Deng Xiuliang, a psychiatrist at Bao'an District Mental Health Center in Shenzhen.

"Many patients will need to take medication for the rest of their lives, but some just stop when they feel better. We take the initiative to make sure they receive the best treatment and understanding for their needs."

Meanwhile, the city is building Jianning Hospital, Shenzhen's second psychiatric unit, said Liu Tiebang, president of Kangning Hospital, the city's only dedicated mental health facility.

The new hospital, which will provide 800 beds, is expected to be completed in 2018.

"The city does need more psychiatric beds, but I am not sure if this is the best way of achieving that goal," Liu said.

"The patients may have to travel a long way to the hospital, so it would probably be better to distribute resources across different districts and improve cooperation with the community services."
Chinese and Uzbekistan archaeologists team up for Silk Road excavation Updated: 2016-09-26 20:12 By Ma Lie in Xi'an(chinadaily.com.cn)

Chinese and Uzbekistan archaeologists have together made conspicuous achievements in archaeological research on the ancient Silk Road over the past three years.

They announced their archaeological progress at the ongoing International Seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative held on Sept 26 and 27 in Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient road linking China, central Asia and Europe and the capital of Shaanxi province in Northwest China. They said they discovered a large number of new sites, including some of the ancient nomadic culture of large-scale settlement sites, to fill the gaps in previous research.

Wang Jianxin, professor of Northwest University based on Xi'an, led his team to start the archaeological research from 2009 to 2013.

"The archaeological research on the Silk Road made by the university in 1938 when the tomb of Zhang Qian (164-114 BC), the founder of the Punctured Trip of the Silk Road, was excavated with the support of modern science," Wang said.

According to Wang, the archaeological research went through three stages. The first stage was from 1937 to 1949, when archaeology projects of the Silk Road started and the foundation was laid. The second stage was from 1949 to 2000, when the archaeology of the Silk Road developed rapidly and highlighted its characteristics. And the third stage is from 2000 to now, as the university is trying to strengthen the discipline of archaeology and lead in academics.

Since 2000, the archaeologists at Northwest University have not only focused on the archaeological research on the northwestern region of China, an important region along the Silk Road, but also opened up a new realm of the international archaeology of the Silk Road, and extended the archaeological research to central Asia, the professor said.

From 2009 to 2013, archaeologists from home and abroad investigated the historical remains in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan three times.

"Particularly, after President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Initiative, the university has strengthened the archaeology of the Silk Road and promoted the cooperation with the Archaeology Institute of Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences," Wang said.

Amridin Berdimurodov, director of the Institute of Archaeology, the Academy of Science of the Republic of Uzbekistan, said that his institute signed the project cooperation agreement with Northwest University on the archaeological research in December 2013, and they only had the chance to cooperate with foreign archaeologists after the country became independent.

During the past three years, the archaeologists from the two countries discovered one ancient settlement site of nomadic culture, more than 400 kinds of tombs and more than 10 residential sites in Uzbekistan's Samarqand.

Archaeologists from the two countries both considered that the archaeological work on the Silk Road greatly strengthened the understanding of the countries and peoples along the Silk Road, and will further help promote common prosperity and development.
China, Japan need to shelve disputes and live with each other Updated: 2016-09-26 07:45 By Cai Hong(China Daily)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, January 28, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

China and Japan should have got along well given that their trade relations are largely complementary and hugely beneficial for both sides. Geographic proximity, too, is supposed to make them good partners.

China and Japan are very important trade partners. But mutual distrust between them has run deep over the past decade, when both have undergone considerable changes.

Two recent polls in China and Japan shed light on the views of their peoples about each other. Their findings are alarming and thought-provoking.

According to a Pew Research Center survey of 7,618 people in China, Japan, South Korea and India in April and May, only 11 percent of the Japanese respondents have a favorable opinion of China, while 14 percent of the Chinese have the same view of Japan.

People in the two countries have been developing negative stereotypes about each other since 2006. About 80 percent of Japanese describe the Chinese as arrogant, while 70 percent of Chinese see the Japanese in that light.

Despite the negative stereotypes, however, a survey jointly conducted by the China International Publishing Group and Japanese think tank Genron NPO in August and September showed that more than 60 percent of the respondents in the two countries deem people-to-people exchanges important for improving relations.

A record 4.99 million Chinese visited Japan in 2015; the figure has already crossed 3 million this year and the weeklong National Day holiday may see a huge flow of Chinese tourists into Japan. In contrast, about 2.5 million Japanese visited China last year.

No longer are Chinese shoppers just buying made-in-Japan products in bulk, they are also spending huge amounts on Japanese cultural products or to learn the nuances of Japanese culture, such as trying kimono and partaking in tea ceremonies. And most Chinese visitors leave Japan with a positive impression of the country and its people.

A visit to Japan opens Chinese tourists' mind to the country's culture, cuisine and history, and helps improve their understanding of its people. Slightly more than 13 percent of the Chinese respondents in 2016 had visited Japan, compared with only 1.3 percent in 2005. And 58.8 percent of the Chinese respondents who had visited Japan had a favorable opinion of their Asian neighbor.

The figures drive home the message that simple exchanges help change perceptions.

The joint poll also shows that a striking 60 percent of Chinese respondents and 30 percent of their Japanese counterparts said that there would be a military conflict between the two countries at some point in the future.

The only way to avoid this is to genuinely increase people-to-people exchanges. This will help create a solid foundation of mutual trust.

Are public opinions in the two countries shaped by their respective foreign policies or by the people themselves? Public sentiment and its influence on foreign policy has been a matter of debate. We may not have a clear answer, but the two surveys drive home a vital point: there is a need to create an environment for people in both countries to break down barriers.

The two countries have much more to gain from cooperation than from conflict. They should learn to live with each other by shelving their differences, which can be solved later and peacefully. And they can gain by working together in areas of mutual interest and address their differences constructively.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief.

caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, not far from my office in the National Press Building, opened on Sept 24 after a construction stage of more than four years. Housed in a beautiful structure, the museum tells the American history through the experience of African Americans.

At the opening ceremony, US President Barack Obama, the first African-American president, quoted historian John Hope Franklin as saying that "good history is a good foundation for a better present and future".

"He understood the best history doesn't just sit behind a glass case. It helps us to understand what's outside the case," Obama said.

In fact, the museum, while being built, has witnessed numerous gatherings and protests of African Americans such as against the police shooting of unarmed black men.

Throughout most of the past week, the top news across the nation has been the shooting to death of black man Keith Scott by police officers in Charlotte, North Carolina, last Tuesday. The incident has sparked a new wave of protests in several US cities against police brutality.

The video of the shooting was released while the museum was holding its opening ceremony on the National Mall, attended by several US presidents, past and present.

The Charlotte shooting followed the high-profile cases of the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in late 2012 and the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City, both in 2014, all caused by police officers.

The unfinished cause of African Americans has been constantly reminded as I covered anniversaries in the past years of March in Washington when Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

On Saturday, several of us toured the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, where on one site, US President Abraham Lincoln delivered his well-known Gettysburg Address.

While the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order issued by Lincoln on Jan 1, 1863, set free more than 3 million enslaved African Americans in the South, the Gettysburg Address on Nov 19 that year marked the beginning of the end of the bloody Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 Americans.

Both the "I Have a Dream" and Gettysburg Address are famous among Chinese. Both have been used in Chinese middle school textbooks. Then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin even recited part of the Gettysburg Address during an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" anchor Michael Wallace in 2000.

More than a few decades ago, the TV series Roots and movie Uncle Tom's Cabin had been dubbed into Chinese and broadcast in China.

The unfinished cause of African Americans is not limited to their protests against police brutality. African Americans fare poorly in education and income equality, and there is a disproportionately high African- American population in US prisons. Many neighborhoods in the US still look like a place of racial segregation.

For some African Americans, the memory of slavery still hasn't gone away. When I stayed with an African-American host family in Detroit in 1998, the couple showed me the photo of their great grandparents, who were slaves. They still refused to go to churches, calling it a place white men used to control the blacks.

"A museum alone will not alleviate poverty in every inner city, or every rural hamlet. It won't eliminate gun violence from all our neighborhoods, or immediately ensure that justice is always color-blind. It won't wipe away every instance of discrimination in a job interview, or a sentencing hearing, or folks trying to rent an apartment," Obama said on Saturday.

The race issue is likely to be a key topic when Republican and Democratic party candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton debate for the first time on Monday evening.

A Pew Center survey released in June finds that black and white Americans differ widely in views on race relations. While 45 percent of whites said race relations in the US are generally bad, the rate is 61 percent among blacks and 58 percent among Latinos.

At the same time, only 28 percent of whites said Obama has made progress on race relations while 51 percent of blacks and 38 percent of Latinos said he has done so.

About 60 percent of Americans say more changes are needed to achieve racial equality. Only 30 percent say the country has already made enough changes. Meanwhile, 43 percent express doubt that the country will ever make the changes needed for blacks to have equal rights with whites.

The opening of the new museum is a fresh reminder that the African American fight for equality is far from over.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Innovation exchange takes root in Washington state Updated: 2016-09-26 11:39 By Linda Deng in Seattle(China Daily USA)

A global innovation partnership between the University of Washington and Tsinghua University has taken its first step toward becoming a reality.

The University of Washington (UW) and Tsinghua University hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) on Friday in Bellevue, Washington, east of Seattle.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee spoke, as did Luo Linquan, consul general of China in San Francisco; King County Executive Dow Constantine, UW President Ana Mari Cauce, Tsinghua University President Yong Qiu and others.

With early support from Microsoft, GIX is now accepting applications for the inaugural fall 2017 class, with students able to apply for UW's master of science in technology innovation (MSTI) degree and the GIX dual master's degree.

An initial cohort of students began studies in the dual master's degree program in Beijing this fall and will join newly recruited students in Bellevue in the fall of 2017.

The GIX campus is located in Bellevue's Spring District, and is just 10 miles from the UW campus in Seattle and three miles from the Microsoft main campus in Redmond. The new GIX building will feature design studios, a large makerspace, electronics prototyping labs, and spaces for collaboration and presentations. It is scheduled to open for the 2017-2018 school year.

"GIX provides a unique platform to tackle global challenges in health, sustainability and social innovation," said Vikram Jandhyala, UW's vice-president for innovation strategy and UW co-CEO of GIX. "Breaking ground is a great way to celebrate the concrete progress we're making across a number of fronts to bring this program to fruition."

One year ago on this day, President Xi Jinping, during his first stop in Washington state, on his first state visit to the United States, presented a dawn redwood tree as a gift to GIX at Microsoft.

"The rare and precious plant grows fast. It bears blessings from the Chinese government and President Xi himself as Tsinghua alum," Luo said. "It is his hope and the hope of the Chinese government that GIX, with care of all partners, will grow faster and produce talents who will make contributions to the future development of both nations."

GIX will be the first time that Tsinghu has established a physical presence in the US.

"In the face of global challenges related to the environment, resources and health, we need to cooperate across national boundaries to find solutions.

"GIX creates an innovative education model that will facilitate international and interdisciplinary integration for technological innovations. It will be a multilateral open platform to cultivate young global leaders with technical talent, an entrepreneurial spirit and social responsibility," said Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong.

"We are very proud of our longstanding ties with China. And Tsinghua University is the pacesetter for innovation in China and (in) its role as a base for China's scientific and technological advances," UW President Ana Mari Cauce said.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com
Yum board approves spinoff plan in China Updated: 2016-09-26 23:33 (AGENCIES)

Yum! Brands, Inc on Monday said its board of directors had approved the planned separation of its China business, now owned by Yum China, from Yum! Brands, which is expected to occur after the close of business on Oct 31, 2016.

Yum China expects to begin trading as an independent company beginning Nov 1 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "YUMC." Yum!

Louisville-Kentucky based Yum! Brands also announced an 11 percent increase in the company's dividend.

"This is an exciting time for Yum China as we approach our launch as a new, independent public company," said Micky Pant, CEO of Yum China. "Yum China has a leading position in the Chinese market, and we see tremendous opportunities to leverage our well-recognized brands and decades of experience to drive growth. We are all energized to achieve Yum China's full potential and create sustained value for shareholders."
PMs son brings charm to diplomacy Updated: 2016-09-27 01:12 By Zhang Yunbi in Beijing

History repeated itself this week for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who first became part of China-Canada diplomacy at the age of 11 when he joined his father, then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, on a visit to China in 1983.

Xavier, the eldest son of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, covers his face out of shyness after his trampoline landings were not quite steady. Zhang Duo / xinhua

This time, it was Justin Trudeaus 8-year-old son Xavier who took his place in history alongside his father.

Xavier was caught by cameras on Wednesday jumping on a trampoline in the background while his parents were having a lakeside chat with Premier Li Keqiang and his wife, Cheng Hong, at Harrington Lake, the prime ministers country residence near Ottawa.

The boy and his sister, Ella-Grace, were playing with great ease, not the least bit overwhelmed by the diplomacy going on at his home.

Xavier even proposed to perform backflips for the guests.

The three flips were a success, but his landings were not quite steady, so Xavier covered his face with his left hand out of shyness and went to his fathers side.

In response, Li laughed and patted the boy on the shoulder to encourage him.

The series of lakeside pictures  including the image capturing the boys moment of shyness  went viral on leading news portals and social networks in both countries.

On his Chinese microblog and Twitter accounts, Trudeau posted another lakeside picture taken by a photographer behind the two couples to include the lake in the foreground, and so did not include the children and the trampoline.

But Chinese netizens did not forget Xavier.

"Your son is so great! said @Youkemanmianbao.

"Your sons covering his face is very cute, and he surely will be a celebrity in China, said @BaiyanlangV106.

Trudeaus father was well known as a supporter and contributor to the bilateral relationship, and many observers in both countries have pinned hopes on Justin Trudeau to continue the legacy of diplomacy.

Meanwhile, the family diplomacy episode seems to have attracted far more public attention inside and outside China than the official talks between the two leaders.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese art offers 'window' Updated: 2016-09-27 02:22 By China Daily in Washington(China Daily USA)

Zhao Xiaoping (middle), a calligrapher and the executive vice-president of the Jinling Calligraphy Academy, shows the calligraphic work Revitalizing the Chinese Nation he produced at the Chinese calligraphy and paintings exhibition themed Ink China held to celebrate the 3rd Confucius Institute Day. From left, Xu Lesheng, a painter with the Jinling Calligraphy Academy; Rebecca McGinnis, coordinator of the Confucius Institute at Maryland; Zhao Xiaoping; Sun Yuan, manager of Jiangsu Guangconglin Cultural Development Co. Ltd; He Mingyao, a painter with the Jinling Calligraphy Academy. Photo by Yuan Yuan / For China Daily

Crowds of red, orange and pink peonies blazed under the bright chandeliers of the grand ballroom in the student union at the University of Maryland.

Sarah Zuech, a China studies major at the university, stepped up to get a closer look at the flowers painted on rice paper.

"It's really a treat," said Zuech against the calming background sound effects of a guzheng (Chinese zither) and running water.

"Even if I knew there would be an exhibition here, I wasn't expecting such a large scale," she said.

Flowers are just one of many themes of the traditional Chinese ink and brush artworks on display to celebrate Confucius Institute Day. Paintings featuring mountains, waterfalls, woods and buildings as well as calligraphy were also part of the show.

"The Confucius Institute at Maryland, or CIM, was the first of its kind to be established in the United States," said Cui Jianxin, deputy director of the institute. "Its purpose is to promote the understanding of China today through the study of Chinese language, culture, ethics, and philosophy."

This year's celebration includes a two-day Chinese calligraphy and painting exhibition themed Ink China starting Wednesday and a special screening of the film Song of the Phoenix Thursday morning.

Ink China brought over 100 artworks of four artists, three painters and a calligrapher, from the Nanjingbased Jinling Calligraphy Academy.

"With the diversity of visual artworks displayed this year, we hope to provide the university as well as the communities of the greater Washington area a chance to learn the basics of Chinese traditional art," Cui said.

"Even if they can't fully understand the meaning, they usually agree on its aesthetic value  they think it's beautiful," Cui said. "That might be enough of a start to make them interested in communicating with Chinese people and learning our language."

"Chinese calligraphy is so unique that you can't possibly find the art form with any other languages in the world," said Zhao Xiaoping, executive vice-president of Jinling Calligraphy Academy, whose works are part of Ink China.

To demonstrate, Zhao took out a brush and dipped it in a cup of diluted ink and, with a flourish, wrote "revitalizing the Chinese nation" on a piece of rice paper.

Doctoral student Lin Shaoli and her Russian friends were watching.

"Although I myself can't paint, I always love to visit art exhibitions," Lin said. "My Russian friends are also interested in exploring the beauty of Chinese culture."

Cui explained: "Chinese paintings are distinctively different from Western ones, and that's part of the reason why people are sometimes curious about our techniques and themes. Chinese paintings open a window for them to look at Chinese society and see how it has changed over time."

After Zhao's calligraphy, He Mingyao, a Chinese painter for more than 40 years who studied under Zhou Ruli, a student of painting master Xu Beihong, began to draw an ink orchid for the audience.

This was first time He's landscapes had been exhibited outside of China, and he was hoping for a favorable reception from American audiences.

"The artistic conception and the charming style of Chinese paintings are fairly enjoyable," said Sun Yuan, manager of the Jiangsu Guangconglin Cultural Development Company, one of the sponsors of the show. "We want to share our long-standing traditions and rich content with the US and hopefully learn from them as well. That's the meaning of a cultural exchange."

"For Thursday's opening ceremony and film screening, we have more than 400 registered participants, most of whom are American students," Cui said. "Some teachers from nearby middle schools and high schools will bring their students here for a field trip."

The Confucius Institute is not only a showcase of Chinese culture to the world but also a platform for cultural exchanges to create and strengthen the mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries, according to Cui.

"We sometimes try to gather feedback from the participants to improve ourselves," Cui said, "for instance, from teachers who ask their students to write reports about our events."

Yuan Yuan in Washington contributed to the story.
UN Security Council holds urgent meeting on Syria conflict with calls for truce Updated: 2016-09-26 09:45 (Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept 25, 2016 shows the United Nations Security Council holding an emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States.[Photo/Xinhua]

UNITED NATIONS - During a testy -- including a walkout -- emergency Security Council meeting on Sunday called in wake of "one of the worst" weeks in Syria in nearly six years of fighting, the UN special envoy vowed to continue his role but pleaded with the panel "to enforce a cessation of hostilities (CoH) in Syria."

The walkout, by the ambassadors of France, Britain and the United States, occurred while Syria's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari near the end of the 2 1/2 hour session on the increased Syrian attacks on "terrorists" in his country's "second capital," said, "The Syrian government will recapture the whole town of Aleppo. The entire town."

"These are indeed chilling days," said Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy, for Syria and "for the people of Aleppo in particular. The past week has been one of the worst ones in Syria during the near six years of this devastating conflict."

He asked the council to press for a cessation of the violence and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, weekly 48-hour pauses in the fighting for aid convoys "without preconditions neither from the government nor frankly from the opposition" and "to press for medical evacuations ... from eastern Aleppo."

"Amid intensive air strikes reported on Friday, following the announcement of the beginning of a government offensive, an announcement was made by the government itself," de Mistura said, resulting in "scores of reported civilian deaths and injuries, including those of many children."

"We have seen the situation in eastern Aleppo deteriorate to new heights of horror," the veteran diplomat said.

"I am still convinced that we can turn the course of events," he said. "We have proven this more than once before."

De Mistura said he has been asked several times, "'Why don' t you resign at this point? Frankly all this is leading nowhere and this will send a strong signal.' No I am not. Because any sign of me resigning would be a signal that the international community is abandoning the Syrians, and we will not abandon the Syrians, and neither will you."

All 15 members of the council spoke during the session, many siding with Britain, France and the United States -- who called the meeting -- while a few sided with Russia in what has turned the Syrian civil war into a proxy battle many say is reminiscent of the Cold War. A few were quite direct, rather undiplomatically, naming states they felt were in the wrong.

Russia says it was invited by Syria to help fight off terrorists and the West says it is supporting only "moderate" rebels and not terrorists.

Ja'afari insisted the Syrian government was only defending itself from terrorists but would sit down with representatives of non-terrorist opposition groups.

He said Britain, France and the United Sates, "weep and they have crocodile tears" for Aleppo and asked if Britain would give away Scotland, France relinquish Corsica or "the United States give away Texas."

"The Syrian government will not give away a single inch of our territory," said the Damascus envoy who accused the trio of western nations of "falsely" calling armed opposition groups in Syria "moderates."

Britain's Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, French Ambassador Francois Delattre, walked out of the council chamber while the Syrian ambassador was speaking.

"We need to decide how to stop this, now," Rycroft said of the Aleppo siege on Twitter. "Syria's UN ambassador is not interested in that decision. That's why I just walked out of" the UN Security Council.

"France, together with the US and the UK (United Kingdom), called for this emergency meeting of the Security Council because we are simply horrified by what we are watching in Aleppo," Delattre told reporters after the walkout. "Aleppo is to Syria what Sarajevo was to Bosnia, or what Guernica was to the Spanish war."

"This city epitomizes the Syrian tragedy more than any other," he said. "Aleppo, this symbolic city that dates back several millennia, this world heritage site, this crossroads where so many civilizations colluded and converged, is now experiencing a medieval type of siege. What a symbol, and frankly, what a shame!"

"Today, the Syrian regime and its allies are sending a message loud and clear to the world, the Paris envoy said. "They are determined to besiege, starve, and bomb Aleppo until they reach their military goal: eradicating the opposition. That is what this siege is all about. It is clear that the various negotiations were nothing else in the minds of the regime in Damascus than a smoke screen."

"That's why France is calling for the immediate implementation of the US-Russia (CoH) agreement, starting in Aleppo: Aleppo first in terms of both the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian access."
Confucius Institute US Center celebrates achievers Updated: 2016-09-26 10:02 By CHINA DAILY in Washington(chinadaily.com.cn)

Confucius Institute US Center present People to People Exchange Award to ten students from Confucius Institutes in the US nationwide for their achievement and contribution in learning Chinese language and culture during the center's inaugural National Honors Gala in Washington on September 24. Presenting the awardsare Gao Qing (left), executive director of the center; William Reeder (second from left), professor of arts management and former dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at GeorgeMason University; C.D. Mote (fourth from left), president of US National Academy of Engineering and former president of University of Maryland at College Park; Tony Culley-Foster (fourth from right), president and CEO of World Affairs Council-Washington, DC; and Morgan Jones (right), chief operation officer of US-China Strong Foundation. The ten awardees from left are Sabrina Tran, Rachel Lietzow, Olivia O'Dwyer, Jonathon Marek, Timothy Brown, Monica Rhodes, Jenifer Guevara, Deja Watkins, David Cole, and Dennis Delehanty. Charlene Cai / China Daily

The Confucius Institute US Center (CIUS Center) held its first national gala on Sept 24 in Washington to honor the achievements of 10 individuals from Confucius Institute (CI) communities across America.

The Confucius Institute, established by the Chinese Ministry of Education in foreign countries, something similar to the UK's British Council or Germany's Goethe Institute, promotes Chinese language and cultural learning worldwide.

"Never have I found myself surrounded by people who I couldn't verbally understand, but wholeheartedly felt a connection towards," said honoree David Cole, a senior at the University of Kentucky, who was sent by the university's Confucius Institute to three Chinese cities as part of a study program.

Jonathan Marek, a senior at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago, who has studied Chinese since third grade, said that "living in China  eating the foods, walking the streets, watching the shows, and seeing the people  gave me a new perspective on learning the language".

Marek spent a month in Hangzhou, the host city for the recent G20 Summit, through a program hosted by the Confucius Institute in Chicago and Wanxiang America, the US subsidiary of a leading Chinese auto-parts maker.

"Cultural understanding is key for a successful partnership," said keynote speaker C.D. Mote, president of the US National Academy of Engineering. When Mote was the president of University of Maryland at College Park, he spearheaded the CI initiative with the Chinese Ministry of Education and helped to establish the first Confucius Institute at the university in 2004.

Mote stressed that achieving sustainability of the CI program requires support and effective communication among the Confucius Institute headquarters in China, Confucius Institute in each university, and the greater community around that institute.

"We need to learn how to work better together, and the Confucius Institute community is where it starts," said Morgan Jones, chief operating officer of the US-China Strong Foundation, a non-profit organization first established by the US State Department to send American students to study aboard in China. Jones was a Chinese-language radio show host for three years and met his Chinese wife while living in China.

Tony Cully-Foster, president and CEO of the World Affairs Council in Washington, calls US-China relations the most important in the 21st century and defines Confucius Institute as a truly global education initiative.

"Mutual respect for individual differences is at the heart of democracy and understanding," he said.

Timothy Brown, a 12-year-old from Silver Spring, Maryland, is the youngest among the 10 students honored. His keynote speech at the gala received a standing ovation.

Brown first became interested in Chinese culture when he began taking martial arts classes. He currently attends Chinese classes offered by the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland, where he also actively participates in extracurricular activities such as language competitions, kung fu, and Chinese music (he sings in Chinese).

"We're very thankful for the Confucius Institute. As one of the most spoken languages in the world, Chinese is important, and with globalization, there's a reason why we should prepare those responsible for the next generation," said one of Brown's family members, who occupied almost one table.

Although Brown has not settled with what he wants to do with his ability in Chinese language and culture, some awardees already made up their minds, including Jenifer Guevara from Texas Southern University.

"I want to teach kids Chinese," said Guevara. She noticed there are Chinese immersion programs being established in elementary schools around Houston and wants to be part of the first group of instructors.

"When you see the power of learning Chinese language and culture and the rich world that opened up for these young people, you know the education is truly the magic that can change one's life," said Gao Qing, the executive director of CIUS, who calls the gala award the People-to-People Exchange Award.

The other six awardees are Sabrina Tran from Enloe High School in North Carolina, Rachel Lietzow from the University of Kentucky, Olivia O'Dwyer from Archmere Academy in Delaware, Monica Rhodes from Texas Southern University, Deja Watkins from George Mason University, and Dennis Delehanty, the director of postal affairs at the US State Department.

Sophia Wu in Washington contributed to the story.
1 dead in crash of bus carrying Chinese pupils Updated: 2016-09-26 11:39 By June Chang in San Francisco(China Daily USA)

A young girl died and 11 other people were injured when a charter bus carrying Chinese students from a trip to Yosemite National Park slammed into a tree on Saturday.

Among the 22 passengers, 17 were Chinese students ages 12 to 15, with four chaperones and the driver. Six children and the driver were among the injured.

The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco responded to the accident immediately by sending a task force on Sunday morning, headed by Deng Fanhua, deputy consul-general.

"We'll do whatever we can to offer consular assistance to the Chinese citizens (in the accident)," said Luo Linquan, consul general in San Francisco.

The identity of the girl killed was not released by the consulate.

The accident happened on Highway 41 and Road 630, north of Oakhurst and south of Fish Camp, in east central California, according to The Associated Press.

The injured were taken by three helicopters and nine ambulances to Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno and Valley Children's Hospital in Madera County.

Among the five admitted to Community Regional, two were in critical condition and three were in stable condition as of Saturday evening, hospital spokeswoman Mary Lisa Russell said.

Valley Children's Hospital spokeswoman Zara Arboleda confirmed that seven patients had been admitted but would not provide condition reports.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said on Sunday morning that four passengers had major injuries and six passengers had moderate to minor injuries. The 53-year-old driver from the Bay Area suffered moderate injuries.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. The bus was equipped with seatbelts, the CHP said, and the passenger who was killed had her seatbelt on. The CHP said the bus was heading down the mountain toward Oakhurst at 35-40 mph.

When the driver entered a curve north of Lewis Creek around 5:30 pm PT, he was traveling too fast and drifted off the west side embankment, according to the CHP.

The right side of the bus then hit a large tree and came to rest on its wheels in the southbound lane.

According to the AP, the 33-passenger chartered bus is owned by Top Line Charter of Monterey Park in the Los Angeles area.

Highway 41 was closed at the crash site, which is just south of Sugar Pine. The highway reopened at 9:34 pm, the CHP said.

junechang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 09/26/2016 page2)
Renminbi use surges in London in spite of Brexit Updated: 2016-09-26 16:46 By CECILY LIU(China Daily UK)

China Construction Bank staff members and business partners celebrate clearing 10 trillion yuan($1.5 trillion) of transactions from June 2014 to August this year. [Photo by Jiang Shan/China Daily]

London's offshore yuan activities continue to surge despite Brexit uncertainties, according to the latest figures from China's central bank.

The figures, reflecting bilateral business confidence and the renminbi's growing international use, showed London's renminbi-denominated business transactions in August were 60 percent higher than in July.

The figures were announced on Friday by Jin Mei, the People's Bank of China's chief representative in Europe, at a celebration hosted by London's renminbi clearing bank, China Construction Bank.

CCB London celebrated the significant milestone of clearing 10 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion) of transactions between June 2014, when it was appointed by PBOC to be London's official renminbi clearing bank, and August 2016.

An official clearing bank facilitates efficient clearing of offshore renminbi transactions by working with the central bank.

Brexit refers to the June 23 referendum in which British citizens voted to leave the European Union.

In April, London overtook Singapore to become the world's second-largest offshore renminbi center behind Hong Kong.

Wang Zuji, president of CCB Corp, said CCB London fulfilled its promise of two years ago to provide "fair, efficient, accurate and professional clearing services", and contribute to Sino-British economic development and London's position as an important offshore renminbi center.

CCB London provides yuan clearing services from 1 am to 9 pm London time to cover the trading hours difference between Asian and North American markets.

Its yuan clearing enquiry service runs 24 hours. Ninety-five percent of CCB London's yuan clearing services are completed through its clearing systems automatically.

CCB London provides yuan clearing services for 67 financial institutions, of which only 24 are Chinese organizations, which demonstrates its international client base.

Key clients include international banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank and Bank of America, and other financial institutions including the London Stock Exchange, London Metals Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The fast growth of London's offshore yuan activities is taking place as the renminbi is increasingly used internationally as a trading and investment currency, and its growth as a global reserve currency will be marked by its inclusion in the International Monetary Fund's basket of special drawing rights currencies in October.
EB-5 temporary extension expected Updated: 2016-09-26 11:39 By Paul Welitzkin in New York(China Daily USA)

The EB-5 investor immigrant program that is popular with Chinese is expected to get a temporary extension when Congress acts on legislation to fund the operation of the US government until Dec. 9.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, an attorney and Cornell University law professor, said a continuing resolution or "CR" as it is known, is likely to pass the Senate sometime next week and then go to the House. It has to win congressional approval by Sept 30 or the government will have to shut down.

"The EB-5 program will survive a few more weeks thanks to its inclusion in the continuing resolution. The continuing resolution will give congressional lawmakers time to try to negotiate an EB-5 reform package," Yale-Loehr emailed.

If the CR is approved, the weeks between Sept 30 and Dec 9 will set up a political fight over the future of the EB-5 program, which was created to stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment.

EB-5 targets foreign investors who invest at least $500,000 in a project that creates a minimum of 10 jobs in an economically-depressed region. In return the investors receive a two-year visa with a good chance of obtaining permanent residency for them and their families. In 2014, the US issued over 10,000 of the visas and about 85 percent went to applicants from China.

"Stay tuned for an epic battle between urban legislators like Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat of New York), who wants to maintain the status quo, and rural legislators like Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican of Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (Democrat of Vermont) who are adamant about getting more EB-5 visas for rural projects," said Yale-Loehr.

US Representative Bob Goodlatte (Republican of Virginia), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is also seeking changes to EB-5. He and US Rep John Conyers Jr (Democrat of Michigan) have introduced legislation to reform EB-5.

Their bill would increase the minimum EB-5 investment to $800,000 from $500,000 for projects in high-unemployment areas. In low-unemployment areas, the minimum investment would rise to $1.2 million from $1 million.

The measure also "ensures that only truly rural and depressed areas will qualify for the lower investment level, along with military bases closed by BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure), and public infrastructure and manufacturing projects. In addition, 2,000 visas a year are set aside both for rural and for depressed areas", Jessica Collins, a deputy communications director for the House Judiciary panel said.

Grassley and Leahy talked about EB-5 on the Senate floor on Sept 22. "Both said they will not support a simple extension of EB-5 without reform. Leahy has made this clear many times earlier this year," David Carle, a Leahy aide wrote to China Daily.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com




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Here's the deal: New Mexico is weird as hell. I'm sure you have an idea, but just wait until you hear about some of the really crazy episodes in our great state's history. This Tuesday, Sept. 27, beginning at 7pm, a panel of presentations covering such obscure subjects as the Dine memories of the Crownpoint Boarding School during the 1960s, the Red Power movement, hippies in the desert and more will be covered at Curiosities of New Mexico. Bring the whole family to this all-ages, free show and walk away with a deeper respect of your state's odd personality. Bachechi Open Space  Tue Sep 27  7-8:30pm  FREE  ALL-AGES!  View on Alibi calendar
HA NOI  Viet Nam imported more than 9.7 million tonnes of coal valued at US$600 million over the past eight months, almost double the quantity in the same period last year, according to the latest statistics from the General Department of Customs.

This was an increase of 191 per cent in volume and 107 per cent in value over the same period last year and triple the target set earlier this year by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The country imported an average of 1.2 million tonnes of coal, worth over $75 million each month, according to the data.

Russia remained the biggest seller of coal to Viet Nam with 2.8 million tonnes. Indonesia ranked second with 1.8 million tonnes and China third with 1.4 million tonne.

Typically, the coal imported from Russia costs Viet Nam only $63 per tonne, lower than Chinese coal at $71 per tonne.

The periods high import volume was attributable to rising domestic demand, industry insiders said.

Increases in coal imports are unavoidable as local coal output might not increase significantly, they added.

According to a new master development plan for the coal sector by 2020 with a vision towards 2030, coal output will reach 47-50 million tonnes by 2020 and 55-57 million tonnes by 2030. But, domestic demand for coal would be double the local production output, around 112.3 million tonne by 2020 and 220.3 million by 2030.

Earlier this month, the ministry said the Government would consider gradually reducing overall imports as well as certain types of coal that were not in high demand.

Firms would be encouraged to import coal if they met with regulations, it said.  VNS
Cuba is calling for investment from many countries, including Viet Nam, in various sectors like agro-forestry, sugar, industry, tourism, energy, mining, biotechnology.  VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

HCM CITY  Cuba is calling for investment from many countries, including Viet Nam, in various sectors like agro-forestry, sugar, industry, tourism, energy, mining, biotechnology among others, a Cuban diplomat told a conference held in HCM City last Friday.

Speaking at an investment promotion conference, Cuban Consul General to HCM City Bernabe Garcia Valido, said investors can seek investment and trade opportunities in science and technology development, technology transfer, upgrading transport infrastructure and industrial park infrastructure and exploitation of recyclable energy and bio-energy.

The Cuban Government has encouraged investment in many forms of co-operation and joint ventures between domestic and foreign enterprises, he said.

Cuba is also a potential market for Vietnamese goods since most of products consumed in the country are imported.

Cuba has great demand for garment and textile products, construction materials, cosmetics, food, pesticides, fertiliser, paper and carton, and agricultural machinery, he said.

Tran Ngoc Liem, deputy director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industrys HCM City branch, appreciated the trade and investment incentives the Cuban Government has given to Vietnamese businesses.

This is a good time for both sides businesses to enhance investment and trade ties, he said, adding that Vietnamese firms should take advantage of opportunities to boost exports to Cuba.

Trade between Viet Nam and Cuba has significantly increased in recent years, but it was still modest compared to the potential of the two countries, he said.

Bilateral trade reached US$218.2 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 4.65 per cent, of which, Viet Nams export revenue to Cuba accounted for $214.6 million, he said.

Viet Nams main export items to Cuba include rice, coffee, chemicals, ceramics, machinery and spare parts while it imports vaccines and pharmaceutical products from Cuba.

Some Vietnamese firms have invested in Cuba, including the PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) under the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, the Viet Nam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation, and electronics producer Hanel Co Ltd, he said.

Meanwhile, Cuba firms had two investment projects in Viet Nam.

According to delegates at the conference, investment in each others countries was still modest due to the limited access to market information and the investment policies of enterprises from both sides.

The conference would strengthen co-operation between the two nations business communities, they said.

During his visit to Cuba from September 13-15, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and the Cuban ministers of economics, planning and tourism had agreed to enhance economic links between the two countries through experience sharing in promoting economic development models, attracting foreign direct investment and developing tourism.  VNS
The Vietnamese Government has taken a variety of measures to facilitate the work of foreign investors, including those from Germany, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung (third from right) affirmed during his September 22-26 visit to the European country.  Photo nguoiviet.de

BERLIN  The Vietnamese Government has taken a variety of measures to facilitate the work of foreign investors, including those from Germany, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung affirmed during his September 22-26 viisit to the European country.

At meetings with leaders of the Ministry for the Environment, National Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety ( BMUB) and the Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) of Germany, Dung suggested the two countries encourage German businesses and investors to make the best use of opportunities presented by the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement and other free trade agreements of which Viet Nam is a signatory.

The move aims to raise two-way trade between Viet Nam and its largest EU trading partner from US$8.91 billion in 2015 to $15-20 billion by 2020, and German investments in Viet Nam to $5 billion, he noted.

He called on German enterprises to invest in such areas as infrastructure, manufacturing, processing, green and renewable energy and environmental technology.

Dung proposed that Germany assist his country in developing institutions and policies, and formulating technical standards for environmental protection and climate change response.

He also called for the European countrys support in finance and technological transfer, especially clean and environmentally friendly technologies, and human resource development.

Rita Schwarzeluhr Sutter, BMUB Parliamentary State Secretary, said Germany stands ready to help Viet Nam and share its experience in climate change response.

The two sides agreed to enhance their collaboration in waste treatment and the management of land and construction works.

At a meeting with Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, BMZ Parliamentary State Secretary, Deputy PM Dung proposed Germany assist Viet Nam in developing highways, especially the North-South Highway, express railways, airports and seaports.

The two sides also discuss solutions to improve the efficiency of official development assistance (ODA).

While in Germany, Deputy PM Dung met with representatives of Vietnamese businesses there. He had a working session with Siemens Group and visited several energy sector factories.  VNS
HA NOI  Japans Fuji Engineering Vietnam Co Ltd began construction on Saturday of houses for lease, as well as facilities that provide services to Japanese experts and workers in the ong Van I Industrial Park in northern Ha Nam Provinces Duy Tien District.

Covering an area of 12,000 sq.m, the project is valued at US$10 million and is the provinces first wholly foreign invested development that provides hospitality services and accommodations for workers of Japanese companies, along with other investors conducting business there.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, general director of the company, Masakazu Yasuhara, thanked the provincial authorities for their support.

Yasuhara said that the three 10-floor buildings would not only help satisfy demand by investors, but also help complete infrastructure facilities and create a more favourable investment environment for enterprises in the province.

Nguyen Xuan ong, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, highly praised the companys initiative, saying that it would contribute to boosting the localitys socio-economic development.

He also asked the company to continue implementing its commitment, in line with the States policies and laws, and taking care of its workers so that they would have a strong attachment to the company.

The chairman also asked management boards of industrial zones in the province and related agencies to co-ordinate to realise 10 commitments that the province had made with foreign investors to ensure the efficient and smooth operation of Fuji Engineering Vietnam, as well as other enterprises.

Ha Nam boasts eight industrial parks, with a total area of 2,000 hectares. Of these, four are now operational.  VNS
HA NOI  Food Safety and Inspection Service, the public health agency under the US Department of Agriculture, has allowed two more Vietnamese firms to export catfish to the United States.

According to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD), this brought the number of Vietnamese firms allowed to export catfish to the United States to 60.

The two new firms are Hua Heong Food Industries Viet Nam and Cuu Long Fish Import-Export Corporation.

NAFIQAD asked the two firms to actively check its catfish products to ensure requirements of the US Food Safety and Inspection Service are met.

In addition, firms must register to get certificates for seafood exports at one of the NAFIQAD branches, which was compulsory to export catfish to the United States. From the beginning of October, certification for seafood exports will be conducted via the national window system.

According to NAFIQAD, the United States will inspect food hygiene and safety of catfish products exported from Viet Nam to the United States, expecially tra and basa fish, from July 7 to October 15.

Recently NAFIQAD asked firms which have never exported catfish to the United States to stop registering for exporting to this market. It said the United States would not permit new exporters with no previous experience in exporting catfish to the country during the period of evaluating the food safety supervision system of Viet Nam on tra fish.

According to the Viet Nam Seafood Exporters and Processors, the United States is the largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish, with an export value of nearly US$255 million in the first eight months of this year, rising by 22.4 per cent over the same period last year.

The United States was followed by the European Union markets, with export revenue of more than $177 million.

In the first eight months of this year, Viet Nam earned $1.1 billion from exporting tra fish, representing a rise of six per cent against the same period last year.

The association expects tra fish exports to maintain the growth rate in the remaining months of this year and reach revenue of $1.65 billion for the full year. - VNS
HA NOI  State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will divest and sell its nine per cent stake in Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) this year, SCIC Chairman Nguyen uc Chi said.

Speaking at a press conference held in Ha Noi on September 23 on the corporations divestment plans in 10 leading State-owned enterprises, Chi said SCICs total market cap in these enterprises was some VN100 trillion (US$4.48 billion), of which State ownership in Vinamilk was 90 per cent.

Chi said SCIC would hire consulting agencies this month for Vinamilk. The starting price would be announced in November and road shows would be conducted in the country and overseas immediately.

"The price of Vinamilk will depend on the domestic and foreign market situation and the macro economy of the country and the world. However, it will not be lower than the market price at the transaction time," Chi said.

The Government currently holds 45.1 per cent stake in Vinamilk, which is listed as VNM on the stock market. The company is one of the countrys most sought-after equities and foreign investors have long been interested in Vinamilk thanks to its strong prospects and expansion plans.

The board of directors of Vinamilk formally approved the removal of the 49 per cent foreign ownership cap in late June, paving the way for an expected surge of interest from overseas investors in the local company.

Chi said Vinamilk was a giant brand name with high value. The companys real asset is under US$1 billion, but its market price is up to $9 billion. Therefore, the government is mulling over policies to preserve the Vietnamese brand name following its divestment.

SCIC will divest state capital in the nine remaining enterprises in 2017. The enterprises are Bao Minh Insurance Corp, Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation, Tien Phong Plastic JSC and Binh Minh Plastic JSC, as well as Vietnam Property and Infrastructure JSC, FPT Corp, FPT Telecom, Ha Giang Mineral Mechanics JSC and Sa Giang Import Export Co.

At the conference, Chi presented concrete plans, including the implementation itinerary, selecting the consulting agency, issues related to the assessment of the enterprises value and share, methods of selling shares and ways to preserve brand identities.

SCIC will select the consulting agency this year. The agency could be domestic or foreign, but it must be qualified to handle the consulting work. In case there is no qualified agency, SCIC will hire a consulting joint-venture company.

The list of domestic consulting companies includes Saigon Securities Inc, HCM City Stock JSC and Bao Viet Stock JSC, in addition to foreign groups such as Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley.

Chi said after the consulting work finished, SCIC would immediately begin the divestment process. Based on the market situation and the enterprises operation results, SCIC would fix the floor price to organise batch auctions of competitive bidding to get the highest price.

The divestment will be carried out publicly and transparently. However, it needs an itinerary and orders to preserve the State asset value in the most effective way, besides ensuring stable development for enterprises and the balancing state of the capital market.

The sale of shares will abide by the market rules, with road shows to be conducted in the country and overseas, based on principles that do not limit the number of investors. The investors could be domestic or foreign ones, or organisations or individuals, but they must meet conditions and have the necessary funds.

Chi said the funds collected from the divestment would be used according to the National Assemblys resolution. Some VN30 trillion from the divestment would be invested in developing and building a number of key works, including Bach Mai Hospital 2 and Viet uc Hospital 2 in Ha Noi and Cho Ray General Hospital in HCM City.  VNS
HA NOI  South Africa celebrated its Heritage day in Ha Noi on September 24 by hosting the citys first official South African Wine Tasting, an event promoting the nations culture through wines and music.

South African Ambassador Ruth Kgomotso Magau said at the event that South Africans celebrate Heritage Day by remembering the heritage of the many cultures that make up the countrys diverse population. On this day, all South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their traditions in the wider context of a great fabric of cultures, beliefs and traditions.

Through our wines, we are celebrating our heritage here. South Africa wine history began in 1659, so we have a 350 years history and are the Southern Hemispheres oldest wine-producing country, she added.

South Africa has the longest wine route in the world (Routee 62), stretching from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, she said.

The wine regions of South Africa are spread out over the Western and Northern Cape regions, spanning 500 km east to west and 680 km north to south.  VNS
HA TINH  Ha Tinh Provinces Peoples Committee has received the certificate recognising Phuc Giang Schools woodblocks as a UNESCO Documentary Heritage by Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific.

Speaking at the ceremony, Suzan Vize, acting chief of the UNESCO Office in Viet Nam, expressed her admiration for the creativity hidden in the woodblocks and confirmed the uniqueness of the heritage belonging to a family in Viet Nam.

Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau, secretary-general of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said the recognition has confirmed the academic tradition of the Ha Tinh people in particular and Vietnamese in general.

The ambassador highly appreciated the efforts of the provincial authority, relevant organisations and the Nguyen Huy family in preserving and making dossiers for the heritage. He urged the province to pay more attention to preserving and promoting the values of the woodblocks in Viet Nam, the region and the world.

The Phuc Giang School woodblocks, created by the Nguyen Huy family during their cultural activities between the 18th and 20th centuries, were used for teaching and learning at the school in Truong Luu Village.The total set used to number 2,000 blocks, but many have been damaged or destroyed over time. Presently, the set comprises 394 well-preserved blocks. They are the only ancient woodblocks created by a family for education preserved till today in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Huy My, from the 16th generation of the Nguyen Huy family, said the woodblocks were carved using traditional techniques, with words written in Chinese and Nom (a classical vernacular script of the Vietnamese language). They reflect various values of the country related to culture, education, economy, society and exchange among different families.  VNS
FRANCE  Well-known French photographer Rehahn Croquevielles photos featuring the beauty of Viet Nam are on display in France.

The 10-day exhibition titled Precieux Heritage du Vietnam (Precious Heritage of Vietnam) was held at the Caen Expo Congres, Normandy, France.

His thirty photos feature magnificent landscapes and the beauty of the traditional costumes of Viet Nams different ethnic groups.

Rehahn is a photographer from Normandy, France, based in Hoi An, central Viet Nam, since 2011. Led by his love of travelling and meeting people, he visited more than 35 countries prior to making his home in the ancient town of Hoi An.

He is particularly renowned for his images of Viet Nam, Cuba and India. The media regularly cites him as the photographer who captures the souls of his models. Indeed, Rehahn spends time with the people he meets and builds a relationship with them before taking their photographs. Specialising in the ethnic groups of Viet Nam, he has travelled to the far reaches of this country on his motorbike to capture the latest images of these dying cultures.

Rehahn is highly appreciated by Vietnamese and foreign public, with his portrait photo of Madame Bui Thi Xong, a boat rower in the historic town of Hoi An called the the most beautiful woman of the world, published in the photo book Vietnam-Mosaic of Contrasts. Photo www.rehahnphotographer.com

Rehahn is undoubtedly one of the most featured photographers of the last three years. He has collaborated with National Geographic and Travel Live on a regular basis for the purchase of his photographs. Numerous articles have also been published in the international media. The photographer is also very active on social network sites where he posts his photographs on a daily basis. His Facebook page is one of the most dynamic with more than 348,000 followers (as of March 2016).
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has called on countries to work together to promote multilateralism and adherence to international law, for peace, cooperation and sustainable development at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.  VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK  Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has called on countries to work together to promote multilateralism and adherence to international law, for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

The Deputy PM spoke at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.

As multilateral co-operation has a growing role to play in international relations, Viet Nam believes multilateralism must be strengthened and the operation of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations, must be improved, he said.

The UN has an indispensable role co-ordinating international responses to global challenges and enabling development cooperation. No other organisation can better foster partnerships and assist countries to successfully implement the SDGs, he stressed, referring to Sustainable Development Goals.

Minh added that international law remains the linchpin of a stable international security architecture and a strong multilateral system. Unfortunately, the role of the fundamental norms and principles of international law is underestimated. Imposition, unilateralism, power politics and use of force to address international security and political issues have been creating tension and confrontation, hindering efforts to peacefully settle disputes and conflicts, he said.

The United Nations must take the lead in promoting adherence to international law and the UN Charter, as the foundation for international peace and security. No country, big or small, can be exempt from the law.

According to the Deputy PM, multilateralism, international law, peace, co-operation and development are also the key elements to build a peaceful, stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific region.

There are regional risks of conflict, especially in the Korean Peninsula and the East Sea (South China Sea), which can threaten regional and international peace, security and prosperity, Minh warned.

With regard to recent developments in the East Sea, Minh called upon all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint and solve disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully respect diplomatic and legal processes, implement the Declaration on the Conduct of parties on the East Sea (DOC) and expedite the completion of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

He affirmed that Viet Nam is strongly committed to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. The country has developed a plan of action for SDG implementation and is working with UN agencies to craft the One Strategic Plan 2017-2021.

As one of the countries forecast to be hardest hit by climate change and sea-level rise, the Southeast Asian nation is expediting procedures for the early ratification of the Paris Agreement, and is planning its implementation, he said.

We strive to be a friend, reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community. Our commitment to multilateralism and international law is unwavering, and we will spare no effort to contribute to peace, cooperation and development in the world, he stated.

Viet Nam has decided to present its candidacy for non-permanent membership of the Security Council for the term 2020-2021, and will continue to increase its participation in UN Peacekeeping Operations, he added.

ASEAN ministerial meetings

At the ASEAN-US meeting one day earlier, the ministers underscored the importance of the ASEAN-US strategic partnership and the continued development of bilateral ties.

They agreed to push ahead with implementation of signed agreements, especially the positive outcomes of the fourth ASEAN-US Summit held on September 8 in Vientiane and the ASEAN-US Plan of Action for 2016-2020.

US Secretary of State John Kerry affirmed the long-term US commitment to the Asia-Pacific region and the importance it attaches to relations with ASEAN.

On September 22, ASEAN foreign ministers had meetings with the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary General, who expressed their wish to enhance ties between the UN and ASEAN across the board, especially in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and coping with current global challenges.

Speaking at the events, Deputy PM Minh stressed that ASEAN continually treasures comprehensive co-operation with important partners, including the US and the UN.

He urged the US to support the bloc in priority fields of small and medium-sized enterprises, start-up and innovation, science-technology, education-training, climate change and Greater Mekong Sub-region development.  VNS
President Tran ai Quang (R) receives Chinese Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun on Saturday.  Photo trandaiquang.org

HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang welcomed Viet Nam and Chinas jointly-signed agreements to collaborate in fighting crime on Saturday.

The President hosted a reception on Saturday for Chinese Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun, who is in Viet Nam to co-chair the fifth ministerial conference on anti-crime co-operation.

President Quang said that increased bilateral collaboration through diplomacy, national defence-security and law enforcement contributes to strengthening mutual trust and development between the two nations.

He upheld that it is in the two countries common interests to ensure an environment of peace, stability and cooperation for national construction and development. Recently, both sides have reached a common consensus toward increasing strategic exchanges, enhancing political trust, promoting mutually-beneficial co-operation and settling outstanding differences and emerging problems with efficiency and care.

The President spoke highly of the collaboration between the two public security ministries over the past years, especially in the fight against cyber, drug, and human trafficking crimes.

Minister Guo Shengkun, in reply, highlighted how both sides of the conference discussed at length issues regarding anti-terrorism, border crime prevention, cyber security and personnel training.

According to the minister, the two ministries also plan to expand coordination toward a diverse array of fields. -- VNS
President Tran ai Quang on Saturday urged the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) to reform its trade union activities.  Photo congdoan.vn HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang on Saturday urged the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) to reform its trade union activities. HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang on Saturday urged the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) to reform its trade union activities.

Speaking at a meeting with the VGCL, the President emphasised that the countrys momentum toward greater international integrationwith impending commitments to the ASEAN Community, the World Trade Organisation and a range of new-generation free trade agreementswill have many impacts on workers and trade union organisations.

With this shift in mind, the VGCL and its chapters must renew their operations and diversify their activities to gather workers, the President said, also stressing his desire to see trade unions established at non-State enterprises.

Trade union organisations must work harder to fulfil their roles of representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of unionists and workersand also take an active role in the negotiation of collective labour agreements and the settling of labour disputes.

Trade unions across the country have so far signed more than 26,100 collective labour agreements. As a result, 75.72 per cent of firms have trade unions.  VNS
National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan

HA NOI  National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will pay a two-day visit to Laos starting today at the invitation of her Lao counterpart Pany Yathotou, aiming to enhance legislative ties between the two countries.

The relationship between Viet Nam and Laos has developed in an effective and pragmatic fashion over the years, as evidenced by the exchange of high-level visits and thriving economic, trade and investment co-operation.

As of December 2015, Laos licensed 413 Vietnamese projects, many of which have operated effectively, contributing to the two countries development. Two-way trade hit US$485.7 million in the first seven months of this year.

In addition, co-operation in defence and security, energy, health care, tourism, education and training has been expanded.

The affiliation between the two legislative bodies has also been consolidated in recent years. They have supported each other in human resources development and technical infrastructure.

Ngan will also pay a visit to Cambodia on September 27-28 and Myanmar on September 28-29.

In Myanmar, she will attend the 37th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-37) from September 29 to October 3 in Nay Pyi Taw.  VNS
QUANG NINH  The Quang Ninh Police yesterday issued a most wanted notice for Doan Trung Dung, the prime suspect in the murders of a grandmother and her three grandchildren in Phuong Nam Ward of Uong Bi City.

The police also initiated legal proceedings against the suspect.

Dung, 45, also of Uong Bi City, has a rectangular-shaped face, a small scar some 4cm from the left corner of the mouth and is about 1.8m tall.

At the scene of the crime, police found traces of fingerprints, shoeprints with blood and other objects, pointing to Dung as the prime suspect.

During the past two days, security along roads in the city is being monitored strictly. The police have checked thousands of hotels and other places of interest in the city and Quang Ninh Province to search for Dung.

The police asked anyone who finds the suspect to call the telephone number 069.280.8133, 091.325.1857 or 091.326.3421 to contact the police immediately.

The bodies of 61-year-old Nguyen Thi Hat and three of her grandchildren - aged three, eight and nine - were found in their home on Saturday morning.  VNS
VIENTIANE  Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held talks with her Lao counterpart Pany Yathtou in Vientiane yesterday, during which she affirmed that Viet Nam prioritises co-operation with Laos.

The Viet Nam-Laos relationship is vital for both countries and an invaluable treasure that the two parties and peoples have handed down to younger generations, said Ngan who is on her first visit abroad as Chairwoman of the National Assembly.

During the visit, the Vietnamese side hopes to discuss the Party Congress as well as the general election in each country, she said.

At the talks, the two top legislators reviewed the outcomes of their supervision over bilateral co-operation deals, while seeking ways to enhance friendship and co-operation between the two legislative bodies.

They noted that the rapidly changing regional and world situation has generated opportunities and challenges for the development of Viet Nam and Laos. They pointed to the need for both sides to strengthen co-ordination to find solutions to socio-economic problems.

At the same time, the two sides expressed delight at growing ties in economics, trade, investment and official development assistance from the central to local levels.

Vietnam is currently the third largest investor in Laos with total investment of more than US$5 billion.

Bilateral partnership in education, transport, finance, banking, health care, culture and tourism as well as people-to-people contacts between the two people have been expanded, they noted, adding that the two countries have built a border of friendship and peace.

The two chief legislators agreed to enhance co-operation in personnel training and experience sharing, especially in institutional and legal building and the supervision of law enforcement.

The two sides will partner with each other in inaugurating the Viet Nam-Laos revolutionary relic site in Viet Nams northern mountainous province of Son La to mark the 55th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and 40 years since the signing of the Viet Nam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Co-operation.

At the same time, they will increase their supervision over and create optimal conditions for the implementation of joint investment projects.

NA Chairwoman Ngan proposed the Lao legislative body and Government deepen bilateral co-operation.

Both the host and guest agreed to continue their co-ordination at international parliamentary forums.

The Lao law-making body showed its support for the East Sea-related contents of the Joint Statement issued at the 49th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

The Lao side committed to realising the consensus on the sustainable and effective use and management of the Mekong Rivers water resources reached by the two countries leaders.

The leaders voiced their support for the two Governments early negotiations of the agreement on extradition co-operation and another agreement on the transfer of prisoners.

The same day, Chairwoman Ngan met with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community and Vietnamese businesses in Laos.

Meeting with Lao Party leader

Also yesterday, NA Chairwoman Ngan met with Party General Secretary and President of Laos Bounnhang Volachith as part of her official visit to the country.

The top legislator lauded the development of friendship and co-operation between Vietnam and Laos.

Viet Nam prioritises enhancing the relationship with Laos, she affirmed, adding that the two countries are joining hands to organise activities marking the 55th anniversary of bilateral ties and 40 years since the signing of the Viet Nam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2017.

Briefing her host on outcomes of her talks with Lao National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Pany Yathotou, the guest said the two sides reached consensus on action plans and co-operation between the two NAs.

They will increase the exchange of information and experience in legislative activities as well as the supervision and decision making on the countrys important issues, she said, calling for the Lao leaders support for legislative ties.

Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith appreciated Ngans selection of Laos for her first overseas trip after taking office.

He said the visit has contributed to deepening the solidarity between the two countries.

The same day, NA Chairwoman Ngan laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to unknown martyrs in Vientiane. VNS
HA NOI - Ha Noi police yesterday stepped up enforcement against modified vehicles such as three wheelers and other rudimentary means of transport that carry cumbersome loads of goods, causing traffic disorder and endangering pedestrians and drivers.

The move came after the tragic death of a nine-year-old boy on Tan Mai Street in the capitals Hoang Mai District last Friday. The boy was riding his bicycle when he collided with an iron sheet carried on a xich lo (cyclo) parked along the pavement, and his neck was slashed. The length and width of the sheet were reportedly far beyond the cyclos capacity.

Hoang Mai district police temporarily arrested the cyclo driver, inh Ngoc Thach, 52, for further investigation.

To prevent similar accidents, the National Traffic Safety Committee asked the municipal Peoples Committee to crack down on such overloaded vehicles.

To curb traffic accidents and congestion, the Prime Minister banned three-wheelers starting in January 2008.

Cyclos are only allowed to carry tourists around the city. Despite the ban, many cyclos, three or four-wheel vehicles, have been modified and used to carry loads of bulky goods which can be easily spotted on Ha Nois streets.

Colonel ao Vinh Thang, head of the Road and Railway Traffic Division of Ha Noi Traffic Police Department, said that more than 3,300 violations were recorded in the first nine months of this year. Up to 220 three wheelers were confiscated while about 350 others are about to be.

On the first day of the new crackdown campaign, traffic police officers on Giai Phong Street of Hoang Mai District asked violators to dismantle modified parts of certain vehicles. War veterans whose vehicles carried heavy goods had to take them off and wait for other vehicles to come and carry them.

A similar accident in Mai Linh area, Ha ong District, in the capital city, killed a 66-year-old woman from the northern Hoa Binh Province yesterday afternoon. An ox cart carrying a sharp iron sheet slashed the womans neck and broke her windpipe, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) online reported. -- VNS
Viet Nam has succeeded in cutting the demand for rhino horn, with a reduction of 38 per cent over the past three years.  Photo AFP

Johannesburg  Viet Nam has succeeded in cutting the demand for rhino horn, with a reduction of 38 per cent over the past three years, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan told a gathering of 182 states at a conference in South Africa yesterday.

Tuan heads the Vietnamese delegation to the conference on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) taking place in Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5.

Tuan stressed in his remarks that the Government has pledged to eradicate illegal wild animal trading, as well as combat all wildlife-related crimes, adding that in the two decades since joining CITES, Viet Nam has made positive contributions to the international organisation.

In free trade agreements it has signed with many countries and organizations, the country always commits to addressing wildlife trafficking, he said. Viet Nam has signed cooperation agreements on the issue with many countries, including China, Laos, Cambodia, South Africa and Indonesia.

The Deputy Minister announced at the conference that Viet Nam would host an international wildlife trade conference (IWTC) in Ha Noi in November.

In his opening speech, South African President Jacob Zuma thanked the participating countries for their proposals on measures to control wildlife trading, saying that poaching and trafficking have affected nearly 500 species, especially rare wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and lions in Africa and other places in the world.

The President called on the international community, especially CITES member states, to put forth urgent and effective protection measures for rare and valuable fauna and flora species in Africa and the world.  VNS
a Nang  The central city of a Nang has launched a contest to design a bridge and tunnel through the Han River.

Director of the citys transport department, Le Van Trung, who is head of the contests organising committee, said 13 designs from 11 architecture firms including two from Japan and one from Spain, proposed their initial designs in a meeting with city officials on Sunday.

Trung said the city plans to hold a public vote to pick the best design to be constructed.

He said the contest winner will walk away with a cash-prize of VN100 million (US$4,400), while the runner-up will get VN70 million ($3,100), and third place wins VN50 million ($2,200).

Trung said the tunnel is needed due to the increasing traffic in the city.

The partnership between the Vietnamese Bridge Design company and Japanese Oriental Consultants Global company also proposed a six-lane tunnel through the Han River

Last year, the city planned to build a tunnel, the first traffic route under the Han River, with investment of VN3.3 trillion (US$157 million).

City authorities said the tunnel would help ease traffic congestion at junctions in Son Tra and Hai Chau districts.

Currently, the city has six major bridges including Thuan Phuoc, the Han Swing Bridge, Rong (Dragon), Tran Thi Ly, Tuyen Son and Nguyen Tri Phuong, and the 1960s-built Nguyen Van Troi Bridge.

In 2013, the citys Rong (Dragon) Bridge claimed the American Council of Engineering Companies Diamond Award in the category for structural systems.

Earlier this year, the city also launched a contest to plan and design the Han River banks, aiming to create beautiful scenery for locals and tourists.  VNS
NAM INH  Over 40 guests have been struck with suspected food poisoning after attending a wedding reception at ai Thang Commune in northern Nam inh Provinces Vu Ban District yesterday.

The guests complained of stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and high fever.

The provinces Health Department has asked local hospitals to conduct treatment for all victims and told health officials to take food samples for testing.

After receiving initial examination at the local hospital, 15 guests were sent to Nam inh Provinces General Hospital for further treatment.

Phan inh Pho, head of the hospitals Infectious Diseases Faculty, confirmed that 15 guests were hospitalised after attending the wedding, with some serious cases, including a pregnant woman.

All the patients are in stable condition after receiving intensive treatment, he said.

Hundreds of people were reported to have attended the wedding reception.

The incident is being investigated.  VNS
Khanh Duong

HA NOI  A longtime resident of Hang Chieu Street, 75-year-old Nguyen Van Loi has for many years maintained the daily habit of walking around the Old Quarters for excercise.

After hearing the news that Hang Chieu Street will become a pedestrian street at the weekends, he is more than delighted.

Last week, the Peoples Committee of Hoan Kiem District proposed to the municipal Peoples Committee to expand pedestrian areas in the Old Quarters. According to the plan, seven more streets and two alleys will be added to the weekend walking area, namely Hang Chieu, Ngo Gach, Nguyen Sieu, ao Duy Tu (in the section from Hang Buom to Hang Chieu), Hang Bac, inh Liet, Gia Ngu streets, Trung Yen and Cau Go alleys.

If the plan is approved, these nine streets will deny all vehicular traffic every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7pm to 12pm (summer time) or from 6pm to 12pm (winter time) starting next month. Restaurants and bars will remain open until 2am on these days.

Cultural performances will be held at O Quan Chuong, one of Ha Nois five oldest gates and the former eastern entrance to the capital citadel, Kim Ngan communal house and Chuong Vang (Golden Bell) theatre.

The district authorities said that the new walking area expansion will create connection with current walking zones, form a major walking complex and contribute to the promotion of the citys history and culture. They hope it will also reduce traffic jams and encourage locals to walk and use public transport.

These streets belong to the first-level preservation area of the city. It is home not only to centuries-old historic relics like O Quan Chuong and the Thanh Ha communal house, but it is also where more than 200 local households run food, accommodation and commercial businesses.

The expansion plan has raised mixed responses from the areas residents and workers.

I think my life will not be affected much by the change. I like it very much. Normally cars still run on the street at midnight. If vehicles are banned, I can go out enjoying a very peaceful and comfortable atmosphere, long-time resident Loi said.

A delivery man who usually ships food to restaurants around Ma May, ao Duy Tu, inh Liet, Cau Go streets said that he totally supports the expansion idea and does not worry about having to leave his motorbike at parking lots and walk carrying loads of food into Old Quarters streets.

It shows the sign of societys development, and we have to follow regulations as we become an urban civilisation, he said.

Vu Thi Mai, a fruit peddler on Hang Chieu Street, says that traffic jams often prevent customers on motorbikes from parking their vehicles along the pavement to select fruits. Once the street is opened for pedestrians, she thinks more people will stop to buy her goods.

However, a great number of locals who operate food and drink stalls seem quite worried.

A bun cha (fresh rice vermicelli and grilled pork) seller on Trung Yen Alley is not optimistic about having more customers when vehicles are banned for walking.

Well-known for Old-Quarters-style street food, the alley is always crowded with rows of customers bikes and motorbikes from morning until midnight.

Most of my customers come here by motorbikes. I think there will be fewer customers, she said.

Not only food sellers are worried about losses. Many Old Quarters drivers of xich lo (cyclo) also think the ban should only be enforced during the nighttime on narrow streets adjacent to Hoan Kiem lake.

The number of tourists using cyclos to trek around the Old Quarter has dropped sharply since walking streets were opened, according to cyclo drivers.

I would have up to four or five rides a day before the current ban, but now half of the day passes without any customers, a cyclo driver said.

Many residents in the Old Quarters area are upset with the chaotic scene caused by pedestrians noise, litter and rudeness, as corroborated by local media reports since the pedestrian area opened earlier this month.

A woman who sells iced tea on Nguyen Sieu streetand who asked not to be namedcomplained that Old Quarters locals are getting exhausted by the long distance walks needed to reach their houses.

The walking zones serve mainly tourists, but authorities must take account of locals worries. The food stalls and bars open until midnight cause disorder and disturbance to locals lives. Also, in case of emergency, how will it be if ambulances are also banned?, she said.

However, not everyone is pessimistic about the walking streets.

Ha Phuong, a shop assistant at a milk tea shop on Gia Ngu street, hopes the newly available seating space outside on the pavement will lure more customers.

To prevent impolite behavior such as noise, pushing and jostling in the walking zone, the community must show their attitudes and criticise these behaviors so that bad apples feel embarrassed and change their behaviors, Nguyen Tien at, deputy head of TransViet traveling company told Kinh Te o Thi (Economic and Urban Affairs) newspaper.

The weekend pedestrian space in Ha Noi was opened to public in 2004 along with night market on Hang Ngang, Hang ao, Hang uong and ong Xuan streets.

The first expansion was launched in six more streets in 2014.

Earlier this month, a large walking area comprising 16 streets was open around Hoan Kiem lake and Old Quarters, including inh Tien Hoang, Le Lai, Le Thach, inh Le, Nguyen Xi, Trang Tien (from Ngo Quyen to inh Tien Hoang), Hang Khay, Le Thai To, Hang Trong (from street Josephs Cathedral to Le Thai To), Nha Tho and the Cathedral square.  VNS
LAO CAI  Police in the northern border province of Lao Cais Van Ban District arrested a drug smuggler and seized nearly 3kg of heroin yesterday.

The suspect, Pham Son Hai, 48, from Lao Cais Pho Lu Township, was caught carrying 10 nylon-wrapped packs of heroin  some 300g each  at toll station IC16 on the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway.

The police also seized VN21 million (US$940), a Toyota Hilux car and three mobile phones.

The investigation at the suspects house in Lao Cais Khanh Yen Township also led to the seizure of another VN143 million ($6,400), two electronic scales and equipment used in drug use.

The case is being investigated further.  VNS
HA NOI  The Viet Nam Mathematical Society (VMS) has asked the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to postpone the introduction of multiple-choice math questions for the 2017 national high school examination.

VMS Secretary General Phung Ho Hai said the society has suggested to the ministry to retain the current written format for math.

The ministry should organise national seminars to analyse scientific arguments on whether to introduce multiple-choice questions for math and evaluate the effectiveness of multiple choice math tests at some universities in Viet Nam over the years, he said.

Based on the results of the seminars, the ministry should make a decision, Hai said.

In case there is a change in the test format, students and teachers should be given some time to prepare for the transition, he said.

The Executive Committee of VMS has proposed a dialogue with MoET leaders to reach a social consensus and meet the educational goals and aspirations of students, families, schools and the entire society.

According to the Viet Nam Association of Mathematics, the current written format for the math paper can assess logical thinking and problem-solving skills of students, although the test results may depend on the subjectivity of teachers who score the paper. While a multiple-choice test can avoid this factor, it may reduce the students analytical, problem-solving skills and creativity by encouraging tips and tricks to skip to the final answer.

In addition, the multiple-choice test fails to indentify gifted students due to unqualified questions, the VMS said.

To have sufficient scientific basis and to ensure persuasion, multiple-choice test exams which have been conducted in some areas of Viet Nam should be assessed fairly based on scientific and practical efficiency. In addition, an analysis of the reasons for the change from the written format to a multiple-choice test should be done, it said.

All study and assessments on both types of test should be publicised so that people can have a better understanding and can prepare properly for the transition, the VMS said.  VNS
HA NOI  Local authorities and a house owner are joining hands to pull down a tilting house in the capitals ong a District.

The four-storey house, located at No 117 in O Cho Dua Wards Quan Tho 1 Alley, has been uninhabited for years due to its dangerous tilt.

After receiving ong as Districts reports about the case last month, Nguyen The Hung, vice chairman of the Peoples Committee of Ha Noi City, ordered a demolition plan for the house and an evacuation plan for residents of the adjacent houses.

The owner, Pham o Thanh Thuy, bought the house in 2002 and moved her family in. Some 10 years later, the house started developing cracks and began to tilt. Thuys family moved out and sent letters to the authorities asking for an inspection.

The condition of the house was brought to authorities attention after the house at No. 43 Cua Bac Street collapsed at the beginning of last month, killing two people and injuring three.

For now, I have signed a contract with a demolishing company and they have proposed a solution to the concerned authorities, the owner told news website Cafef last week.

They will start demolishing the house right after I complete all the necessary procedures, she said.

Thuy said she was pleased with the authorities response and serious attitude in handling the issue.

Illegal buildings floor awaits demolition

The demolition of the illegally built 19th floor of the building at No 8B on Le Truc Street in Ba inh District is expected to be completed next month.

This was announced by o Viet Binh, chairman of Ba inh Districts Peoples Committee, to an inspection team of the Prime Ministers office yesterday.

The 69m building, of which 53m are above ground, has raised public concerns not only because of its excessive height, but also because of the slow demolition process which started three months ago.

At the end of June, the Peoples Committee of ien Bien Ward, Ba inh District, ended a contract with the Hai Anh Phat demolition company because it failed to meet deadlines.

The Phuong Bac demolition company took over the project at the beginning of July. However, one and a-half months later, the company had only demolished some 30 per cent of the illegally built floor because it was using simple concrete drill machines instead of advanced ones.

The first phase  to remove the illegally built floor  will be completed in October. However, we need to work more with different sectors and the citys authorities to develop proper plans for the second phase, he said.

He also said the project was delayed partly because the authority wanted to ensure the safety of workers, residents and the environment and preserve the buildings structure for future use.

According to another representative from the Peoples Committee of ien Bien Ward, the Phuong Bac demolition company has installed a tower crane to remove construction materials from the 19th floor, reducing noise and dust during the demolition process.

The citys construction department had sent officials to examine the crane in order to issue a license that would allow it to start working today.

A representative from the Phuong Bac company said the 19th floor would be demolished before October 30.  VNS
Before the mid-20th century, Non ba tam and other hats with big rims were common in the literature, photos and art from Northern Vietnam, however, since 1940 they have all but been replaced by the ubiquitous conical hat, and few even recognise their names anymore.

by Quang Thang

Since 1940, conical hats originating from the central region have overwhelmed the country. Non ba tam and other hats with big rims have gradually disappeared in the North.

In thousands of photos and hundreds of paintings made by the French on daily life in the Northern delta at the end of 19th and early 20th century, we can see hats made from leaves everywhere.

Hats at that time were diversified in form, but the most popular were hats with big round rims and as flat as baskets holding silkworms.

The hats were associated with women in daily life at home, at markets, in paddy fields, by their sewing frames and at festivals. In many places, the white flat rims were distinguished, like a typical cultural feature of the region. They are non ba tam.

In the book titled Technique du peuple Annamite (Techniques of Vietnamese People), published in 1909, the explanation said: hats for women, called ba tam. The word tam here refers to the size of the hat.

In another book titled Connaissance du Viet Nam (Knowledge of Viet Nam), 1954, the writer explained: non ba tam, trois fois 8 pouces (1.20m)" (hat of three tam: three times of 8 inches (1.20m).

I asked some hat makers in Thanh Oai District in the western outskirts of Ha Noi, who have maintained making ancient hats. They all confirmed: the word ba tam refers to the measurement of the hat rather than the number of leaf layers the hat is made of".

They further said that such a hat is made of two layers of leaves. Some hats have one more layer in the middle of two layers of leaves. The middle layer was mo nang (the outer skin of bamboo shoots) to make the hat stronger.

I dont really understand the 1.20m measurement. I think ba tam refers more to a bigger measurement than a concrete size.

Misunderstandings of the hat

Today, few people can distinguish between non ba tam and other kinds of hats with broad rims. Since 1940, conical hats, or hats originating from the central region, from Hue, became popular throughout the country. Non ba tam and other hats made of palm leaves with broad rims almost disappeared in the North. Many villages quit their traditional handicrafts of making hats.

The next generations have only been able to hear non ba tam and non thung (hats in the shape of baskets) in folk verses or tales told by old people.

Non thung has always been miscalled non ba tam, as they were also popular in the north.

Non thung has a big round rim the same as non ba tam, yet it has a deeper middle. The edge of non thung is softer and rounder rather than being straight like non ba tam. It was called non thung as it really does look like a thung (basket).

Old yet new: A hat made recently in style of an ancient "non ba tam" by artisan Nghiem Phu Luan, from Tri Le Hat Making Village, Thanh Oai District, on the outskirts of Ha Noi. - Photo courtesy of Quang Thang

Many people are also unable to distinguish non ba tam from non quai thao.

Non quai thao is actually a common name rather than depicting a particular kind of hat.

Earlier, people named hats according to their forms: non ba tam, non thung, non long chao (hats that look like saucepans), non bua (hats look like brindleberry) and non chan tuong (hat that looks like the leg of an elephant).

Other kinds of hats were named after the people using them. For example, non thay tu (hats of monks), non thuy thu (hats of sailors), non linh tap (hats for junior soldiers), non ki ma (hats for horse riders). They were hats with the same form, but could be of different sizes.

Non ba tam with large diameters of up to 70cm were called non muoi. Non ba tam with a deep body and high edges were used at important events, while lower edged hats were used when working and trading at markets.

People did not distinguish hats according to their strings, as the strings could be taken out. Hats and strings were produced and exchanged as two different items. At first, the string was made of bamboo, then it was replaced by cloth or silk.

Quai thao is a kind of string for hats made of special silk by workers from o Thao Village, Trieu Khuc Commune, on the western rural district of todays Ha Noi. The string was weaved and dyed very carefully and turned into a high-ranked kind of hat string. The string actually cost much more than the hat itself.

Quai thao was used with many kinds of luxurious hats like hats for brides, hats for monks (in black), non ba tam, non thung for women from wealthy families or ordinary women at special events like festivals and weddings.

So, quai thao could be used with different hats. The most popular was quai thao worn with non ba tam.

Non thung quai thao and non nghe (hats originating from Nghe An) have been popular in folk songs:

Co kia non nghe quai thao

Chong co anh giac biet bao gio ve

(For whom is that young woman wearing a Nghe An hat?

Her husband is not expected to return from the battlefield any time soon)

Or

Chua chong non thung quai thao

Chong roi non rach, quai nao thi quai

(Single women wearing non thung with luxurious strings

Married women wearing torn hats, not caring about the strings)

So why does quai thao appear so often in folk songs and verses?

As I mentioned earlier, quai thao was something like special jewellery. Because the string was made with great care and skill, it was even more striking than the hat. Because of that feature, non quai thao has turned into a concept meaning valuable or festive hat and started being featured in folk literature as such. More than that, it was a metaphor for female beauty.

Non quai thao has been part of the popular costume for young women at festivals while non ba tam are common for elder women while working.  VNS
PARIS  French tax authorities have asked Switzerland to hand over client information for some 45,000 bank accounts as part of a probe into alleged tax fraud, Le Parisien daily said Monday.

Swiss banking giant UBS said in July that the Swiss authorities had asked it to provide client information following a French request for international administrative assistance in May.

The demand concerns former and current clients living in France , based on data from 2006 to 2008.

Le Parisien on Monday published extracts from a letter dated May 11 from French tax authorities. It said that France was chasing the names of the owners of "more than 45,161 different account numbers."

"The assets of those listed totaled more than 11 billion Swiss francs (US$11 billion), which could represent a several billion dollar shortfall for the French treasury," according to the letter written by French tax authorities, the report said.

According to the report, French authorities have already identified 4,782 accounts and are seeking to find the owners of an additional 40,379 accounts.

France opened a probe into UBS after former employees blew the whistle over the banks alleged system of setting up dual accounts to hide the movement of capital into Switzerland between 2004 and 2012.

UBS denies the accusations, arguing that its involvement in such financial operations has not been proven.

Meanwhile, the documents Germany handed to French judges last year allowed them to evaluate the assets of French clients held by the bank in 2008 at nearly 12 billion euros ($13.5 billion), according to a source close to the investigation.

However not all involved tax evasion.
WASHINGTON  The lengthy US presidential campaign is careening towards a 90-minute Monday showdown, with Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump squaring off in their first televised debate as they sit nearly neck and neck in the polls.

The event, which is expected to be watched -- and parsed -- by tens of millions of Americans, could draw a record number of viewers when it kicks off at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday).

Many Americans are uncertain what to expect from the clash, which pits two vastly different candidates against each other on one tiny stage.

Clinton , 68, enters the fray as a polished former secretary of state, who after almost 40 years of public service is very well versed on the issues.

Trump, a 70-year-old billionaire and former reality TV star, is good on his feet, and unpredictable -- more comfortable in the limelight than on issues.

As many as 90 million people are expected to tune in as the pair face off at Hofstra University in New York six weeks before the November 8 election.

The debate is being held one day after a Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that Clinton s slim advantage over Trump from last month has evaporated.

She is tied with Trump at 41 percent among registered voters, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson at seven percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at two percent, according to the poll.

In a two-way match-up, Trump and Clinton were even at 46 per cent of registered voters. The survey showed a statistical tie among likely voters as well.

Many analysts say debates usually dont win candidates the election but can well lose it for them. A single sentence or the slightest slip can do serious damage.

"I think this thing will be close right up until the end," said Clinton running mate Tim Kaine. "We have to make our case every day. The debates are a great way to do that."

Unfair to be traffic cop

The Clinton campaign, which hopes its candidate becomes the first female president in US history, expressed concern Sunday over a double standard, with a number of experts saying the bar has been raised higher for Clinton .

"Its unfair to ask that Hillary Clinton both play traffic cop with Trump, make sure that his lies are corrected, and also to present her vision for what she wants to do for the American people," Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook told broadcaster ABC.

The Clinton team is concerned that the moderator, Lester Holt of NBC, will toss simpler "softball" questions in Trumps direction while pressing Clinton with a much more challenging interrogation.

"All that were asking is that if Donald Trump lies, that its pointed out," Mook said.

But Trump has already stated that he does not believe Holts purpose as moderator is to police each candidate.

Debate mind games were also on display as Trump threatened to invite Gennifer Flowers, a former lover of Bill Clinton, to watch the high-stakes battle from a front-row seat.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said it was meant to show the New York billionaire had ways "to get inside the head of Hillary Clinton" but she told CNN there were no plans to actually invite Flowers.

Nine percent of voters by some estimates still dont know who to cast their ballot for, after a long campaign in which bitter attacks have often replaced talk of substance.

And this year has been like none in the past, with Trump using social media around the clock in combative fashion, while often making mistakes, misstatements and blunders that do not seem to trouble his base.

Preparation going very well

Ahead of the debates Clinton has been cloistered with aides and her papers at home in Chappaqua, north of New York , even practicing with relatives playing Trump.

She has been focusing on his psychological profile, with a goal to get Trump to crack, to show that he cant control himself and lacks the even-handed temperament a president needs.

If he reacts by attacking, Trump risks losing votes from women; he already has a harder time with women voters, and they make up 53 per cent of those who turn out.

Trump in turn says his debate practice is "going very well," trying to at least appear relaxed. Amid preparations, he has continued with campaign rallies, including Saturday night in Roanoke , Virginia .

On Sunday both candidates met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump later issued a statement pledging to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s "undivided capital" if elected.

Negative opinions

Clinton , making her second presidential bid, is an old hand at debates and considered solid -- so in some ways, she may have more to lose.

Some 88 percent of Americans say they believe she is smart, but in the latest poll 66 percent said they do not find her honest.

In addition, Clinton s image has been sullied by Trump attacks over her email scandal, the Clinton Foundations alleged pay-to-play donations, and her ties to Wall Street.

Some 57 per cent have a negative opinion of Clinton who they see as cerebral, distant or cold. Trumps negative numbers are virtually identical.  AFP
Editors note: Southgate Drive will be closed on Saturday, Oct. 1 between U.S. 460 and Beamer Way. Visitors to the Community Dog Wash who are traveling on U.S. 460 should take the Prices Fork exit (toward downtown), turn right onto West Campus Drive, turn right onto Duck Pond Drive, travel straight at the four-way stop at Washington Street, and take a right into the second veterinary college entrance. Visitors traveling from downtown can take Washington Street to Duck Pond Drive.

Students at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech will hold their biannual Community Dog Wash on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg.

The dog wash will be held at the rear of the veterinary college complex on 245 Duck Pond Drive, on the side closest to Southgate Drive. Signs on Southgate Drive and Duck Pond Drive will guide participants to the event, and ample parking will be provided behind the building.

Presented by doctor of veterinary medicine students enrolled in the college, the dog wash is always a popular community event. The cost of the dog wash is $10, and for an additional $5, customers can have their dogs nails trimmed and ears cleaned.

Animals will be washed on a first-come, first-served basis, and no appointments are necessary. Dogs will be washed while owners wait. Dogs must be on a leash and be at least 5 months old with current vaccinations. Please provide proof of rabies vaccination upon arrival at the dog wash.

Proceeds from the event will go to its sponsors: the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association, a professional organization for doctor of veterinary medicine students, and the doctor of veterinary medicine Classes of 2019 and 2020.

For more information about the dog wash, please email Laura Parkhurst or Angela Ives. If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Carling Sitterley, assistant director of admission and student services, at 540-231-7828 or email cmsitt@vt.edu during regular business hours at least three business days prior to the event.
00:40 Newspoll finds budget unpopular with voters Half of Australian voters feel they will be worse off in the next 12 months due to Labor's first budget.

00:43 NAPLAN results show boys literacy rates plummeting Literacy rates among year nine boys have fallen to the lowest level since testing began, according to new NAPLAN data.

00:22 Penny Wong to visit Thailand and Brunei Foreign Minister Penny Wong is heading to Thailand and Brunei this week to renew relations with the region.

03:56 Government advised energy price caps must be done by November: Clennell Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says the federal government has been warned it must act prior to November if it is to implement energy...

00:36 Russia suspends grain agreement with Ukraine Russia has suspended its involvement in an UN-brokered grain deal with Ukraine.
CEDAR FALLS  UnityPoint Health, the parent company of Allen Hospital and Allen College, has launched the most ambitious fund drive in those institutions long history in Waterloo-Cedar Falls.

Its a three-pronged, $19.8 million fund drive called For Allen For You. About $10.2 million already has been raised. The remaining $9.5 million is being sought to help fund three major initiatives:

$4 million would go toward the $30 million UnityPoint Health-Prairie Parkway project, a 90,000-square-foot outpatient facility being constructed in the Pinnacle Prairie area of southeastern Cedar Falls. A grand opening is planned for January.

$8.8 million for Allen College initiatives, including office, classroom and laboratory space for a new occupational therapy program and future physical therapy program; a nursing simulation laboratory; classroom and office space renovation with upgraded technology; and scholarships. That includes utilizing McElroy Hall, the former Freeburg Early Childhood Development Center building, acquired from University of Northern Iowa after funding for that program was exhausted. Tri-County Head Start will continue to lease the building through the school year.

$7 million toward a $10 million project at Allen Hospital for an expanded birthing center, neonatal intensive care and pediatrics units, renovating existing space within the hospital.

Its anticipated the final $9.5 million, applied toward the estimated $48 million in initiatives, will be raised over two to three years, said longtime Allen board member Mike Christiason, who is co-chairing the fund drive with his son, Dr. Kyle Christiason.

Major donors to date have included: the estate of Doris Travis for the Prairie Parkway project; the R.J. McElroy Trust, Mark Baldwin and the Waschek family and Ginny and Mike McBride for the Allen College initiatives; and Pauline Barrett, for whom the neonatal intensive care unit will be named.

The fund drive was announced Monday at the Prairie Parkway facility during a tailgate-style event complete with cheerleaders.

The three initiatives are designed to address the health care and health care education needs of the Cedar Valley, UnityPoint officials said in making the announcement.

The Prairie Parkway project is designed to bring outpatient services under one roof in a growing part of the metro area; the Allen College improvements are designed to cultivate and sustain a pool of health care professionals trained and working in this area; and the birthing/NICU/pediatrics facilities will allow families to access services closer to home.

If theres a word we look at, home hits all three parts, said Dee Vandventer chief development officer for UnityPoint-Allen Foundation. Were trying to keep well through Prairie Parkway, out of the hospital, at home. When you look at the OB/NICU/Peds, were trying to keep people close to home at that most precious time of their lives.

The updated neonatal intensive care unit will treat babies as young as 30 weeks compared with the current 34 weeks.

You can imagine a month away from here that you have to commute to Iowa City-Cedar Rapids, taking care of that baby, trying to keep your life going, maybe you even have kids at home. That four weeks is going to make such a difference, Vandeventer said.

The Allen College improvements aim to keep students closer to home and to keep them in the area after graduation.

If we didnt have a college right now, wed be in a world of hurt for employees in the health care field, Vandeventer said.

The three initiatives combined will create 34 jobs.

Its really a growth in our organization thats spurring this. And access, said Pam Delagardelle, UnityPoint-Waterloo CEO. If were wanting to keep people out of the hospital, we need more primary-care access points.

Fundraising so far has been overwhelming, Mike Christiason said, utilizing hundreds of volunteers and donors.

It just boggles my mind whats been accomplished, he said. Presentations will be made to service clubs and other organizations and individuals.

We want to turn up the volume on this and give everyone an opportunity, Vandeventer said. People will tell you the main reason they dont give is they havent been asked.

Individuals can give online at www.ForAllenForYou.com or by mail to Allen Foundation, 1825 Logan Ave., Waterloo, 50703.
CEDAR RAPIDS  First impressions matter even  or especially  in presidential debates.

Although the 2016 presidential campaign has been underway in earnest for months, tonights debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump at Hofstra University will create a first impression for many voters, said University of Iowa political science professor Cary Covington.

Because its the first time they are face-to-face it will shape everything that happens in the remaining 42 days before the Nov. 8 election, Covington said. The impression you create in the first round you either have to overcome it or you can build on it, but it sets the stage for the next debate.

The stakes are high because debates really do have potential to change elections and this election is very close, said Iowa State University English professor Ben Crosby.

Based on the number of people who watched debates during the primary campaign, Crosby expects a huge percentage of the voting population will be watching.

The big question is what will they be watching?

We dont know what to expect because we dont know what to expect from Donald Trump, Covington said. Will he behave in a more conventional style? Or will he behave more like he did in many of the Republican Party debates? Will he wait his turn to talk? Will he interrupt? Will he make derogatory comments towards Hillary Clinton or Lester Holt? Or will he be polite and respectful?

The cards are stacked against Trump, Crosby said, because his strategy in previous debates was to rely on his gut and ego and ridicule to win the day. That probably wont work in a high-profile debate against a female opponent.

Clinton has built a campaign on her experience as a senator and secretary of state. However, thats her weakness, too, Crosby said, because Trump can question her record on Syria, Libya and her other supposed successes.

As hes pointed out, there have been all sorts of failures and oversights on her watch, he said.

Whichever Trump shows up for the debate, Chris Larimer, a University of Iowa political science professor, will be surprised if voters learn anything new.

Rather than lay out new policies or new approaches, Trump and Clinton are more likely to reassure some hesitant supporters, to focus less on policy details and more on the performance, to convey a sense of being presidential.

Both candidates will try to mobilize those voters who at this point are reluctant supporters. That would include Democrats for whom Clinton wasnt their first choice and establishment Republicans who have been slow to embrace Trump.

I dont think theres going to be any sort of persuasive effect, that is you wont see a Trump supporter say theyll vote for Hillary or vice versa, Larimer said.

Typically, its people who already have made up their minds who watch the presidential debates and they filter what they hear through that partisan lens, Larimer said.

Whats different is that Trump may attract a wider audience of people who watch just to watch, he said.
CEDAR FALLS  You have to pick your causes.

Thats a mantra that Kristin Teig Torres teaches to students at Wartburg College as assistant director of the Center for Community Engagement and service-learning coordinator.

Its also one she lives by with her advocacy to end breast cancer.

I get that its not all my responsibility, but I have responsibility, said Torres. The more people we have working on the problem, the better off well be.

Torres first took up the cause of ending breast cancer in 2009 when she was diagnosed with the disease. But she really ramped up her efforts in honor of her friend Anne Christensen Doyle, who passed away in 2012 from breast cancer.

Because of her work, I just thought, She died trying to make a difference and trying to end breast cancer, so I went to my first (National Breast Cancer Coalition leadership) summit the year after she died, Torres said.

So, for the past three years Torres has immersed herself in just about every aspect to end breast cancer. She has learned the science of the disease; she has explained its complexities to people; she has pushed legislation aimed at ending the disease; and she has helped organize events to bring awareness and advocacy to the Cedar Valley, among others.

Torres regularly goes to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the NBCCs Deadline 2020 legislation that would reduce barriers to research so breast cancer can be curable in four years. She also takes leadership classes like Project LEAD to be a better advocate here at home. Most of those trips are on her own dime, but the local Beyond Pink TEAM does dedicate a small portion of its funds to the NBCC work at the nations Capitol.

Her work hasnt gone unnoticed by other advocates in the region.

Whenever Beyond Pink TEAM needs an emcee for an event, a star in an infomercial, or someone to articulate our message on TV and social media, Kristin is our go-to advocate, said Christine Carpenter, advocacy chair of the Beyond Pink TEAM. She never disappoints.

Carpenter praised Torres for her considerable knowledge about the science of breast cancer, her professional theater skills and her passion, and described them as assets to Beyond Pink TEAM.

Torres knowledge and passion are evident after only a few minutes talking with her.

Shes open about her diagnosis, her treatment and what being cancer-free means to her, and explains it with both depth and in easy-to-understand language. She casually explains what cancer is  over-replication of a gene  and lists its types, as well as rattling off statistics, like that 40,000 people will die from the disease this year. But she isnt clinical in her descriptions.

Like most National Breast Cancer Coalition advocates, she knows the importance of explaining the human impact of cancer and its treatment.

What the Project LEAD also trains people to do is to critically look at research thats coming out and make sure that its really going to be advantageous for patients. Especially as consumers, we want the best for our lives, and to end the disease, Torres said.

Torres is optimistic that the 2020 goal of finding a cure for breast cancer is possible. But she also knows its going to take a larger group of people working to end the disease and having the knowledge to understand its possible.

She said its a no-brainer for people to support the end of breast cancer, but theres often little action that follows unless its impact hits home.

Torres acknowledges the knowledge of the disease and its pernicious ways of destroying the body by migrating to the bones, brains, lungs or liver can be overwhelming. But she also knows that knowledge is power.

Im not going to turn my eye to this problem. I would rather have us be informed citizens and do something and whatever we can to educate, Torres said. We cant be a nation of people who just sit and let problems pass them by.
WATERLOO  Vietnam veteran and Black Hawk County Supervisor Craig White is looking for more fellow veterans, and anyone who cares about veterans, to stand the watch this weekend for fallen friends and neighbors.

Hes looking for volunteers to maintain a 45-hour vigil at the Black Hawk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Paramount Park at East Fourth Street and the Cedar River in memory of the county residents who died in that war.

The vigil begins at 3 p.m. Friday at the park, in front of The Courier building at 100 E. Fourth St., and ends at noon Sunday  45 hours in all. The vigil will begin with a brief opening ceremony and presentation of colors by East High School Army ROTC and West High School Air Force ROTC cadets. It will close Sunday with a rifle salute and playing of Taps by veterans organizations.

Forty-five hours is significant, White said. Thats one hour to remember each guy. Its a time to get together and remember and talk about things. And if anyones having any problems, were there to help one another out.

The vigil was held each September for many years, from the year the Black Hawk County memorial was dedicated in 1986 up through the early 2000s, when it was discontinued. White and other volunteers resumed the vigil last year. It is being held concurrent with the same month U.S. military personnel who were prisoners of war or missing in action are recognized.

Its also intended to memorialize the unknown numbers of Vietnam veterans who died after the war of a host of maladies, ranging from exposure to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange to post-traumatic stress, White said.

He also noted the vigil also is designed to raise awareness of veteran suicides  22 a day nationally  not just of Vietnam but all wars, including more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One doesnt have to be a Vietnam veteran, or even a veteran, to participate in the vigil, White said. Hes looking for volunteers to take two-hour shifts during the vigil, which will have a brief opening and closing ceremony Friday and Sunday, respectively. Hes actively seeking volunteer support from veterans organizations, veterans of all eras and the general public.

The county Vietnam memorial was located in Parmount Park because it is the site of the old Paramount Theatre, a favorite spot of many Vietnam-era Waterloo and Cedar Falls residents in their youth. It was demolished in the early 1970s following a fire for a flood control project.

Many of the individuals on the memorial were childhood friends and classmates of White and many other Cedar Valley Vietnam veterans. White, a graduate of Columbus High School, a John Deere retiree, Veterans Memorial Hall Commision member and co-organizer of Cedar Valley Honor Flight, served in U.S. Army in Vietnam in the late 1960s as a forward artillery observer  and, like other Vietnam veterans, recalls the less-than-warm reception he and they received upon returning home.

Those interested in participating may call White at 215-7104.
Honor Flight

RON PRIES

Editors Note: This letter is rerunning to correct the name of the author.

WATERLOO  I would like to thank my daughter and brother for going with me and the 160-plus veterans and guardians on the Honor Flight Sept. 13.

Also, a real big thank you to all who welcomed us home that night.

I, myself, really appreciated it from the bottom of my heart.

As one person said, its long overdue, and I said, thats an understatement.

Thank you all, Vietnam vet.

2016 flood

RON HETH

CEDAR FALLS  Kudos aplenty for those who were willing to get their hands dirty for the cause of helping out where they could to prepare for the flood. I was able to help move some of the 54 residents out of Martin Center Western Home to UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital on Friday evening. The overwhelming response on the part of their staff was gratifying as the residents arrived.

One of those I helped into the building was able to hear Happy Birthday sung to her by the staff. It is great to witness a Waterloo facility assisting a Cedar Falls facility. Thats how things should get done, and they did. Thank you also to the wonderful staff of Western Home and the many volunteers who helped perform to a high degree of dedication. I am proud to be a part of such an organization.

Dont forget to help out when the waters recede to pitch in and lend a hand to someone you dont know clean up their yard, move items back into their homes, or wherever needed. There might be a few sand bags to remove as well! I love living in the Cedar Valley, having grown up in a small town.

Police support

JUDY CIESIELSKI

WATERLOO  I support the Waterloo Police Department and Dan Trelka 150 percent.

I read in The Courier yesterday about a suspect who was arrested on a stolen handgun in a traffic stop. He was in the front passenger seat when the officers noticed a 40-caliber Glock Model 22 in his waistband. He pulled away from the police and reached for his loaded gun and officers managed to seize the gun. The suspect allegedly spit on one of the officers eyes and told another officer he was gonna be in a ditch. The pistol had been reported stolen during a 2015 burglary.

These officers are in more danger then the suspects they arrest.

Wake up residents of Waterloo. The Waterloo Police and Dan Trelka are not the problem. If there is not a crime committed we would not be having this conversation about the Waterloo Police.
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Willamette Law Professor Warren Binford was quoted in an Oregon Public Broadcast story on the growing conversation on sexual assault in the Portland music community.

On Sept. 4, Portland musician Joel Magid confessed in a Facebook post that he tried to rape a woman while intoxicated, and that a friend had to intervene to stop him. Police are investigating claims against him.

A Facebook group, Portland Musicians Against Sexual Violence, has more than 300 members, and is a place for victims and advocates to talk about their experiences. A community meeting was held last week to discuss solutions to what some are saying is an escalating problem in the community.

Binford noted only six out of every 1,000 alleged rapes result in incarceration. She said although the medical community and societys view of consent have evolved, the criminal justice system does not do a good job of addressing prevention and restorative justice.

Everyone is frustrated with the system, Binford said. Whether youre talking about victims, defendants, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges  I dont know anyone who is happy with the system we have today when it comes to sexual assault.

Advocates say the conversation must continue to enact lasting change.

About Warren Binford

W. Warren H. Binford was appointed to the Willamette University College of Law faculty and became director of Willamette's Clinical Law Program in 2005. Prior to joining Willamette, Binford spent eight years with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where she specialized in corporate litigation and transactions. Her clients included a variety of Fortune 500 companies, as well as nationally prominent colleges and universities.

In addition to her expertise in corporate law, Binford has actively worked throughout her career as a child advocate. Prior to law school, she was a licensed teacher with experience teaching in the inner cities of South Central Los Angeles, Boston and London. She has served as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children in the United States and on the boards of numerous nonprofits.

Binford is a member of the Oregon and California state bars and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Northern Districts of California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She also served as a special assistant attorney general for the State of Oregon from 2006-2011.

About Willamette University College of Law

Opened in 1883, Willamette University College of Law is the first law school in the Pacific Northwest. The college has a long tradition at the forefront of legal education and is committed to the advancement of knowledge through excellent teaching, scholarship, mentoring and experience. Leading faculty, thriving externship and clinical law programs, ample practical skills courses, and a proactive career placement office prepare Willamette law students for today's legal job market. According to statistics compiled by the American Bar Association, Willamette ranks first in the Pacific Northwest for job placement for full-time, long-term, JD-preferred/JD-required jobs for the class of 2014 and first in Oregon for the classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Located across the street from the state capitol complex and the Oregon Supreme Court in downtown Salem, the college specializes in law and government, law and business, and dispute resolution.
Estonian Academy of Arts Interior Architecture department students built floating structures for a seasonally flooded area in Estonia. In August, a group of students from architecture, design and art universities spent 10 days in a summer workshop in Soomaa forests, Estonia, studying the unique context of the area, where the landscape is severely altered by flooding rivers at least once a year.

Tutored by architect and artist Sami Rintala (Finland), architect Pavle Stamenovic (Serbia) and Estonian architecture office b210, students built three floating structures  a shelter, a fireplace and a sauna  as a response to the changing and challenging environment of the area.

Named Water Way (Veetee), two of the three objects have now been opened to the public as part of local forest infrastructure, testing how experimental forest infrastructure could provide for the needs of people living in the area or visiting it. However, one of the structures  the sauna  did not persist the testing, and sunk to the watery depths.

Why build on water? Professor Hannes Praks, head of the Estonian Academy of Arts Interior Architecture department explains: Wet areas are, recreationally speaking, extremely charming due to the high number of species and unique landscape, but at the same time hard to explore, both in the sense of getting there and staying. Veetee (in English: Water Way), being located in an area that regularly floods and shifts, develops this competency, exploring ways of being both a transport vehicle and a usable space.

Praks explains the drive for a workshop taking place on the edge of swamps and bogs: The Wilderness Summer School was born out of the worldwide success of the forest megaphones project. Ive personally always liked forest infrastructure, huts and paths etc and I believe these small scale wooden infrastructure projects will continue to be our focus and strength for the near term future.

One of the tutors, Sami Rintala puts the learning and building process in wilderness in wider context: As an attempt to deal with contemporary challenges, both planetary and local, it is necessary and clever to jump outside the usual game and stratagem of the urban professional life, and seek a counterphenomena out on the edge, where people are ripped off from their roles and positions, and need to act on a common ground. Peoples real needs emerge, and they need to be fulfilled, and meanwhile design becomes just part of making.

The wooden installation will be a part of larger network of forest infrastructure organized by the State Forest Management Centre of Estonia, similar to the forest megaphones Ruup, built by students last year.

Soomaa is a mixture of boglands and meandering rivers that flood over seasonally, mostly in spring, when the water raises several meters higher for weeks. The water flows over floodplain ?

grasslands and forests and covers fields, forests and roads, disrupting connection with the rest of the world.

Locals and visitors use boats to navigate the altered territory, but the students took up the challenge to see what types of floating space they could create, responding to the needs of people in the area.

Floating structure Veetee was created in 2016 during a tenday summer schoo l titled 5th Season: Wilderness, organised by Estonian Academy of Arts interior architecture department. With its biggest wetlands in Estonia and changing water levels, Soomaa was the inspiration for creating a structure that could inhabit different functions: a shelter, a fireplace to meet the needs of a traveller or a local, either by land or by a boat.

Floating was conceived as a way to adapt to the ever changing conditions of the Soomaa context, especially the flooding of the 5th season, which happens every year, during two weeks in springtime.

3D wireframe

Axonometric drawing

Plans

Sections

Sections-2

Project Facts

Project name: Veetee (Water Way)

Location: Estonia

Materials: timber (spruce), metal barrels, metal strapping tape, screws

Dimensions: 3.8m (L) x 3.8m (W) x 2.7m (H, from keel to top)

Weight: approx. 700 kg (approx. 1540 lbs)

Students: Alden Jogisuu, Andrea Tamm, Andres Mutis, Berglind Erna Tryggvadottir, Brigita Kasperaite, Dan Theman Docherty, Finlay Barge, Gabriel Muller, Gerda Kaasik, Kadri Erdel, Kristiina Veinberg, Laura Muursepp, Siim Karro, Stefano Prevosti, Triin Mand, Tuva Ina Sofia Bjork

Supporters: Parlin, Karula Puit, Espak Viljandi, Viljandi Metall, Viljandi Kaminakoda, Hansaflex, Wurth, RMK, Ants Viljandi, Eesti Kultuurkapital, Dag Reklaam, Liviko, Ramsi Turvas

All images  Tonu Tunnel

> via Estonian Academy of Arts
Canl Bahis siteleri sektoru son derece onu ack ve farkl ozelliklere sahip bir sektordur. Elbette bahis secenekleri arasnda yuksek kazanc getiren alan kuskusuz canl bahistir. Peki, canl bahis nedir?

Canl Bahis Nedir?

Canl bahis adndan da anlaslacag gibi devam eden musabakaya bahis yapmaktr. Bu bahis musabaka devam ederken de yaplabilir olmasdr. Basta futbol olmak uzere voleybol, tenis, hentbol, basketbol, buz hokeyi ve masa tenisi gibi spor organizasyonlarna canl bahisler yaplabilmektedir. Canl bahis siteleri bu oyunlarn hepsine yuksek oranlara bahis yapmanza imkan tanr. En fazla tercih edilen futbol canl bahisleri diger alanlara gore daha fazla on plandadr. Siteden siteye degisen sartlar ve uygulama esaslar soz konusu olsa da kurallar sabittir.

Canl bahisi populer klan ve heyecan katan en onemli ozellikle musabakann basladg ana dek bahis yapabilmedir. Canl bahis icerisinde yer alan secenekler kazanma sansnz da dogrudan arttrmaktadr. Ilk korneri kim kullanr, ilk tac, gol, sar kart, krmz kart gibi futbol musabakas icerisinde olabilecek hemen hemen her seye bahis yaplabilmektedir. Normal bahisegore de son derece yuksek oranda olmas avantajl yonlerini ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim dogru secenek ksa surede kazancl ckmanza etki edecektir.

Strateji ve dogru analizle 90 dakika gibi bir surede anaparanzkatlayabilirsiniz. Tabi bunu basarabilmek icin mutlaka musabakaya dair ayrntlar iyi degerlendirmek gerekir. Soz konusu musabakann detaylarn inceleyip, cezal, sakat oyuncu veya performans dusen takm oyunu gibi detaylar bilmek canl bahiste kazanc belirleyen onemli unsurdur. Guvenilir Canl bahis hem heyecanl zaman gecirmeyi hem de musabakalar takip ederken para kazanmay saglamaktadr.

Canl Bahis Nasl Oynanr?

Bahislerinizi guvenilir sitelerden gerceklestirdiginiz zaman herhangi bir sekilde para cekme de sorun yasamazsnz. Guvenilir bahis siteleri tespit edip sonrasnda da uyelik islemlerini tamamlamanz gerekmektedir. Belirlenen uyelik sartlarn yerine getirip hesabnza da paray aktardktan sonra bahis islemlerini sorunsuz yapabilirsiniz. Peki, canl bahis nasl oynanr?

Oncelikle bahis konusunda mutlaka dogru site arastrmas yapmalsnz. Yapacagnz arastrma neticesinde buldugunuz site uzerinden canl bahisislemlerini gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Bunun icin uye olup, hesaba para atp, canl bahis bolumune girmelisiniz. Sonrasnda dahil olmak istediginiz musabakann saatini ogrenip, gerekli analizleri yapmalsnz. Tahminlerinizi belirledikten sonra karsnza ckacak olan bahis sayfasndan istediginiz hamleyi yapmalsnz. Bahis tutarn belirledikten sonra musabaka baslayacaktr.

Canl bahis diger normal bahis esaslarna gore farkllklar icermektedir. Bunlardan en onemlisi musabakann gidisatna gore islem yapabilir olmaktr.Ayrca musabakann 2. Yarsna gore hamle yapp ayr bir bahisin soz konusu olmas da ciddi avantajdr. Dogru hamle ile sizde istediginiz bahisi yapp kazanc elde edebilirsiniz. Nitekim canl olarak yapacagnz bahis icin mac oncesi raporlara gore hareket etmek onemlidir. Cunku takmlarn durumlarn analiz etmek tahmin gucunu arttracaktr. Misal tamnn en iyi oyuncusu sakat ya da kart cezals ise takmn performansnda dusus yasanacaktr. Buna ek olarak takmn deplasman performans ile evinde ki performans ayr olacaktr. Burada da takmn musabakay nerede yaptgna bakmak gerekir. Bu ayrntlar da iyice analiz ettikten sonra bahsinizi yapp kazanmann keyfini yasayabilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri

Son derece yuksek getiriye sahip bahis sektoru uzun zamandr faaliyet gostermektedir. Cok ciddi rakamlarn soz konusu oldugu bu sektor zamanla sanal ortamlara donusmustur. Elbette guvenli ve bir o kadar da avantajl olan bu siteler cok yonlu frsatlar sunmaktadrlar. Canl iddaa siteleri gerek yeni uyelere gerekse de hali hazrdaki uyelerine bolca bonus frsatlar vermektedir. Yatracagnz tutara gore belirlenen bonuslar site icerisinde rahat hareket etmenizi de saglayacaktr.

Canl bahis sitelerini kullanmadan once mutlaka guvenli olup olmadgna goz atmalsnz. Zira baz kullanclar guvenli olmayan sitelerden yaptklar islemlerden dolay magdur olmaktadrlar. Nitekim guvenli ve sorunsuz hizmet sunan yurt ds site tercih etmek en dogru secenektir. Sektorde uzun yllar faaliyet gosteren siteleri tercih edebilirsiniz. Bu alanda yer alan yabanc siteler musteri memnuniyetine onem vermektedir. Oncelik site kullanclarn sorunsuz sekilde bahislerini yapabilir olmasn saglamaktr. Bahis sitelerinde amac hem daha fazla kullancya hizmet vermek hem de sektorde emin admlarla ilerlemek onceliklidir. Dogru site tercihi ile sizde canl bahislerinizi sorun yasamadan gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Sizler icin hazrlams oldugumuz canl bahis siteleri listesi su sekildedir;

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Sralams oldugumuz bu siteler sektorde basarl islere imza atms sitelerdedir. Canl bahis konusunda beklentileri karslayacak olan bu siteler sizlere kolaylk sunmaktadrlar. Bol bonuslu secenekle de sizlere farkl bahis yonlerini sunacaklardr. Sistemsel etki icerisinde her zaman etkin sonuc alabilmek icin surekli olarak faaliyet icerisindedirler.

Canl Bahis Taktikleri

Bahis sektorunun en fazla dikkat edilmesi gereken hususu dogru taktik ve dogru tahmindir. Elbette dogru tahmini yapabilmek icin analizi cok iyi yapmak gerekir. Canl bahis taktikleri arasnda ilk sra analiz gelmektedir. Analiz yapamadgnz zaman basarl tahminlerde bulunmanz pek de mumkun degildir. Cunku bahiste onemli olan konu musabakann analizini cok iyi yaplmas gerektigidir. Canl bahisin ozelliklerini iyi bilmek ve nasl bir hamle yapacagnz bilmek gerekir. Ozellikle riskli maclarda yaplacak degerlendirmeler cok daha onemlidir.

Canl bahis yapacaklarn takip edecegi degerler takmlarn durumlar ile alakal olmaldr. Performans uzerine kurulu bahis sisteminde takm degerlendirmesine iyi bakmak gerekir. Iki takmn son 5 macta nasl bir sonuc ortaya koyduguna bakarak hareket etmek onemlidir. Ayrca hangi takm evinde daha iyi performans sergiliyor diye de ayrca bakmak gerekir.

Analizlerle alakal puan durumlarna da goz atmak cok onemlidir. Puan degerlendirmesinde oncelikle takmlarn ihtiyaclar ile dogru orantl hareket etmek gerekir. Cunku olusturulan performans takmn da durumunu ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim istenilen sonucu elde edebilmek icin tum ayrntlar bilmek gerekir. Takm ici duzenden tutunda da takmn son durumuna kadar her ayrnt onemlidir. Iki takmn birbirleri arasnda ki sonuclar da incelemek gerekir. Burada dikkat edilecek detaylarn basnda maclarda kac gol oldugu ve gollerin hangi dakikalarda atldgdr. Cekismeli gecen musabakalarda bazen goller ilk yarda daha fazla olurken baz maclarda da ikinci yarda daha cok gol olmustur. Iki takm arasnda ki maclarda gollerin cogunlugu ilk yarda geliyorsa buna gore bahis yapabilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Bonuslar ve Kampanyalar

Bahis yapanlar veya yapmay dusununler sitelerin sunmus olduklar frsatlar merak etmektedirler. Cunku siteler daha fazla kullancya erismek icin her donem kampanyalar duzenleyerek kullanc odakl hamleler yapmaktadrlar. Canl bahis bonuslar ve kampanyalar oldukca populer olup, siteler bu konuda adeta birbirleri ile yarsmaktadrlar. Birbirinden farkl ozelliklere sahip olan kampanyalar size frsatlar sunmaktadr. Daha cok kazanma ihtimalinizi arttran bu bonuslar daha cesur olmanza da dogrudan etki edecektir. Nitekim bonuslar sitelerin cekiciligini ve avantajlarn arttrmaktadr. En cok kazandran canl bahis siteleri bedava bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin http://www.milano2018.com/canli-bahis-siteleri-2022/ linkinden yardm alabilirsiniz.

Hos geldin bonusu ile baslayan ve sonrasnda para yatrdkca bonus veren cok sayda site bulunmaktadr. Canl bahis bonusu veren siteler yeni uyelere sunduklar frsatlar farkl kampanyalarla mevcut uyelerine de sunmaktadrlar. Hali hazrda siteyi kullananlarn da bonus frsatlarndan yararlanmalar icin donemsel kampanyalar olusturmaktadrlar. Boylece baska sitelere gidisler olmayacag gibi site de daha keyifli zaman gecirmek mumkun klnmaktadr. Bu tur eklentiler yapan sitelerde musteri memnuniyeti daha fazladr.

Bahis siteleri ozellik ve uygulama bakmndan farkllklar bunyelerinde bulundurmaktadrlar. Verilen bonuslarn olusturulmas ve kullanclar aktarlmasnda yatrlan para miktarlar belirleyici olmaktadr. 1.000 TL yatran bir kullanc yuzde 20 bonus frsat olan bir kampanyadan 200 TL bonus kazanabilmektedir. Yatracag tutar 10.000 TL oldugunda bu bonustutar 2.000 TL olabilmektedir. Gerceklesen ve uygulanan esaslar tamamen donemsel olarak yaplan kampanyalarla alakaldr. Iyi Canl bahis siteleri bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin sitelerin vermis oldugu oranlar takip edebilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Yatrma

Online Canl bahis yapacaklarn merak ettigi konulardan bir digeri de para yatrma islemleridir. Oldukca onemli olan bu konuda hata yapmamak cok onemlidir. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemi sanlann aksine son derece basittir. Oldukca basit ve uygulama esas dogru etki olusturan bu yapda sizde islemi rahatca tamamlayabilirsiniz. Para yatrma konusunda su yolu izleyebilirsiniz.

Guvendiginiz ve herhangi bir sekilde aklnzda soru isareti kalmayan bahis sitesine uye olmanz gerekmektedir. Uyelik islemini sorunsuz sekilde tamamladktan sonra para yatrma islemine gecebilirsiniz.

Kullanacagnz siteye uye olduktan sonra karsnza kullanc ad ve sifresini gireceginiz yer gelecektir. Buraya giris yaptktan sonra site icerisine islemlere devam edebilirsiniz.

Sitede yer alan para yatrma sekmesine tklayp sonrasnda karsnza gelen sayfay inceleyebilirsiniz. Para yatrma bolumunde yer alan ksma ne kadar para yatracagnz yazp devam tusuna basmalsnz.

Yatrmak istediginiz tutar girip sonrasnda da devam tusuna bastktan sonra karsnza kart bilgilerinizi gireceginiz sayfa gelecektir. Kredi kart kullanarak para gondermek isteyenlerin tercih ettigi bu sayfa tum bilgiler girilip islem onaylanmaldr.

Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemini gerceklestirmek icin hesaba havale secenegini de kullanabilirsiniz. Site icerisinde musteri hizmetleri ile iletisime gecerek banka hesap numaralarn ogrenebilirsiniz. Belirtilen IBAN numarasna istediginiz tutar havale edebilirsiniz. Havale ederken acklama ksmna yazlacak bilgilere dikkat etmelisiniz.

Kredi kart veya banka havalesi ile gerceklesen para yatrma islemi sonucunda site hesabnzdan bakiyenize bakabilirsiniz. Bakiyenize gore dilediginiz sekilde bahislerinizi gerceklestirebilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Cekme

Canl bahiste dogru hamleler ve dogru tahminler sonucunda kazandgnz bedeli geri almak isteyebilirsiniz. Kazanclarnz istediginiz banka hesabnza cekebilmek icin uymanz gereken kurallar soz konusudur. Oncelikle bahis sitelerinden para cekebilmeniz icin uye olurken dogru bilgi paylasmnda bulunmanz gerektigidir. Cunku canl bahis sitelerinden para cekme islemi icin kullanc hesab ile talep edilen banka hesap bilgilerinin ortusmesi gerekir. Yani uye olurken verilen bilgi ile banka hesab kime ait ise o bilgiler ayn olmaldr. Bu uygulama sitenin hem kullancsn hem de kendisini guvene alma politikasdr. Ayrca frsatclarn onune gecerek yeni bir uye olusumunun da onune gecmek amac gutmektedir. Uye olan kisi farkl para cekilme talebi verilen hesap farkl oldugunda para cekme islemi gerceklesmeyecektir.

Bahisleriniz sonucunda kazanc elde edebilir ve bu kazancnz da hakknz olarak almak isteyebilirsiniz. Burada son derece basit uygulama soz konusu olurken siteler aras farkl gorunumler soz konusu olabilir. Fakat yine de tum sitelerde uyenin site icerisinde para cekme bolumune girmesi yeterlidir. Burada cekilecek olan tutarn belirlenmesi ve hesap numarasnn girilmesi ile birlikte islem onay gerekecektir. Para cekme taleplerinde sizden gerekli bilgiler istenmekte ve havale islemi istenilen bilgiler esliginde yurutulmektedir. Dogru bilgi paylasmak sorunsuz para cekebilmeniz en onemli kuraldr. Istenilen bilgiler girildikten sonra site sorumlular gerekli kontrolleri yapp herhangi bir sorun yoksa ksa surede hesabnza gerekli paray aktaracaklardr.

Canl Bahis Sitelerinden Para Cekmek Icin Istenen Belgeler

Bahis sitelerine uye olduktan sonra baz kullanclar para cekme taleplerinin karslanmadg konusunda sikayetlerde bulunmuslardr. Bu sikayetlersektorde uzun zamandr bulunan guvenilir bahis siteleri de yer almaktadr. Fakat sikayetlerin dayanaklarna bakldgnda ise islerin tamamen farkl oldugu gorulmektedir. Yasanan bu durum kullanclarn hatal bilgi girmesi ve uyelik bilgileri ile banka bilgilerinin uyusmamas ile dogru orantldr. Birde canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler eksik ya da hatal olarak sunulmus olabilir. Ortaya ckan karsklar neticesinde para cekme talebinde bulunan kisi istedigini alamadg icin sikayetci olmaktadr. Oysa ki istenilen bilgiler dogru ve istenilen evraklar eksiksiz sunulsa para cekme islemi sorunsuz olacak.

Sitelerin para cekme konusunda dikkatli hareket etmesi hilelerin ve illegal faaliyetlerin onune gecmek adnadr. Cunku baz kullanclar farkl bilgiler vererek ikinci hesap acabilmektedirler. Bazen de bilincsizce hatal bilgi girilebilmektedir. Hatal islemlerin cozumu konusunda islem yaptgnz sitenin musteri temsilcileri ile gorusebilirsiniz. Talepleriniz dogrultusunda para cekme islemlerinde ki sorunlar giderilecektir. Canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler listesi su sekildedir;

Kullanc bilgileri ile banka bilgilerini karslastrmak icin kimlik fotokopisi

Banka hesap bilgileri

Ikametgah ve kisiye ait herhangi bir fatura.

Kacak Iddaa

Turkiyede dogrudan bahis yapmak icin resmi kanallar kullanlabilmektedir. Fakat tercih edilen ve oran olarak cok daha fazla frsatlar sunan kacar iddaasiteleri bulunmaktadr. Bu siteler kanunlara aykr sekilde yaplmakta olup, yasal bir dayanag yoktur. Elbette bu sitelerin kurulus merkezi Turkiye olmayp, ds ulkelerdedir ve faaliyetler belirlenen siteler uzerinden yaplmaktadr. Kacak Iddaa oldukca riskli olup, cok dikkatli olunmas gerekir.

Kacak Bahis

Kanunlar cercevesinde istediginiz gibi bahis yapamayabilirsiniz. Bahis yapabilmek icin ya kanuni olarak sorun olmayan ulke dsnda ki kumarhanelere gitmeniz veya kacak bahis sitelerinden islem yapabilirsiniz. Zira bu durum tehlikeli olsa da cok sayda site guvenli sekilde bu alanda hizmet vermektedir. Kacak bahiste oldukca fazla secenek bulunurken yuksek oranda kazanc sunuyor olmas da ragbeti arttryor.

Illegal Bahis

Bahisin bircok alanda yasak oldugu Turkiyede bu alanda cok sayda yabanc merkezli siteler hizmet vermektedir. Illegal bahis sektorunde faaliyet gosteren siteler guvenli hizmet anlays ile kullanclarna frsatlar sunmaktadr. Yurt ds merkezli bu siteler sorunsuz sekilde hizmetlerini surdururken bulunduklar ulkelerde kanunlara uygun sekildedir. Elbette faaliyet noktasnda bulunduklar ulkelerde sorun teskil etmese de Turkiyede faaliyet gostermeleri kanunin yasaklanmstr.

Yasads Bahis

Gerek olusturulan etkenler gerekse de ortaya konulan riskler yasads bahis de oldukca tehlikelidir. Kanunlarn mudahil olduklar bu alanlar da hem kullanclar hem de populer bahis yaptranlar tum riskleri goze almaktadrlar. Fakat yasaklardan uzak sekilde guvenli hizmet sunan siteler de bulunmaktadr. Takipler neticesinde kapatlan sitelerin muhakkak alternatifleri kurularak yollarna devam etmektedirler.

Canl Iddaa Siteleri Nelerdir?

Dunya genelinde kabul gormus cok sayda guvenli hizmet veren populer bahis siteleri bulunmaktadr. Elbette bu siteler dunyann bircok ulkesinde faaliyet gosterse de Turkiyede yasaktr. Sektorde yer alan cok sayda legal iddaa siteleri bulunmaktadr. Herhangi bir kanunsuzlugun olmadg bu sitelerden hzl ve guvenli islem yaplabilmektedir. Tabi bu sitelerde uygulanan oranlar yasal olmayan sitelere gore daha dusuktur. Illegal sitelerin tercih edilme sebeplerinin en onemli etkeni de olusturulan oranlardr. Peki, Iddaa siteleri nelerdir? Faaliyetleri ve uygulama esaslar nelerdir?

Turkiyede faaliyet gosteren yasal iddaa siteleri listesi su sekildedir;

Iddaa

Bilyoner

Tuttur

Birebin

Oley

Nesine

Misli

Iddaa

2004 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslayan Iddaa Spor toto tarafndan kurulmus olup, ilk etapta bayilik seklinde calsmaya baslamstr. Elbette zamanla gelisen teknolojiye ayak uydurarak internet uzerinde de populer bahis severlerin hizmetine sunulmustur. Kuruldugu donemde devletin resmi kurumu olarak faaliyet gosterirken gelinen yeni donemde ozellestirilmistir.

Bilyoner

Turkiyede faaliyetine 2006 ylnda baslayan Bilyoner ilk ozel yasal bahis sitesi olma ozelligine sahiptir. Guvenilir bahis siteleri Turkiyede bunlardr. Ksa surede populer olan site halen faaliyetlerini sorunsuz sekilde surdurmektedir.

Tuttur

Ksa surede adndan bahsettirmeyi basaran Tuttur 2009 ylnda faaliyetlere baslamstr. Guvenilir bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almstr. Gunumuze dek bircok alanda populer bahis yapanlara frsatlar sunarken avantajlar ile de begeni toplamstr.

Birebin

Kullanc odakl calsmalar surdurse de 2011 ylnda sektore giren Birebindiger sitelere gore daha az ragbet gormektedir. Bahis oynamak ise bu sitede oldukca kolaydr. Elbette farkl yaklasmlara sahip olmasndan dolay ilerleyen sureclerde adndan sklkla bahsettirecek gibi gorunuyor.

Oley

2009 ylnda Dogus yayn gruplarnn istiraki olarak kurulmus olup yasal olarak herhangi bir sorunu olmayan sitelerdendir. Bahis siteleri arasnda hzl cks yapms bir sitedir. Oley yapms oldugu yenilikler ile kullanclarn da dikkatini ksa surede cekmeyi basarmstr.

Nesine

Birbirini takip eden surecte Nesine de yine 2006 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslamstr. Yasal bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almay basaran firma ksa surede sevilen ve ragbet goren bir site olmustur.

Misli

2009 ylnda sektore cok hzl giris yapan Misli cok sayda reklam filmi ile on plana ckmay basarmstr. Internet uzerinden hem yasal hem de sorunsuz hizmet veren bahis sitelerinden bir tanesi olmustur.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Kayt ve Uyelik Islemleri

Her zaman populerligini koruyan ve surekli gelisim gosteren canl bahis gun gectikce daha da gucleniyor. Bahis oynamak icin ise sitelere uye olunmas gerekir. Yuksek getirisi ve begeni toplayan faaliyetleri ile cok sayda site bu alanda faaliyet gostermektedir. Elbette sorunsuz sekilde uye olmanz ve faaliyetler gostermeniz de oldukca kolaydr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri dakikalar icerisinde gerceklestirilecek yapya sahiptir.

Uye olacagnz siteyi belirledikten sonra siteye girmeniz gerekmektedir. Girdiginiz sitenin ana sayfasnda uye ol ya da kayt ol bolumu bulunacaktr. Siteler arasnda degiskenlik gosteren bu alanda temel unsurlar bulunmaktadr. Elbette farkllklar olsa da temelinde benzer bilgiler uye olmak isteyen kisilerden talep edilmektedir.

Uye ol bolumune tkladktan sonra karsnza uyelik bilgi formu ckacaktr. Bu formda sizin kim oldugunuzu ogrenmek ve sitenin guvenligini saglamak adna islemler yaplmaktadr. Uyelik formunda yer alan ad soyad bolumunu eksiksiz ve dogru sekilde doldurmalsnz. Sizden bu formda istenen bilgilerin tamamn girmeniz istenecektir. Istenen bilgiler mutlaka dogru ve eksiksiz sekilde olmaldr. Eksik veya hatal bilgi uyelik islemlerinde sorun teskil edebilir. Yine de yanls bilgi girisine ragmen uyelik islemleri tamamlanabilir. Fakat boyle bir yol izleyenler sonrasnda buyuk skntlarla karslasabilirler. Bu skntlarn basnda da para cekme islemlerinde yasanan sorunlardr.

Uyelik islemleri dikkatli ve ozenle doldurulmas gereken yapdadr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri gerceklestirilirken verilen bilgiler site yonetimi tarafndan muhafaza edilmektedir. Herhangi bir sekilde 3. Sahslarla paylaslmas gibi bir durum soz konusu degildir. Bu faaliyetleri surduren sitelerin guven unsurlar arasnda bu nokta onceliklidir.

Bahis sitelerine uye olurken hatal bilgi paylasmnda bulunmak size faydadan cok zarar verecektir. Diyelim ki bilgileri hatal girdiniz ve uyelik onayland. Uyelik tamamlandktan sonra siteye para yatrdnz ve kazanc elde ettiniz. Kazancnz sonrasnda hesabnza almak istediginizde karsnza banka bilgileri bolumu gelecektir. Para cekme talebi gerceklestikten sonra site uyelik bilgileri ile banka hesap bilgileri ortusmez ise paranz alamazsnz. Boyle bir durumla karslasmamak adna bu hususa ayrca dikkat etmelisiniz.
Vendetta has Zinc in Australia Bob Moriarty

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Sep 26, 2016 A future shortage of zinc has been in the cards for years. Major zinc mines have closed and none have opened. Zinc started this year at a paltry $.70 a pound as commodities in general registered their lowest prices in constant dollars in 5,000 years. Its up to a more interesting and more profitable $1.03 today. Vendetta Mining (VTT-V) has a lead/zinc deposit in Australia. The shares have been on a roller coaster ride this year, going from a low of $.045 in February to a high of $.13 in August. Recently they corrected down to $.06 before popping up 66% on eye watering drill results just released last week. Michael Williams, founder of Underworld Exploration sold to Kinross in 2010 for $140 million, CEO and President of Vendetta, acquired the Pegmont lead/zinc project in Queensland, Australia in 2015. Terms for the 100% option included cash payments of $2.25 million AUD by November of 2018 and exploration commitments of $3.0 million AUD by August of 2017. I didnt realize it but Australia is already the #2 zinc producer in the world and the leading lead producer. The Pegmont deposit is located less than eighteen miles from two different base metals mills that could use the Pegmont feed. In addition there is nearby rail service and a natural gas pipeline nine miles away. Pegmont is highly unusual in that it is one of the best-undeveloped lead/zinc projects in Australia not currently owned by a major. The fact that there are mills nearby infers that Vendetta could have one of the lowest Capex mines in the world since its possible they would not need to construct a mill. The company will release an updated 43-101 resource in Q4, 2016. More drill results from the 25-hole; 4,600-meter program will be released shortly. The project is highly advanced and perfectly positioned to take advantage of the next move higher in the zinc price cycle. Smelters are starting to compete for concentrate as LME zinc stocks are the lowest since 2007. Management and institutions own about 50% of the shares outstanding. As a result of past financings there are 50 million warrants at $.10 not due to expire until May of 2018. Naturally management would like to see those exercised because they need to do a lot of drilling to expand their resource. I would expect management to be highly aggressive in promoting the shares over the next few months and the share price to go higher as more investors learn the story. As of now Vendetta has a market cap of about $7 million. I think thats going to increase a lot. Vendetta is an advertiser so I am biased. Vendetta has done an excellent job of communication and their company presentation is a model of how companies should tell their story. Read it and you will understand why I like them as much as I do. If you like the future of zinc, you will love the future of Vendetta. Vendetta Mining Corp

VTT-V $.095 (Sep 23, 2016)

72.6 million shares

Vendetta Mining website ### Bob Moriarty

President: 321gold

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Sep 26, 2016 | By Alec

Over the last few years, Poland has steadily built up a reputation as a 3D printing pioneer. The country is already home to numerous promising startups, with Zortrax decisively leading the way. But the 3D printing nation could be known for a lot more than just desktop 3D printers in the near future, as a new startup is working on a very ambitious 3D printing project that will provide a huge boost to Polish aerospace efforts: the 3D printed Swiatowid nanosatellite, which would become the first Polish-made commercial and private satellite. According to developers SatRevolution, the satellite could be ready for launch as early as mid-2017.

Its an unexpected announcement that seems to be part of an increasingly decentralizing trend within the aerospace sector. Just a decade ago, everyone was heading to Cape Canaveral and Silicon Valley for every aerospace-related project. But in part thanks to the rise of 3D printing, development costs have dropped dramatically  supporting the rise of aerospace startups such as Vector Space Systems (and their 3D printed transportation rocket) and Rocket lab (with their 3D printed Rutherford engine). But small satellites for various research and communication purposes are also high up on this decentralized agenda, and SatRevolution will be representing the Polish aerospace sector in this regard.

But SatRevolution and their 3D printed Swiatowid are an exception. They are planning to offer satellite services to a market of unprecedented size, targeting state-owned institutes, private enterprises and even just individual users with a passion for astrophysics. Our goal is to create a solution that will also be available to the greatest number of people. Who among us does not dream of their own nanosatellite? co-founders Damian Fijakowski, Grzegorz Zwolinski and Radoslaw apczynski said.

Equally remarkable is the fact that this isnt a startup set up by veteran aerospace engineers. The trio of developers is previously masterminded T-Bull S.A.  a leading Polish company developing games for mobile devices. Broadly speaking, the subject of these technologies is not only our daily work. It is also our hobby. Many years of experience in business has allowed us to create a separate legal entity whose objective is the development of, among others, solutions in the field of space technology, Zwolinski said of this sudden switch.

Nonetheless, they were able to secure the support of the Wrocaw Research Centre EIT+, the largest research and development institute in the country. The Wrocaw institute will act as partner for this aerospace venture, and will provide the research facilities necessary for the development of this satellite. SatRevolution was only founded on June 27. Aside from their 3D printed satellite plans, they will also be developing various products for private and public partners, including international space agencies.

In that respect, the Swiatowid will partly serve to bring knowledge and innovations to the Polish market, Zwolinski said. But the satellite is remarkable in its own right too. The cuboid model will be 10 x 10 x 20 cm in size, and will be 3D printed in a special aluminum alloy  which will enable the satellite to resist vibrations, cosmic rays and rapid temperature fluctuations (in the range of 150 to 300 degrees Celsius). 3D printing, its developers say, will enable them to optimize the satellite shape while keeping its weight as low as possible.

For energy, the satellite will rely on photovoltaic panels that have been equipped with an advanced opening and positioning system. Swiatowid will also include a retractable handle equipped with a camera, which will be protected from exterior forces inside the satellite. All electronics will be separately housed to reduce temperature build-up. Specialized magnetic systems will enable satellite stabilization, giving the satellite enough torque to control flight trajectory. All systems aboard the Swiatowid are being designed to be as light and energy-efficient as possible.

So what will it be used for? While the concept is intended to be as flexible as possible, the Swiatowid will primarily be a research tool. It will be able to precisely determine its position relative to earth, and can gather data on gravitational and magnetic changes. This and other data will allow researchers right here on earth to better understand the environment in the thermosphere and magnetosphere of our planet.

All in all, its a very ambitious yet realistic plan that could provide the local aerospace industry with the boost it needs. The Swiatowid is scheduled to be launched as early as the second or third quarter of 2017. The launch itself will rely on a new P-POD (Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer) system, that has been purposefully designed for nanosatellites. The Polish entrepreneurs are currently looking to complete funding through the Polish government and several commercial partners.

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by Richard King

When economist Branko Milanovic first published his now-famous chart showing changes in global income distribution between 1988 and 2008 he furnished the world with a neat explanation for the various anti-establishment types now rocking the boat of Western politics: sandwiched between the Asian middle class and an increasingly bloated 1%the winners from twenty years of high globalisationthe middle class of the rich world had been left behind and was voting in the rabblerousers. He also furnished it with a serviceable metaphor. From memory, it was Toby Nangle who first noticed that the chart resembled an elephant, and his inspired little graffito (below) twittered across the world in a flash. Journalists needed no further prompting. The chart was the elephant in the room  No: It was a sleeping elephant that threatened to wake up and destroy the joint  No: It was the eponymous pachyderm in the Indian parable of the blind men and the elephanta beast the nature and significance of which depended on which bit of it you happened to be feeling  And so on and so on.

Now the metaphor-making has entered a new phase. Responding to a report by the Resolution Foundation that seems to cast doubt on Milanovic's data, or some of the interpretations of it, some commentators have declared the elephant chart irrelevant. Once called the most important chart for understanding politics todaythe one gif you need in order to make sense of the current intersection of domestic politics and macroeconomic trendsit is now a liability, a statistical howler. Scribblers in the conservative sheets were especially keen to ventilate the report's findings and the presses ran hot with their picturesque efforts. The elephant had been shot, no, tamed No: It had wandered off from the herd and gone in search of the elephant graveyard  It had packed its trunk and said goodbye to the circus. (Okay I made that last one up; but surely it's only a matter of time )

The report was written by Adam Corlett and does indeed cast new light on Milanovic's chart, or one interpretation of it, namely that the era of high globalisation has been bad for the Western middle class. The horizontal axis of the original chart shows global income distributionthe poorest are on the left and the richest on the rightwhile the vertical axis shows any rise in real income in the two decades leading up to the GFC. Roughly speakingvery roughly speakingthe hump represents the Asian middle class and the down-curve the Western working and middle classes. Howeverand this is Corlett's key pointsince Milanovic is studying global income levels, as opposed to national income levels, the composition of the percentiles changes over time. In particular, the chart takes no account of massive population growth in China or the spectacular collapse of wages in Russia after the fall of communism. The point is that if you want to draw general conclusions about the relative incomes of East versus West, North versus South, US versus China, you can't really do it accurately with a chart that takes no account of such distinctions. So Corlett has crunched the numbers again and found that, actually, the Western middle class hasn't done as badly as originally thought. Globalisation has benefited allsome more than others, obviously.

Cue the conservative bumptiousness. Neoliberals have never liked Milanovic's chart, not because they doubted its legitimacy but because it seemed to give the lie to the neoliberal proposition that a rising tide will lift all boatsthat off-shoring, deregulation and fiscal austerity will be good for everyone. Now they can strut their stuff again, or at any rate they feel they can. Where's Milton Friedman when you need him? asked William McGurn in The Wall Street Journal, as the Adam Smith Institute declared September a good month for neoliberalism. Allister Heath, in The Telegraph, reflected on how naive we'd been to question globalisation in the first place. Geeks love this sort of stuff, he wrote of Milanovic's work on global inequality; and the chart reinforced their left-wing prejudices. (I think he wrote geeks, not Greeks, but I'd have to check my notes.)

Thus is a crude story about globalisation being builtwith cheap foreign labour no doubton the ruins of a crude story about globalisation. Get ready for a lot, lot, more of this 

Actually the key takeaway from Corlett's research is that the squeeze on middleclass living standards in the rich world has as much to do with domestic policy as it does with the dynamics of globalisation; it is the policies pursued within the countries where inequality is growing fastestdeveloped countries, more or lessthat accounts for much of that inequality. In the past few days Resolution's director Torsten Bell has made this point a number of times: that to blame globalisation for your declining living standards is to let politicians off the hook. Whether neoliberals will follow Bell's reasoning beyond this point and start advocating for greater redistribution through higher minimum wages, welfare payments, cheaper housing, fairer taxation and unionisation I doubt very much.

The point is that it's globalisation, not neoliberalism, that's at issue here. No, the two can't be neatly separated, but the massive enrichment of the 1%another key feature of Milanovic's chart: note the sharp uptick on the right-hand sideis the result of the latter thing, not the former, and is far more likely to explode the economy than it is to generate economic growth. Neoliberalism was a political project as much as an economic one, and was about much more than trade liberalisation. Those wanting to argue that the uber-wealthy elitewhat Milanovic calls the global plutocracyis in some sense essential to the poor world's emergence from the worst deprivations of poverty and the slow equalisation of East and West still have all their work ahead of them.

Clearly that global plutocracy does benefit from globalisation, such that the Resolution Foundation's suggestion that we refocus our political attentions on distributional arrangements in the domestic sphere is easier said than done. Financialisation and capital mobility mean that to a great extent the super-rich float free from domestic politics; money can be moved to Panama with less effort than it takes to unwrap a stick of gum. Meanwhile multinational corporations employ base erosion and profit shifting in order to deny trillions of dollars in tax to the jurisdictions in which they make and sell their products. It's all very well for Bell and Corlett to say that we need to think locally, but the state is increasingly unable to act as the board of management to the economy, as a whole supranational apparatus of trade agreements and binding treaties is now in place in order to circumvent that contingency. (What do recent events in Europe denote if not the clash of neoliberal economics and the clamour for self-determination?) The question of whether globalisation is a good thing or a bad thing is moot; we have to ask what kind of globalisation four decades of neoliberalism has given us and whether/how it can be reformed.

Finally, and speaking as a left-wing geek with all of the requisite prejudices, let me say that all sensible socialists are well aware of capitalism's ability to pull poor populations out of poverty, have long preferred free trade to protectionism, and are pro-globalisation, not anti-it. What we deplore is less global inequality (disgusting though it is) than the system that makes inequality inevitableno, to which inequality is foundational: the system in which wealth is created socially and appropriated privately. The thing to which we object, in short, is not globalisation but capitalism, which, we maintain, with all due modesty, is unlikely to be history's final word. So have your fun while you can, neoliberals: trash a left-wing meme or two! One dayone day quite soon, I hopeyou'll find out you've been feeling up the wrong end of the elephant and that your version of reality is arse about face.

*

Visit me at The Bloody Crossroads.
by Ali Minai

By this point in US Election 2016, everyone acknowledges that the Presidential candidacy of Donald Trump is one of the most transformative phenomena to arise in American society in a long time  possibly since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, of which it is, in some ways, a perverted mirror image. However, it's ludicrous and perverse aspects should not blind anyone  including its adherents  to its corrosive but real power. Those who had until recently discounted Trump are gradually beginning to realize this, and mockery is being replaced with a mixture of fear and perplexity.

Foremost among the perplexed are the American elites and the chattering classes, who have tended to treat the candidacy of Donald Trump for President as a running farce. His frequently offensive and ignorant statements  usually via twitter  have become a staple of late-night comedy, and the cause for general derision in the news media. A surge in the polls after the Republican convention triggered a temporary bout of concern that he might actually win, but that concern receded as a very successful Democratic convention and Trump's disparaging of the Khan family boosted Hillary Clinton to a double digit national lead. A narrative settled in that Trump was finished, even as Clinton's lead has gradually declined, and now stands in the 2-4 percent range. While this has triggered a new round of anguish among Democrats, it has not yet completely changed the overall notion that, surely, the American people will not vote for someone as patently unqualified and irresponsible as Trump. The American people themselves have bolstered this assumption, with poll after poll showing that large majorities of voters consider Clinton more qualified and temperamentally suited to be President. A recent survey showed that nearly half of voters  including 22% of Trump supporters!  believe that he will use a nuclear weapon. Yet, what is often left unexplained is why the same polls typically show the head-to-head race between Trump and Clinton as very close. The implicit belief seems to be that voters will eventually come to their senses. In fact, this discrepancy should indicate exactly the opposite: That a certain chunk of voters have looked at both candidates, realized that Trump is unqualified to be President, but are nevertheless willing to vote for him. These voters have apparently considered and rejected rational arguments against Trump, suggesting that no further rational argument is likely to sway them. The same is true for the issues of bigotry and racism that are clearly relevant with regard to Trump. Most Clinton-supporters and the elite media have assumed that, once Trump's long history of bigotry against minorities and women became well-known, it would be impossible for him to win. The initial response to the Khan controversy reinforced this view. However, recent polling data suggests that this notion is not altogether justified either. As with competence, there is a segment of voters who know about Trump's bigotry, do not agree with it, but are still willing to overlook it. This segment is not necessarily identical with the one willing to overlook his incompetence, but there is probably considerable overlap. In any case, it appears that counting on the good sense of American voters to protect the world from Trump may be too optimistic.

There is probably a core 30-35% of voters who support Trump because they agree with his authoritarian and illiberal ideas, but there seems to be a further X percent that is willing to support him even though they do not agree with his ideology or attitude. What is not clear is how large X is, whether it is growing, and especially whether it will become large enough to produce a Trump victory. Time will tell, but it is instructive to analyze the nature and origin of this phenomenon in greater depth.

A clarification is in order here. Though closely related, the issue raised above is not identical to the questions of why the Trump phenomenon emerged in the first place, or why Trump might win the election. My thoughts on the former were laid out in an earlier piece, and have not changed. The latter issue is usually seen in the context of rising economic inequality, reaction to globalization, the impact of immigration, endless war overseas, and several other very real issues that are stressing the American electorate. In May, Howard Fineman wrote a rather prescient article on why Trump might win. Others such as Sean Trende have argued that there is a hidden white vote that Trump might be able to activate. The focus of the current article is not on all this; it is on why Donald Trump continues to attract voters in spite of being seen as an unqualified bigot and running his campaign totally contrary to conventional wisdom.

One useful way to look at the Trump candidacy is through the lens of anti-fragility, a concept introduced by Nassim Taleb to characterize systems that can exploit disorder to their benefit. It has long been understood that noise and disorder are of great value to complex systems. A well-known example is the driving of biological evolution by random mutation and recombination of genes. Anti-fragility formalizes this idea, and shows how it applies in a broad range of complex systems. It can be argued that all successful complex systems must be anti-fragile in order to thrive rather than being undone by their own complexity. Any successful social movement must therefore meet this criterion, and arguably, the Trump movement does that in spades. So what is it that makes the Trump movement anti-fragile? And will that lead to a Trump victory? This article attempts to address mainly the first question.

The reasons for Trump's relative success can be divided into two categories: Chronic and acute. The former are secular, structural factors that have developed over time, and provide important context; the latter are specific to Trump, his opponent, and his campaign.

The major secular reasons for Trump's success are: 1) The anxieties created by the state of the world, including globalization, war, mass migration, and the mostly unacknowledged effects of climate change and demographics; 2) The post-reality ethos of the current Republican Party; and 3) A closely and deeply divided electorate.

A World of Turmoil

As acknowledged widely, perhaps the single biggest factor fueling the rise of Trump is a rising worldwide anxiety triggered by the pace of change in the world. A lot of this change is economic. With information rapidly replacing land, capital, and even labor, as the basis of power, whole populations find themselves distressed and marginalized. In the developed economies of the West  and especially in the United States  this has manifested itself as a shock to the working classes: Non-college educated workers with blue-collar jobs in the manufacturing, transportation, and service industries. As these jobs become more technical and information-intensive  and are increasingly subject to automation  this very large chunk of the populations has seen its options dwindle. This has been exacerbated by the aggressive destruction of unions by the ascendant Right, though it is doubtful if unions could have withstood such global forces in any case. One very visible consequence of this change has been exploding economic inequality, where a small, more affluent and educated segment of the population has monopolized economic benefits almost wholly for itself, leaving the vast majority worse off today than they were decades ago. Among other things, this has led to large-scale social breakdown, and ratcheted up the level of anxiety. This is also intertwined with rapid demographic changes  the aging of the population, an increase in the proportion of non-white, often non-Christian populations, the accompanying shifts in social norms, and the erosion of traditional values. At the same time, the world is troubled by terrorism, wars in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, drug-related violence in Central America, demographic crises in Asia and Africa, and increasingly extreme climate conditions all over the world. One concrete effect of these calamities has been the triggering of mass migrations, bringing large numbers of foreign migrants into already stressed societies. Add to this the fact that the radical Jihadist movement has ridden the Internet into Western homes, creating understandable panic about domestic radicalization.

Different voting groups have reacted differently to these changes, but a significant segment of white voters in many Western democracies have been unnerved by the change, leading to the emergence of strong nativist movements in Europe, Australia, and now in the United States, where refrains such as I want my country back, America First, Don't tread on me, and Make America great again have become the staples of the Tea Party and the Trump campaign. A hankering for a vanished social order where a white majority dominated economically and culturally is clearly implicit in these attitudes, though it would be a mistake to ascribe all of this mindset to race (see, e.g., Brexit, where Asian-origin voters were a significant factor in passage).

Given this situation, it was only a matter of time before someone like Trump would have emerged in American politics. The Tea Party provided an early glimpse of this, and it is unlikely that it will end with Trump if he loses. The context for more professional, more dangerous nativist demagogues to arise is probably with us for the foreseeable future.

The Republican Alternate Reality Project

Another important long-term factor underlying the rise of Trump is the evolution of the Republican Party in the last several decades. Following the defeat of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 Presidential election, some in the Republican Party embarked on an ambitious plan to create an alternative reality to sustain their conservative ideology in a world driven increasingly by the ideas of science. This project took off following the enactment of civil rights and welfare laws by Democrats and liberal Republicans in the mid-1960s, and truly became supercharged in the Reagan years with the advent of talk radio and the rise of the religious right. The culmination of this alternative reality was the election of George W. Bush in 2000, and the subsequent invasion of Iraq  arguably one of the most world-altering events of the last fifty years. The foundational principles of the Republican Alternate Reality Project, or RARP, are the detachment of belief from evidence, and the manufacturing of conspiracy theories to sustain an evidence-free view of reality. In this funhouse mirror universe, reducing taxes increases revenue and cuts deficits (supply-side  or voodoo  economics), taking away their welfare benefits makes poor people happier, giving more money to the rich alleviates poverty (trickle-down economics), election fraud is rampant in America, and climate change is an elaborate liberal hoax. Notable recent additions to this canon include the idea that President Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim Saul Alinsky acolyte, and the primary function of Planned Parenthood is to harvest fetuses for evil scientists.

In the particular context of the present election, the effect of the RARP is to create an open space for Donald Trump to propagate lie after lie without any pushback from his committed followers. The fact-checking site Politifact did an analysis in late June showing that, of the Trump statements they had fact-checked during the campaign to that point, 60% were false or pants-on-fire (i.e., extremely false), while another 18% were mostly false. Only an incredible 2.5% of Trump statements examined were true and only another 5% were mostly true! In contrast, Hillary Clinton had 13% false or pants-on-fire and 13% true or mostly true. A more recent analysis by Politifact shows that this pattern has continued to this day. A watershed moment was reached on September 16, when Donald Trump declared that he no longer believed in the birther conspiracy about President Obama being born in Kenya  a conspiracy he had promoted assiduously for five years  and immediately replaced it with a new false conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton originating the birther conspiracy! No ordinary politician could have pulled off such a feat of irrational jiu-jitsu, but most of Trump's followers were unperturbed. It turns out that they saw his new position as simply part of a larger conspiracy in which he remained a birther but was denying it for political reasons. This response illustrates how Trump can do no wrong as far as his followers are concerned: If he says what they want, they like him; if he repudiates it, they don't believe him and give him the benefit of the doubt.

The detachment from reality, devaluation of science and reason, mistrust of facts, and glorification of simple-mindedness implicit in RARP has created exactly the conspiratorial, paranoid context that a demagogue can exploit  and Trump is clearly taking advantage.

A 50-50 Country

By a quirk of fate or, more likely, as a consequence of the two-party political system, the United States finds itself divided politically into two almost equal halves. In part for reasons stemming from the two factors described above, these halves have become increasingly hostile to each other, coming to think of their opponents not merely as rivals but as enemies. This means that both major parties start with a voter base of almost 40% that would vote the party line regardless of the candidate. For a candidate like Hillary Clinton, who is in the mainstream of her party, this is useful but not crucial: She would have attracted such a following just based on her policies. For Trump, however, it is a huge bonus. His policies may appeal to only 30-35% of the electorate, but another 5-10% commit to him for the sake of party alone. Prominent among these are such Republican stalwarts as Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senators John McCain and Marco Rubio, and media personalities such as Hugh Hewitt. Only a few conscientious Republicans, such as former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, and Ohio Governor John Kasich, have been able to withstand the pull of party loyalty  and it is not certain whether their consciences will remain resolute until election day or follow the ignominious example of Senator Ted Cruz. These reluctant high-profile Trump loyalists give him not only their votes, but also their credibility. They normalize him for a segment of Republican and independent voters who may not accept Trump's ideas, but give him the benefit of doubt because of a Paul Ryan or a John McCain. These voters may, in turn, pull in others, as Trump is seen as more widely acceptable. The fact that this has not happened more broadly is probably because Trump is a remarkably undisciplined candidate, who repeatedly throws away his advantage because of a lack of self-control. However, a future demagogue may well be able to exploit this effect more successfully

Clearly, the three reasons discussed above do not cover the entire secular context in which the Trump phenomenon has arisen, but they are major factors that explain the context in which his movement is possible. It is, however, more interesting to look at factors that are specific to this particular election at this time.

The Trump Ratchet

Perhaps the most important specific reason why Trumpism is potentially anti-fragile is that it is a cult that has reached critical mass, creating a ratchet effect. Just as a ratchet driven by random back-and-forth forces nevertheless only moves in one direction because it filters out the forces not aligned with its preferred motion, so those who  for whatever reason of the moment  feel like moving to Trump are able to do so, but find it difficult to move back. This could be triggered in individuals by a terrorist incident, a fresh revelation about Clinton, even an internet meme. Such changes in opinion happen all the time, but in this case, they are likelier to be sticky. Cults are notoriously easier to join than to leave. Someone joining a cult is not just making a potentially reversible rational choice; they are pledging allegiance, which can then only be broken with some loss of self-respect. There is a transformation of identity involved in joining a movement such as Trump's. For a normal, cautiously moderate, politically-correct person to join such a movement requires giving up their old persona, revising their values, flinging away the garment of propriety, so to speak, and joining a bacchanal of true-believers. There is seldom a path of return from such abandonment and such commitment. Another factor in this is the sense of belonging, the energy of being part of something larger than oneself, which is a heady draught. Who would want to go back to boring  perhaps even crooked  Hillary Clinton once one has become part of the muscular beast that is the Trump movement?

For Hillary Clinton and the Democrats to overcome this slow but inexorably unidirectional effect, they must find a way to break the ratchet  possibly with a transformational moment in a debate, or an external event. Advertising on TV is unlikely to do it. But if the ratchet is broken, it may well become completely loose, with a surge away from Trump.

Mainstreaming of White Identity Politics

Another important effect fueling Trump's political movement is a dramatic change in the social acceptability of a specifically white identity. Identity politics is nothing new in the American system  especially for minority groups that appeal to group solidarity to overcome their marginalization in society at large. Over the last several decades, identity politics have mattered much more in the Democratic Party, where solid voting blocs such as African-American and LGBTQ voters have been critical to the success of the party. Meanwhile, almost by default, the Republican Party's voting base has become increasingly white, but that has not been seen as an explicit identification  in part because the notion of white identity has been tied closely with toxic ideologies such as white supremacy. Election 2016 has changed that. One of Trump's greatest strategic successes has been to turn his campaign into a vehicle for expressing attitudes, anxieties and grievances that have been building up in certain segments of the white electorate for reasons discussed earlier in this piece, but which could not be expressed in polite company until now. For the first time in recent American politics, an explicitly identifiable and somewhat socially acceptable white group identity has been created at the national level, with Donald Trump as its face. One should expect that some significant number of voters will be drawn in by their solidarity with this group in spite of their rational inclinations. These voters are not racists or bigots, and may not even agree with Trump's policies, but now see voting for him as a matter of their cultural identity  not unlike some African-Americans voting Democratic. And, as they see their friends and family climb onto the Trump bandwagon, it will be difficult for many of them (though not all) to acknowledge that their loved ones have bought into a racist or bigoted mindset. Society and media face the same problem: As Trump attracts more voters, it becomes harder to call their attitudes bigoted without implying that a large fraction of the American electorate is  in Hillary Clinton's accurate, if ill-advised, phrase  a basket of deplorables. Indeed, such a characterization further hardens the attitudes of those who have already transitioned to Trump, and may tip some more over to that side.

Some may claim that this argument applies only to a fraction of the white electorate, and the effect is too small to matter. Indeed, there is some possibility that Trump may get less of the white vote overall than Mitt Romney did. However, even marginal effects are important in a close election. And there are (at least) four concrete reasons for taking this one seriously. First, the effect is concentrated in a specific voting segment rather than spread all over, so it does not average out. Second, as Nate Cohn has shown through analysis of census and voter data, the number of white voters in the U.S. is consistently under-estimated. Third, white working class voters  who represent the largest group switching to Trump  are concentrated disproportionately in important battleground states such as Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and Iowa. And finally, in spite of widespread discounting of the hypothesis, there is likely to be a shy Trump vote  voters who support Trump but are too embarrassed to admit it to others, including to pollsters. This phenomenon was seen in the UK during the recent Brexit referendum, and in some states during the Republican primary. Indeed, there may also be a heedless Trump vote, representing voters who cast a protest vote for him in the belief that he was unlikely to win. This was clearly a factor in the surprising outcome of the Brexit vote.

Anyone But Hillary

An important factor stabilizing the Trump vote is that the alternative  Hillary Clinton  has been rendered utterly unacceptable to a large fraction of voters. This is partly because of increasingly virulent partisanship in a divided electorate, but this election is a special case in this regard because of who the Democratic candidate is.

As mentioned earlier, objective fact-checkers have shown that Hillary Clinton is exceptionally truthful in her political statements while Trump is spectacularly untruthful. Yet polls often suggest that Trump is seen as more honest and transparent than Clinton, and just as untrustworthy! This clearly makes it much easier for Trump to peddle negative ideas about Clinton without much skepticism from the voters. But why does this situation exist in the first place? The answer lies partly in latent sexism, but mainly in history and historical amnesia.

An important activity of the right-wing in the US for the last quarter century has been the systematic and inexorable devaluation of all things Clinton. Beginning with the bogus Whitewater scandal and running through all the years of Bill Clinton's presidency, what Hillary Clinton famously called a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (VRWC) ginned up one fake scandal after another  until Bill Clinton obliged with a real one! The purpose was clearly to make him a failed President, but his political talent and good fortune combined to thwart that. His wife, unfortunately, enjoys neither the political talent nor the good fortune. And she is a woman trying to make her way in a Man's world. As a result, she faces intense scrutiny for things that most politicians do and are never challenged on. Her handling of the attack in Benghazi in 2012 has become yet another fake scandal dogging her, as has her use of a private email server and her involvement in her husband's charitable foundation. Her Republican opponents have created an entire cottage industry of harassing her while paying no heed to equally  or more  egregious things in their own ranks. Unfortunately  though understandably  Hillary Clinton has responded to this decades-long persecution by becoming ever more insular, which then creates space for yet more suspicion. In particular, the Republican witch-hunt on Benghazi and the partly self-inflicted wound of the email server have been key factors in driving Clinton's negatives.

But systematic persecution by the Right and the email scandal are insufficient to explain Hillary Clinton's image problem. A significant share of the blame lies with the Left. For twenty consecutive years, Hillary Clinton has been the most admired woman in America, based on Gallup's polling. When she left her position as Secretary of State in January 2013, her personal approval rating stood at a spectacular 58%. Even as late as November 2014, she was at 50%. Based on the excellent interactive chart at Huffington Post's Pollster, the graphs for approval and disapproval crossed in April 2015, and since then have diverged rapidly to where now her approval stands at 42%, with 56% disapproving. What happened? Well, she started her primary campaign against progressive icon Bernie Sanders. The grueling year-long campaign that followed played a decisive role in tarnishing Hillary Clinton's image among liberals, and especially young voters. Senator Sanders famously  and graciously  refused to make her email server an issue in the campaign, but then focused single-mindedly on pushing the idea that Clinton was a stooge of the wealthy and the privileged. Though he never used Trump's currently favored term  Crooked Hillary  he often used words such as crooked and dishonest in association with her, thus laying the groundwork for Trump's calumny. His supporters were considerably less restrained. Today, as Sanders tries to help elect Clinton, many among his followers have not forgotten their champion's original characterization of her. Indeed, a significant fraction of Sanders voters are not supporting Clinton, but are either planning to vote third party or even supporting Trump as the lesser evil! The problem is especially acute among young millennial voters. While they are by far the most pro-Clinton age group, they are not supporting her at levels they did with Obama, with more than a third planning to vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.

All these factors  right-wing propaganda, progressive suspicions, and Hillary Clinton's own (relatively minor) missteps  combine to make Trump's task of casting her as a crook much easier than it ought to be based on facts alone. In the hothouse of all the Clinton conspiracy theories, he is now trying to add new false ones about her health, her part in promoting birtherism, and mysterious ties to Islamists. And, given Clinton's situation, he may succeed with many voters.

Media Exploitation

One final important factor for Trump's strength also deserves mention  and has, indeed, been much discussed of late: His implicit normalization by a media unprepared for Trump's unusual candidacy. Outside the swamps of ideological media such as talk radio, journalistic practice has appropriately regarded fairness and objectivity as virtues. One way these virtues are manifested in reporting is to treat rival candidates with an equal presumption of integrity, and trying to get both sides of every story. This works, however, only if the presumption is at least approximately true  or even when it is equally untrue on both sides. All politicians dissemble, exaggerate and spin, but there are unstated limits for such things. Beginning with the 2000 George W. Bush campaign, the Republicans made a systematic effort to breach these limits, using the power of the RARP and the VRWC to create a fictitious narrative to the benefit of Bush. A White House aide  likely Karl Rove  famously derided the reality-based community and said We create our own reality. This effort continued throughout the Bush years, and became supercharged in the Obama years to create the Tea Party: Birtherism is only its most prominent triumph. However, Trump has taken it to a new level, completely upending media convention. The press is used to searching for lies buried in mundanely true assertions, and then highlighting them. All of its investigative techniques are geared to this goal. But in Trump's case, 70% plus of his assertions are demonstrably false, making truth the more elusive entity! For more than a year, the media has been reluctant to call him out on this, since doing so would make it look biased in favor of Clinton, who fibs far less. The results has been a narrative of false equivalence, where both candidates are seen as equally dishonest and Trump is given a pass on a large fraction of his lies. The story of the Trump Foundation and the Clinton Family Foundation (CFF) is an example. The latter has done excellent humanitarian work all over the world for years. And, like all institutions that rely on glamor and celebrity to raise funds, it has indulged in some harmless wink-and-nod exploitation of personal connections. In contrast, as the Washington Post's David Fahrenthold has shown through outstanding reporting, the Trump Foundation appears mainly to be a vehicle for bilking money from donors to Donald Trump's personal benefit. Yet, for weeks in August and early September, the media was full of negative reports on the CFF, and left the Trump Foundation story to languish. However, a sea-change seems to have occurred since Trump pulled a humiliating bait-and-switch on the press with his publicity stunt renouncing birtherism. A page was finally turned, and elite media made the fateful decision to begin calling out Trump's falsehoods for what they were: Lies. The effects of this decision remain to be seen, though polling suggests that, coincidentally, Trump has begun to lose ground since then. But he is currently advised by two master propagandists in Roger Ailes  recently fired from Fox News  and Steve Bannon, the editor of the Alt-Right propaganda organ, Breitbart, who has been termed the most dangerous political operative in America. It would be a mistake to think that the use of mass dissembling as a weapon by the Trump campaign has ended.

Looking Ahead

So, one may ask: Given all these factors, is Trump fated to win? Some have said yes based on fundamental indicators. Polling data, in contrast, suggests that Trump's path remains difficult. But this is a sui generis election. Data may be valid  and it usually is  but the uncertainty in interpreting data is extremely high in this election year. We have been conditioned to believe that the denizens of Western democracies are rational agents in their economics and politics, and that their choices can be predicted  at least in the aggregate  by well-founded historical analysis based on the interests and measured preferences of specific demographic groups. As implied above, this is likely to be a fool's errand in Election 2016. In fact, neither homo economicus nor homo politicus are especially rational to begin with, and their choices are ruled far more by gut feeling, intuition, and belief than by cold, hard analysis. Traditional models rely on the averaging out of quirky choices, but complex systems can self-organize into states where  as illustrated by the ratchet metaphor  things do not average out. This article has argued that the Trump movement is such a phenomenon. Barring a major event, its strength is likely to persist and grow with every passing day. It appears that the Clinton campaign realizes this, and has focused their strategy on slowing Trump's growth through aggressively negative advertising rather than investing in improving her currently dismal image. In a complex, nonlinear, and fundamentally unpredictable system, this is a rather risky strategy, but it is understandable why they are doing it.

Poll after poll has shown that voters do not think Trump has the temperament or experience to be Commander-in-Chief, and large segments of the population see him as dangerous. And yet, Clinton cannot close the deal. By now, it is clear that a big factor in this is her perceived lack of trustworthiness, which persists in spite of all objective evidence. Whichever candidate can overcome their critical liability  dishonesty for Clinton or lack of temperament for Trump  is likely to surge ahead. Arguably, Trump has an easier task on this, since temperament can be communicated by style, whereas establishing honesty requires a longer process  especially when evidence has ceased to matter. Notably, Trump has not been able to accomplish his easier task, but the upcoming debates provide him a great opportunity. If he can use them to convince another 10 or 15 percent of voters that they can feel comfortable with him as President, he will be difficult to stop. A necessary  though not sufficient condition  for Clinton's success is to keep Trump from accomplishing this. Ultimately, the Clinton campaign's approach is to keep Trump's negatives high while relying on the Obama model  micro-targeting of voters, great attention to early voting, charismatic surrogates, and a formidable ground game  to drive the votes. It remains to be seen whether such a data-driven, rational strategy can overcome the self-organized avalanche that is the Trump candidacy.

Ironically, Clinton's best hope may lie with the same factors that are currently fueling Trump's growth: A complex, nonlinear, fundamentally unpredictable voter dynamics that can lead not just to explosive growth but also to sudden, catastrophic failure. Complex systems thrive on anti-fragility, but no system is anti-fragile to all disruption. Anti-fragile systems succeed by tuning their mechanisms to the most fertile disorder available in their environment, essentially purchasing the ability to exploit the prevalent disorder at the price of greater fragility to rarer types of disruptions. However, if their environment changes in ways that increase the likelihood of these rare disruptions, the system can be exquisitely vulnerable. There are many exogenous sources of disruption in this campaign, including third party candidates, the daily possibility of terrorist incidents, police shootings, new revelations by hackers, candidate gaffes, and who knows what else that is ripening in the current media-culture hothouse. But if the Clinton campaign were more imaginative, they might look more explicitly to change the political context in ways that turn Trump's assets into liabilities. But imagination may be a bridge too far for a campaign built as a machine. So far, it is only Trump who has managed to do this to some degree by delegitimizing Clinton's experience as Secretary of State and the work of the Clinton Foundation.

This article is being published on the day of the first Presidential debate, and all its analysis may be superseded in a few hours by either candidate's performance. But the real point of this piece goes beyond the election itself. Win or lose, the grotesque candidacy of Donald Trump has changed America, bringing to a boil things that have been bubbling deep within American society, and exposing how detached from reality and incapable of critical thinking a large part of the American electorate has become. Ultimately, Trump too is just a symptom, a creation of blind forces much greater than himself. Even if he falls short in his quest for power, the forces that created him may be with us for a long time. A more competent Trump will then arise and accomplish what he could not. And if he wins this time, the first to suffer will be those who were his most ardent supporters.

Or it could be that this is the last gasp of the old world forces that propel Trump's cause, and that his defeat  or even his victory  may usher in a transformation of American society, finally moving us out of the stale legacy of the Baby Boomers, and into the fresh, magical reality of the Millennials. OMG!
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The annual five-day weekend featuring Santa Fe restaurants and world-class wineries.

The Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta is an annual five-day weekend of events featuring the culinary artistry found in Santa Fe, New Mexicos many excellent restaurants coupled with the sophistication and wines of national wineries.

By bringing 90 national wineries to Santa Fe to partner with 75 of Santa Fes best restaurants, a five day schedule of food and wine events is created featuring cooking demos, wine seminars, winery luncheons and dinners. The weekend culminates with the Grand Tasting at the Santa Fe Opera where all 75 participating Santa Fe restaurants and all 90 wineries serve samples of their best food and wine.

One event, The SFWC Fiesta Live Auction raises money to sponsor Santa Fe restaurant community events. Proceeds from the live auction help sponsor culinary classes such as restaurant service classes, wine and cooking classes. As well the Live Auction helps sponsor other community events involving our restaurants and chefs such as Santa Fes Cooking with Kids program and Santa Fe Restaurant Week.

By reinvesting resources and education into the Santa Fe restaurant community, we serve our mission of the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta  keeping Santa Fe on the map as a world-class culinary destination.

Thank you to all the sponsors, local restaurants and wineries who help to make this happen. And a great thank you to all the food and wine enthusiasts who keep returning to Santa Fe supporting our great restaurants!
Fact-based market research, penetrating industry insights and validated forecasts to help you make better decisions for a stronger future

Latest Research on Aerospace Plastics Market Analysis, Market Size, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, and Forecasts, 2016 to 2024

The global aerospace plastics market was valued at approximately 57 kilotons in 2014 and it is projected to grow at an approximate CAGR of over 10% over the forecast period of 2016 to 2024. Government regulations coupled with strong financial support are expected to remain a key driving factor for market growth over the forecast period.

Browse Report summary and TOC of Aerospace Plastics Market@

https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-report/aerospace-plastics-industry/

The market is expected to be driven by factors such as growing aviation sector, substitute for aluminum and steel and easy adoption in aircraft design. Aviation sector is expected to witness a significant growth in the Middle East countries such as Dubai, Qatar, and Saudi.

Restraints in the aerospace plastic market are owing to high fabrication cost, toxicity issues, and safety related issues. Severe regulations for petro based products and growing carbon fibers are expected to restrict the availability of high grade plastics.

A wide range of polymers is used in aerospace plastics such as poly ether ether ketone (PEEK), poly ether ketone ketone (PEKK), poly methyl metha crylate (PMMA).

PEKK market was valued approximately at USD 74.5 million in 2014 and this polymer possesses high mechanical load and high glass transition temperature. PEKK polymers are used in the empennage. PEEK operating temperature goes up to 450 F.

Related Reports @

Synthetic And Bio Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) Market

Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA) Market

PMMA market was valued approximately at USD 168 million in 2014 and this polymer possesses long term mechanical performance along with weather, temperature, and chemicals. PMMA polymers are used in cockpit and flight decks. PMMA polymers are finding wide application scope in windows of flight decks and cockpits because of its light weight properties.

North America is expected to witness a significant growth of 3% in terms of traffic and capacity over the forecast period. Defense aircraft and commercial aircraft market are also increasing demand for the aerospace industry. In 2014, the overall revenue of aerospace plastic industry has contributed over 36% in this region.

Asia Pacific is also anticipated to have significant growth over the forecast period owing to increase the number of suppliers and the government supports. In 2014, the overall revenue of aerospace plastic industry has contributed over 9% in this region.

The growth of the aviation sector is expected to drive the market in the Middle East and African countries. New development and easy adoption of aircraft design technologies are increasing the demand in this region.

Some of the key players in the market include Mitsubishi Rayon Heavy Industries Limited, Toray Carbon Fibers, Hexcel Corporation, Toho Tenax Co. Ltd., Hyosung Corporation, Cytec Industries Inc., Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), HITCO Carbon Composites, Zoltek Companies Inc., Evonik Industries AG, Tech Tool Plastic Inc., and Kaman Aerospace Corporation.

Leading market player Zodiac Aerospace and Hexcel Corporation coupled together and implemented L3 passenger seats for airline industry in 2014.

Browse Related Category Reports @

https://www.hexaresearch.com/research-category/plastics-polymers-and-resins-industry

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Hexa Research is a market research and consulting organization, offering industry reports, custom research and consulting services to a host of key industries across the globe. We offer comprehensive business intelligence in the form of industry reports which help our clients obtain clarity about their business environment and enable them to undertake strategic growth initiatives.

More information @ www.hexaresearch.com

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Peter Craig literally wrote the book on accounting for media publishing companies, so when NSBN LLP CPAs & Advisors acquired his practice in May, it was primed to reach a sector that was brand-new to the 63-year-old firm.

Bay Sherman & Craig, Craigs practice with three other partners who also joined NSBN, then gained an opportunity to bring its specialized expertise to the even bigger media companies a top regional firm like NSBN could attract.

At the moment, Los Angeles-based NSBNs newly acquired media publishing clients are only a small fraction of the firms more than 8,000 clients across various industries, but managing partner Ken Miles plans to expand that practice with the same growth strategies the firm has always employed.

Those include the three traditional ways of client growth, ongoing marketing efforts, and, of course, the mergers and acquisitions route that is ever-so-popular in this industry today.

Ubiquity aside, NSBN takes a thoughtful approach to its M&A activity. When we do acquisitions or mergers, we look for complementary services; if possible, picking up an area we dont currently have, Miles said.

That was certainly the case when acquiring Bay Sherman & Craig, which not only brought in a new industry focus, but the expertise of partner Peter Craig, who has decades of experience consulting for the media publishing and trade show industries, authoring books like Accounting & Finance for Integrated Media Publishing Companies.

Craigs leadership is especially valuable in navigating what both he and Miles acknowledge to be a challenging industry. Media publishing is in such a constant state of fluctuation, in fact, that even the terms to describe it have changed over the years.

Specifically, the area Craig works in used to be defined as magazine consulting, but now falls under the wider umbrella of media consulting. He works with companies that cater to consumer and business-to-business media, trade shows and digital media, but have expanded their revenue models to attract advertisers that are no longer only paying for traditional campaigns. Some media companies have found success expanding into events and trade shows, and in offering new online tools and platforms that leverage research and data, which advertisers find especially valuable. Some, on the other hand, have not  leading to a highly transactional environment that almost mirrors the accounting professions.

Craig and his practice consult on these mergers and acquisitions, with the successful consolidations paralleling NSBNs approach.

There continue to be consolidations where larger companies pick up pieces, the same way NSBN is looking to  the media business does the same thing. They want to add platforms so its either make or buy  it comes down to fit and price. Thats probably true in every industry  adding pieces that ultimately complement what theyre doing.

Craig advises against purchases based on popularity or economies of scale.

Publishing companies that buy anything they think is popular regardless of field of interest, I think is a very, very risky strategy, he explained, noting that in this industry, Successful mergers, in terms of number, are less than 50 percent. Sometimes its the fit, sometimes its management, or a misunderstanding of what they are acquiring  the expectations are much too great.

The key, then, is in planning, which is where NSBN comes in to help.

Craigs team conducts operations reviews that delve into the internal workings of a company. Together with experts in circulation, editorial and printing, NSBN evaluates where the company can improve. In nearly a dozen of these reviews over the years, Craig has worked with places like the Mayo Clinic to track the circulation of its numerous publications and make recommendations for systematic change. These clients are also provided with more traditional tax and audit services, especially with the expanded resources of NSBNs more than 100 members and 22 partners. Hot areas of work for this industry, specifically, include revenue recognition.

With the merger, we were given the opportunity to reach out to companies that we were [once] too small to handle their work, Craig shared. A few [prospective clients], some local, we [can] go back to now that we have more resources, people, and more expertise in audit and taxes.

Craig envisions continuing the business development techniques that grew his firm pre-merger, like speaking engagements and industry functions, but will undoubtedly benefit from NSBNs more wide-ranging plan.

We are always looking for opportunities to grow and expand to areas where we dont have a presence, Miles explained. In particular, we are on the lookout to implement a specialty in the areas of litigation support and forensic accounting. Its an area in relatively high demand that we currently dont serve, and we have to outsource that.

Instead of referring that potentially lucrative business, then, NSBN is looking to bring it in-house. The firm is also in the early stages of another acquisition, which, if all goes well, it expects to close late next year.

Much like the successful companies composing the firms new client base, NSBN recognizes the need to evolve or die.

Our general initiative, or strategy, is to continue to grow, Miles shared. If we dont continue to grow, we shrink, and if we shrink, that becomes a significant problem.

AT A GLANCE

Firm: NSBN LLP CPAs & Advisors

Headquarters: Los Angeles

Managing partner: Ken Miles

No. of partners/staff: 22/100

Year founded: 1953
Bruce Duckworth, principal at Turner Duckworth starts his year as D&AD President and with this new beginning, is a renewed focus on the power and importance of design.

Each year D&AD appoints a President from the Board of Trustees to lead the charge and shape the conversations for the year ahead. The job of the President is to galvanise the creative communities and bring them together to inspire and celebrate the finest in design and advertising. With D&AD Festival returning for a second year in 2017 as well as an international roster of Presidents Lectures, Bruce is sure to have his hands full, however he still wants to use this year to set an agenda of his own.

Bruce wants to raise the profile of designers, to elevate great design and to strengthen the relationship between D&AD and the design community. To give design a louder voice, whilst still bringing all the different communities within D&AD together under one roof.

Bruce explains how he plans to achieve this T his year Id like to strengthen the relationship between D&AD and the design community. To bring the design community back into D&AD. And to give design a louder voice."

"How? We need to make D&AD a hub for our creative community. A place where the different creatives come together. One of the things I love about D&AD are the conversations I have with people from other disciplines, from different industries, people with different ways of seeing things. I find it energising, inspiring, and creative.

We have to work together, and the best creative work comes about when we do work together, from established greats to people embarking on a creative career, that's where the magic is. So we have to get the different communities within D&AD talking, design and advertising, sharing ideas. Embracing the & in D&AD.

All this year we will be talking about design. The Festival that was the most inspirational thing Ive ever been to will be even bigger and better than last year, bringing people together and sharing ideas on how to shape our future. The Presidents lectures will focus on how design excellence is central to business success, and weve got some fantastic names booked. (Fingers crossed).

Theres a real opportunity to help creative practitioners stay in control, and lead business through creativity, not accountancy. We need to help creative people become better business people. There are lots of small brilliant companies that would love to be bigger brilliant companies, but dont know how to get there. So well be looking at a program of professional development to help creative people who run companies to understand business better and to take creative excellence to more people.

And by educating people about the opportunities that exist within the creative industry, and with exciting programmes like D&AD New Blood Shift, I want to help D&AD to continue to bring new kinds of people into the industry. New kinds of people with new ideas, which is so vital for us all. 

To see Bruces manifesto for the year, click here

In addition to the new President, there have been eight new creatives elected to sit on the D&AD Board of Trustees:

 Alexandra Taylor - Consultant Head of Art, Mrs. McGuinty

 Bruno Maag - Chairman, Dalton Maag

 Graham Shearsby - Chief Creative Officer, Design Bridge

 L.A. Ronayne - Creative Director, Havas London

 Kath Tudball - Design Director, The Partners

 Paco Conde - Group Creative Director, BBH London

 Steve Spence - Lecturer, London College of Communication

 Thomas Manning - Junior Creative, Havas London (New Blood Trustee)

The D&AD Board of Trustees represent the full breadth of the advertising, design and digital industries. As a member-run organisation, the elected board are responsible for the overall direction of D&AD, its programmes and where its money is spent. Any awarded member of D&AD is eligible to stand for election to the Board of Trustees, which is voted on by D&AD Awarded and Full members. Each elected trustee serves a term of three years and New Blood Trustees serve for a year.

Tim Lindsay, Chief Executive, D&AD commented, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Bruce who brings with him experience from a stellar career in the design industry. It comes as no surprise that he has big plans to bring the D&AD design community closer together and we are excited to see how his leadership will help to guide and shape D&AD over the coming year.

September always brings change here at D&AD but this whole year has been one full of new beginnings: the first ever D&AD Festival, the launch of New Blood Shift and we are days away from the inaugural D&AD Impact Awards. I'd like to thank Andy Sandoz on behalf of all my colleagues at D&AD and the Board of Trustees for his fantastic commitment over five years culminating in a great Presidential year.

With an international calendar of events, some big plans for D&AD Festival, and some ambitious plans for our New Blood programme its sure to be another fantastic year.
ET Now, the English business news channel from Times Network, is beefing up its presence amongst all stakeholders through various B2B and B2C initiatives. Be it through their quirky advertising campaign at Goafest 2016 or the latest campaign, Dealing Room Heroes, the channel is on its way to secure a powerful and firm positioning as one-stop business news destination.

Earlier this month, ET Now launched Market Masters, an Investor Welfare Initiative of the channel. Market Masters is a series of on-ground seminars that enable participants to interact with leading market experts and learn from their outlook on the markets. The experts share their perspective on the prevalent market conditions and how to formulate simple yet effective portfolio strategies to grow their wealth.

Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak AMC, who played an integral role in guiding investors, said, This initiative is all about educating and enlightening retail investors on stock markets. ET Now has done a fabulous job to launch this initiative as this will only help educate investors and guide them to invest wisely. ET Now is a premier business news channel and whenever we talk about markets, stocks, etc., the first name that comes to mind is ET Now.

The event was attended by over 400 investors and Shah addressed various investor queries, giving them investment advice and guided them on how to pick the right stocks and sectors. He also stated that investing isnt a passive game and that one should be an active investor and not a lazy investor.

Scheduled to be held at all major metros across the country, ET Now has invited its viewers to write in to the channel, expressing their interest to attend the next seminar or host the seminar in their city.

In conversation with Adgully, Shantanu Gangane, Head of Marketing  Times Now, ET Now, Magicbricks Now & Zoom at Times Network, speaks at length about the various investor welfare initiatives lined up by ET Now. Excerpts:

How and why did you come up with the Market Masters initiative?

As a leader in the English business news channels, its our responsibility to drive initiatives that pioneer change in society and help the nation at large. We look at macro economy and drive initiatives like Market Masters that encourage disciplined investing. These initiatives are an amplification of ET Nows investor welfare philosophy, which involves creating intelligent and well-informed investors. Our aim is to grow wealth and help the economy boom.

What are the other Investor Welfare initiatives that ET Now has?

We have undertaken a host of investor welfare initiatives like NSE Nivesh India, BSE Day, Kem Cho Gujarat and the recently concluded Kotak SIP Day, to name a few. All of these have been immensely successful and reflected in tremendous on-ground participation and channel viewership. It is this overwhelming response from the audience that keeps us encouraged and pilot initiatives with strong content that can make a huge impact.

In which other cities will you be carrying out the Market Masters initiative?

We will be aggressively expanding footprint across the eight metros. The target will be to cover at least one market per month going forward from here. We started the camp at Ghatkopar and we plan to host such camps across India from wherever our viewers reach out to us. We will give viewers the option to write to us and invite us to organise Market Masters in their city. ET Now looks forward in getting this initiative to more and more places across the country.

Have you partnered with any brands for the Market Masters initiative? If so, could you throw some light on the structure of partnerships?

We have not partnered with any brands in the inaugural run, but were very much open to partner with like-minded brands for sponsorships/ association with this property. Considering we have a vast reach via our network channels and we engage with viewers across 16 countries, all over the globe, the property holds several opportunities for brands willing to get on-board. Owing to the tremendous potential and outreach of Market Masters, amongst the right audience, we are sure to collaborate with large brands that support our vision, in the near future.

How do you conceptualise an initiative which is mass centric? What are the criteria that you have in mind?

We keep investors and industry welfare at the core of whatever we do. As a brand and an important constituent of the business ecosystem, we wish to encourage investing and promote financial participation at ground level. We are happy to take events which are mass-centric and benefit as many people as we can. The core criteria to steer such initiatives is that it should add value to the end users/beneficiaries of our initiatives.
The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands report, released on September 21, 2016, not only ranks the brands in terms of their value, but also sheds light on the growth in popularity for locally grown Indian brands, changing consumer perceptions about brands, narrowing of the gap between rural and urban India, the impact of growing mobile and internet penetration, and more.

To know more about the reports implications for brands, the intricacies of brand valuation, etc., Adgully caught up with CVL Srinivas, CEO - South Asia at GroupM. Excerpts:

How can valuation of a brand deliver high-impact returns to key stakeholders?

BrandZ empirically proves that corporates who invest in long term brand building are the ones who outperform the market. In India, over the past two years if one were to track a portfolio of BrandZ versus the market, it is +11 per cent growth (for BrandZ portfolio) versus an almost 4 per cent decline for the market during the same period. The BrandZ report is a treasure trove of information, coupled with valuable insights that can help marketers deliver high impact returns to stakeholders.

In a dynamic consumer landscape, what kind of strategies are brands forging to ensure recall as well as impact their valuation?

In a dynamic consumer landscape, brands need to have a sustained presence by better integrating owned assets, paid media and earned media. In many cases, brand communication is too siloed. There are multiple messages and tactics that pull the brand in different directions. Brands that have an integrated approach linking vision to strategy and execution have consistently fared better. This is clearly a challenge today for various reasons. Brand owners have created many silos within their own organisations. They also end up dealing with multiple partner agencies. In the urge to work with super specialists, they many times end up over-optimising one part of the value chain and terribly under-optimise most other parts. There needs to be a lot of simplification on both sides (clients and agencies) to drive better integration. This is clearly the starting point. From a brand marketing standpoint, as the report shows, brands that are meaningful, differentiated and salient are the ones that build more value in the long term. And the one big shift that has happened in the recent past is the need for brands to be adaptive to the changing environment.

Given todays business ecosystem, what are the criteria for determining brand valuation?

The BrandZ ranking is the first and only ranking that combines solid primary research  brand equity data (from our proprietary BrandZ database) that determines a brands contribution to business value and its future growth prospects  with publicly available financial data. In addition, it takes into account the opinions of the consumers who actually invest in brands. This combination of financial and consumer data makes BrandZ unique and a very valuable input for marketers and agencies.

In what ways is national pride influencing the growth of local brands? How prevalent is this factor?

Beyond a point consumers dont really look for where a brand is coming from. As long as it stays meaningful, is differentiated and delivers value, consumers stay. In India, we have seen a lot of MNC brands do very well since they have successfully adapted to the local culture. We also have a strong line-up of local brands, many of whom are generic to their categories. So, unlike many markets that are either skewed to global or local brands, we have a good mix. We do not have too many Indian brands that have gone on to become global winners. Thats one area we hope will see a change in the coming five years.
The award winning spree for Maxus continues as it wins the Social Media Agency of the year at the Big Bang Awards 2016 (constituted by Ad Club Bangalore) today. Tata Sky was named Client of the year for its innovative 13 episodes TVC campaign called Daily Dillagi.

An elated Maxus South Asia Managing Director Kartik Sharma commenting on the win said, We are ecstatic about the win! This is quantified effort put in by the team. Maxus has made strong and consisted efforts to become future ready in a digitally charged competitive ecosystem. We at Maxus are committed to approach planning and investments in an integrated manner with deep emphasis on innovative media concepts that brings digital media, content and data together. These wins ratifies our belief in being the pioneers in investing behind futuristic solutions such as marketing command centre (MESH) which helps us continually get great insights into consumers and help us use the same in our communication solutions. This award win also proves beyond doubt the undying spirit of wanting to deliver the best for our clients always and keeping them at the core of our engagement at all times.

We are excited and humbled that Tata Sky has also won the client of the year award. A lot of things have gone into the relationship: Shaping brands for 10 years, launching new products, inventing new practices that are born off more challenges, added Sharma.
Keynote is a crucible of thoughts, ideas and vision. Keynote presents thought-provoking talks and discussions by distinguished leaders and change makers of national and international repute. It is a congregation of policy makers, innovators, social scientists to initiate passionate discussions around the themes covering crucial issues with the participation of all the stakeholders. It acts as a catalyst in disseminating the ideas and discourse meant to pave a way for impacts.

Patrika group presenting its keynote Idea Fest 2016 in the heartland of India  Raipur. A conclave featuring some of the eminent personalities from diverse fields.

The Theme: Happiness. Some of the prominent speakers will share their thoughts to live a happy life.

KEYNOTE 2016- HAPPY CILLAGES

City and Villages ie CILLAGES need to be HAPPY BUT HOW? In the backdrop of HAPPINESS Ministry announced by MP Govt, discussing how to achieve, measure and multiply happiness and what all need to be focussed. Governance, City/Village planning, Global Citizenry, Community Drives/ Engagement, IT enabled Services, Inclusiveness, Science and Spiritual Growth, Cultural Roots, Liberty and Choices etc as indicators. We would have range of speakers for Solo Speech, Panel Discussions and Demonstration.

KEY NOTE AGENDA:

Its time for continuous review and cautious watch over functioning of democracy and issues related to society and nation. There will be sessions to talk about the governance issues, discussions on environment and growth, mining and tribal issues, sports, gender spaces and some uncommon noble deeds and some controversial streaks also. Its a KEYNOTE by each speaker, as they stand tall in their respective field of work and speak with authority or sense of responsibility. Day 1 is tone setting and off beat, while Day 2 is more about serious deliberations along with powerful stories which must be heard to help us understand our own selves better.

KEY NOTE SPEAKERS:

Dr Raman Singh, Ajit Jogi, Manish Tiwari, Medha Patkar, Ashok Bhagat, Navin Jindal, Achyuta Samantha, DM Awasthi, Prabhakar Gwal, Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, Jagdish Changiram Kaliraman, Ravindra Upadhyay, Bela Bhatia, Prof Lalji Singh, Dr Ashok Pangariya, Ayyappa Masagi, Joshi Sisters, Arvind Netam, Raghav Chadda, Soumya Dutta, Arvind Netam, Saba Anjum, Rajesh Chauhan, Rustam Sarang, Dr Veena Sahajwalla, Shishir Bajoriai, Prahalad Roy Goenka, Ramesh Agarwal, Rana Sengupta, Sandip Sen, Harshvardhan, Saiyami Kher

The 5th edition of Keynote was held at Jaipur and Bhopal. The current one will be held in Raipur on the occasion of 7th foundation day of Patrika in Chattisgarh.

Date: 25th September 2016; Time- 10:30am to 5:30pm

Date: 26th September 2016; Time- 11:00am to 2:00pm

Venue: Taj Gateway, Raipur, Chattisgarh
BAE Systems Hagglunds has signed an agreement with the Danish government to provide systems integration, capability upgrades and support for long-term sustainment of its fleet of 44 CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, as well as for BV206 all-terrain vehicles.





The agreement with the Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) also includes prototyping, government-furnished equipment integration, systems safety, and maintenance, repairs, and overhaul.



This is a strategically important contract that further underpins good relations with the Danish customer, said Peter Nygren, director of business development at BAE Systems Hagglunds. We recognize the importance of this contract to our Danish customer and we are looking forward to meeting our commitments.



The contract includes comprehensive industrial cooperation between BAE Systems and industrial partners in Denmark. BAE Systems industrial solution provides a foundation for job creation, potential technology transfer and investment, paving the way for economic development and national growth. Since 2009 the companys industrial activity has contributed close to 300M to the Danish economy as part of the commitment to use Danish companies to support the CV90 fleet.



This agreement with BAE Systems Hagglunds is a very important milestone for DALO and the Danish Army, said Colonel Anders Maerkedahl Pedersen, head of Land Division at DALO. With this partnership, we will sustain and develop these highly advanced platforms during the many years to come.



The CV90 provides interoperability, high tactical and strategic mobility, air defence, anti-tank capability, and high survivability and lethality in any terrain or tactical environment. BAE Systems Hagglunds has devoted more than 4.5 million engineering hours in the development of and systems integration on the CV90 family of tracked combat vehicles.



CV90 has successfully operated worldwide, including in United Nations and NATO missions. There are nine CV90 variants in service, with more than 1,280 vehicles operated by seven European countries, including four NATO members. The latest variant is under production for Norway.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) today announced the successful launch of AlSat-1B, a medium resolution Earth observation satellite for ASAL, the Algerian Space Agency.





AlSat-1B is a small satellite with a mass of 100kg and was launched into a 670km sun-synchronous orbit on board the PSLV launch vehicle from the Sriharikota launch site in India on 26 September at UTC/GMT 03.44.



Following separation from the launch vehicle, SSTL and ASAL are pleased to confirm successful contact was made with AlSat-1B via SSTLs ground station in Svalbard, and all initial system checks are nominal. A joint team of SSTL and ASAL engineers are undertaking commissioning of the spacecraft from SSTLs Spacecraft Operations Centre in Guildford, UK. After commissioning is complete, daily satellite operations and data downloads will be undertaken from ASALs Satellite Design Centre at Oran in Algeria.



AlSat-1B is a collaborative mission between SSTL and ASAL and in September 2015 the spacecraft was shipped to Algeria for a six month period of assembly, systems integration and imager testing at ASALs facilities. Under the joint development programme, eighteen engineers from ASAL have worked alongside SSTL engineers on the mission.



AlSat-1B is based on the SSTL-100 platform, and flies a 24m multispectral imager and a 12m panchromatic imager delivering images with a swath width of 140km. The satellite carries two High Speed Data Recorders and two Flash Mass Memory Units capable of recording, managing and storing image data for high speed downlink via S-Band and X-Band transmitters.



ASAL will process the earth observation data from AlSat-1B for agricultural and resource monitoring, disaster management, land use mapping and urban planning.



AlSat-1B will join the Disaster Monitoring Constellation, a unique earth observation constellation which delivers high frequency commercial imaging of the globe, and also provides free satellite imagery for humanitarian use within the International Charter: Space & Major Disasters. AlSat-1B provides continuity from Algerias first satellite, AlSat-1A, a 32m multispectral Earth observation satellite which was launched in 2002 and was also designed and manufactured by SSTL.



AlSat Nano, a cubesat designed and manufactured by the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey, shared the ride to orbit. It will deliver an educational and technology demonstration joint space mission for the UK Space Agency and Algerian Space Agency (ASAL).
AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania, a member of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies serving central and northwestern Pennsylvania, is one of the highest-rated Medicaid health plans in Pennsylvania, and one of the highest-rated health insurance plans in the nation, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurances (NCQAs) Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2016  2017. AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania was one of only 15 Medicaid plans in the nation to receive a rating of 4.5 out of 5 or higher.

We meet our members where they live and help ensure they have access to critical health care services, which improves not only health outcomes, but overall quality of life, said Marge Angello, market president for AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania. It is a privilege to provide the populations we serve with the tools they need to be healthy and stay well. To be able to say we offer exceptional Medicaid managed care for Pennsylvanians most in need is an honor, and is a testament to our commitment to the members and communities we serve.

AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania earned its 4.5 out of 5 rating based on strong results from the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), a tool that measures performance on important dimensions of care and service, as well as the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, which measures member satisfaction with their overall health care experience.

We are proud to serve our members in central and northwestern Pennsylvania, providing them with access to the quality care and services they deserve, said Lori McNew, director of quality management for AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania. Through our longstanding community ties, we bring residents and community leaders together, engaging members in conversations on how to make our communities safer, and healthier; these are just a few reasons why we are so impactful.

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes clinicians in key clinical areas. NCQA's HEDIS is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's website (www.ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

About AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania

AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania is a Medical Assistance (Medicaid) managed care health plan serving 26 counties in central and northwestern Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania is a mission-driven company dedicated to helping members get care, stay well and build healthy communities. For more information, visit www.amerihealthcaritaspa.com.

About AmeriHealth Caritas

AmeriHealth Caritas is part of the Independence Health Group in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. AmeriHealth Caritas is one of the nations leaders in health care solutions for those most in need. Operating in 19 states and the District of Columbia, AmeriHealth Caritas serves more than 5.5 million Medicaid, Medicare and CHIP members through its integrated managed care products, pharmaceutical benefit management and specialty pharmacy services, behavioral health services, and other administrative services. Headquartered in Philadelphia, AmeriHealth Caritas is a mission-driven organization with more than 30 years of experience serving low-income and chronically ill populations. For more information, visit www.amerihealthcaritas.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926006338/en/

AmeriHealth Caritas

Leland Laury, 1-215-863-6460

llaury@amerihealthcaritas.com
EnergyNet is delighted to announce MASEN as official Forum Sponsor of the Africa Renewable Energy Forum (ARF), the labelised...

MASEN has recently become responsible for the development of all renewable energy in Morocco, implementing its programmes following three visions: local development, industrial integration and international North-South-South cooperation with countries such as Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Nigeria. Masens participation at the ARF will provide investors with insights into new energy strategies and the role Morocco will play in developing renewable energy access not only in Morocco, but across the region.

Taking place from 2-4 November in Marrakech, the Africa Renewable Energy Forum will provide a unique platform for networking and knowledge sharing which contributes to the Burkina Faso Governments ambition of realising its solar energy potential, as well as to MASENS energy development goal of building partnerships with West-African neighbours.

An updated programme is now available to download with more details.

The Africa Renewable Energy Forum is a pan-African platform for discussions with decision-makers, experts and investors on opportunities for the development and deployment of renewable energy solutions across the continent. High-level engagement from both private and public sector has been confirmed to date:

H.E. Alfa Oumar Dissa, Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries, Burkina Faso

Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries, Burkina Faso H.E Mohamed Abdel Vetah, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, Mauritania

Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, Mauritania H.E Malick Alhousseini, Minister of Energy and Water, Mali

Minister of Energy and Water, Mali Thabane Zulu, Director-General, Department of Energy, South Africa

Director-General, Department of Energy, South Africa Alain Ebobisse, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50

Mustapha Bakkoury, Chief Executive Officer, MASEN

Chief Executive Officer, MASEN Anthony Nyong, Division Manager, Environment and Social Protection, AfDB

Division Manager, Environment and Social Protection, AfDB Kohei Toyoda, Director of IPP/IWPPs EMEA, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)

Director of IPP/IWPPs EMEA, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Gulefsan Demirbas, Head of Strategy Development Department at the Energy Market Regulatory Authority of Turkey (EMRA) and Chairwoman of the Institutional Working group, Mediterranean Energy Regulators (MEDREG)

Head of Strategy Development Department at the Energy Market Regulatory Authority of Turkey (EMRA) and Chairwoman of the Institutional Working group, Mediterranean Energy Regulators (MEDREG) Jean Pierre Kedi, General Manager, Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority (ARSEL), Cameroon

General Manager, Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority (ARSEL), Cameroon Tarik Hamane , Director, Power Generation Projects and Programs, ONEE, Kingdom of Morocco

, Director, Power Generation Projects and Programs, ONEE, Kingdom of Morocco AKON , Co-Founder of Solektra International/Akon Lighting Africa

, Co-Founder of Solektra International/Akon Lighting Africa Samba Bathily , Co-Founder and CFO of Akon Lighting Africa and CEO of Solektra International

, Co-Founder and CFO of Akon Lighting Africa and CEO of Solektra International Ana Hajduka, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Africa GreenCo

View the full list of speakers

To secure your place and take advantage of the unique networking opportunities that this platform offers, register online or drop us an email at arf@energynet.co.uk quoting the code ARF_E8

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005586/en/

EnergyNet

Patricia Carbonell

patricia.carbonell@energynet.co.uk
WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WISeKey, SIX: WIHN), a leading cybersecurity company announced today that it has appointed Bernard Vian as General Manager of VAULT-IC France, its IoT semiconductor business segment recently acquired from INSIDE Secure.

Mr. Vian brings more than 25 years of experience in the Secure Semiconductor Industry for IoT. Prior to joining WISeKey, he served as Executive Vice President of INSIDE Secure Semiconductor Division (since 2013), following the acquisition of the smart card division of ATMEL by INSIDE Secure. He joined INSIDE Contactless as Vice President of Business Development in 2002, then a start-up pioneer company in the NFC technology, where he helped positioned the company as a leader of NFC payment chip supplier in the US.

Mr. Vian started his career at Gemplus (now Gemalto), where he held multiple positions in sales and marketing. During his carrier at Gemplus, he revolutionized the companys business to introduce the 1st EMV Payment Smart Card program - the VISA Smart Breakthrough Program' in the United States and established Gemplus' San Francisco office in 1996.

Carlos Moreira, WISeKeys Founder and CEO noted, We are thrilled to have Bernhard joining our team. His tremendous expertise and insight will be highly valuable as we integrate the Vault-IC semiconductor business with WISeKeys unique Root of Trust and Identity technology and create the first ever comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT). At WISeKey, Bernard will continue to lead the VAULT-IC team of 70 people and manage a business segment which is expected to generate approximately (pro forma unaudited) US$34 million revenue for full year 2016. He will be playing a key role in WISeKeys long-term growth strategy.

Bernard Vian added, Im excited to join WISeKey organization and help Carlos in executing his vision of making WISeKey a global leader in the Cybersecurity and IoT markets. I will be coordinating with WISeKeys bright and talented team of designers, engineers and programmers to executive this vision. It is wonderful to be part of such a great team dedicated to technology driven innovation and excellence.

About WISeKey

WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WISeKey, SIX: WIHN) is a leading cybersecurity company and selected as a World Economic Forum Global Growth Company. WISeKey is currently deploying large scale Internet of Things (IoT) digital identity ecosystems and has become a pioneer of the 4th Industrial Revolution movement launched this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. WISeKeys Swiss based Cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) integrates wearable technology with secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, and empowers IoT and wearable devices to become secure transactional devices. WISeKey has patented this process in the USA as it is currently used by many IoT providers. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

Disclaimer:

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160925005054/en/

WISeKey

Youmna Abisaleh, + 41 22 594 30 40

MarCom and Event Manager

yabisaleh@WISEKEY.COM

or

Investor Relations (United States)

The Equity Group, Inc.

Lena Cati, 212 836-9611

lcati@equityny.com
As part of the consolidation process within the SBI Group, its five associate banks including State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) will soon submit to the Reserve Bank the scheme of acquisition as ratified by shareholders.

The board of the directors has considered the report of the expert committee set up to look into the written objections from shareholders in terms of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism set up as part of the scheme of acquisition, SBBJ said in a regulatory filing on stock exchanges today.

The board today approved the August 18 scheme of acquisition without any modification, it said.

It further said that scheme of Acquisition of SBBJ along with the Report of the Expert Committee will be submitted to the RBI for their consideration and approval.

Upon approval, RBI shall submit the scheme of acquisition as approved by it to the government of India for approval and issue of order of Acquisition under section 35 of the SBI Act 1955, it said.

Another associates, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore also made similar announcements today.

Government earlier this year cleared the proposal to merge SBI with its five associate banks  SBBJ, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad  and the new Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB).

In August, SBI had said that all its associate banks and BMB will be merged into it that will add an additional Rs 8 lakh crore to its assets making it a banking behemoth with total assets of Rs 30 lakh crore, an increase of about 36 per cent.
Baloch activists on Monday began a week-long sit-in protest outside the Chinese embassy in London, accusing China of helping Pakistan in committing atrocities and human rights violations in Balochistan province.

Activists of Free Baloch Movement of Baloch nationalist Harbiyar Marri sought legal permission to protest for six days and nights till October 1, the Chinese National Day.

We will sit here for a week 24 hours everyday. China is helping Pakistan with the human rights violations in Balochistan. Despite several Baloch warnings, China continues exploiting Baloch resources and is an official partner of Pakistan in Baloch atrocities, said Faiz Muhammad Baloch, a protester and activist from Free Balochistan Movement.

The protesters started gathering outside the Chinese embassy on Sunday night.

They also protested against the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor and said that China is looting the Baloch resources while people of Balochistan are condemned to live amid negligence and poverty.

Meanwhile, in a blow to Pakistans belief that its all-weather friend China will stand by it, irrespective of the circumstances of the day, Beijing has rejected media reports that it has extended full support to Pakistan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Yu Boren said that he was not aware of comments attributed to him in Pakistani media that China will extend its full support to Pakistan incase of any (foreign) aggression.

I am not aware of the situation you mentioned. But Chinas position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear, the spokesperson said.

A recent report in Pakistani newspaper DAWN, citing a press release issued by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharifs Office, had also quoted Yu as saying: Were and will be siding with Pakistan on Kashmir issueThere is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in[India-] held Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris.
Thousands of villagers from Murbad taluka in the district, who lost their land due to construction of the Barvi dam, have demanded for proper rehabilitation and compensation.

Barvi Peedith Seva Sangh president Kamlakar Bhoir told that they want their long-pending demands to be met or else the villagers would resort to agitation.

He said last week hundreds of villagers from Murbad taluka had carried out a peaceful protest at the local tehsil office to draw the attention of the government towards their woes following flooding of the villages due to release of dam water after heavy rains.

About 29 villages have been affected due to the dam which was constructed in 1972 for supply of water to the urban towns and cities.

Bhoir said the government has not taken the issue of rehabilitation of the affected people seriously.

He said some of the families were rehabilitated in the first phase of the projected but they were being shifted now which was not proper.

The government should carry out a proper survey and resolve the issue completely, he demanded.
After chair the meeting on the Indus Water Treaty on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi take a tough stand and said that blood and water cannot flow together. However, ruled out cancelling the treaty with Pakistan.

Blood and water cant flow at the same time, Mr. Modi said, while reviewing the treaty.

Principal Secretary to PM, Nripendra Misra, national security adviser Ajit Doval, foreign secretary S Jaishankar, the water resources secretary, and other senior officials were present in the meeting.

The review is being undertaken as India weighs options to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead.

There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six rivers  Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum  were to be shared between the two countries.

Control over the three eastern rivers  the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej  was given to India while the three western rivers went to Pakistan, unrestricted.

India can use only 20 per cent of the water of the Indus, which flows through it first, for irrigation, transport and power generation.

Sources also said that an inter-ministerial task force for Indian rights will be formed for western rivers under Indus Water Treaty and India will use potential of 18000 megawatt of power from the western rivers under the treaty.

Further, construction on Tulbul navigation project will be reviewed by India again. Work had been suspended on this in 2007.

At the same time, India to expedite construction on three dams on River Chenab  Pakul Dul Dam, Sawalkot Dam and Bursar Dam.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said last week that there were differences between India and Pakistan on implementing the Indus Waters Treaty.
NEW DELHI: Blood and water cant flow at the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday during a meeting to review the Indus Water treaty+ with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries.

Principal secretary to PM, Nripendra Misra, NSA Ajit Doval and foreign secretary S Jaishankar also attended the meeting in the PMs residence.

India today ruled out cancelling the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, but sources said in a new and aggressive move, New Delhi is planning on greater use of three of the five rivers that are controlled by Pakistan, reported NDTV.

PM @narendramodi chairs meeting on #IndusWaterTreaty, says blood and water cant flow together at same time  Sources  Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) September 26, 2016

India to use potential of 18000 megawatt of power from the western rivers under Indus water treaty: Sources on PM-Water ministry meet  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

India to Expedite Construction on 3 Dams

#FLASH: India to expedite construction on 3 dams on River Chenab; Pakul Dul Dam, Sawalkot Dam and Bursar Dam  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Source: Agencies
Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen has become the latest celebrity to be slapped with a civic body notice after mosquito breeding spots were found at her residence in Khar.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) slapped a notice on the former Miss Universe.

A senior MCGM officer said, The civic body has issued a notice to Sushmita Sen under section 381-b of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, after her residence at Khar West was found to house breeding spots for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is responsible to spread deadly diseases like dengue, chikungunya.

During our inspection drive, the team of insecticides department detected three locations where the larvae for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito were found. First on the terrace in tarpaulin, second, odd articles on the terrace and third rain water collection in galleries, he added.

The section of the Act can attract a maximum fine up to Rs 20,000 and a Court case would be filed against Sen, he added.

On September 16, MCGM had inspected actor Shahid Kapoors residence at Juhu Tara Road and detected mosquito-breeding spots at his residential premises, following which the actor was served the notice under the same section.

Interestingly, insecticides department of the civic body have also found the homes of top five most senior IAS officers to be the breeding spots for Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

Asked what action would be initiated against the IAS officers, the official said, Since these officers had themselves requested the civic body to inspect their premises, therefore no action has been initiated against them.
MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government at the centre for launching a diplomatic attack on Pakistan after terrorists killed 18 soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir last week. It said that the centre must take action instead of indulging in a war of words with Pakistan.

Solders are losing their lives and we are still busy giving warning to Pakistan and appreciating our efforts. But the truth is if Pakistan really wants to have war with us then we are also ready, the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece, Saamana.

Asserting that the governments diplomatic attack was fast losing its sting, the Sena said even one-time staunch allies like Russia  which recently held a joint-military drill in Pakistan  were friendly with Indias neighbor.

No matter however much hue and cry we make about isolating Pakistan, the truth is that such efforts are useless. In fact, it is India which may face isolation on the global platform, the editorial said.

The BJP ally said that Pakistan was complicit in the Uri attack and had itself accepted as much when it linked the attack on Indian soldiers with continuing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Saturday in a scathing attack on Pakistan, the Prime Minister had said that India would never forget the Uri attack.

A day will come when the people of Pakistan will revolt against their government and fight terrorism. India has been successful in isolating (Pakistan) globally. The people of Pakistan should ask their leaders that 60 years after independence, why India exports software and Pakistan exports only terror, the Prime Minister said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will address the UN General Assembly in New York today, where she is expected to give further evidence of Pakistans involvement in spread of terror all over the world.

Source: ANI
Libyas prime minister called for a national reconciliation initiative to repair the divisions in a fragmented country reeling from the turbulence that has followed the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Fayez Seraj also told in an interview to news agency that the battle against Islamic State militants in their former stronghold of Sirte was in its last stages, although bombings and booby traps still posed a challenge.

Gaddafi`s fall in 2011 brought chaos that splintered the North African country into rival armed fiefdoms. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has been seeking endorsement for months as it tries to extend its authority beyond its base in Tripoli, in western Libya.

In the last five years, Libya has been through a very difficult and critical phase  many political divisions, Seraj said in New York, where he was attending an annual U.N. gathering of world leaders. There was disintegration of the social fabric as a result of bloody conflicts.

So we need a real reconciliation between Libyans inside and Libyans abroad  there will be no exclusion of any political faction, he said. Reconciliation will provide political stability, which will give way for economic stability.

Seraj said he expected to begin the drive before the end of the year but he faces an unenviable task.

General Khalifa Haftar, who has been waging a military campaign against Islamists and other opponents in Benghazi and the east, and his backers in eastern Libya have been in a stand-off with the GNA for months. They have blocked a parliamentary vote to endorse the GNA and challenging the U.N.-mediated deal to unify Libya.

Haftar also has resisted the GNA`s efforts to integrate his self-styled Libyan National Army into the national armed force.

The eastern-based parliament has twice rejected lists of ministers put forward by the GNA`s leadership, or Presidential Council, which is meant to represent all sides of Libya`s fractured politics.
The Bombay High Court allowed a company, which had claimed to have won the auction for the fugitive industrialist Vijay Mallyas luxury jet for Rs. 27.39 crore, to withdraw its bid paving the way for a fresh auction.

The Service Tax department which has to recover dues of over Rs. 500 crore from Mallyas defunct Kingfisher Airlines, had attached the plane in December 2013.

The aircraft is grounded since October 2012. The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has also approached the HC, claiming hangar charges of the plane from SGI Commex, the purported bid winner.

However, SGI Commex told the court that it wanted to withdraw from the process because it was not acceptable to other side and the deal could not be struck under a cloud.

A fresh auction may be permitted (by the court)We may bid again if we feel necessary, said its lawyer.

A division bench headed by Justice S C Dharmadhikari recorded the statement and allowed a fresh auction.

The bench also gave an option to C J Leasing, the company which owns the aircraft and which had given it to Mallya on lease, to pick an agency to conduct the fresh auction.

The agency should be an expert in holding auctions, independent and not controlled by the government or any other body, it said.

The next hearing would be on October 6 when C J Leasings lawyer would inform the court the name of the agency it wants to appoint for the fresh auction.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by the Service Tax department seeking recall the auction as the highest bid was lower than the reserve price.

The departments counsel Anil Singh argued that the bid of SGI Commex was 81.8 per cent lower than the reserve price of Rs. 152 crore, whereas the company had contended that no reserve price had been set to start with.
A shoe was on Monday hurled at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his Kisan Yatra roadshow in Uttar Pradeshs Sitapur district.

Anoop Mishra, a resident of Shastri Nagar locality, flung his shoe from a distance at Rahul at Transport Crossing, from where the roadshow started. However, the shoe did not hit him. The shoe thrower has been taken into custody, police said.

Mishra claims to be a journalist. The Congress has left the country in the dumps in the past 60 years. I have been a journalist for two years and I knowWhat were they doing when they were in power? he said while being led away in a police van.

The youth was heard saying roadshow is useless, according to an eyewitness.

Prima facie, the youth has no political links, police said. The matter was being probed.

Gandhi has been carrying out a campaign to assuage votes for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. He has been conducting what the Congress calls Khat Sabhas is part of his Kisan Yatra.

He has completed over 2,200 km and has around two more weeks to go, his aides say.

Shoe missiles have almost become an occupational hazard for politicians, but many questioned the attack on Mr. Gandhi, given that his security detail includes the elite Special Protection Group, which guards prime ministers and former prime ministers.
27th September is celebrated as World Tourism Day to promote awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes and it has now become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism is the engine of economic growth. Tourism helps in women empowerment and youth employment. This day help us to spread the word of both the importance and immense benefits universal accessibility has and can bring to society at large. It is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tourism to global well-being. We all know that when tourism has become the continuously growing and developing economic sectors worldwide because of the occurrence of various attractive and new destinations for the tourists, it has become the main source of income for the developing countries. The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicraft, agriculture, construction and even poultry.

Both directly and indirectly, increased tourism in India has created jobs in a variety of related sectors. Almost 20 million people are now working in the Indias tourism industry.

Tourism today plays a vital role in bringing the world closer as it has been a major social phenomenon of societies all over the world and it is driven by the natural urge of every human being for new experiences, and the desire to be both educated and entertained. Every time we travel, for whatever reason, we are part of a global movement; a movement that has the power to drive inclusive development, create jobs and build the sustainable societies we want for our future. Perhaps every citizen can do the role of city ambassador and play courteous hosts. Each one of us is responsible for contributing our bit to protect the natural resources of our planet. India has innumerable attractions for tourists. Throughout the country there are numerous beauty and scenic spots. Terrorism nowadays has become a global problem. Our country is also not an exception. The terrorist attacks agitations and separatist movements hinder the growth of tourism.

We live in such a country that others dream of visiting and becoming wiser by the experience. Cant we help them with right directions, authentic fares, uniform pricing and respect for the personal space of tourists while maintaining basic facilities that we ourselves are comfortable using? We must remember that the tourism is an ever-evolving and thriving industry that contributes to the economic wellbeing of every nation and generates lakhs of employment opportunities besides focusing on environment-friendly measures. As we celebrate World Tourism Day, let us recall that all of the worlds citizens have the right to experience the incredible diversity this planet has to offer. Tourism in India can become a viable industry if effective and concerted steps are taken. It promotes national integration, international understanding, harmony, friendship and goodwill. Diversity, unity and assimilation have always been the hallmark of the eternal India and these make India the ultimate tourist destination.

India has a composite culture. India has fascinated people from all over the world with her secularism and her culture. Let us take adequate steps to protect and preserve the flora and fauna, the historical monuments and heritage sites of this great country.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
A woman constable has filed a complaint against her husband and his paramour, both police personnel, accusing them of assaulting and robbing her.

The 31-year-old constable and her husband, both posted at Thane district rural police headquarters, had got married in 2006.

According to the police, the complainants husband had an affair with a woman constable posted at Palghar rural police headquarters.

Yesterday, she had caught her husband with his paramour while alighting from a car at Varsova traffic outpost near Bhayander in Thane. Seeing his wife there, the man and his paramour got annoyed and thrashed her. They also snatched her mangalsutra (sacred thread worn by a married woman) and fled to Palghar, police said.

Based on the complaint, offences were registered last night against the two under IPC sections 392 (robbery), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504, 506 (criminal intimidation) read with 34.

No arrest has been made so far in connection, police added.
LINCOLN, Neb., Sept. 25, 2016  The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has renewed a cooperative agreement with the FDA related to the implementation of the Produce Safety Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

NASDA says the expanded scope of the cooperative agreement will let its members provide leadership and support for the On-Farm Readiness Review Project, a concept that NASDA developed with FDA that allows growers to receive a pre-assessment of how they stand in terms of produce safety rule compliance.

The agreement, announced over the weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska, where NASDA was holding its annual meeting, also provides an opportunity for the group to bring together FDA leadership and state leadership to establish a National Consortium for Produce Safety Program Development.

NASDA will continue to play a leadership role with the states, working to assist them in developing produce safety programs that meet the unique needs of each state, while remaining aligned and consistent nationally, said Greg Ibach, NASDA president and Nebraskas Director of Agriculture. NASDA looks forward to continued collaboration with the FDA and the states on implementation of the Produce Safety Rule.

Learn about the benefits of subscribing to Agri-Pulse. Sign up for your four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription.





At the meeting, where NASDA celebrated its 100th anniversary, the group also elected a new slate of officers for the coming year. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Michael G. Strain will serve as NASDAs 2016-2017 president. Strain will host the 2017 NASDA Annual Meeting in New Orleans from Sept. 11-14.

A new president, new administration, and new Congress will provide us with huge opportunities to amplify NASDAs unique voice over the next year, Strain said in a release. I look forward to working with my counterparts in the states to realize our call to action for a renewed commitment to state-federal partnerships for the advancement of Americas farmers and ranchers.

#30

For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com
Iraqi Parliament Rejects New Provinces for Yazidis and Assyrians

Displaced Iraqi Assyrians settle at St. Joseph Church in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. ( AP) The Iraqi Parliament voted in favor of maintaining the administrative border of the province of Nineveh on Monday. The Iraqi parliament held the session with the presence to discuss several laws, including the vote to maintain the administrative border of the Nineveh province. The parliament vote was requested by Ahmed al-Jarba, a Sunni MP, representing Nineveh province. "The Iraqi people reject any decision that partitions the Nineveh province. The people of the city determine the destiny of their city in the post-Islamic State (IS) stage," al-Jabra said. Al-Jabra added that any changes against the legal and administrative status quo will be unconstitutional. This decision by the Iraqi parliament is against the demand of the components of Nineveh, especially Yazidis and Christians who ask for turning Shingal, mostly Yazidi-populated area, and Nineveh Plain, majority Christian populated area, into new provinces. Viyan Dakhil, a Kurdish Yazidi MP in the Iraqi parliament told Kurdistan24 on Monday that Kurdish Yazidis will not return to the evacuated city of Shingal without changes in the administration of Nineveh Province. Dakhil noted some ethnic and religious groups in Nineveh are demanding changes in the administration of the province and want to create separate provinces. The President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani previously stated the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would promote the city of Shingal to a province in the Region. Nineveh Plains should be liberated from the Islamic State (IS) and Christians' rights and future shall be secured, a Christian political party leader told Kurdistan24. Romio Hakkari, the Secretary-General of the Assyrian Bet al-Nahrain Party who visited Washington to gain the US support in liberating Christian areas in the province of Nineveh located in northern Iraq which is often called "Nineveh Plains." In June 2014, IS emerged in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. The group controlled large swaths of territory in the northern country, including Christian populated areas that according to Hakkari displaced about 200,000 Christians, mostly are staying in the Kurdistan Region. "We do not want to be part of the possible Sunni autonomous region in Iraq," Hakkari stated, claiming the Sunnis in Nineveh discriminate against Christians in the area.
September 26, 2016

The newest Israeli tempest sidelined the protests of Arab film producers at the Ophir Award ceremony of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television on Sept. 22. Instead of inspiring public discussion of the feelings and concerns of Arab artists regarding the direction taken by the Israeli film industry, everyone's attention turned to Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev. During the reading of an excerpt from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish's poem "ID Card," intending to generate a discussion on the place and identity of Arab citizens in Israeli society, Regev decided to abandon the hall, and all eyes followed her.

It all started a few days before the ceremony, when the management of the Israeli Academy of Film vetoed the plan for Arab-Israeli rapper Tamer Nafar and Israeli producer Yossi Tzabari to appear onstage to read a section of the poem. As a compromise, it was agreed between the sides that the two artists would indeed do a reading from it onstage, but omit the controversial part of the poem about "the usurper," meaning the occupation: "But if I become hungry, the usurpers flesh will be my food. Beware, beware of my hunger, and my anger!"

The angry exit by the culture minister during the performance was received in the hall with equanimity, as her actions were predictable. But afterward, when Regev got up to speak, accusing the Israeli movie industry of elitism and operating like an exclusive club that does not offer equal opportunities, and as usual threatening to cut government funding, there was an uproar in the hall.

The Israeli film harvest this year has been one of its most diverse and pluralistic, yet this did not stop Regev from expressing her usual accusations and threats that caused the eruption of anger in the audience. Thus Regev herself became the center of attention and all the other issues presented by the ceremonys participants were pushed aside.

Tamer Nafar, who has kept silent since reaching a compromise with the academys directors, agreed to give his first interview to Al-Monitor and talk about the reactions by Arab artists to the way the local film industry operates and how trapped they find themselves, especially in the past year.

Miri Regev is only an excuse. She is the symptom of Zionist thinking, Nafar said. She talks about the weak and the weakened in the film industry, but on the other hand she denies the Nakba and gets annoyed when the Arabs in Israel call themselves Palestinians. The members of the film academy do not agree with her. They boo her, but ultimately they toe the line that she sets out. A few months ago Regev said that her ministry will not support so-called subversive films, and this year, indeed, 23 [new Israeli] films were screened  not one of them deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the occupation.

According to Nafar, If you look at the casting of Arab actors in films, they are only grist for the mill. They are not allowed to express themselves, [nor are we allowed] to recognize or identify with their suffering.

Nafar is not impressed by the fact that the Best Film prize was awarded to "Sand Storm," with an all-Arab-Israeli cast. I saw the movie, he said. Its a good film. The acting and cinematography are wonderful. The story is amazing. But it deals with female alliance and fellowship in a National Geographic style. You dont see houses being destroyed, the Judaizing of Bedouin lands and discrimination against them and theres also no ethnic cleansing. Nafar claimed that in interviews promoting the film, the Arab actresses were barred from talking about these subjects.

Nafar is the star of Udi Alonis film "Junction 48." This film, set to be screened in the United States early next year, also does not address the heart of the Israeli conflict; it deals with a Palestinian rapper in the poor Israeli town of Lod who dreams about achieving a smashing success against all odds. It's exactly like the story of Nafars life. When he rose to receive the prize for writing the film's musical score, he told the audience excitedly, I love the arts in general and I really love the fact that you are embracing my art, but I would appreciate it if you also embrace our Palestinian identity  that is, our narrative.

In his conversation with Al-Monitor, Nafar said that the most touching moment of the ceremony was when all the Arab actors held hands and demonstrated a moment of unity. All of them stood united opposite Regev, in a gesture that on the one hand expressed the desire to be part of the Israeli existence: an integral, contributing part, fruitful and thriving in the local film industry. But on the other hand, they are not willing to concede their narrative and their past.

Nafar told Al-Monitor that although no one will admit it, the Israeli film industry toes the right-wing Regev line. He claimed that although film industries are supposed to be critical and "kick" the establishment, people are afraid that the culture minister will carry out her threats to cut funding. Nafar feels that talented Arab actors understand that they could soon have no future in the Israeli film industry, because they wont have any roles. They wont be willing to accept the Uncle Tom film roles they are given, even at the risk of angering the Israeli establishment and the Israeli public. All we want is that you understand our narrative. Nothing more than that.
September 26, 2016

RAMALLAH, West Bank  Mervat Mustafa collected the kitchen utensils she no longer used and donated them to Dukkan, the shop where they were being displayed for resale, with the proceeds going toward local development projects.

I heard about Dukkan on Facebook, and I really liked the idea, Mustafa told Al-Monitor. Not only did I contribute to this initiative by giving away some of the old utensils I dont use anymore, but I also bought some books and embroideries that I liked.

Mustafa added, A lot of our stuff piles up at home, and we dont use them any longer. It is an excellent idea to donate our unused belongings instead of throwing them away, especially since the proceeds will go to charity through development projects.

A few people know the concept behind Dukkan and have visited the shop, set up in a showroom at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah. The personal belongings donated and made available at Dukkan include not only kitchen utensils, but furniture, clothes and toys as well. The shop accepts recycled goods along with unused items.

Aisha Mansour, the director of the Dalia Association for Community Development and the person overseeing Dukkan, told Al-Monitor, The idea came about a year and a half ago, when we [at Dalia] were discussing how to raise money to fund the association's projects, so as to stop relying on external funding, while focusing on taking advantage of local resources as funding alternatives.

Dalia was established in 2007, with its main office in Ramallah. It seeks to tap into local resources as an alternative to foreign funding through support from private companies and donations from local communities to implement civil society initiatives.

With the money we make [at Dukkan], we will support development projects targeting alienated groups in society, said Mansour. This could relieve us from the burden of foreign funding and would allow us, on the other hand, to communicate with segments of society.

Proceeds from Dukkan currently go toward helping finance three Dalia community projects: The Village Decides, Women for Women and Youth Creativity, which already rely on local resources for their implementation. Dalia also seeks to promote Dukkan with the hope of raising money for a future project.

On Dukkan's origins, Mansour further explained, The idea was implemented with the help of a group of volunteers. Jessie Mrad, a 12th-grade student, told Al-Monitor, Selling secondhand stuff is not a new idea. However, what makes Dukkan stand out is the fact that secondhand goods are sold along with new items produced from recycled goods.

Mrad, a project volunteer, spent her summer vacation working on planning and promotion for the project. The main idea is to collect goods from people that might be useful to others so as to decrease consumption, on the one hand, and provide a source of income to finance projects, she said. The goal is for everyone to use everyone elses stuff.

She added, We, as volunteers for the project, tried to promote the project as much as possible without setting aside a budget for marketing. We called volunteers and close friends and asked them to tell their friends and share the idea on social media.

Fares Jamil, a college student also volunteering at Dukkan, talked about the challenges the project faces, including the lack of a budget for marketing. The shop premises were offered to us by the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center. Other than this, the projects preliminary expenses did not exceed 50 shekels [$13], Jamil told Al-Monitor. Everything was done in only three days, and, of course, we did not have a budget for marketing.

He added, We are trying to devise a plan either to have a permanent location for the shop or maybe it could be a mobile shop, which would cover all the West Bank areas. The idea is to have more donations and thus more sales and greater community interaction.

Jamil described the shop's early days, stating, When we first opened, on Aug. 17, there were not many people visiting our shop. But a few days later, when the news got around, we had a higher turnout. Buyers have been of all societal classes, but we are trying to target middle and poor classes with our cheap prices.

Mansour also commented on Dukkan's objectives, saying, We are seeking to target people of all walks of life unlike other secondhand shops. Dukkan is the first step of the project, which will be further developed, as we are trying to move to a permanent location and trying to reach out to larger groups.

Although Dukkan's viability has inherent limits, with some development and enhancement of Dalia's approach of taking advantage of local resources, it could perhaps help Palestinians rely more on themselves and less on foreign funding tied to donor conditions.
September 23, 2016

BEIRUT  The collapse Sept. 19 of the US-Russian agreement on Syria  which provided for a cessation of hostilities and greater military cooperation between both world powers  followed by a resumption in violence will further fracture an already-divided Syria. Since the 2011 revolution against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began, powerful and conflicting undercurrents have shaped the country into de facto zones of influence, in its north and south, including around Damascus, with a different power structure emerging in each area.

Syrias south

Syrias south, which shares borders with Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, is home to 1.2 million people, mainly Sunnis, as well as Christian and Druze minorities. The region is dominated by the mainstream Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions. Some 49 factions claim membership in the Southern Front, which comprises 20,000-30,000 fighters spread across the south and around Damascus. Unlike in other Syrian areas, Salafist jihadist groups have had little influence on the fate of the southern area.

Bashar al-Zohbi, head of the FSA-affiliated Yarmouk Brigade active in the south, explained that Jordans fear of Islamic groups may have contributed to the dominance of mainstream factions in the area. Other factors may have also played in, he told Al-Monitor, namely that southern Syria has a limited influx of foreign fighters and is home to different religious groups.

The commander added, nonetheless, that a small number of Islamic State (IS) fighters  fewer than 1,000  are affiliated with Shuhada al-Yarmouk (Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade) and Harakat al-Muthanna in the southwest corner of the Syrian Golan.

IS exists in southern Syria within a tribal structure; this means that many of its members do not identify ideologically with the organization and that a change in leadership could result in a change of loyalties, Obyada Kadiri of Jabhat Ansar al-Islam told Al-Monitor from Turkey.

The rebels have launched several offensives against IS main affiliates in the region, thus containing the territorial expansion of the IS group eastward.

From a military structure standpoint, the southern region factions fall under the control of the Jordanian Military Operations Command (MOC) established in 2013 by the United States, which oversees weapons and financial supplies to rebels, as well as military operations.

According to Aron Lund, a nonresident associate at the Carnegie Endowment, Beginning in early 2014, increased assistance from Western and Arab states and improved coordination among the southern armed opposition factions they support sparked a string of victories against regime forces.

When by late January 2015, opposition forces had gained control over most of the city of Quneitra and the western side of Daraa, the MOC nonetheless stalled the rebels' advance, according to Turkey-based think-tank Omran Dirasat expert Sinan Hatahet. The idea was to prevent rebels from connecting Quneitra to Ghouta near Damascus. It was a red line, Hatahet told Al-Monitor.

Other observers such as Wael Alwan from Faylaq al-Rahman, a group present in the Damascus Ghouta area, told Al-Monitor that Jordans opposition to connecting southern Syria with Ghouta was to avoid the expansion southward of Salafist groups present around the capital.

Russian efforts also contributed to stalling the rebels' advance. According to an article published by Washington Institute experts Andrew J. Tabler and David Schenker in March 2016, Moscow established a deconfliction center in Amman to ensure that Russian air operations would not inadvertently hit Jordanian ground forces in the border region.

Rebels such as Kadiri said weapon supplies to mainstream opposition groups declined this year. Late in January, regime forces backed by Russian air cover recaptured the strategic town of Sheikh Maskin in southern Syria. Quoting diplomatic sources, the Financial Times reported at the time that the offensive flouted an understanding between Russia and Syrias southern neighbors, namely Jordan and Israel, not to destabilize the region. It also allowed the regime to cut rebel eastern and western regions in half.

Eastern Ghouta

Located 75 kilometers (46 miles) from southern Quneitra, eastern Ghouta is one of the most important areas under rebel control, given its proximity to Syrias center of power, Damascus. The region is home to two major factions, the Salafist movement of Jaish al-Islam (JAI) and Faylaq al-Rahman (from the FSA), as well as other groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish Fustat (an affiliate of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), with the first two groups boasting some 20,000 fighters, an insurgent source told to Al-Monitor.

As of today, JAI remains perhaps one the most powerful and largest rebel groups in Syria. Founded by Zahran Alloush, a Salafist released from prison in 2011, JAI has been led by Abu Himam al-Buwaydani since Alloush was killed in December. Interestingly, despite the domination of JAI over Ghouta, the area is governed by a joint civilian body known as the Unified Judiciary Council, which heads other civilian bodies such as the regional council (Majlil Mouhafaza) and local councils and is backed by a local police force, according to Alwan.

In recent months, the eastern Ghouta region was plagued by unrest after a series of unexplained assassinations and clashes between JAI and Faylaq al-Rahman over power and smuggling routes. In May, the two organizations reached an understanding to end the fight  which led to a division of fronts between the groups, with JAI taking over the northeastern front of the area, according to JAI's Mohamad Berakad.

Aleppo and Syrias north

At the center of Syrias north is the countrys economic capital, Aleppo. The eastern half of the city is currently controlled by a Sunni Arab insurgency, while the western half is controlled by regime forces, according to a detailed piece by Carnegie's Lund issued in August. The surrounding rural region is nearly entirely under the control of an Islamist-dominated coalition of Sunni Arab rebel factions in the west and southwest. However, Kurdish groups control the northwest, while IS controls the northeast.

Aleppo is also home to a flurry of various rebel factions, mostly belonging to the FSA alongside Islamist brigades. The creation of the Conquest of Aleppo Operations Room (Fatah Halab) allowed for a certain level of cooperation between factions. More than 15 factions are included; some are affiliated with the joint military operations center in Ankara. The emergence of Jaish al-Fatah (JAF) in March 2015 has increased this coordination, as witnessed this August in the swift advance of rebel groups in the Ramouseh area.

According to a piece published by political analyst Wladimir Van Wilgenburg of Washington-based think-tank The Jamestown Foundation, the JAF alliance controls between 12,000 and 15,000 fighters and includes other Islamist rebel groups.

The same coalition rules further north. A few days after it was formed, JAF took control of Idlib, and with its leading factions Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (then Jabhat al-Nusra) became the biggest player there. The province of Idlib also has at its disposal a massive number of fighters, about 40,000, according to insurgents interviewed in Turkey by Al-Monitor  information that could not, however, be independently confirmed. That figure includes other groups such as the 13 and 101 brigades, the Northern Brigade, Jaish al-Islam and Liwa al-Haqq, according to FSA legal adviser Osama Abu Zeid, who Al-Monitor interviewed in Turkey.

Syrias north is undoubtedly the countrys most complex region and the most difficult to untangle if a solution is to be reached. In addition, the presence of a large foreign jihadi population, which joined the ranks of IS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, has complicated the military landscape.

This is largely due to the negative role played by Turkey, which allowed the transfer of foreign fighters into the country, one insurgent told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The presence of IS has forced the insurgency to fight a multipolar war against the regime and IS, and now a potential new war is emerging against the Kurds.

Syrias complex northern picture is the result of the rivaling agendas of Syrian factions. The US failed us repeatedly and went back on its word to support us, Col. Hassan Hamadeh of the 101 Brigade told Al-Monitor.

In 2015, the United States pulled the plug on its $580 million training program for rebels. The initial competition for US backing, added to the diverging agendas of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, triggered rivalry among groups, which was also complicated by the US vetting process  its indecision over which groups to support  the FSA's Abu Zeid explained. The dominance of more radical groups in the north can also be linked to Gulf countries favoring Islamist factions.

In this framework of geographical and ideological divisions, an attempt to consolidate rebel groups, which has been reported by many insurgents, appears to be an almost-impossible task, according to Omran Dirasats Hatahet. Achieving political unity in the form of one body representing rebels in Syria could nonetheless pave the way for better coordination. A larger coalition in the likeness of JAF could be also another type of solution, Hatahet added.
Stained Glass Window Illustration

The glow of a stained glass window blesses all who see it, even those who are just a little mischievous. (The Huntsville Times file/Carucha Meuse)

(Carucha L. Meuse)

The day I made my way from the front of the church to the back, by way of crawling on the floor beneath the pews, was the day that ended with a spark of revival and righteous reprimand.

Before you get excited and think this incident occurred this past year, get your head on straight. I was not quite three years old and just the right size to wiggle my way past a startled Sister Donna Jean and under the legs of snoring Mr. Joe-Don who nearly jumped out of his skin and recovered by mumbling a half-hearted, "Amen!"

It was a Sunday night service at the First Baptist Church in Florala, Alabama where Daddy served as the Minister of Music. Mama thought it would be a good idea to spring me from the nursery and let me attend the big service so I could hear the older children's production of "The Little Lost Lamb."

After the boy playing the shepherd hollered and waved his staff around, I was scared, and decided to get out of there before he started whacking people. If I'd run up the aisle, my mother would have surely caught me and put me back in the line of fire, so my escape route had to be cleverly concealed.

I meant no harm and was only trying to protect myself, so taking a tip from watching Hogan's Heroes with Daddy, the under-pew route looked like a safe tunnel passageway. Slipping away from Mama was the easy part. She was busy grinning at the lambs, which I had already figured out were just kids with cotton balls glued all over them.

Pew number one was no challenge at all, and pew number two was a breeze, but beneath the third pew, I accidentally knocked over Mrs. Crowder's pocketbook and all her loose change rolled across the center aisle, along with a pack of Virginia Slims which made her pretty mad I had revealed her secret vice. As a result of me "outing" her, the ladies in her WMU circle offered special prayers for those who were in the clutches of nicotine entrapment at their meeting later that month.

Everything was going fine and I was developing what would be a lifelong appreciation for pretty shoes, when around the seventh pew, I encountered six year old Carter Percy who had been kicked out of the children's choir on account of his mean streak. Carter saw me coming and purposely swung his foot to give me a good whack on the top of my head which made me yell, "Stop it Carter Percy!" but it also inspired me to pick up a little speed.

Mama was torn as what to do. Never one to ever make a scene, she crouched down low and with a look on her face that would have made the Devil shiver, followed along the side-aisle whispering, "Come here to me right now!" Did she think I was crazy? At that point I was not only having an adventure, but I was also smart enough to know this was quickly turning into a crime scene and she was the chief investigator.

My journey ended as two ushers scooped me up after luring me into the vestibule with a stick of Juicy Fruit, and even though the congregation was filled with extra spirit and the offering was three times more than usual, Mama thanked me by whisking me outside and giving me a little spanking.

The clearest memory about that night was gazing up at the illuminated stained glass windows while I was outside getting the, "I'm talking to you, young lady" speech, and thinking that church could be a fun place after all. But little did I know, that adventure was the first, but unfortunately not the last time, I caused just a little, tiny bit of trouble in a Baptist church.

You can contact Leslie Anne at: la@leslieannetarabella.com or read more on her blog at: http://leslieannetarabella.com
The days of common law marriage in Alabama will soon end.

A bill passed by the Alabama Legislature earlier this year abolishes common-law marriage - a union in which people present themselves as married despite not having a formal ceremony or getting a marriage license- after Jan. 1, 2017. Common-law marriage entered into before Jan. 1, 2017 will still be valid.

The change comes in part due to the recent Supreme Court rulings related the legalizing same-sex marriages, according to former circuit judge R.A. "Sonny" Ferguson.

"The recent rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same sex marriages nationwide have raised questions about the impact to common law marriages. The dilemma is what to do with it now," Ferguson wrote in a recent online post about the change in marriage law. "Some have argued to abolish it completely; others have suggested amending it but leaving it in place. As a compromise, Alabama has decided to abolish it going forward, beginning Jan. 1, 2017."

Alabama was already one of the last states to recognize common law marriage. Alabama's change leaves only Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas and Utah as the only states with some form of the unions on the books. The legal definition for common law marriage differs from state to state but usually includes requirements related to how long a couple must live together, age and proof of relationship, such as using the same last name, or having a joint bank account.

Those factors can be open to interpretation, however, and that's when problems arise, especially if one partner in a common-law marriage seeks to end the relationship.There's no such thing as common law divorce, meaning a mere separation won't end the union.

"The reasons why states like celebratory marriages, statutory marriages is because there is a fine line: You're either married or you're not. With common law, it's not so clear," family lawyer Michele Zavos told NPR. "You always have to go and prove (your side) and there's always this uncertainty. The law doesn't like uncertainty. The law likes bright lines. So I think more and more states are recognizing that and getting rid of it."
Shipping containers 2.jpg

(Christopher Harress)

The average lifespan of a well-manufactured steel shipping container is thought to be about 12 to 15 years, during which time it will be transported to ports all across the world and loaded on to trains that will carry it the length and breadth of continents. However, the industry that uses these sturdy and well-traveled boxes, which are the foundation of the international import and export business, has recently found itself in financial turmoil, causing a ripple effect to international ports and raising questions about the health of the shipping business.

Earlier this month, the Hanjin Shipping Co., one of the world's largest shipping companies, filed for protection under chapter 15, a section of U.S. bankruptcy law that deals with international insolvency. The filing was the result of a current and dangerous industry-wide trend: too many ships and not enough customers.

"The container industry itself is not in particularly good health right now," said Alabama State Port Authority CEO James Lyons, who said that Hanjin's bankruptcy was the biggest he could remember during his 40 years in the industry. "But for us as a port, that's really not germane because the volumes are still there and the shippers are still going to ship the containers."

Hanjin previously had two ships coming into Mobile as part of a consignment of 11 alongside Chinese shipping giant COSCO. However, COSCO has already absorbed the loss of Hanjin's business and is continuing to deliver consignments into Mobile as normal, said Lyons.

While Lyons told AL.com that the last two months had been record months for the Port of Alabama in regard to shipping containers coming into the port, the most recent statistics from United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) show a significant decrease in container ships calling into the port, going from 200 in 2014 to 156 in 2015. In all, the port dealt with around 3 million fewer tons over the same period, according to MARAD.

Similarly, in the Port of Long Beach, California, which is one of the largest ports in the county, imports are down 10.2 percent from August 2015 to this year. This, according to Lyons, has more to do with shipping companies taking their cargo directly through the Panama Canal and instead into ports in the Gulf of Mexico. The Panama Canal is wider than it used to be and is able to accept larger ships, which means it can often be more financially viable for shipping companies to use Gulf ports than unload on the west coast and use trains to take cargo east. However, the decrease in traffic on the west coast hasn't necessarily reflected in higher consignments coming into the Gulf, with MARAD data showing that most ports in region have remained flat from 2014 to 2015 with the exception of a small increase in New Orleans.

The biggest problem faced by the shipping industry is that is has too many ships and not enough demand to justify those ships. "It's as if the airlines went out and bought 20% more aircraft than they had customers to buy tickets, and then wondered what happened," said Paul Bingham, a trade economist with the Boston-based Economic Development Research Group Inc. "It was unsustainable."

The reduction in demand has come about partly because of the changing relationship between the U.S. and China. The Asian giant has slowly shifted over the last 10 years from a manufacturing economy toward being a consumer economy. That has been led in part by higher wages and spending power for Chinese consumers, enabling certain classes in the country to get out of the factories and into stores. That change, along with the U.S. market becoming over saturated with Chinese goods, has impacted shipping companies badly.

In 2011, the shipping container industry lost $7.7 billion, which was generally believed to be a hangover from the global financial crash of 2007-08. By 2012 that figure had recovered to a small loss of $100 million, and in 2013, 2014 and 2015 the gains were a healthy $0.8 billion, $5.7 billion and $3.9 billion, respectively. However, this year the profits have dried up and the industry is expected to lose around $5.2 billion because of the decreasing cost of shipping a container and lower volumes, according to a report by Drewry Maritime Research, a London-based shipping consultant firm. For example, the average shipping company revenue on a 20 ft. container has gone from $1,189 in 2011 to $776 this year.

Those losses sustained by the shipping industry are mirrored somewhat when you look at the number of containers coming into the port of Mobile. In good years for the shipping industry, Mobile has taken in greater volumes of containers. In 2011, Mobile's count of 20 ft. containers coming into port, also known as TEUs, was around 145,000. As the shipping industry recovered some of its huge losses in 2012, TEUs in Mobile rose by around 45,000. As the recovery continued into 2013, Mobile's TEU count jumped again to about 225,000 and then to 238,000 in 2014. However, as profits in the shipping industry decreased in 2015, TEUs in Mobile dropped to 231,000. With the fiscal year due to end at the end of this month, Mobile currently sits on just under 228,000 TEUs, with officials expecting September to take it beyond 250,000.

This potential increase is in a large part due to new business coming into the port. Since June, the port now has five container ships calling into port every week, which if sustained should keep the TEU count high moving into 2017. In addition, new train routes serving Memphis and Chicago have meant that cargo holders in those regions are looking at Mobile more seriously as a point of entry. Previously, those regions had been served by trucks coming from Mobile, or freight was just brought in from the west coast.

But despite a growing port, the realities of an industry that is facing multibillion dollar losses in 2016 is never too far from Alabama Port CEO Jimmy Lyons' mind. "It's never good when you customers are experiencing financial difficulties," he said. "And we may see another bankruptcy in the near future."
9-26 wx map.jpg

A cold front will begin to move through the state later today and brings the promise of cooler temperatures later this week. (National Weather Service)

It might finally feel like fall soon after a weekend of record-setting temperatures across the state.

A much-welcomed cold front was forecast to move into Alabama starting on Monday, and cooler air is promised to follow in its wake.

High temperatures on Thursday will be a refreshing change from the heat of the past few months. (National Weather Service)

But Alabamians have to get through a day or two of hot temperatures first.

A few more temperature records -- some long-standing -- fell on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service:

Anniston hit 98 degrees, breaking the record of 86 set in 1931.

Birmingham hit 98, breaking the record of 97 set in 1921.

Tuscaloosa also hit 98, breaking the record of 97 set in 1961.

Montgomery hit 98 as well, breaking the record of 97 set in 2010.

And Muscle Shoals hit 99, breaking the record of 97 set in 1933.

Those weren't the only high temperatures. The weather service in Birmingham released temperature data from across central Alabama that showed Jasper hit 102 degrees on Sunday afternoon.

But there is relief in sight. A cold front was expected to move into the state starting today.

However, the weather service said that models have slowed down the progression of the front, meaning that cooler air may take just a little longer to settle in statewide.

The front was expected to move into central Alabama today and then slow down further, and might not move offshore until late Wednesday.

It could bring some rain, but it wasn't anticipated to be the kind of widespread, soaking rain that much of the state needs after weeks of dry conditions.

It will bring a taste of fall, however.

The weather service said high temperatures on Tuesday will be in the low 80s across north Alabama north of the front, with warmer temperatures persisting to the south.

That cooler air is not forecast to really be felt statewide until Thursday, when highs could stay in the low 80s from north to south (with a possible exception of southeast Alabama, where the front may not make it through yet).

A few spots may not make it out of the 70s for highs, according to forecasters.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will meet tonight in what could be the most-watched presidential debate in history.

Tonight's debate, set to start at 9 p.m. Eastern Time at Hofstra University, is expected to attract more than 80 million viewers. Moderator Lester Holt will be asking the questions of the Democratic and Republican nominees in the first of three scheduled meetings.

The debate will be aired on every major network and cable channel and streamed online on most news sites. You can also watch a livestream below.

Tonight's 90-minute debate will include topics selected by the moderator, NBC's Lester Holt, with Trump and Clinton given two minutes to answer. The answers will be followed by rebuttal.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan, non-profit group that organizes the event, said questions for the first debate will focus on three topics: America's direction; achieving prosperity; and securing America.

The future debate schedule includes:

Oct. 9 at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. - This debate will take the form of a town hall meeting, with half of the questions coming from citizen participants and the other half from moderators. Town hall participants will be uncommitted voters selected by the Gallup Organization.

Oct. 19 at University of Nevada in Las Vegas - The format will be a traditional debate format that will be moderated by one person and run from 9-10:30 p.m. EST without commercial breaks.

Vice presidential debate

Clinton's vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine and Trump VP pick Mike Pence will meet for one debate. The vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 4 at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. Debate will be divided into nine segments of 10 minutes each with the same time format as the presidential debates.

Elaine Quijano, anchor for CBSN and a correspondent with CBS News, will moderate the vice presidential debate
Diplomats and activists are reviving efforts to scrap nuclear weapons, but the odds against them may be getting longer.

New York, United States  The mushroom clouds of nuclear explosions cast a long shadow over the 20th century. The fungal smoke stacks provoked fear of an atomic apocalypse and became a rallying symbol for anti-war activists.

Their fright factor may be waning. The Cold War arms race was over by the time millennials were born. For the Instagram generation, cyber-strikes and hijacked jets hitting skyscrapers weigh heavier on the mind.

Nuclear weapons kind of faded down once, like, the issue of terrorism and 9/11 happened, New York high school pupil Lucy Li, 16, told Al Jazeera. World War II was a long time back, she said. Terrorism is the main focus and worry right now.

This month, Li and other teens visited the United Nations headquarters to learn about the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima from survivor Setsuko Thurlow , 84, who relived harsh childhood memories of the blast, infernos and relatives dying from radiation sickness.





Thurlow worries that the strike, which claimed some 140,000 lives by the end of the year, was too-quickly forgotten. People went back to sleep, she told Al Jazeera. We gotta clean up this mess before we pass on the planet to the next generation.

Lecturing youngsters is only half the battle. Downstairs at the world body, diplomats were hatching plans to outlaw nuclear weapons, of which there are more than 15,000 globally, owned by nine countries .

Many nations abhor the weapons, saying any nuclear strike would kill masses of civilians and automatically constitute an atrocity. Like mustard gas and land mines, they are inhuman and should be banned , they say.

For several years, Austria, a landlocked European nation, has built support for a push against Russia and the United States  which have the lions share of nuclear weapons  and other nuclear powers in a bid to declare the weapons illegal.

On September 21, Austrias Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz , told the UN General Assembly that Austria will table a draft resolution to convene negotiations on a legally-binding comprehensive instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons.

Diplomats familiar with the talks told Al Jazeera that Austria, Mexico and others will shortly release a UN General Assembly resolution that already has the support of more than 120 of the UNs 193 members.

The document is still being drafted in Geneva, but is expected to arrange a confab aimed at creating a nuclear weapons treaty akin to legal prohibitions on chemical weapons , landmines and cluster bombs .

We all agree that the humanitarian consequences of the explosion of nuclear weapons would be unacceptable, said Kurz. Experience shows that the first step to eliminate weapons of mass destruction is to prohibit them through legally-binding norms.

In some ways, he is preaching to the converted. The five legally-recognised nuclear-armed states  the United States, Russia, France, China and Britain  known as the P5, have long vowed to ditch their doomsday arsenals under the Non-Proliferation Treaty .

In 2009, US President Barack Obama called for a world without nuclear weapons while in Prague. His New START deal with Russia, ratified the next year, cut the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550.

In his UN address this month, Obama spoke of his unique responsibility to scrap nuclear weapons and on September 23 the UN Security Council passed a resolution supporting a 20-year-old treaty against nuclear test blasts.

But progress is too slow for Austria and others. Despite talk of disarmament, the US will spend some $1 trillion over three decades to modernise its nuclear arsenal. Britain plans to renew its missile-launching submarines.

Watch more: How worried should we be about nuclear terrorism?

Prospects for more US-Russia deals are bleak, given the rows over Ukraine and Syria. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee in this years White House race, even suggested that Japan and South Korea acquire the weapons .

Meanwhile, the nuclear-toting states outside the NPT  Pakistan, India, North Korea and also Israel, which neither confirms nor denies its stockpiles  answer to nobody. Some fear that Iran will join them after its 10-year deal with the US and others expires.

North Korea came closer to being able to launch nuclear warheads at neighbours this month with its fifth test blast . Pakistan is deploying small, tactical nuclear weapons to deter India that could be stolen or misused.

The UN calls for a world free of nuclear weapons and marks September 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons , but has largely shelved the issue to focus on more-likely gains against poverty and climate change.

Thomas Countryman, the US State Departments point man on nuclear arms, called Austrias effort meaningless and dangerous. Pyongyangs recent test blast showed why the US should retain its deterrent advantage, he said.





The international security environment needs to evolve in a way that gives the Russian Federation and the United States first, and later other nuclear weapon states, the confidence to negotiate further reductions in their nuclear arsenals, Countryman told Al Jazeera.

That is not something that can be accomplished by outside pressure from other states or from NGOs.

Opinions are mixed on whether Austria will achieve anything beyond a UN General Assembly resolution, which carry moral, not legal, force. Joseph Gerson, an anti-war activist, predicted an intense fight between the P5 and smaller UN members.

Its the many against a few, but the few have considerable power, Gerson, from the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group, told Al Jazeera. The US has sent out a demarche to quite a number of countries telling them not to push on this.

Kenneth Luongo, president of the Centre for a Secure Nuclear Future, a policy group, doubts that the US or Russia will yield to pressure. Their generals, however, may scrap some costly nuclear arms for weapons better suited against armed groups and other, more urgent, threats.

Read more: World ports detect only fraction of nuclear material

Global risk analyst Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, says the threat of nuclear brinksmanship has subsided, while cyber-strikes are ever-more menacing and available to many more than the nine nuclear powers.

While envoys negotiate between governments, the activists continue campaigning, though without the frequent Ban the Bomb marches that once drew big crowds in western cities but dwindled from the 1980s onwards.

Hidenori Watanave, a Harvard University scholar, is building an online archive of survivors testimonies from Hiroshima . Youngsters can use it to become storytellers about the atomic bomb via Facebook-style sharing, once Thurlow and others like her are gone, he told Al Jazeera.

His project and other efforts are having an impact, however limited. After the UN class, pupil Li grappled with a question that vexed even Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist behind Americas nuclear project, seven decades ago.

I feel like they were created in this race to show who is the No 1, like, most powerful country in the world, Li said. What I dont get is why you would create a weapon that could destroy the world in a few seconds, just for the sake of power.

Follow James Reinl on Twitter: @jamesreinl
After the assassination of Jordanian political writer Nahed Hattar on Sunday as he was entering a court hearing for posting a cartoon that allegedly insulted God and religion, stains of his blood could still be seen on the steps of the courthouse in Amman, where a radical Muslim preacher fired three bullets into his head.

Much deeper and wider signs of political stress and fear inherent in the incident, however, were quickly felt across the country, even the entire Arab world, I would argue. This is because some key unresolved issues at play here include religiosity, the rule of law, free speech, sectarianism, minority/majority relations and the balance between the rights of citizens and the responsibilities of government.

The specifics of the incident and its personalities are almost incidental to these wider challenges, in an Arab world already reeling from the state collapse, social fragmentation, sectarian strife, religious extremism, and civil wars that have shattered or rocked half a dozen states.





Nahed Hattar was allegedly assassinated on Sunday by a hardline Islamist former preacher named Riad Ismaeel Abdullah, during the days of the government headed by Prime Minister Hani Mulki.

Tragic drama

These and other protagonists in this tragic drama could easily be interchanged with hundreds of others like them in any of the 22 Arab countries, where many others in recent years have been arrested, tried, punished, or even banished or killed in some cases for their alleged crimes against both the laws of the land and the religious sentiments of society.

OPINION: The Arab media paradox

Critical issues in the Hattar murder include: religious sensibilities and how these are articulated in the rule of law; the role of the government in upholding the law and protecting citizen rights; how society defines and guarantees freedom of expression; the power of non-governmental forces such as religious or ideological hardliners; and the glue that should bind all these factors together but that remains substantially absent across the entire Arab world. A clear social contract allows a majority of citizens to achieve a consensus on the values and rules of society, the rights of minorities and all citizens are protected, and the rule of law manages the whole process.

Islamists, secularists, government officials, civil society activists and millions of private citizens all spoke their mind, usually blaming someone else for doing something dangerous that should be stopped ... by

All these dimensions of Jordanian life and law were in play on Sunday, and they elicited sharp, instant responses from different quarters of society  who all spoke past one another, and thus only accentuated the tensions and contradictions in Jordanian and Arab society that have now burst into the open.

Islamists, secularists, government officials, civil society activists, and millions of private citizens all spoke their mind, usually blaming someone else for doing something dangerous that should be stopped  in their view, but not necessarily in the consensus perception of the country as a whole.

The family of the assassinated Nahed Hattar openly blamed the government and security services for his death, for arresting him on imprecise charges and then for not protecting him when they knew that his life was threatened.

The government condemned the crime and said it would bring the perpetrators to justice and work to prevent any further sectarian divisions.

Media activists who have worked of years in Jordan to bring clarity and precision to vaguely defined laws on blasphemy and incitement to sectarian violence heaped major abuse on the state for allowing this situation to occur.

Blunder from start to finish

The respected pioneer media freedom activist Naseem Tarawnah voiced a common theme on his blog Black Iris on Sunday morning, saying that, the way the government handled [Hattars] posting of a caricature on Facebook they deemed to be offensive has been a blunder from start to tragic finish. By detaining him and taking him to court, they criminalised his action, putting him in the crosshairs, and legitimised the space needed for the crazies to respond. And they did.

No Arab country has yet achieved a credible, clear social contract that has been freely negotiated among equal citizens.

The triple core of this modern Arab tragedy is that citizens like Hattar are accused of criminal actions based on laws that are never precise and are open to widely differing interpretations; armed elements in society often take the law into their own hands, sometimes without the state being able to control them; and, the lack of agreed free speech guidelines and democratic political institutions leaves us without a consensus, widely respected rule of law system.

So, many different sectarian, ideological, social, ethnic and other groups in society enforce the rules that they deem most appropriate to society, even assassinating others whose actions they dislike.

OPINION: The Middle Easts century to come

Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia are the most extreme examples of what this kind of polarised, militarised situation leads to. Jordans tragedy should remind us that such dangers are deeply entrenched across much of the Arab world that lacks negotiated social contracts, precise rules of law, and protected and equal rights for all citizens.

Rami G Khouri is a senior public policy fellow at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut and a non-resident senior fellow at Harvard University Kennedy School.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Obama has failed in Syria, but so will Putin.

Why on earth would Russia back out on a sweet deal with John Kerry that had allowed it to cash in on its Syria gamble and become the United States senior partner in shaping Syrias future and in the coalition for the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS)?

By trampling over the much-hyped US-Russia-brokered ceasefire in Syria, Vladimir Putin has proved right Kerrys detractors in the Obama administration. Cynical as they may be, the Pentagon and the CIA have questioned Russias seriousness about the ceasefire and the diplomatic process from the very beginning.

Russia has taken advantage of Kerrys concessions, not to exercise influence over Bashar al-Assad, but rather to unleash him to retake the whole country from the terrorists.





But if the US gamble on Russia has failed, Putin is now overplaying his hand and he too will fail, despite recent territorial gains. Does Moscow seriously believe it can benefit by going it alone, supporting a brutal regime in a bleeding nation?

War crimes

The ill-conceived ceasefire hardly lasted a few days. It was broken by a spectacular attack on a UN aid convoy outside Aleppo on September 19.

In the following days, Putin and Assad subjected the city to some of the worst bombardment of the war. Hundreds more died.

OPINION: A world of dark clouds and silver linings

The Russian military escalation has led to western diplomatic escalation. On Sunday, France and Britain joined the US in condemning Putin and Assads war crimes in Syria at the UN Security Council.

The (misplaced) admiration for Putin's 'masterful' military intervention on the side of the Syrian dictatorship has given way to dismay and disgust in the region and beyond, as Russia tries to force a military solution on the fractured nation. by

The (misplaced) admiration for Putins masterful military intervention on the side of the Syrian dictatorship has given way to dismay and disgust in the region and beyond, as Russia tries to force a military solution on the fractured nation.

But spouting verbal condemnation of Putin/Assad violations in Syria amounts to issuing speeding tickets during a Formula One car race.

Predictably, Russias UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin has doubled down at the Security Council, claiming that bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now.

US failure

Theres little doubt that Obamas failure to act in Syria has brought about Russias intervention.

Obama claims that he is constantly haunted by the Syrian tragedy but remains adamant that there was nothing he could have done that could have produced a better outcome in Syria.

I disagree. For starters, he could have worked with Turkey and others to provide protection for civilians within safe zones in Syria, and mitigated the horrific flux of refugees into neighbouring countries and beyond.

WATCH: Syria  Under Russias Fist

He says with a certain humility, real or fake, that perhaps he should have thought harder and gone about it differently:  there are times where I think I wish I could have imagined a different level of insight.

Be that as it may, he did fail to act, no less when Assad trampled over his  and the international communitys  red line by using chemical weapons against his own people. The result is clear to see: hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, and a country destroyed.

But when Russia took advantage of the void and acted where the US failed, Obama saw a challenge and an opportunity. Russia became Assads patron, and a potential co-sponsor of a diplomatic solution in the country. As the US engaged Iran on the nuclear issue, it engaged Russia on Syria.

Enter Kerry, the enthusiastic diplomat with grandiose pretensions. Certain of his ability to convince his counterpart Sergey Lavrov to play ball, he went on to make one concession after another, culminating in dreadful deals that anointed Putin peacemaker, rehabilitated Assad, weakened the opposition, and strengthened ISIL.

OPINION: No to partitioning Syria

But when Russia exploited the US concessions to act even more aggressively in Syria, Kerrys threat of resorting to plan B failed utterly to deter them from acting with impunity.

Why? Well, because the administration had no plan B, and Kerry had to play with the cards Obama dealt him.

Russia next

So once again I ask: why did Putin turn his back on a deal that would strengthen Assad, weaken the opposition, and partner Russia with the US to fight ISIL, paving the way for more compromises in Syria and potentially over Ukraine?

The short answer: arrogance.

Ever since the Russian forces entered Syria on the side of the Assad last September, the tide of war has shifted in their favour. The Syrian regime, which was falling apart in the first half of 2015 despite assistance from his allies in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, began to regain the initiative  all thanks to Russia.

Ever since the Russian forces entered Syria on the side of the Assad last September, the tide of war has shifted in their favour. by

Suddenly, regional leaders flocked to Moscow to meet Putin, and Western leaders sought his influence to end the war. Russia became co-sponsor of the Geneva peace talks and even dabbled with the idea of becoming a peacebroker in Israel/Palestine.

But this could not go on open-endedly with Syria falling apart in the process and chaos spilling over to neighbouring countries.

What then?

Putins gamble paid off, but he failed to cash in his chips. Like a gambler enjoying a winning streak, he reckons he could go on winning.

But what will he gain now, assuming he and his Syrian crony conquer Aleppo, aside from a horrific humanitarian disaster and a destroyed city?

What will he gain if he attains his maximalist goal of conquering the whole country, apart from a weak, vengeful dictatorship ruling over a broken people, sowing more extremism?

In reality, there is no such thing as a military victory in Syria, not even in the distant future. If anything, Putin will once again face the very same Afghan syndrome he has been trying to overcome in Syria. A protracted war that will bleed Russia as it breaks Syria.

Arrogance breeds stupidity.

Marwan Bishara is the senior political analyst at Al Jazeera. Follow him on Facebook.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
State media blames Kurdish fighters for bomb and armed attacks carried out in southeastern Mardin and Sirnak provinces.

Ten members of the Turkish security forces have been killed in two separate attacks in southeastern Turkey blamed on Kurdish fighters, according to local media reports.

Six Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on a highway by the town of Uludere, in Sirnak province, near the Iraqi border, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.





Two others were wounded in the incident and security forces were in the midst of carrying out a military operation to capture the attackers late on Monday night.

In a separate incident, two soldiers and two village guards were killed and six others were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Mardin province on Monday morning, Anadolu reported.

Village guards are local civilians trained and employed to combat Kurdish fighters.

The bomb, allegedly planted by the PKK members, exploded when a vehicle carrying the forces passed by, the agency said, adding that an operation was under way to hunt down the assailants who fled.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its western allies, has waged a bloody campaign against the Turkish state since it took up arms in 1984 for self-rule in the Kurdish majority southeast.

How could failed coup affect Kurdish peace process?

The Turkish army said eight PKK members were neutralised on Sunday in ground and air operations in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, Anadolu reported.

It said 320 PKK fighters have been killed in Hakkari since the operations began several weeks ago. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the figures.

In March 2013 the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire, which held until July 2015 when the autonomy-seeking group began attacks again.

The conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984.
Thousands gather in Mexico City to mark two years since 43 students disappeared on their way to a protest in Iguala.

Two years after they went missing, the fate of 43 Mexican students who disappeared on their way to a protest in the town of Iguala remains unknown.

Thousands of supporters gathered in Mexico City this week to demand answers about exactly happened on the night of September 26, 2014, when students at a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa disappeared.

The Mexican government says that the case has been solved, but its assessment has been challenged by the students families, human rights organisations and independent investigators.

In January 2015, Mexicos attorney general, Jesus Murillo Karam, alleged that the government had solved the mystery behind the missing students.

Corrupt members of the local police, said Karam, had handed the students over to a drug cartel, who killed them, burned their bodies at a dump in Cocula, and dumped their remains in a river.





Forensic experts, independent journalists and human rights groups, however, say there is no evidence to support the government claims.

We analysed the evidence approximately for a year bringing specialists from different disciplines and the conclusion was that there was no evidence of massive killing and burning on that particular site, said Mercedes Moretti, a forensic investigator.

Prosecutors have detained more than 100 police, politicians and drug traffickers in connection with the case, but have convicted none.

Responding to pressure from international human rights groups, the attorney generals office said recently that it would use laser-scanning technology to look for clandestine graves in other locations near the Cocular dump, and investigate if police from other towns were involved in the mass disappearance.

We cant say that they were killed if we dont have the irrefutable scientific proof, nor tell the parents, accept it, they are dead, go back home to mourn your dead, Vidulfo Rosales, a lawyer representing families of the missing students, told Al Jazeera.

Historian Lorenzo Meyer said the Ayotzinapa case, named after the location of the college in which the teachers-to-be were studying, is one of the darkest chapters in Mexicos history.

There is no logical explanation for that ending. It is brutality to the extreme of insanity, but that is not spontaneous, it is the product of decomposition of state structures in Mexico for a long time, he told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Mexico no closer to solving missing-students mystery

The case brought Mexico to a standstill and called into question President Enrique Pena Neitos credibility as well as the integrity of his government.

Families argue the government is covering up the truth to protect high-ranking officials allegedly involved in the disappearances.

We dont want any more lies, said Cristina Bautista, a mother of one of the missing students.

We want to know the truth. Where are our children?

Families say the restless nights continue, but there is one motto that keeps them going: They took them alive, we want them back alive.
Russian-backed Syrian offensive pounds rebel-held Aleppo with hospitals running out of medicine and health workers.

Rescue workers in Aleppo struggled to help hundreds of wounded Syrians trapped in a massive Russian-backed government air offensive as the bloody battle to recapture the key city entered its fifth day.

Dozens of air strikes hit rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city on Monday with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying at least 12 people, including three children, were killed.

More than 280 people have died in the citys rebel-held east since the offensive began on Thursday after a ceasefire ended with at least 400 people wounded  including 61 children  on Sunday alone, a doctors group said.

The Syrian government offensive to recapture all of Aleppo  with Russian air support and Iranian help on the ground  has been accompanied by bombing that residents describe as unprecedented in its ferocity.

Jets pound Aleppo as UN discusses Syria escalation

Only 30 doctors now remain in Aleppos east, where residents are in dire need of medical and surgical supplies to treat the wounded among a trapped population of 300,000.

There are 30 doctors who are still inside the eastern Aleppo city, Abd Arrahman Alomar, a pediatrician who works for the Syrian American Medical Society in opposition-controlled areas, told a news briefing in Geneva.





They lack equipment and emergency medicine to treat the many trauma cases, and there is only enough fuel to run hospital generators for 20 days. One obstetrician and two paediatricians remain to care for pregnant women and 85,000 children, he said.

The sudden rise in wounded now means supplies are dangerously low or not available at all, said Al Jazeeras Charles Stratford, reporting from Gaziantep along the Turkey-Syria border.

Medics say they cant transport people to other hospitals in safe areas because eastern Aleppo is surrounded by government forces.

Dr Alomar said if the bombing continues, we are going to the point of zero where there are no facilities to be protected, where there is no health staff to be protected.

Diplomacy not dead

Moscow and Damascus launched their assault last week despite months of negotiations led by US Secretary of State John Kerry that resulted in a short-lived ceasefire this month.

Kerry said the failed truce was not the cause of the fighting, and that diplomacy was the only way to stop the war.

The cause of what is happening is Assad and Russia wanting to pursue a military victory, Kerry told reporters during a trip to Colombia.

Today there is no ceasefire and were not talking to them right now. And whats happening? The place is being utterly destroyed. Thats not delusional. Thats a fact.

Syrias Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said on Monday the now-defunct truce could still be revived.

Speaking to pro-government Mayadeen TV from New York, he also said the government was prepared to take part in a unity government that incorporated elements from the opposition  an offer that had been rejected in the past.

Al-Moallem accused the US, Britain and France of convening an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council a day earlier in order to support terrorists inside Syria.

But he said ongoing communication between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce brokered two weeks ago is not dead.

OPINION: Russia overplays its hand in Syria

On Monday, dozens of rebels and their families quit the last opposition-held district of central Homs city, as part of a deal struck with the government last year.

A total of 131 fighters and 119 family members were bussed out of Waer, devastated after a three-year government siege, to rebel-held Dar al-Kubra further north, according to Reuters news agency.





An estimated 600,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the UN, with most encircled by government forces.

The UNs World Food Programme said it delivered food aid on Sunday to civilians in four besieged towns in Syria for the first time since April.

A convoy of 53 trucks entered Madaya and Zabadani, with another 18 to Fuaa and Kafraya, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.

At an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sunday, US envoy Samantha Power voiced some of the strongest criticism yet of Russias support for President Bashar al-Assads regime.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism. It is barbarism, she said. The UKs envoy accused Moscow of committing war crimes.

The Kremlin hit back on Monday with Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov denouncing the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on world powers to work harder for an end to the nightmare in Syria, which has killed an estimated 400,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
Al Jazeera reports from hospital overflowing with dead and wounded as relentless battering of city continues.

WARNING: Amr al-Halabis report contains footage some may find disturbing.

Hospitals are struggling to cope in Syrias Aleppo as government and Russian fighter jets continued to pound the citys rebel-held east, killing more than 200 people in under a week.

Al Jazeeras Amr al-Halabi, reporting from a makeshift hospital in the city, described a bleak situation as the hospital overflowed with dozens of dead and wounded people.

Dead people are on the floor of this makeshift hospital, Halabi said. The situation here is desperate.

Bodies littered the ground inside and outside the facility, as volunteers and relatives carried severly wounded people inside, looking for somehere to put them down on a floor already full with air raid victims.

There is not enough space for us. We have to leave immediately to make more room for those injured, Halabi said as a stream of ambulances ferried in the dead and wounded, overcrowding hospital wards.

It looks like judgement day, he said.

At an emergency meeting of the UN on Sunday, the US, Britain and France accused Russia, a key military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, of war crimes.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism, US Ambassador Samantha Power said.

It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes, said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, adding that high-tech weaponry had inflicted a new hell on war-weary Syrians.

READ MORE: Syrias civil war  Why Aleppo matters

Since a ceasefire deal broke down last week, the Syrian government and Russia have intensified a barrage of air raids aimed at taking the east of the city from rebels.

Were civilians here

Russias Ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now.

But Churkin laid the blame for the ceasefire collapse with the US, accusing Washington of being unable to convince the rebel groups it backs to distance themselves from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group  formerly known as the Nusra Front and not included in the truce deal  and abide by the ceasefire.

Once Syrias commercial centre, Aleppo has been ravaged by fighting and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.

Its east has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages. Attacks on water installations from both sides have left more than two million civilians without water.

None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread, 30-year-old Imad Habush from Bab al-Nayrab neighbourhood told the AFP news agency.

I dont know why the regime is bombing us in this barbaric way. Were civilians here. Were not carrying weapons, and were besieged. We have no way to escape.

READ MORE: Ferocious air strikes pummel Aleppo as ground gained .

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to work harder for an end to the nightmare in Syria that has forced nearly half of the countrys population to flee their homes and killed hundreds of thousands.
Ceremony in Cartagena aimed at ending five decades of war that has left 220,000 dead and eight million displaced.

FARC, Colombias biggest rebel movement, will sign a historic peace accord with the government on Monday aimed at ending a war that has lasted five decades and killed 220,000 people.

The pact will be signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and a rebel fighter known by the alias Timochenko, in the city of Cartagena, in a process that took more than four years to finalise.

Fifteen South American presidents, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry, are scheduled to witness the signing ceremony. More than 2,500 guests have been invited to wear white as a sign of peace, and Santos will add his signature to the 297-page accord with a pen made from a recycled shell used in combat.

The signing ceremony will not officially close the deal, though. Colombians are being given the final say on endorsing or rejecting it in an October 2 referendum.

WATCH our documentary Colombia: The End Game

Opinion polls point to an almost-certain victory for the yes vote, but some analysts warn that a closer-than-expected finish or low voter turnout could bode poorly for the many challenges the country faces implementing the ambitious agreement.

Under the terms of the deal, rebels who lay down their weapons and confess to rights abuses will be spared jail and allowed to provide reparations to their victims by carrying out development work in areas hit hard by the conflict.

The government has also committed itself to addressing unequal land distribution, which has been a long-standing FARC demand harkening back to its roots as a peasant army in 1964, and the administration has agreed to work with the rebels to provide alternative development to tens of thousands of families that depend on the cocaine trade.

Extorting and killing

FARC-Colombia Timeline 1964: FARC established as an armed wing of Communist Party 1999-2002: Government and FARC hold peace talks which ultimately fail. During this time FARC control up to 30% of the country 2008: The group suffers a series of setbacks. Venezuelas Hugo Chavez urges the US to stop treating the group as terrorists. 2012: Start of peace talks in Havana, co-sponsored by Cuba and Norway

Al Jazeeras Allessandro Rampietti, reporting from the southern town of San Vicente Del Caguant, in what was once known as the sanctuary of the rebels, said that much had changed in the town.

It is a centre of commerce, crime is down, and the FARC stopped extorting money. Sandbags still block the entrance to the police station, but the trenches that surrounded city hall are gone.

San Vicente Del Caguans Mayor Humberto Sanchez, of the conservative Centre Democratic party, which opposed the talks, said that locals were wary.

Im not against the peace process but Im worried that the FARC will not honour the agreement, he told Al Jazeera.

During the process they kept extorting and killing people. When you are in a peace process you have to stop committing crimes. But if they do comply with it theyll have my support.

Among the most controversial parts of the agreement is an attempt to judge the potential war crimes of both rebels and government forces.



If the referendum is passed, FARCs roughly 7,000 fighters will start moving to 28 designated zones where over the next six months they are meant to turn over their weapons to UN-sponsored observers.

Analysts say the rebels were forced to the negotiating table after being pushed to the edge of Colombias vast jungles by a decade-long, US-backed military campaign that claimed the lives of a number of its top commanders.

Negotiations, which had been expected to take a few months, stretched over more than four years.

The process was fraught with challenges, from the militarys killing of FARCs then top commander, known as Alfonso Cano, shortly after he authorised a secret backchannel with the government to the rebels capture of an army general who until a few months ago was a trophy prisoner.

The National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombias second largest rebel group, said on Sunday that its fight with the goverment would stop until the referendum. ELN leaders have previously expressed their wish to engage in their own peace process with the Colombian government.
At least eight soldiers and 25 attackers die in separate strikes as armed group continues to hit military targets.

Boko Haram has killed at least eight soldiers in two attacks in northeastern Nigeria while more than two dozen fighters also died, according to the military.

The armed group ambushed a convoy late on Sunday near Bama, 70km southeast of Maiduguri, resulting in the deaths of an army officer, three soldiers, and three attackers, an army statement said on Monday.

Earlier in the day gunmen attacked an army position at Logomani, 110km northeast of Maiduguri city, killing four soldiers, it said. The army said at least 22 fighters died in the firefight.

The attacks brought the official death toll of troops killed in the past week to 10 with 24 others wounded.

However, Boko Haram claimed that more than 40 soldiers from a multinational army were killed in just one attack last week.

READ MORE: Abubakar Shekau appears alive in new Boko haram video

On Sunday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video denying military reports that he was fatally wounded last month. He also insisted that he remained in charge despite the fact that ISIL appointed a new leader of Boko Haram, which is also known as Islamic State West Africa Province.

In the video, Shekau taunted parents of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped in 2014, saying they will see their daughters only if the government swaps them for detained leaders of the group.

To the people of Chibok: You have not seen the worst yet, Shekau said, ending with laughter.

Boko Harams seven-year insurgency has killed about 20,000 people and displaced more than two million in its effort to create a state adhering to strict Islamic laws.
Sinking ranks as one of the deadliest incidents for migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

An Egyptian Health Ministry official said a total of 170 bodies have been pulled from the water as of Monday, five days after a boat carrying about 600 migrants and refugees capsised in the Mediterranean while attempting to head to Europe.

The death toll is expected to rise as many bodies are believed to be trapped inside the boat, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorised to speak to the press.

The vessel is believed to be at a depth of 15 metres, about 18km from Egyptian shores. Earlier reports indicated at least 160 people had been rescued after it went down off the coastal town of Rosetta on Wednesday.

Over 160 bodies recovered from Egypt refugee shipwreck

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday called on his people to avoid risking their lives. I tell everyone that our country needs its people, he said in his first public comments on the boat disaster.

Tightening control on Egypts 5,000-km-long border requires huge efforts, Sisi added in his televised remarks.

Society should join hands with the state in confronting illegal migration operations, he said.

Governor Mohammed Sultan of Beheira province told the Associated Press news agency a vessel was sent by British Petroleum with specialised equipment to help lift the 80-tonne boat.

According to the International Organization for Migrations Missing Migrants Project, 3,501 migrants and refugees have died so far this year while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the North African coastline in recent months as the weather improves, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt.

The IOM has recorded roughly 206,400 refugees crossing the Mediterranean this year.
Massive EU programme will provide refugees with debit cards holding $33.50 a month to use for their daily needs.

The European Union has launched a 348 million euro ($392m) programme that will distribute monthly electronic cash grants to benefit a million refugees in Turkey, as part of a deal in which Ankara pledged to curb the number of people trying to enter Europe.

The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), launched on Monday, will give refugees pre-paid cards to use for their expenses in Turkey.

The refugees will be able to use the cards in shops or institutions to pay for food, education, housing and clothing, or also to withdraw cash from ATMs.

We are launching today a ground breaking humanitarian programme 2 help refugees lead dignified lives.The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN). pic.twitter.com/FNCLrVTunc  Christos Stylianides (@StylianidesEU) September 26, 2016

Each card will be automatically topped up with 100 Turkish lira ($33.50) a month, giving people the chance to choose their own purchases.

Today we launch the biggest and largest humanitarian project the EU has ever supported. It will provide a basic source of income for one million Syrian refugees, the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, said at a news conference.

The ESSN is perfect proof of the EUs commitment to tackle the challenge posed by the refugee crisis, he added.

Earlier this year, EU member states approved a fund of 3 billion euros ($3.37bn) to help Turkey improve living conditions for some three million Syrian refugees on its territory. The ESSN is part of that deal.

Another 3 billion euros of funds can follow until the end of 2018, if all of the first part is used.

The EU is also funding other humanitarian projects in Turkey under the same deal. However, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused the bloc of not following through on its financial pledges.

Ankara has threatened to back out of the deal various times, unless the EU meets its promises.

Numbers falling

More than a million refugees entered the EU after crossing from Turkey to Greece by boat last year. Since Turkey agreed to prevent people from setting sail from its shores, the numbers taking that route have fallen dramatically.

On Turkeys criticism that the promised EU aid for refugees was slow to arrive, Stylianides said he held discussions with Turkeys EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik on the issue.

OPINION: The dark side of the EU-Turkey refugee deal

I think now minister Celik recognises and realises that this process for all European funding is going well, and I think day by day the situation is getting better, he said.

The ESSN will be implemented by the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent, in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy and the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.
The giant social network is taking a stand with the occupier, say Palestinian activists.

Jerusalem  Facebook, the social network, may have capitulated to the Israeli narrative and is taking the side of an occupying power, according to Palestinian journalists and activists.

Israel doesnt want the Palestinian story about violations against them in the occupied territories to reach a worldwide audience, said Musa Rimawi, director of MADA, the Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedom.

The warning came following a decision by Facebook on Friday to disable several Palestinian accounts on the basis that they breached community standards.

Last week, four editors from the Shehab News Agency , which has more than 6.3 million likes on Facebook, and three executives from the Quds News Network, with about 5.1 million likes, reported they could not access their personal accounts. Both agencies cover daily news in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Editors at the Gaza-based Shehab News agency say that the move was hardly surprising. This is the fourth time in a year that they have been censored by the social network, says Rimah Mubarak, director of Shehab news agency.

Previously, it was the page that was suspended. One time it was suspended partially and back online after a week, the other two times the suspension was permanent, so we had to create a brand new page, Mubarak told Al Jazeera. We contacted Facebook many times [about the latest incident] but they never replied. The same has been happening to many other pages and news agencies in Gaza.

Facebook later said they had made a mistake and restored all pages except one of the editors accounts at Shehab agency.

We want people to feel safe when using Facebook, and for that reason, weve developed a set of community standards which make it clear there is no place for terrorists or content that promotes terrorism on Facebook, a spokesperson for the social media giant told Al Jazeera in a statement.

The biggest democracy in the ME needs Facebook to cover the reality about its crimes#FBCensorsPalestine #Boycott @facebook pic.twitter.com/v8b7s4Lw0X  Palestine is not a slogan (@Stefaniafodd) September 25, 2016

Palestinian activists say the suspension is the result of an Israeli campaign to pressure Facebook to censor the Palestinian narrative.

The concern is that Facebook is adopting Israeli policy and terminology when it comes to defining what incitement is. by Nadeem Nashif, cofounder of the Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media

The Israeli government has repeatedly blamed the flare up of violence in Israel and the West Bank since last October  which claimed the lives of more than 220 Palestinians, 34 Israelis and two Americans  on online incitement.

Since then, hundreds of cases have emerged of Palestinians arrested by Israel for Facebook posts.

The concern is that Facebook is adopting Israeli policy and terminology when it comes to defining what incitement is, Nadim Nashif, cofounder of 7amleh, the Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media, told Al Jazeera.

Palestinians say that the root cause of the violence is to be found in the frustration and denial of rights that a generation growing up under military occupation has had to endure.

And it is this very frustration that, Palestinians say, has led youth to vocally express their views online  and to be arrested for them.

READ MORE: Israel prosecutes Palestinian poet over youtube poem

Since the beginning of October 2015, prisoners support group Addameer has documented more than 200 cases of arrests of Palestinians, including children, for alleged incitement.

The Haifa-based Adalah Legal Centre has put that number closer to 400, including 150 Palestinians in the West Bank, and 250 Palestinian citizens of Israel. Many of the cases, according to Addameer, have been placed under administrative detention due to lack of evidence.

There is certainly deep concern that the law is being enforced in a discriminatory way, lawyer Nadeem Shehadeh, a lawyer with Adalahs Civil and Political Rights Unit, told Al Jazeera.

The vast majority of arrests in 2015 and the first half of 2016 for charges related to alleged incitement on social media outlets have been of Palestinian citizens of Israel. New laws are regulating and impinging upon freedom of expression in the country  particularly for Palestinian citizens  and this is most worrisome, Shehadeh said.

Palestinians say the Facebook suspension move is the result of an agreement between the social media giant and the Israeli government. Activists took to twitter to protest against the move and called for a boycott of Facebook to protest the censorship agreement between Facebook and the Israeli government.

Earlier this month, a Facebook delegation met Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to improve cooperation against incitement to terror and murder, said a statement from Prime Ministers office.

Ayelet Shaked of the right wing, settler-supported Jewish Home party, hailed the meeting as a success.

Several Israeli press reports suggested Facebook and the Israeli government would set up joint teams to counter online incitement, but no further details were provided. Gilad Erdans office did not respond to Al Jazeeras request to elaborate.

A Facebook delegation visited Israel as part of our ongoing dialogue with policymakers and experts around the world to keep terrorist content off our platform and support counter-speech initiatives, a spokesperson for the social network told Al Jazeera in a statement.

READ MORE: Israel jails Palestinians for Facebook posts

As part of Israels online wars, last June, Shaked and Erdan have also proposed new legislation to force social networks to remove content that the government considers incitement, or block its access in the country when it is posted from a non-Israeli IP address.

Facebook does know how to fight what it understands as problematic legislation, says Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of the Digital Age Programme at the Israel Democracy Institute, The question is, he added, after all, this is exactly what the government wants to achieve.





The social network has come under pressure from Israeli and American families of attack victims who are currently suing Facebook for $1bn, in an effort led by the legal advocacy organisation Shurat HaDin.

The company recently appointed a local government relations representative, Altshuler said, who previously worked as a consultant for the Netanyahu government.

According to Shaked, who herself famously posted an extract that called Palestinian children little snakes, said that Israel submitted 158 requests for Facebook over the past few months to remove what Israel deemed as inciting content, and the company complied with 95 percent of those requests. Facebook did not confirm or deny these numbers.

Facebook removes online content upon legal review of a governments request if it finds that the content is illegal under local law, in which case it will be made unavailable in that specific country. Facebook publishes records of these requests, according to the networks website.

Secondly, Facebook removes content that violates its own community standards. A ban on child nudity, for instance, was the reason for the recent removal of the iconic photograph from the Vietnam war that showed a little girl running away from a Napalm attack.





Unit 8200 , the branch of the Israeli military in charge of collecting online intelligence, monitors keywords on social media that are believed to incite. While military law, which applies to Palestinians in the West Bank, allows the prosecution of individuals for expressing sympathy with terrorist activities, incitement to violence and terrorism can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison under Israels penal laws.

On October 11, 2015, Dareen Tatour , 34, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, was arrested and charged with alleged incitement based on a handful of her posts on Facebook, including a poem entitled Resist, my people, resist them. In another case, Majd Atwan, 22, a beautician from Bethlehem, was arrested after writing on her Facebook page the news of 20 settlers injured is nice following a bus attack in Jerusalem.

Anas Khateeb, a 19-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel, was arrested over posts which included long live the Intifada, Jerusalem is Arab and Im on the waiting list.

Inflammatory speech posted in the Hebrew language, on the other hand, has attracted much less attention from the Israeli authorities and Facebook.

A well-known repository of such speech is the Facebook page of right-wing Israeli rapper  The Shadow , who recently earned accusations of incitement from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin himself.

The rapper, with more than 250,000 followers on his page, has rallied people online to organise counter-demonstrations at left-wing events. Comments in reply to his posts can get particularly violent.

WATCH: Facebook  social media platform or news gatekeeper?

The rappers page, according to a report that studied online incitement in Hebrew in 2015, registered the highest number of inciting and racist comments.

Published by the Berl Katznelson Foundation, the report found there was a 20 percent increase in the number of inciting and racist statements among Hebrew speaking users on social media in 2015, as well as an increase of 40 percent in the number of calls for physical violence against Palestinians and other minorities including LGTB movement.





According to the study, 122,000 users directly called for violence with words like murder, kill, or burn. Arabs were the No 1 recipients of hateful comments.

We have seen the impact of such incitement in the form of settler terror and trigger-happy soldiers executing injured Palestinians in the streets of the occupied state of Palestine, said Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, in a recent statement in which he flipped the Israeli narrative and called for international protection.

Facebook hasnt met Palestinian leaders to discuss their concern.

For Nashif, Facebooks bias is tantamount to the social network taking a stand with the occupation. What is happening is that Facebook is adopting the definition of the occupier about what incitement is.
President says camp is unacceptable and will be completely dismantled, urging UK to do its part.

The French president has said a refugee camp in Calais, known as the Jungle, must be completely dismantled days after he pledged to relocate thousands of refugees.

The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it. We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively, Francois Hollande said on Monday after visiting the northern French town near the border with Britain.

Al Jazeeras Natacha Butler, reporting from Calais, said the French president met city officials, charities and police to discuss his plan under which some 9,000 refugees will be relocated to different shelters and centres across the country.

READ MORE: The Calais Sessions and the music of Kasper

They will be moved off in small groups of 40-50 people. They will be given four months to apply for asylum and those who are not successful with applications will be deported, Butler said.

Hollandes visit comes only days after his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy  who is hoping to make a comeback as president, railed against the inflows of refugees and migrants to France during a separate trip to Calais.

The issue has been low-key under Hollandes four-year-old presidency, but he has now been forced to take a visible stance on it under pressure from his right-wing rival Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The timing though of this announcement is significant, as there is French presidential election here next year and the president knows immigration is high on the agenda of many voters .., Butler said.

He really wants to be looking at it as being seen as doing something as Calais is really a symbol of migration and immigration in France.

Hollande called on Britain  where many of the refugees ultimately want to go  to play its part in managing the situation at the camp, which holds between 7,000 and 10,000 people.

Delivering a stern message, the French president said that he expected London to fully honour agreements on managing a flow of refugees who mostly flock to Calais from war zones such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq in the hope of reaching Britain by boat, train or in stowed away in the back of cargo trucks.

READ MORE: A Syrian refugees deferred English dreams

I also want to restate my determination that the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking and that they continue to do that in the future, he said.

People camped in Calais regularly try to climb on lorries or other vehicles in order to get to the United Kingdom via the Channel tunnel.

Butler said that the vast majority of people come to Calais with the aim of reaching the United Kingdom.

You can close it but it is not going to stop people from coming here in order to reach Britain, she said.

Plans to relocate the refugees have sparked controversy and protests, with local residents in areas where new shelters could be established vehemently opposed the move.
Six people from upper-caste community detained for assault on woman and her family for refusing to remove carcass.

Six people have been arrested in connection with an attack on a pregnant woman, who refused to clear away a cow carcass from the street as part of a weeks-long strike over alleged rights abuses, police said.

Sangita Ranawasia, who is five months pregnant and from Indias Dalit community, has been recovering in hospital after she and seven family members were beaten with sticks in their village in the western state of Gujarat two days ago.

Six persons of the upper-caste Darbar community were arrested for assault on a pregnant woman and her family members, deputy police superintendent BA Chavda told the AFP news agency on Monday.

They face initial charges of assault and criminal intimidation, Chavda added.

IN PICTURES: Indias Dalits demand freedom from caste discrimination

The attack late on Friday comes as Dalits continue their strike against collecting carcasses, a practice they have traditionally been doing for centuries, in protest against the public flogging of four Dalit villagers in July.

Dailts, formerly known as untouchables, are commonly tasked with removing dead cows from streets, as well as skinning cattle.

Anger has mounted among the Dalit community and violent protests have erupted over the flogging of the villagers by cow-protection vigilantes who accused them of killing a bovine they were removing.

Cows are considered sacred by Hindus and killing them is banned in most Indian states.

READ MORE: Indias Dalit cattle skinners share stories of abuse

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged a halt to attacks on Dalits, who lie at the bottom of Indias social hierarchy.

Cow carcasses can be seen on roadsides in Gujarat as Dalits strike and call for an end to deep discrimination and violence.

Police officer Chavda said the mob was angry at the Dalits refusal to remove the carcass due to the strike, and tensions have been running high in the village.

Ranawasia, whose unborn child was unharmed in the attack, and her family have since been given police protection.
Amman- Jordans newly elected parliament is unlikely to lead to any political change in the country, analysts say. No radical changes are expected because opposition forces remain a small minority in the parliament and challenged by a conservative pro-government MPs, Oraib Rantawi, director of the Amman-based Al-Quds Centre for Political Studies, told al-Jazeera.

According to the final results released by Jordans Independent Electoral Commission on Sunday, the National Coalition for Reform, which represents the Islamic Action Front (IAF) and its allies, gained 15 seats, including 10 seats won by the IAF, the political wing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Nine political parties won 30 seats including the Islamist party Zamzam (five seats), the National Current Party (four seats), the Islamic Centrist Party (five seats) and the Justice and Reform Party (two seats).

The Baath, Communist, National Union and Al Awn parties won one seat each.

However, the majority of the newly elected MPs were either individuals with tribal affiliations or businessmen, as had been the case during the past two decades.





The Jordanian government will have to deal with the Brotherhood as a reality, as they practise their legislative and supervisory role. They will be holding meetings with politicians and asking the government tough questions. by Rakan Saaydah, Jordanian journalist and commentator

Jordan is often described as a tribal society, where ties to large family groups are crucial in defining who holds power. Jordanians admit that family and personal loyalties are an important influence for political choices

The Muslim Brotherhood participated in the elections after boycotting the previous two in 2010 and 2013 in protest against the one-man-one-vote system.

In the aftermath of the 1989 elections, in which the Muslim Brotherhood won 30 percent of the seats, the one man, one vote system was implemented, effectively weakening the role of political parties in the Jordanian political system, Anja Wehler-Schoeck, director of Ammans Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Jordan & Iraq foundation, told al-Jazeera.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood is considered to be the largest party in terms of representation in the newly-elected parliament, analysts say that the groups ability to pass new laws or revoke confidence in the government will be limited.

Stronger blocs will be formed to strip the Islamists of the power to pass on new laws and policies, Rantawi said. According to article 93 and 95 in the constitution10 deputies can propose a law but a majority must prove it.

Counting the Costs: The state of Jordans economy

Analysts say that the group viewed the elections as an opportunity to prove that it has grassroots support among Jordanian voters, as well as opening channels of communication with the state.

The Jordanian government will have to deal with the Brotherhood as a reality, as they practise their legislative and supervisory role. They will be holding meetings with politicians and asking the government tough questions, Rakan Saaydah, a Jordanian journalist and commentator on the group, told al-Jazeera.

Tensions between the government and the Brotherhood have escalated since the closure of the groups branch last April. In 2014, the Jordanian government issued a new law requiring all organisations and political parties to register or renew their licences.

Following this development, in March 2015, about a dozen members of the Muslim Brotherhood were expelled because they wanted the organisation to distance itself from its international affiliations.

They founded their own group, the government-licensed Muslim Brotherhood Society, which many believe has the backing of the Jordanian regime in order to undermine the original Muslim Brotherhood, established in 1945.

As an early sign of a thaw in the relations between the government and the Muslim Brotherhood, Queen Rania welcomed the groups participation in the elections in a recent interview. The group immediately responded by welcoming the Queens remarks.

This year, Jordan made significant changes to its electoral law, replacing the controversial one-person-one-vote system with a list-based system designed to encourage political parties.

The new law, however, stirred tension among Jordans tribes by forcing them to compete against one another in a complicated candidate list system. This law is a lot worse than the old one-vote system. It has created resentment between tribes as each tribe started competing to vote for its own candidates within the list, said former MP Mazen Dalaeen, who ran as a tribal candidate.

According to Dalaeen, approximately 10 tribes across Jordan had more than one representative in the parliament whereas some did not have any, which could create resentment and tension in the future.

READ MORE: Jordan: We are tired of living like the dead





A lack of trust in the electoral process was reflected by the national law turnout as 1.5 million out of 4.1 million registered voters cast their ballots. Reports about vote buying and election rigging and interference by security forces in previous elections may have swayed many Jordanians from voting.

They should just appoint MPs and stop this show called election, Ahmad Quran, a Jordanian citizen who did not participate in elections, told al-Jazeera. Prices of food and taxes have been soaring while the corrupt are stealing from us. What did the parliament do to hold them accountable? Quran added.

However, some remain optimistic that the transparent election, as well as the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliament, could be one small step forward.

The majority [of MPs] might have a tribal affiliation, but the fact that they were not supported by the state might give them a sense of freedom inside the parliament to oppose government policies, Saaydah said.
What are Donald Trump and Hillary Clintons biggest strengths and weaknesses?

Ahead of Mondays presidential debate in the US, two political analysts share their expectations for the candidates first face-to-face encounter.

What are Donald Trump and Hillary Clintons biggest strengths and weaknesses?

Al Jazeeras Kimberly Halkett discusses with Dr Jason Johnson, political science professor and politics editor of The Root, and Dr Rosanna Perotti, associate professor of political science at Hofstra University.
State-owned oil giant plans to pump in billions for infrastructure and create about 500,000 jobs for Saudi nationals.

Saudi Arabias state-owned oil giant Aramco plans to invest a total of about $334bn by 2025, including spending on infrastructure and projects to maintain oil capacity.

Senior Aramco official Abdulaziz al-Abdulkarim, vice president for procurement and supply chain management, told a conference in Bahrain on Monday that the figure included spending on exploring for and developing unconventional resources, such as shale gas.

Saudi Aramco is forecast to spend around $334bn. This will be spent on material and services to support service facilities, infrastructure projects, drilling and maintain [oil] potential projects, unconventional resources both in the exploration phase and development and several other projects, Abdulkarim told the conference.



Reforms or reset in Saudi Arabia?

That is the 10-year investment. Its everything. You talk about pipelines, you talk about bulk plants, you talk about power plants, there is a lot of investment, of course upstream facilities whether its oil or gas.

Saudi Aramco outlined a plan known as In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) last year, when chief executive Amin Nasser said the company would spend more than $300bn over the next 10 years, of which 70 percent would be local content.

One of IKTVAs goals is to double the percentage of locally produced energy-related goods and services to 70 percent of the total spent by 2021.

Saudi Arabia has announced its Vision 2030 plan, aimed at ending the kingdoms reliance on oil, including a proposed conversion of Aramco into an energy holding company, and selling up to 5 percent of the company in an initial public share offering (IPO).

Some companies as a matter of fact have already moved early, quickly and smartly, Abdulkarim said at the conference.

In the past few months we have seen Schlumberger, General Electric and Siemens explain very robust IKTVA plans as their contribution to the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, he said.

Saudi Arabia agrees on plan to cut reliance on oil

The local sourcing target comes at a time of significant financial stress in Saudi Arabia, as the Gulfs largest economy adjusts to lower oil prices and reduced state spending and economic growth.

As part of its local focus for the supply chain, Aramco aims to create about 500,000 direct and indirect jobs for Saudi nationals.

In its drive to boost local industry and create jobs, Saudi Aramco also plans to develop an energy industrial city between Al Ahsa and Dammam, which includes manufacturing oil-and-gas equipment and drilling centres for Aramco.

The kingdom racked up a record budget deficit of $100bn last year, forcing it to find new savings and ways to raise money.

A cabinet statement and royal decree broadcast on state-run Ekhbariya TV on Monday said Saudi Arabia will cut ministers salaries by 20 percent and scale back financial perks for public sector employees.

Opinion: Saudi Arabia  reform comes with social responsibility

It was the first announcement of pay cuts for government employees, who make up about two-thirds of working Saudis.

Housing and car allowances for members of the appointed Shura Council will be cut by 15 percent. Overtime bonuses were curbed at between one-quarter and half of basic salaries, while annual leave may now no longer exceed 30 days.

An exception to the curbs would be made for Saudi troops involved in combat operations along the southern border and abroad as part of an 18-month military intervention led by the kingdom in neighbouring Yemen.
Mobile courts have brought many to justice, but some question their effectiveness in the impoverished countryside.
Preliminary results show 99.81 percent of voters in Republika Srpska voted in favour of keeping controversial holiday.

It is a referendum thats been called unlawful and illegitimate.

A vast majority of Bosnian Serbs have voted to preserve January 9 as a national holiday.

That is when in 1992 Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of their own state, igniting a three-year war that killed 100,000 people. Bosnias top court had ruled against the vote, saying the holiday discriminates against non-Serbs.

But the Serb Republic president still went ahead.

Some see it as a challenge to the Dayton peace accord, which ended the war in 1995.

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has been accused of threatening that agreement, and using the referendum to increase his partys support ahead of local elections.

So, what is behind this vote and what does it mean for the Dayton peace deal?

Presenter:

Martine Dennis

Guests:

Bodo Weber  Democratization Policy Council

Emir Suljagic  Former Minister of Defence and survivor of the Srebrenica massacre

Tim Judah  Author of The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia
Hungarian prime minister proposes building a city for refugees on the Libyan coast.

Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban has described the arrival of refugees in Europe as poison and criticised the European Unions immigration policies.

So far, the 28 EU countries have failed to agree on how to deal with hundreds of thousands of refugees trying to reach northern Europe.

Orban has particularly attacked the open-door policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He is also vehemently opposed to the EUs mandatory quota system for countries to take a share of refugees.

The Hungarian government has built a razor-wired fence to keep refugees out.

Now Orban has a new idea and Libya is key.

Could the plan work?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests:

Adam LeBor  Hungary correspondent, the Economist magazine

George Joffe  deputy director, Global Policy Institute, Cambridge University

Thom Brooks  head of law school, Durham University
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
Gainesville Police arrested a local man Friday after they said he shot another man in the back with a rifle.

At about 3:45 a.m., Tanner Wesley Abbott, 20, shot the man in the 3500 block of Northwest Eighth Ave. after a fight at the downtown bar Cowboys Saloon, said Gainesville Police Lt. Tscharna Senn.

After Abbott got in a fist fight with another person, the man and two witnesses wanted to confront him, according to a police report. They found his truck, and then followed him home.

Once there, Abbott left his car and loaded a single round into his .22-caliber rifle, according to the report. He then walked outside brandishing the rifle.

As the trio fled, Abbott then fired into the back window of their vehicle, shattering the glass and striking the man in his back, Senn said.

The man was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, she said.

Abbott told police he meant to fire a warning shot, according to the report. He acknowledged he should have called 911 as the men followed him and remained in his house instead of confronting them.

Police arrested him on charges of aggravated battery and shooting a deadly missile into a vehicle, according to the report. Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail where he was released Saturday on a $35,000 bond.

Abbott declined to comment on the arrest.

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An agitated patient at UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital on Thursday destroyed nearly $14,000 of equipment, deputies said.

At about 11 a.m., Donnie Ray Mogan, 58, of Trenton, Florida, became agitated while being treated at the hospital, located at 4101 NW 89th Blvd., according to a police report.

Administrator Mark Amox told the Alachua County Sheriffs Office that Mogan slammed an expensive computer system against the wall at the hospitals day room, causing $10,000 in damages, according to the report.

Mogan then violently shook an entry door to the day room, according to the report. He caused the door to twist at its frame, which caused $4,000 in damages.

Amox told deputies he wanted to press charges for the damages, according to the report.

Police arrested Mogan on a charge of criminal mischief with property damage more than $1,000, according to the report.

Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail where he remains, as of press time, in lieu of a $10,000 bond.

In the past, police have arrested Mogan on a charge of aggravated battery and operating a motor vehicle with an expired license, according to Alachua County court records.
On Thursday, David Parrott, the vice president for Student Affairs, sent out an email urging students to go to the Enough is Enough Peaceful Demonstration on Friday. Parrott wrote, It is incomprehensible that violence against Black people across the nation continues.

Not all students were happy with this email. This past Friday, the Alligator published a letter by a student who criticized Parrotts email for being factually incorrect and for being sent out on a student-wide server.

The student, John Jones, called out Parrotts facts but himself failed to compare the rate that black people are killed by police as compared to their proportion of the population.

While the letter alleged that Parrott overstepped his boundaries as the vice president for Student Affairs, this simply isnt true. Both urging students to attend the demonstration and attending himself, along with UF President Kent Fuchs and Dr. Jen Day Shaw, the associate vice president and dean of students, were important steps to show they care about black students.

Its good to have an administration who cares deeply about their minority students, because what happens when they dont? Well, we just have to dig into UFs history to find out.

According to UFs Black Affairs website, when the Black Student Union made a list of demands in April 1971 for programs and initiatives to improve the campus climate for Black students, including a Black Cultural Center, former UF President Stephen OConnell refused to act on the demands. This resulted in an occupation of the presidents office April 15, 1971, or Black Thursday, during which 67 students were suspended.

The fact that student protests of this scale were required to get black students a space on campus shows how bad the administration was at meeting the needs of minority students.

Thats not the only case of administration working against the tide of social justice. According to the Gainesville Sun, in 2012 students pushed for a renaming of the student union because of J. Wayne Reitzs legacy of delaying integration at UF and purging of LGBTQ+ students. Former Vice President for Students Affairs Dave Kratzer cautioned against applying values from today to the tumultuous historical period during which Reitz was president.

Reitz believed LGBTQ+ students shouldnt be at UF, just as OConnell believed black students shouldnt have their own cultural center, and both were wrong because they didnt think of students needs first.

These cases occurred in UFs recent past and its too soon to disregard them. In both cases, administrators expressed a political opinion  maybe not one for a political party, but one that deeply affected minorities.

Are those OK because they do not challenge privileged identities?

The student who wrote the letter would rather us go back to a time when minority concerns werent given much thought. Administration is there to help students  not to sit idly by while they suffer.

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David Parrott is the vice president of all Student Affairs, not just of the students who have enough privilege that they dont have to think about police violence against black people. Parrott has taken a much needed step to bring light to this issue. In fact, it would be inappropriate had he not spoken out.

As Isiah Thomas said, White silence is the equivalent to violence in these issues.

Nicole Dan is a UF political science junior. Her column appears on Mondays.










English News Chinas Belt and Road initiative reaps more than expected harvest: official

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 26 Septembre 2016



China sincerely welcomes more involvement from en-route countries as well as other nations around the world in this initiative, he said, adding that since a Chinese proposal contains oriental wisdom, the initiative aims to bring the world common prosperity.

By Peoples Daily Chinas Belt and Road initiative, since it was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping three years ago, has yielded more than its expected harvest, Liu Qibao, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said on Monday at a seminar in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.



Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau as well as secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at the International Seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative. In a keynote speech entitled Linking Peoples Hearts for Win-win Cooperation, he said that a growing number of nations and international organizations have engaged in the initiative.



China has inked cooperative agreements with more than 30 countries and launched manufacturing and production capacity cooperation with more than 20 countries along the routes, Liu further explained.



Citing a spate of symbolic projects represented by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund as evidence, the official added that China and en-route nations have deepened their financial cooperation and intensified their exchanges in culture, education, technology, tourism and business.



The Belt and Road initiative, which serves the common interests of all parties, carries the aspirations of people from around the world for a better life, he said stressing its significance.



China sincerely welcomes more involvement from en-route countries as well as other nations around the world in this initiative, he said, adding that since a Chinese proposal contains oriental wisdom, the initiative aims to bring the world common prosperity.



Liu called on the countries along the route to pursue win-win cooperation by showing mutual respect and trust, valuing openness and inclusiveness, sticking to pragmatic innovation and maintaining peaceful development, in order to build a "green, healthy, intelligent and peaceful" Silk Road together.



When advancing the initiative, human exchanges should be given equal importance as economic cooperation, Liu stressed.



He further explained that in order to maintain sustained cooperation and deliver each other the message of win-win cooperation, China and en-route countries, in the past three years, have hosted thematic years on state, culture and tourism, organized book fairs as well as other exhibitions, and also held art festivals. Dialogues between think-tanks and media were also launched, the head added.



China and countries along the routes now also witness closer cooperation on culture and charity, according to him, citing the archeological cooperation between China and Uzbekistan as an example. Whats more, China, together with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, has managed to include the millennium-old Silk Road into the World Heritage list.



He praised education cooperation as key to the initiatives success, saying that over the past three years, en-route countries have succeeded in implementing an overseas study program, establishing an education fund and reinforcing collaboration in talent training.



Underlining the importance of the coexistence of various cultures and the mutual understanding among peoples, Liu called on countries along the route to more closely cooperate on education, culture, media, sport and tourism.



The Eurasian people, with different religious and cultural backgrounds, should join efforts to build a human community rooted in mutual respect and understanding, he concluded.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > More robots entering people's daily life China sees accelerated development of express delivery sector in rural areas China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
From 1993 to 2002, I had the honor of being the first, and still only, woman to serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In that role, I prosecuted a variety of criminals, from white-collar lawbreakers to mobsters to terrorists. It was an exciting and impactful job. One memorable impact came from outside of the courthouse and has carried over to my current job as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

While U.S. attorney, I also served a term as the chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee under the first woman attorney general, Janet Reno. In that capacity, I attended the attorney general's weekly senior staff meetings, which were also attended by a very impressive array of presidential appointees. In these meetings, it was clear that the dynamic was different. For the very first time in my career, then almost 20 years, I was in a high-powered meeting where the women outnumbered the men. In that environment, the women were empowered and spoke up more and offered a number of breakthrough solutions. These meetings brought home to me that diversity contributes to high-quality decision-making and generating the best ideas.

Most public company boards still stand to benefit greatly from this reality. Companies that have proactively embraced diversity deserve to be recognized as leaders of the change that is not only the right thing to do, but also benefits their companies.

For many years now, several studies have shown that diversity in the boardroom is linked to better financial results for companies. The landmark 2012 study by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, for example, reported that, from 2005 to 2011, companies with women on the board had higher average returns on equity and higher net income growth. In 2014, the institute followed up with another study, which confirmed earlier findings that "greater gender diversity in companies' management improves their financial performance." In some cases, all it seems to take is one woman on the board for a company to see a difference. Between 2006 and 2015, companies with at least one woman on their board had an average return on equity of 14.1%, compared to only 11.2% for all-male boards.

Even with the mounting evidence of benefits, however, women made up only 26.9% of new directors last year and the numbers are even lower for minority directors. Companies can do so much better and the ability to effect immediate change lies with them.

While 98% of S&P 500 boards have at least one female director and 79% have at least one minority director, the total percentage of women on the boards of S&P 500 companies hovers at less than 20%, and the total percentage of minority directors at the largest 200 S&P 500 companies is 15%. And it is not a supply issue. There are many resources companies can use to seek out well-qualified women and minorities for their boards.

In July, a who's who of CEOs came out strongly in favor of pursuing more diverse boards. In an open letter, the group called for balancing the need for "wisdom and judgment ...with the need for fresh thinking and perspectives." And this past spring, the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs whose member companies employ nearly 16 million people and have about $7 trillion in annual revenues, announced that it was prioritizing diversity in director searches. These are positive developments and more companies should follow suit.

At the SEC, we are working to do our part on the rulemaking front. At my direction, the SEC staff is now preparing a recommendation to the commission to amend our current diversity disclosure rule to require more specificity, including information on the race, gender and ethnicity of board members and nominees.

In the United States, government does not dictate who companies must hire or elect to boards--these and many other decisions are generally left to the business judgment of companies and their shareholders. Indeed, the ability of companies and shareholders to establish their preferred governance framework is a hallmark of our capital markets and long thought to be a source of their strength. The time is right to amplify that strength through board diversity. It is an easy business decision to make and the right thing to do.

Mary Jo White is chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For years, bankers have been warned about fintech companies making banks irrelevant. This threat boils down to the much-hyped "unbundling" of banks.

As the story goes, the days of customers treating their banks as one-stop shops for all of their financial products and services are coming to an end. Instead, customers will supposedly cherry-pick what they want from the thousands of different fintech companies that focus on a single digital financial product or service. Fintech companies, as the thinking goes, will simply provide better options for customers than banks that are struggling to offer everything at once.

On the surface, this seems like an insurmountable threat for many banks. How can individual institutions keep up with the pace of innovation in the fintech sector? In reality though, fintech companies that only focus on a single product or service are not so well positioned to replace banks. In fact, they often rely on partnerships with banks to bring their products and services to market.

Such partnerships have been forming for years and they are among the strategies banks have deployed toget ahead of the unbundling phenomenon. Rather than get displaced by fintech companies that specialize in one specific product category, banks can leverage these partnerships to upgrade their own offerings while maintaining customer relationships.

Rather than startups that unbundle banking services, the major threat for banks will come when fintech companies are able to parlay their success in their core product into other categories of financial services.

A handful of the most successful fintech companies are already doing this: Social Finance, a marketplace lender, is offering wealth management services to its lending customers; Square and PayPal are providing commercial loans to their merchants; and the much-beloved Venmo is offering in-store mobile payments, and therefore, moving beyond peer-to-peer payments.

These fintech companies have drawn on their inherent advantages as digitally native companies  including better agility, faster speed to market and greater allure for talented IT professionals who specialize in the latest technologies  to succeed with their core products. If they can leverage these advantages to offer a broad portfolio of successful products and services, they will be much better equipped to eventually replace banks as primary financial services providers.

Whether fintech companies can really pull this off, of course, remains to be seen. The most publicized  and successful  attempts by fintech companies to expand beyond their core offerings so far have been the commercial lending efforts of PayPal and Square.

Lately, both companies have been aggressively growing their lending arms. PayPal Working Capital, for instance, issued $1 billion in small-business loans in the eight months preceding this past July. It had issued $1 billion total in the previous two years-plus. Meanwhile, Square started to expand beyond its own payment processing customers by partnering with other payments providers like Vend and TouchBistro to provide loans to their merchants.

However, PayPal and Square face significant challenges in expanding their lending businesses. So far, the two companies have grown their lending businesses by focusing on existing customers and using customer data to evaluate creditworthiness. Expanding beyond their payments customers will mean that PayPal and Square will have to keep their lending businesses profitable while giving up some of these marketing advantages.

Similar growth struggles will befall other fintech companies that try to emulate the expansion model. Navigating partnerships and growing brand awareness among new customer segments are growing pains that come with entering new product categories. For fintech companies, these challenges can be further complicated by regulatory requirements pertaining to different product and service categories.

So far, no fintech company has navigated these challenges to succeed on a mass scale beyond its core product or service. PayPal and Square are making up the playbook as they go along.

However, banks would be wise to watch their efforts closely. Unlike the unbundling threat, the rebundling threat is real.

Paul Schaus is the president, chief executive and founder of CCG Catalyst. He can be reached at PaulSchaus@ccg-catalyst.com, and on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Triumph Bancorp in Dallas plans to issue $50 million in subordinated debt and said proceeds from the offering may be used for acquisitions.

The $1.7 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday that the fixed- to floating-rate notes mature in 2026. The filing did not disclose the initial five-year fixed rate for the offering.

Triumph plans to set the rate on Tuesday, CEO Aaron Graft told American Banker on Monday.

"It will depend on if there is enough demand at the bottom end," Graft said. "We're going to price it as cheaply as we can, but we have no idea whether the rate will be 5, 6 or 7%."

The company could pull the offering "if it's on terms we don't like," Graft said, "but right now I don't expect that to happen."

Triumph plans to use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, potential strategic acquisitions and investments in its TBK Bank unit as regulatory capital.

Sandler O'Neill and FIG Partners are the managers for the offering.
Who'll have the best "back in the day" tales to tell about rock-'em-sock-'em Washington? Big-bank lobbyists Candi Wolff and Anita Eoloff will be hard to beat.

They work for different companies  Wolff is the head of global government affairs at Citigroup, and Eoloff manages Wells Fargo's government relations  but their career tracks have a lot in common. They were women in bank lobbying when their colleagues were almost exclusively men, they have been involved in many of the biggest financial services issues of the past two decades from "too big to fail" to cybersecurity, and their policy focus is going global.

Their work, on behalf of their companies and trade associations, has earned praise from friends and foes alike.

Reflecting on their still-evolving careers, Eoloff and Wolff offer a special perspective on the hot topics of the day, the changing faces and practices in the traditionally male world of policy, and the combined power of hard work and good fortune.

BREAKING FROM THE SCRIPT

It wasn't supposed to happen this way for Wolff.

She had a two-year plan to work as a staffer on Capitol Hill and return to tax law, but two became eight and her career path changed.

"I just loved what I was doing," Wolff said. "For me public policy was a calling, and I like the politics of how bills become law and how decisions are made."

She ultimately headed legislative affairs in the second George W. Bush administration for two years, worked a stint at the law firm Hogan Lovells and then joined Citi in 2011.

Her White House service was a formative influence. Wolff had the tough task of lobbying Congress when the House and the Senate were controlled by Democrats.

"That was a difficult spot for the White House," said Joshua Bolten, Bush's chief of staff from 2006 to 2009 and now a managing director at Rock Creek Global Advisors.

"She worked hard on having good relationships on both sides of the aisle and had a lot of credibility among members and senior staff on the Democratic side," he said.

Though Wolff oversees Citi's global government affairs, she also helps steer the broader industry's efforts in Washington. She has become a trusted player even outside of Citi.

"She certainly gives guidance and supervision to her team and to her trade associations, so she has a hand in almost everything that we do," said former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is now the chief executive officer at the Financial Services Roundtable.

A cyber-information-sharing bill that was passed by Congress  "after three or four years' worth of work"  is one example of legislation she and her Citi team helped influence. "They were very helpful under her guidance with that piece of legislation," Pawlenty said.

Wolff's ability to read the political tea leaves is in high demand.

"She could book all her time speaking to clients who all want to try and understand what is going on" in the election, said Edward Skyler, executive vice president for global affairs at Citi. "Her political insight in an election year, which is unique to say the least, is sought after not only by our senior leaders of the company but by our clients, so there have been times where I have to tell people ... she has to stay on her day job."

SALAD DAYS, CRISIS TIMES

Eoloff was a professional staffer with the House Financial Services Committee before getting a call to join the government affairs group at Minneapolis-based Norwest, a predecessor company of today's Wells Fargo.

She decided to go for it.

"I am not much of a planner when it comes to my career," Eoloff said. "As opportunities present themselves, I have been fortunate to be able to take advantage of them."

It is probably a good thing for Wells that she did, as she helped see the company through the financial crisis and the acquisition of Wachovia.

But her duties, in retrospect at least, were more modest at first. She joined Norwest in 1993 to help the bank navigate the intricacies of Washington, eventually seeing her role grow as Norwest acquired Wells Fargo and took its name in 1998, and then again as Wells merged with Wachovia 10 years later.

When Eoloff arrived at Norwest, "I was the only one hired to manage the federal portfolio," she said.

After the acquisition of Wells  which doubled the size of the company  she needed to get some help with her suddenly heavier workload. "Now we [were] close to $200 billion in assets, which required a different way of thinking about our advocacy. For starters I had to start building out the Washington office because I absolutely could not do everything myself. So I brought on two other lobbyists and then maintained an outside counsel," said Eoloff.

She had to expand the Washington office again after the Wachovia acquisition and is now in the process of building a global government affairs operation.

Washington "is the hub for all things relative to federal policy," Eoloff said. But as Wells Fargo has started to look abroad it is "thinking about a global government relations approach," which she is also overseeing.

"I have been tasked, and hopefully given the confidence from our leaders, to figure out an advocacy model for our company with each stage of its growth," Eoloff said.

But Eoloff's contributions go beyond just Wells Fargo. She used to chair the American Bankers Association's Legislative Liaison Advisory Committee, which provides a venue for financial services lobbyists to discuss policy issues. "That leadership role obviously demonstrates that she is well regarded by her peers," said Rob Nichols, president of the ABA.

Former House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank said, "Eoloff exemplified the constructive role lobbying can play in our public policymaking. While we obviously disagreed on some points, I appreciated being able to rely on her for accurate information and assessments."

BUILDING THE PIPELINE

While Washington has a long history of being a boys' club, Eoloff and Wolff have benefited from changing times. And they helped the changes along too.

When Eoloff started her career on the Hill there were more men than women, but she said she was fortunate to have bosses who looked past gender.

"Situations exist where women's views are discounted or not factored in or deemed less important because they are women  I thankfully have not had that, by and large, in my career," Eoloff said. "You need to know your stuff and it doesn't require gender to know your stuff."

In Wolff's case, some lawmakers suggested Bolten put "a more senior man in the legislative affairs role," he said. But "by the end of her tenure, those were the same guys who were telling me she did a fantastic job," Bolten said.

Disclosure requirements and gift restrictions helped change the nature of lobbying, perhaps to the advantage of many women, according to Wolff.

"It is no longer just who you know, because you can't do the dinners that had a lot of backslapping good-ol'-boy kind of thing," Wolff said. "If you are a younger woman or a woman with young kids, the challenges are always, 'Am I going to have to go home to my family before I can go out and have dinners every night?'"

Companies likely will continue to hire lobbyists from the ranks of Capitol Hill and presidential administrations, so the key to more women running Washington offices is fostering diversity in the lower ranks and then giving women a fair chance at moving up.

"If you think about the pipeline that is going to lead to some of these positions here in Washington, you are coming from an administration and you are coming from the Hill," Wolff said.

The lobbyists' outlook for improvement is generally optimistic.

"Some may argue that it is not happening fast enough, but I feel like it is heading in the right direction," Eoloff said.

LOST ART OF COMPROMISE

Political gridlock is another modern reality that the two lobbyists have confronted.

Whether the reason is a divisive presidential election, the rise of the Tea Party or a show of force by resurgent liberals, dealmaking is tough.

Compromise has become a bad word in certain circles, Wolff said. "The anti-establishment mood is out there," she said.

That sentiment, Eoloff said, has made life for lobbyists "harder and harder."

Big banks especially have drawn a lot of public ire.

"Clearly we are in a different place and there is a greater expectation and responsibility on us, so ... we have to be careful about telling the story of what works and what doesn't," Eoloff said.

Still, "you have got to be able to speak to all sides, and sometimes you might be surprised" at where there might be some agreement.

Wolff argues that lobbying is an avenue to inform policymakers. "I have worked on the Hill and know how staff is stretched thin, and as long as you are hearing all the views, then I think people should be able to make the case for why a proposal is going to impact a particular company, industry or a not-for-profit, because it is critical to have that flow of information."

In that sense, perhaps the old school still has something left to teach.

Eoloff suggested that while many of the ethics rules that have been implemented around dinners and entertainment were needed, some opportunities to come to an understanding have been lost. "I feel like the two sides are often talking past each other and they are not finding the right window," Eoloff said. "I think there has been a loss of equilibrium."
Chairman and CEO, CIT Group

Ellen Alemany came out of retirement in the past year to continue a turnaround effort underway at the $66.7 billion-asset CIT Group. She's got her work cut out for her.

The former head of Citizens Financial Group had been a board member at CIT for almost two years when it was announced last fall that she would succeed retiring Wall Street icon John Thain at the helm. She started as president and chief executive of its bank unit in December, before adding the titles of chairman and CEO at the parent company in April.

Among her priorities are slashing expenses, unloading CIT's aircraft financing unit, and shedding its Canadian equipment and commercial finance business. She also is struggling to get CIT under $50 billion of assets to escape designation as a systemically important financial institution and the additional regulatory requirements that come with it. That's a departure from the strategy of Thain, who "wanted to build a really big bank," Alemany recently told analysts.

She said various divestitures in the works or under discussion would leave CIT in the mid-$50 billion range, which, she acknowledged, "is not an optimal position." The earliest CIT likely could escape the SIFI designation is 2018.

CIT was best known as a commercial finance company until it acquired OneWest Bank in Pasadena, Calif., in 2015. CIT recently took a $230 million charge for a business it inherited from OneWest: Financial Freedom, a reverse mortgage servicer under investigation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. CIT also had to delay filing its 2015 results because of a material weakness at Financial Freedom. CIT plans to exit that business as well.
President and CEO, Bank of the West

She has traveled further than just about anyone in banking, culminating with her recent ascension to the top job at one of the nation's 40 largest banks.

But it was not a journey without risk.

On her way to becoming the chief executive at the $77 billion-asset Bank of the West, Nandita Bakhshi repeatedly took calculated career risks. This history major from Calcutta, India, also challenged the cultural expectation that a wife should put her husband's career ahead of her own.

Over time, Bakhshi developed expertise in retail banking. She led integrations of newly acquired banks and learned how to deal with regulators. She became seasoned in navigating the cultural nuances of multinational banks.

But Bakhshi also traces her achievements back to the early years of her career, during the late '80s and early '90s. She started out as a part-time teller before spending time as a branch-based salesperson.

"I understand sales. I know what motivates people in the front lines. I understand what it takes to serve those customers, how do you relate to them, and how do you make sure that you have a 'wow' experience with a customer," she says.

Here are four key traits that Bakhshi identified when asked about moving up to CEO, a title she officially took on July 1.

An Analytical Mind

"I have been a clear thinker," Bakhshi says. "I would say I have the ability to cut through the clutter and kind of go to the point. I'm not an engineer by training. But I think like an engineer. I can break it into little parts, and then I can build it up again. I'm a linear thinker, where I can say ... 'What are the 15 steps?' But at the same time I like to be creative."

A Drive to Improve

"I'm extremely selfish," Bakhshi says. "I like to learn more today than I knew yesterday. So in any environment, I go in and I'm like, 'OK, what is the nugget I picked up?' I'm constantly asking for feedback. 'Tell me what did I do wrong.' 'What could I do better?'"

"I am not afraid of challenges," she says, before adding: "But that's something that has developed over time. I don't know if I came with that."

A Sense of Humility

"I truly believe that as a CEO, or as a leader of an organization, you're in a service role," Bakhshi says. "You're really serving your employees, your colleagues and your customers. And that's ... a value I've always had in me."

The Leadership Gene

"Leading an organization, leading change, leading a culture is what really excites me," Bakhshi says.

"I don't know if I have ever really thought of myself as a CEO  and you can't ever really think like that, until you're in the position, and you see what it means. But I've always aspired to be a leader. Whatever I've done, I've aspired to lead the institution, and provide direction strategically, and help the team move and navigate to that strategic direction."
Rosilyn Houston couldn't have known it at the time, but the year she spent caring for her toddler son while he underwent treatment for leukemia would have a profound impact on the trajectory of her career.

Houston has spent most of her career in banking, having started out as a teller. But her family crisis hit a few years after she had left the former Compass Bank for a stint at a nonprofit.

She was serving as general manager of a Christian organization in Dallas when her then-23-month-old son, Christian, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004. It was a big job in which she oversaw 200 employees, managed television broadcasting contracts for the international ministry and traveled frequently. She ended up taking an extended leave while her son went through chemotherapy.

It was a heart-wrenching year, but watching her little boy be so courageous throughout his battle with leukemia was also inspiring to Houston. It reminded her "that nothing is impossible," she said. "We can get through anything if we just have the courage to believe."

Today, Christian is 13 and "doing great," Houston said. Besides being busy with school and other activities, he has become a passionate advocate for patient care through his involvement with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

So is Houston doing well, rising to the highest levels of management at what is now BBVA Compass. She returned to banking following her son's illness mostly so she could spend more time with her family, but also because she wanted a new challenge. She rejoined Compass as a senior vice president with responsibility for 19 offices in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She continued to accept  and excel at  one challenging assignment after another, and last year was tapped to head up human resources at the $88 billion-asset bank.

Reporting directly to Chairman and Chief Executive Manolo Sanchez, Houston has been tasked with not just overseeing typical HR functions  like payroll and benefits  but also fundamentally transforming the bank's culture. Recognizing that more engaged employees make for satisfied customers, Houston has revamped the hiring and recruitment process to focus less on specific skills and more on attitude, adaptability and the ability to think critically. She is also responsible for evaluating senior leaders to make sure they are on board with the transformation underway and can execute on the vision.

"This is a journey," Houston said. "We started a real intense focus on cultural transformation at the end of last year and we know it's going to take three to five years to get to where we are comfortable."

One of the key qualities Houston brings to the job is empathy. Having suffered "a number of life blows"  she battled cancer herself and lost her mother to cancer  "that could have knocked me off course," Houston is keenly aware that many employees come to work every day with their own personal struggles. Creating a workplace that is viewed as compassionate is one of her top priorities.

"Part of being an effective leader is being sensitive to what individuals go through day in and day out, not only in the job, but in life," she said.

It's also important that employees feel valued. "Employees want the same things," Houston said. "They want to be welcomed into the environment, they want to be respected, they want to be heard, they want people to take notice of their hard work and dedication to the organization and they want opportunity."
Nandita Bakhshi was 27 years old when she moved from her native India to Albany, N.Y. Her husband, Shiv, was coming to the States to get a Ph.D., and "I followed him, as what could be called a supportive wife," she said.

Bakhshi was a liberal arts graduate who initially thought she would become a schoolteacher  a job that she viewed as a respectable position for a woman in India. Now she found herself in an utterly foreign place, where she was not as constrained by cultural expectations.

Looking for a way to spend her time, Bakhshi took a job in 1986 as a part-time bank teller. "I felt, 'Why sit around? You might as well do some work,' " she said.

The branch, which was owned by Northeast Savings Bank, was in a shopping mall, and Bakhshi got assigned a 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. shift  the time slot that no one else wanted.

So began a remarkable career that has brought Bakhshi to the highest ranks of the U.S. banking industry.

Soon enough, she was no longer moving to accommodate her husband's career. Instead, he would eventually give up a tenure-track job at the University of Kentucky to live in the same city as his wife, who by then was a high-powered banking executive.

During a recent interview, Bakhshi beamed while talking about her husband, who is a telecom analyst, but also has worked as a journalist and acted in Indian films. "He's quite an interesting guy," she said.

In March 2016, the couple was out to dinner celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary when her phone rang. The call was to inform her that she'd been chosen as the next chief executive officer at Bank of the West. "It was very special," she said with a smile.

It was one of many memories that poured out of Bakhshi as she sat inside a Bank of the West wealth management office in Palo Alto, Calif.  about how she was raised in India, her training as a banker in various unglamorous locales across the United States, and the path she took to this conference room in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Ever since Bakhshi arrived in upstate New York, where the frigid winters bore no resemblance to the balmy climate of Calcutta, she has proven adept at navigating new situations. She worked for banks in six different states. She took a job with a payments technology company in Stuttgart, Germany, for a while. More recently, she shuttled between the Canadian headquarters of Toronto-Dominion Bank and the New Jersey base of its U.S. operations.

Bakhshi's ability to adapt and thrive amid change was a key reason she got hired to run Bank of the West. The $77 billion-asset bank is based in San Francisco, has branches in 19 states and is owned by the French global banking giant BNP Paribas.

"She knows how to operate in different geographies, because each geography has its own DNA. And that's the kind of leader that you want, leaders who can adapt to the local specificities," said Stefaan Decraene, the head of international retail banking at BNP Paribas.

"Put me in a new situation, I figure it out," Bakhshi said. "I figure out the culture first and then I figure out the workings of the organization and try to be successful."

Bakhshi's initial decision to work in banking was the product of happenstance. But she soon developed an ambition to ascend the ranks.

After her husband transferred his Ph.D. to Ohio State, Bakhshi was hired by Banc One Corp. in Columbus, as a salesperson in the branches. She rose to a regional manager position before being recruited in 1996 to join Home Savings of America in Irwindale, Calif.

Moving to Southern California was a risky decision. During her time in Columbus, Bakhshi had enrolled in business school at Ohio State, and she was just one course away from graduation when she was offered the job at Home Savings. An MBA would have been a useful credential, but instead she decided to put her education on hold.

"As you trace my career, you will see, I'm always a risk-taker," Bakhshi said.

One recurring theme in Bakhshi's career involves finding ways for banks to squeeze profits from new technology.

At Home Savings, she worked on how to persuade customers to start using debit cards at the cash register. During the late 1990s, consumers were mostly using debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs, and financial institutions saw a big opportunity in the interchange fees that they received from in-store purchases.

In 1998, Bakhshi moved to what was then FleetBoston Financial Corp. As director of its deposit and payment product group, she looked for ways to drive more retail customers to ATMs, instead of teller windows that were more expensive to operate.

In an effort to make its ATMs more useful, Fleet began crediting customer accounts on the same day for ATM deposits that were made as late as 6 p.m., which likely appealed to those who were making deposits on their way home from work.

"When the customer used it and got credited and it was no longer a black hole, they were using it again and again," Bakhshi told American Banker in 2002.

Following a two-year stint with First Data in Germany, Bakhshi was hired in 2006 as executive vice president of payments at Washington Mutual. She stayed at the Seattle thrift company until 2008, when it failed and got absorbed by JPMorgan Chase.

Bakhshi is quick to point out that she had no involvement in WaMu's infamous mortgage business. At the same time, she speaks of WaMu's consumer bank in glowing terms.

"That's what I was involved in," she said. "And Washington Mutual had a very strong employee and customer culture."

Bakhshi joined TD Bank in June 2009 and held several positions there, including head of U.S. consumer banking.

Early in her tenure with TD, the Federal Reserve Board enacted rules requiring that consumers be offered the option of enrolling in overdraft programs, rather than their participation being automatic.

The new regulation threatened to cut into TD's overdraft fee revenue, and the bank responded by launching what Bakhshi once described as a "high-touch" campaign to communicate with its customers.

"When contacted  and I monitored a few calls myself  customers are expressing appreciation, and an overwhelming number are opting in for continued overdraft protection," Bakhshi said in 2010 during remarks to TD investors.

In the years since, TD has managed to continue to squeeze more money from overdraft fees than many of its big-bank peers.

During the first quarter of 2016, 35% of its noninterest income came from consumer overdraft charges, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That was easily the highest percentage among banks with at least $50 billion in assets.

Since joining Bank of the West in April, Bakhshi has been on a listening tour, meeting groups of employees in roundtable settings from San Francisco to Omaha. By mid-July, she had met with about 15% of the bank's employees.

When asked about the feedback she has received, Bakhshi focused mostly on upbeat comments. "What I hear about is our passion and focus on the customer," she said. "That comes across loud and clear."

Bakhshi also has heard repeatedly that Bank of the West employees feel empowered to take action, in contrast with their peers at some of the nation's largest banks. "They feel that they can make a difference here. And this is what keeps them here," she said.

One area where the bank's employees see room for improvement is in a reliance on certain manual processes, according to Bakhshi.

"We're looking at improving our processes, and using more innovation and digitization to serve the customers, and take the cost down," she said.

Another challenge involves fee income. As of March 31, the ratio of noninterest income to assets at Bank of the West was 0.74%, which was well below the 1.56% average of banks with more than $10 billion in assets.

The relative dearth of fee income has been hurting profitability. Bank of the West's return on equity was 5.56% as of March 31, while all U.S. banks with more than $10 billion in assets averaged 8.25%.

Former CEO Michael Shepherd, who recently became chairman of BNP Paribas' U.S. holding company, flagged fee income as a challenge for Bank of the West during a recent interview.

Bakhshi said that her bigger concern at the moment is continuing to expand the bank's customer base.

"I would say that we're a growth bank," she said. "That gives us tremendous leverage for revenue. In addition, we're looking at other businesses that provide noninterest income. I wouldn't go to the fees right away.

"I don't think fees are a wrong thing, but I think it needs to be fair, comparable and transparent. And I wouldn't say my focus is on fees, but my focus is on growing the business, growing the customer base, which then leads to growth both in revenue and in income.

"So what we are going to do is continue to grow, and to have more customers come through this pipe," she said.

Bank of the West has a reputation as a conservative bank, and Bakhshi was asked whether she hopes to bring more of a risk-taking attitude to the bank.

"When I say I'm a risk-taker, I'm a smart risk-taker," she responded.

Bakhshi joins Bank of the West at a time when the cost of operating a foreign-owned bank in the United States has been rising.

BNP recently formed a new holding company to fulfill a requirement that large foreign banking organizations place virtually all of their U.S. subsidiaries beneath such an entity.

In June, BancWest Corp. took part for the first time in the Federal Reserve Board's annual stress tests. The company passed, but the exercise was costly.

Meanwhile, BNP is spinning off another U.S. unit, First Hawaiian Bank, in an initial public offering.

Decraene, who heads international retail banking at BNP Paribas, said that the French parent company is committed to the American market, despite the additional regulatory requirements.

"BNP Paribas is willing to pay this entry ticket," he said, adding that the heightened regulation is in no way confined to the United States.

Walter Mix, managing director at Berkeley Research Group, said that Bank of the West brings some attractive attributes to BNP. The San Francisco bank has been relatively stable, and has generated significant income for the parent company over the years.

"And obviously Europe is going through its own transitional period," Mix said, referring to ongoing questions about the health of the banking sector there.

Over the last several years, Shepherd led efforts to more closely integrate Bank of the West with other parts of BNPParibas. One goal has been to take better advantage of the company's global reach  whether the customer is a wealthy individual or a U.S. corporation that sells its products overseas.

Those integration efforts are roughly 75% to 80% complete, so it will fall to Bakhshi to finish the job, Decraene said.

He described Bank of the West's new CEO as a strong leader with charisma and good listening skills. Bakhshi won the job after a search that considered internal and external candidates.

"What I like is that Nandita knows a bank, and knows a bank from inside and from outside," Decraene said.

One evening in July, at the wealth management office in downtown Palo Alto, Bakhshi's distant past collided with her present.

The bank was hosting the U.S. opening of an art exhibit titled "Women Changing India," which features photographs of Indian women who are breaking down gender barriers in a variety of fields. The exhibit and a companion book include pictures of women in politics and the film industry, but also women who work as gas-pump attendants and security guards.

Bakhshi obviously has a close connection with the exhibit's subject matter, but she was not responsible for its creation. It was in the works long before Bakhshi joined Bank of the West, as part of plans to celebrate BNP's 100th year of operations in India.

"I cannot tell you what a wonderful coincidence this is for me," she said over the sound of a sitar being played nearby.

Bakhshi, who turned 58 in September, shared memories from her childhood in Calcutta and New Delhi, where her father was a member of Foreign Service, and she attended an all-girls school. Later, she recalled four months she spent in India following Washington Mutual's demise, when she did pro bono work for a microfinance organization.

"I go back every December for what I call my India fix, primarily to meet friends, meet family  and do some shopping," she told the small crowd gathered in Palo Alto.

Bakhshi went on to say that India has far fewer banks than the United States, but also more female bank CEOs.

"Let's talk about who's advanced here," she said, drawing a big laugh from the audience. 

'Put me in a new situation, I figure it out,' Bakhshi says. I figure out the culture first, and then I figure out the workings of the organization and try to be successful.'
The air cargo markets deceleration this year had a greater impact on third-quarter cargo revenues at American Airlines than its primary rivals, Delta and United Airlines. But the best revenue quarter in company history and a $483 million profit painted a positive financial picture that could be replicated in the final quarter thanks to resilient []
We now know that the Justice Department granted immunity to at least five of Hillary Clinton's close aides during the FBI's investigation of her email scam. However, it's hard to understand, in light of the ultimate disposition of the case, why Justice gave these people immunity. Representative Jason Chaffetz, whose committee has the herculean task of cleaning the Augean Clinton State Department stables, revealed the previously unpublicized immunity deals. He was quoted as saying of them, "[N]o wonder they couldn't prosecute a case" referring to the FBI and Justice Department.

In fact, in normal circumstances, Chaffetz is exactly wrong. Immunity deals are granted precisely to prosecute a case and, in the absence of utter corruption, would never be issued unless prosecutors had other more valuable targets they intended to put away in return for letting some of the smaller fry go. That this did not happen in the Clinton email case is another factor that makes the decision so utterly fraught.

Just as unusually, the five immunized witnesses apparently were not required to cooperate with federal authorities or with Congress in return for their deals, other than providing a limited amount of immunized information. In the case of Mills and Samuelson, it was evidently their laptops. Clinton apologists insist that in return for partial cooperation, the witnesses were granted only limited immunity. Even assuming that this was true, the FBI never acted thereafter in any way, shape, or form to put these witnesses at risk of prosecution. Incredibly, they were permitted to share joint counsel (so that each knew what was being asked of the others during FBI interviews), and both Mills and Samuelson, immunized witnesses in the case, were permitted to attend Hillary's July interview by the FBI and join her gaggle of attorneys!

All this raises the question of why the Justice Department granted immunity at all. If, as it now seems certain, neither the Justice Department nor the FBI had any actual interest in investigating the case with the object of filing criminal charges against Hillary or her legion of aides there would be little or no apparent reason to grant anyone immunity. You don't need the cooperation of witnesses involved in a criminal conspiracy if you have no intention of unwinding that conspiracy and prosecuting those behind it.

Here is one halfway coherent solution. In the autumn of 2015, the FBI investigation of Hillary's home-brew email server gained some steam as it became apparent that she had deceived the State Department, the FBI, and the public as to the nature and extent of her document mishandling and destruction enterprise. It also raised the extremely serious possibility that even more was going on besides a massively corrupt and illegal attempt to hide potentially embarrassing personal documents that tied Hillary to pay-for-play schemes, money-laundering, and influence-peddling related to the Clinton Foundation. With her private server and upwards of 30,000 emails professionally destroyed (allowing little or no recovery), the FBI had to put to bed the possibility of deliberate espionage  that is, whether Clinton, her aides, or all of them were also involved in a massive foreign spy operation.

The Justice Department apparently granted Brian Pagliano, Clinton's chief I.T. guy in charge of setting up and shutting down the server, limited immunity in December 2015, the others sometime thereafter.

It is now abundantly clear that Comey and his minions within the FBI were willing to live with typical Clinton venality and corruption. But counter-espionage is probably the FBI's most important function, and Comey could not ignore what must have appeared to be the very real prospect that Hillary was running or had been duped into running a serious and treasonous foreign intelligence scheme against the U.S. government. For the FBI to overlook this, should it turn out to be true, would threaten not only the country, but obviously the careers and livelihoods of Comey and his boss, Loretta Lynch. Plus, Comey's evidently quite successful suppression operation against dissent within the FBI to his philo-Clinton shenanigans would probably become unmanageable if the Clinton server, the email destruction, the lies, and the secrecy were mostly or in part facilitating a deliberate foreign intelligence penetration of the U.S. government, as opposed to run-of-the-mill Clinton corruption.

Thus, the FBI had to get to at least a scintilla of the truth in the case, enough to assure itself that Hillary's scheme was merely another case of Clintonian vice, and that Hillary and her aides had not become outright agents of a hostile foreign power. In order to figure this out, they needed to talk to the key players, which explains the immunity deals and the people chosen  those closest to Hillary and with the most connection to the email destruction, where critical evidence of foreign involvement would have been most evident.

It is also quite likely that Comey and Lynch let Bill and Hillary Clinton know that the immunity deals were not a way of delving into their corrupt practices or to establish grounds for prosecuting the same, but rather to reassure the government that there was nothing else going on. Either that or the unusual nature of the deals themselves made that clear. That explains the equanimity of the Clinton camp during the FBI probe right up to the end.

When Comey declined to charge Clinton, he explicitly rejected the possibility that espionage was behind the email scheme, something he could not vouch for unless his agents had convincingly determined that such was not the case. He implied that the servers were probably hacked, but this fell into Comey's broad definition of "extreme carelessness," which he used to improperly and dishonestly exonerate Hillary of prosecutable crimes.

Comey satisfied himself and his boss Lynch that Clinton was not a foreign agent engaged in active espionage against the United States, and having done that, he wasn't interested in pursuing the matter further, no matter how many other crimes the scheme involved. In that regard, the immunity grants served their purpose, both for the FBI and Hillary. And if Hillary is so inclined, this presents a great campaign slogan: "Hillary  Dishonest and corrupt, but only for herself."
Former Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard has Crohns Disease. Hes raised money for the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America ($180,000 in one year), has visited children with the disease, and recently set up his own foundation to educate the public and assist fellow-sufferers.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation, now fifteen years old, distributes over $83 million each year to fund research on Parkinsons Disease and increase public awareness.

Celebrities with serious diseases, simply by publicizing the fact, have saved lives by calling attention to the illness. There was a spike in testing for the BRACA 1 and 2 gene mutations associated with breast cancer after Angelina Jolie announced that she had the mutant gene and had undergone a double mastectomy.

In 1998, Hillary Clinton had a blood clot, a deep vein thrombosis, or venous thromboembolism (VTE). But the First Lady did not come forward with the information. Even staffers were told only that she had a sprained ankle. Hillary was eyeing Pat Moynihans Senate seat, and apparently felt that discussing the embolism would not help her campaign. In the fall of 2007, she changed her mind. Running for the nomination against Barack Obama and John Edwards, whose wife Elizabeth suffered from metastatic breast cancer, Hillary evidently decided that mentioning the health scare from nine years earlier might make her seem a little more sympathetic. So she confided the secret to a NY Daily News reporter.

But then she dropped the issue. Just as she had done nothing as First Lady or as a senator, she did nothing as Secretary of State and a member of the Obama Cabinet to increase public awareness of VTE.

The President shares Clintons lack of interest. As Beth Waldron, a VTE advocate and medical writer, notes:

President Obamas Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal included no funding at all to address VTE. By comparison, HIV/AIDS gets a $3.3 billion allocation. Breast cancer and cervical cancer (lumped together in a line item) are allocated $169 million. Both conditions are mentioned by name with dedicated funding line-items in the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget. Yet in the CDC budget detail, there is not a single mention of VTE, which kills more Americans annually than both AIDS and female cancers combined.

How many Americans? The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 60,000 to 100,000 people die each year from VTE. About 900,000 men and women of all ages are diagnosed with it annually. This compares to about 21,000 diagnosed with ovarian cancer, 231,000 with breast cancer, and also 21,000 with HIV infections. Deaths from each, in 2014, were 14,000, 41,000, and 13,000 (from all causes) respectively.

So the 21,000 Americans who contract HIV-related infections annually are allocated $3.3 billion, while the 900,000 who experience blot clots get nothing.

Most VTE, their complications, and nearly all deaths are preventable, writes Waldron, and takes Clinton to task for not becoming a public advocate for victims of blood clots.

Clinton could have played a key role in changing that. [the lack of funding] Clintons first clot occurred when she was First Lady. Her second episode occurred the year she transitioned from the US Senate to the State Department. Her third VTE episode happened while she was Secretary of State. All of Clintons clots occurred while she held positions of great public influence. If at any of those junctures, she had stepped up to share her clotting experience, perhaps even become a VTE advocate and encouraged Congress or the President to increase funding, millions of lives could have potentially been positively impacted or saved.

In 2008 the Surgeon General called VTE a major health problem, exacting a significant human and economic toll on the Nation. The report said few problems are as serious as VTE, yet there was low public awareness and clinician adherence to effective prevention and treatment strategies.

But Hillary was not interested in saving lives. She was interested in becoming President. For the Clintons, its always about power and money.

Like David Garrard and Michael J. Fox, the Clintons have a foundationwith some 2,000 employees. But the non-profit organization, according to The Federalist,

distributed less than 6% of the $91.2 million it spent in 2014 in charitable grants, $5.2 million. Of the money spent on its own programs, by far the largest amount, $23.3 million, went to the Clinton Global Initiative. The CGI exists to organize and produce a lavish annual meeting headlined by former president Bill Clinton, and characterized by the New York Times as a glitzy annual gathering of chief executives, heads of state, and celebrities. Number two was the Clinton Presidential Library ($12.3 million) and number three the Clinton Climate Initiative ($8.3 million).

VTE sufferers, unfortunately, are mostly ordinary Americans without clout or deep pockets.

Beth Waldron also criticizes Dr. Lisa Bardack for misleading the public about anticoagulants. As every physician knows, they do not dissolve clots.

For the town-hall debate on Sunday, October 9, half of the questions will come from citizens, via Facebook. These will be selected by Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper.

Readers should ask Hillary Clinton some version of the following:

You have suffered from three blood clots, or venous thromboembolisms. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that as many as 900,000 Americans are diagnosed with blood clots each year, and they kill between 60-100,000 men and women annually. If you are elected President, will you fund research to help find a cure for this disease and to help prevent it through public education?

Readers can cite the conclusion of an article on the NIH website:
President Obama had a dream.

The Islamic Republic of Iran was simply misunderstood. The U.S., the sole superpower, as befits the typical arrogant colonial power, had intervened in Iran in 1953 by sponsoring a coup of the beloved Iranian prime minister, Mossadegh. The Iranian regime hated the U.S. for that act, and for other acts of colonialism.

Ignore the fact that this view of the 1953 coup against Iran cannot be the cause of the Iranian regimes hatred of the U.S. The founder of the current Iranian regime opposed the leftist, corrupt and undemocratic regime of Mossadegh, and the Islamist clerics of Iran were supportive of the British-led, American supported ouster.

Anyway, President Obama believed (and still believes) that all the U.S. needed to get right with Iran was to elect the right kind of U.S. president. A humble man, like Obama, who understood and respected the Islamic faith, and who could apologize for the great wrong done by the U.S. to Iran. If the president did that, then a deal could be struck to end the danger of Iranian nuclear weapons and help moderate Irans government.

Of course, apologizing wasnt all President Obama was prepared to do to make nice with the Islamic Republic.

Under President Obama, the U.S. agreed to political commitments with Iran that: 1) relieved U.S. and international sanctions on Iran estimated to be worth at least hundreds of billions of dollars for the Iranian regime; 2) restricted the West and international agencies from gaining full access to Irans nuclear weapons program sites; 3) provided Iran with $100 - $120 - $150 billion in frozen oil money, from the JCPOA; 4) gave Iran $12  $20  $33.6 billion in frozen oil money, probably in cash, from the JPOA; 5) furnished Iran with $1.7 billion, all hard cash, as ransom for American hostages.

In return, Iran gave up some hostages, which it quickly replaced, and made some insincere promises about nuclear weapons research.

Under President Obama, the U.S. has deferred to the Islamic Republics wishes on issue after issue. Because of Irans willingness to officially walk away from the nuclear political commitment, Obama has allowed Iran to continue to violate the conventional weapons international ban by supplying its terror proxies from Hizballah, to the Houthis, to Hamas with weapons. Obama has permitted Iran to violate international law by grabbing and humiliating U.S. sailors, and harassing U.S. Navy ships. Obama has allowed the Iranian regime to escape any repercussions for: grabbing new American and other Western hostages; adding $600,000 to the Iranian bounty for the killing of blasphemous British author Salman Rushdie; pledging that every family of a Palestinian terrorist will receive $7,000 from Iran; and executing the entire adult male population of an Iranian village for drug offences.

Even before the president was officially negotiating with the Iranians, he was prostrating himself before them. When the Green Revolution began in 2009, rather than do what most U.S. administrations would do -- support with words and funding the democratic political movement protesting the bloody and violent anti-American, Islamist totalitarian regime, President Obama refused to take a public stand. He instructed the CIA not to provide any funding for these dissidents for communications, or even arms, and to sever its contacts with the Green Movement. Obama further ended U.S. programs to document Iranian human rights abuses. This was quite in contrast to how President Obama behaved towards the pro-American and far less bloody dictator in Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, whom he pressured to step down, leading to a takeover by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization.

President Obama also caved to the Iranian regime over Syria in 2012-2013. Rather than enforce his own red line on the use of chemical weapons, he walked back his commitment to oust the Syrian butcher Assad, after the Iranians made it clear they would never negotiate with him otherwise. This allowed the prolongation of the Syrian civil war, which has killed over half a million people and destabilized both the Middle East and Europe with millions of Syrian refugees.

President Obama was, of course, wrong in his assumptions. His catering to the Islamic Republic did -- and will -- not lead to an end to their nuclear weapons threat, or to moderation by the Iranian government. Instead, President Obamas dream has become the Iranian regimes fondest wish, the creation of a powerful, violent, and bloodthirsty Islamist Iranian Caliphate, which is a nightmare for the rest of the Middle East.

In 2008, when running for president, Barack Obama said Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones weve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

President Obama has certainly brought change to the Middle East. It may or may not have been the change that Americans were waiting for. But when it comes to the Islamist theocratic regime in Iran, there can be no doubt -- Barack Obama was the U.S. President the Iranians were waiting for.

Adam Turner is the General Counsel & Legislative Affairs Director for the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET).
Donald Trump should use every question to outline his proposals to Make America Great Again, such as reducing the tax rates on businesses and individuals to energize the economy, renegotiating trade deals that have caused American manufacturing companies to move overseas (with Ford moving to Mexico as an example), and reducing federal regulations on businesses. He should then tie these proposals that strengthen our economy to his proposals to strengthen national security such as building a wall or fence on the southern border and enforcing our immigration laws, including tracking those with expired visas, deporting illegals with criminal records, and canceling the appeasement nuclear deal with Iran. He should announce that if Iran harasses any of our ships, then we will defend ourselves by blowing their ships out of the water.

With each answer, he can contrast his proposals with the weak and ineffectual record of Hillary as secretary of state, such as her failure to provide the requested additional security at Benghazi; her lying to the country and families of the victims about the cause of the attack; the bombing of Libya, which left Libya in anarchy as a home for ISIS; the withdrawal from Iraq without a Status of Forces agreement that led to ISIS; the failure to establish safe zones in Syria, which has led to the refugee crisis; taking in refugees without properly vetting them; and the appeasement of Iran on the nuclear deal with the payment of $150 billion and another $400 million in ransom that Iran will use to fund terrorism. Remind that Iran is a designated terrorist country, yet we are giving it money. Remind that Hillary was secretary of state, in charge of foreign affairs, during the Middle East fiascos.

Hillary has no accomplishments. She will say she is for the children and women, but what has she done?

She will attack Trump personally, as she has done in her ads. Trump should respond by saying Hillary has no accomplishments as senator and secretary of state, so she has to make personal attacks.

When Hillary says Trump does not have the temperament to be president, remind the audience that Hillary used a private email system instead of the required government system and that FBI director Comey found she was extremely negligent with our classified documents. Point out that Hillary lied to when she said she turned over all work emails, and we do not know what is in the 33,000 emails she destroyed. Emphasize that anyone else would have been indicted.

When Hillary raises releasing income tax returns, Trump should reply that he has released his financial statements, but Hillary must explain why she received $25 million from the Saudis, and how did she amass $200 to 300 million since 2000 on the salary of a senator and secretary of state?

Underline that she has no plans to revive the economy and strengthen national security. Her entire campaign has been negative personal attacks because she has nothing to offer. She is the past, we need change.
Law enforcement in Washington are still unable to perceive a motive in the shooting deaths of five people at a mall outside Seattle. But according to Rep. Mike McCaul, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, terrorism is not being ruled out.

Washington Times:

Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures that law enforcement authorities were playing it safe, saying there are no links to terrorism. But I wouldnt be surprised if we find out more details about this individual, as well as we did Mr. Rahami, he said, referring to New York and New Jersey bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami. Arcan Cetin, 20, an immigrant from Turkey and legal permanent U.S. resident, was arrested Saturday night on five counts of first-degree murder. A string of attacks, which also includes a stabbing at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, that left nine people injured, could play a prominent role in the final weeks of the presidential race. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who is Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps running mate, said the attacks show a clear need for immigration reform. We dont know the motivation of the permanent legal resident in Washington state who took five American lives last night, but I think what you heard Donald Trump talking about was just simply we need common sense back in our immigration policies in this country, Mr. Pence said on Fox News Sunday. We need to begin to recognize that were at war with radical Islamic terrorism. Hillary Clinton wont even name radical Islamic terrorism, said Mr. Pence, referring to the Democratic presidential nominee. Donald Trump has a plan to confront it. A part of that includes a full review of our immigration policies, suspending immigration from territories and nations that have been compromised by terrorism.

In the middle of a hotly contested presidential campaign, it is inevitable that both sides will politicize the issue of terrorism. But do the recent attacks favor one candidate over another?

The polls show that tying immigration to terrorism is not necessarily a winner for Trump. Recent polls show that the voters are almost evenly divided on the question of who would handle terrorism better.

But folded into the larger issue of immigration, Trump's plan to bar immigration from some countries where terrorism is a problem resonates with his base almost as much as building the border wall. And if, as many observers suspect, this will be a base election, exciting his supporters over the immigration and terrorism issues plays to Trump's strengths as a candidate.

Clinton supporters place terrorism far down the list of issues they care about. Domestic attacks don't seem to dampen their enthusiasm for letting in more Muslim refugees. Clinton is using the terrorism issue to contrast her approach with Trump's, which validates the opinion her supporters have for the GOP nominee.

Unless there is a mass-casualty attack where dozens or hundreds die, the terrorism issue isn't likely to help or hurt either candidate substantially. Give a small edge to Trump for his connecting the immigration issue to terrorism.
One hot-button issue in the first presidential debate will be the Syrian and other refugees who are allowed into the country.

The vetting process of asylum seekers for resettlement in the United States usually takes between 18 and 24 months. But to meet President Obamas goal of bringing in at least 10,000 more Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, the process was cut to 3 months. And on August 29, White House spokesman Josh Earnest announced this goal that was met a month ahead of schedule.

Following harsh criticism by the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that radical Muslims are allowed into the country, and statements by intelligence and law enforcement officials agencies that it is difficult and sometimes impossible to verify the information provided by the Syrian applicants, the White House defended Obamas decision, saying the administration succeeded in mobilizing the necessary resources both within the intelligence community, within the Department of Homeland Security, to do things, like deploy more officers to conduct interviews. Such vetting, according to Earnest, involves collecting biometric info, doing in-person interviews, doing background checks, running their info through a variety of national security and international databases.

But according to the regional refugee coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Gina Kassem, a refugee resettlement center, which opened last February in Amman, Jordan, interviews some 600 refugees each day. And to achieve the goal set by Obama, the Center does not exclude anyone or look for families with certain education background, language skills or other socio-economic factors [or] cut family sizes.

The vetting process, which according to Earnest usually takes quite a bit of time, has been shortened to meet Obamas demands. Considering the fact that background information on Syrian refugees is at best unreliable, how can a thorough screening be accomplished in just three months?

Nonetheless, Hillary declared that halting the admission of refugees from Syria and other countries afflicted by Islamist terrorism until a reliable vetting system is found, as Trump proposes, is a cynical ploy. Moreover, to justify her position, she and her supporters are telling the American people that there is no proven link between immigration and terrorism. To the contrary, they argue, migrants from terrorist-prone states moving to another country are an important vehicle through which terrorism does diffuse. On top of this, they claim, immigrant inflows per se actually lead to a lower level of terrorist attacks.

One important caveat to these claims is that the much cited report looked at migration trends between 1970 and 2000, before the al-Qaeda attacks on the U.S. In addition to killing thousands of innocent civilians on U.S. soil, they showed that the U.S. is vulnerable. This was used to propagate radical Islamic ideologies under the guise of Political Islam (an oxymoron) among Muslim communities everywhere. Imams and Muslim organizations, mostly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, have launched propaganda to stop assimilation into Western societies and to assert their social/political and economic presence by demanding the imposition of Islamic law (sharia), as well as by adopting newly made up symbolic traditions, such as the hijab (headscarf) for women.

In addition, Muslims were called to advance their efforts in proselytizing Westerners to Islam (Dawah). The purpose of these efforts is to weaken host countries Western values from within and abuse democratic political systems to gain power until one day, the host country becomes an Islamic democracy. Jihad/terrorism is encouraged to reinforce fear and quiescence among the infidels. Pres. Obama and his hopeful successor, Hillary Clinton, are bringing in and proposing a dramatic increase of thousands of poorly vetted refugees for resettlement in the U.S.

Last week, Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) sent a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, stating that his state is withdrawing from the Obama administrations refugee resettlement program on Jan. 31, 2017. While many refugees pose no danger, some pose grave danger, like the Iraqi refugee with ties to ISIS who was arrested earlier this year after he plotted to set off bombs at two malls in Houston, said the governor. He went on to explain that because the federal government lacks the capability or the will to distinguish the dangerous from the harmless, and Texas will not be an accomplice to such dereliction of duty to the American people. Therefore, Texas will withdraw from the refugee resettlement program. He concluded his letter by strongly urging the federal government to completely overhaul a broken and flawed refugee program that increasingly risks American lives.

But how is it possible to distinguish who is dangerous and who is not? How can we recognize the presence of a hostile intent of even documented refugees, immigrants, or tourists to this country  especially sympathizers of radical Islamic terrorist entities from Muslim countries, at the time they apply to or enter the country?

Looking for possible solutions, we looked at a variety of profiling and detection technologies. The one that stood out is the Israeli Suspect Detection Systems, which seems to offer the much needed screening to detect hostile intent. It is already used in some 15 countries, but not by the U.S. government.

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security helped fund the development of the SDS. But when its prototype was ready in 2008, DHS declined to use it.

Why? According to Shabtai Shoval, the co-founder of Suspect Detection Systems Inc., DHS claimed that screening to detect hostile intention would constitute an intrusion on the privacy of those screened by the system.

According to the company's website, the SDS is an automated interviewing and interrogation system that has both mobile and Kiosk applications. It allows the screening of a large number of people and does not require operator training. One operator can handle simultaneously ten stations. It has a central management and database system that allows storing all tests results, analysis, and data mining, and is deployed and integrated with governmental agencies. The SDS uses an automated interviewing decision-making system with varying stimuli, which is adaptable to a variety of different questioning contexts, different cultures, and languages. The examination lasts 5 minutes when there are no indications of harmful intent, and 7 minutes to ascertain it (with only 4% false positive, and 10% false negative).

With the growing pressure to resettle refugees, any system with proven capability to identify hostile intent  thus lowering the risk of admitting jihad sympathizers to the country  should be used to best guarantee that those allowed in have no immediate intention to kill Americans in the name of Allah.
According to The Australian, Vladimir Putin's troops in Syria are using a weapons system "one step below a nuclear weapon" on the city of Aleppo.

The TOS-1A "Blazing Sun" fires a near simultaneous missile battery at an entire neighborhood and is designed to create an all-consuming firestorm on the target. It is the equivalent of a localized nuclear weapon, aiming to turn civilian as well as armed neighborhoods into oxygen-sucking infernos.

The technology now exists to create near-nuclear weapons that are called "conventional" but resemble small nuclear weapons in indiscriminate destructiveness. Such weapons should be prohibited by international treaties. Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki 70 years ago, nuclear weapons have not been used "in anger." Vladimir Putin is therefore breaching an important international taboo against weapons that are so undiscriminating and all-destroying that they are equivalent to nuclear weapons. Because Moscow's own existence is not threatened, this is not an "in extremis" use of WMDs. Putin has acted brutally before, and our feckless international "community" has ignored his actions. But this is a time when Putin must face international punishment.

Obama's retreat from stabilizing American holdings in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia has allowed aggressors to push previous tripwire boundaries. China has stolen immense seabed territories in the South China Sea. Russia is now allied with the primitive Iranian mullahs and involved in Syria's endless civil war. Our European allies are pathetic without firm American backing.

Obama's self-proclaimed "red lines" meant nothing. But what Putin has done now, coinciding with the most crucial U.S. presidential election in years, is to challenge a basic humanitarian and practical consensus on the use of WMDs.

This must not stand. in typical Russian fashion, Putin has been pushing all the boundaries, by simulated attacks on U.S. and allied forces, and by using WMDs in Syria and Chechnya.

If there was ever a time for the Obama administration to take a public stand, even at a diplomatic price, this is it.
Israeli prime minister Netanyahu held two separate meetings with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton yesterday, but the two meetings were very different. The P.M. spent 90 minutes on Trumps turf at Trump Tower with Trump, Israels ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dremer, and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, a key campaign adviser. In contrast, the meeting with Hillary Clinton lasted only an hour and took place on neutral territory, at the fashionable W Hotel.

But the biggest contrast was that Trump alone promised to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a position GOP nominees usually take. Reuters explains why this is regarded as controversial:

While Israel calls Jerusalem its capital, few other countries accept that, including the United States. Most nations maintain embassies in Tel Aviv. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of the state they aim to establish alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Congress long ago mandated this move, but no president has been willing to take the diplomatic blowback that would ensue if the U.S. actually affirmed undivided Jerusalem as Israels capital and actually moved its embassy. It is interesting to speculate whether a President Trump would follow through on this promise, but he is notably less intimidated by ferocious criticism than Hillary is.

In my own view, the position of the Palestinians in the Arab and Muslim worlds has significantly deteriorated as more pressing issues like ISIS and nuclear Iran are scaring the robes off the Saudi and Gulf monarchs whose funding has helped sustain the Palestinians war on Israels right to exist. These monarchs still are wealthy beyond the dreams of most of us, but their budgets are challenged by a 50% or so drop in oil revenue. So support for Palestinian causes as a line item in their budgets can be cut with less worry than, for example, cutting back on internal security forces.

Meanwhile, Israel thrives as a technology power and now is developing vast offshore gas and fracking of oil onshore. Its Arab neighbors have not fared well, but Egypt is not hostile. There are lots of overlapping interests between Israel and Saudi in particular, as well, and there are reports of covert meetings between Israeli and Saudi officials.

In such an environment, it is at least thinkable that a U.S. president could make the Big Move to Jerusalem and announce to the world that the U.S. accepts Israeli control of Jerusalem and will not tolerate non-Israeli control of East Jerusalem. But it would require a bold leader not overly troubled by harsh criticism and even disdain.

A side note: Shockingly (to me), the Associated Press offers a Big Story article  see the URL: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/444f49d883a44acabe9b31b1a6261492/clinton-trump-buff-foreign-policy-bona-fides-debate-eve  on the meetings of Netanyahu with both presidential contenders, and does not even mention Trumps position on the embassy. CNNs account buried that to the very last paragraph, but at least it showed up! And Reuters, to its credit, headlines it, as does left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the favorite source for New York Times dispatches to quote.

Rick Moran adds:

Prime Minister Netanyahu may be grateful for Trump's endorsement of a united Jerusalem, but it's possible that the prime minister would prefer to wait to implement the plan.

The diplomatic blowback would be intense if Netanyahu were to unilaterally declare a united Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Even though it's been a goal of the Jewish state for decades, most Israeli leaders have preferred to make the status of Jerusalem a question for negotiations.

Israel is already isolated enough. A declaration on Jerusalem would make them more so.
A union representing 5,000 immigration officers has endorsed Donald Trump for president. The endorsement comes as Trump and Clinton prepare to debate immigration among other issues in a nationally televised even that's expected to draw up to 100 million viewers.

Reuters:

With immigration likely to be discussed at the debate, the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, a union representing 5,000 federal immigration officers and law enforcement support staff, announced it would support Trump, in what was described as its first endorsement of a candidate for elected office.

The union's president, Chris Crane, outlined in a statement why his group is backing Trump, saying his union members are "the last line of defense for American communities" and that his members "are prevented from enforcing the most basic immigration laws."

A CNN/ORC poll released on Sept. 7 said that among registered voters, 49 percent said they trusted Clinton to handle immigration, a slight advantage over Trump, who was at 47 percent.

Crane said the endorsement was conducted by a vote of the union's membership and that Clinton received only 5 percent of the vote.
Russia's and Syria's massive offensive against rebel-held Aleppo led to one of the most contentious meetings of the U.N. Security Council in years.

The U.S., France, and Great Britain called for an emergency session of the Council after more than 300 people were killed in indiscriminate Russian bombing of Aleppo in the last three days. During the meeting, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pleaded with the U.S. and Russia to resurrect a ceasefire before it was too late. Syria, he said, is "on the brink."

But the session turned acrimonious when both the British foreign minister, Boris Johnson, and U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power accused the Russians of war crimes.

Financial Times:

Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, said Russian and Syrian forces were laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city. Ms Power and her UK and French counterparts later walked out of the session when the Syrian representative addressed the council. The allegations against Russia, which included claims the Kremlin was condoning war crimes, came as Aleppo was bracing for an onslaught by Russian-backed Syrian government forces. Following the breakdown of a ceasefire agreement negotiated between Washington and Moscow last week, Aleppo has seen some of the worst aerial bombardment since the wars outbreak, leaving hundreds dead. In theory, the US and Russia are still working to see if there is a way to revive the ceasefire plan announced two weeks ago  John Kerry, US secretary of state, has called for military aircraft to be barred from flying over contested areas. However, the fierce exchanges at the UN underlined the collapsing space for diplomacy. In a blistering speech, Ms Power said: Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. While Moscow was likely to argue that it was pursuing terrorists in Syria, she said that Russia is espousing fiction. What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism; it is barbarism, she added. Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the UN, said that the US had little influence over the rebel groups that it was backing in Syria. Bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now, he said. Sundays urgent meeting was held at the request of the UK, the US and France as fighting continued to rage around Aleppo and the rebel-held east of the city suffered a new bombardment, the latest in a spiral of violence that has left the planned ceasefire in tatters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 26 people had died in the new round of regime airstrikes on the city on Sunday. Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frances foreign minister, told the meeting that Russia and Iran, which also backs the Syrian regime, would be accomplices to war crimes if they did not press President Bashar al-Assad to stop the violence. He said the Syrian government has clearly made the choice of a military escalation.

Boris Johnson was even more direct than Power:

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, urged the powers to work to end the nightmare, singling out Russias use of bunker-busting bombs to hit schools and hospitals operating in basements. How much longer will all those with influence allow such cruelty to continue? Mr Ban said. Earlier, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said Russia may have committed war crimes by bombing a UN aid convoy last week and accused President Putin of not only handing the revolver to the Assad regime, but also helping to pull the trigger. In a display of disgust towards the Assad regime, Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador to the UN, walked out of a specially convened Security Council meeting when the Syrian ambassador rose to speak. Aleppos inhabitants are now facing an unprecedented, unrelenting onslaught of cruelty, he said. In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes.

When the Syrian representative got up to speak, the U.S., French, and British delegations walked out.

This would appear to be a rupture between Russia and the West that won't be easily healed. I'm sure both Putin and President Assad don't care what the rest of the world is thinking. They are winning. The destruction and capture of the last urban stronghold of the rebels will, for all intents and purposes, end the war. All the rebels will be able to do in the future is harass Assad's forces from the few remaing towns and villages they control.

With the capture of Aleppo, the humilation of President Obama and the U.S. will be complete, and our feckless policy in Syria will be exposed as naive and foolish from the start.
Motorola was once a star-studded communications company. Responsible for some of the earliest cellular phones in the industry, along with numerous other feats of engineering over the years, the company has experienced a fall from grace in recent years. In the smartphone world, their early creations were sometimes good, never managed to draw much attention until 2013s original Moto X. Packed with features and built to compete with the likes of the HTC One M7 and Samsung Galaxy S4, the phone put Motorola on a fast track to the top echelons of the smartphone world. It was around this time that they were bought up by Google, who eventually ended up selling them off to Lenovo. After a few waves of layoffs for both Lenovo and Motorola, a new one came to light on Monday.

This latest layoff according to a statement from Motorola reportedly involves less than 1,100 of the 55,000 Lenovo employees from around the world, a number which Motorola states is around 2 percent of Lenovos total staff. Despite the layoffs, Motorolas statement also highlighted that they are committed to the Chicago area and that they will not be abandoning their headquarters there, which may at least provide somewhat of a silver lining.

Between recent layoffs and this new one, the majority of Motorolas employees are gone, including a number of big names like former head honcho Rick Osterloh who left on his own after deciding to go back Google earlier this year. Whatever the reason for the layoffs, it seems that nobody is immune to the risk of job loss at the once-great manufacturers offices; reports indicate that an employee who is seeing the end of a 20 year tenure with the company ended up breaking the news publicly on Facebook, though the identity of this individual appears to remain confidential due to privacy reasons. Even with the relative success of their budget Moto E and Moto G lineups and the promise imbued in the recently launched Moto Z, one of the first phones on the market to offer modular capabilities, things are not looking very bright for the Moto team at the moment.
Google is reportedly testing a piece of software on the HTC Nexus 9 tablet called Andromeda, which is rumored to be the merged Android/Chrome OS software that had been talked about initially in rumors last year. While there is no confirmation from Google on this particular software just yet, a report today seems to display that the software is indeed being tested on this device. This is also following a report from not too long ago (which initially surfaced yesterday) that Googles merge Chrome OS and Android software could end up being teased at their upcoming event on October 4th, and that the software was called Andromeda internally at Google.

Andromeda being tested on the Nexus 9 begun as a rumor, but it seems that the AOSP for Android 7.0 Nougat reveals some code that mentions graphics performance testing while referencing Andromeda for the Nexus 9 and talking about its performance score. This doesnt actually mean that Google has plans to release Andromeda for the Nexus 9 in any capacity, rather it is likely just the device they have chosen to test the software on. Its also worth considering that a merged version of Android and Chrome OS software (in this case, Andromeda, as it now seems to be known) wouldnt likely be ready for release until sometime next year, and by the time Google could have a build ready for a public launch, the Nexus 9 will be well past two years old.

Even if Google doesnt have plans to launch Andromeda for the Nexus 9 though, the fact that theyre seemingly testing the software on a tablet could mean that they have plans to release the software for future tablets, and may have needed to gather an absolute minimum in terms of hardware requirements. That said, there is still a lot that isnt even known about Andromeda in the first place. Google has not officially announced the software or the project of working on it in any official capacity, so there is no real way to know what direction they plan to take it. More details look to be not too far off in the future though, if Google does in fact plan to discuss Andromeda in some way at their October 4th event.
Several days ago, Yahoo revealed that its service has suffered a massive security breach in 2014 during which no less than 500 million user accounts were stolen. To make matters even worse, the tech giants representatives went on record to state that they firmly believe this hacking was state-sponsored. While not pointing fingers at any particular government, Yahoo asserted that its currently working with law enforcement agencies and will get to the bottom of the incident. Several days later, the shock still hasnt completely worn off and numerous debates on the subject are being led all over the US, as well as the rest of the world.

While affected and interested parties are speculating about the foreign government which may be behind this massive hack and are in fear of consequences, several experts have now stated that the reasons behind this incident may not be as clear-cut as they appear to. As NDTV reports, certain people with decades of experience in the cyber security industry are speculating that the 2014 Yahoo attack wasnt motivated by financial gain, at least not primarily. Lance Hoffman from the Washington-based Cyberspace Security and Privacy Institute claims that while these types of attacks can definitely be profitable for hackers willing to dabble into identity theft and similar crimes, state-sponsored hacks are usually primarily conducted for the purposes of gathering intelligence. Hoffman speculates that if Yahoo claims are correct and a foreign government actually funded the attack on the companys services, it may have done so in an attempt to build a database of dossiers on important people in the country or enrich an existing one.

Of course, this is still pure speculation and Yahoo and the US government have yet to prove that the hacking of the tech giants service was even funded by another country, let alone that it was conducted with motives more convoluted than simple financial gain. However, the circumstances surrounding the incident definitely suggest that a well-funded actor was responsible for the hacking as Yahoo claims that it wasnt until a few weeks ago that the attack was even discovered. In other words, the perpetrators were not only equipped to conduct such a high-profile attack but even had the know-how and the resources to mask their traces as the Californian company still doesnt know how exactly the attack was conducted. Whatever the truth ends up being, this latest scandal definitely wont facilitate the upcoming sale of Yahoos core business.
Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world by a large margin. This is a result of many things, including great features, flexibility, and open source licensing, which allows Android to be used by any device manufacturer, resulting in a wide range of devices with varying feature sets and price points for users to choose from. Microsofts Windows Phone is a formidable opponent, with some excellent features of its own, but it has failed to gain the same level of popularity as Android. The rumored upcoming Moto M may offer users the best of both worlds, with some of Microsofts most popular apps preloaded.

Lenovo, the parent company of Motorola, recently signed a cross-licensing agreement with Microsoft to preload a set of Microsoft apps on Android devices. The apps include Microsoft Office, OneDrive, and Skype. There is no word yet whether Microsofts smart assistant, Cortana, will be included in new devices as well. The apps themselves are not exclusive to the Moto M, they can be downloaded from the Google Play store for use on Android devices now, however it is possible that the Moto M is going to integrate them into the operating system on a deeper level than devices that dont have them preloaded, such as setting Skype to be the default dialer. In terms of hardware, the device is expected to sport a relatively small (by todays standards) 4.6-inch display, 4GB of RAM and a fingerprint sensor, encased in an aluminum body, and will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

Lenovo is not the first company to include Microsoft apps on their Android devices, Samsung had also formed an agreement to preload their latest flagship smartphones and tablets with Microsoft apps, however, the use of the letter M (as in Microsoft) in the rumored name of the device may be a hint that on the Moto M, the bundled Microsoft apps will serve as a signature feature and key selling point. Including their own apps on devices running their competitors operating system may seem like a strange choice, but because Microsoft has had a hard time competing for market share with other popular mobile operating systems like Android and iOS, including their apps on Android devices may provide them a way to encourage more people to use their services, giving them a way to reach more users. There is no known release date for the Moto M at the moment, but we will keep you updated.
Samsung had kicked off the all-new Galaxy C lineup of smartphones by releasing the Galaxy C5 and Galaxy C7 handsets earlier this year. The Galaxy C5 and Galaxy C7 were introduced back in May, and have been available for purchase since June. These handsets were introduced in China, and are available only in China, at least for the time being. Many reports suggested that the letter C in the name of these handsets actually means China, but we cannot be sure of that. In any case, yet another Galaxy C smartphone has been leaking lately, the Galaxy C9. This smartphone had popped up on Zauba twice thus far, and the phone has just surfaced on Geekbench as well, read on.

Last Zauba listing said that the Galaxy C9 (SM-C9000) will ship with a 6-inch display, which makes sense considering that the Galaxy C5 comes with a 5.2-inch panel, while the Galaxy C7 ships with a 5.7-inch display. In any case, the Geekbench listing does not really reveal the display size of the Galaxy C9, but it does say that the phone will be fueled by the Snapdragon 652 64-bit octa-core SoC running at 1.4GHz, along with the Adreno 510 GPU. The listing also says that the phone will ship with 6GB of RAM and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, while youll be able to find Samsungs custom UI on top of Android, of course. If this listing is to be believed, then the Galaxy C9 scored 1,304 points in the single-core benchmark, while it has managed to hit 4,366 points in the multi-core benchmark.

That is more or less it as far as the info from Geekbench goes, but all of this is quite interesting. If this info is accurate, then this will be the first Samsung-branded smartphone to ship with 6GB of RAM, and were not even looking at a high-end handset here, only a mid-ranger. The Galaxy C9 will be made out of metal, and chances are it will resemble the Galaxy C5 and Galaxy C7 quite a bit. This handset will sport the physical home key below the display, and the fingerprint scanner will almost certainly be built into it. We still dont know when will this handset launch, but chances are Samsung will introduce it soon.
A new Samsung patent has been discovered that suggests the company is looking to launch a new version of the S Pen in the future. While the most recent S Pen that launches with the Galaxy Note 7 has been tweaked ever so slightly and is the most recent version of the tool with features like waterproofing, the patent displays plans for an S Pen that comes with an integrated speaker at the top of the pen opposite of the end that interacts with the devices display. For the current S Pen, this part of the pen is the button that a user can press to eject the S Pen from the housing silo on the Galaxy Note 7.

Its worth noting that the patent itself actually refers to the pen as the New Galaxy Note Pen which means that Samsung could be changing up the name of the pen altogether, although there is nothing to confirm that Samsung has plans to switch the naming scheme of the S Pen. Having said that, calling it the Galaxy Note Pen would make more sense as it would be indistinguishable as the stylus meant for a Galaxy Note device and would essentially be more streamlined along with device series name.

Its said that the speaker on the Galaxy Note Pen would replace the speaker grille that sits at the bottom left corner of the phone on the back. The patent displays that there would be an internal Galaxy Note speaker module that would output the audio through the speaker at the top of the pen when the Galaxy Note Pen was inserted into the opening where it is kept when not in use. When the pen is removed, its described that the speaker module would then be able to transmit the audio through the opening where the pen is stored, and would presumably play through the speaker on the pen. The patent doesnt clearly state whether or not all sound would output from the speaker on the pen when the pen is removed from its storage space on the phone, or whether it would only be specific sounds, such as key tones, and the tones from other buttons when pressed. There is also no guarantee that Samsung actually plans to release the Galaxy Note Pen that is displayed in this patent. This is not the first patent for a new type of Note pen that Samsung has filed for, as a patent that was discovered earlier this year pointed to the possibility of an S Pen that could bend at a hinge to work as a possible stand for the device.
Comment sections of popular websites usually arent the place where youll meet a plethora of open-minded individuals with a deep understanding of sensitive issues and a whole lot of care for other peoples feelings, and YouTube is no exception. Last week, the Google-owned company running the most popular video platform on the Internet announced a program called YouTube Heroes designed to incentivize Internet users to flag offensive comments and videos and help the ever-growing team of YouTube moderators identify and remove content thats against its terms of use and common decency in general. Surprisingly or not, the initiative was met with such a negative response that the YouTube Help channel actually disabled the comments on the Getting Started with YouTube Heroes video which introduced the program to the general public.

Today, the said video boasts approximately 2.4 million views with a little under 20,000 thumbs up and over 710,000 thumbs down. YouTube users all over the world took to Twitter and other popular social media websites to both criticize and ridicule the idea behind this program. The idea of getting rewarded with virtual points for mass-flagging videos and comments all over YouTube was heavily criticized by users as it allows for too much potential for things to go wrong. Numerous YouTube celebrities reminded the public that they were often the victims of mass-flagged content despite not publishing anything thats against the platforms terms of use and had their videos taken down simply because people didnt like them, NDTV reports. As these individuals point out, YouTube Heroes not only allows for that behavior to go unpunished but actually actively promotes and rewards it.

Other criticism against the program recently posted online has to do with the fact that this initiative suggests YouTube is continuing to tiptoe around a much bigger issue  the lack of moderators responsible for identifying and taking down paid content. Many dissatisfied YouTube users are claiming that the company is unwilling to pay people for moderation and is instead trying to replace professional moderators with a gamified system of online vigilantism. YouTube has yet to officially respond to criticism of Heroes but as things stand right now, this program doesnt seem to be in for a bright future.
Belize City, Friday, 23 September 2016 (CRFM)Fifteen fisheries personnel, including senior fisheries officers, fisheries officers, analysts and policy officers, traveled to Australia this week to participate in a specialized training course on Enhancing Fisheries Management Capacity in the Caribbean Region.

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) partnered in developing the 4-week course, to strengthen the regions capacity in fisheries law and fisheries management.

More specifically, the trainingwhich is being held at the Innovation Centre at ANCORS, University of Wollongong, ranked among Australias top 10 universitiesis intended to address the conservation and protection of living marine resources and biodiversity; monitoring and surveillance; as well as measures to curb illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

This is a great training opportunity for CRFM Member States, and we are grateful for the valued contributions which Australia continues to make to help advance fisheries management and development across the CARICOM region. The CRFM appreciates this sustained support, said Milton Haughton, CRFM Executive Director.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Government institution which is funding the training, awarded Australian Awards Fellowship to nominees who were selected from 10 CRFM Member States.

It is expected that when the training concludes on October 15, they will partner with relevant stakeholders to help improve frameworks and cooperative agreements at home and across the wider Caribbean, to achieve sustainable fisheries, which would, in turn, mean more dollars for the fishing industry and improved socio-economic conditions in beneficiary states.

This training builds on two previous training workshops, successfully held in Australia in 2012 and 2014. It helps to fulfill a Memorandum of Understanding which the CRFM and ANCORS signed back in 2012.
Prince George horrified by Canadian Prime Ministers high five

We all warm to horrified Prince George. In Canada for a Royal tour Prince George left Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau hanging in a failed high-five.

Of course, to the British the high-five is a symbol of failure. Trudeau should have simply bowed, or else kissed the princes ring finger (the Trudeau name suggests French roots). Prince George treated Trudeaus foolishness with the disdain it warrants.

No Britisher enjoys nor wants the high five.

Prince George leaves Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau hanging in failed high-five pic.twitter.com/LTAUEzukhZ  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 25, 2016

Anorak

Posted: 26th, September 2016 | In: Politicians, Royal Family Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Crime Stoppers chief arrested for growing 3000 marijuana plants

One way to stop crime is to change the law that makes criminals of people who grow marijuana. Jon-Paul Fuller, president of a Crime Stoppers chapter in Ontario, Canada, has been arrested for part of a marijuana growing in greenhouses in Leamington, Ontario.

Police claim they found more than 2,900 marijuana plants and 41 kilograms of harvested marijuana. Its difficult to accept, very shocking, but nonetheless were moving forward, says Charlie Hotham, who preceded Fuller as president and is once more the Crime Stoppers top man. We dont want to let one person take away from the good deeds that Crime Stoppers does,.

Fuller has been charged with production of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The rest of us can wonder why growing marijuana is a crime when so many benefit from its use?

I dont think theres any doubt that the enforcement of marijuana laws has been responsible for the overwhelming majority of drug arrests, about 75 per cent of all reported drug crime, says Neil Boyd, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.

Madness.

Anorak

Posted: 26th, September 2016 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, September 26 - Switzerland's Italian-speaking canton Ticino has voted in favor of limiting the access of cross-border workers.

A referendum held Sunday in the canton that borders northern Italy, which was promoted by the ultra-conservative Swiss People's Party, obtained 58% of the vote against 39.7%.

The referendum presented voters with the choice of whether to favor local workers over foreign ones "with the same professional qualifications" Although referendums in Switzerland are meant to be binding, the vote could be merely symbolic as the cantonal government could lack the powers to implement such a policy.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Monday tweeted that the vote doesn't have a "practical impact" for now, but without the free circulation of people the relationship between Switzerland and the EU is "at risk".

With a population of 350,000, Ticino has over 62,000 foreigners crossing the border daily to work locally - roughly one-quarter of all workers in the tiny canton.

Overall, some 298,000 foreign-based employees commuted to Switzerland for work in the second quarter of 2015, up 3.4% on the same period last year, according to data by the Swiss federal statistics bureau quoted by local media. A Swiss referendum in 2014 voted to set a limit on the number of foreign workers although the government has until 2017 to put it into law.


EU launches 348-mn in aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey Monthly debit cards for one million refugees

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, SEPTEMBER 26 - The European Union on Monday launched a 348-million-euro humanitarian aid project for Syrian refugees in Turkey.



It will provide debit cards rechargeable on a monthly basis to one million Syrian refugees currently living outside of refugee camps in Turkey.



Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Crises, said it's "the largest humanitarian project ever undertaken by the EU".



The project will be managed by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) with the support of the Turkish Red Crescent and local authorities, and is part of the three billion euros' worth of aid included in the EU-Turkey migrant accord.



Turkey currently hosts three million refugees.(ANSAmed).




-AMMAN - Journalist and activist Nahed Hattar was shot dead on Monday in front of Amman court ahead of his trial over cartoon that courted controversy where he mocked Jehaids in heaven.



Hattar was in police custody pending his trial over publishing the cartoons, where he depicted jehadis in heaven surrounded by women in a tent.



Hattar was shot several times by an unknown individual as he was lead by police to enter one of his court sessions. The killer was arrested by security forces, a security source told ANSA.



The activist was rushed to receive first aid but was declared dead upon arrival to hospital, said the source.



No group has declared responsibility for the attack against Hattar, who is known for his acts of support to Syrian regime and Hizbollah. In his hometown of Fuheis, a town dominated by Christian majority, tension was visible as relative said they will not receive his body until they know who shot him.






- BEIRUT - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moallem on Monday said a ceasefire sponsored by Russia and the US ''is not dead''.



In an interview to Arabic-language Iranian television Mayadeen, Moallem said that the fact that US Secretary of State John Kerry and Freign Minister Sergei Lavrov are continuing to communicate shows the truce ''is not dead''. The Syrian army had already stated last week the end of the ceasefire.



Moallem has once again proposed a plan of the government of Damascus that provides for a referendum on a new Constitution, parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.






ANSAmed - Today's events in the Mediterranean

(ANSAmed) - ROMA, SEPTEMBER 26 - These are some of the main events scheduled for today in the Euro-Mediterranean area.



BRUSSELS - dialogue session between Serbia and Kosovo at the experts and technical level.



BRATISLAVA - EU informal defense ministers meeting with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska (also 27/9).



ALGIERS - OPEC summit on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (until 28/9).



AMMAN - 3rd ministerial conference of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) on Employment and Labour (also 27/9).



VENEZIA (ISOLA DI SAN SERVOLO) - 1st edition of the Italian Business & SDGs Annual Forum, an initiative for enterprises trying to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the UN 2030 Agenda. GENOA - conference on "The Mediterranean Region as a Complex System: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities", organized by the University of Genoa (also 27/9).



NAPLES - XVIII Naples Film Festival. This edition on migrants and refugees. (until Ocotober 2). GABES (TUNISIA) - FIFAG festival of Arab films (until 30/9).



(ANSAmed).




- PARIS - The French head of State Francois Hollande on Monday morning started his first official visit to Calais, in the north, the epicenter of tensions over the presence of the migrant camp that is most difficult to manage.



Upon his arrival, the president said: ''We have to completely, permanently dismantle the camp''.



The theme of migrants and the dismantling of the camp in Calais is already at the center of the electoral campaign.



Residents and retailers in the region are already exasperated and the leader of the Republicains, Nicolas Sarkozy, preceded Hollande by a week, visiting Calais.



Hollande arrived by helicopter and started by visiting the gendarmerie. He will then meet with political representatives as well as with local entrepreneurs and members of associations. He is not scheduled to visit the ''jungle'', a possibility that was rejected after attacks this summer in Nice and Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
MOSCOW - Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov on Monday said that the "tone of rhetoric" coming from US and UK officials regarding Syria is "unacceptable" and could cause damage to the peace process there and to bilateral relations, according to Russian news agency TASS.



Peskov said it makes "no sense" at the moment to hold a summit on Syria and called the situation "very difficult".



Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia can't trust the United States completely in regards to the bombings on al-Nusra positions.



He said, however, that Russia is making efforts in its accord with the US on Syria, and that it's too soon to abandon the agreement.
- MADRID - Final results on elections in Galicia and Basque Country confirm that the Pp has won the absolute majority of seats in Galicia with 41 MPs out of 75 ahead of Podemos En Marea (14), Psoe (14) and nationalists of Bng (6). Podemos 'overcame' the Socialists, with 19% of the vote against 18%.



In Basque Country the nationalists of Pnv won with 29 seats ahead of separatists from Bildu (17) while Podemos with 11 lawmakers won more votes than Psoe (9), like the Pp.
(ANSAmed) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 26 - For the second consecutive year, astrophysicists and students of Italian physics departments will board the ship 'Mediterranea' to participate in an educational initiative led by the Mediterranea Project (Progetto Mediterranea) - a cultural, scientific and nautical initiative that began in spring 2014 - and the National Astrophysics Institute (INAF) in cooperation with the Interuniversity Consortium for Space Physics (CIFS).



"Astrophysics on the Mediterranea" is an introductory astrophysics project aimed at university students enrolled in three-year degree programs in Physics and Astrophysics, and takes place on the Mediterranea, an 18-meter Mikado Ketch equipped with a cutter that hosts the project.



"The astrophysicists are coming aboard again, and like last year they will turn our gaze above the sea, above the clouds, above the sky. They will talk to us about pioneering probes, projects by new universal explorers, neighboring galaxies to find Earth-like planets," said Simone Perotti, writer, sailboat traveler and founder of the Mediterranea Project.



"They will do this by speaking to young physicists, model students, not only prepared and chosen by field, but still able to use their imaginations. And there's no one that knows how to broaden horizons like an astrophysicist," he said.



The crossing has various educational stops, and will depart from the city of Larnaca on the southern coast of the island of Cyprus.



On board, lessons will be conducted by Marco Castellani, an astronomy researcher with INAF Astronomical Observatory of Rome, while Perotti will introduce the students to the history of sailing, with sailing lessons and weather observation.



The students have already visited the capital city of Nicosia which divides the Greek-Cypriot area of the island from the Turkish-Cypriot area, and they are already participating in Project Mediterranea activities, meeting Christine Rizkallah e Nicolas Kyriakides, representatives of the FamagustaEcocity Project.(ANSAmed).


Chilton was vice president of the companys Strategic Missile & Defense Systems organisation. Before that he spent much of his 32-year career leading space launch, payload processing and rocket engine programs. Cooning is retiring after 11 years at Boeing.

These businesses made significant operating improvements under Craigs leadership, said Boeing Defense, Space & Security CEO Leanne Caret. Jim will now lead our efforts to exceed customers expectations by becoming even more affordable, efficient and innovative, with a focus on growth for the next century.
News of the pilot project, expected to be in operation by the end of this year, came at the Second Drones Middle East conference being held on Abu Dhabis Yas Island.

In his keynote address, Mohammed Al Dossari, Director of the GCAAs Air Navigation & Aerodromes Department, said the joint DOT Project is the start of a stakeholder integration initiative that is already extending to the UAEs Ministry of defence and all other air traffic control users in the UAE.

Al Dossari explained: We have begun the pilot phase in Abu Dhabi because that is where the majority of approval applications are coming from.

He added: It is vital that the aviation community and stakeholders work closely together to ensure that drone operations are safely included in our already crowded skies.

Al Dossari said since the GCAA introduced registration of drones and drone operations in 2014 and further evolved them in 2015 and this year, it has received 400 applications for drone registry and 161 applications for drone operations, the majority of which, he said, had been approved. The Authority has also recently introduced a mobile app for leisure users to be able to detect drone no-fly zones. The App, he said, also includes basic user guidelines in both English and Arabic.

There is a problem with private users and incidences caused by them which have led to airports in the UAE having to be closed for short periods. Most incidents are caused by individuals who are not familiar enough with the regulations. This very easy-to-use App targets the private users and allows them to determine whether their location for use of the drone is safe, or not.

We have to provide a safety level of service for drone operations equal to that of manned aviation vehicles. This is a new player segment that we need to incorporate into our operations. We are learning, and evolving as we go along but I can confidently say that the UAE is one of the earliest states to have registration for this field.

Meanwhile Al Dossari said the GCAA is co-operating with the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology on a framework for a draft Federal law for the UAE which will cover the import, performance requirements and selling of drones throughout the Emirates. Al Dossari said it was too early to say when the law was likely to be finalised and put into effect.


Al Marri was elected for his outstanding contributions to the science, technology and space sectors in the UAE and his efforts in promoting international cooperation in the advancement of the space sector worldwide. As a corresponding member, Al Marri will contribute to the international endeavours and the cooperation between all countries and organisations for the advancement of space technology and sciences around the world.



Al Marri said: The space sector in the UAE has reached a good position in the global space community in such a short time. This drives us to play a positive role in global space affairs and participate in the international endeavours of developing peaceful applications of space technology and sciences.



Al Marri currently holds the position of assistant director general for scientific and technical affairs at MBRSC, and he was the project manager for the satellite projects DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, the first two UAE satellites launched into space in 2009 and 2013, respectively. He also represents MBRSC in international and local conferences and plays a significant role in areas of cooperation between MBRSC and a number of external bodies involved in the space sector.



The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organisation that was founded in 1960 and recognised by the UN in 1966. IAA consists of more than 1,200 members in 75 countries, including some GCC countries and other Arab countries such as: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Syria.
Through Stratajets cutting edge platform, the only platform that allows customers to search for, compare and book private jets in real-time, passengers will now be able to opt for Jetexs handling services as part of their booking.

As Stratajet sets out to redefine private aviation by opening up the industry to a wider audience and giving customers more control, providing the freedom to choose a handler breaks the traditional mould of passengers being limited by broker options during the booking process.

Jetex has FBO facilities in a number of key locations (including Casablanca, Dubai, Marrakech, Marseille, Paris, Rabat, Santiago, and Toluca), Stratajets customers can benefit from a range of Jetex facilities from executive lounges to meeting rooms, as well as concierge services. For aircraft operators, Jetex also offers global trip planning, ground handling services and fuel arrangements.

Jonny Nicol, Founder & CEO of Stratajet, said: The presence of Jetex on Stratajets platform is a major asset for our business, given their track record of reliability and professionalism. As we strive to give our customers the freedom they deserve as part of their private jet experience, we look forward to having Jetex as a valuable extension of our services.

Adel Mardini, CEO and president of Jetex Flight Support, added: At Jetex, we pride ourselves with understanding the requirements of our customers, whilst offering professional support based on flexibility and reliability. This resonates perfectly with Stratajets vision to give control back to private jet travellers, and we look forward to offering their customers the quality services for which we have become renowned.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The referendum on making Constitutional changes has been kicked off in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani APA news agency reported.

More than 5 million 260 thousand citizens have a right to take part in the referendum. The voting is being held also in abroad in 38 diplomatic representations of Azerbaijan.

After the changes in the Azerbaijani Constitution the Presidents term of office will be extended from 5 to 7 years.

According to another provision, the Azerbaijani President receives a right to dissolve the parliament and to hold elections ahead of the schedule.

Earlier the Council of Europe's constitutional law experts, (the Venice Commission) criticized draft modifications to the constitution of Azerbaijan. Many proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving unprecedented powers to the President, according to the Venice Commission opinion. For example, the extension of the presidential mandate from five to seven years cannot be justified given the already very strong position of the President, who since 2009 can be re-elected without term limits.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian soldier Norik Sargsyan fallen during the April four-day war today would turn 20 years old.

3 of my children were very quiet, but the remaining three quite the contrary. Norik had a quiet character both at home and at school. If we were asking something, he was doing it with a silence. He could do everything. Recently he even was helping his father, they were repairing the houses in the village, Noriks mother said in an interview with Armenpress.

His mother said Norik never complained from the service, he even said it is quite better in the posts.

He was very excited about starting the military service. Before him his brothers served in the army, he was calling and speaking with them about the service. He said he had already adapted to the service. We were sending candies, the necessary things two times in a month, last time we have sent before he was going to the posts. He asked us for money, but we were unable to send. He said dont worry, its ok, his mother Lena said.

Last time Norik spoke with relatives on April 1.

He said I am going to the posts, I will call. We waited but he didnt call no more. That day the news on war spread, we started to worry. Our neighbors son was serving with Norik, we asked to tell Norik to call us, but then we became aware from our relatives that he is among the missing, Mrs. Lena said.

Noriks father Zaven Sargsyan is Karabakh war participant. He said with proud that one of the commanders called him and thanked for bringing up such a son.

My Norik was very quiet, he loved solitude, never complained. One month before the incident his brothers visited him, he said everything is good, father said.

Glory to you, hero.

Interview by Syuzi Muradyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Swiss voters have given a strong approval to a law on new surveillance powers for the intelligence agencies, BBC reported.

The new law would allow the authorities to tap phones, snoop on email and deploy hidden cameras and bugs.

It would help Switzerland catch up with other countries, supporters say.

Opponents have feared it could erode civil liberties and put Swiss neutrality at risk by requiring closer co-operation with foreign intelligence agencies.

Some 65.5% of voters agreed to accept the proposal. It will allow the Federal Intelligence Service and other agencies to put suspects under electronic surveillance if authorized by a court, the defense ministry and the cabinet.

The Swiss government says the powers would be used about once a month to monitor the highest-risk suspects.

The new law was not comparable to the spying capabilities of the US or other major powers, which "go well beyond what is desired in terms of individual liberty and security for our citizens", Defense Minister Guy Parmelin said earlier this year.

Swiss law currently prevents authorities from relying on anything more than publicly available information or tips from foreign officials when monitoring domestic threats, according to a government website.

The new surveillance law was passed last year but has not yet been enacted after opponents collected enough signatures to force a referendum under Switzerland's system of direct democracy.

On Sunday, Swiss voters also rejected a proposal to boost state pensions by 10% - an initiative supported by the left but considered too costly by opponents. Voters also rejected another initiative to reduce Switzerland's ecological footprint.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. A criminal case has been filed over the murder of Defense Army soldier Sevak H. Khachatryan committed by the Azerbaijan side, press service of the Investigative Committee of Armenia informed Armenpress.

On September 25 at 10:45, Defense Army soldier Sevak H. Khachatryan was mortally wounded by the Azerbaijani shooting in one of the military units of the NKR Defense Armys N division.

Investigation is underway to clarify the details of the case.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The situation in Syria is very challenging now, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said commenting on the outcome of the UN Security Councils meeting, TASS reported.

"The Kremlin assesses the situation as extremely difficult," Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman added that no separation of the moderate opposition from terrorists in Syria has taken place so far.

"Putting emotions aside, we state that so far there has been no separation of the so-called moderate opposition from terrorist organizations," Peskov said.

The Kremlin is concerned that although the ceasefire has been in effect for more than a week, the terrorists use it "for regrouping, replenishing their arsenals, for apparent preparation and carrying out their offensive."

"One can state that the ceasefire regime is ineffective," Peskov said. "However, Moscow is not losing hope and most importantly political will to make the maximum efforts for reaching a steady path of political settlement in Syria. Now it is difficult there."

Peskov has also added that the British and the US rhetoric over Syria is totally unacceptable and can only worsen the fragile peace process:

"We point out that the tone of rhetoric by some British and US officials is generally unacceptable. We believe that such rhetoric can cause great harm to the settlement process and our bilateral relations," Peskov said.








In the United States, a bidialectal person might be someone who speaks both Standard American English and African-American Vernacular English (called AAVE but also known as Ebonics), which differ a lot in pronunciation, syntax and vocabulary  so much so that AAVE has controversially been called a distinct language. So do bidialectals enjoy the same cognitive benefits as bilinguals?
Nahed Hattar was gunned down at the court entrance. He was on trial after spending two weeks in jail. His assassin is a well-known local imam, and he acted to "avenge the insult to God", already known to security forces as an extremist element. Muslim intellectual: "Terrorism is genetic in most of the Arab-Muslims".

Amman (AsiaNews) - The murderer of the writer and political activist Nahed Hattar, killed yesterday morning in front of Amman court, is Riad Abdullah, a local imam offended by the cartoon shared by Hattar and for which he had ended up in court.

Jordanian police sources say a witness described Abdullah as having a long beard and wearing a long dress, widespread practice among conservative Muslims in the Hashemite kingdom. The murder has caused deep shock and commotion in the capital, not only among activists and intellectuals but also among the civilian population.



Nahed Hattar had spent two weeks in prison and was recently released on payment of bail. He had ended up in jail in August for sharing an image on Facebook which, according to the governor of Amman, was disparaging of the "Divine Essence" and "instigation to inter-sectarian division."



The Muslim intellectual K.A. (who has asked that we publish only his initials for fear of retaliation) told AsiaNews that Nahed Hattar had undertaken "a war against Islamic extremists in the Arab world" and there were "millions of Muslims who demanded his death. "Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State] is among us - he adds - and I have the impression that terrorism has become genetic in the majority of Arab-Muslims.

Hattar was gunned down before the court, in the Abdali district in Amman. He was about to appear in court, accompanied by some family members, to present his defense and related documents. The caricature, published last month, was not the work of Hattar and it had been deleted from his profile, as soon as controversy was aroused. It depicted a bearded man in bed with a woman, who asked for a figure believed to be the Creator to bring them wine and cashew nuts.

During interrogation the writer defended himself by saying that the caricature was nothing offensive to the "essence" of the Creator; on the contrary, it wanted to reflect on the abuse that is made of the divine by takfiri jihadists, who use the sacred to justify the demonic.

Hattar writer was a bitter enemy of jihadist groups such as the Islamic State (IS), al Qaeda and affiliates of all kinds. He was also a string critic of Saudi Wahhabis.



The Jordanian authorities have now said they had identified, arrested and interrogated the murderer. He is Riad Ismaeel Abdullah, 49 year-old Jordanian resident of the area east of Amman. He was known to Jordanian security forces as an extremist element.

According to preliminary police information reported by Jordanian press, the murderer had acted to "avenge the insult to God" inherent in the caricature.



The relatives of the writer refused to receive Hattars body for burial. They are crying out for justice and demand that first his killer be brought to trial, holding the government responsible. The murder has caused a sensation in among Ammans politicians and intellectuals, many of whom believe that his anti-Saudi positions sparked his murder.



According to Khalil Harb, a Lebanese journalist with the daily As Safir, "Nahed (Hattar) is a martyr of journalism and freedom of thought. He was a sworn enemy of extremist thinking prevalent in the region and Wahabbi the movement, which legalizes  claiming to be based on the Koran - the bloodshed of Muslims around the world.

For the Lebanese journalist "Nahed and all his colleagues are subjected to threats and campaigns in our world and are accused of being infidels because of their positions contrary to Saudi Arabia and the United States in the region". People close to Hattar report that the writer and activist had received death threats while he was in prison.

With his death, Jordan and the Muslim world have lost an enemy of terrorist and extremist Islam; an enemy of the genocide and violence committed in the name of Islam. A brave man who dared to openly criticize anyone and any country supporter of Takfiri groups. With him another voice of truth has been silenced. For many analysts it is a clear warning for those who dare to raise their voice against what is considered another form of terrorism: terror to externalize thoughts that may be different from the pack that follow the jihadists. (PB)
The premier also announced the date, scheduled for October 2, the day Mahatma Gandhi was born. India is among the countries that emit the most greenhouse gases in the world. The agreement will enter into force upon ratification by 55 countries representing at least 55% of the emissions.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has announced that India will ratify the Paris climate agreement on October 2, the day Mahatma Gandhi was born. According to experts, the aim of the decision, for one of the most polluting countries in the world along with the US and China, is to gain greater space among world leaders in terms of environmental decisions, an increasingly urgent issue over the next few years.

Yesterday speaking at the national meeting of his party BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist) in Kerala, the head of the Government of India said that "ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it", but it has already scheduled a day of signing.

In December 2015, world leaders met in Paris on the occasion of the 21st Conference of the Parties, under UN auspices, to discuss the challenges of climate change and to curb global warming. At the end of negotiations, delegates from 195 countries pledged to keep the increase in global temperature "well below 2 degrees", and implement efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.



Under the terms of the Agreement, it shall enter into force when ratified by 55 countries responsible for at least 55% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus far, the were 60 countries signatories, for a total annual emissions at 47.5%. Among the most illustrious consensus, those of the governments of the US and China, which alone account for over 40% of global emissions.



Although Prime Minister Modi had declared his intention to continue to use conventional energy (such as coal) to ensure the Indian economic growth, he seems to have changed his minds. Perhaps pushed by Washington and Beijing, experts believe that the change by the head of the Government of India will have very positive implications in terms of global influence and the climate control regulation that the agreement will give.
A difficult journey to two countries where Catholics are a small minority. In Tbilisi, for the first time a delegation from the "intransigent" Georgian Orthodox Church will participate in a Papal liturgy. In Baku the meeting with the Sheikh of Caucasus Muslims.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis 16th journey outside of Italy from September 30 to October 2 to two countries, Georgia and Azerbaijan, where Catholics are a small minority, will be a difficult one. In Georgia, in fact, Catholics are just 112 thousand out of a population of over 3.5 million and in Azerbaijan they are just 570, or 0.01 per cent of the nearly 10 million inhabitants.

Beyond the numbers, they are two very different realities. Georgia is the country where over 80 percent of the inhabitants are Christians, but the Orthodox Church is particularly intransigent on its principles. This is demonstrated by its decision not to participate in the Pan-Orthodox Council that was held in Crete in June this year and the fact that between the Patriarch Ilia II and the Pope there will be no joint prayer.

The patriarch, however, will be at Tbilisi airport. This was announced by the director of the Vatican press office, Greg Burke, who described the visit today. "Of course - he said  it is a journey of peace. The Pope carries a message of reconciliation for the whole region. It will be the first time that an Orthodox delegation will participate in the Mass presided by the Holy Father ".In short, things will go a bit' better the visit by John Paul II in November 1999, when a penance was imposed on those who had attended the celebrations and meetings with the Pope.

Instead Azerbaijan is a Muslim country and Francis, as John Paul II did before him, is going there for reasons of inter-religious relations, and political and diplomatic reasons, due to the decades-long conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Pope will leave Friday morning and will arrive in Tbilisi at 15 (local time). After the welcoming ceremony and the traditional courtesy visit to President Giorgi Margvelashvili and with the Georgian authorities, Francis will travel to the palace to meet with Catholicos Patriarch Elijah II.

The last appointment of the day, a visit to the Chaldean Catholic church of St. Simon Bar Sabbae, where he will attend the Chaldean Synod, namely the episcopate of the Eastern Church in communion with Rome widespread mainly in Iraq and the Middle East. In the church of St. Simon Bar Sabbae Pope Francis will preside at a prayer service to express closeness to the Syrian and Iraqi peoples.

The next day, Saturday, October 1, Francis will celebrate Mass in M. Meskhi stadium. Subsequently, in the church of the Assumption, he will meet priests, religious and seminarians and in the Camillians Service Center he will meet with those assisted by the Church's charitable works as well as the operators. The last appointment of the day, a visit to the Patriarchal Cathedral of Svetitskhoveli in Mtskheta.

On Sunday, October 2, the Pope will leave Georgia for Azerbaijan. The arrival in Baku is scheduled at 9:30 am, local time. Francis will travel to the church of the Salesian Center in Baku, where he will celebrate Mass.

After lunch, in the Presidential Palace Ganjlik there will be the official ceremony of welcome and the visit to the President of the Republic Ilham Aliyev. The Pope will then visit the war of independence memorial ' and local authorities.

At 17.45, he is expected to hold a private meeting with the Sheikh of Caucasus Muslims in the mosque "Heydar Aliyev", followed by an interfaith meeting with representatives of the communities present in the country. It will be the last event of the trip. The Popes departure is scheduled for 19:15, and the arrival in Rome for 22.00.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) - Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, is being accused of trying to cover for his corrupt brother by using a double standard in his "fight against corruption". A scandal has been unleased after it was discovered that his brother, General Preecha Chan-o-cha, obtained a series of lucrative construction contracts from army chiefs, that he would use for personal purposes.

The general has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the contracts were fair and that there was no violation of the law. Nevertheless, the episode is tarnishing the image of the Prime Minister Chan-o-cha, who has always justified his 2014 coup with the need to free Thailand from years of political instability and corruption.



Upon returning from the trip to New York, where he attended the United Nations General Assembly, the head of the military junta defended himself: ""A brother is a brother, it's not the same as me," he said. "He is not stupid. But I do not make a guarantee for him because it is his responsibility".



The main criticism addressed to Prime Minister has come from Yingluck Shinawatra,, the first woman to become prime minister of Thailand in 2011 and deposed in May 2014 following the military coup. The woman was hit by a retroactive impeachment wanted by the junta and is facing trial on charges of "negligence", for her role in the controversial subsidy scheme for rice production.



In a post on her Facebook profile, she has written: ""The Prime Minister (Prayut) says that all the legal actions against me are based on the law and are not bullying. I would like the Prime Minister to apply the same logic and justice given to me like he gives justice and protection to his brother and other people who are on his side. Because the laws should be enforced for everyone, not just used only against my side".
by Zhen Yuan

Mgr Antony Xu Jiwei, 81, died of illness. He had entered the seminary in 1948 but was not ordained due to Chinas "political events" until 1985. He spent several years in prison and hard labour. "The period of imprisonment has strengthened my faith, Bishop Xu once said, every day. Since the diocese was founded, it has had only two bishops. Xus predecessor, Mgr Jou Hou-shan, was one of the first six Chinese bishops ordained by Pius XI.

Taizhou (AsiaNews)  Bishop Anthony Xu Jiwei, of the diocese of Taizhou (Zhejiang province), died yesterday due to illness at the age of 81. He was ordained bishop with a papal mandate in 2010 and was recognised by the Chinese government.

Bishop Xus death comes three weeks after that of Mgr Vincent Zhu Weifang, bishop of the neighbouring diocese of Wenzhou, in the same province.

The Requiem Mass for Mgr Xu is set for this Thursday (29 September) at 7.30 pm, whilst the funeral service will be held at 5 am the next day.

Born in 1935 in Shanghai, Antony Xu Jiwei answered the calling to the priesthood at the age of 13 years. He studied at the seminary in Ningbo and then in that of Xujiahui, Shanghai.

He was always faithful and determined to offer himself to serve God even in times of difficulty, as noted in the obituary of diocese of Taizhou.

The bishop entered the seminary in Ningbo in 1948. Later he moved to the Shanghai seminary where he remained until 1958. From 1960 to 1985, during Chinas political events, he was sentenced to five years in prison and later to long years of hard labour. During this period, he spent six years as a high school teacher.

In 1985, his sentence was revoked and he was sent to Shanghai where he joined the Sheshan regional seminary with the first group of seminarians allowed to study. Most of these were former seminarians, forced to leave school during the Cultural Revolution.

In 1985 he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Ningbo, but he remained in Sheshan to teach. In 1987, he returned to Nigbo to work as a pastor.

In March 1999 he was transferred to Taizhou as a diocesan administrator and pastor of the church in Jiaojiang. In July 2010 he was consecrated as bishop of the same diocese.

"The period of imprisonment has strengthened my faith, Bishop Xu once said. During that period of great trial, I prayed every day ... I realised that God loves me deeply and it is with me every day.

The diocese of Taizhou is famous in the history of the Chinese Church because its first bishop, Mgr Jou Hou-shan, was among the first group of six Chinese bishops ordained by Pope Pius XI in October 1926.

Since it became an Apostolic Vicariate in 1926, separate from Ningbo, Taizhou has had only two bishops: Mgr Jou and Mgr Xu. The first died in 1962, and the episcopal see was vacant until 2010. It is now vacant once again.
Genetic variation in breastfeeding mothers could have lasting impact on childs gut health





A University of Queensland study has found a genetic variation which impacts the composition of breastmilk and could have a lasting impact on a childs gut health.

Researcher, Paula Smith-Brown, said children aged two to three had lower levels of good intestinal bacteria if their mothers secretor gene was inactive.

The gene plays an important role in the production of human milk oligosaccharides, or HMOs, Smith-Brown said.

HMOs cant be digested by infants but are the third largest component of breast milk  they are only there to feed the childs developing gut bacteria. If a womans secretor gene is switched off she is considered a non-secretor, which means she cant produce certain important HMOs, she said.

Our study has shown that if a mothers secretor gene is turned off, there is a lasting impact on Bifidobacteria levels in her childs microbiota, extending well after breast-feeding has ended, Smith-Brown stated.

Smith-Brown said it was now accepted that gut microbiota was important to health, but researchers were still discovering what factors made it robust and which made it less healthy.

We know the microbiota is established in the first few years of life, and once it is established it is relatively resilient, she said. If we can get it right at the start we can help someone on the way to having long-term health benefits.

Further research is required but Smith-Brown said eventually non-secretors may be able to take a supplement whilst breastfeeding.

This could make a significant difference as about 20 per cent of the population are non-secretors, she said.

For women who are non-secretors it is still recommended that they breastfeed their child.

Babies who are formula-fed wont get these special HMOs and they are also not getting lots of other beneficial components in breast milk, Smith-Brown said.
Gloria Jeans launches Macadamia & Rose beverage range





Gloria Jeans Coffee is now selling a Macadamia and Rose flavoured beverage range.

The range adds a subtle floral and nutty taste to Gloria Jeans lattes, iced coffees and sparkling iced tea ranges.

Gloria Jeans Drinks Innovations and Barista Trainer, Melita Ferraro, said the drinks will have an equal balance between both macadamia and rose flavours.

Rose contrasts beautifully with the rich, bold notes of our espresso, and the beans nutty aroma is enhanced by the subtle infusion of macadamia adding the perfect finish, Ferraro said.

Participating Gloria Jeans stores will also sell Caramel Rose Jello tarts.

Gloria Jeans Australia is owned by the Retail Food Group who acquired the rights to the master franchise in October 2014. The Retail Food Group owns a large number of Australian food brands including Doughnut King, Crust Pizza and Di Bella Coffee.

Gloria Jeans was first established in Chicago, USA, in 1979. The chain entered Australia in 1996 after a Master Franchise arrangement was created. There are currently over 400 Gloria Jeans coffee shops spread across 39 countries worldwide.
Price is king for Australian grocery shoppers





A new study has found the price of a grocery product is the most looked for piece of information by consumers reading packaging and labelling.

Conducted by market research company, Colmar Burton, the study discovered 80 per cent of shoppers are looking for the price when they choose to read food packaging or labelling.

Price per kilogram of meat is the second most sought out information followed by whether the product is made in Australia.

Study shows Australian made food is in demand

Chief Executive of the Australian Made Campaign, Ian Harrison, said the survey results proved Australian consumers want to buy Australian produce.

The finding that an Australian made claim ranks second behind price factors in the information shoppers are looking for clearly establishes that they want to know where their food is coming from and where their products are made. Primarily they want to buy Australian made and Australian grown, Harrison said.
It became apparent very early on that I couldnt do maths or chemistry. Nor could I sing or act. I liked biology, but never found it inspiring. I love politics but was never fond of the idea of being a politician. Philosophy was not practical enough for me. I wanted excitement but I didnt have the coordination for sport. You catch my drift. It was, in the end, an easy choice.I joined Sparke Helmore in early 2015, after practising as a government lawyer and litigator in New Zealand and the United Kingdom for over a decade. I was attracted to the Government practice at Sparke Helmore, given the nature and quality of the practice and the opportunities it offers for complex solicitor advocacy.During my time in the UK, I was involved in a public inquiry into allegations of torture and unlawful killing by British soldiers in Iraq. Amidst what was a set of very grim facts, there were some very strange stories. Homing cows with plate numbers, RPGs being carried for protection against boars, claimed sightings of long-extinct tigers in the Iraqi desert, a futuristic laser weapon used against the eye (which turned out to be an ophthalmoscope) and Jihadis holding tubs of yogurt on the battlefield were just a few.Aldous Huxley because I want to compare his Brave New World and ours; Zenobia, Queen of the Palmyrene Empire, to talk about Palmyra and the Romans; and Salman Rushdie because of the magic in his mind.I dont like fancy bars and restaurants. For drinks, my favourite places are RSLs and Yacht Clubsyou will find me at the Commercial Travellers Association on Martin Place or the North Bondi RSL. For food, head west. Go somewhere like Auburn or Liverpool for Iraqi, Afghan and Turkish cuisine or Ashfield for excellent Chinese food.My father once shared with me a Kurdish proverb, Doing and regretting is better than omitting and regretting. An Italian friend rephrased it for me as Try any new experience that comes your way. You will seldom regret doing so.I love culture, language and food, which means I love to travel, read and eat....an architect, surely.This is a difficult question. Certainly in my area of law, the changes in migration legislation brought about by the enactment of the Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth) and various other legislative amendments are likely to exercise administrative lawyers the most in the coming year.No, thanks. But if I had to, I might go on a whistle-stop tour of some of the Pacific Islands. On serious business, of course.I honestly love all of it. I enjoy the intellectual challenges, the adrenaline, the advocacy, the client care. Ours is a peoples business and at the heart of it is the art of persuasion, which is a lifelong skill to harness and develop. I cherish that. As I do the daily exercise in logic that underpins law. The infinite space to grow is what keeps me going. In the words of one of my mentors, the day I stop learning is the day I intend to quit.I was once involved in a litigious matter, which was heard on a Pacific Island. The hearing was conducted on the beach. I wouldnt complain if all our hearings were conducted outdoors.
Minter Ellison acted for Patties Foods Limited in the firms sale to private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners Pty Limited for $307m.Implemented on 22 September, the deal will see the food & beverage company de-listed from the ASX and become a wholly-owned subsidiary Australasian Foods Bidco Pty Limited which is owned by funds managed or controlled by Pacific Equity Partners.The Minter Ellison team was led by partner Bart Oude-Vrielink who was assisted by partner Alberto Colla, senior associates Michael Watts and Kelly Griffiths, special counsel Nicholas Rouse, associate Amy Hirth and graduates Elissa Young and Natasha Simonds.Pacific Equitys legal adviser was Allens and their financial adviser was Citibank. Patties Foods financial adviser was Greenhill & Co. Australia Pty Limited. Deloitte Corporate Finance Pty Limited was tapped as independent experts advising on the deal."We are delighted to have advised our long-standing client Patties on this significant transaction. The stub-equity and special dividend components required us to apply specialist corporate and tax expertise to deliver a proposal that was overwhelmingly supported by shareholders, said lead partner Oude-Vrielink.The transaction was particularly complex as Patties shareholders were offered two alternatives  unlisted shares in Australasian Foods Holdco Pty Limited or a cash consideration for between 40%-100% of their shares, said the firm.The unlisted scrip alternative was subject to minimum and maximum caps and potential scale back. It also required the scheme booklet to comply with prospectus disclosure requirements.Further complexity also arose from the cash consideration being reduced by the payment of a special dividend to eligible Patties shareholders, it concluded.Patties Foods is an Australian food manufacturing company that owns a portfolio of iconic Australian brands.We wish Patties every success under private equity ownership, said Oude-Vrielink.
Rajah & Tann Asia is expanding its reach to the Philippines with Metro Manila-based law firm C&G Law becoming a member firm from 1 January 2017.



Southeast Asias largest legal network as a result will include the law firms and lawyers in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.



C&G Law is one of the most dynamic, progressive, and well-regarded law firms in the Philippines. We are delighted that they are joining Rajah & Tann Asia at a time when the Philippines economy is enjoying a resurgence and many international and regional companies are stepping up their investments in the country, said Lee Eng Beng.



The Rajah & Tann Asia Chairman said that the organisation expects C&G Law to boost the networks capabilities in helping clients navigate the diverse legal in Asia.



Officially known as Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio, the Makati-based law firm specialises in corporate and commercial transactions, litigation and arbitration, taxation, and labour and employment.



It has more than 30 fee earners who service major Philippine conglomerates and multinational companies from a diverse range of sectors including banking and financial, infrastructure and project finance, energy, manufacturing, education, medical and pharmaceutical.



C&G Laws Managing Partner Mr Jaime Renato B. Gatmaytan said: We are excited to be part of the Rajah & Tann Asia network and look forward to serving our clients needs outside the Philippines. They will now have access to a complete range of service capabilities from top notch lawyers in the region.



The Philippines economy is the best performer in Southeast Asia in recent years and the country is enjoying good growth in an otherwise lacklustre global environment. GDP growth in the Philippines has averaged between 6-7% for the past three years and we are seeing an increase of foreign investments into the country across a wide range of industry sectors, added the specialist in corporate and commercial transactions.



The senior lawyer concluded that joining the network is not only timely, but necessary to meet the growing demands of our clients.



The Rajah & Tann Asia network currently includes the law firms R&T Sok & Heng Law Office (Cambodia), Assegaf Hamzah & Partners (Indonesia, with offices in Jakarta and Surabaya), Rajah & Tann (Laos) Sole Co., Ltd, Christopher & Lee Ong (Malaysia), Rajah & Tann NK Legal Myanmar Company Limited, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP (with a representative office in Shanghai), Rajah & Tann (Thailand) Limited and Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers (Vietnam, with offices in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi).
Australia's current migration programme meets the economic needs of the country by attracting skilled workers and aiding family reunions, according to the nation's immigration minister.But there are signs that Peter Dutton, minister for immigration and border protection, and indeed the Australian Government's views are not shared by a large number of people in the country with a new poll revealing 49% want a ban on Muslims. 'Australia is a migrant nation and our orderly and well managed migration programmes deliver economic, social and cultural benefits to our society,' Dutton said as he published the latest figures showing that in the year to end of June some 190,000 places were available for permanent migration and just under that number were filled by new comers.The majority of new immigrants, some 128,550 or 68%, were in the skilled stream and most of the skilled visas went to Employer Sponsored, State and Territory Government Sponsored and the Regional Skilled category to help fill critical skills needs.Dutton said professionals accounted for 65% of the places to the primary applicants in the skilled stream and these professionals would help build Australia's future. 'The addition of these skilled workers to Australia's workforce complements rather than competes with domestic workers,' he pointed out.'Our first priority will always be jobs for Australians, but where genuine skills shortages exist we fill the gaps with these skilled migrants. Our immigration programmes are flexible and responsive to the needs of our economy and labour market,' Dutton added.He also said that the family migration programme prioritises reunion of partners and children and 60,912 visas were granted in 2015/2016 while at the same time Australia offered refuge to more than 17,000 people under the Refugee and Special Humanitarian programme, which included the largest offshore humanitarian intake in 30 years.However, immigration is turning into even more of a hot political issue with a new poll showing that 49% of people want a ban on Muslim immigration while 40% are opposed to such a move which is being advocated by some right wing politians.In particular, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has said she is in favour of such a ban and this has sparked a major debate about the best way to tackle rising anti-immigration sentiment in Australia.In the Essential poll, the main reason people gave for not supporting further Muslim immigration is a view that the Islamic community doesn't integrate into Australian society, with 41% of the sample articulating that view.However, Australian leaders are not doing enough to foster cohesion, according to Tanya Plibersek, deputy leader of the Labour party who believes that generally people overstate the number of Muslims in Australia.'It's a tiny fraction of our community. What matters to me when we're choosing people to become new Australians is that they're able to sincerely adhere to what we ask of Australian citizens that they share our democratic beliefs, they respect our rights and liberties and uphold and obey our laws,' she said.'Beyond that, I'm not interested in where they're from, who they are, or what religion they follow,' she said, adding that the poll results did not mean Australians who favoured a ban on Muslim immigration were racist, but rather that not enough is being done by national leaders to bring harmony and cohesion to the country.
Date:





To whom this may concern,



This is to certify that XXX was full time employee of XXXSystems Ltd from 1st June 2010 to 21st April 2011.Prior to which she also joined XXX as Probable trainee from 5th April to 31st May.



XXXwas employed with XXX Systems Ltd. on a full time basis as a software trainee at Bangalore,India and her working hours are from 9.a.m to

6 p.m from Monday to Friday (40 hours per week).



Roles and responsibilities



The primary role of her job duties are as follows.

Engineering web development, all layers, from database to services to user interfaces.

Understanding of requirement.

Participate in design workshops.

Development of various modules using Java technologies mainly Java Server Faces and component libraries.

Unit testing and participate in peer code review.

Refactoring and implementation of code review comments.

Bug fixing.

Familiar with Agile process methodology.







Signature

Designation





Is the format right for the work reference I will be submitting for skill assesment
Audi describes this spot simply called "Duel" as a political satire, but apart from the badges at the beginning, we fail to see anything political about it. Sure, the two protagonists are a male and a female, and they're clawing at each other's eyes for the whole duration, but if that was the catch, then Audi isn't very good with subtlety.However, maintaining the same parallelism, the German brand does imply that getting to drive an Audi RS7 - even just to park it - is just as important as becoming the President of the United States of America. I'm sure a lot of you fans of the Ingolstadt manufacturers will agree with this evaluation, but the rest of us will just regard it as the kind of exaggeration only the advertising industry could get away with.There isn't too much of an idea behind the spot, but Audi shows that even a bland script can be turned into a Hollywood-style action film with the right production crew. The whole thing is played from back to front in reverse, which will probably mess with your head a little.It will also make you want to watch it again, trying to piece together the sequence of events. We'll spare you the trouble: there's no need to do that. The order is not really important, just enjoy the stunts, the slow-motions and the quality of the filming. It's definitely better than the previous RS7 commercial Audi claims there are 18 Easter eggs hidden in the one minute and a half commercial, but after a few screenings, I personally have managed to spot the grand total of... zero. Maybe I should watch more movies. Or maybe Audi does know what subtlety is.
A Lexus RX450h used by Google in its fleet of self-driving cars was struck in Mountain View, California , after a human driver ran a red light. Googles representatives stated that the light had been green for six seconds when their car entered the intersection, and we are sure they have video footage to back up that claim.Fortunately, the accident did not leave any people injured, which is a stroke of luck in the case when someone runs a red light at an intersection of any kind.The other driver was operating a white van, which can be spotted in the top photo of this story, and the damage it sustained was severe enough to require a trailer. White vans are known internationally for their performance capabilities, exceeded only by rental cars.As you can observe in the tweet embedded below and in the photo at the top of this article, the Lexus was struck on its right side, and the impact was concentrated on the passenger door, but its rear door was also hit, as was the side skirt. The curtain airbag on the right side has been deployed, so this impact was severe enough to trigger the safety element.After explaining that its car was not at fault in this incident, Google representatives spun this accident into their favor, as one would expect from a company that has had something unfortunate happen to their products.Google explained that this is the reason why they develop self-driving cars , and that their products and similar vehicles would never perform this kind of driving error.Google tests its self-driving car fleet in Mountain View, Austin, Phoenix, and Arizona. Two months ago, the fleet drove a total of 170,000 miles. As Digital Trends noted, 126,000 of those miles were driven autonomously.

#SelfDriving Google car involved in crash in #MountainView. #Google tells us the other vehicle ran a red light. Photo by @grommet. pic.twitter.com/Wwu5MYGPDJ  Katie Marzullo (@KatieABC7) September 24, 2016
Late last year, the three biggest premium automakers - Audi , BMW, and Mercedes-Benz - sat down together and agreed to buy the mapping service HERE from its previous owner, the dying Finish mobile equipment maker Nokia. The move saw all three German manufacturers hold equal shares so that the company would remain independent and could continue its work unaffected.Almost a year has gone by since the deal and we haven't heard anything from HERE since it swapped owners, but that looks like it's about to change. Starting next week, the cars from all three brands are going to start sending live images and video of traffic conditions, jams or accidents, potential road hazards such as big potholes or treacherous surfaces, new traffic signs and even on-street parking.This information will be shared among vehicles from competing brands, Automotive News reports, something that has never been done before. Drivers will be able to see these images from miles away, taking action as necessary by preparing to face the hazards or taking a detour.Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are expected to start sending data to the HERE systems for now, but by 2018 their number should be in the millions order. If right now Audi AG, BMW Group, and Daimler AG are the only manufacturers actively taking part in this service, others are expected to join over the next year.HERE is counting on the sheer number of vehicles providing the data to offer much better services than competing companies like Google, Tesla or TomTom. The sensors will monitor various vehicle systems such as the brakes, windshield wipers, headlights, GPS location or even cameras, and send the data to the HERE servers to be interpreted. Other vehicles will then receive the information on their dashboard in an easy to read form.Whether it's HERE or somebody else, it's becoming increasingly evident that we're a very short time away from a complete overhaul of the way we look at our maps. North will still be pointing up, but the amount of information they'll be able to provide will be just short of overwhelming. Luckily, if the autonomous technology evolves quickly enough, we won't have to read them for too long.
At this years edition of the IAA Commercial Vehicles Exhibition in Hannover, Ram Truck made it clear that the brand gears up for expansion into markets for commercial vehicles outside North America. Unfortunately for Ram, it showed up in Hannover with a vehicle that can be described as not suitable for European customers. Yup, its a full-size pickup powered by a HEMI V8.Regardless of the fact Europe loves turbo diesels and full-size pickup trucks are not adequate there due to narrow roads, the one-off vehicle featured in the adjacent photos measures the outside temperature in Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Dear people at Ram, every single country in the European Union uses the Celsius scale. But in this workhorses defense, the speedo is in km/h.What else should be said about Ram Trucks international debut at IAA 2016 ? Well, the 1500 Quad Cab Sport pickup with Moparized accessories is converted to run on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which is a nice touch for fleet owners. However, the 3.0-liter turbo diesel V6 from the Jeep Grand Cherokee wouldve been a more attractive proposition for Europeans.At the end of the day, Rams first appearance at the worlds premier commercial vehicle show is a bit of a miss. On that note, the American automaker will clean up its act in the not-too-distant future, when Ram Truck officially enters the EMEA region. Bob Hegbloom, the head honcho of Ram, is adamant that IAA 2016 is the perfect entry point to expand the truck brand.We are using this show to gather customer and media feedback. This is just the beginning and well continue to unfold the Ram Truck brand plan on a regional basis, said Hegbloom. Heres hope Ram will bring forth a pickup the Europeans would actually buy, as in the purported successor to the Dakota.
All the drivers had to do to prevent that was to hit the brakes, put the car in Neutral and bring it to a safe stop. But depending on when the unexpected thrust happened, things could get slightly more complicated than that. That's partly how you can explain the 16 deaths and 243 injuries associated with the over 2,000 reported incidents. Unlike Volkswagen's Dieselgate, the fallout from Toyota's scandal was surprisingly limited, with the Japanese brand cruising on top of the world's sales chart at the moment.Three months ago, it was Tesla's turn t o face charges of sudden unintended acceleration. It happened to a Model X driver in Irvine, California, who was trying to park his car, but instead of stopping, he accelerated and rolled into a building. Fortunately, there were no casualties.After investigating the vehicle's logs, Tesla declared it was the driver's fault since it could determine that the accelerator pedal was pressed. The incident ended there, but now, another very similar case has emerged, this time in Florida and involving a Model S The CCTV footage inside a gym shows the electric sedan attempting to park right in front of the building. With the maneuver all but complete, the car appears to accelerate for no reason and crashes into the front door. Just like in California, nobody was hurt.The incident took place on the 9th of August, but it has only just now captured the media attention thanks to Electrek . The website reports that a post of the car's owner on the Tesla Forum has been removed since, but its content had been salvaged: I have owned several Model S Teslas and currently own 1 P85D and 1 P90D. Recently, my wife experienced a near fatal accident when she was slowly parking at her gym. The car violently exploded into full acceleration and could have easily killed people in the gym.It turns out the owner's wife was driving at the moment of the incident, and their initial reaction was to blame the car for what happened. They further expressed their distaste at the way Tesla dealt with their situation: I am amazed and wildly disappointed by the way Tesla has handled this and their complete unwillingness to even talk to me about it. Of course, they immediately blamed it on the driver and claimed their online computer tells them that.At the same time, he also said this: Of course, it is possible that there could have been driver error, but we do not feel that is what has occurred and wanted to have it looked further into. This last bit raises some questions: are they sure it wasn't driver error or not? I mean, it's not that hard: there are two pedals - even if you flip a coin, you'll be right in half cases.Just like in California, Tesla analyzed the data and came to the conclusion that it was indeed the case of a driver's error. In a statement sent to Electrek, a spokesperson said: Teslas cars do not accelerate without the driver instructing it to do so. In every situation where we have received a customer claim about this, the vehicles diagnostic logs have confirmed that the acceleration was the result of the driver pressing the accelerator pedal.We tend to agree with this assessment. Think about it: in both instances, the acceleration did not occur out of the blue, but at the exact moment the driver was supposed to press the brake pedal. That could, of course, be a coincidence, but add that to the Tesla's response and the doubt expressed by the Florida driver's husband, and you have a pretty strong case against Teslas suffering from sudden unintended acceleration.
Photo of Paul Jontig (at podium), national fleet sales manager for Toyota; giving an overview of Toyotas fleet and product strategy courtesy of Mike Antich.

Toyota Motor North America held its 2016 Fleet Executive Meeting at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, Calif., from June 15 to 17. Attendees had an opportunity to test drive the complete lineup of Toyota vehicles, including the all-new 2016 Tacoma, along with the 2017 refreshed Highlander and 2016 Prius, both of which debuted last April at the New York Auto Show.

Also discussed at the meeting was Toyotas advanced active safety package called Toyota Safety Sense (TSS). It is an integrated system designed to prevent or mitigate the three most common accident types: frontal collisions by providing emergency braking; unintended lane departure by alerting drivers when they are straying out of their lane; and enhanced nighttime driving road safety using automatic high beams, which are switched on and off to provide earlier detection of pedestrians and road obstacles

The meeting also updated attendees on the strategy behind recent investments such as Uber, iBot, and Toyotas billion-dollar investment in artificial intelligence. He also shared insights on Toyotas 2050 Environmental Challenge and the impact on future automobiles.
VIDEO: Deer-Vehicle Crashes Rising

Fall is here, signifying the beginning of deer mating season. Unfortunately, that means more deer crossing roads and more deer-vehicle collisions.

In fact, the likelihood of having a vehicle collide with a large animal more than doubles during the months of October, November, and December, according to claims data from State Farm.

But deer arent the only large four-legged hazards you have to worry about. In some regions, elk and moose populations also pose a crash risk.

According to State Farms most recent data, the top five states in which a driver is most likely to have a claim from a collision with a deer, elk, or moose are West Virginia (one in 41 chance), Montana (one in 58), Pennsylvania (one in 67), Iowa (one in 68), and South Dakota (one in 70).

We know there is an increased risk of collision with deer around dawn and dusk, and also during the October-December breeding season, said Chris Mullen, director of technology research at State Farm. However, drivers should be engaged, alert and on the lookout at all times because you never know when you may need to react to a deer or any other obstacle that may suddenly be in your path.

State Farm offers this advice to drivers in regions with deer populations:

Slow down, particularly at dusk and dawn.

If you see one deer, be prepared for more deer to cross the road.

Pay attention to deer crossing signs.

Always buckle up, every trip, every time.

Use your high beams to see farther, except when there is oncoming traffic.

Brake if you can, but avoid swerving, which could result in a more severe crash.

Remain focused on the road, scanning for hazards, including animals.

Avoid distractions, such as devices or eating, which might cause you to miss seeing an animal.

Do not rely on products such as deer whistles, which are not proven effective.

If riding a motorcycle, always wear protective gear and keep your focus on the road ahead.

To watch a video about the rising number of deer-vehicle crashes, click on the photo or link below the headline.
The new generation of the BMW 5 Series wants to be a Tesla Model S wannabe. Not in terms of design, but on driver aids semi-autonomous driving systems such as the Driver Assistance package with side collision prevention or active control cruise, all features of Tesla's latest autopilot software update.

Inspired Or Copycat?

All indications of a leaked brochure tells that the new generation of the BMW 5 Series will stop giving the driver more freedom, because it is "inspired" by the Tesla Model S and therefore give more prominence to the semi-autonomous driving systems.

With the leaked brochure, we learned that the new BMW 5 Series, whose range includes the 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i and 540i xDrive (and even the 550i from next spring), will include the Driver Assistance II, a package that includes Tesla Model S semi-autonomous features.

Thankfully, something that the BMW 5 Series would not copy on Tesla Model S is its electric capability. Instead, the new 5 Series will mount a 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder as more basic and a 3.0 liter inline six-cylinder turbo for higher versions.

Tesla Getting On The Skin Of Competitors

Amongst the things that the BMW 5 Series will have is the side collision prevention, active cruise control with Stop & Go and active lane change, among others. In short, this is the Tesla's autopilot software that is causing so much controversy for the past few months and had just updated to lessen accidents cause by their autopilots.

It is true that many of these systems can already see the new BMW 7 Series , but the fact that they are down to lower end models shows that manufacturers like BMW are taking more seriously the issue of autonomous driving and bringing it to the masses, much like the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model 3 soon. It also demonstrates that Tesla is very much on European manufacturers' skin already, and that more and more big brands are seeing them as tough competition and want to copy their ways.

It is worth nothing that former generations of the BMW 5 Series already copied another car - the Lexus. Now it is going after the Tesla Model S. Is the 5 Series really just getting inspiration or being a wannabe? Will its autopilot be better than Tesla? Production of the new generation of German sedan will begin in November. So we will wait a little longer to see all the answer to these.
Nissan said it is actively contemplating launching an SUV and crossover along with a new "B" segment supermini to further augment its EV range.

The above revelation has been made by Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan's head of EV division in Europe while speaking to Auto Express.

"We've invested $5.4bn (4.1bn) in electric cars such as the Leaf, so we need to ensure we're satisfying as many types of customer as possible," said Dunsmore. "In Europe, that could mean looking towards B-segment hatches [Ford Fiesta size] and SUVs or crossovers."

Dunsmore further added the new supermini EV will slot below the Leaf, thereby allowing it to tap a segment further down the price segment. What is also likely is that the new EV might also share the same platform as the upcoming Renault Zoe that is slated for a debut at the Paris Auto Show.

Further, if that be true then the new Nissan supermini will have a range of around 200 miles as cited by Renault for its own upgraded Zoe. However, that being certified as per NEDC cycle makes one to believe the actual range in real word condition to be around half of that at best.

Nissan is already developing the next generation Leaf, which will be up against the likes of the new Chevy Bolt or the Tesla Model 3. The Bolt is already making waves with its range of around 250 miles plus and the onus will be on its competitors to better that, while still holding on to the price point.

Nissan, meanwhile, is also reported to have tested a self-driving version of the Leaf, DITCM stated. The autonomous Leaf was put to test at the Sagami Expressway in southwestern Tokyo where it drove on its own, with Kanagawa prefecture governor Yuji Kuroiwa and Nissan Vice Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga on-board.

The report further mentioned that the Leaf used to demo Nissan's autonomous driving initiatives happens to be the production version of the car, but with special cameras and laser tech built into it to allow for self-driving. However, there is no mention when autonomous driving tech will be introduced in production versions of the Leaf.

Nissan has already sold more than 200,000 Leafs since its introduction back in 2010, making it among the more popular EVs ever produced.
The F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter may be the latest example of the U.S. military resurrecting a retired aircraft type. The website theaviationist.com is showing video apparently shot in July of two of the bat-wing fighters flying together at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. The site says it has previously documented that the Air Force kept their options open when they were officially mothballed in 2008. One was spotted flying in 2014 but the most recent video, shot by Sammamishman, shows apparent differences between the two aircraft being flown.

The website is reporting that the fleet is being stored at near flying condition and can be put back in the air within 30 to 120 days. The site says its possible the aircraft are being used as test beds for new technologies. In the last couple of years, the military has gone to the boneyard to bring F-18 Hornets out of retirement for the Marines and the Navy refitted some OV-10 Broncos for counterinsurgency work against the Islamic State.
Three people were killed when two aircraft collided in North Collins, south of Buffalo, Sunday morning. The aircraft, a Cessna 120 and a Piper PA-28, had just taken off from Hamburg Airport. A 60-year-old man in one of the aircraft and a couple, both 69, in the other died in the resulting crash, which occurred about 9:30 a.m. local time. The aircraft were among a group of six heading off for a fly-in breakfast in St. Marys, Pennsylvania.

Erie County Sheriffs Office Chief Scott Joslyn told the Buffalo News that there were several witnesses who saw the collision and subsequent crash. Both the FAA and NTSB are investigating.
(Saturday, September 24)

Zhamanak complains that the official celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Armenias independence were overshadowed by the first public demonstration of Russian-made Iskander missiles during the September military parade in Yerevan. One gets the impression that we celebrate Iskanders anniversary, rather than the independence anniversary, writes the paper. It agrees that those sophisticated missiles are a really important military-political factor and give Armenia a major deterrent against Azerbaijan but says this should in no way diminish the significance of the national holiday.

Haykakan Zhamanak claims that Prime Minister Karen Karapetians friction with Economy Minister Artsvik Minasian is jeopardizing President Serzh Sarkisians power-sharing agreement with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The paper says that Sarkisian failed to consult with Dashnaktsutyun before sacking Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian and thereby breached that agreement. It is evident that there are differences between the two coalition partners on the question of the government change, it says. Whether or not they are insurmountable will be clear very soon.

Zhoghovurd attacks the chairman of Armenias Central Election Commission (CEC), Tigran Mukuchian, over his claims that the September 18 local elections held in more than 300 communities were free and fair. Mukuchian also defended last week the CECs decision not to cancel a mayoral election in Echmiadzin where the main opposition mayoral candidate was reportedly beaten up by a large of group men led by the towns mayor, Karen Grigorian, on the eve of the ballot.

Technically, it is indeed hard to fault Mukuchian, comments the paper. But if the CEC chairman is serious about his desire to hold free and fair elections then Mukuchian himself should have responded and not waited for a formal appeal from the attacked candidate, Artur Tumanian. It argues that Tumanians supporters had repeatedly demanded in the weeks leading up to the violence that the CEC cancel the local election.

Chorrord Ishkhanutyun also dismisses Mukuchians highly positive assessment of the local polls and points to the violence in Echmiadzin. Mukuchian is absolutely right, the paper says with sarcasm. In Echmiadzin, candidates were really free to beat up and shoot at each other.

(Sargis Harutyunyan)
By Trend

Armenias armed forces have 6 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry on September 25.

The Armenian armed forces stationed on Vazashen village of the Ijevan district opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions located on nameless heights of the Gazakh district.

Positions of the Azerbaijani army also underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near the Ashagi Seyidahmadli and Garakhanbayli villages of Azerbaijans Fuzuli district.

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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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26 September 2016 15:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

As in July, a number of economic indicators of August in Armenia have decreased again.

The negative trend in domestic trade, which began in last year, keeps continuing. So, the trade turnover has declined by 0.1 percent compared with July indicators, and by a total of 9 percent as compared to August of last year.

Construction output in this month also decreased by 7.2 percent. After reaching its peak in 2008, construction volumes in Armenia keep annually decreasing.

The effective demand for housing clearly diminished in Armenia, which is explained with risky and floating status of Armenian dram in relation to USD. This fact surely scares foreign and local investors from entering the Armenian business market.

Another decline comes from the index of economic activity in Armenia. Starting from July, it for the first time during the year moved to a negative value. So, in July it fell to 95.7 percent, and to 99.5 percent in August of this year.

The unemployment rate in Armenia is still the highest among the CIS countries, making up 19.3 percent, and due to the wrong structure of national economy, new vacancies do not seem to come up in near future.

Moreover, the state debt of Armenia also rises. According to official Armenian statistics, the state debt of Armenia in the first half of 2016 made up $5.345 billion, thus increasing by 5.3 percent from the beginning of the year.

Triggered by this, the wages in the country still keep falling down. Decline in public sector made up 3.5 percent as compared to the data of last year. In general, significant decrease in salaries has been observed throughout Armenia since April 2015. Salaries are declining in both public and private sectors.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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26 September 2016 15:47 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Commissioned by the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, the country's Embassy in Russia and Consulate General in St. Petersburg secured the participation of Azerbaijans representatives in the State Hermitage of Russia at the conference on the subject of Oriental Numismatics. They will prevent another provocation of Armenia towards Azerbaijani history.

Head of the Department of Science Foundation on Numismatics and Epigraphy of the Museum of Azerbaijan History Professor Ali Rajabli, senior researcher of the Institute of Human Rights of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Rizvan Huseynov and Ph.D Anar Sadikhov will participate at the conference on September 26-29, the Embassy told Trend.

Rajabli will speak at the conference on the topic of Coins in the Azerbaijani khanates in 17-19th centuries.

Azerbaijani scientists intend to prevent another provocation of Armenians, who plan to introduce the objects of Azerbaijan's cultural heritage as Armenian. In particular, they are going to present the coins of Azerbaijani khanates as Eastern-Armenian, according to Armenian media.

Azerbaijan is informed about this attempt of Armenians to present the Azerbaijani cultural heritage items as Armenian. Azerbaijans Embassy to Russia and the countrys Consulate General in St. Petersburg are taking measures to prevent this provocation, spokesman for Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev said earlier.

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. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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26 September 2016 14:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

French engineering giant Alstom Company, which is considered to be a world leader in integrated railway systems, has displayed its interest in the North-South project meant to connect Northern Europe to South-East Asia.

Alstoms Managing Director for South cluster of CIS Bernard Peille told Trend that the company is currently studying possibilities of participating in the project.

Our strategy consists in offering best solutions for our customers, and Azerbaijan is not an exception. We are ready to discuss certain measures, required for the strengthening of our cooperation. We are currently engaged in the implementation of different projects,including expansion of Baku Metro, he said.

He mentioned that the company is interested in involvement in the North-South transport corridor project.

We are ready to offer optimal solutions regarding infrastructure and even rolling stock, in the case of mutual interest, he added.

The implementation of the North-South transport corridor project envisages linking-up of railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. Some five million tons of freight per year is expected to be transported by means of the corridor in the initial stage with the further increase to more than 10 million tons.

Being a strategically important and advantageous in terms of time spent for transportation, the project is expected to be one of the primary points in the countrys bid to turn into a major transport hub.

Alstom operates in about 100 countries and has been operating actively in the Azerbaijani market for over 20 years.

The company cooperates with Baku Metro regarding further expanding the underground and replacing the obsolete trains running on existing lines. The company has already delivered three new metro train sets to Baku Metro, in accordance with a contract signed in 2014. The train sets, consisting of 5 cars each, were commissioned for passenger service in May 2015.

Moreover, the company is involved in a long-term program of Azerbaijan Railways for the sustainable renovation and modernization of railways, reconstruction of infrastructure and gradual switch from direct current to alternating current, as well as gradual replacement of obsolete trains running on existing lines. The company is expected to supply its electric locomotives to Azerbaijan in 2017.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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26 September 2016 17:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, which has already taken certain steps to mitigate negative effects of the external factors on its economy, is engaged in the preparation of economic plans for 2017.

The country has already prepared forecast indicators of the state budget and a draft concept of the socio-economic development for 2017 and subsequent three years.

Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said that oil price has been set at $40 per barrel in Azerbaijans draft 2017 state budget, mentioning that the budget expenses will be reduced in 2017.

"We must bring our expenses in line with our revenues. As our revenues greatly decreased, the policy will be also tightened regarding the expenses. The priority will be given to the necessary expenses, while measures will be taken to optimize and reduce expenses, he said.

Moreover, the country has also prepared two additional scenarios for forecasting the state budget given the price at $35 and $45 per barrel.

The parameters of the state budget for 2016 were based on oil price standing at $25 per barrel, which was mainly connected with the decline in oil prices, which in turn sharply reduced the projected revenues of the state and consolidated budgets, as well as devaluation of the national currency and transition to a floating exchange rate.

Transfers from SOFAZ

The transfers of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) to the state budget are expected to be lower than the indices fixed in 2016.

Sharifov mentioned that transfers from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) to the state budget will be reduced by 1.5 billion manats ($0.92) in 2017, as the country must pay more attention to the income from other sources, rather than deductions from SOFAZ, while generating the revenue side of the state budget.

Moreover, the forecast for contributions from the countrys State Customs Committee, as well as the tax revenue forecasts will be increased in the state budget for 2017. The minister added that the transfers will be reduced to keep the countrys foreign exchange reserves at the same level.

SOFAZs transfers to the Azerbaijani state budget 2016 are forecasted to stand at 7.6 billion manat ($4.6), while the index for 2017 is forecasted at 6.1 billion manat ($3.7).

The public budget revenues for 2016 are expected to reach 16.822 billion manats ($10.273 billion), while the rate of expenditures will amount to 18.495 billion manats ($11.294 billion).

Manat rate

Sharifov said that the Azerbaijani national currency  the manat will be able to be set at a fair rate, should the country reach a balance between the inflow and outflow of foreign currency.

He said that the Central Bank of the country (CBA) is watching the processes that are occurring in the market and implements interventions in case of necessity, mentioning that the inflow of foreign currency has reduced after double devaluation of the manat.

The minister emphasized that the country is intended to decrease the volume of import operations and switch to the economic policy of import-substitution, which stands for replacing foreign imports with domestic production, which in turn will decrease the outflow of foreign currency from the country and reduce dependence of the country on imported goods.

Support of entrepreneurship

Sharifov said that the country will continue to allocate funds for the support of entrepreneurship in the country, while the volume of funds, allocated from the budget for the National Fund for Entrepreneurship (NFES) in 2017 will remain at the level of the current year. The funds will contribute to the involvement of a greater number of entrepreneurs in the economy that, in turn, will lead to its further growth.

The issuance of loans for entrepreneurs is carried out through authorized banks and non-bank credit organizations, overall number of which stands at 59.

Azerbaijans National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) has allocated approximately 101 million manats ($61.6 million) on easy terms since early 2016.

The amount of funds to be allocated by the NFES is expected to reach the level of 250 million manats ($46.4 million) in 2016, while some 70 million manats ($42.7 million) of the sum will be provided by means of budgetary funds.

Allocation of funds is aimed at mitigating the impact of global economic crisis to the national economy and minimization of its dependence on the oil sector. The country takes steps in an effort to diversify the national economy and provide for the development of the agricultural sphere.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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26 September 2016 13:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

New art project dedicated to the 25th anniversary of relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union has been presented in Baku.

The photo project titled "Interesting Europe" is a unique view of travelers Rustam Huseynov and Aydin Sadikhov on Europe its nature and historical artifacts.

The exhibition featuring photographs of gems of Renaissance architecture as well as places associated with the very interesting legends about Dante, Faust, Dracula and Van Helsing took place at Baku Art Villa gallery.

Among the most interesting exhibits were the photos of mysterious Chapel of Bones with its macabre atmosphere.

The unique exhibition was of great interest of the visitors.

A number of inveterate travelers have already visited the most famous landmarks all over the world, including the Statue of Liberty, Colosseum, Eiffel Tower and others.

However, photographers think that fame should not be the main criterion for choice of tourist destination.

Such great cities as Paris, Rome, Barcelona or Berlin have incredible history and culture, whilst many other cities are also attractive for tourists.

Journey through little-known towns can be even more interesting than the journey to the capitals.

"My photographs is a kind of guide which is hard to find in an unfamiliar city. These routes that are seldom included into the guide books. Nevertheless, there are still interesting. These mystery places are related to art and literature, and what's most important they give you incredible emotions," said Rustam Huseynov.

"While traveling I try not to follow the standard tourist routes. I'm trying to visit unknown historical places and sights. The main goal of exhibition is to show interesting mysterious places not only for travelers, but also travel companies that could include them in their tours," said Aydin Sadikhov.

Media partners of the event are Trend, Day.az and Milli.az.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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26 September 2016 15:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

"Azerbaijani camp" organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Paris held the International City of Gastronomy in Paris to promote national history and culture.

The colorful event brought together participants from 38 countries, Azertac reported.

First deputies of Paris Mayor and the 7th district mayor as well as ambassadors of the participating countries attended the opening ceremony.

The event featured samples of Azerbaijani national cuisine, sweets of various kinds.

National crafts, clothing and jewelry were also demonstrated in the event.

Famous chefs held master classes, rules of making delicious dishes to be shown.

Icherisheher Center of Traditional Arts displayed batiks, ceramics, jewelries and woodcarving created by students.

Icherisheher (Administration of State Historical-Architectural Reserve) describes the regeneration of the Old City of Baku as living tradition.

The partnership with Icherisheher has enabled the Princes School to establish a Centre for Traditional Arts (ICTA) in a specially converted building in the Old City of Baku, managed by a resident team of staff from the Princes School.

The main aim of the project is to nurture the development of skills in applied decorative arts, to produce contemporary designs which reflect the Azerbaijani cultural heritage, and to promote these works in the international community.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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26 September 2016 11:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The citizens of Azerbaijan are voting today to approve or disapprove the changes and supplements proposed to the country's major law - the Constitution.

The voting has began at 08:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) on Monday morning, while the Central Elections Commission, which is eligible to organize referendum, fixed the voter turnout at 12.9 percent as of 10:00. Almost 680,438 people have given their votes for far, according to the Election Information Center.

The CEC has finalized the preparations for the polls so that to ensure every condition for participation of voters. Thus, the 119- year old Hasanova Nubar (Sabail electoral district) and Khanmemmedova Susenber (Zangilan Gubadli electoral district) were the oldest voters to cast the ballots into boxes, which were delivered to their residences.

In a bill sent to the Constitutional Court President Ilham Aliyev proposed amendments to 29 Articles of Azerbaijans current constitution.

The changes envisage extension of the presidential term from five to seven years, establishment of the first vice-president and vice-president positions in the country as well as cancellation of minimum age limit for presidential candidates, dissolution of parliament by the president.

The voting is being conducted in 125 constituencies in 5,627 polling stations.

Some 38 polling stations were set up in Azerbaijan`s diplomatic missions abroad so that citizens in foreign countries could also cast their ballots and express their will. Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UAE Dashgin Shikarov said that the turnout of voters in the station set up in Azerbaijans embassy in the UAE has so far amounted to more than 50 percent.

As many as 26 polling stations in 14 constituencies were set up in prisons and detention centers of the penitentiary service of the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry.

Web-cameras are being used in a number of polling stations to ensure transparency of the electoral process. The latest technologies will be used to inform the public about the voting process.

The CEC also invited both international and local observers to monitor the polls across the country to ensure transparency in the vote.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 33 countries as well as observers from various international organizations have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum. The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Among the observers are mission of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), headed by Deputy Chairman of Council of Federation of the Russian Federal Assembly Ilyas Umakhanov, the international mission, consisting of MPs of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries (TurkPA), an observer mission of the Australian Parliament.

A number of trainings and seminars were conducted for constituency members and heads of polling stations.

Each polling station will send the information to constituencies and then it will be transferred to the special system, created for the transmission of data.

The voting will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4). Final results of the nationwide vote will be announced till October 21.

Referendums were also held in Azerbaijan in 1995, 2002. The last time changes to the Constitution were made seven years ago, following Constitutional referendum held in 2009.

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26 September 2016 13:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan and Georgia have once again agreed a procedure for the use of frequency resources in border areas.

The sides held monitoring of used communication channels of the GSM and CDMA standards, and signed agreement at the end, a source in the telecommunication market of Azerbaijan told Trend on September 23.

The agreement provides for streamlining radio frequency spectrum use and reduction of the probability of interference by radio-electronic means in the border areas. According to the agreement, the parties will equitably use the frequency spectrum of GSM and CDMA connection.

A similar agreement was signed between Azerbaijan and Iran in April 2016. The agreement was aimed at addressing the cases of frequencies intersection, as well as to ensure the normal operation of mobile communication in border areas.

There is also an agreement with Russia signed in 2010.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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26 September 2016 14:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Small missile ship Uglich of Russias Caspian Flotilla (RCF) headed to Baku in the framework of strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan. The visit will include an exchange of experience between commands, the press service of the Southern Military District said on September 26, RIA Novosti reported.

Under the flag of RCF commander, rear Admiral Sergey Pinchuk, Uglich left its base in the port of Makhachkala and began sailing to the port of Baku in Azerbaijan. The Russian sailors will arrive in the port of Baku on a business visit in the framework of development and strengthening cooperation between the navies of the two countries on the Caspian sea," the message stated.

Officials of the naval forces of Azerbaijan, employees of the Russian Embassy to Baku, teaching staff, officers and cadets of Azerbaijan's Higher Naval School plan to visit the ship Uglich.

The program of the business visit includes mutual official receptions with meetings and exchange of experience between the command of the RCF and the Navy of Azerbaijan.

The command crew of the ship intends also to visit the second Azerbaijani international defense exhibition ADEX-2016.

Azerbaijani and Russian Navies keep systematically implementing joint exercises and plan to continue this experience in the future. Naval Forces of both countries are considered the strongest and most equipped in the Caspian sea region.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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26 September 2016 16:35 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Referendum voting for changes to the Constitution of Azerbaijan, which kicked off on September 26 has also extended abroad.

Azerbaijani nationals are actively voting at the polling stations created in diplomatic representations, located in some 40 countries to ensure participation of the countrys citizens (residing abroad or sent on an assignment trip) in the referendum.

More than 50 percent of Azerbaijani citizens in the UAE have so far cast their votes in the polling station set up at Azerbaijans embassy as part of the referendum to amend the Constitution of the country.

Dashgin Shikarov, Azerbaijani ambassador to the UAE, told Trend that 76 Azerbaijani citizens, temporarily or permanently residing in the UAE, were registered in the electoral list of the 16th Yasamal constituencys polling station set up at the embassy in Abu Dhabi, while some 197 people were registered in the polling station in Dubai.

Azerbaijani citizens are also casting their ballots at a polling station at Azerbaijan's Embassy in Riga, Latvia. Some 4.66 percent of the eligible voters registered at the Embassy have already expressed their wills.

Polling station was also created in the countrys embassy in Russia, while 1,500 Azerbaijani citizens, permanently or temporarily residing in Russia, were registered at the station. About 15 percent of voters (approximately 230 people), have voted in the referendum as of 10:30 Moscow time (GMT+3).

One more polling station was opened in the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg and another one was created at the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg. Representatives of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) are observing the voting process.

The citizens of Azerbaijan, permanently or temporarily residing in France, as well as the Azerbaijani students in the French universities, are casting their ballots at the polling station in the embassy in Paris.

Some 62% of Azerbaijani eligible voters have cast ballots in a polling station at the country`s Embassy in Beijing as of 15:00 local time, while no frauds or irregularities have been reported.

CEC has taken all necessary measures to provide glass boxes, bulletin, ink and other materials required for voting to provide every condition for participation of voters. All stations have all conditions necessary for a transparent and free voting. Polling stations were created 30 days before the voting day in countries, where the number of voters who are on the consular register, exceeds 50, under Article 35.6 of Azerbaijans Electoral Code. Such polling stations may only be created during referendums and presidential elections.

The nationwide vote will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

President Ilham Aliyev proposed amendments to 29 Articles of Azerbaijans current constitution. The Constitutional Court gave the go ahead for the proposed changes on July 27.

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26 September 2016 14:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The nationwide vote for making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution, which is considered to be the fundamental law of the state, is continuing to run smoothly.

International and local observers accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum are watching the voting process across the country and assessing the conduct of voting on the basis of national legislation and international election standards.

The voting observation missions have already expressed their satisfaction with the conditions and level of transparency ensured in the polls, as well as with performance of election commissions.

Majority of observers involved in the monitoring of polls assessed the organization of the process as corresponding to all international norms, mentioning that the stations were equipped with all materials, necessary for the unruffled and transparent running of the process. Observers fixed high activity of the population, while no serious breach of law has been so far registered.

Nurlan Dulatbekov, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries (TurkPA) International Observes Mission and a Kazakh MP, who has already visited a number of polling stations in the capital city, said the process is going on in an organized manner and population is consciously approaching to the referendum to amend the Constitution.

Carmen Quintanilla, a Spanish MP and member of the European Peoples Party (EPP) delegation said the referendum to amend the Constitution is being held transparently.

Video cameras, installed in a number of polling stations are aimed to eliminate any fraud attempts during the voting and counting of votes as well as increase observers ability to monitor events in the polling stations.

Missions of observers will also keep an eye on the counting of votes, and the determination and declaration of preliminary results.

Meanwhile, Central Elections Commission (CEC), which is responsible for all voting-related processes, fixed the voter turnout standing at 30.6 as of 12:00 (GMT+4). Some 1,613,879 people have casted their ballots so far, while the number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people.

Some 117 international observers from 35 countries, who have vast experience of elections in various parts of the world observe the referendum. The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Among the observers are missions of the the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), headed by Deputy Chairman of Council of Federation of the Russian Federal Assembly Ilyas Umakhanov, the international mission, consisting of MPs of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries (TurkPA), an observer mission of the Australian Parliament.

The voting is being conducted in 125 constituencies through 5,627 polling stations. The voting will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4). Final results of the nationwide vote will be announced till October 21.

--

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26 September 2016 16:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

The ongoing referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic is rated very highly by international observers.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.

The referendum is conducted in accordance with the legislation, said Luke Simpkins, a member of the Australian parliament and observation mission.

Simpkins noted that the mission has not observed any cases of violation of law during the referendum.

"The voter turnout is quite high," he added.

Head of the delegation, Senator, Chairman of France-Caucasus Friendship Group Andre Richard also said that he was pleased to observe the referendum in Azerbaijan.

He stressed that the referendum was held in line with European standards, adding that the elections were well-organized.

Moreover, the member of the UK Parliament Lord David Evans, who monitored the referendum on Constitutional amendments in Azerbaijan, has hailed methodology used in the voting process.

I was here for your last election, and I was able to visit a number of polling stations and was impressed with the methodology that you used here, he said.

An employee of Ukraine`s Central Election Commission Sergey Dubovik has said no frauds or irregularities have been registered during the voting in Azerbaijan's referendum.

We have already visited nearly 12 polling stations including in the central part of Baku and outskirts. There is a similar environment everywhere. All standards and principles of the election code of the Republic of Azerbaijan are taken into account.

He also hailed the preparedness of members of constituencies.

The members of observer missions of International organizations consider the referendum held transparently as well.

The referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution is being held transparently, Carmen Quintanilla, a Spanish MP, and a member of the European Peoples Party (EPP) delegation said.

People are very pleased with the voting process, she said, adding that Azerbaijani people are voting for their democracy and freedom.

In turn, PACE mission consisting of seven people will present its final report regarding the observation of the referendum within one or two months. The mission, who is in Baku to assess the referendum, will reveal its initial findings on September 27.

Meanwhile, the turnout at the nationwide vote in Azerbaijan stood at 53.8 percent as of 15:00.

TurkPA Secretary General Jandos Asanov who is observing the referendum in Azerbaijan also said that People of Azerbaijan are consciously approaching to the referendum to amend the Constitution and are exercising their right to vote.

The voting will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4). Final results of the nationwide vote will be announced until October 21.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
26 September 2016 17:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The referendum is being held in Azerbaijan in accordance with the legislative requirements, Luke Simpkins, member of the Australian observing mission, told Trend September 26.

He stressed that their mission visited around 10 polling stations in Baku. Simpkins said no violations were noticed and the voter turnout is high enough.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).



The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on September 26.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
26 September 2016 18:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan is organized very well, Chris Back, head of the Australian parliaments observer mission, told Trend on September 26.

It is the case that there are many safeguards in place to be able to protect the integrity of the vote, said Back.

I have been impressed by the standards of organization, he noted. We have asked people in the city  have you voted today?  and many people said  yes, we have already voted.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on September 26.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
26 September 2016 19:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

As of 15:00 Moscow time (GMT +3) 879 people, or 56 percent of voters, cast their ballots in the referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution at the polling station in Azerbaijans embassy in Moscow, Russia, the embassy told Trend on September 26.

The polling station #48 of the Yasamal constituency #17 was established in the embassy and 1,500 Azerbaijani citizens, permanently or temporarily residing in Russia, were registered there.

One more polling station was opened in the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg and another one was created at the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg.

Representatives of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) are observing the voting process.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).



The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on September 26.

In accordance with Azerbaijans Constitution and Electoral Code, polling stations were created in the countrys diplomatic missions in about 40 countries for the Azerbaijani citizens abroad to be able to participate in the referendum.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
26 September 2016 19:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

A bilateral meeting of Azerbaijan-Russia interparliamentary commission is planned to be held in late November or early December, Ilyas Umakhanov, deputy chairman of Council of Federation of the Russian Federal Assembly, told reporters in Baku on September 26.

We have such a format with Azerbaijan and China when the interparliamentary commission includes not only representatives of the Federation Council but also the State Duma members, Umakhanov, who is also head of the observer mission of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, added.

Azerbaijan is becoming a very active international platform, he said. An inter-regional forum, initiated by both countries presidents, will be soon held between Azerbaijan and Russia.

He said a very respectable delegation from Russia, including political, science, education, arts and culture figures, will participate in the Fifth Baku International Humanitarian Forum, due on September 29-30.

This is a completely new dimension that has become a traditional landmark event in the Azerbaijan-Russia relations and draws attention of many other countries, he said.

Umakhanov said Valentina Matvienko, chairwoman of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS Council, speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, may visit Azerbaijan in early 2017.

We are thoroughly preparing for the visit, taking into account Matvienkos status as chairperson of the Federation Council and chairperson of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, he added.

---

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26 September 2016 19:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

European Parliament people are very happy with the way the referendum in Azerbaijan has been organized, Tony Mallett, independent observer from Belgium, told Trend on September 26.

Mallett was following the European People's Party (EPP) which is a large party in the European Parliament of observers.

He said they went around two polling stations to see that the voting process was correct.

I have just now spoken to an exit poll company which has got people all over the country talking to voters as they come out of the polls, and we are looking now already more than 90 percent of Azerbaijani voters are in favour of all 29 amendments, said Mallett.

The remarks from very experienced observers, who have watched elections all around the world, show that they are very happy with how it was organized, he noted.

The voters seem very happy with the amendments, added Mallet.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).



The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on September 26.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
26 September 2016 17:48 (UTC+04:00)

Up to now, approximately 44% of the 13,000 line pipes needed to build the 215km Albanian section of TAP have been delivered, said Lisa Givert, Head of Communications at Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Azertac reported.

In terms of logistics, since April 2016, line pipes continue to arrive to our Durres main marshalling yard (MMY) via the Durres port, she added.

Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.

The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.

Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3500-kilometre long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

878 kilometres in length, TAP's highest elevation will be 1,800 metres in the mountains of Albania while its lowest depth offshore will be 820 metres beneath the Adriatic Sea.

TAP's initial capacity of 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year is equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately seven million households in Europe. In future, the addition of two extra compressor stations could double throughput to more than 20 bcm as additional energy supplies come on stream in the wider Caspian region.

---

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26 September 2016 10:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh will leave Tehran for Algiers on Monday to attend the 15th Meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) and non-official meeting of OPEC, IRNA reported.

According to the Petroleum Ministry, the 15th meeting of IEF will be held in Algerian capital from September 26-28.

Zangeneh is slated to deliver a lecture during the first specialized meeting of the event on Tuesday and his Algerian counterpart, Noureddin Boutarfa, is the first speaker to inaugurate the event.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo, Head of IEF Fateh Birol and Secretary General of IEF Sun Xiansheng are the main lecturers of the upcoming event.

Russian, Saudi and Venezuelan energy ministers are also among the participants in the IEF which is the main venue for gathering of energy ministers.

OPEC non-official meeting will also be held on the sidelines of the 15th Meeting of IEF to discuss oil freeze project.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
26 September 2016 14:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Ankara expects Washington, which is its ally, to speed up the extradition of the leader of terrorist organization Parallel State (FETO) Fethullah Gulen who is accused on July 15 military coup attempt in Turkey, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with TV channel France 24, Anadolu Agency reported.

He pointed out that the Turkish side has provided the U.S. with the evidence of criminal activity of the organization Gulen and his involvement in the events of July 15.

"We are absolutely sure that behind the attempted coup in Turkey stands FETO. Everyone, including the United States, knows that the coup attempt was organized and implemented by Gulen and his supporters," said the head of Turkish diplomacy.

Cavusoglu stressed that Americans, in turn, expressed their willingness to cooperate with us and offered Turkey to provide proof regarding Gulens involvement in failed coup attempt.

"We also handed a dossier of the documentation directly related to the events of July 15. In other words, the legal process has already begun. Therefore, we expect the United States to extradite Gulen in the nearest future," Cavusoglu said, adding that he is optimistic about it.

"The decision on Gulens extradition date will be made by the court. We are optimistic in this regard and sure that in a democratic society there is no place for persons like Gulen," the minister noted.

Earlier, Turkeys Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag who was accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a visit to New York for the annual UN General Assembly meetings said that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden admitted that Ankara provided "concrete evidence" about terror leader Fethullah Gulen being the mastermind of a recent coup attempt in Turkey.

Ankara maintains that the overthrow attempt was organized by followers of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO terror group.

Gulen is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

A group of servicemen made an attempt for a military coup in Turkey on July 15. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities stated on a failure of the attempt for the military coup.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

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26 September 2016 16:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Accession to the EU is still a priority for Turkey, said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmush, TV channel TRT Haber reported on September 26.

Kurtulmush stressed that Turkey supports the opening of a new stage in the negotiation process between the parties.

He noted that Turkey is closely following the process of abolishing the visa regime between Turkey and the EU.

The Heads of State and the EU Member States' governments agreed with Turkey upon a joint plan to combat the migration crisis in mid-March. The program is focusing on the return of illegal immigrants arriving from Greece to the territory of Turkey and accepting legal Syrian refugees in Turkey by the EU based principle of "one for one".

The European Commission has proposed in May that the European Parliament and EU Council will lift visa restrictions for citizens of Turkey if Ankara will fulfill the remaining conditions for the abolition of visas until the end of June.

The list of pre-conditions included measures to prevent corruption, negotiations on an operational agreement with Europol (the EU police office), providing judicial cooperation with all EU member states, as well as the revision of the legislation on the fight against terrorism.

Earlier, former Minister of Turkey for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkr noted that Ankara doubts the readiness of the EU to abolish the visa regime for Turkey, adding that the EU requires Turkey to mitigate the law to combat terrorism, which is impossible.

Previously, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that if the EU doesnt cancel visa regime with Turkey in mid-October, Ankara wont be able to receive illegal migrants from the EU.

Earlier Ankara abolished visas for citizens of all 28 EU countries. However, the visa-free regime will come into force only after the EU abolishes visa regime for Turkish citizens.

In accordance with the agreement reached between Turkey and the EU, the citizens of Cyprus will also be able to take advantage of visa-free regime with Turkey.

Turkey has a long waited for its EU membership, while each application to accede to the European Union was frustrating for the government. Turkey, holding a status of an associate member at the Economic Community -- the predecessor of the EU since 1963 -- made an official application for entry on April 14, 1987.

---

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Contributing columnist Jose Gaspar is a reporter for KBAK/KBFX Eyewitness News. Email him at elcompa29@gmail.com. His work appears here every third Monday; the views expressed are his own.
Two men who are convicted felons were arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of multiple felony charges after they were discovered near the scen
Alan Gordon, the well-known PR and marketing expert, who launched his own agency, Merlin Publicity, has died of a cardiac arrest.

Bakels MD Paul Morrow said: Alan was a behind the scenes operator so few will be aware of his influence on the baking industry over the past 30 years.

I first met him when he launched Baking Update magazine in the late 1980s. In that role he introduced the Baking Industry Awards, which will be his lasting legacy.

When he decided to set up his own business I was one of his first clients. He taught me, and subsequent marketing managers now half his age, the difference between PR and advertising. PR is very much about communicating with people and Alans expertise was to define the message and then communicate it effectively.

Morrow added: He also taught me to ask myself the so what? question. If, after making an enthusiastic presentation on some great new product, the audience says so what? either the product or message is wrong and you had better think again.

Alan will be irreplaceable to his family, his friends and the colleagues who relied so much upon his advice.

David Marsh, managing director Benier (UK), said: We have worked with Alan for over 20 years. He was a constant, someone who was always there to help us. A true gentleman, Alan was ever considerate of others. It was always a pleasure when he visited us for our Friday morning meetings to consider future publicity and/or advertising. His advice eagerly sought and highly valued.

It was deeply saddening to hear he had been taken from us and, more importantly, his nearest and dearest to whom we extend our most heartfelt condolences.

Former editor of British Baker, Sylvia Macdonald, said: Alan was exceptional, the best PR and marketing person in the business. He knew the industry inside out having worked as a journalist on British Baker, then the former Baking Today and Baking Update magazines, before launching his own agency. He was very conscientious, hard-working and effective, but he was also a lovely person whose kindness and good manners were always to the fore.

He leaves a wife, Sue, and two daughters. The funeral will be held on Monday, 3 October at 11am at Eltham Crematorium in Falconwood, South London.

Any donations should go to The British Heart Foundation (BHF). For online giving, a live link will set up to the BHF, shortly.
Strathmore Foods brand, Cone Bakes has released an innovative new food-to-go snack that can be served with hot or cold fillings inside a bread cone.

Cone Bakes is a unique way of presenting food-on-the-go that is easily prepared and customers can grab and go  a tasty snack in their hand with no mess, no fuss and easy to handle.

The cones are versatile and can work with any breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert item. It is a bread dough based product that is formed by machinery into a partly baked cone shape, which is delivered frozen.

The product has been trialled at several schools in the Scottish borders and universities around the country, which reacted well to the baked cone.

Ray Gillaspy, Business development manager at Cone Bakes told British Baker: The first stage release for us will be distribution via wholesalers, which was the main reason for being at the lunch! show.

It looks like Brakes in Scotland will have it first around about mid-October and we think it will be very successful.

The brands future business strategy is to take the cone cakes into the food service and hopes to generate a new brand for Strathmore Foods.
Profits at the Co-op Group more than halved to 17m in the first six months of the year, hit by the groups three-year plan to rebuild the business.

Co-op group chief executive Richard Pennycook said the fall in profit "was expected and planned" because of its restructuring programme.

Revenue increased by 2.2% to 4.7bn as customer transactions rose by 3.3% and like-for-like food sales climbed 3.1%.

The Co-ops grocery business has continued to perform well, with food sales up by 3.1pc and like-for-like sales rising by 4.3pc. The mutual has focused its recovery on tapping into the convenience market to take advantage of shopping habits shifting away from big, weekly shops to smaller, more frequent trips to local stores.

Mr Pennycook, who requested a 60 per cent salary cut earlier this year on the basis that the company was no longer in "crisis" mode, said that the focus on convenience was paying off and the group was stealing market share from independent rivals. The food chain has grown its slice of the UK food market from 6.4pc to 6.6pc in the past year, according to figures released earlier this week by Kantar Worldpanel.

The group announced a 1bn three-year Rebuild programme in 2014.

"We are only half way through the Rebuild and much remains to be done, whether it is investing in our digital capability or campaigning on key issues," said Mr Pennycook.

He said the group is "firmly on track" and that the work is attracting more customers back to the Co-op.

The underlying profit before tax, which excludes temporary factors and one-off items, was 31m for the six months, down from 63m in the same period of 2015.

The Co-op has also shed supermarkets that do not fit its convenience strategy, most recently selling 298 shops to McColls Retail Group for 117m. It also sold 70 larger stores earlier this year that were a hangover of its disastrous Somerfield deal to turnaround firm Hilco.

Mr Pennycook said that the Co-op had "broken the back" of overhauling its grocery store estate. The retail boss added that the Co-op was in a better position than its major supermarket rivals, which are grappling with their plethora of vast stores.
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We had an upper low sitting above us in the atmosphere today. That resulted in numerous scattered large storms.

Numerous, large-scale scattered storms Monday

The evening should be clearer



Tuesday will be warm and muggy, coastal areas a little cooler

Going forward well see slowly clearing skies overnight into early Tuesday morning.

Morning lows will be in the low to mid 70s for most areas, but upper 70s right at the beach.



Tuesday will again be warm and muggy with highs easily getting to the upper 80s to low 90s. Coastal areas will be coolest due to an onshore breeze. There will be a 30 percent coverage of scattered storms. Any storms that develop will have an eastward movement, with most of them drifting inland in the afternoon to evening.

The first cold front of the season might be on the way for late this week. Were discussing that in the seven day forecast.

In the tropics:

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a broad area of low pressure located about 950 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands have increased and become slightly better organized since yesterday.

A tropical depression is likely to form during the next day or two while the system moves westward to west- northwestward at 15 to 20 mph.

Regardless of development, heavy rains and strong gusty winds, possibly to tropical storm force, are expected to spread over the Windward Islands and portions of the southern Lesser Antilles beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday.

An Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate this disturbance on Tuesday afternoon.



&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;


Trippy Blue Yonder: Psychedelic Kites Dominate Skies at Central Oregon Coast Festival

Published 09/26/2016 at 4:21 AM PDT - Updated 09/27/2016 at 5:21 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Lincoln City, Oregon)  A sixties-delic time awaits visitors to the central Oregon coast on October 1 and 2, with the return of the Lincoln City Fall Kite Festival. All the leaves are brown and the sky is colorful on that date  the colors of fall, that is. These trippy shades take to the skies in the form of big, showy kites moving over the D River State Recreation Site from 10 am to 4 pm on both days. Celebrate the sounds of the '60s with the theme "Windstock" at this signature Oregon coast festival.

Windstock is a psychedelic blend of windsock, a popular kite design, and Woodstock, the famous music festival synonymous with hippie culture. To commemorate the theme, professional kite fliers are demonstrating their latest stunts to classic tunes from the '60s. Festival patrons can dance in the sand as the kites dance above the flying field.

Two of the featured fliers, Archie and Jeanie Clay of the Rogue Valley Windchasers, plan to show off their newest kites at the festival.

"My wife and I fell in love with kite flying over 40 years ago on a trip to California," said Clay. "Today, we have over 300 kites in our collection, and it continues to grow. For the festival, we are going to show off our newest train kites that were designed by Robert Brasington. A train kite is a series of several small kites connected by one string. They are a favorite with kids."

The Clays are frequent fliers at the Lincoln City Kite Festivals. Jeanie Clay loves the attendees and their devotion.

"It's the people, she said. Unlike other festivals, you can interact directly with the visitors. That is why we encourage folks to come down to the beach and meet us."

The Fall Kite Festival takes place on the beach at the D River State Recreation Site. Activities include kids kite making, kite demonstrations, and the Running of the Bols, which is a footrace across the beach with each participant harnessed to parachute kites. On both days, kids of all ages can learn how to make their own paper kite and afterwards show off their colorful creations in the kids' parade.

All kids attending the festival will receive a free passport to the event. Collect autographs in the passport from featured fliers and earn great prizes.

"The Kids Passports is such a great program," said Jeanie Clay. "It lets us interact with the kids and show them the wonder of kite flying. This is a fun sport and we want to pass it on to the next generation."

The festival runs from 10 am to 4 pm each day. For more information on the Fall Kite Festival event schedule, call 800-452-2151 or visit www.oregoncoast.org.

This time around, Lincoln City officials have added shuttle service. To minimize traffic delays, the D River Wayside will be closed to incoming traffic once the parking lot is full.

Visitors attending the festival are encouraged to utilize the shuttle service, which will run both days between 10am and 4pm. Service is being offered from the Lincoln City Outlets and the Lincoln City Community Center parking lots. Shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and run a continuous loop every 20 minutes. Service dogs are welcome, no other animals please.

You can see a parking at the Lincoln City website. For more information on the shuttle service, contact Suzanne Treece at [email protected] or call 541-996-1274. Lincoln City Hotels/Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Map and Virtual Tour. More on Lincoln City below:















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Lindsay M. Spencer prepared to go through the security check at the Jack Brooks Regional Airport early Thursday, assured she would actually be able to board the plane to Dallas and a connecting flight to Minneapolis.

For more than six months, getting a flight has been uncertain for business travelers like Spencer, a certified accountant in Port Arthur, because of delays repaving the airport's primary runway. The project, slowed by a wet spring and summer, has prevented commercial planes from taking off with full passenger loads.

"Since the secondary runway is shorter, 5,070 feet versus 6,750 feet for the primary runway, American Eagle and other aircraft had to limit their weight to operate safely on the shorter runway," said Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick.

That meant bumping passengers and their luggage from American Eagle flights flying in and out of the Beaumont airport.

(Story continues below)

The primary runway resumed full operation this past week, a relief for passengers.

Heavier-than-usual rains delayed the $3.2 million runway project, which caused an issue with the airline's booking system, said Branick.

"When the date was pushed back because of rain delays in completing the runway repaving, seats were sold above the limited seating," he said.

Spencer found out about that the hard way.

"They do it all the time - every flight I've been on for the last six months," she said, referring to the planes being oversold and passengers being bumped. "They say it's a weight issue."

Spencer said the airline always asked for one or two volunteers to take a later flight. If no one stepped up, the airline would offer vouchers. If no one stepped up for vouchers, then some passengers would be told to fly later.

One day she had planned travel, she was bumped to the later flight the same day. Another time, she was bumped to the next day.

She said she was offered travel vouchers ranging from $200 to $500.

"My time is more valuable than that," Spencer said.

Damirilis Vazquez, general manager of Envoy Airlines, the American Eagle operator in Beaumont, said in an email that the airline, which only offers two flights out of Beaumont a day, rebooked some passengers' flights out of Bush Intercontinental in Houston.

>> See the airlines that were named the best in 2016 in the gallery above.

Rebooking a flight from Bush meant those passengers had to drive to Houston and pay to park. Part of the appeal of flying out of Jack Brooks is the proximity and free parking.

Vazquez said with the reopening of the primary runway, flights from Jack Brooks to Dallas are back to capacity and average passenger loads are between 40 and 50 people per flight.

The two daily outbound flights are at 6:53 a.m. and 2:18 p.m. When the route was re-established two years ago after the county and officials with American agreed to a revenue guarantee for the airline, there were four weekday flights and two on the weekends.

Vazquez said there are no plans to add a third daily flight.

Roundtrip tickets to Dallas from Beaumont for the roughly hour-long flight can be purchased for under $200 on travel sites like Travelocity or Priceline.

DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach
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Texas environmental investigators might take days to determine the severity of a chemical spill into the Willow Marsh Bayou west of Beaumont that damaged natural resources and killed wildlife, according to local and state officials.

A solvent spill into the bayou by General Electric: Betz Water and Process Technologies, an industrial water processing facility, on Thursday night killed creatures that call the bayou home and prompted Jefferson County emergency management officials to order a shelter in place for nearly 100 nearby homes Friday morning.

Monica Gonzalez, who lives near the facility, said she was awakened Thursday night by a strong smell of gasoline.

Gonzalez initially thought someone was outside of her trailer stealing fuel.

"You can still smell it inside of my trailer," Gonzalez said Friday from her front porch. "We weren't able to get much sleep last night."

The industrial water processing facility is located off U.S. 90 between an Exxon Mobil chemical plant and the Beaumont Municipal Airport.

Residents living within 1,000 feet from East and Shady lanes were required to shelter in place as sheriff's deputies blocked off intersections Friday morning.

The combination of chemicals in the air were still being tested Friday afternoon, Deputy Marcus McLellan said.

Five workers from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality responded with air monitoring and water sampling, according to a TCEQ spokesman.

GE Betz hired private remediation company OMI Environmental to clean the spill.

McLellan said in a prepared statement that a dirt dam was built across the bayou south of Brooks Road to prevent the chemicals from spilling into other areas.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department conducted limited assessments on Friday, spokesman Steve D. Lightfoot said.

The department employs groups of biologists who investigate fish and wildlife deaths resulting from pollution and natural events.

Assessments Friday were limited because of high vapors along the creek, causing the Parks and Wildlife employees to work carefully at certain access points, according to Lightfoot.

"We likely will not have a comprehensive assessment of resource impacts for at least a few days, maybe longer depending on conditions," Lightfoot said.

GE Betz officials were unavailable Friday for comment. OMI Environmental officials declined to comment.

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
Officials are investigating a Sunday morning robbery at a Quick Way convenient store in Woodville, possibly involving four Houston men, according to the Tyler County Sheriff's Office.

Officials said, after receiving a tip from a witness Sunday morning around 5:30 a.m., police reported to the convenient store at the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 and FM 1746.

The witness told dispatch that three males were observed inside the store wearing masks and that a red pickup truck was parked in front of the Store, according to officials.

Tyler County Deputies and Woodville Police Officers attempted to conduct a felony stop on the red pickup as it left the store, dragging 2 door burglar bars attached by a tow-strap to the pickup, officials said.

According to officials, the pickup, which is suspected to be stolen, left the store west on U.S. Highway 190 into the City of Woodville, and crashed at the corner of U.S. Highway 90 and Beaver Street.

The suspect vehicle lost control and crashed into a street pole, and four males ran from the vehicle and a foot-pursuit ensued, ending in all four suspects being arrested, officials said.

Officials confirmed that two officers were injured in the arrests, and remain in a Woodville and Lufkin hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

All four suspects are from Houston, one individual is wanted out of Harris County for a felony assault, one individual is on parole and another individual is a documented gang member, according to officials.

Officials said all four suspects remain in the Tyler County Jail facing felony charges. The identities of the suspects will not be released until the investigation is complete.
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SOUTHEAST TEXAS TALES

Port Arthur founder Arthur Stilwell relied on more than his intuition when making decisions.

He was a believer in the supernatural.

"All my life, even when a child, I have received messages from the spirit world, and they have greatly influenced my life," Stilwell wrote in his 1921 book "Live and Grow Young."

As one example, Stilwell said he planned to buy the Houston East and West Texas Railroad, which ran from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Houston.

Then the "Brownies," a term he used to describe his spirits, spoke to him.

"I was warned by my nightly advisors not to make Galveston the terminal of the Kansas City Southern Railroad, because that city was destined to be destroyed by a tidal wave," Stilwell wrote in his autobiography.

Five years after Stilwell established the city of Port Arthur, Galveston was devastated by a catastrophic 1900 hurricane, which killed between 6,000 and 8,000 people.

(Story continues below)

Video: The most haunted places in the South

Before the storm, Stilwell said his spirits told him to end the railroad project at Lake Sabine and build the terminal at the site of present-day Port Arthur. He followed the directions diligently, "not deviating from the plans revealed to (him)."

When he visited the site that would later take his name, just as the "Brownies" told him to do, Stilwell visualized his dream city.

"I turned to Mr. Taylor, pointing to the north shore of the lake four miles away and said, 'There's the future terminal of our road,'" Stilwell wrote in his autobiography.

"Here will be the docks," he wrote, saying he was pointing to the land on which the docks were eventually built.

"I was so convinced of the Brownies' plan that I didn't not stop the train to investigate further."

Stilwell paid $7 an acre for the land and "as if by magic" the town began to grow and expand.

Ghosts and supernatural voices guided much of Stilwell's life. In fact, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and other authorities on the supernatural considered Stilwell to have had the greatest psychic experiences known to man, according to a June 15, 1922, New York Times article about Stilwell's gift.

"I have built more than 3,000 miles of railroad," Stilwell said in the article. "That, I believe, is more than any other living man has built. Every part of every route had been determined by spirits who have come to me in my dreams and told me what to do."

Only a close-knit circle of friends knew of Stilwell's abilities, which surfaced at the age of 4 when he could tell his mother which relative would be visiting them days before the person would arrive, according to Enterprise archive stories.

At age 14, he pointed out his future bride to his mother, telling her he would marry the stranger in five years, Stilwell said in his autobiography. He married Jennie Wood on June 10, 1879.

He never knew the beings' names, he said, because they wouldn't tell him. He referred to them generally as his "corps of spirits," not knowing exactly how many were in the group.

However, in addition to giving him his flair for railroads and establishing cities, Stilwell also said he had the spirits help when he wrote several novels and songs, the New York Times piece reported.

Stilwell, who died of apoplexy on Sept. 26, 1928, gave the interview in 1922 to explain how he was able to accomplish so many feats with little knowledge of the skills involved.

"The engineering plans that I have put in effect have all come from an engineer who has been long dead. I have transcribed scores of poems which have been dictated to me by poets. I have written the music of many songs, which have been dictated to me by musicians," he said.

Stilwell said the spirits chose him as a medium because "for some reason it (was) easier to communicate through (him) than through others."

See haunted places in Southeast Texas that you can visit in the gallery above.

Southeast Texas Tales is a weekly feature that revisits regional history.
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The City of Port Arthur is in contract negotiations with its top choice to be police chief, a former Phoenix police officer who made $200,000 a year before he retired as an Arizona police chief earlier this year.

Patrick Melvin, who was recently offered the position, would replace retired Port Arthur chief Mark Blanton, who made about $100,000 a year.

Melvin, 51, listed his previous salary on a questionnaire he filled out for the city.

City Manager Brian McDougal said he would not comment on salary negotiations.

McDougal's hiring recommendation must be approved by City Council.

Councilwoman Tiffany Hamilton said she was impressed by the four candidates who were introduced at a Sept. 14 meet-and-greet.

Melvin stood out, she said.

He spent 21 years with the Phoenix Police Department before retiring in 2006. He went to work in Salt River, Arizona, to start the town's police department.

Melvin, who has a master's degree in education, previously was an assistant city manager.

"Mr. Melvin presented himself to be very intelligent and well-spoken," Hamilton said."His resume showed himself to be able to handle the position."

McDougal said 46 candidates applied for the position. He said three internal candidates applied, but were not selected as finalists.

McDougal said the minimum qualifications for candidates were 10 years' experience in law enforcement and a bachelor's degree.

The selection process has come with its share of critics.

Local attorney Langston Adams, a Port Arthur native, filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General after city officials failed to release a list of all the candidates recommended by an outside firm hired to conduct the search.

Adams has also questioned Melvin's decision to eliminate a successful gang task force at the Salt River Police Department.

Melvin retired from Salt River earlier this year after being placed on administrative leave, a move he has said was prompted by his interest in other jobs.

Melvin could not be reached for comment Friday.

In the questionnaire, applicants were asked how they would "implement unpopular but necessary change" and to detail a "major" career mistake.

Melvin, without naming the gang task force in Salt River, responded by noting he dismantled a specialty group that was effective and supported by both the community and policymakers.

He later reinstituted the specialty group and apologized.

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Murder-suicide is suspected in the shooting deaths of a Kerrville couple that included a city councilman who authorities say was the subject of active criminal investigation.

Kerrville Police say Place 3 Councilman Gary Stork and his wife Peggy were found dead from gunshot wounds to the head inside their Tanglewood Lane home about 8:30 p.m., Saturday.

The Storks, whose bodies were discovered by a neighbor, are believed to have been dead for about 24 hours.

"I was absolutely shocked and astounded," to learn of the deaths said Kerrville Mayor Bonnie White Sunday morning. "It's a tragedy for everyone."

The Storks were pronounced dead by Kerr County Justice of the Peace Mitzi French. French declined to divulge any information about the crime scene, but said the bodies would be sent Monday for autopsies.

The police news release said Stork was a suspect in an indecency with a child case over a July 4, 2016, incident and that the case was slated to be presented to a grand jury on Tuesday.

Stork was in his second term, re-elected in May.

White said she was unaware of the investigation.

Police labeled the deaths as suspected murder-suicide but did not indicate who may have been the shooter. A handgun was found near the bodies.

No other details about the complaint against Stork were included in the police statement on the deaths, and police did return calls Sunday morning.

Councilman Glenn Andrew was among those shocked to learn Sunday from the police statement that Stork was the subject of a criminal complaint.

"It's inconsistent with the the guy I know. Gary's a good guy," Andrew said. "Nobody's guilty until proven guilty."

He said news of the deaths and allegations about the late councilman had the community riveted. "It's just a horrible situation," Andrew said. "I feel sorry for all the families involved."
Mount Sinai Health System in New York City spends more than $1 million annually to manage and defend itself against third party recovery audit contractors.

James Jones, MD, Mount Sinai vice president of administration and senior medical director of clinical documentation quality and improvement, told RACmonitor the demand to keep up with audits is near impossible.

Dr. Jones said Mount Sinai receives between 200 and 250 audits from payers each month. Considering the full length of the audit life cycle, employees handle about 2,000 audits at any given time, Dr. Jones told RACmonitor.

Hospital systems across the country have faced similar problems. Medicare audits have ticked up 936 percent in the last five years as RACs deploy big data analytics tools to trawl through claims and target providers' vulnerabilities.

Managing the deluge is costly. Mount Sinai created a finance department specifically devoted to addressing and appealing third-party audits. Because many payers do not have secured electronic correspondence, the hospital must print, scan and mail each audited medical record to the payer.

"As you can imagine, a medical chart can be up to 300 pages," Dr. Jones told RACmonitor. "This comes as a significant cost to hospitals."

In the end, Mount Sinai's success rate for overturning audits is only about 20 percent, Dr. Jones said.

Dr. Jones is one of many hospital and healthcare advocates that have argued auditors' use of statistical analysis to downgrade medical claims does not account for the reality of the patient's condition or medical treatment. This can harm hospitals' bottom lines and the integrity of their clinical documentation.
Providence, R.I.-based Care New England Health System will settle alleged HIPAA violations stemming from a 2012 data breach at Woman & InfantsHospital. Care New England, the parent company of WIH, will pay $400,000 and adopt a corrective action plan.

WIH, also in Providence, notified HHS in November 2012 of the loss of unencrypted backup tapes containing ultrasound studies of about 14,000 individuals. The backup tapes included patient names, birth dates, exam dates, physician names and some Social Security numbers.

Care New England is deemed a business associate of WIH, as it provides centralized corporate technical support and information security for the hospital. According to the resolution agreement, WIH and CNE had a business associate agreement effective March 2005, but it was not updated until August 2015 following OCR's investigation into this data breach.

OCR's investigation found WIH disclosed protected health information to CNE and allowed CNE to create, receive, maintain and transmit PHI on its behalf without having "satisfactory assurances" required under HIPAA.

"This case illustrates the vital importance of reviewing and updating, as necessary, business associate agreements, especially in light of required revisions under the Omnibus Final Rule," said OCR Director Jocelyn Samuels.

This is the second HIPAA settlement stemming from this incidence. In 2014, WIH agreed to a $150,000 settlement with the Massachusetts attorney general's office for the incident. Given this settlement, OCR decided not to include additional civil money penalties in this settlement related to the lack of appropriate safeguards, as the state's AG sufficiently addressed them.

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This year's National Health IT week runs Sept. 26-30. President Barack Obama said the week is a chance to recommit to improving healthcare using technologies and pursuing innovation. To celebrate the accomplishments, and acknowledge the remaining hardships, here is a look back on health IT this year.

Here are 10 of the most-read health IT stories on Becker's Hospital Review of the year so far.

1. Hackers shut down Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center IT systems, demand $3.6M ransom

Hollywood (Calif.) Presbyterian Medical Center staff declared an internal emergency in February after hackers forced the hospital's IT systems offline, according to a statement from CEO Allen Stefanek. An anonymous physician from the hospital told NBC Los Angeles that the systems had been having trouble for a week, leaving departments to communicate via fax machine. Read more

2. 8 Epic EHR implementations with the biggest price tags in 2015

Investments in EHR systems are undoubtedly costly, but some implementations appear to carry more costs than others. Here are eight of the most costly Epic implementations in 2015. These are working numbers, with some systems having allotted the indicated amounts to implementation projects and others that have already completed installations. Read more

3. Loyalty rankings: Epic, MEDITECH clients feel 'trapped'; Cerner, athenahealth clients 'most loyal'

Epic and MEDITECH clients appear less satisfied with their vendor relationships than Cerner clients do, according to the 2016 Black Book Inpatient EHR Surveys. The surveys gathered responses between the second quarter of 2015 through the first quarter of 2016 from EHR users nationwide on their experience and satisfaction with their service providers. Read more

4. 25 quotes that show just how fed up physicians are with EHRs

More than half of the physicians who bill Medicare in the U.S. are currently being penalized 1 percent of their 2015 payments as a result of the meaningful use program, according to Steven J. Stack, MD, president of the American Medical Association. And many physicians are vocal about their grievances with EHRs. Read more

5. Mayo Clinic sells data center to Epic

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Epic Systems entered a $46 million sale-leaseback deal for the health system's 62,000 square-foot data center. Read more

6. US Coast guard terminates Epic contract

The U.S. Coast Guard terminated its EHR implementation contract with Verona, Wis.-based Epic Systems and reverted to using paper records. Read more

7. HIPAA confusion in Orlando

In the aftermath of the June 12 shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 dead and 53 wounded, area hospitals were filled with victims. Given the influx of patients, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer asked the White House to waive HIPAA regulations to allow hospitals to communicate with families of the victims. While HIPAA can be suspended during national emergencies, what Orlando officials sought in a HIPAA waiver  communicating with families  is already permitted under the privacy law. Read more

8. Down the rabbit hole at Epic: 9 key points from the Users Group Meeting

Close to 18,000 people gathered at Epic Systems' headquarters in Verona, Wis., the week of Sept. 19 for the vendor's annual Users Group Meeting. Hospital and health system leaders shared their experiences with Epic's platform, and Epic leaders discussed new developments and offerings in its software suite. This idea of collaborating to build on successes, and doing so with a humanitarian mindset, was the underlying theme of the executive address, delivered by Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner. Read more

9. Hours before NYC Health + Hospitals rolls out new EHR, CEO Dr. Ram Raju sets the record straight

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. Read more

10. 40 hospitals with innovation centers

As healthcare continues along its perpetual evolution, those in the industry are continually trying to get ahead of the curve and find solutions to the biggest issues facing patient care and delivery today. Increasingly, hospitals and health systems are making a commitment to innovation by establishing their own centers and institutes for innovation. Read more

More articles on health IT:

Boston Children's 2014 hacker explains why he did it

The best, worst states for EHR adoption, HIE, interoperability: 4 findings from ONC

FBI urges ransomware victims to report attacks to federal law enforcement
Patient identification failures continue to threaten patient safety in hospitals, and the issue partly stems from the growing complexity of healthcare.

The ECRI Institute conducted a deep dive into patient identification. The institute's patient safety organization analyzed 7,613 patient identification events  defined as near-miss events and events that reach the patient and may cause harm  voluntarily submitted by 181 healthcare organizations.

Their analysis found those 7,613 events resulted in 7,740 "failures," or errors associated with patient misidentification, as some of the events had more than one failure.

Examples of wrong-patient events include a patient in cardiac arrest who was not resuscitated because the care team pulled up the wrong patient's record who had a do-not-resuscitate order. A wrong meal tray was given to a patient who was not supposed to receive any food or fluids orally, and the patient choked when trying to eat the food. In another instance, two patients with the same first name were scheduled for cataract surgery, and one patient received the lens intended for the other patient.

"This is a huge problem that the general public isn't aware of," William Marella, executive director for operations and analytics at the ECRI Institute's Patient Safety Organization, told The Wall Street Journal. "Pretty much every clinician involved in your healthcare is at risk of making this kind of error."

The ECRI Institute's analysis found the majority of these failures occurred during patient encounters (72.3 percent) while 12.6 percent occurred during the intake process. More than half the failures involved diagnostic procedures (36.5 percent) or treatment (22.1 percent).

However, most events (91.4 percent) were caught before they caused any patient harm.

Two wrong-patient events were associated with patient deaths, according to ECRI.

The report also indicates 15 percent of events were associated with technology contributing to patient identification errors.

Hardeep Singh, MD, a patient safety researcher at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and associate professor medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, both in Houston, told WSJ the growing complexity of healthcare is contributing to a rise in patient identification errors.

"We're doing many more lab tests, more imaging tests, more procedures and more transitions through the system," Dr. Singh said. He advised on the report.

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Boston Children's 2014 hacker explains why he did it

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Here are four key thoughts on the biggest threat facing hospitals today.

Clint Matthews. President and CEO of Reading Health System (West Reading, Pa.): The shift to a value-based environment, combined with population health and managing a continuum of care, mandates that we provide the right care, at the right place, at the right time. Our continued investment in the infrastructure to meet this mandate  expanding access to primary and urgent care, investing in a surgical and patient care HealthPlex [a facility for comprehensive surgical and patient care] to accommodate what is projected to be the technology of the future while providing nationally recognized quality care today, expanding access to mental health care  is met with the reality of the challenge of changing behavior. For example, with 130,000 visits last year, Reading Hospital operates the busiest ED in Pennsylvania and one of the busiest single-site EDs in the country in spite of the system's efforts to expand access to primary care through innovative outreach programs like street medicine and a program to have paramedics serve as patient navigators to visit individuals at home, after their discharge, to follow up on their care.

Dave Schuette. Executive Vice President and President of the Enterprise Business Unit of Synchronoss, a managed mobility solutions company (Bridgewater, N.J.): A 2015 study published in the Journal of Hospital Librarianship estimated that 85 percent of healthcare professionals were bringing their own devices to work to utilize the company IT network and software. Clinicians securely access EHRs from bring-your-own devices or hospital-owned devices daily. To offer an example, a doctor with her own smartphone may discuss patient information with a colleague at one moment and check a personal email the next. It doesn't matter if we're referring to a 1,000-bed hospital or a single practitioner's office, the parameters for BYOD are the same. No matter who owns the device, the hospital or practice is responsible for the data on it and how it's used. If there's a liability, the hospital or practice is unfortunately accountable.

The financial ramifications alone give hospital executives pause given HIPAA regulations place tighter controls over protected health information with a hefty penalty of $1.5 million per data breach per incident. Additionally, data breaches involving lost or stolen smartphones and tablets that contain patient data would require the notification of each patient involved, a costly and labor-intensive task.



David Sholkovitz. Marketing Director of Cambridge Sound Management, developer of the QT Technology for sound masking (Waltham, Mass,): In today's medical offices, protecting patient privacy is critical and is enforced via strict HIPAA privacy regulations. Acoustics and sound privacy are often overlooked in open floor plan waiting areas and patient rooms where sound can easily travel over walls and through glass.

Daniel Cotter. Attorney at Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd (Chicago): Cybersecurity is the biggest threat currently facing hospitals. A review of the "Wall of Shame" provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights shows the increasing number of breaches affecting 500 or more individuals, many of the covered entities being hospitals. The OCR recently disclosed that it would now focus on smaller breaches as well, given the extensive frequency of cybersecurity breaches affecting the healthcare industry.

Are there other threats not listed here? We would love to include them. Please email your thoughts to Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com.
Minneapolis-based Allina Health and the union representing its striking nurses will return to the bargaining table Tuesday after being prompted by a federal mediator, according to a Star Tribune report.

The nurses, who are represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, began their second strike of the summer on Labor Day at five Minnesota hospitals  Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, United Hospital in St. Paul, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and Unity Hospital in Fridley. Negotiations between the two sides began in February, according to the article.

As of Friday night, a specific time and location for Tuesday's talks had not been determined.

A key sticking point in the dispute between Allina and its 4,800 nurses has been the nurses' health insurance.

Allina wanted to eliminate the nurses' union-backed health plans, which include high premiums but low or no deductibles, and move the nurses to its corporate plans, reports the Star Tribune. Allina has estimated that eliminating the nurses' union-backed health plans would save the health system $10 million per year.

The MNA eventually agreed to drop the union plans but sought some control of the policies and assurances that the benefit levels of the corporate plans would remain in tact, according to the Star Tribune. Allina didn't go for that idea, the publication states, and disputed the union's contention that its corporate plans are substandard.

The nurses could lose health insurance coverage if the open-ended walkout continues through Oct. 1, reports Pioneer Press. Allina spokesman David Kanihan noted in the report that now-striking nurses must work at least one shift before Oct. 1 if they want Allina to continue covering their share of the nurses' healthcare costs.

Meanwhile, Allina has claimed that more than 550 nurses have crossed picket lines, as well as temporary nurses and other medical professionals who have continued to work during the strike, according to the Star Tribune. The union has questioned those numbers.

The MNA has also set up a hardship fund of more than $4 million for nurses struggling with the loss of income during the walkout, according to the Star Tribune.

The latest strike is the second since an initial seven-day strike in June. The June strike cost Allina $20.4 million.

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The abrupt July closure of Renton, Wash.-based Seattle Pain Centers  an 8,000-patient pain management chain spanning eight locations  has pushed more than 1,500 patients into Washington emergency rooms, according to The Seattle Times.

The centers were closed after the medical license of Frank Li, MD, the center's medical director, was suspended for not properly monitoring opioid prescriptions, which may have been a factor in 18 deaths since 2010, according to the report.

Since the center's closure, the state Department of Health has not recorded any deaths from opioid withdrawal, though the agency is not always notified, according to the report. State records show the 1,500-patient uptick in Washington ERs was tracked between Aug. 17 and Sept. 18. However, the data does not include diagnoses, so Seattle Pain patients could have been seeking care unrelated to pain relief, according to the report.

The influx of patients appears stable for now, according to the report, though hospital officials told The Seattle Times the problem could swell next month when prescriptions from mid-July begin to expire.

Read the full report here.

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Paint chemicals cause mass evacuation of Nebraska Medical Center
Both the mayor of Miami-Dade County and the mayor of Miami Beach have accused the Florida Department of Health of instructing Miami officials to keep the locations of Zika-positive mosquito traps in Miami Beach confidential, according to the Miami Herald.

On Friday, during a court hearing for the Miami Herald's lawsuit against Miami-Dade, a county attorney said the state health department ordered county officials not to disclose the sites of traps in Miami Beach where mosquitoes with Zika have been captured. According to the Herald, the lawsuit seeks to disclose information regarding the mosquito traps on the grounds that public knowledge of the locations would inform precautionary measures taken by residents and add context to the community debate over whether to use the controversial insecticide naled in the fight against Zika carrying mosquitoes.

According to the Herald, the state health department denied the claim on Friday.

"The statements made by the county today are completely false," Mara Gambineri, a health department spokeswoman, told the Herald in an email. "At no time did the Florida Department of Health instruct Miami-Dade County to withhold the location of mosquito traps. This is solely the decision of the county."

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On Sunday, responding to the state department's denial of culpability, Carlos A. Gimenez, mayor of Miami-Dade County, said, "During multiple meetings, phone calls and conversations, officials from the Florida Department of Health explicitly stated to County officials that information identifying the addresses of traps containing mosquitoes positive for the Zika virus is confidential during active, ongoing epidemiological investigations. To protect the privacy of the residents living in areas where Zika-positive mosquito traps were found, the Florida Department of Health, on several occasions, instructed Miami-Dade County to maintain the confidentiality of the trap locations."

According to the Herald, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine corroborated Mayor Gimenez's statement. Mr. Levine said, "Mayor Gimenez is only doing what the state told him, his staff, me and my entire staff, specifically, that they would not permit the county to release the information on the locations."

In response to the Mayor's statements, Jennifer Meale, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture, told the Herald via email, "In consultation with the Department of Health, we believe the locations of the traps are exempt per 381.0031(6), F.S. [a state statute governing information gathering during epidemiological investigations]."

As of Sept. 23, there have been 95 cases of Zika in the state not associated with travel out of a total 874 documented cases, 90 of which have occurred in pregnant women, according to the Florida Department of Health. The Herald has previously speculated as to the accuracy of these numbers, suggesting the department has underreported the true impact of Zika on the state.

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A study published in The Spine Journal examines how the American Society of Anesthesiology classification system affects 30-day morbidity after single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

The researchers gathered data on 6,148 patients in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who underwent spinal fusion from 2011 to 2013. The researchers found:

1. Patients with an ASA greater than two reported higher incidence of comorbidities as well as postoperative complications that included:

 Pneumonia

 Unplanned intubation

 Ventilator-dependent for more than 48 hours

 CVA/stroke

 Catastrophic outcomes

 Airway complications

2. The researchers conducted a multivariable analysis with the propensity-score matched dataset and found there was an association between 30-day outcomes and ASA 3 or higher patients.

3. There wasn't an association between patients who were ASA 3 or higher and greater risk of complications that included pneumonia, unplanned intubation and airway complications.

4. The researchers concluded the "ASA classification allows simple assessment of patients' physiological status" but the overall perioperative risk factors should be considered to optimize ACDF outcomes.
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COLOGNE-The biggest obstacle to the availability of addressability in programmatic linear commercial television spots is the convergence of data, not technology, says Videologys John Tigg. As a result, so-called zero-rated TV spots represent lost revenue and profit opportunity for broadcasters.

Zero-rated spots are a byproduct of traditional panel-based television audience measurement wherein there isnt perceived to be sufficient audience behind a given spot for it to have value, according to Tigg, who is SVP, Enterprise Solutions, EMEA at Videology.

When you bring programmatic technology into the space, however, you can identify who that audience is and you can identify the person behind each individual spot, Tigg says in an interview with Beet.TV. If you can do that you can give it a value. Because suddenly you understand the audience.

There is an abundance of zero-rated inventory through both over-the-top channels and the traditional linear TV space. What programmatic technology can do is make that available for trading against audiences, and therefore theres an immediate revenue and margin opportunity for broadcasters to take hold of today, Tigg says.

A big misconception about addressable TV is that it is all about reaching niche audiences, Tigg says. Its about bringing data to much larger audiences and understanding the relationship between those audiences and outcomes for TV advertisers, he says.

In the United States, roadblocks to the growth of addressable TV often include the reluctance of individual media sellers to open up their inventory and the data surrounding it. There are other factors at play in Europe.

In each individual market, particularly across Europe, we see lots of different technology approaches to trying to make addressable TV a reality, Tigg says. We see one approach in the UK, we see a slightly different approach in France than we see in Germany.

While the UK has a very progressive attitude toward the collection and understanding of data and the application of data for advertising, Tigg explains, in markets like France, Germany and Netherlands there is a combination of local legislation that makes it very difficult or very complex for broadcasters to both collect data and use it.

The existence of differing technologies and regulations makes the process of creating standards around addressability that much more difficult for broadcasters, Tigg says.

This interview was taped at DMEXCO 16. It is part of a video series of industry leaders. The series is sponsored by Videology. For more Beet.TV coverage of DMEXCO, please visit this page.
COLOGNE-Most newspaper publishers might be satisfied with regularly selling out their digital video inventory via good old-fashioned direct sales, particularly if theyve managed to survive for well over 100 years. Nonetheless, Italys RCS MediaGroup sees the importance of programmatic sales to help monetize video content in a rapidly changing media landscape, said Simone Branca, Head of Marketing, Digital Advertising.

It doesnt matter the channel you want to use to buy my inventory, Branca said in an interview with Beet.TV. We have to be flexible to be able to provide you the solution you need in this moment.

Two major digital and offline properties of RCSthe leading newspaper publisher in Italy and Spainare Corriere della Sera (founded in 1876) and La Gazzetta dello Sport (1896). We are used to being sold out every week, said Branca of his video inventory.

But at the same time, the landscape is changing very quickly and we are trying to integrate in a very efficient way a programmatic strategy to monetize as best as possible our video inventory, Branca added.

As part of its programmatic rollout, RCS contracted with StickyADS.tv just under three years ago. The results to date, according to Branca, have been very, very positive, enabling the publisher to become increasingly sophisticated about its products and solutions.

In the Italian CPM hierarchy, RCS is at the top of the chain, Branca explained. What were trying to do is avoid overlapping between the two channels, programmatic and direct, he said, while keeping pricing aligned.

Branca is hoping that more advances in technology will make ad serving across devices more seamless and enable him to better follow his audiences, although he believes its important to remember that Simone Branca is always one brand. It doesnt matter the device hes using at the moment.

We spoke with Branca at the recent FreeWheel European summit in Cologne presented along with StickyAds.tv. Please visit this page for additional videos from Beets coverage.
Larry Broderick, general secretary of the Financial Services Union, has described Bank of Ireland's decision to close 20% of its Northern Ireland branch network as a "retrograde step"

Concerns over the planned closure of rural bank branches in Northern Ireland will be brought before the Assembly today.

The motion, tabled by the SDLP, states that "this Assembly is extremely concerned at the number of bank branches that are being closed in rural areas" and that it "is alarmed that large rural areas are without access to a local bank branch".

The motion calls on Economy Minister Simon Hamilton to "intervene meaningfully and encourage the banking sector to maintain a strong network of rural bank branches and to safeguard the existing bank branches within these communities from closure".

It comes after Bank of Ireland announced it will shut eight branches.

Earlier this month, First Minister Arlene Foster told Bank of Ireland it was "wrong" to pull out of Belleek in Co Fermanagh.

The DUP leader made her remark during a visit to Belleek to mark the end of a five-day protest against the branch's closure.

More than 7,000 signatures have been gathered on a petition calling on the bank to reconsider a decision made in July that has sparked fury in a village on the Donegal border.

The new motion says it "recognises the limitations of many of the alternatives, such as mobile and internet banking, and the Post Office" but "believes that the provision of accessible banking is an integral part of social inclusion, with a particular impact on the elderly, notes the negative economic impact bank closures have on small businesses and on future investment opportunities".

Larry Broderick, general secretary of the Financial Services Union (FSU) said: "The recent decision by Bank of Ireland to close over 20% of its Northern Ireland branch network is a retrograde step which will deny some rural communities access to basic banking services.

"Negotiations between the FSU and Bank of Ireland are ongoing, but the proposals have raised a wider issue with implications for the sustainability of rural communities and businesses.

"The FSU has been engaging with local politicians to help address the problem of communities losing access to banking services. The issue needs to be tackled strategically and the banking industry has a responsibility to work collectively."
Britain will be able to keep access to the EU's single market when it leaves the bloc only if it continues to allow other citizens to work in the UK, it has been said

The prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic have said Britain will be able to keep access to the European Union's single market when it leaves the bloc only if it continues to allow its citizens to work in the UK.

Robert Fico and Bohuslav Sobotka made the statement after their meeting in the Slovak capital.

Standing side by side, they said they "can't imagine" their citizens would not be treated equally.

Mr Fico, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said Slovakia "will fight hard" for some 70,000 Slovak citizens' rights in Britain.

Mr Sobotka said it is necessary for the EU to stand united in negotiations for the future cooperation with Britain.

Britons voted in a referendum in June to leave the EU.

AP
The three-day International Energy Forum will bring together key members of Opec and major non-Opec crude producers

Major oil producers are set to gather in Algiers this week, raising hopes of a potential supply deal that could support floundering crude prices.

The three-day International Energy Forum will bring together key m embers of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) including Saudi Arabia, and major non-Opec crude producers like Russia.

Experts have speculated that the cartel's members could agree to freeze or cut production levels in order to cap supply and ultimately boost oil prices, which have dropped dramatically over the past two years.

The price of global benchmark Brent crude has plunged 60%, falling from its June 2014 peak of 114 US dollars per barrel to around 46 US dollars per barrel.

"It's well known Opec members are facing huge revenue shortfalls and they need to agree a co-ordinated cut in production. We expect the oil prices to recover if such an outcome is agreed by all the members," Mihir Kapadia, Sun Global Investments CEO, said.

However, experts are pessimistic that Opec will finally strike a deal.

"Given that Opec has failed to agree much of anything in the last 12 months, it seems unlikely that it will start now, though it could kick the oil barrel towards the November meeting," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said.

Opec currently consists of 14 member states, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates.

Oil prices fell on Friday following a report that Saudi Arabia had offered to cut its output on the condition that Iran freezes production levels, but did not expect a supply decision to be made in Algiers.

Saudi Arabia has been seen as a major roadblock towards a supply deal, with analysts speculating that the country is trying to squeeze out new producers in a bid to maintain market share.

"Considering Saudi Arabia's production levels continue to rise to record levels since the beginning of the year, we believe that the possibility of such an agreement is low," Mr Kapadia explained.

The 15th annual International Energy Forum runs from Monday, September 26 to Wednesday, September 28.
Monarch said it was 'trading well' and expected to make 40 million before tax and other deductions by the end of the financial year to October

The owner of Monarch Airlines is in talks with several interested parties about a potential takeover of the carrier as it prepares to throw it a multimillion-pound lifeline.

Greybull Capital is understood to be in discussions with Chinese firm HNA Group, the company behind Hainan Airlines, about a potential deal, with others thought to be waiting in the wings.

Monarch was forced to deny "negative speculation" over the weekend that it is in financial trouble, and sources close to the situation confirmed that the airline is in no immediate danger of going bust.

A spokesman for Monarch said: "Over the weekend, there has been negative speculation about Monarch's financial health. Our flights are operating as normal, carrying Monarch passengers as scheduled.

"To weather tougher market conditions and to fund its ongoing growth, Monarch expects to announce a significant investment from its stakeholders in the coming days."

The spokesman added that the airline is "trading well" despite the "difficult period for the holiday industry" due to terror attacks, Brexit and the weakening of sterling.

Greybull, which acquired a controlling stake in Monarch in 2014, is thought to be finalising details of a cash injection over the coming days. Part of the money is expected to go towards helping pay for a new fleet of 30 Boeing MAX 8s.

The firm booked a 19.2 million pre-tax profit in the 12 months to the end of October 2015 following a 57.3 million loss a year earlier, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

But aviation analyst Alex Macheras told the Press Association: "Out of all the carriers we have in the UK it wouldn't surprise me if Monarch were to declare bankruptcy, purely because we've known that they've been in such a fragile state for so long.

"Even up until June, just a couple of months ago, they wanted to reiterate the fact that they are still in desperate times despite the profit that they're making."

Air industry consultant John Strickland believed it is unlikely that an airline would go bust in September.

He said: "It's pretty unusual that it would be in the peak summer season when traffic volumes are good, revenue flows should be pretty good and cash flows too.

"It's not the depths of February when people are not going on holiday."

Mr Strickland said the statement issued by Monarch "makes sense".

He went on: "It has been a challenging market and it's certainly a very competitive market.

"Many of the markets that they would have been active in and previously wanting to count on, like Turkey and Egypt, are now off limits because of terrorism scares."

Monarch, which has its headquarters at Luton Airport, employs around 2,800 people.
More than 900 passengers have given money to support a legal case against the Government's handling of the Southern Railway franchise.

The Association of British Commuters has raised almost 18,000 towards a target of 25,000 to seek a judicial review of the award of a contract to Southern's owners Govia Thameslink Railway.

Southern services have been disrupted for months because of a long running dispute over the role of conductors and staff shortages.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union is planning a wave of 14 days of strikes from October to December.

Lawyers acting for the commuter group have written to the Department for Transport requesting documents about the Govia agreement.

The group claimed its requests have not been granted.

A statement said: "We have been delighted with the public response to our campaign.

"What has been extremely disappointing, however, is the Department for Transport's failure to engage with us.

"We have asked the most straightforward of questions and have been met, firstly with two weeks of silence, and now with a further delay whilst they consider whether to lift the lid on the franchise. This conduct just underlines the fact that judicial review is the only option available to us."

Emily Yates, campaign co-ordinator for the group, said: "We are very disappointed that the Department for Transport has failed to reveal documents that we feel the public urgently need to see, considering the catastrophic state of rail travel in the South.

" It is hard to understand why they cannot be transparent about their dealings with a private company that is failing on such an unprecedented scale."

Summer Dean, another spokeswoman, added: "If there's nothing to hide, why not reveal these documents, which form the area of the whole Govia fiasco that most urgently needs clarifying. We cannot see any justification for the DfT continuing to conceal this vital information, and call on all our supporters to help us in taking our application for judicial review forward."

The group is planning to stage a protest at London's Victoria station on Thursday.
The Linenhall Hotel will be based at the Scottish Mutual building

Work on a new 13m boutique hotel for Belfast has been delayed by months and can't continue until the building's last remaining tenant moves out, it can be revealed.

The new 80-bedroom hotel at the Scottish Mutual building on Bedford Street was due to open its doors this autumn.

And while work began on stripping out the interior in September last year, it has stalled in the last few months

It's understood Nationwide was originally due to move out of the building this summer.

But the building society is still based at the ground floor, and is not due to move out until early in December.

A spokesperson for Nationwide said: "Our priority has been to continue providing a service to our customers from our branch on Bedford Street and, as such, we have agreed through our legal agents to remain in the building until our lease expires at the end of the year.

"We are committed to investing in Belfast and plans are under way for our new branch in Donegall Square."

It's believed developers cannot start key digging and work on the ground floor and basement until Nationwide moves out.

The building society is due to move into the former Karen Millen store, at nearby Donegall Square. Work is also still ongoing on that new premises.

The hotel is the brainchild of the Ballymena-based Hill family, which owns the Galgorm Resort & Spa.

Revised plans for the hotel, which is now due to be called The Linenhall, include a total of 80 bedrooms, two bars, a restaurant and banquet hall.

Once Nationwide leaves, work is expected to begin some time in January.

That will include stonework, windows, a rework of the roof, and work on the basement.

The hotel was due to be opened in autumn this year, but a series of delays have hit progress on the top-end city centre building.

In 2014, it was one of the first listed building projects to be hit by a grant freeze - leaving a shortfall in the project's funding.

It had hoped for more than 500,000 towards the project.

The new hotel will compete with several new developments in the city, including the nearby Grand Central Hotel, which is a new 200-bedroom hotel run by the Hastings Hotels group at the 23-storey Windsor House building on Bedford Street.

The Scottish Mutual building was bought by the Hill family in 2013, after it was put on the market for 2m by the Republic's 'bad bank' Nama. The Hill family also opened a new restaurant - Fratelli - in Belfast towards the end of 2014.

Speaking about the development, Adrian Lambe of architects Douglas Wallace, told the Belfast Telegraph last year that the developers are "leaving as much in as possible" of the listed building's original fixtures and fittings.

"There are original tiles and art nouveau details, and we will leave as much as we can. That makes it interesting," he said.

And while still in the design process at that stage, Mr Lambe said it would be based on other popular 'boutique' hotels in cities such as New York and London.

And he said the team will be involved in "a lot of conservation" work.
Actor Matthew McConaughey says he is considering a return to romantic comedies despite his recent success in more serious roles.

The Oscar-winner appeared in a string of "rom-coms" in the previous decade including The Wedding Planner and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, that received mixed reviews.

But he won critical acclaim for his performance in the drama Dallas Buyers Club, for which he won the Academy Award for best actor in 2014, and his starring role in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi blockbuster Interstellar.

McConaughey, who plays American Civil War fighter Newton Knight in the new film Free State Of Jones, described his earlier romantic comedy roles as "Saturday characters".

He told the Press Association."Obviously Free State Of Jones isn't a Saturday character. It's a Monday morning, go to work character.

"But I'm open to that in the future. I'm looking for some comedy right now."

McConaughey, 46, said he was initially reluctant to star in a civil war film but the movie's theme of racial inequality remained relevant today.

He said: "Other films that have been set in the Civil War I've seen, I didn't love them, they didn't stick with me. I didn't find current relevance in them.

"This one came along and I told the director, 'It's not a time in American history I'm really turned on by, but let me have a look'.

"I read it and I was completely entertained by the script and I was like, 'Boy, this lives as fiction but it's non-fiction. It's true'. That was the cherry on top."

He added: "There are a lot of issues in this story that are front and centre today. No doubt."

Free State Of Jones is released in UK cinemas on Friday.
It may sound like an unlikely musical collaboration and the ultimate clash of styles - but Northern Ireland's singing clergymen The Priests have revealed they want to perform with Lady Gaga.

The multi-platinum selling trio - brothers Fr Eugene and Fr Martin O'Hagan from Londonderry and Fr David Delargy from Ballymena - said their biggest musical ambition is to belt out hymns with the racy New York pop icon, insisting it would be a "wonderful meeting of minds".

Fr Eugene said: "Lady Gaga is a fantastic artist and performer. She's very unpredictable.

"Music opens a world of possibilities and if we ever got the chance to sing with her I hope we would do so harmoniously.

"She's a fantastic musician and we respect her greatly."

Crooning sibling Fr Martin admitted he was entranced by the 30-year-old Perfect Illusion hit-maker the first time he heard her sing.

He said: "She did something from The Sound of Music and that was pretty much the first thing I ever heard. I was so intrigued. I thought, 'Oh my goodness, she is capable of singing so wonderfully'. I think it would be a wonderful meeting of minds if we got the opportunity."

The classical music sensations, who are all full-time clergymen, also revealed that moves are still under way to make a Hollywood movie about their lives.

Progress on the film, which will be called Raising The Roof, has been slow since it was first announced almost five years ago.

But in an interview with The Catholic Universe, Fr Martin admitted fans could be waiting some time before the project - which has yet to attract a major production company - reaches the silver screen.

He said: "Raising The Roof is a distinct possibility, but you know how pipelines can be? They can be extremely long.

"And at the moment, it's somewhere in the pipeline."

Meanwhile, the talented trio - whose first album in 2008 sold more than three million copies, making it the fastest-selling classical debut of all time - will release their fourth studio album next month. They will also take temporary leave of their parishes in November for a string of live dates, which will include US performances, and two concerts in Londonderry and Belfast shortly before Christmas.
The Ulster Orchestra made the best possible start to its 50th anniversary season on Friday with the announcement that their star principal conductor Rafael Payare has agreed to a further two-year extension of his contract, with the title of music director.

The other good news at Friday's concert to a packed Ulster Hall was that Rafael's wife, the world-class American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, was performing the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No 2.

Her virtuosity shone in this sombre piece which was the gateway to the composer's last period of his difficult artistic life, and she brought out all the beauty and the lyricism amid the bleakness of this work.

The Ulster Orchestra's backing was also superb.

The soloist was given sustained waves of applause and clearly there is a special chemistry between Alisa Weilerstein and the Ulster audience.

There is also a remarkable chemistry between Rafael Payare and the Ulster Orchestra, a point he stressed in his excellent pre-concert talk with his wife, and the orchestra's MD Richard Wigley, who asked all the right questions.

The finale was Rakhmaninov's much-treasured Second Symphony, and the entire orchestra excelled in this magnificent showpiece which thundered to its memorable conclusion, to more sustained applause.

This was a brilliant start to a special year.

The old joy and panache of the orchestra is back, and tickets are like gold dust for next Friday's 50th anniversary concert with our own much-treasured Barry Douglas playing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1.

On Wednesday, the orchestra will mark its anniversary by playing 50 mini-concerts in and around Belfast.
Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Twaddell residents at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Please note this image has been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise see image _16 for correct positioning Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Police officers escorting members of the Ardoyne community to Brompton park at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester sheltering from the rain at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nigel Dodds at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a police office asleep in the back of a jeep at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nelson McCausland at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Orange Order members by barricades ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the 'Twelfth' Night 2015. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the evening of the Twelfth 2015 in Belfast Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade DUB Councillor Brian Kinston tries to restore order as police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Residents board up their houses after loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A loyalist dances on top of PSNI land droves after they broke through the barriers which had be put in place. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Nationalists jostle with police officers after an alleged loyalist car drove over a young girl trapping her underneath as it reveresed at high speed on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and taunts police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and throws a set of step ladders at police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Police clash with bystanders after a car is driven into a crowd outside Ardoyne shops, trapping a girl underneath the car in north Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 2015.

Flashback - July 13, 2015 - A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her.

The most senior man in the Church of England the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has welcomed the agreement over the north Belfast parading dispute.

A deal was struck between the Orange Order and nationalist residents on Friday to end the long-running dispute over a banned march past the Ardoyne shop fronts.

As well as the British and Irish governments there has been widespread support for the agreement.

In response to the agreement the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, joined with the Archbishop of Armagh, Richard Clarke, to express their support for the "significant initiative".

He said: "We have been aware that various people and groups have been working hard to reach an agreement which would bring to an end the parading standoff in north Belfast, a part of the city which has borne economic hardship and carries a heavy legacy from the Troubles.

"The news of this agreement is to be warmly welcomed and we commend all who have taken risks and found a way to serve the common good in the journey towards a peaceful and reconciled future.

"Our prayers and continued support are with those who now carry responsibility for making it work."

The parading dispute has been ongoing since 2013 when Orangemen were banned by the Parades Commission from marching past Ardoyne on their way home from that year's Twelfth of July demonstrations. Violence flared and loyalist protesters set up camp at nearby Twaddell Avenue. They vowed to stay until Orangemen were allowed to complete the journey.

If approved by the Parades Commission, the Orange Order will complete the return leg of the parade along the Crumlin Road on the morning of Saturday, October 1.

After the parade takes place, the protest camp at Twaddell Avenue will be disbanded and the Orange Order will not apply to make the return leg on the Twelfth without agreement.

Expand Close The Archbishop of Canterbury offered his prayers and support to those involved. / Facebook

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The dissident republican group GARC have threatened to wreck the agreement and launch a mass demonstration on the Crumlin Road in opposition to the parade. However, GARC's threats have not caused much concern amongst police, the Orange Order or residents.
Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Twaddell residents at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Please note this image has been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise see image _16 for correct positioning Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Police officers escorting members of the Ardoyne community to Brompton park at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester sheltering from the rain at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nigel Dodds at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a police office asleep in the back of a jeep at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nelson McCausland at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Orange Order members by barricades ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the 'Twelfth' Night 2015. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the evening of the Twelfth 2015 in Belfast Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade DUB Councillor Brian Kinston tries to restore order as police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Residents board up their houses after loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A loyalist dances on top of PSNI land droves after they broke through the barriers which had be put in place. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Nationalists jostle with police officers after an alleged loyalist car drove over a young girl trapping her underneath as it reveresed at high speed on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and taunts police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and throws a set of step ladders at police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Police clash with bystanders after a car is driven into a crowd outside Ardoyne shops, trapping a girl underneath the car in north Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 2015.

Flashback - July 13, 2015 - A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her.

The Parades Commission could struggle to give the go-ahead for the agreed Orange Order parade in north Belfast on Saturday due to time restraints, it has been warned.

A deal was struck between the Orange Order and nationalist residents on Friday to end the long-running dispute over a banned march past the Ardoyne shop fronts. Last night, however, the Parades Commission had still not received any application for Saturday morning's proposed march.

Due to the short notice there is serious concern that the Parades Commission may not be able reach a determination in time.

"It is in everyone's best interest to get this parade through. But it is going to be really tight for a parade for Saturday," a source close to the negotiations told the Belfast Telegraph.

"An application really needs to be with the Parades Commission (by Monday) to allow time for an emergency meeting. The pressure will be on to get this through in time as the Parades Commission has a number of procedures to follow. If those procedures are not followed there is a risk that judicial review proceedings could be taken against the commission's determination.

"Once an application has been received the Parades Commission has to contact all interested parties and their views have to be considered. GARC (Greater Ardoyne Residents Coalition) will want to make representations. The Parades Commission has to follow procedures and give interested parties time to respond and give the parade organiser time to review the decision. It will be a big rush but I really hope it can be done," the source added.

The north Belfast parading dispute has been ongoing since 2013 when Orangemen were banned by the Parades Commission from marching past Ardoyne on their way home from that year's Twelfth of July demonstrations. Violence flared and loyalist protesters set up camp at nearby Twaddell Avenue. They vowed to stay until Orangemen were allowed to complete the journey.

Following months of negotiations an agreement was reached on Friday between the Orange Order and the nationalist residents' group Cara (Crumlin Ardoyne Residents Association) that will allow Orangemen to march along the contested route past Ardoyne shop fronts. The deal was brokered by the Reverend Harold Good and Londoderry businessman Jim Roddy.

If approved by the Parades Commission, the Orange Order will complete the return leg of the parade along the Crumlin Road on the morning of Saturday, October 1.

After the parade takes place, the protest camp at Twaddell Avenue will be disbanded and the Orange Order will not apply to make the return leg on the Twelfth without agreement.

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Pic Bill Smyth Flashback - July 13, 2015 - A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Police clash with bystanders after a car is driven into a crowd outside Ardoyne shops, trapping a girl underneath the car in north Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 2015. AFP/Getty Images Police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kevin Scott / Presseye Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and throws a set of step ladders at police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and taunts police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Nationalists jostle with police officers after an alleged loyalist car drove over a young girl trapping her underneath as it reveresed at high speed on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A loyalist dances on top of PSNI land droves after they broke through the barriers which had be put in place. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Residents board up their houses after loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade DUB Councillor Brian Kinston tries to restore order as police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the evening of the Twelfth 2015 in Belfast Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the 'Twelfth' Night 2015. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Orange Order members by barricades ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Heavy police presence in north Belfast ahead of return parade Pic Deborah McAleese @DeborahMcAleese Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nelson McCausland at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a police office asleep in the back of a jeep at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nigel Dodds at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester sheltering from the rain at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Police officers escorting members of the Ardoyne community to Brompton park at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Please note this image has been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise see image _16 for correct positioning Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Twaddell residents at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye / Facebook

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Whatsapp A senior police officer was hit by a lump of masonry that "effectively severed his ear" as trouble flared on Woodvale Road, north Belfast. Pic Bill Smyth

The dissident republican group GARC have threatened to wreck the agreement and launch a mass demonstration on the Crumlin Road in opposition to the parade. However, GARC's threats have not caused much concern amongst police, the Orange Order or residents.

"Within the whole Ardoyne area GARC have created a lot of enemies. They say they speak for everyone, but they only have a small number of members. They will protest, but Cara is the voice of the majority of residents, not GARC. At the minute, their talk is just a lot of bluster," a source close to the deal said.

The deal has been praised by politicians from across the political divide, police and the Orange Order. First Minister Arlene Foster said it is a "significant step".

"We want to build a future that is respectful, inclusive and vibrant. Northern Ireland can have a very bright future built on respect and celebration of diversity," Mrs Foster added.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: "We must resolve disagreements regarding parades, identity, culture and tradition through dialogue so that difference is celebrated and respected."

Belfast Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Chris Noble said he and his officers are looking forward to stepping back from the significant policing operation that has been ongoing for some time in the area.

However, the SDLP's Nichola Mallon said that while the deal can be welcomed now, "previous experience over many years warrants an air of caution".

She added: "The success of this deal can only be judged in the long term."

DUP MP Nigel Dodds said it remains to be seen "whether the problems created by the Parades Commission and the intolerance of the unionist identity can be tackled in the long run."
Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Twaddell residents at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Please note this image has been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise see image _16 for correct positioning Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Police officers escorting members of the Ardoyne community to Brompton park at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester sheltering from the rain at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nigel Dodds at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a police office asleep in the back of a jeep at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nelson McCausland at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Orange Order members by barricades ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the 'Twelfth' Night 2015. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the evening of the Twelfth 2015 in Belfast Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade DUB Councillor Brian Kinston tries to restore order as police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Residents board up their houses after loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A loyalist dances on top of PSNI land droves after they broke through the barriers which had be put in place. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Nationalists jostle with police officers after an alleged loyalist car drove over a young girl trapping her underneath as it reveresed at high speed on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and taunts police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and throws a set of step ladders at police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye

Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Police clash with bystanders after a car is driven into a crowd outside Ardoyne shops, trapping a girl underneath the car in north Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 2015.

Flashback - July 13, 2015 - A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her.

The three Orange Order lodges at the centre of the long-running north Belfast parading dispute have applied for their 2013 parade for this Saturday following last week's agreement.

A deal was struck between the Orange Order and nationalist residents on Friday to end the dispute over a banned march past the Ardoyne shop fronts.

The matter has now been put before the Parades Commission to make its determination.

They should learn the outcome of the determination on Wednesday.

In its application to the commission the Ligoniel Combine has applied for a 8.30am parade along the Woodvale Road and Crumlin Road to Ligoniel Orange Hall.

They state there will be two bands involved - the Pride of Ardoyne Flute Band and North Belfast Young Loyalists Flute Band - and 250 participants.

It is not known how many supporters will be in attendance.

The application is deemed as sensitive and late, by the commission.

The Parades Commission has said it will consider the matter on Tuesday, September 27 and will publish its determination on Wednesday.

A spokesman said: "The commission has received notification for a parade this Saturday (Oct 1) by the Ligoniel combine.

"The commission will consider the notification on Tuesday, September 27 with a view to reaching and publicising its decision on Wednesday, September 28."

Should it be given the go-ahead, the protest camp at Twaddell Avenue will be disbanded and the Orange Order will not apply to make the return leg on the Twelfth without local agreement after the parade on Saturday.

A community forum will also be established to build better relations among all those who share the part of the Crumlin Road concerned.

The dissident republican group GARC have threatened to hold a mass demonstration on the Crumlin Road in opposition to the parade. However, GARC's threats have not caused much concern amongst police, the Orange Order or residents.

Since 2013 the Parades Commission has prevented the annual Twelfth return parade past the Ardoyne shop fronts.

In response the three Ligoniel lodges involved established a camp at Twaddell Avenue and held nightly protests over the determination.

The flashpoint has previously witnessed serious loyalist and republican rioting when tensions boiled over.

Dissident republicans had also used the nightly gathering of police in the area to target officers.

The bill for policing the standoff was in excess of 21m.

As well as the British and Irish governments there has been widespread support for the agreement reached.

The deal has been praised by politicians from across the political divide, police and the Orange Order. First Minister Arlene Foster said it is a "significant step".

"We want to build a future that is respectful, inclusive and vibrant. Northern Ireland can have a very bright future built on respect and celebration of diversity," Mrs Foster added.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: "We must resolve disagreements regarding parades, identity, culture and tradition through dialogue so that difference is celebrated and respected."

Belfast Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Chris Noble said he and his officers are looking forward to stepping back from the significant policing operation that has been ongoing for some time in the area.

However, the SDLP's Nichola Mallon said that while the deal can be welcomed now, "previous experience over many years warrants an air of caution".

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Pic Bill Smyth Flashback - July 13, 2015 - A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Police clash with bystanders after a car is driven into a crowd outside Ardoyne shops, trapping a girl underneath the car in north Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 13, 2015. AFP/Getty Images Police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kevin Scott / Presseye Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and throws a set of step ladders at police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: A Loyalist breaks through a police barrier and taunts police officers as Orangemen are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Loyalists break through a police barrier as they are prevented from progressing on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 13: Nationalists jostle with police officers after an alleged loyalist car drove over a young girl trapping her underneath as it reveresed at high speed on the return journey towards the controversial Ardoyne flashpoint the Twelfth of July parade on July 13, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is an Ulster Protestant celebration held annually. It celebrates the victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland at that time. This year the Twelfth takes place on the thirteenth of July due to the original date falling on a Sunday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A loyalist dances on top of PSNI land droves after they broke through the barriers which had be put in place. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists at barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Residents board up their houses after loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. Loyalists break down barriers put down by the PSNI on Woodvale Road and throw missiles at the police. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade DUB Councillor Brian Kinston tries to restore order as police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Trouble flares on Woodvale Road as a north Belfast Orange Order feeder parade is stopped from continuing their parade past the Ardoyne shops. The Parades Commission put the restriction on the parade a number of years ago. A young girl lies injured on the ground after a car drove into the crowd in front of the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast. PSNI officers had to tip the car to get to her. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the evening of the Twelfth 2015 in Belfast Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road on the 'Twelfth' Night 2015. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/07/2015 Loyalist bandsmen and their supporters clash with PSNI riot police at the top of the Woodvale Road this evening. Bottles and bricks have been thrown at police lines when marchers were prevented from returning along the Ardoyne/Crumlin road this evening. Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Orange Order members by barricades ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protestors gather ahead of a parade on Woodvale Road, north Belfast as part of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, marking the victory of King William III's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 13, 2015. See PA story ULSTER Twelfh. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Woodvale Parade Pictured is police riot officers dealing with violence at the Orange order parade as it reaches its stopping point on the Woodvale road in North Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Heavy police presence in north Belfast ahead of return parade Pic Deborah McAleese @DeborahMcAleese Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Republican Dee Fennell(centre) at the protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Nationalist protest and heavy police presence at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast as an Orange Order feeder parade makes its way to the City Centre for the main 12th of July parade. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nelson McCausland at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a police office asleep in the back of a jeep at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Nigel Dodds at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester sheltering from the rain at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Police officers escorting members of the Ardoyne community to Brompton park at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is a protester at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast Members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Photography - Northern Ireland - 13th July 2015 Orange parade at Ardoyne, North Belfast PSNI officers on duty as members of the Orange Order and marchers parade along the Crumlin Road at Ardoyne shops in North Belfast as protestors and members of Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) protest against the parade. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Please note this image has been rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise see image _16 for correct positioning Pictured is a protester lying on his back at police lines at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast - Northern Ireland - Monday 13th July 2015 - Ardoyne Parade Outward Pictured is Twaddell residents at the Orange order parade and its associated protests as it makes its way past the flashpoint of the Ardoyne Shopfront in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Picture by Kevin Scott / Presseye. Kevin Scott / Presseye / Facebook

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Whatsapp A senior police officer was hit by a lump of masonry that "effectively severed his ear" as trouble flared on Woodvale Road, north Belfast. Pic Bill Smyth

She added: "The success of this deal can only be judged in the long term."

DUP MP Nigel Dodds said it remains to be seen "whether the problems created by the Parades Commission and the intolerance of the unionist identity can be tackled in the long run."
Colin Duffy at the Saoradh press launch in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry

A new dissident republican political party launched at the weekend has opened an office in the heart of west Belfast.

Saoradh - which is Irish for 'liberation' - is supported by New IRA prisoners and will operate from premises on the Falls Road.

Around 150 people, including prominent Lurgan dissident, Colin Duffy, attended its first ard fheis in Newry on Saturday.

Recently released New IRA prisoner, Sharon Girvan, from Pomeroy, was also present.

The party's chairman is former Tyrone IRA prisoner, Davy Jordan (45), who is currently out on bail on charges of attempting to kill a PSNI officer.

In a sideswipe at Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, who has led his party for 33 years, Mr Jordan said: "I've no desire to sit as your chair for longer than is necessary.

"The Irish habit of following the personality rather than principles has been disastrous for political movements."

Mr Jordan claimed that the term republican had been "hijacked" to refer to "counter-revolutionaries administering British rule".

He described those "in the pay of our nation's oppressor" as "false prophets who have been defeated and consumed by the very system they claim to oppose".

He added that nationalist working-class areas were plagued by deprivation which Sinn Fein was failing to tackle. Those "who claim the legacy of Bobby Sands" were helping to administer a poverty programme "at the behest of the very Tory party responsible for his death", he alleged.

Mr Jordan denounced the PSNI and intelligence services for "enforcing British rule".

He continued: "We won't be brow-beaten.

"The croppies will not lie down, and we will not back down.

"Saoradh is up for the fight, up for challenging those agencies and their apologists within our communities."

A Palestinian speaker, Issam Hijjawi, also addressed the ard fheis.

There was no visible security force presence outside.
UUP leader Mike Nesbitt joined other parties criticising the DUP warning over a further Nama inquiry

Claims that a fresh Stormont inquiry into the Nama controversy would prejudice criminal investigations have been branded a smokescreen designed to thwart accountability.

Opposition parties heavily criticised a DUP warning over a further Finance Committee probe as the Assembly debated the furore surrounding Northern Ireland's largest ever property deal.

The DUP's partners in power sharing, Sinn Fein, also questioned the worth of a renewed committee inquiry, and the parties combined to successfully pass an amendment to an Ulster Unionist motion that removed reference to the call for a new probe by MLAs.

Allegations of wrongdoing surrounding the 1.2 billion deal between Nama - the Republic of Ireland's "bad bank" set up to dispose of bailed out lenders' higher risk loans - and US investment giant Cerberus are currently subject to an investigation by the UK's National Criminal Agency (NCA) and authorities in the Republic of Ireland and the US.

The UUP and fellow official Opposition party the SDLP were scathing on the stance of the Assembly's two main parties.

UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said: "There is an NCA investigation, which is an investigation - it is not a convenient excuse to ignore the will of this House."

The SDLP's Alex Attwood railed against the DUP for labelling the call for further Stormont scrutiny as "bizarre and perverse".

"The words perverse and bizarre are a smokescreen to deny accountability and let's be very clear about it," he said.

"Let not this chamber allow a smokescreen be sent out in relation to this matter through the voices of the DUP."

The 2014 sale of Nama's 800 Northern Ireland property assets has been dogged by controversy since 7 million linked to it was found in an Isle of Man bank account.

Subsequently, BBC Spotlight reported a series of taped conversations between developer John Miskelly and Frank Cushnahan, the former member of Nama's Northern Ireland advisory committee.

One was about a handover of 40,000 cash in a hospital car park.

Parliamentary watchdogs on both sides of the border have examined allegations the transaction included multimillion-pound fixer fees while the Irish Government has announced an inquiry.

The DUP's role in the sale has been subject to particular public scrutiny in Northern Ireland, with former first minister Peter Robinson vehemently denying an allegation he was set to benefit and former finance minister Sammy Wilson defending his recommendation of Mr Cushnahan as a Nama adviser.

Mr Cushnahan and all other parties involved in, or linked to, the Nama sale have denied wrongdoing.

An Opposition day debate at Stormont heard calls for the Assembly's Finance Committee to renew its investigations into a transaction named Project Eagle.

The committee has already produced one report on the affair but the Assembly's smaller parties argued there was a need for further scrutiny.

The DUP's Emma Little Pengelly, who chairs the committee, cautioned against such a course. She said the NCA had privately warned the committee that additional probes could hamper its work.

She accused Opposition parties of indulging in self-publicity, branding calls for a new committee inquiry "bizarre and perverse".

"To debate, work, and inquire and add no value is pointless," she said.

"Worse than that, to debate, inquire and cause the investigation harm would be disgraceful and the exact opposite of what we are elected to do."

Sinn Fein, which supports an all-Ireland probe, also questioned what a further Stormont inquiry would achieve.

The party's John O'Dowd said it was "clear that something stinks at the heart of Nama".

But he expressed doubt the Finance Committee could get to the truth of it.

"I have no doubt that there will be great effort from the committee members and staff, but will it result in those responsible for wrongdoing around Project Eagle being brought to account? I do not believe so," he said.

Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party, accused rival MLAs of using the NCA to "build a wall" around the issue.

"Does the House want to hide its head in the sand?" he asked.

"I understand that some to whom this comes too close do want to hide their head in the sand."
Police have charged four men arrested in Lurgan as part of an investigation into dissident republican activity.

The PSNI said they recovered a fully prepared Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP) which was ready for deployment.

An EFP is an improvised explosive device designed to penetrate armour plating when fired at relatively close range from a makeshift launcher. The potentially lethal device was made safe.

A 22-year-old man has been charged with the attempted murder of police officers and possession of explosives with intent to endanger life on 31 August in Lurgan.

Three men, aged 22, 24 and 46, have been charged with preparation of terrorist acts, namely the targeting of a former member of the security forces in the Craigavon area.

All four will appear at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.

Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr, head of Crime Operations Department, said: "We are relieved and delighted to have taken an extremely dangerous explosive device out of circulation. Our experience of these devices in Northern Ireland has been that they have been used to try to kill police officers. Our action has probably saved lives and definitely made the community safer.

"We are issuing a photo of part of the device which had been deconstructed by police and shows the makeshift casing, a detonator, Semtex and copper piping.

"This investigation has been running for some time, led by detectives from Crime Operations who have worked closely with colleagues in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon District and received invaluable support from colleagues in Operational Support Department.

"The device was located in a derelict house in a residential area close to peoples homes. Those responsible have absolutely no regard for the local community, or indeed any community.

"I would ask all those with any influence in the community to use that influence to persuade people not to get involved in this type of activity. People who get involved, particularly young people, face the prospect of significant, possibly life changing, consequences.

"I would also like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding during the disruption of search activity in recent days. Our primary aim has been community safety. We are committed to doing this by working with the community and acting on information provided to us so that together we can keep people safe."

A 22-year-old man arrested last Thursday as part of the same investigation was released unconditionally at the weekend.

DUP MP David Simpson said: "I congratulate the Police on this significant find. Tonight we can be thankful that this device has been taken off our streets and not used for its intended purpose - to kill.

DUP MLA Carla Lockhart added: "This represents a real blow to dissident republicans which I welcome and commend the police for their action.

"The mortar had the potential to seriously damage and destroy. The individuals who carry out this activity have no regard for life. The devastating consequences, had this device been used do not bear thinking about and I condemn those who think it is appropriate to carry out this type of activity in our community.

"I would urge anyone with any details to contact the PSNI."
An inspirational mother is hoping to use her sense of style to help thousands of refugee children.

Diane Duffy from Belfast has been so moved by the plight of those stranded in camps across Europe, she has organised a huge fashion event in the city to raise vital funds.

The mother-of-one - who volunteers with the Northern Ireland Community of Refugees & Asylum Seekers (Nicras) - said: "I had wanted to go to Calais or Greece to do something practical, but with a young baby that was just not possible.

"But, the more I saw or read about displaced children living in these dire conditions and dying trying to get into the UK to other relatives, the more I felt compelled to do something."

The Fashion Conscious event at RBG Park Inn, Belfast, on Thursday October 6, will include a fashion pop-up shop where dozens of donated designer clothes, shoes and bags will be up for grabs for just a few pounds.

Money raised will go to humanitarian charities, Help Refugees and the Greek-based group Project Hope 4 Kids, which are delivering crucial aid to those caught up in the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Mrs Duffy continued: "I just cannot imagine, as a mother, having to put a child on to a boat to cross the Mediterranean Sea or having to go into a boat while being pregnant or with a baby.

"It is just mind-blowing that the only option these people have appears to be death or risk of death.

"Their situation is hopeless no matter what way you look at it."

The conflict in Syria has created almost five million refugees.

According to the UN's refugee agency, so far this year 300,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe and more than 3,200 have died or gone missing. Tens of thousands are struggling to survive in appalling conditions on the borders of Greece, Italy and France.

Last week, hundreds of people took part in a rally at Stormont demanding a better international response.

Mrs Duffy, whose daughter Arabella is just 19 months old, said: "Obviously this is a huge global crisis but everyone can do their bit to help.

"If I can help just one family then it will be worth it."

Tickets for Fashion Conscious are priced 10 each and are available online from https://getinvited.to/fashion-conscious/fashionconscious-2016/.

Entry can also be paid at the door.
Above: Fr Edward ODonnell with Dean John Mann after being installed as an Ecumenical Canon of St Annes Cathedral yesterday

Free Presbyterians held a protest yesterday as a Catholic priest was installed for the first time in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast.

The Diocese of Down and Connor said the appointment of Fr Edward O'Donnell "recognises his personal contribution to ecumenical engagement over many years of ministry".

Originally from Magherafelt, he has been the parish priest of St Brigid's, south Belfast, since 2010, and continues to hold the post.

The 65-year-old has been installed as an honorary Ecumenical Canon.

Free Presbyterians waved placards and read Bible verses outside as the ceremony went ahead.

Fr O'Donnell, who was educated at St Malachy's College in Belfast, will join a Methodist and Presbyterian minister - both, by coincidence, called Rev Ruth Patterson - on the Cathedral Chapter.

In July, Fr O'Donnell, who recently celebrated his 40th anniversary as a priest, told the Belfast Telegraph that he acknowledged that the move will be a challenge for some Protestants and Catholics.

He said he recognised it was "bound to cause ripples on both sides".

Catholic canons have already been appointed by the Church of Ireland in Armagh and Dublin but the move is a first for Belfast, where close relationships have already been forged down the years between the cathedral and a number of Catholic churches, notably St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast.

"I recognise that for St Anne's Cathedral community, and for the Catholic community of Belfast, that this is a significant step, perhaps even historic, but more so, I recognise the generosity of the Dean and Chapter in inviting me, as a representative of the Roman Catholic Church, to be an Ecumenical Canon," he said at the time of his election.

"I look forward very much to working with them and making a contribution to the Christian life of our city.

"Our common faith Jesus Christ commits us to strive for reconciliation and unity - that unity, wonderfully described by the great Lutheran theologian, Oscar Cullmann, as 'unity in reconciled diversity.'"
A sea captain appeared in court on Monday accused of being drunk in charge of a ship in Belfast.

Eugenijus Tulauskas was arrested by Harbour Police due to his alleged condition on a container vessel on Sunday.

The 43-year-old Lithuanian, of no fixed abode, faces a charge of having excess alcohol while on duty as professional master of a ship.

No further details of the alleged offence were disclosed at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

But despite concerns expressed by an investigating officer, Tulauskas is to be granted bail when accommodation approved by police can be found.

He must surrender all travel documents and report daily to police as part of those release conditions.

An exclusion zone has also been drawn up to stop him boarding the ship again.

The court heard that the company who own the vessel intends to fly in another captain to take over sailing duties.

Tulauskas is due to appear again on October 10.
Footage of the teen at the altar

A teenager last night apologised and denied he was mocking the Catholic Church after shocking footage appeared on the internet of him swearing while standing at an altar.

The video shows a youth behind the altar of St Josephs Chapel at Hannahstown on the outskirts of west Belfast where he appears to be mocking a part of the Mass when clergy sometimes sing words ahead of communion.

The boy then speaks into a mobile phone and swears and makes disparaging comments about a bride, as though he was conducting a wedding ceremony.

One local person said many parishioners were furious that the video was filmed inside the church and one described it was a desecration.

Last night the teenager was asked by the Belfast Telegraph if he wished to make any comment.

He said he was sorry if any offence was caused and claimed he was taking part in a play.

He told us: Im sorry, it was a play.

After deleting the video, a message also appeared on the boys Facebook page which stated: That video was a play I was doing today. I did not mean to harm anyone in any sort off way!

I deeply apologise if I have harmed anyone at all.

I personally was offended by the video, this video was not to make mockery of the Catholic Church, it was a part off a play that was going on, I am deeply sorry for the video being posted!

A spokesman for the Diocese of Down and Connor was not immediately available for comment last night.

Its not the first time something like this has happened.

In 2014, the filming of a raunchy pop video showing a couple simulate sex on the altar of the Good Shepherd Church in Belfast outraged parishioners.
The role of the police is especially important amid the security challenges of today, the Prince of Wales has said, as around 2,000 people gathered to remember the lives of officers killed in the line of duty.

Relatives and colleagues joined with dignitaries including Home Secretary Amber Rudd at the National Police Memorial Day service in London commemorating those who have served across the UK.

Family members who lost loved ones offered prayers and lit candles in their honour, and the names of those who have died in the past year were read aloud to the congregation in St Paul's Cathedral.

During the event, Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire met with the family of RUC Reserve Constable William Wallace Allen, who was abducted by paramilitaries while off duty as he drove his milk lorry in Newtownhamilton in 1980. He was shot dead, aged 49. Alice Fisher, his granddaughter, read one of the prayers at yesterday's service.

And one of the candles was lit by Andrea Irvine, the widow of part-time PSNI Constable Kenneth Thomas Irvine (30) from Kilkeel. He had been in the force just two years when he and three other officers died when their patrol vehicle skidded into a wall outside Warrenpoint and exploded into flames in November 2008 while responding to a call.

Mr Brokenshire said yesterday's event was a "powerful and poignant service remembering and honouring officers who lost their lives on duty".

Prince Charles, who is patron of National Police Memorial Day, paid tribute to those he said had "paid the ultimate sacrifice while safeguarding our families, our communities and our liberty".

In the order of service, he wrote: "For many of us, the security challenges of today further underscore the importance of the police and their ongoing commitment to protecting us all, despite the inevitable risks that they face on a daily basis."

Among those to be specially remembered was PC Dave Phillips who was knocked down and killed by a teenage car thief in October last year. His eight-year-old daughter Abigail lit a candle to remember the 34-year-old who died after he set down a tyre-puncturing stinger device in a bid to stop a stolen vehicle in Wallasey, Merseyside.

Relatives of other officers killed in the line of duty represented Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as they too lit candles and offered prayers.

Stormont Justice Minister Claire Sugden was among those gathered.

"It is an honour to attend the National Police Memorial Day service to pay tribute to the sacrifice of police officers from across the United Kingdom who have died while serving and protecting their local communities.

"Today will be especially poignant for the families, friends and colleagues of those who have died and my thoughts are with them all," she said. "I was touched to hear the personal stories of some of the officers honoured today.

"In particular, I commend the bravery and service of the officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I would like to express my gratitude to all police officers for their dedication and commitment.

"Northern Ireland can justifiably be proud of the courage and professionalism of its police officers, often in the face of challenging and hazardous circumstances."

Continuing, the Minister said: "This is a significant day in our calendar when we can stand with those who mourn and remember. My thoughts and prayers are with all those in the policing family who have lost a loved one throughout the years."
Gordon with Abbie Spallen, Martin McCann in 1974  The End Of The Year Show

Tributes have been paid after the death of versatile Ulster actor Gordon Fulton, who appeared in the hit global TV series Game of Thrones and the local sitcom Give My Head Peace, as well as dozens of stage plays and films.

By a tragic irony, his passing in Londonderry came just before stars from the Hole in the Wall gang gathered in Belfast to record their first episode of Give My Head Peace in nine years.

The one-off special will be dedicated to Gordon, whose death has stunned the cast and crew of the TV series.

"We were devastated when we heard the news of his passing," said one of the series' creators, Tim McGarry. "Gordon wasn't just a fine character actor, he was also a gentleman and we all loved working with him."

Gordon, who was 67 and a highly-respected stage actor, played the part of Sammy, the barman of the loyalist Kneebreakers drinking den, for 10 seasons of Give My Head Peace.

Yet the original plan was for him to appear in just one episode. But Tim explained: "He was so good and made the character out of nothing. Sammy was so believable and so funny that we just kept him in lots of programmes.

"Gordon was really easy to write for, and the other actors who played Uncle Andy (Martin Reid) and Big Mervyn (BJ Hogg) in the Kneebreakers blended perfectly with him."

Gordon was a late recruit to the ranks of professional theatre.

He started his acting career with the Derry-based amateur group, the 71 Players, founded by the late Bishop Edward Daly in St Columb's Hall.

At the age of 33, Gordon went to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

After he returned to Ireland he worked alongside the acclaimed Kerry playwright, John B Keane, in Tralee.

In one interview, Gordon, who starred in the Scottish detective series Taggart in the 1980s, said: "I've never looked back since taking up acting and I'm glad to say I have no regrets."

In 2012 Gordon was seen by millions of Game of Thrones fans right across the world in the second season of the hit HBO series. He played the role of Lord Portan in one episode, The North Remembers.

Portan was a northern Lord who visited Winterfell to speak before Prince Bran Stark, played by award-winning English actor, Isaac Hempstead Wright.

Gordon was a much-in-demand theatre actor and appeared regularly with Roma Tomelty's Centre Stage company in plays like Krapp's Last Tape and Last of the Red Hot Lovers.

He also acted with the Tinderbox Theatre Company and one of his last stage roles was as a priest in a Brassneck Theatre Company production of the Sweety Bottle at the Grand Opera House in Belfast.

In 2011 he appeared in the Conor McPherson play, The Weir, in the Keegan Theatre in Washington DC, where he had studied in the 1980s.

He also had a number of roles in films like Salt on Our Skin, Wilderness, and Sunset Heights.

But it was his portrayal of Sammy the barman in Give My Head Peace which got him recognised in Northern Ireland long after the character had vanished off the TV screens.

And McGarry revealed that Sammy was almost written into the one-off special that was recorded last night. Said Tim: "We were planning to go back to the Kneebreakers for one of the scenes and Sammy was in our thoughts, but in the end we placed the action elsewhere."

Tim said he had met Gordon recently. "He was in great form and he was just back from Berlin, which he loved," he added.

Actress Roma Tomelty said Gordon was a consummate actor who could play a huge range of parts, from Shakespeare to Sam Cree.

She added: "He also took classes in our summer schools for 20 years and passed on his enthusiasm about Shakespeare to hundreds of children who called him The Legend. My husband Colin and I were talking to him just a few days ago about a project in February. We are heartbroken. He was our best friend."

The day before his death Gordon posted a photograph of a tranquil woodland path on his Facebook page.

Tim says producers of Give My Head Peace are also planning to incorporate a dedication to Gordon at the end of the episode recorded last night.

Gordon and his wife, Ann, had two sons and a granddaughter. The actor will be buried in Derry's City Cemetery after Requiem Mass tomorrow at 11am at St Patrick's Church, Pennyburn.
The funeral of Dr John OGrady at St Marys, Star of The Sea Church, Sandymount

Dentist John O'Grady, who survived a vicious kidnapping ordeal by ex-IRA man, Dessie O'Hare, in 1987, has been buried in Sandymount, Co Dublin.

The well-known dentist died on Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer, and just a month after he walked his daughter Louise down the aisle.

Dr O'Grady (67), who had his dental surgery in Dublin, was kidnapped from his home on October 13, 1987, by O'Hare, also known as the 'Border Fox'.

He was held captive for 23 days before his release and, during this time, O'Hare chopped the tips off two of Dr O'Grady's fingers.

There was only a brief mention of the horrific kidnapping during his funeral on Saturday.

Fr John McDonagh said the "world knew the trauma he suffered, but he never spoke about it and got on with the job and his creative acceptance of life".

The only other link at the funeral mass to the incident was the presence of one of the celebrants, Northern Ireland priest Fr Brian D'Arcy, who acted as an intermediary for his then father-in-law, Dr Austin Darragh, during the kidnap drama.

A reflection written by Dr O'Grady's partner, Rachel Fehily, a barrister and playwright, was read by Fr McDonagh.

"He was an inspirational father figure to my two boys, Harvey and Jack," she said.

"John's illness gave us an opportunity to express how we felt about each other in a different way. Little things that might have annoyed us, like how he loaded the dishwasher, became trivial, as they always should have been," while pleasures such as swimming in the sea together "became very precious".

Dr O'Grady wasn't the intended target of the 1987 kidnapping - it was his millionaire father-in-law, Dr Austin Darragh. The gang of men had his old address and were not aware Dr Darragh had passed on his home to his daughter, Marise, Dr O'Grady and their three young children.

Dr O'Grady never spoke publicly about the events.

He is survived by his partner, Rachel, his children Darragh, Anthony and Louise, and their mother, Marise.
A Troubles victims' group has criticised the re-election of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - claiming his stance on the IRA is "unjustifiable".

Kenny Donaldson, of Innocent Victims United, said Saturday's leadership battle - in which Mr Corbyn received nearly 62% of the vote to beat his rival Owen Smith by a large margin - had upset many of its members.

Mr Donaldson said Mr Corbyn had failed to unequivocally condemn the IRA in the past and had yet to respond to a request for a meeting with his group.

"He has never given us this meeting and it is time for him to stop stonewalling the victims of terrorism," he said.

"There are issues if he wants to position himself as a credible leader and potential Prime Minister. We are asking him as a supposed democratic leader to stand by the victims of terrorism.

"We are not asking him to cherrypick the IRA. There is no justification for terrorism across the board.

"Jeremy Corbyn has not murdered anyone but he has not been clear on his opposition to murder being used. That is the problem."

Mr Donaldson said the lack of a consistent message was "unjustifiable".

"Victims and survivors demand an answer to these questions," he said. "Does Mr Corbyn consider the IRA as a terrorist organisation or its members as 'freedom fighters?'

"What does Mr Corbyn have to say to the families of those whose loved ones were murdered by individuals within the 'IRA's Loughgall 8' - those who he stood for a one-minute's silence to honour?"

Mr Corbyn's election has been welcomed by Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Labour Party in Northern Ireland (LPNI).

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams described Mr Corbyn as a "stalwart friend to Ireland".

"I want to extend my warmest congratulations to Jeremy on his resounding win," he said. "He faces many challenges in the time ahead in confronting the right wing agenda of the Conservative Government, not least in addressing the issue of Brexit."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood also offered his best wishes.

"I look forward to working with the Labour leader as we continue to fight Brexit and promote the democratically stated will of people in Ireland," he said.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Dave Anderson said he was "glad it is all over" and hoped those MPs who voted for a motion of no confidence in the party leader would now have a change of heart.

LPNI secretary Boyd Black welcomed Mr Corbyn's re-election. He said: "We will as always be supporting him as leader and hope he succeeds in unifying the party and bringing it together in good shape to fight a general election."

Mr Black said the ability to run Labour candidates for election in Northern Ireland remained its biggest priority.

"In a big piece of news today Dennis Skinner (Labour MP) has come out on our right to stand which is a big change," he said.
A man has been arrested by police investigating claims that Pippa Middleton's iCloud account was hacked.

Scotland Yard said they arrested the 35-year-old on Saturday evening at an address in Northamptonshire.

Photos of the Duchess of Cambridge and her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, are reportedly among 3,000 images taken from Kate's sister.

Police said the man had been taken into custody at a south London police station after being arrested on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offence.

Private photographs were said to have been offered to The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers via encrypted messaging service WhatsApp. The Sun said it had been approached by someone using a pseudonym and asking for 50,000 within 48 hours.

The alleged theft comes two years after a host of celebrities, including Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence, fell victim to a hacker attack on the iCloud, where private photos from phones and computers are stored online, which saw images posted on the internet.
Boris Johnson triggered a furious response from Moscow after saying Russian forces may be guilty of war crimes in Syria

Boris Johnson has claimed sanctions against Russia should be "considered" amid suggestions the country is committing war crimes in Syria.

Speaking during a visit to a refugee camp in Turkey, the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed his view that Russia was in danger of breaching international humanitarian law.

Moscow earlier reacted angrily to the "unacceptable" suggestions, which have come from Britain and America, about its role in Syria's bloody civil conflict.

It warned that the comments could harm the US-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria, as Mr Johnson visited the camp near the border of the war-ravaged nation.

The Foreign Secretary's visit to the camp around 100 miles (161km) from Aleppo in Syria comes after angry exchanges at the United Nations over the latest offensive by the Russia-backed regime to take the beleaguered city.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: "This is why I think the Russians are in danger of committing war crimes - there's another bomb that comes in, what they call the 'double tap' manoeuvre, and I think that is absolutely unthinkable.

"I believe we should be accumulating evidence of such double tap bombings, such callous strikes on aid workers and we should bring those responsible to justice."

The so-called double tap manoeuvre is when two consecutive missile strikes are fired at a target, the latter of which often risks hitting response teams, aid workers or civilians who have rushed to the scene to help after the first blast.

Asked if he thought there should be more sanctions against Russia, Mr Johnson said: "All those things have got to be considered, in my opinion."

The country was accused by Britain and the United States of barbarity and helping President Bashar Assad's regime "unleash a new hell" on the city, but Moscow has hit back.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia considers the tone of the criticism "unacceptable" and insisted "such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process" in Syria.

Mr Peskov told reporters that Russia was concerned that "terrorists" were using the ceasefire to "regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks".

Meanwhile, the Syrian regime said the ceasefire is still viable and said it was willing to take part in a unity government but also claimed the West was supporting "terrorists" in the country.

Their comments come after British ambassador Matthew Rycroft joined his US and French counterparts in walking out of an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Sunday in a show of anger.

The meeting followed Mr Johnson warning that Moscow would be guilty of committing war crimes if its warplanes were deliberately striking civilian targets.

Mr Rycroft told the Security Council meeting in New York that it was "difficult to deny" that Assad's regime and its Russian allies were engaged in committing war crimes.

"After five years of conflict, you might think that the regime has had its fill of barbarity - that its sick bloodlust against its own people has finally run its course," he said.

"But this weekend, the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo."

The UN special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said the offensive to take the city had unleashed "unprecedented military violence" on its inhabitants, killing at least 213 civilians, many of them women and children.

He said there had been reports of the use of bunker-busting bombs and incendiary weapons which created "fireballs of such intensity that they light up the pitch darkness in Aleppo as if it were daylight".

Earlier, Mr Johnson accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of "protracting" and called for an investigation into whether Russian forces were committing war crimes.

"Putin's regime is not only as it were handing Assad the revolver, he is in some instances firing the revolver himself," he said.
Britain's ambassador to the United Nations has walked out of an emergency session of the Security Council, accusing Syria's representative of showing no interest in halting the country's bloody civil war.

Matthew Rycroft joined the US and French ambassadors in a show of Western anger and frustration after the regime of President Bashar al-Assad launched a new offensive to take the beleaguered city of Aleppo.

Mr Rycroft told the meeting in New York that it was "difficult to deny" that the Syrian regime and its ally, Russia, were engaged in committing war crimes.

"After five years of conflict, you might think that the regime has had its fill of barbarity - that its sick bloodlust against its own people has finally run its course," he said. "But this weekend, the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo."

The UN special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said a regime offensive to take the city had unleashed "unprecedented military violence" on its inhabitants, killing at least 213 civilians, many of them women and children.

He stated there had been reports of the use of bunker-busting bombs and incendiary weapons which created "fireballs of such intensity that they light up the pitch darkness in Aleppo as if it were daylight".

His intervention prompted fresh recriminations between Russia and the United States with US ambassador Samantha Power accusing Moscow of "barbarism".

She urged Security Council members to "have the courage to say who is responsible for this and in a single voice tell Russia to stop".

However, Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin insisted its air strikes were aimed at "terrorists" who were holding 200,000 people prisoner in the city. "They are trying to use women and children as a human shield," he said.

Earlier, Boris Johnson provoked a furious response from Russia after he said Moscow's forces may be guilty of war crimes in Syria.

The Foreign Secretary condemned the "barbaric" bombing of rebel-held areas of Aleppo and accused Mr Putin of "protracting" the conflict through his military support for Assad's regime.

The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back saying that if anyone was guilty of war crimes, it was British forces in Iraq.

Appearing on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Johnson said it was "the right question to ask" whether an air strike last week on a UN aid convoy - widely blamed on Russian planes - constituted a war crime.

"A war crime is defined as when you attack something, attack a civilian target in the knowledge that it is a civilian target," he said. "We have an absolutely tragic situation now in Aleppo which is being bombed and repeatedly bombed in a way that is absolutely barbaric.

"I think when it comes to instances such as the bombing of civilian apartments in Aleppo we should be looking at whether or not that targeting is done in the knowledge that those are wholly innocent, wholly innocent civilian targets. That is a war crime."
The Department of Justice had the most absence due to sickness with 15.9 days in 2015/16.

Despite undertakings from the Civil Service about clamping down on absences through illness, the figure continues to rise.

The latest statistics show that a Civil Service employee here, on average, took 11.7 days off work, compared to 10.8 days during the previous year.

Obviously, the problem is getting worse, not better. Based on a five-day week, the average civil servant is now away from their desk for almost an additional fortnight.

According to a report by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, there was an estimated productivity loss of 32m in the past year, and stress and anxiety continued to be the biggest factors that keep some employees from their workplace.

The figures here are higher than the United Kingdom Civil Service rate of 8.8 days, and the overall UK jobs average of 6.9 days.

These levels of absence by Northern Ireland civil servants would never be accepted in the private sector, which simply could not survive with such a high ratio.

MLA Philip Smith, who is the UUP's finance spokesman, voiced the thoughts of most right-thinking people in Northern Ireland when he said that these figures of sickness absence "will amaze many of those working in the private sector, as well as those Civil Service colleagues who are rarely absent at all".

Nevertheless, we taxpayers are funding this level of absence in the public sector, and there seems to be little that we can do about it.

Without doubt there are certain genuine causes for absence through illness, but there is also a widespread belief in Northern Ireland that many people treat sickness absence as another form of annual leave.

This is grossly unfair not only on the colleagues who make up the employment shortfall, but also on those people inside and outside the Civil Service, to whom such behaviour is reprehensible and who turn up for their daily employment .

A union spokesman blamed the loss of nearly 3,000 Civil Service jobs as a contributory factor in the rise of sickness absences.

However, most other employees, particularly in the private sector, literally get on with the job despite the reduced numbers, which adds to their workload.

The plain truth that it is time for the Civil Service to get tough with the malingerers in their ranks and to stop simply talking about it.
Unsurprisingly, Fionola Meredith (Comment, September 16) takes advantage of Dr Gannon's resignation to attack the law on abortion in Northern Ireland, which she describes as brutal. Further, she holds that the moral high ground is waiting to be occupied by pro-abortionists.

Essentially, this means that a mother can abort a child for whatever reason without a pang of guilt. It also means that a child in the womb has no intrinsic right to life. Ms Meredith believes that this is not morally degenerate.

Francis Crick (co-discoverer of DNA) was at least consistent when he expressed the view no newborn infant should be declared human until deemed genetically fit, otherwise it forfeits its right to life.

In Genesis 9 verse 6, murder is described as destroying the image of God in mankind. To abort (attack and kill) a child in the womb does just that.

In pregnancy, two human lives are entwined and both are in the image of God. Sadly, when a mother's life is at risk, a child's life must be sacrificed to save her. Nevertheless, a human life has been lost.

In the moral depravity of Nazi Germany, it was believed to be a moral necessity to attack and kill Jews and the more ruthless those responsible, the more they were commended.

In Britain, moral degeneracy has resulted in the slaughter of eight million babies. Moreover, the disabled are exterminated up to full term for the "crime" of having their condition.

Having a prominent public platform and, therefore, likely to be an opinion-former, Ms Meredith bears a heavy responsibility for influencing the impressionable to accept the brutality of the British Holocaust.

Her stance should be repented of.

DONALD GALE

By email
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Ever since I can remember, I have felt a strong pull toward the ocean, and with it, the ocean pulling me along with its endless mysteries yet to be discovered beneath the surface. Dolphins have always captivated me, and the very first time I saw a dolphin was a life-changing experience. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to work with dolphins one day.

Knowing that animal training is a very competitive field to get accepted into, I took advantage of every opportunity available during my first few years at Bowling Green State University. I started by volunteering in the Marine Lab, then by taking a class at the University of Southern Mississippis Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, and, finally, by completing a part-time internship at the Toledo Zoo. I participated in all of these programs because I believed these jobs would help heighten my chances of obtaining an internship working with marine mammals.

Now, if you would have told me in January that I would be spending my entire summer in Hawaii working with dolphins, I wouldnt have believed you. However, a few months later, I received an email that changed my life forever. On March 14, I opened my inbox to find an email stating that I was accepted for the Aloha Experience Internship at Sea Life Park, Hawaii. On May 8, I found myself on a plane heading to Honolulu, ready to begin an adventure of a lifetime.


For Immediate Release, September 26, 2016 Contact: Brett Hartl, (202) 817-8121, bhartl@biologicaldiversity.org Obama Administration Finalizes New Rules Impeding Citizens'

Ability to Use Endangered Species Act Rules Impose Pointless Procedural Burdens Designed to Discourage Citizens,

Scientists From Filing Petitions to Protect Imperiled Species WASHINGTON The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service finalized new rules today that restrict the ability of ordinary citizens, scientists and public-interest organizations to obtain Endangered Species Act protections for species on the brink of extinction. The new rules eliminate the ability of the public to submit multispecies petitions and require that 30 days prior to submitting a petition, the petitioner must notify every state where an imperiled species may live. These new restrictions on citizen petitions are nothing more than a gift to industries and right-wing states that are hostile to endangered species, said Brett Hartl, endangered species policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. These rules make it harder to get imperiled species the Endangered Species Act protections they desperately need, and they do nothing to address the backlog of hundreds of imperiled species that are still waiting to get the protections they deserve. The Endangered Species Act expressly allows citizens to petition for species protection. Scientific research confirms that citizen petitions routinely identify species at the highest risk of extinction, and the majority of the protections given to 1,600 species to date have been in response to citizen petitions. The filing of a petition triggers what is supposed to be a two-year process that includes three public-comment periods. Unfortunately the Fish and Wildlife Service routinely violates this legal requirement, often taking more than a decade to complete the process. Delays in protection of species have had significant consequences, with more than 40 species having gone extinct while waiting for protection. These new rules were premised on right-wing myths, not facts, said Hartl. The Endangered Species Act already requires a lengthy comment process that gives states additional privileges and multiple opportunities to provide input on the status of imperiled species. These rules are specifically intended to intimidate ordinary citizens by making it more cumbersome for them to seek protection of our imperiled plants and animals. Todays rule is one of the last in a series of new regulations that have limited the scope of the Endangered Species Act, solidifying the Obama administration's record as no friend of endangered species. Other administration policies have limited protections for endangered species critical habitat; limited which species get protection in the first place; and given federal agencies carte blanche to harm endangered species by ignoring the cumulative impacts of agency activities. It will take many years to do undo the larger damage to the Endangered Species Act that this administration has wrought, and to get those animals and plants that were wrongly denied protection onto the endangered species list, said Hartl. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
It has long puzzled scientists why, after 3 billion years of nothing more complex than algae, complex animals suddenly started to appear on Earth. Now, a team of researchers has put forward some of the strongest evidence yet to support the hypothesis that high levels of oxygen in the oceans were crucial for the emergence of skeletal animals 550 million years ago.

The new study is the first to distinguish between bodies of water with low and high levels of oxygen. It shows that poorly oxygenated waters did not support the complex life that evolved immediately prior to the Cambrian period, suggesting the presence of oxygen was a key factor in the appearance of these animals. The research, based on fieldwork carried out in the Nama Group in Namibia.

Dr Rosalie Tostevin, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University and lead author of the study, said: 'The question of why it took so long for complex animal life to appear on Earth has puzzled scientists for a long time. One argument has been that evolution simply doesnt happen very quickly, but another popular hypothesis suggests that a rise in the level of oxygen in the oceans gave simple life-forms the fuel they needed to evolve skeletons, mobility and other typical features of modern animals.

'Although there is geochemical evidence for a rise in oxygen in the oceans around the time of the appearance of more complex animals, it has been really difficult to prove a causal link. By teasing apart waters with high and low levels of oxygen, and demonstrating that early skeletal animals were restricted to well-oxygenated waters, we have provided strong evidence that the availability of oxygen was a key requirement for the development of these animals. However, these well-oxygenated environments may have been in short supply, limiting habitat space in the ocean for the earliest animals.'

The team, which also included geochemists, palaeoecologists and geologists from University College London and the universities of Edinburgh, Leeds and Cambridge, as well as the Geological Survey of Namibia, analysed the chemical elemental composition of rock samples from the ancient seafloor in the Nama Group  a group of extremely well-preserved rocks in Namibia that are abundant with fossils of early Cloudina, Namacalathus and Namapoikia animals.

The researchers found that levels of elements such as cerium and iron detected in the rocks showed that low-oxygen conditions occurred between well-oxygenated surface waters and fully 'anoxic' deep waters. Although abundant in well-oxygenated environments, early skeletal animals did not occupy oxygen-impoverished regions of the shelf, demonstrating that oxygen availability (probably >10 micromolar) was a key requirement for the development of early animal-based ecosystems.

Dr Tostevin, who carried out the analyses for the study while completing her PhD at University College London, added: 'We looked at the last 10 million years of the Proterozoic Eon, when, although the Earth looked very different, some of the major animal groups we recognise today began to appear. Our results tell us that there is a link between the environment and the evolution that took place during this time, and that oxygen levels were key to this.'
Red & Yellow opened its doors back in 1994 with the aim of producing students who were well equipped to tackle the industry head-on.

Over the past 22 years, the school has produced a vast number of leaders both within our industry and outside it. Now it is time to bring those illustrious alumni together with the official launch of the Red & Yellow Alumni Association on 13 October 2016.

Chaired by industry heavyweight Philip Ireland of Ireland/Davenport - one of Red & Yellow's 1995 graduates and a long-time supporter of the school - the Association intends to reconnect "Red & Yellers" from the day of its inception to its most recent graduates in an effort to build a strong community of talented individuals. Ireland says, "This association aims to bring together past students for the benefit of themselves, the community and the school."

The official launch will take place during the first-ever alumni reunion at the rooftop bar of the Cape Town campus on 13 October, where the school will bring together many of its talented and successful alumni. Red & Yellow will also be bidding a fond farewell to the guest of honour for the evening, Chairman Emeritus John Cooney, who has played a big role in shaping the legacy of Red & Yellow and been instrumental in changing many graduates' lives.

The event is open to all alumni, past lecturers and friends of the school. If you wish to attend, please RSVP by emailing az.oc.wolleydnader@inmula.

About Red & Yellow School

The Red & Yellow School has been producing industry leaders and game changers in the fields of marketing, graphic design, art direction and copywriting for 22 years. Applications for 2017 are now open. Find out more on the website (www.redandyellow.co.za) or contact Red & Yellow on 021 462 1946 / 011 067 3400 / az.oc.wolleydnader@ofni.




Clover works with packaging specialists for a smoooth seventh season of Tropika Island of Treasure

When consumers think of Tropika, one of the first things that comes to mind is Tropika Island of Treasure. As one of SAs best-loved brands, the delicious dairy-fruit blend entertains consumers with the hit TV series. This season, Clover worked with Just Design to add excitement to the widely watched reality show by creating a new logo lock-up, refreshing the promo identity, and injecting some fresh energy.

Tropika Island of Treasure, that first launched in 2008, successfully built an ownable concept that promotes the smooth luxurious lifestyle associated with the brand. In the series, local celebs and the winners of the on-pack promo compete on a tropical island for R1m. The concept has performed exceptionally well over the years, driving sales and differentiating the brand within the beverage category. This year, with Seychelles as the tropical destination, Just Design played a key role in developing the new identity.

Applying branding and packaging expertise, the Just Design team helped conceptualise the look-and-feel of the campaign and then brought it to life. An important consideration was how to communicate vast amounts of information on pack and in-store without compromising brand equity. Once this was properly solved, Just Design were responsible for rolling out the visual language onto all Tropika packs and art directing the celebrity photo shoot. The campaign consists out of an on-pack promotion, in-store promotional media, TV commercials, and the Tropika Island of Treasure show, which will air on SABC 3 in April 2017.

The project is very high profile for SAs most loved dairy-fruit blend and is an example of how a specialist approach can successfully generate interest and hype through design. The competition is running currently with promo packs available from all major retailers nationwide. Go on, live da smoooth life.

About Just Design

For fifteen years, Just Design has proven time and again that good thinking leads to great creative. With a national footprint and accounts across Africa, Middle East and Europe, they are the strategic design partners for many blue-chip clients and global brands, and are one of the top packaging design agencies in South Africa.

About Tropika

Tropika has a heritage of over 30 years and is one of the most recognised brands in South Africa. Tropika is the market leader in the category and the driving force behind the growth in the Dairy Fruit Mix and Fruit Juice markets.

For further information, please contact:

Vanessa Bosman

az.oc.ngisedtsuj@assenav

+27 (0) 11 234 4249




Lawsuits by US states to hold pharmaceutical companies liable for the costs of dealing with prescription drug abuse is on the rise. There is a heavy social cost associated with addiction and it is estimated that the costs of the non-medical use of prescription drugs alone was more than $53bn annually in the US. These costs are funded from the fiscus.

Therefore insurers should review the wording of their commercial liability policies, as an insurer has been ordered by the US Court of Appeals to defend a pharmaceutical distribution company which was sued for contributing to this epidemic. The courts held that the insurance contract made provision for damages arising "because of bodily injury" and the insurer had a duty to defend and indemnify the insured.

Duty to defend is much broader than duty to indemnify

The appeal case of Cincinnati Insurance Company v H D Smith concerned an insurance claim by HD Smith, a pharmaceutical distribution company. West Virginia sued HD Smith and other pharmaceutical distributors, holding them liable for contributing to prescription drug abuse.The state alleged that certain pharmacies knowingly provided citizens with hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and other prescription drugs. This was not done for legitimate medical uses but rather to fuel and profit from the citizens addictions. The state contended that they had incurred excessive costs related to diagnosis, treatment and cure of addiction and had provided the necessary medical care, facilities, and services for treatment of citizens addicted to prescription drugs.

HD Smith requested that their insurer, Cincinnati, defend the suit brought by West Virginia. The insurance company approached the courts for a declaratory order as they were of the view that their commercial liability insurance policy did not cover the type of injury for which HD Smith was being sued.

The district court agreed and the matter was taken on appeal. The appeal court focused on the plain wording of the policy under which Cincinnati agreed to cover any damages that HD Smith became legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury". and further Cincinnati agreed to defend HD Smith against any suit seeking such damages. In the policy bodily injury was defined as bodily injury, sickness or disease sustained by a person, including death resulting from any of these at any time.

Further provisions stated that damages because of bodily injury include damages claimed by any person or organisation for care, loss of services or death resulting at any time from the bodily injury.

Looking at the case law applicable to the insurers duty to defend, the court held that:

The courts had to compare the allegations in the underlying complaint to that of the policy language in order to determine whether the insurers duty to defend had arisen;

The court had to liberally construe the allegations in favour of the insured. Due to the fact that the duty to defend is generally regarded as much broader than the duty to indemnify, the courts would generally find that a duty to defend exists unless it is clear from the face of the underlying complaint, that the case is not within or potentially within the insureds policy coverage;

West Virginia asserted numerous legal theories and the courts held that even if there were several theories of recovery that were alleged in the underlying complaint against the insured, the insurers duty to defend would arise even if only one of several theories was within the potential coverage of the policy; and
When it comes to the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, researchers warn consumers to be cautious about misinformation campaigns that could be taking a page out of the tobacco lobby's playbook.

A sugar tax of at least 20% could prevent about 160,000 new cases of type 2 diabetes in South Africa over the next 20 years, according to a 2015 mathematical model published in the journal PLOS ONE, an international peer-reviewed journal, which lends it significant credibility.

Source: Paul Botes/M&G

Steps to deal with obesity

Evidence from around the world shows that having a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages of at least 20% is one of the best things that you can do as part of a series of steps to deal with obesity, says researcher Karen Hofman, the head of Priority Cost-Effective Lessons for Systems Strengthening (Priceless SA) based at the University of the Witwatersrands School of Public Health.

A 2013 study published in the British Medical Journal reviewed existing evidence on sugar and weight gain. The meta-analysis of more than 60 studies found consistent evidence that decreasing sugar intake led to weight loss. This review also confirmed links between childrens intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and their risk of becoming overweight.

Mexican study

Countries such as France, Brazil and Norway have instituted sugar taxes. A 2015 study by the University of North Carolina in the United States and Mexicos national health institute found that the introduction of a sugar tax in 2013 led to an average 9% reduction in household purchases of taxed, sugar-sweetened beverages. Published in the British Medical Journal, the study also found that family purchases of untaxed drinks went up by about 4%, driven largely by increased purchases of bottled water.

Earlier this year, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced the governments decision to introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce excessive sugar intake.

Hofman and others developed the mathematical model to demonstrate the public health gains of such a tax, which ultimately informed the governments decision.

Ploys to discredit research

This week, the Institute of Race Relations became the latest organisation to attempt to discredit research showing that taxing sugary drinks could save lives in South Africa. Hofman cautions that attacks on the public health rationale behind the tax may be similar to ploys that health activists, particularly anti-tobacco campaigners, have seen before.

The institute questioned the rationale behind the proposed tax, arguing that it would only be a burden on the poor and would not reduce obesity.

There is no direct evidence that a reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages translates into reduced energy intake. Theres just no way of pinpointing the extent to which the sugar-sweetened beverages tax has had any impact on weight at all, says the institutes head of policy research, Anthea Jeffery.

According to Jeffery, Hofmans mathematical model, has no hard data or credible evidence to substantiate its conclusions.

Same old tricks?

Hofman has hit back, saying that the tobacco lobby spent years trying to discredit scientific research that revealed the dangers of smoking.

This is a strategy from the tobacco playbook, in which they [the industry] tried to discredit peer-reviewed scientific research.

South Africans are the eighth-highest sugar consumers globally. Such a tax will cut the consumption of sugary drinks, just as regulation cut tobacco use, says Hofman.

Continued attacks on the proposed sugar tax come on the heels of new research that has unearthed documents suggesting the US sugar lobby paid to create data in the 1960s and 1970s that would cast doubt about the hazards of sugar.

Supporting documents

Published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, the study says more than two dozen documents point to an attempt by the industry to downplay sugar consumptions links to coronary heart disease.

Subsequent research, including a 2013 study in the American Heart Association Journal, found that sugar-sweetened beverages were a major cause of preventable deaths from illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organisation now says that increased sugar consumption, particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, is associated with weight gain in both children and adults.

The Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine study suggests that the negative effect of this kind of industry-sponsored research could be long-lasting. It notes that, even today, as policymakers globally debate sugar control policies, coronary heart disease is not always cited as a consequence of high sugar intake. Researchers recommend that policymakers should consider giving less weight to food industry-funded studies.

Meanwhile, a 2015 study in the journal Public Health Nutrition estimates that an annual 2.4% growth in sugar beverage sales, along with population growth and ageing, will result in more than 1,2m additional obese adults in South Africa by 2017. Sugary beverage consumption is estimated to be responsible for more than one-fifth of these obesity cases, says the study.

Hofman warns: The cost of lifestyle-related conditions for medical aid schemes and the government health system is rising by the day. So is the cost of not acting as quickly as possible.
Reflects impacts and innovation within the M&C Saatchi Group

Creative Spark, an award-winning digital agency within the M&C Saatchi Group of companies, has announced a new corporate identity (CI) to reflect its culture of innovation and creative force as a business. Integrating the explosive element of a spark into the M&C Saatchi font, the new look for Creative Spark talks to the impacts that the agency offers clients.

The new CI conveys the power of small actions  whether a creative idea or even a tweet  to catalyse a chain reaction of events and effects, say Gordon Ray, National Executive Creative Director, M&C Saatchi Abel.

With a dynamic new design, the logo conveys the potential of digital to expand, engage stakeholders, and influence audiences through various channels. No longer simply a complement to offline campaigns, digital is increasingly the spark that drives the thinking and execution of creative ideas.

Creative Sparks new logo reflects how we immerse ourselves within clients businesses in order to ignite innovative ways to answer business challenges, adds Matthew Buckland, Managing Director of Creative Spark.

Other members of the team behind conceptualising and redesigning the Creative Spark logo include Mike Abel, Founder and Head the M&C Saatchi Group of Companies, Africa region; Denise van der Westhuizen, Chief Operating Partner, M&C Saatchi Abel; Ashraf Majiet, Creative Director, M&C Saatchi Abel; and Ishaarah Arnold, Designer, M&C Saatchi Abel.

Creative Spark is integral to the strategic direction of the M&C Saatchi group, with their thinking and implementation offering the powerful knock-on effects we aim to provide our clients, concludes Abel.

For further media queries:

Rugshana Manuel (for Matthew Buckland)

021 422 0683

az.oc.krapsevitaerc@anahsgur

About Creative Spark

Founded on the belief that all companies in todays economy are media companies, Creative Spark is an innovative full service digital agency that helps clients understand, execute and excel in the digital space. With a team of over 40 digital specialists offering strategic consulting and creative production of digital-based campaigns and ideas, a passion to challenge convention is evident across the organization.

With offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, the agency serves an array of local, African and international clients, offering web, app and digital development and design services. Creative Spark also produces high-quality content marketing and production services in the realm of social media for a variety of companies. The agency developed after the successful publishing of a suite of online media brands, Memeburn.com, Ventureburn.com, Gearburn.com and others.

Web: www.creativespark.co.za

Facebook: @CreativeSparkSA

Twitter: @CreativeSparkSA




The philosophical doctrine of 'change being the only constant', is wholly applicable to the South African fast food industry as stakeholders are forced to constantly craft competitive responses to capriciously fluid market dynamics. These innovative strategies fuelled strong domestic growth as well as the launch and rapid expansion of multinational brands such as Burger King, Domino's Pizza, Starbucks and Pizza Hut. The key question is whether all these developments have helped to grow the fast food market in 2015/2016?

The global fast food market was estimated to be worth US$570 billion in 2015 and is expected to see a continued compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.4%. The Asian markets are predicted to experience the most growth over the next few years. Interestingly China has the highest percentage of consumers that eat fast food at least once a week with 59%. In South Africa, only 18% of South African adults eat at a franchised fast food outlet at least once a week, similar to Japan (16%).

Source: Statista: Graphics by Insight Survey

The more recent statistics in South Africa point to trends that are contrary to the global growth being experienced, especially the developing economies of Asia-Pacific. The percentage of South African fast food purchasers (16+ years old) who had bought fast food in the previous four weeks had experienced strong growth between 2009 and 2012, from 66% to 78%. However, since 2012, the proportion of South Africans purchasing fast food has plateaued around 80%.

Source: AMPS: Graphics by Insight Survey

The South African market has become increasingly competitive and saturated; hence the need for reactive product differentiation strategies as a fundamental means of carving out market share with many fast food brands marketing value through combo meals and larger-sized portions.

At the lower end, consumers have become very price sensitive due to the challenging economic climate. A recent survey amongst lower LSM consumers indicated that 80% chose to eat street food over fast food. Their rationale was based primarily on cost, but also included aspects of taste and conviviality. Chesa Nyama strategically capitalised on this gap in the market, formalising the quintessential street food product from a franchise perspective, in so doing both maintaining its socio-cultural heritage, whilst simultaneously marketing it as a "Local is Lekker" experience to higher LSMs.

Among the upper-income segments, food trucks and food markets have grown in popularity as an alternative to fast food. They focus on using organic, locally sourced, fresh and healthy ingredients providing a twist on South Africa foods as well as foods with foreign influences such as Mexican, Moroccan and Italian.

In order to stay competitive, fast food companies are expanding into Africa and have managed to limit price increases by: putting pressure on suppliers to keep costs down, experimenting with alternative ingredients without sacrificing quality and even looking at cheaper packaging alternatives. At the same time, companies are having to address consumer needs with healthier menus and new tastes.

It is evident from our nuanced analysis that the fast food environment is currently under pressure and the doctrine of change being the only constant is an accurate lens through which to view the fluid market dynamics of the South African fast food industry.

The Fast Food Industry Landscape Report 2016 (124 pages) provides a dynamic synthesis of industry research, examining the local and global fast food industry from a uniquely holistic perspective, with detailed insights into the entire value chain  from manufacturing to retailing, competitor positioning, latest marketing and advertising news for each competitor, pricing and promotions analysis, consumption and purchasing trends.

Some key questions the report will help you to answer:

What are the key factors that are driving the growth of the local and global markets?



What are the local and global industry challenges currently restraining market growth?



What are the latest South African fast food and street food trends (food trucks, food markets)?



How did fast food companies perform in 2015/16; what is the strategic focus and expansion plans?



How are each of the fast food competitors positioned in the market?



What is the latest marketing and advertising news for each of the fast food competitors?



What is the pricing and recent promotions by category: Burgers, Chicken, Pizza, Pies?



What are the local consumption trends between 2009-2015 in the fast food industry?



How has the geo-demographic profile of fast food purchasers changed between 2009 and 2015?

Please note that the 124-page PowerPoint report is available for purchase for R25,000 (excluding VAT). Alternatively, individual sections can be purchased for R7,500 (excluding VAT). For additional information simply contact us at az.oc.yevrusthgisni@ofni or directly on (0)21 045-0202.

For a full brochure please go to: SA Fast Food Landscape Report 2016.

About Insight Survey:

Insight Survey is a South African B2B market research company with almost 10 years of heritage, focusing on business-to business (B2B) market research to ensure smarter, more profitable business decisions are made with reduced investment risk.

We offer B2B market research solutions to help you to successfully improve or expand your business, enter new markets, launch new products or better understand your internal or external environment.

Our bespoke Competitive Business Intelligence Research can help give you the edge in a global marketplace, empowering your business to overcome industry challenges quickly and effectively, and enabling you to realise your potential and achieve your vision.

From strategic overviews of your businesss competitive environment through to specific competitor profiles, our customised Competitive Intelligence Research is designed to meet your unique needs.

For more information, go to www.insightsurvey.co.za. Alternatively, contact +27 (0)21 045-0202.




The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) says significant progress has been made politically, financially and technically since 2013.

By Charlesjsharp/ Sharp Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0  Wikimedia Commons

Speaking on Saturday, 24 September, at the opening of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), secretary general of CITES, Dr John Scanlon, said since COP16 there has been an ever increasing political interest in wildlife trade issues, in particular tackling illegal wildlife trade.

The political interest that has been expressed in CITES has occurred in many ways over the past three years including through statements and initiatives of presidents, prime ministers, resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UN Environmental Assembly as well as through many high level political events.

This heightened level of political support has also come from the personal initiatives of high profile public figures, he said.

Dr Scanlon said the political support has led to more funding being available to address wildlife trade issues.

Since COP16 the Global Environment Facility has committed $131m to fight illegal wildlife trade and poaching through the global wildlife programme. This also addresses conservation and sustainable livelihoods and will leverage significant additional funds, he said.

Local communities important in protecting wildlife

Countries have been encouraged to engage local communities on the benefits of protecting wildlife if they want to succeed in conservation.

United Nations Environment Programme executive director Erik Solheim said: CITES cannot succeed in isolation, only if we step up we can succeed, this means we need to start a concerted dialogue with all the people living out there.

We need to step up and bring to the attention of the local communities all the benefits of them in protecting wildlife, in tourism and in so many other ways and we need a constant consultation process with local communities otherwise we will be never succeed.

Delegates urged to work hard

Speaking during a media briefing at the CITES COP17, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said South Africa is delighted to host the conference.

Minister Molewa said there will be 120 documents and 62 proposals which will be discussed at the conference.

She said South Africa has been working hard to ensure the conference is a success.

Delegates should be prepared to work throughout and make sure that we make our nations proud and at the heart of it all to save our species that are almost extinct but also regulating those that need to be regulated, Molewa said.
Every person in the illegal wildlife trade in South Africa should be treated as an organised criminal and charged with "trafficking", said Lyle Pienaar, a member of the South African delegation to the COP17 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Johannesburg.

When President Jacob Zuma opened the international wildlife meeting he called poaching a threat to national security.

Pienaar on Sunday, 25 September, said the illicit trade in rhino horn must be tackled as a national security instead of a conservation issue. Law enforcement agencies supported by other departments must take the lead against this "transnational organised crime", he said.

Pienaar, a security analyst, called for international co-operation against wildlife crime because this approach achieves results he said. He gave an example of a case in which poachers, buyers and corrupt officials were arrested and their assets seized following an intelligence-driven investigation.

WWF rhino programme manager Jo Shaw told The Times: "It is great that rhino poaching and wildlife trafficking is now being recognised as a form of transnational organised crime.

"Law enforcement efforts need to be targeted at traffickers and other players higher up the illicit supply chain."

Julian Rademeyer, one of the most authoritative voices on illegal trade in rhino horns, supported the view that the supply chain must be disrupted all the way to the kingpins at the top.

About 7500 poachers entered the Kruger National Park last year. There were 137 armed encounters between rangers and poachers.

Two rangers, seven soldiers and between 150 and 200 poachers were killed in 2015 said Rademeyer, noting that the poachers were being buried as heroes in some communities because of the money they brought back to them.

Of 928 cases of rhino poaching reported last year, only 61 made it to court and 29 were convicted.

Source: The Times
For many, the office-based, 9am to 5pm corporate workplace has lost its lustre, resulting in a move towards freelance or project work. But the freelance economy is not without its challenges, as operating in isolation with a lack of resources can make for tricky circumstances when the need to source talented individuals and service providers arises.

Sanjay Varma

With this in mind, a new SA-born skills marketplace app has been launched, to provide those working in this new environment with the tools they need to thrive. Kalido is the brainchild of Ashvin Sologar, former McKinsey & Company executive, and Sanjay Varma, former number three at Chinese internet giant Alibaba.

The app functions as an ecosystem that enables skilled professionals and clients to connect with each other by matching users according to their goals (who they want to meet, and what kinds of services they can provide), as well as social and geographic proximity. It's been designed to enable individuals to instantly find each other for business or social activities, whether this involves searching for a web designer, yoga teacher, tax adviser or running buddy.

We got in touch with Varma, Kalido's CEO and co-founder, to find out more.

How was the idea for Kalido born?

I started my previous company with limited capital. Like many entrepreneurs can attest, searching for the right people was really hard. I spent ages trying to find the perfect accountants, lawyers, mentors, designers, and so on. It was fairly easy to find companies  I could just use Google  but the experience was a painful one. Some of them were too expensive, some were not interested and some were just not great.

But the kind of individuals I was looking for... they were really difficult to find. This was partly because they were struggling to look in the right places for customers as well. So everyone was spending so much time looking for the right people, but we were often looking in completely the wrong places.

While I was going through this process, I always wondered whether those around me could be the exact people to help me  I had no way of knowing! Is the right person near me at this airport, at that trade fair I attended, at a particular conference, university or coffee shop? And if the right person is nearby, how awesome would it be to magically match with them? This is how Kalido was born.

Briefly explain how the app works...

All that a user has to do is fill in their profile and goal(s). This involves letting the app know what service you can provide, or what sort of people you want to meet. These can be business and non-business related. In fact, it should be that you can find whatever set of skills or services you need on Kalido.

Once you have entered your goals, Kalido uses an algorithm to serve you match cards showing matches you have made of people that would want your service, for example. The point of the app is to find you the services that you need and, particularly, the person that you would work together with best. The more info you add to your profile, the better Kalido can serve you. In addition to your goals, the app uses your contacts, your networks, your interests and your location to find you the person who fits with you best.

Why the focus on freelancers and SMMEs?

Looking at trends in the workplace, we see a world that is changing and moving away from the traditional corporate world to one where people create their own workspace and dictate their own schedule. And this is exhilarating. But these people also face considerable resource-constraints.

We dont think that people should be prevented from doing the work that they're passionate about because they cant find the right talent for their business, and cant afford or arent able to justify expensive advertising campaigns. On Kalido, SMMEs and freelancers can find the services they need  whether it be clients, suppliers or collaborators  and grow their businesses without having to invest in big marketing campaigns. And because Kalido uses your existing contacts and networks, it can help SMMEs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs make trustworthy connections.

Who is responsible for the apps development?

The app has been developed in South Africa, by South Africans. We have an incredible team of developers and designers based in Johannesburg.

Tell us about your plans to roll out the app in other countries.

We plan to roll Kalido out to all of South Africa, and then we'll look at other African countries. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking to start establishing ourselves in India, and Australia is also in the plans.

The Kalido app is available for download from Google Play and the Apple iStore.
Kedibone Makgato, Mokhudu Machaba and Erika Esterhuizen have been recognised as ISPA teachers of the year at the annual ISPA SuperTeacher Awards Gala Dinner on 22 September 2016.

Kedibone Makgato accepting her ISPA SuperTeacher 2016 award.

Makgato, of Toronto Primary School in Limpopo, was awarded the prestigious ISPA SuperTeacher 2016 title; while Machaba (Ngwanamago Primary in Limpopo) was named ISPA ChampTeacher of the Year, and Esterhuizen (St Andrews College in the Eastern Cape) was named TechTeacher of the Year 2016.

Speaking at the awards gala dinner, which is a highlight of the annual iWeek conference and exhibition, Dr Siyabonga Cwele, Minister for the Department of Telecommunications & Postal Services (DTPS), credited South African educators with introducing digital teaching tools in classrooms.

"Learners today don't respond well to blackboards. They want digital content in the classroom and teachers who know how to use it," he said.

Acknowledging that learner performance is linked to educator ICT knowledge, Minister Cwele congratulated ISPA SuperTeacher 2016, Makgato, on being chosen as the teacher who has best imparted her newly-acquired ICT knowledge to her learners, school and community. ISPA SuperTeacher finalists must demonstrate to the annual competition's judges exactly how they have best used their new-found knowledge after participating in ICT training partly sponsored by South Africa's Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) and its members, and facilitated by CoZa Cares Foundation.

According to CoZa Cares Foundation CEO, Fiona Wallace, sponsorship from ISPA members has over the years equipped over 5,000 teachers with ICT confidence, skills and leadership. In the last three years alone, some 750 school leaders, educators and district officials have been supported through a variety of professional development courses.

"All credit is due to Kedibone Makgato for working hard to be named as this year's ISPA SuperTeacher who is surely set to become the latest ISPA SuperTeacher to use this prestigious competition as a springboard to even greater achievements, as so many of her peers have done," said Wallace.

Competition

The judges of the now fully online competition, designed and developed by CoZa Cares, comprised a strongly representative cross-section of the South African education and ICT sphere. They included Sarah-Jane Capazario (ISPA), Dorcas Thabane (ISPA), Jenny King (e-Schools Network), Marcus Lamola (Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance - MGSLG), Neo Mothobi (Department of Basic Education, Pretoria), Megan Rademeyer (SchoolNet SA) and Clinton Walker (Western Cape Education Department).

South African annual internet industry gathering, iWeek, marked its 15th year by returning to Johannesburg from 19 - 23 September. An annual fixture of the closing night gala dinner is the announcement of the ISPA SuperTeacher of the Year from the ten competition finalists.

Competition prizes included, among other things, a lifetime gift subscription to Mighty Pen Education Magazine for the three winners, a Mecer Executive Series tablet for each winning teacher - sponsored by Mustek, a Matific school subscription until the end of 2017, and a professional development training session on assisting learners to navigate the digital space safely, sponsored by South Africa's Wireless Application Service Providers' Association (WASPA).
Pressure is mounting on mobile network operators to lower data costs as the regulator vows to protect consumers.

On Wednesday, Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and Cell C briefed Parliament on data costs following complaints from consumers. The cellphone network operators blamed the lack of spectrum for high data prices. Consumers have also been complaining about disappearing data and the inability to carry over unused data to the following month.

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) said on Thursday that even though it had yet to develop a specific framework to regulate data pricing, it aimed to protect consumers by setting regulations with which licensees had to comply. One of these regulations is the End-user and Subscriber Service Charter, which was amended in April 2016 to include greater protection for consumers.

According to Icasa, the regulations impose extensive transparency obligations on network providers such as informing consumers, at the point of sale or before signing a contract, about the in- and out-of-bundle data rates and the rules for the carry-over of unused voice minutes and data.

Research ICT Africa (RIA) stated in its submission to Parliament that the 1GB data basket had not seen much change, with operators either introducing competitively priced smaller data packages, running promotions that differentiated their data offerings or changing prices for lower or higher data bundles.

All cellphone operators, except Telkom Mobile and MTN, charge at R150 for 1GB on prepaid arrangements. SA's lowest-cost 1GB data places it 16th out of 47 African countries assessed by RIA. Tanzania has the lowest cost, priced at 89 US cents, compared with SA's $5.26. In comparison with other large markets, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria had lower data prices than SA, said RIA.

Icasa spokesman Paseka Maleka said: "Though there has not been any specific regulatory intervention in the data market as yet, the authority notes that there has been a downward trend in data tariffs lodged and charged by operators to consumers."

Average prices for data were now 45% lower than five years ago, he said. "This, however, is not to say that the concerns raised by civil society groups and consumers around the high costs are unfounded.

"The trends further indicate that consumers buying large volumes of data benefit significantly from low in-bundle rates per megabyte, whereas out-of-bundle rates are still substantially higher," said Maleka.

RIA said that with over-the-top services, such as instant messaging from companies such as WhatsApp increasingly acting as substitutes for traditional voice and SMS services, operators were opting not to raise prepaid prices on their lowest tariffs as a means of making up for lost revenue.

Maleka said the regulator was also concerned about the expiry of data bundles, because this was prejudicing consumers. Icasa was consulting with the National Consumer Commission to explore possible measures to deal with this practice.

Source: Business Day
Vodacom scored its second government contract in a week after it entered into a 15-year agreement worth R1bn with the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa).

The agreement, which was signed with Prasa subsidiary Intersite Asset Investments, will see Vodacom Business provide Prasa with products and services such as virtual private network connectivity and hosted exchange platforms, which the rail agency can resell to its customers.

As part of the deal, Vodacom will lease Prasa's fibre-optic cables for the duration of the contract and will make these assets commercially available to the government and other companies including other telecommunications operators. Prasa has more than 900km of fibre along railway lines and at stations that it uses to manage its locomotive traffic. Vodacom said Prasa would be able to generate revenue through its fibre assets and from the resale of Vodacom's enterprise products.

Intersite CEO Cromet Molepo said the company's mandate was to exploit Prasa's assets through the use of strategic partnerships to create value sustainably.

"This partnership with Vodacom is the first significant milestone in our journey towards effective and sustainable commercialisation of Prasa's telecommunications assets, with more innovative possibilities down the road," he said.

Vuyani Jarana, Vodacom Business's CEO, said the local economy was "quickly digitising, the demand for high-speed broadband is increasing daily and optic-fibre network deployments are crucial in the delivery of high-speed broadband services."

Vodacom said last week that it had been awarded a R5bn contract by the finance ministry to provide mobile data and voice services to 1.3-million government employees for four years.

Analysts believe that the decision is intended to save the Treasury money and to provide government departments with a reliable telecoms supplier. The government spends R3.2bn annually on telecommunications - R800m on mobile and R2.2bn on fixed-line. The deals could also indicate a vote of confidence in Vodacom's network and services.

The group has invested billions of rand into its domestic network in recent years. In the year to March 2016, it invested R12.9bn in its networks, targeted primarily at expanding its 2G, 3G and 4G coverage.

Source: BDpro
A plan by the government to increase the radio exclusion zone around the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope in the Northern Cape has the aviation industry up in arms.

Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons

The Civil Aviation Authority said the proposed SKA-radio protection zone falls within the world's 10th-busiest city-to-city airline traffic route, directly between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Not only are industry experts concerned about the routes, they are also worried about the cost implications. Route changes could mean higher fuel costs.

The Department of Science and Technology has proposed legislation for the development of the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Areas. It will be up for public debate next month. If passed, the law will see a vast radio "quiet" or protection zone established across the Northern Cape. At the centre of the zone is the SKA project near Carnarvon, which will, by the time construction is completed in 2025, consist of more than 200 specialised radio antennas. The SKA forms part of a larger scientific astronomy hub spread across Southern Africa.

The designated Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Areas measure 110,402km - one-tenth of the size of South Africa. Australia, also part of the SKA programme, has a radio quiet zone of 212,457km.

Aviation experts are concerned that, in addition to the Cape Town-Johannesburg route, flights from Cape Town to Kimberley and Upington, and to Namibia and Botswana might be affected. The government proposes that the radio-protection zone also extends vertically to 18.5km - twice the height at which commercial airlines fly.

Dire consequences for all aviation activities

The government has so far dismissed the concerns. But CAA spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba said a ban would have dire consequences for all aviation activities and might see the country failing to comply with international aviation standards. "It's alarming that although the authority contributed to the development of the act, its input was omitted from the act. The aviation industry and the CAA are advocating for changes to the law."

Ledwaba said the SKA's core area - the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Areas - was the biggest concern for aviation. "The area is enormous. It lies adjacent to and below heavily populated air traffic routes between Johannesburg and Cape Town.

"Such routes result in large amounts of electronic transmissions by aircraft. Reducing or not interfering with the SKA's monitoring activities means a flight operating at 35,000ft must be routed, at the very least, via Port Elizabeth and then seawards off the coastline to Cape Town to respect the radio quietness required," Ledwaba said. "We are vigorously debating the proposed aviation restrictions with the department."

Freight transport companies' vehicles use special radio communication systems that could also be affected.

The department believes the effect would be minimal.

Department spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele said: "The declaration of a radio quiet zone doesn't automatically impose restrictions on the use of airspace.

"If any are required these would be spelled out in appropriate regulations. Aircraft use radio frequency devices which may cause harmful radio frequency interference to the telescope, if not properly managed." He said: "The effect on air traffic will depend on the type of traffic."

Interference

Ngqengelele said there would be no blanket restrictions on the use of cellphones in towns within the area although, in the immediate vicinity of the radio telescopes, people would have to turn off phones.

Both Vodacom and MTN said they were working closely with the government to find ways to mitigate the electromagnetic interference cell phone radio signals would have on the SKA.

SKA spokesman Lorenzo Raynard said there was a need to protect the area. "The instruments are highly sensitive and can be damaged and radio astronomy observations affected. These interferences could include radio transmissions from broadcasters and radio noise produced by electrical devices such as microwave ovens. "The highest level of restrictions will be closest to the SKA's core. But this does not mean that all radio signals will be banned."

He said special software would be used to eliminate radio frequency disturbances from aircraft travelling at high altitudes, but low-flying aircraft would not be allowed to fly directly across the antennas.

"Freight transport can operate in the area using their radio communication systems as long as their technology uses frequencies outside the restricted bands."

Private pilot James Pitman said the "protection" zone would have an immense effect on private pilots' business operations: "Aircraft not only have verbal communication systems, but also radars and transponders which emit signals."

Source: The Times
Berlin, Germany: Is it a plane, is it a train? No, say supporters of Hyperloop, a futuristic mode of transport floated by Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk that promises high-tech, high-speed and cheap travel over long distances. It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but developers insist their dream of passengers seated in pods shooting through a tube above the ground will become a reality by 2020 -- and change travel as we know it.

"We are not the train, we are not the car, we are not the plane," says Bibop Gresta, chief executive of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, one of several companies racing to build a prototype. "It is a new mode of transportation," agrees Rob Lloyd, chief executive at competitor Hyperloop One.

Both men were at the European rail transport fair Innotrans in Berlin this week, sketching out their vision of a future where huge distances will be bridged in mere minutes. Researchers have long dreamt of beating air resistance - drastically cutting the energy needed for high-speed transport - by moving vehicles through vacuum.

The fifth mode of transport

But it was Musk, the PayPal magnate who has made big bets on rocketry with SpaceX and electric vehicles with Tesla, who breathed new life into the idea in 2013 with a paper outlining a "fifth mode of transport" that would link Los Angeles and San Francisco by tube. The cities are currently separated by five to six hours by road or one hour by plane - a trip Musk said could be cut to 30 minutes. Busy with his other ventures, Musk offered the idea for free to companies interested in developing it.

The Hyperloop hopefuls at the trade show paint a picture of passengers entering a capsule resembling nothing so much as a train carriage with virtual windows. Once all are aboard, the capsule's electric engines propel it down a tube almost completely emptied of air, floating slightly off the floor thanks to magnetic levitation to further cut down on friction. Travellers will feel forces similar to those experienced in a plane as the vehicle accelerates.

On its website, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) predicts its pods will travel at up to 1,220 kilometres per hour (760 mph) - around half as fast again as an airliner. For now, though, the only way to get a sense of future Hyperloop journeys is with a virtual reality headset at the Innotrans booths belonging to HTT or Canadian startup Transpod. Via the goggles you can take a seat in a cabin lit by artificial sunlight with views of the outside on video screens.

The firms also offer videos giving an idea of what the tubes mounted on pylons will look like. California-based Hyperloop One has carried out preliminary tests of its propulsion system in the Nevada desert, and plans to bring its project to market in "2020-2021", vows engineering chief Josh Giegel.

Ready for market

Transpod boss Sebastien Gendron says "our objective is that the product be ready for the market in 2020". HTT says it will be ready in 2019.

Gendron believes Hyperloop systems could change modern life dramatically, as there would be no need to live densely packed in cities like Paris to keep commuting times down.

With low prices, Hyperloop One suggests a 28-minute journey between Stockholm and Helsinki would cost just 25 euros ($28) - added to zero emissions and high levels of safety thanks to the automated capsules and shelter from the weather, the Hyperloop boasts many theoretical advantages.

Interest is growing in the business world, with France's national rail company SNCF recently investing in Hyperloop One, while graphite materials company Mersen signed a partnership with Transpod. Hyperloop One has so far raised $130 million in funding, while Transpod says it will need around $150 million to develop its prototype.

Musk himself has estimated the final bill for a fully operational Hyperloop at several billion dollars.

"It's too early to say whether Hyperloop will remain a shimmering dream consigned to the footnotes of history or become a breakthrough technology that changes our world", Alstom Transport CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said at the Innotrans fair.

But HTT boss Gresta is a believer. "No doubt about it, Hyperloop is gonna be built," he said.

Source: AFP
The world's top oil producers "must take a decision" to stabilise prices, Algeria's energy minister said ahead of an OPEC meeting this week in Algiers.

Oil prices are already depressed after two years of oversupply amid deep disagreements between members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Failing to agree on a production freeze could push prices even lower, Noureddine Boutarfa said.

"Every state in the organisation agrees on the need to stabilise prices, it just remains for us to find a format that pleases everyone. The best solution would be a (production) freeze," he said.

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Oil prices collapsed from peaks of more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to near 13-year lows below $30 in January.

As a result, OPEC members are losing between $300- $500m a day, Boutarfa said.

"No (oil) company will be able to withstand it if prices remain under $50 a barrel."

Hopes of a deal to limit production pushed prices above $46 a barrel last week, but they slid to $44,48 on Friday as investors' optimism waned. Venezuela and Iraq, which have been hard-hit by low prices, support the idea of a production freeze to boost prices.

But an attempt in April to reach a deal, led by OPEC linchpin Saudi Arabia, fell apart when its political arch-rival Iran refused to play ball. Iran said it needed to bring its production back up to the level it enjoyed prior to Western sanctions over its nuclear programme which have since been lifted.

Algeria's cordial ties with OPEC members across the board mean it is well-placed to push for a deal.

"We are able to bring together states with political differences around a single table," Boutarfa said.

OPEC's 12 member states produce around a third of the world's oil, and their production decisions have a global impact on prices. Boutarfa said Wednesday's summit would be a "first step" towards stability in the market.

"The Algiers meeting will not fail," he said.

"Either we reach an agreement, which would be good, or we reach an understanding on the elements of an agreement, and that would also be good."
Ignite! was a session of TED-style turbo-charged talks with an innovative twist that ended off the 2016 SABC Education Innovation Summit with a definitive bang. Here's what you missed from a few of this year's 'firestarters' (that's Ignite! lingo for speakers at the event).

Ignite! brought together corporate innovation thought leaders with a blend of entrepreneurs, artists and entertainers for short bursts of energy-packed innovation lessons, stories and ideas.

For example, attendees heard from The ABC Band ZA, creators of "ruban" music; Paula Quinsee, the relationship and conflict expert who authored Embracing Conflict helped attendees rediscover the human intelligence we too often neglect thats crucial for creativity to flourish; while eight-year old Kirsty-Lea Greyling, who embodies the spirit of creativity that we all unlearn all too quickly as we grow up  or is that grow down  explained how to make a dragon. Fitting, as she describes herself as a dreamer, creator and future dragon-maker.

One of the members of ABC Band ZA, Quinsee and Greyling.

Below, all three share their views of business innovation, how local business can boost the power of innovation and benefit from doing things differently and their favourite examples of how to get that sometimes risky form of creative thinking and implementation just right

1. What does business innovation mean to you?

The ABC Band ZA: For us, it means thinking out of the box and striving to provide a service or product of the best standard with the little resources that you have.

Quinsee: Finding new ways of doing business or improving/enhancing/streamlining existing business that adds value and produces better outcomes that benefit the relevant target market.

Greyling: It means inventing/making/creating something that has never been invented before/doesnt exist. For example, a hovercraft car to dodge traffic.

2. Tell us how local business can boost the power of innovation and benefit from doing things differently.

The ABC Band ZA: By providing service excellence and not allowing limited resources to be a hindrance, businesses can inspire an innovative culture in the market place.

Quinsee: Collaborative practice amongst businesses that enables innovation through shared ideas, platforms and thinking that ultimately enables growth of people, organisations and the country as a whole.

Greyling: Stop building buildings. Live and work in and with nature. Build tree houses. Its nicer to be outside. And the animals will be happy.

3. Whats your favourite example of brands getting that sometimes risky form of creative thinking and implementation just right?

The ABC Band ZA: Were inspired by the Me and You Mobile offering in the telecommunication space  a 'no-sim' contract is a first and just that unique point of difference and competitive rates made it a must-have.

Quinsee: Some good examples are Netflorist, which started off as just a flower service provider and has collaborated with other service providers to offer additional supplementary products such as jewellery, alcohol, gifts and more. Airbnb and Uber are also prime examples of creative collaborative thinking.

Greyling: I dont really know brands. I like making experiments with ingredients you can find at home, like water + corn flour + food colouring = slime. Or make snow with baking soda, shaving cream and nice-smelling oil.

From the mouths of babes Click here and scroll through the South African Innovation Summit hashtag #SAIS2016 for more of what you missed!
There is an invisible institution called the Bank of Goodwill. It is centuries old, and has stood the test of time. Every corporate needs an account with this institution - some more than others. Over the Heritage Day weekend, DJ Black Coffee made a much-publicised transaction with the Bank of Goodwill, following events at the 2016 DStv iRock Festival in Polokwane on Saturday night.

Black Coffee is said to have manhandled acclaimed hip hop artist AKAs road manager. This could have resulted in a dent in Black Coffees reputation. However he appears to have walked away unscathed, while AKA has been portrayed as the villain. This could be attributed to the size of their respective deposits in the Bank of Goodwill.

What happened in the past (doesnt) stay in the past

AKAs musical credentials are solid  we can even describe them as exceptional. Yet music lovers love to hate him, which (as one of his hit songs is titled) may be attributed to jealousy. However, a Google search of AKA reveals media reports around industry beefing, and personal (or at least they should be) matters. These types of reports create the impression of a man who will walk off a live interview set, kick you off stage, and throw your cell phone off the balcony. This may sound unfair and harsh. However, even though last weeks news has no impetus on what happened today, you cant shake it off. The Bank of Goodwill would classify this as a high-risk client.

Being private about what goes public

The perceptions we have of Black Coffee are different. We see an individual who works hard, stays focused, prioritises his family and is disciplined. This is based on the type of news he generates in the media. His engagement with fans and corporates is endearing. We shared the fulfillment of a life-long dream with him, when he met PDiddy (as shared on his Facebook page). We look, with admiration, at his beautiful wife and adorable boys (as reported in DESTINY MAN). The hairs on the back of our neck rose when he accepted his BET Award, and we nodded with pride, when President Zuma congratulated him. All of this point to years spent building his brand  being calculating about everything. The public loves to love Black Coffee, and this love is accepted by the Bank of Goodwill as legal tender.

This crisis is a joke

In what seems to have been a dispute over the timing of performances by the two crowd-pulling entertainers, Black Coffee is shown on a video to have smacked a member of AKAs team, with no physical retaliation from the attacked. Black Coffee assaulted this man! Its on video. There is evidence to prove it. No one can question whether or not it happened. Yet the public is prepared to (not only) stand by Black Coffee  they are fighting on his behalf on social media; justifying these actions as what could only have been the result of significant provocation, because really, this is Black Coffee, our Black Coffee  calm, professional, respectful Black Coffee. The support from the public, when read between the lines, says: Its obvious that Black Coffee must have been pushed to the point of momentary-loss-of-discipline by the team of a temperamental and volatile musician. Black Twitter went so far as to create GIFs about it, and it really has turned into a joke.

As the sun goes down on this, Black Coffee stands as the hero. With personal bankers on stand-by 24/7, he made a withdrawal from what would appear to be a healthy account with the Bank of Goodwill, and he will live to tell the tale tomorrow, when hes ready to talk about it, on his terms.

Many corporates in South Africa could learn from Black Coffee. It cannot be emphasised enough how important an account with the Bank of Goodwill is, because no brand is immune to challenges. However, with a strategic and consistent communications plan that is actively making deposits into the Bank of Goodwill, a brand can weather any storm, and may be given the benefit of the doubt, in the same manner that Black Coffee clearly enjoys.
The African growth story is still real. Two years ago, the first US-Africa Business Forum drew the attention of the world to the promise of Africa. Governments and organisations discussed and debated opportunities in infrastructure, innovation, and workforce development, and together committed more than $33 billion in deals, investments, and financing to accelerate African growth.

Africa rising (Source: GE)

GE, which has operated in Africa for over 100 years, committed at the 2014 event to invest $2 billion in facility development, skills training, and sustainability initiatives across Africa by 2018. Ahead of the second US-Africa Business Forum last week, GE announ ced significant progress against these commitments, as well as several new initiatives.

Jay Ireland, president and CEO of GE Africa, said: Meeting Africas needs takes leadership and cooperation. This weeks US-Africa Business Forum signals the strong commitment by both African and US companies and governments to collaborate for economic growth. GE is proud to remain a steadfast partner in Africa's sustainable growth and will continue to invest in people and infrastructure across Africa."

Nabil Habayeb, president and CEO of GE Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey said: Building on our decades of presence in the region, we have specifically focused on supporting North African nations to strengthen their energy, healthcare and transportation infrastructure  sectors that are mission-critical for sustained growth.

In addition to delivering advanced digital industrial technologies that enhance productivity and efficiency, our emphasis has been to create thriving innovation ecosystems and promote local capacity building. Led by the success of these initiatives, we are taking our partnerships to the next level to accelerate growth and progress.

Africa rising

Africa is home to 12 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies, and its manufacturing, services and technology sectors are fueling markets around the globe. Improving access to core infrastructure will equip more Africans to tap its vast potential.

GE's installed base across Africa totals more than 93 gigawatts of power. GE has added approximately 11 gigawatts to the grid since 2014, and 2.74 gigawatts are currently under development by GE in Power Africa projects. GE has spent $15m over the past two years on projects representing roughly 2GW of power in Nigeria and Ghana. GE has announced the signing of the PPA and related agreements for the Ghana 300 Bridge Project, which will power the equivalent of 700,000 homes in Ghana. In Egypt, the government needed help to avoid outages during Ramadan in 2015. GE delivered 2.6 gigawatts - enough emergency power to supply 2.5 million homes - in nine months. In Algeria, GE has created three joint ventures across the energy spectrum. It broke ground in 2015 at GE Algeria Turbines (GEAT) and are preparing the site which is expected to be operational by 2018. In Nigeria, GE launched a $20M Healthymagination Mother and Child initiative in 2016 with USAID, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency. Two million expectant Nigerian mothers are set to benefit from the program by 2020. GE is supporting Kenya's Managed Equipment Services (MES) project in line with the countrys transformation strategy. One of the largest healthcare modernization programs to date in Africa, we have so far upgraded radiology departments at 96 Ministry of Health hospitals. Early results are positive; access to radiology services improved by 50 percent across three pilot hospitals in the first five months after the new equipment was installed. Through partnership agreements in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Angola, GE supports their development agendas in power generation, healthcare, and transportation.

Localised solutions

GE is working with partners in Africa to drive sustainable development and solve local challenges by investing in technology, building capital markets and developing technical skills within communities:

1. GE launched its first Africa-based innovation center in South Africa in 2016. The Africa Innovation Centre, according to GE Africa president Jay Ireland, will be a collaborative work space aimed at driving innovation in Africa for Africa. The Centre, which serves as the Africa HQ for GEs growing Healthcare business, also houses the first Healthcare Customer Experience Centrein Africa, which is designed to mimic different care areas in a hospital environment. GE inaugurated the brand new $13 million GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute, an education facility for healthcare professionals, in Kenya in 2016, as part of its MES commitment. Through the new facility, GE has committed to training over 10,000 healthcare professionals from across Kenya and East Africa by 2020. The $19m supplier development fund we outlined in 2014 is operational, and 18 small- and medium-sized businesses are now receiving business and technical services. In collaboration with the US Africa Development Foundation and USAID, GE continues its commitment to the "Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge". The initiative has awarded 50 grants of up to $100,000 each to local enterprises to develop and expand off-grid solutions in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. In 2016, GEs and the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship launched a program to train and mentor African social entrepreneurs, addressing maternal and/or child health. The program selected its first cohort of 17 social entrepreneurs, who will gain support in strengthening their business models, refining business plans, reinforcing organisational development, managing talent, and learning how to scale sustainably. In Egypt, GE and the Ministry of Communications and IT launched the GE Egypt Digital Innovation Challenge in September 2016. Entrepreneurs can submit digital solutions for industrial challenges in healthcare, transportation, and energy until November 30, and winners will receive a cash award of EGP 100,000, as well as an opportunity to receive training to develop their software solution on Predix.

Capacity building

GE is investing in capacity building that will ensure sustained growth by providing skills training and developing leaders through partnerships with local governments, schools, and hospitals:
Kristina: What are the implications of WhatsApp move?

Jason Rothman, GM Mobile + Social, SteelHouse: WhatsApp has reached a mass user base, and were seeing an evolution in the business model to monetize those users and build an infrastructure of other capabilities and functions on top of messaging. When Facebook bought it back in 2014, WhatsApp didnt have the one billion plus users it has today  so its a strategic move to enhance advertising measures and a step forward in finally opening WhatsApps doors to businesses who want to connect with consumers. The reason that this is such a key move in the advertising world is that its a solid step in the direction of contextual-based advertising. It is this type of advertising that enables more personalized and targeted ad content  something that, until recently, has not been a possible for most advertisers/brands to achieve.

Kristina: How can brands capitalize on this change?

Jason: Basically, WhatsApp has a ton of deterministic cross device user data (based on real information about users). Once combined with Facebook, that data will really enhance the already giant network of deterministic cross device user data available to advertisers and brands. For now, the data being made available via WhatsApp is only basic user metrics  and there is an opt-out option for users who are not interested in having their data shared. But the future potential for brands is huge  WhatsApp and other messaging apps could become entirely closed-loop platforms that remove all the steps of friction consumers currently experience in their digital journey. Another perk to the WhatsApp data is that it has significant penetration into other markets where Facebook does not. For example, Spain has only about 21 million Facebook users (a bit over half of their internet users)  and yet it has one of the highest penetration rates of WhatsApp in Europe. Data from WhatsApp can really make up for Facebook data that isnt as strong in certain parts of the world.

Kristina: What is the potential for chat apps as a way for merchants/brands to engage with people?

Jason: For the moment, serving actual contextual-based ads on WhatsApp is not yet possible. However, assuming that may be the case in the future (be it through WhatsApp or other messaging apps), the possibilities for brands are endless. Imagine this: two people are corresponding via a chat app and one of them suggests a desire to go shopping for high heels for an evening event. If a relevant brand/advertiser actually has access to that kind of content, they might be able to serve an ad to that user for a pair of high heels at a discounted rate. Which is now the better option for that user? Purchasing the discounted heels in app or the great unknown of a weekend shopping excursion? Its a win-win for both brands and consumers. Thats the type of advertising the future holds for brands and the type of brand engagement consumers can actually appreciate.
One of the IDP camp officers, La Doi Awng, said that Captain Wai Yan Linn from the Sar Maw-based Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 105 (LIB-105) accompanied by local peoples militia troops entered the church compound without permission and searched some of the IDPs homes.

He said: They searched the rooms of families staying at the camp. They opened up their chests and inspected them. They entered through the windows, they didnt make big threats.

He also said that Capt. Wai Yan Linn had demanded to take photos of the IDPs.



Burma Army soldiers raid Sar Maw IDP camp

The head of the IDP camp refused to grant Capt. Wai Yan Linn permission to photograph the IDPs. La Doi Awng, the ward administrator and some church members were taken to the Burmese military camp at 5pm, but were released an hour later.

On the morning of 17 September the Kachin Independence Armys (KIA) Battalion 11 attacked Tsap Ba Bum Burma Army military camp near to the former village of Sut Leng Yang close to Sar Maw Village.



Burma Army soldiers raid Sar Maw IDP camp

This fighting caused more people to seek shelter at the IDP camp in the compound of Sar Maw Baptist Church.

Currently, the Burma Army is preventing trucks carrying food supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP) to Man Win IDP camp in southern Kachin State. As a result many IDPs there do not even have rice porridge to eat, said an official from the camp.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI


An internet imagery.

MOSCOW (PTI): India and Russia have kicked off the eighth edition of their joint military exercise in Vladivostok with a focus on counter-terror operations.



The 'Indra-2016' exercise is being held in the Ussiriysk district and the main focus of this edition of the joint drills is on 'Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate'.



To achieve interoperability in joint operations, troops from both sides would acquaint themselves with the respective approach to such operations. A comprehensive training programme spanning 11 days has been drawn up for the purpose, the Indian Army said in a statement on Friday.



Brigadier Sukrit Chadah is leading the Indian contingent of 250 soldiers from the Kumaon Regiment while the Russian army is being represented by 250 soldiers from the 59th Motorised Infantry Brigade.



Addressing the contingents, Brig Chadah highlighted the need for jointness between the two nations to defeat terrorism.



The 'Indra' series of bilateral exercises is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and Russia since 2003. The Indian contingent is scheduled to return to India on termination of the exercise in early October.



The exercise started on a day when 70 soldiers from a mechanised infantry unit of the Russian military arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military drills between the two former Cold War rivals.






MUMBAI S (PTI): L&T Shipbuilding, part of the USD 16-billion engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T), is eyeing around Rs 9,000 crore orders over the next three years, mostly from the Navy.



L&T diversified into shipbuilding earlier this decade and is yet to make money in the segment.



The company, which has two facilities -- at Kattupalli near Chennai and Hazira in Gujarat -- is also expecting revenues to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore over the next three years, L&T Shipbuilding Managing Director and Chief Executive B Kannan told PTI.



"There was a slowdown in the shipbuilding industry for quite some time both in the commercial as well as defence sectors.



"But with the government now opening the defence sector to private players, we see a huge opportunity and expect to bag a sizeable amount of orders to be awarded by the Navy in the coming years," he said.



The company is expecting to bag at least Rs 9,000 crore worth of orders over the next three years, he said, adding the government's focus on improving national security and ring-fence the Indian Ocean Region will drive growth in the sector.



"While bids for some contracts are already prepared, some may be finalised in the coming months. Some of these orders were the ones which were to be handed out between 2013 and 2015 but have been delayed and have now started moving. We expect there will be momentum from next year and some more ship orders will be coming in," Kannan said.



"Currently very few orders are being given to the private sector. We hope over time, there would be level playing field between the public and private sector and the latter would be given more orders. It's only time before private sector shipyards demonstrate their capabilities in a very strong manner," Kannan said.



The company is also expecting to bag one contract to develop amphibious assault ships, also called landing platform docks (LPD).



The defence ministry has issued an RFP for developing four such LPDs, out of which two will be developed by private sector shipyards while the remaining will be produced by Hindustan Shipyard.






NEW DELHI (PTI): With the deal for 36 Rafale jets in kitty, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier has said the French company is game for the 'Make in India' initiative and open to manufacturing the fighter aircraft in India if the plane is shortlisted for a bigger order.



He said that with the Indian contract going through, the company feels that more international orders of the plane, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, will come in.



"It is 36 at the moment. We feel that we can create a strong industrial partnership in India. We know very well the large number of aircraft that the IAF needs," Trappier said in an interview to PTI here.



He said that Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of the Rafale jets, is committed to the Make in India initiative.



"Yes, of course. We will see how we can carry forward with the 'Make in India' initiative. We are open to manufacturing Rafales in India," Trappier said when asked if the French firm was willing to manufacture the fighter aircraft in India if the plane was shortlisted for a bigger order.



The CEO said the company will work with the IAF and the government to see how they can meet India's needs.



He said the focus was to build an industrial partnership in India for Rafale jets and the 50 per cent offset clause will be of help.



Defence sources have made it clear that the deal for 36 Rafale jets does not come with an option clause. This means that more orders will come only through fresh talks.



India had originally wanted 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft for which Rafale was shortlisted.



However, due to the delay over cost and other issues, the Narendra Modi government decided to go for 36 Rafale jets in fly away condition.



With India reducing the number, a multi-billion dollar aircraft contract is still in play.



This has led to fresh pitches from those who lost out on the first deal including Boeing, Saab and Lockheed Martin.



The sources have said India is looking at shortlisting one more aircraft, besides Tejas, to be manufactured domestically.



Dassault Aviation hopes that Rafale, a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base, makes the cut.



The fully versatile Rafale is able to carry out all combat aviation missions -- air defence, interception, ground support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.



Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2004 and with the French Air Force in 2006. In 2015, Egypt and Qatar ordered 24 Rafales each. As of June 30 this year, 152 Rafale aircraft had been delivered.


Yes, the rumors are true! Brandeis really has a space chair

In the basement of the Rabb Graduate Center, there's a hulking, rotating chair being used to test how humans react to changes in motion and orientation. Fighter pilots and astronauts are very interested in the results.

Imagine youre a jet fighter pilot being chased by a heat-seeking missile. You undertake evasive maneuvers, climbing and nose-diving, performing barrel rolls and loops, and sharply banking left and right. Your speed is around 1,500 miles per hour. Without the proper training  even with it  you're liable to get pretty nauseous. You'd grow disoriented and become unable to tell which direction you were headed. You couldn't distinguish between up, down, left or right. You wouldn't know how to right the plane or steer yourself back on course.

If you want to know what this might be like  and not die  you could take a ride on the Multi-Axis Rotation and Tilt Device (MART) on the Brandeis campus. A massive, motorized chair, it rotates along the same axes as an airplane. It moves much slower than an airplane, but for researchers at The Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory, it can still stand in for the experience of being inside a cockpit. For the roughly one dozen faculty members, staff and graduate students at the lab, it's a critical tool for understanding how humans adapt to changes in orientation.

The Air Force funds research on the MART to understand how its pilots will respond to shifts in direction and gravity. NASA is interested in understanding what astronauts experience during spaceflight. The findings could also one day be used to develop treatment for vestibular diseases, disorders of the inner ear that make it difficult to balance.

"How do you know what's up and down? How do you know when you're moving? How do you know what direction you're moving in?" says Professor of Psychology Paul DiZio. "That's what we're studying." DiZio and James Lackner, the Meshulam and Judith Riklis Professor of Physiology, co-direct the Ashton Graybiel lab.

The MART, hidden away in the basement of the Rabb Graduate Center, may be one of the best kept secrets at Brandeis. Students sometimes hear rumors about a "space chair" on campus, but only a lucky few get to see it. A few even luckier ones undergo training and take a ride. "Even the people who get motion sick want to come back because its so fun," DiZio says.

Here's how the MART works:

Riders are strapped in with a five-point harness, blindfolded, and made to wear soundproof headphones. There's a joystick on the right arm, an emergency stop button on the left. The chair can move side to side, tilt back and forth, and twist. In theory, it can move 360 in any of these directions, but in most experiments it goes no farther than 60 to one side or the other.

The chair can move in two directions at once so sitting in it, you feel more like you are wobbling than going in a single straight direction. Using the joystick, you have to find the point where the chair would once again be balanced. It's like you're an egg searching for the spot where you won't tip over.

About a decade ago, DiZio and Lackner came up with the idea of bolting the MART to the floor of a stripped-down DC-9 airplane, strapping in a passenger, and taking off. The plane flew in a parabolic path, rising to 35,000 feet before arcing downward and free-falling for 10,000 feet. Along the way, the chair periodically rotated to a new position. Every test subject went through 40 parabolas before the vehicle landed. People were extensively trained beforehand, but a good 50 percent of them still lost their lunch.

During the ride, the passengers were given a pencil-sized measuring device. As they rotated, they were asked to identify the direction an object placed on top of the stick would fall and then point the stick in that direction. They were also asked to align the device parallel to the midline of their body. This determined whether despite the twisting and turning, riders still knew which way was up and out from their bodies.

Not surprisingly, a lot of them got it very wrong. But it was why they got it wrong that was most revealing for DiZio and Lackner. They were also working with Janna Kaplan, a senior research associate and lecturer, and Simone Bortolami, a former senior scientist at Brandeis now working at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The chair rotates along three axes  pitch, roll, and yaw. Roll tilts you leftward or rightward. Pitch throws you forward or backward. Yaw is going around the vertical axis that runs from your head to your feet. Think of a gyro turning around on a rotisserie.

When passengers in the MART on the DC-9 experienced changes in either roll or pitch, they became substantially disoriented. When they were put through changes in yaw though, it barely registered. The finding helped confirm a radical new theory of how humans determine spatial orientation: Our bodies have an instinctual sense of pitch and roll, but we determine yaw indirectly, calculating it from the ratio of pitch to roll.

You can think of it this way:

Imagine yourself as a two-dimensional cut-out moving around on on a piece of graph paper. It would be as if you could accurately ascertain how far you traveled along the vertical or horizontal axes, but not along the diagonal. To know the diagonal, you would need to compute it from the other two measurements.

It sounds strange, but the body is instinctively making a mathematical calculation when we figure out our spatial orientation. And though we experience ourselves moving through space in three dimensions, we are actually only attuned to two of them. Our experience of rotating around the yaw axis is an estimate our brains make so we feel at home in three dimensions.

The MART's flying days are pretty much over and research now takes place entirely in the Rabb building with the whole structure firmly bolted to the ground. In recent years, Vivekanand Vimal, a PhD student at the Graybiel Lab, has carried out a set of experiments throwing new light on how our inner ear aids us in determining spatial orientation.

Inside the ear is what's called the vestibular system. It has two components: the semicircular canals that detect angular acceleration during rotations and otoliths, small organs that sense linear acceleration.

It had been believed that people could make reasonable estimates about how far they were rotated just using their semicircular canals. But Vimal has shown that the canals work in combination with the otoliths. We need both actively working together to regain balance.

Vimal, DiZio and Lackner's research could be used by the Air Force to train pilots to anticipate when they are prone to make navigational mistakes. Traveling in outer space also puts enormous strains on the inner ear. These are critical situations where knowing when and how you might become disoriented is crucial. As Vimal says, "A small error can lead to huge consequences."
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Approximately 70 people attended a meeting hosted by Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire to debate the pros and cons of electoral reform in Canada.

The public meeting, which took place at the Trails West Inn, was designed to provide feedback to the parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing electoral reform.

During the 2015 federal election, the Liberals promised the 42nd election would be the last of its kind that used the first-past-the-post process.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun Approximately 70 voters debated the merits of changing Canadas electoral system at the Trails West Inn on Saturday.

Opinions ranged on a wide swath of topics brought forth by Maguires parliamentary assistant Drew Ostash.

Several types of reform were explained and debated, including mandatory voting, proportional representation and preferential ballots, among others. Following the discussions, the crowd, which was made up primarily of voters older than 50 years of age, filled out comment forms that will be delivered to the committee.

I think Canada is a free country and no one should be forced to do anything, including voting, one woman said about the notion of implementing mandatory voting.

One of the few younger participants said he was in favour of moving voting online, believing that technological advances have made it easier and safer to vote than ever.

That drew the ire of some of the older voters, who seemed wary of privacy concerns and divulging information online where it is susceptible to hackers.

The greatest diversity of opinion, however, came on the question of whether the Justin Trudeau-led Liberal government should hold a referendum so that all Canadians can vote on electoral reform.

Dave Barnes, who previously ran for the Green Party, wasnt in favour of a referendum on the issue.

Ive always left the process of referendums unhappy because of the wording of the question, Barnes said. The governing party gets to pose the question, and its never as simple as it should be, so I would argue against a referendum.

Others said changing the way Canadians vote is fundamental to the way we live and interact with our government, and it should be done by polling everyone in the nation.

Another man said the cost of a referendum, which has been billed at approximately $300 million, is reason enough not do it.

Ostash, who moderated the discussion, was careful not to let his opinions on the issue steer the meeting.

There has been no consensus on the issue from academics, politicians and voters across the country and its clear we dont have consensus in this room, Ostash said. Thats why were doing this and all of your comments will be submitted to the committee for review.

The 12-member committee, which is composed of five Liberal MPs, three Conservative MPs, two NDP MPs, one Bloc Quebecois MP and one Green Party MP will only be able to present the government with recommendations.

Once the committee files its report the government can choose to take the recommendations or not, Ostash said.

The Conservative party has been firm in its position that a referendum is necessary for any change to the voting process.

Maguire has stated on numerous occasions that the people of Westman should have the final say.

"Whatever the plan, and whatever the process, Canadians want a vote  yes or no  before the Liberals try to change the voting system. That is what Canadians deserve from their government, and that is what the Conservative party will continue to push for."

 ctweed@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @CharlesTweed
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/09/2016 (2226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon police have two suspects in custody and are looking for two more after a home was riddled with bullets on Sunday afternoon.

Shortly after 4 p.m., police were called to a residence in the 200 block of Park Street where four men wearing masks broke into a home. Two men watched the front while two accomplices broke in through the back door.

The men were carrying an assault rifle and handgun, according to Staff Sgt. Larry Yanick, but no weapons were fired in the residence.

Brandon Police Servce Brandon Police Service

A man, woman and baby were in the residence, but werent harmed and no demands were made nor was anything stolen, however, as police were investigating the call they heard gunfire in the area.

Once outside, officers witnessed a suspicious vehicle which appeared to be racing away from the direction the gunshots were heard coming from.

Police stopped the vehicle in the back lane of the 200 block between Dennis and Russell Streets. Two men fled on foot and police were able to arrest them nearby.

An assault rifle and handgun were located on the ground in the directions the men fled.

Police believe the men were fleeing from a home in the 200 block of Lorne Ave. East.

That home had 30 rounds fired at it. Two of the bullets entered the home, while the remainder embedded in the exterior walls.

Police havent ruled out the possibility that the shooting is linked to recent violence in the city.

Two Brandon men  28 and 30 years old  are in custody and facing multiple weapons charges.

Yanick said the shooting is not random and it appears the home was targeted.

 ctweed@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @CharlesTweed
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 24-year-old Brandon man has been charged with attempted murder following a shooting and subsequent church confession on Saturday night.

At approximately 5:40 p.m., Brandon police were called to the 300 block of 10th Street after reports of multiple shots fired in the area.

Staff Sgt. Larry Yanick said when police initially arrived at the scene, everyone had vacated the area.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun Brandon police cordon off an area in the 300 block of 10th Street where a man was shot on Sept. 24.

However, a short time later, police received a call from the hospital after a man was admitted with a gunshot wound to his chest.

A second caller led police to Central United Church in the 300 block of Eighth Street, where a man entered the church and told a staff member that he was hiding from police because he shot someone. Officers attended and arrested the man.

A witness at the scene of the shooting, who wished to remain anonymous, was still shaken by the incident hours after it took place.

Its scary, he said. All of a sudden I heard pop, pop. It was a different sound and it was too loud to be a firecracker, so I came to look and thats when all mayhem broke loose. Then I heard another pop, pop.

The witness believes the gun was fired four times.

Police combed the area with a dog late Saturday night and located a .22-calibre revolver handgun from a dumpster in the back lane of the 300 block between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

The alleged shooter has been charged with attempted murder, possessing a restricted weapon, discharging a firearm and breach of his recognizance.

The investigation is continuing and police believe further charges will be laid.

Its still in the early stages of the investigation, Yanick said, adding that the incident wasnt random and the two parties were known to each other.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun A witness said the man was shot right beside this large tree.

The victim, a 38-year-old Brandon man, was conscious and speaking when he was admitted to the hospital, according to Yanick.

Medical staff extracted a small calibre bullet from the left side of the mans torso. He didnt require surgery and was released from hospital.

The incident isnt related to a shooting that took place one week ago, according to police.

 ctweed@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @CharlesTweed
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SOURIS  It was a dog-eat-dog world at the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Clubs annual Flyball Tournament in Souris this weekend.

Angie Young, who owns three flyball dogs, said the sport is addictive once you get started.

I got hooked running my first dog when I was seven years old, Young said while standing in the curling rink at the Souris and Glenwood Memorial Complex on Sunday.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun Quiver jumps while owner Lisa Lobb from Brandon runs in behind at the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club Flyball Tournament in Souris on Sunday

The regional tournament drew teams from Brandon, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Regina.

Flyball got its start in the 1970s, according to the North American Flyball Association (NAFA), which sanctions all tournaments.

The sport is effectively a four-dog race. Each dog must race down a 51-foot course while leaping over four jumps before bounding into a box that releases a ball. The dog must then do a 180-degree turn and race back over the jumps to its owner.

A laser timer records how fast each dog completes the relay. The trick, however, is hitting a four-inch window as closely as possible so that the teams combined time remains low. Cross too early and youre disqualified. Cross too late and your time is elevated.

Its also dangerous as that timing needs to be precise enough to keep the time low, but not so early that the dogs collide at the start of the course.

For her part, Young stands exactly 32 feet back from the first jump and lets her dog go when the dog before her has made the turn and started its first jump on the homestretch. That meticulous timing allows her dog to essentially pass the dog in front of her at the perfect moment, while the 32-foot head start ensures her dog is at top speed when she enters the course.

You want to run fast and clean, Young said.

Selecting your team is also pivotal, as the jumps are set five inches lower than the height of the measurement from the ground to the shoulder of the smallest dog on the team. Ensuring you have one small dog, or at least one with short legs, is critical to lowering the jump height to produce faster times.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun Angie Young (right) holds Havik prior to the start of a race at the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club Flyball Tournament in Souris on Sunday. Young races out of Brandon with (from left to right) Lisa Lobb with Quiver, Shawna Sherb-Jones with Rogue and Melanie Hart with Cavu.

Her dog, Havik, set a personal best on the weekend, completing the course in 3.54 seconds.

You just want to be the best, said Young, who races one dog for fun and one dog competitively.

You always want to get a dog faster than the one you have right now. You get a dog that is fast and then you want to beat that time, she said. Flyball dogs are like potato chips, you cant just have one.

Havik is a cross between a border collie, Jack Russell terrier and a whippet.

While Border-Jacks dominated the flyball landscape for a long time, whippets have entered the fray and lowered times further, according to Young. They arent without their downside, however.

We call it whippet brain, she said, adding that the dogs are notorious for being fast while at the same time having a low attention span that can often see them get distracted on course.

Youre always breeding for the sport and trying to get the fastest dog you can, Young said.

NAFA regional director Cindy Gutwein said different breeds inherently bring different motivations to the competition.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun Angie Young gets a hold of Strom prior to a race at the Kennel Club Flyball Tournament in Souris on Sunday.

Some want to go fast first to get the ball and others are motivated to get back to what you have for them, so its a balance of teaching them to be fast both ways, Gutwein said. Its a gamble when youre breeding.

Teams spend up to $1,500 on the boxes that the dogs bound off of to make the turn. The boxes are fitted with different strength springs and ball holes to release the balls at different speeds and sizes to ensure the dog has the best chance of catching the ball cleanly and scoring a good time.

Scrolling through her phone, Gutwein shows off an application that records and dissects individual runs.

She uses the application to help teams get faster by potential releasing dogs earlier to hit the window tighter or by watching how a dog makes the turn off the box. If a dog comes in too direct to the box, it may take valuable time getting turned around. Other dogs only use three feet to push off the box, sacrificing speed and strength compared to if all four feet were being relied on.

The dogs, for the most part, would be content to run the race all day, especially if theyre border collies, according to Gutwein. The real competition and battlefield is being waged by the owners.

Its very serious, she said. Flyball is very competitive and there is a lot of drama built into the competition because of the people.

Despite the prizes being minimal  a doggy-bag full of treats in many cases  an award for fastest team is prized.

NAFA even keeps track of world records, with Border Patrol, an Ontario team, owning top spot with a time of 14.459 seconds.

Charles Tweed/The Brandon Sun Havik races through the course at the Crocus Obedience and Kennel Club's Flyball Tournament in Souris on Sunday. The border collie-Jack Russell terrier-whippet cross is owned by Angie Young.

Speed is something Young can appreciate, and winning the top team award is something she always has her sights set on.

You just want to take that regional award plaque away from the team that won it the year before, Young said.

 ctweed@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @CharlesTweed
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When voter turnout is low, were quick to blame voter apathy. But thats not the whole story.

More than 42 per cent of eligible voters in Manitoba didnt vote in the most recent provincial election  a level of disengagement not seen since the 1940s. Non-voters responses in a report from Elections Manitoba as to why show a mix of various reasons: some didnt feel they knew enough about the parties, some couldnt relate to the issues, some felt it was too difficult a decision.

But a significant portion of people who took part in the survey indicated difficulties with the process of voting: people said they were too busy, did not know where to vote, were out of town or did not have the proper identification.

If the lack of engagement in local politics causes any concern, we should look at ways to improve it.

Mandatory voting, as in Australia, is one option. But it raises the question: if people already arent voting, would obligating them to do so result in the electorate making better choices?

There have also been arguments changing our way of electing officials from a first-past-the-post system to one that favours proportional representation or preferential ballots would result in increased turnout.

But those two propositions require a lot of legislative change and, while worthy of consideration, there is at least one technical solution already available that could increase engagement: enabling people to vote online.

We already buy and sell goods and services online, do our banking, register for classes, renew drivers licences and even file taxes, among many other things. So why cant we vote that way?

First, its not only a question of security  as a 2014 analysis of electronic voting in the Political Quarterly showed, a secret ballot needs to not only be secure but confidential.

Second, part of the concern in using any secure electronic voting system is who owns it. If the company of a particular system is known to have political leanings, it creates mistrust in the users (i.e. voters) of that voting system, as with the controversy surrounding Diebold voting machines and their role in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. There are ways around that, such as using open-source software.

Any electronic voting method would have to enable security, confidentiality and verification for the voter that their preference was recorded correctly.

Remote electronic voting has been used in many places. Estonia has used it for national elections, while countries including France, India, Norway and Canada have used it for other levels of elections.

If Manitoba enabled an easy, remote electronic option for voting, it would address the concerns of a huge proportion of non-voters. The process could be introduced on a small scale, such as in a byelection, so problems could be identified.

In the information age, online voting is an idea whose time has come. Electing your next political representatives should be as easy as a double-click.

 Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/09/2016 (2225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When I joined the military in 2010, I figured that my first deployment would be to Afghanistan. However, when I arrived at 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry in CFB Shilo in December 2014, all that was left of that prospect was the stories of my units final tour the year before. Yet, true to the axiom, There is always going to be somewhere to deploy to, a year and a half later, I was packing my bags for a deployment on Operation UNIFIER, Canadas military training mission in Ukraine.

As part of the Small Team Training Company, our role is to provide instruction to a company of a Ukrainian battalion. The training covers a wide spectrum, from individual soldier skills up to battalion-level manoeuvres and formations. The Ukrainian battalions rotate through the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine, where we are currently working.

Under my command, my platoon will have the opportunity to train groups from three different Ukrainian battalions during my deployment. My specific role is two-fold: I command my platoon of Canadian instructors and demonstration soldiers to deliver training to our Ukrainian counterparts, and I also mentor the Ukrainian Platoon Commander.

Joint Task Force  Ukraine Canadian soldiers of Joint Task Force  Ukraine support urban operations training at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine, on Aug. 31.

The biggest challenge that I face in my day-to-day job is communication. From running shooting ranges for the Ukrainian soldiers to discussing tactics and planning processes with the Ukrainian Platoon Commander, everything needs to be communicated through the language barrier. Their soldiers speak Ukrainian and Russian, and seldom any English. Fortunately, each Canadian platoon has a Danish linguist who speaks Russian. The Danish military linguist embedded in my platoon is extremely valuable in day-to-day communication.

Working with the Danes has proven to be a very positive experience, as they work tirelessly to ensure that their translations of our lessons are accurate when delivered to the Ukrainians. Their dedication and motivation is appreciated by my instructors and the Ukrainian soldiers alike. To augment the Danish linguists, each platoon has a number of bilingual Ukrainian officer cadets from the Ukrainian military academies who provide valuable translation when the classes are split into smaller groups. Each day is truly a multinational training effort.

Most days, it is not just the Ukrainian soldiers who are learning new skills. As a professional army, they have their own ways of achieving their desired effect in the area of operations, and we are fortunate to be able to learn from them as well. The majority of the lessons that we have learned from the Ukrainians are related to anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and small-unit tactics. While not all tactics are feasible for our army to employ, hearing their solutions to unique situations has been valuable.

Some of the most rewarding experiences have been building relationships with the Ukrainian soldiers. They are hard-working, patriotic and serve in order to secure the future of their country. Despite the language barrier, trading patches and swapping stories is a strong reminder that soldiers around the world are very similar, no matter which uniform they wear or which flag is on their shoulder.

Every day working with the Ukrainian soldiers has been rewarding, and I feel fortunate that my first overseas deployment is having such a positive impact on another nations army.

Joint Task Force  Ukraine A member of Joint Task Force  Ukraine provides guidance to a Ukrainian soldier through a Danish linguist during small teams training at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine, on Sept. 1.

 The Mission At Hand is a biweekly column, written by soldiers from CFB Shilo who are stationed overseas.
Ireland's 12.5% corporate tax rate will remain in place, despite recent controversies surrounding so-called tax breaks for US computer giant Apple, Finance Minister, Michael Noonan has said writes David Raleigh.

Speaking at a jobs announcement by US company WP Engine, who announced 100 online technological jobs in his native Limerick, Mr Noonan said Brussels could not pressurise Ireland into changing any of its tax rates.

"We're under no pressure. The European Commission acknowledge the right to set tax rates is a matter for sovereign governments. It's not a competence of Europe or the European Commission, so there's no pressure (from Europe) on us."

"It has been part of the Irish offering now for years; we could nearly put it on the (tricolour) now, because everybody knows internationally that the rate is 12.5%. Actually, when industrialists think of Ireland, they automatically think of 12.5%. But, just in case there is any doubt about it, I'll confirm it again in this year's Budget."

Earlier, addressing the CEO of Texas-based WP Engine, minister Noonan said: "The recent decision on Apple has had no effect on foreign direct investment in this country, but more importantly, there isn't any pressure from Europe for us to change our tax offering in any way whatsoever. They regard what happened (with Apple) as historic legacy issue from the past, they know we we made changes already, there's no pressure on us to change the 12.5% rate, or indeed to alter any of the other incentives that we have."

Mr Noonan said the priority for the government was to ensure further job growth.

"From an economic and social point of view the policy has to be to get the maximum number of people working. The nature of jobs are changing, jobs are more highly skilled than they used to be."

The Limerick TD said the best measure of prosperity for any country was how any people were employed there.

"By that standard we are doing quiet well at present. About 56,000 additionally are at work in Ireland in the last 12 months. For the first time for a long time the number at work has exceeded two million."

"That's more than double what it was in the 1980s. At the top of the Celtic Tiger (employment) was about 100,000 more than what it is now, but the Celtic Tiger was a false economy, built on cheap money and on one sector, building and development and so on. What's happening now is that the economy is growing across all sectors," he added.

Brexit

Mr Noonan said Brexit could positively effect the Irish economy, despite perceptions it will damage the export sector, especially the Irish beef export industry.

"I was in London last week for three days. There's a lot of concern in the city of London, and there is a great interest in Ireland as a location for the financial services industry, that may be disrupted by Brexit from the city," Mr Noonan said.

"So, that's another job for the IDA to make sure they are at the coal face explaining the advantages of Ireland."

budget

He said he would be fully announcing a raft of incentives for first-time home property buyers, but that the "big issue" was to get agreement across all ministers ahead of the October Budget.

"It's a fortnight away and there are lots of different inputs now - we have three independent ministers with separate views in the cabinet, and we have our own parliamentary party, influencing budget decisions, and then we have Fianna Fail who are supporting us in terms of the opposition," he said.

"In terms of putting a budget in place, there are a lot of views that have to be taken into account, but so far, the views don't seem to be conflicting in any dramatic way, so I'm quiet confident that we'll put a good Budget through," he added.

During a mirthful moment, when the minister was asked if he was worried Michael Martin would soon come knocking on his door to say time was up for him and the rest of the present government, he chirped: "There are no signs of that. I don't think Michael Martin knows where I live, so he'd have difficulty knocking on the door."

Personal health and political future

The minister also deflected questions surrounding his present health status.

"I have nothing to say beyond what I said during the week," he added, regarding concerns about his health.

Asked if he had a desire to stay on as a member of the until the next election, Mr Noonan said: "I don't know when the next election is, so you're asking me to make a commitment to a target, which nobody knows when that target will be. So, we'll wait and see. I took on a job and I'm doing the job, and I'll continue to do it."

Judicial council

Asked about Chief Justice, Susan Denham's comments this morning, that Ireland's reputation is being effected due to a lack of action by successive governments around the question of the setting up of a judicial council, Mr Noonan said: "I never make comments on statements made by the judiciary, but I understand there was a statement from the department of justice, committing to move in the direction that the Chief Justice has indicated."
The countrys top judge, Chief Justice Susan Denham, has hit out at the failure of the Government to establish a judicial council, which she said is damaging Irelands international reputation writes Political editor Daniel McConnell.

Ms Justice Denham has called for the establishment of such a council, which would defend the independence of the judiciary and ensure an appropriate relationship with other branches of the Government.

She has said that the 20-year delay in establishing a judicial council, has created a significant institutional vacuum and is a matter for real concern for the judiciary and the State.

But she has made very pointed criticisms of the Fine Gael-led minority government for downgrading the status of a bill which would see the council established.

She said the placement of the Judicial Council Bill under the heading all other legislation, would appear to be a demotion from its status under previous government legislative programmes.

She added the failure to progress this institutional reform with the urgency it deserves weighs heavily, both on relations between the judiciary and the executive, and on the States reputation internationally, as a modern democracy governed by the rule of law.

The absence of such an institution  by whatever name it may be called  sets Ireland apart from the overwhelming majority of EU member states, as well as leading common law jurisdictions such as the United States, Canada and Australia, Ms Justice Denham said in her statement.

Her remarks are contained in a statement marking the beginning of the new legal year. She was speaking in the context of Ireland having to issue a report internationally but said the report will show that progress has been extremely slow.

It is therefore a matter of the most real concern to observe what would appear to be a distinct loss of momentum in delivering this historic institutional reform.

In the coming week Ireland is to give an update to an international body (GRECO, a Council of Europe anti-corruption group) on five recommendations relating to the judiciary, which it made in late 2014.

The report will show no real progress from Ireland despite an extension of time.

Throughout 2014 and 2015 the Judicial Council Bill featured in successive iterations of the Governments Legislative Programme, with an indication on each occasion that early publication of the bill was planned.

The Programme for a Partnership Government published in May 2016 does not contain provision for a Judicial Council Bill, notwithstanding the fact that a judicial council had been included in an earlier discussion draft of the programme published earlier that month.

This vacuum in the Infrastructure of the State of Ireland has been remarked upon at international level, she said, referring to a 2012 United Nations recommendation that a judicial council be established.

GRECO stated that within 18 months following the adoption of the report of the October 10, 2014, Ireland shall report back on the action taken in response to the recommendations contained herein.

The 18 months expired in April 2016. However, it was extended to September 30.

Three of the GRECO recommendations  the first, fourth and fifth d1 would be met by the establishment of a judicial council, Ms Justice Denham said.

In response, a spokesman for Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald said the Government is prioritising the legislation for publication this session.

The bill, the complexities of which should not be underestimated, is at an advanced stage of drafting. Intensive work has been done on it over the summer months and the bill has progressed very substantially. It is a very substantial undertaking comprising at least 75 sections, he said.

Following consultations with the attorney general, the Government said it was satisfied that the specialist drafting of the bill is coming to a conclusion.

The Tanaiste echoes the views of the Chief Justice as regards the importance of enacting this legislation and is fully aware of the pressing need for it, the spokesman said.
Both sides in the Dublin bus dispute will attend talks today in a bid to resolve the row over pay.

The unions say postponing industrial action will only be considered, if the company is willing to engage in meaningful discussions.

Six days of strike action have already taken place - further stoppages are planned for Tuesday and Wednesday as well as eleven more days in October.

Dermot O'Leary from the NBRU union says today's talks at the Workplace Relations Commission will not be easy: "It won't be easy, it will be very difficult, we understand that, getting into the WRC is the first step of the process, it is not the end all and be all.

"You have to have some kind of table before members can consider it, but look, we are going in with a positive frame of mind, we always do and the NBRU and other unions are the same.

"And we expect the company to come in that spirit so we can get an agreement."
Teenage boys with low levels of fitness have been found to suffer heart disease.

A recent study by Dublin City University found that even those with moderate fitness did significantly better than those with a sedentary lifestyle.

Schools are encouraged to sign up to the Schools Fitness Challenge before Friday.

Head of the school of Health and Human Performance at DCU, Niall Moyna on catching up on a worrying trend.

A recent study led by Professor Moyna found that low fit transition year students had very poor health, with 15-year-olds showing signs of heart disease similar to 60-year-olds.

Irish Life is urging schools to sign up to their schools fitness challenge  which measures the health of secondary school students before and after a six week fitness programme.

Olympic hurdler Thomas Barr says everyone can find a sport to suit them and Cork Camogie player Ashling Thompson says it helps your head as well as your heart.
The jury in the trial of the former Anglo Irish Bank Chairman Sean Fitzpatrick is to return to court this morning.

The 15 members of the specially enlarged jury were sworn in at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last Wednesday, but evidence is unlikely to be heard for several weeks as the judge deals with legal arguement.
At least 26 civilians have died in fresh government air strikes on Syria's contested city of Aleppo, activists said.

Meanwhile the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiralling violence but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers.

The United States, Britain and France, who called the emergency meeting, heaped blame on Moscow for supporting the Syrian offensive which UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the five-year war.

When Syria's UN ambassador Bashar Ja'afari was called to speak in the council, the ambassadors of the three Western powers walked out in protest.

They had demanded a halt to the Aleppo offensive and immediate council action and their walkout demonstrated anger and frustration not only at Damascus but at Russia for backing close ally Bashar Assad's military campaign while talking about reviving a cessation of hostilities.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, it's barbarism," said US ambassador Samantha Power. "It's apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo."

As the government offensive entered its fourth day on Sunday, medical workers and local officials reported air strikes on neighbourhoods throughout Aleppo's rebel-held eastern districts.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7.30pm and said it expected the toll to rise.

Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defence search and rescue group gave a higher toll, saying hospitals and rescuers had documented the deaths of 43 people.

The observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier that 213 civilians had been killed by air strikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since the US-Russian brokered ceasefire collapsed last Monday.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the city's opposition quarters.

"I've never seen so many people dying in once place," he said from a hospital in the city. "It's terrifying today. In less than one hour the Russian planes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 200."

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin blamed Syria's rebels for sabotaging the ceasefire agreement by using the lull to shore up their forces and he accused the Western coalition of failing to separate the moderate factions it backs from "terrorist" groups especially the al Qaida-linked Fatah Sham Front.

"In Syria, hundreds of armed groups are being armed," Mr Churkin said. "The territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately. Bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now."

But he made clear that Moscow had not given up on a cessation of hostilities.

"Of course, I would like this very much to be our aim as well as the renewal of negotiations," he said. But he stressed that Russia first wanted to see "a sincere desire" by the US coalition to separate the moderate opposition from the Fatah Sham Front.

Ms Power said the United States knows "that Russia has consistently said one thing, and done the opposite", but said the US also believed it must do "everything in our power to find a way to halt the violence".

While intra-Syria negotiations remain the aim of the Western powers and Russia, a broad coalition of 33 Syrian rebel factions issued a statement on Sunday saying: "Negotiations under the present conditions are no longer useful and are meaningless."

The opposition groups said they would not accept any Russian mediation, calling Moscow a "partner to the regime in the crimes against our people".

They also called on the government and Russian forces to halt air strikes and lift sieges on opposition areas where the UN estimates 600,000 Syrians are trapped.

On the sidelines of the meeting, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon urged an end to the offensive saying the bombs "are not busting bunkers, they are demolishing ordinary people looking for any last refuge of safety".

"International law is clear: The systematic use of indiscriminate weapons in densely-populated areas is a war crime," he said.

Before the start of the UN meeting, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia should be investigated for war crimes following the attack on the aid convoy that claimed 20 lives.

And France's foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Russia and Iran would be guilty of war crimes if they did not pressure Assad to stop escalating violence.

Rebels, meanwhile, shelled Masyaf, a government stronghold near the central city of Hama, for the second day in a row on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory.

Masyaf is home to a large number of Alawites, members of Assad's sect. The Syrian leader has rallied Syria's minorities behind his government behind fears of the Sunni-dominated rebellion.

On a positive note, a set of four towns, two besieged by government forces and two by rebels, were reached by aid convoys for the first time in nearly six months on Sunday, the International Committee for the Red Cross announced.

The organisation said it had reached 60,000 residents trapped in the towns of Madaya, Zabadani, Foua, and Kafraya.
Update 4.30pm: One person is in a critical condition and a second is in a serious condition after a shooting at a shopping mall in Houston in Texas.

Seven more people were treated for injures in hospital.

The gunman, believed to be a lawyer, was shot dead by police at the scene. They are now investigating whether there were issues at the law firm where he worked.

Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo told reporters a bomb disposal robot is currently being used to examine his car.

Update 3pm: Several people have been shot at a shopping centre in Houston, according to police, who said that officers had shot the gunman.

Police said that an "active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet had been shot by our officers" and that there are no reports of other suspects "at this time".

Police said several people have been taken to hospital.

The incident comes days after a shooting at a Washington state shopping centre that left five people dead.

On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota shopping centre before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer.

Earlier:

A man has been shot at the scene of a shoot-out in which at least seven people have been injured.

The incident occurred at a shopping centre in Houston, Texas at 6.29am this morning.

Police arrived at the scene and shot a man following reports of a man shooting at vehicles at the shopping centre.

Local media reports that the police are not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident.

Police have said a bomb squad has been dispatched to the area at Randalls supermarket strip mall to investigate a suspicious vehicle.

At least seven people have been transferred to hospitals in the area.
The suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

Arcan Cetin, 20, made a brief appearance at Skagit County District Court on Monday over the shootings at the Cascade Mall in Burlington on Friday.
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When it comes to claims to fame, "only woman in the world who juggles chainsaws" would have to be close to one of the best.

While Elena Kirschbaum can't be sure she still holds the title  "people are always learning new skills"  the born and bred Canberran doesn't perform the impressive feat as much these days.

Acrobat and chainsaw juggler Elena Kirschbaum. Credit:D'Eye

"I actually injured myself doing it in Canberra at the National Folk Festival a few years ago. While it hasn't stopped me from juggling them completely, it has meant that I slowed down a little bit," she said.

"I broke a bone and a cluster of ligaments and cartilage in my wrist basically because chainsaws are really heavy, and you can't use momentum so it's completely a strength-based thing, obviously, and the standard juggling technique. I caught it at the wrong angle and it snapped part of my wrist and I had a long time of rehab to get my wrist working again."
The local sharemarket is set to open lower this morning on the back of a global selloff of bank stocks and ahead of the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

We should see some of the momentum coming out of the local market on open, with a move sub 5400 expected. The rally that start on 14 September equated to close to 5 per cent, but indecision was seen in the price action yesterday and there was no conviction to push the move higher. The bears will have a greater say today.

The key markets to watch though are S&P futures and the USD. With many focusing on USD/MXN and also USD/CAD, given the ramifications on the Mexican and Canadian economies if Trump dominates the debate and gets a step closer to the Oval Office. USD/JPY is also a must watch for a move into 100.00.

But it really is a day where the participant's gets to sense check market moves against who performs the strongest. Donald Trump is the underdog (on paper), but he knows that and who knows if he sticks to the script his advisors provide and does his homework he could do well. The fact there is no ad breaks makes this uncharted ground for him and there is nowhere to hide if he is found out. He can't bully Hillary like he did to 'Little Marco' or Ted Crux, so we watch with fascination on how he plans to dominate and fact check Clinton. Game on.
The full Gonski. A partial Gonski. Gonski with reverse backward somersault. Gonski dressed in political convenience. Or more of the same-old-same-old school funding stoushes dressed in a Gonski suit.

No-one can easily describe what's left after all the political mucking about with Australia's students except that we know the greatest opportunity for fair funding for generations has been lost. And it may never be recovered.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham faced the states on Friday with a plan that would reduce federal spending for some states on schools and probably drag the nation further away from needs-based funding as envisioned by the Gonski panel in 2011.

Senator Birmingham was slapped down by all but his West Australian counterpart, who has an election looming. WA wants to claim extra money it was denied when the Coalition government  not Labor  struck deals with WA, Queensland and the Northern Territory after the 2013 election. Each had rejected Labor's pre-election advances.
Criminals who text each other could be "consorting" and committing an offence under the Palaszczuk Government's reforms to organised crime laws.

A public briefing was held on Monday afternoon as the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee considers the Serious and Organised Crime Legislation Amendment Bill 2016.

Criminals who text each other could be caught under the Queensland Government's proposed organised crime laws. Credit:Glen Hunt

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the new legislation meant officers did not have to head to pubs and racecourses to enforce the consorting law.

"So if A is meeting with B and C because they're texting them, that's a meeting," Mr Stewart said.
A woman accused of being an unregistered nanny has been granted bail after two twin babies in her care allegedly spent 20 hours in a coma in Queensland.

Danielle Terese Rooney, 41, was charged with not having the required 'blue card' after the twins were rushed to Brisbane's Lady Cilento Hospital when their mother was unable to wake them for a night feed earlier this month.

Twins were allegedly left in a coma for almost a day. Credit:Louie Douvis

It's understood the couple hired Ms Rooney through an online parenting group, wrongly believing she was registered.

Ms Rooney briefly appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday and was granted bail by Magistrate Jason Schubert.
The next generation of top Australian start-ups will have a legal leg up.

Melbourne University's Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP) has signed a deal with Corrs Chambers Westgarth, providing a six-figure investment as well as online legal advice to the hub.

Dr Clare Harding of the Melbourne Accelerator Program.

MAP has produced the likes of furniture e-tailer Brosa and Nura, the headphones that adapt to your hearing profile.

"At every stage of development, young companies need good advice and that's really valuable to us. These are going to be the companies of tomorrow's economy," said Dr Clare Harding, deputy director of MAP.
For Melbourne's footy-mad pubs it's a case of red, white and brew.

Watering holes across the city are showing their support for the Western Bulldogs, as publicans madly repaint their exteriors in the club's colours ahead of Saturday's grand final.

The Railway Hotel in Yarraville was getting the finishing touches put on its makeover on Monday, adding giant blue and red stripes to the pub's usual white visage.

Owner Jason Sneddon, a lifelong Bulldogs fan, said he made the decision to daub the venue in team colours after attending last Saturday's win against the Giants in Sydney.
Refugees from Syria and Iraq stand in a queue at Athens International airport during a relocation operation from Greece to Spain on Monday. Credit:Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Last week, an association representing the parents of schoolchildren in the small town of Filippiada in western Greece sent a letter to local authorities and the Education Ministry. It said: "explicitly and categorically, that we will not accept, under any circumstance and without any compromise that the children of so-called irregular immigrants" attend local schools, referring to migrants entering the country illegally. "They come from another continent with completely different diseases and health conditions," the letter said, adding that the refugees have a "different outlook regarding the role of the family, of women, of religion." Their presence would "alter the Greek character of the schools," the letter said, adding that "we will not allow religious fanaticism."

What happens if we have an epidemic? I don't want them here Haralambos Magoulianos, a 57-year-old retiree Earlier in September, the parents' association of two schools in the town of Oraiokastro in northern Greece threatened to occupy the school grounds in protest if refugees from a nearby state-run facility were allowed to join classes. A few days earlier, the mayor had called on residents to take the law into their own hands amid rumours that some refugees were moving into houses in the area. The parents' announcements and a video of the mayor's suggestion that residents "intervene" triggered a public outcry and a storm of angry reactions on social media. They also prompted a Greek prosecutor to investigate whether the parents' groups or the mayor should be charged with racist offences.

In the wake of the outcry, both the parents' groups and the mayor toned down their responses, saying their only concern was the possible health implication if the refugee children were not vaccinated. The mayor, Asterios Gavotsis, said his comments in the videotaped meeting were "misinterpreted" and that he was "not inciting anyone to commit illegal acts." Outside one of the schools, Haralambos Magoulianos, a 57-year-old retiree waiting to collect his two granddaughters, said he opposed admitting the refugee children. "I don't like it," he said. "What happens if we have an epidemic? I don't want them here," he added, saying that youths from the nearby refugee camp "steal bicycles and jump into our backyards." Other parents in the area have been more welcoming. The principal of the school in Filippiada and some parents there said the letter sent by the parents in that area did not reflect their views.

In Oraiokastro, Alexandra Hapsi, 41, has two children in school. She said she had cooked food and donated clothes for refugees living at the sprawling camp at Idomeni, farther north, which was shut this year. "In Europe, no one is taking in refugees, and they call us racist," she said, adding that she also wanted reassurances that the refugees attending local schools had been vaccinated. Asterios Batos, whose children attend the same school as Hapsi's, heads the group representing the parents' associations of all 41 schools in the broader region. "This image of a racist municipality is unfair," he said, referring to the broader region. "We're not racists. We're concerned about whether all the right precautions have been taken."

The plan calls for the migrant children to attend school in the afternoons. Initially they would be kept in classes separate from Greek children, but eventually they would be merged into the general student population. In comments to Greek television last week, the education minister, Nikos Filis, said the program for the induction of refugees into schools includes vaccinations. The lessons will be in Greek, math and English, or another language depending on where the refugees plan to travel on to. The mayor of Oraiokastro, Gavotsis, said he was not opposed to refugees being educated, but classes should be held for a year in other venues, such as disused factories, before the children attend local schools.

He said the high proportion of refugees in Oraiokastro, which has a population of 30,000, was testing tolerance. "We have 10 per cent of all Greece's refugees here," he said, referring to some 6,000 migrants at three nearby camps. There are just over 60,000 refugees in camps across Greece. Tensions often boil over among frustrated migrants, some of whom have been waiting for months for the outcome of their asylum applications, and many local residents are fed up, staging regular protests. The turmoil has been exploited by members of far-right groups who have infiltrated some of the protests.

"We just want a fair distribution," Gavotsis said. "If that makes us racist, what can I say?" Katerina Karanikolaou, who attended the meeting where Gavotsis suggested that local residents "intervene" to stop the education plan, was the only one of 72 parents to vote against a motion to occupy one of the schools in protest. She said the health concerns were a smoke screen. "The xenophobia started with Idomeni in February, and it's taken root since," she said, adding that residents feared "their town will be downgraded." Last Monday evening, Karanikolaou and her four children joined an anti-racism rally, marching from the mayor's office through the pristine streets of Oraiokastro, which means "beautiful castle." It was named by Greek refugees who settled there between 1924 and 1930 after a castle that used to sit on the coast of the Black Sea.
Latest News Lendi Group settles $33.6 billion in FY22 Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers

APRA announces new appointments The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members

The market for new apartments in inner-city Melbourne has peaked according to the head of a development firm and member of the BRW Rich List.In an Australian Financial Review article yesterday, Ashley Williams, who came in at number 66 in this years BRW Rich List and director of development group Evolves, said the market for new apartments in inner-Melbourne has been overcome by a wait and see approach.We've come off a peak. There's been a lot of talk about over supply and there being too many small apartments and the market has responded by pulling back, Williams told the AFR."The market has pulled back a little from the investor style apartments. You can still sell them, but its a bit more subdued. Investors are waiting to see if there is an oversupply, he told the AFR.Williams also said the impact of Victorias new foreign buyer taxes and the foreign buyer crackdown by Australian lenders has also impacted demand.Williams claim of a peak in the market may be supported by recent building approval figures. Recent analysis from CoreLogic revealed 31,548 units were approved for construction in Melbourne over the 12 months to July 2016, compared to 25,880 houses. While unit approval did outstrip detached house approvals over the 12 month period, they did fall 7.2% year-on-year.While approvals have fallen, Kusher said it is still important that those considering a new apartment need to be very selective when it comes to buying a new unit in a market such as Melbourne.According to Williams, Melbournes city fringe is an area where buyers are likely to be safer when it comes to buying new apartments."In the areas we develop apartments like the city fringe, Carlton, North Melbourne, Southbank and Prahran there's no oversupply, he told the AFR.That's got a lot to do with the strengthening established housing market. As house prices continue to climb, there's far greater numbers of people looking at buying an apartment.
Latest News Lendi Group settles $33.6 billion in FY22 Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers

APRA announces new appointments The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members

Investors are seeking to take advantage of the Perth markets attractive yields, with Chinese buyers predicted to make a more prominent role during the citys post-mining boom era.Savills State Director of Retail Investments/Services Chris Ireland believes that the Perth markets improved investment fundamentals will drive renewed interest in Western Australias real estate industry.As demand for property in the east coast markets drives increasingly low yields and correspondingly high prices, investors will turn to WA, and those who do so first are those who stand to profit most, said Ireland.He further argued that investing in the WA real estate market should be considered a long term game.Retail, and especially neighbourhood centre retail, is regarded as a defensive investment, the sort of investment that continues to deliver in a downturn and that has been important in the upward sales trend we have seen over the last 12 months, Ireland added.But these investors also have an eye to the future in terms of considering location including local population growth and local and state government infrastructure initiatives, which will deliver long after the downturn ends.The next investment wave could see stronger demand from offshore investors, especially the Chinese.Chinese overseas direct investment is expected to overtake inbound foreign direct investment in 2016, said Ireland.In other words, there will be more investment dollars moving out of China than moving in. This has the ability to significantly impact investment markets worldwide as the Chinese appetite for investment products increases and WA is going to see its fair share of that market.
Latest News Lendi Group settles $33.6 billion in FY22 Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers

APRA announces new appointments The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members

The head of one of Australias biggest banks believes the industry needs to recognise it currently has a trust issue with consumers.In a speech last week, Westpac chief executive officer Brian Hartzer Australias banking industry is currently failing to meet the standards the Australian public expects it to.We need to recognise, that as an industry, we have a trust gap. We need to recognise that we have not met the expectations of the community, Hartzer said.People are saying things need to change. Things do need to change. The good news is they are changing, he said.Hartzer said much of the mistrust consumers currently have for the industry centres on incentives and Westpac has taken steps to improve in that area.From October, Westpac will remove all product related incentives across all 2,000 tellers in its branch network and replace it with an incentive system based on customer feedback about their in-branch customer service experience.Hartzer said Westpacs changes were aimed at ensuring the interests of consumers are placed at the forefront.We are committed to closing the trust gap. We create value for Westpac when we help customers create value for themselves, he said.Thats why I believe that over the long term, there is no gap between the interests of Westpac and the interests of our customers.Hartzer also said Westpac was in the process of incorporating the principles of the banking oath into its employee code of conduct.
Theres a lot of guilt on Fear the Walking Dead, and a lot of confusion and trying to just find a place to survive. In the second half of season 2, the group has mainly been split up, but now they seem to be finding their way back to each other.

In this episode, Date of Death, Travis manages to make his way back to Madison, but hes carrying a lot of guilt for what happened at the farm with Chris. Meanwhile, the group at the hotel is dealing with an influx of refugees after Madison turned on the hotel lights to get Nicks attention.

Fear the Walking Dead Recap: Is the Colonia Compromised? >>>

Letting Go

When we last left Chris and Travis, Chris had shot the farmer on the land that the group found. Despite his anger at the situation, Travis agrees to help James, the member of the group who the farmer shot before his death. Travis warns that James needs to stay in one spot before he can be moved.

While the group waits for James to heal, Travis buries the farmer and realizes that he doesnt know his name. The group feasts on chicken, and Travis doesnt really take part. He has a chat with Chris to find out whats up and why he doesnt have any remorse for killing the farmer. Chris tells him that its a different time now, and its either kill or be killed, much to Traviss dismay.

After a week goes by, Brandon, the leader, decides that they are heading down to San Diego still. Travis warns that its a bad idea not only to move James but also to even leave the farm and head to the United States. Of course, the group disagrees. Before they leave, Travis searches through the farmers home to find out his name and carve it on the grave cross.

As they head out, James is having a lot of trouble in the truck bed and passes out. Travis begs Brandon to stop the truck, which he finally does. Back at the farm, while James recovers, Travis hears Brandon, Derrick and Chris talking about killing James. He barges in, tries to talk them out of it and takes their gun. He then stays by James side to protect him. While he watches over him, James tells Travis about their friend Troy, who he had to kill because he was bitten, so he understands why Brandon and Derrick want to kill him. Travis says the situations are different.

A few days later, Chris knocks on the barn door, claiming that he wants to talk and has brought food. Chris has a heart-to-heart with Travis about how he learned so much and how Travis was right all along. However, as they hug, Chris wrestles Travis to the ground and holds him down while Brandon barges in and kills James.

Brandon, Derrick and Chris pack up the truck to head out, while Travis begs Chris to stay. Chris says they are better off going their separate ways and doesnt even look back as they drive away, leaving Travis alone at the farm. Travis must stay a couple days, buries James and then heads out on his own, where he sees the hotel lights turn on from a distance.

Reuniting

Madison and her hotel friends are dealing with the consequences of her turning on the hotel lights. A group of refugees are begging and pleading to be let in at the gates. As they tell the group that they cant let anyone in, they all give sideways glances at Madison because its her fault the refugees are there. At the back of the crowd, though, Madison spies Travis. He manages to work his way to the gate, and they let him in.

Once inside the safety of the hotel, Travis is not himself. Hes still dealing with losing his son and letting not only himself down but also letting Liza, his dead wife, down. He tells Madison what happened once they separated, and he feels guilty for not protecting Chris, for not just going along with him and for not saying I love you before Chris drove off. Madison assures Travis that everything will be okay  though Travis isnt convinced.

After listening to Travis speak about family values, Madison realizes she has to apologize to Alicia for the way she dotes on Nick and why she feels she has to protect him all the time.

She finds Alicia in the hotel parking garage, where she and Andres are examining the refugees. Andres tells her that there are 43 refugees and not enough supplies at the hotel to support that. He says he will examine everyone, and then the group needs to come up with a plan on how to weed out which ones will stay and which ones will go.

Quiz: Which Walking Dead Character Are You? >>>

An Apology

Before Madison can deal with any of that, though, she and Alicia head to the pier to chat. Madison tells Alicia the truth about her fathers death and how he left a note in the car that he crashed. She tells Alicia that she sees so much of their father in Nick, and thats why she worries all the time. She adds that she kept the truth from Nick and Alicia because of Nick and that Alicia deserves better.

Later, as Travis finally relaxes in a shower, some more refugees show up outside the gates, including Brandon and Derrick. We dont see Chris, though, but that doesnt mean hes not there.

What Now?

Clearly, Madisons great idea to lure Nick back to her was not a very good idea in the end. While she and Travis are reunited, they now have to deal with a lot of unwanted guests  though Andres does have the right idea, to make sure everyone is healthy and then figure out a system to allow more to join their group. The reality is that the hotel is a good place to have a lot of people stay, but because of the mental state of basically everyone in the world, its not really safe to have so many people in one spot  at least not without a plan and, of course, supplies.

And what are Brandon and Derrick doing at the gate? I guess they saw the hotel lights too. I wonder if they know that Travis is there. And I can only imagine what hell do when he sees them. I do hope that Chris is with them, but it would definitely add more conflict if hes not. Travis would probably go into an even deeper hole than he is now, and he would feel more guilty for letting Chris out of his sight.

Im sure Madison feels much better now that she has revealed the truth about her husbands death. Its a secret shes been carrying around for so long. Now the question is, if she and Nick are united, will she tell him too?

They still have so much to learn on Fear the Walking Dead. While the group has certainly adapted well in season 2, they still have a lot more growing to do.

What do you think? Do you think Madison and/or Travis has what it takes to lead and organize a group? Do you think someone else should lead the group at the hotel? Do you think Chris or Nick will be reunited with their family? Let us know in the comments below.

The two-hour season 2 finale of Fear the Walking Dead airs Sunday, October 2 at 9/8c on AMC. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.

(Image courtesy of AMC)

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The NCIS: Los Angeles season 8 premiere, titled High-Value Target/Belly of the Beast, is one explosive ride  and Im not just talking about the helicopter getting shot out of the sky. The Office of Special Projects is taken over by the Under Secretary of Defense and his task force  Granger steps up in such a big way that I cant remember why I ever didnt like him  and one of the team members is seriously injured during a mission in Syria.

Once the action starts, mostly in the second half of the two-hour premiere, it never slows down. Its constantly a race for them  against the unlikable Duggan and his equally unlikely right-hand woman Chen, against insurgents who know pretty much exactly where they are and against the clock when the life of one of their own is at risk.

Interview: Eric Christian Olsen and Daniela Ruah on Kensi and Deeks and More >>>

But even with all that going on, there is, of course, time for some of that great Sam and Callen banter, from Sams disbelief that Callen doesnt have a bucket list to Callen taking a moment to re-enact a scene from Say Anything in the middle of the helicopter crash.

As for the moment that everyones been waiting for with Kensi and Deeks, keep waiting. For now, they are engaged in every unofficial way possible  at least in his mind, as he calls her his fiancee and himself her fiance  and he has the ring (though Kensi is never going to want to know that he swallowed it, which is why he spent so long in the bathroom), but the actual proposal is going to have to wait.

Radioactive Materials, Rich Kids and Armed Accountants

Lets be honest, the entire point of the case in the first episode is to get Sam, Callen, Kensi and Deeks to Syria. After a shipping container sets off radiation detection equipment at LAX, Homeland Security has requested their help. The radioactive material found in the saline is supposedly headed to Cyprus for refugee relief, with a final destination of Syria, but its cesium 137 chloride, with enough to make several radiological dispersal devices. The dirty bombs main purpose is as a terror device. The container was paid for by a local charity group.

The investigation leads to a phony company whose name in Arabic means vengeance, which leads to a guy setting the place on fire with Sam and Callen inside. Sam runs through the flames and tackles the guy out a window, with Callen providing back-up in the form of a fire extinguisher since Sams leg is on fire.

The guy may not want to talk, but they do manage to get into his phone (registered to Elias, so theres his name) after tricking him into breaking Erics and then forcing his thumb onto his real cell. (Poor Eric and his Pokemon Go.) Plus, a woman at the charity groups headquarters recognizes him as someone she saw with one of their donors (aka the guy driving a red Ferrari who kept going when he saw Sam and Callen with Elias).

But whats important is that theres a photo out there of Elias with Ahmed Han Asakeem in the background. Asakeem was a Syrian citizen who came here with his family, was in Naval intelligence and then defected. Hes now a high-value target. This could be how they get him. After a text comes to his phone threatening to detonate a dirty bomb in LA if they dont release him, Chen wants to respond as the suspect, pretending that he escaped, but Sam and Callen know the chances of that working are about as high as the chances of anyone in this office liking either Duggan or Chen.

While Duggan agrees to let them go ahead with the exchange, he wants his men to join them, and they might as well be wearing neon pink shirts that proclaim, Were Feds Trying to Pretend Were Not. Deeks and Kensis covers, on the other hand, are as great as always, with him pulling out his homeless gear and Daniela Ruahs real-life pregnancy becoming a fake pregnancy, complete with a stroller holding a gun, not a baby. Elias gets shot by a cyclist, and Deeks takes off after the shooter on a bike in a not-very-exciting chase but loses him. Duggan takes them off the case.

Thats not going to stop them, thanks to the Wonder Twins getting a hit on the Ferrari and sending them Bassel Rizvis address. A woman lounging around by Bassels pool has no problem letting Sam and Callen, the accountants armed with guns to protect his money, into the house to see Bassel. After making Deeks hand over his wallet and keys and strip, Bassel jumps off the balcony when Kensi joins them, but Callen tackles him into the pool.

Bassel and Elias were just rich kids playing terrorists, spending money to rub shoulders with Asakeem  and hes the one theyre after now. Hes still expecting that shipment of radioactive saline, so theyre going to give it to him and be there waiting when he shows up for it.

The Office of Special Projects is Invaded by Really Annoying People

Granger and Hetty gets a heads-up of about 30 seconds before Under Secretary of Defense Duggan and his task force walk in and take over. The station has been compromised, and theyre going to fix that, Duggan claims. How? Replacing you and your staff, he informs Granger.

Since the breach hasnt been resolved to DCs satisfaction (the mole is still out there, so I agree with that), the task force is there to do just that, Duggan announces, during which Nell makes a quick stop up in Ops. After interviews and polygraphs, theyll get to keep their jobs, but most wont be there, the Under Secretary explains. I feel like were being Punkd, Sam says, and while Granger tells the team to keep working while he figures out whats going on, Hettys plan is retirement. She even starts packing up her desk.

Is this the time to think about a career change? If you ask Deeks, yes, and he reminds Kensi that shes always wanted to go to Bali and she can ride her horse on a beach there (two items on her bucket list). The thing is, this is who she is, and yes, at some point there are (probably) going to be kids for them, but shes not ready to not be a federal agent just yet.

In the first of several scenes in which I absolutely love Granger, he tells Duggan that what hes doing makes the least sense and makes it clear that his people do keep this country safe. All Duggan does is suggest that he focus on his future because someone has to take the fall since they cant even find a mole in their own house, and hes already offered Hetty the same deal. Does he honestly think that any of these people would turn on one other?

While Nell thinks that theyre irreplaceable, especially Hetty, Hetty argues that theyre all replacement. Nell reminds her that she taught her to never give up and that Henrietta Lange is not a quitter, so what should she do? Find everything she can on Duggan. That was obviously going to be a move at some point. Something about that guy just seems off.

Echoing that no ones irreplaceable sentiment is Duggan to Granger. At one point, sure, he and Hetty were untouchable, but thats not the case anymore. This is the end of all of you, the Under Secretary informs him. DC thinks Hetty runs the show and that Granger has feelings for her, to which Granger quips, What can I say? Im a romantic. And while Duggans bragging about how he can do more with one drone than with 50 of Grangers agents, Im just thinking that that drone comment is going to come back into play later on.

Quiz: Which Special Agent TV Hunk Would You Date? >>>

Trouble in Syria and at Home

The team heads to Syria to capture Asakeem, leaving Duggan a Youre welcome note with Bassel. After Kensi takes out an insurgent, the team uses intel from his phone to find Asakeems location. Though grabbing him isnt much safer than just killing him, Sam and Callen do manage to sneak up on him and knock him out. But just as the teams in a pretty good mood on the helicopter and thinking the mission is a success, things go really south, really fast.

Insurgents on the ground bring the helicopter with a rocket launcher, and while Sam, Callen and Deeks are able to move around, Kensis stuck under the chopper. (At this point, no ones paying attention to Asakeem, so I just assume that hes going to escape at some point. He does.) To make matters worse, not only can they not get Kensi out, but they also know that the men who shot them down are heading their way.

Oh, and Duggans still being his unlikable self, this time finding Hetty as shes packing up and going on about how he knows she wants whats best for the agency and shes lucky it wasnt worse since she let the real culprits waltz right in. It serves him right that he slices his finger on her pen/knife.

Hetty has more important things to worry about, however, like that feeling she has that somethings wrong with the team. She, Eric and Nell head to the boat shed, and once there, Nell discovers that the helicopter sent out a distress call and then disappeared off radar. Hettys gut was right. With anti-air threats, they cant even send in help yet because its too risky. They can send a drone, but theyre going to have to use Duggan (without him knowing) to do it and get back in Ops. The problem? Theyre locked out.

Things just get worse in Syria. Kensis unconscious, her blood pressure is dropping, she doesnt have a radial pulse and her carotid is faint. They need to get her out immediately, which means rigging something together to lift the helicopter up enough to pull her out.

Its Nice When Plans Work So Well (or Sort of Well)

Its an old building, remember? Once Duggan should be gone for the night, Eric and Nell enter the burn room through the tunnels, but with Ops locked down, they need a way to override the system. They set a fire and call the fire department to keep Duggan from being alerted. It works, and theyre in. While Eric may not be able to log in to the system, he and Nell did create a back door just in case. Now all they have to worry about is Duggan and his task force showing up.

Meanwhile, Callen and Sam pull the chopper up while Deeks slips the inflatable raft under and is able to pull Kensi out. Thats when they see the damage to her leg  an open fracture  and they have to be careful about moving her in case she has a spinal injury. They may not have a choice, though, not with insurgents heading their way and their only possible bargaining chip, Asakeem, MIA. Someone really should have kept an eye on him.

While Callen goes after Asakeem, Sam and Deeks carry Kensi on a stretcher to the rendezvous point.

Back in Ops, Nell requests satellite images under Duggans name, and they wait for their drone request to run up the chain for approval. Granger finds Hetty alone in the armory, and she tells him that while she hates Duggan, he was right. She was at the helm when they were compromised. (Who else knows where this is going?) What matters now is the team, he argues, but she sends him away with, I dont have anything more to give you. But hes not asking for himself. Hes asking for them.

After falling for the Hey, somethings on the ground, let me look at it ruse and letting Asakeem get the jump on him, Callen gets him back in his custody.

Just as Eric and Nell manage to find everyone via the satellite images, they get drone approval, and with the team taking fire from the insurgents, Granger tells Eric to request a missile strike from the drone. Hes never killed anyone before, the Tech Operator protests, and so he instead fires near them. When that doesnt work, Granger tells him to put the drone on top of them, and Eric does. The threat is subdued, and help arrives in the form of transport.

Lives Hanging in the Balance

The team is brought to a carrier, and Kensi is taken to the OR. They did manage to repair the damage to her femoral artery, but she needs a head CT and an MRI before they can determine any possible neurological issues, and that means getting her back on land ASAP. While Deeks wants to go with her, protesting that hes her fiance, theres no room for him on the transport. All he can do is hope that this mission was worth it as Asakeem is walked by the team.

We knew that Kensi had to be out of commission in some way in the beginning of NCIS: Los Angeles season 8 due to Daniela Ruahs pregnancy, so this isnt terribly surprising. Neither is what happens near the end of the episode regarding the mole hunt.

After Duggan gets a call about the air strike he supposedly called in, he and his task force burst into Ops, determined to catch them in the act. Eric, Nell and Granger are long gone, but Hetty isnt and she sends Nell a text: 1D4D52C4. Chess moves, Granger explains. The Queens Gambit, sacrificing a pawn to gain an advantage.

No one else is there, Hetty tells Duggan. She knows shes finished, and she even has an envelope in her hand, but it doesnt contain her resignation like he suspects. It holds her confession. Congratulations, you found your mole, she says. He knows its just another one of her Hetty head games. She did this alone, she continues, and everyone else gets to keep their jobs. Hell accompany her when she hand-delivers her confession to the Secretary of Defense, she goes on to tell him. Duggan has Chen cuff Hetty. No, its not necessary, but he wants it done.

What did you think of the premiere? Why do you think Hetty confessed to being the mole? Are you worried about Kensi?

NCIS: Los Angeles season 8 airs Sundays at 8/7c on CBS. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

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Alexandridis elected fellow of American Institute of Chemical Engineers

A chemical engineer specializing in soft materials, complex fluids and nanotechnology, Alexandridis has been a UB faculty member since 1997.

BUFFALO, N.Y  Paschalis Alexandridis, PhD, a chemical engineer and faculty member at the University at Buffalo, has been elected a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Fellow is AIChE's highest grade of membership. Recipients are chosen by election by the AIChE Board of Directors. Election as an AIChE fellow recognizes outstanding service to the profession and significant professional accomplishment.

Alexandridis, UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has been recognized for:

Chemical engineering fundamental research on surfactant and polymer self-assembly and its translation into formulations, nanomaterials synthesis and drug delivery applications.

Educational accomplishments at UB, such as the development of the chemical product design course, his dedicated mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students and the refocusing and growth of the chemical engineering graduate program.

Sustained service to the chemical engineering profession in multiple roles including leadership positions as AIChE Area 1C: Interfacial Phenomena chairperson and AIChE Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum (NSEF) executive committee member.

Founded in 1908, AIChE is the world's leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with more than 50,000 members from over 100 countries. AIChE will present Alexandridis with a fellows plaque and pin at its annual meeting Nov. 15 in San Francisco.

A chemical engineer specializing in soft materials, complex fluids and nanotechnology, Alexandridis has been a faculty member in UBs School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) since 1997.

His research utilizes molecular interactions and supramolecular assemblies to develop products with desired properties and function. Ongoing projects address structuring via self-assembly and directed assembly, nanocomposites, ionic liquid solvents, polymer electrolytes and polymer dissolution.

Alexandridis has authored more than 150 journal articles and 65 conference proceedings, edited two books and given more than 160 invited lectures worldwide. He is co-inventor of 10 patents on pharmaceutical formulations, superabsorbent polymers, and metallic and semiconductor nanomaterials. His work has been cited over 10,000 times.

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012), Alexandridis received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activity (2011), American Chemical Societys Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal (2010), Bodossaki Foundation Academic Prize in Applied Science (2005), UB Exceptional Scholar Award (2002), Sigma Xi International Young Investigator Award (2002), Japan Research Institute of Material Technology Lecturer Award (2001) and National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999).

His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Petroleum Research Fund, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Dow Chemical, Bausch & Lomb and Kao Corp.

Named an honorary adjunct professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology in 2011, Alexandridis was also a guest researcher at the Tokyo University of Science, Shinshu University and the Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max-Planck Society in Germany.

At UB, Alexandridis has served as director of graduate studies in chemical engineering, director of the materials science and engineering program, and associate dean for research and graduate education in SEAS. He has mentored more than 60 undergraduate and 55 graduate students. He received the American Society for Engineering Education Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award (1999), the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2006) and the UB Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award (2012).

Alexandridis graduated from National Technical University in Athens, Greece, and earned master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did postdoctoral research at Lund University, Sweden.
Campus News

Hayes Hall gets its due

Cutting the ribbon to formally reopen Hayes Hall are, from left, Madeline Burke-Vigeland, a member of the school's Dean's Council; Micaela Barker, a dual masters student in architecture and urban planning; Provost Charles F. Zukoski; Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes; President Satish K. Tripathi; Dean Robert Shibley; Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown; faculty member Kerry Traynor; and architect Valerie Christianson. Photo: Douglas Levere

By DAVID J. HILL

The search for knowledge will be better here because its a better place, and we want to be better because its a better place. 

Halfway through todays grand reopening ceremony for Hayes Hall, Bob Shibley walked up to the podium, looked at the crowd, smiled and said, God, this is fun.

Fun it was as faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the community gathered on the Hayes Hall lawn on the South Campus Friday morning to celebrate the official grand reopening of the iconic home of the universitys School of Architecture and Planning.

Hayes Hall underwent a $44 million renovation that began in 2010 and concluded earlier this year. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places over the summer.

The exterior was completely restored, while the interior was modernized and equipped with technological upgrades and collaborative spaces, all designed to inspire and support architecture and planning students of the 21st century.

It is a spectacular facility, fully equipped to support our teaching, research and service in the place-making professions, Shibley, the schools dean, said in his opening remarks. The quality of space and light, the embedding of technology in the learning environment, the efficiency of its systems  the search for knowledge will be better here because its a better place, and we want to be better because its a better place.

President Satish K. Tripathi said the Hayes Hall renovation is another tangible result of the UB 2020 strategic plan, and even joked that he wished his office was located in the building. As a leading 21st-century public research university, we have imagined our future, planned for it and, working together, we are building it, Tripathi said. While we have restored Hayes Hall to its grandeur, it is also now a 21st-century learning environment for our architecture and planning students and faculty that will enhance UBs mission of excellence in teaching, research and service.

Whats more, Tripathi said, Hayes Hall symbolizes the universitys connection to the community and UBs mission of service. By creating this reimagined space, we are providing more opportunities for our students and faculty to create scholarly research and output that has a profound and deeply meaningful impact on the many communities we serve, he said.

In his remarks, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown recognized UBs role in the citys rebirth. There is a tremendous renaissance taking place in the city and UB has very much been a part of all of the great things that are happening in Buffalo and Western New York, Brown said. The renovation of Hayes Hall is certainly a demonstration of UBs commitment to the institution itself, its commitment to the University Heights area of the city of Buffalo, its commitment to the city and its commitment to the South Campus.

The building was constructed in the 1870s as the Insane Asylum for the Erie County Almshouse. UB acquired it in 1909 and converted it into an academic building in the 1920s, and renovated it again in the 1950s. The School of Architecture and Planning has called it home since 1977.

Shibley connected the determination of the buildings original architect, George Metzger, to the enthusiasm put forth by the schools students, and which drives its faculty and staff to be their best.

The center building, before it had wings, was designed by an architect accepting his first commission in the late 1870s. He was 17 years old. Never tell a 17-, 18-, 19- or 20-year-old You cant do that. Every day our students refresh and remind us of why were here, what the world needs and how best to get it, Shibley said.

We know that our work is a reflection of ourselves, and we take that reality very seriously, said Micaela Barker, a dual masters student in architecture and urban planning, who also spoke during the ceremony. My hope is that Hayes Hall will become the place where we all share our hard work with each other and everyone else outside of our school, giving our work a platform to speak back to us in a meaningful way.

Fridays grand reopening ceremony was just one of many activities planned to celebrate the building. Other events Friday include a symposium, exhibits of faculty and student work throughout the building, and a talk by 1972 architecture alumnus Michael Garz on his role as project manager for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub.

Saturdays festivities will feature a special edition of Buffalo PechaKucha  a rapid-fire presentation format  and a community conversation about the schools future role in the region.
A look back: The ghost stories that once gripped New Jersey
German auto major Volkswagen, which was hit by the global emissions scandal a year ago, is showing signs of revival in India sales, thanks to its new model, Ameo.
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The number of women on the boards of in India has doubled over the past six years, from 5.5 per cent in 2010 to 11.2 per cent in 2015, said a report by Credit Suisse Research Institute. This has helped closed Indias gap with the global average of 14.7 per cent. However, India saw a slight decline in management diversity, from 7.8 per cent in 2014 to 7.2 per cent.
K Raheja Corp, one of the largest developers of IT parks, is in talks with Singapore-based Temasek Holdings and American private equity firm Warburg Pincus to sell stake in its office space holding company, said a source in the know.
The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has cited the NDMC Act, 1994, to justify the decision to auction the iconic Taj Mansingh hotel in New Delhi and said could not get benefit of renewal, merely on the ground that it had incurred expenses to develop the property.
OYO Rooms, the hotel aggregator with a listing of around 70,000 rooms under various chains, is open to partnerships with the Taj group among others. In a conversation with Ajay Modi, 22-year-old OYO co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ritesh Agarwal talks about Tata group Chairman Cyrus Mistrys admission that OYO was a threat, the companys relationship with Japanese investor SoftBank. Edited excerpts:



You started OYO to address the pain points faced by travellers. To what extent have you addressed the issues in three years of operation?



Three years ago, the problem was so grave that any effort would have improved the situation. People travelling to cities, especially smaller ones, had no idea what to expect. In the top 40-50 cities/destinations, there is a now a momentum to find a solution. We need to improve from here.
The Karnataka government on Monday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking modification of the court's order on providing water to Tamil Nadu.

The petition came three days after Karnataka Assembly passed a resolution saying the river will be used only for meeting drinking water needs of villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru.

However, the resolutions did not mention the apex court's order directing the state to release 6,000 cusecs of water every day to Tamil Nadu till September 27.

Karnataka has said its citizens would go thirsty and crops ravaged if it released any more water to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka, including the capital of Bengaluru has witnessed violent protests over the water-sharing, provoking an appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calm.

Earlier on September 11, one person was killed when the police opened fire to deal with a riot in Bengaluru over the water dispute.

15 policemen were wounded after protesters set cars and buses on fire and pelted people with stones.

In 1990, the Central government created a tribunal to examine the Cauvery water dispute.

In 2007, this tribunal delivered its verdict on how water should be shared between Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry and Kerala. However, the states have challenged the divide.
A low-cost Internet connectivity solution for fishermen at sea was launched at Amrita University in Kerala. The networking solution will provide Internet connectivity to commercial fishermen at sea. Besides, an announcement about the establishment of a UNESCO Chair at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University) was also made today.

The first two were launched by the Human Resources Minister of State, Prakash Javadekar in Kerala today.
Vice-President on Monday left on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two West African nations besides participating in a number of events.

He visit to Nigeria is at the invitation of his counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.

From Nigeria, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.

The vice-president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal and MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim.

In Abuja, Ansari will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and deliver an address at the Defence College of Nigeria.

He will also meet the governor of Lagos and deliver an address at the joint business forum at the University of Lagos.

The vice-president will inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex at Abuja and interact with members of the Indian community both in Abuja and Lagos.

"The vice-president's visit (to Nigeria) intends to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, expand and diversify bilateral economic engagement and explore new avenues of partnerships on a wide range of issues of shared common interest," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

In Mali, Ansari will meet the president, the prime minister and also address the Assembly.

The visit to Mali is aimed at boosting the relationship between the two countries and explore new areas of cooperation to expand and diversify bilateral relationship.
In a major setback to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Karnataka High Court (HC) has issued a stay on the proceeding to seize assets worth Rs 1,411 crore as part of the central agencys probe into the money laundering case. The HC has asked ED to file a reply by September 27.
India and Pakistan squared off in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last week, putting an end to any chance at peace between the two countries. Post the Uri army camp attack that saw 18 soldiers dying in the dastardly act, Pakistan's belligerence in refusing to take responsibility and loud statements at the UNGA have further overwhelmed any effort towards normalisation.
There were reports on Sunday night that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting on Monday on the but there was no official confirmation of that.

The reports said that the meeting will look at the pros and cons of the treaty signed 56-years ago, under which India and Pakistan share the waters from six rivers.

The officials of the ministries of Water Resources and External Affairs denied any such knowledge of a meeting being convened by the prime minister.

There have been consistent calls in India that the government should scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the audacious Uri terrorist attack earlier this week.

Under the treaty, which was signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries. Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and has gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.
The South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme has identified 74 potential projects in India, which will require $120 billion investment in next five years.

Over 200 projects in the fields of transport, trade facilitation and energy have been identified under the SASEC's operational plan for 2016-25 period.

A majority of these projects are located in the north eastern or eastern parts of the country, an official statement said.

This is the first comprehensive long-term plan undertaken by the programme to promote greater economic cooperation among the member countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Established in 2001, the is a project-based partnership programme aimed at promoting regional prosperity by taking a number of measures that include improving cross-border connectivity, boosting trade among member nations, and strengthening regional economic cooperation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the lead financier of the programme and has approved 40 projects in transport, energy, trade facilitation, and information and communications technology till date with a net worth of $7.7 billion.

According to the statement, Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance has extended support to the the operational plan, saying it as an important milestone in the programme.

He added that the programme resonates with the Indian government's Act East Policy and amde assurance of working closely with fellow members in developing infrastructure that will make the region's enterprises more competitive.

The plan identifies regional road and rail links that are aligned closely with trade routes toward the east.

It will also take planned measures to streamline and harmonise trade procedures on both land and sea.
The Supreme Court on Monday deferred for two days the hearing on two appeals challenging Patna High Court granting bail to controversial RJD leader Mohd Shahabuddin in a murder case, as noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani who would argue for him was not available.

A bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday saying it has to strike a balance between the interests of both the parties.

One of the lawyers, representing Shahabuddin, urged that the matter be taken up on Friday as Jethmalani was not available and moreover voluminous case records needed to be studied for proper defence.

"Since there are allegations and counter allegations being made in the case, we shall not pass any order without hearing both the sides. We are fixing it on Wednesday (September 28)," the bench said.

Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, also appearing for Shahabuddin, said his client has been suffering from media trial and should be given adequate opportunity to present his case.

Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7, was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10. He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.

On September 19, the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Siwan resident Chandrakeshwar Prasad, challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court, in the murder case of his third son.

The apex court is also hearing a separate plea filed by the widow of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, who was murdered in Siwan allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi.

Kalawati Devi, wife of Chandrakeshwar Prasad and the mother of three youths who were brutally killed by henchmen of the controversial politician, had also moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in the case in which he has already been sentenced to life.

Devi, in her plea filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, said her sons, Girish and Satish, were abducted by Shahabuddin's henchmen. They were brutally assaulted and killed by acid poured on them and their bodies, packed in a sack full of salt, buried.

The plea also alleged that Devi's third son, Rajiv Roshan, was also abducted then but had managed to escape. He was an eye-witness to the killing of his two brothers.

She claimed that during pendency of trial in the twin murder case, Roshan was killed in June 2014 allegedly at the behest of Shahabuddin who is facing trial in the case.

In her plea, Devi had said that as per an affidavit filed by the Bihar government in the apex court, till November 2014, trials in at least 38 cases were pending against him in which he was facing alleged heinous charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting with deadly weapon, extortion and others.
#WATCH: "Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always be. Pakistan should stop dreaming", says EAM Sushma Swaraj at #UNGA pic.twitter.com/1OYsdks4vf
Responding to the public mood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government on Monday continued to keep up the pressure on Pakistan but reined it the rhetoric of war.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting on Monday for a briefing on the implementation of the 56-year-old river water sharing between India and Pakistan, reported the Indian Express on Monday.

The report added that the meeting will only deal with the complexities of the treaty and is not likely to involve any move or plan towards its abrogation by India, a move which has been touted by media reports as a possible form of retaliation against Pakistan for last week's attack on an army camp in Uri.

However, according to agency reports from Sunday night, the officials of the ministries of Water Resources and External Affairs have denied any such knowledge of a meeting being convened by the prime minister.

With India saying that there have been differences over the implementation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a dispute that was referred to an international tribunal under the aegis of the World Bank, the issue has come back into focus because of the current tension with Pakistan following the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 18 Indian soldiers. On Thursday, India raised the issue saying a treaty could not be a "one-sided affair".





ALSO READ: Narendra Modi & Nawaz Sharif: From bonhomie to today's predicament

So, what is the treaty all about? Here is a primer:

What is the

The is a water-sharing arrangement signed by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan on September 19, 1960, in Karachi. It covers the water distribution and sharing rights of six rivers  Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The agreement was brokered by the World Bank.

Why was the agreement signed?

The agreement was signed because the source of all the rivers of the Indus basin were in India (Indus and Sutlej, though, originate in China). It allowed India to use them for irrigation, transport and power generation, while laying down precise do's and don'ts for India on building projects along the way. Pakistan feared that India could potentially create droughts in case of a war between the two countries. A Permanent Indus Commission set up in this connection has gone through three wars between the two countries without disruption and provides a bilateral mechanism for consultation and conflict-resolution through inspections, exchange of data and visits.

What does the agreement entail?

The treaty gave the three "eastern rivers" of Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India for use of water without restriction. The three "western rivers" of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum were allocated to Pakistan. India can construct storage facilities on "western rivers" of up to 3.6 million acre feet, which it has not done so far. India is also allowed agriculture use of 7 lakh acres above the irrigated cropped area as on April 1, 1960.

Is there a dispute?

Although the two countries have been managing to share the waters without major dispute, experts say that the agreement is one of the most lop-sided with India being allowed to use only 20 percent of the six-river Indus water system. Pakistan itself in July this year sought an international arbitration if India sought to build hydro power projects on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. Though the agreement has been seen as one of the most successful water-sharing pacts, the current tension between the two South Asian neighbours might well lead to a flashpoint. Strategic affairs and security experts say that future wars could well be fought over water.

Could India abrogate the agreement?

This is unlikely since the treaty has survived three wars between the two countries. Although on Thursday India raised the issue, saying that for a treaty to work there had to be "mutual cooperation and trust" between the two sides, this seems to be more pressure tactics than any real threat to review the bilateral agreement. And the idea that India can intimidate Pakistan by threatening to cut of river waters is nothing new. It has arisen before every major conflict. A unilateral abrogation would also attract criticism from world powers, as this is one arrangement which has stood the test of time.

Short of abrogation, can India do something?

Some experts have said that if India starts making provision for storage facility involving the "western rivers", which it is allowed under the treaty of up to 3.6 million acre feet, this may send a strong message to its neighbour. Pakistan has often sought arbitration proceedings just on mere impression that India may do so, seeking to dissuade its larger neighbour from tinkering with the status quo.
The Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) has lashed out at the Odisha government for revenue loss worth Rs 11,665.85 crore in 2014-15.



The national auditor in its latest report in revenue sector for the year ended on March 2015 has ascribed the loss to short levy and under assessment of revenue.
The businesses within India may get online registration within three days of submission of application under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, according to draft rules floated for registration, invoice and payments for the new indirect tax regime by the indirect tax department.
Worried that a genetically modified mustard crop would impact honey production in India, honey cultivators on Monday opposed genetically modified (GM) mustard variety and asked the government not to approve it for commercial cultivation claiming that it may adversely affect livelihood of lakhs of farmers.

They also appealed to state governments to intervene immediately and stop approval for its cultivation, and said beekeepers and farmers would stage a protest on September 28 at Jantar Mantar against GM mustard.
India and Pakistan signed the (IWT) in 1960. For the most part, among all the unkept promises and broken dreams in the relations between the two nations, IWT has held fast. Water-sharing should be and is the most contentious issue in India-Pakistan relations. Everyone in Pakistan feels India is stealing water. But although the (IWT) has served its purpose well, demands keep cropping up that it should be revised.
paid by industry have increased across states owing to the levy of high cross-subsidy charges to subsidise lower-paying consumers. There has been 30-600 per cent increase in cross subsidy surcharges (CSS) in the past year in the states reviewed by Business Standard.
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani is all for Indian start-ups, saying they have entered an 'exciting phase' with focus on India-specific problems and opportunities, and domestic money is fuelling risk appetite.

"I am very bullish on the Indian start-up scenario", the brain behind Aadhaar told PTI in an interview.

"I think we are entering a new phase where we are seeing breadth and depth of start-ups".

On several shutting shop, Nilekani said it's the nature of the business.

"The very nature of is that many ideas get funded; some ideas succeed; and some have to be revisited or pivoted...That's the nature of this whole venture economy".

He said that in the start-up business, some companies would succeed and some would not. Some companies will start with an idea but then pivot couple of times before they stabilise on a sustainable idea.

"So, that's the nature of the activity. That does not bother me the least," he said.

Nilekani also said that many would not succeed but entrepreneurs gain tremendous experience and can to go to another start-up.

"They can learn from the experience of the previous failed start-ups. I see it as part of that," he said.

According to him, while there might be some challenges on follow-on funding for very large firms, its an exciting time if one looked at the larger scenario. He said more and more start-ups are being set up and their quality is also increasing with players doing "very interesting things".

There is a huge buzz on college campuses, which themselves are becoming pro-startups and encouraging their graduates to start companies, Nilekani said.

"Lot more Indian money is also coming into the start-up world. So, people like us who already built a company are now providing funding and being mentors and all that", he said.

Painting a positive picture, Nilekani said Indian money flowing into the sector is meant to build companies in the country and people with operative experience having already served in companies can chip in with advice for start-ups.

"It's private money (Indian money) so they (start-ups) are not obligated to their LPs (limited partners), or exits or returns to other shareholders...Nothing of that type. So, they can take longer term risk. So, it's good stuff," he said.
AIIMS Delhi is now 60 years old, celebrates its Diamond Jubilee AIIMS has contributed significantly in quality healthcare: J P Nadda

AIIMS has contributed significantly in quality healthcare. It has discharged its roles as clinical provider, Research Institute and Teaching Institute with considerable accolades over the past 6 decades." This was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, at the Diamond Jubilee celebration function of AIIMS Delhi, here today. The Health Minister further added that during 2015-16, AIIMS Delhi, attended to 30 lakh outpatients, 2.5 lakh inpatients and performed about 1.5 lakh surgeries.

Speaking at the celebration function, Shri Nadda further stated that the Institute has always maintained the highest standards of meritocracy and learning. It has attracted the best talents across the country that enter this institute as young students and pass out with the intensity of commitment to serve the poorest of the poor," Shri Nadda said

Shri Nadda said that AIIMS is also the mentor institution for the new AIIMS like Institutions being established across the country. In this regard, the work done by AIIMS in formulating and reviewing subordinate legislation including the AIIMS Rules and Regulations has been commendable.

Highlighting its contribution, the Health Minister said that AIIMS not only has established high reputation but has also contributed significantly in academic quality, student care, infrastructure, and placement opportunities. With its 9 centres and 52 teaching departments, and a manpower of over 10,000 including more than 800 faculty positions; AIIMS Delhi produces a large number of specialists (MD/MS), super-specialists (DM/MCh), PhD scholars and allied health and basic sciences experts, including nurses and paramedical professionals," Shri Nadda elaborated.

Shri Nadda said that nearly 600 research projects have been conducted in the year and the institute attracted extramural research grants of more than Rs. 70 crores in frontier and cutting edge biomedical areas. Moreover, the faculty and the scientists of the institute have published over 1800 research papers and AIIMS has been rated 3rd among the worlds top medical institutions in publishing research," Shri Nadd stated

Enumerating the future plans, Shri Nadda stated that AIIMS is in the process of expanding its Trauma Centre, Surgical block, Mother and child block and OPD Block. The expansion will happen in phases and when completed, will almost double the hospitals capacity. The surgical block will also have a National Endoscopy Centre, a High Dependency Unit and Kidney Transplant facilities.

In addition, the Convergence block, Critical care units, and a new Dharamshala were inaugurated during the year. These expansion plans would fulfil long felt needs of the apex medical institution in the country," Shri Nadda added.

The Health Minister informed that the Union Cabinet has recently approved a proposal for setting up of National Cancer Institute (NCI) at Jhajjar under AIIMS at a cost of Rs. 2035 crores. NCI is the largest tertiary healthcare facility (both public and/or private) proposed in the country since independence. The proposed institute will have 710 beds for various facilities.

The Health Minister also inaugurated a free generic pharmacy store at the Institute for outpatients to cater to the needs of weaker sections of society and gave away research awards to the meritorious faculty members and students.

Also present at the function were Professor M. C. Misra, Director, AIIMS Delhi , Dr. Balram Airan, Dean (Academics), AIIMS Delhi, Dr. S. K. Acharya, Dean (Research), AIIMS Delhi, Students and Faculty members of the AIIMS and senior officers from the Ministry.
Australia's trade minister will lead the country's first business delegation to visit Iran in 14 years after sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program were eased.

Steven Ciobo said he will leave tomorrow for the visit that will include reopening an Australian trade office that closed in 2010.

Ciobo said he will be accompanied by 20 representatives of Australian companies, with expertise in health, water management, agribusiness, mining, education and training.

Two-way trade between Australia and Iran fluctuated between 350 million Australian dollars and 600 million Australian dollars a year while Australian sanctions were in place, he said.

"With the sanctions easing, there is ... Significant potential for that figure to move north of there," Ciobo told Australian Broadcasting Corporation today.

"There are still challenges," he said, citing Iran's difficulty in fully reconnecting to the financial system.

Australia eased sanctions in January after Iran implemented its nuclear pact.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity. And it spelled out the West's obligations to end many financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran's .

Mark Vaile, the trade minister at the time, led Australia's last business delegation to Iran in 2002.
The number of African elephants has dropped by around 111,000 in the past decade, a new report released at the Johannesburg conference on the wildlife trade said, blaming the plummeting figures on poaching.

The revelation, the worst drop in 25 years, came amid disagreement on the second day of the global meet over the best way to improve the plight of Africa's elephants, targeted for their tusks.

With Namibia and Zimbabwe, wanting to be allowed to sell ivory stockpiles accrued from natural deaths to fund community conservation initiatives, Zimbabwe's Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri rejected the "imperialistic policies" of opposing countries, branding them a "clear infringement on the sovereign rights of nations".

Both Namibia and Zimbabwe boast healthy populations and their desire to sell the stockpiles is supported by South Africa.

"We need to be considerate as we make these decisions," Muchinguri told a news conference.

"CITES should be there to facilitate us to succeed in our conservation programmes rather than these imperialistic policies," she added, saying she was speaking on behalf of the southern African region that is home to three-quarters of the savannah jumbo population.

A booming illegal wildlife trade has put huge pressure on an existing treaty signed by more than 180 countries - the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Thousands of conservationists and government officials are in Johannesburg for the 12-day gathering, seeking to hammer out new trade regulations to protect a vast array of different species, with several proposals on whether to tighten or ease controls on the ivory trade on the agenda.

"We have been keeping this ivory for nine years and we're hoping this moratorium will be lifted so that we are able to sell this ivory or to produce jewellery, artefacts for the benefit of our people," Muchinguri said.

"We have our sovereign right and we know best what to do, how to utilise our natural resources... We should not be punished, we should be rewarded (for good conservation practices)," she added.

Based on 275 estimates from across the continent, the report released on today by the IUCN conservation group put Africa's total population at around 415,000, a decline of around 111,000 over the past decade.
has launched a 350 billion yuan ($52.5 billion) restructuring fund as the government pushes 'supply-side' reforms that have included mergers of inefficient state enterprises and laying off workers in struggling sectors such as coal and steel.

The State-owned Enterprises Restructuring Fund will be managed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), the Economic Information Daily, a newspaper run by the official Xinhua news agency, reported on Monday.

SASAC did not immediately comment.

Ten state-owned enterprises have provided initial registered capital of 131 billion yuan, the newspaper said. It did not spell out how the rest of the funds would be raised or how the proceeds would be used.

has made reform of state enterprises, many suffering from surplus production capacity, a nationwide priority as economic growth slows. For some sectors reform means mega-mergers  such as the marriage last year of top train makers China CNR Corp and China CSR Corp  to create national champions with the heft to compete on the world stage.

China is not the first country to create a fund to support state firms going through hard times. The South Korean government has approved a $9.5 billion fund to help recapitalise state-run banks exposed to the country's troubled shipping sector.

The Chinese fund is targeting sectors facing overcapacity, said Zhou Hao, senior emerging markets economist at Commerzbank.

"This fund aims to facilitate the destocking and deleveraging process," Zhou said.

The 10 firms investing in the Chinese restructuring fund include China Mobile, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp and China Chengtong Holding Group, a restructuring platform supervised by SASAC that will lead the fund.

China's debt-ridden state sector, including its sprawling oil-and-gas industry, has struggled under a system that requires state firms to maximise economic gains while fulfilling government policy objectives.

As part of a five-year plan, the government has vowed to create innovative and globally competitive enterprises through mergers, asset swaps and management reforms.

China will reduce the number of state-owned enterprises this year to no more than 100 from 106, state media reported in July, citing SASAC Deputy Secretary-General Peng Huagang, who added that 10 central SOEs were in talks to create five groups.

China's central state-owned enterprises will complete their restructuring by the end of next year by introducing private capital and strategic investment into their projects, the Economic Information Daily reported earlier this month, citing unnamed insiders.
Jordan's King Abdullah II re-appointed Prime Minister Hani al-Malki to form a new government following elections in which the Muslim Brotherhood made its return as a parliamentary force.

"The king has accepted the resignation of Hani al-Malki's government and charged him with forming a new one," the royal palace said in a statement.

Malki, 65, an engineer by training, was closely involved with the negotiations that led to signing a peace deal with Israel in 1994.

He has held several ministerial posts and served as an advisor to the king.

The elections last Tuesday saw the Muslim Brotherhood's Islamic Action Front, which boycotted two previous polls, win 16 seats.

As in past elections, most seats in the 130-member parliament went to businessmen and tribal figures close to the monarchy.

The polls came as Jordan, a key ally of the West, wrestles with the spillover of wars in neighbouring Syria and Iraq and the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees.

King Abdullah II can appoint and sack Jordan's military and intelligence chiefs, senior judges and members of parliament's upper house without government approval.
Paying for things online can be cumbersome. Even the man who invented the web, Tim Berners-Lee, says he frequently throws up his hands.
Four domestic lenders have surpassed German banking major Bank in market capitalisation this year. Germany's biggest bank is currently valued at just $18 billion, following a 50 per cent slide in its stock price so far this year. In comparison, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank are all valued at over $20 billion, because of a decent run at the bourses. HDFC Bank, India's most valuable bank, is valued at nearly three times that of Bank. The private sector lender is more valuable than several other banking biggies in Europe. Shares of Bank slumped six per cent on Monday to its lowest level since the 1980s on concerns over its financial health. The lender is also facing a $14-billion demand from the US Department of Justice to settle claims of mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities. Also, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out state assistance before the national election in September 2017. The bank's health is viewed as a big risk to the global financial system by analysts. Samie Modak looks at how the banks stack up


India is likely to import up to 2 million tonne (MT) in the current financial year (FY) after customs duty cut on the grain to boost domestic supply and check prices, according to flour millers.
The week gone by has been one of the most hectic news weeks this year, at least from the Street's perspective. It started with an evening announcement of the commencement of the selection process for the appointment of the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Next morning, the controversial decisions of the Sebi in dealing with the MCX Stock Exchange (now known as Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India) came under scrutiny of federal investigators. The sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided several premises, including that of some serving and former Sebi officials, and arrested Jignesh Shah. Then, The Economic Times broke the news of the regulator's move directing the National Stock Exchange to investigate allegations of wrong-doing in its co-location facilities and directed the deposit of revenue generated from these segments in an escrow account. Friday saw much drama as the Supreme Court terminated the parole of Sahara chief Subrata Roy and a Sebi board meet cleared a wide range of things that will hit the market soon. And, amid all the mayhem, the Reliance Industries stock crossed the Rs 1,100-levels, predicted for it long ago. To escape the complex task of choosing one of the above and ignoring others, decided to give short notes on each of these developments, some of which are inter-related.
Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari on Monday said that the repeated attacks of the Nigerian nationals in India were just "stray incidents" and were neither specific to citizens of any particular country nor racially motivated.

Addressing the media onboard Air India Special Flight on way to a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, Vice President Ansari said that it was however important to note that the law enforcement agencies had quickly responded wherever and whenever such incidents had taken place.

On reported attacks on Nigerian nationals in India, the Vice President said that these were stray incidents and were not specific to citizens of any particular country nor racially motivated. What was however important to note, he stressed was that law enforcement agencies had quickly responded wherever and whenever such incidents had taken place.

On May 20 this year, a Congolese national in New Delhi was beaten to death by three men, after an altercation over hiring of an auto-rickshaw in the Vasant Kunj area turned violent.

Immediately following this, at least seven Africans, including four women, were allegedly attacked and racially abused by a mob in Rajpur Khurd village in South Delhi's Mehrauli.

The two incidents prompted the 54-member African Group of Heads of Mission in Delhi to cancel the Africa Day celebrations in their embassies. They also came close to pulling out of the celebrations conducted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a massive breakthrough in the Burdwan blast, the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police has arrested six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen terrorists from Assam and West Bengal, out of whom five are named in the chargesheet filed by the Investigation Agency (NIA) in the case.

Out of the arrested terrorists, three are Indian and three are Bangladeshi nationals.

A sizable quantity of explosive material detonators and IED have been recovered from the accused apart from fake Indian and Bangladeshi currency.

Following are the details of the arrested terrorists:

1. Anwan Hussain, a Bangladeshi was the head of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen in Bengal.

2. Moulana yusuf, who is the second in command, had a bounty of Rs. 10 lakh on his head.

3. Shahudul Islam

4. Mohammad Rubel is an IED expert.

5. Abul Kalam is another IED expert and also trains the recruits into the outfit.

6. Zabirul Islam is wanted by the NIA.

The arrests were made from Cooch Behar, Bangaon, North 24 parganas, Basirhat and Assam.

The arrests were made by the Special Task Force, who were tracking their activities for a long time.

All the arrested have been brought to Kolkata to be produced in Court today where the STF will pray for police custody of these accused for further interrogation.

The terrorists had planed of carrying out attacks in the North East and even in Southern India, as has been revealed in preliminary investigations.

The NIA had framed charges against 30 accused persons in July, 21 months after the incident that prompted three central investigation agencies to conduct a joint probe. The charges were framed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Arms Act.

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Two Naxal Commanders were neutralised in an encounter with security forces in the jungles of Banspal-Toinar in Chhattisgarh.

Tirupati and Lokesh of PLGA military company 6 were killed in an encounter with DRG of Narayanpur district.

The security forces received an input that a platoon would be coming in the night towards Jhara to attack CAF jawans in similar fashion as last month in Kukdajhor, where two jawans were injured seriously by small action teams.

Kicking into action, the Narayanpur police launched a surgical operation and laid ambush in the route of the naxal party near the jungles of Banspal and Toinar.

Around 5 a.m. the naxal party of about 20 reached the spot where ambush was laid and opened indiscriminate fire over the police party.

As a retaliatory measure and for self defence police also fired over the naxal party and the encounter lasted for one hour after which naxals fled away with some of their injured and killed using jungles as cover.

On searching the area, the police recovered two male Maoist bodies which were identified as Tirupati (Akash) r/o Madded in Bijapur and Lokesh (Ramesh) r/o Tirkanar, PS Dhaurai, both commanders in military company 6.

Weapons and other naxal items were also recovered during search of the area, additional parties were sent to the area where they are searching for rest of the naxal party which fled from the encounter.

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As security tensions spiked between India and Pakistan following an attack on an Indian Army base in Kashmir on 18 September, the question should be asked whether China would intervene if war broke out between the two nemeses.

What has been said officially? Premier Li Keqiang was in Pakistan last week, describing the two countries as "all-weather strategic cooperative partners" that "always firmly support each other and share an unbreakable friendship". Would that friendship extend to China going to war on Pakistan's behalf?

On September 21, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing was "deeply concerned" about the strained relationship between India and Pakistan. "We urge relevant parties to exercise restraint and avoid fueling the tension."

He added, "Both India and Pakistan are significant countries in the region. We hope that the two countries will step up communication and dialogue, properly deal with their differences and jointly contribute to regional peace, stability and security."

These comments indicated that China would like, first of all, to play some kind of peacemaker role. It urged cool heads.

China has indicated a more robust stance during a meeting of the Chinese consul general in Lahore and the Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, according to a Dawn newspaper article. Yu Boren was quoted as saying, "In case of any (foreign) aggression, our country will extend its full support to Pakistan."

The article continued quoting Yu, "We are and will be siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in (India)-held Kashmir, and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris."

While these comments can be construed as strong support for Pakistan, they fall far short of a declaration of war! Indeed, Yu cannot be considered as possessing much authority in terms of Chinese foreign policy.

Indeed, we must consider Beijing's long-held foreign policies. China proclaims a policy of non-interference in the affairs of other nations. For example, in President Xi Jinping's first trip aboard, he said in Moscow, "Matters that fall within the sovereign rights of a country should be managed only by the government and people of that country."

It is true, however, that the country's snowballing overseas interests and investments are putting this policy under pressure. A report by the Center for a New American Security, 'More Willing & Able: Charting China's International Security Activism', commented, "With more at stake in various military, economic, and diplomatic matters around the world, what happens inside other countries' borders is increasingly important to Beijing. Key Chinese interests overseas are now vulnerable to civil war, domestic terrorism, state failure, anti-Chinese sentiment over environmental and labor concerns, and other sources of internal instability."

The publication quoted Pang Zhongying, a professor at Renmin University, "Dependence on overseas resources, markets and energy will oblige China to adjust its foreign policy by, de facto, abandoning some of its 'nos' such as 'non-interference' and 'not taking the lead'."

A complicating factor is that part of the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through the disputed region of Kashmir. It appears Chinese interests are selfish rather than altruistic, for ultimately the CPEC gives China access directly to the Indian Ocean and will bring in financial returns.

It is unlikely that investment will ever approach the above figure. China is investing in individual projects on a piecemeal basis, with increasing security costs and risks a matter of acute anxiety to Chinese investors. China would wish to protect its investments and the best way to do that it to advocate peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.

China is very concerned too about militant Islamists emanating from or hiding out in Pakistan's lawless tribal belts, this as it conducts its own struggle to put down Islamic extremism in Xinjiang Province. Consider too that the ideological divide between the two countries. The atheistic Chinese Communist Party does not really care for Islam, so stepping into a war at Pakistan's behest is very unlikely.

Notably, Pakistan and China do not have a formal security agreement such as those mutual defense treaties that the US has with a number of Asia-Pacific allies.

China is glad to have Pakistan as a stalwart buyer of military equipment, but it would be an extreme minority in Beijing who would advocate for intervention in any Pakistan-India conflict. Would China be willing to put all its eggs in one basket by backing Islamabad to the hilt in any war?

The focus for China is on Taiwan and its maritime periphery in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Its primary strategic competitor is the USA, not India. It is unlikely Beijing's leadership would allow China to be drawn into a conflict so far removed from its key strategic goals.

Though the chances of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) going to full-scale war in support of Pakistan are so remote, there are other ways China could show backing to Islamabad. Indeed, Chinese support embolden Pakistan considerably, which would complicate Delhi's decision-making process.

China could conceivably conduct special protection missions to secure important assets or infrastructure in Pakistan. Its financial investments in the CPEC could become raison d'etre financially to deploy special forces and the like to Pakistan territory. It could do so with or without Pakistan's invitation, but the former would certainly fortify the deterrence effect. Even if the possibility of PLA troops engaging in fighting is minimal, this move by itself would constitute a serious statement of intent.

China lacks suitable platforms for long-range power projection. It has only one training aircraft carrier, for instance, and just four landing platform dock ships are currently in service in the PLA Navy (PLAN). Under the pretense of securing sea lines of communication, the navy could conceivably create expeditionary task forces of several LPDs protected by destroyers and a screen of submarines to sail into the Indian Ocean, but it would amount to a show of force only. Such a task force with overextended lines of communication would be vulnerable to Indian strikes far from home.

The PLAN could put a number of submarines into the Indian Ocean, although it would rely on Pakistan ports to resupply them for a long-term deployment. These could harass Indian naval vessels, but again the PLAN does not have the wherewithal to support a large number of vessels in distant seas.

Airlift capacity in the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) is low for such a large military, so air bridges of supplies to Pakistan would be limited. The Y-20 has only just entered service, and air-to-air tankers are few in number. Interestingly, airpower was not widely utilized in the 1962 war between China and India, but the PLAAF is relatively well placed to perform well against India.

Instead, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles would offer more of a deterrent threat against India. The Center for a New American Security report stated, "With improvements in space architecture, over-the-horizon targeting and adaptation to existing sea-based launch platforms, such missiles could be repurposed to constitute a potent, if narrowly focused, force projection tool."

Cyberwarfare is definitely an area that China could use most forcibly against India as it offers plausible deniability and does not put lives directly in the firing line. China also has the capability to attack space-based satellites of hostile nations, although this would be a far more controversial move that is extremely unlikely.

Although not referring specifically to an Indian conflict, the aforementioned report concluded, "The leadership appears committed to investing in critical enabling capabilities to expand the effective range of China's military might. In different combinations and contexts, a panoply of these capabilities could allow China to undertake a range of military activities outside its immediate environs."

Any confrontation between China and India is likely to involve ground forces rather than sea power, and what India fears most is a simultaneous two-front war. This would stretch the armed forces to breaking point. The Sino-Indian border is already a flashpoint, and this is the sphere that the PLA would be most likely to exploit, for instance in the Aksai Chin or Arunachal Pradesh.

Mutual mistrust is already rampant. Larry M. Wortzel, writing in 'PLA Contingency Planning and the Case of India', published last year by the National Defense University Press in the USA, highlighted, "Each side anticipates hostile action from the other and possesses a heightened sense of vulnerability vis-a-vis the other. Moreover, when an incident or border violation occurs, the tendency is to assume malicious or nefarious intent on the part of the actor."

China appears to have adopted a policy of keeping India on edge via a series of pinprick incursions and infrastructure development. By ramping up small-scale incursions along the frontier, China could begin to coerce Indian strategy.

China can build up forces in Tibet by moving troops by road and rail from areas like Chengdu. The PLA could move numerous divisions into the border area by rail and road, quickly overwhelming Indian forces numerically. India still has strategic vulnerability as it plays catch up on extensive infrastructure that China has constructed on its side of the border.

Of course, there is the distinct possibility of a rapid escalation with such border infractions. A small action could swiftly lead to unintended consequences if one country overreacts.

What did China learn from the 1962 war and how might it respond to a preemptive Indian thrust across the border? According to Wortzel, its "first order of business was to deal a 'painful blow' to Indian forces that had intruded into China. Surprise and speed in the counterattack were deemed to be extremely important to PLA success, and in both sections of the border, east and west, the PLA emphasized swiftness of operations. The PLA sought to follow up on combat successes and to pursue Indian forces that had abandoned border positions. Establishing and maintaining good logistics bases and lines of transportation were deemed critical to the PLA's success."

Beijing could up the ante by moving conventional missile launchers of the Rocket Force assets closer to the border. Moving them forward is likely to be quickly picked up by Indian intelligence, but again this would serve as deterrence for India. With the Rocket Force now better integrated into theater commands, their tactical use as part of a conventional war should be more effective than ever. However, the actual firing of a missile would be an enormous escalation.

Over all this looms the dark shadow that all three antagonists are nuclear powers. China maintains a 'no first use' policy of nuclear weapons, while India knowns it has outgunned by China. The wildcard, then, is Pakistan, especially if nuclear weapons got into the hands of extremist elements. Nevertheless, the specter of nuclear weapons should limit a conventional clash.

Many commentators assume China has a well-developed art of escalation management. However, this has not really been proven in practice. China's total miscalculation in the Permanent Court of Arbitration case in the South China Sea demonstrates that.

It is hoped that Beijing's intent is to reduce, rather than increase, tensions between India and Pakistan. The USA also plays an important restraining role in deescalating any India-Pakistan conflict, just as it did in Kargil.

One thing is for certain in the region's complicated geopolitics, Pakistan is set to play an even bigger role in Delhi's relations with Beijing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's largest civilian research and development agency Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR is celebrating its platinum jubilee today.

The autonomous body came into operation on this day in 1942. The platinum jubilee celebrations will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is also the President of CSIR.

"Will join the @CSIR_IND Platinum Jubilee Celebrations, where I will release seven new plant varieties developed at CSIR laboratories," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

"Shall also confer awards to eminent scientists & witness exhibits of unique works of @CSIR_IND during the programme today. Looking forward," he added.

During the function, Prime Minister Modi will release seven new plant varieties developed at CSIR laboratories.

He will also interact with farmers of five states through video conferencing.

The Prime Minister will also witness an exclusive CSIR Showcase on major technological contributions of CSIR. The prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes will be presented to eminent scientists on the occasion along with other CSIR awards.

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Hailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's speech at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the thrust of the message was "a good one and Indians can stand behind it".

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "Like all MEA-drafted speeches, I think it was a well-drafted and well-crafted speech. There were a couple of interesting aspects to the speech that are worth bearing in mind.

"The first that by speaking in Hindi, our Foreign Minister was appealing principally it seemed to the Indian audience and secondarily to a Pakistani audience because there would be no one in the hall apart from these two countries would have understood."

He, however, said the direct message on television was clearly intended for the subcontinent.

"The balance of the speech was striking. It began with all the global issues and India's role in them and then situated the Pakistan problem in the context of the global challenge of terrorism. In other words, it is not just India's problem and it is part of the larger problem that the whole world is facing, and that I thought was a good strong message that India needs to give to the rest of the world, listing the various places that have been attacked by terrorists and saying that unfortunately India too, has been a victim of terrorism," he said.

Speaking on the response which the External Affairs Minister gave, the Congress MP said that it was "interesting".

"The statement that 'Kashmir hamara hai' was a bit unnecessary. It was clearly meant for the Indian audience. The more important message, I thought, was that as long as Pakistan wants to internationalise the Kashmir as a big issue, we have a far bigger issue to internationalise against Pakistan and that's terrorism. Pakistan's connection to terrorism is part of the message that I thought was the most useful for us to convey to the world," he said.

Speaking at the 71st session of the UNGA in New York, Swaraj today strongly pitched for cornering Pakistan over the issue of terrorism, saying countries that nurture, peddle and export terror should have no place in the comity of nations.

The External Affairs Minister said terrorism is the worst form of violation of human rights as it targets innocent people.

Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, she said there are nations where UN designated terrorists roam freely and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, an apparent reference to Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

She also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become their calling card. The Minister called for united action from the world community to uproot the menace and demanded if any country does not becomes part of this strategy, it should be isolated.

In a strong rebuttal of the baseless allegations made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's from the podium of the General Assembly about "human rights violations" by India in Kashmir, Swaraj said he should first see what is happening in Balochistan, which is witnessing the worst form of state oppression. She asserted that Pakistan cannot snatch Kashmir from India by provocative speeches as it is an integral part of India and will remain so. The Minister said Pakistan must abandon its dream to obtain the territory it covets.

The Minister also rejected Sharif's remarks that India has placed pre-conditions for talks which are not acceptable to him. She said India has never set any condition for dialogues with Pakistan but has only tried to strengthen ties through friendly overtures. But in return it got Pathankot and Uri terror attacks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari has said that India is now pursuing a much focused approach to all the different regions of Africa, and his visit to Nigeria and Mali in West Africa was part of that approach.

Addressing the media onboard Air India Special Flight on way to a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, Vice President Ansari recalled an increase in high-level visits to Africa in the past one year, placing his visit within the context of sustained engagement with the 54 nations of the continent.

He mentioned that India had a long association with the continent, starting from the days of decolonization and that there is a natural sympathy and friendship which India receives in African countries. He further said that in any decision globally, whether in the United Nations or anywhere else, the weight of Africa is always felt.

Speaking on India's ties with Nigeria, the Vice President said that the country was the largest in Africa in terms of population, and that it carried significant weight in the region, and in international fora.

Its own objectives for the reform of the United Nations were not dissimilar to India's goals. In specific terms, India had a long standing strategic relationship with Nigeria, particularly in the defense field, for training and establishment of training institutions. On the economic side, Vice President Ansari said that India's ties with Nigeria were critical as about 12 percent of New Delhi's energy imports come from Nigeria.

With more than 100 Indian companies working in the country, including some of the biggest industrial houses, trade and investment was a key aspect of cooperation, and there was an expectation of a fruitful relationship for both countries.

The Vice President pointed out that the fact that the President of Nigeria had been invited twice as the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day celebrations was an indication of this political closeness.

On India's ties with Mali, the Vice President said that our government was keen to expand the engagement, given the vast potential for expanding our cooperation. He mentioned the strong development partnership between India and Mali and spoke of the successful implementation of three out of the four India assisted projects there.

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India on Monday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to urge Pakistan to engage in honest introspection and focus its energies on acting against perpetrators of terrorist attacks on its neighbours from its own territory.

Exercising its Right of Reply under Agenda Item 8 at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, India pointed out that Islamabad's "short-sighted" approach of "terrorism as state policy" has started showing in other countries of South Asia as well.

"We would like to reiterate that India is not the only victim of Pakistan's preaching, practicing, encouraging and nurturing terrorism. The deleterious impact of Pakistan's irresponsible and short-sighted approach of terrorism as state policy has started showing in other countries of South Asia and beyond," the statement by the Permanent Mission of India said.

Maintaining that India deeply regrets Pakistan's continued misuse of the Council to make tendentious references about internal matters pertaining to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the statement pointed out that Islamabad's misinformation campaign, backed by fabricated facts and figures, on this issue only reflects the desperation that has seeped into their narrative.

"Pakistan's continued support for terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir is the main challenge to protecting the human rights of our citizens in the State. Pakistan's selective approach in tackling terror groups operating outside Pakistan and within, despite the numerous solemn promises made underscores the continuing unwillingness to acknowledge the truth," the statement added.

Reminding the Government of Pakistan about their solemn commitment in January 2004, to not allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, the statement added that New Delhi awaits credible action by Islamabad to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot attack to justice.

"We await credible action by the Government of Pakistan to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot attack to justice. The latest terrorist attack in Uri, where 18 Indian soldiers lost their life and over 20 injured, only underlines that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active," the statement added.

Pointing out that recovery of GPS, grenades with Pakistani markings, communication matrix sheets and equipments and other stores made in Pakistan, and patterns of infiltration and attacks, is clear evidence of involvement of terror organisations based in Pakistan or territory under its control, India demanded Islamabad to live up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against New Delhi.

Taking a jibe at Pakistan, India said that it is unfortunate that Islamabad's trust in the methods of terror are so deep that it does not hesitate from using them on its own people in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as the tribal areas in its northwest.

"This coupled with the utter disregard for the human rights of religious and sectarian minorities has turned Pakistan into the true epicenter of global terror," the statement said.

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A.B. Pandya, a former chairman of the Central Water Commission, on Monday said that India needs to take a very tough stand with regard to the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Pandya said, "We need to take a very tough stand in this regard; that we will not allow or execute the uneconomical designs that they are trying to force on us."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today chaired a meeting to review the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Misra, Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar also attended the meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister.

The treaty signed in 1960 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan President Ayub Khan allocates 80 per cent of water from the six-river Indus water system to Pakistan. Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum form the Indus water system that flows from India to Pakistan.

The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, is often considered to be too one-sided and there has been growing clamour to relook at it. The pact has survived wars and phases of frosty ties between India and Pakistan.

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In the wake of Uri terror attack which has heightened tensions along the India-Pakistan border, Jaisalmer Police has initiated a programme to give training in the handling of modern weaponry.

Six police stations -- Jhinjiniali Shahgarh, Ramgarh, Rajgarh, Mohangarh and Ranchna -- in Jaisalmer District -- are undergoing this training.

Police personnel have been asked to coordinate with the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed along the border.

"We are training each and every police officials in these stations to make theme capable to use modern weapons in times of emergency," Gaurav Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Jaisalmer, said.

"They have been given training to behave normally with the public and have also asked to coordinate with the BSF to effectively discharge their duties so that they can tackle any unforeseen circumstances," he added.

One of the important points to note, Gaurav Yadav said, is the problem of shifting sand dunes which mostly occurs at Shahgarh area which is why the probability of infiltration becomes higher. Hence additional forces have been deployed in these police stations.

Eighteen soldiers died on Sunday when armed militants lobbed grenade into their tents and barricades while they were asleep. The bombardment caused large fire thereby resulting in casualties.

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After Deepika Padukone, Bollywood's one of the most talked-about person Karan Johar spoke up about the years of clinical depression he went through.

In a recent interview with Barkha Dutt for NDTV, the 44-year-old filmmaker revealed about the issues he went through until quite recently.

While speaking about how he got to know about his clinical depression, KJo said, "I have read people speaking openly about their depression. There was a phase in my life, when I was really depressed. When I went through that phase, I thought I am getting a cardiac arrest. I felt it in middle of a meeting two and half years ago, after which I left the meeting in between saying I have something urgent to do and rushed to the doctor. He then said I am having an anxiety attack. I went to a psychologist post that. Then I realized that I had some internal issues to deal with, which got built up to such point that it resulted into anxiety."

Unlike many other people who still think depression to be one of the most stigmatized mental health issues and refuse to discuss about, the Dharma Productions head honcho admitted that he had to undergo anti-anxiety medication for a year and a half.

"I went through a series of anti-anxiety medication for it. A year and a half post that, when I stopped it, I realized that I am in a much better place. Today I actually feel the emotion of excitement and happiness. When you go through it, you stop feeling that zing of emotion. Today I am getting all of them back," he said.

Karan further spoke at length about how carrying the baggage of the past and fear of the future resulted to some his severe panic and anxiety attack and how he has overcome it successfully.

"Those sessions (medication) made big difference to me. During those sessions, we touched on many things of my life. I felt that I did not deal entirely with the loss of my father, though it's been 11or 12 years, I felt the pain and hurt of certain relationships that had dwindled from my life and I was carrying all that baggage. And the fear of future, the fear that I was not being able to find a life partner. At one point the lack of love in my life was really bothering me. Today I feel a lot more free of it. I feel there are loads of other things to look forward to," he explained.

During the candid chat, Karan even spoke about how people live in the bubble of film industry and about the equation they share.

"We live in this bubble all the time as we talk film, we eat film and sleep film and as a result we build up emotions, which we don't know are really those for the films or you take those when you don't work together. So you land up wondering about every equation you make in the movie industry," he said, adding, "At 44, when you are lonely and not in a relationship, you wonder what your life is going to be and all the success you might get and all the love and attention you get, where does that go? When you don't have that love to share with somebody, it gets you worried."

With an emphasis on the point that there is a need to address this issue since there is lack of awareness in the society, KJo appreciated people like Deepika Padukone who chose to open up about battling against depression.

On the work front, the filmmaker is all set to release his directorial venture 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, on October 28.

The film, which shows the roller-coaster ride of different relationships, features Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and Fawad Khan. Reportedly, Shah Rukh Khan will also be seen in a cameo role in it.

However, the release of film is on stake after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) warned that it would not allow the release of Bollywood films featuring Pakistani cine or television stars, which includes 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Raees' as the movies star Fawad and Mahira Khan respectively.

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A delegation of heads of eminent Khanqahs and Dargahs led by the Chief of the Ajmer Sharif have appealed to people in the Kashmir Valley to keep calm and peace there and help the government to return normalcy in the state.

Calling on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here today, they assured him that they would go to Kashmir to request their brothers and sisters to work for the restoration of peace.

Led by Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, Spiritual Head of the shrine and the Sajjadanashin of Dargah Khwaja Sahab, Ajmer Sharif, the delegation shared their concern on the situation in Kashmir and expressed confidence that the Union Home Minister would do everything possible to bring normalcy in Kashmir in order to remove pain and miseries of the people.

The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation prevailing in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years.

The delegation further mentioned that over the last many years, we see a decline in social values and ethos, and onslaught of Western culture on one hand and increase of radicalism among Muslims on the other hand, doing incalculable loss to the shared cultural values, peace and happiness for the mankind.

Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb said that the spiritual leaders are concerned and pained on the situation and the sufferings of the people in our country and all over the world. Worst, we see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism, he added.

The delegation opined that those creating disturbance in the world must know that there is no bigger power than the power of peace. Violence can only bring more sufferings and solve no problem of humanity, they noted. They emphasized that together we make a beautiful country for all to live in peace and harmony and progress faster.

The delegation highlighted that India is the land of Sufism and spiritual powers. Khwaja Saheb Dargah in Ajmer Sharif, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah in New Delhi and hundreds of Sufi centres all over the country have been the source of spiritual strength and guidance to the people of India and the world for over 800 years. These Khanqahs and Dargahs have been removing pains and miseries of millions of people seeking divine help every year, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

The delegation of Sajjadanashin of all biggest dargahs in the country including Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi, Dargah HZT. Khaja Banda Nawaz, Gulbarga, Karnataka, Dargah Fathepur Sikri U.P., Dargah Maner Sharif, Bihar, Dargah Yusufain Nappalli, A.P., Dargah Ambetha Sharif, Gujarat and Dargah Haradarwaza, Hyderabad.

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The International Institute for Mohajirs on the sidelines of the 33rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, highlighted the plight of Mohajirs in Pakistan and how the Pakistani government continues to ostracize the community in the country.

Highlighting the human rights situation in Pakistan and problems being faced by the Mohajirs there, Mohammad Khan, a human rights activist from Karachi, said that the Pakistan government continued to ostracize the Mohajirs and through various laws, ensure that members of the community continued to remain 'outsiders' in the country that they had chosen to adopt after the formation of Pakistan in 1947.

Khan appealed before the UN to pressurize Islamabad to improve the situation of Mohajirs in the country.

Maintaining that despite the contributions of Mohajirs to Pakistani culture and society, Arbaz Khan, President, European Mohajir Network said that the Mojahir community was discriminated against and their rights regularly violated.

He also accused the Pakistan government of sponsoring intolerance and hatred against the Mojahirs and deploying various forms of discrimination against them.

Arbaz Khan insisted that Mohajirs were peace loving people and only wanted to be recognised for their contributions and be provided with security, honour and employment.

Meanwhile, Ryszard Czarnecki, Vice President European Parliament insisted that though the issue of the Mohajirs had not been raised in the European Parliament, it was a serious human rights issue in Pakistan and the time was right for the European Union to take note of this problem.

The conference was held on September 23.

Mohajirs are the Muslim immigrants who migrated from regions of India after the partition from British rule in 1947 and settled in the newly formed state of Pakistan.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take stock of the 56-year old Indus Water Treaty in New Delhi on Monday, where top officials from various Ministries including External Affairs and Water Resources are expected to brief the Prime Minister on the pact.

The treaty signed in 1960 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan President Ayub Khan allocates 80 per cent of water from the six-river Indus water system to Pakistan. Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum form the Indus water system that flows from India to Pakistan.

The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, is often considered to be too one-sided and there has been growing clamour to relook at it. The pact has survived wars and phases of frosty ties between India and Pakistan.
Lauding External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for making categorical statements on human rights violations in Balochistan, Minister of State for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Monday said India will continue to be supportive of such people who want to voice their own rights.

"I think our External Affairs Minister has brought it out very clearly driven point home, to the international community, as well as to Pakistan to stop day dreaming about Kashmir. They should rather take care of their territory because there are lot of human rights violation and people are looking for getting their own independence, which perhaps they deserve. India will continue to be supportive of such people who want to voice their own rights. I think she made her point very clearly," Rathore told ANI.

Rebutting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's statements, made five days earlier, at the UNGA, where he accused India of "committing brutalities in the Kashmir Valley" and hailed Hizbul-Mujahideen terrorists Burhan Wani as "young leader", Swaraj said "On 21st September, the Prime Minister of Pakistan used this podium to make baseless allegations about human rights violations in my country. I can only say that 'jinke apne ghar shishe ke ho, unhe dusro par patthar nahi fekne chahiye. (those whose houses are made of glass should not throw stones at others). Those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression."

Swaraj also asked Islamabad to abandon its dream of separating any part of India, saying "Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so."

"My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so," said Swaraj while addressing the United Nations General Assembly.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz has demanded international probe into the terrorists attack on the Army Brigade headquarters in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 18 Indian Army soldiers were killed.

Aziz in an interview with the BBC Urdu Service, said that India always starts accusing Pakistan immediately after any attack without waiting for investigations, reports Radio Pakistan.

He maintained that, therefore, an independent international commission should be constituted to unearth the facts.

The top diplomat insisted that such attacks should not divert attention from the Kashmir issue.

Aziz insisted that it is not for the first time that India has levelled baseless allegations on Pakistan.

Recalling the former US president Bill Clinton visit to subcontinent where a major terrorist incident took place at Chattisinghpura, Aziz said that India had blamed Pakistan for the massacre too.

18 Indian Army soldiers were killed and over 20 others were injured in an encounter with the terrorists at the Army Brigade headquarters in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.

This is the highest casualty the army has suffered in a single attack in last two decades.

All four terrorists involved in the attack were killed in what has emerged as worse than the attack on the Pathankot air base earlier in January this year, in which seven army men were killed.

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The Supreme Court will on Monday hear an appeal filed by December 16 'Nirbhaya' gangrape convicts - Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh.

They had challenged their death sentence awarded by the Delhi High Court in the apex court.

The top court had on April 4 begun final hearing of the convicts' appeal almost two years after staying their execution.

Two of the four death-row convicts had written to Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Deepak Misra, stating that they do not approve of the defence counsel appointed by the court to argue their case before the top court as they had given statements against them to the media in the past.

The trial court had in September 2013 awarded death sentences to the convicts.

Six months later, the Delhi High Court upheld their conviction and sentence. All the convicts moved the apex court in 2014, which stayed their execution.

Six people, including a juvenile, had assaulted the woman in a moving bus in South Delhi.

Later, the accused threw out the victim and her male friend at an isolated spot.

She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012, triggering nation-wide protests that resulted in giving more teeth to laws related to rape and other forms of sexual harassment.

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Reiterating its commitment to play a leading role in combating climate change, India on Monday urged the developed nations to discharge their responsibility in the search for the common good with finance and technology transfer.

Speaking at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) here, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the true challenge that the community is facing at present is to "end the curse of harsh poverty that still lurks in so many corners of our world; to ensure that the fruits of growing prosperity reach those who need it most; to take forward the mission of gender equality and protect women where there is gender regression; and to ensure peace across boundaries, not least because there can be no prosperity without peace."

"We must remember that we will be defined not just by our actions, but equally by our inaction," she said.

"A number of issues have been debated in this august Assembly - from the necessity of global partnerships in sharing new vaccines and promoting access to affordable drugs to counter anti-microbial resistance, to the need for faster implementation of the Sendai Framework to mitigate the risk of natural disasters. From the challenge of ensuring well-ordered mobility of productive human resources, to the necessity of adequate consultations with Troop Contributing Countries before framing mandates for UN Peacekeeping Operations," she added.

Swaraj also congratulated the UN General Assembly for the priority it has given to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by making them the theme for the 71st UNGA.

"I am happy that the 17 goals adopted by this Assembly are matched by the development vision of my Government, which is geared towards the achievement of these same objectives," she said.

Highlighting various schemes implemented by the Government of India in conjunction with the SDGs, the External Affairs Minister said, "Under the 'Swachh Bharat Mission', more than 4, 00, 000 toilets have been constructed in schools; 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (Educate the Girl Child, Save the Girl Child) programme has become a nation-wide mission; 'Make in India' is receiving international acclamation; under the Jan Dhan Yojana, almost 250 million bank accounts have been opened for the poor, making it the world's largest financial inclusion programme; 'Digital India' is transforming the country; and under the 'Skill India' programme, a number of skilling programmes are underway for the youth to enable us to reap the demographic dividend."

"Nothing underlines our commitment to the SDGs more than the approach of our National Parliament. We are all aware that 1/6th of humanity live in India. Therefore, global success in realizing SDGs depends on the success achieved in India. We are committed to the wholehearted implementation of the Agenda 2030 as a national effort. We have decided to dedicate one day in each session of our Parliament for discussions only on SDGs. This will enable us to constantly monitor their progress and this will give us good results," she added.

Asserting that there are enough resources on this planet to fulfil everyone's needs, but not enough to fulfill everyone's greed, for greed is limitless, Swaraj said that "we should respect nature".

"If we respect nature, nature will respect us and nurture us and future generations. In this context, Prime Minister Modi has championed a new concept-Climate Justice. If we respect nature, nature will respect us and nurture us and future generations. But, if we exploit and nature mindlessly, then we must be mindful that nature will unleash its fury upon us," she said.

"We must curb reckless consumption, and adopt lifestyles in harmony with nature. Yoga, the storehouse of India's ancient wisdom, epitomises a sustainable lifestyle. Let me record our gratitude for the unprecedented global response to the International Day of Yoga," she added.

Asserting that in the Paris Agreement, the principle of 'Common but Differentiated Responsibilities' and 'Respective Capabilities' has been acknowledged and accepted, she said that India has launched an ambitious domestic effort to transform its energy mix to achieve 40 percent energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

"The massive investments required entail a predictable and stable environment towards which we are working actively. Apart from this, our path-breaking initiative for an International Solar Alliance is intended to make efficient solar technology available for all," she said.

"We have decided to submit our Instrument of Ratification of the Paris Agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who epitomised a lifestyle with the smallest carbon footprint," she informed.

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The Tripura Trinamool Congress burnt effigies of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over the weekend, saying both were anti-Indian.

The targeted Sarkar for his remark made at a business summit where he allegedly said India has a big brother approach to its neighours.

activists organised a protest procession during which they raised anti-Manik Sarkar and anti-Pakistan slogans. The effigies were burnt at the busy Orient Choumuhani crossing on Sunday evening.

youth leader Sushanta Choudhury called Chief Minister Sarkar a traitor and maintained that the CPI-M has never stood by India and that the former is echoing the sentiments of Pakistan.

CPI-M state secretary Bijan Dhar said that it is unfortunate that the TMC is burning the effigy of Sarkar instead of Prime Minister Modi and who is trying to destabilise the peace, tranquility and secular fabric of the India Constitution.

Dhar alleged that the TMC (with financial support) is trying to show Sharif and Sarkar as same and which a strategy of the imperialist America to oust the Left Front government which is the only alternative.

He suggested that India should continue dialogue with Pakistan to resolve issues relating to Kashmir.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday lauded India for its swift action over the decision to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Ban said he is looking forward to receiving New Delhi's instrument of accession.

UN Secretary-General's deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq said Ban has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible and he would be pleased by swift action by India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday in Kerala announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate deal on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.

A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Officials at the United Nations have branded the Syrian regime's brutal airstrikes against areas of the besieged city of rebel-held Aleppo as "barbaric."

Syrian forces on Sunday pounded eastern Aleppo, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 300 others.

According to CNN, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a UN Security Council crisis meeting that he was "appalled" by the military escalation in the Syrian city, asserting that the use of bunker-busting bombs "brings the violence to new depths of barbarity."

Moon further stated that the airstrikes, incendiary weapons and bombs in densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said that Russian support of Assad's deadly offensive was "barbarism."

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter terrorism, it is barbarism. Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive." She said.

On Sunday, British ambassador to the UN Matthew Rycroft, staged a walk out at an emergency session of the UN Security Council along with his French and US counterparts to protest against the Syrian regime's latest offensive in Aleppo.

"After five years of conflict, you might think that the regime has had its fill of barbarity -- that its sick bloodlust against its own people has finally run its course. But this weekend, the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo." He said.

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The U.S.-India Council (USIBC) concluded its inaugural Logistics Industry Mission to New Delhi on September 23.

The delegation, led by Rajesh Subramaniam, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications, FedEx, comprised of representatives from FedEx Express, DHL Express, Boeing, Brambles/CHEP, TransAsia, and other U.S.-based companies.

The delegation expressed its commitment to working with the Government of India to create a stronger ecosystem to incentivize investment and ensure the smooth functioning of India's promising logistics industry along with exploiting the benefits of an impending ecommerce boom.

The delegation discussed three important ways by which the American logistics industry could work with the Government of India to support the country's aspirations of integrating with the global supply chains, and boost trade and economic growth.

The delegation's meetings with the Government of India included Ministry of Finance's Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman Najib Shah, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, and the Ministry of Commerce's DIPP.

The delegation expressed their commitment to stronger U.S.-India economic ties in logistics with U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma, and shared specific policy recommendations with the Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju, to facilitate the efficient functioning of express service operators in India.

The delegation's top three policy priorities were anchored around the following: Streamlining the GST to actually support the logistics industry; easing customs regulations through the expedited and meaningful implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement; and eventually ensuring the success of strong physical infrastructure to support the ecommerce boom.

The GST is a game-changer for India's logistics industry. However, the group advocated for a truly restriction-free flow of goods at interstate borders by ensuring efficient communication between the customs and GST authorities, as well as ease of doing with regard to Know Your Customer requirements and de minimis rules. To support the impending ecommerce boom - and in turn to augment the "just in time" manufacturing model - the delegation stressed on the early implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Act. The delegation applauded the Government of India's rollout of the Single Window Interface but also requested a similar model to support the express services industry using the courier mode.

"In logistics, India is heading toward a win-win situation for itself and its trading partners. On this USIBC mission, we met with key officials in the Government of India. The goal was to identify ways the American logistics industry could work with the government to support the country's aspirations of integrating with global supply chains, becoming an international logistics hub, and boosting overall jobs and economic growth. The potential of the Indian economy is immense, but to reach that potential India must continue to reform its logistics sector and find ways to reduce logistics costs. Further GST reforms, trade facilitation and infrastructure investments are keys to delivering a more competitive and inclusive economy for India," said Subramaniam, chairing the delegation.

The delegation also participated in an industry reception hosted by Mphasis, an IT services company, where Puneet Bhirani, Chief Administrative Officer, expressed the growing importance of India's logistics sector.

The mission's Knowledge Partner, Knight Frank India, also unveiled its "India Warehousing Market Report 2016" at this reception. The report provides warehousing sector dynamics in India's top seven cities. Dr. Samantak Das, Chief Economist and National Director, Knight Frank India, noted: "The current environment is likely to accelerate progress in the logistics sector in India, considering the interest from government as well as private enterprises. The GST will amalgamate several central and state taxes into a single tax to facilitate a unified national market. Further, inter-state industrial corridors, such as the ambitious Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), and freight corridors, such as the Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors, are gaining renewed focus. Our first report in the series-India Logistics & Warehousing Report 2014-was a detailed handbook introducing warehousing sector dynamics, such as demand drivers, policies and regulations, models, and enabling infrastructure and emerging trends, among others. We see a great potential in the overall logistics sector, with warehousing being a key element in it.

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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to support their refinery modernisation efforts.

The agreement was signed at IOCL's headquarters by Sanjiv Singh, Director of Refineries at IOCL and John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy - New Delhi.

The program will help IOCL analyze options for optimizing its refining operations to produce cleaner fuels from its by-product streams, which will help the company improve efficiencies and reduce emissions at its refineries to meet Indian environmental standards.

"USTDA is excited to join efforts with IOCL, an important partner, as they seek to improve operational efficiency and expand the production of cleaner fuels," said Henry Steingass, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia at USTDA. "We believe this is a great opportunity for U.S. Industry to continue to build on their relationship with IOCL."

The feasibility study will include a market, technical, economic and financial analysis of advanced technologies in order to help IOCL identify solutions for converting pet coke refinery by-products into cleaner chemical products and fuels. This project follows IOCL's participation in a USTDA reverse trade mission that brought Indian energy officials to the United States for meetings and site visits with U.S. companies focused on refinery modernization solutions.

The opportunity to conduct this USTDA-sponsored feasibility study will be competed through Federal Opportunities (FBO). A link to the FBO announcement will be posted to USTDA's website at www.ustda.gov. Interested U.S. firms should submit proposals according to the instructions in the FBO announcement.

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Bank of Baroda fell 1.63% to Rs 166.35 at 14:39 IST on BSE, after a bulk deal of 22.02 lakh shares was executed on the scrip at Rs 167.70 per share at 09:34 IST on BSE.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 367.34 points, or 1.28% at 28,300.88

Bulk deal boosted volume on the scrip. On BSE, so far 25.50 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 12.60 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 169.35 and low of Rs 166.15 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 190.90 on 8 October 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 109.45 on 12 February 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 23 September 2016, rising 4.51% compared with 2.99% rise in the Sensex. The scrip outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 15.07% as against Sensex's 8.60% rise.

The large-cap state-run bank has equity capital of Rs 460.83 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Bank of Baroda's net profit fell 59.74% to Rs 423.62 crore on 2.99% decline in total income to Rs 11877.91 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

Government of India owned 59.24% stake in Bank of Baroda (as on 30 June 2016).

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At meeting held on 26 September 2016

Gati announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on 26 September 2016 has accepted the resignation of Sanjeev Jain as the Whole Time Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Company with effect from 31 October 2016.

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Canara Bank's board of directors at its meeting held on Friday, 23 September 2016, permitted the bank to raise additional equity share capital of an amount not exceeding Rs 1128 crore, including premium by way of rights issue with the Government of India (GoI) contribution of Rs 748 crore and Rs 380 crore from public shareholders. The board decided to constitute a rights issue committee of the board of directors to decide and permit on terms, timing, pricing, and other modalities of the rights issue. Further, the board decided to issue senior unsecured bonds in foreign currency in the range of $500 million in the international market under the $2 billion medium term note (MTN) programme of the bank for the purpose of providing funds to the overseas branches of the bank (the bank has so far raised $1100 million under this programme) and form a committee to decide the quantum, timing, tenor, pricing, costs etc. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 23 September 2016.

Dena Bank said after market hours on Friday, 23 September 2016 it has allotted 4,000 unsecured, subordinated, non-convertible Basel III compliant Tier II bonds, in the nature of debentures aggregating to Rs 400 crore on private placement basis. It may be recalled that the bank's board of directors had last month approved for raising of Basel III compliant Tier II bonds upto an amount of Rs 1100 crore, in one or more tranche, in one or more instruments.

GNA Axles debuts on the secondary equity market today, 26 September 2016. The company had priced the initial public offer (IPO) at the top end of the Rs Rs 205 to Rs 207 price band. The IPO of GNA Axles saw strong response from investors. Bidding for the IPO ended on 16 September 2016. The IPO received bids for 24.52 crore shares and it was subscribed 54.88 times.

Welspun India announced that it has secured the 'Interactive Textile Article and Augmented Reality System' patent, which protects Welspun's new product line TILT, a new brand from Welspun that focuses on seamlessly integrating technology into textiles. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 23 September 2016.

Nitesh Estates said its board will meet on 28 September 2016, to consider augmenting the long term fund requirements of the company including by way of further issue of capital and other means. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 23 September 2016.

The board of Vardhman Textiles approved the proposal to buyback the fully paid-up equity shares of face value of Rs. 10 each of the company. The buyback shall be upto an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 720 crore at a maximum price of Rs 1,175. At maximum buyback price, the buyback translates into approximately 61.27 lakh equity shares of the company. The announcement was made on Saturday, 24 September 2016.

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Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, signed a 15-year contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), for exploration of Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS) in Indian Ocean, here today. The contract was signed by Dr. M Rajeevan, Secretary, MoES and Mr. Nii Allotey Odunton, Secretary General, ISA.

The ISA is an institution set up under the Convention on Law of the Sea to which India is a Party.

The ISA earlier approved an application submitted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences for allotment of 10,000 sq. km. area along with 15-year plan of work for exploration of PMS along Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) region of the Indian Ocean. The Union Cabinet approved signing of this 15-year contract by the Ministry with the ISA in its meeting held on June 15, 2016.

PMS, containing iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold, platinum in variable constitutions, are precipitates of hot fluids from upwelling hot magma from deep interior of the oceanic crust, discharged through mineralized chimneys. PMS in the Ocean Ridges have attracted worldwide attention for their long term commercial as well as strategic values.

By signing the 15-year contract, India's exclusive rights for exploration of PMS in the allotted area in the Indian Ocean will be formalized. Further, it will enhance India's presence in the Indian Ocean where other players like China, Korea and Germany are active.

The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the participation from various national institutes and research laboratories/ organizations.

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India must build tourist infrastructure, preserve and market monuments, and develop moderately-priced hotels, stated Hon'ble Mr Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs.

Highlighting that India has natural beauty, pilgrim centers, and booming urban centers, the Minister said that business tourism and student tourism is being promoted. The shortage of connectivity has been addressed with 70 functional airports and 30-35 more airports to be added for regional connectivity, he added. India also has the fastest growing highway network, while the railways are focusing on quality, faster trains and station redevelopment.

The Finance Minister stated that industry should develop the right business models. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate would be higher if more exemptions were to be provided, he stressed. Facilitation by government in terms of electronic visas, marketing and tourism promotion and preservation of monuments would be provided and as India's position in the global economy improves, tourism too will benefit, he noted.

Shri N Chandrababu Naidu, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, observed that as a service sector, the tourism industry creates the highest employment, direct and indirect. India has all advantages, he stressed, and it has emerged as a priority sector for the government. Creating the right ecosystem and marketing are important to boost the sector, he felt.

The Chief Minister emphasized that Andhra Pradesh achieved almost 11% growth rate the previous year, and his target is to raise this to 14-15% in the current year. The state is stressing creating the right ecosystem to make tourism a growth driver.

He gave the example of Tirupati Temple as an ecosystem for generating jobs.

Mr Mahesh Sharma, Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism and Culture, said that tourism has been identified as a priority sector by the Prime Minister. He added that the target is to raise the share of India in aggregate tourist arrivals to 1% by 2020 and further to 2% by 2025. While electronic visa facility has been provided to 150 countries, it will be offered for more countries shortly.

Mr PK Sinha, Cabinet Secretary, pointed to the huge requirements for infrastructure, including in sanitation and tourism infrastructure. He said that the time is just right for the private sector to invest in the tourism sector. He also stressed the need to treat tourists well and avoid complaints.

Mr Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Tourism, stated that tourism is expected to touch revenues of $419 billion by 2022, and has immense potential to create jobs and drive growth. The IITIS has the participation 29 states and Union Territories with over 700 projects of investment opportunity. 23 seminars are being held during the three-day event, and 16 countries including USA, Qatar, Malaysia and others are participating. An exhibition and 3000 business to business meetings are being held at the event.

Dr Naushad Forbes, President, CII, said that India has low tourist inflows compared to smaller countries, and the IITIS aims at raising awareness on bankable projects in the country. Pointing to the success of France, he stressed that India at this juncture too has fortunes to be made in investing in tourism.

Mr Vivek Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Hotel Leela Venture Ltd, requested the government to offer a congenial climate for investments in the hotel sector.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, stated that the IITIS has the presence of all stakeholders to boost the tourism sector of the country.

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The Union Minister Food Processing Industries Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid the Foundation Stone of the Ludhiana Mega Food Park being promoted by Punjab Agro. Ludhiana Food Park is the gift of the Prime Minister to Punjab and will give benefit to farmers and processors of Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, S. B. S. Nagar, Jalandhar, Moga, Sangrur and Barnala district of Punjab said Smt. Badal to mediapersons.

In order to give an impetus to the growth of the Food Processing Sector in Punjab, Ministry has approved three Mega Food Park in the State of Punjab. Out of these three Mega Food Park First Mega Food Park located at Fazilka has already become operational. The foundation stone laying of a second Mega Food Park in the state promoted by M/s Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd. (PAIC) was done today by Smt.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries at Ludhiana. A 3rd Mega Food Park (M/s Sukhjit Mega Food Park) has been approved by the Ministry in Kapurthala District of Punjab.

Under the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is focusing on boosting the Food Processing Industry so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and becomes the engine of growth to drive the Make in India initiative of Prime Minister. Ministry of Food Processing Industries has identified creation of modern infrastructure for food processing as a focus area and is encouraging private investment. As a step in this direction, Ministry of Food Processing Industries has been implementing the Mega Food Park Scheme in the country to give a major boost to the Food Processing Sector along the value chain from the farm to the market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach.

This Mega Food park has a Central Processing Centre (CPC) at Ludhiana and four Primary Processing Centres (PPCs) are being set up at Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Fazilka and Bathinda to provide strong backward linkages. The Mega Food Park is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to about 6000 people and benefit about 25,000 - 30,000 farmers in its catchment area.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Badal informed that this Mega Food Park will be set up with the project cost of Rs. 117.61 crore in an area of 100.20 acres. The park will have facilities of 500 kg/Spiral Freezer, 1000 MT Cold Store of Onion & Garlic, 1000 MT Frozen cold store of Vegetable produce, 10000 MT Dry warehouse, 10000 MT Silos, 100 MT Ripening Chamber (ECRC), 1 MT/Hr Dehydration Line (Air dried), 400 MT Cold storage, Reefer vans, Food incubation center (ICRESAT) and Testing Laboratory. The Minister expressed confidence that this Mega Food Park project will create a modern infrastructure for arresting post-harvest losses of horticultural and non-horticultural produce and provide impetus to the growth of food processing sector in Punjab. This Mega Food Park project will help in providing better prices to farmer, reduce wastage of perishables, add value to agricultural produce and create huge opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment for the youth of the state.

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Key benchmark indices fell further into the negative terrain and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade as weakness in global stocks dampened sentiment. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 322.41 points or 1.12% at 28,345.81. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 95.70 points or 1.08% at 8,735.85. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, hit 1-1/2 week low in mid-afternoon trade.

The Sensex dropped 359.14 points or 1.25% at the day's low of 28,309.08 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest level since 14 September 2016. The barometer index fell 37.30 points or 0.13% at the day's high of 28,630.92 at the onset of the trading session. The Nifty dropped 108.20 points or 1.22% at the day's low of 8,723.35 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest level since 15 September 2016. The index shed 22 points or 0.24% at the day's high of 8,809.55 at the onset of the trading session.

In overseas stock markets, European stocks dropped as investors trod cautiously ahead of an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) producers meeting in Algeria later this week. Asian stocks dropped after losses on Wall Street on Friday, 23 September 2016, as investors' attention turned from central banks to American politics ahead of the first US presidential debate. Investors are pessimistic over any breakthroughs in oil-production cuts when the OPEC gathers for an informal meeting on Wednesday, 28 September 2016.

US stocks logged weekly gains but ended with solid losses on Friday, 23 September 2016. Investors awaited US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton due later in the global day today, 26 September 2016. US presidential elections will be held on 8 November this year.

Closer home, the market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 1,635 shares fell and 935 shares rose. A total of 186 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.63%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.59%. The decline in both these indices was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

Shares of most power generation and power distribution companies edged lower. GVK Power & Infrastructure (down 1.45%), NHPC (down 0.77%), NTPC (down 1.75%), Adani Power (down 0.72%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 1.37%) and Reliance Power (down 0.68%) declined. Torrent Power (up 1.82%), Tata Power Company (up 0.79%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.17%),

Shares of state run Coal India rose 0.53%.

Shares of oil production and exploration firms fell as crude oil prices gained after fall in crude oil prices in the previous session. Cairn India (down 0.91%), Oil India (down 0.28%), and ONGC (down 3.26%) declined. Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.43%. Lower crude oil prices would result in decrease in realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms.

Shares state-run oil-marketing companies (PSU OMCs) fell as crude oil prices rose as crude oil prices dropped in the previous session. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) (up 1.3%), BPCL (up 1.64%) and HPCL (up 1.49%) gained. Lower crude oil prices could decrease under-recoveries of PSU OMCs on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.

In global commodities markets, Brent crude oil futures for November settlement was up 1 cent at $45.90 a barrel. The contract had fallen $1.76 a barrel or 3.69% to settle at $45.89 a barrel during previous trading session.

Marksans Pharma surged 11.49% after the company said that US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has granted approval to the company for an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Loratadine liquid filled capsules 10 mg. Loratadine liquid filled capsules 10 mg is therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug Claritin Liqui-Gels Capsules 10 mg of Bayer Healthcare LLC. Loratadine is an antihistamine that reduces the effects of natural chemical histamine in the body. Loratadine is used to treat sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, hives, skin rash, itching and other allergy symptoms. The announcement was made during market hours today, 26 September 2016.

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Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could gain 21.60 points at the opening bell.

In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks dropped after losses on Wall Street on Friday, 23 September 2016, as investors' attention turned from central banks to American politics ahead of the first US presidential debate. US stocks logged weekly gains but ended with solid losses on Friday, 23 September 2016. Investors awaited US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton due later in the global day today, 26 September 2016.

Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 299.98 crore on Friday, 23 September 2016, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 496.14 crore on Friday, 23 September 2016, as per provisional data.

The market will remain volatile this week as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month September 2016 series to October 2016 series. The near month September 2016 derivatives contracts expire on Thursday, 29 September 2016.

Among corporate new, Canara Bank's board of directors at its meeting held on Friday, 23 September 2016, permitted the bank to raise additional equity share capital of an amount not exceeding Rs 1128 crore, including premium by way of rights issue with the Government of India (GoI) contribution of Rs 748 crore and Rs 380 crore from public shareholders. The board decided to constitute a rights issue committee of the board of directors to decide and permit on terms, timing, pricing, and other modalities of the rights issue. Further, the board decided to issue senior unsecured bonds in foreign currency in the range of $500 million in the international market under the $2 billion medium term note (MTN) programme of the bank for the purpose of providing funds to the overseas branches of the bank (the bank has so far raised $1100 million under this programme) and form a committee to decide the quantum, timing, tenor, pricing, costs etc. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 23 September 2016.

Media reports suggested that the Centre and the states on Friday, 23 September 2016, reached a consensus on most contentious issues towards the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The GST Council, at its first meeting held on Friday, 23 September 2016, agreed on a revenue threshold of Rs 20 lakh below which the traders will be exempted from GST. This limit will be Rs 10 lakh for the north-eastern and hill states, reports suggested. The next meeting of the GST Council will be held on 30 September 2016 when it will decide on the five categories of draft rules detailing the processes under GST and on area-based and industry-wise exemptions, according to reports. The tax rates and the slabs will be decided at a meeting to be held later, reports indicated.

Meanwhile, banking, telecom sector stocks and index heavyweight Infosys led modest losses for key benchmark indices in a lacklustre trading session on Friday, 23 September 2016. The Sensex lost 104.91 points or 0.36% to settle at 28,668.22, its lowest closing level since 21 September 2016.

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Hon. Mr. Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, has called for continuous dialogue with all stakeholders, including health and insurance industry for successful implementation of Prime Minister's National Health Insurance Scheme currently being considered.

The Minister said that the PM's insurance scheme would be a game changer in coverage and enhanced benefits.

Mr. Kulaste stated that the present scheme for people below poverty line (BPL) operated under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) has expanded the national health insurance scheme with more than 75% coverage. The new scheme would entail larger financial commitment from the government. The private health and insurance industry could partner in creating more facilities for treatment of patients, such as leveraging idle beds in private hospitals.

The minister also said that the new national insurance scheme would dovetail fragmented schemes to make the project more homogeneous and impact-oriented. The primary objective of the government is to make health services universal and accessible. He added that the government would monitor implementation of the scheme through data and share it with industry.

Mr. P J Joseph, Member (Non-Life), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), said that number of people covered under health insurance has touched 36 crore now, mostly under government schemes.

New IRDA guidelines, such as provision for pilot products, which allow insurance companies to withdraw a project if it fails to click in the market, allowing wellness and preventive packages, permitting offer of discounts etc. have been introduced to expand coverage. Insurance companies could bring down premium if the number of people covered under the scheme increases.

The IRDA Member called for a strong regulatory mechanism and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for insurance products. He said that there should be concerted efforts to prevent frauds and unethical practices.

Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, CII Healthcare Council and CMD, Medanta-The Medicity, stressed addressing issues such as steep administrative charges levied by the insurance companies, transparent hospital billing, wrong and high pitched claims etc. With the launch of the Prime Minister's national insurance scheme, business opportunities would go up considerably. We have to earn people's faith in the system to expand our business horizons, he added. Stress should be on managing care through preventive and wellness measures, he said.

Mr Neelesh Garg, Co-Chair, CII Sub -Committee on Accessibility-Health Insurance & CEO & MD TATA AIG, underscored the need for evolution of an ideal sustainable universal health insurance architecture which should include OPD, post hospitalization coverage, wellness package etc. The integrated package should be for the entire lifecycle of a person and cover all possible eventualities relating to health and wellness.

Mr. A Vaidheesh, Chairman, CII Sub-Committee on Accessibility -Health Insurance & Vice President South Asia & Managing Director, India GSK, observed that an ideal health insurance ecosystem for India should have more private players. Only six crore people are covered under private insurance schemes, which should go up substantially.

Mr. Segar Sampathkumar, Mentor & Co-Chairman CII Sub-Committee on Accessibility-Health Insurance & General Manager, New India Assurance Co., highlighted customer satisfaction and sustainability as the key drivers of growth of health insurance sector in India.

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The Railways will meet 100% expenditure target this fiscal, said Mr. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communications and Railways at an ASSOCHAM event.

The reforms will take time, Make India initiative will yield result in the coming year, said Mr. Sinha while addressing an ASSOCHAM conference on '2nd Global Investors India Forum (GIIF).

Mr. Sinha said that NPAs (Non Performing Assets) is the result of old legacy. There have been massive corruption infrastructure sector.

The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFD) activities are going on as per the schedule, said Mr.

Sinha while addressing the event.

The High speed golden quadrilateral on- to start in Mumbai- Ahemdabad sector work as per the plan, said Mr. Sinha at the second day of ASSOCHAM '2nd Global Investors India Forum (GIIF).

He further mentioned that 200 kmph trains will be seen in India too. Mr. Sinha said that Talgo has been advised to make changes to suit overnight journey.

The situation has improved since April 2014, said Mr. Sinha.

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Over 390,000 hectares of land in Vietnam's Quang Tri province remains contaminated with mines and explosives, an official said on Monday.

More than 83 per cent of his province's land is contaminated with mines and explosives, Hoang Nam, head of Department of Foreign Affairs in Quang Tri province, said.

Since the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Quang Tri has reported over 8,500 casualties caused by mines and explosives, over 30 per cent of which were children, Xinhua news agency reported.

Over the past 20 years, international non-governmental organisations have conducted bomb clearance on over 116 million hectares of heavily-contaminated land, safely handled 600,000 bombs and explosives in all kinds in Quang Tri, Nam added.

According to the 1954 Geneva Conference, Quang Tri was where a Demilitarised Zone was created to separate the two factions of North and South Vietnam.

--IANS

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Afghan special forces freed 101 civilians and soldiers held by the Taliban in three prisons in Afghanistan's Helmand province, an official source said on Monday.

The hostages were rescued in several operations launched on Sunday night in the districts of Nawzad, Marjah and Nahri Sarraj, Afghan Defence Ministry spokesperson Dawlat Waziri told EFE news.

"We are classifying the prisoners and then we will provide more details -- the number of soldiers and civilians and other specifications," Waziri said, adding the hostages are now in a safe place.

In recent months, more than 200 prisoners of the insurgents were freed in at least four operations of this kind in Helmand.

Afghan troops are engaged in a fierce battle with the Taliban in Helmand, where the insurgents control wide stretches of the province and even a part of its capital, Lashkargah, over which armed forces are continuing to fight with the insurgents.

Since the end of 2015, the insurgents control nearly one-third of the Afghan territory, and a year ago even succeeded in capturing the northeastern city of Kunduz for a few days, its largest military achievement in 14 years.

--IANS

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Researching about the the early origins of the common house cat , a new DNA study has found that the felines travelled the world with farmers and Vikings.

The findings showed that there appeared to be two big migration waves of ancient cats -- the first occurred not long after the development of agriculture by humans and the second shortly after the domestication of cats in ancient Egypt approximately 4,000 years ago, said Eva-Maria Geigl, an evolutionary geneticist at the Institut Jacques Monod in France.

The first wave was the result of agriculture by humans.

Small cats came into contact with the humans as an increased populations of rodents started consuming the grains they grew.

A link between cats in the Fertile Crescent -- a region in the Middle East and other parts of the Mediterranean, confirmed this, the researchers said.

The second wave occurred several thousand years later and appeared to be driven by human migrations out of Egypt.

Due to farmers and seafaring travellers taking cats along with them to reduce rat and mouse populations, cats were found in Egypt and throughout Eurasia as well as parts of Africa.

In addition, the researchers also found that the fierce Vikings apparently had a soft spot for little kitties and one of them was found buried alongside its master in a common grave site that was dated back 1000 years.

To learn more about the ancestry of the cat, the researchers obtained mitochondrial DNA samples of 209 cats from multiple archaeological sites around the world.

The ages of the remains ranged from approximately 15,000 years ago to just 300 years ago.

The study was presented at International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology 2016 at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, in Britain.

--IANS

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The body of a celebrated Sri Lankan journalist gunned down during the civil war in 2009 will be exhumed on Tuesday as part of a fresh investigation into his death, a report said on Monday.

Lasantha Wickrematunge's grave in Colombo has been under armed guard since the new autopsy was announced earlier this month, two months after a military intelligence officer was arrested in connection with the killing of the former editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, the Guardian reported.

According to court documents, investigating authorities requested that Wickrematunge's body be exhumed again because two separate medical examinations at the time of his death produced contradictory results: one finding he had died due to gunshot injuries, the other finding no evidence of gun wounds at all.

Wickrematunge had foreseen his impending murder and wrote an editorial that was published three days after he was shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles in January 2009.

"When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me," he wrote, in a 2,500-word piece that was republished by the Guardian and New Yorker magazine.

Directly addressing the then-president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Wickrematunge predicted an inquiry would swiftly follow his death, "but like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too".

However, Rajapaksa's successor Maithripala Sirisena on assuming office in January 2015 vowed to find the journalist's killers.

In March this year, Sirisena appointed a secretary to examine violence against journalists, including Wickrematunga's murder and the disappearance of Prageeth Ekanaligoda, a cartoonist who was last seen in January 2010.

--IANS

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Businessman Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Karnataka, was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Kerala unit of the BJP-led NDA, on Monday.

Speaking about the appointment, Chandrasekhar said he always felt Kerala's needed a strong alternative.

"An alternative political front based on equitable development for all including the many lakhs of downtrodden as well as opportunities for the youth. The National Democratic Alliance with its rapidly growing vote share and popularity is that alternative", said Chandrasekhar, Chairman of Asianet TV channel.

The names of the new committee were announced in Delhi, soon after Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah met with leaders of the allies of the BJP in Kerala.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the National Council meeting on Saturday and Sunday.

Monday was the last day of the meeting that began on Friday and was attended by all the top leaders of the BJP.

State BJP President Kummanem Rajashekeran was the chairman of the committee, while the convenor was Tushar Vellapalli, who heads the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and is also the son of Hindu Ezhava leader Vellapalli Natesan.

This is the first time that Chandrasekhar, who is a Keralite settled in Bengaluru, has been given a party post in Kerala.

--IANS

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Eight Chinese military aircraft flew near the Japanese island of Okinawa in a manoeuvre that prompted the Japanese Air Self-Defence Forces (JASDF) to deploy its own jets in response.

At least two Chinese fighter aircraft on Sunday flew over the the Miyako Strait near to the southern island, the Japanese Ministry of Defence confirmed to EFE news.

The strait lies between Miyako and Okinawa islands in the East China Sea, a site of tense territorial dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku islands.

The ministry said it was the first time that Chinese warplanes passed through the area.

But the Chinese aircraft, which apparently comprised four H-6K bombers, two surveillance aircraft and two fighters, did not infringe on Japanese territorial airspace, the ministry noted.

The aircraft were apparently involved in a manoeuvre between the East China Sea and the Western Pacific.

The sovereignty dispute over Senkaku islands, administered by Tokyo, has intensified since Japan nationalised several uninhabited islets in 2012, and has increased the tension in the area following the increasing military deployment by both the countries.

--IANS

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India on Monday forcefully asked the world to isolate Pakistan for nurturing terrorism and firmly advised Islamabad to stop dreaming it can ever capture Jammu and Kashmir with the help of its aided terrorists.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj lashed out at Pakistan in her reply to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's address to the UN General Assembly last week.

Speaking from the same podium where Sharif spoke last Friday, Sushma Swaraj belittled Islamabad's allegations of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir and pointed towards the "egregious abuses" being committed on people in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.

"The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression."

She said the world faced the biggest threat in terrorism and the world countries needed to "add steel to our resolve and inject urgency in our response" against the nations that sponsor terror.

"We need to forget our prejudices and join hands together to script an effective strategy against terror. This is not an impossible task provided we have the will. We can do it, we must. Otherwise our future generations will forever hold us to account. And if any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it," she said.

Without naming Pakistan, the Indian minister said there were countries "in our midst...that still speak the language of terrorism, nurture it, peddle it, and export it".

"We must identify these nations and hold them to account. These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations."

In his address to the UNGA, Nawaz Sharif last week praised Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander, whose killing has triggered a fresh wave of deadly unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistan Prime Minister said his country wanted to have better ties with India and was open to an unconditional dialogue to resolve all issues, including Kashmir.

But Sushma Swaraj rebutted the claim that India has put any conditions for talks "which are not acceptable to" Pakistan.

"What pre-conditions? Did we impose any pre-conditions before extending an invitation for the oath-taking ceremony of our government? We took the initiative to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship."

She said India had attempted an unprecedented paradigm of friendship in the last two years and took the initiative to resolve all issues with Pakistan "not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship".

She then listed a series of recent terror attacks India got from Pakistan "in return" for its peace gestures.

She mentioned the January 2 terror attack at an Indian Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot that killed seven soldiers. She also spoke about the assault on an army camp in Uri of Jammu and Kasmir in which 18 army men were killed.

She said India had a living evidence in Bahadur Ali, an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist captured in Kashmir on July 26, whose confession has proven Pakistan's "complicity in cross-border terror".

"But when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan remains in denial. It persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets.

"My firm advice to Pakistan is: Abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so."

--IANS

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Donald P. Gregg, national security advisor to George H.W. Bush during his tenure as vice president, has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, saying she would make an "extremely good president".

"We now have a person at the top of the Republican ticket who I believe is dangerous, doesn't understand the complex world we live in, doesn't care to, and is without any moral or international philosophy," Gregg said in a statement on Sunday.

"I've met Hillary Clinton a number of times and followed her career in public service. I'm impressed with her knowledge and experience. She would make an extremely good president."

Gregg, 88, served as Bush's national security adviser from 1982 to 1989 and was part of late President Reagan's administration for eight years. He was ambassador to South Korea from 1989 to 1993.

George H.W. Bush was also voting for Clinton, it was revealed last week by Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, the former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.

Bush's national security advisor during his presidency, Brent Scowcroft (1989-1993), has also endorsed Clinton.

--IANS

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Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila on Monday met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here.

"Met Irom Sharmila. I salute her courage and struggle," Kejriwal said in a tweet after their meeting at the Delhi secretariat.

"My best wishes and full support in her political endeavours," he added.

Irom Sharmila, an international icon, ended her 16-year-long fast against the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), in August.

--IANS

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The King of Jordan has reappointed Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki and ordered him to form a new government following a recent parliamentary election in the country in which the Muslim Brotherhood has made its return as a parliamentary force, officials said.

"The king has accepted the resignation of Hani al-Mulki's government and charged him with forming a new one," the Royal Palace said in a statement on Sunday.

Al-Mulki, 65, chaired the negotiating committee which led to Jordan signing a peace deal with Israel in 1994, a media report said.

The King in his letter to Al-Mulki instructed him to work on reforms to boost the country's sluggish economy.

Mulki formed his government in May following the dissolution of parliament to prepare for legislative elections that took place last week.

King Abdullah accepted the resignation of the government and re-appointed Malki to form a new government

On September 20, the parliamentary election were held in Jordan. The majority of mandates of the 130-seat parliament were taken by politicians loyal to the king.

According to reports, the Muslim Brotherhood extremist group won 16 seats. The group members have returned to the country's parliament after years of boycott against the leadership of Jordan, Sputnik International reported.

The Muslim Brotherhood movement is an international religious and political association established in Egypt in 1928 and supported in a number of Arab countries.

--IANS

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Targetting Pakistan squarely, India on Monday told the United Nations that Jammu and Kashmir is an inalienable part of the country and nobody can wrest it away by force.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in a retort to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech last week where he harped on Kashmir, said in the UNGA: "Kashmir is an integral part of India and it will remain an integral part of India. No one can take it away by force."

--IANS

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India's much-awaited address at the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled later on Monday with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj expected to focus on the recent terror attack at Uri in Kashmir, up the ante against Pakistan and seek global support to dub it a "terror state".

The Indian Foreign Minister is expected to take matters forward from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first public speech after the September 18 Uri attack at Kozhikode in Kerala on Saturday, where he denounced Pakistan for supporting and exporting terror, besides warning that the neighbouring country will be isolated as a "terror state".

"Rulers of Pakistan, listen. The sacrifices of our 18 soldiers won't go in vain. India has been successful in isolating you. We will force you to be left alone in the world. That day is not far when people of Pakistan will take to streets to fight against the rulers and fight terrorism," Modi had said.

Sushma Swaraj is also expected to give a befitting reply to an earlier address at the UNGA by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Under the UNGA's right to reply, after Sharif's address, the Indian diplomatic mission at the UN was also point-blank and called the neighbouring country the "Ivy League of terror".

In the three-minute rebuttal, Indian diplomat Eenam Gambhir raised the possibility of Pakistan being guilty of war crimes for sponsoring terrorism as an instrument of state policy and ridiculed the country as the centre for terrorism education.

Sushma's tone during her address to the UNGA on Monday is also likely to be equally tough and blunt, diplomats said.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting on the Indus Waters Treaty, attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, that is viewed as a significant move amid the heightened tensions with Pakistan.

Sources said that Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, Water Resources Ministry, and Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, were also present at the meeting along with other senior officials from the PMO.

The meeting comes in the wake of the terror attack in Uri in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed, that India has blamed on militants from Pakistan, and has led to escalation of tensions with the neighbour.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said last week that there were differences between India and Pakistan on implementing the Indus Waters Treaty.

He had also said that any cooperative arrangement requires goodwill and mutual trust on both sides.

The water distribution treaty brokered by the World Bank was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 after Islamabad's fear that since the source rivers of the Indus basin are in India, it could potentially create drought and famine in Pakistan during times of war.

According to the agreement, India has control over three eastern rivers -- Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- all flowing from Punjab.

Pakistan, as per the treaty, controls the western rivers -- the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum that flow from Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir has been demanding a review of the treaty as it robs the state of its rights to use the water of the rivers.

India has been making diplomatic efforts to isolate Pakistan on the issue of "exporting terror" in the wake of the September 18 Uri attack. The meeting on the Indus Waters Treaty is being seen as an indication that the government could be looking at more options to exert pressure on Pakistan.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for her address at the UN General Assembly and termed it firm and effective.

"Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA," tweeted Modi.

Speaking in Hindi at the United Nations General Assembly, Sushma hit hard at Pakistan, saying that there are countries that "speak the language of terror, nurture it, peddle it, and export it" and called upon the world body to unite in its fight against those who "seed" extremist ideologies.

She also urged the UN General Assembly to isolate any nation that does not join in the fight against terror and asserted that Kashmir is an integral part of India and it will always remain so.

--IANS

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Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated seven new indigenously developed varieties of plants to the nation and interacted with farmers to mark the 75th anniversary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"No country would progress without the use of science and technology," Modi said at the Vigyan Bhawan here where the CSIR marked its 75th foundation day.

"Your (CSIR) contribution to the country in last 75 years increases our hopes from you. People would only expect from those who can deliever," he said.

The Prime Minster also stressed upon mitigating the gaps between science and research to the industry and common user.

"Sometimes we do invention but the common man is kept away from those inventions. We need to abridge those gaps," he said.

Interacting with the farmers from five states through video conferencing, the Prime Minster encoraged them to brand their products for better marketing.

"Try to give a specific name to your product (vetiver or khus), this would give them unique identity and will increase their marketting prospects," Modi said while interacting with a farmer at Cuddalor, Tamil Nadu who grew khus.

Talking to another farmer from Jorhat who was a botany student, the Prime Minister expressed his happiness.

"I am happy that despite being a botany student you decided to return to the farming, while many don't. We need such spirit," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also interacted with the farmers from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.

The new varieties of the plants that have ornamental and medicinal qualities were developed by the CSIR laboratories, especially Cental Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).

The plants include new varieties of lemongrass, citronella, vetiver and canna lily plant.

--IANS

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Pakistan-born actor Marc Anwar, who was sacked from British TV drama "Coronation Street" for his racist rant against Indians on social media, has issued an apology and termed his act as a "moment of madness". Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation into his comments.

Anwar was axed from the ITV soap after "Coronation Street" makers were alerted to his Twitter comments. The 45-year-old had referred to Indians as 'b******s' and 'p*ss-drinking c**ts', and even abused Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "On Sunday 25th September, 2016 police received a report of a hate crime. Police have launched an investigation and inquiries are ongoing."

Earlier on Monday, Anwar apologised for his remarks, saying that his "rant" was a "moment of madness", reports theguardian.com.

Anwar, who joined the show in February 2014 as a member of the first Muslim family on the cobbles, issued a video apology, hoping for forgiveness.

He said: "I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone that I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening and especially people from India. This was never my intention and the language was unacceptable. I feel that I have let a lot of people down, my family, my friends and my former colleagues. This I ... very sincerely apologise for."

Anwar added: "On Friday evening I saw, on the news, children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir. This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out. I vented my anger.

"Again, the language that I used, I sincerely apologise for. But my feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir. And I hope that everyone that I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

His comments came days after 18 soldiers were killed in an attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir. India claimed that Pakistan was behind the attack, but Pakistan has denied it.

An ITV (commercial TV network) spokesman said Anwar's comments were "unacceptable".

--IANS

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Pakistan on Monday demanded an international probe to "unearth the facts" into the terror attack on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri earlier this month, terming India's allegations that the militants were from Pakistan as "baseless".

Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that whenever an attack takes place in India, New Delhi always accuses Pakistan without even conducting an investigation into the matter, Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying.

He said "An independent international commission should be constituted to unearth the facts" about the September 18 attack by four terrorists, that left 18 Indian soldiers dead. India has said the attack was by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group, which is also accused of mounting the January 2 Pathankot attack on an Indian air force base.

According to Aziz, this is not the first time that India has levelled such "baseless allegations" against Pakistan.

Any such attack neither benefits Pakistan nor Kashmir, he said, adding that the "attack diverts the world's attention from human rights violations" in Kashmir.

Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan since the July 9 violence in Kashmir, a day after the killing of top militant Burhan Wani by security forces.

More than 90 persons have been killed and over 11,500 injured in clashes between the security forces and protesters.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his UNGA address maintained that Islamabad wants peace with New Delhi but it is "not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue".

In his speech on Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will not forget the sacrifices of the 18 soldiers killed in Uri and will isolate Pakistan internationally for exporting "terrorism" to the world.

--IANS

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Russian inspectors will start regular observation flights over the US territory under the Open Skies Treaty, authorities said on Monday.

"The observation flights will be carried out between September 26 and October 1, from the Open Skies airfield Travis (California) with a maximum range of 4,250 km," the Russian Defence Ministry said.

Russian aircraft with American experts on board will monitor US compliance with the treaty, Xinhua news agency reported.

The observation flights are part of the confidence-building measures in Europe after the Cold War under the international Open Skies Treaty, which was signed in March 1992 and took effect in early 2002.

The treaty has currently 34 state parties, including Russia and most Nato members.

--IANS

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The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear on Wednesday a petition by the Bihar government challenging the grant of bail to RJD strongman and former Siwan MLA Mohammad Shahabuddin in a murder case by the Patna High Court.

As the defence counsel sought a week's time alleging that Shahabuddin has become a victim of trial by the media, the bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy said they would not like to postpone the hearing even by a day.

"Since allegations and counter-allegations have been made, we don't intend to adjourn the matter. So many witnesses have been bumped off. You want to wash away everything?" the court asked.

However, later the judges indicated that they will adjourn the matter until Wednesday at the request of the defence counsel that Ram Jethmalani, who is going to represent Shahabuddin in the case, is yet to be briefed on the matter.

Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner and slain Rajiv Roshan's father Chandrakeshwar Prasad, urged the court to stay the September 7 Patna High Court order granting Shahabuddin bail. But Justice Ghose declined to put on hold the high court order immediately, saying, "We don't intend to pass an order of stay at this stage."

Opposing the plea by Bhushan, senior counsel Shekhar Naphade told the court that they are seeking adjournment also because they have to file some orders granting bail to Shahabuddin from various courts in Bihar.

Chandrakeshwar Prasad has moved the apex court challenging granting of bail to Shahabuddin as the trial in the Rajiv Roshan murder case is yet to commence.

Rajiv, the third son of Prasad, was allegedly killed by the henchmen of Shahabuddin, who was sentenced to life in a twin murder case. Shahabuddin's henchmen had allegedly killed Prasad's other two sons as well, and Rajiv was the sole eye-witness in the twin murder case.

--IANS

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A shoe was thrown at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday during his ongoing 'Kisan Yatra' in Sitapur of Uttar Pradesh, police said.

A youth has been arrested in this connection and taken to the Kotwali police station for interrogation.

The shoe missed the Gandhi scion by a whisker and he looked back at the shoe as it zipped past him.

The assailant has been identified as Hari Om Mishra, resident of Hargaon, a police official told IANS.

Congress leader Jitin Prasada was with Gandhi at the time of the attack. Special Protection Group (SPG) men swung into action and surrounded the Congress leader after the shoe attack.

Mishra told policemen that he was angry at the promises being made by Rahul Gandhi during his road shows as he believed the Congress was behind the problems faced by farmers.

Gandhi started his 'Kisan Yatra' on Monday after a two-day break.

--IANS

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At least six people were injured when a shooter, who was later shot dead by an officer, opened fire at a shopping centre in Houston city of the US on Monday morning, police and fire officials said.

At least six people were transported to hospitals with injuries, CNN quoted Houston Office of Emergency Management spokesman Michael Walter as saying.

An emergency alert from the city warned residents to avoid the scene at a strip mall parking lot near the corner of Weslayan Street and Bissonnet.

There are no reports of additional suspects, police said.

"We have several with extremity injuries," an official told reporters. "We have a couple that are more serious."

A nearby homeowner told Fox News that his wife woke up to gunshots at 6.30 a.m. Shortly thereafter, police were seen going into a nearby condo.

One witness told ABC13 that the shooter fired three or four shots into the front window of her car and also shot the side window of the vehicle. Initial reports indicated seven people were hurt before police revised the number to six.

"As I was driving by Law Street I suddenly heard a big explosion," another witness said. "I covered myself, accelerated and tried to get out of there. I did not know if someone was following me or trying to shoot me."

A Houston Police Department bomb squad was at the site of the shootings after a suspicious vehicle, believed to belong to the suspected shooter, was discovered ABC13 reported.

The shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall that left five people dead. On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer.

--IANS

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The Civil Aviation Ministry has recommended 'in principle' approval to three new greenfield projects in the state of Andhra Pradesh, it was announced here on Monday.

According to the ministry, the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports, headed by Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey, met here on Monday and considered the proposals for four new airport projects.

"The committee recommended 'in principle' approval to three projects in Andhra Pradesh viz., Bhogapuram, Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Orvakallu (Kurnool)," the ministry said in a statement.

"The committee also recommended for 'site clearance' to the project of Kothagudem in Telangana."

The ministry said that the new international airport at Bhogapuram will be developed by the state government under PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode at an estimated cost of Rs 2,200 crore to cater to 6.3 million passengers per annum (mppa) in the initial phase.

"The other two airports in Andhra Pradesh will be developed as domestic no-frills airports with an estimated cost of Rs 88 crore each," the statement said.

"Dagadarthi will be developed under the PPP mode while the project at Orvakallu will be developed by the state government itself."

The ministry pointed out that the steering committee has also recommended 'site clearance' for the new greenfield airport project at Kothagudem in Telangana.

"With this, Telangana is getting a second greenfield airport besides Hyderabad international airport," the statement added.

"These clearances are expected to enhance the aviation infrastructure facilities in newly created states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and will also boost the regional connectivity scheme announced recently by the Government of India."

--IANS

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The 71st session of the UN General Assembly concluded its annual high-level General Debate here on Monday, wrapping up discussions on a wide range of topics on climate change, refugees and migrants as well as peace and development.

Over the past week, over 140 world leaders and representatives addressed the General Assembly on the theme of "The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform our World", Xinhua news agency reported.

On Wednesday, 31 more countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Thailand deposited their ratification of the Paris Agreement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In addition, a summit held on last Monday at the UN headquarters adopted a declaration on refugees and migrants, pledging to build a comprehensive refugee response framework.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the world body. Comprising of all 193 UN member states, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues.

The General Assembly meets in regular session intensively from September to December each year. At the beginning of each regular session, the assembly holds a general debate, often addressed by heads of state and government to express their views on the most pressing matters for the international community.

--IANS

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The Embassy of Vietnam in Delhi announced a logo design competition on Monday to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam. The winner of the contest will get air tickets to Vietnam.

"There will be many events organised by both Vietnam and India to celebrate this anniversary next year. So, we need a good and meaningful logo to be used in these events as well as in the publications and website of the Embassy in 2017," Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said.

"We are looking forward to receiving a large number of entries, which showcase the close relationship between Vietnam and India over the past 45 years and the promising future of the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our two countries as well as the high level of creativeness of the participating designers," Thanh added.

The Ambassador said that among 12 agreements signed during the visit, there was a Protocol between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of External Affairs of India on activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam began on January 7, 1972.

Highlighting the importance of relationship with India, Thanh said that India is the third country after China and Russia with whom Vietnam has a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. After the visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi, the relation between the two nations was at its highest level.

Commenting on the Uri terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir he said, "we support India in its struggle against terrorism."

Cyber security was a major threat to Vietnam and recently the communication network of two of our airports was broken down. Vietnam needs India's support in the cyber security domain, Thanh said.

India and Vietnam signed a defence co-operation agreement which included the area of cyber security.

India has given a credit line of $500 million to Vietnam and during Modi's visit, a contract of $100 million was signed between Indian engineering major Larsen and Toubro and Vietnamese Border Guard for supply of two High speed Patrol boats.

The contract is expected to complete in two years, informed the Vietnamese Ambassador.

--IANS

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New Zealand authorities are monitoring the Yahoo hack that comprised up to 500 million user accounts with a view to changing the country's privacy laws, an official said on Monday.

The hack affected a small portion of the 825,000 e-mail accounts that New Zealand telecom giant Spark provided to users through its partnership with Yahoo, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards said in a statement.

He said the hack exemplified the international nature of privacy, with the US Federal Trade Commission and Irish Data Protection Commissioner already working together to make enquiries into the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

"When agencies lose customer data, they need to help those customers take steps to protect themselves by alerting them as quickly as possible. This is particularly true with a breach of this size and with such sensitive information," said Edwards.

Proposed reforms to the country's Privacy Act, including mandatory breach notification, were due to be tabled in the New Zealand Parliament in 2017.

Last week, a Yahoo investigation confirmed that at least 500 million user accounts were hacked in late 2014 which, it believes, was a "state-sponsored" attack.

Based on the ongoing investigation, Yahoo believes that information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen and the investigation has found no evidence that the state-sponsored actor is currently in Yahoo's network.

--IANS

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Upset over not being allowed to meet Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, an unemployed youth on Monday threw his degrees and certificates at the car of the chief minister in Punjab's Muktsar district.

Dinesh Kumar, 25, threw his certificates towards Badal's car as it came out from Badal's farmhouse in Badal village of Muktsar, 260 km from here.

The chief minister's security personnel immediately detained the youth. He was later let off with a warning, police officials said. His certificates were returned to him.

Kumar, who hails from Killianwali village, threw the certificates in disgust as Badal's security personnel did not allow him to meet the chief minister.

Badal, 88, enjoys Z-plus security cover.

The Punjab government and the chief minister face protests from unemployed youth and others at a number of venues. With assembly elections just around four months away, the protests have also increased.

--IANS

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A Mexican liquor is beginning to win over the hearts of US consumers, and it's not tequila. Pernod Ricard SA, the world's second-largest distiller, is creating a brand to join rival Diageo Plc in the growing market for mezcal, a premium agave-based spirit. The brand, which will hit US shelves in the first half of 2017, is the latest investment in the category by a large beverage company. Sometimes called tequila's cousin, mezcal is typically distilled by small producers from as many as 30 types of agave, a succulent plant native to Mexico and the southwestern US. The agave is ...
The massive peaceful protest marches by the Maratha Kranti Manch across Maharashtra has caused unease among the ruling and Opposition camps. After initially neglecting the mobilisation, the government and Opposition leaders are now participating in the silent marches to express solidarity.
Bihar Chief Minister on Monday roped in more than 40 lakh JD(U) workers to counter "falsehood" spread against prohibition by some "affected intellectuals deprived of quota of 1-2 peg."

"A few intellectuals deprived of their quota of 1-2 peg are spreading falsehood regarding liquor ban in Bihar," Kumar said at the one-day JD(U) state council meeting.

Kumar appealed to party workers to counter the falsehood by vociferously speaking in favour of alcohol ban.

"In democracy power of speaking matters a lot...Move your lips more strongly in favour of prohibition and other programmes of "sushashan" which should become voice of the nation," the CM said.

Kumar, who is National President of JD(U) asked state party leadership to take out "prabhat pheri" and hold "sankalp sabha" on Gandhi Jayanti to promote "jan chetna" (peoples awareness) in favour of prohibition and "seven resolves".

He also called for organising shivir (camp) and orientation programmes for more than 1.5 lakh active JD(U) workers for the same.

Newly re-elected Bihar JD(U) President Basisthan Narayan Singh promptly responded to CM's call and announced the programmes for workers on October 2.

Besides Singh, senior party leader Sharad Yadav and a host of state ministers, Members of Parliament, State Legislature and senior party office bearers were in attendance.

In the beginning of his speech, Kumar pointed to some media reports which claimed that there were negligible takers of CM's offer of providing Sudha dairy outlets in place of closed liquor shops to protect livelihood of those employed there and said, "If they did not come to grab the offer what is my fault?"

"If anybody is really interested to make a reality check of prohibition visit any village in the state and see how happy the women and family are feeling," he said highlighting merits of April 5 decision to declare Bihar a dry state.

Kumar has been facing criticism from opposition and also sections of civil society dubbing it as "talibani and draconian" in some media reports and discussions on TV channels on making liquor law more stringent by incorporating provisions of arrest of all adult members of a family in case of recovery of liquor from a home and community penalty against habitual violators of prohibition.

Amended Liquor law will be notified from October 2, he said.
A shoe was on Monday hurled at when he was in the middle of his kisan yatra across poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. The Congress vice-president blamed the BJP and the RSS for the incident. The shoe missed Rahul.
Two class XII students of a government school in West Delhi's Nangloi area allegedly stabbed their teacher in front of their classmates today after one of them was rusticated for low attendance.

The victim is undergoing treatment at Balaji Action Hospital and is said to be in a critical condition, police said.

The incident took place around 5 PM when the students were writing their exam at the Government Senior Secondary School.

Mukesh Kumar was stabbed thrice allegedly by the two boys in front of the entire class, after which the duo fled, a police officer said.

One of the accused was rusticated for low attendance. He went to the school to speak with Kumar. During conversation, he and his friend, who was writing the exam, reportedly lost temper and stabbed him, police said, adding one of the accused is 18-year-old while the other will turn 18 in two months.

A case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC has been registered at Nangloi Police Station and the family members of the accused are being questioned to know the whereabouts of the duo, the officer said.

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The Police, while conducting routine checking of vehicles at the Peducha check gate today intercepted a Guwahati bound truck and recovered 540 kgs of contraband Ganja worth Rs 27 lakh in the open market.

The Police said the contraband was neatly packed in 26 packets weighing 15 kgs each and 30 packets weighing five kgs each and was found concealed inside a special compartment in the truck.

The driver of the vehicle, identified as Hemanta Thakuria of Kamrup district in Assam was taken into custody, they said.

During preliminary interrogation, the driver said the consignment was loaded from Kanglatongbi in Imphal district and the owner of the consignment had assured to pay him Rs 20,000 for transporting it to Guwahati.

A regular case has been registered in this connection under the NDPS Act for conducting further investigation, the police added.

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Six top Bangladesh (JMB) activists, including four wanted in the 2014 Khagragarh blast case, were arrested from West Bengal and Assam.

Of the six, three were Bangladeshi nationals, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vishal Garg said here.

"These people were not in West Bengal after Khagragarh blast. They had left the state and moved to South India and North Eastern states. They were planning subversive activities in some South Indian states. We are trying to find out the details," Garg said.

The JMB activists arrested by the Kolkata Police Special Task Force included Anwar Hussain Farooq, the head of the outfit's West Bengal unit, and Yusuf Sheikh, the second in command in the state.

Sheikh, also the JMB chief motivator in the state, carried a Rs 10 lakh reward on his head announced by NIA.

The four others who were wanted in connection with Khagragarh blast of October 2, 2014, were Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jadidul Islam.

Kalam and Rubel were carrying on their heads a reward of Rs 3 lakh and 1 lakh respectively.

Yusuf and Shahidul were arrested from Natun Bazar under Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas district on Sunday while Farooq and Rubel were picked up from Bagda Road in Bangao in the same district, Garg said.

Kalam was held from Coochbehar station in north Bengal on Sunday while Jahidul was arrested from Cachhar district of Assam on Saturday.

Forged ID papers, 2 kg white powdery substance, one laptop, mobile phones, detonator, wire cutters, batteries Bangladeshi and Indian currency, letters written in Bengali, travel guide, books on chemicals and memory cards for camera were seized from them.
Australian scientists have solved a 600-year-old murder mystery involving the death of an Aboriginal man, indicating that he was killed by a sharp-edged weapon.

The remains of the Aboriginal man named "Kaakutja" - about 1.7 metres tall and aged between 25 and 35 - were found preserved on the banks of the Darling River in New South Wales in Australia.

Researchers at Griffith University meticulously pieced together the final, fatal moments of Kaakutja's life, using a state-of-the-art optical dating lab to help determine the man's cause of death.

The investigation has unearthed evidence that indigenous communities were using deadly boomerangs and clubs, which could inflict damage like sharp metal weapons, said Michael Westaway, a senior research fellow at Griffith University.

Kaakutja, whose remains were excavated in late 2014, is only the second case of intact indigenous remains being found suffering from fatally inflicted injuries, 'The Australian' reported.

Researchers have determined that a wooden weapon known as a "lil-lil" may have been used to kill Kaakutja.

They conclude that the pattern of trauma on his skeletal remains indicates "that he was killed by a sharp-edged weapon".

The positioning of Kaakutja's remains indicated a proper burial and "did not represent the clandestine disposal of a murder victim," researchers said.

However, forensic analysis of Kaakutja's injuries unveiled "multiple skeletal traumas on the cranium, mandible and post crania".

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A lawyer-turned-gunman fired indiscriminately, injuring nine persons at a strip mall in southwest Houston before being shot dead by the police in the latest incident of mass shooting in the US.

An "active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers; no reports of other suspects at this time," Houston Police tweeted.

The attacker was shot by cops - and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said.

The police chief declined to release the suspect's identity but told reporters "he is a lawyer and there were issues concerning his law firm."



Nine people were injured in the shooting, police said.

Of those injured, three people were treated and released and six were in hospital. One person is in critical condition and one person is in serious condition, CNN reported.

One witness,said he heard "over 100 shots" fired - including AK-47 and AR-15 gunfire.

It was "steady shooting back and forth" between police and the suspect, the man said.

The US has witnesses a number of shooting incidents in recent months.

Today's shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall left five people dead. On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.

The US suffered the worst mass shooting in its history in June when 50 people were killed and 53 injured in Orlando, Florida after a gunman stormed into a packed gay nightclub.

In December last year, 14 people were killed in a shooting incident in San Bernardino.

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A human rights group is urging the nearly one million US citizens who live in Mexico to vote in hopes of keeping Republican Donald Trump out of the White House, organisers have said.

"We are going to Mobile the almost eight million Americans who live abroad, a million of them in Mexico, and we want them to vote to stop Donald Trump," said Joseph Huff-Hannon yesterday, a campaign leader at Avaaz, an activist organisation for political, environmental and human rights issues.

Under the shadow of Mexico's Angel of Independence monument, about 200 people gathered to register to vote next to a billboard-sized placard featuring an anti-Trump cartoon, one day ahead of the first presidential debate between Trump and his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Passersby posed with an effigy of Trump while a mariachi band serenaded them.

The bureaucratic complications of registering to vote when Americans are abroad can discourage people from casting ballots and the Avaaz campaign is aimed at making the process easier.

Trump has vowed to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by migrants to Mexico to make their country pay for a massive wall across the border. He has also called Mexican migrants "rapists."



"Let's hope we never see this gentleman in the White House -- or the wall," Huff-Hannon said.

"Don't forget that in 2000 George W Bush won the White House by something like 500 votes in Florida," he added.

Trump has fervently ruled out any legal status for undocumented migrants. In practice this would mean an extension of a precarious limbo status for millions of migrants, mainly of Mexican origin, who have been waiting for years or even decades to come out of the shadows.

Most Americans favour some sort of immigration reform.

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A puja committee in South Kolkata that erected the tallest Durga idol in the world last year has come up with the Goddess in her 'Hajaar Haat' (one thousand hands) avatar this time.

In 2015, the Deshapriya Park Puja Committee had installed a 88-feet Durga idol causing a near-stampede situation. It had also created a buzz with it's teaser campaign days before in advance.

This year the committee will deck up the goddess with 1000 hands which will slay a 40-feet Mahisasura.

"We are bringing Maa in 'Haajar Haat' avatar this time for lakhs of revellers, who had thronged Deshapriya Park last year but could not catch a glimpse of the idol. But whether there will be as many weapons in her hands will be divulged when the idol is unveiled on the inauguration day," a spokesman of Deshapriya Park Durgotsav Committee told PTI.

The visitors will enter the 40ft x40 ft pandal through a gate, in the shape of a huge demon head and there will be scores of demon heads, representing women-abusers.

There will be a light and shadow show inside the pandal depicting the fight between good and evil.

Prominent sculptor Mintu Pal is making the idol.

Debasish Bhattacharya, Vice-President of the marketing sponsor firm of 'Deshapriya Park Puja' said, "We are proud to be associated with Deshapriya Park Durgotsav which has established a legacy of presenting something unique every year for which puja revellers eagerly wait. We have launched a multi-pronged campaign for the thousand-hand goddess and the buzz is already there among the public."



Next to Deshapriya Park is multiple award winner for years, Tridhara Sammilani puja, which is associated with the name of KMC MMIC and Trinamool Leader Debashis Kumar.

"We have no rivalry with them. Our puja will continue to pull revellers. Best wishes for Deshapriya Park," Kumar said.

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Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today laid the foundation stone of a 'Gokul Gram' for conservation and development of native cattle breeds.

He also announced that 14 such 'Grams' (villages) would be established across the country as part of the 'Rashtriya Gokul Mission'.

"The first Gokul Gram is going to be established in Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay's birth place, Mathura," Singh said on the ocassion.

The proposed Gram will work as a centre for conservation and development of native cattle breeds, he said in a statement.

Singh said the country is set to harvest record 270 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2016-17 crop year (July-June) on account of good monsoon after two years of drought, while pulses output is expected rise to 21 million tonnes.

Before this, the Agriculture Minister inaugurated a waste sewage-water treatment plant as well as a four-day agri-fair to commemorate the birth anniversary of Jan Sangh ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

The Union Agriculture Ministry has also conferred Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Krishi Antyodaya Krishi Awards to 12 poor farmers identified across the country for their outstanding achievement in agriculture despite not having access to educaton and money.

Singh requested farmers and entrepreneurs to take more benefit from the agriculture fair.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Residents of Syria's Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages today as warplanes again pounded the city after Western powers at the UN accused Russia of war crimes.

A fresh wave of intense air strikes battered Aleppo's opposition-controlled east, said an AFP correspondent in the city facing its worst violence in years.

During an emergency session of the UN Security Council, US ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism", while the British and French envoys went even further.

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," Francois Delattre of France said, while Britain's envoy spoke of bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry unleashing a "new hell" on Syrians.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said Britain's Matthew Rycroft.

The Kremlin hit back.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations".

Despite the exchange, the violence showed no signs of abating on the ground, with people in Aleppo saying food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the latest raids killed four civilians in the districts of Al-Mashhad and Sukari.

The Observatory said at least 132 people, nearly all civilians, had been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

Among them were 20 children and nine women, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said today.

It was the fourth day of intense bombardment since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington.

A Syrian military source told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas.

"The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision," the source said, reiterating that the regime's goal was to "recapture all regions of Syria" outside its control.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties.
Amazon.In has launched a new warehouse in Delhi-NCR, its seventh such facility in the region, a move that will help the US-based e-commerce giant deliver products faster during the festive season.

The e-tailer, which competes with local rivals like Flipkart and Snapdeal in the booming the Indian e-commerce market, aims to have 27 such fulfilment centres (FCs) across the country by the end of the year.

The company has also announced festive sale on October 1-5, 2016.

Spread over close to 70,000 square feet with over 100,000 cubic feet of storage space, the new FC will empower thousands of small and medium businesses to leverage the growth of digital economy and reach a wide customer base, Amazon.In said in a statement.

Unlike traditional warehouses, fulfilment centres are equipped with highly automated pick, pack and shipping processes to facilitate safe and timely processing of orders.

"This FC will further enable Amazon.In to support deliveries under its recently launched Prime program and offer faster delivery to a wider set of customers during the upcoming festive season in the Delhi-NCR region," it said.

Amazon.In now has seven FCs spread over close to 700,000 square feet and a combined storage space close to 2 million cubic feet in the Delhi NCR region, it added.

"We have been relentlessly focusing on improving the experience for our customers and sellers. As we gear up for the festive season, fulfilment capacity will play a defining role in shaping this experience," Amazon India Vice President Customer Fulfilment Akhil Saxena said.

This FC will enable thousands of small and medium businesses to save money by replacing their upfront capital expense with low variable cost and pay only for the storage space they use and the orders that Amazon.In fulfils, he added.

Previously, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest USD 3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giant's USD 2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments in the country to over USD 5 billion.

Amazon now has 25 such warehouses spread across 10 states including Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.

The company has about one lakh sellers on board in India. It has witnessed a 250% y-o-y growth in number of merchants, growing from about 100 sellers in June 2013, when it had commenced operations in India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is all set to take on Anish Giri of Holland in the first round of Tal Memorial Chess tournament here.

Coming back to competitive chess after a brief hiatus following the Sinquefield Cup, Anand did not get the desired result in the preceding blitz tournament and finished seventh among 10 participants, which means that the Indian will have to negotiate five black games out of a possible nine.

Seeded third in the event, Anand is only behind Vladikir Kramnik of Russia and Levon Aronian of Armenia in rating and the evenly matched field calls for an interesting contest over the next 12 days.

For the records, the 10-player round-robin event will have nine rounds in all and the players will fight it out for a total prize pool of USD 200000.

The blitz tournament, which decided the draw of lots, was dominated by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan who crashed through a challenging field by a very impressive 7.5 points out of a possible nine.

Winning six and drawing nine games, Mamedyarov finished a whopping two points ahead of Aronian.

Russian duo of Peter Svidler and Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Anish Giri also made the cut finishing on top half on five points apiece and made sure they get an extra white.

Kramnik, who arrived late due to flight delays, finished sixth on 4.5, while Anand was sole seventh with 3.5 points in all.

It was a three-way tie for the eighth spot and Li Chao of China, Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia and Boris Gelfand of Israel finished 8-10 respectively.

Mamedyarov chose number five to select Li Chao as his opponent in the opener, Svidler will take on Kramnik, Nepomniachtchi and Tomashevsky will clash in another all-Russian duel, while Aronian has set up his game against Gelfand.

Anand was not his usual self in the blitz and ended up drawing seven and losing two games. The losses came against Giri and Li Chao.

However, it's a decent draw for Anand as he will play as white against Mamedyarov, Gelfand, Svidler and Aronian.

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: Arunachal Pradesh Governor V Shanmuganathan has extended his warm greetings to the people of the state, particularly to those entrepreneurs who are in tourism ventures on the occasion of World Tourism Day.

He expressed hope that the celebration of the special day would foster awareness among the international community about the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economical values.

In his message to the people today, the governor said that tourism plays an important role in world economy, including Indian economy.

The central and state governments acknowledge the importance of tourism industry as it is one of the most influential sectors.

Tourism industry generates employment opportunities, provides employment to unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled manpower and facilitates in cultural exchange.

It also contributes immensely to the overall growth and sustainability of places and destinations and local community, he said.

"Arunachal Pradesh is blessed with rich cultural and geographical diversity making it one of the most popular tourist destinations among local and foreign travellers.

It offers diverse forms of tourism, including cultural, rural, religious, historical, nature, wildlife, water sports, mountaineering, hiking, adventure and eco-tourism to name a few," the governor said.

Calling upon the state government, the people, entrepreneurs, and tour operators on the special day to join hands together to make this frontier state most sought tourist destination, the governor expressed confidence that Arunachal Pradesh would be the most favoured tourist destination in the country in near future.

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As part of the consolidation process within the SBI Group, its five associate banks including State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) will soon submit to the Reserve Bank the scheme of acquisition as ratified by shareholders.

The board of the directors has considered the report of the expert committee set up to look into the written objections from shareholders in terms of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism set up as part of the scheme of acquisition, SBBJ said in a regulatory filing on stock exchanges today.

The board today approved the August 18 scheme of acquisition without any modification, it said.

It further said that scheme of Acquisition of SBBJ along with the Report of the Expert Committee will be submitted to the RBI for their consideration and approval.

"Upon approval, RBI shall submit the scheme of acquisition as approved by it to the government of India for approval and issue of order of Acquisition under section 35 of the SBI Act 1955," it said.

Another associates, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore also made similar announcements today.

Government earlier this year cleared the proposal to merge SBI with its five associate banks -- SBBJ, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad -- and the new Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB).

In August, SBI had said that all its associate banks and BMB will be merged into it that will add an additional Rs 8 lakh crore to its assets making it a banking behemoth with total assets of Rs 30 lakh crore, an increase of about 36 per cent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ten members of the Turkish security forces were killed today in two separate attacks in southeastern Turkey blamed on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), local media reported.

Two soldiers and two village guards - locals employed to combat Kurdish militants - were killed and six others wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Mardin province, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.

The bomb, planted by the PKK, exploded when a vehicle carrying the forces passed by, it said. The authorities have launched an operation to hunt down the "terrorists" who fled, it added.

In a separate incident, six Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with the PKK on a highway by the town of Uludere near the Iraqi border, the private Dogan agency reported.

Another soldier was wounded in clashes that erupted at a checkpoint near a prison on the highway, according to Dogan.

The PKK, designated as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged a bloody campaign against the Turkish state since it took up arms in 1984 for self-rule in the Kurdish majority southeast.

The Turkish army meanwhile said eight PKK members were "neutralised" on yesterday in ground and air operations in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, Anadolu reported.

It said 320 PKK militants have been killed in Hakkari since the operations began several weeks ago but the figures could not be independently verified.

The PKK in March 2013 declared a unilateral ceasefire but this collapsed in 2015 and violence has raged ever since in a deadly conflict that so far shows no sign of ending.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked Pakistan to refrain from pushing India to war, saying that in such an event East and West Punjab on either side of the international border will suffer the most.

"Punjab on both sides of the border will have to bear the brunt in case a war takes place between India and Pakistan," he



told media persons on the sidelines of a sangat darshan programme in the Lambi Assembly segment.

The Pakistani government must understand and should try to defuse tensions at the earliest, Badal said.

Replying to a query related to the Indus Waters Treaty, he said the Indian government was "competent and wise enough" to take an appropriate call on the issue.

Badal said India's "mature and visionary leadership is capable of taking decisions to safeguard the interests and the unity and integrity of the country".

Asked about the emergence of new political fronts ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, he said, "The new platforms will have no affect on the state polity."



Badal also rubbished Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh's remark that there was a possibility of rigging electronic voting machines during the elections next year.

EVMs are handled and managed by the Election Commission of India and there is not even the remotest possibility of tempering with them, he said.

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Baloch activists have launched a week-long sit-in in front of the Chinese Embassy here to protest against "China-Pakistan nexus" in resource-rich .

During the week-long protest two Free Movement (FBM) members will sit in front of Chinese Embassy every day and night for six days and end with a big demonstration on October 1, which is China's National Day.

FBM described the protest as a peaceful campaign against the "China-Pakistan nexus" in .

"China has now become the 21st century East India Company in Balochistan. Their expansionist designs are well known in the region. Its neighbouring country Vietnam is the prime example of Chinese diabolical nature which endured 17 Chinese military invasions. Today we can see that it doesn't respect the laws over the South China Sea," the FBM said in a statement.

It further says that Pakistan is in conflict with Balochistan because the "morally bankrupted state, dominated by Punjab, has occupied Balochistan in March 1948 in blatant violation of norms and law just in the name of Islam".

"China has intensified its efforts to consolidate its permanent grip over Balochistan's Gwadar coast and other areas where in 2001 it sought to anchor its military outpost in the name of Gwadar deep-sea port project," the statement adds.

Activists began their protests with placards which read: "CPEC [China Pakistan Economic Border] is the corridor of death and destruction for Baloch" and "China: Hands off Balochistan".

FBM has called on all pro-freedom Baloch and other human rights activists in the UK and Europe to take part in this protest campaign.
The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) today recommended nine candidates for the post of Executive Directors in various public sector banks.

The Chairman and members of the Banks Board Bureau have recommended to the government names of nine officers for being appointed as Executive Directors in PSBs.

The selected officers are Fareed Ahmed, Mrinal Kanti Bhattacharya, Atanu Kumar Das, P Ramana Murthy, Damodharan Neelam, Ashok Kumar Pradhan, A C Rout, S Hari Sankar and Swaminathan K, the Bureau said in a release.

These recommendations are based on interactions held by the Bureau with eligible candidates from PSBs towards appointment against existing and future vacancies of Executive Directors in PSBs for the period 2016-17.

The government will subject the recommended candidates to the necessary due diligence process before it makes the final decision on appointments.

The Banks Board Bureau has been formed to advise the government on top-level appointments at public sector lenders, will held its first meeting on April 8 this year.

Former CAG Vinod Rai is its Chairman.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two senior BJP leaders, including speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta, today had separate meetings with Governor N N Vohra here, discussing various matters, including the ongoing unrest in the Valley.

"Gupta called on Governor at Raj Bhavan and they discussed matters relating to the prevailing unrest in the Valley and certain issues which need attention for speeding up the socio-economic advancement of the state," an official spokesman said.

Stressing the importance of peace being urgently restored in the state, the Governor urged Gupta to sustain his endeavours in this regard, he said.

BJP MLC Surinder Ambardar also called on Vohra at Raj Bhavan and discussed matters relating to the rehabilitation, re-settlement and welfare schemes for Kashmiri migrants, the spokesman said.

He said Ambardar also raised issues about the welfare of religious minorities in the state and the hardships being faced by people due to prevailing unrest.

"The Governor stressed the crucial importance of peace being urgently restored in the state and urged Ambardar to sustain his endeavours in this regard and, side by side, to vigorously pursue the efficient implementation of all development programmes relating to his area," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which is eyeing to improve its electoral performance in Kerala, today formed a 12-member state-level committee at a meeting held here in the presence of party President Amit Shah.

BJP state unit President Kummanam Rajasekharan and the party's Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar were appointed as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala respectively at the meeting, held a day after the conclusion of the three-day BJP national council.

Thushar Vellappally, the chief of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), BJP's key ally in Kerala, was appointed the Convenor of the state NDA, Rajasekharan told reporters.

Former Union Minister P C Thomas, heading a faction of Kerala Congress, would be the representative of the state NDA in the national committee.

BJP's lone MLA in the state assembly O Rajagopal, former state presidents P K Krishnadas and V Muraleedharan, C K Janu (Janathipathya Rashtriya Sabha), A N Rajan Babu (heading a faction of JSS) and Rajan Kannattu (Kerala Congress) are also in the committee, he said.

Shah, who stayed back at Kozhikode to hold discussions with the NDA partners, later left for Kochi en route to New Delhi.

BJP National Secretary H Raja, who is in charge of Kerala, told PTI that the meeting also decided to hold meetings of NDA every month.

"(Besides) We are going to have three public meetings within 30 days - one each in north, central and south Kerala. The main objective is to take NDA programmes to the sections concerned," he said.

Raja said state and national leaders of NDA were expected to participate in these meetings.

"Our aim is to get considerable MPs in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls (from the state). We will be working very hard in all 20 constituencies to achieve this," Raja added.

Shah had last week said BJP would come to power in Kerala in the next assembly elections, due in 2021.

Besides Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders of BJP had attended the three-day national council meeting of the party held here last week.

BJP made its maiden entry in the state assembly in the assembly elections this year.

(REOPEN MDS17)



Rajeev Chandrasekharan said the new responsibility given to him would help in the growth of NDA in Kerala and in the South.

"I will continue to remain a guardian MP serving the interest of the people here, as always", he said in a statement here.

On his appointment as vice chairman of NDA in Kerala, Rajeev said he had always maintained that Kerala's politics needs a strong alternative.

"An alternative political front based on equitable development for all, including lakhs of downtrodden and opportunities for the youth".

"The NDA with its growing vote share and popularity is that alternative. I amprivileged to serve in it and hopefully contribute to the transformation and development of Kerala and Southern India", he added.
A 2-day BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meet will begin here tomorrow to deliberate on the issues including jobs creation and social security for workers.

"BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meeting begins tomorrow (being held on September 27-28) in New Delhi," a Labour Ministry press release said.

The ministers will deliberate on adopting the BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Declaration.

The meeting will have dedicated sessions on employment generation, social security, inclusive development including formalization.

International Organisations such as ILO, ISSA and Academia's are participating in the discussion and providing their research inputs to the deliberation.

Following the tripartite model of dialogue, the national social partners of BRICS countries are also participating in the deliberations. At Valedictory Session, there would be Adoption of BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Declaration.

The first meeting of BRICS Employment Working Group (BEWG) was held on July 27-28 at Hyderabad.

During this meeting broad consensus was achieved in areas such as 'Employment Generation for Inclusive Growth', 'Possible Social Security Agreement among BRICS nations' and 'Networking of Labour Institutes of BRICS nations' to include in the BRICS Ministerial declaration for their subsequent discussion.

India has assumed the Presidency of BRICS in February,2016 and hosting 8th BRICS Summit 2016 under India's Chairmanship scheduled to be held on October 15-16, 2016 at Goa.

The theme of India's BRICS Chairmanship is 'Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions'.

In the prelude to the final meeting of BRICS, a series of Meetings from participating Ministries are being held at various places in India following the recommendation of BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meeting in Ufa, Russia under Russia Presidency.

The BRICS Employment Working Group has been constituted to deliberate on common issues and challenges facing the world of work in BRICS nations and to formulate appropriate & coordinated policy reforms.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prince George and Princess Charlotte stayed behind with their nanny as Britain's Prince William and his wife, Kate, continued their tour of British Columbia, a day after George left Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hanging on a high-five.

The 3-year-old George made headlines in the United Kingdom when George, seemingly shy and overwhelmed, declined to high-five and then shake the hand of Trudeau during the arrival ceremony Saturday at the airport in Victoria, BC.

The prime minister was among several dignitaries waiting on the tarmac to greet the royals when they emerged from their flight. Videos and photos of the interaction were shared widely by British media.

The Mirror wrote: "Superstar politician Trudeaumight have endeared himself to millions online through his outspoken feminism, support for diversity and willingness to embrace internet memes, but it seems to take more than that to impress Will and Kate's eldest."



The Daily Mail shared a story with the headline: "Sorry, one doesn't high-five with commoners."



The kids are remaining in Victoria as their parents visit other parts of British Columbia and Western Canada until October 1 on their first official overseas trip as a family of four.

On the second day of their trip the British royal couple flew on a float plane to Vancouver, where they were greeted at the waterfront by several hundred fans who gave them a raucous welcome.

Both spent time talking with people and appeared to be trying to shake hands with everyone they could. Kate, with her hair down, was wearing a red-and-white patterned dress by the late British designer Alexander McQueen, red shoes and a red purse.

The couple then stopped at an outreach center for women with drug and alcohol addictions who are pregnant or parenting.

A staff member introduced them to a 5-year-old girl, who gave them teddy bears.

"George would love this," William said as he accepted a teddy bear in a black vest.

Charlotte, 1, is on her first overseas trip. George is on his second.

Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, later met the royal couple outside the Immigrant Services Society's new Welcome House. William asked a refugee from Afghanistan about how the society had helped him, and the refugee replied that it helped him get into a technology course so he could learn new skills.

Syrian refugees who met the royal couple said they wish more world leaders were as attentive to their country's plight. Canada has welcomed more than 30,000 refugees since Trudeau became prime minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Centre today claimed before Delhi High Court that manufacturers of CFL bulbs, mostly multinational firms, do not want to adhere to the new e-waste management rules in India though they complied with similar regulations in Europe and other countries.

The government told a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal that these new rules were in accordance with the international convention and these mercury containing lights cannot be allowed to be thrown in open as it has an adverse impact on the environment.

"Most of these manufacturers are multinational companies and are complying with all such rules in Europe and other countries. But in India, they do not want to comply," Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain told the bench.

Countering the submissions, senior advocate P Chidambaram, who appeared for the manufacturers, said it was "impossible" for them to comply with these new rules which required them to collect from consumers and dispose of fluorescent and other mercury containing lamps at their 'end- of-life'.

"It (new rules) is impossible to comply with. It says we should go to the purchaser and take tubelights or CFLs when they intend to discard it. You (Centre) cannot ask us to do an impossible thing," he said.

Chidambaram said the government cannot compare India with other countries and the new rules were "arbitrary" as no firm would be able to do business like this.

During the hearing, the bench observed, "All of us are concerned with the damage to the environment."



The bench said it would pass an order on September 28 on the application by manufacturers' association seeking stay on operation of one of the rules of the government's E-Waste Management Rules, 2016, providing for 'extended producer responsibility - authorisation of procedures' qua fluorescent and other mercury containing lamps.

CFL producers like Philips Lighting, Havells, Surya and the Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers' Association have challenged the rules which was notified on March 23.

During the arguments, the ASG told the bench that no firm



would be prosecuted for at least seven months as they can apply to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within three months regarding their plans for disposal of these lights and CPCB would consider the same within four months.

"As far as the urgency shown is concerned, no prosecution is going to take place in the next seven months," he said.

However, Chidambaram said there was no obligation for the consumers in the rules and these firms should not be forced to apply to the CPCB.

"I (firms) cannot give up plan for this as it is arbitrary and impossible to comply with," he said.

ASG Jain told the bench that these firms cannot seek stay on the operation of rules.

The Centre had earlier told the court that producers of CFL bulbs were responsible for collecting them on expiry to check leakage of e-waste to informal sector or unauthorised players under the new e-waste management rules.

The firms have contended that the 'end-of-life' factor, which is the "trigger" for collection of bulbs, is "uncertain" as "such an event lies in hands of the consumer".

They have claimed that collection of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) was the responsibility of the local and municipal bodies which has now been "illegally shifted" upon them.

The Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change has defended the government's decision to make the CFL producers responsible for collection, saying this was similar to the companies' scheme providing Rs 10 discount on sale of new CFL or LED lamp on return of the old one.

Opposing the government's submissions, the petitioners have said that their Rs 10 discount scheme was introduced only to assist the local bodies in achieving the objective of collection.

They have said that once a product is sold, they cannot impose restrictions on consumer to return it at end-of-life as ownership of that product is with the buyer.
Doctors at AIIMS have identified the genotype of the chikungunya virus which has afflicted nearly 3,700 people in the national capital this season and concluded it is the same as the one that caused the 2006 outbreak of the vector-borne disease.

"We have identified the genotype of the virus--East Central South African--and sent the report to the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). It is the same genotype that was in circulation in 2006 outbreak," Lalit Dar of Department of Microbiology at AIIMS told PTI.

Chikungunya is generally considered a non-fatal disease. It is caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), which has one serotype only. There are three genotypes of this serotype-- Asian, West African and East Central South African.

A genotype is the part (DNA sequence) of the genetic makeup of a cell and serotypes are groups within a single species of microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses, which share distinctive surface structures.

At least 15 deaths due to complications triggered by the disease have been reported at various hospitals in the city and health experts had earlier conjectured that the virus may have "evolved" this time.

"So, it appears, the high number of cases being reported in Delhi this year are possibly due to people's susceptibility to this disease...(those) who either migrated to Delhi-NCR region or were born after 2006 and thus not exposed to the virus," he said.

Meanwhile, the number of cases of chikungunya continue to rise in the city, with at least 3,695 cases being reported till September 24, according to a report released today by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation which tabulates the data for vector-borne disease cases in the national capital on behalf of all the civic bodies here.

Among the three corporations, SDMC has recorded 389 cases, followed by 370 in areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and 115 under the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

When asked if the genotype could differ in different geographical regions, Dar said, "India is a big country and in these ten years since the last major outbreak, the situation has changed. So, one doesn't know which genotype is in circulation in south India, though, it possibly is the same as in the north."



He added in 2006, the East Central South African genotyope was in circulation across the country and the study of the virus at least depicts the picture practically for north India.

According to municipal data, the last time the number of affected people had reached three-figure mark in Delhi was in 2011.

In 2006, over 13 lakh suspected cases of chikungunya were reported.

At least 16,918 people have been affected by chikungunya across the country, with 9,808 in Karnataka and 1,024 in Maharashtra, according to NVBDCP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A child was today killed when a toy bomb he was playing with exploded in Pakistan's northwestern city, police said.

The police said that the child had brought a toy to his home, which exploded with big bang, killing the child on the spot.

The explosion occurred in the jurisdiction of Pishtakhara police station in the outskirts of Peshawar.

The police said that they are investigating the incident as the child had brought something to home which went off.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For the second time in less than a week, China today snubbed Pakistan by declining to back reports in Pakistani media claiming Beijing's support for the country in the event of any aggression and backing it on the Kashmir issue.

As a "neighbour and friend", China once again appealed to India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue to "properly" resolve disputes, including the Kashmir issue which it said was "left over from history", and jointly work towards regional peace and stability.

Asked about reported remarks by Pakistan Consul General in Lahore Yu Boren that China will support Pakistan against any foreign aggression and backs Islamabad on the Kashmir issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told media briefing here he was not aware of any such remarks made by the envoy.

"I am not aware of the situation you mentioned. But China's position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear," he said.

"As the neighbour and friend to both Pakistan and India, we hope the two countries will properly address their differences through dialogue and consultation, manage and control the situation and jointly work for the peace and stability of South Asia and the growth of the region.

"With regard to the Kashmir issue, we believe it is an issue left over from history. We hope the relevant parties will peacefully and properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation," he said.

He was replying to a question about remarks attributed to Yu made during his meeting with Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province Shahbaz Sharif.

"In case of any (foreign) aggression our country will extend its full support to Pakistan," Consul General of China in Lahore Yu was quoted as saying in a press release by the Punjab Chief Minister's Office, according to a report by Pakistani daily Dawn.

"We are and will be siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in (India)-held Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris," the report had quoted Yu as saying.

China's reaction today is the second time since September 22 that it distanced itself from the Pakistani media attributing Beijing's support to Pakistan on Kashmir issue.

China has declined to confirm Beijing's backing to Islamabad on the issue during the meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The two leaders "exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang had told PTI here when asked about reports that Li extended support to Pakistan's stance on Kashmir.

A report in Dawn said Li had assured Sharif that China would continue to support Pakistan's stance on Kashmir. It had quoted Li telling Sharif that "we support Pakistan and we will speak for Pakistan at every forum.

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China today refuted reports of its troops crossing into Arunachal Pradesh saying that the Chinese military abides by the bilateral agreements reached with India concerning the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"China's position on the boundary question between India and China is consistent and clear. The boundary between the two sides is yet to be demarcated," Geng Shuang, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said replying to question about reports of incursion by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh on September 9.

"We are engaged in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences in this regard," he said.

About the incursions, he said "the border troops of China always abide by agreements of the two sides and strictly follow the bilateral agreements concerning the LAC".

"We hope the Indian side will work together with us to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas and strive to resolve the boundary question at an early date," he said.

While both sides in recent years have managed to reduce tensions between the troops patrolling the disputed areas with various mechanisms, China has not responded positively to India's proposal to demarcate the 3,488-km LAC to avoid border tensions.

The two countries have so far held 19 rounds of boundary talks led by Special Representatives.

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China has sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan, the two governments said today, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea.

More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China's defence ministry website.

The Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace.

Japan's defence ministry said it was the first time Chinese fighters had passed over the strait.

The drill is aimed at "testing far sea combat capabilities", the Chinese statement said. It follows China's first military flight, carried out by spy planes, over the Miyako Strait last year.

The move comes after Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said earlier this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, dismissing rival partial claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours. It rejects any intervention by Japan in the waterway.

In recent months Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal, which said Beijing's extensive claims to the waters had no legal basis.

Tokyo, a key US ally, is also strengthening defence ties with other countries in the disputed region. Japan and China are already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China Sea.

That dispute relates to uninhabited islets controlled by Japan known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese.

Abe said today Japan would "never tolerate attempts to unilaterally change the status quo" in the disputed waters, or "wherever else in the world", in an apparent response to the Chinese move.

"We pledge to protect Japan's territory, and in the sea and air," he said in a speech to open a new parliamentary session.

Japan and China "share a mutual understanding that we're significantly responsible for regional peace and prosperity", he added.

In its statement the Chinese defence ministry said it had also mobilised an unspecified number of bombers and fighters to patrol the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

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As China's telecom firm Huawei starts manufacturing in India, official media here has raised the red flag, warning that Beijing needs to worry about job cuts due to shifting of production bases as economic rivalry increases between India and the world's second largest economy.

"China needs to worry about effect of industrial transfer to India on production chain," an article in the state-run Global Times said today.

"As Chinese manufacturers show an increasing interest in setting up assembly lines in India, the economic competition between the two countries is likely to enter a new stage as India and China vie to expand their industry chains," it said.

Huawei "joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market" would result in job cuts if mobile manufacturing shifted to India.

"In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain, but what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India," it said.

"Frankly speaking, China can't afford that. The country has to ensure its competitiveness in production chains at a time when India is becoming a new processing base for manufacturers. This will require Chinese local suppliers to maintain technological advantage through continuous innovation," it said.

Another article in the same daily said as Chinese investments are on the raise, China's firms must understand Indian company and labours laws before investing.

"India's relatively stable political environment, sustained economic growth momentum, huge population dividend and cheap labour costs have attracted numerous international investors," it said.

Referring to survey by2014 Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) which ranked India to be the most preferred destination for future investment, it said China's direct investment to India soared last year to USD 870 million, six times than in 2014.

"However, India was not among the 13 countries which received direct investment from China exceeding one billion in 2015 and China's investment in India only accounted for 2.2 per cent of the total USD 39.3 billion foreign direct investment received by India in 2015," it said.

"With increasingly more Chinese firms and investors casting their eyes to India, it is urgent to rationally assess the political and economic risks of investing in India," it added.

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China's coal imports from North Korea have surged in recent months, government data showed on Monday, raising questions about Beijing's commitment to sanctions intended to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

As the isolated country's sole ally and main provider of trade and aid, Beijing's participation in the UN-imposed restrictions is crucial for their success.

But in August imported 2.465 million tonnes of North Korean coal worth $113 million, 60 per cent more than in April when sanctions were imposed and 35 per cent more than a year ago, according to data on the Customs website.

Imports of North Korean iron ore also rose, from 110,500 tons in April to 197,000 tons last month, data showed.

The UN Security Council in March agreed to impose sanctions on certain North Korean exports, including coal and iron, But it also said it would allow trade to continue for "livelihood" purposes  if the proceeds did not go towards funding Pyongyang's nuclear or weapons programmes.

The UN did not set criteria for making that determination, leaving each country to make its own decision.

In April, announced it would place restrictions on imports of both items, among others.

Trade with the world's second largest is crucial for the isolated and impoverished North, which has suffered regular food shortages and an outright famine in the mid-1990s.

In 2015 accounted for more than 90 per cent of North Korea's $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Korea's state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China's total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 per cent year-on-year to $291.3 million, Customs data showed.

The figures come just weeks after North Korea tested its fifth and most powerful nuclear device.

China has said it firmly opposes the test, but analysts believe it has resisted targeting the North's fragile for fear of provoking the regime's collapse.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

The community has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy to try to persuade China to use its leverage with Pyongyang.
China on Monday welcomed India's decision to ratify the Paris climate agreement, saying the move will be a driving force for the enforcement of the landmark deal.

"Climate change is a challenge faced by human society. No country would be immune from that so we should work together against climate change," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing.

"Chinese side welcomes India's ratification of the agreement which will be another driving force for the enforcement of the Paris agreement," he said.

"The Chinese side will work with all relevant parties including India to press ahead with the implementation of the Paris agreement and strive for sustainable and low carbon growth of world economy," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.

Modi's announcement came as a surprise as India opposed pressure mounted by Beijing and Washington early this month at the G20 summit in Hangzhou over the issue.

At the G20 summit, India and few other countries as they need time to reorient their industrial development shifting away from coal to more sustainable energy options.

The joint issues at the G20 summit had backed India's stand for the need to give more time to ratify the climate deal.
A China-based trading company and four of its top employees have been charged with conspiring to evade US economic sanctions and for allegedly supporting North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, the Justice Department said today.

A criminal complaint signed by US Magistrate Judge Joseph in New Jersey charged Ma Xiaohong (Ma) and her company - Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co Ltd (DHID) - and three of its top executives with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and to defraud the US; violating IEEPA; and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

Simultaneously, the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also imposed sanctions on the company and two of the three executives for their ties to the government of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction proliferation efforts.

In addition, the department filed a civil forfeiture action for all funds contained in 25 Chinese bank accounts that allegedly belong to DHID and its front companies.

The department has also requested that the federal court in the District of New Jersey issue a restraining order for all of the funds named in the civil forfeiture action, based upon the allegation that the funds represent property involved in money laundering, which makes them forfeitable to the US.

"The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege that defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world,surreptitiously moved money through the United States and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear weapons program," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.

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A CBI report, proposing closure of a case lodged against Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and two others for sanctioning Rs 50 lakh grant to a trust allegedly in a "fraudulent" manner in 2001, was today opposed by the complainant before a special court here.

Special Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna sought the CBI's response on the protest petition, filed by complainant V M Singh, and fixed it for consideration on November 3.

The court had in 2008 refused to accepted the closure report filed by the probe agency in the case and asked the CBI to further investigate the matter.

However, the CBI had again approached the court, saying the "allegations levelled against Gandhi and two others could not be substantiated".

Senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi is now the Women and Child Development Minister.

An FIR was lodged by CBI in 2006 against Maneka Gandhi, Dr F U Siddiqui, former secretary of Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) and Dr Vijay Sharma, former Managing Trustee of Gandhi Rural Welfare Trust (GRWT).

The FIR alleged that Gandhi, in conspiracy with Siddiqui, had sanctioned a grant of Rs 50 lakh to GRWT from MAEF in an irregular manner to construct a nursing college building at Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and caused undue favour to Sharma.

CBI alleged that another amount of Rs 10.40 lakh was sanctioned to GRWT by S K Verma, the then District Magistrate of Pilibhit, from Gandhi's MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds for purchase of two ambulances. The fund was released to GRWT Managing Trustee Ramakant Rampal.

It had alleged that Rampal had purchased two jeeps which had cost much less than the approved models and failed to get them certified by the chief medical officer. The vehicles were also used for personal work by the managing trustee.

The agency, however, again filed a closure report, saying "during the course of further investigation, the allegations levelled against Maneka Gandhi, Dr F U Siddiqui and Dr Vijay Sharma could not be substantiated."



"It is, therefore, prayed that the closure report dated December 30, 2008, collectively read with this report, may kindly be accepted," it said.

The FIR in the case was lodged for the alleged offences under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In its closure report, CBI said the trust had purchased



two jeeps with ambulance fixtures on September 15, 2003 for Rs 9,85,008, while the balance amount was returned to the government exchequer as per the terms of sanction.

"As such no financial irregularity could be pointed out in the matter of purchase of ambulances and the change in vehicle model was found to be on justified grounds," it said.

"Investigation further revealed that the DM, Pilibhit, approved purchase of two Mahindra Voyager ambulances. A cheque dated July 27, 2003 amounting to Rs 10.40 lakh was received by GRWT for purchase of Mahindra ambulances AC Euro-II.

"Since production of this model of vehicle was temporarily stopped, the company offered to sell Mahindra DI ambulance which according to the company was rugged, reliable and easily serviceable in semi-urban and rural areas," the agency said.

Regarding sanction of funds, CBI said during further probe, it had come on record that since the sanction was subject to submission of documents with regard to land and site plan, the amount was "released only after completion of the documentary formalities."



It said the funds released by both MAEF and the district administration of Pilibhit have been fully utilised by the GRWT for the purposes.
Coffee, rubber and areca forests in Western Ghats are home to over 200 bird species, including 13 endemic ones, a study said.

Over a period of two years a group of scientists conducted intensive research in 187 plantations spread over an area of 30,000 sq km to assess tropical bird diversity outside the protected areas.

Led by Dr Krithi K Karanth of Wildlife Conservation Society, the scientists found 204 bird species of which 170 were residents and 13 endemic to Western Ghats.

They found coffee plantation was home to more birds than areca and rubber, but all three agroforests were important for bird conservation in the ecologically-rich Western Ghats region.

"Large-bodied frugivores like pigeons and hornbills are found in much higher densities in coffee plantation. These birds play a very important role of seed-dispersal and maintenance of forest trees in the region," said Shashank Dalvi who is a co-author of the research paper and one of the leading ornithologists in the country.

The scientists found a clear positive association of tree density and tree cover in the surrounding areas, on bird diversity.

Changing agricultural practices that open-up shade tree canopy or switching from coffee and areca to monoculture crops such as rubber can seriously damage the ability of these agroforests to support birds, says the report published in 'Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution' journal.

Agroforests of the Western Ghats play a critical supplementary role in conserving India's birds.

The authors note that the biodiversity value of agroforests discovered in the study should be incorporated into future planning and policy decisions to facilitate and promote long-term biodiversity conservation.

These scientific results should be integrated with policy and markets so that biodiversity rich agroforests can be incentivised to promote sustainable farming practices that enhance birds in coffee, rubber and areca agroforests, say the scientists.

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Colombia's government and the leftist FARC rebels prepared to sign a historic peace accord today to end a half-century civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands.

A solemn ceremony on the Caribbean coast witnessed by international dignitaries will set the seal on a four-year process to end Latin America's last major armed conflict.

"Today we are experiencing the happiness of a new dawn for Colombia," President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter.

He called it "a new stage in our history - one of a country in peace!"



He will sign the accord at 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) with his former enemy, FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez, at a ceremony in the colorful colonial city of Cartagena, the government said.

Santos opened the day's events with a tribute to the Colombian military and police.

A prayer service for peace and reconciliation was scheduled later at an 18th-century Catholic church in Cartagena's old town, led by the Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

The guests at the signing will include UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry and an array of Latin American leaders.

They include Cuban President Raul Castro, whose country hosted the nearly four-year-long peace talks that produced a final deal on August 24.

The 2,500 expected attendees have been invited to wear white for the 70-minute ceremony.

Once the peace agreement is signed, the European Union will temporarily suspend the FARC from its list of terrorist organizations, the bloc's ambassador in Bogota, Ana Paula Zacarias, told RCN television.

The group could be definitively removed from the blacklist after a six-month review process.

Colombians will vote on the peace accord in a referendum on October 2.

The country's second-largest rebel force, the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN), agreed to hold fire ahead of the referendum.

The government has yet to begin planned peace talks with the Cuban-inspired ELN, saying it must first stop kidnappings.

The FARC, a Marxist guerrilla group, launched its war on the Colombian government in 1964, in the aftermath of a peasant uprising that was put down by the army.

Over the decades, the conflict has drawn in several leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs, killing 260,000 people, leaving 45,000 missing and uprooting 6.9 million.

Such guerrilla armies were common across Latin America in the latter half of the 20th century. But now, 25 years after the Cold War, Colombia's is the last major armed conflict in the Americas.

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British major CDC Group's deal to acquire more than 15 per cent stake in India Infoline Finance (IIFL) has been approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

As part of efforts to expand its non-banking finance business, IIFL Group, in July, roped in CDC Group. Under the deal, the British government fund would pump in Rs 1,000 crore for a 15 per cent stake in IIFL.

In a tweet, the said, "It has approved acquisition of upto 15.45 per cent stake in IIFL by CDC Group Plc."

IIFL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IIFL Holdings while CDC Group is owned by the UK government. The group provides capital to private sector entrepreneurs in the developing countries.

Meanwhile, the regulator has given its nod for two other transactions.

"The swap of CHC and AH business between Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, has been approved," the said in another tweet.

According to the deal, Sanofi would acquire Boehringer Ingelheim's global consumer healthcare business in exchange for the sale of its global animal health business to Boehringer Ingelheim. It excludes the consumer healthcare business in mainland China.

Both the companies having presence in India are engaged in the business of healthcare products.

Separately, the regulator said it has approved the merger of FMC and Technip.

According to the deal, FMC Technologies and Technip would merge to create an oil services firm. The combined company would have an equity value of $13 billion, said a release issued by Technip in May.
A 24-hour control room was made functional today at Baripada divisional forest office in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district to monitor the movement of a herd of wild elephants that sneaked into villages from adjoining West Bengal.

Over 70 wild elephants, including five tuskers and several calves which came from Dalma sanctuary of Jharkhand through West Bengal, have caused panic in Bhatachhatar and Badasole villages of Moroda reserve forest area under Rasogovindapur forest range, said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Baripada, Sanjay Kumar Swain.

However, no damage to human lives and habitats were reported so far. The jumbos have made extensive damage to the standing Khariff and maize crops in last two days since their arrival, added Swain.

The forest personnel, along with the locals, were engaged in efforts to drive away the wild elephants with fireballs and bursting crackers without hurting them to make their way in to West Bengal, said Baripada DFO.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Odisha was in contact with his counterpart in West Bengal and information was being shared, Swain said.

Every year wild elephants stray away from Jharkhand and start their sojourn to Nilagiri forest ares in Balasore district during October to January through an elephant corridor during which they cause large scale damage to human life and crops.

But this year the jumbos arrived a month in advance thereby making the villagers and forest personnel to spend sleepless nights. Compensation to the tune of Rs 10,000 per acre would given to the victims of jumbo menace for damage caused to crops, the DFO said.

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The curfew imposed in Kishtwar district following stone pelting incident triggered by arrest of three separatists remained in force for the second day today even as several towns of Doda and Bhaderwah observed partial shutdown in protest against the arrests.

Three separatist leaders in the town were arrested on Saturday night and booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) for disrupting peace in the district following which some persons resorted to stone pelting prompting the authorities to impose curfew in the district.

One more person has been arrested from the town for instigating trouble. The curfew that was imposed yesterday as a precautionary measure continues for second day today," Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kishtwar, Ghulam Nabi Balwan told PTI.

"The situation right now is normal and peaceful. The district administration will hold a review meeting and if the community leaders guarantee peace, the curfew would be relaxed," Balwan said.

Sources said the three Hurriyat leaders were booked under PSA for allegedly delivering hate and anti-India speeches since August 4. They were also allegedly instigated the youth to resort to stone pelting and violent protests.

Security has been stepped up in the sensitive areas of the district with the deployment of additional personnel of police and para military forces.

"The administration is taking all precautionary measures to ensure that law and order continues to be in place in the district," the DC said, adding, whosoever tries to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the district would be dealt as per the law.

Meanwhile, several towns of Doda and Bhaderwah observed partial shutdown today in protest against the imposition of curfew in the Kishtwar town.

Shops and other business establishments and schools belonging to a particular community in Doda and Bhaderwah were closed whereas government offices and banks functioned normally.

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Supreme Court today gave six months to probe agencies to complete investigation into allegations that former Uttar Pradesh minister and BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui and his spouse amassed disproportionate assets while holding public office.

A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar asked the agencies, CBI and Enforcement Directorate to take the probe to the logical end in accordance with law.

"Considering the fact that the law enforcement agencies are on their job for quite sometime, we express a sanguine hope that they would complete the investigation/enquiry at the earliest and not later than six months from today and take the same to its logical end in accordance with law," the bench said.

The verdict came on an appeal filed against the Allahabad High Court order refusing to allow a PIL seeking implementation of the recomendation of state Lokayukta.

The Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta, in the recommendation, had ordered probe by CBI and ED after finding prima facie evidence against in the complaint filed by Jagdish Narain Shukla against Naseemuddin and his wife Husna Siddiqui.

As the recommendation was not complied, Shukla had approached the High Court which said "the opinion of the Lokayukta in the report cannot be construed to be final or conclusive as it was a fact finding enquiry and a detailed enquiry is yet to be made after affording opportunity of hearing to the person against whom complaint is made."



The High Court had also said that there was no public interest involved in the petition.

The apex court, which did not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case, asked the agencies already probing the matter to take the investigation to its logical end.

"We make it clear that we are not expressing any opinion on the merits of the matters under investigation/enquiry or the defence that may be available to respondent nos. 5 and 6 (Siddiqui and his wife) in any proceedings to be instituted against them in relation to the said matters," the bench said.

The Lokayukta in its report had concluded on the basis of prima facie evidences that Siddiquis, besides buying various properties, had purchased land worth over Rs 16 crore for a meagre price of Rs 46 lakh for their private society.

Apart from this, as per the report the couple had also purchased agriculture land worth Rs one crore located in Tindwari of district Banda for a meagre price of Rs 4.5 lakh.

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The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) today issued a notice to North Delhi Municipal Corporation seeking to know within two days the civic body's action plan for demolition of illegal structures on GB road, infamous for prostitution and human trafficking.

The commission has also asked the municipal corporation to provide ownership records, house tax records and receipts and other relevant records for ascertaining the ownership of the brothels.

"DCW has been appalled to note the presence of several illegal structures within the brothels which include tehkhanas (hidden cells) that are often used by brothel owners to hide trafficked girls," the notice said.

"On its own accord, the commission has been conducting regular meetings with police, government and North MCD to identify the owners of the brothels and to ensure that these tehkhanas are demolished.

"The commission has been repeatedly requesting North MCD to demolish the tehkhanas within the brothels and provide ownership details of the brothels, yet the same has not happened till date," it added.

Earlier this month, DCW had conducted a number of raids in GB road area.

A couple and six others were recently arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly running a brothel in the area. Following this, 42 police personnel posted with the Kamla Market police station, under whose jurisdiction GB road falls, were transferred to other police stations for allegedly not taking action against the accused.

The police, however, denied any connection between the two developments and termed the transfers as "routine".

DCW chief Swati Maliwal had also alleged last week that investigations by the commission have revealed that the prostitution racket, operational in central Delhi's infamous GB road area, was "flourishing" under protection of a "Union minister" and a "senior leader of a prominent party".

She had, however, not named the two politicians.

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Delhi Government today signed an MoU with Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany, for extending cooperation between the two in areas of higher education.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at Delhi Secretariat between Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Georg Maier, State Secretary, Federal Free State of Thuringia.

"The MoU has been signed recognising the need for and benefits of increased co-operation and communication within the international community of universities, centres of higher education and research institutions and to establish mutually beneficial relationship which will encourage such co-operation and communication," an official statement said.

The MoU will facilitate exchange of faculty members, academic publications and information and development of collaborative research between the two.

"The co-operation will help in introduction of dual system of education in Delhi. We also plan to setup an institution on the lines of the University of Applied Sciences as in Finland and Germany," said Sisodia, who is also the Education Minister.

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Delhi Police has arrested two members of an inter-state gang and rescued two persons from Shillong and Mizoram abducted by the duo as hostages after a drug deal brokered by the latter went awry.

The two hostages, C Zosangliana and his uncle Lalneisung, were rescued yesterday and their kidnappers, identified as Sunil Kumar Thapa and Mohammad Ali, have been arrested, said Ravindra Yadav, joint commissioner of police (Crime).

Lalneisung is a resident of Shillong and Zosangliana is a native of Aizawl and has a rented accommodation in Uttam Nagar here where he keeps coming often.

Dorothy, wife of Lalneisung got a kidnapping case registered at Madanrting police station in Shillong. She told police that her husband had gone to Delhi in the first week of September, said Yadav.

On September 21, she was informed through Zosangliana's wife Jessica that their husbands had been kidnapped and the abductors were demanding Rs 15 lakh as ransom, he said.

The local police failed to make any breakthroughs in the case. Meanwhile, the kidnappers increased the ransom amount and demanded Rs 15 lakh rupees each from the family of both the hostages through calls made from the mobile phones of victims, the officer said.

Dorothy gave close to Rs 4.40 lakh while Jessica had paid Rs 5 lakh for the release of her husband. On September 24, Dorothy's relative, Hrong Kplein, who had also got a ransom call from the kidnappers, filed a complaint with Delhi Police Crime Branch, he said.

Under a team led by DCP, Crime Branch, G Ram Gopal Naik, raids were conducted in Agra and Delhi after the locations of the mobile phones of the victims were found to be in the two places.

The team conducted raids in Agra but the kidnappers managed to escape from there. Yesterday, the team received a tip off about the kidnappers being close to Anand Vihar Bus Terminal Road and arrested the accused from there, Naik said.

Lalneisung is an ex-serviceman and took voluntarily retirement as HC from Assam Rifles.

During interrogation, Lalneisung revealed that he came in contact with Ashish, who introduced himself as a retired Colonel of Army, in 2014. Ashish offered him to join his business of supplying chemical (pseudoephedrine) and asked Lalneisung to bring some customers to buy this chemical, Yadav said.

Pseudoephedrine is a nasal decongestant and if used in a



large quantity, it acts as a stimulant, said Naik.

It is also used as a raw material for party drug and the Crime Branch will be working on busting the drug trafficking module, said Yadav.

Lalneisung told about the offer to Zosangliana and asked him to find potential buyers of the chemical.

Zosangliana knew Thapa and discussed with him. Thapa discussed it with a drug peddler Ghani Bhai who showed interest in buying this chemical. After that, a series of meetings were held in the second week of September, 2016 in Delhi between the two parties.

The deal was finalised between both the parties and as per the deal on September 20, victims Lalneisung, Zosangliana, Ashish and Ghani Bhai, Thapa and Ali met at some place in Moradabad, UP for the delivery of chemical. At this place, Rs 30 lakh were paid in cash by Ghani Bhai to Ashish, said the officer.

After taking the cash, Ashish disappeared whereas both the victims were kept confined by Ghani Bhai and the arrested persons since the drums that were handed over to them contained wheat flour and not pseudoephedrine, said Yadav.

Ghani Bhai tortured both the victims and demanded his money back from them, said Naik.
Actor Denzel Washington is set to star in the first ever sequel of his career, "The Equalizer 2".

The 61-year-old Oscar-winner will reportedly reprise his role of Robert McCall, a retired soldier who returns to his violent life after colliding with a group of violent Russian gangsters, reported The Independent.

The film will be a follow-up to the 2014 "The Equalizer", director Antoine Fuqua's big-screen version of the 80s TV series.

Washington has also worked with Fuqua in 2001 film "Training Day" for which he won the Academy Award.

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It would be difficult to assess the impact of the Cauvery issue and related incidents on the tourism sector, Karnataka TourismMinister Priyank Kharge said today and expressed hope that it would "pull up" andthere will not be much impact during Dasara.

"Dasara is approaching. Because of Cauvery issue and related incidents there are reports that it has impactedthe tourism industry," Kharge told reporters here.

He said "our department considering this as festivalof the department along with state festival, we have planned programmes towards boosting tourist confidence."



"Probably there won't be much impact on tourism," he said.

The department, which has taken several initiatives, is spending about Rs 2.5 crore to promote tourism during Dasara festivities, he said.

Stating that it is difficult to estimate the loss,Kharge in response to a question, said "In Mysuru more than 40per cent of people are dependent on tourism, so it isdifficult to estimate what the loss has been."



"Not only Mysuru,near by Srirangapatna is also a tourist spot. It is difficult to assess as of now, but we hope itwill pull up," he added.

Karnataka is engaged in a legal battle withneighbouring Tamil Nadu over the raging Cauvery river watersharing issue.

This had led to blockade of Bengaluru-Mysururoad and sporadic violence in parts of Southern Karnataka.

Along with an exclusive Dasara website, print,electronic and digital media platforms are also being utilisedfor more promotional activities.

Initiatives like special package on the "GoldenChariot" train, 'Royal Routes' to help tourists discover Mysuru and to popularise the other less famous palaces have beenorganised by the department.

It has also entrusted Kairali Aviation Private Limited to operate "Akasha Ambari", an aircraft from Bangalore(HAL Airport) to Mysuru Airport from October 1 to 15 for air connectivity. The cost per passenger for the air travel would be Rs4,000, officials said.

Kharge today also gave details of severalinitiatives by the Tourism department to mark World TourismDay tomorrow that included 'Pitch to the Government Hackathon'to crowd-source innovative solutions and products from startups working in Tourism sector.

It has also come out with PRATHAMA (Pravasi Thana Mahiti), a holistic online MIS (Management Information System) backed system for collating and disseminating key informationon the tourism sector in the State is first of its kind inIndia.

Kharge also said that in probably a month andhalf, the tourism department would come out with an annual calendar of events, which would be promoted jointly byit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Mexican judge mulled on today whether Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman can be extradited to the United States, but the drug kingpin's lawyers vowed to appeal if he loses.

One of Guzman's lawyers, Jose Refugio Rodriguez, told AFP that the Sinaloa drug cartel leader was "very serene" as he waits for the decision by a court in Mexico City.

The foreign ministry gave the green light to Guzman's extradition in May, but the former most wanted man won a temporary injunction in June, which the judge must decide whether to make permanent or strike down.

The hearing began before midday today, an official at the court told AFP.

"We hope that the result will be favorable," Refugio Rodriguez said, adding that if the judge rules today, Guzman's defense team would only be notified the next day.

If the judge approves the extradition, Guzman would have 10 days to appeal to a higher court of appeals, which would then take several weeks to rule, the lawyer said, warning that he would take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

A US government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Guzman could be in US custody before the end of the year. He faces charges ranging from murder to drug distribution in courts in Texas and California.

Guzman was captured in February 2014 after 13 years on the lam, but he escaped a year later from the Altiplano maximum-security prison near Mexico City through a 1.5- kilometer tunnel, humiliating President Enrique Pena Nieto.

After he was recaptured in January in his northwestern home state of Sinaloa, he was sent back to the same prison.

But he was abruptly transferred in May to another prison in Ciudad Juarez, a city bordering Texas that was once the scene of brutal turf wars between his gang and a local cartel.

Pena Nieto had balked at extraditing Guzman before his escape in July 2015, preferring to put him on trial in Mexico.

But after he was recaptured, the president ordered the attorney general's office to speed up the extradition process.

Refugio Rodriguez said his client's health has "deteriorated a lot" while in prison.

"He's doing very badly. He's isolated. He lost a lot of hair because he takes a lot of medicine. He lives in constant physical stress," the lawyer said.

He told Radio Formula later that his client's segregation amounts to torture and that evidence would be presented in court to improve his conditions. Guzman has complained in the past of being awakened by guards at night.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Drug giant Pfizer says it won't split into two publicly traded companies, despite pressure from investors frustrated by its lagging stock price, ending years of Wall Street speculation over its strategy and future.

The biggest US-based drugmaker said Monday it believes it is best positioned to maximize shareholder value in its current form, but it reserves the right to split in the future if the situation changes.

For several years, the maker of Viagra and the pain treatment Lyrica has been under growing pressure from analysts and investors who argued that by splitting up, the resulting two companies might grow faster than one.

As a result, Pfizer has been reporting detailed financial results for each of its business segments, information that would be required by regulators for a split. Earlier this year, Pfizer promised a decision by the end of the year, but then it reorganised and renamed those segments - a sign a breakup was less likely.

Chances of the breakup began to fade even more over the summer, due in part to increasing sales for key new drugs from Pfizer and rising prospects for its drugs under development.

Pfizer CEO Ian Read told analysts last month that the prospect of a split was not a "make-or-break decision" for the company. The company recently said it had spent USD 600 million on preparations for such a split.

"Given that Pfizer has been talking down expectations for a separation in recent months, we think the stock will only be down modestly on this news," Jeffries analyst Jeffrey Holford wrote to investors.

Shares of Pfizer Inc fell 70 cents, or 2 per cent, to USD 33.56 in afternoon trading Monday. The stock is up about 5.4 per cent over the past year.

Pfizer said today that a split would not help the competitive positioning of its businesses, and such a move would create disruptions and increased costs.

The drugmaker's most likely path forward involves hunting for more acquisition targets, according to Bernstein analyst Dr Tim Anderson, who had pressed Pfizer repeatedly on its quarterly results conference calls to break up.

Pfizer has been buying several companies and products to help make up for a wave of sales losses to cheaper, generic competition, most notably for the cholesterol pill Lipitor. It also attempted and failed at two mega-acquisitions, of Britain's AstraZeneca Plc in 2014 and this year of Ireland's Allergan Plc.

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A 75-year-old man has been allegedly beaten to death by his nephew in the New Plot area of Jammu city, police said today.

Jitender Singh had an heated argument with his uncle Soram Singh at his residence yesterday, following which Jitender started beating his uncle with an iron rod, a police officer said.

He said the accused fled from the spot after leaving his uncle in a pool of blood who later succumbed to his injuries at Government Medical College (GMC) hospital here.

Police has registered a case and the accused has been arrested.

Prima facie the murder seems to be related to some property dispute, the officer said, adding that the further investigation is on.

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Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) procured from other states will be used in the 2017 Punjab Assmebly elections, state Election Commission said today.

It has also asked all the political parties to check for themselves the EVMs in order to clear their doubts about the possibility of any manipulations of the machines.

"All the EVMs have come from other states, like Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Bihar. We will not use old EVMs," Punjab Chief Electoral Officer, V K Singh said here.

Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh had yesterday sought use of EVMs from outside the state to rule out the possibility of any manipulations by the "local officials at the behest of their Akali bosses" in the coming elections in Punjab.

The former Punjab CM had said he had written to the Election Commission of India that EVMs from outside the state should be used in the ensuing assembly polls.

Around 35,000 EVMs have been brought from other states which will be used in Punjab assembly polls.

"All EVMs are fitted with Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) whereby voters can get vote receipt," said Singh.

He also made an appeal to all the political parties to send their representatives to check and verify EVMs themselves in order to clear their doubts, if they have any, about the machines.

"At present, first level checking of EVMs are going on to see whether machines are properly functioning or not. We want to appeal to all political parties to come and spend time in checking the machines," Singh said.

"In the first stage of checking, 1,000 votes are casted on EVMs to check whether each machine is functioning efficiently or not. Another test of EVMs is further conducted after candidates are finalised," he added.

He further said that experts from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which manufactured the EVMs, would also come and check the voting machines.

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India today said the "fight" for adequate representation in the decision-making mechanism of the United Nations would not end soon if those holding power in the world body do not allow this to happen.

"We must have our representation, our rights in the UN," Vice President Hamid Ansari told reporters accompanying him on his five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, adding that the UN's structure has changed a lot since the days it was formed.

"If those in power in the UN do not allow this to happen, this fight will not end soon," he said.

According to the vice president, every country, particularly from Asia, Africa and South America, wants reform of the United Nations.

He said if a country is engaged in work of the UN, it should also get adequate representation in its decision-making mechanism.

"Troops from India, Nigeria and Bangladesh among other countries are usually engaged in UN Peacekeeping missions and not from the US or Russia," he said.

On his current visit, Ansari said it was part of the government's "very focused approach to all regions of Africa".

He said this visit as well as his previous tour of Morocco and Tunisia besides those of President Pranad Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent few months are emanating out of this approach.

"Geographically, there are 54 countries and so any decision globally whether it is UN or elsewhere, Africa is very important as India has long association with it starting from the days of de-colonisation," he said.

Terming Nigeria a country of importance internationally, he said India has old ties with it particularly in the field of defence.

An agreement on Bureau of Standards will be signed with Nigeria during Ansari's visit.

Asked if India was mulling any agreement on renewable energy with that country, he said an MoU is being considered but added, "don't forget Nigeria's focus is energy not renewable energy".

He said though Mali is a small country, it is quite important for India and "we have done a number of developmental projects there and has been a success story".

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Five drunk men were taken into custody on suspicion of planning to attack a hospital in neighbouring Mumbai but later let off with a warning, police said today.

According to PI Mandar Dharmadhikari, the incident took place on the night of September 23, when all these five men boarded a app-based call taxi to the Thane Civil Hospital, where the wife of one the accused was admitted.

On their way, all the accused in an inebriated condition began discussing among themselves about "blowing up" a hospital in Mumbai where large number of people undergo treatment, even as they referred to the terror scare in Uran.

Taken aback after overhearing the talk, the taxi driver--Sandeep Sapkal--immediately approached the Thane Nagar Police Station and narrated the incident sending the cops into a tizzy.

A team of policemen rushed to the hospital and launched search operations which continued till the wee hours of September 24. However, they could not trace the suspects, the officer said.

Later, with the help of CCTV and inputs from the taxi driver, all the five men-- Sushil Jha (30), Nagendra Yadav (25) Sayed Shikalkar (35), Pradi Pisal (39) and Akhilesh Jha (29) --were taken into custody from Bhandup near here on the night of September 24.

Interrogation revealed that they were under the influence of liquor and did not intend to harm anyone following which they were released with a warning after registering a case under section 505 (1)(b) of the IPC.

Two accused among the five are history sheeters and small time criminals, the officer added.

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RajasthanCongress today accused the BJP government in the state of "corruption" and demanded that "political accountability" be fixed for graft in government departments.

State Congress chief Sachin Pilot said "political accountability" should be fixed for corruption in government departments.

"Corruption is rampant in the departments of Mines, Urban Development, Public Works and others. The role of the chief minister and other ministers remains till the projects are completed. Therefore, sparing them from the course of the investigation is like hiding corruption," he said.

Pilot claimed that ruling party MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari too had accused Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of corruption and "questioned" the role of the ministers.

Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi demanded resignation of the state PWD Minister over alleged corruption in her department.

"Cases of corruption are being unearthed regularly in the department. The Anti-Corruption Bureau has detected a scam in the purchase of submersible pumps. The minister, Kiran Maheshwari, should resign," he said.

"Such scams are not possible without patronage from the higher level. The minister should resign so that the ACB can conduct an independent and fair probe," Dudi added.

The ACB had recently conducted an inspection of the PWD offices and seized documents pertaining to alleged financial irregularities in the purchase of submersible pumps.

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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today directed officials of Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts to be on alert in view of the threat of flooding due to swollen Godavari river.

He called for specific alert for the flood-prone Bhadrachalam in Khammam district and Ramannagudem in Warangal district, and told officials to be in touch with their Maharashtra counterparts to assess the flood situation and take steps accordingly, a release from Rao's office said.

So far, 11 people have died in rain-related incidents in Telangana. While eight deaths were reported in Medak district, three were from Warangal.

Rao, who visited Karimnagar district, conducted an aerial survey of Mid Manair Dam (MMD) and other rain-affected areas. He also held a review meeting with officials on the situation arising out of the heavy rains and flooding.

Over 1,000 people from six villages in Karimnagar district have been evacuated in the wake of flooding as heavy rains continue to lash Telangana for the last few days.

Water from the under-construction MMD in Karimnagar started overflowing from the bund and the earthen embankment got breached, resulting in floods in the area.

The MMD faced trouble due to heavy inflow of water from upper Manair. The decade-long delay in carrying out construction work led to the flooding, Rao said and ordered cancellation of contract of agencies which delayed the works and to invite fresh tenders.

Asserting that the bund of Mid Manair breached about 130 metres, officials said there would not be a major problem even if floods came henceforth.

Rao directed the officials to be prepared for any eventuality in view of the heavy rains and floods and give utmost priority to saving humans and cattle.

The Chief Minister asked the administration to pay ex gratia to the family members of those who died in rain-related incidents and to those whose houses were damaged and said, the estimates on the damages would be prepared soon.

The tanks restored under the 'Mission Kakatiya' programme of the state government are able to store more water now. Not even a single bund of the tanks revived under 'Mission Kakatiya' suffered breach, he said.

The Chief Minister had yesterday directed his ministerial



colleagues to stay in their respective districts, monitor the flood situation and supervise relief and rehabilitation works.

In view of the flood situation, Rao cancelled the Cabinet meeting scheduled today and asked the ministers to work in coordination with district-level officials and ensure evacuation from the low-lying areas to safety.

In the wake of increasing flow in Godavari river and its tributaries following heavy rains in its catchment areas in Maharashtra, the Chief Minister directed the district ministers, officials and also police of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts, to remain alert.

Rao further directed Warangal district administration to be on high alert as river Godavari is in full spate. The river is receiving huge inflows, therefore those living on the banks of the river should be alerted.

He asked minister T Nageshwara Rao to maintain alertness in Khammam district as the water level in the river could reach danger level at Bhadrachalam there.

"We are taking measures in view of heavy rains in the last few days in the state including in Hyderabad, which is unprecedented after the 1908 floods in the city," he said.

DIG (Warangal Range) Ravi Varma told
France has welcomed India's decision to ratify on October 2 the Paris Climate Change agreement aimed at containing global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

French Minister of Environment and Energy Segolene Royal complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deciding to ratify the ambitious pact.

The historic Paris Agreement, reached in December last year, will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In a tweet, the French Minister congratulated Modi for the crucial decision.

French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler also hailed India's decision to ratify the pact.

"Welcome decision by Hon'ble PM @narendramodi that India will ratify #ParisAgreement on Oct 2, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi @PMOIndia," he tweeted.

The US has already welcomed India's decision.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister had announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2.

During the Paris climate meet in December last, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe. It had set a target of limiting global temperature increases by two degree centigrade.

While western countries, including the US, had been supporting an early ratification of the pact, India had been seeking more time to complete its national processes, fearing that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.

The issue of India ratifying the Paris deal had come up for discussion between Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos earlier this month.

Climate change is a vital aspect and one of the centrepieces of Obama's legacy and the US president has been quite vocal about the affects that climate change may unleash.

He has often said vlimate change is the greatest long-term threat facing the world, manifesting itself as droughts, storms and flooding.
Former Minister K J George was on Monday reinducted into the Siddaramaiah ministry, close on the heels of being given a clean chit by the CID in a case related to the alleged suicide of a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

George, a close confidant of the Chief Minister, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at a ceremony held in Raj Bhavan.

George had resigned on July 18, soon after a court in Madikeri in Kodagu district directed police to register an FIR against him and two police officers in connection with the suicide of 51-year-old M K Ganapathy.

Ganapathy was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a room at a lodge in Madikeri on July 7, prior to which he gave an interview to a local TV channel saying the Minister and AM Prasad (now Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety) and Pranab Mohanty (now on central deputation as Additional Deputy Director General of UIDAI) would be responsible "if anything happens to me."

The court had issued directions based on a private criminal complaint by Ganapathy's son, Nehal, requesting it to direct police to take up investigation against the minister and the officers for allegedly abetting his father's suicide.

CID, which investigated the case, on September 17 gave a clean chit to George and two senior police officers in its 'B' report, filed in a court in Madikeri.

George is likely to retain Bengaluru Development and Town Planning portfolio, which he had held when he stepped down amid a huge political storm in the state with the opposition gunning for him. He had also held the Home portfolio earlier.

With the reinduction of George, the strength of the Siddaramaiah ministry now stands at 34, the maximum constitutional limit for the state.

Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, Congress legislators and senior government officials were present at the swearing-in.

Both opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have taken exception to the reinduction of George.

Earlier this month, Siddaramaiah on September 5 had expanded his Cabinet by inducting M Krishnappa into his ministry.

In a major revamp of his ministry on June 20, the Chief

Minister had sacked 14 ministers and inducted 13 members into his Council of Ministry which had led to discontent within the Congress with several senior leaders openly coming out against the party's state leadership.

Ahead of the CID filing its report in the Madikeri court, Ganapathy's father and brother had moved the High Court, seeking a CBI probe into his death for a free, fair and impartial investigation which they said "could not be expected from the CID".

Ganapathy's father M K Kushalappa and brother M K Machaiah, who suspected foul play in the death of the police officer, had contended that CID was likely to close the probe with a "B" report by giving a "clean chit" to George and the two police officials.
A government panel today gave its 'in principle' approval for three new airports in Andhra Pradesh that are estimated to cost Rs 2,376 crore.

Besides, the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports has given site clearance for the proposed aerodrome at Kothagudem in Telengana.

'In principle' nod has been granted for airport projects at Bhogapuram and Dagadarthi, both in Nellore district, and Orvakallu in Kurnool district, an official release said today.

The international airport at Bhogapuram would be developed by the Andhra Pradesh government under Public Private Partnership (PPP) at an estimated cost of Rs 2,200 crore to cater to 6.3 million passengers per annum (mppa) in the initial phase, it said.

The other two would be developed as domestic no-frills airports with an estimated cost of Rs 88 crore each. While Dagadarthi would be developed under PPP mode, Orvakallu would be taken by the state government itself.

Together, these airports would cost Rs 2,376 crore.

The committee, headed by Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey, has recommended 'site clearance' for the greenfield airport project at Kothagudem.

With this project, Telangana would be getting a second greenfield airport after Hyderabad international airport.

"These clearances are expected to enhance the aviation infrastructure facilities in the newly created states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and will also boost the regional connectivity scheme," the release said.

To boost air connectivity, the government has announced regional connectivity scheme under the new civil aviation policy. The scheme would provide various incentives to airlines and airports while the fare would be capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Centre is all set to implement the recommendations of a high-powered committee which flagged fencing gaps and vulnerability along the Indo-Pak border and suggested use of scientific technology and heightened vigil on riverine frontiers.

The committee, headed by former Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, was set up following the January terror attack on Pathankot air base and gave a presentation to Home Minister Rajnath Singh last week.

"We are serious about implementation of the recommendations of the Madhukar Gupta Committee," Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters here.

Besides putting water sensors in riverine areas, the Committee also suggested installing electronic sensors and fencing on the Indo-Pak border, sources said.

It also suggested underground sensors to be installed in infiltration-prone areas and foliage penetrating radars in forests and heavy vegetation areas.

Though the Gupta Committee prepared the report on the basis of its assessment of the situation on the International Border (IB) from Gujarat to Jammu region, similar action is expected to be taken on the Line of Control in Kashmir Valley, sources said.

Of the 3,323 km-long Indo-Pak border, 1,225 km falls in Jammu and Kashmir (including Line of Control), 553 km in Punjab, 1,037 km in Rajasthan and 508 km in Gujarat.

The Committee was set up three months after the Pathankot attack to suggest ways to strengthen security along the border with Pakistan and address the vulnerability in fencing.

It has been mandated to study all types of gaps in the fencing and other vulnerabilities along the border and suggest a comprehensive approach to fix them on the interim and permanent basis.

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The Gujarat High Court today granted regular bail to an accused in the murder of Amrut Prajapati, a key witness in the rape case allegedly involving self-styled godman Asaram, on the ground he was not directly named in the dying declaration of the victim.

Justice P P Bhatt granted bail to Basavraj Avanna Talloi, arrested for the murder of Prajapati who was shot dead in a Rajkot clinic two years back by unidentified assailants.

The judge observed the accused was not directly named by Prajapati in his dying declaration. He asked Basavraj not to leave Gujarat and mark his presence in a local police station every Thursday.

City Crime Branch sleuths had arrested Basavraj, a native of Bijapur in Karnataka, in September last year from Bengaluru for his alleged involvement in orchestrating attacks on witnesses in rape cases registered against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, filed in Ahmedabad and Surat, respectively. The witnesses were former aides of Asaram and his son.

The police had lodged four cases against Basavraj, including those related to attacks on witnesses and committing robbery in Surat to raise money to fund assaults.

He was in the past granted bail by the high court in three of the four cases filed against him.

Prajapati once worked as a close aide and personal doctor of Asaram at his ashram in Motera here.

Surat Police on October 6, 2013 had registered complaints filed by two sisters - one against Asaram and another against his son -- relating to rape, sexual assault and illegal confinement, among others.

The complaint against Asaram was transferred to Chandkheda Police Station in Ahmedabad, where the incident took place.

The elder of the two sisters, in her complaint, had accused Asaram of sexual assaults between 1997 and 2006 when she had been living in his ashram here.

The younger sister had filed a complaint against Sai, accusing him of repeated sexual assaults between 2002 and 2005 when she was living in their Surat ashram.

Asaram is at present lodged in Jodhpur jail in another rape case filed against him in Rajasthan.

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Police in Pakistan are guilty of widespread violations of human rights, including random arrests, torture and extra-judicial killings, a prominent rights group has alleged.

A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) titled 'This Crooked System' contains a scathing indictment of the police system in Pakistan and lack of any government plan to reform it.

"This report documents custodial torture, extra-judicial executions, and other serious human rights violations by the police in Pakistan," according to a summary issued by US-based HRW along with the detailed document.

It says that police in Pakistan routinely and unlawfully kill criminal suspects by means of faked "encounter killings".

"Torture methods include beatings including with batons and leather straps, stretching and crushing legs with metal rods, sexual violence, prolonged sleep deprivation, and mental torture, including witnessing others being tortured," it said.

"The non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that in 2015, over 2,000 people were killed in armed encounters with the police, most in the province of Punjab. Human Rights Watch is concerned that many, if not most, of these encounter killings were faked and did not occur in situations in which lives were at risk," says the report.

The report also details the difficulties that victims of crime and police abuse face in obtaining justice, including the refusal by police to register FIRs, demands for bribes, and biased investigations.

"The corruption and abuse endemic to the Pakistani law enforcement system are often described as 'thana culture' after the Urdu word for police station," it says.

It says that many police officers told HRW that abuses can often be explained, if not justified, by the considerable pressures placed upon them.

"They listed organisational shortcomings, inadequate training and resources, lack of requisite funds, poor working conditions, and lack of coordination with other law enforcement agencies as obstacles to transparency and accountability within the police force," it says.

The report quotes officers saying that all these problems were exacerbated by pressures imposed by senior police officials to achieve results, and by politicians and other local elites with their own agendas.

It also examines limitations, including financial and human resource constraints, which police say impact their ability to function properly, and looks at examples of some good police practices that can serve as possible models for the future.

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Tens of thousands of unionised workers at South Korea's Hyundai Motor staged their first full strike today for more than a decade after negotiations over a wage increase stalled.

Nearly 50,000 workers at Hyundai Motor's three plants across the country -- including the main one in the southern city of Ulsan -- walked off the job throughout Monday, said a spokesman for its labour union.

The day-long stoppage is the first full strike at the company since 2004.

The workers would also stage a six-hour partial strike from Tuesday to Friday, the union spokesman said.

Hyundai's union has staged partial strikes every year since 2012, including nearly 20 such stoppages this year, demanding higher wages and better benefits.

The latest demands from workers include an wage increase of 7.2 per cent as well as bonuses for employees that would in total be worth 30 percent of last year's net profit.

Hyundai is South Korea's biggest automaker and, along with its smaller affiliate Kia, forms the world's fifth-largest carmaking group.

But it has struggled in recent years due to currency swings and slumping sales in emerging markets including China.

Hyundai has reported a drop in net profit for 10 consecutive quarters, most recently the second quarter of this year.

The firm has estimated the financial losses from the series of strikes staged so far this year at more than two trillion won (USD 1.8 billion).

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India today handed over to Mauritius a fast patrol vessel, designed and built in-house by Goa Shipyard Limited, which will be used for coastal patrolling, anti-piracy and anti-smuggling besides search and rescue operations.

The contract of the vessel was signed on May 17, 2014 and the keel of this vessel was laid on December 18, 2014.

Rear Admiral Shekhar Mital (Retd), CMD, GSL said that despite all the challenges, including delay of over six months in supply of steel and being the first ship of the series, they have successfully delivered this ship as per contractual schedule of September this year, within 20 months of keel laying which is a record in itself.

The vessel is fitted with 30 mm CRN-91 Gun, 12.7 mm HMGs, 7.62 mm MMGs besides state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment and is capable of achieving a high speed of 35 knots, an official statement said.

Significantly, trials were undertaken in peak monsoon months and the vessel achieved all design parameters.

GSL is the largest exporter of ships from the Indian subcontinent and is presently executing export orders worth Rs 1,200 crore.

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As the government reviews the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, experts today felt that India has so far not utilised the agreement to its fullest to increase irrigation and hydropower potential in Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who had recently suggested that India should consider abrogating the treaty with Pakistan as response to the Uri attack, said if Islamabad is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, it should not be incumbent on New Delhi to honour them.

"Utilise the treaty to its fullest. We are allowed to build hydropower potential and use the water for irrigation. Under the agreement, we are allowed to do a lot more than what we have done," former Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh told PTI.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had passed two resolutions seeking more Indus water for the state. "We can legally do lot more in terms of irrigation...The terms of the treaty which are in India's favour need to be exploited more," he said.

He noted that in the past whenever India has tried to utilise the treaty provisions to help its people, Pakistan has accused New Delhi of violating the agreement.

Responding to a question on whether China can stop the flow of Brahmaputra and Indus rivers into India if New Delhi turns the tap off, he said India receives less than five per cent of Indus water from China and around 10 per cent of Brahmaputra water from it.

"It is nothing," he said.

A former Indus commissioner said the government's decision to utilise the treaty to India's benefit is the step in the right direction.

"We have been following the treaty by the book. While contesting cases of international arbitration against Pakistan, we have proved to the international community how serious India is in following the treaty. Pakistan has already been exposed in such cases," he said.

Writing for ndtv.Com, Yashwant Sinha said, "Terrorists keep attacking us, we keep discussing options. This is the unending story. I am in favour of action and all that I am saying is that this time India should act and not just go on discussing how to handle these attacks."



He said the basic point is that if Pakistan is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, why should it be incumbent on India to honour all of them?



"Because we are the good boys in the eyes of the international community and want to stay that way? (Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif and (Army chief) Raheel Sharif may be sharif only in name; we in India are the real sharifs," he wrote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India is likely to import up to 2 million tonne (MT) wheat in the current fiscal after the customs duty cut on the grain to boost domestic supply and check prices, according to flour millers.

"Imports will increase in the coming months and reduce pressure on the domestic availability," Food Ministry Joint Secretary Prashant Dwivedi told PTI on the sidelines of an AGM of Roller Flour Millers Federation of India (RFMFI) here.

He said the government will not discontinue the sale of FCI wheat to bulk consumers like flour millers.

Asked about likely quantity to be imported this fiscal, Dwivedi declined to give any figure.

However, the industry players estimated that overseas purchase of the grain would touch 2 MT in the 2016-17 fiscal helped by duty cut.

Already, about 6,00,000 tonnes of wheat has been imported from Australia, Ukrain, France and Russia, while another 4,00,000 to 5,00,000 tonnes is in the pipeline, RFMFI Ex-President M K Datta Raj said.

"Total wheat imports are expected to be 2 million tonnes this year," he said.

Much of the imports are being undertaken by flour millers in south India. Now with the duty cut, imports have become viable for flour millers in Maharashtra and West Bengal, he added.

Four millers are importing Australian white wheat in big quantities, which is costing about Rs 19.50 per kg for delivery at Bangalore after the duty cut, while earlier it was costing Rs 23 per kg, he explained.

Last week, the government had slashed import duty on wheat to 10 per cent from 25 per cent till February 2017.

The country's wheat production is estimated to be 93.50 million tonnes in the 2015-16 marketing year (April-March), while the industry players peg 5 million tonnes less output.

Despite projection of higher production, the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured only 22.9 MT as against the target of 30.5 MT set for the 2016-17 marketing year (April-March). The bulk of the procurement was done during April-June.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India raising Pakistan's "internal matter" Balochistan in the UN General Assembly is a "blatant violation" of international norms, the Pakistani envoy to the UN said as she described Kashmir not as India's integral part but an "internationally recognised dispute."



"The Indian FM' speech is a litany of falsehoods and baseless allegations. The biggest falsehood is that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute. It is the oldest item on the UN agenda. The whole world acknowledges this," Maleeha Lodhi said in a series of tweets after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's address during the 71st session of the UNGA here.

In another tweet, Lodhi said raising Balochistan, "an internal matter", is a "blatant violation" of the principles of the UN charter and international norms.

Lodhi said it is "untrue" that India imposed no preconditions for talks with Pakistan.

"India suspended talks more than a year ago, and has refused to resume these despite repeated offers from Pakistan. The latest offer of talks with India was made by Pakistan's Prime Minister himself from the rostrum of the General Assembly on 21 September," Lodhi said in the tweets.

Lodhi claimed India is in "denial" about the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Pakistani and separatist Kashmiri groups gathered outside the UN, following Swaraj's address, to protest against the Indian forces in Kashmir.

Holding banners and placards, the protesters shouted slogans demanding "freedom" for Kashmir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India today signed a fifteen year MoU with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a move that will give New Delhi the exclusive rights to exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides (PMS) in Indian Ocean.

Further, it will enhance India's presence in the Indian Ocean where other players like China, Korea and Germany are active.

The contract was signed by M Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Nii Allotey Odunton, Secretary General, ISA, an institution set up under the Convention on Law of the Sea to which India is a party.

The programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the participation of various national institutes and research laboratories/organisations.

The ISA earlier approved an application submitted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences for allotment of 10,000 sq km area along with 15-year plan of work for exploration of PMS along Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) region of the Indian Ocean.

The Union Cabinet approved signing of this contract in its meeting held on June 15.

Polymetallic Sulphides, containing iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold, platinum in variable constitutions, are precipitates of hot fluids from upwelling hot magma from deep interior of the oceanic crust.

PMS in the ocean ridges have attracted worldwide attention for their long term commercial as well as strategic value.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian-American Sowrabh Sharma, who recruited foreign workers mainly from India with purported IT expertise, was arrested today on the charges of H-1B visa fraud, the New Jersey Department of Justice said.

Sharma, 31, of New York, along with Shikha Mohta, 33, of Jersey City, New Jersey, head of finance for the companies, SCM Data and MMC Systems have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to obstruct justice and one count of conspiracy to harbor aliens.

The Justice Department said Sharma is scheduled to make his initial appearance later in the day before US Magistrate Judge Cathy L Waldor in Newark federal court.

Mohta was previously arrested in May 2015 on a criminal complaint and was released on a USD 100,000 bond.

Prosecutors said SCM Data, MMC Systems, Sharma, Mohta and other conspirators recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the United States.

They then sponsored foreign workers' H-1B visas with the stated purpose of working for SCM Data and MMC Systems' clients throughout the United States.

"When submitting the visa paperwork to USCIS, the conspirators falsely represented that the foreign workers had full-time positions and were paid an annual salary, as required to secure the H-1B visas," prosecutors said,



They alleged that contrary to these representations and in violation of the H-1B program, SCM Data, MMC Systems, Sharma, Mohta and others paid the foreign workers only when they were placed at a third-party client who entered into a contract with SCM Data or MMC Systems.

The visa fraud and obstruction of justice conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.

The alien harboring conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
IT major Infosys today announced 20 winners of its first 'Infy Maker Awards' India, which saw participants from sectors like education and health.

The awards are testimony to Infosys'commitment to encourage the concept of 'Making' in India, acknowledging those individuals who have an interesting orinnovative solution for real-world issues, a company statement said.

The winnerswere selected from more than 280 entries from across different categories like health, energy, education, sound and music,social change solutions, robotics, art & design, artificialintelligence, and electronics. It added.

* * * * * *



RenewBuy,HDFC ERGO launch multi-year 2-wheeeler insurance plan * RenewBuy, a web-based motor insurance platform, in partnership with a private sector non-life insurer HDFC ERGO today launched a two-wheeler insurance plan.

This specially designed, unique insurance policy covers the two-wheeler owners against potential risks of theft, accidental damage, third party liability and others from one to three years' period through a single policy document, RenewBuy said in a statement.

RenewBuy has partnered with HDFC ERGO to provide consumers with a simple, easy to buy long-term policy which saves the consumers the hassle of annual renewal and also lowers their premium as compared to annual renewal, it said.

* * * * * *



Let's Barter India raises angel funding * Let's Barter India, a community for barter on Facebook, has raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding led by Scale Ventures.

"The funds shall be utilised for scaling up across different cities of India, educating the market about tech enabled bartering and building a strong backbone team to fuel growth," Let's Barter India co-founder Pooja Bhayana said.

Formed in September 2015 as a Facebook group, Let's Barter India launched its app in August this year. The platform promotes barter of goods and services.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Digvijay Singh today invoked Prime Minister's May speech wherein he had "compared" Kerala with "impoverished Somalia" and expressed gratefulness that Narendra Modi's perception "changed" and he has now hailed the state as God's own country.

"The Prime Minister, in his speech at Kozhikode during the BJP's National Council meet, made a statement on Kerala. In past, he had compared Kerala with Somalia (in terms of child death ratio among Scheduled Tribes).

"Now we are very much grateful to PM for changing his perception about Kerala and recognising it as God's Own Country," Singh said here.

He was talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee on selection of candidates for the next year's Assembly elections.

Modi, in his speech on Saturday had said, "When we think of Kerala, we think of God's own country, it has an impression of purity and holiness."



In May, At an election rally in Kerala, the Prime Minister has said, "The situation with the child death ratio among Scheduled Tribes in Kerala is scarier than even Somalia."



People from the state had taken to social media to protest against the "comparision".

To a question, Singh said Congress is opposed to casino industry in the tourist state of Goa.

"We don't want Goa to become another Macau (a tiny Chinese territory which has a thriving casino industry). We want people to get employment in the tourism sector, which is the backbone of the state's economy," he said.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said, "We need to look at the issues related to casinos. We don't want Goa to be known only for casinos and gambling.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US Trade and Development Agency has awarded a grant to state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to support their refinery modernisation efforts.

"The programme will help IOC analyse options for optimising its refining operations to produce cleaner fuels from its by-product streams, which will help the company improve efficiencies and reduce emissions at its refineries to meet Indian environmental standards," USTDA said in a statement.

It however did not give details of the financial commitment.

The agreement was signed by IOC Director (Refineries) Sanjiv Singh and John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the US Embassy here.

"USTDA is excited to join efforts with IOC, an important partner, as they seek to improve operational efficiency and expand the production of cleaner fuels," said Henry Steingass, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia at USTDA. "We believe this is a great opportunity for US Industry to continue to build on their relationship with IOC."



The feasibility study will include a market, technical, economic and financial analysis of advanced technologies in order to help IOC identify solutions for converting pet coke refinery by-products into cleaner chemical products and fuels.

This project follows IOC's participation in a USTDA reverse trade mission that brought Indian energy officials to the United States for meetings and site visits with US companies focused on refinery modernisation solutions.

IOC is India's biggest oil refiner.

The then IOC director (refineries) Jaspal Singh, according



to the sources, in 2006 had written to the state chief secretary informing IOC's decision of considering a larger capacity refinery with the petrochemical plant.

They added that the state government did not object to increase in capacity then, and neither in 2009, when IOC finally made the investment decision for just the refinery.

If the MoU was sacrosanct, the state government should have withdrawn the concessions in 2009 itself, allowing IOC to reassess its investment plans.

As per the MoU, IOC was to commission the refinery in 2009, but actually did it in November 2015 and the state government allowed IOC to avail of construction-related sops totalling Rs 550 crore all through the six years.

On December 29, 2016, the state government had served a show-cause notice on IOC, asking why the fiscal incentives should not be withdrawn, considering that the refinery was delayed by over six years.

It feels the delay has pushed back the payback time of deferred taxes by a few years and will cost it Rs 69,000 crore. But IOC disputes this figure, saying net present value of the 11-year deferment of sales tax is Rs 10,000 crore.

IOC's plans for Paradip also included projects to improve petrol and diesel quality to euro-VI standards by 2020.

Also, the Rs 3,500-crore polypropylene plant is already under construction and likely to be commissioned by September 2017.

Sources said the government in February 2004 had signed an agreement with IOC to give fiscal incentives for setting up a 9 million tonne a year oil refinery at Paradip by 2009-10.

However, the project was delayed and started only in early 2016.

Also, the government says the refinery was originally planned for 9 mt per annum capacity, but the actual size commissioned was 15 million tonnes.

The sources said IOC has replied to the notice saying the size of the refinery should not matter as VAT deferment is limited to 2 mt of products sold in the state.

On the delay in commissioning of the refinery, IOC said the government made clear its intention of withdrawing incentives in 2010 or 2011 itself to enable the firm to redraw its plans.

More importantly, even if the refinery was commissioned in 2009-10, the VAT deferment would have been in operation till 2020-21 and there is no case for it ending in 2016-17.

The company said the state government will not suffer any revenue loss as it will pay back the taxes after 11 years, albeit without interest on it.

IOC said its board had approved investments only in 2009 and withdrawal of VAT concession will reduce by 2 per cent, the rate of return it considered for working out the investment.

The government, the sources said, is of the opinion that the refinery no longer needs incentives as its profitability had increased due to higher capacity and low global oil prices.

IOC contended that the Paradip refinery is yet to achieve profitability on a standalone basis and that its investment in higher capacity and downstream petrochemical plants will only lead to higher economic activity and employment in the state.

Higher capacity was needed for setting up two petrochem units at an additional cost of Rs 7,250 crore.

Originally, the foundation stone of the Paradip refinery was laid by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on May 24, 2000.
Kerala government has put under the scanner persons and outfits who misuse social media for propagating extremist ideologies of Islamic State, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state Assembly today.

His statement in a written reply comes in the backdrop of reports that a group of missing Kerala youths had joined the Islamic State.

The social media accounts of those who were suspected to have joined IS from the state were also being monitored by the state police, Vijayan said.

"The government is strictly monitoring the activities of the individuals and outfits who support and propagate the ideologies of Islamic State using various platforms including social media," he said.

All district police chiefs have been given strict directions in this regard, the Chief Minister added.

At least 21 youths, including women, who had gone missing from the state some months ago, were suspected to have joined IS. Among them, 17 were from Kasaragod and four from Palakkad.

Kerala Police has registered a case based on the complaints of the relatives of the missing youths.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US-led consortium leading the development of Israel's offshore gas reserves today announced a first deal to sell natural gas from its Leviathan field to neighbouring Jordan.

US firm Noble Energy, the lead partner, said in a statement that the contract signed today with the National Electric Power Company of Jordan (NEPCO) was for "300 million cubic feet per day over a 15-year term".

It includes an option to purchase a further 50 million cubic feet up to a total of 350 million daily.

"Gross contract revenues are estimated to be approximately USD 10 billion," it said.

Delivery to NEPCO is expected to begin at the same time as the estimated 22 trillion cubic foot field goes online to domestic clients in 2019 "subject to regulatory approvals from Israel and Jordan", Noble said.

Israel's government only ratified the consortium's plans for Leviathan on May 22, after long legal and political wrangling.

Noble is in partnership with Israeli energy firms Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration.

"The signing of the export agreement between the Leviathan project and... NEPCO is an historic day and positions the Leviathan Project in the centre of the regional energy map," Delek Drilling and Avner CEO Yossi Abu said in a statement.

The project was previously blocked by Israel's supreme court as unconstitutional, with critics saying it gave overly favourable terms to the energy companies.

The agreement was then revised to reflect the court's objections and the government subsequently gave it the green light.

Leviathan is the largest of Israel's offshore gas fields, with enough reserves to turn the previously resource-poor country into a significant exporter.

"The partners in the Leviathan project will continue to pursue long-term agreements with other customers in the eastern Mediterranean, including in Egypt, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority," Abu said.

The consortium has already contracted to sell natural gas from the smaller Tamar field to the Jordan Bromine Company and the Arab Potash Company, starting "in late 2016", Noble's statement said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jharkhand Chief Minister on Monday arrived in the US on a multi-city tour to attract foreign direct investment for giving impetus to the state's mining sector.

During his nearly a week-long trip, the Chief Minister will kick off his official schedule from tomorrow by attending the Mining Expo near Bellagio in Las Vegas, which is said to be the largest mining show in the world.

The delegation would also learn about the latest and best practices in the mining sector and adopt them in Jharkhand, a mining-rich state.

From Las Vegas, the Chief Minister would travel to San Francisco for an interaction with the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Das is scheduled to meet officials from IT giants including Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and Hewlett Packard.

He would also interact with members of the Tie, Silicon Valley.

Das would arrive in New York - his last destination - on October 28 and would be holding meeting with the investors and interact with the Indian community.

Officials accompanying the delegation said that the visit is also part of the effort to attract investors and companies to participate in the Global Investors Meet in Ranchi next February.

"The Chief Minister and his delegates aim to raise investments and awareness about the opportunities in Jharkhand as powerhouse of India's Manufacturing Sector (Make in India) and priority areas like film industry, textile & apparels, tourism and others," said Atul Kumar, CEO and Founder of A++ Ventures.

Investors, entrepreneurs across the world are looking for markets and high growth consumer markets, which Jharkhand has plenty of, Kumar said.

"The potential opportunities in Jharkhand are being transformed into thriving businesses in services sector and global diaspora is keen to return to motherland," he added.
Karnataka government today moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of the September 20 order, asking it to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till tomorrow, on the ground that its reservoirs do not have sufficient water.

A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra on September 20 had directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till September 27, while raising the quantum fixed by the Supervisory Committee by 3,000 cusecs.

Karnataka, in its fresh plea, had expressed inability to implement the apex court order on various grounds including the fact that it does not have adequate water to supply to its cities including Bengaluru.

The apex court had on September 20 also directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) as directed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in its award.

On September 12, the apex court had asked both the states to ensure that "law and order" prevails.

It had modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.

The apex court bench was also critical of the language used in the plea of Karnataka seeking to keep in abeyance the September 5 order asking it to release 15,000 cusecs water per day to Tamil Nadu.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today alleged that the Akali-BJP government in Punjab has "failed" to provide security to people of the state and asked the government to protect them from the "atrocities" of Akali workers.

AAP Punjab Co-Incharge Jarnail Singh and Legal Wing Head Himmat Singh Shergill said during a media interaction that the reports related to crime in the newspapers shows the real situation in Punjab.

Jarnail alleged that rule of lawlessness prevailed in Punjab and Akali workers are 'killing" people without any fear.

"The police rather than taking action against the culprits are shielding them," he alleged.

He also warned state police officials to stop "working as the personal army" of Akalis.

Giving ultimatum to the Moga police to arrest the murderers of AAP worker Jagroop Singh of Bhindar Kalan, Jarnail said that if the police fails to take any action against the culprits, AAP will Gherao the police station tomorrow.

He said that on the birthday of Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh, AAP will start 'Inssaf March' throughout Punjab from Wednesday onwards.

Quoting the incident of Kishangarh near Jalandhar, where a trader along with his family committed suicide, Jarnail said the victim was threatened that the money lender will abduct his daughter if he failed to pay the already paid loan.

He alleged that the people of state have lost faith in the police and civil officials.

Jarnail alleged that the failure of police to arrest the culprits of sacrilege led to further similar incidents of sacrilege in the state.

"Had the police arrested those responsible for sacrilege, nobody would have dared to commit the crime again," he said.

Targeting Badal family, Jarnail alleged the people of Punjab no more trust the fake promises Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal.

To a query on probe against sacked party's convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur, Jarnail said there was no need to continue probe against Chhotepur as he was forming another political party.

He further said there was also no need to make video clip public which allegedly showed Chhotepur accepting money.

To another question on suspended AAP MP Dharamvira Gandhi, Jarnail said if he thinks AAP is not working in the interest of Punjab, then he can resign as MP and contest assembly polls.

He said that the party was considering further action against Gandhi for his alleged anti-party activities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LeEco has partnered Snapdeal and Amazon to sell its products on the two eCommerce platforms from October, a move that will help the Chinese tech major further strengthen its online sales in India.

Currently, LeEco sells its handsets through eCommerce major Flipkart and its own portal, LeMall.

"We will start with selling our LeEco Max 2 on Snapdeal and Amazon as part of their festival sale. This will give us access to a wider market," LeEco COO Smart Electronics Business Atul Jain told PTI.

As part of the festive sale, LeEco Max 2 will be available at Rs 17,999, instead of the earlier selling price of Rs 22,999 across Flipkart, LeMall, Amazon.In and Snapdeal, he added.

"Depending on the response, we will extend other products to the other platforms," he said adding that the company has already sold over one million handsets within a few months of its entry into the Indian market.

LeEco's rivals Xiaomi and Motorola also had entered the Indian market in partnership with Flipkart. Later, these brands too ended the exclusivity and launched their range of devices across other e-commerce portals.

LeEco is also bullish on offline retail. "We are already present in 3,000-plus stores and by end of October, this number will double. We will have a healthy mix of online and offline sales going ahead," Jain said.

Talking about the festive season, Jain said he expects the company's business to be "double" than the usual numbers.

The company has also extended its content partnership and partnered with Hungama, which will provide users of LeEco smartphones free access to a library of 3.5 million songs for a year.

Buyers of SuperTVs on Flipkart will get a cashback using



Citibank debit or credit cards from October 26th till October 28th. They can also avail a cashback using American Express cards from October 29th to October 30th.

There is also a no-cost EMI for 3 or 6 months for buyers who use their Bajaj Finserv and all other credit cards on Flipkart. LeEco has also enhanced its product exchange offer to Rs. 25,000 for the Diwali festival. Now buyers in Flipkart can also exchange their old TVs for up to Rs. 25,000 while buying their new LeEco SuperTVs. As the exchange offer is an enhanced PREXO (Product Exchange Offer), buyers will get a raise in their exchange price during product evaluation of their old products.

All buyers of SuperTVs on both LeMall and Flipkart will also be getting 2 years of LeEco membership. Through LeEco's membership program, users will get to choose from a vast content library of 2000+ movies, 3000+ hours of curated shows, and 150+ live TV channels.

Super TVs also come with big RAM, ROM and powerful processors, ensuring better performance than most of the flagships from other established TV makers. The 55-inch Super TV has 2GB RAM and 8GB ROM, Quad-core Cortex(R) A17 1.4GHz CPU and a Mali-T760 3D GPU.

LeEco's Super TVs come in both 55 and 65 inches. The large screen Super TVs offer 4K display on an A+ grade IPS panel and are equipped with as many as 14 advanced display technologies. The screens offer a 178degree(s) wide viewing angle, suitable for all family members to watch together, thus, endearing itself as a perfect family gift this Diwali.

Time to upgrade to SuperPhones



Diwali sale is also a good time to get your hands on the much-talked-about second generation Superphone from LeEco - Le 2. Flipkart is organizing a Diwali sale from October 25th-28th during which users can get up to an additional cashback on exchanging their old phone. Citibank credit or debit card users can get an additional 15% cashback.

Even LeMall is giving a 10 percent cashback on all



pre-paid orders made using all credit and debit cards.

Additionally, it is offering complimentary one-year LeEco membership and Jio Welcome offer - unlimited high speed data, voice calling, SMS.

About LeEco:



LeEco, formerly known as Letv, is a global pioneering Internet and technology company with multiple Internet ecosystems across content, devices, applications and platforms. Founded in November 2004 by Jia Yueting and Liu Hong, LeEco employs more than 10,000 people and is the world's first video company to go public with a market capitalization of more than $12 billion USD. Headquartered in Beijing, China, it has regional headquarters in Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.

With 'Complete Ecosystem, Groundbreaking technologies, and Disruptive Pricing' as the guiding principle, LeEco is engaged in a myriad of businesses, spanning from Internet-based SuperTV and SuperPhones, video production and distribution, smart devices/accessories and large-screen applications, to e-commerce and even connected super-electric cars. The company also features one of the world's largest content libraries, comprising of movies, TV dramas, entertainment shows, sports and music, which can be conveniently viewed on LeEco products, including the Super Phones, Super TVs, and in the near future, Le Autos. Breaking the barriers of industries, LeEco provides personalized products and services for an enhanced user experience at disruptive prices.

Media Contact:



Nitin Kinger



Nitinkinger@le.Com



+91-9769988304



LeEco India



Source: Le Ecosystem Technology India Pvt. Ltd.
Two farmers were killed after lightning struck them at Khairadohar village within the limits of Naudihabazar Police station of Palamau district today, officials said.

The victims, identified as Putai Yadav (36) and Tulsi Viswakarma (40), were working in the field when rain accompanied by thunderbolt struck the area, officials said.

Both victims ran to take shelter under a tree, but were struck by lightning and were killed on the spot, they said.

The bodies have been sent to Sadar Hospital, Medininagar for post-mortem.

The Deputy Commissioner of Palamau, Amit Kumar has assured to provide compensation as per government provisions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mizoram Chief minister Lal Thanhawla today instituted a Magisterial inquiry into the court rampage incident in south Mizoram's Lunglei on September 22.

He, along with state home minster R Lalzirliana, also recommended suspension of Lunglei district deputy commissioner Abhijit Vijay Choudhuri to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

An official statement said the meeting appointed Aizawl District Magistrate Kanan Gopinathan to conduct the Magisterial inquiry into the incident of hooliganism at the district courts, offices and residential quarters by an unruly mob in Lunglei.

Gopinathan was tasked to complete his inquiry within seven working days and submit the report to the government.

It was decided that security arrangements would be reviewed at the Lunglei district courts and it would be strengthened if necessary and personal security officer (PSO) to each of the three judges of Lunglei district would be attached, the release said.

The meeting was attended by state Chief Secretary Lalmalsawma, Director General of Police Thianghlima Pachuau, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Lalram Thanga, Principal Secretary for Home Renu Sharma, Law Secretary Marli Vankung and Additional Secretary for Home Lalbiakzama.

An unruly mob from the Zohnuai locality of Lunglei attacked the district court buildings with stones and bricks and also ransacked the official residence of the Civil Judge on Thursday last.

The crowd had gathered in front of the district court demanding the presence of Stephen Lalchawiliana, who was to be produced before the court for allegedly killing C Lalsawmliana (33) of Zohnuai locality of Lunglei on the night August 27.

The crown turned violent after learning that the accused was already remanded to judicial custody by holding a camp court inside the District Jail.

The incident resulted in Gauhati High Court withdrawing all three judges from Aizawl including the District and Sessions Judge R Thanga.

The High Court also directed the judicial officer of neighbouring Lawngtlai district who used to hold circuit court in Lunglei district, not to continue holding circuit court in Lunglei district until further orders.

Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajit Singh had also sent a letter to Lal Thanhawla condemning the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra government is set to receive Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in next three years under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority and is keen on setting up an 'eco-battalion' to increase green cover, Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said.

To increase the green cover in the state, the Forest department is keen on reviving eco-battalion concept for large scale tree plantation, Mungantiwar told PTI.

"Retired Army personnel will be roped-in under the eco-battalion (concept) and will be asked to plant, protect and grow the plants. The battalion will utilise the funds meant for afforestation across the state," he said.

The discussions to this effect were held during a meeting on Saturday in Aurangabad where all senior officers from the Forest department participated. The day-long meeting primarily discussed about improving forest cover in the state.

"The districts like Osmanabad, Beed, Parbhani and Latur have large stretches of barren land, which is technically with forest department but there is no green cover. The eco-battalion will be given these districts in the first phase for improvement of green cover," he said.

Eco-battalion concept was introduced during the rule of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and successfully launched in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Each battalion is of 108 personnel.

When asked about the reasons behind choosing ex-Army personnel, Mungantiwar said these people are already trained to carry out major works with high discipline, efficiency and speed, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shares of Marksans Pharma surged over 12 per cent in early trade today after the company received approval from the USFDA for loratadine liquid filled capsules, used for treatment of allergies, in the American market.

The stock jumped 12.53 per cent to Rs 53.85 on BSE.

At NSE, shares of the company climbed 12.89 per cent to Rs 53.85.

"USFDA has granted approval for an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for loratadine liquid filled capsules 10 mg", Marksans Pharma said in a BSE filing.

Loratadine liquid filled capsules are therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug Claritin Liqui-Gels Capsules 10 mg of Bayer Healthcare LLC, it said.

Loratadine is an antihistamine that reduces the effects of natural chemical histamine in the body. It is used for treating sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, hives, skin rash, itching and other allergy symptoms.

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Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today laid the foundation stone of a mega food park project in Ludhiana to be developed at a cost of Rs 117.61 crore.

This mega food park is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to about 6,000 people and benefit about 25,000-30,000 farmers in its catchment area.

"Badal laid the foundation stone of the Ludhiana Mega Food Park being promoted by Punjab Agro," an official statement said.

Badal said this mega food park will be set up with the project cost of Rs 117.61 crore in an area of 100.20 acres.

The park will have facilities of 500 kg/spiral freezer, 1000 tonne cold store of onion & garlic, 1000 tonne frozen cold store of vegetable produce, 10000 tonne dry warehouse, 10000 tonne silos, 100 tonne ripening chamber (ECRC), 1 MT/Hr Dehydration Line (Air dried), 400 MT Cold storage, reefer vans, food incubation center and testing labs.

This mega Food park has a Central Processing Centre (CPC) at Ludhiana and four Primary Processing Centres (PPCs) are being set up at Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Fazilka and Bathinda to provide strong backward linkages.

The food park would benefit farmers and processors of Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, S.B.S. Nagar, Jalandhar, Moga, Sangrur and Barnala district of Punjab, Badal said.

In order to give an impetus to the growth of the food processing sector in Punjab, the ministry has approved three mega food park in the state. Out of these three parks, the first park located at Fazilka has already become operational.

The foundation stone laying of a second Mega Food Park in the state promoted by Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd. (PAIC) was done today. The third park (Sukhjit Mega Food Park) has been approved in Kapurthala district.

Food Processing ministry is focusing on boosting this sector so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and becomes the engine of growth to drive the government's 'Make in India' initiative.

The ministry has identified creation of modern infrastructure for food processing as a focus area and is encouraging private investment.

As a step in this direction, it has been implementing the Mega Food Park Scheme in the country to give a major boost to the processing sector along the value chain from the farm to the market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach.

Badal expressed confidence that this food park project will create a modern infrastructure for arresting post-harvest losses of horticultural and non-horticultural produce.

This food Park will help in providing better prices to farmer, reduce wastage of perishables, add value to agri- produce and create huge opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment for the youth of Punjab.

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The message that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India should be "loud and clear" to Pakistan, India today asserted and asked whether it can clarify how terror safe havens continue to flourish on its soil despite billions of dollars of anti-terrorism aid it gets.

In its 'Right of Reply', India also rejected the "fanciful and misleading" remarks by the Pakistani envoy to the UN.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi earlier exercised the Right of Reply to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's UNGA address, saying Swaraj's remarks were a "litany of falsehoods" about Pakistan and a "travesty of facts and history".

Lodhi said Jammu and Kashmir can never be an integral part of India and is a "disputed territory", the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Responding to Pakistan's RoR, India reaffirmed that Kashmir is and always will be an integral part of India.

"...It appears that the distinguished representative of Pakistan did not hear clearly what our Minister of External Affairs stated during her address earlier today," First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN Eenam Gambhir said, exercising India's Right of Reply to Lodhi's remarks.

Quoting from Swaraj's address, Gambhir said Jammu and Kashmir is India's integral part and will always remain so.

"We hope that the message is loud and clear," she said.

Gambhir said India rejects "entirely" Lodhi's "sermons", calling her remarks "the views of a dysfunctional state which builds atrocity upon atrocity on its own people, preaching about values of tolerance, democracy and human rights."



Through the RoR, India slammed Pakistan for making a "fanciful and misleading" presentation on the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, saying Lodhi's remarks aim to divert the attention from Pakistan's sponsorship of terror and do not answer questions posed by the world community.

"Can the representative of Pakistan clarify how is it that terror sanctuaries and safe havens in her country continue to flourish despite the Pakistan army's much-vaunted counter terrorism operations, and the billions of dollars of international counter terrorism aid it obtains?



"Can the representative of Pakistan confirm that they do not use terrorist proxies and export terrorism as a matter of state policy," Gambhir said adding that can the Pakistani envoy deny that her country had assured in 2004 that it would not allow its territories, or territories under its control,to be used for terror attacks against India?



"And can the representative of Pakistan deny that it has failed to honour that assurance given at the highest level," Gambhir said.

She also questioned whether the Pakistani representative will deny the armed forces of her country committed one of the most extensive and heinous genocides in human history in 1971.

"Will the representative of Pakistan deny that its armed forces have used airstrikes and artillery against its own people repeatedly? Will (she) explain why is it that Pakistan's civil society is being silenced by the plethora of heavily armed militias that go by names such as 'Jaish' or Army, 'Lashkar' or Army, 'Sipah' or Soldiers and 'Harkat' or Armed movement," Gambhir said.

In her Right of Reply, Lodhi said the Uri attacks were



"staged" to "divert" attention from the situation in Kashmir.

"The attack on the Indian Army base in Uri, particularly its timing, has all the hallmarks of an operation designed to divert attention" from the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, she said.

She accused India of "utilising" the Uri incident to blame Pakistan for the current Kashmiri uprising.

"India's government is delusional if it believes that it can 'isolate' any country. It is India itself, which because of its war crimes in Kashmir and elsewhere, and because of its warmongering, is likely to be isolated in the international community," Lodhi said.

The Pakistani envoy said Swaraj's statement reflects the "deceit and hostility" of the Indian government towards Pakistan.

In a Right of Reply exercised post Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's address to the UNGA, India had accused Islamabad of committing warcrimes by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

Lodhi in her Right of Reply said the call for "freedom" of the Kashmiri people has been met with "Indian brutality" and demanded an impartial investigation into the rights violations in Kashmir.

In response to Swaraj's reference to Pakistani national Bahadur Ali, arrested in Kashmir, Lodhi said the recently captured "Indian spy, an intelligence officer," Kulbhushan Jadhav, has "confessed" to India's support to such terrorist and subversive activities particularly in Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

"Indeed, it was Kulbhushan, who was financing, arming and supporting individuals and entities listed under the UN sanctions regime," Lodhi said.

She said India's "policy of interference" in Pakistan and attempt to destabilise Balochistan are now on record. "This is blatant violation of the principles of the UN Charter."



Lodhi blamed India for suspending talks with Pakistan more than a year ago, saying New Delhi has refused to resume them despite repeated offers from Pakistan and advice from the international community.

"The latest offer was made by the Prime Minister of Pakistan from the rostrum of this very Assembly. But let us be clear, talks are no favour to Pakistan. They are in the interest of both India and Pakistan and the people of our two countries.

"Let me reiterate that Pakistan is ready and willing for serious and result-oriented talks with India, especially to resolve the longstanding core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, which is imperative for durable peace, stability and development in the region."



In a second Right of Reply, Pakistan reiterated that Kashmir remains an internationally-recognised disputed territory.

Gambhir responded by saying that Pakistan has yet again "chosen to stay silent" on the tough questions.

"This is what we have come to expect from Pakistan - deception, deceit and denial. The world still waits their response," Gambhir said.

"Indeed, it was Kulbhushan, who was financing, arming and



supporting individuals and entities listed under the UN sanctions regime," Lodhi said.

She said India's "policy of interference" in Pakistan, especially its attempt to destabilise Balochistan, are now on record.

"This is blatant violation of the principles of the UN Charter," she said.

Lodhi blamed India for suspending talks with Pakistan more than a year ago, saying New Delhi has refused to resume them despite repeated offers from Pakistan and advice from the international community.

"The latest offer was made by the Prime Minister of Pakistan from the rostrum of this very Assembly. But let us be clear, talks are no favour to Pakistan. They are in the interest of both India and Pakistan and the people of our two countries," she said.

Lodhi reiterated that Pakistan is "ready and willing" for serious and result oriented talks with India, especially to resolve the longstanding core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, which is imperative for durable peace, stability and development in the region.

In a second RoR, a Pakistani representative reiterated that Kashmir remains an internationally-recognised disputed territory.

Gambhir responded by saying that Pakistan has yet again "chosen to stay silent" on the tough questions.

"This is what we have come to expect from Pakistan - deception, deceit and denial. The world still waits their response," Gambhir said.
Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani and 400 agitators, including several women, were today detained for trying to gherao the head office of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) here today.

The agitation had been called by Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM) and Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch to press for their various demands, including permanent job status to sanitation workers of the civic body working on contract basis for the past many years.

To draw government's attention towards their demands, Mevani, along with advocate and social activist Amrish Patel, led the agitating workers and their supporters to the AMC building in Gol Limda area of city this afternoon.

After reaching the main gate of the AMC office, these agitators confronted with police, who were deployed in large number to control the situation.

After some heated exchanges, Mevani, Patel and around 400 agitators were detained by police and taken to the city police headquarter in Shahibaug area.

"We detained around 400 agitators, including women, as they tried to stop people from entering in the AMC office and tried to block the road. We released them later. No one was injured during the detention," Assistant Police Commissioner of "D" division, Baldev Desai, said.

Talking to media after his detention, Mevani alleged that the Gujarat government is persecuting people for raising their voice.

"Constitution does not have any place in the so-called Gujarat model, as people are not even allowed to raise their legitimate demands. They are not made permanent even after serving for almost 30 years on contractual basis," he said.

"It is very sad that government is not even ready to talk about this serious issue. Gujarat government is persecuting people for raising their voice," Mevani told reporters before he was taken to Shahibaug in police van.

Mevani has been leading the agitation against the state government on various dalits issues following the Una dalit flogging incident of July.

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Microsoft's 'Ignite', the largest conference in the technology industry kicks off here today with a major focus on security, intelligence and the cloud platform that empowers IT professionals to lead digital transformation for their organisations.

Around 25,000 IT professionals have gathered in Atlanta for the second annual 'Microsoft Ignite' conference to learn about some of the latest breakthroughs in security, intelligence and the cloud - the digital infrastructure that will lead to limitless scale and unimaginable potential to innovate.

The conference from September 26-30 showcases the software giant's enterprise products and services, while providing valuable IT training. It also provides opportunities for IT professionals to get together for collaboration and networking.

India-born Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is the keynote speaker and will discuss emerging IT trends.

Microsoft is set to announce big plans of collaborating with various hardware manufacturers to develop better tools to help work with its services in an efficient manner.

The 'Show Floor' always has some of the most exciting technology and this year will be no different with some futuristic technology especially in the fields of virtual reality or robotics.

Microsoft is showcasing all its new products, services, and tools. These areas will be represented by Microsoft Program Managers and marketers.

The company has set up a huge Microsoft Store that showcases multiple demo units and experts for its new products.

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A delegation of heads of Dargahs led by the chief of Ajmer Sharif today appealed to the people in the Kashmir Valley to remain calm, observe peace and help the government in bringing normalcy.

The delegation, which met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here, said they would go to Kashmir to request their brothers and sisters to contribute in creating peace.

Led by Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, Spiritual Head of the Shrine and Sajjadanashin of Dargah Khwaja Sahab, Ajmer Sharif, the delegation shared their concern on the situation in Kashmir and expressed confidence that the Home Minister would do everything possible to bring normalcy in Kashmir in order to remove pain and miseries of the people, an official statement said.

The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation prevailing in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years, it said.

The delegation conveyed that over the last many years, it saw a decline in social values and ethos, and onslaught of Western culture on one hand and increase of radicalism among Muslims on the other hand, doing incalculable loss to the shared cultural values, peace and happiness for the mankind.

The Ajmer Sharif Shrine Head said the spiritual leaders are concerned and pained on the situation and the sufferings of the people in our country and all over the world.

"Worst, we see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The delegation said those creating disturbance in the world must know that there is no bigger power than the power of peace.

Violence can only bring more sufferings and solve no problem of humanity. Together we make a beautiful country for all to live in peace and harmony and progress faster, the delegation members said.

The delegation highlighted that India is the land of Sufism and spiritual powers. Khwaja Saheb Dargah in Ajmer Sharif, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah in New Delhi and hundreds of Sufi centres all over the country have been the source of spiritual strength and guidance to the people of India and the world for over 800 years.

The Dargahs have been removing pains and miseries of millions of people seeking divine help every year, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, the heads of Dargahs said in the statement.

The delegation of Sajjadanashin of all biggest dargahs in the country including Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi; Dargah HZT Khaja Banda Nawaz, Gulbarga (Karnataka); Dargah Fathepur Sikri, UP; Dargah Maner Sharif, Bihar; Dargah Yusufain Nappalli, AP; Dargah Ambetha Sharif, Gujarat and Dargah Haradarwaza, Hyderabad.

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The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coming up in Jhajjar will be equipped with top medical facilities, including a first-of-its-kind tissue repository, and plans are afoot for conducting research there on cancers which are more specific to India, Union Health Minister J P Nadda today said.

The NCI, said to be the largest tertiary healthcare facility proposed in the country since Independence, is being built in Haryana under the AIIMS at a cost of Rs 2,035 crore.

"The proposed institute (NCI) will have 710 beds for different facilities such as surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, anaesthesia and palliative care, nuclear medicine and proton therapy.

"It will have a tissue repository which is the first-of-its-kind in India. The institute aims to plan, conduct and coordinate research on cancers which are more specific to India like tobacco-related cancers, cancer of the uterine cervix, gall bladder cancer and liver cancers," the Health Minister said.

The foundation stone for NCI was laid by Nadda in December last.

"The cancer institute will be modelled after the US' National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the government has already entered into an MoU with it during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US in October 2014," he had said.

It is slated to be a premier institution for all cancer-related activities in the country and will have linkages with all regional and cancer centres.

Nadda was addressing a gathering on the Foundation Day of the AIIMS currently celebrating its diamond jubilee.

"AIIMS has always maintained the highest standards of meritocracy and learning. It has attracted the best talents across the country who enter this institute as young students and pass out with the intensity of commitment to serve the poorest of the poor," he said.

The minister, who is also the President of AIIMS, in his address, touched upon various projects rolled out by the Centre for its expansion and development.

It is the apex medical institution in the country. And, the government is "committed" to raising its stature up further, he said.

AIIMS Director Dr M C Misra, said, "In 60 years of its journey, AIIMS has grown in strength thanks to the sheer dedication of our former directors who shaped this institution."



A special exhibition chronicling the 60 years of the institute was also opened on the occasion.

In his address Nadda further said, "AIIMS not only has



established high reputation but has also contributed significantly in academic quality, student care, infrastructure, and placement opportunities.

"With its 9 centres and 52 teaching departments, and a manpower of over 10,000 including more than 800 faculty positions, AIIMS Delhi produces a large number of specialists (MD/MS), super-specialists (DM/MCh), PhD scholars and allied health and basic sciences experts, including nurses and paramedical professionals," he said.

In coming years, AIIMS is going to establish many more specialised centres like surgical block, geriatric centre, mother and child healthcare centre, and emergency block, he added.

Students not only from India but also from various other countries like the US, the UK, Australia, Germany and SAARC countries are visiting AIIMS to do elective training courses, he said, adding, courses are also administered to students from Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Mauritius.

Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre of Ophthalmic Sciences, Department of Paediatrics, Centre for Dental Education and Research and Centre for Community Medicine have been designated as WHO Collaborating Centre, the minister said.

Nearly 600 research projects have been conducted in the year and the institute has attracted extramural research grants of more than Rs 70 crores in frontier and cutting edge biomedical areas, Nadda said.

"An increasing number of foreigners are coming for treatment to AIIMS, mostly from South and South East Asia. This trend was particularly salient in the departments of neurosurgery, orthopaedics, oncology and surgery," he said.

The minister also outlined the expansion projects underway at AIIMS.

"The institute is in the process of expanding its Trauma Centre, Surgical Block, Mother and Child Block and OPD Block. The expansion will happen in phases and when completed, will almost double the hospital's capacity.

"The surgical block will also have a National Endoscopy Centre, a high-dependency unit and kidney transplant facilities. The Convergence Block, critical care units, and a new dharamshala have been built. These expansion plans would fulfil long-felt needs of the apex medical institution in the country," he said.

Besides, Dr Balram Airan, Dean (Academics) and professor of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, delivered the first Golden Jubilee Oration on heart transplant.

Airan, credited with performing the first heart transplant in the country on August 3, 1994, said, "there are various challenges in this particular domain, and infrastructural logistical constraints that hasn't allowed heart transplantation to really go forward in India, especially in the public sector.
A gunman fired multiple shots and injured nine persons at a strip mall in southwest Houston before being shot dead by the police, the latest mass shooting incident in the US.

An "active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers; no reports of other suspects at this time," Houston Police tweeted.

Sixpeople were injured in an early-morning shooting.

The unidentified attacker was shot by cops - and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said.

The police chief declined to release the suspect's identity, but told reporters "he is a lawyer and there were issues concerning his law firm."



Nine people were injured in the shooting, police said.

Of those injured, three people were treated and released and six are hospitalised. One person is in critical condition and one person is in serious condition, CNN reported.

One witness,said he heard "over 100 shots" fired - including AK-47 and AR-15 gunfire.

It was "steady shooting back and forth" between police and the suspect, the man said.

The US has witnesses a number of shooting incidents in recent months.

Today's shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall left five people dead. On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.

The US suffered the worst mass shooting in its history in June when 50 people were killed and 53 injured in Orlando, Florida after a gunman stormed into a packed gay nightclub.

In December last year, 14 people were killed in a shooting incident in San Bernardino.

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Observing that a prima-facie case exists against Lt Col Prasad Purohit, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the special court for NIA cases here today rejected his bail application.

Special judge S D Tekale passed the order at in-camera proceedings. It was for a second time that Purohit's bail application was rejected in the case.

"The court observed that prima-facie there is a case against him," special prosecutor Avinash Rasal told reporters.

The court also said the report of a 'court of inquiry' submitted by the Army (which Purohit's lawyer claimed backed his case) can be examined only during the trial and not now.

The judge also held that validity of application of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the accused too can be decided only during the trial.

On Purhoit's contention that some witnesses had given contradictory statements, the court said it can be considered when the witnesses appear before the court.

Purohit had sought bail contending that the National Investigation Agency had dropped the charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case and that the sanction for prosecution obtained under the UAPA was defective.

He had not played any role in the blast, Purohit claimed, adding that he was in jail for last seven years without trial.

NIA opposed his petition saying all these arguments could be considered during the trial.

The court had earlier rejected the bail plea of a co-accused in the case Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.

Purohit's wife Aparna said they would challenge the order in the Bombay High court.

Twelve persons, including Thakur and Purohit, were arrested for the blast at Malegaon in Maharashtra on September 29, 2008, in which six persons had been killed and around 100 injured.

In its charge sheet filed on May 13, NIA had dropped all the charges against Thakur and five others but the court had denied them bail.

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Vice President Hamid Ansari today said there was no need to exaggerate the significance of the OIC by asking it to rein in Pakistan from indulging in cross-border terrorism activities against India.

Ansari, who is on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, was asked by reporters accompanying him whether India would take up this issue with these two West African nations which are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

"The facts of the case are clear. Cross-border terrorism activities are encouraged by state agencies or state agencies- groups sponsored and that is detrimental to peace anywhere in the world," he said, without naming Pakistan.

"You talk to OIC members individually and they say they know about it (the issue)," he added.

"OIC is a strange kind of organisation where everything is done by consensus. So we should not exaggerate the significance of the OIC," he went on to add.

The OIC is an international organisation founded in 1969 consisting of 57 Muslim states spread over four continents.

Ansari said terrorist networks are becoming global networks and so there was a need to have a solid system in place on exchange of information.

"Terrorism is an international phenomenon and comes in different forms and shapes. It may be in one form in India and another in Nigeria or any other country. But wherever there is terrorism, social peace is disturbed. And this hampers social progress and development. So everyone has to fight terrorism," he said.

Commenting on attacks on some Africans in India in the past few months, he said the government sees these as stray incidents which are not targeted against citizens of any particular country.

"There is no racial discrimination," he asserted. "There are problems but these problems are not the making of the government. The law-and-order agencies are taking care of such problems.

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IPS officer O P Singh today took over as the new Director General of CISF, a paramilitary force tasked to secure vital civil airports, and nuclear and aerospace installations in the country.

Singh, a 1983-batch officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, who was serving as the Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), was appointed to head the 1.48 lakh-strong force after an order by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister on September 23.

His tenure is till January 2020. On his arrival at the CISF headquarters here, he was accorded a guard of honour after which senior officers briefed him.

The government has carried out a comprehensive high-level security audit of civil airports in the country and has underlined that all these facilities need to be secured by the Central Industrial Security Force.

Singh, the only DG-rank officer in the present lot to have been decorated with the President's Police Medal for Gallantry, has been credited with initiating some of the best standard operating procedures in the NDRF and having led his men on the ground during the massive Nepal earthquake rescue and relief operations last year.

He had earlier served in the SPG, CRPF and CISF, and is an alumnus of the National Defence College in the national capital and holds an MBA in disaster management.

R K Pachnanda, a 1983-batch IPS officer, took over as the new DG of NDRF, a charge demitted by Singh.

CISF was tasked with airports security in the aftermath of the Kandahar hijack in 1999.

Apart from securing airports and other important installations, the CISF also secures a host of VVIPs along with providing armed security to the Delhi Metro network, seaports, power plants and sensitive government buildings.

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Pakistan today demanded an international probe into the Uri terror attack with its Senate passing a resolution calling on the UN to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident.

The resolution was moved in the Senate, the Upper House of the Parliament, by Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The resolution that was passed unanimously in the Senate said the House expresses its strong solidarity with the Kashmiri people.

Calling on the United Nations to hold an independent inquiry into the Uri incident, the resolution also urged the international community to immediately take notice of the "grave human rights violations" in Kashmir, Radio Pakistan reported.

It also called upon the international community to make India "desist from war hysteria to distract attention away from Indian crimes against humanity" in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, during a discussion on the motion in the Senate regarding the present state of Indo-Pak relations especially after the recent statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Pakistan will provide support to a probe into the Uri attack provided such a probe was carried out by an international body.

Pakistan had not accepted the Indian "narratives" about the attack and during the investigation all the evidences should be produced before the investigators along with details of the incident, Aziz was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.

"Pakistan denies all the allegations leveled by the Indian Prime Minister," he said.

Earlier, while speaking to BBC, Aziz said, "An independent international commission should be constituted to unearth the facts."



"It is not the first time India has leveled baseless allegations against Pakistan," he said.

Any such attack neither benefits Pakistan, nor Kashmir, Aziz said, adding that the attack diverts the world's attention from "human rights violations committed" by India in Kashmir.

Aziz, while speaking in the Senate, also claimed that Modi's efforts to isolate Pakistan had been scuttled as 56 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), UN Human Rights Council and world countries have supported Pakistan's stance on Kashmir and did not pay any attention towards India's blame.

Diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan have been rising since the September 18 attack on an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 18 Indian soldiers.

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Pakistan today raised the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva alleging that there was no right to peaceful assembly and no freedom of religion or expression in the Valley.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Tehmina Janjua told the Human Rights Council that "there is a general curfew over a major part of Kashmir", Foreign Office said in a statement here.

"There is no right to peaceful assembly and association and no freedom of religion or expression" in Kashmir, she claimed. She also alleged that there is "arbitrary detention" and "extra judicial killings and torture" in the valley.

Janjua said that India should acknowledge that the "only solution to the Jammu & Kashmir issue is a free, fair and impartial plebiscite that has been assured to the Kashmiri people by UN Security Council resolutions, it added.

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Pakistan's policy of "death by a 1000 cuts" has boomeranged yet it continues to indulge in propaganda over Kashmir to distract its people from the prevailing governance deficit, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said today.

"This death by a thousand cuts philosophy is actually bouncing back on them because India is developing becoming more progressive in every sphere of life and the whole boomerang effect is happening on Pakistan, as you would realise," the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting said.

Rathore also emphasised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it clear that the nation has a right to defend itself and people across the border should understand that message as well.

Speaking at an event organised by the 'India Foundation' here, he said that it was after after losing wars against India, Pakistan realised it could not achieve its objectives in a direct fight but its obsession with Kashmir continued.

Therefore, the country began to resort to back militancy and terror, he said.

"They will continue to do so because this is there only distraction they can have for a lack of governance in Pakistan," Rathore said.

The minister, who himself is a retired Colonel and whose father too fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it amply clear that India has a right to defend itself.

"He also said that the whole nation wants action, these are very important messages that people should understand across the borders as well. How long will they remain active after hitting us," Rathore said.

Referring to the line of control, he said he said that it is not an international border and continuously changing.

"It is changing as we speak right now, it is always changing. However, about to 80 to 90 per cent of the positions are, positions of dominance of the Indian army.

"And we will aspire, I am sure, as soldiers there because line of control is not the international border, they don't have to respect that (as an) international border, so they will keep aspiring to get on the dominant heights in the remaining 10 percent also," Rathore said.

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Private equity (PE) investments in the real estate sector rose by 64 per cent to Rs 19,137 crore in the first six months this year on increased interest from both domestic and global investors, according to a report.

The PE investments in real estate stood at Rs 11,635 crore in the year-ago period, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

The total number of deals closed during the first six months increased to 57 as against 46 a year ago, it added.

The residential asset class commanded the largest share of 44 per cent in the total investments during January-June 2016 while commercial office asset class accounted for 22 per cent of the investments.

Retail saw a significant increase in their share in investments to 18 per cent in H1 2016 compared to 2 per cent recorded in H1 2015. Hospitality and mixed-use asset classes cumulatively accounted for the remaining share.

The consultant said that 2016 could record the highest PE investments in real estate since 2008 at an estimated Rs 43,600 crore.

"Indian real estate has seen good traction from both domestic as well as global investors on the back of reviving economic confidence breaching previous levels.

"This bull run is expected to continue in the short term with more investments being made in completed/leased corporate assets and other commercial activities such as retail and hospitality and we expect 2016, to be one of the best years in recent past for the real estate sector," C&W India Managing Director Anshul Jain said.

However, he expected that by mid-2017, there could be a peculiar situation of non-availability of suitable projects for investments, as most of the investible properties would be committed to.

Estimating from the pipeline for the rest of the year, C&W said 2016 is expected to witness the highest PE investments since 2008 through the sale of sizeable stakes in office portfolios by some of the prominent Indian developers.

"The cumulative value of these stakes is estimated to be between Rs 21,500 crore and Rs 24,000 crore. Owing to improving economic outlook and uptick in leasing activity for office spaces, some of the PE firms are increasing their portfolio of office spaces, possibly with an intention to launch their own REITs," the consultant said.

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Delhi government today claimed in High Court that a plea seeking sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and ex-law minister Somnath Bharti for alleged anarchy created by the ruling AAP during a 2014 protest against some police officials was not "maintainable".

"This is a frivolous petition moved by a private person. This type of petition should not be entertained as it is not maintainable," Delhi government's counsel told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva.

The counsel further submitted that "sanction to prosecute respondent 3 and 4 (Kejriwal and Bharti) cannot be granted on a request of any private person".

Delhi government's additional standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi further said this was a civil writ petition and such a direction can only be sought by way of a criminal writ petition.

"On the above ground itself the writ petition should be dismissed," the counsel said, adding that the petitioner will also have to establish whether any offence was committed by the respondents by doing so on January 21, 2014.

The government was responding to the plea filed by Delhi resident Ajay Gautam, who has alleged that Kejriwal and Bharti had violated law of the land by staging a dharna and defying Section 144 of CrPC near Rail Bhawan on January 21, 2014.

The plea has asked whether this type of "hooliganism" of blocking of public roads, metro stations by the then executive and members of the ruling political party - Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - should be allowed in a civilised society in the name of agitation.

Gautam argued that the general public suffered due to the



protest, alleging that Kejriwal and his party workers also tried to put his life in danger by trying to provoke him through an SMS to join the protest against Delhi Police in an area where section 144 of CrPC had already been imposed.

The protest came after Kejriwal's meeting on January 17, 2014 with then Union Home Minister demanding suspension of three SHOs of Delhi Police, primarily for disobeying then Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti's orders to search the premises of some Ugandan women whom he had accused of running a drug and prostitution racket, his petition had alleged.

The petitioner has said he approached the high court after the trial court and the city government failed to pass any order in relation to his pleas for prosecuting both and grant of sanction for it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting to review the with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries.

Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials are present at the meeting.

The review is being undertaken as India weighs options to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead.

There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said last week that his state will fully support whatever decision is taken by the Union government on the 1960 agreement.

"The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir" as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities, Singh had said.

"The state government will support whatever decision is taken by the central government on Indus Waters Treaty," he had said.

India had last week made it clear that "mutual trust and cooperation" was important for such a treaty to work.
There is no freedom in 'Azad Kashmir' (PoK) and people there are living in "subjugation" of Pakistan while people on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir are leading happy and prosperous lives, a resident of Pakistan- occupied Kashmir said here today.

Haji Fazal Hussain, who arrived here from Rawalakot in PoK by the trans-LoC bus service, said people of PoK are free only in name and the children and youth there are living a life of uncertainty and insecurity.

"People on the Indian side have all the freedom, whereas on our side (PoK), we are living a life of subjugation under Pakistan," said Hussain who came to meet his relatives.

"There is no 'azaadi' (freedom) in 'Azad Kashmir' (PoK) and our life is pathetic while people on the Indian side live a life of happiness and prosperity," he told media.

He said he had visited the Indian side a few years ago as well and was a witness to the huge difference between the two sides.

"Our youth and our children are not safe there, they live a life of uncertainty and insecurity," he said.

A batch of 39 people crossed the sides on the weekly Poonch-Rawalakote bus service. While 19 residents of PoK, including five women, arrived in the Indian side, 20 Indian citizens, including11 women, returned after visiting their relatives in PoK.

No passenger from the Indian side travelled to PoK today.

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Police fired in the air when a group of about 40 red sander woodcutters allegedly attacked them in Seshachalam Hill forest near here today.

A constbale of the Anti-Smuggling Taskforce was injured in the attack by the woodcutters, who fled the scene after police fired in the air at Mungili Pattu, 30 km from here, police said.

Reserve Police Sub-Inspector Bhaskar, who led the operation, told mediapersons that the taskforce rushed to the forest area on a tip-off and found 40 persons climbing down the hills.

When police warned them to surrender, the woodcutters allegedly started attacking them by throwing stones and axes at them from an elevation on the hills.

"In self-defense we had to open fire one round in the air that dispersed the mob who later managed to escape," he said.

However, four men from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu were arrested. About 40 red sanders were also recovered from the area, he said.

The injured constable had been admitted to a government hospital here, he said.

A huge contingent of police and taskforce team headed by DSP S V Sridhar Rao is combing the area.

A group of 32 men from Tamil Nadu, suspected to be red sander woodcutters, were arrested in a joint operation by police and the taskforce personnel at Venkatapuram near here last month.

Twenty woodcutters from Tamil Nadu, were killed in an alleged encounter in the Seshachalam forest on the western side of Tirumala hills in April Last year.

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Now taking up a distance education programme is just a touch away with the central Pondicherry University rolling out an App for direct delivery of courses such as MBA on mobile phones and laptops.

Aimed at helping students and professionals in tier-II and III cities, the university has launched select programmes, including Master of Business Administration, through the Android app, a university release said today.

About 2,500 students have already enrolled under the new initiative, it said, adding for online delivery of courses, students can download the Android application from the Avagmah Technology Platform.

"At Pondicherry University, by adoptive technology, we have endeavoured to make quality education accessible to deserving students in far-flung areas who would otherwise have no access to good education," Director, Distance Education, Pondicherry University, Sibnath Deb said.

Professionals who are unable to attend classes have taken advantage of the launch and are accessing the courses through the application, he said.

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Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres maintained his lead in the race to become the next UN secretary-general following a fifth straw poll by the Security Council today, diplomats said.

Guterres, who served as UN refugee chief for 10 years and was prime minister from 1995 to 2002, picked up 12 votes of encouragement, two "discourage" votes and one "no opinion", the same result as the previous informal vote.

It was the fifth time that the 67-year-old has taken the number-one spot in the contest to succeed Ban Ki-moon, the former South Korean foreign minister who steps down on December 31 after 10 years as the world's top diplomat.

Serbia's ex-foreign minister Vuk Jeremic came in second with eight positive votes, six negative and one "no opinion", followed by Slovakia's foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak, who took the second place in the last round.

The 15 ambassadors, including those from the powerful five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - met behind closed doors to rate the candidates.

Diplomats were watching Bulgarian candidate Irina Bokova's showing after the government in Sofia said it may consider switching candidates if she failed to get a top spot.

The government is considering putting forward European Commission vice president Kristalina Georgieva instead.

Bokova, who heads the UN's culture and education agency UNESCO, picked up six votes of encouragement, seven "discourage" votes and two "no opinion".

That put her behind Slovenia's ex-president Danilo Turk and Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, who each got seven positive votes, seven negative votes and one "no opinion."



The next straw poll is scheduled for October 5 but the five veto-wielding powers will be using coloured ballots in that round to indicate whether they would block a candidacy.

New Zealand's former prime minister and head of the UN Development Program Helen Clark tied with Macedonia's ex-foreign minister Srgjan Kerim with six encouragements and nine "discourage" votes.

The former foreign minister of Moldova, Natalia Gherman, took the last spot.

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Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit next month in Goa, where India has invited the leaders of the seven-nation BIMSTEC grouping.

The Nepalese prime minister will meet the Chinese President in Goa on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC meeting, a senior Maoist leader close to Prachanda told PTI.

The eighth BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - summit and retreat is scheduled in Goa on October 15 and 16. India has especially invited the leaders from Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries to participate in the retreat that will follow the summit on October 16.

BIMSTEC includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand and India.

Xi was earlier due to visit Nepal next month. But there has been no official confirmation about Xi's visit to Nepal.

The leader, however, said the proposed visit has not been cancelled and the government was making preparations for it to happen.

Nepal government has previously refuted reports that said the Chinese president's visit was cancelled as China was unhappy with the new Prachanda-led government who visited New Delhi ahead of Beijing earlier this month.

Reports have said China was unhappy over the lack of preparation for Xi's proposed visit and over implementing the pacts reached by Prachanda's predecessor K P Sharma Oli's government to step up construction of road and rail links to Tibet to reduce landlocked Nepal's dependence on India.

Oli followed a pro-China policy, straining Indo-Nepal ties.

The ties had also strained after the new constitution was promulgated in Nepal last year, following which Madhesis, the inhabitants of southern Terai plains who share cultural and family bonds with Indians, began a months-long protests at tborder trading points with India against the Oli government. They claimed the constitution was discriminatory and intented to politically marginalise them.

Media reports here however have sauggested that Prachanda has asked Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat and Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, who are attending the 71st UN General Assembly session, to return to make arrangements for the upcoming visit of the Chinese president.

Meanwhile, Nepal has requested China to expand its railway network to border points besides the planned expansion to Kerung (Geelong port) - the nearest Chinese town from Nepal's Rasuwagadhi border point, a Commerce Ministry official said here.

China is considering to extend its Qinghai-Tibet Railway network up to the Geelong Port.

"We have requested asked the Chinese authorities in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to consider expanding its railway to other border points during the Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee meeting held in Lhasa last week," said Rabi Shankar Sainju, joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry.

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The Calcutta High Court today asked private medical colleges in West Bengal to follow MCI's guidelines on admission of students under management quota.

Hearing a petition filed by an unsuccessful candidate, the court said all four private medical colleges should follow the new guidelines framed by the MCI, which says selection of students under management quota should be done under a centralised counselling mechanism by the state government.

So far, the colleges were doing the selection process on their own.

The court also asked the colleges to complete the counselling process by September 30.

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In its longest ever mission spread over two hours, India's workhorse launch vehicle PSLV today successfully launched eight satellites, including the country's SCATSAT-1 and five satellites from other nations, in two different orbits to achieve another milestone.

There were two Fourth Stage Engine restarts for the purpose of injecting the satellites into different orbits.

SCATSAT-1, the 371 kg primary satellite, was first injected in a 730 km Polar Sunsynchronous Orbit (SSO) after 17-odd minutes after the 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C35 lifted off at 9.12 AM from the spaceport here.

The rocket then achieved with precision the designated task of injecting the other satellites after over 2 hours and 15 minutes, in a lower polar orbit of 689 km.

The total weight of the payloads carried by PSLV in its 15th flight in 'XL' configuration was about 675 kg.

Besides SCATSAT-1, the other satellites which were injected in orbit were two Indian university satellites, PRATHAM and PISAT, three from Algeria-- ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N and one each from the US and Canada--Pathfinder-1 and NLS-19, respectively.

ISRO said the SCATSAT-1 is a continuity mission for Oceansat-2 scatterometer to provide wind vector data products for weather forecasting, cyclone detection and tracking services to the users. The satellite carries Ku-band scatterometer which is similar to the one put onboard the Oceansat-2. The mission life of the satellite is five years, said ISRO.

ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar congratulated the scientists and described the achievement as a landmark and said data from SCATSAT would be made available within 180 minutes.

"After a long gap of almost two hours where the fourth stage has been manoeuvred, it has been restarted and the entire mission had gone on very successfully...Let me take this time to congratulate the entire ISRO team for the excellent job they have done...".

"Today has been an indeed a landmark day for us...We have been able to achieve a launch of eight satelites... Our own Scatterometer which is actually a stop-gap arrangement between Oceansat-1 and Oceansat 2. This is a satellite which is going to provide ocean wind vectors to the global community for numeric weather forecasting model.

"This data will be made available within 180 minutes of acquisition of data.

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With heavy downpour pummelling Telangana over the past few days, authorities are keeping a watch on the flood situation even as over 1,000 villagers were evacuated in Karimnagar district.

The water from the under-construction Mid Manair Dam in Boinapally mandal of Karimnagar had started overflowing from the bund and the earthen embankment had got breached, resulting in floods in the area.

"Over 1,000 villagers staying in six villages near the Mid Manair dam, which was overflowing, were evacuated last evening. It was a precautionary evacuation... The situation has now improved and they will be sent back today," Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Pradeep Chandra told PTI today.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had yesterday directed his ministerial colleagues to stay in their respective districts and monitor the flood situation and supervise relief and rehabilitation works.

In view of the flood situation, Rao cancelled the Cabinet meeting scheduled today and asked the ministers to work in coordination with district-level officials and ensure evacuation of people from the low-lying areas to safer places.

In the wake of increasing flow in Godavari river and its tributaries following heavy rains in the catchment areas of the river in Maharashtra, the Chief Minister directed the district ministers, officials and also the police of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts, to remain alert.

Rao further directed Warangal district administration to be on high alert as river Godavari is in full spate. The river is receiving huge inflows, therefore those living on the banks of the river should be alerted.

Similarly, the CM asked the minister T Nageshwara Rao to maintain alertness in Khammam district as the water level in the river could reach danger level at Bhadrachalam in the district.

"We are taking measures in view of the heavy rains in the past few days in the state including in Hyderabad, which is unprecedented after the 1908 floods in the city," he said.

DIG (Warangal Range) Ravi Varma told PTI, "We are keeping a watch on water level in Warangal and Khammam districts. Our personnel have been deployed in the villages along the river bank, if necessary, the process of evacuation will begin.

Telangana Irrigation Minister Harish Rao had informed the



Chief Minister that all projects in Godavari basin have received inflows to their full capacity and also briefed him about the necessary measures taken to handle the situation.

So far, 11 people have died in rain-related incidents in Telangana. While eight deaths were reported in Medak district, three were from Warangal.

In capital Hyderabad, some of the low-lying areas are still inundated, even as Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and some NGOs are offering essential food items, such as milk, for relief of those affected.

Also, four columns of Army are already deployed in rain-affected areas of Hyderabad and neighbouring Ranga Reddy district. Besides, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was kept on standby in Hyderabad to participate in rescue work, if necessary.
Russia announced today it is dropping a brief import ban on fruits and vegetables from Egypt, after Cairo backed downed on tough restrictions on wheat that had sparked a row.

Russia's agriculture watchdog said in a statement that following a meeting in Moscow experts from the two countries "came to an agreement to renew the delivery of all vegetables and fruit from Egypt to Russia, except for potatoes".

A Russian ban against the importation of fruit from Egypt on sanitary grounds came into force on September 22.

The dispute between the two key trading partners began in August when Egypt, the world's top importer of wheat, refused Russian deliveries due to the presence of ergot, a common fungus that can be dangerous in large quantities, in its imports.

A day ahead of the start of the ban Egypt's cabinet backed down from tough requirements on wheat imports, saying it would allow up to 0.05 per cent ergot in grain shipments.

Moscow accused Egypt of using the issue as a "haggling" strategy at a time when Russia is primed for a bumper harvest of wheat.

Egypt imports 11 million tonnes of wheat a year, with the government importing five million tonnes a year and the remainder by the private sector.

Egyptian citrus fruit exports to Russia are worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

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Akali Dal today hit out at Arvind Kejriwal government for allegedly not honoring its commitment of raising salaries of part-time Punjabi teachers in the national capital, saying it reflected its "anti-Punjab" and "anti-Punjabi" attitude.

Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said a month after a High Court ruling the Delhi government had announced that it will abide by the court orders and had also published advertisements in different newspapers assuring enhanced salaries to the teachers.

He said on May 11, the Delhi High Court had ordered release of enhanced salaries and one year's arrears for the teachers.

"Since then neither salaries of the Punjabi teachers have been increased nor their arrears released even after a lapse of three months," Sirsa, General Secretary of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, claimed.

He said the affected teachers have been left with no choice but to approach the High Court as the Kejriwal government had committed "contempt of court".

The teachers concerned were planning to move the court, he said, assuring them all possible legal assistance.

He claimed that though the Delhi government had declared Punjabi as 'second language' in 2003, yet Punjabi teachers working under the aegis of Punjabi Academy in different schools were given a raw deal by the government.

"Neither the Congress government under Sheila Dikshit nor the present dispensation of Kejriwal have bothered to protect the interests of Punjabi teachers working relentlessly to promote Punjabi in the national capital," Sirsa said, adding, they were being paid paltry salaries.

He expressed shock over the "anti-Punjabi attitude" of AAP government, saying while Kejriwal had denied due status to Punjabi language, he had entered election fray in a big way in Punjab with "wild" promises which he would not fulfil after polls.

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India's Sania Mirza mantained her numero uno position in the latest WTA women's doubles ranking following her recent victory in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, partnering Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic.

Sania (9730) continued to be world number one in doubles but only five points separate her from her estranged partner Martina Hingis (9725).

Sania and Strycova had earlier ousted Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe in the final of the Cincinnati Open last month.

Sania and Strycova have lost just once since pairing up in Cincinnati, reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open and taking home a second title at the Pan Pacific Open.

Among Indian men, Sakth Myneni is the highest place singles player. Myneni, who entered the main draw of the US Open after winning three rounds in the Qualifying event, dropped a rung to be placed 138th in the list.

Second highest-ranked Indian singles player Ramkumar Ramanathan, who featured in the recent Davis Cup tie against Spain, plummeted 10 places to 229, while out of action Yuki Bhambri dropped a whopping 62 places to be placed 282nd in the chart.

In the men's doubles chart, Rohan Bopanna is static at 18th, while veteran Leander Paes has moved four places to 60th.

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Saudi Arabia today executed an Ethiopian woman convicted of killing a Saudi child, the interior ministry said.

It was the 124th execution of a foreigner or Saudi this year in the kingdom, according to an AFP tally of ministry statements.

Zamzam Abdullah Boric was put to death in Riyadh after being found guilty, the ministry said.

Boric cut the girl's throat "and left her in the bathroom until she died", the ministry said, without giving a motive for the crime or stating the Ethiopian's occupation.

Ethiopians are among the millions of expatriates employed in the oil-rich kingdom. Many work as domestic helpers.

Most people put to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded with a sword.

Saudi Arabia has a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.

Amnesty International says the kingdom carried out at least 158 death sentences in 2015, making it the third most prolific executioner after Iran and Pakistan.

Amnesty's figures do not include secretive China.

Murder and drug trafficking cases account for the majority of Saudi executions, although 47 people were put to death for "terrorism" on a single day in January.

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Witnesses in cases controversial RJD leader Shahabuddin has been facing have been "bumped off", the Supreme Court said today, rejecting his claim of facing "media trial" in a murder case and his vehement plea for more time to prepare for his defence.

Shahabuddin's claim did not cut much ice with the apex court which asked him to be ready on Wednesday to justify why his bail should not be revoked.

"Since there are allegations and counter allegations being made in the case, we do not intend to further adjourn the matter. Many witnesses have been bumped off.

"We have to strike a balance by hearing both parties," a bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said when the counsel for the RJD strongman sought a week's time to go through the voluminous records and brief noted senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who is to argue the case for Shahabuddin.

The bench, which adjourned the hearing till September 28, denied further time by acceding to the plea of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing Chandrakeshwar Prasad who lost his three sons in two separate crimes, that the man in question was a threat to other remaining witnesses.

Rebutting this strongly, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, who appeared for Shahabuddin, alleged that his client was facing "media trial" and lawyers like Bhushan were behaving like sole custodians of public morality.

"They are the self proclaimed custodian of public morality. Today, I am being tried by the media," he said while referring to some remarks made on social networking sites by Bhushan and submitted that they are "very disturbing".

"Everyday, this man is posing threat to the society. Look at the chart (of cases against Shahabuddin). He has been convicted in 10 cases. 45 criminal cases are pending against him. Life imprisonment has been awarded in two cases," Bhushan replied adding that if the hearing was being adjourned, then the High Court order granting him bail be stayed.

The submission found favour from the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, in which RJD is a crucial partner.

"It is a matter of extreme urgency. There is only one eye witness in the case, that is the elderly father whose three sons have been killed and if anything happens to him (Chandrakeshwar Prasad) then both the cases will collapse," the state government counsel told the bench.

Irked over the submission, the bench questioned the delay on part of state government in challenging the HC order saying "we know what urgency you have shown in the matter".

At the outset, the counsel for Shahabuddin sought



adjournment of the hearing saying he needed to go through the voluminous court records and prepare defence in the matter, which was being "unnecessarily hyped" by the media.

"On September 7, the bail was granted and he was released on September 10. The SLP has been filed on September 16. Where were they? Why there was no urgency shown by them," Naphade asked.

To this, the bench said "we don't intend to delay it further. You just bring the documents and be ready (on that day). We don't intend to pass any order today. We will hear both the parties."



On further plea of non-availability of Jethmalani on Wednesday, the date fixed for hearing, the court said "let us start on that day and we will also hear him (Jethmalani) thereafter".

It also said that witnesses were being "bumped off" and it would not be feasible to delay the hearing further.

Three appeals, filed by Prasad, his wife Kalawati and Bihar government respectively, were listed for hearing today.

The apex court detagged one of the appeals filed by Kalawati Devi challenging the bail granted to Shahabuddin in twin murder case in which he has been awarded life term.

The court decided to hear two appeals together pertaining to grant of bail by the Patna High Court in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan, the sole witness of murder of his two younger siblings.

The trial in the Roshan murder case is pending and bail has been granted in the matter on the ground that the proceedings have not begun in it.

Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7, was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10. He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.

On September 19, the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Siwan resident Chandrakeshwar Prasad, challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court, in the murder case of his third son.
In a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India's moves against Pakistan after the Uri attack, key BJP ally Shiv Sena today said the neighbouring country's Premier Nawaz Sharif is now showing off a "56-inch chest".

The Sena also said it feared that India had actually been isolated in the world with its efforts yielding little result other than mere "lip service" by global leaders.

"All of India's efforts to forge global relations have proved futile as no country actually backed India over the Uri attacks. Global leaders did mere lip service of condemning the terror attacks but the BJP's social media cell took some other meaning out of it and went boasting how Pakistan has been isolated over the issue," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had famously claimed at a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh that a "56 inch chest" can solve problems faced by the country.

The Sena noted that neither Russia did stop its joint military drill with Pakistan nor China condemned the terror attacks.

Even Indonesia is offering Pakistan defence equipment and Islamic organisations are openly backing Pakistan while Nepal too wants to maintain good relations with it, the Sena said.

"During the 1971 war with Bangladesh, Russia had sent its troops to India to support Indira Gandhi. We cannot see such friendship today.

"You (the BJP) may keep on shouting that Pakistan has been isolated. But all your efforts are ultimately futile. We have started fearing if it is India which has actually been isolated over the Uri attack," it said.

"Pakistan has already declared war against India. They have shed blood of our soldiers right from Pathankot to Uri while we are only gloating by issuing threats to Pakistan. Mere words won't work now. It is time to give them a tit for tat reply," it added.

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Taking a sceptical view of India's diplomatic moves in the aftermath of Uri attack, Shiv Sena today said it feared that India had actually been isolated in the world with its efforts yielding little result other than mere "lip service" by global leaders.

In a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling ally also said Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is now showing off a "56-inch chest."



"All of India's efforts to forge global relations have proved futile as no country actually backed India over the Uri attacks. Global leaders did mere lip service of condemning the terror attacks but the BJP's social media cell took some other meaning out of it and went boasting how Pakistan has been isolated over the issue," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

It noted that neither Russia did stop its joint military drill with Pakistan nor China condemned the terror attacks.

Even Indonesia is offering Pakistan defence equipment and Islamic organisations are openly backing Pakistan while Nepal too wants to maintain good relations with it, the Sena said.

"During the 1971 war with Bangladesh, Russia had sent its troops to India to support Indira Gandhi. We cannot see such friendship today," it said.

"You (the BJP) may keep on shouting that Pakistan has been isolated. But all your efforts are ultimately futile. We have started fearing if it is India which has actually been isolated over the Uri attack," it said.

"Pakistan has already declared war against India. They have shed blood of our soldiers right from Pathankot to Uri while we are only gloating by issuing threats to Pakistan. Mere words won't work now. It is time to give them a tit for tat reply," the Sena said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly five years after the alleged rape of four tribal women by police in Tamil Nadu, a report of a Judicial Magistrate filed today in Madras High Court said there are reasons to believe that they were sexually assaulted, but not raped.

The report of the Judicial Magistrate Thirukovilur in Villupuram District stated the medical reports did not suggest rape on the four women of the Irular tribal community.

"There are reasons to believe that sexual assault had occurred on the women by the police personnel who had taken them," the Magistrate's report filed by the Government Pleader said.

It also stated that the enquiry with the victims revealed that police personnel who took them for questioning had asked them to remove their clothes. When they refused, the police allegedly removed them forcibly and molested them.

The report was filed in connection with the alleged incident of police personnel of Thirukovilur in Villupuram District raping tribal women after taking them in a jeep on November 22, 2011 for an enquiry though they were not required in any case.

It said no woman police accompanied the police team when the women were taken to a police station. Though rape was not confirmed, the victims' statements, evidence of witnesses and circumstances lead to conclude and believe that sexual assault was done on victims, it said.

The report was filed when a Public Interest Litigation petition of advocate P Pugalenthi, came up for hearing before the court.

The petition had sought transfer of probe to the CBI and suspension of policemen involved in the alleged crime.

Last month, the court had wondered how the magistrate's report did not reach the Investigating Officer.It directed the Villupuram principal district judge to examine the issue and send a report to it.

Today the court directed the Registrar-Vigilance to look into the non-performance of the Judicial Magistrate- Thirukovilur over the cause of delay and submit a report.

It posted the matter for further hearing to November 7 and directed the government pleader to get instruction from the Investigation officer on the report and also submit details of the fate of police officers involved in the case.

The government pleader stated that the magisterial report would be sent to the Investigation officer.

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Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who had expressed her desire to contest Manipur Assembly election next year, today met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and sought his advice on how to defeat "major political parties" in her state.

During the 45-minutes-long meeting at Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal assured her of all possible support for fighting the election.

"In the meeting, she sought the Chief Minister's advice on defeating major political parties in Manipur which is scheduled to go for polls next year," an official said.

She also discussed political strategy with the chief minister and sought to know how he registered such a remarkable victory in Delhi, the official said.

Sharmila also met Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Although she did not talk to the media after the meeting, sources said she also took suggestions on other issues related to Manipur.

On August 9, the 44-year-old 'Iron Lady' broke her 16-year-old hunger strike, the world's longest such campaign, and declared that she wants to become the chief minister so that she could press for repeal of the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Sharmila has already announced that she would soon float a new regional party under the banner of which she will contest the polls.

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BJP today condemned the incident of a man hurling a shoe at Rahul Gandhi during his roadshow in Uttar Pradesh but suggested the Congress leader to seek the advice of a doctor and not do "cheap politics" of putting the blame for everything on BJP and RSS.

After a shoe was hurled at Gandhi during his roadshow in Sitapur, the Congress vice president had targeted the BJP-RSS over it, declaring that he would not be deterred by such actions.

"We strongly condemn the shoe-hurling incident and more strongly condemn your (Rahul's) statement of putting the blame for everything on RSS without any basis. This is the height of your mental bankruptcy. We suggest you seek advice from a good doctor," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

He said in a democracy everyone has the right to protest, but there are ways of protesting. Sharma said BJP condemns the incident and such form of protest was unacceptable to it.

"But the statement that Rahul Gandhi gave after this is shameful. We know there is frustration and unease within him as he is not being noticed," Sharma said, accusing the Congress leader of playing "cheap politics".

"We outright reject the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi against us and our (Sangh) family. We do not do such cheap politics as you do. We do politics of values and principles.

"We think that you are making such statements after being inspired by Arvind Kejriwal. People of Delhi are very unhappy with him and with your such statement you have disappointed the people, who were already dejected with you," Sharma said.

The BJP leader said Rahul Gandhi's 'khaat shabhas' are proving a failure.

He also accused Rahul Gandhi of doing politics in the name of farmers but doing nothing for them when in power.

"They (Congress) have only looted and cheated them. Haryana and Rajasthan are examples in this regard. He has made this statement for being noticed...So people notice his yatra," he said.

After the shoe was hurled at Gandhi during his road show in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi said, "I am not afraid of your shoes and your anger...BJP-RSS people think that they will fling shoe at me to stop me from fighting for the cause of farmers. This is not going to happen. I am not going to get deterred."



Hariom Sharma, a resident of Shastri Nagar locality in Sitapur, flung a shoe from a distance at Rahul at the Transport Crossing, from where the roadshow started. However, the shoe did not hit him. The youth was immediately detained by the police and taken to the city police station for questioning.

At the Congress briefing, party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi also accused BJP-RSS of playing cheap politics with such actions and said that neither the party nor its leader would be deterred by it.

He claimed that the incident showed "real frustration" was setting in the BJP following the "massive response" to Gandhi during his "very successful" yatra.

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The tenth edition of five-day "SiGNS" short film and documentary festival, being organised by the Federation of Film Societies of India and the Kochi Biennale Foundation from Sep 28, will showcase the timeless works of resistance by master filmmakers.

This year's Retrospective section will feature film maker Rakesh Sharma's acclaimed documentary 'Final Solution'(2004) on the 2002 Gujarat Riots, with testimonies from victims and perpetrators, organisers said in a release here.

The film was initially denied Censor Board certification, fearing repercussions for the view it conveyed that the right conservative state was responsible for the communal violence.

But after the ban was lifted, the film went on to win President's Indian National Film Award, before winning two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival 2004.

Sharma's 'Aftershocks: A Rough guide to Democracy' sheds light on the exploitative measures executed by corporate powers on two villages in Gujarat after the 2001 earthquake.

The movie also discreetly explores how the Indian government allows corporate interests to thrive on our land irrespective of its after effects.

Sharma, who will deliver this year's John Abraham Memorial speech, also heads the jury to select the best film and documentaries in the competition section.

Eight short fictions of Promod Pati (1932-1975), a mastermind who believed in cinematic experiments without inhibitions, will also be screened under the Retrospective section.

Most of Pati's works are reflections of a mind that travelled beyond time constrains, in an unconventional form.

Five short documentaries by Balakailasam (1930-2014), son of legendary director K Balachander is another attraction from the Retrospective section.

A filmmaker with a journalistic quest and unique style of visualisation , Balakailasam's documentaries always combined aesthetic values and reality.

Veli, a poetic documentary on the River Cauvery with a philosophical angle, is among his most anticipated works at SiGNS.

Remembering legendary personalities whose recent demise has created a huge void in art and literature, the Homage section will feature documentary on the work and life of Bengali writer-activist Mahasweta Devi, the release said. Joshi Joseph's documentary "Mahasweta Devi" showcases the struggles, activism and protests of the writer-activist, who died this July.

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A Singapore firm headed by a scion of one of Asia's richest families has bought a 49 per cent stake in Rolling Stone, with plans to diversify the iconic magazine into new business including live events and merchandising.

BandLab Technologies, a music and technology start-up headed by 28-year-old Kuok Meng Ru, bought the stake for an undisclosed sum and will partner current owners Wenner Media, the firms said in a statement yesterday.

Rolling Stone International, a new subsidiary to be headed by Kuok, will organise events including concerts, and develop merchandising and hospitality services, Bloomberg reported.

Rolling Stone International will "build on the brand's worldwide appeal and recognition", the statement added.

BandLab will have no involvement in the editorial side of the magazine, and will not have a stake in Wenner Media, Bloomberg reported.

Kuok is the son of Singapore palm oil magnate Kuok Khoon Hong -- founder of Wilmar International, the industry's biggest trader -- and grand-nephew of Robert Kuok, Malaysia's richest man who is worth more than USD 11 billion according to Forbes.

"Rolling Stone's impact on culture over the years has been immeasurable and I'm truly honoured to be joining the team on the next phase of its journey," said Kuok, a Cambridge graduate.

BandLab Technologies' portfolio already includes a cloud platform and social network for musicians, a music-making website, an instrument accessory design studio and Swee Lee, Southeast Asia's largest distributor of audio equipment and musical instruments.

"We are thrilled to have found an extraordinary partner for Rolling Stone as we focus on the brand's global expansion," Gus Wenner, Wenner Media's head of digital, said in a statement.

"We see an enormous opportunity to diversify the brand into new markets and new areas of business."



An information and communications technology analyst said the deal was another case of a traditional print brand with a struggling business model attempting to survive in the digital age by diversifying.

"All the money in the music industry now is related to ancillary services like concerts, merchandise, digital, all these kinds of things," Marc Einstein from business consultancy Frost & Sullivan told AFP.

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At least six person were injured today when a gunman fired multiple shots at a strip mall in southwest Houston, the latest mass shooting incident in the US.

An "active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers; no reports of other suspects at this time," Houston Police tweeted.

Sixpeople were injured in an early-morning shooting.

The unidentified attacker was shot by cops - and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said.

One witness,said he heard "over 100 shots" fired - including AK-47 and AR-15 gunfire.

It was "steady shooting back and forth" between police and the suspect, the man said.

The US has witnesses a number of shooting incidents in recent months.

Today's shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall left five people dead. On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.

The US suffered the worst mass shooting in its history in June when 50 people were killed and 53 injured in Orlando, Florida after a gunman stormed into a packed gay nightclub.

In December last year, 14 people were killed in a shooting incident in San Bernardino.

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The special task force of Kolkata Police has arrested six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants, including four wanted in the 2014 Khagragarh blast case, from West Bengal and Assam.

Of the six, three are Bangladeshi nationals while the other three Indians, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Kolkata Police, Vishal Garg told reporters here today.

"These people were not in West Bengal after Khagragarh blast. They had left the state and moved to South India and North Eastern states. They were planning subversive activities in some South Indian states. We are trying to find out the details," Garg said.

The arrested JMB activists include head of the outfit's West Bengal unit Anwar Hussain Farooq alias Inam, second-in- command in the state Yusuf Sheikh alias Maulana Shiekh.

The six have been charged under IPC Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging of war against India government), 121(A) (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121), 122 (collecting arms), 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war), 124(A) (sedition), he said.

They were remanded to police custody till October 6 by a city court.

"They were using one web-based networking system to communicate with each other and never used the mobile phones to interact, not even the Facebook or its messenger. We have broken the encrypted messages exchanged between themselves," Garg said.

The four who were wanted in connection with Khagragarh blast of October 2, 2014, were Shahidul Islam alias Surya, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jahidul Islam.

Anwar Hussain Farooq, Mohammed Rubel and Jahidul hail from Jamalpur of Bangladesh, while the other three are - Yusuf from Burdwan district's Mangalkot, Sahidul Islam and Abul Kalam from Assam's Barpeta district, Garg said.

The NIA had named Sheikh, also the JMB chief motivator in the state, Shahidul Islam and Abul Kalam in its chargesheet for the Khagragarh blast.

NIA had also announced cash rewards of Rs 10 lakh on Shiekh's head. Kalam and Rubel were carrying rewards of Rs 3 lakh and 1 lakh respectively on their heads.

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Steel minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh today stressed on making state-run steel maker SAIL's subsidiaries Salem and VISL Bhadrawati competitive.

Singh was reviewing the working of SAIL's marketing setup in southern region and SAIL joint venture with Kerala government -- SAIL-SCL Kerala Ltd, SAIL said in a statement.

"Minister stressed the need of making units of SAIL like Salem Steel Plant and VISL Bhadravati competitive. He added that action plans have to be taken to make the joint venture units like SAIL-SCL Kerala Ltd viable," it added.

There is good scope of consumption of steel in the state of Kerala as well as in the other parts of the country. SAIL and Kerala government should work together to promote steel consumption, Singh suggested.

The Minister also recommended that a committee of representatives from Steel Ministry, Kerala government and SAIL be formed to find ways and means of improving capacity utilisation of the JV.

Kerala's Additional Chief Secretary Paul Antony pointed out that sales volume of TMT from the JV will improve as the state government is in the process of ensuring support for the JV.

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Tata Steel was honoured with the prestigious 'Kalinga Safety Award 2015' in the Gold category for its Kalinganagar Steel Plant.

The award was conferred at the 7th Odisha State Safety Conclave held here.

The two-day Odisha State Safety Conclave 2016, organised by the Institute of Quality and Environment Management Services (IQEMS), concluded yesterday, a company release said.

Tata Steel Kalinganagar plant was awarded with Kalinga Safety Award-2015 (Gold Award) under Construction category.

Manikanta Naik, Chief Resident Executive (CRE), Tata Steel, B D Mohanty, Chief of Operations Safety, Tata Steel Kalinganagar and Gajendra Chandra Bisoi, Head, Workplace Safety - Operation, Tata Steel- Kalinganagar were present on the occasion, the release said.

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With the city and its outskirts receiving good rains this monsoon, the seven reservoirs that supply water to the metropolis have been filled to 99 per cent capacity, a civic body official said today.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's lake level report released today, all the seven lakes have as much as 14,39,381 million litres of water, as against the capacity to store 14,47,363 mn litres.

"Out of our full supply level of 14,47,363 million litres of water, our lakes are filled with 14,39,381 million litres of water today morning, which is 99.45 per cent of our total stock and capacity," an official from the hydraulic department of BMC said, adding they have enough water for over 385 days.

Mumbai's water supply comes from seven reservoirs - Modak Sagar, Tansa Lake, Vihar Lake, Tulsi Lake, Upper Vaitarna, Bhatsa and Middle Vaitarna.

The Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna come under state government's control while the others are maintained by the BMC.

The official said Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna reservoirs have reached full supply level (FSL) for the first time.

The BMC supplies 3,750 million litres of water everyday to the island city and suburbs, which still falls short of the actual demand for 4,200 million litres. In the recent past, insufficient rainfall had forced the BMC to impose water cuts.

"Since we have got sufficient rain this year and we have enough water for the year to come, it does not mean that we can start using water indiscriminately. We always need to be judicious to save the water," he said.

In the recent years, apart from less rainfall, rapid growth in population of Greater Mumbai and huge losses occurring due to leakages of the pipelines and illegal water connections tapping into these pipes have always been a matter of big concern for civic officials.

Meanwhile, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which was parched during the summer season, witnessed huge rainfall during the monsoon, resulting in a number of villages getting flooded, especially in Beed district, and NDRF has been deployed in rescue efforts.

The long spell of rains has led to the dams in Latur getting filled.

Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh expressed his joy over good water collection in dams of Latur.

"Latur Manjra Dam overflows after 9 years. everyone was waiting to hear & a sight everyone was waiting to see," Deshmukh tweeted today.

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Three people were missing after a South Korean naval helicopter crashed into the sea off the country's east coast tonight during a joint military drill with the US, the defence ministry said.

The Lynx helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from a warship on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at around 12.00 GMT, a ministry spokesman said.

The aircraft apparently crashed into the sea, he said, adding search efforts were underway to find the three who were on board, including the pilot.

Today's joint naval exercise was the latest display of military might in reponse to North Korea's fifth nuclear test earlier this month, which raised tension on the peninsula.

It involved US guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance and South Korean warships, and simulated attacks on the North's troops as well as submarine detention, Yonhap agency said.

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The 2-day (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Labour and Employment Ministerial meeting will commence in New Delhi on Tuesday but the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) have decided to boycott the event.

The meeting will deliberate on issues including job creation and social security for workers.

The unions claimed that the government (Labour Ministry) has not formally invited them to the summit, but has appointed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) to coordinate with them for the event.

"This is probably the first time in India that government has asked a union to invite other CTUs for a summit as big as . It is the Labour Ministry, which is the nodal agency to coordinate with the unions," Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) Vice President Ashok Singh told PTI.

He added that this is the other side of the government's "anti-worker" and anti-people" face.

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said the Labour Ministry has not briefed the CTUs about the meet, which is the usual practice. There has been no official invitation from the government.

"All the CTUs except BMS have decided to boycott the summit as the Labour Ministry did not have the courtesy to invite us for a formal event. This is intentional. Looks like government is avoiding unions in the wake of the successful general strike on September 2," she added.

AITUC Secretary D L Sachdev questioned the ministry's move to allow the BMS to coordinate with the other unions.

"This is unfortunate. We will boycott the inaugural session," he added.

India assumed presidency of the BRICS group in February this year and it will host the 8th BRICS Summit scheduled to be held on October 15-16, 2016 in Goa.

The theme of India's BRICS Chairmanship is 'Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions'.

In the prelude to the final meeting of the BRICS, a series of meetings from participating ministries is being held at various places in India following the recommendation of the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting in Ufa (Russia) under Russia's Presidency.

The first meeting of the BRICS Employment Working Group was held on July 27-28 in Hyderabad.

During this meeting broad consensus was achieved in areas such as 'Employment Generation for Inclusive Growth', 'Possible Social Security Agreement among BRICS nations' and 'Networking of Labour Institutes of BRICS nations' to include in the BRICS Ministerial declaration for their subsequent discussion.

Tuesday's meeting will see ministers deliberating on adopting the BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Declaration. It will have dedicated sessions on employment generation, social security and inclusive development including formalisation.

Global bodies such as Labour Organisation, Social Security Association and Academia's are also participating in the event.
As row between incumbents like Airtel and new entrant Reliance Jio escalated, telecom regulator Trai today stepped in and said it will slap show cause notices on operators for call drops that are far exceeding the norm.

With Mukesh Ambani-led Jio charging dominant incumbent operators of providing far fewer points of interconnect than needed for its users to complete calls on rival networks, Trai Chairman R S Sharma said the regulator has reviewed data and it will issue show cause notices.

"We have received the data. It shows call failure level is far far in excess of prescribed limit under Quality of Service rules. Prima Facie this constitutes to non compliance of licence condition related to interconnection and QoS norms on congestion levels at points of Interconnection (PoI)," he told PTI here.

Jio has claimed that it has been witnessing 75-80 per cent call failures over the last few weeks. It had said that over a period of 10 days alone, 52 crore calls failed cumulatively on the networks of the three incumbent operators Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

Trai had asked telecom operators to submit their network congestion details from September 15-19, 2016 to examine their claims.

Trai, Sharma said, has "decided to issue show cause notice to concerned operators and also issue direction to them to ensure compliance of licensing condition in connection with the PoI issue".

He refused however to name the operators.

"Whenever we notice violation, directive and show cause notices will be given to those," he said. "Unfortunately, customers are worst sufferers in this situation. They have no reason to suffer. It is our job to ensure that this issue is resolved at the earliest."



Reliance Jio has alleged over 12 crore calls fail daily between Jio and the networks of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

Jio has said blocking of calls is a breach of licence conditions by the incumbent operators and severely impacts customer interests.

Idea Cellular last week said it has agreed to provide 230 per cent additional inter-connection capacity to help users of Reliance Jio complete calls, a move Jio termed it as "grossly inadequate" displaying lack of intent to resolve the critical issue.

Jio first launched an inaugural free voice and data plan



beginning September, and earlier this month extended the freebies till March 31, 2017.

On Friday, incumbent operator Bharti Airtel moved telecom dispute tribunal TDSAT against Trai allowing Reliance Jio to continue free promotional offer beyond the stipulated 90 days, charging the regulator of being a "mute spectator" to violations.

In its 25-page petition before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), India's largest private mobile services operator had asked the quasi-judicial body to direct Trai to ensure that Jio does not provide its free voice and data plan beyond December 3.

Trai said that Reliance Jio, through a letter on December 7, had informed it about another promotional offer -- Happy New Year -- that would be available to new consumers with effect from December 4, 2016 to March 3, 2017 and the benefits of which would be available till March 31, 2017.

Consumers availing the earlier promotional offers too would be migrated to the Happy New Year offer, Trai has observed.

Trai said that free voice calls, unlimited video calling, and free data, and free Jio apps among others, were offered without break under the various promotional offers by RJIL from September 5.

Therefore, Trai said, preliminary examination of the new offer filed with it 'prima facie' reveals that except for minor change in the quantum of data being offered in the new offer, it seems to be an extension of the old promotional offer beyond 90 days.
Two persons have been arrested for shooting at two property dealers over a land dispute, police said today.

Acting on a tip off, the police arrested Amit and Sunder, who along with three others had shot at Subhash and Ompal, said SHO Ummed Yadav.

During interrogation, the duo confessed to their crime, Yadav said



Both Subhash and Ompal are recuperating at G T B Hospital after sustaining bullet injuries in their back, neck and face, he said.

The police have also seized one country-made pistol of 315 bore with a live cartridge, Yadav said.

Three other attackers Jai Prakash, Anuj and Krishan are still absconding, said Yadav, adding that they will be nabbed soon.

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A court here today sentenced two sisters to life imprisonment for murdering the widow of their brother in 2007 in a property case.

Additional Sessions Judge Rahul Trivedi sentenced the sisters-- Falguni Shah and Veena Shah -- to life imprisonment for murdering Ami Shah, the widow of their brother Praful Shah.

According to the prosecution, Ami Shah had demanded part of her husband's property after he died in a road accident.

However, since the sisters did not want to pay Rs 13 lakh to her as ordered by Lok Adalat, they planned to eliminate her. She was kidnapped by the duo on a vehicle driven by one Sanjay, an accused, who later turned approver and was acquitted in the case.

Providing case details, prosecutor Kirit Panwala, said, "Ami was waiting for an autorickshaw to catch a train for Vadodara on October 12, 2007. But on the pretext of dropping her at the railway station, the duo took the victim in the car they had hired from Surat's Haripura locality."



She was taken to Ankleshwar and strangled to death near Tapi Lodge when the driver Sanjay was away. Later, they co-opted the driver by threatening him and bought petrol from a petrol pump near Abrama village on Surat outskirts and set Ami's body on fire, he said.

Earlier, Sanjay had applied to turn approver in the case, which had been challenged by the victims' family members in the high court. However, the high court had dismissed their plea.

During the trial, the court allowed Sanjay to become an approver. Based on his statements and those of other witnesses and evidence, the court sentenced the sisters to life imprisonment.

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Boris Johnson today made his first visit to Turkey as Britain's foreign secretary, seeking to ease tensions after leading the successful Brexit campaign that played on anti-Turkish sentiments.

Johnson, who is partly of Turkish ancestry, began his trip with a visit to a camp for Syrian refugees in the southeast, before heading to Ankara for political talks.

The flamboyant former London mayor may find aspects of his visit awkward after he penned the winning entry in a competition on offensive poetry about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published by the conservative British magazine The Spectator.

The trip is the highest-level visit to Turkey by a British official since the failed coup on July 15 in which a rogue military faction tried to overthrow the Turkish strongman.

Johnson vowed that London would stand



"shoulder-to-shoulder with Ankara" and said Turkey had a "vital role to play" in the global arena.

He indicated Britain would still support Turkey's bid to join the EU despite the British vote to exit the bloc.

"We may be leaving the European Union but we are not leaving Europe. And Britain... Will help Turkey in any way," he said at a conference with EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik.

Johnson, one of the most prominent public faces of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, previously made a strong case for Turkish membership of the bloc.

But the Brexit campaign repeatedly raised the spectre of millions of Turks being free to live in Britain as a reason to pull out of the 28-nation bloc.

David Cameron, who resigned as British prime minister after the Brexit vote, also said during the campaign that Turkish EU membership was not "remotely on the cards" and may not happen until the year 3000, further angering Ankara.

Before the Brexit vote, Britain was always seen as one of the strongest supporters of Ankara's bid for EU membership.

Extolling trade between the countries, Johnson boasted that he was the proud "possessor" of a "beautiful" Turkish washing machine.

Johnson earlier visited the Nizip refugee camp in the region of Gaziantep near the Syrian border.

Turkey, a fierce opponent of President Bashar al-Assad, is hosting nearly three million Syrian refugees who have fled the war, and has been pressing for a safe zone on the Syrian side of the border to house refugees.

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Hundreds of Pakistani construction workers are to fly home from Saudi Arabia this week but without the salaries they have waited months to receive, embassy officials said.

A total of 405 Pakistanis owed wages by once-mighty Saudi Oger will fly home from Wednesday courtesy of the Saudi government, Abdul Shakoor Shaikh, the Pakistani embassy's community welfare attache, told AFP.

They are among more than 6,500 Pakistanis who, he said, have not been paid by the construction giant for that past eight or nine months.

Large contingents of Filipinos and Indians have also gone months without pay from Saudi Oger, which is led by Lebanon's billionaire former premier Saad Hariri.

In all, more than 30,000 Saudi Oger workers are affected.

Employees of Oger and other construction companies, which are dependent on state contracts, have suffered because of delayed receipts from a Saudi government whose oil revenues have collapsed over the past two years.

Shaikh said 275 Pakistanis have already flown home under an aid plan announced last month by King Salman.

The 100-million-riyal (USD 27-million) fund helps stranded workers with food, medical needs, a trip home, exit visas or, if they want, transfer to another employer in Saudi Arabia.

Shaikh said the Saudi labour ministry "has facilitated a lot" in caring for the workers and has also helped to file court claims against Saudi Oger.

The embassy is authorised to receive the back wages for most of the workers and, when it arrives, will forward the money to those who return home, officials at the mission said.

"But the problem persists. We cannot say that Saudi Oger has started paying the salaries," Shaikh said.

Exit visas for more than 2,000 of the Pakistanis have been completed, and the rest must decide whether to also go home.

A relatively small number, more than 70, have transferred to other companies in Saudi Arabia but Shaikh said other sectors do not pay as much as construction.

Shaikh was confident the workers would eventually receive their delayed wages. "The judicial system is good compared to other countries," he said.

In May, Saudi Binladin Group, another construction titan, began paying delayed wages to its remaining staff after laying off tens of thousands of employees.

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The US accused Moscow of "barbarism" over the worsening carnage in Aleppo, as Syrian and Russian warplanes pounded the city in one of the heaviest bombing raids of the five-year war.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to demand Russia rein in its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and halt intense air strikes, Moscow and Damascus were repeatedly accused of war crimes.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," US Ambassador Samantha Power said at the Sunday session.

Some 124 people, mostly civilians, have died since bunker-busting bombs and sophisticated weaponry were unleashed on residential areas in rebel-held eastern after the army Thursday launched an operation to take it.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, adding that the high-tech weaponry had inflicted "a new hell" on war-weary Syrians.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes, and French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the atrocities must not go unpunished.

Britain, France and the United States had called for the urgent talks after days of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage a US-Russian ceasefire deal ended in failure at the weekend.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has left more than 300,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.

To protest the attacks in Aleppo, the US, French and British ambassadors walked out of the Security Council chamber as the Syrian ambassador delivered his remarks.

Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that "bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now."

Churkin again laid blame for the failed diplomacy with the United States, accusing Washington of being unable to convince armed opposition groups that it backs on the ground to distance themselves from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and abide by the ceasefire.

A US-Russian ceasefire deal that would have charted a way forward towards peace talks was broken by the "sabotage by the moderate opposition", he asserted.

Churkin however said that reviving the ceasefire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of a "collective" effort on all sides.

Despite the recriminations, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said a "tiny window of opportunity ... Still exists" for Russia and the United States to help Syria.
To counter Reliance Jio's free service offer, Vodafone today announced a free data plan offering 10 GB 4G mobile services at the price of 1 GB plan but with various riders.

Under the offer, a Vodafone customer with new smartphone with get additional 9GB of 4G mobile broadband usage when he recharges the 1 GB plan.

The new scheme is being offered in circles where Vodafone offers its own 3G or 4G services and can be availed by both prepaid and postpaid customers till December 31, 2016.

Jio is offering unlimited free voice calls to all its subscribers besides unlimited use of 4G high speed mobile services till December 31, 2016.

"We are giving a greater reason to customers to upgrade to 4G handsets. With this offer, we are encouraging new 4G handset users to enjoy the Vodafone SuperNet experience to the fullest," Sandeep Kataria, Director - Commercial, Vodafone India said in a statement.

Under the offer, Vodafone customer will also get free subscription to TV, Movies & Music on Vodafone Play.

The offer will be applicable on only those 4G smartphones which were not used on Vodafone network in the last 6 months.

Also, customers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata will get 9GB of 4G data if the subscribers recharges with 1GB or above scheme.

However, the customers in Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh(East), Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, West Bengal ,Kerala , Tamil Nadu , Maharashtra & Goa, Assam, North East states, Rajasthan will get 9GB of 3G data but only on 4G handset during limited time between 12 AM to 6 AM if the subscriber recharges with 1GB or above plan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Weather remained mainly dry with a few places witnessing light rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, MeT department official said today.

Over the next three days conditions will become favourable for further withdrawal of monsoon from some more parts of north-west India, the MeT office said.

Barringrains and thundershowers at a few places in the mid hills tomorrow, the weather would remain dry over the next six days, they added.

Wintry conditions are setting in with mercury plummeting in high altitude tribal areas. Keylong and Kalpa in Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded minimum temperatures of 6.5 and 8.0 degree Celsius respectively.

Manali recorded 11.6 degree Celsius and Shimla 13.9, Bhuntar and Dharamsala 15.5 each, Palampur 16.0, Solan 16.4 , Sundernagar 17.9, Nahan 19.5 and Una 23.6.

Maximum temperature at Bhuntar was 30.6 degree Celsius, Sundernagar 29.9, Dharamshala 27.4, Shimla 22.4, Solan 26.8, Manali 24, Nahan25.2, Manali 24 and Kalpa 21.8.

Dharamshala was the wettest with 10mm rainfall. Nadaun recieved 6mm, Nurpur 5mm, Nagrota Suriyan 4mm and Hamirpur 3mm.

Monsoon deficit remained at 25 per cent with the region receiving 623 mm rainfall against a normal of 834.8 mm.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 25-year-old youth died today while participating in the 400-metre race during the Punjab Police recruitment drive here.

Satwinder Singh, resident of village Balsara of Gurdaspur district, started feeling breathlessness during the 400-metre race at Guru Nanak Stadium here. He lost stamina in anxiety to meet out the given time to finish the race, and fell on the ground, police said, adding he was examined by the doctors of the police medical camp and referred to a civil hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Police said he was presently doing job in a private firm at Ludhiana.

His body was shifted to government mortuary to be handed over to his family members after the autopsy, they said.

The real cause of his death will be ascertained only after postmortem report, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vodafone's $7.2 billion cash injection into its Indian business has turned up the heat just days ahead of an $84 billion airwave auction which could decide who wins and loses in one of the world's fastest-growing telecoms markets.

Spending may fall well short of that huge target.

But, industry insiders and advisers say, the race for premium spectrum will carve up 4G airwaves, and the spending splurge could even decide the size and timing of one of India's largest listings: Vodafone's own Indian IPO.

India's telecoms sector is crowded, cut-throat and often money-losing. Many carriers struggle under multi-billion dollar debt piles left by past auctions, prompting industry bodies to caution that high prices - as the government scrambles to close its budget deficit - could dampen future investment.

But few players will be able to sit out India's biggest auction, potentially more than double the size of all three past auctions. It will be a test of self-discipline, analysts and industry insiders say, but Vodafone's cash boost is a sign of how high stakes will be when the sale begins on Saturday (October 1).

The arrival of Reliance Jio, a carrier backed by oil and gas giant Reliance Industries , has shaken up the sector in the past month, as it injects more than $20 billion to offer customers free data, calls and subsidised smartphones.

To battle Jio, analysts and industry players say, nationwide premium 4G services are a must. Both Vodafone, number 2 in India, and third-ranked Idea Cellular have 4G services in just about half of India's 22 telecoms regions.

"For two operators at least, this is the auction to make their data bets clear," said Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of top mobile carrier Bharti Airtel's India and South Asia operations. is "basically telling you 'we are making a bet'."

All eyes are on the premium 700 MHz band spectrum, which is being put on block for the first time and accounts for half the estimated value of the auction. But its steep price - of $1.7 billion per megahertz - could deter bidders, industry executives say, and interest could shift to the 1800 MHz band that can also do 4G and is available at less than a quarter of the price.

Airtel and Jio have nationwide offerings. But both are also expected to bid, largely to deal with volumes, raising interest and prices.

Ahead of Vodafone's cash injection, analysts had expected more cautious bidding. But the blind auction rarely undershoots: last year, the government raised a third more than it expected.

"Despite a lot of scepticism, this will be a well participated auction, particularly for the people who do not have a good 4G footprint," said Sandip Das, senior adviser at industry consultant Analysys Mason and a former telecoms executive.





IPO AHEAD?

has long been expected to list its Indian unit next year - an exercise in increased brand recognition as well as cash raising in a country with 1 billion phone subscriptions. It is expected to raise $2-$3 billion and could be India's biggest offering.



How the spectrum sale goes, how much is spent and where, could decide the size and timing of Vodafone's market debut, a person with direct knowledge of the listing process said. Part of the $7.2 billion will be used to pay down debt.

"We will take a call after the spectrum auction. Nothing before that. It's too big an event," the person said. "Difficult to say how aggressively and Bharti will bid. People are keeping their cards close to their chest."

Vodafone declined to elaborate on the listing. It has been expected to make a decision by the end of this year. "We are on schedule as per our internal timeline. We haven't disclosed the timeline," a spokesman for the Indian unit said.

The monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) for India's telecoms industry, where many still use basic phones, was only 127 rupees ($1.90) in January-March, according to the regulator.

But Vodafone has crossed 200 million customers, including 107 million in rural areas, bringing it closer to Bharti's more than 257 million subscribers.

The upcoming auction will determine how fast Vodafone can catch up with Bharti and Jio on 4G. The majority of Vodafone's revenue still comes from Europe, but a 22 per cent market share in India contributes about 12 per cent of sales.

Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and Jio did not comment on their auction strategy.
By Tommy Wilkes

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will accelerate its building of new hydropower plants along three rivers that flow into Pakistan, a source familiar with the plan said on Monday, in a move likely to aggravate already tense relations with its neighbour a week after an attack on an Indian army base.

Disagreements over how to share the waters of the Indus and other rivers have dogged relations between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals since independence in 1947.

The dispute looks set to be reignited after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told officials on Monday that India should use more of the rivers' resources, speaking a week after the Sept. 18 attack on an army base in the disputed region of Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Pakistan, a source with knowledge of the meeting attended by Modi said.

India has vowed to respond to the raid, in which at least 18 of its soldiers were killed, but any military option risks escalation. Some officials have called for a renewed diplomatic offensive instead.

Modi said on Saturday that India would mount a global campaign to isolate Pakistan, including through the United Nations, where Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke on Monday.

India has long accused Pakistan of backing militant groups operating in the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir, through which several of the countries' shared rivers flow.

Pakistan denies the allegations and says India has not provided adequate proof to support its claims. A spokesman for Pakistan's foreign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Modi's hydropower plans.

At Monday's meeting, Modi and officials discussed ways to increase exploitation of the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers but said they would not violate a long-standing water treaty between the countries in the process.

"We want to see that all these (hydropower) projects are put on a really fast-track basis," the source told Reuters, speaking on the condition he was not named because of the sensitivity of the meeting.

"Our entire approach was done to create an atmosphere of goodwill. But in this atmosphere, we want to exploit all our rights under the (Indus Water) treaty," the source said.

The Indus Water Treaty was signed in 1960 in a bid to resolve disputes, but India's ambitious irrigation plans and construction of thousands of upstream dams has continued to annoy Pakistan, which depends on snow-fed Himalayan rivers for everything from drinking water to agriculture.

India says its use of upstream water is strictly in line with the 1960 agreement.

The potential for a military conflict between India and Pakistan over water has long worried observers. The neighbours have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.

India currently generates about 3,000 megawatts of energy from hydropower plants along rivers in its portion of Kashmir, but believes the region has the potential to produce 18,000 megawatts, the source said.

New Delhi will also review whether to restart construction of the Tulbul navigation project, which was suspended several years ago. The project proposes diverting water from one of the shared rivers to a city in Indian-administered Kashmir that could impact flows downstream, the source said.

A spokesman for Modi's office declined to comment.

(Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic in ISLAMABAD; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is exporting oil at roughly the same level it was before the introduction of international sanctions that have been lifted under a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said on Monday.

"Their oil production and oil exports are essentially back to pre-sanctions levels," Moniz told a conference on the sidelines of a meeting of the U.N. nuclear agency. "They are exporting the way they were before, and that's a considerable additional cash flow."

(Reporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Louise Heavens)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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The Finance Ministry plans to hold discussions with the Election Commission before fixing the new date for presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 in order to avoid any clash with the schedules for the forthcoming assembly elections in five states.

Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur are the five states scheduled to go for polls in February.

A senior Finance Ministry official told Mail Today that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has already given an indication to this effect.

He said earlier the Election Commission was well aware of the traditional last day of February for the presentation of the the Union Budget.

However, now with the date being brought forward the Election Commission would have to be consulted so that both the exercises can be carried through smoothly.

The elections in five states, he said, are likely to be held in phases and the government does not want any of them to clash with the Budget making exercise. The Cabinet last week agreed to advance the presentation of the Budget to complete the legislative exercise before the beginning of new financial on April 1 as it would give more time spend the allocated amounts for various schemes and in order to spur economic growth.

The Finance Ministry has proposed that the Budget be presented on February 1 and the entire exercises be completed by March 24.

It wants the Budget Session of Parliament to begin before January 25 and go in for a three-week break between February 10 and 15 before reconvening between March 10 and 15 to complete the legislative exercise.
Amid claims that enhanced vigil on the India-Bangladesh border has brought down cattle smuggling by 99 per cent in last one year, the organised malaise continues to flourish, Mail Today investigations have found.

Bangladeshi cattle markets, known as 'khattals', are brimming with cows and oxen from India that travel thousands of kilometers, including water routes, on the sly. Traders at these markets admit that demand for Indian beef is high and the scaling down of smuggling activity has only served to push the prices up.

ALSO READ: Nashik-based Sarda Farms does not aggregate milk from milkmen



"There is a slump in the volume after the (Narendra) Modi government came to power, but cows and oxen still reach here from villages of Haryana, Rajasthan and even Maharashtra," said Mohammed Rehan, who works at Gabtole, one of the biggest cattle market of Bangladesh, a 13km drive from Capital Dhaka. "On an average, around 3,000 cattle make it to Gabtole daily from India and Nepal. The prices have now gone up due to higher risk and bribe rates."

Depending on its health and specie, a cow can fetch 3,000 to 45,000 takas in Bangladesh. Bigger cow species from Haryana and Rajasthan are sold at a premium. During festival time, such as Eid, the prices could move into one to two lakh takas.

Traders at Gabtole told MAIL TODAY that the cattle are first transported in trucks via UP, Bihar and Jharkhand to enter into border destinations of West Bengal and Assam. From the two border-states, the smugglers use water routes from villages to cross over.

The commonly-used water routes are in rivers Kalindi, Ichhamati, Raimangal and Hariabhanga of Bangladesh. The cows are first kept in remote villages and bound one after another by a long iron-chain. At night these are herded in water by 'Rakhals', young local aides who are good swimmers and know their way even in the dark. For facilitating a pair of cow, a Rakhal gets the equivalent of Rs 3,000.

The BSF and BGB have also identified many of these "cattle corridors" which include Khulna, Kustia, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Mymensing, Sylhet, Comilla and Chittagong. However, there are always new routes are discovered by the smugglers. "The business of cattle (smuggling) has been going on since Bangladesh was East Pakistan. Cows come from India, Nepal and Bhutan legally or illegally," said Nadeem Khan, a trader at Gabtole, before he is advised by others against drawing "undue attention".

Similar stories were recounted by traders at the Paikgachi cattle market, located between Satkhir and Jessore. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the traders said rise in demand for beef has made smuggling even more lucrative. "Only the smugglers are making more money," said one of the traders.

Defence expert Maj Gen (Rtd) PK Sehgal told Mail Today the cattle smuggling on Indo-Bangladesh border was worth $8 to 10 billion but after strict instructions by Narendra Modi government, the smuggling has come down. "But it still continues to be worth at least $5 billion dollars. The cattle are pushed in, unfortunately many times in connivance of the force guarding the border."

This is in sharp contrast of the claims made by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) that smuggling on the border has come down by 99% as compared to the previous year.

The BSF, over the last five months, has plugged some of the vulnerable patches of the 4,096-km border by not only increasing troop strength but also new vehicles and a fresh fleet of attack motorboats to patrol riverine areas. The seizure of cattle by BSF in South Bengal frontier also known as the cattle corridor of India, reflects the trend. In 2014, it was 1,21,887, in 2015 1,51,402, and till August-end this year it has been 1,18,711.

"GI pipes have been welded to continexisting metal fence as a defence against cattle smugglers," said a top officer in BSF. However, smugglers either manage to either cut wires or use unique techniques like makeshift wooden cranes to lift the cattle. On Sunday, BSF guards killed a 35-year-old cattle smuggler, Bahrul Islam, for allegedly trying to cross over near northern Kurhigram area's Roumari Upazila.

There is another set of cattle which fetch better prices now. Police and guards often catch cattle that have either moved into Bangladesh or were abandoned by the smugglers for the fear of being caught. "These cattle go to the auction block," said Subash Chowdhry, a local journalist with a Bangladeshi daily at border district of Satkhira said. "Chittigong and Dhaka traders used to get them at a marginal price earlier. But the increased demand now ensures that they fetch good prices for government departments."

(In association with Mail Today Bureau)


As China's telecom firm Huawei starts manufacturing in India, official media here has raised the red flag, warning that Beijing needs to worry about job cuts due to shifting of production bases as economic rivalry increases between India and the world's second largest economy.

"China needs to worry about effect of industrial transfer to India on production chain," an article in the state-run Global Times said today.

"As Chinese manufacturers show an increasing interest in setting up assembly lines in India, the economic competition between the two countries is likely to enter a new stage as India and China vie to expand their industry chains," it said.

Huawei "joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market" would result in job cuts if mobile manufacturing shifted to India.

"In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain, but what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India," it said.

"Frankly speaking, China can't afford that. The country has to ensure its competitiveness in production chains at a time when India is becoming a new processing base for manufacturers. This will require Chinese local suppliers to maintain technological advantage through continuous innovation," it said.

Another article in the same daily said as Chinese investments are on the raise, China's firms must understand Indian company and labours laws before investing.

"India's relatively stable political environment, sustained economic growth momentum, huge population dividend and cheap labour costs have attracted numerous international investors," it said.

Referring to survey by 2014 Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) which ranked India to be the most preferred destination for future investment, it said China's direct investment to India soared last year to USD 870 million, six times than in 2014.

"However, India was not among the 13 countries which received direct investment from China exceeding one billion in 2015 and China's investment in India only accounted for 2.2 per cent of the total $39.3 billion foreign direct investment received by India in 2015," it said.

"With increasingly more Chinese firms and investors casting their eyes to India, it is urgent to rationally assess the political and economic risks of investing in India," it added.
Why don't you sit next to the lady? you will have company," a male senior helpfully suggested to a young Tarjani Vakil. The lady Vakil was told to sit next to was a stenographer at the newly constituted IDBI, then a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), where Vakil had joined as an 'officer' from the Maharashtra State Finance Commission. Since the order came from a senior - deputy manager - Vakil obliged. "Such was the level of hierarchy at RBI, and the mindset of men," she says. "Not just that, I could sense a discomfort in the lady, too. All she said was, yes ma'am and no ma'am."

A postgraduate in History from Bombay University, Vakil, 22, had started picking up the nuances of finance after joining the Commission (rechristened Bombay State Finance Commission) in 1958 as clerical staff at a monthly salary of Rs 75. "My father's dream was to see my signature on the Indian currency note," reminiscences Vakil on a long phone call from Mumbai. With experience in small-scale industrial lending, a pre-requisite that the newly formed bank was seeking, Vakil was the only woman 'officer' of the first 40 recruits IDBI had in 1965. While women as clerical staff or 'stenos' were common, a woman officer was rare. "In the initial years, we all were made to sit in a big hall, and whenever I looked up, I found someone staring at me," she says. Slowly the glares faded, but the discomfort in her immediate seniors and colleagues was apparent as she was rising up the ranks. "After all, who wanted a woman boss?"

She says things changed when "a very important assignment" was given to her in the early 1970s by RBI's then deputy governor Ardhendu Bakshi. The assignment entailed unloading some shares without affecting the market. She was provided 'facilities' - a desk with a phone connection - to deliver the important assignment. "I am giving this to you because I have faith in your integrity, you understand Gujarati, and I know you will be able to do it," Bakshi had said. Gujarati was the language of brokers, and Bakshi believed nobody would approach a woman for undue favours. The successful completion of the assignment not only created a buzz in the market, but also earned Vakil a reputation.

The reputation helped her become the first woman to head a financial institution in India as Chairperson and Managing Director of EXIM Bank in 1993. She was ranked the highest woman official in banking in Asia, and named in the 50 world-class women executives in a 1996 survey conducted by KPMG Peat Marwick, US. Richard Rekhy, CEO of KPMG in India, says: "Post the nationalisation of banks in 1969, it took almost three decades for a woman to ascend to the top spot of a large bank. Vakil's climb was momentous, and marks the beginning of the change that I regard no less than a revolution."

"At IDBI, we were made to sit in a big hall and whenever I looked up, I found someone staring at me"

When Vakil retired in 1996, she was asked how many years before the next Tarjani: "It's just a matter of time? of five-six more years," she had said. By then, Vakil was seeing women as officers and general managers, and not just backend staff. And she was proven right when Ranjana Kumar, a 1966 direct recruit probationary officer in Bank of India, took over as the Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank in mid-2000, steered it through a rough patch, and later headed the NABARD.

Banking On

Janaki Krishnan, author of Breaking Barriers, points out that studies have shown "in demographics where income levels are low, employment of women is higher. When income levels improve, their employment levels fall as there is no necessity for them to work. Therefore, earlier women largely played supporting roles - secretaries, assistants, typists, clerks". But when education levels improve, their participation in the workforce rises. This helped women gain entry into non-clerical roles, particularly in banks, tax and customs through common entrance exams, she says.

A revolution was evident in public sector banks as more women came through the probationary officers' recruitment. Eventually, Vijayalakshmi R. Iyer (CMD of Bank of India), Archana Bhargava (CMD of United Bank of India), Shubhalakshmi Panse (CMD of Allahabad Bank), and Usha Ananthasubramanian (CEO and MD, Punjab National Bank) became beacons of the sector. The 2013 appointment of Arundhati Bhattacharya, a 1977 probationary officer, as the Chairman of SBI, India's oldest and largest bank, cemented the rise of women in banking PSUs.

While the PSUs were a play of seniority and merit, the private sector was scripting a new story with merit-only policies. The 1970s witnessed the influx of women in entry-level management roles such as Lalita D. Gupte (1971), Kalpana Morparia (1975) and Renu Sud Karnad (1978) in the financial arena. While Karnad joined HDFC Ltd, India's first mortgage company, Gupte and Morparia joined the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), which provided medium- and long-term project financing to businesses.

The 1980s laid the path for what women would achieve in financial services. Early 1980s saw the entry of the first Indian woman graduate from the Harvard Business School - Naina Lal Kidwai - guiding the functioning of a foreign bank in India in 1982 at ANZ Grindlays. Chitra Ramkrishna, who joined IDBI in 1985, was handpicked in the early 1990s in the core team to establish a financial institution to reform India's capital markets - the National Stock Exchange - and is now its chief. IIM-A graduate Roopa Kudva joined IDBI in 1986, and in 2007 became the MD & CEO of CRISIL. During her leadership, its market capitalisation grew from Rs 2,900 crore to Rs 14,000 crore, and revenues tripled.

ICICI recruited Shikha Sharma in 1980, Chanda Kochhar (1984), Renuka Ramnath (1986), and Zarin Daruwala, Vedika Bhandarkar, Madhabi Puri Buch and Shilpa Kumar in 1989, all of who went on to handle some of the biggest investment portfolios post the first phase of banking reforms triggered by the Narsimhan Committee in 1991. The licensing of new private banks in the next two decades proved that women and financial services really gelled well. Kochhar, who became MD & CEO of ICICI Bank in 2009 (and continues to be so), says that the biggest draw of ICICI was its level playing work environment. "It provided an enabling environment that did not discriminate on the basis of gender," she says. "And women felt comforted that only merit will be in consideration."

Renuka Ramnath, Founder MD, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, says the women who joined ICICI in the 1980s were all ambitious. "ICICI groomed the talent, and provided a safe and respectful environment where we all blossomed. Interestingly, the men left for greener pastures post 1995, while the women grew with the organisation. It was a unique setting."

KPMG's Rekhy says financial services allowed women to work in a profession unencumbered by masculine stereotypes: "It is also a sector that intentionally started to build diversity before other sectors. Structure in thought, analytical acumen, sound instinct and intellectual ability are skills that might make their way into requisites in the industry. And women are excellent at it."

The IT Factor

Ramnath points out that in the mid-1970s, when women started pursuing professional education - engineering, accountancy, business administration - outlooks changed and it progressively started to change things on the ground. "Later, liberalisation threw open a host of new opportunities. As new sectors and segments were growing, people were travelling more and interacting with the world at global forums. We were more amiable to change and the need for quality talent was growing. This is when mindsets started to change and one thing led to another."

In 1970, barely 910 women enrolled in engineering colleges, which increased to 26,470 in 1995. The enrolments further shot up to 22 per cent of the total in 2001 from 16 per cent in 1995, even as the IITs remained male-dominated. In 2005, at IIT Bombay, women comprised 8 per cent of graduates at the Bachelors level, and 9 per cent at the Masters. Management institutes, too, started to witness trickling in of women. Even as the IIMs saw just a handful of women in the initial years - market strategy consultant Rama Bijapurkar recalls that her IIM-A batch of 1977 had only eight women - the management departments of universities such as FMS, Delhi, Jamnalal Bajaj and private business schools such as XLRI and Narsee Monjee started churning out women management graduates.

"With growing computerisation, both families and organisations were keen that women engineers should get into design aspects rather than work on shop floors "

And even this small presence was commendable. "Gendering in India is so deep," says Vasanthi Srinivasan, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources at IIM Bangalore. "Even today, I meet smart young girls and ask them why they did not study science. Many of them say that their brothers had to do engineering, so the family decided to send her to the local college." A closer look at the data shows what's happening: Women enrolment in 2010/11, as per UGC, was 41.21 per cent in Arts; 19.14 per cent in Science, and 16.12 per cent in Commerce/Management. Krishnan says participation of women in the workforce actually fell between 1987 and 2009. Reason: high economic growth in India and higher income levels. "So, the women who entered the workforce were only those who were serious about their careers."

Post liberalisation, while banking was scripting success stories, information technology was not far behind. The sheer number of women in the sector since 2000 became a testimony of how it developed into a 'women-friendly' sector. S. Ramadorai, former CEO of TCS who now chairs the National Skill Development Corporation, talks of a Nasscom-PwC survey of March 2016, according to which women constitute 34 per cent of the IT-BPM workforce (over 1.3 million women employees) - an increase of around 1.8 times since FY2009. Nearly 10 per cent of these women are in senior management roles (approximately 1 per cent in the C-suite). Further, around 28 per cent of the women employees in the sector are primary breadwinners, thereby indicating the changing trend of women's employment and inclusion in the sector. Today, the sheer number of women in IT says it all. IBM (Vanitha Narayanan), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Neelam Dhawan) and Accenture (Rekha Menon) in India are all headed by women; while Capgemini (Aruna Jayanthi) and Intel (Kumud Srinivasan and Debjani Ghosh) have recently seen Indian women graduating to bigger global roles.

"Our industry functions with the intent of being an equal opportunity employer. We make an effort to fine-tune and amend policies pertaining to the health and safety of women. This is perhaps one of the most important reasons that led to more women joining and remaining with IT," says Ramadorai. For him, the biggest landmark was when TCS became the first employer to have 100,000 women employees.

Aruna Jayanthi, who was recently elevated to a global role at Capgemini as CEO, Business Services, says the services sector had some inherent factors that made it more viable for women. "Its favourable attitude towards implementation of latest technology, which allows for more time-flexibility (ability to check mails on the go) and work-life balance (video calls instead of in-person meetings) has only helped."

"Good leaders are expected to be strong, confident and assertive. Yet, when women are strong, confident and assertive, they're often perceived as uncaring, self-promoting and aggressive "

The IT sector found its first woman head in 2005 with Neelam Dhawan becoming the Managing Director of Microsoft India. Dhawan's rise was unconventional in many ways. She was not trained in software, but had an MBA with specialisation in marketing. When she joined HCL in 1982 as a management trainee, she was the only woman in hard-core sales. "Sales or quota-carrying roles were considered very high-pressure jobs, and that's why many women did not opt for it. And in those days, the conversation started with, what does a computer do? That was the stage of IT maturity. Since then, I never felt overwhelmed by carrying a quota, as it was just a goal to be achieved."

Dhawan says owing to her specialisation in marketing and working in sales, she was used to being in a minority. "In one of the roles I took on, on day one, my boss told me that out of the three GMs who have to report to you? one has quit saying 'I can't tell my wife that I am reporting to a woman'. The second said 'since she is from HCL and I from Wipro, I think I don't want to report to her'. So my boss said, 'I am ok to let them go, because we have taken a decision to hire you for this job'."

Vinita Bali, Strategy Advisor & Independent Director and former MD of Britannia Industries, says women role models in the corporate world were just a handful when she started working in the late 1970s: Camillia Panjabi in marketing, Lila Poonawalla in engineering, Lalita Gupte in banking and Roda Mehta in advertising. "There were very few women in marketing when I started working," Bali recalls. "In 1980, when I joined Cadbury India, I was the first ever woman manager in the company! In all my roles in marketing and general management across three companies and five continents, where I have lived and worked, Nigeria and South Africa were the two countries that had a very good representation of women in marketing." The pipeline, though, dried up in general management. Bali recalls that when she became division president of Coca-Cola in Latin America in 1999, she was only the third woman in the history of the company in a general management role. In 2006, when she took charge of Britannia, she was the first woman MD of a listed food company in India.

Dhawan says it's an irony that, in IT or otherwise, more women are not opting for sales and marketing roles. She cites the example of HPE: In a workforce of 33 per cent women, sales and marketing would be just around 10 per cent. Majority still are in the services, software development, application develop-ment and back office support. "It is great to have so many women on the development side, but in sales and marketing the ratios are much less." Obviously, something is still amiss.

Missing Links

Other sectors, however, could not keep pace with BFSI and IT. Manufacturing remains a stark case. Even as Sudha Murthy's legendary fight against 'men only' bias led her to become the first female engineer to be hired at India's largest auto manufacturer Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company in 1974, it remained a long haul for other women to get into manufacturing. The reasons cited to Murthy (then Kulkarni) during her interview, remained valid for the longest time: "This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories." Krishnan cites the example of Priti Shankar. "She was the first woman electrical graduate from IIT Delhi and that was in 1968! After completing her PhD, she got a job at the Indian Institute of Science." Qualified women, as researchers and professors, were acceptable, but not as engineers in factories and shop floors.

"Once more women start entering other sectors manufacturing, FMCG more will follow suit. Its just about creating a gender neutral environment"

No wonder, then, manufacturing has not seen as many women role models, such as a rare Lila Poonawalla who became the first woman Managing Director of an engineering MNC in India, when she headed Alfa Laval from 1987 to 1996. The first woman engineering graduate from College of Engineering, Pune, she started her career as a trainee engineer on the shop floor of Ruston & Hornsby in 1967. Poonawalla says there were very few female engineers in the late 1960s and 70s, let alone mechanical engineers. In the 1980s, even as their numbers started growing, organisations and parents did not prefer women to work on the shop floors. "With growing computerisation, both families and organisations were keen that women engineers should get into design aspects rather than work on shop floors," she says, pointing out that organisations believed women could bring more value in design, and parents wanted their daughters to pursue software development careers as opportunities increased in the 1990s.

The Annual Survey of Industries conducted by Central Statistics Office says women had 1.5 million jobs in organised factories out of the total 6.9 million jobs in 2013/14. KPMG's Rekhy says women are neither made aware of, nor given opportunities that would catapult them to the upper echelons. "Often, women with technical competencies in line functions, such as manufacturing, R&D and operations, end up in staff functions. Experience in line or operational functions, during one's mid-career are often an unwritten prerequisite to getting into the C-suite." A rare case was of Nishi Vasudeva, an IIM Calcutta graduate who went on to head Hindustan Petroleum Corporation from 2014 to 2016, after joining the company in 1979.

Poonawalla says that as automation is growing, we are witnessing assembly lines exclusively being run by women in some units. Even as Kirloskar's all-women operated and managed manufacturing plant at Coimbatore is an exception, Tata Cummins's Phaltan plant, GE's Pune facility and Bajaj Auto's Chakan are examples of having majority women on the shop floor. Ramadorai says as the manufacturing industry moves forward contributing to 25 per cent of GDP, women must have an equal share in employment.

Bijapurkar agrees. "While there is as much focus on women in banking, the fact is that bank jobs make for just 6 per cent of the organised job market. How about other sectors?" Zia Mody, Managing Partner of AZB & Partners and one of India's leading corporate lawyers, says while the biggest change happened in the BSFI space, legal has a long way to go still. "There are very few women Councils in India. It continues to be a man's world. Councils require rigorous, undivided attention, and sacrifices in a normal course. Since women do not get the support structure, they tend to fall through." Data by Legally India shows that only 2.8 per cent members in bar councils are women, and eight out of 12 bar councils do not have a single female member. In the non-litigation space, Mody feels that women are making some progress, but in the smaller cities things have not changed at all.

Business historian Gita Piramal, who was one of two female reporters in Financial Times, Asia bureau in 1988 along with Christina Lamb, says that change in other sectors has been slow. "Nobody is doing what the Tatas are doing? to look within the group, identify and mentor women to rise within the organisation?" The initiative will place 300 women under a cross-company mentoring programme, enabling female executives to be mentored by 18 CXOs and 35 CEOs from 45 group firms.

"Interestingly, the men (at ICICI) left for greener pastures post 1995, while the women grew with the organisation "

"As more women join an industry, others follow suit," says ICICI Bank's Kochhar. "Banking was one of the few industries where women who joined as management trainees grew to be CEOs. Once more women start entering other sectors - manufacturing, FMCG - more will follow suit. It's just about creating a gender neutral environment. ICICI is an example of what can be achieved and replicated."

Making Business Sense



What was playing out in corporate India was a reflection of India's overall societal set-up from the pre Independence era. Raman Mahadevan, an economic and business historian, says Indian business was largely dominated by members of the vaishya or merchant castes. "Being essentially conservative social groups, the women from these communities were by design excluded from the nitty-gritty of the world of commerce and business," says Mahadevan. "Even the Parsis, who were otherwise considered relatively more westernised, were no exception. The only Parsi woman and probably the first Indian woman in Imperial India to be co-opted as a director of a company was Navajbai Tata, wife of Sir Ratan Tata, the younger son of Tata Group founder Jamsetji Tata. She joined the Board in 1918, following the death of her husband and remained in that position for several decades."

Business historian Dwijendra Tripathi says that like most professions, business traditionally has been male dominated. He cites the example of Sumati Morarji, the first woman head of a prominent business. "Morarji stepped into the shoes of her husband Narottam after his death around 1950, as her son Shantakumar was not yet ready to take over the leadership at Scindia Steam Navigation Company. It was around the same time, Lilavati Lalbhai, Kasturbhai's sister, was placed at the head of Raipur Mills, one of the seven cotton textile units that the family controlled. But it was more of a technical arrangement; the real power remained in the hands of Kasturbhai, the head of the group and the family." A notable exception was Simone Tata who took over as MD of Lakme - a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills - in 1964 and ran it independently.

The Amendment of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, with the right of women to an equal share of the family property, was a catalyst for change. "This, along with dissolution of joint families, and its substitution by the growing nuclearisation of families, created the necessary space for women to be involved in the family business," says Mahadevan.

"A significant section of our talented workforce quits work mid-career. When the question becomes of selecting one of these (personal or professional) lives, we lose the plot "

Of course, with daughter-only heirs, the choice was easy. Mallika Srinivasan, daughter of industrialist A. Sivasailam, became CEO and Chairman of Tractors And Farm Equipment (TAFE) in 2011, after growing through the ranks. Shobhana Bhartia, daughter of industrialist K.K. Birla, was an unprecedented example in the Birla clan when she joined the board of Hindustan Times in mid-1980s. The Reddy sisters taking charge of Apollo Hospitals was a given. However, families such as Godrej and Guptas (Lupin) in recent times have become benchmarks in giving merit-based roles to their daughters and sons.

A unique case is that of Anu Aga, who took over the leadership of Pune-based Thermax on the premature death of her husband, Rohinton. Aga served as the power major Thermax's chairperson from 1996 to 2004, and she steered the company through many a tide - when she took over, Thermax's share price had plunged from Rs 400 to Rs 36.

However, Tripathi feels that no achievement comes close to that of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who at barely 25 launched Biocon in 1978, which has developed into the biggest biotech company in India. "But her example has not been replicated," he says. "Although there was nearly 100 per cent growth in women entrepreneurship during the decade beginning 1991, according to the FICCI women cell, none has made any impact on the Indian business scene, with the exception of Shahnaz Hussain's herbal empire."

Mazumdar-Shaw says she was driven by a sense of challenge to break away from the mould. She has recently invested in India's first women's venture capital fund, SAHA, and is also mentoring women entrepreneurs. "Scaling is not a gender specific issue, though for women, balancing family and enterprise can be a challenge if they do not have an enabling support system. Scaling is all about strategising, hanging on and not going for an early exit," she says. "I started Biocon with Rs 10,000. If I would have thought of exiting when its valuation reached Rs 10 crore, the company would not have scaled." She says that things are changing for women. "The fact that Naina Lal Kidwai headed FICCI and now Shobana Kamineni is President Designate of CII says it all. These industry bodies were male dominated for the longest time. For them to have women heads is path breaking."

So Far, So Good?

While there is no doubt that over the past two decades, women have become more visible in the workplace, IIM-B's Srinivasan says that the findings in the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report 2015 are not very heartening. "Out of 145 countries, India ranks 139th when it comes to Economic Participation and Opportunity pillar. While data on the number of women in skilled and leadership positions is not available, India was ranked 136th in terms of labour force participation. So, we have a long way to go in terms of presence of women in more powerful roles in the corporate sector."

Krishnan questions how many women are in board positions in Indian companies, despite the Sebi mandate of 2014 to have at least one woman on every board. Tripathi says even as prominent business families are inducting their lady members into boards, these are nothing more than cosmetic changes. But Chitra Ramkrishna, MD & CEO of National Stock Exchange, disagrees: "Policies such as these may initially look like tokenism, but they at least start a discussion point. Companies start thinking about the issue, discussions happen on how to address the gaps, and slowly it creates a catalyst impact."

Shachi Irde, Executive Director, Catalyst India says while we do see a number of women making it to senior positions, women constitute only 14 per cent of executive officers and only 7.7 per cent of board seats, while in the US women hold 19.9 per cent of S&P 500 board seats. "As per our analysis, nearly 50 per cent Indian women drop out of corporate employment between junior and mid-levels, compared to 29 per cent across Asia. Also, women at executive levels leave at a higher rate."

Adds Capgemini's Jayanthi: "Most women quit their jobs primarily due to inability to balance their personal and professional life and choosing the former as their priority. It is when the question becomes of selecting one of these (personal or professional) lives that we lose the plot. The focus should be on creating an environment where both can co-exist."

Bali highlights the fact that the leading management institutes only attract 20-25 per cent women, creating a supply-side constraint at the entry level itself. "Women are totally absent at the CXO level from some of our largest and most respected conglomerates," she points out. "Independent directors on the boards of such companies must also consider it their responsibility to drive that change in a systemic manner, based on merit and not gender alone."

Beyond the life-stage years' challenges, women tend to face some inherent biases that can be very subtle, but impact career growth. Ramadorai says that in organisations, biases exist at every level of employee - while preparing a job description, hiring, promotions, opportunity for key job assignments, performance appraisals, etc. He cites a simple example of how men tend to inflate their ratings during self-evaluation. On the other hand, women may be hesitant to self-promote.

Kalpana Morparia, CEO of JP Morgan Chase India, points out that women face a peculiar situation: "Good leaders are expected to be strong, confident and assertive. Yet, when women are strong, confident and assertive, they're often perceived as uncaring, self-promoting and aggressive. When they act in more collaborative ways, they're stereotyped as ones who do not possess 'good' leadership skills. A a classic case of double bind."

Dhawan says, "The issue is not if a woman is cut out for a job or not. The issue is, will the woman fit into the old boys' club? Everyone is comfortable working with someone they know? there isn't an old girls' club yet!"

Nurturing and retaining women during life-stage years and increasing diversity at the senior levels are two challenges that need to be addressed on priority. "The defining moment for India Inc. will be when diversity moves from a nice-to-have human resources project to a basic requirement for talent scouting and leadership," says Morparia.

Even as India has a long way to go to be truly gender inclusive, Vakil says a lot of good things are happening now. "Women are travelling, they are getting training? so many of them are leading organisations? it's no more a man's world." She has a regret, though: she could not fulfil her father's dream of having her signature on the Indian currency. But she believes it's just a matter of time, "of five-six years, maybe, a woman will get there".


Now that we are nearly empty nesters, the maids at home get their fill of TV time. A lot of it is pretty racy stuff, putting me in the impossible position of diving for the Remote every time one of them walks in with the dinner tray. Section 354A of our Penal Code defines sexual harassment to include "showing pornography against the will of a woman". The maids watch Paoli Dam doing her thing on the kitchen table downstairs in the same movie I do to the full approval of the Censor Board, but if I watch it while they are in the room, I face three years in the slammer! Don't you just love the law?

Who decides what should or should not be beamed into Indian living rooms, and when it becomes sexual harassment? When I first started to see movies in the 1970s, a lot of the explicit content you see these days wasn't ok by far. What has changed? Section 5B(1) of the Cinematograph Act 1952 remains unchanged on the statute books for a long time:

"a film shall not be certified if any part of it is against the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite commission of any offence".

This sets up the power of the Central Board of Film Certification to snip bits of film in the interest of 'public decency' before sanctioning them for public viewing. But how is 'decency' to be defined? The Central Government has tried to help CBFC by providing Guidelines as late as Dec 6th, 1991. Vulgarity, obscenity or depravity which 'offends human sensibilities', scenes degrading women, scenes of sexual violence against women including rape, sexual perversion, and so forth were all prohibited.

But how are we to tell what offends human sensibility? My mother is offended by a great many explicit scenes I am not. Who best represents the average in average human sensibility? Inevitably, the courts have been approached from time to time to unravel this cultural mystery. The Supreme Court made an admirable attempt to establish some criterion 45 years back in the case of K.A. Abbas v Union of India [(1970) 2 SCC 780] when it examined the contents of a documentary called 'A Tale of Four Cities'. This lefty work attempted to contrast the lives of the rich and the poor in four Indian metros, and included footage from Bombay's red light district. Was this footage indecent? The Supreme Court didn't think so, setting up the criterion thus:

"Sex and obscenity are not always synonymous and it is wrong to classify sex as essentially obscene or even indecent or immoral.  Therefore it is not the elements of rape, leprosy, sexual immorality which should attract the censor's scissors but how the theme is handled by the producer. We may view a documentary on the erotic tableaux from our ancient temples with equanimity or read the Kamasutra, but a documentary from them as a practical sexual guide would be abhorrent."

It was 16 years before this principle experienced its first evolution when the Supreme Court extended this principle to mean not merely the on-screen 'handling' of explicit content but also its relevance to the overall story. In the case of Bobby Art International vs Om Pal Singh Hoon [(1996) 4 SCC 1], Shekhar Kapur's graphic depiction of Phoolan Devi's (1) rape by the dacoit Babu Gujjar and (2) subsequent gang rape and naked parade in Behmai village come up for adjudication before the court. Was frontal nudity always indecent? Once again, the Supreme Court took the liberal view.

"Nakedness does not always arouse the baser incident.  Bandit Queen tells a powerful human story and to that story, the scene of Phoolan Devi's enforced naked parade is central. It helps to explain why Phoolan Devi became what she did: We find that the judgment under appeal does not take due note of the theme of the film and the fact that it condemns rape and the degradation of and violence upon women."

The Bandit Queen judgment represents a great departure from previous norms. In one giant brushstroke, the goalpost had been moved from tasteful depiction to contextual relevance. This meant that if you decided to make a movie about any brutalised person, graphic depictions of brutality would be entirely appropriate. This is the main reason why movies of the 1990s have depicted progressively more on-screen brutality than their predecessors, a process so relentless and unidirectional that its only logical endpoint is a situation where all limits are removed.



This brings us to the political scandal that is 'Udta Punjab', of which CBFC ordered 13 different deletions including verbal profanity, public pissing, scenes of intravenous drug use, the inclusion of a common Punjabi homily in the dialogue, indeed the reference to Punjab itself. In Phantom Films Pvt. Ltd. v. CBFC [Bombay High Court order of June 13th, 2016], the court overruled these cuts, observing:

"The human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or depravity. Such scenes and dialogues have to be viewed in totality. The story must be read and considered in its entirety. It is not safe to select a few words, sentences, dialogues and scenes and then to arrive at the conclusion reached by the board. If a strata of society habituated to indulge freely in vulgar abuses are shown as indulging in the same without in the slightest manner glorifying them or their language, then, we do not see anything objectionable in the words." (Author's Emphasis)

I gravely suspect Udta Punjab represents a greater watershed in the evolution of Indian thinking about decency in films than most people give it credit for. From a point in time in 1970 when the Censor Board was most concerned about tasteful thematic handling of disquieting subjects, we are now at a point where filmmakers are free to show any subject so long as the protagonists are 'habituated' to them. For instance, we know that there are paedophiles aplenty 'habituated' to getting oral sex from minors. I fear that the Bombay High Court has set up a criterion so broad that in the very near future, our films will literally leave nothing to the imagination. As a card carrying liberal, this should please me no end, but as is often the case, I now fear my own freedom. We can only take solace in the fact that we do not really have to see anything that offends us.

External events, too, seem to be moving in the same direction. Indeed, Arun Jaitley anticipated the 'Udta Punjab' case by appointing the Benegal Committee on the first day of January 2016. He wanted it to examine the feasibility of replacing our censorship norms with some sort of certification regime. It submitted its first report on April 26th this year. It is early days yet but already, it is clear that the era of deleting scenes from films has passed. Films in future will have one of a variety of possible certificates representing their suitability of viewing. More significantly, the committee has taken the view that

"It is not for the CBFC to act as a moral compass by deciding what constitutes glorification or promotion of an issue or otherwise. The scope of the CBFC should largely only be to decide who and what category of audiences can watch the depiction of a particular theme, story, scene etc,"

This brings me back to my problem with the maids at home. Indian cinematographic norms are moving to an extremely liberal position, but our laws in general continue to be entirely conservative. Taking only our criminal code, sexual harassment aside, Sec 293 sentences an offender to three years in jail for exhibiting any obscene object to any person under 21 years of age. Who is to say what object gets exhibited in an explicit movie scene! Section 294 similarly convicts anyone who 'sings, recites or utters any obscene song, balled or words, in or near any public place'. What about that old Mehmood double entendre' movie about "Sticking it in your hand on a dark night"? Section 509 condemns a person to three years in jail for anyone who 'intending to insult the modesty of a women.exhibits any object intending..such objects shall be seen by such women'.

Explicit movies run at home raise the spectre of multiple potential crimes in an environment where the underprivileged are increasingly becoming aware of their rights, to say nothing of the opportunity inherent in entrapping the babu in a crime. I fear that unless we take a holistic view of many of these crimes that are really opportunities, our courts are going to be clogged with a lot of cross class cases created by a censorship regime that was too liberal for the society in which it operates.

The author is Managing Partner of the Gurgaon-based corporate law firm N South. His bestselling expose of the real world of Indian courts "Legal Confidential", released in November 2015
The global healthcare industry is at the edge of a third wave of IT acceptance. In order to bring in an era of prosperity, we need to understand the demand of patients and the existing myths. Catering to a greater proportion of the population, India has become one of the leading destinations for high-end diagnostic services with tremendous capital investment for advanced diagnostic facilities. Further, consumers have become more conscious towards their healthcare upkeep.

With the growing technology and consumer awareness, healthcare apps can play an important role in enhancing patients' health. There are various easy-to-use health-and-fitness wearable technologies, which not only help modify behaviour but also act as a reminder to a person for daily care like exercise routine setting or taking medicines on time.

The Indian wearable sensors market is expected to increase to $18.29 million by 2018 at a CAGR of 48.49 per cent over the period 2014-2020 (source: Report Buyer India wearable sensor market March 2016). Based on the available sales trends, fitness bands secure close to 75 per cent of wearable sales, which clearly indicates the adoption trend of young generation towards the awareness of fitness. Home-grown start-ups are engaged in helping consumers adopt a healthier lifestyle by the day. At the same time, one can consult top doctors online through signing up on healthcare portals through browsing or installing applications. This enables both the parties to track history of the patient, reports, feedback and book the next visit to the doctor with the click of a button.

The Tech-savvy Youth

India currently has one of the largest youth populations in the world, with almost 65 per cent falling below the age of 35 years. These young denizens are quick to adopt newer technologies and this leaves many sections of the burgeoning healthcare industry ripe for development. I see these sections as opportunities that can be explored for the technology sector to intersect further with the healthcare sector.

Mobile health, which is the practice of healthcare supported by mobile devices - is often hailed as the future of digital services in healthcare. Hence, we can see a rising need for the availability of real-time personal health data. Patients are constantly on the lookout for innovative features and apps to monitor their well being. From a rural perspective, the tech boom has made it possible to educate people to impart primary aid, and numerous NGOs are working on applications that provide education to deploy healthcare services, thus ensuring that even the remotest villages can be connected. This segment has huge prospects, but considering the amount of investment and rural demographics, this is indeed a tall task.

Blips to be overcome

However, while there is a great deal of potential, we see several challenges that need to be overcome. For instance, the cost and complexity of the implementation of the services restrict the entry of players in this market. Standardisation is a must and should not be overlooked in order to prevent obstructions in the efficacy of these systems. There is a lack of process of ensuring that all electronic healthcare records and software designed to digitise the healthcare process are present in a similar format and/or can be integrated to provide users with access to data housed in multiple applications. In order to avoid such problems, there should be certain common standards fulfilling the requirements of most healthcare organisations. India is also home to a majority of people who are referred to doctors by family and relatives or by word of mouth. Making people believe that their health issues can be handled through the Internet or any other technology will continue to be a challenge especially in Tier III and rural markets where internet is percolating at a slow and steady pace.

How technology can provide better support

Technology can be efficiently, effectively and easily adopted to increase the pool of tech educated medicine professionals which will get duly supported by a steady increase in the number of doctors who are willing to adopt, execute and promote the technological advancement in healthcare sector.

With readily accessible data by way of digital monitoring, in-depth information about the patient can be recorded and this could be vital when nursing a chronic disease or making a diagnosis. Any anomaly can be quickly highlighted and treatment can be provided without delay even if the doctor is not locally present at that moment. Lives can be saved if the correct treatment is given at the right time, due to a piece of wearable tech. Further, new technologies can monitor blood glucose levels, deliver insulin, track food intake and activity levels; heart rate and rhythm tracking to keep a check on irregular heartbeat patterns; blood oxidation level monitors to help observe CO2 levels in the system; shoes and bands to count distances covered by activities done and exertion levels of the body.

Technology can play a key role by providing post-discharge medical care at home. Using the state-of-the-art sensors clubbed with cloud interface with hospitals, it will become easy to monitor the recovery of patients. Similarly, technology can also help bring in an additional parameter for health insurance sector, which can easily define the premium based on the track record of their customers.

The writer is Country Head - Corporate Sales, MediaTek India
Air India has been directed to pay Rs one lakh by the apex consumer commission as compensation for serving stale food to a passenger aboard a Mumbai-New York flight.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, while dismissing the revision petition filed by the airline in 2015, said "the nature of deficiency in service" could have affected the health of several passengers.

"Taking into account the nature of deficiency in service and the fact that it would have affected the health of several passengers, we do not find any fault with the order of State Commission enhancing compensation to Rs one lakh," the bench, presided by Justice Ajit Bharihoke, said while also upholding the award of Rs 10,000 as litigation cost by district forum.

The Maharashtra State Consumer Commission had earlier enhanced to Rs one lakh from Rs 15,000, the compensation awarded by the district forum, saying the passenger might have been required to go foodless during the remaining journey and such conditions create a bad situation during air travel.

According to the complaint filed by Malti Madhukar Pahade, she was served with stale food while travelling in the Air India flight from Mumbai to New York. She claimed she also found a strand of hair in the rice bowl.

Pahade described the bad state of curd served and referred it as "green as cherry".

While challenging the State Commission's order, Air India contended that the enhancement of compensation by the State Commission was not justified as it was "highly disproportionate to the negligence/deficiency in service alleged by the complainant."

The bench, also comprising member S M Kantikar, dismissed the contention and upheld the state commission's order which said a passenger travelling with a reputed airline expected minimum courtesy and proper food for human consumption.

It also noted that the airline had fined the caterer Rs 20,000 for serving stale food on board.

"We do not wish to comment upon the motive or reason of the concerned authority to impose such a meagre amount of fine on the defaulting caterer particularly when the food supplied by the caterer is served to all the passengers travelling in the flight," the bench said.
A national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance has found that the average three-bed semi has risen above 200,000 for the first time since the country emerged from the property crash.

Prices in Dublin have grown by +2.75%  almost double that of the previous three months. Real Estate Alliance claims this is due to an increase of mortgage-backed buyers on the market chasing a limited supply.

The average three bed semi nationally now costs 200,093, an increase of 4,732 (+2.42%) since the end of June. This is a rise of 6.37% against the same time last year. Prices in Dublin city grew by +2.75% to 373,333 since June  almost twice the growth experienced in the same area in Q2 as buyers chase a scarce supply of suitable housing.

In Dublin, one agent, Ed Dempsey in Clonskeagh, is reporting increases of 25,000 for sale prices over the past three months, with the average three-bed semi increasing by 5.49% from 455,000 in June to 480,000 now  a rise of 9.09% year-on-year.

Other Southside Dublin agents are reporting that the autumn market is stronger than Q2, with the lower and middle ends of the market beginning to move due to a release of pent-up demand

Furthermore, prices in the tier containing commuter counties and the main cities of Cork and Galway have risen by an average of just under 3,000 to 217,176 (+1.21%) while those in the rest of the country have increased by nearly 5,000 to 133,268 (+3.55%).

The immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote has had an effect in the north west where Donegal is the only county to register a three-month fall on -1.73%. This has been most keenly felt in traditional holiday home spots such as Bundoran where the average three-bed semi has dropped by -3.41% in three months from 88,000 to 85,000.

REA Chairman, Michael OConnor said, "We are seeing little or no increase in supply nationally, with an increase in funded buyers fueling the market in the short-term. Many of our agents are now reporting some buyers are returning to the market having achieved a level of savings, and that there is an increase in mortgage-funded purchases. The average amount of cash buyers has fallen by 3% to 33% nationwide, but in Dublin city that figure is down by 7% in three months, with 72% of transactions now mortgage-funded."

He added, "The Central Banks mortgage deposit rules are still being keenly felt in the commuter areas, with most rises occurring in towns where three-bed semis are available for under the deposit threshold of 220,000."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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WP Engine delivers managed services for premium websites built on WordPress. Today, approximately 5% of the online world visits a website powered by WP Engine every day. Globally, over 350,000 digital brands trust WP Engine with their online reputation across 136 countries and counting.

Since the launch of its London office in 2015, WP Engines customer base has more than doubled. It is hoped the opening of the Limerick centre will further support the surging demand for managed WordPress across EMEA.



At an event in Limerick this morning, Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation - Mary Mitchell OConnor, Finance Minister -Michael Noonan and Minister of State for Employment & Small Business - Pat Breen will be joining WP Engine CEO- Heather Brunner, April Downing - CFO and Fabio Torlini - MD EMEA to celebrate the investment in the centre.

The project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.



Speaking at the launch today, the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said, "I welcome these jobs for Limerick and WP Engine to our neighbourhood. Both Ireland and WP Engine share an international focus and a desire to grow by creating value through hard work and endeavour. I'm confident that the people of Limerick and its surrounds will provide WP Engine with the skilled and motivated workforce it needs to continue its success."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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The latest Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse report has been released today and shows the lowest reading this year.



The Economic Pulse surveys are conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of the Bank with 1,000 households and over 2,000 businesses on a range of topics including the economy, their financial situation, spending plans, house price expectations and business activity.



While household confidence and the Consumer Pulse rose for a second month running, firms in the industry, services and retail sectors were less upbeat this month, pulling the Business Pulse down.



Group Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland, Dr Loretta O Sullivan said, "While sentiment remains at a high level, Brexit has led to an increase in uncertainty, and a general softening in sentiment is evident when the recent Pulse readings are compared with those earlier in the year."

She added. "While we saw an overall lift last month, business sentiment is a little unsettled at the moment as firms continue to assess the impact."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Britain's top share index fell on Monday and headed for its worst one-day performance in three months, with Lloyds pushing banks lower after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs and miners tracking weaker metals prices.

InterContinental Hotels fell 4.3%, the worst performer in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "equalweight" saying U.S. revenue growth was expected to continue to weaken.

A downgrade by another broker bank hit Lloyds and pushed the UK banks index to trade 1.3% lower. The British bank fell 2.8% after Goldman Sachs cut its rating for the stock to "sell" from "neutral", saying it faced incremental competition from HSBC.

The FTSE 100 index was down 1.3% and headed for its worst one-day percentage decline since late June.

Resource-related stocks also lost ground, with the UK mining index falling 1.5%, as prices of major industrial metals fell. Shares in Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore fell 1.2 to 2.9%.

"The UK market has started the week on the back foot, with some major stocks hit by downgrades by heavyweight investment banks. Nervousness ahead of a meeting of the OPEC is also hurting sentiment," Securequity senior trader Jawaid Afsar said.

OPEC members will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26-28, where they will discuss a possible output-limiting deal. However, oil prices tumbled 4% on Friday amid signs Saudi Arabia and Iran were making little progress in achieving preliminary agreement to freeze production.

Energy shares witnessed a sharp sell-off, with the UK oil and gas index down 1.6%. Shares in Royal Dutch Shell, Tullow Oil and BP all fell around 1.6%.

Monday's decline was widespread, with only three stocks in the FTSE 100 index staying in positive territory.

However, the UK market index has surged nearly 18% since a post-Brexit sell-off three months ago and is up more than 9% so for this year, following supportive central bank policies and the resilience of leading economic indicators. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
US drugmaker Pfizer Inc, which has been considering a split into two companies for more than two years, said on Monday it will not do so because the move would not create any shareholder value.

Pfizer will keep its low-growth generics and patent-protected branded medicines separate, giving it the option to split down the road if "factors materially change at some point in the future."

Pfizer said on Monday the decision would not have an impact on its 2016 financial forecast.

The decision not to create two publicly traded companies follows the collapse of its planned $160 billion acquisition of Allergan Inc after a change in tax law took away the tax benefits of the deal.

Investors were expecting the company to step back from the split, Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said in a research note.

"Where to from here? The company seems likely to leave open its option for a future split-up, but more immediately it may continue hunting for M&A targets," Anderson wrote.

Pfizer's shares were down 1.2% to $33.85 in premarket trading on Monday.

The pharma giant began openly planning for the possible split in early 2014, saying it would operate the businesses as separate divisions and track their progress for three years before reaching a decision. In August, it said a decision would be made by year-end.

Pfizer said the sum-of-the-parts analysis showed no benefit to shareholders, and that tax costs and business disruptions were factors it considered.

The company had considered the move largely because its patent-protected medicines routinely enjoy sales growth while sales in the generics portfolio usually declined.

Investors shifted their focus to whether Pfizer would split after the company terminated the deal for Irish drugmaker Allergan in April.

In August Pfizer announced it was buying cancer drugmaker Medivation Inc for $14 billion to get access to blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi for its growing oncology roster.

The Medivation deal illustrates a shift in Pfizer's mergers and acquisitions strategy from lowering taxes, which was the rationale behind the failed Allergan tax inversion deal, to strengthening its lineup of branded drugs, especially lucrative cancer treatments.

A year ago, Pfizer paid $15 billion for Hospira, which sells generic hospital products and is developing biosimilars to compete with big-selling injectable biotech drugs. That deal was seen by Wall Street as a way of bolstering its generic drugs operation ahead of potentially divesting the business. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The EU is at a crossroads on climate change

Published on September 28, 2016

Story by Fabio Orlando

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The European Union, once the undisputed champion of the climate, today lags behind the United States and China when it comes to putting the Paris agreement into practice. National pressures hinder the whole ratification process, and the EU risks being left behind altogether. [OPINION]

Earlier this month, on the eve of the last G20 summit in Hangzhou, the United States and China, the two worlds biggest polluters, announced they would formally ratify last year's Paris agreement. Many experts considered the commitment of the worlds two largest economies as a turning point in the global fight against climate change. Brazil decided to join them on 12 September.

So far 28 countries, accounting for roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, have ratified the COP21 deal. It will become binding only when at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 % of the total emissions, will have ratified it, as pointed out in Article 21. However, another 20 countries, including Mexico and India, have recently expressed their intention to take part in the process by the end of the month.

Most probably, the agreement will be fully ratified by the end of 2016 without the participation of the European Union, which is still falling behind. European countries, responsible for 12% of global emissions, are currently grappling with the effort-sharing deal for sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This will delay the EU's ratification until late 2017.

A lost climate diplomacy

Many Europeans thought, where is Europe? Why are we not ready for this? Because our decision making process is slower, said Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate Action at 2016 Bruegel Annual meetings, commenting on the announcement by China and the United States. Climate should be one of the policy areas on which we rebuild the trust of the European citizens," she added.

At a time when Brexit and the refugee crisis have further discredited the image of the Union, member states look on the Paris agreement as one of the most tangible and important results achieved in the last years. However, the EU has visibly lost its global leadership on fighting climate change because of the slowness of the ratification process. Member states are expected to ratify the agreement at both European and national levels. While the Environment Council will endorse the Commission proposal on the deal in October, the ratification process at the national level will certainly take more time.

The EU could actually bypass national votes and claim self-competence on the matter, but this would ultimately cause a political backlash with certain member states. In the meantime Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, urged European countries to ratify the agreement as swiftly as possible during his State of the Union speech earlier this month.

What is going on at the national level?

France, Hungary and Austria were the only member states already ratifying the agreement in their home parliaments. Others have also kicked off the process. However, many member states waited for the Commission's proposal on the so-called Effort Sharing Decision to start the procedure. The proposal, published last July, defines separate national emissions targets for different member states to contribute to the EU's overall emissions reduction target of 40% by the year 2030.

Nevertheless, some countries are still reluctant to approve it and their policies go in the opposite direction of the regulation. Poland, for instance, has recently asked for financial guarantees for the construction of new coal plants, and has explicitly tied up the ratification of the Paris agreement to concessions on coal by the EU. In addition, the Polish government has stated that coal will remain its main source of energy in the years to come.

It is also unclear in which way Brexit will affect the 40% common target. The United Kingdom was one of the countries contributing the most to the 2030 reduction objective. Consequently, the Commission will have to revise the whole sharing system if the country decides to give up on the EU climate policy.

The European Union should hasten to finalise the ratification process. Otherwise it will never regain its leading role in the fight against climate change.

Story by Fabio Orlando
We had a wonderful afternoon, even though the expected kettles of hawks failed to materialize.

At Hazel Bazemore County Park on Saturday, morning showers gave way to blue skies with a few scattered clouds. A light breeze kept the temperature pleasant and the mosquitoes at bay.

My daughter and I arrived at the Celebration of Flight late in the day, but the Corpus Christi HawkWatch platform was crowded with birders. Spotting scopes were set up facing north, and counters scanned the skies from the relative comfort of folding camp chairs.

It was a slow day, in terms of migrating raptors. Most species were represented; there just wasn't the endless stream of birds that often occurs in late September. A handful of peregrine falcons passed. A single Swainson's hawk sailed high overhead.

Visitors from Austin were excited to see a Harris's hawk, mainly a South Texas Brush Country species. Fifteen thousand broad-winged hawks, which always give the site its largest numbers, were counted Friday. Saturday, we only saw one.

A zone-tailed hawk appeared low over the river, and was speculated to be a continuing bird rather than a migrant. Two ospreys were counted. Resident turkey and black vultures soared over fields.

Non-raptors included a flock of 100 American white pelicans, a couple wood storks, several white ibises, an anhinga, and seven neotropic cormorants.

A male Baltimore oriole in fine bright plumage posed for a few minutes in a treetop directly in front of the platform. Cardinals lingered in the shade at the water drip. Green jays and a groove-billed ani were seen earlier in the day.

As is often the case, catching up with friends contributed to the fun. Longtime HawkWatch supporter Joel Simon gave me the latest good news about the bald eagles that nest near his home on Lake Corpus Christi in Live Oak County.

Local attorney Steve Schiwetz stopped by. Mary King's husband passed around a photo of a rattlesnake heavily infested by ticks. My daughter confessed to giving the concept a little bit too much thought. Must a tick be extraordinarily hungry to choose a coldblooded host?

A leisurely drive through the park produced a few more gems. The Nueces River's banks were full and the ponds had plenty of water, too. A reddish egret and a snowy egret waded a short distance apart in the larger pond.

In the smaller pond, another reddish egret stood motionless among the grasses, making us wish we had an adequate camera. A solitary scissor-tailed flycatcher perched on the utility line near the river.

When we got home, we had to refill the hummingbird feeders. Throngs of ruby-throats had descended the day before. Counters will continue to man the HawkWatch platform through Nov. 15.

Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi resident, has studied birds in Texas since 1960.
CALLER-TIMES FILE The annual Go Purple: Safe Families Festival, held on the Southside last year, will be at the Del Mar College East Campus Saturday.

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By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times

Advocates are painting Corpus Christi purple.

The city's landmark Harbor Bridge will be lit the color of domestic violence awareness for the first three weeks of October.

Monthly downtown events Art Walk and Bridge Walk will don purple for the month nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. The events will include pink decor to symbolize Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which shares October.

And the Women's Shelter of South Texas and Coastal Bend Coordinated Community Response Coalition hosts myriad campaign events starting with the kick off at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's Garcia Plaza.

Go Purple is a statewide campaign spurred by the Texas Council on Family Violence.

"To go purple means to rid your community of domestic violence deaths," said Stacey Barrera, community educator with the Women's Shelter of South Texas.

You don't have to work for the Women's Shelter to be an advocate. At the first event, advocates are encouraging participants to take the "These Hands Don't Hurt" pledge. The pledge is a commitment to speak out against domestic violence when it's red flags are seen, Barrera said.

On Saturday, the third annual Go Purple: Safe Families Festival will be at the Del Mar College East Campus. It was moved this year from the Southside to be in the area statistics show domestic violence is most prevalent in the city, Barrera said.

Last year, the location was near the Kings Crossing neighborhood after a man shot and killed his estranged wife before killing himself outside their home in the upper middle class neighborhood. Several other domestic violence killings in 2014 and 2015 were on the Southside and in Flour Bluff.

"Much like last year, we had it on the Southside to bring recognition and awareness to how domestic violence doesn't discriminate," Barrera said. "Thinking it only happens in a concentrated area is just not true."

About 30 of the city's homicides between 2010 and 2015 were linked to domestic violence. This year, public forums drew crowds after the deaths of Noemi Villarreal and Carina Castellanos highlighted gaps in how police handled family violence reports. The topic has been discussed in several local election candidate debates.

The Caller-Times began the Behind Broken Doors series in 2015 after an especially deadly year in 2014. The series explores domestic violence, including how law enforcement investigates the attacks, how prosecutors pursue offenders in court, how advocates heal victims, and what the community needs to do to curb the deadly trend.

Twitter: @CallerKMT

IF YOU GO

Domestic Violence Awareness & Prevention Month Events

What: Domestic Violence Awareness & Prevention Month Kick Off Event

When: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28

Where: Garcia Plaza, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Cost: Free

What: Go Purple Safe Families Festival

When: 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1

Where: White Library Courtyard, Del Mar College East Campus

Cost: Free

What: Anti-Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Town Hall Meeting with State Representative Todd Hunter

When: 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4

Where: Room 106, Del Mar Center For Economic Development

Cost: Free

What: 4th Biennial Political Forum 2016

When: Noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6

Where: Corpus Christi Police Officers Association

Cost: Free

What: Art Walk October theme is awareness of breast cancer and domestic violence

When: 5:30-10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7

Where: 223 N. Chaparral Street

Cost: Free

What: Bridge Walk October theme is awareness of breast cancer and domestic violence

When: Registration starts at 7:15 a.m. Walk begins at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 9

Where: Heritage Park 1581 N. Chaparral St.

Cost: Free

What: Go Purple Day

When: Thursday, Oct. 20

Where: Statewide campaign
City Hall

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By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times

Corpus Christi City Council members often speak of basing decisions and discussions on tomorrow rather than just today, but this week the discussion will be even more long term.

The council is set to discuss "Plan CC" at Tuesday's meeting, which begins at 11:30 a.m. in the council chambers of City Hall at 1201 Leopard St. Plan CC is the city's comprehensive plan that's focused on defining what city residents and leaders want the city to look like in the next two decades.

Those determinations then figure to be considered as councils in the future consider zoning and development-based questions.

Work on the plan began more than two years ago, and the debate over what should and should not be included  and if the plan will have any practical impact on decision-making or investments  has raged in the past year.

Tuesday's discussion is slated to show how certain council requests, such as adding more specificity and removing language that would appear to bind future councils, have been incorporated into the new plan.

Following the comprehensive plan discussion, the council is expected to shift its focus to another long-term issue that has sparked fierce public discourse: water. The council is set to hear and discuss a primarily technical plan focused on the city's long-term water supply needs and best avenues to ensuring ample water is available for the growing population center.

Mayor Nelda Martinez, who has been a leading proponent of long-term water solutions, recently called the city's water supply situation the "envy of the state," because the city is well-prepared  in terms of water supply, at least  to handle the expected residential, commercial and industrial growth of the coming decades.

The council agenda also includes a lengthy consent agenda that covers funding for certain police resources and street maintenance programs. During executive session, which is closed to the public, the council is set to discuss annexation, but it is not clear if any action will be taken.

The council could also further discuss the legal review of City Councilman Mark Scott's resignation to run for mayor in 2018.

Twitter: @reportermatt

If you go

What: City Council meeting

When: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday

Where: Council chambers of City Hall at 1201 Leopard St.

Up for discussion: Plan CC, water supply, police funding, street maintenance programs and more
KRISTA TORRALVA/CALLER-TIMES David Strickland walks outside the San Patricio Courthouse where he is being tried on capital murder and other charges.

SHARE Molli Olgin Mary Kristene Chapa

By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times

SINTON  Two years after being shot and left for dead in a Portland park, a woman identified a man in a photo lineup, but he's not the one on trial.

A video recording of Mary Kristene Chapa reviewing six photos in 2014 was shown to a San Patricio County jury Monday, the sixth day of the trial against David Malcom Strickland.

The prosecution rested its case early Monday. The defense's first witness was the former deputy sheriff who conducted the photo lineup with Chapa.

Strickland is charged with capital murder among other charges in the June 22, 2012 shooting that left Mollie Judith Olgin dead and seriously injured Chapa. Their bodies were found in Violet Andrews Park by a couple bird-watching.

Strickland has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have pointed the finger at a Nevada man who Portland police initially suspected of the crime. The Caller-Times is not naming him because he was never charged in the shooting. That man's former girlfriend also took the stand.

Strickland, 30, was arrested in 2014 after a letter meant for Chapa's father was instead given to authorities.

The letter implicated Strickland's former roommate and estranged friend, Christobal Melchor, who lives in Utah. Melchor, an Army soldier, was never a suspect and testified Monday he was at an annual training session in California during the shooting. His mother, Nancy Melchor, also testified and said Strickland told her he was a hit man and had killed people.

Defense lawyers called to the stand a woman and her daughter who lived next door to the Nevada man Portland police suspected for two years. The Nevada man had been convicted in a home invasion in his home state and was living with family friends in Portland while awaiting sentencing.

Monique Ybarra, now 18, said she ran away from home on the night of the shootings. While she hid in bushes at the park, Ybarra said she saw her neighbor  the man from Nevada  between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m.

The man's former girlfriend, Alicia Dickey, said they ate Whataburger at the park about 11 p.m. but the prosecutor, Sam Smith, said phone records contradicted her statement.

Residents who live along the park's edge previously testified they heard shots about 11:30 p.m.

Dickey said she feared the man as she tearfully described him choking her. After the shooting, police told Dickey about her boyfriend's record in Nevada and she testified she broke up with him soon after.

His DNA was found on several items near the crime scene including cigarette butts, an energy drink can, and a glove, a forensic scientist testified. Strickland's DNA was not on any evidence collected, however a firearms expert testified last week casings found near the girls' bodies likely came from his gun. Defense lawyers are expected to call their own firearms expert Tuesday.

A draft of the letter, which has been a piece of evidence that has been central to the prosecution's case was found on Strickland's laptop after his arrest. The letter was written from the perspective of a hit man who was offered a job to kill Chapa after she survived the shooting.

Strickland's wife, Laura, was initially charged with tampering with evidence because police thought she delivered the letter. Charges against her were later dismissed.

Strickland's defense team expects to rest its case Tuesday. The jury is likely to begin deliberations Wednesday.

Initially, it was widely believed Chapa and Olgin, who were a couple, were targeted because of their sexuality. But police and prosecutors have said evidence in the case does not support the hate crime theory.

Producers from NBC's "Dateline" have been attending the trial with plans to produce for an episode about the crime in the future.

Twitter: @CallerKMT
SHARE Austin Carlin

By Staff Reports of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times

A man who kidnapped a six-year-old girl from her Corpus Christi home is being sent to federal prison.

Austin Carlin, 21, pleaded guilty June 9 to kidnapping the girl and planning to take her to Arizona.

On Monday U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced Carlin to nearly 22 years of imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release, according to a news release from the U.S. attorneys office.

Carlin abducted from her home during the early morning hours of Feb. 22, 2015, stole a vehicle and drove out of Corpus Christi with the child.

After an Amber Alert was issued, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers stopped Carlin that afternoon as he drove on Interstate 10 about 15 miles west of Ozona.

Carlin has been jailed since his Feb. 22, 2015, arrest, the news release states.

Staff writer Krista M. Torralva contributed to this report.
Naval Air Station Kingsville

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By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

Naval Air Station Kingsville will undergo $9.2 million worth of repairs and upgrades.

The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast awarded the contract Sept. 23 to a Virginia-based business called Web, LLC. The company will repair NAS-Kingsville's aircraft simulator complex, according to a news release.

The station's aircraft simulator facility, built in 1959, and operational flight training facility, built in 1975, will be upgraded. Those buildings serve as primary ground training facilities for Navy and Marine Corps pilots training in the T-45, the release states. Every year, 146 student pilots use the facilities during the yearlong training cycle.

Electronic classrooms, computer-aided instruction and visual stimulator training will part of the upgrades. Students will spend about 65 percent of their T-45 training in the facilities, the release stated.

Exterior work will include re-roofing both buildings, insulation to the exterior walls, window replacement and weather-sealing the doors. Interior work will include foundation work, plumbing, heating, electrical, ventilation and air-condition upgrades or replacements.

Work is expected to be finished by Sept. 2018, the release states.

Twitter: @Caller_Jules
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A Cambridge United club director found a suspicious suitcase in the boot of his car on Sunday  which led to an explosion by the bomb disposal unit.

Renford Sargent found the suitcase in the boot of his BMW 640 convertible with two Jordanian passports on the top once he arrived home in Dalham  after it had already travelled from Cambridge to Newport and back again.

Mr Sargent said he suspected the bag had been put into his boot by mistake as he went to pick up fellow club director, Graham Daniels, in Cambridge.

He told the News: "In the five minutes I had left my car in the parking space unlocked and got Graham to come down, someone had put a suitcase in the boot of my car thinking, I think, that the car was there to pick them up.

"As we came downstairs, there was a man near the car. I said that's a bit weird but he was standing away from it so we didn't think anything about it.

"Off we go to Newport for the Cambridge United game with no idea that the bag was in the car. After the match, we drove straight home and I dropped Graham off in Cambridge and came back to Dalham.

"On Sunday morning I went to get my own bag from the car and saw this suitcase with two Jordanian passports on top."

Mr Sargent, who is also chairman of Premier Travel, didn't know whether to remove the case himself but instead decided to call the police.

"I hoped that they would just remove the case and find the people," he said. "Instead they decided, I'm sure correctly, that this thing needed further investigation.

"Eventually they decided to bring out the bomb disposal unit. The case was still in the back of my car and now I was wondering if my car is going to get blown up.

"I thought it was going to be like the Italian job."

A 200 metre cordon was put in place in the village, near Newmarket, whilst the bomb disposal squad attended the incident.

Eventually, a bomb disposal robot was sent down the street to take the suitcase out of the car.

The case was then exploded in Mr Sargent's driveway.

He said: "Much later on, I spoke to Graham's wife and she said she saw another car like mine near their home. We think a guy must have thought my car was the car that was sent there to take him.

"We had a bit of a laugh about it but we are going to get a ribbing for this at the club."

A spokesperson for Suffolk police said they believed the case was put in the boot in error.

They added: "Officers were contacted at 9.36am by a man who reported he had gone to his car, parked in Church Lane, and found a suitcase that did not belong to him in the boot of the vehicle.

"Police attended and, as a precautionary measure, a 200 metre cordon was put in place and the bomb disposal squad were alerted.

"Police have made enquiries to determine how the case came to be in the vehicle and it appears the suitcase was placed in the car in error.

"There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances."
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A legal scholar and human rights specialist has been nominated to become the next vice-chancellor of Cambridge University .

Today the university announced Professor Stephen Toope has been selected to take over from immunologist Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, who has held the role since 2010.

Subject to the approval of the Regent House, the university's governing body, he will take up the role on 1 October 2017, making him Cambridge's 346th vice-chancellor.

A graduate of Trinity College Cambridge, he is currently director of the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, and formerly served as president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia.

As vice-chancellor he will serve a minimum of five years, earning a six-figure annual salary and gaining use of the vice-chancellor's official residence on Latham Road.

(Image: Warren Gunn)

Last year Sir Leszek earned 325,000, more than 50,000 higher than the average vice-chancellor's wage.

Prof Toope is a scholar specialising in human rights, international dispute resolution, international environmental law, the use of force, and international legal theory with degrees in common law.

He completed his PhD at Trinity in 1987, after graduating from Harvard with a degree in history and literature.

He has published articles and books on change in international law, and the origins of international obligation in international society.

He also also represented Western Europe and North America on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances from 2002-2007.

The university has carried out an international search for Prof Borysiewicz's replacement, led by the master of Jesus College, Professor Ian White.

Prof Toope was selected from an initial list of 116 names, from which a long-list of seven men and three women were invited for further discussion in Cambridge.

He said: This nomination builds on seven years of Sir Leszek's visionary leadership. Professor Toope has impeccable academic credentials, a longstanding involvement with higher education, strong leadership experience and an excellent research background."

Current Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said: We are delighted to be welcoming a distinguished leader with such an outstanding record as a scholar and educator to lead Cambridge."

Professor Toope said: I am thrilled to be returning to this great university. I look forward to working with staff and students in the pursuit of academic excellence and tremendous international engagement  the very mark of Cambridge."

What is a vice-chancellor?

The vice-chancellor is nominated by the university council and appointed by more than 4,500 members of the Regent House.

The office is held for up to seven years and cannot be held along with the headship of a college, or any other university office.

As vice-chancellor Prof Toope will chair the council of the university, the general board of the faculties and the finance committee of the council.

He will also play a leading role in recruiting senior staff and in ensuring the university remains on a sound financial footing in order to achieve its aims.

The vice-chancellor also works with other key figures around the university, and fulfils several important ceremonial duties.

Beyond Cambridge, the vice-chancellor represents the university to governments in the UK and overseas, and serves on many national and international bodies.

He or she is assisted by five pro-vice-chancellors, each of whom has portfolios in areas such as resource management, research and education.
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Children in Littleport are hoping that their artwork will lead to motorists creating a safer environment outside their school.

Local PCSO Annie Austin has been working with pupils at Millfield Primary School on an initiative aimed at stopping drivers from parking illegally on the single yellow lines outside and around the school gates.

PCSO Austin has arranged for pupils to produce a series of letters spelling out 'NO PARKING', which will then be digitally placed onto a banner to be displayed outside the school, in Grange Lane.

She says the initiative is in support of the existing single yellow lines which prohibit parking outside the school at specific times, including on the footpath and the verge adjacent to the lines, mainly at drop-off and pick-up times.

PCSO Austin said: "The children displayed their artwork as a pre-warning to parents that it is dangerous, as well as illegal, to park at these locations during the school run.

"It is my hope that the banner will serve as a permanent reminder that the safety of children is paramount.

"The school are in full support of the initiative and will be distributing details to parents."

Drivers caught parked outside school gates or irresponsibly near schools can be fined  and can even get points on their licence.

Police are encouraging schools in East Cambridgeshire which are experiencing parking issues to call them on 101.
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he prospect of two huge storms colliding and smashing into Britain has sparked weather warnings across the UK, but Cambridge should miss out on the worst impact, forecasters have predicted.

Two major storms named Karl and Lisa are currently being tracked across the Atlantic, with American hurricane experts warning they could merge just off the coast of Britain.

Scientists from America's National Hurricane Centre expert Karl to reach 'hurricane strength' over the next two days, before getting caught up in the jet stream and heading to the UK.

'Severe weather' has been predicted for much of the north and west of the country, with Scotland on alert for up to four inches of rain.

In a tweet this morning, the Met Office said: "The unsettled weather is thanks to the jet stream. It will be powerful this week, bringing deep areas of low pressure towards the UK."

However the storms are not expected to reach the east of England, with Cambridgeshire on track to avoid the worst impact.

The Met Office has issued no warnings for the county, with a maximum wind speed of 14 miles per hours expected over the next seven days.

Temperatures are predicted to peak at around 20 degrees on Wednesday, which will experience sunny intervals in an otherwise cloudy day.

A few showers are expected across the region, but many places are expected to stay dry.
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Punt operators are strapping on body cameras to prove they are not breaking a ban on touting in Cambridge  which is now a criminal offence.

Cambridge City Council has imposed a ban on punt touting in parts of the city centre and have already been issuing fines to people suspected of carrying out the now illegal act.

The order states there is a ban on verbally advertising or soliciting" punt tours.

But punt operators are disputing the fines saying they were issued without any evidence" and are now donning body-cams to prove they are not actively touting.

The new public spaces protection order (PSPO) came into effect on Thursday, September 15 and prohibits touting for punt tours within specified areas of the city centre.

It is a criminal offence to tout for punt tours in areas covered by the PSPO, with anyone in breach of the order facing a 75 fixed penalty notice, the council said.

But punt operators say the wording is vague" and are wearing body cameras to store evidence.

Sam Matthews, of the Traditional Punting Company, said: Fines are being handed out without any evidence of the PSPO being broken and no proof of us verbally advertising punting. The enforcement officers are not asking the customer how the interaction began. If they see a tout with a punting board talking to a potential customer they are issuing an instant 75 fine.

We want to work with the authorities to make sure we are not committing a criminal offence. They are leaving their interpretation of why they will fine us deliberately vague, leaving us open to fines whilst we adapt to the new way of selling.

The whole law prohibits a tout instigating a sale verbally. If the potential customer approaches one of our touts they can reply and mention punting, or lead them to our shop based on King's Parade to compete the negotiation and transaction.

We are now starting to use body cameras to record every transaction which we can then playback to the council or police to prove that the sale was done legally.

We don't want to be breaking the law or committing offences but as the council haven't given us a black and white answer as to what does and doesn't break the PSPO, it's a learning curve for the authorities and us.

We hope the authorities are not seeing our attempts as antagonist, but instead our real desire to help resolve the touting problem Cambridge has experienced in recent years."

The PSPO warning signs displayed in public state: You are prohibited from verbally advertising or soliciting for custom or otherwise touting for a punt tour or the hire or use of punts, boats or similar craft on the river Cam in restricted areas."

Lynda Kilkelly, the council's safer communities manager, said: "The activities prohibited by the Order are verbally advertising or soliciting for custom or otherwise touting for punt tours. "The Order uses plain English and the meaning is clear. We will enforce the order as we are entitled to do so."

The public spaces covered by the PSPO include most of the city centre except specified touting locations beside the river at Quayside, Silver Street, Trinity College frontage at Garret Hostel Lane, Queens' Green and the walkway from Quayside to Jesus Green (La Mimosa), provided that certain conditions set out in the order are met.
| BY Lynchy |

Just in time for summer, Diageo Australia is launching a new television commercial and through the line campaign via Leo Burnett, Sydney to support the launch of Lazy Bear, a pre-mixed drink from Bundaberg Rum.

The mid-strength Lazy Bear combines Bundaberg Rum with the taste of dry ginger ale and natural lime.

The TVC was shot on location in Thala Beach, North Queensland, just outside Cairns. It features five mates enjoying a lazy afternoon by the beach in hammocks, swinging in increasing arcs, like a Newtons cradle (which theyve constructed), before cleverly grabbing a bottle of Lazy Bear from an esky perched in a tree.

The product name and campaign were conceived by Diageo and Leos in response to the trend towards more casual daytime drinking occasions. Lazy Bear is a direct invitation to re-embrace well-earned lazy time with your mates.

With the product name nodding towards the brands most famous icon, viewers will be encouraged to keep an eye out for some guest appearances by a famous figure long absent from our screen: Bundy R Bear. He makes a cameo appearance across seven different versions of the TVC where he can be spotted enjoying some well-earned lazy time of his own.

Grant McAloon, joint ECD, Leo Burnett Sydney, said: Spending time with friends is important but we often struggle to find that time. So when it does happen, its something to be celebrated. So thats what we set out to do.

His ECD partner, Vince Lagana, added: Were proud to have worked so closely with Diageo on this product that moves one of its biggest brands into a new space, along with a campaign that reminds us that lazy time is actually precious time.

Jodi McLeod, Marketing Manager, Bundaberg Rum, said: Bundaberg Rum Lazy Bear is our biggest premix launch in years. We have already seen an amazing response to the product from retailers as the weather starts to warm up and shoppers look for the perfect drink to accompany those summer picnics and BBQs. Were excited to be launching a campaign that brings to life lazy time with our signature humour and reintroduces Bundy R. Bear to surprise and delight everyone whose been missing him from our screens.

The campaign also runs across cinema, outdoor, digital and social.

Agency  Leo Burnett Sydney

Chief Executive Officer: Pete Bosilkovski

Executive Creative Director: Grant McAloon & Vince Lagana

Senior Art Director: Nils Eberhardt & Ben Alden

Senior Copywriter: Dave Govier & Michael Dawson

Executive Broadcast Producer: Tim Pietranski

Integrated Producer: Cassie Collin

Head of Print: Adrian Jung

Strategy Director: Ross Cameron

Group Business Director: James Walker-Smith

Business Director: Neil Duncan

Business Manager: Aaron Wall

PR Director: Liz Hunt

Head of Connect: Emma Montgomery & Karla Pritchard

Communications Strategy Director: Linda Fagerlund (nee Tran)

Media Director: Stuart Capel

Media Agency: MediaVest

Production  Revolver

Director: Steve Rogers

EP/Producer: Pip Smart

EP: Michael Ritchie

DOP: Geoffrey Simpson

Editor: Bernard Garry (The Editors)

Grade: Ben Eagleton (BE Colour)

Post Production/VFX: FIN design

Post Supervisor: Justin Bromley

Music: Song Zu

Client  Diageo

Marketing and Innovation Director: Adam Ballesty

Head of Strategy and Innovation: Drewe Letchford

Innovation Futurist: Joe Spence

Marketing Manager: Jodi McLeod

Senior Brand Manager: Karl Roche
| BY Lynchy |

Winners of the hotly contested Best Newsroom Award at Fairfax Medias annual media agency Editorial Challenge have been announced, with MediaCom in Melbourne and Match Media in Sydney topping a field of competitive and creative teams to win in their respective cities.

Seven media agencies in Victoria and six in NSW competed in teams to create multiplatform

news and feature stories for mock versions of The Age and The Sydne y Morning Herald with accompanying headlines, captioned pictures and video to support their story, with each team member assigned a newsroom role, such as Editor-in-Chief, reporter/interviewer, writer, photographer/videographer and subeditor.

The challenge was judged by some of Fairfaxs most senior editorial talent including The Ages Editor at Large, Mark Hawthorne; and Online Deputy Editor, Mex Cooper in Melbourne; The Syd ney Morning Heralds Digital Editor, Stephen Hutcheon and National Social Media Editor, Georgia Waters in Sydney. The judges provided expert guidance on how to write a compelling story, attention grabbing headlines, interviewing, photography/videography

and sub-editing.

The 2016 Fairfax Media Editorial Challenge winners are:

Best Newsroom (Overall)

Prize: $500 t ravel voucher, courtesy of Traveller

Melbourne: MediaCom

Sydney: Match Media

Best Individual Story (News or Feature)

Prize: $1500 team restaurant voucher, courtesy of Good Food

Melbourne: Dentsu Mitchell

Sydney: PHD Sydney

Best Multimedia (Photo & Video)

Prize: 12 month Stan subscription

Melbourne: OMD

Sydney: Initiative

Best Headline (Any Platform)

Prize: 1 x bottle of Veuve Clicquot each

Melbourne: ZenithOptimedia

Sydney: Society

Commenting on the Melbourne winners, The Ages Mark Hawthorne said: Congratulations to MediaCom, as the winners of the overall newsroom award they had a unique, engaging feature story that we believed would be widely read, an outstanding video with high production values, and a very clever digital headline Swipe right but just for the night.

On awarding the Sydney winners, The Sydney Morning Heralds Stephen Hutcheon said: Match filed two consistently strong stories accompanied by strong visuals and engaging, catchy social posts meeting all objectives. Their news piece about a dubious cleaning service was well structured, including good use of quotes, and the accompanying news video was exceptionally well put together, considering the conditions of the Editorial Challenge limited

equipment and time.
| BY Lynchy |

As it continues to establish a significant presence in the Queensland market, Ogilvy Brisbane has further boosted its ranks with the appointment of Ewen Pettit (second from right) to the newly created role of Senior Strategy Planner.

Pettits appointment completes the agencys senior management team, comprising recently appointed ECD Phil Nobay (far left), managing director Russ Vine (far right) and general manager Jane Young (second from left).

Having worked both as a pure Digital Strategist and also in larger, integrated comms agencies developing brands and broader campaign strategies, Ewen brings the perfect blend of skills to the agency, said Russ Vine, Managing Director, Ogilvy Brisbane.

As the Ogilvy Australia model of integrated services starts to take hold in Queensland, we needed someone of Ewens expertise and calibre as our clients rethink their agency requirements. We are tremendously excited to have him on board as the agency enters its next growth phase, said Vine.

Pettit returns to Queensland from Ireland where he was most recently Senior Strategist at Dublin-based agency Bricolage, working across a number of top tier clients including Vodafone, Heineken and Audi.

Prior to that Pettit worked at Havas, Ireland and before that held Brisbane-based roles at both Sapient Nitro and Deloitte Digital.

On joining Ogilvy Brisbane Pettit said: Im passionate about delivering forward-thinking strategies that connect consumers and brands in a truly meaningful way. Ogilvy Brisbane is a dynamic agency that has its eyes firmly focused in this space; I cant wait to get started.
| BY Lynchy |

Building upon the 2015 brand campaigns Its about time strategy, Tourism Northern Territory and its creative agency Common Ventures, Sydney have launched a new TVC that continues to push the brand away from the traditional constraints of Tourism advertising.

The TVC not only covers off the abundance of things to do in the NT, but it showcases the uniqueness of activities available. Some of the NTs more obvious landmarks take a back seat to the territorys fine dining spots and natural infinity pools as the audience is pushed to Stop guessing and start doing.

Says Tourism NTs A/Manager of Consumer Communications, Monika Tonkin: The campaign builds upon the urgency of the 2015 campaign by demonstrating that the Northern Territory is great value for a domestic holiday destination. The new TVC adds a layer of iconic regional landscapes, NT humour, accessible adventure, breadth of experiences and value offers to illustrate a trip to the NT is worth the money.

By using humour and unconventional destination footage, we were able to push the TVC creative into a space that really reflects the affable, larrikin nature of the territory.

Jane Burhop, Creative Director of Common Ventures went on to explain the approach taken to show off this uniqueness and how demonstrating value through the variety and quality of experiences in the NT was the driving force behind the TVC concept.

A trip to the Northern Territory is a different kind of travel experience. Its somehow awe-inspiring yet raw and real at the same time. By mimicking how people capture moments when theyre travelling, the camera is always in amongst the action  not just watching from the sidelines. In an effort to fuel a more emotive feeling, more and more brands are steering away from overly polished, sweeping shots to put you into a family lounge room, or in this case  you get to be the third wheel on a romantic getaway to the northern territory.

Together, the Tourism Northern Territory Marketing team and Common Ventures worked closely with NT industry operators and suppliers to capture the unseen side of the region. Acclaimed director Craig Melville from Jungle, in collaboration with NT production house Global Headquarters, were brought on board to help Tourism NT and Common Ventures bring this spot to life.

Agency: Common Ventures

ECD: Brian Merrifield

Creative Director: Jane Burhop

Copywriter: James Crawley

Strategic Planner: Damian Damjanovski

Senior Account Director: Alex Don

Production Manager: Gillian Smyth

Production: Jungle

Director: Craig Melville

Producer: David Curry

Prod Manager/1st AD: Paula Gleeson

Executive Producer: Nick Simkins

NT Production: Global Headquarters

Director: Tiffany Manzie

Director Of Photography: Simon Manzie

Music Track & Artist  Better Place  Dave Crowe

Sound House: Rumble Studios

Media company: Atomic 212

Tourism Northern Territory

Executive Director Marketing & Communications: Adam Coward

A/Manager of Consumer Communications: Monika Tonkin
| BY Lynchy |

BMW Japan Corp has appointed J. Walter Thompson Japan to develop the brands strategy and creative work for Japan.

BMW Japan Corp. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the worlds leading premium car manufacturer, BMW AG, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. BMW Japan was established in 1981 as the first 100%-owned subsidiary of the German car maker in Japan. Since then BMW Japan has led the import car business, setting benchmarks in product, service and customer care initiatives.

We are extremely honored and thrilled to be able to work on such a powerful brand like BMW. We are strongly determined to further strengthen the value of BMW by working closely together with the client as one team, said J. Walter Thompsons Managing Director Hironobu Chief Kitajima (pictured above).

We are going to dedicate every drop of our creativity to evolve this landmark, 100-year-old brand through a partnership that goes beyond a client-agency relationship, said Go Sohara, the agencys Executive Creative Director.
| BY Lynchy |

Cheil Worldwide South Korea and Caribbean Bay, a water park in Korea, launched a revolutionary hands-on CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training campaign to help prevent accidents related to water activities.

Titled Life Pump, Cheil Worldwide created a new CPR training tool by combining a CPR manikin with an air pump in order to encourage people to practice CPR while filling up the pool tube with air at the same time.

Most people are aware of the importance of CPR but there are not many who can actually do it with confidence in emergencies, said a spokesperson from Cheil Worldwide who created the Life Pump. Our aim was to help people experience CPR and even master it voluntarily. That is how Life Pump was born.

The Life Pump campaign was promoted throughout August with ten Life Pumps installed at the Caribbean Bay. Within only 3 weeks, 5,851 swimming tubes were filled resulting in 5,851 people who now know how to perform CPR.

With Life Pump, people can naturally experience CPR before they get in the water. The campaign was particularly well received by family visitors who brought their children, said a person from Caribbean Bay.

According to 2014 research by Korean Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the ratio of CPR conducted among witnesses of such cardiac arrests is mere 8.7%  much lower than that of Sweden(55%), U.S.(31%) and Japan(27%). Results of telephone survey by Korean Association of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation backs up this fact as while 82.3% of those surveyed responded that they know CPR, only 6.8% said they can confidently practice CPR.

This is due to not many people having a chance to try CPR themselves. Most of the time when cardiac arrests occur, the life is in the hands of people nearby. With insight that hands-on experience is vital in this case, Life Pump is aiming to help increase the number of people who are capable of performing CPR.

Life Pump campaign is a clever idea for learning CPR voluntarily at a place where many emergency cases occur due to accidents in water, said Kiyoung Suk, chairman of Korea Emergency Medical Association. I believe that the campaign will play as a practical prevention as it helps people learn CPR before any water-related accidents happen.
Monday, September 26, 2016 at 12:49PM

Two of the biggest software and services companies have teamed up to collaborate and share their strengths. One of the key announcements at the Microsoft Ignite conference in Atlanta today is that Adobe Systems Incorporated and Microsoft Corp. announced a strategic partnership to help enterprise companies embrace digital transformation and deliver compelling, personalized experiences through every phase of their customer relationships.

Together, the two companies will enable businesses to dramatically strengthen their brands through solutions with Microsoft Azure, Adobe Marketing Cloud and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Business leaders in every industry are focused on how to better engage their digital customers, wherever they are, said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Together, Adobe and Microsoft are bringing the most advanced marketing capabilities on the most powerful and intelligent cloud to help companies digitally transform and engage customers in new ways.

Customers today expect a well-designed, personalized and consistent experience every time they engage with a brand, said Shantanu Narayen, Adobe president and chief executive officer. Adobe and Microsoft will bring together the cloud horsepower and end-to-end capabilities brands need to design and deliver great digital experiences.

With this partnership, Adobe will make Microsoft Azure its preferred cloud platform for the Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Document Cloud. Azure provides Adobe with a trusted, global cloud and a powerful data platform for intelligent services, including comprehensive machine learning and cognitive capabilities in Microsoft Cortana Intelligence Suite and SQL Server.

Microsoft will make Adobe Marketing Cloud its preferred marketing service for Dynamics 365 Enterprise edition, giving customers a powerful, comprehensive marketing service for Microsofts next generation of intelligent business applications.

The two companies are collaborating on data integrations to ensure customers can easily work across Adobe Marketing Cloud and Dynamics 365 business applications, leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning and advance analytics. Customers will be able to use these integrations across Adobe and Microsoft solutions to create new data-driven sales and marketing capabilities. The underlying data models will be extensible to enterprise customers, as well as third party developers and partners, which will foster innovation and development across a shared ecosystem.

Adobe and Microsoft will jointly work with leading companies to help them envision and implement the integrated solutions. As a result, the companies mutual customers will be able to harness their data for critical insights and predictions, connect customer touchpoints across their business, bolster relationships, and drive brand loyalty and growth.
Monday, September 26, 2016 at 1:03AM

Motorola is opening up its modular Moto Z line to people who want to develop Mods for it. It has released a development kit for the Moto Mods, allowing anyone to build any accessory they can conceive. The dev kits come with a reference mod, which is a computer itself with its own processor, input and output ports (including a DisplayPort), perforated board with 364 solder points. The Lenovo-owned brand is also selling add-ons and sample mods separately to show off the capabilities of these mods. These include a HAT adapter which can be slapped onto any Raspberry Pi HAT and Personality Cards for audio, display, and sensors that can connect to the Reference Moto Mod.

The Dev Kit is currently available for US$125 in China, Europe, and South America. It will be coming to Canada on October 5. Those who plan to sell the Mods they create can join Motorolas certification program.

Source: SlashGear
The 5500 sq m CFMEU block has three buildings, two used by the union as headquarters and training area and one leased to the Stockade gym, at $104,000 a year. The unimproved value of the land is $283,000. The block's lease allows only a club, construction apprentice training and related accommodation. The Colliers valuation suggests two values: $3.25 million with 18 months' rent free for the union; or $3.55 million with vacant possession. The Land Development Agency paid the Tradies $3.9 million, with 42 months' rent free. The agency said the payment included GST (although the Colliers valuation expected no GST would be payable on the site). The transfer was signed on December 15, 2014, and settlement was four days later.
In 1956 he became restless when the new wonder of television reached Sydney and Melbourne. Against all advice and many odds, he began quietly manoeuvring for a Canberra television licence. By the end of 1959 he was submitting an application in partnership with Arthur Shakespeare, then a major shareholder and managing editor of The Canberra Times. It was through the dogged work of these two men that CTC-7 came into being.
"We had it pushed down our throats at school to go down the tertiary path and get one of those sorts of jobs, but I've always appreciated the hands-on side of things. I've always enjoyed seeing the finished product of things I've been working on.
It does not appear as if that survey, whose results were so unexpected the organisers, Essential Poll, ran it twice, was unduly influenced by Ms Hanson's most recent maiden speech in which she claimed it was now Muslims, not Asians, who were overrunning the country.
The company, which is part-owned by Vodafone, will lease capacity from Century City Connect, Dark Fibre Africa, Fibrehoods, Openserve and Vumatel, say the reports.

Louisa van Beek, Vodacoms managing executive for the fibre project, told IT News Africa: In order to accelerate access to fibre services for our customers, we have partnered with third party FTTH infrastructure providers for access to ready-built FTTH networks.

Vodacom Fibre is already available via four of the wholesale networks, and Century City Connects network will be added shortly, said the publication.

Earlier this year, Vodacom stated its intention to pass one million broadband fibre end-points within the next four years, van Beek told the publication. The rollout of fibre remains a critical part of Vodacoms growth strategy. We anticipate significant growth in this area and besides investing significantly in our own infrastructure we will also continue to sign up additional third party network infrastructure providers.
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
A school-going kid undergoes mental and physical pressure equal to that of an adult professional. Kids have to carry several note books and text books in order everyday. They are overburdened physically as they have to carry a heavy school bag on their backs and stressed mentally because they cannot leave a few books at home to lighten their bags. If they leave some of the books at home, they will be punished by their teachers.

There is a dire need to look into this issue of heavy school bags. Of course, the heavy school bag has been a burning question for a long time now; yet, the parents and teachers are yet to understand the seriousness of the issue. That is why, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has once again asked schools and parents to reduce the weight of their kids' school bags.

Once the day's work is over, it is with great difficulty that an adult carries himself home due to extreme fatigue. Then, we can imagine the condition of a small child who is tired by the end of school hours and has to carry his heavy school bag home.

One of the solutions to lighten the school bags provided by CBSE is to not give homework. Instead, kids can finish the day's academic work during school hours.

There are severe health hazards for kids who carry heavy school bags and they are as below:

if a kid carries a heavy bag on one side, it would bend the spine on one side which is not good for the physical posture of the kid

even keeping the heavy bag down when in class and carrying after classes are over can hurt the tender back bone of a kid

while carrying a heavy bag, a child bends forward which is very dangerous for ligaments, muscles and discs in the back

the child is sure to develop back ache, neck pain and shoulder pain along with bad posture and instant fatigue if he carries a heavy bag for a long time

If a child has to grow into a productive citizen for the future of our country and contribute for the betterment of the society, his health has to be prioritized. India has the highest population of young people; therefore, the present and future young population should be healthy to develop our country. Hence, the advice of CBSE to parents and schools regarding lightening the school bags has to be taken seriously and implemented without further delay.

Read:

Effects of homework on student learning

10 foods for students to boost brainpower
In a shocker to the government policy of removing the capitation fee through NEET, the private medical colleges have hiked their tuition fee. The cost of medical education remains same in these colleges, but they have made a substantial hike in their tuition fee.

The private institutions claim their overhead to be really high. They have give best infrastructure to the hospital and college which costs really high. They also need to attract faculty who are already having a good clinical practice, which is tough. The faculties are needed be paid high for having good education in the college.

The SRM medical college of Chennai has raised its fee from to 21 lakh per year, whereas the DY Patil Medical College of Navi Mumbai has hiked the fee to 16.5 lakh per annum from the previous year's fee of 8.5 lakh.

According to data collected by the Times of India, studying in private medical colleges of tamilnadu will be most expensive. In the states like Gujrat and Karnataka, the cost of education in private medical colleges is relatively low.

In government medical colleges, the costs are as low as Rs. 9,000 per annum to Rs. 4.4 lakh per annum. The deemed universities are seen to be charging high fee as they are not monitored closely by the state governments.

Some private colleges are reported to be taking capitation fee in cash. Even after the fee hike, colleges are reported to take high capitation fee in cash. This fee may go as high as 70 lakh.

"Even after the hiking of fees, a few colleges are still taking capitation fees in cash. But most are at least declaring higher fees instead of collecting cash under the table. To make it even more foolproof, the PAN number of the parents making the payment should be attached. And for every admission in the NRI quota, passport and citizenship details should be on record to be examined later in case of doubt of any fraud," said Dr. Anand Raj. Anand Raj was one of the whistleblowers of the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh.

The state fee committees feel helpless even after knowing about the fee hikes. They say that the public needs to take the matter to court if they want an action.
UK's Staffordshire University announces 30 funded research studentships under its three newly launched Research Institutes focused on wellbeing

UK-based Staffordshire University, which has a proud heritage of delivering quality skills-based vocational education for more than 10 decades, has announced up to 30 full and part funded, full-time PhD studentships which are available across its 3 new Research Institutes.

These studentships have been announced as part of the University's new research drive to develop the three Research Institutes - the Institute for Individual and Cultural Wellbeing, the Institute for Economic and Societal Wellbeing and the Institute for Technological and Environmental Wellbeing - all focused on wellbeing.

Each institute has its own area of research and houses at least 3 to 4 centres, with a wide range of scope in store for the apt candidates. The Institute for Individual and Cultural Wellbeing focuses on enhancing human wellbeing with research comprising of health, happiness, beauty and the functionality of one's surroundings and performance.

Whereas, the Institute for Economic and Societal Wellbeing emphasizes on understanding the economy and institutions integral to societal wellbeing like schools, hospitals and organisations and civil society.

The Institute for Technological and Environmental Wellbeing focuses on enhancing the wellbeing of society, industry and physical environment in which technology and engineering are used to improve health, life satisfaction and productivity as part of the research.

The studentships are open to UK, EU and international students. Successful applicants will receive a fee waiver to the value of Home/EU student PhD fees, with some receiving an additional full tax-free stipend of 14,296 and others a partial stipend of 5,000 for three years, subject to satisfactory progress.

To be eligible for these studentships, applicants must have at least a second-class honours degree and/or Masters level qualification in a relevant discipline. As part of the application, the candidates are required to submit their CV with two academic referees.

They must also send a personal statement of maximum 500 words mentioning about their research skills, experience and why they want to do a PhD. Additionally, an outline of their proposed research in maximum 500 words has to be submitted.

The applications will be reviewed on the basis of one's focus of research interest and/or the concerned Institute's supervisory capacity to support the applicant's proposed research, the candidate's eligibility and preparedness to undertake doctoral research as well as the viability, impact and relevance of the research interest to the University's new research institutes.

The application deadline is 30th September 2016. Decision on applications will be communicated via Email and interviews are expected to be held in the week commencing from 17th October 2016. Successful applicants will be expected to start on 3rd January 2017, subject to meeting all standard entry criteria.

For further information, please visit http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/research-services/phd-research-opportunities/
New Delhi, September, 2016: Globally renowned higher education analysts QS, has given 5 star ratings for employability and campus facilities to UPES. UPES, with overall 3 Stars, is currently the only Indian education institution with live QS Star Ratings.

The Dehradun based private university, widely acknowledged for its unique and innovative courses, has taken the pole position for having a robust employability ecosystem of placements and career service support for students. Over 300 companies visited the campus this year, hiring over 1200 students from the University.

"UPES is proud to be rated 5 Stars for placements and campus facilities and 4 Stars for teaching, a global recognition that clearly reflects our commitment towards our students," said Utpal Ghosh, CEO and President, UPES, while commenting on the developments.

"QS is an international benchmarking measure in higher education and we are excited to be the only Indian University currently to be QS Rated and join the league of some of the best international universities" he underlined.

The QS Stars ratings system is a new international standard identifying excellence and diversity among the world's universities. The rating system evaluates universities against a range of important performance indicators based on a rating method. Unlike QS Rankings, QS Star Ratings are not dependent on the performance of other institutions and include thorough evaluation of specialist components that may not be easily included in rankings.

EMPLOYABILITY - 5 Stars

QS Stars ratings system recognizes that graduate employability encompasses more than academic strength, focusing on 'workreadiness'  the ability to work effectively in a multicultural team, to deliver presentations, to manage people and projects. 5 Stars rating on employability reflects University's strong performance on key indicators like Employer reputation, Campus employer presence, Graduate employment rate and Careers service support.

FACILITIES - 5 Stars

The Facilities category talks about the physical infrastructure of a university, providing students with some insight into the environment they can expect for their university experience. UPES has received 5 Stars basis key parameters like sporting facilities, student's accommodation, IT infrastructure, library facilities, medical facilities and student societies.

TEACHING - 4 Stars

QS Stars ratings system recognizes that a key role of a university is to nurture tomorrow's finest minds, inspiring the next generation of potential research academics. UPES has been rated 4 Stars on key indicators like students' satisfaction with teaching, overall student satisfaction and faculty student ratio.

About UPES:

University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) was established in the year 2003 through UPES Act, 2003 of the State Legislature of Uttarakhand. UPES is recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 and accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). UPES offers 87 graduate and post graduate courses in the high-growth sectors like oil and gas, power, infrastructure, information technology, transportation, electronics, high technology, design, business, planning and architecture, public policy, legal studies and more. BBA, MBA, B Tech, M Tech, B Des, M Des, LLB, LLM, B Plan, M Plan, MA and many more are offered under these schools and colleges.

Because of its multi disciplinary courses, UPES graduates are a preferred choice for the companies. UPES has maintained a consistent placement track record of 85% placements year on year. This demonstrates UPES' commitment, quality of students, and the holistic approach of its dedicated faculty.

Read:

QS World University Rankings list for BRICS nations is here!

QS World University Rankings 2016: Indian Universities Shine
We all knew it deep down but now BBC confirmed that the 2017 season of Top Gear will be hosted by Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid.



They will be joined from Eddie Jordan and Sabine Shmitz in select episodes, as well as one of the biggest stars of the show: The Stig.

American actor LeBlanc has agreed to host the show for the next two seasons. Patrick Holland, Channel Editor, BBC Two says: I am thrilled that Matt LeBlanc is returning to Top Gear. Hes a huge talent whose love of cars is infectious. I cant wait for the series to return to BBC Two next year.

Last year Chris Evans quit the show after failing to persuade audiences in the role of Top Gears main host, leaving the rest of the team behind. Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid received positive reviews as hosts of the revamped show.

Matt was hugely popular with Top Gear viewers last series with his humour, warmth and obvious passion for cars and for the show, so I couldnt be more delighted that hes agreed to come back and do more for us, said Mark Linsey, Director, BBC Studios.

The 24th season of Top Gear will return to BBC Two next year. Its safe to expect some changes in the format of the show which is going to be rivaled by The Grand Tour of Clarkson, Hammond and May, set to debut on November 18th on Amazon Prime.

PHOTO GALLERY
Widely regarded as one of the worlds finest road courses, Road Atlanta hosts all types of racing. Its been home to the Petit Le Mans since 1998, it was part of the Can-Am series when that was a thing, and has hosted everything from Indy Lights and the NASCAR Busch Series to AMA Superbikes. But late last month, it played host to another kind of event.



That event was Gridlife South, a weekend-long celebration of drifting. The festival features concerts at night and racing action during the day, bringing out some of the biggest names in the American drift scene, including Vaughn Gittin Jr, Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck and, from the look of it, dozens of GoPro cameras and caseloads of energy drink.

It looks like a heck of a good time, and fortunately Donut Media was there to capture the action and splice the best of it into this two-minute clip. This is what happens when you throw an all-weekend party at a race track, reads the description. If it looks like a party youre sorry to have missed, theres another right around the corner, slated to hit Gingerman Raceway in southwestern Michigan next month.

Video
Under the ownership of SAIC Motor, MG Motors will shift car production from Longbridge, Central England, to China.



According to AutomotiveNews, the automaker said that this move would result in manufacturing efficiencies, which will ultimately reflect in the final cost of the product, and denied that it has anything to do with Great Britains vote to leave the European Union.

[Ending production] will ensure global market competitiveness and support long-term investment into new product lines, MG wrote on Friday.

The decision has been taken by SAIC and it only affects the MG3 model, as the GS compact SUV is currently assembled in Linggang, China. However, MGs departure for the Peoples Republic means that 25 employees are expected to lose their jobs.

MGs choice to move car production from Europes right-hand drive market to the Asian country by the years end has sparked sadness throughout the UK and one of the people who showed his disappointment was Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer, who started his career at Rover.

Deeply disappointed to see the closure of the Longbridge site, where I learned so much of my trade, Palmer tweeted.

Subsequently, MG Motor will continue to design and engineer cars in Longbridge, and a few months ago, the company announced the investment of 1.2 million ($1.55 million) into a fifth engine test facility, among other improvements that will be made to the development center, which is home to 300 employees.

PHOTO GALLERY
Do you have a community project, idea or concern that needs some expert attention  the Kelowna Jaycees want to help.

The 2016 Kelowna JCI Legacy Project is looking for a ideas for projects that will help tackle some of the biggest problems in Kelowna.

We believe in bettering ourselves by improving our community for generations to come, said Ryan Lancaster in the promotional video.

So if you've seen a challenge in our community or a problem the Jaycees can tackle reach out to us.

Those with submissions ideas are encouraged to 'like' the Kelowna Jaycees Facebook page and then enter their submissions to [email protected].

We want to hear from you, we want your ideas, added Lancaster.
A little rain couldn't stop bacon lovers from running in the third-annual Great Canadian Bacon Chase.

Sunday morning at Parkinson Recreation Centre, bacon lovers, consumers and enthusiasts discovered several different ways to consume bacon as they took in the five-kilometre walk or run.

We started with rain, but the sun came out which is wonderful, said Christina Ferreira, event producer.

The BC Pork Association contributed all of the bacon. We had three bacon stations along the way (FSH, Kitchen Sync Catering and That Donut Guy) and here at the finish line we have Artisto Gelato who has done bacon gelato and then we've got virgin bacon Caesars, virgin mimosas and pancakes and bacon.

This year's event saw more than 250 participants.

We had kids in strollers to seniors who all came out to enjoy some bacon, said Ferreira.

This is one of our strongest years. We saw a little bit of a drop last year, but we rebuilt it this year which is great.

The Boys and Girls Club of the Central Okanagan will receive all the donations from this year's event and their attendance on Sunday help boost numbers.

We wanted to really create this family festival. Come out for breakfast with your family in the morning and be wrapped up and home by noon, said Ferreira.

The entire event is sponsored by the BC Pork Association and Reid and Associates Financial Planners.
Photo: Contributed

Ransomware has been around since 1989, but its getting worse and spreading faster. Learn how to protect your data.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that sneaks into a computer, locks the owner out of the system or encrypts the files, and then demands payment to reverse the process.

If you pay, you may or may not regain access to your system or your files.

You may already know about one type of ransomware. A fake FBI or fake RCMP or fake Interpol warning page opens when you start up your computer.

You are accused of violating a scary law. Some form of online payment is demanded. You cant dismiss the page and you cant get into the computer.

This lock screen ransomware can usually be defeated, although it takes some doing.

Another type of ransomware encrypts your data and demands payment for the key to decrypt them.

Sometimes youll see a screen similar to the lock screen ransomware, but usually you just find text files on the Desktop and in the directories with the encrypted files.

The text files inform you your files are encrypted and provide information on how to pay.

It was, for a time, impossible to recover from this, but one website, NoMoreRansom.org provides a way to upload two of your encrypted files for analysis.

If they are encrypted by ransomware for which there is a solution, NoMoreRansom.org will provide you with a link to download the solution.

There is no charge for this; these are the good guys. Its still impossible to decrypt most files, but its worth a try.

The site is also a good resource to learn more about ransomware and how to prevent your computer from being infected.

How can I protect my computer?

Ransomware often infects a computer through an email link that takes you to a website that then infects the computer.

Sometimes an email attachment will infect your computer as soon as you open it.

Then, the encryption ransomware works quietly in the background encrypting your files. You dont even know its there until suddenly you cant open any of your files and you find those ransom notes.

The most basic thing you can do to protect yourself is not to click on any links in any emails. Dont open email attachments unless you are 100 per cent sure its not a trick.

Next, have a current backup of your files. I say again: Have a current backup of your files.

In fact, if your files are critical to either your business or your well being, have more than one current backup of your files.

It is much better to protect a computer than it is to clean up a computer and try to decrypt files.

Use a reputable antivirus program, supplement it with a robust antimalware program, and keep them both up to date.

Not all antivirus programs are capable of finding and killing ransomware, but many now include modules that look for ransomware-like behaviour and prevent you from doing something silly.

Antimalware programs often provide that as well.

If you dont want to protect yourself that way, you can use a standalone ransomware protection program like CryptoPrevent from FoolishIT, Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit, or Bitdefender Crypto-Ransomware Vaccine.

A more extensive list is here.

Finally, ransomware exploits security vulnerabilities in other programs on computers.

It is critical to keep your computers software up to date or to uninstall it if youre not going to use it.

Especially keep Windows, Java, every browser you have, Adobe FlashPlayer and your antivirus and antimalware programs current.

I am using the built-in anti-ransomware protection in Bitdefender Total Protection. It protects the heck out of things, but can be a little fiddly to set up properly.

I use the paid version of CryptoPrevent on another machine and like how its installation is more Set it and forget it.

What anti-ransomware protection are you using, and what do you like or dislike about it?

Send comments to [email protected] and Ill share in a future column.

Do you need help with your computer? I'm here to help you and your home or business computer get along.

Links

2016: The Year of Ransomware

NoMoreRansomware.org

CryptoPrevent

Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit

Bitdefender Crypto-Ransomware Vaccine

Windows Club list of free anti-ransomware tools

Computer Care Kelowna

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
The Kelowna Fire Department opened its doors on Sunday for its sixth-annual open house and pancake breakfast to benefit the Kelowna Professional Firefighters Charitable Society.

Every year we open our doors, our Emergency Response Team from the Salvation Army cooks up pancakes, we have a number of demonstrations and it's about us having the public in, meeting the firefighters face to face and seeing the kind of work we do, explained Kelowna fire Chief Jeff Carlisle.

At the same time, there is a lot of public education in terms of fire safety in your home, it is a big community event for us. We typically have 1,000 people come for breakfast and it's a great event.

He said the firefighters love the chance to interact with the public and even use some local politicians in their demonstrations.

We had MP Stephen Fuhr doing the high-angle technical rescue, Coun. Brad Sieben did the simulation for the auto extraction. Lots of politicians here, said Carlisle.

For those who attended the event and for those who didn't, Carlisle wants you to remember one thing.

Check your smoke alarm at least twice a year.
The new home of Castanet Kelowna will begin to take shape this week after our official groundbreaking ceremony.

Castanet general manager Chris Kearney, Kelowna mayor Colin Basran and Worman Homes president and owner Shane Worman grabbed golden shovels and dug into the dirt at 451-455 Lawrence Ave.

The property formerly housed two dilapidated buildings  a home constructed in 1915 and a commercial addition built in 1951.

Castanet has been around for 16 years and been in multiple locations throughout that time, said Kearney at the ceremony.

So, we are really excited to have our new, permanent home  custom built for Castanet, specifically for our newsroom  to continue to provide a great service to our readers.

Worman Homes will construct the new three-storey brick building.

While Castanet will occupy much of the building, two additional retail spaces will open out to the parking lot at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Ellis Street.

A third-storey penthouse is also included in the design, although it would be set back so as not to be seen from street level. A rooftop patio is also planned.

This was a really easy project for city council to get behind, for a number of different reasons, said Basran.

He said first and foremost the revitalization of the downtown core has been a focus for this council.

This will be another example of great downtown revitalization, said Basran. We are thankful they have chosen longtime Kelowna builder, Shane Worman, to build the project.

He added the city is big on promoting tech businesses in Kelowna and Castanet was one of the first.

Technology has been a big push for council in terms of the people and vibrancy it is bringing to our community so it is really neat to see the rebirth, if you will, of Castanet coinciding with continued growth of our tech industry.

You can watch the progress of the new building by checking out our Cams section and clicking on Castanet Rising.
Photo: Flickr/BC Gov't

Penticton's Grand Chief Stewart Phillip has declined an invitation to take part in a royal reconciliation ceremony today with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, rejected the offer to take part in the Black Rod ceremony hosted by Lieut.-Gov. Judith Guichon at Government House in Victoria.

Saying reconciliation must be more than symbolic, Phillip said in a press release the federal and provincial government's hesitancy to follow through on the historic Supreme Court of Canada Tsilhqot'in decision led the UBCIC to decide "it would not be appropriate for me to participate in a 'reconciliation' ceremony at this time.

Phillip was to have handed a ring of reconciliation to the duke and invite him to affix it onto the Black Rod.

The rod is a ceremonial staff used on formal occasions when the monarch or her representative is present in the legislature. Items affixed to the rod are representative of the province and its relationship to the Crown.

With the deepening poverty of our communities, remembering the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and the ongoing negligence of indigenous child welfare policies across this country, in good conscience, I cannot participate in the Black Rod ceremony," said Phillip.

"The suffering in our communities is too great. I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused with our decision. We do not mean any disrespect. It is a matter principle.

The decision was made at the UBCIC's annual general assembly in Musqueam last week.

The chiefs cited B.C.'s fast-track "to the point of no return" approach on the Site C dam and an ongoing "stall and litigate" atmosphere over native fishing rights as examples of "why First Nations are heading to the courts to compel both governments to uphold the honour of the Crown.
Photo: Getty Images

Those flying into Kelowna International Airport this week will get more than just a warm welcome.

To celebrate the kick off of the 36th-annual Fall Okanagan Wine Festival, wine will be included in your landing experience.

For five evenings starting Tuesday, Sept. 27, through to Saturday, Oct. 1, guests arriving between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. will have a chance to taste Okanagan wines from 10 different wineries in the arrivals area of YLW.

Were pleased to help promote such a great event and introduce our passengers to some of the best wines in the region, said Sam Samaddar, airport director.

YLW is a strong supporter of the Okanagan wine industry and the benefits it brings to our community, so we want ensure that its robustly represented at the airport.

The promotion will feature two different member wineries each evening to showcase the wines of the Okanagan and to promote more than 100 events during the 10 days of the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival.

Other tourism regions greet guests in unique ways to give them a feel for the local culture," said Blair Baldwin, general manager for the Okanagan Wine Festivals. "At this time of year when our member wineries are in the thick of an outstanding grape harvest, we want our visitors to know how proud we are to have such a vibrant and successful wine industry. Allowing passengers to taste wines from the Okanagan when they arrive is a fun way to give an authentic welcome."

The Fall Okanagan Wine Festival starts Sept. 29 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 9.

Festivities kick off with the annual British Columbia Wine Awards Reception in Kelowna  the largest British Columbia wine competition in the province, followed by two nights of the Fall WestJet Wine Tastings, and wraps up Thanksgiving weekend with Cropped  Canadas largest public tasting of BC wines and authentic farmers market in Penticton.
Photo: Carmen Weld

UPDATE: 3:20 p.m.

Hes guilty as sin, said the grieving and angry father of Aimee Parkes outside the Kelowna courthouse on Monday.

Graham Parkes is in Kelowna to sit in on the second-degree murder trial of Ryan Quigley  the man accused of killing his daughter.

Quigley, 36, is accused of killing Aimee at the Hiawatha Mobile Home Park on April 1, 2014.

Two days after Aimee's body was discovered in the home they shared at Hiawatha, Quigley was arrested and charged in her death.

Quigleys lawyer said in court today that his client doesnt deny killing his ex-fiancee, but still pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Defence lawyer Kevin McCullough said his client was willing to plead guilty to a lesser manslaughter charge, but Crown prosecutor Colin Forsyth denied this option and chose to proceed with the second-degree murder trial.

McCullough said his client's defence against the charge of second-degree murder will be based on factors of intent, provocation and intoxication.

Aimee's family, friends and victim support services took up much of the courtroom on Monday.

Graham Parkes said his daughter was ready to marry Quigley and that he had received a wedding invitation in the mail before Quigley's use of illicit drugs became clear to Aimee.

He became more open about his lifestyle. When she found out she didn't want anything to do with him. She wanted him out ... He should be charged with first-degree murder, said Graham.

It's disgusting. I hope they find him guilty with no remission for 25 years.

In opening statements Monday morning, Crown told Madame Justice Alison Beames that Aimee died from blood loss as a result of 26 stab wounds to her head, neck, upper torso and shoulder.

Forsyth's first two witnesses were Danielle Floyd, a property manager at Hiawatha, and Const. Bruce Brydon  the people who discovered Aimee's body on April 1. Both were told by Aimee's boss at CIBC that Aimee had intended on kicking Quigley out the night before and she was worried about her well-being because she hadn't shown up for work.

In an attempt to get in the unit and check on Aimee, Floyd and Brydon went around the back of the home were they discovered the back door was not latched.

When I looked down I saw a sheet, Floyd told the court. I saw what was very clearly a body that had been wrapped in sheets, covered in blood.

She stepped back and asked for the RCMP officer to go inside the home. She said he swore and called in a suspicious homicide.

Brydon entered the unit from the back door and saw what appeared to be a body underneath a white sheet with blood stains.

Aimee's arm was sticking out from under the sheet and he checked for a pulse before lifting the front corner of the sheet and seeing a woman's head on a pillow covered in dry blood.

Brydon said he pulled out his gun and flashlight and searched the rest of the home for a possible assailant or other victims.

During his search of the home he noticed blood on the ground in the trailer and a bloody kitchen knife on the kitchen table.

He exited the home and waited for further resources. Crown is expected to call more witnessed Monday afternoon.

The second-degree murder trial is expected to last four weeks. The Crown is expected to call 34 witnesses.

ORIGINAL: 10:50 a.m.

A man charged with murdering his ex-fiancee tried Monday to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Ryan Quigley's second-degree murder trial started this morning with the Crown prosecutor Colin Forsyth rejecting the 36-year-old's attempted plea  and instead proceeding with the second-degree murder trial.

Quigley is accused of killing Aimee Parkes at the Hiawatha Mobile Home Park on April 1, 2014.

While Quigley doesn't deny killing Parkes, his defence against the charge of second-degree murder is now expected to be based on factors of intent, provocation and intoxication.

The trial is expected to last four weeks and the Crown is planning to call 34 witnesses.

Quigley was granted bail in December 2015 and has been living under strict conditions with family.

For past stories on this case, click here.
Photo: Contributed

A high-revving motorcycle thief got the attention of RCMP last week.

A Salmon Arm RCMP officer saw a motorcycle pass his police car on Salmon River Road on Sept. 23 at about 10:20 a.m. and noticed the motorcycle did not have a licence plate.

The police officer attempted to stop the motorcycle and it fled at an increasing rate of speed, said Staff Sgt. Scott West.

The operator of the motorcycle abandoned it a short distance away on the side of the road and fled into the woods. The RCMP members at the scene quickly determined that the motorcycle was stolen from the Enderby area and it was towed.

A police helicopter and police dog were called in to search a wooded area for the rider. The police dog located evidence, but the operator of the motorcycle was not located.
Photo: CTV

Not only was the car stolen, but so was a lot of the stuff in it.

Salmon Arm Staff Sgt. Scott West said on Sept. 2 a member of the general public reported a suspicious vehicle in the 4000 block of Sunnybrae Canoe Pt. Road.

West said police found a male and female in the vehicle. Checks of the vehicle revealed it had been stolen from Logan Lake on Aug. 30.

Both were arrested and taken into custody.

A search of the vehicle located a stolen TV, other stolen property along with a substantial quantity of cannabis, said West.

The man and woman were determined to have given false names to police. When the correct names were checked, police learned the duo had extensive police involvement, most recently from Kamloops and Savona.

The Salmon Arm RCMP has recommended charges against the two adults pertaining to property offences, failing to comply with court ordered conditions and obstructing the police by giving false names, said West.

They are due to appear in court Tuesday in Salmon Arm.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
The community is invited to a ceremony on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Hamilton County/Chattanooga Courts Building, 600 Market St., to proclaim October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In the ceremony, Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke will bring awareness to the problems of Domestic Violence. The Partnership for Families, Children and Adults and the Family Justice Center are joined by the Childrens Advocacy Center of Hamilton County in recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Domestic violence and child abuse are two issues that affect families, said Valerie Radu, executive director of the Family Justice Center. Three to four million children a year witness domestic violence and 45 percent to 70 percent of children who are exposed to domestic violence are also victims of child abuse.

A total of 24 domestic violence homicides were reported in Chattanooga in 2015, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Tennessee is 6th in the nation for having the highest domestic violence homicide rate. Additionally, TBI reported 5,978 domestic violence incidents in 2015 in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Partnership and the Family Justice Center want the community to know that domestic violence is serious and can even be fatal if help is not sought.

We seem to talk about domestic violence when it involves a high profile person or athlete, said Regina McDevitt, chief operating officer at Partnership, but it occurs in our community every day. The ceremony not only brings attention to the severity of domestic violence but its effect on the children who witness it. We also call for everyone in our communities to stop the violence.

Were working together to show that our community is committed to stopping the violence, said Ms. Radu. "Domestic violence has an enormous economic impact on our city and state. Our center offers comprehensive resources in one location for victims of domestic violence, elder abuse and human trafficking.

The campaign asks the community to help stop violence and give hope to victims by sharing the 24-hour hotline 755-2700 through social media and traditional word of mouth, and by hosting domestic violence speakers at their church, civic, and business functions. More information can be found at Partnershipfca.com or Chattanooga.gov.
The laureates are once again awarded for their on the first, and often also on further, glance(s) nonsense studies in several areas of research. This is a short overview.

Reproduction Prize (Egypt): The late Ahmed Shafik, for studying the effects of wearing polyester, cotton, or wool trousers on the sex life of rats, and for conducting similar tests with human males. [1]+[2]









Physics Prize* (Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland): Gabor Horvath, Miklos Blaho, Gyorgy Kriska, Ramon Hegedus, Balazs Gerics, Robert Farkas, Susanne Akesson, Peter Malik, and Hansruedi Wildermuth, for discovering why white-haired horses are the most horsefly-proof horses, and for discovering why dragonflies are fatally attracted to black tombstones. [3]+[4]

Chemistry Prize (Germany): Volkswagen, for solving the problem of excessive automobile pollution emissions by automatically, electromechanically producing fewer emissions whenever the cars are being tested. [5]

Medicine Prize* (Germany): Christoph Helmchen, Carina Palzer, Thomas Munte, Silke Anders, and Andreas Sprenger, for discovering that if you have an itch on the left side of your body, you can relieve it by looking into a mirror and scratching the right side of your body (and vice versa). [6]

Biology Prize* (UK): Awarded jointly to: Charles Foster, for living in the wild as, at different times, a badger, an otter, a deer, a fox, and a bird; and to Thomas Thwaites, for creating prosthetic extensions of his limbs that allowed him to move in the manner of, and spend time roaming hills in the company of, goats. [7]+[8]

Perception Prize* (Japan): Atsuki Higashiyama and Kohei Adachi, for investigating whether things look different when you bend over and view them between your legs. [9]

Laureates with * mark attended the ceromy proudly to recieve their prizes.
John Roa, then CEO of AKTA, addresses members of the audience after receiving the James Tyree Award from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce at Navy Pier in June 2014. The company was acquired by Salesforce in September 2015. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Salesforce is a startup dream-maker: The customer relationship juggernaut loves to snap up smaller companies it sees as beneficial to its growth. And for its targets, being acquired can mean an exit from the uncertain startup phase and, in some cases, a windfall.

In the past year or so, Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has reportedly spent more than $4 billion acquiring smaller companies, some from Chicago.

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Salesforce is huge. It's the third-largest computer software company on the Fortune 500, it has more than 20,000 employees around the world and its fiscal year 2016 revenue topped $6.6 billion. On Friday, rumors swelled that it was circling Twitter.

"When we came into this year, we didn't really have (mergers and acquisitions) on our forecast and the reason why is, because when we look at doing M&A we look for really strategic, great companies that are one of a kind, and also that we are going to get a great price," Salesforce CEO and Chairman Marc Benioff said on the company's most recent earnings call.

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He said it was the opportunity to buy professional networking site LinkedIn  which it lost to Microsoft's $26 billion bid  that sparked the latest wave of acquisitions.

Acquiring technology and talent helps Salesforce improve and expand its tools, the company wrote in its fiscal year 2016 annual report.

Here are the Chicago companies that are now part of Salesforce:

Gravitytank

Salesforce said in September 2016 it would acquire innovation consultancy Gravitytank, which is headquartered in Chicago and has offices in San Francisco, for an undisclosed amount. Gravitytank employs more than 70 consultants who specialize in research, strategy and design. Its clients include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, OfficeMax and Skype.

The company's engineering talent could have been a factor in the acquisition.

"The acquisition is expected to help Salesforce design and develop better software solutions to help customers across various industries to connect with partners, clients and employees in newer and more innovative ways," according to an analyst blog at Zacks Equity Research.

Steelbrick

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While Steelbrick isn't based in Chicago  its headquarters are in San Mateo, Calif.  the company's large workforce presence in Highland Park, Ill., and the local connections of its CEO, Godard Abel , earned it a spot on this list. Steelbrick builds Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) apps that help companies determine the prices of goods, as well as subscription billing apps on the Salesforce platform.

Salesforce paid $360 million for the company in a deal that closed in February 2016.

"The Company acquired SteelBrick for its employees and product offerings," Salesforce wrote in the 2016 annual report.

AKTA

Salesforce acquired this digital design firm, whose clients included Starbucks and ComEd, for an undisclosed sum after a deal announced in September 2015.

"As part of Salesforce, we will be able to help bring customers' vision to life with a truly novel combination of strategic leadership, design thinking, brand strategy, industry-leading engineering and software," founder and CEO John Roa  wrote at the time.

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The firm is now known as Salesforce Experience Design.

Model Metrics

Salesforce gobbled up this River North-based cloud computing company for an undisclosed sum. Model Metrics helped clients including Boeing and Abbott Laboratories migrate their business applications online, earning it $25 million in annual consulting revenues in 2010, the company told the Tribune.

"The addition of Model Metrics' mobile and social expertise will accelerate salesforce.com's ability to lead the shift to the social enterprise and empower partners to develop their social enterprise practice," then-COO George Hu said in November 2011.

Instranet

Instranet, which made knowledge management software for call centers, was Salesforce's first local acquisition. Salesforce bought it for about $31.5 million, according to a press release in August 2008. Instranet was headquartered in Chicago with most of its operations in Paris.

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"We're excited to add this unmatched technology to our SaaS applications and Force.com platform," Benioff said in the press release. "Not only will it make our service and support offering stronger for our customers and further their success, but it will help catapult our growth in the customer service and support space."

aelahi@tribpub.com

Twitter @aminamania
U.S. spies are catching up to the masses in their gradual embrace of 21st-century technology, from installing wireless connections in secure facilities to wielding iPhones and tablets, according to an official with the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

"We'd be cutting off our noses to spite our faces by denying us those kinds of tools," Matt Conner, deputy chief information security officer of the agency, said in an interview.

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The NGA provides intelligence to other parts of the government from battlefield maps to satellite imagery of national disasters. It's among agencies that are working with the Director of National Intelligence to study how to maximize the use of secure wireless networks and devices, while still maintaining the cover that spies need.

Already, NGA has secure wireless for its senior leaders in its mammoth headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, Conner said. Protective equipment needed to make a wireless system secure can be costly and "there are people who are skeptical that there's value there," he said.

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Conner, 41, a former information security officer with General Dynamics Corp., and others at the NGA migrated last year from BlackBerry devices to iPhones, although they aren't allowed to use them in the agency's building. The agency is also "moving swiftly" toward cloud services with Amazon Web Services on both its encrypted classified network and its unclassified network, as well as working with Microsoft on other cloud-based resources, he said.

In addition, it has developed internal mobile apps for workers as well as a few that are available to the public in Apple's App Store and on Google Play. Its Mobile Awareness GEOINT Environment app helps first responders in natural disasters by letting them geotag field reports and to record photos, videos and audio to share with others.

The agency also has opened an outpost in Silicon Valley. Its staff is trying to learn from startups and tech companies, which are making sophisticated yet widely available commercial geospatial tools, such as Google Earth.

NGA, which operates under the Defense Department, built the model of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan that the military used for training before the 2011 raid that killed him. This year, NGA provided intelligence to authorities during the Olympics in Rio.

Conner oversees the cybersecurity of vast digital archives and the transmission of intelligence data. NGA uses encryption for long-haul communication between agencies as well as for the images and products resting in its libraries, he said. His team of a few hundred civilian employees and contractors also has to "sanitize" data that teams collect from social media and other open-source streams, screening for malware.

As with other military agencies, NGA's computer networks are targeted by other nations, according to Conner, who wouldn't name countries but said "they're probably the ones you think they are." The FBI has high confidence recent hacking attacks on U.S. political groups and election systems were orchestrated by Russia, according to a person familiar with the agency's probe. President Vladimir Putin has rejected the accusations.

The high-profile reports of hacking have "absolutely raised the visibility" of his work, Conner said. "I've joked often that it's a good problem to have  we have more senior-level attention on our cybersecurity program that I'm aware of," he said.

The agency also takes threats from within seriously after the leaks by Edward Snowden, who worked for a National Security Agency contractor.

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"We're conscious of the insider," Conner said. "We have a very robust program to manage our insider threat, at least bolstered by the Snowden disclosures three years ago, and that is across the federal agency space."
This content is produced by Tribune Content Solutions on behalf of Rush University College of Nursing. The newsroom or editorial department of Tribune Publishing is not involved in its production. (Photograph Courtesy of Rush Group)

Late-stage cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's: When caring for patients with high-risk illnesses like these with unclear roads to recovery, nurses and other medical professionals sometimes grapple with ethical dilemmas as they weigh treatment protocol versus outcomes.

Sophia Guardiola, DNP, AGACNP-BC, dealt with such patients regularly in her 10 years as a registered nurse in one of Rush University Medical Center's surgical intensive care units (SICU).

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She recalls that certain critically ill patients would undergo a procedure called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)  a life-sustaining intervention of last resort used only when a patient's heart and lungs can't sustain life on their own. ECMO requires multiple nurses round-the-clock, and the treatment can be administered for weeks  sometimes with very little in the way of progress for the patient, explains Guardiola.

"Seeing patients who aren't waking up, even with such extraordinary measures to sustain their life" Guardiola explains, her voice trailing off before underscoring her concern. "When they aren't making the meaningful recovery, it's challenging."

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As an advocate for her patients, Guardiola found herself constantly wrestling with the issue of quality of life and wondering why palliative care was underutilized. Palliative care focuses on helping serious ill patients decide on treatment options best for them  with an emphasis on quality of life and reducing suffering.

And as an aspiring doctoral student in Rush's DNP program, Guardiola wanted to do something to explore and then educate others on the merits of palliative care.

"I had to take a step back to understand the problem," she says.

That problem was at the heart of her doctoral project, "Exploring Providers' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Palliative Care in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Project." Through a series of surveys and focus groups, she uncovered a stigma  and a disconnect  among various parts of a SICU team around the use of palliative care.

"It's interesting," says Guardiola. "Palliative care is not just end-of-life care  it can be part of curative treatment or pain management." But as she discovered, in the eyes of many health care professionals, palliative care is synonymous with end-of-life  which is at odds with the cure-oriented culture on many surgical teams.

"There was the sense of engaging palliative care as giving up  and no one wants to give up on a patient," says Mary Johnson, Ph.D., RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, professor and assistant dean for specialty education at the Rush School of Nursing, who worked with Guardiola on her DNP research.

"Ethical dilemmas arise from a conflict in values  and that can happen all the time," explains Johnson. "In the day-to-day practice, different members of the team might approach an issue or a patient situation from a different perspective and there aren't always the mechanisms to resolve the conflict of values."

While all parties on the SICU wanted the same outcome  a positive one  the nurses and surgeons did not always see eye-to-eye about the definition of positive. Was it a cure? Was it quality of life?

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And as with all ethical dilemmas, there's not one clear answer. But there can be a way forward.

Part of the quiet success of Guardiola's project, then, was to open the door for a mechanism to resolve the conflict in values, enabling a dialogue about palliative care that wasn't happening between surgeons and nurses and other hospital staff at the time.

Guardiola's findings lent credence to a growing movement to rebrand palliative care as "supportive care" or "goals of care"  terms both more comprehensive and less associated with end-of-life.

Although Guardiola left Rush Medical Center after receiving her DNP earlier this year to work as an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner in Arizona, she has heard that the culture in the SICU has continued to evolve  and that "supportive care" is increasingly being utilized on her old unit to great effect.

Changing culture anywhere, let alone in a hospital environment, is exceedingly difficult; but it is being achieved through better communication.

"As we move more to team-based, interdisciplinary care," says Johnson, "we ought to be able to talk to each other before the ethical dilemmas arise."

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Laura Lambert for Rush University College of Nursing
Frontera Foods, the Chicago-based gourmet Mexican food company started by chef Rick Bayless, has been purchased by ConAgra Foods, the packaged food giant known for such brands as Slim Jim, Banquet and Reddi-wip.

The acquisition, which closed Monday, moves the Frontera, Red Fork and Salpica grocery brands under the ConAgra banner, but does not include any of the Frontera-branded restaurants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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The homegrown 20-year-old chips and salsa company is the first acquisition for ConAgra since it moved its headquarters from Omaha to Chicago in June, and it meshes with ConAgra's ambitions.

"It is our strategy to reshape our ConAgra portfolio to be more premium and more contemporary," said Sean Connolly, ConAgra's president and CEO. "It's a terrific fit with our existing portfolio."

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For Frontera, the deal will allow its product line and distribution to expand, but Connolly pledged the manufacturing process and quality will remain the same.

Frontera Foods was launched in 1996 by Bayless and Manny Valdes, a former Kraft Foods executive, to produce regional Mexican food products using all natural ingredients. Products include salsa, tortilla chips and seasoning mixes. Both Bayless and Valdes will stay on as advisers, helping to develop new products from the Frontera test kitchen several blocks away.

Albert Valdes, currently chief operating officer of Frontera Foods, will lead the business as part of ConAgra Foods.

Bayless, a well-known celebrity chef, operates several Chicago restaurants including Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Xoco.

Manny Valdes would not disclose sales figures but said Frontera Foods has generated double-digit annual sales growth since its inception. However, it has been unable to keep up with growing demand in recent years as it has evolved into a national brand. Things came to a head last year, as Frontera experienced a major salsa shortage in advance of the Cinco de Mayo holiday.

"We were faced with a situation where we were only meeting about 60 to 80 percent of our demand," Valdes said. "That raised some red flags internally. We came to the conclusion that we needed to make some significant investments in manufacturing."

There's a little bit of trepidation and sadness in the whole thing, but we feel we need to take the next step with it and see it grow to its full capacity.  Rick Bayless

The sauces are manufactured in Houston, while the chips are made by El Milagro in Chicago at a South Side plant.

In evaluating their options, Valdes and Bayless decided the best course was to partner with a company that already had the capacity to grow the business. That led to a January meeting with Connolly and months of discussions before ConAgra agreed to buy Frontera.

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"We are looking to ConAgra to help us get really good food into more homes across the United States in a way that we just don't have the capability to do it," Bayless said

Valdes and Bayless told the 14 employees of Frontera Foods on Monday morning that the company was sold, and that all would be retained under new ownership. The company will remain headquartered at its North Clark Street office, with both the Houston and Chicago manufacturing plants remaining online.

Connolly said ConAgra will look to grow Frontera through expanded distribution, while respecting "the tremendous culinary integrity" of the brand. That means no messing with the manufacturing process, at least for now.

"At this point in time we are not planning on making any changes to the manufacturing of the product," Connolly said. "But we will be looking to innovate new products that offer additional growth opportunities, and as we do that, we anticipate being able to use many of the manufacturing capabilities that ConAgra has in its network."

The Frontera acquisition adds a fresh brand to ConAgra's corporate shelf.

One of the largest packaged food conglomerates in North America with $11.6 billion in annual sales, ConAgra started in 1919 as Nebraska Consolidated Mills. Renamed ConAgra in 1971, the company built its portfolio through acquisitions, with signature brands including Marie Callender's, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Orville Redenbacher's, Hunt's and Peter Pan.

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ConAgra has slimmed down since Connolly, 51, took the helm in April 2015, looking to build a more contemporary portfolio and a healthier bottom line. In February, the company sold its private label business to TreeHouse Foods for $2.7 billion, and in May agreed to sell its Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings business to Givaudan for about $340 million.

This fall, ConAgra will complete the spinoff of its frozen potato business, Lamb Weston, which generates nearly $3 billion in annual sales supplying french fries to fast-food chains.

As part of its transformation, ConAgra relocated its headquarters to Chicago in June, moving into 170,000-square-foot office space on the 13th floor of the Merchandise Mart. Valdes said ConAgra's move to Chicago was instrumental in striking the deal with Frontera, because it allows them to stay in close proximity as advisers.

For Bayless, parting with Frontera Foods is bittersweet, but he is prepared to let the chips fall where they may under a much larger corporate umbrella.

"We've built this line from a dream to this big company now that does beautiful salsa, sauces and chips," Bayless said. "There's a little bit of trepidation and sadness in the whole thing, but we feel we need to take the next step with it and see it grow to its full capacity."

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @RobertChannick
For God's sake, if your employee needs a drink, especially if she's diabetic, just let her have it already.

That's what Dollar General learned after a federal jury sided with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a case against the retail giant.

The story goes like this. Back in September 2014, an insulin-dependent diabetic cashier in Dollar General's Maryville, Tenn., store told her supervisor she needed to keep juice near the cash register in case of a hypoglycemic attack. According to testimony at the trial, the supervisor did not allow employees to do this, although the company has a policy that would allow it for those in need.

One day, fearing an oncoming attack, the cashier drank a $1.69 (plus tax) orange juice before paying for it. The cashier said after the symptoms passed she paid for the juice. After a question about inventory arose, the employee confessed to her brazen crime of drinking before buying to the company's district manager who then fired said employee for violating the chain's "grazing" policy.

So back to the story.

The fired employee complains to the EEOC. The EEOC sues. The employee joins the lawsuit. The jury finds in favor of the plaintiffs and awards the employee $27,565 in back pay plus another $250,000 in compensatory damages. The EEOC is pleased. Very pleased.

"We are very pleased with the jury verdict," EEOC General Counsel P. David Lopez said in a statement. "It is disappointing, however, that we continue to see cases where employers fail to train their employees on basic requirements under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). The commission will continue to carry out its goal of ensuring equal opportunity in the workplace for persons with disabilities."
Here is where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands on the issues based on his campaign website, speeches and reports. See Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's positions here.

Economy & Taxes

I will create jobs like youve never seen. I will be the greatest job-producing president that God ever created.  Donald Trump

Trumps plan calls for a reduction of income taxes and corporate taxes, and the elimination of the estate tax. Trump believes globalization is hurting the U.S. middle class, saying that he will consider withdrawing from NAFTA and that he will punish China for trade and currency violations. Trump also wants to reduce restrictions on the energy industry. He is opposed to TPP.

Immigration

I will build a great wall -- and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me -- and I'll build them very inexpensively. ... I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.  Donald Trump

Trump says that he will build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and that Mexico will pay for it. He also wants to end sanctuary cities and calls for the deportation of 11 million people in the United States illegally. At one point in the campaign, Trump called for a temporary ban on foreign Muslims, and he later proposed an "extreme vetting" program for immigrants entering the country.

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National security

I'm gonna build a military that's gonna be much stronger than it is right now. It's gonna be so strong, nobody's gonna mess with us.  Donald Trump

Trump has called for a significant increase in military spending in order to boost the number of active troops, ships and fighter planes. Trump has not put forth a detailed plan to defeat the Islamic State, rather focusing on immigration proposals like a ban on foreign Muslims and an ideological test for immigrants as a way to prevent terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Health care

I want to get rid of Obamacare and get you something great.  Donald Trump

Trump wants to repeal Obamacare, saying that he will replace it with something "beautiful," "terrific" and "unbelievable." His plan includes several conservative health policy pillars, such as allowing health insurers to sell their plans across state lines, permitting Americans to deduct their health insurance premiums and expanding use of tax-free HSAs.

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Guns

We love the Second Amendment, folks. Nobody loves it more than us, so just remember that.  Donald Trump

Trump says law-abiding gun owners should be able to defend themselves. He supports expanding concealed-carry permits and opposes increased background checks. Following the Orlando, Fla., nightclub shooting, Trump hinted that people on terrorist watch and no-fly lists should not be able to purchase firearms, though his views remain unspecified.

Criminal justice

We must maintain law and order at the highest level or we will cease to have a country.  Donald Trump

Trump says law enforcement officials have been restricted by political correctness and hostility against the police. He has suggested that controversial stop-and-frisk tactics could be used to stem crime. Following the bombings in New York and New Jersey, Trump said that he would encourage police to profile people that "maybe look suspicious."

Environment & Energy

I am not a great believer in man-made climate change.  Donald Trump

Trump does not believe in climate change. He calls for an "all of the above" energy plan, which includes resources from the coal industry, fracking and offshore drilling. Trump says he wants to end President Barack Obama's EPA mandates, withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and cut U.S. spending on U.N. global warming programs.

Education

Im a tremendous believer in education, but education has to be at a local level.  Donald Trump

Trump wants education decisions to be made at the local level. His plan calls for $20 billion in federal grants so poor children can attend a school of their family's choice. He also says Common Core should be repealed. Trump has not released a detailed higher-education plan, but he has noted that college students need help with debt.

Rebecca Halleck contributed to this report
Derrick Tung, who runs Paulie Gee's in Logan Square, gets pizza with his wife, Cathy, and their newborn daughter, Abigail. Tung to Tribune reporter Joseph Hernandez on a tour of some of his suburban pizza haunts. (Joseph Hernandez / Chicago Tribune)

When you're a disciple of Paul Giannone, the Paulie of Brooklyn pizza spot Paulie Gee's, you eat a lot of pizza. Just ask Derrick Tung. As owner of Paulie Gee's new Logan Square satellite (2451 N. Milwaukee Ave.), Tung is a pizza obsessive, a man who sniffs out cheese, sauce and dough like a beagle hunting for truffles.

But Tung, a lifelong Chicagoan, hasn't always made pizza for a living. He used to work in health care  a 9-to-5 job he found not-so-inspiring. "I didn't go to my job singing and whistling," he says. Then, he had his first taste of wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizza at Naperville's Pizzeria Neo. Can pizza change your life? Absolutely.

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"I immediately started thinking, How can I start making (pizza) at home?" Tung says. "I wanted to build a wood-fired oven, but (my wife) wasn't having it, so I sold it to her as a trailer that I can take out on weekends to sell pizza." Before long, the newbie pizzaiolo began selling wood-fired pies at markets from an oven-trailer hooked to his car, under the name Za Pi. "I was looking forward to Wednesdays, when we'd make dough, and weekends, when we'd make pizza."

Meanwhile, he also became a forum regular on Serious Eats, a website for the food-obsessed, where he began talking to Giannone. "I was looking for a mentor, and (Giannone) had a similar background as me  just a normal guy with no formal training who transitioned into the pizza business," says Tung. Soon enough, he left his old job behind, working first for a Naperville pizzeria before eventually partnering with Giannone to open the first Chicago branch of Paulie Gee's.

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Chicagoan Derrick Tung, owner of Paulie Gee's Logan Square, shown at Aurelio's, got hooked on pizza after trying Neapolitan style at Pizzeria Neo. Soon after, he switched careers from health care to pizza making. (Joseph Hernandez / Chicago Tribune)

Only two months into the operation, and the pizzeria is already making a name for itself with its Logan Squares, Detroit-style pizza topped with creative ingredients  think an elote-style pie with roasted corn, cilantro and a chili-coated lime, or the Italian beef, loaded with giardiniera, white cheddar and provolone and paired with a side of au jus. When not testing new pizzas with his team, Tung hunts down slices of all styles from all over Chicago, always on the hunt for new tricks and tastes he can bring back to his own kitchen to try.

With that in mind, I approached Tung with a proposition: As part of the Tribune's month of uncovering the best pizza in Chicago, would he introduce me to his favorite local haunts? Suburbs only  Tung lives in Woodridge, and I'm much less familiar with the spots around there than I am with city pies. He agreed. Joining us were his wife, Cathy, and newborn daughter, Abigail, who wore a ribbon decorated with smiling cartoon pizzas as she slept through our cheesy trials. Appropriate.

RELATED: OUR MONTH OF CRAVING: PIZZA

Over a meandering afternoon (four hours, four pizza stops, five pies), Tung introduced me to some classic, straightforward pizza as we talked about what he looks for in a pie, the hardest part of being a business owner and his philosophy on bad pizza.

Little Pops Pizzeria

Our first stop was Little Pops in Naperville, a family-run operation owned by Mike and Vicki Nelson. Opened in 2014, the shop features a by-the-slice counter and a recently expanded sit-down dining room to the left of the original space, with exposed brick walls adorned with photos of the Brooklyn Bridge and New York skyline.

The joint's large, foldable slices are a family recipe (Little Pops has locations in New York owned by other family members), true to New York-style. We split a cheese slice, which "is a good, easy pizza," says Tung. "Nice crisp dough, simple, fresh sauce." The white pizza  ubiquitous in NYC, featuring mozzarella and huge dollops of ricotta seasoned with dried herbs  is straightforward and balanced, says Tung. 1819 Wehrli Road, Naperville, 630-210-8084, www.littlepopspizzeria.com.

Al's Pizza

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Blink and you might miss this cash-only spot on Warrenville Road, a short drive off Interstate 88. Sharing space with a local bar (enjoy either's wares in the other, if you want), Al's combines the feel of an old-school diner with someone's living room. The kitchen is smack dab between the entrance and the dining room, which seats between 20 and 30 people, with dark red booths along the outer edges hugging green walls half-paneled with bright wood. "(The building) is so nondescript, you'd never know how good it was just looking at it," says Tung.

"The hard part about the pizza business is consistency and staff," says Tung. "Who is on the oven? Who is making the dough? Is it going to be consistent? Al's is always consistent." We ordered a sausage pizza. The cracker-thin crust was like a shard of gypsum crystal, crackly and flaky, yet strong enough to hold back the molten lava of well-seasoned red sauce. "The sausage is so flavorful, like little pinches of meat spread evenly over the pie. It's one of the best sausage pizzas around." As you pay up, witness the charming tradition of the cashier imploring the pizza crew to "say thank you, boys!" Thanks erupt in unison as you step back out into the noonday sun. 28W241 Warrenville Road, Warrenville, 630-393-9630, www.alspizzainc.com.

Sausage pizza from Aurelio's in Woodridge. (Joseph Hernandez / Chicago Tribune)

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Aurelio's Pizza

Just one of many dotting Chicagoland, Aurelio's is the only multi-location spot we hit up. "You guys use fresh mushrooms, right?" Tung was hoping to top our next pie with the earthy ingredient but was turned off the idea upon learning that Aurelio's uses the canned variety. "I always ask  canned mushrooms taste spongy and like metal to me, but I love mushroom and sausage pizza." We opted for another sausage thin-crust pie, with cheese coating the quarter-sized sausage nuggets. It was just all right.

"But I operate on the rule that pizza is like sex," says Tung. "Even when it's bad, it's good." The sauce was too sweet, and the crust needed a boost of salt. The sausages were a bright point, but the cheese was just too greasy  overall, no balance to the pie. Maybe better to stick to the original Homewood location, where one of my colleagues enjoyed his sausage pie. 6430 Main St., Woodridge, 630-968-0077, www.aureliospizza.com.

Papa's Pizza Place

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Family-owned for 35 years, Papa's Pizza Place was our last stop, and a delightfully old-school one at that. Located in a small strip mall in Woodridge, the restaurant serves pizza by the slice (among other things), but walk past the totem pole (huh?) into a dining room straight from the '70s. Think glass-partitioned booths, giant overhead white globe lights, wood-paneled walls, Eagles blaring. "It's so close to home," says Tung, "we collect their coupons for a free pie." We switched it up with a pepperoni pizza, the tavern-style cracker crust evenly browned, with coins of meat peeking from beneath the otherwise even coat of cheese. The sauce could have been more flavored ("it needs salt," said Tung), but the pepperoni was savory, peppery and sharp. 83rd Street Center, 8258 S. Janes Ave., Woodridge, 630-985-0101, www.papaspizzaplace.com.

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85






Little by little, after nearly a year of closure forced by the state's budget crisis, the Illinois State Museum system is reopening.

The ISM's Lockport Gallery, an art hall in the southwest suburbs along the Illinois and Michigan Canal, opened its doors Saturday with an exhibit titled, cheekily, "Open."

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"Being with the public is fun," said John Lustig, the gallery's director. "It's the primary issue. I had every indication that the stakeholders were going to figure this out."

"It was a blast," said Lockport Mayor Steven Streit, whose city's willingness to kick in money to help run the formerly fully state-funded museum was crucial to the reopening. "Right next to the museum campus was where we had the big tent set up for the steampunk music festival. People would go in and out, experience both these things on the same day."

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The main archaeology and history museum in Springfield, known as the Illinois State Museum, began welcoming the public again in early July, along with the Research & Collections Center in Springfield and the Dickson Mounds Museum in Fulton County.

The least-trafficked of the museum system's five sites, however, the Southern Illinois Art and Artisans Center at Rend Lake, is not expected to reopen, officials said. But the Chicago Gallery and affiliated artisan shop, which closed in the Thompson Center last June, should be reopen in some capacity in a more accessible city location before the end of the year, said Michael Wiant, interim director of the Illinois State Museum.

The Illinois State Museum Gallery in Lockport on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

"It's now the highest priority we have, to renew our Chicago presence," said Wiant. "A venue in the city is imperative."

So that's mostly good news for the almost 400,000 people who visit the locations annually.

Just last week the museum in Springfield restarted its regular brown-bag lunchtime lecture series. Wiant was to talk about the Terracotta Warriors, the Chinese archaeological marvels currently on exhibit at the Field Museum.

"I walked into the room and was absolutely overwhelmed that there were more than 80 people in the room waiting for that presentation," he said. In 33 years of the brown-bag series, "it's one of the very best turnouts we've ever had," Wiant said.

What's the difference between now and a year ago, when the state's ongoing budget impasse led Gov. Bruce Rauner to order the Department of Natural Resources, which runs the museum system, to begin closing their doors?

In the big picture, not much. Since late June of this year, Illinois has a "stopgap" budget meant to handle key funding through the November election, but there is still little hope of resolution to the political disagreement between the Republican governor and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan that led to the closing of the museums, among myriad other state-funded services left in the lurch.

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But on closer examination, the institutions are changing, to a degree that is at least symbolic and possibly significant to the bottom line and to the way they operate going forward. They are seeking outside partnerships  the Chicago gallery may end up with space within an existing institution, for instance  and working to make the museum board more active in fundraising, the way many of Chicago's biggest museums operate. Membership will now be encouraged.

Neither the Lockport nor Chicago facility had weekend hours. Lockport now does, and the plan is that Chicago will also, Wiant said.

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The Springfield museum is expected to freshen some of its exhibitions. "Things had become static. The museum had become back-of-the-house, research driven," said Jason Heffley, former chief of staff for DNR, now an official with Rauner's office, and a key figure in the negotiations to reopen the museums. "There hadn't been a focus on the front of the house" during a decade or more of budgetary challenges.

"We wanted to be in a community where the community wanted to be a partner," said Heffley. "Through this the museum is in much, much better shape."

The most immediately noticeable change is that the main museum in Springfield now charges an adult admission fee, $5 a head, for an institution that used to be free. That could bring in $1 million a year, officials estimated, a sizable chunk of an annual budget that was most recently at $6.2 million.

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"It's gone well," Wiant said of the admission charge. "People see it as what I would hope they would do, as really an investment."

Catherine Kelly, a spokeswoman for Rauner, said, "It was a difficult decision to close the museum, but through strategic changes the museum will be more self-sufficient and more fiscally sustainable."

Some administrative functions that had been handled by the museum have now been taken over by DNR, officials said.

In Lockport, entry will remain free. Reopening came about because the city and a local foundation agreed to split the cost of the $24,000 in annual rent for the gallery's building, according to Streit, while the state will still pay salaries and utilities.

"I knew that we would find a way to open back up," said Lustig, the facility's director. "I couldn't be happier for the audience."

sajohnson@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @StevenKJohnson

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Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Dev Hynes began Friday night's Blood Orange performance at the Vic tickling out jazzy chords on a keyboard. Soon enough he had moved on to electric guitar. During one set highlight, "E.V.P.," he even bowed a bit of cello. But rarely, barely even for a moment, did Hynes stand still. Instead, he danced. Constantly, enthusiastically, unself-consciously, he danced like the stage was his bedroom and there was no one there watching him as he sang and practiced his moves in the mirror.

Hynes likes to toy with surface  the smooth groove of R&B, the glossy synths of the '80s, the easy locomotion of light funk, the pulse of the clubs  and it's tempting to hear those styles as easy placeholders, shortcuts, but one shouldn't miss the depth of his songs for what shimmers on top. His third album as Blood Orange, "Freetown Sound," is the type of record that makes room for Blondie's Debbie Harry as well as social critic Ta-Nehisi Coates, and much of the album's themes circle around the inherent confusion of trying to navigate more than one world at once, especially as a black man in a time of protest and political conflict.

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Hynes has described "Freetown Sound" as "just kind of listening to me thinking for 58 minutes," and just as there's something amorphous and unformed about the disc, his performance at times felt like a similar voyage of discovery. "Can you feel the way they think about me?" sang Hynes in his shy falsetto during "But You," a song about navigating someone else's perception of him as a threat. Later "Hands Up" slinked along like a love song even as its lyrics (however low in the mix) referenced the Black Lives Matter movement.

Even the night's more upbeat numbers, like "Better Than Me," "It Is What It Is" and "You're Not Good Enough," were steeped in insecurity, worry and jealousy. "Do you ever think, boy?" he sang in "Better Numb" (once the yammering crowd hushed). "Or does it just feel better numb?"

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And through it all Hynes danced, part Michael Jackson, part Prince, but mostly just one guy trying to find himself by losing himself, and all the awkwardness that entails. Hiding in the shadows, striking poses in the spotlight, Hynes embodied the contradictions his songs explore, a human metaphor for the forces pulling us in multiple directions at once.







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 101 Soft Science extends that legacy on its third album, Maps (Test Pattern), and adds its own twists. The soft, almost cooed vocals of singer Katie Haley bring a pop veneer. Read the review. (Test Pattern)

Joshua Klein is a freelance critic.
Breast cancer patients need to consider multiple factors when it comes to surgical options. (BSIP / Universal Images Group)

After two decades in which breast-conserving surgery was the preferred option for women with early breast cancer, mastectomy rates are on the rise.

This trend, fueled both by fear of a relapse and by advances in surgical reconstruction, has some experts concerned that women aren't paying enough attention to the potential downside.

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In a newly published "consensus statement," an expert panel of the American Society of Breast Surgeons noted that more and more women are choosing to remove the entire breast, rather than just the tumor, and often the healthy breast too. The panel agreed that this option "should be discouraged for an average-risk woman"  although each patient's goals and preferences should be taken into account.

According to a recent survey by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the rate of women undergoing mastectomy increased 36 percent from 2005 to 2013, including a more than tripling of double mastectomies. Another study showed that nearly 40 percent of women eligible for lumpectomy, or breast conservation, opt for mastectomy instead.

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"We surgeons do try to convince people to save their breasts," said Dr. Nora Jaskowiak, surgical director of the Breast Center at the University of Chicago Medicine. "The outcomes for survival and local recurrence are exactly the same. But there's a constant drumbeat in favor of mastectomy and reconstruction."

Then there's the Angelina Jolie effect, named for the actress who had a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy after learning she had a genetic mutation that predisposes her to breast and ovarian cancer. The blitz of media attention created confusion for many newly diagnosed patients.

Dr. Ben Smith, a radiation oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said it's important to distinguish between those at very high risk, like Jolie, and the vast majority of women. For those at average risk, cutting off a healthy breast does nothing to improve survival odds. On the other hand, he said, the risk of complications is twice as high for patients undergoing mastectomy and reconstruction compared with lumpectomy and radiation. And the risk of complications increases with prior breast surgery, obesity, diabetes or smoking.

"Although breast reconstruction after mastectomy can enhance quality of life, it is not a simple process," said Dr. Valerie Lemaine, a plastic surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "It usually takes a minimum of two operations, and it could take more."

Jaskowiak said her team looked at the complication rate for patients undergoing a single mastectomy plus reconstruction and those who had double mastectomies with reconstruction. They found the risk of any complication (such as bleeding or infection) was 28 percent with one side and 41 percent with both sides. The risk of a major complication  one that sent the patient back to the hospital  was 4 percent for a single breast and 14 percent for both.

One small study also suggested a link between post-op complications and cancer recurrence. Researchers in Ireland looked at 229 women who had immediate reconstruction after a breast cancer diagnosis. They found that patients who had fewer complications were also more likely to be alive and cancer-free five years later.

The study doesn't prove that complications cause recurrence of cancer, and several experts said other studies have found no such association. But Jaskowiak noted that wound complications might cause a delay in chemotherapy or other recommended treatment, which could explain the finding.

Dr. Judy Boughey, professor of surgery at Mayo and an author of the consensus statement, said one advantage of mastectomy is that most patients with early breast cancer can avoid radiation, although many centers now do shorter courses that don't require as many trips to the hospital. Another advantage is that women can stop having mammograms and other routine imaging tests  tests that can lead to anxiety-provoking false alarms and biopsies.

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"But it's important to understand that, even with a mastectomy, you could develop something that requires a biopsy, and it's not a guarantee you won't have another cancer event in the future," said Dr. Shawna Willey, director of the Breast Health Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Another downside of mastectomy and reconstruction is permanent numbness, which the experts note can affect not just sexuality but also something as simple as hugging a child.

Dr. Leslie Laufman, a recently retired hematologist/oncologist in Columbus, Ohio, believes not having to get mammograms is enough to tilt the scales in favor of double mastectomy.

"If a woman keeps her breasts," Laufman said, "she'll be held hostage for the rest of her life. She'll have mammograms every six months  sometimes more often  with callbacks for extra views and biopsies, and she'll be terrified every time."

Crystal Collum, 38, of Irmo, S.C., was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and underwent a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction at Mayo. Collum, who works with special-needs children and has three kids of her own, had chemotherapy and radiation closer to home.

Even with two trips to Minnesota  first for the mastectomies and tissue expander placement, and later for the permanent implants  she said it was "a very seamless process" with no unanticipated complications.

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Lauren Miller, 69, a nurse in Chicago, had a far different experience. She was slow to heal, had serious post-operative infections, and her implant had to be replaced three times. In all, she said, she had nine  "count them: nine!"  operations.

Despite the complications, which took over her life for a year, Miller still counts herself among the 90 percent of reconstruction patients who ultimately report they are satisfied with their choice. The only thing she would have done differently, she said, is find a support group.

"I thought I could do it all myself," Miller said, "but you really need a safe place where you can talk about these things."

Dr. Hani Sbitany, director of microsurgical breast reconstruction at the University of California at San Francisco, said it's critically important to choose a medical center that does a large volume of breast surgeries, or at least a specialty-trained surgical oncologist. "Those are the surgeons who get patients the best outcomes and who reduce the complication rates as much as possible."

Any other advice from the experts?

"Breast cancer is not one disease," said Willey. "Patients need to remember that what they have is unique to them, and the recommendations their doctors make are based not just on their tumor type but on all the other factors in their life, including other health conditions and social factors.

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"Reading on the internet and talking to friends is good for gathering information," she said, "but in the end each person needs something slightly different."

Judy Peres is a freelance writer.

What patients need to know

The American Society of Breast Surgeons says health providers should give the following information to all patients (except high-risk patients like BRCA carriers) who have cancer in one breast and are considering having their healthy breast removed too. The procedure is called contralateral (opposite breast) prophylactic (preventive) mastectomy, or CPM:

For most women, the estimated risk of cancer in the opposite breast is 2 to 6 percent over the next 10 years. This means you have a 9498 percent chance of not getting cancer in your opposite breast over the next 10 years or more.

CPM is not 100 percent protective against cancer forming in your other breast.

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CPM will not improve your cure rate for your known cancer.

CPM will not reduce your risk of cancer returning from your known cancer.

CPM will not reduce your need for other cancer treatments for your known cancer (adjuvant therapy), if indicated.

The risk of surgical complications at the surgical site (such as bleeding, infection, healing complications and chronic pain) is approximately twice as high when CPM is performed.

CPM results in permanent numbness of the chest wall (and nipple if preserved).

CPM with reconstruction will result in an increased number of operations.

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Complications from CPM may delay treatment of your known cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation that may be recommended after surgery.

CPM may be associated with negative impact on physical, emotional and sexual well-being. Approximately 10 percent of women regret their decision to undergo CPM.

Breast-feeding will not be possible after CPM.

Women who undergo CPM will not need mammograms or routine breast imaging for cancer screening after surgery.

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Waiting for his mom to read him a bedtime story, Harry asked, "How do you know I am a boy?"

Harry's mom gave the default answer followed by a question of her own, "Because boys have a penis and girls have a vagina.  That's an interesting question; what made you think of it?"

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Harry, just 2 years old at the time, proclaimed, "Inside my head, I am a girl," according to his mom, Julie Tarney, blogger and author of "My Son Wears Heels: One Mom's Journey  From Clueless to Kickass" (University of Wisconsin Press).

She said that although she was unsure of what her son was trying to express, she attempted to sound upbeat and told him that it was great that he knew that about himself. Tarney said she didn't want her son to feel bad about himself or his question.

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It was 1992, and Tarney and her family were living in Milwaukee. She said she could not find any resources to help her understand what her child was feeling.

"I looked into Dr. Spock's book and 'What to Expect When You Are Expecting' and was horrified, for all I found were gender stereotypes," said Tarney.

With limited support, Tarney said that Harry, now a creative director at a photography studio in New York, became her teacher.

"Harry always knew who he was  a gender creative kid. He helped me balance my worries and fears, so that I was not robbed of the present moments, just being with my kid."

By examining her own expectations and beliefs, Tarney, 65, was able to get at the root of her initial discomfort.

She said she hopes her book serves as a resource and comfort for parents as they come to understand their child, regardless of where he or she falls along the LGBTQ spectrum.

"Children's growth and development are not linear. Rather, they are wide and far-reaching. ... Each one's path is as unique and individual as their fingerprints," Tarney said.

Some parents go through a gradual process to attain acceptance, said Donna Mills, a licensed counselor who works with LGBTQ clients.

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"Initially, parents may go through a grief phase when a child comes out. Hopefully, after a period of mourning and working through what they don't understand, the parent(s) come to realize it's OK; it still is my child," said Mills.

She said her daughter Lissa told her she was a lesbian when she was 25.

If parents cannot immediately be supportive, Mills recommends LGBTQ young people find someone who is open and affirming with whom they can comfortably talk.

Researchers and clinical professionals concur that acceptance for LGBTQ youth is paramount. Whether they have support or not can dramatically affect their happiness in life.

Betty Guilfoile, a grant writer in Chicago, is the parent of twins  Tess, 25, a lesbian, and Johnny (formerly Genevieve), a transgendered female.

"The most important thing kids need is to feel accepted and have friends," said Guilfoile. "Research indicates the outcomes are more successful for LGBTQ kids who have support," she said. She recalled that when Johnny came out, she and her husband told him that they loved and accepted him, despite their apprehension.

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Acceptance and love from family, though, is just the beginning. Society's attitude brings its own challenges.

"With all the progress in the way of fairness and advocacy, you would think our work is done. But (the shooting in June at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.) was a reality check. To change cultural attitudes in the hearts and minds of society about diversity, there remains a need for more work," said Jody Huckaby, executive director of PFLAG, which supports education and advocacy of friends, family and allies of the LGBTQ community.

Huckaby said discomfort, resistance, conflicts with faith or religion, societal values and political views are reasons that acceptance may be difficult for many people.

"Sometimes, people simply don't have the words to show they understand," said Huckaby. "To help overcome these and other challenges, we train volunteers to meet the individual where they are and, as a critical piece of our philosophy, do not push them to walk too quickly but walk with them in their journey."

Nancy Simon is a freelancer.

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Classic cars will be on display in Quincy, Ill., at the Early Tin Dusters Fall Color Run. (Richard Chapman / Quincy Area Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently:

New Ulm, Minn., was settled in the mid-1800s by German immigrants dissatisfied with life in Chicago, and some call it the most ethnically German city in the country. So it's not surprising that the town hosts what's billed as the largest Oktoberfest in the state. It's a big enough deal that it takes two weekends, Oct. 7-8 and 14-15. Expect lots of German food and music, with activities spread around town, including at August Schell Brewing Co. www.newulmoktoberfest.com

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Fall Colors Weekend will be Oct. 15-16 at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Ill. Free guided hikes will depart from the visitor center at 9 a.m. http://tinyurl.com/zczplb2

Hundreds of pre-1949 classic cars will roll into Quincy, Ill., Oct. 14-16 for the annual Early Tin Dusters Fall Color Run. The vintage autos will be downtown Saturday and in Upper Moorman Park on Sunday. http://tinyurl.com/j346zaf

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Because it's home to various manufacturers, Fort Wayne, Ind., has become a bit of a hot spot for annual factory-outlet sales, with the best known being the Vera Bradley sale each April. Cinda B, which specializes in handbags, travel bags and totes, has a sale scheduled Oct. 12-15 to clear out factory seconds and retired styles and colors. http://tinyurl.com/zznjcsl

Michigan fall-color reports are updated regularly at www.michigan.org.

The 17th Chippewa Valley Book Festival will be Oct. 10-20 in Eau Claire, Wis. Among authors who will be present are Sandy Tolan, ("Children of the Stone: the Power of Music in a Hard Land") and Barbara Massaad ("Soup for Syria"). Fifteen other writers, poets and journalists will make presentations, too, and there will be various workshops. 715-839-5004, www.cvbookfest.org

Artists ranging from painters to potters and jewelers will open their studios Oct. 14-16 for the annual Fall Art Tour in south-central Wisconsin. Studios are located in the area of Baraboo, Spring Green, Dodgeville and Mineral Point. www.fallarttour.com

Indiana Landmarks presents a program Oct. 16 in the Indiana Dunes that looks at how five houses that were part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago ended up in the Dunes area. Landmarks Experience: Century of Progress begins with talks at Portage Lakefront Pavilion in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. After lunch there will be tours of the five houses. 317-639-4534, http://tinyurl.com/jkopm2r

The eighth annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival will feature roughly 700 craft beers from more than 80 Michigan breweries. There will also be live music and food from area restaurants. Tickets can be bought online for the event, which takes place Oct. 21-22 at Eastern Market. http://tinyurl.com/odezx9c

Avoya Travel has a seven-night Caribbean cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line priced as low as $564 per person, double occupancy. Sailing from Miami on Jan. 8, 2017, the ship will make port in Roatan, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize, and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. http://tinyurl.com/hw33s5j

Road Scholar offers 19 learning vacations this winter based in sunny locations such as Key West, Fla.; New Orleans and Sedona, Ariz. Pricing is as low as $625 per person, double occupancy. http://tinyurl.com/hagxxyv

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Visit Orlando offers a Gay Travel Guide to the popular Florida destination at http://tinyurl.com/j6547r7.

Deals and websites listed here have been checked for availability as of press time. Listings are not endorsements.

Send tips at least a month in advance to ChicagoTribTravel@gmail.com.

Phil Marty is a freelancer.

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Nine people were killed and 45 others were wounded in shootings in Chicago over the weekend, according to police.



Among those who were killed was Peter Fabbri, 54, who was shot in the head at 7:35 p.m. Saturday as he was walking with two women near Millennium Park, police said.



Fabbri was shot at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Drive when an argument turned violent, police said. The shooter fled on a bicycle but was taken into custody. Fabbri died Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

A 23-year-old man was shot Sept. 26, 2016, in the 2000 block of West Pierce Avenue in the Wicker Park neighborhood. (Elvia Malagon / Chicago Tribune)





The deadliest stretch of the weekend occurred between Friday afternoon and early Saturday. A 19-year-old man was among the six people killed during this period.



The 19-year-old was shot in the head about 8:10 p.m. Friday in the 5600 block of South Racine Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood. He was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. A 21-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting. The older man was shot in the back and was in critical condition at Stroger.



Daniel Lindsey, 19, was riding his bike Friday when he heard 15 shots and pedaled toward Moran Park, where the two men were wounded. Lindsey saw one man on the ground at the park, and the other was near Sharif's Food & Liquor #2, a corner store.



Lindsey said one of the victims told him to move out of the neighborhood and to avoid trouble.



"I'm hurt and sad," Lindsey said. "I have a 1-year-old, and I'm so scared I won't get to see him grow up."



In other shootings, a 70-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the chest in the 8000 block of South Yates Avenue, police said. The shooting happened about 9 a.m. Sunday in the South Chicago neighborhood.



He was in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.



He was among 10 people who were wounded in separate shootings that happened Sunday and into Monday morning.
George Korchev, a Mundelein man ready to start his nursing career, was fatally shot near the University of Illinois in Champaign early Sunday morning.

The person who fired shots outside of a Champaign apartment building early Sunday near the University of Illinois, killing a young man from Mundelein and injuring three others, remained at large Monday as police continued to scour for clues.

Champaign police said Monday they're reviewing footage from surveillance cameras and cellphone videos to try to determine who was responsible for killing George Korchev, who authorities said happened to be passing by when he was struck by gunfire.

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Korchev, 22, died at a local hospital from a single gunshot wound to the back, Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said Monday after the completion of an autopsy.

Champaign Detective Sgt. Dave Griffet investigates the scene of a shooting in Champaign on Sept. 25, 2016. (Holly Hart / AP)

A 2012 graduate of Mundelein High School, Korchev earned a nursing assistant certificate in 2012 and an associate degree in nursing in 2015 from the College of Lake County, a school official confirmed. He was due to start a job as a nurse at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville on Monday, according to a hospital statement.

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A childhood friend said Korchev had been in Champaign visiting another friend, who was also shot but is recovering. Police said that among the four people shot in the 300 block of East Green Street at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, all the injuries besides Korchev's were not life-threatening. It's not clear whether all the others who were shot were with Korchev's group.

Another person who was fleeing the scene was struck by a vehicle and taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police said.

About 30 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire in 700 block of South State Street in Champaign, about nine blocks from the shooting that killed Korchev. One person was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening injury in the second shooting, which police believe is connected to the first and might have been retaliatory, said Champaign Police Department spokeswoman LaEisha Meaderds.

Champaign firefighters assist with the clean-up at the scene of a fatal shooting on Green Street, near the University of Illinois at Champaign on Sept. 25, 2016. (Holly Hart / AP)

The initial shooting resulted from an argument that began at a party in a nearby apartment building and spilled outside, Meaderds said.

"It transitioned into a physical altercation in an parking lot adjacent to the building," she said. "During that physical altercation, someone pulled out a gun."

University of Illinois Chancellor Robert J. Jones said in email to the university community that one of the people who was shot is a campus staff member and another is a student.

"They were bystanders caught in a senseless act of violence," Jones wrote. "We can all understand the grief and shock of those who knew the young man killed last night and the pain and fear of the others who were injured. We can offer them our support, our sympathy and our compassion."

Police were on the scene near the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Sept. 25, 2016. (Masaki Sugimoto / The Daily Illini )

Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, executive director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at the University of Illinois, said two of the surviving victims were former U of I undergraduate students and members of the organization. One was shot in the hand and the other in the back, he said.

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"I think the biggest scar isn't the one in his back, it's the loss of his close friend," Tiechtel said of one of two victims, whom he declined to identify. " Overall, as I told him, anyone shot would be shaken. And not only was he shot, but his friend was shot and killed in front of his own eyes. Why did they get killed and he survive? That's a very difficult conversation."

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Tiechtel said the area of the shooting is among the busiest corridors in Champaign on weekend nights, with hundreds of students walking to and from popular local bars. Since the incident, he said he has fielded dozens of calls and texts from students and their parents about safety concerns.

Tiechtel said he hopes to quell those fears Tuesday night at candlelight vigil held on campus.

"In the 14 years I've been here, nothing ever like this has happened," Tiechtel said. "I got a text from a student saying, 'I'm so scared' and another (saying) 'I'm scared to come back to school.' This is not the norm. The norm is safety."

Anyone with information regarding the shootings is asked to contact the Champaign Police Department Investigations Division at police@champaignil.gov or 217-351-4545.

Crime Stoppers is also offering a $1,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest. Information can be shared anonymously online at 373tips.com, by calling 217-373-8477 or by texting "CCTIP" plus the crime information to 274637.

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tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: _tonybriscoe
Paul Pagan, right, was charged in the fatal shooting near Michigan Avenue and Monroe Drive on Sept. 24, 2016, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune; Chicago Police Department)

A Berwyn man who visited the Millennium Park area Saturday with his mother and girlfriend for a wine tasting event got involved in a heated street quarrel over religion, resulting in his murder, police said.

Paul Pagan, 32, who was not initially involved in the argument, allegedly approached Peter Fabbri, 54, and shot him in the head and stomach at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, police said.

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Pagan, who has been arrested 39 times and convicted twice for pointing a gun during an argument, was charged Monday with murder, according to First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Navarro.

About 7:35 p.m., Fabbri left the wine tasting event with the two women. While walking down Michigan Avenue, the family encountered a group of about seven to 10 people who were passing out religious pamphlets near Monroe Street. The family and several witnesses told police that the group was preaching a "hateful message," said Commander Brendan Deenihan.

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Paul Pagan, who was charged Monday with murder in connection with the fatal shooting near Millennium Park Saturday, has been arrested 39 times and convicted twice for gun-related charges. Sept. 26, 2016. (CBS Chicago) (CBS Chicago)

The family began to argue with the group over the scriptures the group was citing, Deenihan said.

"(They were) arguing about scriptures, and the victim and his female companions were talking about Christians and love, and the other group was kind of talking about hate," Deenihan said.

The argument grew heated, which is when Pagan, who is not affiliated with either group, rode up on his bicycle. He approached Fabbri and began to argue with him. The argument escalated into a physical fight, Deenihan said, which ended when Pagan pulled out a handgun and shot Fabbri.

Deenihan said he speculates the first shot didn't hinder Fabbri, and so Pagan shot him a second time.

"What we believe happened is there was one shot, and what we believe is that that shot was in the chest or abdomen area. I think due to the heated discussion, I think Pagan, the offender, maybe believed that this was going to kind of stop the victim.

"But it didn't, and the victim was still enraged, and after he got shot he's still approaching. And at that point, I think Pagan, and you know I'm speculating, said... the thing has to end," Deenihan said.

After Fabbri was shot, his mother and girlfriend tried to detain Pagan but failed, police said, as Pagan got back on his bicycle and took off. Fabbri's sister, Shelly Fabbri, told reporters she chased Pagan as he fled.

"I chased him through the street, tried to hold the bike down," she told reporters. "His girlfriend comes and punched me and ripped my shirt. I wind up on the ground and another security guard came to help me and call the police."

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Area police quickly tracked Pagan down, however, in part due to the gang tattoos covering his bald scalp, which made him easily identifiable, police said. He was immediately placed into custody and identified as the shooter by witnesses at the scene, police said.

Fabbri was pronounced dead at Northwestern hospital a day later.

Diane White, a security guard at the School of the Art Institute, said she was crossing Monroe toward the park when she saw two men scuffling with each other and heard a shot.

"As I came across (the street), I saw them fighting over here," White said. "At first I heard a 'bang' like a firecracker. Then I saw a gentleman fall," she said. "I'm like, 'Oh man, somebody got shot.' "

Fabbri's niece, Nina Parks, said she was with her mother, Fabbri and his girlfriend at a wine-tasting when her uncle was shot.

"My uncle ... was a huge-hearted man and was always there for anyone if he could be," she said on a GoFundMe page that had raised more than $4,000 by midafternoon Monday.

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Pagan, who has four past felony convictions and had been wanted on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, is slated to appear for a bond hearing in Cook County criminal court on Tuesday.
Northwestern's new music school, the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, is located in the southeast side of the campus, Wednesday Oct., 7, 2015. (Tribune photo by Abel Uribe) (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Northwestern University announced Friday that it's already 80 percent of the way toward achieving its most ambitious fundraising campaign, having raised more than $3 billion toward its $3.75 billion goal since the campaign launched 21/2 years ago.

The university's fundraising success puts it on track to be at least the 12th largest fundraising effort by a university in the United States, according to data tracked by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. When the campaign first launched in spring 2014, university officials had said they hoped "We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern" would reach its goal within five years.

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Pushing Northwestern past the $3 billion point was a $10.25 million gift from the Christopher B. Galvin Family Foundation, most of which will support the Kellogg School of Management, university officials said in a news release. The family of Northwestern alumni so far has contributed more than $18 million to the campaign.

More than 121,000 donors contributed to the campaign, and their gifts have paid for 271 endowed student scholarships and fellowships. For example, supporters funded the educations of 1,300 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students during the 2015-16 school year, officials said. Among the campaign's largest goals was to increase financial aid for students, and so Northwestern announced in the spring that students qualifying for financial aid would no longer have to take out loans to pay for their education  an effort to make the school more affordable and prevent students from worrying about debt payments.

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Campaign funds also have gone toward 56 new endowed professorships and state-of-the-art facilities such as the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts and the Segal Visitors Center, officials said. Other programs receiving campaign support include a family writing program to help students learn to write clearly and effectively, a grant program for students participating in unpaid internships, and new and renovated residence halls, one of which is set to open in September 2017.

Northwestern is among at least 23 universities that intend to raise or have raised at least $3 billion in campaign donations, according to the education council, which tracks university campaign goals based on announcements and news articles. Harvard University tops the list after crossing the $7 billion mark of its $6.5 billion campaign goal this month.

Upon its announcement, Northwestern's campaign was the most ambitious fundraising attempt in the Chicago area, until the University of Chicago snagged the title just two months later in May 2014. U. of C. leaders announced plans to raise $4.5 billion before the end of the decade.

meltagouri@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marwaeltagouri
U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon, shown in August 2016, said at the City Club of Chicago on Sept. 26, 2016, that the Justice Department investigation of the Chicago Police Department is moving at a "record pace." (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

A drag on police morale stemming from the Laquan McDonald police shooting scandal is at least partly to blame for the surging gun violence in Chicago this year, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon said in a speech Monday.

Speaking to the City Club of Chicago, Fardon said fallout over the release of dashboard camera video of a white police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old McDonald exacerbated what was already an unacceptable level of bloodshed.

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Within weeks of the video's release last November, police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired, the U.S. Justice Department announced it would conduct a sweeping investigation of the department's use of force policies and a new order went into effect requiring officers to fill out lengthy forms when making street stops of suspected gang members. All three events moved the needle on police morale, Fardon said.

"I believe there was a hit on CPD morale and a drag on officers' willingness to conduct stops," Fardon said. "Some gang members apparently felt that they could get away with more, so more bullets started flying."

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Fardon's comments came as part of a larger speech about the role played by the U.S. attorney's office in investigating accusations of police wrongdoing as well as trying to quell the city's unrelenting gun violence  an issue that has brought unflattering national attention to Chicago and even become a part of the presidential race.

Fardon revealed for the first time he's been meeting recently with leaders of nonprofit groups in hard-hit communities who have complained they're not working together closely enough as needed because of competition over funding.

Meanwhile, the civil rights investigation of the Police Department that began in December has grown into the largest such probe ever undertaken by the feds and is proceeding at a "record pace," Fardon told the audience of business and political leaders at the City Club's lunchtime meeting at Maggiano's restaurant on West Grand Avenue.

Fardon said investigators have done a "deep dive" over the past nine months, analyzing "tons of data," interviewing hundreds of people, conducting ride-alongs with officers and studying police policies across the board. He stopped short of predicting when the investigation would conclude, but he said everyone is "proceeding with a sense of urgency."

"I think we are on an unprecedented pace to get this review done," Fardon said. "We've got one shot at this thing. We have to make sure we get it right. Our goal is not quick fixes, it is sustainable long-term change. That's what we are about, and it requires time and care and enormous effort."

Now entering his fourth year as the city's top federal law enforcement officer, Fardon, 49, took office in 2014 amid pressure to do more about the violence issue. While Fardon has operated in a far more low-key fashion than his predecessor, holding few news conferences and often filing charges without fanfare, Wednesday's speech was not the first time he has used his pulpit as a call to action on violent crime.

With his parents and brother and sister-in law in the audience, Fardon, who is likely to step down no matter who wins the White House in November, recited a number of grim statistics. So far this year, homicides are up more than 40 percent, and overall shootings are up by nearly 50 percent, he said. Neighborhoods on the city's South and West sides, where poverty and drugs and gangs have ruled for decades, have become "isolated, traumatized and terrorized by gun violence," Fardon said.

"Everyone in this room knows that we are in the midst of a brutal year," he said. "Our police are under a constant microscope. Our streets are teeming in protest. There is anger, there is fear, there is distrust, and with the constant drumbeat of bad news, for some I think there is a sense of hopelessness and depression."

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As a father of three, Fardon said his "heart breaks every single day" over the effect that gun violence has had on the city's children. At least 30 children younger than 13 have been shot this year alone, he said. Since 2010, more than 2,800 kids were shot, 369 fatally.

"We have kids  babies, toddlers, adolescents, tweens, teens  being shot as a matter of routine in this city," he said as the images of some of those slain were displayed on a large screen. "And that's not happening here in River North."

Much like he did in a 2014 speech to the City Club, Fardon said law enforcement is just one prong of what has to be a united effort to change entrenched attitudes of "complacency, hopelessness and low expectations." Fardon called on the city elite in the room to get involved, from business leaders to lawyers and other professionals, by supporting not-for-profit groups already doing good work in neighborhoods that need support.

For the first time, Fardon revealed that he has organized roundtable discussions with not-for-profit leaders in four communities hardest hit by gun violence: Englewood and Back of the Yards on the South Side and Garfield Park and Austin on the West Side.

To "foster candor and honesty," the meetings were held out of the public eye over the past three months and covered topics like housing, education, tutoring, health care, substance abuse and workforce development, Fardon said.

In each meeting there was a "single, resounding common complaint" that the competition for funding among organizations had clouded the overall mission to improve neighborhoods, he said.

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"That paradigm does not leave a lot of room or incentive for them to ... come around a common comprehensive plan for attacking gun violence," Fardon said. "They want to do that. All of them want to do that. Many, probably most, feel they can't."

As always, Fardon said, the driving force behind the violence is the entrenched divide within the city between areas that have flourished and others struggling with poverty, joblessness and education inequality. He said he used to shy away from people using the term "Chiraq," but it seems to capture the "tale of two cities" that Chicago has become  one affluent and safe, the other poor and dangerous.

While law enforcement plays a role in going after illegal guns and prosecuting the shooters, changing the root causes of the violence will take the efforts of many across society. And it will take time, Fardon said.

The same goes for the Police Department. Fardon said the relatively few bad officers within the department had betrayed the trust of the community, making it impossible for good officers to do their jobs effectively. It's a crisis that had been brewing in Chicago for decades, he said.

"I believe what we are going through right now with CPD was inevitable and is essential," he said. "At the moment, we're in pain. Sometimes in life you have to go through pain to get to a better place."

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @jmetr22b
An Air Force colonel facing court-martial next month on multiple counts of sexual assault was found dead Sunday at his Colorado home, according to the Air Force.

Col. Eugene Marcus Caughey, formerly the vice commander of the 51st Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base, had been charged with rape, assault, adultery and other crimes. His court-martial was scheduled to begin Oct. 17 in what would have been a rare instance of the military placing a senior officer on trial for sexual assault.

Officials at Peterson Air Force Base said Caughey, 46, was found dead at his off-base residence in Colorado Springs. They released no other details and said the cause of death was under investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department. A police spokesman did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Caughey's attorney, Ryan Coward, declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the colonel's death. "This is very unfortunate for an officer that served our nation honorably for over 20 years," Coward said in an email. "His family is grieving and asks that folks respect their privacy during this tough time."

According to charging documents filed by the Air Force in December, Caughey raped one woman as he held her against the wall and floor, groped women on two other occasions, and violated an order from a two-star general to stay away from another victim.

The married colonel also was charged with six counts of adultery - a crime in the military - for allegedly having consensual sex with four other women, according to the documents.

Caughey's defense team generated headlines in June when they sought to toss out the adultery charges, arguing that the military's prohibition on extramarital affairs discriminates against heterosexuals. Under military law, adultery is defined as sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married to each other. According to Caughey's attorneys, the provision does not apply to same-sex couples.

Washington Post
Holocaust survivor Joseph Harmatz, who led the most daring attempt by Jews to seek revenge against their former Nazi tormentors, has died. He was 91. His son, Ronel Harmatz, confirmed the death Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (Tsafrir Abayov / AP)

TEL AVIV, Israel  Holocaust survivor Joseph Harmatz, who led the most daring attempt by Jews seeking revenge against their former Nazi tormentors, has died. He was 91.

His son, Ronel Harmatz, confirmed the death Monday.

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Harmatz was one of the few remaining Jewish "Avengers" who carried out a mass poisoning of former SS officers in an American prisoner-of-war camp in 1946 that sickened more than 2,200 Germans, but caused no known deaths. Still, the message echoed into a rallying cry for the newborn state of Israel  that the days when attacks on Jews went unanswered were over.

Harmatz, who was born in Lithuania and lost most of his family in the Holocaust, spoke to The Associated Press shortly before his death and remained unapologetic for his actions and those of his group Nakam, Hebrew for vengeance.

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"We didn't understand why it shouldn't be paid back," he said.

This photo from the U.S. Army Signal Corps taken during World War II shows a bakery in Nuremberg, Germany, which supplied bread to Stalag 13, seven miles away. In mid-April, over 2,200 prisoners at the camp were stricken with arsenic poisoning from arsenic coated on the loaves given to the prisoners. Full and empty bottles of the toxicant were found under the floor of the facility. Seventy years after the most daring attempt of Jewish Holocaust survivors to seek revenge, the leader of the plot has only one simple regret _ that to his knowledge he didn't actually succeed in killing any Nazis. Joseph Harmatz is one of the few remaining Jewish "Avengers" who carried out a mass poisoning of former SS men in an American prisoner-of-war camp in 1946 after World War II. The poisoning sickened more than 2,200 Germans but ultimately caused no known deaths. (AP)

Despite a visceral desire for vengeance, most Holocaust survivors were too weary or devastated to seriously consider it, after their world was shattered and 6 million Jews were killed during World War II. But his group of some 50, most young men and women who had already fought in the resistance, could not let the crimes go unpunished and actively sought to exact at least a small measure of revenge.

Undercover members of the group found work at a bakery that supplied the Stalag 13 POW camp at Langwasser, near Nuremberg, and waited for their chance to strike the thousands of SS men the Americans held there.

It came on Apr. 13, 1946, when three members spent two hours coating some 3,000 loaves of bread with arsenic, divided into four portions. The goal was to kill 12,000 SS personnel, and Harmatz oversaw the operation from outside the bakery.

In a story published last month, Harmatz told the AP the goal was simple.

In this April 1946 photo from the U.S. Army Signal Corps, U.S. Lt. Robert R, Rogers, left, and Erich Pinkau, of the German criminal police, examine the under-floor hiding place where arsenic was found in a Nuremberg, Germany bakery which supplied bread to Stalag 13, seven miles away. In mid-April, over 2,200 prisoners at the camp were stricken with arsenic poisoning from the toxicant coated on the loaves given to the prisoners. Seventy years after the most daring attempt of Jewish Holocaust survivors to seek revenge, the leader of the plot has only one simple regret _ that to his knowledge he didn't actually succeed in killing any Nazis. Joseph Harmatz is one of the few remaining Jewish "Avengers" who carried out a mass poisoning of former SS men in an American prisoner-of-war camp in 1946 after World War II. The poisoning sickened more than 2,200 Germans but ultimately caused no known deaths. (AP)

"Kill Germans," he said flatly.

How many?

"As many as possible," he quickly replied.

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A recently declassified U.S. military report obtained by the AP only added to the mystery of why the operation did not kill Nazis, because it shows the amount of arsenic used should have been fatal to tens of thousands.

After the war, Harmatz, who went by the nickname Julek, immigrated to Israel, where he worked at the Jewish Agency and was director general of World ORT, a Jewish educational organization.

Associated Press
A new batch of rebels evacuated from the central city of Homs Monday, a Syrian official said. Homs governor Talal Barazi said 120 gunmen and their families were expected to depart al-Waer neighborhood by bus as part of an arrangement to restore government authority over the rebellious district. (Syrian official news agency SANA / AP)

BEIRUT  Syria's foreign minister said Monday that an internationally-brokered cease-fire is still viable, as rescue workers in Aleppo sifted through the rubble from the heaviest airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaking to Mayadeen TV from New York, also said the government is prepared to take part in a unity government incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past.

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Opposition activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week under a sustained aerial campaign that U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war. The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and Western powers.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it's barbarism," said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. "It's apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo."

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Airstrikes on Aleppo on Monday killed at least six people, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run collective. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported hours later that 12 were killed, including three children.

President Bashar Assad's media adviser told Al-Mayadeen TV that the Syrian government abided by the cease-fire but the rebels did not. Bouthaina Shaaban said once the truce expired, "our Syrian Arab army resumed its operations against terrorists."

Al-Moallem accused the U.S., Britain, and France of convening the Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support "terrorists" inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is "not dead."

Syria's military declared the cease-fire ended one week ago.

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the cease-fire is ineffective, but that Moscow is not losing hope for a political solution to the country's crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the Kremlin is concerned that "terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks."

Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the United States and Britain over Russia's actions in Syria.

He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and "such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process" in Syria.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Syrian and Russian governments "seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process."

"While they're pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated," Kerry said during a visit to Colombia.

He said the Syrian opposition won't be "particularly excited about having a negotiation when they're being bombed and starved," adding that statements by the Syrian government are "almost meaningless."

The White House meanwhile said it's difficult to envision any military cooperation with Russia in Syria because Moscow has repeatedly failed to fulfill its commitments to the cease-fire deal.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Syria's government has launched a "concerted campaign" to strike civilian targets, and that Assad's forces are trying "to bomb civilians into submission." He says government forces have also targeted the Civil Defense, volunteer first responders also known as White Helmets.

In the central Syrian city of Homs, meanwhile, a second group of rebel gunmen and their families began evacuating from an opposition neighborhood.

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Some 120 gunmen and their families are expected to leave al-Waer as part of an agreement to restore the government's authority over the neighborhood, Homs Governor Talal Barazi said.

The agreement struck over al-Waer was in keeping with Assad's determination to settle the war on his own terms, securing surrenders through sieges and staying in power at least through an interim period to steer the country out of crisis.

Pro-government forces have kept al-Waer under a steadily tightening siege since November 2013, prohibiting food and medical supplies from reaching the remaining 75,000 residents, down from 300,000 before the start of the war in 2011.

In exchange for the evacuations, the government is permitting aid convoys to supply the neighborhood with badly needed food and medical supplies.

A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district Saturday.

U.N. humanitarian officials have condemned the sieges against civilians as "medieval" and in contravention to international law.

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In New York, al-Moallem reaffirmed his government's proposed roadmap to end Syria's war, saying Damascus would support a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.

Associated Press
A roller coaster of a campaign 18 months in the making arrives Monday at a huge moment for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: a 90-minute debate, with much of the nation expected to tune in amid great uncertainty about what they'll see.

Virtually tied in recent national polls, both Clinton and Trump enter the debate as the two most deeply unpopular presidential candidates in modern history. Both hope to discredit the other, and both hope to emerge from the debate having burnished the public's view that they are better qualified to be commander in chief.

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A roiling disagreement over the role of the debate moderator flared up Sunday, with Democrats arguing that a more activist "fact-checker" role is needed to rein in Trump's well-established pattern of factual misstatements.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 37 Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Donald Trump as moderator Lester Holt looks on during the presidential debate at Hofstra University on Sept. 26, 2016, in Hempstead, New York. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

But Janet Brown, the executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, seemed to side with the Republican nominee, saying in a television interview that "it's not a good idea to get the moderator into essentially serving as the Encyclopaedia Britannica." She added, however, that ultimately it will be up to Monday's moderator, Lester Holt of NBC News, to do the job as he sees fit.

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Underscoring the unique nature of the combatants, Clinton's debate preparations included a focus on Trump's personality as well as the substance of what will be discussed onstage at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, according to several Democrats with knowledge of her campaign's approach.

Clinton's team convened a meeting last month at which longtime aide Philippe Reines, the stand-in for Trump in her mock sessions, deeply studied Trump's personality to be able to parry with her as Trump might.

The meeting was one of several during which Clinton aides conferred for hours with outsiders who had been asked to offer advice about Trump's temperament, according to people familiar with the gathering. The objective was to understand how a man who has spent most of his life in the business world and prides himself on being a dealmaker might behave in a debate setting.

The stakes Monday could hardly be higher for both candidates. A new Washington Post-poll released Sunday shows likely voters split nationally 46 percent for Clinton and 44 percent for Trump, with Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson at 5 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein at 1 percent.

With barely six weeks remaining until Election Day, Clinton's camp - after a prolonged focus on trashing Trump - sees the debate as a chance for her to present what she actually hopes to accomplish as president and to ease voters' deep concerns about her likability and trustworthiness.

For Trump, his first one-on-one presidential debate offers an opportunity to demonstrate a command of the issues and to persuade voters clamoring for change that he is a credible alternative, his advisers say.

One of the biggest unknowns remains which Donald Trump will show up. While Clinton has a lengthy record of meticulous preparation and formidable performances, Trump has been more unpredictable. Sometimes, he is the freewheeling showman prone to controversial utterances; other times, with help from his campaign team's repackaging, he is a more sober and scripted candidate.

The first of three scheduled debates between Clinton and Trump is likely to have a full agenda. It comes amid heightened fears of terrorism, unrest over police shootings of African-American men and a slew of long-standing issues that sharply divide the major-party candidates, including immigration, trade, tax policy and foreign affairs.

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Supporters of Clinton and Trump, including their running mates and campaign managers, fanned out across the Sunday television shows to put their spin on the tasks ahead and seek some psychological advantage.

Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, seemingly acknowledged on CNN's "State of the Union" that her candidate was trying "to get into the head of Hillary Clinton" when he suggested Saturday on Twitter on that he had invited Gennifer Flowers, who has claimed to have conducted a long-running affair with Bill Clinton, to attend the debate.

Trump's tweet followed news that rival billionaire Mark Cuban, who supports Clinton, would be sitting in the front row.

Trump's running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, later said categorically on CBS's "Face the Nation" that Flowers would not be there.

In their TV appearances, Clinton partisans said she has multiple goals Monday. Those include reminding voters of her long record of championing the interests of children and families and touting her agenda for helping the middle class - but also holding Trump accountable for assertions that independent fact-checkers have labeled false.

"She has a challenge because Donald Trump inveterately says things that aren't true," Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said on NBC's "Meet the Press. "She's got to be able to make that positive case but also not let Donald Trump get away with what he's likely to do, which is to make stuff up."

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Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Clinton's running mate, said he expects the format to explore the truthfulness of both candidates' claims.

"There's a real opportunity to hear somebody say something and then get into whether is that actually true or not," Kaine said on "Face the Nation."

Trump's team continued to press its case Sunday that fact-checking shouldn't be the responsibility of the moderator, however.

"I really don't appreciate campaigns thinking it is the job of the media to go and be these virtual fact-checkers and that these debate moderators should somehow do their bidding," Conway said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

She also disputed the notion that Trump makes more frequent misstatements, saying Clinton's "casual relationship with the truth is well-known to Americans."

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump supporter, said he believes the moderators should remain a "modest" presence in the debates.

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"They're not running for president," Gingrich said on "Fox and Friends Sunday." "It's pretty stupid to think we're going to have this third candidate called the moderator, and that they're going to double-team Donald Trump."

Brown, the head of the independent debate commission, did not issue a verdict on the controversy during an appearance on CNN's "Reliable Sources" but said that in the past, the role of the moderator has been to keep things moving and allow the candidates to call one another out for misstatements.

Clinton's camp also continued efforts of recent days to argue that the press and public shouldn't hold her to a higher standard than Trump because of Clinton's longer record in public service and more-detailed policy proposals as a candidate.

"I'm very concerned that Donald Trump will be graded on a curve," Clinton's campaign manger, Robby Mook, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Just because he doesn't fly off the handle in the middle of this debate does not mean that he is prepared to be president of the United States. ... He needs to roll out specific plans about how's going to make life better for Americans."

Aides to Trump, whose preparations by all accounts have been less meticulous than those of Clinton, are hopeful that the debate will help close what polls have shown to be a credibility gap with Clinton, a former secretary of state, senator from New York and first lady.

As part of an effort to appear more disciplined in recent weeks, Trump has put an emphasis on new policy proposals, which were sparse during the primary season, and on reining in his freewheeling style at campaign rallies. It remains to be seen whether those efforts will be maintained throughout Monday's 90 minutes on stage.

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"A victory for Donald Trump tomorrow night is answering the questions and showing America that he's ready to be president and commander in chief on Day One," Conway said on ABC's "This Week."

Trump surrogates also sought to raise expectations for Clinton's performance, talking at length Sunday about her public service while repeatedly stating that Trump has never participated in a one-on-one debate.

"The expectations on Hillary are very, very high," said Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, on "Fox News Sunday." "She's been doing this for 30 years. I think people expect her to know every detail. ... He's never run before, let alone been in a presidential debate."

Trump's biggest challenge might be staying on message, as the episode over Flowers's possible appearance at the debate demonstrated. Heading into the debate, Trump's tweet on the subject not only risked distracting from the candidate's message but could further alienate women voters, with whom Trump has struggled.

On Sunday, Pence said that the real estate developer was just joking.

"Gennifer Flowers will not be attending the debate tomorrow night," Pence said on "Fox News Sunday."

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Conway, speaking on CNN, said that Trump has no plans to bring up Bill Clinton's marital indiscretions during the debate, saying viewers deserve and expect these candidates to be talking about the issues."

But, she added: "I'm not going to reveal what we have been doing in our debate conversations. But the fact is that he has every right to be defend himself."

Clinton aides, meanwhile, argued that the episode was a telling one about Trump.

"You saw his reaction, which is to do his favorite sport, which is to dive in the sewer and go for a swim," Podesta said on NBC. "He's kind of predictable: When you poke him a little bit, and he comes back and attacks whoever is doing it."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, issued a blistering and accurate attack on Donald Trump in the waning days of Cruz's presidential race in May. He nailed him as a "pathological liar" and spotted his dangerous narcissism. He excoriated Trump for insulting his wife, Heidi Cruz, and accusing his father of being connected to the assassination of President John Kennedy.

At the Republican National Convention in July, Cruz chose to show up  and pointedly did not endorse Trump. He was booed robustly but earned some grudging admiration from sincere conservatives. "To those listening, please, don't stay home in November," Cruz said. "Stand up and speak and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket you trust to defend our freedom and be faithful to the Constitution." That lasted about two months.

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Naturally then, Cruz endorsed Trump on Friday on his Facebook page.

What?!

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No, there is no rational explanation. Everything Cruz listed as a justification for voting for Trump  the Supreme Court, for example  was a concern in July. Trump, if anything, has become more accustomed to lying (e.g., accusing Hillary Clinton of starting the birther lie). It's obvious to Trumpkins, #NeverTrump Republicans, the media, Democrats and every voter in Texas that Cruz simply lost his nerve, got concerned he would be accused of sinking Trump and couldn't bear the estrangement for the tea party faction that largely supported him in the primary.

The reaction on his Facebook page ranged from horrified to furious. One person wrote, "What's sad is you actually sound like the exact opposite person as you did in the debates, on the campaign trail, on convention night and the days since."

Another said: "You have to be kidding me. What a sellout. I am ashamed to have supported you. By endorsing him you are endorsing everything he has said about you and so many others. What happened to, 'I'm not in the habit of supporting people that attack my wife and my father'? You are endorsing his liberal policies and the destruction of the conservative portion of the Republican Party. You just lost a voter, Mr. Cruz. The last standing conservative has bent his knee to the liberals running this country into the ground."

Oof.

Reaction from conservatives in the media was brutal. "So long as Trump's proposals can be defended as somewhat more right-wing than what Clinton would give us, that's conservative enough. If that's the guy Cruz is now, he'd better never open his mouth to criticize Mitch McConnell again," wrote Allahpundit. "The core argument against Trump is that he's unfit for office in terms of qualifications, temperament and basic morals. He's a con artist, like fellow Trump endorser Marco Rubio said. And the key point here is that Cruz himself has made that argument."

Ana Navarro, a Jeb Bush supporter, referred to Trump's insults directed at Heidi Cruz. "If after saying he was standing up for my honor, my man endorsed a guy who called me ugly ... he'd be sleeping on the damn couch for months," she wisecracked.

And David French, who contemplated an independent conservative run, ridiculed the notion that Cruz could not stand up to "pressure." French wrote, "What pressure? You might get primaried? The terrifying Reince Priebus might get angry? You might  gasp  lose your Senate seat? Good heavens  the nation just can't survive without Cruz in the Senate!"

In caving just after Priebus announced he would make any future runs hard for the GOP primary challengers who signed the pledge to support their party's candidate, Cruz looks like a coward  the only person on the planet afraid of the RNC chairman. Whatever advantage he had over other Trump supplicants like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has evaporated. The Texas Monthly was blunt:

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"Either his endorsement is a pack of lies, or his speech at the RNC was: they can't both be true. And though it's possible that 'Lyin' Ted' might still one day become president, the odds, in my view, are now vanishingly narrow. We've all heard it a million times: 'Everyone hates Ted Cruz.' And now he's given this faceless 'everyone' plenty of reason to do so."

Cruz's move is nearly inexplicable. In the vein of the "Jeb!" motto in the campaign, Cruz's endorsement amounts to "Opportunist!" or maybe "Coward!" Cruz is in the business of accusing every other Republican of selling out to big government liberals. Now he has done the same in embracing the big government nominee.

"While Ted Cruz isn't the first to betray our country's interests in exchange for political expediency, he is certainly one of the most important," said independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin in a written statement. "It's why the GOP is in such deep trouble as a political vehicle for the conservative movement and for American leadership. "

As many of his critics have observed, Cruz is not, as he claims, all about putting conservative ideals above blind party loyalty. It is and always has been about Cruz. Unfortunately, he has made that so obvious as to become the butt of Republican jokes. That scorn is richly deserved.

Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective.
The operator of a Homer Glen tobacco store facing tax evasion charges failed to report more than $5.8 million in sales over three years, according to the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

Mazen M. Nassar, 38, of Orland Park, is charged with sales tax evasion of more than $100,000, money laundering of more than $10,000, wire fraud and 27 counts of filing a fraudulent sales tax return, according to an Attorney General's Office release.

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Nassar is accused of defrauding the state out of more than $465,000 in taxes when he underreported sales from January 2011 to February 2014 at Smokers Expo, 12330 W. 143rd St. in Homer Glen, the release said.

A Will County judge set Nassar's bail at $500,000, it said. Nassar was booked into the Will County jail on Sept. 15 and released the same day, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office website.

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Nassar was charged in 2012 with federal felony charges for conspiring to purchase and possessing contraband cigarettes that without legally required tax stamps, according to the Attorney General's Office. He was later convicted and sentenced to a year in prison, the release said.

The most recent case was investigated by Illinois Department of Revenue's Criminal Investigations Division. Nasser is scheduled to return to Will County court on Oct. 20.

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
A 26-year-old Riverdale man is accused of robbing a Matteson bank of less than $6,000 Friday afternoon before crashing his getaway car at a tollbooth during a high-speed police chase, according to a complaint filed Monday in federal court.

Jordan Hawkins appeared in front of U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland on Monday inside the Dirksen Federal Building. Hawkins is charged with robbing the BMO Harris branch, 4940 W. 211th St.

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Hawkins demanded money from tellers at gunpoint and fled with $5,906 cash inside a backpack, according to the complaint. Police arrested Hawkins in Homewood a short time after he crashed his car into another vehicle at the Interstate 294 tollbooth on Interstate 80.

According to the complaint, a man wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and dark pants walked into the BMO Harris branch just before 3:30 p.m. carrying a black, semiautomatic handgun. The robber pointed the gun at tellers and demanded money. The entire robbery took about 32 seconds.

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Witnesses told authorities the man, whose face was covered during the robbery, shouted for the teller to, "Put the money in the bag," and repeatedly ordered the teller to "hurry up," according to the complaint.

The gunman made off with the cash, which included 10 "bait bills" used by the bank in the event of robbery, according to the complaint.

Customers in and near the back told authorities they saw the robber exit the bank after the robbery and get into a sedan with temporary license plates that traveled on Route 30 before getting onto Interstate 57, according to the complaint. One witness had followed the sedan as it drove north on the interstate.

Matteson police then tracked down a 2006 Buick Lucerne and tried to stop it, according to the complaint. The car drove onto the shoulder at a high rate of speed to avoid police, and continued onto Interstate 80 at more than 90 mph before crashing at the toll booth.

According to Matteson police, no one was injured during the robbery, chase or crash.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The Buick's driver, later identified as Hawkins, ran from the crash, according to the complaint. A woman remained behind in the car's front passenger seat and was taken into custody at the scene. Matteson and Illinois State Police did not immediately return messages seeking information about the identity of the passenger. The federal complaint did not identify the woman.

Several department assisted in the search for Hawkins, according to the complaint.

A 911 caller told authorities a man matching Hawkins description, whose clothing was wet, walked out of a wooded area and said he needed to use the phone after just crashing his car, according to the complaint. Officers from the Homewood Police Department arrived and spotted Hawkins, who tried to kick in the door of a home before his arrest.

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Witnesses to the bank robbery identified Hawkins as the robber after he was taken into custody, according to the complaint.

Authorities recovered $5,906 cash, along with the bail bills, in a backpack inside the Buick, according to the complaint.

Hawkins, who remains in federal custody, is expected to appear in court again this week.

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Judie Anderson, of Chicagos Beverly community for more than 50 years, is among the artists opening their home studios during Beverly Area Arts Alliances Beverly Art Walk on Oct. 1 in Chicagos Beverly and Morgan Park communities. (Photo courtesy of Diego Ivan Martirena) (Diego Martirena)

Drawing people to Chicago's Beverly and Morgan Park communities was the motivating factor in establishing the free Beverly Art Walk.

Beverly Area Arts Alliance presents the third annual event Oct. 1 in 55 venues, including the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago. The alliance also partnered with the Morgan Park/Beverly Hills Business Association to make the event more bicycle-friendly.

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"We're not known for a lot of pedestrians in our neighborhood. One of the goals of the art walk is to get people out and walking and visiting our small business community, which is really great. Businesses that have hosted exhibits have had their best day ever," said Monica Wilczak, who co-founded Beverly Area Arts Alliance with fellow Beverly resident Sal Campbell.

"This is the way to really enjoy art on the South Side. That was something that inspired us. The people who've done this were artists. We just wanted to have something in our neighborhood," she said.

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"It's been just as good for the businesses as it's been for the artists," she added.

New this year are six pop-up galleries featuring group shows including the Blue Island Arts Gallery with a multidisciplinary exhibit organized by the Blue Island Arts Alliance, and Citizens Gallery and Annex with small spaces transformed into multimedia environments.

Other pop-ups include Gallery Guichard @ Pelar with work by 13 artists celebrating the African diaspora, 95th Street Gallery with an interactive project by Cecil McDonald Jr. and Pullman Arts Gallery with media including stained glass, ceramics, painting and a children's book.

"We worked with local business owners and asked if we can use their vacant property and transform it into a gallery. It has been the most we've ever had at one time," said Wilczak, director of development at St. Barnabas Parish in Beverly.

"That's something that is really new  reaching out to other South Side arts communities to bring them to Beverly to grow their audience and also showcase the work of South Side artists to our neighborhood."

Attendees of the self-guided Beverly Art Walk can utilize a free trolley to visit stops including the home studios of artists Judie Anderson, Ray Broady, Betty Callihan and Patrick Egan.

"People can talk to the artist and learn more about the artist's process and inspiration and also the evolution of their work. That's something that's really great. When you're in an artist's environment, you can see what they're working on now and how it has changed," Wilczak said.

Mitchell Egly's mosaic reflecting the area's historic and cultural treasures will be unveiled at 1 p.m. at 99th Street and Walden Parkway as part of Beverly Art Walk.

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"Every year we commission a piece of public art and Beverly Bank & Trust is our sponsor," Wilczak said.

"This year we're doing a mural that's going to celebrate Beverly so he's done a lot of research about the community. He's put together a really amazing piece. This will be on 99th Street near the Metra tracks."

The event also features the Beverly Art Walk Children's Park including projects hosted by the Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative, local craft beer and food, dance, more than 20 musical acts including Southwest Symphony Orchestra, storytelling and the Uprising Craft Market.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

Beverly Art Walk

When: noon-7 p.m. Oct. 1

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Where: Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago, and several locations in Chicago's Beverly and Morgan Park communities

Admission: free

Information: www.beverlyarts.org

Etc.: presented by Beverly Area Arts Alliance
Ron Kittler pilots a recumbent trike around the parking lot of his New Lenox shop, FnA Bicycles. (Phil Arvia / Daily Southtown)

Occasionally, former Mount Greenwood resident Jim McCormick feels badly for the women he discovers staring longingly at his seat.

On his recumbent tricycle.

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"I always feel guilty when I'm so comfortable and see other people struggling on an upright bike," said the 72-year-old, who now lives in South Haven, Mich.

"It's like riding in a La-Z-Boy," McCormick said. "What I didn't like about upright bikes was all the stress on my wrists and the back of my neck. I'd never ridden 15 miles in my life until my wife and I got these last year. Now that's my regular ride and I'm looking to stretch that out.

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"I'm a three-wheel guy. I've recommended them to so many people."

One such moment came recently, as he chatted with a mother and daughter out for a ride on the state park trail near his home. The mother saw the padded chair from which McCormick pilots his Terra Trike, mounted her traditional bike and, peddling away, told her daughter, "I've got to get one of those."

An opportunity to push all manner of nontraditional pedals comes Friday to the Tinley Park Convention Center, when the Chicago Unconventional Bicycle Expo (CUBE) takes residency for its second three-day celebration of recumbent bikes, electric-assist bikes, fat-tire bikes and more.

In addition to a dozen or so exhibitors, there will be a test-ride area and daily seminars covering such topics as fitness training on recumbents to biking for persons with disabilities.

"Times have changed," said event organizer Julie Keating, a 60-year-old Glenview resident. "When we grew up, the only thing we had was a Schwinn 10-speed.

"There are 10,000 baby boomers retiring daily for roughly the next 17 years in the United States. What do you do with all these people who would like to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, but maybe a bike isn't their thing anymore?"

If your back is the issue, Keating said a two- or three-wheel recumbent would do the trick. If it's a wrist or knee problem, the same. Have a joint replacement you're unwilling to risk in a fall? Or balance issues? The trike is the way to go.

"For me, it got to the point where I had to get off the bike to rub my hands and wrists so I could ride again," she said. "Seventeen years ago, a friend of mine said, 'I just got this newfangled thing, it's a recumbent bike.' I said, 'It's a what?'

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"Then I tried it. No wrist pain. No hand pain. No butt pain. And you can just ride forever. That was it for me."

While recumbent bikes have been around since the 19th century, modern versions  which start around $1,000 and go way up from there  first gained popularity in the 1980s. Though they make up a very small part of the roughly $6 billion in annual bike sales in the U.S., between one 1 and 3 percent of total annual sales from 2005 through 2012, Keating insists interest is rising.

"Last year, we had around 500 enthusiasts attend the first CUBE," she said. "I'm really thinking this year we'll double that.

"It's an opportunity for riders to talk to manufacturers, to test-drive new products, to ask techno questions or give their two cents worth, like, 'Hey, why don't you do this?'"

Among the dozen or so exhibitors will be Ron Kittler, who owns FnA Bicycles in New Lenox. The bike shop is an expansion of a motorcycle shop, Motorcycle Medic, he operated for 12 years in Tinley Park before moving to New Lenox six years ago.

Kittler takes "unconventional" a step beyond recumbents  though he sells two- and three-wheeled models as well. He'll also show fat-tire and electric-assist bikes.

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Fat tire bikes are just that. The tires are four-plus inches across, more than twice that of a mountain bike.

"All year round, you're riding," Kittler said of fat tire riders. "These bikes really excel on sand and snow. All you do is regulate the air pressure."

Electric bikes have been slow to catch on in the U.S. According to Navigant research, nearly 30 million e-bikes were sold in China in 2013, while just 53,000 were sold in the U.S.

Kittler suggested e-bikes are great for commuters, or recreational cyclists "who need a little boost up a hill."

Truth be told, however, the recumbents may have won his heart in just the four short months he's been selling Terra Trike and Catrike products.

"A month or so ago, I had a kid in here, 18 years old, on the autism spectrum," Kittler said. "He'd never ridden a bike in his life.

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"In 15 minutes, we had him riding a trike. It was beautiful.

"For special needs kids, this opens up their whole world. It blooms. That's what I love about doing this."

Phil Arvia is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

Chicago Unconventional Bicycle Expo

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

When: Sept. 30 - Oct. 2

Where: Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive

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Hours: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a .m.- 4 p.m. Sunday

Advance tickets: $40 for three-day pass, $15 Friday, $17 Saturday-Sunday

At the door: $20, cash only

Information: cube-expo.com

Etc: Test riders required to wear helmets in test ride area, so bring yours.
Kellogg Parent Maggie Laraviere (right) joins Miss Illinois Dominique Jones, a Kellogg graduate, in a march from Kellogg Elementary School on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. The march included approximately 250 students, parents and community members to highlight the opposition to a proposed school plan in the 19th Ward. (Declan Harty/ Daily Southtown) (Declan Harty / Daily Southtown)

Troy Laraviere said he doesn't understand the plan to close Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago's Beverly Community. So he  along with about 250 others  took to the streets to let the 19th Ward know.

The now-former principal of Blain Elementary School in Lakeview and critic of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel marched through the typically quiet residential streets of Beverly on Saturday in opposition to a plan to consolidate Kellogg with Sutherland Elementary School, to help curb overcrowding in Mount Greenwood Elementary.

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But the fight against the plan isn't coming from Laraviere just as a educator  but also as a father, he said. Laraviere's son is a sixth-grader at Kellogg.

"I have a community here," he said. "This is the first time I've had such a personal connection."

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Joined by his wife, Maggie, and son, Laraviere and his family were just one part of the group of students, parents and community members that marched through Beverly on a nearly 2-mile march from Kellogg at 9241 S. Leavitt St. to Ald. Matt O'Shea's office at 104th Street and Western Avenue.

The plan has been hotly debated throughout the South Side neighborhood since O'Shea announced it two weeks ago. The plan proposes the consolidation to move Keller Regional Gifted Center to Kellogg's current facility, opening up Keller's location for a second Mount Greenwood Elementary, which has seen its enrollment nearly double over the last 10 years.

But the group, 19th Ward Parents United, is asking O'Shea to withdraw the plan in hopes of creating a task force of community members from all parties to brainstorm other ideas to help with Mount Greenwood's estimated overcrowding issue.

"We need something that can relieve overcrowding at Mount Greenwood, but that isn't going to close a school, move a third school and overcrowd a fourth school in the process," said Jeff Pinzino, a Sutherland father with a second-grader and a fifth-grader, before the march began.

O'Shea's plan aims to not just curb overcrowding, but also help with Sutherland and Kellogg's declining enrollment and create funds to renovate Esmond Elementary, a low-income, nearly all-black school in the 19th Ward that is in need of repairs.

O'Shea has previously brought up the idea of opting to move Mount Greenwood students to Saint Xavier University-owned buildings, one at 104th Street and Spalding Avenue and another at 110th Street and St. Louis Avenue. O'Shea last week declined to comment on how the Saint Xavier properties would be budgeted for.

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Maggie Laraviere, Troy's wife, led the march that featured chants like, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, school closings have got to go," and "We are all the 19th Ward."

Kellogg's "a wonderful academic environment, and even the size of Kellogg is really nice because it is a small school, and so the teachers know all of the students," she said. "The whole thing is we really want this task force, and we want to be able to contribute to the destiny of our own kids."

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For 40 years, Beverly has largely been battling to not just build, but to cement its diversity, Pinzino said.

"I see this as a plan that divides instead of unites people across that diversity. That's not who we are as a neighborhood," he said. "We need a solution that is going to work for all of the parents in Beverly."

O'Shea has said the plan was not influenced by race or class. In the meantime, Troy Laraviere said he just hopes the community is able to strike up enough action to ensure that O'Shea considers withdrawing the proposal, opting for the task force's creation.

"At the end of the day, that's what it's going to come down to  whether we're able to take this energy and direct it toward some common, unified, thoughtful action," Troy Laraviere said. "Jury's still out on whether or not we're going to be able to accomplish that, but I wouldn't be out here if I didn't think we could."

Declan Harty is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Richard Schickel, who grew up in Thornton and graduated from Thornwood High School, retired not quite three years ago after 33 years with the Internal Revenue Service.

Since then, he's written two books  "IRS Whistleblower" and "What to do When the IRS is After You"  and just last week popped up in a Washington Post story about Donald Trump's tax returns.

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Specifically, the Post detailed why the Republican presidential candidate's returns, which in a break with election tradition he has refused to release, are unlikely to be leaked.

Among Schickel's contributions to the piece was his comment on the fact that literally thousands of IRS employees could easily access Trump's tax information.

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"It would take 10 minutes," he said.

I called Schickel to ask him to expound on why no one has taken those 10 minutes to grab Trump's returns and peddle them to, say, TMZ or a Hillary Clinton-friendly Super PAC for a hefty sum. A very hefty sum, to hear Schickel tell it.

"From what I've heard from friends in Washington, they're talking about (offers of) $20 million for that tax return," Schickel, 58, said from his home in Tucson, Ariz. "But you'd end up going to jail for a very long time. This is Snowden stuff."

Edward Snowden is a former CIA employee who leaked classified National Security Agency documents to journalists in 2013 and was later granted asylum in Russia.

Though the IRS operates with a computer system that is about 50 years removed from state-of-the-art, Schickel said, eventually anyone who accessed Trump's records would be found out.

"It might take a long time, but yeah, you'd get caught," he said. "I couldn't see anyone leaking this unless they were dying of cancer or something like that."

As to why Trump wouldn't simply release his returns, Schickel  who retired from the IRS as a senior revenue officer and has since opened a tax consulting service, RMS Consulting, with other IRS retirees  had an educated guess.

By the way, it has nothing to do with the sheer volume of Trump's return, which Trump's son pegged at roughly 12,000 pages. In 2015, Trump tweeted a picture of himself signing his return with a stack of papers on the desk beside him rising higher than his head.

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"I believe that," Schickel said of page count. "I saw McDonald's (Corporation's return) once. Theirs was about 6 1/2 feet tall.

"But really, all you'd need to see is the first two pages. That (summary) is everything  partnerships, wages, interest, dividends"

Getting back to the "why" of it, I have to tell you my uneducated guesses are sexier: 1. Trump's business ties with communist ne'er do wells would be revealed; 2. The self-declared billionaire would unveil a net worth that he could hold in the palm of one of his teeny, tiny hands; 3. Hair extensions deducted as a business expense.

Schickel's explanation was at once simpler and more complicated.

"Because it probably shows he didn't pay any taxes," Schickel said. "If all his income is in real estate, he's probably not going to have any income."

The complicated part involves depreciation of investment properties. Basically, if you own a property and rent it to someone else, it depreciates. If the income and depreciation cancel each other out, you show no income and thus pay no taxes.

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"I can't speak to (Trump's) specific case, but it's likely he wouldn't owe any taxes," Schickel said. "I've probably seen 100 returns of real estate developers over the years, and virtually none of them owed taxes from real estate income."

It's easy to understand that people would be upset over Trump paying no income tax. It's harder to understand why that would cost him votes.

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After all, anyone even considering voting for Trump likely believes his purported business skills are an asset. If Trump indeed pays no income tax, that would be a further demonstration of those skills.

"That makes sense," Schickel said. "He's taking every advantage of the tax laws  why is that a bad thing?"

Perhaps because many people don't like laws fraught with loopholes benefiting the rich at the expense of the struggling, and they are loathe to believe a rich man would legislate against his own self-interests.

"My experience is most people want to pay their fair share," Schickel said. "Shouldn't we all pay something? But it's not a Donald Trump problem. It's a tax law problem."

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I like Schickel's notion that most people want to pay their fair share. I note that Trump last week bragged about his skill at using "other people's money."

I'd suggest that those seeking fairness look past Trump.

Phil Arvia is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
Elizabeth Giglione of Mario's Red Hots, looks for buyers for pumpkins at Elmwood Park's Fall Fest at Mills Park on Sept. 24. (Kevin Tanaka / Pioneer Press)

Elmwood Park's third annual Fall Fest attracted patrons young and old.

The festival was held from Sept. 23-25 at Mills Park off Diversey Avenue. Among those enjoying the fest were Elmwood Park residents Jack and Angie Biernacki and their 4-year-old son Jackson. Angie Biernacki said since fall is her family's favorite season, they were excited to celebrate the time of year with neighbors and friends.

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"The weather starts to cool and down, and we can build memories," she said.

She noted that every year, her son picks a pumpkin at the fest to decorate.

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"At the fest, you can build memories, pick pumpkins and eat corn and enjoy all the yummy things about fall," she said.

The three-day event included pony rides, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo and scarecrow building. Kids also were able to enjoy face painting, bounce house, balloon animals and cotton candy.

Village Special Events Coordinator Jim Parenti was glad to see locals and outsiders enjoying the food booths and camaraderie with one another in mild and calm conditions.

"Families are having fun, and we lucked out with the weather," he said.

Sunday was Sunday Fun-day for adults, with $4 beers and a performance by Chicago rock band 7th Heaven. Other bands performing throughout the fest included Kashmir and Hillbilly Rock Starz.

Also on hand were members of the Elmwood Park Fire Department selling homemade chili to raise money for children and teens who have experienced injuries and burns to attend a camp, "I Am Me."

"This will go toward the burn camp for children who are severely burned or burned a little bit," Lt. Michael Terzo said.

Nottoli Sausage Shop, Mario's Red Hots and Seph's Sweets were among several other local vendors selling food.

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After having a good time at last year's fest, Elmwood Park resident Morgan Dohoney came back with her son, Danny, a third-grader at John Mills Elementary School. Danny said he likes coming to the fest because most of his friends attend and he likes the activities. His favorite thing to do was decorating his scarecrow and pumpkin.

"It's a great family experience, and it's local," Morgan Dohoney said. "They have a lot of nice stands for family and friends. We like the food and music."

Westchester resident Natalie Smith brought her 8-month-old daughter, A.J., to enjoy the autumn festivities.

"She loved the petting zoo, since she's never pet live animals before," Smith said. "I'm trying to show her new experiences."

Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Lia Potter, from left, 13; Jacob Potter, 8; Brent Potter, the childrens father; Shahna Richman, the childrens mother; and Ann Fordon, all of Evanston; are at Ridgeville Park on Ridge Avenue during Bike the Ridge on Sept. 25, 2016. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

Days after a Northwestern University student was fatally struck by a truck while riding her bicycle, Evanston's annual Bike the Ridge event brought out more than 1,000 participants to Ridge Avenue Sunday.

"It's a beautiful day to bike the Ridge," said Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl who was at the 9 a.m. official ride start at the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Howard Street.

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The four-hour event included activities at Ridgeville Park. Giveaways included water bottles and water to fill them sourced by the city of Evanston's Lake Michigan water trailer.

Bicycles are not allowed on Ridge Avenue in Evanston at any other time.

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"It's a fun family event," said Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington, who also said at least 30 volunteers assisted from Evanston's CERT, Community Emergency Response Team.

"If the volunteers weren't here, we couldn't do it (Bike the Ridge)," Eddington said.

"It would be impossible without the volunteers."

Alderman Ann Rainey of Evanston's 8th ward arrived in the renowned quad cycle, seen in previous years at Bike the Ridge.

"It's (Bike the Ridge) south Evanston's annual event," Rainey said. "It brings the community together."

Though Bike the Ridge went on as planned, Evanston and Northwestern community members were still processing the accident that killed Northwestern University freshman Chuyuan Qiu last Thursday as she rode her bicycle.

Qiu, 18, was involved in the crash around 5 p.m. in the 2000 block of Sheridan Road, according to authorities. Evanston police said she was turning out of a university parking lot when she was hit by one of the truck's wheels and knocked off her bike. She then rolled under the truck.

The driver of the truck, a 38-year-old Des Plaines resident, was not cited in connection with the incident, police said. The investigation is ongoing, but the truck driver had a green light at the time of the crash and there is no reason to suspect he was impaired or distracted, said Perry Polinski, the police department's media relations officer.

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Karie Angell Luc is a freelance photographer and reporter for Pioneer Press. Freelancer Lee V. Gaines contributed.
A copy of "Heart Sutra" translated by Monk Xuanzang from the stone inscription marks the value of the stele chiseled more than 1,300 years ago in Beijing's Rural Fangshan District. [file photo]

The earliest preserved edition of the "Heart Sutra"  a Buddhist scripture translated by the famous Monk Xuanzang, known for his fictional role in the classic novel "Journey to the West"  was recently discovered on a stele in Beijing's rural Fangshan District.

Extending its influence over China and East Asia, the sutra has many interpretations, of which the edition translated by Xuanzang was one of the most credible.

The sutra was chiseled on the stele in 661, three years before the Monks demise and was passed down and preserved at the Buddhist temple in rural Beijing.

The massive carving of the Buddhist sutras on steles in Beijing was initiated by Monk Jingwan, who worried about the prospect of Buddhism due to anti-Buddhism mania in North Wei (386-557) and North Zhou (557-581) and so preserved the sutras on stone in Fangshan amid Sui Dynasty (581-618).

Following their predecessors endeavor, Buddhist monks in the temple have inscribed 3,572 volumes of Buddhist sutras totaling more than 30 million words, ranking as one of todays biggest and oldest stone libraries.
A shopping mall that sells luxury items in Jinan, capital city of east China's Shandong Province. [Xinhua]

The luxury goods industry has suffered from slowing Chinese demand, while terror attacks worldwide have hurt tourism and travelers' spending on luxury items this year.

But even with falling earnings growth and sales that UBS Group AG warns may worsen, many luxury goods makers have increased their dividends in a bid to lure investors, Societe Generale SA analysts wrote in note last month.

The strategy hasn't worked in the past year, with a Morgan Stanley index of shares tracking firms with high and sustainable payouts slumping 16 percent, three times more than the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Higher dividends at a handful of struggling posh-product makers are a luxury they may not be able to affordthat appears to be the consensus view.

Take Richemont and Tod's SpA, for example. Both are down more than 20 percent this year and both are still squarely in the sights of short sellers.

Lingering expectations that they'll raise dividends even after reporting declining sales are attracting bearish traders.

"Despite the softening of their business in some of their key-growth markets, these companies are still growing their dividends," said Simon Colvin, an analyst at IHS Markit Ltd in London. "It doesn't take a lot for the dividend to become unsustainable. You have to be very wary as a dividend investorthat high yield sometimes carries risk."

While Richemont forecast operating profit slumped 45 percent in the first half, analysts see it raising its dividend for an eighth year. For Tod's, which posted a sixth semester of falling earnings, payouts are projected to climb 15 percent.

The companies have some of the most generous dividend yields in the BI Europe Luxury Goods Top Peers, and their short interest of more than 6 percent is among the highest, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Markit.

Like them, Salvatore Ferragamo SpA and Hugo Boss AG are some of the companies most bet-against in the sector, with a short interest of more than 5 percent and shares down this year.

Their payout yield is higher than the average for members of the luxury index, even though they're struggling to turn themselves around. Swatch Group AG, whose first-half profit was the worst in seven years, also has a dividend rate higher than the mean. With a short interest of 27 percent, it's the most-shorted company of the regional Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Kering SA's payout yields are also higher than the industry's average, but the difference is that some of their units have shown an increase in demand. Their stocks are up this year, and their short interest of less than 1.2 percent is lower than the average for the industry.

Hermes International SCA, which scrapped its annual sales growth target, has one of the lowest dividend yields among peers. Its short interest is at 0.7 percent, and the shares are up 14 percent this year.

Even if firms have managed to maintain high payouts so far, the worsening sales will eventually hit, according to Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank AG in Lucerne, Switzerland.
An investor anxiously waits for a positive tick in market movement at a Fuyang brokerage in Anhui province. [Photo/China Daily]

The Chinese stock market will likely continue to experience muted trading this week/month as investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and are awaiting further policy clarification from the government.

The hitherto wild A-share market saw extremely light turnover last week. Daily volatility reached the lowest level in 14 years. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 3 percent over the past month.

Analysts such as Wang Yi of Great Wall Securities Co Ltd said lower levels of volatility and turnover reflect subdued trading appetite of investors due to persistent uncertainty over policy.

Wang anticipates further consolidation in the A-share market, which will likely keep it sideways for the rest of the year, more so because it is drifting for want of a clear direction.

Xiao Shijun, an analyst at Guodu Securities Co Ltd, said, "The upcoming National Day holiday in October will likely further conduce to more cautious sentiment as investors tend to reduce their positions ahead of major holidays to avoid risks."

It is also feared that the country's red-hot property markets in big cities may drain capital from the equity markets.

In contrast to the cooling and quiet stock market, the property market in China has shown signs of overheating. The value of home sales in the 70 cities tracked by the government jumped 33 percent last month from a year earlier, the fastest pace in four months, according to Bloomberg calculations based on government data. Average new-home prices in the 70 cities rose by 1.2 percent last month from July, the biggest gain since 2010.

Meanwhile, the further liberalization of the Chinese capital market including the upcoming launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect could be another factor that would prompt more capital outflows from the mainland's stock market, analysts said.

The trading link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong will likely be launched in November at the earliest. Earlier this month, the mainland's insurance regulator also allowed insurers to invest in Hong Kong shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong trading link.

Southbound fund flowbuying of shares in Hong Kong by mainland investorsshould be sustainable due to wider participation of institutional investors, persistent depreciation pressure on the yuan and the dearth of assets in the onshore market, said Lu Wenjie, an H-share strategist at UBS Securities.

Lu said the mainland's financial regulators have appeared to be more confident in managing capital outflows.

"We believe policymakers may encourage a reasonable pace of outbound investment in the next few quarters to help contain the domestic asset bubble, especially the overheating property market," he said.
The appetite of China's wealthy to diversify from a weakening yuan is helping European finance companies boost capital to prepare for the next financial crisis. Global fund managers are urging caution.

Since Aug 1, seven issuers opened order books for their Basel III bond sales in Asian hours, raising $11.9 billion selling instruments that count as capital under Basel III rules.

HSBC Holdings Plc separately issued $2 billion of total loss-absorbing capacity notes in Taiwan province. In the first seven months, only three such deals opened in Asia.

Asia's high net-worth individuals, whose wealth has surpassed counterparts in North America, have been major investors in regional bank bonds, slashing yields.

They are turning to Europe even as a rout in shares of lenders including Deutsche Bank AG worsens. Hybrid issues with low, fixed coupons face downside risk from rising US Treasury yields, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

"Asian investors tend to be more yield-hungry and willing to take higher risks," said Ben Sy, the head of fixed income, currencies and commodities at the private banking arm of JPMorgan in Hong Kong.

While they tend to focus on European banks with strong retail franchises, they "are getting complacent" when it comes to insurer bonds, he said.

German insurer Allianz SE sold $1.5 billion of Tier 2 perpetual notes in August to yield 3.875 percent with the coupon fixed for life.

Commerzbank AG says the higher returns promised by European banks come with greater risk amid low lending margins.

Additional Tier 1 notes sold by European issuers in 2016 pay an average coupon of 6.6 percent, compared with 3.9 percent for Asia, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

London-based Standard Chartered Plc sold $2 billion AT1 notes to yield 7.5 percent last month, with 31 percent going to Asian investors. Zurich-based UBS Group AG sold similar debt at 7.125 percent. By contrast, Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd sold notes at 3.6 percent.

"Asian bank debts are safer because governments may bail them out before AT1 investors suffer losses, while European governments are much less likely to do so," said He Xuanlai, credit analyst at Commerzbank in Singapore. "I don't think all investors buying into Europe hybrid bank bonds do extensive research."

Noah Holdings Ltd said wealthy Chinese investors' demand for overseas assets may grow as much as 20 percent next year as they diversify from a yuan that dropped 4.6 percent in the past year. Australian issuers such as Westpac Banking Corp are also making Asian investors their first ports of call.

"This trend has just started and is targeting a broader range of investors, including private banks and wealth management funds, that are looking for yields," said Clifford Lee, head of fixed income at DBS in Singapore.

Deutsche Bank's 7.5 percent AT1 notes dived to a record low 72 cents on Feb 9, after it posted its first full-year loss since 2008.

Its shares have tumbled 47 percent this year.

"We really don't like European banks," said Donald Amstad, a director at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd.

"The European Central Bank's quantitative easing has caused bond yields to collapse. Banking in Europe, already an unprofitable business, is now under further pressure."
The Chinese Air Force on Sunday sent more than 40 aircraft of various types to the West Pacific, via the Miyako Strait, for a routine drill on the high seas, a spokesperson said.

H-6K bombers and Su-30 fighters were among the 40 aircraft involved in the PLA Air Force's drill over the Western Pacific on Sunday. The drill was to test the military's far-offshore combat and assault capabilities.[Photo/Xinhua]

Shen Jinke, spokesperson of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, said the fleet, including H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters, and air tankers, conducted reconnaissance and early warning, attacks on sea surface targets, and in-flight refueling to test the Air Force's fighting capacity on the high seas.

Bombers and fighters of the PLA Air Force also conducted routine patrol in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the spokesperson said at an east China airport.

Shen said routine drills in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ are conducted "in accordance with the needs of the Air Force to defend national sovereignty and security, as well as to maintain peaceful development."

Since the East China Sea ADIZ was set up nearly three years ago, the Air Force has kept regular patrols.

The Air Force will continue patrolling in the East China Sea ADIZ to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of China. It will keep conducting various training to improve its combat capacity, Shen said.
A trial program to test the issuance of a single, unified work permit for foreignersreplacing the current system under which two government entities have issuing authorityis expected to ease the burden of getting work in Shanghai for highly skilled expats, starting in October.

The trial was highlighted in a recently released notice about further deepening of measures to attract more foreign talent to speed up the development of the scientific and technological innovation hub.

Until now, the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs has been responsible for issuing a certificate qualifying some individuals to work in China; local labor bureaus issued their own work licenses to authorize others.

In the pilot program, highly skilled applicants will not need to submit applications before entering the country, and only need to complete an online application after being recruited to work in Shanghai.

Expats who have applied at least twice for a one-year work permit will be eligible for a five-year work permit, making the process more convenient.

In July 2015, 20 measures including 12 released by the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau reduced complexity for highly skilled overseas passport holders. Also, the length of an overseas talent residence permit was extended to 10 years, opening Shanghai's door wider to the world.

"We retain the core spirit of creating an environment for talent to grow and explore innovation, in order to shape the city into a cluster of global innovative talent by 2020," said Chen Hao, deputy director of the organization department of the municipal government.

Apart from looser application requirements for work permits, the more open and efficient overseas talent policy will allow the staff of foreign work teams to apply for permanent residence directly.

High-level workers in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone who qualify will be recommended by the administrations of the zones for permanent residency.

Investment companies, regional company headquarters, and research and design centers registered in the two zones will also be able to recruit new graduates from world-class universities to work in Shanghai.

"It will encourage employers to fill positions with better-fitting talent, especially those international students who may add value and fresh thoughts, to compete with local talent in the Chinese job market," said Pete Chia, managing director of BRecruit China, a recruitment service provider in Asia.

Sadik Senturk, a 32-year-old Turkish project manager at a consulting company in Shanghai, said: "I will apply for a green card for the sake of my son, who just turned 2 years old and will be enrolled in the education system like a local child.

"I hope the lower requirements for permanent residence and expanded benefits will narrow the gap between green card holders and local residents."

Senturk is also applying for a residence permit based on talent.

Highlights of the trial program

1. One work permit replaces the current two to save time for skilled expats.

2. Five-year work permit is issued to expats who have obtained a work permit at least twice in the past.

3. Permanent resident permit holder is eligible to acquire an overseas talent residence permit directly.

4. Foreign-related companies registered in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone can recruit new graduates from world-class universities to work in Shanghai.

5. International students can apply to work at startup businesses in Shanghai after graduation.

6. Other benefits of the overseas talent resident permit include a property tax exemption.

7. Enterprises related to scientific research with outstanding performance are encouraged to recruit postdoctoral researchers independently overseas.

8. Human resources companies in China will be encouraged to set up overseas offices to share resources and connections with their foreign counterparts and encourage talent mobility.
China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Sunday said police have seized over 3,300 people for stealing and trading private information of Chinese citizens via the Internet in a national campaign.

Chinese police have seized more than 3,300 people for stealing and trading private information of Chinese citizens via the Internet in a national campaign. [Photo: Xinhua]

The suspects were linked to over 1,200 criminal cases, the MPS said in a statement. They include 270 insiders from banking, education, telecommunication, securities and other sectors, in addition to some 90 professional hackers.

In one case, it said, 13 people led by a suspect surnamed Qiu gained access to 60 million items of private information linked to popular Chinese online shopping portals such as taobao.com, jd.com, and dangdang.com.

A total of 420,000 items of illegitimate and fraudulent information have been removed from the Internet since the campaign started in April, the statement added.

The development came as authorities try to raise awareness against rampant cyber and telecom fraud across the nation.

Telecom fraud became a public sore point in China after a case last month in which Xu Yuyu, an 18-year-old high school graduate in Shandong Province, died of cardiac arrest after losing her tuition money to a telecom fraudster.

According to the MPS, infringement of private information via the Internet often serves as a precursor to telecom fraud.

It said the ministry will keep up high pressure on crimes that involve stealing, trading and illegally taking advantage of citizens' private information, and will work to urge e-commerce, instant messaging and social networking platforms to step up internal supervision.
Asia Pacific Youth Dialogue is wrapped up in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Sept. 23. [Photo / China.org.cn]

The First Asia Pacific Youth Dialogue was wrapped up in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Sept. 23 after a three-day heated discussion among some 200 young elites from the Asia-Pacific region.

Centered around topics like promoting positive peace, combating extremism, facilitating environmental sustainability and advancing youth social development, youth delegates from 46 countries offered their own ideas and opinions at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC).

"Voice of Asia Youth - Suggestions from Asian Pacific Youth Dialogue" will be submitted to the Asia Civilizations Dialogue Forum (ACDF) and the 10th UNESCO Youth Forum, the organizer says.

The event coincides with the call of the country's policymakers to boost regional cooperation and development, as President Xi Jinping proposed in a speech last year at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA). This, he said, could act as a platform to enhance interactions among young people, local communities and the media and to form a network of cooperation.

"The ideas from young people are likely to provide some food for thought for policymakers," said Li Yanrong, president of UESTC.

He also insisted that "we should instill values in the youth first in order to build a world where different civilizations can coexist harmoniously."

"Young people might have limited power to change the world, but this kind of discussion around such important topics could help improve them and enrich their understanding about different civilizations and the world as a whole," said Robert H. Xiao, CEO of Perfect World, an online gaming giant and sponsor of the event.

Speaking about his takeaways from the event, Sagar Kumar, a delegate from Pakistan, said that dialogue with his peers from different civilizations expanded his horizons and taught him about their different ways of viewing and solving problems.

The event, co-organized by UNESCO, UESTC and Perfect World Education, aimed to come up with recommendations on the nexus between Asia Pacific civilizations, cultures, social cohesion, respect for diversity and peacebuilding; and engaging youth as agents of change and custodians of the future regionally and internationally.
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The Linbai project (linking Linhe district in Inner Mongolia to Baigeda on the border between Inner Mongolia and Gansu Province), stretches 930 kilometers, crossing the Badain Jaran Desert, Chinas third largest desert, and other depopulated zones with a harsh environment. [CCTV]

An expressway in China's northwestern region, hailed as the world's longest desert stretch, was completed on Sept. 25.

The Linbai project (linking Linhe district in Inner Mongolia to Baigeda on the border between Inner Mongolia and Gansu Province), stretches 930 kilometers, crossing the Badain Jaran Desert, China's third largest desert, and other depopulated zones with a harsh environment.

With a total investment of 37 billion yuan (approximately US$5.55 billion), the stretch of road is the main part of the high-profile Jingxin expressway linking China's capital Beijing and Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, expected to complete next year.

It was co-constructed by China Communications Construction, China Railway Group Limited, and China State Construction.

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A female teacher talks with her students at a sex education class in a Chinese university. [China News Service]

A Xi'an university has opened a sex education course that has gained wide popularity among students, a local newspaper reports.

According to Qi Xinyan, a teacher at Xijing University, the university started several new optional courses this semester, including sex education, death psychology and female psychology.

Qi said that sex education is very necessary for Chinese university students since Chinese youth have lacked such education for a long time.

The course is expected to help students get an overall understanding about sex and health and to allow them to gain more information about how to prevent AIDS, venereal disease and other sex related disease.

"Besides theory, how to use condoms will also be taught in the class," said Qi. "Students are very interested in the course, and there are no vacancies left."
Chinese prosecutors have filed corruption indictments against former senior Tibet legislator Le Dake and former state-owned enterprises' senior executives Wang Tianpu, Si Xianmin, and Wang Shuaiting.

Le, former deputy head of the Standing Committee of Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress; Wang Tianpu, former general manager of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation; Si, former general manager of China Southern Airlines; and Wang Shuaiting, former vice chairman of China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Limited, are accused of accepting bribes in four separate cases.

Local prosecutors in Henan, Jiangxi and Guangdong have accused the four of taking advantage of their posts to seek benefits for others and of accepting "huge amounts" of money and gifts, according to a statement by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Monday.

Wang Tianpu is also accused of taking advantage of his position to seek illegal interests for others through other officials, according to the indictment.

Wang Tianpu and Wang Shuaiting have been indicted for embezzlement of public funds and property.
Taiwan's failure to get invited to Tuesday's International Civil Aviation Organization assembly in Montreal, Canada, should not come as a surprise for island leader Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party administration.

Tsai should have expected this ever since she refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, which lays out the one-China principle by the island and the Chinese mainland, on May 20, the day she assumed office.

It is easy for Taipei to misread the failure and lay unwarranted blame on Beijing's opposition to the island's participation in international activities. But finger-pointing can neither solve the problem nor eliminate the main reason behind the ICAO's decision to not invite Taiwan this year.

In 2013 when Taiwan's civil aviation authorities were invited to send representatives as non-voting delegates to the ICAO assembly, it was cross-Straits negotiations based on the understanding that both sides adhere to the 1992 Consensus that resulted in a special arrangement. Under the arrangement, Taipei was invited as a special guest of then-ICAO council president Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez because only sovereign states have the right to participate in ICAO within the UN framework.

The DPP's refusal to adhere to the one-China principle, however, has undermined Taiwan's chances of participating in any international activity. Tsai and her administration have underestimated the damage the refusal to adhere to the one-China principle could cause.

Under the leadership of former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, cross-Straits ties had grown stronger, with the inking of dozens of economic deals, closer personnel and cultural exchanges, as well as practical arrangements for Taiwan's participation in some international organizations and activities.

In fact, the DPP administration's refusal to recognize the political basis of one China has already stalled bilateral communication and almost frozen cross-Straits ties since May 20. The suspension of institutional exchanges between top agencies in charge of cross-Straits relations of both sides and the sharp drop in the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan are some of the signs of the tense ties.

In essence, no way can Taipei participate in international organizations by bypassing the one-China principle, whether it is the ICAO assembly or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting scheduled for November in Peru.

Taipei will meet more dead ends if it doesn't fulfill the prerequisites for its participation in world activities. The DPP administration should realize this, reflect on its cross-Straits policy and come up with a practical solution instead of playing the blame game.
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China on Saturday pledged to further forge ahead bilateral relations with Cuba through enhancing high-level exchange of visits and promoting economic cooperation.

Cuban President Raul Castro holds a welcoming ceremony for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) before their talks in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The pledge came as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday.

Li arrived in the capital of the Caribbean country on Saturday afternoon following a visit to Canada.

Hailing the progress made in the past 56 years since the two countries set up diplomatic ties, Li said China has firmly adhered to the policy of China-Cuba friendship, supported Cuba in following a socialist path and promoted bilateral pragmatic cooperation.

China stands ready to further enhance high-level exchange of visits, deepen economic cooperation and step up coordination on international affairs with Cuba so as to push forward bilateral ties, said Li.

Both China and Cuba are currently facing urgent tasks of developing the economy and improving the livelihood of the people, said the premier.

China wants to focus on development and cooperation with the Cuban side, supports Cuba's industrialization process and would like to conduct cooperation with Cuba in infrastructural construction and industrial equipment production, Li said.

The Chinese premier also called on the two countries to expand trade and investment cooperation, share development experience and make more frequent people-to-people exchanges.

Raul Castro, for his part, spoke highly of the historic significance of Li's visit, the first official visit by a Chinese premier in 56 years.

He said Cuba agrees with China on measures to develop bilateral ties and is willing to learn from China's development experience.

Cuba looks forward to increasing high-level exchanges with China, and expanding down-to-earth cooperation with China in trade and education, Castro added.

He also suggested the two countries enhance coordination on international affairs so as to safeguard common interests of the vast number of developing countries.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of some 20 cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication, environment protection, and inspection and quarantine.

Li arrived in Havana Saturday for a three-day official visit to Cuba, the first official visit to the Latin American country by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960.

At the airport, a welcoming ceremony was held for Li, which was attended by Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's first vice-president of the councils of state and ministers, and some other senior officials.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday signaled his readiness to work with the United States in removing the Islamic State (IS) from its de-facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria, but insisted on the exclusion of Syrian Kurdish militias from any operation, local media said.

"Our foreign ministry officials and military officials have been in contact with the U.S. about the Raqqa issue," the president said on his way back from New York after attending UN General Assembly sessions, according to private NTV news channel.

"Raqqa is the most important center for Deash. If U.S. will not make PYD and YPG be involved in this business, we can of course join this struggle with the U.S.," he said.

On Thursday, Erdogan's spokesman ruled out the possibility of Turkey joining any operation against Deash or IS militants in Raqqa to be joined by the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) or its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Erdogan also indicated that Ankara could contribute to the seizure of Mosul, the Iraq's second largest city, from the IS.

Turkey sent tanks, warplanes and special operations forces into northern Syria on Aug. 24 in a launch of what it called Operation Euphrates Shield to fight both the IS and Syrian Kurdish militias.
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A senior Chinese diplomat on Sunday voiced his deep concern at the recent military escalation in some areas in Syria, and called upon the international community to work harder to help all Syrian parties in their efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

Liu Jieyi, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, made the statement as he was speaking at the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the current situation in Syria, which was held at the request of the United States, Britain and France following the renewed fighting in the north Syrian city of Aleppo.

The conflict in relevant areas of Syria has recently escalated and caused a heavy civilian casualty, and a UN humanitarian convoy was attacked, Liu noted, adding that China expressed its deep concerns at the grave situation on the ground.

The Syrian government force was attacked by airstrikes and suffered heavy casualties, for which China expressed regret, he said.

"We hope that all the concerned parties will enhance their coordination and prevent similar incidents from happening again," he said.

The Syrian conflict has been lingering on for about five years, China has deep sympathy for the suffering of the Syrian people, he said. "This situation cannot be allowed to continue anymore."

"The priority now is that all the parties in Syria must effectively implement the Security Council resolutions concerning the issue of Syria," Liu said. "The international community should work simultaneously on the tracks of ceasefire, political negotiation, humanitarian assistance and counter-terrorism cooperation in order to promote the solution of the Syrian question."

Meanwhile, he said, China hopes that the agreement reached by Russia and the United States regarding the cessation of hostilities among all Syrian parties will be effectively implemented so as to create opportunities for improving the situation on the ground.

"The international community should work in collaboration to urge all parties in Syria to effectively implement the agreement so as to resume the ceasefire," he said.

"The more complex the situation in Syria, the more important it is to uphold the general direction of political solution, give full play to the role of the United Nations as the main channel of the mediation, continue to support the Special Envoy de Mistura in his efforts to re-launch the Geneva Talks as soon as possible, and press ahead the Syrian-own and Syrian-led process to achievement arrangements that accommodate all interests."

Regional countries should play a positive role in promoting the political settlement of the Syrian question, he said.

Furthermore, the senior Chinese diplomat urged all the parties in Syria to "provide full humanitarian access and ensure that all the humanitarian supplies can be delivered in a timely and safe manner."

The international community should scale up humanitarian assistance to Syria in a bid to alleviate the humanitarian situation on the ground and provide assistance to neighboring countries to help them properly accommodate refugees, he said.

"Counter-terrorism is a very important component of the solution to the Syrian problem," he said. "The Syrian conflict has led to the rise and spread of terrorism, without rooting out terrorism, there will be no peace for Syrian people, and there will be no security for regional countries."

"The international community should work with resolve to combat all the terrorist force listed by the Security Council, including the Islamic State, he said. "In the process of counter-terrorism cooperation, we must enhance the intelligence sharing, and prevent social media from spreading extremist ideology and cut off the flow of terrorists and their financial channels."

"China has been making unremitting efforts to promote political solution to the Syrian problem, and we have made extensive efforts to push all Syrian parties to end the conflict as soon as possible and to achieve a comprehensive political solution," he said.

"China stands ready to play a constructive role in promoting a full, just and appropriate settlement of the Syrian problem," he added.
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During a testy -- including a walkout -- emergency Security Council meeting on Sunday called in wake of "one of the worst" weeks in Syria in nearly six years of fighting, the UN special envoy vowed to continue his role but pleaded with the panel "to enforce a cessation of hostilities (CoH) in Syria."

Photo taken on Sept. 25, 2016 shows the United Nations Security Council holding an emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States. [Photo/Xinhua]

The walkout, by the ambassadors of France, Britain and the United States, occurred while Syria's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari near the end of the 2 1/2 hour session on the increased Syrian attacks on "terrorists" in his country's "second capital," said, "The Syrian government will recapture the whole town of Aleppo. The entire town."

"These are indeed chilling days," said Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy, for Syria and "for the people of Aleppo in particular. The past week has been one of the worst ones in Syria during the near six years of this devastating conflict."

He asked the council to press for a cessation of the violence and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, weekly 48-hour pauses in the fighting for aid convoys "without preconditions neither from the government nor frankly from the opposition" and "to press for medical evacuations ... from eastern Aleppo."

"Amid intensive air strikes reported on Friday, following the announcement of the beginning of a government offensive, an announcement was made by the government itself," de Mistura said, resulting in "scores of reported civilian deaths and injuries, including those of many children."

"We have seen the situation in eastern Aleppo deteriorate to new heights of horror," the veteran diplomat said.

"I am still convinced that we can turn the course of events," he said. "We have proven this more than once before."

De Mistura said he has been asked several times, "'Why don' t you resign at this point? Frankly all this is leading nowhere and this will send a strong signal.' No I am not. Because any sign of me resigning would be a signal that the international community is abandoning the Syrians, and we will not abandon the Syrians, and neither will you."

All 15 members of the council spoke during the session, many siding with Britain, France and the United States -- who called the meeting -- while a few sided with Russia in what has turned the Syrian civil war into a proxy battle many say is reminiscent of the Cold War. A few were quite direct, rather undiplomatically, naming states they felt were in the wrong.

Russia says it was invited by Syria to help fight off terrorists and the West says it is supporting only "moderate" rebels and not terrorists.

Ja'afari insisted the Syrian government was only defending itself from terrorists but would sit down with representatives of non-terrorist opposition groups.

He said Britain, France and the United Sates, "weep and they have crocodile tears" for Aleppo and asked if Britain would give away Scotland, France relinquish Corsica or "the United States give away Texas."

"The Syrian government will not give away a single inch of our territory," said the Damascus envoy who accused the trio of western nations of "falsely" calling armed opposition groups in Syria "moderates."

Britain's Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, French Ambassador Francois Delattre, walked out of the council chamber while the Syrian ambassador was speaking.

"We need to decide how to stop this, now," Rycroft said of the Aleppo siege on Twitter. "Syria's UN ambassador is not interested in that decision. That's why I just walked out of" the UN Security Council.

"France, together with the U.S. and the UK (United Kingdom), called for this emergency meeting of the Security Council because we are simply horrified by what we are watching in Aleppo," Delattre told reporters after the walkout. "Aleppo is to Syria what Sarajevo was to Bosnia, or what Guernica was to the Spanish war."

"This city epitomizes the Syrian tragedy more than any other," he said. "Aleppo, this symbolic city that dates back several millennia, this world heritage site, this crossroads where so many civilizations colluded and converged, is now experiencing a medieval type of siege. What a symbol, and frankly, what a shame!"

"Today, the Syrian regime and its allies are sending a message loud and clear to the world, the Paris envoy said. "They are determined to besiege, starve, and bomb Aleppo until they reach their military goal: eradicating the opposition. That is what this siege is all about. It is clear that the various negotiations were nothing else in the minds of the regime in Damascus than a smoke screen."

"That's why France is calling for the immediate implementation of the U.S.-Russia (CoH) agreement, starting in Aleppo: Aleppo first in terms of both the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian access."
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At least 22 Boko Haram insurgents were killed during an attack in northeast Nigeria's state of Borno, the Nigerian Army said Sunday.

Four soldiers also died in the repelled terrorists attack, while two others sustained injuries, the army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement made available to Xinhua.

The attack came in three waves with the terrorists, using 36 hand grenades and rocket propelled launchers at Logomani, he said, adding that the troops recovered two AK-47 Rifles, one G3 Rifle and 36 hand grenades.

The location has been reinforced and replenished while the troops have continued their clearance operations, Usman said.

Nigeria's northeast region has been a stronghold of the extremist group Boko Haram. In past months, the Nigerian government has launched several military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat.
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Battles continued in Aleppo on Sunday coupled with airstrikes on rebel-held areas, as Western powers dropped political barrel bombs on Russia and the Syrian government.

Syrian government forces gather in the largely deserted Palestinian refugee camp of Handarat, north of Aleppo, on September 24, 2016 after they captured the area following multiple Russian air strikes. [Photo/Xinhua]

Several rebel factions succeeded on Sunday to retake the strategic Handarat camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern province of Aleppo, just a day after the Syrian army and Palestinian fighters wrested control over it.

Handarat, located 13 km northeast of Aleppo, has emerged as a battlefield over the past few months between the Syrian army backed by the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds on one side, and several radical rebel groups, including the Nour Addien Zinki, Nusra Front, Levant Front, and the Levant Legions.

The camp has a special importance due to its proximity to the Castello road, the main rebel supply route into rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

The Castello road has been recently recaptured by the Syrian army, and taking Handarat enables the army to secure more areas around that key road, which seen several attacks by the rebels in the hope of taking it back.

Military sources in Aleppo told Xinhua that battles are still taking place in the vicinity of the camp, as part of the army's resolve to take back that camp.

Handarat is also close to the Jandoul roundabout, another intersection leading to the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city.

Capturing Handarat will also expose several rebel-held areas in Aleppo to the fire of the Syrian army, which will further tighten the government siege on eastern Aleppo.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian and Russian warplanes continued to strike rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo on Monday.

It said 52 people were killed Monday as a result of the intensified airstrikes on rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo.

The UK-based watchdog group said the death toll could likely rise due to the high number of wounded people, and those stuck under the rubble.

The monitor group said the Syrian and Russian warplanes have intensified airstrikes against rebels over the past few days, following the end of a week-long truce, which expired last Monday without extension.

The Syrian Defense Ministry announced Thursday the commencement of a new offensive against rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo, urging the civilians to leave immediately and the rebels to lay down their weapons.

On Friday, Syrian warplanes dropped leaflets over eastern Aleppo, renewing calls on civilians to stay away from the rebel positions and advising the rebels to surrender.

The renewed military showdown in Aleppo came just days after a Russia-U.S. brokered truce expired last Monday with no extension, due to the rising tension between Russia and the United States.

The Syrian army said in a statement that the rebels violated the week-long truce over 300 times, adding that the U.S.-led coalition struck positions of the Syrian army during the truce in Deir al-Zour, killing 90 soldiers, which was deemed by Russia as the biggest violation to the truce.

The U.S.-led attack on Syrian army positions in Deir al-Zour was the first since the coalition started operations in Syria two years ago. Washington said the attack was "unintentional," a claim totally rejected by the Syrian government.

On the international arena, superpowers exchanged accusations during an emergency Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York, casting shadows over diplomatic efforts.

Britain has accused Russia of war crimes, while the United States accused Moscow of "barbarism."

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," The U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said.

"History will not look kindly on security council members who stay silent in the face of this carnage," she continued.

For his part, Matthew Rycroft, the UK ambassador to the UN, said "bunker-busting bombs, more suited to destroying military installations, are now destroying homes, decimating bomb shelters, crippling, maiming, killing dozens, if not hundreds."

"In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," he added.

Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the UN, agreed with his British counter part, saying the war crimes they accused Moscow of "must not go unpunished."

The Russian envoy, Vitaly Churkin, responded with saying that the U.S. has no control over the rebels it's backing in Syria.

He accused the U.S. and other Western countries of supporting the terrorist groups in Syria.

Churkin also charged that the rebels were the ones who have undermined the U.S.-Russian deal on Syria, including the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari asserted that the Syrian government will remain committed to combating terrorism.

He stressed that the Syrian army will recapture every inch in Syria, including the rebel-held part in eastern Aleppo.
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The Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Prof. Ahsan Iqbal met with Zhang Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), in Beijing on Sept. 26.

The Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Prof. Ahsan Iqbal (L)meeting with China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) Executive Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer Zhang Xiaoqiang in Beijing on Sept. 26, 2016.

The Minister discussed opportunities of cooperation with CCIEE and explored the ways and means to further extend the magnitude and scope of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress on CPEC and hoped to create new platforms for diversifying cooperation in areas of knowledge sharing and governance issues of public policy.

Appreciating the significance of CPEC, Zhang, who was also former vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said that CPEC's progression was faster than any of the other corridors. He also pointed out that CPEC aimed at peaceful development and provision of benefits to all the people and connected developing and developed countries to jointly revive economy as well as enhance cooperation in research and policy. CPEC is a project of friendship, openness and inclusiveness and is not targeted against any country, he added.

Planning Minister Ansan Iqbal appreciated the services rendered by Zhang Xiaoqiang as Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China and first co-chair of CPEC Joint Coordination Committee(JCC) in preparing a roadmap for speedy progress of CPEC projects and said that CPEC was about openness, inclusiveness and prosperity and the corridor provided an opportunity to neighboring countries do trade with China in a very economical way. He said that under CPEC, Pakistan was doing many projects with China in its hardware component comprising energy and infrastructure however, there was a need to create platforms for the software component such as knowledge sharing.

The Minister said that Pakistan was a fast urbanizing country, and Pakistan could learn from Chinese experience and practices in managing urbanization and concomitant challenges. He emphasized the need to create joint platforms and workshops for urban planning, housing, rural development to address the challenges posed to the country's large rural economy. He also sought Chinese expertise and assistance in the areas of water resources management, improvement of Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) sector, and hoped to organize a joint mechanism whereby experts from China could share their experiences with the Pakistani side.

The CCIEE CEO shared the view that apart from hardware cooperation in energy and infrastructure, software cooperation was also very important. He said that China had experienced many cooperative initiatives with other countries in city planning and establishment industrial parks. He said that on the lines of other joint working groups, establishment of contact groups of local government, think tanks, universities, to interact on urban planning solutions and share ideas on other software side of CPEC in consultation with National Development and Reform Commission of China could be explored. He said that China's success in development was made possible due to a healthy combination of stability, development and reform.

Minister Planning said that Pakistan Institute of Development Economics ( PIDE) and CCIEE could develop strong linkages. PIDE has set up a Center of Excellence on CPEC. The theme of the PIDE annual conference to be held in December is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Minister extended invitation to the CEO of CCIEE to attend the conference.
Xu Guohua visits a collapsed section of the Great Wall to collect unbroken bricks, which he will save to use in later maintenance of the Wall, in Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei province, on March 22, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

I read it as an April Fools' Day joke in September, but it turned out to be true. A stretch of the Great Wall in Liaoning province, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), has indeed been turned into a smooth, white trail of cement in the name of restoration. To say the irreversible damage caused to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the pride of the nation, is outrageous would be an understatement.

The Great Wall with a cemented trail is like the Taj Mahal adorned with glitzy modern tiles or the statue of Venus de Milo with restored arms.

Architecture and aesthetics aside, the damage to the Great Wall is also a crime against history. What makes it more deplorable is that, instead of feeling remorse, officials of Suizhong county's cultural relics bureau, who were in charge of the project, insisted they had done nothing wrong, claiming the repair work that started in 2013 and ended in 2014 followed the regulations and laws on the protection of the Great Wall. One official even said netizens who have raised a storm over the "destructive nature of the repair work" do not fully understand how the national treasure is protected.

The depth of folly, as well as the ignorance of law displayed by the officials are shocking. Any sane person can tell that by pouring cement over the ruins of the wall, they have basically erased whatever features were still left of this man-made wonder.

The 8,800-kilometer-long Great Wall is in a perilous state, with more than 30 percent of it having already disappeared, either due to natural erosion or unchecked human activity. Yet preservation work lags behind, with only 10 percent of the Great Wall under some sort of State protection. China is yet to work out a unified set of standards for repair and restoration work on the wall. But experts agree that "minimum intervention" should serve as a guideline for preservation, a principle that has been violated by Liaoning officials.

The Great Wall is protected under Chinese laws, and even theft of its bricks is a criminal offense. Since an investigation by provincial cultural heritage authorities is still going on, we cannot say for certain who or what is to blame for ruining the wall. But those people who are responsible for disfiguring the wall, either because of lax supervision, dereliction of duty or corruption, must be brought to book.

To me, the so-called restored stretch of the Great Wall in Suizhong is no different from the theme park in Beijing's southern suburbs where you can see all the wonders of the world in miniatures. Around the world in a day.

The Great Wall has always been on top of the list of must-see sights for visitors to Beijing. As the saying goes, "he who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true hero". But normally I don't accompany friends or relatives to the Badaling section of the wall, a hot tourist site, unless they insist. The restored section of the wall in Badaling, in my view, has lost its historical glow.

If at all I accompany friends or relatives to the Great Wall, I prefer taking them to the "wild" sections, the real wall, at Jinshanling or Simatai, where its original beauty survives. Those sections give you a sense of history, remind you of the transient nature of time and tell you how human endeavor eventually succumbs to natural forces.

"The wall has life." I still remember a tour guide told me during a trip to the Great Wall as she pointed to the bricks, each carved with the name of its maker hundreds of years ago, a tracking method used in the days of yore to ensure quality.

It is the sacred duty of us all and of the generations to come to keep the Great Wall alive, instead of stifling it to death by pouring cement mixture on it.

The author is a senior writer with China Dailyhuangxiangyang@chinadaily.com.cn
The national average of psychiatric hospital beds for every 10,000 residents is 1.71, but in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the number is just is 0.58. Now, that is set to change.

At the start of the reform and opening-up policy, Shenzhen was chosen as the site of China's first special economic zone. Now, the country's fourth-largest city in terms of gross domestic product is in the vanguard once again, leading efforts to absorb the experiences of mental health professionals and treatment overseas.

In July, the city government hosted a group of mental health social workers from New York, and last year, police officers from Melbourne, Australia, who are experienced in the field, were invited to share their experiences with their counterparts in Shenzhen.

In recent years, the city government has also introduced Assertive Community Treatment, a client-centered, recovery-oriented treatment model that originated in North America.

So far, 321 people have been classified as ACT cases, and they are supported by a team of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists and social workers.

"Just leaving hospital is far from a full recovery for most patients. They need even more attention afterward," said Deng Xiuliang, a psychiatrist at Bao'an District Mental Health Center in Shenzhen.

"Many patients will need to take medication for the rest of their lives, but some just stop when they feel better. We take the initiative to make sure they receive the best treatment and understanding for their needs."

Meanwhile, the city is building Jianning Hospital, Shenzhen's second psychiatric unit, said Liu Tiebang, president of Kangning Hospital, the city's only dedicated mental health facility.

The new hospital, which will provide 800 beds, is expected to be completed in 2018.

"The city does need more psychiatric beds, but I am not sure if this is the best way of achieving that goal," Liu said.

"The patients may have to travel a long way to the hospital, so it would probably be better to distribute resources across different districts and improve cooperation with the community services."
A music therapist guides patients in a singalong at Kangning Hospital in Shenzhen,Guangdong province.Liu Qian / For China Daily

A government-sponsored facility provides psychiatric patients with opportunities to reintegrate into society. Tang Yue reports from Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Every day, Alice, not her real name, travels 25 kilometers each way to work, changing buses twice en route. To secure a seat on the earliest bus, she rises at 4 am and leaves home an hour later.

She is employed by the Dandelion Clubhouse in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Despite the name, it's not a night club, but a facility where people with mental health issues learn to reintegrate with society.

Alice was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2008, and she started coming to the club in 2010 at a time when her mental health was stable. At the club, she shares a space with about 30 other members, who cook for themselves, do paperwork and even produce a weekly TV news program about Dandelion's activities.

"I know I have a mental illness. But in the clubhouse, I don't feel like a useless person anymore," said the 38-year-old, who preferred not to give her real name. She receives 1,400 yuan ($210) a month from Dandelion, which is sponsored by the local government, if she works a full schedule.

"Everyone is equal here, and I feel like talking more. Being emotionally more stable, I am also able to treat my family better," she added.

Unlike hospitals, which focus on medical treatment, Dandelion provides stable patients with the encouragement and assistance they need to lead successful lives, so they can recover and participate fully in society.

Communal activities

Since 1948, when the Fountain House, the first facility of its kind, opened in New York, more than 320 others have been established worldwide - including five on the Chinese mainland - and have been accredited by Clubhouse International.

"Here, we are not doctors and patients. They don't call me Director Chen but Brother Chen. Every time we want to accomplish a task, we ask, 'Could you please do it with us together?'" said Chen Yuanhua, director of the Dandelion Clubhouse.

The deinstitutionalization movement started in the West in the 1960s, replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with more-inclusive community services for people with mental health issues.

However, the situation is more complex in China, where 4.3 million people were registered with severe mental issues by the end of 2014. Moreover, unlike in developed countries, the basic medical resources for psychiatric patients are underfunded and inadequate.

Data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission show that China has 1,650 professional mental health institutions, with 228,000 beds, about 1.71 beds for every 10,000 people on average. However, in many county-level cities in less-developed regions, there are no major facilities.

In most Western countries, by comparison, the number is five beds or more per 10,000 patients.

As a result, community services, including the clubhouses and their variants, are less developed in terms of both quantity and quality.
The booth of ICBC's mobile credit card division at the International Internet Plus Expo in Beijng in August. [Photo/China Daily]

China's commercial banks are fighting back to retain their share of the consumer finance market as competition from peers and non-banks intensifies. Their new resolve is on display in promotions aimed at cashing in on public holidays.

For instance, the coming week-long National Day-related shutdown in October has prompted Bank of China Ltd, the country's fourth largest commercial lender by assets, to launch new discount deals and cash rebates.

Till Oct 31, holders of BOC credit cards co-branded with UnionPay, Visa or MasterCard can receive a 10 percent discount on transactions worth up to 5,000 yuan ($750) at offline merchants overseas, subject to a maximum discount of 800 yuan per card. Each cardholder is allowed to participate in the scheme once a month.

Besides cash rebates and discounts on tourist routes, many banks are offering deals for flight and hotel bookings, car rentals and shopping in other countries.

For instance, China Merchants Bank Co Ltd has tied up with multiple airlines to offer flight ticket deals. Under a scheme that started on Sept 1 and will run till Oct 31, CMB-Visa credit cardholders will enjoy an 8 to 10 percent discount on Korean Air flights departing from the Chinese mainland in the September-December period, if they buy tickets on the airline's website in China.

Banks are also offering various privileges like discounts at designated merchants, hotels and restaurants, cashback, mileage rewards and hospital registration in advance.

Since 2009, China Guangfa Bank Co Ltd's credit cardholders have been accorded 50 percent off or "buy one, get one free" offers at designated merchants like Starbucks and Dairy Queen every Friday during certain periods of the year.

Ling Huanian from the credit card center of China Guangfa Bank said "intense competition from online players in the consumer finance segment is forcing traditional card players to innovate". For example, they now use biometric systems to reduce processing time for card issuance.

Currently, several banks, including CGB, China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd and China Everbright Bank Co Ltd, have launched instant issuance of online cards.

Using online channels, banks are reaching out to potential customers through mobile phones and hand-held devices. Easy-to-fill quick electronic applications for credit cards are fast becoming the norm, Ling said.

Lenders should integrate big data in their operations so that customers could receive customized financial services like consumer credit, he said.
An employee (second from left) of North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp explains its products to a potential buyer (right) at the 74th Drug Expo in Xiamen. [Photo/Xinhua]

Two Chinese drug companies won dismissal of a $147-million antitrust verdict after a federal appeals court in the United States ruled they were acting under Chinese law and couldn't be held liable in the US for fixing prices.

North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp and its manufacturing unit, Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co, shouldn't have been forced to defend against claims that they conspired to coordinate prices to create a supply shortage for vitamin C sold outside China, the appeals court in Manhattan ruled Tuesday.

A lower court failed to give enough deference to the Chinese government's interpretation of its own laws and should have declined to consider the case, the appeals panel said.

The Shijiazhuang, China-based companies "were required by Chinese law to set prices and reduce quantities of vitamin C sold abroad and doing so posed a true conflict between China's regulatory scheme and US antitrust laws," US Circuit Judge Peter Hall wrote in the opinion.

The lower-court's decision to disbelieve China's claim that its laws required the companies to violate US antitrust law was "highly inappropriate," said Jonathan Jacobson, who represented North China Pharmaceutical and Hebei Welcome. Tuesday's decision requires courts to "respect the formal submissions of foreign sovereigns" on the meaning of their laws, he said.

William Isaacson, a lawyer for vitamin C purchasers Animal Science Products Inc and Ranis Co, didn't immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment on the ruling.

US purchasers of vitamin C filed suit in 2005 over claims they were forced to pay artificially inflated prices for the food additive, which is used in products ranging from energy drinks to livestock feed. In March 2013, a Brooklyn, New York, jury found the companies liable for violating US antitrust law. The judge awarded $147 million in damages and issued an order barring the companies from violating the law in future.

The ruling prompted the Chinese government to file briefs in support of the companies' claim, in what the court called a "historic" first.

Bloomberg
The appetite of China's wealthy to diversify from a weakening yuan is helping European finance companies boost capital to prepare for the next financial crisis. Global fund managers are urging caution.

Since Aug 1, seven issuers opened order books for their Basel III bond sales in Asian hours, raising $11.9 billion selling instruments that count as capital under Basel III rules.

HSBC Holdings Plc separately issued $2 billion of total loss-absorbing capacity notes in Taiwan province. In the first seven months, only three such deals opened in Asia.

Asia's high net-worth individuals, whose wealth has surpassed counterparts in North America, have been major investors in regional bank bonds, slashing yields.

They are turning to Europe even as a rout in shares of lenders including Deutsche Bank AG worsens. Hybrid issues with low, fixed coupons face downside risk from rising US Treasury yields, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

"Asian investors tend to be more yield-hungry and willing to take higher risks," said Ben Sy, the head of fixed income, currencies and commodities at the private banking arm of JPMorgan in Hong Kong.

While they tend to focus on European banks with strong retail franchises, they "are getting complacent" when it comes to insurer bonds, he said.

German insurer Allianz SE sold $1.5 billion of Tier 2 perpetual notes in August to yield 3.875 percent with the coupon fixed for life.

Commerzbank AG says the higher returns promised by European banks come with greater risk amid low lending margins.

Additional Tier 1 notes sold by European issuers in 2016 pay an average coupon of 6.6 percent, compared with 3.9 percent for Asia, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

London-based Standard Chartered Plc sold $2 billion AT1 notes to yield 7.5 percent last month, with 31 percent going to Asian investors. Zurich-based UBS Group AG sold similar debt at 7.125 percent. By contrast, Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd sold notes at 3.6 percent.

"Asian bank debts are safer because governments may bail them out before AT1 investors suffer losses, while European governments are much less likely to do so," said He Xuanlai, credit analyst at Commerzbank in Singapore. "I don't think all investors buying into Europe hybrid bank bonds do extensive research."

Noah Holdings Ltd said wealthy Chinese investors' demand for overseas assets may grow as much as 20 percent next year as they diversify from a yuan that dropped 4.6 percent in the past year. Australian issuers such as Westpac Banking Corp are also making Asian investors their first ports of call.

"This trend has just started and is targeting a broader range of investors, including private banks and wealth management funds, that are looking for yields," said Clifford Lee, head of fixed income at DBS in Singapore.

Deutsche Bank's 7.5 percent AT1 notes dived to a record low 72 cents on Feb 9, after it posted its first full-year loss since 2008.

Its shares have tumbled 47 percent this year.

"We really don't like European banks," said Donald Amstad, a director at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd.

"The European Central Bank's quantitative easing has caused bond yields to collapse. Banking in Europe, already an unprofitable business, is now under further pressure."

Bloomberg
Sovereign fund China Investment Corp is reviewing options for its 30 percent stake in French multinational electric utility Engie SA's exploration and production business, which it had bought for 2.3 billion euros in 2011.

According to people familiar with the matter, in July, the unit was seen having a potential to fetch about $4 billion.

The French utility, which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy, is pushing ahead with a sale.

The $814-billion wealth fund has reached out to banks to seek pitches for a strategic review of its stake in the Engie business, which has assets spanning Europe and Africa, the people said.

CIC, based in Beijing, is unlikely to sell its holding and is leaning toward increasing it, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Engie is planning to sell its upstream operations globally, including businesses in the United Kingdom, Norway, Algeria, Egypt, Germany and Asia, people familiar with the matter said in July.

The company has sent out marketing materials to potential bidders for the business, one person said this week.

The company hasn't yet received any formal bids, according to the person.

CIC signed an agreement with Engie in June 2015 agreeing to "reinforce" their investment cooperation, particularly in areas including renewable power, new technologies and energy efficiency. The sovereign fund hasn't made any final decision about what to do with its stake in the exploration business, the people said.

Bloomberg
An investor anxiously waits for a positive tick in market movement at a Fuyang brokerage in Anhui province. [Photo/China Daily]

Uncertainty over policy deepens the wait-and-watch stance; directionless market moves sideways

The Chinese stock market will likely continue to experience muted trading this week/month as investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and are awaiting further policy clarification from the government.

The hitherto wild A-share market saw extremely light turnover last week. Daily volatility reached the lowest level in 14 years. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 3 percent over the past month.

Analysts such as Wang Yi of Great Wall Securities Co Ltd said lower levels of volatility and turnover reflect subdued trading appetite of investors due to persistent uncertainty over policy.

Wang anticipates further consolidation in the A-share market, which will likely keep it sideways for the rest of the year, more so because it is drifting for want of a clear direction.

Xiao Shijun, an analyst at Guodu Securities Co Ltd, said, "The upcoming National Day holiday in October will likely further conduce to more cautious sentiment as investors tend to reduce their positions ahead of major holidays to avoid risks."

It is also feared that the country's red-hot property markets in big cities may drain capital from the equity markets.

In contrast to the cooling and quiet stock market, the property market in China has shown signs of overheating. The value of home sales in the 70 cities tracked by the government jumped 33 percent last month from a year earlier, the fastest pace in four months, according to Bloomberg calculations based on government data. Average new-home prices in the 70 cities rose by 1.2 percent last month from July, the biggest gain since 2010.

Meanwhile, the further liberalization of the Chinese capital market including the upcoming launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect could be another factor that would prompt more capital outflows from the mainland's stock market, analysts said.

The trading link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong will likely be launched in November at the earliest. Earlier this month, the mainland's insurance regulator also allowed insurers to invest in Hong Kong shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong trading link.

Southbound fund flowbuying of shares in Hong Kong by mainland investorsshould be sustainable due to wider participation of institutional investors, persistent depreciation pressure on the yuan and the dearth of assets in the onshore market, said Lu Wenjie, an H-share strategist at UBS Securities.

Lu said the mainland's financial regulators have appeared to be more confident in managing capital outflows.

"We believe policymakers may encourage a reasonable pace of outbound investment in the next few quarters to help contain the domestic asset bubble, especially the overheating property market," he said.
Sales of Cuban cigars are rising in China thanks to a burgeoning middle-class who are wealthier and more concerned about quality of life.

Habanos SA, the global tobacco distributor that controls Cuba's cigar industry, said China is now its third-largest market after Spain and France - and it still has significant growth potential.

The company, which started selling its products in China in 2000, exported 300,000 units of cigars to the country in 2014, up by 9 percent on 2013. The rise in Chinese outbound tourists means more are buying the cigars abroad, too.

Habanos said more cigars could be shipped to China, but the storage requirements limit the number that can be sold.

"People from smaller Chinese cities and remote areas are contacting us, as they are interested in opening cigar bars, but those places may not have the climate-controlled facilities to store cigars," said Omar Leon Sanchez, Habanos' chief representative in Beijing.

Unlike cigarettes, cigars need to be stored at 18 C and in 70 percent humidity, which can be expensive for small retailers.

In China, cigars were traditionally luxury products purchased by affluent middle-aged consumers. But as smaller, cheaper varieties have hit the market, cigars have become affordable to a wider range of consumers, according to Euromonitor International.

Despite the government's austerity drive and anti-graft campaign, and a slowing economy, sales of cigars have remained steady. New consumers include young Chinese businessmen, particularly those aged 25 to 35. A variety of handmade Cuban brands are popular in China, such as Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, Bolivar and Partagas, with prices ranging from 500 to 5,000 yuan ($75 to $750) a box.

Shanghai is the biggest market, consuming about half of all cigars imported from Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Many cigar lounges have also opened in affluent cities like Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Emma Gonzalez contributed to this story.
Potential homebuyers examine a property project model in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, Feb 28, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, adopted new rules restricting home purchases in a bid to cool the red-hot housing market on Sunday, according to a report by Shanghai Securities Daily.

The rules, effective on Monday, symbolize a restart of restrictive policies that were scrapped two years ago.

The regulations ordered a halt of property sale including new commercial residential houses and second-hand homes to non-local residents and a suspension of new commercial residential houses sale to local residents with two or more than two properties.

Real estate developers and brokerage agencies should not sell commercial residential houses to ineligible home buyers, the rules said, adding that realty transaction and registration authorities should not handle related procedures for home transactions that violate the rules.

Nanjing has witnessed the transaction of 105,600 units of new houses as of September 25 this year, exceeding the total volume of 105,000 units for the entire year of 2015, according to statistics from a local property transaction website. Second-home sales reached 116,600 units during the same period. Both new homes and second-home trading hit historic record-highs for the same period.

Two days before the rollout of the restrictions, Nanjing completed its first online land auction on September 23. As all the 20 lots of land for residential use were auctioned at the price ceilings, local authorities required that houses to be built on the land pieces should be sold only after the construction is completed. Such requirement means that new home supply will shrink in the next two years and the current home purchase restrictions will play a certain role in smoothing out the real estate market, said analysts.

Nanjing adopted the most stringent regulations on the property market in February 19, 2011, restraining local residents from buying more than two houses and allowing non-local residents with one full-year social security and tax payment to buy only one house.

Home sales and prices plummeted following the initial adoption of the regulations, but picked up later as people found ways, such as fake divorces or forging social security certificates, to bypass the restraints. In mid-2014, housing prices fell again as banks tightened mortgage loans. The local government then removed regulations on September 22, 2014. Since then, the property market has warmed up and the frenzy has continued.

On August 11 this year, the local government announced move to raise the down payment for second-hand home loans. The rules did not cool the market as a five-percent down payment increase meant little for speculators. Market observers are keeping an eye on the effects of the current restrictions.
A visitor examines a new energy car at an auto exhibition in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, in early September. [Photo/China Daily]

China is considering introducing a dual-credit scheme for gasoline cars' fuel consumption and new energy vehicle production. Experts believe that this will help to boost the new energy sector's development now that the government is gradually cutting subsidies.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the information on Thursday to seek public opinion. According to the scheme, automakers in China will be assessed against the country's fuel consumption demands. Meanwhile, those who produce more than 50,000 cars a year will be examined in terms of new energy vehicle production. Those who fail to meet the goals will have to buy credits from other automakers or be fined.

New energy vehicles include pure electric cars, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell models, but they do not include hybrids such as the Nissan Leaf.

The dual-credit proposal is sound, as it will help to meet the goal of cutting average fuel consumption to 5 liters per 100 kilometers and also to encourage the development of the new energy sector, wrote Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, in his blog.

"The scheme has outlined fixed percentage points of credits automakers must earn from 2018 by producing new energy cars, and such credits can be used to enhance their gasoline fuel consumption efforts, so they have a clear goal at the very start."

According to the proposed scheme, new energy vehicles' credits should account for 8 percent of an automaker's total in 2018, 10 percent in 2019 and 12 percent in 2020, with one new energy vehicle calculated as two to five units depending on their mileage on one charge.

It would encourage automakers to extend the mileage of their products and thus make them attractive to those potential customers who suffer mileage anxiety, Zhao Yongchang, an energy-saving expert at the China Automotive Technology & Research Center, told China Automotive News.

Cui said the proposal will also change the landscape as Chinese automakers focus on new energy vehicles while international ones are more interested in cutting fuel consumption.

"It is essential that the joint ventures with international automakers develop new-energy vehicles as they will enable China to catch up technologically."

The scheme came after a similar credit system proposed by the National Development and Reform Commission in early August.

The commission's system is based on carbon emissions, with the credits calculated according to the amount of reduced carbon dioxide emissions from the use of new energy vehicles manufactured in or imported into the country.

There is not official information available about whether the two proposals relate to the same plan or how the two would coordinate implementation when they become legislation.
People walk past Volkswagen's stand at the Detroit Auto Show in January. [Photo/China Daily]

Volkswagen AG faces Germany's biggest investor lawsuit, as attorneys filed complaints totaling 8.2 billion euros ($9.2 billion) related to the diesel emissions scandal that wiped out a third of the company's market value.

About 1,400 lawsuits are currently pending at a court in Braunschweig, about 20 miles from Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters, a judicial spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Investors say they lost money on VW shares because the company was slow in disclosing the emissions-cheating issue.

Investors have lined up to sue in Germany, where VW shares plunged in the first two trading days after the Sept 18 disclosure of the emissions scandal by US regulators. Monday was the first business day after the anniversary of the scandal and investors had feared they needed to sue within a year of the company's admission that it had equipped about 11 million diesel vehicles with software to cheat on pollution tests.

The amount is less than the 10.7 billion euros that had been expected based on lawyers' statements last week, but more suits could still trickle in because of uncertainty about when the deadline expires. The court may need about four weeks to register all the complaints, it said.

The US government, which is investigating the company for possible criminal charges and hasn't approved a fix for the affected vehicles, is also among the investors suing and its case was valued at 30 million euros.

Volkswagen, in a statement, reiterated its view that it complied with capital-market rules and that the claims are unfounded.

Volkswagen shares remain down 11 percent this year.

"The number isn't surprising. We've already seen some of the cases," said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at Evercore ISI, with a "buy" rating on the stock. "It will be difficult for the plaintiffs to prove that VW acted intentionally here."

Volkswagen has set aside about 18 billion euros to cover the costs of the scandal, but the lawsuits are unlikely to add to the tally in the near future. Porsche Automobil Holding SE has, since 2011, been fighting damage claims related to its aborted effort to fully acquire Volkswagen, and there's no end in sight to those legal battles.

The Braunschweig cases will probably take years, but, over the next several months, Volkswagen will get a chance to respond to the complaints. The judges will decide whether to delay the litigation pending the result of a "model case," under a procedure that centralizes the evidence phase in large-scale shareholder litigation. The modelcase proceedings are currently pending at the Braunschweig Appeals Court. That tribunal will have to choose one of the plaintiff lawyers to become lead counsel, which could happen by the end of the year. The Braunschweig Appeals Court will then work on a list of issues to be resolved as the plaintiffs are seeking answers to hundreds of questions of law and fact. New cases could be filed as lawyers argue that, for most plaintiffs, the deadline to bring the suits expires at the end of 2018.

While the investor lawsuits pile up in Braunschweig, consumers affected by the scandal are focusing their efforts on Brussels. Currently, the company is only offering repairs to European customers, whereas Americans received packages worth thousands of dollars.

EU meeting

European Union Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova met with Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, a member of VW's board, on Wednesday, and said the company pledged to carry out an EU-wide action plan to address the most urgent issues of informing EU consumers and repairing the affected cars.

In July, Jourova said she would work with consumer groups and regulators to pressure the company to give payouts.

The imposition of fines and extra compensation aren't part of the European Commission's role, but rather the responsibility of national courts and enforcement authorities, an EU official said after the meeting in Brussels.

A law firm separately sued Porsche Holding and VW in a court in Stuttgart on behalf of 263 investors seeking a combined 547 million euros over the diesel-disclosure issue. Porsche Holding, which is controled by the Porsche-Piech family, owns a majority of Volkswagen's voting stock and is effectively its parent company.

In an interim ruling in some of the cases filed earlier in Porsche's hometown, the court has said it will review whether to set aside secrecy rules that the two companies were invoking as part of their defense, Andreas Tilp, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in an emailed statement.

Porsche Holding's spokesman Albrecht Bamler said the court's interim ruling didn't contradict any of the company's arguments. Porsche, which has said the claims are unfounded, will submit its arguments to the tribunal in the respective proceedings, he said.

Bloomberg
Hyundai dealership owners protest in Hyundai Motor Group (China) Ltd's office building in Beijing. They asked for compensation for Hyundai's alleged premeditated plan to shut down their network for imported cars. [Photo/China Daily]

The small business owners claim that the international automaker planned to close them down

Thirty local dealers are seeking compensation from Hyundai Motor Group (China) Ltd for losses totaling 600 million yuan ($90 million), which relates to the South Korean automakers' alleged premeditated plan to shut down the network for imported cars.

The furious dealership owners protested in Beijing on Sept 20, unified in white T-shirts saying "Unscrupulous Hyundai", in front of Hyundai China's office building, because its commitment "far from covers employees' severance packages".

Hyundai China made a verbal commitment to give a total of 60 million yuan of financial support to the 30 dealers from many of the country's different provinces. But the dealers estimated an average loss between 3 million yuan and 10 million yuan a year each.

The imported car dealers believe that Hyundai China is deliberately forcing them to quit the imported car business. They are disappointed that Hyundai China has refused their orders and that it has failed to deliver them sufficient car stocks.

"Many of us put in all our possessions, only to find that Hyundai China is dumping us and establishing another, separate network," a Hyundai China imported car dealer told China Daily in an earlier interview.

"We expect that some related government bodies will look into the matter. Hyundai China has a powerful legal team that we might not defeat, that's why we are not taking legal actions."

All of the imported Hyundai branded cars are moving to the joint venture Beijing Hyundai Motor Co Ltd's networks. In addition, a separated network is in the pipeline for the premium Genesis series, launching within two to three years. As a result, Hyundai China is providing the dealers with the slow-moving Veloster hatchback only, which they don't need.

Hyundai Motor has been hit by 10 straight quarters of falling profits, with Hyundai China selling about 1.1 million passenger vehicles in China in 2015. The import-only Hyundai dealership network shrunk to about 40 dealerships from about 60 last year.

Bargaining game

Experts see lessons to learn and costs to pay by both the automakers and dealers.

Jia Xinguang, a seasoned analyst with China Automobile Dealers Association in Beijing, highly values fair play, in accordance with the contract law for healthy relationships between carmaker and dealers.

"There's no necessity for a carmaker to replace the majority of its dealers, a carmaker has no reason to force the dealers to go out of business and run away, avoiding the debt," Jia said. "The dealers might not receive such high cash subsidies supports from the carmaker."

Zhang Yang, an attorney with Allbright Law Offices, advised that both the dealers and carmaker bear part of the losses incurred while aspiring for gains.

"The dealers might have to take a portion of the losses for buying in slow-moving Hyundai cars, but the carmaker still has to support and give subsidies for the market risks of providing unpopular car stocks that customers don't want," said Zhang.

Neither Hyundai China nor the import-only dealers made money in the cooperation, but none of them were forced into the contract; it was voluntarily signed.

"There could be market risks to be shouldered by both parties," said Zhang. "Both parties made their choice with an expectation for benefits, but they also were aware of the risks."

Zhang also noted that if the contract defined Hyundai China's obligation on the wholesale amount, the dealers are entitled to claim actual losses by calculating the agreed specific wholesale amount minus the actual amount.

However, the dealers' authorization contracts could include some unfavorable terms or could ignore some of their legal rights, because of the different bargaining powers of the dealers and the international carmaking giants.

John Zeng, managing director of LMC Automotive Consulting, said carmakers and dealers have been competing within their cooperation.

"Some small dealers heavily rely on the carmakers' support, while some larger and stronger dealer groups have their say in selecting carmakers to work with and in ordering stock," said Zeng.

"Carmakers even compete each other to work with some dealers who have showrooms in excellent locations."

Previously, dealership companies were only allowed to work with one carmaker and operate showrooms for one brand, before the government watchdog allowed dealers to modify their registration from an "auto sales company of a certain brand" to just an "auto sales company", from October 2014.

Now a dealer can turn to another auto brand more easily, or sell products from several brands at the same time, as the brand wouldn't be bonded in its registration at the local industry and commerce administration.

When dealers formed groups and selected representatives to talk with the carmakers, the international giants are more likely to negotiate with the representatives. Some of the nation's dealers took the risk of refusing to take stock, and the carmakers showed their respect by offering more favorable support, including cash.

In January, dealerships for imported Jeep and Chrysler cars tried seeking more than 1 billion yuan in compensation from GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. They claimed to have lost 1.2 billion yuan in revenue from failing to sell Chrysler's high-priced vehicles. The US brand adjusted its business policy and lowered the sales target for the dealers, but the solution has not been finalized.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover established communication systems to hear dealers' opinions. They also set lower sales targets and issued support plans, including cash subsidies, to help dealers overcome their financial difficulties.
WUHAN - French car maker Renault announced Sunday it will set up an autonomous driving (AD) demonstration zone in central China's Wuhan city to promote the new technology.

The demonstration zone will be jointly built by the Renault Group, its Sino-French joint venture Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC) and Wuhan Caidian Ecological Development Group in the capital city of Hubei Province, according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the three parties.

It will be the first open AD demonstration Zone in China and is expected to be launched in November.

At the demonstration zone, visitors will be able to witness and experience Renault AD vehicle and technology in an open area. An electric self-driving car of Renault will be allowed to run on a 2 km-long lakeside road.

DRAC vice president Jacques Foulquier said autonomous driving will reduce traffic jams and make driving more enjoyable and safer, noting that 90 percent of accidents happened due to human errors.

Under the MOU, Renault will provide construction standards of demonstration sites and vehicles equipped with autonomous driving technologies. DRAC will be responsible for the vehicle maintenance and technical support.

Wuhan Caidian Ecological Development Group will be in charge of the demonstration zone construction and management, according to the MOU.

Renault plans to have a complete package of AD technologies on multiple models and introduce vehicles that can navigate without driver intervention in nearly all situations, including complex city driving, by 2020.
China is at a turning point which may have notable influences on its long-term growth and the global economic governance in the next few years, and the country still has substantial room for policy advances, said experts at a Beijing-based seminar on Sunday.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute of Reform and Development in South China's Hainan province, said a structural reform is needed to open the service sector, optimize the entrepreneurial environment, and protect rural residents' right to use land.

The economic transformation is a sea change that can only proceed when institutional barriers are removed, he said. "For that to happen, the reformers should seek to strike a balance between speed and structure, long-term and short-term growth, policy and institution, government and market, top design and grassroots innovation."

The seminar, co-hosted by the China Institute of Reform and Development, Zhejiang University Press, and the China National Radio, was followed by the promotion of a book series on the country's economic transformation and innovation.

Chi's comment was echoed by other attendees. To replace its extensive growth with intensive growth, China needs to press ahead with the market-oriented reform, said Zhang Zhuoyuan, a senior economic researcher from the China Academy of Social Sciences.

"We have the power and will to maintain an annual GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent by 2020, but that requires extra caution and scientific planning," Zhang stressed.

Long Guoqiang, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said with the competitiveness of China's labor-intensive products declining, upgrading the service industry should be a priority. "Industries such as car-making, steel-making, and oil are still overprotected, which is hardly a boon to their competitiveness in the global market."

The governments at all levels aspiring to reduce the excessive capacity should draw certain lines in industrial management and tailor their efforts to local conditions, said Fan Hengshan, deputy secretary of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Favorable policies should be made available only to industries that have a promising prospect, as well as proved advantages," he said. "The market has a decisive say in economic transformation, and the competition is supposed to rule out the unfitted and urge those survivors to meet the changeable demands."
Beijing plans to start a trial operation of late-night subway services, aimed at helping people arriving on the last high-speed trains of the day get to their final destinations, a senior official said recently.

On Thursday, World Car Free Day, Zhang Jiandong, deputy mayor of Beijing, and Zhou Zhengyu, head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, handed out information on "green transport" to citizens, encouraging reduced car usage.

Zhou said during the event that Line 4, the north-south line that serves Beijing South Railway Station, will begin a trial of late-night services.

At present, the last subway train leaves the railway station at 11:15 pm.

Travelers arriving at the station later than that will be able to take the subway to other parts of the city, Zhou said, without giving a specific timetable.

Beijing's subway lines total 554 km. Zhou said the city plans to increase the distance to 900 km by 2020, which would mean that Beijing's subway system would be longer than New York City's and London's combined.

"This will help to ease congestion," Zhou said.

Beijing has seen an increase in visitors to the city, and traffic congestion has become a bigger problem, he said.

Meanwhile, those taking flights from Beijing Capital International Airport will be able to check in their luggage at the Dongzhimen transportation hub, where passengers can take the subway to the airport.

Han Jiayuan, a frequent commuter at a trading company in Beijing, said it will be much easier for her because she always has to carry heavy luggage.

New York City operates 24-hour subway lines, while London's subway is open until 1 am. London is testing 24-hour lines. Tokyo's subway runs until 1 am, while Seoul's operates past midnight.

While most people are likely to support late-night subway services in Beijing, some have questioned whether it is an efficient use of public resources.
Chinese police, banks and banking regulators are working together to fight telecom fraud and protect citizens' rights.

The Ministry of Public Security and the China Banking Regulatory Commission have jointly issued a document on the freezing and return of money involved in telecom and online fraud.

Last year, the ministry authorized local police in Beijing to establish an information platform to help in the effort against telecom and online fraud.

According to police sources, the platform has worked with the banking sector to freeze more than 400,000 fraud-related bank accounts involving more than 1.1 billion yuan ($165 million).

Many banks have improved the training of staff to enable them to identify and intervene in suspicious transactions.

Ma Xudong, a fraud risk management official at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said the bank is working with police and other banks to establish a blacklist of suspicious accounts to identify suspect transactions in a more effective manner.

"Most of the transactions involving blacklisted accounts can be successfully managed," Ma said, adding that, as of the end of last month, the system had helped the bank intervene in more than 100,000 cases of fraud-related remittance, preventing its clients from losses totaling more than 1.46 billion yuan.

Chen Shiqu, a senior official at the ministry's criminal investigation bureau, pledged further collaboration between police forces and financial institutions to protect citizens' rights.

Telecom fraud became a public sore point in China after a case last month in which Xu Yuyu, an 18-year-old high school graduate from Shandong province, died of cardiac arrest after being cheated out of her tuition fees by a telecom fraudster.
Li Zhu, co-founder of InnoAngel Fund, helps a staff check the script of his speech in Hangzhou, Sept 22, 2016. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Related: Beijing envisions future as top technology center

Clad in a pink polo T-shirt and jeans, 50-something angel investor Li Zhu carefully proofreads the script of his speech with an employee at a press room during the 2016 DEMO China in Hangzhou last week.

Such attention to details is rarely seen in a boss who handles a billion yuan fund.

But for Li Zhu, the co-founder of the 1.6 billion yuan ($240 million) InnoAngel Fund, it is common practice.

With an academic temperament, Li pays special attention to young entrepreneurs, even those born in the 1990s.

"We are always optimistic about the future of young businessmen. Judged from our past investment, we believe that those aged around 30 are highly likely to be successful in starting their own businesses," Li told chinadaily.com.cn in Hangzhou Thursday.

He added that young businessmen could be successful in two fields. First could be about meeting demands of people of their age. The second could be about technology innovation, or turning what they learned at universities into commercial products.

His fund now offers special plans for fresh university graduates or those with less than five years of experience after graduation.
Beijing's first bankruptcy tribunal was unveiled at Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court on Monday.

The tribunal will specialize in hearing disputes brought by "zombie" companies and accelerate the capital's economic development, according to a statement by the court.

In recent years, the number of cases relating to bankruptcy has been rapidly increasing, "which is why it is a necessity to establish such a tribunal", the statement said.

In 2013, the city heard 117 cases involving litigants applying for bankruptcy, but the figure reached 311 last year, it said.

The new tribunal will collect and hear bankruptcy-related cases that have not been concluded in other Beijing courts, and try to finish them as quickly as it can, it added.

In August, such a tribunal was set up in Guangdong province, which is the first one established within a provincial high people's court.

The establishment of theses bankruptcy tribunals will effectively and legally contribute to cleaning up local "zombie" companies and stimulate local economies, according to Tan Ling, vice-president of the Guangdong court.

"Judicial work should play its role in pushing economic development and providing a fair and effective environment for the market-oriented economy. Such tribunals will give legal protection as the zombie' companies quit the market," Tan said.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn
China has been investing huge resources and energy in the construction of think tanks for years and its think tanks are prospering. But they and their German colleagues have a lot to learn from each other, said Dr. Josef Braml, a researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Braml offered his assessment at the symposium, Think tanks and the China-Germany Relationship, held at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU)on Saturday. In his speech, Braml analyzed how German think tanks operate to gain influence under their system, in the hope that this will help Chinese think tanks find their own right path.

His comments were echoed by the university's vice president, Professor Jia Wenjian. The rich experiences of foreign think tanks will help China to avoid repeating their mistakes and progress more smoothly, he said.

Wu Jiang, associate professor and vice director of BFSU's German department, which hosted the symposium under the support of the university's Young Faculty Research Fund, emphasized that we should broaden our sights and aim globally for inspiration.

"China has made the right decision by trying to learn from Western countries, despite differences in political system and culture with them", she said. "But the West should not mean the US only. You can get a lot from the German think tanks, too."

Those at German think tanks especially have much in common with their Chinese colleagues. In both countries think tanks are publicly sponsored, which essentially prevents them from serving the narrow interests of certain industries or companies.

"Of course, public financing alone cannot ensure independence of think tanks in Germany", Wu said. "Public regulation, the law and even tradition all help them remain independent from the private interests of a few."

Some German think tanks have been serving the improvement of the China-Germany relationship, too.

For example, Pascal Abb, a researcher from the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, discussed in his symposium presentation how German and European think tanks could play a role in the success of China's grand plan, namely the Belt and Road Initiative. Purposeful interaction with think tanks in the targeted nations is a possibility, he said.

Sun Keqin, an associate researcher at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Chinese think tanks have their influence on the two countries' relationship, too, and listed examples of Chinese think tanks that help promote the bilateral relationship. He expects think-tank cooperation between the two countries to be more frequent in the future.
Zhang Bo (right) and a navigator check the aircraft before starting the around-the-world flight. [Photo/chinanews.com]

A Chinese businessman finished the first around-the-world tour starting from and ending in China after flying for more than 40,000 kilometers, reported Xinhua News Agency on Sunday.

Zhang Bo, 54, and his crew  a journalist, a machinist, a translator and an engineer  stopped at 44 airports in 23 countries during the journey. Zhang is the president of Beijing Navigation Leisurely Culture Development Co Ltd, a company that does pilot training and other aviation related businesses.

After starting his adventure in Beijing on Aug 7, Zhang's single engine turbo-propeller aircraft flew northeastward across the Bering Strait to Alaska before flying across North America. Next, he flew over the Atlantic to Iceland and went over continental Europe to Turkey.

The last leg of the global trip saw him follow the path of the ancient "Silk Road" before finishing the trip in Beijing on Sept 24. The adventure took him 49 days.

Zhang was designated as the ambassador of the First Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo. During the journey, Zhang and his crew sent out silk-made gifts featuring stories about Dunhuang to let more people know about China's Belt and Road Initiative.

The first aerial circumnavigation of the world was conducted in 1914 by a team of aviators from the US. The trip took 175 days.

Since then, more than 350 people have accomplished the aerial circumnavigation on light aircraft. Zhang Bo's feat marks the first time such a trip started and ended in China.

According to International Air Transport Association, the length of an around-the-world flight has to be longer than that of the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn, which is 36,787.6 km.
James Shen, managing director of Qualcomm Ventures in Greater China, delivers a speech in Hangzhou, Sept 21, 2016. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Frontier technologies was the hottest buzzword as China's top angel investors and venture capitalists gathered at the 2016 Demo China Autumn Summit in Hangzhou last week.

Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Inc, is a major venture capital company that focuses on the field.

"Currently we are paying more attention to the frontier technologies," James Shen, managing director of Qualcomm Ventures in Greater China, told chinadaily.com.cn.

From 2008 to 2015 when China's mobile internet experienced explosive growth, Qualcomm focused on mobile internet and invested in more than 30 related projects, including Xiaomi.

The strategic shift from mobile internet to frontier technologies began last year, and the frontier technologies Qualcomm is now focused on include artificial intelligence, VR/AR, drones, robot and internet of things.

A MacKinsey report said that six disruptive technologies - mobile internet, automation of knowledge work, internet of things, cloud, advanced robotics, and autonomous vehicles - could each deliver more than one trillion dollar in economic value around the globe by 2025.

Qualcomm expects that the information platform will develop from smartphones to other potential modes, like VR/AR, or drones and robots, or internet of things, Shen said.

"For instance, we started to promote the VR/AR technology five or six years ago, with the confidence that this will be a new interface for human-machine interaction."
Lu Kang (right), director general of the Foreign Ministry's information department, introduces the ministry's new spokesman Geng Shuang to reporters in Beijing Sept 26, 2016.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

The former spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the United States started another chapter in his career in Beijing on Monday with a new title - Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Geng Shuang is the ministry's 30th spokesperson, following Lu Kang, who was appointed in June last year.

Prior to his ministry press conference debut, Lu Kang, director general of the ministry's information department introduced Geng, also deputy head of the department, to reporters from home and overseas.

Geng has served diplomatic missions for more than 20 years, Lu said, and has worked for the ministry's international department, the department of international economy as well as the Chinese diplomatic mission to the United Nations.

Geng makes his first appearance as a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing Sept 26, 2016.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Geng has rich experience in both multilateral and bilateral areas and is a specialist in media communications, Lu said.

Geng, in a brief speech, said he is looking forward to working with reporters to enhance understanding, both in China and globally, of the country's diplomatic policy and positions in a more timely, accurate, comprehensive and objective manner.

Geng said he hoped to "boost mutual understanding and trust between China and other parts of the world".
Liu Qibao (left), head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends the Dialogue with Sinologists in Australia in Sydney, Australia, May 27, 2016. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

Liu Qibao, head of the CPC Central Committee's Publicity Department, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the International Seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative, under the theme of "Shared Memory, Common Development," which opened in Xi'an on Sept. 26.

Your Excellencies Paroubek and Kolodko,

Distinguished guests,

Friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

In this golden autumn, it is a great pleasure to meet friends from afar here in the ancient city Xi'an. Let me begin by expressing sincere gratitude to our guests at the seminar and our warm welcome to friends who have traveled all the way to China.

In the autumn of 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the collaborative building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road when he visited Central Asia and Southeast Asia. This has been met with strong response from the international community and particularly from the countries along the Belt and Road. It has also triggered enthusiasm and interest among many countries to explore and participate in the initiative. In order to help people better understand the initiative and engage in the building of the Belt and Road, the State Council Information Office held international seminars at the Silk Road Economic Belt in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 2014, and at the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, in 2015. This year, we put the two topics into one seminar, hoping to provide a wider platform for exchange and discussion. Here today, to my great pleasure, I have the chance to meet many old friends and also get to know many new ones.

The theme of this seminar -- Shared Memory, Common Development -- embodies our efforts in treasuring historical legacy, our best wishes to the common prosperity of countries along the routes and acknowledgement of our responsibility to world peace and development. More than 300 guests from 35 countries are gathered here today. It is a great event for discussing the grand projects of the Belt and Road Initiative. I believe, through in-depth discussion and exchange of wisdom from all participants from various fields, we shall be able to reach a broad consensus and achieve a prosperous outcome.

Liu Qibao delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the International Seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative which opened in Xi'an on Sept. 26, 2016.[Photo by Tang Yue/chinadaily.com.cn]

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

Autumn is a season of harvest. We are happy to see that since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed three years ago, the countries along the routes have carried out increasing cooperation in policy communication, facility, trade and asset connectivity and people-to-people exchanges. As a result, early harvest has been fruitful. A growing number of countries and international organizations have participated in the building of the Belt and Road. China has signed cooperative agreements with more than 30 countries and launched manufacturing and production capacity cooperation with more than 20 countries along the routes. The financial cooperation represented by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund is making steady headway. A number of landmark projects are being implemented. People-to-people interactions in the fields of culture, education, science and technology, tourism and commerce are increasing. We should note that outcomes, in terms of speed and scale of the Belt and Road Initiative, have been better than expected. Now, we have a clearer vision on the prospects of this initiative and are more confident in accomplishing it.

First, we see a broadened consensus on the Belt and Road Initiative. There is always a process for one to understand a new concept. With the Belt and Road Initiative, China hopes to share development opportunities with countries along the routes and support the common prosperity of these countries. Currently, the Belt and Road has mostly completed the planning stage and is taking steps of concrete implementation and sustainable development. There is a wider consensus of the international community that the initiative answers the call of our times for peace and development and conforms to the aspiration of relevant countries to speed up development. It will help advance economic growth along the routes and boost global economic prosperity, helping to maintain regional stability and world peace. This has become the impetus for all parties to join in.

Second, we have become more appreciative of the Silk Road spirit. The ancient Silk Road covered thousands of miles and existed for centuries, leaving behind vivid memories of how people along the routes stood together through thick and thin. These memories symbolize the Silk Road spirit of peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusivity, mutual learning and mutual benefits. In the past three years, enlightened by this spirit, people have joined hands, given expression to their creativeness and enthusiasm, promoted connectivity and reciprocal collaboration. The Silk Road spirit has helped guide the building of the Belt and Road and encouraged cohesion among all parties involved. To further push the Belt and Road project forward, we need to stick to and carry on the Silk Road legacy.

Third, it is increasingly visible that the Belt and Road Initiative serves the interests of all parties. As the proposer and promoter of the initiative, China insists on a more balanced approach to upholding principles and pursuing interests and calls for a cooperative principle of equality and mutual benefit. Through joint efforts, the project is well on its way to making remarkable achievements and delivering tangible benefits to the people along the routes. Facts show that the Belt and Road initiative is open, pragmatic and mutually beneficial. It helps find common interest between China and countries along the routes, while addressing their specific needs. It bears the common aspirations of people in the region to live prosperously and combines the Chinese dream with the dreams of those along the routes. All relevant countries need to continue their collaboration of development strategies, seek the common denominator in cooperation and find the point of convergence for all parties. We should make the cake of common interests bigger and bring well-being to all along the Belt and Road.

Fourth, we see greater prospects for win-win cooperation. Building the Belt and Road brings all the countries involved into one big family with shared interests and a shared future. The initiative's positive effects are becoming clearer and the benefits of collaboration along the routes more evident, presenting a picture of heartening prosperity based on joint efforts and shared interests. Experience says that although the countries along the routes have different national situations and development stages, and thus are faced with different challenges, they have a common aspiration for economic growth, a common interest in coping with risks and challenges and the same vision for common development. If we stick to mutual benefit and cooperation, expand scope, raise the levels of cooperation and seize the opportunities presented, we can realize the goal of benefiting all parties concerned.
A recent survey of 18,000 college students indicates a need for more effective sex education and greater access to information about reliable methods of contraception.

About 15 percent of the female respondents said they had a sexual experience, while the figure was 28 percent for male respondents, according to a survey in around 130 universities across the country.

One in 10 female university students who has had sexual intercourse has admitted to getting pregnant at least once.

The results, compiled in a report and published by China Family Planning Association on Monday, which was World Contraception Day, also shows that 3.2 percent of them have had multiple pregnancies.

The survey was conducted in 2015 by collecting nearly 18,000 valid questionnaires from respondents with an average age of just over 20. Sixty percent of respondents were women.

More than 60 percent of those who had sex said they used condoms during their last sexual experience. But 83.2 percent also reported that condoms were their preferred contraceptive method. Yet, 16.4 percent said they never took any contraceptive measures.

Among all the respondents, 90.3 percent said they don't want to have children before they finish their college education.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission for the first time has issued leaflets to recommend long-acting reversible contraception methods to the whole childbearing age group, including those who are unmarried.

"Previously, government-supported contraceptives in China had not been well promoted among unmarried people," said Liu Liqing, founding country director of Marie Stopes, one of the world's largest reproductive health charities.

Long-acting reversible methods are those effective for an extended period without constant reapplication, such as intrauterine devices and subdermal implants.

"It is very encouraging. As statistics showed that the number of young people who had premarital sex in China has increased in recent years, helping them to prevent unwanted pregnancy is very important," she said.

"The younger generation now has different way to access information about sex. Learning the basic information on contraception before they have sex is important," said Yao Sipan, founder of Little Wingsa WeChat public account run by a group of high school students.

Since the account released its first article about sex education in October 2015, it has gained 1,220 subscribers, including high school students.

"Instead of just promoting sex education in China, I would like to encourage more people to know more about safe sex as an important part of love. A better understanding of sex helps people enjoy it," said Pan Suiming, a well-known sexologist at Renmin University of China.

"China now has many nonprofit organizations that provide information about sex, especially to youth. The trend in the future might be individual consultation," he said.

Unwanted pregnancies and abortions are a serious problem for young people. In 2014, the Sichuan Sex Education Society launched a six-province survey of more than 5,000 students aged 12 to 24. It showed that 24 percent of respondents had engaged in premarital sex, and 20 percent had abortions.

A recent survey covering more than 12,000 college students by Xi'an Jiaotong University indicated that more than 31 percent had had premarital sex. Only 21.8 percent knew how to use a condom correctly, and only around 30 percent knew the difference between routine oral contraceptives and emergency contraception. Two out of 10 students even considered abortion a contraception method.
Events and stories coming up in the next few days

Lukashenko to arrive on Wednesday

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday on a three-day state visit. President Xi Jinping met Lukashenko in September last year, when he was in the Chinese capital for commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Calling Belarus an important partner in the Belt and Road program, Xi urged joint efforts toward implementing his regional trade and infrastructure initiative.
Works of renown designers are displayed at A Finer Quotidian  Beyond Vision: Redstar Macalline Design Exhibition. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Five internationally renown designers, including Jurgen Bey, Kenya Hara, Kengo Kuma, Luca Nichetto and Christina Strand, are presenting new perceptions of contemporary life and its spaces through a display of their works at the A Finer Quotidian  Beyond Vision: Redstar Macalline Design Exhibition.

The exhibition runs at Beijing's Ullens Center for Contemporary Art until Oct 8, celebrating the 30th anniversary of establishment Redstar Macalline, the Chinese home furnishing brand.

The designs are shown on tables and in dark rooms to provide different environments in which help the audience to realize the indivisible connections between design and daily life.

The exhibition is curated by UCCA's CEO Xue Mei and director Philip Tinari and architect Tian Jun.

Related:

Young jewelry designers display their artworks in Beijing
A photograph from the series Sijiagou - Remembering Home by Amelie Kahn-Ackermann. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Six photographers' works tell their stories about home are on display at the TAN Gallery in 798 Art District.

Photographs from the exhibition titled "Voices" have toured Switzerland, France and Germany, with some winning multiple awards and widespread acclaim.

"This exhibition, as a sextet, plays around home, homeland nostalgia and home coming. Most of the photographers travel afar to search and observe other people's life or search for their own roots. Ultimately it is a process of self discovery journey", Wang Tao, curator of the exhibition, said at the opening ceremony.

In the photo series Sijiagou - Remembering Home, Amelie Kahn-Ackermann goes back to her biographic roots. In a remote part of northern Shaanxi province, she captures what could soon be gone. She won the Germany Young Photographers Award for her series Sijiagou in 2016.

Amelie was born in Beijing in 1993 and grew up in Italy, Russia and China. "I am most good at German, but I never felt Germany is my 'home'", Amelie said. She got to know her mother's family in Sijiagou, a remote village in Northwest China's Shaanxi province when she was 19 years old, which was a big surprise for her. "Suddenly I have more than 50 new family members".

Sijiagou is so remote that time seems to stand still and the centuries' old lifestyle is preserved and sustained. Amelie explained that youngsters in the village are leaving for cities, whereas old people are not willing to leave and continue to keep traditions alive. The rapid development and modernization of China may take away from Amelie's "hometown" in the future, which upsets her.

Johanna-Maria Fritz started taking photographs when she was 13 years old, and after going to Iceland in 2012 for the first time, she was enchanted by the place and shot a series of photographs portraying a circus troupe there.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, January 28, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

China and Japan should have got along well given that their trade relations are largely complementary and hugely beneficial for both sides. Geographic proximity, too, is supposed to make them good partners.

China and Japan are very important trade partners. But mutual distrust between them has run deep over the past decade, when both have undergone considerable changes.

Two recent polls in China and Japan shed light on the views of their peoples about each other. Their findings are alarming and thought-provoking.

According to a Pew Research Center survey of 7,618 people in China, Japan, South Korea and India in April and May, only 11 percent of the Japanese respondents have a favorable opinion of China, while 14 percent of the Chinese have the same view of Japan.

People in the two countries have been developing negative stereotypes about each other since 2006. About 80 percent of Japanese describe the Chinese as arrogant, while 70 percent of Chinese see the Japanese in that light.

Despite the negative stereotypes, however, a survey jointly conducted by the China International Publishing Group and Japanese think tank Genron NPO in August and September showed that more than 60 percent of the respondents in the two countries deem people-to-people exchanges important for improving relations.

A record 4.99 million Chinese visited Japan in 2015; the figure has already crossed 3 million this year and the weeklong National Day holiday may see a huge flow of Chinese tourists into Japan. In contrast, about 2.5 million Japanese visited China last year.

No longer are Chinese shoppers just buying made-in-Japan products in bulk, they are also spending huge amounts on Japanese cultural products or to learn the nuances of Japanese culture, such as trying kimono and partaking in tea ceremonies. And most Chinese visitors leave Japan with a positive impression of the country and its people.

A visit to Japan opens Chinese tourists' mind to the country's culture, cuisine and history, and helps improve their understanding of its people. Slightly more than 13 percent of the Chinese respondents in 2016 had visited Japan, compared with only 1.3 percent in 2005. And 58.8 percent of the Chinese respondents who had visited Japan had a favorable opinion of their Asian neighbor.

The figures drive home the message that simple exchanges help change perceptions.

The joint poll also shows that a striking 60 percent of Chinese respondents and 30 percent of their Japanese counterparts said that there would be a military conflict between the two countries at some point in the future.

The only way to avoid this is to genuinely increase people-to-people exchanges. This will help create a solid foundation of mutual trust.

Are public opinions in the two countries shaped by their respective foreign policies or by the people themselves? Public sentiment and its influence on foreign policy has been a matter of debate. We may not have a clear answer, but the two surveys drive home a vital point: there is a need to create an environment for people in both countries to break down barriers.

The two countries have much more to gain from cooperation than from conflict. They should learn to live with each other by shelving their differences, which can be solved later and peacefully. And they can gain by working together in areas of mutual interest and address their differences constructively.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief.

caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
For some years now, Western commentators have been pointing out that China should shoulder more responsibility in terms of trying to solve problems in the international arena. Among the problems they have in mind is the current refugee crisis which has resulted from the civil war in Syria.

With their homes destroyed, floods of unfortunate people are continuing to pour across the border into Turkey and other neighboring countries. The war has robbed them of their security and now they are looking to establish a new life for themselves and their families. However, this quest is causing chaos as thousands trail into southern Europe and northwards towards Germany.

Obviously, the crisis is both a humanitarian disaster and a headache for both European and world leaders in terms of both politics and economics. This necessitates close cooperation on finding workable solutions, which is why the United Nations held its first summit on refugees last week.

It may have come as a surprise to those commentators who see China as a nation which fails to assume its responsibilities that the keynote speaker at the summit was the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Keqiang. Yet a look back in time shows that Premier Li has a track record of offering support to European countries on finding ways to end the crisis.

Last year in October, after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, Li said that the Syrian war needs a political solution rather than the use of force. By this he meant that a way needs to be found to bring an end to the violence through peace talks rather than armed intervention.

One might say that talk is cheap, and that it is easy to make statements about what needs to be done, but rather harder to take action. This is true; but it is not true that China has not taken measures to back up its words.

For in his role as Chinas representative Li pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees at the summit. This comes in addition to the $20 million per year that China is already paying to the UN to assist with the goals of peace, security and development. China has also previously promised to establish a $1 billion fund over a period of ten years in support of the UNs work.

However, it would not be fair to say that Chinas contribution to solving the crisis is simply a matter of throwing money at it. Long-term instability in the Middle East is not desirable for anybody, and at present of all world powers China in particular seeks long-term solutions through building spheres of economic co-prosperity which benefit all parties.

That is certainly one goal of Chinas Belt and Road initiative, which is a bold attempt to unify the markets of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa through integrated trade and transport networks. In the very long-term the Belt and Road could bring an end to Middle Eastern conflict by offering improved living conditions for the people of the region, thus removing the need for dispossessed youth to turn to radicalism and terrorism.

But in the short-term the world needs more immediate measures. This is what China, in the person of Premier Li, is now offering.

According to Li, China is an enthusiastic supporter of working within the framework of the UN to encourage nations to work together on peaceful development. Beijing thus appears to be willing to take a leadership role in establishing practical mechanisms for bringing the refugee crisis to an end.

What precisely these mechanisms will be is not yet clear, since they need to be hammered out within the UN setting. Yet it is sure, from Chinas point of view, that there should not be armed intervention, and that China will be attempting to be at the centre of talks on what action to take. China is thereby demonstrating, in response to its critics, that it is actively seeking to become both a responsible stakeholder and a leader in the existing international system; and, more specifically, in terms of trying to solve the refugee crisis.

Jeremy Garlick is lecturer in international relations at the Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, University of Economics in Prague.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website.
The first National Seminar on Government Services was held in Beijing on September 24. More than 300 guests from different government departments, academic research institutes, and enterprises took part in the event.

The seminar sought to promote Internet + government services with the development of big data, and help different government departments share information so that more people can benefit from the governments work. Scholars from Harvard University, Tsinghua University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and representatives of outstanding government services from different cities joined the seminar.

Twelve speakers delivered keynote speeches, discussing how to improve government services through data sharing, new media, and coordination between different departments.

Dr. Hong Junhao, a professor from the State University of New York and researcher at the Fairbank Center for China Studies of Harvard University, spoke on the influence of new media in our society. Dr. Hong said that the era of new media ushered in a brand new world. Many aspects of our society were restructured, which requires changes in social management. We should take advantage of the new media era to give better services for the people, and to help the government and the public learn about each other.

Zhang Dingan, deputy director-general of the Chinese Public Administration Society, spoke on media integration and smart government services. Zhang said that one government service system should be established, and online service platforms should be set up to make it more convenient for government departments to serve the public. Smart government services have become crucial to changing the traditional role of government and in learning more about the will of the people.

Advanced government service departments and individuals across the country were awarded at the seminar.

The seminar was organized by China City newspaper of Peoples Daily and the China Big Data Professional Committee.
The Sixinfang community in Hangzhou hosts centuries-old black-brick structures. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

An ancient neighborhood in Hangzhou strives to balance tradition and modernity. Yang Feiyue reports.

It is a distinctive cluster of low-slung historical buildings, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the West Lake area in Hangzhou, Zhejiang's provincial capital.

Minutes ago, I was wandering around the commercial hot spots nearby, where skyscrapers wearing Starbucks, Gap and Apple logos hug the streets. Now, two-story structures of black bricks with dark wooden doors framed in stone have sprung up before me.

It's quiet.

These centuries-old buildings stretch neatly in all directions of the Sixinfang community in Shangcheng district.

Lou Youming is preparing lunch in a tiny, shabby kitchen right at the entrance of one building as I explore the network of lanes. She steps out from the kitchen when I say hello.

The 71-year-old looks hale and hearty. Lou has lived here all her life.
"China will continue to make unrelenting efforts to promote sustainable development and will actively participate in the cooperation with the international community in this area," Premier Li Keqiang told the Roundtable on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Global Process and China's Practice, at the United Nations on Monday.

Li told the participants the world's second-largest economy has substantially increased its support to the United Nations' work in attaining sustainable development goals, by pledging an additional $100 million in donations, and redoubled efforts to achieve balanced growth.

Beijing's annual total donation to UN development agencies in 2020 will be $100 million more compared to the amount in 2015, Li announced at the UN headquarters on Monday.

Li also said the country's contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will amount to $18 million in the next three years.

The amount of money donated to the UN agencies on development for last year was not immediately available. The total figure given to various international development agencies and the Global Fund for the three years between 2010 and 2012 was 1.76 billion yuan ($267 million), according to an official release.

The premier said sustainable development is a common cause for the world, and he called for the international community to tackle the issue of unbalanced development, promote inclusive economic growth and jointly address global challenges such as public health and climate change.

The event, hosted by the Chinese permanent UN mission, was attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson and heads of various UN agencies.

Li said China has approved a roadmap for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a blueprint the UN adopted last September for ending poverty and hunger, promoting equality and protecting the environment for the years leading up to 2030.

Helen Clark, Administrator of the UN Development Programme, said the UNDP looked forward to continuing to work with China to support the fast progress which China wants to make on its sustainable development goals, or SDGs.

Already, China is showing its determination to lead on implementation by being among those countries which took part in the first national voluntary reviews at this year's high level political forum for sustainable development, Clark said.

Nicholas Rosellini, deputy regional director for Asia and the Pacific, said, "We've seen the very impressive commitment by China to various funds not only for development but also for humanitarian and peace-keeping and very importantly for environmental sustainability.

"It's very important that the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries of the north, the wealthy countries of the north, continue to invest and also equally important the countries of the south help each other, and China is very much leading the aggregating for that," Rosellini said.

Haibing Ma, senior research associate and China program manager at the Worldwatch Institute, said he believed China had improved significantly on its first five SDGs, namely no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education and gender equality.

Hong Xiao contributed to the story.

(China Daily USA 09/20/2016 page2)
China pledged $100 million in humanitarian aid on Monday to help countries and international organizations resolve refugee and migrant crises and will consider additional support measures.

The vow was made by Premier Li Keqiang when he addressed a meeting at the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York on refugees and migrants.

He said that the refugee and migrant problem concerns global peace and development and affects regional stability, adding that global society needs to cope with the issue proactively.

"The international community should work together to expand legal channels for migration and combat illegal migration, human trafficking and terrorism," Li said.

Li said China would also consider using part of the China-UN peace and development fund to support refugee and migrant work in developing countries, and to explore ways to enhance cooperation involving third parties, and with international agencies.

The refugee meeting was the UN's first high-level meeting addressing large-scale movements of refugees and migrants since the organization's founding, as the problems were becoming increasingly urgent and the meeting was an opportunity to focus the attention of the world community on the issue, the premier said.

World leaders adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which expresses the political will of world leaders to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, to save lives and share responsibility for large movements on a global scale.

Cooperation from refugee-origin countries is also important, Li noted. He urged stakeholders to resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation and called on the international community to lead peace talks and promote more balanced global development.

The premier also said that China, as a large developing country, is always willing to join in the global effort to solve the refugee and migrant problem and shoulder the responsibility that is suitable to its capacity.

He stressed that China will take a series of humanitarian measures and seek three-party cooperation with international institutions and developing countries on refugee and migrant problems.

The number of displaced people reached a record 65.3 million at the end of last year, an increase of more than 5 million from 2014, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. That includes 21.3 million refugees, 3.2 million asylum seekers and 40.8 million migrants.

Opening the daylong session, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world leaders to commit to "upholding the rights and dignity of everyone forced by circumstance to flee their homes in search of a better life".

Experts said that the challenge in the crisis is altering international relations between Turkey and the EU, amid controversy over refugee policies, said Zhu Feng, president of the Institute of International Studies at Nanjing University.

How to tackle the new factor of uncertainty still remains unsolved for the UN and the international community, Zhu said.

Hu Yongqi in Beijing contributed to this story.
The misperception and failed US policy regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has sparked fresh debate in recent days about a new and more realistic approach.

On Monday, The Associated Press published a story by its Pyongyang Bureau Chief Eric Talmadge questioning all the prevailing stereotypes about the DPRK among Americans and probably much of the Western world.

Talmadge, who has been regarded as the only Western journalist working regularly in the DPRK, argued against the conventional US thinking that the country is an economic basket case that incomprehensively pours resources into nuclear weapons and cares only about enriching a tiny circle of elites when it can't even feed its own people.

"It's an 'impossible state', as one former US diplomat put it, bound to collapse under the weight of its own failed policies, if just given a push," he wrote in summarizing the widespread misconception in the US.

Talmadge said that there is little evidence that DPRK leader Kim Jong-un is "crazy, erractic, incompetent" as many Americans have thought, noting that Kim was able to be solidly in power even in his late 20s.

He also argued that Kim's policy has been consistent - to develop the country's nuclear weapons arsenal while improving its standard of living.

While many argue that the DPRK's going nuclear is irrational, Talmadge said that while the DPRK's pursuit of a viable nuclear arsenal is a costly endeavor, the military calculus is different as a viable nuclear deterrent at the bargaining table with the United States.

He believed that while sanctions have hurt the DPRK, they have not been crippling, adding that there is no evidence that the DPRK government cannot survive, as many Americans believe.

Talmadge's article mirrors one in January this year by Fan Jieshe, senior fellow of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and also deputy director of the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation Studies.

In the article, published shortly after the DPRK conducted its fourth nuclear test, Fan criticized US President Barack Obama's policy on the country - "strategic patience" - as based on a wide range of misconception, much like the list in Talmadge's story.

Fan also criticized the US thinking that the Six-Party Talks cannot work and that the DPRK's nuclear issue is China's problem and China's fault, as reflected in the rhetoric by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently after the DPRK conducted its fifth nuclear test.

Four of the tests were conducted under the two terms of the Obama administration.

"Considering he is approaching the end of his second term, it might be a bit late for President Obama to change American policy in substantial terms. But better late than never - it is critically important to learn from past failures," Fan wrote.

On Sept 16, the Council on Foreign Relations published its taskforce report titled A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia.

Chaired by Mike Mullen, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Sam Nunn, former US senator, the report finds that the US policy of "strategic patience" with DPRK will neither halt that country's recurring and dangerous cycle of provocation nor ensure the stability of northeast Asia in the future.

To the contrary, the report warns, "If allowed to continue, current trends will predictably, progressively and gravely threaten US national security interests and those of its allies."

Describing the US-China relationship as the most important in the 21st century, Mullen said on Sept 16 that the two largest economies have to work together.

"If this region destabilizes, our economies go bad, very, very quickly. It's got four of the five largest economies in the world in this region. That's compelling motivation to try to get this right," he said.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Lang Lang, the virtuoso Chinese pianist known for his long-time love of New York's rich and diverse culture, was named the city's first-ever "Cultural Tourism Ambassador" on Tuesday by NYC & Company, the city's tourism agency.

Inducted into the city's Ride of Fame, Lang was presented with a double-decker sightseeing bus decorated with his photo. He then inscribed a personal message on one of the seats, with his autograph and a smiley face.

"I'm so excited, today will be a very long and beautiful memory that stays in my mind forever," Lang told Xinhua News Agency at the induction ceremony outside Steinway Hall, where he delivered a crowd-pleasing live performance of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue".

Earlier this year, New York City tourism officials announced a two-year city-to-city partnership with Shanghai, marking its first such alliance in China. Coinciding with the 2016 "US-China Tourism Year" designated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama, the partnership includes exchanges and the "sharing of best practices in tourism marketing," according to NYC & Company's website.

Christopher Heywood, the company's senior vice-president, said China was New York City's second-largest source of visitors (next to the UK) and a "crucially important market" for the city's tourism industry.

"We are confident that Lang Lang's ambassadorship will accelerate the growth even more," he said.

On Sept 16, Lang released his new album New York Rhapsody in homage to "the great city and the music it has inspired," according to Sony records.

Lang Lang said he would seize this opportunity and invite more friends from China to New York, a city that he said reflected a unique fusion of different cultures.

"We should put a piano here on the bus," said Lang. "And some Chinese barbecue!"

New York also proclaimed Sept 20, 2016 "Lang Lang Day."
Activists in California are demanding that the California Board of Education remove a "misleading" link in its recently approved curriculum that includes teaching about "comfort women" of World War II.

California, after New Jersey in 2004, is the second state in the US to include the topic of "comfort women" in the history-social science framework for public schools, which provides guidance to teachers, administrators and publishers.

"Even though we thank the state Board of Education for including the curriculum, we think it's very, very wrong to sneak in the link," said Lillian Sing, a retired San Francisco Superior Court judge and co-chair of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition, a San Francisco-based advocacy group for "comfort women".

The link she referred to is to an agreement between Japan and South Korean in December last year, under which Japan pledged to pay 1 billion yen (about $8.3 million) from its state funds to build a "comfort women" foundation in South Korea, and Seoul, in return, agreed on a "final and irreversible" resolution on the wartime sex slavery issue.

The activists objected to the inclusion of the deal, arguing that the state Board of Education violated due process and transparency by "sneaking something in" at the last minute after the period of public comments was over.

"They sneaked in a link that they claimed was an agreement between Japan and South Korea as if the issue was resolved," said Sing, adding that the "comfort women" issue involves not only South Korea but other countries such as China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Julie Tang, another retired judge and co-chair of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition, told reporters on Sept 16 in San Jose, California, that the problem was "lack of notice", which is a violation of the US Constitution and "secret behind closed-door chambers".

"By that time, the public had no chance to protest or give information to convince the commissioners to vote against that," she said. "So without the information, the commissioners voted unanimously on the curriculum framework along with this link."

The activists said that they were told the foreign governments contacted Tom Adams, deputy superintendent of the Instruction and Learning Support Branch at the California Department of Education, to put the agreement in the curriculum. Adams couldn't be reached for comment.

"I think the judges are right. There's a violation of process," said Congressman Mike Honda, who joined the activists at the press conference. "(If) The Japanese government wants to continue the issue, then they should stand in the line and follow our process here, but not do it under a cloak of secrecy."

He encouraged the public to write to the state Board of Education and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson to review the situation and remove the link from the books.

The Japanese-South Korean deal immediately sparked debate after it was announced last year, as activists called it "narrow" and "limited" and criticized the two governments for failing to consult the victims.

Among the activists is Yong-Soo Lee, 89, a South Korean "comfort woman" survivor. She joined Honda and the activists to protest the board, including the agreement in the new curriculum.

"I am the living proof of history. I'm testifying what I experienced and what I saw myself," Lee said through a translator.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a rally with supporters in Aston, Pennsylvania, US, September 22, 2016.[Photo/Agencies ]

WASHINGTON - US Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are headed toward their first presidential debate on Monday, at a time of ongoing tensions between blacks and police.

The two will lock horns on the debate stage on Monday, amid ongoing protests in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina that have seen a dozen police officers injured by protesters.

The protests happened after a black man was shot and killed by police, the latest in a string of high-profile incidents in recent years in which police have shot young, black men. In this most recent case, the police officer himself was black, but many cases have seen white officers shoot African American young men, giving the issue a racial component as well.

The two candidates view the situation differently. Republican candidate Trump has touted himself as the law-and-order candidate, and has on numerous occasions expressed support for the police. At the polar opposite side of the spectrum, Democratic candidate Clinton has called for social justice.

One of the topics to be discussed on Monday's presidential debate will be the general direction of the country, and Trump is likely to argue that he is the man to set things straight in a chaotic world.
A young girl died and 11 other people were injured when a charter bus carrying Chinese students from a trip to Yosemite National Park slammed into a tree on Saturday.

Among the 22 passengers, 17 were Chinese students ages 12 to 15, with four chaperones and the driver. Six children and the driver were among the injured.

The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco responded to the accident immediately by sending a task force on Sunday morning, headed by Deng Fanhua, deputy consul-general.

"We'll do whatever we can to offer consular assistance to the Chinese citizens (in the accident)," said Luo Linquan, consul general in San Francisco.

The identity of the girl killed was not released by the consulate.

The accident happened on Highway 41 and Road 630, north of Oakhurst and south of Fish Camp, in east central California, according to The Associated Press.

The injured were taken by three helicopters and nine ambulances to Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno and Valley Children's Hospital in Madera County.

Among the five admitted to Community Regional, two were in critical condition and three were in stable condition as of Saturday evening, hospital spokeswoman Mary Lisa Russell said.

Valley Children's Hospital spokeswoman Zara Arboleda confirmed that seven patients had been admitted but would not provide condition reports.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said on Sunday morning that four passengers had major injuries and six passengers had moderate to minor injuries. The 53-year-old driver from the Bay Area suffered moderate injuries.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. The bus was equipped with seatbelts, the CHP said, and the passenger who was killed had her seatbelt on. The CHP said the bus was heading down the mountain toward Oakhurst at 35-40 mph.

When the driver entered a curve north of Lewis Creek around 5:30 pm PT, he was traveling too fast and drifted off the west side embankment, according to the CHP.

The right side of the bus then hit a large tree and came to rest on its wheels in the southbound lane.

According to the AP, the 33-passenger chartered bus is owned by Top Line Charter of Monterey Park in the Los Angeles area.

Highway 41 was closed at the crash site, which is just south of Sugar Pine. The highway reopened at 9:34 pm, the CHP said.

junechang@chinadailyusa.com
HOUSTON -- Nine people were injured early Monday when a man armed with several weapons opened fire on vehicles in southwest Houston, the largest city in the U.S. state of Texas.

According the Houston police, it started when police and firefighters responded at about 6:30 a.m. local time (1130 GMT) after reports of a shooting victim at a strip center on Weslayan at Bissonnet.

As of 8:45 a.m.local time (1345 GMT), the scene is secure but a bomb squad was checking the suspect's vehicle.

Several vehicles that stopped near the scene had bullet holes and busted windows. The injured persons were said to be drivers or passengers in the vehicles that were struck.

Initial investigation showed that the suspect was a disgruntled lawyer, and the police have confirmed that he had been killed.

According to the police, six people were rushed to hospitals for medical treatment, but their conditions are unknown. Three others, suffering from slight injuries, left the scene.

The police said that they have begun to investigate the cause of the shooting.
The first of three presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, will be held Monday at Hofstra University in New York.

The debate will last 90 minutes without commercial breaks. NBCs Nightly News anchor Lester Holt will be the moderator to ask questions.

It would be the first-ever one-on-one debate between the two candidates, and the clash is expected to draw a record 100 million viewers. What can viewers expect to see as the two polar opposites face off against each other?

A WELL-PREPARED CLINTON VS. AN UNPREDICTABLE TRUMP

As a veteran debater, Clinton has more stage experience than most of the presidential candidates in recent history. But she still took a better half of recent weeks preparing for Monday, looking into massive data about Trumps history and past performances, doing mock debates with her team and preparing to defend possible attacks from the freshly businessman turned politician.

"I do not know which Donald Trump will show up," said Clinton in an August fundraising event in New York.

How would Trump approach the debate, and whether Clinton has any effective plan to tackle his facade will be interesting to watch for.

"Maybe he will try to be presidential and try to convey a gravity that he hasnt done before or will he come in and try to insult and try to score some points," said Clinton.

Trump, on the other hand, showed little clue if he will stay on message while looking presidential or resort to petty insults and name-calling that had worked to his advantage on the debate stage in the primary season.

He had been on the campaign trail to the various battleground states, paying minimal attention to the materials his team collected for him, and refused to participate in mock debates. But he had been studying videos of Clintons previous debate performances "looking for her vulnerabilities," according to The New York Times.

Even if Trump decides to act "presidential," It is unclear whether he can resist the temptation to attack Clinton on personal issues, including her health and her husbands past infidelities.

But its certain he would not give up the opportunities to go after the scandals that had been plaguing the race from day one, like Clintons private email server and her relations with big donors.

"I can talk about her deleting emails after she gets a subpoena from Congress and lots of other things," said Trump in a recent interview with Fox News.

NOT ABOUT POLICIES

History has shown that a presidential debate was seldom a contest of which candidate has better policies.

Instead, its a show of character and temperament. This was true ever since the very first nationally televised debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960. Radio listeners thought the debate had been a tie. However, with a baggy suit and bad makeup exposed by his constant sweating, Nixon was widely deemed loser of the debate by TV viewers in contrast to a well-dressed and poised Kennedy.

Clinton has been widely acknowledged by voters as experienced and competent for the job of president. Theres hardly any doubt about it. She also has been in many one-on-one live debates throughout her long political career, while Trump has never done even one. So it becomes imperative for Clinton to appear experienced, mature and relatable. If Trump can drag her into an angry dog fight and exchange of name-calling, then he would have a better chance.

Being the first female major-party nominee in US history, it would also be intriguing to see how or if Clinton will play the "gender card."

Studies find that gender stereotypes play an important role. It is already a concern how the viewers would perceive the fact that a 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 meters) Trump will tower over a 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 meters) Clinton when they stand together on stage. Research has also found that a man appearing aggressive will likely be perceived positively, while a woman appearing aggressive is mostly received negatively.

If Clinton remains calm and collected when under attack from Trump, and not get defensive or dismissive as she sometimes does during the campaign, she will score a better image among voters. Trump, on the other hand, should avoid his previous sexist rhetoric to ensure viewers wouldnt become sympathetic towards Clinton.

DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS

"When I watch her in the debate, she just seems somehow slimy and can just wiggle out from any question or situation," said Brian Grasso, a sophomore at Duke University.

To gain an upper hand, Clinton has to find a way to change the publics reception of her as a dishonest and untrustworthy establishment politician, which is a difficult job to do.

The expectation for Trump to emerge as the winner of the debate is relatively low. People dont expect him to speak with lots of substance. He just needs to show voters that he can handle the job as president, and not someone who cannot control his mouth from speaking outrageous things.

The debate will also be a clash of views on whether the country is in decline. Trump had painted America as a dark and desperate place, and Clinton will have to challenge it.

The three major topics announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates are "Americas Direction," "Achieving Prosperity" and "Securing America," which are translated to economy, national security and the candidates vision for the countrys future.

Recent bombing attacks in New York and New Jersey, tensions between police and African Americans in Charlotte, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and shootings in Burlington, Washington could all fall in line with Trumps rhetoric, as he had benefited before from inciting fear among the American public after similar incidents.

"For all his lack of substance, Trumps showmanship, as ex-TV star, makes him a formidable debate foe," wrote Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for the Clinton campaign.

Trumps team had urged the candidate to hold his own and stay focused on important themes like economy, anti-terrorism and protection of the countrys borders.

"A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man you can trust with nuclear weapons," Clinton said during her Democratic convention speech.

How Clinton would attempt to get under Trumps skin in the debate and bait him into losing his temper will be a scene to look out for.
European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva has called China's hosting of the G20 a huge success, while saying its steady commitment in tackling climate change has reflected the country's determination in dealing with severe global challenges.

At a function on Monday organized by the China Mission to the EU in Brussels, she said China has gone beyond bringing progress to its own people and is determined to help develop a peaceful world as well as respond to global challenges.

Georgieva said she was encouraged by China's commitment and actions in ratifying the Paris climate change agreement ahead of the G20 summit, which she called a "huge success".

"For me, this is an action that China has taken the lead in and will be beneficial to our children and grandchildren and I should like to thank China for their commitment," said Georgieva.
Beijing and Brussels are going step up cooperation on sharing information to fight against terrorism, corruption and other serious crimes, which are high on each other's security agenda.

Both sides are busy going through their domestic legislative procedures over a "strategic agreement" reached by China's Ministry of Public Security and the European Police Office recently.

European Parliamentary members have debated the content of the agreement, which still needs approval at the plenary level of parliament and a green light from the European Council.

Reliable European Union anti-terrorism sources said the agreement will take effect once the respective domestic approval procedures are completed.

A European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both sides will exchange information, in particular swapping specialist knowledge, general situation reports, results of strategic analysis and information on criminal investigation procedures.

China and the EU will also share information on crime prevention methods, participation in training and exchange activities as well as providing advice and support in individual criminal investigations.

The agreement contains no provision relating to the exchange of personal data.

According to the agreement offered by the European side, it covers the fight against terrorism, which is high on the EU agenda and anti-corruption, on which Beijing is working hard.

Other crimes include drug trafficking, illegal money-laundering activities, crime connected with nuclear and radioactive substances, kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage taking, racism and xenophobia, organized robbery and other serious wrongdoings.

The special envoy of President Xi Jinping, Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, visited the EU, Belgium, UK and Germany early this year to discuss deeper cooperation with European leaders.

When Meng met High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in May, he said terrorism posed a serious threat to the world.

During his visit, Meng expressed condolences to the families of the victims attacked in the March terrorism explosions by going to the metro station in Brussels, which was one of the venues for the attacks.

"China is willing to strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation with Belgium, to work together to address the threat of terrorism,"he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Michel said Belgium is also willing to work with China to promote counter-terrorism and law enforcement and security cooperation.

Because of increased terror attacks and other challenges, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Europe is faced with "existential crisis."

In his state of union speech given this month, Juncker said since the Madrid bombing of 2004, there have been more than 30 terrorist attacks in Europe  14 in the last year alone, with more than 600 innocent people being killed in cities like Paris, Brussels, and Nice.

"We must defend ourselves against terrorism. Just as we have stood shoulder to shoulder in grief, so must we stand united in our response," said Juncker.

Yao Yueyang contributed to the story

To contact the reporter: fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
HAVANA - China on Saturday pledged to further forge ahead bilateral relations with Cuba through enhancing high-level exchange of visits and promoting economic cooperation.

Cuban President Raul Castro holds a welcoming ceremony for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) before their talks in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 24, 2016. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua]

The pledge came as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday.Li arrived in the capital of the Caribbean country on Saturday afternoon following a visit to Canada.Hailing the progress made in the past 56 years since the two countries set up diplomatic ties, Li said China has firmly adhered to the policy of China-Cuba friendship, supported Cuba in following a socialist path and promoted bilateral pragmatic cooperation.China stands ready to further enhance high-level exchange of visits, deepen economic cooperation and step up coordination on international affairs with Cuba so as to push forward bilateral ties, said Li.Both China and Cuba are currently facing urgent tasks of developing the economy and improving the livelihood of the people, said the premier.China wants to focus on development and cooperation with the Cuban side, supports Cuba's industrialization process and would like to conduct cooperation with Cuba in infrastructural construction and industrial equipment production, Li said.The Chinese premier also called on the two countries to expand trade and investment cooperation, share development experience and make more frequent people-to-people exchanges.Raul Castro, for his part, spoke highly of the historic significance of Li's visit, the first official visit by a Chinese premier in 56 years.He said Cuba agrees with China on measures to develop bilateral ties and is willing to learn from China's development experience.Cuba looks forward to increasing high-level exchanges with China, and expanding down-to-earth cooperation with China in trade and education, Castro added.He also suggested the two countries enhance coordination on international affairs so as to safeguard common interests of the vast number of developing countries.After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of some 20 cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication, environment protection, and inspection and quarantine.Li arrived in Havana Saturday for a three-day official visit to Cuba, the first official visit to the Latin American country by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960.At the airport, a welcoming ceremony was held for Li, which was attended by Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's first vice-president of the councils of state and ministers, and some other senior officials.
Premier Li Keqiang meets Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, on Sunday. [Photo/Agencies]

Premier Li Keqiang met with Fidel Castro, the 90-year-old leader of the Cuban Revolution, on Sunday during his visit to the island nation in an expression of respect for the legendary revolutionary.

China cherishes the traditional friendship with Cuba, Li said, adding that China is willing to enhance political mutual trust with Cuba, expand cooperation and boost the friendship between the people of both countries.

No matter how international relations change, the China-Cuba comradeship and brotherly relationship, based on mutual respect, equal treatment and common interests, will never be changed, Li said.

Castro, who celebrated his birthday in August, spoke of the historical links between the two countries as symbolized by the participation of ethnic Chinese soldiers in Cuba's wars of independence and liberation, according to the Cuban newspaper Granma.

As the leader of the revolution, which culminated in the 1959 overthrow of Fulgencio Batista, Castro has maintained close ties with generations of Chinese leaders.

President Xi Jinping met with him twice in the three years from 2011 to 2014.

In 2011, Xi, then vice-president, visited Castro's house, which was shaded by moringa trees. In July 2014, during his state visit to Cuba, Xi presented Castro with some seeds of moringa and mulberry trees. Xi promised closer cooperation with Cuba to develop the moringa  its leaves and green stems can be fed to cattle, helping to solve the problems of grain supply and livestock feed.

He Shuangrong, a researcher of Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the fact that Chinese leaders meet Fidel Castro every time they visit Cuba shows the strong ties between the two countries.

"Both countries are socialist countries. Their ties are those between good brothers and good partners," He said, adding that the two countries not only have growing economic relations but also lend each other political support.

Li, the first Chinese premier to visit Cuba in more than 50 years, also boarded a bus on Sunday that had been exported by Chinese vehicle maker Yutong. It has sold over 5,000 buses to Cuba.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
The China lawyers at my firm have been experiencing a big uptick in the number of companies and individuals contacting us after having been offered stock in a Chinese company as an alternative to payment in cash. This swapping of stock for pay is a relatively new phenomenon, so I want to explain how it works and, most importantly, why it cannot work for foreigners.

This is how this stock scam typically goes down. The Chinese company  usually in the tech sector  is in desperate need of the expensive skills or knowledge of a foreign person or entity. The Chinese company states: we need your services, but we are a start up. So, instead of paying hard cash, the Chinese company offers founders stock or employee stock options in their Chinese entity. Just as is the case with Silicon Valley founders stock/stock options, the idea here is that the Chinese entity will go public (do an IPO) and the stock it is giving will then provide a windfall benefit to the foreigners to whom they have given the founders stock or the stock options.

Unfortunately, this is all an illusion for the simple reason no foreign person can own stock in a Chinese domestic company not already listed on a stock market. So any such option or stock transfer is void from the start. Foreigners are not permitted to be shareholders of Chinese domestic companies, nor does China recognize the concept of nominee shareholders.

Even though the offering of stock in Chinese companies is a fraud, we are still seeing many foreign individuals and companies taken in by such offers, most commonly in the fintech sector. Whatever the sector though, the Chinese company will use the standard Silicon Valley approach of offering a stock option package as a key benefit in the employment package. By offering stock options, the Chinese company can pay less and secure greater loyalty, while still exploiting the skills/extracting the knowledge of foreign individuals in developing an innovative software or other high tech product.

This exploitation/extraction period typically lasts one to three years, at which point the Chinese company tells the foreign individual, sorry, the Chinese government has now informed us we cannot issue stock options to you. To better hide the scheme, the Chinese company will sometimes propose a series of fantasy workarounds, such as elaborate nominee schemes illegal under Chinese law. These proposals often convince the foreign person to waste another year or two with the Chinese company. But, in the end, the result is always the same. The Chinese company defaults on its promise to provide the foreign individual with stock in the company and the foreign individual is left high and dry. Since the founders stock/stock option scheme was void from the start, there is nothing the foreigners can do to enforce their rights in China, since they never had any such rights.

A similar scam is often perpetrated on foreign entities. The foreign entity has a technical service of great value to the Chinese company. The Chinese company says: We really need your services, but we are growing so fast we do not have the free cash to pay you in cash for that. However, since we are growing so fast, it is certain we will soon do an IPO on the Shanghai stock exchange. So, instead of our paying you in cash, we will agree to pay in you in stock options. Our stock will provide you with far more monetary value than the paltry fee we would pay you for your services and by working with us, you will gain entry into the lucrative Chinese market and highly profitable work for Chinese companies will follow.

This scam results in the same sad result as the employee stock option scam. First, as with employee stock options, a foreigner cannot own stock in the Chinese entity, so the option is void from the start. Second, the private Chinese entity never does an IPO on the Shanghai market, so the whole concept was an illusion. Third, the only thing the foreign entity achieved was to identify itself as an easy mark and there will be no future profitable work available in China. Finally, the foreign company does not figure out the scam until after it has already provided its service or valuable information to the Chinese entity.

There are a couple of elegant variants Chinese entities use to implement the Chinese stock scam. In the rare case where a private Chinese company actually completes an IPO, the listing is on a foreign exchange: usually either Hong Kong or the United States or London, where due to Chinese law requirements the actual listing entity is not the Chinese company for which stock options or stock were purportedly given. Instead, the listing entity is some form of subsidiary or other affiliate of the Chinese company, so when the IPO takes place, the holder of the scam option or stock in the Chinese company can be told: your stock option (or stock) is with the Chinese parent; you do not have an option with the affiliate actually listed. Sorry.

Private companies in China are effectively locked out of Chinas domestic IPO market. On the other hand, such companies have become attractive targets for private equity financing. But the story here is the same. The private equity financing occurs in China, resulting in a big payout to existing shareholders of the Chinese entity. The foreign stock option holder looks for an equivalent benefit. The Chinese entity then responds: this was a private equity deal, not an IPO. You did not own any stock at the time of the private financing, so you are not entitled to any benefit.

Bottom Line: Foreign individuals and companies should not accept promises of stock options or stock in a Chinese company in place of employment compensation or payment for services. Any Chinese company that makes the offer of payment in stock is either ignorant of the requirements of Chinese law or intentionally committing fraud. Either way, foreign individuals and companies should refuse to work with any Chinese company that makes this kind of stock offer. We have seen many of these deals. None have ever worked out well, and it will not work out well for you. There are real workarounds, but most of the time  but not always  the Chinese company refuses them.
(Photo : GettyImages/JustinSullivan) Earlier this year, Ma, along with Tencent co-founder Chen Yidan, was named as the most generous philanthropist in the ethnic Chinese world.

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Tencent has pledged to donate two percent of its annual profit to charity.



The company's CEO, Pony Ma Huateng, said Tencent Foundation, the company's charity organization, will now get double the contribution each year. Tencent is an internet conglomerate, which is behind China's most popular mobile messaging app WeChat.



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Ma said the foundation's aim is to match charitable organizations with users, adding that many of them want to donate but are not able to make informed choices.



It is worth noting that Tencent Foundation is one of the largest public donation platforms in the country. Started in 2007, it has already collected more than 1.1 billion yuan out of the 76 million donations it has made, as of August this year.



"The amount of charitable donations in China has grown from 10 billion yuan in 2006 to over 100 billion yuan last year - it has grown very quickly," Ma revealed, according to SCMP.com.



Back in April, Ma donated 1.39 billion yuan of his Tencent shares. The benefciary works toward the promotion of education, environment, healthcare and other such causes in mainland China. Two months after, he was regarded as the "the most generous philanthropist in the ethnic Chinese world." In a year's time, he was able to donate US$2.15 billion to charity.



Meanwhile, Ma further narrated that the increasing popularity of the internet and socal media has helped in the growth of Tencent Foundation's donations to charity.



"Of that 90 per cent [of donations via mobile phone], 80 per cent were made through a social network. This means that donating money via technology has become mainstream in China," shared.



Reuters reported that China recently introduced law regulating internet companies in raising and managing funds for charity. Ma hailed the newly enacted law and said that it would provide more flexibility to the platform in administration.



Per the company's 2015 annual report, Tencent contributed 480 million yuan to Tencent Charity Funds duirng the year, amounting to 1.6 percent of its annual profit of 29.12 billion yuan.



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TagsTencent, Tencent Foundation, Pony Ma Huateng
(Photo : BrahMos Aerospace) Comparison in size between the current BrahMos and the upcoming BrahMos NG.

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China views with alarm and dread the coming deployment by India of the new BrahMos NG supersonic cruise missile that will be smaller, faster, stealthier and deadlier than the BrahMos variants now in service with the Indian Armed Forces, said Russian media.



The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has gone so far as to denounce the BrahMos NG (for Next Generation), painting it as a threat that raises the stakes in a longstanding territorial dispute between the two countries along the disputed 4,000 kilometer-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) dividing both countries.



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The PLA's concern over the coming deployment of BrahMos NG to Arunachal Pradesh is understandable given it currently has no effective defense against the older, land-launched and sea-launched version of BrahMos -- the world's fastest cruise missile -- that streaks towards its targets at Mach 3.0 (3,700 km/h).



BrahMos NG will be smaller and this feature reduces its radar cross section, making it more difficult to detect. This reduction in size also means an Indian Air Force Sukhoi SU-30MKI attack jet can loft three of the new missiles instead of only one.



BrahMos NG will also be faster at Mach 3.5 (4,300 km/h) and will be "smarter" because of its ability to steep-dive on a target behind the reverse slopes of hills and mountains after taking evasive maneuvers.



A hypersonic variant of the missile named BrahMos II will tear through the air at Mach 7 (8,600 km/h) and is expected to be deployed some eight years from now or by 2025.



BrahMos "with updated capabilities for stealth and mountain warfare could threaten Yunnan and Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) provinces, located across the border from Arunachal Pradesh," said the PLA in a statement.



The statement also noted deploying BrahMos NG was "beyond India's 'normal need for self-defense.' Playing tricks, they are bound to suffer the consequences."



BrahMos II will confer a major strategic advantage in mountain warfare on India. The missile is designed to select targets hidden behind a mountain range and its "hypersonic qualities the missile would likely pass through Beijing's defense systems like a knife through butter," said a Russian report.



Russia is justifiably proud of the fear inspired by BrahMos since it co-developed the missile with India. BrahMos is a joint venture between the Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) that together formed BrahMos Aerospace, the maker of the missile.



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TagsBrahMos NG, BrahMos, supersonic cruise missile, Indian Armed Forces, India, china, People's Liberation Army, Arunachal Pradesh
(Photo : Getty Images) China is likely to be the only country in the world to have a space station in 2024, when the International Space Station retires.

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The Beijing Aerospace Control Center announced on Sunday that the Tiangong-2 space lab has been successfully maneuvered to its preset orbit 393 kilometers above Earth's surface and is now awaiting for the arrival of its next crewed space mission Shenzhou-11 that is scheduled to launch next month.



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Tiangong-2 has already gone through nine days of on-orbit testing before it was maneuvered last Sunday, Li Jian, deputy head of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, said, according to state-run Xinhua News agency. The space lab initially entered an orbit of 197 x 373 km before performing two orbital maneuvers to raise its orbit to an altitude of 368 x 378 km, NASA Space Flight reported.



"All test results suggest the space lab is in good condition," Li noted.



Meanwhile, preparations for the launching of Shenzhou-11 are now entering a critical processing flow as works on the space capsule and launch vehicle take place, NASA Space Flight noted.



The Shenzhou-11 spaceship is anticipated to take two astronauts to the Tiangong-2 station. The astronauts will conduct research related to biology, psychology, and medicine for a month.



Top Examiner reported that the docking of the spacecraft will be China's first simulation of future space station docking technologies, which will witness Shenzhou-11 "catching up with the space station using its own space maneuvering capacities."



Tiangong-2, which means "Heavenly Palace," blasted off into the sky on board a Long March 2F on Sept. 15 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.



On the other hand, China is also planning to create a manned space station by 2020 as well as land a rover on Mars by 2020.



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TagsTiangong-2, Shenzhou 11 Spacecraft 2016, Shenzhou 11, space station, china
(Photo : GettyImages/Handout) The country is going to have its locally built ships as Carnival Corp. announced its plan to build two vista-class ships.

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China is experiencing unprecedented boom in its cruise market, and it will finally have locally-built ships as Carnival Corp. is set to build two vista-class ships.



The ships are likely to be launched in 2022 and customizations are up to meet "the specific tastes of Chinese travelers."



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Cruise industry behemoth Carnival Corp. revealed that they are signing a non-binding memorandum of agreement with its Chinese joint venture partners. The other parties involved in the joint venture are China State Shipbuilding Corp. and Italian firm Fincantieri.



The MoU deals with the building of two Vista-class ships in China and provides for two extra ships.



The ship will be operated by a still unnamed domestic Chinese brand, which was announced by Carnival and its Chinese partners in October last year. The said local brand will also operate existing ships belonging to the Carnival fleet.



The new ships will be based on the same platform used for Carnival Vista, which is the largest ship in Carnival's cruise fleet. The ship was launched in May this year, after taking four years for construction. It is loaded with many innovative features such as SkyRide, which is an 800-foot-long track suspended 159 feet above the waterline.



The agreement was announced at the 11th annual China Cruise Shipping and International Cruise Expo held in Tianjin, China. The Joint Venture will be incorporated in Hong Kong.



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Tagscruise, Carnival Corp, Vista Ships, China Cruise Boom Vista Ships
(Photo : PLA) PLAAF J-15 fighters

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China sees the various drills and exercises it's made over the past two years -- including its organization of a peacekeeping force for the United Nations -- as key steps in improving the ability of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to fight and win future wars against the United States.



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The PLA reported that over the past three-plus years, its day-to-day training, military drills and overall reform have been consistently focused on sharpening its combat strength.



The PLA, the army of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and not the Chinese state, consists of five services: the People's Liberation Army Ground Force; the People's Liberation Army Navy; the People's Liberation Army Air Force; the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force.



From 2013 to 2015, the PLA conducted 383 drills of various kinds, and these drills all focused on honing real combat capability.



The latest of these real world combat scenarios was sending a fleet of 40 aircraft from the PLAAF on Sept. 25 to overfly the Miyako Strait close to Japan on its way to conduct drills over the Western Pacific.



And, in 2015, the PLA Ground Force deployed for the first time a full infantry battalion for a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. The PLAN has been conducting regular igh-seas training missions in the East China Sea and South China Sea.



The PLA has also been slashing spending on unnecessary items so more funding goes to weapons, battlefield construction, education and training. Administration costs above the corps level were cut by at least half compared to 2014.



In March 2014, the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC) whose chairman is President Xi Jinping issued a guidance demanding the level of military training be raised to actual combat standards to improve the PLA's capabilities.



The guidance stressed improving combat readiness should be top priority.



In 2013, Xi said raising the capability of the PLA to win wars was one of the fundamentals of building a strong army, the others being the command of the CPC and having a proper working style.



Since then, the PLAGF has carried out extensive evaluation of its combat capability while the PLAN has boosted its "fierceness and complexity of drills."



The PLAAF removed restrictions on airspace used in drills while the PLARF expanded its maneuvering range and worked on its ability to deter and attack across the entire defense area.



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TagsPeople's Liberation Army, PLA, Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping, Central Military Commission
(Photo : getty images.) Canadian governments spokesman said on Sunday that border agency agreement signed between China and Canada will lead to faster deportation of Chinese suspects.

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China's agreement with Canada's border agency is expected to pave way for faster deportation of Chinese citizens.



This, as announced by the Canadian government's spokesperson on Sunday.



The signed agreement is reportedly seen as a precursor to extradition treaty with Ottawa, which China has been long demanding to nab corrupt Chinese citizens hiding in the country.



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The deal will allow Chinese investigative officials to travel to Canada and interrogate Chinese suspects for verifying their authenticity and documents, said press secretary to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale Scott Bardsley. Bardsley claimed that in past, the verification process took a long time, thus, it often delayed deportation.



However, it was noted that the agreement will not be implemented immediately and authorities from both countries still have to revisit the matter by November.



The agreement will initially run as a pilot project, similar to the border agency agreement which China signed with the European Union.



According to Canada's immigration department, the Chinese officials deemed as non-admissible in Canada include people with criminal records, serious health or financial issues or who have provided false information on their visa applications.



The border agency agreement is part of the law enforcement accord signed during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's four-day visit to Canada last week. It is considered as a big step by Trudeau government to improve bilateral relations with China, which were strained during the previous conservative government.



The extradition treaty was one of the main talking points during Chinese Premier's visit. Canada, like most western countries, remains hesitant in signing extradition treaty. Mainly due to the concerns over integrity of Chinese judicial system and treatment of deportees.



It was emphasized, though, that the Chinese government has been undeterred over these concerns, as it continues to push hard for an extradition treaty with many western countries to get hold of increasing number of Chinese suspects seeking refuge in foreign countries.



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Tagschina, China and Canada, Li Keqiang's Visit to Canada, China and Canada Extradition Treaty, Canada China Border Agreement
(Photo : getty images.) China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told a leading Indian newspaper that the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is not targeted against India, but strengthening China-pak economic cooperation.

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China has again reiterated that the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is not targeted against India, but strengthening the economic cooperation.



The assurance comes amid the reported spiralling tension between India and Pakistan following the recent Uri attack.



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"China's programmes in the region aim at boosting the local economy and improving the people's well-being.... It neither concerns any third party nor is it attacking the position of any side on the issue," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFC) told Hindustan Times in a written statement.



Irrespective of India's opposition to the project, "the CPEC has gradually stepped from primary planning to the full operational phase," the statement added.



It was further emphasized that the CPEC will not just fulfil common development of Pakistan and China, but also positively contribute to peace and economic development of entire region.



The MFC also claimed that several countries have expressed their interest to join the project, with media reports last week confirming that Iran wants to become part of the CPEC.



In the past, India has expressed reservation on the $48 billion CPEC project on several occasions, mainly because the corridor passes through Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (POK) that is located only few kilometres away from Indian Kashmir. The northern Himalayan region of Kashmir is the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan.



Meanwhile, the MFC's statement commented on the Kashmir dispute as well.



"The sovereignty of the Kashmir region has been a historical problem between India and Pakistan and should be appropriately settled through bilateral talks and negotiations," it noted.



The clarification comes barely days after a top Chinese diplomat assured Pakistan of unilateral support on Kashmir dispute and also promised Islamabad of unequivocal support in case of any foreign aggression.



Among the objectives of the China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation is to strengthen the economic ties of the two countries.



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TagsChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China and Pakistan, China and India, India
(Photo : Getty Images) China's air force has flown its largest fleet yet near Japan's islands in the East China Sea to send a strong message to Tokyo.

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In what military analysts have described as a show of force to Japan, China's air force said it flew more than 40 bombers and other fighter jets near Japan's islands in the East China Sea as part of its military drills in the Western Pacific on Sunday.



China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) said Chinese pilots flew over the Miyako Strait and near Okinawa in the East China Sea on their way to the Western Pacific as part of military drills.



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The military exercise, the second this month, saw the Chinese air force fly one of its largest fleets ever near Okinawa. Analysts have said that the move was meant to intimidate Japan.



Military threat



Japan's defense ministry said this was, by far, the largest Chinese fleet to have passed the area. The defense ministry said it scrambled several fighter planes in the area after about eight Chinese planes entered Japan's airspace.



Analysts said China's military threat was meant to send a strong message to Tokyo after its new defense minister said Japan would step up its maritime presence in the disputed South China Sea through joint patrols with the US and military exercises with regional navies.



China's air force spokesman Shen Jinke said on Sunday that China's military drills in the Pacific are part of its "routine" activities in the East China Sea air defense identification zones (ADIZ) to protect China's security and sovereignty.



The US and the international community had condemned China after Beijing established an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea in 2013.



Under the ADIZ, aircraft were required to identify themselves to Chinese authorities before being given the signal to proceed.



Assertiveness



The latest military drills come as China's is increasing its assertiveness in claiming territories in the East and South China Seas.



China had earlier warned Japan that it would target its ships once Tokyo begins joint patrols with the US in the disputed South China Sea.



Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have remained cold due to a territorial spat between both nations over a group of islands in the East China Sea and their painful wartime history.



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TagsChinese military drills, People's Liberation Army Air Force, Miyako Strait, okinawa, bombers, Fighter Jets, Japan, china
(Photo : YouTube Screenshot) Chinas ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing announced on Monday it has invested tens of millions of dollars in Chinese bike-sharing startup called ofo.

(Photo : YouTube Screenshot) Ofo users scan a code from their smartphones to unlock parked bikes.

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China's ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing announced on Monday it has invested "tens of millions of dollars" in Chinese bike-sharing startup called ofo.



Apart from already covering cars, taxis and commuter buses, Didi, which recently bought Uber's China business, wants to take a look at two wheels also as part of its plan to develop a transport ecosystem.



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"If it's only two or three miles away, or the traffic is crowded, I can just ride a bike and go," Liang Sun, Didi's spokesperson, said.



The two companies, however, did not disclose the specifics of the deal.



Ofo initially was a student project in 2014 in China's prestigious Peking University. The bike service, which is founded by college alumnus Dai Wei, now has about 70,000 bright yellow-colored bikes in different campuses across 20 cities. It also claims to have 1.5 million users and handles half a million rides each day, Tech in Asia reported.



The service is run via an app for iPhone and Android. Ofo works via Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s WeChat, where users scan a code from their smartphones to unlock parked bikes and go to their destinations, according to Bloomberg. Payments that cost to as slow as 0.5 yuan ($0.075) per ride can be made through the messaging app.



While there are other start-up bicycle platforms offered for the streets in China like Mobike, ofo is now hailed as the top bike-sharing platform in the country, Reuters reported.

Interest in riding bicycles among locals came as city streets are jammed with traffic and more people are getting health conscious amid increasing obesity and pollution levels.



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TagsDidi Chuxing, Didi, bikes, WeChat, mobike, bicycle platforms, OFO
(Photo : Getty Images) Huawei is scheduled to confirm the actual specs of the Mate 9 on Nov. 3.

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With several Chinese telecom companies shifting their manufacturing base to India, China's state-owned Global Times newspaper has expressed concern that this development could result in severe job losses. The warning comes as the Indian government intensifies its effort to attract Chinese investment under its ambitious Make-in-India project.



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"In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain," Global Times said in an article. "But what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India."



The article took special note of Huawei. Last week, the company announced that it would start manufacturing smartphones from India next month. Huawei "joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market" would result in severe job loss, the Global Times said.



Foxconn and Xiaomi are two other prominent Chinese telecom companies that have announced plans to manufacture their devices in India. The article called on China to take note of India's rise as a new processing base for manufacturers and ensure that it does not lose its competitiveness in the production chain.



Another article in the same newspaper said that since Chinese investment is on a rise in India, Chinese firms need to acquaint itself with Indian companies and labor laws. It further said that with the growing number of Chinese companies turning to India, it is necessary for Chinese firms to asses the political and economic risks of investing in India.



The Indian government has put a special emphasis on the manufacturing sector to revive the country's economic growth. The Make-in-India project, which was launched in 2014, aims to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transforming India into the world's favorite manufacturing hub.



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TagsChina and India, Make in India Program, India, China and Indian Economy
(Photo : Getty Images) A financial professional stands in the Goldman Sachs booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange April 27, 2010 in New York, New York.

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Goldman Sachs is going to axe up nearly 30 percent of its 300 investment banking teams in Asia outside of Japan, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.



Goldman Sachs, which is one of the earliest Wall Street entrants to China, will be cutting down the number of bankers working on mergers and acquisitions, and equity and debt capital markets deals, according to Bangkok Post.



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Although the job cuts will not affect bankers from Austalasia and Japan, the bulk is likely to come from Hong Kong and Singapore, while departures in mainland China will be a relatively few. Following the reduction, around 200 bankers will be left across Asia. The exact number of lay-offs is yet to be confirmed.



One of the sources also revealed no managing directors in Asia were running to be made partners this year, and three existing partners were removed from their titles, Bangkok Post reported.



The bank's job cuts follow amid a regional slowdown that has experience revenues from initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and debt offerings plunging by double digits this year, Finews reported citing Dealogic.



It saw a major drop from ranking top based on investment-banking revenues in 2014 to eight so far this year across the Asia-Pacific except Japan. Goldman Sachs revenue was down by 11 percent to $1.79 billion in the second quarter this year.



In response of a "challenging backdrop" for revenue, Goldman Sachs revealed in July it planned a cost-cutting drive to save as much as $700 million annually and asked 2,000 workers at Goldman Sachs Asset Management to trim down expenses such as travel costs.



Meanwhile, the bank refused to give its comment about the lay-off reports.



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TagsGoldman sachs, Layoff, job cuts, banks, investment bank
(Photo : BrahMos Aerospace) BrahMos-A

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The capabilities of India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile are such that Russia is showing a strong interest in acquiring the air launched version of this missile, which is faster and harder destroy than similar Russian versions.



Military sources said the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, specifically the Russian Aerospace Forces, will likely purchase the air-to-ground version of BrahMos for its Sukhoi Su-30SM multi-role fighters.



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Russian media said negotiations for the sale should begin in 2017 after the Indian Air Force completes a series of test seeking to validate the capability of Indian Su-30MKI (the Indian version of the Su-30SM) to launch the air-to-ground version of the missile called BrahMos-A (for Air).



India, however, plans to have some of its BrahMos-As armed with nuclear warheads to serve as a deterrent against China and Pakistan. India eventually plans to modify 40 of its jets so these can launch the BrahMos-A nuclear version. An Su-30MKI can carry one BrahMos-A missile.



"The new missile strike system, a plane plus a missile, will be first of all made operational with the Indian Air Force. After that the Russian Air Force, which is very interested, may buy the system," said an unidentified Russian aerospace officer as quoted by Russian media.



Work on the air launched version of BrahMos began some four years ago. Last June 25, a modified Su-30MKI carried a Brahmos-A aloft for the first time, marking an important milestone in the development of the missile ahead of further flights and firing tests.



Tests of the nuclear BrahMos-A are proceeding. The first test of the nuclear missile took place this August and involved a drop test from as Su-30MKI. The final test later in August saw an Su-30MKI fire the missile at a ground target.



A series of tests at Rajashtan's Pokharan firing range will verify the accuracy and efficacy of the Su-30MKI's nuclear missile release system. One more test is expected to take place over the Bay of Bengal in late-November. The missile will be fired at a decommissioned Indian Navy ship.



The Russian Su-30MKI, considered India's most advanced jet fighter, was selected as the delivery vehicle for the BrahMos nuclear missile because the aircraft's titanium airframe and high-strength aluminum alloys can withstand the intense heat that comes with launching a BrahMos.



The jet was further modified by hardening its electronics, enabling the plane to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear blast.



Russia is justifiably proud of the reputation created BrahMos since it co-developed the missile with India. BrahMos is a joint venture between the Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India's Defense Research and Development Organization that together formed BrahMos Aerospace, the maker of the missile.



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TagsBrahMos, Russia, BrahMos-A, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Su-30MKI, India
Jordanian writer shot dead outside court before trial over Islamic cartoon 26 September, 2016 by Suleiman Al-Khalidi , |

EDITOR'S NOTE: The cartoon referenced in the story was titled, "the God of Da'esh," an alternative name for the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), according to the Washington Post. References to "God" in this story are translated from the Arabic "Allah."

AMMAN (Reuters)  A gunman shot dead Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar on Sunday, Sept. 25, outside the court where he was to stand trial on charges of contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature seen as insulting Islam, witnesses and state media said.

The gunman was arrested at the scene, state news agency Petra said. A security source said he was a 39-year-old Muslim preacher in a mosque in the capital.

Hattar, a Christian and an anti-Islamist activist, was arrested last month after sharing on social media a caricature depicting a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women and asking God to bring him wine and clear his dishes.

Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah militant group mourned Hattar as a "brave and vocal voice" against the Takfiris, a derogatory term used to describe hard-line Sunni fundamentalists such as Islamic State.

Many of Jordan's conservative Muslims considered Hattar's move deeply offensive. Still, such politically motivated assassinations are rare in the U.S.-backed Arab kingdom, whose relative stability has distinguished it from war-ravaged neighbors such as Syria and Iraq.

Hattar, who was also Jordan's most vocal supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was charged with contempt of religion and sowing sectarian tensions. The country's highest official religious fatwa authority criticized Hattar for what it said was the "insult to the divine entity, Islam and religious symbols".

"The assailant was arrested and investigations are ongoing," Petra quoted a security source as saying, adding that the killer, who held a degree in civil engineering, had fired three shots at Hattar.

Two witnesses said the gunman was wearing a traditional Arab dishashada, worn by ultra conservative Sunni Salafis who adhere to a puritanical version of Islam and shun Western lifestyles.

"This killer drew his weapon from his briefcase, or the bag he was holding, and shot Nahed Hattar's chest, causing Hattar to fall to the ground. He then shot at him again, a second, third..," said Mohammad Jughbeir, who was standing close to Hattar at the time of the attack.

While many Jordanians thought Hattar had crossed a red line with the caricature, some of his secular and liberal supporters said his arrest was a breach of freedom of speech.

"Hattar's killing is a direct result of lack of commitment to freedom of expression by Jordanian authorities," said a statement from Sherif Mansour, Middle East and North Africa coordinator for New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Hattar had apologized on social media and said he did not mean to insult God but had shared the cartoon to mock fundamentalist Sunni radicals and what he said was their vision of God and heaven. He had accused his Islamist opponents of using the cartoon to settle scores with him.

Hattar was a controversial figure whose calls for depriving Jordanians of Palestinian descent their political rights had won him many enemies in a country with a large Palestinian population.

The Jordanian government condemned the attack.

"The law will be strictly enforced on the culprit who did this criminal act and will hit with an iron fist anyone who tries to harm state of law," government spokesman Mohammad Momani said.

The moderate Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group also warned against a flare up in religious and sectarian tensions in a country where Christians are a minority but wield wide political and economic influence.

(Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Clelia Oziel)
PERSECUTION WATCHDOG: North Korean Christians literally steamrolled for Christ 26 September, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner)  Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has issued a harrowing report of religious persecution inside North Korea, including allegations that authorities there ran over confessing Christians with a steamroller.

The report, Total Denial: Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief in North Korea, was issued Sept. 23 and claims liberty with respect to religion  or any belief contrary to the state's communist ideology  is "largely non-existent."

Christians, who are forced to practice their faith in secret, are often the targets of persecution. Those discovered are sent to concentration camps where they take part in forced labor. They are also subjected to sexual violence, torture and "extra-judicial" killings.

A former North Korean security agent stated, 'Christians are regarded as spies. If you meet a Christian, it is considered the same as meeting a South Korean intelligence officer. Spies and Christians are sent to the kwanliso [a prison camp]. They are treated equally.

"Documented incidents include Christians being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled under-foot," the report claims.

CSW's report is not the only report to document the brutal anti-Christian regime in Kim Jong Un's North Korea.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also said in its report that Christians considered to have participated in acts of worship, of having studied the Bible or having possessed a church hymnal "are typically jailed, or worse."

"In prison, Christians reportedly endure harsher treatment than other prisoners. It is estimated that tens of thousands of Christians in North Korea are currently in prison camps facing hard labor or execution. Given the high cost to themselves and their families if caught, many North Koreans likely self-suppress their own consciences, creating a multiplier effect of the government's repressive policies," the USCIRF report said.

According to CSW, state leaders in North Korea, who demand fealty to the cult surrounding Kim Jong Un, suppress Christianity because they believe it is solely a religion of the West and Christians are spies for the United States and other First World powers.

However, followers of other religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Shamanism and even the native Korean religion Cheondoism, are frowned upon.

The CSW report also documents China's deportation of North Korean refugees who are able to escape the country. The country immediately returns the refuges in violation of its obligations under the United Nations Convention on Refugees Treaty of 1951.

Refuges who come into contact with missionaries are particularly ill-treated, the report said.

"Believing in Christianity, acquiring Christian religious items like the Bible, and being involved in Christian religious activities while in China are all likely to be considered a 'grave offence' resulting in a sentence of life imprisonment or even execution. Former North Korean security agents have testified that 'The most severe punishment is applied to those who are engaged in the [new religious] activity: those who carry the Bible from China and those Christians who help North Korean refugees in China.' A former North Korean security agent stated, 'Christians are regarded as spies. If you meet a Christian, it is considered the same as meeting a South Korean intelligence officer. Spies and Christians are sent to the kwanliso [a prison camp]. They are treated equally.'"

The CSW report concludes that North Korean officials are highly unlikely to change, given the country's emphasis on "self-reliance" and monolithic devotion to the Kim family.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said North Korea is guilty of crimes against humanity.

"Our report aims to shine a light on the darkest corner of the globe and to call on the international community to act. We also urge China to behave responsibly and to cease its policy of forcible repatriation of North Korean refugees, which is tantamount to a death sentence. The time for change is long overdue," Rogers said.

There are an estimated 200,000-300,000 Christians in North Korea attending as many as 500 underground churches, according to the report, but only a handful of state authorized churches. Those churches are normally empty.

Sept. 23, the date the report was issued, was "Save North Koreans Day."
Thousands came to Christ in Kenya after hundreds of missionaries came together to pray for revival and to preach the gospel.

Charisma News reports that 640 missionaries traveled to the village of Kakamega, Kenya to pray that peoples lives would be changed by the gospel. Their goal was to show Gods love in everyday life.

They visited prisons, provided treatment for those who were sick, and preached the gospel to anyone who would listen.

Tens of thousands of people reportedly heard their message and 6,944 people gave their lives to Christ after hearing the good news.

People young and old clung to the hope in Christ about which the missionaries told them.

Joel, a young boy who lived on the streets, gave his life to Christ after hearing the missionaries message.

"I feel I have hope after being preached to," he said.

Another convert, Martha, was reconciled to her husband after hearing the gospel. Her husband had cheated on her and she was furious, but the missionaries helped her to calm down and reached out to her in kindness and shared the message of Christ.

Both Martha and her husband ended up accepting Jesus. The couple prayed for God to restore their marriage.

Many others had similar stories of how their lives were changed after hearing the gospel preached.

Publication date: September 26, 2016
During a recent meeting, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if he is elected, the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.

According to Yahoo News, Trump met with Netanyahu on Sunday at Trump Tower in New York. Trump told Netanyahu that the U.S. would "recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel under a Trump presidency.

Currently, few countries, including the U.S., recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. Most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem. Palestinians argue that East Jerusalem should be the capital of the Palestinian state they want to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Trump reportedly agreed with Netanyahu that peace in the conflict could only be achieved when the Palestinians recognize Israel as a legitimate country and cease resorting to violence.

Trump and Netanyahu also reportedly discussed measures for keeping Israelis safe, including Israels border fence which Trump compared to his own plan to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. They also discussed issues of terrorism, the Iran nuclear deal, and U.S. military assistance to Israel.

Publication date: September 26, 2016
About 50 Korean American pastors gathered at Cerritos Mission Church earlier this month for a 'Crisis Management Seminar' hosted by Dr. Benjamin Shin, the director of the Asian American Doctor of Ministry cohort at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology.

The seminar was split into two parts, the first which featured Dave Carder, a counselor who has dealt with hundreds of cases of extra-marital affairs, sexual abuse, and other related incidents. Shin spoke during the second portion, sharing updates on an incident that occurred in July in a mission team sent by the college ministry Korean American Campus Mission (KCM), an incident which Shin said triggered this seminar.

We wanted to provide this time to provide resources for Korean American pastors, especially since they don't go over this in most seminaries, said Shin, who shared a list of counselors, lawyers, and police officers who could help in similar situations.

For many involved in the KCM incident, which involved allegations that a pastor engaged in inappropriate conduct during the mission trip, this was their first such experience dealing with moral failure among ministry leaders. For Shin, who helped KCM's leaders throughout the handling of the incident, it was his seventh time.

One of the things Shin said he learned from Carder, and from his own experiences, is that it's best to go public about these incidents rather than hiding them, and to act quickly. When KCM's director, Pastor Richard Kim of Gospel Life Mission Church, was first informed of the allegations, the pastor who headed the mission team was immediately removed from the mission field and Kim was sent in his place. KCM also issued a public statement on its website. Once the pastor admitted to the allegations, he was immediately terminated from his position in KCM and his local church.

Shin also said he and KCM focused on ensuring the recovery of all of those affected by the incident  the students, parents, and the pastor. The students, who chose to remain in the mission field, had their own debriefing session with parents, KCM staff, counselors, police officers, and other pastors, and are currently being matched with long-term counselors. KCM is also undergoing a process of completely overhauling its staff, and will have more stringent policies in recruiting, Shin said.

Carder shared in detail the circumstances for reporting similar instances or instances of sexual abuse, and said that the state of California mandates reporting for cases with reasonable suspicions, which could include any situation in which any normal person might suspect abuse. Some examples of symptoms of abuse include frequently being late or absent from school, having knowledge of sexual facts or terms beyond the child's age appropriateness, fear of being alone with men or boys, and eating disorders, among others.

The government wants you to err on the side of reporting, Carder said, and emphasized that mandated reporters are protected by law to ensure their safety.

What if someone else approaches me and tells me that they have a 'hunch' that someone might be facing abuse? asked one attendee.

Invite them to tell you more, Carder responded, but you are only mandated to report if you are the one who is suspecting abuse.

Carder warned the pastors against trying to investigate a situation on their own.

After you have reported, you have satisfied your legal demands, said Carder. The more you find out by investigating on your own, the more liable you are if you choose not to disclose that information.

He also offered some guidelines to the pastors to avoid falling into such situations, such as never being alone with minors in a room or in a car, and avoiding touch, such as tickling or back rubs.

Be smart, don't put yourself at risk, Carder said.

Meanwhile, Shin and KCM leaders have started a 'Faith Hope Love Fund' to offer financial assistance to the students affected by the KCM incident this past summer who may want to seek counseling but cannot afford to do so. Those who are interested in contributing could write checks to KCM, with 'FHL' written on the memo line. Contributions can be mailed to Cerritos Mission Church at 12413 195th St, Cerritos, CA 90703.
Evangelist Alveda King: Candidates and Viewers Need Prayer Prep for Tonight's Debate

Contact: Leslie Palma, 347-286-7277

ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelist Alveda King releases the following and is available for comment:

Today, as the first round of the U. S. general election presidential debates approaches, two parties will be represented on stage tonight. Which party will champion all human life from the womb to the tomb?

As the candidates go through their preparation regiments for tonight's battle, we need to prepare to listen without having our feelings prevent us from hearing truth.

This cannot be a personality contest or an emotional who owes us an apology exercise. We can't afford to be distracted by division.

We, the Acts 17:26 "One Blood, One Human Race" family must unite in prayer so that God will heal our nation.

"We must learn to live together as brothers [and sisters] or perish as fools." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is now time to consider the platforms. Which candidate will promote justice, safety, and human dignity for all Americans, in the womb, after birth and throughout their lives?

Please join and support this urgent prayer appeal by praying with us the Election Prayer for Life.

Also, please agree with me in prayer at youtu.be/52KilPf3q3M and sign this Open Letter, YOU NEED TO VOTE.

Also, since the African American community is in the spotlight during this election cycle, you might find this Town Hall Meeting of interest.

Finally, as we prepare to view tonight's debate, pray for the candidates and continue to support us as we PRAY FOR AMERICA.
Dedication to Outstanding Care

Contact: Micah Metz, World Gospel Mission, 765-671-7249, micah.metz@wgm.org

BOMET, Kenya, Sept. 26, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Ben Roberts is an eye doctor at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. He is being honored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology with its Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award for "his contributions in charitable activities, care of the indigent, and community service performed above and beyond the typical duties of an ophthalmologist."

A service Dr. Roberts provides regularly is traveling to South Sudan with Tenwek's Eye Team to provide eye clinics for those in need. Following is a story that highlights his dedication to God's call and his willingness to serve. On the last day of a clinic, a special couple came for help; Dr. Roberts shared:

"They traveled four days, walking and sleeping in the bush to get to our clinic. The wife had bilateral cataracts, and the husband was blind in one eye. All of us were awestruck when we saw them with only a mosquito net, a bag of sorghum (a staple food grain), and a dry water canister. The husband did not come for himself but wanted sight for his wife. After informing the husband that we could help him as well, we proceeded to operate on both him and her.

"The next morning after removing the eye patches, the man was elated that he could see again. However, the wife, despite our removing cataracts with uncomplicated surgeries, still could not see. Further examination revealed that she had an irreversible blinding retinitis condition.

"This man and his wife were not believers. They came from a village where they had never heard of the truths of Jesus that we spoke about. Wilson, one of our eye team members, recognized the sacrificial love of this husband and used it as a beautiful example to share with him of the sacrificial love that Jesus has for each of us. This couple departed having heard the gospel but not personally receiving it. They stated that they would share these new truths that they heard with their village."

We thank God for Dr. Roberts' dedication to WGM, his medical field, and his family.

You can make a difference in the lives of people in South Sudan and Kenya by praying from your own home. We are all called to help impact the world for Christ. Will you answer God's call today and partner with us in the Great Commission? Visit www.wgm.org/gcc-25791 to donate to "Sight 4 South Sudan."
Immaculate Heart Radio Listeners Give for Good



LOOMIS, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 /



"It was quite a week," said Doug Sherman, President and Founder of Immaculate Heart Radio. "And one of our best ever pledge drives - not only did we exceed our goal, we've helped Cross Catholic Outreach provide much needed aid to malnourished and starving children in Sierra Leone, a country ravaged by 11 years of civil war and the West Africa Ebola crisis."



Cross Catholic Outreach, will ship non-perishable meals, specifically designed to reverse the effects of chronic malnutrition to Catholic dedicated priests, nuns and lay missionaries who serve devastated parts of West Africa providing food, medical care and water. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking #180 out of 187 countries in the world.



Immaculate Heart Radio Educational Broadcasting is a West Coast, USA-based radio network that airs Catholic-oriented shows, contemporary Christian and traditional sacred music. The original broadcast signal launched in 1997 from a warehouse in Reno and has grown to 34 outlets (17 AMs, two FMs and 14 translators); in addition to two Internet streaming music channels Contemporary Christian Music and Traditional Sacred/Liturgical Music.



Programs produced by Immaculate Heart Radio include: The Patrick Madrid Show from 6 - 9 a.m. news and calls discussed with a Catholic worldview; St. Joseph's Workshop with Father Matthew Spencer from 9 - 10 a.m. navigating the ins and outs of Christian living and finding grace in everyday life; Phil Sandoval Show from 10 - 11 a.m. solutions for life, marriage, family and faith; Heart to Heart with Mother Miriam from 12 - 1 p.m. encouragement and insight shared from a lifetime of seeking God and the truth; The Kristine Franklin Show from 1 - 2 p.m. sharing stories to inspire better living and deeper faith; The Bright Side from 2 - 3 p.m. with Cy Kellett covering social and political issues of the day; The Joe Sikorra Show from 5- 7 p.m. analysis of the news of the day with Biblical insight/advice on life. All programming is commercial-free.

Share Tweet Contact: Karen Moran, 916-221-2238LOOMIS, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- More than 2,500 listeners pledged donations of over $950,000 during Immaculate Heart Radio's quarterly fundraiser -- the listener supported radio outreach relies solely on financial support from listeners to maintain its operations. As an added result of the pledge drive and in partnership with Cross Catholic Outreach, 800 children in Sierra Leone will receive three meals a day for a year."It was quite a week," said Doug Sherman, President and Founder of Immaculate Heart Radio. "And one of our best ever pledge drives - not only did we exceed our goal, we've helped Cross Catholic Outreach provide much needed aid to malnourished and starving children in Sierra Leone, a country ravaged by 11 years of civil war and the West Africa Ebola crisis."Cross Catholic Outreach, will ship non-perishable meals, specifically designed to reverse the effects of chronic malnutrition to Catholic dedicated priests, nuns and lay missionaries who serve devastated parts of West Africa providing food, medical care and water. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking #180 out of 187 countries in the world.Immaculate Heart Radio Educational Broadcasting is a West Coast, USA-based radio network that airs Catholic-oriented shows, contemporary Christian and traditional sacred music. The original broadcast signal launched in 1997 from a warehouse in Reno and has grown to 34 outlets (17 AMs, two FMs and 14 translators); in addition to two Internet streaming music channels Contemporary Christian Music and Traditional Sacred/Liturgical Music.Programs produced by Immaculate Heart Radio include: The Patrick Madrid Show from 6 - 9 a.m. news and calls discussed with a Catholic worldview; St. Joseph's Workshop with Father Matthew Spencer from 9 - 10 a.m. navigating the ins and outs of Christian living and finding grace in everyday life; Phil Sandoval Show from 10 - 11 a.m. solutions for life, marriage, family and faith; Heart to Heart with Mother Miriam from 12 - 1 p.m. encouragement and insight shared from a lifetime of seeking God and the truth; The Kristine Franklin Show from 1 - 2 p.m. sharing stories to inspire better living and deeper faith; The Bright Side from 2 - 3 p.m. with Cy Kellett covering social and political issues of the day; The Joe Sikorra Show from 5- 7 p.m. analysis of the news of the day with Biblical insight/advice on life. All programming is commercial-free.
home Life Churches counter Satanic Temple in Salem with prayers and preaching

The Satanic Temple has established its headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, last week and churches in the area are planning to counter the move not with pitchforks and protests, but with prayers and preaching.

The temple is situated less than a mile from Gallows Hill, where people accused of witchcraft were executed in the 1690s. The building that houses the temple was previously an insurance brokerage. Lucien Greaves, the temple's spokesperson, says that the temple will host art installations, lectures and film screenings.

Robert Liani Jr., a resident who operates a bakery down the street, does not think that there will be much backlash against the temple.

"It wouldn't be my favorite thing to put there," Liani tells the Boston Globe. "It was a little surprising, but I guess we're waiting to see what kind of art they show there," he adds.

Greaves says that the the organization will not be proselytizing in the area because they do not want to cause any controversy.

Pastor Arthur Savage of Wesley United Methodist Church says that he is praying for guidance on how to respond to the temple. He adds that he has a ministry that deals with people involved in occultism.

"We are involved with some ministries that come into the area to preach Christ and minister to people, especially during the [upcoming] October Haunted Happening events," Savage tells the Christian Post.

"We're not really confrontational, but more of a light in the midst of the darkness and a place of safety, and place of prayer," he adds.

Savage says that his church in the heart of downtown is ideal for outreach programs. The church has hosted groups that come to minister to people during Halloween festivals.

"Their approach is more praying for people for healing, prayer for interpretation of dreams. They are very much interested in sharing Christ with people," he explains.

Greaves states that the Satanic Temple currently has about 40,000 members across the U.S. Some of its campaigns involve supporting freedom of speech and the separation of Church and state.
home World Europeans favor Christian asylum seekers over Muslims, study claims

A new study revealed that Europeans were more likely to favor Christian asylum seekers over Muslims. The results also showed that European citizens from 15 different countries were more accepting of refugees with high employability and those who experienced persecution in their homeland.

The study was conducted by Dominik Hangartner from the University of Zurich (UZH) with the help of his colleagues at Stanford University. The survey involved 18,000 respondents from 15 different European countries who were presented with 180,000 fictitious profiles of asylum seekers.

"Our results reveal that not all refugees are equal in the eyes of the European public," Hangartner stated in a UZH press release. "The respondents favored asylum seekers who were more likely to contribute to the economy," he added.

The respondents preferred refugees with higher vocational qualifications and those who possessed language skills applicable to the host country. Doctors and teachers had a higher probability of acceptance than asylum seekers who had no previous occupation.

Victims of persecution were also more favored than refugees who were looking for better economic opportunities. Those who suffered torture had a higher probability of acceptance compared to those who were not at risk. Profiles with major inconsistencies were less likely to be accepted.

Religious considerations also played a significant role. Christians had an 11 percent higher probability of being accepted compared to Muslims but Christians were only slightly favored over agnostics. Hangartner suggested that the results refleced an anti-Muslim bias rather than a explicit preference for Christians.

The report also revealed that the anti-Muslim bias was stronger on those who identify with the political right.

"The strong preference for high-skilled, Christian asylum seekers who can speak the language of the host country poses major challenges for policymakers whose goal is to accept and integrate refugees," Hangartner said in a UZH press release.

According to a Pew study last June, a majority of Europeans disapproved of the way the E.U. is handling the refugee crisis. The results showed that strongest disapproval came from Greece, Sweden and Italy.
home Life Richard Dawkins' 'New Atheists' launch initiative to fight Islamic extremism

The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science recently announced that three leaders of the "New Atheist" movement will be working with reform-minded Muslim leaders to tackle the jihadist movement.

The announcement was made by the foundation's president and CEO Robyn Blumner in a newsletter published on Sept. 21. She referred to the essay by Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay and Phil Torres on how atheists can work to counter religious extremism.

The three authors believe that "New Atheism" can be effective in the campaign against extremism by undermining the beliefs that motivate jihadists.

According to the authors, the movement began as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks by al Qaeda. They considered the event as a demonstration of the dangers of acting out certain religious beliefs.

"The movement offered a heretofore unwelcomed perspective: That every religion has negative consequences, and that even religious moderates contribute to the problem because, by affirming that faith is a legitimate reason to hold beliefs, they enable religious extremists," the authors wrote.

They claim that the "New Atheist" writings have already made its way to Muslim countries. They noted that the Arabic translation of "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins has been downloaded 10 million times.

The authors stated that the "New Atheists" are now working with moderate Muslims and ex-Muslims and many are now campaigning for reform in their communities. Ali Rizvi, who identifies as an "Atheist Muslim," and Maajid Nawaz, a former member of a radical Islamist group, are involved in a campaign to get rid of blasphemy laws.

The authors believe that "New Atheism" has been effective in starting honest conversations about religion and the movement is needed more today to offer an alternative to irreconcilable religious conflicts.

Dawkins, one of the leading "New Atheists" has acknowledged in the past that Christianity might be a defense against extremism.

"There are no Christians, as far as I know, blowing up buildings," Dawkins wrote in 2010. "I am not aware of any Christian suicide bombers. I am not aware of any major Christian denomination that believes the penalty for apostasy is death," he added.
home US Pastor Saeed Abedini denounces $400 million U.S. sent to Iran

Saeed Abedini, the Iranian American pastor who was imprisoned in Iran for three and a half years, was not pleased about the $400 million that the U.S. government paid in exchange for his release. The pastor lamented that he had been used as a "bargaining chip" and believed that he would not have been freed had he not been useful for negotiations.

"I am not free because I am a U.S. Citizen. I am free because I was useful for negotiations. And only for a brief moment in time. If I hadn't been useful I would still be there," Abedini wrote in an op-ed column for Fox.

Last month, the U.S. State Department admitted that it had sent $400 million to Iran on the day the pastor and three other American citizens were freed. However, the administration claimed the money did not serve as ransom but as payment to Iran for an arms contract in the '70s that failed to be completed.

The pastor complained that the U.S. government would not pay for his plane ticket to go back to the U.S. when he arrived in Germany. He added that he only got back home through the help of Rev. Franklin Graham.

"How could so many people go to such great lengths, including a airplane full of $400 million in cash, and yet a plane ticket home for me was, as I was told, 'not in the budget?'" he asked.

"It is clear to me that I was a bargaining chip in a much larger political game. And once that process was over, well, I nearly had to buy my own plane ticket home," the pastor added.

Abedini maintained that he is grateful to God and the U.S. government for his freedom but he stated that he was willing to die for his faith.

He is concerned that the money that was paid to Iran might be used to abuse and imprison people who oppose the dictatorship and theology imposed by Iranian government.

The pastor accused the Iranian government of financing terrorism and said that he will stand against the regime for the rest of his life.

Abedini wrote that he was scheduled to testify in Congress this week but it was canceled. In his Facebook page, he shared the written Congressional testimony that he submitted to U.S. Rep. Ed Royce.
home Faith Pastor threatens legal action against activist who protested at his church

Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of Great Faith Ministries said that a warrant will be issued against the activist who interrupted his worship service last Saturday, Sept. 17.

The protest, which turned into a brawl, was part of New Era Detroit's efforts to call out pastors who live a lavish lifestyle. Jackson said that the protesters violated a sacred place when they disrupted the service.

"How dare you come into a place where there are children, where there's elderly and widows and grandmothers, and do such a thing? It's wrong and you can't justify it," the pastor told Fox 2.

New Era Detroit's leader, who only goes by the name Zeek, accused the pastor of living lavishly without helping the communities surrounding the church. Jackson pointed out that he has been helping the community for 30 years.

"I have bought washers and dryers for elderly people," he said. "We have taken and had dinners at my home for school children for dinners at my home for school children. I have people living in my home right now that were homeless and they're not paying me a dime," he added.

Jackson stated that he regularly gives away food to the poor. He added that he has provided jobs for former inmates and even gave away homes.

In an earlier interview, Zeek claimed that churchgoers were told that ATMs are available if they do not have cash for the offerings. The pastor said this was a lie and stated that there are no ATMs in his church.

Zeek also claimed that the church was asking $1,000 for the offering. Jackson said that pastors in the city whom he referred to as his "spiritual sons" were merely giving him "a thousand dollar love gift" to honor his birthday.

Jackson added that he wants Zeek prosecuted and wants a restraining order against New Era Detroit.

Earlier this month, Jackson hosted and interviewed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during his visit to Detroit. The event generated some controversy because Jackson admitted that he forwarded the questions to Trump in advance so that he could prepare for the interview.
Child saint suddenly opens her eyes  after she died 300 years ago, shocking tourists in Mexico

Tourists visiting a cathedral in Mexico had one of the biggest shocks of their lives recently when, for one brief moment, the closed eyes of a child saint whose preserved remains had been in the cathedral for some 300 yearssuddenly opened, the Mirror reports.

The bizarre occurrence was filmed by one of the tourists, who then posted a video footage and photos of it on YouTube, where it has reportedly been viewed nearly a million times.

It happened at the Cathedral of Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, which houses the preserved statue-like remains, encased in glass, of Santa Inocencia (Saint Innocence), a Catholic girl regarded as a saint in Mexico. Despite the passage of time, her wax-treated face with her eyes closed has not decayedanother apparent mystery that remains unanswered.

The video posted on YouTube shows the young saint's body as the camera pans up and down. The camera then focuses on the face, which then appears to open its eyelids, stunning the unidentified visitor filming the object.

Many dubious viewers said the video footage and photos were a hoax. However, some believe what they saw was a miracle and a sign from God.

Who was Santa Inocencia? Not much historical information can be gathered about the girl who is revered as a saint in Mexico. But according to a popular lore, the Mexican girl befriended a nun in school and became a Catholic, disobeying her father who did not want her to embrace the religion.

The schoolgirl also took her First Communion together with her classmates, an act that was strongly forbidden by her father.

On returning home after her Holy Communion ceremony, the girl happily announced to her father that she had taken Communion and joined the Catholic faith.

Enraged, the father allegedly stabbed her in the chest, killing her.

The girl's body was later taken to the Cathedral where it was laid to rest. Her remains were put on display for hundreds of years as a sign of her undying love for Christ.
Christian Author Philip Yancey: Trump 'Stands Against Everything Christianity Believes'

Evangelical author and speaker Philip Yancey has slammed pastors who support Donald Trump, saying he is "staggered" that Christians see him as a hero.

Yancey described the Republican presidential candidate as a "bully who made his money by casinos" and "a person who stands against everything that Christianity believes". He pointed out Trump had "several wives and several affairs" and said he was baffled by evangelical support for the New York billionaire.

An excerpt from an interview with Evangelical Focus was released last week and Yancey warned the church in America against getting too involved in politics. He said lessons could be learnt from the European church's relationship with power.

"There are countries in Europe where the church is set back for decades and decades, because they have been stained by how they sold their soul for power," he said.

Yancey has written dozens of books including What's So Amazing About Grace, The Jesus I Never Knew and Christians and Politics: Uneasy Partners. But unlike a number of US pastors who lament the decline of Christianity in the West, Yancey said as the US becomes more secular, Christians become "more like the fertile soil in which the early church did best".

He said in the interview: "When you are in a place like the United States or Europe in its recent past, where the majority will claim to be Christians, but then they look like everyone else, then the people do not understand what the gospel is.

"But when Christians look radically different from the world around them, then the people can see the difference."

A number of prominent evangelical leaders have publicly endorsed Trump, including Jerry Falwell, president of Liberty University, Wayne Grudem, the Southern Baptist theologian, and James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family.

Fewer evangelicals have backed Clinton, reflecting her difficulty with a voting bloc that could prove decisive. Author Max Lucado wrote a critical post of Trump but didn't say he would vote for Clinton. Deborah Files, executive advisor to the World Evangelical Alliance, is a lone voice to say she will vote Clinton.

"Hillary Clinton is the leader who people of faith are looking for and we are praying that Sister Hillary and not Mr. Trump will be elected in November," Files said in June.
Christian News Anchor Condemned For Wearing Crucifix On Air

Atheists and secularists have attacked a popular Christian news anchor for wearing a crucixix while on air.

Marina Nalesso, 44, a presenter on TG1 in Italy, told a magazine reporter that she is religious and also wanted to witness to Christ while on air.

Besides a crucifix, she has also often appeared on television wearing holy medals with the image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary.

Nalesso is originally from Venice but is currently based in Rome.

Radical politican Silvio Viale said she should not wear a crucifix on air because TG1 is a public and secular television station, "not TG Vatican".

TG1, or TeleGiornale 1, is the main news channel of Italy's state-owned Rai 1 broadcaster.

Viale complained of Nalesso's "arrogance" at wearing the religious symbol and tweeted that she "is not paid" to witness to her Christian faith on air.

#Crocifisso e #Velo. #MarinaNalesso non e pagata per dare "testimonianza della sua fede", per il cui principio di... https://t.co/MBMsPlEfOX  Silvio Viale (@Silvio_Viale) September 24, 2016

However, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Fratelli d'Italia party, defended the news anchor.

She wrote on Facebook that she wished to show "solidarity" with Nalesso.

"This is absurd," she wrote. "Christianity is part of our culture and of the history of Italians and Europeans."

Anyone who is annoyed by a crucifix should go and live somewhere else, she added.

"Most of the values that underpin our civilisation are contained in that crucifix: a symbol that represents a wealth to all of us, that we are proud of and that we want to continue to defend."
Christians Step Up Campaign To Save Asia Bibi From Blasphemy Death Sentence

Christian organisations are stepping up the pressure on Pakistan to acquit Asia Bibi and repeal the country's draconian blasphemy laws.

As her appeal approaches in October, Release International is calling for Bibi to be acquitted.

A farm labourer who was sentenced to death for blaspemy after a dispute with colleagues over bringing them "unclean" water, she has been on death row since 2009. Her family has been forced into hiding.

The appeal will be heard by Lahore's Supreme Court in Pakistan.

Release is calling for people to sign its petition to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to abolish the "iniquitous" blasphemy laws.

More than 150,000 Christians have also signed a separate Call For Mercy petition pleading for her life.

Release International, which serves persecuted Christians around the world, called on the Prime Minister of Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws, which "are often invoked to take revenge, incite violent attacks and eliminate rivals," the charity said.

Chief executive Paul Robinson said: "We call on the government of Pakistan to abolish the blasphemy laws and seek to create a society where every Pakistani citizen is free to exercise their faith and live in peace with their neighbours."

Many others besides Bibi have been targeted by the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

Families have been murdered, Christians driven from their homes and even shot by vigilantes if the courts dismiss the charges.

One cleric has offered 500,000 rupees  about 4,000  for anyone who manges to murder Bibi, said Release.

Anglican leaders worldwide have also stepped up the pressure to save Bibi's life, Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) reports.

Members of the recent Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Lusaka passed a resolution calling for her to be acquitted. Shunila Ruth, council member for Pakistan, who discussed the issue with the Archbishop of Canterbury when she visited London, told ACNS that Pakistan's blaspemy laws are "inhuman".
Corbyn: Labour Can Learn Lessons From Faith Groups' Unity

Jeremy Corbyn told a church service of Labour delegates on Sunday the party can learn lessons from faith groups as they look to unite.

Hours after winning a landslide victory to be re-elected leader with an increased majority of 62 per cent, Corbyn addressed a congregation at St James in the City, Liverpool, on Sunday morning. With unity on the minds of Labour members and MPs, he emphasised the importance of community and faith, noting that the Labour Party's origins owe much to people of faith putting their values into practice.

Remarking on how well faith groups work with each other in his own constituency, Mr Corbyn argued that "bringing faith communities together is important and we need to draw political lessons from this." He said it was imperative the Labour party united to fight for social justice.

Mr Corbyn also also thanked faith groups, and particularly church groups in this instance, for speaking out about the refugee crisis. The service focused on this theme, with Christians on the Left believing it is important that a more passionate and clearly argued case is made for better provision for refugees.

Worshippers heard from Open Doors and Release International about the persecution people are facing and what people can do to help them. Preacher Malcolm Duncan, chair of Spring Harvest, spoke of how everyone is affected when people are persecuted and he highlighted the "waste of human talent" represented by refugees unable to live fulfilled lives.

Jeremy Corbyn echoed this theme in his speech, talking about how lack of opportunities wasted talent to the detriment of all, arguing "Social justice should not be seen as a threat to anybody but as an opportunity for everybody."

Worshippers were encouraged to support Christians on the Left's #patriotspaytax campaign.

The Labour Party traditionally begins the conference week with a church service, bringing together MPs, delegates, and local church members. The service is organised by Christians on the Left, the organisation for Christians in the Labour Party.

The venue for the service, a tent in a Grade 2 listed church building undergoing restoration, seemed apt for the political times in which we live. The need for inner renewal has to come first. Politics today certainly needs restoration with a rediscovery of fundamental values together with applications relevant to people today. Focusing on some of the most oppressed in our world, while finding hope in working together to help them, is a good way to begin a Labour Party conference.

Stephen Beer is the Political Communications Officer for Christians on the Left.
Faith under fire: Christians in U.S. military 'openly under attack,' says retired Navy chaplain

Has the U.S. military become hostile to Christianity?

The answer is "yes," as far as retired Navy chaplain Wes Modder is concerned. Modder came under attack from his superiors in the Navy last year for expressing his support for biblical marriage, according to CBN News.

"If you're a Christian and you come into the military today, it's going to be difficult for you," Modder said in a recent interview with OneNewsNow.

Modder said his case shows that Christianity is "openly under attack" in the U.S. military, adding that the problem is getting even worse.

Modder said it's a "new reality" that Christians working in the United States Armed Forces will be attacked for their beliefs.

He said the White House set the tone last year when it "championed" homosexual marriage and lit the White House in the so-called rainbow colours.

"Our leaders have done abominable things in the sight of God," Modder said.

Before he was forced to quit the Navy, Modder worked at the Navy Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston, South Carolina.

Modder found himself in trouble when a lieutenant asked him about his personal views on gay marriage during a private conversation, which became a public case for the Navy chaplain.

The lieutenant turned out to be a gay activist who was backed up by the chaplain Modder was working with at the Navy facility in Charleston.

Modder said his fellow chaplain, "a very liberal United Methodist command chaplain," decided to escalate the issue and brought charges against him, calling him "intolerant and not able to function in a diverse pluralistic environment."

His Navy superiors later accused him of harassing sailors with his conservative views on homosexuality and marriage and recommended his dismissal from the service.

However, a "high-level review" rejected the recommendation to fire Modder, allowing him to retire in good standing with 20 years of service, the Military Times reported.

Modder received his honourable discharge, and a medal of accommodation from the Navy, on Sept. 6. He has accepted a lead pastor position at a church in Chicago.
How Can We Stop People Losing Their Faith?

People leave Church, for all sorts of reasons  and that's Church, not just their local church.

We know people move from one congregation to another, and that's basically OK. Sometimes they just get busy with other things. Sometimes they fall out with the pastor or another member of the congregation. Sometimes they get tired  so many rotas, so little time.

These are the things we'll admit to without too much argument, partly because they're things we can fix, at least in principle. But what about the people who just stop believing?

According to a recent Pew Research study, nearly half of those who rejected the faith of their childhood was because they just didn't believe it any longer. One respondent said: "I'm a scientist now, and I don't believe in miracles." Others cited "common sense," "logic" or a "lack of evidence" or said simply that they did not believe in God.

And that's much harder to deal with. Rather than just rejecting us  a congregation of fallible human beings, most of whom have felt like walking out at some point  they rejected the God in whose name we do Church in the first place.

Sometimes that's going to happen, whatever we do or say. But we have to ask ourselves the hard question: are people leaving Church because of ordinary human sinfulness, or is it because we've offered them a God who is just not convincing enough? Here are five challenges to today's Church about how we talk about God.

1. Is our God scientifically credible?

That's not the same as saying, "Can we prove he exists?" We can't, though there are hints and indications of a Creator in the nature of the world. But to be credible means that the God we preach shouldn't contradict the findings of scientists about things like the age of the earth or the development of life. If people live in a Christian environment in which everyone around them thinks the same about these issues, it's easier. But sooner or later, they are going to go out into a world where it's taken for granted that the world is billions of years old, not just a few thousand years. If belief in God is tied to a particular interpretation of Genesis, that belief is going to be shaken.

2. Is he true to life?

We should be very, very careful about making claims for our faith that aren't backed up by the promises of Scripture. If churches claim that God will heal every sick person if they have enough faith, sooner or later reality will hit home. If a church is wrong about that, maybe it's wrong about everything. Or a church might teach God wants believers to be rich. So why, the churchgoers thinks, am I still poor? Or perhaps a church majors on charismatic experiences and gifts of the Spirit. Some people just don't seem to be wired that way. It doesn't make them less Christian, it's just that they respond to God differently. But if they're told all true Christians have a certain experience, faith suffers and can die.

3. Does he fill us with wonder?

There's a strand of Christianity that majors on propositional truth  and it runs across all Church traditions from evangelical Protestant through Roman Catholic to Orthodox. What you believe is vitally important. So faith becomes a learning exercise, in which we accumulate more and more knowledge about faith.

Doctrine is important, but doctrine by itself is sterile. In the earliest days of Christianty, faith was simply faith in a person, Jesus Christ, and a commitment to follow the Way of the Cross. Now, because  at least in the West  the Church is such a text-bound culture, we can get so tangled up in doctrinal disputes and church politics that we hardly remember Jesus at all. But at the heart of our faith is a deep wonder and gratitude that we are loved by God. If we can't transmit that, we won't keep believers faithful.

4. Does he make our lives richer?

Isaac Watts, perhaps the first great English hymn-writer, once wrote: "Religion never was designed/ To make our pleasures less." Irenaeus, the Church Father, wrote that "the glory of God is a human being fully alive". When church becomes a place that narrows our horizons rather than broadening them, that stops us living the full, rich lives God intended, we're likely to make it harder for people to stay, and harder for them to believe. Church should be a place that encourages joy in music, in art, in sport, in nature. As another hymn writer said, "All good gifts around us/ Are sent from heaven above..."

5. Does he judge us?

Everything we've said so far could be just a vaguely Christianised version of a self-help philosophy. But one of the things that makes Christianity different is that it says God judges us. He doesn't just want us to feel good, he wants us to be good and to do good. When we fall short of his standards, we are to feel shame. We are to repent, and do better next time.

If we're talking about why people drift from Church, this can be a double-edged sword. We don't like to feel judged. Perhaps it's easier just to walk away. But the challenge to recognise sin and seek forgiveness is integral to the gospel.

If a church preaches judgment without grace and forgiveness, it has nothing to offer; it's spiritually dead.

But if a church preaches forgiveness without repentance, it has nothing to offer either. It's spiritually slack, undemanding and so uninteresting. It's in the tension between what we are and what we ought to be that a relationship with God is formed.

We can't stop people walking away from Church if they want. But maybe we can make our churches places they're less likely to want to walk away from.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
Hungary Wants A 'Giant Refugee City' In Libya To Keep Migrants Out

A "giant refugee city" should be built on the Libyan coast to process asylum claims before they reach Europe, the anti-immigration Prime Minister of Hungary has suggested.

Victor Orban repeated the idea after a summit of European Union leaders in Vienna, saying the EU's external borders must be under "total control". While he spoke a bomb blast rocked the Hungarian capital Budapest, injuring two police officers a week before a controversial referendum on the EU's plans for mandatory relocation of refugees and migrants.

Libya is a key gateway for those fleeing poverty and war in Africa and seeking to travel to Europe. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates there are more than 264,000 refugees and migrants currently in the north African country.

Orban's right-wing government has closed its borders to migrants and refugees fleeing war in Syria and has proposed a Christian-only policy towards accepting refugees. He has refused to accept Hungary's quota of refugees and migrants under the EU's forced relocation scheme and Hungarians are expected to back the government in a referendum on October 2.

The Hungarian government has refused to accept Muslim refugees because they said they want to "preserve the Christian values" of their nation.

Earlier in September the government established an office on the persecution of Christians, the first of its kind in Europe. The office's three million euro budget will mainly focus on humanitarian work in the Middle East but also on "forms of discrimination and persecution of Christians all over the world".

Zoltan Balog, the Hungarian minister for human capacities, said: "It is therefore to be expected that we will keep a vigilant eye on the more subtle forms of persecutions within European borders."

He said the Hungarian government considers the office of "utmost importance" to protect Christians' "untenable situation" and raise awareness of their plight.

"Today, Christianity has become the most persecuted religion, where out of five people killed out of religious reasons, four of them are Christians," Balog told Catholic News Agency (CNA).

"In 81 countries around the world Christians are persecuted and 200 million Christians live in areas where they are discriminated against. Millions of Christian lives are threatened by followers of radical religious ideologies."
Justin Welby: Antisemitism 'Entrenched' In UK Culture And Church Is Partly To Blame

Justin Welby has said that antisemitism is "entrenched in our thought and culture" and that historically the Church has "compounded the spread of this virus" in an essay for the Holocaust Educational Trust [HET].

The Archbishop of Canterbury is among a number of high profile contributors to a new HET booklet called 'Lessons Learned? Reflections on Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust' including the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Cabinet minister Sajid Javid.

In his article, Welby called antisemitism an "insidious evil", adding that the "habits of antisemitism have been burrowing into European and British culture for as long as we can remember."

He went on: "It is a shameful truth that, through its theological teachings, the Church, which should have offered an antidote, compounded the spread of this virus. The fact that antisemitism has infected the body of the Church is something of which we as Christians must be deeply repentant. We live with the consequences of our history of denial and complicity."

The Archbishop highlighted contemporary anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. "Even today, in the 21st century, it is shocking that antisemitism still has traction; the virus continues to seek a host," he said. "It latches onto a variety of different issues: financial inequality, wars and depressions, education, politics and government, grave international issues, such as the rights of Israelis and Palestinians, and interfaith tensions. It twists them to its own ends, with the perverted and absurd argument that a small group runs or plots against our society and manipulates international affairs."

Welby, who is a patron of the Council of Christians and Jews, described antisemitism as being "deeply entrenched in our thought and culture". He wrote: "Antisemitism is at the heart of racism. Yet, because it is so deeply entrenched in our thought and culture, it is often ignored and dismissed. This tendency must be vigorously resisted; antisemitism needs to be confronted in every part of our communal life and cultural imagination."

He said that antisemitism "is not a problem for one political party, one community or one sector of our society" but instead it "permeates and pervades all that it touches when it is swept under the carpet, denied and not confronted head-on."

The booklet is published amid an ongoing row over antisemitism in the Labour party. Yesterday Jeremy Newmark, the chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, said that the party had a "crisis" of antisemitism. Meanwhile Jackie Walker, the vice-chair of the left-wing group Momentum, said that claims of antisemitism have been "exaggerated for political purposes" and "weaponised" to harm the party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Welby said that the challenge was to "eliminate antisemitism" and thus "take a huge step in undermining the whole tradition of racism in our society".

The Archbishop added: "All humans are made in the image of God. Antisemitism undermines and distorts this truth: it is the negation of God's plan for his creation and is therefore a denial of God himself. There is no justification for the debasing and scapegoating of other people. Antisemitism is the antithesis of all that our scriptures call us to be and do, to work together for the common good and to seek the flourishing of all."
Kidnapped Priest Found Dead In Mexico; Third Killing In A Week

A Mexican priest was found murdered in the central state of Michoacan, the state attorney general said on Sunday, the third to be killed in the country in less than a week.

The priest, identified as Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen, was found on a highway between Puruandiro and Zinaparo.

He had been reported missing last Monday, abducted from his church in rural Janamuato. The kidnapping came after two priests, Fathers Alejo Nabor Jimenez Juarez and Jose Alfredo Suarez de la Cruz, were kidnapped and killed in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. They were also found dead on a roadside.

Cardinal Alberto Suarez Inda, head of the Morelia archdiocese, said in an online video statement then: "After sharing the enormous pain of the death of two young priests in the diocese of Papantla, Veracruz, we are now suffering our own anguish with the disappearance of one of our priests."

He said that Father Guillen was "a good man, a man who does good, a peaceful man, and so this barbarity is in no way justified".

Autopsy results, which revealed gunshot wounds to be the cause of death, suggested Guillen was killed five days before his body was found..

The murder comes after a decade of drug violence in Mexico that has frequently touched the Roman Catholic Church, with 31 priests killed between 2005 and 2015, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

On Sunday, the state attorney general's office said no ransom calls had been made after Lopez was reported missing earlier in the week. His body was identified by relatives.

Mexico is a strongly Catholic country, with 83 per cent of its citizens identifying as Catholics. However, the Church's vocal opposition to illegal drug trade has made its priests frequent targets for attack.

Mexico's Catholic Multimedia Centre has reported that 520 priests were victims of extortion last year.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
Muslim And Christian Children In Aleppo Will Pray Together For End To Brutal Conflict

Children in Syria are to meet next month to join in mass prayer to end the "spiral of death" that is killing hundreds of people in rebel-held districts of Aleppo.

Gates are being left open and barriers raised to allow anyone living in the rebel-held areas to flee as the bombing was again stepped up over the weekend, resulting in more terrible bloodshed.

Christian and Muslim boys and girls in Aleppo will join together to pray for an end to the deathly bombing raids, Archbishop Boutros Marayati, head of Armenian Catholic church in Aleppo, told Agenzia Fides.

The school children will sign and fingerprint an appeal begging world rulers to put an end to the massacres.

"But above all, they will pray. They will pray for all of their peers. And we trust in the fact that children's prayer is more powerful than ours," said Archbishop Marayati.

More than 90 people died on Friday and more than 100 on Saturday as all hopes of the continuation of the cease fire disappeared and Syria and Russia stepped up their efforts to recapture Aleppo.

Many of those killed and injured were children and distressing photographs emerged of dead children buried in rubble.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations said yesterday his government will not stop until it has retaken the entire city.

Archbishop Marayati said: "On Wednesday, the representatives of the government and the Syrian army convened a meeting to explain that soon an appeal would be spread to the civilian population settled in the neighborhoods under rebel control."

He said it was not a mass evacuation.

"Perhaps many cannot leave. And the appeal also contained an expiration date, and the ultimatum expires in coming days. New blood will be shed if the powers behind the two warring parties do not decide to really put an end to this dirty war."
Shocking Rise In Child Rape In Sierra Leone

Child sex abuse has risen by nearly 70 per cent in parts of Sierra Leone, the West African country still recovering from the catastrophic Ebola outbreak.

Thousands of children have been groomed and raped, according to the Christian charity World Vision, which is calling on the UK government to fund efforts to combat the problem.

World Vision cites police records from Bo District, which was one of the regions worst hit by Ebola, which show that child sex abuse rates in have increased by 69 per cent since 2013.

The charity says says the UK government has a responsibility to help tackle cases of child abuse in order to prevent a crisis that threatens to stunt the country's recovery.

Rob Henderson of World Vision said: "Sierra Leone is understandably quite fragile at the moment having taken massive social and economic knocks following an Ebola outbreak that killed more than 4,000 people and left close to 9,000 children orphaned. Sadly, since the Ebola outbreak thousands of vulnerable young girls in Sierra Leone have been reportedly groomed and raped.

"The UK's humanitarian response has benefitted many children and their families, but funding specifically targeted for child protection does not exist.

"Our recent mission to Freetown city, the town of Bo and other places, served to inform us that the Department for International Development needs to focus on helping the people of Sierra Leone tackle child sexual abuse."

Girls who leave their village homes to study in towns and cities are particularly vulnerable.

In most cases, parents entrust their daughters to friends and relatives in the hope they will receive a good education or better life opportunities.

One 16-year-old girl, Sarah, was groomed and raped by a family friend. She said: "My family had very little money and things were tough. My father was very grateful when 'uncle', a family friend, offered to cover my school fees and let me live with him and his family. One evening, 'uncle' barged into my room and raped me."

When Sarah fell pregnant her attacker offered to marry her, but this was not what she wanted for her or her child.

Sarah found safety in a women and girls shelter run by World Vision partners, the charity Commit and Act. She hopes to go back to school and study to become a social worker so that she can help other vulnerable children.

Mike Kane, the MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, who travelled to Sierra Leone with the World Vision team, said he was shocked by the state of healthcare in the country.

"Sierra Leone has just 250 medical doctors in a population of six million. That's one doctor for every 24,000 people. To compound the crisis, less than one per cent of the national budget is given to social welfare and children," Kane said.

"DFID [The Department for International Development] currently supports security and justice programmes but the culture of impunity in Sierra Leone still fails girls and women. Survivors cannot afford to bring cases to court. They can't afford to pay for medical tests, and many cannot afford to travel to the courts  in the larger cities  to testify. This is why I support the World Vision call for our government to help tackle the scourge of child abuse in Sierra Leone."
Shopping Catalogues Are Tools Of Satan, Says Pastor Rick Warren

Shopping catalogues and glossy magazines are "tools of Satan" because they create envy, according to Pastor Rick Warren.

Warren, of California's Saddleback Church, says: "Envy is no longer one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy is a marketing tool."

The entire consumer marketing industry is built on jealousy, he says. "Everything we do is to create envy. Satan has these tools called catalogues, that create envy."

Cain killed his brother Abel because of jealousy he adds, noting that envy is a waste of time and energy. "Envying someone else's life is a minute you are wasting of your own life. You are wasting the life God gave you while you try to live someone else's life."

Society is rife with envy, Warren says. "The Bible tells us envy is a root of every other sin. It can destroy everything and everyone around you."

Warren was speaking in a teaching podcast, Evicting Envy From Your Heart, which is part of his Life You Were Meant To Live series.

He says: "Do you know why Jesus was crucified on the Cross? It tells us twice in the Scripture. It was for envy that the priest took him to Pilate to be arrested. Envy put Jesus on the Cross. The religious leaders were envious of his popularity."

Warren adds that the big mistake is for a person to compare themselves to others.

"If you want to be like everyone else you will miss the life you were meant to live."

Envy can even become a form of worship, he continues. "Any time you want to live for something, you are worshipping it. And any time that is not God, it becomes an idol."

Writing on his blog, Warren quotes Ecclesiastes: "It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else."

He advocates an attitude of gratitude, and says that happiness is a choice. "If you're not happy now, you're not going to be happy with more. I could give many testimonies of people who have a lot more than you, and it doesn't make them happier. You are as happy as you choose to be."

But Warren also clarifies that this doesn't mean Christians shouldn't desire things.

"Envy is not desire. Desire is good. Envy is not ambition. Ambition is good. You ought to be ambitious and work for good things in your life. Envy is not a dream. You ought to have a dream in your life. Envy is not setting goals. Dreams, ambitions, goals, and desires are all things that God puts in you.

"Envy is resenting other people who have something already and thinking that you can't be happy until you get it, too. Both of those are lies. Instead, learn to be grateful for who you are and what you have. Everything you have is a gift from God!"
Sony's Android 7.0 Nougat roadmap revealed; Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZ to receive update next month?

Sony has accidentally revealed their own Android 7.0 Nougat update roadmap after a couple of phone manufacturers announced theirs. The company's Xperia lineup, including the X Performance and XZ models, will start receiving theirs by next month.

Sony Slovakia recently held a press conference and showed its participants a slide that contains the "Android N Update Strategy." It shows that the first update will happen in October and the next batch of updates will be performed in November.The Xperia X and X Compact are two of the phones that are revealed to have the update. Before the year ends,the models Xperia Z5 series, Z3+ and the Z4 tablet will also get the update. The Xperia XA and Ultra will have theirs by early 2017, according to Xperia Blog.

The said roadmap is still unofficial since it was only presented by a country specific representative and not by a global one, but fans could have a rough estimate on when their handsets will have the latest Android version. The revelation came after a couple of Android phone manufacturers officially announced their respective Android 7.0 Nougat update plans. HTC will have its HTC 10, HTC One A9, and HTC One M9 upgraded, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will have Nougat in two to three months, according to GSM Arena.

All the handsets showed in the slide are the same models that were officially mentioned by Sony last month. The company also stated: "We've been working hard to bring this major update to as many of our devices as possible, as quickly as we can. We're really excited about the new Sony features & functionality and the improvements we've made to the user experience  and we'll be sharing more soon."

Android 7.0 Nougat is the latest mobile operating system released by Google, and it is now shipping to several Nexus devices, including the Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C, and General Mobile 4G (Android One). It features a richer drop-down menu, Vulkan gaming power, multi-tasking capability, revised notifications, and the new Doze function.
Trump's Recognition Of Jerusalem As Israel's Capital Dashes Hopes For Peace

For Christians, it is the heart of the Holy Land: the city over which Jesus wept and where he was crucified, buried and resurrected.

But despite Jerusalem being central to the faith, Christians there are relatively passive, standing back while others fight over the most hotly disputed piece of land on the planet.

The eternally tragic nature of this division is perhaps best captured in the Talmud, the text on Jewish law written in the second century BC: "Ten measures of beauty gave God to the world: nine to Jerusalem and one to the remainder. Ten measures of sorrow gave God to the world: nine to Jerusalem and one to the remainder."

For beautiful though it is, anyone visiting the Old City of Jerusalem is immediately struck by its complicated and divided nature, with its Jewish, Muslim, Armenian and Christian quarters, its churches, mosques and synagogues competing for space, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Dome of the Rock and Western Wall all ranged within a stone's throw of one another.

For as well as being central to the world's three monotheistic religions, Jerusalem is also deeply political, and at the heart of what is probably the world's most intractable conflict.

Next year sees the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War and the occupation by Israel of the Palestinian Territories including East Jerusalem. Now we know that under a Donald Trump presidency a two-state solution is not on the cards any time soon.

Trump delighted Israel's right-wing prime minister Benjamin Netenyahu yesterday by telling him during a lengthy meeting that if he wins on 8 November, the US would "recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel."

The US, the UN and almost every country in the world currently refuse to accept that Jerusalem is Israel's capital, with most major embassies functioning in Tel Aviv. International consensus is that East Jerusalem  having been occupied militarily in the Six Day War and then unilaterally "annexed"  is occupied territory, just like the West Bank.

A statement from the Trump campaign team said that the candidate agreed with Netenyahu that peace could only be achieved when "the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State".

If there were any doubts over Trump's commitment to Israel, this one-sided emphasis will have laid them to rest.

Trump's rival Hillary Clinton also met with Netenyahu yesterday, issuing a more balanced statement saying that she backed a two-state solution "that guarantees Israel's future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognised borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity".

But it was Trump's comments about Jerusalem that are making headlines around the world, not least in Israel.

It would be wrong to make the  arguably racist  assumption that this will swing the Jewish vote in the US, which polls suggest is by a solid majority Democrat, though it may help Trump among voters with dual Israeli and US citizenship, especially in the settlements, which could be as many as 400,000. Trump's campaign is being helped there by the Israeli right, and the pro-Netanyahu newspaper Israel Hayom is giving Trump consistently supportive coverage.

But the real long-term issue is that a fully Israeli Jerusalem is a major stumbling block for the Palestinians when it comes to a two-state solution, which, of course, is why successive presidents once in office have rejected the concept.

That does not  and should not  mean that Jews would not have access under any agreement to their own holy site, the Western Wall of the Second Temple. All sorts of solutions have been suggested for that under a shared Jerusalem.

It is not unprecedented for presidential candidates to make similar promises, only to go back on them once in office. But in Trump's case, it is easy to imagine him sticking to his pledge. Netenyahu  who critics argue does not want a peaceful solution to the conflict and instead seeks merely the retention of the status quo  is likely to see to that.

Which would mean that peace in Israel and Palestine would be all but impossible for the foreseeable future. And that is bad news for Palestine, Israel itself and the rest of the world.
Why Are So Many Mexican Priests Being Killed?

One of the world's most Catholic countries is also the most dangerous to be a Catholic priest.

Mexico's population is 81 per cent Catholic, according to the CIA Factbook and Pew Research Centre. Only Brazil boasts a higher number of Catholics.

But this weekend a third priest in a week was found dead. Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen's body was discovered near the town of Puruandiro in Michoacan state. He is the 15th priest to have been killed since 2012 when President Enrique Pena Nieto's six-year term began, a 100 per cent increase compared to the former President Felipe Calderon.

But the figures point to an even more concerning trend of gradually increasing violence against clergy.

Since 1990, 52 priests have been killed, according to a report by Mexico's Catholic Multimedia Centre (Centro Catolico Multimedial  CCM) which monitors violence against clergy. But of those murders, 40 have occurred in the last decade alone.

Murdered Catholic priests in Mexico may be symbolic of wider violence across the country as the war on drugs continues. A spike in priest killings in 2006 coincided with a wholesale increase in casualties as the Mexican military began its attempt to crush drug-related violence. "Priests are not the only martyrs in Mexico," said one missionary working in Mexico.

Jorge Eugenio Hernandez Trasloheros, a professor in Latin American studies at the University of Mexico, told Christian Today it was "not strange that priests suffer the same fate of the people". He said sometimes priests were targeted because of money within the parish alms system but more often priests were "very tight to the people" and the killings stoked fear.

"Mexican priests are leaders in their communities. They are no saints but they usually do their job very well. It is not strange that they are a target of the gangs. The criminals want people isolated and full of fear," he said.

But Omar Sotelo, a priest and director of CCM, said clergy attract particular violence because they preach against injuctice and violence. "They're defending migrants, they're against drug trafficking," he said when his report was launched in February 2016. "And the priests often know who the criminals are, having seen them grow up in the towns. Eventually, some criminals can see that as a threat."

He went on to say that older drug lords identified as Catholic but the younger generation of crime groups are "so dehumanised they target just about anything".

But the idea Catholic clergy are merely victims of a holy war against drugs is not universally accepted. During Pope Francis' visit to Central American in February, he gave what many saw as a roasting to the Catholic hierarchy.

Before Mexico's top bishops he called on priests to fight against an "insidious threat" and told bishops they had lost their way amid "gossip" and "slander". He urged them to "begin anew" as he said the religious authorities had engaged in "conceited schemes of careerism" and "empty plans for superiority".

He said: "Be vigilant so that your vision will not be darkened by the gloomy mist of worldliness; do not allow yourselves to be corrupted by trivial materialism or by the seductive illusion of underhanded agreements; do not place your faith in the 'chariots and horses' of today's pharaohs."

Roberto Blancharte, a scholar at the Colegio de Mexico, said he had never seen such a "scolding so severe, so drastic, so brutal to any bishops' group", according to the New York Times.

Blancharte, an expert in the Mexican church, said there was a deep divide between the Church's hierarchy who tend to live in luxury and mix with corrupt politicians, and its clergy, who rub shoulders with the country's poorest.

David Shirk, director of the Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego, agreed. "I don't think anyone has dared to criticize the Catholic Church so vocally and so openly in recent times. And arguably it could have only come from the pope himself," he said according to the LA Times.

"The church's leaders have basically rested on their laurels, and in the worst cases have been as corrupt as the rest of Mexico's political leaders."

The disparity has not gone unnoticed by priests on the ground. "They never gave me support, not even words of inspiration: 'We're with you'," Father Alejandro Solalinde in Oaxaca said of the Mexico City bishops, according to the paper. "I would have loved that."

The bishops' reluctance to support or engage with clergy fighting against drugs has raised suspicion that some may be in the pockets of drug traffickers or politicians wanting to dumb down reports of violence.

The belief church leaders have cowed to pressure is widespread among parishes and the silence over murdered priests only fuels this perception. "When a priest gets killed, it should be a rallying cry," said Shirk. "We should know his name. He should be a martyr."
10 pieces from antiques dealer Gordon Watsons outstanding personal collection

The London dealer and world authority on design has worked with clients including Elton John, Mick Jagger and Madonna. Here he selects highlights from his personal collection, to be offered at Christies on 13 October

One of Londons most respected antiques dealers, Gordon Watson has attracted clients including Elton John and Mick Jagger to his successful London gallery. Established in the 1970s, the gallery has, from the outset, offered innovative works of art and design from across the world. Watson has himself shot to fame after appearing on the British television programme Four Rooms on Channel 4 and, more recently, in the BBC2 series The Extraordinary Collector, which saw him visit and add items to distinguished English collections. A prolific collector himself, Watson believes it is each work of arts destiny to travel from one connoisseur to another. Set to take place at Christies South Kensington on 13 October, Gordon Watson: The Collector comprises 196 lots, carefully amassed over several years. Highlights include Indian, Japanese and European furniture and ceramics, presented alongside contemporary works by artists including Sarah Lucas and Wolfgang Tillmans  with estimates ranging from 500 to 50,000. Here, Watson selects 10 highlights.

1

Black Cat

Im intrigued by the classical stature of this bronze cat; it makes me think of Egypt and the tombs of the pharaohs. This is juxtaposed with the playfulness of the piece  the fact that, in order to illuminate the inset glass eyes, one has to caress the shiny nether quarters. It never fails to make me laugh.

2

A pair of screens

With their coloured Venini glass panels, these extraordinary modernist screens by Rodolfo Dordoni will transform any bedroom or salon to perfection!

3

A box fit for a queen

Paul Belvoir is an artist of obsessions: with his Gloriana collection, dedicated to his beloved Elizabeth I of England, he was determined to make a jewel box fit for a queen. He has certainly succeeded.

4

A pair of slipper chairs

The English fiurniture designer T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings was obsessed with style, and worked with the good and the great of American society in the 1930 and 1940s. In my opinion these chairs are the ultimate in pure elegance.

5

A Flor chair

I love the botanical detail in the legs and seat of this incredible chair. It was created by the wonderful Israeli designer, Sharon Sides.

6

Takashi Murakami wool rug

The extraordinary colours of this rug and its bold subject will give any room an instant injection of contemporary elan. In my opinion it stands up to the artists remarkable works on canvas.

7

Herve Van der Straeten chandelier

The monumental scale of this chandelier is breathtaking  it is one of the French designer Herve van der Straetens most iconic designs.

8

A Persian masterpiece

Thirty years ago, on a visit to the palaces of Jaipur in India, I was enthralled at seeing an Isfahan 17th-century palace carpet. They are, for me, the nonpareil in carpet design.

9

Sterling silver and rock crystal

Paul Belvoir once said, What I love about designing in silver is imagining my works becoming beloved family treasures. He has surpassed himself with this amazing pair of uncompromising rock-crystal and sterling-silver lamps.

10

An Aldo Bakker stool
10 things to know about Robert Mapplethorpe

The controversial photographer who helped to invent the legend of 1970s New York counterculture  and fuelled a national debate on the boundaries of art

1

Before photography, there was painting and sculpture

Mapplethorpe was a suburban New Yorker, born in Floral Park, Queens, in 1946. He went to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn from 1963, studying painting and sculpture. His inspirations were broad and included Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp, both of whose influence is palpable in his early assemblages. Originally, these were made using found objects and materials from sources as diverse as religious postcards (Mapplethorpe had grown up a Catholic) and pornographic magazines.

2

His introduction to photography was gradual

Open a larger version of this image Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), Untitled (Nancy Nortia/Dugan), 1974, Polaroid print. Estimate: $5,000-7,000. Offered in The Desmarais Collection: A pied-a-terre in New York on 30 April 2019 at Christie's in New York

First, he obtained a Polaroid camera in 1970, and began including his own photographs in the assemblages  he said it was more honest. He then met two influential art historians: John McKendry, curator of photography at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who bought Mapplethorpe his first Hasselblad medium-format camera; and Sam Wagstaff, a curator and collector who became his life partner and mentor, and who hugely influenced his career. Photography was Mapplethorpes chief medium from 1973 onwards.

3

Patti Smith was his soulmate

As a struggling student, Mapplethorpe met a budding poet, Patti Smith, in a New York bookstore in 1967. With few words he became my friend, my compeer, my beloved adventure, Smith has written. The pair were lovers and offered moral support for each other as they struggled to make their art amid impecuniousness in the city. Together, they helped to invent the legend of 1970s New York  they lived for a time in the elegantly wasted Chelsea Hotel, and frequented CBGBs and Maxs Kansas City. Smith was Mapplethorpes muse throughout  the only person he photographed more than her was himself. Among his many iconic images of Patti Smith is the cover of Horses, the album that propelled her to rock stardom. Smiths memoir, Just Kids, and book of poems, The Coral Sea, document their love for each other, even if the nature of that love changed after Mapplethorpe came to terms with his homosexuality.

4

He depicted the New York BDSM scene

Mapplethorpe was a part of the bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM) scene in New York from the 1970s, and captured it intimately. Smith argued that he was not a voyeur. He always said that he had to be authentically involved with the work that came out of his S&M pursuit. He met his subjects in places like the members-only gay club, The Mine Shaft, and strove to convey the participants pride in their sexual lives. It was giving pleasure to one another. It was not about hurting, he told Vanity Fair. The images ranged from portraits of couples in bondage to explicit sadomasochistic sexual practices and his iconic Self Portrait with Whip (1978), always captured with Mapplethorpes exquisite sense of tone and light.

5

He also photographed nude women

If Mapplethorpes portrait of Smith, crouched naked in his studio in Bond Street in 1976, is perhaps his greatest female nude, his sustained 1980s project to capture Lisa Lyon, a bodybuilding champion, produced some equally arresting images. He was attracted by the dualities and ambiguities of a muscle-bound woman. When I first saw her undraped, he said, it was hard to believe that this fine girl should have this form.

Mapplethorpe searched for well-proportioned models with a powerful physical presence. In his photographs of the model Lydia Cheng, he idealised her still further by applying a bronze powder to her skin.

6

Mapplethorpe photographed flowers throughout his career

Dimitri Levas, Mapplethorpes former assistant, wrote that the artist taught himself about light and exposure by photographing flowers. They were to become a permanent fixture in his work. Indeed, Mapplethorpe made his first significant impact on the New York art world in 1977 with a show of flowers at the Holly Solomon Gallery. These photographs were exhibited alongside nudes and sadomasochistic works at The Kitchen. While Georgia OKeeffe, another great depicter of flowers, was irritated by erotic readings of her paintings, Mapplethorpe embraced the sexuality of flora. And as his photographic career began with flowers, so it ended: just before his death from complications related to AIDS in 1989, Mapplethorpe sent his friends a photograph of a bunch of tulips curving out of a black vase against a grey background.

7

He followed Jasper Johns by making the American flag into a work of art

Early in his career, Mapplethorpe had been influenced by the proto-Pop collage aesthetic of Jasper Johns, who more than anyone had turned the American flag into a work of art. Mapplethorpe took on this quintessential Pop symbol in two photographs: the first, made in 1977, was a tattered, threadbare stars-and-stripes which some read as a critique of the state of the nation. His 1987 image, however, was far more heroic, shot from behind, with a halo of sun glowing around its lower right corner and a hint of the American tradition of sublime landscape in the mountains and clouds beneath an otherwise clear, open sky. The apparent optimism of the image is arguably tempered by the knowledge that Mapplethorpe had been diagnosed with HIV in 1986, and lost his partner Sam Wagstaff to complications from AIDS at the start of the year in which the flag was shot. Might it, in fact, be a kind of memorial?

8

His work explored black and white in its broadest sense

Although he did venture into colour, the vast majority of Mapplethorpes photography is in black and white. His attraction to monochrome imagery is nowhere more evident that in his depiction of black men. As Patricia Morrisroe, Mapplethorpes biographer, has written, he felt he could extract a greater richness from the colour of their skin than was possible with white models. He also equated black skin with classical statuary, feeling that in black and white prints it possessed the quality of bronze. Often, Mapplethorpe would deliberately contrast black skin with white objects, or even, in the case of his double portrait of Ken Moody and Robert Sherman (1984), white skin.

9

He reinvented classicism

Whatever his subject matter, Mapplethorpe created pictures of acute precision, order and balance  hallmarks of classicism and neo-classicism. He had a profound interest in sculpture, and made several photographs of classical works, the earliest in Polaroids made when he travelled to Europe with John McKendry in 1970. He went on to collect sculpture, including a bronze reproduction of Frederic, Lord Leightons The Sluggard, which he captured in a 1988 diptych, the sculptures muscular form echoing his nude portraits of living people.

10

The BDSM pictures led to much controversy
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A micro-condominium project slated to break ground over the summer on the east side of downtown has been delayed.

The Ivy Lofts development at 2604 Leeland has been pushed back to January but that won't affect the estimated 2018 completion date, spokesman Jared Anthony said Friday.

The development company for the project, Novel Creative Development, announced in July that it would change direction. The vice president of business development, Pin Tsai, told the Houston Business Journal that the luxury residential high-rise would become a "condo hotel" concept.

RELATED PODCAST: The Millennial Complex (Plus the other TMC)

That's still the plan, but the details are in flux.

Addressing a recent post from real estate site Swamplot, which published "new" renderings, Anthony said the project had "changed dramatically" since those drawings were released.

"We are switching architects. We are moving forward with a completely new design and new architect," Anthony explained. "We're in the process of making changes to make the right choices for the current shareholders and future residents."

The hotel-condo building will offer two separate lobbies, one for hotel guests and one for the residential tenants. It's planned to be a boutique, private-label hotel with an in-house management team. It will offer all of the typical luxury hotel amenities, including a spa, gym and billiard room.

SEE ALSO: Houston apartment rents are down, but not for everyone

While the developers are going to omit some of the original floor plans, they're keeping the "Tokyo," which has been the most popular plan among investors. Anthony added that it's the smaller units that have been a hit, so they're keeping the micro-condo concept, though the exact size of each floor plan will shift slightly.

Prices will start at the mid-to-high $150,000's, another recent change.

"We (told) everyone who had a contract with us they have the option to get out of the contract by either Dec. 31 or before groundbreaking," he explained, though he was reluctant to share the number of signed contracts. The company will hold a private meeting to disclose all of the details to shareholders and prospective tenants.

Beyond the oil industry's downturn, another concern these developers and investors face is that Shell Oil Co. will move the bulk of its downtown offices to its west side complex. That means young professionals working in oil and gas might be leaving downtown, or at least reconsidering a potential move there.

READ MORE: Shell to leave bulk of its downtown Houston offices

The original concept for Ivy Lofts, a collection of 300-square-foot units in a glamorous east-of-downtown building, was originally intended to attract Millennials. The developers were hoping to sell out the building before groundbreaking in the summer, but they'd didn't reach their 100-percent sales goal. They also attracted investors more than the young professional crowd.
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Two Houston restaurants are on Conde Naste Traveler's extensive list, "Where in the World to Eat."

>>Above, see Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook's Top 25 Restaurants in Houston.

The publication called upon a number of food writers, chefs and industry experts to determine the world's best places to eat. It names a total of 207.

In Houston it picked Oxheart, which was recently dubbed the No. 1 restaurant in the city by Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook.

Cook said of Oxheart:

"When chef Justin Yu won this year's Best Chef Southwest title at the James Beard Awards, it seemed like overdue recognition that his 5-year-old restaurant, Oxheart, is one of the best in America. In a snug, informal warehouse-district space, he and his tight crew quietly produce six-course tasting menus of breathtaking precision and seasonality, with vegetables often given pride of place. Service may feel relaxed, but it's notably well-informed, a token of the seriousness with which the chef chooses and shepherds his ingredients."

Epicurious editor Matt Duckor, who was among the panelists who helped curate this list, said Oxheart has "some of the best vegetable-focused food in a city known for its meat."

The second local restaurant on the list is Kim Phat Hu Tieu Nam Vang, a Vietnamese restaurant in Houston's Asiatown.
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One of China's most lauded culinary experiences suddenly closed Thursday, one day after receiving a Michelin star.

Shanghai's Taian Table, which has only been open for six months, was awarded a Michelin star on Wednesday for its "excellent ingredients and clever recipes." Neighbors, however, found it less than clever that the loud, busy restaurant was built in a residential building not zoned for catering.

As such, Taian Table has been forced to shutter due to licensing issues. The restaurant will have to relocate to another building with a proper catering license.

"Our idea and concept was to build a small place to entertain our friends and to have some foodies and chef friends around to create new and imaginative dishes," co-owner German chef Stefan Stiller said in a statement. "We certainly never intentionally planned to violate any rules, regulations and laws."

According to Shanghai Daily, neighbors have been calling the restaurant a nuisance for some time. From the article:

Residents living in that building said they had had a clash with the restaurant and have been endeavoring to have it closed for a long time due to concerns of smoke, noise, and safety issues. They blamed the business for producing "unbearable problems." "The restaurant is a nightmare for us all for months," one of them said.

Representatives from Michelin told Shanghai Daily that "the job of Michelin inspectors are tasting and judging food, and they never ask for any materials from restaurants. Michelin guide is just restaurant recommendation, and anything related with restaurants' operation is none of our business."
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Houston police are searching for multiple male suspects who may be linked to two robberies in August.

According to Crime Stoppers, several suspects robbed a grocery store in the 1600 block of South Voss around 6:50 p.m. on Aug. 23. Video surveillance of the robbery shows two male suspects jumping over the customer service counter and threatening several store employees with pistols. A third suspect waited on the other side of the service counter while the other two suspects took several cash drawers containing an undisclosed amount of money.

READ MORE: Suspects pose as workers during robbery at H-E-B in SW Houston

The suspects in the video covered their heads with hats, T-shirts and bandanas.

The three men were seen running outside to the parking lot, where another suspect was waiting in a teal Dodge Voyager or a Caravan. The suspects fled the location in an unknown direction.

Police believe the suspects who robbed the grocery store may also be responsible for a robbery in the 400 block of Polk that happened around 4 p.m. on Aug. 25. According to video surveillance released by HPD, a male suspect is seen jumping over a customer service counter and assaulting a worker. Another suspect is seen jumping over the counter and breaking open cash registers. A third suspect is seen going behind the counter and picking up money.

All three suspects fled.

READ MORE: Suspects caught after robbery at Taco Cabana in NW Houston



One of the suspects is described as 20 to 30 years old and between 5 feet, 7 inches and 6 feet, 3 inches tall. He was wearing a red bandana over his face, a red shirt, tan pants and black-and-white shoes.

Another suspect is described as 20 to 30 years old and between 5 feet, 7 inches and 6 feet, 3 inches tall. The suspect had a purple shirt covering his face and wore a black shirt and tan pants.

A third suspect was wearing a white shirt and black pants.

A fourth suspect drove a teal Dodge Voyager or Caravan. No physical description is available.

READ MORE: Four Houston men arrested in Tyler County robbery

Anyone with information about the robbers may receive a reward up to $5,000 if that information leads to the charges or arrests. Tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by texting TIP610 plus the information to CRIMES (274637).

All tipsters remain anonymous.
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Two men have been arrested and charged with murder after the shooting death of a man in north Houston last month.

According to the Houston Police Department, Ivan Cardenas, 21, was charged in the death of Jaime Rivera, 29. Juan Negrete, 20, was also arrested and charged with murder.
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Tilman Fertitta runs a tight ship.

During Houston Children Charity's "Two Decades of Caring" awards luncheon last week, the non-profit's board chairman promised a swift one-hour program and was not shy about his intent to deliver.

"Each of you may come to the stage, but you can only speak for one minute," stated the Landry's Inc. chairman, president and CEO inside the Hyatt Regency ballroom. "Because we're getting out of here by one o'clock."

The 2016 "heroes"  Dave Ward, Tom Netting, Carlos Correa, Maria Moncada Alaoui, Tommy Kuranoff, Dancie Ware, Trini Mendenhall, John L. Nau, and Paige and Tilman Fertitta  each honored the 60-second rule, with one exception. When Trish Morille, executive director of the Sue and Lester Smith Foundation, accepted the volunteerism distinction on behalf of the eponymous couple, Tilman cut in to praise Lester's commitment to Houston Children's Charity and the city's philanthropic community as a whole.

"Lester could really use our prayers right now," he said of the well-known wildcatter's recent double-lung transplant. "He's fighting the toughest battle there is."

Next, Tilman presented Houston Children's Charity executive director, Laura Ward, with a massive bouquet of white roses for being "the backbone" of the organization and making all of the past and present presidents look good.

"I don't know why they call me the executive director  none of them listen to me," Ward quipped during her closing remarks. She also thanked her former Louisiana State University sorority sister and the event's designated mistress of ceremonies, Shelby Hodge, who, like most of Friday's 500 attendees, was able to sit back and watch Tilman steer the show.

The efficient and effective soiree raised $15,000 toward "A Better Night Sleep" and Christmas programming.
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Harris County and Houston city officials will meet next month to better tackle the region's significant stray animal problem.

City and county leaders and private animal welfare representatives will meet Oct. 12, according to a spokesman for Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. One focus of the "summit" is expected to be better collaboration between the county, which focuses primarily on unincorporated areas despite having a shelter located inside the city limits, and the city of Houston.

County shelter employees drew criticism recently for refusing to pick up and euthanize a German shepherd mix that lay dying from a gunshot wound across the street. The neighborhood is served by Houston's BARC shelter seven miles to the south.

The Houston Chronicle published an in-depth report about the jurisdictional issues earlier this year.

READ MORE: Judge calls for summit about stray animals

It's not the only time the neighborhood has seen such problems.

The area and nearby Melrose Park have been seen as dumping grounds for unwanted animals and local volunteers say cases are growing increasingly severe. At least four dogs have been found with gunshot wounds at the park this year - including the German shepherd mix - and two puppies were discovered with slashed throats.

Meanwhile the stray animal problem persists across the region.

The city and county shelters run at or above capacity almost every day. Over the last five years, the county shelter has averaged taking in some 25,000 animals annually from unincorporated areas, while the city shelter accepts another 25,000 to 27,000. Both generally only take in animals from their respective jurisdictions, though both also report making exceptions, especially when an animal is sick or injured.

READ MORE: Houston offers affordable spay, neutering services

Stray animals can be a public health threat because they can spread disease and can also attack and injure humans and other animals.

A 2010 survey of Houston-area households conducted by the University of Texas School of Public Health found "stray dogs and cats" to be the most frequent neighborhood problem reported by residents surveyed, beating out crime, drinking water and dumping, among other problems.

READ MORE: Teens host pet walk to benefit adoption center

Emmett called for the summit earlier this month. Details on specific points of discussion or coordination were not yet available, nor was a full list of organizations that would attend.

The county is building a new shelter in the same location on Canino Road, so jurisdictional problems will likely continue if not addressed.
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A half-century-long medical marriage came to an acrimonious end in 2004 when Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist Hospital parted ways - the only such split in the history of American medicine - with accusations of poaching employees, threats of legal action and years of fiscal turbulence. The great divorce, driven by fights over money, threatened the future of the two giants of Houston medicine.

Friends of the late Dr. Michael DeBakey, the pioneering heart surgeon who helped grow both institutions and put the Texas Medical Center on the map, told the Chronicle he was "heartbroken" at the end of a marriage that started in 1950, just two years after he moved to Houston.

"It certainly saddens me," the surgeon, then 96, told the paper. "I don't understand it. I don't think it's in the best interests of either institution."

The school and hospital had climbed the rankings, drawn research funding, developed medical innovations and accumulated great wealth as they became linchpins in one of Houston's key industries. They each brought something to the marriage: Methodist's facilities and money - a whopping $2.6 billion in the bank by 2002 - and Baylor's research expertise and national prestige.

More Information Timeline 1950 Methodist affiliates with Baylor College of Medicine seven years after the school moved to Houston. 2003 All but one of Methodist's 20 division chiefs are on Baylor faculty; 200 of the school's 1,200 residents train there. July 2003 Baylor's new CEO says the school will build its own revenue-generating ambulatory care clinic. April 21, 2004 Baylor severs its affiliation with Methodist and makes St. Luke's its teaching hospital. June 23, 2004 Methodist signs 30-year primary affiliation with Cornell's medical school. 2006 Baylor decides to build its own private hospital. 2007-2010 The recession leaves Baylor with $600 million in debt and no inpatient hospital. Jan. 7, 2014 Baylor announces new partnership with CHI St. Luke's. See More Collapse

DeBakey faced, according to Texas Monthly, "the end of everything he created in the past half-century, which was nothing less than the best medicine Texas had to offer."

Observers agree the divorce was driven by finances. Methodist directed about $50 million a year to Baylor; the hospital's doctors thought that was generous, but the school saw it as chump change given its research costs.

Tension between medical schools and their teaching hospitals is practically congenital, said Washington University medical historian Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer. Hospitals focus on "the patient of today" while schools eye "the patient of tomorrow" along with research and the next generation of doctors. However, the physician-historian added, they need each other. "A medical school cannot teach (or) research without strong clinical facilities to do its work in. And conversely, a hospital needs a medical school if it aspires to anything other than local significance."

In 2003, Baylor hired a new CEO, Dr. Peter Traber. That July the school announced plans to build its own outpatient clinic that would provide an independent income stream. Methodist bridled at the proposal, which it saw as competition from its own affiliate. That complicated negotiations to renew their expiring 30-year partnership. Baylor drew up a potential deal with St. Luke's then returned to talks with Methodist, which offered more money, including $7 million if the school helped boost the hospital's rankings.

Insiders thought a compromise was imminent, the Chronicle reported.

But on April 21, 2004, the Baylor board met to decide between primary affiliation offers from Methodist and St. Luke's. Though the longtime partner had more resources, Traber thought the school's vision was more aligned with St. Luke's. The board agreed, bringing the 50-year marriage to an unexpected end.

Larry Mathis, Methodist's CEO from 1984 to 1997, lamented in an email that the split "was terrible for both institutions, for Houston, and for the world."

A custody battle ensued over shared hospital staff, the Chronicle reported in 2005. "Methodist accused Baylor of using residents as 'pawns' when the college began moving some to St. Luke's; Traber responded that Methodist was just unhappy it was losing 'cheap labor.' "

The school - with legal help from Joe Jamail, the "King of Torts" - threatened to sue over the hospital's "aggressive recruiting" of its faculty. Methodist brought 50 Baylor staff members to its new $100 million research institute meant to supplant the school's research and prestige. Its director came from Baylor and encouraged former colleagues to follow.

Houston's then-Mayor Bill White intervened, urging mediation. Talks lasted three months, after which Traber said Methodist had acted "like your child would when told to do something."

Baylor tried to build its own private hospital. But the recession undid those plans and left the school with $600 million in debt and a $72 million operating deficit by 2010. Noting that the school's last profit was in 2003, a credit rating agency in 2010 put its bonds on a downgrade watchlist.

That helped lead to Baylor's 2014 partnership with Catholic Health Initiatives, which had purchased St. Luke's months earlier. They now jointly run the 880-bed Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center and are building a 28-acre, $1.1 billion campus slated to fully open in 2020. Baylor's operating deficits have shrunk, dropping to $2.5 million for fiscal year 2014.

Methodist also has expanded. Since 2004, the system has doubled its number of employees to 20,000; grown its regional network of seven hospitals and six standalone emergency centers; and established new research and academic relationships.

The split did little damage to education at Baylor, according to the school's current CEO. It had "virtually no impact on our training programs," Dr. Paul Klotman said. "We never lost applicants for fellowships."

Before 2004, Methodist had hosted 200 medical residents, all from Baylor. The separation left the teaching hospital without any residents to teach. Two months after the split, Methodist formed a nonexclusive 30-year partnership with the Weill Cornell Medical College - a long-distance relationship with the New York City school. And starting in 2005, the hospital created its own residency programs; it now has nearly 300 doctors-in-training.

Houston Methodist's current CEO, Dr. Marc Boom, recently said the breakup brought a blessing in disguise: an era of unbridled collaboration in the Texas Medical Center and beyond - including between the two estranged partners.

"It's really enabled us to richly collaborate with many different institutions," Boom said, pointing to a new joint program with Texas A&M for medicine and engineering. Methodist also hosts Baylor's ethics and psychiatry programs, among others, and they conduct some research together.

Leaders of both institutions talk about the 2004 separation like ancient history. It's "so far in the past now," Klotman said.

"We obviously don't interact as closely as we did before (but) we're neighbors who get along very, very well," said Boom, a Baylor graduate whose wife, also a physician, has been on the school's faculty since 1997.

"I think," Boom added, "we've all put the past behind us."
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A preschool teacher in Wisconsin donated one of her kidneys to a student and the Facebook video of her announcement to the child's mother has gone viral.

Last October, Dena Carreyn's 4-year-old daughter Lyla was diagnosed with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), a rare autoimmune-related vasculitis, according to a post on Babble. After nine months of treatment, it was clear that Lyla would need a kidney transplant.

A nationwide search for a kidney donor for Lyla began over the summer and the search was ended mid-September when Lyla's preschool teacher, Beth Battista, matched perfectly with Lyla.

An emotional video was captured the moment Battista revealed to Carreyn that her daughter was going to get a new kidney.

"Last Friday, I was called into Lyla's school, Kids Express Learning Center," Dena wrote in the Facebook post. "I was told a new teacher was starting, and I needed to meet with her. You see, every time Lyla gets a new teacher, I have to train that person re: Lyla's medical conditions, medications, etc. It's a whole thing.

"So I show up at the school, and Lyla's two current teachers are there, and they tell me the new teacher is on her way. And then they give me a present. And then this happened."

The note that Battista is seen giving to Carreyn says, "I may just be her teacher now, but soon a little piece of me will be with Lyla forever. I'm Lyla's kidney donor."

Numerous shares of the post have proclaimed Battista as a hero and the Carreyn family simply wants to spread the word on how important organ donation is.

"Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude," Dena told Babble. "How do you possibly thank someone for saving your child's life? Words are not enough. Beth will forever be a part of our family."

To learn more about becoming a living donor, visit UWhealth.org.
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A defense attorney is challenging a 2010 capital murder conviction that he says drew on testimony presented by witnesses who were inappropriately given deals by a Harris County prosecutor.

In a hearing set to take place Monday afternoon in a Fort Bend County courtroom, lawyer Randy Schaffer intends to show how prosecutor Beth Exley allegedly rewarded three people who testified against the accused without notifying the defense of the deals.

"It's truly one of the most egregious cases of prosecutorial misconduct that I've ever seen," Schaffer said, when reached by phone last week.

READ MORE: HPD links suspect in 1990 slaying to more deaths

Edward George McGregor, now 43, was arrested May 2, 2006 on suspicion of murdering Kim Wildman. He was convicted Sept. 3, 2010, and sentenced to life in prison, according to court records.

The crime took place more than 15 years earlier, on April 17, 1990.

That evening, Missouri City police officers arrived to Wildman's home to find a bloody pillow on the walkway and the front door ajar, court records show. Wildman was alive inside, lying on the kitchen floor, but had suffered multiple stab wounds. She told officers "a black man," whom she didn't know, had attacked her. She later died.

READ MORE: Families of 2 slain woman protest suspect's release

McGregor and Wildman lived on the same street. He was not initially the prime suspect in the case. But DNA evidence ultimately connected McGregor to the scene, as well as to the alleged murder of a prostitute he knew in Harris County, Nina Barnum, Schaffer said.

Exley was the prosecutor on the Harris County case. She teamed up with the Fort Bend County prosecutor to try the Wildman case first.

The DNA connection they had wouldn't be enough. It was "weak, circumstantial evidence" that indicated McGregor had had sex with the women, but not that he had killed them, Schaffer said.

READ MORE: Suspect in slayings released on bail

Prosecutors bolstered their case with three major witnesses, Schaffer said: a woman in prison who claimed McGregor confessed to her husband, and two men in Houston's jail who said he'd referenced the killings in a threat to them.

Schaffer believes all three were given reduced punishments -- that went undisclosed -- for crimes they faced in exchange for their testimony.

The case will be heard at 1 p.m. Monday in the 434th District Court before Judge James Shoemake, who presided over the trial in 2010.
Texas colleges now share a special connection with the recently unveiled Smithsonian National African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington D.C.

Texas Southern University and Baylor University have both donated special artifacts to the cultural center.
A lawyer who opened fire on commuters for no apparent reason during the morning predawn rush hour in a Houston neighborhood Monday, wounding nine people, was wearing a vintage military uniform and had Nazi emblems on him, police said.

The rampage on a quiet street near West University Place began in the predawn darkness and lasted 20 minutes before the gunman, who police identified as Nathan DeSai, 46, was shot and killed by officers.

Six of the wounded were transported to area hospitals. The other three were treated at the scene and released.

Acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo said at a news conference Monday afternoon police did not yet know exactly what caused DeSai, described as a lawyer struggling to keep his small law practice alive, to do what he did.

"At this point we are very open-minded in terms of motive," Montalvo said, adding the department was working with the FBI to find answers.

Handgun used in attack

Police said DeSai used a .45-caliber handgun during the assault and they later found 2,600 rounds of ammunition and a Thompson semi-automatic rifle in his car, a black convertible Porsche parked near where he was killed.

DeSai lived in a condominium complex near the scene of the shooting at Weslayan and Law streets.

A search of his home turned up additional weapons and several pieces of military regalia and other items going back to the Civil War. The .45-caliber handgun was bought in 2011. The Thompson submachine gun was purchased in 2009.

Officials would not say specifically what type of uniform he was wearing. Photographs of his body show DeSai apparently wearing military-style spats strapped over his boots. He was lying face up. His dark shirt was over his face.

Police said Nazi emblems were found in his clothing.

"We did find some old Nazi emblems about some of his personal effects, and I understand there were some in where he lived," said Houston Police Capt. Dwayne Ready. "To what extent that played  I don't know, because there was also other, what I would refer to as historic or vintage military stuff in the apartment, going back to the Civil War."

Calls about a possible shooter started coming into police about 6:30 a.m., about the time Eduardo Andrade was heading to an LA Fitness gym in his Audi A3.

"As I was driving by Law Street, I suddenly heard a big explosion," Andrade said. "I covered myself, accelerated and tried to get out of there. I did not know if someone was following me or trying to shoot me."

Two bullets struck his car, with a large piece of one lodged between his dashboard and windshield.

"It is so random," he said. "If I were going a little faster or a little slower, the bullet would have had a different trajectory."

Houston, Bellaire and West University Place police departments responded and exchanged gunfire with DeSai.

"Multiple officers engaged with the suspect who was shooting randomly at passersby and anyone he could put his sights on," Ready said.

Officials did not say how many times DeSai, who died at the scene, was hit.

At least 75 spent shell casings were collected from the scene and a bullet slug was pulled from the couch on the second floor of a nearby home.

Houston Police cordoned off the area, and later searched DeSai's condo and car as well as used a robot to check his body for explosives.

Victims sent to hospital

Late Monday, in a statement, Memorial Hermann Red Duke Trauma Institute and Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital said they had received five patients from the shooting. Three were discharged, two remained hospitalized, both in good condition. A sixth victim was in serious condition at Ben Taub Hospital.

Among the wounded was the adult son of local lawyer, R.P. Cornelius. He was treated and released and was resting at home Monday night.

"My son is fine, thank you," Cornelius said. "We are moving forward and do not wish any interviews."

Police confirmed that all those who were shot during the spree were adults.

The names of the victims were not released.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, who was on a trade mission to Cuba, said he had been advised of the situation by Montalvo and other officials.

"We wanted to make sure in view of what's happening across the country and what's been happening recently, that this was not some act of terrorism," Turner said, "but one certainly can see when one has an incident of this kind it certainly creates terror on so many levels."

He said authorities were interviewing DeSai's friends, family and associates.

The night before he died, DeSai went by his parents' Houston home. He was in a hurry and took his dinner to go, recalled his father Prakash DeSai, a retired geologist.

He said his son had been upset for months over troubles at his work, chiefly trying to attract clients.

"We are not getting any business," he recalled his son saying. "Who wouldn't be worried?"

DeSai parted ways last year with his law partner, Kenneth McDaniel.

"I'm reading stuff online talking about how he was possibly a fired employee that was disgruntled," said McDaniel, a civil attorney. "That's the farthest thing from the truth.

"Our partnership dissolved in February of this year - it was simply a matter of economics.

"We couldn't afford to operate as a partnership anymore."

McDaniel said he had worked with DeSai for about 12 years.

Former law partner

He declined to discuss DeSai's personal life, saying he didn't know him outside the office.

DeSai held a bachelor's in psychology from the University of Houston and a law degree from the University of Tulsa, where he graduated in 1998, according to the Texas State Bar Association.

DeSai was in good standing and there was no history of disciplinary trouble or complaints pending against him.

He specialized in criminal, business and family law, according to the bar association.

His former law office, off the Katy Freeway, was empty Monday aside from a few trash cans.

Lettering on the glass door read, "McDaniel and DeSai LLP."

Friendswood lawyer Troy Ted Tindal met DeSai briefly in the summer of 2015 when he took over a federal employment case from him.

DeSai had contacted him to see if he was interested and said he had filed the federal lawsuit, but wanted to pass it off to someone who knew about governmental immunity.

Tindal said he spoke with him on the phone a few times and met with him when he handed over the files for the case.

"He was just exactly like anybody else," Tindal said. "There was nothing odd about him, nothing aggressive, nothing that would give you the idea that he had any sort of inclination for a mass shooting incident. He seemed like a completely normal guy in the summer of 2015."

Cliff Saunders, a KTRH Radio reporter who lived near DeSai said he avoided him.

"I knew enough to stay away," he said of the man who seemed to have anger issues and would regularly barrel through the condominium parking lot.

But far more troubling was a phone call he got from his wife this summer about him.

"My wife called me and said, 'Don't go home, there is a guy walking around with an AR-15,' " he said.

He asked her who it was and she said, "the guy with the black Porsche."

DeSai was apparently angry at some roofers or construction workers who had awakened him. It is unclear if police responded.

Houston Police said officers had never previously encountered DeSai.

Harrowing ordeal

At the scene of the shooting Monday, Alan Wakim, who lived near DeSai, was wiping dots of blood from his face as he embraced his wife, Jennifer Molleda in the parking lot of a strip shopping mall.

They stood by his Mustang. Two bullets had come through the windshield. One landed near the driver's headrest.

Molleda said she had seen DeSai before, but said that he kept to himself.

"He's very secluded, we've seen him take out the trash a few times," Molleda said. "You normally say hi to neighbors, but when neighbors don't say hi back, you tend to mind your own business."

Still, Molleda said she would have never expected him to go on a shooting spree.

"He's an attorney for God's sake, driving a Porsche," Molleda said. "He's a prominent individual; you don't expect this from someone like that."

Carolyn Allen, 76, was driving on Law when a bullet came through the windshield of her Lincoln Navigator.

Though cut on her stomach, legs and face, the retired schoolteacher kept driving until she thought she was safe, she said, recalling, "I'm not sitting here like a sitting duck."

As DeSai's father learned on the news early Monday that there was a shooting near Law, he was immediately concerned for his son's safety, but had no idea he would turn out to be the predator.

He had immediately called his cellphone and left a message: "There is a shooting in your area. I am worried."

Lindsay Ellis, Brian Rogers and Gabrielle Banks contributed to this report.
With millions watching and the American presidency on the line, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are poised for a must-see showdown Monday night, pitting the Democrat's call for steady, experienced leadership against the Republican's pugnacious promises to upend Washington.

The 90-minute televised debate comes six weeks before Election Day and with early voting already getting underway in some states. Despite Clinton's advantages, including a sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation and a favorable electoral map, the race is exceedingly close.
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Before the fireworks erupted on national television between Clinton and Trump on Monday, Houston saw its own fiery debate between the candidates for Harris County district attorney.

Republican incumbent Devon Anderson and Democratic challenger Kim Ogg pulled no punches in the only debate scheduled for the county's top law enforcement post.

"I think it's apparent for anybody who has been listening to Ms. Ogg that she is clearly not fit to be the Harris County district attorney," Anderson said in closing after a raucous debate in front of more than 300 people. "She can't do half of what she says she's going to do."

In her closing, Ogg reminded voters of the litany of problems that have erupted across the county's criminal justice system.

"We have a justice system that should rely upon evidence, but instead is being run by prosecutors who are led, apparently, by a win-at-all costs philosophy," Ogg said. "I have a vision for a justice system that treats us all the same under the law, that tries to help people, not just convict them."

The two women sparred over the treatment of a mentally ill rape victim who was jailed for several weeks last year by prosecutors under Anderson. They also talked at length about the emerging scandal over the unauthorized destruction of evidence at the Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

The plight of the rape victim made national headlines when it was revealed that she was put in general population in the Harris County Jail last year after breaking down on the witness stand. She immediately was found walking into traffic in an apparent effort to kill herself. She was put in a mental ward after the court delayed the trial over the Christmas holidays. When the formerly homeless woman, named Jenny, was released from the hospital, she was not allowed to stay with family in Houston. Instead, prosecutors who were trying to convict a serial rapist had the woman jailed until she testified. While in jail, she had another breakdown and was given a black eye.

Spurred new training

During Monday's debate, Anderson stood by her prosecutors.

"We regret very much what that victim went through because she did have the courage to come forward and testify against her rapist," she said. "If there is any silver lining to any of this, and there is just one, it's that this monster, this serial rapist, received two life sentences thanks to her courageous testimony."

She said the outrage over the incident has spurred new training, a focus on the marshaling of resources for women in crisis and may lead to new legislation for victims to have attorneys appointed in similar situations.

Ogg, whose mother was kidnapped then escaped a serial rapist in 1962, said last year's incident should have never happened.

"Revictimizing a victim never justifies the end," she said. "There were so many other options that could have been taken."

The debate, moderated by KPRC anchor Khambrel Marshall, then moved to the other big issue of the day: whether Anderson's office should have notified defense attorneys with pending cases that evidence in the property room of the Precinct 4 Constable's Office had been destroyed without permission.

Ogg took the incumbent to task for finding out in February that evidence had been destroyed and staying mum. It was finally revealed by a defense attorney in August.

"She waited seven months to tell people, who had already pled guilty to crimes where evidence had been destroyed, that they were now entitled to a new trial," Ogg said. "You can't cause the problem, then take credit for fixing it."

Anderson said the lists of cases that were affected constantly changed, so there was no way to tell which cases were in jeopardy.

"We didn't know who to notify, whose cases to dismiss," she said. "We did it when we were ready and when we were sure."

Anderson also made news Monday night by saying she plans to ask the county commissioners to consider a central property room for all of the eight constables' offices, a new proposal that seems to have come out of the debacle.

Competitors again

This is the second election in which the two have gone head-to-head since 2014.

Anderson, 50, was a prosecutor for a dozen years, then a felony court judge for four years and a defense attorney for five years before being appointed to fill the seat after her husband died in 2013.

Ogg, 56, also began her legal career as a prosecutor, then became the city's first gang task force coordinator, then spent seven years running Crime Stoppers of Houston. Since leaving that post, she has had a long career as a defense attorney.

Anderson closed the hour-long debate by saying Ogg was forced out of Crime Stoppers by the board of directors after revealing the identities of three juvenile rape victims, which Ogg denied.

Anderson reminded her critics that Ogg had run in the past as a Republican and voted in the GOP primary in 2008.

"She has no integrity," Anderson said. "She will say or do anything to get this job."

But there were laughs from the crowd when Anderson said her office was "transparent and responsive."
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Despite the threat of a lawsuit and a federal judge bouncing a similar law in Indiana, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott isn't backing down from his regulation that requires a fetus to be buried or cremated.

It's become a political standing point for Abbott and the latest knot in the state's long, complex history with abortion.

The latest battle started in July, when Abbott quietly proposed a rule requiring the cremation or burial of fetal remains  even in instances of miscarriages. The rule overruled objections from the medical community, reproductive rights advocates and funeral directors.

READ MORE: Politics keep abortion clinic from reopening in Beaumont

Now, there's the threat of lawsuits, something Abbott is using in a fundraising pitch sent out earlier in the summer. Abbott wrote that a deceased fetus is "treated like medical waste and disposed of in landfills."

Many in the medical community were angered, saying the plan to enact the legislation raised concerns over who will pay for the cremations and funerals.

Texas has a long history with abortion, lawsuits and the fight over reproductive rights. The 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case establishing a "right to privacy" and clearing the way for legalized abortion, Roe v. Wade, originated in Texas.

READ MORE: Feds push back on state's targeting Planned Parenthood funds

And, in the last decade, Texas lawmakers have been slowly eroding access to reproductive health services, spawning more and more lawsuits.

And the new rule will almost assuredly do the same thing.
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AUSTIN -- The main elements of the long-awaited new Texas African-American History Memorial will arrive Tuesday for installation on the grounds of the Texas Capitol.

State Preservation Board spokesman Chris Currens said Monday that large bronze friezes are to be lifted into place with a crane as workers begin installing the monument, being built just west of the capitol driveway on the south side lawn of the 1888 statehouse.
AUSTIN -- Longtime state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, who faces a criminal investigation of alleged misuse of state funds, announced Monday she plans to step down on Jan. 10.

The 11-term Democrat, who has represented northeast Travis County in the Texas House since 1995, attributed her decision to health issues stemming from a car accident in 2013.

"This has been a very difficult decision to make," Dukes said in a statement, first reported by the Quorum Report newsletter.

"In light of my ongoing health issues and concerns, I find that I can no longer provide the active, effective leadership that is needed to continue my sworn duties. I must take the time to focus all of my energy to heal and continue to provide for my young daughter and extended family."

Dukes' surprise decision came Monday as the Texas Rangers and the Travis County District Attorney's office are investigating allegations that she improperly used state funds and resources, including having staff do personal errands for her and work on a nonprofit event she co-founded.

Dukes has denied any wrongdoing.

Within hours of her announcement, former Austin Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole said she was "seriously considering" running to replace Dukes.

"This morning I have received an incredible outpouring of support and encouragement from community leaders and my family," she said.

At the same time, Gabriel Nila, Dukes' opponent in the November general election, called for Dukes to step down immediately and not wait until Jan. 10.

If she waits until January, Gov. Greg Abbott would have to call a special election to replace her.

"If Rep. Dukes intends to resign in January due to health reasons, there is no good reason for her to resign 100 days from now, after a general election and needlessly disadvantage her successor and cause an expensive Special Election," Nila said in a statement. "The constituents of this district deserve to have new representation immediately, not months after the new biennial session begins."
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SAN ANTONIO  Lower levels of two major highways were closed for a few hours Monday morning after a large storm dumped up to 7 inches of rain in the San Antonio area overnight, the Texas Department of Transportation said.

The lower levels at Interstate 35 and San Pedro Avenue remains blocked as of noon due to high water, according to TxDOT spokesman Josh Donat.

RELATED: Flash flood warning in effect for Bexar County after some areas received 5 inches of rain

The westbound lower level of Interstate 10 near Colorado Street was also closed as a result of the storm, but has since reopened.

As long as its raining, were going to have some issues, TxDOT spokewoman Laura Lopez said, adding that people need to take some extra time getting to their destinations.

NWS meteorologist Jason Runyen said the majority of San Antonio has received between 3 and 6 inches of rain overnight and into the morning, but some areas in the North Side have received isolated pockets of up to 7 inches of rain.

RELATED: A look back at catastrophic floods that swamped Texas

Going into the afternoon and evening, Runyen said there will be some lingering showers but the brunt of heavy rain has subsided. Runyen said the NWS does not expect any additional episodes of flash flooding.

Residents should expect cooler temperatures today with highs in the mid-70s, Runyen said.

At least 35 roads have been closed as of 10 a.m. Monday, with a full list of those roads available here.

Firefighters across San Antonio have responded to 40 high-water rescues between 5 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. this morning due to the weather, according to SAFD spokesman Woody Woodward.

Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA

Staff writer Tyler White contributed to this report.

rsalinas@mysa.com

Twitter: @RebeccaLSalinas
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.
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Raptors on to finals with win over Titans HOLSTEIN - The Class 2A #15-ranked Ridge View volleyball team hosted South Central Calhoun for the Class 2A Region 2...

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Everything to Nothing: The Poetry of the Great War, Revolution and the Transformation of Europe, by Geert Buelens, translated by David McKay (Verso, 392 pp., $34.95)

The fall of 2016 marks the midway point of the World War I centennial. The British just commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Somme, with its 58,000 British casualties, a battle that still haunts the collective national memory. Britain looks back on the First World War with a mournfulness and intensity not matched by its memories of World War II. For a century, the work of British trench poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon stood as the most recognizable literary responses to the war in the English-speaking world. Now, a professor of modern Dutch literature at Utrecht University has written a cultural history that expands our understanding of the wars poetic legacy. Pan-European in scope, Geert Buelenss Everything to Nothing makes clear that other nations suffered their own disasters, often on a scale comparable with the Somme, but that literary responses to the conflict were much more varied than the conventional wisdom would have it.

Though a poet himself, Buelens shows little interest in aesthetics; readers expecting extensive literary analysis will be disappointed. He scatters learned and interestingbut briefdiscussions of Apollinaire, Anna Akhmatova, Gabriele DAnnunzio, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Charles Peguy, Fernando Pessoa, and others throughout his narrative to illustrate thematic or historical points. The author is more interested in analyzing the political and cultural context. What role did poets play in reflecting or shaping the emotional and intellectual currents sweeping their nations toward war? What public roles did poets, many of whom were active combatants, play? Did their attitudes change over the course of the war? The answers to these questions are wide-ranging, reminding us that generalizations about the war can be made only with great care.

The trench-poet understanding of World War I has been long established in the West. Its themes include the loss of innocence; intergenerational conflict; an ignorant and deluded citizenry; callous and incompetent leadership; mud, blood, and useless suffering, followed by nightmare, despair, and betrayal. The trouble with this story is not that it is false but that it is partial and oversimplified. Buelenss detailed study shows that many other perspectives exist. Countless high school and college students in the West have read All Quiet on the Western Front, but that famous novel was written in 1927 by a pacifistic author living in a defeated, floundering country. Likewise, in Britain, the trench poets command a central role in secondary school literary curricula. The best produced some of the finest poetry of the war, and their testimony deserves respect. But it shouldnt be mistaken for objective history, much less accepted as the defining account of the war experience. Buelenss book offers a wider optic.

Even so, Buelenss approach has problems of its own. He cites a claim that, in Germany alone, 50,000 poems a day were produced in the early weeks of the war, but he confines himself to a discussion of leading literary figures. It could be argued that leading lights carry more weight in their societies and therefore merit examination, while forgotten doggerel should remain forgotten. But many of these prominent poets didnt make a name for themselves until after the war, more than a few posthumously. Moreover, if Buelens wishes to widen his lens, why not examine newspaper ephemera, which may have moved millions at the time, while the esoteric pamphlets of the avant-garde artist only reached a select few? Buelens seems to assume that, even on a sociological level, serious literary efforts are the only works that matter.

Buelens shows how the poets presented themselves in different ways at various stages of the war. Some acted as gung-ho propagandists. The Italian Futurists, for example, thought that the war would purge their fellow citizens of attachments to the past and propel their nation into the speed-driven, mechanized tomorrow for which they longed. The war was to be welcomed, in the words of Filippo Marinetti, as the worlds only hygiene. The frequently appalling conduct of the war, its grand-scale disasters, and the slaughter of so many Italians didnt change the Futurists minds. Even as the war ground on, they maintained their love of showy patriotism and muscular action, forming a political party that would eventually play an instrumental role in the Fiume League for Oppressed Nations, a postwar counterblast to Versailles, with its Wilsonian visions of European community.

The Futurists jingoistic cheerleading will surprise many contemporary readers brought up to think that the angry and sorrowful trench poets expressed the universal public attitude toward the war. Yet, the Futurists were not alone in their hopes and desires, especially early on. Italy in 1914 was technologically backward, and welcoming war as a boost to modernization, while morally distasteful, was not as crazy as it may sound to us today. Leading literary figures and artists from other small nations commonly expressed similar hopes that the war would foster their independence and provide them with the respect that they sought on the international stage.

And even powerhouse states had poets advocating for war. Britain furnished, on the one hand, Sir Henry Newbolts traditionalist patriotic and soldierly poems, familiar to Edwardian schoolboys and newspaper readers alike, and, on the other, the outrageous blasts of avant-gardists such as Wyndham Lewis, leader of the Vorticist movement, who praised the expansion of the empire and preached a plan of war against the forces of cultural complacency. Other great powers had comparable figures. While Lewiss audience was likely small and select, the Russian masses found expression for their war fever in the voices of their leading poets, many of whom urged the unity of Slavic brethren and the punishment of grasping, aggressive Germany. It is not merely that poets, too, succumbed to war fever; in many instances, they helped whip it up.

As for the war as hygiene, in Marinettis phrase, Buelens isnt the first to observe that the 1914 generation commonly believed that they were living in decadent, self-indulgent times, and were in need of a worthy cause that would provide a moral crucible and an opportunity to create a worthier state and a more elevated culture. In his famous sonnet sequence, the English golden boy and patriot Rupert Brooke used the imagery of bathing and swimming to indicate the cleansing powers that the war would bring. War would wash away a generations sins.

Similarly, Buelens notes that in the harvest season of 1914, reaping and sowing took on an entirely new meaning. The war began in late summer, and that autumn furnished ready metaphors of poets and soldiers shedding blood for the sake of their motherland, whose replenished fields would bring forth a new harvest. Right- and left-leaning publications alike joined in the general feeling that the war was transcendent, lifting everything to a higher plane: politics, emotions and all of human life.

Such nationalistic mysticism may seem like a thing of the past, but the poets and thinkers of 100 years ago were grappling with issues familiar to readers today. To what degree can Europe become a single entity? Must each nation first develop a strong sense of itself in order to ensure a peaceful and cosmopolitan Europe, or is the abandonment of nationalism the surest route to that goal? What of peoples who feel themselves a nation but have never been granted the right to live as one? Are alliances and cooperatives guarantors of peace, or do they sweep smoldering resentments under the rug, where they will eventually ignite? All these questions were present in 1914; in the summer of Brexit and resurgent nationalism, they are with us again.

Photo by State Library of New South Wales
Achizitie de Servicii Tehnice de creare a plantatiilor forestiere de protectie din cadrul primariei Andrusul de Jos si a primariei Vadul lui Isac, r. Cahul
The through line of many previews for Monday nights presidential debate is Donald Trumps unpredictability. Which Donald Trump will show up? CNN asks. [Hillary Clinton] is mentally readying herself for multiple Trumps, adds The New York Times. Will Trump lose his cool, be impatient, be too subdued or be crass? NBCs Chuck Todd said Sunday on Meet the Press. Or will Trump be able to rise above the temperament questions and throw Clinton off her game?

Clinton, the straight-A student working late to prep for the big test, is a known commodity atop a traditional campaign. Trump is a political chameleon who sometimes contradicts himself within the same sentence. And with as many as 100 million viewers expected to tune in for the first general election debate between the two, which caricature Trump conjures on stage is at the heart of this media circus.

The political press has long waited for Trumps pivot, and early analyses suggests the GOP nominee will earn some plaudits should he stick to broad themes and refrain from throwing bombs. Such a performance would certainly be surprising and newsworthy. But a more useful frame of analysisespecially given many will be tuning in for the first timewould be to contextualize whichever Trump shows up Monday night within the candidates long history of shapeshifting. Is a more sober performance new evidence that Trump can act presidential, or yet more confirmation that he can put on a show when the cameras are rolling?

Its a microcosm of the challenge Trump poses for traditional models of campaign coverage. Reporters no doubt need to cover and dissect what is said on the debate stage. But as proven repeatedly by the Republicans campaignfrom Trump down to his revolving door of aidesthere is no unifying message. If Trump says one thing tonight, he or his campaign manager could very well dispute it tomorrow morning.

A number of major outlets have essentially tried to preempt this dilemma by priming their audiences in the lead-up to the debate. The past 10 days have seen a media onslaught against Trumps truthiness in wake of his disavowal of the birther lie that is foundational to his political support. This weekend alone, The New York Times broke down Trumps week of whoppers, The Washington Post tracked all his remarks to reveal dubious statements in alternative universe, and Politico produced side-by-side fact-checks of both candidates words: Trumps mishandling of facts and propensity for exaggeration so greatly exceed Clintons as to make the comparison almost ludicrous, it reads.

The Los Angeles Times calls out Trumps lies on A1. pic.twitter.com/Z9RwBnO4vu Sign up for CJR 's daily email  David Uberti (@DavidUberti) September 25, 2016

.@jdickerson asks Pence three times whether everything Trump says at the debate will be the truth. Pence: Absolutely. Absolutely, John. pic.twitter.com/fZeiU1sS3W  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 25, 2016

this is real pic.twitter.com/2RVT6MoNMo  andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 26, 2016

Mainstream media are screaming that Trump is a liar. But does anyone listen? A Washington Post/ABC News poll released yesterday suggests that, despite recent wall-to-wall coverage of the birther lie, more voters still think Trump is honest and trustworthy than Clinton. Its one of the more confounding dynamics the press will have to wrestle with after the dust settles in November.

The debate is seen by many journalists as a chance to expose the true Trumpif there is onein a longform cross-examination. Annoyance with his apparent immunity from scrutiny no doubt fueled the calls for Mondays debate moderator, NBCs Lester Holt, to fact-check the candidates in real time. I wrote about the practical difficulty of that task earlier this month, but the campaigns have raised the stakes even further by politicizing the issue. Democrats see hands-off moderating as a dereliction of journalistic duty, whiles Republicans argue a laissez-faire approach is a picture of it.

It is not journalists collective role to oppose the GOP nominee, of course. But they do have a duty to promote factual political debates in which candidates arguments are comprehensible to voters. Trump actively challenges that premise of journalism with his campaign of smoke and mirrors. Should a more steady version of the candidate show up tonight, journalists framing should not only highlight Trumps unpredictable about-face, but Trumps unpredictability itself.

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David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti.
One evening in July, I was lying in bed thumbing through TV channels when news of the atrocity in Nice flashed on the screen.

Transfixed by the rolling coverage, I watched as information trickled in of a maniac in a truck, mowing down families celebrating Bastille Day on a crowded promenade. I kept watching as the picture crystallized, becoming more horrific with each passing minute.

Within a few short hours, hundreds of journalists lined the promenade. Twitter clouded over with firsthand videos and images too graphic for mainstream news. The obsessive, morbid counting of the dead continued: 12, then 30, then more. Witnesses bleary-eyed and visibly shaken  were lined up to give testimony. What did you see? the journalists demanded. Did you see the killers face? How many times did he swerve?

The next morning, as every Western dignitary queued up to offer sympathy and words of resolution and the hashtag #prayforNice proliferated across social media, I was consumed with a sense that something in the reporting and digestion of these events has to change.





Toward the end of July, as the murder of a priest in a quiet Normandy town brought Europes month of horror to a tragic close, several French media outlets announced a moratorium on publishing the names and photos of perpetrators of terrorist attacks. Their rationale, articulated by an editorial in Le Monde, was to avoid posthumous glorification of terrorists, starving extremist organisations like the Islamic State of publicity they crave.

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The decision ignited conversation over how to fight a conflict of ideas, and how the media can inadvertently do the bidding of Islamist recruitment sergeants, for whom fear is a stock-in-trade. But this debate only paid lip-service to the wider question of how western news outlets, and society at large, can best respond to the rising tide of Islamic extremism in Europe and abroad.

Over the course of the summer, as ISIS-inspired attacks in Orlando, Turkey, France, and Germany saw the specter of Islamist violence assume a grim momentum, it was striking to note how reactions, both journalistic and public, sought to frame the onslaught in terms of an ongoing story a continuing battle between two irreconcilable ideologies.

What has been less widely discussed is how this insistence on stringing discrete events together into some kind of sequential chronicle lets call it The Narrative  tends to entrench conflict and, by extension, makes further attacks more likely, not less.

The Narrative, so this theory goes, derails our sense of proportion. When a deranged man goes on a rampage, as one did on the streets of my own city, London, in early August, killing a retired teacher from Florida, rumors of Islamist motivations ensured that early reports landed amidst a frenzy of speculation.

Later, as it emerged that these rumours were false, the story tumbled down the news agenda, its shock-value diminished, the prevailing response dimmed to one of quiet horror. Imagine how different the reaction would have been had the story continued to feed into the wider narrative of Islamist threat. The outcome would be no different: an innocent person lies dead. But instead of quiet horror, we would have witnessed massed column inches of subsequent conjecture and great outpourings of rage and condolence.

In short, societys susceptibility to The Narrative corrupts objectivity.

Pointing out this imbalance is not to accuse journalists of willful embellishment  faced by an enemy with whom dialogue is impossible, it is understandable that reporters should reach for a clean dichotomy. Rather, it is to underscore The Narratives inadvertent propensity to ingrain and exaggerate the sense of threat, and to oversimplify what is often a very complex picture.

The kind of responses weve seen this summer have often glossed over the fact that many of the perpetrators are not members of a centrally organized battalion of killers, smuggled in from the battlegrounds of Raqqa, but home-grown malcontents, emotionally unhinged members of the criminal underclass.

They have also betrayed a stubborn denial about the capacity of our security services to prevent such atrocities from happening. Though Augusts knife attack in central London had no links to terrorism, its occurrence, just one day after the citys Metropolitan Police deployed 600 extra firearms officers, served as a salutary reminder that lone-wolf atrocities  as likely to be perpetrated with a knife from the kitchen as with an unlicensed guncannot be stopped through shows of force.





Most obviously, an overblown response disregards the reality that provocation of fear and anger is the extremists goal. By subscribing to the concept of ideological war  of them versus us  the Western press is precipitating the apocalyptic future the Islamic State has scripted.

The Trumpian solutions that emanate from this crucible of fear and fury Ban Muslims! Internment! Deportations!  are, inevitably, as intemperate as the reaction itself. And that, ultimately, is bound to drive more angry young men towards extremism.

So what can be done to disrupt The Narrative?

At the very least, the situation demands that editors recognize the obvious: that their words have power, and that knee-jerk hyperbole  stating we are at war for example, as numerous commentators (not to mention the French president) have done repeatedly since the attacks in Paris last November tends to accentuate fear in their readers, rather than assuage it.

Defenders of the free press are rightly quick to condemn any whiff of censorship. In the late 1980s, when the British government, fighting to contain the ongoing terror campaigns of Irish Republicans, prohibited the broadcast of Sinn Fein voices for fear of disseminating nationalist propaganda, many in the media decried its anti-democratic implications and mocked its inefficacy.

But there is a stark distinction between the idea of an embargo imposed from above and the mindful reporting advocated by French media following Nice, which acknowledges the role news sources might play in starving extremism of the oxygen that feeds it.

A prerogative to report the facts does not necessitate a relentless, macabre chronicling of violence. We dont need endless speculation over whether Father Jacques Hamel was beheaded or had his throat slit, any more than we need front pages splashed with photos of Jim Foley kneeling in front of Jihadi John moments before he was killed . Such lurid sensationalism makes icons out of monsters.

The medias hunger to maintain a shocking storys salience after the event can also be problematic. Follow-up articles and analysis coming in the wake of terrorist attacks are currently far more likely to broadcast the ease with which a similar atrocity might be replicated elsewhere than they are to counsel calm.

Such commentary, offered in the name of journalistic rigor, merely perpetuates the notion that the threat is huge, imminent, and omnipresent.

The situation in Europe this summer, with its sense of quickening momentum of each horrific headline precipitating the next  has crossed a line beyond which media outlets cannot abrogate their moral burden in the name of public interest. For the greatest public interest, surely, is in helping to staunch the bleeding.

Maybe this is to ask the impossible. The media, after all, is just a conduit for the same macabre curiosity that overtook me as I lay in bed and watched that terrible mid-July evening on the Promenade des Anglais unfold.

Perhaps, then, a bigger onus lies with the public at large.

It seems indelicate to suggest the deluges of grief that followed events in Paris, Orlando, Nice, or Brussels constituted an overreaction. But taken in context thats what they were, especially when one considers how events that dont fit The Narrative  most notably the relentless massacre of Muslims in the Middle Eastprovoke a fraction of the same hysteria.

Overlaying profile photos on social media with flags of countries that have suffered atrocities is well-meaning. But the effect is to highlight how selective our sympathies are, thereby widening the cultural divide that, in the warped minds of jihadists, serves to justify their actions.

Callous as it may sound, we must master the art of quiet, proportional sympathy. A more balanced reaction to terror will not be a cure, but it might be part of one. After all, the greatest fear lies in speculating how The Narrative will unfold.

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Henry Wismayer is a freelance writer and commentator based in London. Follow him on Twitter @HenryWismayer.
Greenland is losing about 40 trillion pounds more ice a year than scientists had thought, according to a new study that used GPS to help estimate how much is melting.

So instead of losing on average 550 trillion pounds of ice each year between 2003 and 2013, Greenland lost about 590 trillion pounds, said co-author Michael Bevis of Ohio State University in a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances . Thats about a 7.6 percent difference.

The Empire State Building weighs 730 million pounds, so 40 trillion pounds a year is the equivalent to more than 50,000 Empire State Buildings.

If you look at the last 15 years since weve been having these measurements, its clearly getting worse, the ice loss, Bevis said. It is pretty scary.

Overall, though, it is still a small percentage. I dont think it changes the picture of whats going on, cautioned study co-author Beata Csatho at the University of Buffalo. The extra ice loss adds a tiny amount  one-sixtieth of an inch (0.4 mm) a decade  to global sea level rise, Bevis said. Greenland melt adds a fifth of an inch  0.54 mm  a decade, he said.

Not good news certainly as the values are already larger than wed had wished, but not a dramatic change in the overall already very alarming pattern weve been seeing over the past couple decades, said Duke University climate scientist Drew Shindell, who wasnt part of the study team.

Most measurements of ice sheet loss in Greenland and Antarctica use a satellite that measures changes in gravity and uses computer simulations to calculate the weight loss of ice. But the trouble is that as ice sheets melt, ground juts up to take its place, both instantly and slowly over centuries. The rocks that rise to replace the heavier ice are counted in the overall ice mass by the satellite and thus the satellites overstate how much ice there is, Bevis said.

The new measurements that use global positioning satellites and other sources compensate for that and are thus more accurate, Bevis said.

Erik Ivins, a senior research scientist at NASAs sea level and ice group who wasnt part of the team, called the study a significant breakthrough.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A supplier of cookie dough that Blue Bell Creameries blamed for a possible listeria contamination of some of its ice cream said Thursday that its product tested negative for the pathogen before it was sent to the Texas-based company.

Blue Bell announced Wednesday it was recalling select flavors of ice cream distributed across the South and made at its Sylacauga, Alabama, plant after finding chocolate chip cookie dough from a third-party supplier  Iowa-based Aspen Hills Inc.  that was potentially contaminated with listeria. Blue Bell said Thursday evening in an email it stood by its test results that found listeria in the cookie dough product.

Blue Bell halted sales, issued a voluntarily recall of all its products in April 2015 and shut down its three plants due to bacteria contamination that was linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas. The company, headquartered in Brenham, about 70 miles outside Houston, resumed selling its products about four months later. Before resuming production, the company said it had implemented new cleaning and sanitizing procedures at its facilities, as well as new testing programs and new employee training.

The iconic ice cream brand is beloved in Texas, where people impatiently awaited its return to store shelves after the recall.

No illnesses have been reported from the latest recall of ice cream distributed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, Blue Bell said.

Blue Bell said on Thursday in an email to The Associated Press that it found listeria contamination in packages of cookie dough ingredient received from Aspen Hills.

But a statement from Aspen Hills said its cookie dough product tested negative for listeria before it was shipped to Blue Bell and that the positive listeria results were obtained by Blue Bell only after our product had been in their control for almost two months.

Aspen Hills said that Blue Bell is the only customer that received the cookie dough product included in a separate voluntary recall it issued. Blue Bell has been a customer of Aspen Hills since January.

In a follow-up email Thursday evening, Blue Bell said the boxes of cookie dough ingredient it tested from Aspen Hills were unopened, and testing done both by Blue Bell and an outside lab confirmed the presence of listeria.

Blue Bell also said the Texas Department of State Health Services conducted follow-up tests. Agency spokeswoman Christine Mann confirmed the state tested the cookie dough and found it was positive for listeria.

Following the recall last year, Blue Bell signed agreements with health officials in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas  the three states where its plants are located. The agreements require the company to inform the states whenever there is a positive test result for listeria in its products or ingredients. Officials in those three states have also conducted additional visits of Blue Bells plants as well as done their own tests of product samples.

Since then, inspections have been less frequent in Alabama  the location of the plant where the latest contamination was found  than in Oklahoma and Texas, according to information from the three state governments.

Alabama tested ice cream products quarterly from Blue Bells plant in Sylacauga, Alabama, and has not found any problems with listeria, said Ron Dawsey, deputy director of the Bureau of Environmental Services with the Alabama Department of Public Health.

It appears at this point the issue was with the supplier, Dawsey said.

An inspector visits Blue Bells plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, monthly, according to Stan Stromberg, director of the food safety division for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Since Blue Bell resumed production in November, inspectors with the Texas Department of State Health Services have visited the Brenham, Texas, plant more than 50 times, conducted 22 routine inspections and 22 equipment tests and were on-site 17 additional times for other reasons such as reviewing records, evaluating trainings and collecting samples, said Mann.

Listeria is a hearty organism that can enter a food supply chain in different areas, said Dr. David Greenberg, an associate professor of infectious disease and microbiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Steven Kronenberg, a San Francisco-based attorney who has worked on lawsuits related to food safety issues and recalls, applauded Blue Bell for quickly issuing a recall.

Its difficult to say what else Blue Bell and the regulatory authorities should be doing. It sounds like they have been on top of it to the extent that they can, he said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BEREA, Ohio -- The early August move of Church Street Ministries' Second Mile thrift shop to the large Berea warehouse space housing its furniture store at 1480 West Bagley Road has created a whole new shopping experience. Donated clothing, resale items and furniture are now all assembled under one roof.

"People want convenience, so now it's just one stop," said store manager Kaitlin Barick. "We were struggling from having rent and utilities to pay at two locations. Also, if anyone donated furniture here, they would then have to travel to the other location (formerly near McDonald's in Berea) to donate clothes, household goods or jewelry."

Another feature of the store's mission is how it assists people throughout Cuyahoga County in a variety of ways.

"Anytime you shop here, you're helping somebody," Barick said. "Items are sold and we use that money for our food pantry and to give furniture to the needy. The other day I received a text message about a family's house that had burned and they lost everything. We came in here and were able to grab and fill boxes so they had toys for their kids and clothes for everyone."

The store also recycles items deemed not suitable for sale, with donations benefiting World Mission and the Salvation Army, she said. A separate room in the store contains power and hand tools, and the rear of the building has countless items not yet placed on the sales floor for customers.

Donations flow into the store on a daily basis. With items ranging from Calvin Klein dresses to a like-new grandfather clock, browsers and buyers can spend a long time perusing everything.

Church Street Ministries provides pickup and delivery services to customers doing business with Second Mile Shop.

Originally begun in the church basement, the thrift store has been in operation since 1986. A veterans in transition program started in 2011. Church Street Ministries will pick up furniture items for donation, unload donations at the store and, for a reasonable fee, deliver large purchases to customers' homes.

A special event takes place this Saturday. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 1, the Second Mile Shop Fall Fest will include special sales, a food truck and bake sale, pets available for adoption through Storm's Angels, and local artists with unique items for purchase. In addition, Premierscape LLC will sell pumpkins, mums, corn stalks and hay, with proceeds donated to Church Street Ministries. The shop's Christmas sale is slated for Nov. 16-19.

Barick encourages anyone looking for a good deal to stop in.

"Not only are you finding treasures for yourself, but you're helping your friends and neighbors in need," she said.

For more information, go to churchstreetministries.org or call 440-826-4603. The store is open 1-5 p.m. Wednesday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
BROOK PARK, Ohio -- Mayor Tom Coyne and Council President Jim Astorino debated during the Sept. 20 city council meeting about proper approval procedures for implementing "me-too" provisions in a union contract. A "me-too" clause enables one bargaining unit to accept terms negotiated by another and is designed to create consistency in pay and benefits.

In his report to council, Coyne questioned why his request (made the prior Wednesday) seeking council's verbal approval to implement "me-too" clauses had not been placed on the agenda. The city went through arbitration earlier in the year with the firefighters' union, he said, and there was an award of five- and six-weeks' vacation in that contract.

"Therefore, it triggers all the other union contracts under their 'me-too' provisions," Coyne said, calling the vacation terms "absolutely ludicrous." "We're probably going to have to pay these employees because it's too late in the scheduled year for people to schedule a fifth or sixth week of vacation here in November."

Coyne learned earlier in the day Astorino was questioning the validity of verbal approval in this instance. Astorino believes it must be done via ordinance as per city charter. Astorino also said the item did not meet the agenda deadline because a response Astorino was waiting on from the law director did not arrive until Friday. Council rules, Astorino said, indicate items for the agenda are due by 4:30 p.m. Thursday to allow timely dissemination of packets to all council members.

"I think he is wrong (about verbal approval) because we're implementing the 'me-too' of a contract already passed by council," Coyne insisted. "This is something we've done over the years. The greatest error is not bringing it forward for discussion. It is his duty to do so, and it should not be interfered with."

Astorino questioned Brook Park Human Resources Commissioner Jennifer Sinatra about proper procedure in a Sept. 23 e-mail. He said her request for council's verbal approval of the contract amendments was not in compliance with the charter. He cited Section 4.08, which states "All legislative action by council shall be by ordinance or resolution introduced in written or printed form." Section 4.10 indicates "provisions by ordinance" are required "for alterations or modifications of contracts." The city's law director previously indicated verbal approval was sufficient.

"It's my legislation," Coyne told Astorino, wondering aloud why Astorino simply didn't call him with any concerns. "Why are you calling the law director about something I proposed? You have no right to arbitrarily interfere with what I propose."

Astorino later said that because some vacation payouts won't happen until December, he felt proper planning still could be accomplished.

"I have full confidence council will move on it appropriately," he told the mayor and council. "Without it being such an emergent matter, I made the decision we would wait until the next meeting."

Legislation to approve the "me-too" provisions is slated to be addressed during the Oct. 4 city council meeting.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Parents of a 10-month-old boy who couldn't explain to police how their son's skull was cracked were sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday after the child died from traumatic brain injuries.

Jacquea Piggee, 24, and Diontay Phillips Sr., 30, were sentenced on involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from the Oct. 13, 2014 death of their son, Diontay Phillips Jr. They pleaded guilty earlier this month.

The couple was already serving prison time for child endangering when a grand jury handed up the manslaughter indictments after the boy died.

Phillips pleaded guilty to the first charge in 2013 and was sentenced the following January to five years in prison. Piggee took her child-endangering case to trial in April 2014. She was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Those original sentences were mere merged with Monday's sentences, and both parents will be given credit for time served under the previous sentence.

What happened before Piggee showed up at the hospital in September 2013 with baby Diontay remains a mystery.

Piggee fell to her knees in court as the sentence was read Monday morning. Her sobbing became so profuse that a sheriff's deputy moved her handcuffs so that she could wipe her face.

The baby's skull was so badly damaged when she brought it in that it protruded outward on his scalp. He suffered repeated seizures over the following weeks and months. He would never return home, dying more than a year after he was brought to the hospital at the age of 2.

Piggee's story morphed from "I don't know" to speculating that his 7-year-old brother dropped him to then claiming that her boyfriend's medicine made him irate, and could have prompted him to lash out against the boy.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sherrie Royster told the judge that Piggee told a police officer at one point during an interview: "If I get my alibi straight, I'll be alright, right."

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's found that the boy would have had to fall from at least three stories. His head injuries were consistent with that of a high-speed crash.

Piggee was pregnant at the time Diontay Jr. was in the hospital. The child was put up for adoption when it was born.

McDonnell said she had considered giving Phillips, who has a criminal history including assaulting a police officer and felony drug trafficking, a harsher sentence. But the judge was dismayed at Piggee's serpentine story line.

"You're both equally responsible," McDonnell said. "You're both the parents."

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AKRON, Ohio -- The father of a robbery suspect shot and killed by an Akron police officer in September 2015 has filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the city, saying the shooting was unjustified because his son was not armed.

The lawsuit, filed Friday by William T. Lemmon Sr., says that William R. Lemmon Jr., 21, "posted no imminent or immediate threat to anyone" when officer Brian Armstead shot him on the 400 block of North Main Street.

At the time, four Akron officers surrounded William R. Lemmon Jr. because he "partially fit the description" of a robbery suspect, the lawsuit says.

The suit says that when officers yelled various orders to pull his hands out of his waistband, Lemmon "defiantly replied multiple expletives and said that he hadn't done anything, that he wasn't going anywhere and that the officers would have to shoot him."

Lemmon then put his right hand half way into his jeans' waistband. He stepped off his bicycle and allowed it to drop. One officer discharged his Taser, and a second later Armstead fired at least four shots at Lemmon, the lawsuit says.

William T. Lemmon Sr. brings claims of excessive force, unreasonable search and seizure, and wrongful death, among other claims. In addition to the city and Armstead, the suit also names Akron police Chief James Nice as a defendant. He is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.

Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh in July deemed Armstead's actions justified. In her letter, she wrote officers saw the younger Lemmon reach his right hand into his front waistband, which was interpreted as a threatening move.

Eyewitnesses and videos of the incident corroborated the officers' accounts, according to police reports.

At the time of his death, William R. Lemmon had an active warrant for robbery, and he had just been released from prison on a robbery conviction.

The civil case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi.

Akron spokeswoman Christine Curry said the city has not been served with the lawsuit, but is aware of it. She said she could not comment on pending litigation.

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Jeremy Levine.JPG

Jeremy Levine takes a moment to relax on the Medina square during his busy first week as the new executive director of Main Street Medina.

(Ann Norman, special to cleveland.com)

MEDINA, Ohio - It didn't take long for Main Street Medina's new executive director to get his feet wet.

Jeremy Levine started work last Monday and quickly found himself sitting in on various business and community meetings, including a gathering of Medina chefs on Wednesday to discuss Medina Restaurant Week, which kicks off Oct. 11.

"Main Street Medina has a really dedicated volunteer base, people who are willing to step up enthusiastically. It's been helpful for me to be able to step right into that," Levine said.

"As a non-profit organization, we are running on lean and mean resources, so it really does take a village," he said.

The 42-year-old comes to Medina from the International Exposition Center in Cleveland, where he served as vice president.

He is probably best known for co-launching and producing the "Fabulous Food Show," a consumer food and beverage event that welcomes more than 27,000 visitors a year.

He has supervised more than 90 major civic productions, festivals, consumer events, live concerts and conventions. Last fall, he was instrumental in developing the world's first fully transitional theater/arena, complete with portable telescopic elevated seating and moveable walls, at the I-X Center.

Now he is turning his talents in support of Main Street Medina, which champions preservation and economic sustainability for the city's nine-block historic district surrounding the square.

"One of his primary tasks will be the implementation of Main Street Medina's new strategic plan," said board chair Carole Kowell.

"I can't wait to see where Jeremy's marketing skills and vision will take our already successful events, such as the International Fest and Candlelight Walk. I have every confidence that under Jeremy's strong leadership, our organization will only get better," Kowell said.

Levine has big shoes to fill. He is taking over for the organization's first executive director, Matt Wiederhold, who joined Main Street Medina in 2008. Wiederhold stepped down April 15 to take a development position with The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio.

"It's no small task to launch an organization and to build solid foundations. Matt was the catalyst for that," Levine said.

"There's a tremendous legacy here," he said.

Levine, who now lives in Strongsville, first became familiar with Medina after meeting his wife, Melissa Plute Levine, who grew up here in town. Their family, which includes Noah, 10, and Vida, 3, are frequent visitors.

"I started coming out here for fireworks, the Fourth of July, to eat at the restaurants when we visited my wife's family," he said.

"I was really struck by the uniqueness of this place. This is such an authentic place. You can't replicate the history of this kind of city and community," he said.

Levine will bring his marketing and event-planning skills to his new position.

"I love public relations, event production and business development. This job is the confluence of these things. It's a really appealing opportunity for me personally," he said.

He also is looking forward to learning more about historic preservation, something he got a taste of nearly a decade ago when his first wife, Allison, helped create LakewoodAlive, Lakewood's Main Street organization.

Allison died in 2009 after an 11-month battle with a rare form of gastric cancer.

"All of the approvals for the group were in place when she passed away. I helped advocate to finish the job," he said.

Now, when he drives through Lakewood, he enjoys seeing the fruits of Ali's labor of love.

"It's an honor to see how one life can impact a community," he said.

History is important in a city like Medina, Levine said. But so is turning an eye toward the future.

"We need to be very serious and very respectful of honoring the historic aspect (of the city) while also looking forward," he said.

"The square is at a really good place," he said.

The buildings are at occupancy, with a good mix of shops and restaurants, and the area attracts locals and tourists to its many events and unique shopping and dining experiences, he said.

"The next step is going to be the housing stock. We want to attract people to live in the historic district," he said.

Levine said the city has a "really solid" economic development plan in place that Main Street Medina will support with its efforts to promote the historic district.

But first things first: He wants to take a close look at the 2017 calendar of events for the square, to make sure that the venue is meeting its potential.

"We'll be really looking at it strategically to make sure we're drawing a wide range of visitors to the square," he said.

He also wants to spend time cultivating the Main Street Medina membership base, attract new sponsors and market the historic district's merchants and other members, he said.

"There a different spirit in a place like this. The community is very welcoming," he said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man on probation for selling drugs in Cleveland and Lakewood is accused of trying to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Johnathan Natale, 22, is charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, importuning and possessing criminal tools.

He entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment Monday and is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on $25,000 bond.

Natale exchanged messages between Jan. 15 and Sept. 6 with an undercover officer with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who posed as the 14-year-old girl in an online forum, according to court records.

He twice expressed interest in meeting up with the girl to have sex.

They arranged a Sept. 6 meeting at the Family Video on West 130th Street in Parma. Officers arrested Natale when he arrived.

Natale is currently on probation after he was twice found guilty of dealing drugs.

He was sentenced to two years on probation in August after he sold cocaine to a police informant working with the Westshore Enforcement Bureau, a task force of investigators in the county's western suburbs.

In December, Natale was sentenced to five years on probation for selling cocaine near Hope Academy West in Lakewood. Police found him with a loaded gun during his arrest in that case.

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Brian Brack Destany Dixon

Brian Brack, left, and Destany Dixon were arraigned Monday on felonious assault charges after Cleveland police said they assaulted an off-duty officer at Panini's Bar and Grill in downtown Cleveland Friday night.

(Cleveland police)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The couple charged in a scuffle with an off-duty Cleveland police officer working security at a downtown bar appeared in court Monday.

Brian Brack, of Canton, and Destany Dixon, of Cleveland, did not enter a plea to felonious assault charges in Cleveland Municipal Court.

A Cleveland judge ordered Brack held on $5,000 bond, and set bond for Dixon at $2,500, court records show.

The incident started about 11 p.m. Friday when bartenders at Panini's Bar and Grill at East 9th Street and Huron Road noticed that the 23-year-old Brack bought a drink and gave it to 20-year-old Dixon, according to police.

A manager at the bar asked the officer to check Dixon's ID, and employees took back the drinks when they learned Dixon was underage, a report said. The officer asked the couple to leave.

Brack stood up and got "within inches" of the officer's face, police said. The officer pushed the man back to put space between the two, and Brack started throwing punches, according to a police report.

The officer tried to punch back. Witnesses in the bar told police that Dixon punched the officer in the back during the struggle, police said.

Brack pushed the officer across the floor, and the two pressed into the window, according to police.

The force shattered the glass, and both fell onto the pavement on East 9th Street, which was packed with people on a busy Friday night after a Cleveland Indians game at nearby Progressive Field.

Brack ran from the bar. Witnesses told several nearby Cuyahoga County sheriff's deputies who happened to be in the area where Brack went, police said. The deputies shot Brack with a Taser as he ran. He fell to the ground and was taken into custody, the report says.

Deputies arrested Dixon in the bar.

Prosecutors will present their cases to a grand jury.

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AKRON, Ohio -- A former Kent State University professor will spend the next eight months in prison after he tried to meet up with an 15-year-old boy for sex in an Akron elementary school parking lot.

Willie Harrell, 45, previously pleaded guilty to one count of importuning, a fifth-degree felony. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones handed down the sentence on Monday.

Harrell was fired from his position as an English professor, where he made $42,000 per year, days after his arrest. He had been a professor at the university since 2003.

Harrell sent messages to the 15-year-old boy Aug. 26, 2015, and the two agreed to meet for sex at Smith Elementary School in Akron.

Officers couldn't see inside the SUV when they arrived and ordered the occupants to step outside. Harrell and a 15-year-old boy got out of the SUV.

The professor admitted that he chatted with the boy online and they agreed to meet for sex.

Harrell posted a $25,000 bond in his case and was released from jail. Three months later, he was caught trying to flee the country at the border of Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.

Harrell told Canadian authorities that he was trying to leave the country to avoid prosecution in his pending case in Summit County Common Pleas Court, according to a court filing by prosecutors.

Harrell also had a device in his car that blocked GPS location tracking. He was released to U.S. Border Patrol agents several hours later.

Harrell then told U.S. authorities that he was moving to Canada for work and that he planned to return to Akron for all his court appearances.

U.S. officials let him go since he had no warrant for his arrest. Corrigall Jones later issued a bench warrant.

Harrell was eventually arrested March 22 in Orleans Parish, Louisiana and extradited back to Akron.

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lotterytickets.jpg

The Ohio Lottery needs to develop ways to sell more instant tickets, including providing incentives to retailers and removing poor-selling items, a report says.

(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio should develop a statewide gaming policy that includes collaboration among casinos, racinos and the lottery, says a report prepared for the Ohio Lottery.

Spectrum Gaming Group did not recommend consolidating the Ohio Lottery Commission and the Ohio Casino Control Commission, but said "a clear state policy encouraging creative cooperation can boost both lottery and commercial casinos in Ohio."

The research firm said the suggestion was based on the success of New Jersey, where casinos also sell lottery tickets and the New Jersey Lottery hosts player parties at casinos.

The Ohio Lottery should "develop cross-promotional opportunities with Ohio casino operators through marketing partnerships," the report said. "Such a partnership could take various forms, from offering casino prizes to lottery players to encourage casino visitation to offering lottery products to restaurant and bar areas of casinos."

The Ohio Lottery sought Spectrums's independent assessment a year ago. The report by Spectrum, of New Jersey, was delivered last week.

See the report below or click here if on a mobile device.

The lottery commission oversees seven racinos, online games, Keno and games at fraternal and veterans halls. The lottery also participates in multi-state games.

The Ohio lottery regularly ranks among the top third of lotteries in the United States in the key measures such as per-capital average weekly sales, but its 2.3-percent growth over the last five years has been less than half of the U.S. average.

Traditional lottery sales combined with those from video lottery were more than $3 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30 and resulted in a record profit of $1 billion. The profits go to the Lottery Profits Education Fund.

Lottery commission chairman Patrick McDonald called the Spectrum report "food for thought," according to the Gongwer News Service. "I think we need to basically sit back and review it and fact check a lot of the statistics and see what we can do to comply or implement many of the recommendations."

Here are recommendations from the report:

Management

Currently the nine-member Ohio Lottery Commission cannot hire employees or approve contracts.

Spectrum says the lottery should be reconfigured into a quasi-public corporation, similar to lotteries in Georgia and Connecticut. The commission should be allowed to appoint the chief executive and oversee the budget.

That recommendation mirrors former State Auditor Mary Taylor's suggestion in a 2010 performance audit of the lottery.

It could be similar to JobsOhio, a private nonprofit corporation, which has an indepedent board appointed by the governor.

"The Lottery presently operates under an inefficient management structure, inhibiting its ability to react quickly to changing market conditions while impeding its ability to develop and execute a strategy to maximize sales," the report said. "This structure is one key reason why the Lottery - which is generally a strong performer - has missed opportunities to grow revenue."

If such a change is not politically tenable, an alternative would be to have the governor and general assembly grant more authority to the Ohio Lottery Commission.

Vendors

"Staff members are too prone to accept vendor recommendations rather than challenge and examine them," the report said.

The lottery should not be so dependent on one vendor for multiple areas and should re-bid contracts because long-term contracts are '"ineffecient management practice."

The lottery should seek bids instead of extending its gaming system contract with Intralot, which expires in 2017, an additional four years.

Marketing

Retailers are taking too long to activate new products.

Electronic video lottery terminal offerings such as video poker and electronic table games should be expanded at the seven racinos.

Online gaming needs to be expanded.

The lottery needs to improve sales of instant tickets, which represent 53 percent of lottery sales, with measures including incentives for retailers, more games and removing poor-selling games.
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Engineering majors at Cleveland State University and other colleges are likely to earn a great salary during their career, according to a new report.

(Karen Farkas, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - What major and college gives you the best shot at a well-paying job?

PayScale's annual College Salary Report provides some answers.

Not surprisingly, degrees in engineering, mathematics and computer science lead to strong earnings. But an associate degree in similar fields can also lead to a high-paying job.

Choosing a college is a little more nuanced. Graduates of liberal arts colleges may earn less early in their career, but earnings rise as they gain experience.

Payscale, a salary, benefits and compensation information company, compiled data on lifetime earnings for hundreds of degree and major combinations to show the earning potential for an associate, bachelor's or master's degree.

The data is collected through PayScale's ongoing, online compensation survey. Users provide data about their jobs, compensation, employer and educational background.

The sample considered for last year's report was 1.4 million college graduates, PayScale said. The sample size for each school ranges from 50 to 4,000 profiles, depending largely upon the size of the school.

The end result shows how much alumni from nearly 1,000 undergraduate schools earn. It also includes the percent of alumni at each school who say their work makes the world a better place.

Following are how northeast Ohio colleges ranked in the state by salary potential.

Early career pay indicates what full-time employees earn the first five years out of college. Mid-career pay reflects 10 or more years of experience.

Public and private four-year colleges: bachelor's degree.

1. Oberlin College: $44,900 (early), $103,000 (mid)

5. Case Western Reserve University: $58,600 (early), $92,600 (mid)

6. John Carroll University: $44,600 (early), $91,000 (mid)

13. University of Akron: $46,600 (early), $77,300 (mid)

14. Cleveland State University: $42,500 (early), $77,100 (mid)

15. College of Wooster: $38,600 (early), $76,900 (mid)

17. Walsh University: $40,200 (early), $75,100 (mid)

23. Baldwin Wallace University: $41,800 (early), $72,100 (mid)

26. Youngstown State University: $44,300 (early), $71,600 (mid)

30. Hiram College: $40,000 (early), $70,000 (mid)

33. Kent State University: $41,000 (early), $66,200 (mid)

36. Ursuline College: $42,500 (early), $63,600 (mid)

Community colleges

2. Lorain County Community College: $36,500 (early), $61,500 (mid)

4. Lakeland Community College: $35,600 (early), $57,200 (mid)

15. Cuyahoga Community College: $37,000 (early), $50,100 (mid)

Overall 5 top bachelor degrees by salary

1. Petroleum engineering: $96,700 (early), $172,000 (mid)

2. Systems engineering: $66,400 (early), $121,000 (mid)

3. Actuarial science (advance study of statistics): $60,800 (early), $119,000 (mid)

4. Chemical engineering: $69,800 (early), $119,000 (mid)

5. Computer Science and engineering: $71,200 (early), $116,000 (mid)

5, Nuclear engineering: $68,500 (early), $116,000 (mid)

Overall top 5 associate degrees by salary

Computer engineering: $41,000 (early), $77,300 (mid)

Economics: $36,500 (early), $76,500 (mid)

Management information systems: $46,300 (early), $76,400 (mid)

Construction management: $44,500 (early), $73,400 (mid)

Electrical engineering: $42,400 (early), $70,800 (mid)
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois -- An argument at a party resulted in gunfire being exchanged in the street near the University of Illinois early Sunday morning, killing a man who was a bystander, reports say.

George Korchev, 22, of Mundelein, Ill., was pronounced dead after being taken to an area hospital, the Chicago Tribune reports. Korchev was set to begin working Sunday as a registered nurse at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill., according to the News-Gazette.

Champaign police spokeswoman LaEisha Meaderds tells the Associated Press that Korchev wasn't a student at UI and that he just happened to be walking by when the gunfire started.

"We lost someone whose life mission was to help others," Justin Konieczny, a friend and former high school classmate of Korchev's, tells the Tribune.

The News-Gazette reports four other people were wounded, one in a separate shooting that might be related, and a female running from the gunfire was struck by a car trying to leave the scene. None of the other injuries was life-threatening.

The fight reportedly started in an apartment during a party, then moved outside.

The suspect or suspects in the shooting ran from the scene and remain at-large, reports say.

Kathryn Lawlor witnesses shots fired on Green Street in Champaign. She sent me this video. pic.twitter.com/Qv0x4YcpKf  Masaki Sugimoto (@MasakiSugimoto) September 25, 2016

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Obamacare

Amy Brighton of Medina, Ohio, in front of the Supreme Court as it heard an Affordable Care Act case in 2012. Critics say the act, known as Obamacare and upheld by the court, has pushed up insurance premiums substantially.

(Charles Dharapak, Associated Press)

WASHINGTON - When Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor told Congress recently that Obamacare has pushed up the cost of individual health policies by a whopping 91 percent, critics of the government-mandated health insurance program declared outrage.

It was one more reason, Republicans said, that the Affordable Care Act of 2010 -- generally labeled Obamacare -- must be repealed and replaced.

But other figures released last week by health policy analysts help form a different conclusion: Obamacare rates are not nearly as bad as suggested by Taylor, who freely acknowledges her opposition to the federal health law.

In one study Obamacare premiums were cheaper than premiums charged in the much broader marketplace of employer-provided healthcare, even when accounting for differences in the two programs' coverage and features.

How can that be? And who's right?

Let's see.

What Taylor said:

Taylor wears two hats in Ohio government. She's the lieutenant governor - and might run for governor in 2018 - and she runs the Ohio Department of Insurance The department reviews and approves rates for insurers operating in the state.

Taylor based her 91 percent figure on the difference between average premiums in the individual market in two years: 2013, the year before Obamacare mandated nearly everyone have insurance or pay a fine, and 2017. The 2017 rates are for policies that will go on sale later this year for coverage starting in January.

The key numbers:

$2,650.16: the average premium for an individual policy in Ohio in 2013.

$5,065.30: the average premium for an individual policy in the Obamacare marketplace in 2017 in Ohio.

The change between the figure for 2013 and 2017 is 91 percent.

"A near doubling of the premium will undoubtedly harm some Ohio consumers as open enrollment gets underway later this fall," Taylor said in testimony to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohioan running for reelection who also opposes Obamacare.

Where Taylor's numbers came from:

Taylor's office said her 2013 numbers came from annual premium data for Ohio from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The 2017 numbers came from monthly rate requests filed by Ohio insurers for 2017.

Both of these were straight averages, though adjusted for an annual comparison, for a range of policies that Ohioans bought or are expected to buy - a few Maseratis at the high end, if you will, a lot of Chevys and Fords in the middle, and a bunch of cheaper Kias at the bottom.

The strength and weakness of Taylor's numbers:

Taylor was criticized for making the same kind of comparison in advance of 2014, the first year of mandatory coverage, because the 2013 market was so vastly different.

Insurance coverage wasn't required by law in 2013. A number of people simply skipped coverage or bought high-deductible policies and played roulette with their health and bank accounts. Those who truly needed insurance because of poor health or preexisting conditions often were turned down or, if accepted for coverage, found it unaffordable. That was one of the prime motivators for passage of the Affordable Care Act, which outlawed price differentials for health status and guaranteed no one could be denied coverage.

Taylor's number for 2013 struck Gary Claxton, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, as rather low. It suggested either of two things, he said in a phone interview:

The insurance coverage was limited or relative bare-bones, or

The people buying the coverage were unusually young. It costs a lot less to insure young people.

This is not to say Taylor's underlying figures were wrong. But by using 2013 as the baseline, Taylor was comparing a very different insurance product and market.

A different look at premiums:

Mathematical averages give you a general sense of price. They do not tell you about policy features, out-of-pocket costs and narrow or broad networks of doctors and hospitals. An industry trend has been for insurers to offer fewer provider choices in exchange for more modest premium hikes.

These are among the reasons why a rate request by, for example, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield states extremes as well as averages. The company expects a 15.9 percent premium hike on average for 2017, a filing shows. But some policies could go up by as much as 27 percent, or as relatively little as 9.1 percent.

You want averages? Here's one: The average Medical Mutual of Ohio premium per client, or "member, " in the individual market was $203.17 in 2013, the year before Obamacare policies went on the market, the insurer said.

In 2016, the average Medical Mutual premium for an Obamacare individual policy was $416.74.

That's a 105 percent change.

So again, was Taylor right?

Thx to @MaryTaylorOH for joining me in the Senate today to talk about the consequences of #Obamacare cost increases: pic.twitter.com/9pU61s9XfQ  Rob Portman (@senrobportman) September 15, 2016

Mathematically, it appears so. Qualitatively? That's a different matter, as insurers acknowledge.

A fresh analysis:

The Urban Institute's Health Policy Center last week released a study with a different perspective. It found that yes, Obamacare premiums are rising - but in most states including Ohio, they're not as expensive as premiums in the broad employer-provided insurance market.

And most Americans get coverage from an employer, not from Obamacare, although the law's requirements have affected the employer market, too.

For example, the study found that in Ohio, the average monthly cost for insurance for an individual, counting all sources of payment, was $514 a month in 2016 in the employer market.

The cost for an Obamacare policy - specifically, the second-lowest-price policy for a 40-year-old in the silver tier, believed by analysts to represent a typical purchase because of its cost-sharing benefits for the buyer - was $258. Notice how much lower that is than the $514 employer-sponsored plan -- and how it differs from the $422.10 a month average in Taylor's 2017 example (divide her $5,065.30 annual premium by 12 months)?

But wait: Isn't this comparing apples with oranges? The coverage is different. The ages of the people covered might be different, affecting the cost. The benefits provided, the out-of-pocket costs, the payments for care - the actuarial values of each policy -- are different.

So the Urban Institute used actuarial formulas to factor how these differences affected price. It added those differences into the calculation. This pushed the true value of that Ohio Obamacare policy up a lot higher, to $407 a month before subsidies for the buyer in 2016.

Yet that $407 was still 21 percent less than the price of an employer-sponsored policy. The difference came to 22 percent - that is, the Obamacare policy was 22 percent less - in the Cleveland market, and 32 percent less in the Cincinnati market.

Are nongroup Marketplace premiums really high? Not compared with employer insurance, new report finds https://t.co/w4MHWmy1Vj #ACA  Urban Institute (@urbaninstitute) September 19, 2016

What to make of this?

We'll cite the study's headline:

"Are nongroup marketplace premiums really high? Not in comparison with employer insurance."

Your own circumstances may vary. The study, after all, was based on averages.
Campaign 2016 Debate

A sounds technician tests his equipment during a rehearsal for the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016.

(David Goldman, Associated Press)

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton go head-to-head for the first time. Mike Pence and Bill Clinton will visit Ohio in the week following the debate. The Cincinnati Enquirer broke with an almost century-old practice of supporting GOP candidates to endorse Clinton. Read more in today's Ohio Politics Roundup, brought to you today by Robin Goist.

How well will the candidates perform in tonight's debate? Monday night's presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump might be the most-watched political event in history, and cleveland.com's Henry J. Gomez offers three storylines to watch.

"The Republican hopeful is a former reality TV ringmaster known for his schoolyard taunts and his incendiary - often racially charged - rhetoric," Gomez writes. "Clinton, the Democratic nominee and former secretary of state, has run a highly conventional campaign that seems quaint by comparison."

Trump stood out in the crowded GOP field during the primary debates, but rarely showed presidential temperament in those matches. Will he stick to the substantial or the superficial this time around?

Join cleveland.com political reporters tonight for analysis, fact-checking and commentary during our live debate coverage.

Not the only debate this week: Two prominent political commentators will debate the election this Thursday at Baldwin Wallace University, reports cleveland.com's Andrew J. Tobias.

Newt Gingrich, the former U.S. House Speaker and Trump supporter, will join Van Jones, the former environmental adviser in President Barack Obama's administration and Clinton supporter, in BW's Ursprung Gymnasium. The two previously co-hosted "Crossfire" on CNN and are set to discuss the impact Clinton and Trump's policies could have on Ohio and its economy.

The university booked them to appear last year as part of the BW School of Business Leadership Lecture Series, and it just so happened that both have emerged as prominent voices on this year's election.

Trump campaign works to win the Mahoning Valley: In the aftermath of Trump's Mahoning County campaign spokeswoman being replaced following her controversial comments about African-Americans, the campaign announced Friday that Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, will speak in neighboring Columbiana County this Wednesday evening.

The Indiana governor will hold a campaign rally at Leetonia High School at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, reports WKBN's Sarah Mercer.

The event will likely be picked up by Youngstown-area television stations, which also broadcast to western Pennsylvania. While Clinton leads in Pennsylvania by about 5 points, according to RealClearPolitics' average, Trump's campaign has been working to earn votes in that swing state, as well.

But Ohio hasn't seen Clinton in weeks: Sure, Clinton has sent "an army of surrogates" to stump for her in Ohio, cleveland.com's Mary Kilpatrick writes, but the Democratic nominee herself has not been in Ohio since Labor Day.

In the same time frame, Trump has visited the Buckeye State several times, including appearances in Cleveland Heights and Toledo last week alone. Clinton has instead been campaigning elsewhere.

Why? Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com suggests several states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, could decide the state of the election before Ohio - not to mention the political website is forecasting that Ohio is leaning Trump.

Another surrogate headed our way: In addition to Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, daughter Chelsea Clinton, and actors like Sean Astin and the cast of "The West Wing," Clinton's campaign is bringing former President Bill Clinton to campaign for his wife in Ohio this week.

Clinton will appear at Ohio Democratic events in the Cleveland and Toledo areas on National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday, Sept. 27. He "will lay out the high stakes of November's election for Ohio families and urge Ohioans to register to vote ahead of the October 11 deadline," according to a release from the campaign.

One Ohio newspaper is with her: Breaking with a decades-long practice of supporting Republican presidential candidates, The Cincinnati Enquirer endorsed Clinton for president on Friday, reports cleveland.com's Kilpatrick.

"Presidential elections should be about who's the best candidate, not who's the least flawed. Unfortunately, that's not the case this year," the newspaper's editorial board wrote, criticizing both Clinton and Trump. However, the decision to endorse Clinton was based primarily on her experience, paired with Trump's lack thereof.

"Clinton is a known commodity with a proven track record of governing. As a senator of New York, she earned respect in Congress by working across the aisle and crafting bills with conservative lawmakers," the endorsement reads, adding, "[Trump] has no history of governance that should engender any confidence from voters."

Netflix and vote: Ohio Democrats reached out to Netflix fans Sunday with a video featuring cast members from the show "Orange is the New Black." Actors Kate Mulgrew, Taylor Schilling and Natasha Lyonne emphasize that "Ohio is the swing state" and "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation," in a 44-second video tweeted out by the party that highlights early voting.

Speaking of voting: A federal court ruled Friday that Ohio's system for purging voters violates federal law, reports cleveland.com's Robert Higgs. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 opinion to reverse a lower court decision and struck down Ohio's process, which involved sending notifications to inactive voters.

It's unclear what impact the ruling may have on voters whose names were already removed from the voting rolls. That will be addressed by the district court.

"With today's ruling, the court will effectively force us to put voters back on the voter rolls who have died or long since moved to another address," Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said in a statement, criticizing the ruling.

POTUS headed to Cbus: Obama will headline the Ohio Democratic Party's annual state dinner Oct. 13 in Columbus, the party announced Saturday, according to cleveland.com's Gomez. The outgoing commander-in-chief will appear in a key battleground state during the thick of Clinton's race against Trump.

Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ted Strickland, the former Ohio governor challenging Sen. Rob Portman's re-election bid this fall, will also speak at the dinner.

Is it too late for Strickland? Despite being down by double-digits in the polls, Strickland's campaign is not giving up, continuing to reassure Democrats that he can still win. One of their strategies is spotlighting Elizabeth Warren's support, reports cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer.

"Almost every Strickland fundraising email sent in the past three weeks is either from Warren or conspicuously mentions her. Warren campaigning with Strickland in Columbus and Cleveland last weekend. And in a new Strickland web ad, Warren urges Ohioans to support him 'so he can fight for real people,'" Pelzer writes.

Strickland spokesman David Bergstein said Warren is a "passionate and powerful advocate for the middle class who brings energy and excitement to the campaign trail, and we are grateful for her support." At this point, it looks like Strickland could use all the support he can get.

Ohio's medical marijuana bill in the spotlight: In the first attempt to tweak Ohio's new law, a new bill would prevent medical marijuana patients from using ID cards from most other states, reports cleveland.com's Jackie Borchardt.

The Ohio law calls for the state to enter into reciprocity agreements with medical marijuana states that have similar patient eligibility requirements, so Ohio patients could use their state-issued patient ID cards to use medical marijuana in other legal states, and vice versa. However, House Bill 597 would limit those states to those that don't allow marijuana to be smoked or grown at home, since Ohio's law prohibits both practices.

The bill's sole sponsor Rep. Kyle Koehler, a Springfield Republican, said Thursday the legislation was not intended to hurt Ohio patients. Fellow Republican Sen. Dave Burke of Marysville, who spearheaded the Senate GOP medical marijuana effort, disagreed, saying the new bill is premature and seeks to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

Perhaps the advisory committee can lend some guidance: Gov. John Kasich announced Friday eight appointees to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, reports Borchardt. The 14-member committee will advise three state agencies in writing the rules and regulations for the state's new program.

Kasich was asked to appoint two pharmacists and two physicians, one of each must support medical marijuana; a member to represent employers; a member to represent agriculture; a member who represents alcohol and drug addiction treatment professionals; and an academic researcher. The other six appointments will be made by Republican and Democratic leaders in the Ohio House and Senate.

The Ohio Medical Board weighs in: The Ohio State Medical Board is advising doctors to talk to their lawyers and employers if they want to recommend medical marijuana to patients before the dispensaries open, Borchardt writes.

Physicians and patients had hoped for clear-cut guidance about the affirmative defense portion of Ohio's medical marijuana law, but instead, the board issued a statement Friday directing doctors to contact an attorney to explain it.

The statement noted state law requires doctors have a special certificate, not yet available, to issue a "written recommendation" for medical marijuana. However, the board didn't indicate a difference between a recommendation for an affirmative defense and a recommendation to register a patient in the yet-to-be-established program. That leaves open the interpretation that physicians can't write recommendations until certified.

"The board recommends that physicians consult with their private legal counsel and/or employer for interpretation of the legislation," the statement read.

But businesses are ready to cash in: "Ohio-based manufacturers of growing lights, greenhouses, plant oil extraction systems, packaging, trans-dermal patches and more are awaiting state regulators to write rules, certify doctors and patients and license growers and dispensaries for medical marijuana," writes the Dayton Daily News' Laura A. Bischoff.

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Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) in Lahore, Pakistan on December 25, 2015. Indian Press Information Office | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Last Christmas there was love in the air. Flying home from Afghanistan, Narendra Modi suddenly decided to stop over in Lahore to pay his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif a surprise visit, the first Indian prime minister to go to the estranged neighbor in nearly 12 years. The occasion for the unprecedented outreach: Sharif's birthday and his granddaughter's wedding. Sharif later hosted the wedding wearing a pink turban Modi brought as a gift. The turban has come off and so have the gloves, as the brief "bromance"  as media on the subcontinent had then put it  proved short-lived. India and Pakistan are back to their default setting of trading charges and fire, only this time dragging one of China's key infrastructure projects in the region into the line of fire. The current round of hostilities between the two South Asian neighbors erupted in grenade explosions last Sunday. Four terrorists, who India says belonged to a militant outfit sheltered by Pakistan, crossed the border and raided an army base in Uri in the Indian-administered province of Jammu and Kashmir, killing 18 Indian soldiers.



watch now

As public demand for retribution mounts, the tough-talking Modi, who as an opposition leader would mock his predecessor for being soft on Pakistan and China, finds himself in a difficult situation as his options look woefully limited against a nuclear-armed neighbor. Short of an appropriate military option, the sniping has moved to the global diplomatic stage. While Pakistan last week was drawing the world's attention to the ongoing protests in Indian-administered Kashmir that have claimed more than 80 lives, India has been trying to isolate Pakistan diplomatically at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly by painting it as a rogue state sponsoring terror. But according to Shashi Tharoor, an opposition lawmaker and former minister of state for external affairs, "Isolation is a challenge since various countries have bilateral reasons not to isolate Pakistan. The US needs Pakistan because of Afghanistan, and China has major strategic interests there, especially the US$46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is China's single biggest overseas development project. As long as major powers choose to stay engaged with Pakistan, overlooking its misbehavior, diplomatic isolation will have its limitations as a policy." The CPEC links the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea with Xinjiang (  ), providing western China easy access to fuel imports from the Middle East and Africa while creating an export route for its landlocked western states. More from the South China Morning Post :

Pakistanhappy to aid in China's quest for land route to the west; India,not so much

18Indian soldiers, 4 commando militants killed in deadliest Kashmirattack in two years

Caughtin the middle: Kashmiri police face public wrath amid anti-Indiauprising Gwadar is located in Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province, where a low-intensity separatist insurgency for nationhood has been bubbling for decades. Many Chinese workers have been attacked and killed amid the violence, forcing large-scale security arrangements. About US$460 million, or 1 per cent of the corridor's project cost, is to be spent on security, with two armed guards assigned to every Chinese worker. With limited diplomatic or military options, experts believe it is this showpiece project  part of China's "One Belt, One Road" strategy of integrating the regional market with infrastructure investments  that India is targeting to force China to rein in its "all-weather friend" Pakistan. "India playing the Baluch card is part of a more complex signal to the Chinese that their plans for the CPEC are contingent on wider regional stability, and thereby tacitly nudge the Chinese to play a constructive role in reorienting Pakistan's world view and foreign policies," said Zorawar Daulet Singh, co-author of India China Relations: The Border Issue and Beyond.

Pakistani demonstrators burn effigies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj during a protest to show solidarity with those living in Indian-administered Kashmir in Lahore on September 25, 2016. Arif Ali | AFP | Getty Images
Oil producers are unlikely to settle on any kind of deal in Algeria this week, setting the stage for more volatility in oil prices and postponing hopes for an end to the current supply glut until November.

OPEC members gather in Algiers for the International Energy Forum starting Monday and are expected to hold informal talks following the two-day event. Algeria's oil minister Nourredine Bouterfa has warned prices could drop back into the $30 per barrel range if officials walk away empty handed, but that appears to be the most realistic scenario.

No real decisions will be made regarding an output deal but oil ministers are likely to say they are making progress, a move that effectively postpones any decision making until OPEC's official meeting on November 30, Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Clipperdata, told CNBC's "Squawk Box.'

Indeed, any potential deals are only likely to occur at the official policy meeting in November, echoed Mitul Kotecha, head of Asia FX and rates strategy at Barclays.

Brent crude futures were slightly higher at $46.31 a barrel during early Asia trade on Monday after losing nearly 4 percent in the previous session.



"Expectations have painted the group into a corner not to walk away empty-handed, markets have sufficient cynicism not to expect a concrete deal," Mizuho Bank analysts said in a Monday note.


A new study from Adobe shows that internet traffic has reached its peak, meaning the net number of people who will ever access the web is already online. And, with readers just shifting from one site to another, it means that companies may have to rethink their strategies to get more eyeballs.

"We've reached peak saturation where people aren't accessing the internet for the first time," said Becky Tasker, manager at Adobe Digital Insights. "You'll have new net people coming on as people go down, but there won't be another massive growth spurt."

The data are part of Adobe's first Advertising Demand Report, which was released Monday. It was compiled from more than 800 billion visits to 800 North American and European websites on various topics from January 2013 to June 2016.

The study found that 6 out of 10 websites were growing, increasing their traffic by 51 percent on average. The remaining 4 out of 10 were decreasing rapidly, and no website traffic was remaining steady. Retailers that were growing saw an average 17 cents of revenue per visit, 7 percent more than shrinking websites.

"No longer can a website coast thinking that because they are on the internet they are going to win out because they have a presence," Tasker said.

Adobe found that the growing websites were more likely to use brand channels outside their webpage to expand their traffic, like email marketing, paid search ads or social media. They had 2.6 times more traffic coming through social media than shrinking websites, and 1.7 times more traffic via email.

An additional survey of 1,000 U.S. adults showed that 78 percent of consumers liked personalized ads, but a little less than one-third thought the ads were relevant to them. The survey takers felt that they encountered the most interesting ads when using social media, but they were less likely to notice ads when they were doing something with "intent" like watching a video.

In fact, when it came to video ads, more than half said the most annoying thing about them was when there was no ability to skip them, followed by autoplay video/audio and the length of the ad. About half said they would stop watching a video if there was an ad they couldn't skip, with people making more than $50,000 per year most likely to stop viewing the clip.
John Stumpf, chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo, testifies about the unauthorized opening of accounts by Wells Fargo during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 20, 2016. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Banking analyst Mike Mayo of CLSA said in a note to investors Monday that his firm's support of Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO John Stumpf "is now wavering," in the wake of the fallout from the $185 million secret account settlement. Stumpf's actions so far  covering his initial response through last week's hearing before the Senate Banking Committee  have been "reactionary versus leading," Mayo wrote. Executive pay "clawbacks should be put in place," the analyst added. "We believe Wells Fargo is bigger than the CEO, notwithstanding a good financial track record during his tenure, and there should be no more excuses." Stumpf would stand to walk from the bank with $123.6 million in severance and stock value if he were to retire, according to an analysis by USA Today. The CEO has said he does not plan to step down.

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Mayo cited five issues that Wells Fargo needs to address, including what the bank is doing to "help impacted customers" and to reassure investors that "these problems are resolved." Wells Fargo agreed to the massive settlement earlier this month with regulators over charges employees boosted their sales targets and bonuses by opening accounts for unsuspecting customers. About 5,300 employees were fired in connection with the practices.

"Our support for the CEO is now wavering," Mayo said, "and contingent on his ability to better detail repercussions to top management and contain reputational damage from the cross-selling fiasco." Wells Fargo declined to comment on Mayo's note.

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The House Financial Services Committee plans to hold a hearing on the Wells Fargo mess Thursday. Stumpf has been invited to testify. "I don't think it's going to be much better for them in front of the House as it was in the Senate last week," bank analyst Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets told CNBC on Monday. "Hopefully Stumpf is better prepared going into this."

Last week, senators fired questions at Stumpf, centering on why the bank allowed the problems to fester for years before taking action, and called for clawbacks. Many questions were about Carrie Tolstedt, the Wells Fargo executive in charge of the unit where employees opened as many as 2 million unauthorized customer accounts. She is retiring at the end of the year, according to a bank announcement in July. Over the course of her career at the bank, Tolstedt accumulated stock and options of $95 million, based on when the stock was trading at around $49 per share, according to a Wells Fargo proxy statement. "I think [the Wells mess] does have an impact on the stock price. And it's going to continue to have an impact on the stock price until the board makes some type of action here," Miller said on "Squawk on the Street." Shares of Wells Fargo have fallen nearly 10 percent since the settlement announcement Sept. 8. "I think it's going to get worse before it gets better," he added. Miller said investors and regulators want a change in leadership at the top. "They want to turn that page. But as long as Stumpf is there, it's hard."
Shares of chemical firm Chemtura climbed nearly 16 percent on Monday after accepting a $2.5 billion buyout offer from German chemical maker Lanxess .

Lanxess said Monday it will pay Chemtura shareholders $33.50 per share in cash, about a 19 percent premium to the Philadelphia's company's Friday closing price of $28.18.

"The transaction provides premium value to our shareholders and benefits our customers and employees by making Chemtura part of a much larger, stronger global enterprise with the resources to fully support a more diverse suite of specialty chemicals products and services," Craig Rogerson, CEO and chairman of the board of Chemtura, said in a press release.

Lanxess said it expects annual synergies of about 100 million euro (about $113 million) by 2020.

Both companies' board's approved the deal, which is expected to close around mid-2017.

With Monday's gains, Chemtura's stock is up more than 19 percent this year.
Since 2012, borrowers could certify with the Department of Education that their employment would qualify them for public service loan forgiveness. The number of borrowers who have been certified by the department has grown rapidly, to 431,853, as of June 30, 2016 (see chart below).

If you take out a federal student loan, you may qualify for public service loan forgiveness . (If you borrow from a private lender, you are not eligible for the program.) Some qualified borrowers will be able to use this benefit starting next year. The ultimate cost of the program is difficult to determine.

A program to encourage student-loan borrowers to go into public service may come with a hefty price tag.

The median debt load of those enrolled in public service loan forgiveness is more than $60,000, and nearly 30 percent of people who have been certified for the program have borrowed more than $100,000, according to a recent analysis Delisle did for the Brookings Institution (see chart below).

"This is not a small-scale program, and borrowers enrolled in it have some of the highest levels of student loan debt," said Jason Delisle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

One problem with controlling the costs of public service loan forgiveness is that the Department of Education has an open-ended definition of what public service is, Delisle said.



The Government Accountability Office estimates 25 percent of U.S. workers are employed in jobs that could qualify them for public service loan forgiveness if they have student loans and know about the program.

Public service loan forgiveness was created in 2007. To qualify, borrowers have to make 10 years of on-time payments and work for an employer the Department of Education deems to be serving the public good. Qualified employers include local, state and federal government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Unlike loan forgiveness under income-based repayment plans, public service loan forgiveness is tax-free to borrowers.

"The program largely benefits highly educated borrowers with graduate degrees," said Alexander Holt, an education policy analyst with New America, a nonpartisan think tank. Holt has also co-authored papers with Delisle on public service loan forgiveness.

Take, for example, Delisle's and Holt's research of a typical lawyer who enters into public service. That lawyer would have a starting salary of $59,000 and an average debt load of $140,000. By year 10, that lawyer would make $121,000 annually and have paid off $49,000 in student debt under an income-based repayment plan. Because interest keeps accruing and payments under income-based repayment don't always cover the interest cost, the average public service lawyer would have $147,000 of loans forgiven tax-free.

The Obama administration has proposed capping public service loan forgiveness at $57,500 for all students. That is more than what Congress has provided for nearly all other student loan forgiveness programs and more than what low-income undergraduates can receive in Pell grants, Delisle said.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a cap on public service loan forgiveness could save the federal government $5.4 billion over 10 years. Congress has ignored Obama's proposed cap to public service loan forgiveness.

Supporters of public service loan forgiveness argue that the program allows borrowers to pursue lower-paying careers, such as being a public defender, teacher or social worker, that benefit society.

"The country is getting a bargain with public service loan forgiveness," said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of strategy at Cappex.com, which connects students with colleges and scholarships. "As a society, it is a lot cheaper to provide loan forgiveness for people who want to pursue public service than pay them higher salaries."

The true cost of public service loan forgiveness won't be known until borrowers' student debts are canceled. The first ones will be eligible for forgiveness in October 2017.

Don't worry if you're a borrower counting on public service loan forgiveness. Any changes to the program would likely affect future borrowers, not current ones, Kantrowitz said.
Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

New York state is proposing regulations aimed at protecting your money from criminal hackers, and the initiative is already drawing criticism from Wall Street. Critics say the proposal is unlikely to improve security at Wall Street giants. They say big firms are already forced to comply with any number of federal cybersecurity laws and largely adhere to industry-wide guidelines. The proposed regulations, they say, will simply result in more paperwork tying up valuable time that could be spent on more serious problems. "All the legwork that's required to comply with all these different regulations takes on a life of its own," said Steven Grossman, an executive at cyber risk analytics firm Bay Dynamics. "It would be great to get a consolidation of requirements and reporting across the different governing bodies," said Grossman, whose company makes software that automates the reporting process and alleviates this pain point.

The view is widely shared across the banking industry. "We recognize that individual organizations that regulate financial services are going to put in some level of cybersecurity regulation," said Doug Johnson, senior vice president of payments and cybersecurity policy at the American Bankers Association. "We just want to have them as similar as possible."

Regardless, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to show the world that the Empire State is taking cyberthreats seriously and to reassure consumers that the industry is prepared to head off attacks from wherever they come. "This regulation helps guarantee the financial services industry upholds its obligation to protect consumers and ensure that its systems are sufficiently constructed to prevent cyber-attacks to the fullest extent possible," Cuomo said in a statement. The proposal, if it passes, would cover any business regulated by the NYS Department of Financial Services, which means giant institutions like Deutsche Bank down to the smallest check cashier in Coney Island. It's subject to a 45 day public comment period starting Wednesday.



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The proposal, constructed over several years with feedback from more than 200 banking and insurance companies, aims to avoid dictating exactly how companies secure their businesses but is still more prescriptive than federal regulation, raising the dangerous possibility companies will prioritize compliance over what actually works, said Grossman. It's not completely clear when companies would be required to report a data breach, and what the punishment would be if companies fell out of compliance, Johnson said. "It is structured both as a protective measure, for the companies to which it applies, and also a punitive set of regulations, enforcing the protection of customer data," legal experts Marcel Bucsescu and Matthew Waxman wrote on the Lawfare blog. "There is an inherent tension in that framing, where the victim (the hacked company) also is treated as the culprit (for failing to protect customer private information)."
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The world is watching Algiers for signs that oil producers will agree to freeze production, but many analysts see a devastating crude glut persisting no matter the outcome of the meeting. Oil prices climbed more than 3 percent on Monday ahead of a hotly anticipated statement from OPEC members and other producers led by Russia as to whether they will act to stabilize oil prices. The rally came despite skepticism that the producers would reach a deal as they meet at the International Energy Forum in the Algerian capital. Goldman Sachs said last week it is looking past the meeting and instead looking toward easing conflicts in Iraq, Libya and Nigeria that could return sidelined crude supply to markets and potentially push it back into glut territory. "In our view, thawing relationships between parties in conflict in areas of disrupted production would be more relevant to the oil rebalancing than an OPEC freeze, which would leave production at record highs and could prove counter productive if it supported prices further and incentivized activity elsewhere," Goldman said. Goldman still sees the crude market reaching a supply deficit of 230,000 barrels per day in the final six months of the year, but said a recovery remains fragile. Its "conservative" estimate calls for returning supply from Iraq, Libya and Nigeria to add 100,000 barrels per day to global supply. But if an additional 500,000 barrels per day were to return, Goldman said, it would reduce its average 2017 price forecast for U.S. crude to $45 a barrel from its current $52.50 projection.

Crude emerging from conflict

While Iraq has signaled its willingness to cap production, operations also restarted this month at the northeastern Kirkuk oilfield following a breakthrough that eased a prolonged pricing and budget dispute between the central government in Baghdad and leaders of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

That comes as Iraq has already pushed production to historic highs amid an international battle for market share as the oil price rout approaches a third year. Meanwhile, Libya last week , raising the prospect that the country could begin clawing its way back toward its pre-2011 level of 1.6 million barrels a day  though a recovery to that level remains far off. While the country remains fractured by internal strife, efforts to keep the crude flowing from ports have gotten support from heavy hitters. U.S. and British diplomats have spoken with rival factions in recent weeks in order to facilitate exports, fill the government's coffers, and make Libya stable enough to effectively fight ISIS militants, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Nigeria also could be poised to produce more oil as militants known as the Niger Delta Avengers entertain a cease-fire following a months of infrastructure sabotage that cratered crude output, the country's lifeblood. However, as recently as this weekend, the Avengers had claimed responsibility for an attack on an export line.



Crouching bear, sleeping shale

Despite weeks of posturing by Russia's oil minister ahead of the meeting in Algeria, Moscow's top five oil firms have all pumped at record levels this year and say they intend to increase production in 2017, Reuters reported Monday. Russia is the world's top oil producer, and this handful of companies accounts for 75 percent of its output.

"There's been some indication, on paper at least, the Saudis and Russians are in agreement, but the facts cut the opposite way," Petrie Partners Chairman Tom Petrie told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday. "It's pretty clear that Russia has intentions of increasing its production over the next three years in significant way." "I think it's in their interest to look like they're playing ball with the Saudis," Petrie said, "but whether there's a real constructive agreement there is doubtful." Even if Russia did reach a deal with OPEC members, many analysts think the freeze could backfire as rising oil prices would encourage U.S. producers to put rigs back to work. The number of oil rigs operating in U.S. fields has rebounded 32 percent to 418 rigs since the end of May as American drillers squeeze profits out of their best acreage, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

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German lender Deutsche Bank sought to reassure investors on Monday, telling CNBC that its chief executive hadn't asked for government assistance in its negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice.

"At no point of time (CEO) John Cryan has asked the chancellor for support in the negotiations with the Department of Justice and he doesn't intend to do that. He is very strong on that position," Jorg Eigendorf, head of communications and senior group director at Deutsche Bank, told CNBC Monday.

His comments come after Deutsche Bank shares saw renewed selling in stock markets after a report seemed to rule out any state-aid for the embattled German lender. Focus, a German weekly news magazine published in Munich, reported on Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel had categorically ruled out stepping in to help Deutsche Bank with its U.S. legal troubles in 2017, citing unidentified government officials. The article states that Merkel made her views clear in discussions with Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan.

Shares of the troubled lender slipped 6 percent on Monday and hit an all-time low. Eigendorf admitted that the share price is low but said that the company was more focused on its "credit story" which he said was "very strong."

"It is fundamentally strong. A lot of those in the market understand and if they analyze the basics and the fundamentals that we are quite strong. Look at our credit story, evaluate risk very low, our credit portfolio very strong, our liquidity position very strong, very comfortable and the third quarter is almost over and I can tell you today that we are fine and very comfortable here," he added.
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Deutsche Bank shares saw renewed selling in stock markets on Monday after a report seemed to rule out any state-aid for the embattled German lender.

Focus, a German weekly news magazine published in Munich, reported on Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel had categorically ruled out stepping in to help Deutsche Bank with its U.S. legal troubles in 2017, citing unidentified government officials. The article states that Merkel made her views clear in discussions with Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan.



Shares of the bank have been hit hard this month after the U.S. Justice Department suggested the bank pay $14 billion to settle a number of investigations related to mortgage securities. The investigations refer to the way it sold these securities before the financial crash of 2008.

A German government spokesperson released a statement to reporters on Monday saying that there was no need to speculate about state aid for Deutsche Bank. Jorg Eigendorf, head of communications and senior group director at the bank, "At no point of time (CEO) John Cryan has asked the chancellor for support in the negotiations with the Department of Justice and he doesn't intend to do that. He is very strong on that position," he said.



Deutsche Bank signage. Patti Domm | CNBC
Most of the jobs cuts are likely to take place in Hong Kong, Singapore and China, where Goldman's main Asian offices are located, according to the sources, who said the process was underway.

The Wall Street bank is reducing the number of bankers working on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and equity and debt capital markets deals, the sources said. It will be left with slightly more than 200 bankers across Asia.

Goldman Sachs is cutting almost 30 percent of its 300 investment banking jobs in Asia outside Japan in response to a slowdown in activity in the region, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment.

The company, whose investment banking revenue fell 11 percent to $1.79 billion in the second quarter, has been hit by a lacklustre environment for deals across Asia.

The total value of M&A deals across the Asia-Pacific region has dropped to $572.9 billion so far this year, from $745.7 billion in the same period of 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Goldman said in July it had embarked on a cost-cutting plan that would save $700 million a year in response to a "challenging backdrop" for revenue.

It still tops the Asia-Pacific M&A league tables but in the first half of the year it came third after JPMorgan and Citi as the biggest bank by revenue in Asia, according to data published on Friday by industry analytics firm Coalition.

One of the sources said no managing directors in Asia were in the running to be made partners this year while three existing partners in the region had been stripped of their titles.

Retrenchment

Goldman and other big investment banks are grappling with a harsh environment after the region's economies and markets failed to deliver sustained growth after the 2008 financial crisis. The banks' business has also been eroded by local competitors.

In 2015, Goldman reduced the number of its investment bankers in Singapore  a hub for Southeast Asia  to about 35 from 50, several sources said.

There have been further departures this year, including its Southeast Asia chairman Tim Leissner.

Many of Goldman's European rivals have announced plans to scale down their operations in Asia.

Barclays said in January that it would cut about 1,000 staff in its investment bank operations worldwide, with the bulk happening in Asia, while Societe Generale decided to close its equities research desk in India.

Other European banks including BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank are expected to scale back operations in non-core Asian markets while last year Asia-focused Standard Chartered shut down its equities franchise.

Goldman employs just over 100 bankers in China, where it was one of the first foreign investment banks to start operations. But like other banks it has been hit by a drop in Chinese trading volumes and competition from local banks.
"The first presidential debate is expected to draw a wide audience, maybe even bigger than the Super Bowl. Hillary Clinton will therefore want to use every opportunity she can to re-shape the narrative around immigration."

In fact, the public can appear to hold contradictory opinion on immigration policies when survey questions are asked in different ways. For example, in a Quinnipiac University Poll in 2012, the public had high levels of support for Arizona's SB 1070, which is a pro-deportation policy. Within the same poll, the public also showed high levels of support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). While this may be puzzling, the questions highlighted very different features of the immigration debate, the former on law and order, and the latter on children, which pushed opinion in different directions.

The key for Clinton will be to move away from general talk about immigration and to focus on particular dimensions of immigration policy that resonate well with the American public. There are three framing strategies on immigration that Clinton can count on. First, she needs to show that Trump's policies of mass deportation would harm the American economy.

Clinton also needs to get Americans to focus on the vast majority of immigrants who stand to benefit from immigration reform, rather than the small number of criminals who are currently evading law enforcement. Finally, Clinton has the opportunity to show her bipartisan appeal, by noting that many of her ideas and proposals on immigration draw support from Republican and independent voters alike.

On the first point, our research shows that novel economic arguments can be very effective in moving public opinion on immigration. In surveys, we find that highlighting how expensive it would be to deport all of the undocumented immigrants in the country cuts public support for deportations almost in half.

This could serve as an important counter-point to Trump's proposal for a massive deportation force. Novel economic frames also lead to further support for legalization, at least among some voters. For example, when we told survey respondents that immigrant legalization would substantially add money to the U.S. economy, support increased among Democrats. Such positive economic frames are not covered as extensively in the press, and could counter Trump's claims that immigrants take away jobs and use scarce public resources.

On the second strategy, Clinton needs voters to focus on the millions of children and law-abiding parents who are suffering from current policies, rather than the disproportionately small number of criminal aliens that Trump focuses on. Our research finds that support for policies like the DREAM Act and Deferred Action increase even further when people are told that many undocumented immigrants came to the U.S. as young children.

We also find that public support for legalization and opposition to deportations increase substantially the longer law-abiding immigrants have been in the U.S. On average, people are somewhat opposed to deporting law-abiding immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for as little as five years, and opposition becomes even stronger for longer-term immigrants.

Finally, Clinton should attach whatever claims she can to conservative sources. We find that frames coming from an unexpected source, especially on the right, make individuals more supportive of comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship, and more opposed to deportations. For example, she can point out that the DREAM Act started as a bi-partisan bill. She can also reference Republicans, including some of the presidential contenders, who have supported attempts at legalization, such as Marco Rubio.

More aggressively countering the negative frames about immigrants from the Trump camp will be important for Clinton in two ways. First, it will lead to shifts in public opinion on various policies related to the undocumented population. This may in turn reduce support for Trump, especially since it is one of his signature issues.

Second, while Trump's negative rhetoric is likely to mobilize Latinos in the election, more forcefully combating his rhetoric may also further energize the community, especially the activists who are key to mobilization efforts. Both persuasion and mobilization will be important in a race that has gotten tighter.

The first presidential debate is expected to draw a wide audience, maybe even bigger than the Super Bowl. Hillary Clinton will therefore want to use every opportunity she can to re-shape the narrative around immigration. This will not only further mobilize her supporters, but will be an important way to gain inroads to the many voters in the middle who have less firmly held opinions on specific immigration policies, and have up to this point in the election been primarily exposed to the negative rhetoric coming from Donald Trump.
On the eve of the first debate, the race is far closer than most experts had predicted. Hillary Clinton has fallen far from the commanding heights of August. Nationwide and swing state polls show Trump closing the gap quickly. The debate could break things wide openin either direction.

The candidates will spend their time on stage fielding questions about policy and highlighting their differences. And virtually nothing that either of them say about any matter of substance at the debate will matter on Election Day.



What could swing votes is demeanor. Record numbers of voters are unenthusiastic about either candidate. They are desperate for somethinganythingthat will make them feel better about casting a vote for one of them. They will be watching the debate intently for cues that will allow them to vote without feeling ill. And that's why the debate is Donald Trump's to win or lose.

While Trump and Clinton have both been overexposed for decades, it is easier to envision some candidates playing the role of president than others. Clintonlike George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, Al Gore, John Kerry, and John McCainis embedded in America's collective consciousness playing near-presidential roles. Trumplike Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obamais not. As a result, Clinton begins, as we have heard ad nauseum, ostensibly more "presidential"a superficial advantage that history  including the recent GOP primaries - tells us confers few electoral benefits.



If Trump comes off as composed, serious and disciplined, as he has done while delivering some of his well-designed speeches and at his meetings with the presidents of Mexico and Egypt, he could convince many of the voters currently sitting on the sidelines to swing his way.

Many of them are already predisposed toward doing so. Polls show that large numbers of Republicans, Republican-leaning independents, and voters craving a change from the Obama years remain undecided or aligned for the moment with a third party candidate whose existence is all that stands between the current neck-and-neck race and a victory over Clinton. They want to vote for the Republican, but they are not yet comfortable voting for Trump.
In this handout provided by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Democratic nominee for U.S. president Hillary Clinton at the W Hotel in Union Square September 26, 2016 in New York City.

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

Netanyahu met with Trump for more than an hour at Trump's residence in New York, according to a Facebook post from the prime minister.

The two reportedly discussed issues pertaining to Israel's security and efforts to stabilize and achieve peace in the Middle East. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, were also in attendance.

More from NBC News:

Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump get set for epic presidential debate

Presidential Debate Guide: Where Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton stand on the issues

10 presidential debates that actually made an impact



Netanyahu and Dermer met with Clinton later Sunday at a New York. In a statement, Clinton's campaign said she "reaffirmed her unwavering commitment" to Israel and stressed her support for a military aid agreement that was reached earlier this month. The prime minister's office said Netanyahu "thanked Secretary Clinton for her friendship and support for Israel."

Clinton supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has worked with Israeli leaders during her time as a first lady, senator and secretary of state. In a November 2015 op-ed in the American-Jewish newspaper The Forward, she pledged to invite Netanyahu to the White House within her first month in office if she became president.

Trump said in a February town hall that he would be a "neutral guy" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to broker a deal. However, he backed away from that stance in March and told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that the Palestinians "must come to the table knowing that the bond between the United States and Israel is absolutely, totally unbreakable."

Trump has also contended that Israel should continue building settlements in the West Bank.

Neither Clinton nor Trump plans to visit Israel before Election Day. Trump contemplated visiting the country in December, but he postponed the trip after Netanyahu rebuked his call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants.

Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama and delivered an address to the U.N. General Assembly last week.
There's a reason Donald Trump has pulled into a tie or even into the lead in so many new national and battleground state polls: Hillary Clinton and her campaign are making mistakes. And no mistake is more obvious right now than Clinton's foolish decision to invite Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban to the first presidential debate.

It's a mistake that shows just how unaware the Clinton camp is of how many voters see Clinton and her connections to rich and powerful elites and celebrities. Sure, Cuban's brash style and harsh attacks on Trump in recent weeks have grabbed headlines and burned up social media. But do they really fire up swing voters? Is a billionaire really the kind of person Clinton wants people to think she's fighting for? Or do they think Cuban's presence in the audience so close to the podium will somehow rattle a guy like Trump who's faced incessant heckling for 15 months on the campaign trail?

The answer to all the above questions is of course, "no." But the Clinton campaign's inability to see this problem in this one case is similar to its inability to see that, when one establishment figure after another endorses Clinton, it backfires in Trump's favor as he continues to make his case as a true anti-establishment candidate of change.

There was a brief chance that Trump might fumble this gift from the Clinton side when he openly tweeted about perhaps bringing former Bill Clinton mistress Gennifer Flowers to sit by Cuban's side. But that turned out to be just bluster, and now Cuban will have to sit quietly among the host venue Hofstra University students and anonymous donors as the debate unfolds.

Don't be surprised if Trump even points out Cuban's presence as proof of Clinton's too cozy relationship with the super rich and famous.

That front row seat she's giving Cuban is a missed opportunity. Clinton keeps telling us about how Trump has screwed many of his small business partners and even construction workers for years and years. Her surrogates have also accused Trump of sexism and sexist practices at work. Couldn't her campaign find one of these supposedly aggrieved people to sit in that front row seat?

Clinton's lead in the polls has been eroding quickly and Clinton supporters have blamed everything from the news media to sexism. But this Cuban invitation is a prime example of why Team Clinton needs to take a good hard look at itself  not the media or anyone else.
The referendum is based on constitutional reform of Italy's Senate and is designed to streamline the legislative process by effectively decreasing the second chamber's power. Currently, any law in Italy needs to be approved by both houses of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, often leading to delays in effecting new laws and reforms.

The Italian government is expected to announce the date on referendum on constitutional reform on Monday. Late November or early December are being mooted as the likeliest dates for the vote  later than originally planned.

Italy is set to announce the date of its key constitutional referendum Monday with investors and political analysts seeing the vote as a further major political risk for Europe.

The vote has the potential to shake up Italian politics dramatically, and the economy, as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said he will resign if he loses. That, in turn, could see vital economic reforms delayed or abandoned and more political instability in the country at a time when it needs it most.

In addition, Italy is already facing a potential banking crisis, zero growth (as of the second quarter) and struggling to deal with the refugee crisis.

Despite making the vote effectively a vote of confidence in his leadership, Renzi told CNBC in August that he was very confident that the reform would meet with the public's approval.

Vincenzo Scarpetta, political analyst at Open Europe, told CNBC that the most likely dates for the vote was Sunday 27th November or Sunday 4th December. Renzi had originally said that early October could be the date for the vote.

The analyst believed that Renzi was trying to delay the upcoming referendum in the country to allow for more campaigning and said the result would be tight.

"What he's trying to do at the moment -- after strongly personalizing this vote -- is to row back and to focus on the substance of the vote rather than his political future," Scarpetta told CNBC on Monday.

"The vote is inevitably not just going to be a vote on the substance on the reform, it's going to be a vote on the state of the economy, a vote on unemployment, a vote on Renzi as a person. I would say that there's a probability of 55 (percent) to 45 (percent) that Renzi is likely to win it but it's a golden opportunity for the opposition parties to campaign against it and force Renzi out of power."

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.


The challenges posed by climate change could be solved by humans living on other planets, Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate and former governor of New Mexico, has told ABC News.



"We do have to inhabit other planets. The future of the human race is space exploration," he told the broadcaster in an interview late Sunday.



Johnson was asked about a comment made back in 2011 where he said that "in billions of years the sun is going to actually grow and encompass the earth." Johnson told ABC on Sunday that the remark had been a joke.
Tesla CEO Musk, who is also the founder of SpaceX, tweeted on Sunday evening that the company had successfully achieved the first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine.

The space exploration company founded by billionaire Elon Musk has successfully tested a new rocket engine that could one day help humans establish life on Mars.

The methane-fueled engine is expected to form part of the Dragon rocket, with Musk suggesting the engines are three times more powerful than the current Merlin engines that SpaceX uses on its Falcon 9 rocket.



The engine was fired at the company's McGregor, Texas facility, according to a report by tech website Engadget and comes ahead of a long-awaited speech by Elon Musk.



USA Today reported on Sunday that Musk would outline his ideas for how to establish a city on Mars within a decade. The speech is due to be held at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Musk is expected to detail a new system called the "Mars Colonial Transporter," that could deliver 100 people to the planet Mars.
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With the big oil production meeting in Algeria getting underway, one technician thinks the energy sector has become a "value trap." Carter Worth, technical analyst at Cornerstone Macro, showed three charts Friday on CNBC's "Options Action" to illustrate why one of the year's most popular sectors for investors may now be a bad trade.

Looking at a chart of crude oil, Worth said he sees a series of lower highs and higher lows, meaning that oil is headed toward an "apex" between resistance and support lines that could serve as a "decision point." But the commodity has what Worth predicts is a 50-50 chance to either break out or break down based on what happens with production, with oil presumably set for a rally should members decide to cut oil production and lessen the ongoing supply glut.



But while oil may still have a chance of breaking out, Worth doesn't have high hopes for the energy sector as a whole. Worth charts the S&P 500 energy sector and finds that relative to the S&P 500, energy stocks are actually underperforming.



Perhaps one of the most disappointing groups has been the drillers. According to Worth, the PHLX oil service index OSX looks to be underperforming the rest of the S&P 500 energy sector by a wider and wider margin as the year goes by. The OSX is currently down about 4.5 percent this year, with the drillers starting to dip again after months of trading in a range. Worth said this is significant because the drillers are the "leading edge" of the energy sector. "That's where the future is," he said. "[Drilling wells are] where people make 18-month decisions or two-year decisions."
A slowdown in China is the greatest threat to the global economy, Kenneth Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard University, told the BBC in an interview published on Monday.



"I think the economy is slowing down much more than the official figures show," Rogoff, who is a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told the U.K. broadcaster. He added that China is going through a "big political revolution," hinting at Beijing's high-profile campaign to tackle corruption and transition its economy to being more consumer led.

"If you want to look at a part of the world that has a debt problem, look at China. They've seen credit fueled growth and these things don't go on forever," he said.
A Singapore start-up has bought a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone magazine, in the hope of popularizing the legendary music and pop culture brand in Asia and other new markets.

BandLab Technologies, led by 28-year old Meng Ru Kuok, son of billionaire palm oil tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, is the first-ever outside investor in the 49-year-old magazine. Under the terms of the deal, a fully-owned subsidiary called Rolling Stone international will be set up in Singapore and managed by Kuok.

Kuok, whose company already owns a portfolio of online and offline music-related businesses, said in a statement that he was honored to join Rolling Stone to help it "realize its global potential."

According to Bloomberg, BandLab is funded by private investors including Kuok's father.

Gus Wenner, the son of Rolling Stone's founder Jann Wenner and head of digital at Wenner Media said, "We see an enormous opportunity to diversify the brand into new markets and new areas of business."
Ironically, one of the most crucial skills that drove the entrepreneur's success didn't come from Harvard , where he spent eight years and collected three degrees  a BA, JD and MBA.

Over the past three decades, Boston Beer founder and CEO Jim Koch has turned a family beer recipe from the 1870s into a booming business.

Shortly after starting Boston Beer, Koch realized that in order to get his beer, Samuel Adams, to market, he first needed to learn how to sell it  and that's something the Harvard Business School alum said the Ivy never taught him.

While the university has "dozens of courses on marketing," he explained, it had none on selling, so Koch headed to the HBS bookstore and bought the one relevant book he could find: "How to Master the Art of Selling" by Tom Hopkins.

"It had this cheesy guy in a polyester suit, grinning, on the cover," he recalled. "There were some sleazy parts, but the gist of it was quite good. He actually went on to write 'Selling for Dummies.' It was very worthwhile."

The self-taught salesman realized that selling isn't the "ignoble activity" we've been culturally trained to think of it as. "I learned, against all my expectations, that done right, it is very noble," he said. "You are helping the customer achieve their objectives, so you have to learn to listen and empathize."

Additionally, figuring out how to sell Samuel Adams "turned out to be the most intellectually challenging thing that I had encountered in business," Koch said.

"You've got 30 seconds when you walk into the bar  and you have to figure out who their customers are, what their economics look like, how they make money, who's the decision maker, what's their thought process, what's their communication style  so you are intellectually challenged at a very high level."
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Labour politicians have rallied around veteran socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was re-elected this weekend, although fears that the party fails to pose a credible challenge to the political dominance of the ruling Conservative party linger. The U.K.'s opposition Labour Party re-elected far-left leader Jeremy Corbyn this weekend, despite misgivings among the party's own members of parliament (MPs). Corbyn gained 313,209 votes (around 62 percent of the vote), compared to his rival Owen Smith's 193,229 votes, and his re-election was announced at the start of Labour's four-day party conference on Saturday.



Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn listens to speakers on the first day of the Labour Party Conference the Exhibition Centre Liverpool on September 25, 2016 in Liverpool, England. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, however, veteran MPs said the party needed unity if it was to be a credible challenger to the ruling Conservative Party (also known as the Tories). "In terms of where we are (now) I think, in all honesty, even Jeremy would have to admit that we are far from in a position to challenge the Tory government in a general election," Labour MP Caroline Flint told CNBC on Sunday. Flint, who has been critical of Corbyn in the past, added that she thought Prime Minister Theresa May, elected this summer after David Cameron's post-Brexit resignation, could remain in power until the next general election is due in 2020. "I personally feel Theresa May will go all the way to 2020," she said, stressing that the onus was now on Corbyn to appeal to a wider range of voters that have drifted away from the party.

Corbyn needs wider support

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Corbyn's win gives him a stronger mandate than when he first became Labour leader a year ago and comes amid a swelling in support for the leader from party members, trade unions and the grassroots Labour movement.

However, many Labour MPs have quit the shadow cabinet or voiced their disapproval of Corbyn's far-left policies, fearing that they make the party unappealing to a wider base of British voters and will keep Labour out of power for longer. This has led the British media, such as The Economist magazine, to warn of a "one-party state" in the country, with the Conservative Party now into its second term in government. A fall in support for Labour  the largest opposition party -- combined with in-fighting among Labour MPs has fueled fears of an unchallenged government. Labour MP and one-time leadership contender Chuka Umunna told CNBC on Monday that if Labour lost the next general-election, there would be a "terrific amount of soul-searching about the way forward." "But to be fair to Jeremy Corbyn, let's give the guy a chance. He's just been re-elected. I think everybody's utterly clear that we've got to be focused on making sure that we win it and that one task cannot be done by Jeremy Corbyn or anyone of us alone - it has to be a team effort."

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Any hope of salvaging the short-lived ceasefire in Syria has been well and truly dashed over the weekend after the city of Aleppo became the focal point for international concern. Here's a quick guide to what's going on:



What's happening in Syria now?

Syria's five-year long civil war was reignited with a vengeance last week after a brief cessation of hostilities ended. After a one-week ceasefire, the Syrian regime under President Bashar al Assad began a new offensive against rebel groups in and around the northern city of Aleppo.

The ceasefire agreement between the government and rebel forces, who want Assad removed from power, officially came to an end last Monday afternoon despite efforts by the U.S. and Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime, to rescue it. Instead, Russia has joined Syria in an escalation of airstrikes against rebel-held areas in Aleppo. Thousands of civilians are trapped in the city and the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights and United Nations have warned that the death toll is rising due to the airstrikes.

Why did the ceasefire fail?

The Syrian civil war is complicated by the involvement of other players, including western coalition forces trying to combat the advance of terrorist group the so-called Islamic State.

As well as prominent rebel groups in Syria, there are a multitude of smaller, disparate opposition groups (all are viewed as "terrorists" by the Syrian regime), making a ceasefire hard to maintain and control.

Smoke billows from buildings during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake control of the rebel-held district of Leramun, on the northwest outskirts of Aleppo, on July 26, 2016. GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images

In the short time it was in operation, both the Syrian regime and rebel groups accused each other of multiple violations of the ceasefire before it finally fell apart last Monday. Extra pressure was also put on the agreement after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed dozens of Syrian soldiers when they believed they were targeting ISIS positions. Russia accused the U.S. of deliberately undermining the ceasefire but Russia and Syria were also accused of carrying out an attack on an aid convoy and sabotaging the agreement. Trust between Russia and the U.S. has hit a new low as a result.

What's at stake?

The ceasefire was seen as a way to allow vital humanitarian aid through to thousands of Syrian civilians caught up in the fighting.

The UN says the attacks on Aleppo have left nearly two million people without water and some 275,000 people are believed to be trapped in the rebel-held eastern area of the city alone. The exact death toll as it stands is uncertain with many people believed to be trapped under destroyed buildings. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that 52 people including women and children had been killed in eastern Aleppo so far in the offensive but the UN said this weekend that airstrikes were reported to have killed 213 people in Aleppo province, 139 of them in eastern Aleppo.

Western powers are united in their disapproval of Russia and Syria's bombing campaign and have demanded an end to the offensive, saying that both countries were committing war crimes.

At an emergency summit of the UN Security Council on Sunday, the British, U.S. and French envoys walked out of meeting when Syria's ambassador was called to speak, signaling their anger.

The British Ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, summed up his criticism, telling the council that "after five years of conflict, you might think that the (Syrian) regime has had its fill of barbarity  that its sick bloodlust against its own people has finally run its course.But this weekend, the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo."

What happens next?
With estimates of up to 106 million tuning into Monday night's debate, the first faceoff between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump may be one of the most watched presidential debates. Thanks to live streaming, it's also going to be the most widely available ever.

ABC , CBS , CNN , C-SPAN, Fox , NBC and MSNBC will be broadcasting the debate on TV, while several others have announced plans to stream it online through various social media platforms. Facebook and ABC have announced a partnership, Twitter will run Bloomberg's feed and YouTube said it will be showcasing feeds from Telemundo, PBS and The Washington Post.

"We obviously see great engagement on YouTube, and we use YouTube for some of our live streaming already," said Micah Gelman, director of editorial video for the Post. "It's a natural extension of how we currently do live, but it's also allowing people to find it and discover it, who don't necessarily have a television or a cable subscription."

The large audience is also bringing in higher ad prices for pre- and post-debate coverage, since the 90-minute debate will be ad-free. One media buyer said that while the Republican debate ads started at about $70,000 for a 30-second spot, due to interest in both presidential candidates ads for the first debate will start at $120,000. Another media buying agency said broadcast rates for the night ranged from $170,000 to $250,000, while cable packages  which required purchasing more than one ad  began at $300,000.

Online, Bloomberg and Twitter will be splitting revenue for ads that run during the pre- and post-debate coverage. YouTube will allow its live stream partners to turn on advertising during their coverage as well.

But with so many outlets offering the feed, it may mean the audience is diluted  and the media buyer pointed out that the industry is expecting that 95 percent of debate viewers will watch on TV. Gelman admitted that the Post doesn't expect the debates to be one of its highest traffic drivers ever.

Instead, the Post is looking at its YouTube and Facebook Live live streams as a brand-building opportunity to get younger viewers accustomed to visiting its publication, Gelman said. ABC also sees this as a branding opportunity since Facebook does not allow traditional commercials. Instead of airing its TV feed, ABC will be hosting dedicated online only coverage on Facebook Live.

"Our experience is [that] people kind of gravitate towards the largest screen available," said Gelman. "Something happening at night obviously will attract an enormous number of television viewers, but we are creating the habit for our users that if something happens we will have it live. We wouldn't be a modern newsroom if we didn't."

And it may not be an optimal time to advertise just because there is a large audience. Colleen Leddy, head of communications strategy at advertising agency Droga5, recommends that brands that don't have a political tie or immediate need to launch a product choose a different time to advertise. Prices are artificially high because of demand from political candidates, Leddy said. (Droga 5 is working with Clinton during this political campaign, among other brand clients.)

"There's a lot of desire for that [ad] inventory, so therefore there's less inventory for traditional advertisers," she said.

Leddy likened the situation to wanting to visiting a place like Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics, even though you were not interested in the sporting event. Prices for flights would be much higher.

"Brands need to ask themselves, are people paying attention to us? And is it worth the amount of money we need to spend to get noticed?" Leddy said.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC, Telemundo, MSNBC and CNBC.
As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump prepare for their first head-to-head debate Monday night, their supporters are watching more for flubs from the candidate they don't support than for zingers from the one they do.

Trump supporters spend more time tweeting about Clinton than they do talking up their own candidate. The same is true for Clinton supporters  they tweet about Trump 2.5 times the amount they tweet about Clinton herself.

Online conversation about the enemy has escalated in the last month, while chatter about the candidates themselves by their supporters has remained pretty flat, according to data from social software company Spredfast.
More than a year of campaigning led to this day. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump shared a national stage for the first of three presidential debates. Their heated debate cycled between pointed barbs and explosive defenses and touched on a wide range of major topics.

This critical first debate comes as national and swing state polling has tightened. A recent national Quinnipiac poll showed Clinton up by 1 point in a four-way race including the Libertarian Party's Gary Johnson and Green Party's Jill Stein, while a Bloomberg poll showed a 2-point advantage for Trump. Clinton's average lead in recent four-way polls sits at 1.6 points and was as narrow as 0.7 points a week ago, according to RealClearPolitics.



Recent polls also show Trump taking a lead in swing states Ohio and Florida while gaining ground in Colorado.

Trump's ability to describe his often inconsistent policy stances and stay away from the insults and bluster that have defined his campaign will be under scrutiny. Democrat Clinton, on the other hand, will try to stay on message while facing the unpredictability posed by her Republican opponent.

The campaigns have taken different approaches to debate preparation, as Clinton has dedicated time to studying while Trump has left only small windows to prepare.

Here's the markets' biggest fear about the debate ... and beyond

The presidential debate is a gold mine for media companies

Op-Ed: It was a huge mistake for Clinton to invite billionaire Mark Cuban to the debate

On this debate stage, there's nowhere to hide


The news that Wells Fargo employees opened thousands of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for existing customers may make you wonder if you got scammed, too.

The San Francisco-based bank's own analysis identified more than 1.5 million deposit accounts and 565,443 credit card accounts that were possibly opened illegally between May 2011 and July 2015. Of those, about 85,000 of the deposit accounts and 14,000 of credit card accounts incurred $2.4 million in fees, and Wells Fargo is refunding those fees now.

Customers who were affected by these illegal practices and were identified by Wells Fargo's analysis don't have to do anything to get a refund. Some of the refunds already have been paid, while others will be sent in the next few months. Wells Fargo says it will invite all its banking customers to review their accounts with a banker and will call its credit card holders to check if they really wanted their card. The bank also says it will extend its account review back to 2009 and 2010 as well.
Six out of 10 Britons not already doing so would be willing to fly less in the next year to tackle climate change, according to a new poll for environmental charity WWF.



The poll also found that 67 percent of travellers would be happy to pay in order to offset the environmental impact of their return flight in Europe. The WWF said that cutting out one return flight to Europe is roughly equivalent to driving 1,500 miles less in terms of carbon savings.

The WWF said that their findings would increase pressure on both governments and aviation industry leaders over the need for "climate solutions."

According to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), aviation accounts for 12 percent of CO2 emissions from transport sources. In 2015, flights produced 781 million tonnes of CO2, ATAG says.

"The most straight-forward way to reduce emissions from aviation is to fly less, so it is encouraging that 60 percent of Britons are prepared to do just that," David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF-UK, said in a news release accompanying the report, which was released this morning.

"It suggests people are willing to turn away from flying in favor of rail and videoconferencing," he added, explaining that it was something both governments and industry should "take on board" during the International Civil Aviation Organization's World Aviation Forum in Montreal this week. Among other things, the forum will look at how to ensure "sufficient resources for sustainable aviation development."

The idea of paying to offset a journey was one that needed attention, according to Nussbaum.

"Paying for their pollution won't bankrupt airlines or their passengers," he said.

"Most people don't realise that it costs less than 5 ($6.47) per person to offset the CO2 from a European flight, even with high quality Gold Standard carbon credits, and yet two thirds are willing to pay that price," he added.

"This should give governments worldwide the confidence to sign up to an ambitious emissions reduction scheme from day one and set their airlines en-route to a sustainable future."

The poll was conducted by Populus, with 2,089 adults from its online panel interviewed.
Guest Commentary from the Oct. 10, 2016, issue of Coin World:

From Sunday, May 29, 2016 to Wednesday, June 1, 2016, Rotary International held their annual convention in Seoul, Korea. DJ Sun, my Rotary District (5280 Los Angeles) governor, who was born and raised in Korea, arranged for a special after tour of his homeland.

As we went through the country, everyone was struck by several things. There is no graffiti. Rush hour was indistinguishable from any other first world country. Rice fields are usually planted between mountains, which comprise about 70 percent of the country.

Because of a mix-up in the reservations, my wife and I could not go to the DMZ, the no-mans land between the two Koreas. With the DMZ only 25 miles north of the capital, the subway can double as a bomb shelter.

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A brief history of 20th century Korea is important. From 1910 until 1945, Korea was a colony of Japan. At the end of the war in 1945, the country was partitioned. The north ended up as a ruthless communist dictatorship, while the south was set up as a pro-Western nation. From June 25, 1950, until July 27, 1953, a devastating war raged on the peninsula. By the wars end, 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives.

There were many highlights of the trip. First and foremost was visiting the Korean War cemetery. The dramatic Korean War memorial details the tragedy of that war.

The most touching and emotional part of the trip was visiting the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, which is the only cemetery in the world where the United Nations has sovereignty. To pay my respects to those of all nations who made the supreme sacrifice, I wore my Marine Corps hat. As I approached the entrance, Koreans who were there saw my hat, bowed down and said, Thank you. They well remember the marines who played a critical role in keeping their country free.

Once across the entrance, you are no longer in Korea, but on international soil. Within the cemetery, which covers 35 acres, are approximately 2,300 graves of troops from many nations. They are set out in 22 sites and are designated by the nationalities of the buried service members.

During the trip, I acquired three different medallions. This column focuses on the United Nations Medallion. The diameter is 1 inches.

On the obverse is the logo of the UN, which is the flag of the world with a blue background. Around the top of the rim is UNITED NATIONS COMMAND. The bottom part of the rim is MILITARY ARMISTICE COMMISSION. Between the two texts, at both 3 oclock and at 9 oclock are two five pointed stars.

The reverse is dramatic. Centered across the top part of the rim is MEMORY OF KOREA, while centered across the bottom is DEMILITARIZED ZONE. Between these texts are clusters of 10 leaves on each side. Centered is a regional map of the area that shows Korea being sandwiched between its two powerful neighbors: China and Japan. The two main features of Korea are the mountains and the line running from northeast to southwest representing the DMZ.

The Korean people know their history very well. Their top priority is the peaceful reunification of the country. Hopefully, in my lifetime, I can see their dream come true.

Joel Forman is a longtime coin collector and a senior appraiser with certification in numismatics accredited by the American Society of Appraisers.
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Juniper Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers. It also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation, and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine, and top-of-rack data center switches; and juniper access points, which provide Wi-Fi access and performance. In addition, the company offers security products comprising SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP. Further, it offers Junos OS, a network operating system; Contrail networking, which provides an open-source and standards-based platform for SDN; Mist AI-driven Wired, Wireless, and WAN assurance solutions to set and measure key metrics; Mist AI-driven Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, which identifies the root cause of issues; Juniper Paragon Automation, a modular portfolio of cloud-native software applications; and Juniper Apstra to automate the network lifecycle in a single system. Additionally, the company provides software-as-a-service, technical support, maintenance, and professional services, as well as education and training programs. It sells its products through direct sales, distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers to end-users in the cloud, service provider, and enterprise markets. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
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By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

A former FedEx material handler has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, the office of Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said Monday.

Christopher T. Crawford, 31, of Memphis, was the fifth and final defendant to plead in a shipping theft scheme that defrauded FedEx and wireless carriers of between $550,000 and $1.5 million, according to a news release.

"In 2013, (Crawford) established a fraudulent FedEx corporate shipping meter account when he called FedEx via a stolen telephone and provided false information to a customer services representative in Arizona to access and utilize a corporate account," said Stanton's spokesman Louis Goggans. "Shipping labels were created from the shipping meter account Crawford established."

The scheme involved relabeling boxes of wireless devices and diverting the boxes to co-conspirators in New York and other locations.

"Each box of merchandise contained thousands of dollars worth of Verizon and/or AT&T wireless mobile telephones," Goggans said.

Earlier this year, co-defendants Akeem Gowdy, 23, Tavaris Mickens, 23, Jordan West, 27, and Juan Royal, 24, pleaded in the case.

The United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Damon K. Griffin and Tony Arvin.
Gavel and scales

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By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

People detained at the Shelby County Jail are waiting an extraordinary amount of time for state treatment of serious mental illness, Shelby Countys chief public defender says in a letter to state officials.

Referencing a crisis in admissions from the jail to state hospitals, Shelby County Public Defender Stephen Bush said in a letter to the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services that he is shocked by the delay for people who are court-ordered for treatment at the Western Mental Health Institute in Bolivar.

As of this moment, there are 10 people in the Shelby County Jail awaiting involuntary judicial hospitalization after a state court judge determined they require treatment and care in an inpatient setting, Bush said in a letter Friday to the departments commissioner, E. Douglas Varney. Together they have been waiting a total of 795 days, which creates unnecessary risk of harm and is extraordinarily costly to Shelby County taxpayers. Only one person has been admitted to the state hospital system from the Shelby County Jail since July 21, 2016. He waited 162 days.

Varney responded Monday, saying the state is working hard to address the problem, which he said was relatively new and was the result of both increased referrals from Shelby County and demand nationwide for psychiatric inpatient beds.

Relative to other states, Tennessee generally has a good track record of meeting the needs of its citizens, Varney wrote in his response. With that being said, I am concerned about access to inpatient treatment in our State. This lack of availability is magnified when the patients do not have any financial resources to help pay for services. State funded beds are limited, and our Department is focused on ensuring that all citizens have access to care as quickly as possible given available resources.

Bush said he is seeking immediate corrective action for delays that have risen to a level he said he hasnt seen in his 25-plus years of practicing law.

The present precarious situation places unfair burdens on jail personnel who bear the responsibility to provide care and ensure safety, Bush wrote. In addition each person awaiting admission has also been found to lack adequate mental competence to proceed with the adjudication of charges against them. As a result, not a single person on your waiting list can exercise the right to have a trial, or otherwise resolve the charges he or she is facing. I know you agree it is unconscionable for individuals who suffer from serious mental illness to languish for so long after a judge has determined that hospitalization is required.

The letter is below.

(If youre viewing this on a mobile device, please CLICK HERE to see the document.)
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By Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal

Memphis police said an alleged robbery suspect was shot and killed by a victim in Frayser Sunday night.

Police were called to the 3800 block of Ajanders around 11:28 p.m. Sunday.

The victim told police that two men approached him while he was in his driveway and assaulted him. When one of the suspects pulled a gun, the victim said they struggled over it and he shot one of the men, but he was also hit by gunfire, said Memphis police spokesman Louis Brownlee.

The suspects then fled. Police found one of the suspects, a 31-year-old man, dead nearby on Lake Park Road, just west of Ajanders. Police said a gun was found near the suspect. The other suspect fled in a car, police said. The victim, 32, was taken to the Regional Medical Center.

No arrest has been made. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-2274.
Allison Plattsmier, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, has been invited to the White House along with other students from across the country to discuss gun-reform policy. Photo courtesy of Allison Plattsmier.

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By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal

WASHINGTON  Allison Plattsmier's Southern upbringing allows her to see both sides of the gun-control debate.

"Growing up in the South, everybody is pro-guns, and that is just the way it has always been," she said. "Lots of people own guns. They are everywhere."

Because guns are a big part of the culture for so many people, Plattsmier recognizes they will never be banned, as some gun-control advocates would prefer. But there are things that can  and should  be done to make them safer, she said.

"I don't think assault rifles should be on the market," Plattsmier said. "I think we should limit the number of magazines. I think we should increase background checks at gun shows. I think there are many steps we could take that maybe we're not."

Plattsmier, who lives in Nashville and is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, is taking her perspective on gun control to the White House. She's one of eight students from across the country invited to meet with senior White House officials on Oct. 7 to talk about gun-reform policy.

The message she hopes to deliver: Young Americans' opinions on guns should be heard and valued.

"I think a lot of times people think that because we're young, we're uneducated or we think we're entitled," she said. "I would really like to break that misconception."

Plattsmier, 22, was invited to take part in the White House event because of her work with dosomething.org, a non-profit that encourages young people to get involved in the social causes they're most passionate about.

The group's motto: "Any cause, anytime, anywhere."

The cause Plattsmier took up was "guns out," a campaign against efforts in several states to allow concealed weapons on college campuses.

In Tennessee, the state legislature passed a law earlier this year allowing full-time faculty, staff and other employees of the state's colleges and universities who have handgun-carry permits to bring their weapons to campus.

Plattsmier rallied 81 students in a social media campaign against the law. Students were asked to take a photo of themselves flexing their muscles and then post the image on Twitter with the message, "These are the only guns I want on my campus."

Plattsmier compiled the photos and sent them to Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos. She's also organizing a law-enforcement appreciation event that will give students a chance to meet campus police officers and formally recognize those officers with 20 years or more experience.

When she was involved in the "guns out" campaign, Plattsmier said, some people accused her of being against the Second Amendment, which she found ironic considering that members of her own family are gun owners.

But college students who grew up in the era of Columbine-style mass shootings have a different view of guns, what role they play in society and whether they should be controlled, she said.

Plattsmier can understand why Americans feel the need to be armed, given everything that's going on in the United States and the world. But people wouldn't feel the need to be armed if leaders dealt with the root causes of those problems, she said.

"It's easy to say: Let's just get rid of all the guns," Plattsmier said.

Reality is far more complex.

"We're not going to be able to take all of the guns off the streets," she said.

What we can do, she said, is make them safer.

Michael Collins is The Commercial Appeal's Washington correspondent. His weekly Tennessee in D.C. column highlights Volunteer State lawmakers, causes and connections. Contact him at 703-854-8927 or mcollins2@gannett.com.
By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal

Recognition doesn't always come quickly, but it usually comes.

W.H. Drane Lester finally got his recognition last week for a brief but full career with the FBI during which the Batesville, Mississippi, native left an indelible mark.

In a ceremony at Batesville's Magnolia Cemetery, current and retired FBI agents unveiled a marker noting that Lester coined the still-used FBI motto: "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity."

And Lester, who died in 1941, did a lot more.

Lester also developed a close working relationship with J. Edgar Hoover, who made Lester basically the spokesman for the FBI during the days of legendary criminal figures such as Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger.

Hoover thanked Lester for his contributions after Lester resigned in 1940 to care for his mother, sending him a prototype of the FBI seal bearing the motto Lester had come up with.

"That motto he came up with, we're still using today," Brett Carr, public affairs specialist for the Jackson FBI office, said before last week's ceremony. "And so, what an honor it is for Mississippians to know that such a big part of what we are was from right here in Mississippi."

Few people knew such a key piece of FBI history came from North Mississippi. But now  75 years after your death, Mr. Lester  everyone knows.

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER SOCIAL MEDIA BLUNDER

A University of Mississippi student found himself in hot water last week over a social media posting in which he suggested, during a discussion of protesters in Charlotte, North Carolina, that they be lynched.

His fraternity expelled him after a New York Daily News writer called out the posting on Twitter. Ole Miss students staged a protest over the university's "weak response" after the school, unlike the fraternity, took no immediate action.

"The University of Mississippi condemns the use of language that might encourage or condone violence. Instead, let's be respectful and civil in our discourse." -- University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter's response to the posting in a prepared statement.

This isn't the first time, by any means, that an online comment composed in haste has come back to bite the author. Many people, not just students, have found themselves on the receiving end of often-harsh criticism as the result of words and images, usually posted without the benefit of reflection, on social media.

Some will argue people should be free to say what they want, and they can. But it's no secret that actions have repercussions, fair or not.

So to say it once again  if you have the least reservation about the whole world seeing it or reading it, don't post it.

FAIR WARNING

It's Mid-South Fair time, which means increased traffic in the area of Church Road and Interstate 55 in Southaven.

The fair began its annual run at Landers Center Friday and continues through Sunday.

Since last year's fair, Tanger Outlets has added to the traffic count along Church Road around the interstate. Add in the fair traffic, and it might be best to find a new route this week if you have reason to be in the area but aren't going to either the fair or the mall.

Of course, fair organizers are hoping there's enough traffic to complain.

"We hope cars are going to be lined up on the interstate ramp," Mid-South Fair President Michael Doyle said.

Some problems, it seems, are good to have  depending on whom you're asking.

BRIEFLY

Storm water awareness: This week is Stormwater Awareness Week in DeSoto County, and county leaders will join with school and municipal leaders to spread the word.

"One of the main goals of the Desoto County Advisory Committee is public education," Ray Laughter, the county's director of environmental services and parks, said in a release. "We have put together a group of volunteers to read to different schools in Desoto County about stormwater pollution."

Volunteers from the county Board of Supervisors, school board and boards of aldermen in the cities will read to school groups.

For questions on the issue, visit the county government website at desotocountyms.gov or call the office of DeSoto County Environmental Services at 662-469-8152 or 8000.

Small business: Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley was in Southaven last week to tout the success of programs designed to aid small businesses with utility costs.

During a stop at Krazy Kats Monograms, Presley said reduced rates and alternative deposit options have helped more than 2,800 small businesses in Mississippi save $1.7 million in utility costs since the incentives were first offered in 2011.

"These are the people creating jobs, staying in Mississippi and hiring Mississippians," Presley said during the stop. "We should continue to help them open up, expand and create jobs. I urge each utility company to continue to annually renew these incentives to ensure we are helping our small businesses."

Entergy Mississippi, which supplies power in most of DeSoto County, had added the small business incentives as a permanent part of its business operations.

More information is available from the PSC or Entergy.

AND FINALLY

Crossing the Line will be taking a break next Monday, but will return Oct. 10.
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By Cal Thomas

Tonight's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton could determine the outcome of the election. As polls show Trump leading in some swing states and closing the gap in others, it appears the only burden he must overcome is the one Ronald Reagan shared, looking presidential enough that voters trust him with so much power.

The way these debates have usually gone in the past is that the Republican candidate is asked about abortion, gay rights and other social issues and the Democratic candidate is asked about subjects that appeal to a wider range of voters.

Lester Holt, the "NBC Nightly News" anchor, will moderate the first debate. Here are some questions he should ask:

For Clinton: You once supported traditional marriage, but now favor same-sex marriage. Polygamists now want to be next in line to receive legal and cultural approval. Do you oppose polygamy, and if so on what basis? If elected president, how would we know you wouldn't change your mind on this issue?

Follow-up: What is your standard for defining right from wrong?

For Trump: You were pro-choice, you said, until you heard about a baby that was going to be aborted, but wasn't. You called the child a "total superstar." Do you have a utilitarian view of human life  that a baby is only valuable if it grows up to be a superstar  or is every life valuable?

For Clinton: You said you would have a "bunch of litmus tests" for Supreme Court nominees, including requiring potential nominees to have a commitment to preserving a woman's right to an abortion. Would you overlook qualified candidates because they oppose abortion?

Also for Clinton: You appear to have an interventionist foreign policy record. What is your standard for sending American forces into battle, especially in the Middle East where nothing ever seems to get resolved?

Follow-up: In one of your emails you praise Sidney Blumenthal's son, Max, for his virulent anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments, favoring the dismantling of the state of Israel. Since Israel's enemies have also vowed to destroy the only democracy in the Middle East and one of the United States' few allies in the region, as president, would you support the Jewish state or demand that it give up more land to Palestinians when the land it has already relinquished has brought it no closer to peace?

For Trump: Many voters are worried about your praise of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who routinely behaves like the KGB agent he once was. Putin has invaded and occupied territories, censored the news and been accused of murdering his opposition. Why do you admire his leadership? Should you become president, what do you think your public praise of Putin will accomplish that will be in America's interests?

Follow-up: Under what circumstances would you use military force against Russia or our enemies in the Middle East?

For both candidates: North Korea is developing nuclear weapons that will fit on top of missiles capable of reaching the U.S. Would you authorize a missile defense system able to shoot down North Korean missiles, despite China's opposition to such a system?

For Clinton: The federal government took in record amounts of tax money in 2015  $3.18 trillion  but the debt is approaching $20 trillion, and you want to spend more. Why won't you propose cutting programs that aren't working?

For Trump: What agencies and programs would you eliminate or reform?

Public interest for the debates will be at Super Bowl level. These and similar questions would produce the information undecided voters need to cast their votes wisely.

The future of this country hangs in the balance.

Contact Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.
The offshore outsourcing planned at the University of California's San Francisco (UCSF) campus is following a standard playbook. The affected employees expect to train their replacements as a condition of severance. Their jobs will soon be in India and they'll be out of work.

But the chancellor of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Pradeep K. Khosla, may still be getting compensated by HCL Infosystems. It is one of the units of India-based HCL, the IT services contractor hired by the university.

Khosla is an independent and non-executive director on the HCL Infosystems board of directors. He joined this board in 2011, and was appointed chancellor -- a role similar to that of a CEO -- of the San Diego campus in 2012.

Khosla has reported his HCL compensation to the university at $12,000 last year for 56 hours of total time served. He also earns $12,000 from Infosys Science Foundation as chair of the engineering and computer science jury, according to the compensation report.

HCL was recently hired by UCSF under a contract valued at $50 million over five years to manage infrastructure and networking-related services. As part of this move to an IT services provider, the university informed 80 IT workers -- which includes 50 permanent employees, contract workers and vendor contractors -- that they will be laid off at the end of February.

When asked by Computerworld, in an email, if the university's contract with HCL creates a conflict for Khosla, a UCSD spokeswoman, Judy Piercey, replied: "The contract was negotiated between UCSF and HCL; it did not involve Chancellor Pradeep Khosla in any way, nor was it discussed at any HCL meeting that Chancellor Khosla attended."

But this contract may have implications for the San Diego campus.

The University of California's San Diego and San Francisco campuses are separate in the sense that they have their own chief executives and IT leadership. But the IT services contract with HCL negotiated by UCSF can be used at any of the 10 campuses in the 190,000-employee University of California system, said UCSF CIO Joe Bengfort, in a recent interview.

The affected IT employees in San Francisco, who have spoken to Computerworld on the condition of anonymity, believe that the shifting of their jobs to India may be the start of a system-wide effort to move these public, partially taxpayer-supported jobs, overseas. They have reason to believe this is true.

The HCL contract was discussed in August by the university's system-wide Architecture Committee, according to notes from the meeting. Attending were representatives of nearly 20 UC institutions, including from the university's San Diego campus.

The "HCL agreement is UC-wide," according to the committee's meeting notes, which also report: "Other CIOs looking at UCSF experience before other folks dip in. Wait for a year before jumping in with HCL."

Another link that the UC San Diego campus has with the San Francisco campus is the expanded use of the Supercomputer Center as a back-up facility for data.

Membership on a corporate board among top University of California officials is common, and it has posed issues for the university. It recently revised its conflict-of-interest rules, changing them in a way that gives the university broader latitude in determining the definition of a conflict. For instance, instead of something being seen as an "apparent" conflict, a conflict can now be "perceived" as one under the revised rules. But the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the revised rules aren't retroactive.

Affected university IT employees have launched a petition drive to try to get the university to stop its outsourcing.

Another issue for the university may be having an association generally with the offshore outsourcing industry. This industry, broadly, relies heavily on H-1B visa holding workers to move work offshore, displacing U.S. IT workers, including computer science grads of institutions such as the University of California.

Major IT services outsourcing firms are fighting lawsuits brought by affected employees. That includes HCL, which is now defending itself against a lawsuit filed by a former Disney employee who was laid off after training an H-1B-holding employee.
One of the biggest security risks for computer users is their web browser. According to Microsoft, 90 percent of phishing emails use the browser to initiate attacks, which can then be used to help attackers establish a beachhead inside a company.

Microsoft is aiming to better protect users and organizations from the threats that they face with a new feature called Windows Defender Application Guard. It's designed to isolate Microsoft Edge from the rest of the files and processes running on a user's computer and prevent computer exploits from taking hold.

This is a move that could drive greater adoption of Microsoft's browser in the enterprise, at a time when the company is fiercely competing with Google in that space. Security of company assets is a big problem for enterprises, and Microsoft is offering them another way to help protect their users without requiring those users to be security experts.

Here's how it works: when users navigate to untrusted websites in Edge with the feature enabled, Microsofts browser launches new sessions that run in virtualized containers on their Windows 10 PCs and tablets.

In the event theres malicious code on those sites that tries to deploy on users machines, it gets deployed into the container, isolated from the operating system and everything else.

When users quit their Edge sessions, the container is destroyed, and the malicious code is supposed to go along with it, thereby protecting users from whatever payload they may have been exposed to.

According to Rob Lefferts, Microsoft's director of program management for Windows Enterprise and Security, the other key thing about the feature is that the containers isolation is enforced using a secure root of trust that runs on the computers processor itself.

While Application Guard is a powerful capability, that comes at a cost. Because the container is destroyed whenever a user quits Edge, any cookies or cached items accumulated during that time go with it. In other words, even if users check the "Remember Me" button on a website, they'll have to log back in next time they open Edge. Virtualizing Microsoft's browser will also lead to some loss of performance.

IT administrators will be able to set the service up to whitelist certain trusted sites which will run in a traditional, non-containerized form, so users can get the same sort of browsing experience they're used to from those sites.

Lefferts cautioned that the feature won't be right for every organization, or even every employee.

"It is really [for] environments that want to run locked-down browsers," he said in an interview. "Finance organizations, healthcare organizations, a whole slew of military organizations that I talk to."

Microsoft is still in the process of building the feature, and will be rolling it out to Windows Insiders in the coming months. The company expects Windows Defender Application Guard to be generally available some time in 2017, for organizations that are subscribed to the Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 plans.

That means there are still some questions left unanswered about what Windows 10 Application Guard will mean for users. For example, the company isn't saying yet what sort of impact running Edge in a container will have on its performance.

Lefferts said that the company is still working on getting the performance right, and wants to make both the Edge startup experience and the browsing experience feel good to users.

Looking forward, Microsoft may make the same containerization technology available to other applications, Matt Barlow, the corporate vice president for Windows Marketing, said during a press conference. But right now, the company is working to ship the first version of the feature.

Windows Defender Application Guard is one of a number of security-focused announcements that the company made at its Ignite conference in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday. It also announced that Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection and Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection will share intelligence across both services to provide IT administrators with an easier way to manage threats.

The company is also releasing a new Secure Productive Enterprise service, which gives companies an easy way to buy a suite of its advanced security capabilities across Office, Windows and its Enterprise Mobility + Security suite.
Ive been talking about Apples interest in digital health for years. Bit by bit my expectations on this are proving correct, with Apple developing Health, Activity, Care Kit, Research Kit, advanced biometric sensors and apps for wheelchair users, swimming and even breathing.

An Apple a day

Apple wants to be good for you

None of these efforts are trivial. The company is working with health professionals, expert scientists and government regulators in its attempt to create a digital health ecosystem that actually does keep you well.

Health is a huge issue around the world and we think its ripe for simplicity and a new view, Apple CEO, Tim Cook told a May conference in Amsterdam.

The company is also willing to go the extra mile and invest in good research and good science for its health solutions. Last week I learned that the Swimming Activity app you will find in Apple Watch Series 2 is based on over a million swim hours of data. Apple has confirmed that Wheelchair is based on similar high investment in research time. Meanwhile the sensors Apple is introducing take years to develop. This is not a trivial attempt, and these things work.

Bloomberg today confirms what I pointed out just last week: That Apple wants to expand HealthKit from being a basic fitness tracker to becoming a useful diagnosis tool.

Next generation digital health

The Bloomberg report claims Apple is working on an app that figures out an Apple Watch wearers fitness levels by measuring the time taken for the heart rate to fall from its peak to resting level.

Earlier this year Apple filed a patent for an Apple Watch that can constantly monitor a wearers heartbeat, warning them of impending heart attack.

The big ambition is to gather lots of useful data, generate useful real-time insights from that information, and to make it easy to bring that information into the fragmented landscape of Electronic Health Records across the industry (hence the Gliimpse acquisition).

The big idea is to give physicians access to the quality and quantity of accurate biometric data they need in order to improve treatment and diagnosis.

Regulatory challenges

The report points out that Apple will need to get regulatory clearance for some of the solutions it is developing, and may need to pop an LTE radio inside the Watch in order that the device is always connected.

We dont want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process, Tim Cook told the UK Daily Telegraph this year.

I wouldnt mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it -- maybe an app, maybe something else.

We already know that while developing Apple Watch the company considered different sensor technologies to provide stress, heart rate and blood pressure monitors, but rejected those that didnt perform consistently or required regulatory approval.

Technology and healthcare

Speaking in 2013, Ovums then lead Healthcare & Life Sciences analyst, Charlotte Davies told me of her predictions for digital health, More and more care will be delivered outside hospitals and clinics mobile devices  from smartphones to monitoring devices  will become increasingly important as the number of patients cared for at home or in sheltered accommodation or other community centers increases, she said.

Apples health team includes key researchers with a background in the application of big data analytics on health care. This connects to Apples recent investments in machine intelligence, leading me to anticipate anonymized but accurate public health solutions from the company.

Apples plan for health

This is what I imagine Apples digital health strategy is built around:

To offer consumer products (principally Apple Watch) that among their many other features also offer the best available health and fitness trackers and FDA-approved biometric and system sensors.

While protecting customer privacy and security to ensure the data gathered by these devices can be securely shared with leading Electronic Health Systems currently used in healthcare, and that medical professionals can quickly and easily access this data, even remotely. (88% of physicians want patients to monitor their health parameters at home).

To link doctors and their clients together so both sides receive early alerts if sensors detect potential crisis.

To provide patients with an emergency system so they can request help if necessary (now available in iOS 10).

These solutions will have implications in health insurance and employment. CDW Healthcare claims:

Wearable technology could drop hospital costs by as much as 16% over the course of 5 years, and remote patient monitoring technologies could save our healthcare system $200 billion over the next 25 years.

Data analytics

What the Bloomberg report today suggests is that Apple is determined to invest a huge chunk of cash into figuring out how its technologies can be good for you.

Of course, all this data has further implications in data analytics. I suggest Apple wants to continue working with differential privacy until Apple customers can securely and privately contribute to research studies aimed at using these technologies to monitor and track public health.

Apples relationship with IBM and that companys own investments in data analytics for health also seem likely to come into play.

Digital health is going to become a key business for Apple, but its apparent commitment to delivering solutions based on good science will hopefully drive good benefits to everybody.

Indeed, it may be easier to innovate in health than in the ever more complex automated vehicle sector). One app at a time your smart-something will in future save your life.

Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple?

Want Apple TV tips? If you want to learn how to get the very best out of your Apple TV, please visit my Apple TV website.

Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld.
Microsoft announced it plans to power its data centers around the world using 50% renewable energy by 2018.

The company also plans to boost its use of renewable power for its data centers to 60% by the early 2020s.

Rob Bernard, Microsoft's chief environmental & cities strategist, made the announcement at the VERGE16 conference last week.

Bernard's comments during a conference keynote were a reiteration of a commitment earlier this year by the company to increase its use of clean energy.

Microsoft's latest announcement came on the same day that Apple committed to 100% renewable energy use by joining RE100, a global initiative by influential businesses. To date, RE100 has amassed membership from 77 corporations, including Microsoft.

Microsoft has powered its global operations, which include manufacturing, licensing and logistics, on 100% renewable energy since 2014.

In Microsoft's Green Blog, Bernard noted that as the company begins using the power of the cloud to reduce fuel consumption by public transportation, adopt clean energy like solar power, improve food resiliency in a changing climate, and understand and predict changes in the ocean, "we must also ensure that we are building a responsible cloud."

"Tremendous amounts of energy will be required to power this data-driven revolution. The leading cloud companies have a responsibility to address this energy usage," Bernard wrote. "That is why Microsoft announced a new, principled approach to helping advance a clean energy future."

Microsoft has committed to greater transparency, including reporting its energy consumption across regions and the mix of sources for the power it uses, while continuing to report its total energy consumption and the impact of its carbon reduction program.

"We also committed to improving our energy mix, setting a goal to grow the percent of wind, solar and hydropower energy we purchase directly and through the grid," Bernard stated. "Already, we are at 44% and signed a new deal to bring 20 megawatts of new solar energy onto the grid in Virginia earlier this year."

Microsoft has been involved in renewable energy use for years. In 2013, for example, it built a data center next to a Wyoming landfill in order to use its methane gas to power the facility.

The company also supports public policies designed to accelerate the availability and affordability of renewable energy on the grid. Twelve states are challenging the plan, but Microsoft, along with Amazon, Apple and Google, signed an amicus brief in support of the White House's Clean Power Plan, which is expected to enter oral arguments later this month.

The plan is a commitment by the U.S. and 19 other countries and 28 leading technology innovators to double funding and other resources for clean energy research and development.

Along with public funding, high-profile investors -- known as the Breakthrough Energy Coalition -- also plan to provide money for the development of zero-emission energy technology. The group, being lead by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, includes Salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.
With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump set to face off in the first debate of a contentious presidential election tonight, the MIT Media Lab is set to make sense of the firehose of chatter expected to hit Twitter.

The Laboratory for Social Machines, part of the MIT Media Lab, launched the machine-learning project, dubbed Electome, about a year ago to help give people more of a voice about the election.

Then representatives from the Commission on Presidential Debates reached out to Electome's project leaders, asking for help in giving the media a better look at what people were saying on Twitter about the candidates, the issues and all the ups and downs of the debate.

The goal was to get the publics voices into the conversation about the debates and the overall election.

MIT Media Lab Researchers have developed a dashboard that shows data and visualizations from tweets about the U.S. presidential election. Journalists will be using it tonight to follow whats being said about the first debate.

We were trying to help the election go beyond polls and really get into the conversation, said Bill Powers, a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab. The data revolution were living through, in terms of American politics, the way its been used is by political parties to win. We felt it was time for this same data to track ideas.

While Powers sees the project as a public service, for this year, anyway, their tweet analysis, and complementary visualization of it, are available on a dashboard that is only open to the media.

He explained that the Electome group wanted to start with a relatively small number of users and then expand from there.

Working with news outlets like the Washington Post, CNN, and Bloomberg, the Electome project has about 200 individual journalists signed up to use it. Members of the research team will be on site for the first debate tonight at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., and they expect to sign up a lot more reporters there.

Twitter has given the MIT team access to its entire firehose of tweets  about 500 million tweets on a normal day.

Today likely will not be a normal day.

Twitter users, who will be able to watch the debate live streamed on the site, are likely to tweet about their favorite, and least favorite, candidate, the vocal blows made and blows thwarted, as well as the issues raised. Theyll also retweet comments and memes, along with stats, talking points and images that the two campaigns and the Democratic and Republican parties will post.

Thats a lot of tweets and data to analyze on the fly, all while viewing it from the backdrop of all the data that has been analyzed over the past year.

Without machine learning technology, it wouldnt be possible.

Since we started this, weve been getting the whole firehose and saving it, Powers said. The amount of human oversight that would be required [to do this without machine learning] would be massive The analysis would be much more basic. Wed be capturing much less of the conversation without the machine learning.

Deb Roy, director of the Laboratory for Social Machines and chief media scientist at Twitter, said that if they had a massive team of researchers, a pile of money to fund them and unlimited time, maybe they could do the analysis without machine learning.

Those are not the parameters theyre working with, however.

Were processing a very large volume of tweets and news stories, and were trying to classify and organize tweets around the major issues in the election and understand patterns across all the tweets and not just some of them, Roy said. Its a moving target. If you want to say which ones are about immigration, which ones are about terrorism, you need help.

A few of the issues that makes this kind of analysis so difficult, aside from the massive amount of tweets that need to be immediately analyzed, is that people use well-known and sometimes their own particular short-hands on Twitter because of the 140-character tweet limit. They also use a constantly changing list of hash tags.

While someone might tweet about pneumonia or racism, both of which have been issues in this election, it doesnt mean the tweet is related to the election.

The Electome algorithms need to decipher which tweets are about the election and then put those tweets into the proper category bucket.

They also need to keep up with the quickly changing cast of issues connected to the election -- and tonights debate.

For instance, in one minute pneumonia was not an election issue and the next minute it was. The machine-learning algorithms need to immediately recognize that kind of change.

To keep up with the changes, the algorithms are taking in 500 to 600 news stories a day and learning the new names and vocabulary associated with different topics.

The machine needs to know a tweet about pneumonia is about the election and its a subtopic, explained Roy. If we simply said, Go find all tweets about pneumonia, there are a significant amount of conversations and news stories that are not about the election. If you pick up a tweet every time Brussels is mentioned, you cant assume its about terrorism. So you cant just look for key words, but you need to train a model that looks for tweets about pneumonia that are in the election context.

At this point, the project is only analyzing tweets in English from North America.

The top issues on Twitter since MIT started this project? Foreign policy and national security.

The opinions on Twitter are almost as diverse as the number of tweets, Powers said. Theres a lot about Putin and Russia. You hear a lot about Benghazi. You hear positive things about Hillary Clintons work abroad. Its the gamut of things happening in the world.
Cllr Claire Jeffrey, who represents the East Folkestone Ward on Shepway District Council, has defected from Labour to the Conservatives.

Cllr Jeffrey, who is Jewish, said she could no longer represent a party which tolerates anti-Semitism.

Kent Online reports:

She spoke out on Twitter about suffering abuse for more than two years and having been spat on and her children left terrified.

Cllr Jeffrey said:

Enough is enough. Goodbye Labour but I will continue to work hard as a councillor to serve the people of East Folkestone.

Russell Tillson, secretary and treasurer of the Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association, added:

Cllr Claire Jeffrey has indeed paid her subscription and is now therefore a member of the Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association.

I have on all those occasions I have met her in the past found Claire to be a delightful and courteous lady.

I have every expectation that she will bring to the Conservative party passion, energy, good sense and a deep commitment to the service of her local residents.

She is also a woman of considerable integrity as it takes a lot of guts to leave a political party.

Cllr Jeffrey stood as the Labour candidate for the Folkestone and Hythe at the General Election last year.








ConservativeHomes full conference programme can be found here, but we would like to draw your attention to three events in particular.

We have a joint event with Policy Exchange called The Governments social reform agenda: what it will mean in practice, at which Philip Collins of the Times, Nick Bosanquet of Reform, and I will be speaking. It will take place on Tuesday October 4 from 15.30-16.30 in the Policy Exchange Marquee, which is inside the secure zone.

Gavin Barwell, now the Housing Minister, will be talking about his book How to win a marginal seat (and indeed about how to win such a seat more broadly) on Monday October 3 from 8.00  9.30 in the ConservativeHome Marquee, which is also inside the secure zone.

And Iain Dale, LBC presenter and our columnist, will interview David Davis live on Tuesday 4 from 12.45 until 14.00 in Hall One of the International Conference Centre. This is one of the very few conference events that the Brexit Secretary will be undertaking other than his main speech itself.

For those readers with a special interest in Brexit, Liam Fox will be speaking at our joint fringe event with Britain in a Changing Europe later on the same day  from 16.15-17.15 in the ConHome Marquee.
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Cloud News

CloudHealth Bulks Up Microsoft Azure Capabilities For Growing Multi-Cloud World

Joseph Tsidulko

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CloudHealth, a vendor of software for managing cloud services that's seen rapid adoption over the last year, debuted a number of capabilities Monday that bulk up its recently introduced Microsoft Azure management product.

During Microsoft's Ignite conference in Atlanta, the Boston-based startup showcased new features that implement policy-driven management and governance controls for optimizing cost, availability and performance on Microsoft's cloud.

Much of the demand for Azure functionality came from existing CloudHealth customers that are using Amazon Web Services but expanding operations into multi-cloud environments, CloudHealth founder and CTO Joe Kinsella told CRN.

[Related: 15 Cool Cloud Companies And Their Even Cooler Products]

CloudHealth originally launched its technology around Amazon's cloud. The startup later added support for Google Cloud Platform, betting that customer demand would scale around Google's services.

The company has made major strides over the last year in market recognition, growing its revenue more than 400 percent, expanding its channel with new resellers and MSPs, opening offices in San Francisco and London, and closing a Series C funding round of $20 million led by Sapphire Ventures.

In that time, CloudHealth has seen a surge in customer demand for comprehensive management capabilities around Azure, Kinsella said, often complementing infrastructure hosted by other cloud operators.

"A large percentage of enterprises and MSPs adopted Azure and Amazon and wanted that single console they could go to and manage both," Kinsella said.

CloudHealth made its Azure management product generally available only a few months ago, and almost immediately saw widespread adoption from enterprise customers and channel partners, he told CRN.

The latest release adds capabilities for granularly evaluating spending and cost allocation across business divisions, usage reporting, spending relative to enterprise agreements and burn-down reporting that shows allocation compared to spending.

It also integrates with performance metrics offered through Azure, does workload assessments, offers migration recommendations, and helps users better right-size their environments for various Azure virtual machine instances.

Jason Cutrer, founder and president of Six Nines, an IT consultancy based in Oakland, Calif., told CRN that CloudHealth's evolution to providing services around Azure workloads, in addition to AWS, sets up another profitable year for partners facilitating their customers' heterogeneous environments.

"A multi-cloud strategy is crucial to our customers, and the ability to provide visibility and governance into AWS and Azure helps us deliver on our customer service promises," Cutrer said.

Kinsella told CRN that the company has seen over the last several months many partners such as Six Nines that are helping customers implement aggressive multi-cloud adoption roadmaps.

A year and a half ago, CloudHealth only saw businesses making large cloud buys with Amazon, Kinsella said, and not with other providers.

Now Azure "seems to be rapidly gaining traction across all the different industries that we cover as well as the different profiles of customers that we have," Kinsella said. "In the last 18 months there's been a significant closing of that gap."
Carnival Corporation executives said on todays earnings call that the first half of next year (2017) looks very strong with higher occupancy and higher prices.

Commenting on the companys Q3 2016 results, Arnold Donald, CEO and present, said that it was the highest quarterly income the company has ever posted despite numerous headwinds. For the full year, he said he expects to double the earnings from 2013 and also double the return on investment from 2013.

The company has raised its full-year EPS guidance to $3.33 to $3.37 from $3.25 to $3.35.

David Bernstein, executive vice president and CFO, said that for the first half of 2017, occupancy for the North American brands in the Caribbean and Alaska was well ahead of this year at significantly higher prices.

For the European brands, European occupancy is also ahead at slightly higher prices, while their Caribbean occupancy is ahead at flat prices. For Asia, he said that occupancy was in line with increased capacity and at higher prices. For Australia, occupancy is ahead with pricing in line with last year.

In total, Carnival brands will see a 2.5 percent capacity increase in 2017, adjusted for 470 drydock days up from 380 days this year. According Bernstein, total drydock time will be an average of 450 to 475 days per year.

Regarding China, Donald said it is a profitable market for Carnival, although he expects yields to be down until the distribution system is better able to support capacity growth. Noting that China only represents 5 percent of the companys total capacity, he said he expects that China will continue to be a growth market.

However, Donald dodged answering specifically why AIDA and the Carnival brands have postponed their market entries and when and if they will enter the Chinese market.

In 2016, he said that Carnival increased its China capacity by 66 percent, compare to an industry wide increase of 100 percent, and that Carnival will increase its cruise capacity in China by 26 percent in 2017, compared to an industry wide increase of 31 percent.

Over the next four years, he said that Carnival will be introducing three new ships in Asia (for Princess and Costa) and three ships per year in all of its established markets.

At the same time, the company will remove older and less efficient ships, which will be sold into secondary markets, he said, which will not compete directly with company brands.
Its Bridgeports turn to hack.

As part of a Northeast Hackathon series that began last week in Stamford, the Bridgeport Hackathon will take place this weekend at the Bridgeport Public Library downtown.

At hackathons, participants create solutions to problems through computer programming and coding.

Promoting a creative economy has been a goal of the citys Downtown Special Services District for several years.

From graphic design to marketing to computer programming, DSSD President Michael Moore would like to see more creative agencies move into the neighborhood.

To that end, the organization recently applied for and was awarded a nearly $10,000 grant from the Connecticut Main Street Center to promote initiatives to bring creative minds to downtown Bridgeport.

The first event to be sponsored by the grant will be what event organizers hope will be the first annual Bridgeport Hackathon.

Were really trying to encourage that type of innovation downtown, Moore said.

Stamford has hosted several hackathons, including an event in February and one two weeks ago that included a hackathon for high schoolers.

We are working very closely with folks at the Stamford Innovation Center, Moore said. The center was host to the Stamford event in February, which focused on the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.

The Internet of Things is the ever-expanding array of everyday products  buildings, objects, cars, toys  that are connected to the internet through cloud computing.

Moore said the DSSD is working closely with local colleges and universities, including Housatonic Community College and the University of Bridgeport, to get students involved in the local event.

Because the hackathons are part of a series, Bridgeport participants will see how Stamford hackers did, and their own ideas will also get presented in hackathons in New Haven, New London and Providence, R.I.

Like Stamford, Bridgeport will host the activities over three days, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. It will then begin at 8 a.m. the following two days, ending at 10 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Hugh Seaton, founder of the Stamford events, said the tour is focused on smart cities, or using data and technology to help make cities work better. A particular focus will be on how technology can make commuting easier.

Its been a really great collaboration, Seaton said. Bridgeport has a thriving downtown, and its starting to do some fantastic things to show that. This is just another step in the citys progress.

Valeria Bisceglia, business adviser with the Small Business Development Center, said she hopes the event will show exactly that  the downtowns progress.

Bisceglia, who does a lot of work in Bridgeport, is helping to coordinate the event.

I had been personally trying to bring organizations and partners together to promote the energy downtown, she said.

Bisceglia said the hackathon will not only be open to those interested in participating in coding and programming.

It all starts with good ideas about ways to solve problems, she said. The programming can come from someone else. If you dont have a good idea to begin with youre not getting anywhere.

The event is open to the public. Those interested in participating must pay $15, while students can enter the hackathon for just $5. For more information visit www.bridgeporthackathon.com.

ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227
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People in hot water over social media posts is nothing new, but an increasing trend of affluent users flaunting their wealth online has resulted in the photos being used more and more as evidence in court, experts say.

From photos on a private jet to stacks of cash in a brand new luxury car, images showcasing the decadent lifestyle of the world's richest are becoming more common (see the gallery above for examples).

RELATED: Unapologetic rich kids share their extravagant lives on Snapchat for the rest of the world to envy

But, according to the Telegraph, cybersecurity firms are now using social media posts in nearly 75 percent of all litigation cases now. Additionally, sites like Facebook and Instagram are being used to expose families who are lying about assets when under criminal investigation, the Telegraph reported.

One high-profile example involves rapper 50 Cent, who posted a photo of himself on Instagram in October with what looked like thousands of dollars in cash spelling out the word Broke." The rapper, Curtis James Jackson III, filed for bankruptcy in July in a Connecticut court, but after the social media post, a U.S. Court began questioning whether 50 Cent was disclosing all of his assets in his case, according to CNN.

TMZ reports 50 Cent has more than $15 million in personal property, has $2.7 million in his checking account as of August 2015 and is losing lots of money on his G-Unit brand.

RELATED: Instagram photos claim ties to 'El Chapo,' show off Mexican drug cartel exploits

James Quiggle of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud said that mining social media for clues is one of the fastest-growing areas of insurance-fraud investigation," adding that investigating peoples actions on social media is no different from video surveillance.

One lawyer told the Telegraph that metadata in social media posts can also be used to locate people or find out where proxy companies are located in fraud cases.

"You can start building up a profile of that individual: where they are; what their interests are; who are they regularly in touch with?" attorney Daniel Hall said in an interview with the British publication.

A Forbes magazine writer pointed to people's love of bragging about their interests, whether it be in person or on the internet, as a catalyst for the growing trend of flaunting online.

RELATED: Rich kids prove their life is better than yours one Instagram filter at a time

There are rules in place for attorneys and fraud investigators. Some states do not allow investigators to use deception in the course of their investigation, according to the ACFE.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
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Southwestern Connecticut schools are habitually some of the best places to enroll your kids, but they're also some of the best places to teach in the state.

School districts in southwestern Connecticut make up the bulk of Niche's best places to teach list, taking eight out of the top 10 spots including the top five districts.

Check out the slideshow above for a look at the county's best places to teach. For Niche's full state list and school attributes, click here.

Leading the charge was New Canaan School District, which posted a nearly perfect score in the categories of overall experience, administration and policies, health and safety, and resources and facilities.

New Canaan's average teacher salary was also just under $80,000 a year and a teacher-student ratio of 12-to-1.

Niche also looked at teacher salary, which varied by district, student teacher ratio, teacher absenteeism, and teachers in their first and second year of educating.

Westport School District was nearly identical to New Canaan, with a high teacher salary and low student-teacher ration. However, Westport's teacher absenteeism was almost half as much less at 25.9 percent, compared to 53.4 percent.

Related: Niche's best suburbs in southwestern Connecticut

Greenwich, Weston, and Ridgefield school districts rounded out the top five places, while Darien, Newtown, and Wilton also placed within the top 10 places to teach.

Twenty-two schools from Fairfield County ranked within the top 100 school districts.

Ridgefield, Darien, Weston, Greenwich, New Canaan, and Westport were also hailed as the best districts in Connecticut earlier this year by Niche. The site said the districts excelled in the categories of academics and health and safety, but fell a bit shorter in the area of student culture and diversity.
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(TNS) LOS ANGELES  Halloween is growing so big, it's scary.



To crank up the fright levels, Universal Studios Hollywood is employing directors and producers of creepy movies and television series to help create new attractions for this year's Halloween celebration.



Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia has expanded its annual spookfest by an extra weekend and built its biggest outdoor maze ever, a 40,000-square-foot labyrinth haunted by post-apocalyptic killers.



And for the first time, Warner Bros. Studios has jumped into the competition for Halloween fans this year by launching a nighttime tour of the Burbank studio lot, plus a screening of two Warner Bros.-distributed horror films: "The Conjuring" and "The Conjuring 2."



The newest Halloween upgrades at Southern California's theme parks are a testament to the autumn holiday's freakish growth and profitability.

"Halloween has become high stakes certainly for the biggest theme parks," said Martin Lewison, a business administration professor and theme park expert from Farmingdale State College in New York. "They always have to stay on top, always have to be cutting edge."

He compared the expansion of Halloween events at theme parks to the decision by fast-food giant McDonald's in the 1970s to add breakfast to the chain's meal offerings.

"It's called capital intensity," he said. "You increase by taking your investment and squeezing more money out of it."

Nationwide, more than 300 amusement parks operate Halloween attractions, generating at least $500 million in revenue annually, according to Hauntworld, a website based in St. Louis that promotes businesses with "haunted" or Halloween themes.

An annual Halloween industry show in St. Louis that began eight years ago in a 50,000-square-foot hall has grown to 250,000 square feet, including booths that sell scary props, ticket-dispensing equipment, lighting and hayride equipment, among other Halloween items, said Larry Kirchner, a spokesman for Hauntworld.

"The number just keeps growing on a level you can't imagine," he said.

Most Southern California theme parks charge a separate admission fee to attend the Halloween events that begin in the evening.

Six Flags Magic Mountain allows daytime visitors to stay after dark but they must buy a wristband to enter the individual horror attractions. The tickets range from $40 to more than $200 for a pass that lets visitors avoid the lines.

At Universal Studios Hollywood, Eli Roth, the producer of such horror films as "Hostel," "Cabin Fever" and "The Stranger," has been recruited to remake the park's iconic tram ride by populating it with maniacal, serial killer clowns.

Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights began Sept. 16 and runs on select nights through Nov. 5.

Roth compared the Halloween mazes and attractions to live concerts or music festivals where large groups share in the experience.

"You can't replicate the live experience," Roth said. "You just have to make the pilgrimage and be a part of it."

Ryan Murphy, the creator of the "American Horror Story" television series, said he wanted to help build a maze haunted by evil spirits, scenes of gore and freak show actors because he always admired the Halloween attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood.

"For me, if your show is made into a theme park ride, you know you've made it," Murphy said.

The "American Horror Story" maze will be replicated at Universal Studios Orlando in Florida as well.

Murphy calls the attraction a hit. "I peed my pants a couple of times," he quipped about of his experience in the maze.

It's not the first time that Universal Studios has turned to horror masters to boost its Halloween attractions.

In 2012, macabre rocker Alice Cooper helped create a Universal Studios maze. Greg Nicotero, executive producer of the hugely popular "Walking Dead" TV series, helped create a permanent zombie attraction for the park this year.

Although Universal Studios paid licensing fees to use branded images and characters, Roth and Ryan say the real lure was helping to promote their creepy style of horror at a park that draws millions of visitors per year.

Roth, co-founder of an online horror channel, Crypt TV, will show video clips from the channel on the television screens of the tram ride during Halloween Horror Nights.

The trailers for the new season of "American Horror Story" will be shown to guests waiting in the queue to go into Murphy's maze.

"It's a way to increase awareness and grow the brand," Murphy said.

At Warner Bros. Studios, the idea for a new Halloween event was sparked last October when the studio displayed a few props from iconic horror movies. The response was so great that studio executives decided to launch two new evening Halloween tours Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 that focus on the horror movies filmed at the studio.

"There are so many fans of the horror genre that it makes sense for us to do it," said Danny Kahn, executive director of Warner Bros. Studio Tours.

At Six Flags Magic Mountain, the celebration dubbed Fright Fest started Sept. 17, a week earlier than last year, and runs on select nights through Oct. 30.

This year, an attraction about a post-apocalyptic world has been expanded to three times its previous size to contain fire and fog effects and props that are nearly five stories tall, park spokeswoman Sue Carpenter said.

"It was one of our most popular mazes and we had the space available, so we made it three times larger," she said.

Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, which launched its first Halloween event in the 1970s, is unveiling 13 spooky attractions, including a new maze that puts virtual reality goggles on guests to create bigger scares.

For Walt Disney Co.'s theme parks in Anaheim, Halloween is more playful than frightful.

However, Disney California Adventure is trying to lure big crowds this year by promoting Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride's final Halloween. The attraction will be closed in January to be remade featuring Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" characters.

___

(c)2016 Los Angeles Times
When Adam Berger, 29, who has Type 1 diabetes, decided to get a sandwich from a deli, he first ran it by his mobile application ezbds, which he launched in Stamford two years ago.

The app told him that in the past when he had eaten that particular sandwich from the same deli, he hadnt experienced glucose spikes.

So I decided to stick with it, Berger said. An hour later when ezbds reminded me to check, my glucose was 123.

Thats a good number according to the American Diabetes Association, which suggests a target of less than 180 mg/dL an hour or two after beginning a meal for adults with diabetes.

By tracking what they eat, people can identify how certain foods affect their blood sugar, said Nancy Salem, coordinator of the Diabetes Education Program at Danbury Hospital. Apps have made it a lot easier for patients to make better choices.

Bergers ezbds LLC is among a handful of Connecticut startups with diabetes apps competing in a market cluttered with more than 165,000 health apps, according to the Danbury-based IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

But adaptation remains a challenge. The September 2015 IMS study found 40 percent of apps had fewer than 5,000 downloads.

Its very difficult, Berger said. Theres resistance to new technology. Even though ezbds is downloadable for free, it has just 1,200 users to date.

Management helpers

The new players have limited product differentiation and are vying for market share with established apps such as dLifes Diabetes Companion, Glucose Buddy from SkyHealth, iDiabetes from iHealth Ventures, Track3 from Coheso, GoMeals from Sanofi-Aventis, and One Drop from Informed Data Systems. Some apps are downloadable at no cost, but others are priced from $2.99 for iDiabetes to $5.99 for Track3.

The use of smartphone apps to manage diabetes is part of the conversation that many doctors are having with their patients. Doctors say that self-management drives better health outcomes and apps enable accountability.

A good diabetes app helps patients track their numbers  blood glucose readings, carbs, calories and weight. Some even let you map your emotions, stress, and sleep, said Dr. Yi-Hao Yu, director of endocrinology at Greenwich Hospitals Center for Behavioral and Nutritional Health.

Bunny Kasper, 73, of Hamden, credits the Dexcoms Share app with saving her life. She was asleep when the app notified her son in Massachusetts in the middle of the night that she was experiencing a hypoglycemic episode.

I was almost semiconscious when my son got the alert, Kasper said.

At St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, health care providers help patients chose the best app.

The average patient doesnt have the know-how to find the right app, said Dr. Latha Dulipsingh, director of the Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Care at Saint Francis. Most of my patients app data is reviewed by the diabetes educator. We (doctors) make a lot of medication changes based on patterns we see.

Educators at Dulipsinghs center, one of 11 facilities statewide to offer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recognized National Diabetes Prevention Program, suggest apps as an additional tool.

About 250,000 adults (8.9 percent) in Connecticut have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the state Department of Public Healths 2016 report. More than 83,000 adults have prediabetes.

And diabetes is an expensive disease to treat. According to latest data from the ADA, diabetes cost Connecticut an estimated $2.92 billion in 2012. A single injectable drug, Lantus Solostar, priced at $395 for a five-pack, is among the 10 most prescribed drugs in the HUSKY Health program.

Companies claim apps enable better self-management and help lower health care costs through reduced hospitalization and emergency care.

According to a February 2014 study published in US Endocrinology, just one smartphone app alone, from Massachusetts-based Telcare Inc., helped drive a reduction of $3,300 in annual health care costs among employees with diabetes.

Working with doctors

Despite opportunities, app makers are struggling. New Haven-based Applivate LLC has exited the business after turning over to Tolland-based Loon Medical Inc. the ShugaTrak app, which transfers blood glucose measurements from the glucose meter to a secure database for review by medical professionals.

Plans are underway to expand the rebranded SensaCares connectivity with a wider range of glucometers, and link it to parameters that affect diabetes, such as weight.

Were starting our first clinical study to track blood glucose levels, said Joel Douglas, chief technology officer for Loon Medical.

This fall BetweenMD LLC in Farmington is set to launch its diabetes app that can be connected to any Bluetooth-enabled device. The market? Self-insured employers seeking to cut medical costs for their diabetic employees.

Costs (of employee medical expenses to a company) can run on average about $10,000 a year, said Andy Quinn, co-founder.

Biorasis Inc., of Storrs, is developing an app to run its grain-sized implantable glucose sensor wirelessly and to collect and store data.

Biorasis is testing the system on the International Space Station, where the absence of gravity allows us to study sensor accuracy, said Ilze Krisst, chief operating officer.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
Contributed

St. Vincents Medical Center and Aquarion Water Company are launching the 6th Annual House of Hope Food Drive, running now through Nov. 18 to help reduce hunger throughout the Greater Bridgeport area. In an effort to fight hunger with healthy foods, the organizers ask that only nutritious, non-perishable, non-expired items be donated.

Donations may be dropped off in the House of Hope, a special shed located at the entrance of St. Vincents Medical Center, 2800 Main St., Bridgeport. Last year more than six tons of food were donated and organizers hope to surpass that total this year.
BRIDGEPORT - Police are close to making an arrest in the fatal shooting of a local man inside a Madison Avenue restaurant Sunday night.

Cristobal Hernandez, 36, of Bridgeport, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest during a fight inside El Paraiso Restaurant about 10 p.m.
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John G. Rowland has apparently decided against appealing his sentence for campaign-finance fraud and the former governor reported to a federal prison on Monday to serve a 30-month sentence, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.

Rowland, 59, was given his old identification number - 15623-014 - when he reported to the federal prison facility in Otisville, N.Y. in Orange County, about 93 miles from his home in Middlebury. The prison complex houses 670 minimum-security and 116 prison-camp inmates. United States Marshal Brian Taylor in New Haven confirmed Monday morning that Rowland has surrenderd.
If we talk about website optimization, keyword research is an essential part for both PPC marketing and search engine optimization success. The internet is choke full of articles by search marketing experts who tell you that it is necessary to optimize your site for the terms that people are actually searching for.

But when it comes to finding those terms and turning them into profitable keywords, this whole process is no easy feat. You have to put a huge effort to prepare a robust keywords list for your website.

But here's the thing...

Keyword research doesn't have to be that hard. Especially, when you're in a market where there are lots of your competitors already ranking well on search engines, you can easily find keywords that are guaranteed to bring results.

Related: Building a Keyword-Driven Content-Marketing Strategy Is Key

How? By spying on your top competitors and uncovering their targeted keywords.

In this post, I'm going to share with you three easy-to-use tools that can help you do exactly that with just a few clicks.

3 tools to uncover your competitors keywords.

Before I share the tools with you, it's important to know which of your competitors are performing well on search engines. A simple Google search will help you find out. Just search your primary keyword on Google (e.g. If you offer online business consulting, type in "Online business consultant") and you'll get a list of a handful of your competitors. Pick at least five companies from the first page and you're good to go. Alternatively, you can use SEMRush or Ahrefs for this purpose. .

Now that you have the list of your top competitors, here are the tools you can use to uncover their keywords with simple steps:

1. Webbee SEO Spider (Free + Paid).

Webbee is the world's most inclusive SEO spider that helps you analyze your website architecture to understand and monitor technical SEO issues.

Now, this tool has a key feature called Keyword Intelligence Mode, which helps you audit keywords on your website. It shows you keyword conflicts on Links, Titles and Headings. The upside here, though, is that you can use it to find your competitor's keywords too.

Related: This Tool Puts Your Keyword Campaigns Into Overdrive

Follow these steps to find your competitor's keywords using Webbee SEO Spider:

Download and install the tool on your system.

Put your competitors website under Keyword Intelligence mode and hit start. The tool will automatically start scraping keywords of the given website and the results will look something like this:

These are the keywords your competitor is targeting in titles, headings, and anchortexts. Download them when the crawl is complete.

Get search volume for these keywords from Google Keyword Planner and filter out the best and most relevant keywords to target on your website.

Thats it.

2. SEMRush (Paid).

SEMrush is the online research tool for online marketing professionals. It can help you find out how your competitors are performing on search engines. You can use this tool to identify the organic and paid keywords of your competitors.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

Go to SEMRush.com and insert your competitors website URL in the bar.

Filter your results by clicking on "Top Organic Keywords". It will show you the list of keywords with their current rankings (as shown in image):

Download the list of these keywords, filter out the relevant ones and use them to optimize your website. Using the same process, you can also download the keywords that your competitors are using for paid marketing (Google Adwords).

3. Ahrefs (Paid).

Ahrefs, like SEMRush, is an online tool that allows you to find out your competitor keywords. Here are the steps you can follow:

Login to Ahrefs.com

Navigate to Site Explorer

Enter your competitors website URL and hit search.

Now click on Organic Keywords section and you will see the list of keywords with latest rankings, as you can see in the image:

Now simply export these keywords and filter out the best keywords for your website and optimize your site accordingly.

Related: How to Save Your PPC Budget by Using Negative Keywords

With the combination of these three tools you can prepare a great list of profitable keywords. For more keywords that people are searching, you can also use Google Keyword planner. It can help increase the soundness of your list.

Next, use these keywords to optimize your website. The better you optimize, the better your results will be in terms of impressions, ranking and traffic.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
I come from a big family, and when I was growing up we all lived pretty close together. Whenever there was a big issue that was facing the family, we all got together  brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles  and worked together to figure it out. We may have squabbled from time to time, but at the end of the day we knew that we were stronger together.

As I am out talking with voters in my district, and across the state, they tell me thats what they expect their elected officials to do. They do not want politicians who offer nothing more than pessimism and blame to score political points. They want elected officials who offer ideas that build on the assets we have as a state to improve the lives of working middle class families.

Thats why I recently joined with other Democratic candidates for State Representative at Goodwin College, to offer 32 detailed policy solutions. These ideas are not owned by one political party, ideology or philosophy. They come from business leaders, educators, parents, students, farmers  you name it. But all of the ideas share one central theme: that by working together and investing in Connecticut, we can grow jobs and improve our economy. Take, for example, our idea to invest in our vocational and technical schools. Pratt and Whitney recently announced that they plan to add 8,000 new jobs in Connecticut. The only thing that may hold them back? A lack of trained workers. We will not let that happen. Working directly with companies, such as Pratt, we will develop a program similar to the one we have developed with Electric Boat  a specialized program at the regional technical school that trains local students and funnels them directly to good paying, family supporting jobs.

Another great example is the work we are doing to support our small businesses. In recent years, we have developed the Small Businesses Express Program that has created jobs statewide. How? By providing much needed low-interest loans to businesses. However, we need to make it easier for local companies to find out about funding opportunities like this program. Thats why we are proposing to create a toll-free number that any business owner or prospective business owner can call to find out about all of the state programs that may help their company succeed.

These are innovative solutions that our candidates are talking about on the campaign trail, and we will work to make them a reality if elected. Unlike our opponents, who are obsessively focused on doom and gloom scenarios, we will stay focused on proactive policies designed to grow jobs and help businesses thrive in a challenging economy. Policies that invest in our future by training and matching our workforce to the jobs that need filling right here, right now, in growing sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, engineering, bioscience, aerospace and information technology.

This is an agenda for everyone in Connecticut. From keeping young graduates here in our state to helping seniors afford to stay in their homes. So when we knock on your door or call on the phone this fall, we want to earn your vote with a positive message for our state, and by listening to your concerns and suggestions. No one person, or party, has a monopoly on good ideas. As cooler autumn air moves in, and campaign lawn signs begin to pop up, we will be reaching out and sharing our vision with you. Lets work together with everyone to move our beautiful state forward for all of us.

Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat, is the House majority leader in the General Assembly and represents the 30th Assembly District of Berlin and Southington.
Prosser, defense propel Berlin past Penns Manor in Appalachian Bowl

Berlin Brothersvalley made it 2 wins in a row for the WestPAC in the Appalachian Bowl with convincing victory over Penns Manor at Windber Stadium.
Boo! What are the scariest spots in Lake County?

The old courthouse. A tea room in Mount Dora. Lake County has several places that are thought to be haunted.
The appointment of the new Tory treasurer may be another sign Theresa May is anxious to draw a line under the privileged Old Etonian chumocracy of the David Cameron era.

He goes by the man-of-the- people name Mick  and is known as Mick the miner.

But hes no ordinary Mick. Sir Mick Davis is worth 75 million  in itself, relatively modest compared with some of the billionaires who have been Tory treasurer.

He used to be chief executive of Xstrata, a large mining company.

New Tory treasurer Sir Mick Davis (left) is worth 75 million  in itself, relatively modest compared with some of his billionaire predecessors

A leading figure in the Jewish community, he was knighted last year for services to the Holocaust Commemoration and hes given almost 700,000 to the Tories.

But he clearly hedges his bets. South African-born Davis gave 30,000 to Theresa Mays leadership campaign. He has also given money to back Michael Gove.

And he is extremely close to Liam Fox, the new International Trade Secretary. Indeed, the happily married father of three helped fund a not-for-profit organisation run by Foxs close chum Adam Werritty.

His appointment may be another sign Theresa May is anxious to draw a line under the privileged Old Etonian chumocracy of the David Cameron era

Werritty was, of course, the man who, despite having no official capacity in the Civil Service, sat in on countless meetings with Fox when he was Minister of Defence and accompanied him on at least 18 foreign business trips.

It was a friendship that ended in ignominy for Fox in 2011, when he was forced to resign from the Cabinet after a Civil Service investigation into Werrittys status.

But now Fox is back. With Daviss considerable clout behind him.

PREZZA VOTED HIMSELF OFF STRICTLY

Heavyweight former Labour politician Ed Balls said about his role in Strictly Come Dancing: I know I am going to embarrass my family on this show, but thats part of the point.

It could have been worse. The old bruiser Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, revealed on Andrew Neils Sunday Politics that hed been invited on the show.

I like dancing, said Prescott, who is in Liverpool for the Labour conference. But Im not that good at it. Ive said no. What a relief!

EXTENDED CAREER BREAK FOR DISLOYAL DEPUTY?

Tom two dinners Watson, Labours Deputy Leader, cheekily asked Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer how many officials in his department had taken career breaks last year.

But surely Watson will be the one taking a career break now that Comrade Corbyn has been re-elected with a bigger mandate?

The leaders commissars have long been cooking up a plot to remove his disloyal deputy.

I-SPY

As thousands of Labour delegates were arriving in Liverpool for their party conference on Saturday afternoon I spotted Harriet Harman, the former deputy leader, boarding a train back to London.

Did she turn up only for the leadership result  then quickly leave, unable to stomach the prospect of a gathering where the hard Left were in the ascendant?

Whatever the case, she clearly did not vote for Comrade Corbyn.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Scottish Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale says: How apt that Labour leadership voting ends on the International Day of Peace. Heres hoping.

Labour wags are having a field day about Momentum, the Corbynite pressure group, planning to run creches.

Apparently the children are allowed to play with only red paint, said one MP in the conference bar.

ALL HEEL ROSIE!

Theresa May, celebrated for her kitten heels, has a rival for the most arresting shoes in politics.

Labour Chief Whip Rosie Winterton (left) was seen in the conference centre in stilettos that could have graced any Liverpool night club.

The heels came from Dorothy Perkins and cost 19.99. Mrs May rarely gets change from 150 for hers.
David Camerons former director of communications, Craig Oliver, has a complaint

David Camerons former director of communications, Craig Oliver  sorry, thats now SIR Craig Oliver  has a complaint: History tends to be written by the winners.

So the man Cameron recruited from the higher echelons of the BBC to become his spin-doctor-in-chief has published an instant account of the recent EU referendum campaign  from the losers perspective.

It amounts to an undisguised hatchet-job on those senior Conservatives who defied their Prime Minister over Brexit and won the popular vote.

And it is hardly any more complimentary about Theresa May: for page after page she is accused of not pulling her weight for the Remain campaign.

Although this rushed-out volume does not carry an endorsement from David Cameron, it faithfully represents the former PMs anger at the Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove  and at the unenthusiastic Remainer Theresa May.

Taken all in all, this is nothing less than the cry of rage by an ousted establishment.

Damage

The cry is of betrayal: this is Olivers essential charge against those three formidable Tories. But I imagine many party members will (if they care at all) regard this book as designed to damage the new Conservative Prime Minister, and as such, disreputable from a person who is himself a member of the party.

There is also the small matter of how someone in the service of the Crown for five years at 10 Downing Street is able to flog his fly-on-the-wall account immediately after buzzing off.

Admittedly, Alastair Campbell produced a series of such books about his years spinning for Tony Blair but not with such indecent haste.

The man Cameron recruited from the higher echelons of the BBC to become his spin-doctor-in-chief has published an instant account of the recent EU referendum campaign  from the losers perspective

Such matters usually come under the aegis of a civil service department which sets rules on when former senior crown servants  including ministers, but also someone of Olivers rank  can start racking up jobs where remuneration can be seen to be linked to what they knew as a result of being in government.

After all, the only reason publishers would pay large sums for Olivers diaries is because of the access he had in Downing Street and what he heard there: it is not as though he has the talent as a diarist of a Samuel Pepys or an Alan Clark.

The established rule is that such jobs cannot begin until at least three months have elapsed since the applicants departure from office.

Since Craig Oliver was in the service of the Crown until Cameron walked out of Downing Street on July 13, the form strongly suggests he must wait until October 13 before auctioning (let alone publishing) his insiders account of the referendum campaign.

But that would not have been so lucrative. You see, the publishers would have wanted to launch this ahead of the first Conservative Party Conference under Mrs Mays leadership  which begins this weekend. I can only guess that Oliver, or his lawyers, managed to persuade his former employers that this was a one-off contract. All the same, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

It will not, however, have come as any sort of surprise to those ministers who had dealings with Oliver during his five years at Downing Street. As one said to me yesterday: He was always scribbling things down in a notebook during meetings and we pretty soon worked out that this was for some sort of diary he wanted to write. It was quite irritating, no more than that; but I never thought he would publish so instantly.

Theresa May might feel a little more strongly about it. Much more than the younger ministers around her in the Cameron administration, she put  and puts  a high value on discretion.

In that sense, she is a more old-fashioned politician: no bad thing in the incontinently self-promoting age of Twitter.

Her reluctance to take to the airwaves at every opportunity was not a problem for David Cameron and Craig Oliver, of course, until the referendum campaign.

Furious

Up until then, they would have been delighted that Number 10 dominated the debate on Europe and immigration: Cameron, like most Prime Ministers, loved to hog the limelight and make all the big announcements on matters of the greatest public interest.

But once the referendum campaign opened, it suddenly became necessary for Cameron to have voluble support from as many senior cabinet colleagues as possible: the Conservatives were completely split on the issue and their leader needed to demonstrate that he represented mainstream opinion within the party.

Although this rushed-out volume does not carry an endorsement from David Cameron, it faithfully represents the former PMs anger at the Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove (left)  and at the unenthusiastic Remainer Theresa May (right)

This, in part, was why he was so furious when, after he came back from Brussels in February with a new deal over British EU membership, first Michael Gove and then Boris Johnson said they could not support it and would campaign for Brexit.

Those two were at the time the most popular figures in the Conservative Party in the country. However, Craig Olivers line  that somehow these men had betrayed the Prime Minister, or treated him very unfairly  is laughable.

Neither of them had ever pledged to support him on the Remain side of a referendum, unconditionally or otherwise.

Michael Gove, in particular, had never made any secret of his loathing for the institutions of the EU and his view that the United Kingdom would be the better for escaping their grip.

Moreover, up until the referendum campaign, David Cameron had never once  in his entire period as an MP  said anything positive about the EU: indeed, he had won the leadership of the party by parading his Eurosceptic credentials.

He therefore made himself look ridiculous during the referendum debate by suddenly professing the view that Britains leaving the EU would cause our economy to collapse and the peace of the world to be endangered.

Mrs May clearly felt uneasy at the tenor of Camerons campaign. Craig Olivers book criticises her submarine silence during its many weeks: further, it lists 13 occasions on which she failed to back the Prime Minister when he had asked her to speak out more vociferously for the Remain campaign.

Betrayal

His diary gives an especially pained account of what happened when Mrs May finally did make a speech arguing for Remain and sent it to Downing Street in advance: When I read it, alarm bells begin to ring. There are phrases in it which are catnip to journalists suspecting she isnt fully signed up. She does not want to insult peoples intelligence by claiming that membership of the EU is wholly good, or that the sky will fall in if we vote to leave. Not helpful.

But is Craig Oliver really the loser out of all this?

Well, Oliver  and Cameron  might not have considered this helpful; but it was a lot more sensible than the apocalyptic warnings from Downing Street which probably antagonised more voters than they persuaded.

And wasnt Theresa Mays behaviour over all this in tune with what a great many Conservative Party members felt and feel?

She believed that she couldnt actually campaign on the opposite side to her leader, the Prime Minister; but that she also couldnt make claims for the absolute necessity of EU membership which she didnt believe; and that now the British people have voted for Brexit, the Government must make the best possible job of delivering it.

This approach has turned out to be politically most astute, as Oliver acknowledges, melodramatically: Amid the murder and betrayal of the campaign, one figure stayed very still at the centre of it all  Theresa May. Now she is the last one standing.

But is Craig Oliver really the loser out of all this? He got an enhanced pay-off (awarded by Cameron against civil service advice) when leaving Downing Street, a doubtless fabulous fee from the publisher of his instant book  and a knighthood in the departing PMs derided resignation honours list.
Blue skies, sandy beaches... the summer already feels a long way away, so if you're already thinking about your next holiday, no-one's blaming you!

Imagine the lucky millionaires, then, who simply jet from one getaway to the next.

Here, just to further fuel your dreams, we've rounded up an enviable collection of the ultimate millionaire holidays...

Just imagine how you could holiday if you were a millionaire....

St. Barts - where the world's elite go for winter sun

St. Barts is the place to be seen after the Christmas holidays and is a favourite with those millionaire types who, basically, are the only ones who can afford to get there.

You pretty much need a private jet or yacht just to arrive on its glorious sandy beaches, and forget about checking into a chain hotel - it simply doesn't have them.

Around the festive period, all the boutique hotels are snapped up quicker than the latest designer bag so you'll need to have that fat wallet at the ready - especially as most private properties will set you back in the region of $100,000 to $200,000 per week.

St. Barts is the place to be seen after the Christmas holidays and is a favourite with those millionaire types simply because it costs a bomb to get there

You pretty much need a private jet or yacht just to arrive on its glorious sandy beaches and forget about checking into a chain hotel - there aren't any.

The Rock, as it's known to the well-heeled guests, is owned by the family of Made In Chelsea's Spencer Matthews, who holidays there with his famous pals

Those in the know head to the glamorous Eden Rock Hotel, owned by the family of Made In Chelsea's Spencer Matthews.

Spread along a white sand beach, a millionaire seeking some winter sun can hire themselves an ultra-luxe 'Rockstar' villa.

With eight bedrooms, they have a private butler to order about from dusk till dawn, while a private chef will take care of their every desire.

If they need a yacht, a last-minute diving trip, or just another fancy cocktail, a concierge is there with the touch of a button.

And if you fancy a bit of this, no problem, you too can have it, for an eye-watering $20,000 a night!

Italy - la dolce vita, but better

If you fancy a getaway not too far from the UK, then why not follow the rest of the jet set to Italy?

Yeah there's Venice and Lake Como, but the real big spenders head to Portofino at the height of the summer.

Yeah there's Venice and Lake Como, but those real big spenders head to stunning (and pricey) Portofino at the height of the summer

Millionaires anchor their yachts just off the coast of what was once a quaint fishing village

This year alone it has attracted the likes of Rihanna, Beyonce and Jay Z and momager superior Kris Jenner

Millionaires anchor their yachts off the coast of what was once a quaint fishing village - its so exclusive that it only has one road for entry and exit and parking spots, not for supercars, but luxury yachts.

This year alone it has attracted the likes of Rihanna, Beyonce and Jay Z and momager supreme Kris Jenner.

Why not get that platinum credit card out and spend a few nights at the sensationally titled Hotel Splendido, one of the essential stops on the world's luxury circuit. But with paradise comes a price - get the exclusive suite with views over the cove for 4,392 per night. Splendido indeedo!

St. Moritz - the poshest of all the pistes

Even the really rich can need a break from the beach, and when they're done with sun and sand, they simply must head to the slopes.

St. Moritz - no doubt the poshest sounding of all the world's exclusive ski resorts - even brands its weather as a 'Champagne climate' (that's dry and sunny to the rest of us).

St. Moritz - no doubt the poshest sounding of all the world's exclusive ski resorts - even brands its weather as a 'champagne climate' (that's dry and sunny to the rest of us)

Jam-packed with high-end boutiques, and the perfect place to flaunt expensive furs, it is little wonder it's the winter playground of rich Russians, who charter their jets to fly them direct to St Moritz from Moscow.

A stay in two lavish suites at the five star Carlton hotel costs them around 7,000 a night, including butler service, a private spa, and 24 hour limousine service.

The super-rich can even hire the entire establishment at the management's discretion. Put it on my tab!

Maldives - a bolthole fit for a billionaire

Ahhh, the Maldives - most likely everyone's dream destination. Those images of crystal clear water, cottages propped up in the middle of the sea, and romantic dinner on the beach as the sunsets.

Private yachts, submarines, islands, underwater clubs  its all available for a price. Chartering a private yacht for the week runs around $14,000. But who's counting?

Private yachts, submarines, islands, underwater clubs  its all available for a price. Chartering a private yacht around the Maldives for the week runs around $14,000. But who's counting?

At resorts such as Coco Prive Kuda Hithi - a private island - guests start their holiday by yacht, rocking up on the sand in a way to remember

For the millionaire heading to the Maldives on vacation, they ensure they arrive in style.

At the Coco Prive Kuda Hithi - a private island - guests start their holiday by yacht, rocking up on the sand in a way to remember.

The break comes with a dedicated staff, including a personal diving instructor, and no worries about buying a book before landing at the master villa - it has its own library.

St Tropez - get ritzy on the French Riviera

For decades the French Riviera was as the ultimate getaway for celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the Sixties up until today's stars including Beyonce, Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid flocking to the glamorous coast to top up their tan.

But this is a serious party town - and that includes the price tag.

For decades the French Riviera was as the ultimate getaway for celebrities

Unless you're super famous, or just a supermodel, it can be hard to get into the town's uber-glam clubs - even if you are minted and fly private everywhere

Unless you're super famous, or just a supermodel, it can be hard to get into the town's uber-glam clubs - even if you are minted.

One of the most iconic nightspots for holidaymakers to wear down their custom-made Louboutins in is Les Caves du Roy, a staple of the French Riviera for 40 years. It's kitsch, excessive and amazing fun. So raise a glass (dig deep, drinks start at over 28) and party the night away with the world's one percent.

South Africa - paradise for the A-list adventurer

For the loaded adventurer, it doesn't come much bigger and better than South Africa.

It has everything for its well-heeled visitors, from the stunning views of Cape Town to a world class wine scene, so no wonder this is the new go-to place for the wealthy elite.

For the loaded adventurer, it doesn't come much bigger and better than South Africa

It has everything for its well-heeled visitors, from the stunning views of Cape Town to a world class wine scene, this is the new go-to place for the wealthy elite (above the luxury Tsala Treetop Lodge)

Favoured deluxe accommodations run the gamut from luxury residence-turned-hotel Ellerman House in Cape Town with sweeping views of the city to escaping to a private game reserve to slumber, like Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve, which has family suite rates upwards of $2,500 per night.

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Why not head to Table Mountain, where you can demand your own private tour and chef to dine in surroundings even the super-rich won't find blase.

Majorca - the gem of Europe

MAJORCA, we hear you scream. Not the Majorca of your package holiday nightmares where teens go wild on shots and there's some middle aged woman clinging on a bucking bronco. This is the real Majorca, where the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Claudia Schiffer and Catherine Zeta-Jones have holiday homes.

Away from the hordes of tourists, the island is a pure gem; amazing gastronomy and crystal clear waters. The most famous beach on the island is El Trenc, a massive stretch of sand that clings to the islands sunny southern tip, where the likes of Jennifer Aniston have been spotted soaking up the rays.

It may not be hedonistic like Ibiza but it's where the wealthy go and be low-key; there's no need to show off when you're rich, after all.

Not the Majorca of your package holiday nightmares, the real Majorca is where the rich flock and where the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Claudia Schiffer and Catherine Zeta-Jones have holiday homes

It may not be hedonistic like Ibiza but it's where the wealthy go and be low-key; there's no need to show off when you're rich, after all

Turtle Island - feeling fab in Fiji

For the stinking rich, what's the top of your wish list? Yacht, yawn. Jet, tick. Butler, BORING!

Nope, you need your own private island.

Ok, in these days of countless billionaires they may have been all snapped up, but you can certainly vacation on one.

When it comes to being stinking rich, what's the top of your wish list? Yacht, yawn. Jet, tick. Butler, BORING! You need your own private island! So they head to Turtle Island, Fiji

Turtle Island in Fiji is the perfect piece of paradise for the blessed of cash. A stunning, 500-acre privately owned island, it's the thing of honeymoon dreams - and attracts the more private money types; CEOs, company bosses, the odd internet billionaire...

Turtle Island in Fiji is the perfect piece of paradise. A stunning, 500-acre privately owned island, it's the thing of honeymoon dreams - and attracts the more private money types: CEOs, company bosses, the odd internet billionaire.

There's 14 villas on the stretch of stunning land all nestled along the Blue Lagoon. Snap them all up and take your pals along - just don't go all The Beach, we know what happened at the end...

Bora Bora - so good they named it twice

If you want to be Robinson Crusoe for a while, there's no better place to go than Bora Bora.

The real jewel in French Polynesias crown, the world really doesn't get any better than this slice of real paradise.

So much so it's the only place superstars and the superrich will consider honeymooning and celebrating - Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis visited on their babymoon last year, free from prying eyes.

It's a good job privacy comes with the price - rooms cost upwards of 1,000 a night.

If you want to be Robinson Crusoe for a while, there's no better than Bora Bora - where superstars go for their honeymoons
Oversize earrings decorated the lobes of countless models coming down the spring 2017 catwalks in both New York and London.

From long, dangly mismatched sets seen at J.W. Anderson to cascading floral ear cuffs that went far beyond the shoulder at Delpozo, massive earrings stole the show.

Unlike most trends that won't be available for purchase until next year, this is a look you can adopt to amplify any outfit right now. FEMAIL rounds up the best ear ornaments under $100.

Dynamite dusters: Earrings stole the show at multiple runways including J.W. Anderson

Bigger is better: Mismatched danglers were seen at the N.21 show in Milan (left) and at Monse in New York (right)

EMBELLISHED:

Left: Faux Gem Drop Earrings by Forever 21, $9.90; forever21.com. Right: Crystal Cascade Earrings by Adia Kibur, $52; adiakibur.com

Left: Celebration Chandelier Earrings by Charming Charlie, $9.80; charmingcharlie.com. Right:Statement Strand Jewel Earrings by Asos, $29; asos.com

Left: "Victorian Romance" Simulated Pearl Tassel Drop Earrings bu Heidi Daus, $99.95; hsn.com. Right: Dragonfly Cluster Earrings by Ann Taylor, $59.50; anntaylor.com

Heavy metals: Two-tone stunners were present in all shapes and sizes at Tanya Taylor (left and right)

METAL:

Left: Dylan by Sinners and Saints, $20; sinnersandsaints.com. Right: Multiple chain earrings by Mango, $19.99; mango.com

Left: Gold-Tone Tassel Chain Linear Earrings by Thalia Sodi, $26.50; macys.com. Right: Gold Plated Earrings by Kenneth Jay Lane, $40; net-a-porter.com

Left: Twisted Spike Statement Earring by A.V. Max, $55; avmaxnyc.com. Right: Large Earrings by H&M, $9.99; hm.com

All the drama: Cascading floral ear cuffs that went far beyond the shoulders made a statement at Delpozo

EAR CUFFS:

Left: Mind Over Matter Ear Cuff by Stella Valle for Target, $6.98; target.com. Right: Amber Sceats Liberty Ear Cuff by Forever 21, $39.99; forever21.com

Left: Rebel Ear Cuff by Noir, $56; noirnyc.com. Right: Rhinestone Ear Cuff by Lulu's, $16; lulus.com

Left: Gold-tone multi-stone ear cuff and stud set by Elizabeth Cole, theoutnet.com. Right: Saga Asymmetrical Ear Set, $36; baublebar.com
From child star, to border guard, to fashion designer - Sarah Monahan has had an interesting career to say the least.

Monahan rose to fame as cheeky Jenny Kelly on popular Australian sitcom Hey Dad! in the 1980s and 90s and her career has taken some turns since.

Her latest venture, Shrimptank, is a fashion label specialising in clothes for petite women with similar frames to the 149cm star.

New venture: Hey Dad! actor Sarah Monahan is now branching out into a clothing line for petite women

Petite fashion: Monahan, who is just 149cm tall, said that petite women were often ignored by clothing labels

'Everyone called me shrimp because Im short,' Monahan, 38, told the Sunday Telegraph as she explained the inspiration behind the brand's name.

'And tank comes from the fact I grew up in the fishbowl of television.'

Shrimptank designs clothing for petite women that had been 'ignored' by mainstream fashion, Monahan wrote on the brand's website.

'Theres a huge group of us that have been largely ignored by fashion.

'So Im on a quest to bring you petite clothes that youll actually want to wear.

'Expect to see shoes and accessories that complement our petite frames.'

From actor to designer: Monahan said she was on a quest to create clothing that petite women actually wanted to wear

Complementary: Women can expect to see shoes and accessories that complement their petite frames. Pictured is a Shrimptank caftan, $110

Child Star: Monahan (front centre) was a fixture on Australian TVs as cheeky Jenny Kelly on the Hey Dad! sitcom. She is pictured sitting on the lap of co-star Robert Hughes

Monahan was just six years old when she joined the cast of Hey Dad! in 1987 and she was a mainstay on the show until 1993.

She had a brief stint on Home and Away in 1995 before she left acting for good in her early teens.

Monahan later moved to the United States where she met her husband, Matt Morris.

From 2011 to 2014 she worked at the border of Texas and Mexico as a medical officer for the Texas State Guard.

She was the star witness in the child molestation case against her on screen dad, Robert Hughes, who was found guilty and convicted on 10 of 11 child sex charges in 2014 and is serving at least six years in prison.

Earlier this month, Hughes was granted special leave to appeal to the High Court.
She's much admired for her wardrobe choices in Canada, where she is dubbed her country's 'Kate Middleton'.

So there was bound to be sense of fashion rivalry when First Lady Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau met the Duchess of Cambridge.

But on this occasion, Sophie's style proved no match for Britain's future queen. Both had strikingly similar ensembles: plain, close-fitting dresses to just below the knee, hats and court shoes.

But while Kate's designer dress, matching hat, nude heels and eye-catching brooch was deemed flawless, experts said Sophie's outfit was let down by a mis-matching purple felt hat.

There was bound to be sense of fashion rivalry when First Lady Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau (right) met the Duchess of Cambridge but on this occasion, Sophie's style proved no match for Britain's future queen (left) whose designer dress, matching hat and nude heels were flawless

KATE V SOPHIE: WHO WINS IN THE STYLE STAKES? SOPHIE DRESS: 350 Edition de Robes design STYLE: Long lean and fitted DETAILS: Elegant bows on shoulders BAG: She didnt carry one SHOES: 495 Perspex and navy heels from Gianvito Rossi HAIR: Long loose curls HAT: An ill-advised felt fedora from local milliner KATE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE DRESS: Jenny Packham bespoke design STYLE: Long lean and fitted DETAILS: Collar front and back BAG: Elegant pink clutch SHOES: 495 beige heels from Gianvito Rossi HAIR : Elaborate chignon HAT: Stunning Lock & Co saucer with a customised maple leaf Advertisement

The Duchess of Cambridge looked effortlessly elegant in a striking royal blue body-contouring dress by British designer Jenny Packham. Learning from the dangers of fly-away hems on breezy runways in the past, her tailored dress didn't let her down as she stepped off the plane.

Kate also demonstrated a masterly motherly juggling act, negotiating the steep steps in 495 four-inch suede heels by Gianvito Rossi while resting Princess Charlotte on her hip and taking George's hand.

Her hair was swept back into an elegant chignon, courtesy of her 300-a-day travelling personal hairdresser, crowned with a jaunty blue Lock & Co hat decorated with maple leaves in tribute to her Canadian hosts.

For her second outfit of the tour, Kate chose a striking embroidered 4,000 dress from Alexander McQueen (right). Left: Looking effortlessly elegant in a striking royal blue dress

DAY 2: KATE OPTS MCQUEEN For her second outfit of the tour, Kate chose a striking embroidered 4,000 dress from Alexander McQueen. She wore the eye-catching creation as she and Wills took a sea plane to Vancouver, leaving their children in Victoria to recover from the long journey. The dress  in the colours of the Canadian flag  is a modified version of a design from the Spring/Summer 2017 Resort Collection. It is a perfect example of one of this seasons hottest trends  Folk. The Duchess is a style icon but a conservative one. With this shes showing her versatility  Kate can also carry off a look thats up to the minute as well as sophisticated. It was a bold, brave decision but she pulled it off with panache. She also cleverly kept her accessories to a minimum with no hat, brooch or elaborate earring but she did make one mistake. Its hard to criticise Kate but the coordinating bag and shoes are a styling faux pas, and make the outfit look more like a costume than a couture creation. Advertisement

Another charming touch was the royal family's maple leaf diamond brooch, given to the late Queen Mother by her husband, King George VI, to mark the state visit to Canada in 1939.

William, meanwhile, was wearing a dark blue suit and his Guards tie. The dress chosen by Sophie, a 41-year-old former television host and yoga fanatic, was spot on. Her Edition de Robes gown cost 595 Canadian dollars (350)  a fraction of the cost of Kate's, thought to reach well into four figures.

It had fashionable and flattering shoulder details, and Sophie sensibly didn't risk a cut quite as figure-hugging as slim Kate.

But she was let down by her purple felt hat from The Saucy Milliner in Toronto.

It wasn't the right choice with this dress and aged her beyond her years. The main problem was simply the colour, a rich dark damson that clashed terribly with her dress.

Her understated jewellery and shoes worked well and these elements came together to make a breathtaking ensemble. As the UK has 'Kate effect'  where clothes worn by the Duchess sell out in seconds, so Canada has its 'Sophie effect'.

But on this occasion she looked a mere pretender to the fashion throne  and Kate retains her title of style queen.

Kate's hat  a bespoke saucer style with a maple-leaf design  added flair to her otherwise understated ensemble. It was created by Sylvia Fletcher for London hatters Lock & Co  a favourite of the duchess. The firm, in St Jamess Street, was founded in 1676 and prides itself on being the oldest milliner in the world. The hat was a stylish accompaniment to Kates elegant up-do  a neat chignon, with an intricate knot braided through the back. She accessorised the look with a pair of tanzanite earrings

Team Kate: On a mission to make the Duchess dazzle

Natasha Archer, 29. Advises Kate on outfits, steams creases from her dresses and even touches up her make-up on the plane. She was privately educated at Uppingham before studying at Kings College London.

Rebecca Deacon, 34. Kates right-hand woman. Has worked for the royals since 2007. Used to date one of the couples communications staff. Studied at Baths Royal School before Newcastle University. Daughter of an Army major who died in 1986. Her mother is a vicar

Maria Borrallo, 45. Spanish-born Norland graduate, paid for by William and Kate. Princess Charlotte often seen wearing outfits chosen by Maria and her widowed mother. Worked for high society families for more than two decades. Trained in Taekwondo. Single

Katrina McKeever, long-serving member of Kensington Palace press team. Now senior communications officer after departure of the second-in-command. Said to be highly trusted by the Cambridges, efficient, organised and loyal. Keen runner
Q Im in my 50s and have developed deep hollows and unsightly bags under my eyes and nothing seems to get rid of them.

I have looked in to getting under-eye fillers, but am afraid it could go drastically wrong. What would you recommend?

I dont really want to do anything too invasive or with a long recovery time.

A reader in their 50s wanted a fix for their deep hollows and unsightly bags (stock photo)

A Under-eye hollows are very ageing and generally make people look tired. It can be genetic and I even see the problem in young patients.

Fat loss in the undereye area is often the main cause.

Depending on the extent of the problem, filling the tear trough hollow (the crease of skin below an eye bag) with a hyaluronic acid filler will correct the sunken look.

This should make the under-eye area look less dark and help the eye bags look much less obvious.

The technique with filler is highly sophisticated but in the hands of the right cosmetic doctor is a safe procedure, with minimal marking, swelling or downtime.

Dr Tracey Mountford (pictured) said filling the tear trough hollow (the crease of skin below an eye bag) with a hyaluronic acid filler will correct the sunken look

However, every patient is different and dependent on skin quality, ethnicity and age  bruising or swelling afterwards varies. Usually the downtime, if any, is only a day or two.

Most people can go to work or continue with normal activities the next day, though it is always worth having some concealer at the ready, just in case!

Sometimes, the eye bags are so advanced that a cosmetic or plastic surgeon may be required to achieve optimum results.

But a non-surgical approach is so routinely performed and delivers such high quality results, many patients can avoid surgery or at least delay it for a few years.
Kylie Monaghan has said she doesn't want to spend her dying days as a 'burden'.

She said she does not want to helplessly stare at the ceiling in hospital as her family watches cancer take its toll - slowly flooding her body with pain.

When the disease attacking her brain, liver and bones becomes too much to bear, she wants to die quietly in peace and dignity.

Scroll down for video

My choice: Kylie Monaghan has terminal cancer and is fighting for her right to choose to die

Mrs Monaghan, 35, is fighting for voluntary euthanasia to be legalised in her home state of South Australia.

Her motivation is simple  she wants the choice to die when the burden of cancer becomes unbearable for her and her family.

'From a personal point of view, I have a small cancer in my brain and if it gets any bigger it is going to affect my co-ordination and I'll end up dizzy and bedridden,' she told the Adelaide Advertiser.

'I just think, ''what sort of life would that be?''.

'I don't want to be lying in bed staring at the ceiling and feeling like a burden on my family  I want that choice.'

Not a burden: Mrs Monaghan does not want to become a burden to her family as the disease takes over her body

Bucket list: One of the items on Mrs Monaghan's list was marrying her partner Daryll (pictured)

After her diagnosis with stage-three breast cancer in 2010 at the age of 29, Mrs Monaghan focused on living well for as long as possible.

Since then, the cancer has spread to her liver, bones and now her brain.

To make the most of her remaining time she set herself goals such as marrying her partner Daryll and buying a new motorobike.

'I decided to make a bucket list,' she said.

'I married Daryll, self-published a novel and travelled to New Zealand.

'We bought the house which we had been renting from my parents, bought new cars and a Harley Davidson.

'My cancers have grown and spread but I'm stubborn and would like to continue living.

'Even without my beautiful brown hair.'

Devastated: Husband Daryll vowed to help his wife achieve fulfilment after the terminal diagnosis

Stubborn: Mrs Monaghan said she was determined to live a happy life despite the disease

Before Mrs Monaghan was diagnosed with cancer she lived a hardworking but fulfilling life in her hometown of Port Pirie, South Australia.

'One night I was in bed reading when I felt a lump in my breast. I ran out to Daryll crying my eyes out and he said it's probably nothing to worry about,' she said.

'I was referred to an oncologist in Adelaide and I drove down with my parents and had a series of tests done.

'It was stage-three aggressive, invasive breast cancer.

'Mum couldn't stop crying and Dad was devastated.

'Daryll was stuck for words and held me tight. He told me that we can get through this together.'

My life: Mrs Monaghan has lent her name to a voluntary euthanasia bill and is calling on South Australia's politicians to back it

A voluntary euthanasia bill is currently before South Australia's Parliament and Mrs Monaghan hopes politicians will vote to pass it.

The Be the Bill campaign is hoping to recruit South Australians to lobby their local MP to support a bill before parliament which would make SA the first state to allow seriously ill people to choose to end their lives.

'I need you to make this law happen,' Ms Monaghan said.

'I know you might need to amend the bill to get it through, but I'm counting on you to do the right thing.'

Ms Monaghan has become the face of the Be The Bill campaign and is lending her name to a draft of the legislation.

'I'm going to send my version to every South Australian politician so they won't just debate a bill about some person that doesn't exist,' she said.
A video has captured the incredibly rare moment a baby was born via C-section while still inside the amniotic sac, also known as the caul.

The video, shared by Facebook page Birth Without Fear, shows doctors removing the baby from the uterus while it is still completely secure inside an intact caul.

Doctors then carefully position the baby on its mother's stomach before one of them uses their fingers to break the amniotic sac open and release all of the fluid.

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Amazing: A video has captured the incredibly rare moment a baby was born via C-section while still inside the amniotic sac, also known as the caul

Since the video was shared on Wednesday, it has been viewed more than 1.1 million times and commented on by more than 2,500 people.

But they are not all convinced that it was a safe and peaceful birth.

'Omg he's crying in there! I know he's safe and getting adequate oxygen but it makes you think, do they do this often?' One woman questioned.

Incredible: The video, shared by Facebook page Birth Without Fear , shows doctors removing the baby from the uterus while it is still completely secure inside an intact caul

'This is honestly scary. The placenta is next to the sac so it's obviously no longer attached to the uterine wall, which means it's no longer working,' another said.

'That's why the baby was grimacing and open his/her mouth to cry too. Also, that must be a pretty big incision.'

But despite these concerns, leading Brisbane-based gynaecologist and obstetrician, Dr Gino Pecoraro, said these assumptions are incorrect.

' All I could see was that they had made a cut in the uterus and then the sac ballooned out so from all I know the placenta is still attached to the wall of the uterus and the fusion of oxygen and nutrients is still occurring,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Miracle of life: Doctors then carefully position the baby on its mother's stomach before one of them uses their fingers to break the amniotic sac open and release all of the fluid

'The bottom line is that while it's uncommon, it's only around 10 seconds. You could take much longer to get a baby out during a difficult caesarean so I wouldn't think that anything that happened here was unsafe.'

Dr Pecoraro also explained that the placenta placement was completely normal.

'Where did they think the placenta would be?' Dr Pecoraro questioned.

'This is one of those times where things that may appear normal to people who are trained and know what they are looking at look very different to someone who may not know the intricacies of what the inside environment of an abdomen or a uterus looks like.'

Finally born: Since the video was shared on Wednesday, it has been viewed more than 1.1 million times and commented on by more than 2,500 people

He also said that in his opinion, the baby is not distressed.

'I don't think that you can say the baby is distressed from that clip at all,' he said.

'We know that from looking at babies with the high quality ultrasounds that we have today that they breathe in and out and that's important to fill their lungs with fluid as it helps their lungs to grow.

'They can making sucking movements, they can put fingers in their mouths. There are cute photos of babies smiling and waving. They can do all manner of facial mechanisms but I wouldn't say the baby was crying... it was moving it's mouth.'

Amazing: The moment this newborn baby was delivered still inside the amniotic sac was captured on video in Spain

Caul births are exceptionally rare and one in 80,000 vaginal births see a baby born inside the caul.

And once upon a time, it was said to be a good omen.

'In the olden days babies that were born in the sac were told they should be sailors because if you were born in the caul you were supposed to never be able to drown,' Dr Pecoraro said.

'That was the old wives tale which was very cute.'

Incredible: The baby's blue umbilical cord, through which it is receiving oxygen, can be clearly distinguished on the video

This is not the first time a video of this nature has emerged online.

Earlier this year a video from Spain was posted which showed a baby inside its fully intact amniotic sac shortly after its twin was delivered.

The amazing video shows the newborn lying on a hospital table, curled up inside the clear sac which is tightly stretched around its body.

Moving occasionally, the baby is clearly visible inside the sac with the blue umbilical cord - through which the baby is receiving oxygen - easily distinguishable.

Rarity! In February another Spanish baby was born inside the amniotic sac, with the moment also captured on video. It is estimated these amniotic births occur only once in every 80,000

With its movements increasing in regularity, the youngster is seemingly ready to escape the sac and meet its little brother or sister.

Normally, the amniotic sac is broken during the strenuous process of childbirth or is pierced with a scalpel during a caesarean.

Doctors and nurses gathered around the table to catch a glimpse of what for most medical professionals is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

When the amniotic sac breaks, the fluid held inside is what is described as a woman's 'water breaking'.

Beautiful: Although the sac normally breaks during the stress of child birth, it had to be cut by a doctor in this instance. The umbilical cord was still wrapped around the baby as it was cut free from the amniotic sac after birth

In less than one day the video had been watched by more than 6.8 million people.

Earlier this year another baby, also from Spain, was captured on video being born inside the amniotic sac.

In that instance the doctor used a pair of surgical scissors to cut a small hole in the sac, causing the baby to spill out soon after.

That video also went viral with a total of more than 26 million social media users watching the birth of the youngster.
When Sheree Psaila hears her baby cry all she wants to do is pick him up.

But a rare genetic condition means the first-time-mum has virtually no muscle tissue in her arms or legs, and reaching for her little boy is impossible.

'Sometimes he'll cry and I can't reach him to pick him up. I have to wait for someone to pick him up for me,' she said.

The challenges she faces as a mother are greater than most, but her journey to parenthood is nothing short of a miracle.

Miracle birth: Sheree Psaila, 22, gave birth to a healthy baby boy Hayden despite her disability

Defying the odds: The new mum has a rare genetic condition that means she has virtually no muscle tissue in her arms or legs. She is pictured with her husband, Chris and baby Hayden

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When Ms Psaila was born doctors warned she would not live past her first birthday.

She suffers from a rare congenital condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, meaning she has little muscle tissue and is barely able to bend her joints.

More than 20 surgeries did little to alleviate her condition, but she remained determined to lead a normal life.

She met her husband Chris, who has a hereditary condition that caused damage to his lower spine, at Tafe before they got in married in March 2015.

After suffering a devastating miscarriage, the couple had their first baby, Hayden, a year after they married.

Helping hand: The new mum is unable to care for her growing baby boy without assistance

Miracle of birth: 'The doctors told me I probably wouldn't be able to have kids, although they didn't give me a reason why not,' she said

Thankfully, the pregnancy went smoothly.

Doctors were initially concerned Ms Psaila, who is just 122cm or 4 feet tall, would be too small to allow her baby to grow normally.

'The doctors told me I probably wouldn't be able to have kids, although they didn't give me a reason why not,' she said.

Bed rest: She spent the last weeks of her pregnancy in hospital and had a cesearan under a general anaesthetic

New mum: The pregnancy went smoothly and Hayden was born at a healthy size and weight

At 29 weeks pregnant the couple moved to Melbourne to be closer to the hospital, and rather than give birth naturally, Ms Psaila had a cesarean under a general anaesthetic.

'At first, the doctors wanted to do an epidural so I could be awake. But because my spine isn't completely straight they put me under general anaesthetics,' she said.

When little Hayden was born he measured 47cm tall and weighed in at 2.5 kilograms.

He has no disability.

Happy family: Hayden was born without a disability

Frustrating: 'I can change his nappy, but it takes a lot longer and I need assistance because I can't lift his legs up,' Ms Psaila said

'I love being a mum, but it does get frustrating at times because there are a lot of things I can't do,' Ms Psaila said.

'I can change his nappy, but it takes a lot longer and I need assistance because I can't lift his legs up.

'And when he was smaller, our carer would hold Hayden in the bath so I could bathe him, but now that he's big enough to sit in shallow water in a full-sized tub, I can't bend my knees enough to get down and wash him myself.

'When we go swimming, I want to be able to hold him in the pool and do all of the stuff that Chris does with him.'

Ms Psaila has a carer that comes five days a week for three hours to help, but her husband is the primary carer for her and Hayden.

Family time: 'When we go swimming, I want to be able to hold him in the pool and do all of the stuff that Chris does with him,' she said

Needing assistance: Ms Psaila faces more challenges than most as a new mother as there are a lot of things she can't do

Adorable: When little Hayden was born he measured 47cm tall and weighed in at 2.5 kilograms

She often gets frustrated as people mistake her as Hayden's big sister, instead of his mother, and talk down to her.

'People mistake my condition for a disease or intellectual disability, but that's not the case,' she said.

I'm just a disabled mum who has to lower the handlebar on the pram. That's it.'

Hard past: 'I always got bullied and no one understood what my capabilities were,' she said of her childhood

Finding happiness: Today as well as caring for her son, Ms Psaila is studying social media marketing at Tafe

While she has found happiness as a mother, Ms Psaila's own childhood was complicated.

Doctors suggested to her parents she be put in a wheelchair and sent to a special needs school.

But Ms Psaila defied their expectations and took her first steps at five years old but she faced difficulties.

'I always got bullied and no one understood what my capabilities were,' she said.
The photos of her great grandchildren's arrival in Canada on Saturday surely made the Queen beam with pride.

However, Her Majesty might not have been as impressed with her granddaughter in-law the Duchess of Cambridge who performed a what is deemed a royal parenting faux pas on day one of their Canadian tour.

As the family touched down at Victoria airport the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lead their two children Princess Charlotte and Prince George off the plane.

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It is a good job that the Queen hasn't joined the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their royal tour of Canada as Kate practiced the same parenting technique that saw Prince William scolded by his grandmother. Pictured: The duchess chats to George while holding Charlotte

At one point Kate, while holding Charlotte, squats down to Prince George's height in order to speak to her son - the same manouver that caused Prince William to receive a telling off from the Queen.

The Duke of Cambridge was scolded by his grandmother during the trooping of the colour in June when he too squatted down to speak to his son.

The monarch was seen tapping her grandson on the arm and gesturing him to stand up as he crouched down on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the RAF display.

After landing at Victoria airport on Saturday the duchess could be seen squatting down in order to make eye contact with her son

The technique known as active listening has previously been seen used by Prince William

Luckily the Queen wasn't on hand to do the same to Kate when she bent down to talk to George at the military base in Victoria on day one of their eight day tour.

The parenting technique known as active listening may not be favoured by the Queen but experts praise the use of it.

Child development expert Gill Connell told People magazine: 'Active listening is one of the most important ways you can send the message, "You're important to me." Get down on the child's level, lean in and make eye contact,"

The Duke of Cambridge was scolded by his grandmother during the trooping of the colour in June when he too squatted down to speak to his son

The monarch was seen tapping her grandson on the arm and gesturing him to stand up as he crouched down on the balcony of Buckingham Palace

'These simple messages foster self-esteem in powerful ways while encouraging him to communicate even more.'

Prince William has been seen using the technique on several occasions and we are likely to see more of it over the coming week.

While the two children have not been seen in public since their arrival they are expected to join their parents later in the week.

Sources in Canada have told The Mail on Sunday that a 'family-friendly' programme is currently being co-ordinated between Kensington Palace and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Although the Queen doesn't favour active listening experts have praised the use of it. Pictured: Prince William and Barack Obama squat down to speak to George

Parenting expert Gill Connell says: 'These simple messages foster self-esteem in powerful ways while encouraging him to communicate even more.' Pictured the father and son at Princess Charlotte's christening

A source said: 'We are told the children are coming and the itinerary is being co-ordinated accordingly. There will be a heavy focus on nature, the outdoors and at least one private day factored into the trip.

'We're hearing hiking, walking and outdoor pursuits will feature while the family is in British Columbia.' It is also understood that Prince William would like to take George fishing.

William and Kate will squeeze 32 engagements into their eight-day visit, but there will also be occasions for Charlotte and her three-year-old brother Prince George to enjoy.

They will meet the Trudeaus' three children, Xavier, eight, Ella-Grace, seven, and two-year-old Hadrien and are expected to attend a children's party in Victoria.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last visited the North American country in 2011, just months after they tied the knot at Westminster Abbey.

The Cambridges left Prince George and Princess Charlotte at home earlier this year when they carried out a whirlwind tour of India and Bhutan, but said they had missed their children.
Queen Victoria was so fertile that she was dubbed the 'grandmother of Europe' after her nine children went forth and multiplied across the continent.

However, last night's episode of ITV's hit period drama Victoria served up some eye-opening contraception advice, one which clearly didn't work for the 19th century monarch.

Viewers took to Twitter to poke fun at the misguided methods dished out by Baroness Lehzen (Daniela Holtz), after the monarch enquired about ways to put off having children 'for a year' after marrying Albert (Tom Hughes).

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This is going to be awkward! An embarrassed-looking Victoria (Jenna Coleman) seeks advice about how not to get pregnant from Baroness Lehzen (Daniela Holtz)

The penny drops as to what Victoria is alluding to...and Lehzen prepares to dish out her wisdom

She whispers in the ear of Victoria that 'jumping up and down ten times' after intimate relations should do the trick

Oh how they laughed: viewers took to Twitter to laugh at just how emphatically the contraception advice failed

The awkward exchange saw Victoria skirting around the issue before Lehzen finally cottoned on. She then whispered the advice that jumping up and down ten times after having sex might do the trick for averting pregancy.

A more initiated Albert (Tom Hughes) contradicted the advice, suggesting that abstaining is the only true method to ensure you don't fall pregnant, before breathlessly whispering: 'But, do you want to abstain?'

The answer to that, of course, lies in European history books'; Victoria went on to have nine children over twenty years before Albert's death at the age of 42 in 1861.

On Twitter, there was tittering aplenty at the unusual contraceptive method.

@manx_maid wrote: 'No, despite jumping up and down ten times, Vicky is on the way; how different would European royals be if she'd had the pill #Victoria'

Lehzen imparts her advice after Victoria suggests she doesn't want to fall pregnant for a year

A woman of the world...but not when it comes to preventing pregnancy

Abstain, suggests Albert...but as history tells us, they certainly didn't

Last night's episode saw Albert humiliated after he's prevented from escorting Victoria to dinner

@DugoutDons penned: 'I wonder if it was after the ninth child that her majesty worked out that jumping up and down ten times didn't work #Victoria'

@Heresy_Corner added: 'I'm willing to bet that this Victorian contraceptive technique of jumping up and down ten times after sex isn't 100% reliable #Victoria'

@nlcox3 wrote: 'Love the old #contraception methods. Randy beggars! I'd stand no chance and be constantly preggers.'

@Portsmouth_gal added: 'Oh my - interesting contraception advice!'

@yvonnejinx wrote: 'Victoria's method of contraception meant she could burn calories at the same time.'

Jenna and Tom are rumoured to be dating in real life, and have been praised for their on-screen chemistry

@CarefulDear added: 'So I'm guessing after Victoria had her 9th child she realises that jumping up and down 10 times isn't really contraception.'

@AlistairGeddes waded in with: 'So, #victoria How did the jumping-up-and-down-10-times form of contraception work for you?'

While Albert had no problems asserting himself in the bedroom, last night's episode saw him emasculated as he was prevented from walking into dinner with his new wife.
An anorexic model who was desperate to be a parent suffered six miscarriages in just two years - but is now a healthy weight and mum to two children.

Despite knowing the complications associated with being pregnant while suffering from an eating disorder, Samantha Reynolds repeatedly attempted to conceive.

Samantha, now 24, from Belfast, managed to get pregnant six times by the age of 19 - but heartbreakingly had lost all her babies due to being very underweight.

Samantha Reynolds, 24, a model, dancer and beautician from Belfast, struggled with an eating disorder from the age of 10. Pictured here 13 weeks pregnant with her second child William

Samantha with Mea, left, and William, centre. She managed to get pregnant six times by the age of 19 - but heartbreakingly had lost all her babies due to being very underweight

The pain of the repeated miscarriages took its toll on the model, dancer and beautician and she sank into depression

'I lost all six of them before 12 weeks. It was so difficult,' said Samantha.

She became anorexic at 10 because she was worried about being overweight and bullied at secondary school.

She said: 'I didn't want to be bullied at school and I was worried my sister would be prettier than me, so I started trying to hide how much I was eating.'

Samantha started making her own lunch, so she could control what she had and would tell her mother Margaret, 45, that she was going to a friend's house for dinner.

At secondary school, her problems got worse, when she started to find more ways to hide her food.

Samantha aged 12 with friends in both photos. She became anorexic at 10 because she was worried about being overweight and bullied at secondary school

'My mum would ask why I wasn't eating breakfast, so I would pour some cereal into a bowl when she wasn't looking and cover it in milk, making it look like I had had something,' she explained.

Samantha continued to eat less and less and in her fourth year of secondary school, her mum became concerned about her weight.

By age 15, she weighed around eight stone and was 5ft 5.

Samantha with daughter Mea, 28 weeks pregnant with her second child. Samantha started making her own lunch, so she could control what she had and would tell her mother Margaret, 45, that she was going to a friend's house for dinner

One week before William was due. At secondary school, her problems got worse, when she started to find more ways to hide her food

She said: 'My mum said I was getting very skinny, but I was doing my exams and I was able to tell her that it was just stress.'

Samantha's issues with food were discovered when she forgot to take her bag to school with her and her mum found a week's worth of lunches inside.

'She spoke to me and I broke down,' Samantha said, 'She asked me if I was making myself sick and I had to tell her I did. She took me straight to the doctor.'

Samantha today. Her issues with food were discovered when she forgot to take her bag to school with her and her mum found a week's worth of lunches inside

Samantha dancing in Cyprus in June 2016. Although her mum tried to get her help, it didn't help and Samantha continued to lose weight

The doctor told her that she was borderline anorexic and she went to see a counsellor. Her mum told her friends and teachers that they needed to watch her, to make sure she ate regular meals.

But Samantha soon lost control again, finding more ways to trick those around her.

'That actually made me a lot worse, because everyone was watching me,' she recalled.

'Mum would watch me eat and then sit with me to make sure I wasn't throwing it up again and that was difficult for me.'

Samantha on a night out in 2015. At the age of 18, Samantha decided to move away from her mum to Enniskillen, in Co Fermanagh, at the other side of Northern Ireland

At the age of 18, Samantha decided to move away from her mum to Enniskillen, in Co Fermanagh, at the other side of Northern Ireland.

She said: 'It started to get worse then. I was fainting a lot. At my lightest, I was six stone. I had six miscarriages, because I was so thin. It wasn't until I got pregnant that I asked for help.'

When she was 19, Samantha fell pregnant with her little girl Mea, now five, but she suffered from severe morning sickness, making her struggle with anorexia more difficult.

When she was 19, Samantha fell pregnant with her little girl Mea, now five, but she suffered from severe morning sickness, making her struggle with anorexia more difficult. Pictured here three months after giving birth to Mea, aged 19

After Mea was born, she asked for help and started gaining weight.

When she moved back to Belfast, just before her 21st birthday, she again felt she needed some support.

By then about nine stone, she was told that because she had reached a healthy weight, she couldn't get treatment.

'That's when my eating disorder started up again,' said Samantha. 'I still struggled mentally and wanted some help, so when they said no, I felt like I needed to lose more weight.'

On a night out in 2015. When she moved back to Belfast, just before her 21st birthday, she again felt she needed some support

Some days, Samantha survived solely on energy drinks, or she would eat just a few apples every day.

As a result, her weight dropped to around seven stone.

She fell pregnant with her second child at 22 and her weight continued to fall, because of her morning sickness.

When Samantha reached about nine stone, she was told that because she had reached a healthy weight, she couldn't get treatment - despite still struggling with unhealthy thoughts. Samantha pictured in September 2016

When William was born, she was determined to get help again. During treatment, she was asked to delete pictures of herself from her younger years to help her move on.

She inow weighs just over nine stone and tries to eat well for her children.

Samantha is no longer with the children's fathers and she is their main carer throughout the week.

Dancing in Cyprus in June 2016. When William was born, she was determined to get help again. During treatment, she was asked to delete pictures of herself from her younger years to help her move on

'Now I have my kids, I make sure I eat breakfast and dinner, because if I don't they won't eat either,' she said. 'I do worry about my daughter. She picks up on stuff I've said around other people about my weight, so I have to be careful.'

Although Samantha has now reached a healthy weight, she finds that her issues with food can be triggered again by a change in routine.

She added: 'It is still there sometimes. It is going to be an ongoing battle, but if anyone has problems with food, they need to speak up. I think sometimes people don't realise the mental side of it as well. You don't need to be really skinny to be struggling.'
Having a cleaner is one of life's luxuries but if you can't afford the privilege, professionals have shared their best cleaning hacks online - and you can steal them.

For men and women who don't want to shell out for a cleaner or struggle to get their home as spotless as a professional, these tips will certainly come in handy.

From using baking soda to clean a dirty sofa to making your engagement ring sparkle with toothpaste, experts have shared their best cleaning hacks. Take note!

Professional cleaners have shared their very clever tidying hacks that will save you hours when it comes to cleaning your house

1. Use toothpaste to clean your favourite things: Scrubbing your mucky trainers with toothpaste will make them look as good as new and you can even use the bathroom cupboard essential to make your engagement ring sparkle.

2. Use baking soda to clean your sofa: If you've spilled a drink on your couch or your dog has trodden muddy paws into it, experts say sprinkling baking soda on it before rinsing it off can remove the stains.

3. Use a razor to remove paint stains: If you redecorated your house and accidentally redecorated your clothes, too, a razor can come in handy for scraping it off.

4. Clean your grater with potatoes: Removing remnants from your grater is no mean feat but, rather bizarrely, rubbing potato over it will apparently help get rid of trapped food bits.

5. Get rid of water marks with a hairdryer: If you forgot to use a coaster and your wooden table has been left with a white water ring, simply blast a hairdryer over it.

Removing remnants from your grater is no mean feat but rather bizarrely, rubbing potato over it will help get rid of trapped food bits, left. Scrubbing your mucky trainers with toothpaste will make them look as good as new and you can even use the bathroom cupboard essential to make your engagement ring sparkle, right

6. Banish glitter with play dough: If your children got over zealous with the glitter during their arts and crafts session, simply roll a ball of play dough over the spilled glitter to get rid of it.

7. Clean a greasy floor with Coca Cola: If you've spilled oil or grease on your garage floor, splashing some Coca Cola over it will help banish it.

8. Use mouthwash to clean your washing machine: If your washing machine is dirty, pour half a cup of mouthwash into the empty machine and run it to help disinfect and clean it out.

9. Clean a shower head with lemon: To clean a shower head, fill a sandwich bag with distilled white vinegar and three to four drops of lemon essential oil. Submerge your shower head in the bag and group it together at the top of the shower head using a hair tie. Leave overnight and give it a quick wipe in the morning.

If you forgot to use a coaster and your wooden table has been left with a white water ring, simply blast a hairdryer over it

If you've got grease down your garments, rub some chalk over, left. If you redecorated your house and accidentally redecorated your clothes, too, a razor can come in handy for scraping it off, right.

10. Use socks as a mop: If you run out of sheets for your wet/dry mops, just dampen an inside-out sock with cleaning solution, stretch it around the mop head and use it as you ordinarily would.

11. Clean your clothes with chalk: If you've got grease down your garments, rub some chalk over the area in question to loosen it before popping it in the wash.

12. Banish nail varnish stains with vodka: There's nothing worse than spilling red polish on the carpet but there is a rather surprising way to remove it. Pop a clear spirit like vodka on the stain and rub it away with a microfiber cloth.

13. Collect broken glass with bread: If you've smashed a glass and don't want to risk cutting yourself, press a piece of bread into it to pick it up.
The Duchess of Cambridge may be garnering all the attention over in Canada but Queen Maxima attracted plenty of her own as she stepped out on Monday.

The chic 45-year-old monarch displayed her trim figure in a silk printed dress and Christian Louboutin stilettos as she arrived at the Future of Finance conference hosted by FMO, the Dutch development bank.

The Queen of the Netherlands showed off her youthful new blonde hair 'do and lean legs as she arrived at the event in her home country.

Queen Maxima, Queen of the Netherlands, looked super chic as she arrived at the Future of Finance conference hosted by FMO, the Dutch development bank

The conference is aimed at gaining new insights and exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of inclusive finance in developing countries.

Queen Maxima was given the book 'Banking for a Better World' from Nanno Kleiterp, the departing CEO of FMO, which she proudly carried around.

The event saw speakers and interactive break-out sessions focused on disruptive technology and how this is changing the way that financial services are delivered, consumed and perceived.

Queen Maxima was given the book 'Banking for a Better World' from Nanno Kleiterp, the departing CEO of FMO, which she proudly carried around

The stylish monarch accessorised her sharp look with some large gold hoops and a chunky gold necklace

The Queen of the Netherlands showed off her youthful new blonde hair 'do

The conference is aimed at gaining new insights and exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of inclusive finance in developing countries

Last week saw Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander enjoy one of the most formal days in the Dutch royal calendar as they arrived in The Hague for the official state opening of parliament.

The Dutch royals donned their finery for the political address, with Queen Maxima opting for an extravagant gold floor-length A-line skirt with a cobalt blue silk blouse and her favourite wide-brimmed hat.

A pair of dazzling sapphire drop earrings, navy peep-toe platforms and a ceremonial blue and yellow sash finished the look for a day that is rich in pageantry and tradition.

Prinsjesdag (Princes Day) saw the couple looking at their most regal as they arrived in a shining red and gold carriage at the historic Hall of Knights.

Amid tight security, King and Queen Maxima were driven in an ornate, horse-drawn carriage to parliament from a royal palace in the heart of The Hague, passing through streets lined with cheering crowds.

A day rich in pomp and ceremony: Dutch royals King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima wave at well-wishers from the Knight's Hall in The Hague after the official state opening of parliament

Prinsjesdag (Princes Day), held every year on the third Tuesday in September marks the opening of parliament and sees the Dutch monarch address politicians and dignitaries. The couple arrived looking resplendent in a red and gold carriage

The hat is back: Queen Maxima wore one of her favourite hats, with blue and gold ceremonial pins in it teamed with an A-line floor-length dress. The royal looked thoughtful as she listened to King Willem-Alexander speak about the year ahead for Holland

The traditional opening of the Dutch parliamentary year takes place every year on the third Tuesday of September and Maxima and Willem-Alexander's arrival was greeted by legions of well-wishers.

The carriage that is normally used to bring the King and Queen to Prince's Day, passed down from Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, is currently undergoing a four-year maintenance programme, although its replacement vehicle looked just as lavish.

While Maxima looked on, Willem-Alexander told politicians and dignitaries that better days were ahead for the Netherlands.
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The Swedish royal family are to show off five of the European country's regal wedding dresses in a new exhibition at Stockholm's Royal Palace.

Couture dress fans will get the chance to glimpse the often extravagant gowns in more detail when they go on display in October to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

Among the headline-stealing exhibits at the show is Queen Silvia's modest long-sleeved white Dior wedding dress from her 1976 nuptials to King Carl XVI Gustaf.

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The most recent wedding dress to be worn by a member of the Swedish royal family was Princess Sofia's 2015 dress for her marriage to Prince Carl Philip. Her lace gown will join the special exhibition at Stockholm's Royal Palace to mark the 40th wedding anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia

Elegance: The lace and ivory couture gown worn by Princess Sofia, Duchess of Varmland, and created by designer Ida Sjostedt is to be included

Fans of the Swedish royals will get a chance to glimpse the dresses up close and marvel at the finer details of Sofia's gown

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden at his wedding to Princess Sofia in 2015; the pair now have a son together - Prince Alexander, born April 19th 2015

Silvia's couture outfit will sit alongside a dress from the most recent Swedish royal wedding ceremony; Princess Sofia's fairytale lace frock, created by Swedish designer Ida Sjostedt, which she wore at her 2013 wedding to Prince Carl Philip.

The Swedish Royal Court will host the beautiful quintet of wedding dresses, which also includes frocks by Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine and Princess Lilian, in celebration of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia's four decades of marriage.

Fans of the European royals will have plenty of opportunity to glimpse the lavish collection; it runs from 18th October until 12th March 2017.

King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden marries Silvia Sommerlath at Stockholm Cathedral on June 19, 1976. Silvia wore a minimalist white gown created by Marc Bohan for Christian Dior

Standing the test of time: The beautiful gown, now four decades old, with its trailing train still looks pristine

Silvia's 1976 dress had simple details including piping on the shoulders. She wore the Swedish Cameo Tiara with the gown

Still going strong: Queen Silvia And King Carl XVI Gustaf on their wedding day; the couple celebrate 40 years of marriage this year

1976 saw two royal weddings in Sweden, with remarkably similar dresses reflecting the minimalist bridal fashions of the time.

German-born Silvia Sommerlath wed King Carl XVI Gustaf at Stockholm Cathedral in a long-sleeve, floor-length dress straight from the era, designed by Marc Bohan for Dior. She finished the look wearing the Swedish Cameo Tiara, a show-stealing family heirloom.

Later that year, King Carl XVI Gustaf's paternal uncle, Prince Bertil, married Welsh-born divorcee Lilian Davies; the couple were married in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace after newly crowned Carl Gustaf gave the controversial wedding his blessing.

Heir to the Swedish throne, Crown Princess Victoria wed personal trainer Daniel Westling on 19 June 2010 and also opted to wear the Swedish Cameo Tiara. Her dress was the sartorial handiwork of famous Swedish designer Par Engsheden.

A new generation: Princess Madeleine of Sweden and her banker husband Christopher O'Neill during their wedding on June 8th 2013

Princess Madeleine's breathtaking lace detail flowing gown is one of the quintet of Swedish royal wedding dresses to go on display next month

Madeleine's frock was the handiwork of Italian couture designer Valentino and included silk organdies, ivory Chantilly lace and a four-metre train

The stunning dress has intricate lace detail and features in the Royal Wedding Dresses exhibition at the Royal Palace

Princess Madeleine's wedding gown, from her nuptials to American-British businessman Christopher ONeill on 8 June 2013, will also appear in the collection. Italian designer Valentino created the dress for her, which she wore with a Modern Fringe Tiara.

Sweden's most recent royal wedding was in 2013, when Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist were married on 13th June 2015. While Carl Philip wore his country's full military regalia, Sofia was dressed by Swede designer Ida Sjostedt.

Royal Wedding Dresses begins at the Royal Palace on 18 October 2016 and runs until 12 March 2017.

Crown Princess Victoria's satin dress, which she wore to marry husband Prince Daniel

The satin dress had a lace veil and was complemented by a pretty hanging bouquet of white flowers

The scoop-neck dress is arguably the most stylish in the collection, and was designed by Swedish designer Par Engsheden

The back of the ivory satin dress sees a seven-button belt with a scoop-neck collar

A closer look at the back of the gown reveals a pair of pleats. The rear of the image sees Queen Silvia's Dior gown and shows the contrasting styles from different decades
Savannah and her husband Michael Feldman also have a two-year-old daughter named Vale

Most of the anchors correctly guessed she is having a boy

Before the reveal, her colleagues tried to see if they could tell she was having a boy or a girl just by looking at the shape of her belly

The 44-year-old anchor, who is due in December, announced that she is having a baby boy on the Today show on Monday morning

Savannah Guthrie kicked off the work week by revealing live on air that she is having a baby boy.

The pregnant 44-year-old anchor announced the gender of her child Monday morning on the Today show after her colleagues tried to see if they could tell she was having a boy or a girl just by looking at the shape of her belly.

Al Roker, Hoda Kotb, Carson Daly, and Willie Geist all guessed that Savannah was carrying a baby boy, as Hoda explained that she was carrying her pregnancy weight 'differently' than when she was pregnant with her two-year-old daughter Vale.

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Exciting news! Savannah Guthrie revealed that she is having a baby boy on the Today show on Monday morning

Celebration: The 44-year-old anchor and her husband Michael Feldman are expecting their second child in December

The reveal began with Matt Lauer holding a blue milkshake and a pink milkshake, asking Savannah to choose one.

'You know I really didn't want to make a big deal of this or anything about what it was going to be,' she said as she grabbed both the shakes from Matt. But when she turned around there was a surprise on the screen next to her.

'Oh my gosh what is that?' she asked as she looked at the screen and saw a banner fly through the air that read: 'It's a boy!'.

Savannah's colleagues all clapped and yelled: 'It's a boy!' as they celebrated her joyous news.

Unforgettable moment: Matt Lauer asked the expectant mom to choose between a pink milkshake and blue milkshake to reveal the news

Added touch: After Savannah grabbed both milkshakes, she looked at the screen next to her and saw a banner fly through the air that read: 'It's a boy!'

Happy day: The expectant mom was all smiles after she shared her secret with her colleagues

Kathie Lee Gifford and Tamron Hall were the only ones out of the cast who wrongly predicted that Savannah was having another girl, and Savannah admitted that she found it fascinating that most of her colleagues correctly guessed the gender of her baby correctly.

'We're having a boy. I know they say there is no science to it, but...' she said, letting her words trail off.

'I have to say to Matt: "Excellent secret keeping,"' she added.

Although they had just learned Savannah was carrying a baby boy, the anchors also wanted to know if she and her husband Michael Feldman already had a name picked out for their unborn son.

Keeping one secret: Although Savannah revealed the gender of her child, she refused to share the little boy's name

Only room for two: Savannah joked that after the birth of her baby boy in December, 'hotel uterus is closed'

'That I'm definitely not telling,' she said, and Kathie implied that it was for the best because 'everyone would have an opinion'.

'You've got to keep it to yourself,' Savannah said. We are so excited.' The soon-to-be mother-of-two noted that Michael is thrilled about their impending arrival.

'He talks to the baby like, "Let me talk to my son,"' she said. He's like, "Attention son."'

'It's so exciting,' she added. 'We feel beyond blessed to get to have a baby and to get to have a boy and a girl.'

Perfect pair: Savannah showed off her baby bump alongside NBC News meteorologist Dylan Dreyer last week

Big sister: Savannah and Michael also have a two-year-old daughter name Vale. She is pictured on her birthday in August (left) and after she learned she was going to have a sibling (right)

Look of love: Savannah and Michael, who are pictured in January, said 'I do' in March 2014

When asked if they told Vale, Savannah said her little girl now says 'baby brother'.

'That's one of the reasons we found out this time because I thought it is already enough upheaval for a little girl to have a to have a new baby, we've got to tell you what kind baby,' she explained.

'Baby brother is on his way in December,' the expectant mom added.

However, when Matt joked about her having just one more son, Savannah announced that 'hotel uterus is closed'.
For ten years Laura Richardson knew that as darkness fell her vision would change. Her eyes would fill with dancing dots that looked like static on a television screen.

She also found bright light painful. However trips to the optician, GP and an ophthalmologist couldnt identify any physical problem.

So she learned to manage the symptoms herself, by installing dimmer lights at home that she kept switched low, and wearing tinted glasses  made for her by an optician  which she wore whenever in bright artificial light.

I became very depressed and felt that no one truly understood what it was like to see through my eyes, says Laura, 30, a counselling student from St Helens in Merseyside.

For ten years Laura Richardson knew that as darkness fell her vision would change. Her eyes would fill with dancing dots that looked like static on a television screen

Then last September she woke up one morning to find that the dancing dots were now appearing in daylight, too.

She could also see after images, where for instance, text from a page lingered on her vision.

It was a huge shock and I was extremely frightened, she says. Her GP sent her back to an ophthalmologist but checks  including an MRI scan  came back clear.

It was not until she did her own research that she found out what was wrong: she suffers from visual snow.

As well as seeing static, the condition can make those affected sensitive to light, explains Peter Goadsby, a professor of neurology at Kings College London and a leading expert in the problem.

He first came across visual snow when, as a migraine specialist, he was being sent patients whose symptoms were being put down to migraine aura.

But he says visual snow is a different and distinct condition. The cause is unclear but brain scans of those affected have found differences in the visual cortex, the area at the back of the brain that processes visual information.

This area is overactive in people with visual snow and it seems to be a disorder of the way in which this part of the brain responds to the information it receives from the eyes, says Professor Goadsby.

For those affected it can be extremely disabling and affect their work and personal lives.

Laura Richardson suffers from visual snow. This means that her eyes fill with dancing dots that looked like static on a television screen

As well as the psychological and social impact, the problem has affected Laura in more practical ways  she has to limit use of her phone and laptop, for instance, as these aggravate the symptoms, which has made studying difficult, she says.

At the moment there is no cure. Professor Goadsby is working on finding an effective treatment but says people who think they have have the condition should visit their optician or GP to rule out other problems that can cause strange eye symptoms.

But visual snow is not the only eye condition that can make you see things, as the experts explain.

HALLUCINATIONS

People with impaired sight often have hallucinations  seeing things or people that arent there.

They are caused by the brain responding to the loss of visual input to the eye, says Dominic ffytche, a reader in visual psychiatry at Kings College London.

The nerves in the visual area of the brain become hyperexcitable, and fire off spontaneously, leading to the hallucinations.

Many of those affected do not mention it, fearing they have mental health problems (or dementia) but the phenomenon is a recognised medical condition called Charles Bonnet syndrome.

People with impaired sight often have hallucinations  seeing things or people that arent there. They are caused by the brain responding to the loss of visual input to the eye

It affects about 10 per cent of people with moderately impaired eyesight, perhaps due to cataracts (where the lens becomes cloudy) and glaucoma (when pressure builds up in the eye damaging the optic nerve), although in fact anyone who cant see from about halfway down a standard eye test letter chart can develop it.

The hallucinations will range from coloured blobs and patterns to faces, figures and animals. About 20 per cent of patient with Charles Bonnet see people in elaborate costume.

The hallucinations are not memories of visual experiences stored in the brain, so the faces or figures are not familiar and they have no direct relevance to the person experiencing them, explains Dr ffytche.

The hallucinations generally develop within weeks of the vision loss, and generally reduce over the following 18 months as the brain adapts to the loss of sight.

Altering the light levels either up or down, or a series of specific eye movements can help, it is thought, by activating the under used visual parts of the brain that cause the hallucinations.

Some medications for epilepsy, dementia and psychosis can reduce hallucinations by dampening over activity in the nerves of the brain, but carry the risk of significant side -effects.

Hallucinations due to Charles Bonnet syndrome will range from coloured blobs and patterns to faces, figures and animals

Other conditions can cause visual hallucinations such as dementia and Parkinsonss disease.

In this case it is thought to be due to a lack of the brain chemical acetylcholine, which plays a role in visual processing and here the hallucinations tend to be figures and animals that are more likely to be familiar than those that occur in Charles Bonnet syndrome.

Anyone with hallucinations should go and see their GP, although knowledge of the syndrome can be limited so it can be worth taking along a leaflet about it to the appointment, says Dr ffytche.

FLOATERS AND FLASHES OF LIGHT

Many people have floaters, dots or lines that trail across their vision. These are caused by strands of collagen in the vitreous, the jelly-like substance that fills the eyeball.

This collagen can deteriorate naturally with age and bits break off and float across the line of vision.

But a sudden influx of new floaters in the vision, especially if accompanied by flashes of light can be a sign of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD).

This occurs when the gel in the eye becomes more watery, normally as a result of ageing; the gel shrinks and tugs at the retina, the thin layer of light sensitive cells at the back of the eye which send visual information to the brain.

Many people have floaters, dots or lines that trail across their vision. These are caused by strands of collagen in the vitreous

As the gel tugs at the retina it can release floaters, and stimulates the light sensitive cells, hence flashes of light appear in the vision.

Floaters can also be a sign that the retina has torn or pulled away from the back of the eye, which without prompt treatment can lead to a partial or total loss of sight.

The flashing lights in PVD are generally seen in dim light whilst in a retinal tear or detachment, they are brighter and can generally be seen in normal light, says Professor Stephen Vernon, a consultant ophthalmologist at University Hospital Nottingham.

A patient cant reliably detect between the two so should see an optometrist or visit an eye A&E, ideally within 24 hours of the symptoms starting.

Retinal tears can be treated with a laser as an outpatient, whereas a retinal detachment will require an operation to reattach the retina.

HALOS

Seeing halos around lights can be a sign cataracts are developing. They occur when the usually clear cells of the lens become cloudy, due to changes in the consistency and volume of the proteins in them.

This alters the way light travels through the lens so that lights can appear to have halos.

Professor Vernon explains that halos can be an early symptom of cataracts.

Cataracts are more common in people over 60, particularly if the patient has diabetes, he says.

Seeing halos around lights can be a sign cataracts are developing. They occur when the usually clear cells of the lens become cloudy

They can also be brought on by certain medications, in particular steroids when taken by mouth or when used in eye drops for extended periods.

Cataracts are treated by surgically removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with a plastic one.

ZIG-ZAG LINES

A jagged zig-zag line travelling across vision is a classic symptom of migraine aura. Aura are the neurological symptoms that some people experience in the run up to a migraine.

The aura symptoms usually last for up to an hour, and occur in about 30 per cent of the eight million people in the UK who have migraine. Some get aura symptoms without the throbbing head pain  a condition known as silent migraine.

Migraines begin with a wave of electrical energy that travels slowly over the surface of the brain, and this is believed to cause the aura symptoms.

They commonly last between five and 60 minutes, says Dr Andrew Dowson, a migraine specialist at the east Kent Headache Service.

A jagged zig-zag line travelling across vision is a classic symptom of migraine aura. Aura are the neurological symptoms that some people experience in the run up to a migraine

The most common symptoms include seeing a zig-zag line that moves slowly across the field of sight. Other possible visual signs include flashing lights and sparkles.

The mainstay of treatment is prevention, says Dr Dowson. He recommends daily supplements of magnesium (200-600mg) and vitamin B2 (100mg). Thats because a deficiency of magnesium may contribute to the wave of brain activity that triggers aura symptoms.

Dr Dowson says 75mg of aspirin daily also can help reduce the symptoms of aura by changing the way that the brain uses the chemical serotonin  serotonin appears to have a key role in both pain and aura in migraine, its thought by influencing the way blood vessels behave.

However, check with your doctor as long-term, aspirin carries the risk of gastric bleeding.

PS: Despite what you see in the cartoons people who have hit their head rarely see stars or flashing light says Colin Shieff, a retired consultant neurosurgeon who is now trustee of Headway, the brain injury association.

They are more likely to have double vision or temporary sight loss, he says.
Every year, thousands of patients require surgery to repair a perforated eardrum.

A new keyhole procedure avoids scarring and post-op pain  and recovery time is faster.

Patricia Duncan, 59, a nurse from Lanarkshire, had the treatment, as she tells OONA MASHTA.

THE PATIENT

Ever since I can remember, I havent been able to hear anything in my right ear.

As I was growing up, my mother explained to me that it was because Id had a very bad ear infection when I was six years old which had led to a perforated eardrum.

I remember the intense pain as my eardrum perforated, but no other details.

Patricia Duncan, a nurse from Lanarkshire, is one of the first patients in the UK to have the op

The doctor told my mother the eardrum was likely to heal by itself and my hearing would improve, but it never did.

Over the years, I learnt how to manage; I never even thought of going to the doctors for treatment, I just relied on my left ear.

I put the receiver to that ear when answering the phone and automatically pointed my left side towards people to hear them speak.

The major problem was if water got into my right ear, it caused me excruciating pain and Id feel dizzy because it affected my balance (it disturbed my middle ear, which controls this).

I used to plug my ears with cotton wool when I showered, washed my hair or went to the hairdressers, and somehow got by.

I only did something about my lack of hearing when I started suffering from age-related hearing loss in my good ear in my 40s.

My husband, Tom, often complained the TV was too loud and friends would ask why I was shouting. It became really difficult to work.

In January 2015, I went to see my GP and he referred me to Wishaw General Hospital in Lanarkshire for tests.

Two weeks later I was there having a hearing test  the consultant then told me my right eardrum was 95 per cent damaged. I was shocked, as this was the first time I realised how bad it was.

After a hearing test, Patricia Duncan was told that her right eardrum had been 95 per cent damaged

He suggested I could have surgery to make a graft from the skin near my ear and put it in place of the eardrum  or I could wear hearing aids.

I chose the hearing aids because they were less invasive.

But then I had a hearing test which I failed disastrously. I was upset because I faced surgery, which I thought would be risky.

I was referred to an ear, nose and throat surgeon, Arun Iyer, who offered me a new keyhole procedure. It was less invasive because theyd also take a graft from inside my ear, so I wouldnt be left with a scar.

I immediately agreed and had the procedure in January this year under general anaesthetic.

All I can remember is waking up after the operation with a bandage around my head and my right ear plugged up  I wasnt in any pain, which surprised me.

On my way home later that day, I was shocked because I could hear people talking on my right side.

Patricia has been unable to hear through her right ear for more than 50 years, and says having her hearing restored was 'strange but absolutely wonderful'

It must have been the first time I could hear through my right ear for more than 50 years. It was strange but absolutely wonderful.

Though I have a little age-related hearing loss in my left ear, my hearing in my right is so good I dont really notice any more.

Life is so much easier and wherever I stand, I can hear.

THE SURGEON

Arun Iyer is a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire. He says:

The eardrum is a thin layer of tissue separating the outer ear from the middle ear  a perforated eardrum is literally a hole or tear in it.'

Normally sound waves enter the outer ear and hit the eardrum, causing it to vibrate.

Behind the eardrum there are three tiny bones. The vibrations pass from the eardrum to these bones in the middle ear.

With a perfect eardrum, the sound energy going in is magnified by 17 times so we can hear clearly. Perforated eardrums can cause pain if water gets in

The bones then transmit the vibrations to the cochlea in the inner ear, which converts the vibrations to electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain which we then hear.

The eardrum also prevents ear infections by protecting the middle ear.

With a perfect eardrum, the sound energy going in is magnified by 17 times so we can hear clearly.

With a perforated eardrum the sound waves are not transmitted efficiently or amplified  the bigger the perforation, the less you can hear.

Ear infections are the most common cause of eardrum perforations: they increase pressure in the middle ear so the eardrum is vulnerable to burst.

Other causes include long-standing glue ear (where fluid collects in the middle ear and cannot drain away) and trauma.

Perforated eardrums can cause pain if water gets in because the middle ear is lined with sensitive cells.

Normally sound waves enter the outer ear and hit the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. Behind the eardrum there are three tiny bones

The ear is also prone to recurrent infections because there is no longer a barrier to stop bacteria getting in.

Small perforations often heal spontaneously. But after two years they are unlikely to heal without treatment.

Larger perforations need surgery because there is too much damage and the body cant regenerate enough tissue to repair it.

Traditional surgery involves cutting a 3-4cm piece of tissue either from the front or behind the ear and using it as a graft to repair the hole.

This is usually done by inserting it through another incision in the back of the ear. It can take between one and four hours, depending on the patient.

Recovery is slow as patients usually suffer from pain for about three weeks, and the incisions can leave scars.

Patients usually have to wear a head bandage for a day and have dressing material inside their ear for up to three weeks, so they wont be able to hear immediately.

Surgeons often use endoscopes to look into the ear during traditional surgery, but at an international conference Dr Arun Iyter discovered a new method

Many patients experience pain when eating because the muscle that helps us chew, the temporalis, is swollen after surgery too.

I have been using endoscopes (long tubes with a camera on the end) to look into the ear during traditional surgery for a long time, but in 2013 at an international conference I learnt how to use them to conduct this eardrum perforation repair, taking a graft from inside the ear.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS? As with any ear surgery, there is a small chance of hearing loss due to damage while operating. Taste disturbance, because the taste nerve travels via the ear drum and can therefore be stretched and, very rarely, cut. As with any ear surgery, there is a small chance of hearing loss due to damage while operating Dizziness  but usually only short term. Mr Jeremy Lavy, a consultant ear surgeon at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital in London says: Endoscopic ear surgery is becoming more widespread in the UK as it is helpful in situations when it is difficult to see the part of the ear surgeons need to work on. It is another useful tool in ear surgery, like the microscope. But it is unlikely that the endoscope will ever completely take over from open ear surgery. Advertisement

Endoscopic ear surgery prevents the need for an incision in the skin, resulting in less pain.

With the patient under a general anaesthetic, I insert the endoscope via the ear canal itself and watch where I am going on a screen.

Once I reach the eardrum, I lift it then cut a small graft from the lining of cartilage inside the ear, just in front of the ear canal.

This graft is then used to patch the eardrum in the usual way.

Taking the graft here causes much less pain because the incision is much smaller, and so the recovery time is much shorter.

Patients can often go home the same day and can hear almost immediately as the ear doesnt need to be packed with dressing.

They may be able to go back to work within a week, whereas patients who have had open surgery who will need around three weeks off.

The eardrum healing rates and hearing improvement rates are the same, and if the perforation doesnt heal enough we can repeat the surgery.

I am now teaching other surgeons  currently the procedure is only available at a few centres in Birmingham, Bolton and Lanarkshire.
After almost a century of on-off production, the last MG-branded car has been built in the UK.

Owners of MG Motor confirmed last week that the Longbridge plant in the West Midlands has ceased assembling cars which will now be fully built in China.

According to reports, just 25 jobs will be lost at the site near Birmingham with the sales, marketing and after-sales departments located at the 300-employee strong UK base unaffected.

No longer built in Britain: MG Motor's Longbridge UK headquarters has now stopped putting the finishing touches to part-assembled cars arriving from China

Following the collapse of MG Rover in 2005, Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile bought the MG marque and the Longbridge facility for 53 million the following year.

Some 12 months on, Shanghai-based SAIC Motor acquired the Chinese car firm along with the British-badged carmaker that was first established in 1920.

Since 2007, three MG Motor models have been launched and part-built in the UK.

The first, the MG6 saloon, has been assembled at the former MG-Rover factory south of Birmingham since 2011, while the facility has also been putting the final finishing touched to part-made MG3 superminis and GS SUVs since.

But SAIC announced last week that it has axed the Longbridge production process - which it admitted were all small additions - in favour of shipping completed cars from China, rather than complete their construction at the UK hub.

MG Motor UK's head of sales and marketing, Matthew Cheyne, told the Birmingham Mail that the move to an all-China production hub will help the motor brand grow.

MG Motor said the work carried out on vehicles in the West Midlands factory was minimal

The MG6 - the first new MG model in 16 years - was the first of the China-owned MG Motor cars to be part-built at the Longbridge site in 2011. The axed production line means Birmingham is no longer the 'home of MG manufacturing'

The factory was previous owned by MG Rover, which collapsed over a decade ago

He said: 'With efficiency and flexibility both key to long-term market success, off-shoring vehicle production is a necessary business decision.

'Relocating to state-of-the-art overseas production facilities will allow faster access to product and help to meet ever-increasing customer demand, all while maintaining the highest levels of production quality.

'In addition, improving production scale efficiencies will support ongoing sales growth in the UK market  a key priority.'

The carmaker has sold 2,300 vehicles in the UK so far this year  up by 350 units compared to the same time in 2015.

Much of the growth is down to the latest model in the range, the GS compact SUV, which has been heavily advertised in recent months.

But last week's news means one of the nation's best recognised auto brands will no longer be built in Britain in any form.

Stopping the production line will see 25 employees made redundant, however more than 300 other staff working at the Longbridge headquarters for MG Motor UK are unaffected

Labour MP Mr Burden told the Birmingham newspaper: 'MGs decision to close its assembly line at Longbridge is hugely disappointing and I believe it is premature.

'I understand the business concerns that MG have surrounding costs of assembly at Longbridge, which have undoubtedly been aggravated by problems with the strength of the pound.

'However, more discussions should have taken place to explore alternatives and options before any decisions were finalised.

'Having spoken to the Government, I know they are willing to meet MG to discuss and explore options and help that may be available and I am sure the same will be true for the local authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership.
DAILY BRIEFING: MG stops car production at Longbridge plant after moving the work overseas

Not economically viable: Car production at MGs Longbridge plant has been halted

PRODUCTION BRAKE Manufacturer MG has stopped production at its Longbridge plant in Birmingham.

The firm, owned by a Chinese autos group, has been moving production overseas.

Finishing work had continued to be carried out in the UK but the firm is reported to have said this is no longer economically viable.

It is understood some 25 jobs will be lost but the site will still employ more than 300.

STEEL TALKS Tata Steel is set for two days of talks with unions to try and break the deadlock over pension scheme liabilities.

The 15billion pension scheme, which has 130,000 retired and working members, is the main obstacle to a deal to save the Port Talbot steelworks.

Indian group Tata wants the south Wales plant but doesnt want to take on its pension liabilities.

UBS ROLE Miriam Gonzalez, the wife of former deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, has become chairman of the UK audit committee of investment bank UBS.

Gonzalez, who is a lawyer and EU negotiator, took over the role on September 6. She has been a non-executive director and chair of the audit and risk committee at the banks Spanish subsidiary since September 2015.

LEGAL COSTS FTSE 100 firms have set aside 31.3billion as provision for legal claims over the past 12 months.

The amount reserved by the businesses is up 22 per cent from 25.6billion a year ago.

The money is earmarked for legal costs, regulatory fines and compensation payments. The banking sector accounts for some 56 per cent of the total amount set aside, at 17.4billion.

BUSINESS BOOST The number of UK businesses has hit an all-time high. Some 2.1million businesses are now listed in the UK, up 4 per cent from 2million a year ago, according to national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.
Owner Telefonica is believed to have secured a team of professionals to take O2 public

Mobile phone provider O2 is thought to be gearing up to list on the stock exchange in a flotation which would value the business at 10billion.

Telefonica, the Spanish parent company of O2, is believed to have secured a team of professionals to take the business public.

The telecoms giant is understood to have appointed communications specialists Finsbury as its public-relations adviser, and assigned Barclays, UBS and Morgan Stanley as the investment banks to handle the listing.

It is not yet clear how much of the business Telefonica will sell off, though the firm is likely to retain a controlling stake in the company.

It will have to sell at least a 25 per cent chunk of the business, and could sell up to 49 per cent.

The listing, which would also include Telefonicas Giffgaff brand and its 50 per cent stake in Tesco Mobile, is unlikely to happen before the end of the year, say sources.

It is expected to float in early 2017.
Aldi is churning 300million into improving its stores, sprucing up fixtures in its alcohol, fresh produce, baby and food-on-the-go aisles, it announced this morning.

The German-owned supermarket said that having carried out its biggest ever 'customer listening exercise', re-vamped stores will feature new in-store colours, signs focusing on 'quality, range and provenance', and product-specific lighting.

Amid a fierce supermarket price war, Aldi UK and Ireland saw its operating profits fall 1.8 per cent to 255.6million in the past year, but sales climbed 12 per cent to 7.7billion, its results revealed.

Sprucing up: German-owned supermarket Aldi is churning 300million into improving its stores, sprucing up fixtures in its alcohol, fresh produce and food-on-the-go aisles

Matthew Barnes, Aldi's UK and Ireland chief executive, said: 'Were doing what I have always said we would do  investing our margin to maintain a significant price advantage over our competitors, keeping Aldi the lowest-price supermarket in Britain with outstanding quality products.

'This is the secret behind the bond we enjoy with our customers and it is why people keep coming back to Aldi, time and again.

'Regardless of what competitors may say or do, our price advantage will be maintained and our customers will always pay the lowest grocery prices in the UK.'

Aldi said it has dropped prices for 30 per cent of its products this year.

Last month, a report in The Times suggested some of Aldi's biggest rivals believe the German discounter's like-for-like sales growth may have turned negative in the last quarter.

The privately-owned supermarket said Britain's vote to leave the EU in June had made no difference to its investment plans.

Sales boost: Amid a fierce supermarket price war, Aldi saw its operating profits fall 1.8 per cent to 255.6million in the past year, but sales climbed 12 per cent to 7.7billion

Over 100 stores will be refurbished in 2017, with some elements being introduced in certain stores this year, Aldi said

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In the next year, the supermarket plans to open 70 new stores across the UK, adding to its 659-strong portfolio.

By 2022, Aldi plans to have 1,000 stores across the UK.

Aldi said its strongest-performing categories in the past year included its premium ranges, which enjoyed a 20 per cent year-on-year sales boost.

Sales of meat and fish climbed 23 per cent, while fresh produce and the supermarket's Exquisite wine range sales grew by 18 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

With sales swelling by 29 per cent in the past year, Aldi's Mamia nappies are now the UK-second biggest selling brand in the sector, according to the supermarket.

Branching out: In the next year, the supermarket plans to open 70 new stores across the UK

Recent data from Kantar Worldpanel reveals Aldi's market share stands at 6.2 per cent, compared to Tesco's 28.1 per cent and Lidl's 4.6 per cent.

Neil Wilson, an analyst at ETX Capital, said: 'Whats good news for Aldi is bad for the Big Four supermarkets  Sainsbury, Tesco, Morrison and Asda.

'And what will worry the boards of those firms the most is the loss of market share  Aldi is enticing more and more customers away from the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury.

'Its market share jumped to 6.2 per cent from 5.6 per cent in the 12 weeks to September 11.

'Profits dipped a little, but lower profits for Aldi simply highlights just how the industry is in the middle of a bitter price struggle that is crimping margins for all concerned.

'Aldi is benefiting from strong pricing and a focus on British sourced produce. Its a simple approach  good quality, low cost.
One says: 'She would attack people she didn't like', another says no other staff member would have survived the DWI conviction she had in 2011

Former company executives turn whistleblower to tell DailyMail.com of concerns she was a sexist and a bully

It says that Elena Ford spoke against Versata when it wanted to increase prices and the firm then started scheme to steal its intellectual property

Versata claims there was a scheme by Ford to take its

Elena Ford is a great-great granddaughter of Henry Ford, and vice-president of global dealer and

An heir to the Ford dynasty is being dragged in to a billion-dollar lawsuit lodged against the motor manufacturer, amid claims she is a bully and a sexist.

Elena Ford is accused, in the course of federal court papers, of playing a crucial role in the relationship between the company and a software manufacturer coming to an acrimonious end.

The billion-dollar case is being brought by Versata, who claim that after a long joint relationship, Ford ditched them and essentially stole their intellectual property.

In the wake of the case, which has been scheduled for trial in September 2017, a series of former senior Ford executives have told DailyMail.com of their concern at Elena Ford's role in the company and her personal management style.

Ford is VP of global dealer and consumer experience at Ford, the second largest American car manufacturer.

'Over a barrel': Elena Ford is accused in federal court papers of using the term about the company's relationship with a software firm which accuses Ford of stealing its intellectual property

Face of the company: As a member of the Ford dynasty, Elena Ford is a very public presence in the company. In 2013 she marked 150 years of his birth by riding the company's float in Detroit's Thanksgiving parade.

Hands on: Elean Ford was on hand in 2014 to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Mustang, which was introduced to the world by her grandfather, Henry Ford II, at the 1964 World's Fair in New York - where she marked half a century of the model

Although the Ford dynasty own only an estimated $1.2 billion of the $54 billion public value of the firm, they retain 40 per cent voting control of the company.

Several family members hold high ranking positions, including William Clay Ford Jr, who is executive chairman, and Edsel B. Ford II who is on the board of directors.

The case centers on whether Ford stole intellectual property - after Elena Ford said she did not want to do business with the company bringing the case.

The whistleblowers who spoke to DailyMail.com requested anonymity for fear of damaging future career prospects in the auto industry.

One former female manager said: 'Most people were afraid of her [Elena Ford], she was a bully, like a bull in a china shop. She made it clear all the time that she was a Ford and that her great-great-grandfather founded the company.'

In 2011, Ms Ford, 50, was given 24 months on probation after being found twice over the legal limit while driving her Ford Explorer with her 11-year-old son in the backseat.

Another former manager, who spent almost three decades at Ford, said: 'Two years later, she's promoted to vice-president. Anybody else at Ford would have been fired for that.'

Ms Ford features in court documents which are part of Ford's legal battle with a former partner, Versata.

The Texas-based software company, which once had a 'non-confrontational' relationship with Ford according one former executive, is suing the car-maker over allegations it secretly ripped off their patented 'Automotive Configuration Management' (ACM) software.

Arrest: This was Elena Ford when she was caught DWI with her 11-year-old son in the back of her Ford Explorer

In the court documents, seen by DailyMail.com, Versata claims that from 1998 on, its software saved Ford from hemorrhaging money as the car-maker's in-house process had 'caused repeated multi-million dollar vehicle recalls and manufacturing delays'.

A licensing deal was struck for the software in 2004 and Versata claims it gave Ford 'unrestricted access to trade secrets' because it believed the company would honor the contract.

Around 2011, Ford management became concerned about the company's reliance on Versata's software and balked at 'relatively modest price increases that Versata requested as part of license renewals', the lawsuit alleges.

'Ford vice president Elena Ford (who is also an influential shareholder within the company) expressed her distaste for Versata and told a colleague that Ford would not do business with Versata because Versata had allegedly "put Ford over a barrel",' the suit reads.

But Ford had nothing to replace Versata's ACM, the lawsuit claims, so the car-maker allegedly started a secret project to steal Versata's intellectual property, using at least 15 Ford employees who all knew how the software worked.

According to court documents: '...based on this pressure from upper management, Ford launched a program called 'Total Configuration Management' or 'TCM' to replicate the functionality of ACM and provide a complete replacement for ACM software.'

It does not suggest Ms Ford was behind the running of the alleged scheme.

In February 2015, two months after contract negotiations finally fell apart between the companies, Ford sued Versata in Detroit federal court, asking a judge to declare it was not infringing Versata's patented software. The case was sealed until the court ordered Ford to file it publicly, Versata claimed.

Ford then filed another complaint, unsealed, which claimed that the auto maker and Versata had developed the previous software together. They also said its new program was developed and patented solely by its own in-house engineers and asked for the court to say that it had not infringed on Versata's patents.

In July 2015, Versata sued Ford in a Texas court, claiming the automaker stole trade secrets and had reverse-engineered its software. Versata demanded the court block Ford's use of its software and award damages.

In a statement to DailyMail.com Ford said: 'After Versata declared its software "obsolete" in 2010, Ford developed replacement software that is faster and more robust.

'As stated in our complaint against Versata, Ford patented its replacement software, and does not use any Versata intellectual property.

'We are confident that we will ultimately prevail in this case and we look forward to presenting our evidence at trial.'

Asked for comment from Ms Ford, the company declined to provide any.

According to court documents, Ford claimed that it had used different technologies from Versata and had established a 'Chinese wall' system to separate out employees to work on their new system, who knew nothing of Versata's trade secrets. Versata dispute this assertion.

Founding father: Henry Ford, seen in front of one of his Model T cars which revolutionized motoring

Ex-staffers told DailyMail.com that working alongside members of the dynastic family was generally a harmonious experience but that Elena Ford was combative and difficult to challenge.

A former female manager said: 'There are several other Fords working [at Ford], who are very gracious and humble, but she has a completely different attitude.

'If you tried to leave her team and go interview inside the company, which is encouraged, she would call up that manager and threaten them.'

Another senior executive told Daily Mail Online that 'she was rapidly promoted without the skill-set to support the responsibilities, because of her position in the family'.

'Her nature is dominant. She would attack people she didn't like and who contradicted what she wanted to see happen,' he said.

'It's the perfect illustration of how the family power trumps anything. With that power, Elena was able to put the best people around her to protect her.'

He claimed that she was muddling through in her senior role on the back of her team's skills and hard work, and that he had witnessed her dropping in on meetings for around ten minutes just to show face.

'When you get to a position of manager that's high enough, you can put all the right people around you, let them do the work, sit back and take credit,' he said.

One staffer, who left the company in the last five years, said that working at Ford had been an overall enjoyable experience and spoke highly of other 'great, female managers'.

But she added: 'Elena did not like to work with females. Her tone would change when talking to men and some were on her favorite list. But then if you were the man who fell off that list for whatever reason, she would go out of her way...'

A female senior manager at Ford, who was considered a 'high potential' leader, believes Elena Ford played a role in derailing her successful career over a perceived slight.

She said that colleagues warned her that Ms Ford had taken a personal dislike to her and that it was putting her career in jeopardy.

She said: 'Any time Elena was threatened by somebody, they had to watch out. She was very powerful, without the rank and level in the company, just because she was a Ford. Her opinion meant much more than it should have.

'She was able to influence a lot of decisions about people all over the company contrary to what was usually an assessed, personnel development process.

'If you're not on Elena's good side, watch out.'

Despite being one of the top performers at Ford and having received numerous retention bonuses, the woman lost her job during a period of involuntary redundancy in 2008.

Amid the global financial crisis of 2008, Ford had a record loss of $14.6 billion, its worst year in more than a century in business.

Still at the top: The executive chairman of Ford is William Clay Ford Jr, the great-grandson of Henry Ford

Also in the firm: Edsell B Ford II, whose father Henry Ford II was Henry Ford's grandson, is a director of Ford

She said that her family life was put under a great deal of strain and that it took a long time to get back on her feet following the termination. She continues to work at a senior level in the auto industry.

The former employee said: 'I loved Ford and other senior family members at the company were nothing but professional. Elena is definitely not representative of the Ford family and I had a lot of exposure to the senior ranks in my years there.'

She added: 'I don't think she did anything to help other women at Ford which is sad because the industry is male-dominated and it can be tough for women.'

A senior manager, who spent much of his career at Ford before being terminated in 2008, said 'there was no doubt' that gender discrimination was taking place at the company and that he had witnessed it first-hand.

He claims that many former female execs at Ford were too intimidated to come forward.

'There were two camps: the camp that tried to get ahead by winning Elena's influence and support; and the camp that was objective enough to say this is completely wrong but it's the way of life here and try to work around it as best you can.'

Ms Ford would 'lambast' people over small issues, such as getting a drink order wrong, in front of a room full of executives, the female staffer said.

Colleagues would not defend each other as 'they were all scared  and what were they going to do?'

Accusation: One senior male ex-employee of Ford claimed of Elena Ford: 'I watched her use her family name and her power to force things with personnel and basically steamroll people who got in her way.'

The employee added: 'But at some point, it's just not worth the stress.'

Ms Ford had a ring of yes-men around herself, the former senior male employee told DailyMail.com.

'Elena ran with a circle of HR people and she was able to use her weight to influence personnel decisions and go into roles she didn't belong in.

'I watched her use her family name and her power to force things with personnel and basically steamroll people who got in her way.'

He also believes that the publicly-traded company was being damaged by what was going on behind closed doors.

'The bad part is that many, many good people were ran out of Ford Motor Company because they were the ones with values, because they stood by what they thought was a principled point of view and tried to do what was right for the business and right for our stockholders.'

He added: 'The company is traded publicly but the family have voting shares.

'They can basically determine who's going to be CEO and who's not going to be CEO.

'There are regular family meetings to make the decisions but even within the family there's fighting.

'At one point, Edsel was the heir-apparent and he was supposed to take over the throne as CEO and then he was passed over by his cousin, Bill Ford.'

Ford announced earlier this month that all of the company's small-car production would be leaving U.S. plants and heading to Mexico for cheaper prices over the next three years.

Versata is demanding punitive or exemplary damages 'to punish Ford and deter such future conduct by Ford and others'.

Lanny J. Davis, an attorney for Versata, said in a statement: 'We have overwhelming evidence that Ford stole our software, covered up the theft, and is trying to prevent the truth from coming out to the public. We have told them many times in the court and outside the court 'you can run but you can't hide'. The truth will come out.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have announced they are going to heal the world and make it a better place.

Like Michael Jackson. Except we all know those two dance like your dad.

Looking like two humanoids from a snazzy Artificial Intelligence launch, Zuckerberg and Chan announced their plan to 'cure, prevent or manage all human disease by the end of the century'.

Looking like two humanoids from an AI launch, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife announced last Tuesday their $3billion plan to 'cure, prevent or manage all human disease by the end of the century'

Not cancer, not the common cold; ALL diseases. Period.

They may need to cure my scepticism first. I wouldn't trust a guy with 365 identical grey t-shirts to cure a hangover. Or salmon. Let alone all the diseases known to man.

And of course he's not the first.

All these tech geeks, from whatever their starting point on the autistic spectrum, are competing to see who is the greatest of them all. Who will defeat their ultimate adversary, death, by being remembered for all time.

Bill and Melinda Gates have an admirable 15-year head start. Their charitable foundation is a highly sophisticated operation delivering on the vision to make the value of every life equal.

Bill Gates says he will rid the world of malaria and polio. He has a vision, realistic expectations  and a fully-funded plan in place to achieve them. He is truly a force for good.

Bill and Melinda Gates have a 15 year start on being remembered for all time. Their charity is a highly sophisticated operation and plans to rid the world of malaria and polio. There is a vision, realistic expectations and a fully -funded plan. He is truly a force for good

In contrast, the Facebook founder will devote three-quarters of his effort to heart disease, neurological disease and cancer. Diseases of the rich West, with the tech-based solutions coming from a bio-hub in Silicon Valley.

He and his wife have pledged $3billion (2.3 billion) for the effort over the next 10 years. Not a vast sum for the task ahead. Nor in comparison to the numerous other institutes already spending big to make a difference.

The National Institutes of Health, which funds much of the same basic biomedical research that Zuckerberg and Chan's new initiative will, spends 10 times that much every year  and there is still plenty of disease to go around.

But I am guessing supporting the work of others wouldn't make headlines. Or set Zuckerberg up as a new Jesus, this geek with a God delusion.

Zuckerberg  and Gates  are not alone in this mania to be Master of the Universe. The man who wrote a brief history of it, Stephen Hawking, announced in July 2015 a $100 million project called Breakthrough Listen to search for alien life-form in space.

He said, 'In an infinite universe, there must be other life. There is no bigger question. It is time to commit to finding the answer.'

I'd argue there are bigger questions currently needing more urgent attention. Like when are we going to trigger Article 50? And if Black Lives Matter why are all the protesters in the UK posh and white? Or why do they still make coffee-flavoured Revels?

I digress.

Recently Hawking has warned of the dangers of aliens invading our planet. He said they could be like Native Americans encountering Columbus.

Yuri Milner will invest $100 million to send a fleet of aircraft to Alpha Centauri propelled by light itself. Stephen Hawking announced last year a $100 million project to search for alien life-form in space

Which rather begs the question: why are we spending $100 million looking for the little blighters?

'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet,' he told The Times of London in 2010. 'I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach.'

I don't want to sound hideously reasonable and emotionally intelligent, but what exactly is the point of listening to something you don't want to hear? It's the human equivalent of me ringing my mother-in-law.

Not content with listening for aliens who might want to end mankind, Russian tech mogul Yuri Milner (just call me Jedi) will invest a further $100 million to send a fleet of aircraft to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own solar system. These space ships won't be propelled by a rocket, but by light itself.

Ah, but of course. Star Wars: The Light Years. It virtually writes itself.

Which of course is all good and lovely, except most uber-drivers here on Planet Earth can't even find their way around London without detouring via Milton Keynes. And Malaysian Airlines flight 370 is still missing in the relatively small confines of the Indian Ocean.

Perhaps we could look for that as a priority, before looking for angry Martians in space?

And before we send a fleet of aircraft to Alpha Centauri, perhaps we could sort a few problems closer to our own door  or our own cosmos, at least. Like how to get a fleet of Eddie Stobart trucks to Calais and back without drivers getting beaten up by migrants.

Meanwhile billionaire PayPal founder Elon Musk, my secret nerd crush, is outdoing them all and wants to man on Mars to live and work

Just to outdo the lot of them, billionaire PayPal founder Elon Musk takes to the stage in Mexico on 27 September to give a talk entitled 'Making Humans an Interplanetary Species'. Unmissable stuff.

He founded Space Exploration Technologies Corps 15 years ago with the express intention of putting men on Mars to live and work.

He has already done the impossible. Repeatedly. He masterminded and funded launching a rocket into space and then landing the 14-storey-tall booster on a floating drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Because he could.

Elon is my secret nerd-crush. He makes the impossible possible. Dreams a reality. He makes me believe we can do anything if we work hard enough. And there is even a heart in there somewhere: he hasn't ruled out remarrying his wife for a third time because, despite him being impossible to live with, she is impossible to live without.

Elon will land a man on Mars. He will make us an interplanetary species. Because he can.

But I look at these boys with brains for toys, and wonder: just because we can, does it mean we should?

Zuckerberg's vanity project to be the new Jesus is just the latest example of rich geeks with a god delusion

Look at Zuckerberg and his vanity project to be the new Jesus  curing the rich sick with Chan, his A.I. humanoid wife beside him. Stephen Hawking listening to aliens he says we should be afraid to hear, when he can't even talk himself. Yuri Milner, sending his own fleet of space ships into another star system, playing real-life space-invaders. And Elon Musk, set on colonising Mars when Earth is starting to look a bit shabby.
One tourist has been killed and another 11 - including six children - have been injured after a bus full of Chinese students crashed at Yosemite.

The charter bus had been returning to Fresno from the national park when it hit a tree on Highway 41 north of Oakhurst, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The highway patrol says 22 people were on the bus that crashed Saturday near the tiny village of Fish Camp.

One tourist has been killed and another 11 - including six children - have been injured after a bus full of Chinese students crashed at Yosemite

Most were 12 to 15-year-old Chinese students and their adult chaperones.

The driver, a 53-year-old man from Alhambra in Los Angeles County, suffered moderate injuries in the smash on Saturday, the Fresno Bee reports. He was released from hospital yesterday.

Four passengers suffered serious injuries, and another six were left with moderate to minor injuries.

Emergency helicopters had responded after the smash and injured passengers were flown out to Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno and Valley Childrens Hospital in Madera County.

Highway patrol says the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

The highway patrol says 22 people were on the bus that crashed Saturday near the tiny village of Fish Camp (police at the scene of the crash)

Four passengers suffered serious injuries, and another six were left with moderate to minor injuries following the crash

But an initial probe found that the driver had been traveling down the mountain road at between 35mph and 40 mph when he entered a corner at a unsafe speed.

The lost control of the vehicle which had veered to the side of the road, hitting a tree.

The bus was equipped with seat-belts, and the passenger who was killed, whose name is not yet being released, was wearing one at the time. They had been rushed to hospital with serious injuries where they later died.

Seven passengers, all aged 13 except for one aged 12, have since been released from hospital.

Hospital emergency room staff had thrown the youngsters, who were visiting the area from China, a pizza party before they were released.
Shreveport police are investigating posts to a large neighborhood watch group suggesting recent car break-ins are reason to watch young, black men or teens, and even for so-called 'vigilante justice'.

Police confirmed on Thursday that they're investigating some of the posts made to the Facebook page called 'Broadmoor Neighbors in Shreveport,' The Times reported.

The page's co-administrator, James Richard, said administrators deleted some posts for breaking rules against abusive or inflammatory comments to the group, which has nearly 2,700 members.

Police confirmed on Thursday that they're investigating some of the posts made to the Facebook page called 'Broadmoor Neighbors in Shreveport'

He said others were removed because responses broke the rules.

'I hope people will learn from this situation,' he said. 'Words typed on social media can have consequences in the real world.'

One member was blocked from the group for making 'blatantly racist' comments, he said. 'Unfortunately, we all must live with the vile words that he spewed.'

The newspaper said it received screenshots of parts of some posts, but was unable to reach the people who wrote them.

It quoted one comment under a woman's name: 'I volunteer for the vigilante justice force!'

A comment on the page, KTAL reported, said: 'I just spent 20 mins following two black males, early 20s. Both on bikes looping up and down almost every block from Albert to Pennsylvania.

'The police finally caught up ad stopped them but of course it's not illegal to scope a neighborhood.'

Another comment, according to the station, said: 'Superman he is not.. but [person's name] is akin to chuck Norris and is tactically trained to place bullets between the eyes at will...'

KTAL reported that a commenter replied in part: 'Awesome for him. Can I borrow him tonight? I am going to drive the entire area, Broadmore and South highland and water side all night until I find thugs.

'I'd love to have some backup but I'll drive alone if I have to.'

Shreveport police are investigating posts to a large neighborhood watch group suggesting recent car break-ins are reason to watch young, black men or teens, and even for so-called 'vigilante justice' (file)

Caddo Parish Commissioner Steven Jackson (Caddo District 3) told the TV station: 'Individuals who feel that they have to go and take matters into their own hands.

'They need to realize that they're breaking the law.

'It is against the law for you to stalk and harass somebody unwarranted. If you feel somebody or you see suspicious activity, report it.'

Fabian and Darcel Moreno of Shreveport told The Times that they and two other residents met Thursday with police.

Dercel Moreno said she also had posted messages to the group noting that her sons fit a broad description of a perceived target for suspicion, and that she was worried by the stereotyping and suggestions of vigilantism.

She said she went to police because 'I wanted them to do something  people can't play police officers.'

Her husband said police told them that the situation already was being investigated.

Shreveport police spokesman Cpl. Marcus Hines told The Times: 'Be wary of what you see on social media websites as it pertains to crime and criminal activity.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council announced a change to the rules in June

A hospital trust has introduced new exam rules for foreign nurses after fewer than one in 20 passed the test

The English exams are a safeguard to ensure patients are protected from staff who may not fully understand what they are saying or communicate properly.

In June the Nursing and Midwifery Council changed the guidelines to make the system easier.

Now an NHS hospital trust has taken advantage of the new rules.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust was prompted to try the new measures after just eight out of 220 Filipino nurses passed the exam.

Cannock Chase Hospital in the West Midlands is one of two hospitals under the Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which has taken advantage of the new rules

They have now launched a recruitment drive for foreign nurses to meet a staffing crisis.

Bosses at the trust - which manages New Cross Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital in the West Midlands - blamed the painful International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for the crippling shortage of nurses.

This came after only four per cent of foreign nurses achieved the minimum score of seven out of nine across five separate tests.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council said in June it would allow hopefuls to resit the test within six months.

Nurses will still pass if they achieve a score of seven over the two separate exams.

Linda Holland, human resources director for the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: Converting offers we have made into nurses working at the trust is proving to be a painful and protracted process - the main issue being the IELTS.

But Miss Holland insists the new lax tests will not affect the standard of nursing.

There could also be more foreign nurses at New Cross Hospital after just eight of 220 Filipino nurses passed the test

She added: This is the sort of evidence the NMC hasnt seen before and we brought up the fact nurses are having to sit the test multiple times.

We would never compromise patient safety in any way.

The IELTS, the most widely used English language test in the world, is also used to ensure foreign doctors are also proficient in English.

This also applies to doctors coming from EU countries outside the UK  but as the Daily Mail reported on Saturday, the test is not considered enough, as EU doctors are assumed to be just as competent as British trained doctors.
Residents wading into rising waters risk being bitten by snakes, as the worst flooding in a generation is set to get worse in the next week.

Central western New South Wales has been hit by widespread flooding, and residents should prepare for 'a long flood' over the next few weeks.

Paul Newcombe, a snake catcher in Forbes where 1000 people were evacuated and 100 homes damaged, warned people to avoid going into the water.

Scroll down for video

Residents wading into rising waters risk being bitten by snakes, as the worst flooding in a generation is set to get worse in the next week

Drone footage reveals just how much of Forbes has been left under water, with many backyards completely submerged

Dramatic scenes have revealed the extent of the devastating flood caused by the heavy rain and wild weather

He said he had caught 14 venomous snakes since the floods began, including several in the waters outside his house.

Theyve been dormant through the winter but the flood has washed them out of their hiding places so now they are swimming around, he said.

Mr Newcombe said snakes hated the cold floodwaters and were swimming through them to find warmer areas, and anyone wading through them could be bitten.

Paul Newcombe (pictured), a snake catcher in Forbes where 1000 people were evacuated and 100 homes damaged, warned people to avoid going into the water

Mr Newcombe said snakes hated the cold floodwaters and were swimming through them to find warmer areas, and anyone wading through them could be bitten

A snake swimming in floodwaters near Forbes

He said he had caught 14 venomous snakes since the floods began, including several in the waters outside his house

Mr Newcombe holds a snake he caught on Monday

If you get between a snake and where its going you could definitely be bitten, and if youre wading around you could step on one.

If you see one, give it a wide berth  but be aware they can submerge themselves in the water and you wont always see them. Stay out of the water if you can.

The Lachlan River reached 10.65m at Forbes overnight on Sunday, surpassing the 1990s floods, but the worst is yet to come.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts a second, higher peak next week near Condobolin and Euabalong.

Farmers in flood-affected areas are nervously waiting to see how much damage has been done to crops once waters recede

'This will be a rolling cycle of flooding through communities in the Central West part of that state as rain comes in again later this week,' State Emergency Service [SES] acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Morrow told the Seven Network.

Forbes SES controller Rocky Walshaw said the flood was unusual and it was difficult to predict when it would subside.

'This water will stay here for a fair while at this level, it will slowly go down, but it will be a long flood,' Mr Walshaw told ABC TV on Monday.

'There is so much water around, it is dropping, but the level of water will keep it at a moderate flood level for a fair while.'

As residents brace for the worst flooding in 25 years, footage shows the true extent of the damage caused by the heavy rain

Farmers in flood-affected areas are nervously waiting to see how much damage has been done to crops once waters recede

More than 100 properties in Forbes in central-western NSW are damaged, with the peak expected to hit on Monday

Incredible drone footage has revealed the devastating floods after torrential rain swept through a rural town

The flood is expected to be the worst to hit the central-western region of NSW since 132 houses were damaged in 1990

Incredible drone footage has revealed the devastating floods after torrential rain swept through a rural town

However, he said water from the lagoon was still rising and coming into town.

'The concern is with the unknown - how much water will come up. I don't believe it will come up a great deal, but we don't know exactly because it is still rising slowly,' he said.

Since the rain began on August 30, the SES has received 2343 calls for assistance and made 96 flood rescues.

No people needed rescuing on Sunday but volunteers were kept busy saving horses, cattle and sheep at properties expected to be impacted.

Condobolin downstream is expected to be the next major town affected.

The ADF, NSWFRS, RFS and SES have been flat-out at nearby Condobolin, building barricades with sandbags as they wait for the water to arrive.

Condobolin (pictured) downstream is expected to be the next major town affected by the flooding

Authorities have been flat-out at nearby Condobolin, building barricades with sandbags as they wait for the water to arrive

It's likely authorities will be busy in the area for another few weeks, SES spokeswoman Sue Pritchard told AAP.

More rain is due on Wednesday and Thursday and it's likely residents won't be able to return home for between three to five days, depending on river peaks and rainfall, Ms Pritchard said.

Farmers in flood-affected regions are nervously waiting to see how much damage has been done to crops once the waters recede, a NSW Farmers spokesman said.

To date more than 2000 sheep and more than 1000 head of cattle have been moved to higher ground.

The flooding may also cause problems with power and sewage for several days.

Rising floodwaters expected to inundate two rural NSW towns may cause problems with power and sewage for several days

About 1,000 people in Forbes were ordered to evacuate on Saturday while residents at Condobolin remain on stand-by

Dramatic scenes has revealed the extent of the devastating flood caused by the heavy rain and wild weather

Drone footage reveals just how much of Forbes has been left under water, with many backyards completely submerged

As residents brace for the worst flooding in 25 years, footage shows the true extent of the damage caused by the heavy rain

The flood is expected to be the worst to hit the central-western region of NSW since 132 houses were damaged in 1990

No people needed rescuing on Sunday but volunteers were kept busy saving horses, cattle and sheep at properties expected to be impacted

More rain is due on Wednesday and Thursday and it's likely residents won't be able to return home for between three to five days, depending on river peaks and rainfall

NSW Premier Mike Baird visits flood-affected areas in Forbes on Monday

He met with SES volunteers who have been working to help flooded residents
Presidential debate will be at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York

Photos show that Clinton's and Trump's podiums are of different sizes

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will have podiums of different sizes during their first presidential debate on Monday as new opinion polls put the bitter rivals neck and neck.

The two nominees will debate for 90 minutes straight on Monday starting at 9pm ET, with no commercial break. The event will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, with NBC News' Lester Holt as a moderator.

Reports previously claimed that Clinton's campaign had requested a custom-made podium to make up for the difference in height between the two nominees.

Clinton is 5'4" and Trump is 6'2". Her campaign first asked that she debate on a step-stool so as not to appear smaller than Trump, according to The Drudge Report.

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Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will have podiums of different sizes during Monday's debate. One of them is bigger than the other, as shown in this picture shared by reporter Rita Cosby

It is unclear which podium will go to which candidate (one of them is pictured). Cosby added on Twitter that she had been told that plywood had been added

Two students stood in as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the last preparations for the presidential debate on Sunday in Hempstead, New York

Clinton is 5'4" and Trump is 6'2". Her campaign reportedly first asked that she debate on a step-stool so as not to appear smaller than Trump

But the presidential debate commission rejected the request and instead allowed Clinton to have a custom-made podium, the website reported.

Photos shared by WABC reporter Rita Cosby on Sunday appear to show that the two podiums are of different sizes.

It is unclear which podium is destined to which candidate. But it would make sense for Clinton to use the smaller podium, which seems more adequate for a shorter person.

The debate is seen as crucial in deciding the outcome of November's crucial election.

Tens of millions of people are expected to tune into the 90-minute showdown when it kicks off at 9pm.

The contrast between the two candidates on the stage will be fascinating, with Clinton, who has more than 40 years of public service behind her as well as a stint as secretary of state, to the billionaire reality TV star.

The debate is being held one day after a Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that Clinton's slim advantage over Trump from last month has evaporated.

She is tied with Trump at 41 percent among registered voters, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson at seven percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at two per cent, according to the poll.

In a two-way match-up, Trump and Clinton were even at 46 per cent of registered voters. The survey showed a statistical tie among likely voters as well.

Jeb Bush also seemed preoccupied with his height in September last year, when he was spotted standing on his tip toes while posing with his fellow Republican candidates

The debate will begin at 9 pm ET on Monday and will last for 90 minutes straight. Pictured, two Hofstra University students walk on stage Sunday

Monday's debate will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes, which will focus on major topics selected by Holt. Pictured are Sunday's preparations

Many analysts say debates usually don't win candidates the election but can well lose it for them. A single sentence or the slightest slip can do serious damage.

Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine said: 'I think this thing will be close right up until the end. We have to make our case every day. The debates are a great way to do that.'

The Clinton campaign, which hopes its candidate becomes the first female president in US history, expressed concern Sunday over a double standard, with a number of experts saying the bar has been raised higher for Clinton.

NBC News' Lester Holt will moderate Monday's first presidential debate. His stand-in was pictured next to Trump's and Clinton's replacements Sunday

Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook said: 'It's unfair to ask that Hillary Clinton both play traffic cop with Trump, make sure that his lies are corrected, and also to present her vision for what she wants to do for the American people.'

The Clinton team is concerned that the moderator, Lester Holt of NBC, will toss simpler 'softball' questions in Trump's direction while pressing Clinton with a much more challenging interrogation.

Mook said: 'All that we're asking is that if Donald Trump lies, that it's pointed out.'

But Trump has already stated that he does not believe Holt's purpose as moderator is to police each candidate.

Debate mind games were also on display as Trump threatened to invite Gennifer Flowers, a former lover of Bill Clinton, to watch the high-stakes battle from a front-row seat.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said it was meant to show the New York billionaire had ways 'to get inside the head of Hillary Clinton' but she told CNN there were no plans to actually invite Flowers.

Nine per cent of voters by some estimates still don't know who to cast their ballot for, after a long campaign in which bitter attacks have often replaced talk of substance.

And this year has been like none in the past, with Trump using social media around the clock in combative fashion, while often making mistakes, misstatements and blunders that do not seem to trouble his base.

Ahead of the debates Clinton has been cloistered with aides and her papers at home in Chappaqua, north of New York, even practicing with relatives playing Trump.

She has been focusing on his psychological profile, with a goal to get Trump to crack, to show that he can't control himself and lacks the even-handed temperament a president needs.

ABC, CBS, C-Span, NBC, Fox, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Univision will broadcast the debate. Pictured, a technician makes adjustments on Sunday

Trumps stand-in, a male student from Hostra University, where the debate will take place, sported a ponytail and a dark suit with a red tie - one of Trump's signature outfits

If he reacts by attacking, Trump risks losing votes from women; he already has a harder time with women voters, and they make up 53 percent of those who turn out.

Trump in turn says his debate practice is 'going very well', trying to at least appear relaxed. Amid preparations, he has continued with campaign rallies, including Saturday night in Roanoke, Virginia.

On Sunday both candidates met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump later issued a statement pledging to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's 'undivided capital' if elected.

Clinton, making her second presidential bid, is an old hand at debates and considered solid - so in some ways, she may have more to lose.

Some 88 per cent of Americans say they believe she is smart, but in the latest poll 66 per cent said they do not find her honest.

In addition, Clinton's image has been sullied by Trump attacks over her email scandal, the Clinton Foundation's alleged pay-to-play donations, and her ties to Wall Street.

The debate's topics have been announced as 'America's direction', 'achieving prosperity' and 'securing America'. Pictured, workers install the set on Saturday

Some 57 per cent have a negative opinion of Clinton who they see as cerebral, distant or cold. Trump's negative numbers are virtually identical.

The DailyMail.com has reached out to Clinton's campaign to clarify whether her podium will be different from Trump's.

'Her team wanted the podium modified or a box added so she won't look short next to Trump,' Cosby told the New York Daily News.

'One is clearly larger than the other.'

Cosby added on Twitter that she had been told that plywood had been added.

ABC, CBS, C-Span, NBC, Fox, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Univision will broadcast the debate. There will also be several live-streams online, including on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Both nominees met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York City Sunday as the debate preparations wrapped up.

And two new polls raised the stakes for the first presidential debate  with Clinton and Trump locked in a virtual tie and one-third of likely voters saying the face-off could determine their choice.

Students from Hofstra University were pictured on the debate stage, with a male student behind Trump's podium and a female student's behind Clinton's podium.

Trump's stand-in, a young man with a ponytail, wore a black suit with a red tie - an outfit that Trump has worn many times on the campaign trail.

The student was pictured raising his right index finger while talking on Sunday, as if to mimic one of Trump's signature moves.

Clinton's stand-in wore a black pantsuit and appeared to rest her hands on the podium while talking.

Trump and Clinton both devoted part of the last day before the debate to meeting Netanyahu, who was in New York City for the United Nations' General Assembly.

Trump and Clinton both devoted part of the last day before the debate to meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump is pictured shaking his hand Sunday at Trump Tower

Netanyahu met the GOP nominee at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Sunday morning and the two spoke for nearly 90 minutes about military assistance, security and regional stability, according to Israeli and campaign officials.

'Mr Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel,' his campaign said.

Clinton met Netanyahu in the evening at the W Hotel in Union Square according to ABC News. They spoke for about 50 minutes.

She expressed her commitment to the US-Israel alliance and pledged to work with Israel to enforce and implement the nuclear deal with Iran and to fight terrorism.

Clinton and Netanyahu also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and she expressed her support for a two-state solution.

Trump established himself as an unpredictable debater during the primary season, calling out other candidates when they rolled out prepared answers and making abundant use of nicknames he had made up for his adversaries.
A man was shot dead by a stranger while drinking his coffee in a busy Starbucks, after the suspect's card was declined.

Police said that the gunman threatened to shoot random customers and fired off shots in the air inside the busy cafe before having a confrontation with a regular in the Las Vegas store.

It happened after the suspect, believed to be a Hispanic man in his thirties, became agitated when his card was declined in the drive-through at around 11.30am yesterday.

A SWAT team was called in when a man was shot dead while drinking his coffee in a busy Starbucks after the suspect's card was declined

Police said that the gunman threatened to shoot random customers and fired off shots in the air inside the busy cafe before having a confrontation with a regular in the the Las Vegas store

It happened after the customer, believed to be a Hispanic man in his thirties, became agitated when his card was declined in the drive-through at around 11.30am yesterday

Staff gave him the water he had requested but he parked his car outside a nearby branch of Bank of America then went into the Starbucks and started shooting.

Police Lieutenant Dan McGrath said that the suspect has a violent history and should not have been in possession of a handgun.

He confirmed that the victim, a man in his forties who has not yet been named, did not know the suspect.

The suspect, who called the dispatch office and gave fake descriptions of himself, was initially evacuated with the crowd of customers but was later taken into custody.

Police at first thought it was a hostage situation and afterwards were forced to call in explosives experts after the suspect allegedly said there was a bomb inside.

A backpack was found in the doorway to the Starbucks but officers checked it and later deemed it to be safe.

Police Lieutenant Dan McGrath (pictured) said that the suspect has a violent history and should not have been in possession of a handgun

Customers in businesses all around the Starbucks were evacuated, forcing dozens to hide in back rooms for more than an hour as the area became a crime scene

Customers in businesses all around the Starbucks were evacuated, forcing dozens to hide in back rooms for more than an hour as the area became a crime scene.

Amber Plourde, who getting her nails done at the time, said she saw a young man covered in blood after the victim was taken to a nearby hospital where he died.

'There was a man, young man, who must have helped the victim, sitting on a curb with blood on him, and he was obviously in shock and that really upset me and hit home,' she told 3LV.
Australia's top counter-terrorism officer has warned that police will face a huge struggle to jail jihadi fighters returning to the country.

Islamic State terrorists may never be brought to justice because of the difficulties in obtaining evidence from overseas, the Australian Federal Police's Mike Phelan has told The Australian.

ASIO estimates that 110 Australians are engaged in the fighting in Syria and that many could be returning as Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria begin to fail due to sustained military pressure.

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Islamic State terrorists may never be brought to justice according to the Australian Federal Police's Mike Phelan

However, despite the fact that Mr Phelan had officers working solely to put together criminal briefs on foreign fighters, the difficulties in gathering evidence from overseas would mean many will escape prosecution and jail.

'The AFP's preferred option when anybody comes back that's been fighting in theatre or supporting terrorist organisations in the Middle East is to prosecute them,' Mr Phelan said.

'But the practical realities of that are, though, we may not be in a position to prosecute everybody that comes home due to the lack of admissible evidence that we can use in Australian courts.'

It was revealed that only a fraction of the information accrued by international intelligence-sharing arrangements can be used by police in court in Australia.

Mohammad Ali Baryalei, from western Sydney, is regarded as Australia's highest-ranking IS member and is believed to have recruited up to 30 Australians fighting in the Middle East

The children of notorious Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf (right) were also taken into Syria

Jihadi bride Zehra Duman, 21, from Melbourne is still alive and helping recruit more terrorists in Syria

Mr Phelan said much of the evidence could be used in open court

The main problem is that the highly sensitive nature of the intelligence gathered by agencies such as the CIA or the British secret services means that it cannot in most cases be used in Australian courts.

Governments have already made clear that any information generated by their secret service departments could not be discussed in open court and so could not be used in a criminal prosecution.

'We may very well know or strongly believe, based on intelligence, where somewhere has been, what they've been doing and who they've been with,' Mr Phelan said. 'But that does not necessarily mean I can use that information here in a court of law in Australia.'

With the so-called caliphate on its heels, the estimated 110 Australian fighting in in Iraq and Syria will be looking to return home

The Australian also reported that authorities were also preparing for the potential return of dozens of Australian children caught up in the Syrian conflict, like the children of notorious Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf who were taken into Syria by jihadist parents.

News reports are conflicting on whether Sharrouf and the likes of Islamic State fighter Mohammad Ali Baryalei, from western Sydney, are still alive and fighting in Syria.

Baryalei is regarded as Australia's highest-ranking IS member and is believed to have recruited up to 30 Australians fighting in the Middle East.
Pranksters caught mooning and streaking could now be jailed for up to six months in an overhaul of Victorian sex crimes.

Changes to the criminal code make bearing even a little cheek punishable by two months jail and up to three times that for repeat offenders.

While they have always been illegal, they have long been considered a harmless pranks and childhood rites of passage.

Pranksters caught mooning and streaking could now be jailed for up to six months in an overhaul of Victorian sex crimes

While they have always been illegal, mooning and streaking are now specifically mentioned in the code as examples of 'indecent, offensive or insulting' behaviour

Mooning and streaking are now specifically mentioned in the code as examples of 'indecent, offensive or insulting' behaviour.

Similar acts like skinny dipping and the increasingly popular practice of stripping off on mountaintops would also likely attract a harsh sentence.

Pranksters need not be pulling their pants all the way down either, as the changes say exposing themselves 'to any extent' is an offence.

Such acts are classed as 'non-sexual' and attract much lower penalties than the two years for sexual acts in public.

The changes are part of an overhaul of sex crimes that updates more than 50 offences under a bill passed in June.

Attorney General Martin Pakula said it would keep Victorians safe and protect children from abuse.

Though such pranks may be considered indecent in Australia, in 2006 an American judge ruled mooning was a form of artistic expression.

'If exposure of half of the buttocks constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach  would be guilty,' he said.

Similar acts like skinny dipping and the increasingly popular practice of stripping off on mountaintops would also likely attract a harsh sentence
Militant junior doctors reacted with fury yesterday after a series of planned five-day strikes was called off.

The industrial action planned for October, November and December was suspended after junior doctors leaders acknowledged waning support from the public and misgivings from many medics over patient safety.

The move was welcomed by patients groups and the Department of Health but hard-line members of the British Medical Association said they felt abandoned by their leaders and called for tougher action.

The industrial action planned for October, November and December was suspended after junior doctors leaders acknowledged waning support from the public

One suggested a Momentum-style group  a reference to the Left-wing Labour Party campaign group - could take over the junior doctors committee of the BMA and its negotiations with the Government over the imposition of new contracts.

Writing on a social media forum about the contract dispute, Kamran Abid said the current junior doctors leaders had shown spineless incompetence and called on them to resign.

Alternately, Dr Abid suggested starting a new union or a Momentum-style group to overtake and utilise the mechanisms available to the current BMA. A kind of union-within-a-union.

Dr Ellen McCourt, chair of the committee, said the strikes were suspended in light of feedback from doctors, patients and the public, and following a passionate, thoughtful and wide-ranging debate amongst junior doctors.

She said a range of other actions were being planned to resist the new contracts, saying: Our fight does not end here.

Dr Ellen McCourt, chair of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said the strikes were suspended in light of feedback from doctors, patients and the public

Dr McCourt, 32, said: We still oppose the imposition of the contract and are now planning a range of other actions in order to resist it, but patient safety is doctors primary concern and so it is right that we listen and respond to concerns about the ability of the NHS to maintain a safe service.

Doctors are angry about changes that would increase basic salary but reduce weekend pay, as part of the Governments pledge to provide a seven-day NHS.

The three planned walkouts would have meant the cancellation of around 100,000 operations and delays to a million hospital appointments.

Recent polls found junior doctors risked losing public support if they went ahead with the five-day strikes, following warnings from senior doctors and the General Medical Council that they risked patient safety.

Six shorter strikes have already taken place during the lengthy dispute, causing disruption to hundreds of thousands of patients.

Dr McCourt faced personal criticism from medics writing on the junior doctors contract forum on Facebook.

Dr McCourt faced personal criticism from medics writing on the junior doctors contract forum on Facebook

One, Gareth Martel, wrote: You and your colleagues are an absolute disgrace and have abandoned a whole generation of trainees, crippled the BMA for any sort of future negotiations and guaranteed a real downturn in future applications for medicine.

If you have any integrity you will do the right thing and resign, allowing someone else to try to rebuild.

Other doctors on the forum welcomed the decision to call off the strikes.

Ian Rudd wrote: The sensible majority of junior doctors are not prepared to engage in prolonged strike action without any prospect of this leading to an improvement to the contract that is on the table.

Elsewhere, Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: We are delighted that the BMA have listened to the fears of patients and the public and called off the planned industrial action.

The move was welcomed by patients groups and the Department of Health but hard-line members of the BMA said they felt abandoned by their leaders and called for tougher action

It will be a huge relief to thousands of patients who have been worrying about when their surgery or hospital appointment would be re-arranged, in light of the strikes announced last month.

She added: I hope that the Department of Health show willingness to meet with the BMA and do what they can to address doctors working conditions and respond to their concerns around patient safety.

Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: The country can be proud of the junior doctors mature, compassionate and principled determination during this damaging dispute.
A teenage boy has been attacked by a 3.5 metre great white shark while surfing at a beach in Ballina on the first day of the school holidays.

Cooper Allen, 17, made his way out of the water at Lighthouse Beach, in Ballina, south of Byron Bay, after being mauled by a shark just before 9am on Monday.

The shark latched on to Mr Allen's right upper thigh, leaving him with deep lacerations to his leg and torso, but local lifesavers claim the surfer got lucky as his board took the 'brunt of the attack'.

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Cooper Allen, 17, was mauled by a shark while he was surfing with friends on Monday

'The prime attack was on the board, so it took the brunt,' president of the Ballina Lighthouse and Lismore Surf Lifesaving club Craig Nolan told the ABC .

He said Mr Allen and his friends were just beyond the break, near the North Wall, when a shark, believed to be a great white, lunged for his board as up to 40 swimmers enjoyed the sunny conditions on the first day of the school holidays.

Mr Allen told his friends not to contact his mother and only rated the pain as a 'two out of ten' as he was treated on the scene by off-duty nurses before paramedics rushed him to Lismore Base Hospital.

'He said, 'you can call my dad, but don't tell mum yet',' surfer Dan Webber told The Australian.

A three-and-a-half metre great white shark (pictured) was spotted in the area shortly after the attack

The 17-year-old made his own way out of the water at Lighthouse Beach, in Ballina, south of Byron Bay, after the attack and was treated by an off-duty nurse before paramedics arrived

Mr Webber said he was about to join the young surfer and was only around five metres away when the attack took place.

'He's just swimming backwards away from it. I think it [the shark] was tangled up in his legrope. I saw the dorsal and the tail fin thrashing around,' he said adding the shark was a 'massive f**king thing'.

'There wasn't much blood but his thigh was split open in four places with massive gashes about 10 centimetres long ,' he said, according to the Courier Mail.

'They were four really clean but really deep slices.'

A spokesperson for Lismore Hospital said Mr Allen was in a stable condition and luckily escaped the attack only needing stitches.

A local said Mr Allen was quite a good surfer and would often paddle out with friends around Lighthouse Beach.

A local said Mr Allen was quite a good surfer and would often paddle out with friends around Lighthouse Beach

'He's a happy kid and didn't deserve this to happen to him,' a local surfer said

'He's a happy kid and didn't deserve this to happen to him,' told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'He always says hello and is always in the water,' the man added.

Mr Allen, a HSC student, was friends with 41-year-old Tadashi Nakahara, who bled to death after being attacked by a shark at nearby Shelly Beach in 2015, and had opposed plans to build an eco-friendly shark net in the area to protect swimmers.

'We still go out there without the net, at our own choice. I don't think there is any need for it,' he told the Australian last year.

The New South Wales State Government recently abandoned its plans to build the 700 metre shark barrier as rough conditions made it too risky for divers to enter the water.

Ballina Mayor David Wright, who fears the attack could discourage tourists from visiting the coastal town, said he felt 'sick in the stomach' after learning of the attack which left Mr Allen with three or four lacerations across his legs.

Lifesavers on jet skis have pushed a 3.5 metre great white back out to sea after it was spotted by the Department of Primary Industries aerial team

Beaches in the area have been closed for 24 hours, with lifesavers continuing to patrol on jet skis

'A great white came up behind one of the surfers, bit into the back of his board across the fins and the top jaw came across the surfer's leg,' he told the ABC.

He said Mr Allen was surfing with friends at the time of the terrifying encounter.

'Hopefully the young surfer will be OK but his mates will need someone to talk to,' Mr Wright said.

'It's not an experience people would like to go through, I also feel for the surf lifesavers, they only raised the flags on Saturday,' he added.

Inspector Nicole Bruce said it is not yet known what type of shark was involved in the attack, but there had been a great white shark sighting in the area on Monday, the ABC reported.

'There has been [a] sighting of a great white, a four-metre shark, further off the shore but no-one actually saw which shark it was that's bitten him,' she said.

Inspector Bruce said the surfer's injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

'Obviously, with a shark wound, they're always quite severe,' she said, adding that Mr Allen was helped out of the water by friends.

Surf Life Saving NSW have confirmed the attack and said all beaches in the area have been closed for safety reasons

Lighthouse Beach, in Ballina, south of the Gold Coast, is a popular spot for surfers

Lifesavers on jet skis pushed a 3.5 metre great white back out to sea after it was spotted by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) aerial team close to where Mr Allen was attacked.

Police have collected his board and it will be assessed by DPI to determine which type of shark was involved.

Daily Mail Australia have contacted the Department for comment.

Surf Life Saving NSW have confirmed the attack and said all beaches in the area have been closed for safety reasons.

'All Ballina Shire beaches are closed after a shark attack at Lighthouse Beach. Please stay away from the area until further notice,' Surf Life Saving NSW said.

Professional surfer Sam Morgan suffered injuries to his upper left thigh when a bull shark bit him while he was surfing at Lighthouse Beach on November 10, 2015.

They recommend swimmers stay away from the area for at least 24 hours
A spokeswoman has said he speaks Arabic so he is not 'misinterpreted'

He has previously come under fire for not speaking English in public

The Grand Mufti has been criticised for using an interpreter to say Australians were wrong to think Muslims do not integrate.

The nation's Islamic leader, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, spoke at a media conference last week following a controversial poll which revealed almost half of all Australians supported Pauline Hanson's policy of banning Muslim immigration.

Dr Mohamed, who is Australia's most prominent Muslim cleric and has lived in the country for 19 years, was filmed speaking in Arabic while an interpreter translated in English as he called for better communication between the Muslim community and the government.

Australia's Islamic leader Ibrahim Abu Mohammed has been criticised for using an interpreter to say Australians were wrong to think Muslims don't integrate

'What we need is collaboration and proper communication between the families and the communities and us,' Dr Mohamed said through his interpreter.

'We also need proper forms of communication with government institutions - like security agencies, police - because these are the agencies that are responsible for the protection of us and everybody.'

Dr Mohamed moved to Australia from Egypt in 1997 but he still gives most of his public speeches in Arabic.

The 'ironic' media conference has drawn criticism from the likes of media commentator Andrew Bolt, who raised the issue on his Sky News program The Bolt Report.

'Excuse me? A call for better communication from a Mufti who has lived in Australia for 19 years now and still can't, or won't, communicate in English,' Bolt said.

Dr Mohamed, who is Australia's highest Muslim cleric, moved to Australia from Egypt in 1997 but he still gives most of his public speeches in Arabic

Dr Mohamed was filmed speaking in Arabic while an interpreter translated in English as he called for better communication between the Muslim community and the government

Dr Mohamed has been criticised previously for only speaking Arabic when in the public eye.

But a spokeswoman from the Mufti's Office previously told Daily Mail Australia that Dr Mohamed spoke fluent conversational English and in general conversations he had a 'fine' mastery of it.

But the spokeswoman - who does not speak Arabic and works closely with him - said he preferred to speak Arabic discussing 'intense' matters at media conferences.

'It's just when you're using such eloquent language it's harder to express himself properly and quickly - and so it's not misinterpreted,' she said.

The Grand Mufti spoke at a media conference following a poll that revealed almost half of all Australians supported Pauline Hanson's policy of banning Muslim immigration
A ban on six-figure pay-offs in the public sector is to be announced. Oxford County Council chief Joanna Simons (pictured) was given a 259,000 pay-off after apparently signing a gagging clause

A ban on six-figure pay-offs to NHS staff, police and town hall fat cats leaving their jobs will be announced by ministers today in a victory for the Daily Mail.

Chancellor Philip Hammond will unveil rules to ensure that public sector staff cannot walk away with more than 95,000.

Managers will be able to claw back payments made to departing staff who later return to do a similar job in an attempt to bring an end to the scandal of the public sector revolving door.

Treasury insiders said the reforms, which will come into force next summer, could save taxpayers up to 250million a year.

They follow a Mail expose on how fat cat bosses were being paid small fortunes to walk away from their jobs, often after a record of failure.

A total of 1.8billion was paid in public sector exit payments in 2013/14, including 1,838 of more than 100,000 each.

Sources said the proposals are designed to prevent boomerang bosses and the fat cats from creaming off golden goodbyes only to return for more.

The new rules apply to the large majority of the five-million-strong public sector workforce, including the Civil Service, teachers, NHS workers, local government staff, police officers, members of the armed forces and firefighters.

The BBC, which is not under the direct control of the Government, has voluntarily agreed to cap its pay-offs at 95,000. Controversially, however, its armies of staff will not be covered by other elements of the new regime.

Treasury officials said public sector exit arrangements currently vary significantly, including in the benefits provided for people with similar pay and length of service. The packages are often much higher than those in the private sector.

A Treasury source said: This is about ensuring ordinary hard-working taxpayers arent footing the bill for senior figures in the public sector getting pay-offs far in excess of the private sector.

There are different terms across the public sector  these changes are about consistency as well as fairness.

Chancellor Philip Hammond will unveil rules to ensure that public sector staff cannot walk away with more than 95,000

Its long overdue that we tackle inappropriate payments at the top end by limiting expensive golden goodbyes and the ability to pop back up in the public sector a few months afterwards.

The new rules include a maximum tariff for calculating exit payments of three weeks pay per year of service. Employers could apply tariff rates below these limits.

There will also be a ceiling of 15 months on the maximum period of salary that can be paid as a redundancy payment.

And there will be a maximum salary of 80,000 on which an exit payment can be based. The rules capping payments at 95,000 will cover all types of departures, including voluntary as well as compulsory redundancy, and other severance arrangements.

The amount could include a cash lump sum or an employer-funded contribution to access a pension early. The 95,000 cap also includes any pay in lieu of notice.

At the same time, public sector employers will be able to claw back exit payments made to high earners who return to the same part of the organisation within 12 months of leaving.

In an investigation last year, the Mail revealed how, despite the worst Health Service funding crisis in a generation, NHS bosses were able to claim redundancy deals far more generous than those seen in the private sector.

In an investigation last year, the Mail revealed how, despite the worst Health Service funding crisis in a generation, NHS bosses were able to claim redundancy deals far more generous than those seen in the private sector

Some take home two years worth of their six-figure salaries, plus pay in lieu of notice, when they are made redundant.

We revealed how Oxfordshire County Council chief executive Joanna Simons, who quit her 194,000 job after a scathing report about a paedophile scandal on her watch, was given a 259,000 pay-off after apparently signing a gagging clause.

Other cases included that of John McIvor, who was responsible for the implementation of the 111 non-emergency NHS hotline service, which was widely condemned as a failure that put patients at risk.

He was paid 479,222.67 for 2013-14, the year in which 111 was introduced. Included in this was his salary for launching the service and an exit package of between 290,000 and 295,000.

It also emerged how an NHS chief executive placed in charge of struggling hospitals has received a pay-off of 410,000 on top of his 210,000 salary.
A paralysed Action Man leaflet mocking veterans with limbs blown off and mugs urging people to join the British Army to make stuff dead are being sold at an event being run in tandem with the Labour conference.

The merchandise, being peddled at a stall backed by Veterans for Peace, was criticised for being highly offensive to veterans.

Other controversial souvenirs included a leaflet advertising Payday Loans 4 Kids, spoof Army recruitment merchandise advertising free prosthetic limbs and a poster depicting a cattle truck full of Santas with the sign Holidays are Coming.

The merchandise, being peddled at a stall backed by Veterans for Peace, was criticised for being highly offensive to veterans

The work was created by artist Darren Cullen.

It was criticised by Dan Jarvis, a former soldier and a Labour MP, who said: The sale of this merchandise is extremely disrespectful to our armed forces and veterans who provide outstanding service to our country.'

Momentum supporters gather at Liverpool's Black-E building for their fringe festival of politics

A supporter of the left-wing group 'Momentum' looks at a T-shirt showing Corbyn's face at 'The World Transformed'

He added: It is utterly unacceptable that those who have been injured in the service of our country should be pilloried in this way. This kind of behaviour has no place inside a civilised political party.
More than 500 care providers in the UK have failed hygiene and food safety tests  including 19 hospitals, and other NHS facilities.

The data from the Food Standards Agency, showed that more than 200 residential, nursing and care homes received the low grades as a result of recent inspections.

Nurseries, childcare centres, playgroups and out-of-school care providers were also among that failed to meet standards, the regulator found.

More than 500 care providers in the UK have failed hygiene and food safety tests  including 19 hospitals, and other NHS facilities (File photo)

The FSA inspects all food providers and gives them a rating between zero and five depending on their level of hygiene.

Zero means that the outlet urgently requires improvement, but one or two is also considered to be a fail.

More than 98 per cent of hospitals achieved a food hygiene rating of three or higher, although the FSA said that any case of care organisations receiving a low score was cause for concern.

Eight of the care providers still in operation scored zero, including six residential care homes, a nursery and an after-school carer which no longer prepares food for children.

The data from the Food Standards Agency, showed that more than 200 residential, nursing and care homes received the low grades as a result of recent inspections (File photo)

Michael Harding, a food hygiene support officer at the FSA told the Guardian: The food safety officer will be taking the necessary action to ensure that the issues identified at caring premises with a lower rating are addressed and that vulnerable people are not put at risk.

According to the regulator, the hospital inspections assess meals served in canteens to visitors and staff, as well as those served to patients, but do not cover independent retailers based within hospital buildings.
Four people were arrested including one who allegedly bit a police officer

There were chaotic scenes at a music festival in Perth yesterday as scores of revellers jumped over a fence in a desperate attempt to get in.

More than 200 ticketless party-goers stormed the metal fence at Listen Out festival in Joondalup as security guards struggled to hold people back.

Footage taken by one festival-goer shows young men and women leaping over an outer perimeter before charging past stewards and hurling themselves over the inner fence.

Four people in their 20s were arrested, including one accused of biting a police officer.

There were chaotic scenes at a music festival in Perth yesterday as scores of revellers jumped over a fence in a desperate attempt to get in

The mobile phone footage shows some security guards running after the invaders, while others put up less of a chase.

Several of the revellers appeared to be caught in holding pens outside of the music festival, which was played by the likes of Rufus, Travis Scott and A$AP Ferg.

Officials was forced to call in riot police to tackle the fence jumpers, with four people in their 20s arrested, including one who allegedly bit an officer as they were arrested.

'Security requested the assistance of police as a number of people were throwing rocks at patrons and pushing on external fencing in the attempt to gain entry to the Joondalup arena,' a Western Australia Police spokesman said.

'Whilst police were moving on the large group consisting of around 300 people, they began throwing objects at police.

'During the incident three police officers were assaulted. One officer was bitten and the other two officers were physically assaulted.'

More than 200 ticketless party-goers stormed the metal fence at Listen Out festival in Joondalup as security guards struggled to hold people back

Some security guards are seen chasing after the invaders, while others put up less of a chase

Listen Out sold out months ago and several posts on Facebook suggest that people were planning to jump the fence

A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman have been charged with assaulting a public officer, while a 22-year-old woman was charged with assaulting an officer and obstructing police.

A 23-year-old man has also been charged disorderly behaviour.

Listen Out sold out months ago and several posts on Facebook suggest that people were planning to jump the fence.

' Attention friends. Anyone in St Kilda area / going to Listen Out festival? Are the fences looking easy to jump? Just asking for a friend that wants to know,' one person wrote.

Another person wrote: 'Who's going to jump the fence at Listen Out with some 16-year-olds?
Christopher Halliwell, 52, was told he will die behind bars after being convicted of the 2003 murder of 20-year-old Becky Godden

The father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence yesterday urged police to examine whether she could be another victim of Christopher Halliwell.

Peter Lawrence, 70, said investigators must take this seriously after a senior detective claimed the double killer could be responsible.

But he reacted with shock and anger that the information was made public before police could apparently examine it fully.

North Yorkshire Police obviously need to take this seriously and see if there is anything to it, he said. We have been through this so many times over the past seven years.

Similar things happening and you just want it to be either found to be true and then it can be put to bed, or found not to be true and then we can forget it.

It comes after the mother of one of Halliwell's victims pointed out that Claudia disappeared on the same day as Halliwell killed Sian O'Callaghan.

Swindon taxi driver Halliwell, 52, was told he will die behind bars last Friday after being convicted of the 2003 murder of 20-year-old Becky Godden.

Four years ago he was convicted of abducting and killing 22-year-old Miss OCallaghan after she left a nightclub in 2011.

Claudia Lawrence has not been seen since March 18, 2009. Her father Peter (right) has urged police to investigate the Halliwell link

Sian O'Callaghan, who Halliwell murdered, went missing on March 19, as did Linda Razzell

Yesterday, ex-detective Steve Fulcher revealed he believes the disappearance of Miss Lawrence, from York, fits the behaviour of the suspected serial killer.

He claimed Halliwells absent father once lived a few streets from where she was last seen and it is possible he knew the historic city.

It fits his pattern of behaviour  abducting women walking alone either late at night or early in the morning, he told the Sunday Express.

Miss Lawrence has not been seen since March 18, 2009, and despite several arrests no-one has ever been charged over her disappearance.

Karen Edwards, the mother of Becky Godden, believes the date was a 'trigger' for Halliwell

North Yorkshire Police believe the 35-year-old was murdered, although her body has never been discovered.

Mr Fulcher ran the investigation into Sians death and was led to Beckys buried body in a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, by Halliwell in 2011.

But he had failed to caution the suspect beforehand in breach of the rules, leading to him resigning from Wiltshire Police under a cloud after he was found guilty of gross misconduct.

The blunder also meant the killer could not be tried for both murders at the same time and he was only finally convicted of Becky Goddens killing after a second trial which concluded last week.

Speaking at the Miles for Missing Children charity run in south London, Mr Lawrence said he is very surprised Mr Fulcher has spoken out.

He said it is far more important that police have all the information.

Mr Lawrence said: He knows the score and procedure. Its far more important to go and talk to North Yorkshire Police than talk to the Press. Thats not where you go to.

Ex-detective Steve Fulcher (pictured in 2011), revealed he believes the disappearance of Miss Lawrence, from York, fits the behaviour of the suspected serial kille

Its been a rollercoaster all the time for the family, and the rest of the family will have woken up this morning to see this all in the papers. Im surprised the way its come out.

In a separate development, Karen Edwards, Beckys mother, said she believes Halliwell murdered four other women, including Claudia.

She highlighted how Sian OCallaghan, went missing on the same date and believes it marks the day Halliwell split up with a former girlfriend.

Becky Godden, 20, who was murdered by taxi driver Christopher Halliwell

It is also the date a third woman, Linda Razzell, disappeared after driving into Swindon town centre. Her husband has been convicted of murder but has always claimed he is innocent.

He is definitely a serial killer, she said. I believe he has been up and down the country murdering young women.

Mrs Edwards, 55, believes Halliwell could also be responsible for the murders of his neighbour Sally Ann John and Melanie Hall, who was last seen leaving a Bath nightclub in 1996 in an unmarked taxi.

She has defended Mr Fulchers actions and is campaigning to exonerate him. She said: Hes uncovered a serial killer. How can anyone punish him for that?

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: The investigation team is aware of this matter and they will carefully assess the information in line with the on-going review of the Claudia Lawrence case.
She beat out 5000 applicants, including eight finalists, for the coveted job

Her job is to travel the world and taste food from Mangan's

A woman has scored the job of a lifetime as a professional food taster for celebrity chef Luke Mangan.

Sofia Levin, a freelance food journalist from Melbourne, has won the job of culinary experience officer, or CEO, for Luke Mangan.

Her role will be to travel to Mangan's 19 restaurants in Japan, Singapore, Bangkok, Indonesia and on the P&O cruise liner, to taste testing all the dishes and share her experiences on social media.

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Australian celebrity chef Luke Mangan (left) announced food writer Sofia Levin (right) as the winner of the role of culinary experience officer

In the role she will travel around the world the Mangan's 19 restaurants to taste the different dishes

She was revealed as the winner of the coveted role on the Today Show, who were on location in The Kimberley , West Australia.

'I am so excited, I'm hungry,' Ms Levin said.

She told the Today show that she's learnt plenty of things about the food industry and how to eat under Mangan.

The foodie added that she was most looking forward to visiting Tokyo and eating sashimi.

Mangan launched the search for the CEO to showcase what Australia has to offer to an international audience through his restaurants and brand partnerships, according to a report by Openhouse.

'The lucky individual would also receive mentoring from our team and training from Tourism Australias world class social media team,' he said on his website.

Some of the locations she will travel to include Japan, Singapore, Bangkok and Indonesia

Ms Levin beat out 5000 other applicants for the position and eight finalists for the job

She told the Today Show that she was excited and hungry for the highly coveted job

She said that she was most looking forward to travelling to Japan to eat sashimi

She described herself as a foodie because she looks at everyday aspects of life in relation to food.

'When it comes down to it, a foodie in short is somebody who gets more joy from eating than anything else,' Ms Levin said.

After beating out 5000 applicants, she was up against eight other finalists in a for the job, including 2011 My Kitchen Rules winner Sammy Jakubiak.

Luke Mangan with his culinary experience officer Sofia Levin at the El Questro Station, in the Kimberly region, Northern Territory
The accused killer and foster father of schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer is facing other criminal charges.

Rick Thorburn, 56, was charged last week with murdering the 12-year-old girl after she disappeared in October last year.

Since then, it has emerged Thorburn faces other charges relating to two other young people.

The news comes as police continue to scour the 56-year-old's Chambers Flat two-hectare property, south of Brisbane, for Tiahleigh's school uniform and backpack.

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Tiahleigh Palmer's accused murderer Rick Thorburn is facing other criminal charges on top of her murder. Pictured is Tiahleigh

The charges relate to two young people. Pictured is Thorburn in handcuffs after his arrest over Tiahleigh's alleged murder

Police were also asked to investigate whether another girl who lived with Thorburn suffered any harm.

After Tialeigh's disappearance in October 2015, child safety officials handed the police information about a teenager who was in Rick Thorburn's care for a short period of time.

Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman told The Courier-Mail the girl who had been living at home is now an adult.

'That individual's details were given to the police immediately following Tiahleigh's disappearance,' she said.

A police spokesman confirmed that 'a number of children' who had lived at the home were interviewed but refused to go into details.

Tiahleigh disappeared from the home on October 30 last year and was found dead on a nearby river bank the next week.

What have police found? Investigators plucked scraps of coloured clothing from the backyard of the property where Tiahleigh's foster family lived

Officers have been scouring Rick Thorburn's property in Chamber's Flat, south of Brisbane, for clues over the past 48 hours

Thornburn was arrested earlier this week and is accused of killing his foster daughter.

He collapsed while in police custody after being charged with Tiahleigh's murder and interfering with her corpse.

He was placed in a medically induced coma and denied bail before regaining consciousness on Thursday.

Investigators want to find Tiahleigh Palmer's backpack in their searches

His youngest son, Trent, was charged with incest, perjury and perverting the course of justice.

The 19-year-old was also denied bail but is expected to reapply in the Supreme Court.

Thorburn's wife Julene, 54, and another son, Josh, 20, have been charged with perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Detectives investigating Tiahleigh's tragic death were yesterday seen digging up scraps of clothing at her Thorburn's property.

Late on Friday, blue-gloved police officers were seen picking coloured fabric out of the ground at the home.

As officers considered the find, investigators searched Rick Thorburn's 'Morning Glory and Afternoon Delight' coffee cart.

Police also seized two suitcases from the expansive two-hectare property, carting the potential evidence away in big plastic bags.

The house is being treated as a 'primary crime scene' in the murder investigation.

The dig came as Tiahleigh's mother, Cindy Palmer, bravely fronted the media to speak for the first time since charges were brought against her daughter's foster family.

Julene Thorburn, the foster mother of Queensland schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer, smiled for the cameras as she was escorted back to her car by a detective today

She said she was 'extremely upset the people who were entrusted to look after her daughter' were the ones who allegedly took 'her innocence and her spirit'.

Youngest son Trent was charged with incest, perjury and perverting the course of justice

'My other three children will now grow up without their sister and she will forever be an angel. I miss my daughter terribly every day and a piece of my heart is missing,' Ms Palmer said in a brief statement as she wore a T-shirt that read: 'Justice 4 Tiahleigh.

It has been also reported Tiahleigh repeatedly attempted to flee her home prior her death.

Ms Palmer had tried to run away 10 times in the 10 months leading up to her death in late 2015, according to claims by a former carer reported by the Courier Mail.

Julie Pemberton, who cared for Tiahleigh for two years, said the schoolgirl said she 'hated' living there and said she regretted not intervening while the young girl was trying to run away.

'I would have had her back in the following week, but I couldn't get her back,' Ms Pemberton said.

'Too late now. You've just got to stop it happening again.'
German discount supermarket Lidl looks set to open their first stores in Australia.

The retail giant recently held talks with the Victorian government and also contacted viable suppliers in the region, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Lidl has applied for thousands of trademarks since the year 2000, around the same time its German rival Aldi first set up shop in Australia, and are now preparing to start up here.

It is looking increasingly likely that German supermarket Lidl will open their first stores in Australia

Aldi's first Australian store opened its doors in January 2001, and now has over 400 stores successfully operating across New South Wales, ACT, Queensland and Victoria.

In comparison, Woolworths owns 950 stores nationwide and Coles owns 770 - with the two chains accounting for 60 per cent of Australia's grocery market.

But in 2016 Lidl applied for dozens of other trademarks including Sir Edward Tea, Oatilicious and Sweet Corner, as well as also applying for a number of other trademarks such as Lidl Phone, Lidl Connect and The Crafty Brewing Company last year.

Originally founded in Germany during the 1930s, Lidl became a discount retailer in 1973 following previously huge success of Aldi. It is now bigger than its rival with more than 10,000 stores worldwide.

WHY SHOPPING AT LIDL MAKES SENSE The German retailer is Britains 2016 Grocer of the Year. It boasts a clutch of awards for its own labels such as meat products. Lidl offers a small range of premium brands and a strong range of high-end wines. They did this in an effort to prove that they deliver low prices but this does not affect the quality. Advertisement

Lidl is now Britains Grocer of the Year and boasts a clutch of awards for its own-label products, as well as booming sales, The Telegraph reports.

Both sell groceries and miscellaneous items and have adopted the 'no-frills' supermarket approach. But there are a few differences between the two. Lidl staffing is minimal, there are no loyalty schemes and you pay for carry bags.

Unlike Aldi, Lidl offers a small range of premium brands and a strong range of high-end wines. They introduced this to change off the perception that they cut quality to deliver lower prices.

Lidl will be direct competition with their biggest rival Aldi who opened their first Australian store in January 2001

One of the most popular aspects of Lidl stores are that they smaller than mainstream supermarkets.

They offer a cut back range of about 1,500 products to keep costs down, but also so as shoppers don't get stuck browsing the shelves and are out in a short period of time.

However there is no guarantee that Lidl is definitely bound for Australia.

'As an industry association, we would not be surprised if in due course Lidl made a foray into the Australian market,' Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, said.
A bizarre picture of a woman in a wedding dress and walking alone has caused concern among social media users.

Reddit user Fort-Glen uploaded an image of a woman walking on her own through the Box Hill Central shops, west of Melbourne, at 7am on Monday.

He captioned: 'Help finding out who she is and is she ok? What kind of weekend has she had?'

In a later, post he reached out to the Reddit community asking if anyone had any idea what happened to the woman.

Reddit user woman walking on her own through the Box Hill Central Shops, west of Melbourne, early on Monday morning

He wrote: 'My boss saw this [woman] on her way to work this morning, but didn't have a chance to stop and find out if she was ok.'

Reddit user Mindsnare said: 'Probably some social experiment that'll end up on YouTube in a few days about how no one approached her and asked if she was ok.'

His post sparked other Reddit users to guess why the woman in white was walking on her own so early in the morning.

Tugchi said: '[I] Think it was something Kiis did, they do something weird in Melbourne and if you find it you win $1000.'

Shortly after by notasgr confirmed it was a prank by the Matt and Meshel breakfast radio show.

The mysterious woman in white turned out to be a competition for breakfast radio program Matt and Meshel

A worker from the shopping centre (pictured) took a picture of the strange woman and uploaded it to Reddit asking other users for suggestions

The strange post also attracted other intrigued Reddit users and their wild guesses.

Rex_francis wrote: 'Is it possibly not a wedding dress, and she's just heading home from a big night?'

Smittx suggested mental illness as a possibility.

Cayall3 added: 'She is standing like those ghosts do in horror movies where they don't move, head down, arms to the side.'
The 17-year-old victim, Rose*, has spoken out about getting back control

Hofer was on Friday sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison

A teen, 17, raped by a man who listed a room for rent in an online advertisement has spoken out after her attacker was sentenced to prison.

Thomas Hofer, 49, has been found guilty of eight counts of sexual assault after he raped Rose* and another woman, 23, within a 24-hour period in Glebe, Sydney.

Rose, now 19, stared him in the face as he was jailed for six-and-a-half years on Friday.

'I felt stronger than I ever had in my life, to be honest,' she told Sydney Morning Herald.

Thomas Hofer, 49, has been found guilty of eight counts of sexual assault after he raped Rose* and another woman, 23, within a 24-hour period in Glebe, Sydney

She said she hoped other women would come forward to stand up for themselves and protect other women.

'Men that are like that don't stop, you won't be the last one. It's really important that we stand up and fight these predators.'

Rose had responded to Hofer after he advertised a room for rent at flatmates.com.au in October 2014.

Hofer has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison

He lured her to a Thai restaurant followed by Little Guy bar in Glebe where he fed her alcohol, the NSW District Court heard on Friday.

The pair then went back to his home on Bridge Road.

She told him she did not want to have sex but Hofer pinned her down, flipped her onto her stomach and raped her.

Rose screamed out 'stop' but he refused to get off her, the court heard according to Sydney Morning Herald.

Hofer then walked her to the bus stop and later texted her saying: 'Goodnight dear, call me if you have any problems getting home dear.'

He had met the 23-year-old victim, a backpacker from the U.S., less than 24-hours earlier through the flatmate finder website.

Hofer fed her cocktails at a Glebe bar and took glasses of water out of her hand, the court heard.

He then raped her at his home and later sent a text saying 'sweet dreams dear', News.com.au reported earlier this year.

She told the court she had repeatedly told him to stop and tried to push him off but was so drunk she 'didn't have the strength'.

He said 'no sex, only cuddles' despite continuing to rape her.

Both victims had responded to an advertisement for a room for rent at Flatmates.com.au

Hofer had lured the 17-year-old, now 19, to the Little Guy bar in Glebe

Hofer, who has worked as a real estate agent, has maintained his encounters with both women were consensual.

Rose said she contemplated suicide after the attack and turned to drugs and alcohol.

But the teenager took back control when she took Hofer to court with the support of child protection group Bravehearts and NSW Police.

'I took control of the situation and I made him see that it was wrong. He can't get way with doing that to people,' she told Sydney Morning Herald.

'[Rape] takes something from you, you are powerless, so you need to start working out ways and regain that control that you lost,' she said.

Judge Peter Whitford said Hofer had 'forethought and planning' in his attacks on Rose and the 23-year-old woman.
A European Union-style freedom of movement pact between Commonwealth nations would boost their economies, a group pushing for the move claims.

The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation wants citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK to have unrestricted rights to live, work and travel in all four countries.

Its founder James Skinner argued the deal would have all the economic and social benefits of the EU without the drawback of uneven migration.

A European Union-style freedom of movement pact between Commonwealth nations would boost their economies, a group pushing for the move claims

The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation wants citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK to have rights to live, work and travel in all four countries

A key criticism of the EU is unchecked numbers of people from less-developed Eastern Europe moving to Britain, Germany and other rich countries for a better life.

CFMO founder James Skinner argued the deal would have all the economic and social benefits of the EU without the drawback of uneven migration

But Mr Skinner claimed similar levels of economic growth, development, healthcare and quality of life meant there would be no 'brain drain' or migration exodus for any member nation.

'We would not see such migration patterns as all countries involved are similarly developed with exceptional qualities of life,' he told News Corp.

A YouGov poll earlier this year found 70 per cent of Australians, 75 per cent of Canadians, 82 per cent of New Zealanders and 58 per cent of Britons supported free mobility.

A petition on the CFMO website has more than 164,000 signatures.

Leaders of each country have also voiced cautious support of the idea in principle, or at least of significantly increasing the number of visas they offer to each other.

Concerns had been raised that criminals and terrorists could move around unchecked, and that countries would lose control of their borders

Julie Bishop (pictured) earlier this month said in London that increased movement of people could be part of a post-Brexit free trade agreement with Britain

Julie Bishop earlier this month said in London that increased movement of people could be part of a post-Brexit free trade agreement with Britain.

'Obviously [improved access] can be the subject of a free-trade agreement,' she said.

'Being able to live, work or spend time, study in each other's countries is something to which we would aspire.'

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson once called for a free labour mobility zone between Australia and the UK and recently urged for a 'more sensible' visa system.

'Youll remember the difficulties we had in recruiting paramedics so this is something where I think we can make progress and Im confident that we will,' he said.

Concerns had been raised that criminals and terrorists could move around unchecked, and that countries would lose control of their borders.

It also comes as a poll found 49 per cent of Australians supported banning Muslim immigration with 40 per cent opposed.

Another poll showed 31 per cent feared a free trade deal that could make their jobs vulnerable to overseas workers.

Mr Skinner said the historical and cultural ties between the four countries, and the claimed widespread support from their citizens, made the idea a 'no-brainer'.

Britain and New Zealand would join Australia and Canada in the four-way pact. Pictured British PM Theresa May (L) and NZ PM John Key (R)

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (pictured) once called for a free labour mobility zone between Australia and the UK and has urged for a 'more sensible' visa system

He said the plan would be to create a 'single labour market' to service the needs of each economy, allow people to study abroad easily, and help reunite families.

'Families and loved ones would not require visas or work permits, and can be reunited without the cost and stress of arduous immigration controls,' he said.

Businesses could also recruit the best international talent without the cost, risk and often lengthy delays experienced under present immigration controls.

The number of Australians living and working in the UK has dropped 40 per cent since 2008 due to restrictions on migration.
The man accused of sex attacks on two backpackers at campsite on a remote beach has pleaded not guilty to seven charges.

The 60-year-old pleaded not guilty in his first appearance in the South Australian Supreme Court on Monday.

He allegedly attacked two women in February at Salt Creek, Coorong National Park, southeast of Adelaide.

The man is facing seven charges including attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping and indecent assault.

The man accused of sex attacks on two backpackers at campsite (pictured) on a remote beach has pleaded not guilty to seven charges

The campsite where the women were allegedly attacked is pictured

The alleged attacks occurred at Salt Creek, Coorong National Park, in February this year

Police are pictured at the scene of the alleged attacks at the remote beach

Pictured: the remote scene of the alleged attacks from earlier this year
Lisa Wilkinson gave her co-hosts on the Today show a surprise on Monday morning when she admitted to them that the police turned up at her son Jake's 21st birthday party because the music was being played too loud.

Wilkinson, Karl Stefanovic and Richard Wilkins were initially talking about how hard it was to juggle both work and family, with Wilkinson saying women take on the burden of what's happening at home as well as what is happening at work.

'If I'm doing something I do it wholeheartedly whether it's at home or at work,' she said.

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Lisa Wilkinson had her co-host Richard Wilkins laughing after she told him that the police had called at her son Jake's 21st birthday party as the music was too loud

To which Stefanovic asked: 'Like partying?' Wilkinson replied: 'Yes, just like I did at my son's birthday on Saturday night.'

'Any problems?' said Stefanovic.

'The police turned up at twenty to two because Pete wouldn't turn the music down, but there you go - so sorry to our neighbours!' laughed Wilkinson.

The Wilkinson family in fact had not one birthday, but two, to celebrate.

Today co-host Karl Stefanovic as initially asked Wilkinson if she had been 'partying'

In a sentimental post to Instagram last week, Wilkinson shared a special birthday message to both her sons born on the same day, two years apart.

The 56-year-old posted a 'proud' snap with her sons, Jake, 21, and Louis, 19, and husband, Peter to celebrate their odd birthdays.

The mother of three captioned the image: 'Huge happy birthday to our two beautiful boys born on the same day two years apart. All grown up now...and the best of mates. #soproud'

She added: 'PS. And if only Billi had arrived on her due date (instead of four days early) I would have had three babies all born on the same day two years apart...'

Last week Wilkinson pointed out an odd family birthday pattern on Instagram, as her sons celebrated the same birthday but were born two years apart

Fans reacted to the 'freaky' post with shock comments and relatable comparisons.

'I share my birthday with my sister, one year apart...was having my first birthday and mum was in hospital having my sister...' compared one user.

'And here I was thinking I was strange eldest 2 of 3 share a birthday two years apart. Makes it all the more special. Happy birthday guys xx,' said a mother on the feed.

While another fan pointed to when the boys were conceived: 'Not called the festive season for nothing.. just sayin.'

Happy Family: Lisa shares snaps of fellow media personality and partner Peter FitzSimmons, daughter Billi and sons Jake and Louis
A mother and father were killed in a car crash during a family vacation in Florida with their two young daughters, who survived the car accident.

Greg and Sarah Moyers had scraped and saved to be able to take their girls Haley, 13, and Sophia, eight, to Disney, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

While on their way to the beach a 2016 Ford Focus drifted into Greg's 2007 Nissan on Interstate 4, which forced them off of the road.

The Moyers' Nissan collided with a tree at approximately 12.30pm on Sunday.

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Greg (left) and Sarah Moyers (right) were killed while driving during their first-ever visit to Disney with their two daughters

Haley, 13, and Sophia Moyers, eight, survived the car wreck that killed their parents on Sunday

The Moyers' 2007 Nissan collided with a tree at approximately 12.30pm on Sunday after being hit by a 2016 Ford Focus

Both Greg, 40, who owned a muffler shop, and Sarah, 39, a McDonald's restaurant manager, died but their daughters Haley and Sophia survived the wreck.

Haley was seriously injured and Sophia was critically injured, according to WFTV.

The girls were airlifted from the scene to Orlando's Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

The driver of the other vehicle, Charles King, 43, of New London, North Carolina, wasn't hurt in the crash, according to News 13.

The couple were described as loving and said they helped many children, including Sarah's sister's kids who they had taken in to raise

The driver of the other vehicle, Charles King, 43, of New London, North Carolina, wasn't hurt in the crash

The Moyers' vacation had just begun on Thursday with visits to Disney World and Universal Studios all on the agenda.

By Sunday, the family was wrapping up the trip with a day at the beach before they returned to Leadwood, Missouri.

Close friend Loni Burnside Eaton told the Orlando Sentinel that the children were Greg and Sarah's world.

The family had already been to Universal Studios Orlando and Disney World and were heading to the beach then the fatal car accident happened

'They were very involved and supportive parents and just wanted the best for them.

'They wanted the girls to experience Disney and the beach. I can't believe this really happened,' Eaton said.

Eaton described the couple as loving and said they helped many children, including Sarah's sister's kids who they had taken in to raise.

Friends described the couple as loving and said they helped many children, including Sarah's sister's kids who they had taken in to raise

She said they also had two additional children.

Eaton also said Haley and Sophia had not been informed of what happened to their parents and that family was driving down to Florida to be with them and tell them the news.

Cheryl Neeley, Sarah's step mother, said the couple was the 'rock' of the close-knit family.

'They were amazing together. It's going to leave a big void in our family and also in the community because everyone knew them and loved them,' Neeley told the Sentinel.

The crash is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.

Family and friends are driving to Florida to be with the Moyers girls, who were airlifted to Orlando's Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
The fully-dressed skeletal remains of an adult man were found inside the home of a blind woman, whose home was so full of trash, one officer said it looked like 'a garbage truck had dumped its load'.

Elderly Brooklyn woman Rita Wolfensohn was found living with the skeletal remains of her son earlier this month.

It is possible she was living with the corpse for as many as 20 years, the New York Post reported.

Relatives were taking Wolfensohn to the hospital when the son's remains were found.

Wolfensohn's sister-in-law Josette Buchman found a 'completely intact' skeleton wearing jeans, socks and a shirt in a second-floor bedroom.

The intact skeletal remains of the son of Rita Wolfensohn, a blind hoarder living in Brooklyn, was found in her home (pictured) earlier this month

She said the skeleton was on its back on a mattress on the floor, according to the Post.

A law enforcement officer told the Post the home was like 'some reverse "Psycho" scene'.

After an investigation into the home, officials believe Wolfensohn most likely didn't know she was living with her son's remains.

The room the body was in was filled with garbage and cobwebs.

Officers said the room smelled of rotting food but there was not an odor of rotting flesh.

Police said Wolfensohn believed her son had moved out.

Wolfensohn's brother and sister-in-law Joseph Buchman and Josette said their sister is now living in an assisted-living facility.

The remains of the son haven't been officially identified but police believe it is Wolfensohn's son.
Clinton pledged to implement the Iran deal while working with Israel

But his visit to Hillary Clinton in the evening lasted just about 50 minutes

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met both presidential candidates on Sunday and spent about twice as much time with Donald Trump then with Hillary Clinton.

Netanyahu, who was in New York City for the United Nations's general assembly, spoke with the two nominees the day before their first presidential debate.

He went to Trump Tower in the morning and stayed with Trump for about 90 minutes. Netanyahu then met Clinton in the evening at the W Hotel in Union Square for 50 minutes.

Clinton pledged to implement the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu opposed vehemently in 2015, while working 'closely' with Israel.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Hillary Clinton in New York City on Sunday evening at the W Hotel in Union Square and stayed for about 50 minutes

Netanyahu met Donald Trump earlier on Sunday and went to Trump Tower in the morning. The two men spoke for an hour and a half

Reporters were barred from covering either meeting and the candidates' campaign staff provided accounts instead.

Clinton had an 'in-depth conversation with Netanyahu, her campaign said in a statement. She stressed that 'a strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States' and 'reaffirmed unwavering commitment' to the relationship.

They discussed Iran, the conflict in Syria and other regional challenges, including her support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict negotiated by the two parties  not an outside organization like the US Security Council.

Clinton expressed her support for the 10-year, $38 billion military aid package signed between the two countries earlier the month and opposition to efforts to boycott Israel.

Trump and Netanyahu discussed 'at length' Israel's use of a fence to help secure its borders, an example Trump frequently cites when he's talking about the wall he wants to build between the US and Mexico.

Clinton (pictured during Netanyahu's visit on Sunday) pledged to implement the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu opposed vehemently in 2015

The Democratic nominee (pictured arriving for her meeting with Netanyahu Sunday) stressed that 'a strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States'

Trump also promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel if he becomes president.

The two men, who have known each other for years, discussed 'many topics important to both countries,' according to Trump's campaign, including 'the special relationship between America and Israel and the unbreakable bond between the two countries.'

These topics included the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against Islamic State militants, military assistance provided by the US to Israel and other security issues.
A man who stomped on his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter more than 10 years ago was found guilty of manslaughter on Monday.

The toddler weighed just 14 kilograms when Victorian man Mussie Debresay, 37, became angry at her for urinating on his couch and inflicted severe internal injuries in May 2005.

She was dead within hours.

Mussie Debresay (pictured), 37, was found guilty of manslaughter by a Victorian jury on Monday for stomping on his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter, causing deadly internal injuries

Debresay pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder and claimed the young girl had injured herself when she fell off his couch.

After four days of deliberations, the Victorian Supreme Court jury found Debresay guilty of manslaughter but cleared him of the more serious murder charge.

The toddler died as a result of her abdomen being deliberately squeezed or compressed by an extreme, severe force, the trial heard.

Her mother - who can't be named for legal reasons - and her three children had been staying with Debresay, who the kids called 'Daddy MJ'.

The couple had been seeing each other for several months and he had taken on the role of disciplining the children.

The toddler weighed just 14 kilograms when Debresay (pictured) became angry at her for urinating on his couch and inflicted severe internal injuries in May 2005

The two-year-old urinated on Debresay's couch on the morning of May 13 and when a baby-sitter came over later she noticed the toddler appeared tired and was slumped across the coffee table.

The jury heard the two-year-old would have been lethargic due to massive internal bleeding caused by the injuries she'd sustained.

Later that day the toddler became unresponsive so her mother rushed her to a medical centre where she was pronounced dead.

He (pictured) was cleared of the more serious murder charge

When the victim's four-year-old brother was asked if he knew what had happened he said he saw Debresay stomping or standing on his sister because she'd been naughty.

Prosecutors said only two people could have caused the injuries - Debresay or the toddler's mother - and there was no evidence the mother harmed her.

'By far the worst thing that ever happened to (the victim) was that her mother met the accused,' prosecutor Sally Flynn said in her closing address.

Debresay appeared to be holding back tears after the verdict was delivered on Monday.

Babysitter Samantha Barry appeared in court erlier this year with her sister, and said she could recall the victim's brother, then about four, saying: 'I saw Daddy MJ stomping on Tonnja's back'

His mother reached out for him as he was led from the dock.

'I'm kissing my son, I'm kissing my son,' she cried as court security guards escorted him away.

Debresay's mother also cried 'bulls**t' as the guards removed him - and again before she left the court.
Huma Abedin smiled as she and her four-year-old son Jordan returned home on Sunday.

The mother and son pair were seen in New York City arriving by car, then little Jordan held Abedin's hand to walk inside.

Abedin, the vice chairwoman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, cracked a smile as she took the little boy back home.

Their outing came almost a month after Abedin announced she was ending her six-year marriage to Anthony Weiner.

Her decision came after it was revealed that Weiner had sent another woman a photo of his crotch with his four-year-old son lying next to him.

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Huma Abedin was seen on Sunday coming home with her four-year-old son Jordan. Their outing came a month after she announced she was ending her marriage to Anthony Weiner

The little boy and his mother arrived by car, then stepped out to go back to their apartment. Weiner was last seen at the family's home just last week

Abedin cracked her smile while she and her son sat in the car. Jordan sat in the back and at one point grabbed one of the vehicle's seat belts

But Weiner still appeared to spend time at the family's home, despite being under investigation by child services.

He and his estranged wife were last seen at the residence last week, just before DailyMail.com revealed that Weiner had exchanged explicit texts with a 15-year-old girl.

Weiner was also seen at the apartment mid-September, two weeks after Abedin ended their marriage.

The child services probe into Weiner's handling of Jordan came after the previous scandal concerning his photo with Jordan.

'Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life,' Abedin said in the statement announcing her divorce.

Abedin (pictured Sunday) ended her six-year marriage with Weiner when it was revealed he had sent a photo of his crotch with Jordan next to him

Weiner and Abedin appeared recently to still be sharing the family home, despite a child services probe into Weiner's handling of Jordan (pictured with his mother on Sunday)

Abedin (pictured on Sunday) meanwhile has remained busy working on the campaign trail as the vice-chairwoman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign

In a statement announcing her divorce, Abedin (pictured in her car on Sunday) said Jordan was the 'light' of his parents' life and that they remained committed to him

Weiner confirmed in early September that child welfare authorities were looking into him.

He is now also under investigation in two states for sexting the unnamed 15-year-old.

Authorities in New York and North Carolina have launched an investigation on the disgraced congressman.

The office of Jill Westmoreland Rose, the US attorney for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte, has 'begun investigative efforts,' a spokeswoman said.

An FBI task force in New York designed to combat the sexual exploitation of children is also investigating, according to a law enforcement official.

Prosecutor Preet Bharara, one of the toughest in America, has issued a subpoena for Weiner's cellphone and other electronic records.

On Saturday morning Abedin stepped out wearing shades, just days after her estranged husband Anthony Weiner was revealed to have sexted a 15-year-old girl

The 15-year-old said the online relationship began last January while she was a high school sophomore and lasted for several months.

At one point during a Skype chat Weiner asked her to undress and touch herself, the girl said.

In one message, Weiner told the teen: 'I would bust that tight p***y so hard and so often that you would leak and limp for a week.'

Weiner did not deny exchanging 'flirtatious' messages with the girl.

'I have repeatedly demonstrated terrible judgement about the people I have communicated with online and the things I have sent,' he told the DailyMail.com in a statement.

'I am filled with regret and heartbroken for those I have hurt.

'While I have provided the Daily Mail with information showing that I have likely been the subject of a hoax, I have no one to blame but me for putting myself in this position.

'I am sorry.'

Weiner, a Democrat, resigned from Congress in 2011 amid a previous sexting scandal.
A mother-of-five has warned other parents to be wary of the hygiene of shopping trolleys after her 10-month-old son contracted a salmonella infection and meningitis.

Vivienne Wardrop, 35, went for a quick shop at Helensvale, on Queensland's Gold Coast, on September 13 and took her baby boy with her, putting him in a trolley.

Almost 24 hours later, her son, Logan, started getting severe diarrhoea, vomiting and was running a high temperature.

At one point, the diarrhoea got so bad he started passing blood.

Vivienne Wardrop said her 10-month-old baby boy, Logan (pictured in hospital), contracted salmonella and meningitis after he sat in a shopping trolley

'On Wednesday morning I got him out of bed and he had really bad diarrhoea. It had gone through his clothes and bedding,' Ms Wardrop told Daily Mail Australia.

'I gave him a bottle and he vomited it back up and this kept happening throughout the day.'

Ms Wardrop took her baby boy to the doctor who told her it was just a virus.

But by early Thursday morning, Logan was so dehydrated she had to take him to Gold Coast University Hospital.

His heart rate was up around 200 and 220 beats per minute - with a normal heart rate being around 80 - 140.

'[The medical staff] were really good with him and started doing tests, ultrasounds, nasal swabs and urine testing - if it existed he had it,' Ms Wardrop said.

She wanted to warn parents to be more vigilant about the hygiene of shopping trolleys

Ms Wardrop with a healthier Logan (left) and on the right is Logan in hospital during the 10-day ordeal

Eventually doctors diagnosed him with adenovirus, rotavirus, salmonella and meningitis. Pictured is the baby boy during his illnesses

Eventually doctors diagnosed him with adenovirus, rotavirus, salmonella and meningitis.

Adenovirus is an infection that affects the respirator tract, eyes, intestines, urinary tract and the nervous system.

On the other hand, rotavirus causes severe gastroenteritis and can be caused by close person-to-person contact and touching contaminated surfaces.

Logan, who was born 11 weeks premature, spent 10 days in hospital and eight of those days were spent in the intensive care unit.

'We were scared we were going to lose. It didn't seem like [the doctors] were able to get him under control because they didn't know what was wrong with him,' Ms Wardrop told Daily Mail Australia.

'I'd never seen a child this sick, I have five children. He lost 10 per cent of body weight in three days - 800 grams - and went to being bloated because the water wouldn't go into the cells  it was terrifying.

'Even talking about it now makes me want to cry.

'They said it was very unusual to be hit with all those viruses in one go.

'The poor thing ended up with 10 heel prick tests and bruises on his arms from tests.

'He was quite lerthargic and his eyes were rolling in the back of his head and he was moaning.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the supermarket for comment on the matter.

Luckily Logan is now home from hospital but it will still be a while before he makes a full recovery.

'Probably another week or so at least. Because of the salmonella and rotavirus together, his gut has been stripped of everything, he was pooing blood,' Ms Wardrop said.

Luckily Logan is now home from hospital but it will still be a while before he makes a full recovery

Ms Wardrop said she did not blame anybody for her son's illness but wanted to raise awareness about the hygiene of trolleys. Pictured is Logan

'He's on antibiotics and on a small baby like him, he's taken quite a hard knock.

'What would take me 10 minutes to feed him, it takes me 45 minutes to drink 120 millilitres because he's still in pain.'

Ms Wardrop said she had whittled it down to the shopping trolley because Logan had not eaten any normal food other than his formula that week and only had water leading up to his illnesses.

'We spoke [with doctors] about who had been around, if they had been sick, where we had been, what he had eaten. We hadn't been out of in the house in a week,' the mother said.

Ms Wardrop said she did not blame the supermarket for her son's illness but wanted to raise awareness about the hygiene of trolleys.

'Us as parents need to think about it a lot more,' she said.

The mother-of-five felt so passionate about the issue that she posted a warning on Facebook to other parents.

'Just wanted to warn parents against using baby seats in trolley without wiping down or using a blanket,' Ms Wardrop wrote on Sunday.

'Didn't even think about it just popped [Logan] in and did a quick shop. I hadn't been anywhere with him in a week so doctors advised only place he could of gotten it.

'He ended up catching adenovirus, rotavirus, salmonella poisoning and got meningitis because of the strain on his body.

'Ended up with a central line as his veins were collapsing due to severe dehydration.

'He was in hospital for a total of 10 days and will still take another week or 2 to fully recover.
After she was x-rayed, the five remaining shards found and removed

A year later, Ms Thornton noticed a lump and took Billie to the vet

A dog has survived an entire year with shards of glass inside her stomach.

Billie, a Labrador cross, has had surgery to remove the five shards as long as 15cm from her abdomen.

Her owner Caron Thornton, from Auckland, explained in a Facebook post her dog was chasing a bird in her tiled sun room when she lost her footing slid through a glass window.

The dog was rushed to the local vet where she received stitches to a deep wound that were 15cm long along her backside.

Billie, a Labrador cross, had surgery to remove to remove 15cm from her abdomen after smashing through a glass window

When her owner Caron Thornton noticed a lump on Billie's stomach she took her to a veterinarian gave her an x-ray (pictured) and found five shards of glass

'Billie bounced back quite quickly after that until a few weeks ago [when] I noticed a lump on her side,' Ms Thornton said.

She took him back to their veterinarian and was told her Billie was born with a lump, but she did not agree with the prognosis.

Ms Thornton took her pet to another vet for a second opinion who took an x-ray of the dog's belly and found the pieces of glass in her stomach.

'How were we supposed to know there was more glass in her abdomen when we had left her in the capable hands of our vet?' she said.

Billie has had surgery to remove the glass, Ms Thornton said that her very lucky dog is recovering and doing well.

Dr. Damian Chase, a surgeon at the veterinary specialist referral hospital, said: 'the glass did not damage anything vital and has just been sitting in her body. She is one lucky dog.'

The surgeon successfully removed all five shards that were lodged in her abdomen

In her post Ms Thornton also thanked the staff at the Veterinary Specialist Group for saving her dog's life.

Other dog owners have shared their expressed their happiness for Billie.

One woman wrote: 'great guessing! I have seen some strange things come out of dog's, but that one is amazing. Thank goodness Billie is ok.'
Generations of Sunnyboy lovers were left shattered on Monday when it was announced that the flavoured ice blocks were to be stop being made.

The Daily Drinks Co released a statement saying there had been a 'sustained reduction' in the demand for Sunnyboys, and they will no longer be sold, Kidspot reports.

'No other products are affected by this deletion, and consumers will still be able to purchase all our other popular brands, including Zooper Dooper and Quelch,' the company said.

Sunnyboy flavoured ice blocks to stop being sold in shops despite being a childhood classic

But for many people around Australia the popular brand of distinctive tetrahedral shaped ice block will be sadly missed.

The cheap ice blocks, which were sold in tuckshops, stores and milk bars across Australia, were hugely popular from the 1960s all the way through to the mid-1990s.

A pang of nostalgia will also hit lovers of the icy treat just by hearing the names they were called.

The original orange flavoured one was known as a 'Sunnyboy' or 'Orange Explosion'. Raspberry flavour was a 'Razz', a lime flavour block was a 'Zap', and a 'Glug' was the name of the cola flavoured variety.

Some of the popular treats were called the 'Orange Explosion', 'Razz', 'Zap' and 'Glug'

In the 1970s for a short period there was a pineapple flavour, called 'Pow' (later called 'Big Daddy'), while another type was the 'Hawaiian Punch'.

However after the Sunnyboy brand was bought by National Foods their presence in shops greatly decreased.

Despite a Sunnyboy cordial brand being released in 2006, which included eight flavours, nostalgia was unfortunately not enough to keep the brand on the market.
A 20-year-old father of six has admitted to going on a violent rampage, during which a man was allegedly threatened with beheading.

Ryan Taylor, from Victoria's Moe, has pleaded guilty to two armed robberies in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.

The unemployed man committed each of the robberies allegedly with a 17-year-old co-accused in Springvale, south-west of Melbourne.

The court heard Taylor went on a crime spree where he held up a bottle shop and service station and threatened workers at knife point within two days.

Taylor was initially charged over the carjacking but prosecutors later dropped the charge against him, along with those related to theft of a motor car, arson and possessing proceeds of crime.

Father of six Ryan Taylor (pictured) has pleaded guilty to two armed robberies on Monday

Police alleged he and his co-accused were involved in a carjacking where the driver was threatened with having his head cut off, if he didn't hand over his keys, phone and the vehicle, the Herald Sun reported.

During the robbery, Taylor stole $400 cash and $600 worth of cigarettes and alcohol from the bottle shop on July 2, court documents revealed.

The court heard Taylor threatened workers at a bottle shop and service station at knifepoint

More cash, six pouches of tobacco and four energy drinks were taken from the service station on July 4.

The court also heard Taylor has six children, none in his care.

Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg asked how many mothers were involved, but a lawyer representing Taylor was not sure.

Taylor was remanded in custody to face a plea hearing in December and his teenage co-accused is being dealt with by a children's court.
We all know the kick-yourself feeling of getting to work only to realise you've forgotten your lunch.

So we can all appreciate the skills of this Korean wife who has mastered a technique for getting her hapless husband his sandwich even if he leaves home without it.

As this footage shows, the woman is able to effortlessly toss the sandwich from the couple's high-rise apartment and through the sunroof of her husband's car.

In the footage, which has been viewed more than 700,000 times in YouTube, the precious cargo can be seen landing perfectly on the car's front seat.

The appreciative man can then be seen throwing her a quick thumbs up through the open sun roof before driving off to work.

It is not known exactly where the footage was taken, though it is captioned in Korean, and so was likely shot somewhere in South Korea.
Police investigating the disappearance of Ben Needham 25 years ago found dozens of bone fragments yesterday during a search of an olive grove near where he went missing.

Officers launched a fresh bid to discover what happened to the toddler after a new witness came forward to claim he may have been run over by a digger and buried.

Acting on this information, a team of officers from South Yorkshire Police travelled to the Greek holiday island of Kos to begin the search yesterday.

A digger could be seen moving piles of dirt to an adjacent field where officers and local volunteers began the painstaking task of sifting through the dusty earth for fragments of bone.

Ben Needham's furious mother, Kerry Needham (left) has told of her anger after it took 25 years for a mystery witness to come forward with information about her missing son (right)

The site has been searched before, when officers took cadaver dogs on to the land in 2012.

The new search will involve digging deeper and will focus on one area following information from the witness, who came forward following a TV appeal in Greece four months ago.

Ben was 21 months old when he went missing from a farmhouse which once sat on the site in July 1991. His mother Kerry, who had moved to the Greek island from Sheffield, always believed he was abducted.

This was the scene this morning as police started an examination of the site close in Kos

A police officer holding a plastic evidence bag kneels down to pick up an item from the ground

A police officer could be seen taking pictures of the ground as teams of investigators worked at the site

Then, earlier this month, the claims emerged that Ben could have been killed.

The witness alleged digger driver Konstantinos Barkas, who was working at the farmhouse, killed Ben.

Barkas died last year aged 62. His family have denied he had anything to do with the boys death and he was interviewed by police after Ben disappeared.

British officers and members of the Greek rescue team search land on the south eastern Greek island of Kos this morning

Police are search teams started their excavation this morning in a dusty olive grove in Kos

The dig comes after a witness came forward to suggest Ben may have been crushed to death by a digger near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating at the time of the youngster's disappearance

Konstantinos Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where Ben was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death, a friend of the builder reportedly told police following a television appeal in May

But his friend reportedly saw the driver  known as Dino  sweating and shaking after returning from the police station. Barkas allegedly told the friend its possible there could have been a tragic accident.

Yesterday, the search team focused on the top left hand corner of the land, leading to speculation officers had received very specific information about the whereabouts of any evidence.

But the detective in charge of the hunt said it was too early to say if the bone fragments are linked to Ben because the land has been used for grazing animals for centuries.

Detectives are said to have carried out initial inquiries at the site, with experts testing soil and surveying the area with drones

Investigators on the Greek island where the 21-month-old vanished in 1991 have told Kerry Needham to 'prepare for the worst' as excavation work begins in Kos in the search for possible remains. This was the scene this morning ahead of the dig

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said: I have every reason to believe that the matters he [the witness] discussed are of great significance.

The search in 2012 was based on information known at the time ... the new information that has come forward  all of that put together  gives me a very strong reason to be here for the next week or so.

He added: I cant say exactly how many bone fragments weve collected today but its quite a lot.

A team of officers scour the ground for clues as they start the excavation process this morning

Ben's sister said her family was 'preparing for the worst' as police today begin a painstaking search of an olive grove close to where the toddler went missing

The detective said during the 2012 dig they discovered 481 bone fragments. A police spokesman said they were finding bones on the former farmland yesterday every moment.

Asked if he expected to find answers, Mr Cousins said he was optimistic about the search taking place, raising the prospect that Bens mother may finally learn what happened to her son.

Miss Needham is understood to be at a secret location close to Kos, where she is being updated by police. After years spent campaigning for fresh searches for her son, she is said to be in a highly emotional state and is angry the witness took so long to come forward.

TIMELINE: A 25-YEAR SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH Here is a timeline of events charting the disappearance of Sheffield toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago. July 24 1991: Ben Needham vanishes while playing near the grounds of a farmhouse in the Iraklis region of Kos, which his family are renovating. His mother, Kerry Needham, and grandparents raise the alarm with local police and conduct a full search of the area. July 26 1991: Eyewitness reports claim a boy matching Ben's description was found at the local airport on the day he disappeared. That boy has never been traced. September 1991: The Needham family return to England due to illness but vow to continue the search. June 2003: The Metropolitan Police issue an image of what Ben might look like at age 12 - 14 years old. 2004: An anonymous businessman offers a reward of 500,000 for information leading to Ben's safe return. October 2010: Another public appeal is made by Ben's mother in the run-up to what would be his 21st birthday. May 2011: The BBC airs a programme called Missing 2011, which includes a piece on Ben's story and the campaign to find him. September 2011: Greek police on Kos officially re-open the case and grant the family a face-to-face meeting with the island's prosecutor. October 2012: South Yorkshire Police in Kos begin digging up mounds around the property where Ben went missing to look for his remains. December 2013: Ben's mother accuses then-Prime Minister David Cameron of not giving her case the same backing as he gave the parents of Madeline McCann. It comes as a dossier is produced containing reports from eight witnesses, none of who know each other, who all saw a boy possibly matching Ben's description with the same Greek family. December 2014: Lawyers representing Ben's family say they may take legal action to try to force the Government to make a decision about funding a new police investigation. January 2015: The Home Office agrees to fund a team of British detectives to help search for the toddler. March/April 2015: Three generations of Ben Needham's family travel to Greece to follow up a 'strong' lead that a man living there believes he may be the missing Brit due to having no photographs of himself under the age of two and no knowledge of where he was born. The man is later ruled out. May 2015: Ben's family make a fresh appeal on Greek television for information regarding the disappearance. May 2016: The Sun newspaper publishes a report that members of the police operation go on an 'eight-hour booze-up' in Kos during the latest stage of the investigation. September 2016: Ben's family are told to 'prepare for the worst' by detectives leading the investigation, amid the belief the 21-month-old was crushed to death by a digger - the driver of which died in 2015. It comes as police arrive in Kos to begin excavation work in the belief the boy's remains may be buried near the farmhouse The excavation, at what is now an olive grove, is expected to take up to 12 days, police say Digging began after a fresh line of inquiry suggested 21-month-old Ben may have been crushed to death by a digger near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating Advertisement

She told the Daily Mirror: Not even in my worst nightmares has Ben ever been dead... until now.

'Ive been waking up and finding my pillow wet with tears.

This witness told police we deserve the truth  but we deserved the truth 25 years ago. I feel like hes only come forward because Dino is now dead.

How can you hold on to such a secret as serious as that and for all those years?

Examination: Ben was 21 months old when he disappeared on 24 July 1991 during a family holiday

Ms Needham (pictured) said she was 'angry' when police told her about the tip-off and she now lives in fear that each day will bring the 'worst news possible'

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins is among the British officers at the scene in Kos, Greece

A new witness has claimed that 'Dino Barkas (pictured), who died of cancer last year, may have killed him in an accident with his JCB digger
Budget supermarket Aldi is set to open 70 new stores in Britain and embark on 300million revamp campaign after announcing record sales.

The popular German chain recorded profits of 7.7billion last year and will be injection vast sums of cash into sprucing up its stores across the UK.

Money will be used to improve fixtures for beers, wines and spirits and fresh produce, as well as a new 'food to go' feature, with more than 100 stores to be refurbished in 2017.

The British arm of Aldi has said it will invest 300 million in store revamps after posting another year of record sales

Chief executive Matthew Barnes said the move was the result of a 'listening exercise' involving more than 50,000 shoppers.

The firm also plans to increase its supermarket numbers from 659 to 1,000 by 2022.

Sales grew by 12% to 7.7 billion in 2015, with Aldi doubling its turnover in just three years.

Operating profits dipped 1.8% to 255.6 million, which the firm put down to its 'continued investment in prices'.

Aldi said its future capital expenditure plans are 'unaffected' by the UK's decision to quit the EU, pledging to make 'substantial investments', including enlarging two existing distribution sites, redeveloping its UK head office in Atherstone, Warwickshire, and opening a new distribution centre in Cardiff next year.

Mr Barnes said: 'During the past five years we have invested close to 1.7 billion in the UK by opening more stores than any other supermarket and enhancing our distribution capabilities.

'Our future capital expenditure plans are unchanged - we will continue to make significant investments in our business, paying our employees more than any other supermarket.'

Sales at Aldi grew by 12% to 7.7 billion in 2015, with Aldi doubling its turnover in just three years (stock photo)

SUPERMARKET SWEEP: HOW ALDI WON OVER THE WORLD The business was first formed in 1946 when Karl and Theo Albrecht took over the running of their mother's grocery stores in the German town of Essen. The name Aldi is a combination of 'Albrecht' and 'Discount' and the first branch was launched in 1962 - with 200 German stores following swiftly after. Soon the chain spread across the world with a store opening in 1976 in the US, 1990 in the UK and 1999 in Ireland. There are now 4,000 branches of the discount chain worldwide. First criticised by shoppers as cheap and low quality - Aldi has since rocketed in popularity, beating Waitrose to become the UK's sixth-largest supermarket chain this year. Among Aldi's shopping philosophy is a tendency to ignore 'buy one get one free' offers and a promotion of own brand goods - which are reported to make up around 90 per cent of their sales. After originally selling solely produce in its British stores Aldi has since moved into clothing, launching a formal office range earlier this year. Advertisement

Aldi said 761,000 new customers walked through its doors last year, helping its market share grow to a record high of 6.2%.

Mr Barnes said the firm would continue to invest in prices in order to maintain a 'significant price advantage' over rivals.

'Regardless of what competitors may say or do, our price advantage will be maintained and our customers will always pay the lowest grocery prices in the UK,' he said.
French president Francois Hollande has told Britain to play its part in resolving the migrant crisis after announcing the Calais 'Jungle' will be completely dismantled.

Hollande is on his first visit to Calais as president and will go to the notorious camp today where thousands of desperate migrants, mainly from Sudan and Afghanistan, want to go to Britain and try to stow away on lorries heading across the Channel.

Under pressure from the right wing, the French leader has stepped up his own pledge to combat illegal migration, promising to 'completely dismantle' the Jungle camp, home to 10,000 migrants.

French president Francois Hollande makes a speech during a visit to the Gendarmerie of Calais on a visit to the port town

His government has said this will happen 'before winter' and a flurry of preparations under way there suggest the operation may begin shortly.

And during a speech today to local gendarmerie while flanked by security forces, Hollande also added: 'I am determined to see British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking here.'

'The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it. We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively.'

But plans to relocate the migrants have sparked controversy and protests, with local residents in areas where new shelters could be established vehemently opposed to the move.

The Jungle camp has also become a sore point in relations between France and Britain.

Last week, building work began on a British-funded wall to clamp down on repeated attempts by migrants to stow away on trucks heading for Britain.

Rights groups have also strongly criticised the difficulties and dangers facing the up to 10,000 migrants living in the camp, with a 14-year-old Afghan boy killed by a car just last week as he tried to get onto a truck.

He also told Britain to play its part in resolving the migrant crisis after announcing the Calais 'Jungle' will be completely dismantled

The president's visit comes just days after one by his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy - who is hoping to make a comeback as president

The president's visit comes just days after one by his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy - who is hoping to make a comeback as president, with a harsh line on migration a key part of his campaign.

While in the port city he will meet with police, local politicians, business leaders and representatives from civil society groups, but he is not expected to visit the camp itself.

Migration has been a low-key issue under Hollande's four-year-old presidency.

But he has been forced to take a visible stance on the issue, under pressure from brash right-winger Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Year 12 students in Perth have celebrated being in their final year of school by spraying graffiti on a wall - but they spelt all the words wrong.

In an embarrassing faux pas students from Ballajura, a suburb north of the city, meant to spray the tag 'LEAVERS 2016' on a residential wall, reported WA Today.

Leavers is the Western Australian slang term for schoolies.

Students from the Perth suburb of Ballajura sprayed graffiti on a wall but in an embarrassing faux pas, they spent the phrase 'Leavers 2016' wrong (pictured)

The students started spraying the letters 'LEAV' in black spray paint, but then crossed them out.

They went on to spray the words 'EAEVRS 0216', not only spelling the word 'Leavers' wrong but also mixing up the numbers in 2016.

The image was posted to a Facebook group called Perth - Have a Whinge and attracted plenty of comments.

While some people labelled it a joke, others said suggested the students needed to stay at school a bit longer and learn how to spell.

One person said: 'I think there's a bit of tongue in cheek humour to this one.'

'It's pretty clever if you ask me,' another user wrote.

'Seriously though, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to blame autocorrect,' said another.
A revenge porn hacker shared nude pictures of twenty women after breaking into their iCloud accounts.

The hacker snatched risque photos of his victims, who were all from the Lanarkshire area of Scotland and aged between 19-27, before sharing them on Facebook and other forums.

Police Scotland had vowed to pass on the details of the incidents on to their cyber crime unit, who would then contact Apple in an effort to trace the hacker.

A revenge porn hacker shared nude pictures of twenty women after breaking into their iCloud accounts (file photo)

However, officers have warned there is little they can do to get the photos taken down from web pages as in some cases they had been shared by parties in foreign countries, reports the Daily Record.

The sickening attacks come as an official report reveals that more than 200 revenge pornography prosecutions have been brought since new laws to tackle the crime were rolled out.

The figure was disclosed as Britain's most senior prosecutor warned of a 'growing trend' of offences perpetrated on or through social media.

There were 206 cases started against defendants accused of disclosing private sexual images without consent in 2015/16.

The offence - which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison - was introduced in April last year after calls from campaigners and victims.

Victims of the hacker in Scotland have said they are 'devastated' and 'humiliated' after being targeted but are trying to support each other.

One 22-year-old woman told how she was horrified to see that racy photos she had taken for an ex-boyfriend had been shared on a site called 'Scottish Amateurs'.

She told the Daily Record: 'They were pictures taken for the person I loved, not for the whole world to see and judge me.

The attacks come as an report reveals more than 200 revenge porn prosecutions have been brought since new laws to tackle the crime were introduced (file photo)

'It's horrendous to see your body exposed like that without your consent.'

Some of the women said they had felt too embarrassed to leave their homes and feel ashamed after the private images were exposed.

One victim told the Daily Record: 'I feel everyone is talking about me and laughing at me.'

Police Scotland are still yet to track down the perpetrator but have warned people to be careful when sharing 'sensitive' images online.

A spokesman said: 'We advise everyone to be extremely careful when sharing sensitive images on any form of social media.
A dog which waited patiently for a year by the roadside in the hope her owner would pick her up and take her home has been hit and killed by a car.

The three-year-old bitch, called Loung, fell out of a car or pick-up truck last year on a main road through eastern Thailand.

The Sukhumvit Road, or Thailand Route 3, is a major highway between Bangkok and Cambodia and Loung's owner apparently did not notice she had fallen out until they reached home and had no idea where to look for her.

Loung (pictured) waited patiently by the roadside in the village of Ban Nong Khon but her owner never returned

Local people in the village of Ban Nong Khon in Chanthaburi province fed her for months as she waited patiently by the roadside for her owner to return.

She became something of a minor local celebrity and many people took photographs of her, which have since been posted on Facebook.

But tragedy struck last week, reports the Bangkok Post when the faithful mutt was run over and killed by a vehicle as she strolled along the highway.

Loung (pictured) became something of a local celebrity and people would stop to feed her but tragedy struck last week

Loung's story has gone viral in Thailand after being posted on Facebook and Thai media was urged to drop grisly pictures of the dead animal in a pool of blood.

Some reports on social media said that various people had turned up in recent months claiming to be her owner but she ran off into nearby orchards when they tried to put a collar and leash on her.
Anti-abortion activists have been handing out doll foetuses to women as they enter a rural clinic to dissuade them from accessing the services.

About a dozen anti-abortionists have been picketing the Fertility Control Clinic in Albury at the NSW border every Thursday for the last few years.

And one of their 'shameful' tactics is to give women plastic doll foetuses as they enter the clinic, pro-choice campaigner Liz Marmo told Daily Mail Australia.

Anti-abortion activists have been handing out doll foetuses (Pictured) to women as they enter a rural clinic in Albury at the NSW border

The dolls handed to women entering the clinic have toes, toenails, fingers, ears and rib cages

As many as 30 or 40 people have previously lined the footpath surrounding the Albury clinic

The 54-year-old said the tactic had been going on for years, but said the group had been hiding the dolls from the pro-choice campaigners.

The anti-abortionists have become more open about the 'shameful new low' over the past six to eight weeks, and now have the dolls placed in a woven basket for all to see.

It's not clear what foetal age the dolls are supposed to represent, but Ms Marmo believes they are not anatomically correct.

Up to a dozen anti-abortionists stand outside Fertility Control Clinic in Albury every Thursday

Pro-choice campaigner Liz Marmo said the activists are 'just trying to shock the women'

She said the dolls have little toes and toenails, fingers, ears and rib cages.

The group's 'disgusting' a-frames that line the footpath also have 'distorted' images of foetuses, Ms Marmo said.

'They're just trying to shock the women,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'They're trying to shame the women.'

The pro-choice 54-year-old has kept an eye on the tactics of the picketers for more than three years.

She said one of the anti-abortionists has been splashing 'holy water' along the footpath outside at 1.10pm every Thursday.

The party spokesperson for the status of women introduced a bill to state parliament last month to decriminalise abortion and enact 'buffer zones' around clinics

Ms Marmo said picketers appear to take the car spaces right outside the clinic to force women to walk right past them

And the picketers try to make eye-contact with the women entering the clinic to stare them down.

'A lot of the women put their heads down and walk the gauntlet. They just want to get in there.'

Ms Marmo said the picketers appear to intentionally take car spaces outside the clinic so the women are forced to walk past them.

She said she believes staff let their patients know protesters may be there, and women often arrive with their hair down flanked with a support person or persons.

The group's 'disgusting' a-frames that line the footpath also have 'distorted' images of foetuses, according to Ms Marmo

NSW and Queensland are yet to follow Victoria's lead and enforce an exclusion zone around abortion clinics

Their partners or friends will often have to say 'no' several times before the picketers give up trying to dissuade them from accessing an abortion, Ms Marmo said.

'Last Thursday I heard a woman say "f*** off". But [the picketers] will still try to give them a pamphlet.'

The Albury clinic has security guards at their entrance to intervene where necessary.

'Fertility clinics are the only medical clinics that need to employ security guards,' Ms Marmo said.

The Albury clinic has hired security guards at their entrance to intervene where necessary

The image shows one of the plastic doll foetuses used to scare off women on top of a book

Ms Marmo said as many as 30 or 40 people have previously lined the footpath, but now it's 'just the die-hards'.

'They're just woeful people,' she said. 'They're just so wrapped up in their own feelings and in their own faith to worry about how the women are feeling.'

Ms Marmo said the protesters claim to be there because they 'love and support the women', but instead leave them 'traumatised'.

She and a few other women stand outside the clinic in opposition to the anti-abortionists, but keep their distance to avoid infringing on the privacy of the patients.

The clinic is the only one of its kind in the area, and Ms Marmo said she has spoken to women who've had to travel up to two hours to access the clinic's services.

Pro-choice campaigner Liz Marmo and few others stand outside the clinic in opposition of the anti-abortion activists

A pamphlet for the Women's Life Centre in Lavington NSW offering counselling for pregnant women and offer practical and emotional support, according to its website

However, the clinic does not solely perform abortions.

Just over the border in Victoria, about 500 metres away, women are able to access abortions without harassment after the government introduced 150-metre exclusion zones last year.

NSW and Queensland are yet to introduce exclusion zones. Abortions remain under the Crimes Act in both states.

'NSW and Queensland have to get with the times, it's 2016. Women have come further - now we can even vote and gee whiz we can work. And lo-and-behold we can even make up our own minds,' Ms Marmo said.

'We need exclusion zones around fertility clinics,' Ms Marmo said.

'This is the only way that women will feel safe. They don't have to feel any shame.'

A poll of more than 1,000 NSW residents found that 87 per cent support the right to abortion

NSW Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi took to Facebook on Monday to call the tactic of handing out foetal dolls 'disgusting'.

The party spokesperson for the status of women introduced a bill to state parliament last month to decriminalise abortion and enact 'buffer zones' around clinics.

Ms Faruqi last September conducted polling on more than 1,000 NSW residents and found 87 per cent support the right to abortion and 89 per cent supported the right to seek an abortion without harassment.

Ms Marmo told Daily Mail Australia the exclusion zones were not just needed to protect the clinic's patients, but to protect neighbouring residents and businesses.

'Their presence has caused so much upset to that community in that street,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Fertility Control Clinic for comment.

A woman splashes holy water along the footpath at the clinic every Thursday at 1.10pm

Anti-abortionists are pictured reading material outside the Albury clinic
The victim, in his 20s, was taken to hospital with lower body

A man believed to be in his 20s has been shot multiple times in the leg in the car park of a busy Melbourne shopping centre on Monday afternoon.

Police said the shooting took place at around 3.30pm outside the Officeworks store at Campbellfield Plaza shopping centre, in Melbourne's north.

The alleged shooter - who remains at large - is believed to have fled the scene in a red Holden Commodore heading towards the nearby suburb of Dallas.

A man has been shot multiple times in the leg outside the Officeworks store at Campbellfield Plaza shopping centre, in Melbourne's north

The alleged shooter - who remains at large - is believed to have fled the scene in a red Holden Commodore

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said the victim had sustained lower body injuries and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.

No one else was injured in the incident.

Investigators also received reports of a number of shots being fired near the intersection of Riggall and Blair street, Broadmeadows a short time later.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said Armed Crime Squad detectives were investigating the incident.

'It is believed a number of shots were fired into the air and a car matching the same description was also seen in the area,' the spokesperson said.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said Armed Crime Squad detectives were investigating the incident

A witness told the Herald Sun that horrified shoppers watched on in shock as the man was repeatedly shot.

'Everyone saw it,' she said.

'They said it sounded like fire crackers going off. But it was actually the multiple shots from the gun.'

'He dropped to the ground pretty much right near the front door of Officeworks.'
Police are now investigating a Coronation Street star sacked for calling Indians 'b******' and 'p*** drinking c****'.

Marc Anwar, 45, who plays love cheat Sharif Nazir in the long running soap, has apologised in a YouTube video - but insists his anger over Kashmir remains 'sincere'.

Today Greater Manchester Police said that they are investigating his tweets after they were reported as a hate crime.

A spokesman said: ' On Sunday September 25 we received a report of a hate crime. Police have launched an investigation and enquiries are ongoing'.

Mr Anwar has lost his job on the soap and today he blamed a 'moment of madness' for his vitriolic abuse of Indians.

But he maintained that his tweets were borne out of anger at attacks on Kashmir and that his feelings for Pakistani people caught up in the conflict are 'sincere'.

Apology: Sacked Corrie star Marc Anwar, 45, has made a video apology over anti-Indian tweets

Marc Anwar, 45, who plays the role of Sharif Nazir in Corrie, referred to Indians as b******s' and 'p***-drinking c***s' on Twitter

This led to fresh outrage on Twitter with people questioning whether the star is genuinely sorry.

In a video message he said: ' I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening and especially people from India. This was never my intention.

'The language was unacceptable. I feel I have let a lot of people down. My family, my friends and my former colleagues. This I sincerely apologise for.

Mr Anwar, from Rochdale, joined Coronation Street in 2014 to play the role of Kal's [Jimi Mistry] father in what was the first Muslim family on the show

'On Friday evening I saw on the news children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir. This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out and vented my anger.

'My feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir and I hope that everyone that everyone I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me'.

Mr Anwar's tweets on Friday night have cost him his lucrative job on Coronation Street, who are having to swiftly re-write scripts up until Christmas after his sacking.

He had referred to Indians as killers and suggested on Twitter that Pakistanis should refuse to work in their country.

ITV bosses were alerted to the posts and fired the actor, who joined the soap as a member of the first Muslim family on the cobbles in February 2014, with immediate effect.

But Anwar, whose character was set to feature heavily in Christmas episodes, is still likely to appear in future episodes. It would be impossible for directors to edit him out of all scenes already recorded.

In a statement a spokesman for ITV said: We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar. We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect.

The comments were posted on Friday  just days after 17 soldiers were killed at a Kashmir airbase  sparking a clash between India and Pakistan.

During his rant  in which he inserted asterisks in the most offensive words  Anwar said: Why the **** do Pakistani artists want work in **** face India, do you love money so much.

Just two months ago he was pictured with police endorsing their campaign against hate crime

He followed that up by tweeting an image of a clenched fist before adding: Ban #india movies in #Pakistanis LeaveIndia. B******s **** drinking *****.

Referring to clashes between the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narenda Modi the actor tweeted: ******* Indians killing our Kashmir brothers and sisters...!

In another he attacked India and called on Pakistanis to leave the country.

Anwar, who has appeared in Hollywood films such as Captain Phillips and 51st State, as well as Emmerdale and Holby City, deleted the offensive tweets and apologised.

But Baroness Hussein-Ece, a Liberal Democrat and vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community told the Sunday Mirror: I understand the frustration but it doesnt justify the kind of language hes used and blaming all Indians.

It is one thing to campaign and another to say these kind of things on Twitter.

There are atrocious human rights abuses occurring there. People are dying. Im not for a minute undermining that. But he is a public figure and hes gone about this in the wrong way.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the charity Faith Matters, added: Its unacceptable. You cant just blame a whole group of people for a conflict.

If youre on Coronation Street, youre in a powerful position, you have huge influence on social media. If the reverse happened and it was said Pakistanis are bad, he wouldnt like it. Its ludicrous and those comments dont work one way or the other.
Dallas Police department is facing a crisis as dozens of experienced officers rush to take early retirement because the city's pension fund is about to run out.

Even the Chief of Police David Brown has handed in his notice and will retire early next month after the long-term viability of the pot was damaged by high-risk investments.

The City's police department lost five officers in July when they were targeted by a lone sniper during a Black Lives Matter protest.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown, pictured, is one of the department's officers who are retiring after fears have been expressed over the long-term viability of the city's pension fund

Currently, there are 3,355 officers in the department, down from a historic high of 3,600.

The police and fire department's pension fund was hit by a scandal where the former trustees invested in risky real estate developments which had to be written down in value.

This prompted senior officials such as Chief Brown and the head of the police union in the city to retire and move their pension pots out of the scheme.

Dallas Police and the city's fire department have a joint pension fund. Administrators have called for calm, but many officers are retiring early because of serious questions over the viability of the scheme.

Brown, who received national acclaim for his handling of the sniper attack, surprised the city on September 1 by announcing his retirement, effective October 22.

He then moved up his retirement date to October 4, saying he wanted to take advantage of 'time-sensitive opportunities'. He did not elaborate.

The head of the department's largest police union did elaborate on his pension concerns when he announced his retirement, also effective October 4.

Ron Pinkston told local TV: 'I wanted to make sure that I was able to move it and get it invested somewhere safe. I don't know anything anybody else doesn't know that has been doing their homework. And hopefully everybody that's in my position, that's thinking about it, is doing their homework, is checking their numbers.'

Chief Brown, pictured in July with President Obama, received national acclaim for his handling of the aftermath of the Dallas sniper attack, but handed in his resignation two months later after risky investments impacted the pension pot

Dallas Police Department currently has 3,355 officers from a historic high of 3,600 and that figure is expected to fall further as experienced men and women retire from the service. Cops are seen during the shooting at a Black Lives Matter rally on July 7 that left five officers dead

In a statement, Pinkston also accused city leaders of 'running off talented officers' with bad pay and benefits.

He added: 'Dallas is on a dangerous path toward a future marred with fear and violence.'

The police and fire pension fund spent almost a decade basing its financial health on artificially inflated asset values from risky real estate investments, according to its executive director.

After devaluing those assets to reflect actual worth, the plan is about 45 per cent funded and projected to run out of money in less than 15 years, Texas Pension Review Board numbers show.

More than half of the system's $2.5 billion in assets are in deferred retirement funds, according to Kelly Gottschalk, who took over in 2015 after the fund's previous executive director resigned over the investment scandal.

Five members of Dallas Police Department were murdered by a lone sniper on July 7. Officers are seen shielding bystanders after shots were fired amid the chaos

Pension leaders expected some retirees to withdraw their deferred retirement funds early when proposed plan fixes were announced, Gottschalk said, but the numbers have been greater than expected. She declined to provide numbers.

She revealed: 'People are reading a lot into the chief moving his date up. Mr. Pinkston deciding to retire ... then saying he did it to move his money certainly isn't going to help the situation.'

Deferred retirement plans, in general, allow employees who are eligible for retirement to continue working while diverting a portion of their income to a tax-protected fund.

They were created to offer incentives to departments' senior officials to continue working a few extra years to allow for a more stable workforce and time to train replacements.

But the Dallas department designed its deferred plan differently, allowing members to work as long as they wanted and guaranteeing 8 to 10 per cent interest. With hundreds of officers participating, that makes the program one of the largest threats to keeping the pension system financially stable, Gottschalk said.

Jean-Pierre Aubry, who studies public pension plans as associate director of State and Local Research at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, said the low level of funding of the Dallas police and fire pension plan was worrisome.

He said: 'The funded ratio for the local plans we have information for was 66 percent on average. Forty-five percent is very low in absolute terms.'

Plan administrators are hoping ongoing negotiations with the city will result in financial solutions.

'These are complicated problems that did not happen overnight, and solutions will not happen overnight,' city spokeswoman Sana Syed said.

The police and fire pension board has called a special meeting for Monday. In a September 16 letter to members, board Chairman Sam Friar urged calm and asked members 'not to act rashly'.

Still, about a dozen former and current officers stood in the pension system's lobby one day last week, waiting to submit their retirement papers or transfer their deferred retirement funds to outside accounts. Several said they were concerned about access to those funds being frozen; others mentioned the cue from top officials.

Gottschalk said people were misreading Brown's intentions. She said the chief told her that he only wanted to move up his retirement date to hit the October 4 deadline to start receiving pension checks in November.
A mother is preparing to drive her 13st Great Dane 2,500 miles to Spain after an airline told her the dog was too big to go on board with her.

Sam King, from Herefordshire, wanted to fly her three-year-old pet, Harold, and two other dogs Ellie and Pillie, to Tenerife to see her 20-year-old son Danny who lives on the island.

But she was forced to rethink her plans after Monarch Airlines said the 4ft tall dog was too big to fit in the aircraft's animal crate.

Sam King (pictured) is preparing to drive her 13st Great Dane 2,500 miles to Spain after an airline told her the dog was too big to go on board with her

Sam King, from Herefordshire, wanted to fly her three-year-old pet, Harold, and two other dogs Ellie and Pillie, to Tenerife to see her 20-year-old son Danny who lives on the island

The 49-year-old is now facing prospect of a 2,483-mile drive down through France and Spain as well as two ferry trips to reach the holiday island.

She plans to spend three months in Tenerife - but will first have to spend 2,000 in fuel, road tolls and ferry trips in a huge 63-hour road trip.

The care assistant said she did not want to put her pets in a kennel during her visit.

She told The Sun: 'Harold is huge. Whenever we take him out for a walk, people stop and take photos of him. He's like a celebrity.

Road trip: Sam King will have to spend days travelling from Hereford to Tenerife

She was forced to rethink her plans after Monarch Airlines said the 4ft tall dog (pictured) was too big to fit in the aircraft's animal crate

The 49-year-old is now facing prospect of a 2,483-mile drive down through France and Spain as well as two ferry trips to reach the holiday island

A spokesperson for Monarch Airlines said the maximum height any cage can be for an animal was 43ins 'otherwise the cage will not fit through the cargo door

'I was pretty shocked when the plane company said Harold was too big for them but apparently they don't have a pet crate big enough for him.

'It's not the airline's fault but it does mean I've got a hell of a drive to go and see my son.'

She said the journey could end up taking more than four days with ferry trips and breaks along the way.

She is due to drive from Hereford to Folkestone, Kent, before taking the Channel Tunnel to France and driving down to the south of Spain.

The care assistant plans to spend three months in Tenerife - but will first have to spend 2,000 in fuel, road tolls and ferry trips in a huge 63-hour road trip

Sam will then catch a 34-hour ferry to Gran Canaria before taking a separate crossing to Tenerife

The journey could end up taking more than four days with ferry trips and breaks along the way

She will then catch a 34-hour ferry to Gran Canaria before taking a separate crossing to Tenerife.

A spokesperson for Monarch Airlines said the maximum height any cage can be for an animal was 43ins 'otherwise the cage will not fit through the cargo door.

'Unfortunately, this Great Dane is too tall to fit into a cage, and animals need to be comfortable during transit,' the spokesman added.

'We love transporting animals and do so for a lot of our customers, but he is physically too high to fit into a cage.'

Great Dane Harold is so big he can not fit on a plane and his owner will now have to drive and catch the ferry to Tenerife
A pro-Kremlin protester threw urine at 'naked' pictures taken by US photographer Jock Sturges as opponents forced the closure of his Moscow exhibition which they branded 'paedophilia' and 'child pornography'.

A leading senator along with Vladimir Putin's children's ombudsman spoke out against the images, while a 20-strong grouping from a little-known group called Officers of Russia, some wearing military fatigues, blocked entry to the gallery where his work was portrayed.

After the exhibition was closed, journalists were shown the pictures, and a man in a leather jacket poured a plastic bottle filled with urine on some of the photographs.

A man is arrested after a bottle of urine was thrown at the photographs on display

'This should be the position of every Russian. Our culture should be Russian. We don't need European culture here,' said the protester before he was handed over to police.

The exhibition's supporters claim the forced closure is another example of censorship in Putin's Russia, with gallery curator Natalia Litvinskaya insisting the show had 'nothing to do with paedophilia'.

She suspended it due to 'threats from absolutely delusional people', but she said there were no demands from the police or the authorities to shut it.

The photographer, known for picturing naked children and adolescents and also their parents, said he was 'saddened' by the axing of his work, stressing: 'These photographs have been published all over the world, and no gallery or museum saw pornography in them. It simply isn't there.'

Jock Sturges (pictured, right, with Russian photographer Yan Linn) has courted controversy in the past with his photographs

Anton Tsvetkov, leader of Officers of Russia - a self-appointed group which says it is defending public morals - said it was wrong 'only three minutes from the Kremlin, in the very heart of this country, to position this paedophilic photographer'.

He said 'taking pictures of nude children and exposing them is not allowed' under Russian law.

He turned some of the images to face the wall.

Mr Tsvetkov said: 'Of the 35 pictures, approximately 15 percent, from my point of view, are not quite correct.

'They show partly naked children. From my point of view, such photos should not be exhibited here.'

He admitted the show did not contain some of Sturges' more explicit images but said he had received a 'huge number of complaints'.

The gallery had earlier said the images were of girls from families who regularly spent summer holidays at naturist camps.

Mr Sturges was quoted by the organisers as saying: 'Nudity means nothing to anybody here. People are naked because they are naturists and spend their summers in a resort dedicated to the absence of shame.'

But leading senator Yelena Mizulina said: 'This exhibition is a public demonstration of materials with child pornography, which is banned by Russian laws.'

She said: 'It is necessary to check who gave permission for such an exhibition to be held.

'I am convinced that the works showing nude little girls, which are displayed at the exhibition, cannot be interpreted as a work of art.

'This is a mere propaganda of paedophilia. The exhibition must be urgently closed.'

Russia's children's ombudsman, Anna Kuznetsova, called on state prosecutors to check the exhibits for child pornography.

Anton Tsvetkov (pictured, centre) said: 'Such photos should not be exhibited here'

She said: 'This is just terrible that a photo exhibition by an author whose works have been recognised as child pornography could have a place in the "cultural" life of our capital.

'Talks have been held with prosecutors regarding the "Jock Sturges: Absence of Shame" exhibition at the Lumiere Brothers Centre for Photography, and the need to organise a prosecutorial inspection. We are now awaiting concrete steps.'

The exhibition of the California-based photographer had been running in Moscow for two weeks before the protests began.

Officers of Russia calls itself a patriotic association of former and serving military and 'concerned citizens' and claims to have more than 100,000 members.

Mr Tsvetkov also heads the security committee of Russia's Public Chamber, a body which advises Putin.

One activist, Timofei Bendas, 20, said the images were 'dirty, vile and disgusting'.

A woman speaks to one of the members of Officers of Russia, a group of military and former servicemen, who stood outside the gallery and forced the exhibition to be suspended

Gallery owner Eduard Litvinsky said: 'We took a joint decision to close the exhibition.

'There was a public reaction and we can't do anything about this.'

The closure sparked a reaction with cries of 'shame' from supporters at the exhibition.

Radio presenter Alexander Plyushchev said: 'A non-governmental organisation supported by private security guards sets the rules in Moscow with complete lack of police intervention.'

A year ago Russian Orthodox activists from a group called God's Will damaged sculptures at an exhibition of non-conformist Soviet art, describing it as blasphemous.

Mr Sturges has also faced problems in the US.

In 1990 his San Francisco studio was raided by FBI officers but a grand jury declined to bring an indictment against him.

A Russian radio presenter said it was worrying that a non-government organisation could shut down an exhibition without any intervention by the police

Eight years later there were attempts in two states to have his books classed as child pornography.

He told Ren TV in Russia the parents gave their consent for their children, if under-age, to appear in his photographs.

Mr Sturges, who was born in New York in 1947, said: 'These were my neighbours, my friends whom I photographed with their families over 40 years. My photographs show approximately 25 families that I was taking pictures of starting from the 1970s.'

He said: 'I am very saddened because Moscow looks like a 21st century's city. It's breathtaking.

'Moscow changed so much during the last 40 years. I met most fascinating people with such broad outlook that I was amazed after talking to them'.
John McDonnell has told Labour activists they should no longer 'whisper' about socialism as he unveiled a sweeping programme of huge taxpayer-funded spending and a 10 minimum wage.

The shadow chancellor promoted collective bargaining and rights for employees to buy collapsing firms as he promised 250billion for a national investment bank and floated again the idea of a 'universial basic income' to replace benefits.

The shadow chancellor used his main appearance at the conference in Liverpool to urge activists and MPs to unite behind Mr Corbyn, warning the party had to prepare for an election 'at any time'.

Business chiefs slammed the plans, warning Labour against heading back in time to promote policies such as mass collective bargaining, giving workers the right to buy businesses facing closure and vast public spending.

On the eve of Mr McDonnell's speech he was mocked by his predecessor as shadow chancellor for making promises about a 'magic money tree'.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, pictured with Jeremy Corbyn after his speech today, said promised a higher minimum wage under a 'socialist' Labour government

The Labour faithful gathered under rainy skies today for a conference which has been dominated by a grim mood about the party's prospects and low attendances as Mr Corbyn's opponents stay away.

As activists met on day two in Liverpool:

John McDonnell vowed to open the spending taps to overhaul Britain's infrastructure with a massive 250billion national investment bank

The shadow chancellor said would Labour prioritise higher pay and said the minimum wage would be increased to 10 under Labour. It is currently 7.20 and is due to rise to around 9 by 2020

Mr McDonnell also promised to crack down on tax avoidance in his big speech to conference and sketched out reforms to business laws to stop Sir Philip Green and other businessmen running up huge debts

Labour also announced new policy on fracking, promising an outright ban to help the fight against climate change - but GMB said it would leave Britain reliant on 'hangmen'

Shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis became embroiled in a fresh row over Trident nuclear weapons after the leader's office urged him to remove a promise not to unpick party policy to buy new submarines

Mr Corbyn launched a protest against himself by holding up a placard demanding the reinstatement of the shadow mental health minister position he abolished in July

In his conference speech, Mr McDonnell recalled his childhood in a tiny home and the life changing moment his family got their own council house.

Mr McDonnell said: 'Our generation always thought that from here on there would always be a steady improvement in people's living standards.

'We expected the lives of each generation would improve upon the last. Successive Tory governments put an end to that.

'Under Jeremy's leadership, I believe that we can restore that optimism, people's faith in the future. In the birthplace of John Lennon, it falls to us to inspire people to imagine.

'Imagine the society that we can create. It's a society that's radically transformed, radically fairer, more equal and more democratic.'

He added: 'In this party you no longer have to whisper it, it's called Socialism.'

Mr McDonnell's speech also included promises on tax avoidance and crackdowns on business rules - but he faced mockery from opponents who said he had a magic money tree

Mr McDonnell took centre stage for his speech today while Mr Corbyn - at one point grappling with Emily Thornberry's handbag - listened to the conference from the platform

Simon Walker, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said: 'The Shadow chancellor played a few good notes but the overall tone was concerning for business.

AN AGENDA FOR OFFICE? McDONNELL'S PLANS FOR NO 11 John McDonnell spelled out a detailed programme of what he would do as Chancellor in the event - viewed as impossible by most of the party's MPs - Labour ever won an election under Jeremy Corbyn. They included: Collective bargaining: Sectoral collective bargaining would be reintroduced by Labour. They will also repeal the Trade Union Act 'within the first 100 days of a Labour government,' McDonnell told activists. Right to own: There would be a new 'right to own' for workers, to allow new co-operatives to take over struggling businesses, rather than letting them go bust. Protecting pensions: 'Under Labour there will be no more Philip Greens,' says John McDonnell, as he outlines new plans to protect the pensions of workers in the wake of the BHS closures. Investment bank plans: There will be a new 250billion investment bank, backed up by a network of regional investment banks, to grow the economy. It will allow small businesses to be able to access the funds they need to grow. Tax avoidance: Mr McDonnell said Labour has already shown it is serious in tackling tax avoidance and evasion. 'We will throw a light on where the tax dodgers are hiding their money,' he adds. Austerity: John McDonnell wants to 'call a halt' to the Tories' austerity programme. Advertisement

'While he is right to identify skills and infrastructure as important issues, a return to a subsidising industry through bumper levels of Government borrowing is the last thing that Britain needs.

'At a time when we need an economy that is forward-looking and open to the world, protectionism must be avoided at all costs.'

Terry Scuoler, chief executive of the EEF, which represents manufacturers, criticised Mr McDonnell over his call for a return to collective bargaining on wages.

Mr Scuoler said: 'Business will need to be convinced, however, that some of the proposed policies are relevant for a modern economy. In particular, a return to collective bargaining is a backward step.'

Dr Adam Marshall, acting director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, told The Telegraph: 'It would be far too early in their policy development to say we are on the same page as Labour.

'We are happy to have a conversation with Her Majesty's Opposition about their plans.'

Mark Littlewood, director-general of the free-market Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, dismissed Mr McDonnell's interventionist plans as 'fantasy economics'.

'The shadow chancellor wants a return to the industrial strategy of the 1970s, ignoring the past failures of a raft of initiatives, from subsidising the nuclear industry to Concorde,' he said.

'It's time for the shadow chancellor to get real. The long-term economic prosperity of the UK will not be secured by shifting taxation to wealth, by higher spending or by more regulation. Labour's strategy amounts to huge private sector 'austerity' in order to protect and expand the public sector.

'This would be disastrous for the health of the UK economy.'

Mr McDonnell announced a 10 an hour minimum wage and promised to spend hundreds of billions of pounds on new infrastructure

Mr McDonnell - who began his day repeating the claim Labour had been ahead in the polls before MPs tried to remove Mr Corbyn - said the party had to prepare to move into government.

The latest opinion polls have painted a dismal picture for Labour as the party sinks to just 26 per cent support, 15 points behind the Tories - enough to hand Theresa May a majority of 100.

The shadow chancellor said as well as a higher minimum wage, he would end the 'scourge' of tax avoidance.

Ahead of his speech, Mr McDonnell was mocked his predecessor Chris Leslie for promising 'magic money tree' of unlimited public spending which the leadership thought could 'make all our dreams come true'

Mr McDonnell began his day going from studio to studio completing a series of interviews on his economic plans

And he vowed to change the law to stop businessmen like Sir Philip Green taking on large amounts of debt.

Mr McDonnell stood by his plans for vast new spending via a 250billion national investment bank.

He said: 'Be certain, the next Labour government will be an interventionist government.

'We will not stand by like this one has and see our key industries flounder and our future prosperity put at risk.

'After Brexit, we want to see a renaissance in British manufacturing and as we've committed ourselves, our government will create an entrepreneurial state that works with the wealth creators, the workers and the entrepreneurs to create the products and the markets that will secure our long term prosperity.'

Analysis of polling in the year since Mr Corbyn became Labour leader for the first time reveals consistent Tory leads. The polls tightened around George Osborne's disastrous Budget in the spring and the parties were level a week after the referendum - but then the Tory lead soared

The most recent survey, by ICM, put the Conservatives on 41 per cent while Labour trailed on just 26 per cent

Earlier, Mr McDonnell repeated a bizarre claim that Jeremy Corbyn was beating the Tories before Labour MPs tried and failed to remove him in a coup.

In remarks that will infuriate MPs at the party conference in Liverpool, the shadow chancellor insisted it was not Mr Corbyn's leadership which had left Labour in its deepest crisis for 100 years.

Analysis of almost 100 polls in the past year reveals Labour was ahead in just three surveys while Tory leads have extended as far as 16 per cent.

Recent results have been Labour's worst ever in opposition and Mr Corbyn's personal approval ratings trail up to 100 points behind Prime Minister Theresa May.

Labour activists were in grim mood today as splits in the party were obvious across the conference agenda in Liverpool

Mr McDonnell today urged Labour MPs to return to Mr Corbyn's front bench but said a reshuffle was not imminent.

The contest against Mr Corbyn was triggered after almost every member of his front bench team resigned in protest at his inept leadership.

Mr McDonnell told the BBC: 'To anyone who has resigned, there is an open door. Anyone who has resigned we have asked to come back and have a conversation.

'I would like to see virtually all of them back - well all of them. I thought we were working pretty well.

'Up until the leadership election took place I thought we were doing pretty well. The vast bulk of the Parliamentary Labour Party were getting on with the job and I thought we were doing incredibly well.

'We were winning elections, parliamentary by-elections, we were winning mayoral elections, local government elections  in a number of polls we had levelled with the Tories and in some of them we had actually gone ahead of them.'

Mr Corbyn spent much of the morning on the main Labour platform today listening to a series of major speeches from his remaining shadow cabinet members

Lisa Nandy, who quit as shadow energy secretary, revealed frustration at the leadership's analysis on the conference fringes yesterday.

She indicated it was a factor which would deter her from returning to Labour's front line in the aftermath of Mr Corbyn's re-election. The leader extended his mandate when the results were announced on Saturday.

Mr McDonnell completed a series of media interviews at the conference today before his big speech on the economy later

The shadow chancellor looked tired after completing a battery of interviews for breakfast television and radio

Ms Nandy said: 'Even as late as yesterday there were senior members of the leadership out saying we were ahead in the opinion polls, that we were doing well and just needed to go back to what we were doing before.

'I just don't agree with that because I can feel the public moving away from us, even in towns like mine where people have a strong commitment to social justice and have voted Labour consistently for 100 years.

'We have got to take that seriously. Brexit, Scotland, these were warnings to us.

'But there is another warning from history as well and that is the fate of the Liberal Party.

'If you stand still while the world around you changes, then it doesn't matter whether you are radical because you cease to be relevant and then you're not a force any more.'

Labour civil war goes nuclear! Shadow defence secretary 'punched wall' after Corbyn aide forces him to drop Trident renewal commitment from speech

Jeremy Corbyn is embroiled in a bitter row with one of his closest allies today over the Labour leader's refusal to accept renewal of Trident.

Seumas Milne, the veteran left-winger's closest aide, is said to have stepped in to tone down shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis's party conference speech just minutes before it was delivered.

Mr Lewis had been expected to dismiss the idea of unpicking the party's policy of supporting Britain's nuclear deterrent.

Shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis, pictured delivering his speech at Labour conference in Liverpool today, is said to have been infuriated that the text was edited

But when the MP stepped on to the platform in Liverpool he reportedly was handed a post-it note telling him the autocue text had been edited.

Instead, Mr Lewis - who has supported Mr Corbyn through the rebellion by MPs - delivered a blander statement recognising that the party 'has a policy for party renewal'.

Even so, anti-nuclear campaign group CND - of which Mr Corbyn is still vice-president - condemned his comments.

Some reports suggested Mr Lewis was so angry afterwards he punched a wall, and cancelled an appearance on the BBC to talk about his speech.

Jeremy Corbyn is slammed AGAIN for failing to tackle anti-Semitism after a Momentum activist claims it has been 'weaponised' against the Labour leader

Jeremy Corbyn is failing to tackle anti-Semitism in the party an MP warned today after an activist claimed racism had been 'weaponised' against the Labour leader.

Wes Streeting, a fierce critic of Mr Corbyn and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Jews, spoke out as the issue came to the fore again at the party's conference.

On the fringes of the party conference in Liverpool, controversial Momentum activist Jackie Walker last night accused opponents of Mr Corbyn of 'weaponising' and 'exaggerating' anti-Semitism against the Labour leader.

Leaflets distributed outside a meeting on religious hatred by the left-wing pressure group Momentum were branded 'anti-Semitic and undeniably racist' by Mr Streeting.

Labour MP Wes Streeting (file picture) has condemned Jeremy Corbyn for not doing enough after 'undeniably racist' leaflets about Jews were distributed on the fringes of the Labour conference

The leaflets claimed that the Jewish Labour Movement acted as 'a representative of a foreign power, Israel' and called for it to be disaffiliated from the Labour Party.

Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'That last comment, 'acts as a representative of a foreign power', this isn't ambiguous. This is classic anti-semitic trope, at our conference.

'In terms of some of the people we're talking about, and the problem that occurs, they're not going to listen to people like me.

Inside the Corbyn cult: Colouring books and poems about Jeremy on sale at Momentum event as left-wing ex-BBC journalist Paul Mason urges members to deselect MPs

Fanatical Jeremy Corbyn supporters are selling colouring books, poems, mugs and T-shirts featuring their left-wing hero at a five-day event running parallel to the Labour party conference.

Children can colour in Michelangelos famous Creation of Adam painting featuring Corbyn while parents celebrate about how saintly Jezza is ridding the party of fawning MPs who have left us very bland.

The Corbyn cult is taking place at an event held by Momentum, the insurgency group backing the Labour leader that helped him fight off attempts by moderates to oust him over the summer.

Children can colour in Michelangelos famous Creation of Adam painting featuring Corbyn (left) in the bizarre Jeremy Corbyn colouring book on sale at the Momentum event in Liverpool

Meanwhile the Poems for Jeremy Corbyn book celebrates about how saintly Jezza is ridding the party of fawning MPs who have left us very bland

At a room downstairs at the converted church in Liverpool city centre, left-wing members discuss how to deselect Labour MPs who are critical of Corbyns leadership.

Left-wing ex-BBC journalist Paul Mason earned wild cheers as he urged Momentum to create a new generation of MPs who can replace the ones who dont get Corbyns left-wing policies at a fringe today.

Back in the main hall upstairs early Christmas presents for socialist friends are on sale  from Still Hate Thatcher T-shirts, 'Tax the Rich' and 'B******* to Austerity' mugs to cups that simply feature a beaming Corbyn.

Disturbingly, one stall was selling a paralysed Action Man leaflet mocking veterans with limbs blown off and mugs urging people to join the British Army to make stuff dead.

Fanatical Jeremy Corbyn supporters are selling colouring books, poems, mugs and T-shirts featuring their left-wing hero at a five-day event running parallel to the Labour party conference

Back in the main hall upstairs early Christmas presents for socialist friends are on sale  from Still Hate Thatcher T-shirts, 'Tax the Rich' and 'B******* to Austerity' mugs to cups that simply feature a beaming Corbyn

Early Christmas presents for socialist friends are on sale  from Still Hate Thatcher T-shirts to 'Tax the Rich' mugs

Another bizarre colouring-in page features a woman on the phone declaring her love for Corbyn

Left-wing ex-BBC journalist Paul Mason (pictured standing up) earned wild cheers as he urged Momentum to create a new generation of MPs who can replace the ones who dont get Corbyns left-wing policies at a fringe today

The merchandise at the stall was criticised for being highly offensive to veterans.

Other controversial souvenirs included a leaflet advertising Payday Loans 4 Kids, spoof Army recruitment merchandise advertising free prosthetic limbs and a poster depicting a cattle truck with the sign Refugees are Coming.

The work was created by artist Darren Cullen but is being sold by the grassroots movement.

It was criticised by Dan Jarvis, a former soldier and a Labour MP, who said: The sale of this merchandise is extremely disrespectful to our armed forces and veterans who provide outstanding service to our country.'

The Jeremy Corbyn colouring in book challenges supporters to 'find the subliminal message in Jeremy's beard'

The Poems for Jeremy Corbyn book featured a morbid critique of the Tory government (left) and mocked career Labour MPs (right)

Other poems in the book were much simpler , simply reading: 'Jeremy is not a typical leader - one reason we love him
A teenage girl who allegedly murdered her grandfather had earlier sent chilling text messages to a friend warning he 'might have to die'.

Brittney Jade Dwyer, 19, from Ormeau, Queensland, has been charged with the murder of her 81-year-old grandfather Robert Whitwell at his home in the Adelaide suburb of Craigmore.

Dwyer's friend Bernadette Burns, 21, has also been charged with murder over the death of Mr Whitwell, the Courier Mail reports.

Robert Whitwell (left), 81, was allegedly murdered in his suburban Adelaide home by his granddaughter, 19-year-old Brittney Jade Dwyer (right)

Mr Whitwell (pictured) was found dead in his home by neighbours. So far Dwyer and her friend Bernadette Burns, 21, have both been charged with his murder

The Adelaide Magistrates' Court heard on Monday that Dwyer had forewarned another friend Shelby Lee Angie Holmes, 19, that her grandfather may die before his alleged murder.

Prosecutors claimed Dwyer and Holmes had driven from Queensland to Adelaide on April 30 and spent days 'observing' Mr Whitwell's suburban property.

It is alleged the pair were hoping to steal $30,000 from him, and discussed their interactions with Mr Whitwell over text messages.

'He said 'Hi' to me, he's lovely', Holmes messaged Dwyer.

In response, Dwyer said: 'Don't get attached to him, he might have to die'.

Mr Whitwell's body was found by neighbours in August after he had earlier been reported missing.

Holmes is facing one count of serious criminal trespass, but is yet to enter a plea.

She was extradited from Queensland to South Australia over the weekend, joining Dwyer and Burns who were extradited in August.

It is alleged that Dwyer had forewarned another of her friends Shelby Lee Angie Holmes, 19, about her grandfather's death

In extraditing Holmes last week, a Queensland magistrate said it seemed as though the crime had been committed with 'an element of indifference' as to how it would be achieved.

Holmes was refused bail on Monday, however her lawyer Andrew George said that decision would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

'My client has been caught up in the murder allegations in relation to her friend, but she is not charged in relation to that alleged crime,' Mr George said outside court.
NSW Police said they are currently making

Another is seen taking a run up and then jumping

A group of teenagers have gone on a rampage in a serviced apartment in Sydney, smashing a ceiling light with a traffic cone and jumping straight through a door.

The incident happened at Meriton Serviced Apartments Zetland in Sydney's inner west on Saturday night.

The apartment was rented by a group of teenagers who reportedly signed a rental contract and paid a $1,500 bond when they hired it out.

Footage shows one of the teenagers aggressively swing a traffic cone over his head before hitting a low hanging light and shattering it into small pieces.

Footage shows one of the teenagers swing a traffic cone into a hanging light, which shatters on impact (pictured)

Another scene shows a man yelling, before taking a run up and jumping straight through a door which collapses around him as he falls through it.

As he exits the other side of the door, leaving behind a huge hole and splintered wood, another teen is seen clapping and laughing at the damage.

The carpet in the apartment is seen covered with shards of glass and broken wood.

The rampage was filmed by one of the teens and posted to social media platform Snapchat.

Meriton told 7 News the damage has been repaired but they do not tolerate this kind of behaviour.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia they were making inquiries into the incident.

Daily Mail Australia also contacted Meriton Serviced Apartments Zetland for a comment regarding the damage.
Customs officers at a Austrian airport were left shocked after pulling over a suspicious looking passenger and discovered she was carrying her dead husband's intestines.

The woman, who had travelled from Morocco to Graz Airport, was passing through customs when officers thought she seemed nervous.

Officials then asked to inspect her luggage and according to the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, that is when they found the entrails.

Customs officers at Graz Airport were left shocked after pulling over a suspicious looking passenger and discovered she was carrying her dead husband's intestines

She then told officials that the organ had belonged to her dead husband, who was also a Moroccan national.

The intestines had been carefully wrapped and placed inside two receptacles.

The unnamed female passenger then went on to explain that she suspected that her dead husband had been poisoned.

She added that she wanted a toxicology analysis of his tissue carried out, so decided to travel with the body part.

Austria's ministry of finance, which oversees customs in the country confirmed the discovery, but police said they had not been asked to intervene.

Graz Airport is in Austria's second largest city and mainly serves flights to Europe and other holiday destinations.
A Japanese rail conductor jumped on to train tracks after getting fed up dealing with passengers complaining about delays caused by a suicide on the line just minutes earlier.

The 26-year-old worker had been verbally abused because of delays caused by the death of a woman in her 70s on the Kintetsu Nara Line in Higashiosaka City, Osaka.

But after being surrounded by angry customers demanding an explanation, the conductor reportedly told them: 'No more. Let me die.'

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The Japanese conductor discarded his jacket (left) and jumped onto the lines before leaping from an elevated section of the tracks. A passenger is pictured, right, at the scene

Seconds later, he is said to have taken off his cap and jacket, jumped down on to the tracks and sprinted along the line and leaping 25ft off an elevated section of the line.

Ambulances were called and found him conscious. He suffered serious injuries in the fall.

According to RocketNews24, a pensioner had fallen in front of an express train at Kawachi Kosaka Station as it was heading to Kobe.

The death sparked delays and just over 20 minutes later, a small crowd of angry passengers are said to have surrounded the conductor at Higashi Hanazono Station to complain.

A pensioner had earlier fallen in front of an express train at Kawachi Kosaka Station (pictured_ as it was heading to Kobe

RocketNews24 reported that the train company Kintetsu Railway had apologised to passengers for the conductor's 'inappropriate behaviour.'

The website reports that incidents of verbal and physical abuse against staff at train stations is a common problem.
Linda was not on the raft and the coast guard have still not found her

Nathan was found on life raft by freighter off the coast of

A missing boater with Asperger's was found alive on a life raft more than a week after disappearing while on a fishing trip with his mother.

Nathan Carman, 22, was found floating off the coast of Massachusetts by a freighter yesterday after he and his mother Linda, 54, did not return to port last Sunday.

The pair had been missing for so long that the Coast Guard had called off the search on Friday after scouring 62,000 square miles, an area the size of Georgia.

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Nathan Carman (left), 22, was found floating off the coast of Massachusetts by a freighter yesterday after he and his mother Linda (right), 54, went missing last Sunday

However, it is still not known where Linda is or what happened to the 31-foot aluminum fishing boat named the Chicken Pox that they went away on.

Nathan now lives in Vermont, but grew up in Middletown near Ram's Point Marina in Point Judith, Rhode Island, where they set off from on Saturday, September 17.

The mother and son regularly met up to go on fishing trips, travelling as far as Alaska in the past, according to family friend Monte Montegrio.

Nathan, who has Asperger's syndrome, made headlines when he went missing in 2011 after the death of his horse but was found a few days later in Virginia.

The pair had been missing for so long that the coastguard called off the search on Friday after scouring 62,000 square miles, an area the size of Georgia, for boat Chicken Pox (pictured)

Afterwards, Governor Dan Malloy declared that August 23 would be 'Missing Persons Day' to honor all those who have disappeared in the past and support their families.

It was in honor of Nathan and Isabella Oleschuck, another missing person who disappeared in 2011 but was found safe and well that same year.

His mother remains missing and the Coast Guard says the case is currently under investigation.
Youngsters: A British Girl Guide said Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was 'wonderful with children' during a meeting with him in 1936

An incredible diary reveals a Girl Guide's meeting with Adolf Hitler during a trip to Germany in 1936.

The typed 100-page journal documents her visit with friends before the start of the Second World War, where she describes the Nazi leader as a 'little chap - rather like Charlie Chaplin.'

She also noted that he was 'wonderful' with children and had a 'fascinating smile'.

Titled 'Bavaria and Austria Holiday', the diary begins on July 24, 1936, a time when Hitler had been leader of Germany and started to enforce the abhorrent policies that would lead to 11 million people, mostly ethnic minorities and Jews, being murdered during the holocaust.

The Girl Guide group stayed in the Bavarian Alps at Berchtesgaden, close to where Hitler had his Eagle's Nest lair, and five days into the trip the girls met the dictator, who had been elected as Chancellor of Germany three years earlier.

In one of the diary's most interesting and poignant entries, the author, who also collected photos and souvenirs of the trip, wrote: 'At breakfast we were invited by the Hitler boys and girls to accompany them to see Hitler.

'We were very bucked and said we would.

'We marched up with the Youth Movement and it took us 2 and a half hours.

'When we arrived at his residence we were all like grease-spots and found that we had four hours to wait.

German holiday: Girls from the Guides (pictured) stayed in youth hostels in the Bavarian Alps during their trip in July 1936

Making friends: The guides meet a member of the Nazi Youth during their holiday and right, a picture-postcard of Hitler - who the diary's author described as looking like 'Charlie Chaplin'

'However we possessed out souls in patience and waited. At last we entered his drive and then had to wait opposite Hitler for about  hr. whilst the other people passed by.

'He is a little chap - rather like Charlie Chaplin with his toothbrush moustache - with a very fascinating smile.

'With children he is wonderful. He talks to them, accepts their posies and lets them stand by him while the people pass by saluting.

'He only had four Storm Troopers guarding him and it all seemed very informal.

'When we passed he smiled sweetly and saluted several times.

'One of the journalists nearby took our photographs and told Hitler who we were.'

Keepsakes: As well as taking photos the author of the diary also kept souvenirs of her trip including maps and postcards

Meeting a dictator: In a particularly poignant entry to her journal, the Guide describes her visit to Hitler's lair, the Eagle's Nest

Lodgings: This is the hostel the girls stayed in during their two-week trip around Germany

NAZI GERMANY, 1936: HITLER'S POWER ON THE RISE Track star: African American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and by 1936 his party had began to enforce the repugnant policies that would later lead to the murder of six million Jews. Despite Hitler's original indifference to sporting events, Germany held the 1936 Olympic Games - seeing it as a chance to promote the Nazi cause. In an effort to re-enforce his view of a superior Aryan race, Hitler banned Jewish athletes from competing. Despite his efforts, the show was stolen by African American sprinter Jesse Owens, who won three gold medals on the track and one for the long jump However, it is a separate incident that was more significant in the rise of the Nazi party's power. The invasion of Rhineland in 1936 was an important moment in Hitler gaining power of Germany's borders. The region, which bordered Holland, France, Belgium and Switzerland, was seen as a key industrial area for the nation with resources in coal, steel and iron. However, after the Treaty of Versailles - a peace accord signed at the end of the First World War - Germany had been banned from keeping armed forces within 50km of Rhineland, in an effort to weaken the nation industrially and militarily. Hitler believed this was unfair and left the nation vulnerable to its enemies. In January 1936 he successfully marched 22,000 troops into Rhineland to remilitarise the area. Political and economic factors meant that Britain and France did not intervene when the Nazis broke the treaty - leading an invigorated and confident Hitler to contemplate other ways he could increase his country's power. Advertisement

It is not clear where the party of Guides were from, but they began their journey in London.

The diary starts with the words: 'A party of us started from Victoria at 8:20 p.m. We were a very jolly crowd of all ages.'

The group of 47 youngsters was divided into patrols, who were then given colours and the unnamed author states that her patrol called 'Orange' was led by a 'Captain' called Miss Wright.

The girl continued: 'We consisted of Captain, her friend Miss Flood, Tubby (Olive Stokes) - so called because of her largeness - Marjorie Fricker, Betty Ainsworth, Ruth Adam and two girls from Wolverhampton and myself.'

The detailed account mainly describes the day-to-day events, including campfires and singsongs, but also records the sights and the geography. The girls returned to England on August 8.

The diary is going under the hammer at the Bridport Auction Rooms in Dorset after it was consigned by a local collector.

Tourists: The girls appeared to have great fun on their trip and pictured, they pose for a photo

Auction: The diary (pictured) will now go on sale with an estimated price of 200-300

Mike Dark, from the saleroom, said: 'Sadly we don't know the name of the girl who wrote it or where she was from. It appears those from the group came from across the country.

'It has also been corrected in pencil possibly by a teacher or Guide leader.. For example, where the girl writes that Hitler only had four Storm Trooper guards, a pencil addition has been made that states 'and two alsatian dogs'.

'The diary is a jolly account full of their japes and scrapes and of course their visit to see Hitler.

'They appeared to be quite taken with the dictator even if they did compare him with a professional clown.

'It's interesting to wonder how those girls felt a few years later when that clown began a world war.'
Devastated community members are ruing a thief who used a trolley to wheel away a safe with charity donations and a local pub's money in a $30,000 heist.

The thief was caught on South Hay Hotel's CCTV footage on Monday having broken into the popular hotel after midnight and racked two charity collection tins and the pub's safe, in the small town of Hay, South NSW.

The rampant thief, wearing a black hoodie, left no stone un-turned, stealing more than $30,000 and even clambering onto the bar and snatching two $50 notes wedged in the roof for charity.

The rampant thief (Pictured) can be seen wearing a black hoodie, concealing his face and wheeling out the safe on the pub's trolley

The thief climbed onto the bar and snatched two $50 notes wedged in the roof for charity

The hotel owner Sue Vitucci, who is known for her gigantic fundraising efforts, revealed she has no insurance for theft and has been left shattered after the fourth break-in recent years, according to the The Daily Advertiser.

'It's just devastating; I haven't stopped crying all day,' Sue Vitucci, a local known for her legendary charity efforts at the hotel, said.

'We've been here for 10 years and we've had four break-ins. The worst thing is, they've all been locals.'

The hotel took to Facebook to disclaim their disgust in the actions of the 'thin male wearing a bandana'.

The thief rummaged through the pub taking more than $30,000, including charity donations

'Not only did this piece of scum take everything from CanAssist - they have taken our whole safe!!' it said.

'This means not only do people suffering with cancer lose a significant piece of funding, but our livelihood and our staff's wages are gone.'

Ms Vitucci said her stomach dropped when she noticed the signs of a robbery when she opened the pub's doors on Monday.

'Things looked out of place as soon as we opened the door and my husband noticed the CanAssist money box missing,' she said.

CanAssist and Camp Quality were two of the charities that had hundreds of dollars snatched from the collection tins during the robbery

'There was glass all over the floor and we rushed to the office and found the safe was gone too. It's just disgusting.'

CanAssist and Camp Quality were two of the charities that had hundreds of dollars snatched from the collection tins.

In the safe, which the bandit commandeered with the pub's trolley, was also around $1000 for Hay CanAssist - a cancer assistance network.

South Hay Hotel took to facebook to express their sadness and disappointment that they are constantly the target for thefts

The trolley was found dumped near the levee bank at South Hay.

Ms Vitucci's pub started raising funds for the charity in 2009 after they saw the benefits of the work done for local Jack Gannon who passed away.

Since then the South Hay Hotel has raised more than $40,000 for Hay CanAssist.

Last August, thieves robbed the South Hay Hotel of more than $2000.

South Hay Hotel is the longest operating hotel in the area and the hotel is offering a $500 reward for anyone that can bring back the safe.
Officials in Tennessee have warned that 'predator' clowns may be 'luring children into the woods' after a series of bizarre sightings around the country.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol shared a creepy shot of two clowns standing between some trees in a bid to warn people about the characters who have been spotted trying to lure children into woods.

But the post was slammed as misleading, as the department revealed that the image had been taken by a performance group in New Hampshire.

It came amid a spate of reports about clowns scaring members of the public in the US - dismissed by some as a 'dangerous' pre-Halloween hoax.

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The Tennessee Highway Patrol warned that 'predator' clowns may be 'luring children into the woods' after a series of bizarre sightings around the country

The post, which was slammed as 'misleading' by some, has since been corrected

'THP wants everyone to watch for clowns trying to lure children in to the woods,' the Tennessee Highway Patrol captioned the image of the clowns.

'They are possibly child predators looking for an easy child to target. Please supervise your children as they are outside playing.

'Remember if you see something, say something. Below is the latest clown image taken around Jackson, TN.'

The post, which was slammed as 'misleading' by some, has since been corrected by the department of safety.

'The photo of the "clowns" was not a photo taken in Tennessee. This was a photo circulated throughout social media,' officials said.

Kentucky police arrested Jonathan Martin (pictured left in full costume left and right in a mugshot) on Friday

The 20-year-old (pictured being arrested while in costume) was found lurking in a wooded area near an apartment complex in Middlesboro, Kentucky, according to authorities

'While we want to provide awareness about this issue, the photo is not local.

'We continue to monitor this situation as it has been reported in Tennessee.'

The photo was mistakenly taken from the Plymouth Clowns - a performing duo based in New Hampshire.

They have since taken to social media to slam the 'threatening' behaviour of some who have been deliberately trying to scare people throughout the country.

'We have received a lot of attention recently regarding our photos being used in Tennessee,' they wrote.

'We have absolutely no affiliation or relationship with anybody else in different states who have been dressing as clowns. We are literally just us, the two of us and that's it.

'We do not work with or associate with anybody else. And never would affiliate with anybody showing violent or aggressive behavior, what we do started as an art project and turned into somewhat of a career. It's all non-harmful and legal.

'If we knew anything about what has happened in other places we would immediately tell police and officials.

'We do not condone what is happening in other states, we do not condone the violent nature and mannerisms of these people and we do not think what they are doing is OK. Nobody should be threatened and especially not children.

'To hear that parents are afraid to let their children out of the house and contemplating not even letting them go trick-or-treating is heartbreaking to us, nobody should ruin a child's fun in this manner.'

Portland Police described the panicked sharing of the picture of the clowns as a 'hoax'.

At least nine people have been arrested across Alabama over the past week after a number of threats by people identifying themselves as clowns.

A 20-year-old man accused of creeping in a wooded area dressed as a clown was arrested in Middlesboro, Kentucky, on Friday.

Kenneth Hampton (pictured), the police chief in Tchula, Mississippi, posted a warning on Facebook Thursday telling scary clowns to stop acting out

Jonathan Martin, 20, was charged with wearing a mask in a public place and disorderly conduct.

He was found in 'full clown costume', crouching among trees by an apartment complex, police say.

His arrest came the day after a small-town police chief in Mississippi told scary clowns to stop terrorizing residents.

At least 11 States have laws restricting the wearing of a mask. Martin was cited for covering his face in public, thus violating a city ordinance, according to WKYT.

Martin was hiding behind apartments in a full costume and scary mask, creating a 'public alarm', police said. He was still wearing part of his clown costume in his mugshot.

The day before Martin's arrest, Kenneth Hampton, the police chief in Tchula, Mississippi, posted a warning on Facebook Thursday after residents reported seeing people dressed as clowns carrying guns or a machete.

'Who ever [sic] you are running around in Tchula wearing a clown suit waving a sword and scaring the hell out of people, let me give you some advice,' Hampton wrote.

'STOP IT!!!! Because if I roll up on you and you wave that damn sword at me. IT'S GAME OVER SON!!! I'm gonna teacha how da duggy!!!'

Reports of clown sightings have surfaced in at least seven states in the past month.

Police haven't found evidence in most cases but Mississippi could be one of the exceptions, as Tchula Police Chief Hampton himself reported seeing one of the clowns.

Hampton also shared this picture of a vehicle with the words 'I ain't playing' on it, making it clear he would be tough if he caught anyone dressed as a clown scaring residents

People in Tchula have reported seeing people dressed like clowns carrying guns or a machete. Hampton (whose Facebook warning is pictured) said these people could get shot

The clown ran away as soon as he saw the patrol car, Hampton told KCRA.

Witness Kajarius Anderson called the authorities after seeing a creepy clown. 'I said '911, we need all the deputies out because the clowns are in Tchula,''' he said.

'The bottom line is, if he's running around with a sword or a machete he's subject to get shot,' Hampton told the station.

Tchula, located in central Mississippi, has about 2,000 residents.

The spate of clown sightings began last month with reports that one was trying to lure children into woods in South Carolina.

The managers of an apartment building in Greenville sent a letter to residents telling them that several people had complained about people dressed like clowns talking to children or trying to take them into the woods.

Since then, people in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, have reported scary or suspicious encounters with people dressed like clowns.

Two schools in Alabama were put on lockdown earlier this week after students received threats on Facebook from users posing as clowns.

People in at least seven States have reported seven states in the past month, beginning with South Carolina in late August (file picture)

An 11-year-old girl was arrested in Georgia on Friday for bringing a knife to school.

She said she wanted to be able to protect herself and her family after hearing stories about clowns attacking children.

Meanwhile some real, well-meaning clowns have become too scared to let their facetious alter egos come to life.

'When people report these things it should be 'someone dressed like a clown,' because a real clown would never dress or do anything to scare anyone,' clown arts teacher Tricia Manuel, 55, told the Associated Press.

'In South Carolina, two of the clowns were afraid to go out and perform,' she added.

She noticed the public's perception of clowns shifted after Stephen King's 1986 novel 'It', about a clown who kills children, became a miniseries on television four years later.

But the latest reported clown sightings have taken things to another level, according to Manuel.
The Kremlin has criticised 'unacceptable rhetoric' from Britain and the United States after they accused Russia of being responsible for 'war crimes' in Syria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today: 'We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations.'

Yesterday Britain's ambassador at the UN, Matthew Rycroft, accused Russia and Syria of war crimes during a special meeting of the UN Security Council in New York to discuss the crisis in Aleppo.

Russian and Syrian jets have been accused of using phosphorus and cluster munitions on civilian areas.

The Moscow-backed Assad regime has also been targeting emergency workers responding to attacks with barrel bombs.

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Russian and Syrian aircraft bombed areas of eastern Aleppo killing 100 people since Thursday

At least 17 children have been killed since the major offensive began on Thursday

Rebel commanders claim Russian and Syrian jets have been using phosphorous munitions

Mr Rycroft said Russia was partnering with Syria to commit war crimes.

US ambassador Samantha Power accused the Russians of 'barbarism' during the high-powered discussion in New York.

Ms Power slammed Russia and Syria over the campaign to push out rebels from the city due to the high level of civilian deaths caused by the campaign.

She said the Russian campaign in support of Bashar al-Assad was not counter-terrorism, but 'barbarism'.

The United Nations special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said yesterday he was convinced the situation in Syria could still be turned and said he would not quit, as Russia and the United States try to salvage a ceasefire.

French UN Ambassador Francios Delattre said: 'War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo. They must not be unpunished and impunity is simply not an option in Syria.'

Russian and Syrian jets dropped banned phosphorous and bombs on a rebel camp on the outskirts of Aleppo killing at least 100 civilians, including 17 children.

Bombers pounded rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo including a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of the city.

The camp, which overlooks the north of the city was captured briefly by Syrian troops, who were later driven out. Rebels claim Russian and regime jets then bombed the camp with phosphorous munitions, which are not supposed to be used on civilian populations.

The Russians have launched a 'shock and awe' campaign against the Syrian rebels

Some 250,000 people are trapped in Aleppo which is under siege by Syrian troops

The Handrat camp has been in rebel hands for a couple of years.

Rebel commander Abu al-Hassanien said: 'We retook the camp, but the regime burnt it with phosphorous bombs ... We were able to protect it, but the bombing burnt our vehicles.'

According to the regime: 'The Syrian army is targeting the armed groups positions in Handarat camp.'

The army announced on Thursday the start of a major new military campaign to regain Aleppo, intensifying strikes and use of powerful weapons that rebels said was an 'shock and awe' campaign aimed at creating devastation and demoralising them.

Russian planes also continued their pounding of residential parts of Aleppo, with whole buildings flattened, according to rebels and residents.

The assault on Aleppo, where more than 250,000 civilians are trapped, could be the biggest battle yet in a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million from their homes.

Two weeks after Moscow and Washington announced a ceasefire that quickly unraveled, President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies appear to have launched a campaign for a decisive battlefield victory that has buried any hope for diplomacy.

Washington and its European allies said the burden was on Moscow to save a truce that fell apart in the past week.

At least 101 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian bombardment of eastern Aleppo since the army announced an operation to take it Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The monitor said at least 17 children were among those killed in the assault, which has included missile strikes, barrel bomb attacks and artillery fire.

Syrian troops are engaged in a battle to retake the city with the assistance of Russian airpower

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by war and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.

The eastern portion of the city has been under near-continuous siege since mid-July, prompting food and fuel shortages.

A truce deal hammered out by Russia and the United States this month was meant to see aid trucked into the east of the city.

But the ceasefire fell apart before any assistance was brought in, and the army and its Russian ally have since pounded the eastern neighbourhoods with a force that residents say is virtually unprecedented.

More than 300,000 people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

Successive attempts to reach a political solution have failed, and the latest bid by Moscow and Washington has virtually collapsed, despite ongoing talks to save it.
A cross-dressing ISIS monster was caught trying to sneak out of a re-captured Iraqi town in drag - and carrying a USB packed with names of jihadists.

Abu Omar al-Assafi was installed by ISIS to govern Sharqat in northern Iraq after the terror group swept through the country in 2014.

But Iraqi security forces found him trying to escape the area after the town was liberated last week. He was reportedly disguised as a woman and hiding among civilians.

When Iraqi security forces made the arrest, they discovered a memory stick containing details of key terrorists, including their names, nicknames and addresses.

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A cross-dressing ISIS monster was caught trying to sneak out of a re-captured Iraqi town in drag - and carrying a USB packed with names of jihadists. Iraqi media claims pictures show him in his disguise

According to Iraqi News, the USB also contained chilling instructions for ISIS militants to burn houses of residents - and make it look as though Iraqi forces had carried out the destruction.

Iraq announced last Thursday that its forces had recaptured the northern town from ISIS in an operation launched ahead of a push for the city of Mosul.

Security forces began the operation days earlier aimed at reopening key supply lines needed for the battle to retake second city Mosul from the jihadists.

Iraqi forces 'completely liberated the Sharqat district and raised the Iraqi flag over the government headquarters' in the town, the country's Joint Operations Command said in a statement that hailed the speed of the operation.

Both Iraqi aircraft and the US-led coalition provided air support for the operation, the statement said.

The town lies on the west bank of the Tigris river in Salaheddin province, 160 miles north west of Baghdad and around 50 miles south of Mosul.

Iraqi forces bypassed Sharqat to retake a key military base to its north as well as the neighbouring town of Qayyarah, but then turned their attention to the continued ISIS presence behind their front lines.

Iraqi forces 'completely liberated the Sharqat district and raised the Iraqi flag over the government headquarters' in the town last week. Troops are pictured entering the town

A Reaper and Tornado fighter jets provided close air support to Iraqi forces near Sharqat

ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and training have since retaken significant ground including the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah.

Top US military officers have hinted that the final push for Mosul could begin next month, but there are still significant military, political and humanitarian obstacles between the launch of the operation and entering and retaking the city.

Once the push is launched, a coalition of heterogenous and sometimes rival Iraqi forces will have to fight through IS defences - in some cases over distances of dozens of miles from their current positions - to reach the city.

Then, if Iraqi strategy for Mosul follows that used in previous operations, they will seek to surround and seal off the city prior to an assault, which will involve street-by-street fighting against die-hard jihadists.

Iraqi troops celebrate recapturing the town of Sharqat by holding up an ISIS flag

The Mosul operation also poses major humanitarian challenges, with the United Nations saying that up to one million people may be displaced by the fighting.

'Humanitarian agencies are racing against the clock to prepare for the humanitarian impact of the military campaign,' the UN said.

While there has been much recent discussion about the launch of the drive on Mosul, operations to prepare for it began months ago.
An elderly man has had a lucky escape after he tried to stop a bull from attacking his ute by throwing a water bottle at it, followed by his hat.

The 81-year-old New Zealand farmer was filmed trying to shoo a large black bull named Rex away from his ute which was parked in a paddock, reported Yahoo 7.

The footage was filmed by his son Whetu Konia and shows his father, known as 'Mac', taking on the angry animal who is butting against the vehicle.

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An 81-year-old New Zealand man named 'Mac' was filmed by his son trying to shoo a large black bull named Rex away from their ute. His first attempt was to throw a large water bottle at the angry animal (pictured)

Mr Konia posted the footage to Facebook on Sunday with the caption: '81-year-old man vs Rex the Bull. Sort of funny after the fact, excuse the language.'

The footage shows the bull sniffing around the wheels of the car before you can hear Mr Konia saying 'No, no Dad get back in here' as his father climbs over the fence.

He then says: 'Oh my god, here we go. It's this guys birthday today and he's not going to make 82.'

'Dad! ... get the f*** over here,' he then yells.

'Oh f*** sake, get out! ... it's going to kill him.'

Mr Konia's father grabs a large full water bottle and heaves it over his shoulder, before throwing it at the bull who is momentarily scared away from the vehicle.

His father then stands next to the ute, stomping his feet and waving his arms around to keep it away from the vehicle.

Mr Konia then says: 'Dad it's mad, get out!' as the bull grabs the water bottle in its mouth then shakes its head around and paws the ground aggressively.

After the water bottle worked as a momentary distraction (left), the bull then ventured back towards the ute, forcing Mac to run around the other side to escape it (right)

As the bulls head back towards the ute it follows him around the other side, and he's forced to jump in the car to escape it.

But 'Mac'' goes even further, jumping out of the car and taking off his blue bucket hat and flinging it at Rex in one final attempt to scare him away.

Mr Konia, who is from Auckland, told One News he was visiting a cemetery next to a farm at Tikitiki with his father Mac and his two sons when the standoff took place.
man who spotted it in Long Ashton said: 'He's a big old beast'

This amazing photograph shows a massive hornet devouring a wasp outside a pub.

The winged killer was spotted outside The Bird In Hand on the outskirts of Bristol.

It comes after the first confirmed sighting of invading Asian hornets - which are two inches wide and have a reputation for feasting on bees - was made nearby.

Experts confirmed last week that the invasive species has been sighted in Tetbury, Gloucestershire near Prince Charles's Highgrove Estate.

This huge hornet, which ate a wasp, is not an Asian hornet but a native one according to Defra

A witness to the wasp-killing episode outside a Bristol pub said the insect was 'a big old beast'

Specialist hornet-killing squads have now been sent to Gloucestershire to eradicate the foreign insects.

According to Defra, the hornet in this photo taken around 30 miles away in Bristol is an indigenous European hornet, not one of the Asian invaders.

However, it certainly made short work of the wasp outside the Long Ashton pub.

The photograph was taken by Bristol resident Jeremy Sidders on his phone.

Mr Sidders' friend, Chris Summers, said: 'I knew hornets attacked bees but I didn't realise they attacked wasps as well.

'He's a big old beast. Everyone was quite surprised to see one just sitting on a post.'

European hornets (left) have a painful sting but are not as fierce as the Asian version (right)

European hornets may not have the same fearsome reputation as Asian hornets - or even as wasps - but they can inflict a painful sting and bite at the same time.

They do not tangle with humans as often as wasps because, unlike wasps, they do not like our food. Instead they eat other insects.

But disturbing a hornets' nest can be extremely dangerous, as the entire nest of up to 700 insects will join in an attack on any perceived threat.

They build nests in tree trunks, bushes, the sides of buildings, barns, attics and in hollow walls.

It is very unwise indeed to disturb a nest of hornets, as hundreds of insects can attack at a time

Mail Online reported earlier this year that there had been unconfirmed sightings of the giant venomous Asian hornet in Devon, Surrey, Sussex and Kent already. Defra played down to sightings of the insects - which could threaten British bees - at the time.
Krissoni Henderson was seen in footage shouting 'the Queen of England is a terrorist' as he was led away by police after being accused of abusing a woman in the street

An Islamic street preacher has been found guilty of abusing a woman in the street over her skinny jeans.

Unemployed Krissoni Henderson confronted his victim, Noor Alneaimi, in Birmingham's New Street on July 4 this year.

The city's magistrates court was today shown a video which showed Henderson shouting 'You're all terrorists' and 'the Queen of England is a terrorist' as he was led away by police.

Henderson accosted his Muslim victim over her jeans before calling her a slut and saying he would blow up her house.

He said: 'You shall burn in hell, look at your jeans they are so tight. You will burn in hell for wearing such clothes'.

When she said she would report him, he told her: 'They can't do nothing. I am going to come down your house and blow up you and your house.'

Ms Alneaimi previously told the court: 'He started calling females on the street prostitutes, predominantly white women, calling them sluts. One woman started crying and ran off.

'Then he started hurling abuse at me. He said: 'Look at your tight jeans. You are a kafir'. I was dressed in Western clothes so I don't think he thought I was a Muslim.

'He kept saying: 'Satan, Satan, Satan' and it started drawing attention. I moved away because I was becoming frightened.'

A video shows the moments after Henderson abused the woman

Krissoni Henderson, pictured with his wife and a member of the public this afternoon

Henderson made a highly-charged statement outside court today, vowing to 'fight back'

Ms Alneamii said she was left 'shaking' after the alleged incident.

She added: 'A group of men started sniggering and one of them said 'oi oi, darling' and asked how much I charged for the night. I started to cry because my image had been tarnished.'

In court, Henderson tried to claim his victim may have tried to 'seduce' him because he's 'very muscular' and 'handsome'.

Henderson, 31, denied a charge of using threatening words and behaviour, causing harm or distress and a second offence which was religiously-aggravated.

But he was found guilty by magistrates today and will be sentenced tomorrow.

Chief Magistrate Douglas McCarrick said: 'We find you guilty of the offence as charged.

In court, Henderson tried to claim his victim may have tried to 'seduce' him because he's 'very muscular' and 'handsome'

'Listening to the language there are a number of religious references which mean this public order offence was religiously aggravated.

'A community order will be discussed and we will adjourn sentencing until we have read the reports.'

Henderson, pictured outside court earlier this month, abused a woman over her skinny jeans

Interrupting magistrates, Henderson, said: 'How am I supposed to turn my life around if you keep dragging me down? It's due to colour isn't it.'

An Asian man in the public gallery then stood up and shouted at Magistrates: 'Of course this is racist. I am sorry that I am not white and I don't have a criminal record,' before storming out of the courtroom.'

Henderson kissed his hands and then raised his fists to the ceiling, before continuing: 'We all know what's going on here. We will all go to our graves.'

The bodyguard was arrested at his home in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter on July 5 the following day.

In his evidence to the trial, Henderson claimed his victim had 'targeted' him - and may have been trying to seduce him.

Henderson, who is likely to receive a community order, will be sentenced tomorrow

Henderson screamed a tirade of abuse at a Muslim woman for wearing skinny jeans

The court was today shown a video of police arresting Henderson at his home as he launched a 15-minute rant.

When taken away by police, he shouted: 'Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! We're not going to take this anymore. You have no Jesus, I'm not scared of you. You are trying to belittle me.

'Satanists. You disgusting beasts. Filthy beasts. You treat us like c**p in your country. You treat us like animals in your country.'
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These haunting images show forgotten US planes from the Second World War lying on the ocean floor.

The pictures reveal how marine life has taken over these once deadly weapons. One image even shows how schools of fish have been making themselves at home inside a rusted cockpit.

American photographer and scuba instructor Brandi Mueller, 32, captured the images when diving off of the coast of Roi-Namur, Marshall Islands. The wrecked planes include the B-25 Mitchell bomber and a Curtiss C-46 aircraft.

These are the remains of a B-25 Mitchell bomber which has been dumped at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean

The B-25 launched the first strike on the Japanese mainland in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941

These fighter-bombers appear to be the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt which was one of the heaviest fighter-bombers in the war

The P-47 was a very versatile aircraft which served in every theatre in the war due to its robust airframe and bomb load

She said: 'Diving these wrecks feels like going back in time. I want to show what the wrecks have become.

'They have been underwater for over 70 years now and are beginning to deteriorate, so it sort of feels like Im documenting them as they change.

'Eventually there won't be anything left of them.'

The Marshall Islands were the setting for the Battle of Kwajalein when the United States launched an attack against the Japanese.

The island was the first of the Japanese islands to be successfully captured by the US. The battle took place between January 31 and February 3, 1944.

This Curtiss C-46 transport aircraft ended its wartime career at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean near the Marshall Islands

At the end of the Second World War, the US military decided it was more cost effective to dump surplus aircraft into the ocean

However, many of the planes that remain were mysteriously dumped by the US government after hostilities with the Japanese ceased.

The area where these photos were taken is now commonly known as the airplane graveyard.

Ms Mueller said: 'The ocean is amazing and resilient. It is a life force that we will probably never completely understand.

'Seeing how it can take huge chunks of metal and grow life on that metal is pretty amazing.

'World War Two was the most deadly war in history and I like to think of the marine life as decorating the graves of people who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

'Maybe the ocean has something to tell us about war.'

The cockpits of the aircraft have been colonized by hundreds of fish and other forms of sea life

Many of the aircraft were simply pushed off the side of an aircraft carrier and dumped into the ocean

Some of the aircraft settled to the sea floor only a few feet apart, from where they were supposed to vanish

The metal frames of the aircraft are slowly disintegrating as they are being eaten away by microscopic bacteria
Dozy Jeremy Corbyn has joined a protest against himself - after holding up a placard demanding the return of a shadow cabinet post he scrapped.

The Labour leader posed for photographs at conference today wielding a sign calling for the shadow mental health minister role to be brought back.

But it was Mr Corbyn who ditched the job when the former holder, Luciana Berger, resigned in protest at his stewardship of the party.

Jeremy Corbyn posed for a photograph holding the placard at the Labour Party conference centre in Liverpool today

Instead of being filled aides said at the time that it would be subsumed back into Diane Abbott's health brief.

The embarrassing blunder came as Mr Corbyn and his allies tightened their grip on Labour after his second huge leadership contest victory.

The veteran left-winger trounced Owen Smith, securing nearly 62 per cent of the vote thanks to a huge influx of fanatical activists.

The result has left moderate MPs depressed and struggling to decide on their next move after a huge rebellion by more than 170 of them failed to oust Mr Corbyn.

Jubilant supporters of Mr Corbyn have been insisting that many of them will choose to rejoin his top team.

But there is little sign so far that any senior figures are ready to do so.

They are pushing for the parliamentary party to be given powers to elect the shadow cabinet - effectively putting a brake on Mr Corbyn's control.

Mr Corbyn seemed bewildered to find shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry's handbag by his seat on the conference platform today

Mr Corbyn is resisting the proposals at the party's ruling NEC.

His closest ally, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, has suggested that the issue may not be resolved before a planned 'democracy away day' in November.

The leader is unlikely to reshuffle his senior team until then, Mr McDonnell signalled.
An aristocrat's daughter has caused uproar after villagers were kept awake all night by her raucous 21st party at her family's 9,000-acre estate.

The Honourable Nancy Morrison invited 200 guests to the Fonthill Estate, near Tisbury, Wiltshire - a sprawling mansion and grounds owned by her father Alastair John Morrison, the 3rd Baron Margadale - to mark her milestone birthday.

But police had to be called after complaints that loud music - which included a live band and a DJ - could be heard up to three miles away until 8.30am the following day.

An aristocrat's daughter, Nancy Morrison, has caused uproar after villagers were kept awake all night by a raucous 21st birthday party at her family's 9,000-acre estate. She is pictured at the party with her father Alastair John Morrison, the 3rd Baron Margadale

Police had to be called after complaints that loud music - which included a live band (with whom she is pictured) and a DJ - could be heard up to three miles away

The Honourable Nancy Morrison hosted an all-night bash at the Fonthill Estate, near Tisbury, Wiltshire, and invited around 200 guests

Baron Margadale issued an apology, admitting that the sound had 'carried far further than expected'.

Apologising for the noise, he said he appreciated the 'distress' the party had caused but insisted his daughter had notified 'a number of nearby residents' about the party.

The party took place on September 11 for Nancy's 21st birthday. Her father said his daughter contacted nearby residents before the party but did not warn those living further afield

'The music was loud and it went on until 8.30am on the Sunday morning,' he said. 'I appreciate this caused a number of people distress.

'My daughter did tell a number of nearby residents in advance by letter and the ones she met thanked her.

Baron Margadale (pictured) has now issued a grovelling apology, admitting that the sound had 'carried far further than expected'

'I appreciate though that the sound carried far further than we could ever have expected and I'm very sorry to all of those who were affected.'

He added that they were 'obviously very sorry' that they had upset people.

'It was a group of young people having a fun time and the music obviously carried across water louder than expected and we had upset a few people and are very sorry.

'It was a private 21st party - nothing commercial. And we had a few friends round, I think it was probably in the region of a couple of hundred.

'Two-hundred guests for supper, then a band and a DJ and I assume it was the music from the DJ.

'These things happen and it was a shame people got upset. I do understand for the people who woke up and could not get back to sleep it was tough.

'She {Nancy} was sad that it upset people. She had been and visited a number of people and put notes through their doors and the last thing she would have wanted was to upset anyone.'

The enchanted forest-theme party took place on September 11 and was held under a huge marquee.

The sprawling mansion and grounds is owned by her father Alastair John Morrison, the 3rd Baron Margadale

Warminister police received a complaint from a neighbour but wrote on Twitter that there had been 'no criminal offences'. The house is pictured above

Assortments of flowers were traipsed across furniture and dangled from the ceiling, arranged by ethereal floral designer Fiona Perry, according to posts on social media site Instagram.

The fancy dress code meant guests donned golden headpieces, pirate hats and intricately embroidered mayoral tunics.

One resident, who lives three miles away, said: 'The family that were staying in my home heard the noise but I personally say live and let live.'

Another resident, a former engineer, said the music went on from 10pm-7.30am on the Sunday. He claimed 'it was way above ambient background levels' and that it was 'very out of time and inconsiderate'.

He added: 'If it had been anyone else in the neighbourhood the police would have closed it down straightaway.'

The noise was hear in Tisbury - the closest town to the estate - and other villages further afield

He also said that he had another party a year or two ago for his son which was just as loud.

One woman said she had a 'head-splitting migraine' which was made worse by the music. Another resident described it as 'rave music' which she heard from the other side of Tisbury and that it was not her cup of tea.

Warminister police received a complaint from a neighbour but wrote on Twitter that there had been 'no criminal offences'.

They wrote: 'Complaint of loud music in Tisbury....area checked, private party on private land. No criminal offences.'

Wiltshire Council also received complaints about noise.

A spokesman said: 'We have spoken to the Fonthill Estate about the need to keep noise levels down between these hours.

'We would always ask people holding an event at their home to consider their neighbours, particularly turning noise down after 11pm.'

Nancy's mother is Lady Sophia Cavendish, who is the daughter of Andrew Cavendish, the 11th Duke of Devonshire, and Deborah Mitford, who lived at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

She has an older brother, Declan.

Her father's grandfather was Lord Margadale of Islay, the former Tory MP for Salisbury.

Baron Margadale is now married to Amanda Fuller, who is now Lady Margadale. As well as Fonthill, the family own the 80,000-acre Isle of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland.
Japan scrambled a fighter jet over disputed islands in the East China Sea after eight Chinese warplanes overflew the area over the weekend.

Japan's top government spokesman Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga today warned China against expanding its military activity near the Senkaku islands.

The archipelago of five uninhabited islands and three rocky outcrops is controlled by Japan but claimed by China, who refer to them as the Diaoyu islands.

Chinese fighter jets flew across the Miyako Strait yesterday in what was perceived by the Japanese as a show of aggressive intent FILE PHOTO

Japan launched at least one jet yesterday but did not confront Chinese aircraft - two fighter jets, four bombers and two reconnaissance aircraft - because they did not violate Japanese airspace, said Mr Suga.

But he said it was the first time Chinese air force planes had flown over the Miyako Strait and was taken as a sign of aggression.

Chinese media said the flights were part of a routine exercise involving 40 aircraft.

Mr Suga said Japan would respond firmly to any violation of their airspace.

He said: 'The government of Japan continues to watch the Chinese military's activity, which has become expansive and more active, while carrying out our surveillance activity.

A Japanese Coast Guard ship and a Filipino navy vessel on joint operations in Manila Bay. They have a shared antipathy towards China AFP FILE PHOTO

'We are determined to defend our land, territorial waters and the skies.'

Chinese coastguard ships regularly enter Japanese territorial waters around the islands and exchange warnings with Japanese ships, but so far no shots have been fired.

Although the Senkaku islands are uninhabited, they have strategic value as they sit close to key shipping routes and may also sit on vital oil and gas deposits.

Beijing has been increasingly aggressive in its stance in maritime disputes with Japan and also, further south, with Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, over rival claims in the South China Sea.

In the year to March 2016, Japan's air force scrambled jets 571 times against Chinese planes flying near Japanese air space, an increase of 107 from the previous year.
Fanatical Jeremy Corbyn supporters are selling colouring books, poems, mugs and T-shirts featuring their left-wing hero at a five-day event running parallel to the Labour party conference.

Children can colour in Michelangelo's famous Creation of Adam painting featuring Corbyn while parents celebrate about how 'saintly Jezza' is ridding the party of 'fawning MPs' who have 'left us very bland'.

The Corbyn cult is taking place at an event held by Momentum, the insurgency group backing the Labour leader that helped him fight off attempts by moderates to oust him over the summer.

Children can colour in Michelangelo's famous Creation of Adam painting featuring Corbyn (left) in the bizarre Jeremy Corbyn colouring book on sale at the Momentum event in Liverpool

Meanwhile the Poems for Jeremy Corbyn book celebrates about how 'saintly Jezza' is ridding the party of 'fawning MPs' who have 'left us very bland'

At a room downstairs at the converted church in Liverpool city centre, left-wing members discuss how to deselect Labour MPs who are critical of Corbyn's leadership.

Left-wing ex-BBC journalist Paul Mason earned wild cheers as he urged Momentum to 'create a new generation of MPs who can replace the ones who don't get' Corbyn's left-wing policies at a fringe today.

Back in the main hall upstairs early Christmas presents for socialist friends are on sale  from 'Still Hate Thatcher' T-shirts, 'Tax the Rich' and 'B******* to Austerity' mugs to cups that simply feature a beaming Corbyn.

'DEAR SAINTLY JEZZA CORBYN!' THE WEIRD POEMS ON SHOW AT MOMENTUM CONFERENCE Song of the knives-in-the backbenches Dear saintly Jezza Corbyn, you gotta understand that parliaments of fawning have left us very bland. Our voters all drive Volovos; our agents do the same  Golly Moses, naturally we're tame! Gee Jeremy Corbyn, we're sorry to say, That compromise and stalling have led us astray. But we ain't no class traitors, Whatever you think. Deep down insude us we're quit pink! We are pink! We are pink, we are pink, we're extremely pink! Deep inside, some parts of us are pink! Advertisement

Disturbingly, one stall was selling a 'paralysed Action Man' leaflet mocking veterans with limbs blown off and mugs urging people to join the British Army to 'make stuff dead'.

Fanatical Jeremy Corbyn supporters are selling colouring books, poems, mugs and T-shirts featuring their left-wing hero at a five-day event running parallel to the Labour party conference

Back in the main hall upstairs early Christmas presents for socialist friends are on sale  from 'Still Hate Thatcher' T-shirts, 'Tax the Rich' and 'B******* to Austerity' mugs to cups that simply feature a beaming Corbyn

Early Christmas presents for socialist friends are on sale  from 'Still Hate Thatcher' T-shirts to 'Tax the Rich' mugs

Another bizarre colouring-in page features a woman on the phone declaring her love for Corbyn

Left-wing ex-BBC journalist Paul Mason (pictured standing up) earned wild cheers as he urged Momentum to 'create a new generation of MPs who can replace the ones who don't get' Corbyn's left-wing policies at a fringe today

The merchandise at the stall was criticised for being highly offensive to veterans.

Other controversial souvenirs included a leaflet advertising 'Payday Loans 4 Kids', spoof Army recruitment merchandise advertising 'free prosthetic limbs' and a poster depicting a cattle truck with the sign 'Refugees are Coming'.

The work was created by 'artist' Darren Cullen but is being sold by the grassroots movement.

It was criticised by Dan Jarvis, a former soldier and a Labour MP, who said: 'The sale of this merchandise is extremely disrespectful to our armed forces and veterans who provide outstanding service to our country.'

The Jeremy Corbyn colouring in book challenges supporters to 'find the subliminal message in Jeremy's beard'

The Poems for Jeremy Corbyn book featured a morbid critique of the Tory government (left) and mocked career Labour MPs (right)

Other poems in the book were much simpler , simply reading: 'Jeremy is not a typical leader - one reason we love him

The merchandise, being peddled at a stall run by Momentum, the insurgency group backing the leader, was criticised for being highly offensive to veterans

Momentum supporters gather at Liverpool's Black-E building for their fringe festival of politics

A supporter of the left-wing group 'Momentum' looks at a T-shirt showing Corbyn's face at 'The World Transformed'

He added: 'It is utterly unacceptable that those who have been injured in the service of our country should be pilloried in this way. This kind of behaviour has no place inside a civilised political party.

'It should be withdrawn immediately.'

Momentum also screened footage of riots and attacks against the police at a fringe event as a backdrop.
A worker at the Canadian Mint has been accused of stealing $180,000 worth of gold by smuggling the nuggets out of the fortress by inserting them into his rectum.

A bank employee became suspicious after Leston Lawrence, who denies theft, lodged 18 checks from Ottawa Gold Buyers over a four-month period between 2014 and 2015.

The bank worker alerted authorities when she noticed Lawrence worked at the Canadian Mint.

Leston Lawrence, pictured, is accused of inserting stolen gold nuggets up his rectum and smuggling them through a security station at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa

Leston Lawrence is accused of stealing an estimated $180,000 worth of gold from the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa by inserting the 7.4 ounce nuggets into his rectum

The 35-year-old Mint employee was sacked following the allegations.

He has been charged with five counts of theft of goods worth more than $5,000. He is also facing charges of laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of stolen property and breach of trust.

The prosecution claimed Lawrence stole the nuggets, known as 'pucks' and inserted them into his rectum with the aid of a lubricant.

Each of the pucks, which weighs about 7.4 ounces, is worth approximately $6,800.

Lawrence is then accused of smuggling the gold out of the mint before depositing the gold at Ottowa Gold Buyers and lodging the resulting check in the bank.

The court heard Lawrence would regularly set off the metal detector leaving the Mint, but a second search with a 'wand' allowed him to pass.

Prosecutors claim Lawrence was able to take the gold from the secure vault in the Mint

Lawrence denies the claims and judge Peter Doody will rule on the case on November 9

According to the Ottawa Citizen, Lawrence's defence solicitor slammed the crown's case claiming they are unable to prove ownership of the gold.

He told Judge Peter Doody that the case against his client was based on a succession of circumstantial evidence.

He said: 'This is the Royal Canadian Mint, your Honour, and one would think they should have the highest security measures imaginable. And here the gold is left sitting around in open buckets.

'In fact, I would submit the Mint doesnt even know if anything is missing.'

Prosecutor David Friesen said there was compelling evidence to support the crown's case.

The prosecution claims Lawrence, who worked in the Mint's refinery section was responsible for ladling molten gold with a 'dipping spoon' to check its purity.

The investigation recovered a jar of Vaseline from Lawrence's work locker, while two gold pucks were found in his safe deposit box. The pucks, the prosecution claim, match exactly the mold of the dipping spoons, which they said were not commercially available.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was met with a mixed reception when he went to watch Broadway musical Hamilton.

While many in the crowd clapped as the politician arrived at Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York, others booed and yelled out 'Free Palestine'.

Two women were even escorted out of the theatre after trying to shove their way through the politician's heavy security, witnesses said.

Theatregoers took to social media to vent their frustration at how the commando-turned prime minister arrived late on Saturday night and sparked a furore.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was booed and met with cries of 'Free Palestine' after going to watch hit Broadway musical Hamilton in New York

Two women were even escorted out of the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York after trying to shove their way through the politician's heavy security, witnesses said

Melanie Colton tweeted: 'At Hamilton with Netanyahu attending. Two women leave the theater screaming, 'Free Palestine!' as they shove their way through the security.'

Greg Callus wrote: 'It's hard enough getting to see Hamilton on a Saturday night: Netanyahu just in front added airport security.'

Liz Hoffman added: 'At what must be the safest #Hamilton since Obama. Netanyahu in the house, plus Sec Service, TSA and some guys who very much look like Mossad.'

Netanyahu has since posted on Facebook, saying: 'After my speech to the UN General Assembly, I went with my wife Sara to the musical Hamilton.

Theatregoers took to social media to vent their frustration at how Netanyahu arrived late on Saturday night and sparked a furore

The sold-out show tells the story of Alexander Hamilton - one of the Founding Fathers and a champion of the American Constitution

'When I entered the main hall of the theatre, more than 1,000 people welcomed us with enthusiasm.

'Many stood on their feet and applauded. Among the cheering crowd maybe one or two called out derogatory remarks.'

The sold-out show tells the story of Alexander Hamilton - one of the Founding Fathers and a champion of the American Constitution.

Netanyahu was in New York for the United Nations's general assembly.

He also met with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on Sunday - spending twice as much time with the Republican presidential hopeful.

The prime minister stayed at Trump Tower for at least 90 minutes on Sunday morning.

They reportedly discussed Israel's use of a fence to help secure its borders - an example Trump frequently cites when speaking about the wall he wants to build between the US and Mexico.

Netanyahu met with Donald Trump (pictured together) and Hillary Clinton on Sunday - spending twice as much time with the Republican presidential hopeful

During Netanyahu's meeting with Clinton, she pledged to implement the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu opposed vehemently in 2015, while working 'closely' with Israel.

They discussed Iran, the conflict in Syria and other regional challenges, including her support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict negotiated by the two parties - not an outside organization like the US Security Council.
MSNBC Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough was back at work on Monday after taking Friday off to be by his son's side after the newlywed fractured his skull falling down stairs.

At the beginning of the show Monday morning Scarborough said his son Andrew was 'doing much, much better' and will hopefully be discharged from the hospital sometime this week.

Andrew, who was married just three months ago, fell down a flight of stairs Thursday night and was rushed to New York City's Bellevue Hospital for a fractured skull.

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Joe Scarborough's (left) son Andrew (right) is doing better after suffering a fractured skull falling down stairs on Thusrday

On Sunday, the MSNBC co-host tweeted out his thanks for the support received in the wake of Andrew's accident

.@JoeNBC thanks everybody for their help and prayers for his son, Andrew: 'Things are looking far better.' https://t.co/M3mqR5TIgn  Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) September 26, 2016

'It's been overwhelming,' Scarborough said Monday morning, but Andrew is 'doing well' now.

There's 'a little bleeding there that they have to monitor closely,' he said, but otherwise his son has been 'up and about' and walking around.

'He's doing well, doing better and we're cautiously optimistic. But things are looking far better,' he said.

When he got to the hospital, Scarborough says doctors had to ask his son a series of questions to determine whether he had suffered brain damage. The humor in his responses let Scarborough know his son was going to be OK.

Scarborough tweeted more pictures from his son's recent wedding this summer as he wrote about the young man's condition on Monday

Andrew got married just three months ago and Joe shared the happy news on Instagram

Andrew moved to Connecticut with his new bride shortly after the wedding much to his father's delight

'Doctor asked a lot of questions. What's the date? What's this? Where are you? What's your name and then the last question.

'What's your favorite team? He goes: "The Red Sox. They're on an eight-game winning streak." He's going to be okay,' Scarborough recalled.

Scarborough, who is a conservative, added: 'They also asked him who the president was. [Co-host] Mika [Brezezinski] liked this one. He grimaces. President Obama.

On Sunday, Scarborough tweeted his thanks to everyone who sent their well wishes to Andrew over the weekend.

'Our family is so thankful for all of your prayers. Andrew is sitting up and doing better. We are hopeful,' he said.

Brzezinski revealed the news of the 'horrible accident' on Friday, saying Scarborough was absent from the show because of his son's accident.

She said she and other colleagues from the show had been at the hospital all night, where the newlywed Andrew had been stabilized.

'Andrew had a horrible accident. Head injury, fractured skull He fell down a flight of stairs.'

Joe tweeted these reassuring updates at about 10 am on Friday

Mika told viewers at 6 am on Friday, 'It was a long night, and prayers for them.'

'We want to thank the folks at Bellevue. What an incredible place... They stabilized him. That trauma team is amazing.

'It's touch-and-go, but they're stabilized.'

Andrew, the second of Scarborough's four children, got married just three months ago and has Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism.
The remains of a 15-year-old boy that were found last week in a wooded area near railroad tracks in New York have been identified as police suspect the MS-13 gang was involved.

Suffolk County authorities say the body of Miguel Garcia-Moran was found Wednesday on Long Island near the remains of 19-year-old Brentwood High School student Oscar Acosta, who was reported missing in May.

Garcia-Moran's death is being investigated as a homicide, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini.

The teen, who was last seen in February, is the fourth teen found dead in the Brentwood area within the past two weeks, and police suspect the feared MS-13 gang may be responsible for all of the recent deaths.

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A second set of human remains found last week in woods near railroad tracks in New York have been identified as those of 15-year-old Miguel Garcia-Moran (pictured) who had been missing since February

Suffolk County authorities say Garcia-Moran's (left) body was found Wednesday on Long Island near the remains of 19-year-old Brentwood High School student Oscar Acosta (right), who was reported missing in May. Both deaths are believed to be gang-related

The area where Acosta's and Garcia-Moran's bodies were found, is believed to be a dump site for the gang's victims, according to The Daily Caller.

Acosta's remains were found on September 16, just days after the bodies of two teens, Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, were discovered.

Police said the high school best friends were discovered beaten to death this month.

Authorities believe their deaths may be gang-related.

An award totaling $15,000 is being offered by crime stoppers for information in that case, according to PIX 11.

The Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang, which is one of the most deadly street gangs, is notorious for its links to cartels and organized crime, and its ability to access high-powered weapons.

Acosta's remains were found on September 16, just days after the bodies of two teens, Nisa Mickens (left) and Kayla Cuevas (right), were discovered

Investigators are planning to launch a new gang prevention program in Brentwood, the station reported. The investigation into the four deaths are ongoing

Because of unrest in Central America, many of the original gang members had guerrilla warfare experience, making them more deadly than other criminal groups.

Garcia-Moran's parents had said they feared their son might have been targeted by a gang.

Police have said Acosta's death is linked to gangs as well.

Investigators are planning to launch a new gang prevention program in Brentwood, the station reported.
A popsicle salesman has finally been able to retire at the age of 89 after he was given $384,000 by well-wishers who saw a heartbreaking photo of him at work.

Fidencio Sanchez was presented with a huge check in a ceremony within his Chicago neighborhood on Wednesday following a successful GoFundMe campaign.

'No more work. I worked because I had to, but my body is no longer strong enough,' he told the crowd in Spanish, according to Chicago's ABC7.

Popsicle salesman Joel Cervantes Macias (pictured) has finally been able to retire at the age of 89 after he was given $384,000 by well-wishers who saw a photo of him at work

Mr Sanchez (pictured center with his wife) was presented with a huge check in a ceremony within his Chicago neighborhood on Wednesday following a successful GoFundMe campaign

Joel Cervantes Macias started the campaign after taking a picture of the elderly vendor as he struggled to push his cart of frozen treats through the West Side of the city.

The Mexican restaurant owner said the sight broke his heart because Mr Sanchez should be enjoying his retirement.

He posted the shot on Facebook with the caption: 'I respect this man to the fullest! #workflow #dyingbreed #mexicano #migente.'

Mr Macias then bought 20 paletas - a type of ice lolly - from Mr Sanchez for $50 before driving away.

Joel Cervantes Macias started the campaign after photographing the elderly vendor as he struggled to push his cart of frozen treats through the West Side

On Wednesday, Mr Macias said the picture had struck a cord with many hard-working Americans.

'It gave a small glimpse as to how hundreds of thousands of people his age are still working in America, trying to make ends meet,' he said.

Mr Macias (pictured) said the sight broke his heart because Mr Sanchez should be enjoying his retirement

'And how hardworking the Latino community is as well.'

Mr Sanchez has spent years selling paletas, pushing his cart for several hours each day, earning just $50 to $60 a day, according to DNAinfo Chicago.

He had retired two months ago but returned to work after his only daughter died in July.

Mr Sanchez's wife also had become ill and was unable to sell paletas anymore to help pay bills.

Mr Macias and his friend Joe Loera started the Gofundme campaign with the aim of raising just $3,000.

But it has now raised more than $384,000.
Michael Soden, 54, who has died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand after taking Viagra

A British holidaymaker has died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand after taking Viagra and spending the night with a prostitute.

Michael Soden, 54, was last seen on Thursday evening in the city of Pattaya, where he took a young sex worker back to the guest house where he was staying.

But a concerned maid, who noticed he hadn't left the room the next day, used a spare key to check on him and found him dead on the bathroom floor.

Later when searching the room, police discovered boxes of Viagra and they now believe he died from a heart attack after having sex with the woman, who has not been named.

Senior police officer Pitak Neonsaeng, said: 'There was Viagra in the room and other medicine. We are not totally sure the cause of death yet but we think it's a heart attack.

'He had taken the girl back to his room, taken Viagra and then died. We think that after he had finished his activities he went to bathroom and died.

'Something has caused him to suddenly fall ill.

'The man had been in Pattaya on holiday. There were no signs of assault or robbery so we're not looking for any suspects.

'We have sent the body away for examination. Details have been passed to the British Embassy.'

Police released pictures of officers arriving at the hotel and carrying the man's body into an ambulance.

He is believed to have weighed around 15 stone, had a distinctive cat cartoon tattoo on his right calf, and been suffering with other health problems.

A maid at the guesthouse said they had seen Mr Soden drinking everyday at a beer bar nearby the hotel.

Mr Soden's body is taken from the hotel room he was staying in after he was found dead by a maid

She said he was seen taking the 'bar gir' - a Thai term for sex worker - back to his second-storey room.

The maid, who asked not to be named, said: 'It's normal for men to take girls back to their room. I saw him go back with a girl at night time but we didn't see him the next day.

'We knocked on the door but there was no reply so we went inside.

'The British man was always friendly and happy. It was a shock to see he had died. I don't think he had been dead for very long before we found him.'

Pattaya - known as the 'sin city' and the 'devil's playground' - has gained a notorious reputation for muggings and deaths among tourists.
Salim Mehajer has posted a cryptic throwback image to his Instagram account of him and his estranged wife Aysha Learmonth.

The former Auburn deputy mayor posted the image to social media on Monday night, showing him and Ms Learmonth in the back of a car.

He captioned the post with an emoji with with large love hearts in its eyes.

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Salim Mehajer posted a cryptic throwback image of him and his estranged wife Aysha to his Instagram account on Monday night (pictured)

The post attracted more than 1,500 likes and hundreds of comments.

Mr Mehajer and Ms Learmonth married in August 2015 in a self proclaimed 'wedding of the century', amid much fanfare and controversy.

Mr Mehajer was fined $220 by his own council after an enormous wedding procession of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Harley Davidsons shut down a Lidcombe street, causing traffic chaos.

The pair have been estranged for the past few months, amid claims Ms Learmonth packed her bags and left the couple's mansion in Lidcombe, western Sydney, in March to stay with family in the NSW Illawarra region.

Mr Mehajer is now rumoured to be dating 24-year-old flight attendant Constance Siaflas, who he took as a date to his sister Khadijeh 'Kat' Mehajer's recent wedding.

Mr Mehajer (pictured) and Ms Learmonth married in August 2015 in a self proclaimed 'wedding of the century', amid much fanfare and controversy

Mr Mehajer is now able to speak to Ms Learmonth and approach her, after the apprehended violence order taken out on Aysha and her brother-in-law's behalf was changed.

The nine-month order was taken out by police on Ms Learmonth and Ben Miller's behalf.

The controversial property developer is also not allowed to walk into an address in Sydney Ms Learmonth often goes to.

Mr Mehajer (left) is now able to speak to Ms Learmonth (right) and approach her, after the apprehended violence order taken out on Aysha and her brother-in-law's behalf was changed

It comes after Mr Mehajer (left) threatened Ms Learmonth (left) and her parents in an expletive-ridden video that was aired on A Current Affair in August

This order also applies to his contact with Mr Miller and Mehajer is stay at least 100 metres away from his wife's brother-in-law's home in the Illawarra area.

It comes after Mehajer threatened to rape the parents of Ms Learmonth in a vicious and expletive-ridden video message.

The video, which aired on Channel Nine's A Current Affair last month, showed the embattled property developer screaming into the camera.

'Aysha you've got five minutes to give me a call,' Mr Mehajer said.

'I'm going to rape your mum. Your mum and your f****** dad'.
Shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor has said Labour wants to expand aid spending

A Jeremy Corbyn government would aim to increase the controversial foreign aid budget by billions of pounds a year, it has been revealed.

Labour would want to 'expand' spending beyond the 0.7 per cent of national income that has already been pledged.

The move, announced by shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor, would potentially mean diverting huge extra resources from public services.

It was immediately condemned by Tory MPs who said it showed how 'out of touch' Labour was.

The wealthiest countries in the world have all committed to meeting the 0.7 per cent level of aid spending - but the UK is among a select band to have actually met the goal.

According to official figures, Britain donated 13.21 billion in overseas aid in 2015, equivalent to 0.71 per cent of gross national income.

The US gave nearly twice as much in cash terms but was nowhere near hitting the percentage target.

Apart from the UK, only the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden were above the threshold.

David Cameron was a staunch supporter of the aid spending, insisting that it was morally correct and crucial for ensuring global stability.

Since taking over as Prime Minister Theresa May has also stressed her commitment to the goal, but signalled a different approach by appointing Priti Patel as International Development Secretary.

Ms Patel has long been a critic of the way DfID spends development money.

In her speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool today, Ms Osamor lashed out at Ms Patel.

'The Tories have never been a fan of international aid. Priti Patel even said she wanted the Department abolished. Labour will never abolish DfID,' she said.

'We will support it, expand it. We will help the people of the world who need our help. No ifs, no buts.'

Labour sources confirmed afterwards that the party now had an 'ambition' of expanding aid spending beyond the 0.7 per cent pledge.

Ms Osamor, pictured with Jeremy Corbyn on the Labour conference platform in Liverpool today, said the party was determined to 'help the people of the world'

But Tory MP Peter Bone told MailOnline: 'I think this shows how out of touch the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn is.

'What they should be doing is using Brexit as a golden opportunity to open the British market to developing countries to sell their goods.

'If there is a need for aid, an humanitarian emergency, then of course we should be generous.

'But to have an arbitrary figure has no logic whatsoever.

'All that happens is there is pressure on government to meet the target, they don't necessarily investigate where that money goes.'
A Northern California mother has inspired parents across the nation after writing a hilarious tardy note explaining that her daughter was suffering from 'teenage-ism'.

Nicole Poppic, 34, was inspired to write the note after her 14-year-old daughter Cara overslept and spent the morning 'talking back to her' at their Clarksburg home.

'To whom it may concern,' the note begins. 'Cara is tardy this morning as a result of a condition known as teenage-ism.'

'Adolescents across our great nation are afflicted and there is no known cure.'

Northern California mother Nicole Poppic wrote a hilarious tardy note for her 14-year-old daughter Cara, explaining that she was late because she was suffering from 'teenage-ism'

The note was an instant viral hit with parents on the social media site, who have shared it more than 32,000 times and told Poppic it was a great move

Poppic (left) wrote the note after Cara (right) overslept and spent the morning 'talking back to her' at their Clarksburg home and also made her younger siblings late to school

'Symptoms are multitudinous,' it continues, 'but this particular morning she suffered from an inability to remove herself from bed, and also felt the need to talk back to her birth-giver.'

'She seems to be recovering from her senses after watching her cell phone fly out the car window. Please tell me if there is another flare-up. Thank you.'

Poppic then shared the note on Facebook, writing in the caption: 'This is what happens when you are tardy as a result of your own poor choices and you ask me for a note to excuse your tardiness.'

The note was an instant hit with parents on the social media site, who have shared it more than 32,000 times.

'As a teacher and a mom, well played, game-set match to you!' wrote commenter Greta Humphrey.

'I love this, I need to keep this in mind for when my little one gets older,' wrote Jennifer Abreu. 'Taking notes!'

Some parents were less fond of Poppic's note, saying it was condescending and harsh that the mother threw her daughter's phone out the window.

When they finally got in the car, Poppic tried to explain to her daughter how her actions had also made her younger siblings, Alex and Sammi, (all pictured) late as well

But Poppic took to her blog to explain that fateful morning in more detail - and to ensure her readers that Cara's phone had survived.

The mother-of-three and Army veteran explained that Cara had overslept the morning she wrote the note and was in a mood when she finally got out of bed.

'Cara was talking back and arguing with me over how much time she had, what she was going to eat for breakfast, and pretty much anything else I said,' she wrote.

'It was one of those lovely mornings that every mom with a teenager can relate to.'

When they finally got in the car, Poppic tried to explain to her daughter how her actions had also made her younger siblings, Alex and Sammi, late as well.

'You know Alex hates being late,' Poppic told her daughter, 'And Sammi has her first school picture today.'

That's when Poppic heard the familiar sound of Panic! At the Disco, her daughter's favorite band and turned around to see Cara had her headphones in and was 'staring out the window, completely ignoring me'.

'I reached over and took her phone off her lap, unplugged her headphones and threw her phone out the car window,' Poppic wrote.

Poppic decided to take Alex and Sammi to school before Cara that day, so by the time they arrived at the high school it was required that she write her daughter a note for the attendance office.

Poppic and her husband George (pictured) are bother Army veterans. She is a stay-at-home mother who is currently at school full-time to become a therapist

When Cara read what her mother wrote, she refused to take it. So Poppic walked into the office with her daughter and turned it in.

'The attendance clerk cracked a smile, but didn't say anything, she just gave Cara her tardy slip,' Poppic wrote.

On the way home, Poppic retrieved Cara's phone from the front yard of her neighbor's yard, where it had landed safely in the grass.

She then kept it for four days as 'Cara's consequences for her actions that morning'.

'I don't want anyone under the false impression that Cara is a bad kid,' she wrote at the end of the post.

'She is an honor roll student and an extremely talented piano player. I am very proud of her and I love being her mom. She was just having a bad morning.'

Poppic explained that she was very close with Cara, who laughed about the note a couple days later, but that she felt it was important to teach her a lesson that day.

'I feel it is important for all of my children to realize that no matter what kind of mood a person is in, they are still responsible for their own actions,' she wrote.
A 13-year-old girl and her newborn son were found safe in West Virginia on Saturday, a week after police say the teenager's stepfather kidnapped her from the Illinois home of her court-appointed guardian.

Police came upon Katherine Derleth, her baby and 39-year-old Christopher M Derleth in a remote campsite near the mining town of Kayford, West Virginia, located more than 500 miles from Edwardsville, Illinois, where the new mother and son were last seen on September 17.

Mr Derleth, who was charged last week in absentia with aggravated kidnapping and child abduction, was taken into custody and will remain in West Virginia pending his extradition to Illinois.

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Found: Katherine Derleth (left) and her three-week-old son, Christopher (right), were found safe at a remote campsite in West Virginia on Saturday, a week after their alleged kidnapping

Stepdad arrested: Katherine's stepdad, Christopher Derleth, 39, was taken into custody in West Virginia, where he will remain pending his extradition to Illinois

Katherine, who reportedly has a congenital heart defect that requires the use of a pacemaker, and her three-week-old son, also named Christopher, were taken to a hospital for an evaluation. Both were said to be in good condition.

Kanawha County Sheriffs Sgt. Brian Humphreys said the elder Christopher Derleth used his credit card at a convenience store near the town of Cabin Creek and was seen on surveillance video on Friday, which enabled law enforcement officials to track him down at 1.30pm the following day,reported the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office on Sunday issued an endangered missing person alert stating that Katherine Derleth and her son were last seen on September 17 in Edwardsville, Illinois.

On Wednesday, Katherine's mother, Jennifer Derleth, sat down with the station KDSK for an exclusive interview about her daughter's disappearance.

Mrs Derleth, who has a medical condition affecting her lungs that requires the use of an oxygen tank, recounted how three weeks ago, she was by Katherine's side in the hospital as the eighth-grader delivered her son via C-section after 36 hours of labor.

'I was there when he was born. She was nervous, scared,' the mom recalled.

Long way from home: This map shows the site of Katherine Derleth's disappearance in Edwardsville, Illinois, and the campsite where she was found in West Virginia, 500 miles away

Katherine's mother, Jennifer, pictured here with her husband, Christopher, and twin daughters, said last week that the 13-year-old Katherine wants to keep her son

She also said that when Katherine went missing from the home of her guardians Saturday, she left her cell phone behind but grabbed formula for baby Christopher.

Jennifer Derleth said the 13-year-old girl loves to cook and take care of people, and plans to keep the child.

A 'no contact order' had been previously issued against Derleth barring him from interacting with his stepdaughter

Citing legal considerations, the girl's mother declined to discuss why her husband may have abducted her daughter and grandson. She did say that the elder Christopher Derleth is an avid camper and asked the public to be on the lookout for his green 1997 Mercury Villager van.

The paternity of Christopher Ray Derleth's paternity is unknown at this time, but Greenville, Illinois, Police Chief Lou Lorton tells People Magazine that once investigators determine the identity of the baby's biological father, 'there will no doubt be charges of criminal sexual abuse filed against that individual.'

Lorton says his officers have launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding Katherine's pregnancy months earlier, and the focus of the investigation has been her stepfather and another man with whom the teenager had been sharing a home.

New details: Katherine has a congenital heart defect that requires the use of a pacemaker

The trio was believed to have been traveling in this green 1997 Mercury Villager minivan with Illinois plates

As a result, the state removed Katherine and her newborn son from her home and placed them with court-appointed guardians.

The foster family with whom Katherine and her son had been staying contacted the authorities at around 9.30am Sunday when they discovered that Katherine and baby Christopher were not in their room.
3,000 images allegedly offered to newspaper, including of Pippa's wedding dress fitting and naked snaps of her fiance James Matthews

The unemployed father is believed to have been in custody and then bailed

Nathan Wyatt, 35, has been arrested by detectives probing the case

An unemployed father quizzed by detectives after 3,000 photographs from Pippa Middleton's iCloud were taken when her account was hacked has been bailed.

Website designer Nathan Wyatt, 35, swore at photographers as he returned to his home in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Some of the pictures allegedly show Miss Middleton at a wedding dress fitting and naked images of her fiance, James Matthews, 40.

Website designer Nathan Wyatt, 35, mocked photographers as he returned to his home in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire

Nathan Wyatt, 35, (pictured left) has been bailed after reportedly being arrested after Pippa Middleton's iCloud account was hacked

Scotland Yard announced last night they had arrested a 35-year-old man in Northamptonshire on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offence - he was later bailed.

And Mr Wyatt's three-bedroom home in Wellingborough, near Northampton, was spotted being searched by forensic teams who were trying to find evidence relating to the case, reports The Sun.

Wyatt, 35, swore at photographers as he returned to his home in Wellingborough

Miss Middleton, 33, whose sister is the Duchess of Cambridge, was at the centre of a major security alert after a man offered to sell 3,000 images of her and her royal relatives for 50,000.

It is not known what Wyatt's alleged involvement was, or whether he was the hacker or the seller.

Officers also searched his blue Ford Puma car as well as the 200,000 home he shares with his fiancee Kelly Howell.

The collection of photographs from Miss Middleton's account is said to include private pictures of her sister, Kate - the Duchess of Cambridge - and her children George and Charlotte.

Meanwhile, the hacker is also believed to have the personal phone numbers of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

A neighbour who asked not to be named said that police turned up at Mr Wyatt's house at 10pm on Saturday night.

They told The Sun: 'He stays at home and she works. They (the police) were taking a lot of pictures in the house but also outside.

The unemployed website designer (left) was arrested by officers and was bailed on Monday

The pictures reportedly show Miss Middleton at a wedding dress fitting and naked pictures of Miss Middleton, pictured with her fiance James Matthews at Wimbledon this year)

'The cops were checking in the boot of his car and looking for paperwork.

'He is friendly and always says good morning  police haven't told us what it is about.'

HOW CYBER THIEVES CAN HACK ONLINE ACCOUNTS In 2014, more than 100 celebrities had their personal iCloud accounts hacked. The iCloud - which is described as an 'external hard disk in the sky' - allows users to essentially store documents, and images, on a number of devices. It is believed the hackers used the password reset function to access the online accounts. The technique allows people using the account to reset the password by entering a username and date of birth before answering two security questions. Experts have warned that answers to personal questions relating to celebrities should be relatively easy to find. Advertisement

Mr Wyatt reportedly illustrates a knowledge of computers and discusses Sony PlayStation games on the internet.

The revelation comes after the seller hid their identity by calling themselves the 'Crafty Cockney' and 'Mas'.

They reportedly contacted the newspaper and said they had 3,000 private photographs from the author's Apple iCloud account.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ' Detectives investigating the hacking of a personal iCloud account have made an arrest.

'On Saturday evening, a 35-year-old man was arrested at an address in Northamptonshire'.

The seller reportedly demanded at least 50,000 and wanted to offload them within 48 hours.

They added: 'This isnt [sic] an auction it will be a simple process of the highest bid.

'Due to current climate on privacy laws in the UK I'm intending a quick US sale but would at least give you a heads-up.'

A source close to Miss Middleton confirmed that her lawyers had been told and that they would be speaking to the police.

Mr Wyatt's three-bedroom home in Wellingborough (pictured) was searched by forensic teams

The seller added: 'This is obviously a vast source of info and pictures that I neither want nor intend to keep in my possession very long.'

It comes after a number of celebrities had their private online accounts hacked, including American actress Jennifer Lawrence, 26.

Model Kate Upton, 24, was also a victim of an iCloud theft in 2014.
Germany's former top spy, Werner Mauss, has been accused of hiding 14.45million euros (12.5million) from the taxman.

Mauss, now 76, went on trial today in the German city of Bochum and faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.

The man dubbed 'the German James Bond' was frequently sent on secret operations abroad but his financial dealings are only now coming under scrutiny.

Werner Mauss claims the money in the secret bank account was used to help in the release of German hostages, such as Reinhilt Weigel (pictured) who was freed in 2003 after 10 weeks in a Colombian jungle

Prosecutors claim that while chasing Russian spies, Colombian rebels and various other enemies of the state, Mauss placed large sums of undeclared money in offshore bank accounts in the Bahamas and elsewhere.

Investigators found a computer disk containing a number of UBS account holders and among the names on it was one of Mauss's aliases.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper says the disk was bought from a whistleblower by the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where Mauss lived and should have filed his tax returns.

Mauss had allegedly failed to declare an account he holds with the Luxembourg subsidiary of UBS.

Prosecutors have yet to find any evidence that the 'German James Bond' spent money from his secret account on Aston Martins or any other luxuries

His name also emerged in relation to several shell companies listed in the so-called Panama Papers - leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that exposed the murky offshore financial dealings of the rich and powerful.

Mauss has rejected any wrongdoing, saying the business fronts were set up to channel funds used in relation to operations, mainly in Colombia, to free hostages from the Left-wing guerrilla group ELN.

Among those freed was Reinhilt Weigel, a German physiotherapist, who was released in 2003 after being held in the jungle for three months.
A fireball, meteorite or piece of flaming space junk is believed to have crashed into the ocean just off the coast of central Queensland on Monday night.

Thousands of residents along the coastline reported seeing a bright flash of orange lighting up the sky, followed by a rumbling explosion and tremor that shook houses.

The incredible flash of light was reported just before 8.30pm, and was seen as far south as Hervey Bay and as far north as Yeppoon, Higgins Storm Chasing reported.

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A fireball (stock image) is believed to have crashed into the ocean just off the coast of central Queensland on Monday night

Security cameras managed to capture the bright flash of light that was seen as far south as Hervey Bay and as far north as Yeppoon

Police confirmed receiving a number of calls from residents in the Gladstone area, with many experiencing brief power outages and the ground shaking.

Initial suggestions it may have been an earthquake were ruled out by GeoScience Australia.

A spokesperson from the Bureau of Meteorology told the Gladstone Observer that they were unable to provide a scientific explanation for the flash of light.

'There doesn't seem to be a weather related explanation for what has been described in the Gladstone area tonight,' BoM spokesperson Meredith Schier said.

It was reported that fire crews were sent out to Emerald beach to investigate reports of an aircraft incident, but a spokeswoman for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said that the crew had since returned after finding nothing.

While social media was flooded with reports of the flash, few were able to capture it. One resident uploaded grainy security footage which showed a flash in the distance.

A Beecher woman said it 'felt like an explosion' and was preceded by 'blinding light.'

Lynette from Boyne Island said her husband had been taking out the garbage bins when he turned around and saw 'a brilliant meteor or something flash overhead and disappear over the sea.'

Another woman in Bundaberg said she was nearly blinded by the light, which 'came from the front of my house to the backyard and brightened all the trees up.'

Far further north in Mackay, a mother described the flash as a 'ball of flame falling from the sky.'

The Higgins Storm Chasing crew reported that it was probable that a meteorite had impacted somewhere offshore from the general Gladstone area, 550 kilometres north of Brisbane.
Jeremy Corbyn is failing to tackle anti-Semitism in the party an MP warned today after an activist claimed racism had been 'weaponised' against the Labour leader.

Wes Streeting, a fierce critic of Mr Corbyn and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Jews, spoke out as the issue came to the fore again at the party's conference.

On the fringes of the party conference in Liverpool, controversial Momentum activist Jackie Walker last night accused opponents of Mr Corbyn of 'weaponising' and 'exaggerating' anti-Semitism against the Labour leader.

Leaflets distributed outside a meeting on religious hatred by the left-wing pressure group Momentum were branded 'anti-Semitic and undeniably racist' by Mr Streeting.

Labour MP Wes Streeting (file picture) has condemned Jeremy Corbyn for not doing enough after 'undeniably racist' leaflets about Jews were distributed on the fringes of the Labour conference

The leaflets claimed that the Jewish Labour Movement acted as 'a representative of a foreign power, Israel' and called for it to be disaffiliated from the Labour Party.

Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'That last comment, 'acts as a representative of a foreign power', this isn't ambiguous. This is classic anti-semitic trope, at our conference.

'In terms of some of the people we're talking about, and the problem that occurs, they're not going to listen to people like me.

'But they do place a lot of faith and stock in Jeremy.

'As someone who has a track record of tackling racism and discrimination, I think in the past year he's had a golden opportunity which he hasn't yet taken up to show real leadership on this, and help navigate through some of the problems we face in terms of anti-Semitism.'

Mr Streeting acknowledged that anti-Semitism was not a problem among the vast majority of Labour members, and that anti-Semitism can be used to shut down legitimate debate on Israel.

He added: 'But sometimes that debate does spill over into anti-semitism.

Anti-Semitism was the focus of a debate at the controversial Momentum fringe away from the main Labour conference, pictured, last night

'Jeremy Corbyn has got an opportunity to show real leadership to help steer us through.

'I feel in the past year he hasn't acknowledged the extent and the nature of the problem, or helped us reach a solution.'

There were reports from the party conference of three incidents of anti-semitic abuse at the Labour Friends Of Israel stand.

Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger said: 'I'm frankly appalled by the comments I've learned have been made at an event just down the road from Labour Party conference, from the platform of an organisation which purports to be supporting the Labour Party.

'There are too many examples of where my Jewish parliamentary colleagues, where my Jewish council colleagues, where Jewish members have been attacked because they are Jewish.

'We need to stamp it out.'

Jeremy Corbyn, pictured on the main stage at the Labour conference today, is facing calls to do more to confront anti-Semitism within Labour

The Campaign Against Antisemitism last week filed a formal complaint with the Labour Party over Mr Corbyn's alleged failure to tackle anti-semitism.

Mr Corbyn has repeatedly said he condemns any forms of abuse and discrimination.

He commissioned the Chakrabarti report earlier this year, which also concluded there was no widespread anti-semitism within Labour.

Jackie Walker, vice chair of Momentum, was suspended from the Labour Party over allegations of anti-Semitism but was later cleared and allowed back in.

She was one of the speakers at the Momentum event where the leaflets were distributed and was applauded for telling the meeting anti-Semitism was 'no more special than any other kind of racism'.

She said: 'I'm not saying that anti-Semitism does not exist in the Labour party. The Labour party, after all, is simply a reflection of society.

'But I am saying that claims of its significance are being exaggerated for political purposes and this has been done at huge cost to our movement, to our communities and to many individual people in and outside of our party.'
A man who followed instructions and helped stuff the body of his friend Dane McNeill into a suitcase before setting it on fire has told of the torturous ordeal the victim went through before his death.

Brendon Gallo, 21, told the NSW Supreme Court he heard Mr McNeill screaming for his life before he was eventually killed at Picnic Point, in south-west Sydney, in 2014.

Mr McNeill, 20, was allegedly beaten, stabbed, forced to consume drugs and tied up before he was killed, with brothers Haysem and Azam Charbaji charged with his murder.

Mr Gallo told the court he was 'scared for his life' when he allegedly followed the instructions of the Charbaji brothers and helped to dispose of his friends' body the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Brendon Gallo appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, where he told how he heard Dane McNeill screaming hours before he was killed

Mr Gallo (centre) said he followed orders from Haysem and Azam Charbaji - the two brothers charged with Mr McNeill's murder - to buy a large suitcase and help put Mr McNeill's body into it before it was taken to a park and set alight

Mr McNeill (pictured) was allegedly beaten, stabbed, fed drugs and tied up before he was killed

The court heard that Mr McNeill had arrived at the apartment of Haysem Charbaji at Heckenberg, Sydney, and asked for money to repay a $3,000 debt involving his occasional girlfriend Jade Patterson.

According to Mr Gallo, Mr McNeill was allegedly punched in the face upon his arrival.

He was then allegedly stabbed in the lower back with a steak knife, causing him to scream.

Chux wipes were then tied to Mr McNeill's wound, before he was 'fed Xanax and tied up and put in the laundry'.

Mr Gallo told the court he was scared he would become the next target of the brothers.

'I was too scared to move,' Mr Gallo told the court when asked why he didn't leave the apartment.

He said he stood by the laundry door overnight and guarded Mr McNeill, before being told to go and get more Xanax because he was screaming.

When he returned to the house with the pills he allegedly saw Azam Charbaji with a ratchet and heard 'three bangs' and 'a lot of screaming'.

Mr Gallo told how he guarded a laundry where Mr McNeill was being held after allegedly being bashed, stabbed, drugged and tied-up by the Charbaji brothers

The court heard that Mr McNeill had arrived at the apartment to ask for money to repay a $3,000 debt involving his occasional girlfriend Jade Patterson

The next morning he was told to purchase a large suitcase, before returning to the apartment.

'As I walked inside there was this smell and then there was Azam with Dane in the back room in sheets and another suitcase,' Mr Gallo told the court.

'Azam asked me to help him move it from the old suitcase to the new one.'

Mr Gallo told how he then helped to fit Mr McNeill's body into the suitcase, before taking it into the Picnic Point park and using petrol to set it alight.

Azam Charbaji (right) is charged with murdering Mr McNeill while Lexy May Jamieson (left) is charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder

He said he heard about the discovery of Mr McNeill's body on the news.

Mr Gallo is due to be cross-examined on Tuesday.

Haysem Charbaji's ex-girlfriend Lexy May Jamieson is also charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder.

Both Charbaji brothers and Jamieson have pleaded not-guilty to their charges.
EXCLUSIVE: A self-styled multi-millionaire foreign exchange dealer who brags on TikTok about how he treats parking tickets as the cost of 'VIP parking' (left) has been behind a string of dissolved companies and lives in a rented house. MailOnline can also reveal that one of the directorships listed for Luke Desmaris (right, inset), 27, at Companies House gives his 'correspondence address' as the home of an elderly couple who live in an isolated gated bungalow and have never heard of him. Desmaris, who charges people for advice on how to make a fortune, made headlines this week after releasing a boastful TikTok video showing parking tickets on his BMW on double yellow lines near Harrods as a voiceover says: 'Broke people see a fine, but I see VIP parking'. He also regularly brags about earning 300,000 a month, living in 'multi-million mansions', and wearing two Rolex watches worth a total of 40,000 in a bid to get some of his 83,000 followers on TikTok to pay him 29.99 a month for trading advice. Many of his videos feature the exterior of his former five bedroom home and his 90,000 BMW M4 car in Harlow, Essex, with some posing the question: 'How can I afford this house and car age 27?'
David Mills (pictured with wife Alison) allegedly pumped Scourfield with 'money, lavish hospitality and sexual encounters'

A senior HBOS banker helped orchestrate a 245million loan scam which saw cash splashed on 'luxurious foreign travel and sexual encounters with high class escorts', a court heard.

Lynden Scourfield, 54, was allegedly involved in a 'corrupt relationship' with business consultant David Mills, 60, which saw companies plunge into deep debt, between 2003 and 2007.

Mills and five others were in the dock at Southwark Crown Court today accused of being involved in the alleged scam.

He allegedly worked with Scourfield, who was lead director of impaired assets for HBOS (Halifax, Bank of Scotland), to find 'high risk' customers desperate for loans.

The prosecution claimed that 'very large amounts' of money were paid from the customers to Quayside Corporate Services Ltd in high consultancy fees after securing the HBOS loans, run by Mills as a turnaround consultant.

The court heard how Mills allegedly pumped Scourfield with 'money, lavish hospitality and sexual encounters with high class escorts' in a bid to corrupt him.

In total 28million was passed through the personal accounts of Mr and Mrs Mills, the jury heard.

John Cartwright and Michael Bancroft pictured outside Southwark Crown Court; Bancroft, 73, and Cartwright, 71, were allegedly involved in the banking scam

Prosecutor Brian O'Neill said: 'It is the Crown's case that the corrupt relationship which developed between these two men - David Mills and Lynden Scourfield - lays at the heart of this case.

'Their actions between 2003 and 2007, we say, were wholly dishonest and fraudulent.'

The prosecutor claimed Mills 'knew he could rely on Scourfield' and highlighted an email chain between the pair.

In March 2006, Scourfield told Mills: 'I'll always stick by you.'

That May Scourfield also emailed to sayL 'I have been confirmed as "grand wizard" to which Mills replied: 'Great. Marry me!'

Scourfield's reply was: 'I thought we were already.'

Mr O'Neill added: 'At the end of the day HBOS incurred losses in the order of 245million in respect of customer lending managed by Scourfield that ultimately had to be written off by the bank. Their motivation was greed.'

Scourfield was described by the prosecutor as a 'golden goose'.

'Lynden Scourfield was the goose who was laying golden eggs. David Mills just had to keep feeding him and feed him... he did.'

Mr O'Neill told jurors the police investigation had uncovered evidence of 'huge rewards' provided by Mills to Scourfield to 'effect his corruption'.

'This took the form of money transfers, cash, expensive gifts, use of an American Express card for personal spending, unauthorised and inappropriately lavish hospitality, luxurious foreign travel and sexual encounters with high class escorts.'

Jonathan Cohen (left) and Mark Dobson, 55, are both accused in the HBOS fraud trial

'Quayside transferred a great deal of that money to the bank accounts of David Mills in particular and his wife also.

'In general terms more than 28million passed through the personal accounts of Mr and Mrs Mills.'

Businesses that were 'already vulnerable' were said to have been 'further run down' as part of the scam by the group.

The prosecutor claimed the group showed 'complete disregard for the interests of existing shareholders and creditors'.

One company, Clode, was allegedly left in debt of 'in excess of 20.5million' after the supposed scam.

Tie manufacturer Theros was also allegedly left 'almost 21million' in debt to the bank.

Porn magazine publishers Remnant were also left with debts of 'in excess of 16million' following warnings it was 'doomed for failure within the foreseeable future', the court heard.

Former banker and venture capitalist Mills was joined in the dock by HBOS banker Mark Dobson, 55, fellow consultant Michael Bancroft, 73, and his wife Alison Mills, 51, who were also allegedly involved.

Mr O'Neill told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that police had uncovered evidence of 'huge rewards' provided by Mills to Scourfield to 'effect his corruption'

Textile expert John Cartwright, 71, and accountant Jonathan Cohen, 57, are also on trial.

Bancroft was labelled as Mills' 'man on the ground' involved in the businesses and allegedly received 'around 1million' in direct payments.

Scourfield and Bancroft are also said to have been close with both going to Barbados to celebrate Alison Mills' 40th birthday.

Both Scourfield and his wife even stayed at Bancroft's villa on the Algarve in 2004 and 2005, jurors heard.

Cartwright is said to have received 200,000 for his alleged role in the fraudulent trading at textile company Magenta.

Dobson, a colleague of Scourfield, was allegedly responsible for two high-risk accounts on behalf of HBOS and allegedly received 30,000 in corrupt payments from one of Mills' companies as well as benefitting from 'inappropriate hospitality'.

Accountant Cohen's firm Brett Adams was 'heavily dependant' on Mills' companies for a large slice of its turnover, the court heard.

His firm is also said to have run into financial difficulties and banked with HBOS, being transferred to Scourfield's department when struggling.

'It was, we suggest, the combination of heavy reliance on Mills and Scourfield's HBOS impaired assets work and the precarious state of his firm's finances that led Cohen to participate in what he must have known were criminal activities,' Mr O'Neill claimed.
An 11-year-old boy has become Britains youngest male-on-male rapist after he admitted attacking a nine-year-old boy 15 times.

The child from Blackpool, Lancashire, was only caught when the victims mother heard suspicious whispering on the baby monitor in her sons bedroom.

The boy, who is now 12, also sexually assaulted a seven-year-old boy and then twice sexually assaulted an 11-year-old disabled boy while on bail for the rapes.

Hearing: The defendant, who is now 12, pleaded guilty to one charge of raping the same boy 15 times and three charges of sexual touching at Blackpool Magistrates' Court (pictured)

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one charge of raping the same boy 15 times and three charges of sexual touching.

He stood in a secure dock alongside a security officer. The defendants dark hair was neatly cut and he worse a smart dark jacket with a shirt and tie.

He was committed in youth custody to appear for sentence at Preston Crown Court by District Judge Jeff Brailsford sitting at Blackpool Magistrates Court.

Kerry Grieve, prosecuting, said the offences took place between April last year and last month in the seaside town.

On May 29 this year the defendant was playing with a nine-year-old boy in his bedroom when his mother heard whispering over the baby monitor.

She walked into the bedroom to find the defendant raping her son on the bedroom floor. The defendant told her: I am sorry, I dont know why I did it.

Shocking case: The child from Blackpool (pictured) in Lancashire was only caught when the victims mother heard suspicious whispering on the baby monitor in her sons bedroom

The victim was interviewed by specialist police officers and told them that the defendant raped him almost every day they played together.

The defendant also told him to keep what was happening a secret.

I am sorry, I dont know why I did it What the defendant is said to have told mother of a nine-year-old victim

Enquiries then revealed the defendant had sexually touched another boy aged seven over his clothing.

The defendant was on bail when he twice sexually touched an 11-year-old disabled boy over his trousers.

That victim said the rapist had given had given a sword afterwards.

The prosecutor said: He has been assessed as at a high risk of joining in further sexual behaviour. He used some grooming of the other boys.

The Crown would say a custodial sentence is appropriate in this case.

Next stage: He was committed to appear for sentence at Preston Crown Court (pictured)

Brett Chappell, defending, described the case as tragic for everyone and said the defendant had been the victim of sex abuse himself some years ago.

Mr Chappell said the boy had pleaded guilty immediately and shown a sense of shame and remorse.

He added that the defendant recognised he needed help for his problems and would work towards addressing them.

Last month, MailOnline reported how a boy believed to be Britains youngest ever convicted rapist abused his younger sister twice when he was just 11.

The defendant from Plymouth, Devon, carried out the sex attacks on his nine-year-old sibling on two separate occasions at their home.
The boyfriend of Australian mother Sara Connor has mustered up the courage to apologise to the family of the Balinese policeman who was allegedly bashed to death, his lawyer has claimed.

The 45-year-old Byron Bay woman and her British boyfriend David Taylor, 34, are accused of murdering Wayan Sudarsa on Kuta beach on August 17.

During further questioning last week, Mr Taylor told police that he penned an apologetic letter to Mr Sudarsa's grieving family about two weeks ago.

'He try to come up with the courage and apologise,' Mr Taylor's lawyer Haposan Sihombing said, according to Fairfax Media.

'He's very sorry, it takes time for him to come up with the courage to apologise because the incident caused the victim his life.'

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David Taylor (left) - the boyfriend of Sara Connor (right) - has mustered up the courage to apologise to the family of the Bali policeman who was allegedly murdered, his lawyer claims

Wayan Sudarsa (pictured) was found dead on Kuta beach in the early hours of August 17

The apology comes after a lengthy police brief emerged, detailing how the couple allegedly murdered the policeman.

The report stated that she showered, blocked her lost visa card, cut up the ID cards of Mr Sudarsa and then went to bed, News Corp reports.

The report stated that Ms Connor and Mr Taylor discarded the ID cards and went to the beach for lunch the day after the alleged incident.

She switched her phone on three days after Mr Sudarsa's body was found because she realised she had to register her car when she saw a text message from friends saying 'police found your bag next to the victim'.

Her friends back in Australia urged her to go to the Australian Consulate and they did but not before they burned the clothes they were wearing that night - which Ms Connor claims was Taylor's idea.

A lengthy police brief has emerged, detailing how the pair allegedly murdered the policeman

Ms Connor claims in her statement Mr Taylor (Pictured) killed the policeman after the officer allegedly attempted to steal her handbag

In the report Ms Connor maintains her innocence and said Taylor had told her a policeman was peeping at them on the beach while they were intimate.

The mother of two claims she didn't know the policeman was dead as she was told he was passed out.

Newscorp said the report shows gruesome photos of the bloodstained sand and beaten body of the officer, with the binoculars lying next to him smashed - as they were used to beat him across the head.

Ms Connor's handbag is also pictured in the photos spread across the sand.

More photos allegedly show blood, from the night of the murder, in the couple's Kubu Kauh Beach Inn room.

Photos show the charred-looking smashed mobile phone of the officer's found a fair distance from the murder scene, close to where Ms Connor and Mr Taylor allegedly burned their clothes.

Ms Connor's statement claims she tried to restrain her boyfriend when he began to attack the policeman when he allegedly attempted to steal her handbag on the beach

Ms Connor (left) and Mr Taylor (right) allegedly burnt their clothes from the night of the murder before she headed to the Australian consulate

Ms Connor's statement claims she tried to restrain her boyfriend when he began to attack the policeman when he allegedly attempted to steal her handbag on the beach.

'The suspect only wanted to have a romantic holiday, not like this. The suspect prays for the best for the victim's family and also for her family. The suspect feels extremely fearful. The suspect only tried to separate them and she thinks now she will be jailed only because she wanted to separate them,' the brief says.

Pullman Hotel security guard, Suryana, said in a witness testimony he went to investigate a shout at around 1.05am on August 17.

When he arrived at the beach he saw a local man lying on the sand and a foreign man with dreadlocks sitting on top of a woman. He said he heard the victim sighing and the woman laughing as if they were kidding around and left after 15 minutes when he thought nothing was suspicious.

A bloodied Ms Connor also approached Gede Suartama, a motorbike taxi driver, later that night but was denied a ride to the police station to report her lost bag and drivers license because he is scared of blood.

Ms Connor (pictured) has asked to be moved to a more comfortable Bali jail cell

Ms Connor's statement claims she tried to restrain her boyfriend when he began to attack the policeman when he allegedly attempted to steal her handbag on the beach

In another statement on burning their clothes, Ms Connor highlighted her dread of becoming entangled in the investigation.

'The idea is from David as David felt fear. David burned the clothes. We feel fear as the place where that man died was the same place where we were. We fear that we become criminals,' she told police.

The prosecutors have seen the police brief and want some issues clarified before they decide the charges and bring the case to court.

Police have two more weeks to conduct any further investigations to amend the report.

Ms Connor asked to be moved to a more comfortable Bali jail cell because she is suffering from 'extreme stress'.
An exorcist has warned of a demon that seeks to attack families and has been encountered in numerous exorcisms carried out by the Catholic Church.

Priest Cesar Truqui, based in Rome, Italy, said the demon, called Asmodeus, was also present in the Old Testament story of Tobias.

He said it was 'present' in many exorcisms including ones carried out alongside the former exorcist of the Vatican and the Diocese of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth who died earlier this month.

Priest Cesar Truqui, based in Rome, Italy, said the demon, called Asmodeus, was also present in the Old Testament story of Tobias. Pictured: St Peter's Square in the Vatican

According to the Catholic News Agency, Father Truqui said: 'I remember a young couple, very united, who wanted to get married, however, the woman had to undergo an exorcism to be set free.'

He said that during the exorcism 'the demon was furious and threatened Father Amorth in order to prevent the marriage, otherwise he would kill the young woman. Obviously, it was a threat from the Liar which in fact did not happen.'

Father Truqui claimed the evil spirit looked to attack families through ideologies and lifestyles - as well as through the spread of divorce, the Catholic News Agency reported.

It comes just days after the death of Father Amorth at 91.

Amorth, who had been suffering from pulmonary problems, entered the priesthood in 1954 and was soon seconded to Father Candido Amantini, whom he succeeded in his post as the Vatican's chief exorcist in 1990.

He also founded the International Exorcists' Association (AIE), which he oversaw until his retirement in 2000 and which today has some 250 exorcists working in 30 countries.

An exorcist has warned of a demon that seeks to attack families and has been encountered in numerous exorcisms carried out by the Catholic Church (file picture)

In 2013, a French publishing house quoted him as saying he had performed 160,000 cases of exorcism - including prayer rituals as opposed to the casting out of demons 'possessing' people.

Several cases of casting out evil spirits are ascribed to Jesus himself in the Gospels.

Amorth's work, 'The Last Exorcist - My Fight Against Satan,' was published in France in 2013.

The Vatican officially recognised the AIE in 2014, some in the Roman Catholic Church having viewed exorcism as a questionable practice.

Amorth was famously asked several years ago if the Devil, to whom he often referred, was present inside the Vatican, to which he responded: 'He has tried already,' referring notably to the 1981 assassination attempt against John Paul II and also sex scandals within the Church.

He also spoke out against Harry Potter books, indicating that reading them encourages children to believe in black magic.
Jeremy Corbyn is embroiled in a bitter row with one of his closest allies today over the Labour leader's refusal to accept renewal of Trident.

Seumas Milne, the veteran left-winger's closest aide, is said to have stepped in to tone down shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis's party conference speech just minutes before it was delivered.

Mr Lewis had been expected to dismiss the idea of unpicking the party's policy of supporting Britain's nuclear deterrent.

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Shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis, pictured delivering his speech, is said to have been infuriated that the text was edited

Mr Lewis anxiously checked his phone moments before he delivered the speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool today

He then looked visibly angry and reported went on to punch a wall and cancel a BBC appearance to talk about the speech

But when the MP stepped on to the platform in Liverpool he reportedly was handed a post-it note telling him the autocue text had been edited.

Instead, Mr Lewis - who has supported Mr Corbyn through the rebellion by MPs - delivered a blander statement recognising that the party 'has a policy for Trident renewal'.

Even so, anti-nuclear campaign group CND - of which Mr Corbyn is still vice-president - condemned his comments.

Some reports suggested Mr Lewis was so angry afterwards he punched a wall, and cancelled an appearance on the BBC to talk about his speech.

Mr Lewis - who has supported Mr Corbyn through the rebellion by MPs - delivered a blander statement recognising that the party 'has a policy for Trident renewal'

The extraordinary developments came amid an apparent attempt to push Mr Corbyn into accepting the party's current position on Trident.

Mr Corbyn has insisted he still hopes to shift Labour to backing unilateral disarmament - despite the bulk of the parliamentary party disagreeing with him.

The issue remains a key bone of contention with rebel MPs, and would prevent some senior figures rejoining the shadow cabinet in the wake of Mr Corbyn's overwhelming leadership election victory.

Both Mr Lewis and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry used their speeches today to stress their focus on multilateral disarmament - where the goal is for all countries give up nuclear weapons at the same time.

Jeremy Corbyn's closest aide Seumas Milne, pictured left in Liverpool yesterday, is said to have altered the autocue for Mr Lewis's speech at the last moment

Mr Lewis, an army veteran, looked angered by something as he sat on the platform before addressing delegates.

'As you know, I am sceptical about Trident renewal, as are many here,' he told them. 'But I am clear that our Party has a policy for Trident renewal.

'But I also want to be clear that our Party's policy is also that we all share the ambition of a nuclear-free world.

'So we will take steps to make that ambition a reality. So we will make our long-standing multilateralism reality, not rhetoric.'

A Labour source told the PoliticsHome website: 'Clive punched a wall when he came off the stage because Seumas altered his speech on the autocue.

'He was fuming as he sent a post-it note on stage as he was sat there ready to speak and didn't know what the exact change was. Apparently Clive had agreed it with Jeremy but Seumas changed it.'

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: 'All speeches are put together in conjunction with the leader's office. It was confirmed to Clive that the agreed speech had been amended on the autocue.'

Mr Lewis also seemed determined to draw a line under arguments over Labour's position on Nato membership.

Despite insisting he supports Nato, Mr Corbyn previously voiced scepticism about its stance and the commitment to spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

He also refused to say recently whether he would follow the core 'Article 5' principle of defending any Nato member that was under attack.

But Mr Lewis said: 'When I look at our key military alliance  Nato  I see an organisation that springs directly from our values: collectivism, internationalism and the strong defending the weak.

'Its founding charter  a progressive charter  includes standing up for democracy and defending human rights. These are values that I believe go to the core of our political identity.

Jeremy Corbyn wants to scrap the Trident nuclear deterrent but the bulk of the parliamentary party supports renewing the weapons system

'So, of course, a Labour government would fulfil our international commitments, including those under Article 5.

'But let's be clear: that means both our military and our diplomatic obligations. We cannot have one without the other, and nor should we.

'Every Labour government since Attlee's has met Nato's spending target of at least 2 per cent of GDP, every single year.

'And I confirm today that the next Labour government will do the same, including our UN and peacekeeping obligations.'

Mr Lewis also stressed his commitment to the Nato alliance despite Mr Corbyn expressing scepticism previously

CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: 'Mr Lewis has clearly signalled that the Labour leadership will not seek to change Labour policy and appears to have abandoned its defence review conducted extensively over the past year.

'The majority of Labour members oppose Trident replacement, so where is the democracy in that?

'Lewis made it clear that this was a decision designed to avoid political attack by the prime minister - but it has merely handed Theresa May support for one of her most controversial projects.

'There is enormous opposition to Trident replacement within the Labour party and there will be huge disappointment at this U-turn by Clive Lewis.
Hillary Clinton's and Donald Trump's campaigns are characterizing the opposing party's candidate as a liar who cannot trusted to tell the truth as they battle for the the upper-hand before the election-defining cage match.

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook argued on the Today show that Trump is full of 'lies and distortions' that he'll try to use as subterfuge.

'We are concerned that Donald Trump may lie, he may throw misinformation out there, and that Hillary will have to spend all of her time trying to correct the record rather than talking about the things she wants to accomplish,' Mook told CBS in another interview.

The Democrat's campaign wants moderator Lester Holt to fack-check Trump if that happens. 'All that were asking is that the record be checked,' Mook stated.

Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani said on Fox and Friends that Clinton's the one who needs to be kept in check. She's 'probably the biggest liar that ever ran for president of the United States is going to bring up lies at the debate.'

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook argued on the Today show that Trump is full of 'lies and distortions' that he'll try to use as subterfuge

Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani said on Fox and Friends that Clinton's the one who needs to be kept in check. She's 'probably the biggest liar that ever ran for president of the United States is going to bring up lies at the debate'

'This is the woman who's lied maybe 15 different times about Benghazi and told three different stories,' Giuliani declared. 'I think if she wants to get to the area of lying, she's lied about things that imperil our national security.'

Clinton's campaign has been begging Holt to insert himself into the conversation if Trump makes demonstrably false claims.

Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton's communications director, actively encouraged Holt on Friday to challenge Trump when 'lies come out of his mouth at this debate.'

The candidate 'will respond when he misrepresents her own record,' Palmieri said, 'but given the historic nature of how much Donald Trump lies, it cannot be only on her.'

If the Nightly News anchor lets them stand, Trump will have 'an unfair advantage,' Palmieri claimed.

Clinton's deputy communications director Kristina Schake repeated the 'unfair advantage' charge on MSNBC on Monday morning.

Mook told CBS 'if Donald Trump lies, which he has repeatedly done in the past,' the campaign is asking 'that that be simply checked.'

Hillary Clinton's and Donald Trump's campaigns are characterizing the opposing party's candidate as a liar who cannot trusted to tell the truth as they battle for the the upper-hand before the election-defining cage match. Mook's seen here selling his side to Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway complained this morning that Clinton's camp is trying to 'game the refs' by encouraging moderators of the three general election debates, the first of which is tonight at Hofstra University in New York, to dispute the candidates' statements on stage.

Palmieri and Mook are seeking to turn the media into an 'adjunct of the campaign' by telling journalists how to behave, Conway proclaimed on MSNBC.

'It's irresponsible for them to be telling the media...that here's your job. If you don't fact-check Donald Trump the bar is lower. Some of them even suggesting that the questions will be tougher on her because of sexism.'

'Seriously?' Conway said. 'You've been secretary of state and first lady and then a U.S. senator.'

She told the Today show, 'The Clinton campaign has clearly been gaming the refs, has been talking to the media for a week now saying, "Its your job to makes sure that Donald Trump is fact checked in real time."

'Im just surprised that a campaign manager would try to lower expectations that dramatically for his own candidate.'

Donald Trump's campaign manager is worried Hillary Clinton will successfully convince debate watchers that the Republican candidate for president is sexist tonight

Trump's the one who's being treated unfairly by the media, Conway charged on MSNBC.

The campaign hand says she has a stack of their tweets on her desk from reporters embedded with their campaign, 'we've printed them out,' and '92 percent of at least two of our embeds tweets are negative towards Donald Trump.'

Conway also said she's worried Clinton will successfully convince debate watchers that the Republican candidate for president is sexist

When Trump comes after her, 'she's going to try to interrupt him and confuse the people watching in such a way that he was somehow rude to a woman, he somehow lied on the stage,' GOP pollster and Trump campaign chief Kellyanne Conway predicted on Morning Joe.

And if Clinton says to him, ' "That's just not true, you're distorting my record, " ' Conway said, 'People will say, "He was mean to a woman," and the headlines will scream and Twitter will blow up, even if it's not true.'

The 90-minute, prime-time event moderated by Holt is the first of three sparring matches the White House candidates agreed to before the November election.
The terrorists were crushed to death by a bulldozer in the city of Mosul

ISIS crushed six of its own members to death with a bulldozer after accusing them of running from a battle.

The men, who were killed on Monday according to local reports, fled the town of Sharqat in northern Iraq.

The strategic town outside Mosul fell to Government forces, who have launched a major campaign to retake the northern city, which is the final ISIS stronghold in Iraq.

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ISIS executed six of its own terrorists who fled the northern Iraqi city of Sharqat, pictured, which was recaptured by government forces late last week following a major offensive

Iraqi troops routed ISIS insurgents, with many running from the highly mechanised troops

ISIS terrorists were pounded from the air by the RAF who deployed Reaper drones and Tornados to blitz the retreating troops, some of whom attempted to flee on a barge

According to Iraqi News, civilians were forced to watch the barbaric execution.

This follows the capture of a cross-dressing ISIS killer who tried to avoid capture disguised as a woman.

Abu Omar al-Assafi was installed by ISIS to govern Sharqat in northern Iraq after the terror group swept through the country in 2014.

But Iraqi security forces found him trying to escape the area after the town was liberated last week. He was reportedly disguised as a woman and hiding among civilians.

When Iraqi security forces made the arrest, they discovered a memory stick containing details of key terrorists, including their names, nicknames and addresses.

A cross-dressing ISIS monster was caught trying to sneak out of a re-captured Iraqi town in drag - and carrying a USB packed with names of jihadists. Iraqi media claims pictures show him in his disguise

According to Iraqi News, the USB also contained chilling instructions for ISIS militants to burn houses of residents - and make it look as though Iraqi forces had carried out the destruction.

Iraq announced last Thursday that its forces had recaptured the northern town from ISIS in an operation launched ahead of a push for the city of Mosul.

Security forces began the operation days earlier aimed at reopening key supply lines needed for the battle to retake second city Mosul from the jihadists.

Iraqi forces 'completely liberated the Sharqat district and raised the Iraqi flag over the government headquarters' in the town, the country's Joint Operations Command said in a statement that hailed the speed of the operation.

Both Iraqi aircraft and the US-led coalition provided air support for the operation, the statement said.

The town lies on the west bank of the Tigris river in Salaheddin province, 160 miles north west of Baghdad and around 50 miles south of Mosul.

Iraqi forces bypassed Sharqat to retake a key military base to its north as well as the neighbouring town of Qayyarah, but then turned their attention to the continued ISIS presence behind their front lines.

ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and training have since retaken significant ground including the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah.

Top US military officers have hinted that the final push for Mosul could begin next month, but there are still significant military, political and humanitarian obstacles between the launch of the operation and entering and retaking the city.

Once the push is launched, a coalition of heterogenous and sometimes rival Iraqi forces will have to fight through ISIS defences - in some cases over distances of dozens of miles from their current positions - to reach the city.

ISIS were driven out of Sharqat, which is 50 miles south of Mosul - their last Iraqi stronghold

Then, if Iraqi strategy for Mosul follows that used in previous operations, they will seek to surround and seal off the city prior to an assault, which will involve street-by-street fighting against die-hard jihadists.

The Mosul operation also poses major humanitarian challenges, with the United Nations saying that up to one million people may be displaced by the fighting.

'Humanitarian agencies are racing against the clock to prepare for the humanitarian impact of the military campaign,' the UN said.

While there has been much recent discussion about the launch of the drive on Mosul, operations to prepare for it began months ago.
A wealthy businessman and his family brought terror to a village wine bar when they went for a 'nightcap' drink following his mother in-law's 60th birthday party.

Managing director Vernon Yerkess, 43, his wife Theresa, also 43, and their sons Benjamin, 23, and Harrison, 18, had a row with door staff in Whalley, Lancashire.

Harrison, a trainee software designer for his family's 12.6million-a-year IT firm, allegedly called one bouncer a 'P*** b****** after being asked for his ID.

Family fight: Father Vernon Yerkess (right), 43, his wife Theresa (left), also 43, and their sons Benjamin (second left), 23, and Harrison (right), 18, went berserk after a row with door staff

Avoided jail: Mr Yerkess is pictured leaving Preston Crown Court with his wife Theresa (rear) and sons Benjamin (left) and Harrison (behind him, right) today following their court case

Then when he was thrown out, Benjamin yelled: 'Well you are' - before telling both doormen: 'I don't know what's worse, you being a P*** or you defending a P***.'

As the fighting spilled into the street and police were called, Mr Yerkess was seen shouting and pointing at the doorman while his wife hit an officer with her heels.

Harrison threw a punch at one of the bouncers, missed and was knocked to the ground in self-defence during the ten-minute fracas, Burnley Crown Court was told.

When news of the family's arrest emerged, Mr and Mrs Yerkess gave their account of events on Facebook - and even wrote a critical review of the venue on TripAdvisor.

At the time police took the unprecedented step of calling for calm on social media after the postings prompted a wave of online debate and comments.

At the court, Mr Yerkess, who runs Cleverboxes, and his two sons - who live in a detached house in nearby Sabden - admitted affray.

Evidence: As the fighting spilled into the street and police were called, Mr Yerkess was seen shouting and pointing at the doorman while his wife hit an officer with her heels

Mother: Mrs Yerkess, who also has a daughter with her husband, accepted a police caution for her involvement in the incident outside Bradys Bar in Whalley on February 20

Mrs Yerkess, who also has a daughter with her husband, accepted a police caution for her involvement in the incident outside Bradys Bar in Whalley on February 20.

Sentenced: Mr Yerkess (pictured today) was given a 12-month community order and told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work

The court heard the family had been celebrating at a nearby restaurant when they decided to go for a further drink at Bradys where they encountered doormen Jabbar Khan and Tom Davidson.

Mercedeh Jabbari, prosecuting, said: 'Harrison Yerkess was asked for identification by Mr Khan.

'Benjamin Yerkess went in the bar but saw his brother being ejected by Mr Khan and Mr Davidson. He asked why and Mr Khan replied that he called him a 'P*** b******'. Benjamin Yerkess then said 'well, you are'.

'Harrison Yerkess was resisting being forcibly ejected from the premises and a physical altercation continued in the foyer, before then spilling out onto the street. Benjamin then said 'I don't know what's worse, you being a P*** or you defending a P***.

'Benjamin then started dragging Mr Khan into the road and pushed him over onto his back. Harrison Yerkess also dragged Mr Khan into the road.

'Mr Davidson came over to them in a bid to get the defendant off Mr Khan. Harrison Yerkess threw a punch at Mr Davidson but missed.

Husband and wife: The court heard the family had been at a nearby restaurant when they decided to go for a further drink at Bradys Bar in Whalley, Lancashire

'Mr Davidson returned that punch that did connect and Harrison yerkess was knocked out onto the pavements where he was unconscious.

'Benjamin Yerkess kneed Mr Davidson in the face. Harrison Yerkess regained consciousness and ran towards the door staff in an aggressive manner.

'All three defendants continued to behave aggressively when the police arrived.

'Vernon Yerkess was shouting and pointing at the door men whilst his wife Theresa was given a caution for hitting the officer over the head with her heels.'

The following day Mrs Yerkess gave the bar a 'one of five' review on TripAdvisor following a post from another customer and accused the door staff of assault.

Unhappy: Mrs Yerkess gave the bar a 'one of five' review on TripAdvisor following a post from another customer and accused the door staff of assault

She wrote: 'Today we are all in a sorry state with black eyes and broken bones. The bouncers posed up with us just before kicking off.

'We won't be visiting again and we are very upset about the whole thing.'

In police interview Harrison insisted that he was the one who had been assaulted whilst Benjamin could not recall any racial language being used.

Their father admitted being drunk and angry but could not remember any racist language being used.

Marcus Stewart, defending Mr Yerkess, said: 'He is a man of exemplary good character and who is embarrassed by his own behaviour.

Crime scene: The businessman's family brought terror to Bradys Bar in Whalley (pictured)

'He cringed when he watched the events on CCTV and is mortified by what he and his family engaged in that night.

'It started out as a happy family celebration for his mother-in-law's 60th birthday. They decided to once those events finished to walk for one further drink in Brady's wine bar.

'The first thing he was when he entered was that the doormen had hold of Harrison and were leading him out.

'He was surprised and concerned about this but, there is no suggest at any stage that Mr Vernon Yerkess was physically violent to either of the two bouncers.

'He accepts he became angry because one of his sons had been punched in the face and knocked out by one of the bouncers.

Recollections: The father (pictured with his wife at the Vatican) admitted being drunk and angry but could not remember any racist language being used

'Not only did Harrison get knocked to the ground but so did Mrs Yerkess. This is an unfortunate incident but fortunately there were no serious injuries caused to anyone.

'He has never been in a police station before in his life, he has a decent business and he employs around 30 people. It is his business that he started from nothing.'

Defending Benjamin, who has a degree in design, business and digital media, and Harrison, defence counsel Hugh Barton said: 'It cannot be suggested that they had gone out looking for trouble - they had been out with their grandmother.

'They know whatever happened it cannot excuse what they did. These two young men were incensed and that defies everything we know about them.

Critical: The judge said Mr Yerkess (pictured with Mrs Yerkess) failed to 'restrain' his sons

'There was a trigger, and they are both deeply ashamed.'

Mr Barton said both brothers intended to travel to Canada next year to train as ski instructors.

Mr Yerkess was given a 12-month community order and told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Benjamin was sentence to 16 weeks in prison suspended for a year and complete 60 hours unpaid work.

Harrison was sentenced to 12 weeks in a youth offenders institute suspended for a year and must complete 60 hours unpaid work. Each were ordered to pay 500 costs.

'Very upset': Mr and Mrs Yerkess took to Facebook to give their account of events - and even wrote a critical review of the venue on TripAdvisor

Passing sentence, Judge Ian Leeming QC told the family: 'Each of you is usually well behaved. You are all employed and work hard.

'The references, copious references all speak very highly of you. But affray is a serious offence.

'It is not just the victims of the unlawful violence, but also any members of the public who witnessed the violence or the threats of violent.

'The affray happened over a substantial period of time and must be dealt with firmly. Vernon you are the senior person here but regrettably you did not restrain your sons.
Danny Kelly, 23, (pictured) was forced to sprint into the sea during a night-out

A Serbian bouncer who caused a British father-of-two to drown off the coast of Zante fled the island after Greek police bungled their investigation.

Danny Kelly, 23, from Haworth in West Yorkshire, was forced to sprint into the sea during a night-out on the clubbers paradise after he was chased by doorman Nikola Miscevic.

Miscevic was seen throwing fist sized rocks at the holidaymaker who was later found drowned the next day, on 24 August last year, in the sea off Laganas Beach.

During the assault Danny's friend, Martin Spencer, filmed the attack on his mobile but Miscevic punched him to the head and ripped the phone from his hands.

However, despite Miscevic, 32, being arrested, charged and convicted of the mugging of Mr Spencer, the Greek authorities failed to link the two attacks.

Miscevic's passport was returned and he was allowed to leave Zante just four days after the incident.

Danny's family are now alleging that Miscevic and the organisers of the White Party, the event Danny was enjoying on the night, concocted a bizarre cover story.

Fabricator and keen rugby league player Danny had travelled on the Thomson package holiday to the Blue Bell Studios Apartments, Laganas, on August 23, with close friends Rob North and Mr Spencer.

They had bought tickets for the White Party, held on Cameo Island, on arrival from a rep.

Fabricator and keen rugby league player Danny travelled to the Blue Bell Studios Apartments, Laganas, on August 23

Danny was only 23 when he disappeared into the sea on August 23, last year, the first day of his holiday to Zante (pictured)

Mr Spencer told Bradford Coroner's Court the trio arrived at Cameo Island, which is accessed from the mainland via a rope bridge, at about 7pm and they enjoyed drinks together before they lost one another.

At about 10.30pm Mr Spencer bumped into Danny near the toilets and his friend said: 'We need to go'.

Mr Spencer said: 'He seemed nervous and in a hurry to leave.'

The pair organised to meet outside the club, but when Mr Stewart got to the rope bridge he spotted Danny fleeing from Miscevic on the jetty.

He recalled: 'Danny was on the shore running towards the water, he was being chased.

'He was running at full pelt and ran into the sea.'

Miscevic stopped at the shoreline and began throwing the rocks from at Danny, who was swimming away to avoid the missiles.

Mr Spencer said: 'He was throwing them hard and throwing a lot - one after another after another

'He was aggressive and screaming at him. I could tell by the force that he meant ill by it.'

He could hear his friend pleading from the water 'I haven't done anything', but Miscevic kept throwing the rocks.

Danny tried to swim around a large boulder to dodge the rocks and finally clung to a buoy as Mr Spencer began filming Miscevic hoping he'd stop.

Kelly (right) allegedly ran into the sea to escape a rock-throwing bouncer, an inquest heard

Kelly, 23, of West Yorkshire, died after drowning off a beach in Greece when he was on holiday

Mr Spencer told the inquest: 'I said 'I'm filming you', I just wanted him to stop throwing the stones so that Danny could get out.

'But he grabbed hold of me, punched me in the back of the head and threw me to the floor and snatched the phone out of my hand.'

After the mugging Mr Spencer could not find Danny so he took a taxi to the local police station to report what had happened.

He positively identified Miscevic, who was a doorman at another nightclub and had been wearing a white T-shirt with the words 'Here to Help', at the police station.

On the Tuesday Mr Spencer attended court, but the case was adjourned for him to get an interpreter. The following day Miscevic had failed to get himself an interpreter so the case was adjourned until the Thursday.

When Mr Spencer arrived at court the final time Miscevic was found guilty of robbery and assault in his absence and sentenced to seven months suspended for three years.

But it emerged he had already left Greece and had returned to Serbia.

He has never faced justice for the attack on Danny.

His lifeless body was found floating off the coat by a pair of German tourists in a pedalo

Before the hearing his family, including mother Colette, step-father Tom, and his two brothers issued a statement, which read: 'It was 13 months ago that we received the devastating news that Danny has passed away in Zante, and 12 months ago, to the day on Sunday, that we had the terrible task of having to lay Danny to rest.

'This year has been the hardest of our lives and has not been made any easier by the shambolic investigation carried out by the Greek authorities, and the fact that they treated one incident, Danny's death and the assault on Martin Spencer as two separate incidents, and had witness statements relating to Danny's case in the wrong file.

'Now that this error has been pointed out to the public prosecutor in Patras, Greece, he has now reopened Danny's case with an order that witnesses are to be reinterviewed, and the case to be reviewed.

'For anybody who has read and heard the witness statements they will know who is responsible for Danny's death and that is Nikola Miscevic and also the Cameo Island Club, who hosted the White Party event for not showing a duty of care towards Danny - illegally employing Miscevic and also allowing this man to chase Danny into the sea and then throw rocks at him so that he felt his only route of escape was to swim away from this danger.

'The management at Cameo Island should have stopped Miscevic's actions and, if they are to be believed in their statements, they should have sent their boat out to bring Danny back or, as our solicitor in Zante informed us, they had a legal requirement to inform the authorities that Danny was in danger.

'They did neither, they then concocted a story to try cover up the events surrounding Danny's death.

'Hopefully, now the full facts of this incident are out there we will get justice for Danny and in doing so stop this terrible nightmare happening to another family.

'We will not give up the fight until we have justice for Danny.'
FBI are also working on the case to establish the identity of the men and body

interrogated by police who say they have forged passports

DNA tests are set to reveal the identity of a dismembered corpse found in a freezer in Thailand which has led to the arrests of a mystery Briton and two Americans.

Forensics in Bangkok are set to carry out tests on the severed head and teeth in a bid to identify the dead man.

Today the three Western men are being interrogated by Thai police hoping for a breakthrough after the body was found in a freezer in the capital along with forged passports, guns and drugs.

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DNA tests are set to reveal the identity of a dismembered corpse found in a freezer in Thailand which has led to the arrests of a mystery Briton and two Americans

Bangkok coroners examine the body parts of an unidentified corpse that was found dismembered in a freezer in Bangkok

Today the three Western men are being interrogated by Thai police hoping for a breakthrough after the body was found in a freezer

The discovery of the frozen body parts of a blonde man, individually wrapped in plastic bags in a freezer, has resulted in police consulting British and US officials in the hope of finding the identity of the corpse - and the true identities of the arrested men.

Because the English speakers were allegedly arrested in a Bangkok building where a number of forged passports were found, along with crystal meth and guns, police said they could not be absolutely certain about the mens identities - particularly as they were reportedly refusing to cooperate.

The man in possession of a British passport has been identified by the name in the document - Peter Andrew Colter, 56 - while the other two have been named as Americans Gabel Aaron Thomas, 33, and James Douglas Eger, 66.

Scotland Yard has been asked for help in establishing whether Colter is British after Thai police took his fingerprints, while the FBI has been asked to confirm if Thomas and Eger are who they say they are.

The FBI has also been asked to try to identify the remains in the freezer from DNA samples amid suspicions that the body might be that of an American.

James Douglas Eger (left), a US national, is one of three foreigners arrested by police in Bangkok for allegedly running a passport forgery ring

The man in possession of a British passport has been identified by the name in the document - Peter Andrew Colter, 56, pictured

Meanwhile, forensic experts will conduct a digital autopsy using a CT scan and extract DNA material from the body found in the raid in an effort to identify it, a police spokesman said.

The body was chopped up into six pieces and frozen for months, according to Dr Triyarith Temahivong, deputy director general of Thailands Central Institute of Forensic Science.

'The body still has human tissue stuck on it, which DNA can be extracted from,' he said.

'The teeth can be used as well for identification through dental records, but the persons nationality, age or gender cant be determined at all at this time so well see from the digital autopsy.'

Briton Peter Andrew Colter was one of the three men arrested and taken away from the apartment that authorities say included a freezer with a dismembered corpse

Colter, who along with the other two men has been charged with attempting to kill an official on duty, resisting arrest, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, forging official documents and concealing a corpse, is being held under guard in a police hospital.

He sustained an injury when police raided the Bangkok building and he grabbed a gun and shot at a police officer, seriously wounding him.

Questioned in his hospital bed by police, Colter was said to be in stressed state, giving confusing and contradictory evidence, and had insisted he did not intend to shoot the policeman because he was in fact trying to shoot himself.

Although he was found in possession of a British passport, Colter claimed he was a US-based chemist who had a Malaysian wife.

Because of a dispute with her, he had moved to Thailand, he said, where he became friends with the other two men after which they started up a battery-selling business.

He said he had no knowledge of the body parts in the locked fridge and claimed the freezer belonged to a friend who died of cancer three months ago. But when police searched his apartment they allegedly found the key to the fridge.

A Burmese couple working as housekeepers told police that the fridge was moved from a house in another part of Bangkok four months ago and they had been ordered to keep away from the freezer section.

Arrest: Aaron Thomas Gabel is detained by police in Bangkok after a police raid

Custody: James Douglas Eger was arrested by Thai police after a gun battle

Were saying that Mr Colter is the ringleader of a passport forgery gang and has been living in Thailand for eight or nine years, said Major General Surachet Hakpal, commander of Tourism Police.

He added that immigration officials had no record of him entering the country, raising suspicions about the name he came in on.

Neighbours of the house where Colter was living with a Thai woman said he bought it for 7.5 million baht (1,700,000) cash a year ago.

But there were suspicions about the quiet couple when visitors would park cars in front of the house at night with the headlights off but with the engines running for hours, before they would drive away.
Hundreds of Turks have donned shorts in Istanbul to protest after a young nurse was attacked on a bus.

Aysegul Terzi was kicked in the face by a man shouting: 'Those wearing shorts must die!' earlier this month.

Abdullah Cakiroglu confessed to attacking Miss Terzi but said she was wearing 'inappropriate' clothing and did not express any remorse.

Men and women wore shorts in protest at various sites across Istanbul and in some other cities

He was freed yesterday, triggering outrage from secular and women's rights groups.

Chanting 'Don't interfere with my shorts!' the protesters said they were showing solidarity with Miss Terzi.

Saadet Yesil, a 44-year-old accountant at the protest, said everyone had a right to dress as they saw fit.

'Just as we don't interfere with those in headscarves or gentlemen in turbans, we expect they extend us the same courtesy,' she said.

The suspect attacked 23-year-old Aysegul Terzi (pictured), who works as a nurse, and kicked her in the face

She also accused Turkey's prime minister, Binali Yildirim of the Islamist AKP, of attempting to downplay the attack.

In an interview with the Hurriyet newspaper, Mr Yildirim said: 'I don't think he is a normal man . because what he did isn't something a normal person would do. You might not like (someone's dress but) you just grumble about it.'

Akin Ozcan Aksoy, a 21-year-old student, said 'the direction our country is headed makes me think we will encounter more of these stories'.

There was also a protest in Ankara.

Following a public uproar over the attack, Cakiroglu was arrested again on charges of inciting hatred and interfering with the right to freedom.

On social media, critics accused the Turkish authorities of expressing tacit approval of his actions.

The attack was caught on CCTV.

A woman writes a protest slogan on her legs

Cakiroglu had previously been diagnosed as suffering from 'manic depression'.

Many feminists in Turkey have expressed growing concern over the extent of violence against women, with hundreds killed every year, often by their husbands.

On Twitter Roberto Sandano wrote: 'Those who wear shorts must die!..a good pair of legs is devil? What's God then?'

The issue is an emotive one with religious Turks offended by women in shorts or miniskirts and secular Turks furious that they are being intimidated into dressing conservatively
Tiahleigh Palmer's teenage foster brother has been bashed twice since going to jail, with inmates calling him a 'pretty boy' and urging attackers to 'kill him'.

Trent Thorburn, 19, was taken into custody last Tuesday, after allegedly having an incestuous relationship with 12-year-old Tiahleigh, whose decomposing body was found naked on a Brisbane river bank last November, a week after disappearing.

His mother Julene and brother Josh have also been taken into custody over her death, while his father Rick has been charged with Tiahleigh's murder.

Since being put behind bars, Trent has become a target for inmates at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre, the Courier Mail reports.

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Trent Thorburn (pictured), 19, has been bashed twice since being taken into custody last Tuesday. He is facing charges of incest, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice over the death of his foster sister Tiahleigh Palmer

Tiahleigh (pictured) was found dead on a Brisbane river bank last November, a week after disappearing

On Sunday he was reportedly attacked twice in the prison yard, with a large crowd of inmates gathering to cheer on his attackers.

After the second attack he was reportedly taken to the prison infirmary where he was treated for minor cuts and scratches to his face.

A former dancer, Trent is facing charges of incest, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

It is reported he has 'no chance of defending himself' and is being kept in an area of the jail for high-risk prisoners.

It is alleged Trent was involved in an incestuous relationship with Tiahleigh before her death in October 2015

An ambulance was reportedly called to the prison after a man who attacked him was injured in a following altercation with guards.

It is reported the man is suffering from a suspected broken leg.

Last Wednesday, the Beenleigh Magistrates Court heard Trent allegedly admitted to a cousin via Facebook that he feared he'd impregnated his foster sister.

That admission allegedly came two days before Tiahleigh vanished from Marsden State School on October 28.

Tiahleigh's foster father Thorburn allegedly murdered his foster daughter, with police believing he attempted to cover up his son's alleged sexual assault on Tiahleigh.

Police allege Thorburn feared his son would go to jail.

Tiahleigh's foster father Rick Thorburn (pictured) has been charged with her murder, which they believe happened on October 29, 2015

Police allege Thorburn feared Trent would go to jail over his relationship with Tiahleigh

Thorburn was charged with Tiahleigh's murder a week after homicide detectives seized a car he owned at the time of the 12-year-old's death.

The 56-year-old was one of the pallbearers at her funeral.

After the initial disappearance of his foster daughter on October 30, 2016, Thorburn allegedly told police he had dropped her at school in the morning and that she hadn't returned that night.
A five-year-old boy from Adelaide is overcoming the odds and enjoying life despite living with a rare genetic disorder that affects only one in 18 million children.

Enzo Cornejo from Adelaide has an extremely rare genetic disorder called progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, which causes children to age rapidly beginning in their first two years of life, reported Yahoo 7.

The early signs and symptoms include slow growth and hair loss and there is no cure for the disorder.

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Five-year-old Enzo Cornejo (pictured) from Adelaide has an extremely rare genetic disorder called progeria which causes children to age rapidly beginning in their first two years of life

Enzo's extremely rare genetic disorder only affects one in every 18 million children

Enzo's school principal Na Izzo said because Enzo's skin is thin and he bruises very easily, that when he started school they had to prepare for his arrival by protecting sharp corners.

He also has an older student buddy, who told 7 News that said he feel's like Enzo's 'bodyguard'.

Enzo's mother Catherina Lontop said: 'It's quite hard because as a parent you're always afraid that something might happen to him.'

'I couldn't believe how the other kids are so gentle with him,' she said.

Ms Lontop said if Enzo asks about his condition, they will tell him the truth and said that just because he has a condition it doesn't mean he can't be happy.
He delighted in entertaining celebrities from Noel Gallagher to Geri Halliwell at infamous Downing Street 'champagne receptions' while he was Prime Minister.

And Tony Blair looked as though be couldn't be happier to be back rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous at a star-studded bash in Hollywood on Sunday.

The former Labour leader appeared to have put the damning Chilcot report behind him as he helped Sylvester Stallone hold actress Kate Hudson aloft.

Tony Blair was seen helping Sylvester Stallone hold actress Kate Hudson aloft at a star-studded bash in Hollywood on Sunday

Grinning from ear-to-ear, the smartly dressed politician looked more than a little out of place as he posed alongside the Rocky star and two shirtless Cirque du Soleil acrobats.

The pictures were taken at a dinner held at CAA agent Michael Kives' Beverly Hills home, which was also attended by Mick Jagger.

As Blair partied with the Hollywood stars, his former Party held a vote for the Labour leadership.

Jeremy Corbyn won a decisive victory in his second leadership contest, beating Owen Smith by a bigger margin than when he saw off three opponents in 2015.

Grinning from ear-to-ear, the smartly dressed politician looked more than a little out of place as he posed alongside the Rocky star and two shirtless Cirque du Soleil acrobats

The pictures were taken at a dinner held at CAA agent Michael Kives' Beverly Hills home which was also attended by Mick Jagger

But it did not seem as though the results of the vote were at the forefront of Blair's mind as he enjoyed the Hollywood party.

Kate Hudson later shared a shot of her being carried by the four men, saying: 'Don't really know how this happened...but it did!

'Tony Blair + Sly + two Cirque du Soleil guys = Me in a lift #OneForTheBooks.'

Wearing a lace leotard and high-waisted black trousers, the blonde beauty showcased her toned curves in the snap.

Blair cut a very different figure to the emotional wreck that expressed his regret over mistakes made after his decision to invade Iraq following the Chilcot report in July (pictured)

The CEO of Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Lamarre, shared another picture of the moment, saying: 'The best picture of Kate Hudson being held by Tony Blair, Sylvester Stallone and two artists of #cirquedusoleil.'

In the photos, Blair cut a very different figure to the emotional wreck that expressed his regret over mistakes made after his decision to invade Iraq following the Chilcot report in July.

He seems to have put the trauma of the Inquiry was a long way behind him.

Blair was also pictured enjoying a luxury holiday in Sicily just weeks after he gave a tearful press conference to reveal his 'sorrow' at the aftermath of the Iraq War.
This is the incredible moment an Oklahoma police officer rescued a man from two raging pit bulls after pulling him onto the hood of a patrol car.

Canadian County Deputy Barrett Storm was driving to work when he saw a man running and screaming as the the dogs chased him near an El Reno middle school.

The man, who has not been identified, was running backwards, trying to shield himself from the dogs with his jacket.

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This is the incredible moment Canadian County Deputy Barrett Storm pulled a man to safety on the hood of his patrol car, saving him from two pit bulls who were in 'attack mode'

Storm immediately parked his patrol vehicle and got the man on the hood of his car so they could take shelter from the dogs.

The deputy said the dogs were absolutely in 'attack mode'.

'They're aggressive, they're coming at us, they're barking,' he told KOCO.

'I was just thinking of protecting the guy the whole time.'

Barrett, pictured left with a K-9 dog and right with his newborn son, continued to bang his baton on the car to keep the dogs' attention until animal control arrived at the scene

Storm continued to bang his baton on the car to keep the dogs' attention until animal control arrived so they didn't wander off and chase someone else.

Both Barrett and the man were unharmed by the dogs, although the deputy's car did receive some dents during the incident.

The dogs were returned to their owner, who was cited for allowing them to run off unsupervised, according to the El Reno Tribune.

Barett also noted that he decided not to use his gun on the dogs because it was nearly 3pm, and students would soon be streaming out of the nearby school.

'It wasn't a time to shoot the guns.'
The creator of the comic strip Dilbert has switched his allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump and says he believes the billionaire has already won the White House.

Scott Adams, who came up with the 'toon in the 1980s, instructed readers of his blog to listen to a clip of Clinton asking union members why she's not '50 points ahead' of the billionaire.

'Ignore the content of what she says, because no one cares about content,' Adams wrote. 'Just feel it. And see the future.'

In another blog post Adams also worried that the former secretary of state, as president, would have to spend her time 'taking care of a dying husband,' as he noted that former President Bill Clinton looks increasingly frail.

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Donald Trump (left) is receiving the Dilbert vote, with creator Scott Adams (right) blogging about how he's decided to support the billionaire Republican over Hillary Clinton

Scott Adams, who first came up with his Dilbert character in the 1980s, said the county needed a persuader like Donald Trump for president

The comic creator originally said, last year, that he wouldn't be picking a side in the upcoming presidential election, though he would often say favorable things about Trump, predicting the businessman would successfully edge out his many opponents in the Republican primary.

Then, in June, he endorsed Clinton  but played take-backsies in a blog post this week.

Adams explained that he felt like some issues, including how to fight ISIS and how to negotiate trade agreements, were above his pay grade.

'So on most political topics, I don't know enough to make a decision,' Adams wrote. 'Neither do you, but you probably think you do.'

'Given the uncertainty about each candidate  at least in my own mind  I have been saying I am not smart enough to know who would be the best president,' he continued.

The Dilbert creator also said he was against Hillary Clinton's proposed estate tax hike, because he was a self-made man

The cartoon creator then said he read up on the issue of the estate tax.

'I understand that issue and I view it as robbery by government,' Adams explained, saying that he disagreed with the hike that Clinton proposed.

'You can argue whether an estate tax is fair or unfair, but fairness is an argument for idiots and children. Fairness isnt an objective quality of the universe,' he continued.

'I oppose the estate tax because I was born to modest means and worked 7-days a week for most of my life to be in my current position,' Adams added.

Moving on, he believed that while 'Trump supporters are planning for the world's biggest party' on election night 'Clinton supporters seem to be preparing for a funeral.'

Scott Adams warned that Hillary Clinton could spend her presidency 'taking care of a dying husband.' There's no evidence that Bill Clinton (pictured) is sick

'I want to be invited to the event that doesn't involve crying and moving to Canada,' he said.

Adams also brought up the Clintons' health, which became a more legitimized campaign issue after the former secretary of state nearly collapsed getting into a van leaving a memorial for 9/11 victims.

Later, Clinton's campaign told reporters that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days before.

'To my untrained eyes and ears, Hillary Clinton doesnt look sufficiently healthy  mentally or otherwise  to be leading the country,' Adams argued.

He again pointed to the '50 points ahead' clip as evidence.

'Likewise, Bill Clinton seems to be in bad shape too, and Hillary wouldnt be much use to the country if she is taking care of a dying husband on the side,' he added.

Adams also argues that Trump is using a tactic that the comic creator calls 'pacing and leading,' in which the billionaire takes an extreme side on an issue, matching Americans' emotional state.

'Once Trump has established himself as the biggest bad-ass on the topic, he is free to "lead,"' Adams contends. 'Which we see him do by softening his deportation stand, limiting his stop-and-frisk comment to Chicago, reversing his first answer on penalties for abortion, and so on.'

Adams argues that Trump is no fascist and believes it's also a good thing that the Republican nominee is 'chummy' with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Finally, Adams talks about how important it is for a president to be a persuader.

'You can call that persuader a con man, a snake oil salesman, a carnival barker, or full of shit. Its all persuasion,' he wrote. 'And Trump simply does it better than I have ever seen anyone do it.'

Presidents, the Dilbert creator said, need to be persuaders over policy wonks, and so he supports Trump over Clinton.

'In summary, I don't understand the policy details and implications of most of either Trump's or Clinton's proposed ideas. Neither do you,' he said.

'But I do understand persuasion,' he continued.

'I also understand when the government is planning to confiscate the majority of my assets,' he noted.

'And I can also distinguish between a deeply unhealthy person and a healthy person, even though I have no medical training,' he concluded, in his final push to have Trump win.




New York's new law will not apply to religious and for-profit cemeteries

Only six states in the country allow pet-human burials at least partially

Until now, owners could rest with their pets - but only in pet cemeteries

Pet owners in New York can now ask to be buried with their beloved companions - a privilege that few other states have granted.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law on Monday. Until now, New York State allowed humans to be buried with their late pets - but only in pet cemeteries.

Now, the companions themselves can be buried in human cemeteries, as long as they have been cremated.

The new legislation only applies to non-profit cemeteries and does not concern religious cemeteries.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a measure into law on Monday allowing pet owners to have their late companions buried with them in a human cemetery (stock picture)

Cuomo, a Democrat, says many New Yorkers consider their pets to be a member of the family.

He called the previous regulation, which banned the burial of cremated pet remains with their owners in human cemeteries, 'unnecessary.'

This is the latest in a series of measures dedicated to pet owners in New York. Last year, state lawmakers passed a law allowing dogs on restaurant patios. They also are considering a ban on cat declawing.

Only six states around the country have at least partially allowed pets to be buried with their owners.

New York adopted its previous legislation, allowing human owners to be buried with their companions in pet cemeteries, in 2014. New Jersey enforces the same rule.

Florida does not prohibit pet ashes from being buried with that of their owners, as long as the pet's remains are kept separately from the human remains. The deceased person must have consented to having the pet buried with them.

Pennsylvania since the mid-2000s has allowed cemeteries to have three sections: one for humans, one for pets, and one for both.

Cemeteries in Oregon can decide whether or not to accept cremated pet remains to be buried in their lot.

Only six states around the country have at least partially allowed pets to be buried with their owners: New York, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Virginia

Virginia in 2014 allowed cemeteries to have humans and their pets buried together in a separate section. Pets must have their own graves.

Legislators in Massachusetts sent a bill in 2015 to allow burials of pets with their owners in cemeteries. The bill remains under consideration.

Louisiana lawmakers tried to push a similar legislation but it has stalled so far.

Some funeral directors sometimes slip a pet's urn in a human's casket regardless of the law.

'They will tell you "not a day goes by when I don't put an urn of an animal into the casket of a human being secretly for a family," ' pet loss advocate Coleen Ellis told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2013.
Gemma Boal (pictured) allegedly swiped the expensive item from the exclusive flat in Rutland Gate, Knightsbridge, London

A glamour model was today cleared of stealing a 28,000 Hublot watch from an Iraqi businessman after attending a party at a luxurious apartment.

Gemma Boal, 24, allegedly swiped the expensive item from the exclusive flat in Rutland Gate, Knightsbridge, London.

Farhank Majid had rented the property to host an opulent party while he stayed in central London, but called police when he noticed his prized timepiece had vanished.

Boal was charged with theft following the alleged incident on December 3 after Majid told officers the busty model was the culprit.

But she was today cleared at Southwark Crown Court after the alleged victim failed to turn up to give evidence - showing a 'flagrant disregard' for the court.

According to her portfolio on modelling website 'Purestorm' 5ft 2ins Boal has a 24ins waist and takes an E cup bra, claiming: 'My breasts are 100% real!'

She was due to stand trial for one count of theft on Monday but the case collapsed after Majid refused to show up.

The globetrotting businessman, from Irbil, Iraq, claimed he had booked a flight to Latvia so he can go to his daughter's birthday later this week.

The watch was returned to him when officers attended the scene.

Patrick Gibbs QC, defending, said: 'It appears whatever he might have said with rather greater grandiosity on the night, he appears not to have owned the flat in Knightsbridge but to be renting it by the day.'

He continued: 'He travels the world expensively, or certainly advertises that's what he does.

'He doesn't live here, he knew when the trial was, he knew he would have to be here.'

According to her portfolio on modelling website 'Purestorm' 5ft 2ins Boal has a 24ins waist and takes an E cup bra

He added: 'There is nothing in this case without him, there has always just been him saying this is what happened and the defendant always saying the same thing, that it didn't.'

Boal, dressed all in black, sat calmly in the dock as the court heard that Majid had been contacted twice this month and told he had to give evidence today.

Mr Gibbs added: 'She's a young person who has sold her car, gone to her parents for some help, placed on hold her university aspirations while she faces down what she has always said is a completely false allegation.'

Boal allegedly stole at Hublot watch (stock photograph)

The judge, Mr Recorder Anthony Dinkin QC said: 'Plainly Mr Majid was in contact with those in authority in April and it seems to me unquestionable that he was aware that today's case was a fixture and he was required to attend.

'It's said by Mr Majid that he's booked on an airplane from Luton airport to Latvia.

'It's said that his luggage has been checked in and because it contains vital medications he is unable to come to court today and in fact it's said he is going to Latvia for his daughter's birthday.

'We have no way of knowing whether there's any truth at all in what he has told the officer in the case.'

He added: 'The tickets were booked for this flight some one and a half months ago, this is flagrant disregard for the fixture of this case.'

Judge Dinkin refused to allow further time for the case because there was an absence of 'clear information that's reliable' about Majid's whereabouts.

Prosecutor Orlando Gibbons said: 'He is the case, there is no application to induce any other evidence and in the circumstances I formally offer no evidence.'
A former Verizon Wireless worker has been accused of selling customer phone records for more than four years.

Daniel Eugene Traeger, 51, who worked as a technician for the company, allegedly used Verizon's computers to obtain customers' private call records.

He was also able to obtain data showing the location of customers' phones, according to recently filed court documents.

Former Verizon Wireless worker, Daniel Eugene Traeger (pictured), who worked as a technician for the company, allegedly used Verizon's computers to obtain customers' private call records for more than four years

Traeger was also able to obtain data showing the location of customers' phones, according to recently filed court documents

Federal prosecutors in Alabama said Traeger then sold the information from customers to an unnamed private investigator.

He allegedly sold the confidential information for more than four years, between 2009 and 2014.

Traeger, who worked in the Birmingham area.

It's unclear how man customer records were sold or how they may have been used.

Prosecutors say that shortly after the charges were filed last week, Traeger pleaded guilty to a felony count of unauthorized access to a protected computer as part of a plea deal.

His lawyer didn't immediately return a phone message Monday.

Federal prosecutors in Alabama said Traeger (left) then sold the information from customers to an unnamed private investigator. He's pictured with his wife, Rachel
The EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, pictured, warned Europe needed to prepare for thousands of fighters returning from Iraq and Syria

Intelligence chiefs fear Islamic State is planning to launch deadly car bomb attacks on European cities, it was revealed yesterday.

Officials believe the jihadi terrorists could use vehicles packed full of explosives as a new ploy to bring fresh devastation to the continent.

The EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove warned Europe needed to prepare for an 'exodus' of thousands of fighters returning from Iraq and Syria.

He also cautioned there is an increasing risk Libya will be used as a 'springboard' to launch attacks on Europe.

Mr de Kerchove, who is the EU's senior anti-terror official, told MEPs: 'The terrorist threat has never been so high in the last 20 years.

'We fear that Daesh might step-by-step move to other modus operandi. Car bombs might be one. We know how much they learn how to build vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. And there is a concern as well on the use of chemical weapons.'

Car bombs can be particularly deadly as vehicles can be packed with large amounts of explosives and driven into the centres of busy cities areas without attracting suspicion.

Mr de Kerchove also cautioned there is an increasing risk Libya will be used as a 'springboard' to launch attacks on Europe. Pictured, migrants rescued off the coast of Libya in June

More than 5,000 Europeans are believed to have travelled to conflict areas in Syria and Iraq with fears they could come back and launch attacks at home.

Mr de Kerchove said: 'A serious issue is the returnees, the exodus of the fighters, not if because we are sure that it will happen, but when the caliphate will collapse.

'How will we handle not hundreds but thousands of fighters who will either want to go to another hotspot  Libya is probably the most obvious one but there are many others where they can hide  or they may want to get back home?

'We will have to handle a high number and a diversity of profiles: people who have worked on the frontlines as fighters, people who have worked in the back office, but also wives of fighters and children. We know more than 500 children were born there.'

EU countries are working together to make it harder for people to become foreign fighters, but Mr de Kerchove said this meant many of those radicalised online are remaining in Europe.

More than 5,000 Europeans are believed to have travelled to conflict areas in Syria and Iraq with fears they could come back and launch attacks at home. Smoke rises behind the ancient castle of the rebel-controlled town of Maaret al-Numan after airstrikes yesterday

'We have less and less Europeans going to Syria because it is more difficult to reach Syria these days, but we have more and more people inspired,' he said.

Syrian refugees arriving in Europe are also seen at risk of being recruited to Islamic State. Mr de Kerchove said: 'We have seen in some member states  in particularly Germany  salafist organisations already trying to recruit in the refugee camps.

'It is not a coincidence because they will want to compromise the refugees, as it may trigger the vicious circle of Islamophobia and radicalisation. '
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Strolling side by side, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge explored the natural beauty of Canada's Great Bear Rainforest on day three of their royal tour.

After battling wind and rain early in the day, the royal couple enjoyed some dry weather for the walk through a wooded glade in the rainforest, which stretches some 250miles along the coastline of British Columbia.

Kate, 34, dressed down for yesterday's engagements in Zara jeans, earrings by Canadian designer Pippa Small and what looked to be her trusted pair of Penelope Chilvers boots. She stayed warm and dry in a Holland & Holland safari jacket, believed to cost 400.

Earlier the couple were greeted warmly by the indigenous Heiltsuk people as they arrived on the remote island community of Bella Bella.

In a joyous ceremony, the royals were welcomed as 'hemas', a hereditary chief, and umaks, a woman of high rank or standing as they received a number of gifts from the First Nation hosts.

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The royal couple were joined by a guide as they explored the Great Bear Rainforest, where they unveiled unveiling a plaque

The couple endured a rocky flight to arrive at the remote community, where they were welcomed as hereditary chiefs

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watched a performance by local children as part of the traditional welcome

The duchess was later seen sporting a traditional 'dancing vest', which she was gifted by the Hieltsuk people

Kate affectionately rests her hand on William's knee as the couple are welcomed by the Heiltsuk people in Bella Bella

Battling the elements, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived on the remote Canadian island community on Monday

Draped in traditional First Nation blankets, Kate and William admire vests they were given for George and Charlotte

William and Kate were shown one of the most precious items owned by the community, a royal staff with a silver crown head given to the present chiefs great-grandfather by Queen Victoria.

It was awarded to the Heiltsuk people as a sign of honour with, as folklore has it, a message saying: 'This is a mark of respect. If your people need anything then you must ask my government.'

In a ceremony that went on for an hour longer than planned, the couple were treated to traditional dancing by groups of brightly-dressed young children who clearly entranced the smiling duchess.

They also watched while a large group of women, revered in the Heiltsuk community as 'life givers', danced what was known as 'A ladies' welcome' to the sound of drums and chanting.

Then it was time for the gift giving.

Chief Marilyn Slett told them: 'On behalf our nation we welcome you and we thank you for being here as part of the healing that we are undertaking. As part of our....feasting system we would like to give our guests a gift.'

First the blankets and then the 'dancing vests' - worn by men, women and children during traditional celebrations - were placed over the couple' shoulders.

William and Kate enjoyed a short stroll through a wooded glade in the Great Bear Rainforest near Bella Bella

After unveiling a plaque, the royal visitors were given canoe paddles to commemorate their royal tour to Canada

The Duchess of Cambridge pauses to point out something to her husband as they explore the vast rainforest on Monday

Led by a local guide, the royal visitors are given a tour of the stunning Great Bear Rainforest in Bella Bella, Canada

The duke and duchess were led through the rainforest, and enjoyed some drier weather on the outing

'We use these blankets to wrap the spirits of our ancestors around you and to unite your spirits together with ours,' they were told.

'In our way our blankets encompass the sprites of our ancestors, our history and our culture, our stories of who we are and where we come from.'

The blankets were printed with the outline of a grizzly bear, trees to represent the forest that surrounds the Heiltsuk community and local flora and fauna.

'The design represents all life, not just animals but us as humans. There is no hierarchy in the importance of life, we are all dependent on one another,' Chief Slett said.

They were then handed miniature dancing vests for their children - one in white for Charlotte and another in black for George, and examined them delightedly.

William and Kate were also given a traditional doll by a woman carrying a baby for Charlotte.

The duchess looked delighted as she watched the performance by young schoolchildren from the community

The Duchess of Cambridge meets chiefs from the Heiltsuk First Nations community. Right, chiefs from the community

William and Kate spent time speaking with members of the local community as they received gifts in Bella Bella

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge smiled throughout the ceremony, which lasted an hour longer than expected

The blankets were printed with the outline of a grizzly bear, trees to represent the forest that surrounds the community

The couple were told 'the design represents all life, not just animals but us as humans'. Pictured, wearing the blankets

The royal couple, seen centre, listened to elders explain the significance of their gifts during the ceremony

William could be seen jokingly pretending to take the little child instead, which he then clucked affectionately under the chin.

They were also given a painted drum for George and urged them to bring him back to the community to learn 'how to free the spirits of the drum'.

The couple also sat listening to several speeches from senior members of the Heiltsuk community about the battle to protect and nurture their traditional lands.

'We face many threats to our way of life and the work of our ancestors. Wide ranging energy projects, super tankers in our pristine waters....are all things we fight today,' said Chief Slett.

She also praised William's late mother, Princess Diana, as a 'humanitarian and a world advocate'.

'She remains in our hearts,' she said, as Kate clapped.

Speaking earlier one of the elders of the community, Edwin Newman, said he was keen to use the visit to impress on William and Kate the history of his people and 'how we connect with the land and connect with the ocean'.

He said: 'We farm the ocean, that is our living. We do have rights. All these restrictions that they are putting in place are an infringement on our rights. This is not just about bears, it is about the people here.

In a speech later, Prince William praised Canada's conservation efforts and said they would inspire other countries

William and Kate were gifted 'dancing vests' by their hosts, which they appeared to be wearing as they explored

Smiling with delight, Kate thanked her hosts at the ceremony before exploring the community with her husband

William and Kate leave the elders' lodge after attending a traditional welcome ceremony

'As long as the sun rises, as long as the trees grow, this land is under our stewardship and we will continue to protect it. It is under our stewardship.'

He said that Queen Victoria's staff, so proudly kept by the Heiltsuk people, represented her acknowledgement of their people's sovereignty.

And Prince George and Princess Charlotte were not forgotten, with presents of a small black dancing vest and doll for the little royals, who had stayed back in Victoria, the family base, with their nanny.

The couple were urged to return with their three-year-old son so that he could be taught 'how to release the spirit of the drum'.

They later enjoyed a short stroll through a wooded glade in the Great Bear Forest, as they made their way to plaque unveiling ceremony that formally marked the natural wonder becoming part of the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy network.

Stretching over 250 miles along the central and north coast of British Columbia, the Great Bear Rainforest is the planet's largest intact temperate rainforest.

The duke and duchess clap during the ceremony at the 'big house' in the centre of the Hieltsuk community

Kate arrived in a safari inspired rain coat, left, which she took off to reveal a blue check shirt and jumper, right

William and Kate are greeted with a traditional welcoming ceremony by the Heiltsuk First Nations community in Bella Bella

The duchess opted for a more practical look, teaming the beige safari jacket with a pair of trusted mid-length boots

Chiefs from the Heiltsuk First Nations community welcome the royal visitors to Bella Bella, British Columbia

The royal couple were delighted by the performances of local children as part of the ceremony

Smiling as they sit side by side, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are welcomed by the Heiltsuk First Nations community

The couple also sat listening to several speeches from senior members of the Heiltsuk community

The royal couple were given a traditional welcome inside the community hall or 'big house' of the Heiltsuk nation

It is the only place in the world where you can see the Kermode - or Spirit - bear which is noted for its white fur, as well as well a whales, sea otters, dolphins and sea lions.

The Kermode bear is considered sacred by the T'simshian people. Other wildlife includes coastal grey wolves, grizzly bears, cougars and orcas.

The fords, glaciers, mountains and granite cliffs of the rainforest have been virtually untouched for thousands of years.

The royal couple followed a path along a new wooden walkway that led to a fast flowing river whose banks were covered with dead salmon that had returned to the waters to spawn.

The air had a strong stench of rotting fish and Kate pointed at the hundreds of seagulls bobbing up and down in the waters hoping for a fresher meal than the decomposing salmon.

And the plaque unveiling ceremony featured a first  a coat to keep the memorial dry, following a day torrential rain.

The Great Bear Rainforest was recently named as Canada's commitment to The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy (QQC), a unique network of forest conversation initiatives involving all 53 countries of the Commonwealth.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge battled the elements as they travelled to the remote island community of Bella Bella

Kate, 34, managed to see the funny side as she struggled to open an umbrella while stepping off the small private plane

William and Kate touched down in a private plane following an hour-long flight, and were met by driving wind and rain

In a speech later William said: 'The Commonwealth has at its heart always been about the values that bind its people...... When we protect our rivers, oceans, atmospheres, or like today,our forests, we are telling our children that their future prosperity cannot be disconnected from the health of the natural world.

'Her Majesty is immensely grateful to you, and the people of Canada, for the leadership you have shown in making this contribution. I have no doubt that other Commonwealth nations will be inspired by what you have achieved here.'

There was concern overnight that the couple's trip to the remote island community was in jeopardy due to the inclement conditions: high winds, choppy seas and heavy, driving rain.

But aides worked quickly to adapt their programme, cancelling a tour of the beautiful region by float plane and arranging for a boat to take them from the small airstrip to the jetty where they were welcomed by the First Nations people.

It is still a beautiful place in the rain and everyone is prepared to get wet, a spokesman for the couple said.
Middle class parents are facing 'hidden' costs of more than 5,000 a year to send their offspring to university, new analysis reveals.

Statistics from the Student Loans Company reveal the government expects many middle-income parents to save up thousands to make up the shortfall in student living costs.

The government provides maintenance loans for students depending on parental income to help pay for rent, food and other costs.

In addition, all students are entitled to tuition fee loans to cover course costs.

Statistics from the Student Loans Company reveal the government expects many middle-income parents to save up thousands to make up the shortfall in student living costs

The means-testing sliding scale for maintenance loans means children of many middle earners are only receiving loans to cover half the cost of living.

Parents with a household income of 69,800 need to find up to 4,379 extra for students living away from home and up to 5,372 for those living away and in London.

The London contribution represents a 20 per cent rise on last year.

Meanwhile, for parents earning 35,000 between them, expected contributions for living away from home are 1,177  a rise of 24 per cent  and for London they are 1,199  a rise of 27 per cent.

The figures, compiled by MoneySavingExpert.com, suggest families are increasingly having to pick up the bill for living costs at university.

Martin Lewis, website founder, said: 'It's often said 'you don't need to pay upfront to go to university' and that may be true for tuition fees, but the sharp rise of means-testing for living loans means that the real problem is loans aren't big enough.

'For a huge majority of students it simply won't cover even basic accommodation costs.'

Parents with a household income of 69,800 need to find up to 4,379 extra for students living away from home and up to 5,372 for those living away and in London

Mr Lewis warned that some parents were not even aware they were expected to make up the shortfall, and simply sent their children to university with the loan money.

He said the government does not inform parents that they need to pay extra money  or how much  leaving some youngsters without enough cash to survive on.

He said: 'The official calculations show that parents are meant to make up the difference, yet they are never told the amount.

'This causes conflict between students and their parents. It also leaves some students in a dire position.

'While parents are supposed to contribute, many can't or don't, or they see the amount as loose.

'This leaves some students risking debt or dropping out of university due to cash flow issues.

'It's about time we had transparency on this. That would both aid parents in planning and students in budgeting, and mean the government can't get away with tinkering the numbers and increasing the practical costs of going to university without having to be upfront to parents about it.'

The amount parents are expected to pay has increased partially because the government has increased the total minimum amount it believes a student needs in a year to survive on.

For this reason, the loan amounts provided for most students have also increased.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'There should be no barrier to any child's ambitions and we are already seeing record numbers of disadvantaged young people going to university.

'We want to go further and ensure we are building a society that works for everyone.

'We have increased maintenance support for students from the lowest income backgrounds by 10 per cent.

'As the OECD has recognised, this Government's approach to student finance is sustainable. Maintenance support is provided as a contribution to students' costs.
She has always chosen to maintain a dignified silence over her reasons for splitting from Prince Harry.

But yesterday royal commentators provided an insight, for the first time, about why it all went so horribly wrong for Cressida Bonas and the fifth in line to the throne, revealing the young actress could not stand the public scrutiny she endured.

Speaking at the Henley Literary Festival, which is sponsored by the Daily Mail, Ingrid Seward, who has written several books about the Royals, said that the 27-year-old actress 'couldn't take it' when she found herself being judged by total strangers.

Cressida Bonas dated Prince Harry (together in 2014) for two years before splitting in 2014

She said: 'A friend of mine's daughter went out with Prince Harry, Cressie, the most gorgeous girl, she just said it was awful because every time she walked down the street she could hear people criticising her.

'They would whip out their phones and take photos of her. They'd say "oh look at her hair", "oh look at her clothes, look at her boots, she hasn't got her laces done up", I mean this is just a normal, pretty girl and she just couldn't take it. She just thought "why are they getting at me".'

The actress, 27, is said to have struggled with the public scrutiny she faced with Harry

Harry and aristocrats daughter Miss Bonas are believed to have been introduced by Princess Eugenie. The pair dated for two years before splitting in 2014 only a month after Miss Bonas attended an official engagement with Harry, 32, for the first time.

The couple had embraced in front of cameras, prompting speculation they might be about to get engaged but it later emerged the relationship had come under great strain in the weeks leading to their split.

Since parting ways with Harry and the Royal Family, it appears Miss Bonas, the daughter of Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, has done anything but sit around and mope.

From fashion parties and music festivals, she's been pictured enjoying her life to the full and has also signed a modelling contract with Mulberry along the way and boosted her acting career with coveted roles including treading the boards in the West End.

Harry on the other hand appears to have found it difficult to settle into another relationship and has spoken of his longing to settle down in the same way as his older brother Prince William.

Addressing an audience with Dickie Arbiter, the Queen's former press spokesman, Miss Seward also spoke about how difficult it was for young royals when it comes to social media because it leaves them so vulnerable to criticism.

Addressing Mr Arbiter she said this was possibly the reason why the Duchess of Cambridge can seem so lacking in personality.

She said: 'With Twitter and social media I think it's such a pressure to keep on form for William and Kate.

The couple enjoyed a rare public outing to watch a rugby match at Twickenham in 2014

'You think she needs a little more personality but I think she's terrified, you don' think she's terrified because she's been around for nine years but I think she is scared of saying anything that can be contrived as being remotely controversial.'

She added: 'I think it's actually evil in a way.

Mr Arbiter added: 'Social media is a very useful tool but it is a bit of an enemy if you are somebody in the spotlight.

'Anything you do can be instantaneously reported on and picked up globally. You have to mind your ps and qs and what you do.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are silently making their first attacks against each before the opening statements even begin in the first presidential debate by using the seats allotted to them by the debate commission.

Clinton won't have to return to her 'sexism' charge against Trump  she's already sending the message with her invited guests, who include a survivor of domestic violence Maxine Outerbridge, and Anastasia Somoza, a woman suffering from cerebral palsy who spoke at the Democratic convention and appeared in a tough new Clinton ad.

Somoaza is featured in a Clinton ad slamming Trump for appearing to mock a disabled reporter during a televised rally.

If Trump glances at the front row, he'll spot fellow billionaire and Trump critic Mark Cuban, who tweeted over the weekend that he'll be attending at Clinton's invitation.

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The Clinton campaign announced that it is bringing Anastasa Saomoza to the debate. She is featured in a campaign ad that hits Trump for mocking a disabled reporter

Trump critic Mark Cuban announced that he will be attending the debate at Clinton's invitation

Trump responded by saying he would bring former Bill Clinton flame Gennifer Flowers, though his campaign later said he was just making a point.

Clinton is also bringing two other women, 9/11 survivor Lauren Manning and Aleatha Williams, who became a pen pal of Clinton's back when she was first lady.

Trump's campaign is using one of its seats to evoke two of the scandals that have dogged Clinton, the attack on the U.S. facility in Benghazi libya and her email scandal.

The campaign has invited Mark Geist, who spoke at the GOP convention and who survived the Benghazi attack.

The existence of Clinton's private email server was revealed during probes into the Benghazi attack.

When he spoke at the GOP convention, Geist, a Marine veteran, said, ' Opportunities taken when we defied stand-down orders and opportunities squandered when Hillary Clinton failed to protect her people on the ground.'

He added: 'Had she done her job, we would not have had to compromise the [CIA] annex' that came under assault.

The Clinton camp invited Trump-bashing Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to sit in the front row, in eye of fellow billionaire Trump.

Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, is also scheduled to attend, as is Clinton's daughter Chelsea, who has been keeping up a packed schedule of events despite the birth of her second daughter while her mom focused on debate prep and battled her pneumonia diagnosis, according to ABC.

Trump's campaign has invited Mark Geist, who spoke at the GOP convention and who survived the Benghazi attack

Trump threatened to bring former Bill Clinton paramour Gennifer Flowers, but his campaign said she would not be attending

She'll be there: Chelsea Clinton is expected to attend, after a date night on Sunday night with her husband Marc Mezvinsky, and Damon and Luciana Barroso and John Krazinski and Emily Blunt

The first of three presidential debates comes as both candidates are viewed negatively by large numbers of Americans, with Democrat Clinton facing questions about her trustworthiness and Republican Trump struggling to convince many voters that he has the temperament and policy depth to be president.

Interest in the presidential race has been intense, and the campaigns are expecting a record-breaking audience to watch the 90-minute televised debate at suburban New York's Hofstra University. It begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern time.

As many as 100 million are expected to watch as Lester Holt, the NBC Nightly News anchor, moderates.

The election is too close to call, two separate polls showed Monday.

A Bloomberg poll had Trump leading Clinton by two points in a four-way match-up, at 43 per cent to her 41 per cent.

In a hypothetical two-way race the candidates are tied. Both results are within the poll's margin of error.

And a Quinnipiac University poll finds Clinton at 44 per cent to Trump's 43 per cent among likely voters. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson gets 8 per cent and Green Party long-shot Jill Stein has 2 per cent.

Monday night's debate will run for 90 minutes, divided into six sections, and include no commercial breaks.

That could pose a problem for Clinton if her now-infamous health problems flare up. Her last month on the campaign trail has been pock-marked with coughing fits, and she collapsed completely during a 9/11 memorial service.

Clinton will field the first question. She will have two minutes to answer and Trump will have two minutes to respond.

After the first round of questions will come 10 minutes of 'open conversation and debate.'

HOW THE RATINGS COMPARE If 100 million people watch the Monday debate, it would far outstrip any in history. These are the top 10 rate debates: Carter-Reagan, Oct 28, 1980: 80.6million Bush-Clinton-Perot, Oct 15, 1992: 69.9m Ford-Carter, Sept 23, 1976: 69.7m Reagan-Mondale, Oct 21, 1984:67.3m Bush-Dukakis, Oct 13, 1988: 67.3m Obama-Romney, Oct 3, 2012: 67.2m Bush-Clinton-Perot, Oct 9, 1992: 66.9m Obama-Romney, Oct 16, 2012: 65.5m Reagan-Mondale, Oct 7, 1984: 65.1m Bush-Dukakis, Sept 25, 1988: 65.1m And the lowest: Clinton-Dole, Oct 6, 1996: 36.1m Source: Nielsen, via The Wrap. Advertisement

The Commission on Presidential Debates has allowed Clinton one partisan advantage, a taller podium than Trumps in order to minimize their 10-inch height difference.

Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, is banking on voters seeing her as a steady hand who can build on the record of President Barack Obama, whose popularity is rising as he winds down his second term in office.

She's called for expanding Obama's executive orders if Congress won't pass legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system and for broader gun control measures.

Overseas, she's called for a no-fly zone in Syria but has vowed to keep the military out of a large-scale ground war to defeat the Islamic State group.

For Clinton, victory in November largely hinges on rallying the same young and diverse coalition that elected Obama but has yet to fully embrace her.

'Hillary has recognized that she has a lot of work to do to earn people's trust,' said Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager.

'We think this debate is a fantastic opportunity for her to present not just what she is going to do to make a difference in people's lives, but she actually has a long history of getting this done.'

Trump has tapped into deep anxieties among some Americans, particularly white, working-class voters who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying nation.

While the real estate mogul lacks the experience Americans have traditionally sought in a commander in chief, he's banking on frustration with career politicians and disdain for Clinton to push him over the top on Election Day.

'He speaks a language that people out there can understand, and so I think that he's going to have a good night,' Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said of Trump's debate prospects.

He's off: Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan for the journey to Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island

On his way - on Snapchat: The Trump campaign put out a video of his departure using the social media site, with a special geofilter they had purchased for debate day
Prince Charles feared he would be assassinated at Princess Diana's funeral because he had become 'public enemy number one', it has been claimed.

Such was the height of ill feeling towards the Prince that he was 'extremely nervous' when walking through crowds of mourners during the funeral procession on September 6, 1997.

At the time many blamed the Prince for the breakdown of his marriage with Princess Diana, assuming that he was having an affair with his now wife the Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince Charles was extremely nervous' when walking through crowds of mourners at the funeral as he feared he might be assassinated. Pictured, with Prince William (left) and Harry

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles walk behind the coffin of Princess Diana during the funeral procession in September 1997

Pictures of the funeral show a pensive Prince Charles walk with his sons Princes William and Harry, then just 15 and 12, behind the gun carriage which carried the Princess's body to Westminster Abbey.

Speaking at Henley Literary Festival Royal biographer Ingrid Seward said: 'Prince Charles was extremely nervous because he was public enemy number one.

'He was very fatalistic. He thought, if someone takes a gun out and shoots me, that's it.

'The streets of London were very quiet. You could hear a pin drop. You could hear everything the crowd was saying. They were saying, "Look at him, look at him." They were being quite nasty.

'The whole way round he could hear this abuse and he didn't think he would make it the whole way round.'

Dickie Arbiter, the Queen's former press officer, also revealed that the Queen was 'anxious' when she came to greet mourners outside Buckingham Palace in the aftermath of the Princess's fatal car crash in Paris in the summer of 1997.

At the time of Princess Diana's funeral, many blamed the Prince for the breakdown of his marriage. Pictured, Charles and Diana in 1992

The Queen faced criticism for remaining in Scotland for too long instead of returning to London, which became the focal point of public grief following the Princess's death.

Mr Arbiter said: 'There had been a lot of criticism against the Queen by the media and the fact she remained at Balmoral. She wasnt nervous but she was a little bit anxious as to what sort of reception she would receive.'

Mr Arbiter also accused Princess Diana's brother, the Earl of Spencer, of hypocrisy following her death.

Dickie Arbiter, the Queen's former press officer, also revealed that the Queen was 'anxious' when she came to greet mourners outside Buckingham Palace in the aftermath of the Princess's fatal car crash in Paris in the summer of 1997

He said: 'She had a very bad relationship with her brother. When things were getting on top of her she pleaded with her brother for one of the cottages on his estate and he said "no" on the basis that there would be too many media hanging around.

'So relationship between brother and sister at the time of her death was so far apart that you could have driven a fleet of buses through the gap.
A US Air Force colonel who was charged with rape earlier this year has been found dead in his off-base Colorado home, just weeks ahead of his court-martial.

Colorado Springs police Sgt. Tim Stanke says officers responded to a report of a suicide when they found the body of Col. Eugene Caughey on Sunday. Stanke says police are awaiting autopsy results.

The 46-year-old Caughey had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. The unit operates key military satellite systems.

Air Force veteran dead: Col. Eugene Caughey, 46, was found dead in his off-base Colorado home Sunday, nine months after he was charged with rape and adultery

Caughey was accused of raping a woman in late 2014 or early 2015. He also was charged with a half-dozen counts of adultery, indecent filming or photography, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Prosecutors accused the 23-year-old Air Force veteran in January of photographing his exposed genitals while in uniform and groping women twice.

Caughey was removed from his post in mid-June. His court-martial was scheduled for October 17.

The Gazette reported Caughey was an up-and-coming space officer whose responsibilities had included running a 22-nation missile defense wargame in 2014 for US Strategic Command.

He was a survivor of the September 11 terror attack on the Pentagon, according to a story on the Schriever Air Force Base website.

'I was a captain inside the Pentagon that morning when a plane crashed into the west side of the building,' Caughey wrote on the website.

Caughey had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs

Court papers showed that investigators suspected Caughey of misbehaving as far back as the fall of 2013, when they alleged he had sex with 'a woman not his wife.'

The most serious charge against Caughey was that of forcible rape involving a woman whom the married officer allegedly assaulted at Schriever Air Force Base while 'holding her against the wall and floor using physical strength or violence,' according to the papers.

That charge carried a maximum punishment of life in a military prison.
It emerged that a European arrest warrant had been in place over allegations in his native Poland

Was jailed yesterday for three years and two months after pleading guilty

Lucasz Gal was just five weeks old when his father, convicted kidnapper Tomasz Raszkiewicz, pushed his mother into a door as she cradled him

A wanted Polish criminal living in hiding in Britain left his newborn baby son permanently brain damaged during a vodka-fuelled row with the child's mother.

Lucasz Gal was just five weeks old when his father, convicted kidnapper Tomasz Raszkiewicz, pushed his mother into a doorframe as she cradled him in his arms.

As the 33-year-old was jailed yesterday for three years and two months after pleading guilty to wounding the newborn, it emerged that a European arrest warrant had been in place over allegations in his native Poland.

Lucasz Gal was just five weeks old when his father, convicted kidnapper Tomasz Raszkiewicz, pushed his mother into a doorframe as she cradled him in his arms

But the couple successfully hid him from detection by not naming him on Lucasz's birth certificate when he was born in Blackpool, where his mother Jadwiga worked at a branch of Harry Ramsden's.

She even gave police a false name for her partner following his cruel attack on her son in a bid to protect him, later giving five different accounts of what happened, a court heard yesterday.

However, despite fleeing the couple's flat he was traced and arrested, eventually pleading guilty to wounding after the baby's uncle told police what he had witnessed.

Yesterday Raszkiewicz was branded 'a liar and a coward' and told he would be deported back to Poland.

Raszkiewicz, who has convictions in Poland for kidnapping and robbery, came to Britain shortly after being released from prison in 2010, doing casual work due to his limited English.

He met fish and chip shop worker Jadwiga Gal in 2013 and the couple moved in together.

But as he was wanted by the Polish authorities over an offence of failing to prevent a man's death, when Lucasz was born last year the couple deliberately left his name off the birth certificate for fear of tipping off police or the immigration authorities.

However, on November 22 after Raszkiewicz and his partner had been drinking vodka at their flat a blazing row broke out between the pair, with neighbours hearing the baby crying, Preston Crown Court heard.

Preston Crown Court (pictured) heard the baby only survived because of the skill of the surgeons who treated him

At around midnight, Raszkiewicz pushed his partner from behind with both hands, causing her to fall into the doorframe as she carried little Lucasz out of the kitchen.

The force of the blow was so severe the newborn suffered fractures to both sides of his skull, bleeding to his brain, and part of his skull became embedded into his brain, causing him permanent brain damage.

The court heard he only survived because of the skill of the surgeons who treated him.

Raszkiewicz did not go to hospital with his son, left the flat and was not arrested for three days.

The prosecution relied on the evidence of the boy's uncle, who had been at the flat at the time, to bring the case to court

Sentencing Raszkiewicz, Judge Heather Lloyd said he had lied that it had been 'a terrible accident'. 'That was cowardly behaviour,' she added.

She said Lucasz 'should have been able to enjoy a normal, healthy life as he grew older'.

But she went on: 'Unfortunately he was born to a violent and dishonest father and a mother who has not told the truth about what has occurred either.

'It seems to me from all that I have read that she has chosen to protect you throughout, rather than her baby boy, for only weeks after his birth your actions towards her resulted in catastrophic, life changing injuries to him.

'She chose to protect you when she registered Lucasz's birth, not naming you as the father because she knew there was a warrant for an offence of violence.

'She said you were hiding in this country which is why she provided the police with a false name for you when this incident occurred.

'As a result of what happened that night, Lucasz will never life a normal life. He will be dependent on others for the rest of his life.'

The judge accepted the attack was not premeditated and Raszkiewicz had not used a weapon.

But she said: 'Common sense dictates that you do not lunge at and rush with both hands from behind a woman who is carrying a newborn baby.'

Raszkiewicz will not be allowed to return to the UK for 10 years after being deported.

Speaking after the case, DS Chris Williams from Lancashire Constabulary said Raszkiewicz had never displayed any remorse for his actions.
Bernie Ecclestone's son-in-law, James Stunt, has been seen for the first time since police raided his firm and his brother died.

The 34-year-old businessman has kept a low profile since his company offices were raided by police investigating a multi-million pound fraud earlier this month.

Mr Stunt claims he is the victim of a substantial theft from his international gold bullion firm Stunt and Co.

Bernie Ecclestone's son-in-law, James Stunt, has been seen for the first time since police raided his firm

James Stunt said at the time he suspects he has been betrayed by people who took advantage of his hands off approach.

The police operation began when officers raided historic jewellery wholesaler Fowler Oldfield.

At the time neighbours described dozens of officers streaming inside its nondescript headquarters in an industrial area of Bradford, West Yorkshire.

A total of 12 people, including two women, aged between 23 and 56 were arrested for money laundering offences.

Mr Stunt claims he is the victim of a substantial theft from his international gold bullion firm Stunt and Co

At the same time, police also entered the luxury offices of Stunt and Co in Curzon Street, Mayfair.

Officers from West Yorkshire Police led the searches, supported by the National Crime Agency, often dubbed Britains answer to the FBI.

Fowler Oldfield, which claims to have an annual turnover of more than 100million, and the Stunt family of businesses are intricately linked.

Speaking at the time, a spokesman for Mr Stunt said he has been left reeling by the scale of the suspected theft from his business.

Mr Stunt is in his Los Angeles home and was shocked to learn of the raid on Fowler Oldfield and the accompanying arrests, he said.

Mr Stunt's brother Lee was found dead at his parents' home in Surrey

He was also shocked by the simultaneous exercise of a search warrant at the companys London offices...The company was already conducting an internal investigation into the disappearance of very significant sums of money... which appear to have been misappropriated.

Although no assistance has been sought from Mr Stunt, he intends to cooperate fully with the authorities if requested. He is due to return to London in the next few days.

The wealthy businessman married Petra Ecclestone in a lavish ceremony five years ago.

The raid came at a traumatic time for the Stunt family as they mourned the death of 37-year-old Lee.

Mr Stunt, the chief operating officer of Stunt and Co, was found dead at his parents 3.5million Surrey mansion.

His brother denied claims he committed suicide, saying he was taking medication for anxiety and died in his sleep.

Lee Stunts wife Elizabeth, 34, an equestrian eventer, was being comforted by friends at the couples 1million home in Binfield, Berkshire.

The wealthy businessman married Petra Ecclestone (left) in a lavish ceremony five years ago
An Illinois man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his 13-year-old grandson accusing the boy of negligence in a car crash that killed the teens grandmother earlier this year.

According to police in the Chicago suburb of Niles, the fatal crash took place at around 9pm on March 26 in the 9200 block of Maryland Street, not far from the victims home.

A press release from the Niles Police Department states that 79-year-old Kuem Soon Cho had given the keys to her 2005 Chrysler minivan to her grandson asking him to help put the vehicle into gear.

Crash scene: Kuem Soon Cho, 79, was killed in March in the 9200 block of Maryland Street in Niles, Illinois, when her 13-year-old grandson accidentally struck her with her own minivan

The grandmother was walking up to the driver's side door of the minivan, which was open, when the 13-year-old boy put the vehicle in reverse, with his foot accidentally positioned on the gas pedal instead of the break.

The minivan backed up with the driver's side door ajar and struck Mrs Cho.

The woman was rushed to Lutheran General Hospital, where she died from her injuries a short time later.

An autopsy ruled the grandmother's death an accident, reported CBS Chicago.

Police said Cho had given her grandson keys to her 2005 Chrysler minivan, possibly similar to the one pictured in this stock image, asking to help put the vehicle into gear

On Friday, the woman's husband, Paul Sang Cho, filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court claiming that his grandson carelessly failed to keep the minivan under control, failed to give warning and failed to yield the right of way.
Paul Shekleton died after getting into difficulty while swimming off a coast in Trinidad

Tributes have poured in for a British architect who drowned on a Caribbean holiday.

Paul Shekleton died while swimming off the coast of Mayara, Trinidad.

According to local website Mundinews, the 71-year-old had been in the resort with his wife, who is from the island, and her family.

He got into difficulty and went under the water at around 9.45, but officials failed to resuscitate him when he resurfaced 15 minutes later.

A post appeared on his Facebook page saying: 'Whilst enjoying a wonderful holiday Paul has sadly passed away.

'Funeral details will be posted shortly.

'Rest In Peace:- 17th November 1944- 25th September 2016.'

Messages of support were posted by friends of Mr Shekleton, who ran an eponymous architecture company.

He was in Mayara, Trinidad, where he was reportedly with his wife and her relatives

John Pett said: 'NO?! He has always been so fit! Am so so sorry. RIP Paul and say allo, to the Old man, for us. Terrible news'

Katy Hartley added: 'We are still in shock and thinking of you all. And thinking of Paul of course. The last pictures were wonderful.
The internet had a decidedly mixed response to Donald Trump's Snapchat geofilter on Monday, as the nation held its breath ahead of the first presidential debate.

The Republican campaign released the 'Debate Day' geofilter in an appeal to millennial voters, just hours before the candidates go head-to-head in New York.

The filter, available to users nationwide, came complete with the strap-line 'Donald J. Trump vs Crooked Hillary'.

Trump posted a video on his Facebook page using the filter, showing himself leaving the Trump Tower in New York to head to the debate Monday.

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The filter got an enthusiastic response from one user who even dressed up for the occasion

Trump uploaded a video using the filter showing him leaving for Hofstra University (centre, with hand raised), where the first presidential debate will take place

Snapchat geofilters are used by brands and political campaigns among others, and allow users to superimpose an organization's message on their images taken while using the photo and video sharing app.

One of two Trump geofilters which dropped Monday, showing the candidate parachuting onto the debate podium. Trump is pictured leaving his Trump Tower to go to the debate

Some users tweeted their enthusiasm for the feature, with one woman even dressing up in a stars-and-stripes outfit.

'We shall stay deplorable' said the tweet, in reference to Clinton's much-criticized reference to Trump voters as a 'basket of deplorables'.

'OH NO HE DID NOT', read a post from another user.

Others, however, were less enthusiastic.

'Wonder how much Trump spent on this Snapchat filter today,' Twitter user @ijustine wrote. 'It's impressive that he's managed to turn this entire election into a joke.'

Another suggested that she had 'made this filter much better' - by blocking out the reference to Trump and Clinton so the filter reads simply 'Debate Day'.

And some expressed their disappointment that Snapchat had accepted the political ad.

Snapchat allows political advertising, except for content that 'harasses, intimidates, threatens, or ridicules', among other conditions. It also encourages advertisers to 'be positive' in their messages.

Another user responds to Trump's geofilter. It's not the first time the candidates have used Snapchat geofilters, although those have previously been for regional events only

User @ijustine was less than impressed (left), while another suggested that she had 'made this filter much better' - by blocking out the reference to Trump and Clinton so the filter reads simply 'Debate Day'

It's not the first time the candidates have used Snapchat geofilters, although those have previously been for regional events only.

Back in May, Clinton's campaign released a filter to coincide with a Trump rally. The filter quoted Trump's own words from 2006: 'I sort of hope [a housing crash] happens because then people like me would go in and buy.'

Back in October, as Clinton gave testimony on Benghazi, conservative group Judicial Watch sponsored a filter saying 'This message will disappear - just like Hillary Clinton's emails.'

Snapchat began life as an app allowing users to send photos and videos that disappeared after viewing.

Its users are overwhelmingly younger - 86 per cent are aged 13-34, according to Statista.

Trump and Clinton have been battling over millennial voters. The demographic helped Obama into the White House, but Clinton has been struggling to win similar traction.
A Labor Day with friends turned into a devastating tragedy for four high school students when one accidentally shot another, and then killed himself out of despair.

Marsavious 'Savie' Frazier was showing Daquarion Hunter, both 17, a gun as they sat by side in an alley behind their friend's home in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The gun accidentally went off and struck Hunter in the chest, causing him to drop to the ground.

Frazier immediately panicked and ran, putting the gun to his head before pulling the trigger. Both teens' bodies were found just 30 yards away from each other.

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Marsavious 'Savie' Frazier (right) was showing Daquarion Hunter (left), both 17, a gun when he accidentally shot his friend in the chest and then, out of despair, killed himself

Their 17-year-old friend Armonte Tolbert, who saw the horrible incident unfold, was holding Hunter when police arrived, crying and screaming in shock.

Tolbert told police the three teens and their friend Timothy Whittaker had spent most of the day playing video games before going to their usual 'chill spot' next to the garage at his house.

The teens had set up chairs in the area and were hanging out around 9pm when Frazier revealed he was upset after seeing a woman earlier that evening.

Tolbert told police Frazier had made comments about hurting himself but that his friends were able to 'talk him down', according to the Kalamazoo Gazette .

This was apparently not unusual for Frazier, who Tolbert told police had made 'suicidal comments in the past as well'.

But on that day there was 'no further concern' among the friends and Whittaker left for five minutes to walk to a nearby convenience store.

One of Frazier's friends, who witnessed the shootings, told police that the teen had made 'suicidal comments in the past'. He added that Frazier and Hunter had 'no beef' with each other

Tolbert was texting on his phone when he saw Frazier pull out a gun and begin 'playing with it'.

The teen told police he had never seen Frazier with a gun before, and did not know he had one on him until just moments before the shooting.

Whittaker was near the alley when he heard a 'pop' sound over the music coming through his headphones. Then he heard a screen and saw Hunter fall to the ground.

He then saw Frazier running toward him. The friends were only three feet apart from each other when the teen stopped and shot himself in the head, according to the police report.

Whittaker immediately ran to Tolbert's house and found his mother.

Sheree Tolbert said when she arrived in the alley she saw her son holding Hunter, who he had known since he was six years old, and screaming 'Stay with me!', the police report reads.

A black Harrington and Richardson 732.32 caliber was still in Frazier's hand.

The horrific tragedy unfolded in an alley behind the home of Frazier and Hunter's friend, where the group of teens often hung out

Police traced the gun and found it had been legally purchased by a Tennessee woman in 1982 and had come into the possession of a family member of Frazier, who then got a hold of it when they died.

Tolbert said there was 'no beef' between Frazier and Hunter and there had been no disagreement or fight before the shooting.

Authorities added that neither of the teens had consumed alcohol or used drugs prior to the incident.

Emergency responders started CPR on Frazier after feeling a faint pulse, but he could not be saved.

The friends were both pronounced dead in the alley where they had hung out together countless times before.

Hunter had just graduated from high school and was planning on going to the police academy at Kalamazoo Community College.

Frazier was supposed to start his senior year of high school that very week.

Instead Hunter was buried on his 18th birthday, and more than a thousand mourners had to say goodbye to Frazier at his funeral service.
A hospital was hit by an air strike in Aleppo yesterday, prompting fresh accusations of war crimes in the besieged Syrian city.

The facility in rebel-held eastern Aleppo was hit with a barrel bomb, according to aid workers who said the attack showed disregard for civilian life.

Britain and the US have accused Russia of war crimes amid reports that Russian and Syrian jets have used phosphorous and cluster munitions on residential areas.

International agencies are investigating reports that sophisticated weapons including bunker-buster bombs and fuel-air explosives  which suck oxygen from the area  have been used against civilians.

Britain and the US have accused Moscow of war crimes amid reports that Russian and Syrian jets have used phosphorous and cluster munitions on residential areas

The barrel bomb strike on the Aleppo hospital was less sophisticated. Such bombs have been widely used during the five-year war and typically involve an oil drum filled with explosives and metal fragments and dropped from the air to create maximum deadly impact.

The charity Save the Children described the attack as outrageous, saying: When hospitals are targeted or damaged in air strikes, children die. Such disregard of civilian life is a potential breach of international humanitarian law.

Observers said hundreds have died in opposition areas in Aleppo since the ceasefire collapsed last Monday and hospitals have been overwhelmed with casualties.

Save the Children warned half the casualties pulled from the rubble were children, and that many were dying on the floors of hospitals because doctors lacked basic supplies with which to treat them.

The latest offensive on Aleppo has been described as one of the worst seen in the five-year war in Syria, and the UN Security Council heard accusations Russia had sponsored barbarism.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Syrian and Russian governments seemed intent on the total destruction of the city, adding: Theyre pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children.

Russia hit back at the accusations as unacceptable and said such language risked damaging future efforts to end the war, which has left more than 300,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.

Hundreds have reportedly died in opposition areas in Aleppo since the ceasefire collapsed last Monday, with hospitals flooded with casualties

UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon called for an end to the violence and warned the use of advanced weaponry in densely populated areas was a war crime.

Syrias foreign minister has said an internationally-brokered ceasefire is still viable, as rescue workers in Aleppo sifted through the rubble from the heaviest air strikes on rebel-held areas of the city in five years.

Walid al-Moallem said the Syrian government is prepared to take part in a unity administration incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer which has been rejected in the past.
Three former generals and war hero Lord Bramall (pictured) yesterday called for an end to the witch-hunt against British troops

Three former generals and war hero Lord Bramall yesterday called for an end to the witch-hunt against British troops.

They said they 'deplored' the treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and warned the long-term impact of relentless probes would be 'disastrous'.

Their damning verdicts follow a Daily Mail campaign to end a witch-hunt which has seen hundreds of soldiers quizzed over their actions a decade ago and dragged through repeated probes on one incident alone.

Speaking publicly on the issue for the first time, General Sir Michael Rose, one of Britain's most respected generals and a former SAS commander, said: 'We should bring a halt to these historic investigations. This includes those relating to the counter-terrorist war fought against the IRA. I therefore applaud the Mail's campaign.'

Lord Bramall, 92, one of the UK's most decorated military heroes  who was cleared of baseless paedophile allegations  also hit out at the witch-hunt.

The field marshal said: 'This witch-hunt culture is terribly bad for the morale of the forces who have had to do their duty under difficult circumstances.

'I don't understand why we are still pursuing these soldiers. Many of these claims are spurious and they are years out of date.'

The former head of the Army also said he thought it was 'terrible' that human rights legislation was applied to battlefield conditions.

General Sir Richard Shirreff (pictured), a former Nato commander, also blasted the hounding of soldiers

The Iraq Historical Allegations Team (Ihat) is investigating 1,668 claims of wrongdoing in a 57million probe expected to last until the end of 2019. As well, Operation Northmoor, set up in March 2014, is investigating more than 550 historic allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan.

Yesterday No 10 refused to rule out that soldiers fighting in future wars could be hounded in the same way  and suggested Operation Northmoor could roll on for years.

This witch-hunt culture is terribly bad for the morale of the forces who have had to do their duty under difficult circumstances Lord Brammall

Asked about future theatres of conflict and 'guarantees' troops wouldn't be treated in the same way, a spokesman for Theresa May said: 'I can't predict what is going to happen in the future.

'I am not going to be drawn on what we would be doing in the future on battlefield cases.' The spokesman was 'not aware' of a deadline on Operation Northmoor.

The Ministry of Defence was also unable to give a deadline but said it would examine the evidence as quickly as possible. It raises the prospect of the Afghan probe continuing for decades, to the tune of tens of millions of pounds.

Speaking publicly on the issue for the first time, General Sir Michael Rose (pictured) said: 'We should bring a halt to these historic investigations'

General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former Nato commander, also blasted the hounding of soldiers.

He said: 'I deplore it. I think it's an absolutely tragedy. I sense we have a monster on our hands now with this inquiry and I'd like to see a little bit of boldness from politicians to say 'enough is enough'.

'The longer-term impact as well will be nothing short of disastrous because I think it raises questions in the minds of commanders and soldiers, that actions taken in the heat of battle are going to be subject to crawled over subsequently.'

Another retired military chief even accused ministers of encouraging the flood of legal cases against former soldiers. The former general, who did not want to be named, said: 'This [Ihat and Operation Northmoor] is an important example of where the state is turning its back on troops and tolerating, if not encouraging, litigation.'

Calling for the Government to address widespread concerns about the inquiries, he added: 'Applying peacetime, civilian protocols and law to a wartime situation is ridiculous, therefore the inference is that the law needs to be changed as it applies to soldiers in combat.'

Lord Robertson, a former Labour Defence Secretary who served as Nato Secretary General during the invasion of Iraq, also called for an end to the 'indefensible' hounding of troops by 'predatory lawyers'.

We should bring a halt to these historic investigations General Sir Michael Rose

He told The Daily Telegraph: 'It weakens and damages morale today and the ability of troops to fight properly in the future. The process should be wound up.'

A Government spokesman said: 'Our Armed Forces are rightly held to the highest standards and, whilst rare, credible claims of criminal behaviour should be investigated.
An 11-year-old boy in China strangled his younger playmate after they got into an argument on September 15.

It's then claimed that the child, known as Xiong Xiaojie, dragged the seven-year-old's body to his neighbour's balcony in Changde, Hunan province, before carrying on as normal, even going to school, reports the People's Daily Online.

On September 23 after searching, police confirmed that they had found the young girl's body.

Horrifying case: The body of the young girl was found on a neighbour's balcony

Changde City Public Security Bureau confirmed on September 23 that they had found the body of the seven-year-old girl, known as Bei Bei, and had arrested her playmate.

Bei Bei's body was found without pants and with marks around her neck.

However following an autopsy, police confirmed that she had not been sexually assaulted.

According to his parents, the boy is very honest and does not usually fight.

However, the parents said they were not at home when the alleged attack happened.

Police told the boy's parents that the two had been playing on the sofa when they had an argument. They claimed that the boy strangled her before moving her body outside.

However the boy's mother said she doubted the claims. She told reporters: 'We think an 11-year-old child can not complete this series of things.'

During the search for the girl, the boy allegedly went to school as usual and was very calm.

According to police, there is no other evidence of others being involved.

Further investigations are being carried out.

The police are yet to announce what punishment will be given to the boy.
This is the moment a wedding prank in China goes wrong, almost killing the groom at a wedding ceremony.

In the footage, the guests can be seen spraying the groom with multiple fire extinguishers as he shouts that he can't breathe.

Some bystanders heard the man choking and called emergency services for help.

You're going down! A friend of the groom tackles him to the ground outside the wedding

Definitely not a good idea: The groom's friends completely coat him in fire extinguisher foam

In the footage taken at a wedding in China, the groom is dressed in firefighter's uniform.

A man can be seen running and leaping on the groom, tackling him to the floor.

Then a large group of men approach with fire extinguishers and spray the man with the foam.

Another man appears with another fire extinguisher, completely coating the man.

For those spraying the foam, the dust becomes too much and they move away.

People come to the groom's aid as the man behind the camera can be heard saying 'it's too dangerous'.

Prank gone wrong: They continue to spray the man until onlookers realise he needs help

Horrifying: In the footage, the bride can be heard calling out for water

The groom can be heard heaving and choking on the foam.

Suddenly the bride runs over to check on her groom and can be heard repeated crying out for water.

Bystanders called emergency services.

People have been discussing the story on news site news163.com.

One user commented: 'It almost became a funeral'

While another commented: 'I thought they were taking down a thief while I watched the video.'
This is the touching moment a father was found in the rubble, using his body to shield his child after their house collapsed in heavy rain.

The house located in Zhaotong, south-west Yunnan province, collapsed during bad weather on September 23, reports the People's Daily Online.

Firefighters successfully pulled the father and his 20-month-old daughter out from the rubble alive.

Shocking: The house in Zhaotong, China's Yunnan province collapsed in bad weather

Incredible: Firefighters pulled both the father and daughter from out under the rubble

The family-of-four reportedly lived in a house built with mud brick and wood.

The building collapsed on top of them after the area had been battered by heavy rainfall.

Firefighters attended the scene and rescued two family members while the father and child remained stuck in the rubble.

Amazing: The father was found using his body to protect his daughter from the rubble

The rescue team worked together relying from the lights inside their vehicles for light

The rescue team worked together relying from the lights inside their vehicles for light.

They dug with tools to get closer to the father and daughter before switching to their hands.

The team then managed to locate the father who had fainted from dehydration.

He was hugging his daughter tightly.

On social news site Sina, people have been discussing the story.

One user wrote: 'It's so great that father and daughter are saved.'

While another commented: 'The power of a father's love.'
The devastating explosion that destroyed a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the satellite it was carrying on the launch pad may have been due to large breach in its helium cooling system.

A preliminary investigation by SpaceX has found the hole in the cryogenic system, which cools the upper oxygen tank of the rocket, occurred just moments before the explosion and appears to have triggered a catastrophic chain of events.

Exactly what caused the breach is still a mystery, the company has said.

There has been intense speculation that an object had hit the rocket during fuelling.

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SpaceX has said an initial investigation has indicated a large breach in the helium cryogenic system of the upper oxygen tank of its Falcon 9 rocket triggered a catastrophic chain of events that led to the explosion that destroyed the rocket on the launch pad earlier this month

The company said it is not ruling anything out and it is still investigating the possibility.

SATELLITE FIRM CLAIMING DAMAGES FROM SPACEX The Israeli owners of the destroyed AMOS-6 satellite have reportedly been hit hard by the loss. In a press conference on Sunday, Spacecom said it could seek $50m from SpaceX following the explosion on the launch pad last week. AMOS-6 was supposed to provide home internet for Africa and the Middle East. In addition, Facebook had signed a deal with Eutelsat to lease broadband capacity from the satellite as part of its efforts to increase internet connectivity across the African continent. Advertisement

The Falcon 9 rocket exploded on 1 September as it was being fuelled for a routine pre-launch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The fireball rattled windows several miles away, but it has also shaken the faith of customers of the firm.

The Israeli company that built the $200 million satellite destroyed in the fire has already said it will want to see 'several' safe flights from SpaceX before it uses it for launches again.

SpaceX has suspended its Falcon 9 flights while it investigates the cause of the accident.

But Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, told a satellite industry conference in Paris, that they expected to resume flights in the next three months at a new launch pad at Nasa's Kennedy Space Station.

Launch specialists at SpaceX have been pouring over video footage and data from the explosion to find out what may have happened.

The explosion destroyed the rocket and the satellite it was carrying (pictured). SpaceX said is was still investigating what had caused the breach in the helium system

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (illustrated) is the company's main launch vehicle but it has now suspended all flights while the investigation into the explosion is ongoing

Their initial investigation has shown that a large breach in the helium system occurred immediately before the fireball  a timeline that covers less than one tenth of a second.

A statement on the company's website said: 'At this stage of the investigation, preliminary review of the data and debris suggests that a large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank took place.

'At this time, the cause of the potential breach remains unknown. All plausible causes are being tracked in an extensive fault tree and carefully investigated.'

SpaceX's launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was destroyed (pictured) by the explosion at the start of September. The company is nearing completion of a new launch pad at the nearby Kennedy Space Centre

The rocket had been due to launch a satellite built for social media firm Facebook, which would have formed part of its plans to bring internet access to remote parts of Africa.

While the launch pad was damaged, nearby support buildings and fuel tanks were unscathed, according to the company.

Investigators are now pouring over the huge volume of debris collected from the explosion, which have been placed in a hangar for inspection.

Shortly after the explosion, SpaceX chief executive said on Twitter: 'Particularly trying to understand the quieter bang sound a few seconds before the fireball goes off. May come from rocket or something else.'

SPACEX'S CHEQUERED AND EXPLOSIVE HISTORY Founded in 2002 by PayPal founder Elon Musk, SpaceX has been one of the driving forces behind the efforts by commercial companies to venture into space. Previously the domain of government-sponsored national agencies like Nasa and Russia's Roscosmos, launching spacecraft into orbit was seen as being prohibitively expensive. SpaceX, however, became the first privately funded company to launch a rocket powered by liquid-propellant into orbit in 2008 with its Falcon 1. It later became the first to launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft. With the end of the Nasa's Space Shuttle program, SpaceX has also stepped in to allow the US to continue to send supplies to the International Space Station. In 2012 the company was the first private firm to send a spacecraft packed with cargo to resupply the space station. This year alone it has achieved eight launches carrying supplies to the ISS and a number of satellites into orbit. But SpaceX's journey has been hit with setbacks and problems. Perhaps its worst accident prior to this month's explosion occurred on June 28 2015 one of its Falcon 9 rockets carrying an unmanned Dragon capsule filled with cargo for the ISS exploded just minutes after launch. An investigation into the explosion revealed a failed strut on the helium pressure vessels broke as it accelerated out of the atmosphere, allowing a catastrophic escape of gas. Part of SpaceX's model for reducing the cost of space travel is to reuse its rockets. But this has been beset with a series of accidents that saw the rockets topple over and explode during these landing attempts. It lost two rockets after they failed to land safely before it managed to successfully land the first stage booster at Kennedy Space Center on 21 December 2015. Freezing fog that caused a landing leg to fail to lock caused another rocket to topple over on a barge in January 2016 on landing. Since then the company has managed to land four of its Falcon 9 launch rockets on floating barges at sea. But on 15 June this year another of its rockets toppled over and was destroyed after managing to touch down on a barge. The company has also had problems while in orbit. In March 1 2013 a Dragon spacecraft suffered thruster issues due to a blacked fuel valve leaving it unable to properly control itself before docking with the ISS. On this occasion engineers were able to remotely clear the blockages and the craft docked with the ISS one day later than scheduled. Advertisement

The firm did state, however, the explosion does not appear to have been caused by the same issue that led to a Falcon 9 rocket exploding enroute to the International Space Station last year.

The unmanned flight, which was carrying vital resupply cargo for the space station and was designated CRS-7, disintegrated into a fireball just a few minutes into the flight.

On that occasion a support strut for a helium bottle  part of the pressurisation system - snapped in the second state oxygen tank.

SpaceX said: 'We have exonerated any connection with last year's CRS-7 mishap.'

There has been some speculation that something hit the rocket (pictured) while it was being fuelled on the launch pad and SpaceX has said it is not going to rule anything out

The Falcon 9 rocket was carrying an $200 million AMOS-6 satellite to provide home internet for Africa and the Middle East as part of a project by Facebook when it exploded (pictured)

The initial results of the investigation into this month's explosion, which destroyed the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, come just a week after SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said he hoped to be able to send humans to Mars and even beyond to other areas of the solar system.

The company also tested a new 'interplanetary' engine for its rockets.

It is also due to finish building a new launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November.
Baby lobsters might not be able to survive in the ocean's waters if the ocean continues to warm at the expected rate.

That is the key finding of a study performed by scientists in Maine, the state most closely associated with lobster.

The scientists, who are affiliated with the University of Maine Darling Marine Center and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, said the discovery could mean bad news for the future of one of America's most beloved seafood treats, as well as the industry lobsters support.

Baby lobsters might not be able to survive in the ocean's waters if the ocean continues to warm, according to a study by scientists at with the University of Maine Darling Marine Center and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The scientists found that lobster larvae struggled to survive when they were reared in water 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the temperatures that are currently typical of the western Gulf of Maine, a key lobster fishing area off of New England.

Five degrees is how much the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expects the Gulf of Maine's temperature to warm by the year 2100.

The paper appears this month in the scientific journal ICES Journal of Marine Science.

WHAT THE STUDY FOUND According to a new study in Maine, lobster larvae struggle to survive in waters just 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than current temperatures in the western Gulf of Maine. And, this is just how much these waters are expected to warm by the year 2100. The study's authors found higher temperatures caused baby lobsters to develop faster  something that could help them avoid predators in the wild  but few survived. But, acidification had almost no effect on young lobsters' survival. Advertisement

It could serve as a wake-up call that the lobster fishery faces a looming climate crisis that is already visible in southern New England, said Jesica Waller, one of the study's authors.

'There has been a near total collapse in Rhode Island, the southern end of the fishery, and we know our waters are getting warmer,' Waller said.

'We are hoping this research can be a jumping off point for more research into how lobsters might do over the next century.'

Right now, the country's lobster catch is strong, prices are high and steady and the industry is opening up new markets in Asia, where a growing middle class is hungry for one of America's seafood status symbols.

U.S. fishermen have topped 100 million pounds of lobster for seven years in a row after having never previously reached that mark, and their catch topped a half billion dollars in value at the docks for the first time in 2014.

But signs of the toll warming waters can do to the fishery are noticeable in its southern reaches, where scientists have said rising temperatures are contributing to the lobsters' decline.

The lobster catch south of Cape Cod fell to about 3.3 million pounds in 2013, 16 years have it peaked at about 22 million in 1997.

The study's authors found higher temperatures caused baby lobsters to develop faster, but few survived. This discovery could mean bad news for the future of one of America's most beloved seafood treats, as well as the industry lobsters support

The study's authors found higher temperatures caused baby lobsters to develop faster  something that could help them avoid predators in the wild  but few survived.

They performed the work by raising more than 3,000 baby lobsters from the moment they hatched.

The authors said the study is the first of its kind to focus on how American lobsters will be impacted by warming waters and the increasing acidification of the ocean in tandem.

The study found that acidification had almost no effect on young lobsters' survival, Waller said.

Michael Tlusty, an ocean scientist with the Anderson Cabot Center at the New England Aquarium, said the study is especially important because it considered both warming and changing ocean chemistry.

'This is the type of work that really needs to be done,' said Tlusty, who was not affiliated with the study.
The number of African elephants has dropped by around 111,000 in the past decade, according to a new report, which blames the plummeting figures on poaching.

The revelation, the worst drop in 25 years, comes amid disagreement over the best way to improve the plight of Africa's elephants, targeted for their tusks.

Thousands of conservationists and government officials have now gathered in Johannesburg in the hopes of hammering out new international trade regulations.

A report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) put Africa's total elephant population at around 415,000, a decline of around 111,000 over the past decade

WHY LARGE ANIMALS ARE MORE UNDER THREAT A report lat month, published in BioScience, covers the dangerous loss of large mammal populations around the globe. The scientists catalogued the peril of endangered species across six continents. They found 59 per cent of the world's largest carnivores and 60 per cent of the world's largest herbivores are categorized as threatened with extinction. Large wildlife species are extremely vulnerable to threats because of their need for extensive spaces to live and low population densities, especially for carnivores. By 2100, animals like leopards, great white sharks and elephants will be extinct unless conservation efforts step up, a new report warns. From the poorly known, such as the scimitar-horned oryx, to more familiar species including tigers, lions, gorillas and rhinoceroses, experts have warned these large mammals are facing an extinction crisis. Advertisement

With Namibia and Zimbabwe wanting to be allowed to sell ivory stockpiles from natural deaths to fund community elephant conservation initiatives, Zimbabwe's Environment Minister, Oppah Muchinguri, rejected the 'imperialistic policies' of opposing countries, branding them a 'clear infringement on the sovereign rights of nations'.

Both Namibia and Zimbabwe boast healthy elephant populations and their desire to sell the stockpiles is supported by South Africa.

'We need to be considerate as we make these decisions,' Ms Muchinguri told a news conference.

'CITES should be there to facilitate us to succeed in our conservation programmes rather than these imperialistic policies,' she added.

A booming illegal wildlife trade has put huge pressure on an existing treaty signed by more than 180 countries - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Conservationists and government officials are in Johannesburg for the 12-day gathering, seeking to hammer out new international trade regulations to protect a vast array of different species, with several proposals on whether to tighten or ease controls on the ivory trade on the agenda.

'We have been keeping this ivory for nine years and we're hoping this moratorium will be lifted so that we are able to sell this ivory or to produce jewellery, artefacts for the benefit of our people,' Ms Muchinguri said.

Based on 275 estimates from across the continent, the report released by the IUCN conservation group put Africa's total elephant population at around 415,000 - a decline of around 111,000 over the past decade.

It is the first time in 25 years that the group's African Elephant Status Report has reported a continental decline in numbers, with the IUCN attributing the losses in large part to a sharp rise in poaching.

Based on 275 estimates from across the continent, the report released by the IUCN conservation group put Africa's total elephant population at around 415,000 - a decline of around 111,000 over the past decade

'The surge in poaching for ivory that began approximately a decade ago - the worst that Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s - has been the main driver of the decline,' said IUCN.

IUCN chief, Inger Andersen, said the numbers showed 'the truly alarming plight of the majestic elephant'.

'It is shocking but not surprising that poaching has taken such a dramatic toll on this iconic species,' she said.

'The surge in poaching for ivory that began approximately a decade ago - the worst that Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s - has been the main driver of the decline,' said IUCN

Sue Lieberman, vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the IUCN report was 'yet another set of data clearly indicating that governments must take all necessary actions to address the crisis, including closing their domestic elephant ivory markets'.

'It is now up to the CITES parties to carry that momentum forward (and) support the majority of African elephant range countries who are calling for closure of domestic markets,' she said.

'Closing domestic markets will close off opportunities to launder illegal ivory.'

Stephen Mwansa, permanent secretary in Zambia's Tourism Ministry, however, earlier criticised the proposal to ban domestic trade in ivory.

Conservationists and government officials are in Johannesburg for the 12-day gathering, seeking to hammer out new international trade regulations to protect a vast array of different species, including the African elephant and White rhino

'How do you come and start regulating the domestic market? That will be extra-territorial,' said Mr Mwansa.

'That's arrogance of the highest order. It's tantamount to neo-colonialism and that we can't accept it,' he told reporters.

In 1989, CITES banned international trade in ivory.

But in 1997 and 2000, elephant populations in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe were downgraded to a less endangered species status, to allow two sales of ivory stockpiles to Japan and China in 1999 and 2008.
He is most famous for cracking the Enigma code, in a move that is said to have shortened WWII by two years and saved up to 22 million additional lives.

But Alan Turing also pioneered the use of computers for making music.

Now, 65 years after the first computer-generated music was recorded, researchers have restored the aural artefact, which paved the way for everything from synthesizers to modern electronica.

When Professor Jack Copeland (right) and composer Jason Long (left) examined the 12-inch (30.5 cm) acetate disc containing the music, they found the audio was distorted. They fixed it with electronic detective work, tweaking the speed of the audio

THE RECORDING The recording was made 65 years ago by a BBC outside-broadcast unit at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester, northern England. The machine, which filled much of the lab's ground floor, was used to generate three melodies. These were 'God Save the King', 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' and Glenn Miller's swing classic 'In the Mood'. But when Professor Jack Copeland and composer Jason Long examined the 12-inch (30.5 cm) acetate disc containing the music, they found the audio was distorted. 'The frequencies in the recording were not accurate. The recording gave at best only a rough impression of how the computer sounded,' they said. Advertisement

Researchers at the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch said the tunes showed Turing, best known as the father of computing who broke the WWII Enigma code, was also a musical innovator.

The researchers used a recording made 65 years ago by a BBC outside-broadcast unit at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester.

'Alan Turing's pioneering work in the late 1940s on transforming the computer into a musical instrument has been largely overlooked,' they said.

The machine, which filled much of the lab's ground floor, was used to generate three melodies; 'God Save the King', 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' and Glenn Miller's swing classic 'In the Mood'.

But when Professor Jack Copeland and composer Jason Long examined the 12-inch (30.5 cm) acetate disc containing the music, they found the audio was distorted.

The recording, above, is a restored version of the BBC recording made in 1965. The music was made by a computer programmed by British mathematician and computer scientist widely considered to be the father of modern computing, Alan Turing (pictured)

AN 'UNBREAKABLE' MACHINE The Enigma machine was used to transfer coded military messages to submarines in the Atlantic. German officials trusted completely that its codes were unbreakable and used it for all manner of communications. The Enigma machine allowed the user to type messages and then use rotors to 'scramble' them. The receiver had to know the exact settings to be able to decipher the code, which had around 159 quintillion (million million million) possible settings. The earlier models had just three rotors while later ones had five, which meant messages were even harder to decipher. German soldiers and sailors also were provided with a red book called the Kurzsignalheft, which contained tables that converted sentences into four-letter groups and was used for the operational communication. But unknown to them, code-breakers led by Alan Turing worked with other mathematicians to decipher the Nazi machines at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. Turing and his team used one of the world's earliest computers in their bid to solve the code. It was not able to decipher German codes automatically, but once analysts had manually deciphered a few letters by picking out common words, such as the names of German generals or short words such as 'to' and 'they', the device could rapidly test hundreds of other possibilities to put together a code. Their efforts are said to have shortened the war by two years and saved up to 22million additional lives. An estimated 100,000 Enigma machines were made until the fall of the Third Reich but few machines survived the War. Advertisement

'The frequencies in the recording were not accurate,' they said.

'The recording gave at best only a rough impression of how the computer sounded.'

The researchers fixed the tune with electronic detective work, tweaking the speed of the audio, compensating for a 'wobble' in the recording and filtering out extraneous noise.

'It was a beautiful moment when we first heard the true sound of Turing's computer,' Copeland and Long said in a blog post on the British Library website.

The two-minute recording features short snippets of the tunes rendered in a slightly grating drone, like electronic bagpipes.

There are also a number of glitches and when the music halts during the Glenn Miller number, a presenter comments: 'The machine's obviously not in the mood'.

While Turing programmed the first musical notes into a computer, he had little interest in stringing them together into tunes.

That work was carried out by a school teacher named Christopher Strachey, who went on to become a renowned computer scientist in his own right.

Strachey recalled that Turing's taciturn response upon hearing his machine play music was 'good show'.

Turing was a computer scientist, philosopher and cryptologist who played a crucial role in breaking the Nazi's Enigma Code.

The Enigma machine was used to transfer coded military messages to submarines in the Atlantic.

German officials trusted completely that its codes were unbreakable and used it for all manner of communications.

Turing and his team used one of the world's earliest computers in their bid to solve the code.

Their efforts are said to have shortened the war by two years and saved up to 22million additional lives.

As depicted in the Oscar-winning movie 'The Imitation Game', he was prosecuted for homosexuality and forced to undergo chemical castration, killing himself in 1954 at the age of 41.

He was officially pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.
waste was left, nobody thought it would get out again

In 1959, US army engineers began constructing a futuristic project in northwestern Greenland that might as well have been lifted from a Cold War spy movie.

A network of tunnels under the snow contained everything from research facilities to a hospital, a cinema and a church - all powered by a small, portable nuclear reactor.

Now the snow-covered former US army base, dubbed 'a city under ice', could leak pollutants into the environment as the climate changes, a new study has revealed.

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Greenland's highly unstable ice sheet is melting more than seven per cent faster than previously thought, a study in Science Advances revealed. This could be revealing nuclear waste buried in the snow in the 1960s, according to the study

THE 'CITY UNDER ICE' Accommodating up to 200 soldiers, 'Camp Century' was officially built to provide a laboratory for Arctic research projects, but it was also home to a secret US effort to deploy nuclear missiles. Code-named 'Project Iceworm', that part of the operation was never mentioned in the treaty between the US and Denmark, once the colonial master of Greenland, a territory that is now largely self-governing. But the spectacular project - which even included a test railway under the snow - was never fully realised. Three years later scientists found that the glacier was shifting much faster than previously thought, threatening to crush the tunnels, and the base was abandoned in 1967. Assuming the site would remain frozen in perpetuity, the US army removed the nuclear reactor but allowed waste - equivalent to the mass of 30 Airbus A320 airplanes - to be entombed under the snow. Advertisement

The discovery is raising difficult questions over who is responsible for a clean-up.

The pollutants left behind include toxic PCBs used in building supplies, tanks of raw sewage and low-level radioactive coolant used in the nuclear reactor that once stood there.

'When the waste was deposited there nobody thought it would get out again,' William Colgan, an assistant professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University in Canada, told AFP.

But a study led by Professor Colgan, published in August in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found higher temperatures could eventually result in toxic waste from the base being released into the environment.

Accommodating up to 200 soldiers, 'Camp Century' was officially built to provide a laboratory for Arctic research projects, but it was also home to a secret US effort to deploy nuclear missiles.

Code-named 'Project Iceworm', that part of the operation was never mentioned in the treaty between the US and Denmark, once the colonial master of Greenland, a territory that is now largely self-governing.

But the spectacular project - which even included a test railway under the snow - was never fully realised.

Three years later scientists found that the glacier was shifting much faster than previously thought, threatening to crush the tunnels, and the base was abandoned in 1967.

Assuming the site would remain frozen in perpetuity, the US army removed the nuclear reactor but allowed waste - equivalent to the mass of 30 Airbus A320 airplanes - to be entombed under the snow.

Millions of litres of waste, including gasoline, PCBs, and nuclear coolant water lay buried beneath the ice sheet at an abandoned Cold War base in Greenland, and climate change could soon send it spilling into the ocean. Camp Century is pictured above

The Greenland base, pictured, which sits 125 miles from the coast, 'was deliberately established in the dry snow zone of the ice sheet, where virtually no surface melting occurs,' the authors explained

US base Camp Century. Assuming the site would remain frozen, the US army removed the nuclear reactor but left the waste

Half a century later that decision is being questioned as temperatures in the Arctic rise at a higher pace than in the rest of the world.

'Neither the US or Denmark has done anything wrong per se, but the world has changed,' Professor Cogland said.

By 2090, the amount of ice melting may no longer be offset by snowfall, meaning the toxic chemicals could start leaking into the environment, the study found.

Before then, fissures in the snow could lead to melt water seeping into the crushed tunnels, currently located around 35 metres (115 feet) below the surface.

Since excavating the site would be hugely expensive, Professor Colgan believes a clean-up operation would have to wait until the camp has been uncovered by the melting ice.

Greenland Foreign Minister Vittus Qujaukitsoq said the study's findings were 'worrying' and that his government was working to ensure that it was established who would be responsible for cleaning up the site.

The U.S. base was decommissioned nearly 50 years ago under the assumption that the waste would remain trapped underground forever, but a new analysis reveals that warming temperatures could unearth hazardous waste in just 75 years

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CLEAN-UP? 'Project Iceworm', was never mentioned in the treaty between the US and Denmark, once the colonial master of Greenland, a territory that is now largely self-governing. Half a century later that decision is being questioned as temperatures in the Arctic rise at a higher pace than in the rest of the world. 'Neither the US or Denmark has done anything wrong per se, but the world has changed,' Professor Cogland said. Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said in a statement his government would 'now look closer at these aspects together with the relevant expertise... in close dialogue with Greenland.' After Colgan's report was published, the US Department of Defense released a statement saying it 'recognises the reality of climate change and the risks it poses. The Department is aware of the report but has not evaluated it.' The US would 'continue to work with Danish authorities and Greenland home rule authorities to address mutual security concerns,' it said. Sara Olsvig, a Greenland opposition lawmaker who raised the issue in Nuuk's parliament, admitted 'a lot of things' in the decades-old agreements between Copenhagen and Washington on several different military installations were 'unclear'. 'There's not so much that Greenland can do in regards to the Danish-US relationship and what they will do concerning the final responsibility,' she said. In the end, the two countries would probably take joint responsibility for cleaning up the base, said Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen, an associate professor of science history at Aarhus University who has studied the Camp Century project. 'From a moral standpoint, I think Denmark and the US have a common responsibility to clean up. The Americans put the base there and the Danes gave them permission to do it,' he said. US Secretary of State John Kerry (second from the right), Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen (left) and Greenland Foreign Minister Vittus Qujaukitsoq (right) visit the Jakobshavn Glacier on June 17 this year Advertisement

The former government in the capital Nuuk had in 2014 requested a report from Copenhagen on possible contamination from Camp Century without receiving 'any assessment of the extent or character of the waste' described in the study, he said in a statement.

Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said in a statement his government would 'now look closer at these aspects together with the relevant expertise... in close dialogue with Greenland.'

After Colgan's report was published, the US Department of Defense released a statement saying it 'recognises the reality of climate change and the risks it poses. The Department is aware of the report but has not evaluated it.'

The US would 'continue to work with Danish authorities and Greenland home rule authorities to address mutual security concerns,' it said.

The logistics of decontaminating the site may not be the greater challenge, Colgan said, noting that the US and Denmark have previously cleaned up a site where a B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs crashed in 1968 near the Thule air base, around 150 miles (240 km) from Camp Century.

1967. Assuming the site would remain frozen in perpetuity, the US army removed the nuclear reactor but allowed waste to be entombed under the snow. But by 2090, the amount of ice melting may no longer be offset by snowfall

'The environmental hazard is relatively small and far away and there are only a few native towns close by,' he said.

Establishing which country is responsible for doing it would be trickier, but could help set a precedent for other conflicts arising from climate change, he predicted.

'It hasn't really been done before, there's no blueprint. It's not as easy as the engineering aspect of the challenge,' he said.

Sara Olsvig, a Greenland opposition lawmaker who raised the issue in Nuuk's parliament, admitted 'a lot of things' in the decades-old agreements between Copenhagen and Washington on several different military installations were 'unclear'.

'There's not so much that Greenland can do in regards to the Danish-US relationship and what they will do concerning the final responsibility,' she said.

In the end, the two countries would probably take joint responsibility for cleaning up the base, said Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen, an associate professor of science history at Aarhus University who has studied the Camp Century project.
But the insect has a long mouth, thought to be used for finding its food

Ant was dead and only one specimen was found, so information is limited

Frog was found in Ecuador, belongs to the species known as 'little devil'

Researchers found a new species of ant in the contents of a frog's stomach

Frog vomit might not strike you as the most exciting of substances.

But the contents of the amphibians' stomachs is a treasure trove for researchers hunting for new species of ants.

In the latest of these discoveries, scientists have identified a new species of ant in the vomit of a poisonous frog found in Ecuador.

Scientists have identified a new species of ant (pictured) in the vomit of a 'devil's frog', a poisonous frog found in Ecuador. The newly discovered ant, which is less than a quarter of an inch long, may use its long mouth to capture prey

THE NEW ANT SPECIES The new ant, Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, 'was discovered in a stomach content sample of the dendrobatid frog' the researchers, led by Professor Christian Rabeling, wrote. Since there is only one specimen of the ant and it is dead, little information is known about it. It has a long mouth, which could be used by the ant to catch even smaller animals hiding in crevices. Advertisement

The new ant, which is less than a quarter of an inch long, was found in the vomit from a species known as the little devil frog, or 'rana diablito' in Spanish.

Frogs can often be a good way to discover new species of insects, the researchers say, because they forage and can reach places humans cannot.

The scientists capture wild poisonous frogs, Oophaga sylvatica, and flush out their bellies.

Then they search the vomit to see what discoveries it could be hiding.

The researchers, from the University of Rochester in New York, described the ant in a paper published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The new ant, Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, 'was discovered in a stomach content sample of the dendrobatid frog' the researchers, led by Professor Christian Rabeling, wrote.

Poisonous frogs like the devil's frog get their toxic properties from organic compounds found in the ants they eat.

This means they are good at catching the insects, making them particularly useful to researchers hunting for ants.

The new ant was found in the vomit from a species known as the little devil frog, or 'rana diablito' in Spanish (example of the species pictured). Poisonous frogs like this get their toxic properties from the ants they eat

Since there is only one specimen of the ant, named Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, little information is known about it. It has a long mouth (pictured) which could be used by the ant to catch even smaller animals hiding in crevices

Professor Rabeling told National Geographic although some people think the planet has been explored as much as possible, 'nothing could be further from the truth'.

Since there is only one specimen of the ant and it is dead, little information is known about it.

It has a long mouth, which could be used by the ant to catch even smaller animals hiding in crevices.

There are now seven known species belonging to the Lenomyrmex genus that the ant is part of, and the researchers say this specimen combines features of a few of the others.

'This species is named in honour of our colleague and friend Bert Holldobler on the occasion of his 80th birthday,' the authors wrote.

'Because of Bert's passion for ants, his pioneering and high-caliber contributions to entomology and behavioral ecology, as well as his dedication to mentoring the next generation of myrmecologists, myrmecology [the study of ants] has become its own discipline in entomology, and continues to attract enthusiastic students who share Bert's love for ants.'

A dorsal view of the new ant species is shown. The insect is only a quarter of an inch (0.63 cm) long. There are now seven known species belonging to the Lenomyrmex genus the ant is part of, and the researchers say this specimen combines features of a few of the others

Geographic distribution of the ant genus Lenomyrmex in Central and South America. The new species, Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, was discovered in the stomach content of a frog found in Ecuador
It may still be recovering from the loss of a rockets on the launch pad earlier this month, but SpaceX is determined to press ahead with plans to send humans into space.

The firm test fired one of its new Raptor interplanetary transport engines which the company will use to carry astronauts to Mars.

The rocket engine is three times more powerful than the one on the Falcon 9 rockets. It will ultimately be used to launch SpaceXs manned spacecraft off our planet.

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SpaceX has test fired its a prototype of its new Raptor engine (pictured). The rocket engine is three times more powerful than those used in the company's Falcon 9 rockets. The new engines also use methane rather than kerosene

Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, said the rocket will be ultimately capable of producing thrust of 690,000lbs over 382 seconds.

ELON MUSK TO SET OUT HIS INTERPLANETARY PLANS When billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, he set his sights on the ultimate goal of colonising Mars. But now the firm's ambitious founder has hinted that he may have bold plans that go way beyond the red planet. He has said the vehicle his company has been developing to take humans to Mars could also be used to carry astronauts even further across the solar system. Writing on Twitter, Musk said: 'Turns out MCT [Mars Colonial Transporter] can go well beyond Mars, so will need a new name' SpaceX has now renamed the spacecraft the Interplanetary Transport System. SpaceX's Mars Colonial Transporter was initially being developed to carry astronauts and supplies to the surface of Mars to set up a base there. In the past, Musk has been highly secretive about his plans for SpaceX, but at the end of this month he is due to present some of his vision for the company at the International Astronautical Congress, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Advertisement

The engine is powered using liquid methane and liquid oxygen rather than the kerosene used in the Merlin engines of its Falcon 9 rockets.

Writing on Twitter, Mr Musk said: SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine.

He also posted an image highlighting mach diamonds  the diamond shaped shock waves that appear in jet flares  within the huge exhaust flame from the engine in the test at the McGregor rocket engine test facility Texas.

The rocket engine uses methane as they are much cleaner than the current kerosene engines.

SpaceX has also said it may be possible to obtain methane from natural sinks on the surface of Mars for refuelling ahead of return missions.

Earlier this month Mr Musk announced he intends his Mars Colonial Transporter, which was expected to carry astronauts to the red planet by 2020, could have capabilities elsewhere in the solar system.

SpaceX has now renamed the spacecraft as the Interplanetary Transport System.

Mr Musk is due to unveil more details of the spacecraft at the International Astronautical Congress later this month.

When SpaceX first announced the Raptor engine in 2010, nine of them were expected for be used to lift its Falcon X heavy lift vehicle into orbit.

The rocket (pictured during the tests) is designed to be cleaner than the current kerosene powered engines used in the Falcon 9 rocket. It will eventually be used on SpaceX's interplanetary transport system

Production Raptor goal is specific impulse of 382 seconds and thrust of 3 MN (~310 metric tons) at 300 bar  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2016

The companys plans have since evolved and it is expected to be used as part of the Interplanetary Transport System.

It has also been testing its Dragon 2 crew vehicle that it hopes will be used on missions to Mars.

The test, however, comes just three weeks after SpaceX lost one of its Falcon 9 rockets and the $200 million satellite it was carrying in an explosion on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

A large breach in the helium cryogenic system was detected just moments before a fireball engulfed the rocket, destroying the launch pad in the explosion.
Forget self-driving cars, soon you could be travelling around the city in self-driving drones.

The taxi-finding app Uber is researching the plausibility of using vertical takeoff aircraft to fly its customers around cities.

The technology could be available within a decade, according to Jeff Holden, head of products at Uber.

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Forget self-driving cars, soon you could be travelling around a city in self-driving drones. Artist's concept of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft being developed by Aurora Flight Sciences for the US military is shown

UBER'S DRONE PLAN Jeff Holden, head of products at Uber told Recode he has been researching the idea of self-driving drones, so the company 'can someday offer our customers as many options as possible to move around.' Mr Holden said landing on top of buildings in cities would help reduce commuting time and congestion dramatically. He said the technology could be in use as soon as the next ten years. Advertisement

The drones would be vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, machines with fixed wings and motors that can hover, take off and land vertically.

Mr Holden told Recode, at a conference in Nantucket, that he has been researching the idea, so the company 'can someday offer our customers as many options as possible to move around.

'Doing it in a three-dimensional way is an obvious thing to look at,' he added.

Mr Holden said landing on top of buildings in cities would help reduce commuting time and congestion dramatically.

He said the technology could be in use as soon as the next ten years.

The idea of a VTOL plane is not new.

For example, the US military's Darpa announced the latest winner of its vertical take-off and landing experimental aircraft project called VTOL X-plane earlier this year.

Previous vertical takeoff aircraft have struggled because of the difficulty in combining technology that helps the aircraft to fly quickly but also hover.

Characteristics that enable good hovering capabilities are completely different from those that enable fast forward flight.

Forget self-driving cars, soon you could be travelling around a city in self-driving drones. The taxi-finding app Uber is researching the plausibility of using vertical takeoff aircraft to fly its customers around cities

UBER'S SELF-DRIVING CARS Uber is now testing autonomous vehicles around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A fleet of hybrid Ford Fusions with the Uber logo is being used for mapping data of Steel City and testing self-driving capabilities on public streets. The hybrid Ford Fusions are equipped with a variety of sensor, radars and high-resolution cameras. While the cars are roaming around Pittsburgh, a trained driver will be seated in the driver's seat to monitor the vehicles' performance -- but the cars will be set in self-driving mode. Advertisement

Mr Holden has also been involved in Uber's recent push towards self-driving cars.

Two weeks ago Uber began testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

The fleet of self-driving Ford Fusions have been picking up Uber riders who opted to participate in a test program.

While the vehicles are loaded with features that allow them to navigate on their own, an Uber engineer will sit in the driver's seat and seize control if things go awry.

Uber's test program is the latest move in an increasingly heated race between tech companies in Silicon Valley and traditional automakers to perfect fully driverless cars for regular people.

'That pilot really pushes the ball forward for us,' said Raffi Krikorian, Director of Uber Advanced Technologies Center (ATC) in Pittsburgh, the company's main facility for testing self-driving vehicles.

'We think it can help with congestion, we think it can make transportation cheaper and more accessible for the vast majority of people.'
Genetic interaction occurs when two or more mutations in genes interact to produce an unexpected characteristic - with one affecting the other.

For example, two mutations, that would not be lethal by themselves, can combine to cause the death of a cell.

But the process by which genes and their mutations interact with each other is complex  as some are more likely to interact than others.

Now researchers from the University of Toronto have created the world's first map that shows how genes in a cell interact.

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Now researchers from the University of Toronto created the world's first map that shows how genes in a cell interact. This study, published in the journal Science, paves the way for a new way to study how genes contribute to diseases. The cell map is shown

This paper, published in the journal Science, paves the way for a new way to study how genes contribute to diseases - by looking at the effect of more than one gene at a time.

'Genome sequencing projects are providing an unprecedented view of genetic variation, the authors said in the study.

But our ability to predict the characteristics derived from genetic information is made more challenging because of genomes that are not essential to survival, they said.

THE GENE MAP Genetic interaction occurs when two or more mutations in genes interact to produce an unexpected characteristic - with one affecting the other. For example two mutations, that would not be lethal by themselves, can combine to cause the death of a cell. But the process by which genes and their mutations interact with each other is complex  as some are more likely to interact than others. Now researchers from the University of Toronto have created the world's first map that shows how genes in a cell interact. 'We've created a reference guide for how to chart genetic interactions in a cell,' said Michael Costanzo, a research associate who worked on the study. 'We can now tell what kind of properties to look for in searching for highly connected genes in human genetic networks with the potential to impact genetic diseases.' Advertisement

A study on yeast ten years ago found only one in five genes were essential to its survival.

Since then, research has found a fraction of our genes are essential in human cells too - most genes are 'buffered' to protect the cell from mutations and environmental stresses.

This makes it difficult when trying to work out which genes are responsible for certain phenotypes, particularly when interactions occur.

'Our ability to interpret genetic information to predict inherited phenotypes remains limited,' the authors said, 'in large part due to the extensive buffering of genomes, making most individual eukaryotic genes dispensable for life.'

The researchers used yeast genetics to develop their genetic network.

Genes with similar genetic interaction profiles are connected in a global network.

In the network, genes exhibiting more similar profiles are closer to each other, whereas genes with less similar profiles are positioned farther apart.

'We've created a reference guide for how to chart genetic interactions in a cell,' said Michael Costanzo, a research associate who worked on the study.

DNA (or deoxyribonucleic acid) is the molecule that carries the genetic information in all cellular forms of life and some viruses. The map begins to explain how thousands of genes coordinate with one another to orchestrate cellular life

The map begins to explain how thousands of genes coordinate with one another to orchestrate cellular life.

'We can now tell what kind of properties to look for in searching for highly connected genes in human genetic networks with the potential to impact genetic diseases.'

The finding could lead to a better understanding of genetic disorders.

'Genetic interactions...may also explain a considerable component of the undiscovered genetics associated with human diseases' the authors wrote.
The Air Forces long-range strike bomber that will replace the antique B-52's developed during the cold war has officially been named the B-21 Raider.

The all-black plane has a distinctive, zigzagging shape and a low profile designed to make it hard to spot on radar.

It is 'projected to enter service in the mid-2020s, building to a fleet of 100 aircraft.'

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The US Air Force on Friday unveiled the first image of its next-generation bomber that will replace antique B-52s first developed during the Cold War. The all-black plane has a distinctive, zigzagging shape and a low profile designed to make it hard to spot on radar

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT B-21 - The Air Force planning to introduce the aircraft in mid-2020s. -The all-black plane has a distinctive, zigzagging shape and a low profile designed to make it hard to spot on radar. - The bomber was previously known as the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) - The latest name, B-21, recognises the aircraft as the militarys first bomber of the 21st century, - It is designed to be launch from the continental US and deliver airstrikes on any location in the world. - While the new plane's specific capabilities are highly secret, it likely will be equipped with high-tech communications gear. -It will replace Air Force B-52 bombers, which have been flying for more than half a century - It will also eventually the B-1 bombers, when they retire sometime in the 2040s. Advertisement

The name was ultimately selected by James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein after a panel composed of staff from AFGSC and Headquarters Air Force determined the top-ranked selections from more than 2,100 unique naming submissions.

'The B-21 is intended to operate in both conventional and nuclear roles, with the capability of penetrating and surviving in advanced air defense environments,' The Air Force said.

'It will be capable of operation by an onboard crew or piloted remotely.'

Earlier this year the US Air Force unveiled the first image of its new stealth bomber when Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James provided the world with the first glimpse of the project using an artist's rendering.

The rendering bears more than a passing resemblance to the Air Force's B-2 bomber, which is also made by Northrop Grumman.

However the new document reveals it may not be that accurate.

'The released rendering shows a flying-wing design not dissimilar to the B-2, although simpler in shape.

'It resembles early proposed designs that later evolved into the B-2.'

The report also outlines the craft,s unmanned capabilities, saying 'Initial B-21s will be manned, with unmanned operation possible several years after initial operational capability (IOC).'

Nuclear qualification will also take two years or so after IOC, the report says.

It is designed to be launch from the continental US and deliver airstrikes on any location in the world.

At an earlier event in Orlando, James revealed the plane - previously known as the Long Range Strike Bomber - would be called the B-21 until a new name has been agreed on, and she invited air crews to help.

The designation B-21 recognises the aircraft as the militarys first bomber of the 21st century.

'This aircraft represents the future for our Airmen, and (their) voice is important to this process,' James told the Air Force Association's Air Warfare Symposium.

The new bomber is a high Air Force priority because the oldest ones in its fleet  the venerable B-52s  have far outlived their expected service life. Even the newest  the B-2 stealth bombers (pictured)  having been flying for more than two decades

The program has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception for fear of revealing military secrets to potential enemies.

The military also wanted to avoid giving the losing bidders any details before their formal protest was rejected last week.

The Air Force wants 100 of the warplanes, which will replace the ageing B-52s and the B-1 bombers that first saw action in the 1980s.

Industry news reports say that while the new plane's specific capabilities are highly secret, it likely will be equipped with high-tech communications gear and other electronics that would allow it to perform a variety of missions, not just dropping bombs.

The new bomber is a high Air Force priority because the oldest ones in its fleet  the venerable B-52s  have far outlived their expected service life.

Even the newest  the B-2 stealth bombers  having been flying for more than two decades.

A third bomber, the B-1, is used heavily for conventional strikes, but no longer is certified for nuclear missions.

The Pentagon in October announced Northrop as the winner of the contract to build the bomber in a decades-long program that will likely end up costing in excess of $100 billion.

But work on the new plane was delayed for months while federal auditors reviewed a protest by Boeing and its key supplier, Lockheed Martin.

Boeing has now told senior U.S. Air Force leaders that it will not take further legal action challenging the contract, Reuters said, citing two sources familiar with the decision.

The B-21 bomber will replace Air Force B-52 bombers, which have been flying for more than half a century. Pictured is the B-52 Stratofortress entered service in the 1950s

A pilot and co-pilot of a B-52 bomber in an image taken in 1972. These bombers are not out of date at the Air Force is looking to replace them with 100 B-21 bombers

The Air Force, under pressure from lawmakers and retired Air Force officers, has promised to release more information about the new plane in March.

And the program has now survived the legal protest process, it still faces hurdles in Congress.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Thursday said he would block the Air Force's use of a cost-plus type of contract for the long-range bomber since it holds the government responsible for cost overruns.

The Air Force says that only the engineering and development phase of the program, valued at $21.4 billion, is structured as a cost-plus contract with incentive fees.

Analysts say the program will be worth around $80 billion in total, providing a boon to Northrop and its key suppliers, but the Air Force has said only that it expects to pay $511 million per plane.

John Michael Loh, a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general, has urged the Air Force to name Northrop's suppliers to shore up support in Congress, and avoid a re-run of the B-2 bomber program, which was scaled back from 132 planes to just 21, which drove the price of each plane sharply higher.
In 2013, researchers uncovered the site of an ancient cemetery in Switzerland dating back to the early Middle Ages, with 342 bodies laid to rest between the 8th and 17th centuries.

But, buried slightly apart from the rest, the archaeologists made a bizarre discovery  a skeleton lying face-down in its grave.

Through X-ray analysis of a purse found alongside the body, researchers have determined that the man may have been a traveling merchant buried in haste after death from disease or even murder.

buried slightly apart from the rest, the archaeologists made a bizarre discovery at the site of an ancient cemetery in Switzerland a skeleton lying face-down in its grave. X-ray analysis of a purse found alongside the body suggests the man may have been a traveling merchant

THE MYSTERIOUS BURIAL The face-down skeleton was discovered at an ancient cemetery dating back to the early Middle Ages. Alongside the body, researchers also found a knife and the remains of a purse, containing several coins that had merged into a single block of metal over the years. X-ray analysis revealed 24 individual coins from various regions, the most recent dating to 1629. Researchers say it is unlikely the man was robbed before his death  but, they say murder is not yet off the table. Several theories have attempted to explain the mysterious circumstances leading to this unusual burial, and archaeologists say it may have been done in a hurry. This may have been the result of an infectious disease or even murder in an act of revenge, prompting immediate burial. Advertisement

The cemetery was discovered in the Bernese Lakeland region during early construction on a new underground garage beside a churchyard in the village of Schupfen.

Researchers say the face-down skeleton was among the last 15 bodies of the 342 to be buried at the site.

According to Christian Weiss, a numismatic expert with the Archaeological Services of Canton Bern, this type of burial is quite unusual.

Alongside the body, researchers also found a knife and the remains of a purse, containing several coins that had merged into a single block of metal over the years.

As these coins were far too fragile to separate, the team used a high resolution detector and a new instrument known as the DETECT  an x-ray computer tomograph  to take precise measurements of the artefacts.

The block of coins isnt very big but it absorbs a great deal of energy, so we needed a very powerful source of x-rays, says Mathieu Plamondon, one of Empas x-ray specialists.

We didnt know how well it would work though, because it was the very first time we had made a measurement with the new instrument.

Alongside the body, researchers also found a knife and the remains of a purse, containing several coins that had merged into a single block of metal over the years, pictured

As these coins were far too fragile to separate, the team used a high resolution detector and a new instrument known as the DETECT  an x-ray computer tomograph  to take precise measurements of the artefacts. An x-ray image showing the first details is pictured

The analysis revealed 24 individual coins in the ancient block of metal.

Some were stamped on one side, and others on both, and some coins were made of two different kinds of metal.

And, one was made of pure silver.

By virtually manipulating the data from the x-rays, the researcher was able to reveal the embossed images and text on the coins.

The most recent one dates to 1629, indicating the man was buried during the 17th century, and several coins could be traced to different areas of distinct local circulation.

The first images taken through conventional x-rays revealed little about the coins, as seen above. The block of coins isnt very big but it absorbs a great deal of energy, so we needed a very powerful source of x-rays, said Mathieu Plamondon, one of Empas x-ray specialists

By virtually manipulating the data from the x-rays, the researcher was also able to reveal the embossed images and text on the coins. The most recent was dates to 1629, indicating the man was buried during the 17th century, and the coins could be traced to various areas

It is possible he was a traveling merchant, Weiss explains, because we found coins in the purse from the Fribourg-Bern-Solothurn, Basel-Freiburg in Breisgau and Luzern-Schwyz regions.

Taken together, the coins are really just small change. There is nothing in the purse equivalent in value to, say, a hundred franc note today.

Despite the low value of the coins, the researcher says it is unlikely the man was robbed before his death  but, they say murder is not yet off the table.

Several theories have attempted to explain the mysterious circumstances leading to this unusual burial, and archaeologists say it may have been done in a hurry.
They were dismissed as stupid and primitive by the archaeologists who first studied their fossilised bones, but it seems Neanderthals may have been just as chatty as our own species.

Researchers have discovered evidence that suggests Neanderthals may have used vocal communication just like our own species Homo sapiens.

They used 3D scans to analyse the delicate ear bones from both the fossilised remains of Neanderthals and modern humans.

Scientists have found evidence that suggests Neanderthals (reconstruction pictured) may have communicated vocally in similar ways to modern humans. Analysis of their ears suggest they had similar auditory sensitivity that would have allowed them to listen to speech

Using highly detailed 'micro-CT' scans they were able to reconstruct how the ear bones, or ossicles, would have functioned when Neanderthals were alive.

WORLD'S OLDEST BLING Neanderthals may have created and worn the world's first jewellery 130,000 years ago. Eight talons belonging to a white-tailed eagle were found at Krapina in Croatia. Researchers say multiple cut marks and signs that they were polished suggest they were used to create a necklace or bracelet. They were found at site once inhabited by Neanderthals. Dr David Frayer, an anthropologist at the University Kansas who led the study of the talons, said they appear to have been made into symbolic jewellery 80,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe. Advertisement

They showed that while their ear anatomy was slightly different from those of modern humans, they would have functioned in the same way.

This would have given Neanderthals similar auditory sensitivity to modern humans.

Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Jean-Jacque Hublin, a paleoanthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and his colleagues said: 'Our results show striking differences between Neanderthal and anatomically modern human ossicles.

'Despite distinct differences in ossicle morphology, functionally relevant parameters of the ossicles and the surrounding middle ear structures are largely similar between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals, particularly compared with the African apes.

'These functionally equivalent solutions could indicate selective pressures acting on the middle ear for conserving a similar auditory sensitivity inherited from the last common ancestor of anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals.

'It may suggest consistent aspects of vocal communication in the two species.'

Researchers used micro-CT scanners to build up detailed 3D digital models of the ear bones from anatomically modern humans, Neandethals, chimpanzees and gorillas (pictured)

They found while there differences between the structure of the ossicles of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (illustrated), they appear to function together in similar ways

The researchers analysed the ear bones from 14 Neanderthals and constructed 3D digital models to examine how they would have functioned within the ear.

They claim the differences in ear bone structure appear to relate to the differences in brain size that can be seen in Neanderthals.

Many researchers believed Neanderthals were a slow-witted and primitive species of early human that only communicated through grunts.

But some research has indicated Neanderthals may well have had the ability to speak.

Genetic research carried out nearly 10 years ago found the same FOXP2 gene in DNA isolated from Neanderthal remains as the one that is found in modern humans.

The researchers found that the middle ears of modern humans (left) and Neanderthals (right) appear to function in similar ways

This gene is essential in humans for the development of speech and vocal communication.

Mice that are given the human version of this gene show enhanced abilities to learn.

Recent research has also shown Neanderthals may have made jewellery and perhaps had sophisticated culture.

Professor Hublin said it appears the differences seen in modern humans and Neanderthals are more due to separate paths of evolution rather than a sign that one species is more advanced than the other.

He said: 'Our findings should also be the basis for future research on the evolution of complex human spoken language.'
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Hubble has spotted giant plumes of water 125 miles high erupting from the surface of Europa, raising hopes it could hold life in a vast underground ocean engulfing the moon.

The new images 'indicate a global saline liquid water ocean engulfs the moon at the present time hidden under miles of ice,' NASA said.

It increases the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa's ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.

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This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o'clock position off the limb of Jupiter's moon Europa. The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014. The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions.

WHAT THEY FOUND The plumes, photographed by NASA's Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble's ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features - rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa's icy surface - to be discerned. The water is believed to come from a subsurface ocean on Europa. Advertisement

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.

'For a long time humanity has been wondering whether there has been life elsewhere,' said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington

'We are lucky to live in an era where we can address that scienticically

'On earth life is found wherever there is energy water and nutrients

'So we have special interest in any place that might possess those characteristics, and Europa might be such a place.

'Todays results increase our confidence that water and other materials from Europas hidden ocean under miles of ice might be on the surface of Europa might be available to study without digging under miles of ice.

If the finding is confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system where water plumes have been detected.

The Cassini spacecraft previously spied jets erupting from the surface of the Saturn moon Enceladus.

'Europa's ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,' said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

'These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa's subsurface.'

These images relate to the probability the plume features are real. Ten transit images of Europa were obtained and statistically significant evidence for off-limb features, possibly plumes, was found on three occasions.

The plumes, photographed by NASA's Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble's ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features - rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa's icy surface - to be discerned.

The water is believed to come from a subsurface ocean on Europa.

The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014.

The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions.

Artist's conception of ridges and fractures on EuropaTeleconference on Findings From Jupiter's Moon Europa

The plumes are estimated to rise about 125 miles (200 kilometers) before, presumably, raining material back down onto Europa's surface.

Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth's oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness.

The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice.

The team, led by William Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore observed these finger-like projections while viewing Europa's limb as the moon passed in front of Jupiter.

HOW A HIDDEN OCEAN CAUSES GIANT PLUMES Hubble's ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features - rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa's icy surface - to be discerned Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth's oceans. However, it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness. The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice. The plumes, photographed by NASA's Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble's ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features - rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa's icy surface - to be discerned. The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice. Europa transit movie, animated GIF. Hubble time-lapse sequence of images showing Europa crossing in front of Jupiter while Jupiter moves and rotates behind Europa. This image is taken in near ultraviolet light. Credits: NASA, ESA, W. Sparks (STScI) Advertisement

The original goal of the team's observing proposal was to determine whether Europa has a thin, extended atmosphere, or exosphere.

Using the same observing method that detects atmospheres around planets orbiting other stars, the team realized if there was water vapor venting from Europa's surface, this observation would be an excellent way to see it.

A comparison of 2014 transit and 2012 Europa aurora observations. The raw transit image, left, has dark fingers or patches of possible absorption in the same place that a different team (led by Lorenz Roth) found auroral emission from hydrogen and oxygen, the dissociation products of water.

'The atmosphere of an extrasolar planet blocks some of the starlight that is behind it,' Sparks explained.

'If there is a thin atmosphere around Europa, it has the potential to block some of the light of Jupiter, and we could see it as a silhouette.

'And so we were looking for absorption features around the limb of Europa as it transited the smooth face of Jupiter.'

In 10 separate occurrences spanning 15 months, the team observed Europa passing in front of Jupiter.

They saw what could be plumes erupting on three of these occasions.

This work provides supporting evidence for water plumes on Europa. In 2012, a team led by Lorenz Roth of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, detected evidence of water vapor erupting from the frigid south polar region of Europa and reaching more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) into space.

Europa transit illustration. Europa orbits Jupiter every 3 and a half days, and on every orbit it passes in front of Jupiter, raising the possibility of plumes being seen as silhouettes absorbing the background light of Jupiter.

Although both teams used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph instrument, each used a totally independent method to arrive at the same conclusion.

'When we calculate in a completely different way the amount of material that would be needed to create these absorption features, it's pretty similar to what Roth and his team found,' Sparks said.

What Europa's surface could look like: Another scenario for delivering water to Europa's surface. Artist's conception of chaos terrain on EuropaTeleconference on Findings From Jupiter's Moon Europa

'The estimates for the mass are similar, the estimates for the height of the plumes are similar. The latitude of two of the plume candidates we see corresponds to their earlier work.'

But as of yet, the two teams have not simultaneously detected the plumes using their independent techniques.

'Observations thus far have suggested the plumes could be highly variable, meaning that they may sporadically erupt for some time and then die down.

For example, observations by Roth's team within a week of one of the detections by Sparks' team failed to detect any plumes.

Comparison of Europa (right) geology to Enceladus (left) geology. Europa - 972 miles (1,565 kilometers) radius, has complex geology

If confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system known to have water vapor plumes.

In 2005, NASA's Cassini orbiter detected jets of water vapor and dust spewing off the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Many speculated that Nasa could finally be announcing evidence of life beyond Earth.

The space agency, however, has poured cold water over these claims, tweeting that the much anticipated announcement will not be related to aliens, causing engineer Bobak Jerowski to tweet it was 'Getting a really awesome birthday present, but knowing by the box it's not the robot best friend you always wanted

Jupiter's sixth-closest moon Europa lies 500 million miles from the sun and has an ocean lying beneath its surface which makes it one of the most likely places in the solar system for life to thrive.

Nasa categorically stated in a later tweet that the discovery, which is due to be revealed on Monday is 'NOT aliens'

Because Europa has the potential to have more liquid water than we have on Earth, some had speculated that the surprise reveal could be evidence for life.

The 1,900-mile-wide (3,100 km) moon harbors a huge ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell.

Astronomers think this ocean is in contact with Europa's rocky mantle, making all sorts of interesting chemical reactions a possibility.

Instead of direct evidence of life, however, experts have said it is more likely to be a step towards finding it.

The announcement could be related to faint plumes of water spotted on the moon back in 2012. This graphic shows the location of water vapor detected over Europa's south pole in December 2012

JUPITER'S ICY MOON EUROPA Jupiter's icy moon Europa is slightly smaller than Earth's moon. Europa orbits Jupiter every 3.5 days and is tidally locked - just like Earth's Moon - so that the same side of Europa faces Jupiter at all times. It is thought to have an iron core, a rocky mantle and a surface ocean of salty water, like Earth. Unlike on Earth, however, this ocean is deep enough to cover the whole surface of Europa, and being far from the sun, the ocean surface is globally frozen over. Many experts believe the hidden ocean surrounding Europa, warmed by powerful tidal forces caused by Jupiter's gravity, may have conditions favourable for life. Advertisement

This is an artist's concept of a plume of water vapour thought to be ejected off the frigid, icy surface of the Jovian moon Europa, about 500 million miles (800 million km) from the sun

WHO WILL SPEAK AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at Nasa Headquarters in Washington. William Sparks, astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Britney Schmidt, assistant professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Jennifer Wiseman, senior Hubble project scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Advertisement

The announcement could be related to faint plumes of water spotted on the moon back in 2012.

Hubble used a spectrograph to see normally invisible plumes of water vapour, shown in pictures as blue pixels above the moon.

'By far the simplest explanation for this water vapour is that it erupted from plumes on the surface of Europa,' lead author Lorenz Roth of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio said at the time.

'If those plumes are connected with the subsurface water ocean we are confident exists under Europa's crust, then this means that future investigations can directly investigate the chemical makeup of Europa's potentially habitable environment without drilling through layers of ice.

'And that is tremendously exciting.'

Bill McKinnon, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, told Business Insider the announcement is likely to be connected to these plumes.

'A plume confirmation would be a great thing,' McKinnon added, but 'I have no insider knowledge.'
After years of secrecy, Blue Origin and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos finally unveiled their New Glenn 'megarocket' earlier this month.

Now, Bezos has revealed the latest progress on the project with a series of wind tunnel pictures showing the 'New Glenn' in different configurations, taking a leaf out of Elon Musk's book.

Named after the first US astronaut to orbit Earth, the 'New Glenn' launcher is larger than SpaceX's future Heavy rocket and is set to visit the final frontier by the end of the decade.

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The spacecraft come in two stages that are designed with half the power of Nasa's Saturn V launcher, and will bring Blue Origin one-step closer to its goal of 'millions of people living and working in space'. Bezos said the tests had validated the design.

Bezos revealed the models have been in testing for three weeks, and have been a total success.

'Exciting results from 3 weeks of wind tunnel testing of #NewGlenn at transonic & supersonic speeds. Validated our CFD.'

It came just hours after Elon Musk tweeted images of SpaceX's latest rocket tests.

The spacecraft come in two stages that are designed with half the power of Nasa's Saturn V launcher, and will bring Blue Origin one-step closer to its goal of 'millions of people living and working in space'.

A second picture revealed the bottom of the rocket

Called 'New Glenn', this launcher comes in two stages that makes it larger than SpaceX's future Heavy rocket.

'New Glenn 3-stage' is 23-feet in diameter and stands 313 feet tall.

Bezos, left and Musk, right are locked in a battle to create reusable rocket systems

And 'New Glenn 2-stage' is also 23-feet in diameter, but measures 270 feet tall.

Blue Origin's announcement comes at a crucial time for the commercial space industry, The Washington Post reports.

Bezos also revealed the test had been a complete success.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic performed the first test flight for its latest spacecraft last week, SpaceShipTwo, which will conduct public trips into space and charge customers a fee.

SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine pic.twitter.com/vRleyJvBkx  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 26 September 2016

However, in the same week, the world watched in horror when SpaceX's Falcon 9 burst into flames on the Cape Canaveral launch pad during a routine check for its long awaited trip.

But Bezos appears to be hopeful in today's announcement - 'our vision is millions of people living and working in space, and New Glenn is a very important step,' he wrote in an email to the Washington Post.

BEZOS' NEW ROCKETS Blue Origin and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has unveiled a new rocket that will launch payloads and people into orbit. Called 'New Glenn', this launcher comes in two stages that makes it larger than SpaceX's future Heavy rocket. 'New Glenn 3-stage' is 23-feet in diameter and stands 313 feet tall. And 'New Glenn 2-stage' is also 23-feet in diameter, but measures 270 feet tall. Each stage lifts off with 3.85 million pounds of thrust from seven BE-4 engines. A single vacuum-optimized BE-3 engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, will power New Glenn's third stage. However,the booster and the second stage are identical in both variants. Blue Origin plans to fly New Glenn by the end of the decade from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It's been years in the making and now, Blue Origin and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has unveiled a new rocket that will launch payloads and people into orbit. The 'New Glenn' rockets are larger than SpaceX's future Heavy rockets and will fly by the end of the decade Advertisement

Blue Origin has always aimed at moving its vehicles into the space tourism market and the New Glenn, named in honor of astronaut John Glenn, are key players for this plan.

Both stages are 23-feet in diameter, but the 'New Glenn 3-stage' is 313 feet tall, whereas 'New Glenn 2-stage measures 270-feet.

And each stage lifts off with 3.85 million pounds of thrust from seven BE-4 engines.

A single vacuum-optimized BE-3 engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, will power New Glenn's third stage, according to Bezos.

However,the booster and the second stage are identical in both variants.

'New Glenn is designed to launch commercial satellites and to fly humans into space,' Bezos wrote.

Blue Origin's announcement comes at a crucial time for the commercial space industry. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic performed the first test flight for its latest spacecraft last week, SpaceShipTwo 9pictured), which will conduct public trips into space

THE RACE TO BUILD REUSABLE ROCKETS Reusable rockets would cut costs and waste in the space industry, which currently loses millions of dollars in jettisoned machinery after each launch. Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency are also developing similar technology and are in testing stages. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post newspaper, said last month that Blue Origin expects to begin crewed test flights of the New Shepard, the company's flagship rocket, next year and begin flying paying passengers as early as 2018. SpaceX has managed to land four rockets from space back on Earth, three on sea and one on land, while Blue Origin's New Shepard successfully completed a third launch and vertical landing in April this year. The Indian space agency also hopes to develop its own frugal shuttle, as it seeks to cash in on a huge and lucrative demand from other countries to send up their satellites, after a successful test launch last month. The New Glenn rockets will also be designed similar to Blue Origin's New Shepard (pictured) in that it will also be reusable, which Bezos says will cut costs for space travel Advertisement

'The three-stage variantwith its high specific impulse hydrogen upper stageis capable of flying demanding beyond-LEO missions.'

Just like Blue Origin's smaller BE-3 engine and New Shepard Propulsion module, both of the new rockets and their engines are reusable.

Bezos sees this method as a way to lower the costs of space travel.

And he hopes to make space travel as routine as airplane flights.

SpaceX has test fired its a prototype of its new Raptor engine (pictured). The rocket engine is three times more powerful than those used in the company's Falcon 9 rockets. The new engines also use methane rather than kerosene

Blue Origin plans to fly New Glenn by the end of the decade from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

And will use these rockets solely to launch commercial satellites and fly humans into space, Bezos writes.

'Our vision is millions of people living and working in space, and New Glenn is a very important step,' he shares.

'It won't be the last of course. Up next on our drawing board: New Armstrong. But that's a story for the future.'
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Bell has unveiled a radical new tiltrotor drone that could be launched from warships to carry out attacks automatically.

Called the V-247 Vigilant, Bell says it will 'combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft'.

It boasts the craft could be in service by 2023, and is able to take off from anywhere - even a dangerous ship's deck.

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Called the V-247 Vigilant,Bell says it will 'combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft'.

VIGILANT SPECS Single engine tiltrotor unmanned aerial system 250 knots cruise speed; 180 knots endurance speed; >300 knots at maximum continuous power Combat range: 450 nautical miles mission radius Time on station: 11 hours Can hold a combination of fuel, armament, and sensors, up to 13,000 pounds Air-to-air refueling Advertisement

'The Bell V-247 Vigilant is the next leap in innovation making the future of aviation a reality today  it's a testament to the power and versatility of tiltrotor flight,' said Mitch Snyder, president and CEO at Bell Helicopter.

'The unmanned tiltrotor is the latest example of how we are changing the way the world flies, taking our customers into the dynamic world of next-generation aircraft.'

The aviation giant says the UAS is designed to provide 'unmatched long-endurance persistent expeditionary and surveillance capability and lethal reach, as well as runway independence to operate successfully in maritime environments and locations without secure runway availability.'

The bays on the Bell V-247 Vigilant are designed to carry high definition sensors, fuel, sonar buoys, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) modules, 360-degree surface radar modules, an MK-50 torpedo or Hellfire or JAGM missiles optimally.

With its signature blade fold wing stow design, it will fit inside a DDG hangar space, and two can be loaded on a C-17 aircraft.

'Leveraging lessons learned from our extensive history and experience with tiltrotors, we have found the best available solution to fulfill the Marine Corps need for a Group 5 UAS,' said Vince Tobin, vice president, advanced tiltrotor systems at Bell Helicopter.

'The Bell V-247 Vigilant will give military customers the capabilities needed to reduce the complexity of deployment, increase speed of employment, reduce mission times and increase response time  all critical elements to completing missions to save lives and protect our freedom.'

The aviation giant says the UAS is designed to provide 'unmatched long-endurance persistent expeditionary and surveillance capability and lethal reach, as well as runway independence to operate successfully in maritime environments and locations without secure runway availability.'

Two teams - Sikorsky-Boeing with their Defiant, and Bell Helicopter-Lockheed Martin with their V280, are also vying for the lucractive contract to create a manned version of the 'supercopter'.

Both are set to take off for the first time next year in the final stage of the battle to replace the Black Hawk.

The Bell Helicopter design, which is called the V-280 Valor, is an advanced tilt-rotor design that is based upon technology similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey

The Sikorsky-Boeing entry, called the SB-1 Defiant, is a compound helicopter design with co-axial rotors and a pusher-propeller

COMPETITORS AT A GLANCE The Sikorsky-Boeing entry, called the SB-1 Defiant, is a compound helicopter design with co-axial rotors and a pusher-propeller. The Bell Helicopter design, which is called the V-280 Valor, is an advanced tilt-rotor design that is based upon technology similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. The new tilt-rotor is smaller, faster and much more manoeuvrable than the Osprey and has a top speed of over 300 knots. Advertisement

The two prototype aircraft will be built and flown as part of a project called the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstrator Air Vehicle, which will then inform the Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program to replace the long-serving Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64E Apache.

The FVL program will also inform the US Navy's MH-XX program to replace the MH-60 Seahawk.

Bell revealed this week it believes it's entrant could enter service in 2024.

'There's no real technology that needs to be further developed for us to be able to design and develop an aircraft that meets those requirements,' said Vince Tobin, Bell's vice president of advanced tiltrotor systems, according to DefenceOne.

'Our big push now is that, after we fly this and prove out that we can build this aircraft, that we are ready to go into engineering and manufacturing development.'

The Sikorsky-Boeing team is also hoping to fly in 2017, said Doug Shidler, Sikorsky's program director for its Joint Multi-Role tech demonstrator.

'The intent of the JMR TD effort is to maximize the knowledge gain and risk reduction toward an anticipated Future Vertical Lift acquisition program,' said Dan Bailey, the Army's JMR/FVL program director when the two finalists were announced.

Two other teams led by Karem Aircraft and AVX Aircraft were not selected for continued development, but the service is still interested in their technologies.

'The Army will seek to continue technology development efforts with those teams based on resources and opportunities,' the service said.

The Sikorsky-Boeing entry, called the SB-1 Defiant, is a compound helicopter design with co-axial rotors and a pusher-propeller.

The Bell Helicopter design, which is called the V-280 Valor, is an advanced tilt-rotor design that is based upon technology similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey.

The new tilt-rotor is smaller, faster and much more manoeuvrable than the Osprey and has a top speed of over 300 knots.

The Future Vertical Lift (FVL) is a program to develop a family of military helicopters for the United States Armed Forces.

The Bell Helicopter design, which is called the V-280 Valor, is an advanced tilt-rotor design that is based upon technology similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey.

The Bell V280 program completed its final design and risk review period in August, and construction has already begun.

Four different sizes of aircraft are to be developed, and they will share common hardware such as sensors, avionics, engines, and weapons.

It will eventually lead to replacements for the Army's UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook, and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters.

The precursor for FVL is the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) helicopter program, which will provide technology demonstrations planned for 2017.

Chris Gehler, director of Bell Helicopter's advanced tilt-rotor systems, said the V280 program completed its final design and risk review period in August. Spirit Aerosystems has completed building the fuselage in Wichita, Kansas, and shipped it to Amarillo just before AUSA.

'This is real. The aircraft is coming together now,' Gehler told Defense News.

Spirit Aerosystems has completed building the fuselage in Wichita, Kansas, and shipped it to Amarillo ahead of flight tests in 2017

THE DEFIANT-1 The Sikorsky-Boeing entry, called the SB-1 Defiant, is a compound helicopter design with co-axial rotors and a pusher-propeller. The design will have a cruise speed of 250 kn (290 mph; 460 km/h), but less range due to using the 'old' T55 engine. The SB-1 will be quick and nimble, with fast acceleration and deceleration, side-to-side movement, and hovering with the tail up and nose down. The Defiant demonstrator will be powered by the Honeywell T55, which powers the CH-47 Chinook. It will be slightly modified to better operate at slower speeds down to 85% rpm. Advertisement

'We've got all kinds of pieces and parts, different technologies and things that are yielding today and starting to flow to Amarillo.'

'About this time next year,' he said, the aircraft will look ready to fly and the team will be running pre-flight checks, ground runs, shake tests and other reliability activities.

The U.S. Army-led Joint Multi-Role Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program is the science and technology precursor to the Department of Defense's Future Vertical Lift program expected to replace 2,000 to 4,000 medium-class utility and attack helicopters.

The U.S. Army and Department of Defense are seeking leap-ahead capabilities and have identified a speed of 230+ knots as a key discriminating capability.
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Samuel Johnson once said that when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, but for anyone struggling to find something to pique their interest in the British capital these days, a new book featuring 60 unusual places to explore in the city might just do the trick.

London Uncovered, which was created by the award-winning photographer Peter Dazeley and writer Mark Daly, describes the history of various interesting, yet overlooked, buildings around the capital.

The book features Londons lesser-known institutions, buildings, homes, shops, museums and attractions, that have slipped under the radar despite their extensive beauty and wealth of culture.

Items in the book that are guaranteed to take a visitor's breath away include a Tooting Gala Bingo hall that is housed in an old cinema, the Normansfield Theatre in Teddington, which has remained untouched since 1879, and the umbrella and walking stick shop James Smith & Sons, which dates from the early 19th century.

Daly said: '"Uncovered" does not mean the disclosure of a private place, because these buildings and sites are all available to visit without special insider access - the common thread throughout is largely the photographers ability to uncover a fresh perspective on a special piece of London.

'The subjects are eclectic, encompassing buildings, monuments in plain sight and walks, with some places famous and others obscure.'

The Rivoli Ballroom was unveiled in the early 1960s, with a mixture of French, Chinese and disco styles all working together

Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir in Wembley was completed in 2010, and its intricate carvings always make an impression on first-time visitors

Wimbledon windmill was one of the first industrial buildings in Britain to undergo preservation, conversion and restoration

Kempton Steam Museum contains two triple-expansion engines - said to be the most sophisticated reciprocating steam engines ever built

The historic John Lobb shoe shop in St James's was set up in 1849 and it has been a go-to store for celebrities, royalty and politicians ever since

James Smith & Sons is an umbrella and walking stick shop on New Oxford Street. Part of the interior dates from the 1880s, when the store was already 50 years old

Lassco, Brunswick House, is a 250-year-old mansion in Vauxhall that is the flagship store of the London Architectural Salvage and Supply Company

The Gala Bingo Club in Tooting was once the home of a 1930's cinema, which features a Venetian Gothic interior designed by designer-director Theodore Komisarjevsky

The Normansfield Theatre in Teddington is an 1879 theatre that looks exactly the same as it did more than 130 years ago

Leighton House Museum is the former home and studio of Victorian painter Lord Frederick Leighton
Bangkok has beaten London to be crowned the world's most popular travel destination this year.

The sprawling metropolis is projected to receive 21.47 million international visitors in 2016, just ahead of second-ranked London, with 19.88 million visitors.

Thailand's capital, also known as the 'city of angels', topped the 2016 listing of 132 cities ranked by Mastercard; beating London, Paris and Dubai to become the city most visited by international travellers.

Sprawling Bangkok (pictured) is projected to receive 21.47 million international visitors in 2016, kicking London off the top spot this year

Tourism has been one of the rare bright spots for Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which has grappled with weak consumer confidence and exports after a 2014 coup the military said was aimed at ending months of political unrest.

Not to mention last month's wave of bomb blasts in southern Thailand - which police have blamed on Muslim separatists, and which appears to have had a limited impact on tourism.

'It isn't a flash in the pan. Bangkok is in a strong position to be the top destination city for a long time,' Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Mastercard chief economist, told Reuters.

'There's the value for money, especially for visitors coming from high-income countries.'

The British capital topped the 2015 ranking of global destinations, but this year lost out with a projected 19.88 million visitors in 2016

Thailand expects to welcome a record 33 million visitors this year, thanks to a jump in the number of Chinese tourists.

'The pollution makes it a less than ideal city to stay long term, but the food is second to none,' said James Donnelly, 31, a tourist from Britain who was visiting the city on his way to Vietnam.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Japanese city of Osaka has shown the strongest growth in international visitors over the past seven years.

The Japanese city of Osaka (pictured) has shown the strongest growth in international visitors over the past seven years - mainly from China and South Korea

It has been reportedly been attracting tourists from neighbouring countries, particularly China and South Korea.

The British capital topped the 2015 ranking of global destinations, but Mastercard did not say why some of its shine had rubbed off for travellers this year.

The two cities have topped the ranking for most of its history.

THE TOP 20 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS 1. Bangkok  21.47m 2. London  19.88m 3. Paris  18.03m 4. Dubai  15.27m 5. New York  12.75m 6. Singapore  12.11m 7. Kuala Lumpur  12.02m 8. Istanbul  11.95m 9. Tokyo  11.70m 10. Seoul  11.20m 11. Hong Kong  8.37m 12. Barcelona  8.2m 13. Amsterdam  8m 14. Milan  7.65m 15. Taipei  7.35m 16. Rome  7.12m 17. Osaka  7.02m 18. Vienna  6.69m 19. Shanghai  6.12m 20. Prague  5.81m Advertisement
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A new book documenting the different places where people lay their head at night has provided a fascinating insight into the difference in cultures around the world.

My Room Project was the brainchild of the South African filmmaker and photographer John Thackwray, who has spent the past six years travelling the globe to take pictures of people in the rooms where they sleep.

The project started with his friends in Paris in 2010 and he has since gone on to photograph subjects in 55 countries, including Thailand, Iran, the US, Bolivia and Russia.

A new book documenting the different places where people lay their head at night has now photographed 1200 people in 55 countries. Pictured: Pema in Kathmandu, Nepal

My Room Project was the brainchild of the South African filmmaker and photographer John Thackwray. Pictured: Mohamad in Saint Catherine, Egypt, left, and Oleg from Novosibirsk in Russia, right

Speaking about the project to MailOnline Travel, Thackwray said that he started taking the pictures because he was curious about different lifestyles.

He said: 'I was curious about lifestyle and culture - about how people of my age were living and how the world is mutating.

'The project has never photographed 1200 candidates of 55 countries.'

While all of the countries Thackwray visited featured interesting bedrooms, he believes that some of the experiences were especially strong because of the life stories of the subjects.

Thackwray, who has spent the last six years travelling the globe to take pictures of people in the rooms where they sleep. Pictured: Lalu from Varanasi in India, left, and Ryoko from Tokyo in Japan, right

The project started with his friends in Paris in 2010. Pictured here is Elahe in her bedroom in Tehran, Iran

He said: 'The Syrian and Palestinian refugee camps were really sad, as was the Rwanda youth who had experienced the 1994 genocide as a child and lost all their family.

'Photographing young "narcos" in a North Mexico jail who talked to me about redemption was a memorable and strong experience too.

'But I was also impress by the spirituality in India, and the craziness of the Japanese.'

Thackwray said that he started taking the pictures because he was curious about different lifestyles. Pictured is Yuan from Dali in China

Despite many stark differences from nation to nation, Thackwray says that thanks to modern technology, most people are connected through the internet nowadays. Pictured is Osia in Ha Selomo, Lesotho

Despite many stark differences from nation to nation, Thackwray says that thanks to modern technology, most people are connected through the internet nowadays.

He said: 'Most of them share an access to Internet and social network, including Saudi young women and farmers in the African bush.

'This is definitely the connected generation, which has also allowed me to stay in touch with most of them.'

Marcello from La Paz in Bolivia smiles at the camera while sat on a brightly-coloured mattress, surrounded by various instruments and craft work

Thackwray said he was impressed by the spirituality in India and the craziness of the Japanese. Pictured is Ronia from Chitungwiza in Zimbabwe, left, and Asha, from Bamansemilya in India, right

But that is where the similarities end according to Thackwray, who has learned a number of lessons about the world since embarking on the project.

He said: 'I definitely would say that the world is unfair.

'I would also say that many people confuse poverty and violence - poor communities are not necessarily violent, and violence is much harder, specially for women.

'I also feel that many people always confuse comfort and happiness, because I've see more smiles in poor countries and much more depression in developed countries.'

The My Room Project book will be published later this year.

Thackwray said he has learned a number of lessons about the world since embarking on the project, including that the world is unfair. Pictured is Maleeq from New York, left, and Fha from Ban Saingam in Thailand, right
They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but it appears that in the world of travel - that's exactly what happens.

Globetrotter Matt Meltzer from Miami investigated what would happen if he wore a luxury timepiece, by hiring one for 116 ($150) a month from a company called Eleven James.

The writer found that he received extremely different treatment with a pricey watch on his wrist, with first-class upgrades, dinner invites and flirtatious women among the perks.

Bit of bling: Matt Meltzer investigated what would happen if he wore a luxury timepiece by hiring one for 116 ($150) a month from a company called Eleven James (stock image)

Writing about his experience for Thrillist, Meltzer revealed that almost everyone he met seemed somewhat fixated by the watches he wore.

Over the course of the social experiment, he wore an 8,116 ($10,500) Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, a 3,015 ($3,900) Bell and Ross 03-92-S and a 4,270 ($5,523) Breitling Superocean Heritage Chronograph.

Classy choice: Over the course of the social experiment, Meltzer wore models from Blancpain, Bell and Ross and Breitling thanks to the watch rental service from Eleven James

Summing up his investigation, Meltzer wrote: 'Over the course of the summer, the way I was treated while traveling generally improved.

Hotel front desks actually seemed to care when my internet didn't work, flight attendants gave me whole cans of soda.

'Hotel front desks actually seemed to care when my internet didn't work. Flight attendants gave me whole cans of soda.

'When I got first-class upgrades, the people I sat next to actually talked to me (watches, I later learned, are how regular first-class flyers can tell the real money from the upgrades).'

The writer did question if it was just the confidence that came from wearing an expensive watch or just the watch itself that was causing people to treat him better.

Greeted by smiles: The writer did question if it was just the confidence that came from wearing an expensive watch or just the watch itself that was causing people to treat him better

However, he concluded that either way, there was definitely a message of power being sent to those he encountered.

TRAVEL SNOBBERY TODAY MailOnline Travel asked Judi James, TV behaviour expert, for her take on travel snobbery: Travel still has a whiff of good old-fashioned class hierarchy about it, from the first class lounges and carriages to the upgrades on flights and cruises. Even on commuter trains there is a tendency to expect a 'different sort' in the First Class carriages and you can often see fellow travelers checking one another out visually to ensure everyone looks capable of paying the extra ticket price. There is no real reason we're such snobs en route apart from the fact that it is largely historical. Hard-up people on a budget travel in discomfort while the wealthy expect to be moved from city to city in style. The attribution effect is rife in travelling, where we are often guilty of assessing and being assessed quickly, by some pretty obvious visual cues. The usual status symbols of a flashy car or home clearly don't apply so eyes can go to the luggage or jewelry, which for a man might easily be the watch. With more and more people using their phones as a timepiece watches are becoming unnecessary in modern life, so owning one that is deeply expensive will hint at lavish wealth rather than just having a few spare bob in the bank. Of course the attribution effect works both ways though, meaning wearing a flashy watch can make the owner feel more confident too. This can have an effect on the body language, with some small subtle changes like increased eye contact or more splayed posture having a profound effect of the perception of people around. Advertisement

Surprisingly, Meltzer said it wan't the dearest watches that got him the most compliments.

The watch people commented on the most was a Bell and Ross 03-92-S with a leather band.

It retails for about a third of what his first watch - the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe - sold for.

Meltzer said one woman 'above his league' approached him at a rooftop bar in Rhode Island and proceeded to flirt with him as she held up a ladies version of the Bell and Ross.

He recalled feeling bowled over by the situation - thinking that the 116 ($150) subscription charge was definitely good value for money with all of the attention he was receiving.

However, Meltzer warns like money itself, watches are relative. High rollers apparently can spend up to six figures on time-telling bling.

Indeed, one billionaire he came across had brought a watch for 348,054 ($450,000) because of its ability to tell the time in four different time zones at once.

Meltzer concluded that his experience with the library of luxury watches was 'eye-opening' and the accessories had a much bigger impact than expected.

Currently Eleven James - which carries men's and unisex watches - is only open to customers in the U.S.

The company - which carries the strap line 'time better spent' - was founded by Randy Brandoff in 2013.

A message on the subscription service site reads: 'Our members enjoy an unprecedented selection of the worlds most exquisite watch brands and styles.
Have you ever ran through the airport, perspiring at the thought of missing your flight?

Well, in a bid to reduce stress levels and take some weight off your feet, a luggage company has launched a a motorized case that can travel up to eight miles an hour.

Modobag's innovative product has discreet foot rests and a steering pole, that can whipped out when duty calls. There are also brakes to minimise the risk of collision.

Move out the way: Modobag has launched a a motorized case that can travel up to 8mph - the carry-on is currently on pre-order for 1,153 ($ 1,495)

It takes one hour to charge the Modobag fully and it has the ability to travel six miles before coming to a halt (about the distance between London King's Cross and Brixton).

The carry-on is currently available for pre-order via the crowdfunding site Indie Go Go, for 1,153 ($ 1,495), with shipments starting in January 2017.

Along with having a motor, the Modobag has USB ports and a battery pack so you can charge devices on the go.

The speedy wheely was invented by Chicago-based entrepreneur Kevin ODonnell.

Mixed reviews: While many have given the case a thumbs up branding it 'practical yet fun', others have panned it

Gadget man: Modobag's innovative product has discreet foot rests and a steering pole, that can be whipped out when duty calls

The idea apparently struck him when he was pulling his children on suitcases at the airport, and wondered, 'Why cant we ride our luggage and get to where were going faster with less stress?'

Working with a motorcyclist friend, ODonnell brought his ideas to life.

Commenting on his invention, the avid traveller said: 'Modobag is one of the most innovative and exciting advancements to hit the travel industry since rolling suitcases were introduced in the 1970's.

'I have test driven the Modobag at heavily-trafficked airports, including O'Hare, JFK and LaGuardia.

Multi-use: Along with having a motor, the Mondobag has USB ports and a battery pack so you can charge devices on the go

Giving it a go: A promotional video shows the Modobag in action, with test drivers smiling as they whizz along

'From the first-time traveler to the veteran flight attendant, there is widespread agreement that Modobag will help make travel more functional and fun.'

A promotional video shows the Modobag in action, with test drivers smiling as they whizz along.

While many have given the case a thumbs up branding it 'practical yet fun', others have panned it.

'Welcome to a new level of laziness,' one person said after watching the Modobag in action, while another viewer mused: 'Unless you travel at 2am what airport has that much free room?'
Angelina Jolie has blocked her estranged husband Brad Pitt's phone number, according to new claims.

The 41-year-old is said to have chosen to ignore any contact from her estranged husband after she filed for divorce from him earlier this week.

'Angelina has blocked all incoming text messages and also Brad's numbers,' a source told Us Weekly.

Radio silence: Angelina Jolie has reportedly blocked calls from estranged husband Brad Pitt, after filing for divorce on Monday (pictured in 2014)

It was previously claimed that the 52-year-old actor has been left 'completely devastated' by his divorce.

'He is beside himself and has been crying. He was completely caught off guard and blindsided and had no idea she would do this,' an insider shared.

'Angelina filed the court papers a minute before the courts closed on Monday night. He didn't have a lawyer or anything.

'She had threatened divorce in the past but he did not think she would file this time. He is completely devastated and beside himself. He is a shattered man.'

The source continued: 'He's extremely upset. But he is totally focused on just being helpful and making sure his kids are doing as well as possible.'

'Torn': Brad is particularly upset because he is said to not have seen his children since Angelina, who is seeking joint legal custody but sole physical custody, filed for divorce earlier in the week (pictured in 2011)

And Brad is reportedly disappointed their split had to 'play out publicly.'

'He is emotionally torn. Right now, he is devastated. He still loved Angelina and would have preferred they fight to make the marriage work,' a friend added.

'He was willing to do whatever it took to save the marriage and didn't know Angelina had already given up on it. He has wanted to protect the children. He didn't want it to play out publicly.'

Angelina filed for divorce from partner of 12 years Brad on Monday, citing 'irreconcilable differences.'

Shocking: The duo, who tied the knot in August 2014, had been together for 12 years after falling in love while working on Mr. & Mrs. Smith (pictured)

The By The Sea actress is seeking joint legal custody but sole physical custody of their six children, Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

Meanwhile, it's been almost a week since Pitt has seen his kids. He has reportedly been apart from the children since Angelina filed for divorce on Monday, according to Us Weekly.

Brad is keen to see them as soon as possible, despite currently being under investigation by the FBI following reports of alleged child abuse.

'He knows the severity of the allegations and wants to be cleared of abuse before he sees them,' a source claimed.

Tempting fate? The two had recently starred together in 2015's By The Sea, which was directed and written by Angelia and followed a troubled married couple

'He is confident he will be cleared. The kids are asking to see Brad, so he is hoping to see them next week,' the source said.

Among the the many circulating theories about the cause of their bombshell break-up this week are reports Brad got drunk on a private jet with his family en route to LA five days earlier, and was seen fighting with his eldest son Maddox during a refueling stop in Minnesota.

And while Angelina had listed September 15 as the date she and her husband of two years separated, she had already organized a $95,000 a month home for her and her six children to live in.

Help from a friend: Angelina is said to have turned to The Tourist co-star Johnny Depp amid her split, and is also using his divorce attorney, Laura Wasser (pictured in 2010)

A source confirms to the DailyMail.com she rented the ocean front home three weeks before filing for divorce in a Los Angeles' court on September 19.
She boasts an Oscar as well as starring roles in blockbuster movies...but now Lupita Nyong'o can add rapper to her long list of talents.

On Sunday the star celebrated reaching three million followers on Instagram by unleashing a freestyle rap in a short video.

The 33-year-old showed off her freestyle skills in the black and white clip which saw her enthusiastically gushing about the milestone.

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'Introducing my alter ego' Lupita Nyong'o celebrated reaching 3 million Instagram followers (now 3.1) by sharing a rap which introduced fans to her alter ego, 'Troublemaker'

'Mexican born, Kenya running through my veins. Dark chocolate, plus I keep a sharp mane,' Lupita rapped.

The Lancome spokesmodel continued: 'Lancome fresh face, looking tailor-made. Disney on the books, so you know I stay paid.'

Lupita is currently promoting Disney's Queen of Katwe - out September 30 - and has also starred in The Force Awakens, as well as The Jungle Book.

'Next stop Katwe, rocking out with David [Oyelowo]. Don't do critics, if you're hating, please save it,' the 12 Years a Slave star rapped.

Slick: The Oscar winner looked stunning in the black and white clip, as she rapped: 'Mexican born, Kenya running through my veins. Dark chocolate, plus I keep a sharp mane'

'You know I stay paid' Lupita joked about her work with Disney - Queen of Katwe, Star Wars franchise, and The Jungle Book - as she rapped 'Disney on the books...'

Not having it: The star was quick to shut down critics, warning: 'Don't do critics, if you're hating, please save it'

She also touched upon her work with WildAid as a Global Elephant Ambassador as well as the impressive fact that she speaks English, Luo, Spanish, and Swahili.

'Ambassador for elephants, trying to save the planet,' she rapped, later adding: 'Speak four languages, doing deals in Spanish.'

She concluded the rap by talking about her busy schedule - she's next set to appear in Star Wars: Episode VIII as well as Black Panther - and celebrating her three million followers (now 3.1 million).

Global Elephant Ambassador: The award-winning star rapped about her work with WildAid, sharing: 'Ambassador for elephants, trying to save the planet'

Excited: Lupita ended the video by celebrating her Instagram milestone, holding up the number three on each hand as she gushed: 'Just hit three million'

Coming soon! Lupita's upcoming drama Queen of Katwe, also starring Madina Nalwanga and David Oyelowo, hits theaters on Friday

Lupita captioned the video by introducing fans to her 'alter ego,' while also thanking everyone who helped to make the finished product.

She wrote: 'Introducing my alter ego TROUBLEMAKER. Lyrics: @robynhoodfanz Director: @katiecm @queenofkatwemovie #3million.'
She plays the fierce Cookie Lyon in Fox's hit show Empire.

And actress Taraji P Henson certainly wasn't going to take it lying down when 50 Cent dissed the hip-hop family drama two days after the Wednesday premiere of its third season.

The rapper-turned-producer, 41, posted a screenshot of Taraji, 46, with a headline claiming her show's ratings were dropping.

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Star spat: Taraji P Henson hit back at 50 Cent on Saturday after he claimed ratings for her hip-hop drama Empire were down in an Instagram post he has since deleted

'Well look at the bright side at least. You can eat your trophies,' 50 Cent wrote in the since deleted post, according to E! News.

'I was talking to old girl but you felt like you had to respond. SMH you know I love you cookie. I got a new show for you BMF COMING SOON !!!'

The celeb was referring to BMF: Black Mafia Family, a series he is developing for Starz following the success of the pay TV channel's Power, which is about a New York nightclub owner and drug kingpin who wants to go legit.

On Saturday, Taraji hit back with her own screen grab on Instagram, sharing a statement that her show 'remains the No. 1 show on broadcast TV.'

Setting him straight: The 46-year-old took to Instagram with this screen grab, saying, 'For the confused ppl. Do REAL research!!! Loose change makes so much UNNECESSARY NOISE'

And she added in the caption: 'For the confused ppl. Do REAL research!!! Loose change makes sooooooo much UNNECESSARY NOISE.

'STILL LOOKING FOR THAT DAMN CENT SIGN!!! I guess it's obsolete. AGAIN CONGRATS ON YOUR SUCCESS BLACK MAN!!! @50cent.'

However, Taraji generously praised 50 Cent's Power co-star Naturi Naughton in an Instagram she posted the same day.

Still on top: Taraji stars as Cookie Lyon with Terrence Howard as the head of the family

'Sooooooooo proud of you@naturi4real I WANT YOU TO KNOW I will NEVER let any NEGATIVITY come between the LOVE I have for my sisters!!! As women we put up with enough BS. I will NEVER add to that stress and heartache!!! YOU ARE DOPE on #Powerand in life!!! #BlackGirlMagic SHINE BABY SHINE,' Taraji wrote.

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, couldn't resist another dig, saying: 'All this back and forth s*** is starting to turning me on cookie, LMAO I ran into Lee Daniels (Empire's co-creator) at the gym on Sunset Blvd. He asked why I didn't except his offer to be on EMPIRE.

'I told him I have a lot going on, I'm actually working on the show FOX is gonna replace EMPIRE with, he looked at me like...why the f*** are you doing that?

No holds bared: 50 Cent co-stars in Power, about a New York nightclub owner and drug kingpin who wants to go legit, that airs on Starz

'It's because I'm a drug dealer, and I was taught to get in, get your weight up, then take over. So that's the deal,' he wrote in the post, also now deleted.

And the feud doesn't stop there. On Sunday, 50 Cent posted a promo for Power's finale with the caption: 'Tonight 9pm it is gonna be made very clear there is no competition there is only POWER.

'Anyone who has seen it on demand, or on the Starz app will tell you. Nothing out can compare. BMF Coming Soon I'm gonna change Tv.'

Empire airs Wednesday nights at 9pm on Fox and Power airs Sunday nights at 9pm on Starz.

'Shine Baby Shine': She may not be on good terms with 50 Cent, but Taraji was quick to compliment his Power co-star Naturi Naughton on Instagram
He recently returned to Australian rugby league with the Gold Coast Titans following a short stint attempting to make it in the US playing NFL.

Now, Jarryd Hayne, 28, is reportedly expecting his first child with friend Amellia Bonnici, 25.

The pair are due to welcome their bundle of joy at the end of the year, according to New Idea magazine,

Father to be? Jarryd Hayne, 28, is reportedly expecting his first child with friend Amellia Bonnici, 25, according to New Idea magazine

A representative for Jarryd, who is a Christian and joined the Hillsong Church in 2008, refused to comment on the sportsman's personal life when contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Monday.

The magazine claims the Gold Coast Titans player met Amellia on a trip back to Australia earlier in the year following months of living abroad.

After finding out she was expecting, Amellia was reportedly worried about telling Jarryd because they weren't officially dating and he was living in the US at the time.

Close friend: According to New Idea magazine, the pair are due to welcome their bundle of joy at the end of the year. Amellia is pictured here on the left

Despite having concerns, the magazine has claimed the sportsman has been supportive of the expecting mother and their decision to have a child together.

'He told Amellia he wanted her to have the baby and would be there for her no matter what they decided to do about their relationship,' an unnamed source told the magazine.

'He was absolutely wonderful about it and he really made her feel like she had his full support, and it was a relief.'

Excited: According to the publication, Jarryd 'told Amellia he wanted her to have the baby and would be there for her no matter what' (Jarryd pictured with his nephew)

A close friend to the NRL player added his family members have welcomed Amellia into their family since news broke.

'They have welcomed Amellia into their family with open arms and can't wait to meet the little one,' they said.

Amellia has reportedly moved into Jarryd's Gold Coast apartment after he signed a two-year deal with the Titans squad.

Jarryd returned to Australia in August after signing with the Gold Coast Titans for $1.2 million per season.

Must be serious? Amellia has reportedly moved into Jarryd's Gold Coast apartment, after he signed a two-year deal with the Titans squad.

The Western-Sydney born athlete is a Christian, who joined the Hillsong Church in Sydney in 2008.

In 2015, Jarryd spoke to a crowd of 20,000 at an annual conference where he spoke about his relationship with the church.

He said: 'When I first starting coming to Hillsong I wasnt glorified as an athlete. You know, you are there as a son of God.

Where it all began: The NRL player met Amellia during a trip back to Australia earlier in the year following months of living in the U.S

'That for me helped me so much. Church for me was one of those things on a Sunday, I could just come and be me.Coming in and speaking about God was huge for me.'

During a press conference in March, Jarryd commented: 'Im not perfect. I struggle with sin and temptation all the time. For me, they are the key areas where I want to improve as well.

'Theyre part of that journey now. Christ comes before everything.'
With his Harry Potter-inspired specs appeal and smooth Frenchy dialogues, The Bachelorette's Rhys Chilton seems like quite a catch.

But it may all be too good to be true, with reports the 29-year-old has 'cheated' in the past.

According to Woman's Day magazine, Rhys, who is vying for the heart of Georgia Love on the Channel Ten reality show, has flirted up a storm online, before it was revealed he's 'got a girlfriend'.

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Not all as it seems: Reports have emerged that The Bachelorette Australia contestant Rhys Chilton has 'cheated' in the past

South Australian woman Cass Fowler told the publication that she began communicating with Rhys when he 'liked' one of her photos on social media.

According to Cass, Rhys complimented her on her physical appearance, and told her that she 'could live with him and be happy'.

She also claimed that he sent her some very revealing photos, and she herself obliged to his requests and sent a topless snap in return.

'He'd send me completely nude ones, then after a while it suddenly stopped.

South Australian woman Cass Fowler told the publication that she began communicating with Rhys when he 'liked' one of her photos on social media, and even sent her nude photos before it was discovered he had a girlfriend

'I sent him a normal Snapchat and got one back of a female saying, "He's got a girlfriend, back off!" Then he blocked me on Facebook and was obviously two-timing us,' she said.

When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Rhys had a different story to tell.

He said: 'She [Cass] follows me on Instagram. That's the only place I know her from'.

Hitting back: When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Rhys had a different story to tell. He said: 'She [Cass] follows me on Instagram. That's the only place I know her from'

Rhys is one of the 16 men who entered the Bachelorette man last week in a bid to win the heart of Georgia.

On last Thursday's episode, Rhys attempted to work his charms on Georgia with a poem.

'Now, I'm not a journalist or anything, I'm not a writer, so you'll have to forgive me if this is sub-par,' the model began.

Bringing his A-game: Rhys is one of the 16 men who entered the Bachelorette man last week in a bid to win the heart of Georgia

'Lights, cameras, the whole production. The night we met was lacking seduction.

'Not on your end, you were more than fine. If we had no spark, the blame was all mine.

'What we really need is a fun single date. I'll be myself, I won't compete, like a gentleman. Till then, I'll wait.'

Rhys' words appeared to make an impression on the 27-year-old beauty, with the hunk being one of the first guys to receive a rose later that evening.

Working his magic: On last Thursday's episode, Rhys attempted to work his charms on Georgia with a poem
Their reality TV partners were spotted getting cosy last week.

And Married At First Sight's Clare Verrall and Craig Keller have also moved on themselves, with New Idea claiming the pair have sparked a romance despite being on different seasons of the show.

'They are cute together. There is clear chemistry between them, anyone can see that,' a friend close to the pair told the publication.

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New romance? Married At First Sight's Clare Verrall (L) has moved on with the latest season's Craig Keller (R) after the pair split from their respective on-screen partners, New Idea claims

With Melbourne-based Clare turning 33 last week, 26-year-old Craig reportedly flew interstate from his home in Brisbane to be with the blonde.

But while things might be heating up between the reality stars, the source says they're taking things slow.

'It's early days and they have both been left heartbroken before, so they are in no rush with anything,' the source added.

Revenge? The news comes after Clare's ex Jono Pitman was spotted out at dinner with Craig's ex Nicole Heir on the Gold Coast

News of the potential romance comes after Clare's ex on-screen partner Jono Pitman was spotted with his arm around Craig's reality ex Nicole Heir last week.

Sharing an Instagram photo from their dinner date, Nicole added a cryptic caption that had fans speculating there's a new love blossoming.

'New friends and new adventures,' the blonde captioned the post.

Volatile: Clare and Jono's relationship on season two of the reality show was filled with drama

Sitting together at Koi Dining and Lounge Bar in Queensland's the Gold Coast, the pair were all smiles as they posed for the happy snap.

After receiving backlash from fans questioning the relationship, Nicole took to social media once again and shared: 'After my last post, I received a lot of negativity from people who haven't met myself or Jono, who don't know our real stories.

'People who don't know what goes on off camera. Making nasty comments is morally wrong, everyone's fighting their own battles and someday you could say it to someone who's not doing well.

Clashing: The pair's short-lived romance was filled with explosive arguments from the start

Dramatic: Meanwhile, Nicole and Craig ended their reality TV relationship as soon as filming wrapped on the latest season

'Filming ended 6 months ago, I'm still going to go about my life and if I want to catch up with Jono or whoever for dinner and post a pic like normal, I'm free to do so,' she concluded.

Jono's relationship with Clare during season two of the social experiment show was drama-filled from the get-go.

The pair's explosive clashes resulted in Jono moving out shortly after.

Craig meanwhile, parted ways with Nicole as soon as filming wrapped on the latest season.
He's been dubbed the 'villain' on the show and when it comes to relationships, his vested love interest Georgia might be up for a challenge.

And Sydney born model Sam Johnston recently revealed that his relationships rarely last and he often ends up leaving.

'My last relationship was a couple of months ago. I saw it as quite a temporary thing. I thought it would end sooner rather than later so I let a few things slide,' the blue-eyed hunk admitted to NW magazine.

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Casual: Sydney born model Sam Johnston, 27, recently revealed that his relationships rarely last and he often ends up leaving

'I thought it would come to an end, so starting fights and working things out seemed like too much work,' he added.

Sam later admitted that he often gets distracted in relationships and doesn't give 110 per cent.

But when it comes to Georgia, the 27-year-old thinks she is the whole package.

The whole package: When it comes to Georgia, the blue-eyed hunk thinks she is the whole package. 'She's probably the type of girl I'd go for if I was looking for a serious relationship,' he said

'She's probably the type of girl I'd go for if I was looking for a serious relationship,' he said.

Meanwhile, in the latest group date, the contestants posed with Georgia Love for several Mills & Boon romance novel covers.

And Sam notably clashed with fellow Bachelorette star Rhys Chilton, who makes no secret of his modelling past.

Sam attempted to downplay his fledgling career when Georgia asked if he'd done it before.

Back in the saddle! In the latest group date, the contestants posed with Georgia Love for several Mills & Boon romance novel covers. Pictured: Sam dressed as an outback rancher

The electrician, explained: 'A few Big W. A few Aldi. Aldi's probably my finest work, I think.'

He later took a swipe at his rival, saying:'If I told her earlier she would have thought differently of me, put me in the same category as Rhys.'

Fans quickly observed the rivalry between the two male models, comparing them to characters from Zoolander.

He's not shy! On last week's episode of The Bachelorette, Sam notably clashed with fellow model Rhys Chilton (R), who makes no secret of his professional experience

Me? A model? Sam downplayed his fledgling career when Georgia asked if he'd done it before

'Am I watching #BacheloretteAU or Zoolander?' one viewer tweeted.

'Haha Rhys and Sam are like Derek Zoolander and Hansel... let the battle begin!' another wrote.

'Sam and Rhys are ABSOLUTELY Derek Zoolander and Hansel, which obvs means they will eventually be besties' a fan posted.

It's Derek and Hansel! Fans quickly observed the rivalry between male models Sam and Rhys, comparing them to characters from Zoolander
When appearing on The Bachelorette last week, he was adamant that his modelling for discount supermarket Aldi was 'probably my finest work'.

But if the rest of Sam Johnston's picture perfect portfolio is inspected, some would disagree with the 27-year-old electrician.

The dark-haired hunk from Sydney has previously stripped down to absolutely nothing, in a racy photo shoot presumably promoting office furniture.

Racy: The Bachelorette contestant Sam Johnston appears completely nude in this photo shoot after previously saying modelling for discount supermarket Aldi was 'probably my finest work'

In one sizzling frame captured by photographer Jose Alexzander, Sam is seen straddling a stool, that would certainly have a line up of ladies ready to take a seat immediately.

Sam has his legs wrapped around the stainless steel leg of the chair, while keeping a firm grip on its adjustable lever.

Going completely nude for the shot, he allows his toned physique to be on display for all to see.

Reality star: The 27-year-old electrician is one of the men vying for Georgia Love's heart on Channel Ten reality show, The Bachelorette Australia

From his bulging biceps, to his ripped torso and muscly legs, viewers are spoilt for choice in terms of viewing pleasure.

A hint of gel has been run through his dark locks, while his subtle facial hair only accentuates his sex appeal.

It's certainly a very different look from a shoot he has done for discount supermarket, Aldi.

He's the budget Bachelor! An Aldi catalogue has surfaced featuring the hunk in a pair of 'Winter Warmers' pyjamas priced at just $9.99

The catalogue shows the hunk in a pair of 'Winter Warmers' pyjamas priced at just $9.99.

Sam was reluctant to give details about his modelling experience during a photo shoot group date on Thursday night's episode of The Bachelorette.

In the latest group date, the contestants posed with Georgia Love for several Mills & Boon romance novel covers.

Model behaviour? Despite being shy about his modelling experience, Sam revealed during Thursday's episode he did pose for discount supermarket Aldi, describing it as his 'finest work'

And Sam notably clashed with fellow Bachelorette star Rhys Chilton, who makes no secret of his modelling past.

Meanwhile, Sam attempted to downplay his fledgling career when Georgia asked if he'd done it before.

Sam, who is billed as an electrician, explained: 'A few Big W. A few Aldi. Aldi's probably my finest work, I think'.

He later took a swipe at his rival, saying: 'If I told her earlier she would have thought differently of me, put me in the same category as Rhys'.

He's not shy! On Thursday's episode of The Bachelorette, Sam notably clashed with fellow model Rhys Chilton (R), who makes no secret of his professional experience
She's currently battling it out on The Block.

But off the reality show property stylist Julia has sure had some personal battles of her own.

The 31-year-old told TV Week about how her friend was murdered in a carjacking in South Africa when Julia was in her twenties and living there.

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Sad: The Block's property stylist Julia, 31, (L, seen on the show with girlfriend Sasha,R) has revealed her friend was murdered in a carjacking in South Africa when Julia lived there in her twenties

'Perhaps I was lucky things didn't happen to me,' Julia said.

About her late friend, she explained what happened.

'She was with a friend and was carjacked one day.'

Tough times: Julia has had her fair share of battles on The Block

Julia - who was there doing aid work in schools - said she didn't feel the need to return home after the incident.

'I'm not someone who is overly fearful, but it was really sad.'

Julia is currently on the renovation show with her partner Sasha, 43, a software account executive.

The pair are working hard on building their Melbourne apartment on the show and on Sunday night were praised by the judges for their living and dining areas.

Vogue Living magazine's Neale Whitaker said their space looked like a 'magazine cover' and he and the other judges, Darren Palmer and Shaynna Blaze, loved their artwork in the room.

'Like a magazine cover': The pair are working hard on building their Melbourne apartment on the show and on Sunday night were praised by the judges for their living and dining areas

'I think they've created the type of apartment we said we were looking for at the start of the show,' Neale said.

However Julia wasn't too impressed with their area, saying she hated the curtains Sasha chose.

Sasha was left to complete the areas when Julia had a few days rest from the show, having walked out last week.

On Sunday, Julia said she was still considering leaving for good.

She said on camera that she needs to talk to Sasha after judging, to discuss her future on the show, while Scott Cam hinted their relationship might be on the rocks.

Impressed: Vogue Living magazine's Neale Whitaker said their space looked like a 'magazine cover' and he and the other judges, Darren Palmer and Shaynna Blaze, loved their artwork in the room

'I don't want to keep letting her down. It's not fair, she's given up a lot to be here,' Julia said.

She added: 'I can't destroy Sash, it's not fair.'

Before the judging, Scott Cam could be heard in a voiceover talking about the rough week the girls have had, saying their relationship was in turmoil.

'Under siege and on edge, they turned on each other,' Scott said.

As Julia was seen leaving the show days prior in a replay clip, the host's voice boomed: 'Now it's not just their living and dining room that's looking finished, their relationship looks over too'.
She is best known for her work with Victoria's Secret.

And Alessandra Ambrosio showed that she is an angel even off the runway.

The 35-year-old model enjoyed a bonding day with her two children in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.

Out and about: Alessandra Ambrosio was spotted during a bonding day with her two children in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon

She put on a pin parade while spending time with her eight-year-old daughter Anja and four-year-old son Noah.

Alessandra showed off her legs in a pair of Daisy Dukes along with a cropped black T-shirt with 'Lifeguard' emblazoned across it.

Though it is officially fall in Southern California, she looked perfect for the summer as she teamed the casual cool look with a pair of strappy beige leather sandals.

Pin parade: The 35-year-old model was dressed perfectly for the summer despite being officially fall

Wow factor: She showed off her model legs in a pair of Daisy Dukes

Lovely lady: She also sported a black cropped T-shirt with 'Lifeguard' emblazoned over it

The Brazilian beauty accessorised with a small black leather bag and a pair of gold-rimmed aviator shades.

Her brunette tresses were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she let her natural looks show with complimentary make-up including pink lip.

Both her children were also dressed for a sunny day in LA as they wore patterned outfits. Their father and Alessandra's model husband Jamie Mazur was not seen on the outing.

Her little man: Her four-year-old son Noah looked happy to be out and about with his famous mother

Stunning: The Brazilian beauty accessorised with a small black leather bag and a pair of gold-rimmed aviator shades

Bonding day: Her eight-year-old daughter was also on the outing

No doubt she is glad to be home with her family after jetsetting around the world from The Maldives to France.

She was seen touching back down at LAX Airport after hanging out in France.

The star covered her face in a charcoal mask in a snap she shared on Thursday with Instagram followers.

Chill: The star covered her face in a charcoal mask in a snap she shared from France on Thursday with Instagram followers

She captioned the image: 'Editing and Masking .... #multitasking #3musketeers #charcoalmask #clay #France'

The trip to the western Europe country came after a photoshoot for GQ Brazil in the Maldives earlier that week, it took place at the Shangri-La's Villingili Resort & Spa.

She put on quite a cheeky display, sharing a bikini shot on the beach which flashed the flesh.

Rearly nice: She put on quite a cheeky display, sharing a bikini shot on the beach which flashed the flesh

Lovely bunch: The Brazilian native also joked around with two coconuts covering her assets, in a snap on Saturday

Breathtaking: Alessandra shared a sunset picture on Sunday to her Instagram page captioning the moment: 'Sunset hours...Por do Sol ...#california #calilife'

Beach babe: Using the Memory feature on Snapchat, the model took to the app to share her Malibu beach day from Saturday
They've made leaps and bounds in the fashion industry, carving their careers in a different industry to their famous parents.

And on Sunday evening Hailey Baldwin, Sofia Richie and Sistine Stallone were the toast of Milan Fashion Week, as the teens celebrated their star turns at Dolce & Gabbana's show.

Having prowled down the catwalk for the Italian fashion house's SS17 reveal, Hailey, 19, and 18-year-old Sofia made head-turning arrivals at a D&G celebration.

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Stepping into the limelight: On Sunday evening Hailey Baldwin and Sofia Richie were the toast of Milan Fashion Week, as the teens celebrated their star turns at Dolce & Gabbana's show

Lithe and leggy: Sofia's long-sleeved number, allowed the teen - daughter of Lionel and Diana Richie - to flaunt her lithe legs whilst retaining a modest air (left)

Attending the firm's Boutique Opening Event, the two rising stars of the catwalk ensured they made a fashionable arrival.

Hailey, the daughter of Stephen and Kennya Baldwin, looked radiant in a semi-sheer bridal-inspired dress.

Slipping her slender curves into the fitted midi dress, which featured a see-through floral layer atop a white slip, the model looked striking.

Straddling the line between demure teen and and racy fashionista, the latest Baldwin star looked simply sensational as she arrived on the red carpet in the high-neck number.

Making a name for herself: Having prowled down the catwalk for the Italian fashion house's SS17 reveal, Hailey, 19, and 18-year-old Sofia made head-turning arrivals at a D&G celebration

She loves the look: Hailey shared this super glam look of herself wearing her white lace dress

A star in her own right? The two rising stars of the catwalk ensured they made a fashionable arrival - with Sofia arriving in an elegant yet racy mini dress

Keeping things simple an chic, she paired the lightweight dress with towering stilettos that subtly accentuated her figure.

Wearing her blonde locks pulled off of her face, Hailey wore a gold tiara that was detailed with white ceramic flower buds.

With her striking features framed perfectly by a few delicate strands of hair and her elaborate accessory, the model's pretty face was defined and highlighted thanks to a pale make-up palette.

Sofia opted for a contrasting look and wore a floral flock of black lace that skimmed her thighs.

A vision in white: Hailey, the daughter of Stephen and Kennya Baldwin, looked radiant in a semi-sheer bridal-inspired dress

Stunning: Slipping her slender curves into the fitted midi dress, which featured a see-through floral layer atop a white slip, the model rounded her look off with towering stilettos

Simple and chic: Like Hailey, Sofia kept things simple, and chose to only accessorize with a purple velvet clutch and a smattering of jewellery

The long-sleeved number, allowed the teen - daughter of Lionel and Diana Richie - to flaunt her lithe legs whilst retaining a modest air.

Like Hailey, Sofia kept things simple, and chose to only accessorize with a purple velvet clutch and a smattering of jewellery.

She wore her sandy blonde locks in gentle waves down to her shoulders, letting her mane frame her pretty face; while she opted to go for an understated approach to make-up.

Toned and honed: Sistine flashed her toned tummy in a racey black coordinated ensemble, teaming a leather bustier with a pair of black lace see-through leggings

Making a statement: The rising model flashed more than a hint of cleavage thanks to her racy top

Dapper dudes: Vine star Cameron Dallas (L) and Brandon Thomas Lee (R) were also in attendance

Also making the affair a silver screen off-spring affair, was 18-year-old Sistine Stallone, the oldest of Rocky star Sylvester's children with his third wife Jennifer Flavin.

Sistine flashed her toned tummy in a racey black coordinated ensemble, teaming a leather bustier with a pair of black lace see-through leggings.

Only hours before Hailey was seen doing some last minute prep for the party, sashaying down one of Milan's streets.

Simply stunning: Pyper America Smith brought a punky edge to the proceedings in her skinny black suit and cheetah-print bralet

A family affair: (L-R) Daisie Smith, Starlie Smith, Lucky Blue Smith and Pyper made sure the even was well attended by their famous family

Another young star: Sonia Ben Ammar wore a crown and a fitted black dress to the event

A colourful display: Jayden Smith's girlfriend Sarah Snyfer was also at the bash

A royal banquet: Hailey looked to be in her element at the lavish event

Fit for a queen? (L-R) Sistine, Sonia, Thylane Blondeau and Hailey receive some expensive presents at the banquet table

The model, 19, flashed a hint of her toned tummy in a tiny crop top and leather jeans combo as she paid a visit to some of the city's luxury shops.

The blonde bombshell appeared to be in the mood for some retail therapy following a hard day at work on the runway.

Opting for a more understated look, Hailey teamed a small black crop-top with leather jeans.

Flashing cleavage and more than a hint of her toned tummy thanks to the tiny lace-up top, Hailey injected some raunch into her attire by slipping into a pair of skin-tight leather jeans.

Struttin' her stuff: Just a matter of hours after prowling and pouting her way down the catwalk in the fashion capital, Hailey Baldwin found herself sashaying down the city's streets

Toned and honed: The model, 19, flashed a hint of her toned tummy in a tiny crop top and leather jeans combo as she paid a visit to some of the city's luxury shops

From runway to retail: The blonde bombshell appeared to be in the mood for some retail therapy following a hard day at work on the runway

Though adding a seasonal touch to her look, the rising fashion star shrugged on a houndstooth overcoat.

Rounding her outfit off in a typically racy manner, Hailey donned a pair of skyscraper lave-up leather boots.

Adding a classic Hollywood touch to her look the model accessorised with a pair of white boxy shades.

Showing some skin: The model flashed her cleavage and more than a hint of her toned tummy thanks to the tiny lace-up top

Hell for leather: Hailey injected some raunch into her attire by slipping into a pair of skin-tight leather jeans

Wrapping up warm: Though adding a seasonal touch to her look, the rising fashion star shrugged on a houndstooth overcoat

Cool vibes: Adding a classic Hollywood touch to her look the model accessorised with a pair of white boxy shades

Wearing her long blonde locks tied back Hailey kept her look faff-free; whilst a minimum application of make-up also allowed the teen to show off her striking natural features.

Clearly having been inspired by the Dolce and Gabana runway show, Hailey looked to have picked up a few items from the fashion house's shop in the city.

Earlier on in the day, Hailey had worn the same racy jeans and boots to D&G's MFW SS17 show - though she'd traded the coat and crop for a black slogan sweater.

Striking: Wearing her long blonde locks tied back Hailey kept her look faff-free; whilst a minimum application of make-up let the teen show off her striking natural features

Comfy chic: Earlier on in the day, Hailey had worn the same racy jeans and boots to D&G's MFW SS17 show - though she'd traded the coat and crop for a black slogan sweater

Master style: The model looked to be feeling a slgiht chill throughout the day

Hours later on the runway, Hailey stole the show as she sashayed down the catwalk in a form-fitting leather dress.

She wowed in the bodycon black dress, which featured a structured and embroidered bodice and a chic satin panel on the skirt.

Topping off her saucy sartorial look, Hailey wore red roses in her hair - something she seemed very taken with as she snapped a photo of herself modelling the flowers back-stage.

Runways ready: Hours later on the runway, Hailey stole the show as she sashayed down the catwalk in a form-fitting leather dress
She was pregnant with her first child while filming X-Men: Apocalypse.

And actress Rose Byrne has revealed how the pregnancy affected her bonding time with the cast.

'I was pregnant at the time, so I couldn't really go out as much - I'd get tired, I couldn't drink - but there's definite fun when this cast gets together,' the 37-year-old told New Idea.

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On-set antics: Rose Byrne has revealed she 'didn't really go out as much' with the cast of X-Men: Apocalypse as she was pregnant during filming

The Sydney-born beauty welcomed her first child with actor husband Bobby Cannavale, 46, on February 1 this year.

Gushing about the new bundle of joy, the Bridesmaids actress recently admitted the couple's friends are growing 'sick' of their constant baby talk.

'You have this huge responsibility you didn't have before - there's someone you have to keep alive,' she told Sunday Style of raising their son Rocco.

Comeback: The 37-year-old actress was pregnant while starring alongside Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence in the superhero flick

Baby on board: The actress said she was easily 'tired' and 'couldn't drink' during outings with her fellow cast-members (pictured here with husband Bobby Cannavale)

'I also like to think Rocco has brought out better qualities in me.'

She has previously spoken about how she struggled to leave the house when Rocco, who is named after a French saint, was three-months-old.

Rose said the rigours of motherhood had left her sleep deprived and in a cocoon since giving birth.

Bundle of joy: Rose and her actor beau welcomed their son Rocco on February 1 this year

'I'm still in a fog, I haven't even left my apartment in three months, said told News Corp.

'It takes an hour and forty-five minutes to get out of the house with a baby, and by the time Im ready, I'm exhausted. I'm done, I'm going back in. I don't care!'

She is also stepmother to her husband's 21-year-old son, Jake, from a previous relationship.
She celebrated her milestone 40th birthday just a week ago in Mykonos.

But as Sunrise's Samantha Armytage returned to work on Monday, her setting was a far cry from a glamorous vacation in Greece.

The blonde beauty took to Instagram to share several snaps sporting gumboots and a puffer jacket, as she covered New South Wales' widespread flooding in Lake Forbes.

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From Mykonos to Lake Forbes! Sunrise's Samantha Armytage took to Instagram to share several snaps sporting gumboots and a puffer jacket, as she covered New South Wales' widespread flooding in Lake Forbes, after returning from 40th birthday celebrations in Mykonos

'@sunriseon7 over #Forbes,' Samantha captioned one shot that saw her standing near the lake in gumboots, jeans and a puffer jacket.

The blonde beauty has made her way to Lake Forbes in central western New South Wales, after the town was hit by widespread flooding that's expected to continue over the next few weeks.

The Lachlan River reached 10.65m at Forbes - where 1000 people were evacuated and 100 homes damaged - overnight on Sunday, surpassing the 1990s floods, but the worst is yet to come.

At the front line: Wet-suits in the Central West #forbesFloods #SES,' she captioned a photo, that saw her holding onto the arm of a worker's wet-suit

Interviewing emergency services workers, Samantha shared another snap to her Instagram account.

'Wet-suits in the Central West #forbesFloods #SES,' she captioned a photo, that saw her holding onto the arm of a worker's wet-suit.

Many of Samantha's followers commented underneath both snaps, praising the personality for bringing attention to the amazing efforts of the SES workers.

'God bless you all,' wrote one Instagram user, while another simply shared: 'Great job!'

Severe flooding: Drone footage revealed just how much of Forbes has been left under water, with many backyards completely submerged

Impact: Dramatic scenes have revealed the extent of the devastating flood caused by the heavy rain and wild weather

The news coverage comes just after she was seen to be having a ball, during her recent birthday trip to Greece.

Sharing plenty of pictures on her travels, the presenter kept her fans across her multiple celebrations while away with a small group of friends.

Enjoying the end of the northern hemisphere's summer, Samantha appeared unable to contain her happiness, looking relaxed and content in all of her photos.

Vacation: The news coverage comes just after she was seen to be having a ball, during her recent birthday trip to Greece
She spent two years working on her latest film with son Jack.

So it's only fair Meg Ryan's daughter Daisy True gets to spend a little quality time with her mom too.

The duo were spotted out shopping together in Soho, New York on Sunday.

You've got sale! Meg Ryan brought her daughter Daisy True shopping for books in Soho on Sunday

The 54-year-old actress almost looked ready for an adventure in an actual jungle rather than an urban one, pairing an Indiana Jones style brown leather jacket with a pair of green combats and a bandolier bag.

Her 11-year-old daughter had no qualms about holding her mom's hand throughout their stroll.

One of the shops they visited was the independent bookstore McNally Jackson; Meg clearly still has an affinity since famously playing the owner of one in her smash hit 1998 rom com You've Got Mail, opposite Tom Hanks.

Kitted out: The 54-year-old actress almost looked ready for an adventure in an actual jungle rather than an urban one

The last crusade: She paired an Indiana Jones style brown leather jacket with a pair of green combats and a bandolier bag

Meg's directorial debut Ithaca, which hit hit theatres on Friday, is her fourth film with Hanks.

The close friends also starred in Joe Versus The Volcano in 1990, and most famously Sleepless In Seattle in 1993.

Ithica is a World War II era the tale of a housewife who has to learn how to support her two sons after her husband dies.

Doting mom: Ryan adopted Daisy True from China in 2006 when she was just 14 months old

Close: Her 11-year-old girl had no qualms about holding her mom's hand throughout their stroll

Meg's son Jack, 24, who she shares with with ex-husband Dennis Quaid, also stars as her son.

The actors were married in February 1991 but divorced just over a decade later in July 2001.

Ryan adopted Daisy True from China in 2006 when she was just 14 months old.

Back in the game: Meg's directorial debut Ithaca, which hit hit theatres on Friday, is her fourth film with Tom Hanks
Nina Dobrev was pretty as a petal on Sunday for a philanthropic event in Beverly Hills, California.

The 28-year-old Bulgarian-Canadian actress donned a knee-length, sleeveless white dress with floral print at The Rape Foundation's annual brunch, held at billionaire Ron Burkle's Greenacres estate.

The former star of The Vampire Diaries completed her outfit with maroon ankle booties.

Flower power: Nina Dobrev wore a floral print dress on Sunday to The Rape Foundation annual brunch on Sunday in Beverly Hills, California

Nina had her long, brunette hair down in soft curls with a silver hairpin on the right side.

She accessorised with a yellow clutch and highlighted her natural looking makeup with a deep red lipstick.

The brunch honored How To Get Away With Murder star Viola Davis and philanthropist Cheryl Saban and was MC'ed by Friends star David Schwimmer.

Sleeveless dress: The actress beat the heat in a sleeveless, knee-length dress

The Rape Foundation provides free medical treatment, counseling and legal aid to rape victims. It also supports the Stuart House, which provides services to sexually abused children and their families.

Nina has several film projects due out in 2017 including Crash Pad, xXx: Return Of Xander Cage and Flatliners.

She's best known for her work on The CW supernatural series The Vampire Diaries that premiered in September 2009.

Busy star: Nina has three film projects due out in 2017

Famous role: The Bulgarian-Canadian actress is best known for her work on The Vampire Diaries

Nina revealed in April 2015 via Instagram that she would be leaving the show after its sixth season.

The CW announced in July that the show's upcoming eighth season would be its last.

CW President Mark Pedowitz last month said the network was in talks to have Nina return for the series finale.

She starred on the show for six seasons as much of the series focused on a love triangle between her character and a pair of vampire brothers played by Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley.

The eighth and final season of The Vampire Diaries will premiere on October 21.
He reportedly signed a five-year contract earlier this year, worth $20million to stay with KIIS 106.5.

And radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands, 45, appeared to waste no time in gifting his 25-year-old girlfriend Imogen Anthony, with none other than a $135,000 Jaguar F-Type Coupe.

The glamour model was seen gushing over the shiny new addition in a short clip posted to Instagram on Monday, alongside the hashtag 'Sex On Wheels'.

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New wheels: Imogen Anthony, 25, took to Instagram on Monday to share a short clip as she gushed over a $135,000 Jaguar F-Type Coupe gifted to her by radio shock jock boyfriend Kyle Sandilands, 45

'When #Bae knows how much you love Jaguars (especially the F-type) and you come home to one in your driveway,' Imogen captioned the short clip.

She also added in the hashtags 'Sex On Wheels', 'Spoilt Bit**' and 'Copy This'.

The moment captured to Instagram saw the budding fashion designer, clad in a black hooded sweater and coordinating leggings, gushing over the new car while seated behind the wheel.

Giving her fans a complete look at the car, Imogen was heard yelling out 'new baby' and 'sex on wheels'.

Ecstatic: 'When #Bae knows how much you love Jaguars (especially the F-type) and you come home to one in your driveway,' the glamour model captioned the short clip

Not holding back: Giving her fans a complete look at the car, Imogen was heard yelling out 'new baby' and 'sex on wheels'

Imogen regularly takes to social media to keep her 114,000 Instagram followers up-to-date with her daily adventures.

Over the weekend, the svelte personality was seen posing in a shirt with the message: 'No matter how big his d*** is some girl out there is sick of his s***'.

Imogen displayed her flawless make-up free complexion as she showed off her messy hairstyle.

Daily shenanigans: Imogen took to Instagram on Saturday to share a short clip flaunting her make-up free complexion in a rather risque top

'When you don't need to wear make up because your hair is so f*****g excellent,' Imogen captioned the clip.

She also added the hashtags: 'No F***ing Filter', 'Strawberry Blonde' and 'Make-Up Free'.

The short clip saw Imogen flicking her blonde hair from side to side, offering a glimpse of her racy tank top.

Feeling it: 'When you don't need to wear make up because your hair is so f*****g excellent,' the socialite captioned the clip

She's not shy! Imogen was seen wearing a black top with the the slogan: 'No matter how big his d*** is some girl out there is sick of his s***'

Imogen recently joined boyfriend Kyle on holiday in Los Angeles, while he takes a break from hosting KIIS FM's The Kyle And Jackie O Show.

In recent months, the couple has been the subject of false rumours about their relationship status.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in August, Imogen said: 'There's rumours we've been engaged for three years, no we just chill, we don't need rings and stuff'.
She was the stylish, social butterfly of the London and New York fashion weeks.

And on Sunday, Jessica Hart, 30, showed she can be fashionable not only at exclusive events, but for a day out at sea.

The Australian model left the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a five star luxury resort in Antibes, France, and hopped on board a boat with her reported fiance, Stavros Niarchos III and friends.

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Walking the plank: On Sunday, Jessica Hart, 30, showed she can be fashionable not only at exclusive events, but for a day out at sea in Antibes, France

The former Victoria's Secret model and her billionaire partner were accompanied by real estate tycoon Aby Rosen's son and other friends.

Jessica has been friends with the Rosen family for years now, having attended the Aby Rosen and Samantha Boardman dinner at The Dutch in 2012.

For the expedition, Jess channelled her inner sailor - donning a blue-and-white striped shirt.

The top was off-the-shoulder, and had a large bow on the front.

She clashed prints by wearing spotted green short shorts - showing off her slender legs and sun-kissed skin.

Sailor girl: The blonde beauty accessorised her look with flat beige sandals, a straw tote and gold bangles

The blonde beauty accessorised her look with flat beige sandals, a straw tote and gold bangles.

For the sunny day out on the water, she left her long locks out, falling well over her shoulders.

Jess kept her make-up to a minimum.

The in-demand Australian model walked along the pier to the boat with her billionaire beau trailing behind her.

She was helped on-board by a friend.

Loved-up couple: Jessica Hart is reportedly engaged to her billionaire beau Stavros Niarchos III




Celebrities are often accused of being self-obsessed.

But on this occasion it was all in a good cause, as Brooke Burke took an adorable snap with daughter Heaven Rain Charvet as they got ready to go for a ride on a roller coaster at a charity event in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The actress and her eight-year-old daughter looked like they could hardly wait to get started as they hammed it up at the Mattel Party On The Pier in the trendy Santa Monica area.

Snap happy: Brooke Burke took a selfie with daughter Heaven Rain as they went on a roller coaster at a charity event in Santa Monica on Sunday

But while they were having a great time together, they did not leave out her seven-year-old son Shaya, who looked like he was having fun in the seat in front of them.

Ageless mother-of-four Brooke, who just turned 45, was looking in fine form indeed in a casual white dress and platform sandals.

The event, the 17th incarnation of the annual bash, featured unlimited rides, carnival games and even had a VIP area with a lunch donated by Wolfgang Puck Catering;

It is held to raise cash for the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA in Los Angeles.

Brooke, who celebrated her 45th birthday earlier this month, also recently toasted her five-year wedding anniversary with 44-year-old Baywatch beefcake David Charvet.

Life is a roller coaster: Brooke and her brood would undoubtedly attest this is especially the case when one is on the ride

Having a wheel-y good time: The children looked like they could hardly wait to try the Ferris

Ageless: It is hard to believe fresh-faced Brooke has just turned 45 next month

And despite her advancing years she is not slowing down, and recently revealed she is in fact teaching a fitness class in her hometown of Malibu every week as 'a passion project.'

She said: 'I have women of all different shapes and sizes,' she said, 'and its a place where women find safety and inspire each other as well.

'I dont ever want to get too comfortable in love, in life, as a parent or in my fitness routine. You get complacent with comfort.'

And it certainly seems the saucy television personality is doing everything she can to avoid complacency - including challenging her limits by going on scary roller coasters.

Ball skills: She was also spotted larking around at a carnival game area

Perfect life: She recently celebrated her five-year wedding anniversary with Baywatch beefcake David Charvet
Blac Chyna's mother Tokyo Toni had some tough love for Rob Kardashian on Sunday's episode of Rob & Chyna.

When Toni asked them when they planned to get married at a Fourth of July party, Rob told Chyna: 'After you have your baby you're going to want to get married.'

That didn't impress Toni, who asked: 'Your baby or ''our baby''?

Candid conversation: Tony during a July 4 party had a pointed conversation with Rob about his responsibilities

'She said it was her baby,' Rob protested.

'He's been burnt in all his past relationships so it's hard for him to trust me,' Chyna explained.

A tearful Toni told Rob: 'You've got to stop what you're doing. She's a strong woman. I didn't have anything to give her.

'She don't need a baby with no father. Do you understand me? You can't do what you're doing or you'll ruin it.'

Hot seat: Rob protested that Chyna said it was 'her' baby

Also on Sunday's episode, Rob talked candidly about how he had become 'uncomfortable' in his own skin since gaining weight.

The 29-year-old reality star deliberately failed to tell his pregnant fiancee Blac Chyna that they had been invited to his sister Khloe's birthday party  and she only found out when she was personally invited by Khloe and Kim Kardashian.

'I didn't bring up Khloe's birthday party because I really don't want to go,' Rob revealed.

Very uncomfortable: Rob Kardashian talked about feeling 'very uncomfortable' in his own skin on Sunday's episode of Rob & Chyna

'I know it would mean a lot to Chyna to go, but I just don't think I'm ready for it. I just do not want that type of attention. I'm very uncomfortable in my own skin and unless you're in my shoes you won't know what that's like,' he explained.

Rob reluctantly agreed to go to the Hollywood bash, but immediately regretted his decision.

He said: 'I'm really regretting going because I'm realizing I'm wearing the same dumb a** sandals and sweats and I've got a really creepy moustache going on. The thought of being around all these people and pictures is freaking me out.'

Rob and Chyna went together to the party, but after an hour Rob began complaining that he wanted to leave.

Birthday bash: Khloe Kardashian was thrilled to see Rob at her birthday celebration

Family event: Kris Jenner also was happy to see Rob at his sister's bash

Huge welcome: Kim Kardashian embraced Blac Chyna after personally inviting her to Khloe's party

He said: 'Everyone's swarming Chyna and I and it's all love, I love it, but it's just exactly what I didn't want. I feel like a lot of eyes are on me.

'I tried to stick it out. I came here. I took pictures with everybody and I stayed for like an hour, so that's a big step for me. I'm not comfortable. I'd rather just go home.'

The sock designer, however, had a better time in Washington DC when he accompanied Chyna to visit her family over July 4.

Meeting the parents: Rob had fun in Washington DC during a trip to Chyna where he met her parents

Chyna took Rob to the club where she used to work as a stripper.

The pair, along with Chyna's family and friends, paid a late night visit to Sinsaysionals in Seabrook, Maryland, and Rob was horrified that the mother of his unborn baby used to work there.

'If I ever catch my daughter up in here what?' he said. 'I don't ever want you going back here again.'

Former club: Chyna took Rob to the club where she used to work as a stripper

Career choice: Rob vowed that his daughter would not become an exotic dancer

Into it: Chyna's father Eric participated in the festivities as her Tokyo Toni looked on

'If I wouldn't have moved to Florida and went back to school I would've probably been in here or at this other club. Still,' Chyna told Rob.

He told the camera: 'One thing I love about Chyna is that she's just comfortable in her own skin. She owns her past and I really wish I could live life the way she does.'

Rob was given a grand tour by Chyna of her other favourite spots including a crab house where fans took selfies with a willing Rob.

Get ready: Chyna took Rob to the Ruff 'N' Ready Crab House

Fan favourite: People popped out to take selfies with Rob

The Lord: Scott Disick came by for a dinner party by Rob and Chyna

Good times: Chyna was working on getting Rob out of his shell

Going strong: Rob and Chyna kissed after he agreed to go to DC with her

'I definitely felt comfortable last night. I feel like just throwing myself into these uncomfortable situations is what I gotta do in order to be happy and get past everything. I'm realizing that not everyone is judging me and I'm just hard on myself,' Rob said later of the experience.

Chyna explained her complicated upbringing and the fact that her father, Eric, has 12 children between the age of three and 30.

She said: 'Growing up was kind of different because I didn't know none of my siblings until I was 16-years-old, so basically I grew up my whole life as an only child.

Hard on himself: Rob came to the realization that not everyone is judging him

'My mom hasn't seen my dad in almost 12 years, so I'm hoping that I can get them together in DC without any drama.'

Chyna's parents came face to face over a family dinner, but her mother's mouth dropped open when she discovered Eric had two other children who were born just months apart from Chyna.

'So it's true. You're a rolling stone,' she said.

Body language: Chyna parents Eric and Tokyo Toni had not seen each other in more than 10 years

'That was an old life,' Eric said. 'I think you've got a lot of stuff that you want to say to me.'

'I've got nothing,' Tokyo Toni said before muttering 'that man' under her breath.

'I'm starting to think you've got a little attitude problem,' Eric said, prompting Toni to walk off.

Chyna explained: 'My dad was a player and he had three kids in five months of each other. My mom didn't know the extent of everything and, hearing all these details, I'm just hoping she can keep it together and we can just have a good dinner.'

Keep it together: The reality star was just hoping her parents could keep it together for dinner

Kind of awkward: Eric Jr, Eric Sr, Chyna and Rob took part in the awkward family reunion

Things became more harmonious between the family and everyone got together once again at a huge July 4 party.

In other developments, Rob also revealed that he was experiencing symptoms similar to his diabetic episode in December that left him in intensive care.

Rob and Chyna's reality show continues next Sunday on the E! network.
She usually keeps her private life out of the spotlight.

But in an interview with Elle Magazine, Isla Fisher briefly speaks about her marriage to actor Sacha Baron Cohen, being a mother to three children and having the advantage of picking her movie roles.

'I do think you can have it all, but I think that you shouldn't really want to,' the actress says.

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A true blue beauty: Isla Fisher stuns on the cover of Elle Australia magazine

'I don't mean that you can't have it all, more that it's hard to do everything well.'

Isla adds she never worked while being pregnant because of her love towards sleeping.

'I want a pint of Haagen-Dazs and my fat feet up on a stool and I want to just sleep,' she laughs.

Her brief and vague chat about her family life comes two months after s he shut down questions about her husband during a TV interview with a breakfast television show in Australia.

During a chat with Channel Seven's Sunrise, co-hosts Samantha Armytage and David 'Kochie' Koch asked if comedian Sacha reads to the couple's kids in 'funny voices'.

Stunner: An inside image sees the former Home And Away actress dazzles in a two-toned blue wrap dress that falls loosely over her slender figure

Isla brushed off the question, responding awkwardly: 'He's not here doing the interview. I don't like talking about my private life.'

She quickly recovered the situation, adding: 'Yes, I think there's a lot of mischief that goes on in our house and a lot of fun.'

Meanwhile, Isla stuns in an array of colourful ensembles in her Elle shoot.

On the cover, she wears a bright sequinned long-sleeve dress that hugs tightly around her torso and gathers in her lap.

Golden girl: She is also pictured wearing a red and gold floral patterned dress that features a V-neck cut accessorised with a corset-style leather belt that accentuates her tiny torso

As she tilts her head slightly to the side, she allows her signature red locks to fall freely over her shoulders.

Isla also flaunts her blemish-free complexion as her makeup is kept natural with a slick of nude lipstick and a brush of black mascara applied.

An inside image sees the former Home And Away actress dazzles in a two-toned blue wrap dress that falls loosely over her slender figure.

Natural: Isla also flaunts her blemish-free complexion as her makeup is kept natural with a slick of nude lipstick and a brush of black mascara applied

While angling her right knee, the mother-of-three rests her left hand in her lap, lending a clear view of her diamond engagement ring and wedding band.

She is also pictured standing by a window, wearing a red and gold floral patterned dress that features a V-neck cut.

The garment fits perfectly around her figure as the short sleeves drape over her shoulders.

Her tiny torso is accentuated with a corset-style leather belt.

Opening up: In an accompanying interview Isla briefly speaks about her marriage to actor Sacha Baron Cohen, being a mother to three children and having the advantage of picking her movie roles
Zilda Williams documented an X-rated shoot on Snapchat over the weekend.

And on Monday, fans were finally able to get a glimpse of the finished product after photography studio ABC Creative shared a racy image from the pictorial on their Instagram account.

The photo comes after Zilda shared outrageous behind-the-scenes shenanigans from the shoot to social media, which saw the 33-year-old go as far as to eat a banana dipped in Nutella.

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Baby got back! Zilda Williams showcased her enviable behind in a G-string in an image from a raunchy new photo shoot

In the finished image from the shoot, the Kiwi-born bombshell shows off her shapely derriere in a skimpy G-string.

A glimpse of her legendary E cup breasts are also visible as the reality star's bra struggles to contain her artificial assets.

The Bachelor babe proudly proclaimed that 'the old Zilda is back!' on Friday after swapping her sophisticated bob cut for 22 inch hair extensions.

Healthy eating: Zilda enjoyed a Nutella-covered banana during an X-rated photo shoot on Saturday

And on Saturday, the reality-star-turned-actress showed that she wasn't kidding as she took part in an X-rated photo shoot that harked back to her days as a Maxim centerfold.

The blonde bombshell, who shot to fame as a breakout star on Sam Wood's season of The Bachelor, flaunted her E cup assets in a variety of plunging tops and lacy bras.

Clearly feeling amorous, she showcased her voluptuous curves by displaying her derriere in a G-string as she mounted a toy rocking horse.

The Kiwi-born beauty briefly stopped posing to enjoy a healthy snack, opting for a nutritious banana to satisfy her ravenous appetite.

'Ride em cowboy!' The 33-year-old reality star later stripped down to a G-string to ride a toy rocking horse

To add a little extra flavour to the suggestively shaped fruit, Zilda dipped it into Nutella before taking a seductive bite.

She was joined on the shoot by her busty BFF Karyssa Leigh, who was also seen partaking in some erotic poses on set.

Like her famous friend, Karyssa dared to bare by bending over on a bed in a sheer piece of lingerie that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Whoa! Zilda also had her enviable E cup chest on full display for all to see

Where to look? The former Bachelor babe documented her X-rated antics on social media

The pair were later spotted partying in Bondi together to celebrate the success of their adults-only shoot.

'Wine 'o-clock!' exclaimed Zilda as she downed a full glass of booze.

Despite Zilda's outrageous display, the confident beauty has previously shown a more conservative side of herself in a bid to get her acting career off the ground.

What kind of photo shoot is this?! Also on set was Zilda's busty BFF Karyssa Leigh

Bad girls: The top-heavy twosome showed off their finest physical features during a break from shooting

Back in June, she told New Zealand's Stuff: "I chopped off the hair and got a breast reduction. I wanted to strip my image down a bit.'

She continued: 'I'm changing, I'm getting older and I want people to see me as I am. I'm a down-to-earth Kiwi girl, I'm not a blonde from the Gold Coast.'

However, the Zoo magazine babe has made a seemingly magic return to her former self after getting 22 inch clip-in hair extensions on Friday.

Let's celebrate! After a hard day shooting photos, the Kiwi-born bombshell enjoyed a glass of wine before hitting the town

'The old Zilda is back!' she exclaimed on Snapchat as she twirled her new mane around her fingers shortly after getting the new 'do.

The Christchurch-born stunner has filmed a number of new TV projects, both scripted and unscripted, which are currently awaiting the green light from a network.

She's also been spotted on the set of season two of Channel Nine's Here Come The Habibs.
It is always hard to say goodbye.

So Travis Manawa was happy to be reunited with fiancee Madison Clark  but only after he watched son Chris drive off with a pair of 'savages' who blew a travelling companion's brains out on Sunday night's episode of Fear The Walking Dead.

Travis let Chris leave alone with his hooligan friends after his son had betrayed him and helped the duo kill their injured friend James.

So long: Travis Manawa saw his son drive off with homicidal killers on Fear The Walking Dead

Sad: He was overcome with emotion as he saw his boy leave him for good

An emotional Travis told Madison how he felt like he had let Chris down and let his mother Liza down.

'I left him,' he said. 'He was my son and I left him. I failed him, Maddie. I failed him and I failed her.

'The whole way walking here you know what I thought? I forgot to tell him I love him. The second I was too far away I realised the last thing I said to him was 'God damn you Chris'.'

Sunday night's episode of Fear the Walking Dead, entitled Date of Death, saw Travis burying the farmer that Chris shot dead before finding a needle and thread to stitch up James's gunshot wound.

Chickens coming home to roost: James was shot by the farmer when they raided his coup

Putting him down: They decided he had to die as they did not want to wait for him to heal

Pulling his son aside by the makeshift grave, he said: 'You killed a man today, Chris. Look at him. The least you could do is let it affect your appetite.'

Chris wiped grease off his face and went to swig from a beer can but his dad knocked it out of his hand.

'I need to know what's going on,' Travis said. 'What are you thinking? Are you thinking anything?'

Chris protested that the farmer had shot his and left him no choice, but Travis said the group were 'savages' and not his friends.

'Where the hell is your remorse?' he asked.

Teenage rebellion: Chris overpowered his father with the aid of a friend

Struggle: But he was unable to stop them from blowing James away

Chris said: 'This is how it works now. Look around. There is no more good. There is no more bad, right or wrong. It's us or them, kill or be killed and James? He's one of us.

'Be careful how you play this dad,' he warned. 'We need them.'

A week later Brandon and his sidekick forced Travis to load James's bed into their truck so they could all move onto a new location.

As they set off, James  whose injured leg was still healing - began moaning in pain before passing out, forcing them all to return to the farm.

While Travis tells them James will get better, the others imply it's time to put their friend out of his misery.

Stop talking: He was ordered to stop pleading for his life

Kaboom: The high gauge rifle was unloaded at close range to finish him for good

Pea shooter: But despite the powerful shot it left a tiny hole in Jame's head

A furious Travis grabbed Chris's gun and, when Brandon told him he was too much of a coward to shoot anyone, fired it on the ground by his feet.

'Why are you doing this?' Chris asked.

'I'm doing this for you,' his father said.

Travis locked himself in the barn to keep watch over James.

'You're not sick, you're not dying,' he told James. 'You're going to get better. All you need is time.'

'It doesn't matter,' James said. 'What matters is they think I'm dying. That's the deal. I'm dead weight.'

Barnyard animals: They decided to leave Travis behind with the corpses

Keep on truckin': But he tried to plead with his boy to stay at his side

Flying the nest: But he decided he would rather be with fit young companions in the dangerous post-zombie world

The following morning Chris knocked on the barn door with food and told his father he understood that he was trying to teach him that all lives matter.

Travis, believing that Chris was finally seeing things from his perspective, hugged his son  but Chris turned on him and wrested him to the floor.

Brandon and his friend burst through the barn doors and pressed a gun to Travis's head before shooting James dead with a rifle.

As Chris prepared to leave the barn with the duo, leaving his father behind, Travis told him the name of the farmer he killed was Elias Suarez and revealed that they share the same birthday  February 12.

A boy with drive: Travis tried to keep up as the truck sped off

Cold: And Chris did not seem to care he seemed to be leaving his father to die

'You said we shouldn't be surprised by coincidences,' a remorseless Chris said.

'This is forever, Chris,' Travis begged. 'You drive away, I won't be able to find you. You're barely 16-years-old. Don't do this. We were doing fine on our own.'

'Your way doesn't work. It can't,' Chris told his father.

An emotional Travis said: 'I promised your mother that I would take care of you.'

'You are,' Chris insisted. 'By letting me go, you are. Dad, you won't do what needs to be done. I'm better off without you. This whole time you had me thinking I was broken, but I wasn't, I'm not. I was adapting. I'm good now.'

Fit as a fiddle: However he seems rather hardy as he effortlessly dug two graves for the bodies

Quite the handyman: He even made makeshift crosses to honour the dead

It's what he would have wanted: The farmer was buried on his farm next to James

As the truck drove off into the distance, Travis screamed: 'God damn you Chris.'

Travis and Madison were reunited when Travis showed up at the gates of the hotel after seeing the lights go on.

Madison told him that her son Nick 'ran off like he always does' and asked after Chris.

'I had no choice. If I hadn't seen that light I never would have had to tell I soul what I did,' Travis said.

'You didn't do anything wrong,' Madison reassured him.

Coming in peace: Before the execution Travis had been guarding the injured young man

Winning him over: But the cunning chaps sent Chris with some goodies

So emotional: Travis was having a great heart-to-heart with his son

Little stinker: He hugged his old man but only so he could hold him while his friend broke in

After Travis lamented that he forgot to tell Chris he loved him, Madison opened up to daughter Alicia about the real way her father died.

'His accident. It wasn't an accident,' she explained.

A hurt Alicia protested: 'He crashed his car. How can you possibly be certain if you don't know?'

Madison said: 'There was a note. He left a note. They found it in his glove box.'

Alicia broke down in tears as her mother revealed the suicide note said nothing more than 'I love you all but enough's enough'.

Fancy seeing you here: It was emotional indeed when he met his fiancee

Taking it to the bedroom: He had a heart-to-heart with Madison on the king size

Shaken: He explained exactly what his naughty son had been up to during their trip

Madison explained: 'Nick is the reason why I kept it a secret. I was always so afraid of Nick ending up like him. You have to know that I never loved you any less, never ever. I just thought you were alright.'

Hugging her mother, Alicia whispered: 'I love you too.'

Sunday's episode ended with another group arriving at the hotel gates and shouting to be let in.

Viewers saw that the group included Brandon, but it was unclear if Chris was with him - leaving audiences unsure as to his fate.

The two hour Fear The Walking Dead finale episode airs next week.

Together again: They lovingly stared at each other in a moment of romantic tension

Passion: And she then gave him a smooch as they shared an emotional moment
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley shared a laugh Saturday at the Zurich Film Festival premiere of their film Snowden.

The former child stars reunited with their Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone at Kino Arthouse Le Paris to promote the Edward Snowden biopic.

24-year-old Shailene looked elegant in a white lace and pink-patterned Valentino gown selected by her stylist Ilaria Urbinati.

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Politically-conscious duo: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley shared a laugh Saturday at the Zurich Film Festival premiere of their film Snowden

Q&A: The former child stars reunited with their Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone (L) at Kino Arthouse Le Paris to promote the Edward Snowden biopic

The Golden Globe nominee rocked a nineties retro nose ring with her sleek ponytail and striking red lipstick.

The Dakota Access Pipeline protester eagerly signed autographs and posed for fan pictures outside the Swiss venue.

Woodley - who's only in eight or nine scenes - learned how to pole dance to better portray the NSA whistle blower's girlfriend Lindsay Mills.

Sophisticated: 24-year-old Shailene looked elegant in a white lace and pink-patterned Valentino gown selected by her stylist Ilaria Urbinati

Ready for her close-up: The Golden Globe nominee rocked a nineties retro nose ring with her sleek ponytail and striking red lipstick

Greeting her fans: The Dakota Access Pipeline protester eagerly signed autographs and posed for fan pictures outside the Swiss venue

Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, Zachary Quinto, Scott Eastwood, and Nicolas Cage also appear in the government surveillance flick - already in US theaters.

Shailene worries about Edward and Lindsay, who were only granted temporary political asylum in Russia through 2017 by President Vladimir Putin.

'As we now speak, they're wondering what the fate of their lives will be when his asylum is up,' the Allegiant actress lamented to Bucks Local News on Saturday.

Replaced Margot Robbie in role: Woodley - who's only in eight or nine scenes - learned how to pole dance to better portray the NSA whistle blower's girlfriend Lindsay Mills

Already in US theaters! Melissa Leo (L), Tom Wilkinson (2-R), Zachary Quinto (R), Scott Eastwood, and Nicolas Cage also appear in the government surveillance flick

'They're wondering what the fate of their lives will be': Shailene worries about Edward and Lindsay, who were only granted temporary political asylum in Russia through 2017 by President Vladimir Putin (pictured in 2014)

'Their love is great enough [that Mills has] sacrificed whatever comforts she may have experienced in America to live in Russia with him. That's something that I thought about through this whole process.'

Meanwhile, 35-year-old Joseph - looking sharp in his black and teal suit - donated his Snowden paycheck to an ACLU project examining democracy and technology.

The Emmy winner and hitRECord founder surely misses his 13-month-old son and his wife of two years, Fellow Robots co-founder Tasha McCauley.

The Allegiant actress lamented to Bucks Local News on Saturday: 'Their love is great enough [that Mills has] sacrificed whatever comforts she may have experienced in America to live in Russia with him. That's something that I thought about through this whole process'

Charitable: Meanwhile, 35-year-old Joseph - looking sharp in his black and teal suit - donated his Snowden paycheck to an ACLU project examining democracy and technology
Controversial X Factor rapper Honey G has revealed that she suffered a devastating carjacking and sexual assault several years ago that still affects her life to this day.

The 35-year-old reality TV hopeful, real name Anna Georgette Gilford, endured the horrific attack while at university, and believes her assailant wanted to murder her.

'In my final year of university I was car hijacked and sexually assaulted,' she told The Mirror. 'The effect that the experience had on me kind of ruined my confidence.

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Shocking revelation: The X Factor's Honey G has revealed that she suffered a devastating kidnapping and sexual assault when she was a university student

'It knocked me and basically its affected my whole life. I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being attacked. I battled obviously with that.'

While a was later convicted of committing the horrific crimes, Honey G believes that he had set out to end her life.

'I didnt know the person, but I was quite sure the attack was a botched attempt on my life,' she added.

Devastating effect: The 35-year-old rapper has said that the horrific experience has left her suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder

The musician will make a defiant return to the X Factor in next week's episode.

She will feature in the latest stage of the annual ITV competition - after Filipino contestant Ivy Grace was forced to quit.

The hopeful was forced to withdraw from the competition after failing to obtain a visa for travel to LA, where Sharon's judging house is set.

The 33 year-old mother of one, from Manila, had previously wowed the judges with Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing.

Lucky break: Honey G managed to get her place back on The X Factor over the weekend, after Filipino contestant Ivy Grace was forced to quit over visa issues

Stunned, Nicole Scherzinger told her: 'I know why you left the Philippines because your voice is too big for the Philippines alone, it's meant for the entire world.'

But ITV failed to circumvent the unspecified admin issue, which in turn created an opening for Honey G, who'll now enjoy a renewed opportunity.

She will battle it out against Christopher Peyton, James Wilson, Janet Grogan, Relley C and Samantha Atkinson in the over 25s category.

There's no stopping her! Honey G will make her defiant return to the X Factor, next week

Over and out: Honey G will feature in the next stage of the annual ITV competition - after Filipino contestant Ivy Grace, above, was forced to quit

The U-turn came after Sharon initially denied Honey G a place in the next round.

The wannabe star was previously refused a spot in the judges' houses after a disappointing rendition of Missy Elliott and Pharrell's WTF (Where They From).

Never one to mince her words, Honey G hit back with alarming confidence - telling Sharon: 'This is going to be the worst mistake of your life. Don't do it.'

No, thanks! The wannabe star, real name Anna Georgette Gilford, was initially denied a spot in the judges' houses by Sharon Osbourne after a disappointing audition

But, despite her protestations, she was still ejected from the competition.

The unexpected departure came after Snoop Dogg sang her praises.

Speaking about her recently, he told the Daily Star: I am happy to see Simon [Cowell] is finally giving real hip-hop talent a chance on the show. Its been a long time coming.

Straight up, you can tell Honey G comes from the streets. If Simon doesnt take her through to the live shows, she aint got to worry, I will work with her.

Fighting talk: Never one to mince her words, Honey G hit back with alarming confidence - telling Sharon, 'This is going to be the worst mistake of your life. Don't do it.'
He shocked the nation when choosing single mother Alex Nation over fan favourite Nikki Gogan in the finale episode of The Bachelor.

But Richie Strahan seemed to have a problem referencing the right blonde, in a snap posted to Instagram on Saturday.

The 31-year-old captioned a picture that featured his chosen lady Alex, but included the infamous one-liner said by his mother for Nikki.

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Awkward! The Bachelor's Richie Strahan made a blunder on a snap shared to Instagram on Saturday, referring to his chosen lady Alex Nation as Nikki Gogan

'When Miss Grill is actually Miss Chill Family hangs,' Richie captioned the image shared with his 152,000 Instagram followers.

The happy snap featured the rope access technician beaming, alongside Alex, his mother Kate and a male assumed to be Kate's partner.

Followers were quick to pick up the faux pas, with one Instagram user commenting: 'Awkward because his mum said Miss Grill/Miss Chill thing about Nikki...Not about Alex'.

While another simply wrote: 'Nikki's not in this pic tho...[sic]'.

'When Miss Grill is actually Miss Chill': The 31-year-old captioned a picture that featured his chosen lady Alex, but included the infamous one-liner said by his mother for Nikki (pictured)

Alex has been spending quality time of late with Richie's close-knit family.

Last Thursday saw Alex catching up one-on-one with Richie's sister Alannah at Perth Fashion Week.

Alex donned an all-black outfit as she posed up a storm at the event, enjoying her place in the limelight.

Stepping out: It seems Alex is getting to know Richie's family better, having spent last Thursday night with his sister Alannah at a high fashion event

All black: The 25-year-old model wore a long-sleeved dress and thigh-high boots

She teamed the quirky dress with a pair of black thigh-high boots and a fine gold necklace.

With her blonde tresses worn out and straight, Alex added drama to her look with bold red lipstick.

Last week, Alex was spotted flying out of Melbourne with Richie, just days after The Bachelor finale was aired.
Rumours that Married At First Sight's Clare Verrall and Craig Keller are dating have intensified thanks to a cryptic Instagram post on Monday.

The blonde reality star shared a picture of 26-year-old Keller cudding up to her pooches as he spent time at her Port Melbourne home this week.

She also revealed that he had stayed over at her house and that the pair are 'getting to know each other'.

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Feeling at home? Married at First Sight's Clare Verrall has revealed that Craig Keller stayed at her house in Port Melbourne this week following rumours that the pair are dating

Refusing to confirm or deny reports the pair had begun dating, she told MammaMia: 'Keller and I are just getting to know each other.'

'We've met up, he did stay here at my house.'

She also said that on top of spending time together, Craig flew interstate from his home in Brisbane to be with the blonde.

Hosting a sleepover? Clare admitted to MammaMia that the 26-year-old had flown interstate from Brisbane to visit her for her birthday

'He came down for my birthday, which was nice,' she said.

'He's rough around the edges, but so am I! He has a very kind heart.'

Clare's comments and Instagram post was shared her 35,000 Instagram followers on the same day New Idea claimed the pair had sparked a romance, despite being on different seasons of the show.

New romance? New Idea claimed that the pair had moved on together after they split from their respective on-screen partners

'They are cute together. There is clear chemistry between them, anyone can see that,' a friend close to the pair told the publication.

But while things might be heating up between the reality stars, the source says they're taking things slow.

'It's early days and they have both been left heartbroken before, so they are in no rush with anything,' the source added.

Revenge? It comes after Clare's ex Jono Pitman was spotted out at dinner with Craig's ex Nicole Heir on the Gold Coast

News of the potential romance comes after Clare's ex on-screen partner Jono Pitman was spotted with his arm around Craig's reality ex Nicole Heir last week.

Sharing an Instagram photo from their dinner date, Nicole added a cryptic caption that had fans speculating there's a new love blossoming.

'New friends and new adventures,' the blonde captioned the post.

Volatile: Clare and Jono's relationship on season two of the reality show was filled with drama

Sitting together at Koi Dining and Lounge Bar in Queensland's the Gold Coast, the pair were all smiles as they posed for the happy snap.

After receiving backlash from fans questioning the relationship, Nicole took to social media once again and shared: 'After my last post, I received a lot of negativity from people who haven't met myself or Jono, who don't know our real stories.

'People who don't know what goes on off camera. Making nasty comments is morally wrong, everyone's fighting their own battles and someday you could say it to someone who's not doing well.

Clashing: The pair's short-lived romance was filled with explosive arguments from the start

Dramatic: Meanwhile, Nicole and Craig ended their reality TV relationship as soon as filming wrapped on the latest season

'Filming ended 6 months ago, I'm still going to go about my life and if I want to catch up with Jono or whoever for dinner and post a pic like normal, I'm free to do so,' she concluded.

Jono's relationship with Clare during season two of the social experiment show was drama-filled from the get-go.

The pair's explosive clashes resulted in Jono moving out shortly after.

Craig meanwhile, parted ways with Nicole as soon as filming wrapped on the latest season.
She only gave birth to her second child in August.

And just seven weeks later, Luisa Zissman showcased her impressive post-baby body on Saturday night.

The Apprentice star, 29, looked sensational in her skinny jeans and jumper combo as she headed home from a fun night at The Xtra Factor in London - alongside the show's contestants successfully through to the Judges' Houses round.

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Yummy mummy: Luisa Zissman, 29, showed off her impressive baby body on Saturday night as she left the Xtra Factor studios in London

The gorgeous brunette looked every inch the yummy mummy in a pair of trendy skinny jeans distressed at the knee, showing off her enviably slim legs.

She kept things comfy but cool for her night out in a dark grey jumper decorated with silver studs, which scooped at the neck to display her decolletage and a dainty diamante necklace.

Maintaining her chic style even in her casual outfit however, Luisa draped an oversized khaki cape with stylish black piping on top, which fell softly and elegantly over her figure.

Chic: The gorgeous brunette looked every inch the yummy mummy in a pair of trendy skinny jeans distressed at the knee, showing off her enviably slim legs

Adding a pop of colour to her muted-down look, the former Celebrity Big Brother star completed her outfit with a pair of jazzy espadrilles, patterned with a multi-coloured chevron print.

Lining her eyes with a slick of thick black liner and false lashes, and styling her hair into a voluminous up-do, Luisa looked incredibly glamorous as she headed home from ITV's reality show spin-off.

Luisa welcomed her second daughter Indigo Esme in early August, with Irish businessman hubby Andrew Collins.

The pair, who share a 17 year age gap, started dating in late 2013 - a few months after she found fame on The Apprentice - with Andrew proposing with a 1.5million Boodles ring in Paris in October 2014.

Cape power: Maintaining her chic style Luisa draped an oversized khaki cape with stylish black piping on top, which fell softly and elegantly over her figure

She remains on good terms with her first husband Oliver - founder of Totally Fitness - who she split from in 2012 following three years of marriage after he allegedly cheated on her.

Also mother to daughter Dixie, six, from her marriage with Oliver, Luisa has been avidly documenting her post-baby weight loss journey with her followers.

Just two weeks after birth, Luisa shared a snap of herself in underwear just before giving birth, alongside a snap of her in a bra and jeans this week.

Catching the eye: Lining her eyes with a slick of thick black liner and false lashes, and styling her hair into a voluminous up-do, Luisa looked incredibly glamorous as she headed home

Hot mama! Luisa has been avidly documenting her weight loss journey with her followers on Instagram

Leaving the show alongside Luisa were many X Factor contestants who successfully made it through to the Judges' Houses round on Sunday night's episode.

First were the flamboyant Ottavio and Bradley, who were clad in sequins, crop tops, sunglasses and endless amounts of lairy luggage.

The pair seriously worked the camera as they left - clearly feeling fierce about bagging a place in Louis' Judges Houses' category at the end of the episode, after first being swapped out during the tough six-chair challenge.

Glamorous: The flamboyant Ottavio and Bradley also left the show, clad in sequins, crop tops, sunglasses and endless amounts of lairy luggage

Skarl3t and 4 of Diamonds also celebrated their success at the tough six-chair challenge at the Xtra Factor, after enduring a tense time onstage.

With Skarl3t performing last, Louis was then forced to choose two lucky girl groups out of three to proceed to the next round - sadly letting go Girl Next Door, who had been popular with viewers.

The girls headed out alongside boy band Yes Lad - who were the last group to be cut by Louis, but have since been brought back as the category's 'wild card'.

Set for stardom: Skarl3t put on a glam display as they headed home, having bagged a place in the next round at the very last moment

Success: Glamorous band 4 of Diamonds pipped devastated group Girl Next Door to the Judges' Houses round

Big and back: Boy band Yes Lad beamed at the show, having been brought back as the Groups category 'wild card'

Honey G, 35, also looked over the moon at being reinstated on the reality show as she left the studios - having been brought back after another Over 25s contestant had to drop out due to legal issues.

Dressed in her trademark 'down with the kids' outfit of a sporty bomber jacket and cap, the star threw a thumbs up for the cameras as she cheered herself on the way out.

However Honey's big news was not without drama, as the live Xtra Factor broadcast suffered reception issues, cutting the news off abruptly.

The show's signal blacked out just as Honey G's return was announced, with a blank test image appearing on screens.

Rylan in his usual style then joked upon the show's return: 'I'm so sorry if you lost your picture during the last part... don't worry Simon will sack them.'

What a Honey: Dressed in her trademark 'down with the kids' outfit of a sporty bomber jacket and cap, the star threw a thumbs up for the cameras as she cheered herself on the way out
There may have been a lot of flesh on display on the red carpet at this year's Brownlow Medal count.

But WAG Elise Swallow kept her ensemble Disney rated on Monday night.

The blonde beauty arrived at the event, held at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, in a wedding-cake inspired lilac and lace gown.

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It's not prom night! WAG Elise Swallow arrived at 2016 Brownlow Medal count, held at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne on Monday night, in a wedding-cake inspired lilac and lace gown

The poufy dress featured a voluminous skirt of tulle and a creamy lace bodice that covered her decolletage.

Elise, who is married to North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow, teamed the attire with a large white hexagon clutch and wore her platinum blonde locks in a Pocahontas-style braid.

She accessorised with a simple diamond tennis bracelet and matching stud earrings, as well as her wedding bling.

Voluminous: The poufy dress featured a voluminous skirt of tulle and a creamy lace bodice that covered her decolletage

Simple: Elise kept her make-up safe with the obligatory smokey eye and nude lip combo, flashing her pearly whites for the camera as she twirled around in her fairy-tale dress

Dapper: Meanwhile, Andrew looked dapper in a black tuxedo complete with white dinner shirt and black bow tie

She kept her make-up safe with the obligatory smokey eye and nude lip combo, flashing her pearly whites for the camera as she twirled around in her fairy-tale dress.

Meanwhile, Andrew looked dapper in a black tuxedo complete with white dinner shirt and black bow tie.

Before heading over to The Crown Palladium in Melbourne the mother-of-one shared plenty of photos of her 'princess dress' with fans.

'Two princesses': Before heading off for the awards ceremony, the mother-of-one shared a very sweet snap as she held tight to the couple's daughter, Isabelle Grace

She also shared a very sweet snap as she held tight to the couple's daughter, captioning the shot: 'Two princesses'.

Isabelle Grace Swallow, who was born in November last year and is the couple's first child.

Elise later took to Instagram to share a photo from inside the event as she laughed alongside fellow WAG Olivia Turnbull, who was similarly dressed in a tulle skirt gown.
Rihanna was pictured touching down in Paris on Monday after flying in from JFK the night before.

The 28-year-old opted for a casual ensemble, all the way promoting her own Fenty x Puma Designs in a black tracksuit from her own collection for the international flight.

While she was pictured wearing a pair of Gentle Monster x Opening Ceremony Zhora orange specs at the start of the trip, she wore dark shades upon arrival.

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Nothing to see here: A low key Rihanna was pictured touching down in Paris on Monday after flying in from JFK the night before wearing a casual ensemble from her own Puma collection

She's in demand: Rihanna is set to show her Spring/ Summer 2017 Collection at Paris Fashion Week after her sportswear line continues to sell out

She also wore her hood up, hiding any bad hair she might be sporting following such a lengthy overnight flight.

Rihanna is set to show her Spring/ Summer 2017 Collection at Paris Fashion Week after her sportswear line continues to sell out.

Sporting a green holdall as she exited Charles De Gaulle airport, as well as a Louis Vuitton Frank Gehry Twisted bag.

Mixing it up a little: While she was pictured wearing a pair of Gentle Monster x Opening Ceremony Zhora orange specs at the start of the trip, she wore dark shades upon arrival

Arm candy: Sporting a green holdall as she exited Charles De Gaulle airport, as well as a Louis Vuitton Frank Gehry Twisted bag

She wore her hair up and slicked down with a centre parting and minimal make-up let her natural beauty shine through.

She completed her look with a pair of hiking boots which added to her casual ensemble.

The day before, Rihanna rocked it at the Global Citizen Festival in Manhattan's Central Park.

She wore a Chrome Hearts kimono top beneath a pinstripe corseted romper by Adam Selman.

Specs appeal: She's known for her incredible sense of style and Rihanna looked effortlessly cool as she prepared to fly out of JFK on Sunday

'Y'all killin' it!' Rihanna told the New York crowd gathered on the Great Lawn.

And clearly a fan of those orange shades, she wore them once again as she took to the stage to delight her fans.

On Friday, Rihanna was appointed Ambassador of Global Citizen, which teamed up with her Clara Lionel Foundation for a multi-year partnership to advocate for kids.

She cannot get enough of those spectacles: The day before, Rihanna rocked it at the Global Citizen Festival in Manhattan's Central Park

'Y'all killin' it!' Rihanna told the New York crowd gathered on the Great Lawn, before sharing this Instagram snap post-show
Game of Thrones actor Alexander Siddig has slammed the hit show in a scathing interview.

The actor, who played Doran Martell in season five, has claimed GoT's lead actors are the only ones who benefit from appearing in the show long-term as the pay is poor and schedules are 'messed up.'

Alexander also claims in the candid chat with startrek.com that his character was suddenly killed off at the beginning of season six despite him being contracted for another four episodes.

Hitting out: Game of Thrones actor Alexander Siddig, who played Doran Martell in season five, has slammed the hit show in a scathing interview

The Sudanese-born British actor, who played Dr Julian Bashir in Star Trek, landed the role of the ruling Prince of Dorne in 2015, but only lasted one season before his character was killed off in the show famous for its bloodbaths.

In the interview, the actor insists the global popularity of the HBO show, which has a cast of around 40 prominent roles, means co-creators Dan Weiss and David Benioff can get away with much more.

'From an actor's point of view, professionally you don't want to be on a show like that for too long  unless you are one of the top leads who originated the show  because your schedule gets kind of messed up,' he explained.

All about them: The actor has claimed GoT's lead actor such as Emilia Clarke are the only ones who benefit from appearing in the show long-term

'You don't earn as much as you would if you were doing another show because they're Game of Thrones, and they don't have to pay anyone.'

Although the series does not release details of salaries, Deadline.com reported in June that Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) will all be paid approximately $500,000 an episode for Season 7.

Alexander went on to discuss the moment he learned his character would be killed off, claiming he received a phone call from the co-creators telling him he would only appear in the first episode of season six despite being contracted for four episodes.

He muses that the fan excitement surrounding his casting 'might have been the kiss of death' as perhaps the creators weren't keen for so much attention to be drawn to Doran.

Men in charge: Alexander insists the popularity of the show means co-creators David Benioff (L) and Dan Weiss (pictured at the Emmys) can get away with much more

'Maybe they thought, "Well, let's prove that we're going to stray from the books. We're going to do something else, and he will be our first example of that". Or maybe I just screwed up. Maybe I said the wrong thing to the wrong person.'

Alexander has gone on to star in another hit series - Peaky Blinders as Ruben Oliver while he'll also be seen in the anticipated mini series The Kennedys After Camelot, which sees Katie Holmes take on the role of Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of the assassination of her husband, President Kennedy.

Game of Thrones meanwhile made history at this month's Emmys, winning three awards during the televised portion of the show bringing its total to 38, which is one more than previous all-time record holder Frasier.
Lindsay Lohan's 'flat broke' former fiance Egor Tarabasov has hit back at the troubled star's claims that she had to buy her own engagement ring.

The property tycoon, 23, has told friends he was the 'breadwinner' over the course of the couple's tumultuous 11-month relationship, which broke down in August when they were pictured grappling over a mobile phone on a beach in Mykonos, Greece.

A source close to Egor told TMZ he had to cover the 'thousands of dollars of bills Lindsay racked up during the filming her latest movie'.

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Firing back: Lindsay Lohan's 'flat broke' former fiance Egor Tarabasov has hit back at the troubled star's claims that she had to buy her own engagement ring

The insider said: 'Lindsay had access to Egor's credit card, and she used it often to snatch up gifts for herself and her entire family.'

During a Russian television interview last week, the Mean Girls actress claimed she even paid for her own ring when the pair got engaged in September 2015.

But the source told TMZ that while Lindsay picked out her 220,000 emerald sparkler, it was Egor who paid for it.

The insider added: 'Egor has a steady income through a bunch of investments, and even serves as director for a couple European firms ... so he's got cash to blow.'

A source told MailOnline: '

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Lindsay Lohan for comment.

In happier times: The property tycoon, 23, has told friends he was the 'breadwinner' over the course of the couple's tumultuous 11-month relationship, which broke down in August

This comes just days after Lindsay appeared on Russian TV and claimed her former flame didn't contribute one penny to their union  calling him a 'lazy layabout'.

On top of her heated words, the one-time Hollywood golden girl said Egor's jet-set lifestyle is funded entirely by his wealthy businessman father.

In an emotional interview, Lindsay said: 'He does not have money. What could I do? We lived in my home. I paid for everything. His father paid for many things, but mainly I was paying.

'But it was mistake. I should have said to him, "Do something, I can't do everything alone". I'm a 30-year-old woman and I was supporting a guy who didn't work.'

Lindsay claimed that during their well-publicised rows Egor beat her and alleged that she covered up the bruises.

Tarabasov has denied the 'harmful' and 'false' claims and no charges have been brought against him.

Moving on: During a Russian television interview last week, the Mean Girls actress claimed she even paid for her own ring when the pair got engaged in September 2015

Lindsay said: 'I feel I was used. It is the first time I am in such a relationship when I was beaten, it is painful for me. I don't want it, I am not a victim, I am a strong person.

'I should have stopped it when the first signs came. But it is very hard for me to say goodbye.

'I feel quite uncomfortable about the last few months with Egor. Would you feel normal with bruises on your legs? That was really hard for me.'

She went on: 'For some time I was thinking he was a good man. I feel ashamed to confess that my logical mind switched off. I used to say "forgive me" the next morning because I wanted to have peace.

'This is how I became one more beaten woman who is scared to confess it.'

Moscow native Egor is the son of a successful Russian businessman who owns several transport companies.

'Lazy layabout': This comes just days after Lindsay appeared on Russian TV and claimed her former flame didn't contribute one penny to their union  calling him a 'lazy layabout'

He is listed as the boss of a London property company Home House Estates and shareholder in a Moscow bank, but Lindsay claimed he has no significant wealth.

Former wildchild Lindsay is well known for her erratic off-screen behaviour, partying and has spent time in rehab.

In May 2007 she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and in July the same year, the wayward star was arrested again - this time for possession of cocaine, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.

She got engaged to Egor, seven years her junior, last September following a whirlwind romance.

However, things turned sour after images surfaced showing Egor violently grabbing her during a break in Mykonos.

Lindsay said of the early days of their romance: 'Everything was very relaxed. He was a very charming, very attractive young man, very open and honest. But initially there was no information on who he is, it was strange.

Whirlwind: Lindsay got engaged to Egor, seven years her junior, last September following a whirlwind romance

'Nobody really knew I was living in London. Suddenly everyone got to know about it. And it was all because of that very man.

'He was very excited about it, that they were writing about a Russian guy, a multi-millionaire who is with Lindsay Lohan now.

'My life in London was so private and this guy who proposed to me just betrays me for the sake of publicity.'

Lindsay told Kremlin-owned Channel One TV that the death knell came during a row on the balcony of her 3million home in London in July.

'I was at home, I was sleeping, he broke into the house, he was drunk and began to strangle me,' she said.

'I jumped out to the balcony, I was shouting. He is trying to kill me, call the police, anybody! Two people filmed it and called police.'

Summer of love: Things turned sour for the couple after images surfaced showing Egor violently grabbing Lindsay during a break in Mykonos, Greece

Since the split, the flame-haired beauty has been linked with Greek restaurant owner Dennis Papageorgiou but it appears the star is enjoying her single status in a recent Instagram post.

She added the captioned the snap: '#being #alone is the best way to find yourself #dontliveinfearcauseofpeoplesopinion #nomakeup'.

Egor has stated in response to the claims: 'My relationship with Lindsay came to an end in July 2016.

'In the weeks that followed, there were numerous attempts to discredit my name by inaccurately portraying the nature of our relationship, publishing distorted facts, and making false accusations.

'I decided not to address those harmful and false statements at that time. As an international businessman, I aim to maintain a low profile and concentrate on developing my business. I also chose to keep my silence out of respect for Lindsay.

'Today, I would like to state that all accusations made, and about to be made, by Lindsay against me are not true. I refuse to be dragged into the media storm created in the aftermath of our breakup.

'I will not be making any more statements with regards to my former relationship with Lindsay, but I will use all possible legal means to protect my name and reputation.'
She currently lives in Australia, where her husband Chris Hemsworth is originally from.

But Elsa Pataky jetted back to her native ground of Spain on Friday, to indulge in a sunny summer holiday with her family.

The Spanish actress, 40, looked utterly relaxed and gorgeous in a tiny bikini and animal print playsuit, as she headed to the beach with her three sweet children on idyllic Balearic island Formentera.

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Beach babe: Elsa Pataky, 40, looked utterly relaxed and gorgeous in a tiny bikini and animal print playsuit, as she enjoyed a beach day with her three sweet children in Formentera

Clad in a leopard print dungaree-style playsuit which cut low at the sides, Elsa looked incredibly slender as a mother of three young children.

Skimming her thighs, the one-piece showed off her enviably long and lean legs as she enjoyed some respite from the blazing Mediterranean sunshine.

The leopard-print number also featured bright yellow fringe ties at the hem which, when layered on top of a vibrant turquoise strapless bikini, made for a show-stopping and standout holiday look.

Hot mama: Clad in a leopard print dungaree-style playsuit which cut low at the sides, Elsa looked incredibly slender as a mother of three young children

Stunning: Adding a large classic straw hat and dainty bejeweled, Elsa managed to still exude glamour as she headed on her low-key trip to the beach

Adding a large classic straw hat and dainty bejeweled, Elsa managed to still exude glamour as she headed on her low-key trip to the beach.

The blonde was joined by her adorable three children from marriage to Chris Hemsworth - India, 4, and 18-month-old twins Tristan and Sacha.

Sweet India was clad in a cute cream beach cover up embroidered with flowers, which blew in the sea breeze as she sipped on her refreshing water.

Leggy lady: Skimming her thighs, the one-piece showed off her enviably long and lean legs as she enjoyed some respite from the blazing Mediterranean sunshine

Let the fun begin! The clan, after a quick change into clean outfits, then headed down to the beach to spend the rest of the day playing on the sand

With son Tristan in the comfortable arms of his aunt the clan, after a quick change into clean outfits, then headed down to the beach to spend the rest of the day playing on the sand.

Rocking a somewhat Australian style in a beach hat, tiny green board shorts and tribal beads around her neck, Elsa showed the influence of her new life in Byron Bay as she showed off her legs on the beach.

Running up and down Elsa was the cause of her children's sweet giggles, before she accompanied her young twins for a paddle in the shallow water - cuddling and kissing them constantly.

Happy family: Running up and down Elsa was the subject of her children's sweet giggles, before she accompanied her young twins for a paddle in the shallow water

She later layered a chic, cascading kimono adorned with pink flowers over her outfit, as they rounded off their sun-soaked outing and made for home.

Despite being joined by her mother and sister-in-law, beloved hubby Chris was nowhere to be seen - perhaps remaining at their pad down under for upcoming acting commitments.

Elsa, who was born in Madrid, wed heartthrob Chris in a private ceremony in 2010, after meeting him through their mutual representatives.

The couple and their younger clan relocated to Byron Bay in Chris' native Australia from LA last year, as the actor no longer needed to reside in the US to secure acting work.

Chic: Elsa later draped a gorgeous floral kimono over her look, displaying her chic beach style for the third time that day

Devoted mother: Elsa did not let the kids out of her sight or attention all day, looking the perfect mother as she helped them paddle in the water

The Thor star revealed earlier this year however how the move was instigated mainly for the kids' benefit, and how much better the Australian lifestyle is for them.

'It's no longer all about me, which is quite refreshing,' he told Modern Luxury magazine.

'Acting is the most self-absorbed world, where you are thinking about your feelings. Once the kids arrived, I was like, 'Wow, this is what life is about.''

The hunk continued: 'L.A. is a tough place to get around with kids. There's not a whole lot of foot traffic. It was all about loading up the car and car seats,' he explained.

'We were living shoulder to shoulder in the suburbs and thought that's not how we want our kids to grow up.'
Her husband Guy has been locked into a dramatic custody battle over the past few months with his pop megastar ex-wife, Madonna.

But Jacqui Ritchie looked happy to have family matters back to normality as she hit the shops with her cute daughter Rivka, three, in London on Monday.

Looking content as she hopped out of a black cab with her adorable little one, the model, 34, showcased her slim pins in a pair of stylish star-print skinny jeans.

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Stars on her thighs: Jacqui Ritchie showcased her slim pins in a pair of stylish star-print skinny jeans as she hit the shops with her cute daughter Rivka, three, in London on Monday

Carrying numerous J.Crew shopping bags and Rivka's pink scooter in her hands, the mother-of-three looked effortlessly chic for her day of retail therapy.

Jacqui teamed her eye-catching jeans with a peasant style blouse, which hung loosely off her enviable figure.

The former catwalk queen ditched her heels and slipped into a pair of stone-coloured pumps to keep things comfortable on her shopping trip.

Jacqui toted her belongings in a powder grey backpack and pushed her hair back from her face with a pair of chic tortoiseshell shades.

Shop 'til you drop: Carrying numerous J.Crew shopping bags and Rivka's pink scooter in her hands, the model mother-of-three, 34, looked effortlessly chic for her day of retail therapy

The beauty swept her glossy brunette tresses pinned back in a clip and accentuated her naturally striking features with low-key make-up.

Jacqui was joined by her adorable three-year-old Rivka, who looked cute as a button in a neon pink ballerina tulle dress and cream hoodie as she pounded the pavement.

Jacqui has two sons - Rafael, five, and Levi, two - with acclaimed British director Guy, 48, who she wed in 2015 after five years together.

The brunette beauty is also step-mother to Guy's two children - Rocco, 16, and David, nine - with pop icon Madonna.

Jacqui's chic appearance comes after Guy and Madonna settled their fraught custody battle over son Rocco earlier this month.

Cute couple: Jacqui has two sons - Rafael, five, and Levi, two - with acclaimed British director Guy, 48, who she wed in 2015 after five years together

The ex-files: Guy was locked in a fraught custody battle with his former wife Madonna over their son Rocco, 16, until earlier this month (pictured together in 2008)

The two agreed that their teen son would reside in London with Guy and Jacqui instead of New York with his pop star mum.

The exes had been involved in the bitter battle over where Rocco should live since December, when the teen abandoned his mother's world tour to stay with his father in the UK.

The teenager spent that Christmas with Guy and his step-mother- and later refused to return to America to star the school term in January.

Speaking outside the court in New York where a hearing was due to take place on September 7, Guy's lawyer, Peter Bronstein, announced the teenager would continue to live with his father and be schooled in London.

According to Page Six, Bronstein said: 'The case is settled and everyone agrees that Rocco's needs changed and he's going to be living with dad. Everyone's agreed to that and there's no further need for any kind of a court case.'
She recently attended the Bullyzero Charity gala as an ambassador to protect and empower Australians to live fulfilling lives free from all forms of bullying.

And on Monday, former The Bachelor contestant Emily Simms joined CEO of Bullyzero on the red carpet of the 2016 Brownlow Medal Count in Melbourne.

The reality star admitted that her invitation from Oscar gave her only '24 hours' to prepare an outfit adding it was 'such late notice'.

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Late call up: Former The Bachelor contestant Emily Simms joined Bullyzero CEO, Oscar, on the red carpet of the 2016 Brownlow Medal Count on Monday night in Melbourne

Emily wore a plunging mesh gown with white bead detailing to the event and thanked the dress designer for the quick turnaround for her elegant ensemble.

The 32-year-old posted a picture to Instagram captioned: 'With this amazing human tonight at the @aflbrownlowmedal count for 2016.

'Oscar, the CEO from @bullyzero, kindly invited me yesterday, so I had 24 hours to pull everything together!

'Thank you to the incredible @tanyadidenkocouture for my dress at such late notice.'

Another picture posted to Instagram flaunted the brunette beauty's soft bronzer make-up look, paired with lashings of mascara to highlight her long lashes.

'I had 24 hours to pull everything together!': The reality star admitted that her invitation gave her only '24 hours' to prepare an outfit adding that it was 'such late notice'

'So in love with them': Emily wore a white cognac diamond ring from Ben Simon Spirit

Meanwhile, Emily recently appeared to sparkle on the red carpet at the annual Bully Zero Charity Ball wearing a floor length couture dress.

The former bachelor contestant Emily Simms showed off her playful side in a Star Wars inspired battle against radio host Mel Grieg using light sabers.

The pair, who are both ambassadors for Bully Zero, appeared to be in happy spirits as they brandished the pink and green light sabers' in their elegant couture gowns.

Her sparkling dress fit the Star Wars inspired photo opportunity and flaunted her slender physique and trim pins.

'Light saber battle with this awesome chick': Former Bachelor contestant Emily Simms battles breakfast show host Mel Grieg in sparkling gown with light saber at the Bully Zero Charity Ball

Diamond dazzler: Emily's 26,000 fans were able to follow her journey through the charity gala starting with a ravishing picture taken just hours before the even in the mirror

Emily's 26,000 fans were able to follow her journey through the charity gala starting with a ravishing picture taken just hours before the even in the mirror posing in her couture dress.

The detailed silver garment hugged Emily's slender physique and put her ample assets on display with a plunging neckline.

Calling herself lucky, Emily donned a large diamond ring on her finger from Ben Simon Spirit especially for the Bully Zero ball and revealed her makeup was completely done by herself.

Smoky eyes paired with nude lips accentuated the chocolate brown haired beauties flawless complexion as she pouted in the selfie uploaded before the event.

Belfie: To get a picture of what the outfit looked like from behind, Emily took a snap facing her back to a mirror in which the plunging back and sheer silver bottom of the garment were accentuated

To get a picture of what the outfit looked like from behind, Emily took a snap facing her back to a mirror in which the plunging back and sheer silver bottom of the garment were accentuated.

A silver dress stopping just below her pert derriere was hidden beneath the sheer layer and revealed a leggy display veiled by the fabric.

Despite her laudable efforts as a Bully Zero ambassador Emily rose to fame as the villain in series three of The Bachelor series.

The beautician believes that she was 'unfairly edited' by producers and told The Daily Telegraph in April that she felt betrayed, because of the invasive process of getting onto the show.
She has spent much of her seven months of pregnancy defending herself.

And Stephanie Davis has once again faced a barrage of questions and doubt after sharing an image on her Snapchat account on Monday in which she appeared to show off a suspiciously flat stomach.

The 23-year-old actress, who is currently on holiday in Spain, was questioned over the shot as fans on Twitter grilled her over the seemingly changing state of her bump.

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Then and now: Stephanie Davis has once again faced a barrage of questions and doubt after sharing an image on her Snapchat account on Monday in which she appeared to show off a suspiciously flat stomach

Stephanie is in the midst of a babymoon as she prepares for the arrival of the baby she shares with her Celebrity Big Brother co-star Jeremy McConnell.

After touching down in Spain, she immediately started documenting her trip on social media, with one stunning shot showing her cradling her burgeoning bump in a skin-tight black dress.

Yet fans were left baffled on Monday when the former Hollyoaks star took to Snapchat to share a stunning selfie in which she showed off a shockingly flat stomach.

Her Snapchat followers then swarmed Twitter with shocked and confused reactions as they questioned why her stomach appeared to suddenly flatten.

What's going on? After touching down in Spain, she immediately started documenting her trip on social media, with one stunning shot showing her cradling her burgeoning bump in a skin-tight black dress

Happier than ever: The 23-year-old actress, who is currently on holiday in Spain, was questioned over the shot as fans on Twitter grilled her over the seemingly changing state of her bump

As she shared a screenshot of the image, one user penned: 'Ummmm @Stephdavis77 where's your baby? #fit'

Some more stunned reactions questioned why her shape changes so frequently: 'Cannot actually deal with Stephanie davis's bump, why is it huge in some pics and non existent in others?!

'Feel like stephanie Davis's bump changes size Everytime I see a pic of her.'

The images on Stephanie's Snapchat come after she seized her last chance for a child-free holiday as she jetted on her babymoon on Thursday, after revealing the trip is 'so needed' after many dramatic holidays in the past.

Shock! Some more stunned reactions questioned why her shape changes so frequently: 'Cannot actually deal with Stephanie davis's bump, why is it huge in some pics and non existent in others?!'

Happy families: Stephanie is in the midst of a babymoon as she prepares for the arrival of the baby she shares with her Celebrity Big Brother co-star Jeremy McConnell

Gone? Her Snapchat followers then swarmed Twitter with shocked and confused reactions as they questioned why her stomach appeared to suddenly flatten

The actress was perhaps referencing her overwhelming trip to Cape Verde in April with ex-beau and baby daddy Jeremy after reports surfaced claiming she was left in fear after a row.

Stephanie has kept her pregnancy well-documented following the tempestuous start to her journey after meeting Jeremy in the Celebrity Big Brother house in January.

Despite the beautiful brunette dating hunky model Sam Reece on the outside world, she struck up what would become an extremely volatile relationship with the father of her child.

Stunner: The images on Stephanie's Snapchat come after she seized her last chance for a child-free holiday as she jetted on her babymoon on Thursday, after revealing the trip is 'so needed' after many dramatic holidays in the past

Atop many questions over the pregnancy, Stephanie even faced disbelief and denial from Jeremy after he insisted his ex is not pregnant with his child and has even called for a DNA test if she gives birth to prove she is lying.

The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant called Stephanie's claims 'ridiculous,' and added she would look like a 'mug' when it is revealed any child is not his after a paternity test, Ireland's TV Now Magazine reports.

Following a bitter war of words between the former couple last week, the 26-year-old again said: 'I'm not going to be a dad. If she is pregnant, it's not mine.

Mistakes? Stephanie has kept her pregnancy well-documented following the tempestuous start to her journey after meeting Jeremy in the Celebrity Big Brother house in January

'If I was a dad, I'd be 100% no, 110%, the best dad in the world. But you'll see in the future that it's not my kid, and she'll look like a mug,' he added.

A representative for Stephanie said in a statement to MailOnline: 'Our client is categorically pregnant. We do not need to continue repeating this.'
Sienna Miller showed off her sartorial prowess when she boarded a yacht to Hotel Du Cap at Eden Roc in Antibes, France, on Sunday.

The 34-year-old looked stunning in a cream jumper teamed with leopard print bottoms as she sat in the boat.

She added a pair of yellow-framed sunglasses into the mix as she sat with her tousled blonde locks getting gently blown about in the wind.

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She's got the look: Sienna Miller looked very happy in the sunshine as she sailed to Hotel Du Cap at Eden Roc in Antibes, France, on Sunday ahead of a society wedding

With a big smile on her face, she lapped up the sunshine as she prepared to arrive at the wedding of fashion blogger Colby Jordans wedding to art collector Alberto 'Tico' Mugrabi.

Later that day, she was seen in a midi black number, which she livened up with an oversized yellow tote on her shoulder.

She wore a pair of low-heeled buckled sandals which were the perfect attire, as she wheeled her black suitcase behind her.

Stunning: Later that day, she was seen in a midi black number, which she livened up with an oversized yellow tote on her shoulder

According to Vogue, the wedding was a rather strict affair, with a strict ban on all social media and guests having to wear ID badges at all times.

But designer Derek Blasberg was allowed to share a stunning picture of the bride posing in front of a stunning setting on the day.

There was an incredible guest list at the bash with the likes of Owen Wilson, Poppy Delevingne and Karlie Kloss also in attendance.

There was no sign of Sienna Miller's rumoured love, Foxcatcher director, Bennett Miller, on the day.

The pair have reportedly been dating in secret for months and he is said to have accompanied her to the BAFTA-nominated star to a Met Gala afterparty in May.

They were also pictured looking cosy at Wimbledon and the US Open.
He's the hunky Australian actor known for his incredibly muscular physique and down-to-earth attitude.

But Chris Hemsworth has once again shown he's far more than just a pretty face.

The Thor star has joined a campaign to end violence against children and will paint one fingernail to show his support for the cause, which he'll sport for the month of October .

Not just a pretty face: Chris Hemsworth has once again supported charity by joining a campaign to end violence against children and will paint one fingernail for the month of October

'I just signed up to the @YGAP @polishedman campaign!' the acting superstar shared with his 6.8million Instagram followers on Monday.

'One in five children fall victim to physical and/or sexual violence, before they turn 18. Thats one too many.

'For the month of October, Ill be painting one nail to represent this statistic and raise awareness and funds to end violence against children.'

Ripped: Chris is known for his incredibly muscular physique and down-to-earth attitude

The Polished Man initiative is an ongoing project by YGAP, an international non-for profit organisation aiming to alleviate poverty.

The campaign is gaining momentum as stars like Chris spread the word.

Other well-known Australians who have previously got behind the initiative include The Bachelor's Sam Wood and former Olympic swimmer Michael Klim.

Gaining momentum: The cause has gained exposure as well-known Australians such as Sam Wood so their support

Olympic hero: Former Australian swimmer Michael Klim has thrown his weight behind the cause

Underbelly star Gyton Grantley and AFL legend Chris Judd have also shown their support.

Meanwhile, it's not the first time the Thor actor has flexed his philanthropic muscles.

Earlier this year he raised $30,000 for the Australian Childhood Foundation when he auctioned off his own TAG Heuer watch.

High-profile support: AFL legend Chris Judd is behind the campaign to end violence against children

Colourful drinks to match the nails! Gyton Grantley is just one of the Australian stars to have previously shown his support for the campaign

Chris sold his timepiece for $20,000, with TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver and the hunky actor each adding $5,000.

Late last year, the former soap star raised over $275,000 for the charity by auctioning an array of prize packages during the Audi Australia Film Gala screening of his film, In The Heart Of The Sea.

Chris also took part in the AFL's 2014 Everything's Possible campaign and donated his fees to the Foundation.
He is better known for his role as Ron Weasley in the beloved Harry Potter franchise.

However Rupert Grint is all set to blow his stereotype away, as he films what appear to be explosive scenes for his TV series Snatch on Monday.

The red-headed actor, 28, looked worlds away from his wizarding counterpart in a crisp blue suit and sunglasses, as he headed to set in Spinningfields, Manchester with co-star Luke Pasqualino.

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Ron, is that you? Rupert Grint, 28, looked worlds away from his wizarding counterpart as he filmed for new gangster TV series Snatch in Manchester on Monday

Clad in a crisp grey-blue double breasted suit, the actor completely embodied his posh con-man character Charlie Cavendish.

However adding a jazzy patterned shirt, bow tie and retro Wayfarer shades to the ensemble, a quirkier side to his character became clear, implying he will be one of the show's main sources of humour.

Not a fraudster without his tools, the Cherrybomb star as crook Charlie also carried a sleek tan satchel with him while a vintage black camera hung around his neck.

Acting in numerous takes, Rupert swapped between a London black cab and a yellow New York-style taxi as he assumed the role for new scenes in the pouring rain.

Cut above: Clad in a crisp grey-blue double breasted suit, the actor completely embodied his posh con-man character Charlie Cavendish

Rupert was joined on set by Skins star Luke Pasqualino, who cut a handsome figure in a more casual burgundy flannel shirt, patterned trousers and old-school braces.

Dapper Luke no doubt caught the eye of many admirers on set, after announcing he is only friends with rumoured girlfriend Perrie Edwards.

The Our Girl actor plays fellow gangster Albert Hill in the gritty drama, and held a perplexed expression as he filmed new exciting scenes for the programme.

The 10-part series is a spin-off of Guy Ritchie's gangster film of the same name, released back in 2000.

Other household names attatched to the project, directed by include Dougray Scott and Ed Westwick.

Handsome: Rupert was joined on set by Skins star Luke Pasqualino, who looked dapper in a more casual burgundy flannel shirt, patterned trousers and old-school braces

The show is scheduled to air on the Sony owned streaming service Crackle - currently unavailable in the UK.

According to The Independent, a spokesperson for Crackle reportedly said the show will adopt a formula previously employed by makers of cult show Fargo, where a film of the same name is used as a jumping off point for new characters and plot lines.

The representative continued that the show would likely air in Britain 'at some point, but it's too soon to say where yet.

'Similar to the programs produced by Sony Pictures Television, will be sold around the world by our international distribution team.'

Principal photography began in Manchester in August, with the show expected to air in 2017.
It turns out that Forrest Gump was right, life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get.

Tom Hanks, the actor who played Gump in the beloved film, proved the phrase true when he surprised a newlywed couple taking their wedding photos in Central Park This weekend.

The actor was jogging through the park when he saw the wedding photo shoot and decided to introduce himself to the happy bride and groom, Elisabeth and Ryan.

The star-struck newlyweds then invited him to take a few pictures with them, and their wedding photographer, Meg Miller, has since posted the adorable shots to her Instagram page.

Celebrity cameo: Tom Hanks, 60, gave a couple a priceless memory when he photobombed their wedding pics in Central Park

Gentleman: Couple Ryan and Elisabeth were taking their wedding photos in central Park on Saturday when Hanks jogged by and introduced himself

'Elisabeth and Ryan you planned one amazing celebration,' she wrote of the couple, who had just exchanged vows in a ceremony on the Upper East Side. 'The icing on the cake was @tomhanks stopping in Central Park to wish them congratulations.'

In the shots, the couple, decked out in the traditional wedding garb, initially encounter the Oscar-winner, with the groom shaking Hanks' hand while the bride's expression is one of shock and awe. In the second shot, Hanks, clad in a blue hooded zip up and sweatpants, is posing in between the groom and bride.

In the third shot, the chivalrous Hanks is bending down to kiss the bride on her hand as the groom stands by, smiling. In the fourth shot, Hanks is seen taking a selfie with the happy pair, a shot he uploaded to his Instagram page, writing: 'Elizabeth and Ryan! Congrats and blessings! Hanx.'

Center-of-attention: The gracious star took a selfie of his own, which he later shared on social media

Unexpected visitor: The Sleepless in Seattle star offered a hearty handshake to the groom

The montage: The whole interaction was captured

New friends! The blushing bride looked to be sent over the moon by the interaction

The celebrity run-in was subsequently posted on Reddit, capturing the attention of the Internet.

Speaking with the New York Daily News on Monday, Miller recalled the moment the Sully actor stopped by the scene, describing it as 'pretty amazing.'

'I had the couple pose near the reservoir. He just walked up to us and took off his hat and glasses and said, "Hi, I'm Tom Hanks."'

'It was pretty amazing that he stopped,' said Miller. 'He asked their names. He easily could have just run past.'

Miller told the newspaper that the couple invited Hanks to the wedding festivities they had planned the rest of the day, 'but he said he had other plans.'

Hanks even took time to meet the ring bearer and flower girl, who were perhaps not yet familiar with his work

The couple invited him to their reception later, but Hanks already had plans and had to decline

The actor had a busy weekend, also appearing on Australia's 60 Minutes, where he chatted politics, vowing he would never try to parlay his celebrity into a run at the U.S presidency.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this isn't the first time friendly Hanks has crashed a wedding.

This isn't the first time that Hanks has crashed a wedding. In 1993, he posed for pictures with bride Mary Dunning Chapman just before she walked down the aisle in Beaufort, South Carolina. Hanks was filming Forrest Gump there at the time

Back in 1993 when he was filming Forrest Gump in Beaufort, South Carolina, he introduced himself to bride Mary Dunning Chapman as she prepared to walk down the aisle.

She later told a local news website: 'I saw this light blue Lincoln at the stop light just down from the church, and there was a guy hanging out waving and honking the horn. I didnt think anything of it..by the time we got to the front of the church, the car pulled up, and this guy hops out and runs up to me!

'He says, Hey, Im Tom Hanks, and I just wanted to say good luck! He hugged me and kissed me on the cheek!! I was shocked but managed to get the photographer to snap a great shot. The rest of the wedding was kind of a blur!!'

In 2012, these photos surfaced of Hanks posing with a fan who was pretending to be passed out drunk

Weddings aren't the only time that Hanks has been known to pose for fans' pictures.

In 2012, a set of photos emerged showing Hanks posing with a fan who was pretending to be passed out drunk in a North Dakota restaurant.

Hanks also proved he is the nicest man in Hollywood last year, when he found a college student's ID in Central Park and posted a photo of it on Twitter, in hopes of tracking down and returning the ID to the student.

The bid worked and Fordham University student Lauren Whitmore was reunited with the ID after her professor saw the tweet and informed her.
While their friendship has sparked romance rumours in the past, insiders have insisted Charlotte McKinney and Scott Eastwood are merely friends.

But now it seems the pair have indeed taken their friendship to the next level.

The 30-year-old and Charlotte, 23, appeared to be locking lips during a beach day in Malibu on Sunday.

Malibu is for lovers! Charlotte McKinney and Scott Eastwood appeared to be locking lips on the beach on Sunday

Tender: The actor leaned in closer to McKinney to get that smooch

Kick back and relax! Sitting side by side, the two caught up while enjoying a day in paradise

Doing some of the heavy lifting! The pals first arrived to the shore with all their beach wear in tow, including a surfboard that Scott had carried beneath his arm

Scott was shirtless as he leaned down towards his bikini-clad gal pal.

The actor wore a pair of striped black trunks and sunglasses.

Charlotte, meanwhile, looked sensational in her frayed denim cut-offs and a summery black-and-white string bikini.

Showing some skin! McKinney ditched her off-the-shoulder white top as to show off her bikini-clad body

Eye-catching: The stunner's white bikini top showed off her famous assets to full effect

Bottom's up! The star's bikini clung to her pert posterior

Getting comfortable: After stripping down into her bikini, she tenderly applied a coat of sunscreen onto Scott's back

The couple first arrived to the beach with all their beach wear in tow, including a surfboard that Scott had carried beneath his arm.

Scott sported a blue hat while his gal pal wore a summery off-the-shoulder white top and frayed jean shorts.

And the two were clearly very comfortable with each other.

Life's a beach! Eastwood wore a pair of black trunks while McKinney kept her cool in her bikini

Fun in the sun: The pair took a breather beneath the shade

Stop it! McKinney giggled in delight

After stripping down into her bikini, she tenderly applied a coat of sunscreen onto Scott's back.

The pair continued to enjoy a day in paradise as they caught up from beneath the shade of their umbrella.

The two appeared to have plenty of chemistry as well.

The mane attraction! The actress' long blonde locks whipped in the breeze as she stepped out into the sunshine

Top spirits! The actor was clearly in a good mood as he enjoyed some quality time with McKinney

Charlotte giggled in delight as she spoke with Scott, who looked completely relaxed while seated beneath their umbrella.

And the Baywatch actress was certain to catch everyone's attention as she played with her long, blonde hair.

The Joe Dirt 2 actress wore a bikini which highlighted her famous assets to full effect as it also clung to her pert posterior and showed off her flat stomach.

Keeping her cool! Charlotte stepped out from beneath the umbrella with Scott's shirt placed atop her head

Staying connected: The actress glanced down at her phone

Taking a snap? The blonde beauty appeared to be taking a photo as she crouched down slightly

Safety first! The 23-year-old sprayed on a coat of sunscreen onto her behind

Charlotte accessorized the look with a pair of silver hoop earrings as well as a delicate choker necklace to top the outfit off.

Keeping her cool amid LA's relentlessly hot weather, Charlotte stepped out from beneath the umbrella with Scott's shirt placed atop her head.

Scott managed to tear himself away from Charlotte to hit the surf.

Enjoying some R&R: The actress relaxed upon the beach chairs she had carried in herself

Hitting their stride: The pair padded barefoot upon the idyllic beach

Simply stunning: McKinney's long blonde locks were styled into beachy waves

Ready? The beauty whipped out a can of sun screen

The Suicide Squad actor looked right at home as he effortlessly cruised through the waves on his surfboard.

Charlotte and Scott have previously sparked romance rumours, but have long denied it.

Last October UsWeekly reported the pair had started dating, with photos of the two silver screen stars walking side by side in Malibu emerging just one day later.

All eyes on Charlotte! No doubt the model turned heads from the moment she stepped out onto the sand

Toned and terrific! Clad in just black trunks, Eastwood put his buff physique on full show

Surf's up! The Fast 8 looked right at home as he cruised through the waves on his surfboard

Wet and wild: Scott made his way through the crashing waves

Cruising: Eastwood gave his undivided attention to the surf

However, the rumours were quickly quashed when a source disclosed there was nothing remotely romantic about the outing, or their relationship.

'They are definitely not dating,' a source close to Scott told ET.com at the time. 'They've hung out a couple of times  they barely know each other yet. [It's] Nothing serious at all.'

In the moment: The star gave a hundred percent of his focus into the surf

What's next: The pair appeared to be pondering what to do next

Smitten? The Carl's Jr. model cast a smile in the direction of her pal

Traffic stopper: Like McKinney, Eastwood more than likely turned heads on the beach as well

Undivided attention: The pair faced each other as they lounged on their beach chairs

The Hollywood actor strolled shirtless, wearing striped board shorts as he spoke on the phone.

The pair made sure to re-fuel amid their beach day as well.

Charlotte and Scott were spotted grabbing smoothies and a burrito as they stepped out in their summery outfits that same day.

Wowza: The Late Bloomer actress stole the show as she padded out onto the shoreline

Cheeky! Eastwood's pal put her bum on full show with her tiny white bikini

Catching some rays: The star placed a hand upon her head as she gazed towards her friend

Matching! The pals accessorized with a pair of stylish shades

The actress sipped on an ice cold beverage as Scott munched on his savory snack.

Charlotte had previously dated Blade actor Stephen Dorff, but their romance fizzled out over the summer.

Page Six reported in July that she broke up with the Blade actor over his 'other women.'

Bottom's up! Charlotte bent over to retrieve something from her purse

Yum! The actors treated themselves to a mid-day snack

Wait up! Eastwood appeared to slow down his pace as McKinney caught up to him

'He was fooling around with other women,' a source told the news site.

'Charlotte has been dating Stephen for a while, but he carried on texting other women and inviting them over to his house on the beach in Malibu.'

The source added: 'July Fourth weekend... there were all these random people in his house. Charlotte has had enough of him.'

However, a separate source added that the pair had actually called it quits due to her busy movie schedule.

Cumbersome: The 23-year-old easily managed to carry the chairs through the sand

Cheeky: Eastwood kicked back as his pal stepped away from their enclosure

Re-hydrate! The looker refueled with a few sips from her water bottle

Dedicated: The star seemed a natural out in the water

She has great jeans! The starlet arrived in a pair of tiny and frayed denim shorts

Rewarding himself! The Fury star pampered himself with some fun in the sun
John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston looked happy as they walked in Paris on Monday.

This sighting comes the same day that he told Good Morning America in a pre-taped interview that he and his spouse, 53, have 'certainly have bonded together' in the wake of the 2009 death of their teen son Jett.

That's thanks in part to their young son Ben, who was born nearly two years after tragedy struck the celebrity family. 'Certainly, having little Ben has been a beautiful kind of glue for us to re-bond after tremendous loss,' said the Pulp Fiction star, 62.

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From Paris with love: John Travolta, 62, and Kelly Preston, 53, were the center of attention as they strolled through Paris Monday. The actor, in a pre-taped interview with Good Morning America, said that the couple has bonded in the wake of their son Jett's death in 2009

Man in demand: The Saturday Night Fever star is besieged by autograph seekers in France

Under my umbrella: Preston (left) enjoyed a daytime walk through the City of Lights with daughter Ella Bleu (far right) and a pal

Travolta and Preston, who have two children - daughter Ella, aged 16 years, and Ben, aged five years - tragically lost Jett at just 16 on January 2, 2009 as the family was on a vacation in the Bahamas. The teen died after striking his head on a bathtub at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel where the family kept their vacation home.

The Grease star and Preston subsequently welcomed Ben on November 23, 2010 after three years of trying to conceive a child.

Appearing on the show in April of 2015, Travolta also cited his beliefs in Scientology as a major aid in getting through the horrific time in the wake of his child's sudden death.

Introspective: The emotional actor explained how the family's young son Ben has helped him and Kelly Preston bond in the wake of Jett's death

Welling up: Travolta said that 'little Ben has been a beautiful kind of glue for us to re-bond after [the] tremendous loss' of Jett

Tragic time: The family suffered in the wake of son Jett's death in January 2009

'It's a beautiful thing for me: Ive saved lives with it, saved my own life several times, through the loss of my son and it helps me every step of the way - and here I am, talking to you because of it,' he said.

Travolta appeared on the ABC morning show to discuss his turn as Mafia don John Gotti, coming off his Emmy-nominated performance as attorney Robert Shapiro in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

Travolta, who stars with Preston star in the upcoming The Life and Death of John Gotti for director Kevin Connolly (of Entourage fame), opened up on the insights he gleaned on the Gambino family head, who died in 2002.

Happy family: Travolta and Preston, seen here in Paris four years ago, welcomed son Ben in 2010, the year after Jett's tragic passing

'There's always two sides to a story,' he said, noting that Gotti and his wife Victoria 'had a very human other side of existence which is their family and their trials and tribulations.'

Preston, who plays Victoria in the film - while Ella Bleu plays Gotti daughter Angel - said that the couple had a clear divide about work and home life.

Victoria 'knew what was going on, but she said when he would come home, the door would close and that life would end,' the actress said.

An offer he couldn't refuse: Travolta is slated to play Gotti after his critically-acclaimed turn in American Crime Story

The iconic actor said that to preserve authenticity, he was able to wear some of the late mobster's actual accessories: 'It was an evolution: I got to wear his real jewelry. In several of the scenes, I'm wearing his real ties.'

The film, which is being shot in Cincinnati, had Gotti's son John Gotti Jr. as an adviser.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner remain as close as ever as they continue to co-parent their three children following their split last year.

The duo, who enjoyed a cosy dinner outing on Friday, stepped out together again on Monday to get some coffee after the school run.

Ben and Jen looked content and chatted happily as they strolled through Brentwood village together.

Sticking together: Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner, who separated last year, were pictured out together on Monday as they headed out to get coffee

Jennifer, 44, also carried their four-year-old son on her hip as the family made their way home together with their caffeine fix in hand.

The actress looked casual in slim-fit jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt with her brunette locks left loose.

Ben meanwhile appeared a little bleary-eyed and sported some salt and pepper stubble on the outing.

Morning stroll: The actors looked content in each other's company just days after they enjoying a dinner outing

Time for coffee: The 44-year-old actor sported salt and pepper stubble and appeared a little bleary eyed

The Justice League star sported showed off his physique in a clingy t-shirt and black jeans.

On Thursday the duo spent an evening without the children, heading to the Hungry Cat in Santa Monica for dinner.

Although they headed inside the restaurant separately to avoid being photographed together, they arrived and headed home in the same car.

Co-parenting pros: Jennifer carried their son Samuel, four, as Ben walked ahead

Off duty: Jennifer, 44, kept it casual in slim fit jeans and a navy tank top while Ben showed off his physique in a clingy t-shirt and jeans

Sneaking a peek: Ben looked over as Jen appeared to be amused by something on her phone

Devoted parents: Ben and Jen have continued to co-parent their children Violet, 10; Seraphina, seven, and Samuel, four since their split in June last year

According to E! News, the amicable pair spent around an hour and a half at the seafood eatery before heading out.

The actors, who married in 2005, announced the end of their marriage in June last year but they continue to live together at their Pacific Palisades property and as yet neither of the stars has officially filed for divorce.

In the meantime they are committed to co-parenting their children Violet, 10; Seraphina, seven, and Samuel, four.

Relaxation: Jen was able to find some alone time, which allowed her to visit a nail salon

The full treatment: The actress received a hand massage

'We are definitely a modern family,' Jen told The Today Show last month. 'We are doing really well.'

'Ben was working in London on Justice League and I felt like, "Well, the kids should have that experience," she said of the family's recent trip to the UK.

'He and I are great friends and we just all went en masse. The kids and I had an amazing time, and he worked hard and got to join us for some. I want them to see everything's OK.'

Stunning: The mum-of-three looked beautiful in glamorous make-up

Conversation: The actress chatted with the nail technician
He's one of Hollywood's most debonair stars.

So it's little wonder that Gucci have recruited Tom Hiddleston to be the face of their Cruise 2017 campaign, which sees the star decked out in an array of suave tailoring.

Moving forward from his sudden split with Taylor Swift, the 35-year-old actor shows of his leading man credentials as he takes centre-stage in the retro-styled campaign.

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The Man from Gucci: It's little wonder that Gucci have recruited Tom Hiddleston to be the face of their Cruise 2017 campaign, which sees the star decked out in an array of suave tailoring

Flanked by a retinue of Afghan hounds, the High-Rise star seemingly replaced one blonde with three loyal ones.

Never failing to impress with his sartorial styling on the red carpet, the actor only seems a natural choice for the campaign.

Cutting a dashing yet suitably brooding figure, Alessandro Michele's vision for the Italian fashion house's resurgent menswear collection sees the actor captured in a series of homely tableau.

In one picture The Night Manager star is seen in a languid repose on a green sofa, staring off into the distance as if a he was a million miles.

Suave and slick: Moving forward from his sudden split with Taylor Swift, the 35-year-old actor shows of his leading man credentials as he takes centre-stage in the retro-styled campaign

Wearing a burgundy three-piece suit, slim-fitting and with razor-sharp lines, the actor certainly looks every inch the urbane gent.

In another shot, Tom is seen stood in the midst of three hounds decked out in a dark windowpane check two piece, ready for a day at the office - or indeed having just returned home from it.

The series of colourful yet muted portraits show the Thor and Avengers actor in his element, a subtle yet commanding presence - who looks even better thanks to the tailoring.

A new blonde.. or three: Flanked by a retinue of Afghan hounds, the High-Rise star seemingly replaced one blonde with three loyal ones

Brooding: Cutting a suitably brooding figure, Alessandro Michele's vision for the fashion house's resurgent menswear collection sees the actor captured in a series of homely tableau

Looks that could kill: The series of colourful portraits show the Thor and Avengers actor in his element, a subtle yet commanding presence - who looks even better thanks to the tailoring

The campaign comes just weeks after the his relationship with popstrel imploded, with sources close to each of the stars claiming each of them ended it on their own terms.

However, last week Tom put paid to any rumours of hard-feelings or feuding between the two as he said they had remained on amicable terms.

When asked by People at the Emmy Awards last week if him and Taylor had remained on friendly terms since the split he replied: 'Yes. Yes, we are,' with a smile.
He plays the lead role of an electrician in the disaster thriller Deepwater Horizon.

And Mark Wahlberg certainly took centre stage at the drama's European premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square, London, on Monday evening.

The 45-year-old actor displayed his muscular physique in a khaki sweater as he was supported by his pals from the Transformers franchise, Josh Duhamel and Michael Bay.

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Leading man: Mark Wahlberg, 45, took centre stage at the Deepwater Horizon premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square, London on Monday evening

The Other Guys actor dressed down for the premiere, rocking a pair of black jeans and khaki Timberland lace-up boots.

Adding a suave touch to the outfit, he slicked his dark hair back off his face and sported a distinguished amount of stubble.

The father-of-four beamed as he posed on the red carpet and took the time to sign autographs from fans.

Dapper: The actor displayed his muscular physique in a khaki sweater

Looking casual: The Other Guys actor dressed down for the premiere, rocking a pair of black jeans and khaki Timberland lace-up boots

Adding a suave touch: He slicked his dark hair back off his face and sported a distinguished amount of stubble

Say cheese: The Ted star took the time to smile for selfies with fans

Just another day in the office! The father-of-four took the time to sign autographs from fans

Mark, who plays Mike Williams, an electrician on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon was joined by the real Mike Williams on the night.

Clearly pleased with his onscreen portrayal, Mike beamed as he posed alongside Mark.

Deepwater Horizon, also starring Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien and Kate Hudson, is based on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Like seeing double: Mark, who plays Mike Williams, an electrician on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon was joined by the real Mike Williams (right) on the night

Hollywood hunk: The actor looked remarkably youthful as he posed at the event in London

Look behind you! Mark and Mike Williams goofed around behind Deepwater Horizon director Peter Berg

Thriller: Deepwater Horizon, also starring Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien and Kate Hudson, is based on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Peekaboo! Evidently proud of his friend's achievements, Mark's Transformers co-star Josh Duhamel turned out to support his friend, rocking a navy V-neck T-shirt and charcoal blazer

Just smile and wave: Ever the professional, Josh smoothly greeted the excited crowds in Leicester Square

Cool yet casual: Transformers director Michael Bay also supported Mark, lookeding stylish in a leather jacket and jeans

New project: Michael will join Mark and Josh Duhamel for the fifth installment of the popular science-fiction franchise, Transformers: The Last Knight, which will hit screens in June 2017

Evidently proud of his friend's achievements, Mark's Transformers co-star Josh Duhamel turned out to support his friend, rocking a navy V-neck T-shirt and charcoal blazer.

Joining him was Transformers director Michael Bay, who looked casual in a leather jacket and jeans.

The trio will reunite for the fifth installment of the popular science-fiction franchise, Transformers: The Last Knight, which will hit screens in June 2017.

Green with envy! Ex-TOWIE star Jasmin Walia showcased her svelte physique in a tiny green bandage skirt

Bum's the word! The 26-year-old reality star rocked an intricately embellished green halter crop top

Legs for days! She lengthened her endless limbs with some delicate cross-strap nude sandals

Also at the event was ex-TOWIE star Jasmin Walia, who showcased her svelte physique in a tiny green bandage skirt.

The 26-year-old reality star rocked an intricately embellished green halter crop top and lengthened her endless limbs with some delicate cross-strap nude sandals.

Keeping it in the reality show family, she was joined by former Made In Chelsea star Kimberley Garner who rocked an all-black ensemble.

Monochrome maven! Former Made In Chelsea star Kimberley Garner rocked all-black at the premiere

Taking the plunge! Kimberley's top featured daring backless detail

Seeing double: Daughter of footballer John Fashanu Amal Fashanu rocked a similar all-black look to Kimberley

Strictly business! Olympian Greg Rutherford beamed as he posed with his Strictly dancing partner Natalie Lowe

Looking good! The long jump athlete looked suave in a double breasted blazer, while Natalie opted for an orange wrap dres

Cheeky! The blonde beauty gave a coquettish wink to the camera

Why so serious? Greg topped the Strictly leaderboard over the weekend with his leap-frogging dance routine

Olympian Greg Rutherford made an appearance, beaming as he posed with his Strictly dancing partner Natalie Lowe.

The long jump athlete, 29, looked suave in a double breasted blazer, while Natalie opted for an orange wrap dress.

Greg topped the Strictly leader board over the weekend with his leap-frogging dance routine.

Masterclass in co-ordination: Girl band Stooshe rocked matching muted tones

Perfecting their pouts! The band puckered up for a smouldering selfie

Cue the screams: Heartthrobs The Vamps cut a cool figure at the star-studded event

Eye-catching: Dancer Neil Jones sported some fetching printed trousers as he posed with fellow dancer Chloe Hewitt
The Agency (BBC 2)

Rating:

Cold Feet (ITV)

Rating:

Evenings in front of the television, when I was a child, were punctuated by the sound of my family naming the cast. Every new actor had to be identified.

Thats Sid James! my mother would exclaim in a middle of a sitcom, as if Sid had no right be making a guest appearance.

My father would refine it further  hed announce the name of the actor, and their best-known role. Oh, thats Penelope Keith... Margot, you know, from The Good Life.

Worst of all were the ones they couldnt quite recognise. Oh, whos she? Yes, you do know her, wasnt she in, what was it, no, that was Sylvia Syms, Im sure I know her...

Morgana Robinson stars in BBC 2's The Agency, where she imitates characters such as Joanna Lumley (left) and Miranda Hart

Morgana Robinson, star of The Agency (BBC2), has that effect on me. She does a great sideline in randy posh birds, in comedies such as Toast Of London and Vic And Bobs House Of Fools.

But shes also an outstanding impressionist, who plays Pippa Middleton in The Windsors, and whose two sketch shows have sent up everyone from Lady Gaga to crass stand-up comedian Frankie Boyle (shes especially good at doing men with beards).

The variety is so broad that its impossible to watch her, in or out of character, without thinking: Ive seen her in something else . . .

FOOD INSPECTORS OF THE NIGHT Supermarkets use baboons for quality control, Jimmy Doherty revealed on Food Unwrapped (C4). Kenyan green bean farms send us their straight produce, and the primates scoff the bendy leftovers. I always thought monkeys worked for peanuts, but that must be a myth. Advertisement

The Agency is her best show yet. She plays every client at a dodgy talent agency: Joanna Lumley, Gregg Wallace, Adele and nearly a dozen more.

The format shifts between brief skits and extended stories  Danny Dyer was trying to write a childrens book in his shed, and cursing his dyslexia: Theres two Ns in Danny, you know that!

The funniest moments were the one-liners.

A doleful Cheryl Cole deadpanned: If I met my 16-year-old self today, I wouldnt say anything to her, Id just give her a list of husbands to avoid.

The puppet satire show Newzoids tried to do the same gag about Cheryl earlier this month, and took the best part of five minutes to hammer the joke home: Morgana did it with one sharp thrust.

Some set-ups were inspired. Mel and Sue from Bake Off were living together in a student house, with a cat called Arthur C. Clarke, playing silly games and giggling at in-jokes . . . while Mels husband was tucked away in the corner.

Adele (left) and Russell Brand (right) are two more of the impressions that she takes on - and looks the part while doing so

Others were more laboured. Morgana must love playing actress Natalie Cassidy (Sonia in EastEnders) because she returned to her four times.

The problem wasnt a shortage of ideas or characters  more likely that she simply cant get enough of doing Natalie.

Thats a pitfall the best sketch performers train themselves to avoid. Comedian Dick Emery had his own favourites on his Saturday night sketch show, such as blonde bombshell Mandy (Ooh, you are awful, but I like you!).

But he wouldnt wheel them out more than once a night. He made the audience wait, so the characters didnt wear out their welcome.

With her fondness for a bawdy joke, Morgana is a 21st-century Dick Emery, but she could still learn from the master.

Writer Mike Bullen could do with going back to his classic early series of Cold Feet (ITV) and binge-watching them, to discover what is missing in the revival.

It isnt difficult. The show has become so grimly miserable. Divorce, bankruptcy, depression . . . thats just the lighter moments. The funniest joke last night was a mobile phone going off at a funeral.

Pete visited a care home to see his old friend Harry and discovered he was dead  an abusive woman with senile dementia had commandeered the room instead. This is bleak stuff.

Cold Feet has become so grimly miserable. Divorce, bankruptcy, depression . . . thats just the lighter moments

Writer Mike Bullen could do with going back to his classic early series and binge-watching them, to discover what is missing in the revival

The slapstick moments fail completely, because the tragedy overwhelms them. Sometimes, its impossible to work out whether a scene is meant to be heartrending or farcical  like Jennys breakdown in a cafe.

Petes depressed and my babies are teenagers, she wailed over her gluten-free chocolate cake.

The only reason to keep watching is Art Maliks unconvincing tycoon, Eddie.
They topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with their sizzling jive routine over the weekend.

And Greg Rutherford and his dancing partner Natalie Lowe seemed to be riding the residual wave of excitement as they attended the Deepwater Horizon premiere on Monday night.

The hunky Olympian athlete, 29, beamed as he wrapped an arm around the blonde professional dancer, 36, at the event in London's Leicester Square.

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Strictly business! Olympian Greg Rutherford beamed as he posed with his Strictly dancing partner Natalie Lowe

The long-jump star looked worlds away from the glitter and tight clothing of the BBC dancing show in his dapper ensemble.

He wore a check double-breasted blazer teamed with sharp, black trousers and suede lace-ups.

Greg, who has a one-year-old son Milo with his girlfriend Susie Verrill, perfected his moody stare as he pouted on the red carpet.

Why so serious? Greg topped the Strictly leaderboard over the weekend with his leap-frogging dance routine

Looking good! The long jump athlete looked suave in a double breasted blazer, while Natalie opted for an orange wrap dres

He was joined by Natalie, who wowed in a orange wrap dress that showcased her lithe physique.

The Sydney-born beauty wore her golden blonde tresses in a slicked-back side parting that allowed her striking features to take centre stage.

She paired her one-shoulder dress with some metallic pumps that offset her deep sunkissed glow.

Cheeky! The blonde beauty gave a coquettish wink to the camera

The good-looking pair gave a showstopping performance on Friday night, with Greg utilising his springy limbs to leapfrog over Natalie - wowing the judges with the height of the jump.

His impressive jive routine saw him land on top of the leaderboard with a respectable 27 points.

Head judge Len Goodman told him: 'It was as good as weve seen tonight, 100 per cent. You came out there, you gave it full on, a great attack.

'But youre a really good dancer and Im looking forward to seeing it.

Off he goes! Greg Rutherford, 29, utilised his springy limbs on Friday night's Strictly Come Dancing to leapfrog partner Natalie Lowe - wowing the judges with the height of the jump

Cha cha charming: The 29-year-old Olympian was overwhelmed after his energetic routine was praised by the panel, and was lost for words after discovering he'd scored 27 points

Bruno added: 'By the way it looks, Greg could go all the way. Thats what I mean by giving it welly. I loved it. Im telling you, you have talent. I really loved watching you.'

But the compliment of the night came from Darcey Bussell who quipped: 'you were like some blue frog,' adding that he was 'built to jive.'

And Greg's biggest fan no doubt comes from his girlfriend Susie, who Tweeted throughout the show.

Dancing duo: Greg surpassed all expectations as he found himself topping the leaderboard with professional dance partner Natalie Lowe

Jumping out: Greg recently revealed he was left so intimidated by his fellow celebrity contestants on Strictly Come Dancing that he nearly quit the series

The brunette beauty also laughed off any mention of the Strictly curse - which sees celebrities start relationships with their dancing partners - with a tongue-in-cheek Tweet.

She wrote: 'After last night, I'm now concerned about the Strictly curse. Concerned in the way that I fancy @RealNatalieLowe more than @GregJRutherford.'

Her boyfriend retweeted her comment with a few laughing emojis while Natalie replied: 'That tweet's made my day, love you too @susiejverrill'.

Take that! Greg's girlfriend Susie Verrill laughed off any mention of the Strictly curse with a tongue-in-cheek Tweet

Better together: Susie's Instagram is littered with sweet selfies of the duo
Last week she and her beau enjoyed some quiet time camping in California's Joshua Tree wilderness.

On Sunday, Paris Jackson and drummer Michael Snoddy were back to life in the big city when they were spotted leaving Aroma Cafe in Los Angeles.

The late Michael Jackson's 18-year-old daughter smiled and seemed laid back as she and the 26-year-old stopped for a cigarette outside the cafe.

This comes just after their sexy Flaunt magazine photo shoot hit newsstands.

Casual and comfy: The late Michael Jackson's daughter Paris was spotted out with her boyfriend Michael Snoddy leaving Aroma Cafe in Los Angeles on Sunday

Showing off her own sense of grunge style, Paris looked cute in an oversized blue and white plaid shirt, buttoned up unevenly, that she wore off one of her shoulders, revealing a red bra strap and one of her many tattoos.

The young model and jewellery designer paired it with ripped, skintight jeans and blue sneakers.

She covered her bleached blonde hair with an orange beanie and carried a backpack.

Grunge chic: Paris looked cute in an oversized blue and white plaid shirt, buttoned up unevenly, that she wore off one of her shoulders, with ripped skinny jeans and sneakers

Retro style: The 26-year-old wore a Rolling Stones T-shirt, ripped, wrinkled and faded skinny jeans with black sneakers

Michael, sporting his usual pink mowhawk, wore a retro Rolling Stones T-shirt, wrinkled and faded skinny jeans and sneakers.

The musician plays with punk percussion group the Street Drum Corps.

The couple were joined by a guy pal as they smoked. He sported a blue T-shirt, grey shorts, sneakers and pulled his dark hair up into a man bun.

Head-turner: Something caught the couple's eye as they stood outside the cafe

Two becomes three: They were joined by a guy pal sporting a man bun

The group checked out something on Michael's phone, which was covered by a Confederate flag case, before going on their way.

Meanwhile, she and Michael put on a racy display when they posed for Flaunt magazine, released on Friday.

she's pictured kissing her shirtless beau as water pours over them.

Wet look: She and Michael, who reportedly met at an AA meeting in March, put on a racy display when they kissed as they were doused with water in a shot for Flaunt magazine, released on Friday

Having a quick bite: In another image, the tattooed drummer gnawed Paris's bare foot as they both lay in a bath

Cover star: Paris features in Issue 149 of the magazine

And in another image, the tattooed musician is photographed gnawing Paris's bare foot.

The couple have been almost inseparable since reportedly meeting at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in March.

And on Monday, Paris was evidently channeling her inner chi by posing cross-legged in front of a giant amethyst crystal.

Wearing a purple vest, black leggings and a black cap, she smiled up at the camera through a large pair of aviator sunglasses.

She shared the shot on Instagram, captioned: 'There really needs to be an amethyst emoji.'
He finally settled his ongoing custody battle with ex-wife Madonna over their teenage son Rocco after months of legal wrangling.

And after winning the case last month, it was no wonder Guy Ritchie looked happy and relaxed as he and wife Jacqui enjoyed a night out in London on Monday.

The handsome pair were among the starry guests at Goldie Hawn's charity foundation dinner, produced by the Quintessentially Foundation at Annabel's club.

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Winning smile: Guy Ritchie looked happy and relaxed as he and wife Jacqui enjoyed a night out in London on Monday

Recently back from a break in Malibu, the couple looked healthy and tanned as they arrived in style.

Jacqui stole the show in a chic semi sheer patterned gown, which she wore with a pair of suede nude heels.

She struck a series of stunning poses to make the most of the floorlength gown.

Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes director Guy looked dapper as always in a shirt, tie, blazer and chinos ensemble.

Fun times: The handsome pair were among the starry guests at Goldie Hawn's charity foundation dinner at Annabel's club - and certainly looked in high spirits

Her own Vogue: Jacqui stole the show in a chic semi sheer patterned gown, which she wore with a pair of suede nude heels

Working it: She struck a series of stunning poses to make the most of the floor-length gown

Glowing: Recently back from a break in Malibu, the couple looked healthy and tanned as they arrived in style

Settling business: It was the first time the couple had been seen since Madonna jetted in to look after Rocco in London while they were on holiday

Earlier this month, the filmmaker and Madonna agreed that their son would reside in London with Guy and his second wife, model Jacqui Ainsley, 34, instead of New York with his pop star mum.

The exes had been involved in the bitter battle over where Rocco should live since December, when the teen abandoned his mother's world tour to stay with his father in the UK.

The teenager spent that Christmas with Guy and Jacqui - and later refused to return to America to star the school term in January.

Having a laugh: The couple appeared to be in jovial spirits as they strolled outside the venue

Strike a pose: They soon composed themselves to pose for another perfect snapshot

Stepping out: Hollywood legend Goldie Hawn oversaw the dinner, which was in honour of her charity, Hawn Foundation, which helps children reach their full potential

Speaking outside the court in New York where a hearing was due to take place on September 7, Guy's lawyer, Peter Bronstein, announced the teenager would continue to live with his father and be schooled in London.

According to Page Six, Bronstein said: 'The case is settled and everyone agrees that Rocco's needs changed and he's going to be living with dad.

'Everyone's agreed to that and there's no further need for any kind of a court case.'

Upset: Earlier this month, the director and Madonna agreed that their son would reside in London with Guy and his wife Jacqui, instead of New York with his pop star mum

However, it was reported last week that the living situation was already causing rifts between the estranged family.

According to The Sun, Madonna made an emergency dash to be with her 16-year-old in London after learning Guy had jetted off on holiday within days of the ruling.

The newspaper wrote: 'She was deeply worried to find out he was without a parent when he was beginning an important new school year and made an emergency dash to the UK.

'She dropped everything in her packed diary and immediately left New York on Sunday to be with Rocco.'

New beginnings: The exes had been involved in a battle over where Rocco should live since December, when the teen abandoned his mother's world tour to stay with his father in the UK

'Part of the reason for her agreeing the custody deal was the knowledge that his next school year is crucial for his future. He has important exams coming up.'

Despite the cute clip and tense conflict between his parents, the 16-year-old has been proving recently that he is now all grown up.

He has been seen out and about in London on multiple occasions with a female friend, grabbing coffee and partying during Fashion Week in the capital at the LOVE magazine and Marc Jacobs bash.

Doting mother: Madonna flew straight to London to be with her 16-year-old after learning Guy had jetted off on holiday
Yemen rebel leader proposes border truce with Saudi

A leader of Yemen's Shiite Huthi rebels on Sunday proposed a truce on the country's border with Saudi Arabia in an exchange for a halt in Saudi-led strikes on his forces.

The proposal, coinciding with a surge in fighting after peace talks were suspended last month, was made by Salah al-Sammad, head of a new council appointed by the rebels and their allies to run the country.

Sammad called on Saudi Arabia to "stop naval, air and land aggression, cease air raids and lift the blockade of our country, in exchange for an end to combat operations on the border and to (rebel) missile launches into Saudi territory," he said, in a speech published on the sabanews website.

Yemeni pro-government forces fire toward Huthi rebels positioned in the hills of the Sharija region on the borders of Taez and Lahj provinces on September 25, 2016 Saleh al-Obeidi (AFP)

Sammad, whose body is not recognised by the international community, also urged the UN and "peace-loving states" to exert pressure on the Saudi regime to accept the offer.

He also suggested an amnesty for "combatants who have sided with the aggression," a reference to fighters who back President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

The Huthis are allied with soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In late 2014 they seized Yemen's capital Sanaa before moving into other parts of the country.

Saudi Arabia in March 2015 formed an Arab coalition to begin air strikes and ground support for forces loyal to Hadi, who fled to Riyadh.

More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coalition launched its intervention, most of them civilians, and at least three million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations.

The latest round of UN-led talks between the government and the Huthis ended acrimoniously on August 6 without a breakthrough and a ceasefire that had been in place since April collapsed.

Hadi, in a fierce address to the UN in New York on Friday, accused of Iran of blocking peace moves through its support for the rebels.

"We shall extract Yemen from the claws of Iran. We shall raise the Yemeni flag over every foot of our precious soil," Hadi told the General Assembly.
Clash of the titans: Clinton, Trump go head to head

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off Monday in one of the most consequential presidential debates in modern US history, with up to 100 million viewers to tune in for the hotly-anticipated political duel.

With polls tightening into a virtual dead heat, the stakes could hardly be higher: the first woman to win the White House nomination for a major US party, against a New York tycoon turned reality star who has upended the political establishment.

Commentators call it a clash of the titans: a 90-minute endurance test between Clinton the Democrat, arguably the most experienced US presidential candidate ever, and Trump the Republican, perhaps the least experienced nominee for a major party.

Clinton and Trump are virtually tied in the latest polls as they prepare for their first televised debate

The outcome of this political show for the ages could shape the last six-week stint of an election that has deeply polarized the country and left Trump fighting to overcome allegations of bigotry and sexism.

Wall Street stocks tumbled Monday in anticipation of the first of three live, televised debates before the November 8 election.

A decisive win for Clinton could see her pull ahead. A strong performance from Trump could keep the vote competitive or even possibly see him pull out in front.

Hosted at Hofstra University on Long Island, a mere 60-minute drive from Manhattan and chaired by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, the debate may attract an audience closer to the size of the Super Bowl when it kicks off at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday), beamed live around the country.

The questions will revolve around three themes: "America's direction, achieving prosperity, and securing America."

Both candidates, the most disliked US presidential rivals in contemporary history, have spent days furiously prepping and honing which strategy they believe will inflict maximum damage on the other.

- Sweet spot -

Clinton, 68, is nothing if not experienced with four decades of public service tucked under her belt -- a veteran of 34 primary debates, having run and lost for president in 2008 against Barack Obama.

"When the spotlights are at the brightest and the pressure is the most intense, that's when she brings her A-plus game," said Clinton running mate Tim Kaine.

Trump, the 70-year-old maverick billionaire, has refused to play by the rules. He has never held public office but stormed through the primaries, crushing his 16 opponents with a populist, say-it-how-it-is message that has resonated among Americans fed up with establishment politicians.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 53 percent of Americans voters do not believe that Trump is qualified to be president, lacking the temperament and knowledge.

The Republican Trump is unrivalled at hogging the limelight, but considered weak on policy.

But while Clinton is masterful when it comes to policy details, she suffers from perceptions that she is untrustworthy and dishonest.

And Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says for all Clinton's proficiency it has not translated into campaign success.

"She's smart, but this isn't her sweet spot," she told MSNBC, calling her boss "a natural debater" by comparison.

"I have been in politics for 28 years," she said. "And I think Donald Trump has gifts and skills that sometimes escape typical politicians."

- Polls tied, stocks tumble -

Monday's target will be the estimated nine percent of American voters who are still undecided. Can the Democrat win their minds, if not their hearts? Can Trump persuade them that he has the gravitas to lead?

Clinton will no doubt aim to seize on Trump's toxic campaign trail rhetoric, using his words to paint her rival as a divisive demagogue.

But if Trump remains disciplined and focuses on issues, he could earn credibility among college-educated whites, according to veteran Democratic campaign strategist Joe Trippi.

"I do expect Donald Trump to be more genteel and a calmer force tonight, and I expect her to try to bait him out," Trippi told Fox News.

Stocks skidded on Wall Street with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.9 percent to 18,094.83 amid unease over the debate.

The latest opinion polls have Clinton and Trump virtually tied: 41 percent each according to the Washington Post-ABC poll and 43 for Clinton to Trump's 42 percent according to Quinnipiac University.

The Quinnipiac poll found that voters expect Clinton to win the debate 41 to 32 percent, and that 84 percent said they intend to watch.

Clinton's campaign has expressed concerns of being held to a double standard, saying the bar is higher for her while Trump stood to win praise for a merely adequate performance.

"All that we're asking is that if Donald Trump lies, that it's pointed out," Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook told ABC.

Trump has already stated that he does not believe Holt's role as moderator is to police each candidate.

Obama, who is likely to be working in the White House with the debate "on in the background," believes Clinton needs to show Americans what motivates her to want to be president, spokesman Josh Earnest said.

"He obviously believes that she's got a strong case to make," Earnest told reporters.

Emerging demographic groups that could play a determining role in the US presidential election Paz Pizarro (AFP)

Cheerleaders pose with a sign before US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican counterpart Donald Trump take part in the first presidential debate at the Hofstra University, in Hempstead, New York, on September 26, 2016 Jewel Samad (AFP)

A Donald Trump supporter at Hofstra University in New York Jewel Samad (AFP)

A woman holds an evironmentaly themed sign outside the first US presidential debate Jewel Samad (AFP)
Uganda takes on the 'world's most dangerous road'

Wearing pristine white with her woollen socks pulled high, Ugandan traffic police officer Edith Nanteza exudes natural authority at the roadblock, barely lifting a hand as she waves motorists over.

This is no routine exercise. Nanteza is on the frontline of operation "Fika Salama" -- Swahili for "arrive safely" -- a high-profile attempt by the government to regain control of what the country fears has become the planet's deadliest highway.

From the top of a hill, Nanteza surveys the road, a heat haze shimmering over the tarmac highway stretching into the distance.

A bus burns on the infamous Kampala-Masaka road, a major access route from the Kenyan coast through Uganda to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi Michele Sibiloni (AFP/File)

"Over 200 people have died on this road since January. It's been a massacre," she says.

By comparison, Bolivia's Yungas Road, a notorious mountain pass better known as "Death Road", averages between 200 and 300 deaths per year.

That would put the 130-kilometre (80-mile) Kampala-Masaka highway on at least similar ground with its 200 dead in the first eight months of 2016.

Witchcraft, poor roadwork and dangerous driving -- all have been blamed for the killer highway whose users will often turn to prayer before taking the road.

In the local police station in Mpigi, Nanteza points to the mangled wreckage piled up in the yard.

"Recently 21 people, including a child, died in a single accident," she says while shooing away a goat.

"A car tried to overtake the vehicle in front but collided with a trailer truck which lost control and crashed into two full minibus taxis."

Nsubuga Shabal, who was travelling to Kampala with his wife and seven-year-old son, was caught up in the carnage.

"My wife died on the spot. Our child is now living with relatives. He's still injured and needs treatment but I can't provide anything since I'm still recovering," he says.

"And I lost my job because I can't walk properly due to my injuries."

- 'Human error' -

Assistant Commissioner of Police Sarah Kwibika is in charge of operation Fika Salama.

"Ninety percent of the accidents are due to human error," she says.

"Speeding, risky overtaking on bends, overloaded trucks, unroadworthy vehicles and driving while drunk are the main causes. It's all about driver behaviour."

Others claim the road itself, which was upgraded with the help of international donors, is dangerously inadequate. The busy highway was resurfaced in the late 2000s, then widened with extra lanes to reduce accidents.

Kristian Schmidt, who heads the EU office in Uganda, this month demanded action after a government-commissioned report found that more than a billion US dollars had been misappropriated in corrupt roadwork deals in the last seven years.

Last year, all 900 road authority employees were sacked on the instructions of Uganda's President Museveni.

Now, with the death toll rising, the concern is people might avoid the 'highway to hell' altogether.

- The devil's work -

The Kampala-Masaka road provides essential access from the Kenyan coast through Uganda to Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

But despite its importance as a conduit for local traffic, regional transportation and tourism, people are increasingly afraid to travel on it.

Last month, a UN trailer which was carrying crucial food relief to Burundi crashed off the road, destroying a house.

And tourists on safari who are hoping to see rare mountain gorillas near the Uganda-Rwanda border are now opting to fly there by light aircraft rather risk travelling on the ill-fated highway.

The high stakes have even compelled some religious groups to take extreme action.

By the roadside, Reverend Bibiru pours oil over the painted lines as 15 of his followers chant and pray.

"This is the first time we have conducted a road exorcism," he says.

"A lot of witchcraft took place while the highway was being built, that's why so many people are dying here," he explains.

"It is the devil who has made this road so dangerous."

- Legal crackdown -

Commissioner Kwibika prefers a more earthly solution.

"We will prosecute, without mercy, every driver we find breaking even the smallest regulation," she vows.

Penalties for offences such as driving without a permit tend to be around $50, so not a strong disincentive, while prosecution for more serious offences is very slow, meaning none of the recent lethal cases have gone to trial yet.

Suddenly, the commissioner is interrupted by the phone.

It's Officer Nanteza calling to report another serious accident.

Kwibika gasps. Among the injured is her own cousin, another victim of the death-trap highway.
China flies military planes over strait near Japan

China has sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan, the two governments said Monday, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea.

More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China's defence ministry website.

The Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace.

The Chinese defence ministry has mobilised an unspecified number of bombers and fighters to patrol in the East China Sea air defence identification zone (ADIZ)

Japan's defence ministry said it was the first time Chinese fighters had passed over the strait.

The drill is aimed at "testing far sea combat capabilities", the Chinese statement said. It follows China's first military flight, carried out by spy planes, over the Miyako Strait last year.

The move comes after Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said earlier this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, dismissing rival partial claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours. It rejects any intervention by Japan in the waterway.

In recent months Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal, which said Beijing's extensive claims to the waters had no legal basis.

Tokyo, a key US ally, is also strengthening defence ties with other countries in the disputed region. Japan and China are already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China Sea.

That dispute relates to uninhabited islets controlled by Japan known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese.

Abe said on Monday Japan would "never tolerate attempts to unilaterally change the status quo" in the disputed waters, or "wherever else in the world", in an apparent response to the Chinese move.

"We pledge to protect Japan's territory, and in the sea and air," he said in a speech to open a new parliamentary session.

Japan and China "share a mutual understanding that we're significantly responsible for regional peace and prosperity", he added.

In its statement the Chinese defence ministry said it had also mobilised an unspecified number of bombers and fighters to patrol the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Beijing sparked alarm after it unilaterally established the ADIZ in 2013. It demanded all aircraft submit flight plans when traversing the zone, which covers the islands disputed with Tokyo and also claimed by Taipei.

"Normalising far sea drills out in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ is based on the need for China's Air Force to protect national sovereignty and security and ensure peaceful development," air force spokesperson Shen Jinke said in the statement.

The Chinese military has been monitoring and identifying foreign military planes that entered the ADIZ and "took measures according to different air threats" since it was set up three years ago, the statement added.

Japan's Defence Minister Tomomi Inada reviews an honour guard during a ceremony in Tokyo, in August 2016 Kazuhiro Nogi (AFP/File)
UN rights expert plans to probe Philippine killings

A United Nations rights rapporteur told AFP on Monday she intended to visit the Philippines to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on crime, but was seeking security guarantees for people she planned to speak with.

Duterte last week said he would allow UN and EU experts to look into the thousands of killings since he took office on June 30, however he also challenged them to face him in public debates.

While the government has yet to issue formal invitations, the UN rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, said she would solicit one.

Rodrigo Duterte won Philippine presidential election in a landslide in May 2016 after promising to kill 100,000 criminals as part of a campaign against illegal drugs Ted Aljibe (AFP/File)

"I welcome the reports recently (conveyed) through the media that the president and government of the Philippines will invite a UN mission to investigate the alleged extrajudicial executions," Callamard said in a statement emailed to AFP.

Callamard said that she would insist on a range of measures to ensure that those who spoke with her did not face retribution.

"The date and scope of the fact-finding mission will be discussed and negotiated with the government, along with essential guarantees," she said.

Those would include "my freedom of movement and freedom of inquiry, and the assurance that those who cooperate with me will not be the object of retaliation, such as intimidation, threats, harassment or punishment," she said.

Duterte won the presidential election in a landslide in May after promising to kill 100,000 criminals as part of a campaign against illegal drugs.

More than 3,300 people have been killed since Duterte took office, police figures show.

Duterte has in recent months urged police and even civilians to kill drug addicts as well as traffickers, and vowed to protect lawmen from prosecution.

However he has also insisted that he has not encouraged anything illegal.

Police say they shot dead about a third of the people killed so far in self defence, while the others were victims of intra-gang wars.

However rights groups say police are conducting extrajudicial killings and unleashing hired assassins, and that people with no links to the drug trade are being murdered as the rule of law crumbles.

The United Nations, the European Union, the United States and international human rights groups have all condemned the killings.

But Duterte has insisted he must continue his bloody crackdown to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco state.

He often responds to criticism with abusive and defiant language. Targets of his foul-mouthed tirades have included US President Barack Obama, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and the European Union.
Philippines reports first Zika pregnancy case

The Philippines on Monday reported its first known case of a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus that threatens unborn babies, as authorities warned people to avoid mosquitos.

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said 12 cases of Zika had been detected across the Philippines this month, including a 22-year-old woman from the central island of Cebu who is 19 weeks' pregnant with her first child.

"Initial ultrasound did not detect any foetal abnormalities. She will be monitored regularly during the entire period of the pregnancy," the health department said.

Zika-infected pregnant women can give birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation marked by abnormally small brains and heads Orlando Sierra (AFP/File)

Zika-infected pregnant women can give birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation marked by abnormally small brains and heads.

Of the country's 12 Zika cases, eight were female and ranged in age from 9 to 55, the department said.

None of those infected had travelled a month before testing positive and all had since recovered, it said.

Special teams have been dispatched to all the affected areas to investigate where the infection came from and recommend measures to deal with the virus, which can be spread by the bite of a mosquito or via sexual contact.

Ubial called on the public to destroy mosquito breeding places, use insect repellent and wear condoms during sex.
Sea dogs take the lead at unique US surf competition

Dogs big and small, and some in tandem with their owners, braved the large swell that greeted them at a surfing competition with a difference in California.

Some dogs bailed off their boards in spectacular wipeouts as waves pounded the shore, but that didn't prevent many of the pups from wagging their tails at the Surf City Surf Dog event in Huntington Beach.

Dogs and their owners came from as far away as Florida, Australia and Brazil for the eighth edition of the annual event in aid of animal charities.

Surf dog Sugar, a Collie mix, rides a wave during the 8th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California Mark Ralston (AFP)

The rides were the last and most popular phase of the three-day event that started Friday.

Canine and human competitors had 12 minutes to catch their top five waves, with judges evaluating them on their confidence level, length of ride and overall ability to ride the wave.

"We got some small, but mighty SurFurs out there," organizers said on Facebook.

The winner of the dog-only Shredder division was Bono, a Labrador owned by Ivan Moreira of Brazil.

A surf dog competes in the tandem event during the 8th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California Mark Ralston (AFP)
The deal came to be after Kuok and Gus Wenner, son of the magazine's founder, bonded over their shared love of Bob Dylan and guitars

BrandLab will have no involvement with Rolling Stone editorial and does not have a stake in Wenner Media, Rolling Stone's parent company

of the iconic magazine, focused on concerts, merchandising and hospitality services

A Singapore firm headed by a scion of one of Asia's richest families has bought a 49 per cent stake in Rolling Stone, with plans to diversify the iconic magazine into new businesses including live events and merchandising.

BandLab Technologies, a music and technology start-up headed by 28-year-old Kuok Meng Ru, bought the stake for an undisclosed sum and will partner with current owners Wenner Media, the firms said in a statement late Sunday.

Rolling Stone International, a new subsidiary to be headed by Kuok, will organise events including concerts, and develop merchandising and hospitality services, Bloomberg News reported.

BrandLab Technologies, a Singapore firm headed by 28-year-old Kuok Meng Ru (left), has bought a 49 per cent stake in Rolling Stone magazine (most recent issue pictured right)

Rolling Stone International will 'build on the brand's worldwide appeal and recognition', the statement added.

Kuok is the grand-nephew of Malaysia's richest man, Robert Kuok (pictured above)

BandLab will have no involvement in the editorial side of the magazine, and will not have a stake in Wenner Media, Bloomberg reported.

Kuok is the son of Singapore palm oil magnate Kuok Khoon Hong - founder of Wilmar International, the industry's biggest trader - and grand-nephew of Robert Kuok, Malaysia's richest man who is worth more than $11billion according to Forbes.

'Rolling Stone's impact on culture over the years has been immeasurable and I'm truly honoured to be joining the team on the next phase of its journey,' said Kuok, a Cambridge graduate.

BandLab Technologies' portfolio already includes a cloud platform and social network for musicians, a music-making website, an instrument accessory design studio and Swee Lee, Southeast Asia's largest distributor of audio equipment and musical instruments.

'We are thrilled to have found an extraordinary partner for Rolling Stone as we focus on the brand's global expansion,' Gus Wenner, Wenner Media's head of digital, said in a statement.

'We see an enormous opportunity to diversify the brand into new markets and new areas of business.'

An information and communications technology analyst said the deal was another case of a traditional print brand with a struggling business model attempting to survive in the digital age by diversifying.

'All the money in the music industry now is related to ancillary services like concerts, merchandise, digital, all these kinds of things,' Marc Einstein from business consultancy Frost & Sullivan told AFP.

But Einstein noted that venturing into digital marketing comes with its own challenges.

The deal came to be after Kuok bonded with Gus Wenner (left), the son of the magazine's founder Jann Wenner (right). Gus currently works as head of digital for Wenner Media, Rolling Stone's parent company

'When competing as a magazine, Rolling Stone only had so many competitors. But when it's competing on YouTube or on a website basis, there are millions of competitors,' he said.

Music and pop culture magazine Rolling Stone was founded in 1967 by Gus Wenner's father, Jann S. Wenner, and Ralph Gleason with a $7,500 loan from friends and family.

According to Singapore daily The Straits Times, the deal has been in the works for some 15 months after Kuok was introduced to Gus Wenner.

Bloomberg said the two struck up a friendship over their common interest in guitars and Bob Dylan.

At the time, the Wenners were looking for a way to expand their reach in Asia, home to more than half the world's population.

'It became much bigger than what we began with,' Kuok told Bloomberg.

'It was really more of a meeting of minds and visions and long-term partnership that made it possible.'

In addition to its focus on pop music, Rolling Stone forged its reputation by featuring some of the best American writers - such as Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson - and by turning its covers into showcases for top photographers and controversial subjects.
Aleppo battered as Russia slams 'unacceptable' rhetoric

Syria's Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages and warplanes again pounded the city as Russia condemned what it called "unacceptable" Western rhetoric after allegations of war crimes.

A fresh wave of intense air strikes battered Aleppo's opposition-controlled east, said an AFP correspondent in the city facing its worst violence in years.

During an emergency session of the UN Security Council, US ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism", while the British and French envoys went even further.

A Syrian man carries the body of his nephew following a reported airstrike on the city of Aleppo Thaer Mohammed (AFP)

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," Francois Delattre of France said, while Britain's envoy spoke of bunker-busting bombs and more sophisticated weaponry unleashing a "new hell" on Syrians.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said Britain's Matthew Rycroft.

The Kremlin hit back.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations".

Despite the exchange, the violence showed no signs of abating on the ground, with people in Aleppo saying food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said at least 12 people, including three children, were killed in Monday's raids on several rebel-held districts.

- Blood shortage, more amputations -

Including the latest deaths, a total of 140 people, nearly all civilians, have been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

They include 23 children and 10 women, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said Monday.

It was the fourth day of intense bombardment since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington.

Since the truce fell apart, a total of 248 people have been killed in Aleppo city and the wider province by Russian and government bombardment, the Observatory said.

A Syrian military source told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas.

"The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision," the source said, reiterating the regime's goal was to "recapture all regions of Syria" outside its control.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," the source told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations."

With Aleppo back under siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were left reeling from food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as intensifying violence.

- 'End the nightmare' -

Several charity kitchens in Aleppo's rebel-held east were closed in fear of strikes, while water remained cut after pumping stations were damaged at the weekend.

"We endured through years of bombardments and did not leave Aleppo. But now there is no bread, no drinking water, nothing in the markets. The situation is getting worse every day," said Hassan Yassin, a 40-year-old father of four.

On Monday, dozens of rebels and their families quit the last opposition-held district of central Homs city as part of a deal struck with the regime last year.

A total of 131 fighters and 119 family members were bussed out of Waer, devastated after a three-year regime siege, to rebel-held Dar al-Kubra further north, said a source from Homs governorate.

An estimated 600,000 Syrians live under siege, according to the UN, with most encircled by regime forces though rebels also use the tactic.

The UN's World Food Programme said it delivered food aid on Sunday to civilians in four besieged towns in Syria for the first time since April.

Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, are encircled by government forces while Fuaa and Kafraya in the northwest are besieged by hardline rebels.

A convoy of 53 trucks entered Madaya and Zabadani, with another 18 to Fuaa and Kafraya, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.

At Sunday's Security Council meeting, US envoy Power voiced some of the strongest criticism yet of Russia's support for President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," she said.

Russia's year-long air war has helped Assad's forces regain ground lost to a wide range of opposition forces.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has killed more than 300,000 people and driven millions from their homes.

The siege of Aleppo

A Syrian rescuer walks amidst destruction following an air strike in the rebel-held Ansari district in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on September 23, 2016 Karam al-Masri (AFP/File)

A Syrian boy awaits treatment at a makeshift hospital following air strikes on rebel-held eastern areas of Aleppo on September 24, 2016 Karam Al-Masri (AFP)

Hospitals are said to be struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties Karam Al-Masri (AFP/File)
Dutchman held in Myanmar after 'pulling plug' on Buddhist sermon

A Dutch tourist has been detained in Myanmar for insulting religion after being accused of pulling the plug on a speaker relaying a late-night Buddhist sermon in Mandalay.

Klass Haytema, 30, has been held since Friday night when he allegedly disconnected the cable linking an amplifier and a speaker at a hall playing the sermon after he complained that it was disturbing him, police said.

"The religious hall is not far from the hotel where he was staying... he said he did it because it was too noisy for him," Kyi Soe, police chief at Maha Aung Myay township, told AFP.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar is deeply devout and several foreigners have been found guilty of insulting religion Ye Aung Thu (AFP/File)

An angry crowd followed the man back to his hotel, where he was taken into custody by police and later transferred to a Mandalay prison.

"We detained him for insulting religion," he said, adding it was under section 295 of Myanmar's penal code.

He is yet to be charged but the law carries up to a two year jail term and fine.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar is deeply devout and several foreigners have been found guilty of insulting religion.

In July a Spanish tourist was deported from Myanmar after monks complained about a tattoo of Buddha he had on his leg.

Last year a New Zealand bar manager spent 10 months in jail for "insulting religion" by using a Buddha image to promote a cheap drinks night.
Rights group urges Pakistan to halt torture, killings by police

Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Pakistan's police of routinely carrying out extra-judicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, and called on Islamabad to implement urgent reforms of its under-resourced forces.

The findings were contained in a new report based on interviews with more than 30 police officers and 50 victims or witnesses of abuse across three of the country's four provinces.

In addition to noting habitual rights violations -- including more than 2,000 so-called "encounter" killings in 2015, which are often believed to have been staged -- the report said police often found themselves in thrall to powerful individuals who subvert the law for their own purposes.

Pakistan's police forces contend with high-levels of organised and violent crime, including kidnappings for ransom and drug trafficking Asif Hassan (AFP/File)

"Pakistan faces grave security challenges that can be best handled by a rights-respecting, accountable police force," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"Instead, law enforcement has been left to a police force filled with disgruntled, corrupt and tired officers who commit abuses with impunity, making Pakistanis less safe, not more."

In the biggest city Karachi, encounter killings have surged since 2013 as paramilitary forces and police have stepped up raids against Taliban militants, criminals and armed political activists.

The term is used to describe staged confrontations in which police or troops kill suspects and later claim they were acting in self-defence.

The report found that those from marginalised groups - refugees, the poor, religious minorities, and the landless - are at particular risk of violent police abuse.

It said: "Torture methods include beatings including with batons and leather straps, stretching and crushing legs with metal rods, sexual violence, prolonged sleep deprivation, and mental torture, including witnessing others being tortured.

"Senior officials told Human Rights Watch that physical force is often threatened and used because the police are not trained in professional investigation and forensic analysis methods, and thus resort to unlawfully coercing information and confessions."

Local politicians meanwhile are able to halt investigations against suspects with political connections, and to harass or file charges against opponents.

In addition to being on the frontline of the country's battle against homegrown Islamist terror, Pakistan's police forces contend with high-levels of organised and violent crime -- including kidnappings for ransom and drug trafficking.

A recent wave of high-profile murders of women in the name of family honour have cast a spotlight on blood-money laws which allow the relatives of victims to forgive perpetrators in exchange for money.
Bulgaria court error delays trial over Israeli bombing

The trial over a deadly 2012 bombing of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, due to start on Monday, has been pushed back to November because of a procedural error, prosecutors said.

The opening was delayed because the Sofia court had failed to inform the victims' families of the start date, prosecutors told AFP.

The proceedings against two alleged suspects in the attack, who are on the run and being tried in absentia, will now start on November 10.

The opening was delayed because the Sofia court had failed to inform the victims' families of the start date, prosecutors told AFP Dimitar Dilkoff (AFP/File)

A Franco-Lebanese national, identified as Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini, blew up a bus carrying Israeli tourists at the airport of the Black Sea coast resort of Burgas on July 18, 2012.

Five Israelis, their Bulgarian driver and the bomber himself died in the attack, which left 35 other Israelis injured.

Bulgarian authorities identified the attacker's alleged accomplices as two Lebanese men with links to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, named as Australian passport holder Meliad Farah and Canadian citizen Hassan El Hajj Hassan.

The attack -- which both Israel and Bulgaria blamed on Hezbollah -- was the deadliest hit against Israelis abroad since 2004.
China's N. Korea coal imports surge despite sanctions: data

China's coal imports from North Korea have surged in recent months, government data showed Monday, raising questions about Beijing's commitment to international sanctions intended to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

As the isolated country's sole ally and main provider of trade and aid, Beijing's participation in the UN-imposed restrictions is crucial for their success.

But in August China imported 2.465 million tonnes of North Korean coal worth $113 million, 60 percent more than in April when sanctions were imposed and 35 percent more than a year ago, according to data on the Customs website.

In August, China imported nearly 2.5 million tonnes of North Korean coal, 35 percent more than a year ago Greg Baker (AFP/File)

Imports of North Korean iron ore also rose, from 110,500 tons in April to 197,000 tons last month, data showed.

The UN Security Council in March agreed to impose sanctions on certain North Korean exports, including coal and iron, But it also said it would allow trade to continue for "livelihood" purposes -- if the proceeds did not go towards funding Pyongyang's nuclear or weapons programmes.

The UN did not set criteria for making that determination, leaving each country to make its own decision.

In April China announced it would place restrictions on imports of both items, among others.

Trade with the world's second largest economy is crucial for the isolated and impoverished North, which has suffered regular food shortages and an outright famine in the mid-1990s.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea's $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Koreas state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China's total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 percent year-on-year to $291.3 million, Customs data showed.

The figures come just weeks after North Korea tested its fifth and most powerful nuclear device.

China has said it "firmly opposes" the test, but analysts believe it has resisted targeting the North's fragile economy for fear of provoking the regime's collapse.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

The international community has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy to try to persuade China to use its leverage with Pyongyang.
'Snake on a train' halts Japan bullet express

A Japanese bullet train was forced to make an emergency stop on Monday after a snake was found slithering between the seats, local media reported.

A passenger spotted the 30 centimetre (12 inch) serpent poking between a gap in the seats, prompting the train, travelling between Tokyo and Hiroshima to stop and allow police to capture the slippery stowaway.

Despite its menacing appearance, the brown snake was not believed to be poisonous and no injuries were reported, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, speculating that the reptile could be a juvenile ratsnake.

A passenger on the bullet train travelling between Tokyo and Hiroshima spotted the 30 centimetre (12 inch) snake poking between a gap in the seats Kazuhiro Nogi (AFP/File)

Train staff made announcements asking if any passengers had misplaced a snake, but no one came forward and police were still looking for the owner, media added.

Japan's bullet trains are famous for their punctuality and the Nozomi 103 service was no exception, arriving in Hiroshima right on time despite the reptilian intrusion.

Five years ago a metre-long Honduran milk snake, also non-venomous despite its fearsome red and black stripes, was discovered on a bullet train near Kyoto, bringing it to a halt.

Bullet train operators prohibit passengers from bringing animals other than small birds or fish in containers on board.
Yemeni forces kill suspected Qaeda chief

Yemeni forces killed a suspected local Al-Qaeda chief on Monday in a clash at his house in the southern province of Abyan, security officials said.

A Yemeni soldier also died and another was wounded when troops stormed the residence of an alleged insurgent identified as Abdullah Hubaibat, on the outskirts of the town of Loder, the officials said.

Two other jihadist suspects were wounded in the firefight and a third was arrested, the sources told AFP.

Yemeni forces stand on the back of an armed vehicle at the entrance to Abyan province as they take part in an anti-Al-Qaeda operation in April 2016 Saleh Al-Obeidi (AFP/File)

Government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition entered Abyan's capital Zinjibar last month and have recaptured other towns across the province.

The Arab coalition battling Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen has also been providing government troops with air cover throughout their war against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The United States has carried out numerous drone strikes against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in Yemen.

In other unrest, an army colonel and four soldiers have been killed and 19 wounded in clashes with the rebels since Sunday on the frontier between Lahj and Taez provinces in southwest Yemen, a military official said Monday.

Taez province is mostly controlled by the rebels and their allies, while Lahj is one of five southern provinces that coalition-backed government forces recaptured over the summer.

The coalition began its military campaign in March 2015 against the rebels after they closed in on President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in his refuge in the southern port city of Aden.

More than 6,600 people have been killed since the coalition launched its intervention, most of them civilians, and at least three million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi unwell after trip to US, UK

Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been forced to take a rest from her state duties after becoming unwell during a state trip abroad, her office said Monday.

The 71-year-old was diagnosed with gastritis after returning from a visit to Britain and the US, her first trip to her Western allies since taking office in March.

Pictures of her being pushed through Yangon airport in a wheelchair posted on social media sparked concern about the Nobel Laureate's health and quickly went viral.

Aung San Suu Kyi (L) was diagnosed with gastritis after returning from a visit to Britain and the US, her first trip to her Western allies since taking office in March Jim Watson (AFP/File)

"She feels weak as she did not have much time to rest during the trip," her office said in a statement.

"She has a stomach ache as she did not have time to have regular meals," it added, adding that she "just needs to rest for a while".

Suu Kyi's health has long been a topic of speculation in Myanmar, where she is deeply revered after decades leading the struggle against the former military junta.

Since her release in 2011 from long years under house arrest she has kept a notoriously frenetic schedule despite her advanced years and slight frame.

But occasional bouts of ill health stopped her campaigning in 2012 and forced her to cancel public appearances last year. Earlier this year she also had operations to remove cataracts from both eyes.

Suu Kyi holds several key cabinet positions including foreign minister, as well as leading the government in a specially created role of state counsellor.

Many of her government cabinet members are also fellow democracy veterans of advanced years, leading a country with an otherwise burgeoning youth population.

Her doctor, Tin Myo Win, said he was "very busy with the health of Aung San Suu Kyi" when briefly reached by AFP, but declined to give further details.
Coalition prefers final Yemen settlement to 'short' truce

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of Yemen's government would prefer a broad political settlement to a ceasefire, its spokesman said on Monday.

"I think now it's not a question of talking about a ceasefire," Major General Ahmed Assiri told AFP.

Late on Sunday a Huthi rebel leader, Saleh al-Sammad, proposed a truce on the country's border with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a halt to Saudi-led air strikes on his forces.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March last year after the Huthi rebels, backed by Iran, overran much of the country Saleh Al-Obeidi (AFP/File)

Assiri said the coalition welcomes "any effort to have a genuine political settlement" under a peace initiative proposed last month by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

This is preferable to a "short ceasefire without any control, without any observation", he said, adding that "the Saudi border is not and will not be the subject of any discussion".

Previous truces in the 18-month war collapsed.

After talks in Saudi Arabia with his Gulf counterparts, Kerry outlined a plan which offers the Huthis participation in government in exchange for an end to violence and a surrender of weapons.

The Huthis are allied with soldiers loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"If they want to have a ceasefire they know what they have to do," Assiri said, referring to terms of the Kerry plan which were to be refined under United Nations mediation among the parties.

The initiative calls for a rebel withdrawal from seized areas including the capital Sanaa which they have held since late 2014.

Sammad heads a new council appointed in August by the rebels and their allies to run Yemen, a move which led to the suspension of UN-brokered peace talks.

His council is not recognised by the international community.

In a speech published on the sabanews website, Sammad called for an end to Saudi "aggression" and the lifting of a coalition blockade in exchange for "an end to combat operations on the border and to (rebel) missile launches into Saudi territory".

The United States and Saudi Arabia say Iran, Riyadh's regional rival, has supplied missiles and other weapons to the Huthis.

The coalition intervened in March last year after the rebels overran much of the country.

Riyadh faces mounting international scrutiny over civilian casualties in its Yemen air campaign.
Taiwan attacks Hong Kong over string of visa denials

Taiwan lashed out at Hong Kong Monday, saying the city had recently denied visas to several Beijing-sceptic Taiwanese politicians as the island's relations with China worsen.

Ties between Taiwan and Beijing have turned increasingly frosty since new president Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in May.

Although Taiwan is self-ruling it has never declared formal independence and China still sees it as part of its territory.

Taiwan is accusing semi-autonomous Hong Kong of doing Beijing's bidding by refusing to allow a series of DPP politicians to enter the city Mandy Cheng (AFP/File)

Beijing is highly suspicious of Tsai and the DPP, which is traditionally an independence-leaning party.

Now Taiwan is accusing semi-autonomous Hong Kong of doing Beijing's bidding by refusing to allow a series of DPP politicians to enter the city.

Two DPP lawmakers say they were denied visas to attend forums. A third was refused entry when his connecting flight was cancelled in the southern Chinese city in August.

A professor with DPP connections was also refused a visa last month and leading protesters from Taiwan's anti-China "Sunflower Movement" say they have been denied visas in the past.

Taiwan's China affairs minister Chang Hsiao-yueh described the denials as "very unreasonable".

"Hong Kong should not have been pressured by China to restrict our lawmakers travelling to Hong Kong," she told reporters.

"We express utmost dissatisfaction and regret to the Hong Kong government."

Chang told parliament later Monday that Taiwan's office in Hong Kong had approached local government officials over the issue but had yet to receive "good results", without elaborating.

Taiwanese media quoted a Hong Kong forum organiser as saying China's Taiwan Affairs Office had instructed that "all DPP officials" be denied entry to Hong Kong.

An immigration spokeswoman in Hong Kong said the department did not comment on individual cases.

Taiwanese residents can usually apply online for "pre-arrival registration" for Hong Kong free of charge.

Beijing is pressuring Tsai to accept the concept that there is only "one China", as did her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou from the China-friendly Kuomintang party. She has refused to do so.

As a result, Beijing has cut all official communications with her government. It has been accused by Taipei of pressuring a number of countries to deport Taiwanese fraud suspects to China rather than their home territory.

Taiwan has also blamed China for blocking it from attending a major United Nations aviation meeting in Canada starting this week.
Low-caste pregnant woman attacked in India over dead cow

An angry mob in India attacked a low-caste pregnant woman and her family for refusing to clear away a cow carcass because of a weeks-long strike against such work, police said Monday.

Sangita Ranawasia, who is five months' pregnant and from India's lowest Dalit caste, was recovering in hospital after she and seven family members were beaten with sticks in their village in the western state of Gujarat.

"Six persons of the upper-caste Darbar community were arrested for assault on a pregnant woman and her family members," deputy police superintendent B A Chavda told AFP.

Dalits are staging a strike against collecting cow carcasses in the western Indian state of Gujarat in protest at the public flogging of four Dalit villagers in July Noah Seelam (AFP/File)

"The accused are in judicial custody and charges will be framed against them soon," said Chavda in Gujarat's Banaskantha district.

The attack late on Friday comes as Dalits continue their strike against collecting carcasses in Gujarat in protest at the public flogging of four Dalit villagers in July.

Dalits, formerly known as "untouchables," are commonly tasked with removing dead cows from streets, where the animals often roam freely.

Anger has mounted among the Dalit community and violent protests have erupted over the flogging of the villagers by cow-protection vigilantes who accused them of killing a beast they were removing.

Cows are considered sacred by Hindus and killing them is banned in most Indian states.

Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged a halt to attacks on Dalits, who lie at the bottom of India's deeply entrenched social hierarchy.

Cow carcasses can be seen on roadsides in Gujarat as Dalits demand an end to deep-rooted discrimination and violence.

Police officer Chavda said the mob was angry at the Dalits' refusal to remove the carcass due to the strike, and tensions have been running high in the village.

Ranawasia, whose unborn child was unharmed in the attack, and her family have since been given police protection.

The upper-caste mob face initial charges of assault and criminal intimidation, he said.
Sacked UK Pakistani actor sorry for India Twitter 'madness'

A Pakistan-born UK actor apologised Monday for using "unacceptable language" about Indians, which saw him fired from Britain's most popular TV soap.

Marc Anwar, 45, joined "Coronation Street", the world's longest-running TV soap opera, in 2014 as a member of the show's first Muslim family.

But he was sacked from the show after the Sunday Mirror newspaper published screenshots from his private Twitter account, which hit out at India over the Kashmir dispute.

Pakistan-born British actor Marc Anwar was sacked from TV soap Coronation Street after a newspaper published screenshots from his Twitter account which hit out at India over the Kashmir dispute Sajjad Hussain (AFP/File)

"Indians killing our Kashmir brothers and sisters," he wrote.

He called Indians "b*****ds" and used other insulting terms.

"I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone that I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening, and especially people from India," he said in a video he uploaded to YouTube on Monday.

"This was never my intention. The language was unacceptable. I feel I've let a lot of people down: my family, my friends and my former colleagues.

"This I again very sincerely apologise for.

"On Friday evening I saw, on the news, children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir.

"This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out. I vented my anger.

"My feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir," he said.

"I hope that everyone that I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

His character, love cheat gym boss Sharif Nazir, will still appear in scenes that have already been filmed for upcoming episodes.

The actor has appeared in Hollywood films including "Captain Phillips" and "51st State".

"Coronation Street", which began in 1960, became the longest-running soap opera in the world in 2010.

Set in a fictional suburb of Manchester in northwest England, it remains one of Britain's most-watched programmes with around eight million viewers.
Palestinians condemn Trump vow on Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Palestinian leaders Monday accused Donald Trump of abandoning any hope of a two-state solution after the Republican candidate said he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided" capital if he won the US presidential election.

Trump pledged Sunday during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would recognise Israel's claim over east Jerusalem, which would break with decades of precedent and put Washington at odds with most UN member states.

"Trump's statement shows disregard for international law (and) longstanding US foreign policy regarding the status of Jerusalem," Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said in a statement.

Israelis wave flags outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city on June 5, 2016 as they celebrate Jerusalem Day Ahmad Gharabli (AFP/File)

"Previous statements delivered by his adviser on Israel show a total abandonment of the two-state solution, international law and UN resolutions."

Israel captured the eastern half of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day war and annexed it in 1980, declaring all of Jerusalem Israel's unified capital.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised future state.

The Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement criticising Trump as well as his Democrat rival in November's election, Hillary Clinton, accusing her of overly favouring Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.

"The state of Palestine will not serve as a bargaining chip for gaining the Jewish vote in the United States," the statement said.

After a meeting with Netanyahu in New York, Trump's campaign released a statement saying the candidate "acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years".

"The United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel," it added.

The United States -- and most other UN member countries -- do not recognise Israel's annexation and consider Jerusalem's final status to be a key issue to be resolved in peace negotiations aimed at a two-state settlement.

The US Congress passed a law in October 1995 calling for an undivided Jerusalem to be recognised as Israel's capital and to authorise funding for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

But no US president -- Democrat or Republican -- has implemented the law, regarding it as an infringement on the executive branch's authority over foreign policy.
Global court takes up E. Timor, Australia sea border row

In a blow to Australia, an international arbitration court agreed Monday to take up a decade-long maritime border dispute between East Timor and Canberra which cuts through lucrative oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) "held that it was competent to continue with the conciliation process" initiated by East Timor against Australia in April, the court based in The Hague said.

East Timor last month urged the body -- the world's oldest arbitration tribunal -- to help end the dispute that has soured relations between the two countries, saying negotiations had so far failed.

East Timor, which gained independence from Indonesian occupation in 2002, is impoverished and depends heavily on oil and gas exports Bay Ismoyo (AFP/File)

Australia in return had argued the PCA had no jurisdiction in the battle as Canberra had already signed a treaty with Dili ruling out any recourse to the court.

Dili on Monday welcomed the PCA's decision.

"Just as we fought so hard and suffered so much for our independence, Timor-Leste will not rest until we have our sovereign rights over both land and sea," the country's independence resistance hero and former prime minister Xanana Gusmao said.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Canberra "accepts the commission's decision and will continue to engage in good faith as we move to the next phase of the conciliation process."

"We are committed to working together to strengthen our relationship and overcome our differences in the Timor sea," she added.

Canberra's lawyers had also sought to argue that it had initiated talks with Dili through an exchange of letters in 2003 to try to solve the dispute.

But the panel said the exchange of letters between Canberra and Dili "did not constitute an agreement... because the exchange was not... legally binding."

And the PCA's five-member Conciliation Commission ruled the dispute should be settled under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, rather than the 2006 treaty -- called Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) -- which covers the vast Greater Sunrise gas field lying between the two nations.

East Timor has also called for CMATS to be torn up after accusing Australia of spying to gain commercial advantage during the 2004 negotiations.

Dili however officially dropped its spying case against Canberra before the UN's International Court of Justice in June 2015 after Australia returned sensitive documents.

- Tough cases -

The PCA has not shied away from stepping into complex diplomatic battles.

Earlier this year it sparked fury in Beijing by ruling in a case brought by the Philippines that China's claims to a vast swathe of the resource-rich South China Sea were invalid.

The PCA, set up in 1899, is dedicated to resolving international disputes through arbitration, mediation and other means, by referring to international and bilateral treaties.

East Timor, which only gained its independence from Indonesian occupation in 2002, is an impoverished nation heavily dependent on oil and gas exports.

Talks between Timor and Australia will now continue over the next year, the tribunal based in The Hague said, but it stressed the meetings will be "largely in a confidential setting."
Iran's Ahmadinejad should stay out of election: conservatives

Iranian conservatives called on former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stay out of next year's election following a speech by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday.

In a cautiously worded statement ahead of a theological class, Khamenei said: "A certain person came to me and I told him not to do a certain thing, believing it would be to the benefit of both the person himself and the country."

Although he did not mention Ahmadinejad by name, several conservative figures interpreted his words as a rebuke to the controversial former president who led the country from 2005 until the 2013 presidential election.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's former president, has made numerous public appearances in recent months, leading to speculation that he is planning a comeback in the presidential election next May Atta Kenare (AFP/File)

"Mr Ahmadinejad must be very thankful and grateful for the leader's advice and he will definitely listen to this advice and not run for the election, and will be of service to people in some other position," said Mohammad Gharavian, a cleric in the holy city of Qom, according to ISNA news agency.

Ahmadinejad has made numerous public appearances in recent months, leading to speculation that he was planning a comeback in the presidential election next May.

Khamenei implied that such a move would create "a bi-polar atmosphere" that would "damage the country".

Ahmadinejad's inflammatory rhetoric -- particularly regarding Iran's nuclear programme and hostility towards Israel -- was blamed for deepening tensions with the West, but his populist approach and humble roots means he has retained popularity with poorer sections of Iranian society.

By the end of his term, he had alienated even the conservative establishment and faced wide-ranging criticism over his handling of the economy and failure to show sufficient deference to the supreme leader.
Anti-govt protest in Jordan over murder of writer

Protesters called on Monday for Jordan's government to resign over its failure to prevent the murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar, as the killing was condemned internationally.

A bearded assailant on Sunday shot dead Hattar, 56, on the steps of a court in central Amman where he was facing trial for sharing an anti-Islam cartoon on social media.

His family has so far refused to collect his body for burial, charging that authorities were warned of threats to Hattar's life and had failed to act.

Jordanians light candles for prominent writer Nahed Hattar (portrait L), who was shot dead outside an Amman court Khalil Mazraawi (AFP)

Hundreds of sympathisers and members of the writer's tribe protested outside the premier's office on Monday.

"The people want the fall of the government... No security, they killed Nahed in Amman!" they chanted.

Carrying his portrait, they called for the resignation of both Prime Minister Hani al-Malki and Interior Minister Salama Hammad.

"We handed over 200 names (of people who had threatened the writer) to the governor (of Amman), including that of the assassin, and demanded protection," said Khaled Hattar, one of the victim's brothers.

"But he refused, saying there was 'no real threat'."

Jordan's judiciary on Monday slapped a media blackout on the murder.

The information ministry said the aim was to preserve "the secrecy of the investigation" and that the blackout applied to both social and traditional media.

Hattar had faced charges over a cartoon he posted on Facebook under the title "God of Daesh" (the Islamic State jihadist group) showing a bearded man in bed smoking with two women lying on either side, and addressing God as a servant.

He was hit by three bullets before the alleged assassin was arrested at the scene of the shooting in the capital's Abdali district, official media said.

- Amnesty criticises government -

The assailant -- bearded and robed like a conservative Muslim -- shot him as he made his way up the steps outside the court.

Amnesty International condemned "this deplorable murder" but also criticised the government.

"By using strict blasphemy laws to prosecute a person for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, Jordanian authorities are fuelling a climate in which violent threats against people whose views are deemed offensive by others are allowed to flourish," said Philip Luther of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa department.

The UN's cultural agency also condemned the killing.

"This crime constitutes a grave attack on freedom of expression and affects Jordanian society as a whole," said UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova.

The gunman, identified as a 49-year-old Jordanian, gave himself up to police after the killing, a security source said.

A judicial source said the assailant was remanded for 15 days and charged with premeditated murder, facing the death penalty if convicted.

The suspect had acted alone and was not linked to any "terrorist" group, a source close to his interrogation said, asking not to be named.

Meanwhile, well-known Moroccan cartoonist Khalid Geddar said on Monday he had asked for police protection after being threatened for reposting the cartoon that led to Hattar's murder.

Geddar, who runs the satirical magazine Baboubi, reposted the drawing on Facebook on Sunday as a posthumous tribute.

Geddar said he received several threatening messages and comments, including: "Your fate is death and slaughter -- you are the enemy of God."

"I consider this comment to be a direct threat, a call to kill me just because I republished the drawing that led to the death of the Jordanian writer," he told AFP.

Protesters hold portraits of prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar, who was shot dead the previous day outside an Amman court, during a demonstration in front of the prime minister's office on September 26, 2016 Khalil Mazraawi (AFP)
Bangladesh court freezes assets of owner of collapsed plant

A Bangladesh court on Monday ordered banks to freeze the assets of the owner of a factory hit by a deadly blaze, as firefighters pulled three more bodies from the rubble to take the toll to 39.

The High Court made the order after rights organisations filed a writ alleging basic safety measures had not been taken and demanding compensation for workers and bereaved relatives.

Around 100 people were working at Tampaco Foils Limited factory on September 9 when a fire caused by an explosion in the boiler room tore through the four-storey building.

Around 100 people were working at Tampaco Foils Limited factory on September 9 when a fire caused by an explosion in the boiler room tore through the building Rajib Dhar (AFP/File)

It was Bangladesh's worst such disaster since the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment complex in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people.

"The court asked that the Tampaco owner's accounts be frozen for three months," said Mahbuba Akhter, spokeswoman for one of the rights groups, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust.

Relatives of the victims have already filed a private murder case against the owner, who remains at large, and the government has launched an investigation into what caused the fire.

The deputy district police commissioner S.M. Alam said most of the workers listed as missing had now been accounted for.

"I think we are almost near to an end of the operation and soon we will call it off," he told AFP.

The blaze was the latest in a series of deadly accidents to hit impoverished Bangladesh, whose $27-billion garment industry is the world's second largest behind China's.

The Rana Plaza collapse triggered international outrage, forcing US and European clothing brands to improve deplorable safety conditions at the factories that supply them.
Ali Bongo sworn in as Gabon president after disputed win

Ali Bongo was sworn back in as Gabon's president Tuesday, calling for unity after a disputed election win that sparked deadly unrest and revealed deep divisions in the oil-rich country.

He pledged to ensure "equal opportunities" for all and to push through a 2025 programme that would deliver a flourishing economy.

"This is the path that will guide the government which I will name in a few days," Bongo vowed.

Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 41 years until his death in 2009 Samir Tounsi (AFP/File)

Government spokesman Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze said Bongo wanted to install "a unity government by this week or the start of next week".

Cannons were fired during the ceremony in the seafront presidential palace in Libreville, as fears of fresh violence resurfaced.

"I pledge to devote all my efforts for the good of the Gabonese people and to ensure their well-being... and respect and defend the constitution and the rule of law," Bongo said during the event.

"Our country is going through a worrying period in its history," he added.

A handful of African leaders attended including the presidents of Mali, Niger, Togo and Sao Tome, as well as the prime ministers of Chad, Senegal, the Central African Republic and Morocco.

But most regional heavyweights stayed away.

Bongo's second mandate has received a cool reception from the African Union and the United Nations, while the European Union voiced regret that the count had not been transparent.

But Bongo on Tuesday said the "democratic process has been recognised by everybody, including foreign observers".

- 'The delicate period' -

"I want to reassure our international partners, especially our traditional ones, that we will spare no effort to maintain good relations and friendship between our people," he said.

Bongo's wafer-thin victory in the August 27 vote was confirmed on Saturday by the Constitutional Court, which dismissed opposition claims of vote fraud.

Defeated opposition contender Jean Ping, 73, lashed the court's ruling as a miscarriage of justice and declared himself "president elect".

He has so far not responded to Bongo's overtures for a dialogue.

A career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, Ping had filed a legal challenge after Bongo was declared the winner by a mere 6,000 votes.

Violence initially erupted on August 31 after Bongo was first declared the winner. Demonstrators set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made a thousand arrests.

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed. The government has given a toll of three dead.

Ping had asked for a recount in Haut-Ogooue province, where 95 percent of voters in the Bongo family stronghold were reported to have cast their ballots for the president on a turnout of more than 99 percent.

In its final tally, the court ruled Bongo had won 50.66 percent of the vote and Ping 47.24 percent, extending Bongo's lead to 11,000 votes over his opponent.

The EU's electoral observer mission said Sunday it "regretted" that the court "had been unable to satisfactorily rectify anomalies observed during the count".

- 'Not lifted all doubts' -

Former colonial power France said that the verdict clearing Bongo's victory "has not lifted all the doubts" about the process.

Bongo's critics threw up a verbal barrage of derision on social media as he was sworn in on Tuesday.

"I too proclaim myself president of the Republic of Gabon and I take the oath of office," said a Gabonese with the Twitter handle of BongoIsKilling.

"Our fledgling democracy has shown once more that I have the unique right to wipe my bottom with the constitution."

Bongo's family has exercised a long grip on power.

Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo, who ruled for 41 years until his death in 2009.

Gabon has large oil, mineral and tropical timber resources, and its per-capita national income is four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan nations.

But about a third of its population of 1.8 million still live below the poverty line -- the result, say specialists, of inequality, poor governance and corruption.

Gabon Jean Michel CORNU (AFP)

There has been a cool reception internationally to the re-election of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Steve Jordan (AFP/File)
Closure of Palestinian pages sparks Facebook censorship fears

Facebook apologised Monday after temporarily disabling accounts linked to two Palestinian news sites critical of Israel, a move that drew concern over potential online censorship.

Facebook pages of a number of editors of Quds News Network were suspended for several hours last Friday, a campaigner said, in what the social media giant later called a "mistake".

Pages linked to the Shehab News Agency were also disabled, an editor there said.

First Draft News, which is backed by Google, announced Tuesday that some 20 news organizations will be part of its partner network to share information on best practices for journalism in the online age Tobias Schwarz (AFP/File)

Quds has 5.2 million likes on Facebook, while Shehab has 6.35 million.

"The pages were removed in error and restored as soon as we were able to investigate," Facebook said in a statement.

"Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong. We're very sorry about this mistake."

The US-based company did not respond to a request for more details on what prompted the closures.

Israel has been in discussions with Facebook to stop what it calls online incitement, including at a meeting of top officials earlier this month.

The country's justice and public security ministers are also seeking legislation banning the use of Facebook to advance "terror" and outlawing incitement from the Internet.

Israeli authorities say such incitement is a main cause of a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks over the past year.

Palestinians say they fear the Israeli campaign will lead to censorship of legitimate information and suspect last week's closures were linked to it.

Activists called on Palestinians to boycott Facebook activity for two hours on Sunday in protest. The hashtag #FBCensorsPalestine was also being used on Twitter.

"We fear that Facebook will assist the occupation and close the only space for free expression for the Palestinians," said Iyad al-Rifai, spokesman for a campaign against such closures.

Hussam al-Zaygh, managing editor at the Gaza-based Shehab, called the closures "a political decision dictated by the Israelis".

"It is our right as Palestinian journalists to make our voice heard," he said.

Israeli and American victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1-billion lawsuit against Facebook in July over allegations it was used by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to organise violence.

Facebook has also faced criticism over censorship in other parts of the world in recent months.

It backtracked a couple of weeks ago on a decision to censor an iconic Vietnam War photo of a naked girl escaping a napalm bombing, after its block on the historic image sparked outrage.

The company is also due to go on trial in France, where a schoolteacher accused it of censorship for blocking his account after he posted a photo of a painting by 19th-century master Gustave Courbet called "L'Origine du Monde" (The Origin of the World) that depicts a woman's vagina.
Gabon president insists Africa Cup of Nations is on course

Gabon president Ali Bongo has insisted that the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) will go ahead in his crisis-ridden country.

The CAN is due to take place from January 14 to February 5 next year but was thrown into doubt after violence broke out following Bongo's controversial re-election in August.

"As we speak, there is no reason for this Cup not to take place here," said Bongo in an interview with state TV channel Gabon Television, which was reproduced on Monday by Union newspaper.

The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations was originally awarded to Libya before it was switched to Gabon following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi

"The stadiums are ready and we'll have some great matches."

Bongo was speaking following Saturday's decision by Gabon's constitutional court to validate the disputed election results.

Gabon's opposition claimed Bongo's victory on August 27 was obtained through vote fraud.

Four days later, violent clashes erupted as demonstrators set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made a thousand arrests.

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed. The government has given a toll of three dead.

The draw for the CAN tournament is due to take place in the capital Libreville on October 19.
US has met its side of Iran nuclear deal: Moniz

US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, an architect of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, rejected Monday complaints from Tehran that Washington had not met its side of the bargain.

"The United States has done all that was asked of us... and more," Moniz said in Vienna where the accord was struck last July.

"The sanctions that were going to be relieved (under the deal) have been relieved."

Iran's historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme Majid Asgaripour (Mehr News/AFP/File)

The agreement came into force in January after decades of rising tensions.

Under it, Iran dramatically scaled back its nuclear activities, seeking to defuse concerns it would develop atomic weapons.

In return, major powers lifted sanctions imposed in previous years related to Iran's atomic activities.

But others -- for example over Iran's missile programme -- remain in place.

On Thursday at the UN general assembly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Washington of blocking Iran's access to the international banking system, hurting its ability to conduct international transactions.

"They scare, they frighten the big banks with the threat of potential action by the United States Treasury. This is something that we oppose," Rouhani told reporters later.

Moniz, speaking at the UN atomic agency's annual general conference, said US officials "at their highest levels" have explained in Europe and to banks how to transact with Iran without falling foul of the remaining restrictions.

"The reality is that Iran has opened up quite a few correspondent relationships with banks, but they are smaller to medium-sized banks as opposed to the big global banks, which obviously is important for bigger transactions," Moniz told reporters.

He added that Iranian oil exports were "essentially" back to their pre-sanctions levels, giving Tehran "considerable extra cashflow", and that the country's economic growth has turned positive.
Iran says has freed Iranian-Canadian academic

Iranian-Canadian anthropologist Homa Hoodfar who was arrested and jailed in Tehran in June for "security offences" has been released and has left the country, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

The official IRNA news agency quoted a ministry spokesman as saying that the 65-year-old woman with dual nationality, who had also been accused of "feminist activities", was freed "for humanitarian reasons".

Hoodfar travelled to Oman and on to Canada, he said.

Canadian-Iranian anthropologist Homa Hoodfar was held at Evin prison in Tehran, family members said in a statement in June Atta Kenare (AFP/File)

Iranian state television has said Hoodfar was a founding member of a London-based advocacy group, Women Living Under Muslim Law (WLUML).

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians were relieved Hoodfar had been released and would "soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues".

"The government of Canada has been actively and constructively engaged at the highest levels... since her ordeal began," he said.

"I would also like to recognise the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation.

"They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations," Trudeau said in a statement.

"In the absence of diplomatic representation of its own in Iran, Canada worked closely with others who were instrumental in helping secure Dr Hoodfar's release -- most notably Oman, Italy and Switzerland."

Oman's foreign ministry said the sultanate had acted as a mediator in negotiations for Hoodfar's release "in response to a request from the Canadian government", state news agency ONA reported.

A ministry official said arrangements were made for an Omani air force plane to fly her from Tehran to Muscat on Monday before her return to Canada.

Canada severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, after its government criticised the Islamic republic's support for the Syrian regime, its "incitement to genocide" against Israel and its leaders' failure to account for their nuclear programme.

Ties were also strained by Tehran's jailing of Iranian-born Canadians and authorities denying Canadian detainees consular protection.

Iran does not recognise dual nationality and treats those arrested as Iranian citizens only.

But after a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last year towards lifting international sanctions in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme, Canada announced the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran in February.

Ottawa however said it would maintain restrictions on exports of nuclear goods and technologies, and anything that could help Iran to develop ballistic missiles.

In 2013, Ottawa imposed a near-total trade embargo on Iran that included economic sanctions and travel restrictions against 78 officials and 508 organisations.
Israel prosecutor general denies going easy on PM

Israel's attorney general has said he would approve a criminal probe of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if "reasonable" grounds were found, countering charges that the two men are too close.

In July, the attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, said he had given the go-ahead for inquiries into a "matter" involving Netanyahu, defining the case as "an examination and not a criminal investigation into the prime minister".

Israeli media said it concerned suspicions of fraud and money laundering against Netanyahu's former chief of staff, Ari Harrow.

Attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit (R) said he had given the go-ahead for inquiries into a "matter" involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defining the case as "an examination and not a criminal investigation into the prime minister" Gali Tibbon (POOL/AFP/File)

Mandelblit, who was appointed attorney general in February after serving for three years as Netanyahu's cabinet secretary, has been accused by some media of dragging his feet over the case.

Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Monday quoted extensively from an interview given by Mandelblit for a coming edition of the Israel Bar Association's magazine in which he says his actions are strictly professional.

"No one has an interest in delaying the probe. No one derives any benefit from it being delayed," he said.

"If reasonable suspicion comes to light, it will turn into a criminal investigation  and I dont care who the subject is."

At this stage that is not the case, Mandelblit said, "but the examination is still not over, and changes are always a possibility".

According to Haaretz newspaper, Harrow was suspected of involvement in the fictitious sale of a business supposedly worth $3 million.

It is not the first time that the premier's name has been linked with impropriety although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

In June, he acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in jail over a $315-million scam involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and the taxes on them.

In May, Israel's state comptroller released a critical report about Netanyahu's foreign trips, some with his wife and children, between 2003 and 2005 when he was finance minister.

And there have been allegations the couple spent public funds on garden furniture and electrical repairs at their private villa in the coastal resort of Caesarea.

Also, a former butler has accused Sara Netanyahu of pocketing cash from deposit refunds for empty bottles returned from the official residence between 2009 and 2013, money that should have gone to the treasury.

In 2013, Netanyahu reimbursed the state $1,000 but the butler has said the figure should have been six times higher.

On Monday, a new row was brewing after reports Netanyahu had petitioned a Jerusalem court to block a freedom of information request from a local NGO which wants details of his official spending on his family's laundry made public.

Israeli Channel 10 TV reporter Raviv Drucker posted online what he said was the title page of Netanyahu's 27-page request.

Israeli public radio quoted Netanyahu as saying on his return home Monday night from a trip to New York that the "interest in his laundry is sheer pettiness and even the prime minister has a right to privacy".
Three missing after S. Korea helicopter crashes at sea

Three people were missing after a South Korean naval helicopter crashed into the sea off the country's east coast Monday night during a joint military drill with the US, the defence ministry said.

The Lynx helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from a warship on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at around 1200 GMT, a ministry spokesman said.

The aircraft apparently crashed into the sea, he said, adding search efforts were underway to find the three who were on board, including the pilot.

A South Korean Navy Lynx helicopter, like this one pictured in 2010, sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from a warship on the East Sea Lee Jin-Man (Pool/AFP/File)

Monday's joint naval exercise was the latest display of military might in response to North Korea's fifth nuclear test earlier this month, which raised tension on the peninsula.
EU launches debit cards for refugees in Turkey

The European Union on Monday launched a scheme worth almost 350 million euros providing mainly Syrian refugees in Turkey with pre-paid debit cards, the biggest project yet under a landmark deal between the bloc and Ankara.

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides, in Ankara for the start of the programme, said the debit cards will help give vulnerable refugees a "sense of normality" in their lives.

The refugees will be able to use the cards in shops or institutions to pay for food, education, housing and clothing or also to withdraw cash from ATMs.

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides (L) delivers a speech next to Turkeys EU Minister Omer Celik (R) during a joint press conference following their meeting on September 26, 2016 Adem Altan (AFP)

Each card will be automatically topped up with 100 Turkish lira ($33.50) a month, giving people the chance to choose their own purchases.

Stylianides said the programme was an "unprecedented response" to an "unprecedented crisis".

"This (scheme) is, in our humanitarian field, a game-changer in the delivery of humanitarian aid. Refugees can choose what they spend money on."

Turkey is home to some three million refugees, most of them Syrian. The vast majority live in cities without direct support from non-governmental organisations and aid groups.

Supported with 348 million euros ($392 million) from Brussels and its member states, the scheme will be rolled out by Turkish Red Crescent and the UN World Food Programme supported by the Turkish authorities.

Applications will start in October for the scheme. Families who have children going to school will receive more cash. All refugees registered in Turkey, including Iraqis, are eligible to apply.

Stylianides suggested that the programme would also benefit Turks.

"The money will be spent in local shops, boosting local businesses and encouraging social cohesion between citizens and refugees."

The project is part of a six billion euro ($6.75 billion) deal struck in March between Brussels and Ankara to curb the migrant influx into Europe, which saw more than a million arrive in the EU last year.

There have been fears the deal could collapse with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan complaining that the promised money was not handed directly to Turkey.

In exchange for cutting the flow, Brussels also offered Turkey visa liberalisation for its citizens to visit EU countries in the Schengen area as well as accelerated membership talks.

But Ankara has threatened to withdraw from the agreement if Europe does not allow visa-free travel for Turks by next month, though the numbers coming to Europe have dropped significantly since March.
Violent crime rises in US: FBI

Violent crime in the United States rose last year, the FBI said Monday, reporting data that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump could use in the debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The FBI said that in 2015 there were 1,197,704 violent crimes, an increase of 3.9 percent compared with the previous year.

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased 10.8 percent, and firearms were involved in two-thirds of those cases, the agency said.

The FBI said that in 2015 there were 1,197,704 violent crimes, an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the previous year. Mandel Ngan (AFP/File)

The increase in the murder rate was due mainly to rises in seven major cities: Chicago, Baltimore, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Washington.

On the very day the FBI report was released, a gunman in Houston wounded nine people near an apartment complex before being shot and killed by police. Last Friday, a young male shooter killed five people in a department store in the state of Washington.

Despite the uptick, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the statistics showed that the violent crime rate had fallen 15 percent since Obama took office.

"The president believes there's more that we can and should do," he said. "And there's no area where the president has been more outspoken than taking action on common-sense gun safety measures that would make it harder for criminals and others who shouldn't have them to buy a gun."

- 'Law-and-order' candidate -

The FBI figures were released hours before the hotly awaited first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump. Crime was expected to be one of the key topics for discussion.

It is one of the pet issues of Trump, who depicts himself as a tough law-and-order candidate.

Trump, who is backed by the powerful US gun lobby, hammers away at his idea that America is a country threatened by uncontrolled illegal immigration, which he blames for violent crime and drug trafficking.

Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, dismisses Obama's administration as soft on crime, and could allude to the FBI report during Monday night's debate to press this argument and bill himself as the solution to crime.

Last week Trump expressed support for profiling -- the discriminatory police practice of targeting people for suspicion of crime on the basis of their race, ethnicity or religion. Most victims are either African American or Latino.

Although violent crime increased last year, overall the tendency over the past 20 years has been a decline. Crime levels these days in America are far below the peak years in the 1990s.

The FBI said it collects data on the violent crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

The FBI said burglaries fell 7.8 percent and larceny-thefts declined 1.8 percent, but motor vehicle thefts increased by 3.1 percent.

The release of the report comes as murder rates have risen in several US cities in 2015 and 2016, mainly Chicago, where authorities have reported more than 500 homicides since January. That is more than all of last year.

Experts say different factors come into play depending on the city, mainly drug trafficking, gang wars and the availability of guns.
Bowie's art collection goes on view in New York

Hundreds of pieces of art collected by late rock legend David Bowie went on display Monday in New York ahead of an auction, including works by modern greats Jean-Michel Basquiat and Damien Hirst.

Bowie, who died in January from an undisclosed battle with cancer, avidly followed the art world but was discreet about his buying.

"His attitude to collecting represents his attitude on music-making -- he's not afraid to look at things outside the mainstream," said Simon Hucker, senior specialist in modern and post-war British art at Sotheby's which is running the auction.

Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Air Power" is displayed at the Bowie/Collector media preview at Sotheby's in New York, on September 26, 2016 Angela Weiss (AFP)

Bowie, already a musical icon, in the 1990s served on the editorial board of the magazine Modern Painters where he would occasionally write articles.

"He would interview artists that he thought were good, but on the whole he was very private about his art collecting," Hucker said.

"Whilst he used to go to auctions in the 1990s, later on he wouldn't go. He would buy a little more quietly, more remotely," he said.

The core of Bowie's collection was 20th-century British painting but he also took an interest in contemporary African works and so-called outsider art, created by the mentally ill and other people outside traditionally defined art circles.

The piece in the auction that is expected to earn the most, at $3.3-$4.6 million, is "Air Power" by Basquiat, a graffiti-inspired canvas with abstract skeletal figures.

Basquiat had just started to gain international fame when he died in 1988 at age 27 from an overdose.

Bowie bought "Air Power" and another Basquiat painting shortly before the 1996 biopic "Basquiat," in which the rocker played his early idol Andy Warhol.

Another work in the auction is a 1995 collaboration with Hirst, a circular kaleidescope with a burst of green and a pink center that resembles an orbit.

The painting is entitled "Beautiful, hallo space-boy," an allusion to Bowie's recurring musical character of Major Tom, the astronaut explorer with a checkered personal life.

Bowie's collection also features a number of pieces by the Italian artist Ettore Sottsass, who brought a pop culture aesthetic to office furniture.

More than 350 items in total will go on auction on November 10 and 11 in London.

As well as New York, Sotheby's is previewing the collection in London, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

Sotheby's said it had worked with Bowie's estate for several months to put together the auction.
Yemen deports 220 African migrants: officials

Yemeni authorities on Monday deported at least 220 African illegal immigrants, mainly Ethiopians, from the southern port city of Aden, security officials said.

The migrants had been rounded up over the past two weeks and were put on a ship bound for Somalia, from where they apparently came, an official in Aden said.

The boat left from the port at Aden's refinery.

Hundreds of illegal migrants have arrived in south Yemen over the past few weeks despite the ongoing war that has ravaged the country Saleh Al-Obeidi (AFP/File)

Hundreds of illegal migrants have arrived in south Yemen over the past few weeks despite the ongoing war that has ravaged the country.

In Shabwa province, east of Aden, authorities have arrested more than 500 African migrants over the past two weeks, security chief Awad al-Dahboul said.

Officials in south Yemen have claimed that some migrants are being recruited by Huthi rebels to fight against government forces, a claim that could not be independently verified.
Pentagon: IS could use mustard gas to defend Mosul

The Islamic State group could use mustard gas against an Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, the US Defense Department said Monday.

"We can fully expect that as this road towards Mosul progresses, ISIL is likely to try to use it again," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters, using another acronym for the IS group.

Davis said that the jihadists had already used mustard gas "at least a couple dozen" times, packing a "rudimentary" form of the chemical weapon into crude, makeshift munitions.

An Iraqi government forces tank is positioned in the middle of the road as they secure the town of Sharqat, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the city of Mosul, on September 23, 2016 Ahmad al-Rubaye (AFP/File)

According to the spokesman, the IS group's mustard gas is typically a powder bound together with tar.

It is "not generally in a lethal concentration" and "not anything we would consider significant militarily," he said. "More irritant that anything else."

Iraqi security forces, backed by US-led coalition air power, are in the final weeks of preparing operations ahead of an assault to recapture Mosul, which the IS group seized in 2014 and which remains the jihadists' last main stronghold in Iraq.

The Pentagon suspects that the IS group used mustard gas last week in a rocket launched against US soldiers at a base near Qayyarah, a northern town in Iraq considered strategic for retaking Mosul.

The base is in the process of being transformed into a logistics hub to support the Mosul offensive.

US officials estimate that Iraqi forces could be technically ready to launch the attack in early October.

All US soldiers in Iraq who may be exposed to IS chemical arms have received training and the necessary protective equipment, Davis noted.

"They have practiced it many, many times before they will ever get to a place like Qayyarah West where they could encounter it," he said.

The United States also has provided more than 50,000 gas masks to the Iraqi forces, he said.

"We want to make sure that the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmergas (Kurdish fighters) have the ability to detect this and to defend against it," he said.
Debate pitfalls and hurdles for Clinton, Trump

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump can expect tough questions during their first presidential debate Monday night on the blunders and controversies incurred in their race for the White House.

Here are some of the issues on which the Democrat Clinton is seen as potentially vulnerable, and those that could bedevil her Republican rival:

- Hillary Clinton -

This photo shows the outside of Hofstra University's David & Mack Sport and Exhibition Complex, where the first presidential debate will be held on September 26, 2016 Paul J. Richards (AFP)

-- Trust: Many voters say they simply don't trust Clinton. She has countered by reminding voters of her decades-long work on behalf of children. But she is on the defensive notably over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, which many Americans perceive as a sign she feels the rules don't apply to her.

-- "Deplorables": Clinton used the colorful expression during a fundraising event to describe Trump's backers. She later regretted having said "half" his base was made up of racists, xenophobes and homophobes. But Republicans zeroed in on the condescending remark to drive a wedge between her and white voters of modest means.

-- Clinton Foundation: It has the whiff of conflict of interest, although no one has been able to prove any wrongdoing. The family foundation created after the end of Bill Clinton's presidency has raised nearly two billion dollars to fight AIDS and other global illnesses. But critics allege that foreign donors were given undue access to Clinton while she served as secretary of state.

-- Trade: As secretary of state, Clinton was a long-time defender of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, but now says she's firmly against it. The about-face has been hardly reassuring to opponents of globalization.

-- Iraq, Libya: As a senator Clinton voted in favor of the use of force in Iraq in 2002, and as secretary of state she pushed for the 2011 intervention in Libya. She has said she regrets her vote for the Iraq war, but Trump blames her for the chaos in Libya.

- Donald Trump -

Here are some key issues on which Trump is seen as potentially vulnerable:

-- Trade and the economy: Trump has vowed to halt the movement overseas of US jobs, by renegotiating trade treaties, notably with Mexico. But his detractors criticize the lack of detail in his proposals, and fear he could unleash a trade war.

-- Tax returns: The billionaire refuses to release his tax returns, breaking with a tradition of transparency respected by all recent presidential candidates. He justifies his refusal by saying his taxes are under a near permanent audit.

-- Trump Foundation: It's nowhere near as big as the Clinton Foundation, in funds or programs. But Trump has used the foundation for personal and political ends, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post, and dubious transactions are under investigation by New York prosecutors.

-- Abortion: In 1999, Trump said he personally abhorred the idea of abortion but was "very pro-choice." During the Republican primaries, however, he said he was firmly opposed to abortion and thought there had to be "some form of punishment" for women who undergo illegal abortions. He later revised the statement, saying that the doctors, not the women, should be punished.

-- Islamic State group: Trump insisted on the campaign trail that Obama and Clinton were the "founders of ISIS." He also says he opposed the war in Iraq, although in his only public comment on it in 2002 he said he was in favor of it.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will be tested throughout the debate, specifically on her recent comment, where she said "half" of Donald Trump's base was made up of racists, xenophobes and homophobes Brendan Smialowski (AFP/File)
India at UN tells Pakistan to 'abandon dream' of Kashmir

India's foreign minister on Monday used her address at the UN General Assembly to accuse Pakistan of terrorism, warning that India will not give up control in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Tensions between the longtime rivals have spiked over a recent attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

"Pakistan remains in denial. It persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets," Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told the assembly.

Pakistani Kashmiris burn effigies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj during a protest in Islamabad, on September 26, 2016, to show their solidarity with Indian Kashmiri Muslims Aamir Qureshi (AFP)

"My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so."

Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the disputed Himalayan territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

The Indian army has blamed the latest attack on the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was also implicated in an audacious attack in January on an Indian air force base in Pathankot, in the northern state of Punjab, that left seven soldiers dead.

The foreign minister said it was time to isolate Pakistan over its alleged ties with terror groups.

"In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it and export it," she said.

"To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account."

"Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations," she added.

Several rebel groups have fought an estimated 500,000 Indian forces deployed in Kashmir, demanding independence for the Muslim-majority region or its merger with Pakistan.

- Response to Sharif -

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the General Assembly last week that his country was committed to peace but that New Delhi was making unacceptable demands.

"Pakistan wants peace with India. I have gone the extra mile to achieve this," he told the gathering in New York. "But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue.

"Let us be clear: talks are no favor to Pakistan," he added. "Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to resolve our differences."

The Indian foreign minister responded to Sharif in her address, rejecting the accusation that her government was imposing preconditions and arguing that it had taken unprecedented steps to improve relations.

"And what did we get in return? Pathankot, Bahadur Ali and Uri," she said, referring to the Kashmir attacks and a suspect held in custody.

"Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror," Swaraj said.

India has vowed to push to make Pakistan a pariah state in the eyes of the international community.

Indian activists carry placards of the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad, Maulana Masood Azhar during a protest against the attack on the air force base in Pathankot, in Mumbai on January 4, 2016 Indranil Mukherjee (AFP/File)
US hits Chinese firm with sanctions over N. Korea trade

The United States moved to tighten the economic noose around North Korea Monday, charging and sanctioning a firm owned by a prominent Chinese businesswoman for extensive trade ties with the regime.

In a move designed to choke-off North Korea's external economic lifeline, the US government targeted 44-year-old Ma Xiaohong and her vast conglomerate based in China's frontier city of Dandong.

The firm, Dandong Hongxiang, and a host of officials are accused of making up a "key illicit network supporting North Korea's weapons proliferation," according to Treasury sanctions tsar Adam Szubin.

Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington Greg Baker (AFP)

Dandong Hongxiang did more than $530 million worth of trade with North Korea between 2011 and 2015, according to a report by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and C4ADS in Washington.

That could have been enough to fund North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities, and to design, make, and test its nuclear weapons, the report said.

Some of the items traded included aluminum ingots, aluminum oxide, ammonium paratungstate and tungsten trioxide, materials used in nuclear enrichment centrifuges and missile design.

US officials said Dandong Hongxiang had acted on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, which has already been blacklisted by the United States and United Nations for its support for North Korea's nuclear and other weapons efforts.

The Justice Department placed three other individuals, Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu on the sanctions blacklist, banning American individuals or companies from doing business with them.

The department also moved to seize 25 bank accounts controlled by Dandong Hongxiang, on grounds that they "represent property involved in money laundering."

- Turning the screw, slowly -

The sanctions came after Pyongyang carried out a series of tests on weapons aimed at developing a missile-borne nuclear weapon.

On September 9 North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test triggering international outrage and threats of still further sanctions against the deeply isolated nuclear-armed country.

US President Barack Obama recently met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China and urged stricter implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea.

He later met premier Li Keqiang in New York "and resolved to strengthen coordination" regarding the Korean peninsula, including "invigorating cooperation... in law enforcement channels on North Korea."

Obama's call appears to have been heeded, at least in part.

Shortly after Obama's meeting with Xi, the Chinese authorities also announced they were investigating the company.

Dandong's provincial public security department said it had placed Dandong Hongxiang and its bosses under investigation for "serious economic crimes involved in trade activities."

Ma Xiaohong -- a communist party member -- had been open about her trade with North Korea.

China has been increasingly concerned about Kim Jong-Un's provocations, but has been loath to destabilize the regime.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 percent of North Korea's $6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Korea's state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
Egypt detains owner of capsized migrant ship

Egyptian police on Monday detained the owner of a vessel that capsized in the Mediterranean last week drowning at least 168 migrants, a security official said.

Up to 450 migrants may have been on board the fishing boat when it sank off Egypt's coast on Wednesday en route to Italy.

At least 168 bodies have been recovered and 163 passengers were rescued, according to the health ministry and the military.

Survivors from a boat that capsized, off Egypt's north coast are seen in a police station in Rashid in northern Egypt on September 22, 2016 Mohamed El-Shahed (AFP/File)

The boat's owner will be questioned by prosecutors and is expected to face charges of human trafficking and involuntary manslaughter, a police official and a judicial source said.

Officials said a specialised ship with divers belonging to a petroleum company is working at the site of the shipwreck some 12 kilometres (eight miles) off the coast to pull the boat back up to the surface.
1st Australian business delegation in 14 years to visit Iran

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australia's trade minister will lead the country's first business delegation to visit Iran in 14 years after sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program were eased.

Steven Ciobo said he will leave Tuesday for the visit that will include reopening an Australian trade office that closed in 2010.

Ciobo said he will be accompanied by 20 representatives of Australian companies, with expertise in health, water management, agribusiness, mining, education and training.

Two-way trade between Australia and Iran fluctuated between 350 million Australian dollars ($270 million) and AU$600 million a year while Australian sanctions were in place, he said.

"With the sanctions easing, there is ... significant potential for that figure to move north of there," Ciobo told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday.

"There are still challenges," he said, citing Iran's difficulty in fully reconnecting to the international financial system.

Australian eased sanctions in January after Iran implemented its nuclear pact.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity. And it spelled out the West's obligations to end many financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran's economy.
Viola Davis describes becoming Rape Foundation advocate

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP)  Viola Davis said Sunday that her own experiences with sexual assault led her to become an advocate for the Rape Foundation and encouraged others to visit treatment centers so they'll become supporters.

"You must," she said. "And then let your heart do the rest."

"Myself, my mother, my sisters, my friend Rebecca, my friend from childhood, we all have one thing in common: We are all survivors of sexual assault in some way, shape or form," Davis said Sunday at a benefit for the foundation.

File-This Sept. 19, 2015, file photo shows Viola Davis arriving at the 4th Annual Woman Making History Brunch at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Davis has seen the effects of sexual assault first hand. She said her sister was sexually assaulted at age 8 and is now a heroin addict and prostitute. Davis also described her mother and herself as survivors of sexual assault Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, at a benefit for the Rape Foundation and Stuart House, which provides free medical treatment, counseling and legal aid to rape victims, with special services for children. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP,File)

It provides free medical treatment, counseling and legal aid to sexual assault victims at its Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House, which specializes in caring for sexually abused children.

An advocate for the group since playing its founder in a 2010 film, Davis was among the guests of honor at the organization's annual fundraising brunch held at billionaire Ron Burkle's Greenacres estate in Beverly Hills, California

Davis said half of the survivors helped by the Rape Foundation are children, adding that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before age 18.

Her own sister is among the casualties: She was sexually assaulted at age 8 and still struggles today.

"I continue to pray for my sister," said Davis, who has previously spoken publicly about her sister's attack.

The brunch was held in a tented space in Burkle's backyard, where "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman, "Vampire Diaries" actress Nina Dobrev and the supporting cast on Davis' "How to Get Away With Murder" were among the guests in 95-degree heat.

David Schwimmer was the master of ceremonies. The actor-director started working with the Rape Foundation during his "Friends" days and has served on its board of directors for the last 12 years. He said the brunch supports a year's worth of services at the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House.

The Rape Foundation also provides educational programs for first responders and middle- and high-school students.

___
Teenage surfer stable after shark attack at Australian beach

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  A teenage surfer was in stable condition after he was bitten by a shark Monday at the same Australian beach where a Japanese surfer was fatally mauled last year, officials said.

Cooper Allen, a 17-year-old high school student, was surfing with friends on the first day of the students' spring vacation when he was attacked off Ballina's Lighthouse Beach at midmorning, Ballina Mayor David Wright said.

The shark struck from behind and bit across the board's fins as the boy lay on the board paddling. The shark's lower jaw tore into the fiberglass as its upper teeth clamped his right hip and thigh, Wright said.

"The shark lacerated his leg in three or four places fairly deep," Wright said. "Luckily the lifeguards were on duty and got down there quickly."

"He should be OK. It was very close to his artery," Wright added.

Cooper, a Ballina resident, was taken by ambulance to Lismore Base Hospital, where he was in a stable condition, emergency services said.

Police Detective Chief Inspector Cameron Lindsay said teeth marks on the board suggested a great white shark between 2.5 and 3 meter (8 to 10 feet) long. Police also said a 4-meter (13-foot) great white was spotted off Lighthouse Beach later in the morning.

In February last year, Japanese tourist Tadashi Nakahara, 41, died after losing both his legs to a great white 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) long while surfing at Lighthouse Beach.

Four shark attacks in the Ballina area have required hospital treatment since that tragedy and there have been many more near misses, Wright said.

The state government last month abandoned plans to safeguard Lighthouse Beach with a 700-meter (770-yard) nylon shark barrier.

Three attempted trials "identified significant installation and maintenance issues," the government said.

Cooper, who had been a friend of Nakahara, told The Australian newspaper in July that such a barrier would be a waste of money.

"We still go out there without the net, at our own choice. I don't think there is any need for it," Cooper told The Australian.

Wright said he was in discussions with the state government on Monday to fund surveillance drones to scan the beaches. Tourism is Ballina's biggest industry and an increase in shark attacks and scares have reduced visitor numbers in recent months.

State Premier Mike Baird said drones would be sent to Ballina and his government was testing other shark protection technologies.

"We can't guarantee, clearly, at any beach, that people will be safe. But we'll do everything we can," Baird told reporters.

All beaches around Ballina, which is on the east coast 600 kilometers (350 miles) north of Sydney, will be closed for 24 hours after the attack, police said.

The last fatal attack in Australia was in June, when a 60-year-old diver was killed by a large shark off the west coast city of Perth.

Less than a week earlier, a 29-year-old surfer died after his leg was bitten off south of Perth.
Mall victims include teen, probation officer, Boeing worker

SEATTLE (AP)  Five people died in the shooting at a Macy's store in a mall north of Seattle. Authorities do not plan to make their identities public until Tuesday, but details about three of the victims have been reported by Washington state media. Here's what is known about them:

___

SARAI LARA:

A security guard working at the Cascade Mall places flowers at a makeshift memorial on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Burlington, Wash., to the five victims killed in a shooting at the mall on Friday. The 20-year-old man suspected of killing the five people with a rifle at a Macy's makeup counter had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

The 16-year-old high school sophomore was the youngest victim of the gunman who opened fire in department store in the small city of Burlington.

Born in Mount Vernon just south of Burlington, Lara was described by her mother Evangelina as bright, all smiles and her mother's "right hand" at home for the family.

The teen survived cancer and was told by her doctor that she was doing well, Evangelina Lara told The Seattle Times( https://goo.gl/YMQvxk) through a translator.

The family has Mexican roots, and Sarai Lara was proud of her heritage, her mother said. She had a wide network of friends at school and helped at home, caring for year 5-year-old sister.

"It's not fair what happened to her," Evangelina Lara said.

___

CHUCK EAGAN:

Eagan was a longtime Boeing Co. maintenance worker from Lake Stevens, his aunt, Carol Thrush told ( http://bit.ly/2cYDJn0 ) The Seattle Times.

She said Eagan and his wife were out for a dinner and shopping at the mall. They had made their way to Macy's when the shooter opened fire. Thrush said Eagan and his wife ran, but his wife fell down as she was trying to get away.

Eagan was shot as he helped his wife, Thrush said.

Thrush said Eagan had two daughters and three grandchildren.

He planned to retire from Boeing next year and hoped to travel.

___

BELINDA GALDE:

Galde, 64, was a longtime probation officer with the Skagit County District Court.

The court in a statement described Galde as "an amazingly kind and caring individual who was much adored by her friends, her coworkers and the thousands of probationers who she helped find a better way to live."

Rachel Shuler of Burlington, Wash., takes a moment after placing a sign and balloons with her stepdaughter at a makeshift memorial on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Burlington, to the victims the victims killed in a mall shooting on Friday. The 20-year-old man suspected of killing the five people with a rifle at a Macy's makeup counter had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
AP EXPLAINS: How Colombia's conflict evolved over decades

With Colombia's government and the country's biggest rebel movement set to sign a historic peace deal, The Associated Press explains how the conflict began and developed over the decades.

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HOW IT STARTED

Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, arrive in Yari Plains, southern Colombia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, alias Timochenko, are expected to sign a peace accord to end more than five decades of conflict Sept. 26 in the Caribbean city of Cartagena. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

The 1948 assassination of populist firebrand Jorge Eliecer Gaitan led to a political bloodletting known as "The Violence." Tens of thousands died, and peasant groups joined with communists to arm themselves. A 1964 military attack on their main encampment led to the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

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WHAT THE REBELS WANTED

Though nominally Marxist, the FARC's ideology has never been well defined. It has sought to make the conservative oligarchy share power and prioritized land reform in a country where more than 5 million people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias in the service of ranchers, businessmen and drug traffickers. The FARC lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping, extortion and taxes on cocaine production and illegal gold mining to fund its insurgency.

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HOW THE U.S. GOT INVOLVED

In 2000, the United States began sending billions of dollars to counter drug-trafficking and the insurgency under Plan Colombia, which helped security forces weaken the FARC and kill several top commanders. The State Department classifies the FARC as a terrorist organization and its leaders face U.S. indictments on drug-trafficking charges.

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THE HUMAN TOLL

More than 220,000 lives have been lost, most of them civilians. In the past two decades, most of the killings were inflicted by the militias, which made peace with the government in 2003. The FARC abducted ranchers, politicians and soldiers and often held them for years in jungle prison camps. Its captives included former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors, all of whom were rescued in 2008.

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PEACE EFFORTS
2 men arrested, teen detained in California triple slaying

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP)  Two men were arrested and a 17-year-old girl was detained Sunday on suspicion of killing three people inside a Southern California home over the weekend, police said.

Fullerton police Sgt. Jon Radus would not say if the arrested teen was the missing daughter of two of the victims.

He did say she has been found since authorities issued an alert looking for her, initially saying they were concerned about her safety.

This photo released by the Fullerton, Calif., Police Department shows Josh Acosta, 21, arrested and jailed in Fullerton Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Acosta is one of two men arrested in connection with the murders of two men and a woman at a Fullerton home Saturday, Sept. 24. Two children were present in the home and called 911 to report that their parents had 'died.' (Fullerton Police Department via AP)

"Katlynn Goodwill Yost has been located and she is unharmed," Radus said. "State law prevents law enforcement from releasing the names of juveniles who have been arrested for crimes. That said, a 17 year old female juvenile has also been detained in connection with the murders and is in the custody of the Orange County Juvenile Hall."

The arrests came a day after a child called 911 to report her parents had died.

Officers who went Saturday morning to the home in the southeastern Los Angeles suburb of Fullerton discovered two men and a woman dead with signs of trauma to their bodies. Two girls, age 6 and 9, were found unharmed inside the home.

Radus identified the victims  Christopher Yost and Jennifer Goodwill Yost  as the girls' parents and described the third victim, Arthur William Boucher, 28, as a family friend. The cause of their deaths was under investigation.

Suspects Josh Acosta, 21, of Fort Irwin and Frank Felix, 25, of Sun Valley, were arrested Sunday morning and booked into jail for investigation of murder, Radus said.

The sergeant did not disclose a motive for the killings but says investigators believe the victims were targeted by the suspects.

"We hope the quick arrest of these individuals will bring comfort to the community and assist the friends and family of those affected by this unthinkable crime," he said.

At a candlelight vigil held outside the family's home, those who knew the Yosts said they were loving parents and friendly neighbors.

Donna Trice, a former neighbor, said Christopher Yost was an auto mechanic and his wife a stay-at-home mom and jewelry maker.

"There's nothing that can justify what happened and why the parents were taken away from the children," she said.

Neighbors said the family liked to decorate their front yard for Halloween and invited kids to stop for candy and play games.

Friends and relatives of Boucher said he was staying with the Yosts until he could get back on his feet.

"He was always standing up for women in his family, me included," his girlfriend Joyce Burchett said through tears. "I'm at a complete loss."

This photo released by the Fullerton, Calif., Police Department shows Frank Felix, 25, arrested and jailed in Fullerton Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Felix is one of two men arrested in connection with the murders of two men and a woman at a Fullerton home Saturday, Sept. 24. Two children were present in the home and called 911 to report that their parents had died. (Fullerton Police Department via AP)

A condolence note and votive candles are seen on the front porch of the home where three adults were found dead Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, after a young child called 911 to report her parents had died, seen in Fullerton, Calif., Sunday The child placed the call about 8:20 a.m. and officers were dispatched to the home, where they found two men and a woman dead. Authorities are searching for the children's 17-year-old sibling, who is considered at risk. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)

The home where three adults were found dead Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, after a young child called 911 to report her parents had died is seen in Fullerton, Calif., Sunday. The child placed the call about 8:20 a.m. and officers were dispatched to the home, where they found two men and a woman dead. Authorities are searching for the children's 17-year-old sibling, who is considered at risk. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)

The home where three adults were found dead Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, after a young child called 911 to report her parents had died is seen in Fullerton, Calif., Sunday. The child placed the call about 8:20 a.m. and officers were dispatched to the home, where they found two men and a woman dead. Authorities are searching for the children's 17-year-old sibling, who is considered at risk. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)

A handwritten note saying "Police do not enter crime scene" is seen on a side gate at the home where three adults were found dead Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, after a young child called 911 to report her parents had died, seen in Fullerton, Calif., Sunday. The child placed the call about 8:20 a.m. and officers were dispatched to the home, where they found two men and a woman dead. Authorities are searching for the children's 17-year-old sibling, who is considered at risk. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)

Fullerton, Calif., Police Sgt. Jon Radus tells media that police have arrested two men and a 17-year-old girl in connection with the slaying of three adults in a Fullerton house at the Fullerton Police Department in Fullerton. (Cindy Yamanaka/The Orange County Register via AP)
Colombia's government has signed a historic peace deal with Farc rebels to put an end to half a century of conflict that has left 250,000 dead.

President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, (Farc) signed the agreement before a crowd of 2,500 foreign dignitaries and special guests, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

However, the ceremony was overshadowed by protests with many people taking to the streets to demonstrate saying the government has shown excessive leniency towards guerrilla leaders.

President Juan Manuel Santos and Farc leader Rodrigo Londono shake hands after signing the peace deal in the city of Cartagena

Top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Rodrigo Londono, known by the alias Timochenko, signs the peace agreement

Afterwards, president Santos signed the agreement as UN general secretary Ban Ki-Moon looks on

Londono holds his hands in the air to celebrate after signing the peace deal with the Colombian government

They say the rebels have been responsible for many atrocities in a conflict they say has been fueled by the cocaine trade.

To shouts of 'Santos is a coward!' former President Alvaro Uribe, the architect of the decade-long, U.S.-backed military offensive that forced the FARC to the negotiating table, said the peace deal puts Colombia on the path to becoming a leftist dictatorship.

However, many in the audience also had tears in their eyes, and shouts rose urging Santos and Londono to 'Hug, hug, hug!' In the end, the two men just clasped hands and smiled effusively.

Then Santos removed from his lapel a pin shaped like a white dove that he's been wearing for years and handed it over to his former adversary, who fastened it on his own shirt.

It was one of many symbolic gestures that filled the 90-minute ceremony held at sunset overlooking the historic ramparts of Cartagena, nicknamed the 'Heroic City' for its prominent role in Colombia's battle for independence from Spain.

The event kicked off with Santos unlocking with a metal key a giant door, representing a new beginning, through which 15 Latin American presidents and the two sides' negotiating teams crossed while taking their seats on the stage.

However, demonstrators yelled 'No to the plebiscite' to protest the government's peace agreement

Protesters believed that the agreement gave too much leniency to the guerrilla rebels in Colombia

Protesters say the rebels have been responsible for many atrocities in a conflict they say has been fueled by the cocaine trade

All guests were told to wear white and Santos and Londono signed the 297-page accord with pens made from recycled shells used in combat.

Borrowing phrases from Colombia's 19th century national anthem, Santos, who for years was the FARC's top military opponent, proclaimed that the signing of the accord will put an end to generations of bloody combat that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions, creating the conditions for wounds to heal and the country to prosper in the years ahead.

He led the crowd in chants of 'No more war! No more war! No more war!' and urged Colombians to ratify the accord in an October 2 national referendum that will determine its fate.

Addressing the FARC leaders on stage, Santos said: 'When you begin your journey back to society, when you begin your conversion into a political movement, I, as head of state of the fatherland we all love, want to welcome you to democracy.'

People wait for the start of the peace ceremony prior the signing of a peace agreement between Colombia's government and FARC

Guests at the peace signing ceremony were invited to wear white as a sign of peace, and the president used a pen made from a recycled shell used in combat

Londono, best known by his alias Timochenko, called Santos 'a courageous partner' and hailed the accord as not only a victory for Colombia but an example to war-ravaged Syria and the Palestinians and Israelis of what can be achieved through dialogue.

He said the FARC wouldn't abandon its fight for social justice or harsh critique of Colombian elites as it makes its transition into a political movement. But he said it would now defend its political ideals at the ballot box.

'Let no one doubt that we are going into politics without weapons,' Londono said. 'We are going to comply (with the accord) and we hope that the government complies.'

He also praised FARC's fighters as heroes of the downtrodden and then in an emotional high point called out for forgiveness of the FARC's crimes, which range from kidnapping of civilians to its laying of land mines that have claimed thousands of victims.

'I apologise for all the pain that we have caused,' he said.

The ceremony mostly went off without a hitch although an apparently unexpected low flyover by three fighter jets momentarily startled Londono, who resumed his speech with a joke: 'This time they came to salute peace instead of unload bombs.'

Londono took over as the FARC's commander in 2011 after an aerial attack killed his predecessor, known as Alfonso Cano, shortly after he authorised a secret backchannel dialogue with the government.

An elderly man places a white flag on his hat during a concert for peace in Carmen de Bolivar after the peace deal was signed

Earlier in the day, government officials attended a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, who praised Colombians for overcoming the pain of the bloody conflict to find common ground with the rebels.

'All of us here today are conscious of the fact we're at the end of a negotiation, but also the beginning of a still open process of change that requires the contribution and respect of all Colombians' the cardinal said.

The FARC was established in 1964 by self-defense groups and communist activists who joined forces to resist a government military onslaught. Reflecting that history, the final accord commits the government to addressing unequal land distribution that has been at the heart of Colombia's conflict.
Protest held in Columbus over fatal police shooting of teen

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Dozens of demonstrators protesting the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old black boy brought a city council meeting to a halt Monday in Columbus as they called for an independent investigation.

Police have said Tyre King was shot multiple times on Sept. 14 after he ran from a white officer investigating a reported armed robbery and pulled out a BB gun that looked like a real firearm.

Protesters packed the council chambers of Columbus City Hall, where they shouted down the council president and briefly took over the front portion of the room. City Council president Zach Klein said attendees would have a chance to speak, but his comments were drowned out by chants of "Take a knee for Tyre," ''Black lives matter" and "No justice, no peace."

A funeral service card bearing the likeness of Tyre King, the 13-year-old Ohio boy who was fatally shot by Columbus police, is carried by a mourner, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, outside the First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio. Police say Officer Bryan Mason shot Tyre on Sept. 14 after the boy ran from investigators and pulled out a BB gun that looked like a real firearm. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

As the shouting continued from a balcony and from people on the chamber floor, council members left the room and at least a dozen police officers entered.

The officers, along with Chief Kim Jacobs, quietly observed as protesters called for action from the city.

"We want an independent investigation and transparent prosecution!" shouted one protester to cheers.

Demonstrators said they don't trust the police to investigate themselves, and they want money from a police initiative to be diverted to violence prevention and other programs.

Tyre's family also has called for an independent investigation.

Authorities have said the police review will be presented for a grand jury to decide whether charges are merited against Bryan Mason, the officer who shot the teenager. The head of the local police union has said Mason did what he had to do in that situation.

Witnesses reported that a group of people  one witness suggested there were seven or eight  robbed a man of $10 at gunpoint east of downtown Columbus. Police have said officers investigating the report spotted several males who matched the description of the suspects and tried to talk to them, and that Tyre and another robbery suspect ran.

Monday's demonstration ended about an hour after the council meeting began. Protesters exited City Hall and chanted they would return.

Once the meeting resumed, Klein said the council supported the right to nonviolent protests and cared deeply about the citizens of Columbus. But he said council meetings reserve a specific portion of the agenda for people to address such issues.

Outside City Hall, 29-year-old protester Hana Abdur Rahim said she believed she and others were heard by the council and "definitely seen."

"I want them to know that we will not be silenced," she said. "We're tired of the police brutality in this country, specifically against minorities."

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Associated Press writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins contributed to this report.

The casket bearing Tyre King, the 13-year-old Ohio boy who was fatally shot by Columbus police, is delivered to his gravesite, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Columbus, Ohio. Police say Officer Bryan Mason shot Tyre on Sept. 14 after the boy ran from investigators and pulled out a BB gun that looked like a real firearm. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Hana Abdur-Rahim raises her fist while standing on a desk after protesters interrupted the Columbus City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Dozens of demonstrators protesting the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old black boy brought the meeting to a halt as they called for an independent investigation. (Jonathan Quilter/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

City administrators leave as protesters interrupt the Columbus City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Dozens of demonstrators protesting the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old black boy brought the meeting to a halt as they called for an independent investigation. (Jonathan Quilter/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)
Bomb case is latest hardship for NJ's large Muslim community

PATERSON, N.J. (AP)  At the Islamic Center of Passaic County, which draws about 2,000 people each Friday for communal prayers, the talk is about how this year is different.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, people of other faiths in the surrounding community were generally able to see the difference between the radical perpetrators and American Muslims, said Omar Awad, president of the center. But he suggested that distinction seems to be blurring in the public mind amid the anti-Muslim rhetoric of the presidential campaign and growing anger over terrorist strikes in Europe and the United States, the latest allegedly plotted by a New Jersey Muslim.

"They're trying to strike fear between neighbors, between the very fabric of society that we spent so much time trying to make sure that we knitted," said Awad, a New Jersey native, sitting in the offices of the 27-year-old Paterson mosque.

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., people pray during a service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Like Muslims around the country, New Jersey's have been slogging through a particularly painful year.

On the campaign trail, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, falsely claimed that Muslims in Jersey City celebrated when the World Trade Center fell, as he sought to promote a proposed national database for Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques.

Gov. Chris Christie, who once sharply dismissed those who questioned the loyalty of a Muslim judicial appointee, has endorsed Trump.

And now New Jersey Muslims are facing the broad scrutiny that follows when someone in their community is suspected of being a militant. Ahmad Khan Rahami, a U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, who worked at his family's chicken takeout restaurant in Elizabeth, has been charged by federal officials in two states with planting bombs in New York and at a military charity run and a train station in New Jersey. Federal authorities said he praised Muslim extremists and prayed he'd be martyred.

"I don't want the stigma to go out that there's some kind of issue in Elizabeth, that it's a hotbed for people with radical ideas, because it's not," said Hassen Abedellah, an attorney and Elizabeth native, who is president of the Darul Islam mosque in the city.

Abedellah said he was "in shock" when he learned that Rahami was being sought by police. Abedellah could not say for sure whether Rahami had ever worshipped at Darul Islam, but said the suspect could have passed through, since many Muslims in the community at one time or another have attended Friday prayers there.

It is the latest difficulty for one of the larger Muslim communities in the United States. Muslims comprise about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but make up about 3 percent of the residents in New Jersey, according to the Pew Research Center. New Jersey Muslims are predominantly African-American, Arab or South Asian, plus Muslim asylum seekers from the Balkans and elsewhere. Several Muslims serve as state judges and mayors, among other public positions.

In Elizabeth, Muslims have had a presence since at least the mid-20th century, developing mainly from a community of African-American Muslims and eventually growing to encompass immigrants from around the world, Abedellah said. Friday prayer at Darul Islam can draw as many as 500 people.

The Sept. 11 attacks hit hard in New Jersey. Hundreds of victims of the suicide hijackings came from the state. In the aftermath, Muslim leaders joined with other religious and community leaders to quell any backlash. Mohammad Ali Chaudry, a Pakistani-born economist who had lived in New Jersey since the 1970s, ran for public office in 2001 in Basking Ridge and said he encountered no bias.

"Not a single person during that walking campaign, going door to door, asked me what my religion was," said Chaudry, who went on to serve on the township committee and, eventually, as mayor. "They were concerned about what am I going to do about the deer problem. We have a lot of deer. How am I going to keep taxes down?"

Still, suspicion followed the community. Reports by The Associated Press revealed that the New York Police Department had been monitoring the daily life of Muslims in New Jersey, New York and beyond, including monitoring the Muslim Students Association at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and Muslim businesses and mosques in Newark. New York City has since settled lawsuits accusing the department of waging a covert campaign of religious profiling and illegal spying.

"People felt very uncomfortable knowing that they are part of society but not really accepted as being part of the society," said Mikal Nash, a professor at Essex County College in Newark and author of "Muslims in Newark, New Jersey: A Social History."

New Jersey also found itself at the center of movement against Islamic law, or Shariah, in the U.S., after a state judge denied a woman a restraining order against her husband, who she said beat and sexually assaulted her. The judge said the husband's Islamic religious views meant he believed he was entitled to sexual relations at any time with his wife  legal reasoning that Muslim law experts rejected and a ruling an appellate court later reversed. Yet, the case was seized on by advocates for bans on Islamic law in other states.

In New Jersey, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes reported to the government remains low but is increasing, rising from four in 2014 to 14 last year, according to researchers at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, Bernardino. But tensions can be seen in the vocal resistance to building mosques in some communities, with an ongoing fight in Bayonne and another in Basking Ridge that has stretched over four years and is now in court.

Christie's political pivot has been especially disheartening for New Jersey Muslims. They had viewed the governor as a reliable ally. Five years ago, he drew notice for slamming critics of his decision to appoint an American Muslim, Sohail Mohammed, to the Superior Court. "They're criticizing him because he's a Muslim American," Christie said, condemning conspiracists who argued Mohammed would bring Islamic law into state courts.

"This Shariah law business is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies," Christie said.

Chaudry, a longtime Republican, said he was stunned when the governor backed Trump this year. Chaudry had worked with the New Jersey attorney general's office on Muslim outreach and was appointed by Christie to a state commission on public service. But because of Trump, he left the GOP to join the Democrats, and has since been heavily involved in registering Muslims to vote, conducting outreach after Friday juma, or communal prayers, and surrounding the recent celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday. He is also coordinating public speaker training for young people at his mosque.

"You have to be at the decision table," Chaudry said.

Despite the tumult, and the glare from the Rahami case, New Jersey Muslims are persevering. The Islamic Center in Paterson is encouraging families to attend a holiday celebration called "Great Muslim Adventure Day" at the Six Flags amusement park in New Jersey. And next weekend in Elizabeth, where Rahami lived, more than 300 people are expected to attend the sixth annual meeting of the American Muslim Consumer Consortium, on marketing to Muslims and commemorating their achievements in the business world.

"I encourage Donald Trump and his supporters to come and see what the real American Muslim community in the U.S. is all about," said Sabiha Ansari, a co-founder of the conference. "We are just as patriotic, proud and American as anyone else."

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Hajela reported from Paterson. AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll reported from New York.

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., Shawn Butt, left, of Piscataway, N.J., prays before the start of a prayer service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., Iftakhar Ahmad, top, a visiting religious leader from Pakistan, leads a prayer service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., shoes belonging to men are seen near a U.S. flag during a prayer service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., Shahul Feroze, right, of South Brunswick, N.J., gets information about voter registration from Dr. Ali Chaudry, left, of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Shawn Butt, of Piscataway, N.J., during a voter registration drive following a prayer service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., people leave Bernards Township Community Center after a prayer service. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., Shahul Feroze, of South Brunswick, N.J., prays during a service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Basking Ridge, N.J., a woman prays during a service at the Bernards Township Community Center. The case of the New Jersey Muslim charged with planting bombs in New York and New Jersey is the latest of many challenging moments for the state's large Muslim population. They have been a target of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential campaign and have seen their governor, once considered a strong ally, endorse a presidential candidate who has thrown suspicion on their entire community. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Goodbye to homework for some elementary schools and classes

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  Guess what, kids? No homework. Really. All year.

A small but growing number of elementary schools and individual teachers are doing away with the after-school chore to allow kids more time to play, participate in activities, spend time with families, read and sleep.

There's been pushback against homework from parents in recent years who say their children's time is monopolized by other activities, said Steven Geis, president of the National Elementary School Principals' Association.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 still image from video, Kimberly Coleman-Mitchell, right, teaches her fourth grade class at Oakridge Elementary School in Arlington, Va. Elementary schools in Arlington, South Burlington, Vt., and Holyoke, Mass., are among those that went homework-free at the start of the school year. (AP Photo/Bill Gorman)

At North Trail Elementary School, in Farmington, Minnesota, where he is principal, students do what he says is engaging homework.

Some schools and individual teachers are revising their homework policies to ensure that they are effective, he said.

At the Orchard School, a kindergarten-through-5th grade school in South Burlington, Vermont, the principal there said he's seen more anxiety among students in the last decade. The school opted to do away with homework this school year, based in part on the book "The Homework Myth."

"They're just kids. They're pretty young and they just put in a full day's shift at work and so we just don't believe in adding more to their day. We also feel that we are squashing their other passions and interest in learning," Principal Mark Trifilio said.

Alfie Kohn, the outspoken education lecturer and author of the book, "The Homework Myth," says homework is a case of all pain and no gain.

"The disadvantages of homework are clear to everyone: exhaustion, frustration, loss of time to pursue other interests and often diminution of interest in learning," he said. "Homework may be the greatest extinguisher of curiosity ever invented."

But Harris Cooper, a psychology and neuroscience professor at Duke University, who has been studying the effects of homework for 30 years, disagrees.

He thinks all school children should be doing homework, but the amount and type should vary depending on age and developmental levels.

Cooper led research that reviewed more than 60 studies on homework between 1987 and 2003 and found that homework had a positive effect on student achievement, but the positive correlation was much stronger for students in grades 7-12 than for those in elementary school.

He prescribes homework assignments that are short, simple and lead to success for elementary school kids, he said.

It teaches kids that they don't just learn in the classroom and helps turn them into lifelong learners while improving their sense of independence, and time management and study skills, Cooper said.

"Homework is like medicine. If you take too little, it does nothing. If you take too much, it can kill you," Cooper said. "You've got to get the dose right, and if you do, it can do wonders."

A lot of the backlash is a reaction to some teachers assigning too much homework, he said.

A guideline for many schools is 10 minutes of homework per grade: so 10 minutes in 1st grade, 20 minutes in 2nd grade and so on.

"We definitely don't say 'no homework' but we try to keep it reasonable," said Cherie Stobie, principal at the K-8 Marion school in Marion, Montana.

"The main benefit is just having the additional time to practice later in the day because research shows that if students practice, you know they take a break after they've learned something and they practice it again later, it's more likely to be retained," she said.

Noelle M. Ellerson, of AASA: The School Superintendents Association, said there has been a small but growing number of schools or teachers revising homework policies or talking about it "whether it's to do away with it or to shift to a policy where homework is the classwork they didn't finish during the day or where the homework of the child is to read with their parents."

At the Orchard School, the children's daily home assignment now is to read books, get outside and play, eat dinner with family  including helping with setting and cleaning up  and get a good night's sleep.

"It's awesome," 9-year-old Avery Cutroni said of the no-homework policy. She had dance and piano lessons after school recently, so said she had a busy schedule. Plus, she's reading more on her own, her mother said.

"I think it gives kids a lot time for mental and physical rest which I think is super important," said Heidi Cutroni, of the school's elimination of homework. "I think it's really good for parent-teacher-student relations in all directions and I think it just gives kids a chance to use their time for what their passionate and excited about."

In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 still image from video, students attend the fourth grade class of Kimberly Coleman-Mitchell at Oakridge Elementary School in Arlington, Va. Elementary schools in Arlington, South Burlington, Vt., and Holyoke, Mass., are among those that went homework-free at the start of the school year. (AP Photo/Bill Gorman)
Two men charged with murdering a California couple became friends with the victims' teenage daughter after going to the same 'furry' events, it has been claimed.

Jennifer Yost, 39, and her husband Christopher Yost, 34, were found dead in their Fullerton home along with family friend Arthur 'Billy' Boucher, 28 on Saturday.

A family friend claims suspect Frank Felix, 25, had been forbidden from seeing the Yosts' 17-year-old daughter, Katlynn Goodwill Yost.

Felix was charged with three counts of murder along with 21-year-old Joshua Acosta in connection with the slayings. It was revealed on Tuesday that Acosta is an active-duty U.S. Army soldier.

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Frank Felix (left) and Josh Acosta (right) have both been charged with three counts of murder in connection with the slayings of a couple and their family friend in Fullerton, California

Victims Christopher and Jennifer Yost, pictured with their teenage daughter Katlynn

Army spokesman Wayne Hall at the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that Acosta is a private first class stationed at Fort Irwin, California, since last October.

The suspects are being held at the Orange County Men's Central Jail on $1 million bail.

Police were summoned to the home Saturday morning by the couple's six-year-old daughter. She was not harmed, nor was her nine-year-old sister.

Friend Melinda Giles said she met Jennifer Yost and her daughter last year at a gathering of 'furries' - a craze that involves dressing up as animals with human characteristics.

She said she also saw Felix and Acosta at furry events. At one point, she claims, she met Felix at the Yost's family home.

She claimed Jennifer Yost told her several weeks ago that she had forbidden Felix from seeing her daughter.

'To protect her daughter, Chris and Jenn were like, "We don't want you to be friends with our daughter anymore,"' Giles said.

She added that the couple was warm, generous and had recently helped her move into her new home.

'It is really sad because they didn't deserve that. Those little girls didn't deserve to wake up to dead parents.'

Katlynn Goodwill Yost, pictured as her Furry alter-ego Day Dreamer Fox Wolf

Jennifer Yost was murdered along with her husband Christopher and family friend Arthur 'Billy' Boucher

WHAT IS THE 'FURRY' COMMUNITY? The Furry Fandom grew out of the science fiction and fantasy communities as a unique group focused on anthropomorphic animals and creatures. Anthropomorphic animals are animals with human characteristics such as the cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. Some 'furries' are fans or artists of visual, written or theatrical arts such as animated cartoons and fantasy stories. Some are mascot and character fans or performers such as professional theme park and corporate mascots or volunteer character performers. Some are 'Therians' or people with strong personal or spiritual connections to animals similar to some Native American cultures. Source: whatisfurry.org Advertisement

Goodwill Yost initially was reported missing after her parents' bodies were found.

On Sunday, when police announced the arrests of Felix and Acosta, they also said a 17-year-old girl was in custody and Goodwill Yost had been located and was safe.

They did not say if she is the girl suspected of involvement in the killings, citing state law forbidding the release of juveniles' names.

Police have not disclosed how the victims were killed.

The killings shocked their neighborhood.

Friends left candles and condolence notes for the victims at the home.

Chris Yost was recalled as a quiet, friendly family man who loved tinkering with cars and also worked a day job designing trophies.

Jennifer was a doting stay-at-home mom with a creative flair who designed jewelry and stuffed animals.

Jennifer Yost, pictured with her 17-year-old daughter, was a member of the 'furry' community

Victim Jennifer Yost, pictured, and her husband Chris, enjoyed dressing up as vampires, zombies and even as furry animals as part of the Cosplay sub culture

'The furries? That was a new thing they kind of got into,' said Stacy Businger, Chris's cousin.

'He was a really kind person. He would do anything for anyone. Literally he would give the shirt off his back to a perfect stranger if he needed it.'

Goodwill Yost is a high school senior and member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corp.

A makeshift memorial on the front porch of the home where the three adults were found dead on Saturday

Her social media pages show she was active in the furry community, where she was known as 'Daydreamer', and many photos are posted.

She is seen wearing her military uniform in one, and others show a gray fox-wolf costume.

Furries are people who enjoy taking on animal personas. Many like dressing up in costumes and attending gatherings. The annual Anthrocon convention in Pittsburgh draws thousands.

Ray Arechiga, a 23-year-old college student, said Jennifer Yost, her daughter and Felix were part of the community. He said Jennifer helped other furries cope with problems.

Katlynn Goodwill Yost (left and right) was found safe and well after the murders, when two men were arrested and a 17-year-old girl was taken into custody. Police have not revealed if she was involved in the killings

One of the suspects, Frank Felix, had been told to stay away from Katlynn Goodwill Yost, a family friend has claimed

The home where three adults were found dead Saturday after a young child called 911

'She really is a loveable member of the community,' he said.

Relatives are trying to raise money to cover funeral costs and help support the two young girls, who are seen smiling in a photo posted online, their arms slung around each other and each wearing a T-shirt decorated with green four leaf clovers.

It was not immediately possible to reach Felix or Acosta, who were being held at the Orange County Men's Central Jail on $1million bail.
Fifty-six years to the day since America's first televised presidential debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will confront each other face-to-face and lay out for voters their vastly different visions for the nation's future in a high-stakes showdown whose audience could eclipse the Super Bowl's.

The first of three presidential debates comes as both candidates are viewed negatively by large numbers of Americans, with Democrat Clinton facing questions about her trustworthiness and Republican Trump struggling to convince many voters that he has the temperament and policy depth to be president.

Interest in the presidential race has been intense, and the campaigns are expecting a record-breaking audience to watch the 90-minute televised debate at suburban New York's Hofstra University. It begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern time.

As many as 100 million are expected to watch as Lester Holt, the NBC Nightly News anchor, moderates.

HEAD TO HEAD: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will meet on the debate stage for the first time on Monday night at New York's Hofstra University on Long Island

SHOWTIME: Network TV cameras tested the state on Sunday with a stand-in for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

The election is too close to call, two separate polls showed Monday.

A Bloomberg poll had Trump leading Clinton by two points in a four-way match-up, at 43 per cent to her 41 per cent.

In a hypothetical two-way race the candidates are tied. Both results are within the poll's margin of error.

And a Quinnipiac University poll finds Clinton at 44 per cent to Trump's 43 per cent among likely voters. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson gets 8 per cent and Green Party long-shot Jill Stein has 2 per cent.

Monday night's debate will run for 90 minutes, divided into six sections, and include no commercial breaks.

That could pose a problem for Clinton if her now-infamous health problems flare up. Her last month on the campaign trail has been pock-marked with coughing fits, and she collapsed completely during a 9/11 memorial service.

Clinton will field the first question. She will have two minutes to answer and Trump will have two minutes to respond.

After the first round of questions will come 10 minutes of 'open conversation and debate.'

The Commission on Presidential Debates has allowed Clinton one partisan advantage, a taller podium than Trumps in order to minimize their 10-inch height difference.

Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, is banking on voters seeing her as a steady hand who can build on the record of President Barack Obama, whose popularity is rising as he winds down his second term in office.

She's called for expanding Obama's executive orders if Congress won't pass legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration system and for broader gun control measures.

Overseas, she's called for a no-fly zone in Syria but has vowed to keep the military out of a large-scale ground war to defeat the Islamic State group.

For Clinton, victory in November largely hinges on rallying the same young and diverse coalition that elected Obama but has yet to fully embrace her.

PODIUM MATH: Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's debate podium will be 10 inches higher than Trump's, a negotiated move to reduce Trump's height advantage

'Hillary has recognized that she has a lot of work to do to earn people's trust,' said Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager.

'We think this debate is a fantastic opportunity for her to present not just what she is going to do to make a difference in people's lives, but she actually has a long history of getting this done.'

Trump has tapped into deep anxieties among some Americans, particularly white, working-class voters who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying nation.

While the real estate mogul lacks the experience Americans have traditionally sought in a commander in chief, he's banking on frustration with career politicians and disdain for Clinton to push him over the top on Election Day.

'He speaks a language that people out there can understand, and so I think that he's going to have a good night,' Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said of Trump's debate prospects.

The centerpiece of Trump's campaign has been a push for restrictive immigration measures, including a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and an early proposal to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from coming to the U.S.

But he's been less detailed about other ideas, including his plan for stamping out the Islamic State group in the Middle East.

Clinton's camp is worried that Trump will be held to a different standard in the debate and is particularly concerned that the notoriously hot-headed businessman will be rewarded for simply keeping his cool.

Clinton backers have been publicly pushing moderator Lester Holt of NBC News to fact-check Trump if he tries to mislead voters about his record and past statements.

'All that we're asking is that, if Donald Trump lies, that it's pointed out,' Mook said.

COLOSSUS: Trump has ignored the traditional campaign ground-game rule book in favor of large rock-concert-stylr rallies designed to fire up his base

HOT SEAT: Lester Holt, the NBC Nightly News anchor, will moderate the 90-minutes, no break debate

HOW THE RATINGS COMPARE If 100 million people watch the Monday debate, it would far outstrip any in history. These are the top 10 rate debates: Carter-Reagan, Oct 28, 1980: 80.6million Bush-Clinton-Perot, Oct 15, 1992: 69.9m Ford-Carter, Sept 23, 1976: 69.7m Reagan-Mondale, Oct 21, 1984:67.3m Bush-Dukakis, Oct 13, 1988: 67.3m Obama-Romney, Oct 3, 2012: 67.2m Bush-Clinton-Perot, Oct 9, 1992: 66.9m Obama-Romney, Oct 16, 2012: 65.5m Reagan-Mondale, Oct 7, 1984: 65.1m Bush-Dukakis, Sept 25, 1988: 65.1m And the lowest: Clinton-Dole, Oct 6, 1996: 36.1m Source: Nielsen, via The Wrap. Advertisement

Trump's advisers have indeed been urging him to keep calm on stage, mindful of voters' concerns about his temperament.

On Saturday, Trump showed a glimpse of the traits his advisers want to keep in check, announcing on Twitter that he might extend a debate invitation to Gennifer Flowers, a woman who had an affair with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Trump's campaign said the candidate was responding to Clinton's decision to invite businessman and Trump critic Mark Cuban to the debate. And by Sunday morning, they said Flowers would not be attending.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, said the candidate floated the invitation to 'remind people that he's a great counterpuncher.'

Trump was often a commanding presence in the Republican primary debates, launching biting personal attacks on his rivals.

But at times, he appeared to fade into the background, especially during more technical policy discussions  something he'll be unable to do with just two candidates on stage.

Clinton has debated more than 30 times at the presidential level, including several one-on-one contests against Obama in 2008 and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. But Monday's contest will be her first presidential debate against a candidate from the opposing party.
Mother uncovers lasting impact of son's organ donation

WASHINGTON (AP)  An ultrasound showed one of Sarah Gray's unborn twins was missing part of his brain, a fatal birth defect. His brother was born healthy but Thomas lived just six days. Latching onto hope for something positive to come from heartache, Gray donated some of Thomas' tissue for scientific research  his eyes, his liver, his umbilical cord blood.

Only no one could tell the Washington mother if that precious donation really made a difference. So Gray embarked on an unusual journey to find out, revealing a side of science that laymen seldom glimpse.

"Infant eyes are like gold," a Harvard scientist told her.

In this frame grab from video, taken Sept. 14, 2016, Sarah Gray with her son Callum, 6, and infant daughter Jocelyn in their Washington home. Callums identical twin Thomas died of a birth defect when he was just 6 days old, and the family donated Thomas eyes, liver and umbilical cord blood for medical research. Now Gray has written a book about her unusual journey to find out if that donation really made a difference, revealing a side of science laymen seldom glimpse. (AP Photo/Rick Gentilo)

"I don't think people understand how valuable these donations are," said Gray, who hadn't grasped this either until her years-long quest brought her face-to-face with startled scientists. They had never met a relative of the donors so crucial to their work.

Families often find comfort in learning how many lives were saved if they donated a loved one's organs for transplant. But donating a body for research gets less attention  there are no headline-making "saves." Yet critical medical research in labs around the country depends on scientists' ability to work with human cells and organs, so they can study both normal development and how disease does its dirty work.

"A lot of people, if the tissue doesn't get used for transplant, they think it's kind of second-rate tissue or something. I'd like them to know that people who do research with human tissue are doing worthwhile things that are going to, hopefully, lead to cures for all kinds of diseases," said Dr. James Zieske, a corneal specialist at Harvard and the Schepens Eye Research Institute, whose description of treasured infant eyes spurred Gray's hunt.

Now, hoping to help other families facing decisions about donation, Gray has written a book, "A Life Everlasting, The Extraordinary Story of One Boy's Gift to Medical Science." Gray and two of the scientists she met in her quest spoke with The Associated Press about donation for research.

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NEONATAL DONATIONS OF ANY TYPE ARE RARE

Gray's obstetrician didn't think donation was an option for a baby with this birth defect, called anencephaly. Only when Gray persisted late in pregnancy did she learn, from the Washington area's organ procurement agency, that her baby's organs probably would be too small for transplant but that donation for research was an option.

Statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing show that organs from a dozen newborns, those younger than a month old, were donated last year for transplant.

On the research front, Dr. Arupa Ganguly of the University of Pennsylvania studies retinoblastoma, eye cancer that attacks young children. Before receiving Thomas' tissue, she had waited six years for donation of a healthy young retina to compare with diseased ones.

Cells taken from younger tissue typically grow much better than an adult's, said Zieske, who could recall receiving infant corneas only two or three times in his career. Thomas' corneas were ordered to study how to repair blindness-inducing corneal damage.

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MOST ANY TISSUE CAN BE USED

In recovering tissue from deceased donors, hospitals consult a national registry of researchers' current needs.

On that day in 2010, Thomas died at home in his father's arms. The organ agency retrieved his body, and recovered his eyes and liver. Blood from the umbilical cords of both Thomas and his healthy identical twin Callum already had been shipped to Duke University researchers studying what causes anencephaly.

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WAS THE RESEARCH WORTHWHILE?

Two years later, all Gray knew was where Thomas' tissue had been shipped. So during a business trip to Boston, she called the Harvard-affiliated eye lab, identified herself as a donor mom, and asked for a tour  a first for the lab, and one that changed the scientists' perspective.

"I still think more about, when we get a donated cornea, who that came from," said Zieske.

Eventually Gray visited each lab that procured and handled Thomas' tissue. A North Carolina biotechnology company, Cytonet, uses liver cells in researching treatment for babies awaiting a liver transplant. Penn's Ganguly froze some retinal tissue for future work.

Callum, now 6, even started coming along.

"We explained to him there are some special scientists there working on helping other people, and they're using some stuff from Thomas to help them," said his father, Ross Gray.

"We always get a sample but we don't see the person behind that sample. The lab has really established a bond with that family. And I think it makes the work a lot more meaningful," Ganguly said.

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THE JOURNEY ISN'T OVER

Gray changed careers to work for the non-profit American Association of Tissue Banks. That brought her to a meeting where scientists debated if it was ethical to test a new technology  gene editing  to fight inherited diseases. "If you have the skills and the knowledge to fix these diseases then freaking do it," she told the group, recounting how Thomas had suffered seizures each day of his brief life.
Politics, outsider status shield Trump from House oversight

WASHINGTON (AP)  Donald Trump's status as a Washington outsider fuels his fiery populism and also is helping to shield him from the scrutiny House Republicans are devoting to Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state.

The GOP-led, subpoena-wielding Oversight and Government Reform Committee isn't investigating Trump's business dealings, his charitable foundation or his campaign's ties to pro-Kremlin elements in Russia and Ukraine  all areas ripe for examination, according to Democrats, who've accused Republicans of targeting Clinton in a partisan attempt to influence the outcome of the election.

"Where is our investigation of Donald Trump?" Rep. Elijah Cummings, the oversight committee's top Democrat, asked at a hearing this past week. "The answer is obvious. The Republican frenzy is focused exclusively and obsessively on Secretary Clinton. And that is for political reasons."

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in Pittsburgh. Donald Trumps status as a Washington outsider fuels his fiery populism and also is helping to shield him from the scrutiny House Republicans are devoting to Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

But senior Republicans on the panel said Trump has never held a government job or been elected to public office. Any alleged improprieties are the jurisdiction of state or federal agencies, not Congress.

The Oversight Committee operates in a "target-rich environment with lots of different investigative possibilities," Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, acknowledged. Yet he said he's unaware of anything Trump is alleged to have done that would trigger a probe by his panel.

"We'll know it when we see it," Chaffetz told The Associated Press. "Thus far, I don't think there's anything in that realm that has this clear federal nexus that would really compel us to pursue it."

Chaffetz said an improper $25,000 check sent from Trump's personal foundation to a political committee supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is a matter for state authorities.

Other allegations swirling around Trump and his campaign, such his refusal to release his tax returns and disclose his foreign business investments, are matters for the American voters to decide, according to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who heads the Oversight Committee's government operations panel.

"When we're looking at government oversight, it really has to do with previous government actions," Meadows said. Trump, he said, "wouldn't qualify for that."

The hands-off approach to Trump is in contrast to the Oversight Committee's focus on Clinton, who served as President Barack Obama's secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

The FBI in July closed the agency's yearlong investigation into whether Clinton and her top aides mishandled classified information that flowed through the private email server she used. FBI Director James Comey called Clinton's actions "extremely careless," but said his agents found no evidence to support criminal charges.

Angered by Comey's decision, Republicans said Clinton lied to Congress about her handling of emails when she testified last October before a House panel investigating the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks. The GOP is pressing the Justice Department to open a new investigation into whether Clinton committed perjury as the Oversight Committee seeks to keep the matter in the spotlight leading up to the election.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate whether the 2013 donation to the group supporting Bondi violated federal bribery or tax laws. The $25,000 contribution came after her office said it was weighing legal action against Trump University. Bondi's office never sued Trump, though she denies his donation played any role in that decision.

Trump later paid a $2,500 fine over the check from his foundation because it violated federal law barring charities from making political contributions.

The AP reported last month that a firm run by former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, but Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed the work under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The 1938 law requires lobbyists to register if they represent foreign leaders or their political parties, and to disclose details about their work, including how much money they spend and receive.

Manafort and Gates said the registration was not necessary, though Manafort resigned his position with the Trump campaign. Gates is the Trump campaign's liaison to the Republican National Committee.

Trump's apparent affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his call in July for Moscow to help find Clinton's missing emails also have sparked concern. He later said he was being sarcastic when he said Russia should find Clinton's emails.

The top Democrats on four key House committees have asked the FBI to expand an ongoing investigation of cyberattacks against Democratic organizations to determine whether connections between Trump campaign officials and "Russian interests" may have contributed to the breaches.

At a recent hearing on Clinton's emails, Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee's national security panel, lamented the zeal with which Republicans are pursuing Clinton. The hearing, Lynch said, was a "sad goddamned day" for the oversight committee.

But Lynch told the AP that he had no interest in a congressional probe of Trump. There are higher priorities, he said, and pursuing Trump would be seen as an attempt to drag down the Republican nominee.

"It's bad enough what they're doing with Secretary Clinton," Lynch said. "I would not want to get into a quid pro quo type of thing. It's beneath the committee."

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Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner

FILE - In this July 7, 2016 file photo, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, right, confers with the committee's ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. on Capitol Hill in Washington. Donald Trumps status as a Washington outsider fuels his fiery populism and also is helping to shield him from the scrutiny House Republicans are devoting to Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
French president vows to shut down Calais camp this year

CALAIS, France (AP)  The migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year, French President Francois Hollande said Monday, addressing a major issue for his Socialist government ahead of next year's presidential election.

Hollande, who was visiting Calais for the first time since winning office in 2012, said the camp known as "the Jungle" is a "humanitarian emergency."

Authorities say about 7,000 people live in squalid conditions near the port of Calais hoping to get to Britain, but aid groups say the number is closer to 10,000.

French President Francois Hollande, right, and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve meet with Gendarme officers during their visit in Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 26 2016. Hollande says the migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year. (Thibault Vandermersch, Pool photo via AP)

Hollande, who is eyeing a re-election bid, is facing harsh criticism from conservative and far-right rivals who say the camp is a symbol of his failure to deal with Europe's migrant crisis.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is competing to win the conservative primary, promised last week in Calais that he could solve the issue in a few months by re-establishing strict border controls all around the country.

France is a member of Europe's passport free-travel zone while Britain is not.

In a speech to police forces securing the area, Hollande vowed to shut the camp "with method and determination" so that new camps don't appear near Calais or elsewhere across France.

Hollande said police forces will remain in the area "as long as needed" after the camp is shut.

"We must guarantee a durable and effective sealing of the French-British border," he said, insisting that British authorities must also do their part.

He expressed opposition to renegotiating the 2003 treaty that effectively puts the British border in Calais. Sarkozy, who signed it as interior minister, now wants to send migrants to a center on British territory.

"This would be too easy to say: 'let them go to the U.K.' ... That would largely open the stream (of migrants)", Hollande said in a second speech in the port of Calais.

The government announced plans in the summer to disperse Calais migrants to centers across France, where they will be able to apply for asylum. The government has not given a firm timeline.

Hollande reaffirmed that plan on Saturday when he visited one of France's 164 migrant reception centers in the central city of Tours.

Reception centers will hold 40-50 people for up to four months while authorities study their cases. Migrants who don't seek asylum will be deported.

In a letter to Hollande, eight nonprofit organizations helping migrants called for a long-term policy of hospitality and integration in France. They criticized the dismantling of the Calais camp as a "short-term view that does not solve anything for the dozens of people who will continue to arrive every day in Calais."

"In Calais and elsewhere, France does not respect human rights," they wrote.

British lawmaker Charlie Elphicke of the city of Dover, across the Channel, said Monday "the French Government needs to make sure it actually happens this time and that the people they remove are stopped from just moving back to Calais".

"Britain has already paid millions for walls and fences in Calais. Yet the French keep asking for more of our money. Our taxpayers' money should be spent on more border security at Dover and in the English Channel", Elphicke said.

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Danica Kirka in London contributed

French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech after meeting with officers of the French Gendarmerie during his visit in Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 26 2016. Hollande says the migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year. (Thibault Vandermersch, Pool photo via AP)

French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech after meeting with officers of the French Gendarmerie during his visit in Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 26 2016. Hollande says the migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year. (Thibault Vandermersch, Pool photo via AP)

French President Francois Hollande, right, meet with Gendarme officers during their visit in Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 26 2016. Hollande says the migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year. (Thibault Vandermersch, Pool photo via AP)

In this photo taken through a windscreen migrants walk outside the makeshift camp in Calais, northern France, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year, French President Francois Hollande said Monday in an attempt to highlight the Socialist government's efforts to tackle the issue ahead of next year's presidential election. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

View of the makeshift camp in Calais, northern France, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The migrant camp in Calais must be fully dismantled by the end of the year, French President Francois Hollande said Monday in an attempt to highlight the Socialist government's efforts to tackle the issue ahead of next year's presidential election. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Bosnian prosecutor to probe disputed Bosnian Serb referendum

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Bosnia's state prosecutor has issued a summons to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik who initiated a Bosnian Serb referendum that was held in violation of the constitution, the prosecution office said Monday.

A statement from Chief Prosecutor Goran Salihovic said the case will be treated as a "priority," and a number of people will be called for questioning. His spokesman Boris Grubesic told The Associated Press that the summons has been sent to Dodik.

Once Dodik receives the invitation, he will have to appear before the prosecutor. If he refuses, the court police will be ordered to detain him.

Bosnian Serb Milorad Dodik, President of the Bosnian Serb region of Republic of Srpska, greets supporters during celebrations after the result of the referendum in the Bosnian town of Pale, Bosnia, on Sunday Sept. 25, 2016. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian Serbs voted overwhelmingly Sunday to keep a disputed holiday that a constitutional court had said discriminates against non-Serbs. The court had also banned the referendum, which was organized by the local government in the Serb region of Republika Srpska.

Referendum organizers said that preliminary results showed 99.8 percent of voters in Republika Srpska were for the holiday and that turnout was 55.7 percent. Non-Serbs living in Republika Srpska mostly boycotted the vote.

During the 1992-95 war  which killed 100,000 people and turned half of the country's population into refugees  Bosniaks and Croats were persecuted and almost completely expelled from Republika Srpska's territory.

The region didn't gain independence after the war, but ended up as an autonomous part of Bosnia.

Bosniaks and Croats who returned there view the holiday as a celebration of their expulsion while Republika Srpska marks the day with religious ceremonies, hinting the region is still meant just for Serbs.

The West had called for the referendum to be canceled, but Russia backed the Bosnian Serbs. Western officials said they might consider halting projects in the mini-state or impose travel bans and asset freezes on their assets.

Dodik celebrated the result with thousands of people, fireworks and Serb flags late Sunday in Pale, the wartime capital of Republika Srpska.

"I'm so proud ... of all those who voted today, and I have to say: shame on all Serbs who did not show up at the referendum today," he said.

Opposition parties in Republika Srpska claim Dodik scheduled the vote a week before a local election to divert attention from campaign issues including corruption and poverty.

"Obviously this was a pre-election gathering," which cost taxpayers 750,000 euros ($840,000) and only served the interests of Dodik's party, said Bosnia's foreign minister, Igor Crnadak.

Bosnian Serb authorities said they plan to change their law on holidays in line with the constitutional court's ruling, most likely so that the holiday stays but those who don't want to celebrate don't have to.

Even if this solves the dispute over the holiday, the referendum itself defies the constitutional court's ban and violations of the constitution can be punished with a jail term of up to five years.

Dodik previously said he will not respond to the prosecutor's invitations. Last year, he initiated another referendum on the jurisdiction of the Bosnian state court and prosecution on the territory of the Bosnian Serb autonomous region.

Although the Bosnian Serb parliament approved that referendum, Dodik never signed the act.

Bosnian Serb Milorad Dodik, centre, President of the Bosnian Serb region of Republic of Srpska, Bosko Tomic, left, and Bosko Jugovic, right, greet supporters during celebrations after the result of the referendum in the Bosnian town of Pale, Bosnia, on Sunday Sept. 25, 2016. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian people wave flags during the speech of Milorad Dodik, President of the Bosnian Serb region of Republic of Srpska, during celebrations after the result of the referendum in the Bosnian town of Pale, Bosnia, on Sunday Sept. 25, 2016. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian people wave flags during the speech of Milorad Dodik, President of the Bosnian Serb region of Republic of Srpska, during celebrations after the result of the referendum in the Bosnian town of Pale, Bosnia, on Sunday Sept. 25, 2016. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Serb woman waves as she listens to the speech of Milorad Dodik, President of the Bosnian Serb region of Republic of Srpska, during celebrations after the result of the referendum in the Bosnian town of Pale, Bosnia, on Sunday Sept. 25, 2016. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian Serb Mladen Ivanic, a member of the Bosnian tripartite Presidency, casts his ballot at a polling station in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms (150 miles) northwest of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Bosnia's Serb mini-state is holding a referendum this weekend that has turned into a proxy political battle between the West and Russia, stoking ethnic tensions and triggering fears of new clashes more than 20 years after the end of the Balkans War. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnians wait to get their referendum ballot at a polling station in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms (150 miles) northwest of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Bosnia's Serb mini-state is holding a referendum this weekend that has turned into a proxy political battle between the West and Russia, stoking ethnic tensions and triggering fears of new clashes more than 20 years after the end of the Balkans War. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnians wait to get their referendum ballot at a polling station in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms (150 miles) northwest of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Bosnia's Serb mini-state is holding a referendum this weekend that has turned into a proxy political battle between the West and Russia, stoking ethnic tensions and triggering fears of new clashes more than 20 years after the end of the Balkans War. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian policeman guard government buildings during the referendum in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms (150 miles) northwest of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Bosnia's Serb mini-state is holding a referendum this weekend that has turned into a proxy political battle between the West and Russia, stoking ethnic tensions and triggering fears of new clashes more than 20 years after the end of the Balkans War. Sunday's vote asks residents of Republika Srpska whether to maintain a national holiday on Jan. 9, despite a ruling of Bosnia's constitutional court that the date discriminates against non-Serbs .(AP Photo/Amel Emric)
South Korean farmer injured in Nov. protest dies in hospital

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Dozens of activists Monday were commemorating a South Korean farmer who died in a hospital almost a year after being knocked unconscious by water cannons during anti-government protests.

Baek Nam-gi had been at Seoul National University Hospital since he fell and injured his head during the demonstration last November protesting President Park Geun-hye's labor policies.

The hospital says Baek died Sunday of an acute kidney injury, traumatic cerebral hemorrhage and subdural hemorrhage. Police and prosecutors had sought a warrant to conduct an autopsy to find the exact cause of his death, but a court rejected the request.

Baek Dora-ji, center in black attire, daughter of the late farmer activist Baek Nam-gi, and protesters shout slogans against the government at the Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Dozens of activists are commemorating Baek who died in the hospital almost a year after being knocked unconscious by water cannons during protests against South Korea's government. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Activists say no autopsy is needed because it's obvious Baek died because of the water cannon.

About 200 activists were at the hospital to commemorate Baek and block authorities if they try again to get a warrant and conduct an autopsy, according Choi Suk-hwan, an official at an association of civic groups that support Baek.

About 300 activists were at the hospital Sunday before the court rejected the warrant. Police sent about 1,500 officers there to maintain order, but no violence was reported.

Labor activists and critics accuse Park's government of pushing business-friendly policies and infringing upon free speech.

"His death increases the urgent need for the completion of a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the excessive use of force on largely peaceful protesters including Baek Nam-gi himself," said Amnesty International East Asia Regional Director, Nicholas Bequelin.
Poachers target rare bird's 'ivory' beak in Southeast Asia

JOHANNESBURG (AP)  Some call it "ivory on wings," part of the bill of a critically endangered bird in Southeast Asia that is sought by poachers and carved into ornaments for illegal sale to Chinese buyers.

The helmeted hornbill isn't getting as much attention as the beleaguered African elephant at a global wildlife conference this week in South Africa. But the killing of elephants by the tens of thousands for their tusks is intertwined with a surge in the slaughter of the rare bird whose beak part is a coveted substitute for ivory.

"It's all part of the rising demand for ivory," said Richard Thomas, spokesman for TRAFFIC, a conservation group based in Britain.

CORRECTS PHOTOGRAPHER'S NAME IN CAPTION In this undated photo supplied by the Wildlife Conservation Society, a helmeted hornbill is perched on a nest in Thailand. Part of the bill of the critically endangered bird in Southeast Asia is sought by poachers as an ivory substitute and carved into ornaments, mainly for sale in China. (Morten Strange/Wildlife Conservation Society via AP)

Poaching of the helmeted hornbill has soared since around 2010, particularly in Indonesia. The timing roughly coincides with an increase in elephant poaching that has caused a sharp drop in elephant populations. Last year, the helmeted hornbill was designated as critically endangered on an international "red list" of threatened species.

Delegates are discussing protections for elephants, helmeted hornbills and other vulnerable wildlife at a meeting in Johannesburg of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES . The 12-day meeting of the U.N. group, which regulates wildlife trade, ends Oct. 5.

The helmeted hornbill is a bird of lore, featuring in an ancient belief that it sits by a river between life and death. Its feathers have been used in traditional ceremonies. During breeding, the female is sealed into a nest, relying on the male to provide food.

The call of the helmeted hornbill is an intermittent, honking sound that slowly builds in tempo until it ends in what resembles, for some listeners, shrieks of laughter. Loud and long, the call helps poachers locate their prey.

In a CITES document , Indonesia asked for more collaboration among law enforcement agencies from countries where helmeted hornbills live, as well as "end market" nations  a reference primarily to China.

China, the world's main ivory consumer, has already said it plans to close its domestic ivory market.

A large lump on top of the beak of the helmeted hornbill is made of keratin, a protein also found in rhino horn and other animal and human parts. It has a red tinge is softer than elephant ivory, making it an attractive material for carvers who have fashioned belt buckles, snuff boxes, pendants and images of Chinese deities from it over many centuries.

The upper part of the bill, also known as a casque, is solid, unlike the hollow casques of other hornbill species. Its price on the illegal market is higher than that of elephant ivory. A casque weighs up to 350 grams (0.7 pounds); the average weight of an elephant tusk is five kilograms (11 pounds), though a big male's tusk can weigh 10 times as much.

At least 2,170 heads and bill parts of helmeted hornbills were confiscated from the illegal trade in Indonesia and China between 2012 and 2014, TRAFFIC said.

Investigators found helmeted hornbill products being sold openly in Laos, a major transit point for wildlife traffickers that borders China, according to a TRAFFIC report released this month. Sale locations included a luxury hotel and convention center in central Vientiane, the capital, it said.

Indonesia said it has arrested more than 20 people in the helmeted hornbill trade and sentenced most of them. Penalties include up to five years in jail and a heavy fine.

On Saturday, rangers in Indonesia's Gunung Leuser National Park arrested a suspected helmeted hornbill poacher with a rifle and silencer, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, a group based in New York. The suspect had just entered the forest and did not have any bird parts.

"This species needs to be on people's radars," said Elizabeth Bennett, vice president of species conservation at WCS.

Illegal logging in Indonesia is shrinking the habitat of the helmeted hornbill. Conservationists fear poachers will focus on the Malaysian population once supply dries up in Indonesia.

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Spain: Political wrangling continues after regional votes

MADRID (AP)  Spain's political quagmire showed no signs of being resolved Monday after a regional election gave a small boost to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative Popular Party, but failed to dissipate doubts over whether he can form a new national government.

Rajoy has been running a caretaker government for almost a year after two inconclusive elections in December and June. His party won the most seats in both, but lacks enough support in Parliament to form a government.

Spain has never had a coalition government, and the country's main political parties are finding it near impossible to negotiate deals with opponents. Parliament has until Oct. 31 to form a government, or the country will face its third election in a year.

Arnaldo Otegi, a prominent Basque separatist politician of the Basque party EH Bildu, center, gestures during the regional elections at the Basque region in San Sebastian, Spain, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Residents of Spain's Basque and Galicia regions voted in regional parliamentary elections on Sunday, but with few hopes of ending the country's 9-month political stalemate and avoiding a third round of national elections in one year. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

The Popular Party won local elections in the Galicia region Sunday, but a victory for the Basque Nationalist Party in Basque elections dampened hopes that Rajoy might be able to do a support-exchange deal with that party at the national level and possibly form government.

His party and others were to hold meetings separately Monday to analyze the results.

As expected, the two regional elections dealt severe blows to the leading opposition Socialist, an outcome that is likely to increase pressure on the party to change tactics and abstain in a future investiture vote in the national Parliament and let Rajoy form a minority government.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez announced he would put the party leadership up for contest next month.

Sanchez vigorously opposes lending Rajoy support but many in his own group believe he should do so in Spain's interests.

Rajoy has the support of 170 lawmakers in the 350-seat national Parliament  137 of them from his own party. But he is still six short of the majority needed to form a government.

The Basque Nationalist Party holds five seats, but Sunday's regional victory removed the need for the party to do a deal with Rajoy.

Followers of the Basque party EH Bildu during the regional elections at the Basque region in San Sebastian, Spain, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Residents of Spain's Basque and Galicia regions voted in regional parliamentary elections on Sunday, but with few hopes of ending the country's 9-month political stalemate and avoiding a third round of national elections in one year. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
UK CEOs consider pulling up stakes because of Brexit

LONDON (AP)  A survey of company CEOs in Britain suggests that a majority is considering moving some business away from the U.K. amid concerns about the country's future outside the European Union.

Research by KPMG shows that three fourths of the 100 executives questioned would consider moving their headquarters or some operations outside Britain in order to keep a link to the EU's common, tariff-less market.

The British government is likely to take months to trigger the official negotiations to leave the EU, leaving the details of any exit uncertain for years. Some companies, however, may start shifting operations abroad with little fanfare.

"We hear it time and time again that business needs certainty," Simon Collins, KPMG's UK chairman, said in a statement. "Policy makers should be really concerned about a leaching of British business abroad and should engage with business early to understand what assurances they can offer and closely monitor any shifts overseas."

Meanwhile, another survey shows that optimism in the financial services sector has fallen for a third consecutive quarter  the longest drop since the global financial crisis in 2009.

The CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey of 115 firms shows finance houses, building societies and investment firms reported the sharpest drops in optimism as uncertainty after the vote to leave the EU took hold.

The results are important because so much of Britain's economy hinges on financial services  some 2 million people across the U.K. are directly or indirectly employed by the financial services sector.

Andrew Kail, U.K. financial services leader at consultancy PwC, says the worry is about "the domino effect on people, productivity and position as a financial hub that must be guarded against."
Donald who? Most N. Koreans don't know, care about US polls

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP)  With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside information and a deeply instilled belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans aren't expecting much from the U.S. presidential elections  if they know about them at all.

Say the name Donald Trump to most North Koreans and you will get a blank stare. Same goes for Hillary, though some remember the name Clinton. Some remember that Bill Clinton was, as U.S. presidents go, a little more willing to engage with their country than most, though that was long, long ago and didn't last very long. President George W. Bush quickly rolled that back and declared North Korea part of the "axis of evil."

"I don't know about the U.S. elections and I don't care," said Kim Un Byol, a 27-year-old office worker in Pyongyang. "As long as we have Marshal Kim Jong Un and nuclear weapons, we have nothing to worry about."

In this Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, photo, a North Korean woman walks down the street where murals of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il decorate the streets in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea. With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside information and a deeply instilled belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans aren't expecting much from the U.S. presidential elections - if they know about them at all. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

The outcome of the U.S. elections in November could have major ramifications for North Korea  or maybe bring more of the same. It's far from clear how either presidential candidate intends to deal with Pyongyang, or how Pyongyang will deal with a new administration in Washington.

For the most part, the state-run media has been quiet on the topic.

Earlier this month, however, it lambasted the elections as a "hot money-squandering competition."

"Elections in the U.S. are little short of tycoons' ceremonies of choosing their running dogs, utterly indifferent to the will and desire of the popular masses," KCNA, the stated-run news agency, reported on Sept. 3. "Only moguls fully enjoy free suffrage in the U.S. Without money one can never become a successful politician in the U.S. that openly asserts 'money fertilizes politics.'"

"Money is everything in the U.S. society," it added, citing WikiLeaks as divulging that "Democrats got even the present chief executive involved in horse-trading with tycoons to collect more election funds from them."

"It is nonsensical to discuss genuine human rights and democracy in such a political climate of the U.S," it concluded.

Of course, North Korea has a very different way of running its own elections.

There is no public debate over policy. That is decided by the ruling Workers' Party and Kim Jong Un, who does nominally stand for elections to his seat in the national parliament but has never been challenged for his hereditary position as the country's supreme leader. Voters have only one choice on their ballots. They can choose either yes or no  virtually no one votes no.

Going to the polls is expected of all eligible voters, and turnout rates are generally reported at around 99 percent. But while the elections are in political terms mostly a formality, along with being celebratory-style events, they have solid practical applications. Mustering the nation every so often is a chance for the authorities to hone their mobilization skills, check up on the efficiency of local leaders and get a snapshot of internal movements.

Kim, the Pyongyang office worker who spoke to The Associated Press on her lunch break recently, echoed the argument that the U.S. elections are actually less democratic than the North's, "where the people love the leaders and the leaders love the people."

"In capitalist countries like the United States, they buy the presidency so they never take care of their people," she said. "Obama fusses a lot about human rights, but I heard about a lot of things like shootings and police killing black people. The U.S. should focus on its own humanitarian issues."

Pyongyang has been extremely critical of President Barack Obama's ongoing policy of "strategic patience," which boils down to minimum engagement with North Korea, punitive measures in response to its nuclear tests and rocket or missile launches, and building up ties with allies in the region to put more pressure on North Korea to either back down or feel the economic pain of heightened sanctions and isolation from international markets.

While the media often slams Obama, it hasn't said much about the presidential campaign.

In June, while still the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump got some good press here for suggesting he would be willing to meet Kim Jong Un and was open to re-examining the deployment of and possibly withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea. One state-sanctioned news outlet juxtaposed the "wise" Trump with what it called "dull Hillary."

But it attributed the column attributed to a "China-based scholar," deflecting the notion that North Korea might officially support the comments.

In the meantime, Pyongyang is pushing ahead with its nuclear and missile programs, so whoever wins in November will likely have to deal with North Korea one way or another  and North Korea isn't known for its generosity with olive branches.

"Obama is trying to force our system to collapse, but that's just a pipe dream," said Pang Hak Song, a 29-year-old student at Pyongyang Architectural University. "The U.S. is our enemy and I don't want to even say that country's name. But if I had anything to say to the new president, it would be to give up their hostile policy toward our country if they ever want peace."

FILE - In this May 7, 2016, file photo, a North Korean man reads the local newspapers displayed in a subway station as seen during a press tour in Pyongyang, North Korea. With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside news and a deep belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans aren't expecting much from the U.S. elections - if they know about them at all. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Johnson C. Smith University, in Charlotte, N.C. With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside news and a deep belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans arent expecting much from the U.S. elections - if they know about them at all. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 fie photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Shale Insight Conference, in Pittsburgh. With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside news and a deep belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans arent expecting much from the U.S. elections - if they know about them at all. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Kenansville, N.C. With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside news and a deep belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans arent expecting much from the U.S. elections - if they know about them at all. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Testimony: Christie pals OK'd gridlock, campaign chief knew

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  A political revenge scheme to create traffic gridlock near the George Washington Bridge in 2013 was approved by two former allies of Republican Gov. Chris Christie on trial for fraud and shared with Christie's then-campaign manager, the government's key witness testified Monday.

David Wildstein also told jurors how he received the now-famous "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" email from Christie's then-deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, on Aug. 13, 2013, about a month before the town next to the bridge was engulfed in four days of epic traffic jams.

Kelly, who is expected to testify in her defense, has previously said some of her emails and texts from that period were meant to be sarcastic and were taken out of context.

David Wildstein arrives at Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse for a hearing, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Newark, N.J. Wildstein, pleaded guilty last year to orchestrating traffic jams in 2013 to punish a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse Gov. Chris Christie. Three years after gridlock paralyzed a New Jersey town next to the George Washington Bridge for days, two former allies of Christie, Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly, are being tried. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

But Wildstein, a former official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who has pleaded guilty, told jurors Monday he assumed it meant it was time to put the scheme in action to punish Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, Mark Sokolich.

"I understood that to mean it was time to change the lanes configuration at the upper level of the George Washington Bridge in order to create traffic in the borough of Fort Lee," Wildstein said. "We had had joking emails before. I did not think she was joking."

According to Wildstein, the email set in motion a chain of events that ultimately led to last year's indictment of Kelly and former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni on fraud, conspiracy and civil rights deprivation charges.

In the days and weeks that followed, he testified, he went to Port Authority officials and sold them the story that the lane realignment was part of a traffic study. But he said he told at least two people the true reason: Bill Stepien, Christie's manager for his 2013 re-election campaign, and William "Pat" Schuber, a Port Authority commissioner nominated by Christie in 2011.

Schuber testified before a New Jersey legislative committee in 2014 that he had no prior knowledge of the plot.

Democratic state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, who co-chaired the committee, called Monday's revelation "personally disappointing" and said Schuber should resign if Wildstein is telling the truth.

A message left for Schuber at the Port Authority wasn't immediately returned Monday.

Christie hasn't been charged, but prosecutors say Wildstein will testify that he told the governor about the plot on the third of the four days of traffic chaos. Christie has denied that.

Both defendants say Wildstein conceived and carried out the scheme in September 2013. The bridge, one of the world's busiest, spans the Hudson River and connects New Jersey with New York City.

Last week, Wildstein testified that Christie's office used the Port Authority as a source of political favors for local Democratic officials whose endorsements were sought for his 2013 re-election. Christie wound up winning easily.

Wildstein said Christie and Stepien were among those who discussed the strategy at a meeting about Christie's re-election.

Christie cut ties with Stepien in January 2014 after emails released by a state legislative panel showed him referring to Fort Lee's mayor as an "idiot." Stepien had just been selected to run the state Republican party and had been in line to run what became Christie's failed presidential campaign.

He now works for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign.

Stepien's attorney, Kevin Marino, said in a statement that prosecutors investigated for more than a year and didn't charge his client. "That is because Mr. Stepien did not engage in any wrongdoing," Marino said. He added that Stepien had not role in planning, approving or covering up the scheme.

Marino has said Stepien told Christie in mid-December 2013 that he was advised beforehand that the lane changes were for a traffic study and was one of many "crazy ideas" brought to him by Wildstein. Christie told reporters the following day that no one close to him had prior knowledge of the operation.

Kelly and Baroni say the government has twisted federal law to turn their actions into crimes. They also have said other people with more power and influence were involved in the lane closures but aren't being prosecuted.
The Latest: US says Russia not abiding by Syria deal

BEIRUT (AP)  The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):

9:40 p.m.

The White House says it's difficult to envision any military cooperation with Russia in Syria because Moscow has repeatedly failed to fulfill its commitments to a recent cease-fire deal.

FILE -- In this In this March 12, 2016 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem sits beneath a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad as he speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria. An internationally-brokered cease-fire for Syria is still viable, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in a TV interview broadcast Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, and President Bashar Assads administration is prepared to take part in a unity government. The interview on Mayadeen TV came as rescue workers in Aleppo cleaned up from what they said were the worst airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years. (SANA via AP, File)

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the situation in the city of Aleppo got even worse over the weekend.

He says Syria's government has launched a "concerted campaign" to strike civilian targets, and that President Bashar Assad's forces are trying "to bomb civilians into submission."

He says government forces have also targeted the Civil Defense, volunteer first responders also known as White Helmets.

Aleppo residents and U.N. officials have described a wave of airstrikes on rebel-held areas in recent days as the worst of the 5 -year war.

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9:30 p.m.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's media adviser says the United States should publicly apologize for an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers.

Bouthaina Shaaban told the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV Monday night that an apology has been conveyed to the Syrians but not through official channels.

A senior Obama administration official said the United States has "relayed our regret" for the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State group. The official says the notification was sent through Russia.

But Shaaban says "we want a public apology and we want this issue not to be repeated," adding: "Lives were lost."

The Sept. 17 airstrikes on Syrian army positions in eastern Syria involved Australian, British and Danish warplanes. The Russians said 62 Syrian soldiers were killed.

The U.S. military says the airstrikes were aimed at IS, which was fighting in the area.

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6:45 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the Syrian and Russian governments "seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process."

Kerry said Monday that "while they're pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated."

The northern city of Aleppo, split between government forces and rebels, has seen heavy fighting in recent days as a cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia has all but collapsed.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in a TV interview Monday that President Bashar Assad's administration is prepared to take part in a unity government, incorporating elements from the opposition. It's an offer his opponents have rejected in the past.

Kerry said he thinks the Syrian opposition won't be "particularly excited about having a negotiation when they're being bombed and starved."

He said statements by the Syrian government are "almost meaningless."

Kerry spoke to reporters in Cartagena, ahead of the signing of Colombia's long-awaited peace deal.

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3 p.m.

A Syrian official says a second round of rebel evacuations from the central city of Homs is underway.

Homs governor Talal Barazi says 120 gunmen and their families are expected to depart al-Waer neighborhood by bus as part of an arrangement to restore government authority over the rebellious district.

The government is permitting food and medical assistance to enter the besieged neighborhood in exchange for the evacuations.

An earlier group of more than 100 fighters and their families were evacuated from the neighborhood last week. A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district on Saturday.

Al-Waer is the last neighborhood with a significant rebel presence in Homs, which was a focal point of the 2011 protests against President Bashar Assad.

Some 75,000 people still live in Al-Waer, down from 300,000 before the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011. Pro-government forces have besieged the neighborhood since 2013.

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1:30 p.m.

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says the troubled cease-fire in Syria is ineffective, but that Moscow is not losing hope for a political solution to the country's crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the Kremlin is concerned that "terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks."

Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the United States and Great Britain over Russia's actions in Syria.

He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and "such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process" in Syria.

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12:15 p.m.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem says a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire agreement is still viable and says his administration is prepared to take part in a unity government.

In an interview broadcast on the Mayadeen TV channel Monday, al-Moallem accused the U.S., Britain, and France of convening a U.N. Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support "terrorists" inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is "not dead."

Syria's military declared the cease-fire ended one week ago.
Missouri couple killed in crash during Disney vacation

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  A Missouri couple died and their two young daughters were seriously injured in a traffic crash Sunday near Orlando during a Disney World vacation, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The Orlando Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2cVbK41 ) reports Greg and Sarah Moyers saved for months to take Hailey, 13 and Sophia, 8, to Disney World. The Leadwood, Missouri, family visited the theme parks and were headed to the beach Sunday before making the long drive home.

Troopers say a vehicle driven by Charles King, 43, of New London, North Carolina, drifted into their lane on Interstate 4, causing the Moyers' vehicle to veer off the road and hit a tree. King wasn't injured.

"Their kids were their world," family friend Loni Burnside Eaton told the Sentinel. "They were very involved and supportive parents and just wanted the best for them. They wanted the girls to experience Disney and the beach. I can't believe this really happened."

Eaton She said Sarah Moyers worked as a manager at McDonalds and her husband owned a muffler shop. They had lived in the small, eastern Missouri town for more than 20 years.

Troopers are investigating the crash. No charges have been filed.

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Endangered right whale found dead, wrapped in fishing gear

GORHAM, Maine (AP)  Federal investigators are looking into the death of a 43-foot-long endangered right whale that was found off the coast of Maine with fishing gear wrapped around her body.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the adult female whale was found Friday near Boothbay with fishing gear ropes wrapped around her head, mouth, flippers and tail. She weighed about 45 tons.

The whale was towed to a Gorham (GOH'-rem) farm. A necropsy was performed Sunday.

The group is trying to determine who owns the fishing gear. It wasn't immediately known what, if any, punishment could be handed down.
Iran: Utah state senator didn't mention job when visiting

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iran's Foreign Ministry says a Utah state senator who traveled to Iran in May did not clarify his job as senator in his visa application.

Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told reporters Monday that a visit by Sen. Jim Dabakis was technically legal, but that he did not make his government position clear in his application and never met with any Iranian officials.

Dabakis is openly gay and reports on his visit set off a firestorm in Iran, where hard-liners accused him of being part of a Western project to "infiltrate" the country.

FILE -- In this May 8, 2015 file photo, Sen. Jim Dabakis, a Salt Lake City Democrat, speaks during an Administrative Rules Review Committee meeting, in Salt Lake City. Irans Foreign Ministry says Dabakis, a Utah state senator, who traveled to Iran in May did not clarify his job as senator in his visa application. Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told reporters Monday that a visit by Sen. Jim Dabakis was technically legal, but that he did not make his government position clear in his application and never met with any Iranian officials. Dabakis is openly gay and reports on his visit set off a firestorm in Iran, where hard-liners accused him of being part of Western project to infiltrate" the country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File )
The Latest: Kaine weeps at site of Pulse nightclub shooting

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on the U.S. presidential race ahead of the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Monday at Hofstra University (all times EDT):

6:20 p.m.

Tim Kaine has visited the Orlando, Fla., memorial site of the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. meets with a participate in the 65th annual Chickahominy Indian Tribe Fall Festival, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Charles City, Va. (AP Photo/Alan Suderman)

Weeping, he said, "we've got work to do."

The Democratic vice presidential nominee made the remarks during a brief stop at Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were shot and killed in June. He was joined by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly. The couple became gun control advocates after Giffords was shot in the head in 2011.

Kaine laid white roses in front of a banner of rainbow doves. Many of the Pulse victims were members of the LGBT community.

Kaine will join Giffords and Kelly in Orlando to watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in their first debate.

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4:26 p.m.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy says Donald Trump's improved performance is helping GOP down-ballot candidates around the country.

It's a point McCarthy says he made directly to Trump in a phone conversation Monday.

The California Republican says that "As his numbers go up, our numbers go up."

Republicans are widely expected to keep their majority in the House in November, but lose seats. Some Democrats even hold out hope for retaking the House majority.

But McCarthy contends that "we're in a much stronger position than anyone would have given us credit for."

His comments reflecting growing GOP optimism about outcomes for House and Senate candidates as Trump is not dragging down their campaigns the way some in both parties anticipated.

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2:10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton will have some presidential support as she heads to Hempstead, New York, for her debate: her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

An aide to the former president says he'll travel to the debate with his wife. The aide isn't saying yet whether Bill Clinton will actually attend the debate.

The aide wasn't authorized to discuss Bill Clinton's plans by name and requested anonymity.

The debate's run-up has been filled with speculation about who will or won't attend. Donald Trump's campaign walked back his suggestion that he might invite Gennifer Flowers, a woman who had an affair with Bill Clinton.

By Julie Pace

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2:05 p.m.

Donald Trump's running mate is rallying supporters in New Hampshire before heading to New York for the presidential debate.

Mike Pence said at a Monday rally that the debate will give a chance for Trump and Hillary Clinton to meet with no media filters or parsing of words.

Pence was introduced by former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu. His son, Chris Sununu, is running for governor.

Pierre Provost came to the rally with a newspaper clipping showing him at a 1980 Ronald Reagan rally in New Hampshire. Provost said that's the last political event he's attended. He said he's part of a "solid majority" who backs Trump.

He said, "We're the quiet deplorables," referring to a term Clinton used to describe some of Trump's supporters.

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1:50 p.m.

MTV is bringing back its 1990s-era show "Total Request Live" for a day, only this time as "Total Registration Live."

It will be part of a national voter registration effort on Tuesday, with a show airing at 6 p.m. EDT and simulcasting online. Model Kendall Jenner will appear, along with television producer Joss Whedon, Camila Cabello of Fifth Harmony and singer Ty Dolla $ign.

Organizers say guests will stress the importance of voting. They will also test out technology helping people register via a text message or through Facebook.

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1:35 p.m.

The first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be little more than background noise to President Barack Obama.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama will be "working tonight" when the debate airs. He said the television will be on in the background.

Earnest said the only deviation from business as usual is that the TV will be tuned to the debate instead of to Monday Night Football.

Earnest said Obama wants Clinton in the debate to speak about her record in a way that provides insight into her motivations to be president.

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1:30 p.m.

Tim Kaine is suggesting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will have a tough time in Monday night's debate because Trump can't run and hide when the questions get tough.

The Democratic vice presidential is also predicting a strong performance from his running mate, Hillary Clinton. Kaine says the debate will reveal whether Trump has any details for his plans and can manage not to lie.

Kaine was speaking at a rally in Lakeland, Florida. He says he'll be on the edge of his seat and taking his own notes in preparation for his debate next week against Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence.

Kaine will greet voters at a debate watch party in Orlando before the debate begins.

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FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Miami. The 2016 campaign for president reaches what may be a decisive milestone: the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. This is an analytical reader that should largely stand until mid-afternoon, with updates on merits in the event of breaking news. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

In this photo taken Sept. 21, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in Orlando, Fla. The 2016 campaign for president reaches what may be a decisive milestone: the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. This is an analytical reader that should largely stand until mid-afternoon, with updates on merits in the event of breaking news. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Norwegian arrested in Germany for biting off man's ear

BERLIN (AP)  Berlin police say a 43-year-old Norwegian tourist is in custody after biting off part of the ear of a man who tried to break up a fight between him and a dark-skinned German passenger he'd allegedly taunted as being a terrorist.

Police said Monday the intoxicated tourist started the fight Sunday night on a regional train in Berlin, accusing the other passenger in English of being a terrorist and asking if he had a bomb.

When a third passenger, described as a 37-year-old German man, got between them, police say the Norwegian bit off a large portion of the intervenor's right ear.

Other passengers subdued the suspect. He was arrested when the train stopped. His name was not released.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi suffering from exhaustion after long trip

YANGON, Myanmar (AP)  Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is suffering from weakness and exhaustion after two weeks of travel to Britain and the United States, her office said Monday.

The State Counselor office said in a statement that the 71-year-old Suu Kyi's health is stable and nothing to be worried about, but that "she needs to rest."

"She suffers a gastric problem as she didn't have meals regularly during the trip and suffers arthritis in her neck from using the computer often," the statement said.

Suu Kyi arrived back in Yangon on Sunday evening, but was not able to greet supporters waiting outside the airport.
Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea

BEIJING (AP)  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest key developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, file photo, Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh addresses the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, New York. Pham called on all parties involved in South China Sea territorial disputes to exercise self-restraint and solve disagreements by peaceful means. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

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SPEAKING AT THE UN, VIETNAM OFFICIAL CALLS FOR RESTRAINT ON SOUTH CHINA SEA ISSUES

Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on Saturday called on all parties involved in South China Sea territorial disputes to exercise self-restraint and solve disagreements by peaceful means.

Pham, addressing the United Nations General Assembly during its annual ministerial meeting, said parties should abide by international law, including the U.N.'s Convention on the Law of the Sea, and respect diplomatic and legal processes.

The issue of ownership of territories in the South China Sea has become heated in recent years. China claims virtually the entire sea as its own, citing historical reasons. That has pitted it against Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

U.S. President Barack Obama said earlier this month at a meeting with leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that a ruling on July 12 by an international arbitration panel in the Hague, Netherlands, against China was binding and "helped to clarify maritime rights in the region."

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US, PHILIPPINES HOLD FIRST EXERCISES UNDER NEW PRESIDENT DUTERTE

Philippine military officials on Thursday announced the first large-scale combat exercises between U.S. and Filipino forces under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been critical of American security policies.

Military officials said the annual maneuvers by about 1,400 U.S. military personnel and 500 Philippine marines will involve amphibious landing and live-fire exercises at a northern gunnery range from Oct. 4 to 12.

Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S. and has taken steps to revive ties with China, which were strained over South China Sea conflicts.

He repeated in a speech Thursday that he would not allow Filipino forces to conduct joint patrols with the U.S. military in the South China Sea because that could spark an armed conflict in Philippine territory. He has also said he wants U.S. forces out of the country's south, where he said minority Muslims resent the presence of American troops.

Still, Duterte has said he will not abrogate the mutual defense treaty with the U.S. and will maintain the long alliance with America.

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TAIWAN PROTESTS EXCLUSION FROM INTERNATIONAL FISHING CONFERENCE

Taiwan on Wednesday protested its exclusion from a United Nations conference on the fishing industry, allegedly at the behest of China.

Taiwan's official Central News Agency reported late Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry delivered a letter to the Food and Agricultural Organization protesting what it called "discriminatory treatment" against two Taiwanese representatives who were barred from the organization's fisheries meeting in Italy.

It said China, which claims Taiwan is part of China, was behind their rejection but did not say how that information was obtained.

Taiwanese representatives had participated in the biennial conference since 2003 as experts or members of non-governmental organizations. As an island with a major deep-sea fishing industry, Taiwan had argued that its presence at the conference was appropriate and necessary.

China has long used its diplomatic influence to isolate Taiwan, but has increased those efforts since its new independence-leaning president, Tsai Ing-wen, took office.

Taiwan formally exercises an overlapping claim with China to almost the entire South China Sea, although it occupies only one island in the dispute Spratly chain and has not directly challenged the claims of other countries involved.

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OBAMA URGES PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTES IN SPEECH AT UN

In a speech Tuesday at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, President Barack Obama urged countries to follow international legal precedents and avoid building up military forces in the area.

"In the South China Sea, a peaceful resolution of disputes offered by law will mean far greater stability than the militarization of a few rocks and reefs," Obama said in his address to world leaders and others gathered for the annual meeting.

As he looks toward leaving office, Obama is seen as having made a final attempt in September at outreach in the Asia-Pacific, hoping that the much-vaunted U.S. "pivot" to Asia will be enough to cement traditional alliances and thwart attempts by China or others to topple America as the region's premier military power.

During September, Obama participated in both the G-20 summit of industrialized nations in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and the ASEAN meeting in Laos.

China's growing economic and political influence weighed heavily on both events, putting any future successor in the White House on notice that Beijing will be quick to take up any perceived lapse in attention to the region on the part of Washington.

FILE - In this Thursday, April 14, 2016, file photo, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter lays a wreath during ceremonies at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in suburban Taguig, south of Manila, Philippines. Philippine military officials on Thursday announced the first large-scale combat exercises between U.S. and Filipino forces under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been critical of American security policies. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Spain: Police arrest 2 Moroccans for alleged jihad support

MADRID (AP)  Spain's Interior Ministry says police have arrested two alleged pro-jihad activists, including one who allegedly attempted to join the armed Islamic State group in Syria to be trained to carry out attacks in Europe.

A ministry statement said the two Moroccans were arrested separately Monday in the northwestern city of Valladolid and in southeastern Murcia.

The ministry says one of the men became indoctrinated on the internet and traveled to Turkey's border with Syria to join the IS group and be trained. He was arrested by Turkish police, but later released.

The ministry says he returned to Spain and resumed contacts with the second Moroccan, who was helping him try to enter Syria again.
Some elephants learning to avoid dangerous areas: Expert

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Some African elephant herds are adapting to the danger of poaching by moving out of risky areas, according to one conservation group.

The plight of elephants is a key issue at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which began over the weekend and ends Oct. 5.

Radio tracking data of elephants since 1998 in northern Kenya show how "exquisitely sensitive to risk they are," said Frank Pope, operations manager of Save the Elephants.

FILE--In this file photo of Monday Dec.17, 2012, a herd of adult and baby elephants walks in the dawn light as the highest mountain in Africa, Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, is seen in the background, in Amboseli National Park, southern Kenya. Some African elephant herds are adapting to the danger of poaching by moving out of risky areas, according to one conservation group. The plight of elephants is a key issue at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which began over the weekend and ends Oct. 5. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Africa had 1.3 million elephants in the 1970s but has only 500,000 today, according to wildlife experts.

In northern Kenya's Shaba reserve, "you can almost pick out the borders of the reserve by where the elephants go," Pope said. "There is no fence, there is no cutting, there is nothing to visually mark it, but the elephants know, 'I am safe here, I'm not safe here.'"

Pope said "there is every reason to believe that elephants are voting with their feet and moving from unsafe areas to safe areas."

Save the Elephants also works in Virunga National Park in eastern Congo, which is home to multiple armed groups competing for control of the region's vast mineral resources. Some have been accused of killing elephants for their tusks. Elephants there stick closely to ranger's posts, Pope said.

The elephant populations worst hit by poaching are in Tanzania, Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Republic of Congo and Congo.

Kenya has said it will push for the total ban on the trade in ivory at the CITES meeting. It says the temporary lifting of the ban in 2007 to allow some countries to offload their stockpiles fueled the resurgence of killing elephants to sell their tusks, primarily to China and southeast Asian countries.

In this file photo taken Tuesday, March 9, 2010, elephants use their trunks to smell for possible danger in the Tsavo East national park, Kenya. Some African elephant herds are adapting to the danger of poaching by moving out of risky areas, according to one conservation group. The plight of elephants is a key issue at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which began over the weekend and ends Oct. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)
South Sudan rebel leader says president wants 'ethnic state'

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP)  South Sudan's rebel leader on Monday accused President Salva Kiir of wanting to turn the country into an "ethnic state" for his Dinka group.

Riek Machar's statement, obtained by The Associated Press, accuses the government of pushing ethnic groups into fighting.

Machar is Nuer. The civil war that erupted in December 2013 between supporters of Kiir and Machar has long shown ethnic tensions.

FILE--In this Wednesday, July 8, 2015 file photo, South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar addresses journalists during a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya. South Sudan's rebel leader is accusing President Salva Kiir of wanting to turn the country into an "ethnic state" for his Dinka group. Riek Machar's statement, obtained by The Associated Press, Sept. 26, 2016, accuses the government of pushing ethnic groups into fighting. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi, File)

South Sudan government spokesmen did not immediately comment.

Machar on Saturday made his first political statement since fleeing South Sudan in August after fighting erupted in the capital, Juba, in July. The statement called for armed resistance to the government in which Machar had served as vice president this year under a fragile peace deal.

Machar is now in Sudan. A colleague said Machar is not allowed to speak publicly according to the terms of his stay there. The colleague spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Also on Monday, Sudan distanced itself from Machar.

The SUNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour as saying Sudan will not serve as a launching pad for any armed opposition activities against South Sudan.

Ghandour apparently was referring to a recent meeting in Khartoum of Machar's opposition party. Following that meeting, Machar's camp issued the statement calling for armed resistance.

The foreign minister also said Sudan is interested in peace in South Sudan, where the civil war has killed tens of thousands and sent more than one million refugees fleeing the country.

South Sudan, the world's youngest country, won its independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of fighting.

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Pope meets Congo's Kabila, but Vatican displeasure evident

VATICAN CITY (AP)  Pope Francis has met with Congolese President Joseph Kabila, with the Vatican insisting that Congo's government use respectful dialogue to end violent clashes with opposition forces over delayed elections.

The audience Monday was a brief 20 minutes, with interpreters. The pope didn't greet Kabila in the reception room where, according to Vatican protocol, Francis would normally greet a visiting head of state. Rather, a glum-looking Francis waited for Kabila in his library.

Clashes have erupted between security forces and demonstrators after Congo's electoral commission said November's presidential vote wouldn't be possible, and a court determined Kabila could stay in power until another election is organized.

Pope Francis talks with Congo President Joseph Kabila during a private audience in the pontiff's studio, at the Vatican, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Vatican said the pope and Vatican foreign minister insisted on dialogue among politicians, civil and religious authorities to ensure peace and the common good.
Rome's city council to vote Thursday on 2024 Olympics bid

ROME (AP)  Rome's city council will vote Thursday whether to support Mayor Virginia Raggi's rejection of the city's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The motion is expected to pass easily since Raggi's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement holds a majority on the city council.

Raggi announced her formal opposition of the candidacy in a news conference last week, citing concerns over high costs given the city is barely able to have its trash picked up.

Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi gestures during a press conference after she did not show up at a scheduled meeting with a delegation of the Italian Olympic Committee, in Rome, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. Raggi says its irresponsible to bid for 2024 Olympic Games, effectively dooming Romes candidacy. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Raggi's rejection occurred four years after then-Premier Mario Monti stopped Rome's plans to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics because of financial concerns.

If the motion is approved, it would leave only Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, in the running for 2024. The International Olympic Committee will decide on the host city in September 2017.
Brazil arrests Silva's ex-finance minister in graft probe

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazilian authorities arrested a former finance minister Monday for his alleged role in a massive kickback scheme, the latest high-level politician to be snared in a corruption probe roiling Latin America's largest nation.

Antonio Palocci, who was both a finance minister and chief of staff in the 2003-2010 government of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was detained in Sao Paulo in the morning. Palocci's lawyer said his client was innocent and called the arrest a "spectacle."

Investigators said Palocci exerted great influence with officials at Brazilian constructor Odebrecht, a principal participant in a kickback scheme at state oil company Petrobras that authorities say resulted in more than $2 billion in bribes over more than a decade.

FILE - In this June 15, 2005 file photo, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, speaks with his Economy Minister Antonio Palocci during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Palocci was arrested, police said on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, the latest detention in connection with a wide-ranging investigation into a kickback scheme in state oil company Petrobras. This month investigators charged Lula with money laundering and corruption. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Palocci allegedly negotiated deals on behalf of Silva's Workers' Party and received bribes himself, according to police. Seized documents showed 128 million Brazilian reals ($40 million) were paid to people connected to the Workers' Party, including Palocci, between 2008 and 2013, authorities said.

"The flow of money was constant," prosecutor Laura Goncalves Tessler said at a news conference in the southern city of Curitiba.

Police also accuse Palocci of participating in conversations with Odebrecht officials that led to the purchase of a plot of land allegedly for the construction of an institute named after Silva, whom Brazilians refer to as Lula.

However the Lula Institute was not built on that plot of land and it no longer belongs to anybody in the Workers' Party, authorities said.

"This seems like a spectacle," Jose Roberto Batochio, Palocci's lawyer, told reporters outside a police station in Sao Paulo. "The show goes on. The circus goes on."

Over the last two years, dozens of politicians and businesspeople have been jailed in the Petrobras investigation.

Palocci, who was also briefly chief of staff under former President Dilma Rousseff, is the second ex-minister from Silva's government to be arrested in recent days in connection with the probe.

Guido Mantega, also a finance minister under Silva and Rousseff, was detained last week on accusations of asking tycoon Eike Batista for bribes on behalf of the Workers' Party in 2012 in exchange for government approval for two oil platform contracts.

Silva is facing several charges related to the Petrobras scandal. Earlier this month prosecutors called him the "maximum commander" of the scheme, though the charges were much more limited in scope: corruption and money laundering. He also faces trial for alleged obstruction of justice.

Silva has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and argued that he and his party are being persecuted to keep him from running for president again in 2018.

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Man dies after shooting in Swedish city of Malmo

STOCKHOLM (AP)  Swedish police say one of the four people wounded when gunmen opened fire on a car in the southern city of Malmo has died.

The shooting happened in a residential neighborhood Sunday evening, shocking residents and fueling concerns about escalating gun violence in Sweden's third-largest city.

Swedish media say the shooting victims were in a car when gunmen on motor scooters opened fire and then fled the scene.

Police examine the scene of a shooting in southern Malmo, Sweden, Sunday Sept. 25, 2016. Swedish police say four people have been wounded in a shooting in Malmo, after gunmen on motor scooters opened fire Sunday evening on a car they had been chasing through a neighborhood. (Emil Langvad/TT via AP)

One resident, Samiuddin Ahmadi, told broadcaster SVT that two stray bullets entered his apartment, narrowly missing his son.

Police said one of the four men inside the car had died. The conditions of the other three were unclear.
Egypt's president defends military's economic role

CAIRO (AP)  Egypt's president on Monday rejected criticism that the military's growing economic involvement was distracting it from its core duties, an issue that recently moved center stage when the armed forces said it would intervene to end shortages of baby formula.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a former general who led the 2013 military ouster of an elected Islamist president, also dismissed suggestions of military mismanagement, saying he and the defense minister personally approve all spending.

"There is a ferocious campaign against the state and the armed forces," el-Sissi said in his first public comments on the subject.

In this picture provided by the office of the Egyptian Presidency, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, gives a speech in Egypt, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Egypts president has indignantly rejected criticism that the countrys military is being distracted from its core duties by further involving itself in the economy. (Mohammed Samaha/Egyptian Presidency via AP)

"This is your army, the army of your country. Your sons. It is not anyone else's army."

El-Sissi said the military's growing involvement in the economy was a choice, citing a meeting with top military brass in which he asked them to take on the added task of helping him to "rebuild" Egypt.

The military's economic activities date back to the 1970s, and since then the armed forces have built factories, hotels, bridges and roads. The military also runs gas stations, farms and livestock enterprises.

The military has significantly broadened its economic profile in the three years since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, the country's first freely elected leader. Today it supervises massive infrastructure projects and runs a retail network that distributes food at discounted prices.

Egypt's economy has been battered by unrest since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Inflation and unemployment are in double digits, and domestic and foreign debts are growing as Egypt's currency tumbles.

Earlier this month, the military said it would directly import baby formula to counter shortages. The move was ridiculed by many on social media and re-energized a longstanding debate over whether the military is devoting too much attention to its economic ventures at the expense of national security.

El-Sissi said the military could deploy across the entire country in six hours if needed.

"No one, thanks be to God, can harm the Egyptian state," he said, raising his voice. "Let no one think that we will abandon it (Egypt) or allow it to be taken away from us ... I am responsible before God, you and history to defend it until the very last moment."

Elsewhere in his 50-minute televised address, El-Sissi warned that Egypt was under threat by unidentified parties, echoing the country's conspiracy-obsessed media.

He said "some people" are working to spread rumors or frustration among Egyptians, an activity he likened to terrorism.

"All it takes is for the state to be shaken ... and it will then be difficult to regain control," he said.

Egyptian police over the weekend said they had arrested members of a secret cell belonging to Morsi's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood whose primary task was spreading pessimism among Egyptians over prospects for economic recovery.

El-Sissi has in the past suggested unconventional measures to help restore the economy, at one point calling on Egyptians to use their mobile phones to donate small sums to public projects.

On Monday, he said he would like to see a mechanism set up that would allow Egyptians to donate fractions of checks they cash at banks, arguing that this could amount to millions of pounds.

"Please, I want that money!" he said, addressing several hundred officials, Cabinet ministers and army officers who gathered for the inauguration of a housing project in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. "How we get our hands on it is what I don't know."
Hiking to Machu Picchu past sacred Inca peaks in the Andes

SALKANTAY PASS, Peru (AP)  Our hiking group had reached the highest point of our trek through the Andes to Machu Picchu. Now our guide was leading us in a Quechua ritual. We took turns placing stones in an "apacheta" pyramid over herbs and bits of chocolate bars, offering them to Apu Salkantay, the spirit of the mountain sacred to the Incas. Its ice-covered peak shone above us, spotlit by the sun.

Three days earlier in Cuzco, the region's gateway city, I had watched hundreds of people carry glittering statues of Catholic saints in procession around the main plaza, past rippling Baroque churches and whitewashed houses with carved wooden balconies. In another three days, I would see the dawn's first sunray fill a stone window in the 550-year-old Temple of the Sun at Machu Picchu.

The Incas' "lost city" is one of the world's iconic destinations, with over 1.2 million visitors in 2015. But to absorb the mesmerizing historical and spiritual significance of this region, I first explored Cuzco's fusion of native traditions and colonial heritage, and then trekked with locals through the steep 15,000-foot (4,500-meter) mountains surrounding it.

This June 1, 2016 photo shows visitors taking selfies with llamas along a terrace in Machu Picchu, Peru. Thousands of people flock every day to see the sun rise in this citadel built in the mid-15th century by the Incas nearly 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) up on a skinny ridge between precipices where the Andes meet the Amazon basin. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

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WORLD'S NAVEL

Cuzco was built on an 11,150-feet (3,400-meter) Andean plateau. By the mid-15th century, it became the umbilical center of the Incas' continent-spanning empire.

The perfectly-fitted, massive mortar-free walls of their palaces and temples still line many of the narrow streets, though most buildings were rebuilt after the violent conflicts during the Spanish conquest a century later. The rounded boulders of the Incas' central sanctuary, Qoricancha, became the foundation of Santo Domingo, whose convent courtyard encloses the temple's tapered niches.

European and indigenous imagery mixes in Cuzco's celebrated paintings, most conspicuously in an 18th century "Last Supper" canvas in the cathedral that features a paws-up, roasted Andean rodent as the meal's entree.

I preferred seafood ceviche at Limo restaurant or local charcuterie at Museo del Pisco, paired with potent pisco sours. But I did try cuy (guinea pig) in chiriuchu, a dish including fish eggs, corn fritters, seaweed, sausage, dried meat, cheese, chicken and singeing rocoto pepper prepared for the Corpus Christi celebration, held 60 days after Easter.

That holiday and Inti Raymi, the winter solstice celebration in late June, are Cuzco's wildest mingling of piety and partying. They fall at the start of prime hiking season (May-October).

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ABOVE THE CLOUDS

From my glass-covered igloo, the swirls of stars framing Salkantay were breathtaking, even more so than hiking to this camp at 12,631 feet (3,850 meters) on the Salkantay trail, which follows ancient routes and is considered the best alternative to the often sold-out Inca Trail.

For four days, we hiked past glaciers and through cloud forests to Machu Picchu. Our guides, Kenneth Leon and Irvin Llacta from Salkantay Trekking, showed our group of nine from four countries turquoise mountain lakes, tiny mud-brick villages, and centuries-old Inca channels.

They also grounded us in local life, explaining Quechua traditions like medicinal uses of plants they picked by the trail, where we also found mouthwatering avocados and granadillas (a type of passion fruit). Their team of cooks and horsemen prepared eight-course meals and afternoon teas of mate de coca, which alleviates altitude sickness.

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TOWARD THE SUN

From the village of Aguas Calientes, I looked across the river straight up vertical peaks and cheated, taking the shuttle instead of 1,500-plus steps to Machu Picchu.

In the mid-15th century, the Incas built this improbable citadel nearly 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) up on a skinny ridge between precipices where the Andes meet the Amazon basin, and abandoned it a hundred years later. It lay covered by the rain forest until the 1910s, when Yale historian Hiram Bingham brought it global renown. (Many artifacts he took were recently returned to Cuzco, at Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha.)

For two days, I wandered the main site along steep staircases, climbed the "you-slip-you-die" path to the ruins on Huayna Picchu, the peak overlooking the citadel, and walked the Inca Trail to the Intipunku viewpoint.

The nearly 200 gray houses, temples and agricultural buildings are haunting, but the practical and cosmological engineering is mind-blowing. From every perspective, the view defies logic: Terraces clinging to sheer, 1,640-feet (500-meter) drop-offs hold up colossally heavy granite palaces and sanctuaries. Carved stones, foundations and windows precisely trace the sun's travels and line with sacred peaks like Salkantay.

Late on my last afternoon, a white llama grazing inches from my feet woke me from a doze on a terrace overlooking the citadel. Most of the thousands of daily tourists had gone, and workers raked highlighter-green grass in the main plaza.

Archaeologists still debate why the Incas built this citadel. As I watched the sun slant through the peaks, tinging wisps of clouds at eye level, the real and symbolic magic of Machu Picchu's placement seemed answer enough.

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If You Go...

CUZCO: http://www.peru.travel/where-to-go/cusco.aspx

MACHU PICCHU: http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/

GETTING THERE: Multiple daily Lima-Cuzco flights; Aguas Calientes only reachable by foot or train: http://www.perurail.com/

LODGING: Historic building, expert front-desk advice at www.hotelmarqueses.com, Cuzco.

This May 31, 2016 photo shows mountain peaks framed by stone windows in the ruins of Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel built in the mid-15th century. The site's practical and cosmological engineering amazes visitors nearly half a millennium after the Incas abandoned the city high in Peru's Andes. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This May 28, 2016 photo shows hikers walking toward Humantay Mountain on the Salkantay Trail, one of the historic Inca trails that lead through the Andes to Machu Picchu. The trail's highest point is Salkantay Pass, at 4650 meters (15,255 feet), just below the Salkantay glacier visible to the right. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This May 26, 2016 photo shows statues of the Virgin Mary and Catholic saints carried in procession around the main square of Cuzco, Peru, during the Corpus Christi holiday. The city of Cuzco, full of Baroque churches and whitewashed houses with intricate wooden balconies, offers a mesmerizing blend of Spanish and Quechua traditions. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This May 31, 2016 photo shows a panorama of Machu Picchu, built by the Incas in the mid-15th century nearly 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) up on a skinny ridge between precipices where the Andes meet the Amazon basin in Peru. In the late afternoon, most of the thousands of daily visitors are gone from the haunting ruins of homes, temples and terraces. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This May 25, 2016 photo shows participants in the Corpus Christi religious festival, including a man leading a llama, gathering in the main plaza in Cuzco, Peru. The city, the former Inca capital high on an Andean plateau, offers a mesmerizing blend of Spanish and Quechua traditions. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This May 26, 2016 photo shows a group of Catholic faithful, dressed in traditional Quechua clothing, waiting to start carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Corpus Christi procession in the main plaza of Cuzco, Peru. The city, high on an Andean plateau, offers a mesmerizing blend of Spanish and native traditions. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)
Police: Armed man shot after pointing pellet gun at officers

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP)  Police in Maryland say officers shot a man who threatened to kill his family and himself after he pointed a replica gun at officers.

Police identified the man Monday afternoon as James Andrew Schueler, 42, of Columbia.

Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said by telephone that a 911 caller reported that Schueler was heading to Columbia to kill his family Monday and mentioned "suicide by cop." Officers stopped the man's Jeep Cherokee and Llewellyn says he told officers he had a gun and wanted to hurt himself.

Llewellyn says when he pointed the gun at officers, an officer shot him. He was flown to a Baltimore trauma center.

In a news release Monday, police said the gun was a replica pellet gun "nearly identical to a semi-automatic pistol."

Department of Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Maria Hogg says the man had serious injuries.
Attorney Jose Regudio Rodriguez said Guzman is not being allowed to sleep or mix with other prisoners and has

A lawyer for Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman says he will argue that his client has been the victim of torture.

Attorney Jose Refugio Rodriguez says the Sinaloa cartel boss' treatment in prison is tantamount to torture.

Guzman's lawyers have complained in the past that he is not being allowed to sleep, mix with other prisoners or receive enough visits.

In July, his lawyers said Guzman being subjected to 'physical torture' and 'psychological hell' in Ciudad Juarez jail.

A lawyer for drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman claims he is being tortured in prison. El Chapo is pictured above at El Ciudad Juarez jail in July

Guzman has broke out of Mexican prison twice, once in 2001 and again in 2015. He is pictured above at Altiplano Prison, after his recapture in January. He was later transferred to Ciudad Juarez

Guzman is now 'visibly bald', Rodriguez told a local radio station, and fears he has become hooked on medication he began taking for his high blood pressure - which he also developed inside jail.

Guzman (pictured in a mugshot shortly after his recapture) is currently fighting extradition to the U.S. to face drug charges

The government says special security measures are needed following Guzman's 2015 escape from a maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel dug to the floor of his shower. It was his second prison break.

Lawyers have filed appeals seeking to prevent Guzman's extradition to the United States to face drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapons and murder charges.

A hearing on those appeals is expected Monday. Guzman is currently being held at Ciudad Juarez jail, which is located near the U.S. border at El Paso, Texas.

Mexican authorities have given up on the idea of holding Guzman permanently on their side of the border - where the death penalty has been abolished - after his two jail breaks.

He was first arrested in Guatemala back in 1993 and brought back to Mexico where he was locked up in the Puente Grande in Jalisco.

He was later indicted on drug charges in California and was awaiting extradition to the U.S. when he bribed virtually every official inside the jail in order to bust out in 2001.

El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquin Guzman, was let out of his jail cell and slipped into a laundry basket before being wheeled out of the front doors of the jail and into a waiting car.

Dozens of people, from guards to maintenance workers and even the prison director were eventually implicated in the escape.

After a lengthy manhunt he was recaptured in 2014 in a hotel in the beach town of Mazatlan and sent back to jail, this time at Altiplano.

He spent just a year in that jail however, breaking out for a second time in 2015 after members of his cartel dug a mile-long tunnel which came up under his cell shower block.

With guards paid to turn the other way, El Chapo escaped by crawling through the bottom of his shower and into the tunnel, where he used a motorbike affixed to a rail to drive to a nearby building site, where the underground passage emerged.

Guzman did not remain on the run for long the second time, however, and after several near-misses he was tracked to a safe house in the town of Los Mochis earlier this year.

Guzman broke out of his cell at Altiplano prison in 2015, via a tunnel dug in his shower floor
Philippines' Duterte to forge closer ties with China, Russia

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he has decided to "cross the Rubicon" in his ties with the United States and will open trade alliances and offer long-term land leases to "the other side of the ideological barrier," China and Russia.

The U.S. State Department responded that it wouldn't stand in Manila's way of seeking deeper ties with Beijing and Moscow. But it maintained that the U.S.-Philippine alliance endures despite the barrage of negative commentary from Duterte since he took power in June.

Duterte told reporters he was "not really" breaking ties with the U.S., his country's long-time treaty ally, but will open all areas of trade and commerce to China and Russia. It would not include military alliances, he said.

He said the two countries' companies would be able to lease land in the Philippines for up to 120 years.

Duterte said he will travel to China soon to talk to President Xi Jinping, and then to Japan and Russia.

Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S., which has criticized his crackdown on illegal drugs in which more than 3,000 people have died.

During a summit of East Asian leaders in Laos earlier this month, Duterte said he told Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Mevedev that he was "about to cross the Rubicon" with the United States, at least during the six years of his presidential term.

"I would need your help in everything  trade, commerce  and I will open up," Duterte said he told Mevedev.

Asked by a reporter what he meant by crossing the Rubicon, Duterte said it was "a point of no return." He said the problem was that the Philippines' mutual defense treaty with the U.S. does not guarantee that Washington will come to the Philippines' defense if it is attacked because the U.S. president would need the approval of Congress.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that despite Duterte's repeated criticisms of the U.S., the department has not been officially contacted by Philippine authorities regarding any of those things. He said the U.S. believes it can remain a close friend and partner of the Southeast Asian nation.

"We are not deaf. We do hear what he says. But our cooperation with the Philippine government remains strong and unabated," Toner told reporters. "He (Duterte) makes public statements. We have not, though, seen anything with regard to our relations with the Philippines that would indicate a shift, if you will, or a turning away."

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama canceled a formal meeting with Duterte at a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders after the Philippine leader used the phrase "son of a bitch" in warning that he wouldn't accept lectures from Obama on human rights. Duterte has also said he would not allow Filipino forces to conduct joint patrols with the U.S. military in the disputed South China Sea and that he wants U.S. forces out of the country's south, where he said minority Muslims resent the presence of American troops.

Duterte lashed out Monday against the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Australia for criticizing the deaths in his campaign against illegal drugs.

"They should not scare me about the extrajudicial killings, or else I will also demand that the United States of America and EU be investigated alongside with me because they have committed far more injustice and have done horrific things," he added, calling them "hypocrites."

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Russia claims new data show rebels didn't down MH17

MOSCOW (AP)  The Russian military says radiolocation data show that the missile that downed a Malaysian airliner over warring eastern Ukraine in 2014 was not fired from territory controlled by Russia-backed rebels.

The claim on Monday came two days before a Dutch-led investigative team is to release a report on where the missile was fired from that hit flight MH17, killing all 298 people aboard. The team is gathering evidence for a possible criminal trial.

A separate investigation reported last year that a Buk missile shot down the flight and that it was fired from rebel-held territory, but did not specify who had fired it.

Russia has consistently rejected allegations that rebels fired the missile. It said the new data would be turned over to investigators.
Frenchman rams police car in Greece after security check

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)  A 49-year-old Frenchman is to be deported from Greece after ramming a police car following a security check for suspected Islamic militants returning from Iraq and Syria.

A court in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki issued a 15-month suspended sentence and ordered his summary deportation Monday, records seen by The Associated Press showed.

Police testified the man had been held for questioning for two days after crossing the border from Turkey. He was released without charge but later attacked an unmarked police car. He rammed the vehicle with his car, jumped on the hood, and pushed a nearby female police officer, the court documents said.
Lawyer for Mexico drug lord 'El Chapo' Guzman claims torture

MEXICO CITY (AP)  A lawyer for Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman said Monday he will argue that his client has been the victim of torture.

Attorney Jose Refugio Rodriguez said the convicted Sinaloa cartel boss' legal team has submitted evidence of alleged abusive treatment of Guzman in prison.

"Cruel and unusual treatment is torture," Rodriguez said.

A member of an evangelical organization, "Los Angeles Mensajeros" or Messenger Angels, holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish; "Chapo Guzman, your mother prays for your soul" in front of the maximum-security prison where Guzman is being held, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. On Monday a hearing is scheduled on the appeal by Guzman against his extradition to the United States. For the past few years the Messenger Angels, who are part of a small local church called Psalm100, have been holding protests against violence and corruption in Juarez dressed as angels. (AP Photo/Christian Torres)

Guzman's lawyers have complained in the past that he is not being allowed to sleep, mix with other prisoners or receive enough visits. They said that caused him anxiety and elevated his blood pressure to dangerous levels.

The government says special security measures are needed following Guzman's escape from the maximum-security Altiplano prison near Mexico City in 2015, when he fled through a mile-long tunnel dug to the floor of his shower. That was his second prison break.

After Guzman was recaptured in January, prison authorities woke him every few hours for head counts but later softened that security procedure.

Lawyers have filed appeals seeking to prevent Guzman's extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapons and murder charges. The torture allegations are not related to those appeals.

Also Monday, a judge postponed issuing a ruling on the extradition appeals at a hearing.

Another of Guzman's lawyers, Andres Granados, said it could take up to three months before there is a decision. Either side could then appeal.

Guzman is currently being held in a federal prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso, Texas.

However he has won an initial judgment in favor of sending him back to the Altiplano lockup, which is closer to where hearings in his case are being held.
Florida-bound airliner makes emergency landing in New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)  A Florida-bound Spirit Airlines jet with 142 people aboard has made a safe emergency landing in New York after a reported mechanical problem.

The pilot shut down the affected engine and landed safely early Monday at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The airline says none of the 136 passengers and six crew members aboard Flight 647 was injured. There was no damage or fire to the Airbus A320, which had taken off from nearby Niagara Falls International Airport and was bound for Fort Lauderdale.
The Latest: Tight security ahead of Colombia peace ceremony

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP)  9:15 a.m.

There's tight security and a festive mood in the air in the Colombian city of Cartagena as leftist guerrillas and the government are set to sign a historic peace deal.

More than 2,700 troops have been deployed to guarantee the security of 15 Latin American heads of state at Monday's ceremony.

People enjoy a concert for peace in Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, will sign a peace agreement to end over 50 years of conflict, in Cartagena, on Monday. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

U.N. Secretary-General ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are also scheduled to witness the signing in the Caribbean city.

The peace accord is the product of four years of tough negotiations in Havana between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The South American nation's five-decade conflict, partly fueled by the cocaine trade, has killed more than 220,000 people and driven 8 million from their homes.

A navy boat patrols in the waters of Cartagena, Colombia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, near the convention center where Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, will sign a peace agreement on Monday, to end over 50 years of conflict . (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, arrive in Yari Plains, southern Colombia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, alias Timochenko, are expected to sign a peace accord to end more than five decades of conflict Sept. 26 in the Caribbean city of Cartagena. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

An elderly man places a white flag on his hat during a concert for peace in Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, will sign a peace agreement to end over 50 years of conflict, in Cartagena, on Monday. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Iran releases Canadian-Iranian professor held since June

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services.

Homa Hoodfar was flown to the Arab Gulf nation of Oman, the brief report from the IRNA news agency said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed her release in a statement, thanking Italy, Switzerland and Oman for their help in the matter.

Hoodfar, 65, was questioned and barred from leaving Iran in March after traveling to the country to visit family following the death of her husband. Her family said she has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since June. Hoodfar until recently taught anthropology and sociology at Montreal's Concordia University.

This photo made available by Oman News Agency, shows retired Iranian-Canadian professor Homa Hoodfar, left, speaking to the media in Muscat airport, Oman, after being released by Iranian authorities, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services. (Oman News Agency via AP)

In July, Iran announced indictments for Hoodfar and three others, without providing any details about the accusations. In recent weeks, Hoodfar's supporters described her health as deteriorating while she was in solitary confinement, saying she was "barely able to walk or talk."

Hoodfar's supporters had pressed diplomats to discuss her case during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York. Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the meeting Wednesday, state television reported.

Kaveh Ehsani, a friend of Hoodfar's in Chicago, said Monday that her supporters asked for "a period of crucial privacy before Homa and her family can address the media."

The state-run Oman News Agency published pictures of Hoodfar arriving in Muscat, the Omani capital, on an air force jet and being greeted by her niece. It quoted Hoodfar as saying she'd spend time in Muscat before returning to Canada.

"I'm really grateful to his majesty, Sultan Qaboos, for making this happen ... after so many months, so many days in prison," a soft-spoken Hoodfar told Omani state television.

Oman, a Gulf Arab country on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a U.S. ally and has been ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said since 1970. It has served as a mediator between Iran and the West on previous occasions.

Canada has not had an embassy in Iran since 2012, when its then-Conservative-led government cut diplomatic ties over Tehran's contested nuclear program and other issues.

Trudeau said Canadians are "relieved that Dr. Hoodfar has been released from jail and will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues."

"I would also like to recognize the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation. They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations," he added.

Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance. In previous cases, dual nationals have faced secret charges in closed-door hearings in Iran's Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.

Several dual nationals have been arrested in the year since world powers reached a nuclear deal with Iran to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

Analysts have suggested Iranian hard-liners hope to use them as bargaining chips with the West. A prisoner swap in January between Iran and the U.S. that freed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans in exchange for pardons or charges dropped against seven Iranians also saw the U.S. make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran.

While that money repaid a 1970s Iranian account to buy U.S. military equipment, it was contingent on the prisoner release. That's garnered criticism from Republicans in an election year.

Others with Western ties known to be recently detained in Iran include:

 Siamak Namazi , an Iranian-American businessman who has advocated for closer ties between the two countries and whose father is also held in Tehran;

 Baquer Namazi , a former Iranian and U.N. official in his 80s who is the father of Siamak;

 Robin Shahini , an Iranian-American detained while visiting family who previously had made online comments criticizing Iran's human rights record;

 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe , a British-Iranian woman sentenced to five years in prison on allegations of planning the "soft toppling" of Iran's government while traveling with her young daughter; and

 Nizar Zakka , a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon recently sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $4.2 million fine.

Still missing is former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran in 2007 while on an unauthorized CIA mission.

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Gambrell report from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Adam Schreck in Dubai and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.

FILE - This undated file photo made available by Amanda Ghahremani, shows retired Iranian-Canadian professor Homa Hoodfar. Iranian media are saying Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, that the country has released retired Canadian-Iranian professor Homa Hoodfar, who was detained in the Islamic Republic earlier this year. (Courtesy of Amanda Ghahremani via AP, File)

This photo made available by Oman News Agency, shows retired Iranian-Canadian professor Homa Hoodfar arriving in Muscat airport, Oman, after being released by Iranian authorities, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services.(Oman News Agency via AP)
German state broadcaster files lawsuit against Turkey

BERLIN (AP)  German broadcaster Deutsche Welle says it has filed a civil lawsuit in Turkey's capital demanding the return of a videotaped interview with the country's minister for youth and sports.

The public broadcaster says ministry employees seized the footage this month after a spokesman for Minister Akif Kilic told Deutsche Welle it couldn't air the interview, which dealt in part with the failed July 15 coup in Turkey.

Deutsche Welle Director General Peter Limbourg said Monday that the broadcaster has no choice but to use "legal methods to demand the prompt return of our video material."

The ministry, which has previously said Deutsche Welle handed over the footage voluntarily, would not comment on the lawsuit.
The Latest: Attorney: Campaign chief didn't know about plot

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  The Latest in the trial of two former allies of Republican Gov. Christie in the George Washington Bridge lane closing case (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

The attorney for Gov. Chris Christie's former campaign manager is disputing testimony from a witness in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure trial.

David Wildstein arrives at Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse for a hearing, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Newark, N.J. Wildstein, pleaded guilty last year to orchestrating traffic jams in 2013 to punish a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse Gov. Chris Christie. Three years after gridlock paralyzed a New Jersey town next to the George Washington Bridge for days, two former allies of Christie, Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly, are being tried. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Kevin Marino, the attorney for Bill Stepien (STEP'-eeh-enn), said Monday in a statement that his client did nothing wrong and had not role in the plan or concealing a scheme to use traffic jams as political revenge.

David Wildstein testified Monday in the fraud case of Christie's former deputy chief of staff and a former top appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that operates the bridge.

Wildstein testified that he told Stepien about the scheme and the cover-up story. He says defendants Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni approved the traffic scheme.

Wildstein has pleaded guilty, and Christie hasn't been charged.

Wildstein returns to the stand Tuesday.

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2:25 p.m.

Jurors in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial have heard from a witness how he orchestrated traffic jams near the bridge to punish its mayor for not endorsing Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

David Wildstein testified Monday in the fraud case of Christie's former deputy chief of staff and a former top appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that operates the bridge.

Wildstein has pleaded guilty, and Christie hasn't been charged.

He testified Monday both Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni approved the traffic scheme.

He also testified he told Bill Stepien (STEP'-eeh-enn), Christie's then-campaign manager who now works for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign, about the scheme and the cover story that it was part of a traffic study.

Three access lanes to the bridge were reduced to one, causing hours-long jams. Wildstein said Monday his original plan was to reduce the three lanes to none.

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12:20 p.m.

A witness has testified that both defendants in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial approved a plan to cause gridlock in September 2013 to punish a Democratic mayor for not endorsing Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

David Wildstein testified Monday in the fraud trial of former bridge authority executive Bill Baroni and former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly.

Wildstein told jurors Baroni and Kelly approved the plan to realign traffic lanes with no advance notice to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. He says they also approved his idea to not respond to complaints once the traffic jams started.

Wildstein also testified when he suggested to Baroni the idea of timing the gridlock to coincide with the first day of school, Baroni smiled and said, "Fantastic."

Baroni and Kelly have pleaded not guilty.

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11:15 a.m.

A key figure in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing case says he received an email from a staffer for Gov. Chris Christie that he interpreted as an order to cause gridlock near the bridge.

David Wildstein says it was an effort to punish a Democratic mayor for not endorsing the Republican governor.

Wildstein worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge. On Monday he told jurors about an August 2013 email from Bridget Kelly that said it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

Kelly has claimed the email was a joke, but Wildstein says he didn't think it was.

The government contends that a month later Wildstein, Kelly and Port Authority executive Bill Baroni put the plan into action.

Wildstein has pleaded guilty. Baroni and Kelly are on trial.

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10:50 a.m.

The government's key witness in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing case is testifying about efforts to gain an endorsement from a Democratic mayor.

David Wildstein worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that operates New York-area bridges, tunnels, ports and airports. He pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to cause traffic gridlock near the bridge to punish Fort Lee's mayor for not endorsing Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Wildstein's former boss, Bill Baroni, and former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly, are on trial for fraud, conspiracy and civil rights counts. They're accused of helping to plan and carry out the scheme.

Christie hasn't been charged.

On Monday, Wildstein expanded on his testimony from last week that the Port Authority was used to hand out money and favors to towns where Christie's campaign sought endorsements.

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6:20 a.m.

The government's star witness in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing case is set to return to the witness stand in the federal trial of two former allies of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official David Wildstein pleaded guilty last year to orchestrating traffic jams near the bridge in 2013 to punish a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse Christie. Christie wasn't charged.

Prosecutors say Wildstein conspired with former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni and Christie's former deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly.

Last week, Wildstein testified Baroni and Kelly were part of efforts by Christie's administration to use the Port Authority to provide political favors to politicians in return for endorsements.
'Birth of a Nation' launches voter registration initiative

NEW YORK (AP)  Fox Searchlight will hold voter registration enrollment in theater lobbies ahead of screenings of the Nat Turner slave rebellion drama "The Birth of a Nation."

Though the film has been overshadowed by a 17-year-old rape case involving Nate Parker, the film's director and star, Fox Searchlight is trying to shift the attention surrounding "The Birth of a Nation." The specialty film distributor said Monday the voter initiative will roll out nationwide during promotional screenings on Sept. 27, National Voter Registration Day, as well as on opening weekend, Oct. 7-9.

Fox Searchlight said some 20 theater chains and independent theaters are participating.

Nate Parker, the director, screenwriter and star of "The Birth of a Nation," poses at the premiere of the film at the Cinerama Dome on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Romania: Intelligence chief quits for health reasons

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Romanian officials say the chief of the country's foreign intelligence agency has resigned for health reasons.

The office of President Klaus Iohannis said Mihai Razvan Ungureanu quit Monday as chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, a position he had held since 2012.

The announcement did not give any reason for the resignation. Lawmaker Mihaita Calimente, who leads the Romanian parliament's oversight of the agency, said Ungureanu told him he was "bedridden" with serious health problems.

Ungureanu, a historian, served as Romania's foreign minister from 2004-2007 and had an earlier tenure as foreign intelligence chief before becoming prime minister in 2012, a position he held for only 78 days. Parliament dismissed his government in a vote of no-confidence.
Rescued boater spent week adrift on raft; mom presumed dead

BOSTON (AP)  A Vermont man whose boat sank spent seven days adrift on an inflatable life raft before he was rescued off the coast of Massachusetts by a passing freighter, but his still-missing mother was presumed dead, the Coast Guard said Monday.

The Coast Guard had suspended its search Friday for Linda Carman, 54, and her 22-year-old son, Nathan Carman. The mother and son disappeared Sept. 18 after leaving a Rhode Island marina to go on a fishing trip in Nathan Carman's 31-foot aluminum boat named the Chicken Pox.

Nathan Carman was found Sunday by a freighter about 100 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard, the Coast Guard said. He was listed in good condition.

Aboard the freighter, he spoke by phone to a Coast Guard command center in Boston. Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Groll, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, said Nathan Carman told the Coast Guard that when the boat started to sink, it went down quickly.

"He looked for his mother and did not see her. He had some food and water, and he jumped into the life raft, and that was it," Groll told The Associated Press.

Groll said the Coast Guard did not receive a distress call when the boat began taking on water. She said it is unclear whether the boat was equipped with a radio, but said recreational boaters are urged to carry a radio and a waterproof case.

The freighter was expected to arrive in Boston Tuesday morning.

"When Nathan comes into port, he'll be met by Coast Guard officials, and they'll get a better understanding of what happened in this particular case and how to better prevent something like this from happening in the future," Groll said.

Sharon Hartstein, a friend of Linda Carman's, said she had a wide range of emotions when she heard Sunday that Nathan had been found alive.

"I was ecstatic, and then I found out Linda wasn't with him, and I was terrified," Harstein said Monday.

The Coast Guard said they have no plans to reopen the search for Linda Carman, of Middletown, Connecticut. Groll said Monday that so much time has gone by that it is now "beyond the survivability window" to continue searching for her.

Nathan Carman grew up in Connecticut but has lived in Vernon, Vermont, in recent years.

He was also the subject of a search in 2011, when he was a 17-year-old living with his mother in Connecticut.

At the time, Nathan's parents said he vanished after he became distraught over the death of his horse. After a widespread search, he was found in Sussex County, Virginia. Police said he took a bus to Virginia and bought a scooter he had planned to ride to Florida.

He has Asperger's syndrome, a milder form of autism, according to authorities who searched for him in 2011.

Neighbors in Vermont said Carman largely kept to himself while renovating and expanding a home he bought almost two years ago. One neighbor, Maynard Rounds, said he worried about Carman's safety because he worked alone, including while up on the roof.

The family was also struck by tragedy in 2013 when Linda Carman's 87-year-old father  John Chakalos, of Windsor, Connecticut  was found dead in his home of a gunshot wound to the head. The death was ruled a homicide. No arrest has been made.

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Kuwait activist ordered detained for critical Tweets

KUWAIT CITY (AP)  Kuwaiti media says an activist has been ordered detained for 21 days after posting critical comments about the government on Twitter.

The state-linked al-Qabas newspaper reported Monday that Kuwait's public prosecutor ordered Sara al-Drees be detained and interrogated for Tweets deemed offensive to Kuwait's ruler, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Earlier this month, Al-Drees published comments on her Twitter account criticizing the government's detention of political activists.
Memorial to confront South's troubled history of lynchings

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)  Southern states have long welcomed tourists retracing the footsteps of the late Martin Luther King Jr. and others who opposed segregation. Now the Alabama city that was the first capital of the Confederacy is set to become home to a privately funded museum and monument that could make some visitors wince: a memorial to black lynching victims.

The nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative has announced it is building a memorial in the state capital of Montgomery devoted to 4,075 blacks its research shows were killed by lynching in the U.S. from 1877 to 1950.

The nonprofit's director, Bryan Stevenson, said the aim is to help "change the landscape" of American racial discourse by openly acknowledging a painful past, much as Germany has Holocaust memorials and South Africa a museum on its past state-sanctioned segregation  apartheid.

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Montgomery, Ala., water flows over names on a memorial to people killed during the civil rights movement. The same group that erected the marker is planning a memorial and museum to black lynching victims in the city long known as the first capital of the Confederacy. The nonprofit group Equal Justice Initiative says it plans to build a monument to the dead and an accompanying museum in Montgomery. It hopes to open both in 2017. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

He said that while hundreds of whites were lynched in roughly the same period of U.S. history, the memorial's focus will be on "terror lynchings" against blacks in a dozen Southern states  whether by hanging, gunshots, beatings, burnings or other forms of killing used in the past to terrorize black communities.

"I don't think we can afford to continue pretending that there aren't these really troubling chapters in our history," Stevenson said. "I think we've got to deal with it."

Set to open next year on the site of a former low-cost housing project, the monument is to be accompanied by a museum a few blocks away exploring the history of blacks in America from slavery to the present.

Work is already under way on both. How they will be received is an open question.

Pausing at a historical plaque while visiting Montgomery's civil rights sites, North Carolina tourist Nancy Lange hesitated at the thought of a lynching memorial. "That is tough. I can't even think beyond that word," said Lange, 58, who's white.

But daughter Teresa Lange, 27, said a memorial could be valuable in teaching about America's racial past and fostering conversation about today's climate of Black Lives Matter, police violence against minorities and racial strife.

"How many people talk about lynching? How many people talk about the hate crimes that still go on today?" she said. "As a tourist I think it would be a good thing. ... I'd go see it."

Equal Justice Initiative said the monument and museum also would help counter glorification, in some quarters, of the Confederacy across the South while telling the painful story of race in America. The law firm and its founder, Stevenson, represent death row inmates and advocates for racial justice.

The group already has erected bronze plaques around Montgomery to denote bygone slave markets; another group has built a memorial honoring civil rights martyrs, mostly African-Americans. Elsewhere in Montgomery, a marker explains the history of the church parsonage bombed while King lived there in 1956.

The monument set for a hill in view of Alabama's Capitol  where the Confederacy was formed  is to include thousands of names of lynching victims etched on hundreds of concrete columns. Each column represents a U.S. county where a lynching occurred. The names were gathered both in past research and new work by Equal Justice Initiative.

The nearby museum is to house what organizers describe as the nation's largest collection of information on lynching. Located in the nonprofit's headquarters, it also will include presentations about the domestic slave trade, racial segregation and the incarceration of large numbers of blacks today.

Stevenson said the final design of both the memorial and museum will depend on fundraising, though the Ford Foundation already has given $2 million.

Alabama tourism director Lee Sentell said the project has the potential to be important. But he said his agency will need to find out more about the new project before deciding whether to promote it alongside civil rights attractions such as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute or the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where marchers for voting rights were beaten by state police in 1965.

"It is a difficult subject for most all of us Southerners to contemplate because people who are alive today have never had to give this subject much thought," Sentell said. He added of the memorial that "the execution of the details will either make people glad they visited the location or not."

He said Alabama began promoting civil rights sites for tourism in the 1980s. A "Black Heritage Guide" published then was updated and later morphed into the "Alabama Civil Rights Trail," a guide of museums and historic sites.

Not everyone is on board with a lynching memorial.

Marlin Taylor, an African-American visitor from Spokane, Washington, was surprised by it.

"With the climate in America right now I don't know that that's a good idea," Taylor said at the civil rights memorial outside the Southern Poverty Law Center, a public interest law firm. "I feel like that could be more divisive than anything."

But the Alabama commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Jimmy Hill, supports it. He said telling the story of the lynchings will help people understand America's tangled, painful past.

"Yes, it's going to hurt some people. There are some people who are going to see that and say they wish the story wouldn't be told. But we are on the opposite side of that. We just want the whole story to be told," Hill said.

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Montgomery, Ala., tourist Marlin Taylor looks at a memorial to people killed during the civil rights movement. The nonprofit group Equal Justice Initiative says it plans to build a monument to the dead and an accompanying museum in Montgomery. It hopes to open both in 2017. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Montgomery, Ala., the First White House of the Confederacy is shown. The nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative is planning a memorial and museum to black lynching victims in Montgomery, the city long known as the first capital of the Confederacy. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis stands on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. Montgomery, the Alabama city known as the first capital of the Confederacy, is set to become the site of a privately funded memorial to black lynching victims in the United States. The nonprofit group Equal Justice Initiative says it plans to build a monument to the dead and an accompanying museum in Montgomery. It hopes to open both in 2017. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
The Latest: Colombia accord signing ends with 'Ode to Peace'

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP)  The latest on the signing of a historic peace deal in Colombia (all times local):

6:40 p.m.

The signatures done and the speeches given, Colombia's ceremony for the formal signing of a historic peace accord to end a half-century of conflict is over.

Men embrace during an event organized by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Yari Plains, southern Colombia, as they watch live images of government and FARC leaders signing a peace agreement in Cartagena to end more than five decades of conflict, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Colombia's president, the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, regional presidents, the U.N. secretary-general and U.S. secretary of state filed out as a choir sang a stirring version of "Ode to Peace."

An audience of 2,500 dressed all in white as a symbol of peace shared tears and cheers during the formal signing of the pact and the speeches that followed.

The accord was signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo London, the top commander of the FARC guerrillas, which is the country's biggest rebel group. It was reached during four years of negotiations and still must be approved by Colombian voters in an Oct. 2 national referendum.

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5:30 p.m.

Colombia's government and the country's largest rebel movement have signed a historic peace accord ending a half-century of bloody combat.

President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed the 297-page agreement before a crowd of 2,500 foreign dignitaries and special guests in the Caribbean city of Cartagena.

Monday's deal must still be ratified in an Oct. 2 referendum. If it passes, as is widely expected, the rebels will turn over their weapons to United Nations-sponsored observers in the next six months while forming a political party. The FARC will be guaranteed a minimum 10 seats in congress over the next two legislative periods.

Opponents have criticized the deal for sparing guerrilla leaders jail time if they confess to war crimes.

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5:15 p.m.

The ceremony for the formal signing of Colombia's peace accord has begun in the coastal city of Cartagena.

The event was running behind schedule, starting 15 minutes later than planned.

The accord is to be signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a rebel known by the alias Timochenko.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Latin American leaders attending to witness the signing.

The peace accord is the product of four years of tough negotiations that aim to end the South American nation's five-decade conflict. The fighting killed more than 220,000 people and drove 8 million from their homes.

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4:50 p.m.

Guests have begun arriving at the convention center in Cartagena, Colombia, where the Colombian president and the top commander of the country's biggest rebel movement will formally sign their peace accord on ending a half-century of conflict.

White flags are flapping in the central courtyard and most attendees are dressed in white. Colombian officials had urged people invited to the ceremony to wear white as a symbol of peace.

Former guerrilla Leon Valencia says he's excited about the impending signing. In his words, "It's like when you're waiting for a child that is finally born, or seeing an old love or when your favorite team scores a goal."

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4:20 p.m.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is praising the United States for playing a "bipartisan" role in backing Colombia's hard-fought peace process.

Santos met with Secretary of State John Kerry and a group of American delegates in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of Monday's formal signing of the historic peace agreement between his government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Santos said that "Plan Colombia became Paz Colombia," using the Spanish word for peace, "and that was the cherry on the cake."

Kerry congratulated Santos for his efforts to achieve peace, saying, "You've extended your political capital."

Kerry cautioned that while the agreement is reason for celebration, "people will look to see the results."

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3:20 p.m.

The Vatican's secretary of state celebrated Colombians' adherence to the Christian values of dialogue and forgiveness for reaching a deal to end decades of bloody combat.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin delivered the remarks at a midday Mass before President Juan Manuel Santos and dozens of foreign dignitaries in the colonial St. Peter Claver church in the coastal city of Cartagena, where the peace accord is being signed later Monday.

The church is named for a 17th century Jesuit priest that provided relief and blessings to the tens of thousands of African slaves that arrived to the New World in Cartagena. Like the Catholic saint, whose remains are buried in the baroque church, Parolin said Colombians are an example to the world of what can be achieved when one overcomes their pain to demonstrate mercy.

In Parolin's words, "All of us here today are conscious of the fact we're at the final of a negotiation but also the beginning of a still open process of change that requires the contribution and respect of all Colombians."

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2:55 p.m.

The European Union is set to remove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, from its terror blacklist as the rebels sign a peace treaty with the government.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says the bloc will remove the guerrilla group from its list of terror groups in a gesture of support for the peace process.

That will open the door for Colombia to receive $600 million in EU aid for post-conflict refunding.

Mogherini said Monday that Brussels has accompanied Colombians through the four years of talks in Havana that led to the peace deal being signed Monday. The FARC has been on the EU terror list since 2002.

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1:40 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is prepared to review whether the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, should remain on its designated terrorist organization list after a peace accord with the Colombian government is implemented.

Kerry says "we clearly are ready to review and make judgments as the facts come in."

He says in Cartagena, Colombia, that the U.S. will be watching whether FARC rebels reintegrate into society, disarm and embrace the terms of reconciliation before making a decision.

Kerry adds that "we don't want to leave people on the list if they don't belong."

The U.S. put the FARC on its terror list in 1997. The peace accord was to be signed later Monday.

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1:10 p.m.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is crediting his time as a naval cadet for steeling him to endure four years of tense negotiations and strike a historic peace deal with the country's main guerrilla group.

Santos says it was that military training that taught him the most important things in life: "Strength, perseverance  things that were useful, very useful, on the path to peace."

He called the accord a tribute to Colombia's U.S.-backed armed forces and their pursuit of the rebels over the past decade, when several top rebel leaders were killed.

"What we are signing today is your victory," he said.

Santos spoke Monday to military officers in Cartagena, where he was a cadet many years ago, ahead of the signing of the peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

He also presided over a minute of silence to honor the thousands of soldiers killed in combat with the rebels.

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11:50 a.m.

The head of the International Monetary Fund is predicting that Colombia's peace accord will be "extremely positive" for the country's economy.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde says concerns over a possible tax hike to pay for commitments laid out in the 297-page accord may be overblown.

She told reporters in the Caribbean city of Cartagena that "peace is affordable," after meeting with Colombia's finance minister on Monday.

Lagarde underscored that reforms to allow Colombia to maintain financial stability would have been needed regardless of the peace deal because of the impact of low oil prices on government revenues.

The Washington-based IMF has provided Colombia with a so-called flexible credit line of about $11 million, reserved for countries with a strong track record of policy making and economic stability.

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11:20 a.m.

A few hundred supporters of conservative former President Alvaro Uribe are protesting Colombia's peace accord. They believe it's too lenient on guerrilla leaders accused of war crimes.

Uribe addressed the crowd dressed in the yellow, blue and red of Colombia's flag on the outskirts of Cartagena, far from where Monday's signing ceremony will take place.

Amid shouts of "No to the referendum," Uribe argued that the accord puts Colombia on the path to becoming a leftist dictatorship.

He said Mexico would never give impunity to that country's drug gangs, "so why does Colombia have to give impunity to the world's biggest cocaine cartel?" It's a reference to involvement in the drug trade by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Under the peace accord, the guerrillas will disarm and form a political organization. Uribe added: "Why does Colombia have to allow the election of those who have kidnapped 11,700 children or raped 6,800 women?"

Protesters also yelled that current President Juan Manuel Santos, who is a former ally of Uribe and whose government struck the deal with the FARC, "is a coward."

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10:40 a.m.

Guerrillas in the southern plains of Colombia are eagerly anticipating the signing of a historic peace accord.

"Paula" is the nom de guerre of a 32-year-old rebel who has spent the last 18 years of her life with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

She says the peace deal means she no longer has to worry about being killed by a bomb or while facing the enemy on the battlefield.

"It is my rebirth," she says. "It's like a dream."

A 26-year-old guerrilla who goes by "Franklin" says he hopes to make a future as a doctor after 12 years at war with the FARC.

He says "I pinch myself and still don't believe it."

The peace accord after decades of bloody conflict is set to be signed later Monday.

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10:20 a.m

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging young Colombians to embrace the country's peace process for the sake of future generations.

At a round table in Cartagena, Colombia, Kerry spoke with former combatants who voluntarily left the guerrillas, land-mine victims and members of anti-rebel recruitment group.

Kerry told attendees that "anybody can pick up a gun, blow up things, hurt people," but it will not be about positive change. He said the United States is "very invested in your struggle for change."

The secretary of state is among a number of foreign dignitaries in Colombia to attend Monday's signing of a peace accord between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Kerry said that the U.S., Norway and partner countries raised $105 million last week for de-mining the country over the next five years.

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9:15 a.m.

There's tight security and a festive mood in the air in the Colombian city of Cartagena as leftist guerrillas and the government are set to sign a historic peace deal.

More than 2,700 troops have been deployed to guarantee the security of 15 Latin American heads of state at Monday's ceremony.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are also scheduled to witness the signing in the Caribbean city.

The peace accord is the product of four years of tough negotiations in Havana between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The South American nation's five-decade conflict, partly fueled by the cocaine trade, has killed more than 220,000 people and driven 8 million from their homes.

People wait for the start of the peace ceremony prior the signing of the peace agreement between Colombias government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombia's government and the FARC will sign a peace agreement to end over 50 years of conflict. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

People shout slogans in support of the peace agreement prior the signing of the peace agreement between Colombias government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombia's government and the FARC will sign a peace agreement to end over 50 years of conflict. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Indigenous Aruacos walk in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 ahead of the signing of a peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Guests have been invited to wear white as a sign of peace, and the president will use a pen made from a recycled shell used in combat. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, center facing camera, arrives for a Mass in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. On Monday Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will sign a peace agreement in Cartagena to end over 50 years of conflict. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A police officer patrols the streets of Cartagena before the signing peace agreement ceremony between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The ceremony late Monday afternoon will be charged with symbolism. Guests have been invited to wear white as a sign of peace, and Santos will use a pen made from a recycled shell used in combat. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Demonstrators yell "No to the plebiscite" to protest the government's peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to be signed later in the day in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombians will be given the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A demonstrator yells "No to the plebiscite" to protest the government's peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to be signed later in the day in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombians will be given the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Demonstrators yell "No to the plebiscite" to protest the government's peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to be signed later in the day in Cartagena, Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombians will be given the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A rebel of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, grills meat for visitors expected to arrive to the camp in the Yari Plains of southern Colombia, to celebrate the signing of a peace agreement with the government, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombia will take a big step Monday toward emerging from its long history of violence when the government and the country's largest rebel movement sign a peace accord that emerged from four hard years of negotiations. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A rebel of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, drinks coffee in a camp in the Yari Plains of southern Colombia, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombia will take a big step toward emerging from its long history of violence Monday when the government and the country's largest rebel movement sign a peace accord that emerged from four hard years of negotiations. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A rebel of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, chops wood to grill meat for visitors expected to arrive to the camp in the Yari Plains of southern Colombia, to celebrate the signing of a peace agreement with the government, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Colombia will take a big step Monday toward emerging from its long history of violence when the government and the country's largest rebel movement sign a peace accord that emerged from four hard years of negotiations. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
Greece's unions rail against powerful new privatization fund

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Greek labor unions are organizing strikes and protests against a plan to place major state assets under the control of a new privatization fund that will be headed by bailout creditors.

The fund called the Hellenic Company of Assets and Participations will take control of public utilities and other assets for 99 years if parliament approves draft legislation late Tuesday. The Greek Finance Ministry will appoint the majority of members on the fund's executive board, but lenders will appoint its chairman.

The asset move is part of measures demanded by creditors from other eurozone nations as part of Greece's third consecutive international bailout. Creditors argue that Greece's privatization program had been moving too slowly.

Unions launched strikes and work stoppages this week at the state water company and other affected utilities, and called for protests outside parliament during the debate before Tuesday's vote.

"It is inconceivable that utilities created to serve the public and provide basic affordable services will be sold off in this manner ... We call on workers to use all means necessary to stop this crime against society," the country's umbrella GSEE union said.

Greece's left-wing government has fallen behind on implementation deadlines linked to bailout loan payouts  and is clinging to hopes that creditors will grant the country better loan repayment terms next year, as it continues to tighten public spending.

A funding dispute involving the government and a private operator has left Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, without local bus services for 10 days.

In parliament, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos dismissed opposition charges that his government was handing over sovereign rights to bailout lenders.

"This new fund was the result of a compromise in negotiations ... but it up to us, our government, to deliver a workable result," he told lawmakers debating the legislation Monday at committee level.

"We are not handing over sovereignty or mortgaging the future. The fund is under the control of the Greek Finance Ministry. ... And passing assets to this fund does not mean that they will necessarily be privatized  at least not by this government."

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Despite Alexandria vote, little chance statue will be moved

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP)  Several state lawmakers in Virginia say it's very unlikely a 127-year-old Confederate statue in Alexandria's Old Town will be moved elsewhere.

The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/2d3mONn ) reports that Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg met with the president of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy last week to discuss moving the seven-foot bronze statue entitled "Appomattox."

The statue, which depicts a southern-facing Confederate soldier, is owned by the heritage group but located on city land. The Alexandria City Council has voted to recommend it be moved to the lawn of the Lyceum, Alexandria's history museum.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin says that unless the Daughters of the Confederacy recommends moving the statue, lawmakers won't change a state law that prohibits municipalities from moving war monuments.

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US not on track to meet 2025 carbon pollution cutting goal

WASHINGTON (AP)  Unless it does more, the United States probably will fall short of goals set under last year's Paris agreement to dramatically reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases, according to a new study.

The U.S. pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels. But taking into account current efforts by state and local governments, the nation will only reach about four-fifths of that goal, according to a study in Monday's Nature Climate Change .

Looking at all types of greenhouse gases from energy and other sources carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and various fluorocarbons  two scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab figure the U.S. will have to cut about 1,660 million tons of annual emissions. But current, proposed and even less concrete policies would only reduce about 1,330 million tons, leaving a gap around 330 million tons, they calculated.

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2015 file photo, a plume of steam billows from the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H. If the nation doesnt do more, the U.S. probably wont quite meet the dramatic heat-trapping gas reduction goal it promised in last years Paris agreement to battle climate change, according to a new study. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

The statistics have large margins of errors of plus or minus of hundreds of million tons.

"We can't get there with our current set of policies," said study lead author Jeffrey Greenblatt, a senior scientist at the national lab. "We would fall short of the target if there is no further action."

That doesn't mean that the U.S. can't reach its goal, it's just it has to do more and it can, Greenblatt said. He said he was optimistic that with more action the U.S. could come close to the 26 percent goal, if not achieve it.

The biggest reduction that Greenblatt and his colleague Max Wei calculate would come from the Obama administration's clean power plan that would cut carbon pollution from power plants, mostly coal. But that plan is on hold in the courts. If it doesn't go into effect, it will be even harder for the U.S. to reach its Paris goal, Greenblatt said. It's also a policy that Republicans, including Donald Trump, have vowed to repeal if they win.

Greenblatt and Wei have counted on gains from that policy, but it's still not enough.

So how could the U.S. get to its goal? Greenblatt and Wei briefly looked at a dozen possible ways, but none of them individually would bring huge reductions.

"I think it's going to be a variety of smallish efforts to get there," Greenblatt said.

By looking at sectors besides energy, and at all greenhouse gases  not just carbon dioxide, which has fallen dramatically because of a switch from coal power to natural gas for electricity, mostly because of lower gas prices  Greenblatt's reaches conclusions that are less optimistic than some advanced by others.

Six outside experts said the study's conclusions are both correct and not surprising.

Even if the courts uphold the Obama power plan, the delay makes it more difficult to cut carbon pollution in time, said MIT management professor John Sterman, who also founded a program that models climate emissions and goals. And the low cost of gasoline is prompting more driving, making it harder to reduce pollution.

"The U.S., states and cities will need to adopt more ambitious policies and soon to be able to fulfill our commitment under the Paris agreement," Sterman wrote in an email. But he said what is even more important is that the Paris deal "is not strong enough."

"To avoid the worst consequences of climate change, the U.S. and an all nations must cut emissions sooner and by more than called for under the Paris agreement," Sterman wrote. "There's simply no time to lose."

Nigel Purvis, a top environmental diplomat in the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and president of the non-governmental organization Climate Advisers , said that's why the U.S. goals are ambitious: "We didn't know how to get to the moon when JFK declared the moonshot but we worked hard, innovated and succeeded. The next administration will need to do the same to make sure the United States meets its climate goals."

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Online:

Nature Climate Change: http://www.nature.com/nclimate

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Follow Seth Borenstein at http://twitter.com/borenbears and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein
A customer at a Washington DC pizzeria was stabbed after police say he confronted a fellow patron who cut in line.

Authorities say the argument began at 4am Sunday when Jose Nelson Melendez Rodriguez, 20, skipped ahead of other people waiting at Jumbo Pizza on the busy U Street.

Another customer took issue with that, and the two men went outside to settle their differences.

Food fracas: A brawl between two patrons at this pizza parlor on U Street in Washington DC has landed one person in the hospital with a stab wound and the other in jail

According to a police report cited by the blog Borderstan, Rodriguez pulled a knife from his bag and stabbed the man who confronted him, and then the stabbing victim punched Rodriguez, knocking him unconscious.

Later, a friend of the stabbing victim, 20-year-old Justin McKinney, kicked Rodriguez in the head, police say.

Rodriguez was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, while McKinney, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, was charged with assault.

The unnamed stabbing victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Rodriguez also was hospitalized.
Slovakia, Czechs: UK access to EU market tied to work rights

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  The prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic say Britain will be able to keep access to the European Union's single market when it leaves the bloc only if it continues to allow its citizens to work in Britain.

Robert Fico and Bohuslav Sobotka made the statement on Monday after their meeting in the Slovak capital. Standing side by side, they said they "can't imagine" their citizens wouldn't be treated equally.

Fico, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency said Slovakia "will fight hard" for some 70,000 Slovak citizens' rights in Britain.

Sobotka said it is necessary for the EU to stand united in negotiations for the future cooperation with Britain.
Armed men kill soldier, civilian in Mali's Timbuktu: Army

BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  An army spokesman says armed men in Mali's northern city of Timbuktu have killed a soldier and his cousin.

Col. Souleymane Maiga said Monday that the men were targeted at a home Sunday night.

A neighbor said four men in a truck shot the soldier outside then followed the cousin inside, killing him and injuring a child.

A local leader says the two men were a part of the Arab community in Timbuktu. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but the leader said the attack bore the marks of one by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The leader and the neighbor spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.
Diplomats: Portugal's Guterres tops fifth poll for UN chief

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Portugal's former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres kept his spot as the first choice to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the next U.N. secretary-general, and was the only candidate to get the minimum nine required "yes" votes in the Security Council's fifth informal poll on Monday, U.N. diplomats said.

Guterres, who was the U.N. refugee chief until last December, got 12 "encourage" votes, 2 "discourage" votes, and one "no opinion," said the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the results were supposed to be kept secret.

Far behind in second place was Serbia's former Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic with an 8-6-1 vote and Slovakia's Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak who had an 8-7-0 vote. Slovenia's former President Danilo Turk and Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra were tied for fourth with votes of 7-7-1, the diplomats said.

The key question for Guterres is whether one of the five veto-wielding council members  the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France  opposes his candidacy. That should become clear in the next straw poll in early October, when the five permanent members will use colored ballots for the first time.

By tradition, the job of secretary-general has rotated among regions. Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe have all held the post. East European nations, including Russia, argue that they have never had a secretary-general and it is their turn.

There has also never been a woman secretary-general and more than 50 nations are campaigning to elect the first female U.N. chief, along with many organizations.

In the nine-way race, the fact that the highest-ranked woman, Malcorra, was tied for fourth left many diplomats disappointed. That's because it all but rules out a female secretary-general  unless a woman makes a late bid for the world's top diplomatic post which is still possible.

In Monday's "straw" poll, UNESCO chief Irina Bokova of Bulgaria was in sixth place with a 6-7-2 vote and former Macedonian Foreign Minister Srgjan Kerim and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who heads the U.N. Development Program, were tied for seventh with votes of 6-9-0. Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman was last with a vote of 3-11-1, the diplomats said.

Angola's U.N. Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins said "there are some now who should read not my lips but the numbers."

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said candidates may be waiting around for the next poll with colored ballots to see the "discourage" votes from the five permanent members.
Catholic Church alleges smear campaign against slain priests

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexico's Roman Catholic Church on Monday harshly criticized what it called a campaign to smear three priests murdered in less than a week by suggesting the victims had been involved in questionable behavior.

The outrage came in response to a state prosecutor's allegations that two of the dead clerics had been drinking with their killers beforehand and media reports suggesting the third had last been seen with a young boy.

"In these cases it has become clear that state governments that cannot handle the drug cartels are criminalizing the victims, depicting some as drunks and another as a pedophile, making it look like the crimes were not related to drug cartels but because of some immoral conduct," said the Rev. Hugo Valdemar Romero, spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico City.

This Sept. 21, 2016 photo shows the funeral Mass for slain Rev. Jose Alfredo Suarez de la Cruz at Our Lady of Asuncion Church in Paso Blanco, Veracruz state, Mexico, his hometown. Church leaders are increasingly frustrated by authorities inability to protect their priests under Mexican President Enrique Pena Nietos administration. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

"To physical death they are adding moral assassination, slandering the priests and holding them up to ridicule," Romero said, "and that has caused deep indignation in the church," Romero said.

Two of the slain priests were shot to death in Veracruz state last week and their bodies dumped on a roadside. On Sunday officials confirmed that the other priest had been shot to death in Michoacan state after being abducted.

Local media published a photo taken from security footage purportedly showing the priest at a hotel with a boy. But other reports later said the man in the image was not the priest. The Michoacan state prosecutors' office did not respond to a request for comment on the photo.

Cardinal Alberto Suarez Inda, who heads the archdiocese in Michoacan, defended his priest's character.

"The publication of some images and malicious interpretations has made the situation more painful," he wrote Monday.

The Mexican Council of Bishops also urged authorities to investigate the killings without casting aspersions on the victims.

"We respectfully and urgently demand that the respective authorities get to the bottom of both cases ... and with the same forcefulness, we demand that no priest, or anyone, be slandered, above all before the investigations are finished," the council wrote.

Parishioners in the Veracruz city where the two priests were killed have also said they were skeptical of the prosecutor's account and suspected an attempt to quickly shelve the case.

Romero said of the government, "the least we expect is a public apology."

It is unclear whether drug gangs were directly involved in last week's killings, though most attacks on priests in Mexico in recent years have occurred in areas plagued by cartel violence.

Prosecutors have suggested the robbery of a couple hundred dollars in church collections may have been a motive in the Veracruz killings.

But Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega of the western state of Jalisco said priests there have been subjected to extortion demands, a common practice among drug cartels in Mexico.
PICTURED: These animals are more than meets the eye

JOHANNESBURG (AP)  An elephant? Look again. Artist Johannes Stoetter paints on human bodies to create images of endangered and other animals. He unveiled his elephant painting Monday at a global wildlife conference. The plight of Africa's elephants is a key issue at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which goes through Oct. 5. Also unveiled was an elephant sculpture by Daniel Jansen van Vuuren. Wildlife groups say poachers kill up to 30,000 elephants across the continent each year in pursuit of ivory. Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are pushing to sell their ivory stockpiles for millions of dollars, but they are opposed by about 30 African nations that want to tighten an international ban on the ivory trade.

A sculpture commissioned by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) titled "Alive and Free" by sculptor Daniel Jansen van Vuuren, depicting a life-size elephant and rhino, after being installed overnight in the precinct where the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES) is being held in Sandton, Johannesburg, Monday, Sept 26, 2016. The work depicts two of Africa's most iconic species under threat among others including pangolins, African lions, Barbary macaque monkeys, sharks and African grey parrots. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

Models pose after being painted by artist Johannes Stoetter to depict an elephant at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora, or CITES, in Johannesburg on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. An elephant? Look again. Artist Johannes Stoetter paints on human bodies to create images of endangered species and other animals. Conservation groups say poachers kill as many as 30,000 elephants across Africa every year. (AP Photo)

In this file photo taken Tuesday, March 9, 2010, elephants use their trunks to smell for possible danger in the Tsavo East national park, Kenya. Some African elephant herds are adapting to the danger of poaching by moving out of risky areas, according to one conservation group. The plight of elephants is a key issue at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which began over the weekend and ends Oct. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)

A sculpture commissioned by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) titled "Alive and Free" by sculptor Daniel Jansen van Vuuren, depicting a life-size elephant and rhino, is installed in the precinct where the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES) is being held in Sandton, Johannesburg, Monday, Sept 26, 2016. The work depicts two of Africa's most iconic species under threat among others including pangolins, African lions, Barbary macaque monkeys, sharks and African grey parrots. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
Love it or hate it, gefilte fish is here to stay

NEW YORK (AP)  Got a live carp in your bathtub? Planning on losing a day to food prep for the October Jewish holidays?

We don't think so, and neither do Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern.

They're the authors of a new cookbook, "The Gefilte Manifesto," a lively collection of Ashkenazi standards  some with a twist and others left to wander back to the old country.

This cover image released by Flatiron Books shows, "The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods," by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern. The collection of history and recipes celebrates Jewish soul food from soup to nuts, kicking off with a bagel butter flecked with not one but two kinds of sesame seeds, black and white, and winding down with beverages, from beet and ginger kvass to a seeded rye cocktail. (Flatiron Books via AP)

Out in September from Flatiron Books, the collection of history and recipes by the two young Brooklynites celebrates Jewish soul food from soup to nuts, kicking off with a bagel butter flecked with not one but two kinds of sesame seeds, black and white, and winding down with beverages, from beet and ginger kvass to a seeded rye cocktail.

As for the catchy title, there are three takes on gefilte fish, the fish food some people love to hate. That once included Alpern, who as part of her family's Passover seders, declined the dish "every year of my life" growing up. It was the gelatinous jarred version, "and I hated it," she said in a recent interview with Yoskowitz.

"Until I started making my own, I associated it with something I would never eat," Alpern said of her upbringing in Long Beach, New York, just outside New York City.

Yoskowitz, from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, grew up with lots more love for gefilte fish. It was made by his grandmother, then she stopped and his family relied on a local shop, he said.

"But I didn't like the horseradish. It was usually the beet horseradish," Yoskowitz recalled. "But later, the moment I put horseradish on, I felt like an adult."

In 2011, the two friends started making gefilte fish together, experimenting as they embraced its place in Ashkenazi lore, in both Europe and North America.

They wondered why nobody was making gefilte fish relevant again, putting the soul back in.

At its most basic, gefilte is made by mixing pulverized freshwater fish with eggs, onions and spices. Bread crumbs are often used today. It stood, especially on the Passover seder table, as a symbol of Ashkenazi resourcefulness, the two said. Exactly how far can a single fish be stretched to feed an entire family?

Usually served cold or at room temperature, there were practical aspects to gefilte fish. It's often poached or baked, when it doesn't come from a jar.

Lake fish is commonly used, including carp and pike. The two don't use carp because, Yoskowitz said, it's a bottom-feeding fish that tends to be high in heavy metals, especially when it comes from the Great Lakes.

"Most people commonly think of gefilte fish as a bunch of fish balls in a jar. That's where the misconception is, that gefilte fish is gross and unappetizing," he said.

Their recipes look anything but, often coming in terrine form, sliced and served with their colorful, grated horseradish relishes: A sweet beet version and a carrot-citrus version.

"What we realized right away was we need to make all of this look like something you'd want to eat," Alpern said. "The first thing I would say to someone who is unfamiliar and maybe unwilling is you'll see that this is a fish pate."

Prep time for their gefilte dishes? Usually under an hour and a half, including baking, Yoskowitz said. No live carp in the tub needed. Just use fillets.

"We like to say that our gefilte fish tastes like gefilte fish," Alpern said. "We're not trying to add, you know, hot sauce or cumin to our gefilte fish."

But there are twists, such as fresh herbs to add color and freshness.

In researching gefilte fish, which in Yiddish translates to "stuffed fish" (there's a recipe for that, too) the two delved into what they describe as "The Gefilte Line."

The line: Do you make your gefilte fish sweet or peppery?

In Galicia, or modern-day southern Poland, sugar beet factories were common and Polish Jews added sugar to everything, including gefilte, they said. North of Galicia, Lithuanians, Latvians and some Russians spiced gefilte fish with pepper.

And there was a third group: People who lived farther south of Galicia, in places that included Hungary, preferred not to spice their gefilte with anything at all.

The two compromised in the book with a couple of recipes that include both sweet and peppery flavors, but not much of either.

They also discovered that Lithuanian Jews, Hungarians and Galicians all agreed that horseradish relish, or chrain in Yiddish, is the only acceptable condiment to grace the top of gefilte.
Showdown: Congress looks to override Obama veto of 9/11 bill

WASHINGTON (AP)  Congress is poised to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for the kingdom's alleged backing of the terrorists who carried out the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The showdown is scheduled for Wednesday. Proponents of the legislation say they have enough votes for what would be a first: During his nearly two full terms in office, Obama has vetoed nine bills. None has been overridden.

While there is broad and bipartisan support for bucking the president, the bill's opponents also are pushing hard to keep the measure from being enacted. They're warning the U.S. will become vulnerable to retaliatory litigation in foreign courts that could put American troops in legal jeopardy.

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2016 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Congress is poised to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for the kingdom's alleged backing of the terrorists who carried out the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Here's a look at the key issues surrounding the bill, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, as the veto override vote nears:

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WHAT WOULD THE LEGISLATION DO?

The legislation, known as JASTA, gives victims' families the right to sue in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed thousands in New York, the Washington, D.C., area and Pennsylvania. Under the terms of the bill, courts would be permitted to waive a claim of foreign sovereign immunity when an act of terrorism occurs inside U.S. borders. Saudi Arabia has objected vehemently to the bill.

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WHY DID OBAMA VETO THE BILL?

In his veto message issued on Friday, Obama said the bill would disrupt longstanding international principles on sovereign immunity and could create complications with even the closest allies of the United States.

Foreign governments would be able to act "reciprocally" and allow their courts to exercise jurisdiction over the United States and its employees for allegedly causing injuries overseas through American support to third parties, according to Obama. As examples, Obama cited actions taken overseas by U.S.-backed armed militias, the improper use of U.S. military equipment, and abuses committed by U.S.-trained police units.

The bill's proponents have disputed Obama's rationale as "unconvincing and unsupportable," saying the measure is narrowly tailored and applies only to acts of terrorism that occur on U.S. soil.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the Senate would vote Wednesday on the president's veto.

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WHAT'S THE CONCERN FOR AMERICAN TROOPS AND SECRETS?

Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, said that even if none of the potential lawsuits against the United States succeeded, "the risks of discovery or trial in foreign courts, including the questioning of government employees under oath, will disclose sensitive information and subject Americans to legal jeopardy of various kinds."

Thornberry is opposed to the bill and is urging his colleagues not to override Obama's veto.

But attorneys for the 9/11 families said U.S. military personnel are not at risk of lawsuits. Should a foreign government enact a law that allows a claim against American service members, that nation would not be reciprocating but engaging in a "transparent and unjustifiable act of aggression" that the U.S. should respond to, they said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Monday he is inclined to vote to override and said it looks as though there are enough votes in the House to overturn the president's decision. The House would act after the Senate votes.

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IS THERE HEIGHTENED TENSION WITH A KEY MIDDLE EAST ALLY?

An override of Obama's veto is stoking apprehension about undermining a longstanding yet strained relationship with Saudi Arabia, a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir had previously warned lawmakers they were on a path to turning "the world for international law into the law of the jungle."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., last week advised his congressional colleagues against alienating Saudi Arabia at a time when the U.S. needs the kingdom's support to defeat Islamic State militants. "If you want to lose Saudi Arabia as an ally, be careful what you wish for," said Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "They're the heart and soul of the Islamic world."

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HOW MANY VOTES ARE NEEDED TO OVERRIDE A VETO?

A two-thirds majority of lawmakers present and voting is required in the House and Senate to override a veto.

Obama has vetoed the fewest bills  just nine  since President Warren G. Harding was in office more than 90 years ago, according to a web page maintained by the offices of the House clerk and historian. Harding served just two years as president before dying of a heart attack in 1923.

By comparison, President Bill Clinton vetoed 37 bills and George W. Bush vetoed a dozen. Lyndon Johnson is the last president to never have a veto overridden.

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Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

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Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner

FILE - In this May 17, 2016 file photo, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Congress is poised to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for the kingdom's alleged backing of the terrorists who carried out the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
The Latest: Kosovo blames other nations for radicalization

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The latest on the high-level U.N. General Assembly meetings (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

Kosovo's foreign minister says that other nations have exported violent extremism to his country, which has seen a greater percentage of its citizens fight for the Islamic State group than any nation in Europe.

Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs for India, speaks during the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Authorities say that about 70 citizens of Muslim-majority Kosovo are believed to be active fighters in Syria and Iraq.

Enver Hoxhaj tells The Associated Press that "radicalization of young people in the Balkans has been exported from different NGOs and clerics" from the Mideast.

Last year the government passed a law that could see Kosovo citizens participating in armed conflicts outside the country being sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Kosovo government also said that draft measures against terror funding and money laundering have been given the go-ahead to go to Parliament for approval.

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1:00 p.m.

Bahrain's foreign minister says anti-terror measures that do not respect the U.N. Charter are bound to fail.

Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa cited the U.S. Justice Against the Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow U.S. courts to hear cases against a foreign state over acts of international terrorism and other crimes.

He warns: "It constitutes a dangerous precedent in relations between nations, and a threat to the stability of the international system, which in turn adversely affects international efforts to combat terrorism..

President Barack Obama rejected the measure on Friday that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, arguing it undermined national security and setting up the possibility Congress may override his veto for the first time in his presidency.

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11:00 a.m.

India's foreign minister says Pakistan continues to believe terrorist attacks will allow it to obtain territory it covets in Jammu and Kashmir.

In her speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, Sushma Swaraj also rebutted accusations made by Pakistan's prime minister from the same podium last week charging that India violates human rights, calling them "baseless."

Swaraj says India has a man in custody "whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror. But when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan remains in denial."

She adds that Pakistan " persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets."
Man convicted of killing Army veteran gets life sentence

BOSTON (AP)  An Army veteran who was shot and killed during a confrontation in Boston's Theater District was remembered by family members as a "loyal son, brother and friend" at the sentencing for the man convicted of the slaying.

Peter Castillo, of Salem, was sentenced Monday to a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for the April 2012 shooting death of Stephen Perez, of Revere. The 28-year-old Castillo was convicted of first-degree murder last week.

Perez's sisters Amanda Prouty O'Sullivan and Rebecca Prouty say their brother "touched the lives of anyone lucky enough to be around him."

Prosecutors say Castillo shot the 22-year-old Perez, who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the back.
Plastics plant sued over chemical in NY drinking water

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Residents have filed a lawsuit against a plastics manufacturer in a New York village, claiming it knowingly polluted well water with a toxic chemical used in Teflon coatings.

The New York City law firm Weitz & Luxenberg filed the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, on Monday on behalf of the four residents in Rensselaer County.

The defendant, Taconic Plastics, of Petersburg, declined to comment, saying it doesn't address pending litigation.

State regulators are holding the company responsible for groundwater contamination with PFOA, a chemical linked to cancer and other illness.

The law firm has filed a similar lawsuit against two other manufacturers implicated in PFOA contamination in nearby Hoosick Falls.

The Taconic lawsuit seeks punitive damages, health monitoring for residents, permanent well water filtration and other measures.

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The Latest: Documents: Mall shooting suspect confessed

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP)  The Latest on a deadly mall shooting in Washington state (all times local):

10:33 a.m.

Authorities say the suspect in the deadly Washington mall shooting has confessed.

This late Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, image from video by KIRO7 photographer Jeff Ritter shows suspected Cascade Mall shooter Arcan Cetin at Skagit County Jail in Mount Vernon, Wash., after his arrest in Oak Harbor, Wash., earlier in the evening. Investigators on Sunday tried to piece together information on the 20-year-old suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shootings who was apprehended after a nearly 24-hour manhunt. (Jeff Ritter/KIRO7.com via AP)

According to court documents released Monday by the Skagit County Superior Court, Arcan Cetin told detectives who interviewed him that "he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all 5 victims."

The 20-year-old Cetin was arrested Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt following the slayings at the Cascade Mall in Burlington.

Cetin, who faces five charges of premeditated murder, will be making an initial court appearance late Monday morning. Authorities are asking that he be held on a $2 million bond.

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10:16 a.m.

Authorities say the gunman in a deadly Washington state mall shooting removed a rifle from the trunk of his car, entered a Macy's store and shot all five victims in about one minute.

According to documents released by the Skagit County Superior Court, Arcan Cetin shot a teen victim Friday evening near some clothing racks.

Then he walked to the cosmetics counter where "he encountered and shot the adult male victim, then shot three adult female victims."

After shooting the five people, Cetin placed his Ruger rifle with a 25-round magazine on top of a cosmetics counter, left the store, entered a vehicle and fled the Cascade Mall in Burlington.

Cetin, 20, was apprehended Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

He was scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday morning and faces five charges of premeditated murder.

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11:11 p.m.

The 20-year-old man suspected of killing five people with a rifle at a Macy's makeup counter in Washington state is scheduled to make his first court appearance.

Arcan Cetin, who was arrested Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt, was due to appear Monday in Skagit County Superior Court in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Authorities say the gunman in the attack at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington opened fire in the department store's cosmetics department Friday night, killing a man and four females ranging from a teenager to a senior citizen. The killer then fled.

Cetin had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather. A neighbor described him as "creepy, rude and obnoxious."

Amber Cathey, next-door nighbor and former high school classmate of Cascade Mall shooting suspect Arcan Cetin, stands in front of their building in this Oak Harbor, Wash., complex, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. As a neighbor, she said he was "creepy, rude and obnoxious" and was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a Taser by her front door. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)

Investigators are seen at the apartment complex that has been tied to Arcan Cetin, the suspected Cascade Mall shooter, in Oak Harbor, Wash., Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Authorities carried boxes from a rear, upstairs apartment in the four-unit building. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)

This undated Department of Licensing photo posted Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, by the Washington State Patrol on its Twitter page shows Arcan Cetin, 20, of Oak Harbor, Wash. Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis Saturday via Twitter identified Cetin as the suspect in a shooting at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash., that left several dead and sparked an intensive, nearly 24-hour manhunt. Authorities say Cetin was apprehended Saturday evening. (Washington State Patrol via AP)

Nick Torset becomes emotional as he kneels after lighting a candle during a prayer service, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at the Central United Methodist Church in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. The service was held in reaction to Friday's fatal shooting at a Macy's department store at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Rachel Marsh, 15, right, and Selena Orozco, 15, left, carry flowers as they attend a prayer service, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at the Central United Methodist Church in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. The service was held in regard to Friday's fatal shooting of several people at a Macy's department store at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington, Wash. Both girls said they knew one of the victims of the shooting. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Amid tensions, Japan navy chief wants exchanges with China

WASHINGTON (AP)  Japan's top naval officer said Monday he is open to resuming engagement with China's navy despite strong concerns about Chinese activities near disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Adm. Tomohisa Takei said that personnel exchanges and port visits between Japan's maritime self-defense force and China's navy were suspended several years ago and should be restarted to improve relations.

"Our door is open," Takei told the National Bureau of Asian Research, a Washington think tank.

Four years after relations between the two East Asian powers went into a nose dive, their leaders agreed this month to speed up talks on a sea and air communication system aimed at avoiding mishaps between their forces.

Takei expressed concern, however, that China was expanding its area of operations near the disputed islands administered by Japan. He described the situation as "dangerous" and said China's activities at sea and in the air risked provoking a crisis.

Japan's government said Monday it scrambled at least one fighter jet after eight Chinese warplanes passed over the Miyako Strait on Sunday, east of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu.

Chinese media reports said the flights were part of a routine exercise involving about 40 aircraft.

Japan has also been critical of China's assertive behavior in the South China Sea, which lies further south. Japan is not among the half-dozen governments with territorial claims there but relies on oil and gas supplies shipped through those waters.
The Washington state mall shooting suspect has confessed to shooting dead five people, police say.

Arcan Cetin, who in appeared in court today to be arraigned, told detectives who interviewed him that 'he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all five victims,' court records show.

The 20-year-old was arrested 'zombie-like state' on Saturday evening following the slayings at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, on Friday evening.

Some of the key information that led to his arrest came from his parents. His mother had positively identified her son as the shooter from surveillance footage stills of the shooting while his father told police his Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic rifle was missing and so was the ammunition.

Scroll down for video

Arcan Cetin (center), the suspect in the Washington state mall shooting which left five dead has appeared in court to be arraigned

Arcan Cetin (pictured entering court) told detectives who interviewed him that 'he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all five victims,' court records show

Cetin, who faces five counts of premeditated murder, appeared in Skagit County Superior Court Monday where was read the charges. Each murder charge carries a sentence of up to life in jail.

He answered only to say he understood the charges against him. Authorities are asking that he be held on a $2 million bond.

Cetin, an immigrant originally from Adana, Turkey, was arrested near his Oak Harbor home almost 24 hours after he allegedly opened fire in the make-up department of Macy's in Burlington's Cascade Mall, killing four women and one man.

They have now been named as 16-year-old cancer survivor Sarai Lara, 95-year-old Beatrice Dotson and her daughter Belinda Galde, Macys makeup counter employee Shayla Martin and father-of-two Chuck Eagan who died trying to protect his daughter.

Arcan Cetin's mother cries openly in Skagit County District Court before her son appeared before the judge

Arcan Cetin's stepfather David Marshall is swarmed by the media outside the Skagit County District Court

At a press conference on Saturday evening after Cetin's arrest, police refused to 'rule out or rule in' terrorism.

Cetin was described by a neighbor as so 'creepy, rude and obnoxious' that she kept a Taser by her front door. He also had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather.

As investigators tried to piece together information on Cetin, a picture emerged of a troubled young man.

Cetin (pictured in CCTV footage inside the mall holding a rifle) shot dead five people at Cascade

The suspected gunman appeared to be carrying something - probably the rifle - as he was seen walking into the mall

Arcan Cetin, 20, (pictured on Saturday), is facing five counts of first-degree murder

Court records show more than a half-dozen criminal cases in Island County alone since 2013.

Cetin allegedly took the three legally purchased guns from his father before heading to Macy's, according toKING 5 News.

His ex-girlfriend quit several months ago and was not at the mall at the time of the shooting.

Cetin, who faces five counts of premeditated murder, appeared in Skagit County Superior Court Monday where was read the charges

Suspect Arcan Cetin stands with his attorney and a bailiff as he appears for his arraignment on murder charges

There have been unconfirmed reports the suspect shouted a woman's name multiple times just moments before opening fire, according to FOX-Q13.

Cetin reportedly opened fire for one minute before he laid down a rifle, a .22 Ruger, on the counter and walked away.

Old pictures posted to Cetin's MySpace page show him holding what appears to be a rifle and another appears to show a revolver.

Cetin said nothing and appeared 'zombie-like' when he was taken into custody on a sidewalk outside his apartment complex some 30 miles away in Oak Harbor by a sheriff's officer who recognized him as the suspect in the rampage, authorities said.

Cetin immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey and is a legal permanent resident, officials said. He is expected to make an initial court appearance Monday.

As the surrounding area absorbed news of the arrest, critical questions remained, including the gunman's motive.

The FBI said early Saturday that there was no indication the shooting was terrorism, but local authorities said later in the day that they were ruling nothing out.

Amber Cathey, 21, lived in an apartment next to Cetin for the past three months and said she was so frightened by him

Cathey said she would try to avoid Cetin by walking the long way around to her apartment if she saw his car in the parking lot

The gunman walked into Macy's (pictured) and opened fire in the makeup department around 7.30pm local time Friday

The Cascade Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Burlington, Washington. The shooter was then seen walking towards Interstate 5. He was arrested on Sunday

Investigators searched Cetin's vehicle and the apartment complex Sunday and were seen carrying boxes from a rear, upstairs unit. The four-unit building was surrounded with yellow police tape. Detectives would not say what they found.

Amber Cathey, 21, lived in an apartment next to Cetin for the past three months and said she was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a stun gun handy. Cathey said she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch.

'He was really creepy, rude and obnoxious,' Cathey said. She said she would try to avoid him by walking the long way around to her apartment if she saw his car in the parking lot. The two were in high school together as well, and Cathey said he acted the same way then.

The Seattle Times reported that court records show Cetin faced three charges of assaulting his stepfather. The newspaper said Cetin also was arrested on drunken driving charges. It gave no details on when the arrests took place or how the cases may have been resolved.

Chris Nelson of Burlington, Washington, takes a picture of a memorial to the five victims killed in the mass shooting on Sunday

Rachel Shuler of Burlington, takes a moment after placing a sign and balloons with her stepdaughter at the makeshift memorial

Nick Torset becomes emotional as he kneels after lighting a candle during a prayer service for the victims on Saturday

Rachel Marsh, 15, right, and Selena Orozco, 15, left, carry flowers as they attended the service at the Central United Methodist Church in Sedro-Woolley

A security guard working at the Cascade Mall places flowers at a makeshift memorial for the five killed by the shooter

In the assault case, Cetin was told by a judge last December that he was not to possess a gun, the newspaper reported. However, the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was 'going through a hard time.'

Attempts to reach Cetin's family for comment by phone and social media weren't immediately successful. It wasn't clear if Cetin had a lawyer yet. A man who came to the door Sunday morning at an Oak Harbor address believed to be where Cetin's stepfather and mother live asked an Associated Press reporter to leave the property.

Police said that they interviewed the suspect's former girlfriend, who has worked a different Macy's. No other details were released, including her name.

Social media accounts apparently belonging to Cetin showed he had a fondness for the military and video games.

A Twitter account showed, among other things, selfies, photos of him in younger years and pictures of Turkish food. He once participated in paintball and said he 'can't wait for Halo 5,' the first-person shooter video game. He also tweeted: 'Shout out to the ROTC peeps.' A Facebook account showed he liked military-related sites.

Cetin, originally from Adana, Turkey, was arrested near to his Oak Harbor home and is being held without bail after he allegedly killed five people at a Macy's in Burlington, Washington

Pictures posted to Cetin's MySpace page show him holding what appears to be a rifle and another appears to show a revolver

Cetin also appeared to have blogs on the site Tumblr that had not been updated in many months.

They included seemingly random posts about serial killer Ted Bundy, a collection of selfies, the top-secret Area 51 Cold War test site and photos of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The two blogs linked back to each other and one of them linked to what appeared to be his Twitter page.

Oak Harbor is a city of 22,000 on Whidbey Island with many military families associated with the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Just two days after the mass shooting, nine people were wounded when a man opened fire near a Houston strip mall.

Police said the gunman, who was shot and killed by police, was a lawyer who was having problems with his law firm.

Earlier this month, Dahir Ahmed Adan, 20, was shot to death on September 17m after he stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall.

Authorities said they are investigating the attack a possible act of terrorism.
Israel to charge former officials with corruption

JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel says it will charge more than a dozen former ministers and other officials from the defense minister's party with corruption.

The Justice Ministry said Monday there is evidence against 16 members of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party, including senior officials. Lieberman himself is not implicated.

The 16 include Stas Misezhnikov, a former tourism minister suspected of bribery, breach of trust and drug use. Israeli media say he abused cocaine while in office, including on official events in Israel and overseas trips. His attorney, Yuval Sasson, denies the allegations.
Russia revises ban on imports of Egyptian plant products

MOSCOW (AP)  Russia's food safety watchdog has revised its ban on imports of fruit and vegetables from Egypt after the lifting of Egyptian wheat import restrictions that have hurt Russia.

Rosselkhoznadzor allowed imports of Egyptian plant products except potatoes following negotiations in Moscow with its Egyptian counterparts. Monday's decision reverses a blanket ban on all Egyptian plant products introduced just four days ago.

Russia introduced the ban after Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, changed its import regulations to ban any ergot fungus in imported wheat, a decision that enraged sellers worldwide and threatened supplies.
The Latest: Suspect was diagnosed with depression, anxiety

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP)  The Latest on a deadly mall shooting in Washington state (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

Court records show the suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

Arcan Cetin's stepfather David Marshall is swarmed by the media outside the Skagit County District Court on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 moments after Cetin appeared in court under a magistrate's warrant which will give Skagit County prosecutors 30 days to file official charges against him in the Cascade Mall shooting where five people were murdered on Friday, Sept. 22, in Burlington. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP)

The records from Island County show Arcan Cetin had taken medications in the past.

The documents also show Cetin's criminal history goes back several years, with charges including assault, DUI, domestic violence and malicious mischief.

The 22-year-old Cetin made a brief appearance in Skagit County District Court on Monday. He was charged with five counts of first-degree premeditated murder following the slayings Friday at a mall in Burlington, Washington.

His stepfather told reporters after the hearing that Cetin "has had mental health issues that we have been working on him with."

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12:30 p.m.

The suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

Arcan Cetin made a brief appearance in Skagit County District Court on Monday. The 20-year-old was advised of the charges he faces by Judge David Svaren, who set the next hearing in the case for Oct. 26.

Bail was set at $2 million. Cetin's public defender, Keith Tyne, made no statements.

His stepfather, David Marshall, told reporters after the hearing that Cetin "has had mental health issues that we have been working on him with." He didn't provide specifics.

Cetin is suspected of opening fire in a department store's cosmetics department Friday and was arrested after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

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12 p.m.

The stepfather of the suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting says his stepson has mental health issues.

David Marshall and his wife attended Arcan Cetin's initial court appearance Monday in Skagit County District Court. Cetin is facing five counts of premeditated murder following Friday's slayings at the Cascade Mall in the city of Burlington.

Marshall told reporters after the hearing that Cetin "has had mental health issues that we have been working on him with." He didn't provide specifics. He said he and Cetin's mother "are totally devastated by what's happened."

The 20-year-old Cetin was arrested Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

Authorities are asking that he be held on a $2 million bond.

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This post has been corrected to show that the hearing occurred in Skagit County District Court, not Superior Court.

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10:33 a.m.

Authorities say the suspect in the deadly Washington mall shooting has confessed.

According to court documents released Monday by the Skagit County District Court, Arcan Cetin told detectives who interviewed him that "he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all 5 victims."

The 20-year-old Cetin was arrested Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt following the slayings at the Cascade Mall in Burlington.

Cetin, who faces five charges of premeditated murder, will be making an initial court appearance late Monday morning. Authorities are asking that he be held on a $2 million bond.

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10:16 a.m.

Authorities say the gunman in a deadly Washington state mall shooting removed a rifle from the trunk of his car, entered a Macy's store and shot all five victims in about one minute.

According to documents released by the Skagit County District Court, Arcan Cetin shot a teen victim Friday evening near some clothing racks.

Then he walked to the cosmetics counter where "he encountered and shot the adult male victim, then shot three adult female victims."

After shooting the five people, Cetin placed his Ruger rifle with a 25-round magazine on top of a cosmetics counter, left the store, entered a vehicle and fled the Cascade Mall in Burlington.

Cetin, 20, was apprehended Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

He was scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday morning and faces five charges of premeditated murder.

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11:11 p.m.

The 20-year-old man suspected of killing five people with a rifle at a Macy's makeup counter in Washington state is scheduled to make his first court appearance.

Arcan Cetin, who was arrested Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt, was due to appear Monday in Skagit County District Court in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Authorities say the gunman in the attack at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington opened fire in the department store's cosmetics department Friday night, killing a man and four females ranging from a teenager to a senior citizen. The killer then fled.

Cetin had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather. A neighbor described him as "creepy, rude and obnoxious."

Arcan Cetin is escorted into Skagit County District Court by Skagit County's Sheriff's Deputies on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Cetin is being held under a magistrate's warrant which will give Skagit County prosecutors 30 days to file charges in relation to the Cascade Mall shooting that took place on Friday evening. Five people were killed in the shooting, and Cetin is being held on a $2 million bail. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP)

A security guard working at the Cascade Mall places flowers at a makeshift memorial on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Burlington, Wash., to the five victims killed in a shooting at the mall on Friday. The 20-year-old man suspected of killing the five people with a rifle at a Macy's makeup counter had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Air Force colonel who faced rape charge found dead in home

DENVER (AP)  A high-ranking Air Force Space Command officer who was charged with rape and other crimes was found dead in his Colorado home after civilian police received a report of a suicide, officials said Monday.

The body of Col. Eugene Caughey (KAW'-hee), 46, was found Sunday at his off-base home in Colorado Springs, city police said.

Authorities haven't said how he died.

This Sept. 2014 photo provided by Schriever Air Force Base shows U.S. Air Force Col. Eugene Caughey taken at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo. Caughey, who was charged with rape and other alleged crimes, was found dead in his Colorado Springs, Colo., home, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, according to city police and the Air Force. His court-martial was scheduled to begin on Oct. 17. (Christopher DeWitt/U.S. Air Force via AP)

Caughey was relieved of his duties in June 2015 after the rape investigation began, the Air Force has said. His court-martial was scheduled for Oct. 17.

The officers who found him dead were responding to a report of a suicide, Colorado Springs police Sgt. Tim Stankey said.

The coroner's office said it could be four to six weeks before the findings of an autopsy are released.

Caughey had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. The unit operates military communications and weather satellites, as well as global positioning system satellites, which have broad civilian and military uses.

Caughey was accused of raping a woman in late 2014 or early 2015. He was also charged with adultery, indecent filming or photography, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Prosecutors accused him of photographing his exposed genitals while in uniform and groping women twice.

His civilian attorney, Ryan Coward, said Caughey was looking forward to his day in court and had been participating in his defense.

"I think this surprised everybody," Coward said, adding that his client had served honorably for 20 years. "This is just a very tragic event that occurred for him and his family."

Caughey's family had no comment, Coward said.

Caughey joined the Air Force in 1993. He said he survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the Pentagon, according to a story on the Schriever Air Force Base website.

"I was a captain inside the Pentagon that morning when a plane crashed into the west side of the building," Caughey wrote.

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This story has been corrected to show that the police officer's last name was misspelled.

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Man gets 4 years for vandalizing a Florida mosque vandalism

NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  A man has been sentenced to spend four years and two months in prison for vandalizing a Florida mosque last year.

The Sun Sentinel (https://goo.gl/aJrHKT) reports a judge approved a plea agreement Monday for 28-year-old Joshua Killets of Juno Beach.

Authorities say Killets smashed a dozen windows and tore down shutters at the Islamic Center of Palm Beach during a December 2015 break-in. North Palm Beach police arrested Killets after someone reported him bragging about the vandalism. Investigators reported Killets had cuts on his hands, and his SUV appeared on the center's surveillance cameras.
The Latest: Maryland police say armed man shot in standoff

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP)  The Latest on standoff between suspect and police in Columbia, Maryland (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Police in Maryland say officers shot a man who threatened to kill his family and himself after he pointed a replica gun at officers.

Police identified the man Monday afternoon as James Andrew Schueler, 42, of Columbia.

Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said by telephone that a 911 caller reported that Schueler was heading to Columbia to kill his family Monday and mentioned "suicide by cop." Officers stopped the man's Jeep Cherokee and Llewellyn says he told officers he had a gun and wanted to hurt himself.

Llewellyn says when he pointed the gun at officers, an officer shot him. He was flown to a Baltimore trauma center.

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Howard County police say officers shot a man who had a gun after he made threats to kill his family and himself during a standoff in Columbia.

Police spokeswoman Lori Boone said by telephone Monday morning that the man was shot by officers, but she did not have further details about the standoff.

Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Maria Hogg says by telephone that the man has serious injuries.
Feds look into sexual harassment claims at Yellowstone park

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP)  Government investigators were expected to visit Yellowstone National Park to look into an employee's claims of sexual exploitation of female workers and financial misconduct, park officials said.

The visit Tuesday is part of an investigation by the inspector general of the U.S. Interior Department following reports of widespread sexual misconduct at national parks such as Grand Canyon and Yosemite, where the superintended has apologized to his staff in an email.

In Yellowstone, the sexual exploitation of female employees has been rife in the park's special projects division, which does construction and maintenance, equipment operator Robert Hester said in a statement submitted last week to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

In one case, a supervisor kept a young female worker drunk and she was in effect paid to have sex, a situation that was common knowledge in the park, Hester said.

"From the date I started to work at the park, I was shocked and amazed at what I saw and heard in regard to the talk and acceptance of sexual exploitation of female workers," Hester wrote.

He worked from 2010 to 2012 in the special projects division, which Hester described as being like a "men's only club." He now has a permanent job as an engineering equipment operator at Yellowstone, which includes portions of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and was the nation's first national park.

The accusations also include misuse of government credit cards. Hester said he and another employee had been instructed to violate rules about purchasing repair parts and maintenance.

The investigation would focus initially on the special projects division and expand as needed, Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said Monday. He said no one else has stepped forward with claims similar to Hester's.

Wenk initially planned to bring in outside investigators to eye the claims. Those plans were canceled when the Inspector General's Office stepped in, he said.

Hester's complaints follow an inspector general's report that found male employees at the Grand Canyon preyed on female colleagues, demanded sex and retaliated against women who refused.

At Yosemite, at least 18 employees have come forward with allegations of harassment or other misconduct so severe that a recent report labeled working conditions at the park "toxic."

At Florida's Canaveral National Seashore, the park superintendent was recently reassigned after female employees had long complained of sexual harassment and a hostile workplace.

Hester could not be immediately located for comment. His accusations were first reported by Montana Pioneer magazine earlier this month.

During testimony last week before the House oversight committee, a senior National Park Service official acknowledged that the agency has a problem with harassment and hostile work environments.

Yet evidence obtained by lawmakers suggests the park service has not held people accountable for past incidents of sexual harassment, committee spokeswoman MJ Henshaw said.

It's too soon to say if that's the case for Yellowstone or if its alleged problems are on the same scale as events at other parks, Henshaw said.

Wyoming U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis said there's no indication that Wenk was aware of the allegations and ignored them.

Inspector General's Office Director of External Affairs Nancy DiPaolo said the government's probe of events at Yellowstone will be unlimited.

"We'll go wherever the leads take us," she said. "At this point we're looking into management issues at the park that run the gamut."

Don Neubacher, superintendent at Yosemite, sent an apology Sunday in an email to all park employees, referencing "some serious staff concerns related to Yosemite's workplace environment."

Neubacher has been superintendent at Yosemite for nearly seven years, but he said he wasn't aware of these problems until recently, which make him "deeply saddened."

He said he has an open-door policy and encouraged employees to bring their concerns to him, their direct supervisor or another superior.

"If I did offend any of you at anytime, I want to sincerely apologize," he said in the email, adding that he has strived to make Yosemite a positive workplace. "The concerns I just recently became aware of have only strengthened my resolve to reach that goal."

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Hospital sued over firing of employees who refused flu shots

ERIE, Pa. (AP)  Federal authorities are suing a Pennsylvania hospital, alleging religious discrimination in the firing of six employees who refused to get flu shots.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Erie by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Saint Vincent Hospital, which was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Beginning in October 2013, the hospital required employees to get flu shots unless they were granted an exemption on medical or religious grounds, in which case they were required to wear a face mask. The suit alleges that six employees who refused to get flu shots due to their religious beliefs were fired, while the hospital granted medical exemptions to 14 others in late 2013 and early 2014.

Attorney Debra Lawrence said the plaintiffs were part of the Russian Orthodox, Independent Fundamental Baptist, Christian mysticism, Methodist or nondenominational Christian faiths. In such cases, the legal standard isn't whether officials agree with the religious beliefs "or whether those beliefs are the recognized position or official doctrine of any particular religious organization or group," she said.

"Absent proof establishing an undue hardship, federal law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations for sincerely held employee religious beliefs, even if some may consider those beliefs idiosyncratic," she said in a statement.

The Erie Times-News (http://bit.ly/2d4yQor ) reported that Saint Vincent required certification by a clergy member for such exemptions, and that the fired employees were told they "did not provide proof of religious doctrine."

Saint Vincent officials said in a statement that requests for exemptions are always given "careful and appropriate consideration."

"We respectfully disagree with the EEOC's position and characterization of how the employee claims outlined in its lawsuit were handled by the hospital," the statement said.

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Starbucks customer describes shooting: 'It was just terror'

LAS VEGAS (AP)  A Starbucks customer described terrified people dropping to the floor and sobbing after a gunman parked his car and entered the Las Vegas store, shooting a man inside.

Customer Medin Gebrezgier told police and a television reporter that he saw the gunman, identified Monday by police as Pedro Jose Garcia, fire twice into the ceiling before shooting a man in the chest.

Garcia entered the store after his payment card was declined at the drive-thru window, police said.

This undated booking photo provided by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Pedro Jose Garcia. Garcia, is being held pending an initial court appearance on murder, robbery, burglary and weapon charges in the Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, shooting death of a 41-year-old man at a Starbucks coffee shop in Las Vegas. (Clark County Detention Center/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP)

"Terror, it was just terror. We were afraid," Gebrezgier told KVVU-TV. He described people crying and hitting the floor when shots were fired a little before 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

"We didn't know what was going to happen next. I had no idea what to do," he said. "I heard about this stuff on TV and movies, but it was all the way real."

Garcia, 34, was jailed pending a court appearance on murder, robbery, burglary and weapon charges following his arrest at the Starbucks in a commercial center several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.

Despite witness accounts that Garcia was unable to make a purchase, a motive for the shooting remained unclear, police Officer Larry Hadfield said. The victim wasn't identified as a coffee shop employee.

"They're investigating whether there was any connection between Garcia and the victim," said Hadfield, a department spokesman.

The name of the 41-year-old man who was pronounced dead at a hospital wasn't immediately made public by the Clark County coroner.

More than a dozen people were in the store at the time of the shooting, police Lt. Dan McGrath said.

Starbucks employee Tenaya Zimmerman jumped out the drive-thru window when shots were fired, her mother, Kim Plank, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

A message left Monday by The Associated Press at a telephone number associated with Gebrezgier wasn't immediately returned. A call to a number associated with Plank went to an incorrect number. No number was immediately found for Zimmerman.

McGrath said Garcia tried to blend in and elude police at the scene by calling 911 and describing someone else as the shooter. He was arrested after witnesses identified him to officers arriving to what police initially thought was a hostage situation.

Parts of the shopping center were evacuated for about two hours while a bomb squad examined a backpack in the Starbucks that Garcia allegedly said contained a bomb.

Hadfield said there was no device, but police said a .22-caliber handgun was found in the coffee shop.

Garcia served time in federal and Nevada state prisons for convictions on stolen vehicle, battery, attempted theft, drug and weapon charges, according to court and prison records that showed he was released from federal custody last November.

It wasn't immediately clear if Garcia had an attorney ahead of his initial court appearance.

A member of the SWAT team holds a gun as officers investigate a shooting that occurred inside a coffee shop in Las Vegas on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Police said two men got into an argument and then one pulled out a gun and opened fire. (Chitose Suzuki/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Police escorts evacuated people from a strip mall's parking lot near Rainbow Blvd. in Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, after a shooting inside a Starbucks at a southwest valley strip mall. (Chitose Suzuki/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Las Vegas Metro Police Lt. Dan McGrath, right, speaks during a news conference in Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, after a shooting inside a Starbucks at a southwest valley strip mall. (Chitose Suzuki/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Emergency personnel stand by near Rainbow Blvd. in Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, after a shooting inside a Starbucks at a southwest valley strip mall. (Chitose Suzuki/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Alton Sterling's family wants swift federal investigation

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Relatives of a black man who was shot and killed during an altercation with two white Baton Rouge police officers called Monday for a swift resolution to the Justice Department's investigation.

Three of Alton Sterling's aunts joined dozens of protesters Monday for a raucous rally at City Hall, where a group of community leaders discussed police reforms in Baton Rouge following Sterling's July 5 shooting.

Sandra Sterling, one of his aunts, expressed frustration with the pace of the federal investigation. She said it seems as if her nephew's death has been overshadowed by historic flooding that damaged tens of thousands of homes in the Baton Rouge area in August.

"I've been keeping the peace, but it's been 90 days now," she said, vowing to do her part to keep the peace "just a little while longer."

Two of Sterling's other aunts angrily shouted at East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III as he left the City Hall meeting. Moore recused himself from any state investigation of Sterling's death, citing his professional relationship with the parents of one of the two officers involved in the shooting.

"Y'all don't care about Alton!" Lorna Sterling yelled at Moore. "It's just another dead black man on the street to y'all!"

Moore didn't respond to Sterling's aunts in the hallway.

"There is nothing that I can say from any standpoint to alleviate their emotions," Moore later wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. "I understand their emotions."

Sterling, 37, was fatally shot during a scuffle with two officers outside a convenience store where he had been selling homemade CDs. The officers had responded to a caller's complaint that Sterling had threatened the caller with a gun outside the store. Cellphone video of the deadly encounter circulated within hours of the shooting, triggering protests in Baton Rouge and beyond.

The federal investigation will look into whether the officers willfully violated Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force. The Justice Department hasn't indicated how long it will take to complete its investigation. Similar investigations, which often take many months to resolve, were opened following the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York.

Federal investigators must meet a high legal burden to bring a civil rights prosecution, establishing that an officer knowingly used unreasonable force under the circumstances and did not simply make a mistake or use poor judgment. Many federal probes conclude without criminal charges.

Roughly 50 people attended a rally outside City Hall before they packed the meeting on police reforms. Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. was among the meeting's participants.

During the rally, Sandra Sterling alluded to other recent deadly encounters between black men and police officers, including in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

"The same thing that happened to Alton here happens all over," she said. "We have to do something now because tomorrow is not promised to us."

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Magellanic penguin mating season begins in Argentina

PUERTO TOMBO, Argentina (AP)  Thousands of Magellanic penguins are arriving at Argentina's Punta Tombo peninsula for their breeding season.

More than 200,000 penguin couples are expected to gather during the three-month breeding season that began Sunday.

Some have started to build their nests on the peninsula, which juts into the Atlantic south of Argentina's Chubut Province. The male and female will take turns taking care of the eggs and hunting. Chicks are expected to hatch by November.

In this Sept. 24, 2016 photo, a Magellanic penguin swims at Punta Tombo, during the official start of penguin breeding season in the southern province of Chubut, Argentina. The Punta Tombo colony represents the largest of the species in the world with hundreds of thousands of the flightless birds expected to converge on the tiny inlet over the next couple of weeks. (AP Photo/Daniel Feldman)

Magellanic penguins breed in large colonies in southern Argentina and Chile and migrate north as far as southwestern Brazil between March and September.

They have a broad crescent of white feathers that extends from just above each eye to the chin and a small area of pink flesh on the face.

In this Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 photo, Magellanic penguins walk at Punta Tombo, during the start of penguin breeding season in the southern province of Chubut, Argentina. More than 200,000 penguin couples are expected to gather during the three-month breeding season. (AP Photo/Daniel Feldman)

In this Sept. 23, 2016 photo, a Magellanic penguin carries a clump of grass in its beak to build its nest in Punta Tombo, in the southern province of Chubut, Argentina. The male and female will take turns to take care of the eggs and hunt. The chicks are expected to hatch by November. (AP Photo/Daniel Feldman)
Police: Mall shooting suspect confessed, shot 5 in 1 minute

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP)  The suspect accused of killing five people at a Macy's department store confessed to police, court documents said, but his motive remained a mystery Monday as a portrait emerged of him as a mentally troubled young man whose parents said they were trying to help him.

Arcan Cetin, 20, appeared in court and was officially charged with five counts of first-degree premeditated murder following his arrest over the weekend for the rampage at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, north of Seattle.

Cetin appeared to express no emotion and said only "Yes, your honor" when asked by a judge if he understood his rights. Bail was set at $2 million and his lawyer said nothing about his client in court and did not speak with reporters.

Arcan Cetin is escorted into Skagit County District Court by Skagit County's Sheriff's Deputies on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. Cetin is being held under a magistrate's warrant which will give Skagit County prosecutors 30 days to file charges in relation to the Cascade Mall shooting that took place on Friday evening. Five people were killed in the shooting, and Cetin is being held on a $2 million bail. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP)

The hearing followed a terrifying weekend that began Friday night when police say Cetin stormed into the mall and killed five people, leaving Burlington residents panicked for nearly 24 hours until authorities arrested him.

Cetin, described by acquaintances as socially awkward, has a criminal record going back at least two years and one of his neighbors said he unnerved her so much that she kept a stun gun near her front door.

Cetin after his arrest admitted when interviewed by detectives he was the man captured on security video carrying a Ruger rifle inside the mall, "and he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all five victims," court documents released ahead of Monday's hearing said.

He shot all five victims in one minute and left the rifle with a 25-round magazine on a cosmetics counter before fleeing, police said in court documents. Four died at the scene and one died in the hospital.

The victims ranged in age from a teenage girl to a woman in her 90s.

Authorities have declined to reveal details about their investigation into the motive for the shooting, but Cetin's stepfather David Marshall told reporters after the hearing that his stepson "has mental health issues" without elaborating.

"The only thing that we want to say at this time is that we both are totally devastated by what happened," said Marshall, who attended the hearing with Cetin's mother.

The court documents appeared to paint a picture of Cetin's stepfather and mother trying to keep their son on track despite his suffering from an unspecified illness and criminal charges he faced for allegedly assaulting Marshall. Cetin came to the U.S. from Turkey and is a permanent legal resident, authorities have said.

Cetin faced charges last year for allegedly assaulting his stepfather after he caught Cetin smoking marijuana inside the house, according to court records.

He was told by a judge last December not to possess a gun but Cetin's stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was "going through a hard time," the records said.

Cetin had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and has taken unspecified medications in the past, the records show.

He eventually moved out of his parents' home and the stepfather told detectives after the shooting that he and his wife had helped Cetin with his rent.

Cetin said his father bought him a laptop, according to the court documents released Monday. His mother visited him regularly at his new apartment and last saw him Wednesday, the documents said.

Despite their falling out, Cetin ate with his stepfather on the day of the shooting before leaving around 4:30 p.m. to go to work, according to the documents.

Less than three hours later, police said in court documents, surveillance video showed Cetin enter the mall through a fast food restaurant, walk through the shopping center and leave through the Macy's women's department exit.

He then moved his car closer to the Macy's entrance and took a rifle out of the car's trunk, the documents said.

Within moments, surveillance cameras in Macy's captured the shooter entering through the same women's department  this time with a rifle.

Cetin first shot and killed a teenage girl near some clothing racks and then walked to the cosmetics counter where he shot a man and three women, the documents said.

Cetin was arrested late Saturday in Oak Harbor, about 30 miles from the mall, by a sheriff's deputy who recognized him. Cetin's stepfather told detectives that his Ruger rifle and .22-caliber ammunition were missing, documents said.

Police interviewed the suspect's former girlfriend and said Sunday night she "has an employment history at Macy's, but not at the Burlington Mall location." They did not identify her.

Amber Cathey, 21, lived in an apartment next to Cetin for three months and said she was so frightened of him that she kept a stun gun handy and complained to apartment management. She said she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch.

More details emerged Monday about the victims who police have said they will not identify until Tuesday.

The man who was killed, Chuck Eagen, was set to retire next year after working 41 years for Boeing, his aunt Carol Thrush said in an interview.

Thrush described Eagan, 61, as kind and generous.

"He traveled with Boeing all over the world, doing repairs on airplanes," said Thrush, 77.

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Flaccus reported from Portland. Associated Press writers Lisa Baumann in Seattle, Phuong Le and Gene Johnson in Seattle; Manuel Valdes in Mount Vernon, Washington; and Kimberlee Kruesi and Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report

Arcan Cetin's mother cries openly in Skagit County District Court on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 before her son appeared before the judge under a magistrate's warrant which will give Skagit County prosecutors 30 days to file official charges against him in the Cascade Mall shooting where five people were murdered on Friday, Sept. 22, in Burlington. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP)

This late Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, image from video by KIRO7 photographer Jeff Ritter shows suspected Cascade Mall shooter Arcan Cetin at Skagit County Jail in Mount Vernon, Wash., after his arrest in Oak Harbor, Wash., earlier in the evening. Investigators on Sunday tried to piece together information on the 20-year-old suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shootings who was apprehended after a nearly 24-hour manhunt. (Jeff Ritter/KIRO7.com via AP)
BlueCross BlueShield changes to affect 100,000 Tennesseans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is withdrawing from the Affordable Care Act marketplace in the Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville regions. In a news release, the company says the change will affect an estimated 100,000 Tennesseans.

The decision comes a month after Tennessee officials approved an average rate increase of 62 percent for the insurer.

"BlueCross committed early to the ACA Marketplace and has been the only health insurer to offer coverage options in every region in the state since 2014," according to the news release from the company. "And we have experienced losses approaching $500 million over the course of three years on ACA plans, which is unsustainable."

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will continue selling ACA plans in other regions of the state. The change will not affect seniors with Medicare Advantage plans, those enrolled in BlueCare or anyone who has insurance through an employer.

The Chattanooga-based insurer says it has concerns about uncertainties with the Affordable Care Act at the federal level, but it will continue to evaluate the ACA marketplace, including a possible return to offering plans statewide in 2018.

In a statement to the media, state Senate Republican Leader Mark Norris blamed the federal government for the company's withdrawal from the three regions. He cited the failure of some health insurance co-ops after Congress stopped the Obama administration from covering their losses and said it shows "why Medicaid expansion in Tennessee was always an intolerable risk."

But Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper laid the blame for the ACA marketplace's problems on Tennessee's decision not to expand Medicaid through a plan called Insure Tennessee.
Coast Guard searches for Cuban migrants from capsized boat

MIAMI (AP)  The U.S. Coast Guard says it's searching for nearly two dozen Cuban migrants who were on board a makeshift vessel that capsized off the Florida Keys.

A Coast Guard news release says crews from an airplane and a cutter were searching for survivors Monday.

Coast Guard spokesman Eric Woodall says three migrants were found Monday on a smaller island near Big Pine Key. The men said they left Cuba last Tuesday with 23 people aboard the vessel, which capsized Wednesday evening. Woodall said they didn't have many details on the vessel, but it apparently had a motor.
Music director at Catholic church fired for gay marriage

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  A music director at a Catholic church in Rhode Island says he has been fired because he married a man.

Michael Templeton tells The Providence Journal (http://bit.ly/2dx6gPb ) he was fired last week from his post at the Church of St. Mary in Providence. He says the Rev. Francesco Francese and a representative of the Diocese of Providence told him he needed to leave because of his 2015 marriage to his partner of five years.

Bishop Thomas Tobin says someone who holds a ministerial position in the church is expected to live in a way that's consistent with church teachings and the church "had no choice but to respond."

The newspaper reported 30 members of the parish protested by singing over a prayer during Sunday's service.

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Families of missing 43 students lead march in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The families of 43 missing Mexican college students led a march of unions, students and other supporters through the capital Monday to demand the young men be found on the second anniversary of their disappearance.

On Sept. 26, 2014, the students from the Rural Normal School at Ayotzinapa were in the southern city of Iguala hijacking buses. Local police intercepted them and turned them over to a local drug cartel.

The government's initial investigation decided the students were killed and incinerated in a fire, but international experts have cast doubt on this theory and the families have not accepted it.

Parents of the 43 missing students march holding images of their sons during a protest march in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The march was held on the second anniversary of the disappearance, on Sept. 26, 2014, of the students from the Rural Normal School at Ayotzinapa. The government's initial investigation decided the students were killed and incinerated in a fire. But international experts have cast doubt on this theory and the families have not accepted it. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

"Our fight continues firm; we're still standing," said Clemente Rodriguez from Tixtla in the southern state of Guerrero, whose son Christian is among the missing.

Wearing a white shirt and pants and a straw hat, Rodriguez marched with other relatives of the missing at the front of the demonstration down Mexico City's central boulevard. "It's not easy to leave family (to march all over the country), but I have the conviction and the certainty that the boys are alive."

Felipe de la Cruz, a spokesman for the families, said the two years have been hard on relatives who have worked to maintain pressure on the government by demonstrating all over the world.

"There are illnesses, there is exhaustion, there psychological torment, day after day to sleep and wake to the same situation," he said.

The government's version has maintained that the burned remains were dumped in a nearby river. Only one bone fragment was positively linked to one of the students.

Last week, Alfredo Higuera, the special prosecutor on the case, said the federal Attorney General's Office planned to make a fifth forensic examination of the dump site in Cocula where the students were allegedly burned.

Authorities have so far arrested 128 people. Seventy of those, mostly police officers and alleged cartel members, are currently being prosecuted. A number of them have alleged torture by officials and it is unclear how that will affect their cases.

Experts sent by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission were highly critical of the government's investigation. The lead government investigator Tomas Zeron left the Attorney General's Office earlier this month, but was promptly given a national security position in the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Zeron's exit had been one of the main demands of the students' families.

The families' lawyers say that in recent months authorities finally began analyzing the cellphones of everyone who was in the area and are using technology that aids in seeing what is below the ground's surface in the search for hidden graves.

Pena Nieto on Monday, attending the signing of the peace accord in Colombia, said his government has the "firm commitment" to arrive at "the ultimate consequences of the investigation."

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Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman contributed to this report.

A man carries portraits of two of the 43 missing students along with a sign that reads in Spanish "Pena Out," referring to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, during a protest march in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The march was held on the second anniversary of the disappearance, on Sept. 26, 2014, of the students from the Rural Normal School at Ayotzinapa. The government's initial investigation decided the students were killed and incinerated in a fire. But international experts have cast doubt on this theory and the families have not accepted it. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

A man wears a T-shirt with a hashtag saying "We are missing 43" and a pin with the image of one of the 43 missing students during a protest march in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The march was held on the second anniversary of the disappearance, on Sept. 26, 2014, of the students from the Rural Normal School at Ayotzinapa. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A police officer has been charged with second-degree murder after shooting and killing an unarmed motorist during a road rage incident earlier this year while off duty.

NYPD cop Wayne Isaacs is expected to surrender and appear in court in Brooklyn on Tuesday to face charges of murder and manslaughter after shooting Delrawn Small on July 4, his defense attorney Stephen Worth said on Monday.

It was initially believed that Isaacs shot 37-year-old Small after he reached into his driver's window and punched the officer.

But surveillance video appears to show Small being gunned down before he gets to the car.

The CCTV footage contradicts claims by witnesses and police that Small (left and right with girlfriend Zaquanna Albert) had repeatedly hit Isaac before the officer opened fire

It suggests Isaacs wasn't attacked before he was shot.

The shooting occurred in the middle of the night on July 4 in Brooklyn while Isaacs, who is also 37, was on the road in civilian clothes.

He was still carrying a handgun from his tour that ended at midnight.

A passenger in Small's car told police he got angry because he thought Isaacs had cut him off.

So Small got out his car at a stoplight to confront the officer.

Based on preliminary evidence, including Isaacs' statements, police initially said they believed the officer opened fire after Small reached through an open driver's side window and punched the officer.

But a short black-and-white video, which surfaced on the internet, appears to show Small getting struck by gunfire as he walks up to the car window, with no clear indication that he first assaulted the officer.

Small can be seen recoiling and stumbling around before collapsing. The officer briefly exits his car and looks in the fallen man's direction but then returns to the car.

The office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman declined to discuss the charges.

Small can be seen reeling back before staggering across the road and falling down between two cars

Roger Wareham, lawyer for the Small family, said the footage 'clearly demonstrates the cop lied', adding that Isaacs looks down at Small's body 'as if he had just stepped on a roach.'

The Rev. Al Sharpton has also called on Schneiderman to go 'full steam ahead' and prosecute Isaacs.

'This video clearly raises questions on the story the officer stated,' Sharpton told the New York Daily News.

'This is absolutely the opposite of what the policeman said.'

The footage directly contradicts an earlier account from the owner of a nearby Touch of Glass store, who said his surveillance cameras had captured a very different encounter between Isaacs and Small.

Small's family have filed a $25 million lawsuit againt New York city. The Rev. Al Sharpton also called on State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to go 'full steam ahead' and prosecute Isaacs for the shooting

The business owner told the New York Post: 'The video shows the guy coming out of his f***ing car, running up to [the cop's] car, going in the driver's side window and just punching the s*** of this poor cop. Then all of a sudden you see sparks.'

Isaacs was put on desk duty while the attorney general investigated.

Small's estate has filed a $25million wrongful-death claim against the city, said Sanford Rubenstein, a family attorney. The family welcomes the criminal charges and 'is determined to fight for justice,' he said.

It marks the first time the attorney general has prosecuted a police shooting of an unarmed victim since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the office that role in August 2015 in response to a spate of civilian killings by police caught on videotape.
The Latest: 4-time Iditarod champ Mackey out of 2017 race

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  The Latest on four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey dropping out of the 2017 race (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

An Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race official says four-time champion and cancer survivor Lance Mackey is hoping his withdrawal from next year's race will give him a chance to take better care of his health so he can be ready to compete again in 2018.

Race marshal Mark Nordman says Mackey has continued to struggle with hand circulation problems that were partly blamed for him scratching from this year's nearly 1,000 mile race across Alaska.

Mackey could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001 and underwent extensive surgery as well as radiation treatment and the loss of his salivary glands.

After returning to the sport he went on to become the only musher ever to win both the Iditarod and the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in the same year. It's a feat he has accomplished twice.

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2 p.m.

Organizers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race say four-time champion and cancer survivor Lance Mackey has dropped out of next year's nearly 1,000-mile race because of health reasons.

Race marshal Mark Nordman confirmed the withdrawal to The Associated Press on Monday after the Iditarod Trail Committee announced it on its Facebook page.

Mackey could not immediately be reached for comment. He started last year's race, but later scratched because of health concerns.
Man who pulled autistic boy's teeth out sentenced to prison

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP)  A Philadelphia-area man accused of severely beating a 4-year-old autistic boy and pulling out three of his teeth has been sentenced to two to 10 years in prison.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/2d4xwU6 ) reports 28-year-old Nicholas Kernechel apologized Monday in Montgomery County Court.

The East Greenville resident pleaded guilty in May to simple assault and reckless endangerment. A felony count of assault of a child under 13 was dropped in a plea deal aimed at sparing the child from having to testify.

Kernechel expressed remorse Monday and said his heroin addiction had wreaked havoc on his loved ones before.

The child's mother said in a statement read by the prosecutor Kernechel is "a monster who abused a child with special needs."

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Man to be sentenced over affray at MP's office

A man whose aggressive behaviour frightened staff in an MP's constituency office three months before the murder of her colleague Jo Cox will be sentenced later.

Jaseem Saeed, 39, had already admitted a charge of affray before he went on trial at Leeds Crown Court in relation to his behaviour in the office of Dewsbury's Labour MP Paula Sherriff, where he became aggressive while asking for help with a passport application.

But he was cleared by a jury in July of two counts of making threats to kill.

Paula Sherriff is the Labour MP for Dewsbury

The judge, Mr Justice Goss, told Saeed at the time that he could not sentence him for the affray until he had more information about his situation, including his immigration status.

The judge said: "Here, unfortunately, we know that three months after he was behaving in this way a member of parliament lost her life."

He went on: "People occupying such roles are entitled to be protected in so far as the law can protect them."

During the two-day trial, the judge heard case worker Julie Ward describe how Saeed was aggressive and shouting as he asked about getting a passport so he could travel to Iraq.

Mrs Ward told the jury that Saeed threatened to shoot her, although she did not see a gun.

She also said the defendant, who is from Iraq but had lived in the UK for 14 years, talked about getting a rifle and shooting students at a local college.

Saeed told police Mrs Ward and another member of staff had misunderstood what he said due to his poor English.

Following the not guilty verdicts on the threats to kill charges, the judge said it was "an ugly episode that caused fear".

He said that, given the jury's verdicts, he would have to decide "precisely what he (Saeed) did and didn't say" in the MP's office on March 9.

Ordering a pre-sentence report, he said it appeared that Saeed, of Nelson Street, Dewsbury, does not suffer from any psychiatric conditions but does have "anger management issues".

He said these may best be addressed through a community punishment, especially as Saeed will have served the equivalent of a 13-month prison sentence while on remand before he is sentenced.

Saeed will be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.

Ms Sherriff's base is four miles from the constituency office in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where her colleague Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in June.
New search begins for missing toddler Ben Needham on island of Kos

Police teams searching for missing toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos say they are "optimistic" a new excavation will provide answers, a quarter of a century after the British boy was last seen alive.

Digging began after a fresh line of inquiry suggested 21-month-old Ben may have been crushed to death by a digger near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating in July 1991.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, from South Yorkshire Police, said the 19-strong team expected to find "hundreds" of bones, all of which will be analysed in laboratories once they are recovered.

A view of the scene in Kos, Greece, as officers from South Yorkshire police start excavations in relation to the missing toddler Ben Needham

But he also refused to rule out that Ben may still be alive.

He said: "I am continuously keeping an open mind - and still do - as to what happened to Ben in 1991.

"There are still some other live lines of inquiry of what might have happened to Ben.

"All of this has resulted in a lot of myth and legend that has gathered over 25 years as to what has happened to Ben. It has allowed us to pare back and find out the truth and fact. That is why we're here today."

He added: "There are many lines of inquiry. I am keeping an open mind, but what I know at the moment with all the information we have, I've made the decision that it is necessary to do the work that we are going to be doing over the next week or so."

Asked if he expected to find answers, Mr Cousins said: "I am optimistic about the search taking place."

Konstantinos Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where Ben was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death, a friend of the builder reportedly told police following a TV appeal in May.

The driver reportedly died of stomach cancer last year, months before detectives from South Yorkshire Police arrived on the island for a renewed investigation.

Mr Cousins said: "Based on what we found out in 2012 when a search was done nearby, we will be finding many hundreds of bones, each of which will have to be carefully looked at.

"Work will continue tirelessly once work has been assessed."

Forensic teams could be seen walking slowly in banks of around eight as the site - which continues to be farmed by a local family - was sectioned off into grids.

Investigators have already told Ben's mother Kerry Needham to "prepare for the worst" ahead of excavation work beginning on the island.

Speaking to the Press Association from the site, senior investigating officer Mr Cousins said he had a "private" chat with Ms Needham, who is not in Kos.

He said: "I personally spoke to Kerry this morning and explained what I would be doing today.

"I had a private conversation with her around how she was feeling, and also explained the emotion that all of the team are feeling at this time.

"It is an event which quite clearly is not something to be excited about, given the circumstances, but we are optimistic about the work we are going to be doing."

He also said police had been reminded about their conduct after newspaper reports earlier this year which identified members of the investigation team in Kos on an alleged "eight-hour" drinking session.

Mr Cousins said: "Clearly each member of the team and everybody working with us has the right to a private life.

"I've briefed everybody. They understand there is a job to do.

"We will abide by the codes of conduct not only expected of the senior leadership group of South Yorkshire Police, but UK police as a whole. We will always be seen to be acting professionally and with integrity.

"We're here for the reasons of finding what happened to Ben. That's mine and the team's main objective."

Asked whether that meant police would be seen out drinking in Kos, Mr Cousins said: "Everybody's been briefed as to what's expected of the behaviour throughout this time they are going to be here and they are fully aware of what they need to be doing."

It came as Ben's mother said the notion her son was dead never entered her "worst nightmares" until a mystery tip-off to police this year.

Ms Needham, from Sheffield, told the Daily Mirror: "Not even in my worst nightmares has Ben ever been dead ... until now. I've been waking up and finding my pillow wet with tears.

"This witness told police we deserve the truth - but we deserved the truth 25 years ago. I feel like he's only come forward because Dino is now dead.

"How can you hold on to such a secret as serious as that and for all those years?"

She added she was "angry" when police told her about the tip-off and she now lives in fear that each day will bring the "worst news possible".

A variety of theories on his fate and reported sightings have arisen since his disappearance and Ms Needham had been holding out hope that she would one day be reunited with her son.

Mr Barkas's widow Varvara strongly dismissed any suggestions her late husband had killed Ben in an accident.

South Yorkshire Police has confirmed that its team, led by Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, will begin searching a specific site on Kos, starting on Monday. But it warned progress could be painstaking, with the first dig expected to last up to 12 days.
Heather Watson 'not feeling great' after retiring ill in China

Heather Watson knew as soon as she woke up that she had health problems after a gastrointestinal bug forced her to retire during her first-round Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open match.

Watson was trailing 3-6 1-2 to Madison Brengle in sweltering conditions in China when she decided she could no longer go on.

She had called a medical time out after losing the first set and a doctor was called on to court to take her blood pressure in some worrying scenes reminiscent of her first-round US Open defeat last month.

Illness forced Heather Watson to retire

Despite complaining of dizziness and double vision, she tried to play on and came out swinging in the second set before her symptoms got the better of her.

Watson started suffering from the stomach bug overnight but tried to beat it, ultimately in vain.

"It came on this morning. I woke up in full sweats and I was like 's***'. I went out there to see how I feel but it wasn't great," she said.

"I am not feeling great, I have gastrointestinal pains, basically I have got a stomach bug and it is impossible to compete at a good level when you feel like that in the first place let alone in the heat and when you are playing such a tough player.

"It is frustrating, especially because I had a couple of matches under my belt and I was starting to feel good on court, so it is a shame this happened but there is nothing I can do.

"I just have to keep looking after myself. Now it sucks, because I now have to just practice and I way prefer playing matches.

"I was getting goosebumps on the court and that is the worst feeling, especially when it is hot. I came out swinging at the end of the first set but against a player like Maddie she will just get everything back."

There was no such problem for British number one Johanna Konta as she breezed into the second round after thrashing Annika Beck 6-1 6-2.

Konta, seeded ninth, dispatched the German in just over an hour with a fine display of power hitting from the baseline.

The win maintains Konta's hopes of reaching the WTA Finals in Singapore later this month, but she will need to go deep into the tournament to pick up the ranking points that will help her surpass Madison Keys and Carla Suarez Navarro in the race.

The 25-year-old, who plays Shuai Zhang in the second round, is currently 10th on the leaderboard with the top eight qualifying for Singapore and she hopes to become the first British player to reach the tournament since Virginia Wade in 1980.

She said: "The first round is always tricky because you have to get used to the conditions here in a match situation and I am pleased I was able to hit the ground running.

"I felt I played a good level throughout the match, she fought all the way through and we had a lot of close games and I don't think the scoreline reflects the match.
Bankers and consultants 'participated in 245m loans scam'

Bankers and consultants took part in a 245 million loan scam which saw funds splashed on high-end prostitutes and luxury holidays, a court has heard.

Up until 2007, Lynden Scourfield, 54, was lead director of impaired assets for Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) based in Reading, Berkshire, which provided advice to corporate customers experiencing financial difficulties, jurors at Southwark Crown Court were told.

David Mills, a former banker-turned-venture capitalist, was engaged frequently by Scourfield, who is not on trial, as a "turnaround consultant" to help improve these customers' businesses.

Michael Bancroft leaves Southwark Crown Court in London, where he is charged with conspiracy to corrupt, fraudulent trading and conspiracy to conceal criminal property in connection with a 245 million loan scam

During 2003-2007 a corrupt relationship between Scourfield and Mills, 59, developed which was "at the heart of this case", Judge Martin Beddoe told the jury.

Scourfield advanced huge sums to the businesses from HBOS, "well past the point when it would have been obvious to any honest banker that the bank debt could and would never be repaid", prosecutor Brian O'Neill said as he opened the case.

This enabled Mills and some of the others to charge high consultancy fees which they profited from, and in some cases run the businesses for their own gain, he alleged.

Mills, and his wife Alison Mills, 51, from Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire; Michael Bancroft, 73; Mark Dobson, 55; Jonathan Cohen, 57; and John Cartwright, 71, appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

The list of charges includes conspiracy to corrupt, fraudulent trading and conspiracy to conceal criminal property.

All wore dark suits, while Mrs Mills wore a black and white patterned dress.

Gifts are alleged to have been given to Scourfield from Mills, which took the form of use of an American Express card, luxurious holidays and sex with high-class escorts, the court heard.

Watched by a packed public gallery, Mr O'Neill said: "The motivation was greed. The police investigation uncovered evidence of huge rewards provided by Mills to Scourfield to effect his corruption.

"This took the form of money transfers, cash, expensive gifts, use of an American Express card for personal spending, unauthorised and inappropriately lavish hospitality, luxurious foreign travel and sexual encounters with high-class escorts."

More than 28 million passed though the personal accounts of Mr and Mrs Mills, or the accounts of various of Mills' corporate entities, Mr O'Neill said.

Mrs Mills was described by the prosecutor as an "active participant" in her husband's schemes, but said she had merely played a "supporting role" as his wife.

She invited Dobson and the Scourfields to go on trips to Ascot, the court heard, while the Millses, Bancroft, Scourfield and their wives holidayed together in Barbados to celebrate her 40th birthday.

Meanwhile, Scourfield was described by Mr O'Neill as "the goose who was laying the golden eggs", having "eagerly consumed" the bribes he was being fed by Mr Mills.

He was helped in his attempt to disguise the sums by his accountant, Jonathan Cohen from Pinner, Middlesex, the court heard.

Mr O'Neill continued: "David Mills just had to keep feeding him. And feed him he did."

Three companies were outlined as illustrating the pattern which saw "already vulnerable businesses being further run down by incompetency or as a deliberate policy or as a combination of the two".

Clode, a finance company originally set up to provide interest-free credit to consumers in high-street shops, was operating within its 2.9 million overdraft in 2002 when a meeting was held to discuss its financial position, the court heard.

But its total indebtedness to the bank in 2007 when Scourfield resigned was 20.558 million - with Mr O'Neill claiming it was "a cash cow - the bank within the bank".

And between Theros, a holding company for an established tie-making business, and Remnant, publishers of porn magazines, a significant amount of money was allegedly paid.

This was despite the two companies being "wholly unrelated", except for the common involvement of Mills, Bancroft and Scourfield.

Bancroft, from Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, is said to have received 1 million in direct, traceable payments from Mills' company and the high-risk companies being helped by HBOS.

He was Mills' "man on the ground", engaged as a consultant to some of the businesses, "overseeing their demise and enriching himself in the process," Mr O'Neill said.
Burnley ease to comfortable win over Watford

Jeff Hendrick and Michael Keane scored their first Premier League goals as Burnley brushed aside a ragged Watford 2-0 at Turf Moor.

Hendrick, the club's 10.5million record signing in the summer, nodded home Steven Defour's 38th-minute corner and the Belgian bagged a second assist when Keane rose to head a second shortly after half-time.

Defour has now scored one and set up three of Burnley's five goals this season, and here provided the kind of spark that was visibly lacking from the visitors, who suffered a sharp comedown having turned over Manchester United last time out.

Burnley's players celebrate against Watford

For the Clarets it was a welcome second win of the campaign, following their surprise defeat of Liverpool, while the visitors may wish to write off their trip to Lancashire as a bad road trip.

They were passengers in the first period, allowing Burnley's industrious midfield to over-run them.

Walter Mazzarri tinkered with his 3-5-2 formation early on, reverting to a back four with Valon Behrami picking up the extra defensive duties.

The Clarets had all the territory and all the meaningful possession but, until Hendrick intervened, few clear chances.

Hendrick and Johann Berg Gudmundsson were the likeliest threats, the Irishman always lurking in the space behind Sam Vokes while the Icelander served notice with a couple of tempting crosses.

Vokes won a corner from one Gudmundsson delivery and when that was half-cleared George Boyd stung Heurelho Gomes' palms with a snap shot.

Gudmundsson also lashed a 25-yard drive wide of the near post but Watford, despite regular panicky clearances and under-hit passes, were hanging in.

The away end looked to lift things by launching a "Troy Deeney for England" chant but their captain was feeding on scraps.

He had only one real opportunity and was denied at the near post by Three Lions squad man Tom Heaton.

A corner at least allowed Watford to show off a routine that ended in a sweetly-struck Jose Holebas volley but Claret shirts blocked the shot and its follow up to sustain the stalemate.

Half-time was beckoning when Dean Marney intercepted a stray Gudmundsson shot and nicked a corner, allowing Defour to take aim from the right.

The Belgian aimed for Hendrick, who outmuscled Holebas to force his header over the line.

Watford seemed to think Defour's cross had drifted out on its way into the box but there was no reprieve.

The only recriminations about Burnley's second, five minutes after the restart, were aimed at defenders rather than officials.

After another Defour corner had come back to him the midfielder crossed again, with Watford this time allowing Keane to climb above them and direct the ball home.

Burnley's desire was laudable but they were up against the most benign defence imaginable.

Defour attempted to add a goal to his pair of assists on the hour, working Gomes from 20 yards - an effort the Brazilian could only beat away in self-defence.
Thousands march in Dublin, abroad for Irish abortion rights

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Thousands of protestors marched in Dublin, and Irish expatriates joined in demonstrations around the world on Saturday, to put pressure on the Irish government to hold a referendum to repeal restrictive abortion laws.

Regulations in the once stridently Catholic Ireland are among the strictest in the world and next month Prime Minister Enda Kenny will call a citizens' assembly to advise the government on whether a vote should be held to boost access to abortion.

Demonstrators marched in the rain on government buildings from Dublin's main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street, bringing traffic to a standstill by the River Liffey as they chanted, beat drums and held placards saying "My Body, My Choice".

"It's a woman's right to choose and it is ridiculous to say that anybody else, the state or the church, has to right to tell that woman what happens to her body," said Sal Roche, a 42-year-old dance teacher at the march with her 2-year-old son, Tommy.

Abortion has been a divisive issue for decades in Ireland where, after large street protests from both sides of the debate, a complete ban was only lifted in 2013 when terminations were allowed if a mother's life was in danger.

However governments have been reluctant to tackle an issue they fear may alienate conservative voters despite a dramatic waning of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, shown last year when Ireland became the first country to adopt gay marriage by popular vote.

Ireland's Minister for Children Katherine Zappone, an independent member of Kenny's coalition government who joined the march in Dublin, told Reuters that the earliest possible date for a referendum would be towards the end of next year.

"It's my hope that what we're doing today will ensure we get a referendum and the government moves as quickly as possible," said Zappone, one of many wearing black sweatshirts with the word "Repeal" printed on the front, a reference to the eighth amendment of the constitution activists want repealed.

Opponents demand that the amendment, which enshrines the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child, should remain in place to safeguard all life, and a truck carrying the slogan "Abortion is violence against babies and mothers" drove through Dublin.

Demonstrations were also organised by Ireland's large diaspora in over 20 cities around the world, from Wellington to Montreal, and pictures were posted on social media ahead of the march from protestors in Melbourne, London, Berlin and Kathmandu.

In Dublin, many had travelled from around Ireland, including Paula Dennan, 32, who made the eight-hour round trip from the southern county of Kerry.

"We're marching in solidarity with the 56 women who we know for a fact travelled in 2015 to England for abortions and gave Kerry addresses," said Dennan, who set up the "Kerry for Choice" group this year. She was referring to some of the 3,500 women who travelled across the Irish Sea for a termination last year.
UN, AU, EU press Congolese leaders to stop political violence

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The United Nations, the African Union and the European Union pressed Democratic Republic of Congo leaders on Saturday to urge their supporters to refrain from violence as the International Criminal Court prosecutor warned she was watching the situation.

Dozens of people died in clashes between protesters and security forces in the capital Kinshasa on Monday. Anger has simmered in Congo for months over what opponents of President Joseph Kabila believe are his efforts to hold on to power beyond his constitutional two-term limit.

Kabila denies opponents' charges. Congolese authorities have said elections due in November cannot be held until at least next year due to logistical problems in the vast central African country, a producer of gold, diamonds and copper.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the AU, the U.N., the EU and the International Organization of La Francophonie said "only an inclusive dialogue resulting in an agreement involving the widest range of political actors will pave the way towards peaceful and credible elections."

They called "on all political actors in the DRC, including the presidential majority and the political opposition, to exercise maximum restraint in their actions and statements and to urge their supporters to refrain from violence."

International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement on Friday that she was monitoring the situation in Democratic Republic of Congo "with the utmost vigilance." Her office has been investigating the country since 2004.

"If acts constituting crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court are committed, I will not hesitate to act and take all necessary steps to prosecute those responsible, in line with the principle of complementarity," she said.

Congolese Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday that all violence must be condemned and those responsible punished.
Italian art installation a call for help over plastic waste

By Crispian Balmer

ROME, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Five million brightly coloured plastic bottle tops have been laid out on a Mediterranean island, spelling the word "HELP" in an art installation that aims to draw attention to marine pollution.

The work, symbolising the "Age of Plastic", was created by Italian artist Maria Cristina Finucci and opened on Sunday on the tiny island of Mozia, just off the coast of Sicily.

The project is part of a broader initiative that Finucci has been working on since 2013, entitled the "Garbage Patch State", which highlights concern over the accumulation of plastic waste in oceans and seas that threatens marine life and biodiversity.

Carried by winds and currents, plastic particles have amalgamated with other debris to form gigantic, swirling patches, or gyres, in the world's oceans.

The United Nations has estimated that they might cover as much as 16 million square kilometres (6.2 square miles) of sea.

"When I first read about this phenomenon I felt a strong compulsion to do something about it. I wanted to raise some sort of an image and outcry that would capture the sheer scale of this environmental disaster," said Finucci.

Her exhibits have been shown in Paris, Rome, Venice and the United Nations' headquarters in New York, but the Mozia installation is her most ambitious installation to date.

The millions of bottle tops, weighing two tonnes and strung out in red netting, are clustered together in huge mesh cases, some of them four metres (13 ft) high, that form giant letters on the sun soaked landscape and are lit up at night.

They lie adjacent to ruins dating back to the civilisations of ancient Rome and Carthage, following a similar contour to the piles of weather-worn stone. The word 'HELP' is only visible from the air.

Just as archaeologists today sift through the remains of lost empires, so Finucci imagined people in the future trying to make sense of our era.

"Each and everyone of us has participated in the shaping of this garbage patch, which is made up of bottles that were only used once... flip flops left on a beach, plastic cups and plates that were thrown away," said Finucci. "It has taken us just 60 years to create this reality."
"Business as usual," Gabon leader says, as uneasy calm returns

By Edward McAllister

LIBREVILLE, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Gabon will return to normal after a bitterly disputed election, its newly re-elected President Ali Bongo said, as soldiers patrolled and military aircraft flew over a capital that has been bracing for another explosion of violence.

The Constitutional Court late on Friday threw out a challenge against the election results by rival Jean Ping, enabling Bongo to extend his family's dynastic 50-year rule over the small, oil-producing central African country.

Ping swiftly rejected the ruling as biased, and many Gabonese feared a return to the violence that killed at least six people - Ping's supporters say it was more than 50 - when the result was first announced at the start of the month.

But in a nation that usually manages to avoid the massive bloodshed that afflicts other countries in the region, like Congo and Central African Republic, when power is contested, Bongo said he was confident of a peaceful resolution.

"It is business as usual. We are not worried about this state of crisis," Bongo told Reuters in an interview late on Saturday. "I think that we will go back to normal ... Gabonese are peace-loving people."

On Sunday, soldiers deployed along main roads and a helicopter hovered over Ping's headquarters. A fighter jet roared above the city. The red and white taxis that normally ply its palm-lined seaside avenues were mostly absent.

"Things are not normal. The people's voice was stolen," Richard Obame, 46, an unemployed Ping supporter, said, after the jet noise had died down.

"If it was calm, would we need the military presence on the streets and the helicopters above the house of Mr Ping?"

And yet Ping, whom authorities have threatened to arrest for inciting violence, has so far refrained from calling people on to the streets. That raises the possibility of a peaceful resolution, although Ping insists that the will of the Gabonese people be respected.

A statement from the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said he "welcomes the call by the president-elect for national dialogue."

"It is of utmost importance that all actors demonstrate maximum restraint," it added.

"OPEN GOVERNMENT"

Ali Bongo came to power in a contentious 2009 election following the death of his father Omar Bongo, who was president of Gabon for 42 years and to whom Ping himself was very close.

"Bongo Junior", as he is nicknamed, is showing signs of wanting to handle opponents in much the same way his father did: by bringing them into the tent. On Saturday he called for members of opposition parties to come and join his cabinet.

Communications minister Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze was quoted on France's Journal du Dimanche website on Sunday as saying that from next week there would be "an open government, with members of the opposition, civil society and independent personalities."

Whether this will be "business as usual" for Gabon and the Bongo dynasty may partly depend on the international reaction.

Gabon has never had a poll that international observers judged free and fair, and Western powers, especially ex-colonial master France, always looked the other way.

But on Saturday France and the European union both expressed "doubt" about the poll, which swung it for Bongo on a province, Haut-Ogooue, that gave him 95 percent of a 99.9 percent turnout.

Bongo pledged to address some of the issues that have fuelled anger in the country of 1.8 million, like youth unemployment and over-reliance on dwindling oil revenues.
Canada confirms citizen kidnapped in Libya, seeks more information

TORONTO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Canada confirmed on Sunday it has become aware of a citizen taken hostage in Libya and is "diligently pursuing all appropriate channels to obtain more information."

Libyan authorities said last week a Canadian and two Italians had been kidnapped in the country's southwestern desert, possibly by a criminal gang. The Canadian government then called the matter "unconfirmed."

On Sunday, Global Affairs Canada, the country's foreign department, called the kidnapping "troubling," but declined to provide more details.

"The Government of Canada will not comment or release any information which may compromise ongoing efforts to secure their release or endanger the safety of Canadian citizens," a spokeswoman said in an email.

The three victims, who were working on airport projects, were abducted between the towns of Ghat and Tahala, near the border with Algeria, early last Monday, according to Ghat's mayor Gomani Mohamad Saleh.

It is not immediately clear who was responsible or what the hostages' current circumstances are.
Frenchman Levy wins his third European title

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Frenchman Alexander Levy beat England's Ross Fisher on the second hole in a playoff to win the European Open title in Bad Griesbach on Sunday.

After both players parred the 18th on their first attempts, Levy claimed his third European Tour title with a 30 foot putt to win the event, which was reduced to 54 holes by bad weather.

It was Levy's first title since the 2014 Portugal Masters.

Fisher, champion in 2008, hit a 64 on Sunday to set up the playoff after Levy, who went into the final round with a four-shot lead, had bogeyed his final hole.

Europe's Ryder Cup member Martin Kaymer shot a 68 to finish sixth on 14-under, five off the lead, on home soil.

Levy breathed a sigh of relief after winning the title, having carded bogeys on three of his first five holes on Sunday and again on two of his final three holes.

"I definitely feel very relieved because it looked like I had lost my chance. It's so good to have this winning feeling again after two years, it's very nice," the 26-year-old told reporters.

"I came close last week in Italy (after finishing in a tie for seventh at the Italian Open) but didn't play well on Sunday. So this week, it feels great to have this trophy in my hands.

"It was tough to try to hold on to a four-shot lead. I didn't play well on the front nine. I was thinking about the score and not on my own game.
Spanish regional elections fail to break political deadlock

By Miguel Vidal and Vincent West

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA/BILBAO, Spain, Sept 25 (Reuters) - S pain's regional elections reinforced the centre-right People's Party (PP) on Sunday while dealing a blow to the opposition Socialists but failed to signal a clear path to avoid a third nationwide vote in December.

Two inconclusive general elections in December and June have plunged politicians into months of fruitless negotiations to try to assemble a government. Their inability to form a coalition means the country could be headed for a third election.

The ballots in the northern regions of Galicia and the Basque Country boosted acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy while the Socialists lost seats in both regions, but it remains to be seen if the results lead the Socialists to abstain in any future parliamentary vote of confidence to allow Rajoy a second term as leader.

Rajoy's PP easily romped to an absolute majority in his native Galicia, a conservative stronghold. The PP have ruled this rainy, northwestern region for most of Spain's four-decade democracy.

The conservative regional party, the Basque Nationalist Party, won most votes in the Basque Country, as expected, although not enough to rule by majority. It will now seek a coalition partner, most likely the Socialists.

PODEMOS OVERTAKES SOCIALISTS

In both ballots, the Socialists lost seats from previous elections four years ago, ceding votes to anti-austerity newcomer Podemos ("We Can").

The poor results for the 137-year-old social democrat group will make it harder for leader Pedro Sanchez to form a coalition with Podemos and market-friendly Ciudadanos at national level, something he failed to do in any case following December's general election.

The Socialists hold a leadership meeting on Oct. 1 to review their party's position on government talks in Madrid. The party has steadfastly refused to abstain in a parliamentary vote of confidence to allow Rajoy to take a second term as prime minister in a minority PP-led government.

Sanchez goes weakened into the Socialist leaders' forum after Sunday's results and the party's poor showing may re-open an internal leadership war.

It will become clearer after the gathering whether the Socialists will change their position ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline to form a government before a third election is called.
Ausgrid gets bid from local consortium after Chinese, HK offers blocked

By Byron Kaye

SYDNEY, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Australia's top two pension funds have made a joint indicative offer to buy a majority stake in the country's biggest electricity network, a month after bids from Chinese and Hong Kong interests were rejected on security grounds.

The unsolicited approach for a 50.4 percent stake in Ausgrid was made by IFM Investors, which invests on behalf of 29 domestic superannuation funds, and AustralianSuper, which says it holds the pensions of one in six working Australians.

Terms of the proposal were not disclosed. In the previous auction, the stake had been widely expected to top the Australian privatisation record of A$10.3 billion ($7.9 billion) that was paid for another energy grid.

A successful winning bid from local investors would likely help politicians tamp down a backlash over foreign asset ownership and the joint bidders emphasised that their proposal was "all-Australian".

"If we are ultimately successful (we) intend to manage the asset in a responsible, considered manner over the long term," AustralianSuper CEO Ian Silk and IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury said in a statement.

The government of New South Wakes, which wants funds to invest in new roads and train lines, said it has formed a panel to assess the proposal and expects to give a decision by the end of the year. It still plans to repeat the formal bid process.

"This unsolicited proposal is another indication of the strong market interest for Ausgrid," state treasurer Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement.

Last month, the state received final bids from government-owned State Grid Corp of China and Hong Kong-listed Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd but the federal treasurer intervened to block the sale, citing unspecified national security concerns.

That led to a rebuke from the Chinese government which called the move protectionist and warned that it "seriously impacts the willingness of Chinese companies to invest in Australia".

The Federal government has said it will clarify its policy on foreign investment in Australian infrastructure.

The issue has been a hot button political topic since the 2015 sale of the Port of Darwin to Chinese interests sparked a backlash over security implications and even a rebuke from U.S. government officials.
Canadian diplomat's son in deadly Florida shooting deported home

TORONTO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A Canadian diplomat's teenage son has been deported from the United States following his involvement in a fatal drug-related shooting, effectively nullifying the house arrest and probation he had been sentenced to serve, a national news agency reported on Sunday.

Marc Wabafiyebazu, 15 at the time of the Miami shooting, was deported on Sept. 6, according to the Canadian Press.

The news agency did not clearly cite its source, but quoted the teen's mother, Roxanne Dube, Canadian consul general in Miami at the time of the incident, as saying: "It's done. It's done. It's done. ... He has his life ahead of him."

Wabafiyebazu was sentenced this year to nine months of boot camp, followed by two years of house arrest and up to eight years of probation.

Under a deal with the prosecution, Wabafiyebazu pleaded no contest to two counts of third-degree murder, aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery involving the botched March 2015 marijuana deal.

Wabafiyebazu's older brother, 17-year-old Jean Wabafiyebazu, and a suspected drug dealer, died in the incident, and under Florida law, anyone who participates in a violent felony in which someone dies can be charged with murder.

Wabafiyebazu's mother and lawyer and U.S. authorities could not be immediately reached for comment.

Canada's foreign affairs department, which employs Dube, declined to comment, calling the matter "personal."

The Canadian Press reported that U.S. federal officials started deportation procedures against Wabafiyebazu as he was completing boot camp, against the protests of Florida state authorities who wanted him to complete his full sentence.
Singapore's BandLab to buy 49 pct of Rolling Stone

SINGAPORE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Singapore's BandLab Technologies will buy 49 percent of Rolling Stone magazine from publisher Wenner Media and plans to expand the business into new markets and boost its profile in Asia, the two companies said in a statement.

The acquisition could lift the music magazine's brand in Asia, where its name does not go as far. It also highlights the struggles of the publishing industry as advertising revenues fall in an increasingly competitive online age.

BandLab, led and co-founded by Kuok Meng Ru, the 28-year-old son of Singaporean palm oil tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, is a group of companies making products for music creators and fans.

The statement gave no financial details of the deal.

"We see an enormous opportunity to diversify the brand into new markets and new areas of business," Gus Wenner, head of digital of Wenner Media, said in the statement.

Rolling Stone publishes 12 international editions in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Russia, and says it reaches an audience of over 65 million people.
China probes North Korea bank suspected of nuclear link - South Korea report

SEOUL, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China is investigating executives of a North Korean bank believed to finance the illicit procurement of arms and materials related to the isolated country's banned nuclear programme, South Korea's JoongAng Daily reported on Monday.

China and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in the U.N. Security Council and in law-enforcement channels after North Korea's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, the White House said last week.

While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programmes.

The Chinese-U.S. cooperation includes targeting the finances of Liaoning Hongxiang Industrial, a Chinese conglomerate headed by a Communist Party cadre, that the Obama administration thinks has had a role in helping North Korea's nuclear programme, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

The JoongAng Daily said Chinese authorities were investigating a top official of the Kwangson Banking Corporation at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong.

The U.S. Treasury designated the bank in 2009 under an order that targets entities supporting North Korea's arms trafficking because of its suspected involvement in procuring "dual-use" technology with both civilian and military application.

"The head of the branch, Ri Il Ho, temporarily returned to North Korea, so the deputy executive is being investigated," a source told the JoongAng Daily.

The paper did not identify its source, who it said was "well-informed on North Korea affairs".

In March this year, after the latest round of U.N. sanctions, the United Nations extended an asset freeze to all funds held abroad by the bank.

The bank branch in Dandong then moved to an office on the 13th floor of a building also used by Hongxiang and continued to operate, though without a sign outside its office, the JoongAng Daily said.

China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A report by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and the C4ADS think-tank in Washington last week identified more than $500 million in trade from January 2011 to September 2015 between the North and the Liaoning Hongxiang Group, which states on its website that it trades heavily with the North.

More than 20 customs and city officials in Dandong are being investigated for granting favours to Ma Xiaohong, Hongxiang's founder and top executive, the JoongAng reported, citing a source "knowledgeable about relations between Beijing and Pyongyang".

Certain assets related to Ma and some of her relatives and associates had been frozen by Chinese authorities in recent weeks, according to government and corporate filings cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Mexican priest killed in central state of Michoacan

MEXICO CITY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A Mexican priest was found murdered in the central state of Michoacan, the state attorney general said on Sunday, the third to be killed in the country in less than a week.

The priest in Michoacan, identified as Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen, was found on a highway between Puruandiro and Zinaparo, the state attorney general's office said.

Autopsy results, which revealed gunshot wounds to be the cause of death, suggested the priest was killed five days before his body was found, the office said.

The murder comes after a decade of drug violence in Mexico that has frequently touched the Roman Catholic church, with 31 priests killed in the 10 years to 2015, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a rights group.

On Sunday, the state attorney generals office said no ransom calls had been made after Lopez was reported missing earlier in the week. His body was identified by relatives.

The killing came days after two other priests, identified as Alejo Jimenez and Jose Juarez, were abducted violently from their church in the city of Poza Rica and found dead in the Gulf state of Veracruz.
Thailand considering tougher tax collection rules for internet, tech firms

By Manunphattr Dhanananphorn and Eveline Danubrata

BANGKOK/JAKARTA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Thailand is studying plans to toughen tax collection rules for internet and technology firms like Alphabet Inc's Google, the head of the Revenue Department told Reuters, as the tax affairs of these firms comes under growing scrutiny in Southeast Asia.

The plans would also cover the mobile transfers and internet payment sector, Prasong Poontaneat, director general of Thailand's Revenue Department, told Reuters.

Thailand is focused on changing existing regulations, Prasong said, adding that a working committee had been set up to find solutions on tax collection for companies such as Google and other technology firms.

"We are studying this issue and have set up a committee to look into this over the past two months," Prasong told Reuters.

"The idea is to seek appropriate solutions for Thailand and it could involve an amendment in some regulations because current laws are outdated and have been used for more than 50 years," said Prasong, adding that he expects the committee to come up with solutions by the end of this year.

Reuters telephoned and e-mailed Google Thailand for comment, but there was no immediate reply. Google Asia Pacific's spokesman did not immediately respond to an email and a phone call seeking comment.

Indonesia is pursuing Alphabet Inc's Google for five years of back taxes, and the U.S. search giant could face a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone if it is found to have avoided payments, a senior tax official told Reuters last week.

Singapore's low tax regime and its generous tax incentive programmes make it a big draw for multinationals like Apple Inc , Microsoft Corp to Google, and also from other sectors, to employ regional teams there.

They justify booking large revenue and profits in Singapore as they usually run main business functions such as finance and operations, hold intellectual property rights there or base regional executives in the city state.

Singapore's finance ministry said in an emailed statement last week that "profits should be taxed where activities giving rise to the profits are performed and where value is created" and that it does not condone the "artificial shifting of profits".

INVESTOR PRESSURE

American business groups in the region warned that the tax crackdown risks slowing planned investments by multinationals.

Investment worth millions of dollars could become stalled due to disputes with the country's tax office, which has taken an "aggressive" approach, Lin Neumann, managing director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said.

"There's just been a feeling for some time among big taxpayers that they're like the low-hanging fruits because they're in the system," Neumann said, noting that many multinational companies are accountable to public shareholders.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that four UK fund houses - Legal & General Investment Management, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Royal London Asset Management and Sarasin Partners - had written to the board of Alphabet to raise concerns about its tax arrangements.

In December last year, Australia's tax office published the tax rates of every company with annual earnings over A$100 million, a move it said it would repeat annually in the hope of pressuring entities with "overly aggressive" tax structures.

Apple Inc paid A$74 million tax on its A$247 million taxable income, in line with the country's 30 percent tax rate but a small fraction of the total A$6.1 billion it made in the country that year.

Google paid A$9 million tax on A$91 million in taxable income, a third of the company tax rate and dwarfed by the A$357 million it made in the country.
Colombia to sign peace with Marxist rebels, ending 52-year war

By Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta

CARTAGENA, Colombia, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist rebel leader Timochenko will sign a deal on Monday ending a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people, stymied the economy and made Colombia a byword for violence.

After four years of negotiations in Havana, Santos, 65, and Timochenko, a nom de guerre for the 57-year-old revolutionary, will shake hands for the first time on Colombian soil in front of world leaders.

Their deal to end Latin America's longest-running conflict will turn the FARC guerrilla group into a political party fighting at the ballot box instead of the battlefield it has occupied since 1964.

Some 2,500 foreign and local dignitaries will attend the ceremony in the colonial city of Cartagena, where huge billboards call on Colombians to accept the peace plan.

"I can't believe this day has finally come, peace is coming to Colombia," said Juan Gamarra, 43, who sells jewelry in the walled city.

Guests include U.N. head Ban Ki-moon, Cuban President Raul Castro, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and victims of the conflict.

Though there is widespread relief at an end to the bloodshed and kidnappings of past decades, the deal has caused divisions in Latin America's fourth-biggest economy.

Some, including influential former president Alvaro Uribe, are angered the accord allows rebels to enter congress without serving any jail time.

The agreement must be ratified during an Oct. 2 plebiscite, but polls show it will pass easily.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - which began as a peasant revolt, became big players in the cocaine trade and had as many as 20,000 fighters at their strongest - will hand over weapons to the United Nations within 180 days.

"It's such an important day - now we can fight politically, without blood, without war," said Duvier, a 25-year-old rebel attending a FARC congress last week in the southern Yari Plains.

Colombians are nervous over how the remaining 7,000 rebels will integrate into society, but most are optimistic peace will bring more positives than problems.

Colombia's economy has performed well relative to neighbors in recent years, and peace should reduce security costs and open new areas for mining and oil companies. But crime gangs could try to fill the void and landmines hinder development.
Poland - Factors to Watch Sept 26

Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Monday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

GOVERNMENT RE-SHUFFLE

Law and Justice (PiS) government may dismiss its finance minister Pawel Szalamacha as part of the government re-shuffle. His ministry may be overseen by Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, according to Fakt tabloid daily.

VAT TAX

Poland is to maintain its current VAT tax rates at eight and 23 percent until the end of 2018, the government's legislation centre said late on Friday. The tax rate was temporarily raised from seven and 22 percent in 2011.

ZABKA

State-run oil refiners PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos could team up to buy convenience store chain Zabka, Uwazam Rze weekly magazine reported without naming its source.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****
Algeria plans bank privatisations as oil money dries up

By Hamid Ould Ahmed

ALGIERS, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Algeria plans to allow its dominant state banks to list on the local stock exchange to help develop its financial markets and diversify sources of funding after the oil price slide, a senior financial official said.

The plan will open the door for foreign investors to acquire controlling stakes in banks, reversing a rule requiring Algerian firms to keep a majority shareholding in any partnership with foreigners, the official told Reuters.

Algeria's six government-run banks account for most of the sector's assets. French companies such as Societe Generale and BNP Paribas have the strongest presence among foreign-owned banks already working in the country.

OPEC member Algeria's economy has been largely based on a state-run and centralised system since its independence from France in 1962 and it remains reliant on an energy sector that still provides 60 percent of its budget.

But the oil price drop since 2014 has put Algeria under financial pressure, forcing the government to trim spending and search for alternative financing sources.

"The era of $100 a barrel is over. We have no choice but to change our policy," the official said, asking not to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

"Reforms will move slowly, but there will be no step backwards."

With more than $130 billion in foreign exchange reserves and little foreign debt, Algeria is in better shape than other oil producers such as Venezuela.

However, it has been forced to push up taxes and increase subsidised gasoline and diesel prices, scaling back a vast welfare system that has in the past helped ease social tensions.

Advocates of the 51/49 ownership rule and tight foreign exchange controls say they helps protect Algeria's strategic sectors after an experimentation with privatisation in the 1990s. But critics say such curbs stifle growth and investment.

PAST FAILURE

Algeria is now far safer following the end of a war it fought with armed Islamists in the 1990s that killed 200,000 people.

Its government has been keen to promote the expansion of its agriculture, health, manufacturing and tourist sectors but cumbersome bureaucracy has put off investors.

It is also not the first attempt at selling off the banks. The government scrapped previous plans for a bank privatisation in 2007, just two days before the deadline for the submission of bids, citing an international banking crisis at the time.

That plan was to sell a majority state in Credit Populaire d'Algerie (CPA) -- two years before the introduction of the new rule limiting ownership for foreign firms to 49 percent in any partnership deal.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have since repeatedly urged Algeria to reform the underdeveloped banking sector and modernise its stock exchange to help attract investment.

However, it is not clear how much appetite there will be for the banks. Plans to float cement producer Societe des Ciments de Ain El Kebira were dropped in June because of a lack of demand for the shares on offer.

The new bank proposal is included in the 2017 budget law draft currently in parliament for debate and must be approved by lawmakers and by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Under the new plan, state banks that want to list on the Algiers bourse will still have to get "prior green light" from the central bank before any step to sell a stake in excess of r 49 percent, the official said.

The other state banks consist of Banque Nationale d'Algerie, Banque Exterieure d'Algerie, Banque de Developpement Local, Banque de l' Agriculture et du Developpement Rural, the largest in terms of its network, and the Caisse Nationale d'Epargne et de Prevoyance.

Officials have previously said Algeria is preparing to allow foreign investors to buy shares on its stock exchange, where authorities hope the number of listed companies will rise from five to 50 in the near future.
India thump New Zealand to celebrate 500th test in style

By Amlan Chakraborty

KANPUR, India, Sept 26 (Reuters) - India celebrated their 500th test in style when they overcame New Zealand's final dogged resistance with mesmeric spin and masterful swing to claim the series opener by 197 runs on Monday.

New Zealand were always going to do well to manage anything more than delaying the Indian celebrations when they resumed on 93 for four in their pursuit of an improbable 434-run victory target on a track offering generous spin and bounce.

To their credit, they kept the home bowlers at bay for 50 overs on a turning day-five track before collapsing for 236 to give the hosts a comprehensive victory in the milestone test.

Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 6-132 to complete his 10-wicket match haul and prove why he is considered India's premier spinner.

His spin partner Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged man-of-the-match for claiming six wickets and scoring 92 runs without being dismissed in either innings.

"A target of 430-odd on a fifth day wicket is very, very hard to get," home skipper Virat Kohli told reporters.

"All your batsmen, right till number 10, have to bat really well (to achieve that). We knew it's just a matter of being patient.

"Having batted on that wicket, and all the batsmen would vouch for this, you could not defend your way out of the game," Kohli added.

When final day's play began under an overcast sky, overnight batsmen Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner (71) continued their resistance against the in-form Indian spinners at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium.

Kohli predictably began with spin from both ends but the batsmen mixed caution with aggression to defy their hosts.

RONCHI BREAKTHROUGH

Left-arm spinner Jadeja finally made the breakthrough when he induced Ronchi into an ill-timed slog against the turn and Ashwin pouched the skier at point.

The dismissal pretty much summed up a test in which India's spin duo, who shared 16 of the 20 Black Cap wickets between them, combined to wreck New Zealand's hopes of a result.

It was a tame end to Ronchi's 102-run partnership with Santner, a defiant battle spread over 36 overs that proved the local spinners were not unplayable.

Ronchi hit nine boundaries and a six before his rush of blood to the head ended his innings on 80.

In a match dominated by the spinners, Mohammed Shami also displayed his reverse swing mastery and got one to jag back into BJ Watling's pad before he uprooted Mark Craig's middle stump with another swinging delivery.

Craig will now return home to recover from a side strain. He was replaced in the squad by Jeetan Patel.

Santner completed his fifty but was then served a near unplayable ball from Ashwin, which pitched way outside the leg-stump, turned and bounced viciously to kiss the shoulder of the bat before nestling in Rohit Sharma's waiting hands at silly point.

The off-spinner then trapped Neil Wagner leg before to seal the victory.

Kolkata hosts the second of the three tests from Friday.

"They are a good side, particularly in their home conditions and they showed that again," said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
Slovak Republic - Factors To Watch on Sept 26

BRATISLAVA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Monday. ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA======================== Real-time economic data releases.................. Summary of economic data and forecasts......... Recently released economic data................ Previous stories on Slovak data.......... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/1C/events-overview ==========================EVENTS=============================== BRATISLAVA - European Commission Deputy Chief Maros Sefcovic and Chief Managing Officer of the European Investment Fund Pier Luigi Gilibert will speak at an economic conference about the impact of the so-called Juncker Investment Plan on Slovakia's economy. Related stories: BRATISLAVA - The Czech and Slovak governments will meet in a joint session to discuss EU affairs. Related stories: ==========================NEWS================================ TRADE TALKS: EU ministers took steps on Friday to approve a contentious free trade deal with Canada, while France and Austria demanded that talks towards a similar agreement with the United States should stop. Story: Related stories: For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX Main currency report TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets News editor of the day: Jason Hovet on +420 224 190 476 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (Reporting by Prague Newsroom)
Aldi UK says profit fall won't change German parent's investment plans

By James Davey

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Management at British discount supermarket Aldi's German parent will not re-think their investment plans for the UK despite falling profits and the UK's decision to quit the European Union, Aldi UK boss Matthew Barnes said on Monday.

A brutal price war led by Aldi and fellow German discounter Lidl has transformed the competitive landscape of UK food retailing over the last five years, driving down the returns of Britain's traditional big four players - market leader Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - as they have been forced to fight back.

The hope of the big four is that the profit margins of the discounters are squeezed to the point where their German parents ease back on their UK expansion plans, preferring to deploy their capital elsewhere, such as in the Unioted States, China or eastern Europe.

However, Barnes told reporters that was not how Aldi was thinking.

"We don't operate by diverting investment from one country to another," he said.

"As a company we invest in each country according to the opportunity there and the very long term future strategy.

"We're in a very fortunate situation in the UK - we've got a company and an ownership structure that really wants to invest in the UK for the long term."

In the past five years Aldi has invested 1.66 billion pounds ($2.15 billion) in the UK.

"The intention going forward is to continue with that level of investment," said Barnes.

"That hasn't (been) changed by Brexit and it hasn't changed and won't change as a result of the price wars."

Barnes was speaking after Aldi UK reported a second straight fall in its annual profits and detailed plans to spend 300 million pounds over three years revamping its stores.

Aldi also said its plans to have 1,000 UK stores by 2022 were on track. It currently has 659, with 70 new sites slated for 2017.

Aldi, whose sales have doubled over the last three years, said it had cut prices on 30 percent of its products so far in 2016, with that investment made possible by the strength of its balance sheet, which had net assets of 2.1 billion pounds at the end of 2015.

Aldi and Lidl remain Britain's fastest-growing supermarkets with a combined market share of 10.8 percent, according to the latest industry data.

FURTHER MARGIN DECLINE

For the year ended Dec. 31 2015 Aldi's operating profit fell 1.8 percent to 255.6 million pounds as its operating margin declined to 3.3 percent, down 50 basis points from 2014.

Barnes said that margin could fall further.

Sales, however, increased 12 percent to a record 7.7 billion pounds as the discounter opened new outlets, attracting 761,000 new customers.

"The discounters were allowed to grow unencumbered 2009-14, but are now facing much tougher competition, particularly around base pricing as the big four move away from multi-buys," said HSBC analyst David McCarthy.

Aldi said it increased the proportion of products sourced from British suppliers to 77 percent from 69 percent in 2014, further insulating it to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

The 300 million-pound store investment plan includes newly designed fixtures for beers, wines and spirits, fresh produce and baby and toddler ranges, as well as a new food-to-go area.

Stores will also have more chilled space, new colours, signage and lighting.

Barnes said customers had told the firm they wanted to be able to shop Aldi stores more easily.
Explosion hits Turkish army convoy in Kurdish southeast, 8 hurt - sources

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Sept 26 (Reuters) - An explosion ripped through a bus carrying military personnel in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast on Monday, wounding eight soldiers, hospital and security sources said.

Suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants detonated an explosive device that had been planted in the road as the bus, which had civilian licence plates, traveled by on a highway, security sources said.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast that occurred on a busy road linking the towns of Derik and Kiziltepe in Mardin province, which borders Syria. The PKK has previously said it was behind similar attacks on police and soldiers.

The autonomy-seeking PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency in southeast Turkey, home to most of the country's 15 million Kurds, and more than 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, have died.
PRESS DIGEST - Portugal - Sept 26

LISBON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Following are some of the main stories in Portuguese newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Government may drop attempt to open bank secrecy if president vetoes new law. (Publico).

* Government to legalise Uber and demand driving courses for drivers. (Publico)
HSBC top lawyer calls for new global anti-financial crime measures

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Governments worldwide should pass new laws to facilitate the sharing of information between themselves and the private sector in order to better combat financial crime, HSBC's top lawyer told a banking conference in Geneva on Monday.

"Put simply, the way we do financial crime compliance is outdated," Stuart Levey, chief legal officer at HSBC told the annual Sibos financial conference.

Levey, who was under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. treasury department from 2004 to 2011, called on the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to set far-reaching global standards to help banks share information with governments and vice-versa.

National secrecy and privacy laws often prevent such sharing, Levey said, hindering cross-border efforts to stop illicit money flows.

"...data privacy and bank secrecy restrictions are increasingly tough in a number of countries," Levey said, without naming which countries he was referring to.

HSBC is among a number of major European banks fined and criticised in recent years by U.S. authorities for failing to adequately prevent money laundering.

The bank paid $1.9 billion as part of a global settlement in 2012 for failing to stop drug cartels from pumping at least $800 million through the bank.

HSBC has since stepped up efforts to improve its own controls, including hiring the U.S. Treasury's top anti-money laundering official Jennifer Shasky Calvery in April to lead a new Financial Crime Threat Mitigation team at the bank.

Levey said all countries should create information-sharing authorities similar to that which exist in the United States under the PATRIOT act and in Britain via the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Task Force, established by Prime Minister Theresa May when she was Home Secretary.

Levey said failure to promote better solutions would lead to the worsening of the current problem whereby banks exit riskier business areas for fear of financial penalties, excluding some legitimate businesses such as charities from the system.
UK airline Monarch denies speculation it is in financial trouble

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - British airline Monarch Airlines said it was operating normally and was on track to make a profit this year, after questions were asked about its future on social media.

"Our flights are operating as normal, carrying Monarch passengers as scheduled," the airline said in a statement on Monday.

Monarch, owned by investment firm Greybull Capital, said that security concerns, and the devaluation of the pound against the euro resulting from Brexit, had made market conditions tougher, and to help fund its growth, it expected to announce an investment "from its stakeholders" in the coming days.

Despite the difficulties, Monarch said it was on track to post core earnings (EBITDA) of more than 40 million pounds ($52 million) in the year ended Oct. 31, in line with a forecast given last year.

Luton-based Monarch sells holidays and flights primarily to British holidaymakers travelling to destinations such as Spain, Italy and France.

The halting of holidays to Tunisia and Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh resort, as well as a drop in demand for Turkey due to security concerns meant that customers were booking flights to Israel, mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.

Monarch issued the statement after passengers tweeted the airline over the weekend asking whether speculation that it was going to "go bust" were true.
In Indonesia, disabled drivers join ride-hailing service boom

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Polio did not stop Triyono from cashing in on Indonesia's booming ride-hailing business last year, when he launched a motorcycle taxi service run exclusively by disabled drivers.

With a crew of 20 drivers and modified three-wheeled motorbikes, Triyono, 35, is filling a gap in a public transport service that s not particularly disabled-friendly in the world's fourth-most populous country.

"It started as a social activity with the hope of assisting disabled people. Then we gave them motorbikes to support their mobility and make sure their business runs smoothly," he said, adding that all drivers are certified with a handicapped drivers licence.

While he service is aimed at providing rides for other disabled people, anyone can use the service.

He planning to expand and launch a mobile phone app in November, joining the stiff competition between the popular app-based transport services provided by home-grown company Gojek and Singapore-based Grab.

Triyono said he hoped to help more disabled people find employment in his hometown of Yogyakarta, a tourist destination and base for visiting nearby Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist temple.

According to government data, about 11 percent of Indonesia's population of 250 million are living with disabilities and many of them are poor.

For former fruit seller Aris Wahyudi driving a "difajek" - a combination of the Indonesian words for "disabled" and "motorcycle taxi" - often meant more than doubling his income, which used to be less than $3 a day.

"Now I can bring in a minimum of 50,000 rupiah ($3.80) home every day, and on average around 100,000 rupiah ($7.60) a day. So there's an increment," said Wahyudi, who has a disabled arm and leg.

For many customers, the fact the service employs people with disabilities is a key selling point.

"I choose disabled motorbike taxi service because it makes me feel comfortable. The driver is disabled, and I am disabled too. We can trust each other," said Yuli Siswanto, who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident several years ago.
China probes North Korea bank suspected of nuclear link - South Korea paper

SEOUL, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China is investigating executives of a North Korean bank believed to finance the illicit procurement of arms and materials related to the isolated country's banned nuclear programme, South Korea's JoongAng Daily reported on Monday.

China and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in the U.N. Security Council and in law enforcement channels after North Korea's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, the White House said last week.

While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programmes.

The Chinese-U.S. cooperation includes targeting the finances of Liaoning Hongxiang Industrial, a Chinese conglomerate headed by a Communist Party cadre, that the Obama administration thinks has had a role in helping North Korea's nuclear programme, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

The JoongAng Daily said Chinese authorities were investigating a top official of the Kwangson Banking Corporation at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong.

The U.S. Treasury designated the bank in 2009 under an order that targets entities supporting North Korea's arms trafficking because of its suspected involvement in procuring "dual-use" technology with both civilian and military application.

"The head of the branch, Ri Il Ho, temporarily returned to North Korea, so the deputy executive is being investigated," a source told the JoongAng Daily.

The paper did not identify its source, who it said was "well-informed on North Korea affairs".

In March, after the latest round of U.N. sanctions, the United Nations extended an asset freeze to all funds held abroad by the bank.

The bank branch in Dandong then moved to an office in a building also used by Hongxiang and continued to operate, though without a sign, the JoongAng Daily said.

Asked about the report of the Kwangson probe, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he did "not understand" the situation.

But China has fully followed United Nations resolutions on North Korea, which put wide-ranging sanctions on the country, and fulfils its international obligations when it comes to non-proliferation export controls, Geng added.

A report by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and the C4ADS think-tank in Washington last week identified more than $500 million in trade from January 2011 to September 2015 between the North and the Liaoning Hongxiang Group, which states on its website that it trades heavily with the North.

More than 20 customs and city officials in Dandong are being investigated over favours to Ma Xiaohong, Hongxiang's founder and top executive, the JoongAng reported, citing a source "knowledgeable about relations between Beijing and Pyongyang".

In recent weeks, Chinese authorities have frozen certain assets related to Ma and some of her relatives and associates, according to government and corporate filings cited by the Wall Street Journal.
PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - SEPT 26

MOSCOW, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- President Vladimir Putin said last week that the tax regime in Russia would remain unchanged until 2019, exept for the oil and gas sectors, the daily writes.

- The newspaper reports that despite its landslide win in the Sept. 18 election, the United Russia ruling party had decided to leave for the opposition one half of all the committees in the newly elected State Duma lower house of parliament.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- The Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Russia have introduced a new reform of the nation's pension system. In 2018 a new pension system can be launched in Russia, with a state-subsidised part of the pension to be formed voluntarily, the daily writes.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru
China to build outposts for Tajik guards on Tajikistan-Afghanistan border

DUSHANBE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China plans to finance and build several outposts and other facilities to beef up Tajikistan's defense capabilities along its border with Afghanistan, the Tajik government said on Monday.

The Central Asian nation's 1,345-km border with its southern neighbour is leaky and Dushanbe routinely reports clashes between border guards and armed drug smugglers there.

The increased activity of Afghan Taliban in the northern Kunduz province is another source of concern.

A large part of the main highway connecting Tajikistan's most populous regions to China lies along the same border and armed trespassers this year kidnapped several Tajiks doing maintenance works on that road.

In a decree published on Monday, the government instructed the State National Security Committee to sign an agreement with the Chinese side which provides for the construction of eleven outposts of different sizes and a training centre for border guards.

China, which according to official statistics sells goods worth $2.5 billion a year to Tajikistan has already built one outpost on the Tajik-Afghan border, its first one, earlier this year.
FTSE on track for worst day in 3 months, downgrades weigh

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Monday and headed for its worst one-day performance in three months, with Lloyds pushing banks lower after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs and miners tracking weaker metals prices.

InterContinental Hotels fell 4.3 percent, the worst performer in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "equalweight" saying U.S. revenue growth was expected to continue to weaken.

A downgrade by another broker bank hit Lloyds and pushed the UK banks index to trade 1.3 percent lower. The British bank fell 2.8 percent after Goldman Sachs cut its rating for the stock to "sell" from "neutral", saying it faced incremental competition from HSBC.

The FTSE 100 index was down 1.3 percent and headed for its worst one-day percentage decline since late June.

Resource-related stocks also lost ground, with the UK mining index falling 1.5 percent, as prices of major industrial metals fell. Shares in Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore fell 1.2 to 2.9 percent.

"The UK market has started the week on the back foot, with some major stocks hit by downgrades by heavyweight investment banks. Nervousness ahead of a meeting of the OPEC is also hurting sentiment," Securequity senior trader Jawaid Afsar said.

OPEC members will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26-28, where they will discuss a possible output-limiting deal. However, oil prices tumbled 4 percent on Friday amid signs Saudi Arabia and Iran were making little progress in achieving preliminary agreement to freeze production.

Energy shares witnessed a sharp sell-off, with the UK oil and gas index down 1.6 percent. Shares in Royal Dutch Shell, Tullow Oil and BP all fell around 1.6 percent.

Monday's decline was widespread, with only three stocks in the FTSE 100 index staying in positive territory.
China to prosecute former top executives for alleged graft

BEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China will prosecute former senior officials of energy giant Sinopec Group and China Southern Airlines as well as a one-time top security official in Tibet for suspected graft, the prosecutor's office said on Monday.

President Xi Jinping launched a sweeping crackdown on deep-rooted corruption after assuming power almost four years ago, ensnaring top politicians, leaders of state enterprises and senior bankers.

In a short statement on its website, the state prosecutor said it had begun proceedings against former Sinopec Group president Wang Tianpu, former China Southern Airlines general manager Si Xianmin, and Le Dake, once a senior security official in restive Tibet.

It was not possible to reach any of the three for comment and unclear who their lawyers are.

A Sinopec spokesman said the firm supported the case against Wang, as corruption was tolerated by neither the ruling Communist Party nor the state, and contradicted the company's core values.

China Southern officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The prosecutor said all three are suspected of taking bribes and abusing their positions for personal advantage.

It added that the prosecutor had protected the rights of the accused, in line with the law, and heard the opinions of their defence teams. The statement gave no details.

The announcement is the next step in the legal process before the three face trial, which could still be several months away and is likely to happen behind closed doors.
Squeezing North Korea: old friends take steps to isolate regime

By Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe

SEOUL, Sept 26 (Reuters) - From kicking out North Korean workers and ending visa-free travel for its citizens, to stripping flags of convenience from its ships, Cold War-era allies from Poland to Mongolia are taking measures to squeeze the isolated country.

More such moves, with prodding from South Korea and the United States, are expected after North Korea recently defied U.N. resolutions to conduct its fifth nuclear test.

North Korea's limited global links leave most countries with few targets for penalising the regime on their own.

Mounting sanctions over the years have made Pyongyang more adept at evasion and finding alternative sources for procurement, a recent paper by experts at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found.

Nonetheless, South Korea has been especially active in pushing the North's allies for unilateral action in hopes of reining in Pyongyang's arms programme.

"If long-standing friends of North Korea continue to publicly curb their ties with the country, Pyongyang will have fewer places overseas where its illicit networks can operate unhindered or with political cover from the host capital," said Andrea Berger, deputy director of the proliferation and nuclear policy program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

South Korean officials have declined to say whether they have made inducements to countries to punish North Korea.

"Presumably in the course of that diplomatic interaction it is also being made clear to Pyongyang's partners that deeper trade ties with economies like South Korea will not be fully realizable" without taking steps against North Korea, Berger said.

Angola, for one, has suspended all commercial trade with Pyongyang, banning North Korean companies from operating there since the U.N. toughened sanctions in March, a South Korean foreign ministry official told Reuters recently.

Angola was suspected of buying military equipment in 2011 from North Korea's Green Pine Associated Corp, which is under U.N. sanction, according to a 2016 U.N. report. North Korea had also cooperated with Angola in health care, IT and construction, South Korea's embassy there said in December.

Angolan officials did not respond to requests for comment, but the country told the U.N. in July it had not imported any light weapons from North Korea in recent years.

North Korea's export of cheap labour has also been targeted.

Earlier this year, Washington urged countries to curb the use of North Korean workers, who number roughly 50,000 and generate between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion annually for Pyongyang, according to a 2015 U.N. report.

Poland, which hosted as many as 800 North Korean workers, according to some estimates, this year stopped renewing visas, as did Malta.

Travel restrictions have also increased, with Ukraine recently revoking a Soviet-era deal that allowed visa-free visits for North Koreans.

Singapore, which has been a hub for North Korea-linked trade, will require visitors from the country to apply for visas starting next month, its immigration authority said in July.

DE-FLAGGED

The vast majority of North Korea's trade is with China, and experts warn sanctions will have limited impact without Beijing's backing. China condemns Pyongyang's nuclear programme but is also its chief ally and is unwilling to pressure leader Kim Jong Un's regime too far, fearing a collapse that would destabilise the entire region. That means agreeing significantly tightened U.N. sanctions could be difficult.

Some of the most tangible results of recent efforts to isolate North Korea have seen countries ban its ships from their registries. North Korean-owned vessels are suspected of using other flags to camouflage the movement of illicit cargo.

Landlocked Mongolia, which is among Pyongyang's steadiest allies but also has close ties with Seoul, cancelled the registrations of all 14 North Korean vessels flying its flag, according to a report it submitted to the U.N. in July, even though sanctions compelled it to act on just one of them.

Cambodia, once the most popular flag of convenience for North Korea, ended its registry scheme for all foreign ships in August, although it did not single out North Korea.

The flags of 69 North Korean ships, none of them on a U.N. blacklist, have been de-registered since the U.N. tightened sanctions in March, South Korea's foreign minister said last month. The North's merchant fleet is estimated by the U.N. at roughly 240 vessels.

Still, one-off measures by various countries mean Pyongyang can simply shift its business elsewhere - a shortcoming of unilateral actions in general.

China and Russia employ the bulk of North Korean workers and have publicly shown no inclination to halt the practice.

Last week, North Korean state media announced the Sept 19 "inauguration" of its embassy in the Belarusian capital Minsk. However, on Monday, the Belarus foreign ministry said there was no North Korean embassy there, although it did not immediately give further information.

Pyongyang has been known to use diplomatic personnel, several whom have been caught with large amounts of gold or cash, to procure banned equipment or fund illegal activities.

China, experts say, remains the key.

"Rather than being efficient, unilateral actions put psychological pressure on the North," said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University. "But like criminal gangs, North Korea won't cringe much under psychological pressure."
Turkey has seen little outflow of funds after Moody's downgrade - Deputy PM

ANKARA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Turkey has seen little outflow of funds following Moody's decision to cut its sovereign debt rating to "junk" and sees the possibility of such outflows as remote, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.

Kurtulmus, the main government spokesman, made the comment at a news conference following a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Moody's late on Friday cut its rating on Turkey's sovereign debt to non-investment grade, citing concerns about the rule of law following a failed coup in July and risks from a slowing economy. Kurtulmus said the move was political motivated.
Libya PM calls for national reconciliation in splintered country

By Yara Bayoumy

NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Libya's prime minister called for a national reconciliation initiative to repair the divisions in a fragmented country reeling from the turbulence that has followed the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Fayez Seraj also told Reuters in an interview that the battle against Islamic State militants in their former stronghold of Sirte was in its last stages, although bombings and booby traps still posed a challenge.

Gaddafi's fall in 2011 brought chaos that splintered the North African country into rival armed fiefdoms. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has been seeking endorsement for months as it tries to extend its authority beyond its base in Tripoli, in western Libya.

"In the last five years, Libya has been through a very difficult and critical phase ... many political divisions," Seraj said in New York, where he was attending an annual U.N. gathering of world leaders. "There was disintegration of the social fabric as a result of bloody conflicts.

"So we need a real reconciliation between Libyans inside and Libyans abroad ... there will be no exclusion of any political faction," he said. "Reconciliation will provide political stability, which will give way for economic stability."

Seraj said he expected to begin the drive before the end of the year but he faces an unenviable task.

General Khalifa Haftar, who has been waging a military campaign against Islamists and other opponents in Benghazi and the east, and his backers in eastern Libya have been in a stand-off with the GNA for months. They have blocked a parliamentary vote to endorse the GNA and challenging the U.N.-mediated deal to unify Libya.

Haftar also has resisted the GNA's efforts to integrate his self-styled Libyan National Army into the national armed force.

The eastern-based parliament has twice rejected lists of ministers put forward by the GNA's leadership, or Presidential Council, which is meant to represent all sides of Libya's fractured politics.

NEW GOVERNMENT

The Presidential Council has struggled to win popular support and secure the loyalty of Libya's political and armed factions since they arrived in Tripoli from Tunisia in March.

Frustration has mounted at its inability to tackle everyday problems including a liquidity crisis, frequent kidnappings, power cuts and a failing health system.

"We expect within coming weeks to end negotiations on shaping a new government," Seraj said.

"We have, until now, not received any official letter from the parliament to present again a newly reshaped government. Despite that we dealt positively with the results of the parliament ... (it) has to now bear its responsibility and carry out its duty," he said.

Seraj has said repeatedly he was open to talks with Haftar, whose recent seizure of oil ports has risked deepening the long-standing east-west divisions and alarmed the west.

"As a Presidential Council we are open to all political factions ... I have no reservations. Anything that helps solve the Libyan crisis and that can open bottlenecks, we are ready to meet anyone," he said.

Seraj struck a conciliatory tone over the port seizures but warned that protection of the vital installations had be done by the internationally recognized government.

"We would not have hoped that there would be escalation in the area but what happened has happened ... and we tried to deal with it with wisdom and calculation," Seraj said.

"But we sent a clear message that oil installations must be protected and should not be damaged ... Whoever protects the oil must be under the umbrella of the Presidential Council," he said.

Haftar's forces handed operational control to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), which Seraj said operated under the Presidential Council.
We were forced to work for Western-run mine, say migrants who fled Eritrea

By Allison Martell and Edmund Blair

TORONTO/ASMARA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Bemnet Negash never got to say a proper goodbye to his family. In February 2006, government officials arrived at his school in the highlands of Eritrea and put him and his classmates on a bus to a military training camp. He was 20 years old, and still at school because a childhood illness had interrupted his education.

Bemnet's father heard what was happening and rushed to the school. "He tried to pass to me my medication and some money through a window of the bus on which I was being taken away, but it was not possible," said Bemnet in an affidavit filed with a Canadian court last year.

For much of the next five years, Bemnet toiled for the Eritrean national service, a massive conscription program instituted by the country's autocratic ruler in the mid-1990s. The conscripts become not just soldiers, but an army of cheap labor, forced to work for years for little pay, according to the United Nations. The U.N. has said the program is "similar to slavery in its effects" - a claim the Eritrean government rejects.

Bemnet, who slipped out of Eritrea in 2011, did not work just for the government when he was a conscript: In his legal filing he says he helped build a mine for Nevsun Resources, a Canadian company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

His story illustrates the challenges for foreign investors operating in this overlooked part of Africa. The Eritrean government says national service is necessary to protect and build the impoverished country. The risk for foreign companies is that while they may bring jobs and infrastructure, they could become entangled with a state where conscript labor is pervasive.

Nevsun says its investment in Eritrea brings social and economic benefits that mitigate the pressure for emigration. Even so, the number of Eritreans seeking refuge in Europe has increased about five-fold since 2008, according to Eurostat. In 2015, more than 45,000 Eritreans applied for asylum there.

Bemnet's affidavit is part of a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a team of Canadian lawyers on behalf of Eritreans who allege that between 2008 and 2012 they were forced to work at Bisha, a mine operated and majority-owned by Nevsun. Lodged with five similar accounts from other workers, the affidavit says Bemnet was forced to work for about a dollar a day in harsh conditions.

Bemnet and other workers want to claim compensation from Nevsun for "severe physical and mental pain and suffering." In the next few months the Supreme Court of British Columbia is expected to decide whether the legal case can continue.

Nevsun, which had revenues of $357 million in 2015, denies the allegations and touts its mine as a model of responsible development. In its own legal filings, it says the Eritrean military never provided labor to the mine. Even if it did, the company argues, Nevsun was not directly responsible for employing the workers.

The Canadian company owns 60 percent of the Bisha Mining Share Company (BMSC), which owns and operates the mine, and the Eritrean state owns the remaining 40 percent. BMSC in turn hired Segen, an Eritrean government firm, to do construction work at the mine.

Bemnet says he worked for Segen, not Nevsun. But his lawyers say Nevsun should be held responsible for what happened at the mine, alleging Nevsun had authority over Segen and did not take reasonable steps to prevent mistreatment of workers.

Todd Romaine, Nevsun's vice president of corporate social responsibility, denied the allegations and said in a written statement that the company "will vigorously defend itself in court." He said BMSC is "an employer of choice" in Eritrea and provides "well-paying, intrinsically rewarding jobs for local people ... The company has made a significant financial contribution to the country in terms of taxation, royalties, local employment (and) supply chain."

Romaine said Nevsun has a screening process to ensure that no conscripts work at the mine. "Nevsun is a force for good in Eritrea," he said.

Nevsun also says that if its prohibition against the use of conscripts was ever breached, state-controlled Segen was to blame. It says that it had been obliged by the Eritrean government to use Segen to build the mine, and that Nevsun had no control over Segen. Reuters tried to contact Segen via telephone and email, but received no comment.

Alem Kibreab, director-general of Eritrea's Department of Mines, said no conscripts worked at Bisha, and that some migrants made up stories of mistreatment in the hope of gaining permission to stay in Europe.

In affidavits filed with the Canadian court, several workers from the mine have backed up Nevsun. Kahsay Gebremichael, a foreman with Segen, said that he had worked at Bisha for seven years, by choice. "I was not forced to work at the Bisha Mine by anyone. I can quit my job if I want to," he said in an affidavit filed in November 2015.

Bemnet and the other former workers involved in the lawsuit were living in Ethiopia, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland when they swore affidavits in 2014 and 2015. Reuters was unable to contact them and their lawyers declined to make them available for interviews, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.

But Reuters has reviewed the former workers' detailed allegations and, while their case is not new, this article draws on court records that have not been previously reported, including Bemnet's affidavit. It also draws on accounts of two former foreign workers who helped build the mine: One said employees of Segen endured tough conditions in 2009 and 2010, working without adequate food, water or shelter.

The Eritrean government dismisses criticism of its national service program as politically motivated and biased. Government officials deny that national service involves forced labor and say a program to improve pay began in mid-2015. They insist conscription remains vital for the security of the nation, which only secured independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after decades of conflict.

NATION BUILDING

Bemnet spent his first weeks of military training at a camp called Wia, near the Red Sea, where he slept on the ground in the open, according to his affidavit. Next he was moved to a desolate stretch of coastline, where he worked seven days a week, completing more training, gathering large stones and building houses. He was still there in September 2006, when, halfway around the world, then Nevsun Chief Executive John Clarke pitched Eritrea to mining investors at one of the industry's top conferences, the Denver Gold Forum.

Canada is home to hundreds of small mining companies, many exploring for gold both in Canada and around the world. Staffed by a few executives and a small board of directors, these companies buy mineral claims and raise a few million dollars at a time to pay for exploratory drilling. One strategy is to focus on countries where poor infrastructure, skill shortages or political unrest have made mining difficult, leaving rich deposits untouched.

Clarke's presentation focused on Gash Barka, a region in western Eritrea where gold was mined during the colonial era. No one had built or operated a mine in the country for decades because of the risk of conflict and fears the government might expropriate assets. So Clarke promoted the project, which he called Bisha, by emphasising Eritrea's good roads and well-educated people.

"Given that it is a poor country, they're just using their resources extremely well, including their youngsters, who do a couple years national service after university, everybody contributing to nation building," he said, in a presentation that until recently was available online.

Clarke, who is no longer with Nevsun, did not respond to requests for comment.

National service in Eritrea, which still fears attack from its far larger neighbor Ethiopia, has no set length, according to the government. The country has been ruled by former Marxist guerrilla leader Isaias Afwerki since independence. In 1998, in the midst of a border war with Ethiopia, Isaias declared a state of emergency and extended national service.

Eritrea's Information Minister, Yemane Ghebremeskel, told Reuters that the length of national service had originally been 18 months, but that it had been "prolonged" because of border tensions with Ethiopia. He did not specify how long national service now lasts.

A U.N. commission charged with investigating human rights abuses in Eritrea said in a June 2015 report that all sectors of the Eritrean economy rely on conscripts. Most citizens are conscripted before they finish high school, and undergo limited military training before being assigned to jobs. Some are sent to work in construction or farming, or as civil servants or engineers. In a statement, Eritrea said the allegations of human rights abuses are "totally unfounded and devoid of all merit."

"CONTINUOUSLY HUNGRY"

By September 2008, the Bisha mine had its permits and work was underway at the site. As mining companies often do, Nevsun hired an engineering, procurement and construction management firm to run construction, selecting a South African company called Senet. One of Senet's employees was Mike Goosen, a civil construction supervisor who arrived in 2009.

Day to day, Goosen and other Senet staff supervised Segen, the Eritrean government-owned contractor brought in to do construction work. While Senet declined to comment on its work at Bisha, citing the ongoing legal action, Goosen told Reuters he became friendly with some Segen workers, though they lived some distance from the main camp. He visited their camp and was alarmed by the conditions he found. None of the buildings had proper windows or doors. Workers slept on the floor, with no mosquito nets. "We had a lot of them going down with malaria," he told Reuters.

The workers were "continuously hungry," he said, and subsisted on lentil soup and bread. Drinking water was left in the hot sun all day. Goosen said he asked cooks at the main camp to set aside leftover food for Segen workers but Segen managers told him to stop.

In affidavits filed to support the lawsuit against Nevsun, former Eritrean workers described rations of lentil soup and bread. "We were always tired and hungry, and fell ill very often," reads the affidavit of Mihretab Yemane Tekle, who said he worked at the Bisha mine from February to October 2010, and now has refugee status in Ethiopia. "Many conscripts caught malaria at Bisha."

In an affidavit filed in June 2014, Segen manager Abadi Gebremeskel Alemayo described the death of a worker named Berhane, who he said was a conscript.

"One day, he was building partitions in the residences for the foreign workers, and he just collapsed," he said. "In his report, the doctor said it was heat stroke. I buried him myself - I took his body to his village and buried it."

Abadi, a safety officer at Bisha, said in his affidavit that he knew some of the workers were conscripts because he attended a Segen meeting in mid-2009 at which the use of conscripts was discussed. Reuters was unable to contact Abadi for comment.

ESCAPE

Segen workers were on site in significant numbers during the mine's initial construction from 2008 to 2011. In February 2009, for example, more than half the workers on site were from Segen, according to a Senet progress report filed with the Canadian court.

In a 2013 press release, Nevsun said it first heard allegations that conscripts were working at Bisha in early 2009. In response, Nevsun instructed Senet to change Segen's contracts to explicitly prohibit the use of national service members. Nevsun also told Senet to start screening workers to ensure there were no conscripts at the mine. Court filings from Senet say screening began in May 2009; the system involved workers providing certificates to show they had finished national service.

It is unclear how effective the screening was, said a foreign worker who was on site at the time and spoke on condition of anonymity. Segen would put off filing paperwork, telling Senet that its workers were no one else's business. When papers did arrive, they were photocopies of Eritrean documents that no one outside Segen understood because they were written in the local language of Tigrinya, the foreign worker said.

In an affidavit for the court case, Senet project director Pieter Theron described the screening process, and said that as far as he knew, the Eritrean military was not involved in building Bisha. Theron declined requests for comment. In his affidavit, he said allegations about harsh working conditions were not consistent with his observations: "It is simply not the case that individuals worked in dangerous conditions and were often injured or ill."

Bemnet arrived at Bisha with the rest of his military unit in February 2010, according to his affidavit. He was told to take off his military uniform, and given grey coveralls to wear, with "Segen" across the back. An officer laid out some rules for his time at Bisha. He was not to tell anyone that he was a national service member. If asked about his pay he should say he was being paid $21 to $22 per day. He would actually be paid 450 nakfa per month, about $1 a day, according to the legal claim.

Bemnet and other conscripts were sometimes allowed to spend time in a nearby town. One Sunday in July 2010, he stayed late in town, eating and drinking with a friend, according to his affidavit. In the early hours, a group of military men came to retrieve him. Bemnet said they accused him of trying to desert and leave Eritrea. He was tied up with his friend, he said, with only short breaks for five days, and then sent to prison.

Bemnet said he was not sent back to Bisha after his release in November 2010, but remained in national service. In 2011, stationed near the Ethiopian border, he saw a chance to escape and swam across a river with two other men. From Ethiopia, Bemnet traveled to Sudan, Libya and across the Mediterranean to Italy. Like thousands of other Eritreans, he applied for asylum in Germany.

Many Eritreans aiming for Europe cross the Sahara into Libya, risking death by dehydration, starvation and violence in the desert. In Libya, some are kidnapped by Islamic State, and executed or enslaved before they can attempt to cross the Mediterranean. The United Nations refugee agency reported that 11,564 Eritreans made it to Italy in the first seven months of 2016. That was more than from any country other than Nigeria.

REGRET

In 2013, Human Rights Watch published a report about the alleged use of conscripts at Bisha. Anticipating the report, Nevsun sent out a press release that expressed "regret if certain employees of Segen were conscripts ... in the early part of the Bisha mine's construction phase." It hired Lloyd Lipsett, a Canadian human rights lawyer, to assess the mine.

Lipsett's reports have focused on the period since he was hired. In a 2015 report he said he had found nothing to corroborate allegations against the company, but that it was difficult to draw conclusions about anything before 2013.

In an interview, Lipsett said there were limits to what he could do and how reliable witnesses were. "It's hard in a country like Eritrea where there is, I think, a plausible and potential risk that people may feel intimidated or be threatened with reprisal," he said. "I think you just have to work at it, and see what the weight of the evidence points to ... If someone is directly lying, I can't say that I will always catch that."

In February, Nevsun invited Reuters to visit the mine and interview managers and government officials on site and in Eritrea's capital, Asmara. During that tour, Romaine, the company's vice president for corporate social responsibility, said: "We take all allegations very seriously, but to date, based on all our extensive investigations, we have not found any corroborating evidence to support the allegations being made."
South African union backs unionist-turned-tycoon Ramaphosa as next president

By Ed Stoddard and Joe Brock

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 26 (Reuters) - South Africa's deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa saw his chances of becoming the country's next leader increase on Monday when the powerful mining union he helped found before he made a fortune in business backed him to succeed President Jacob Zuma.

The debate over who should follow Zuma, either when his term ends in 2019 or before, has heated up since the ruling African National Congress (ANC) suffered its worst local election results last month, exposing party divisions.

No one has declared an ambition to take over but informal positioning is well under way, with the party split between backers of Ramaphosa, a former anti-apartheid leader popular with investors, and those who feel he would be too pro-business.

A decision has been taken "to support the candidacy of Cyril Ramaphosa for president" (of the ANC), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), one of South Africa's biggest unions, said.

With just under 200,000 members, the NUM plays an important role in galvanising public support for the ANC at elections and its endorsement could encourage other unions to follow suit.

But Ramaphosa's position as a director on the board of platinum producer Lonmin when South African police shot dead 34 wildcat strikers in 2012 undermines his popularity.

An articulate though often wooden speaker, he is likely to face strong competition if he does compete, including from Zuma's ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, head of the African Union.

Zuma is expected to stand down as ANC president at a party conference late next year, ahead of national elections in 2019 when his tenure as the country's president will end. He has faced calls to quit early from several members of the ANC and prominent business leaders following a string of graft scandals.

The ANC's dominance of South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994 means it is widely expected to win the 2019 election, making its next leader almost certain to become president.

In ANC tradition, the deputy usually ascends to the top post, but some in the party and its allied trade unions think Ramaphosa would take the party too far from its left-wing roots.

UNDECIDED

A lawyer by training, Ramaphosa, 63, was a founding member of the NUM, forged in the crucible of the struggle against apartheid in the 1980s.

He went on to become the ANC's chief negotiator in talks that led to the end of white rule and Nelson Mandela's election as South Africa's first black president in 1994. His business interests have ranged from mining to McDonald's outlets.

NUM's current General Secretary David Sipunzi said: "It is not only NUM that is gunning for Cyril for president, "without giving details. He said, however, that NUM wanted Zuma to see out his second term as the country's leader.

Frans Baleni, a former head of NUM who worked with Ramaphosa in the 1980s, described Ramaphosa as a good listener with a sharp attention to detail who did not tolerate shoddy work.

"He has a high level of empathy," he said.

The ANC rules in an alliance with the South African Communist Party and trade union group, COSATU, both of which will be influential in lobbying for Zuma's successor.

The NUM is one of a string of unions in COSATU, which played a key role in opposing white-minority rule and says it represents 2 million workers. It has yet to publicly back any candidate.

"COSATU has not come up with an official position. We must speak to all the unions and come with a clear mandate," Matthew Parks, COSATU's Parliamentary Coordinator, told Reuters.

PROSPECTS

Gary van Staden, a political analyst at NKC African Economics, said the NUM endorsement would bolster Ramaphosa's position. "Other COSATU members should line up soon behind Cyril. His prospects are good."

But while Ramaphosa comes from the minority Venda tribe, Dlamini-Zuma, 67, is a Zulu, the largest ethnic group in South Africa, and would likely have the support of Zuma's powerful voting block within the ANC were she to run.

Around one in five South Africans are Zulu and politicians from Zuma's home Kwa-Zulu Natal province, a key ANC stronghold, have influence over top party decisions.

Despite their separation, Zuma backed her for the AU job and gave her a position in his cabinet. Analysts say she would be unlikely to follow up on several high-profile corruption cases that have plagued his tenure.
Philippines' Duterte wants to 'open alliances' with Russia, China

MANILA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he would visit Russia and China this year to chart an independent foreign policy and "open alliances" with two powers with historic rivalries with the United States.

Duterte said the Philippines was at the "point of no return" in its relations with former colonial ruler the United States, so he wanted to strengthen ties with others, and picked two global powers with which Washington has been sparring with on the international political stage.

He last week declared he would soon - and often - visit China, with which ties remain frosty over a South China Sea arbitration ruling won by the Philippines in July. He said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was expecting him in Moscow.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.

An arbitration court in The Hague in July invalidated China's claims to the waterway in a case brought by the Philippines, a ruling that Beijing refuses to recognise.

"I am ready to not really break (U.S.) ties but we will open alliances with China and... Medvedev, he is awaiting there for my visit," Duterte told reporters, adding he would open up the "other side of the ideological barrier".

He welcomed investment and shrugged off rating agency Standard and Poor's concerns last week about the Philippine economy on his watch and his unpredictability.

"Never mind about the ratings," he said. "I will open up the Philippines for them to do business, alliances of trade and commerce."

The peso fell to its lowest since 2009 on Monday and foreign investors have dumped local shares for six straight weeks, worried about Duterte's anti-U.S. rhetoric and brutal war on drugs, which has alarmed rights groups at home and abroad.

Duterte also said he would open up telecoms and airlines, which are two domestic sectors long controlled by local players and criticized for being uncompetitive. He did not elaborate.

The volatile leader's vitriol against the United States has become a near-daily occurrence and source of both amusement and concern. On Monday he accused Washington of "hypocrisy" and said Americans were still "lording it over us".

His latest swipe included ruling out participation in a maritime conflict should it be initiated by the United States, despite a 1951 treaty between the two countries under which Duterte said Manila was legally obligated to back Washington.

"I am about to cross the Rubicon between me and the U.S.," he said," without elaborating. "It's the point of no return."

It is unclear whether Duterte's outbursts will impact relations between the two counties. Militaries of both sides are due to carry out joint exercises in the first half of October.

The U.S. embassy in Manila on Monday announced two-week deployment of a pair of C130 planes and 100 troops at an air base in the central Philippines, the third of its kind this year, as part of a rotational troops agreement.

Separately, Duterte said the United Nations, European Union and United States would get a free hand to investigate the killings in his anti-narcotics campaign, but only under Philippine laws.
Bulgaria looks to attract Cyprus gas imports for its planned gas hub

SOFIA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Bulgaria would hope to attract natural gas from Cyprus if its planned gas hub at the Black Sea, to transport gas from Russia and the Caspian Sea to southern and central Europe, goes ahead, it said on Monday.

Bulgaria will launch a feasibility study next year on building a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 bln) hub at the Black Sea port of Varna that would use gas pipeline links it is already building with neighbouring Greece, Serbia, Romania and Turkey, and eventually also an undersea pipeline from Russia.

Cypriot gas supplies can flow through the pipeline that Bulgaria is building with Greece and Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said Sofia is ready to boost its capacity if needed, after meeting her Cypriot counterpart Yiorgios Lakkotrypis in Nicosia.

"Natural gas from Cyprus is one of the options to feed the natural gas hub," the energy ministry quoted Petkova as saying.

Sofia has yet to attract Russia to the idea of its gas hub, which has the support of the European Commission. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is also ready to support the plan.

Cyprus, where U.S. energy firm Noble discovered an estimated 4.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in one prospect in late 2011, is considering Bulgaria as a country en route to shipping Mediterranean gas to Europe, the energy ministry quoted Lakkotrypis as saying.

"We intend to deliver natural gas to Bulgaria through the gas interconnector with Greece or the LNG terminal near (the northern Greek city of) Alexandroupolis," Lakkotrypis said.

He said he would like to examine in detail the Bulgarian government's plan to build a gas hub.
Turkish deputy PM Simsek says macroeconomic fundamentals are strong

ANKARA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Turkey's macroeconomic fundamentals are strong and investors are showing strong demand for Turkish debt despite a downgrade from ratings agency Moody's, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Monday.

On his official Twitter account, Simsek said there were lower-than-expected yields at the latest debt auctions on Monday. Turkey tapped a 10-year benchmark bond at a yield of 9.94 percent at an auction on Monday, below a poll forecast of 9.98 percent.
Israel's Leviathan gas to supply Jordan in $10 bln deal

By Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Backers of Israel's massive Leviathan natural gas field signed a $10 billion deal on Monday to supply 1.6 trillion feet (tcf) of gas to Jordan's National Electric Power Company.

The deal marks a significant step forward in Israel's efforts to exploit its offshore gas reserves, although it is still looking for a partnership with Egypt or Turkey, or both, which would give it far more export volume and the possibility of linking up with markets in Europe.

"Subject to regulatory approvals from Israel and Jordan, sales ... are anticipated to commence," said Texas-based Noble Energy, the project's operator.

Talks on the contract began more than two years ago.

The 15-year deal for Leviathan, which holds an estimated 22 tcf of gas, should help the U.S.-Israeli group secure funds to bring it online.

Production is expected to begin around 2019 or 2020.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often played up Israel's potential as an economic partner with Sunni Arab countries in the region.

In that respect, the deal with Jordan represents a breakthrough. While Israel and Jordan signed a peace deal in 1994, relations are not always good, but as economic ties deepen, Israel hopes they will become firmer.

The Leviathan group has also been in talks to export much more gas to companies in Egypt, and there have been contacts with Turkey, Cyprus and Greece on potential cooperation, either for the export or trans-shipment of gas.

Shares in the Israeli partners - which include Ratio Oil , Delek Group and its subsidiaries Avner Oil and Delek Drilling - rose around five percent on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange following the announcement.

Leviathan, discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in 2010, is one of the world's largest offshore gas discoveries of the past decade. Egypt has also made large offshore finds in the past year, boosting expectations for East Mediterranean gas.
Iran downplays chances of oil deal, UAE keen on freeze

By Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal

ALGIERS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Iran downplayed on Monday the chances of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers clinching an output-restraint deal in Algeria this week even though several other members of the group said they still hoped for steps to tackle a price-eroding glut of crude.

Oil prices have more than halved from 2014 levels due to oversupply, prompting OPEC producers and rival Russia to seek a market rebalancing that would boost revenues from oil exports and help their crippled budgets.

The predominant idea since early 2016 among producers has been to agree to freeze output levels, although market watchers have said such a move would fail to reduce unwanted barrels.

Sources told Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia had offered to reduce its output if Iran agreed to freeze production, a shift in Riyadh's position as the kingdom had previously refused to discuss output cuts.

As delegations gathered in Algiers, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said expectations should be modest.

"This is an advisory meeting and that's all we should expect from it," he was quoted as saying by oil ministry news service SHANA before he left Tehran. "The talks among OPEC members can be used for the OPEC summit in Vienna in November."

Crude prices rose by 3.5 percent on Monday, recouping most of the losses sustained on Friday, when hopes for an output deal in Algeria faded.

One OPEC delegate said the focus was now firmly on trying to persuade Iran to freeze output at levels acceptable for the rest of the producer group.

Iran's output has been stagnant at 3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the past three months, close to what the country produced before the imposition of European sanctions in 2012.

The sanctions were eased in January 2016, and Iran has said it wants to achieve output of more than 4 million bpd.

On Monday, an OPEC source said Iran was still insisting on being allowed to reach 4.1-4.2 million bpd before freezing production.

"SIGNIFICANT ACTION"

Some ministers and officials expressed hope that a deal could emerge this week.

"For us in the UAE, we are for a decision. We think a freeze will help if it is agreed. We hope that all are going to agree," the United Arab Emirates' energy minister, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, told Reuters.

Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said everyone in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed that the market was badly oversupplied and the situation had worsened since the last OPEC meeting in June.

"Credible and significant action is needed to help the market rebalance ... One fundamental aspect is that OPEC production should be significantly below the level of August. The second is that the effort must be shared out."

"Third is that any agreement be limited to the time it takes to reabsorb oil stocks. And the fourth is that the action should be credible in the eyes of the market and verifiable," Bouterfa told French-language Algerian daily Liberte.

Members of OPEC will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, from Sept. 26-28.

Russia is also attending but there is no evidence the country is preparing to participate in any production action.
Ex-IMF head Rato stands trial in Spain over credit card use

By Angus Berwick

MADRID, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Crowds jeered at former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato when he arrived at a Madrid court on Monday to face trial for his alleged misuse of company credit cards on extravagant personal expenses.

Rato and 64 other executives and former board members from lender Bankia and its founding savings bank Caja Madrid are accused of illegally spending 12 million euros ($13.48 million) for personal use on so-called "black cards" between 2003 and 2012.

Prosecutors are seeking a four-and-a-half year prison sentence for Rato, Bankia's chairman shortly before it needed a state bailout in 2012 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis.

Rato, a former Spanish finance minister and one-time contender to lead the ruling centre-right People's Party, has denied wrongdoing in the case, as has Miguel Blesa, his predecessor at the bank.

The case has infuriated Spaniards who were hurt by the crisis. As the two former managers arrived at the court in the outskirts of Madrid for the trial's preliminary proceedings, a group of people who had lost money following Bankia's bailout shouted "hijo de puta" (son of a bitch) and other insults at them.

Blesa will return on Friday to testify, a court spokeswoman said, with Rato likely returning early next week.

Blesa's lawyer, Carlos Aguilar, declined to comment. Ratos' lawyer, Ignacio Ayala, did not respond to requests for comment. Aguilar told the court that the evidence presented was "invalid" since they infringed on the accused's rights, El Pais newspaper said.

Tales of luxurious spending on the "black cards" sparked widespread public anger when the scandal broke in 2014, at a time when Spain was only just emerging from financial crisis triggered in part by Bankia's near-collapse.

The cards were used to buy jewels, holidays and expensive clothes, according to documents filed with the court, but also to fund more mundane trips to the cinema.

Rato is accused of notching almost 100,000 euros of bills over his two-year tenure at Bankia. Rato, who headed the IMF between 2004 and 2007, has paid back the amount, according to previous court statements.

Prosecutors want a six-year sentence and 9.3 million euros in damages for Blesa, who was chairman of Caja Madrid from 1996 to 2010. Caja Madrid later merged with other banks to form Bankia.

Bankia's stock market listing, which took place under Rato's watch in mid-2011, is also being investigated by Spain's High Court, though there is no decision yet whether that case will go to trial. Many ordinary Spaniards lost money after their shares plummeted in value following the bank's bailout.

The credit card case is one of several high-profile corruption investigations which implicate the PP and that are now coming to trial. The so-called Gurtel investigation into allegations the party's top brass had a slush fund bankrolled by friendly businesses reaches trial on Oct. 4.
Vietnam court swamped by fishermen seeking to sue Taiwan firm's steel unit

HANOI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Vietnamese fishermen travelled to a small provincial court on Monday to sue one of the country's biggest investors for compensation over an accident at its $10.6-billion steel plant, activists and a court official said.

Tens of millions of fish died in April, in one of Vietnam's biggest environmental disasters, which the government blamed on a discharge of toxic waste into the sea by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics.

Formosa Ha Tinh Steel has promised $500 million in compensation and admitted its steel plant caused massive fish deaths along a 200-km (120-mile) stretch of coastline.

A total of 545 people are suing the company, Dang Huu Nam, a priest leading the group that journeyed 200 km (120 miles) by bus to a town in the central province of Ha Tinh told Reuters in a text message.

"The court is receiving their files," an official at the Ky Anh People's Court said by telephone. "It is very crowded here."

In a video posted on social media site Facebook, Nam said fishermen still feared the sea was polluted and were suffering hardship.

"They cannot go to sea and cannot catch fish while they face the prospect of hunger because of bank debts," he added.

The disaster unleashed a public outcry on social media and on the streets of big cities. Demonstrators vented their fury at both the government and Formosa, accusing them of a cover-up.

Such protests have been a headache for the authorities, who have accused anti-government groups of trying to exploit the disaster and stir up anger, with the aim of overthrowing the ruling Communist Party.

Monday's mass lawsuit captured attention on Facebook but was not covered by state-run media.

Activists said Monday's convoy of more than 10 buses was closely monitored by police, with military also deployed around Formosa's project in Ha Tinh.

Several thousand Christians gathered around the court and sang songs in support of the fishermen, the priest said, adding that the court was only able to process half the lawsuits filed but would receive more on Tuesday.
Taiwan braces for arrival of Typhoon Megi on Tuesday

TAIPEI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Flights and trains in Taiwan were disrupted by the approach of the third typhoon this month and most cities planned work and school closures for Tuesday.

The island's financial markets will also be shut, financial regulators said.

Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall on the island's eastern coast on Tuesday afternoon.

"Apart from heavy rains, there will be huge wind gusts," Hsieh Ming-chang, a Central Weather Bureau official, said on television.

The island's bullet train said it would suspend services on Tuesday. EVA Airways Corp, one of Taiwan's main international airlines, said it was cancelling or rescheduling some international flights.

Earlier this month Typhoon Meranti killed at least 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than a million homes.
Nickel caught between shifting Indonesian and Philippine supply trends: Andy Home

By Andy Home

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia shocked the nickel market at the start of 2014 when it made good on a commitment to ban all exports of unprocessed minerals.

With the stroke of a presidential pen the flow of nickel ore to China's nickel pig iron (NPI) producers was halted.

Indonesian mined nickel production slumped from 834,000 tonnes in 2013 to 177,000 tonnes in 2014, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG).

Only two local operators, Aneka Tambang and Vale Indonesia, were in a position to keep digging because they were already transforming ore into downstream products.

Now it is the turn of the Philippines to roil the nickel market.

The country, which lifted output to capitalise on the gap left by Indonesia, has been closing nickel mines on environmental grounds with another tranche of suspensions to be announced on Tuesday.

But just how big an impact will this have on nickel's supply dynamics? Particularly when there are signs that Indonesia's own production is starting to recover.

PHILIPPINE SUSPENSIONS

The new Philippine administration has already suspended 10 mines, eight of them nickel ore producers, since coming into power in June.

It is expected on Tuesday to announce another 12 suspensions for environmental violations following an audit of all the country's operating mines.

In theory, this could have a major impact on the global nickel supply landscape since the Philippines last year produced 465,000 tonnes of nickel, representing over 20 percent of world mined output.

In practice, however, it all depends on which mines are suspended.

Four producers, Nickel Asia, Global Ferronickel, SR Metals and CTP Corp., account for over 60 percent of the country's nickel ore output, according to analysts at Macquarie Bank.

All four, again according to Macquarie, "believe they can pass any audit." ("Nickel and the Philippines", July 13, 2016).

Rather, it is the smaller-scale operators that are most at risk. Many were born out of the nickel rush that followed Indonesia's early 2014 ban and many, it seems, prioritised output over environmental best practice.

And there are signs that the small-scale nickel mining sector may already have peaked even before the new government's environmental clampdown.

Graphic on Indonesian and Philippine nickel production:

http://tmsnrt.rs/2cWsFU2

Graphic on China's imports of Philippine nickel ore:

http://tmsnrt.rs/2cWsY0V

PEAK PRODUCTION?

Philippine nickel production fell by 24 percent to 215,900 tonnes in the first seven months of this year, according to the INSG.

Imports of ore by China, the single largest customer for Philippine nickel ore, also fell to the tune of 21 percent over the January-August period.

Since the first round of mine suspensions only took place in July, it's clear that there are other factors at work in terms of sliding national output.

The first has been the weather.

The Philippine nickel ore business is a highly seasonal one with both production and shipments tending to contract sharply during the rainy season which runs from December through March.

This year, however, the rainy season lasted longer than usual. Nickel Asia, for example, attributed a 12-percent drop in first-half sales to weather-related shipment delays.

Beyond seasonality, however, it appears that some local operators were already struggling with both low prices and ore depletion.

Macquarie forecasts, for example, that AlTawiTawi Nickel Corp,, the country's second largest operator in 2015, will see production collapse from around 60,000 tonnes to just 10,000 tonnes this year as its Tumbagaan mine nears exhaustion.

The takeaway here is that even before the mine suspensions, Philippines production was in danger of topping out after the initial nickel rush of 2014-2015.

INDONESIAN RECOVERY

Indonesian nickel production, meanwhile, is gradually recovering.

After imploding to just 130,000 tonnes contained nickel last year, production jumped by 30 percent to 98,000 tonnes in the first seven months of 2016, according to the INSG.

The reason is that the ban on unprocessed exports is starting to reap positive results in the form of a new wave of players, many Chinese, launching processing plants.

Tsingshan is the poster child for Indonesian policy. It is already shipping large amounts of nickel pig iron from Indonesia to China.

The build-out will continue with the ramp-up of a stainless steel plant, in essence capturing the whole value-added chain from ore mining to finished product.

Tsingshan, therefore, is allowed to mine nickel. So too will others following in its footsteps.

Indonesia's nickel output could climb by 36 percent to 217,500 tonnes this year, and to 363,000 tonnes in 2017, according to the Indonesian Smelter and Minerals Processing Association.

That's still a far cry from the sort of numbers generated before the export ban, but it would represent a major increase from output levels in both 2014 and 2015.

DIVERGING TRENDS

Nickel supply right now is a function of these two diverging trends, falling Philippine output and slowly recovering Indonesian production.

Global mine supply is still down on year-earlier levels to the tune of 6.5 percent, according to the INSG.

Lower ore output, moreover, has fed through to lower refined production which, combined with strong demand, particularly from China's stainless sector, has pushed the market into cumulative 42,500-tonne supply deficit so far this year.

The problem for nickel bulls, however, is that this deficit is still small relative to the stocks build that has taken place over the last couple of years.

Moreover, China's nickel pig iron sector continues to defy expectations of its imminent collapse.

It has survived the Indonesian ban and is leading the investment wave in the country's build-out of processing capacity.

And it shows every sign of surviving constrained production and shipments from the Philippines, even if it means using higher-value forms of nickel in its blending mix with ore.

Unless the Philippine audit process brings down one of the big four producers, the worst of that country's output decline may already have taken place.

Indonesian production, meanwhile, looks as if it has passed the worst of its own policy storm and is now in recovery mode.

Which may be why the London nickel price, currently trading at US$10,500 per tonne, is only the third best performer so far this year after zinc and tin.

All three are buoyed by bullish supply narratives but nickel's continues to be a complex web of multiple moving parts.
Merkel: We need migrant deals with Egypt, Tunisia like EU-Turkey pact

BERLIN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the European Union needed to establish migrant deals with Egypt and Tunisia along the lines of the agreement it already has with Turkey.

She also said more must be spent on development aid to deal with the root causes of migration.
Iran has no reason to point finger over sanctions, U.S. says

VIENNA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The United States has kept its side of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran has no reason to complain that Washington has not done enough on lifting sanctions against it, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said on Monday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last week that Washington had not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement, which places restrictions on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Major foreign banks are wary of doing business with Iran because of fears that they would violate restrictions on U.S. banks, which are still banned from doing business with Iran because of core U.S. sanctions that remain in force.

"The sanctions that were to be relieved have been relieved. That's what was the commitment. That has happened." Moniz told a news conference on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's member states.

"The consequences of that in terms of how many companies make foreign direct investments in Iran is not for the government to decide, that's for companies to decide," he said.

Iran's top envoy to the meeting, Ali Akbar Salehi, however, repeated his government's complaint on Monday.

"Expectations regarding comprehensive and expeditious removal of all sanctions as stipulated in the JCPOA have yet to be met," Salehi said in a speech to the meeting, using the deal's full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Moniz said Washington had gone beyond its obligations under the deal, and senior U.S. officials had informed European banks of what the lifting of sanctions meant for them, but so far only small and medium-size banks had done business with Iran.

"Banks are going to have to have more clarity, going to have to have more business confidence, which will take time," he said.

Iran is, however, exporting oil at roughly the same level as before the sanctions were imposed, providing "a considerable additional cash flow", he said.

Rouhani said last week the U.S. approach to sanctions in recent months was "flawed" and "should be rectified forthwith".

What steps Iran intends to take if its demands are not met remains unclear but Salehi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the deal's future depended on it.
Azerbaijan holds referendum to extend president's term

By Nailia Bagirova

BAKU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan held a referendum on Monday on extending the presidential term from five to seven years, a step that a European democracy watchdog said would hand unprecedented power to President Ilham Aliyev.

Aliyev, 54, succeeded his father as president in 2003 and can seek re-election indefinitely after term limits were scrapped in another referendum seven years ago.

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) across Azerbaijan and close at 7 p.m. (1500 GMT). There are 5.3 million eligible voters in the oil-producing, former Soviet republic.

The authorities argue that a longer presidential term will make for more continuity in decision-making, which they describe as vital after a slump in world oil prices halted Azerbaijan's long run of economic growth.

"One of the main tasks of the referendum is implementation of economic reforms in the post-oil boom period in Azerbaijan, the elimination of bureaucratic mechanisms and creation of an effective governing system," said Ali Hasanov, the president's assistant on political issues.

European democracy watchdogs have said previous votes in Azerbaijan have been marred by vote-rigging and unequal access to the media. The Baku government denies the accusations.

The Venice Commission, an advisory unit of the Council of Europe, a rights and monitoring body of which Azerbaijan is a member, said of the referendum: "Many proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving 'unprecedented' powers to the president."

Some rights activists also criticised other proposed amendments, which would give the president power to declare early presidential election at his convenience, as well as to dissolve parliament.

"The referendum has been accompanied by arrests and intimidation from the beginning," Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement. "Those who have attempted to criticise and campaign against these proposals have faced assaults and harassment by the authorities."

The Central Election Commission reported a turnout for the referendum of 64 percent by 5 p.m.

"I voted in favour of all changes, although I have not read what those changes are about," Sanuber Muradova, 40, a school teacher, said after casting her ballot. "Politics is not for ordinary people, but I'm a teacher and I have to go and vote."

Aliyev's rule long benefited from an economic boom fuelled by oil pumped to Europe from a region where the West and Russia are vying for influence over huge energy reserves.
Iran releases Canadian-Iranian academic held since June

DUBAI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it had freed a Canadian-Iranian academic detained since June, releasing her just a week after the two countries began talks on a potential restoration of diplomatic relations broken in 2012.

Homa Hoodfar, 65, is a teacher at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and an expert on gender and Islam.

"Homa Hoodfar, the retired professor of Canadian universities, who had been detained in Iran based on some accusations, was released this afternoon for humanitarian reasons including illness," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

He said Hoodfar had left the Islamic Republic and was travelling to Canada via the Gulf Arab state of Oman.

Oman confirmed it had arranged for a royal air force plane to fly Hoodfar to Muscat on her way to Canada, heeding a Canadian request to help in her release, state news agency ONA quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least seven dual-nationality citizens or expatriates visiting the country over the past year, the highest such number in acknowledged detention in recent years.

Oman, an ally of the West that also maintains good relations with Tehran, has previously helped facilitate prisoner exchanges between Iran and the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while his country had sought Hoodfar's release "at the highest levels," it had worked with Oman, Italy and Switzerland since Ottawa has no embassy in Iran.

"I would also like to recognise the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation," he said in a statement. "They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Canadian counterpart Stephane Dion met last week during the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York for the first time since Tehran and Ottawa severed relations four years ago.

Canada shut its embassy in Iran and expelled all Iranian diplomats in Canada in 2012 after accusing Tehran of posing the biggest threat to global security, mainly over its nuclear programme and military assistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Since striking a deal with world powers last year under which it curbed its nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief, pragmatist Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has sought to mend ties with the West to improve the economy.
India begins campaign at United Nations to isolate Pakistan

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - India began a campaign to isolate Pakistan at the United Nations on Monday, telling the 193-member General Assembly it was time to identify nations who nurture, peddle and export terrorism and isolate them if they don't join the global fight.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the arrest of Pakistani Bahadur Ali was "living proof of Pakistan's complicity in crossborder terror." India has said Ali confessed that he was trained by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group.

"But when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan remains in denial. It persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets," she said on the final day of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

"My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so," Swaraj said.

India accuses Pakistan of having a role in a Sept. 18 raid on an Indian army base in Kashmir, one of the deadliest attacks in the Himalayan region that has been divided since 1947 and lies at the heart of the nuclear-armed neighbors' rivalry. Pakistan denies any role in the attack.

"We need to forget our prejudices and join hands together to script an effective strategy against terror," Swaraj said. "And if any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Saturday to mount a global campaign to isolate Pakistan. Last month U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Pakistan to join other nations in fighting terrorism.

India has long accused Pakistan of backing militant groups operating in disputed Kashmir as well as of sending fighters to other parts of the country to carry out acts of violence. Pakistan denies the allegations.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last week told the U.N. General Assembly India had put unacceptable conditions on dialogue.

"What pre-conditions?" Swaraj said on Monday. "We took the initiative to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship."

Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi dismissed Swaraj's statement on Monday as "a litany of falsehoods and baseless allegations."
FTSE scores worst day in 3 months, downgrades weigh

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Monday and made its worst one-day performance in three months, with Lloyds pushing banks lower after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs and miners tracking weaker metals prices.

InterContinental Hotels fell 5.7 percent, the worst performer in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "equalweight" saying U.S. revenue growth was expected to continue to weaken.

A downgrade by another broker bank hit Lloyds. The British bank fell 3.1 percent after Goldman Sachs cut its rating for the stock to "sell" from "neutral", saying it faced incremental competition from HSBC.

The FTSE 100 index ended down 1.3 percent, its worst one-day percentage decline since late June when Britain voted to leave the European Union (Brexit).

Resource-related stocks also lost ground, with the UK mining index falling 1 percent, as prices of major industrial metals tumbled. Shares in Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore retreated by 0.8 to 2.1 percent.

"The UK market has started the week on the back foot, with some major stocks hit by downgrades by heavyweight investment banks. Nervousness ahead of a meeting of OPEC is also hurting sentiment," Securequity senior trader Jawaid Afsar said.

OPEC members are meeting on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria until Wednesday and will be debating a possible output-limiting deal.

Monday's decline was widespread, with only three stocks in the FTSE 100 index staying in positive territory.
Kerry defends diplomacy as Russian-backed forces pound Aleppo

By Patricia Zengerle and Lisa Barrington

CARTAGENA, Colombia/BEIRUT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended his efforts to negotiate with Moscow over the war in Syria on Monday, despite the collapse of a ceasefire that has led to a massive Russian-backed assault on the besieged rebel-held sector of Aleppo.

Medical supplies were running out in eastern Aleppo, with victims pouring into barely functioning hospitals as Russia and its ally President Bashar al-Assad ignored Western pleas to stop the bombing of the last major urban area in opposition hands.

Moscow and Damascus launched their assault last week despite months of negotiations led by Kerry that resulted in a short-lived ceasefire this month. The secretary of state's diplomatic overtures to Moscow had faced scepticism, including from other senior officials within the U.S. administration.

Kerry said his failed ceasefire was not the cause of the fighting, and the only way to stop the war was to talk. He lashed back at critics, including Republican senator John McCain, who described him last week as "intrepid but delusional" for putting too much faith in Russia.

"The cause of what is happening is Assad and Russia wanting to pursue a military victory," Kerry told reporters during a trip to Colombia. "Today there is no ceasefire and we're not talking to them right now. And what's happening? The place is being utterly destroyed. That's not delusional. That's a fact."

The Syrian government offensive to recapture all of Aleppo, with Russian air support and Iranian help on the ground, has been accompanied by bombing that residents describe as unprecedented in its ferocity.

Some 250,000 civilians remain trapped in the besieged, opposition-held sector of Syria's biggest city. Hundreds of people, including dozens of children, have been reported killed since Thursday night by an onslaught that includes bunker-busting bombs that bring down whole buildings.

In a tense confrontation at the United Nations over the weekend, the United States called Russia's bombing in support of Assad "barbarism", and said Russia was killing civilians, medical staff and aid workers.

Moscow and Damascus say they are bombing only militants, although video from Aleppo has repeatedly shown small children being dug out of the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Inside the rebel-held sector of what was once Syria's largest city, there are only about 30 doctors left, coping with scores of fresh wounded every day.

"Aleppo city's hospitals are overwhelmed with wounded people ... Things are starting to run out," said Aref al-Aref, an intensive care medical worker, who spoke from Aleppo.

"We are unable to bring anything in ... not equipment and not even medical staff. Some medical staff are in the countryside, unable to come in because of the siege," he said.

Bebars Mishal, a civil defence worker in rebel-held Aleppo, said overnight bombardment continued until 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).

"It's the same situation. Especially at night, the bombardment intensifies, it becomes more violent, using all kinds of weapons, phosphorous and napalm and cluster bombs," Mishal told Reuters.

"Now, there's just the helicopter, and God only knows where it will bomb. God knows which building will collapse," he said. "Everybody is scared ... unable to go out. They don't know what to do, or where to go."

Russia and Assad appear to have abandoned diplomacy last week, betting instead on delivering a decisive military blow against the president's enemies on the battlefield. Capturing rebel districts of Aleppo would be the biggest victory of the war so far for Assad, crushing the revolt in its last major urban stronghold.

NO RESPITE

Indicating there would be no respite soon, the Syrian army issued a statement reiterating its call for civilians to steer clear of rebel positions and bases in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring body, says at least 237 people, including at least 38 children, have been killed in Aleppo and nearby countryside since the army declared the end of the ceasefire a week ago. Civil defence workers in opposition territory put the death toll at 400.

The rebel-held sector of Aleppo is completely encircled, making it impossible to receive supplies. The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) charity group said this week in a statement that only 30 doctors remained inside.

"We have patients who will die in the dozens if they are not evacuated," Osama Abo Ezz, a general surgeon and Aleppo coordinator for SAMS, told Reuters, speaking from an area near Aleppo.

"The medical staff is insufficient and completely exhausted. The blood bank refrigerators are completely empty. Vital medicines have almost run out. The ICU beds are insufficient and always full. The CT scanner is out of order," he said.

Residents say the air strikes are using more powerful bombs than ever. A Syrian military source told Reuters on Saturday that weapons were being used that could destroy rebel tunnels and bunkers, dug out during years of opposition control.

A water pumping station serving eastern Aleppo has been destroyed. A spokesman for the World Health Organisation said a technical mission was visiting it to assess damage.

"We don't know how long it will take to restore the functionality," said the spokesman, Tarik Jasarevic.

Rescue efforts during the bombing have been hampered because damage has made roads impassable and because civil defence centres and rescue equipment have themselves been struck.

DIPLOMACY

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the civil war between Assad's government and insurgents, and 11 million driven from their homes. Much of the east of the country is now in the hands of Islamic State fighters, the enemies of all other sides.

Since Russia joined the war a year ago to support Assad's government, the administration of President Barack Obama has been engaged in intensive diplomacy with Moscow, trying to end the war between the government and most insurgent groups and turn the focus towards the common fight against Islamic State.

But the latest escalation has left U.S. Syria policy in tatters, all but destroying any hope of a breakthrough before Obama leaves office next year.
Still robust, Turkey looks set to weather downgrade to "junk"

By Asli Kandemir and Nevzat Devranoglu

ISTANBUL/ANKARA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - On the first trading day after Moody's downgraded Turkey's sovereign rating to "junk", the reaction in Istanbul and Ankara was swift and predictable -- stocks and the lira took a beating and policymakers accused the agency of playing politics.

But the market fall-out was relatively short-lived, and less than some had feared. By afternoon the lira recovered much of its losses and investors paid more than expected in three bond auctions, showing strong demand for the very debt Moody's now classifies as sub-investment grade.

Yet again, Turkey's markets appear to be weathering the storm, as investors focus on its relatively robust economic fundamentals and the considerable potential of its young, 80-million-strong population.

Moody's on Friday cited worries about the rule of law after the July 15 failed coup, as well as risks from a slowing economy as drivers for its downgrade. Growth in economic output dipped to 3.1 percent in the second quarter from 4.7 percent in the first quarter and was seen slowing further.

"While the decision was not entirely unexpected, it's still a severe blow to Turkey's reputation and shows the extent to which the post-coup crackdown has undermined the country's institutional framework in the view of the agencies," said Nicholas Spiro, partner at London-based Lauressa Advisory.

However, analysts noted that Turkey could prove resilient despite the downgrade.

"Long term it has many merits like a young population, a big consumer base and you have, of course, a strong corporate and banking sector," said Sergey Dergachev, senior portfolio manager at Union Investment Privatfonds in Frankfurt.

Moody's cut the government's long-term issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings debt to non-investment grade Ba1 from Baa3. It kept its outlook on the rating "stable," saying the flexible $720 billion economy and strong fiscal track record offset the balance-of-payments pressures.

CRACKDOWN

Some 100,000 people have been either sacked or suspended from the civil service, military and police following the failed coup. Another 40,000 have been detained. Turkey's Western allies and rights groups worry that President Tayyip Erdogan is using the coup as a prextext to curtail dissent.

The government says the measures are necessary to root out the followers of the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it blames for orchestrating the coup. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the accusation and condemned the coup.

Turkey depends on investment to fund its current account deficit -- one of the biggest in the G20 -- and service its foreign debt, requiring more than $200 billion a year. JP Morgan warned in July that a downgrade to junk could prompt the sale of $10 billion in Turkey's sovereign and corporate debt.

Sub-investment grade ratings can spark a sell-off because more conservative funds, such as those that manage pensions, are often required to hold bonds that are rated as investment grade by at least two ratings agencies.

Fitch Ratings is now the only one of the three major ratings agencies that still rates Turkey at investment grade. It is due to review that rating at the start of 2017.

But for funds that can hold riskier debt, Turkey may become an investment opportunity.

"If it's an (investment grade)-only rule you are a forced seller, but for some mandates who are able to hold high yield, such a sell-off is a good re-entry opportunity as well," said Dergachev at Union Investment Privatfonds.

For some analysts, even at "junk" status, Turkey is a more attractive prospect than South Africa, which is facing its own political turmoil with investor doubts about President Jacob Zuma.

Moody's rates South Africa's sovereign debt two notches above Turkey's.

"This seems perverse given the political/policy setting in South Africa, (and) worse ratios over Turkey," said Timothy Ash of Nomura International in London.

Analysts often point to concerns about Turkey's rising household debt-to-GDP ratio, which reached a record high of 21.8 percent in the first quarter of 2015, and stood at 19.4 percent at the end of last year, according to IMF data.

While that corresponds to a 174 percent increase over the last decade, it is still less than half of South Africa, where the household debt to GDP ratio is at 46 percent.
U.S. sanctions Chinese firm tied to North Korea's nuclear program

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery and equipment wholesaler, a new step in tightening the financial noose around North Korea's nuclear program after its fifth nuclear test this month.

The U.S. Treasury said it was sanctioning Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co (DHID) and four of its executives, including the firm's founder, Ma Xiaohong, under U.S. regulations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.

It accused the firm of acting on behalf of North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), which has been under U.S. and U.N. sanctions for supporting proliferation of such weapons.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it had filed criminal charges against the Chinese firm and the executives for using front companies to evade sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

The charges accuse the firm and the individuals of conspiring to violate sanctions rules and engaging in international money laundering. The Justice Department said bank accounts associated with the firm and front companies received hundreds of millions of dollars that transited through the United States.

"Today's action exposes a key illicit network supporting North Korea's weapons proliferation," Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

"DHID and its employees sought to evade U.S. and U.N. sanctions, facilitating access to the U.S. financial system by a designated entity."

The announcement came after the White House said last week that President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed in New York on Sept. 20 to step up cooperation in the U.N. Security Council and in law-enforcement channels after North Korea's latest and largest nuclear test on Sept. 9.

CHINESE INVESTIGATION

China's Foreign Ministry said last week Hongxiang was under investigation following the provisions of U.N. resolution 2270, which imposed tighter sanctions on North Korea in March.

Chinese embassy spokeswoman Fang Hong said Hongxiang Industrial Development Co was being investigated for "illegal behavior" and "economic crimes."

She said China had a "clear and consistent" position of opposing North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.

"We have been earnestly and faithfully implementing Security Council resolutions related to (North Korea) in their entirety and fulfilling our international obligations in non-proliferation export controls," she said.

On Monday, South Korea's JoongAng Daily newspaper reported that China was investigating a top official of the KKBC at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong.

South Korea said on Tuesday it "highly valued" Washington's action against the Chinese firm.

"By exposing the risks of trade with North Korea, we expect this measure to raise the alarm for individuals and entities in third countries as well as China that are trading with North Korea," South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programs and was angered by its latest nuclear test.

Beijing has said it will work within the U.N. to formulate a necessary response, but questions remain as to whether it is willing to agree tough enough steps to force North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.

Discussions are under way on a possible new U.N. sanctions resolution and the senior U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Friday he was confident an agreement would be reached before long, imposing further sanctions and tightening existing ones.

Daniel Russel, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said the aims would include preventing North Korea's abuse of international infrastructure, including banking and shipping, to further its nuclear program.

In announcing Monday's sanctions, the Justice Department said it was seeking forfeiture of all funds held in 25 bank accounts associated with DHID and its front companies located in various banks in China.

"The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege that defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world, surreptitiously moved money through the United States and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear weapons program," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said.
Aid workers pulled out of volatile South Sudan region

By Emma Batha

LONDON, Sept 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly 40 aid workers have been evacuated from a northern area of South Sudan due to deteriorating security, the U.N. food agency said on Monday.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said 38 people from three U.N. agencies and three aid organisations were flown out of Jazeera and Nhialdu in Unity State last week amid signs that fighting was imminent.

Fighting erupted in South Sudan at the end of 2013 between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former deputy Riek Machar.

A peace deal signed in 2015 proved shaky and fresh clashes flared in the capital, Juba, in July, raising fears the young nation could slide back into civil war.

The conflict has helped fuel a hunger crisis, affecting an estimated 4.8 million people.

WFP said its rapid-response team had registered nearly 25,000 people for food assistance in Jazeera before being pulled out. They have been relocated to the central town of Rumbek.

Other humanitarian staff were working on education, water, sanitation and protection programmes as well as projects to rebuild livelihoods. They were flown to Rubkona town.

"We hope the security situation will improve enough to allow re-deployment of our team as soon as possible so we can get people the food assistance they need," a WFP spokeswoman said. "Extended fighting always tends to make humanitarian needs worse."

The Danish Refugee Council confirmed seven of its staff working on food security and protection had been relocated and would return as soon as tensions eased.

Insecurity across South Sudan has uprooted some 1.6 million people from their homes and another 1 million have fled the country.
EU parliament backs visa-free travel for Ukraine, hurdles remain

BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Ukrainians' hopes of securing visa-free travel to the European Union received a boost on Monday when a key committee of the European Parliament backed their cause, but further hurdles remain.

Ukraine, an ex-Soviet republic of 45 million people, faces stiffer resistance from some EU member states at a time of heightened public concern over immigration after more than a million migrants and refugees arrived in the bloc last year.

The European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee backed the proposal for visa-free travel for Ukraine by 38 votes to four against.

A team of lawmakers will now start negotiations on the matter with the European Council, which brings together representatives of the EU member states.

The powerful duo of Germany and France oppose granting more visa-free movement before the bloc has beefed up an emergency mechanism that will allow the swift suspension of more lenient travel rules in the event of a sharp increase in immigration.

Negotiations on this so-called 'suspension mechanism' have ground to a halt, denting the hopes for visa-free travel to the EU of another former Soviet republic, Georgia.

Ukraine is also a more complicated case for the EU as it is much bigger than Georgia and shares a direct border with EU countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, which are part of Europe's Schengen zone of free travel.

The EU backs Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia, which annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Kiev in March 2014 and sides with rebels who later took up arms against government troops in Ukraine's industrial east.
Death toll from militia violence in central Congo jumps to 49

KINSHASA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The death toll from militia clashes with security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week was at least 49, more than three times the number earlier reported, the governor of the province hit by the violence was quoted on Monday as saying.

Fighters from militia group Kamwina Nsapu, seeking to avenge the death of their leader of the same name, battled security forces on Thursday and Friday in the town of Kananga in the centre of the vast central African country.

U.N.-funded Radio Okapi quoted Alex Kande, governor of Kasai Central province as saying that 27 of the dead were militiamen, 16 were members of the security forces and six were civilians.

Initial estimates had put the toll at 13.

The militiamen first entered Kananga on Thursday morning and continued attacks on Friday, including against the town airport.

Tensions between local authorities and Kamwina Nsapu, whose men are often armed with little more than clubs and magic amulets, has erupted into deadly violence on several occasions.
Japan navy chief urges resumption of China port visits

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The head of Japan's navy on Monday repeated criticisms of China's pursuit of territorial claims in Asia but called for a resumption of port and personnel visits suspended for several years amid rising tensions between the two Asian powers.

Admiral Tomohisa Takei said exchange visits by senior naval personnel and warships were effective in improving relationships between armed forces.

"They should be resumed as soon as possible," he told a Washington think tank. "Our door is open."

While criticizing China's for its actions in the East China Sea, where Tokyo and Beijing have competing territorial claims, and in the South China Sea, where China has rival claims with other Asian countries, Takei sought to play down remarks by Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada last week on plans to step up cooperation with the U.S. Navy.

He said Inada's statement that Japan would step up engagement in the South China Sea with "joint training cruises" with the United States did not mean it intended to carry out patrols there, and that this had been misinterpreted.

"It means transit from one point to another; to use such occasions to conduct mutual or bilateral exercises, training with a foreign country," he said.

"That is the usual training and operation we have already conducted for several years."

Takei said Japan had no plans "at this time" to join the United States in freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea, even though it was a vital waterway for the transit of 90 percent of Japan's crude oil and 80 percent of its natural gas.

"And we are not thinking of conducting operations only by ourselves," he added.

While urging greater engagement with China, Takei criticized Beijing for its "deliberate attempt to unilaterally change the status quo and undermine existing norms" by building artificial islands in the South China Sea and accused it of "invasion" of Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea.
Poland will only agree EU approval of Paris climate deal on its terms -minister

By Alissa de Carbonnel

BRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Poland will only sign off on accelerated EU approval of the Paris climate deal on its own terms, its environment minister said in a letter to EU counterparts, casting doubt on a push by the bloc for adoption ahead of U.N. climate talks in November.

In the letter dated Monday and seen by Reuters, Jan Szyszko says Poland, whose economy is heavily dependent on coal, would consent to fast-tracked ratification "only on terms that take into account the specificity of the Polish economy".

EU environment ministers meet on Friday for an extraordinary meeting to seek consensus on a proposal to fast-track the bloc's ratification of the deal to curb global warming without waiting for each member state to first do so individually.

But Poland's demands could derail the efforts to overcome an embarrassing delay in the bloc's own ratification of the pact that Europe has long championed.

The stakes are high because if the EU, the world's third-largest emitter, is able to agree before Oct. 7, it could win the symbolic prize of triggering the accord's formal adoption.

The Paris deal on slashing greenhouse gas emissions takes effect once at least 55 nations making up at least 55 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions ratify it.

EU officials see their leadership in helping to secure the backing of nearly 200 countries for the global pact as a rare bright spot for a bloc now struggling with Britain's decision to leave the Union and sharp divisions over migration.

They want to fast-track ratification of the deal to keep temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and avoid a delay that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker this month described as "ridiculous" and damaging to the bloc's credibility.

EU energy chief Maros Sefcovic told Reuters earlier on Monday that Poland was on board with the plans.

"The European Commission is in intensive talks with all member states so that they are able to reach a political consensus at the extraordinary meeting of environment ministers to ratify the Paris treaty jointly as the EU," he said.

"At a recent Bratislava summit, all leaders including Poland's PM agreed to ratify it as soon as possible ... I am convinced that the Slovak presidency will be successful at finalising negotiations on ratification."

But when EU regulators unveiled plans in July for spreading the burden of the bloc's climate goal of at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 among member states, Poland objected to its target of a reduction in discharges by 7 percent.

"Poland shall consent to ratify the Paris Agreement by the EU, provided that our reduction achievements made so far under the Kyoto Protocol and the specificity of our national energy mix are considered," Szyszko said in Monday's letter.

"Poland is a country rich in energy sources and its energy security, based on its own resources, that is hard coal and lignite is the foundation of Poland's economy and sustainable development."
Indus Waters Treaty isnt only a relic of the Nehruvian times; this 1960 pact is a landmark in the history of watersharing agreements between countries the world over, and certainly the shining example of cross-country cooperation in Asia. Its generosity towards Pakistan (allowing over 80 per cent of the waters for use in the lower-riparian country) has come under scrutiny in the wake of the terror attacks, the latest being against the Uri Army base, and amid the clamour to abrogate the treaty will Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet the various departments and consultants today to mull over the course of action.

However, lets be clear about this: reviewing the finer points of the treaty is one thing; withdrawing from it unilaterally is simply quite another. A river cant be stopped overnight from flowing into its territory except in mythologies. A river doesnt know borders, only how to flow. A river doesnt respect petty rivalries between two warring nations, and any unthoughtout attempt to drastically alter its course would only bring upon misery for both the co-riparian states.

Hence, the line blood is thicker than water, though catchy, is an extremely misleading one. For one, water is the basic ingredient of blood, going by simply scientifically established facts, and without enough water that can be peacefully harnessed by the people, blood will be spilt.

Given that Pakistan is a single river-basin country, with only Indus and its tributaries to depend on, the treaty is certainly a huge safeguard. Unlike India, which is home to two massive river systems  Indus and the Ganges, Pakistans water lifeline comes with the control button in India.

Such is the unfinished project of Partition.

Late former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru with Pakistan's President Ayub Khan signing the Indus Waters Treaty on September 19, 1960. [Photo: Agencies]

The water wars

Despite being a bone of contention, until now the Indus Waters Treaty has been solemnly adhered to. It has survived two wars  in 1965 and 1971, and wasnt really tampered with during the 1999 Kargil conflict. Its a testament to Indias diplomatic patience that Pakistans repeated attempts to internationalise the IWT by taking the matter to the International Court of Arbitration has been met with stoic resilience on the Indian side.

In a geopolitically unstable region like South Asia, the water pacts that India is party to hold immense importance. Geographically, South Asia is a unit with interconnected and extremely co-dependent ecosystems, with rivers originating in the Himalayas and draining in either the Bay of Bengal to the east or the Arabian Sea to the west. Both the lower riparian countries  Pakistan and Bangladesh  therefore are directly reliant on the mighty rivers that flow into their territories after traversing swathes of India. Water cooperation for South Asia isnt an ethical luxury, its an absolute necessity.

Indian largesse versus Pakistans obstructionism

The generosity of the Indus Waters Treaty has been a source of grievance for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a power-starved state, because of which in 2003, the late Mufti Mohammad Saeed had passed a resolution in the J&K Assembly seeking a review of the treaty. Of course, it didnt go through.

Strategic experts like Brahma Chellaney have been vociferously favouring a treaty review, in the wake of Pakistan trying to stall middle-level hydelpower projects on smaller Indus tributaries like the Kishenganga and Ratle by seeking new arbitration proceedings.

Pakistans water paranoia can be gauged from 1947 onwards, when it feared India would restrict the Indus water flow and create drought and famine across the border. But right from the Standstill Agreement of 1948 to the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, India has met its water obligations to the last word.

Even though Chellany et al think that compliance with the treaty has in fact been counter-productive for India, with Pakistan building mega dam projects on the Indus tributaries while at the same time objecting to India building even middle-level ones for irrigation and power generation purposes, the treaty has ensured that a manmade drought or famine is averted in northwestern part of South Asia.

Pakistan is a single-river basin country, heavily dependent on the Indus and its tributaries. [Photo: Maps of India]

Water terror and possible refugee crisis

Global climate change, depletion of the Himalayan glaciers and rainfall shortages in the recent years have ensured that swathes of South Asia, particularly its northwestern part, comprising Pakistan and Afghanistan, must brace for severe water shortages in the times to come. Add to that pollution of the rivers, staggering quantities of industrial waste, inadequately developed rainwater harvesting system and growing need for rural electrification.

That Pakistan is looking at a grim future of water-starved restiveness goes without saying. And abrogating the Indus Waters Treaty in an already tense situation of state-sponsored terror from that country would only aggravate the problem, not solve it.

Moreover, neighbouring Afghanistan is equally battling a looming environmental crisis due to soil erosion, increasing salinisation of precious ground water, devegetation and conflict-led pollution of natural resources.

Taken together, the Af-Pak region, in the wake of any serious revocation the water-sharing pact, would see an escalation of environment refugees, something that must be considered during any recalibration of the treaty.

Abrogating the IWT will send Pakistan into a vortex of uncertainty and certainly hasten the water-stressed situation. When coupled with flash floods, avalanches and irregular rainfall, this has a capacity to devastate a huge riverine ecosystem, which will of course adversely impact India, flooding the cities and other terrains of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis two back-to-back speeches in Kerala over the weekend were warmly received by Indias peace professionals. They said in delighted unison that Modi was finally advocating the sensible line they had been recommending for years: strategic restraint .

What precisely is strategic restraint? In essence, it means responding to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism without serious military or economic retaliation. The benefit to India from such restraint? Uninterrupted economic growth.

This of course is nonsense. The US, Israel and France  to cite just three examples  have shown that economic growth and military action against terrorism are not mutually exclusive.

Meanwhile, those disappointed with the PM's nuanced speech, though filled with duality of intent, had expected Modi to deliver a tough, unambiguous message to Pakistan that enough was enough. Red lines have been crossed. Pakistan must be taught a lesson.

They regard Modis direct call to the Pakistani people to fight a war on poverty and unemployment as a cop-out. They expect direct military action for the Uri attack, not a homily on poverty and unemployment. That reminds them of ten years' of Manmohan Singh and his apologetic statement on Balochistan at a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Modis speech has, of course, been widely misread. The first 95 per cent of his address strongly condemns Pakistans abetment of terrorism. It was the closing five per cent of his address, when he spoke of competing with Pakistan in the war on poverty and unemployment, that Indias small but influential community of peaceniks seized upon as an expression of strategic restraint.

Clarity of objectives

So how should India tackle Pakistani-instigated terrorism? There must first be absolute clarity on what Pakistans objective of bleeding India by a thousand cuts is predicated on.

Islamabads strategic aim is to wound, not kill. Kashmir is a pretext. The Pakistani army is a professional terrorist-sponsoring force as well as a multinational business corporation.

Its Generals control roughly one-third of Pakistans total corporate revenue. The last thing Rawalpindi GHQ wants is an all-out war with India which it will lose and cause significant damage to its business interests.

PM Narendra Modi pointedly mentioned both Sindh and Pashtunistan in his recent Kerala speech, apart from Afghanistan and Bangladesh  both victims of Pakistan-sponsored terror. (Photo credit: India Today)

Between war and strategic paralysis, India has several options which together will bleed Pakistan by a thousand cuts and impose a severe cost on its sponsorship of terrorism:

One, fully back the Free Balochistan movement. Balochistan lies at the heart of the $46-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Unrest there will cripple progress on the CPEC. Grant asylum to Brahumdagh Bugti and other Baloch living in exile abroad. Allow them to set up a Balochistan government-in-exile in India. There is a precedent: in 1959 Nehru allowed a Free Tibet government-in-exile to be established in Dharamsala.

Two, support dissidents in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan which is legally Indian territory. Its people are constitutionally Indian citizens. The CPEC passes through Gilgit-Baltistan  a violation of Indian sovereignty by Pakistan and China which can be challenged in international fora.

Three, review (not abrogate) the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Regulating water flow into Pakistan from Indian territory provides considerable leverage.

Uttam Sinha of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) said recently: We should use this option legitimately. It is Indias right under the treaty. Pakistan cannot challenge this as it knows India can use water of the western rivers under the specified clauses of the treaty. If India exercises this option, it would be enough to put Pakistan under extreme pressure.

Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) said in an interview to a daily that India has been permitted to construct storage of water on the western rivers up to 3.6 million acre feet (MAF) for various purposes. The country, however, has not developed any storage facility.

He added: We have never exercised our rights under the treaty as we have not created infrastructure on our side to use water of the western rivers. We must, therefore, concentrate on building barrages and other storage facilities to use the water.

This now is exactly what the government proposes to do following the PM's meeting with senior officials on September 26. The decision will provide Jammu and Kashmir an additional 15,000 MW of hydroelectric power by reducing the flow of water  legally  to Pakistan.

Four, pass the private members Bill (already submitted by MP Rajeev Chandrashekar to the Rajya Sabha) to declare Pakistan a terrorist state. Other legislatures like Americas Congress have done the same to designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism. Once so designated, wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on Pakistan and its top leaders will kick in.

Five, withdraw Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan. The trade affected will be small but the step is symbolic of Indian intent and resolve. If India retains MFN status for Pakistan, it will dilute that resolve.

Six, provide moral support (as Pakistan pretends to do in Kashmir while actually instigating and funding terror) to the people of Sindh and to the Pashtuns. Both want an independent homeland free of Pakistans gunboots. The PM pointedly mentioned both Sindh and Pashtunistan in his speech apart from Afghanistan and Bangladesh  both victims of Pakistan-sponsored terror.

By thus pointing out Pakistans vulnerabilities, Modi was signalling that the option of covert military operations by Indian special forces remains part of his multi-pronged approach. A combination of these actions will impose a heavy cost on Pakistan. Until India makes Pakistan pay, it will not stop terrorism on Indian soil.

What about China? Will it stay silent as India bleeds Pakistan?

China has its own vulnerabilities. These include Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang and a slowing economy. Beijing will help Pakistan rattle a sabre or two but knows that the Indian market for Chinese products  the worlds largest outside America and China  is too big to alienate.

Consider Beijings four geopolitical vulnerabilities: first, Chinas terror-prone northwest province of Xinjiang, through which the CPEC passes; second, Beijings problems with the new anti-China government in Taiwan, third, the perennial global opprobrium it receives over oppression in Tibet; and four, its festering disputes with Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and others in the South China Sea.

All of these give India multiple levers to discourage Chinese support of Islamabad beyond a point when India retaliates against Pakistans proxy terrorism.

The PM knows this. Hence the strategic duality in his speech so gleefully, but mistakenly, seized upon by Indias febrile Pakistan-nurtured lobby.
Absent governance

Pakistan sinks in amnesia when discussing foreign policy and behaves like a state with its internal sovereignty intact. It has actually handed over the conduct of its foreign policy to jihadi elements it no longer controls. It also forgets that any "reformulation" of policy by the elected government may run up against the ingrained mindset of these non-state elements.

Indeed what is amply proved on the streets is the capacity of these "instruments" of policy to also be the formulators of policy. Many "incidents" have to be "owned" by the state through the paradox of denial, that is, instead of punishing the instrument, denying that the instrument has orchestrated an event.

Pakistan has suffered economic damage pursuing the unchanging "principled" policy of revisionist challenge to India but this may not have hurt it enough to make it repent.

In his latest comment, ex-World Bank Pakistani economist Shahid Javed Burki says: "The past process was 'India-centric' in the sense that Pakistan tried, sometimes with desperation, to balance Indias growing military might. That approach proved costly."

In a 2007 report, I estimated the cost to Pakistan of the running dispute with India over Kashmir and other issues. I estimated that the Kashmir dispute alone had cost Pakistan 2.25 per cent to 3.20 per cent a year of growth loss in GDP terms.

"Compounded over a period of six decades, this suggests the magnitude of the colossal damage Pakistan has done to its economy by following this particular quarrel with India. This study used purely economic factors; it did not take into account the undeniable fact that some of the cost of this approach towards India contributed to the rise of Islamic extremism in the country. That, too, has resulted in serious economic losses."

Narendra Modi thinks India too has damaged its economy through the anti-business Nehruvian model, which his predecessor prime minister began to overturn but failed to complete the job. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can hit it off with Prime Minister Modi but will be hampered by elements that force the world to call Pakistan a failed state by reason of lost "internal sovereignty".

Nawaz Sharif can hit it off with Narendra Modi but will be hampered by elements that force the world to call Pakistan a failed state by reason of lost "internal sovereignty". (Photo: Reuters)

Modi will take the trade-first option offered by Sharif; but if he is squeezed on the "Kashmir-first" option he will join the rest of the world on squeezing Sharif with "do-more" pressure against Pakistans "instruments of foreign policy", the non-state actors.

Internal demons

An impetuous interior minister in Islamabad stubbed his toe on the presence, in Pakistan, of a Mumbai don named Dawood Ibrahim. He assumed that Modi had made progress with Pakistan conditional to Pakistan coughing up Dawood Ibrahim, wanted for terrorism in India.

It developed that Modi hadnt said anything about Dawood Ibrahim. But in the coming days, the Mumbai don and many others in the gallery of non-state rogues, let off with fig leaf verdicts by Pakistani courts according to international opinion, will become a major agenda of bilateral discussion.

Sleepwalking to Surrender: Dealing with Terrorism in Pakistan Kindle Edition; Viking.

Pakistan will balk; and Pakistan will suffer for being transfixed in a policy rut. Most foreign policy experts in Pakistan study events keeping their eyes averted from how much Modi can gain from international reaction to Pakistans gallery of internal rogues.

In 2008, a UN Security Council committee, on Indias request, designated Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the frontal organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a global terrorist organisation and its leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, chief of operations of LeT, and Haji Muhammad Ashraf, chief of finance of the group, as terrorists. America went ahead and placed $10 million on Saeeds head.

While in jail, Lakhvi has been allowed to wed again and, after regular cohabitation, become the father of a baby. Unfortunately for Pakistan, in 2012, a terrorist called Abu Jandal but actually Zabihuddin of India, repatriated to India by seemingly friendly-to-Pakistan Saudi Arabia, revealed all.

While Zabihuddin was doing R&R in Saudi Arabia after training in Pakistan, Lakhvi phoned him triumphantly from his Rawalpindi prison to tell him that he was having the time of his life four years after his trial started with no end in sight in 2013.

In 2013, the Supreme Court of India pronounced that the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai, which killed 257 people, were the result of "the management and conspiracy of the blasts by Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, and that it was executed with the help of the ISI which played a vital role in imparting training to the accused".

Dawood Ibrahim is officially not in Pakistan but his movement is apparently not restricted by any niceties of security although some Karachi publications have come under pressure for reporting his whereabouts. Rumours hit Lahore in April when he visited the city to shop for another wedding in the family.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waited till Saturday to reveal his hand over the Uri attack.

Over-the-top coverage in the Indian media wanted to push Modi for a military strike on Pakistan, and his own partymen were cheering on the process.

Yet, when the prime minister spoke at a meeting of the BJP's national council in Kozhikode in Kerala it was in calculated, if tough tones, but clearly shelving military options and instead challenging Pakistan to a duel on removing poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, maternal deaths and infant mortality.

Restraint

The Modi line emphasises strategic restraint on the military sphere, while stepping up the diplomatic pressure, and possibly covert operations, to isolate and sanction Pakistan.

Clearly, the prime minister insists on maintaining focus on India's economic transformation, a project that would be derailed were India to get involved in any military adventure.

More importantly, Modi appears to recognise the point being made by several analysts, that it is strategic restraint that has brought India to the front rank of economic powers, where Pakistan has been brought to its knees by the blowback from its long support for terrorism.

On the other hand, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech to the UN General Assembly in New York last Wednesday, was clearly a wasted opportunity.

It was the usual tirade criticising India on Kashmir, and a grab bag of other issues - claiming victimhood on the issue of terrorism, demanding equal rights with India on the issue of membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and so on.

Screen grab of Uri attack. (Photo credit: PTI)

On Friday, in a stopover at London on his way back, Sharif took another tack, arguing that the Uri attack was the consequence of the Indian "atrocities" in Kashmir, implying that the attackers were local residents, rather than Pakistani nationals.

Modi' speech was a skilful mix of verbal aggression and restraint. He spoke after a publicised meeting with the three service chiefs, and in a significant gesture, made it a point to separate the people of Pakistan from its government, saying that the people of the country would themselves turn against their government to fight terrorism.

He pointedly referred to Pakistan's inability to hold on to its eastern wing, and the dissidence it faces in POK, Gilgit, Balochistan, Pakhtunistan and Sindh, and said that Kashmir was being used to distract them from their real problems.

Promises

Those observing Sharif's performance say that his heart was not in it; that he was reading from a prepared text is not unusual, but his body-language seemed to suggest that he was not quite in form.

When Sharif came to power in 2013, there were expectations that he would reach out to India as a means of fulfilling his election promises which were mainly on the need to promote economic growth.

He was also expected to keep the Pakistan army at length, considering his own experience at the hands of his erstwhile army chief Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

However, the army pre-empted him by getting Tahir ul Qadri and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to launch agitations against him and paralyse the functioning of his government.

More recently, the issue of his illegal assets has come up through the Panama revelations. As of now, it appears that Sharif's party, the PML(N) is in no shape to take on anyone.

As a result his ambitious economic agenda, including an opening up to India have stalled, though Pakistan's economy is doing well and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor scheme have injected hope into the country.

Statesmanship

Attacks such as the ones in Pathankot and Uri have been specifically designed to ensure that he does not stray from the path the army has laid out for him. This path has no room for an Indian outreach.

The choices before Sharif are stark. He can quietly retire from the scene in 2018 when the general elections are due, or adjust his policies to align themselves to those of the Pakistan army.

As for Modi, he has clearly indicated that he is in it for the long run. By refusing to be provoked, either by Pakistan, or his own bhakts, he has displayed statesmanship.

No doubt, somewhere in the system, there will be plans to get back at the Pakistan army's role in the Uri incident.

But the bottom-line Indian response is that we will not be distracted by skirmishes - our aim is to win the war.

And that war is not to be fought with guns and bombs, but as Modi indicated, infrastructure and industry, employment and social change. As for elections in 2019, Modi intends to win them.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the nation for the first time from Kerala after the dastardly attack by Pakistan on the Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, in which 18 of our soldiers were martyred.

The speech came amid growing demand for retaliation against Pakistan whose violence against India continues unabated. The PM was at his oratorical best as he addressed multiple audiences.

He addressed the armed forces to boost their morale when he spoke of their courage and sacrifice and how the nation was behind them.

He spoke about how India and its forces were ready to face challenges in the form of terrorism and the threat of the 1,000 years war the Pakistanis dream of with India; of how the Army has in recent months seen an escalating battle against terrorists and saved the country from 17 such attacks by killing over 110 terrorists. He said the nation will not forget the sacrifice of the 18 soldiers martyred in Uri and that it will not go in vain.

He addressed the people of India in assuaging their sentiments when he said the government in Delhi was willing to take the battle to the enemy. To what extent he was successful is another question, as the people of the country are really outraged and looking for the government to initiate punitive action against Pakistan.

He addressed Indias neighbours too who are suffering from Pakistans terror, especially Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and the larger international community when he said that after any terror attack anywhere in the world, links lead to Pakistan or that terrorists find refuge in Pakistan, just like Osama bin Laden did. The recent New York bombings too have links to Pakistan.

This is part of Indias effort to isolate Pakistan diplomatically in the world. India is preparing a dossier to be sent to the international community, where it intends to name and shame Pakistan for perpetrating terror attacks across the world. Home minister Rajnath Singh called Pakistan a terrorist state after the Uri attack.

Its for the first time an Indian PM called the Pakistani Army a terrorist organisation. (Photo credit: India Today)

The interesting part of the PMs speech was when he addressed the Pakistan Army, its civilian government and its people. In my opinion it was a massive psychological operation by the PM.

He used the words Hukumrano of Pakistan referring to the civil leadership of the neighbouring country, and Aatankwadiyo ke Aqa referring to the Pakistan Army Generals, when he said that the leadership reads the script given to them by the Army.

Its for the first time an Indian PM called the Pakistan Army a terrorist organisation, when Modi said the chief of Army was the leader of all terrorists. I have been saying for years that the Pakistan Army are terrorists in uniform.

He addressed the individual constituents of Pakistan when he said Pakistan wants Kashmir but cant take care of what it has. It cant take care of Gilgit-Baltistan, part of the Indian territory of Jammu & Kashmir that Pakistan occupies. It cant take care of Pakhtunistan which is under its control.

This plays on the fault-lines of the Pashtuns. Afghanistan which has a large Pashtun population has never recognised the Durand line and wants the Pashtun areas which are occupied by Pakistan.

Modi talked about Pakistan not being able to take care of Sindh. There is a Sindhudesh freedom movement and also a violent uprising by the Mohajirs led by the MQM. He once again talked about Balochistan which Pakistan occupies but cant take care of, as well as referenced East Pakistan and how Bangladesh came into being.

The message is not lost when he refers to the individual constituents of Pakistan and then refers to Bangladesh in the Independence of which India played a prominent role.

And finally but importantly, he addressed the people of Pakistan directly. Probably the first time any PM of India has done this. He said that before 1947, their ancestors loved the land that is India. He asked the people of Pakistan to rise against the terror its army and civil leadership was promoting.

He asked the people of Pakistan to question its army and leaders as to why after 70 years of Independence and Partition, Pakistan was being known for exporting terror while India was known for exporting software. He asked the people of Pakistan to compete with India in eliminating poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, infant mortality and maternal deaths.

Modis address to the people of Pakistan will not go down well with the Aatankwadi ke Aqa as he tried to urge the people of that country to rise against them. Most likely they will censor Modis speech and not publish it in their newspapers or give much coverage on TV. The Pakistan Army tightly controls all news and vets it before being published. Those not falling in line face the music.

While the speech was excellent, it didnt give away anything about what India plans to do to deter terrorists coming from Pakistan and avenge Uri. Obviously, he cant lay out specifics but he did say we will not forget the sacrifice of 18 soldiers.
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Oslo, Norway-based Xeneta, a global benchmarking and market intelligence firm with a focus on the containerized ocean freight industry, has opened its first U.S. office in New York City.



Xeneta, a global benchmarking and market intelligence firm with a focus on the containerized ocean freight industry, has opened its first U.S. office in New York City.

The office will be headed by CEO Patrik Berglund and William Di Ieso, the companys director of business development for the Americas.

Xeneta, which started operations in Oslo, Norway in 2012, collects data from more than 600 companies, providing information across more than 17 million contracted rates and covering over 60,000 port-to-port pairings.

The recent collapse of Hanjin Shipping shows how quickly the market develops, with oversupply switching to under-supply, new services being launched and rate hikes across the board. The only way to really keep up with such a dynamic segment, and get the best prices for your cargoes, is to stay on top of the very latest big data analysis and decipher market trends, Berglund said in a statement. As the biggest importer of containerized ocean freight, the U.S. has a greater need for this new breed of market intelligence than anywhere else.
The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Credit Management LLC, AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe Holdings S.a.r.l, AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Operations Inc., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund II GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund III GP LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund IV GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American International Group UK Limited, American International Realty LLC, American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A. en Liquidacion S.A., Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., C.A. de Seguros American International, Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Glatfelter Underwriting Services Inc., Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Illinois National Insurance Co., Inversiones Segucasai C.A., Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, Lexington Specialty Insurance Agency Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PCG 2019 Corporate Member Limited, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SAFG Capital LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., and Western World Insurance Company.

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Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. operates bookstores for college and university campuses, and K-12 institutions in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Digital Student Solutions. The company sells and rents new and used print textbooks, digital textbooks, and publisher hosted digital courseware through physical and virtual bookstores, as well as directly to students through Textbooks.com. It also offers First Day and First Day Complete access programs; BNC OER+, a turnkey solution for colleges and universities, that offers digital content, such as videos, activities, and auto-graded practice assessments; and general merchandise, including collegiate and athletic apparel, school spirit products, lifestyle products, technology products, supplies, graduation products, and convenience items. In addition, the company sources, sells, and distributes new and used textbooks; and sells hardware and a software suite of applications that provides inventory management and point-of-sale solutions to approximately 350 college bookstores. Further, it offers direct-to-student subscription-based writing services; and bartleby, a direct-to-student subscription-based offering that includes textbook solutions, expert questions and answers, and writing and tutoring services. The company operates 805 physical college and university bookstores; 622 virtual bookstores; 8 True Spirit e-commerce websites; pop-up retail locations; 73 customized cafes and 11 stand-alone convenience stores; and a media channel for brands targeting the college demographic. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Learn more .

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest, and most recognizable, stock exchanges in the world. The NYSE is in New York City, New York at 11 Wall Street. The NYSE has been in existence since the earliest days of the United States becoming a nation, in 1792 and is primarily made up of blue-chip companies with large market capitalizations. In fact, many of the stocks that make up the Dow Jones Composite Index (i.e. The Dow) are listed on the NYSE.

This article gives a brief history of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it covers topics such as what kind of stocks trade on the exchange, what are the listing requirements, how trading is performed, and what the daily price movement of the NYSE tells investors about investor sentiment.

What Were the Origins of the NYSE?

Today, the New York Stock Exchange is known as the center of the financial universe. However, the exchanges origin is far more humble. On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating a centralized exchange to help provide order to the securities market in what was still a young nation. The "Buttonwood Agreement comes from the tree of the same name under which the founders signed the agreement.

An initial benefit of the exchange was how it removed the need for auctioneers when trading commodities like wheat and tobacco and to set a commission rate. The exchange initially focused on government bonds.

However, the exchange had no formal home. Business was usually conducted informally in the local coffeehouses. In 1817, the exchange changed its name to the New York Stock & Exchange Board which later became the New York Stock Exchange. At this time, the exchange adopted a constitution that set the rules for trading. A group of stockbrokers met twice a day at 40 Wall Street to trade 30 stocks and bonds.

Over time, the exchange moved became the financial hub of the country and moved to its current location in 1865.

What Kind of Stocks Trade on the NYSE?

As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. Although the NYSE trades stocks of all market capitalizations, its best known for trading the stocks of large cap companies. These have the benefit of being mature companies in mature industries. And many of these companies reward shareholders with dividends.

However, that also means that many of these companies are better suited for value investors as opposed to growth investors. In bear markets this stability can be a benefit for investors as these stocks tend to perform less bad than more volatile stocks. But in a bull market, these stocks are not likely to provide investors with the growth that they look for.

An interesting fact about how the NYSE and NASDAQ operate is that the companies with the five largest market caps on the NYSE are also listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

What Are the Listing Requirements For the NYSE?

The NYSE has strict guidelines that govern the types of companies that can list on the exchange. Here are the major requirements that all companies must meet:

The company must have at least 2,200 shareholders

The company must trade over 100,000 shares per month

The company must have a market valuation of over $100 million

The company must generate more than $75 million in annual revenue

However, there is at least one advantage of having such stringent requirements. That is the companies that meet the requirements generally find it easier to get more investors funds when they hold their initial public offering (IPO).

Once a company begins trading on the NYSE, it must continue to meet these requirements. If it doesnt it can be delisted. In addition to these requirements, the stock must continue to trade above $1. If the price of a stock drops below $1 for more than 29 consecutive trading days, the stock receives an Initial Price Violation Notice.

At that point, the company has 10 days to provide the exchange with a plan for bringing their shares above $1.

How are Trades Executed on the NYSE?

For over a century, the floor of the NYSE was the place for investors to be. This meant trades were conducted by traders who ran buy and sell orders across the trading floor looking to broker a deal for their clients. But with the birth of the NASDAQ exchange in 1971, the New York Stock Exchange began conducting electronic trading.

However, the NYSE continues to conduct trades in an auction style. Brokers purchase stocks on behalf of their clients or firms. Every order features a broker who will enter the order electronically and a specialist who serves as the market maker for that stock. The specialist posts bid and ask prices and manages the actual execution of the trades. And there are still a handful of stockbrokers who still traffic buy and sell orders physically on the floor of the exchange.

How Does the NYSE Signal Investor Sentiment?

Like its counterpart, the NASDAQ, the NYSE measures the risk appetite of investors. When the NYSE is moving higher over a length of time, it signals that a risk on environment. Conversely when the NYSE moves lower over a significant period, it signals that investors are moving to a risk off position.

Some Final Thoughts on the NYSE

Financial news networks plan their programming schedule around the opening and closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Its still considered a distinguished honor when individuals or groups are invited to ring the opening bell. In fact, Warren Buffett is attributed with saying that in the short term, the stock market acts like a voting machine. A fact that many U.S. presidents will attest to.

The NYSE is the oldest and most recognizable of all the stock exchanges. It also has the most stringent requirements for inclusion. And those requirements must be maintained even after a stock begins publicly trading on the exchange.

Although the NYSE still has a small in-person Trading Floor, much of the trading is done electronically to provide traders with the speed to execute trades.
Dollar General Corporation, a discount retailer, provides various merchandise products in the southern, southwestern, Midwestern, and eastern United States. It offers consumable products, including paper and cleaning products, such as paper towels, bath tissues, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, disinfectants, and laundry products; packaged food comprising cereals, pasta, canned soups, fruits and vegetables, condiments, spices, sugar, and flour; and perishables that include milk, eggs, bread, refrigerated and frozen food, beer, and wine. The company's consumable products also comprise snacks, such as candies, cookies, crackers, salty snacks, and carbonated beverages; health and beauty products, including over-the-counter medicines and personal care products, such as soaps, body washes, shampoos, cosmetics, and dental hygiene and foot care products; pet supplies and pet food; and tobacco products. In addition, it offers seasonal products comprising holiday items, toys, batteries, small electronics, greeting cards, stationery, prepaid phones and accessories, gardening supplies, hardware, and automotive and home office supplies; and home products that include kitchen supplies, cookware, small appliances, light bulbs, storage containers, frames, candles, craft supplies and kitchen, and bed and bath soft goods. Further, the company provides apparel, which comprise casual everyday apparel for infants, toddlers, girls, boys, women, and men, as well as socks, underwear, disposable diapers, shoes, and accessories. As of February 25, 2022, it operated 18,190 stores in 47 states in the United States. The company was formerly known as J.L. Turner & Son, Inc. and changed its name to Dollar General Corporation in 1968. Dollar General Corporation was founded in 1939 and is based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens.
Validus Holdings, Ltd. provides reinsurance coverage, insurance coverage, and insurance linked securities management services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Reinsurance, Insurance, and Asset Management. The Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance products on a catastrophe excess of loss, per risk excess of loss and proportional basis; and aerospace and aviation, agriculture, composite, marine, technical lines, terrorism, trade credit, workers' compensation, and other specialty lines, as well as casualty and financial lines. The Insurance segment underwrites property, accident and health, agriculture, aviation, contingency, marine, and political lines insurance products; bankers blanket bond, commercial crime, computer crime, cyber- crime, professional indemnity, and directors' and officers' insurance products for various financial institutions and other companies; and commercial and institutional risks comprising general, professional, and product liability, as well as miscellaneous malpractice insurance products. This segment also underwrites marine and energy liability, and political risk insurance products, as well as insurance products for repair, maintenance, and upkeep of aircrafts and premises for small companies. The Asset Management segment manages capital for third parties through insurance-linked securities, and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments. Validus Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2005 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.
The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.

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The following companies are subsidiares of PepsiCo: Alimentos Quaker Oats y Compania Limitada, Alimentos del Istmo S.A., Amavale Agricola Ltda., Anderson Hill Insurance Limited, Asia Bottlers Limited, BAESA Capital Corporation Ltd., BFY Brands, BFY Brands LLC, BFY Brands Limited, BUG de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Balmoral Industries LLC, Bare Foods Co., Barrhead LLC, Be & Cheery, Beaman Bottling Company, Bebidas Sudamerica S.A., Beech Limited, Bell Taco Funding Syndicate, Bendler Investments II Ltd, Bendler Investments S.a r.l, Beverage Services Limited, Beverages Foods & Service Industries Inc., Bishkeksut OJSC, Blaue NC S. de R.L. de C.V., Blue Cloud Distribution Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arizona Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arkansas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Colorado Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Florida Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Georgia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Illinois Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Indiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Iowa Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Kentucky Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Louisiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Minnesota Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Mississippi Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Missouri Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nebraska Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nevada Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of North Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Ohio Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Oklahoma Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Pennsylvania Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of South Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Tennessee Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Texas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Virginia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Wisconsin Inc., Blue Ridge Sales LLC, Bluebird Foods Limited, Bluecan Holdings Unlimited Company, Bokomo Zambia Limited, Bolsherechensky Molkombinat JSC, Boquitas Fiestas LLC, Boquitas Fiestas S.R.L., Bottling Group Financing LLC, Bottling Group Holdings LLC, Bottling Group LLC, Bronte Industries Ltd, C & I Leasing Inc., CB Manufacturing Company Inc., CEME Holdings LLC, CMC Investment Company, Caroni Investments LLC, Centro-Mediterranea de Bebidas Carbonicas PepsiCo S.L., Ceres Fruit Juices Pty Ltd, ChampBev Inc., China Concentrate Holdings Hong Kong Limited, Chipsy International for Food Industries S.A.E., Chipsy for Food Industries S.A.E., Chitos Internacional y Cia Ltda, Cipa Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cipa Nordeste Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cocina Autentica Inc., Comercializadora CMC Investment y Compania Limitada, Comercializadora Nacional SAS Ltda., Comercializadora PepsiCo Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., Compania de Bebidas PepsiCo S.L., Concentrate Holding Uruguay Pte. Ltd., Concentrate Manufacturing Singapore Pte. Ltd., Confiteria Alegro S. de R.L. de C.V., Copella Fruit Juices Limited, Copper Beech International LLC, Corina Snacks Limited, Corporativo Internacional Mexicano S. de R.L. de C.V., CytoSport Holdings Inc., CytoSport Inc., Davlyn Realty Corporation, Defosto Holdings Limited, Desarrollo Inmobiliario Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Dilexis S.A., Donon Holdings Limited, Drinkfinity USA Inc., Drinkstation Inc., Drinkstation Innovation Co. Ltd., Drinkstation Limited, Dutch Snacks Holding S.A. de C.V., Duyvis Production B.V., EPIC Enterprises Inc., Echo Bay Holdings Inc., Elaboradora Argentina de Cereales S.R.L., Enter Logistica LLC, Environ at Inverrary Partnership, Environ of Inverrary Inc., Eridanus Investments S.a r.l, Evercrisp Snack Productos de Chile S.A., FL Transportation Inc., FLI Andean LLC, FLI Colombia LLC, FLI Snacks Andean GP LLC, Fabrica PepsiCo Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Fabrica de Productos Alimenticios Rene y Cia S.C.A., Fairlight International SRL, Far East Bottlers Hong Kong Limited, Food Concepts Pioneer Ltd., Forest Akers Nederland B.V., Forty-Six Peaks Holding Inc., Fovarosi Asvanyviz es Uditoipari Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Freshwater International B.V., Frito Lay Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Frito Lay Poland Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay de Guatemala y Compania Limitada, Frito-Lay Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Frito-Lay Dip Company Inc., Frito-Lay Dominicana S.A., Frito-Lay Global Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Inc., Frito-Lay Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Manufacturing LLC, Frito-Lay Netherlands Holding B.V., Frito-Lay North America Inc., Frito-Lay Sales Inc., Frito-Lay Trading Company Europe GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company Poland GmbH, Frito-Lay Trinidad Unlimited, Fruko Mesrubat Sanayi Limited Sirketi, GB Czech LLC, GB International Inc., GB Russia LLC, GB Slovak LLC, GMP Manufacturing Inc., Gambrinus Investments Limited, Gamesa LLC, Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Gas Natural de Merida S. A. de C. V., Gatorade Puerto Rico Company, General Bottlers of Hungary Inc., Golden Grain Company, Goveh S.R.L., Grayhawk Leasing LLC, Green Hemlock International LLC, Grupo Frito Lay y Compania Limitada, Grupo Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Grupo Mabel, Grupo Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Gulkevichskiy Maslozavod JSC, Hangzhou Baicaowei Corporate Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co, Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Tao Dao Technology Co. Ltd., Health Warrior, Health Warrior Inc., Heathland LP, Helioscope Limited, Hillbrook Inc., Hillgrove Inc., Hillwood Bottling LLC, Hogganfield Limited Partnership, Holding Company "Opolie" JSC, Homefinding Company of Texas, Hudson Valley Insurance Company, IC Equities Inc., IZZE Beverage Co., Inmobiliaria Interamericana S.A. De C.V., Integrated Beverage Services Bangladesh Limited, Integrated Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd., International Bottlers Management Co. LLC, International KAS Aktiengesellschaft, Inversiones Borneo S.R.L., Inversiones PFI Chile Limitada, Inviting Foods Holdings Inc., Inviting Foods LLC, KAS Anorthosis S.a r.l, KAS S.L., KFC, Kevita Inc., Kinvara LLC, Kungursky Molkombinat JSC, Larragana S.L., Latin American Holdings Ltd., Latin American Snack Foods ApS, Latin Foods International LLC, Lebedyansky, Lebedyansky Holdings LLC, Lebedyansky LLC, Limited Liability Company "Sandora", Linkbay Limited, Lithuanian Snacks UAB, Mabel, Marbo Product d.o.o. Beograd, Marbo d.o.o. Laktasi, Matudis - Comercio de Produtos Alimentares Limitada, Matutano - Sociedade de Produtos Alimentares Lda., Mid-America Improvement Corporation, Mountainview Insurance Company Inc., Muscle Milk, NCJV LLC, New Bern Transport Corporation, New Century Beverage Company LLC, Noble Leasing LLC, Northeast Hot-Fill Co-op Inc., Office at Solyanka LLC, Onbiso Inversiones S.L., One World Enterprises LLC, One World Investors Inc., P-A Barbados Bottling Company LLC, P-A Bottlers Barbados SRL, P-Americas LLC, PAS Luxembourg S.a r.l, PAS Netherlands B.V., PBG Canada Holdings II LLC, PBG Canada Holdings Inc., PBG Cyprus Holdings Limited, PBG Investment Partnership, PBG Midwest Holdings S.a r.l, PBG Soda Can Holdings S.a r.l, PCBL LLC, PCNA Manufacturing Inc., PR Beverages Cyprus Holding Limited, PR Beverages Cyprus Russia Holding Limited, PRB Luxembourg S.a r.l, PRS Inc., PSAS Inversiones LLC, PSE Logistica S.R.L., PT Quaker Indonesia, Papas Chips S.A., Pei N.V., Pep Trade LLC, Pepsi B.V., Pepsi Beverages Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bottling Group Global Finance LLC, Pepsi Bottling Group GmbH, Pepsi Bottling Group Hoosiers B.V., Pepsi Bottling Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bugshan Investments S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Colombia Ltda, Pepsi Cola Egypt S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Panamericana S.R.L., Pepsi Cola Servis Ve Dagitim Limited Sirketi, Pepsi Cola Trading Ireland, Pepsi Logistics Company Inc., Pepsi Northwest Beverages LLC, Pepsi Overseas Investments Partnership, Pepsi Promotions Inc., Pepsi-Cola Advertising and Marketing Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bermuda Limited, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Holding C.V., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Of St. Louis Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach LLC, Pepsi-Cola Company, Pepsi-Cola Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Pepsi-Cola Far East Trade Development Co. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Finance LLC, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Poland Sp. z o.o., Pepsi-Cola Industrial da Amazonia Ltda., Pepsi-Cola International Cork, Pepsi-Cola International LLC, Pepsi-Cola International Limited, Pepsi-Cola International Limited U.S.A., Pepsi-Cola International Private Limited, Pepsi-Cola Korea Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Management and Administrative Services Inc., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Company Of Uruguay S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing International Limited, Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Mediterranean Limited, Pepsi-Cola Marketing Corp. Of P.R. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mediterranean Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Company Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mexicana Holdings LLC, Pepsi-Cola Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Pepsi-Cola National Marketing LLC, Pepsi-Cola Operating Company Of Chesapeake And Indianapolis, Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution Inc., Pepsi-Cola Technical Operations Inc., Pepsi-Cola Thai Trading Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola de Honduras S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola of Corvallis Inc., PepsiAmericas Nemzetkozi Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, PepsiCo ANZ Holdings Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Alimentos Antioquia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Colombia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Ecuador Cia. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Z.F. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos de Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Amacoco Bebidas Do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCo Asia Research & Development Center Company Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Cyprus Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Limited Partnership, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 1 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 2 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Australia Holdings Pty Limited, PepsiCo Australia International, PepsiCo Austria Services GmbH, PepsiCo Azerbaijan Limited Liability Company, PepsiCo BeLux BV, PepsiCo Beverage Sales LLC, PepsiCo Beverage Singapore Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Beverages Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Beverages International Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Italia Societa' A Responsabilita' Limitata, PepsiCo Canada Finance LLC, PepsiCo Canada Holdings ULC, PepsiCo Canada Investment ULC, PepsiCo Canada ULC, PepsiCo Captive Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Caribbean Inc., PepsiCo China Limited, PepsiCo Consulting Polska Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo De Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Del Paraguay S.R.L., PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH, PepsiCo Eesti AS, PepsiCo Euro Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Euro Finance Antilles B.V., PepsiCo Europe Support Center S.L., PepsiCo Finance Americas Company, PepsiCo Finance Antilles A N.V., PepsiCo Finance Antilles B N.V., PepsiCo Finance South Africa Proprietary Limited, PepsiCo Financial Shared Services Inc., PepsiCo Food & Beverage Holdings Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Foods A.I.E., PepsiCo Foods China Company Limited, PepsiCo Foods Group Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Foods Guangdong Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Nigeria Limited, PepsiCo Foods Private Limited, PepsiCo Foods Sichuan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Taiwan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Vietnam Company, PepsiCo France SAS, PepsiCo Global Business Services India LLP, PepsiCo Global Business Services Poland Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Global Holdings Limited, PepsiCo Global Investments B.V., PepsiCo Global Investments S.a r.l, PepsiCo Global Mobility LLC, PepsiCo Global Real Estate Inc., PepsiCo Global Trading Solutions Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Golden Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Group Finance International B.V., PepsiCo Group Holdings International B.V., PepsiCo Group Spotswood Holdings S.a r.l, PepsiCo Gulf International FZE, PepsiCo Hellas Single Member Industrial and Commercial Societe Anonyme, PepsiCo Holding de Espana S.L., PepsiCo Holdings, PepsiCo Holdings LLC, PepsiCo Holdings Toshkent LLC, PepsiCo Hong Kong LLC, PepsiCo Iberia Servicios Centrales S.L., PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited, PepsiCo India Sales Private Limited, PepsiCo Internacional Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., PepsiCo International Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo International Limited, PepsiCo International Pte Ltd., PepsiCo Investments Europe I B.V., PepsiCo Investments Ltd., PepsiCo Ireland Food & Beverages Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Japan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Light B.V., PepsiCo Logistyka Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., PepsiCo Management Services SAS, PepsiCo Manufacturing A.I.E., PepsiCo Max B.V., PepsiCo Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo Nederland B.V., PepsiCo Nordic Denmark ApS, PepsiCo Nordic Finland Oy, PepsiCo Nordic Norway AS, PepsiCo Nutrition Trading DMCC, PepsiCo One B.V., PepsiCo Overseas Corporation, PepsiCo Overseas Financing Partnership, PepsiCo Panimex Inc, PepsiCo Products B.V., PepsiCo Products FLLC, PepsiCo Puerto Rico Inc., PepsiCo Sales Inc., PepsiCo Sales LLC, PepsiCo Services Asia Ltd., PepsiCo Services CZ s.r.o., PepsiCo Services LLC, PepsiCo Twist B.V., PepsiCo UK Pension Plan Trustee Limited, PepsiCo Ventures B.V., PepsiCo Wave Holdings LLC, PepsiCo World Trading Company Inc., PepsiCo Y LLC, PepsiCo de Argentina S.R.L., PepsiCo de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo do Brasil Industria e Comercio de Alimentos Ltda., PepsiCo do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCola Interamericana de Guatemala S.A., Pet Iberia S.L., Pete & Johnny Limited, Pine International LLC, Pine International Limited, Pinstripe Leasing LLC, Pioneer Food Group Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Groceries Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Group Ltd., Pioneer Foods Holdings Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods UK Ltd, Pioneer Foods Wellingtons Pty Ltd, Pipers Crisps Limited, PlayCo Inc., Pop corners, PopCorners Holdings Inc., Portfolio Concentrate Solutions Unlimited Company, Premier Nutrition Trading L.L.C., Prestwick LLC, Prev PepsiCo Sociedade Previdenciaria, Productos Alimenticios Rene LLC, Productos S.A.S. C.V., Productos SAS Management B.V., Punch N.V., Punica Getranke GmbH, Q O Puerto Rico Inc., QFL OHQ Sdn. Bhd., QTG Development Inc., QTG Services Inc., Quadrant - Amroq Beverages S.R.L., Quaker Development B.V., Quaker European Beverages LLC, Quaker European Investments B.V., Quaker Foods, Quaker Global Investments B.V., Quaker Holdings UK Limited, Quaker Manufacturing LLC, Quaker Oats Asia Inc., Quaker Oats Australia Pty Ltd, Quaker Oats B.V., Quaker Oats Capital Corporation, Quaker Oats Europe Inc., Quaker Oats Europe LLC, Quaker Oats Limited, Quaker Sales & Distribution Inc, Raptas Finance S.a r.l., Rare Fare Foods LLC, Rare Fare Holdings Inc., Reading Industries Ltd, Real Estate Holdings LLC, Rockstar Energy Drink, Rolling Frito-Lay Sales LP, S & T of Mississippi Inc., SIH International LLC, SVC Logistics Inc., SVC Manufacturing Inc., SVE Russia Holdings GmbH, Sabritas LLC, Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Sabritas Snacks America Latina de Nicaragua y Cia Ltda, Sabritas de Costa Rica S. de R.L., Sabritas y Cia. S en C de C.V., Sakata Rice Snacks Australia Pty Ltd, Sandora Holdings B.V., Saudi Snack Foods Company Limited, Sea Eagle International SRL, Seepoint Holdings Ltd., Senselet Food Processing PLC, Senselet Holding B.V., Servicios GBF Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Servicios GFLG y Compania Limitada, Servicios Gamesa Puerto Rico L.L.C., Servicios SYC S. de R.L. de C.V., Seven-Up Asia Inc., Seven-Up Light B.V., Seven-Up Nederland B.V., Shanghai PepsiCo Snack Company Limited, Shanghai YuHo Agricultural Development Co. Ltd, Shoebill LLC, Simba (Proprietary) Limited, Simba Proprietary Limited, Sitka Spruce, Smartfoods Inc., Smiles and Bites Holdings S.de R.L. de C.V., Smiths Crisps Limited, Snack Food Investments GmbH, Snack Food Investments II GmbH, Snack Food Investments Limited, Snack Food-Beverage Asia Products Limited, Snacks America Latina S.R.L., Snacks Guatemala Ltd., So Spark Ltd., Soda-Club CO2 Atlantic GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 Ltd., Soda-Club Switzerland GmbH, Soda-Club Worldwide B.V., SodaStream, SodaStream Australia Pty Ltd, SodaStream CO2 SA, SodaStream Canada Ltd., SodaStream Enterprises N.V., SodaStream France SAS, SodaStream GmbH, SodaStream Iberia S.L., SodaStream Industries Ltd., SodaStream International B.V., SodaStream International Ltd., SodaStream Israel Ltd., SodaStream K.K., SodaStream New Zealand Ltd., SodaStream Nordics AB, SodaStream Poland Sp. z o.o., SodaStream SA Pty Ltd., SodaStream Switzerland GmbH, SodaStream USA Inc., SodaStream Osterreich GmbH, South Beach Beverage Company Inc., South Properties Inc., Spitz International Inc., Sportmex Internacional S.A. de C.V., Springboig Industries Ltd, Spruce Limited, Stacy's Pita Chip Company Incorporated, Star Foods E.M. S.R.L., Stokely-Van Camp Inc., Stratosphere Communications Pty Ltd, Stratosphere Holdings 2018 Limited, Streamfoods Ltd, TFL Holdings LLC, Tasman Finance S.a r.l, The Gatorade Company, The Good Carb Food Company Ltd., The Pepsi Bottling Group Canada ULC, The Quaker Oats Company, The Smith's Snackfood Company Pty Limited, Thomond Group Holdings Limited, Tobago Snack Holdings LLC, Tropicana Alvalle S.L., Tropicana Beverages Limited, Tropicana Europe N.V., Tropicana United Kingdom Limited, Troya-Ultra LLC, United Foods Companies Restaurantes S.A., V-Water, VentureCo Israel Ltd, Veurne Snack Foods BV, Vitamin Brands Ltd., Walkers Crisps Limited, Walkers Group Limited, Walkers Snack Foods Limited, Walkers Snacks Distribution Limited, Walkers Snacks Limited, Whitman Corporation, Whitman Insurance Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Beverages JSC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Brands Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Central Asia-Almaty LLP, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods LLC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Georgia Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC, and Wimm-Bill-Dann Ukraine PJSC.

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Red Hat, Inc. provides open source software solutions to develop and offer operating system, virtualization, management, middleware, cloud, mobile, and storage technologies to various enterprises worldwide. It offers infrastructure-related solutions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, an operating system platform that runs on hardware for use in hybrid cloud environments; Red Hat Satellite, a system management offering that helps to deploy, scale, and manage in hybrid cloud environments; and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, a software solution that allows customers to utilize and manage a common hardware infrastructure to run multiple operating systems and applications. The company offers application development-related and other technology solutions, such as Red Hat JBoss Middleware, a solution for developing, deploying, and managing applications; integrating applications, data, and devices; and automating business processes in hybrid cloud environments; The company's application development-related and other technology solutions also includes Red Hat cloud offerings, a software solution that enables customers to build and manage various cloud computing environments; Red Hat Mobile, a software development platform that enables customers to develop, integrate, deploy, and manage mobile applications for enterprises; and Red Hat Storage, a software solution that enables customers to manage large, unstructured, or semi-structured data in hybrid cloud environments. It also provides consulting, support, and training services; and realtime operating system, distributed computing, directory services, and user authentication. Red Hat, Inc. has collaboration with Juniper Networks Expand to provide a unified solution for enterprises designed to manage and run applications and services. The company was formerly known as Red Hat Software, Inc. and changed its name to Red Hat, Inc. in June 1999. Red Hat, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.
run75441 | September 25, 2016 10:43 pm



Mike Kimel continues his discussion on how Immigration impacts Job Creation.

In this post, I am looking at how the percentage of a states population that is made up of immigrants affects job creation. After all, we hear from some quarters that immigrants create jobs, and from others that immigrants take away jobs that would otherwise go to Americans. Obviously, the truth is sometimes one and sometimes the other, and mostly somewhere in between. It depends on many factors, including the nature of the immigrants themselves, who, like anyone else, vary in attitude, capability, sociability, etc. Even so, understanding whether in aggregate, immigrants help or hinder, and under what conditions, is worth knowing.

As I was pulling data, it occurred to me that I had phrased the question poorly. The relevant issue is not whether immigrants create jobs. It is whether immigrants create jobs for the native population. If you doubt that, Ive got an experiment for you to perform. Go to Chetumal. From the pictures Ive seen, it seems like a very pretty town in Mexico on the border with Belize. Meet with the mayor, and tell him (at this time the mayor is a man) you will renovate a factory and put 100 people to work in his town. I bet he will be ecstatic. Now explain that your plan involves hiring 110 Belizeans and firing 10 Mexicans who are currently employed. My hypothesis is that the mayors mood will noticeably sour at this point. You dont actually have to go with Chetumal to run this experiment. Pretty much any jurisdiction not run by a US politician will probably do.

Having established the question, heres how I tackled it.

1. I found data on the immigrant share of each state from Pew Research. Data is available in 10 year increments from 1960 to 2010, and then for 2014. Pew references the American Community Surveys, so I am 99.97% certain that all of the data originates with the Census, but I couldnt find it there.

2. I found data on monthly reports containing, among other things, employees on nonfarm payrolls by state for every month going back to December 1993 at the BLS

3. There are three years for which the immigrant data can be matched to employment data: 2000, 2010, and 2014. For each of those years, I used employment figures for December and the immigrant share of the population to calculate the native born employment. That is, the number of jobs held by native born people.

3a. Note the implicit assumption that the native born share of employment was equal to the native born share of the population. That may be an underestimate in places where immigrants are go-getters and bring strong competitive advantages. Conversely, it will be an over-estimate where the immigrants are less industrious and less competitive than the natives. I believe this effect will be small.

4. I computed the growth rate in native employment from 2000 to 2010, and from 2000 to 2014.

5. I computed the correlation between the immigrant share of the population in 2000, and the growth rate from 2000 to 2010 as well as the growth rate from 2000 to 2014. They were -0.047 and 0.032, respectively. In other words, very close to zero.

So, at first glance, immigrants today dont affect the job market tomorrow. But the problem is, this analysis lumps Texas with West Virginia. Thats like comparing oranges and bicycles. So how do we do this differently? One way is to use geographic groupings developed by the Census. For each of those regions, I found the correlation between immigrant share of the population in 2000, and the growth from 2000 to 2014, and also the median immigrant share for the states in the region. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, I overlaid that on a reasonable looking map showing the Census regions that I found here.

So what do we see here (click on the picture for larger size)? The red numbers, which are the correlation between the immigrant share of the population in 2000 and the growth rate from 2000 to 2014 are positive in the three Census regions that mostly correspond to the old Confederacy, and negative everywhere else. That is to say, in the old Confederacy, the more immigrants there were in a given state in the year 2000, the more jobs were created over the next 14 years. But, in general, outside that region, the more immigrants there were in the year 2000, the fewer jobs were created over the next 14 years.

Why might that be? Assuming the relationship is not spurious, I can think of a few reasons for the relationship. One scores OK on my personal self-censorship index (i.e., the ratio of how well an explanation fits the facts divided by the expected amount of trouble I will get into for pointing it out) so thats the one Im sticking with. The gray highlighted numbers shows the median percentage of immigrants for the states in each Census region. And it does seem there is a rough correspondence between the likelihood that regions with a smaller share of immigrants are those most likely to benefit from more of them. Put another way  like just about any other variable, there is an optimal number of immigrants. If you have too few, added some will generate benefits. But there is a converse to that statement too  if you have above the optimal percentage of immigrants, adding more immigrants can put locals out of work.

Normally this would be the end of the post, but I feel I should add a few additional comments below.

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Comment 1: Frankly, I dont think the Census geographic divisions are the right way to do this analysis. Sure, the Great Lakes states (a.k.a., East North Central) makes sense. And we arent comparing Texas and West Virginia, but we are comparing Florida and West Virginia, which is just as bad. And worse, we are weighting Florida and West Virginia the same. Personally, Id like to see Large Coastal Economic Powerhouses  California, Texas, Florida, and New York  which make up a third of the countrys population (correlation = -0.59) and other logical groupings.

Comment 2. This analysis biases down the negative effect of immigration on jobs, and biases up the positive effect of immigration on jobs. Assume for simplicity that any state that manages to crack the nut will generate jobs for a 15 year period, no matter what else happens. If a state pulls that stunt off in 1997, by 2000 its share of the immigrant population will be up, but it will continue generating jobs for at least a decade. The way I set up this analysis, the newly arrived immigrants get the credit for job generation.

Comment 3. Perhaps this analysis shouldnt be on the immigrant share of the population as much as on newly arrived immigrants as a share of the population. After all, most immigrants who have been here at least X years have fully assimilated and are part of us.

Comment 4. As always, I will mail a copy of my spreadsheet to anyone who wants it provided they email within two weeks of the date this post goes up. You may be in luck beyond that point, but as time goes on, I may switch computers, die, etc. If you want my spreadsheet, I am at my first name (that is mike), dot, my last name (that is kimel with only one m) at gmail dot com.

Comment 5. This one is mostly irrelevant, but provides a bit of the background to this post. A few weeks ago I had a post using national level data which showed a a negative correlation between the immigrant share of the population and the growth in jobs over the next decade going back to 1950. In a more recent post I tried to provide a few explanations for why. The comment section got rather testy and led to what is, as far as I can see, a rather odd post.
New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
RICHMOND  Hillary Clinton maintains an edge over Donald Trump in Virginia according to a new Christopher Newport University survey, but a new poll by Quinnipiac University indicates the race is a dead heat nationally.

The surveys hit ahead of tonight's first debate featuring Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Trump the Republican nominee.

In the Christopher Newport survey, Clinton received 39 percent to 33 percent for Trump, 15 percent for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 3 percent each for Green Party nominee Jill Stein and for Evan McMullin, a conservative running as an independent.

On character issues, a majority  54 percent  said Clinton cannot be trusted with classified information. On another question, a majority  53 percent  said Trump is a racist.

The poll indicated that many millennials who would back Clinton in a two-way contest move to Libertarian Johnson when he is among the choices.

Provided a choice of only Clinton or Trump, voters 18-34 prefer Clinton, 52 percent to 30 percent. But given a choice of the five candidates who will appear on Virginia's ballot Nov. 8, Clinton receives 34 percent, while Johnson gets 27 percent and Trump 23 percent.

Christopher Newport's telephone poll of 1,003 likely voters was conducted between Sept. 15 and 23 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percent.

In the national poll released by Quinnipiac, Clinton receives 44 percent of likely voters to 43 percent for Trump, 8 percent for Johnson and 2 percent for Stein.

The poll found great interest in tonight's debate, with 84 percent saying they plan to tune in. Among those surveyed, 41 percent said they expect Clinton to win the debate, to 32 percent for Trump.

"The race for president is a virtual tie and millions of likely voters consider the first debate must see TV," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

"In this Super Bowl of American politics, the ratings will be huge and the contenders start dead even."

Trump got better marks for health than Clinton.

Asked whether Trump is healthy enough to be president, 73 percent said yes and 18 percent said no.

Asked whether Clinton is healthy enough for the job, 58 percent said yes and 31 percent said no.

Earlier this month Clinton was seen on video unsteadily entering a van after she left a Sept. 11 remembrance. The Clinton campaign subsequently said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,115 likely voters nationwide from Sept. 22-25. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
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Truth About Tony Romos Wife, Kids and Life Since His NFL Retirement Tony Romo grew from the field as a quarterback to the screens as an American Football Analyst. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the richest football league in the world (NFL) before retiring. As a junior, he was honored as an All-Ohio Conference Member, an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and ...

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Rob Dyrdeks Family: His Kids And Relationship With Wife Bryiana Noelle Flores A multi-talented star and an elite pro skateboarder, Rob Dyrdeks success story began at a remarkably young age. Yet another proof that schooling doesnt always correlate with success, Rob has established himself not just as a phenomenal sportsman but also as a successful entrepreneur. Besides perfecting his skill as a natural talent on the board, ...

xChocobars  Biography and Everything You Should Know About Her Having distinguished herself and recorded massive successes in an industry notably dominated by men, it is very safe to say that Xchocobars deserves all the attention and cash she makes from her career. A household name on Twitch (a smart live streaming video platform), the online-gamer is popularly known for streaming classic games such as Stardew ...

Everything To Know About Mary Padian, Her Boyfriend and Net Worth Mary Padian is a famous American television reality personality best known for her involvements on the Reality show Storage Wars. She also has her own shop called Mary finds where she displays her antique collections. Since her childhood, Padian has been a creative learner. At the time, she used to create new items out of reusable ones and ...

Betsy Woodruffs Family Life: Is She Married or Related To Bob Woodruff? An old name in the world of journalism, Betsy Woodruff has warmed her way into the hearts of many with her impressive talents. Through hard work, Woodruff has carved a niche for herself in a very competitive field. Betsy has strong family and work values and is also an advocate for equal opportunities for everyone ...

Matpat (Matthew Patrick)  Wife, Height & Net Worth As far as internet business is concerned, Matpat remains one of the most dynamic and seasoned figures. He boasts a wealth of experience that has helped him in growing his business from one level of greatness to another. Like most successful people, MatPat started out small but today, he makes millions of dollars from his ...

Facts About Ricegum  His Girlfriend, Real Name & Net Worth Ricegum is an online gamer and YouTube sensation who ditched college; took advantage of the digital era, and made a name for himself on the internet. Though he began as a gaming YouTuber, Ricegum soon gained recognition as a controversial internet star following his many diss tracks. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster ...

Joy Taylor Once Married MLBs Richard Giannotti  Inside Look At Her Love Life and Family The erosion of the sexist idea that women have no business in sports broadcasting created a host of women celebrities who attained fame outside of modeling and acting. One of them, Joy Taylor, a radio personality and TV host for Fox Sports 1, has been in the industry since 2009, becoming one of the most ...

What To Know About Conan OBriens Wife, Kids & Family Today The name Conan OBrien is one that jumps right at you almost immediately you start talking about the most popular television hosts in the USA and this is no surprise because the man behind that name has risen to become one of the most admired men in the business. Known for hosting the late-night talk ...

David Letterman  Net Worth, Wife & Son In all of American, one man whose face has been seen frequently by late night TV talk show lovers is none but David Letterman. The comedian and TV show veteran has been hosting late night talk shows for more than three decades. His Late Night with David Letterman show began on February 1st, 1982 aired ...

Demystifying Sssniperwolfs Family Background And The Boyfriends Shes Had Since she launched her eponymously named channel in 2013, Sssniperwolf has been on the rise when it comes to video game influencers. She is one of the biggest names in the online gaming subgenre of YouTube videos. Real name Lia Shelesh, she started with Call of Duty: Black Ops II but has diversified with other ...

Lester Holt  Wife, Family & Net Worth Lester Holt is a multiple award-winning journalist, newscaster, reporter, and actor who has worked for notable media houses like WCBS TV, CBS, MSNBC and among others. His remarkable feat in journalism has endeared him to the hearts of many and earned him some awards and recognitions. Read on to get acquainted with his biography, ethnicity, ...

What Is Louis C.K. Doing Now, Where Are His Family And How Much Is His Net Worth? It is not easy to make it in comedy. It takes more than a funny bone and the ability to elicit a few giggles from a listening audience. For all the complexities that go into making a successful career in comedy, Louis C.K, the Washington D.C-born comedian, did it. For years, he was at the ...

The Progression of Hoda Kotbs Career, Her Ancestry and Family Life Hoda Kotb gained fame as a television host and news anchor for NBC. She anchors the shows signature show Today, and it has been an excellent vehicle for her skills in front of a camera. Kotb has won several awards, including Daytime Emmys and Peabody Awards. Simply put, she is one of the most successful ...

Jerry Seinfelds Family: All About The Amazing Comedians Wife and Kids Apparently one of the highly important entertainers in America, Jerry Seinfeld is a man of many talents. A very funny man, he is considered to be one of the most successful comedians in the USA who has been in the business as a professional rib-cracker for more than 40 years. As an actor, he has ...

The Rigors Of Sarah Silvermans Rise To Prominence And Rundown Of The Men She Has Dated A comedian, writer, and actress, Sarah Silvermans art and craft is as unique as you would ever find. Her poignant use of comedy to discuss social issues such as race, sexism, politics, and religion has gained her an impressive following. As unorthodox as her style is, so is her life experiences. She previously suffered from epiglottitis ...

Who Is Hannibal Buress, Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend & Why Was He Arrested? Making people laugh when they are tense or not in the mood is a tough order and to ply the trade, it must indeed take some guts and expertise, this is what the humor maker, Hannibal Buress has been able to achieve and sustain after his inital teething process. The African-American is a screen writer, stand-up ...

The Success of John Mulaneys Career Efforts Since His Work On Saturday Night Live and Facts About His Wife John Mulaney had been working as a professional comedian for years before Saturday Night Live changed his status for life and like many who are now his fans, you probably did not know of him then. However, that changed when he joined the sketch comedy show in 2008. Since then, he has been one of ...

Jeff Dunham  Wife, Children and Net Worth Ventriloquism is a very subtle method of making an inanimate object (like a puppet, doll or dummy) appear to be saying words which are actually coming from the person (holding the inanimate object). In effect, the individual throws his/her voice to the puppet and can even appear to be having a conversation with it. Not ...

Ellen DeGeneres  Net Worth, Wife  Portia de Rossi & Parents Ellen DeGeneres is an American female standup comedian who has proven that whatever a man can do, a woman can also do. Since her journey as a standup comedian started in 1981, she has held swirl as one of the finest comedians America and the world at large has seen. She is often referred to ...

Revisiting Joan Rivers Death  The Daughter, Husband & Net Worth She Left Behind Joan Rivers was a renowned American comedian, TV host, writer, and actress. Her brand of comedy consisted of scathing one-liners and no individual or topic is spared. She hosted her own talk shows in the 80s and 90s and was a pioneer for women in stand up comedy. She was the first woman to host a late night ...

The Struggles of Margaret Chos Childhood, How It Influenced Her Career Growth and Love Life Margaret Cho is best described as a comic star who knows how to maneuver everything related to life into a rib-cracking joke. She is also known to criticize every social and political problem, especially those involving race and sexuality. Apart from her talents as a comic actress, she does amazingly well as a singer and ...

Where Is Eric Bolling Today? Who Is His Son & What Is His Net Worth? Eric Bolling who was once a notable figure on Fox News, is an American TV personality, an author, and versatile Journalist. As a political and financial analyst/commentator, he anchored discussions bothering on finance for Fox Business Channel. Here is everything there is to know about his career, family, and allegations that led to his exit ...

Who Is Chelsea Handler and Does She Have A Husband or Boyfriend? Chelsea Handler is one of Americas top female comedians. She is also an actress, writer, television host, producer, and activist. She is known to be very outspoken even with things that are very personal. In separate interviews with The New York Times, Handler revealed that she had an abortion twice when she was 16. She has authored five books ...

How Did Laura Lee Achieve Fame, How Much is She Worth and Who is Her Husband? Laura Lee is a popular American YouTuber, make-up artist and beauty blogger. From posting videos of her makeup routines on Instagram, Lee has transformed into a beauty influencer and a YouTube sensation. Today, her YouTube Channel has over 630 million views and 4.5 million subscribers. Asides having millions of followers across all social media platforms, ...

Madison Gesiotto Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Measurements Madison Gesiotto is no ordinary woman; although she excelled in quite a number of pageants and competitions while she was in school, it is her views on politics and issues in America that has made her name known to most people. She possesses beauty and intelligence in a seemingly equal measure and has been able ...

Who Is Lil Tay? Parents, Brother, Sister, Age, Net Worth, Ethnicity Child stardom is nothing new in the entertainment world. With the advent of social media, we have seen more stars made from the internet than ever before, and Lil Tay is one of them. Her uploaded rap videos trademark is cursing, swearing, cash-throwing, and use of obscene languages. Her fame went wild after she dropped ...

What To Know About Tig Notaros Wife, Kids and Family Today Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic star, writer, actress, and radio analyst. Since she started her career in 2001, she has become one of Americas best comedians, particularly when it comes to observational comedy. One prominent aspect of her routine involves her family, which includes a wife and two children. Interestingly, Tig Notaro is part ...

Who Is Chantel Jeffries? What To Know About Her Age, Ethnicity & Net Worth Chantel Jeffries is a lady of many talents. Beyond being celebrated as a DJ, she has fared well as a model, an actress, musician, and as an artist. She first rose to fame on Instagram where she has a large following. However, in recent times, she has hit the spotlight for her rumored relationships with some ...

Is Ellen DeGeneres Married, Who Is The Brother  Vance DeGeneres and Family Members? Ellen DeGeneres is one of a kind celebrity in todays world as she has used her wealth for the greater good for many people. She has served a host of famous awards shows like the Grammy, Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards. Moreso, she is probably one of the most decorated entertainment personalities around the world and ...

Carli Bybel Bio  Height, Boyfriend & Net Worth Video blogging is now on the rise and YouTube is the place where most of it happens. If you are a lady who cares about her looks or a guy who likes to help his woman out with her looks, then one person whose name rings a bell when it comes to giving beauty tips ...

Who Is Lexy Panterra? What To Know About Her Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth Lexy Panterra is one of the YouTube personalities whose breakout came through the Twerk dance videos she posted on her social media handles and YouTube which has so far generated over 13 million views for her. From there on, she created her LexTwerkOut workout program in 2014. She is sure very talented as she as moved ...

Who Is AnneMunition? What Is Her Ethnicity & Does She Have A Girlfriend or Boyfriend? AnneMunition is a professional gamer and content creator of American origin. She is one of the most sought-after streamers on Twitch  a popular online platform for watching and streaming videos, especially video games. AnneMunition has almost half a million followers on Twitch and her channel has accumulated at least 13 million views. Her favorite games ...

Norm MacDonald  Former Wife, Son & Net Worth Recently, 59-year-old former Saturday Night Live stand-up comic Norm MacDonald caused a not-so-funny stir when he expressed his personal opinion about the #MeToo movement speaking in defense of Louis CK and Roseanne Barr. Following the backlash of his actions, he is diligently doing damage control for his questionable opinion by posting a public apology on ...

Inside Iliza Shlesingers Life With Husband and How Much She is Worth Now Witty, spontaneous, and truly humorous, Iliza Shlesinger is an American comedian who is clearly proving that the stereotypical claim that women are not really funny is not only incredibly wrong but completely outrageous. Having been in the game for more than 10 years, Shlesinger has grown bigger with each step, stunning fans with her incredible ...

Who Is Nessa Diab? Details of her Parents, Ethnicity & Relationship With Colin Kaepernick Nessa Diab has gained more fame as the girlfriend of different footballers than in her career. She is currently with the popular National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, and has stood by his side during his most trying times. Also known for her mononym, Nessa, she recently engaged in a tweet battle with the ...

Samantha Bee  Inside the Life of Full Frontal Comedian and Presenter We have over the decades seen various brands of humor and personalities who have walked the ropes. One of the formidable forces in the world of comedy is no other than the iconic Samantha Bee of the Daily Show who now runs her own television show on TBS channel. She is a Canadian-American political commentator, ...

What Happened To Jessica Williamss Boyfriend And Which Are Her Best Works? Jessica Williams is a woman who has a lot of feathers in her cap  and keeps acquiring more. The former senior political correspondent of the comic Daily Show, who is also a comedian and actress whose recent movie appearance include starring as a playwright just recovering from a recent split with her boyfriend, Damon, and ...

Who is Nicole Byer? Here are 5 Facts You Need To Know About The Comedian Nicole Byer, an American comedian, actress, and writer, made a name for herself after she played supporting roles on MTVs prank show Ladylike and the reality show Girl Code. The latter was a series that featured comedians who analyzed in minute details, all the issues that young women deal with daily, from period to dating, to weird friendship dynamics and questions about sex. Currently, ...

A Closer Look At Bart Kwans Ethnicity, Height & Personal Life Bart Kwan is one of few Asians who is known for being successful in the comic industry at an international level. His fame broke out after the YouTube channel which he created with his close pal Joe Jo garnered up massive followings. The talented duo has been running the channel since 2007 and their success ...

Heres How VanossGaming Achieved Fame Online, His Worth and Other Facts About The Gamer For many years, the decision to drop out of college to pursue an online career was considered to be foolish and self-destructive by conventional wisdom. It was no different when Evan Fong, popularly known as VanossGaming, dropped out of college to pursue a YouTube career. However, that radical move paid off, and he stands shoulder to ...

Desi Perkins  Ethnicity, Net Worth & Husband YouTube is littered with videos of makeup tutorials by different people but if you are interested in learning how to do your makeup like a pro, there is just one person on that platform who you must follow. She is none other than Desi Perkins! She is a popular make-up artist, Instagram star, and vlogger. Desi, ...

The Phases of Casey Neistats Pursuits and His Love Story With Candice Pool YouTuber, vlogger, filmmaker, and creator extraordinaire; these are just a few hats that Casey Neistat wears and the story of how he got here is incredible. A native of Connecticut, Neistat started out by making refreshingly-authentic short films and videos that featured content that was based on everyday life and called attention to serious issues. He ...

Connor Franta  Inside The Life of American YouTuber YouTube has produced a lot of young celebrities in modern times and Connor Franta happens to be one of them. Apart from being a YouTuber, the young American is also an entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His journey to fame began almost a decade ago when he started a self-named YouTube channel where he uploads content ranging ...

Rhett and Link  Bio, Who are Their Wives, Net Worth and Family Facts Rhett and Link refer to an American comedy duo who are very popular on YouTube. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. The show has featured guests such ...

A Walk Through The Maze of Ryan Higas Career Pursuits And Relationship With Arden Cho Ryan Higa is not only celebrated as a YouTube star, but he is also famed for appearing on television screens as an actor and comedian. Nigahiga, his Youtube channel, has gathered over 20 million subscribers and billions of views with his different comic acts, short films, and music videos uploads. With the rise in his career, ...

What to Know About The Shows That Made Craig Ferguson a Star and His Family Ties Rising to the top of your profession can sometimes be a hard and difficult process. It requires days and nights of working consistently hard to be better than what you were yesterday. It requires not giving up when all of your experiences seem to be pushing you to quit. It is because of these challenges ...

David Dobrik Married Liza Koshy for One Month  Inside His Family and Relationships David Dobrik is a YouTube sensation who has garnered fame not just for his vlogs but his love life too. Given his career as a YouTuber, his channel is one place where he shares his romantic escapades. With a cute boyish look like his, this Slovakian young man is definitely a good catch, and not ...

Merrell Twins Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Boyfriend One of the beautiful things about modern life is social media. As rudimentary as it might seem, it could turn out to be the greatest thing that would be invented in the next 50 years because of its impact on human life. Very few tools have revolutionized human behavior and culture as much as social ...

Who Is Bunny Meyer, Is She Married & What Is Her Net Worth? Bunny Meyer is a YouTube celebrity who has amassed over 8.8 million subscribers with 1.5 million viewers on her channel. She is popularly known as Grav3yardgirl and is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. She initially started out as a fashion designer and later chose the path of a YouTuber. Grav3yardgirl has used her knowledge on fashion, makeup, ...

Ninja  Inside The Life of The American YouTuber and Internet Personality Ninja is a talented video game player known for his mastery of Fortnite and other seemingly difficult games he plays with ease. The video gamer made a career out of what is ordinarily the hobby of many people and has since then amassed a huge online following. Find out about him here, including the controversies that ...

What Is Eva Gutowskis True Sexuality and How Did She Rise So Fast As an Influencer? Ever since Eva Gutowski joined YouTube in 2011, it has been an interesting journey for her, moving from one milestone to the other. Backed by an army of young women and teenage girl fans known as Evanators, she has risen to become one of the most-talked-about personalities in the digital stratosphere. She has also leveraged ...

Emma Chamberlain Biography  Age, Height & Net Worth Before now, people in the entertainment industry could only achieve popularity after many years of dedication and hard work but since social media came into the scene, massive success and overnight popularity became possible. That is the story of Emma Chamberlain who encountered fame as a fifteen-year-old. Emma is one of the many young people who became ...

Anna Akana  Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth There is a new crop of YouTubers known by their different contents with a very strong uniqueness that stands every one of them out, some upload video games, some fashion while some others have comedy video contents to showcase on their channels. Anna Akana has used her platform to showcase her comedy contents to the ...

Revealing Truths About Lilly Singhs Ethnic Background, Family and Her Relationship With Yousef Erakat Lilly Singh is an Indian-Canadian YouTube personality, actress, and comedian also known as Superwoman. She kicked off her YouTube career in 2010 with the launch of her channel IISuperwomanII and followed it up with a vlog channel in 2011. This paved the way for her fame and success which led to a world tour. The ...

Who Is Andrea Constand, Is She Married and What Is Her Connection With Bill Cosby? Many people got sexually molested but could not voice out due to the stigma victims suffer and what will become of them thereafter. Very few of the victims danm every consequence to seek justice and bring the perpetrator to the book, like Andrea Constand. She never got any media buzz, not until her friend cum molester; ...

Who Is Lazarbeam (Lannan Eacott)? Here Are Facts You Need To Know Lannan Eacott became a person of interest after his YouTube channel, LazarBeam pulled him to the limelight. Initially, he started with uploads of Madden Challenge videos before deciding to build his own channel in January 2015. Within the space of three years, his YouTube channel had gathered over 7 million loyal subscribers. Today, he has not ...

Puzzling Facts About Wengies YouTube Success and More About Her Fiance Among the many YouTubers who have succeeded in winning the hearts of millions of people is Wengie. She is a Chinese-Australian YouTube personality, vlogger, singer, and voice actress. Wengie is famous for a lot of things, from her simple life hacks, DIYs, craft ideas to fun experiments, tricks and pranks. Her content portfolio also includes hair tutorials, diet & fitness tips, lookbooks, ...

Is Jeffree Star A Billionaire and How Much Does He Make On YouTube? If looks can be deceptive then theres no other person who proves this maxim better than Jeffree Star. A quick look at Stars pictures would likely leave you wondering whether or not to tag him a male or female. But who says being controversial has to be a curse? For Star, his looks have caught ...

The Place of Rosanna Pansinos Career Hats In Her Rise To Fame and Facts About Her Personal Life There are a few phrases that could summarize Rosanna Pansinos rise to fame. None of them can do it better than the famous axiom, no knowledge is lost. Her popularity YouTube comes out of her foray into other professions, specifically acting. Although acting now occupies one of the major professional hats in Rosannas resume, it was ...

Muselk (Elliott Watkins) Biography  Age, Girlfriend and Net Worth The new and best in-thing in terms of career is video gaming and we have over time seen young men and women make massive income from an activity that was purportedly designed to serve as a hobby or a relaxation activity. One of such individuals is the Australian-born YouTube Celebrity and Twitch streamer, Muselk, whose ...

PopularMMOs Biography: 5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know We have over the years seen social media millionaires, especially on the YouTube social platform. These celebrities cum millionaires have made names for themselves after carving out niches on the internet, and a typical example of one of such exciting media personality on the YouTube is American Minecraft gamer and YouTube star, PopularMMOs whose channel ...

Jason Nash Once Married Marney Hochman  What To Know About His Ex-Wife and Kids The now-defunct video-sharing app Vine was the path that led Jason Nash to fame. With it, he built an audience of over two million followers, which he parlayed into a significant YouTube career. That move has seen him become one of the most popular personalities on the internet, with the cash income to go with ...

Where Does Dantdm Live? What Do We Know About His Net Worth, Wife and Brother? Most parents buy video games for their kids to occupy their time leisure, while other parents frown at their kids when they play video games. Despite the disparity, every parent would be proud of their child if he/she eventually turns a celebrity or millionaire through playing video games like Dantdm. Biography of Dantdm Dantdm was born Daniel ...

LaurDIY  Biography: 5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTuber LaurDIY is the YouTube channel of Lauren Riihimaki which she created on December 1, 2011, when she was still a college undergrad with the sole aim of giving Do It Yourself (DIY) as well as practical fashion and beauty tips to her followers. She has used the channel to establish herself as a YouTube personality ...

Lachlan Ross Power  Bio And Family Life Of Australian The YouTube Star It is amazing the varied sources of income that the internet has made possible in this day and age. Internet fame can get its holder a whole lot of monetary and social benefits, but it must be noted that it does not come easy or cheap. For those who desire fame, content is the sacrifice ...

Alfie Deyes  Bio and Net Worth: Everything You Need To Know Alfie Deyes is one internet personality you definitely would like to know about. He boasts of over 10 million subscribers on three of his YouTube channels and has three bestseller books to his name. He is probably the most renowned young personality on YouTube today and his vlogging empire continues to grow by the day. ...

Colleen Ballingers Love Story With Husband Erik Stocklin and How Much She Is Worth Now Colleen Ballinger is an American comedian and YouTuber who is a very funny, adventurous, and highly talented woman. She is also an actress, singer, and writer. Collen is widely known for her work on YouTube where she posts content on her channel, Miranda Sings. The comedian has gained many subscribers over the years and has ...

Who Are The Dude Perfect Members and How Much Are They Worth? Entertainment in the 21st century can be digested in many forms and with platforms like YouTube, the creators and purveyors of entertainment have been democratized. Today, one of the most popular platforms to exhibit ones creative talents is YouTube, even though there are other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, who suffer in comparison to YouTube because ...

Who Is Rudy Mancuso, What Is His Earning Power and What Do We Know About His Girlfriend? Rudy Mancuso started his internet journey on Vine. He would later transition to YouTube where he solidified his place among the internets most beloved comedic creators. He is now regarded as one of the renowned internet personalities in the world, with a presence in mainstream TV and film projects like Comedy Centrals Drunk History and ...

Vsauce (Michael Stevens) Biography and Net Worth: All You Need To Know The advent of YouTube and the internet as a whole revolutionized how human beings consume information. With each passing year, the percentage of learning that is done in a traditional classroom decrease as a seismic shift to internet-based learning happens in our education industry. From open courses online to YouTube classes and videos, there are ...

How did Jake Paul Make His YouTube Big Break and Who is His Wife? One of the most interesting Social Media personalities of the 21st century is the young and popular Jake Paul whose elder brother is the famed Vine star, Logan Paul. Jake has utilized the power of the internet to bring himself to the limelight with a channel named JakePaulProductions that has amassed up to six billion ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About Reaction Time (Tal Fishman)  The American YouTuber Before 2015, the leading meaning of reaction time was the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, until Tal Fishman started his channel, Reaction Time on YouTube and the dominant meaning changed. Today, a google search of Reaction Time would deliver Tal Fishmans videos and YouTube channel link with a few physics ...

Grace Helbig  Net Worth, Boyfriend and Family Life of The YouTuber Grace Helbig is an American internet personality, comedian, actress, and writer. She became popular due to her daily vlog series, DailyGrace, which ran on My Damn Channel from 2008 to 2013. Helbig is also popular for her own indie series on YouTube, ItsGrace, which she launched in 2014. Her vlogs which feature random stuff such as ...

Mark Wiens Bio  Ethnicity, Wife and Parents Food is a great way to connect with people. We all love to eat, if not for the pleasure of food, the satisfaction of quenching hunger, and the very process of providing and sharing that food is part of the strongest bonds that bind humanity together. Maybe it is our historical connection to food, where ...

Is Filthy Frank Dead, What Happened To Him and How Much Is He Worth? As George Kusunoki Miller, he was a nobody. However, as Filthy Frank, George was one of the most famous internet personalities on the planet. The Filthy Frank Show, a sketch series on his YouTube channel, TVFilthyFrank, was one of the platforms most influential creations. He is the reason a crazy dance song, Harlem Shake, made it ...

CaptainSparklez Bio  Net Worth, House and Cars of The Famous YouTuber Sometimes, what society wants from its citizens is quite different from what the citizens want for themselves. This is evident in the life and career of video blogger and American YouTube personality, Jordan Maron famous for his YouTube channel CaptainSparklez. He dropped out of school after discovering his talent in playing an online game called Minecraft. ...

Who is Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg)? Here are Facts You Must Know Canadian Youtube personality, Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg) originally started out polishing and designing nails even before it became a trendy culture in the social media. Simply Nailogica started out her showbiz career in her early days as a child actress, acting in commercials for game and toy companies. Aside from acting, she is blogger, vlogger, specializing ...

5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Huda Beauty In the world of entrepreneurship, it is interesting when an individual has a mentor who he/she looks up to, this yield more productivity on the part of the individual. The iconic and rich American beautician and makeup artist Huda Kattan nicknamed Heida is the founder of the Huda Beauty blog which is number one Instagram beauty blog ...

Is Dino MasterChef Gay? Details About His Ethnicity, Girlfriend, Where He Is Now Food, for the better part of the early years of human life, was nothing more than what we needed for survival. There was no artistry or curation to the method of cooking. The scarcity of food left no room for artistic expression until we figured out agriculture and we could make as much as we ...

Who Is Gabbie Hanna And How Did She Become Famous? As the world shifts to digital media and depends more and more on streaming services for its news and entertainment content, YouTubers have become one of the leading creators in the new media world. Their understanding of the online audience: how to create, maintain, and increase followers, are all handy skills that have primed them ...

Jacksepticeye  Height, Girlfriend & Net Worth Jacksepticeye is a YouTuber and actor who gained popularity with a series of gaming videos he uploads on his channel to the delight of millions of his subscribers. He is Known primarily for his comic video game series titled Lets Play and his vlogs. His channel was formerly ranked 46th in the list of most subscribed ...

Chris Heria Personal Details: About His Wife, Height & Ethnicity Background In this generation, keeping fit has become one of the major criteria for being hale and hearty. In fact, most occupations these days are majorly concerned with ones body mass, weight and looks. Unlike the past where most people have to register in a gym to keep fit, social media has made it quite easy ...

Everything You Need To Know About Game Grumps Gaming is becoming incredibly popular on YouTube these days with game vloggers make millions of dollars out of them yearly. One of the most popular up-coming gaming YouTube channels is Game Grumps. The Lets Play series was created in 2012 and celebrated its fifth anniversary on July 18th, 2017. In six years of its existence, the ...

Daithi De Nogla Biography, Girlfriend and Net Worth YouTube has created an avenue for many to make wealth and become famous from the comfort of their homes while having fun. Many have built a career out of the platform, uploading numerous videos that have earned them the admiration of viewers across the globe. For Daithi De Nogla, he is loved for his humorous commentary on ...

Does Phoebe Robinson Have A Boyfriend or Husband and What Do We Know About Her Family? Phoebe Robinson is a New York-based comedian, writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-host of the WNYC Studios podcast 2 Dope Queens. Just like some other female comedians, she never had any original plans of becoming a stand-up comedian even though, according to her, she took a class on a whim at Carolines on Broadway. After ...

Who Are Lex and Alana from Listed Sisters? What Is Their Ethnicity & Is the Show Cancelled? America is a country built on diversity. Everywhere you look all over the country, a countless number of immigrants or children of immigrants have become an integral part of the fabric of the country. From entertainment to business, immigrants are creating a niche for themselves and climbing to the summit of their respective professions. One ...

Riveting Facts About Danielle Lombard And What She Is Best Known For The American entertainment industry is one that provides many avenues for aspiring hopefuls to express their talents and become famous. From films to television shows and game shows, there is no shortage of ways for men and women who desire fame to pursue and earn it in the United States of America. Another tested medium ...

Unearthing New Details About The YouTube Success And Personal Life of Alex Burriss of Wassabi Productions Wildly hilarious and truly audacious, Alex Wassabi is an American YouTuber who has become a very popular face on the video-sharing platform after having garnered millions of subscribers over the years by keeping people glued to his channel with his witty parody video releases. If you have always loved parody videos, there is every chance ...

Everything You Need To Know About H2O Delirious H2O Delirious whose full birth name is reported to be Jonathan Gormon Dennis has successfully kept himself mystified by hiding his face behind the masks leaving his loyal fans speculating who he really is for many years. The American YouTube star is easily identified by the Jason Mask Style with make-up which he wears on his ...

Who Is HolaSoyGerman and What Happened To Him? German Garmendia has certainly seen it all when it comes to internet success. His channels, HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman are in the top twenty most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Chilean YouTuber found a way to tap into one of the worlds greatest inventions and make a living from it. He has been able to build ...

Who Are Glenn Becks Family, What Is His Net Worth And What Happened To Him? The American political commentary space is filled with different personalities. A few of them, through their rhetoric, charisma, and resources have been able to build a large following of men and women who listen to them for insight and direction for various political and social issues in the United States. For Conservatives, the story is ...

Following Charissa Thompsons Rise Through The Ranks Of Sports Casting and All About Her Boyfriend Superstar TV host and sportscaster, Charissa Thompson, has been hailed as one of the highest-profile women journalists in America, and the reason is there for all to see. She has worked for popular establishments such as Versus, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, GSN, and Big Ten Network. She currently hosts the popular pre-game show, Fox NFL Kickoff, ...

Is Chris Kattan Gay or Does He Have A Wife? What Is His Net Worth? Chris Kattan is a popular American comedian and actor. He has appeared in several comic movies and TV series such as The Middle, A Night at the Roxbury and Bunnicula. Kattan is, however, most popular for his six-year stint as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. During his time on the legendary show, he ...

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5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTube Channel  h3h3Productions H3h3Productions is a YouTube channel that specializes on Comic responses or reactions of other contents or trendy stories. The celebrity couple that created the channel has over time racked up sizable views for their commentaries and contents. Even though they had their own fair share of copyright cases, thankfully they scored an unprecedented victory in all ...

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The Interesting Progression and Highlights of Carrie Keagans Career as a Host and Actress Carrie Keagan has garnered huge fame through her various stints on television. She is not just your regular TV host but one with a difference. Keagan has hosted several high profile events and TV shows, including VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live and Fox News Channels Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. However, not many know she ...

The Gist On Elise Jordans Marriages And Her Rise To Prominence Political commentaries tend to be boring when it is handled by someone who does not have a knack for it. However, when you see the likes of Elise Jordan run the same commentary, you will have a lot of reasons to look forward to watching her again as the journalist is well-versed in the field ...

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Matt Carriker Biography  Net Worth, Wife & Height Unlike your regular veterinary doctor next door, Matt Carriker chose to spice up his noble profession with the unusual. Though he is known to many as a medical practitioner, Carriker is better renowned as a YouTube star and an animal lover. Having recorded huge successes on his various YouTube channels, the vet doctors name and ...

Jillian Mele of Fox News Career Achievements, Husband & Measurements There are quite a good number of presenters on radio and television who listeners and viewers may never wish to miss any of their shows because of their sensational golden voice, beauty or the special way or artistry they anchor their shows. Jillian Mele is one of such. She has been at the top of ...

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Who Is October Gonzalez  Tony Gonzalezs Wife? All You Need To Know October Gonzalez is a popular American TV host and media personality. Additionally, she is also a model. Gonzalez has hosted several TV shows such as Beat Shazam, Entertainment Tonight, and Rachel Ray. She has also featured in several reality TV shows. Gonzalezs fame is not just due to her profession but also because of her ...

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The Progression of Gianna Tobonis Journalism Career and Details About Her Marriage to Kyle Buckley Gianna Toboni may not be your ideal newscaster but her unusual reporting is what made her a household name. The American journalist is renowned for her hard-hitting and authentic reportage. A motivator and activist for total press freedom, Gianna loves to explore pervasive cultural issues. Not only does this unique and ambitious journalist call for all ...

Dog The Bounty Hunters Family Including Details of His Late Wife and Kids Popularly known as Dog, a name which he got from the television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Duane Chapman, an American bounty hunter, and one-time bail bondsman, went from being convicted for a felony to being a reality TV star. He was brought to the limelight following the capture of the convicted criminal, Andrew Luster in 2003 and this eventually made ...

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Joe Rogan Has A Step-Daughter and 2 Other Kids With Wife Jessica Ditzel  Meet His Family Joe Rogan is a popular American stand-up comedian and TV host. His journey to stardom began in the late 80s and has seen him host several shows, the most popular is the game show titled Fear Factor. The exciting show dares contestants to face some of their greatest fears and embark on challenging stunts. The ...

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Holly Sonders Wiki, Plastic Surgery & Why She Divorced Her Husband  Erik Kuselias After trying everything within her capacity to have a low key wedding, Holly Sonders was drawn to the public because of her husbands controversy at his workplace. Well, the two are rumored to be divorced but the article below will give more light on how true these rumors are. Meanwhile, Holly Sonders is yet to ...

Nadeska Alexis Bio  Age, Boyfriend & Net Worth Journalism is one diverse profession that allows the practitioners to choose their area of specialty, build a career on it by reporting the truth and facts which in the long run will distinguish them as deserving commendation and recognition among their peers. Some choose to specialize in political journalism, while to others it is sports ...

Media Platforms Charlamagne Tha God Has Explored and All The Controversies He Has Courted Charlamagne Tha God is an American on-air personality, radio presenter, and more recently, author. He is popularly known as a co-host on New York radios nationally syndicated show, The Breakfast Club, a program he has been hosting alongside DJ Envy and Angela Yee since 2010. However, his early years had no connection to his current career ...

A Look At Jimmy Fallons Net Worth and Family Including His Wife & Kids Sometimes, a childs passion for something is a pointer to what he/she would become in the future. As a child, Jimmy Fallon was literally obsessed with watching the late-night comedy program, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Then, his parents would tape the clean parts for him to watch and later, he and his sister would re-enact sketches from the ...

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Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...

Heres How Wealthy Jimmy Kimmel Is From All The Phases of His Career, Marriages and Sons Health Jimmy Kimmel is a renowned late-night talk show host known for his charm, wit, and the A-list guests he features on his show. As the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On ABC, Jimmy has been serving comedy to television viewers for years which played a pivotal role in launching him into mainstream fame and enabled ...

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What Happened to Shane Kilcher? His Injury Update, Net Worth and More Shane Kilcher is well-known thanks to the Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier. It is a show that documents the daily lives of the extended Kilcher family, people who live without plumbing or modern heating. The episodes follow their routines as they rely on hunting and farming for their nutritional needs as well as ...

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5 Interesting Things You Need To Know About Kelly Nash Ever heard of the lady who gained national prominence for taking a selfie with a dangerous ball just a few inches away from hitting her? Its no other person than Kelly Nash, an American sports broadcaster currently working as host of The Rundown show which airs on MLB Network every weekday at 2 pm ET. ...

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Who is Josina Anderson of ESPN? Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ...

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Hillary Clinton maintains an edge over Donald Trump in Virginia according to a new Christopher Newport University survey, but a new poll by Quinnipiac University indicates the race is a dead heat nationally.

The surveys hit ahead of tonight's first debate featuring Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Trump the Republican nominee.

In the Christopher Newport survey, Clinton received 39 percent to 33 percent for Trump, 15 percent for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 3 percent each for Green Party nominee Jill Stein and for Evan McMullin, a conservative running as an independent.

On character issues, a majority - 54 percent - said Clinton cannot be trusted with classified information. On another question, a majority - 53 percent - said Trump is a racist.

The poll indicated that many millennials who would back Clinton in a two-way contest move to Libertarian Johnson when he is among the choices.

Provided a choice of only Clinton or Trump, voters 18-34 prefer Clinton, 52 percent to 30 percent. But given a choice of the five candidates who will appear on Virginia's ballot Nov. 8, Clinton receives 34 percent, while Johnson gets 27 percent and Trump 23 percent.

Christopher Newport's telephone poll of 1,003 likely voters was conducted between Sept. 15 and 23 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percent.

In the national poll released by Quinnipiac, Clinton receives 44 percent of likely voters to 43 percent for Trump, 8 percent for Johnson and 2 percent for Stein.

The poll found great interest in tonight's debate, with 84 percent saying they plan to tune in. Among those surveyed, 41 percent said they expect Clinton to win the debate, to 32 percent for Trump.

"The race for president is a virtual tie and millions of likely voters consider the first debate must see TV," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

"In this Super Bowl of American politics, the ratings will be huge and the contenders start dead even."

Trump got better marks for health than Clinton.

Asked whether Trump is healthy enough to be president, 73 percent said yes and 18 percent said no.

Asked whether Clinton is healthy enough for the job, 58 percent said yes and 31 percent said no.

Earlier this month Clinton was seen on video unsteadily entering a van after she left a Sept. 11 remembrance. The Clinton campaign subsequently said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,115 likely voters nationwide from Sept. 22-25. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

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Twitter: @AndrewCainRTD
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress news agency talked with MEP representing Luxembourg Frank Engel about the recent developments, the role of the involved sides in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

-Mr. Engel, after April war, despite numerous meetings, discussions, it seems that significant progress is not being achieved in the negotiation process due to Azerbaijans unconstructive behavior. What is Your opinion, is there any visible progress?

-I have always thought and will continue to think that the Minsk Group is a joke. It doesnt provide solution to the situation, rather more extends it. The leadership on both sides are confident the Minsk Group is the only existing format. It seems that war risk can be reduced due to these meetings, discussions, but in fact we saw in April that the Minsk process prevented nothing which will be visible also in the future. But the problem isnt this. I am reading about the Azerbaijani intellectuals, and they are maybe people of good will, and if those people would have ruled the country, the situation could have been another 25-30 years ago, but it didnt happen. Actually they all think they must take territories. I ask a question: what territories do you want to take? There is no option to give that territories to Azerbaijan if it doesnt do it through war. If Azerbaijan will not understand that they have started the war, they were defeated and lost that territories, there cannot be any progress. And the NKR people presented their stance. I dont need a referendum in order to know what they in reality want.

-Recently there were numerous talks that Armenia has toughened its stance over this issue, and stressed that there is a need to revise the Madrid principles. What will You say in this regard?

-Look, the problem is the Azerbaijani society over the Karabakh issue. There is such a propaganda, there is such an atmosphere of hatred in Azerbaijan, that if we even have imagined that the NKR can be returned to Azerbaijan, we would witness another genocide. And in these circumstances, the role of the international community is especially obliging. Here the talk is not about the peaceful process when people meet, shake hands: the talk is about a country which wants to eliminate the other.

-Recently US Co-Chair James Warlick said he wants to see rapprochement between the people of the two states in the context of the conflict settlement. How would You comment on this?

-One thing is clear: you can never avoid from geography. Here is Armenia, there Azerbaijan. Warlick must know that the already existing situation can hint everything. For instance, what happened in Ramil Safarovs case. He is an ordinary murderer who was condemned and was sentenced by law in the country where he committed the crime, then he was transferred to Azerbaijan to face his punishment there. And what happened, he was not only immediately released, but also he won the title of national hero for axing the Armenian. I think this is a phenomenon which can happen only in a sick society, and as long as it is still sick, I dont see any prospect on the abovementioned issue.

-Mr. Engel, there were numerous talks on including the NKR in the negotiation process. Dont You think it is really important?

-Of course, it is important. Eventually, their villages are now targeted. I think from this perspective Nagorno Karabakh must also sit around the negotiation table. Karabakh is a fact, and it is positive, and unless that fact is not recognized, nothing can be solved.

-Recently it seems Turkey has started to speak about its wish to be involved in the Karabakh negotiation process. What will You say on this?

-Turkeys stance to support Azerbaijan up to the end is very clear. We also know that Azerbaijan will not take any step without consulting with Turkey. Turkey is a country with 8 million people and it wants to have its place in the world. But this, of course, will not happen tomorrow, nevertheless, I have great hopes one day Turkey will come to a conclusion that it can have another influence on Azerbaijan, rather than just saying that we are with you until the end. Turkey must understand that it has many problems with neighbors, and it would be more useful to have fewer problems with fewer neighbors.

-Mr. Engel, can we ever have a guarantee that Azerbaijan will not unleash another attack one day?

-Definitely no. I am confident if tomorrow miracle will happen and Aliyev will decide that he wants to negotiate and accept another option, he will lose power. Why? Since the entire Azerbaijani political field, the army would say but this is not for which we were preparing, we were going to take the lands. It is not important what steps will be taken, whether Karabakh will sit around the negotiation table or not, one thing is clear: a time will come when they will say in Azerbaijan we want all.

Interview by Syuzi Muradyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee of America  Western Region (ANCA-WR) announced that Cem Ozdemir, an individual Member of the German Parliament who is of Turkish descent, and the German Bundestag collectively will be honored with the 2016 ANCA-WR Freedom Award for their courage in resisting pressure from the Turkish government to introduce and pass a resolution formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the Committee informed Armenpress.

Cem Ozdemir and the German Bundestag are well-deserving of our highest praise for their courage in shepherding the Armenian Genocide resolution through successful passage even in the face of unimaginable pressure from their past and current ally, the denialist Turkish government. Their honesty and transparency in accepting responsibility for their own predecessors complicity in this unpunished crime is truly commendable as it empowers the truth and facilitates justice. It is our sincere hope and expectation that U.S. executives and lawmakers will take the example of their German counterparts by acknowledging the noteworthy American role in rescuing hundreds of thousands of Armenian Genocide survivors rather than allowing a foreign Turkish government to dictate the policies of the United States with empty threats of retaliation for speaking the truth and demanding accountability to the victims and their descendants ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian said.

Cem Ozdemir has expressed his deep gratitude to the ANCA-WR for being the recipient of the Freedom Award and will accept it via video presentation at the Banquet on October 16.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The children already study in new and comfortable school in Herik village located 45 km north east from Berdzor. The school built by Hayrenaser Organization contributed to making a decision on resettling new families in the village.

Armenpress presents NKR resident Tamara Grigoryans article about Herik village.

About the village

Herik village, along with Moshatagh and Berdik, is in the Moshatagh region. Herik is located 45 kilometers north east from the Kashataghs central region of Berdzor. The village was liberated during the Karabakh war in 1991-92. Resettlement began around 1995-96.

There were only 30 families in the region during those years. The village lacked electricity and a school for a couple of years after the resettlement.

Once deserted and now resettled Herik

The village was deserted because of the lack of electricity from 1999-2000. It seemed like destruction of the village was inevitable. However, this village was destined to live and be reborn once more. The two families of Bakunts brothers were left alone to maintain and control the whole village and not let the homes be destroyed. Those homes would later serve for the incoming settlers.

With the decision of Kashataghs Regional Council in 2009-2010, resettlement began once again for Herik. A few families had already moved in the village and electricity was restored.

The school built by Hayrenaser is the driving force for rural development

After some basic necessities were provided for, the lack of school remained a priority in the village. The students would have their lessons in a deteriorated and damp house. The parents wanted to take their kids out of the school and the village as soon as possible. Many families avoided settling there because of the poor condition of the school. The regional director, Sirak Soghomonyan said that many were skeptical that their crumbling building would be restored and built into a new and modern school.

Many didnt believe that this project would become a reality. However, Hayrenaser and its donors believed in its success. Within a few months, it was possible to turn the ruin into a comfortable and clean school. Today, new families began moving into the village by taking into consideration the presence of the school. On September 1st, a family with three kids moved here, informed Sirak Soghomonyan. The school in Herik has become the assurance of its existence, development and establishment.

Herik Now

Herik today has 12 households.

The village has more hope for the future now. Parents seeing the establishment of the new school are no longer thinking about taking their kids out of school or moving somewhere else. The students are now happily attending the new and furbished school, which was only a dream last year. The villagers are ready to live and work in Herik if the right infrastructure and establishments are in place for them to thrive.The position of the village allows for the growth of large volumes of wheat and barley, which is what people are cultivating there currently.

The roads are also being currently repaired. The regional director said that during the repairs, Khachkars- cross stones, were discovered and moved to the existing medieval churchyard of the village.

Herik was liberated at the cost of an Armenian soldiers lives and little piece of land is sanctified by the blood of the volunteers. The people of Herik realize this very well. In fact, they were one of the first ones who forgot about their home and work and voluntarily hurried to the front lines of the border, when the tension in April began. Of course we were the first ones to go, only 6-7 people from Herik and 45 overall from the region went to the frontline and actively participated in the protection of the homeland. We went there because we understand why we live here, Sirak Soghomonyan said.

During the tension in April, one of our construction workers and the manager of construction were also at the frontline. We are confident that after their return from the border, they have doubled their dedication and efforts towards the school which is at the rear of the border.

We can hear confidence and happiness in the regional directors voice. He is happy that the village will from now on live a full life, that people would want to move here with their kids to give them the opportunity to study in a new and comfortable school, instead of moving out.

Herik deserves an excellent future and will have one.

Tamara Grigoryan

Hayrenaser Organization
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Acting Minister of Economy of Armenia Artsvik Minasyan will most likely assume the post of the Minister of Nature Protection, ARF faction Secretary Aghvan Vardanyan said, reports Armenpress.

We held a long-lasting meeting with the Prime Minister and discussed existing all possible issues, he attaches importance to the economic bloc reforms. The PM wants a person in the Ministry having more business mentality, he said and positively assessed Artsvik Minasyans abilities on implementing the functions of the Ministry of Nature Protection.

He said the ARF attaches importance to the solution of proposed issues rather than having precise number of Ministers.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. This year the slogan of Erebuni-Yerevan 2798 celebration is Yerevan: A City of Sun, Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Aram Sukiasyan said, Armenpress reported.

He said Yerevan Day this year will be celebrated on October 8.

Due to April war this year the celebrations will be more modest compared to previous years. The concert in the Republican Square, the parade starting from Yerevan Municipality, as well as the event taking place in front of the Municipality will not take place, he said.

This year the Cross-stones park will be more active, he said.

65 million AMD will be spent on Erebuni-Yerevan 2798 events.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Government approved the agreement signed with Armenia on the establishment of united regional air defense system in the Caucasian region, reports Armenpress.

The corresponding document is published in the official internet-portal of legal information.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The RPA faction of the Parliament proposes to rename the Ministry of Diaspora into Ministry of Diaspora and Repatriation, RPA faction Secretary Gagik Melikyan said, reports Armenpress.

He said the proposal can be included in the draft proposed by the Government and can have a serious impact on the activity of the Ministry of Diaspora.

The RPA suggests to rename the Diaspora Ministry into Ministry of Diaspora and Repatriation. By this, not only the name, but also the function will change in order to assist, suggest, help our fellow citizens to carry out repatriation, he said.

Gagik Melikyan said this change will have a positive impact also on raising the countrys economic efficiency.
Event Venue:

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YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on September 26 the USD exchange rate was 473.29 AMD which is a decrease of 0.11 drams compared to the previous day, reports Armenpress.

The euro appreciated by 1.06 drams forming 531.88 drams, and British pound decreased by 3.98 drams forming 612.01 drams. Russian ruble dropped by 0.04 drams forming 7.40 drams on September 26.

The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 301.59 AMD, gold-20.369.74 AMD, and platinum  16.053.54 AMD.
New Delhi: No-frills carrier AirAsia India has partnered with Reliance General Insurance for providing travel insurance to its flyers. Under the partnership, 'Reliance Inland Travel Care Policy' will be offered to passengers of AirAsia India.

The policy will cover "trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, missed flight connection, damage or total loss of checked-in baggage and hospitalisation due to accident," the airline said in a release today.

It will be priced at a premium of Rs 149 for 30 days, Rs 279 for 60 days and Rs 399 for 90 days. "Under this tie-up, we have made comprehensive travel insurance provisions for AirAsia flyers that will enable travellers to be adequately insured in case of any travel-related eventuality," Reliance General Insurance CEO Rakesh Jain said.

Besides, AirAsia India has re-launched its Red Carpet service across New Delhi, Jaipur, Guwahati, Vizag, Kochi, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

The service, which can be pre-booked, will provide the passenger access to lounge with food, beverages and wi-fi as well as a dedicated counter check-in, among others.

AirAsia India CEO Amar Abrol said the carrier has a "pay for what they use" model that allows it to keep costs low and pass on the benefit in the form of low fares. AirAsia India flies to 11 destinations.
Mumbai: Ahead of the launch of its PrimeVideo in the country, e-commerce giant Amazon has signed a long-term agreement with Dharma Productions to stream existing and upcoming movies.

"We are excited to have Dharma Productions' library and future slate of titles for the upcoming launch of Prime Video," Amazon Video India Director and Country Head Nitesh Kripalani said in a statement issued today.

The library of films on Prime Video will comprise upcoming releases like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Ok Jaanu, and Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

It will also include movies like Kapoor & Sons, Brothers, Gori Tere Pyar Mein, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Student of the Year, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Agneepath, among others.

"We have kept a close eye on the explosion of digital media, and the increased consumption trends of Bollywood content on Video-On-Demand and OTT Platforms. We felt that the time couldn't be more right for us to mark our presence on such sought after platforms," Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta said.

"We are confident that partnering with a credible brand like Amazon will go a long way in ensuring that our content will not only be seamlessly streamed, but will also see a huge demand from users of Prime Video," Mehta added.
The Infosys founder said that in the start-up business, some companies would succeed and some would not.

Hyderabad: Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani is all for Indian start-ups, saying they have entered an 'exciting phase' with focus on India-specific problems and opportunities, and domestic money is fuelling risk appetite.

"I am very bullish on the Indian start-up scenario," the brain behind Aadhaar told PTI in an interview. "I think we are entering a new phase where we are seeing breadth and depth of start-ups."

On several start-ups shutting shop, Nilekani said it's the nature of the business.

"The very nature of start-ups is that many ideas get funded; some ideas succeed; and some have to be revisited or pivoted...that's the nature of this whole venture economy".

He said that in the start-up business, some companies would succeed and some would not. Some companies will start with an idea but then pivot couple of times before they stabilise on a sustainable idea.

"So, that's the nature of the activity. That does not bother me the least," he said.

Nilekani also said that many start-ups would not succeed but entrepreneurs gain tremendous experience and can to go to another start-up.

"They can learn from the experience of the previous failed start-ups. I see it as part of that," he said. According to him, while there might be some challenges on follow-on funding for very large firms, its an exciting time if one looked at the larger scenario. He said more and more start-ups are being set up and their quality is also increasing with players doing "very interesting things".

There is a huge buzz on college campuses, which themselves are becoming pro-startups and encouraging their graduates to start companies, Nilekani said.

"Lot more Indian money is also coming into the start-up world. So, people like us who already built a company are now providing funding and being mentors and all that", he said.

Painting a positive picture, Nilekani said Indian money flowing into the sector is meant to build companies in the country and people with operative experience having already served in companies can chip in with advice for start-ups.

"It's private money (Indian money) so they (start-ups) are not obligated to their LPs (limited partners), or exits or returns to other shareholders...nothing of that type. So, they can take longer term risk. So, it's good stuff," he said.
Chinas investment in India only accounted for 2.2% of the total $39.3 billion foreign direct investment received by India in 2015.

Beijing: As Chinas telecom firm Huawei starts manufacturing in India, official media here has raised the red flag, warning that Beijing needs to worry about job cuts due to shifting of production bases as economic rivalry increases between India and the worlds second largest economy.

China needs to worry about effect of industrial transfer to India on production chain, an article in the state-run Global Times said on Monday. As Chinese manufacturers show an increasing interest in setting up assembly lines in India, the economic competition between the two countries is likely to enter a new stage as India and China vie to expand their industry chains, it said.

Huawei joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market would result in job cuts if mobile manufacturing shifted to India.

In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain, but what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India, it said.

Frankly speaking, China cant afford that. The country has to ensure its competitiveness in production chains at a time when India is becoming a new processing base for manufacturers. This will require Chinese local suppliers to maintain technological advantage through continuous innovation, it said.

Another article in the same daily said as Chinese investments are on the raise, Chinas firms must understand Indian company and labours laws before investing.

Indias relatively stable political environment, sustained economic growth momentum, huge population dividend and cheap labour costs have attracted numerous international investors, it said.

Referring to survey by 2014 Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) which ranked India to be the most preferred destination for future investment, it said Chinas direct investment to India soared last year to $870 million, six times than in 2014. However, India was not among the 13 countries which received direct investment from China exceeding one billion in 2015 and Chinas investment in India only accounted for 2.2 per cent of the total $39.3 billion foreign direct investment received by India in 2015, it said.

With increasingly more Chinese firms and investors casting their eyes to India, it is urgent to rationally assess the political and economic risks of investing in India, it added.
The regulator also plans to introduce options contracts in the commodity derivatives market.

Mumbai: The Sebi is considering a proposal to allow mutual funds, alternative investment funds and foreign portfolio investors (FPI) to participate in commodity futures trading in order to inject greater liquidity and deepen the market.

The regulator also plans to introduce options contracts in the commodity derivatives market. These proposals were a part of the suggestions made by the commodity derivative advisory committee (CDAC) of SEBI.

While addressing a conference on Agri Supply Chain organised by industry body CII, P.K. Bindlish, chief general manager, Sebi said, We are considering various proposals like improving hedgers participation in the commodity derivative market, how to improve liquidity in various commodity futures contract to address the issue of concentration risk, the criteria for allowing commodities to be included in the futures trading platform and permitting institutional investors like mutual funds and FPIs.

The regulator further plans to bring out a new set of regulations to strengthen the warehousing segment by prescribing the ownership criteria, minimum net worth requirement and dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure an orderly conduct of the markets.

Last year, the commodities future trading was brought under the supervision of Sebi by merging Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with the capital market regulator.

Over the last one year, Sebi had taken a number of measures to strengthen the regulation and risk management system in the commodities futures market to bring it at par with equity and equity derivatives market.

However, Mr Bindlish pointed out that the commodity spot market has emerged as major source of concern. Lot of issues are emanating from the spot market. Since it is unregulated and highly fragmented, it is coming in the way of efficient price discovery in the futures market, he said
Mumbai: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has proven himself as one of the best directors in the industry with his style of direction in critically acclaimed films such as Rang De Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The filmmaker is striving to enhance his reputation with his upcoming film Mirzya.

Mehra has paid extreme attention to the choice of locations for the film, based on Punjabs popular 'Mirza Sahiban', in order to translate the story effectively on the big screen. The filmmaker was keen on shooting at locations where Bollywood had not shot before, so he selected virgin locations in the barren stretch across Ladakh and Rajasthan and shot in areas such as Nubara valley and Pahelgaum lake in Ladakh, Shiv Niwas Palace and Fatehgarh Palace in Udaipur, Thulia and Ranau in Jaisalmer. All these locations were chosen after a proper recce by the team.

Thulia was, however, just 17 kilometers away from the India-Pakistan border and the team took all the requisite permissions from the BSF and IB and even traveled 90 kilometers every day to arrive at the shooting location.

About his choice of locations, Mehra said, "Right from the story of the legend of 'Mirza Sahiban', the folklore, I wanted to picturize this in my imaginative world, for which we traveled to Ladakh and went to the remote corners, which is beyond Pangong Tso lake and Nyoma. There I found these absolute virgin locations which were on the border of China, so the army helped us a lot.

"Similarly, when we were filming the climax of the present day story in Rajasthan, it took us to the remote desert areas which are beyond Jaisalmer, Phulia and on the border areas of Barmer. Once again, the local tourism board and the army were very helpful because these are restricted areas for any normal person to go."

Mirzya starring Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher is gearing up for release on October 7.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. SpaceX founder Elon Musk continued to drop tidbits about his "Interplanetary Transport System" on Twitter early Monday morning, sharing two photos of SpaceX's Raptor engine during a test fire at the company's facility in MacGregor, Texas. "SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine," Armenpress reports, citing Ars Technica, he tweeted.

Musk released the photos on the eve of a much-anticipated speech Tuesday at the International Astronautical Congress, in Guadalajara, Mexico. During his speech Musk will lay out the elements of his vision for humanity to colonize other worlds. AsArs has reported Musk will likely offer an inclusive message, reaching out to potential partners. This is because SpaceX cannot self-fund colonization and will need help from the government and industry.

In subsequent tweets early on Monday Musk provided a few details about the Raptor engine, which he said has a thrust of about 3 million Newtons in the upper atmosphere. This is about three times more powerful than the company's existing engine, the Merlin 1-D, nine of which power SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Additionally, with these specs the Raptor would be slightly more powerful than a space shuttle main engine, and in the same class as Blue Origin's BE-4 rocket engine, which has not yet undergone a full-scale test.

An undetermined number of the Raptor engines will power SpaceX's next-generation rocket, the BFR. Musk is expected to provide additional technical details about the engine, this larger, powerful rocket, and the Interplanetary Transport System spacecraft on Tuesday. Such elements provide the bedrock architecture for how SpaceX intends to send hundreds of colonists to Mars in the 2020s.

The big question has been how much of this is drawing board hardware, and how much has actually been built. When SpaceX shipped the Raptor engine to Texas earlier this summer it marked a significant moment for the company because an engine is the most important part of a rocket, and typically takes the longest time to develop and test. If the Raptor engine can undergo full-scale test firings, then SpaceX is beginning to deliver hardware needed to make interplanetary flight a reality. Now it just needs some financial help to bring this vision into reality.
Mumbai: Ranbir Kapoors much anticipated film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is gearing up for release this Diwali but the film has already landed in several controversies till now.

First was about its clash with Ajay Devgns Shivaay, which was followed by an audio clip of Kamaal R Khan saying that he had taken money to promote the film. However, the biggest controversy erupted when Raj Thackerays political party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued a warning to Pakistani actors and artistes to leave the country in the wake of the deadly attacks in Uri. The party had also stated that they would not allow films like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees to release as they had Pakistani actors like Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan acting in them.

Karan Johar, the director of the film, recently stated that boycotting Pakistani artistes is not the solution to terrorism. His lead actor Ranbir Kapoor was also asked about the controversy recently on the sidelines of the film's promotions on a dance based reality show. Ranbir replied, I can speak about my film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'. Other than this I don't know anything about other rumours."

The trailer of the film was released recently and it also stars Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Mumbai: The first season of Priyanka Chopras international series Quantico was a success and the actress has been shooting for the second season since the past few days in America.

The second season finally aired on Sunday night and the actress was seen having a gala time as she caught an outdoor screening of the premiere along with the cast and crew.

She was also live tweeting from the screening and also shot a selfie video with her co-stars, who are also excited for the second season rolling and were cheering for Priyankas performance in the show.

Priyanka has been sharing numerous pictures and videos of the show and had posted several promos of the show.

Priyanka was an FBI agent in the first season and now she has moved on to the CIA. In India, the show will premiere on Monday.
Not much has changed, has it?

Mumbai: Vintage videos of Bollywood stars are always a treat to watch.

Actors like Shahid Kapoor, Salman Khan and others have done some very adorable ads in the past and they keep resurfacing on the internet thanks to their scores of fans.

A children's energy drink ad, featuring a very young Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia, especially, have often amused fans. Turns out, Emraan Hashmi himself had starred in a rival brand's ad as a kid.

Emraan, who was last seen in 'Raaz Reboot,' smiles mischievously at the camera in the ad, and wins our hearts all over again.

Emraan's son Ayaan Hashmi had also starred in a short film directed by Dia Mirza, that urged people to embrace environmental conservation.

As adorable as the boy is, we must admit Emraan was no less as a kid himself.

Watch the video here:
Scientists have developed a new sponge-like copper-based material for wearable sensors that can measure blood sugar levels from sweat, an advance that may allow diabetics to painlessly monitor their disease.

People with diabetes often have low levels of insulin, a hormone that converts sugars to energy, which means they have to closely watch their glucose or blood-sugar levels to prevent further chronic health complications.

Researchers at the University of Wollongong's (UOW) in Australia have demonstrated the first reported construction of copper with a sponge-like porous structure, which can also quickly and accurately detect glucose in body fluids other than blood, such as sweat or tears.

Professor Yusuke Yamauchi, from Japan's National Institute of Materials Science, said glucose sensors based on copper have been intensively studied, owing to the material's good conductivity, low cost and superior performance.

Copper is hard to fabricate into porous structures because it easily oxidises when exposed to air which highly affects its performance.

"Not only are these metals are highly reactive with air, they do not reduce easily in solutions and are difficult to deposit consistently on to substrates," he said.

Researchers mixed a liquid solution of copper and polystyrene, creating small

polystyrene balls with copper attached to the outside.

These can be attached to a substrate using a method similar to electroplating, and a UV light melts the polystyrene centres, leaving tiny holes each roughly 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.

The result is a porous copper film with the sponge-like structure. Further testing showed the film has high selectivity, reacting to glucose without interference from other acids and sugars that can be present in sweat.

A key requirement for materials to be suitable for use as a sensor is high sensitivity, rapidly reacting to the presence of glucose in small amounts of liquid that also tend to evaporate quickly.

"The sponge-like porous structure greatly increases the surface area and therefore enhances the sensitivity required to trigger an electrochemical signal," Yamauchi said.

"The extraordinary sensing performance of the copper film is probably attributed to its intrinsically good reaction toward glucose oxidation," he said.

"This makes this copper film a good candidate for the direct detection of glucose to satisfy the requirements of diverse applications, such as diabetes management," he added.

The copper film may be integrated into a wearable sensor or a smartwatch, providing continual glucose readings to the wearer, which could also be sent wirelessly to their doctor.

The cheap materials also make it ideal for use in remote areas where access to clinics and health specialists is difficult.

The results were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
The sudden rise and fall in mercury levels has led to a surge in viral infections in the city (Representational Image)

Bengaluru: My mother has a viral fever for more than two weeks now. She also has a throat ache, which refuses to go, says Rishi, whose 56-year-old mother has been popping medicines without any relief from the cold and cough.

The sudden rise and fall in mercury levels has led to a surge in viral infections in the city over the last fortnight. What is baffling is the nature of the fever that persists for more than 15 days.

It has been a month since I had cold and cough. I still have cough. The syrup and herbal tea are not helping, says Ayesha Ganesh, who is worried as she has to catch a flight to the US in a few days.

We are seeing many cases of viral bronchitis. Basically because of the infection, the immune system gets activated and the lungs and airways become hypersensitive to pollutants, informs Dr Shankar Prasad, Medical Director, St Philomena's Hospital.

Another reason for the persistent nature of cough and chills is that during the viral infection season, there is additional bacterial infection called superadded infection or super infection which is an added bacterial infection on a virus infection and it prolongs the viral infection," explains Dr S.M. Prasad, Professor, Paediatrics, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Medical College and Chairperson of Bangalore Adolescent Health Academy. He stresses that antibiotics which are antibacterial will not work against the viral infection but only add to the infection.

Dr Sudha Menon, Director, Internal Medicines, Fortis Hospital, sees nearly 30 patients at the OPD every day. Most of the cases are of this nature and it is a little more Bengaluru specific as this weather pattern is not seen anywhere else. The fever is running up to three to four weeks. It is a post-viral reaction as most of the viruses irritate the airway, partly because of the person's tendency to allergies. We administer a combination of anti-allergic and inhalers which soothes the airways."

Experts advise extra precaution for children. Especially in schools where the class strength is big, cough etiquette and hand hygiene should be taught. The schools should relax rules when a child has viral fever," says Dr Prasad, who adds that exercising and nutritious food, including intake of vitamin C enriched fruits, will help reduce chances of catching the viral fever.
The surge in poaching for ivory that began approximately a decade ago - the worst that Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s - has been the main driver of the decline. (Photo: Pixabay)

Johannesburg, South Africa: Africa's elephant population has suffered its worst drop in 25 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Sunday, blaming the plummeting numbers on poaching.

Based on 275 estimates from across the continent, a report by the conservation group put Africa's total elephant population at around 415,000, a decline of around 111,000 over the past decade.

It is the first time in 25 years that the group's African Elephant Status Report has reported a continental decline in numbers, with the IUCN attributing the losses in large part to a sharp rise in poaching.

"The surge in poaching for ivory that began approximately a decade ago -- the worst that Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s -- has been the main driver of the decline," said IUCN in a statement.

Habitat loss is also increasingly threatening the species, the group said. IUCN chief Inger Andersen said the numbers showed "the truly alarming plight of the majestic elephant".

"It is shocking but not surprising that poaching has taken such a dramatic toll on this iconic species," she said. The IUCN report was released at the world's biggest conference on the international wildlife trade, taking place in Johannesburg.

Thousands of conservationists and government officials are seeking to thrash out international trade regulations aimed at protecting different species. A booming illegal wildlife trade has put huge pressure on an existing treaty signed by more than 180 countries -- the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The plight of Africa's elephants, targeted for their tusks, will be one of the most debated topics at the meeting which will consider several proposals on whether to tighten or ease controls on the trade in ivory.
Raipur: Grinding poverty led a tribal woman in a Chhattisgarh town to unleash her frustration on her sick 10-month-old daughter by lynching her, the police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred in the district headquarters town of Jashpur in north Chhattisgarh.

According to Jashpurnagar Kotwali police station in-charge G.S. Dubey, Jebita Ekka, 28, was in a foul mood after not being able to arrange the money needed to secure bail for her husband, who was arrested on charge of theft four months ago. She was also frustrated by the lack of money to pay the rent and the electricity bill.

She had also no money to take her ailing infant to a doctor for treatment.

On September 23, the sick child started crying inconsolably. Jebita first gave her a few slaps on the face to make her stop crying. Later, she started hitting the childs head with a wooden plank, killing her on the spot.

She was spotted by family members crying before body of the infant. They later reported the matter to the police. The woman, however, initially denied that she killed her child, saying that a cat tore upon her daughter.

(This story originally appeared in the Asian Age)
Security forces had laid an ambush near the jungles of Banspal and Toinar. (Representational image)

Raipur: Three Naxals, including two commander rank cadres, were on Monday killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar division, police said.

"While two hardcore Maoist commanders were gunned down in Narayanpur district, another rebel was killed in neighbouring Kondagaoan district early this morning," Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) SRP Kalluri said.

In Naryanpur, a surgical operation was launched by District Reserve Group (DRG) based on the input that a platoon of military company (no. 6) of Maoists led by Shobhi would be coming towards Jhara police camp in Narayanpur to target Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawans, the IG said.

Security forces had laid an ambush near the jungles of Banspal and Toinar, located around 400 kms away from here, on the route tipped off to be followed by the Naxal party while moving toward Jhara (in Narayanpur), he said.

"On reaching the spot, about 20 armed cadres smelled the presence of security forces and opened indiscriminate fire on them prompting police to retaliate," Kalluri said, adding the exchange lasted for one hour in Narayanpur after which Naxals escaped from the place taking cover of dense forest.

During search, bodies of two Maoists identified as Tirupati alias Akash, a native of Madded in Bijapur, and Lokesh alias Ramesh from Dhaudai region of Narayanpur, were recovered from the spot, he added.

"They both were active as commanders in military company 6 of Maoists," the IG said calling the operation as "stunning" success for security forces.

"Drag marks and blood stains found at the spot indicate that more Naxals were either killed or injured in the encounter but their colleagues managed to take them away from the spot," he added.

Besides, weapons and other Naxal items were also recovered during search of the area.

Meanwhile, reinforcement was rushed to the spot to trace the ultras fled from the spot after the incident, the IG added.

In another incident, body of a rebel clad in uniform was recovered after an exchange of fire between a joint team of security forces and Naxals in the forest of Mardapal police station limits in Kondagaon.
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Monday granted regular bail to an accused in the murder of Amrut Prajapati, a key witness in the rape case allegedly involving self-styled godman Asaram, on the ground he was not directly named in the dying declaration of the victim.

Justice P P Bhatt granted bail to Basavraj Avanna Talloi, arrested for the murder of Prajapati who was shot dead in a Rajkot clinic two years back by unidentified assailants.

The judge observed the accused was not directly named by Prajapati in his dying declaration. He asked Basavraj not to leave Gujarat and mark his presence in a local police station every Thursday.

City Crime Branch sleuths had arrested Basavraj, a native of Bijapur in Karnataka, in September last year from Bengaluru for his alleged involvement in orchestrating attacks on witnesses in rape cases registered against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, filed in Ahmedabad and Surat, respectively.

The witnesses were former aides of Asaram and his son.

The police had lodged four cases against Basavraj, including those related to attacks on witnesses and committing robbery in Surat to raise money to fund assaults.

He was in the past granted bail by the high court in three of the four cases filed against him.

Prajapati once worked as a close aide and personal doctor of Asaram at his ashram in Motera here.

Surat Police on October 6, 2013 had registered complaints filed by two sisters - one against Asaram and another against his son -- relating to rape, sexual assault and illegal confinement, among others.

The complaint against Asaram was transferred to Chandkheda Police Station in Ahmedabad, where the incident took place.

The elder of the two sisters, in her complaint, had accused Asaram of sexual assaults between 1997 and 2006 when she had been living in his ashram here.

The younger sister had filed a complaint against Sai, accusing him of repeated sexual assaults between 2002 and 2005 when she was living in their Surat ashram.

Asaram is at present lodged in Jodhpur jail in another rape case filed against him in Rajasthan.
New Delhi: Delhi Police has written to Canada's Department of Justice seeking details of the deleted chats from the mobile phones of Sunanda Pushkar and her husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.



The police has sent a Letters Rogatory to the department asking them to get details of chat messages from Research in Motion Ltd, a senior police officer said.



Senior Journalist Nalini Singh had told police that she had a chat with Sunanda in which she had mentioned that Tharoor and Pakistani Journalist Meher Tara had allegedly exchanged messages that were deleted from Tharoor's phone.



51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in a five- star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Tarar on Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor.



Several persons including Tharoor have been questioned in connection with Sunanda's death. The police have also conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoor's domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple.



In February, Tarar was questioned about her relation with the Congress leader and his wife, her fight with Sunanda over Twitter, and other issues revolving around Sunanda's death.



Delhi Police had in January 2015 registered a case of murder in connection with Sunanda's death.



The FBI report sent to Delhi Police in November 2015 had virtually ruled out the theory of 'polonium poisoning' having caused her death.



However, after Delhi Police failed to draw any conclusion on basis of the findings, the report was handed over to a medical board for examination before further proceedings in the high-profile case.



The medical board is yet to give its opinion on cause of Sunanda's death.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The unveiling of the Armenian Genocide Forest of Hope took place on September 24 in the City of Markham. Armenpress reports, citing The Armenian Weekly, Markham Mayor, His Worship Mr. Frank Scarpitti was joined by the Ambassador of Armenia to Canada, H.E. Mr. Armen Yeganian, as well as the Chairs of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committees of Canada and Ontario Mr. Mher Karakashian and Mr. Krikor Chitlian for the official ribbon cutting ceremony.

Amongst the more than 600 attendees from across the Greater Toronto Area, were representatives from all levels of government. Representing the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, was Member of Parliament and Chair of the Canadian Armenian Parliamentary Friendship Group, Arnold Chan. Representing the Premier of Ontario, the Honorable Kathleen Wynne, were the Honorable Dr. Helena Jaczek, Minister of Community and Social Services and Honorable Michael Chan, Minister of International Trade.

From the City of Markham, Markham Deputy Mayor Jack Heath, York Regional Councillor Joe Li, and Markham City Councillors Alan Ho, Logan Kanapathi, and Amanda Colluci joined Mayor Scarpitti.

We know the meaning of genocide, its history and the importance of education, said Armen Yeganian, ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Canada. We have to continue to educate, not just today, tomorrow or the first 100 years. But always, because unfortunately it still continues to happen.

The Forest of Hope Project was launched by the City of Markham on Dec. 19 2015, on the occasion of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which was commemorated throughout 2015.

Despite being displaced, the Armenian community is determined, said Mayor Scarpitti. The next generation of Armenians will be just as proud as the first Armenians who came to Canada. Thats a wonderful thing.

The project involved planting a small forest in the confines of the Ashton Meadows Park, in memory of the 1.5 million victims of this first genocide of the 20th century. The forest will serve as a permanent reminder of this dark period of human history and will remind us of our collective responsibility to ensure such crimes are never repeated again. The specially designed forest, designed by renowned landscape architect Haig Seferian, will feature 100 trees of varying species, to celebrate the survival and rebirth of humanity from the ashes of Genocide.

Marianne Davitjan, who presented the Armenian National Committee of Canadas message, outlined the importance of memorials such as the Forest of Hope. The places in present day Turkey and Syria, where the Armenian Genocide took place, had the potential to serve as sites of memory and education, much like how the concentration camps in Europe served for the Holocaust, she explained. Due to denial and continued violence however, those sites have been destroyed and forgotten. Hence why it is important for Armenians around the world to build genocide memorials in their home cities, in order to promote collective commemoration and education.

The Armenian Genocide, which began on April 24, 1915, was the planned extermination of a million and half Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turkey. More than two million Armenians were forcibly taken from their homes and villages, men drafted into and murdered in the Ottoman Turkish army, and women, children and the elderly driven into the Syrian deserts where they were starved, beaten, raped, drowned, or burnt alive. Survivors ended up in orphanages and refugee camps across the Middle East and the West. 150 of the genocide orphans were brought to Canada starting in 1923 in what became known as Canadas Noble Experiment.
28-year-old Amit shot at his father who was trying to assault his young daughter-in-law. (Representational Image)

Kanpur: A man from UP surrendered himself to the police after fatally shooting his father for allegedly trying to sexually assault his wife on Saturday in their home in Farrukhabad district.

According to a report, 50-year-old Ratiram would allegedly make regular sexual advances towards his sons wife. On Saturday night, he came home drunk and tried to sexually assault her yet again. He allegedly grabbed his daughter-in-law and attempted to force himself upon her but the woman tried to ward him off and screamed.

Hearing her screams, 28-year-old Amit, who was in another part of the house at the time of the incident, rushed to the spot and flew into a murderous rage. He started beating up his father and then shot him with a country-made firearm, critically injuring him.

Ratiram was rushed to a community health centre and is said to be in a stable condition. Amit, surrendered before the police along with the weapon he used against his father.

He is facing a case of attempt to murder, after his younger brother lodged a complaint against him in the Shamsabad police station. The firearm used by Amit was found to illegal and he had been sent to jail.
BENGALURU: The Pulikeshinagar police on Monday evening arrested the prime accused transgender, Anandi, 35, and her two aides Shreya, 30 and Aishu, 20 for allegedly kidnapping and mutilating the genitals of an 18-year-old in the city. The three accused are residents Of Cox Town.

The police said that the victim was very close and shared bond with Shreya who was his childhood friend. Earlier, the police had arrested a 62-year-old priest, who is the co-accused. Tulasiappan, a resident of Puliksehsinagar, was arrested by a special team near Coles Park near Bharthi Nagar police station.

Tulasiappan, a priest at the Mariamma temple, had built the temple and stayed there. Investigations revealed that the victim, Subhash (name changed), visited the temple regularly. Tulasiappan who befriended the victim around two years ago allegedly brainwashed him and convinced him to become a transgender.

He played the role of a middleman and helped the prime suspect Anandi, a transgender, to help the gang in abducting Subhash and later carrying out the genital mutilation.

Tulasiappan is one of the accused in the case. He met the victim at his temple during one of his visits and is accused of influencing and convincing the victim to become a transgender. Though the accused have maintained that they didnt force the victim, the complainant in his statement has told the police that he was abducted, forcibly kept under house arrest for 11 days before carrying out genital mutilation. Based on his statement, we arrested Tulasiappan on Monday morning. Tulasiappan is a man, but dresses like a woman, a police officer said.

This is Tulasiappans first offence. So far, we have not come across his involvement in any other case. Tulasiappan told us that he didnt force Subhash and the victim agreed to go with him of his own consent, the officer said.
The police nabbed the gang and seized the 1,700 notes of demonetised Venezuelan currency. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The Punjagutta police busted an outdated Venezuelan currency exchange racket and nabbed a five-member gang. Police said the gang had procured the currency from a Kerala-based supplier.

The police seized 17 bundles of demonetised Venezuelan currency worth Rs 11.65 lakh. The kingpin of the racket, Javed, hailing from Kerala, is at large. The arrested persons are Ramasagar, K. Karunakar, G. Ranjith Kumar, M. Ravi Chand and N. Naga Malleswar.

West Zone DCP A. Venkateshwar Rao said the Venezuelan currency Cien Bolivares was in use till 2007. But due to the economic crisis in the country the currency was demonetised in 2008 and a new currency Venezuelan Bolivar was introduced.

Ramasagar and Javed are friends and the others in the gang are Ramasagars friends. Ramasagar procured the currency from Javed and brought it to Hyderabad. Later, he contacted his friends and hatched a plan to exchange the currency at lesser value. They came to Ameerpet to exchange it with a customer.

Each note when in use equalled Rs 680 in India. They were planning to exchange 1,700 notes notionally valued at around Rs 11.65 lakh for around Rs 5 lakh, the DCP said.

The police nabbed the gang and seized the 1,700 notes of demonetised Venezuelan currency. The arrested men were produced in court.
Srinagar: Five CRPF personnel were injured in a grenade attack by militants in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Monday, police said.

Militants hurled a grenade at a CRPF party in Wanpoh area of the district, a police official said.

He said five CRPF men sustained injuries in the attack.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt to nab the attackers, the official said.
Kolkata: Six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activists, including four wanted in the 2014 Khagragarh blast case, were arrested from West Bengal and Assam.

Of the six, three were Bangladeshi nationals, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vishal Garg said here. "These people were not in West Bengal after Khagragarh blast. They had left the state and moved to South India and North Eastern states. They were planning subversive activities in some South Indian states. We are trying to find out the details," Garg said.

The JMB activists arrested by the Kolkata Police Special Task Force included Anwar Hussain Farooq, the head of the outfit's West Bengal unit, and Yusuf Sheikh, the second in command in the state. Sheikh, also the JMB chief motivator in the state, carried a Rs 10 lakh reward on his head announced by NIA.

Six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activists arrested from West Bengal and Assam. (Photo: ANI Twitter)

The four others who were wanted in connection with Khagragarh blast of October 2, 2014, were Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jadidul Islam. Kalam and Rubel were carrying on their heads a reward of Rs 3 lakh and 1 lakh respectively.

Yusuf and Shahidul were arrested from Natun Bazar under Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas district yesterday while Farooq and Rubel were picked up from Bagda Road in Bangao in the same district, Garg said.

Kalam was held from Coochbehar station in north Bengal yesterday while Jahidul was arrested from Cachhar district of Assam on Saturday.

Forged ID papers, 2 kg white powdery substance, one laptop, mobile phones, detonator, wire cutters, batteries, Bangladeshi and Indian currency, letters written in Bengali, travel guide, books on chemicals and memory cards for camera were seized from them.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a meeting on Monday on the Indus Water Treaty, amid calls from various quarters that the government should scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in wake of the Uri terror attack.

According to sources, senior officials will brief the Prime Minister on the matter and discuss its pros and cons.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials were present at the meeting.

The review is being undertaken as India weighs options to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead.

India had last week week made it clear that "mutual trust and cooperation" was important for such a treaty to work. The assertion came amid calls that the government should scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack.

"It cannot be a one-sided affair," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said when asked if the government will rethink on the Indus Waters Treaty given the growing strain between the two countries.

He also noted that the preamble of the Treaty itself said it was based on "goodwill".

He refused to elaborate and only noted that in diplomacy everything was not spelled out and that he has not said that the treaty was not working.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said last week that his state will fully support whatever decision is taken by the Union government on the 1960 agreement.

"The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir" as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities, Singh had said.

"The state government will support whatever decision is taken by the central government on Indus Waters Treaty," he had said.
New Delhi: In a stern message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said blood and water cannot flow together, during his meeting on India Water Treaty in the national capital.

Despite the Prime Ministers hard-hitting statement, sources in the Water Ministry have said that India will not scrap the water treaty with Pakistan, amidst heightened tension between the two countries in the wake of the recent Uri attack which was carried out by Pak-based militants. However, India has decided to use it fullest legal rights in the treaty and will make greater use of waters that are crucial to Pakistan.

Government sources said India will exploit to the maximum the capacity of Pak-

controlled rivers -- Indus, Chenab, Jhelum as per the Indus Treaty. Sources also said that India may take further action, depending on Pakistan's response.

Apart from deciding to exploit to the maximum the capacity of three of the rivers that are under Pakistan's control in the areas of hydro power, irrigation and storage, the meeting also agreed to review the "unilateral suspension" of Tulbul navigation project in 1987.

The sources asserted that the decision to maximise the water resources for irrigation will address the "pre-existing" sentiment of people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have complained in the past about the treaty not being fair to them.

Modi had chaired the meeting to review the Indus Water treaty with Pakistan, which was attended by top officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials.

The review was undertaken as India weighs options to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead.

There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said last week that his state will fully support whatever decision is taken by the Union government on the 1960 agreement.

"The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir" as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities, Singh had said.

"The state government will support whatever decision is taken by the central government on Indus Waters Treaty," he had said.

India had last week made it clear that "mutual trust and cooperation" was important for such a treaty to work.
Supreme Court had directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for seven days till tomorrow.

New Delhi: Two days after passing a unanimous resolution in the Legislature on reserving water for drinking, Karnataka on Monday told the Supreme Court that it would not be able to release Cauvery water to neighbour Tamil Nadu until the year end.

The apex court had directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for seven days till tomorrow.

Karnataka expressed inability to release water, saying its reservoirs don't have adequate water.

Urging the court to modify its order, Karnataka said that the water, which comes to 42,000 cusecs, should be treated as "arrears" and can be released by the end of December.

Karnataka, in its fresh plea, had expressed inability to implement the apex court order on various grounds including the fact that it does not have adequate water to supply to its cities including Bengaluru.

A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra on September 20 had directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till September 27, while raising the quantum fixed by the Supervisory Committee by 3,000 cusecs.

After the SC verdict, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said, This is an unimplementable order.

The total quantum of water as specified by the Cauvery Supervisory Committee order would have seen Karnataka release 30,000 cusecs of water for ten days. Instead, with the Apex Court order, the water released to Tamil Nadu was increased to 42,000 cusecs of water.

The apex court had on September 20 also directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) as directed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in its award.

On September 12, the apex court had asked both the states to ensure that "law and order" prevails.

It had modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.

The apex court bench was also critical of the language used in the plea of Karnataka seeking to keep in abeyance the September 5 order asking it to release 15,000 cusecs water per day to Tamil Nadu.
The Islamic State group have been using code words, like Popo for police, to communicate with its Indian operatives. (Photo: AFP)

Hyderabad: The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, is found to have been using code words to communicate with its operatives during its Jihadi Mission in India.

According to reports, Yusuf al Hindi, a former resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, has prepared a dictionary of code words like Popo, Jarasim, Afgn, AQ, Arman, Armansani, Zarrar, and circulated it online. Yusuf is believed to be in Syria and supervising recruitment of Indian youth for the Islamist outfit.

ISIS uses the word Popo to refer to police and Jarasim to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). While Taliban is referred to as T among the ISIS operatives, Al Qaeda is AQ and Afghanistan is 'Afgn' for them.

Yusuf had used these code words to contact ISIS militants in Hyderabad and other parts of the country through a website justpaste.it, which allows users to paste text and share the resulting link.

ISIS operatives too have been given pseudo names to deceive the security agencies.

"Investigations revealed that Yusuf had sent a link from http:justpaste.it to wannabe ISIS activists either on Facebook or email or other media in which he had sent some code words for deceiving the security agencies on jihadi mission and how to become a good foot soldier for ISIS. He also clarified that it has to be kept confidential,'' NIA officials found during their investigation.
New Delhi: Congress on Monday demanded that a special session of Parliament be convened to declare Pakistan a terrorist state in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

It also alleged that the Narendra Modi government has responded only with "jumlas (gimmicks) and rhetoric" since the attack took place and favoured withdrawal of the most favoured nation status to Pakistan and imposition of economic sanctions on it.

"We believe extreme situation demands extreme decisions. By now, Pakistan should have been declared a terrorist state. They failed in that also," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters. He accused the government of doing "precious little" to put Islamabad in the dock.

"We demand near absolute economic sanctions on Pakistan. There should be a special session of Parliament to discuss our security situation and declare Pakistan a terrorist state," he said.

The governments response to the attack has been only through "rhetoric and jumlas" and the Prime Ministers speech at Kozhikode demonstrated "strategic ambiguity". India is "looking weak, having failed to deliver meaty blows" to Pakistan, Singhvi said.

"We do not want this to lead to a strategic confusion, make India a laughing stock. It should not let the world think that India has an aimless political strategy. Aimless political strategy is not a synonym of strategic restraint," he said targeting the government.

Noting that Congress also believed in strategic restraint, Singhvi said that such restraint in the face of such provocation should not mean the absence of a strategic response.

"People of India want concrete actions against the rogue state of Pakistan," he said, adding the terror attacks at Uri and Pathankot have together taken a toll not seen in the last 20-22 years.

"We demand the considerable scaling down of Pakistan's High Commission in Delhi," he said and wondered why there was delay in considering and finalising the asylum request of the Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti.

In a veiled attack on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, he said, "Political and administrative accountability" of the highest offices have to be also fixed in the context of those responsible for security.
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Heavy rains coupled with flood water from three rivulets and releases from the Sriramsagar flood flow canal for the last two days, resulted in heavy floods reaching the project site. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The Mid-Manair Dam, an under construction project in Karimnagar district, suffered huge damage on Sunday as unexpected heavy floods caused overflow on the concrete spillway and earthen bund of the structure, causing breach-like conditions.

The dam, which can store 25 TMC ft of water between Upper Manair and Lower Manair dams in Karimnagar district, is a crucial part of the scheme to divert water for the Pranahita-Kaleswaram project and the Hyderabad city Godavari drinking water supply scheme.

The project was taken up during the previous Congress rule. The TRS government speeded up work by splitting the spill way and non-spill way works and changing the contractors with a view to completing the construction by 2018.

Heavy rains coupled with flood water from three rivulets and releases from the Sriramsagar flood flow canal for the last two days, resulted in heavy floods reaching the project site. The water flowed over the concrete spill way and the earthen bund, causing heavy erosion.

Water flowing down to Manair river was posing a threat to Manuwada, Mallapuram, Kondarupaka, Kotturu and Boinapally villages where locals have been told to vacate.

Irrigation department officials immediately stopped releases from the flood flow canal.

Unless flood recedes, we cannot at this stage do anything, we have stopped releases from flood flow canal already, the irrigation minister told this newspaper.
New Delhi: As the government reviews the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, experts on Monday felt that India has so far not utilised the agreement to its fullest to increase irrigation and hydropower potential in Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who had recently suggested that India should consider abrogating the treaty with Pakistan as response to the Uri attack, said if Islamabad is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, it should not be incumbent on New Delhi to honour them.

"Utilise the treaty to its fullest. We are allowed to build hydropower potential and use the water for irrigation. Under the agreement, we are allowed to do a lot more than what we have done," former Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh told PTI.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had passed two resolutions seeking more Indus water for the state. "We can legally do lot more in terms of irrigation...The terms of the treaty which are in India's favour need to be exploited more," he said.

He noted that in the past whenever India has tried to utilise the treaty provisions to help its people, Pakistan has accused New Delhi of violating the agreement.

Responding to a question on whether China can stop the flow of Brahmaputra and Indus rivers into India if New Delhi turns the tap off, he said India receives less than five percent of Indus water from China and around 10 percent of Brahmaputra water from it.

"It is nothing," he said.

A former Indus commissioner said the government's decision to utilise the treaty to India's benefit is the step in the right direction.

"We have been following the treaty by the book. While contesting cases of international arbitration against Pakistan, we have proved to the international community how serious India is in following the treaty. Pakistan has already been exposed in such cases," he said.

Writing for ndtv.Com, Yashwant Sinha said, "Terrorists keep attacking us, we keep discussing options. This is the unending story. I am in favour of action and all that I am saying is that this time India should act and not just go on discussing how to handle these attacks."

He said the basic point is that if Pakistan is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, why should it be incumbent on India to honour all of them?

"Because we are the good boys in the eyes of the international community and want to stay that way? (Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif and (Army chief) Raheel Sharif may be sharif only in name; we in India are the real sharifs," he wrote.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government has put under the scanner persons and outfits who misuse social media for propagating extremist ideologies of Islamic State, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state Assembly on Monday.

His statement in a written reply comes in the backdrop of reports that a group of missing Kerala youths had joined the Islamic State.

The social media accounts of those who were suspected to have joined IS from the state were also being monitored by the state police, Vijayan said.

"The government is strictly monitoring the activities of the individuals and outfits who support and propagate the ideologies of Islamic State using various platforms including social media," he said.

All district police chiefs have been given strict directions in this regard, the Chief Minister added.

At least 21 youths, including women, who had gone missing from the state some months ago, were suspected to have joined IS. Among them, 17 were from Kasaragod and four from Palakkad.

Kerala Police has registered a case based on the complaints of the relatives of the missing youths.
Mumbai: The special court for NIA cases on Monday rejected the bail application of Lt Col Prasad Purohit, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

The order was passed by Special Judge S D Tekale.

Purohit had sought the bail contending that National Investigation Agency (NIA) had dropped the charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case, and that the sanction for prosecution obtained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was defective.

He had not played any role in the blast, Purohit had said, adding that he was in jail for the last seven years without trial.

However, the NIA had objected to his bail plea. His arguments should be taken into consideration during the trial and not at this stage, the prosecution had said.

Prima facie there was enough evidence against Purohit, it had said.

Twelve persons, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Purohit, were arrested for the blast at Malegaon town in Maharashtra on September 29, 2008, in which six persons died and 100 were injured.
New Delhi: Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit has said that his country remains positive about the fact that ties with India will surmount the current crisis with maturity.

Echoing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's sentiments on Islamabad desiring a normal and cooperative relationship with New Delhi, Basit said both nations need to revive the spirit of cooperation forged after the January 2016 terror strike on the Pathankot air force base.

Basit said Pakistan is committed to not allowing its territory to be used for violence anywhere in the world, including India. He said the ties were doing well despite a tardy pace when the killing of a militant in Kashmir set off a slide.

He admitted that bilateral ties are on a downswing since the elimination of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8.

He told The Telegraph in an interview: "The challenge for diplomats on both sides now is to retrieve that momentum. Living in Delhi and meeting people from all walks of life, I do find a desire for understanding and peace here, too. I hear voices here that urge us to come together rather than become hostages to rhetoric."

I strongly believe Pakistan and India do not gain anything from creating hype. War is not a solution, war creates more problems, he added.

He insisted that dialogue is the only way forward for both nations.
Hyderabad: The recent incidents of violence in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, over Cauvery water dispute is not a sign of healthy democracy, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday.

"...Because, 69 years after Independence if you start quarrelling Set on fire this bus and that bus. What happened recently in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is not a good thing for democracy...It is not a good sign for healthy democracy," Venkaiah remarked after formally inaugurating the Telangana Postal Circle here.

"We are all one people...We are one country...We may be different states for administrative convenience and for developmental purpose. But at the end of the day we all are Indians. This feeling has to be there among us. So, let us keep this spirit in mind and move forward and both states (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) should work (together) and should develop," the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister stressed.

Venkaiah further said every issue mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act will be taken to its logical conclusion.

"No doubt about it and there is nothing to worry about it. Certain issues may take time...Its not that much simple that you divide the state and everything is done. Even sometimes problems erupt during separation of families and it takes time to resolve the problems," he said.

He reminded it took lot of time to resolve problems pertaining to (after creation of) Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states.

"The government is working speedily though there are certain issues...Legal disputes, differences between both the states among others. We at the Centre and Prime Minister are working...Efforts are on to solve the problems," Venkaiah added.

On maternity leave getting increased to 26 weeks for women, Venkaiah suggested Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya to also think about paternity leave for men.

"I am not saying jokingly...They (men) can reach home to serve the wife, who has been serving the family for years," he said adding "though, if both go on leave for 26 weeks then there will be problem...The government will go on leave.
Vemulaghat: The peacefulness of the lush green fields of paddy and maize lining the road to Vemulaghat village in Telangana, belies the anger of villagers protesting against the state's plans to acquire about 21,000 acres of land for a reservoir.

The Komuravelli Mallanna Sagar reservoir will irrigate 1.2 million acres of drought-prone land, according to state officials. Nearly a dozen villages will be submerged in the process, displacing more than 25,000 people, including those in Vemulaghat who have been protesting for more than three months.

"If the state wants water, why should we be kicked out? This is our land, our village," said Roopa Mandoli, 34, who owns and cultivates two acres of land with her husband.

"If we are to give up everything, then we should at least be adequately compensated by the state. With the kind of money they are offering us, we will be impoverished," she said, as villagers standing beside her nodded.

Conflict over land rights has increased in recent years in the country, with rising demand for land for industrial use and development projects.

Residents of Vemulaghat, the largest of 14 villages that will be affected by the proposed reservoir, have held a relay fast and marched to the highway holding placards and chanting slogans. One farmer from a nearby village killed himself.

Policemen stopped the highway protest, beating back villagers with batons and injuring dozens, activists say. The government has banned "unlawful assembly" and processions in Vemulaghat, and restricted visitors.

Now, villagers gather in an open space under a colourful awning, their protest slogans and pictures of the baton charge stuck on the walls, and watched constantly by several policemen.

"It's like a military zone," said Kiran Kumar Vissa, a campaigner with Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of NGOs working on agriculture issues, in Hyderabad city.

"The government is using intimidation to coerce the villagers into handing over their land," he said.

Lack of Clarity

Several land laws have been introduced in the past decade to give the vulnerable more rights, but many of these laws are diluted and do not protect poor farmers enough, activists say.

Last month, the Supreme Court said land acquired by West Bengal for a Tata Motors factory must be returned to farmers as it was not acquired for a "public purpose", ending a decade-long fight by the displaced farmers.

Rights groups protesting against the Mallanna Sagar project say there is a lack of clarity in the state's land acquisition policy, and that the government has not released detailed reports on the project and its environmental and social impact.

Last year, the newly-created Telengana issued a government order known as GO123, to enable easier acquisitions of land for public projects.

Rights groups say the state order runs counter to the federal Land Acquisition Act of 2013, as it does not specify the amount of compensation to be paid, or list the conditions of rehabilitation and resettlement for those displaced.

"The state is using the order indiscriminately," said Vissa.

"If GO123 is implemented, it will set a dangerous precedent for other states to bypass the Land Acquisition Act," he said.

State Irrigation Minister Harish Rao has told reporters the government will compensate those displaced according to the Land Acquisition Act. But he did not say when or specify the amount.

After several calls to the minister, a spokesman said he would not comment on the project at this time.

Compensation amounts offered for Mallanna Sagar range from 585,000 rupees to 700,000 rupees per acre, villagers said. About 30-40 percent of land needed for the project has been handed to the state so far, Vissa estimates.

Civil rights groups have filed cases against the state on the Mallanna Sagar and other projects because they say land is being acquired by coercion.

Last month, the High Court quashed GO123 in the matter of an industrial project, calling the notification "illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional".

The state has got an interim stay on the court order.

Water Wars

Villagers have had little interaction with state officials, even though state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao hails from Medak district where Vemulaghat is located.

We've been asking for a meeting with the government, asking them to explain the plan to us. No one has come," said Janardhan Poreddy, who cultivates about 11 acres of land in Vemulaghat.

"We have enough water for two, even three crops a year. Can the government guarantee that they will relocate us to a similar place?" he said.

For Mandoli and others in Vemulaghat, the Mallanna Sagar project threatens their very way of life.

"Everyone in this village works on the land. We don't have anything else," Mandoli said.

"Either give us alternate land and homes and enough money. Or leave us to our lives here," she said.
Questions have been raised on the efficacy of pellet guns which were used to disperse protesters in Kashmir Valley. (Photo: Representational Image/PTI)

New Delhi: Terming as unfortunate the death of youngsters in the ongoing disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government on Monday told the Supreme Court that a 26-year-old youth was killed by pellet injuries and not shot at point-blank as claimed by his father.

Making its submissions before the Supreme Court, the state government said the autopsy report has revealed that the young man, who was allegedly killed at Tengpora in Batamaloo area of Srinagar on July 10, had died of pellet injuries.

One Abdul Rehman Mir had alleged that his son Shabir Ahmad Mir was shot by police at his home from a point blank range on July 10, while the Jammu and Kashmir Police had claimed that he had died during protests in the Valley.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi appearing for state government told a bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy that the post-mortem report belied the claim of the victim's father that he was shot by policemen from point blank range.

"It's an unfortunate incident. We are not treating it as an adversarial litigation. It is unfortunate that young people are dying in disturbances in the state. The post-mortem report belies the claim of victim's father," Rohatgi said.

The post-mortem, conducted on the body of Shabir Ahmad Mir following the direction of apex court, has revealed that he died of pellet injuries and not because of bullet wounds as claimed by his father.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 23.

On August 12, the apex court had ordered for exhumation and autopsy of the body of Shabir under the supervision of the District and Sessions Judge.

Rohatgi had assured the court that the probe would have the highest level of transparency and the authorities would leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the case.

The court had given liberty to the District and Sessions Judge of Srinagar to have the assistance of officers of his choice for the impartial exercise of carrying out the autopsy and exhumation.

The apex court had observed that it was a serious matter and such a situation should be handled with humane approach and extreme sensitivity.

The apex court had earlier stayed contempt proceedings

initiated against the Senior Superintendent of Police and Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) for not lodging an FIR against the policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), allegedly involved in the killing of Mir.

It had also issued notice to Mir's father on the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir government.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, had on July 18 directed the SSP to file an FIR against DSP Yasir Qadri and others on an application of Mir's father.

Later, contempt proceedings were initiated by the CJM for non-filing of the FIR against the police officers in connection with the incident.

The family of the deceased has contested the state's plea, claiming the killing to be a separate incident which had nothing to do with the FIR registered by the police.
As per the Census data, of the children not enrolled in an educational institution, more than 29 lakh had attended an educational institution but dropped out later. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Right to Education Act continues to remain a piece of overlooked legislation in TS and AP with 57,49,225 children and teenagers between 5 and 19 years in the two states not enrolled in any educational institution in 2011. Of these, 50 per cent were those who dropped out.

This is part of the 2011 Census data released recently on 5-19 year-olds not attending educational institutions along with their economic activity.

The data shows how common it was to drop out from educational institutions to contribute financially towards family income or other socio-economic reasons in both the states.

As per the Census data, of the children not enrolled in an educational institution, more than 29 lakh had attended an educational institution but dropped out later.

The remaining around 28 lakh never got enrolled in any educational institution. Of these a whopping 513,134 children work all the year round to support their families. These included 136,080 children aged between 5 and 14 years.

Of those who dropped out, more than 16 lakh worked on various jobs. Of them, 13,52,394, worked all round the year while the rest worked for six months or less in a year.

As per census data, the dropout rate increases as a child grows up. While the number of children who dropped out of school and are working year round in the five years old age group is 2,015, it increases to 7,087 in 10 year-age group and 312,948 in the 19 year-age group.

Among the over 1.78 crore children in the 5-19 age group, who are lucky enough to have got enrolled in an educational institution, 5,40,114 children worked at jobs along with attending school.

Of this, around 46 per cent of the students, that is 246,747 of them, work all round the year to support their families which includes 93,392 children aged between 5-14 years. As per the census data 17,29,755 persons aged between 18 and 19 years were working all through the year at jobs alongside studies.

As per district wise data, the highest number of persons aged between 5 and 14 years not enrolled in any educational institution existed in Mahabubnagar in Telangana at 370,132 and at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh at 396,942. The figure was 237,648 for Hyderabad.
Union ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu , Bandaru Dattatreya and Manoj Sinha inaugurate the Telangana postal circle at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad on Monday. Chief postmaster-general Brig B. Chandrashekar is also seen. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asserted that all promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act will be implemented by the Central government in a phased manner.

Every issue mentioned in the Reorganisation Act will be taken to its logical conclusion. Let there be no doubt about it and there is nothing to worry about. Certain issues may take time. When there are problems if families separate, it takes time to resolve them, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said.

Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seized of the matter, he noted that it took considerable time to fulfil promises made after the creation of of Uttarakand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states.

The government is doing its job as fast as it can, but certain issues take time. There are differences between the two states on certain issues. Officials too have failed to reach consensus, the Union minister said.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu was speaking at a function to mark the inauguration of a new Telangana postal circle here on Monday. Union ministers Bandaru Dattatreya and Manoj Sinha, and others were present. The day also marked the 250 years of regular postal system in India launched by Lord Clive in 1776.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu said that it was the responsibility of the Centre, AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his TS counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao to prove that AP and Telangana were successful states.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu added, Despite being separate, we are all one. Its unity in diversity. We are one people. One country. We are all Bharatiyas. We are all Indians. We are children of the same mother. This feeling has to be there among us all.

Earlier, he said that people used to say Kalasi unte kaladu sukhamu (Living together brings happiness) but now they are saying Vidipothe iddariki sukham (both are happy if separated).

Mr Venkaiah Naidu said what happened in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was not good for democracy. He also asked his colleague to consider paternity leave issue for male employees. Consider it, but see that if both take leave for 26 weeks, there will be problems and government will have to go on leave.
STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 26, ARTSAKHPRESS: More than 5 million 260 thousand citizens have a right to take part in the referendum. The voting is being held also in abroad in 38 diplomatic representations of Azerbaijan.

After the changes in the Azerbaijani Constitution the Presidents term of office will be extended from 5 to 7 years.

According to another provision, the Azerbaijani President receives a right to dissolve the parliament and to hold elections ahead of the schedule.

Earlier the Council of Europe's constitutional law experts, (the Venice Commission) criticized draft modifications to the constitution of Azerbaijan. Many proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving unprecedented powers to the President, according to the Venice Commission opinion. For example, the extension of the presidential mandate from five to seven years cannot be justified given the already very strong position of the President, who since 2009 can be re-elected without term limits.
Hyderabad: The TS government on Monday extended the demolition drive against illegal buildings to all municipal corporations and municipalities to clear encroachments on nalas and lake beds.

Municipal administration and urban development minister K.T. Rama Rao held a video conference from the Secretariat with commissioners of all municipalities on Monday and directed them to take up demolition drives to prevent Hyderabad-like floods in case of heavy rains. He asked them to begin the demolition drive with commercial buildings.

He expressed anger over the lethargy of municipal commissioners and other staff in implementing the governments orders.

This is the last and final warning to all commissioners, officials and other staff working in municipalities. If they continue to be negligent in discharging their duties and fail to implement the orders issued by the government, they will be sternly dealt with. The government will initiate stringent action against them within a week, the minister said.

Officials should immediately gather the details of all tanks and other water resources in their areas and digitise them. They should gather maps of all nalas and take up field level inspections. If they come across any illegal structures, they should demolish them immediately by invoking the municipal Act. They should set up joint working groups with officials from revenue and irrigation departments to identify encroachments. Officials should not target the poor during demolition, the exercise should begin with commercial complexes, he said.

He directed officials to identify dilapidated buildings and demolish them at the soonest. If any death occurs on account of collapse of dilapidated buildings in any municipality, the respective commissioners will be held responsible, he warned. He said he would hold video conferences with officials of all municipalities every week and directed them to set up the facility.
New Delhi: Lashing out at Pakistan at the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday over its support to terrorism, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said nations that aid, finance, arm, shelter and openly flaunt terrorists have no place in the comity of nations and should be isolated, even as she attacked Islamabad for the worst form of State oppression in Balochistan.

The minister also declared that Jammu and Kashmir would remain an integral part of India, asking Islamabad to forget its dream of attaining Kashmir.

Ms Swaraj also raised the Uri and Pathankot cross-border terror attacks, saying India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken steps for friendship with Pakistan but had got the Pathankot and Uri terror attacks in return. She also criticised Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif for making baseless allegations of human rights violations against India, adding that those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others.

Ms Swaraj also named and shamed Pakistan and referred to captured Pakistani LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali, saying: Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror.

Adopt global treaty on terror: India to UN

She also urged the UN to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) treaty without further delay, after it had been hanging fire for several years. In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. These nations, in which UN-designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations, Ms Swaraj said in her 18-minute speech.

On September 21, the Prime Minister of Pakistan used this podium to make allegations about human rights violations in my country. I can only say that those accusing others would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, she further said.
Lucknow: A shoe was thrown at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, during his road show in Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh.

The shoe narrowly missed the Congress leader but the attacker was arrested.

Mr Gandhi was riding in an open top vehicle during the road show when the incident took place.

Mr Gandhi was seen briefly glancing at the shoe and then looking away after the object missed him. He completely ignored the incident and continued to wave at the crowd. Mr Gandhi later blamed the RSS and BJP for the attack but said, I will keep fighting against such forces.

The arrested man, Hariom Misra, a resident of Shastri Nagar, claimed to be a journalist with a news channel and told the police that, The Congress has left the country in the dumps in the past 60 years. I have been a journalist for two years and I know. What they were doing when they were in power? This made me angry. Mr Gandhi began the second phase of his Kisan yatra from Sitapur on Monday and chaired a Khat sabha in Lakhimpur in the evening.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the reply from the Centre and National Human Rights Commission on a writ petition filed by Ashwani Kumar, former Union law minister seeking comprehensive guidelines to prevent torture in police custody.

A Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice A.M. Kanwilkar issued the notice after hearing Ashwini Kumar, who espoused the cause of those who are being brutalised and robbed of their dignity through various acts of torture.

Arguing in person, Dr Kumar said that he felt he failed as a parliamentarian to ensure an effective and purposive legal regime to prevent torture in custody but he does not want to fail in his duty as a citizen to invoke the constitutional conscience for protecting the right to dignity of those who are routinely subjected to torture while in custody.

He argued that the Government was in breach of its constitutional obligations under Article 21 and also in breach of its international treaty obligations under Articles 51 and 253 of the Constitution and said that the NHRC was helpless since it cannot enforce its directions nor can it accurately record all the cases of torture in custody. He said, that it is with a sense of agony that he is petitioning to the court to ensure that the citizens fundamental right to dignity which is a primary fundamental right, of those in custody, is not violated.

In his petition he gave illustrations of brutal torture of Prof. Bakshi and Prof. Saibaba. It said the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1975. However, India has not ratified the convention so far since ratification requires enabling legislation to reflect the definition and punishment for torture.

As on date, India does not have any legislation that defines the expression torture or custodial torture nor does is there a law dealing specifically with torture in custody and the various aspects of custodial torture and those involved in the incidents, he said and prayed for guidelines.
The injured were admitted to the government hospital Jayankondam, where the condition of a few of them was said to be critical.

JAYANKONDAM: At least 11 persons including nine women were killed and some 15 others were injured when a mini lorry in which they were travelling collided head-on with a speeding cement-laden lorry at Pachiperumal village near Jayankondam in Ariylaur district on Sunday night.

Police said the occupants of the mini lorry hailing from Pachiperumal village were returning home after attending a condolence at Pudukkudi village when the accident occurred.

While six of them were killed on the spot, rest of them succumbed to their injuries at Government hospital Jayankondam, police said.

The deceased persons were identified as Rajakumari (55), Muniyammal (60), Kasiyammal (45), Kamatchi (45), Rani (40), Chithra (30), Senthamarai (50), Saraswathy (50), Selvi, Marudhupandi (32) and Manikandan (25).

The injured were admitted to the government hospital Jayankondam, where the condition of a few of them was said to be critical.
Police officials often seek the help of NGOs or child line members, when the sensitive cases like child abuse were filed.

Chennai: A Child missing case might seem unimportant to a police official, but the fact that it is directly linked with increasing crime rates is often hushed up. Apart from illegal adoption and begging, missed children are used for hard crimes including human trafficking.

In a sheer exploitation of the provisions of the Justice Juvenile (JJ) act, kidnapped children are also trained to commit crimes. Aware of the provisions of JJ Act, under which child offenders are not subjected to critical punishment, criminals use children to perform the task, said M. Andrew Sesuraj, State Convener, Tamil Nadu Child Rights Observatory (TNCRO).

Unwillingness of police officials to register an immediate complaint, lack of coordination between the constitutional bodies dealing with child rescues and absence of security reforms in government hospitals are root causes behind the procrastination, when it comes to find out missing children.

Lack of swift action and insensitivity from police officials is a setback, say experts. If the complaint is registered by the police immediately and flashed to all the police stations, it is possible to block the links. Cops regularly advise parents to search in their neighbourhood, Andrew said.

However, a police official, said in defence of the force, Among the missing children, a majority of them would have run away from their residences, due to family disputes. And most of them come back on the same day. It is for this reason that we dont lodge a complaint.

The mandate law of appointing a child welfare police officer of a Sub-Inspector rank at each police station is least followed, even though the law was enforced 15 years ago.

Narrating from his experiences, Andrew said, Officers are nominated just for namesake. It is ironic that the appointed officer is often unaware of the designation given to him. Also, as they are not trained they know nothing about child laws.

Police officials often seek the help of NGOs or child line members, when the sensitive cases like child abuse were filed. A volunteer from the child help line told DC that there are calls from the police asking for advice. It is important to understand the sensitivity of the issue, before counselling them. Training police officials is extremely important, said the member from the child help line.
Mumbai: In a bid to help police officers addicted to alcohol and cigarettes kick the habits that threaten their health, the Mumbai police has unveiled a new initiative.

In a circular issued to all police stations on Tuesday, the department has sought a list of police personnel who are addicted to alcohol or cigarettes.

Sources said that the circular has asked senior officers and fellow officers to volunteer information about any personnel in their team who might be a victim of alcohol and cigarette addiction.

The details should be submitted to the main office within a month, after which counselling sessions will be held for personnel concerned. Speaking to The Asian Age, Mumbai police commissioner, Dattatray Padsalgikar confirmed the circular and said, This is an exercise to help personnel in the department who may have addiction issues.

Mr Padsalgikar said that that the department was concerned for the health of its men and the move was one step to help them lead a healthy lifestyle.

Once we have the names, we will begin counselling and also employ other methods to help them get over the addiction. We want to improve their health because there have been cases in the past where medical assistance has been required, he said.

When asked about organisations that will be assisting the police drive, Mr Padsalgikar said, We are in the process of contacting NGOs and a number of them have come forward for the same. The same will begin soon.

If necessary, they may also be sent to rehabilitation centres, said sources.

The circular issued on September 20 is part of an internal memo. Our men work under a lot of stress and sometimes they resort to alcohol and cigarettes. This can turn into an addiction if not controlled and lead to deterioration of the officers health, said a police source.

We dont just want our senior officers to give us names, but also the friends of any police personnel to volunteer the names of those who may be addicted to harmful substances. We want to help them get over their addictions and not lose their lives to them, the source added.

The Pune police commisionerate had started this first of its kind initiative in June this year, in order to help police officials overcome their addiction problems.

Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla had ordered all police stations to provide a list of constables or officers who are addicted to alcohol. The de-addiction drive would be conducted with the help of the city-based non-government organisation (NGO) Muktangan Rehabilitation Centre.

Recently, a study carried out by doctors in Maharashtra, titled Health profile of Mumbai Police personnel published a report in March that nearly 55 per cent of police personnel are addicted to either nicotine or alcohol.

(This story originally appeared in the Asian Age)
KOCHI: A trade mission from Belgium led by Ambassador Jan Luykx and Consul-General Bart De Groof has offered technology solutions and ideas for the Kochi Smart City programme. During a joint session organised by the Belgium Embassy in India, Brussels Invest and Export, Kochi Corporation and Cochin Smart Mission Ltd on Monday, presentations and B2B (business-to-business) discussions were held on various urban development components, including waste management, e-governance solutions, public transport, public space management, energy, industries, street lighting and engineering solutions for infrastructure development.

The representatives of five major Belgian companies made presentations based on which the interactions were held. Mayor Soumini Jain, Mr K.V. Thomas MP, corporation standing committee chairpersons, top officials of government departments and other stakeholders participated.

"The purpose of the trade mission visit is to showcase the best practices from Belgium and to have an exchange of ideas on the future of urban development in our respective cities. Like the cities in Belgium, Kochi invests in assets that will benefit its growth, including infrastructure, urban planning and smart transportation, to become a more integrated and citizen-oriented community," said Mr Jan Luykx.

The technology companies discussed specialised applications for smart parking, traffic management, automatic number plate recognition, disease control and spread of epidemics, tourists' monitoring, tracking drunken driving, sanitation and waste management which will help in the implementation of the Smart City programme. Mr G.P. Hari, DGM, urban transport of Kochi Metro Rail Limited, made a presentation on the Kochi Smart City Mission.

Keen to boost trade ties with Kochi

Belgium is keen on boosting trade ties with Kochi and other South Indian cities and a sister city agreement between Kochi and a city in Belgium is always an option, said Jan Luykx, Ambassador of Belgium to India. Talking to DC on the sidelines of the joint trade mission conference, Mr Luykx observed that Belgium and the South Indian cities have many things in common and mutual cooperation in sectors like waste and sewage management, urban mobility and energy solutions can benefit both countries.

"It's a win-win situation for both countries. Brussels is a densely populated city with heavy traffic congestion. Sharing of technology and expertise in urban development will benefit Kochi which is a true advocate for Smart City development in India," he observed. "As of now we have no solid plans on initiating a twin city programme with Kochi. However, we are interested for such a partnership. Now, our focus is on supporting Smart City programme, in which integrating IT to urban development is a major objective," he added.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu speaks after inaugurating the six new facilities in various railway stations in Kerala, on Kozhikode Railway Station premises on Monday. (Photo: DC)

KOZHIKODE: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the railways will make long-term plans to clear the backlog of development works. The rail transport sector should have a mechanism for long-term plans. Instant methods will not yield the desired results, he said after laying the foundation stone for the extension of the foot overbridge and launching the high speed Wi-Fi facility at Kozhikode railway station on Monday.

Through video-conferencing, he dedicated to the nation the double line track between Thiruvalla and Chengannur and the new platform at Palakkad Junction. He also launched the Wi-Fi service at Thrissur station and inaugurated the escalator at Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram central railway stations.

All development hurdles being faced by Kerala will be resolved. We are planning to allocate Rs 40 crore for the projects in the state, he said. The development of Ernakulam harbour terminal will be made through PPP. The railways are laying emphasis on centre-state participation and that of investors. Kerala has extended a positive response to this. The leaders here are open to the new policy which will be drafted after consulting the state government, he said.

Mr O. Rajagopal MLA, who attended the function, urged the minister to conduct a workshop to discuss and assess the development woes of the state. Mr M.K. Raghavan MP submitted a memorandum to the minister on the various demands of Kozhikode station. Corporation mayor Thottathil Raveendran, Southern Railway general manager Vassishta Johari and Palakkad DRM Naresh Lalwani were also present.
State election commissioner P. Seetharaman announcing the schedule for the two-phase election to the local bodies in the state, on Sunday. (Photo: DC)

Chennai: The two-phased election to the local bodies on October 17 and 19 will see a total of 5.80 crore voters electing representatives for 1,31,794 posts. Of the states 5.80 crore voters, 2.88 crore of them are men and 2.92 crore are women.

The rural areas account for 3.19 crore voters including 1.59 crore men and 1.60 women, while the urban areas have 2.61 crore voters with women (1.32 crore) slightly higher than men (1.29 crore).

About 2,17,500 ballot boxes would be used for the rural areas while 75,933 electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be utilised in the urban areas, State Election Commissioner P. Seetharaman informed.

Announcing the schedule, he said during the first phase, elections would be held for 10 municipal corporations, 64 municipalities, 255 town panchayats and 193 panchayat unions. Two municipal corporations viz. Chennai and Dindigul, 60 municipalities and 273 town panchayat and 195 panchayat unions would go to the polls in the second phase, Mr Seetharaman told reporters here on Sunday evening.

Apart from deputing 37 election observers, the election commission would depute micro observers who are officials drawn from nationalised banks to oversee the conduct of the election in a free and fair manner. A total of 664 polling officers and 1,836 assistant polling officers in urban and 907 polling officers and 16,979 assistant polling officers for the rural areas have also been drafted for poll related work. In addition to putting in place sufficient security measures during the elections and polling process as well, the Commission would videograph the poll process, he said.

For the first time in rural local bodies, EVMs would be used in the Melpuram Panchayat Union in Kanyakumari district.
Coimbatore: Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan on Monday asked police to probe whether the killers of Hindu Munnani functionary, C Sasikumar, here, had any link with terrorists in Pakistan.

Replying to a specific question on reasons behind attacks on leaders of Hindu outfits, Radhakrishnan said it has to be taken into account that a few days after "Pakistan-sponsored attack at Uri", the city of Coimbatore witnessed the murder of a Hindu outfit functionary, which was "undoubtedly a terrorist activity."

"Considering this, police have to investigate the link and if there is any, there is the possibility of this being an act of anti-national activity," Radhakrishnan told reporters here, after visiting the house of Sasikumar, who was murdered on September 22.

The incident was not a religious one as leaders of all religions were present at the Government Hospital, where the body was kept and communal violence could have erupted as thousands of workers of Hindu outfits were present there, he claimed.

"Police failed to see through the designs of terrorists, who are on the run and could have taken precautionary measures to prevent the fatal attack," he said.

Hindu outfit leaders were being targeted since 1989, which reached its peak in 1998 serial blasts, killing 58 people, during the visit of BJP leader L K Advani here, the Minister said.

He claimed that the funeral procession of the Munnani functionary was moving without any problem, but violence started after a stone throwing incident near a place of worship, which culminated into a large-scale violence and arson, exploited by anti-social elements.

He alleged that police had failed to provide adequate protection to Sasikumar, despite attacks on leaders of Hindu outfits at Hosur and Dindigul over the past two weeks.

Radhakrishnan said he was told that Sasikumar had sought police protection following a threat to his life.

However, Radhakrishnan said he has full faith in Tamil Nadu police, which have formed six special teams to nab the culprits. But they should also identify and bring to book those persons who were really behind the attack, he added.

The Hindu Munnani district spokesperson was returning home at Subramaniam Palayam, on the outskirts, on a two-wheeler when unidentified assailants chased him on motorcycles and attacked him with sickles on September 22.

He succumbed to injuries at a private hospital.
Across the chasm of time and space, I heard the lamenting voice of Arthur Moore, possibly the most famous of the Statesmans editors, as Gen. Shankar Roychowdhurys words spelt disaster, and Saugata Roy, the Trinamul Congress MP who held ministerial jobs under Charan Singh and Manmohan Singh, spoke in the deadly tones of doom. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru hovered approvingly behind Moore, whose counsel of reason demands to be heard with respect as a wounded India desperately seeks a solution. I was participating in a discussion on Indias options in dealing with Pakistan and cross-border terror organised by the West Bengal Federation of United Nations Associations. The two eminent panellists were too responsible to recommend outright hostilities like some TV anchors and newsreaders ever since the Uri massacre. If they had any influence on policymaking, the two nations would not only have been at war by now but utterly destroyed since nuclear fallouts respect no artificially drawn borders meandering across the plains of Punjab or the Rajasthan desert.

But stopping short of war, the former Army Chief recommended a tit-for-tat response in which India might train fidayeen to pay Pakistan back in its own coin in places like Balochistan. Taking a more sophisticated  if more dismal  view of history, the Trinamul Congress MP maintained that India would never give up Kashmir, and Pakistan would never stop trying to seize it. Failing to do so through war or diplomacy, Pakistan would continue to inflict on India what the Chinese called lingchi, or death by a thousand cuts. Both views reflected the national mood and resonated well with the audience. A retired senior IAS officer may have spoken for the rest when he proposed that Narendra Modi should emulate George W. Bush Jrs retaliation over 9/11. President Bush had carried the punishment campaign into enemy territory and added to our political vocabulary that ominous phrase regime change, which spelt havoc for Afghanistan and Iraq.

Students of history will hear in that passion for vengeance echoes of Cato the Elder, the 2nd century Roman politician who began every speech with Delenda est Cartago (Carthage Must Be Destroyed). Its at times like this that a country needs leaders of mature wisdom who can look beyond the dark turbulence of surrounding waters to the shining sands of distant shores. Two incontrovertible truths dominate the horizon like ancient but immoveable rocks. First, come what may, India and Pakistan must live together. Geography allows no alternative. Neighbours must always remain neighbours, and its in their own ultimate interest to be good neighbours. Second, the state of Jammu and Kashmir must be pacified. Pakistani terrorists dont attack on the borders of Gujarat, Rajasthan or Punjab. They do so in Kashmir because they feel assured of a welcome there. Without that running sore (to repeat Napoleons term for the resistance in Spain), the Pakistanis would have no excuse for intrusion. It was with these considerations in mind that Nehru had confessed to Selig Harrison of the Washington Post: Confederation remains our ultimate goal.

That was in 1962, 14 years after Moore spoke to Gandhi about his plan for Kashmir to be treated as an equal third party in a federated Commonwealth state, with common foreign affairs, common defence, and such finance as concerned these subjects, but all three to be separate self-governing states. Nehru thought a federal link would repudiate the two-nation theory, which he had always found repugnant. It would satisfy Jammu and Kashmirs demand for a recognised separate identity, and also provide an answer to East Bengals growing irredentist feelings. He may even have sent Sheikh Abdullah to Pakistan in May 1964 to broach these ideas. Nehrus mention of federalism to Harrison was off the record for he knew that premature publicity would raise Pakistani hackles. It did just that, and Field Marshal Ayub Khan was later to claim that he rejected Sheikh Abdullahs proposed confederal arrangements among India, Pakistan and Kashmir. He saw it as a ruse for Indian domination. In any case, Nehrus death on May 27, 1964 put an end to both the visit and the negotiations.

A shattered Abdullah flew back to New Delhi for the Prime Ministers cremation. Arthur Moore, an Ulsterman who was editor of the Statesman from 1932 to 1942 when he was sacked under pressure from the Viceroy, was convinced federation was the only way out for the subcontinent. He had been converted to the one-world theory in the l930s and proposed self-government for India in an article in the Manchester Guardian in October 1938 titled A Federal British Commonwealth. The British authorities were not pleased when Moore urged the federation of transport and communications under a single command with the warning, We must federate or perish.

After Independence, he applied the principle to practical politics, and argued that the Kashmir problem, which he saw as the great test for Nehrus statesmanship, might lend itself to a federal solution. Gandhi was much interested in his views and asked him to get Nehrus opinion. Moore was about to do so when tragedy struck  the Mahatma was assassinated. But when Moore could raise the matter, Nehru didnt dismiss it with a no. He replied that the time is not yet. As Moore warned: Pakistan canal disputes, boundary disputes, displaced persons disputes  all these may be solved; trade between the two countries may be developed; but there will never be satisfactory relations between India and Pakistan till the Kashmir issue is amicably settled. That sad truth, as relevant today as in 1948, demands an imaginative far-reaching vision. Kashmir is the great test for Narendra Modis statesmanship, as it was for Nehrus.
No overnight switch-over to organic

Every home is turning into a cancer ward. It is not a scare. Its a reality. And of the many causes for this, pesticides in food are a major cause. Certain types of the disease like breast and prostate cancers are the most common. So, what do we do? If we can avoid pesticides in the production of food, we should. Fortunately, in the last decade, many farmers and scientists have developed new and simple farm technologies that can handle most pest and disease issues in plants and these technologies are now a rage among thousands of farmers in India. Panchagavya, Amruthpani, Jeevamrutha, Beejamrutha and some 100-odd herbal combinations have been discovered or rather rediscovered and are being used extensively in farms.

The result  organic or even better natural farming systems are showing success not only in controlling pests and diseases, but also in improving productivity and ensuring better returns to the farmer. These returns are seen in better soil management, better health, food quality, remunerative prices, improvement in farm diversity, and above all, ending the farmers nightmare  debt and even suicides. Now, an unnecessary debate is on. Those who have been recommending / promoting chemicals in farming continue to think that only chemicals are the way to handle pests and diseases and improve soil fertility.

Even Governments have moved away from this thinking, and are promoting organic or natural farming. The best example is Sikkim, a state that actually started intensifying organic approach almost at the same time Kerala did, but became fully organic, without any dent in productivity. Objections to moving forward on sustainable, safer, diverse and non-chemical methods are rather fanatic, and have no rationale. Critics of organic farming should understand that the basis for moving away from chemical farming methods is the innumerable number of studies that have shown that food crops do retain residues of these pesticides and many of them are harmful to human and animal health as well as the environment.

Nobody is saying, Adopt organic overnight. Every change needs careful handholding, good field-testing, adoption and monitoring. Kerala is taking a firm step towards promoting farming into non-pesticidal management and then to organic. This will give more confidence to farmers, even while consumers get safe food to eat. This is a rational way of doing things. The days of fanatic chemical methods are over.

(Author Sridhar Radhakrishnan is Director for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty programme at Thanal.)

No additional benefits from organic food

Organic farmers and certifying agencies often claim additional benefits from consuming organic food products. But an analysis based on 98,727 studies shows that this claim is hollow. There is no proof to show that organic foods provide better nutrition leading to better health. Organic foods protect you from cancer? This myth was examined in a study that comprised six million women over 50 years age for 9 years. Out of 6 million women, 45,000 were consistently taking organic foods and 180,000 without specially taking organic foods. During the study period 50,000 persons were detected with 16 types of cancers.

In this large perspective study, there was little or no decrease in the incidence of cancer associated with consumption of organic food except possibly for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Bradberry, K.E et al Organic food consumption and the incidence of cancer in a large prospective study of women in the United Kingdom (2014). British Journal of Cancer 2014 April 29. There is a common belief that addition of chemical fertilizers adversely affects the health of soil as well as people. The All India Coordinated Research Project on long term fertility conducted from 1970 onwards shows that organic manures and chemical fertilizers used in an integrated manner has highest productivity and did not degrade the soil. Use of chemical fertilizers alone for a long time resulted in higher acidity, buildup of phosphorus, lowered organic carbon, micronutrients and microbial activity.

On the other hand, use of organic manures alone resulted in unavailability of certain micronutrients due to chelation and higher acidity. So the best option is to go for integrated nutrient management. Another myth is that organic food is tastier. A farm produce will taste well if the plant receives required elements in correct quantity and proportion during different phases of its life. For instance, if potassium is not available in sufficient quantities, banana fruit will develop stone in it and will be less sweet. Organic produce may reduce chances of getting contact with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but chance of consuming pesticides higher than maximum residue limit is very less.

The allegation that widespread cultivation of High Yielding Varieties has led to permanent loss of many varieties with unique characters is true to some extent. To prevent further genetic erosion, seeds of local varieties were collected from villages by exploratory field visits and conserved in the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in its 12 centers at -180 C. These seeds were cultivated and their passport information is generated which is freely available. It is well known that productivity is low in organic farming. A study of 316 studies comprising 34 different crops, it is shown that the yield reduction may range from 4 per cent to 34 per cent with an average of 25 percent.

(Author Dr K M Sreekumar is professor at College of Agriculture, Kasargod)
Grab em by the *****, their hearts and minds will follow.

 An American soldier, Vietnam, circa 1960s

The CRPF havildar on unbroken picket duty for almost three months in Habba Kadal or Jama Masjid in central Srinagar, grimly watching hate-filled, azadi mobs darting in and out of the warren of alleyways and bylanes, targeting him with stones and the occasional petrol bomb, who couldnt respond due to compulsions of minimum force, might be forgiven if thoughts similar to that of the US soldier in Vietnam in 1965 crossed his mind as well. A stint on urban pacification duty in Srinagars alleys during the Burhan Wani riots can be tedious, boring, tense and deadly. Also, the ongoing separatist agitations in south Kashmir and on Srinagars streets must be understood for what they actually signify  a strategic variation of pace by Pakistan in its proxy long war with India.

This is also accompanied by a switchback to the tactics of violent civil disobedience of yesteryears, of the street-fuelled Moi-e-Muqaddas riots of 1963, and the smokescreen of the 1965 Hazratbal agitations to cover the stealthy concentration of fidayeen infiltrated into Srinagar as part of Pakistans Operation Gibraltar. The Burhan Wani riots in Srinagar can be the preliminary stages of a rerun of the same playbook, to combine the lessons of the Palestinian intifada with the Pakistan Army operational philosophy of jihad-fi sabilillah (jihad in the cause of Allah). The mass demonstrations in the Valley against the Indian Armys presence in Kashmir is a reconfirmation that other than a few pandits remaining in the Valley, the hearts and minds of Generation X in Kashmir are defiantly separatist. It rejects the idea of India no matter how often the olive branch is proffered.

The recent fidayeen attack on the Army base near Uri near the Line of Control, which caused several casualties among the small detachment of troops deployed there, has come as a morale booster to separatists. The late Burhan Wani has reportedly been replaced by either Sabzar Ahmad Bhat or Mehmood Ghaznavi as the Kashmiri jihads operational leader. The new leader is a relatively lesser-known personality, but has issued his first operational fatwa with a dire warning of consequences for any Kashmiri found cooperating with the authorities. Indias democratic culture is conditioned to interact with the political Opposition and resolve all outstanding issues by debate and discussion. But the Indian State is also clear that if externally sponsored manufactured rage on Srinagars streets  that seeks to swallow the democratic process itself and exploit the constitutional right of dissent to launch a violently separatist, anti-national agenda  it will be stopped in its tracks, by force if need be.

Many people in India are also outraged by the Supreme Courts recent direction that even those who publicly affirm separation from India and raise the Pakistani flag on the streets of Srinagar cant be referred to as terrorists. The more cynical among the aam aadmi can well yawn, stretch, and ask: So what else is new in Kashmir? In a sense, they would be correct as there is nothing really new in Kashmir that the Indian Army has not encountered and successfully coped with earlier, right from 1947. However, intensified trans-border firings by Pakistani Rangers in the Jammu-Pathankot area, and fidayeen raids into India across the international border at Kaluchak, Samba, Pathankot, and Gurdaspur, to name a few, have infused a new sense of volatility generally associated with the Line of Control into the settled international boundary between India and Pakistan in the Jammu-Punjab region. Periodically, Pakistan reiterates that this was a working boundary, whose ultimate alignment was yet to be agreed upon.

Perceptions on the situation in the Kashmir Valley depend on the eye of the beholder. There are Kashmiri-speaking Sunnis, once liberal and Sufi, but are radicalised Wahabis now and pro-Pakistan. We have Gujjars and Bakarwals. The Sunni Pahari-speaking people are a tough, hardy, but impoverished breed from the mountains on the periphery, with little or no political clout. They provide the majority intake into the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry of the Army. The Shias who speak Kashmiri are comparative lightweights in the political circuit. And then we have the Kashmiri pandits, the only pro-India constituency, who are Kashmiri-speaking, rooted in the Valley, but are now evacuees in their own homeland. All these people see Kashmir and the Valley through the prisms shaped by their own experiences. The September 13 Curfew Id was a phenomenon that was unheard of. But with the long war in Kashmir in its 79th year and counting, it was perhaps inevitable.

The incomprehension and sheer ignorance of Indias political class, specially liberal soft-liners, about the situation in the Valley and the true nature of the enemy was visible during the after-visit conclave of the all-party delegation. During their reachout tour they had consciously attempted to mingle with Kashmiris of the Valley, but mostly with its least responsive elements like Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other hardcore Hurriyat figures. Doors were slammed in their faces, but they persisted with their door-to-door attempts at chai pe charcha. Indias opium-like addiction to reconciliation is one-way and unrequited. The problem in Kashmir is Pakistan, working to a well-defined gameplan which is often forgotten by India  which is revenge for Bangladesh through jihad in Kashmir. Do our pacifists not comprehend this?
Chennai: ISRO on Monday successfully launched eight satellites on board the 320-tonne PSLV-C35 rocket, including the weather satellite ScatSat-1, in two different orbits from Sriharikota.

The rocket blasted off from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 9.12 am on Monday.

Instead of having two launches independently for two different orbits, we are putting these satellites in one launch, Isro officials said earlier.

The PSLV-C35 rocket is carrying the 377 kg ScatSat-1 - for weather and ocean-related studies - and seven co-passenger satellites into Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

This entire mission will last for more than two hours and 15 minutes, which is also ISRO's longest mission ever.

In this mission, the weather satellite ScatSat-1, which costs approximately Rs 120 crore, will be put into an orbit 720 km above the earth around 17 minutes into the flight.

Seven smaller satellites for remote sensing and earth observation purposes will be placed into an orbit 670 km above the earth around two hours later.

The ScatSat-1 weather satellite will help scientists forecast important information on cyclones and monitor their land fall. It will also help them retrieve valuable weather-related data in real time.

Besides ScatSat-1, two other satellites, including PRATHAM and PISAT, have been developed by Indian students.

The 5kg student-developed satellite PISAT developed by students of PES University, Bengaluru will study total electron count in space, while the other satellite, PRATHAM, developed by IIT Bombay will take pictures of earth.

Congratulating ISRO for the successful launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: Moment of immense joy and pride for India. Congrats to ISRO on successful launch of PSLV-C35/SCATSAT-1 & 7 co-passenger satellites.

He also praised ISRO scientists for the innovative space mission. Their innovative zeal has touched the lives of 125 crore Indians and made India proud worldwide," he added.

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Apples latest iOS upgrade appears to have mistakenly put iPhones security at risk, according to a forensics company report.

Elcomsoft, a well-known Russian forensics company claimed that the recent password protection mechanism, named alternate password verification added to iOS 10 for manual backup via iTunes is weak, compared to a mechanism found in iOS 9.

We discovered an alternative password verification mechanism added to iOS 10 backups. We looked into it and found out that the new mechanism skips certain security checks, allowing us to try passwords approximately 2500 times faster compared to the old mechanism used in iOS 9 and older, Elcomsofts Oleg Afonin wrote in a blog post.

Apple is aware of the issue and is reportedly working to solve it. "We're aware of an issue that affects the encryption strength for backups of devices on iOS 10 when backing up to iTunes on the Mac or PC, Apple said in a statement to Forbes. The company has said to address the issues in an upcoming security update.

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The sale of Twitter has become the subject of continuous rumours for many months. The company has reportedly initiated talks with several technology companies to explore selling itself; however, Microsoft does not seem interested, speculate analysts and market researchers.

According to several media reports, Twitter is in talks with companies like Google, Verizon, and Microsoft, and may receive a formal bid soon. However, Microsoft may withdraw its name from the long run, as the company has recently purchased LinkedIn worth $26.6 billion.

On September 23, Twitter share jumped more than 19 per cent to $22.22 per share, as a result the company now said to be valued around $16 billion. After making such a large acquisition, Microsoft is speculated not to purchase Twitter anytime soon, and the deal may be struck by a possible suitor.

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The spate of attacks on women in recent years, has prompted the Indian government to make an emergency call button mandatory on all mobile phones sold in India, from January 2017.

An SOS from a phone by itself is of limited help, unless one can quickly establish from where it originated. So, government has also set a date -- January 2018 -- by which phones must have in-built location capability based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network.

These are all well meaning initiatives, but will the makers fall in line? The global mobile handset industry is generally unwilling to customise phones for one country in any aspect that affects hardware. Software is a different matter -- and most international brands overlay the user interface with localized extensions -- mostly making money in the process through content providers.

The government's diktat can be met in two ways: by a physical button somewhere on the face or back of the phone -- or by a virtual button on the screen, through software. It looks like either will meet the requirement. The second option is simply achieved and industry shouldn't quibble , if it wants to do business in what is the world's largest remaining market for mobile phones. A feature phone, industry jargon for a basic non-smart, non-touch handset can't create a virtual button. So it will have to get round the limitation, by dedicating a numeric key -- like 9 -- to invoke the SOS function.

The government order was issued in April -- and finally this month, a few mobile phone makers have answered the challenge and announced models with an emergency button.

One of the most affordable is Admire Star from the Indian maker, Zen Mobile, a dual 3-G SIM, dual camera, 4.5-inch screen, device running the latest Android 6 Marshmallow OS. It offers an SOS feature that allows the user to send location details to 5 pre-selected numbers, in the event of an emergency.

Videocon, launched a designed-in-India smartphone last week -- Cube 3 -- with a built-in "SOS--BeSafe" app. It cleverly uses the power on-off button as the panic button to send alerts to the numbers on the emergency list. Making good use of GPS, Videocon has created a tool where a map shows nearby police stations and hospitals. Other security -related features include 'Alert', 'Walk with Me' and 'Reach on Time'.. all tools to assure loved ones of your safety. Cube 3 is basically a 4G VoLTE phone with 3GB RAM, 5-inch HD screen and a 13MP rear camera -- for Rs 8,490.

Women are not the only target customers for phones with emergency buttons. What about senior citizens? Many still prefer the older candybar-shaped feature phones with physical keys and a non-touch screen -- provided the keys are large and chunky. SeniorWorld, a product portal aimed at the elderly, features an affordable (Rs 3,375) handset for seniors, called Easyfone. You can dial up to 8 contacts just by pressing a single digit number, indicated beside a photo of the person, on the 2.2-inch screen, four at a time. Another thoughtful feature: a cradle-type charger, much easier than having to plug and unplug the normal charging cord. But most usefully, Easyfone has a large physical button on the back cover which sets off multiple calls, text messages -- and a siren for immediate help. You can set the Menu to English and Hindi.

This is the SOS button scene today. There are 90 days for the rest of the industry to comply and make India the first nation, where personal safety is a default feature on all phones.

-IndiaTechOnline

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Police investigating the bombings in New York and New Jersey have been saying for several days they were looking for the men, who they stressed were being sought as potential witnesses in the case, not as suspects. (Photo: AP)

Paterson, New Jersey: At the Islamic Center of Passaic County, which draws about 2,000 people each Friday for communal prayers, the talk is about how this year is different.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, people of other faiths in the surrounding community were generally able to see the difference between the radical perpetrators and American Muslims, said Omar Awad, president of the center. But he suggested that distinction seems to be blurring in the public mind amid the anti-Muslim rhetoric of the presidential campaign and growing anger over terrorist strikes in Europe and the United States, the latest allegedly plotted by a New Jersey Muslim.

"They're trying to strike fear between neighbors, between the very fabric of society that we spent so much time trying to make sure that we knitted," said Awad, a New Jersey native, sitting in the offices of the 27-year-old Paterson mosque.

Like Muslims around the country, New Jersey's have been slogging through a particularly painful year.

On the campaign trail, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, falsely claimed that Muslims in Jersey City celebrated when the World Trade Center fell, as he sought to promote a proposed national database for Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques.

Gov. Chris Christie, who once sharply dismissed those who questioned the loyalty of a Muslim judicial appointee, has endorsed Trump.

And now New Jersey Muslims are facing the broad scrutiny that follows when someone in their community is suspected of being a militant. Ahmad Khan Rahami, a U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, who worked at his family's chicken takeout restaurant in Elizabeth, has been charged by federal officials in two states with planting bombs in New York and at a military charity run and a train station in New Jersey. Federal authorities said he praised Muslim extremists and prayed he'd be martyred.

"I don't want the stigma to go out that there's some kind of issue in Elizabeth, that it's a hotbed for people with radical ideas, because it's not," said Hassen Abedellah, an attorney and Elizabeth native, who is president of the Darul Islam mosque in the city.

Abedellah said he was "in shock" when he learned that Rahami was being sought by police. Abedellah could not say for sure whether Rahami had ever worshipped at Darul Islam, but said the suspect could have passed through, since many Muslims in the community at one time or another have attended Friday prayers there.

It is the latest difficulty for one of the larger Muslim communities in the United States. Muslims comprise about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but make up about 3 percent of the residents in New Jersey, according to the Pew Research Center. New Jersey Muslims are predominantly African-American, Arab or South Asian, plus Muslim asylum seekers from the Balkans and elsewhere. Several Muslims serve as state judges and mayors, among other public positions.

In Elizabeth, Muslims have had a presence since at least the mid-20th century, developing mainly from a community of African-American Muslims and eventually growing to encompass immigrants from around the world, Abedellah said. Friday prayer at Darul Islam can draw as many as 500 people.

The Sept. 11 attacks hit hard in New Jersey. Hundreds of victims of the suicide hijackings came from the state. In the aftermath, Muslim leaders joined with other religious and community leaders to quell any backlash. Mohammad Ali Chaudry, a Pakistani-born economist who had lived in New Jersey since the 1970s, ran for public office in 2001 in Basking Ridge and said he encountered no bias.

"Not a single person during that walking campaign, going door to door, asked me what my religion was," said Chaudry, who went on to serve on the township committee and, eventually, as mayor. "They were concerned about what am I going to do about the deer problem. We have a lot of deer. How am I going to keep taxes down?"

Still, suspicion followed the community. Reports by The Associated Press revealed that the New York Police Department had been monitoring the daily life of Muslims in New Jersey, New York and beyond, including monitoring the Muslim Students Association at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and Muslim businesses and mosques in Newark. New York City has since settled lawsuits accusing the department of waging a covert campaign of religious profiling and illegal spying.

"People felt very uncomfortable knowing that they are part of society but not really accepted as being part of the society," said Mikal Nash, a professor at Essex County College in Newark and author of "Muslims in Newark, New Jersey: A Social History."

New Jersey also found itself at the center of movement against Islamic law, or Shariah, in the U.S., after a state judge denied a woman a restraining order against her husband, who she said beat and sexually assaulted her. The judge said the husband's Islamic religious views meant he believed he was entitled to sexual relations at any time with his wife - legal reasoning that Muslim law experts rejected and a ruling an appellate court later reversed. Yet, the case was seized on by advocates for bans on Islamic law in other states.

In New Jersey, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes reported to the government remains low but is increasing, rising from four in 2014 to 14 last year, according to researchers at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, Bernardino. But tensions can be seen in the vocal resistance to building mosques in some communities, with an ongoing fight in Bayonne and another in Basking Ridge that has stretched over four years and is now in court.

Christie's political pivot has been especially disheartening for New Jersey Muslims. They had viewed the governor as a reliable ally. Five years ago, he drew notice for slamming critics of his decision to appoint an American Muslim, Sohail Mohammed, to the Superior Court. "They're criticizing him because he's a Muslim American," Christie said, condemning conspiracists who argued Mohammed would bring Islamic law into state courts.

"This Shariah law business is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies," Christie said.

Chaudry, a longtime Republican, said he was stunned when the governor backed Trump this year. Chaudry had worked with the New Jersey attorney general's office on Muslim outreach and was appointed by Christie to a state commission on public service. But because of Trump, he left the GOP to join the Democrats, and has since been heavily involved in registering Muslims to vote, conducting outreach after Friday juma, or communal prayers, and surrounding the recent celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday. He is also coordinating public speaker training for young people at his mosque.

"You have to be at the decision table," Chaudry said.

Despite the tumult, and the glare from the Rahami case, New Jersey Muslims are persevering. The Islamic Center in Paterson is encouraging families to attend a holiday celebration called "Great Muslim Adventure Day" at the Six Flags amusement park in New Jersey. And next weekend in Elizabeth, where Rahami lived, more than 300 people are expected to attend the sixth annual meeting of the American Muslim Consumer Consortium, on marketing to Muslims and commemorating their achievements in the business world.

"I encourage Donald Trump and his supporters to come and see what the real American Muslim community in the U.S. is all about," said Sabiha Ansari, a co-founder of the conference. "We are just as patriotic, proud and American as anyone else."
United Nations: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tore into Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York and said that his country must stop dreaming about Kashmir.

"Kashmir is an integral part of India and Pakistan must abandon this dreaming," Swaraj said without mincing words. She went on to attack the country over the recent Uri attack carried out by Pak-based terrorists that claimed 18 lives.

She further lashed out at Sharif, saying the allegations he made against India were baseless. He alleged that we made preconditions for talks which were not acceptable to him. What preconditions? she added.

Read: India seeks adoption of global treaty on terror, UNSC reforms

She said Sharif must introspect about proliferation of terrorism in his country, adding that Pakistan has always remain in denial about terrorists in its territory.

She said India always extended a hand of friendship, but what did we get? Pathankot? Uri? Bahadur Ali?

Swaraj also raked up the issue of alleged human rights violations in Pakistans Balochistan, and said, The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression.

Image tweeted by Ministry of External Affairs official Twitter handle.

In a sharp rebuke to Sharif's "tirade" on Kashmir, she said those accusing others of rights violations must introspect as it censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the "worst form of state oppression" in Balochistan.

Swaraj also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become "their calling card".

"There are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it," she said. She called for the world to come together and fight terrorism.

Cannot tackle terrorism by distinguishing between 'your terrorist and my terrorist, we have to join as a whole community. If we dont do it, then we will be held responsible by our children," she said.

She also called for the adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to develop norms to prosecute and extradite terrorists.
The woman used Facebook to contact her drug supplier James Smith, and even discussed about exchanging her baby for drugs. (Photo: YouTube Screengrab)

Oklahoma: An Oklahoma woman has been arrested on the charges of sex trafficking and child abuse after she tried to prostitute her baby girl in exchange for crystal meth.

According to a report in the Independent, the woman used Facebook to contact her drug supplier James Smith, and even discussed about exchanging her baby for drugs.

Identified as Carmita OBryant, the accused, had shared at least three pictures of her daughter's genitals with Smith after he offered to get her drugs.

Both the accused have been charged with various counts of child abuse including child pornography and sex trafficking.

Carmita also admitted to sexually assaulting an 18-month-old girl on one instance. Both the accused have been jailed and will be sentenced at the next hearing.
Oak Harbor, Washington: The 20-year-old suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting said nothing and appeared "zombie-like" when he was arrested by authorities nearly 24 hours into an intense manhunt, authorities said.

As the surrounding community absorbed the news, critical questions remained, including the shooter's motive.

Island County Sheriff's Lt Mike Hawley said he spotted Arcan Cetin from a patrol car on Saturday evening in Oak Harbor, Washington, and immediately recognized him as the suspect who killed five people at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington.

Hawley said at a news conference they had received information that Cetin, of Oak Harbor, was in the area. Cetin, who immigrated to the US from Turkey, is a legal permanent resident who has been living in Oak Harbor, authorities said. He had been arrested once before in the county for assault, Hawley said.

"I literally hit my brakes, did a quick turn, I jumped out," Hawley said. "We both jumped out with our guns, and he just froze."

Cetin was unarmed and was carrying a satchel with a computer in it.

"He was kind of zombie-like," Hawley said.

The suspect's arrest capped a frantic search following the slayings of five people the day before.

The first 911 call came in just before 7 pm on a busy Friday at the Cascade Mall: A man with a rifle was shooting at people in the Macy's department store in Burlington, Washington.

By the time police arrived moments later, the carnage at the Macy's makeup counter was complete. Four people were dead, and the shooter was gone, last seen walking toward Interstate 5. The fifth victim, a man, died in the early morning hours on Saturday as police finished sweeping the 434,000-square-foot building.

"There are people waking up this morning, and their world has changed forever. The city of Burlington has probably changed forever, but I don't think our way of life needs to change," Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton said on Saturday at a news conference.

Authorities said it now appears the rifle was brought into the mall from the suspect's vehicle that was there, Mount Vernon police Lt Chris Cammock said on Saturday night.

Cetin has not been charged, Cammock said. He will be booked into the Skagit County Jail and is expected to appear in Skagit County District Court on Monday.

The Seattle Times reports that Skagit County court records show three domestic-violence assault charges against Cetin. The victim was identified as Cetin's stepfather.

The newspaper reports Cetin also was arrested for drunken driving.

Cetin was told by an Island County District Court judge on December 29 that he was not to possess a firearm, the newspaper reported.

However, the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was "going through a hard time."

Attempts to reach suspect's family and friends for comment by phone and social media late on Saturday night weren't immediately successful.

A man who came to the door on Sunday morning at an Oak Harbor address believed to be where Cetin's stepfather and mother live asked an Associated Press reporter to leave the property. Oak Harbor is a city of 22,000 on Whidbey Island. Many military families make their home in the city as Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is nearby. Oak Harbor is about 30 miles west of Burlington.

Initially the suspect in the mall shooting was described as Hispanic, but Hawley said that was based on initial witness statements to the shooting at the mall.

Surveillance video captured the suspect entering the mall unarmed and then recorded him about 10 minutes later entering the Macy's with a "hunting type" rifle in his hand, Cammock said.

The identities of the victims - four women who ranged in age from a teenager to a senior citizen - were withheld pending autopsies and notification of family. The identity of the man who was fatally shot was not immediately released.

Earlier on Saturday as police scrambled to find the shooter, the small city of Burlington, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Seattle, waited and worried.

The community of 8,600 people is too far from Seattle to be a commuter town, but its population swells to 55,000 during the day because of a popular outlet mall and other stores and businesses.

"It's too scary. It's too close to home," said Maria Elena Vasquez, who attended a gathering in a city park Saturday with her husband and two young children.

Those who survived were still trying to process what happened as their community became the latest entry on a list of places known by the rest of world for mass shootings.

Joanne Burkholder, 19, of nearby Mount Vernon, was watching the movie "The Magnificent Seven" in the mall's theater when security guards came in and told them to evacuate immediately. Dozens of panicked moviegoers gathered in the hallway, and Burkholder heard screaming as the officers escorted them to safety.

As she drove home later, she had to pull over because she was shaking so hard, she told The Associated Press.

"I'm just very thankful for my life this morning," she said Saturday, trying to hold back tears as she attended the community vigil.

The Seattle Times reported one of the victims is a 16-year-old girl.

Sarai Lara's mother said she had survived cancer as a young girl and was a happy student.

Evangelina Lara told the newspaper through a translator that she was shopping Friday night at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, with Sarai and her younger sister, but they split up.

Authorities say another victim was a probation officer.

The Snohomish County District Court in a statement identified Belinda Galde as an employee with the court since 1989. The statement says the 64-year-old Galde "was an amazingly kind and caring individual" who helped thousands of probationers find a better way to live.
Little Princess Charlotte, Prince George and their parents, Prince William and Kate, have arrived in Canada for their first official trip overseas as a family of four. Charlotte nibbled on her finger while being held by Kate as they were greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife yesterday.

A shy George hid behind his dad while holding his hand and looked for his mother who crouched down to comfort him. George later waved for the cameras but looked a little overwhelmed after a long flight. And the young royal refused to shake hands or even hi-five Justin Trudeau. Sorry Mr Trudeau, the ladies might love you but young George is not impressed.

The eight-day trip marks the first overseas jaunt for 1-year-old Charlotte. Her brother, 3-year-old George, has visited Australia and New Zealand on an official tour. The public will only see the children once at their departure on October 1 and the media will only see the kids a few times during an eight-day visit. The airport welcoming ceremony was closed to the public.

Royal watcher Debbie Burnham expressed disappointment but said she understands considering the distance travelled and all the attention. "It would have been overwhelming for them," she said.

"This allows the parents to relax." Kate wore a blue Jenny Packham dress with a hat by Lock and Co and a maple leaf broach lent to her by Queen Elizabeth II for the Canada trip. On their first official trip as newlyweds in 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge won raucous cheers and endeared themselves to Canadian crowds.

On this visit the royals will visit British Columbia and the Yukon. The kids did not attend the official welcoming ceremony where several thousand people greeted the royal couple at British Columbia's ornate government buildings in the provincial capital of Victoria. "When we were here last time we were married only three months. The warm welcome that you gave us at that important part of our lives meant a lot to us and we've never forgotten it," William told the crowd. "That is why we are so pleased that George and Charlotte can be with us in Canada this time around, beginning their lifetime of friendship with this wonderful country."

The 44-year-old Trudeau, who also received loud cheers, joked that getting the kids back on the plane could be a challenge after they see Canada's beautiful Pacific Coast.
New York: Republican candidate Donald Trump pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israels undivided capital if he is elected president, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Hillary Clinton also met on Monday.

Netanyahu met privately with Trump at his residence in Trump Tower a day before the New York billionaire faces off against Democratic rival Clinton for their first presidential debate.

Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years, and that the US, under Trump, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel, his campaign said in a statement.

Israel captured the Arab half of Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and annexed it in 1980, declaring all of Jerusalem Israels unified capital. The US and many UN nations do not recognise the

annexation.
Beijing: China on Monday welcomed India's decision to ratify the Paris climate agreement, saying the move will be a driving force for the enforcement of the landmark deal.

"Climate change is a challenge faced by human society. No country would be immune from that so we should work together against climate change," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing.

"Chinese side welcomes India's ratification of the agreement, which will be another driving force for the enforcement of the Paris agreement," he said.

"The Chinese side will work with all relevant parties including India to press ahead with the implementation of the Paris agreement and strive for sustainable and low carbon growth of world economy," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this month, the United States and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.

Modi's announcement came as a surprise as India opposed pressure mounted by Beijing and Washington early this month at the G20 summit in Hangzhou over the issue.

At the G20 summit, India and few other countries as they need time to reorient their industrial development shifting away from coal to more sustainable energy options.

The joint issues at the G20 summit had backed India's stand for the need to give more time to ratify the climate deal.
Seoul: From kicking out North Korean workers and ending visa-free travel for its citizens, to stripping flags of convenience from its ships, Cold War-era allies from Poland to Mongolia are taking measures to squeeze the isolated country.

More such moves, with prodding from South Korea and the United States, are expected after North Korea recently defied UN resolutions to conduct its fifth nuclear test.

North Korea's limited global links leave most countries with few targets for penalising the regime on their own.

Mounting sanctions over the years have made Pyongyang more adept at evasion and finding alternative sources for procurement, a recent paper by experts at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found.

Nonetheless, South Korea has been especially active in pushing the North's allies for unilateral action in hopes of reining in Pyongyang's arms programme.

"If long-standing friends of North Korea continue to publicly curb their ties with the country, Pyongyang will have fewer places overseas where its illicit networks can operate unhindered or with political cover from the host capital," said Andrea Berger, deputy director of the proliferation and nuclear policy program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

South Korean officials have declined to say whether they have made inducements to countries to punish North Korea.

"Presumably in the course of that diplomatic interaction it is also being made clear to Pyongyang's partners that deeper trade ties with economies like South Korea will not be fully realizable" without taking steps against North Korea, Berger said.

Angola, for one, has suspended all commercial trade with Pyongyang, banning North Korean companies from operating there since the UN toughened sanctions in March, a South Korean foreign ministry official told Reuters recently.

Angola was suspected of buying military equipment in 2011 from North Korea's Green Pine Associated Corp, which is under UN sanction, according to a 2016 UN report. North Korea had also cooperated with Angola in health care, IT and construction, South Korea's embassy there said in December.

Angolan officials did not respond to requests for comment, but the country told the UN in July it had not imported any light weapons from North Korea in recent years.

North Korea's export of cheap labour has also been targeted.

Earlier this year, Washington urged countries to curb the use of North Korean workers, who number roughly 50,000 and generate between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion annually for Pyongyang, according to a 2015 UN report.

Poland, which hosted as many as 800 North Korean workers, according to some estimates, this year stopped renewing visas, as did Malta.

Travel restrictions have also increased, with Ukraine recently revoking a Soviet-era deal that allowed visa-free visits for North Koreans.

Singapore, which has been a hub for North Korea-linked trade, will require visitors from the country to apply for visas starting next month, its immigration authority said in July.

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The vast majority of North Korea's trade is with China, and experts warn sanctions will have limited impact without Beijing's backing. China condemns Pyongyang's nuclear programme but is also its chief ally and is unwilling to pressure leader Kim Jong Un's regime too far, fearing a collapse that would destabilise the entire region. That means agreeing significantly tightened UN sanctions could be difficult.

Some of the most tangible results of recent efforts to isolate North Korea have seen countries ban its ships from their registries. North Korean-owned vessels are suspected of using other flags to camouflage the movement of illicit cargo.

Landlocked Mongolia, which is among Pyongyang's steadiest allies but also has close ties with Seoul, cancelled the registrations of all 14 North Korean vessels flying its flag, according to a report it submitted to the UN in July, even though sanctions compelled it to act on just one of them.

Cambodia, once the most popular flag of convenience for North Korea, ended its registry scheme for all foreign ships in August, although it did not single out North Korea.

The flags of 69 North Korean ships, none of them on a UN blacklist, have been de-registered since the UN tightened sanctions in March, South Korea's foreign minister said last month. The North's merchant fleet is estimated by the UN at roughly 240 vessels.

Still, one-off measures by various countries mean Pyongyang can simply shift its business elsewhere - a shortcoming of unilateral actions in general.

China and Russia employ the bulk of North Korean workers and have publicly shown no inclination to halt the practice.

Last week, North Korean state media announced the Sept 19 "inauguration" of its embassy in the Belarusian capital Minsk. However, on Monday, the Belarus foreign ministry said there was no North Korean embassy there, although it did not immediately give further information.

Pyongyang has been known to use diplomatic personnel, several whom have been caught with large amounts of gold or cash, to procure banned equipment or fund illegal activities.

China, experts say, remains the key.

"Rather than being efficient, unilateral actions put psychological pressure on the North," said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University. "But like criminal gangs, North Korea won't cringe much under psychological pressure."
The matter only came to light when the accused's daughter confronted her girls, who then filed a complaint with the cops, resulting in the arrest of the paedophile. (Photo: Pixabay)

Wollongong, New South Wales: An Australian man was arrested for sexually abusing his daughter and granddaughters for over three decades, but was handed a lenient punishment owing to his illness and old age.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the court sentenced the accused to 3.5 years in jail and observed that he could die in prison due to multiple health problems. He confessed to molesting and raping his daughter as well as his granddaughters.

The accused said that he had first molested his granddaughters when they were about five years old. However, police were never informed about the abuse.

The matter only came to light when the accused's daughter confronted her girls, and then filed a complaint with the cops, resulting in the arrest of the paedophile.

While sentencing him, the judge at Wollongong District Court said, "People who commit serious offences against their own children and grandchildren cant expect to escape punishment because of their ill-health or age. However, his illness calls for a degree of leniency on humanitarian grounds."

"I will impose a significantly more lenient sentence than one that would ordinarily have been imposed," he added.
Melbourne: Australian scientists have solved a 600-year-old murder mystery involving the death of an Aboriginal man, indicating that he was killed by a sharp-edged weapon.

The remains of the Aboriginal man named "Kaakutja" - about 1.7 metres tall and aged between 25 and 35 - were found preserved on the banks of the Darling River in New South Wales in Australia.

Researchers at Griffith University meticulously pieced together the final, fatal moments of Kaakutjas life, using a state-of-the-art optical dating lab to help determine the mans cause of death.

The investigation has unearthed evidence that indigenous communities were using deadly boomerangs and clubs, which could inflict damage like sharp metal weapons, said Michael Westaway, a senior research fellow at Griffith University.

Kaakutja, whose remains were excavated in late 2014, is only the second case of intact indigenous remains being found suffering from fatally inflicted injuries, The Australian reported.

Researchers have determined that a wooden weapon known as a "lil-lil" may have been used to kill Kaakutja.

They conclude that the pattern of trauma on his skeletal remains indicates "that he was killed by a sharp-edged weapon".

The positioning of Kaakutjas remains indicated a proper burial and "did not represent the clandestine disposal of a murder victim," researchers said.

However, forensic analysis of Kaakutjas injuries unveiled "multiple skeletal traumas on the cranium, mandible and post crania".
During the week-long protest two Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) members will sit in front of Chinese Embassy every day and night for six days and end with a big demonstration on October 1, which is Chinas National Day. (Photo: Twitter)

London: Baloch activists have launched a week-long sit-in in front of the Chinese Embassy here to protest against "China-Pakistan nexus" in resource-rich Balochistan.

During the week-long protest two Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) members will sit in front of Chinese Embassy every day and night for six days and end with a big demonstration on October 1, which is Chinas National Day.

FBM described the protest as a peaceful campaign against the "China-Pakistan nexus" in Balochistan.

"China has now become the 21st century East India Company in Balochistan. Their expansionist designs are well known in the region. Its neighbouring country Vietnam is the prime example of Chinese diabolical nature which endured 17 Chinese military invasions. Today we can see that it doesn't respect the international laws over the South China Sea," the FBM said in a statement.

It further says that Pakistan is in conflict with Balochistan because the "morally bankrupted state, dominated by Punjab, has occupied Balochistan in March 1948 in blatant violation of international norms and law just in the name of Islam".

"China has intensified its efforts to consolidate its permanent grip over Balochistan's Gwadar coast and other areas where in 2001 it sought to anchor its military outpost in the name of Gwadar deep-sea port project," the statement adds.

Activists began their protests with placards which read: "CPEC [China Pakistan Economic Border] is the corridor of death and destruction for Baloch" and "China: Hands off Balochistan".

FBM has called on all pro-freedom Baloch and other human rights activists in the UK and Europe to take part in this protest campaign.
Hollande is due to arrive at 0600 GMT for a visit that comes just days after one by his conservative predecessor Sarkozy. (Photo: AP)

Calais, France: President Francois Hollande will on Monday visit the notorious "Jungle" camp near Calais, which he has vowed to close despite growing controversy over the fate of thousands of desperate migrants at the squalid settlement.

Hollande is due to arrive at 0600 GMT for a visit that comes just days after one by his conservative predecessor Sarkozy -- who is hoping to make a comeback as president, with a harsh line on migration a key part of his campaign.

Migration has been a low-key issue under Hollande's four-year-old presidency.

But he has been forced to take a visible stance on the issue, under pressure from brash right-winger Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Each are promoting platforms of security, patriotism and national interest in early campaigning for next year's elections.

Under pressure from the right wing, Hollande last Saturday stepped up his own pledge to combat illegal migration, promising to "completely dismantle" the Jungle camp.

His government has said this will happen "before winter" and a flurry of preparations underway there suggests the operation may begin shortly.

But plans to relocate the migrants have sparked controversy and protests, with local residents in areas where new shelters could be established vehemently opposed to the move.

The Jungle camp has also become a sore point in relations between France and Britain.

Last week, building work began on a British-funded wall to clamp down on repeated attempts by migrants to stow away on trucks heading for Britain.

Rights groups have also strongly criticised the difficulties and dangers facing the up to 10,000 migrants living in the camp, with a 14-year-old Afghan boy killed by a car just last week as he tried to get onto a truck.
Bochum: Germany's former top spy, accused of hiding some 15 million euros from the tax authorities, went on trial on Monday.

Werner Mauss, 76, dubbed the "German James Bond" had often been sent on classified operations abroad, but it is his secret financial dealings that are now under scrutiny.

He risks up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of shortchanging the state out of 14.5 million euros ($16 million) in taxes and some 795,000 euros in other contributions between 2002 and 2013.

Prosecutors accuse Mauss of placing large sums of undeclared funds in offshore accounts, including in the Bahamas, national news agency DPA said.

Mauss denies any wrongdoing and claims the business fronts were set up to channel funds used in relation to hostage freeing operations.

The retired agent, who appeared in court wearing a navy parka with the hood pulled over his head, declined to make a statement on the first day of his trial in the western city of Bochum.

His lawyers said Mauss was unable to mount a "proper defence" because he was still bound by confidentiality agreements linked to his decades of undercover work.

Investigators first got on his trail after one of his aliases was found among names of UBS account holders on a CD which the state of North-Rhine Westphalia had purchased from a whistleblower, according to business daily Handelsblatt and Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Mauss had allegedly failed to declare an account that he holds with the Luxembourg subsidiary of UBS.

He was briefly detained in late 2012 before making a four-million-euro payment to the tax office. He also paid bail of one million euros, according to the indictment read out in court.

After the UBS revelation, his name subsequently emerged in connection with several shell companies listed in the so-called Panama Papers -- leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that exposed the murky offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous.

During the trial, the court will seek to clear up if the letterbox companies were used to pay for "humanitarian actions" linked to his assignments, as Mauss claims, or if they were simply created to hold illicit income.

On his website, Mauss says he was "involved in the smashing of more than one hundred criminal groups and in the arrests of around 2,000 individuals" during his long career in the secret services.

He notably claims to have helped negotiate the release of hostages in Colombia, and boasts of tracking down 41 barrels of toxic waste that had gone missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in Italy in 1976.

His trial is expected to last until December.
The Kremlin on Monday said terrorists were using a ceasefire in Syria to regroup and wage offensives against government troops. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Moscow: The Kremlin said on Monday it was gravely concerned by the situation in Syria where it said terrorists were using a ceasefire to regroup and wage offensives against government troops.

"The Kremlin views the situation as extremely complicated," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "We are chiefly concerned that ... terrorists are using a ceasefire to regroup their forces, to replenish their arsenals, for obvious preparations for waging offensives."

The ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington broke down last week. The United States accused Russia on Sunday of barbarism as warplanes supporting government forces pounded Aleppo. Moscow said ending Syria's war was almost impossible.

Peskov said moderate opposition forces have not been separated from terrorists, repeating Moscow's reproach of the US for failing to deliver on its promise to nudge the armed groups it has influence over to disengage from jihadi fighters.

"Because there has been no separation of moderates from terrorists, terrorists continue their encroachments, they continue offensives ... Naturally the fight against terrorists is ongoing, it must not be stopped."

French and British foreign ministers echoed US criticism of Russia on Sunday, saying it could be guilty of war crimes.

Peskov said the tough Western condemnation might hinder any resolution to the Syria crisis and hurt bilateral relations with Russia. Moscow sees "absolutely no prospect" for holding a summit on Syria, he added.

"Regrettably ... the ceasefire regime has not been effective enough to date," Peskov said.

"But nonetheless Moscow is not losing hope  and what is more important, not losing political will to spare no effort for achieving a steady process of political settlement in Syria. (But) so far it's been very hard."
German police say a 43-year-old Norwegian tourist is in custody after biting off part of the ear of a man. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Berlin: German police say a 43-year-old Norwegian tourist is in custody after biting off part of the ear of a man who tried to break up a fight between him and a dark-skinned German passenger he'd allegedly taunted as being a terrorist.

Police said Monday the intoxicated tourist started the fight Sunday night on a regional train in Berlin, accusing the other passenger in English of being a terrorist and asking if he had a bomb.

When a third passenger, described as a 37-year-old German man, got between them, police say the Norwegian bit off a large portion of the intervenor's right ear.

Other passengers subdued the suspect. He was arrested when the train stopped. His name was not released.

He's being investigated for causing bodily harm, and other possible charges.
The victim claimed that her drink was spiked by the attackers the night before she was abducted and gangraped. (Representational Image)

Sunderland: UK police arrested six men on the charges of abducting and gangraping a woman after allegedly spiking her drink. The accused have currently been released on bail.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the 26-year-old victim woke up to find herself in a house with cuts and bruises all over her body. The victim claimed that her drink was spiked by the attackers the night before she was abducted and gangraped.

She somehow managed to escape from the house and contact a family member who then took her to the police to lodge a complaint.

Based on the victim's complaint, police arrested six migrant men -- believed to be from Iraq, Syria and Bahrain. The accused were later released on bail until October 17.

The attack sparked widespread outrage leading to violent protests in Sunderland. Protesters damaged the windows of a house in which the woman was allegedly assaulted.

They also injured two Asian men who were not connected with the rape. Following the protests, police rushed to the spot and tried to intervene in the demonstrations. Five people were arrested in connection with the protests.

Northumbria police have released an emergency number 0800 555 111 and have asked witnesses (if any) to come forward and help with the case.
Euthanasia or medically-assisted suicide has also been updated in the new law, said officials. (Representational Image)

Dubai: Health officials from UAE recently revealed that under the updated Federal Medical Liability Law of UAE, sex change and cloning are prohibited and any violation of the law would be a punishable offence.

According to a report in the Khaleej Times, those violating the law could be imprisoned as well as penalised.

Any person violating the law could land up in jail for a minimum period of four years which can go up to 10 years. A defaulter will also be liable to pay fine starting from Dh10,000 that can go up to Dh500,000.

Euthanasia or medically-assisted suicide has also been updated in the new law, said officials.

However, sex correction operations would be allowed in certain cases. The law also allows 'natural death without resuscitation' meaning a person might be allowed to undergo euthanasia if he or she suffers from an incurable disease (in specific cases).

The law also makes a note of abortion rules. It states that an abortion could be carried out up to 120 days in cases, if there is a risk to the mother's or the baby's life.
More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China's defence ministry website. (Representational Image)

Beijing: China has sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan, the two governments said Monday, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea.

More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China's defence ministry website.

The Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace.

Japan's defence ministry said it was the first time Chinese fighters had passed over the strait.

The drill is aimed at "testing far sea combat capabilities", the Chinese statement said. It follows China's first military flight, carried out by spy planes, over the Miyako Strait last year.

The move comes after Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said earlier this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, dismissing rival partial claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours. It rejects any intervention by Japan in the waterway.

In recent months Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal, which said Beijing's extensive claims to the waters had no legal basis.

Tokyo, a key US ally, is also strengthening defence ties with other countries in the disputed region. Japan and China are already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China Sea.

That dispute relates to uninhabited islets controlled by Japan known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese.

Abe said on Monday Japan would "never tolerate attempts to unilaterally change the status quo" in the disputed waters, or "wherever else in the world", in an apparent response to the Chinese move.

"We pledge to protect Japan's territory, and in the sea and air," he said in a speech to open a new parliamentary session.

Japan and China "share a mutual understanding that we're significantly responsible for regional peace and prosperity", he added.

In its statement the Chinese defence ministry said it had also mobilised an unspecified number of bombers and fighters to patrol the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Beijing sparked alarm after it unilaterally established the ADIZ in 2013. It demanded all aircraft submit flight plans when traversing the zone, which covers the islands disputed with Tokyo and also claimed by Taipei.

"Normalising far sea drills out in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ is based on the need for China's Air Force to protect national sovereignty and security and ensure peaceful development," air force spokesperson Shen Jinke said in the statement.

The Chinese military has been monitoring and identifying foreign military planes that entered the ADIZ and "took measures according to different air threats" since it was set up three years ago, the statement added.
At least nine people, including four policemen were injured in an IED blast in Charsadda, Pakistan. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Islamabad: At least nine people, including four policemen were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeting a police van in Pakistans Charsadda town on Monday.

The banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to journalists, The Dawn quoted the police as saying.

The police van was on a routine patrol in Sro area of Charsadda's Shabqadar tehsil when the bomb went off along the roadside, injuring four police officials and five passers-by.

Police and rescue officials arrived at the scene and shifted the injured to tehsil headquarters hospital.

According to hospital administration, three of the injured who were in critical condition were shifted to Peshawar.
Geneva: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz has demanded international probe into the terrorists attack on the Army Brigade headquarters in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 18 Indian Army soldiers were killed.

Aziz in an interview with the BBC Urdu Service said that India always starts accusing Pakistan immediately after any attack without waiting for investigations.

He maintained that, therefore, an independent international commission should be constituted to unearth the facts.

The top diplomat insisted that such attacks should not divert world attention from the Kashmir issue.

Aziz insisted that it is not for the first time that India has levelled baseless allegations on Pakistan.

Recalling the former US president Bill Clinton visit to subcontinent where a major terrorist incident took place at Chattisinghpura, Aziz said that India had blamed Pakistan for the massacre too.

18 Indian Army soldiers were killed and over 20 others were injured in an encounter with the terrorists at the Army Brigade headquarters in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.

This is the highest casualty the army has suffered in a single attack in last two decades.

All four terrorists involved in the attack were killed in what has emerged as worse than the attack on the Pathankot air base earlier in January this year, in which seven army men were killed.
Islamabad: Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Pakistans police of routinely carrying out extra-judicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests, and called on Islamabad to implement urgent reforms of its under-resourced forces.

The findings were contained in a new report based on interviews with more than 30 police officers and 50 victims or witnesses of abuse across three of the countrys four provinces.

In addition to noting habitual rights violations  including more than 2,000 so-called encounter killings in 2015, which are often believed to have been staged  the report said police often found themselves in thrall to powerful individuals who subvert the law for their own purposes.

Pakistan faces grave security challenges that can be best handled by a rights-respecting, accountable police force, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Instead, law enforcement has been left to a police force filled with disgruntled, corrupt and tired officers who commit abuses with impunity, making Pakistanis less safe, not more.

In the biggest city Karachi, encounter killings have surged since 2013 as paramilitary forces and police have stepped up raids against Taliban militants, criminals and armed political activists. The term is used to describe staged confrontations in which police or troops kill suspects and later claim they were acting in self-defence. The report found that those from marginalised groups  refugees, the poor, religious minorities, and the landless  are at particular risk of violent police abuse.

It said, Torture methods include beatings including with batons and leather straps, stretching and crushing legs with metal rods, sexual violence, prolonged sleep deprivation, and mental torture, including witnessing others being tortured.

Senior officials told Human Rights Watch that physical force is often threatened and used because the police are not trained in professional investigation and forensic analysis methods, and thus resort to unlawfully coercing information and confessions.

Local politicians meanwhile are able to halt investigations against suspects with political connections, and to harass or file charges against opponents. In addition to being on the frontline of the countrys battle against homegrown Islamist terror, Pakistans police forces contend with high-levels of organised and violent crime  including kidnappings for ransom and drug trafficking.

A recent wave of high-profile murders of women in the name of family honour have cast a spotlight on blood-money laws which allow the relatives of victims to forgive perpetrators in exchange for money.
There were reports last night that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting on Monday on Indus water treaty but there was no official confirmation of that.





The reports said that the meeting will look at the pros and cons of the treaty signed 56-years ago under which India and Pakistan share the waters from six rivers.



The officials of the ministries of Water Resources and External Affairs denied any such knowledge of a meeting being convened by the Prime Minister.



There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of audacious Uri terror attack earlier this week.



Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.



Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.
As part of the second anniversary of the Prime Ministers Sri Narendra Modis Swachh Bharat mission, the NDMC has started the celebration of Swachh Bharat week from Sunday.





A special sanitation drive to clean the area along railway track at Sanjay Camp in the capital on Sunday, the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, was conducted by the Health officials of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).



The civic body also posted posters in the area to have repeated visual impact and discourage open defecation. Awareness was created amongst the people in the Sanjay camp regarding harmful effects of open defecation by involving the pradhans of the area along with swachhagrahis through direct interaction and nukkad natak.



High level of awareness was observed in the community including small children regarding objectives of Swachh bharat, said a statement by the NDMC. A joint pledge was taken by all to be actively involved in Roka Toki (discouraging public by interrupting them) and not to defecate in open. Railway officials also participated in the special drive along the railway track.



The civic agency has planned to have frequent interaction with people so that sustainable change in mindset and habits can be brought. Earlier this month, NDMC Chairperson Naresh Kumar had announced a sanitation drive in the schools under the jurisdiction of the agency.



He had said that the drive would now be a permanent feature of curriculum of education and it will be undertaken on regular basis on the first Saturday of every month and people will be aware about it.
Amid debate over chikungunya deaths in the city, opinion of doctors seem to be divided with some asserting only 0.1 per cent people run the risk of dying due to its complications while other medical professionals attribute the fatalities to the vector-borne disease.





1 out of 1,000 people, i.e., 0.1 per cent run the risk of dying due to chikungunya complications and that too if the patient has co-morbid conditions. Chikungunya is otherwise non-fatal, AIIMS Head of the Department of Medicine Dr S K Sharma said.



At least 15 fatalities due to chikungunya complications have been reported at various city hospitals, including one at AIIMS, while over 2,600 people have been affected by the mosquito-borne fever this season.



If one analyses the deaths, attributed to chikungunya, being reported in Delhi, you would realise that most of them had co-morbid conditions, like hypertension or diabetes or kidney or other renal problems. Chikungunya as such cannot cause death, AIIMS Director Dr M C Misra said.



But doctors at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), where nearly half of these deaths have been recorded, say it was chikungunya that precipitated the death.



Yes, most of these patients were old and had co-morbidity, but why are people finding it hard to believe that chikungunya cannot cause death. There are six crore diabetic people in Delhi, nearly 15 lakh suffer from blood pressure problems, they werent dying earlier.



The seven persons, who died here, were elderly people and suffered complications triggered by chikungunya and succumbed. Why are we so embarrassed to admit that these deaths were due to chikungunya? As per WHO reports, chikungunya outbreak in France and the US and South America have caused deaths, Chairman of Department of Medicine at SGRH, Dr S P Byotra told PTI.



Among the remaining fatalities, five of them were reported at Apollo Hospital, one each at AIIMS, Hindu Rao Hospital and Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute.



Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant in Department of Internal Medicine at Apollo Hospital, says, while a debate over the fatality issue is fine, doctors should not get dogmatic that chikungunya cannot lead to death.



Out of the five patients who died at Apollo, while four of them were old and had some kind of co-morbid conditions, a 31-year-old man from Noida, did not have it, and died within a day of admission. His death has puzzled all of us doctors here, he said.



Besides, a 22-year-old girl died of cardiac arrest triggered by chikungunya complications at Hindu Rao Hospital. Most of the deceased belong to Uttar Pradesh, including the one at AIIMS, who hailed from Muzaffarnagar, and died of multi-organ failure.



Gulab Chand Gupta, 70, from Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi, had died on September 12 Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute (PSRI). His family members are still trying to come to terms with his death, as Gupta was fit and had no medical history.



We have been told chikungunya is non-fatal. And, that may lead to death in those cases where the patients has co-morbidity. But, he had no medical history, he was fit and never smoked a cigarette or consumed alcohol, his son-in-law Santosh Mangal said.



Doctors at PSRI in the report said, describing his death from chikungunya complications said, he died of acute febrile illness with septic shock and multi-organ failure.



AIIMS Head of the Department of Medicine, Dr Sharma, when asked about this case said, I will have to scrutinise this case, before commenting on it. At AIIMS laboratories, at least 2,000 blood test samples have tested positive for chikungunya, and doctors there are also studying the viral strain that is in circulation.



Experts have conjectured that the outbreak of chikungunya this year could be due to evolution in the virus strain.



Chatterjee and Byotra, both say that there is a possibility of viral strain of chikungunya having evolved but only a scientific study can give us a real picture.



Delhi and several other parts of north India are witnessing an outbreak of chikungunya after nearly 10 years. In 2006, over 13 lakh suspected chikungunya cases were reported in Delhi.



Dr Lalit Dar of Department of Microbiology at AIIMS says, the rising cases of chikungunya after the 2006 outbreak could be due to Delhi having a lot of migrant population and generation born after 2006.
A 20 year old drug addict and gangster who was once a meritorious student was arrested on Saturday along with his subordinate for 25 cases of robbery, snatching and vehicle theft.





Aman, 20 and Abdul Khan, 28 were arrested by police in Dwarka, who were following them on the basis of an information they recieved.



Aman was influenced by the role of John Abraham in the film Shootout at Wadala, where he is plays Manya Surve, a dreaded criminal in Maharashtra. Aman too wanted to become a famous gangster like Suvre, who was the first educated Hindu don in India.



Suvre dodged even Dawood Ibrahims boys. He was not allowed in the underworld because he was a Hindu and so Suvre formed his own gang.



Aman was also a good student in school, said police. But after his parents became involved in their marital disputes at home, he became disinterested in studies, said police.



He left studies after Class 12 and started taking drugs with people. To afford his drugs he started stealing, said police.



Soon he graduated to robbing and snatching all across southwest Delhi, said police. When Aman went to jail for six months in March 2016, he came out he formed his own gang. Before that he was independently committing crimes.



Abdul was one of the members who kept the goods stolen by Aman with himself.One stolen Bajaj motor cycle and 12 mobile phones were recovered from Abdul, said police.



Aman and Abdul came two Dwarka Metro Station in a stolen motor cycle for which they were caught. They disclosed to police about two dozen other thefts that they committed.
Equities started the week on a distinctly weak note after the Sensex tumbled 374 points today -- the most in two weeks -- tracking global sell-off ahead of the US presidential debate and an OPEC meeting due this week.





The barometer closed at 28,294.28, a nearly 1-month low. Also, the broader NSE Nifty broke below the 8,800-mark level.



Investors are also anxiously waiting for the upcoming monetary policy review on October 4, the first to be held under new RBI Governor Urjit Patel.



Sentiment was in tatters after heavy losses in Asia and a lower opening in Europe, mirroring weekend losses at the Wall Street due to lower crude oil prices.



The slide came on the heels of a global rally last week fuelled by relief that US and Japanese central banks had decided to maintain their easy-money policies.



Shares have lost their momentum after hitting their highest close in 18 months last week after valuations turned expensive, with most sectoral indices ending in the red.



The 30-share index stayed in the negative zone for the whole day and settled lower by 373.94 points, or 1.30 per cent -- its biggest single-day fall since September 12 -- at 28,294.28. This is the weakest closing since August 29 when it had closed at 27,902.66. It had lost 105 points on Friday.



The broader Nifty also succumbed to selling pressure and slipped below the 8,800-mark to hit a low of 8,715.10 before ending at 8,723.05, down 108.50 points, or 1.23 per cent.



"The market had mirrored the downswing in global equities which is impacted due to today's US presidential election debate. Additionally, the upcoming meeting on Wednesday of oil producers will be eagerly watched for any potential freeze in oil production, given the drop in oil prices," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.



ONGC was the top Sensex loser, skidding 3.84 per cent to close at Rs 250.50, followed by Tata Motors, which fell 3.22 per cent to Rs 535.55.



Others that weighed included ICICI Bank, NTPC, GAIL, Bharti Airtel, ITC, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, Hind Unilever and L&T, falling by up to 3.16 per cent.



Coal India, however, struck a contrarian note as it topped the gainers list by rising 1.19 per cent. RIL gained 0.58 per cent to close at Rs 1,109.35 after touching a 7-year high of Rs 1,128.90 on the back of strong fundamentals.



Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net sellers at Rs 299.98 crore on Friday, according to provisional data.



Out of the 30-share Sensex, 25 ended lower. Realty fell the most by 2 per cent, followed by auto 1.72 per cent, infrastructure 1.62 per cent, banking 1.56 per cent and FMCG 1.37 per cent while oil & gas and metal rose 0.08 per cent each.



Small-cap and mid-cap indices closed lower by 0.55 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.



Japan's Nikkei fell 1.25 per cent and Shanghai Composite plunged 1.76 per cent while Hang Seng sank 1.58 per cent.



In Europe, most indices retreated, with London's FTSE falling 1.22 per cent, France's Paris CAC-30 1.83 per cent and Germany's Frankfurt 1.49 per cent in their early hours.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon today lauded India for its "swift action" to ratify the landmark Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking forward to receiving the country's instrument of accession.





"The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift action by India. He looks forward to receiving India's instrument of accession," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.



Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.



The agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.Specifically, it seeks to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.



The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.



A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.



Ban said this week that since more than 55 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, a critical threshold has been crossed that will help bring into force the landmark pact that seeks to put the world on a path towards low-carbon growth and a more sustainable future.



"I am confident that, by the time I leave office, the Paris Agreement will have entered into force," the UN chief had said. "This will be a major achievement for multilateralism," he had said.



India, which along with the US and China is among the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.



It has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the governments plan to supply electricity to every household.



India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photo-voltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.
"Blood and water cannot flow together," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he chaired a review meeting of 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty during which it was decided that India will "exploit to the maximum" the water of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, as per the water sharing pact.





Held amidst heightened tension between the India and Pakistan, the meeting also decided to set up a inter- ministerial task forces to go into the details and working of the Treaty with a "sense of urgency", senior government sources said.



Attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials, the meeting also noted that the meeting of Indus Water Commission can "only take place in atmosphere free of terror". The Commission has held 112 meetings so far.



"Prime Minister's Modi's message at the meeting was that 'rakt aur paani ek saath nahin beh sakta' (blood and water cannot flow together)," sources said.



Apart from deciding to exploit to the maximum the capacity of three of the rivers that are under Pakistan's control - Indus, Chenab and Jhelum-- in the areas of hydro power, irrigation and storage, the meeting also agreed to review the "unilateral suspension" of Tulbul navigation project in 1987.



The sources asserted that the decision to maximise the water resources for irrigation will address the "pre-existing" sentiment of people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have complained in the past about the treaty not being fair to them.



The meeting came as India weighed its options to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead, triggering demands that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on that country.



Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six rivers - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.



Pakistan has been complaining about not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in a couple of cases.



Noting that India, a high riparian state, has been very "generous" to Pakistan, a low riparian state, with regard to the water sharing rights as a "goodwill" gesture, government sources said a "tough situation" has emerged after the recent terror strike in Uri and it was "appropriate time" to review the Treaty as to how it has worked or not worked.



The Inter-ministerial Task Force, which is expected to have representatives from ministries of water, external affairs, power and finance, will look at the details of India's rights pertaining to the western rivers, which are controlled by Pakistan.



Sources also talked about government's decision to expedite work on three dams- Pakal Dul, Sawalkot and Bursar- on Chenab river.



Giving the details regarding utilisation of river waters for agricultural purposes, sources said under the Treaty water can be used to irrigate 9.12 lakh acres which can be extended by another 4.2 lakh acres. However, India was only using it for 8 lakh acres.



On run-of-the-river hydro-electrical projects, the sources said out of 18600 MW capacity, India was only utilising 3034 MW, while projects of 2526 MW capacity were under construction and 5846 MW were at the advanced stage of approval.



"We have not exploited western rivers fully," the sources said, adding India would exercise its legal rights under the Treaty to the maximum capacity.



Asked if China would react to India's decision, sources said Beijing was not a party to the Indus Water Treaty and noted that it was already building dams on Brahmaputra river water of which was shared by India and China.
A shoe was today hurled at Rahul Gandhi by a man during his roadshow here, prompting the Congress vice president to blame the BJP and the RSS for the incident.





Hariom Mishra (25), the man who hurled the shoe at Rahul, was immediately overpowered by the police and taken into custody for questioning even as the "missile" missed the Gandhi scion narrowly, the police said.



Rahul targeted the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS for the incident and said he was "not afraid" of such things.



"Anger of the BJP-RSS is their weakness. I was just travelling on a bus and a shoe was thrown at me. It did not hit me. I want to tell the BJP and the RSS that you can throw as many shoes at me (as you want) but I am not backing down. I am not scared of you. I will continue to believe in love and harmony and you can stick to hate," he said.



Rahul was riding in an open-top vehicle through Sitapur town, around 85 km from Lucknow, when the shoe came flying at him.



Mishra, who claimed to be a journalist, said he was angry over Rahul taking part in a roadshow, instead of paying tributes to the Uri martyrs.



Maintaining that he had no regrets for his act, Mishra said Rahul was today showing concern for the people when he could have worked for ameliorating their lot when his party was in power.



According to an eyewitness, Mishra, a resident of Shastri Nagar locality, was heard saying, "The roadshow is useless."



He had hurled his shoe from a distance at Rahul at Transport Crossing, from where the roadshow started.



"The Congress has left the country down in the dumps in the last 60 years. I have been a journalist for two years and I know. What were they doing when they were in power?" he said, while being whisked away in a police van.



One of the most protected politicians in the country, the attack on Rahul was seen as a breach in the security, though "shoe missiles" are increasingly becoming an "occupational hazard" for politicians.



An unfazed Rahul, an SPG protectee, continued with the roadshow and held the BJP and the RSS responsible for the incident, the first-of-its-kind during his ongoing 'Deoria to Dilli Kisan Yatra'.



Commenting on the incident, senior Congress leader Sanjay Sinh said the party which "feared the Congress the most" must be behind it.



"People will give what they have...those who have shoes will give shoes and those who have good words will give them...there are three parties which are extremely worried by our yatra," he said.



Rahul (45) is on a month-long 'kisan yatra', his farmers' outreach programme in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are due early next year. The Congress vice president has completed over 2,200 km and has around two more weeks to go before he concludes the yatra in Delhi.
China today refuted reports of its troops crossing into Arunachal Pradesh saying that the Chinese military abides by the bilateral agreements reached with India concerning the Line of Actual Control (LAC).





"China's position on the boundary question between India and China is consistent and clear. The boundary between the two sides is yet to be demarcated," Geng Shuang, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said replying to question about reports of incursion by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh on September 9.



"We are engaged in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences in this regard," he said.



About the incursions, he said "the border troops of China always abide by agreements of the two sides and strictly follow the bilateral agreements concerning the LAC".



"We hope the Indian side will work together with us to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas and strive to resolve the boundary question at an early date," he said.



While both sides in recent years have managed to reduce tensions between the troops patrolling the disputed areas with various mechanisms, China has not responded positively to India's proposal to demarcate the 3,488-km LAC to avoid border tensions.



The two countries have so far held 19 rounds of boundary talks led by Special Representatives.
Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent speech attacking Pakistan as a violation of the UN norms on non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, Pakistan's top diplomat said such "irresponsible" behaviour at the highest level was regrettable.





Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said that Modi's statement shows India's nervousness over the situation in Kashmir.



Chaudhry said that it was unfortunate that the Indian leadership "continues to indulge in a vilification campaign against Pakistan by making provocative statements and hurling baseless accusations".



He said that such "display of irresponsible behaviour at the highest political level was regrettable", Dawn reported. "It is evident that, as an act of desperation", India is trying to distract the world attention from the "atrocities perpetrated by its forces against innocent and defenceless Kashmiris, including women and children", Chaudhry said.



Indian Prime Minister's recent statement violates all United Nations and international charters on non-interference in internal affairs of other countries, he said.



The Foreign Secretary noted that "Indian atrocities had intensified since the extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Muzaffar Wani in July".



"Over the last 75 days, Indian occupation forces have martyred more than 100 Kashmiris, blinded hundreds and injured thousands."



The foreign secretary said that while casting aspersions on Pakistan, India continued to "sponsor terrorism in Pakistan directly through its state apparatus".



The arrest and confessional statement of a serving Indian navy officer and intelligence operative, Kulbhushan Jadhav, had proved India's involvement, he claimed.



There are increasing demands for independent investigations and fact-finding missions to be sent to Kashmir, he said.



Prime Minister Modi launched a blistering attack on Pakistan on Saturday in his first public address after last Sunday's deadly Uri terror attack.



Modi said the sacrifice of 18 soldiers will not go in vain while all out efforts will be made to isolate Pakistan globally.



"Terrorists should hear out clearly that India will never forget the Uri attack...I want to tell the leadership of Pakistan that the sacrifice of our 18 jawans will not go in vain," Modi told a public meeting on the Kozhikode beach held on the sidelines of the BJP national council meet.
A collection of New York Republicans and independents have formed a group supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Together for America New York launched Monday hours before the first presidential debate, which is being held at Hofstra University on Long Island. The group includes U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, who is the first GOP member of Congress to endorse Clinton.

Tim Clancy, who served as chief of staff to longtime central New York Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, is also supporting Clinton. He called the Democratic nominee "the superior candidate" and believes she will make an "excellent president" if elected.

"Her tenure as senator from New York was exemplary," Clancy said in a statement provided by the Clinton campaign. "She was energetic, well prepared and engaged  representing New York vigorously and effectively during challenging times post-9/11.

"I was particularly impressed with her strong desire to work across party lines, helping promote and defend the state's economic, agricultural, environmental and defense interests."

Some of the other notable Clinton supporters include former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra, a Republican whose time in office overlapped with Clinton's Senate career. Retired Army Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, who chaired a veterans and military families advisory board for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, has endorsed Clinton.

Two of the Together for America members hail from the Finger Lakes region: Brian Nicholson, president and CEO of Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, and New York Wine and Grape Foundation President Jim Trezise.

Roxaina Hurlburt, co-owner of Mercer's Dairy in Boonville, has also joined Together for America. She was featured in a recent Clinton campaign video and appeared at a small business roundtable Clinton held in Syracuse last spring.

Hurlburt is a Republican.

"The personal efforts of former Senator Clinton have enabled a small business like mine to become a pioneer in a large industry segment," she said in a statement.

The support from New York Republicans and independents is noteworthy. She is facing a fellow New Yorker, Manhattan real estate mogul Donald Trump, in the presidential race.

Trump enjoys a lot of support from GOP leaders around the state, including Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey and the party's 2010 gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino of Buffalo.

But not all Republicans are supporting Trump. Hanna, R-Barneveld, received national attention when he decided to endorse Clinton over the GOP nominee.

Another central New York congressman, U.S. Rep. John Katko, hasn't said whether he's supporting Trump in the presidential election. He has ruled out voting for Clinton.
A gunman fired multiple shots and injured nine persons at a strip mall in southwest Houston before being shot dead by the police, the latest mass shooting incident in the US.





An "active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers; no reports of other suspects at this time," Houston Police tweeted.



Six people were injured in an early-morning shooting. The unidentified attacker was shot by cops  and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital, police said.



The police chief declined to release the suspect's identity, but told reporters "he is a lawyer and there were issues concerning his law firm."



Nine people were injured in the shooting, police said. Of those injured, three people were treated and released and six are hospitalised. One person is in critical condition and one person is in serious condition, CNN reported.



One witness, said he heard "over 100 shots" fired  including AK-47 and AR-15 gunfire. It was "steady shooting back and forth" between police and the suspect, the man said.



The US has witnesses a number of shooting incidents in recent months. Today's shooting comes days after a shooting at a Washington state mall left five people dead. On September 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.



The US suffered the worst mass shooting in its history in June when 50 people were killed and 53 injured in Orlando, Florida after a gunman stormed into a packed gay nightclub.



In December last year, 14 people were killed in a shooting incident in San Bernardino.
Pakistan has demanded an independent international probe into the terror attack in Uri, dismissing as "baseless" India's allegations that militants from Pakistan were involved in it.



Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz alleged that India always accuses Pakistan without even conducting an investigation into the matter "An independent international commission should be constituted to unearth the facts," BBC Urdu quoted Aziz as saying.



"It is not the first time India has levelled baseless allegations against Pakistan," he said.Any such attack neither benefits Pakistan, nor Kashmir, Aziz said, adding that the attack diverts the world's attention from human rights violations committed by Indian forces in Kashmir.



Diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan have been rising since the September 18 attack on an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 18 Indian soldiers.



Pakistan has rejected allegations of its involvement in the assault with both countries hitting out at each other including at the UN General Assembly.
Congress today demanded that a special session of Parliament be convened to declare Pakistan a terrorist state in the wake of the Uri terror attack.





It also alleged that the Narendra Modi government has responded only with "jumlas (gimmicks) and rhetoric" since the attack took place and favoured withdrawal of the most favoured nation status to Pakistan and imposition of economic sanctions on it.



"We believe extreme situation demands extreme decisions. By now, Pakistan should have been declared a terrorist state. They failed in that also," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters, accusing the government of doing "precious little" to put Islamabad in the dock.



"We demand near absolute economic sanctions on Pakistan. There should be a special session of Parliament to discuss our security situation and declare Pakistan a terrorist state," he said.



The government's response to the attack has been only through "rhetoric and jumlas" and the Prime Minister's speech at Kozhikode demonstrated "strategic ambiguity". India is "looking weak, having failed to deliver meaty blows" to Pakistan, Singhvi said.



"We do not want this to lead to a strategic confusion, make India a laughing stock. It should not let the world think that India has an aimless political strategy. Aimless political strategy is not a synonym of strategic restraint," he said targeting the government.



Noting that Congress also believed in strategic restraint, Singhvi said that such restraint in the face of such provocation should not mean the absence of a strategic response.



"People of India want concrete actions against the rogue state of Pakistan," he said, adding the terror attacks at Uri and Pathankot have together taken a toll not seen in the last 20-22 years.



"We demand the considerable scaling down of Pakistan's High Commission in Delhi," he said and wondered why there was delay in considering and finalising the asylum request of the Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti.



In a veiled attack on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, he said, "Political and administrative accountability" of the highest offices have to be also fixed in the context of those responsible for security
As the government reviews the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, experts today felt that India has so far not utilised the agreement to its fullest to increase irrigation and hydropower potential in Jammu and Kashmir.





Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who had recently suggested that India should consider abrogating the treaty with Pakistan as response to the Uri attack, said if Islamabad is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, it should not be incumbent on New Delhi to honour them.



"Utilise the treaty to its fullest. We are allowed to build hydropower potential and use the water for irrigation. Under the agreement, we are allowed to do a lot more than what we have done," former Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh told PTI.



He said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had passed two resolutions seeking more Indus water for the state. "We can legally do lot more in terms of irrigation...The terms of the treaty which are in India's favour need to be exploited more," he said.



He noted that in the past whenever India has tried to utilise the treaty provisions to help its people, Pakistan has accused New Delhi of violating the agreement.



Responding to a question on whether China can stop the flow of Brahmaputra and Indus rivers into India if New Delhi turns the tap off, he said India receives less than five per cent of Indus water from China and around 10 per cent of Brahmaputra water from it.



"It is nothing," he said.



A former Indus commissioner said the government's decision to utilise the treaty to India's benefit is the step in the right direction.



"We have been following the treaty by the book. While contesting cases of international arbitration against Pakistan, we have proved to the international community how serious India is in following the treaty. Pakistan has already been exposed in such cases," he said.



Writing for ndtv.com, Yashwant Sinha said, "Terrorists keep attacking us, we keep discussing options. This is the unending story. I am in favour of action and all that I am saying is that this time India should act and not just go on discussing how to handle these attacks."



He said the basic point is that if Pakistan is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, why should it be incumbent on India to honour all of them?



"Because we are the good boys in the eyes of the international community and want to stay that way? (Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif and (Army chief) Raheel Sharif may be sharif only in name; we in India are the real sharifs," he wrote.
The guide whistles as the large, dark-maned lion walks just a few metres from the car. It looks around to face the American hunter and a single shot rings out in the South African bush. The lion cartwheels from the force of the bullet  shocked and confused it roars, turns and quickly limps off into the bush. Shoot him again, shoot him again, shoot him again, the professional hunter frantically urges, as the hunter reloads, firing into the trees. The video cuts to see the lion lying dead.



The video was shot by Derek Gobbett, a safari cameraman brought in to make a souvenir for the 10 American hunters, who had paid thousands of dollars each to shoot a lion. But he says the way they went about was neither fair nor legal  that it was something known as canned lion hunting  more of a duck shoot than a lion hunt. Hunting is big business for South Africa - it was worth $70m in 2013, but this is generally understood to be for wild animals, not those bred in captivity just to be shot.



Every year hundreds of lions are bred in captivity across South Africa for the purpose of being placed onto private game reserves for hunting. Eight lionesses were released (from captivity) literally the day before the clients arrived. In fact, four were released as the plane was landing just down the road, Derek said. He explained how the lions appeared to be used to humans  how one was shot while hiding in a hole, another up against a fence.



A new report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says, in the decade between 2004 and 2014, 1.7 million animals were killed for their trophy. At least 2,00,000 of them were threatened species such as elephants, rhinos or lions. IFAW found that the US was the biggest importer of stuffed animal heads, while South Africa was the biggest exporter  and lions were by far the most traded.



Arguments in support

The IFAW report says there are between 6,000 to 8,000 lions kept in captivity in South Africa, in up to 200 ranches. Canned lion hunting is illegal in South Africa, but captive-bred lion hunting is allowed. Amid a raft of regulations there is a fine line between the two and something which differs by province.



All the lion hunting in South Africa is supposed to be with permits, and those are regulated hunts that have to be done to a certain criteria, said Carla van der Vyver, chief executive of the South African Predator Association (SAPA). If such an activity has happened and it was not done to permit regulations, it is definitely not a thing that SAPA will support, she said in reference to the video footage.



SAPA does support captive-bred hunting, unlike the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa, which voted to ban the practice last year. Mostly the benefits are extending the lions habitat, because it needs to be released in an ecological area  a large area, said Carla. It also requires for other animals to be re-introduced into the land  to be prey species.



Other arguments in support of this form of hunting are that it protects the dwindling numbers of wild lions, and also managed breeding can strengthen the gene pool. A certain number of wild lions can be killed each year and some of the money raised used for helping with conservation efforts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has backed calls to push South Africa to ban the hunting of lions bred in captivity. It passed a motion by a large majority at the World Conservation Congress and is calling on South Africa to stop the captive breeding of lions for anything other than conservation. But supporters of captive breeding argue it does contribute to conservation.



We were taken on a drive around a huge area of hunting land owned by Tienie Bamberger. There were five lions in an area between 500 and 1,000 hectares, which he said it would take days to track and shoot. He has expanded his initial plot of 200 hectares to 6,000 with the increased business over the last 13 years. His lions come from breeding farms. He says conservation would be the first thing to suffer if hunting was banned.



The immediate effect would be the loss of habitat. We have more than 16 different antelope species we keep on this land which are also benefitting, he said. There is a lot of controversy when it comes to the so-called canned lion industry, and its given a bad name to hunting in general, so we totally condemn any illegal hunting.


A mile down in an unused mine tunnel, scientists guided by helmet lamps trudged through darkness and the muck of a flooded, uneven floor. In the subterranean world of the Beatrix gold mine, South Africa, they shed their backpacks, taking out tools and meticulously prepared test tubes to collect samples. Leaning a ladder against the hard rock wall, Tullis C Onstott, a geosciences professor at Princeton, USA, climbed to open an old valve about a dozen feet up.



Out flowed water chock-full of microbes, organisms flourishing not from the warmth of the sun, but by heat generated from the interior of the planet below. These tiny life-forms  bacteria and other microbes and even little worms  exist in places nearly impossible to reach, living in eternal darkness, in hard rock.



Scientists like Tullis have been on the hunt for life in the underworld, not just in South Africa but in mines in South Dakota, USA and at the bottom of oceans. What they learn could provide insights into where life could exist elsewhere in the solar system, including Mars. Microbial Martians might well look like what lives in the rocks here at a deep underground mine. The same conditions almost certainly exist on Mars. Drill a hole there, drop these organisms in, and they might happily multiply, fuelled by chemical reactions in the rocks and drips of water. As long as you can get below the ice, no problems, Tullis said. They just need a little bit of water.



Mars has long been a focus of space exploration and science fiction dreams. NASA has sent more robotic probes there than any other planet. But now there is renewed interest in sending people as well. Astronauts on Mars would be able to greatly accelerate the quest for answers to the most intriguing questions about the red planet. Was there ever life on Mars? Could there be life there today?



Good to bad

It was not that long ago that scientists had written off Mars as lifeless. Forty years ago, NASA spent nearly $1 billion on its Viking mission, which revealed a cold, dry world seemingly devoid of organic molecules that are the building blocks of life. But more recent missions have discovered compelling evidence that Mars was not always such an uninviting place. In its youth, more than three billion years ago, the planet was warmer and wetter, blanketed with a thick atmosphere  possibly almost Earth-like.



A fanciful but plausible notion is that life did originate on Mars, then travelled to Earth via meteorites, and we are all descendants of Martians. Eventually, Mars did turn cold and dry. Radiation broke apart the water molecules, and the lighter hydrogen atoms escaped to space. The atmosphere thinned to wisps. But if life did arise on Mars, might it have migrated to the underworld and persisted?



When miners carve out new tunnels, they poke holes through the rock to see what surprises might lie ahead. Sometimes the borehole taps into a section of fractured rock with water coursing through. Then the fracture is drained and plugged. But this particular tunnel at Beatrix never entered production, so the borehole valve remains, allowing the scientists to return to draw samples from the same place.



Scientists led by Tullis made their most recent trip to South Africa in June last year. Over a couple of hours, they took their fill of the water and set up an apparatus that remains attached to the valve, trapping microbes, which were retrieved later in the summer. Since then, they have been analysing the samples to understand this assemblage of life.



Results from an earlier trip to Beatrix befuddled Tullis. He had expected the mine microbes to be feeding off organic matter dissolved in the water. In this picture, the ecosystem would be largely devoid of primary producers and instead subsist on leftovers, the detritus of long dead organisms washed down from above or deposited with the sediment 2.9 billion years ago. The only problem was that we didnt have any indication they were eating the organic matter in the fracture water, Tullis said.



They figured out that the carbon molecules in the microbes came from methane, a plausible answer. Microbes known as methanogens consume hydrogen and carbon dioxide and produce methane; other microbes known as methanotrophs eat methane. But the Beatrix water contained little of either. It didnt make any sense at all, Tullis said.



Maggie Lau, a postdoctoral researcher in Tulliss laboratory, started examining the genetic snippets for clues of how the Beatrix community of microbes worked. With the newest data, it turned out there was a wider community of primary producer microbes, eating nitrogen and sulfur compounds. In essence, the waste of one microbe helped feed its neighbour, and only a little bit of methane, an energy-rich molecule, was enough to power the entire community. Now, for the first time, were getting a true description of the ecosystem, Tullis said.



The odds of Mars life, past or present, are just conjecture. If life is deep underground, robotic spacecraft would not find them easily. NASAs InSight spacecraft, scheduled to launch in 2018, will carry an instrument that can burrow 16 feet into the ground, but it is essentially just a thermometer to measure the flow of heat to the surface. NASAs next rover, to be launched in 2020, is largely a clone of Curiosity with different experiments. It will drill rock samples to be returned to Earth by a later mission, but those samples will be from rocks at the surface.



All this new interest in possible life on Mars is a sort of vindication for Gilbert V Levin, one of the scientists who worked on Viking. Gilbert is sure he discovered life on Mars 40 years ago, and everyone else has been drawing the wrong conclusions from the Viking data. If he is right, then perhaps rediscovering life on Mars may require just scratching the surface.



The two Vikings carried what was known as the labelled release experiment, developed by Gilbert and another investigator, Patricia A Straat. Essentially, radioactive food made with unstable carbon-14 was added to samples of Martian soil. The idea was that if microbes digested the food, the carbon-14 would be released in a stream of radioactive carbon dioxide and other gases rising out of the soil.



Then other samples were heated to 320 degrees Fahrenheit to sterilise them. If microbes were generating the radioactive gases, then there should be no gas rising from the sterilised soil. The response on Mars is well within the responses from terrestrial soils, Gilbert said, most closely the Arctic and Alaska. But in the absence of organic molecules, other Viking scientists discounted the possibility of life. It was like claiming the existence of a city in a place lacking wood, steel, bricks or any other building materials.



Gilbert has proposed, again and again, sending another labelled release experiment to Mars, to no avail. NASAs 2020 rover will be able to catalogue a wide variety of organic molecules, but carries nothing to look for life directly. Gilbert may finally get his wish with ExoMars, a European rover scheduled to launch in 2020. He is working with one of the teams building one of ExoMarss instruments to see if it could be modified to incorporate the labeled release apparatus.



There is a bit of a race against time. Gilbert, the last surviving member of the Viking biology team, is 92. All I have to do is last that long, he said.


Soldiers of the Russian and Pakistani armies are participating in joint military exercises in Pakistan. Such a prospect would have been inconceivable in the past given the extreme acrimony that marked their interaction for decades. Not only were Russia (then the Soviet Union) and Pakistan on opposite sides during the Cold War  Pakistan was an American ally while Moscow warmed to India  but also, in the 1980s, Pakistan was a conduit for American weapons for Afghan mujahideen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. Also, the Pakistan military played a key role in Russias inglorious exit from Afghanistan. Given this bitter history, few would have expected Moscow to bury the hatchet. That it did and is participating in joint military exercises today in Pakistan is a sign of how dramatically Russo-Pakistan relations have changed. The first signs of such change came in May 2014 when Russia lifted a long-standing arms embargo on Pakistan. This was followed by a defence cooperation agreement that paved the way for greater military-to-military exchanges, a defence deal etc. Joint exercises by their militaries were the logical next step to take this cooperation further.



Should India be alarmed by this growing defence cooperation? The Indian government has clarified that it is not. Indeed, compared to the enormous India-Russia defence relations  despite Indias attempt to diversify weapon sources, Russia meets 70% of Indias defence needs  the Russo-Pakistan cooperation is small. Additionally, commercial motivations and the quest for new markets lie behind Russias weapons sales to Pakistan. Given the importance of the Indian defence market, Russia is unlikely to jeopardise its ties by selling weapons to Pakistan that would undermine Indias national security. Still, India should not ignore the Moscow-Islamabad military bonding as this is likely to grow. With Indias own military ties with the US deepening, Russia could accelerate its ties with Pakistan. Motivations for defence trade with Pakistan could then acquire a strategic dimension, which India must guard against.



Delhi and Moscow have repeatedly said that their bilateral relationship is far too strong for other, more recent suitors to threaten. Yet this opti-mism needs to be buttressed with some caution and India and Russia need to take steps to ensure that their long-standing strategic partnership does not suffer on account of misunderstandings and insensitive actions. There was some apprehension in India over reports that the joint exercises were being held in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Russia has done well to ensure that no part of the exercises, even a ceremonial inauguration, would be held in PoK. Sensitivity to each others security concerns will go a long way in keeping the India-Russia ties strong despite the recent Russo-Pakistan bonding.




Sept. 26, 1936

The Flood Control Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, headed by William Ludke, today issued a new appeal for public support in the committee's efforts to have the federal government defray expense of dredging the Owasco Outlet. The committee issued a statement. "The Owasco River, from the upper pumping station and through the city, has become clogged with silt, trees, sewage, ashes and other refuse, thereby greatly reducing the flow of flood waters and should be lowered, dredged and cleaned."

The Chamber is doing its utmost to secure from these federal funds, an appropriation to correct all of these conditions, or at least part of them.

Sept. 26, 1961

Gerald Pettigrass, 200 Genesee St., son of Mrs. Mary Pettigrass and the late John J. Pettigrass of Auburn, was recently graduated from the Simmons School of Embalming and Mortuary Science in Syracuse. Mr. Pettigrass is a graduate of West High School and will be affiliated with the Leo F. Kearns Funeral Home in Richmond Hill. While in high school, Mr. Pettigrass was employed by the circulation department of The Citizen-Advertiser.

Sept. 26, 2006

After nearly 20 years of discussion, fundraising and hard work the doors finally opened on the Montezuma Audubon Center (MAC), part of the Northern Montezuma Wetlands Complex in the town of Savannah.

For town supervisor and member of the Friends of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex, Donald Colvin, this project has been a labor of love and long standing determination. During those years the concept for the project grew and changed scope as more and more people took an active interest in getting the facility off the ground.

Sept. 26, 2011

There's a small grocery store in the heart of Weedsport and two larger ones in Auburn, just a short drive down Route 34. Not everyone in the world has such easy access to healthy, affordable food. For that reason, about 40 people from area churches gathered Sunday for central New York's first CROP Hunger Walk of 2011.

The hunger walks, which will be held in multiple locations throughout central New York over the next month, are part of a national campaign coordinated by Church World Service. They allude to hungry people in developing countries who sometimes need to walk many miles each day to secure food and water.
Even as the Supreme Court on Monday deferred the hearing on Mohammad Shahabuddins bail cancellation petition to September 28, the man, whose sons were killed, said he has complete faith in god and the judiciary.



Bhagwan ke ghar der hai par andher nahin (justice may be delayed, but not denied), said Chandrakeshwar Prasad, whose three sons Satish, Girish and Rajiv Roshan were killed reportedly at the behest of Shahabuddin, a former MP from Siwan in Bihar. It was Prasads wife Kalawati Devi who had challenged in the Supreme Court the Patna High Courts order granting bail to Shahabuddin.



In her petition, Kalawati said: The high court had completely lost sight of the fact that Shahabuddin was a dreaded criminal who had absolutely no regard for the law.Granting him bail, even though he has been convicted for heinous offences like murder, abduction, among others, and is still facing trial in many cases lodged against him, would be a travesty of justice.



She was referring to the incident at Siwan in 2004 when the then RJD MPs henchmen reportedly abducted her sons and brought them to Pratappur to amicably settle a land dispute.



Two of the brothers - Satish and Girish - were reportedly, in the presence of Shahabuddin, bathed in acid, which resulted in their death. According to the FIR, the henchmen cut up their bodies and packed it in a sack full of salt. The third son, Rajiv Roshan, managed to escape, but he was caught and killed by Shahabuddins men in 2014 in Siwan.
Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar will take stock of the measures taken so far by central universities to ensure that their students do not face discrimination on the basis of caste, community, religion or gender.



A status report on the issue will be tabled at a meeting of vice-chancellors to be held at the Banaras Hindu University. The HRD minister has convened the meeting to review the functioning of the central varsities.



This comes about seven months after Javadekars predecessor Smriti Irani, who is now minister for textile, came down heavily on the vice-chancellors who had not set up an equal opportunity cell, despite being made mandatory in 2012 by the university grants commission.



Smriti had called the meeting in February amid students protests in different parts of the country against Rohith Vemulas suicide at the Hyderabad University. According to the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations 2012, all universities have to appoint an ombudsman to look into the complaints of students, faculties and other staff facing discrimination.



Separate guidelines issued by the higher education regulator requires all universities to set up an equal opportunity cell. At the February meeting, however, it was discovered that not a single central university had appointed an ombudsman. While only eight of the 46 central varsities were then found to have set up cells for addressing grievances of the students, just 19 of them had set up equal opportunity cells.



The minister will review the status of the steps taken by these universities towards setting up of equal opportunity cells, appointment of anti-discrimination officers and other grievance redressal mechanism. The ministry had directed all the vice-chancellors in the last meeting for implementation of all these requirements without any further delay, sources told DH.
The Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police arrested six top operatives of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JuMB) from different parts of West Bengal and Assam on Monday. Officials claimed that five of those arrested had direct links with the October 2014 blast at Khagragarh in Burdwan.



According to top officials, these men had plans to run terror operations across the Northeast as well as south India from their hideouts in Bengal and Assam. The arrested include Anwar Hussain Farooq, who also went by aliases Inam and Kalubhai.

A native of Jamalpur in Bangladesh, Farooq was believed to be JuMBs regional commander and a key player in the outfits India operations. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on Farooq.



Md Rafique alias Rubel, also from Jamalpur, is an explosives expert and had illegally entered India several years ago, along with Farooq. Rubel carried a bounty of Rs 3 lakh on him, as did Maulana Yusuf, who also went by Bakkar and Abu Khetab. The NIA named him a prime accused in the case after it became known that he ran the Shimulia madrasa close to the blast site and was instrumental in recruiting and training young operatives.



Officials said that the STF stumbled upon leads that led to the arrest of these men, absconding since the 2014 blast, during an operation to crack a fake currency racket at Assams Cachar. While STF officials apprehended Jabirul Islam during the raid, they came to realise that he is none other than Jahidul Islam, also a prime accused in the Khagragarh case. On Sunday, STF arrested Abul Kalam alias Abdul Kalam, another prime accused, when he was en route to Kolkata from Dhubri in Assam.



Kalams arrest led STF to subsequent arrests on Monday, with Inam apprehended from Bagda Road at Bongaon in Nadia district of West Bengal, along with Rubel. Yusuf was arrested along with Shahidul Islam alias Surjo and Jahidul Sheikh alias Zafar, from Barapeta in Assam. Surjo is believed to be the Northeast commander of JuMB. During the coordinated raids, the police seized around 2 kg of white powder from Inam and Yusuf. Officials believe it is some kind of explosive substance and samples have been sent for lab tests.


The controversy surrounding the commercialisation of indigenous genetically engineered mustard varieties has further intensified with the advocates and opponents of GM crops reaching out to the policy makers.



Former Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his urgent intervention against commercial release of the engineered oilseeds created by the scientists at Delhi University.



There is absolutely no need for opting for this unsafe technology since non-GM better performing hybrids and varieties exist. In fact, the very basis on which this GM mustard is being pushed  its yield superiority  has not even been verified by the regulators, Ramadoss wrote.



However, another lobby group, South Asia Biotechnology Centre, reached out to 750 parliamentarians informing them why the country requires the GM mustard. Those opposing GE mustard are conspiring to stop Indian mustard farmers from becoming competitive. They are conspiring to keep our farmers poor and to increase Indias dependence on imported GE canola and GE soybean oil, said the biotech centre in its letter.



It informed the lawmakers that its members were willing to meet the MPs personally and brief them about GM mustard and its benefits. The centre was set up by C D Mayee, former director of Nagpur-based Central Institute of Cotton Research, one of the laboratories under the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, and Bhagirath Choudhary, national coordinator for international service for acquisition of agri-biotech applications, a biotech industry supported forum for South East Asia.



India is a major importer of GE canola (Canadian mustard) oil and GE soybean oil. India has been consuming GE cotton oil produced domestically by our cotton farmers for the past 14 years. We consume approximately 50 lakh tons of GE edible oil as cooking oil every year. GE Indian mustard oil is no different from imported GE canola and soybean oils, it noted.



The beekeepers too threw their hats in the ring, protesting against GM mustard. We produce around 90,000 tonnes of honey, out of which around 35,000 tonnes are exported at an estimated value of Rs 750 crore. Almost 50-60% of total honey produced in India is mustard honey. GM mustard will jeopardise this sector completely, said an officer from the confederation of the beekeeping industry, Devvrat Sharma.


The Shivamogga police have busted a marks card racket and nabbed eight persons, including two from Pune. Cases have been registered against nine private educational institutions in the state.





Speaking to mediapersons here on Monday, Superintendent of Police Abhinav Khare said the arrested are Tousif Basha (29), Hanumantappa B K (50), residents of Sorab, Praveen Kumar (30), of Hubballi, Vivek Dinakar Patil (35), Vishal Dinakar (31), residents of Pune, Sagar (30), of Sunkadakatte, Bengaluru, Ravi Kumar (30), of KR Puram, Bengaluru and R Gopalakrishna of Bengaluru.



The incident came to light when the Sorab police were investigating the authenticity of the SSLC marks card furnished by Tousif to the Mangaluru passport office. Tousif had submitted, an application along with his class 7th marks card, to the passport office as he planned to travel abroad. However, his application was rejected as he had not submitted the SSLC marks card.



Two months later, he submitted the application, along with the SSLC marks card. Suspecting its authenticity, officials of the passport office sent the marks card to the Shivamogga police for verification. Following this, the Sorab police interrogated him.



During the interrogation, Tousif admitted that he obtained the marks card without appearing for the examination, by paying Rs 12,000 to Hanumantappa, who runs a private tutorial in Sorab.



Khare said three teams were formed to visit Pune, Hubballi and Bengaluru to nab others involved in the case.



The investigation revealed that Hanumantappa had established contact with Praveen Kumar, Vivek Dinakar Patil, Vishal Dinakar Patil and he was purchasing SSLC/PUC certificates for those who paid him the money.



The trio had been selling marks cards of SSLC/PUC in the name of Board of Secondary Education, Maharashtra, for the past three years through distance education centres functioning in the state, without conducting any examination. The price ranged from Rs 10,000 to 15,000, depending on the percentage needed.

The SP said all the three were rank holders in MCA and MBA and they were technically very sound. They had appointed brokers in various states.




Two months after stepping down as the Bengaluru development and town planning minister following row over DySP M K Ganapathy suicide, K J George on Monday returned to the Cabinet.





Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to George at Raj Bhavan, during a simple ceremony, which was attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his other cabinet colleagues. He has returned to the portfolio which he had held before resigning from office on July 18. The allotment of portfolio, notified by Raj Bhavan, was gazetted by the government on the same day.



After being sworn-in, George said he has been exonerated of all charges. The CID has given me a clean chit, and hence the chief minister has re-inducted me into the Cabinet. He has full faith in me. I am grateful to the party high command for giving me an opportunity to serve again, he said.



Hundreds of Georges supporters, who had gathered outside Raj Bhavan, erupted in joy after their leader was sworn-in. Two months ago, George resigned after a local court in Madikeri ordered the Karnataka police to file an FIR against him in connection with DySP M K Ganapathy suicide. The CID, which probed the matter, has given him a clean chit.


The Krishnaraja Sagar dam now resembles more of a rocky terrain in the dry districts of north Karnataka rather than a reservoir. The present storage of water that could be utilised is 10.2 tmcft against a total storage of 49.45 tmcft. The depletion in the water level has exposed the terrain on the rock bottom of the reservoir.





According to sources in the Water Resources department, this is the first time since 1969 that expanses of the terrain especially on the eastern and western side of the reservoir have become visible. Lack of rains during the south-west monsoon has led to the present situation.



Interacting with reporters who visited the reservoir on Monday, Chief Engineer, Irrigation (South Zone), B Shivashankar, said that two tmcft of water was required per month to meet the drinking water need of Mysuru, Bengaluru and other towns as well as the villages in the Cauvery basin.



Preserving the water to meet the drinking need till May next is certainly a tough task. The nearly empty reservoir would have gone bone dry had water release to Tamil Nadu continued, official sources said.



The state government has stopped release of water to the neighbouring state since September 23. The Supreme Court had ordered that the water be released till September 27.



If the available water is not conserved, it is going to be tough even to get drinking water in the basin area.



The inflow into the KRS is just 1,185 cusecs/day, while the outflow is 220 cusecs.



The KRS reservoir premises on Monday resembled a fortress on the eve of the Supreme Court taking up a petition submitted by the state government seeking modification of its September 20 order. Personnel from the state police, Rapid Action Force and also para-military force have been deployed outside the reservoir.



The police are geared up to handle one lakh people at a time in case they try to barge into this high-security area to protest against further release of water.


Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday met Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila and assured her all kind of support in politics. Met Irom Sharmila. I salute her courage and struggle. My best wishes and full support in her political endeavours, tweeted Kejriwal.



The meeting which lasted nearly an hour evoked speculation of a possible tie up between the AAP and Sharmilas supporters for a joint fight against corruption and issues like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa) in Manipur. The Manipuri activist, who recently decided to join politics, had cited the success of the AAP to show interest in launching a party.



Sources said Kejriwal complemented the Iron Lady for picking up the political route to achieve her role and shared his experience and strategy to overcome hurdles in fighting political rivals. Kejriwal even offered to visit Manipur if Sharmilas team required, said sources.



Sharing his experiences about the new players in politics, The chief minister also requested her to proceed with the plan to float a party, a Kejriwal aid said. Sharmila announced that her new party would contest against veteran Congress leader and Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the next election.
A day before the Supreme Court hearing of the Cauvery water issue, anxious Karnataka ministers and officials held a brainstorming session with legal experts here on Monday.





Law Minister T B Jayachandra rushed from Bengaluru and joined his colleague Water Resources Minister M B Patil for a meeting with the states legal team headed by senior counsel Fali S Nariman. Chief secretary Arvind Jadhav, Water Resources Department secretary Rakesh Singh and other officials were present.



The Apex Court will take up the matter over objections filed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to its September 20 order, asking Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily till September 27.



The meeting also discussed Tamil Nadus fresh petition, urging the SC not to take up any plea by Karnataka, till the latter complies with its September 20 order.



Karnataka will convince the Supreme Court about its difficulty in releasing more water, due to poor storage in its Cauvery basin reservoirs and also explain to it the resolution passed by the state legislature, said Jayachandra.



We are confident that our legal team will convince the court that the state is not willfully disobeying the court direction, he said.
A senior army officer categorically denied media reports of Chinese troops crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradeshs Anjaw district. He, however, hinted that there was a face-off with the Chinese Army on the LAC. There are mutually identified disputed areas on the LAC. Fish tail was one such area where the incident occurred. Both the armies were conducting routine patrols when it happened.



There was a face-off which has been resolved through dialogue at the local commander level. There is no truth about media report of incursion as deep as 45 km and setting up of Chinese Army camps, a senior army officer commanding a forward base in the area told DH on condition of anonymity.



In the wake of the Uri attack, media reports originating out of New Delhi on border incursion in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh had created anxiety in the border state. Sources also claimed that there is no truth in the media reports and no Chinese Army troopers have been sighted in Indian Territory.
The Cayuga County Legislature will consider the appointment of Weedsport resident Grant Kyle, 30, an independent, to fill the vacant District 4 seat representing the town of Brutus, according to Chairman Keith Batman in a release sent late Monday night.

Mark Farrell, who had previously held the seat, handed in his letter of resignation last week due to medical concerns. The deadline for the open seat to be on November's general election ballot was Sept. 20, and Farrell's letter of resignation came in on Sept. 22.

There has been tension over how best to fill the seat, as the Cayuga County Republican Committee and the town of Brutus Republican Committee called on the Legislature, in a release sent out early Monday, to hold a special election rather than stick with the precedent of appointing someone.

Batman had said that he did not want to leave the seat vacant until the next election, and was considering potential options for an appointment. Batman and Minority Leader Michael Didio had said last week a special election would not be desirable due to the timing around county budget discussions and the cost.

But Jeff Herrick, chairman for the Cayuga County Republican Committee, said Monday the 4,500 residents of Brutus should be able to elect a replacement, rather than having "a political appointee handpicked by Cayuga County Democrat Committee party bosses." While he understands Didio's perspective from his legislative standpoint, Herrick felt the cost and timing of a special election shouldn't matter more than fair and equal representation.

But the Cayuga County Board of Elections said according to New York Public Officers Law, vacancies are supposed to be filled by an appointment. Since Farrell's resignation came after this year's election deadline, the appointment would serve until next year's election. In November 2017, residents will be able to vote for a new legislator for the remaining two years of the term. The only time a special election could be held is if there was a tie vote for an appointee. Then Gov. Andrew Cuomo would have to call for a special election, setting a date with at least 78 days notice. The board also said the county would not be responsible for the costs of the election, which they estimated to be between $3,500 and $4,000. The costs would be shouldered by the town of Brutus.

When seats have become prematurely vacant in the past, precedent has been an appointment. The town of Brutus has faced this situation before. In 2002, Republicans appointed Ann Petrus to represent the town of Brutus to replace Legislator Earl Lamphere. Current sitting Legislator Tucker Whitman was also a Republican appointment in 2011, replacing former Legislator Christopher Palermo representing the towns of Victory and Sterling.

"Jeff (Herrick) seems misinformed about the history of Cayuga County, as well as the position of his own Republican caucus," Batman said in a phone interview Monday. "If he goes back and looks at the history of filling seats, there have been four or five vacancies in the last 20 years, maybe. Those have always been filled by appointment. The only difference now is the Republicans are in the minority, and now they want to change the rules, and change the process, and change how it's been done."

Herrick said he couldn't speak about what was done in the past. He said Batman and other legislators are not from Brutus, and by not holding a special election, they are undermining democracy.

"I'm speaking about now," he said before the announcement of Kyle's appointment. "The people of Brutus should pick their legislator. There are plenty of people prior to me. I can't speak for other county chairs. I want to see the people of Brutus represented."

Ian Phillips, committee chairman for the Cayuga County Democratic Committee, said Herrick's concerns were politicizing an issue that already seems resolved between the two parties on the Legislature.

"I trust that they're going to try to find someone who can serve Brutus well," Phillips said.

In his announcement Monday evening, Batman said Kyle grew up working on a dairy farm in Weedsport, attending Weedsport High School and later Davidson College. He currently manages several family businesses including KyleCroft Development, which has rehabilitated Auburns Brister Mills building into apartments and recently purchased the HSBC building and Nolan Block, according to Batmans release.

In addition, Kyle serves on several nonprofit boards including Auburn Public Theater, HomSite and the Cayuga Museum. Besides his service, Kyles family has donated 3.5 acres to the town of Brutus to expand Aqueduct Park.

Batman said legislators will hear from Kyle at Tuesday nights Legislature meeting. Hoping to appoint someone sooner rather than later so that the town of Brutus can be represented in county budget discussions, Batman said he is looking forward to the meeting.

His (Kyles) energy, business background, and commitment to the county will serve Weedsport and the Town of Brutus well as we head into difficult budget discussions, Batman said in the release.

Herrick urged Brutus residents to attend the Cayuga County Legislature meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27 in the Sixth Floor Chambers of the Cayuga County Office Building to demand a special election.

It was not clear Monday night if the full Legislature planned to vote on appointing Kyle.
Stepping up its attack on the Narendra Modi government, the Congress on Monday demanded a special session of Parliament to declare Pakistan a terrorist state. Expressing shock that India has failed to deliver meaty blows to Pakistan, the Congress wanted the Centre to impose near absolute economic sanctions against the rogue neighbour.



Extreme situations demand extreme decisions. Remember, aimless policy is not a synonym for strategic restraint, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here.



He wanted the government to demonstrate concrete action against Pakistan, including scaling down of diplomatic presence in Islamabad. The Congress also favoured vehement lobbying with every major power that remotely had a link or provided economic aid to Pakistan.



The Congress party demands that a special one or two-day session of Parliament be called to discuss the security situation and more particularly to declare Pakistan a terrorist state, Singhvi said.




The state government on Monday appointed Vidya, wife of police officer Kallappa Handibag who committed suicide a few months ago, as a sub-registrar on compassionate grounds.





Chief Minister Siddaramaiah handed over the appointment letter to Vidya in Bengaluru.

She is posted as the sub-registrar of Bailhongal in Belagavi district.



Handibag was Deputy Superintendent of Police of Chikkamagaluru sub-division. He committed suicide as he was accused of kidnap and taking Rs 10 lakh ransom.



Investigation into the case is still on.


At least five CRPF jawans were injured in a grenade attack in south Kashmirs Kulgam district on Monday. Reports said that unidentified militants hurled a grenade at CRPF and army men deployed along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in Wanpoh, Kulgam, 75 km from here.



The five CRPF personnel who sustained splinter injuries were shifted to a hospital. Two of them are critical, reports said. Following the attack, security forces cordoned off the area to nab the militants.



A police official said the attack site is sensitive and protests in the area are common. He said the CRPF men were standing beside an army vehicle when the grenade was hurled at them.



In the wake of the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, the army had been deployed to sanitise important highways and roads to ensure smooth vehicular movement. During the first month of the unrest, people used to gather at the highway, linking the Valley with the rest of country, and disrupt traffic. However, since the deployment of the army, vehicular movement along the highway has been smooth.
An elderly woman and her daughter-in-law were found brutally murdered with their throats slit at their house in Vasanthanagar on Monday morning. The victims were identified as Santoshi Bai, 58, and Latha Dinesh, 38, residents of 11th Main Road.Preliminary investigations indicated that people known to the victims family were involved in the double murder, reportedly over a financial matter.





The police said there was no forced entry into the house, which is less than 500 metres from the jurisdictional High Grounds police station. The two were murdered when they were having breakfast, probably between 10.30 and 11 am, DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil told DH. According to the police, Lathas two daughters Meenal, 15, and Prachi, 8, went to school at around 9 am. Santoshis husband, Sampath Raj, and her son Dinesh left for their shop, Mandal Chemicals at Balepet, around 10 am. Lathas youngest son Kush was sleeping on the first floor of the duplex house at the time of incident.



Meenal returned home from school around 11.30 am and found the front door open. She entered the house and saw the bodies of her mother and grandmother on the floor. She screamed and ran out of the house. A police constable on patrol duty, who was sipping tea in front of her house, asked her what was wrong. But Meenal was too shocked to speak, the police said.



The constable rushed into the house and later informed the police about the twin murders, Raghavan, a tea vendor opposite the victims house, said. The family members usually allowed visitors in only after knowing their identity through a window next to the door.



But on Monday, the assailants seem to have had an easy entry. They did not even close the door when they left after committing the murder. Circumstantial evidence gives rise to the suspicion that people known to the family are involved in the murder. The victims throats were slit four times, the DCP said.



Sampath, a native of Rajasthan, had settled in Bengaluru about 40 years ago. A moneylender, he is constructing a five-storey building in the lane next to his house in Vasanthanagar. He had a running dispute with some people who had borrowed money from him. Those who owed him money might have killed his wife and daughter-in-law, the police said.



Sources said Latha had called Sampath after two men arrived at their house for some work. She had also informed her husband Dinesh and even named the two men. Dinesh reportedly told Latha he would speak to them later, the sources added.

Two teams have been formed to arrest the suspects, the police said.


China has evinced interest in taking part in the atomic power projects in India, even as it continues to block New Delhis bid to get a berth in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Chinese companies have rich experience and safe technology in nuclear energy, and would like to take part in Indias civil nuclear energy projects, Liu Jinsong, Chinas acting ambassador to India, said.



His comment came ahead of the China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue, which is likely to be held early next month and will give both sides an opportunity to explore the possibility of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation.



The Chinese interest in the atomic power projects in India has come at a time when New Delhi is trying to persuade Beijing to stop opposing its bid to enter the NSG. China understands Indias wish to develop clean energy, including nuclear energy, to adapt to climate change and contribute to global emission reduction, said Liu, speaking at the Energy Research Centre of the Jawaharlal Nehru University recently.



On June 12, DH had reported that New Delhi has indicated its willingness to start discussions with Beijing on the possibility of an inter-governmental agreement, which would provide a framework for India-China cooperation in the nuclear energy sector.



Chinas nuclear industry is expanding and has started going international with projects in the UK, Romania and Argentina. China has also been building nuclear reactors in Pakistan.



Indias Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to global effort to mitigate climate change would require it to generate 40% power without using fossil fuel by 2030. The Centre has a target to raise installed capacity for nuclear power generation from 5,780 MWe to 63 GWe by 2032.



New Delhi conveyed to Beijing that Indias membership of the NSG would enable it to take part in the process to frame rules for international nuclear trade and would thus provide for a predictable global environment, which would help it implement its plan to substantially raise atomic power generation, sources told DH.



A meeting between the top diplomats of the two countries in New Delhi a fortnight back failed to make any breakthrough as China stuck to its stand that the 48-nation NSG, which controls global nuclear commerce, should admit India only when it opened up its door for future entry of Pakistan and other countries which too did not sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. Russia is already building reactors in India, while the US and French companies are negotiating commercial agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. Canada has started supplying uranium to India and Australia will follow soon.




Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, which were withdrawn on Sunday midnight, will be reimposed in the city on Tuesday, even as the Supreme Court is set to hear the Cauvery case.





The prohibitory orders will be in effect between 6 am and 12 midnight. The city intelligence wing has gathered information about those indulging in violence and attempting to disrupt law and order. In view of this, it has been decided to clamp prohibitory orders to ensure law and order in the city, City Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said.



The police tightened security all across the city. Additional forces have been deployed at railway stations, bus stands, the international airport and other public places. Police had imposed prohibitory orders on September 12.
India on Monday decided not to hold a meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) with Pakistan as long as the neighbouring country does not stop exporting terror.



With New Delhi stepping up pressure on Islamabad in the wake of the Uri attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to review the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT), which set up the Permanent Indus Commission to discuss issues related to the sharing of waters of cross-border rivers and manage implementation of the pact.



New Delhi also decided to speed up hydroelectricity and irrigation projects to reap full advantage of the rights accorded to India by the treaty on the rivers flowing into Pakistan.



The Uri attack triggered calls in the government and political circles to abrogate the bilateral Indus Water Treaty as a strong response to the neighbouring countrys policy of supporting cross-border terrorism. The meeting did not result in any decision on abrogating the treaty, but signalled that New Delhi is toughening its stand.



The sources quoted the prime minister as saying that blood and water cannot flow together. Modi, according to sources, also observed that India could go for the next meeting of the commission only when the atmosphere would be free of terror.



The government decided to constitute an inter-ministerial task force to review how India has utilised its rights over the last 60 years, and also decided to review the voluntary suspension of the Tulbul Navigation Project (Wullar Barrage), effected in 1987, after Islamabad raised objections. The PIC meets at least once a year or as and when either India or Pakistan proposes a meeting. The panel has met 112 times in the last six decades.



In the last meeting held in New Delhi in July, Pakistans commissioner threatened to seek arbitration by an international court if India did not alter the design of the 330 MW Kishanganga hydropower project on the Jhelum and the 850 MW Ratle hydropower project on the Chenab. Pakistan had in 2010 sought international arbitration to resolve the Kishanganga project dispute, but the Court of Arbitration based in The Hague ruled in Indias favour.



Signed on September 9, 1960, the IWT grants control over the three eastern rivers of Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India, while Pakistan has control over the three western rivers of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. India, however, was given the right to use 20% of waters of the western rivers despite being under the control of Pakistan.



Though India can generate as much as 18,600 MW of electricity from the western rivers, it has installed projects with a total capacity of just 3,034 MW. The projects, which are at present in different stages, will have a total capacity of 2,526 MW.




Five men from Manipur were attacked with knives by unknown miscreants in the wee hours of Monday in Austin Town. At 3 am, two Kuki (a tribe in Manipur) men were returning home from work on their bike, when they were stopped by two miscreants.



Rini Ralte, a member of Northeast Solidarity, who rushed to visit the injured at the spot, said that according to information she received, they were waylaid and robbed of their money and bike. They were also attacked with knives, causing injuries to one of them.



He was admitted to St Philomenas Hospital. Another group of Tangkhul (another tribe in Manipur) men who were passing by in a car, noticing the injured duo, came forward to help them. While they were helping the injured, the two miscreants returned and started attacking all five of them.



Rushed to hospital

One of the boys in the car, a software professional who has been living in the city for 10 years, was taken to Apollo Hospital for treatment. Dr Govindraj Yatish, medical superintendent of the hospital said the injuries were of a minor nature.



The injuries included wounds on thighs, neck and ribs. The two men have been discharged from the hospital and are at home. The other men in the group suffered minor injuries, Rini Ralte said. The Ashok Nagar police said that they had not recieved any complaint regarding the incident so far.






Frustrated over his fathers alcohol addiction, a 23-year-old man killed him by smashing his head with a boulder. The incident occurred at Laggere near Peenya, north Bengaluru, late on Sunday night. The suspect, Harish, later surrendered to the jurisdictional Rajagopalanagar police.



Preliminary investigation revealed that Harishs father, Rajanna, was addicted to alcohol and would often beat his wife Nagamma demanding money for his indulgence. On Sunday night, too, he sought money but she refused. He then locked her up in the bathroom. When Harish returned home and found out about what happened, he got angry. He opened the door for his mother and started quarrelling with his father. Rajanna hurled a stone at Harish who ducked but it went on to hit Nagamma on the head.



At this juncture, Harish called his sister for help and both of them gave first aid to Nagamma. But the bleeding didnt stop and they decided to take her to hospital. They sought their fathers help but instead found him asleep outside the house. In a fit of rage, Harish picked a boulder and smashed it on his fathers head, a police officer said.



The siblings later rushed their parents to a hospital where the doctors asked them to take Rajanna to the KC General Hospital. He died on the way. Later in the night, Harish walked into the Rajagopalanagar police station and surrendered. Meanwhile, Nagamma is out of danger. Rajanna and Nagamma were push cart vendors and would sell flowers and vegetables in and around Peenya.




It was a horrifying start to the week for the residents of 11th main road in Vasanthnagar, central Bengaluru, as they woke up to a brutal double murder. Multi-storey residential buildings, shops and a temple are located on this congested lane which abuts the busy Millers Road.



Local residents were visibly shaken after Santoshi Bai and her daughter-in-law Lata were found murdered in their house. We never heard about crimes in the area as the High Grounds police station is close-by. Women and the elderly freely move around till late night as a police patrol vehicle is always stationed near the Jain Hospital. The daylight double murder in the locality is hard to digest, Motilal, a local resident, told DH.



Following the murder, a large number of residents gathered near the house even as relatives kept filing in. My uncle Sampat Raj is known for his philanthropic works in the Jain community. He did not have enmity with anyone. I was shocked when I heard that his wife and daughter-in-law were murdered, a relative said. A senior police officer said that the victims wore jewellery and there was also cash in the house.



The assailants didnt touch the jewellery or the cash. Its certainly not a murder for gain. Lata sustained injuries on the face, which indicates that she resisted the attack. Her one-year-old son Kush, who was sleeping on the first floor, has been spared. The assailants gagged the two women to prevent them from raising an alarm. Its unclear if they deliberately spared the infants life, the officer said.



The police are hunting for a man named Lal and his associate. Lata called up her husband and reportedly told him that Lal had come to the house to discuss something. The police are questioning Latas husband Dinesh and business rival Sampat Raj for more information about Lal. They will obtain the CCTV footage from a few shops on Millers Road for possible leads, the officer said.



Dinesh told the police that the family had moved to the duplex house in 1991. I received a call from an unknown number. It was my daughter. She asked me to come to the house immediately. I sensed something awful had happened, but I didnt even imagine that my mother and wife had been murdered, the police quoted Dinesh as saying.



The officer said that Sampat Raj had business rivalry. We will probe the murder from that angle, too, he added. Besides Dinesh, he has two daughters who are married and settled in Bengaluru.


City

 Joseph A. Smith, 33, 7 Cayuga St., Auburn was charged Sept. 24 with first-degree criminal contempt, third-degree assault, obstruction of breath, first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated with a previous conviction and failure to use an interlock device.

 Matthew R. Swan, 24, 4342 Black St., Scipio Center, was charged Sept. 25 with driving while intoxicated first offense.

County

 Joseph R. Hollar, 50, Auburn, was charged Sept. 16 with operating a motor vehicle with registration suspended.

 Taralyn Colson, 44, Genoa, was charged Sept. 19 with endangering the welfare of a child, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while intoxicated and aggravated driving while intoxicated.

State

 Denise L. Nye, 61, Moravia, was charged Sept. 21 with unlawfully growing cannabis and fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

 Hayden R. Powers, 19, Auburn, was charged Sept. 23 with two counts of third-degree criminal sale of firearms.

 Ryan J. Littlejohn, 22, Aurelius, was charged Sept. 23 with third-degree menacing and criminal mischief.

 Misty B. Simmons, 33, Sterling, was charged Sept. 23 with second-degree forgery.

 Richard L. Gordon, 53, Port Byron, was charged Sept. 24 with second-degree obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest.

 David R. Kerr, 32, Skaneateles, was charged Sept. 23 with second-degree burglary.

 Mark J. Brooks, 27, Auburn, was charged Sept. 24 with aggravated driving while intoxicated.

 Anthony C. Brown, 22, Jordan, was charged Sept. 24 with second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree criminal impersonation and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration.
An IoT-enabled system that helps farmers irrigate their fields with precision and an invisible bus bay system to ease parking in overcrowded areas, developed by city-based entrepreneurs, were two of the 20 innovations that won the first Infy Maker Awards, India.



The awards were announced on Monday by Infosys. Subhajit Biswas, Nithin Raju D and Nitesh Kumar, co-founders of Fermedicius, a start-up, developed the smart irrigation system as a solution to the age-old and unscientific irrigation practices.



The usual practice is to completely fill the field with water as if an overfilled farm correlates with good yield. This is, however, contrary to the belief. There is also no automation. Farmers have to switch on and off power sources for their tube wells manually, said Nitesh.



The system devised by Fermedicius uses images of the soil profile along with ultrasound sensors to measure the correct depth of water and combines it with algorithms so that the system understands whether more or less water is required for irrigation. This system is connected to the mobile phone of the farmer. The team spent time researching at farms in Mandya and have already developed a small scalable mini prototype.



Chetan Prasad, a lifelong inventor, who developed the bus bay system said: This system ensures that buses park at the designated bus stops. A critical problem faced by commuters is that they cannot alight or get into a bus with convenience. Other road users find it a problem when buses park in the middle of the road.



The system has two components - a concrete pole embedded with a microprocessor and a unit mounted on the bus. When the bus approaches, the two units connect with each other and the bus has to stop at a designated spot, he said.



The 20 winning ideas will be awarded Rs 5 lakh each, a trophy and a certificate. The winners were chosen across different categories such as health, energy, education, social change solutions, to name a few. The awards, which were initially launched in the US by the Infosys Foundation USA in 2015, acknowledge individuals with interesting solutions to real-world issues.


Two San Dieguito Union School District board candidates have questioned the practice of a number of teachers placing campaign signs in their cars while parked at school. Candidate Lucile Lynch brought the issue to the boards attention following signs spotted at Earl Warren Middle School. Candidate Randy Berholtz said he feels turning a school parking lot into a campaign battlefield is unethical, and said he may report it to the San Diego Ethics Commission.

Can I park my car in that parking lot and put my campaign poster in the window? Berholtz asked. No, the only people who can are teachers, and in this case teachers are in a union and the union received a favorable contract from the board majority whose signs are in the teachers cars parked on public property that taxpayers pay for.

According to Interim Superintendent Eric Dill, the practice is legal. As soon as Dill heard about campaign signs at Earl Warren on Monday, Sept. 19, he checked with Principal Adam Camacho to ensure there were no signs physically posted at Earl Warren and there wasnt any political activity happening inside a classroom.

In addition to signs in cars at Earl Warren, signs were visible in several cars at San Dieguito High School Academy before the board meeting on Sept. 15, and one sign was spotted in a car in the Torrey Pines High School parking lot on Sept. 22.

From a legal standpoint, this is no different than if the employees had placed bumper stickers on their cars advocating a political position, Dill said. Teachers generally have been permitted for many decades through case law to wear campaign buttons and other articles of clothing of a political nature provided the message does not disrupt the educational environment.

Dill said students also share the same rights.

Employees are not permitted to post flyers or signs in classrooms or on buildings, or otherwise actively engage in political activities during the hours of employment, Dill said. We do, as a practice, remove any political signs that spring up on any of our properties during election seasons. If anyone plants a yard sign along any of our frontage, it doesnt last for very long.

Dills explanation did not satisfy Berholtz.

Regardless of the likely legality of this practice, the issue remains whether the board majority members running for re-election should condone the use of the district staffs use of school property to support their own candidacy, Berholtz said. Clearly the incumbent board members have no problem with it, but Id like to think our schools should be free from this type of political grandstanding for the sake of the students and their parents.

The SDUHSD election features five candidates vying for two spots on the board. Not all of the candidates agree with Berholtzs position.

Im not sure what Mr. Berholtz sees as unethical, said candidate Bob Nascenzi. The First Amendment protects a teachers right to express their opinion on matters of public concern outside the classroom. Mr. Dill is correct in stating that case law protects this right as long as it does not provoke a substantial disruption of school activities.

Candidate Beth Hergesheimer, the current board president, said she was reminded of instances in the past when student publications produced material that some felt crossed a line but was determined to be within their first amendment rights.

In those instances, their instructors, and we as a board, had to permit their free speech rights and choices, Hergesheimer said. Our teachers are aware of, and practicing their rights, and as long as they work within permissible boundaries  not disrupting the educational environment  campaign messages in their cars appear to be allowed.

Candidate Joyce Dalessandro agreed.

While some might disagree with signs that have appeared in the windows of private vehicles in some school parking lots, it happens that it is within the First Amendment rights of the owners of those cars to display them, Dalessandro said. Liking the signs, or not, becomes irrelevant; I certainly wouldnt take a stand in opposition to our Constitutions freedom of expression guarantee.

Only Lynch agreed with Berholtz that the signs were inappropriate. Lynch said she does not believe school parking lots should be used as political arenas and said they should be neutral zones rather than a zone that could create political divide among families and teachers. Lynch said she has advised her supporters not to use school parking lots, but not all have complied.

I do believe allowance of this practice creates an appearance of impropriety, given that the incumbent board members are ultimately in charge of hiring and firing decisions and governance of school properties, Lynch said. As a parent of a child in the district, I would prefer for schools to be a safe haven for learning, not campaigning.
Residents were able to air their concerns about about the proposed development of a senior living facility on Via de la Valle at the Sept. 21 meeting of the Carmel Valley Community Planning Boards regional issues subcommittee.

The Hacienda del Mar project, with independent and assisted living and memory care units, is proposed on the 23.88-acre site next to the polo fields, currently a dirt lot.

Several residents from De la Valle Place across the street, as well as from Polo Place on the hillside above the property, said they are opposed to the overbuilt projects density and complained that they have not been properly notified as the project moves through the citys process.

Bret Bernard, the developer Milan Capitals director of planning and development, said the city does have noticing requirements, but the project is not yet in that stage. They have just completed their second cycle of comments with the city planning department and they hope to resubmit in mid-October. Bernard said they expect the following six months to be spent on a full environmental impact report before the formal review process begins.

Residents off De la Valle Place, like those living in the Coral Canyon neighborhood, live in San Diego County not city and wanted to make sure their voices would be heard in the process.

Milan Capital took over from the previous developers close to three years ago and has been working with the planning board and various residents to help shape the project.

We wanted to plan it from the outside in, not from the inside out, Bernard said.

The previous plan was denser, with 225 units spread out across the entire property in casitas, leaving no view corridors, Bernard said. The new project will have just 38 percent lot coverage, with the development clustered on the eastern side of the property, tucked against the hill with about 150 units in a mixture of one- and two-story buildings. Eleven acres of the site, on the western side closest to El Camino Real, will be left as open space.

The city has requested that the architecture pick up on surrounding neighborhoods. As Bernard said, there is a mixture of Mediterranean, Tuscan, Spanish, modern and ranch around them, so they decided to pull the Tuscan elements from the Gatlin Development building across the street with their design. Preliminary architecture includes stone, archways and earth tones with the massing broken up by angling the buildings and with the use of landscaping and trees.

The project will require about 10 to 12 feet of fill to get the project out of the floodplain several residents expressed concerns about the water as the site fills with water nearly every time it rains. Bernard said they expect to handle water better than it is being handled currently.

For staff and resident parking, Hacienda del Mar plans to be 80 spaces over the citys required parking  as Bernard explained, senior housing has the lowest amounts of trips generated, far less than any other use and additionally less demand at peak traffic hours.

One resident pointed out that it will still generate more traffic than if there were just five estate homes on the property.

Cory Hao, a resident of Polo Place, said the concerns of the seven homeowners associations in the Rancho Del Mar area are all surrounding the environmental review.

Hao said he believes the project is subject to Proposition A, passed in 1985, which states that any development on agriculturally-zoned land is to be very low-density housing or equestrian use. Development any more intensive than that must go to a vote for approval.

Over the past few years, the planning board and the developers have had lots of discussions about Prop A. In 2012, the San Diego Planning Commission weighed in, finding in favor of the developers that a continuing care facility is consistent with an intermediate care facility, a use that was allowed in the zone before 1984 and should be allowed without a vote, only a land development code amendment.

At the time, the planning board disagreed with the finding.

This is something thats bedeviled us for many years, said subcommittee co-chair Anne Harvey. The agricultural zones, the city put them on properties in order to keep it relatively un-urbanized, providing a break in urbanization Open space and agricultural zones dont mean you cant build anything.

Bernard noted that the development is at about 9.94 percent of site coverage, under the Prop A standard of 10 percent, and under what five estate homes would be.

Reviewing the proposed architecture, Carmel Valley Planning Board Chair Frisco White encouraged them to keep an open mind and perhaps pick up inspiration from the river valley so it wont just look like a bigger version of the Gatlin building.

This is a big development, White said. Be creative with that development so we can end up with something that everyone can be proud of.

Another resident said Tuscan is beginning to look very dated, like green shag carpeting. She requested they do something fresher, beachy and lighter like the coastal-modern style.

The developers plan to return to the planning board for review, possibly at the Oct. 27 meeting as the board is dark in November and December.
20 September 2016 (ResponsibleScientists.org)  On 20 September 2016, 375 members of the National Academy of Sciences, including 30 Nobel laureates, published an open letter to draw attention to the serious risks of climate change. The letter warns that the consequences of opting out of the Paris agreement would be severe and long-lasting for our planets climate and for the international credibility of the United States. A full list of signers follows the text of the letter. Members of the media interested in speaking with one of the organizers of the letter should contact responsiblescientists@gmail.com.

Human-caused climate change is not a belief, a hoax, or a conspiracy. It is a physical reality. Fossil fuels powered the Industrial Revolution. But the burning of oil, coal, and gas also caused most of the historical increase in atmospheric levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. This increase in greenhouse gases is changing Earths climate. Our fingerprints on the climate system are visible everywhere. They are seen in warming of the oceans, the land surface, and the lower atmosphere. They are identifiable in sea level rise, altered rainfall patterns, retreat of Arctic sea ice, ocean acidification, and many other aspects of the climate system. Human-caused climate change is not something far removed from our day-to-day experience, affecting only the remote Arctic. It is present here and now, in our own country, in our own states, and in our own communities. During the Presidential primary campaign, claims were made that the Earth is not warming, or that warming is due to purely natural causes outside of human control. Such claims are inconsistent with reality. Others argued that no action is warranted until we have absolute certainty about human impacts on climate. Absolute certainty is unattainable. We are certain beyond a reasonable doubt, however, that the problem of human-caused climate change is real, serious, and immediate, and that this problem poses significant risks: to our ability to thrive and build a better future, to national security, to human health and food production, and to the interconnected web of living systems. The basic science of how greenhouse gases trap heat is clear, and has been for over a century. Ultimately, the strength of that basic science brought the governments of the world to Paris in December 2015. They went to Paris despite pronounced differences in systems of government, in national self-interest, in culpability for past emissions of greenhouse gases, and in vulnerability to future climate change. The leaders of over 190 countries recognized that the problem of human-caused climate change is a danger to present and future citizens of our planet. They made national commitments to address this problem. It was a small but historic and vital first step towards more enlightened stewardship of Earths climate system. From studies of changes in temperature and sea level over the last million years, we know that the climate system has tipping points. Our proximity to these tipping points is uncertain. We know, however, that rapid warming of the planet increases the risk of crossing climatic points of no return, possibly setting in motion large-scale ocean circulation changes, the loss of major ice sheets, and species extinctions. The climatic consequences of exceeding such thresholds are not confined to the next one or two electoral cycles. They have lifetimes of many thousands of years. The political system also has tipping points. Thus it is of great concern that the Republican nominee for President has advocated U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord. A Parexit would send a clear signal to the rest of the world: The United States does not care about the global problem of human-caused climate change. You are on your own. Such a decision would make it far more difficult to develop effective global strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The consequences of opting out of the global community would be severe and long-lasting  for our planets climate and for the international credibility of the United States. The United States can and must be a major player in developing innovative solutions to the problem of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Nations that find innovative ways of decarbonizing energy systems and sequestering CO2 will be the economic leaders of the 21st century. Walking away from Paris makes it less likely that the U.S. will have a global leadership role, politically, economically, or morally. We cannot afford to cross that tipping point. The following signers of this letter do so as individual NAS members and not on behalf of the NAS itself or their Institutions. [signed]
SKANEATELES  Will the Barbara S. Wiles mailboat sail again?

That is the question in the Mid-Lakes Navigation board room of late since the newest addition to its fleet, Spray, fell through. It was on the boat builder's end, which first couldn't deliver on time and then scrapped the production altogether, Mid-Lakes' Sarah Wiles said.

"We are considering our options for next season and beyond, which include keeping and updating the Barbara and also looking for a new vessel," Wiles said in an email. "Because we are still busy, there hasnt been time to do a lot of research yet, but I hope we will soon have a plan. Our contract with the post office is in place for another three years at least."

Before the initial news of the Spray not being built arrived, Skaneateles Historical Society volunteers were invited to take the last cruise of the year on the Barbara S. Wiles Sept. 11  thinking this would be her last tour ever on Skaneateles Lake under Mid-Lakes' flag.

This isn't the real last ride, historical society volunteer Barbara Spain said, adding that people were upset about the Spray being a new boat.

A lot of people didn't think the Spray looked right, Sally Holben said, adding that she was sure the Barbara  being an 80-year-old wooden boat  was quite expensive to maintain.

When Mid-Lakes' Judge Ben Wiles was launched 30 years ago, it was a brand-new boat, but it was built by the Wiles family at its Borodino Boatworks to resemble the former steamboats that toured Skaneateles Lake in years gone by.

This could have been Barbara's last ride, and if so, the members of the historical society were thrilled to be aboard. If not, it was a picture-perfect day for a boat ride on Skaneateles Lake  something locals don't often get around to unless they are entertaining out-of-town guests.

Holben, Spain and Tessi Spearing  all historical society volunteers, all originally from Skaneateles  were all sitting together reminiscing.

Skaneateles is so in your blood that you care, Spearing said.

There used to be cows in the water at Sandy Point, Spain said.

After the second World War, Art Hyatt managed the camp at the country club, which was open to everyone," Holben said. "That's where I learned archery."

The wind was blowing strong out of the south so much that the captain wondered on his way to the village if he would set sail that day. This is Captain Dan Hill's first season with Mid-Lakes after retiring his own boat.

I needed a way to get back on the water, he said.

Mid-Lakes has been a great fit, Hill said, and a real plus is it empowers the captain with the authority to decide if he feels the condition of the boat and the weather are alright to cruise that day.

Hill is also a mechanic for the Homer Central School District, which comes in handy if Mid-Lakes needs him to help with any repairs.

Extremely responsive, easy boat to drive, Hill said. She is very solid for being 80 years old.

They know what they are doing, as it was exactly one hour, Barbara Patrick said.

Patrick is in charge of the historical society's gift shop, which is extensive. She said she is always looking for volunteers to help out.

Every time we have guests, I suggest a Mid-Lakes tour, she said.

Julie DeBagio organized the tour after Patrick suggested they try to take the last cruise on the Barbara S. Wiles.

And what a ride it was, with a light chop producing small, blue-green waves with little white caps that made the turn to cross the lake exciting  especially as the ride on the Barbara is much closer to the water line than many of the passenger locations on the Judge Ben.

The one-hour tour first travels south along the eastern shore and makes the turn around Coon Hill Road to cross over the lake heading for a point between Brook Farm and the state boat launch, then she turns back up the lake North to the village along the western shore.

Walt Blacker and his wife, Pat, who is the former Skaneateles village historian, were on the tour. Walt said this was his first time on the Barbara S. Wiles since 1962 when he took his daughter, Ellen, out for a dinner cruise.

We can never recognize from the water the homes we know so well from the land, except Weitsmans' and Shirley Feldmann's, Pat Blackler said.

Weitsmans' is a newer mansion in a prominent position on several lots on West Lake Street that looks as if it has always been sitting there along the lake shore, while the Feldmann house is a historic home that sits across the street from the lake and is referred to as Cobweb Cottage.

The family has decided to sell this unusual house now that their parents, Bob and Shirley Feldmann, have passed away.

Former historical society president Karlene Miller was aboard with her husband, Bill. The couple are wooden boat enthusiasts.

It's the first time we've been on it, but we have pictures of it delivering mail to our camp, Karlene said. They always have a treat for the dog, too.

Joe and Sue Spalding, who are also quite the boating enthusiasts and active in the historical society, were along for the ride as well.

Nice way to spend the afternoon, Joe said.

Ralph Jergensen agreed, saying the ride more than met his expectation.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by this environment," he said.
Poland, Bytom -- September the 26th, 2016. -- Digital Core Design, an IP Core provider and a System-on-Chip design house from Poland, has introduced the newest IP Core. The DCAN FD IP Core is a configurable CAN Bus controller with Flexible Data-Rate. It conforms to Bosch CAN 2.0B specification (2.0B Active) and CAN FD (flexible data-rate) in accordance to ISO 11898-1:2015. The improved protocol overcomes standard CAN limits: data can be transmitted faster than with 1 Mbps (even up to 8Mbps) and the payload (data field) is up to 64 byte long. When only one node is transmitting, the bit-rate can be increased, because no nodes need to be synchronized.

The DCAN FD is a standalone controller for the Controller Area Network (CAN), widely used in automotive and industrial applications. It conforms to Bosch CAN 2.0B specification (2.0B Active) and CAN FD (flexible data-rate) - in accordance to ISO 11898-1:2015.

Standard CAN requirements become insufficient in modern automotive. The carmakers demand more bandwidth and more throughputs for most CAN-based in-vehicle networks. The DCAN FD IP Core is also a good alternative for non-automotive projects where not the increasing speed is the target. The longer payload (more than 8 byte) becomes crucial then.

The improved protocol overcomes standard CAN limits: data can be transmitted faster than with 1 Mbps (even up to 8 Mbps) and the payload (data field) is up to 64 byte long. When only one node is transmitting, the bit-rate can be increased, because no nodes need to be synchronized. Of course, before the transmission of the ACK slot bit, the nodes need to be re-synchronized.

- The core has a simple CPU interface (8/16/32 bit configurable data width), with small or big endian addressing scheme  explains Tomasz Krzyzak, VCEO in Digital Core Design. Hardware message filtering and 128 byte receive FIFO enable back-to-back message reception, with minimum CPU load. The DCAN FD is described at RTL level, allowing target use in FPGA or ASIC technologies.

More information: http://dcd.pl/ipcore/131/dcan-fd/

Key features:

Designed in accordance to ISO 11898-1:2015

Supports CAN 2.0B and CAN FD frames

and frames Support up to 64 bytes data frames

Flexible data-rates supported

8/16/32-bit CPU slave interface with small or big endianness

Simple interface allows easy connection to CPU

Supports both standard (11-bit identifier) and extended (29 bit identifier) frames

Data rate up to 8 Mbps

Hardware message filtering (dual/single filter)

128 byte receive FIFO and transmit buffer

Overload frame is generated on FIFO overflow

Normal & Listen Only Mode

Transceiver Delay Compensation up to three data bit long

Single Shot transmission

Ability to abort transmission

Readable error counters

Last Error Code

Fully synthesizable

Static synchronous design with positive edge clocking and synchronous reset

No internal tri-states

Scan test ready

Available system interface wrappers: AMBA - APB Bus Altera Avalon Bus Xilinx OPB Bus



Performance:



Click to enlarge

Deliverables:

Source code: VHDL Source Code or/and VERILOG Source Code or/and FPGA Netlist

VHDL /VERILOG test bench environment Active-HDL automatic simulation macros NCSim automatic simulation macros ModelSim automatic simulation macros Tests with reference responses



Technical documentation Installation notes HDL core specification Datasheet

Synthesis scripts

Example application

Technical support IP Core implementation support 3 months maintenance Delivery of the IP Core and documentation up dates, minor and major versions changes Phone & email support.



Information about Digital Core Design:

The company founded in 1999, since the beginning stands in the forefront of the IP Core market. High specialization and profound customer service enabled to introduce more than 70 different architectures. Among them is the worlds fastest 8051 IP Core, the DQ80251, which is more than 75 times faster than the standard solution. The same, D32PRO, which is a royalty-free and fully scalable 32-bit CPU creates new possibilities for modern projects. As an effect, over 300 hundred licensees have been sold to more than 500 companies worldwide. Among them are the biggest enterprises like e.g. Sony, Siemens, General Electric and Toyota. But a lot of DCDs customers are small businesses, R&D laboratories or front/back end offices, which require exact solution tailored to their project needs. Rough estimations say that more than 500 000 000 devices around the globe have been based on Digital Core Designs IP Cores.






THIS Is What Karan Johar Has To Say On Banning Pakistani Artists!
After all three Egyptian operators chose not to acquire a 4G licence due finding the terms unfavourable, the government is debating whether to auction them internationally.

Etisalat, Orange Egypt and Vodafone Egypt all shunned the opportunity to acquire a 4G licence, with only fixed line incumbent Telecom Egypt picking one up for EGP7.08 billion ($797 million). This will allow the operator to move into the mobile market directly as opposed to via a partnership with another provider.

Egypts regulator NTRA is also considering alternative routes to bringing 4G services to the market, and has stated that options will be presented to the board of directors at its next meeting in early October.

Despite the snub by Egypts domestic operators, many international firms  including China Telecom, Lebara KSA, Saudi Telecom Company and Zain  have indicated that they would be keen to obtain an Egyptian 4G licence.

Vodafone Egypt has noted that it would be interested in a licence if the terms are updated to encourage future investment in the development of Egypts mobile industry. It noted that it originally declined the licence as it did not provide adequate spectrum for the operation of 4G services, but added: we want to launch 4G in Egypt as soon as possible Vodafone will work alongside the Egyptian government to try and achieve this.

Operators reportedly also objected to the stipulation that half of the payments for the licences were to be made in US dollars. While the telecoms ministry has stated that the licensing terms will be updated to include more spectrum, they also noted that the payment conditions would remain the same.

A Reuters report noted that Egypt needs hard currency after burning through its foreign exchange reserves as political turmoil hit foreign investment and tourism since a 2011 uprising. The government is looking to raise around EGP22.3 billion from the auctions.
GUO WU YUAN LING [17] 1988.9.27

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in order to properly utilize city and township land, regulate the different proceeds from different grades of land, increase the efficiency of land use and strengthen the administration of land.

Article 2 The units and individuals utilizing land within the area of city, county, township and mining districts shall be taxpayers of the City and Township Land Use Tax (hereinafter referred to as "Land Use Tax"), (hereinafter called "Taxpayers") who are liable to Land Use Tax in accordance with these Regulations.

Article 3 The computation of Land Use Tax shall be based on the amount of area actually occupied by taxpayers and by applying the amount of tax specified.

The measuring of the amount of area occupied as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by the governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government according to practical circumstances.



Article 4 The annual amount of Land Use Tax per square meter is as follows:

A.0. 5-10 Renminbi yuan in large cities;

B. 0. 4-8 Renminbi yuan in medium size cities;

C. 0. 3-6 Renminbi yuan in small cities;

D. 0. 2-4 Renminbi yuan in counties, townships and mining districts.



Article 5 The governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall determine the applicable range of amount of tax for their own jurisdictions within the ranges listed in the preceding Article with respect to the city construction conditions and the extent of economic prosperity.

The municipal and county governments shall , based on practical conditions, classify the land in their jurisdictions into different grades, and formulate the applicable amount of tax in accordance within the range of amount of tax stipulated by the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and then submit it to the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government for approval.

Upon approval by the governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the applicable range of tax amounts in economically backward areas may be appropriately lowered. However, the amount lowered shall not exceed 30% of the minimum amount of tax ^as stipulated in Article 4 of these Regulations. The range of tax amounts in economically developed areas may be appropriately raised upon approval of the Ministry of Finance.



Article 6 The following types of land shall be exempt from Land Use Tax:

A. land occupied by governmental organs, people's organizations and military units for self-use;

B. land occupied by units for self-use, which are financed by the institutional allocation of funds from financial departments of the State;

C. land occupied by religious temples , parks and historic scenic spots;

D. land for public use occupied by Municipal Administration, public squares and greenbelts;

E. land directly utilized for production in the fields of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries;

F. land developed for mountain and river areas and waste land improved upon approval shall be exempt from Land Use Tax from five to ten years starting from the date they are put into operation;

G. land for energy, transportation and water conservancy and other land stipulated by Ministry of Finance for tax exemption.



Article 7 In addition to specifications in Article 6 of these Regulations, Taxpayers who have difficulty in paying Land Use Tax and request periodic tax reductions and exemptions must report to the State Administration of Taxation for approval after examination by the Tax Authorities of Provinces, Autonomous Regions and Municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 8 Land Use Tax shall be computed on an annual basis and paid in installments. The time limit for tax payment shall be determined by the Governments of Provinces, Autonomous Regions or Municipalities directly under People's Governments.

Article 9 Land Use Tax on newly taken-over land shall be levied according to the following rules:

A. Land Use Tax on taken-over farm land shall be levied one full year starting from the date of approval for taking over;

B. Land Use Tax on taken-over nonfarm land shall be levied as of the month following approval for taking over.

Article 10 Land Use Tax shall be collected by the tax department in the region where the land is located. The Land Administration Departments are obliged to provide tax departments the documents related to the ownership of land use rights.

Article 11 The collection and administration of Land Use Tax shall follow the provisions of "The Law of The People's Republic of China on the Administration of Tax Collection".

Article 12 Land Use Tax revenue shall be placed under financial budgetary control.

Article 13 The authority for interpretation of these Regulations is the Ministry of Finance; the measures shall be formulated by Governments of Provinces, Autonomous Regions and Municipalities directly under People's Governments and shall be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for recording.

Article 14 These Regulations shall come into effect as of November 1, 1988, and the measures for land use fees formulated by local Governments shall cease to be implemented at the same time.

BACK






If you have been keenly following developments in the tech sphere, you would have definitely come across the term DDoS. In fact, in one of the largest DDoS attacks ever, cyber criminals recently bombarded renowned security blogger Brian Krebs website - Kerbsonsecurity.com, with a massive 665 gigabits per second of traffic! Now, before we tell you what happened to Brian Kerbs, what security companies have to say about DDoS and how you can prevent such attacks, lets try and understand what DDoS means and how such an attack can affect your life.

What is DDoS?

Imagine you are a shopkeeper and you each day you get hundreds of customers wanting to buy your products. Business is good and you are sitting happy on a pile of money, thinking of ways to scale up your operations, retiring, or just happy counting the cash. Now, imagine that one fine day, a bunch of thugs decide to make your life hell by crowding up your shop to such an extent that your regular customers cannot enter and your business dies a sudden death. That is what happens in a DDoS attack.

Short for Distributed Denial of Service, DDoS attacks are often initiated through multiple sources. Hundred and thousands of unique IP addresses overload and flood a network, or a host, or a web app, or even a device connected to the internet, making it impossible for users to access services or resources of the same.

DDoS Attacks on the rise

According to a recent security report by Akamai Technologies, Q2 2016 saw a whopping 129% year-on-year increase in DDoS attacks. Incidentally Akamai was hosting Krebs website when it was hit by the DDoS attack we mentioned above. The independent security journalist had apparently exposed a DDoS attack-on-demand service called vDOS, making him one of the biggest targets of the attack eventually.

Holy moly. Prolexic reports my site was just hit with the largest DDOS the internet has ever seen. 665 Gbps. Site's still up. #FAIL  briankrebs (@briankrebs) September 21, 2016

What came to Kerbs rescue was Googles Project Shield, a free service designed to fend of DDoS attacks online and protect news sites and freedom of expression.

Now if you thought the attack on Kerbs website was huge, French hosting mammoth, OVH said that it suffered an even bigger DDoS assault with 1100 Gbps of traffic!

Last days, we got lot of huge DDoS. Here, the list of "bigger that 100Gbps" only. You can see the

simultaneous DDoS are close to 1Tbps ! pic.twitter.com/XmlwAU9JZ6  Octave Klaba / Oles (@olesovhcom) September 22, 2016

How are DDoS attacks carried out now?

As we told you before, a DDoS attack uses hundreds and thousands of IP addresses to clog up a network or an online service. Now where do these IP addresses originate? Well, in the latest series of attacks, cyber criminals have been known to use botnets (a huge network of machines and computers infected with malicious software) made up of thousands of IoT devices such as CCTV cameras, IP cameras, DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) and more. These devices are easily hacked into by cyber criminals, who then command them to carry out DDoS attacks. In fact, one of the botnets that targeted OVH was made up of 145, 607 DVRs and cameras.

A recent report by security research firm Symantec notes, cybercriminals are hijacking home networks and everyday consumer connected devices to help carry out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on more profitable targets, usually large companies. To succeed, they need cheap bandwidth and get it by stitching together a large web of consumer devices that are easy to infect because they lack sophisticated security.

More than half of all IoT attacks originate from China and the U.S., based on the location of IP addresses to launch malware attacks. High numbers of attacks are also emanating from Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam. In some cases, IP addresses may be proxies used by attackers to hide their true location. The report goes on to add, As attackers are now highly aware of insufficient IoT security, many pre-program their malware with commonly used and default passwords, allowing them to easily hijack IoT devices. Poor security on many IoT devices makes them easy targets, and often victims may not even know they have been infected.

So there you have it. If you are on the web, have a website, have a blog, a page, a store, IoT devices, or even if you are a consumer of any of the above, watch out for DDoS attacks. Remember, privacy is a myth in this world and knowledge is the only weapon you have to protect yourself.
RBC Capital Markets downgraded recruiter Hays to sector perform from outperform as the stock has performed well and is now near its 140p price target.

It pointed out that the stock has enjoyed a nice bounce and is one of the better-performing staffers year-to-date.

Still, it remained fairly upbeat, saying that although UK trading is expected to be tough, this will likely be offset by Europe and Australia.

RBC reckoned the company will be able to hold earnings before interest, tax and amortisation slightly above last year thanks to a robust picture in Europe and solid momentum in Australia, as well as a significant currency tailwind.

Currency is a major tailwind, with the potential for special dividends now the balance sheet is near the 50m net cash mark, it said.

The Canadian bank said that given macro uncertainty, temp markets are more robust than perms and Hays' mix of geographies and maturities helps provide some resilience.

RBC highlighted the fact the group is now net cash and said it sees significant potential for special dividends going forward.

With year-end net cash at 37m, this provides options and with a clear strategy to return any excess to shareholders (over 50m net cash), Hays can effectively return all its free cash flow yield to investors going forward, meaning an effective all-in yield averaging 6% per annum for the next few years.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs is planning to lay off as much as 30% of its dealmakers in Asia amid falling profits in the region.

Around 90 jobs are thought to be facing cuts as Goldman struggles to improve its equity issuance ranking in Asia.

Having introduced large teams of investment bankers to the likes of Hong Kong in the last 15 years, the New York bank has found it increasingly difficult to compete in a Chinese-dominated area.

The news, which was first reported by Reuters, is likely to hurt jobs in Hong Kong, Singapore and China the most.

In July Goldman said that it would be embarking on a cost-cutting programme whose aim was to save $700m per year during the near future.

Other US banks with operations in Asia have also felt the consequences of a declining Asian market. Morgan Stanley has had to deal with the arrival of an activist shareholder in its Asian operations.

European banks are scaling back too. Barclays, Societe Generale, and BNP Paribas have either already performed cutbacks in Asia or are expected to begin in the near future.

Last month Goldman also pledged to get rid of 15 positions in its New York base, to match the decrease in investment banking activity.
European stocks fell on Monday, with banks under the cosh as Deutsche Bank slid, despite a strong reading on German business confidence.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 finished 1.55% lower, Germanys DAX was off 2.19% and Frances CAC 40 was 1.80% weaker.

In parallel, the Stoxx 600 gauge of lenders' shares retreated 2.28% with an equivalent subindex linked to the Oil&Gas sector down 1.55%.

Deutsche Bank hit its lowest level ever following a report in German magazine Focus over the weekend suggesting the countrys government has ruled out state aid for the lender.

On Friday, MF reported that Italian officials had ruled out financial aid for another troubled European leader, Monte de Paschi di Siena.

Oil prices however registered a sharp bounce, after Algerias energy minister Noureddine Bouterfa said on Sunday that all options for a production cut or freeze at this weeks OPEC meeting were on the table. Bouterfa said: "We will not come out of the meeting empty-handed.

Oil prices had tumbled at the end of last week amid reports that Saudi Arabia was not expecting a deal to be made at the meeting.

West Texas Intermediate was up 3.28% at $45.99 a barrel and Brent crude was 3.21% higher to $47.41.

IGs Chris Beauchamp said: The new week has started with a bang, as the parlous state of Deutsche Bank explodes onto everyones radar once again. The bank has been limping along for months now, but reports that Angela Merkel may not step in to rescue the bank have sent the shares tumbling, dragging banks across the UK and Europe lower as a result.

The gut feeling of most investors is that Berlin would be forced to act to avoid the loss of a key institution, but gut feelings do not always make the best trades. After a strong week for equities it looks like we are in for a swift reversal, as the last week of September lives up to its billing as being a particularly difficult one for stock markets.

The Ifo Institutes German business climate index rose to 109.5 in September from 106.3 the month before, beating expectations for a reading of 106.4.

The current assessment index increased to 114.7 from 112.9, surpassing expectations of 113.0, and reaching its highest level since May 2014.

A sub-index tracking companies expectations was especially robust, jumping from 100.1 in the month before to a reading of 104.5.

Jennifer Mckeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics, said: Septembers rebound in the German Ifo Business Climate Indicator offers hope that the economy remains in good health after the more negative signs from other surveys and hard data.

She added that the index is consistent with a further rise in GDP growth from the second quarters 1.7% to around 2%.

Swiss-Irish food group Aryzta was also lower after the company reported an 8% drop in pre-tax profit for the 12 months to the end of July.

Icap was on the back foot after it said that highly experienced operating director Ken Pigaga has had second thoughts about moving to Tullett Prebon along with a colleague as part of its voice broking acquisition.

Lloyds was under the cosh after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs, while Hays and InterContinental Hotels were hit by downgrades from RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley, respectively. Shire was also in the red as HSBC downgraded the stock to hold from buy.

German specialty chemicals group Lanxess bucked the trend after saying it was buying Chemtura for about $2.12bn in cash.
European stocks fell in early trade, taking their cue from a negative session in Asia as investors eyed this weeks OPEC meeting in Algeria and a debate later in the day between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

At 0840 BST, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 1%, Germanys DAX was off 0.9% and Frances CAC 40 was 1.2% weaker.

Meanwhile, oil prices were a touch higher after Algerias energy minister Noureddine Bouterfa said on Sunday that all options for a production cut or freeze at this weeks OPEC meeting were on the table. Bouterfa said: "We will not come out of the meeting empty-handed.

Oil prices had tumbled at the end of last week amid reports that Saudi Arabia was not expecting a deal to be made the meeting.

West Texas Intermediate was up 0.6% at $44.74 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.5% higher at $46.10.

Rebecca OKeeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, said: European markets have started the week lower, following Asian markets down, despite a slight recovery in oil prices. The rally in markets started to come unstuck on Friday after investors became significantly more bearish about the prospect of any OPEC deal, with short positions escalating sharply. While oil prices have bounced slightly this morning on hopes that Saudi Arabia may be prepared to cut output at a later date, fears are growing that oversupply in the oil market will subdue prices for the foreseeable future.

Possibly the most significant risk event for markets this year, the US election is already compelling and tonight's first televised US Presidential debate is likely to prove must-watch TV. So far, the only markets and sectors to pay much attention to the upcoming election are US healthcare stocks and Mexican assets - but with a little over a month before November's vote, investors need to start trying to establish what the result might mean for markets more widely.

In corporate news, German specialty chemicals group Lanxess rallied after saying it was buying Chemtura for about $2.12bn in cash.

Deutsche Bank was under the cosh, however, following a report in German magazine Focus suggesting that the countrys government has ruled out state aid for the lender.

Swiss-Irish food group Aryzta was also lower after the company reported an 8% drop in pre-tax profit for the 12 months to the end of July.

Icap was on the back foot after it said that highly experienced operating director Ken Pigaga has had second thoughts about moving to Tullett Prebon along with colleagues as part of its voice broking acquisition.

Lloyds was under the cosh after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs, while Hays and InterContinental Hotels were hit by downgrades from RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley, respectively. Shire was also in the red as HSBC downgraded the stock to hold from buy.
Mario Draghi has called on European governments to stimulate growth in the region, saying that the European Central Bank is not capable of shouldering the burden of recovery on its own.

In a statement given to MEPs on Monday, the president of the ECB once again asked for politicians to take on the responsibility of boosting the eurozone economy in the wake of Brexit.

The UK decided to leave the European Union after a referendum in June, and although the financial impact has not been as severe as expected thus far, many euro countries are still struggling.

"Actions by national governments are needed to unleash growth, reduce unemployment and empower individuals, while offering essential protections for the most vulnerable," Draghi said.

"Low rates are a symptom of the underlying economic situation," Draghi said. "Other policy actors need to do their part, pursuing fiscal and structural policies which will contribute to a self-sustaining recovery and increase the economic growth potential of the euro area," he added.

The chief of the ECB also reiterated his stance that Britain would not be allowed to have access to the free market when it eventually makes its exit from the EU.

Some of those who backed Brexit have maintained that the UK will still be able to benefit froma special deal that will allow access.

"Regardless of the type of relationship that emerges between the European Union and the United Kingdom, it is of utmost importance that the integrity of the single market is respected," he told MEPs.

"Any outcome should ensure that all participants are subject to the same rules."
Holiday carrier Monarch Airlines was working to reassure customers and the market that it was fully operational on Monday morning, after widespread speculation over the weekend that it was going over the brink.

The airline - majority owned by secretive City investment firm Greybull Capital - issued a statement saying it was trading well, even though the industry was in a period of difficulty.

Monarchs Twitter account was filled with speculation from customers on Saturday and Sunday, asking it about its financial health, and whether their booked holidays were safe.

The firm said on Monday that it was in good shape, and expected to post more than 40m in underlying earnings for the financial year through October.

Our flights are operating as normal, carrying Monarch passengers as scheduled, the statement read.

"To weather tougher market conditions and to fund its ongoing growth, Monarch expects to announce a significant investment from its stakeholders in the coming days.


Dr. Bernd Matthes

President and General Manager

BorgWarner Transmission Systems

The program we are doing for North American and Asian applications are just in the starting phase. Some of the Dual Clutch Transmissions manufactured in Europe are exported to North America and Asia. The Dual Clutch Transmissions in China, Japan and India are manufactured in Europe. In future, there will be much more balanced portfolio. We will have a very high volume production in North America, and we also will have a substantial volume in the Asian market.

The development and the initial introduction in Europe was driven through mainly two factors: Europe has very stringent emission regulations, and gasoline is expensive, so feel the efficiency and low emissions have been very very important.

The DCT is the automatic transmission technology that delivers best fuel efficiency out of all the automatic transmission technologies, therefore allows us for lowest emissions in the vehicles.

But as governmental regulations on fuel efficiency and emissions are getting tighter every where, the applications of Dual Clutch Transmissions will be growing on a global basis, both in North America and in Asia.



Q: Can you tell us something about your development in the china market? We know BorgWarner are cooperating with SAIC on the new Roewe model, when this car can be put in the market?

A: That's a good question. I don't know when it finally will be in the market. The original schedule for the DCT was to be introduced in 2010. We also have other programs in China which we can not disclose now, but you will see Dual Clutch Transmissions that will be applied in other vehicles.

Q: Is there any possibility that BorgWarner has other DCT program that will be on the market earlier than the SAIC Roewe?

A: There is a possibility. The program actually is very dynamic, so there is a possibility that something can go to the market in 2009. But no promises.

Q: Is there any application limitation for the DCT technology? Can it be used in the small cars and the big cars?

A: There is no limitation for Dual Clutch Transmission from the application point of view. Dual Clutch Transmission can be used in very very small cars, down to 660 cc engines. On the other hand, the most spectacular DCT application today is the production of the Bugatti. But you will also see the production of Dual Clutch Transmissions that will be applied in luxury cars and SUVs in Europe from the year 2008. And we have started working on Dual Clutch Transmissions for commercial truck applications in Asia and North America.

So we can basically apply Dual Clutch Transmissions in every type of vehicle in every combination with engines, which is one of the biggest advantages of the Dual Clutch Transmission, because it does not have any limitations when they come to engines speed, they can work with very low and very high engines speed, it can work very well with very high engine torques.

The CVT or a normal automatic transmission does not work well besides engines speed. The CVT for example, also does not work well in combination with diesel engines or high torque applications.

Q: Is BorgWarner only making dual-clutch module and control, but doesn't make the whole transmission?

A: At this point today, we are manufacturing dual-clutch module and control module, we also in some programs, do the shift actuation module and etc. But we do have the full development capabilities, to complete transmissions, and we do this for our customers, we do the complete transmission development.

Q: But if you do the transmission by yourself, will that affect your relationship with your customers?

A: No, it really depends on the customer, what we are looking into is to find the best solution for BorgWarner and the customer. If the customer has for example investment in place in manual transmissions, that may make sense to do the final assembly of the customer. If the customer would be interested in acquiring a complete transmission, then this might be a possibility, maybe we team up with the customer one day to build that transmission jointly. We are really looking into what is in the best interest about our customers, to find the best solution.

Q: In the Nissan GTR model co-developed by BorgWarner and Nissan, do you only supplied the dual-clutch module for it?

A: No. What we did for the GTR, first of all, the transmission is based on a transmission design that we have developed, a transmission architecture we have developed, and the transmission was in jointly development with Nissan for this application. But we are supplying in that transmission, the clutch module, a complete control and actuation module and etc. The Nissan part is to supply the gears, the shaft, and the transmission case, and the transmission is being assembled at a Nissan factory. So it is a joint effort to bring the Dual Clutch Transmission to a very specific car with the unique requirements.

Q: What do you think of the trend for automatic transmission? Gif has introduced a new CVT. But how do you foresee the trend for transmission technology

A: By now the automatic transmission side majority is planetary automatics, and we foresee for the next years it will remain the majority of the automatic transmissions. The CVT is a transmission that we see for Japanese only. All actives of CVT programs that have been started in the past in North America and Europe are phasing out. On the automatic transmission side, the fast growing automatic transmission is the DCT, because it delivers the best fuel efficiency, had a very competitive price, And it does not have any application limitations like all the other technologies.

Q: What's your plan for your DCT development in the Chinese marketAre you going to manufacture DCT in China?

A: We think so; there will be a lot of DCT applications with customers in China, what we will manufacture at the end in china, still to be seen. But what we are working actively with various Chinese customers on DCT programs. We've announced the SAIC; obviously there are more programs in the market, so we do see China has an excellent application market for DCTs.

Most of Chinese transmission manufacturers have capabilities to produce manual transmissions, and if you combine this capability with our control and clutch technology, then you already have the DCT. The specific Chinese strength on the manual transmission side, and our strength on the clutch and control technology, merge very well for the Chinese market.

In addition, fuel efficiency, emissions and air pollution will play more prominent role in future china too. The DCT is the automatic transmission that delivers the best efficiency and therefore the lowest emissions.




Shares in pub chain JD Wetherspoon were down on Monday morning, after the company announced it was bringing the axe down on the traditional Christmas dinner.

The FTSE 250 firm said turkey and trimmings would come off the menu this December, and be replaced with a Christmas-themed beef burger, turkey pie and a vegetarian Wellington.

It came just a few months after Wetherspoons gave the traditional Sunday roast the chop as well, to much outcry from the chains loyal fans.

Wetherspoons will not be serving a 'traditional dinner' in its pubs, a spokesman told the Sun.

However its pubs will still be serving a range of Christmas meals, all day, every day from November 15 to December 22 inclusive.

A number of high street restaurant operators don't offer a Christmas roast but do offer meals that are Christmas-based and Wetherspoon is taking a similar approach.

But social media users saw the move less favourably, with a storm of complaints on Twitter.

Investors also appeared to consider it a Grinch decision, with shares in JD Wetherspoon down 0.64% at 932.5p at 1152 BST.
Labour would increase the national living wage, which is likely to be above 10 an hour, shadow Chancellor John McDonnell announced as he said he would also bolster HM Revenue and Customs to tackle tax avoidance.

Speaking at the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Monday, McDonnell said one of Labour's "greatest achievements" was the introduction of a national minimum wage as it lifted "millions out of poverty".

"The Tories opposed it, claiming it would cost millions of jobs, but - united in purpose - we won the argument," he said.

"Under the next Labour government, everyone will earn enough to live on. When we win the next election we will write a real Living Wage into law.

"We'll charge a new Living Wage Review Body with the task of setting it at the level needed for a decent life. Independent forecasts suggest that this will be over 10 per hour."

He added: "This will be a fundamental part of our new bargain in the workplace."

At the 2015 budget, former Chancellor George Osbornes announced a new compulsory national living wage.

The current living wage, which came into force in April is 7.20 for workers over 25 years old and is to rise to 9 by 2020.

However Tim Thomas, head of employment and skills policy at EEF, the manufacturers organisation, said he was supportive of the national living wage but Labours proposed increase would be extremely damaging.

Thomas said: Entry level jobs would be wiped out at a stroke and, the impact on costs for employers through maintaining pay at all levels would be so dramatic that its doubtful to see how companies would take on new workers. The impact on job creation and unemployment would be substantial.

EEF estimated that 10 an hour would take the minimum wage to an average of 19,250 per year and with add on costs this would rise to about 23,000 to take on a new employee.

Beefed up HMRC

The shadow chancellor said that the party would set up a tax enforcement unit at HMRC by doubling the number of staff investigating wealthy tax avoidance.

The party would also stop multinational companies, which avoid paying tax in the UK, from gaining public sector contracts.

Government intervention

McDonnell said that the party would be more interventionist and not leave industries such as steel to flounder.

"Be certain the next Labour government will be an interventionist government. We will not stand by like this one has and see our key industries flounder and our future prosperity put at risk."

He added: The winds of globalisation are blowing in a different direction. They are blowing against the belief in the free market and in favour of intervention.

Good business doesnt need no government. Good business needs good government. And the best governments today, right across the world, recognise that they need to support their economies because the way the world works is changing.

McDonnell told Sky News before his speech that a national investment bank would borrow 100bn, which would lever in 150bn more in private finance to invest in infrastructure and employment skills.

However, Dr Adam Marshall, the acting director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said that McDonnell needed to remember that there was both good intervention and bad intervention.

Marshall said: "As the Labour party develops its alternative economic proposals, it must remember that the state cannot control every aspect of economic or business life and stay competitive in a global economy. We need to be making the UK the most attractive place to hire, invest and do business for the future, particularly given the historic transition we now face.

"Achieving the shared goal of a prosperous Britain requires meaningful partnership between business and political parties. Neither should be dictating to the other."

Brexit and the single market

He also said that the Labour party must respect the result of the EU referendum, but it doesnt mean we have to accept what the Tories serve up for our future relationship with Europe.

So we will seek to preserve access to the single market for goods and services. Today, access to the single market requires freedom of movement of labour. But we will address the concerns that people have raised in the undercutting of wages and conditions, and the pressure on local public services.
Russia's involvement in Syrian army offensives in the city of Aleppo has come under increased scrutiny from the United Nations, which has described the actions as "war crimes".

An urgent meeting was held yesterday at the request of Britain, the US and France, as Syria's biggest city struggles to cope with its worst siege of the lengthy conflict.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault was one of those who called on Russia and Iran to use their influence to call a halt to violence.

"I am calling on Russia and Iran to pull themselves together and show responsibility, by putting a stop to this strategy," Ayrault said. "If not, Russia and Iran will be accomplices in war crimes committed in Aleppo."

Britain's UN ambassador Matthew Rycroft added that Russia had a responsibility to act.

"Aleppo is burning," he said "And to cap it all, water supplies, so vital to millions, are now being targeted, depriving water to those most in need. In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes."

Over 200 civilians are thought to have died in the five-day pummeling of rebel-held areas of Aleppo, with a quarter of a million people trapped in the region.

A ceasefire in the conflict that provided hope that the US and Russia could come to an agreement was broken last week.

On Sunday, British foreign minister Boris Johnson also accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of being directly involved in the war.

"Putin's regime is not just handing Assad the revolver; he is in some instances firing the revolver. The Russians themselves are actually engaged."
London listed Green Dragon Gas , a producer of coalbed methane gas in China, reported that its Baotian-Qingshan block in the Guizhou province has moved to development status.

The block in southern China, where Green Dragon Gas acts as operator with a 60% interest with the remainder owned by PetroChina, is expected to gain an approval through a report on the block from the Ministry of Land Resources, which is precursor for the approval of the companys overall development plan, in 2017.

In the exploration phase for the block, which is the companys third, the company drilled 33 wells, which covers seven of the prospective seams.

Nine of the wells are currently connected to power and undergoing dewatering or producing gas, and of these, four wells have established commercial gas rates in accordance with the Ministry of Lands guidelines.

Gas companies Sinopec and Chevron have found shale gas in the Guizhou province and if they can be found to be commercially viable they could indicate the potential for shale exploitation within the Baotian-Qingshan block and the company said exploration results so far had been encouraging.

The coalfield is close to both the China Myanmar Oil & Gas pipeline and the Guizhou Natural Gas pipeline both of which could be used to transport gas from the block to users.

Chairman and founder Randeep Grewal, said: "The Baotian-Qingshan block has progressed from an exploration block into our development portfolio. The block is an exciting prospect as it contains multiple prospective coal seams and is located in southern China, which has historically been short on gas production.

Realising the potential of the Baotian-Qingshan block is an exciting objective for the group in the medium term and one that I believe will achieve our dual aims of actively participating in the gas and clean energy revolution in China while providing strong returns to shareholders.

Shares in Green Dragon Gas were down 4.35% to 220p at 1602 BST.
For the first time ever Mercedes launched three new SUVs onto the Italian market at the same time. To introduce them the car maker created a digital live event that combines two innovations which enabled the first interactive treasure hunt on Periscope. The first interactive treasure hunt made for Periscope allowed the fans piloting a []

For the first time ever Mercedes launched three new SUVs onto the Italian market at the same time. To introduce them the car maker created a digital live event that combines two innovations which enabled the first interactive treasure hunt on Periscope.





The first interactive treasure hunt made for Periscope allowed the fans piloting a drone looking for a Mercedes GLE Coupe hidden under the sky of Monza.

The first contest ever made in partnership with the Twitter reached 7.5 million people, with more than 1.5 million on social interactions and as many views of your video products.

Thanks to #FindTheSuv, the first treasure hunt ever built on Periscope in partnership with Twitter, we once again gave voice to our fans  said Cesare Salvini, Marketing Director Mercedes-Benz Cars in Italy -. The search for a Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe hidden under the sky Monza confirmed our leading role in the development of innovative projects .

The campaign was created by agency Roncaglia Group.

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Blue Jackets goalie Merzlikins, family threatened verbally

Aleksandra Merzlikins, the wife of the Blue Jackets goalie, has posted online about verbal abuse and threats directed at her family by fans.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Carol Jones knows what she wants to hear Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump discuss during their first televised debate: education and jobs. She's far from sure which candidate will earn her vote on Election Day.

"All we see is the cat fighting," says the Shirley, Arkansas, retired substitute teacher. At Monday's debate, the 70-year-old says, "they need to talk about their programs ... but I don't think they will."

A majority of Americans, like Jones, say they're frustrated, angry  or both  with the 2016 presidential election, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Most Americans aren't feeling proud or hopeful about the race, and half feel helpless, the results find. Majorities of Americans want more focus on issues that are important to them, starting with health care, Social Security, education, terrorism and homeland security.

Apathy isn't the problem, the survey found. Eighty-six percent of Americans are paying at least some attention to the race.

The campaign is certainly hard to miss. Trump and Clinton are the two least popular presidential candidates in history, and their ferocious battle is smashing precedents and dominating public discourse.

Trump has built his campaign in large part on attention-getting and frequently untrue  accusations, such as that his opponent "is the devil" and President Barack Obama "founded" the Islamic State group. But he's found success linking the nation's immigration woes to its national security concerns, the latter of which is rated by Americans as among the top issues facing the country.

Clinton is a former senator and secretary of state who is an avowed foreign and domestic policy wonk. She has tried to make the election, in part, a referendum on Trump's fitness for office. Her recent stumble during an abrupt exit from this year's 9/11 memorial ceremony, captured on video, added to the reality-show quality of the election. Her campaign disclosed that she'd been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Clinton and Trump have clear political and stylistic objectives during their first debate Monday, the first of three such showdowns certain to influence the race in its final six weeks. For both, it's about rattling the other candidate  and not being baited into a less-than-presidential performance. Trump is looking to shore up his credibility with moderate white voters, particularly women, after more than a year of remarks that appeared intolerant or bigoted. Clinton is trying to appeal to young Americans, who are unenthusiastic about her candidacy.

Issues? Jones suggests the candidates owe more on that front it to potential voters who don't have access to the internet or the time she has to hunt down their policy positions.

"I went looking on the internet for (Clinton's) position on free (college) education, and it was hard, but I finally found it," says the lifelong Democrat, who isn't sold on Clinton because she doesn't trust her, or husband Bill, the former president and governor of Jones' state. "They need to talk about their programs on this, this and that."

Whether the candidates ever get to informative discussions of their policy positions and their professional qualifications is unclear. But the demand is there.

The survey found that nearly two-thirds of Americans say the campaign focuses too little on the issues that matter to them personally. More than 6 in 10 Americans of both parties agree. A bit more than half say there's been too little focus on the candidates' qualifications, with Democrats being more likely than Republicans to feel that way, 61 percent to 45 percent. And more than half of Americans in the survey said the campaign is focused too much on the personal characteristics of the candidates, with Republicans and Democrats about equally likely to feel that way.

The issues Americans care most about? Health care comes in first, with 81 percent listing that as very or extremely important, while similarly high percentages said the same about Social Security, education, terrorism and homeland security. The next most-cited issues: crime and economic growth, which three-quarters of respondents listed as at least very important. Similar majorities cited poverty and taxes. Ranking lower, according to the findings: immigration, with just 61 percent listing the issue as very or extremely important to them.

There's bipartisan agreement on the importance of some issues. Nearly identical percentages of Democrats and Republicans call crime and unemployment top issues. At least three-quarters from both parties call Social Security very important.

On many other issues, their priorities diverge: Democrats are particularly likely to call health care and poverty top issues, while Republicans are particularly likely to rank terrorism, taxes, debt and foreign policy as very important. About 7 in 10 Democrats but less than half of Republicans named as top issues call gun control and income inequality. Three-quarters of Democrats, but only about a third of Republicans, say the same about racism, the environment and climate change.

Republicans are far more likely to name international trade agreements as a very or extremely important issue. And 7 in 10 Republicans, but only about half of Democrats, call immigration a top priority. Among Americans with a favorable opinion of Trump, nearly 8 in 10 say so.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,022 adults was conducted Sept. 15-18 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.

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On Twitter, follow at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman and Swanson at http://www.twitter.com/El_Swan

___

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Oregon's pension problem beyond crisis'

An extraordinarily candid meeting recently provided a peek behind the financial charade taking place not only in Oregon's pension system, but also in systems across the country.



By TED SICKINGER

The Oregonian/OregonLive

PORTLAND  Just how bad is Oregon's public pension funding crisis? Bad enough that Rukaiyah Adams, the normally polished investment professional who is vice chair of the Oregon Investment Council, broke down in tears recently as she spoke of passing a record $22 billion in unfunded promises to future taxpayers.



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Mexico's Coca-Cola Femsa to buy Brazilian Coke bottler Vonpar for $1.08 bn

Mexican soft-drink bottler Coca-Cola Femsa SAB struck a deal to buy Brazilian Coke bottler Vonpar, for around 3.5 billion Brazilian reals ($1.08 billion), in order to expand in Latin America's biggest economy.

Coca-Cola Femsa, the world's largest public bottler of Coca-Cola products by volume, said that the acquisition will be carried out by its Brazilian unit Spal Industria Brasileira de Bebidas SA through a combination of $537 million in cash, $22 million in debt assumption, $214 million in new share issuance, and $339 million in a convertible promissory note issuance.

Femsa expects synergies of $20 million in the next 18-24 months through streamlining and reconfiguring logistics, manufacturing and administration.

The deal will be Femsa's third and biggest acquisition in Brazil in three years, after it acquired Spaipa and Fluminens.

Founded in 1948, Vonpar produces and distributes Laranjinha, a local brand of soft drinks in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It started distributing Coca-Cola products in 1956 and currently operates 3 bottling facilities and 5 distribution centres, with close to 4,000 employees serving 15.4 million consumers.

Vonpar produces and distributes Coca-Cola, Fanta, Kuat, Del Valle, and other trademark beverages of The Coca-Cola Company in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.



The merger will give Femsa around 88 million consumers or 43 per cent of Brazil's population and 54 per cent of its GDP.

The transaction will increase Femsa's volume in Brazil by 25 per cent, allowing it to reach 49 per cent of the Coca-Cola system's volume in the country.

Femsa produces and distributes Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Del Valle, and other trademark beverages of the Coca-Cola Company in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Philippines, along with bottled water, juices, teas, isotonics, beer, and other beverages in some of these countries.

It has 63 bottling facilities and serves more than 358 million consumers through 2,800,000 retailers and has more than 100,000 employees worldwide.

"We are excited to continue consolidating our leadership position in Brazil. We are confident that Vonpar's talented group of professionals, and their track record of performance, coupled with their social and environmental commitment, will positively impact our combined operations going forward," said John Santa Maria, CEO of Femsa.


The New York Times on Sunday endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, saying her intelligence, record of public service and other strengths qualify her for the White House.

In an editorial, the influential newspaper expectedly threw its weight behind Clinton and dismissed Donald Trump as "the worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history".

But Americans should not vote for the Democrat Clinton simply because the alternative is Trump, the paper argued.

Trump "discloses nothing concrete about himself or his plans while promising the moon and offering the stars on layaway", it said.

Rather, the report said, the best case for voting for Clinton is to consider the challenges the United States faces at home and abroad and what it called Clinton's capacity to rise to them.

The editorial was published two days before a critical moment in the campaign - the first TV debate pitting Clinton against Trump.

The Times said it also wanted to persuade people reluctant of voting for her - Republicans who cannot stomach a Democrat, or voters who don't want another Clinton in power or a candidate they do not see as representing change.

Today's world is fraught with war, terrorism, "bigoted, tribalist movements" and the pressures of globalisation, among other problems, the Times argued.

And at home, middle class Americans are furious with government leaders they accuse of doing nothing to help them address the toll of recession, war, competition from abroad and technological change.

"Over 40 years in public life, Hillary Clinton has studied these forces and weighed responses to these problems," the editorial said.

The newspaper acknowledged Clinton had weaknesses, including policy flip-flops that could make her look opportunistic.

And of the controversy surrounding Clinton's use of a private email server while working as secretary of state, the paper said this reflected "a lamentable penchant for secrecy".

But that "poor decision" has been duly scrutinised and Americans should move on, and given the challenges they face and Clinton's record, "the country should put her to work".
October is National Bullying Prevention month. We have all heard the phrase bullying, but what does it actually mean? Bullying is defined as unwanted aggressive behavior; observed or perceived power imbalance; repetition of behaviors or high likelihood of repetition.

Bullying is unfortunately a reality for far too many in our communities both young and old. Much like any other form of violence, bullying is not isolated to any particular age group, gender or demography. Just about everyone of us can look back in our lives and recall a time where either we were personally bullied or witnessed one of our friends or schoolmates being bullied. Its hard to believe that with all of the advancements and awareness, this type of behavior still exists, but it does and with the advent of social media, it had actually gotten much worse. This is because unlike in the past, the bully not only impacts your life on the playground or classroom; they now are able to follow you into your personal life due to the constant presence of social media.

There is good news in that we have learned a great deal about what creates these bullies and how to neutralize their ability to isolate and intimidate. The key is for those in authority to respond to reports of bullying immediately to show without question that bullying will not be acceptable. That message needs to follow to our homes with the messages we send our children not only by what we say but by our own actions in how we treat fellow adults. Bullying is without question a learned behavior. It is learned on the playground, in the classroom and follows through to the workplace and social interactions as adults. We need to send a strong message to our own children, a message of empathy and compassion not of ridicule and rumor.

Who are at risk of bullying the most? Typically those who are bullied have one or more of the following risks:

Are perceived as different from their peers, such as being overweight or underweight, wearing glasses or different clothing, being new to a school, or being unable to afford what kids consider cool

Are perceived as weak or unable to defend themselves

Are depressed, anxious, or have low self esteem

Are less popular than others and have few friends

Do not get along well with others, seen as annoying or provoking, or antagonize others for attention

However, even if a child has these risk factors, it doesnt mean that they will be bullied. The important lesson is that we as adults set the tone for how the next generation will interact with each other. Chances are if we show acceptance of others, our children will show acceptance of others. If we engage in demeaning others or spreading rumors, our children will follow suit. So often we as adults underestimate the influence, we have not only on our own children but even those who dont know us but witness our behavior.

While school or workplace policies are an important component, the only way to truly decrease bullying is by denying the bully their victim. We do this by raising strong, confident, resilient children, and speaking out and supporting those who find themselves on the receiving end of this type of behavior. We are all teachers in life lessons and we teach by our actions. Lets all be aware of what we teach.
Home Four wheelers Tata Motors Did Not Seek Land At Singur For The Nano Project oi-Kennedy Paul

The Tata Nano car plant was supposed to be operated at the Singur plant in West Bengal; however, it had to be moved to Gujarat post protests from farmers in the region. Senior West Bengal minister Partha Chattopadhyay said Tata Motors was allotted land at Singur even though the company had sought land in Kharagpur.

Partha Chattopadhyay said that his government wanted the Nano to be rolled out from West Bengal, but wanted it come up on a land earmarked for industry and not on multi-crop agricultural land. He said, when he became the minister, he found out through official files that Tata Motors had desired land at Kharagpur and not Singur for the Nano project.

On August 2016, the Supreme Court had struck down the land allotment at Singur and asked for the land to be returned to the cultivators. With intense and often violent protests at the Singur plant which demanded the return of 400 acres of land to the farmers. Tata Motors announced on October 3, 2016, that it will move the project to Sanand plant in Gujarat.
Home Two wheelers Honda Tapukara Workers Enter Seventh Day On Hunger Strike oi-Ajinkya

The unrest at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India's facility in Tapukara continues. An indefinite hunger strike has been issued by workers at Tapukara facility. Now, five workers have entered the seventh day of their hunger strike with no end in sight.

Unrest at Tapukara facility began when five employees attempting to form a Union were terminated from their services. These five employees have been on an indefinite hunger strike. The workers want to form a Union so that there is some sort of job security.

During February 2016, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India laid off 3,000 employees at Tapukara. A petition has been filed in August 2016, to form a Union for workers at Tapukara facility. Recently, other workers from the facility have also joined the hunger strike in defiance.

At this moment, it is unclear if Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India would bend backwards. Stay tuned for more updates and news from the hunger strike to form a Union at Tapukara facility unfolds.

Via ET


On 23 September the Jing Nan wetland park in Deyang, China, opened its doors to the public.

The 3-hectare park combines a recreational wetland park, an artificial groundwater recharge facility, and a drinking water production plant.

Design, development and realization of the multipurpose park was provided by a consortium of Chinese and Dutch public and private organisations.

Aerial view of Jing Nan wetland park in Deyang, China, next to the Mianyuan river.

Pre-treatment of river water

Every day 3 million liters water is pumped from the nearby Mianyuan river is pumped into the park for pre-treatment. The water percolates through a specially designed infiltration zone that forms a natural barrier for bacteria and viruses.

The pre-treated water is then transported for post-treatment to the nearby city's drinking water supply station.

This system builds on the experiences of the water utility Waternet of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, that draws two third of its water from the Rhine river.

Removal of pathogens

Since the 1950's Dutch water utility Waternet uses the nearby dunes along the Dutch coast, to infiltrate the river water as a pre-treatment for drinking water for the city of Amsterdam.

Today Waternet infiltrates 65 million m3 per year in a system of ponds in the dunes that have been designed in such a way that the river water has a minimum travel time of 60 days to remove pathogens.

During its stay underground also organic micro-compounds are broken down.

Growing water demand

In the city of Deyang, China, the water supply system can't meet the city's rapidly growing water demand. Deyang is not the only city with this problem. Currently, two-thirds of all Chinese cities don't have sufficient water the whole year round.

On top of that cities suffer from severe water pollution caused by rapid development.

Multifunctional design

The artificial groundwater discharge system in Deyang has been integrated in the design of a wetland and a park.

A Chinese landscape design company was hired to make an engineering design of the integrated wetland park with pilot components.

Main components of the construction are: pumping house for Mianyuan river water intake, dosage system, coagulation ponds, sedimentation basin, sludge processing room, wetlands, infiltration ponds, pumping wells, observation wells, and a visitor centre.

Kees van der Lugt of Waternet (top middle) and his colleagues in Deyang discussing the design of the artificial groundwater discharge system.

The whole water system, from intake to effluent, is constantly monitored by a series of automated instruments on parameters including EC, turbidity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen.

The system can be switched off whenever the water quality doesnt meet the standard. Furthermore, water levels in Mianyuan river, recharge ponds, and six observation wells are continuously monitored. These data are important to understand the dynamics of the water system and can be used to optimise the operation of the system.

Partners

The Chinese participants are Deyang Department of housing, urban & rural planning and construction, Deyang Department of water affairs, Deyang water supply company and Chengdu University of technology.

The Dutch participants include water utilities World Waternet, Unesco-IHE Institute for water education and private parties MetaMeta (groundwater) and Eijkelkamp (monitoring).

The project was funded by the Partners for Water programme of the Dutch government and by the municipality of Deyang.

Read also on this website

 SIWW 2016: Waternet Amsterdam and PUB Singapore enter into a partnership for knowledge sharing, 12 July 2016

 Arcadis and KWR develop investment decision tool for six fresh groundwater pilots worldwide, 8 January 2016

 Eijkelkamp installs groundwater monitoring network along Hutuo river, China, 15 September 2015

 Agreement with NHRI gears up joint Sino-Dutch research on integrated water management, 2 June 2015

 Country: China



More information

World Waternet

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

+31 900 1824

www.worldwaternet.com

Unesco-IHE institute for water education

Delft, the Netherlands

+3115 212 29 21

www.unesco-ihe.org

MetMeta

's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands

+31 73 62 38 206

www.metameta.nl

and

www.groundwatermanagement.org



Eijkelkamp Soil & Water

Giesbeek, the Netherlands

+ 31 313 880 200

www.eijkelkamp.com

Report by Deyang broadcasting news on Jing Nan wetland park (in Chinese, with Dutch subtitles only).


In 2015, millennials became the biggest cohort in the Australian workforce [i], signalling a major shift in the way small businesses engage staff. This highly connected, constantly switched-on generation expect instant access to technology which is forcing businesses to rethink the way they work. Offering more flexible work environments will be key to attracting and retaining the best millennial talent.

Globally, society is hurtling towards mass connectivity and this will continue to have a profound impact on work. Today, more than 48% of the global population has internet coverage, and by 2019 it is estimated that 71% will be using it [ii]. This increase in internet usage will see data continue to grow exponentially as more people and devices connect.

The rate of digital media consumption is also revolutionising the way small businesses interact with their staff and customers . Since the iPhone was launched in 2007, the amount of time spent consuming digital content has doubled every year. Consumers access 51 per cent of content via mobile devices and social media is now a go-to source for news[iii].

Unlike the generations before them, the millennial workforce has distinctly different expectations of how, when and where they work.

Historically, staff have had to come into work to access their emails and office technology. Now, company information can be securely accessed outside the office walls. Estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also show that the largest population growth in the country is in the outer suburbs (which are home to more than four million people and growing at double the national rate) [iv]. The daily commute and cost of travel will therefore become harder to justify if work can be productively and efficiently completed remotely.

For small business, providing a compelling reason for staff to come into work will be key to winning the recruitment war for the best talent. This means providing a work environment where employees can undertake independent tasks by working from home or the third space  a cafe, restaurant or communal space that allows people to work outside the traditional office setting.

Rethinking the traditional office environment and introducing creative and connected workspaces for team-based and collaborate activities will entice staff to come into work for social interaction and to collaborate and new ideas.

Reliable, secure and smart workplace technologies sit at the heart of dynamic, future-focused workplaces. Moving away from paper-based and fixed location processes provides employees with access to information as remote and mobile workforces grow, and affords visibility over operations. It also delivers cost savings by reducing error, improving turn-around times and using less paper.

Introducing smart audio visual technology can enable small businesses to build an efficient and cost-effective remote and flexible workforce without compromising productivity. It means moving beyond PowerPoint presentations, awkward phone dial-in meetings, expensive travel and real estate premiums associated with having big office spaces. It can transform meeting rooms into collaboration spaces, allowing staff to draw, create, capture thoughts and work together in real-time, regardless of where employees are located.

However, smart workplace technology will not work in isolation. Strong leadership, a cultural shift and supporting internal policy is essential for creating a flexible workplace. Quality and consistency is also key to success  in order for staff on the other end of a video meeting to feel included in the collaboration process, they will be able to participate as an equal. This means being able to see and hear clearly, and ensuring the technology works seamlessly every time.

Unlike large organisations, which may be limited by complex IT infrastructure and layers of bureaucracy, small businesses can respond quickly and introduce agile and flexible work environments, ultimately putting them ahead of much larger competitors in attracting and retaining the millennial workforce of the future.

About the author

Alan Burt is the Chief Technology Officer at Ricoh Australia. He is passionate about the future of workplace collaboration and has helped businesses create efficient and future-focussed technology environments for more than 20 years. You can view his LinkedIn profile here.

References

[i] Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, April 2015

[ii] Source: internetsociety.org, 2015 Global Internet Report

[iii] Source: eMarketer, September 2014 (2008-2010), eMarketer, April 2015 (2011-2015)

[iv] Source: National Growth Areas Alliance, Largest growth is in the outer surbubs, 2 April 2015, http://www.ngaa.org.au/media/1116/largest_growth_in_the_country_is_in_the_outer_suburbs.pdf
A bloody Civil War battle fought more than 150 years ago at Snodgrass Hill in Georgia was reenacted at the Pawnee City Historical Society and Museum on Sunday.

Fake blood was not part of the scene when an emulated Union or Confederate soldier tumbled to the ground, pretending to be shot by the other, but it did color cloths at the medical wagon where simulated care was administered.

The Civil War reenactors, who form the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry go to great lengths to make accurate not only the battle scene  the Battle of Chickamauga in this case  but also their attire, weapons and campsites that were set up around the museum through the weekend.

The event was part of Living History Days, an event which members of the museums board of directors said is the major fundraiser for the center. The weekend of activities included live music, a guest speaker, old-time games and historical demonstrations of skills, such as rug making, basket weaving and butter making.

Clad in blue uniforms, hats, canteens, rifles and other garb, the portrayed Union soldiers (the Army of the Cumberland) marched onto the battlefield, followed by drummer and a young man towing an American flag.

On the other side, past two sets of bleachers of audience members, men posing as Confederate soldiers (Confederate Army of Tennessee), wore attire true to the 1860s. Using gunpowder but no bullets, the two sides fired at each other through their rifles and canons.

This was my first time participating, said R.J. Hickey, a member of the museums board of directors who is considering joining First Nebraska. I enjoyed it. I felt a little bit nervous...that Id goof up and stick out.

Calvin Rieber said he started co-impersonating Civil War battles in 2009.

It feels like youre back in the Civil War, Rieber said of his experience on the field. I do it to preserve history -- to show the battles and what they (soldiers) did, how they fought and how they lived.

Rieber said it takes less than an hour for a new member to be trained in the craft and that membership fees are $40 annually, but initial equipment can be costly. A rifle may cost a member $300-$800, depending on whether the weapon is new or used, he said.

Tyler J. Howard has participated in the group for 21 years. He said the group of about 48 performs various Civil War battles all over the Midwest, about once per month throughout each year.

For information on how to portray the battles as accurately as possible, Howard said the Authenticity Committee references the books This Terrible Sound by Peter Cozzen and The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote.

Howard quoted Foote in answering why its important for the modern world to understand the Civil War.

It was the crossroads of our (nations) being, and it was a hell of a crossroads. We had to make big decisions. We need to explain that to the young, Howard said.

Howard said its important for the country to look back at its experiences, including the bad ones, in order to learn.

First Nebraska is always looking for more members. To learn more, visit their website, FirstNebraskaInfantry.org.
This Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary since Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged that the drinking water in Flint, Michigan had been poisoned with lead. (NOTE: That will be Day 366 on the Eclectablog Flint Water Crisis Watch counter because 2016 is a Leap Year.)

In reality, Flint residents havent had safely drinkable tap water for nearly two years. It took Snyder over a year to respond. And to say that there has been a response is generous. To date, very few lead service lines in Flint have been replaced and most of those had nothing to do with the Snyder administrations efforts. To compound the problem, the Republican-led Congress has completely punted on funding to help the beleaguered city.

Last week, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a vote of 95-3. This legislation has $270 million in funding for Flint in it. However, the House version of the bill has exactly zero dollars for Flint.

To make matters worse, a continuing resolution put forth on Friday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to keep the government open through the rest of the year has no funding for Flint either. It does, however, have half a billion dollars in disaster relief for Louisiana to deal with recent massive flooding.

Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee was livid:

It sends a pretty strong message, Kildee said. What is it about Flint that distinguishes it from these other places that rightfully qualify for help? I support helping the people of Louisiana. I am all in. What I cannot accept is a bunch of excuses, a bunch of irrelevant excuses that again leave Flint behind. It is a poor community. It is a majority African American community. It is very difficult to believe that if the conditions in Flint had occurred in a much more affluent community.  I have no doubt in my mind that the response would have been different.

Rep. Kildee also released this statement:

Today Republicans introduced a bill that would fund the government for two and a half months, but it fails to include any aid for my hometown of Flint, Michigan. This is simply unacceptable. The people of Flint have been unable to drink their water for over two years. It is time for Congress to turn words in action. Many Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, have traveled to Flint and have expressed that they wish there was something they could do to help these folks. While sympathy expresses sentiment, it doesnt provide clean drinking water for the people of my hometown. Republicans have a chance to act and need to include aid for Flint in the upcoming continuing resolution.

Its possible that Flint funding will be added when the WRDA goes to the conference committee to hash out the final language of the bill. But it shouldnt need to be added. House Republicans should have included it from the start. Flint residents have already waited too long.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are insistent that they will not support the continuing resolution unless Flint aid is included, a gambit that could shut down the federal government. And, if youre going to take that draconian step, there are few issues more worthy of doing it over than helping out Flint.

In other Flint news, the Deputy Chief Investigator on Attorney General Bill Schuettes Flint Water Investigative Team, Ellis Stafford, was arrested over the weekend on a drink driving charge and has resigned.

Its just another bit of scandal in a very long line of scandals associated with the Flint water crisis and a disgusting metaphor for the entire debacle.
Unknown attackers have been testing the defenses of companies that run critical parts of the Internet, possibly to figure out how to take them down, cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier warned Tuesday.

Large nation states  perhaps China or Russia  are the likely culprits, he suggested.

Nation state actors are going to probe to find weaknesses in all of our technologies, said Travis Smith, senior security research engineer at Tripwire.

They want to know what can be done not only in the event of a cyberwar but a kinetic war as well, he told TechNewsWorld.

The Growing DDoS Threat

The easiest way to take a network off the Internet is with a distributed denial of service attack, Schneier said, and some of the targeted companies recently have been hit with DDoS attacks that are significantly larger, longer lasting, and more sophisticated than before.

The attacks typically ramp up to a particular level then stop. They resume at that higher level and then continue ramping up, as if the attackers are looking for the networks exact point of failure, Schneier speculated. The attacks use multiple vectors, forcing targets to deploy all of their defenses, thus disclosing their capabilities.

Because the attackers whereabouts are unknown, potential targets can do nothing to ward them off, Schneier said. The data seems to indicate China is behind them, but its possible to disguise the country of origin.

DDoS and other attacks hit record heights in the second quarter of this year, Akamai reported. DDoS attacks rose 23 percent over the number recorded in Q4, 2015, and Web application attacks increased 26 percent.

Targets suffered a greater number of repeat DDoS attacks  29 on average. Multivectored attacks increased, as did mega-attacks of more than 100 Gbps using simple attack vectors.

Possible or Not?

State actors are probably looking at a number of different ways to disable parts or all of the Internet, commented Paul Mockapetris, coinventor of the domain name system, currently chief scientist at ThreatStop.

DDoS is one of the ways to do that, and I would imagine state actors would attack routing systems as well, he told TechNewsWorld.

The attacks would be most effective against shared commons  the public resources on the Web  but people could go back to the system of partitioning the Internet, Mockapetris suggested. Those who have their own protected network will continue to have Internet access.

A takedown of the entire Internet is not going to happen, contended Martin McKeay, security advocate at Akamai, because its a whole bunch of networks, and youre not going to take it down unless you take down all the circuits. You can take down a company, an organization, or part of a government  but you cant really take down the Internet as a whole.

Communications links are too widespread for a global attack to succeed, he told TechNewsWorld. There are a couple dozen terabit circuits from San Francisco alone, to Hong Kong and Tokyo and other places.

The largest network layer attacks seen so far, approaching 500 Gbps, are an order of magnitude smaller than the bandwidth capacity the largest transit providers and ISPs manage, noted Tim Mathews, vice president of the Incapsula product line at Imperva.

With proper DDoS protections in place, most attacks would be stopped in their tracks, he told TechNewsWorld.

Worst-Case Scenarios

The loss of utilities and emergency services resulting from an Internet takedown could promote the establishment of militia groups and, possibly, a breakdown of society, warned Michael Patterson, CEO of Plixer. Imagine your neighbors excluding you from protection because you have no resources to share.

The responsibility to safeguard the Internet from attacks has fallen largely on service providers, he told TechNewsWorld.

In the short run, banks and other businesses could sustain considerable economic losses if the Internet went down and they lost ephemeral transactional data, Akamais McKeay suggested, but long-term outages arent a problem.
Congress earlier this month lowered the hammer on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in a report on the massive data breach that resulted in the theft of 4.2 million former and current government employees personnel files, as well as 21.5 million individuals security clearance information, including fingerprints associated with 5.6 million of them.

The lax state of OPMs information security left the agencys information systems exposed for any experienced hacker to infiltrate and compromise, notes the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms report.

The agencys senior leadership failed to fully comprehend the extent of the compromise, allowing the hackers to remove manuals and other sensitive materials that essentially provided a road map to the OPM IT environment and key users for potential compromise, it states.

Among the reports suggested remedies to prevent future data breaches are a recommendation that the federal bureaucracy move to a zero trust model of security.

Trust No One

The OPM data breaches show the challenges of using perimeter defenses to protect high-value data, according to the report.

In both cases the attackers compromised user credentials to gain initial network access, utilized tactics to elevate privileges, and once inside the perimeter, were able to move throughout OPMs network, and ultimately accessed the crown jewel data held by OPM, it notes.

The Zero Trust model would be an effective way to protect government networks, the report suggests.

The zero trust model centers on the concept that uses inside a network are no more trustworthy than users outside the network. The zero trust model requires strictly enforced user controls to ensure limited access for all users and assumes that all traffic traveling over an organizations network is threat traffic until authorized by the IT team, it explains.

Night Club Model

The zero trust model emerged as it became increasingly apparent to security pros that trying to protect information assets with only perimeter defenses  like firewalls  was becoming less and less effective.

Many traditional approaches to network security resemble a night club, observed Alfred Chung, senior product manager at Guidance Software.

There may be heavy security at the door and big scary guys checking the list, but once someone gains entry  authorized or not  they have almost unfettered access to whats inside, he told TechNewsWorld.

Hackers love perimeter-only defenses, said Cryptzone Chief Security Officer Leo Taddeo, a former FBI special agent.

When he was head of the cyberdivision for the FBI in New York City, nearly every intrusion case we investigated began with a malicious actor obtaining a foothold inside the perimeter, Taddeo told TechNewsWorld.

Technical Fundamentalism

Although zero trust is designed to address the deficiencies in a perimeter-only strategy, it has its deficiencies.

A zero trust model of security is a form of technical fundamentalism, where you stretch one idea  such as security  to an extreme, and compromise every other goal to the idea, said Vishal Gupta, CEO of Seclore.

It is laden with high costs, inconvenience to the end users, and high IT and administrative overheads, he told TechNewsWorld.

Whats more, it can be difficult to extend zero trust principles outside an organization.

With third-party breaches on the rise, government contractors and subcontractors also carry a large amount of risk, explained BitSight Technologies Vice President of Business Development Jacob Olcott, former counsel to the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee.

The government can monitor their own employees, but they cannot necessarily apply a zero trust policy to the employees of contractors and subcontractors, he told TechNewsWorld.

Sluggish Decision Making

For those dissatisfied with the speed of government decision-making now, zero trust could be an additional irritant.

With zero trust, all traffic is untrustworthy and requires thorough inspection, and all behavior is untrusted until validated, explained Rob Potter, vice president for the public sector at Symantec.

This level of inspection and monitoring requires both additional capability and increased time to access and delivery, he told TechNewsWorld.

As a result, many organizations may see increased cost and impacts to the time it takes to access, share and update data. This in turn could have an impact on systems or processes that drive decision making in the government, he said.

It would be more productive to go back to pen, paper and fax machines than implementing zero trust policies, since it will kill productivity and likely bring things to a halt, suggested Young-Sae Song, vice president of marketing at Arctic Wolf.

Zero trust is impossible to achieve, he maintained, due to the whos watching the watchers? problem.

At some point, somebody has to be trusted with the keys to the kingdom, he told TechNewsWorld, and there is no way to guarantee that person will not be compromised.

Breach Diary

Sept. 3. Variety confirms its content management system breached by OurMine, a hacker group known for exposing vulnerabilities in websites so they can be fixed.

Sept. 5. Data breach exposed 790,724 accounts for porn site Brazzers, Motherboard reports.

Sept. 5. Information from 7 million accounts stolen from gaming site Lifeboat in January have been posted to the Dark Web as a free download, Hackread reports.

Sept. 6. 100 million records belonging to Rambler.ru, Russias Yahoo, have been leaked online, Leakedsource reports.

Sept. 6. A hacker called DoubleFlag is selling online a file containing information on more than 500,000 accounts stolen from BitcoinTalk in May 2015, The Merkle reports.

Sept. 6. Banks and financial institutions file class action lawsuit in Colorado against Noodles & Company, related to data breach that put at risk all customers who used their payments cards at the chains locations between Jan. 31 and June 2.

Sept. 6. Owen Smith, who hopes to lead the UKs Labour Party, exposes confidential information about the phone bank system for Parliament when he posts photo to Twitter with background showing his username and password for the system.

Sept. 7. U.S. House Oversight & Government Reform Committee releases report on Office of Personnel Mangement data breach in which information, including fingerprints, was stolen.

Sept. 7. Hitsniffer, a UK-based analytics company, has taken itself offline after a former employee steals the firms customer database and begins contacting those customers on behalf of another company, SC Magazine reports.

Sept. 8. Protenus reports 8.8 million healthcare records were breached during August.

Sept. 8. White House announces Brigadier General Gregory J. Touhill as first federal Chief Information Security Officer.

Sept. 8. Hack against vDOS, which offers Distributed Denial of Service attacks as a service, exposed information on tens of thousands of customers and their targets, Brian Krebs reports.

Sept. 8. Breach of Russian instant messaging service QIP.ru compromised 33.4 million accounts, Softpedia reports.

Sept. 9. An online database associated with a website used to preview movies before theyre released by Hollywood was exposed to the public Internet without an administrative password for an undetermined amount of time, MacKeeper researcher Chris Vickery reports.

Upcoming Security Events
A Chicago man accused of passing counterfeit $100 bills in Beatrice was arrested on a warrant and appeared in Gage County Court Monday.

Anthony Jordan, 26, is charged with first-degree forgery following the incident earlier this year.

On June 3, Beatrice police were dispatched to Subway after being alerted that a male had tried to pass a counterfeit $100 bill.

Upon arrival, officers learned the man had snatched back the bill and left the restaurant in a silver Chrysler 300M with Illinois license plates, according to the arrest warrant.

The bill was described as an older style that had distorted features and felt like standard paper.

Dispatch was notified, and Nebraska State Patrol troopers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that matched the description on Highway 77 near Lincoln.

The warrant stated three of the four males in the vehicle had $1,000-$2,000 in cash on them, though it was all in $50 bills or less.

No $100 bills were found and the men were released after troopers took photos of two men that matched the description given by the workers at Subway.

The suspect was identified from the photos as Jordan.

Video surveillance also confirmed Jordan was the suspect.

The next day, police were dispatched to Pinnacle Bank after reports of two counterfeit $100 bills found in deposit bags from two businesses.

A worker at one of the businesses identified Jordan as the man who had used the $100 bill to make a purchase.

On Monday, Jordans bond was set at $20,000 with a 10 percent deposit. His next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
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California is entering its fourth year of drought, with high temperatures, water shortages and increased wildfires. The state has taken some steps to address the impacts of that, including addressing greenhouse gas emissions and rationing its diminishing water supply. But there are signs that the impacts of drought on the state could get even worse.

Californias drought could get much worse if climate change isnt addressed..

Photo credit: Shutterstock

1. A new study shows that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at current rates, some parts of Los Angeles area could be experiencing temperatures over 95 degrees for periods as long as two to three months by the end of the century, up from about 12 days now. Researchers at UCLAs Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences found that downtown Los Angeles could see many many as 54 such days, up from an average of four, while desert areas could see many more. And in the surrounding mountainous areas, days with temperatures below freezing could be cut in half.

2. Fewer freezing days in mountainous areas will certainly impact the snow pack which is currently at record lows. Its April assessment set a record for the lowest level in the states history, triggering Gov. Jerry Browns order that residents and governments cut water use by 25 percent. Shuttered ski resorts are the least of the resulting problems. The runoff from the snow pack melting in the spring replenishes the states rivers, streams and reservoirsbut not so much anymore. In an L.A. Times editorial, NASA scientist Jay Famiglietti warned that California reservoirs have only a years supply of water left in them. With the rate of replenishment dropping, that spells trouble.

3. Many Californians are up in arms that certain businesses are continuing to use water like the supply was unlimited. Bottled water companies in particular have drawn outrage from activists as they tap into city water supplies and private wells, while citizens are being told to cut back their water use. While their water use is only a drop in the bucket, so to speak, the optics are really bad, so bad that Starbucks Ethos Water brand has announced it will move west coast bottling operation out of the state to Pennsylvania. A group called the Crunch Nestle Alliance has mounted protests against the Nestle bottled water plant near Sacramento, which buys water from the Sacramento municipal system and ships spring water from northern California. Meanwhile, Crystal Geyser is opening a new plant in Mount Shasta that will draw water from an aquifer that feeds the Sacramento River, which provides drinking water for millions of people.

4. Another business that continues unabated in its water use is the fossil fuel extraction industry. California has traditionally been an oil-producing state, but in recent years, its stepped up its oil extraction through the water-intensive fracking process. Again, while the amount is small compared to uses such as agriculture, which consumes 80 percent of the states available water supply, fracking itself is regarded negatively by much of the public. And it doesnt help that there have been signs that fracking fluidwastewater containing toxic chemicals used in the fracking processcould be leaching into aquifers and contaminating already scarce drinking water supplies.

5. Companies are looking for extreme solutions to a potentially extreme problem. There are more than a dozen projects under consideration to build desalination plants along the California coast to turn ocean water into usable water for drinking and agricultural purposes. Some have dismissed the idea as expensive and unfeasible on a large scale, while others claim the costs are falling rapidly enough to make the idea viable. The technology is already in use in the Middle East and Australia. A plant is currently under construction in Carlsbad, California that is expected to be up and running by sometime in 2016 to produce 50 million gallons of water a day and provide seven percent of the drinking water consumed by San Diego. It would be the largest such plant in the Western Hemisphere. The privately built plant would be paid for with rate increases on San Diego water customers; the cost to the county is double the price of its currently most expensive water source and its on the hook whether it needs the water or not.

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President Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio will meet at a White House event Oct. 3 to discuss ways to combat climate change.

At the inaugural South by South Lawn or SXSL, a play on SXSW, Obama and the Academy Award-winning actor will take part in a conversation with renowned climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe about the importance of protecting the one planet weve got for future generations.

Following the conversation, DiCaprios new climate documentary Before the Flood will be shown on the South Lawn in what is being billed as a first-of-its-kind film screening.

The film, directed by Fisher Stevens, chronicles DiCaprios international campaign to highlight the perils of a warming planet. Before the Flood will air on the National Geographic Channel globally in 171 countries and 45 languages on Oct. 30.

The actor also made climate change a centerpiece of his Oscar acceptance speech earlier this year, calling it the most urgent threat facing our species.

In his speech, he addressed the need to support leaders who fight the biggest polluters, as well as the need to stand up for the rights of indigenous people and for the billions and billions of underprivileged people affected by global warming.

For our childrens children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much, DiCaprio said.
The lobster industry in Maine is riding the crest of record prices and a record catch last year. This year, exports of the states signature shellfish more than doubled last years sales. But a new study from the University of Maines Darling Marine Center and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science found that baby lobsters wont survive in warmer waters.

Warming waters in the Gulf of Maine threaten American lobster fisheries. Dan Zukowski

Southern New England lobster fisheries have already collapsed. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association reports that over the past 10 years, the Gulf of Maine has warmed 99 percent faster than any other sea in the world. As a result, cod have virtually disappeared from the region. Lobster, like cod, are a cold water species.

A new study, published today in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, details the effect of warmer waters on the larval development of American lobsters. They found that when the water was 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than currently found in the Gulf of Maine, these baby lobsters experienced significantly lower survival. Five degrees is how much the the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects the Gulf of Maines temperature will warm by the end of the century.

Export markets for Maine lobster have grown dramatically. Credit: Portland Press-Herald

Maines waters have long yielded large amounts of high-quality lobster. But as southern New England lobsters went into decline, the industry in northern New England flourished. The lobster population in the Gulf of Maine doubled in the past 20 years. In 2015, Maine lobstermen landed a record $495.4 million, or 121.1 million pounds.

Demand from China and other Asian markets is driving growing exports, which reached $103 million in the first half of 2016. From 2010 to 2015, shipments to China rose from just $100,000 to $20 million. But the waters that produce this bounty are at risk.

Dan Zukowski

The bounty that fed Native Americans for 11,000 years and early European colonizers derives from a unique geography. The Gulf of Maine is bounded on the southeast by Georges Bank and Browns Bank, creating an almost enclosed sea. From the northwest, its fed by nutrient-rich cold waters of 25 river systems that drain 250 billion gallons of water per year into the gulf. At the head of the gulf, tides rise and fall 50 feet in the Bay of Fundy. Cod, herring, salmon and lobster thrive in this environment.

Warm-water invaders are gaining a toehold, and those that already had one are taking over, reported the Portland Press-Herald in a special series published in 2015. In recent years, changes in the Gulf Stream have allowed more warm water to invade the Gulf of Maine. There has been a slow but steady progression north for the best lobster grounds. In the 1970s, it was in Casco Bay, outside Portland, but today it is some 80 miles north in Penobscot Bay.

Now, warm-water species are appearing off the shores of Maine. Squid, sea bass, green crabs and Asian shore crabs are among the invasive species. Theyve destroyed eelgrass and created ecological impacts that have yet to be determined. The University of Maine study showed that baby lobsters grow faster in warmer waters but dont survive as well. That could mean that Maines lobsters will migrate north in search of colder Canadian waters.

Ask any commercial fisherman here about climate change, and hell tell you that its wreaking havoc, the operations supervisor at the Portland Fish Exchange told me this summer. Now, researchers know why.
After three years of research, a Ph.D. student at the University of Melbourne may have discovered a way to kill superbugs without the use of antibiotics.

Shu Lam believes that she has found the key to averting a health crisis so severe that the United Nations recently declared it a fundamental threat to global health.

Shu Lam

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs kill about 170,000 people a year and, according to a British study, are estimated to kill up to 10 million people a year by 2050 and cost the world economy $100 trillion.

If we fail to address this problem quickly and comprehensively, antimicrobial resistance will make providing high-quality universal healthcare coverage more difficult if not impossible, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told The Guardian. It will undermine sustainable food production. And it will put the sustainable development goals in jeopardy.

https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/738486699110588416 apply some sort of antibacterial cream.

The star polymers could potentially become one of the anti-bacterial ingredients in this cream. Ultimately, we hope that what were discovering here could replace antibiotics. In other words, we also hope that we will be able to inject this into the body to treat serious infections, or even to disperse it in the form of a pill which patients can take, just like somebody would take an antibiotic.
As President Obamas signature Clean Power Plan heads to court, the Dutch parliament voted Thursday to shut down its entire coal industry. The move is needed in order for the country to meet its 2030 goal to reduce carbon emissions by 55 percent.

Dutch parliament building in The Hague. Markus Bernet, Wikimedia

The action would put the Netherlands in position to achieve the goals of the Paris climate agreement. The 77 to 72 vote, while non-binding, comes on the heels of a recent confidential study, leaked to the Dutch newspaper Trouw, that one or more plants would have to be closed. The country has five coal plants currently in operation, including three that just came online last year. A recent five percent increase in emissions has been linked to its newest plants.

An overwhelmed Urgenda lawyer Cox after winning the historic Dutch climate case. Urgenda / Chantal Bekker

In June, 2015, a court in The Hague ordered the Dutch government to cut its emissions by 25 percent within five years. The unprecedented ruling came in a case brought by the Dutch Urgenda Foundation. In a transcript from the reading of the verdict, the court said: The state must do more to avert the imminent danger caused by climate change, also in view of its duty of care to protect and improve the living environment. The government has appealed the ruling.

In the leaked document, the consulting firm CE Delft said that the Dutch government would need to quickly close one or two power plants to meet the courts order. They concluded that closing the plants would impose lower costs to society than other alternatives to achieve the court-imposed emissions target. The report estimated that the average household would save 80 Euros ($90 at current exchange rates) a year, against costs of 30 Euros ($34). The Dutch economic ministry estimated that the cost of closing all the countrys coal plants by 2020 would total 7 billion Euros ($7.9 billion).

Last year, five older coal-fired plants were decommissioned. Some environmentalists think that a coalition agreement could keep some or all of the three newer plants open. The issue has been contentious and is likely to affect next years Dutch elections. The right-wing, populist Freedom Party, which may block the parliaments plan, currently leads many opinion polls.

Inhabitat

In the U.S., 94 coal plants were shut down last year, with another 41 expected to the shuttered in 2016. Aging plants and cheap natural gas are driving the transition from coal, even as 26 states are suing the federal government to overturn the Clean Power Plan. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will hear oral arguments Sept. 27.

Even if the Clean Power Plan survives this challenge, a study published today in Nature Climate Change says that the U.S. will miss its 2025 carbon emissions target by a wide amount, as much as 1.5 billion metric tons per year. Nevertheless, The study underscores the importance of EPAs Clean Power Plan for meeting the climate change promises, wrote Science this morning.
(Photo: REUTERS / Stoyan Nenov)Pope Francis releases a white dove prior to delivering a Holy Mass at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul November 29, 2014. Pope Francis began a visit to Turkey on Friday with the delicate mission of strengthening ties with Muslim leaders while condemning violence against Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.

Christian and Jewish groups in Turkey are growing more fearful of Islamic extremism with increasing terror attacks and the government's state of emergency following a failed coup attempt, representatives of the minority communities say.

Christian and Jews represent about two-tenths of one percent of Turkey's mostly Sunni Muslim population of around 80 million, reports VOA.

Pro-government media outlets as well as some government officials have accused them of playing a role in the July coup attempt and have stepped up the rhetoric against Christians and Jews.

At a "Democracy and Martyrs" rally in August, a pro-government, million-strong anti-coup demonstration in Istanbul, three of the speakers linked religious minorities to coup plotters, calling them "seeds of Byzantium, "crusaders," and a "flock of infidels."

Christian and Jewish leaders denounced the coup attempt and were in attendance at the rally in attempt to show solidarity with the government.

Turkey has been in a state of emergency since the coup attempt and tens of thousands of Turks have been jailed for investigations.

Churches in the Black Sea city of Trabzon and Anatolian city of Malatya which witnessed lethal attacks against Christians a decade ago  were the first to be attacked after the coup. Later, an Armenian high school in Istanbul was vandalized, The Globalist reported.

An Alevi worship hall there and homes in Malatya were next, and Christian tourists were harassed in Gaziantep.

SCAPEGOATING OF JEWS AND CHRISTIANS

Such crimes indicate an alarming trend of scapegoating Turkey's minorities with members of those groups fearing the anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-Alevi pogroms of the 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s that cost the lives of hundreds of innocent people.

Christians and Jews have lived in parts of what is now Turkey for centuries, have been exposed to violent attacks in Turkey's history.

There are an estimated 18,000 Jews in Turkey.

Turkey and Israel were to exchange ambassadors within weeks following reconciliation between the countries earlier in the summer, Amira Oron, Israel's charge d'affaires in Ankara, told Turkey's Anadolu Agency on Aug. 31, but the threats Jews feel remain.

The 1934 anti-Jewish pogrom in eastern Thrace, and the 1955 anti-Christian pogrom in Istanbul, forced tens of thousands of non-Muslims to flee Turkey.

Turkey's government insists that the failed coup was a victory for "democracy," now needs to prove that Turkey's dwindling religious minorities have a place in it, too, editorialized The Globalist.

Turkish human rights lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz told VOA pro-government media have "embraced an alarming narrative of scapegoating Turkey's religious minorities and connecting the coup plot to them."

"Particularly pro-government media outlets have taken an anti-U.S. and anti-EU attitude, which I can call a xenophobic attitude, in which they attempt to demonize the West and accuse it of the coup attempt," he said. "And this narrative targets and harms non-Muslims in Turkey."

Rifat Bali, a scholar who has written several books on Turkish Jews, says that even though the report of minority ties to the coup have no foundation, Christians and Jews are being targeted.

"The nonsensical, so-called news reports that claim that some religious minorities in Turkey are behind the coup attempt are not surprising," he said.

"They are actually quite expected. In an environment where conspiracy theories are commonplace and prevalent, looking for foreigners behind everything becomes normal."

VOA cited news reports that cell members of Daesh or IS as it is sometimes call have plotted terrors attacks on churches and synagogues in Turkey. Daesh sees Christianity and Judaism as an enemy to its extremist Muslim ideology.
As anyone who works in education knows, the quality of our schools matters. High-quality schools have the power to affect the demographics and property values of their communities and can provide effective ways to guide students out of cycles of poverty. In recent years, the Blue Ribbon Schools Program has served as one national indicator of some of the most successful schools in the country.

The U.S. Department of Education created the Blue Ribbons Schools Program in 1982 to recognize public and private schools that achieve high levels of academic excellence and make substantial progress toward closing the achievement gap for all students. Several hundred schools receive the award annually, with more than 8,000 recipients across the country since the program began. The designation does not expire, but schools must indicate the year they received the award, and the program encourages schools to reapply after five years.

These schools, which serve as outstanding models of excellence for their states in an otherwise disjointed education system, benefit from more than just a title. According to the Education Department, the designation can lead to partnerships with local businesses and community volunteers as well as financial help. Principals and school leaders may receive invitations to present at state and regional meetings about their most effective practices for students and faculty. District and state educators may visit schools to learn about strategies for leadership and instruction.

As a professor of education who provides professional development for three public elementary and middle schools in New York with Blue Ribbon designations, I have witnessed teachers and administrators commitment to academic excellence for all students. Each school prominently displays its status in its building. But I have noticed that the designation does not account for changes that may occur after the award is given, such as faculty turnover, new mandates, and curricula that affect educational practices; changes in student population or funding for programs in the arts or sciences; or other factors that have an impact on overall school performance.

When I ask educators at these schools what the status continues to signify, they admit that after an awards ceremony in Washington, its back to the day-to-day work of trying to run an excellent school. There seems to be no way to measure whether the practices that earned a school its award are still in place.

Moreover, with no follow-up from the federal Education Department after designation, the high-quality practices that these schools achieve and the opportunities that come with the award may peter out. This seems to be a squandered opportunity to help excellent schools sustain their status and harness their expertise as a model for others.

At the national level, Blue Ribbon schools could serve as mentors to the wider world of K-12 education."

This is why the federal department, state and local leaders in education, and their award-winning schools should revise the program to more effectively build capacity for excellence in school systems and account for schools sustainability of that capacity. Michael Fullan, a leading scholar on school reform, defines capacity-building as actions that lead to an increase in the collective power of a group to improve student achievement, especially by raising the bar and closing the gap for all students. Fullan believes that to sustain schools development, they need nurture from an external infrastructureone that invests in professional development, teacher training, and ongoing support.

To build sustainability within some of our nations most excellent schools, I recommend making the Blue Ribbon program a five-year renewable plan with an advanced designation. Renewing schools would need to acquire their state or institutional governing bodies recommendations by showing not only how they sustained excellence, but also how they developed at least one area of expertisesuch as integrating technology, incorporating multicultural childrens literature, or developing collaborative learning and strong discussion practices in the classroom. Only then would states recommend renewal for a schools advanced designation.

As one example for improvement at the local level, school administrators in New York state want to support teachers in developing stronger discourse practices, and one of the Blue Ribbon schools where I work consistently demonstrates a high level of classroom discourse.

Imagine if this school could share this expertise. A nearby school that needs guidance could sign up for mentorship. District leaders might organize a group of schools with this need to develop common goals and a plan of action, including ways to monitor improvement and schedule visits with Blue Ribbon schools that can illustrate successful efforts.

Federal and state leaders could also prvide grant funding for advanced schools to harness their expertise through national and local partnerships, such as those between a school district and a nearby college of teacher education. These K-12 schools could become sites for initial preservice field experience and student teaching, with experienced teachers also serving as guest lecturers for college courses.

At the national level, Blue Ribbon schools could serve as mentors to the wider world of K-12 education. Other schools seeking development in a particular area of need could sign up for mentorship programs with awardees. Teachers in schools with advanced designation could lead webinars and conduct study groups; grant money could be used to develop and implement these virtual opportunities.

Many proponents of K-12 change consider creating high-quality schools with sustainable capacity-building the biggest equity issue in education. Through collaborative structures, my recommendations assure ongoing learning and continual improvement of practices in Blue Ribbon schools. Improvements to the program could build structures that encourage schools to learn from each other and ensure deep, distributed learning. A stronger infrastructure for excellent schools is one step to building K-12 equity for all students.
"And, please note, both use the term 'illegal aliens.' I guess that legal definition was not, at a time, deemed 'racist.'3) TRUMP IS A BIGOT"It was your husband who, according to a book called 'Game Change,' told Ted Kennedy, during the 2008 nomination campaign, that a few years ago Obama would've been carrying our bags, "getting us coffee.""Your husband ex-campaign manager, his wife, and a staffer heard you call the campaign manager, whom you blamed for losing her husband's race, a 'f----g Jew bastard.' Even your husband admitted you may have said 'f---g,' but denies you said 'Jew bastard.' And we know about your husband's reputation for honesty and truth telling."But ex campaign consultant, Dick Morris, says he once asked you and your husband for more money. In response, according to him, you said, 'That's all you people care about.' Is he lying?"Colin Powell, who describes you as a "friend," said in an email, that you 'hate' Obama, the first African-American president."By the way, Powell also said you have 'unbridled ambition,' called you 'greedy' and said you screw up virtually everything you lay your hands on. He also added that your husband, who you want to return to the White House, is still 'd----g bimbos.'"And he is rather angry, to say the least, that you are trying to 'pin your email scandal' on him:"What about the 'racial profiling' of your supporter, Mark Cuban, who said, 'I'd cross the street to get away from a black kid in a hoodie'?:The then First Lady defended her husband's crime bill that many black activists say imposed unfairly long sentences. In doing so, Secretary Clinton referred to criminals, many of them black, as "super predators."4) TRUMP IS TOO RECKLESS TO BE TRUSTED WITH NATIONAL SECURITY"When the Bush administration allegedly outed a covert CIA operative, critics cried, 'People could be killed' by the revelation. Well, the agent wasn't covert, and no one was ever convicted of violating an anti-disclosure law."On the other hand, by maintaining a private server, which undoubtedly was hacked, adversaries likely got access to top secret and very sensitive information. It is not an email scandal, it is a national security scandal, and the majority of people believe that you violated the Espionage Act--and should be prosecuted."Colin Kaepernick has been praised by many people, including President Obama who said that taking a knee during the national anthem was a part of 'social activism.'"Does this include the part where Kaepernick said that if you, Secretaty Clinton, were anybody else, given what you've done with your emails, you would 'be in prison'?"You claim the 30,000 emails you deleted had nothing to do with work. You were under oath when you said so. You were also under oath when you said your lawyers read every email to make sure none was work-related. But then you later said that they just read headers."Now we find out that many of your emails were, in fact, work-related."You claim that you neither sent nor received any information that was classified or marked as such. But you did."Furthermore, the disclosure statement you sign as a member of the State Department specifically says that classified information 'can either be marked classified or not marked classified.' So whether you sent or received information is marked classified is irrelevant. It's about the content. You didn't know that email describing drone strikes was 'classified'b But I'M too dangerous to be trusted with national security?"You call your private server for 'a mistake.' A mistake is when you forget your car keys, forget an appointment."You jeopardized national security, allowing adversaries to gain access to national security matters, you lied to the country about it, and lied to Congress while under oath."These are not mistakes, these are overt acts that jeopardized national security trust in our government and undermine our allies' confidence in us."You joined the French and the British in bombing Libya, when Muammar Qaddafi had no WMD. He turned over his WMD to us after we invaded Iraq, fearing he would be next."Yet you renounced your Iraq war vote even though the rationale for the war was the assumption that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD."If the Iraq war was a mistake because no WMD were found, what is the rationale for bombing Libya, a country that has no WMD?"During the debate with Bernie Sanders, you said the Libyan bombing "save lives." So you bombed Libya for humanitarian reasons?"If so, why renege on your Iraq war vote given the fact that Saddam Hussein killed on the minimum side 300,000 Iraqis, and on the high side maybe as many as 1 million? Are Libyan civilians more important than Iraqi civilians?"I'm completely confused as to what you think the military is for? Is it for national security? Is it for humanitarian purposes? Which is it?"When you ran in 2008, you promised 'under no circumstances would Iran ever get a bomb.' Yet you supported the Iran Deal, which gives Iran a bomb within 15 years, if not less. In the meantime, Iran continues to export terrorism, threatens American ships, tests increasingly longer range missiles, and has kidnapped two more Americans after we exchanged cash for the American hostages they were holding."You were a member of the administration that pulled completely out of Iraq--against the advice of the Joint Chiefs, the National Security Advisor, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, the Head of the CIA, the then current Secretary of Defense and his predecessor."Former Army general of the Joints Chiefs, Ray Odierno, says that had there been a stay behind force in Iraq, ISIS, a terror organization thar Obama called 'jayvee,' could and would have been dealt with:"You failed to adequately protect Benghazi. You told the Benghazi families it was prompted by a video. And then accused the families of lying when they repeated your story. You wanted nothing to interfere with Obama's reelection line, 'GM is alive. Osama bin Laden is dead. And Al-Qaeda is on the run.'5) TRUMP IS A "BIRTHER""John Heileman, co-author of 'Game Change,' not exactly a right winger, says that your 2008 election camp started it:"And a reporter claims that one of your top advisers, Sidney Blumenthal, flat out told him, 'Obama is from Kenya':"And please tell me how and why did this issue become 'racist'b Questions were raised about whether John McCain might be ineligible because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. Questions were raised about whether Barry Goldwater was eligible because he was born in Arizona, when it was a territory not a state."Furthermore, believe it or not, a majority of Democrats do not believe Obama is a Christian. Are they birthers? Are they racist?6) TRUMP USES PROFANITY AND IS TOO VULGAR TO BE PRESIDENT"Ann Compton, retired from ABC, said on two occasions Obama launched into profanity laced tirades, yet not one reporter reported it."Did George W. Bush ever do that? Did George Herbert Walker Bush ever do that? Ronald Reagan? And if so, would the media have sat on it?7) TRUMP WOULD BE BAD FOR THE ECONOMY"The Obama/Clinton administration has given the country the worst economic recovery since 1949. This is the first administration to preside over a recovery without one year averaging 3% GDP. The difference between 2% to 3% is 1 million jobs for each year of the length of the recovery."'Stimulus' didn't work. 'Cash for caulkers' didn't work. 'Cash for clunkers' didn't work. The administration unleashed nearly $800 billion in major job suppressing regulations:"Obamacare did not give $2500 savings per household. 'If you like your doctor or your health care plan, you can keep your doctor or your health care plan' turned out to be empty promises designed to get the law passed."Premiums are now going up as have deductibles and co-pays, something that you described during the debate as 'glitches.'"As to the black economy, poverty is up; net worth down; homeownership is down; home-equity is down. Between 2010 and 2013, black net worth fell 25%. The black labor force participation rate for black men hasn't been this low since the government's been keeping the number. Even PBS's leftwing Tavis Smiley says blacks have not fared well under Obama:"Don't get me started on what welfare and tax and regulation have done to the black families by encouraging fatherless homes. President Obama, not I, said that a child who grows up without a father is five times more likely to be poor, nine times more likely to drop out of school, and 20 times more likely to go to jail."1965, before Lyndon Johnson launched the so-called 'war on poverty,' 25% of black kids were born out of wedlock. Today the number is 73%. Government and left wing policies have incentivized women to marry the government, and allowed men to abandon their financial and moral responsibility."Before minimum wage laws, black teenagers were MORE likely to have a job than white teenagers. Right before 1930, the black labor force participation rate was HIGHER than the white labor participation rate. Minimum wage laws prevented blacks from competing by offering to work for less:"Even Jared Bernstein, Vice President Joe Biden's economist, says a $15 minimum wage is too high and would cost jobs:"A BET article quotes economists who say minimum-wage laws cost jobs:"In 1987 the New York Times, published an editorial that said the correct minimum wage is $0.00. What happened to the laws of economics 101 between 1987 and 2016?8) TRUMP WON'T DISCLOSE HIS TAXES"You've not disclosed your transcripts from your numerous high paid the Wall Street speeches. Obama never disclosed his grades and test scores. Media lost interest about that, but they really really really want to know about my taxes. Double standard."Meanwhile one of Obama's BFFs and somebody whose support you sought, Rev. Al Sharpton, owes $5 million in taxes. Nobody ever accused me of not paying taxes? Double standard."I'm not required by law to disclose my taxes. But you WERE required by law to release all work related email. You didn't. And the FBI gave you a pass."I am in a dispute with the IRS over a tax issue. I lose my leverage if this becomes public, because the IRS will refuse to compromise for fear that people think they are caving in. So I lose leverage by prematurely going public."Why would any rational person do that? On the other hand, nothing's stopping you, Secretary Clinton, from releasing the transcripts of your Wall Street speeches.9) TRUMP "COZIES UP" TO PUTIN"Who was it who signed the 'reset button,' reneging on defense agreements negotiated by President Bush for Poland and the Czech Republic? Russia opposed these deals and you threw Poland and the Czech Republic under the bus to appease them."Who, on a hot mic, told the president of Russia that, after his re-election, he'd have more flexibility?"Who thought they could get Russia to assist in stopping Iran from getting a nuke? Instead the administration negotiated this Iran deal, which guarantees that Iran will get a nuclear weapon within 15 years, if not sooner."Iran is also very likely cheating on the deal. They've not discontinued any terror activities. After paying Iran off for releasing American hostages, they've snatched two more. Obama's first Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, called the Iran Deal based on a "hope," a hope Gates called "unrealistic."10) TRUMP 'MADE FUN OF A REPORTER'S HANDICAP'""No, I did not! I mocked a reporter, now with the 'New York Times,' because he retreated from his initial claim--the same 'controversial' one I made--that many Muslims in NY celebrated the collapse of the WTC on 9/11. He reported it, and when I used his article to back up what I saw on the news, he tried to pretend he didn't write what he wrote--and didn't see what he saw."Now this is important. That reporter DOES NOT have gyrating motions, his arms don't flail like the gesture I used in denouncing him--so I was NOT 'mimicking' him. The reporter DOES NOT TWITCH, and when the 'handicapped' reporter is filmed from his waist up (as he is in the video linked below) you can't tell that the reporter even has a 'disability.'"I used THE SAME goofing manner to needle Ted Cruz and a general for what I thought were their weak responses to questions that were asked. Both Cruz and the general are able-bodied."That you cling to this 'Trump-mocked-a-reporter's handicap' is a reflection on both you and the media. The media's blatant bias is such that it obsessively 'reports' on my supposed flaws and weaknesses--real and imagined--while giving you a pass on so many far more important things."By the way, Dolly Kyle, a long time now ex lover of your husband, writes that when special needs children visited the Arkansas Governor's mansion for an Easter egg hunt. You grew frustrated because the kids were taking long to find their eggs and you said, "Get those f---g retards out of here."Yet the biased media aren't interested in Klye's allegation, are they? Double standard.
Havana, Sep 26 (EFE).- Former Cuban President Fidel Castro and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang discussed the need to preserve human existence and world peace in the face of "complexities, dangers and challenges" during their meeting in Havana, state-run media reported.

Castro and Li, in particular, coincided in their assessments of the international situation in the "animated dialogue" they held on Sunday afternoon at the home of the former leader of the communist island and head of the Cuban Revolution.

"After noteworthy economic and social progress, peace and friendship is the most important task for the People's Republic of China, under the direction of its president, Xi Jinping, and its prime minister, Li Keqiang," said Castro, who added that he was "very satisfied" with the outcome of the meeting, according to an article published on the front page of the official Cuban daily Granma.

The Chinese premier expressed to Castro his "satisfaction" with his first visit to Cuba, as well as his "admiration for the Cuban people for their patriotism, and he praised the achievements made in different areas."

"In the fraternal meeting, Fidel and Li Keqiang expressed the conviction that this visit will strengthen the cooperation and friendship between our (Communist) Parties, governments and peoples," said the report, which was accompanied by several photographs.

In addition, Granma said that Castro, who since his retirement from power in 2006 has continued to study "the dangers" currently threatening the world population due to the "vile economic order imposed on the world" by the United States, imparted to his guest his points of view on assorted issues and his awareness that "both China and Russia have interests related to peace."

At the close of the exchange, Castro told the Chinese delegation of "some of the experiences ... in raising the production of food and specific valuable items under the (island's) specific conditions ... independent of the income from tourism and other sources of development."

The 90-year-old Castro also met at length last week with Iranian President Hassan Rohani and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their official visits to the Caribbean nation.

Li concludes on Monday his stay in Havana, where he arrived on Saturday and during which he also met with Cuban President Raul Castro, with whom he attended the signing ceremony for about 30 economic agreements and bilateral cooperative ventures.
Parents, test prep experts, and college counselors give careful thought in working with students as they approach the crucial "college entrance exam." Which of the two exams should they prep for? Which of the two exams will they do better on?After running an SAT/ACT Prep company for a couple of years, I became convinced that the "SAT or ACT" question is even less important than "Coke or Pepsi?" Anthony James-Green, test prep expert and "tutor to the 1 percent," argues that These two testing giants, which now use tests of nearly identical content, also communicate a similar philosophy of education. For these two behemoths, it is all about "college and career readiness." In fact, the College Board, which creates the SAT, lists "college and career readiness" first when stating the purpose of the test. But what is the purpose of college and a career? A nice paying job? A respectable title? Nicer stuff?Those questions are important as they ultimately shape the content of the test. The reading texts used in the SAT/ACT reflect that content really doesn't matter.Professor Andrew Seeley of Thomas Aquinas College articulates this well. After reviewing a practice SAT, Seeley wrote,Seeley goes on to list and describe numerous passages from the SAT and ultimately concludes that "high scores will be achieved by those who can analyze and edit such meaningless selections."All testing is pedagogical. When logic, philosophy, theology, and ethics are missing from the most important test a student will take, students may reasonably conclude that those subjects don't matter.The SAT and ACT have a far bigger impact than a few lost Saturday mornings spent preparing for and taking a test. These tests affect school curricula. Over the past year, I have discussed the larger role of the SAT/ACT with dozens of headmasters and high school principals. Many have relayed to me their conversations with parents and the pressure they are under to put students in front of the type of material they are most likely to see on the SAT/ACT.Unfortunately, the content of the SAT/ACT reflects an impoverished philosophy of education that stands in sharp contrast to the traditional or classical understanding of why we educate our children. For those in the Western tradition, the formation of the human person, the formation of the heart in virtue, always stood paramount when considering the rationale for education. Plato put it this way:If developing virtue in our young people is the basic purpose of education, then the most important test they take in their young lives, the college entrance exam, should reflect that purpose as well.With this in mind, I wanted to create a solution by offering a third alternative for college entrance exams. In December of 2015 I co-founded the Classic Learning Test (CLT) with my lifetime best friend and business development expert David Wagner. Here is our website . To date, 22 schools have chosen to accept the CLT from students applying for admission, including Grove City College, the University of Dallas, and Belmont Abbey College.We launched the CLT with high hopes, but have been shocked by the amount of enthusiasm traditionally-minded educators and families have expressed towards the new test. The feedback we hear most often from families is simply,Our goal in offering an alternative to the SAT/ACT is to reconnect intellectual pursuit and virtue. We believe that the ultimate testing standard, the college entrance exam, should be full of the greatest writers and thinkers in the history of Western thought. From Aristotle to Immanuel Kant, the leaders of the Western thought tradition have shared a profound concern for what classical educators refer to asThe writers and thinkers students encounter when taking the CLT point them to the reality and existence of absolute truth, the sanctity of human life, and the irreplaceable value of personal character development.Some readers may react with skepticism. After all, we are talking about tests that a student only takes at most a few times, so how impactful could an alternative be?Shortly after launching the CLT our team began receiving emails from parents asking,Those emails confirmed our belief that college entrance exams drive curricula in secondary schools. We realized that an alternative test could be impactful enough to refocus secondary schools on the disciplines that shape the human heart.If a college entrance exam tests for ethical literacy, then student, parents, and schools will prepare accordingly. CLT tests have included passages from C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Augustine, and Flannery O'Connor. The passages engage the moral compass and conscience of a student rather than his or her intellect alone. If you want to check out our exam (and perhaps compare its questions with those on the SAT and ACT), you can do so here As serious thinkers know, ideas have consequences and what people read shapes who they will become.Twenty years from now the measuring stick for the success of the CLT will not be found in the bottom line of corporate profits. Rather, this endeavor will be gauged by the fruit it produces in the lives of the next generation and the degree to which it can contribute to a renaissance of virtue in America.
In light of continued developments, primarily since 2008, there exists in these United States a Legal System which operates on a proved Two Tiered approach to justice rendered, which primarily benefits Democratic Elites and Woke Ideological Virtue Signalers, representing their co-dependent wards, to the expressed exclusion of normal hardworking American citizens: What is your suggestion in remedying this widespread injustice and, if not corrected, its existential outcome for our Constitutional Republic?

Complete overhaul of the Department of Justice and their enforcers - the FBI - to reflect a far more honest justice system to keep patriots remaining calm.

Disband the FBI, and request that congress investigate all unethical and non patriotic practices to partially right the wrongs of a distrusted and politically weaponized "Department of Justice."
Manx farming business named in US Treasury report

A Manx farm business which works to preserve rare breeds of animals has been named as part of a transnational criminal organisation by the US Government.

Manx Rare Breeds Limited is part of the PacNet Group which has been accused of laundering millions of dollars in illicit funds worldwide.

Two people with Manx addresses are listed in the findings by the US Department of the Treasury, which bans them from engaging in business in America.

PacNet - which also has operations in Canada, the UK and Ireland - is the seventh organisation to be targeted by the US in this way, with the Japanese crime syndicate the Yakuza and Mexican drug gang Los Zetas among those previously sanctioned.
Democrats despise 'We, the [Deplorable] People' By Mark Alexander

Recently Hillary Clinton denigrated Donald Trump's supporters at a major fundraiser with her "LBGT constituents." According to Clinton, "To just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic  you name it. Some of those folks, they are irredeemable. ... And unfortunately, there are people like that and [Trump] has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, [but] now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric." Clinton's adoring Leftmedia sycophants defended her claim, characterizing it as a "gaffe." But a gaffe is defined as "an unintentional remark; a blunder." And this was no gaffe  it was scripted, it was intentional, and it captured perfectly the utter contempt with which Clinton and her like-minded Democrats view middle America. Perhaps it was also a calculated attempt to divert attention from her recent collapse at the 9/11 Ground Zero memorial event in New York City, due, she claimed, to a "bout with pneumonia." Or maybe it was a diversion from her collapse in the polls in the wake of her endless lies about concealing official communications. As for the other half of Trump's supporters, Clinton said they are misguided "people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they're just desperate for change." Ah, yes, foolish people just "desperate for change," rather than eager to award Barack Obama a third term by electing Hillary Clinton. In those statements to her wealthy left-elitist donors, Clinton didn't just offend tens of millions of grassroots Trump supporters, she insulted all grassroots Americans nationwide. And she offered her absurd assessment of rank-and-file Americans a week after smearing Trump supporters as racists. Clinton's "deplorable" characterization of her fellow Americans parallels Barack Obama's description of his detractors as "bitterly clinging to guns and religion." Having seen the uproar caused by her comments, Clinton, ostensibly, attempted to walk them back by noting they were "grossly generalistic and that's never a good idea. I regret saying half." Perhaps she meant "all" instead of "half." And this from a faux populist candidate whose campaign slogan is "Stronger Together." For his part, Donald Trump fired back, saying: "We have the support of cops and soldiers, carpenters and welders, the young and the old, and millions of working-class families who just want a better future. These were the people Hillary Clinton so viciously demonized. ... She divides people into baskets as though they were objects, not human beings." He continued, "While her campaign slanders you as deplorables and irredeemables, I call you hard-working American Patriots who love our country and want a better future for all our people. You are everybody. Above all else ... you're entitled to leadership that honors you, cherishes you and totally defends you." Worth special consideration is a sizable subgroup of Clinton's "deplorables" whom she knows do not support her: the deployables. Recent polling of military personnel found that Obama's support among the uniformed services has dropped to a paltry 15%, while his disapproval ratings in that group are at an all-time high. This extends to Clinton as Obama's heir apparent. Giving voice to the millions of military personnel and their families who are prohibited from speaking ill of their commander in chief, one of the many retired senior military officers who oppose Clinton stepped forward on behalf of the active duty ranks. A colleague with whom I serve on the National Advisory Board of the Medal of Honor Heritage Center, Gen. Burwell Bell (USA-Ret.), offered his thoughts on Clinton's disparagement of grassroots Americans: "Hillary Clinton's assertion that half of Donald Trump's supporters are in a 'basket of deplorables' is an insult to millions of American citizens and illuminates a dangerous movement and trend in the Democratic Party. For the past several years both President Obama and now Hillary Clinton have chosen to divide Americans into often times fictitious and mean-spirited groups, and then demonize those groups in order to isolate them while energizing the Democratic base. ... Mrs. Clinton's demonizing and marginalizing American citizens is shameful. I spent 39 years of my adult life defending all Americans. I deeply resent Mrs. Clinton's [denigration of] the American electorate. Candidates should articulate policy perspectives and not divide Americans in an effort to conquer millions of our citizens." The fact is, Hillary Clinton and her left-elite cadres detest and despise people like us. Indeed, they despise "We the People..." Of course, those are the first words of the preamble to our Constitution, which defined the principle of Rule of Law. That venerable document enshrines the unanimous declaration of the equal and inalienable Rights of Man  the rights of all people. What distinguished our founding contract from all others is its avowal that all legitimate power is and should be entrusted to "the People" rather than state potentates. To that end, John Adams once observed, "If the people are capable of understanding, seeing and feeling the differences between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice," they would remain the repository for Liberty. But Clinton and her statist elites do not trust the People, which is why they are forever endeavoring to subjugate their constituents to state rule, using all means to shape their opinions toward compliance  the very antithesis of Liberty. They corrupt the will of the people by propagating endless lies in order to inculcate into their subjects the belief that they are victims and that they can't survive without the protection of the Democrat Party and the state. Of the susceptibility of the people to such inculcation, Patrick Henry wrote: "It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth  and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts." Clinton's fallacious proposition depends on a majority of American voters falling under the spell of the Left's relentless rhetoric, and who will, like lemmings, pull the lever that makes her their master. Thomas Jefferson warned, "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone." Indeed, the degeneration of the behemoth beast that is our central government today is testament to his timeless wisdom. Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. Home
The dilemma of hypermodernity (Part Seven) By Mark Wegierski

An earlier, academic version of this essay has appeared in This World: Religion and Public Life (Culture and Consumption) no. 31 (2000) (New Brunswick, USA and London, UK: Transaction Publishers), pp. 29-45. This is the 16th anniversary of the appearance of the academic version of the essay  which had also appeared in various, different, non-academic iterations in the 1990s, including in Polish translation. The essay had also appeared in three parts on its 15th anniversary, in Quarterly Review (UK). It had been said that one of the greatest obstacles to truly meaningful social change today is the heavy weight, impressed on virtually all societies, of the obstinate presence of the so-called "New Class", or world-level corporate/media oligarchy, which is centred in North America (i.e., the United States of America and its Canadian appendage). Because of the continuing ineffectiveness of the challenge to its control of the mass-media and mass-education systems, the New Class is able to impose its highly selective worldview on virtually everyone in North America, and thereby on most of the planet, to a greater or lesser extent. It should be pointed out that most people will follow that which is presented to them as inherently just and decent (regardless of its possibly negative underlying results) out of idealistic motives -- not because they are selfishly seeking careers or self-aggrandizement. (An example of real selflessness is afforded by the young Irishwoman, profiled some time ago in the media, who has dedicated herself to caring for destitute and disabled orphans in Vietnam, in the midst of savagely grinding poverty.) Unfortunately, it is then typically a selfish minority of erstwhile activists that enjoys the material spoils of the over-all effort and mobilization. A good example of this are aid programs of the type which send idealistically-minded young people into Third World countries, paying them a bare-minimum local salary (in Nigeria, there are instances of such students begging for food from Western technicians and engineers working there), while the executive of the organization enjoys high-level, senior-civil-service-type salaries and perquisites, and hobnobs in various embassies during their infrequent visits to the South. Though in some senses, the putative Sixties Revolution has succeeded spectacularly, in others it has failed miserably. One of the defining ideas of the Sixties was, prima facie, the opposition to the big corporations. Yet today we have ended up in a world where the transnational corporations are bigger and stronger than ever before. There was also in the Sixties, prima facie, a desire for a return to nature, and for a more natural existence, yet the world has only become more mechanized, more commercialized, more paved over, and more technologized over that entire period. Another important idea of the Sixties, again prima facie, was a sort of robust individualism, yet looking at the "jean generation", one could conclude that, in effect, a new uniform had been put on, and any "squares" who dissented were to be treated as badly as "the beats" had been in the Fifties. In the aftermath of the Sixties, the ultimately meaningless quasi-collectivities of various "consumer-tribes", based on different status-symbols and commodity-fetishes -- and sharply excluding "outsiders", quickly arose. The realization of the extreme nature of "collective" peer-pressure in the typical modern North American high school -- which effectively rips one away from one's family and roots -- is acknowledged somewhat even by the most ardent liberals. The surprisingly sharply defined "new hierarchy" of "cool" vs. "square" (in a society claiming to be hyper-egalitarian) is probably the least socially germane -- if not most socially destructive -- social distinction in human history. After the reductive mill of MTV and immersion in electronic media from age five, after the droning lectures of liberal pedagogues, after the intense collective pressures of adolescence (which together probably constitute the most intensive program of indoctrination ever hitherto devised in human history) corporate liberalism disingenuously says that it offers those who reach adulthood "freedom of choice" concerning the values they will hold, and the lifestyle by which they will live. Some choice! Some freedom! Nowhere were the burgeoning contradictions of the Sixties exemplified more than in the emerging rock-world. The fine points of selling or not selling out became a sort of game, as it is patently clear that rock-music was and is commercially-driven from the beginning. By the time one has heard of a rising, struggling rock-artist on the radio, it is almost certain that they have done any number of questionable deals to get there. Yet somehow, the public had to be convinced of the rock-star's unsullied "honesty", which was more often than not attested to by the obscenity of his lyrics and personal behaviour. And then again, it had to be reassured that, although a real party animal, the rock-star was at bottom a nice person who cared about various "causes". One might well ask "what is the point?" of so much of allegedly "subversive" rock-music. One can observe such rock subgenres as "cyberpunk", as well as other extremal movements (which amount to being entire styles-of-life), like thrash-metal and "gangsta rap", that only seem to promote hyperviolence and hyperdecadence without any real challenge to the system. Continuing analysis of the various phenomena of "pop-culture" can be very useful in the formulation of the over-all critique of late modernity. The rock-world can be criticized much more than the music itself, some genres of which the author greatly enjoys, and which constitutes his almost exclusive listening experience today. TV and especially films can also serve as excellent reference points which are commonly recognized. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
The Experiment: Capitalism versus Socialism By David R. Legates

Experimentation is a major tool in the scientist's arsenal. We can put the same strain of bacteria into two Petri dishes, for example, and compare the relative effects of two different antibiotics. What if we could do the same with economic systems? We could take a country and destroy its political and economic fabric through, say, a natural disaster or widespread pestilence  or a war. War is the ultimate political and economic cleansing agent. Its full devastation can send a country back almost to the beginning of civilization. We could then take this war-torn country and divide it into two parts. It would have similar people, similar climate, similar potential trading partners, similar geography  but one part is rebuilt using capitalism as its base, while the other rebuilds using socialism and its principles. We'd let the virtues of each system play out and see where these two new countries would be after, say, fifty years. Don't you wonder what the outcome might be? Well, as it turns out, we have already performed The Experiment. It's post-war Germany. Following the devastation of World War II, Germany was split into two parts. The German Federal Republic, or West Germany, was rebuilt in the image of the western allies and a capitalist legal-political-economic system. By contrast, the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, was reconstructed using the socialist/communist principles championed by the Soviet Union. The Experiment pitted the market economy of the West against the command economy of the East. On the western side, considering what's being taught in our schools, one might expect that "greedy capitalism" would create a state where a few people became the rich elite, while the vast majority were left as deprived masses. Socialism, by contrast, promised East Germany the best that life had to offer, through rights guaranteed by the state, including "human rights" to employment and living wages, time for rest and leisure, health care and elder care, and guaranteed housing, education and cultural programs. So the Petri dishes were set, and The Experiment began. In 1990, after just 45 years, The Experiment abruptly and surprisingly ended  with reunification back into a single country. How did it work out? In West Germany, capitalism rebuilt the devastated country into a political and economic power in Europe, rivaled only by its former enemy, Great Britain. Instead of creating a rich 1% and a poor 99%, West Germans thrived: average West Germans were considerably wealthier than their Eastern counterparts. The country developed economically, and its people enjoyed lives with all the pleasures that wealth, modern technologies and quality free time could provide. By contrast, East Germany's socialist policies created a state that fell woefully behind. Its people were much poorer; property ownership was virtually non-existent amid a collectivist regime; food and material goods were scarce and expensive, available mostly to Communist Party elites; spies were everywhere, and people were summarily arrested and jailed; the state pretended to pay its workers, and they pretended to work. A wall of concrete, barbed wire and guard towers was built to separate the two halves of Berlin  and keep disgruntled Eastern citizens from defecting to the West. Many who tried to leave were shot. By the time of reunification, productivity in East Germany was barely 70% of that in West Germany. The West boasted large, vibrant industries and other highly productive sectors, while dirty antiquated factories and outmoded farming methods dominated the East. Even staples like butter, eggs and chicken  abundant and affordable in West Germany  were twice as expensive in the eastern "workers' paradise." Coffee was seven times more expensive, while gasoline and laundry detergent were more than 2 times more expensive. Luxury items, like automobiles and men's suits were twice as expensive, color televisions five times more costly. About the only staple that was cheaper in East Germany were potatoes, which could be distilled into vodka, so that lower caste East Germans could commiserate better with their abundant Russian comrades. Moreover, state-guaranteed health care in the East did not translate into a healthier society. In 1990, life expectancy in the West was about 3 years longer than in the East for men, and more than 2 years longer for women. Studies found that unfavorable working conditions, psychological reactions to political suppression, differences in cardiovascular risk factors and lifestyles, and lower standards of medical technology in East Germany were largely responsible for their lower health standards. The socialist mentality of full employment for everyone led to more women working in the East than in the West. This pressure resulted in better childcare facilities in East Germany, as mothers there returned to work sooner after giving birth and were more inclined to work full-time  or more compelled to work, to put food on the table, which meant they had to work full-time and run the household. This also meant East German children had far less contact with their parents and families, even as West Germans became convinced that children fared better under their mothers' loving care than growing up in nurseries. As the education system in East Germany was deeply rooted in socialism, the state ran an extensive network of schools that indoctrinated children into the socialist system from just after their birth to the university level. While it's true that today East Germans perform better at STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) studies than their Western counterparts, that may be explained in part by the influx of numerous poorly educated immigrants to former West German areas, and the extensive money invested in the eastern region since reunification. However, schools of the East were not intended to establish creative thinking, which results in creativity and innovation. Rather, they were authoritarian and rigid, encouraging collective group-think and consensus ideas, rather than fostering outside-the-box thinking, novel philosophies and enhanced productivity. Thus, East German technology was slow to develop and students were often overqualified for available jobs. Did the East gain any advantage? Nudism was more prevalent in the East, if that was your thing. Personal interaction was higher too, because telephones and other technologies were lacking. But even though East Germany was much better off than other Soviet satellite countries (a tribute to innate German resourcefulness), East German socialism offered few advantages over its capitalist western counterpart. In fact, in the years since reunification, homogenization of Germany has been slow, due largely to the legacy of years lived under socialist domination, where any work ethic was unrewarded, even repressed. Freedom was the single most important ingredient that caused West Germany to succeed. Freedom is the elixir that fuels innovation, supports a diversity of thought, and allows people to become who they want to be, not what the state demands they must be. When the government guarantees equality of outcomes, it also stifles the creativity, diversity, ingenuity and reward systems that allow people and countries to grow, develop and prosper. The Experiment has proven this. These days in the United States, however, forgetful, unobservant and ideological politicians are again touting the supposed benefits of socialism. Government-provided health and elder care, free tuition, paid day care and pre-school education, guaranteed jobs and wages are all peddled by candidates who feel government can and should care for us from cradle to grave. They apparently think East German socialism is preferable to West German capitalism. Have they learned nothing from The Experiment? A friend of mine believes capitalism is greedy and evil  and socialism, if "properly implemented," will take us forward to realizing a better future. I counter that The Experiment proves society is doomed to mediocrity at best under autocratic socialism. Indeed, those who turn toward the Siren call of socialism always crash upon its rocks. But my friend assures me: "Trust me, this time it will be different." That's what they always say. Perhaps Venezuela and Cuba are finally making socialism work? David R. Legates, PhD, CCM, is a Professor of Climatology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. His views do not represent those of the University of Delaware. Home
What's the point of having a majority if GOP doesn't use it? By Michael R. Shannon

Earlier this month, during an aside in his speech at the Values Voters Summit, Rep. Louie Gohmert (RTX) shared an insight into the timid appeasers comprising GOP congressional leadership. When he first entered the House in 2006 the talk was of the big things the Republican majority was going to accomplish. Then he attended a GOP House conference meeting and found leadership worried. They explained that yes, the plan was to do big things. But there was "a small chance" Republicans might lose the majority. So to play it safe, the leadership wants to do small things, win the election and keep the majority. Then, they'll do great things. Gohmert was just a freshman member at the time but he spoke up, "If there's any chance we might lose, then this is the time to do the big stuff." But Gohmert was ignored. Conservative voters are still waiting for those "great things." Elect a Democrat and they wield power. Elect a Republican and they hold office. GOP leaders hoard their majority like dwarves hiding under the Lonely Mountain, until the Dragon Pelosi shows up and snatches it away. This explains why a constitutional ignoramus like Nancy Pelosi in her four years as speaker did more to advance the leftist agenda than the last three Republican speakers combined did for the GOP. This week conservatives have another example of GOP cowardice. The headline in The Hill read: "GOP averts vote on impeaching IRS commissioner." "Averting" is a GOP leadership specialty. Here a just a few times these surrender monkeys have ignored their conservative base:  House GOP Scurries To Avert Homeland Security Shutdown  allowing Obama's unconstitutional illegal alien amnesty to continue.  Shutdown Averted: House Passes Funding Bill Despite Majority of GOP No' Votes  continued funding for Planned Parenthood and its organ harvesting.  Aiming to avert shutdown, Obama to meet with Congress leaders at White House  part of a plan to have the next funding bill passed during a lame duck session with spending finalized before Trump may take office. Each one of these surrenders only serves to make Congress more irrelevant and the president and his appointees stronger and more defiant. That's why this impeachment vote was so important. The Obama administration turned the IRS into its political enforcement arm without any consequences. Lois Lerner specifically targets conservative political organizations for IRS harassment. She delayed and denied taxexempt designations for five years, while at the same time approving applications of groups supporting the administration. Commissioner John Koskinen brought in by Obama to "clean up" the IRS, mislead Congress about disappearing email. Didn't protect other IRS data that Congress specifically ordered him to preserve. Failed to protect subpoenaed documents and another 24,000 Lerner email messages. As Rep. Jason Chaffetz (RUT) told the New York Times, "He provided, I think, a whole series of false testimony. You can't be under a duly issued subpoena and mislead Congress, and when you provide false testimony there has to be a consequence." Koskinen and the IRS are tailor made for a visit to the woodshed. Although powerful, the IRS has no natural constituency outside government. Impeach the EPA director and every druid in the nation will be chaining themselves to the Cherry Trees. Go after Agriculture and it's tractors and nutritionists laying siege to Washington. But the only constituency for the IRS is lobbyists who milk it for tax loopholes. What's more, the IRS is beatable. Just ask the Church of Scientology. It fought a war with the IRS to force it to grant Scientology a church tax exemption. GOP leaders whine about the media and bad PR, yet there is no Fox News for cults to give the Scientology side of the fight. And the church lacked the base of the Republican Party. Yet Scientology won, while the GOP surrenders. Scientology fought the IRS for 25 years. GOP leadership won't fight for 25 news cycles. The impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen was designed to send a message to a rogue executive branch that in the future Congress is going to assert its constitutional power. Unfortunately Paul Ryan was the messenger. Now instead of a vote on impeachment, the House will hold yet another hearing where Koskinen will be able to peddle the same lies and halftruths he did before, content in the knowledge these putzes are powerless. Then after the election  maybe on Christmas Eve!  a quiet vote on impeachment will be held and the issue will go away. This is why Trump is the nominee instead of the establishment candidates. Conservatives are tired of a "leadership" that defines victory as holding a successful hearing and winning a news cycle. We define victory by winning. Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at mandate.mmpr (at) gmail.com. He is also the author of Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!). Home
The New World Order plot against America By Michael Moriarty

Things are falling apart in America exactly as President Barack Obama has hoped they would. The racial nightmares in North Carolina and New York and elsewhere are exactly what Obama had always hoped for. They might even justify his plan to never leave the White House; thereby provoking the Civil War hes doing his best to inspire. Hes defied Congress repeatedly. Congress does nothing about it except allow its speaker, Paul Ryan, to complain occasionally while helping President Obama suspend the 5th Amendment. May God help what is left of The Constitution and The Bill of Rights in America. Endless rumors about October 1st as the beginning of Martial Law and a shutdown of the Internet in America and even more fears about America being literally invaded by troops of The United Nations! We all, those of us who are voting for Donald Trump, wonder what our Trump Camp could possibly do if Obama dared to provoke an open Second Civil War in America. Here is one grim examination of Martial Law in America. Heres a Canadian POV on Americas predicament under what I believe to be the most indisputably treasonous President of the United States the entire world and all of human history has ever seen. He didnt get there alone. There was plenty of help from not only the Clintons but George H. W. Bush and his plans for The New World Order. America, under the thumb of such exploding tyranny, has profoundly justifiable and Constitutional Rights to resist the imposition of a Treasonous New World Order upon America and Americans. Because both the President and the entire Bush Family  in a treasonously created, bipartisan show of support for a New World Order run by the United Nations  intend to Impose By Force

This Criminally Conceived,

New World Order!

Obamas Only Possible Idea of Democracy The Treason necessitated by this Megalomaniacal Dream of A New World Order, cooked up by both former President George H. W. Bush and a criminally insane fugitive from Russian justice George Soros?! The Treasonous Plot

For a New World Order

Cannot Possibly be achieved

Without a Second American Civil War!!!! Obama,

Soros

The Bushes

And

The Clintons

Are prepared

To PROVOKE

A Second American Civil War! The New World Order Plot Against America is, without any doubt, not only a horrifying reality but an utter and complete act of treason. God willing, both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin of Russia, both of whom abhor and oppose the concept of a New World Order Run By The United Nations, have prepared themselves and their allies for dealing with not only this treason against America but this world wide threat to Peace itself! Certainly, SOMEWHERE amidst the CIA, the FBI and the entire American Military, there are forces assembling to immediately arrest, imprison and charge with treason this diabolically inspired Trinity of Treason: George Soros, President Barack Obama and The Entire Bush Family. In fact, if you include the crimes and true intents of the Clinton Family?! A Quartet of Treasonous Cabals That is what has been running the United States ever since the one-term President, George H. W. Bush, announced that his Plan For A New World Order will not fail! This treasonous plot for a criminal insurrection has been in the works for over 25 years! Will America elect a criminally suspicious Hillary Clinton? Or are the People of The United States willing to fight for The Last and Greatest Hope of Mankind?! The United States of America! The greatest enemy of America right now? All

Who Are Committed

To

The New World Order If you value your individual freedom? Prepare yourselves for A Second American Civil War. The American Traitors

Supporting The New World Order

Have Already Passed

The Point of No Return! If Hillary Doesnt Win?! Obama Will Declare Martial Law!!! He Has No Other Choice!!!!! If He Doesnt?! He

And George Soros

Will Eventually Be Arrested

For Treason! Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent film and TV credits include The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby and Deadly Skies. Contact Michael at rainbowfamily2008@yahoo.com. He can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@MGMoriarty. Home
Stain that would be on Obama's conscience  if he had one By Selwyn Duke

While speaking at the United Nations last Tuesday and advocating more Muslim migration into the West, Barack Obama likened a refusal to accept the Muslims to the "turning away [of] Jews fleeing Nazi Germany," which he called "a stain on our collective conscience." But while Obama sought to lecture us, he actually condemned himself. Of course, there is no equivalence between the WWII-era Jews and the Muslim migrants, as no one had to worry about terrorists being embedded among the former. In contrast, we know for a fact that terrorists are among the Muslim migrants. Without comprehensive Western-style databases in Syria (which is supposedly the focus) and with bribery getting you official government documents saying you're whoever you want to be in that nation, there simply is no way to vet these people. But that Obama would attempt a flawed analogy isn't his real shame here. It's that the real analogy isn't between the WWII Jews and today's Muslim migrants. It's between the WWII Jews and another persecuted minority: the Middle East Christians. You know, the people who multiple sources say face genocide as Christianity is gradually wiped out in the Mideast. They're also the people Obama won't lift a finger to help. In fact, while Christians are 10 percent of Syria's population and are being targeted by Islamic State, only one half of one percent of Obama's Syrian migrants have been Christian. That translates into 56 out of 10,801 "refugees." It's so astounding that even liberal Newsweek ran an article titled "The U.S. Bars Christian, Not Muslim, Refugees From Syria." Really compassionate guy that Obama, huh? Have any more lectures for us, Barry? Since it's clear Obama couldn't care less who lives or dies in the Middle East, the question is raised: what is his real agenda? Try this on for size: the vast majority of U.S. Muslims now vote Democrat, with Obama having gotten 89 and 85 percent of their votes in, respectively, 2008 and 2012. In contrast, believing Christians are known to support conservatives. And it isn't as if Obama doesn't know this. He said last year that immigration was making America "more and more of a hodgepodge of folks" who he was "hopeful" would drown out conservatism (hey, didn't you always want to live in a hodgepodge?). Of course, this only works if you have the right hodgepodge. And with 70 to 90 percent of today's immigrants voting Democrat upon being naturalized, liberals love the mix. Just keep the Christians out. This is what Obama and his ilk mean when saying "Our strength lies in our diversity": "Our [Democrat political] strength lies in our [orchestrated] diversity." They're just not as blunt as was Andrew Neather, ex-advisor to former British prime minister Tony Blair, when he admitted that the massive Third World immigration into the U.K. was designed "to rub the Right's nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date." Hey, it doesn't matter if it destroys Western culture. Why serve in Heaven when you can reign in Hell? The reality, again, is that Obama cares as much about Mideastern lives as he does about Hillary's emails. Immigration, "refugee" acceptance, family reunification, etc. are all about one thing and one thing only: importing voters. If most new immigrants would support Republicans, we'd have about as much immigration as North Korea. And the border? There'd be an impenetrable wall, sunk down 100 feet into the earth, with an electrified fence on top of it and organ-disrupting, pain-inducing sound wave weapons mounted on turrets every thousand feet of its length. Oh, and drones with heat and motion sensors would be buzzing about monitoring it 24/7/365. Obama would have many stains on his conscience, if he actually had a conscience. But possession of such generally eludes twisted, evil, vile men. By the way, here is a great 2015 interview with Dr. Mudar Zahran, a Jordanian academic and Muslim refugee living in the U.K. He explains why the notion that the current Muslim migrants are "refugees" is a con and issues a warning: keep the Muslim migrants out of the West. Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com Home
On 13 July, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, the daughter of poor brick kiln workers belonging to the Maratha community, was gang-raped and murdered in Kopardi, in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. According to reports, her body had been brutally mutilated. The accused are three Dalit youths who were arrested immediately. More than a month after this incident, muk (silent) morchas led by Maratha organisations began in Ahmednagar, and spread to other districts. The slow build-up is now beginning to get widespread media and public attention and on 21 September, one such morcha was held in Navi Mumbai. There are plans to hold one in Mumbai in October. The marchers have three main demands: rigorous punishment to the accused, grant of reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the Maratha community and review of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (PoA).

As with the Jats in Haryana and Rajasthan and the Patels in Gujarat, the trajectory of the Maratha communitys economic and political fortunes has been marked by dwindling returns from agriculture, division of landholdings among succeeding generations, lack of attention to educational training of the youth and resultant resentment towards communities who have the advantage over them due to reservation. The Marathas have dominated the states political life and inevitably, the formation of the state cabinet since its inception. Maratha politicians and leaders have spawned huge educational complexes and led the states vast cooperative sector for a long time. But the youth of the poor and small landholding sections of the community, who face low returns from land and joblessness, are not willing to be content with stories of its valorous and glorious history. Marathas account for between 32% and 33% of the states population while the Dalits form 10.8% and the Other Backward Classes (OBC) 26% of it. According to unofficial estimates, 35% of the Marathas are landless labourers and their economic hardships only seem to be growing.
The face-off between the government and the service chiefs over the implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commissions recommendation once again underscores the deep-seated problems in our civilmilitary relations. Coming on the heels of the bitter controversy over One Rank One Pension (OROP) (Raghavan 2015), the latest episode shows that it is impossible any longer to brush these problems under the carpet. The situation demands urgent attention not just of the political leadership, but the citizens as well.

The fracas over the Seventh Central Pay Commission was no bolt out of the blue. Soon after the commission had submitted its report in December 2015, the three service chiefs wrote to the defence minister pointing out several problems with the recommendations. Fundamentally, the suggestions made in the joint memorandum submitted by the services to the commission had been glossed over. In particular, all the major problems that the armed forces had with the previous pay commission had been brushed aside. The defence minister reportedly assured the service chiefs that their concerns would get a full hearing. In the months since, the chiefs had written to him several times. The matter had also been formally brought to the notice of the Prime Minister in July 2016.
Federica Mogherini, the chief of European diplomacy, met on Wednesday (21 September) with the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Salahuddin Rabbani, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly Ministerial Week in New York, two weeks before the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan (BCA). Both sides have therefore agreed to finalize as soon as possible any unresolved issues related to the BCA.

The conference will gather up to 70 countries and 30 international organizations and agencies, providing a platform for the government of Afghanistan to present its vision and track record on reform. For the international community, it will be the opportunity to emphasize the continuous political and financial support to peace in the country as well as its state building and development. Both Mrs Mogherini and Mr Rabbani said that they believed that the conference would engage the international community in Afghanistans stability and development in the years to come.

The conference will focus on three broad areas  joint international and Afghan efforts to increase the effectiveness of sustained international support and funding, Afghan reform efforts, including on economic reform, rule of law, improved public finance management and anti-corruption  whereby all of these will ensure the provision of the most important services and public goods and regional efforts to support a political process towards peace and cross-border economic cooperation.

The conference will also touch upon empowerment of women in the Afghan society and on the margins of the BCAs, a high-profile event called Empowered Women, Prosperous Afghanistan will take place. The Afghan government will use the event to outline policy progress and plans on the protection and empowerment of women with a focus on the political and human rights of Afghan women and their socio-economic situation.
As the Syrian city of Aleppo was hit by 200 air strikes over the last weekend (24-25 September) leaving the city without water, the European Union has issued a joint statement on the catastrophic humanitarian situation, urging Russia to restore credibility to the joint efforts and support a diplomatic solution to the war.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Samantha Power, said that Russia had told outright lies about its conduct in the conflict. Ms Power said that Russias Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, was lying the UN that Russia was committed to a peaceful solution. Instead of peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of getting life-saving aid to Syrians, Russia and Assad are bombing hospitals and first responders, Ms Power said. She also called on the Council to have the courage to say who is responsible and tell Russia with one voice to stop.

In the meantime, Aleppo has become the key battlefield of the Syrian civil war. During the last weekend, the city witnessed an outrageous bombing of a humanitarian convoy, the Syrian regimes public denunciation of the cessation of hostilities and continuing reports that the regime is using chemical weapons. The ongoing offensive on eastern Aleppo, led by the regime of President Asad and supported by Russia, blatantly contradicts Moscows claim that it supports a diplomatic resolution. Ms Power said that the Syrian regime and Russia were laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city.

In response, the EU reaffirmed its commitment to destroy Daesh in Syria and Iraq, urged Russia to go back to the negotiating table and demanded an expanded humanitarian access to all areas of Syria. The EU also deplored the destruction caused by the bombing of humanitarian deliveries to those in desperate need and fully supported the UN investigations into the use of chemical weapons in the conflict.
Two months since the failed coup detat in Turkey measures taken to cleanse supporters of the coup from state institutions are at full speed and Turkish foreign policy has taken a new turn.

There are signals of Turkeys rapprochement with its most important partners: relations with Russia that were at an all-time low since the Turkeys downing of the Russian plane back in November 2015[1] are improving, Turkey is joining the fight against ISIS together with the US, [2], high level European officials, including Mogherini, Schulz and Hahn are visiting Ankara[3], and President Erdogan is holding bilateral talks with the European leaders at the G-20 meeting in China[4].

Yet, the ongoing diplomatic tension between Turkey and the EU because of the migration crisis and the internal problems the EU is facing, makes it hard to make any predictions about the future of Turkey  EU relations. The dissonance between what is reported in Turkish and international media is not helpful either. It can be productive to think about three possible scenarios, and decide which one is more desirable for both sides. In the first scenario, Turkey can totally break off from the European Union. In the second, Turkey can continue its long time poorly played bridge role. Lastly, Turkey can become a member of the European club again.

Turkey and the EU could drift away further

In this case, the EU is more likely to have the Turkey that it has so far tried to avoid, with a conservative government turning towards China and Russia, feels economically empowered with Gulf money and with an archaic Customs Union agreement with the EU.

Turkeys prospects would not be better. Polarization between the different communities living in the country could rise in case there is a break away from the European road to which the Republican tradition in Turkey is strongly dedicated. Despite uncomfortable periods between the EU and Turkey, the Turkish public has been keen on turning its face towards Europe, especially at times of economic trouble and external threats coming from the Middle East, such as ISIS attacks. Yet, for the first time in Turkish history, the Middle East is much closer to Turkey than it has ever been. We should not forget the new population of the country, not only the Syrian refugees who were fleeing from the war, but also the wealthy Middle Eastern neighbours who have been investing and partly settling in Turkey since the early 2000s.

Moreover, the identity crisis that most Turks felt until the AKP came to power and reinvented an Ottoman identity, has eased. Given the economic success of the early AKP years and the cultural and educational policies, Turks started to feel closer to their long-forgotten brothers in the Middle East. Surely, the EUs exclusionist discourse and the resulting weariness of EU supporters in Turkey because of years of discussions on membership contribute to this feeling. Therefore, the pro-European forces in Turkey are likely to feel more isolated and desperate. In the long term, it is obvious that fulfilment of this scenario will benefit neither Turkey nor its close neighbours in the Middle East or in Europe.

Turkey can stay as the wobbly bridge between the EU and the Middle East

The bridge metaphor has been used for Turkey and its EU relations for a very long time. Yet this bridge and its two ends of it have been unable to reach out to each other in difficult times. This has not helped either party. The migration crisis showed very clearly that the EU needs Turkey. Yet during negotiations on a migrant deal, the EU lost its credibility as the Europe of values, not only because of how it treated migrants but also how it closed its eyes to the rule of law problems in Turkey that it deemed so important when Turkeys full-membership was the issue.

In addition to losing its credibility when it treats Turkey as a bridge, the EU has more at stake if Turkey continues to be a volatile force in the region. The relationship is so susceptible to momentary fluctuations that in a world where economic and security concerns are so high, neither party can devise a plan for the future. Furthermore, Turkeys 2023 vision is far from the peaceful Europe that the European fathers imagined.

Turkey can become a member of the European club (again)

While its likelihood is low, this last scenario is the best for both sides. The European Union is still the Turkeys most important economic partner  48.5% of Turkeys exports go to the EU, and 64% of Turkeys inward foreign direct investment comes from the EU. Moreover, after the EU accession process FDI to Turkey increased seven fold, and Turkey owes the trust of foreign investors to the EU process.[5] On the other hand, the EU benefits from its international trade with Turkey. Turkey, the fifth trade partner of the EU, also has skilled labor and is a big market for European goods.[6]

Moreover, the EU wants to diversify its energy import sources, and given the newest natural gas explorations in Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey is the cheapest transportation route.[7]

The migration deal, despite all the arguments surrounding it, saved the EU from the high flow of refugees, and from spending an important amount of their budget for social security services at a time of ongoing financial crisis.[8]

As for Turkey, EU membership served as a target for Turkish governments even in the midst of political turmoil, including military coups. Especially since 1999 when Turkey became a candidate on a par with other new candidate countries including Eastern and Central Europe, the EUs democratizing affect has been clear. Removal of military judges from the State Security Courts, circumscribing the powers of the National Security Council, countless EU funded projects raising awareness and changing perceptions about the militarys role in politics have contributed to liberalization in civil-military relations. The fact that the military itself was divided over the failed coup attempt and the consecutive condemnation of the coup by the Turkish population is certainly an evidence for this.

Working with Turkey on its European path is also beneficial for the EUs legitimacy and credibility as a diverse club. The very democratic values that the EU stands for seem to have lost their credibility in European countries themselves. The EUs response to the migration crisis, and the conservative nationalist wave in Europe, such as Hungary and Poland, but also in France and Germany, does not fit well with Europes standing in the global community.

The aftermath of the attempted coup has not been an easy period to navigate either for the European leaders, or for the pro-European Turks. In the midst of a dirty fog that surrounded the events even for an avid Turkey observer, and the perplexing speed of the measures against the coup-plotters, European friends were late to condemn the coup-attempt. Moreover, the continuing measures taken during the state of emergency in Turkey are not in line with the European conventions of which Turkey is a part. Yet, it is the very time that we all need to take a look at the bigger picture and see which one of these simple scenarios is best for all of us.

[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34912581

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/world/middleeast/turkey-syria-isis.html?_r=0

[3] http://www.politico.eu/article/martin-schulz-reassures-erdogan-of-support-for-turkey-european-parliament-coup-visit/

[4] http://www.dw.com/tr/suriye-ve-abyi-konu%C5%9Ftular/a-19525608

[5] http://www.dw.com/tr/t%C3%BCrkiye-ile-ab-birbirine-ne-kadar-muhta%C3%A7/a-19450619

[6] http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21689874-turkey-performing-well-below-its-potential-erdoganomics

[7] http://turkishpolicy.com/article/794/pivoting-energy-relations-in-the-eastern-mediterranean#_ftn39

[8] http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/09/can-this-man-save-the-europe-turkey-migrant-deal-gerald-knaus-esi-refugees/

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security challenges of our time.
As readers of Evolution News likely know, the National Center for Science Education is an organization dedicated to dismissing scientific criticism of Darwinian theory. Recently the groups bimonthly publication, Reports of the National Center for Science Education (RNCSE), reviewed my book The Evolution Revolution. I was not surprised that the review by David E. Levin, who teaches in Boston University dental schools Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, was negative. I prepared a polite reply for the RNCSE website where he published his review. I requested the opportunity to submit it, but I was not given even the courtesy of a response. Instead, Evolution News published my reply

Levin also posted his review on my books Amazon page. I wanted to post an answer to his absurd charges on the same page, but Amazon does not allow the author to post alongside the reviews. The most they will allow is the submission of a comment to a review. But to refute all the nonsense he wrote requires more space than Amazon allows for comments. So I offer here the following  less mild  reply.

In his review, David Levin seems to have set out to perform a hatchet job, and this required dispensing with truth. Before going into that, however, I must describe briefly the major point of my book, which he neglected to address. One would expect a review of a book to include a discussion of its major point. Perhaps he didnt understand it or else he felt unable to refute it. Either way, he ignored it.

The major point of the book is that current evolutionary theory is a failure. It is a failure because it has never been shown that the probabilities of the alleged evolutionary events, according to the theory, are anything but negligibly small. A scientific theory cannot be established as valid unless the consequences that follow from it correspond to reality. For example, Newtons theory of the inverse-square law of gravitation could not have been established without calculations showing that its predictions correspond quantitatively to observations. Current evolutionary theory is based on random mutations producing variation that is acted upon and directed by natural selection. Its predicted consequences are therefore random events, which are describable only by probabilities. For the theory to be properly established, these probabilities must be shown to be reasonably large. Because it has never been shown, the theory is a failure and the principle of common descent, which is based on that theory, is without support. Levin did not address this most significant point.

In the book, I present my nonrandom evolutionary hypothesis (NREH) that accounts for all the evolution that has been actually observed and which is not accounted for by modern evolutionary theory (the Modern Synthesis, or MS). Levin ridicules the NREH but does not refute it. There is too much evidence for it. A lot of evidence is cited in the book, and there is considerably more that I could add. He ridicules what he cannot refute.

Levin calls the NREH Lamarckian. But it differs significantly from Lamarkism. Lamarck taught that an animal acquired a new capability  either an organ or a modification thereof  if it had a need for it. He offered, however, no mechanism for that capability. Because Lamarcks theory lacked a mechanism, the scientific community did not accept it. The NREH, on the other hand, teaches that the organism has an endogenous mechanism that responds to environmental stress with the activation of a transposable genetic element and often leads to an adaptive response. How this mechanism arose is obscure at present, but its operation has been verified in many species.

In the book I stated that stress, resulting from environmental change, can induce an adaptive heritable response in an organism. There is a wealth of evidence for this statement. These phenomena have been reported in bacteria (Chou et al. 2009; Stoebel et al. 2009; Stoebel and Dorman 2010; Drevinek et al. 2010; Gaffe et al., 2011), yeast (Rolfe et al., 1986; Bradshaw and McEntee, 1989), plants (Wessler, 1996; Grandbastien, 1998; Lin et al., 2007), fruit flies (Strand and McDonald, 1985; Aminetzach et al., 2005; Chung 2007), mosquitos (Chenais et al. 2012), and mammals (Liu et al., 1995). And Levin thinks there is no evidence!

Levin ignored the literature regarding the response of bacteria to stress. He writes as if the only mechanism by which bacteria respond to stress is by hypermutation. He seemed to have missed, for example, my discussion of the role of cryptic genes in evolution. Cryptic genes remain silent until activated by transposable genetic elements, which are in turn triggered by environmental stress and their activation tends to relieve the stress. Moreover, hypermutation during stress does not occur across the genome as Levin asserts but is targeted to specific regions (see e.g., Bridges 2001). Mutations in these specific areas have often been found to lead to an adaptation to the stressful environment. By the way, if hypermutation were to occur across the whole genome, as Levin says, it would kill the bacterium with the many errors that it would introduce in various critical functions.

He also claims there is no evidence for the heritable effects of NREH. In almost all the examples I gave of organisms responding adaptively to environmental stress, the effects are heritable. He is unaware of the literature on transgenerational effects of stress (e.g., Franklin et al. 2010; Bohacek et al. 2013; Gapp et al. 2014). His ignorance of the literature leads him to ridicule my suggestion that the effects of stress can be transmitted to the next generation. The transgenerational effect of stress, even in humans, has also been documented in recent reports (Matthews and Phillips 2010).

Good theories often start out with only partial evidence for them. A sign of a good theory is that, as time goes on, evidence is increasingly found to substantiate it. This is exactly what is happening with NREH. Since my book was published, more and more evidence of such a mechanism has appeared. RNAs in sperm from stressed mice have been reported to lead to the stress response appearing in adult offspring (Rodgers et al. 2015, Chen et al. 2016, Leslie 2016). It is not Levins credulity whose bounds he claims are strained, but his faith in Darwinian evolution, which he panics to see demolished.

I wrote in this book (as well in an earlier book) that there is no example of a random mutation that adds heritable information to the genome, and that statement still stands. The statement is important because evolution is about building up information (Spetner 1964, 1968, 1970). Some have offered what they think are counterexamples of my statement, but they are often not of random mutations at all, or they otherwise fail to be valid counterexamples.

Levin finds the statement astonishing, and it may well astonish someone who believes evolutionary theory represents reality. But it happens to be true, and I am not surprised that it astonishes him because it deals a deathblow to evolutionary theory.

Levin desperately tried to refute that statement by charging (falsely) that I have dishonestly changed my definition of information in going from one example to another. Before I deal with that risible charge I want to note the importance of information in evolution because it is related to the myth that macroevolution is just microevolution continued over a long time as suggested by Dobzhansky (1937).1 This myth has been promoted by evolutionists for decades. Their favorite example to bring up in support is the evolution of antibiotic resistance (ABR). It has been alleged that since such a complex adaptation as ABR can evolve in a decade or less, one should expect many remarkable complexities to evolve in millions of years. By examining the details of ABR, however, I have shown in the book that mutations leading to ABR, no matter how many millions of times they occur, cannot add any information and cannot therefore lead to macroevolution. And this point can be generalized. We know of no random mutation that can build up biological information in the genome, no matter how many times such a mutation occurs. This fact explodes the micro/macro-evolution myth.

Levin accuses me of dishonestly changing my definition of specificity to support my statement that no known random mutation adds information to the genome. In his attempt to discredit my book, he resorted to calling me dishonest. The reasoning on which he based this smear is nothing but ridiculous. He demonstrates that he does not understand what specificity is, nor does he understand the relationship between specificity and information.

The specificity of a biochemical reaction reflects the ability of an enzyme to discriminate. The more highly specific, the more highly discriminating it is and the more information it has. The ribitol dehydrogenase (RDH) enzyme has a high activity on ribitol and a low activity on both xylitol and L-arabitol. It is therefore quite specific to ribitol. The mutated RDH has a somewhat lower activity on ribitol and a somewhat higher activity on xylitol and L-arabitol. It therefore discriminates less well than the wild-type (unmutated) RDH between ribitol and the other two molecules. It is therefore less specific and hence contains less information. The mutation has thus reduced the specificity, and therefore the information, in the RDH.

The streptomycin molecule attaches to the matching site on a pathogenic bacterial ribosome and thereby interferes with its protein synthesis, leading to the death of the pathogen. The matching site discriminates between streptomycin and other molecules, and is therefore specific to streptomycin and this specificity represents information in the matching site. A mutation in the site destroys the match so that the streptomycin cannot attach, granting the pathogen resistance to streptomycin. The mutated site matches to no molecules and thus does not discriminate between streptomycin and other molecules. The mutated site has thus lost its specificity and has lost its information. So this mutation, too, has lost information. Levins assertion that it becomes more specific because it matches to zero molecules is ridiculous. To say that binding to no molecules has more information than binding to one or two is a joke. My definition of specificity and information is consistent throughout, as opposed to Levins (false) charge.

In referring to my discussion of pupfish evolution, Levin writes, Spetner asserts disingenuously that the DNA of those in the refuges differed from those in Devils Hole, whereas the actual finding was that their genomes were nearly identical. First of all, nearly identical is not identical. Great differences in phenotypes can stem from small percentage differences in the DNA.2 Moreover, Lema, the author of the pupfish paper, cites Wilcox and Martin (2006), who wrote that there are differences in the DNA between the fish in Devils Hole and the refuges. And Lema goes on to discuss possible reasons for the differences.

He further charges that I have not addressed the issue of the nested hierarchies of the phylogenetic tree, saying, Spetner failed to address this issue at all. He chooses to ignore an entire section I wrote on the phylogenetic tree. In contrast to his claim that the nested hierarchies produced by anatomical and genomic comparisons agree with each other astonishingly well, I presented a wealth of evidence showing that the trees derived from morphology and from molecular sequences fail to agree as one would expect if common descent were true.

Levin writes, It is nothing short of astonishing that Spetner appears not to grasp the fundamental concept that descent with modification produces homologous structures, not analogous structures. He confounds my discussion of the phylogenetic tree with this particular example of convergence. Although, as I noted in the book, the concept of convergence was invented to explain away many discrepancies in the phylogenetic trees, examples of convergence are inherently contradictions to the MS. Convergence in analogous structures is a more profound type of convergence than that in homologous structures.

With completely different types of tissues and organs, the katydid exhibits the very same mechanism for impedance matching as do the vertebrates. The authors of the study I cited on katydid hearing wrote, Our results reveal a notable case of convergence, whereby organisms with the most remote phylogenetic histories (such as mammals and katydids), have evolved to hear in a markedly analogous way. This is a remarkable phenomenon and cannot be explained by the random mutations and natural selection of the MS. It is one of many examples of the failure of the MS.

In short, Levin brought no valid arguments against my thesis, which remains that the current evolutionary theory is a failure, and common descent has no valid scientific basis. Microevolution is widely observed, but macroevolution is an illusionfor which there is no direct observational evidence. All that is offered is circumstantial evidence. Moreover, there is no theoretical support. Furthermore, NREH accounts for all the evolution we have observed, and for which the MS is unable to account. Rather than an honest review of my book, Levin has fabricated negative criticisms. With no valid case to make, he stooped to mendacity.

Notes:

(1) This myth is, however, lately being challenged even by evolutionists (e.g., Erwin 2000; Pigliucci 2009).

(2) For example, a 10 percent change in each of 100 genes, which could account for vast phenotypic differences, would represent only a 0.0003 percent difference between two genomes of 3 billion base pairs. The two genomes would be 99.9997 percent identical  i.e., nearly identical.

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Wessler, S. R. (1996) Plant retrotransposons: Turned on by stress. Current Biology 6 (8):959-961.

Wilcox, J. L. and A. P. Martin (2006) The devils in the details: genetic and phenotypic divergence between artificial and native populations of the endangered pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis). Animal Conservation 9: 316-321.

Photo credit: Airman 1st Class Kerelin Molina [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Take a look at side-by-side photos in the middle of an article posted by NASAs Astrobiology Magazine. They look identical, but the ones on the left are fossils, and the ones on the right were made in the lab by shuffling around microbial mats. The title of the article suggests a setback for evolutionists: First Signs of Animal Life on Earth May Be from Microbes.

To muffle the Cambrian explosion, scientists have searched for clues to the existence of complex animals in the Precambrian. The so-called trace fossils dating back to the Ediacaran (600 million years ago) provided some hope. Maybe they were made by ancestral trilobites or worms, the thinking was. Reporter Amanda Doyle explains:

Scientists are attempting to put a date on the earliest lifeforms in the kingdom of Animalia, but without an actual cast of a body theyve had to rely on the credibility of trace fossils to show signs of an animals presence in the form of footprints, scratches, feeding marks or burrows. Some scientists claim to have found trace fossils made by animals more than a billion years ago, raising controversy over whether animal life could have existed this early. There are also trace fossils from the Ediacaran Period and soft bodied animals were known to exist during this period, so understanding the tracks they made is important for studying the early animals. Giulio Mariotti, an oceanographer from Louisiana State University, and colleagues, examined supposed animal trace fossils from the Ediacaran Period, and found that it is possible that some of them could be microbial in origin. The results, which were recently published in a paper entitled Microbial Origin of Early Animal Trace Fossils in the Journal of Sedimentary Research, raise questions about the reliability of trace fossils as evidence for early animal life. [Emphasis added.]

The research, funded by the Exobiology & Evolutionary Biology division of NASAs Astrobiology Program, does not rule out animals as the cause of the trace fossils. The similarities to lab experiments with microbial mats moved with low energy waves, however, are striking. The researchers not only reproduced trackways but also the grooves, pits, and wrinkle structures in the fossils, interpreted to be microbial mats. Simple alterations in the wave velocity produced both.

This research does not necessarily mean that all early trace fossils were caused by microbial aggregates, however it does put forward a plausible alternative explanation for those that occur alongside wrinkle structures. Therefore, possible trace fossils from the Ediacaran period or earlier should be looked upon with skepticism until it is possible to rule out microbial aggregates as a cause of the grooves and pits in the rock.

The article claims that later trace fossils after the Ediacaran become more complex and three-dimensional. Giulio Mariotti, oceanographer from Louisiana State, comments that It is easier to challenge old trails because they have less ancillary information associated with them. His team will be running more experiments to try to distinguish between trace fossils created by microbes and others possibly created by animals.

The abstract of the paper in the Journal of Sedimentary Research, though, doesnt hold out much hope that the fossils are from complex animals. Shaking up microbial mats is capable of creating a wide variety of structures:

Elongate surface trails that abound in late Ediacaran and early Paleozoic sandstone and siltstone are often attributed to early animals. These trails commonly exist on the same beds as wrinkle structures (millimeter- to centimeter-size ridges and pits that are interpreted as evidence of the former presence of microbial mats). Here we show that interactions between oscillatory flow and centimetric microbial aggregates produce elongate trails on the surface of a sediment bed. Trails left by moving microbial aggregates share a number of characteristics with some presumed trace fossils of the earliest animals: elevated edges, zig-zag patterns, smooth curves, reversals, intersections with other trails, series of pits, and paths that terminate abruptly and restart nearby. Under the same flow conditions, millimetric microbial aggregates generate wrinkle structures. Thus, the interaction between flow and microbial aggregates on a sediment bed can produce a number of structures that are commonly interpreted as evidence of early animal locomotion.

The burden of proof appears to be on the evolutionists. To claim that complex animal body plans predated the Cambrian explosion, they will have to distinguish between their trace fossils and the structures Mariottis team was able to generate with microbes. The microbial explanation seems preferable, given that Microbial mats were widespread in the Precambrian, the period before animal life became extremely common and diverse.

The findings make sense if the explosion was real. Many Precambrian strata were perfectly capable of preserving even soft tissues of adult animals, as shown by the preservation of delicate sponge embryos. Where are they?

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, some scientists like to say. Thats fine. But if you want to make a case for a long fuse leading up to the explosive appearance of 18 or more animal phyla, sooner or later you need to show evidence. Three hoped-for classes of evidence have now been called into question by evolutionists themselves: the molecular clock, Ediacaran fossil connections, and now trace fossils. After 157 years of fossil hunting since Darwin, the reality of the explosion remains the best supported conclusion from the available evidence.

Photo: Trace fossil made by a trilobite, by Wilson44691 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
ACER, one of the leading laptop and PC players in India, has announced Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador. Sharma will feature in the upcoming campaigns  both offline and online for the brand and will endorse Acers products such as laptops, desktops, ultrabooks and convertible laptops. The new campaign featuring Sharma will be broadcast across several mediums.

This announcement came soon after the company launched a range of devices such as the Swift 7, Spin 7, Predator 21 X laptop and many more at IFA Berlin. The alliance will primarily foster the expansion of Acers innovative product range in various categories.

Announcing the association with Sharma, Chandrahas Panigrahi, Senior Director and Consumer Business Head, Acer India, said, We are delighted to announce one of the leading youth icons, Anushka Sharma as our brand ambassador. Anushkas love for gadgets and her quest for pushing the limits to be the best seamlessly fits the brand persona. We believe it will be a great association and would help us enhance the brands distinctiveness.

Elaborating on the association with the brand, Sharma says, Gadgets play an important role in our daily life and I'm extremely excited to represent a dynamic brand like Acer which is committed to providing its consumers an exciting experience with its innovative product range.

Acer is also looking at expanding its retail presence, providing consumers the opportunity to experience an entire range of products along with brand expertise and assistance.

Read more news about (ad news, latest advertising news India, internet advertising, ad agencies updates, media advertising India)
The Euro may manage to advance against the Pound this afternoon, should the ECB president offer support

The Pound to Euro exchange rate today (28/09/16): -0.01pct at 1.1595.

The Euro to Pound exchange rate today: 0.86244.

The US Dollar to Euro exchange rate today: -0.09pct at 0.89073.

The Euro to Dollar exchange rate today: 1.12268.

While earlier on in the day, a speech from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was fairly low-impact, the afternoons scheduled speech could result in a longer-lasting impact on the Euro. Also due is the ECB annual research conference, which additionally promises to be impactful.

EURGBP plunged on Tuesday afternoon as markets bought Sterling up after its recent bearish run, while the Euro slumped on concern surrounding a perceived crisis with Germanys Deutsche Bank.

Some have speculated that the bank, which has been fined $14bn by the US, could even damage the Euro if the bank fails to weather its current financial woes.

For the Euro, most of its losses have been triggered by the outcome of Italys June and July industrial sales and orders stats. In most cases, negative results have been seen, which have raised further questions about how stable the Italian economy is, especially in the midst of a banking debt crisis.

On the Pound side of the pairing, losses have been caused by greater global demand for other commodity currencies.

The Euro to Pound x-rate gave up its best levels of three years as the days sterling slump cooled, but EUR/GBP exchange rate still remained above the weeks opening levels.

The Euro could be in a position to strengthen further in the coming days if Eurozone data continues to impress as IFOs business sentiment surveys did. The shared currency might also take advantage of US investor jitters from the US Presidential debate.

The Euro has managed to appreciate significantly against the Pound and other peers today, advancing by 0.4% against the UK currency on the back of supportive domestic data.

These ecostats have come from Germany, where in a redeeming moment for last weeks poor domestic data, the major Eurozone nation has posted better-than-expected Ifo survey stats for September.

On the month, current conditions, expectations and business climate confidence rose to higher-than-forecast levels, hitting a two-year high.

Eurozone Focus: Recent Draghi Comments Focus on Slow but Steady Eurozone Growth

The Euro has made steady progress today, largely because ECB President Draghi has stated the overall Eurozone is faring well at present.

Offering a balanced forecast, Draghi has stated this afternoon that;

The recovery in the Euro area is expected to continue at a moderate and steady pace, but with slightly less momentum than envisaged in June. On the positive side, incoming information continues to point to the Euro area economy being resilient to global and political uncertainty, notably following the UK referendum outcome.

Euro Exchange Rate Outlook: German Consumer Confidence Score and Further Draghi Comments due Wednesday

While Tuesday is not set to bring any notable Eurozone releases, the rest of the week will be comparatively packed with Eurozone data.

Further high-impact German data is due on Wednesday morning, when the GfK consumer confidence result for October comes out. Pessimistically, a fractional decline from 10.2 to 10.1 is predicted.

Other notable Eurozone events will include a speech from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi on Wednesday afternoon, as well as Eurozone business confidence and German unemployment figures on Thursday.

Pound Sterling News: Continued Brexit Concerns Keep GBP Low against Peers

While actual UK domestic data has been fairly limited today, the Pound has still slumped against its peers, owing to widespread concerns about what Brexit will really mean in the future.

Among those voicing their grievances have been City of London financers, who fear that a so-called Hard Brexit may result in more competitive EU markets siphoning away talent and investment from the UK financial sector.

Other issues keeping the Pound down have concerned Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been accused of not representing the Remain side in the Referendum properly and failing to support a prior immigration Emergency Brake measure under former-PM David Cameron.

Pound Sterling Predictions: BoE Speeches and UK GDP to Shift GBP This Week

UK domestic data out this week will be spread fairly thinly, with a bulk of announcements coming on Friday. Before then, Bank of England (BoE) official Andy Haldane is due to give a speech tomorrow evening.

Another BoE speech is due on Wednesday morning, this time from Nemat Shafik. Thursdays medium-impact results will include a positively-forecast BoE consumer credit figure.

Fridays notable announcements will consist of the GfK consumer confidence result for September, as well as the Q2 finalised GDP growth rate results. Confidence is predicted to move closer to a positive range, while GDP is expected to rise on the month and year.
Hi everyone,



I was wondering if anyone knows whether my wife would pass the medical in London to get a CR1 visa as she has Spina Bifida?



It's not a severe case and she takes no medication for it. It does not effect her ability to walk etc and other than the need for her to use catheters, it does not effect her everyday life. Other than that she has not medical issues and is fit and healthy.



Just trying to work out if its worth us spending lots of money to find out that they will automatically fail her anyway.



Thanks



NB
hi there



my elderly parents have decided that they want to move back to Shanghai, after spending the past 30 or so years in the States. they want to go back to stay in their childhood neighbourhood. this is a decision that i was vehemently against but have to respect.



i have never gone back to Shanghai for a prolonged period of time and have a hard time reading/writing mandarin.



i'm really at a loss and am worried that my parents may not be able to access support services at home. they can still get around well enough themselves but if i can i'd love for someone to pop in to clean and cook on a bi-daily basis. i'd also want them to have access to transport on-demand in case of emergencies (they're not going to use uber, they never did it here).



would definitely appreciate any feedback and suggestions!



also, i'm the only child and this is my first time in such a situation. what other services should i be looking at to take care of my aging parents?



much appreciated!
Sunday, September 25, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

It is said to be a Chinese curse but, we sure do live in interesting times. See below.

I really like John Boltons analysis the best. Hes always superb. Hope hes part of the new Presidential Administrationmaybe Secretary of State?!

Mahmoud Darwish is back  in the news. His poetry was featured during an Award ceremony for the Israeli film industry. Doesnt anyone read anymore? Please absorb the message in Manny Winstons, zl, digging into Darwishs message. Our stalwart Minister of Culture & Sport, Miri Regev was absolutely correct to walk out on this glorification of a Terror Provocateur from the past. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Savta Raba x 2/Mom

Our website: WinstonIsraelInsight.com

1.A.DARWISH: DIG UP YOUR DEAD, TAKE THEIR BONES WITH YOU & LEAVE FROM OUR LAND 1.Trump advisor against expelling Jews

4.At the U.N., Only Israel Is an Occupying Power By Eugene Kontorovich

6.Ambassador John Bolton: Netanyahus Behavior, Strategy Sensible in Face of US Abandonment by Ruthie Blum

7.88 Senators Press Obama To Uphold US Policy To Veto One-Sided UN Resolutions

8.OBAMA: ISRAEL RECOGNIZES IT CANNOT SETTLE PALESTINIAN LAND

9.IN PARTING WORDS TO UN, OBAMA CALLS FOR COURSE CORRECTION

10.11 TIMES OBAMA TALKED DOWN THE U.S. IN HIS FINAL U.N. ADDRESS

12.Ten Times In Past 2 Years Terrorists Slipped Through Immigration Process Into U.S.

1.A.- DARWISH: DIG UP YOUR DEAD, TAKE THEIR BONES WITH YOU & LEAVE FROM OUR LAND

By Emanuel A. Winston, first published in 1996 & in 2000

If the infamous poet, Mahmoud Darwish, had his wish as expressed in his poetry, the remains of Yossi Sarid, along with all Israeli Jews, would be scattered into the sea. Sarid, as Minister of Education demands that the inciteful poetry of Darwish become part of the curriculum for Jewish children. Well, why not, since Sarid and his aberrant Leftists have launched upon a revision of Israels history to prove that Jews have no right to the land. Leftist professors, falling into the groove carved by Rabin, Peres, Yossi Beilin, Yossi Sarid, Shulamit Aloni and the rest of that bunch who seem to hate the word, Jew, more than the Arabs do.

Perhaps some will recall one of Darwishs poems wherein he tells the Jews of Israel to Dig up your dead, take their bones with you and Leave from OUR Land. November 22, 1996 I wrote a piece: Hebron: Dig Up Your Dead & Take Their Bones With You' beginning with the desecration of ancient Jewish graves burned and vandalized  as were the tombs of Joseph and Joshua in Samaria just before the attacks on Jewish graves in Hebron. (1) The new agreement that PM Netanyahu signed on surrendering 80% of Hebron to Arafat, he also put the Tomb of the Patriarchs up for negotiations three months after the agreements were signed. So, our revered dead are in danger in Hebron. If the Israeli government withdraws the IDF from areas essential for the protection of Jews in Hebron, then Jews in the rest of Israel will not be safe either.

Apparently Darwishs advice is being followed as Barak and his gaggle of Leftists prepare to make the lands of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza Judenrein . Of course, they will have to dig up all the dead including those who died of un-natural causes at the hands of Darwishs friends. Of course, Darwishs friends who wish this will include not only the Jew-hating Arabs, but the Radical Leftist Jews who marched with the Arabs both in body and spirit.

Mind you, Sarid has tried to hide Darwishs violently anti-Israel, anti-Jewish poetry and uses for the Israeli students only his sweet poems for his mother. (2) If Sarid were to be truthful, he would have included the hostile, inciteful, propagandistic bombast that has made Darwish the hero of the Palestinian terror movement. But, no, Sarid wants to legitimize Darwish with Israels young people and so conceals Darwishs true nature, as well as the cause for his imprisonment by Israel and subsequent deportation from Israel.

Darwish, the head of the Arab Writers Guild, skewers the idea of an Arab-Israeli peace with heavy sarcasm, castigating those who would make peace with Israel. He says: Peace isnt peace, because it is peace with the oppressors, Darwish left Israel for Moscow in the 1970s, never to return. In a poem published in 1988, Darwish set off a storm of protest by a seeming call for the liquidation of all Jews in Israel, calling after the Jews get out of our land. (3)

Yossi Sarid is clearly a better friend of the Arabs that he is of observant Jews, perhaps any Jews. Recall how he threatened to lay down in front of trucks should there be an attempt to transfer Arabs. Yet Sarid and his gang of Leftists are chortling with delight over the success of their efforts to transfer Jews from the territories that are the heart of the Land of Israel.

Sarid speaks with the same forked tongue which is so common among those afflicted with Left-itis. It is a genetic trait if one back-tracks over the duplicity of lies told by Rabin, Peres, Barak. Sarid is promoting Shulamit Aloni for the prestigious Israel Prize. Aloni held the portfolio of Minister of Education under PM Yitzhak Rabin. Aloni and other of the Leftists have mouthed the most vicious anti-Semitic canards, it would take a book to list them all. I refer you to The Dialectic of Self-Hatred in Israel by Arieh Stav, policy paper #22 of the Ariel Center for Policy Research in 1998. (4) And to counter most of the vile canards which have been accepted as true, I refer you to MOMENT MAGAZINE February 2000, From concubines to feces-throwing, Orthodox Jews have been accused of it all  Wrongly by Avi Shafran. (5)

The NEW YORK TIMES of March 20 story by Deborah Sontag: Powerful Israeli Rabbi Steps Up Attacks over Parochial Schools (6) states that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef vehemently attacked Yossi Sarid for closing 48 religious schools under Rabbi Yosefs care. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, former Chief Rabbi is the spiritual leader of the powerful political party Shas, part of Prime Minister Baraks coalition with 17 members in Knesset. Sontag also says that Attorney General Elyakim Rubenstein is likely to ask the police to start a criminal investigation of Rabbi Yosef on charges of incitement, insulting a public servant, or of making threats.

If you were to read the policy paper by Arieh Stav and the MOMENT article of Avi Shafran, you would wonder why all those who have besmirched the character and called for the elimination of Orthodox Jews are not being so indicted, investigated and tried by the Israeli courts.

NOTES:

1. Hebron: Dig Up Your Dead & Take Their Bones With You' by Emanuel A. Winston JEWISH PRESS November 22, 1996

2. Poetry to Some, Politics to Others by Hugh Dellios CHICAGO TRIBUNE 3/12/2000

3. Palestinian Poet Parodies Peace' by Zvi Gabay MidEast Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry JERUSALEM POST 2/16/94

4. The Dialectic of Self-Hatred in Israel by Arieh Stav, policy paper #22 of the Ariel Center for Policy Research in 1998.

5. From concubines to feces-throwing, Orthodox Jews have been accused of it all -Wrongly by Avi Shafran. MOMENT MAGAZINE February 2000,

6. Powerful Israeli Rabbi Steps Up Attacks over Parochial Schools by Deborah Sontag THE YORK TIMES March 20, 2000

==========

Emanuel A. Winston is a Middle East Analyst & Commentator and research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies.









DARWISH: DIG UP YOUR DEAD, TAKE THEIR BONES WITH YOU & LEAVE FROM OUR LAND

1.Trump advisor against expelling Jews

Trump advisor negates claim that sovereignty in Judea & Samaria would ruin Israels Jewish identity. Arutz Sheva Staff, 24/09/16 22:36

Donald Trump Reuters

David Friedman, Trumps top advisor, came out against claims that Jewish rule in Judea & Samaria would hurt the rest of Israels Jews by diluting the Jewish character of the country.

Right now, 75% of the population within the Green Line is Jewish, Friedman said, in a video publicized by Channel 2. There are 400,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria, as well as another 400,000 in eastern Jerusalem. And its funny, but the Arab birthrate is declining.

According to Friedman, there is a trend of Arabs leaving Judea & Samaria, with their names remaining on the property deeds.

So if you ask 10 different statisticians how many Arabs live in Judea & Samaria, none of them will be able to give you the correct answer. It could be that no one knows, he said.

According to most calculations, if you take all of Israel, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, and you include all of Judea and Samaria, Jews will make up at least 65% of the population, Friedman noted.

He also added that, The claim that if Jews rule Judea and Samaria, the State of Israel will no longer be a Jewish state is not true. Thats not what the numbers are showing. If we look at the numbers, itll be obvious that the idea that we have to give up Judea and Samaria in order to keep Israels Jewish nature is simply not true.

T omorrow, PM Netanyahu is set to meet with Donald Trump, as well as Hillary Clinton, in New York.

Trump advisor against expelling Jews

2.Ted Cruz endorses Donald Trump

In a change of stance, Texas Senator who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination endorses him for the presidency.

Elad Benari, Canada, 23/09/16 23:00 Arutz Sheva INN.com

Ted Cruz Reuters Texas Senator Ted Cruz on Friday endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump for the presidency, CNN reported.

After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, Cruz wrote in a Facebook post.

A year ago, I pledged to endorse the Republican nominee, and I am honoring that commitment. And if you dont want to see a Hillary Clinton presidency, I encourage you to vote for him, he added.

Cruzs endorsement of Trump marks a change in policy for the Texas Senator, who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination before pulling out of the race.

He refused to endorse Trump at the Republican National Convention in July, congratulating him on the nomination but urging voters to vote their conscience.

Cruz later refused to bow to Trumps victory, claiming hes not a servile puppy.

The endorsement, which comes three days before Trumps first debate with Clinton, comes as the Trump and Cruz camps have moved closer in recent weeks, according to CNN.

Trumps vp nominee Mike Pence played a key role in bringing Cruz into the fold. Pence and Cruz traded multiple messages, then spoke at length once on the phone and again in person, when Pence visited Capitol Hill a few weeks ago, a source close to Pence said.

Trump has hired key Cruz allies such as Kellyanne Conway as his campaign manager, and Jason Miller as a spokesman, according to the report.

And on Wednesday, Trumps campaign expressed support for a Cruz-backed, Internet-related proposal in government funding talks in the Senate.

Friday, Trump released a new list of conservative judges likely to appeal to the former Supreme Court clerk  including Cruzs closest friend in Congress, Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

(Arutz Shevas North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)

Ted Cruz endorses Donald Trump

IsraPundit by Ted Belman September 19, 2016

Polls: Trump ONE STATE From Being President By Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire

There was a time when Hillary Clintons team believed she would win every swing state, many by double digits.

That time has passed.

According to todays Washington Post, the Clinton team is now pessimistic about holding Iowa and Ohio, and they believe Florida and North Carolina will be close. Right now, the latest polls have Donald Trump ahead in all four states. If he were to win those four states, as well as Nevada, he would be one state away from winning the presidency.

Here are the remaining battleground states and where they stand:

Pennsylvania. Theres been a fair bit of talk about Pennsylvania moving into Trumps column due to its heavy white working class population, but theres no evidence in the polls for that  the latest poll from Morning Consult has Clinton up nine points there, for a RealClearPolitics average spread of 6.6 points. Trumps better off focusing his resources elsewhere.

Colorado. Hillary thought she had Colorado in the bag as late as three weeks ago  Trump had no ground game to speak of, and Colorado Republicans were tepid about Trump. But an Emerson poll taken after Hillarys physical collapse last week put Trump up four there; another poll put Trump up two. If Trump takes Colorados 9 electoral votes, hes president.

Wisconsin. Wisconsin hasnt gone Republican since 1984. And Hillary had taken the state for granted for months. But a late August poll showed Clinton up just three points there, and we havent seen any polls in the state since Hillarys health scare and her deplorables comment.

Virginia. Virginia, too, was thought to be in Hillarys win column, but three polls in the last three weeks have shown the race within three points. Hillary had reportedly withdrawn resources from the state, assured that Trump could not compete in the purple state that is rapidly shifting blue  or was, until Hillary ran. Hillarys VP pick, Tim Kaine, clearly hasnt locked up the state quite yet.

New Hampshire. New Hampshires another state Hillary thought was done. But an NBC poll from just before Hillary fell over put her up just two points. That obviously didnt take into account her terrible last week and a half.

Michigan. Michigan, too, was thought out of reach by Hillarys people. She had a solid and consistent lead of between 5 and 7 pointsuntil her health scare, when the lead plummeted to three. And Trump has been campaigning heavily in Michigan, particularly on the economy.

Trumps roughest road here is through Pennsylvania, but if this race remains close, Hillary has to run the table in order to maintain the White House. So much for the theory that Hillarys supposed stability would prevent Trump from gaining the Oval Office. She remains a horror show candidate, and the polls reflect that.

Poll: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump in Virtual Tie Ahead of First Debate

Donald Trump hillary clinton

3.Poll: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump in Virtual Tie Ahead of First Debate

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are virtually tied heading into their first debate, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News Se Sep.25, 2016seSeptpTEMBER 25, 2016 11:01 AM

Poll: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump in Virtual Tie Ahead of First Debate

IsraPundit by Ted Belman September 23, 2016

4.At the U.N., Only Israel Is an Occupying Power By Eugene Kontorovich

The United Nations began its annual session this week, and Israel will be prominent on the agenda. Many fear the Security Council may consider a resolution setting definite territorial parameters, and a deadline, for the creation of a Palestinian state.

President Obama has hinted that in the final months of his term, he may reverse the traditional U.S. policy of vetoing such resolutions. The General Assembly, meanwhile, is likely to act as the chorus in this drama, reciting its yearly litany of resolutions criticizing Israel.

If Mr. Obama is seeking to leave his mark on the Israeli-Arab conflictand outside the negotiated peace process that began in Oslothere is no worse place to do it than the U.N. New research we have conducted shows that the U.N.s focus on Israel not only undermines the organizations legitimacy regarding the Jewish state. It also has apparently made the U.N. blind to the worlds many situations of occupation and settlements.

Our research shows that the U.N. uses an entirely different rhetoric and set of legal concepts when dealing with Israel compared with situations of occupation or settlements world-wide. For example, Israel is referred to as the Occupying Power 530 times in General Assembly resolutions. Yet in seven major instances of past or present prolonged military occupationIndonesia in East Timor, Turkey in northern Cyprus, Russia in areas of Georgia, Morocco in Western Sahara, Vietnam in Cambodia, Armenia in areas of Azerbaijan, and Russia in Ukraines Crimeathe number is zero. The U.N. has not called any of these countries an Occupying Power. Not even once.

It gets worse. Since 1967, General Assembly resolutions have referred to Israeli-held territories as occupied 2,342 times, while the territories mentioned above are referred to as occupied a mere 16 times combined. The term appears in 90% of resolutions dealing with Israel, and only in 14% of the much smaller number of resolutions dealing with the all the other situations, a difference that vastly surpasses the threshold of statistical significance. Similarly, Security Council resolutions refer to the disputed territories in the Israeli-Arab conflict as occupied 31 times, but only a total of five times in reference to all seven other conflicts combined.

General Assembly resolutions employ the term grave to describe Israels actions 513 times, as opposed to 14 total for all the other conflicts, which involve the full gamut of human-rights abuses, including allegations of ethnic cleansing and torture. Verbs such as condemn and deplore are sprinkled into Israel-related resolutions tens more times than they are in resolutions about other conflicts, setting a unique tone of disdain.

Israel has been reminded by resolutions against it of the countrys obligations under the Geneva Conventions about 500 times since 1967as opposed to two times for the other situations.

In particular, the resolutions refer to Article 49(6), which states that the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. This is the provision that the entire legal case against Israel settlements is based upon. Yet no U.N. body has ever invoked Article 49(6) in relation to any of the occupations mentioned above.

This even though, as Mr. Kontorovich shows in a new research article,Unsettled: A Global Study of Settlements in Occupied Territories, all these situations have seen settlement activity, typically on a scale that eclipses Israels. However, the U.N. has only used the legally loaded word settlements to describe Israeli civilian communities (256 times by the GA and 17 by the Security Council). Neither body has ever used that word in relation to any other country with settlers in occupied territory.

Our findings dont merely quantify the U.N.s double standard. The evidence shows that the organizations claim to represent the interest of international justice is hollow, because the U.N. has no interest in battling injustice unless Israel is the country accused.

At a time of serious global crisesfrom a disintegrating Middle East to a land war and belligerent occupation in Europethe leaders of the free world cannot afford to tempt the U.N. into indulging its obsessions. Especially when the apparent consequence of such scapegoating is that the organization ignores other situations and people in desperate need of attention.

0

5.Obama & Netanyahu: The Long Overdue Goodbye by Ruthie Blum

by Ruthie Blum September 23, 2016 7:23 Am

Netanyahu and Obama. Photo: Pete Souza.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Barack Obama at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, on the sidelines of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Having just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the largest-ever military-aid package granted to Israel by an American administration, Netanyahu had no choice but to grin and bear it when Obama issued a typical, not-so-veiled threat to the Jewish state.

Though the precise words that were exchanged between the two behind closed doors are not known, Netanyahu was well aware of what to expect ahead of the tete-a-tete  likely, and thankfully, the last he needs to have with the hostile American president. And if he had harbored any illusions about being spared yet another of Obamas tiresome lectures on the plight of the Palestinians, Obama dispelled them while talking to reporters, just before the meeting.

There is great danger of terrorism and flare-ups of violence, and we also have concerns about settlement activity, Obama said, creating moral parity between evil deeds and benign ones . We want to see how Israel sees the next few years  because we want to make sure that we keep alive this possibility of a stable, secure Israel at peace with its neighbors, and a Palestinian homeland that meets the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

What Obama meant to say  and surely did iterate behind closed doors  was that Israelis living in any areas that the Palestinian Authority wants cleansed of Jews are the cause of the stabbing attacks, shootings, car-rammings, Molotov cocktail-throwing and bombings to which they have been subjected for decades. And now that he has given them a pile of money with which to protect themselves over the next decade, Netanyahu had better start capitulating to any and every Palestinian demand. You know, just as Obama did last year with the mullah-led regime in Tehran.

Netanyahu, too, spoke in code prior to the meeting. The greatest challenge is, of course, the unremitting fanaticism, he said. The greatest opportunity is to advance peace. Thats a goal that I and the people of Israel will never give up on. Weve been fortunate that in pursuing these two tasks, Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America.

Netanyahu was actually conveying that Israel  a liberal democracy like America  has never been at fault for its enemies extremism. The trouble with this assertion is that Obama believes the United States is just as much to blame for the wrath of those bent on its destruction as Israel.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, a senior US official said that during the meeting, Obama raised profound concerns about the corrosive effect that settlement activity, which continues as the occupation enters its 50th year, is having on the prospect of a two-state solution.

An Israeli official indicated that this was not the key topic of conversation. But, he hinted, Netanyahu did repeat what he has been telling Obama for years  that the real problem is the refusal on the part of the Palestinians to recognize a Jewish state, regardless of its borders.

What Netanyahu might have pointed out to the US president is that the Islamic terrorist attacks that took place over the weekend in Minnesota, New York and New Jersey were no different in nature from those perpetrated by Arabs against Israelis. And settlement activity in the West Bank had nothing whatsoever to do with them or the other assaults committed by radical Muslims around the world, including in places where nary a Jew can be found.

But he probably didnt bring this up, figuring it would fall on deaf ears.

There almost certainly was a deafening silence during the chat surrounding the 10-year period covered by the defense aid package to Israel, which ends just around the time the nuclear deal with Iran expires. The coincidence is one that Netanyahu could not afford, literally or figuratively, to underscore. Instead, he thanked Obama for the monetary assistance and bid him farewell, muttering on behalf of all of us a heartfelt good riddance under his breath.

Let us hope and pray he puts the cash, which Israel needs now more than ever, to good use.

Ruthie Blum is the managing editor of The Algemeiner.

Obama & Netanyahu: The Long Overdue Goodbye by Ruthie Blum

6.Ambassador John Bolton: Netanyahus Behavior, Strategy Sensible in Face of US Abandonment by Ruthie Blum

by Ruthie Blum SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 12:23 PM Algemeiner Journal

Ambassador John Bolton & Chairman of Gatestone Institute

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing what is sensible, from the perspective of a leader of a country whose principle ally, America, appears to be abandoning it, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations told The Algemeiner on Thursday.

John Bolton, who  during his tenure at the UN from August 2005 until December 2006  was responsible for having General Assembly Resolution 3379 (more commonly known as Zionism is racism) rescinded, was responding to a query about Netanyahus recent visits to Moscow, rapprochement agreement with Turkey and bolstering of ties with African nations and with those Arab countries concerned about Irans ability to acquire nuclear weapons.

Now, I understand that the US has just signed this wonderful Memorandum of Understanding with Israel, which the administration in Washington correctly says represents the largest military-aid package over time in its history. But its inadequate and everybody knows it, said Bolton, during an event held by the Gatestone Institute a New York-based think tank that specializes in strategy and defense  on the day that Netanyahu addressed the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

Bolton, who serves as Gatestones chairman, added that, during a recent visit to Israel, he told Netanyahu that he was right to sign the MoU, and that if the election has the right outcome, he should re-open it  something that would be met with great receptivity. The greater risk would have been not signing an agreement, and getting an administration after the presidential elections that gave an even worse deal.

Bolton continued:

Its understandable, although unhappy, that Netanyahu is trying to make accommodations with the likes of Turkey and Russia. But if he cant count on the United States  and he certainly cant count on Western Europe  he has to do what he can to mitigate the potential threats from them and their friends around the region.

We know that Russia has enormous influence with the Assad regime in Syria, which wouldnt be there if it werent for Russia and Iran, and influence, obviously, with Iran itself.

Where Egypt is concerned, and Netanyahus increasingly strengthening ties with President el-Sisi, I think Netanyahu is ahead of the United States, because we ought to be finding ways to have a better relationship with that government. Weve succeeded in the past six years, since the beginning of the Arab Spring, in alienating every significant faction of political Egypt: the military doesnt trust us; the Muslim Brotherhood doesnt trust us; whats left of the more western, pro-liberal part of society doesnt trust us

The point, stressed Bolton, is that Netanyahu is left no recourse, due to US weakness.

If you believed in American commitments, and if you believed we understood, as we once did, what was at stake in seemingly remote places, you wouldnt need to do what Netanyahu has been doing  certainly not to the extent he has  or what our Arab friends, the oil-producing monarchies on the Arabian Peninsula, are doing by talking to China and Russia. Theyre not moving out of the neighborhood; the neighborhoods getting more dangerous for them, too. So theyre going to look after Number One from their perspective. Theyre worried about Americas long-term commitment.

This, said Bolton, author, most recently, of the best-selling book, Surrender Is Not an Option, creates a cycle of estrangement from the United States that feeds on itself. We hear politicians in America saying, Our allies are ungrateful; theyre not pulling their weight. Well, its true about a lot of them. But that doesnt mean you abandon your allies. It means you get your house in order and get back to doing basic alliance-management, which we havent done in the past eight years.

0Ambassador John Bolton: Netanyahus Behavior, Strategy

7.88 Senators Press Obama To Uphold Us Policy To Veto One-Sided Un Resolutions Sept. 22, 2016 in: Unity Coalition for Israel uc4i.org

The international community should avoid taking action that would harm the prospects for meaningful progress, according to a bi-partisan letter.

US President Barack Obama chairs the UN Security Council summit in New York September 24. (photo credit:Reuters)

Eighty-eight US senators submitted a bipartisan letter Monday calling for President Barack Obama to uphold US policy that calls for a veto of any one-sided United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a press release of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The letter, initiated by Senators Kristen Gillibrant (D-NY) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) quotes Obamas speech to the General Assembly in 2011, in which he said, Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations.

The international community should avoid taking action that would harm the prospects for meaningful progress, the letter warns, noting, Even well-intentioned initiatives at the United Nations risk locking the parties into positions that will make it more difficult to return to the negotiating table and make the compromises necessary for peace. The United States remains an indispensable trusted mediator between the parties, and we must continue to insist that neither we nor any other outside substitute for the parties to the conflict.

The letter also emphasizes the senators hope for a two-state solution, saying, The only way to resolve the conflicts between the two is through direct negotiations that lead to a sustainable two-state solution with a future state of Palestine living in peace and security with Israel. This outcome would provide Israel with greater security and strengthen regional stability. We remain optimistic that, under the right circumstances, Israelis and Palestinians can successfully resume productive negotiations toward this goal.

US Senator and former presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pushed back on the issue of the two-state solution, however. In a statement released Monday night, he said, I support the spirit of Sens. Gillibrands and Rounds letter to President Obama, which is to urge him to oppose any anti-Israel activities at the United Nations Security Council. Unfortunately, the language in the opening paragraph declaring the two-state solution as the only resolution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians undermines this well-intentioned effort, and makes it impossible for me to sign. This matter is an internal one for Israel to decide, and it is not the place of the United States  or the United Nations  to impose a solution on a sovereign nation. I join all of our colleagues in praying for peace and security for our great ally Israel.

The letter comes ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama. The two are scheduled to meet on Wednesday in New York. Both men will be in the city to address the UN General Assembly. Obama is scheduled to address the gathering on Tuesday, and Netanyahu is set to address the assembly on Thursday.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since last November, and is expected to be the last face-to-face meeting between the two before Obama leaves office in January.

Herb Keinon contributed to this report.

88 Senators Press Obama To Uphold Us Policy To Veto One-Sided Un Resolutions

8.OBAMA: ISRAEL RECOGNIZES IT CANNOT SETTLE PALESTINIAN LAND

September 22, 2016 in: Unity Coalition for Israel uc4i.org

US Pres. Obama told the UN General Assembly Israel knows its citizens should be expelled from anywhere the Palestinian Authority wants to build a state.

Photo Credit: screenshot/YouTube

U.S. President Barack Obama offered one-line solutions to nations around the world Tuesday during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

Speaking of the decades-old dispute between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that evaded even Obamas two-term attempts at peace-making, the American president offered this view:

Surely Israelis and Palestinians will be better off if Palestinians reject incitement and recognize the legitimacy of Israel, but Israel recognizes that it cannot permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land.

He had a lot to say about events in the Middle East in general:

Just as force alone cannot impose order internationally, I believe in my core that repression cannot forge the social cohesion for nations to succeed. The history of the last two decades proves that in todays world, dictatorships are unstable. The strongmen of today become the spark of revolution tomorrow. You can jail your opponents but you cant imprison ideas. You can try to control access to information but you cannot turn a lie into truth.

He also had a great deal to say specifically about Syria, about the formation and evolution of Daesh (ISIS) and the issue of radical Islamist terror, which he continued to refuse to label as such.

We know that ISIL  depends on perpetual war to survive  Part of our job together is to work to reject such extremism that infects too many of our young people. Part of that effort must be a continued rejection by Muslims, of those who distort Islam, to preach intolerance and promote violence. It must also involve a rejection by non-Muslims of the ignorance that equates Islam with terror. This work will take time. There are no easy answers to Syria.

Ultimately, he said, nations need to work together to prevent mass killings and torture.

We also have to recognize that we must work more effectively in the future as an international community, to build capacity for states that are in distress, before they collapse.

Thats why we should celebrate the fact that later today the United States will join with more than 50 countries to enlist new capabilities, infantry, intelligence, helicopters, hospitals, and tens of thousands of troops to strengthen United Nations peacekeepers.

These new capabilities can prevent mass killings and ensure that peace agreements are more than words on paper. But we have to do it together. to establish security where order has broken down, and to support those who seek a just and lasting peace.

Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.

OBAMA: ISRAEL RECOGNIZES IT CANNOT SETTLE PALESTINIAN LAND

9.IN PARTING WORDS TO UN, OBAMA CALLS FOR COURSE CORRECTION

September 22, 2016 in: Unity Coalition for Israel uc4i.org

FILE  In this Sept. 28, 2015, file photo, President Barack Obama addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Standing before the United Nations for the last time as president, Barack Obama will reassure foreign leaders that the world is better equipped to tackle its challenges than almost any point in history despite a cascade of harrowing crises that seem devoid of viable solutions. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  In a closing dispatch to the world hes tried to shape, President Barack Obama conceded Tuesday that the United States & other major powers have only limited ability to solve the worlds most profound problems, including Syrias civil war. He lamented the cycles of conflict & suffering that seem to kick in every time humanity finally seems to be getting it right.

Perhaps thats our fate, Obama said in his last speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

Four months before leaving office, Obama called for a course correction to ensure that the unstoppable forces of globalization dont lead nations to entrench behind their borders and ignore the most vulnerable. He chided foreign leaders for stoking ethnic and religious divisions while faulting Russia for a brutish approach to its role on the world stage.

Still, Obama insisted it was critical not to gloss over enormous progress on economics and global cooperation that he said formed a template for tackling the problems of the future.

In a less-than-subtle jab at Donald Trump, the Republican running to replace him, Obama said, A nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself.

Obamas parting words to the global body contained a grim assessment of the challenges hes leaving behind: a devastating refugee crisis, terrorism, financial inequality and a tendency to make immigrants and Muslims scapegoats. Across the Middle East, he said, basic security, basic order has broken down.

This is the paradox that defines our world today, Obama said. A quarter-century after the end of the Cold War, the world is by many measures less violent and more prosperous than ever before. And yet our societies are filled with uncertainty and unease and strife.

This years U.N. gathering has played out against the harrowing backdrop of the deepening civil war in Syria and the renewed failure of U.S. and Russian diplomatic efforts to stem the violence for any meaningful period of time. With no better alternatives, the U.S., Russia and others clung unconvincingly Tuesday to the notion that a week-old cease-fire was not moribund, even as Syria declared it over and the U.N. suspended all convoys of aid.

Obama acknowledged that the extremist and sectarian violence wreaking havoc in the Middle East and elsewhere will not be quickly reversed. Still, he stuck faithfully to his insistence that diplomatic efforts and not military solutions are the key to resolving Syrias war and other conflicts.

If we are honest, we know that no external power is going to be able to force different religious communities or ethnic communities to co-exist for long, Obama said. Until basic questions are answered about how communities co-exist, the embers of extremism will continue to burn. Countless human beings will suffer.

The president was unabashed in his critique of Russia as he laid out his diagnosis of the worlds ills. His tough talk illustrated how little progress has been made in reconciling the two powers diverging interests that have allowed the Syria crisis to continue to fester.

In a world that left the age of empire behind, we see Russia attempting to recover lost glory through force, Obama said.

A year ago, Obama stood at the same podium and declared anew that Syrian President Bashar Assad must leave power, while Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a dueling speech warning it would be a mistake to abandon Assad. Since then, Moscows leverage in the conflict has strengthened significantly, buoyed by a Russian military intervention that bolstered Assads standing without pulling it into the military quagmire that Obama had predicted.

White House officials said Obama had been mindful of the fact that his U.N. speech was one of his final opportunities to define his leadership on the world stage. At the heart of his approach, Obama said, is a belief that conflicts are best solved when nations cooperate and a willingness to engage with erstwhile adversaries like Cuba and Myanmar.

Its a theme that Democrat Hillary Clinton has put at the forefront of her presidential campaign  her slogan is Stronger Together  as she casts herself as the natural heir to Obamas legacy. The president peppered his speech with subtle references to Trump, his calls for building a wall on the Mexican border and his denigration of Muslims and immigrants.

Standing before the 193-member U.N. body, Obama sought in broad strokes to lay out a blueprint for addressing other unresolved conflicts. He called for the world to impose consequences on North Korea for its latest nuclear test and, in less direct terms, for China to abide by a recent U.N. tribunal ruling against its territorial designs in the South China Sea.

A day before meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he drew a parallel between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the need to respect racial minorities in the U.S.

Surely, Israelis and Palestinians will be better off if Palestinians reject incitement and recognize the legitimacy of Israel, but Israel recognizes that it cannot permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land, Obama said.

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

IN PARTING WORDS TO UN, OBAMA CALLS FOR COURSE CORRECTION

10.11 TIMES OBAMA TALKED DOWN THE U.S. IN HIS FINAL U.N. ADDRESS

September 22, 2016 in: Unity Coalition for Israel uc4i.org

(Grabien)  In his final speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama laid out what he views as his foreign policy legacy  and in so doing, highlighted how America itself still has much work to do. Specifically, Obama found 11 separate opportunities to talk down his own country.

Here are some of the ways Obama told the United Nations America is falling short:

 In America, theres too much money in politics.

 Theres also too much entrenched partisanship.

 Too few Americans are civically engaged.

 A patchwork of laws in America set out to make it hard for Americans to vote.

 Considering our founding ideals, America has made our share of mistakes over these last 25 years.

 The only way the world will become more secure is for powerful nations like America to accept constraints.

 For believing that all countries must adhere to certain international norms, many Americans criticize Obama.

 Too many in Washington believe all of the problems in the world can be solved by Washington.

 As president, hes helped curb Americas excesses of capitalism.

 America has undermined unions, which has destroyed manufacturing jobs.

 In calling for greater respect and tolerance, Obama also likened racial discrimination in the U.S. to ethnic discrimination in Burundi and religious discrimination in Burma.

11 TIMES OBAMA TALKED DOWN THE U.S. IN HIS FINAL U.N. ADDRESS

11. Chairman Of US Chiefs Of Staff Tells Congress He Wont Implement Key Element Of Obamas Syria Policy  the most significant threat to our national interests. by Yochanan Visser, Western Journalism

This has been another bad week for the Obama administrations Middle East policy.

First, as Western Journalism reported Tuesday, Obama was caught red-handed lying about money transfers to Iran.

The president had always defended the transfer of $1.7 billion cash to Iran in three installments as inevitable because the U.S. could not wire the money due to sanctions levied on the regime.

But last week, a U.S. Treasury spokesman revealed the administration had wired almost $10 million to Iran on two occasions over the last 14 months.

Then there was the collapse of the new Syrian ceasefire agreement that had been negotiated with Russia by Secretary of State John Kerry that should have paved the way to renewed peace negotiations in Geneva.

However, despite Kerrys claims to the contrary, the ceasefire never materialized and was finally blown to smithereens by U.S. warplanes that incidentally bombed a Syrian airbase in eastern Syria and by a brutal airstrike on a UN humanitarian aid convoy near Aleppo by what appeared to be Russian and Syrian airplanes.

Twenty UN aid workers were killed in the two-hour bombardment on the convoy that was on its way to the besieged city and had UN marks on all of the trucks.

As if that wasnt bad enough, the Russians, who Obama and Kerry were increasingly treating as partners in the Syrian war, spat in the face of the administration by sending their only aircraft carrier to Syria the moment Kerry demanded a no-fly zone in the war-torn country to save the ceasefire.

What happened next would have been unthinkable in the United States before Obama.

During a hearing Thursday on the U.S. security problems, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced the U.S. military would refuse to execute a central element of the administrations new Syria policy.

Dunford was talking about U.S. intelligence sharing with the Russian Central Command in Syria.

That would be a bad idea, the general said.

The U.S. military role will not include intelligence sharing with the Russians, Dunford told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

I do not believe it would be a good idea to share intelligence with the Russians, Dunford, who was accompanied by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, added.

The Pentagon has been opposed to the idea of intelligence sharing with the Russians from the outset when Kerry was pushing hard to make a deal on cooperation with Russia in the war against ISIS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

Dunford now told lawmakers that Russia posed the most significant challenge to the U.S. national interests and said Russia is carrying out military operations not seen in 20 years.

When I look at Russias nuclear capability, when I look at their cyber capability, when I look at their developments in undersea warfare, when I look at their patterns of operations  how often theyre operating, the locations they are operating in  these are kinds of operations that we havent seen in over 20 years, Dunford told the committee.

When I look at Mr. Putins activities in Ukraine, in Crimea, in Georgia, that causes me to say that a combination of their behavior as well as their military capability would cause me to believe that they pose the most significant challenge, potentially the most significant threat, to our national interests, he added.

Dunford also contradicted the State Departments assessment that the Syrian ceasefire was very fragile but had not collapsed.

When he was asked if the ceasefire was holding, Dunford responded, That would not appear to be the case over the last 48 hours.

Dunfords statements during the hearing marked the first time a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff informed Congress that he would not carry out the stated policy of the government he is serving, according to Liberty Unyielding analyst Jennifer Dyer.

I dont think even MacArthur did this. He exceeded his authority and complained publicly about Trumans policy, and ended up being fired for it. But he didnt inform Congress in advance that he had no intention of executing the policy the administration was working to implement, Dyer told Western Journalism.

In 1951, President Harry Truman fired Mac Arthur after he repeatedly made statements that contradicted the administrations policies.

Chairman Of US Chiefs Of Staff Tells Congress He Wont Implement Key Element Of Obamas Syria Policy  the most significant threat to our national interests.

12.TEN TIMES IN PAST TWO YEARS TERRORISTS SLIPPED THROUGH IMMIGRATION PROCESS INTO U.S. in: Unity Coalition for Israel uc4i.org 9/22/16

Law enforcement officials gather at the site where Ahmad Khan Rahami, who was wanted in connection to Saturday nights bombing in Manhattan, was arrested after a shootout with police, September 19, 2016 in Linden, New Jersey. On Monday morning, law enforcement released a photograph of 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami, who they are seeking in connection to the attack. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, New York  In the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Minnesota during the weekend, the focus of the national debate has again shifted back to Americas enemies exploiting weaknesses in U.S. immigration screening processes to get into the country to attack the United States.

While President Barack Obamas administration, and his would-be successor, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, have promised to increase the amount of people they bring into the United States through immigration, refugee, and asylum programs, the Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump, has promised to put the brakes on allowing potential terrorists into the United States.

Below is a by-no-means comprehensive list of at least ten times in the last couple yearsthere are certainly many more instancesthat terrorists have exploited the Obama-Clinton immigration weaknesses to get into the United States. This is the first in a series of stories that will examine specific examples on this front.

1.) Eritrean Plans Terror in Ohio

Twenty-one-year-old Munir Abdulkader of West Chester, Ohio, pleads guilty, according to the Department of Justice, to attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States, providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Abdulkader is a native of Eritrea in east Africa, who became a citizen of the United States in September 2006.

He hit law enforcements radar while a student at Xavier University in Cincinnati when he was posting messages on Twitter that the Columbus Dispatch said were seen as sympathetic to Islamic State fighters.

On a Twitter account that began in July 2014 and continued into 2015, Abdulkader posted an IS training video, lamented that his cousin had died fighting for IS and expressed his desire to travel and join the terrorist insurgency, James Steinbauer wrote in the Columbus Dispatch in July. He added:

Abdulkader also stated his wish to attain martyrdom. From March to mid-April 2015, Abdulkader began speaking with a confidential source about his intentions to travel to Syria and fight for the insurgency. He secured a passport, saved money for the trip and began making travel plans, but postponed the trip until May 2015 because of increased arrests of individuals traveling to join IS. During May 2015, Abdulkader communicated with one or more people overseas who were tied to IS. One, a member of IS identified as Junaid Hussein, encouraged Abdulkader to commit terrorist attacks in the United States before going to Syria. IS has advocated for lone-wolf jihadis and extremists to conduct attacks in their home countries.

In his communications with Hussein, the Islamic State recruiter encouraged the Eritrean immigrantaccording to the Justice Departmentto plan and execute a violent attack within the United States.

Abdulkader communicated with Hussein and the CHS [confidential human source] about a plan to kill an identified military employee on account of his position with the U.S. government, the Justice Department said in a press release. The plan included abducting the employee at the employees home and filming the execution. After killing the employee, Abdulkader planned to perpetrate a violent attack on a police station in the Southern District of Ohio using firearms and Molotov cocktails.

None of this would have been possible if the United States government had not let this Eritrean man into the United States in the first place.

2.) Virginia Man? Not Quite.

Also back in July, The Washington Posts Rachel Weiner and Joe Helm detailed the story of Mohamed Bailor Jallohan immigrant from Sierra Leonewho was caught plotting a terrorist attack in support of the Islamic State in Virginia.

When Mohamed Bailor Jalloh walked into the Blue Ridge Arsenal gun store and indoor target range in Chantilly, Va., on Friday to purchase a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, he had no idea that his every move was being monitored by the FBI, Weiner and Helm wrote on July 5. Jalloh, 26, spent about 10 minutes in the shop before attempting to buy the assault weapon, but he was told that he did not have the required three forms of identification to make the purchase, said Earl Curtis, the stores owner. Jalloh told employees that he would return.

Jalloh had apparently been a former member of the Virginia National Guardand that was how The Washington Posts headline identified him. What the leading newspaper did not say until 16 paragraphs into the article is that Jalloh is not from the United States.

Jalloh, a native of Sierra Leone, is a U.S. citizen, the Post wrote.

Thats all the nations capitols major newspaper said in that story about his immigration history.

According to Justice Department documents, Jalloh was born in Sierra Leonea West African nation that is predominantly Muslimand actually after becoming naturalized later as a U.S. citizen traveled back to Sierra Leone in 2015. In addition to disclosing that he listened to lectures from Anwar Al-Awlaki, Jallohaccording to court records available of the Department of Justices websitetold a confidential human source for federal law enforcement he is originally from Sierra Leone and has been a Muslim his entire life. During his trip back to his home nation of Sierra Leone, federal authoritiesaccording to the court recordsbelieved he had contact with representatives for the Islamic State. He was gone for months.

A review of U.S. Customs and Border Protection travel records indicated JALLOH departed the United States on or about June 11, 2015 via John F. Kennedy International Airport with a final destination of Sierra Leone, the court document, filed by an FBI agent, says, continuing:

On or about January 16, 2016, JALLOH returned to the United States from Sierra Leone via John F. Kennedy International Airport. Based on the length of time JALLOH was overseas for this trip and the comments made by JALLOH to CHS1 [confidential human source number one] on or about April 9, 2016, I believe it was during this overseas trip that JALLOH met ISIL members in Nigeria and first established contact with UCCl [un-indicted co-conspirator number one].

But it all started, of course, when the U.S. government decided to let this guy into the United States in the first place.

3.) Kenyan Somali Refugee  Or Minnesota Man?  Convicted on Terrorism Charges

Guled Ali Omar, a Somalian born in a refugee camp in Kenya but later admitted into the United States as a refugee and subsequently granted citizenship by the U.S. government, was one of three Minnesota Men convicted in June of conspiring to join the Islamic State and commit murder in Syria.

Guled Ali Omar, Abdurahman Yasin Daud and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were convicted by a federal jury today of conspiring to commit murder in Syria on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization, the Justice Department announced on June 3. Omar was also convicted of one count of attempted financial aid fraud, and Farah was also convicted of one count of perjury and providing a false statement.

Omars case is particularly interesting. His family, in the wake of his conviction, was given fawning coverage by local Minnesota media. In a large profile in the Minneapolis StarTribune, his mother Fadumo Hussein was described as heartbroken and portrayed as having her home being shadowed by the question of terrorism for years.

The local newspaper paints the FBI agents who raided their home as jackbooted thugs who disrupted their life.

On Sunday morning, that question once again stormed into her life, when FBI agents crashed through the door of her south Minneapolis house in search of her youngest son, Guled Omar, Paul McEnroe wrote in the Star Tribune on April 21, 2015, adding: Rousting her from sleep, the agents had surrounded the house about 9 a.m. and then stormed in to arrest her 20-year-old son. The young man, who works as a security guard for Target and attends community college part-time, is now charged with leading a secret life centered on plotting with five friends to leave the United States in order to fight with terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

Deeper in the story, though, the StarTribune lets it slip: Omar was not just any typical Minnesota Man.

The newspaper quotes the mother as saying, Guled was born by myself under a tree during their time spent in a Kenyan refugee camp. Never mind that this is Husseins secondnot her first, her secondson who has been connected with radical Islamic terrorism, the Minneapolis StarTribune focuses on how Hussein, about Omar, was protesting his innocence.

Still reeling from the weekends trauma, a tearful Hussein sat on her couch Monday morning and tried to come to grips with now losing her second son to the nationwide investigation of terrorist recruitment among Somali-Americans, McEnroe wrote: Omar is the youngest brother of indicted fugitive Ahmed Ali Omar, who left the U.S. in late 2007 as part of the first wave of Somali-Americans in the Twin Cities to fight for Al-Shabab in Somalia. Hussein said she hasnt heard from Ahmed since  that hes simply disappeared off the familys radar. Now, she faces the prospect of losing Guled too, through a terrorism trial or a guilty plea that, either way, could put him in prison for decades.

While the StarTribune article, even further down, tells readers finally that Hussein is a naturalized U.S. citizen, it says nothing of the immigration status of Omar. For that informationwhether or not Omar was granted U.S. citizenship by the government after coming to the United Statesreaders need to turn to another newspaper: The Chicago Tribune. More than ten paragraphs into that article from the Tribune wire service, readers finally learn: The United States government gave this man citizenship.

All six are of Somali descent. Daud is a permanent resident, and Guled is a naturalized citizen, the paper wrote of the six charged men. The others were born in the U.S.

To the wire services credit, though, it doesa few paragraphs deepadmit there is a problem in Minnesota: The Minneapolis area is home to the largest concentration of Somali immigrants in the U.S. Since 2007, more than 22 young Somali men have also traveled from Minnesota to Somalia to join the militant group al-Shabab, which is also listed by the U.S. State Department as fomenting terrorism. Authorities have said a handful of Minnesota residents have traveled to Syria to fight with militants in the past year, and at least one has died.

4.) Legal Permanent Resident Abdurahman Yasin Daud Moves In Next Door

One of the others charged in the case in the third exampleAbdurahman Yasin Daudis a native Somalian who wound up in Minnesota, thanks to the U.S. government. But not only was he allowed into the country, according to the Tribune wire service piece in the Chicago Tribune, he was granted permanent resident status by the U.S. government.

Maybe if federal policy did not let people like this into the United States in the first place, FBI agents would not have to chase people like Daud and his buddies across the country as they plot to leave the United States to join the Islamic State in Syria.

In fact, federal law enforcement agents spent yearsyearsbuilding this case.

Omar and two other members of the conspiracy also made an attempt to join ISIL by traveling across the U.S.Mexico border near San Diego in May 2014, but failed when members of Omars family prevented his travel.

In October 2014, members of the conspiracy communicated with Antar, a self-described member of ISIL in Syria, about how best to travel to Syria to join ISIL, the Justice Department said in a press release, adding: Members of the conspiracy met with one another to discuss routes, methods and the timing of leaving the United States to join ISIL in Syria. Omar again attempted to join ISIL in Syria on Nov. 6, 2014, by flying from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport to San Diego, crossing the border into Mexico and traveling onward to Syria. Before he could board the flight in Minnesota, Omar was stopped at the airport and prevented from boarding the plane. In order to fund this second attempt to join ISIL in Syria, Omar intended to use federal financial aid provided to him by the U.S. Department of Education to attend college. Also in November 2014, Farah and three of his co-conspirators, Zacharia Abdurahman, Hanad Musse and Hamza Ahmed, took a bus from Minneapolis to New York City and attempted to board flights to Europe with an eventual destination of Syria. Federal agents in New York prevented the four from traveling abroad. In April 2015, Daud and Farah drove from Minneapolis to San Diego, where they intended to purchase fake passports, cross the border into Mexico and travel to Syria to join ISIL. Unbeknownst to them, the individual from whom they purchased the fake passports was a law enforcement officer and both were arrested by federal agents immediately after obtaining the phony travel documents.

5.) Sudanese Man Caught in Virginia Conspiring to Join Islamic State

While the January 16 press release from the Department of Justice was headlined Two Virginia Men Charged with Terrorism Offenses Related to Attempted Travel to Syria to Join ISIL, it turns out one of these Virginia men was actually an immigrant from the great nation of Sudan.

Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassanwhom the DOJ admits  is a legal permanent U.S. resident originally from Sudan, but was living in Woodbridge, Virginiawas charged with aiding and abetting [his friend Joseph Hassan] Farrokhs attempt to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Farrokh was born in Pennsylvania.

Elhassan, the Sudanese man, according to a later release from the DOJ announcing his indictment on May 27, was a taxi driver who used his taxi to try to help Farrokh get to Syria to join the Islamic State.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan drove Farrokh to Richmond in order to enable Farrokh to fly to overseas to join ISIL, the U.S. Attorneys office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced in the indictment press release:

According to the indictment, Elhassan also attempted to provide material support or resources to ISIL by aiding and abetting the attempt of Farrokh to join ISIL. Elhassans aiding and abetting included introducing Farrokh to an individual that Elhassan believed could facilitate Farrokhs travel to the Islamic State; driving Farrokh from Farrokhs home to Richmond in Elhassans taxi cab so that Farrokh could embark on his travel to join ISIL; and making false statements to the FBI about Farrokhs travel in order to hinder the governments investigation of Farrokhs travel. According to the indictment, Elhassan knowingly, unlawfully, and willfully made material false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter involving international terrorism, including: On Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan falsely stated to FBI agents that Farrokh had flown out of Dulles Airport earlier that day on a flight to California to attend a funeral; that Farrokh had said that he would be back in about two weeks; that neither he nor Farrokh supported the ISIL; and neither he nor Farrokh ever tried to find someone to help them get to ISIL.

Sudan is a northeastern African nation that is run by a legal system operating based on Sharia law, something that has been a source of controversy for the nation as it has handed out death sentences to those who engage in apostasy.

25 Muslim men, including three teenagers, are facing the death penalty in Sudan after being charged with apostasy for following the wrong version of Islam, The Guardian reported last Dec.

That is where Elhassan came from, before the U.S. government allowed him into America.

6.) Iraqi in Texas Sentenced to Four Years in U.S. Prison on Terror Charges

Bilal Abood, a 38-year-old Iraqi man who lives in Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced to 48 months in prison on May 25 for lying to the Feds about terrorism.

In this case, the Justice Department notes right up front that he was born in Iraqbut is now a U.S. citizen. Abood had traveled to Syria from Texasand then backand had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Badhdadi, the leader of the Islamic State.

Abood admitted that on March 29, 2013, he attempted to depart the United States at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was not allowed to board the international flight, the Justice Department press release said. It continued: While at the airport, FBI special agents asked Abood about his planned travel and he stated he was merely planning to travel to Iraq to visit family. During a subsequent interview, Abood admitted to FBI special agents that his intent was to travel to Syria to fight the regime of Bashar al-Assad. On approximately April 29, 2013, Abood left the United States through Mexico and traveled through various countries into Syria. On Sept. 16, 2013, Abood returned to the United States and admitted to FBI special agents that he had traveled to Syria, but he denied supporting any terrorist groups. A search warrant was executed on Aboods computer on July 9, 2014. A review of that computer revealed that on approximately June 19, 2014, Abood stated, while using his Twitter handle @ibnalislaam, I pledge obedience to the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Abood admitted that he knew that al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed leader of ISIL and was designated as a specially designated global terrorist on Oct. 4, 2011, and remains so to date. Abood also admitted that on April 14, 2015, FBI special agents advised him that lying to a federal agent is a crime. He further admitted that on that date, he falsely told FBI special agents that he had never pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi and that he was aware that the agents were investigating a matter that they suspected could involve international terrorism.

What the Justice Department doesnt say in this release, or a prior one, is how this Iraqi man got into the United Statesand obtained U.S. citizenshipin the first place.

For that, we turn to The Dallas Morning News, which details how Abood helped U.S. armed forces in Iraq as a translator during the Iraq warand then took advantage of a special program for such translators.

Abood, a translator for American forces during the Iraq War, left Iraq in 2009 to take advantage of a rare opportunity for U.S. Army interpreters to become American citizens, The Dallas Morning News Kevin Krause wrote on May 25, 2016, continuing: Abood, who speaks Arabic, said during testimony Wednesday that he was offered the interpreter job after warning U.S. troops that large weapons caches were being kept inside Iraqi schools. He said he also worked as a U.S. military contractor on civil affairs projects, such as building schools and roads. He joined the Army in 2010 and went through basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C. Abood said he trained U.S. troops on how to deal with Iraqi culture and customs. He said he left the Army because it wouldnt allow him to return to Iraq to see his sick mother. Abood said he settled in an apartment in Mesquite around 2010 where he lived with his common law wife and worked two jobs  one for UPS and the other as a security guard. He said he saved enough money to buy his mother a house in Iraq.

7.) The Uzbeki from Brooklyn Caught Funding Islamic State

Azizjon Rakhmatov, a 28-year-old man from Uzbekistan, whom the U.S. government permitted into United States, wasaccording to the New York Postthe sixth man charged in an ISIS recruitment plot tied to Brooklyn.

Azizjon Rakhmatov, 28, originally from Uzbekistan, helped fund the foiled trip of Akhror Saidakhmetov and Adburasul Juraboev to Turkey and Syria so they could join ISIS, Brooklyn federal prosecutors said Wednesday, the NY Posts Pricilla DeGregory & Georgett Roberts wrote May 11.

8.) Another Uzbeki from Brooklyn

Also previously charged in the case was Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboeva 25-year-old man whom an FBI agent in an affidavit available on the Justice Department website notes is a citizen of Uzbekistan and was granted lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Juraboev, according to The New York Times, pleaded guilty in August 2015 of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State after trying to join the organization. He and a co-conspirator, the Times wrote, had talked of violence on behalf of the Islamic State, like planting a bomb in Coney Island and attacking President Obama, the authorities said.

9.) Kazakh Man U.S. Government Let In Tries to Join ISIS

Akhror Saidakhmetov, a 19-year-old man, was also connected to the case with Rakhmatov and Juraboevand was described by progressive media outlet the Daily Beast as just another Brooklyn Punk and Central Asian immigrant who wanted to join the Islamic State. It turns out, according to the FBI agents affidavit, Saidakhmetov was a citizen of Kazakhstan who was alsothanks to the U.S. governmenta lawful permanent resident of the United States.

10.) Visa Overstay: Another Uzbeki in Brooklyns Islamic State Case

Abror Habibov, a 30-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan, was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, in connection with the same case from the last few examples. According to CNN, police accused Habibov of being the one who helped organize and finance the entire operation.

Court documents say Habibov operates mall kiosks that sell kitchenware and repair mobile phones, CNN reported in 2015. He has locations in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

CNN also reported that while Habibov was admitted to the United States legally, again by the federal government, he overstayed his visa. That, ironically, is exactly what many of the 9/11 terrorists didand as Breitbart News has reported, the federal government still has not implemented the reforms laid out for the visa program recommended by the 9/11 Commission, particularly an entry-exit visa program. As Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) told Breitbart News on 9/11 this year15 years after the attackimplementing such a program, as Donald Trump has promised he will do, would be extraordinarily simple, cost very little, and only take a matter of months. But 15 years after 9/11, the U.S. government still has not done it.

Nonetheless, Habibov would not have been here if the government did what it was supposed to do.

Ten Times In Past 2 Years Terrorists Slipped Through Immigration Process Into U.S

13.Dry Bones by Yaacov Kirschen This Jewish New Year 5777, The Year in Which We Make the World A Better Place!

The Dry Bones 36 is a group of righteous people who each give us $3,000 a year to help us defeat the antisemitism & boycott movement we face & help us make this world a better place (Tikun Olam). Please become one of our Dry Bones 36 (Lamed Vavnikim). For info just click on this Link. http://drybonesproject.com/36/

If you are unable to join the 36, give what you can http://drybonesproject.com/give/
Monday, September 26, 2016

For a small business in San Antonio, TX, resources tend to be minimal, so managing your finances is a good idea. Do you know how to handle yours?

Every company, big or small, is always concerned about one thing: making money. Proper financial management is crucial if you want your business to make as much money as possible. Small businesses need to exercise caution the most because they may not have the financial security as large corporations. It takes more than a good idea to run a business; you need to make sure that your finances are in order. Here are some ways you can manage the expenses of your small business in San Antonio, TX.

Separate Business and Personal Finances

Always separate your business and personal finances. This entails getting a business credit card and putting all related expenses on it. Separating them should help you track what youre spending and keep you in control.

Educate Yourself

The best way to keep your finances in check is to learn a thing or two about them. For starters, you should learn how to read financial statements: they tell you where it originated from, how any hands it changed, and where it is. Financial statements contain four essential detailscash flow, income statement, balance sheet, and statement of shareholders equity.

Cut Costs

It is important that entrepreneurs keep a tight grip on their expenses without hampering customer satisfaction. Going paperless is a great way to cut back without losing any functionalityin fact, youll be increasing productivity.

Knowing how to manage your financial expenses is the key to running a good and fruitful business. Investing in a comprehensive commercial insurance policy will help to provide a solid foundation for your company. Contact Jerry R. Carnahan Insurance to learn more about your options for business insurance in San Antonio, TX. We can help you assess your needs and determine ways for you to save!

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Sunday, September 25, 2016

All that were asking is that if Donald Trump lies, that its pointed out. Its unfair to ask that Hillary Clinton both play traffic cop with Trump, make sure that his lies are corrected, and also to present her vision for what she wants to do for the American peopleI think Donald Trumps special. We havent seen anything like this. We normally go into a debate with two candidates who have a depth of experience, who have rolled out clear, concrete plans, and who dont lie, frankly, as frequently as Donald Trump does.So were saying this is a special circumstance, a special debate, and Hillary should be given some time to actually talk about what she wants to do to make a difference in peoples lives. She shouldnt have to spend the whole debate correcting the record.

-Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robbie Mook, explaining to George Stephanopoulis on ABCs This Weekwhy the Clinton campaign insists that debate moderators should run interference for her and intervene to contradict and rebut Trumps assertions, unlike every other Presidential debate and every legitimate and fair debate of any kind, where that responsibility rests with the debaters.

Well, thats almost it for me. I am officially a hairs breadth from deciding that as repulsive as the thought of Donald Trump achieving the Presidency is, the prospect of the United States abandoning democracy, process and fair elections to defeat him is infinitely more repulsive.

What Mook is proposing is no less than the rigging of the election process, with one candidate given special privileges, while another is subjected to special handicaps and the special opposition of the news media. I had previously resolved, and on Ethics Alarms so stated, that in a binary choice between the most unqualified, unstable, vile, ignorant and boorish candidate ever nominated by a major party to be President and the corrupt, inept and dishonest Hillary Clinton, responsible Americans are duty-bound to cross their fingers, hold their noses, toss a horseshoe over their shoulders and vote for the certifiably awful Mrs. Clinton, in her own right the most corrupt and untrustworthy figure ever to come this close to the Presidency. (We can debate about Aaron Burr some other time.)

I no longer can say with certainty that I believe that now.

The Presidency is important, but our democracy and the sacred principles that underlie it are more important still.

Because of Trumps noxious awfulness and Clintons well-earned unpopularity and weakness as a candidate, the majority of the journalistic establishment is now playing Democratic party organ to ensure his election. That is unconscionable and a threat to the integrity of the election. Now, emboldened by what they see as a willingness by the press to betray its duty to facilitate a free and informed electorate to elect the leader it chooses and not the leader the news media has decided they have to choose, Hillarys minions, with her approval and direction, are demanding that the debates be tilted by partisan moderators, because Donald Trumps special, meaning that Hillary Clinton is special. She shouldnt have to win the election on merit and by a fair competition, just like she made sure that the nomination process that made her the candidate was manipulated at every turn by a Democratic National Committee that had long before decided in a metaphorical smoke-filled room that she would be the partys nominee.

There is no fairness, justice nor ethical arguments for what Mook (that is, Clinton) calls fair, only the rotten ethics and unethical rationalizations of the ethics corrupter that she is:

The ends justify the means, Rationalizations 2 A., Sicilian Ethics, or They had it coming, 4. Marion Barrys Misdirection, or If it isnt illegal, its ethical, 11. The Kings Pass or The Star Syndrome, 11 (a). I deserve this!, 13. The Saints Excuse: Its for a good cause, 14. Self-validating Virtue, 17. Ethical Vigilantism, 21. Ethics Accounting (Ive earned this), 28. The Revolutionarys Excuse: These are not ordinary times.30. The Prospective Repeal: Its a bad law/stupid rule, 31. The Troublesome Luxury: Ethics is a luxury we cant afford right now, 40. The Desperation Dodge or Ill do anything!, and 58: The Ironic Rationalization, or Its The Right Thing To Do.

I am an ethicist. I will not support or enable that false, corrosive and unethical position.

No, the ends (electing Hillary) do not justify the means of rigging the election process

No, the American public do not have it coming, and no, the election is about us, not Donald Trump

No, the fact that there is no law against supposedly neutral moderators sabotaging one candidate in favor of another does NOT mean it isnt completely intolerable and unethical no matter who it is who is sabotaged

No, Hillary does not deserve special privileges because shes a woman, a miserable campaigner and as corrupt as an anaconda is long, jsut because the incompetent and cynical Democratic Party chose to made her, perhaps the one national figure in their party who could not defeat Trump easily, its pathetic candidate.

No, she does not deserve, nor has she earned special treatment,

No, rigging the campaign process cannot be justified by the good cause of Hillary Clintons election, if indeed the election of such an undeserving woman could ever be objectively called good

No, the fact that Hillary insists that the process be rigged against Trump does not make it right,

No, the ascendancy of Trump, or anyone, does not justify suspending fairness and democratic principles,

No, the traditional role of moderators is neither a bad rule nor a stupid one just because it means that Hillary has to stand up to her opposition without assistance.,Its a bad law/stupid rule, 31. The Troublesome Luxury:

No, ethics is never a luxury;

No, the fact that Democrats are panicked does not justify their cheating, and

No, making sure that Trump has to battle both his opponent and the news media is in no way the Right Thing To Do.



Let me be as clear as I possibly can. I care deeply about the office of the Presidency and understand better than most the damage that a leader of bad character can and will inflict on the culture and the nation. I detest and revile Donald Trump, his methods, his character,and the base instincts he appeals to in his supporters. Yet as much as I care about not ending up living out my remaining years in a nation of assholes, and all that will mean to the U.S. and the world, I care about the integrity of the democratic process and the fairness of elections more.

It is not worth destroying democracy to defeat Trump. This would be true even if his opponent was not almost as dangerous and repulsive as he is.

If the choice is between Donald Trump being elected fairly and Hillary Clinton being elected by a rigged process, I will vote for Donald Trump.

I will not be a part of the corrupted version of democracy Hillary Clinton apparently thinks she needs to prevail, and if that is what I see emerging Monday night, Trump, and not Hillary Clinton, will have my vote in November.
Members of the international team of scholars who excavated and studied an ancient Roman seaside villa will talk at a one-day symposium on Friday in Bozeman.

The free public symposium runs from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Montana State University SUB Ballrooms and celebrates the Oplontis exhibition now on display at the Museum of the Rockies.

Genius Loci: An International Symposium on the Oplontis Project and Exhibit will feature lectures by five of the Italian and American scholars who have worked on the project, led by John R. Clarke, co-director and an international authority on the collection.

The exhibit of more than 140 artifacts curated from the Villa Oplontis are on display at the Museum of the Rockies until Dec. 31. MSU is one of just three locations in the U.S., and the only one west of the Mississippi, to be visited by Leisure and Luxury in the Age of Nero: The Villas of Oplontis near Pompeii.

Clarke will deliver the keynote at 9 a.m. about how new technologies, including digital imaging and laser scanning, led to new discoveries about life on the Bay of Naples 2,000 years ago. He will also discuss how open access to the projects rich database and online publication will facilitate new research worldwide.
As OPEC prepares to meet in Algiers this week, the oil market is reminding the groups members whats at stake if they fail to reach a deal.

More than 800,000 barrels a day of additional crude is pouring into the global market this month, compared with August, as Russia pumps at an all-time high while Libya and Nigeria restore disrupted supplies, according to statements from their ministry officials. That would imply a tripling of the supply surplus, estimated currently at about 400,000 barrels a day by the International Energy Agency.

We are overproducing and were not going to draw down inventories like we thought we would, said Chris Bake, a senior executive at Vitol Group, the biggest independent crude trader. Were still building crude inventories, and thats a problem.

The global oil oversupply will persist into 2017 as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries such as Saudi Arabia pump near record levels, others such as Iran and Iraq bolster capacity, and production outside the group weathers the price slump, according to the IEA. Prices may struggle to hold above $40 a barrel unless OPEC acts, Citigroup Inc. predicts.

Crude is stuck at less than half the level it averaged at the start of the decade, straining the finances of producers around the world. Oil rallied last month on speculation that OPEC and Russia might revive a pact to cap production, though prices have since cooled. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery fell $1.84, or 4 percent, to settle at $44.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for November settlement dropped $1.76, or 3.7 percent, to $45.89 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Saudi Arabia told Iran it would be willing to reduce its output, which is close to a record 10.7 million barrels a day, if Iran were to agree to freeze at its current level of 3.6 million, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. But a second day of discussions between the two regional rivals at OPEC headquarters in Vienna ended Thursday without an agreement. Saudi Arabia expects that the meeting in Algiers will be a chance to consult rather than make a decision on output levels, an OPEC delegate familiar with the nations oil policies said.

The volatility in supply created by the unexpected return of exports from Libya and Nigeria also makes it harder to settle on any plan for stabilizing the market, said Ed Morse, New York-based head of commodities research at Citigroup.

Theres just too much oil in the market, Morse said. Its very difficult to come to the conclusion that a freeze would be credible or doable when youve got the combination of whats happening in Libya and Nigeria. It makes a shambles of any extrapolation of balances.

Libyas output has climbed to 390,000 barrels a day after a halt in fighting between rival armed factions, National Oil Corp. Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said Thursday. Thats 50 percent higher than the monthly average for August estimated by Bloomberg.

Nigeria has revived output to 1.75 million barrels a day after a cease-fire deal with militants in the Niger Delta region, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Emmanuel Kachikwu said Sept. 19. That compares with 1.44 million last month, near the lowest in more than two decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In addition, Russia pushed output to a record 11.09 million barrels a day in September, Energy Ministry data show. While President Vladimir Putin said Sept. 2 that producers can overcome the tensions that have so far prevented an agreement, there are doubts over the practicalities of Russias involvement.

No Russian contribution to a freeze is believable, as the government doesnt have enough control over companies such as Rosneft PJSC to prevent them from boosting supply, Citigroups Morse said.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

OPECs last attempt at a deal with Russia collapsed in Doha on April 17 when Saudi Arabias influential Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman insisted at the last minute that Iran had to participate in a freeze. Iran refused, as it was just starting to revive exports after the end of international sanctions.

Now that Iran has returned to pre-sanctions production capacity, the odds are in favor of some basic agreement, said Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York. All producers may have a stronger incentive to cooperate as the global surplus lingers and low oil prices take a toll on their finances, according to Bassam Fattouh, director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Chakib Khelil, a former Algerian energy minister who steered OPEC the last time it decided to cut supply, said hes confident the group will reach an accord this week. Nevertheless, all but two of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg last week predicted there wont be an agreement in Algiers on Wednesday.

A pact could give exemptions to countries such as Nigeria and Libya to restore output. But without any agreement, there would be no restraint on OPEC supply. That could swell the global surplus projected for next year by the IEA, a Paris-based adviser to consuming nations.

If they do not freeze, they risk sending the price into the $30- to $40-a-barrel range, said David Hufton, CEO of PVM Group in London.
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Frances Rosenthal Kallison, a San Antonio rancher, historian and advocate for the poor, will be inducted posthumously next month into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth.

Though not as widely known as her husband during her lifetime, Kallison is remembered today as an independent thinker and strong Texas woman who sought to preserve the history of Jewish people in the state.

She did it because no one else had, and she saw it as a vacuum to be filled, said Hollace Ava Weiner, a former Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter and author of Jewish Stars in Texas: Rabbis and Their Work.

Weiner, who often used Kallison as a source and nominated her for the honor in 2008, said Kallison embodied courage, resilience and independence, the key criteria for the award, and demonstrated the adaptability of Jewish people and their contributions to ranching, commerce and civic involvement in the Lone Star State and elsewhere.

She represents that braided community in Texas, Weiner said.

Unlike her husband, San Antonio rancher, western wear merchant and longtime radio talk show host Perry Kallison, who was focused on South Texas, Frances Kallison had a global view, taking an interest in Asian arts and the development of Israel, said her daughter, Bobbi Ravicz.

Through her involvement in the National Council of Jewish Women, she successfully lobbied local leaders to open a prenatal clinic and other medical facilities for the poor, fought poll taxes that kept minorities in Texas from voting and promoted educational opportunities for blind children.

She couldve been my fathers sidekick, but instead, she forged a path of her own, often inspired by local women in the NCJW, Ravicz said.

The honor will be bestowed at an Oct. 27 luncheon in Fort Worth. Western artist Veryl Goodnight, Arizona conservationist Marilyn Williams Harris and expert horse rider Pat North Ommert also will be honored, joining 220 women inducted into the hall of fame since 1975.

Frances Rosenthal was born in Fort Worth in 1908, six years after her father, uncle, grandfather and 40 other Jewish men founded Beth-El Congregation, Fort Worths first Reform synagogue. She studied the classics at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, but sought to expand her horizons and transferred to the University of Chicago, where she studied archaeology and Asian history while earning a bachelors degree in economics.

After she married in 1931, she claimed her own role in the Kallison familys ranching operation northwest of San Antonio, registering and naming Polled Hereford cattle. She would cook barbecue, beans and coleslaw at her Olmos Park home and haul it out to the ranch in her Chevrolet sedan when hosting U.S. troops and delegations from Israel.

Kallison also prepared research on Lone Star State Jews for an exhibit in the Texas Pavilion  todays Institute of Texan Cultures  for HemisFair, the Worlds Fair in San Antonio in 1968. She documented that Henri Castro, namesake of nearby Castroville, was a descendant of Portuguese Jews who fled France amid unrest of the Spanish Inquisition.

In 1947, she helped form a precision riding group, the Ladies Auxiliary to the Bexar County Sheriffs Mounted Posse, that became a popular feature at Fiesta parades, charitable fundraisers and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. As a Jew who practiced the Reform tradition, she would prepare a Seder dinner at Passover and would invite single people with nowhere else to go to take part in a dinner to break the fast of the High Holy Days, her daughter said.

She faced prejudice at times, but did it with grace, Ravicz said. Her family sometimes was turned away by lodges or riding camps that did not welcome Jews. When the movie Driving Miss Daisy, about a Jewish woman and her black driver, was released in 1989, Kallison walked out of the theater after the first 45 minutes because it hit too close to home, her daughter said.

But this sort of thing rolled off of her. She didnt make a cause out of it, Ravicz said.

Being inducted into the hall will put Kallison, who died in 2004, in company with the late Mary Nan West, a rancher and longtime San Antonio rodeo booster; legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley; and retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor, who grew up on her familys ranch in Arizona.

Its a huge accomplishment for a woman who was so proud of her Jewish faith, Ravicz said. She was very proud of her people and their contributions.

shuddleston@express-news.net

Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
LONDON, Ohio  One good thing about this years low commodity prices  perhaps  is that theyre not new. Prices were low this time last year, as well, and theyve been even lower in recent years.

The low prices weighed heavily on the minds of farmers and equipment manufacturers at this years Farm Science Review, and some are calling it the new normal in agriculture.

The annual event was held Sept. 20-22 and drew a crowd of 125,790.

The ag economy, as weve seen over a lot of years, has had its cycles and were in one of those cycles, said Doug Jennings, eastern sales manager for Great Plains.

But Jennings said seasoned farmers saw this coming.

The attitude of the farmer is good, he said. Were going to continue to produce food to feed the world  we just have to be a lot more conscientious of how we manage that.

Thinking critically

The low returns have farmers thinking more critically about their input costs, and whether each cost is worth the investment.

Its definitely cut down on spending on equipment. Youre watching all of your inputs, said J.P. Wheeler, whose family farms in Adams County. You cant really afford to go out and spend money on things that you dont need.

His friend, Steven Shiveley, said farmers are keeping their used equipment a little longer, and holding off on new purchases.

Wear what you got out is the mentality, Shiveley said. And you fix it when its broke.

Kent Hardin, a salesman for Evolution Ag in Circleville, said farmers today are less likely to spend big money on new equipment.

But at the same time, farmers need to be careful of what they cut  because sometimes the new equipment is the path toward more efficiency and profit.

Hardin said the new technology offered on todays equipment will save farmers money  if it is used correctly.

Most (farmers) have the technology but they dont know how to use it, he said. He added that doing research and trying out the equipment before the first day of harvest or planting is key, and so is asking questions early on.

Getting answers

Asking questions is a big part of the review  and there are always qualified people to provide answers.

At the John Deere booth, Steve Detrick, manager of national promotions, explained the lineup of tractors, balers, planters and harvest equipment that made up this years display.

Detrick said farm equipment improves daily, and the goal at John Deere is to provide producers better opportunities to evaluate what their inputs are, so they can do a better job of making on-the-spot decisions, allowing better profitability in the end.

On-the-spot decisions have become the norm in recent years  with shorter planting and harvest windows.

In the fields

Victor Constable, territory manager for MacDon, demonstrated his companys draper head technology in the fields. He said the markets could be better, but farmers seem to be adjusting.

Its more optimistic than it has been in the past, he said. The prices arent great, but the guys seem to maybe be looking forward to a good end of year.  Overall, I think weve just adjusted to the fact that were back to being normal, instead of aggressively good like it had been.

The seed companies at this years review were also well aware of farmers concerns  and the consideration of some farmers to cut back on traits and technology.

But cutting back on seeds can end up costing more than it saves, depending on the kind of growing season, and yield goals.

David Benning, a sales manager with LG Seeds, said the traits often provide a nice insurance policy.

Each operation

He said its important for farmers to work closely with their seed dealers, to make sure theyre selecting the right traits for their farm  but also each field of their farm.

What we want to do is help producers protect every bushel we can, because every bushel is going to be very valuable in this kind of market, Benning said.

Tony Meyer, regional sales manager with Great Lakes Hybrids, said theres definitely some cash-flow concerns among todays farmers.

He said the seed business is a relationship business, and he wants to see farmers get lined up with the best traits for their own operation.

Over at the DuPont Pioneer booth, Clay Lust and Joe Ungers were promoting Encirca services  which includes a variety of precision ag services, including Pioneers flagship nitrogen management program.

Nutrient management

Pioneer provided visitors an interactive display that showed how the company maps field terrain and soil information, to provide the grower with management zones, or decision zones.

Its all about precision, and allowing the grower to put together his or her nitrogen plan, based off their yield target and the soils needs.

But Pioneer is also tracking phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)  two nutrients that can be depleted by todays high-yielding, nutrient-demanding varieties.

In late August, Pioneer announced the findings of its own fertility study, which found that Corn Belt farmers may be leaving profit potential in the field each season, if they dont carefully manage all of their nutrients, including phosphorus and potassium.

Comprised of more than 22,000 soil samples, the study demonstrated that P and K were deficient in a significant number of tested fields. In Ohio, about 35 percent of tested soils were low in phosphorus, and 19 percent were low in potassium, according to Pioneer.

Optimum levels

The goal  as with all of precision farming  is to increase those nutrients to optimum levels  without over-applying.

Lust said farmers still have an appetite for precision technology and prescription seeds  because of the difference it makes.

Obviously they (farmers) want to see a return on their investment, like anything else, Lust said. So its been good showing them how we can define their farms or maybe change up some things theyve been doing.

Niche markets

While farmers dont have a lot of options, one may be to seek out a niche market. Pioneer continues to expand its contracted acres for farmers who want to grow high oleic soybeans, used to produce a healthier cooking oil known as Plenish.

Brian Buckallew, senior production systems manager with Pioneer, said the company contracted about 450,000 acres of Plenish in 2016, and predictions for 2017 are close to a million acres.

Pioneer once again held an on-site cooking demonstration using Plenish, and allowed visitors to taste food cooked with the oil.

Its a good time to be talking about (Plenish) because it is a value-added opportunity, Buckallew said. Its an opportunity to add about $20-30 an acre to your operation.

Other Farm Science Review stories:
This papier-mache Halloween lantern is actually horrifying

Most jack-o'-lanterns are made from pumpkins, but this particular papier-mache pear is a unique, antique find.
Could current agricultural practice be tailored to combat climate change?

Manmade emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane have resulted in considerable increases in global atmospheric concentrations of carbon, which have modified natural carbon cycles.
GREAT FALLS  A senior at Great Falls High School was stabbed to death over the weekend and police say they have detained persons of interest.

Cascade County coroner Lt. Bob Rospial said Megan Meriwether was stabbed in an alley Friday night and her death was being investigated as a homicide. Officers did not identify those who were detained.

Assistant schools superintendent Tom Moore said school officials worked over the weekend to ensure counselors would be available for students on Monday.
A herd of rare White Park cattle could die out if its owners do not urgently acquire a new bull.

There are 13 White Park Cattle at Dinefwr in Carmarthenshire, Wales, characterised by their white coats and black noses.

However, action is needed to stop that number dropping.

Only 750 White Park breeding females remain on the planet, making the breed a rarer species than the Giant Panda.

The National Trust said they need to raise 36,000 to buy a new bull to prevent them from dying out.

Justin Albert, director of National Trust Wales, said the White Park cattle are "vital" to Dinefwr and important to Wales.

The National Trust said White Park Cattle are a living link to our very distant past

"Theyre a significant part of Welsh history that we want to protect and preserve, and well do all we can to ensure the breed continues to thrive and delight our visitors for generations to come," Mr Albert said.

Wyn Davies, who looks after them, said after four years of distinguished service, the current bull, Strelley Bendigo, has maximised his potential with the herd.

"A new male needs to enter the herd to preserve the bloodline and make sure the bulls bred on the land are true to species."

"I have had the pleasure of working with the White Park Cattle for the past 18 years and they are amazing animals. Dinefwr wouldnt be Dinefwr without them.

"I hope with the support of the public we can achieve our fundraising goal and together with a new young herdsman in the form of Rhodri the cattle will be safeguarded for future generations."

Living link to the past

The National Trust said White Park Cattle are a living link to our very distant past with records of them at Dinefwr dating back to the year 920 when they were referenced in the laws of Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), who codified the laws of Wales.

"We are in a race against time to save the future of our famous White Park Cattle.

"The cattle have been at Dinefwr for over one thousand years, but we now need to urgently raise 36,000 to buy a new bull and introduce new females to keep the bloodline alive and #SaveTheHerd."

Richard Broad, field officer at the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), said the group fully supports the maintenance and future development of the herd of White Park cattle at Dinefwr.

"Based in the homeland of the breed in West Wales, the campaign is a beacon of hope for all rare breeds."
As farmers look to harvest their maize crops, attention to detail will pay dividends, guaranteeing a good looking crop in the field and resulting in a quality silage in the clamp.

"Maize is an intensive crop to grow, explains Dr Simon Pope, Crop Protection Manager for Wynnstay.

"A lot of money, time and effort goes into producing the crop, but often growers overlook the attention to detail thats needed to get maize harvested in good condition, and ensiled correctly, to limit nutritional losses.

"This year, maize is likely to yield very well and be of a high quality thanks to the good growing weather.

"This doesnt happen every year, so growers should make the most of this and protect their crop in the clamp," he adds.

"The main issues are losses due to aerobic spoilage and heating of the face, which devalues the Dry Matter (DM) feeding values."

Research has shown that a 10oC rise in silage temperature at the clamp face over a three-day period can result in a loss of DM valued at 125/100 tonnes of 33% DM maize silage.

Or more simply put, 1.25/tonne of silage.

"Treatment with an appropriate silage additive can considerably reduce this spoilage, and although additives are considered by some to be an unnecessary cost, they should be seen as protection for farmers investment," explains Dr Pope.

"This year its even more important to consider as early results are showing the potential for high DM contents at harvest.

"For example, new variety Reason is positioned on the NIAB forage maize list with a very early maturity and outstanding DM yield, and this is being reflected by the varietys performance in the field.

"At a target harvest DM of 32% and with a high yield of high ME silage, it is important to minimise losses of this valuable resource," he says.

Dr Pope suggests that by focusing extra attention in a few key areas, this can be achieved.

"Consolidation of the pit is key to a successful fermentation process, and filling in layers of six to nine inches allows for effective compaction when rolled to expel as much air as possible.

"The less oxygen present, the lower the risks of losses due to aerobic spoilage.

"Alongside good clamp management, the use of an additive will help to further reduce costly losses in feed value during the ensiling process.

"So, there should be more maize to feed out, with higher nutritive quality, resulting in better animal performance, he adds.

"Maize is sometimes seen as a tricky crop to grow. However, as long as close attention is given throughout the process, farmers shouldnt experience losses at the final stage, and they should end up with a high yield of a quality crop."
A farmer has been fined 200 for letting a lamb's horns grow too long and curl into its own eyes blinding it.

After a trial at Aberystwyth Justice Centre, Mr Lewis Jones of Ynys Hir Farm, Machynlleth was found guilty of two charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 following an investigation by officers from Ceredigion County Council.

An Animal Health officer from Ceredigion County Council visited land at Tanycastell, Rhydyfelin, Aberystwyth on 24 December 2015, following receipt of a complaint from a member of the public.

The officer found that the flock was suffering from sheep scab, with one sheep suffering so badly that when later examined by an expert who provided evidence at the trial, it was described as being the worst case of sheep scab he had ever seen.

The animal had lost most of its fleece and had little protection to the weather conditions during some of the coldest and wettest times of the year.

Also during the inspection, the Animal Health officer found a ram lamb on its own and separated from the flock, walking around in circles in the field.

On inspection it was found that the lambs horns had been allowed to grow into and against the eyes of the animal, meaning it was blinded and caused suffering.

The court was satisfied that these horns had been causing the animal suffering and expert testimony confirmed that this would have been occurring for a period of weeks.

It is normal and reasonable practice for the horns of animals to be trimmed where there is a risk that they may grow inwards towards the head.

'Inadequate'

In passing sentence, District Judge John Parsons told Mr. Lewis Jones "The inspections of your flock have simply been inadequate.

"We know that the Council Inspector was easily able to find and identify the suffering of the ewe.

"And he was able to identify the ram as suffering from its behaviour."

Mr. Lewis Jones, who is 76 and has been farming all his life, was fined 200 per offence and ordered to pay 2,564 of prosecution costs along with a 30 victim surcharge.

Commenting on the case, Head of Lifestyle Services at Ceredigion County Council Mr Huw Williams said: "Our Animal Health Officers work with the local farmers and the agricultural community in general to ensure that good animal welfare standards are maintained in the county.

"The vast majority of farmers work hard to ensure that the highest possible welfare standards for their livestock.

"Unfortunately, there are instances where the husbandry and welfare standards fall far short of what is acceptable and this leaves the authority with little option other than to institute formal proceedings.

"The decision of the court and the comments of the judge confirmed that this was such an occasion."
The importance of food and farming will be spoken about with Labour officials at their autumn party conference in Liverpool.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is hosting a fringe event at 7pm on Monday 26 September in Liverpool.

NFU North West Regional Director David Hall said he would like to see a strong turnout of farmers from the host region to "impress upon" Labour MPs the "importance of supporting the countrys agricultural industry with the right policies."

Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire have many Labour MPs who have already pledged their support for the farming industry.

One of those is Member of Parliament for Lancaster and Fleetwood Cat Smith who toured local farms on Monday 19 September with Shadow Defra Secretary of State Rachael Maskell MP  who will be one of the main speakers at the fringe event.

Food and drink is the largest manufacturing industry in the UK and worth 108 billion to the nation

'Farming is important in Lancashire'

Cat Smith MP said: "Farming is an important part of the economy in Lancaster and Fleetwood as well as in the UK more widely, and Im proud to support and work with my local farmers.

"Buying British is a big part of backing British farming and something everyone can do.

"But as an MP I know backing British farming also has to be about speaking up in Parliament and ensuring the delivery of services to rural communities, and calling on government to protect farm land from flooding and the after effects of a flood."

Labours MP for Garston and Halewood Maria Eagle has also recently given her full backing to a campaign spearheaded by NFU North West Combinable Crops Board Chairman Olly Harrison who has planted and grown about 75,000 sunflowers in aid of charity.

Ahead of the event, Mr Hall said: "Food and drink, the largest manufacturing industry in the UK and worth 108 billion to the nation, is one that no political party can take for granted.

"So its important NFU members from the North West take time out of their busy schedules to help their MPs recognise the importance of the rural economy.

"The decision to leave the EU will impact on every UK citizen. But for farmers, the decision will inevitably mean changes to our businesses  some of them potentially quite substantial as we look at where and how we trade.

"We now have the opportunity to take learnings from the Common Agricultural Policy to produce a tailor-made domestic farming policy, one built on a cross-party consensus to support a new, invigorated domestic agricultural policy which can match the scale of vision not seen since the post-war years."
The industry has confirmed that no shale gas wells will be drilled in Britain this year.

As a key fracking decision nears, the government will decide whether to accept shale company Cuadrillas appeal against Lancashire county councils decision last year to turn down its application for two fracking sites.

But even if communities secretary Sajid Javid green lights the fracking, as expected, Cuadrilla said that construction it needs to undertake at the two sites on the Fylde means the earliest drilling could start would be April next year.

A spokeswoman for Cuadrilla said: "If we get planning consent we would first need to discharge planning conditions with Lancashire county council, then we would need to build the site so likely drilling would commence Q2 2017."

The consequences of fracking

Only one shale gas well near Blackpool, in Lancashire, has so far been fracked in Britain, but was later abandoned when some of the work undertaken triggered an earth tremor.

That resulted in an 18 month ban on the hydraulic fracturing technology used to extract gas from shale rock.

Some farmers have been critical of fracking and the direct consequences of the activity on nearby farms.

A North Yorkshire farmer has spoken of her fear of pollution after a local authority gave the go-ahead for fracking operations in the UK for the first time in five years.

She told FarmingUK that her cattle were reliant on water from a borehole, which she feared could be contaminated by the fracking operations.

The farmer said that evidence was emerging from the United States, where fracking has been used for some years, that water sources had been polluted.
The Scottish government has announced that significant changes to Scotlands system of recording cattle movements are to be introduced at the end of the year.

The controversial changes will see an end to the CTS linked holding rules.

Currently, keepers can register holdings that they regularly use so cattle movements between these linked holdings do not need to be electronically reported, although they do have to be noted in the farms herd register.

The new rules will see all cattle movements in Scotland reported through Scotmoves to an online holding register.

The NFU Scotland expects that all cattle keepers, including those currently using linked holdings, will be formally notified by Scottish Government of the changes.

Scotland's announcement that penalties will be waived for first time offences has been welcomed

The Union says it welcomes the Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewings reassurance that, given this is a fundamental shift in recording requirements, there will be no financial penalties for any first time breaches for anyone working with the new recording system.

Commenting on the changes, NFU Scotlands Vice President Andrew McCornick said the industry is "well aware" that the government has been looking to end the use of linked holdings since 2007.

"But intervention by NFU Scotland has secured their continued use until now," Mr McCornick said.

"Many cattle keepers around Scotland will now be concerned about the replacement system, its reliance on figures being accurately recorded on a central database and what that means for potential penalties and cross-compliance.

"We expect details on the new system to be sent to every cattle keeper in Scotland in the near future.

Penalties for first time offences

The Cabinet Secretarys announcement that penalties will be waived for first time offences is "very welcome," Mr McCornick added.

"Looking further ahead, should the new system be seen to fail or be difficult to comply with, then further consideration on whether penalties are appropriate must be considered.

"The Union has previously written to the Cabinet Secretary asking for leniency and proportionality in the approach to cross compliance.

"Given that, in some cases, movement information for individual animals may have to be manually inputted into the system, the risk of error increases and the penalty matrix must reflect that.

NFU Scotland has also written to Mr Ewing in recent days calling for "greater flexibility" in the time period in which farmers are required to record cattle movements on the central database.

"Proposals need to take better account of weekends and delays in updates to the Scottish system from the national CTS," Mr McCornick said.

"Practical timings for recording movements is needed to ensure farmers doing their best to comply dont get landed with penalties

"We have also met with members in recent days who, because of the volume of cattle that they work with, will face significant challenges to their business if they are to comply with the new movement recording system.

"Consideration is needed to ensure large cattle trading businesses are not disproportionately affected.

"While Scottish Government is expected to be contacting all cattle keepers on these important changes, the Union will also be drawing up guidance for our members and we expect to make this available in due course," Mr McCornick concluded.
The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has told the farming sector to "transform itself" to help battle worldwide issues.

The agricultural sector must transform itself not only to achieve food and nutrition security for all, but also to help address global challenges such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance, FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva said today at the biannual meeting of FAO's Committee on Agriculture.

The Director-General noted how "agriculture is at the very heart" of a recent series of ground-breaking international agreements, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

"Sustainable agriculture is paramount to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to sustain natural resources, to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, to achieve healthier food systems and to build resilience against crises and natural disasters," Graziano da Silva said.

But he noted that while past developments in agriculture have led to major improvements in productivity, "progress has been uneven" and that "greater emphasis must be placed on the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability".

Joachim von Braun, Director of University of Bonn's Center for Development Research, underscored the need for scientific innovation in agriculture to go hand-in-hand with policy reform.

"Agriculture and food systems are transforming, and that must be supported by a sound cooperation between science and policy," von Braun said.

Action on antimicrobial resistance and climate change

Graziano da Silva, noting that the "role of agriculture goes beyond generating food and income," referred to FAO's recent commitment to curb antimicrobial resistance.

"We at FAO believe that antibiotics and other antimicrobials should be used in agriculture to cure diseases and to alleviate suffering.

"Only under strict circumstances they could be used to prevent an imminent threat of infection," the Director-General said.

Graziano da Silva also pointed to growing international recognition that agriculture can play a transformative role in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Countries are set to gather for the COP 22 summit in Morocco in November to put into motion their pledges on climate change, and FAO "stands ready to assist governments, especially of developing countries to have access to international resources that are available to finance these actions," he said.
After the group members had made their choices, Ms Cornelius read out the ASBVs for the rams and it became clear that the best traits were not always visually recognisable with people often making the incorrect choice.
When Autumn Dempewolf married her husband, Zane, he had two requests. He said that we are going to get married Catholic and send our kids to a country school.

There was a hiccup this year when their son, Dace, started kindergarten. They werent sure if hed have a teacher.

The family lives on a ranch about 10 minutes out of Glendive, but Dempewolf sends her son to Deer Creek Elementary, a small school of about 25 students. The family is within the Deer Creek boundary, but the decision not to drive into town is rooted in culture as much as education.

We want our kids to be cowboys, Dempewolf said.

She grew more and more nervous as the school year approached and Deer Creek didnt have a teacher for its lower-grade classroom. The school finally found one about a week before school started.

Across the nation, experts have been sounding the alarm on an impending teacher shortage. Fewer enrollees and graduates from teacher training programs will result in a coming supply shortage, they say.

Others argue that the teacher market is more nuanced, and can likely weather dips in teacher production. Teacher supply affects markets differently in each state, they say.

The differences between Glendive Schools and Deer Creek are significant, but Glendive is still a small rural school by most reckonings.

The comparison illustrates nuances in Montana education that escape national brush strokes; in this case, officials at both Glendive and Deer Creek didnt need anyone to tell them there was a teacher shortage.

Rural needs

Most elementary teachers across the nation will teach one grade. High school teachers will mostly teach one subject, likely with a few different classes.

In Montanas smallest elementary schools, teachers are asked to juggle multiple grades in the same classroom, sometimes with only one student per grade. In small high schools, teachers might teach every class within a subject, or even multiple subjects.

When Katrina Kinnan was going to college in Kansas, her professors told her to pick a subject  art or history  whichever she liked more. She got certified to teach both anyway.

I was a little bit of a weirdo, she said.

When Winnetts superintendent got wind of her four years ago, he just about tackled me and said, you must work here, Kinnan said.

Theres a lot of small schools that are like, 'We need this and this,' she said. Colleges do tend to be like, youre going to train to be one thing.

Current Winnett superintendent Walt Stevens describes her as a home-run hire; a good teacher with a unique skill set. In Terry, a new teacher is working to become certified as a librarian in addition to teaching several other subjects.

Thats a challenge that resonates with some teachers.

I would be really bored if I had seven years of teaching beginning woods, said Adam Tholt, Winnetts shop teacher who teaches students machining, welding and computer courses  and woods.

But its also tough. Teachers need to prepare more lesson plans for different classes or grade levels. There are often no colleagues within a department to seek advice from. Its simply not what most teachers envision when theyre in college.

A Helena administrator, Jilyn Oliveira, studied recruitment and retention at Montana's smallest schools for research finished in 2015; she found that a major indicator of teachers staying in a rural school was feeling that their own education prepared them for the job. But only about a third of teachers she surveyed said their own education prepared them for a rural school.

'Quick answer'

Sara Bacon has been a paraprofessional in a multi-grade elementary classroom at Deer Creek School for the past five years.

Some teachers struggle with multi-grade, she said. Theyve had little training in college about how to balance different grade levels. The importance of things like routine and classroom management become magnified in a multi-grade room; students often work in small groups with minimal oversight.

Montanas college pipeline isnt getting bigger. Almost every program has seen a drop in bachelor's degree graduates since 2010-11. The one increase over that time period, Montana State University, has seen graduates drop over the past decade despite burgeoning overall enrollment.

John Demming, a science teacher in Circle, previously worked as a professor in the education program at Winona State University in Minnesota. Before academia, he taught in the central Montana town of Stanford.

The quick answer for whether teachers are prepared for a rural setting coming out of college is "no, Demming said. Teacher prep programs are designed to teach best practices to students for an environment that theyre likely to teach in. Nationally, teachers are much more likely to end up in a school district like Billings than one like Circle.

Some experts have said a dip in teacher preparation programs is a delayed effect of the great recession, and as market factors change, it will likely rebound.

In Montana, its difficult to tell how many education graduates end up as Montana teachers. The majority are employed in Montana within a year of graduating, but the Montana University System data doesnt distinguish between general employment and teaching jobs.

At Winnett, Kari Weingart is student teaching. Shes going to school in New Mexico, but her husband is from Montana.

If I were doing my student teaching in Las Cruces, that might have helped with finding jobs in Las Cruces, she said.

The Montana Rural Education Association announced a new program this fall trying to find more housing for student teachers. Weingart said housing would have been an obstacle if she didn't have connections to the area. The Montana University System also created a task force to examine how universities can address teacher shortages.

Oliveira has called on universities to offer more rural-focused education and field opportunities.
The recommendations of the research are to sow as early as possible to allow for better crop biomass, as well as a longer grazing window and to graze lightly on paddocks that have little to no weed problems.
That faint gobble, gobble youre hearing in the distance can only mean one thing: Thanksgiving is near! Both ACTS and SERVE are gearing up for their holiday programs, and your help is needed.
What was it like to be an Oath Keeper? John Zimmerman can tell you
While the appointment is expected to be largely symbolic, Yellowstone County Commissioner Robyn Driscoll will nominate her replacement to state Senate District 25 on Oct. 4.

The Yellowstone County Democratic Central Committee forwarded the names of Jennifer Merecki, Mary Hernandez and Rebecca Becky Riedl to the commission last week.

Driscoll said Monday at a discussion meeting that she knows whom she will select but declined to identify the person.

The commission must decide which of the nominees will finish the approximately 100 days left in Driscolls four-year Senate term.

Driscoll was selected in August to replace Bill Kennedy on the commission. Kennedy resigned to work for the Montana State University Billings Foundation.

The Democrats chose Jen Gross to replace Driscoll on the November ballot.

Yellowstone County Chief Deputy Attorney Dan Schwarz advised commissioners Monday that a process for replacing Driscolls seat is not specified in Montana codes and that they could draw a name from a hat if they chose.

Because of the timing, Driscolls replacement will serve only three months, not be paid or get any committee assignments, he said. It is unlikely a special session will be called before the end of the year, he added.

Schwarz advised commissioners not to spend a lot of time on the decision.

Driscoll agreed with Schwarz and suggested that she, as the only Democrat on the commission, could nominate her successor at the Oct. 4 commissioner meeting.

Commission Chairman John Ostlund agreed with Driscoll. Commissioner Jim Reno came to the discussion meeting after the issue had been reviewed.
With Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger picking their six girls and boys respectively to go through to this year's Judges' Houses stage of The X Factor, we've decided to take a look at the 12 artists given the chance to make it through to the live shows and perform in front of millions each weekend, battling it out for a major recording contract.

Credit: ITV

The Girls

Soheila Clifford

Despite the 18-year-old sparking a show fix row due to a secret record deal she once had as part of a girl group with Simon Cowell, that didn't stop Soheila from impressing with her rendition of Ellie Goulding hit 'Love Me Like You Do' and claiming the first seat of six during last night's performances. She managed to hang on to her chair until the very end and sailed through to the Judges' Houses stage of the competition.

Kayleigh Marie Morgan

Welsh 19-year-old Kayleigh was the second contestant of the night to take to the stage and, like Soheila, managed to keep hold of her chair throughout the entire set of auditions. Singing Eva Cassidy's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow', she showcased her incredible range and had the audience on their feet. She's definitely going to be one to watch in the competition.

Caitlyn Vanbeck

It's easy to see and hear why Caitlyn is one of this year's favourites, as she manages to absolutely nail any song she takes on. Singing Andra Day's 'Rise Up' - one of Cowell's all-time favourite songs - she claimed a seat and sat firmly in it until the rest of her competitors had sang. Despite being accidentally whacked in the face by Cowell during celebrations, she'll move on to Judges' Houses and likely take a spot in the live shows later this year.

Gifty Louise

Making a triumphant return, Gifty revealed earlier this month that she had given up fizzy drinks to save her voice, as she feels they were having an adverse effect on her performances. Speaking to Lorraine Kelly she explained: "I just drink tea and honey and hot water. I need to." Taking on Gnarls Barkley tune 'Crazy', she turned the song on its head, took a big risk and smashed the track out of the park.

Emily Middlemas

Returning to The X Factor stage after being sent out of the competition in 2014 may have been the best decision Emily ever made. The Scottish hopeful was cut by Cheryl Fernandez-Versini at Judges' Houses back in 2014 but is now determined to make the live shows, and she's just one step away from making that dream a reality.

Olivia Garcia

Though she was the last of the girls to perform, she was determined not to be forgotten and quickly impressed the panel with her very own rendition of Paloma Faith tune, 'Changing'. Described as "absolutely flawless" by Louis Walsh, Nicole was determined to "fight" Simon if he didn't give Olivia a seat - but it wasn't a battle she had to have, as Luena Martinez was forced out of the competition to make room for Olivia.

The Boys

James Hughes

After a few less-than-exciting performances, James Hughes managed to get the crowd on their feet with an energetic rendition of Tina Turner classic, 'Proud Mary'. Giving his all, he didn't just sing, but danced and jumped off the stage to sing in front of the judges. He doesn't have the best voice in the competition, but he certainly knows how to entertain.

Niall Sexton

Niall is an act that many may have been sleeping on, but he's definitely somebody who may be able to take this all the way. The Irish 22-year-old sang Scherzinger's own track 'Run', with the mentor mouthing the lyrics as Niall performed on stage. The audition was a huge success despite Cowell's Louis Hamilton jibe at Nicole, and Louis saying he preferred this version to Nicole's, and Niall took a chair and refused to let up.

Matt Terry

Matt was a little disappointing in the Six Chair Challenge, and when the night was coming to an end, he was forced to sing for his seat by mentor Nicole, to see if he was good enough to remain in the competition. Thankfully he smashed his second song, remained in his chair and will be performing at Judges' Houses.

Freddy Parker

Freddy is another one who was a little disappointing on the night with a strange song choice, but when told to go to the piano and sing a bit of Amy Winehouse, he left everybody starry-eyed. He's got a lot of potential but with a voice that only caters to certain songs, he's going to have to work harder than everybody else to survive the competition.

Nate Simpson

Nate's voice is beautiful and it's difficult to imagine this year's X Factor without him. He could do incredible things moving forward and I just hope that Nicole gives him the chance to shine moving ahead.

Christian Burrows

Honestly I personally wasn't impressed by Christian's performance during the Six Chair Challenge, but obviously it sounded better in the studio. At home, it sounded a little screechy and didn't do much for the audience watching, so hopefully he'll learn a little bit of control for his voice before performing at Judges' Houses.

The X Factor's Six Chair Challenge continues tonight (September 25) on ITV.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Marc Anwar has apologised for his foul-mouthed racist rant and has claimed his outburst was a "moment of madness."

Marc Anwar (c) YouTube

The sacked 'Coronation Street' actor has begged people to "forgive" him after he took to Twitter at the end of last week to call Indians "b*****ds" and "p**s-drinking *****."

Speaking in a video message posted on YouTube, he said: "I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening and especially people from India. This was never my intention.

"The language was unacceptable. I feel I have let a lot of people down. My family, my friends and my former colleagues. This I sincerely apologise for.

"On Friday evening I saw on the news children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir. This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out and vented my anger. My feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir and I hope that everyone that everyone I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

The highly offensive tweets haven't just lost him fans as he's since been dropped from the long-running soap, in which he portrayed Sharif Nazir, with immediate effect.

A statement from ITV bosses read: "We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar.

"We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect."

However, the incident has also wreaked havoc for the show as the writers have now been hit with the task of re-writing scripts as Marc's alter ego is currently involved in a huge storyline, which sees his character cheating on his wife.

The 45-year-old actor - who was born in Pakistan - came under fire on Friday (23.09.16) when he referred to Indians as killers and suggested people from Pakistan should refuse to work in the neighbouring country.

He wrote in a since deleted post: "Why the F***k do #pakistaniartists want work in #f*** face #india, do you love money so much. (sic)"

Subsequently, the actor posted an image of a clenched fist and added: "Ban #india movies in #PakistanisLeaveIndia. B*****ds p**s drinking #c**ts. (sic)"

Marc also slammed Indian Prime Minster Narenda Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who have clashed over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Earlier this month, some 17 soldiers were killed in Kashmir.

The actor wrote: "F***ing #indians killing our #Kashmir brothers and sisters, beygairth #NawazSharif still sucking #modi Lul! (sic)"
Yellowstone County expects to finish reprinting its 90,000 general election ballots to reflect the Libertarian Partys new U.S. House candidate by Thursday, well ahead of deadlines.

County Election Administrator Bret Rutherford said on Monday the county started reprinting ballots in the morning and expects to complete the task by 5 p.m. Thursday.

I think were good to go, Rutherford told Yellowstone County commissioners during a discussion meeting on Monday afternoon.

The new ballots have the name of Rick Breckenridge, of Proctor, as the Libertarian Party candidate to replace Mike Fellows, of Missoula, who was running for the U.S. House when he was killed in a car crash on Sept. 19. The party named Breckenridge as the replacement candidate Thursday.

Absentee ballots for the Nov. 8 general election have to be mailed by Oct. 14, a deadline the county will meet, Rutherford said.

The county already has resent corrected ballots to 368 voters serving in the military, Rutherford said. The corrected military ballots do not use the heavier paper stock normally used for ballots but military ballots can be duplicated on ballot stock when returned to the election office or the voter can request a regular ballot, he said.

In addition, military voters can vote using an electronic absentee system, which went live Friday. Ten military voters have already cast ballots using the electronic system, which has the corrected ballot, he said.

The county was nearly done printing its ballots when Fellows was killed. The county immediately stopped the printing process until it decided how to proceed with replacement ballots.

The cost to reprint is expected to be less than the original estimate of $30,000 because the old ballots were not done, Rutherford said.

Having to reprint general election ballots is rare, he said. The last time the county had to do it was when Chet Blaylock, D-Laurel, died in 1996 of a heart attack late in his race for governor against Gov. Marc Racicot.
UK trade financer Stenn International has unveiled a $300 million financing platform to expand its capacity to help suppliers across the world, access buyers of their products in developed countries. Stenn's lends finance to those primarily engaged in the production of apparel, shoes, toys, childcare products, etc to be sold to leading retailers.The new platform will acquire up to 120-day trade receivables from SMEs, particularly in China and Southeast Asia, who produce and export goods to the US, Europe Union and other countries.

UK trade financer Stenn International has unveiled a $300 million financing platform to expand its capacity to help suppliers across the world, access buyers of their products in developed countries. Stenn's lends finance to those primarily engaged in the production of apparel, shoes, toys, childcare products, etc to be sold to leading retailers. #

According to Stenn, access to flexible short-term funding is essential for these suppliers, who need working capital to finance orders bound for global markets until payment is received from their buyers.Stenn's financing solutions offer payment for goods immediately after shipment, eliminating the delay and uncertainly of payment collections from buyers, so that these clients can focus on building their business.Capital for the new platform is being provided by Stenn and Crayhill Capital Management LP, an established alternative asset management firm based in New York. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India
In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country 's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

Stating that higher cotton yields were urgently needed to replenish Azerbaijan's greatly diminished state coffers, Aliyev has issued an order on government support to boost cotton-growing in the country.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

As per the order, the government will give AZN 0.1 ($0.6) subsidy to cotton manufacturers for each kilogram of cotton sold to the processing enterprises. This subsidy would be available only for raw cotton produced in 2016 and sold to processing enterprises.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

Further rules on giving subsidies would be decided by the Cabinet, Azerbaijani media reported.

More than 200,000 tons of cotton will be produced next year If all instructions are fulfilled and it should be, that in 2017 we will be able to produce 250,000 and even 300,000 tons of cotton, Aliyev said at a meeting on the development of cotton production in Sabirabad region.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

In 1970, cotton was sown on 190,000 hectares in Azerbaijan, which increased to 305,000 hectares in 1982. However, this area decreased to 18,700 hectares last year. This year the area has increased to 52,000 hectares.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

The president hoped that the area under cotton would swell to 128,000 hectares next year, yielding at least 250,000 tons of cotton.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

In addition to cotton subsidies, the government would invest around $100 million to build textile plants that can use raw cotton and wool and turn them into finished products. The investment would mainly be in the city of Ganja and the Mingachevir Region.

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

The increase in cotton production is expected to raise employment levels and facilitate the flow of foreign currency into the country, benefiting both people and the government. (RKS)

In the midst of economic problems, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev has pinned hopes on revival of the cotton sector to bring the country's revenue back on track. Large decline in oil prices, cuts in public investment, currency depreciations, and the slowdown in trading partners' economies have all affected the economy of the former Soviet republic.#

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the Germany based not for profit organisation, has announced that it will organise a national seminar for the organic textile industry in Bangladesh next month. The conference, under the theme Business Case for Sustainability with Organic Textiles, will be the first GOTS seminar in Bangladesh.

The global textile industry today is sustainability conscious and leading brands, NGOs, governments and consumers are looking for innovative ideas and solutions. As a voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing of home textiles and apparel made with organic fibre, GOTS includes both environmental and social criteria.

On the other hand, Bangladesh has the largest market share (around 6.4 per cent) of global apparel exports among South Asian countries. In fact, the apparel industry is extremely prominent in the countrys economy, accounting for 83 per cent of total exports.

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the Germany based not for profit organisation, has announced that it will organise a national seminar for the organic textile industry in Bangladesh next month. The conference, under the theme 'Business Case for Sustainability with Organic Textiles', will be the first GOTS seminar in Bangladesh.#

In last few years, the brands and manufacturers focus on compliances has significantly increased. Our seminar will show feasible solutions for the journey of Bangladesh textile industry towards sustainable textile processing and manufacturing, says Sumit Gupta, GOTS representative in Bangladesh and India.

In addition to the theme, speakers from leading brands and various experts will also talk about best practices in manufacturing, social and environment issues. Rahul Bhajekar, GOTS director Standards Development & Quality Assurance will be make a presentation and moderate a session. There will also be a panel discussion on challenges and opportunities in a sustainable textile supply chain.

Last year, GOTS organised its first International GOTS Conference in India with the theme Strong Partnerships for Success. It was a huge success and was attended by 250 people from 12 countries. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Intex South Asia 2016, South Asias only international sourcing show for yarns, apparel fabrics, denim fabrics, clothing accessories, and allied services, will be held from November 16 to 18, 2016, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the Sri Lanka exhibition and convention centre. It is a robust platform for untapped South Asian intra-regional trade Intex South Asia 2016 is the only international textile sourcing show in South Asia region and the only platform giving in-depth and ground insights to help you penetrate and develop the vast South Asian market.

Intex South Asia 2016, South Asia's only international sourcing show for yarns, apparel fabrics, denim fabrics, clothing accessories, and allied services, will be held from November 16 to 18, 2016, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the Sri Lanka exhibition and convention centre. It is a robust platform for untapped South Asian intra-regional trade.#

Understanding the growing importance and potential of the region, Intex South Asia was created to help manufacturers and buyers take advantage of these opportunities. It is the only international sourcing textile show in South Asia region connecting global exhibitors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and more to buyers from across the South Asia region and other international markets.The potential for intra-regional trade is tremendous and is a critical gap that needed to be filled. Intex is the only platform in South Asia promoting intra-regional trade, thus positioning itself as the gateway to South Asian markets.The specialised zones at Intex like Denim World (showcasing denim yarns, fabrics, accessories and washes); Trends Zone (forecasting latest trends and designs) and Innovation Zone (exhibiting latest innovations in textiles as well as services) provide a focused approach, assisting buyer and exhibitor interaction.Intex South Asia bridges the gap and converges buyers and suppliers under one networking platform. It is the only fair in South Asia specifically designed to synergise the garmenting needs of international brands with the manufacturing strength of South Asia satisfying both exports and large domestic markets.Saif Jafferjee, chairman, Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) said, Intex will surely be an ideal chance for large and small scale companies to gain exposure. Intex will facilitate and strengthen business partnerships and create a positive platform for future business. (GK)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Indian government is planning to promote tribal and as well as community handicrafts through converging efforts of two ministries, the textiles ministry and the tribal welfare ministry. This will ensure that the uniqueness of their handicrafts is marketed, make them understand the kind of opportunity the market has to offer among many other benefits.According to media reports, this was informed by the union minister of textiles, Smriti Irani at the 'ASSOCHAM Global Investors' India Forum.

The Indian government is planning to promote tribal and as well as community handicrafts through converging efforts of two ministries, the textiles ministry and the tribal welfare ministry. This will ensure that the uniqueness of their handicrafts is marketed, make them understand the kind of opportunity the market has to offer among many other benefits.#

"I had a meeting three days with the minister for tribal affairs and we are mulling a convergence of efforts between the two ministries to market uniqueness of their craft, while at the same time, to see that social challenges with regards to education, healthcare and housing are met, Irani said."So we are preparing a plan to ensure intervention not only in the tribal community but in the whole handicrafts community, through a convergence of the two ministries and reach out to them," she informed. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India
Aishwarya's Cute Revelations

In the leaked slam book page, Aishwarya had talked about love, what turns her on, her special ability, her most embarrasing moment and many more! Check out all her cute replies below.

"I Love"

She wrote, "The idea of being in love.. being in love..love.." How cute was that! Now, we wonder about whom Aishwarya was thinking, while writing this.

In Picture: Slam Book Filled Up By Aish

Aishwarya on her biggest assets: "Genuineness!! (Nothing about me is plastic)"

Aishwarya on the idea of sex appeal: " Com(e)passion!!

Aishwarya On Her Passion:

When she has to write about her passion, she wrote something very wonderful. "Life...Living every moment in it! (as far as I can)," wrote Aishwarya.

Aishwarya On Her Strength:

She wrote, "Comes from the honest love and faith the few, but DEAR ones have for and in me"

Aishwarya On Her Special Abilitty:

The Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam actress wrote, "To enjoy success while it lasts, but not quite believe it."

Aishwarya On Her Most Embarrassing Moment:

She wrote, "Nooooo.. My lips are sealed." Well, that's okay Aishwarya because we all go through it!

Aishwarya On What Bores Her Most:

She wrote, "People washing their dirty linen in public!!" Well, we gotta admit that Aishwarya has never been that kind of celebs and has always maintain her dignity!

What Touches Aishwarya Most:

She wrote, "The clear perception of my well wishers and their humility when expressing their love!"

What Pains Her The Most:

"The knowledge that there are so many around, who do so with malicious intent."

Aishwarya Was One Cutie

Now, she might be one mature respected lady of B-town but in her initial days of acting, she was one cutie. Her replies are so on point and it's fun to read them, isn't it?

Aishwarya's Debut

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her acting debut with the 1997 Tamil film Iruvar, and had her first Bollywood debut in the same year with Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya.
Ranbir Kapoor is all set to woo his fans with his upcoming film Ae Dil Hain Mushkil. The actor was recently asked to comment on the speculation that the film is now in trouble because of MNS, as its members said that they won't allow ADHM to release in Maharashtra for featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

When Ranbir Kapoor was asked about the same, he said, "I can speak about my film Ae Dil Hain Mushkil. Other than this I don't know anything about other rumours."



Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which is slated to release next month, will see Fawad Khan in a supporting role.

Also Read: Love Is In The Air! The WOW Reason Why Abhishek Bachchan Took Aishwarya Rai & Aaradhya To Dubai!

However after the Uri attack, the members of Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena declared that they want the Pakistani actors to move out of India.

Speaking to IANS, on the sets of a dance reality show, Ranbir said he is happy with the reactions of the film. "The film is releasing on Diwali. I hope that this Diwali will be 'Ae Dil Ki Diwali'," he said.

About the dance reality show, he said: "I had a lot of fun in the show. The participants are really talented. I think even as an actor I don't have a talent like them. They are a true heroes.''

Ae Dil Hain Mushkil features Ranbir, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Anushka Sharma in lead roles and Fawad in a pivotal role.
Goldman Sachs is poised to cut investment banking headcount in Asia by around a quarter after revenues halved during the first half of the year, according to one person familiar with the matter.

The layoffs of around 75 people across Asia excluding Japan and Australia will be deep and somewhere between 20% and 30%, although the 30% number is too high, said the person.

Goldman will make the people redundant later this year; they have not yet been told, the person said. The firm has around 300 investment bankers in the region, excluding Japan, Australia and assistants in the corporate finance division.

The US firm's decision is one of the most dramatic examples this year of how fierce competition and a slide in revenues are impacting the business of investment banking in the region.

The New York-headquartered bank revenues across Asia Pacific during the first six months of the year fell to $1.712 billion representing, 12% of the groups revenue, down from $3.558 billion, an 18% contribution.

Goldman has previously trimmed staff in the region this year across its trading division, but not in one fell swoop, said one headhunter in the region. The firm has around 3,000 people in the region across all divisions but exluding Japan, Australia and Bangalore.

Competition for investment banking fees is fierce, especially from Chinese brokers. Global bulge bracket banks in Asia Pacific ex-Japan accounted for 21% of investment banking revenue in the year up to August, the lowest year-to-date share on record and down from 24% in 2015. Their share is down 19 percentage points in the region over the last decade.

A good example of the increased competition has come from the IPO market. Everbright Securities' $1.1 billion listing in August was jointly managed by 20 bookrunners, the largest syndicate in an Asia Pacific offering since 22 bookrunners managed the $2.5 billion China Huarong Asset Management IPO in October 2015, according to data provider Dealogic. But that record was handily beaten earlier this month, when 26 banks helped manage the $7.43 billion listing of Postal Savings Bank of China.

Goldman is not alone in mulling layoffs. Barclays closed its cash equities division in Asia in January and laid off investment bankers; Nomura cut staff in its Asia ex-Japan equities division earlier this year; Macquarie cut about 30 people while Deutsche Bank trimmed its team of investment bankers by 2%.

More are likely to follow: Bank of America Merrill Lynch is planning to cut 17 to 18 people next week, according to a person in the bank.

Source: Dealogic

However some business models seems to be weathering the storm better than others, or have already cut their costs to fit the revenue opportunity. UBS investment banking chief, Andrea Orcel was in Singapore recently for an executive committee meeting and voiced cautious optimism to staff during a town hall, according to a person at the Swiss bank.

Goldman was third equal with Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank in terms of first half revenues including corporate finance and trading across the Asia Pacific region, the same ranking as a year earlier, according to data provider Coalition.

In the core investment banking division, M&A and capital raising, Goldman ranked third, down from the top slot a year ago, Coalition said.

Goldman is also dealing with The New York State Department of Financial Services' investigation into its capital raising for controversial state fund, 1MDB, although the person said the scandal in Malaysia was not a motive for the layoffs. Goldman had already laid people off in Southeast Asia last year due to falling revenues across the industry in the region.

Additional reporting by Ray Chan


TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - New Zealand will on Monday release August figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Imports were worth NZ$4.40 billion in July, while exports were at NZ$3.96 billion for a trade deficit of NZ$433 million. Japan will see final July numbers for its leading and coincident indexes; their previous scores were 100.0 and 112.8, respectively. Singapore will provide August figures for industrial production; in July, output sank 4.0 percent on month and 3.6 percent on year. Malaysia will release July data for unemployment; in June, the jobless rate was 3.5 percent and the participation rate was 67.7 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Amid the unprecedented military assault on eastern Aleppo, where fireballs from incendiary bombs 'light up the pitch darkness,' the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria strongly appealed to the Security Council - particularly permanent members Russia and the United States - to rescue a recently collapsed cessation of hostilities, end the bloodshed and speed aid into the iconic city where, overall, some two million people remain under a de facto siege.



'These are indeed chilling days for Syria and particularly, for the people of Aleppo, as last week was one of the worst in this six year of the conflict,' Staffan de Mistura told an emergency meeting of the Security Council, echoing a statement issued by a UN spokesperson yesterday which said the Secretary-General is 'appalled' by the escalating violence since the announcement two days ago by the Syrian Army of an offensive to capture eastern Aleppo.



Reporting that Aleppo is being reduced to rubble in the face of a 'remarkable new intensity - unprecedented in scale and type of bombing,' Mr. de Mistura said 'this Council has the responsibility to relaunch the cessation of hostilities' and reiterated his appeal for a common course of action, led by Russia and the UN, in three areas: ensuring a ceasefire; establishing weekly 48 hour pauses in the fighting to allow in aid and repairs for Aleppo's damaged water and power facilities; and allow medical evacuations for urgent cases in and around the city.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Different Industries United to Explore Business Opportunities

MACAO, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) is organised by IPIM with 15 co-organisers, is set to open on October 20-22.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160921/410206

MIF is the first local exhibition with UFI certification from the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and is one of the most celebrated annual events in Macao.

Themed as "Co-operation-Key to Business Opportunities", this year's MIF will establish, for the first time, co-operation projects with partner countries and cities, with Portugal and Beijing being the first partners, to demonstrate Macao's role as a "World-class Tourism and Leisure Center" and "Business and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries," which can benefit businesses with its diverse economic environment. MIF will also introduce prospective partners to the exhibitors for cultivating business opportunities.

Exhibition

MIF will have Chinese cities, Europe, PCSs, and the Americas pavilions. The "Portuguese-speaking Countries' Products and Services Exhibition" will be held concurrently.

Forum/Conference

Many forums, conferences and sessions will be held, including the "World Summit of Chinese Entrepreneurs". Leaders from governments and commercial circles world-wide and global Chinese entrepreneurs will gather in Macao to discuss the development of the Asian and Global economies.

Business Matching

MIF offers business matching services. An online platform is provided to connect visiting delegations and exhibitor groups.

SMEs Co-operation

The development of SMEs is strongly supported by MIF. By inviting trade associations and enterprises worldwide, MIF helps exhibitors improve their potential.

20th MIF Review

The 20th MIF attracted nearly 110,000 visitors from over 50 countries and regions, occupying approximately 30,000 square metres with 1,900 exhibition booths. 55 forums or conferences were held.

To further promote the "Three Centres" and one "Portal", MIF established a "Portal Professional Service Suppliers' Exhibition Area". 16 professional service providers were invited to strengthen exchanges between Macao enterprises and exhibitors from PCSs.

Approximately 574 business sessions were held, with 117 enterprises from PCSs. Businesses discussed involved caterings, health products, and various kinds of services.




DUBAI, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Red Sea Housing Services has launched the Red Sea Multi-Level Modular Building Series, a pre-fabricated range of products built using innovative modular construction techniques in a factory controlled environment to deliver projects with consistent high quality, and significant time and cost savings, to achieve building structure heights up to 12 levels.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408471 )



The surge in demand for cost-effective and faster construction, especially for mid-market and budget hotels, has increasingly driven interest and adoption of offsite prefabrication of complete volumetric modules among both developers and operators around the globe. They see value in this innovative building technique that dramatically reduces construction time, and delivers factory-fitted quality and consistency. The factory environment ensures that all elements of the module are constructed to brand standards using approved materials, fixtures and furnishings.

For over four decades, Red Sea Housing Services has been utilizing modular construction techniques to deliver complex, integrated workforce housing solutions in over 65 countries around the world. "Now, for the first time in this region, construction projects can take advantage of steel-frame multi-level modular construction techniques with concrete floors to achieve significant project time and cost savings", expressed Mr. Nicholas Reynolds, Vice President - Modular Construction for Red Sea Housing Services.

This building system can be used to construct hotel and student rooms, apartments, schools or any other building type that requires repetition and volume. The processes and construction are planned, unaffected by adverse weather or scarcity of materials, and executed by a highly trained team of professionals. The technique is a perfect fit for hotel products since guest room construction which is to be built to formulaic specifications is easily achieved to exceptionally high standards in a controlled factory environment. Hotel brand approval can be easily managed, with model rooms signed-off in advance for brand compliance and all rooms approved during mass production.

To know more about the Red Sea Multi-Level Modular Building Series, Mr. Nicholas Reynolds - Vice President for Modular Construction will be available to give you a preview of the Modular Hotel Prototype we have developed at our Dubai factory in JAFZA and also to meet you at the 8th Edition Hotelier Summit-Middle East in Qatar.

Venue: 8th Edition Hotelier Summit-Middle East, Doha, Qatar

Date: 27th September 2016

Time: 17:40-18:00

Topic: Modular Hotel Construction

Format: 20 minutes under the segment Fireside Chats: Building Construction and Design Ideas in Vogue.



You may as well visit our website product page http://www.redseahousing.com/our-divisions/industrial-housing/product-detail/id/36/multi-level-modular-building-series or write to us at modularhotel@redseahousing.com for more information.

About Red Sea Housing Services

Red Sea Housing Services (RSHS), a public company listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange under Red Sea symbol (Tadawul 4230), is an international market leader that provides high quality modular living and working environments for industrial and residential communities. With significant experience in providing industrial housing products and services in remote and urban locations across the world in more than 65 countries for over 4 decades, RSHS has cemented exceptional reputation for designing, planning, producing, managing, leasing, and operating corporate housing solutions. RSHS sets up the infrastructure and facilities required for global companies to construct high quality, reliable, durable and tailored modular buildings, and housing units, including hotels, offices, accommodation units, utility services, telecommunications networks, catering and recreation facilities, from its manufacturing facilities in Saudi, UAE, Ghana, PNG, and Malaysia. These prefabricated buildings are deployed - on a large scale, to tight deadlines - in remote, rugged areas over long periods of time. Through its main subsidiaries, it provides civil contracting for commercial and residential buildings; offers real estate property investment and development; production of paints, coatings and construction machinery and equipment; and repair and maintenance services. Recently, RSHS has developed an innovative modular building system to construct multi-level steel-frame buildings for hotels, apartments, schools, etc.





For further queries please contact:

Rakhi Raghavan

Global Marketing & PR Manager

PO Box 17365, Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE

Tel: +971-4-883-8589

Mob: +971(0)55-3745679

Email:modularhotel@redseahousing.com

Web: http://www.redseahousing.com


NEW YORK, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Extreme climatic conditions, favourable government policies and growing construction industry to propel GCC thermal insulation market over the next five years

According to a recently published TechSci Research report "GCC Thermal Insulation Market By Type, By Application, By Country, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", the thermal insulation market of the GCC region is projected to cross $975 Million by 2021. As of 2015, construction projects worth USD1.30 trillion are in the pipeline in the GCC region. With increasing investments in construction of projects pertaining to sectors such as power, oil & gas, chemicals, etc., the demand for thermal insulation in the region is expected to grow at a healthy pace during 2016-2021.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 )



Browse 33 market data Tables and 42 Figures spread through177 Pages and an in-depth TOC on " GCC Thermal Insulation Market"

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/gcc-thermal-insulation-market-by-application-residential-commercial-industrial-by-type-fiberglass-polyurethane-foam-mineral-wool-others-forecast-opportunities-2021/699.html

Owing to limited natural water resources, the GCC nations are heavily dependent on water desalination to cater the growing demand for water. Since the demand for water has outstripped the availability in the GCC region, desalination of seawater provides a substantial portion of the region's fresh water needs. In 2014, desalination plants in the region have a total capacity of over 26 million cubic metre of water per day, which is equivalent to 36% of global capacity in the same year. As desalination consumes considerable amounts of energy, extensive thermal insulation is required on appliances and piping, thereby aiding its market in the GCC region.

Download Sample Report

@ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=699

Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report.

Saudi Arabia dominated the GCC thermal insulation market during 2011-2015, and the same trend is anticipated to continue over the next five years as well. Saudi Arabian government plans to build around 5,00,000 housing units in the country over the next five years by investing around USD68 billion to ease housing shortage in the country. Further, ongoing commercial constructions like King Abdul-Aziz International Airport are expected to drive the demand for thermal insulation in the Kingdom through 2021. Fiberglass was the most preferred type of thermal insulation material in the GCC region in 2015.

"Per capita electricity consumption of the GCC nations is higher than the world average. Over the next few years, GCC nations are anticipated to emerge as the world leaders, in terms of per capita energy consumption. Oman, which accounts for the least per capita electricity consumption among the GCC nations, has almost twice the global average of per capita electricity consumption. The ability to reduce the energy flow across another material makes thermal insulation the key measure for energy saving.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

Per Capita Electricity Consumption of GCC Countries, 2015 (Megawatt-hour Per Person)

Per Capita Electricity Consumption (Megawatt-hour Per Country Person) Saudi Arabia 9.2 UAE 10.6 Kuwait 15.9 Qatar 15 Oman 6.4 Bahrain 18.5

"GCC Thermal Insulation Market By Type, By Application, By Country, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", has evaluated the future growth potential of GCC thermal insulation market and provided statistics and information on market structure, industry behaviour and trends. The report includes market projections and demand forecasting. The report is intended to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities available in GCC thermal insulation market.

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26 September 2016

Crystal Amber Fund Limited

(the "Company")

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The Company announces that its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") is to be held at Lefebvre Place, Lefebvre Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey on 18 November 2016 at 9.30 am.

The Notice of AGM includes a special resolution to approve certain amendments to the articles of association of the Company (the "Articles"), a summary of the amendments is included in the Notice of AGM.

The Notice of AGM, Form of Proxy, the proposed amended version of the Articles and the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2016 will be posted to shareholders tomorrow and will be available to download from the Company's website shortly, www.crystalamber.com.
Another mammoth solar PV plant has been put into operation in California, as the 200 MW Tranquility solar project officially begins generating electricity. Built on a huge expanse in Fresno County, the project took just over a year to complete and adds another large block of solar capacity to the U.S. state that is leading the way in PV deployment. Canadian Solar's subsidiary Recurrent Energy developed the project from start to finish, building the giant plant on 1,900 acres of retired agricultural land in Fresno County. The construction began in July 2015, so it took a total of 14 months to complete, which is not bad for a site of this size. Originally Canadian Solar had full ownership of the site, but in August 2015 Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, bought 51% of the plant, leaving Canadian Solar with the remaining 49%. "The Tranquility ...

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.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/26/16 -- Department of Canadian Heritage

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today hosts the first of six in-person discussions that will take place across the country in the coming weeks with representatives from a variety of sectors and members of the general public. This discussion is taking place as part of the consultations on Canadian Content in a Digital World.

Vancouver, one of the world's leading digital media and information and communication technology centres, is an ideal place to host the first official in-person discussion. A performance by Vancouver-based Spakwus Slulum (the Eagle Song Dancers) will inspire the participants in their dialogue on the wealth and diversity of Canadian content in the digital world.

Rapidly changing technological advances are affecting how Canadians produce and consume cultural content; as a result, the cultural sector is facing new challenges and opportunities. These consultations will help the Government of Canada determine the best ways to assist the cultural sector in navigating these changes and seizing opportunities to contribute to the country's economic growth and innovation.

These in-person events will contribute to the success of the consultations by making it possible to gather valuable input from a variety of voices in the arts and culture scene.

All Canadians are invited to join the conversation and take part in the discussions at any time through the Web portal and social media using the hashtag DigiCanCon. Canadians also have the opportunity to lead in-person discussions in their communities using the consultation kit available online.

Live social media events will take place during the consultation period, allowing interested people across the country to comment on numerous topics and issues covered by the consultations. Canadians can register now to take part in the live social media events on October 12, 2016; October 28, 2016; and November 7, 2016.

Quotes

"I am thrilled to be in Vancouver today to kick off a series of in-person discussions with Canadians, including artists, creators, and cultural businesses. I know that these discussions will allow our Government to better understand the issues and expectations regarding Canadian content creation, discovery and promotion in this new environment in which we live. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all Canadians to take part in this important exercise, either through our Web portal or by having discussions on social media with the hashtag DigiCanCon. Together, let's be innovative and find new ways to create and promote quality Canadian content that stands out."

-The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Quick Facts

- The Department of Canadian Heritage developed a discussion paper based on the results of the pre-consultations. This document will help guide this phase of the consultations on Canadian Content in a Digital World.

- Throughout this process, the Government of Canada will listen to Canadians to learn how best to strengthen Canadian content creation, discovery and export in a digital world and to examine the federal government's current cultural policy toolkit.

- These discussions will be guided by three key principles. The approach will:

-- focus on respecting citizen choice and supporting creators in making great, compelling content;

-- reflect Canada's incredible diversity in the content that is produced and support the production of news information and local content that is credible and reliable; and

-- drive social and economic innovation by forging strong links between creativity, economic growth and social resilience.

- Canadians have until November 25 to provide their input.

- This consultation process follows a pre-consultation questionnaire completed by close to 10,000 Canadians.

Associated Links

Consultations - Canadian Content in a Digital World

Expert Advisory Group Announced

Spakwus Slulum (the Eagle Song Dancers)

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

Contacts:

Pierre-Olivier Herbert

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage

819-997-7788



Media Relations

Canadian Heritage

819-994-9101

1-866-569-6155

pch.media-media.pch@canada.ca




GREENVILLE, SC--(Marketwired - September 26, 2016) -KEMET Corporation (NYSE: KEM), a leading global supplier of electronic components, today announced the expansion of its Goldmax and Aximax leaded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor (MLCC) product line to include 100% RoHS, REACH and AEC-Q200 compliant offerings. These radial and axial components feature industry-leading voltage ranges, rendering them ideal for the automotive market.

"KEMET's Goldmax and Aximax automotive grade capacitors combine robust performance with versatile assembly and are well-suited for a variety of applications," said Adriana Sanchez, KEMET Associate Product Manager. "In addition to being both lead- and halogen-free, these components are in compliance with the EU Commission Directive 2016/774, addressing the needs of our automotive customers."

Automotive grade Goldmax and Aximax capacitors are designed for a range of applications including wiper, power window and sunroof motors as well as seat belt, transmission and alternator sensors.

Leaded MLCCs are often a preferred solution in environments where mounting space is limited. They can be weld- or crimp-mounted, eliminating the need for a PCB, resulting in overall cost savings. In addition, leaded capacitors are non-polar and can be easily integrated into an existing circuit.

For more information, please visit www.kemet.com/leadedMLCCs.

About KEMET

KEMET Corporation is a leading global manufacturer of electronic components that meet the highest standards for quality, delivery and service. The company offers its customers the broadest selection of capacitor technologies in the industry across all dielectrics, along with an expanding range of electromechanical devices, electromagnetic compatibility solutions and supercapacitors. KEMET's corporate headquarters are in South Carolina; the company also operates manufacturing facilities, sales and distribution centers around the world. KEMET's common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "KEM." Additional information about KEMET can be found at www.kemet.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included herein contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws about KEMET Corporation's (the "Company") financial condition and results of operations that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets in which the Company operates, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," variations of such words and other similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's judgment only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

Certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcome and results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements are described in the Company's reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/9/26/11G115587/Images/Aximax_C0G_-12a315b3aa2bb579bc01b709c6a7e913.JPG

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/9/26/11G115587/Images/Goldmax_C0G_3xx-0484a6bf15b1bff0af22968ce8b4d12b.JPG

Contact:

Dr. John C. Boan

Vice President, Marketing

johnnyboan@kemet.com

954.766.2813
Preisgekronte Beauty-App befahigt Konsumentinnen durch mageschneiderte Empfehlungen

Chance zur Nutzung der Plattformtechnologie und digitalen Tools von MATCHCO im gesamten Portfolio von Shiseido

Die Shiseido Company, Limited ("Shiseido") gab heute bekannt, dass ihre regionale Hauptgeschaftsstelle und konsolidierte Tochtergesellschaft Shiseido Americas Corporation (Delaware, USA; "SAC") das im Privatbesitz befindliche und in Kalifornien/USA ansassige Unternehmen MATCHCo ubernommen hat. MATCHCo nutzt richtungweisende Technologie und innovative digitale Tools, um Konsumentinnen in groem Mastab individuell abgestimmtes Makeup bereitzustellen.

Dieser Smart News Release enthalt Multimedia. Vollstandige Veroffentlichung hier ansehen: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170118006418/de/

The MATCHCo App

Die Synergie der innovativen digitalen Tools von MATCHCo und den Forschungs- und Entwicklungskompetenzen der Shiseido-Gruppe werden zur Verbesserung eines Geschaftsmodells fuhren, das einen bedeutenden Verbrauchertrend erfasst: mageschneiderte Kosmetika.

Uber MATCHCo

MATCHCo wurde 2013 von den Personalisierungs- und Technologieexperten Dave Gross und Andy Howell gegrundet und wird durch patentierte Technologie untermauert. Kundinnen konnen ihren eigenen Hautton mit ihrer mobilen App einscannen und MATCHCo nutzt die erfassten Daten zur individuellen Mischung eines perfekt abgestimmten Makeups fur jede Kundin. Die MATCHCo-App wird derzeit uber den App Store von Apple vertrieben und wurde bei ihrem Erstauftritt im November 2015 als "Beste neue App" und "Beste App im November" gekurt. Seitdem hat sie auch Beauty Breakthrough Awards von Teen Vogue, Good Housekeeping und anderen erhalten.

MATCHCo wird weiterhin in Kalifornien ansassig sein. Das technische Team ist in Palo Alto und das Marketing- und Betriebszentrum befindet sich in Santa Monica. Kunftig gehoren diese dem Global Makeup Center of Excellence von Shiseido unter der Leitung von Jill Scalamandre in New York an.

Einfuhrung des Wachstumsmodells fur personalisierten, digitalen Direktvertrieb

Gebundelte Manahmen von MATCHCo und der Shiseido-Gruppe resultieren in der Einfuhrung und Verbesserung eines Geschaftsmodells, das schnell auf veranderte Kundenanforderungen in einem wachstumsstarken Markt reagiert.

Zu den erwarteten Ergebnissen gehoren:

zunehmender Fokus auf individuell abgestimmte Kosmetika;

immer fortschrittlichere digitale Technologien, die auf Hautmesswerte und Analysen abzielen;

erweitertes Direkt-Marketing und

verbessertes Verbrauchermarketing durch Erfassung von Erkenntnissen durch direkte Kontakte.

Shiseido ergreift bereits Manahmen zur Starkung seiner Centers of Excellence (COE) fur Hautpflege, Makeup, Parfums und Digitales. Die Zusammenarbeit dieser COE wird das Modell uber seine ursprungliche Kategorie Hautpflege hinaus ausweiten und das Geschaft weiter vorantreiben.

Stellungnahme von Shiseido CEO Masahiko Uotani

"Wir freuen uns sehr, MATCHCo in unserer Gruppe zu begruen. Dieses Unternehmen verfugt uber innovative digitale Technologien und Innovation ist ein spezieller strategischer Schwerpunkt der Shiseido-Gruppe. Wir freuen uns darauf, den Konsumentinnen in der ganzen Welt weiteren einzigartigen Wert bieten zu konnen. Dies wird nun durch beschleunigte Innovation auf dem Gebiet der rapide evolvierenden digitalen Tools und mageschneiderten Produkte moglich gemacht."

Stellungnahme von SAC CEO Marc Rey

"MATCHCo ist eine wirklich einzigartige Firma mit einer richtungweisenden Technologieplattform, Go-to-Market-Strategie und einem ganz besonderen Ansatz des Kundenengagements. Wir sind sehr gespannt darauf, diese Technologie und Tools im gesamten Markenportfolio von Shiseido einzusetzen und weiter auf deren Innovation aufzubauen."

Stellungnahmen der Grunder von MATCHCo

Dave Gross, Grunder und Chief Executive Officer von MATCHCo:

"Shiseido ist die perfekte Plattform zur Ausdehnung unseres Produktangebots und Ausweitung unserer Technologie. Es ist uns eine Ehre, einem Konzern mit einer so reichhaltigen Innovationsgeschichte beizutreten. Wir freuen uns auf die Zusammenarbeit mit unseren neuen Kollegen, um den individuellen Bedurfnissen jeder einzelnen Kundin auf bisher nie dagewesene Weise nachzukommen."

Andy Howell, Grunder und Chief Strategy Officer von MATCHCo:

"Heute erlebt die MATCHCo-Kundin ihr eigenes Makeup, das individuell auf ihren eigenen Hautton abgestimmt wurde, ganz bequem vom eigenen Handy aus, doch das ist erst der Anfang. Wenn wir kunftig vom Center of Excellence aus arbeiten, dann freuen wir uns darauf, mit den Marken des globalen Portfolios von Shiseido zusammenzuarbeiten, um ein neues Zeitalter der Personalisierung einzulauten: kunstliche Intelligenz fur Beauty."

Uber Shiseido Company, Limited

Shiseido wurde 1872 als erstes Pharmaunternehmen im westlichen Stil in Japan gegrundet. Im Laufe der Zeit entwickelte sich das Unternehmen in ein Kosmetikunternehmen mit dem hinsichtlich Technologie und Asthetik fortschrittlichsten Produktangebot in der ostlichen oder westlichen Welt. Inzwischen ist die Marke als erstklassige Kosmetikamarke mit Wurzeln in Japan weltweit bekannt und der Name Shiseido steht fur die weltweit hochsten Qualitatsstandards. Das in der ganzen Welt verfugbare Shiseido-Angebot an Hautpflegeprodukten, Makeup und Parfums umfasst auch eine leistungsstarke Kategorie fur Spezialhautpflege und Hautaufhellung. Shiseido bietet zudem auch Produkte fur Korperpflege, Sonnenpflege und eine Hautpflegeserie fur Manner. Auch nach einer uber 140-jahrigen Unternehmensgeschichte stehen betont zeitgemae und innovative Produkte weiterhin im Vordergrund und die Marken der Shiseido-Gruppe werden in mehr als 120 Landern und Regionen verkauft. Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie unter http://group.shiseido.com/.

Die Ausgangssprache, in der der Originaltext veroffentlicht wird, ist die offizielle und autorisierte Version. Ubersetzungen werden zur besseren Verstandigung mitgeliefert. Nur die Sprachversion, die im Original veroffentlicht wurde, ist rechtsgultig. Gleichen Sie deshalb Ubersetzungen mit der originalen Sprachversion der Veroffentlichung ab.

Originalversion auf businesswire.com ansehen: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170118006418/de/

Contacts:

Medien:

Shiseido Americas

Jadzia Zielinski Tirsch, +1-212-805-2357

SVP, Corporate Communications

jtirsch@sca.shiseido.com
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/26/16 -- Jura Energy Corporation ("Jura") (TSX VENTURE: JEC) announced today that the drilling of Zarghun South-3 development well has commenced in the Zarghun South Development and Production Lease ("Zarghun South Lease"). The projected measured depth of the well is 1926 meters, which will target the Dunghan Limestone Formation of Paleocene age.

The Zarghun South Lease covers an area of 124.22 sq. km in the western part of the Sulaiman Fold and Thrust Belt of the Middle Indus Basin. It is strategically located near the gas demand centre of the city of Quetta.

Jura holds a 40% working interest in the Zarghun South Lease, which is operated by Mari Petroleum Company Limited.

About Jura Energy Corporation

Jura is an international energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of petroleum and natural gas properties in Pakistan. Jura is based in Calgary, Alberta, and listed on the TSX-V trading under the symbol JEC. Jura conducts its business in Pakistan through its subsidiaries, Frontier Holdings Limited and Spud Energy Pty Limited.

Forward-Looking Advisory

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. The words "projected", "will", and similar expressions are used to identify forward looking information. Specific forward-looking statements in this press release include information concerning the projected measured depth of the Zarghun South-3 development well.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made in light of management's experience, current conditions and expected future development in the areas in which Jura is currently active and other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Jura undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predicted outcome will not occur, including some of which are beyond Jura's control. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in exploration, development and production, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, the imprecision of resource and reserve estimates, assumptions regarding the timing and costs relating to production and development as well as the availability and price of labour and equipment, weather, volatility of and assumptions regarding commodity prices and exchange rates, marketing and transportation risks, environmental risks, competition, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources and changes in applicable law. Additionally, there are economic, political, social and other risks inherent in carrying on business in Pakistan. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could vary or differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. See Jura's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, for further description of the risks and uncertainties associated with Jura's business.

Contacts:

Mr. Shahid Hameed

Interim CEO

+92 51 835 7291

+92 51 227 0701 (FAX)

info@juraenergy.com

www.juraenergy.com




A new way of reporting enrollment numbers for the Montana University system seems like a good idea. The way of presenting the new plan needed improvement.

To understand why the state's Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education changed the way it reports enrollment numbers, it's important to do a little bit of homework.

Not all Montana universities and colleges start at the same time. For example, Montana Tech starts in the middle of August, while Montana State University Billings doesn't begin until after Labor Day. That's an important distinction, because comparing any two campuses on a particular day could mean some are weeks ahead of a sister institution.

Although it would seem like a census count could be done on the first day of class and voila enrollment numbers are complete, it's not that simple. In the Montana University System, students have until the 15th day to drop a class. Moreover, tuition isn't due until the 15th day of classes. It's not until a student pays and stays, so to speak, that the numbers start to clarify. In addition, dual enrollment figures aren't figured until around the 15th day.

And numbers can fluctuate dramatically day to day early in the semester. For example, the OCHE office reported that last week  when the new enrollment approach was presented to the Board of Regents  Montana State University in Bozeman had 1,200 students who hadn't paid for classes  meaning that theoretically many students could disappear from enrollment numbers in the coming weeks, even if unlikely. A week later, that MSU number sat at 87.

And there's the heart of the catch-22. If the central Montana University System office  or any campus  releases numbers on the first day, they could be off significantly. When truer, accurate numbers come later, the difference raises questions and makes many campuses look as if droves of students left.

Critics argue that large drops between those who register and those students who stick with the class could indicate a university that isn't doing enough to retain students. But, we can also believe that many students face uncertain finances and life situations which may cause them to drop a class early in the semester. Those students shouldn't be counted.

Enrollment figures on any particular day, especially very early in a semester, may be like looking at a checking account balance  it gives a snapshot of a number at particular point in time. But it doesn't indicate how much money was there yesterday or how much will be there tomorrow. So too with enrollment until that key 15th day.

We can't fault the system for wanting better, more reliable statistics before releasing them to a public that will take them at face value. By switching to a new system, the university will be able to make more apples-to-apples comparisons with other institutions at the same point in the school year, and eventually, to where the same campus was a year ago. We believe that data will help Montanans get a better handle on the direction of their university system.

We can't criticize the university for not releasing numbers and then get upset when the early numbers prove to have been far off the mark.

Some have criticized the new enrollment plan as a way to stonewall the numbers, covering for campuses, for example in Billings and Missoula, which continue to see enrollment declines. However, Kevin McRae, deputy commissioner for communication for the Montana University System, said better numbers mean those universities that experience declines have more accurate data to assess any trouble areas.

The serious problems that exist in Missoula and Billings can only be helped by solid data, we agree.

McRae also pointed out that nothing is stopping the public from asking for enrollment numbers at any particular time, for any campus  that's public data. However, those numbers may be unreliable.

And that brings up how this new plan was presented. At the meeting it appeared as if the commissioner's office was intentionally trying to stymie discussion of numbers, refusing to generate a report for regents. Moreover, reports of the system office encouraging campuses not to share numbers read more like a crackdown than thoughtful plan. It was clumsy at best.

Finally, when one of the assistant commissioners quipped that the "average person" couldn't grasp the enrollment numbers, it was a gaffe that seemed to suggest the office had something to hide, or that Montanans aren't good at ciphering numbers.

For our part, we're willing to try out the new math, if you will, because it seems like OCHE has made a good-faith effort at presenting better, reliable, meaningful data to the public in the place of shaky estimates. Guessing at numbers only has the ability undermine the public's trust in the state university system. We'd rather take the delay for accuracy's sake than an educated but wrong guess.
The European Investment Fund and the Romanian Ministry of European Funds have launched a 59.3m funds-of-funds for SMEs.

The Competitiveness Fund will finance SMEs via several financial intermediaries with resources from the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020, co-financed through European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

40m will be dedicated to entrepreneurship and seed funds for innovative companies and 19m will be dedicated to a portfolio risk sharing loan instrument.

FinSMEs

26/09/2016

PRESS RELEASE

EIF and the Romanian Ministry of European Funds launch EUR 59.3m Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs

Date: 22 September 2016  The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Romanian Ministry of European Funds signed a Funding Agreement to establish the Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds, which will finance SMEs via several financial intermediaries with EUR 59 million with resources from the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020, co-financed through European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

EUR 40m of the Fund of Funds will be dedicated to entrepreneurship and seed funds for innovative companies and EUR 19m will be dedicated to a portfolio risk sharing loan instrument.

The signature is a natural continuation of the successful JEREMIE initiative, through which 3 instruments were created (portfolio risk sharing loan, portfolio guarantee, equity fund). The EUR 225m JEREMIE allocation has to-date catalysed over 6,000 new loans and investments in total value over EUR 600m.

The Romanian Minister of EU Funds, Cristian Ghinea, stated: The utilisation of financial instruments is an important step towards the future. We have to think already of the next phase when EU funds will be spent mostly as financial instruments rather than grants.

The European Investment Fund Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert, stated: The successful implementation of the JEREMIE initiative encouraged the continuation of our partnership with the Government of Romania in support of small and medium sized enterprises. Based on past achievements, we can now enlarge the range of financial instruments, providing business ideas the needed support to grow and innovate.
Strata, a St. George, UT-based developer of 3D design software, raised an initial funding of undisclosed amount.

The funding was managed by Greg Kofford, co-founder at London and Australia based Lanstead Investors PTY Limited.

The company intends to use the funds to move into virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for enterprise customers, along with changes and additions to the business.

Led by new President/Managing Director John Wright, Strata provides custom development solutions that turn 3D projects into full VR/AR experiences and also helps clients create new experiences. The user-base includes large brand owners and design agencies in such industries as Packaging, Product, Store layout, Signage Point-of-Purchase, Exhibit, Interior Design and Architecture.

FinSMEs

25/09/2016
Mumbai: India's second largest two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has strongly denied the claims of a section of its sacked employees that production at its Tapukara, Rajasthan plant has been hit by labour unrest.

"There is no production loss at all at the 1.2-million units Tapukara plant in the first place. Therefore, the claims of these few sacked employees that the operation is hit is factually incorrect. In fact, we are running above our capacity. Moreover, they have no locus standi to make any such claims as they ceased to be our employees in the first week of February this year," HMSI senior vice-president and director, general and corporate affairs, Harbhajan Singh said.

Singh further said, "All our plants have either unions or worker committees. There is already a union (HMSI 2F

Karamchari Union) at Tapukara and one at Manesar plant too. There is no pending labour dispute at any of our plants and the long-term wage settlements have been executed successfully after discussions with the registered unions."

The Tapukara plant has a daily capacity of 4,400 units but is now rolling out 4,400-4,500 units to meet rising

demand, Singh added. The plant produces the bike brand Shine, and the largest selling two-wheeler Activa, apart from the Dio and the latest India-only model Navi.

Around 100-odd workers, some of them fighting criminal cases against them for attacking police in February, are on

hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi since last week, claiming that the management is preventing employees from forming a union.

It can be noted that following labour unrest in February this year, HMSI terminated 100 permanent workers and suspended 47, out of which 25 have been taken back. Five of those on hunger strike are facing criminal cases

from the Rajasthan police under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 395 (dacoity).

Singh said HMSI has not filed any case and these workers were booked under various charges after they attacked the

state police on the street of Gurgaon during the unrest on February 16.

HMSI started the Tapukara factory in 2011 and churns out 1.2 million scooters and bikes a year and employs 500

permanent and around 2,000 casual workers.

When asked why these people are claiming the backing of the labour union of its Manesar factory, which is Honda's

first plant here, Singh said this is also factually incorrect.

"They have no backing of any of our employees/unions and also there is already a union at the Tapukara plant. Following the April wage agreement with the Tapukara union, their salaries rose by Rs 17,400, taking their average salary to Rs 31,000 now, which by the end of the three-year agreement will top Rs 40,000, while those at the Manesar plant are drawing Rs 51,000-60,000 now," Singh said.

He also deplored these striking ex-employees' bid to tarnish the brand Honda by baselessly alleging that people

with no experience are making the scooters and bikes and therefore their quality is suspect. "Our products always stand for highest quality benchmarks. These allegations are unfounded, mischievous and malicious, and are aimed at

damaging our reputation, goodwill and business."

But central trade union representative accuse the management of scuttling efforts to form a union by prompting a

section of workers to challenge the move in a civil court, which stayed the process after the February troubles.

Manesar plant's union president Suresh Gaur could not be contacted for comments.

He had told reporters last week in Delhi that they would support the Tapukara agitation if the management refused to cooperate.

Whether HMSI is ready to take back these sacked people to end the stalemate, Singh said there is no such plan. "There is absolutely no possibility of they being taken back. They were sacked for gross indiscipline, sabotage at plant including damage to machinery, inventory and production loss which led to over Rs 12 crore loss to HMSI in February. Moreover, threatening the lives of co-workers under the name of union formation cannot be ignored."

Singh also said before being sacked these workers were demanding Rs 11,000 each from each permanent workers towards forming the union and those who refused to pay up were brutally beaten up and detained at the plant on February 16, which led to the police action.

HMSI, which has an annual capacity of 5.8 million scooters and bikes, has had brush with labour unrest in the

past too. Its first plant at Manesar saw labour dispute in 2005, which turned into a political issue after agitating workers were beaten up by the Haryana police. In late 2009 also there were disputes at Manesar. Then last December and February this year, Tapukara workers began to protest, and the ongoing Jantar Mantar sit-in is continuation of that.
New Delhi: From Ambanis to Adanis, several generation-next leaders of India's leading family-run businesses have joined the crorepati club when it comes to their salaries and other perks.

With a number of corporate houses promoting sons and daughters of their promoters to leadership positions, many of these companies have begun giving hefty remuneration packages to them for their "increased responsibilities" and "active involvement" in exploring new business opportunities.

Still, the annual pay of these next-generation leaders remains relatively low, as against the overall average payout of over Rs.20 crore for CEOs of India's top listed companies forming part of Sensex and only a fraction of the same in the US at close to $20 million (about Rs. 130 crore).

Industrialist Gautam Adani's son Karan, who was appointed CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, did not draw any remuneration from the company for fiscal year 2015-16, but the board has approved an annual remuneration for him of up to Rs. 1.5 crore, including salary, perks and other benefits, with effect from September 1, 2016.

As chairman and managing director of the company, Gautam Adani got a total remuneration of Rs.2.8 crore in 2015-16, while whole-time director Malay Mahadevia got Rs. 10.7 crore.

In case of Anil Ambani's son Anmol, who was recently appointed as director on the board of the group's financial services arm Reliance Capital, the company has proposed a salary of Rs. 10 lakh per month.

Reliance Capital will seek approval of its shareholders in the upcoming AGM on September 27 for various proposals, including Anmol Ambani's appointment as executive director for a period of five years as well as for the remuneration to be paid.

In the shareholders' notice, the company said his salary would be Rs.10 lakh per month.

In addition to the salary, perquisites and allowances, he will also be entitled to receive commission based on next profit of the company. Anmol, 24, has been working in various financial services businesses within Reliance Capital since 2014 and has a degree from Warwick Business School in the UK.

Salaries of Mukesh Ambani's children - Akash and Isha - could not be ascertained, though they are said to be playing key roles in Reliance Industries group's telecom and retail ventures.

Sudarshan Venu, son of TVS Motor's Venu Srinivasan, got an annual remuneration of Rs. 9.59 crore for 2015-16, while the company last month sought shareholders' approval for revising his remuneration as joint managing director.

Explaining the proposal, the company said in its AGM notice, "The board reviewed the remuneration payable to him after taking into consideration his active involvement in all spheres of management for exploring business opportunities both in India and abroad and felt that, JMD can be compensated by way of enhanced commission."

"The board was of the opinion that the existing remuneration was considerably inadequate, when compared with the industry norms and similarly placed senior management personnel of the company."

As chairman and MD of TVS Motor, Sudarshan Venu's total remuneration of Rs.13.88 crore in 2015-16, while his package has also been proposed to be revised for the current fiscal year.

At IT major Wipro, Azim Premji's son Rishad serves as chief strategy officer and executive director and his remuneration for 2015-16 stood at Rs. 2.15 crore. The same for his father was Rs. 2.17 crore, down from Rs. 4.78 crore in the fiscal year 2014-15.

Wockhardt has disclosed a remuneration of Rs. 1.32 crore for 2015-16 to its chairman Habil Khorakiwala, while the same for his sons Huzaifa (executive director) and Murtaza (managing director) stood at Rs. 1.328 crore each. His daugther Zahabiya Khorakiwala runs Wockhardt Hospitals, but her salary details could not be ascertained.

At another pharma major Cipla, Samina Vaziralli, niece of chairman Y K Hamied, got a total remuneration of Rs. 2.47 crore as executive director in 2015-16. She was made executive director in July last year. She became executive vice chairman with effect from September 1, 2016.

Chairman Y K Hamied said in his message to shareholders, "As we see a transformation to the next generation of the Hamied family, I have no doubt that in Samina Vaziralli we have a trustee who will preserve, inspire and enhance the spirit that we call Cipla."

However, there are also a few generation-next leaders with annual remuneration below Rs. 1 crore level.

At Future Consumer Enterprise, Kishore Biyani's daugther Ashni's total remuneration for 2015-16 as whole-time director was Rs. 69.09 lakh, which was same in preceding year.

In case of Suzlon Energy, Tulsi Tanti's daughter Nidhi was paid a remuneration of Rs. 25 lakh in fiscal year 2015-16, up from Rs. 12 lakh in 2014-15. In comparison, Tulsi Tanti's total remuneration stood at Rs. 1.58 crore for the last fiscal year.

At DLF, chairman K P Singh's remuneration stood at Rs. 4.37 crore while that of his son and vice chairman Rajiv Singh was Rs. 4.42 crore in 2015-16.

Pia Singh, daughter of K P Singh, was Rs. 29.6 lakh for her role as whole-time director till May 20, 2015, after which she became a non-executive director (remuneration of Rs. 33 lakh).

In its annual report, DLF has also disclosed as "salary and wages" totalling Rs. 1.97 crore for Renuka Talwar, also daughter of K P Singh.
Mumbai: The special court for NIA cases here on Monday rejected the bail application of Lt Col Prasad Purohit, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

The order was passed by Special Judge SD Tekale. Purohit had sought the bail contending that National Investigation Agency (NIA) had dropped the charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case, and that the sanction for prosecution obtained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was defective.

He had not played any role in the blast, Purohit had said, adding that he was in jail for the last seven years without trial.

However, the NIA had objected to his bail plea. His arguments should be taken into consideration during the trial and not at this stage, the prosecution had said.

Prima facie there was enough evidence against Purohit, it had said.

Twelve persons, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Purohit, were arrested for the blast at Malegaon town in Maharashtra on 29 September, 2008, in which six persons died and 100 were injured.
Tasha Adams: I still sometimes feel like I released him out into the world. I think of him like a grenade where I was always putting the pin back in."
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj delivered some hard truths to Pakistan on Monday by telling Islamabad its trouble-making in Kashmir was not going to change the reality that Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India.

Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swaraj did not indulge in warmongering but was statesmanlike. Modi has already signaled that the cost of war is too high for India's growing economy and the government will adhere instead to isolating Pakistan.

Thanks to India's diplomatic offensive and Pakistan's duplicity in Afghanistan, countries like the US, Britain, Russia and France are increasingly wary of Pakistan being in league with Muslim jihadists of all stripes. Washington is less willing to write Pakistan blank cheques and provide them with F-16 war jets after its failure to shut out the Taliban (supported covertly by Pakistan) in Afghanistan.

New Delhi is taking the fight to Pakistan when it comes to the war of words after the Uri terrorist attack. Days after India lampooned Pakistan as the "Ivy League" training centre for terrorists, Swaraj said Pakistan's use of terrorism was not going to change essential truths.

"Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so. My firm advice to Pakistan is stop dreaming about Kashmir," Swaraj told Pakistan in her highly anticipated address at the UN General Assembly.

India made it clear that Pakistan should not have the audacity to lecture New Delhi on human rights violations in Kashmir. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had talked of the excessive use of force by Indian paramilitary forces after protests linked to the death of 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

"Pakistan would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country," Swaraj said in a clear reference to the Pakistani province Balochistan.

Until a few months ago, India has been very careful to avoid any reference to Balochistan which has been wracked by a cycle of never ending violence and economic insolvency since India and Pakistan were partitioned. Some Indian commentators have advocated that India should foment trouble for Pakistan in Balochistan as payback for Islamabad's meddling in Kashmir.

Swaraj made short work of Sharif's hollow claim that Pakistan has "gone the extra mile and repeatedly offered dialogue."

"What did we get in return (for talks)? Pathankot, Bahadur Ali, and Uri," said Swaraj.

"Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistans complicity in cross-border terror. But when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan remains in denial. It persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets. My firm advice to Pakistan is: Abandon this dream," she added.

Here's Sushma Swaraj's speech at the UNGA in English:
There are those who have believed for a long time that India has deliberately been soft on Pakistan when it comes to terrorism. That when an episode of violence is inflicted on India it should react in turn with violence.

Even when there was demonstrable involvement by Pakistanis, as was admitted by Pakistan for the attacks in Mumbai, India did not retaliate. This, according to the group that I am writing about, was a mistake. Pakistani prosecution of its citizens was not enough, according to this thinking, and India could do more.

This inaction was deliberate and it was cowardice and the option for revenge was available. The policy of not waging war when terrorist attacks happened in India is being called 'strategic restraint'. The doctrine says that by not choosing to escalate a crisis, India is deliberately swallowing its anger because the cost to benefit analysis does not favour war. This has been the path favoured by Atal Bihari Vajpayee when Jaish-e-Muhammad attacked Parliament in 2001 and by Manmohan Singh when Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba attacked Mumbai in 2008.

Prime minister Narendra Modi has long included himself in the group that advocated action. After the assault in Uri, he appears to have either moved away from his earlier promises of retaliation, or he seems to be hesitant to act as he said he would. This could be for any number of reasons. It could be because he has learned things on taking office that he did not know before.

Whatever the reason, he has taken a hammering from his supporters, who believe they had been promised something that they have not got. It is unusual to go through the comments section on our news websites and see criticism of Modi, who is a beloved figure. These days on the question of Pakistan it is different and most people writing such comments feel he is not delivering. What should he do?

None of those commenting on the matter does have the information that Modi has. The input from the armed forces, from the national security advisor, from the finance ministry. From the external affairs ministry on what the fallout of escalation will be abroad and from the home ministry and intelligence bureau on what the fallout will be within the country. Very few people will have access to the granular detail of what options are available to India and what their costs, consequences, and benefits are.

While Modi considers all of this, he would do well to do one thing. And that is to ignore the media. It lacks, as I have said, the input available to him. But that does not stop us from offering him advice and direction, and also abuse in case he doesnt act according to our point of view. Many of us strut around pretending to be the guardians of India's national interest. The reality is that the media has no higher interest than ratings. Though we claim otherwise, this is the truth. Much of the aggressive posturing of anchors comes from the belief that this is what their audience, and by extension the nation, wants. I am sure they mean well, but they give the same amount of coverage to a socialite murdering her daughter as they do debates about taking India to war. They should not take themselves too seriously and certainly the government should not.

The second thing Modi would do well to avoid is getting on social media. He has been one of its champions and has over two crore twitter followers. He has used it brilliantly and he genuinely believes that social media has helped him overturn the bias against him that he feels exists, or existed, in traditional media. But here also he is encountering angry followers, posting links to his previous hard statements, goading him towards war.

Modi went two or three days without tweeting after his initial reaction to the Uri attacks. He could stay away from it a little longer in times like these. Ultimately, this will blow over, and it is unwise to consider something grave while receiving casual input from social media and media.

A few weeks ago, the organisation I work for was in the news and accused of being 'anti-national'. I was abroad when this happened and missed the first couple of days when the channels were at their angriest. My father was worried for me and called me to express his concern. I said to him reality was different from what was happening inside the TV set. If he switched it off, it would go away. I'd tell Modi the same thing.
Ahmedabad: A pregnant Dalit woman was attacked by some upper caste people who barged into their home after her family refused to clear animal carcasses from fields in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, police said Saturday. All six accused have been arrested.

The incident was reported from Mota Karja village in Amirgadh taluka in which Nileshbhai Dhunabhai Ranavasia and his family was thrashed on Friday night because they refused to go the fields of the assailants to remove carcass of cattle.

His pregnant wife Sangitaben was brutally thrashed on the abdomen and abused by six persons, who also abused her in caste terms. "The moment we came to know of the incident, we got into action and arrested all the accused persons and are questioning them," Amirgath Police Sub-Inpector KY Vyas told IANS.

"They abused me and thrashed me before entering my house and beat my pregnant wife Sangita on the abdomen and all over her person with sticks," Ranavasia alleged in his complaint.

He said they also threatened to kill Sangitaben if he did not go to the farm to dispose of the dead animals.

District Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar told IANS that Deputy Superintendent of Police, Deesa, immediately took over the investigation "and within a few hours found and nabbed all the persons named by the complainant".

Those arrested were identified as Batwarsinh Chauhan, Maknusinh Chauhan, Yogisinh Chauhan, Babarsinh Chauhan, Dilgarsinh Chauhan and Narendrasinh Chauhan, all of one family. Sections of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have also been invoked in the case.
Kolkata: Six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activists, including four wanted in the 2014 Khagragarh blast case, were arrested from West Bengal and Assam.

Of the six, three were Bangladeshi nationals, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vishal Garg said in Kolkata.

"These people were not in West Bengal after Khagragarh blast. They had left the state and moved to South India and North Eastern states. They were planning subversive activities in some South Indian states. We are trying to find out the details," Garg said.

The JMB activists arrested by the Kolkata Police Special Task Force included Anwar Hussain Farooq, the head of the outfit's West Bengal unit, and Yusuf Sheikh, the second in command in the state.

Sheikh, also the JMB chief motivator in the state, carried a Rs 10 lakh reward on his head announced by NIA.

The four others who were wanted in connection with Khagragarh blast of 2 October, 2014, were Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jadidul Islam.

Kalam and Rubel were carrying on their heads a reward of Rs 3 lakh and 1 lakh respectively.

Yusuf and Shahidul were arrested from Natun Bazar under Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas district on Sunday while Farooq and Rubel were picked up from Bagda Road in Bangao in the same district, Garg said.

Kalam was held from Coochbehar station in north Bengal yesterday while Jahidul was arrested from Cachhar district of Assam on Saturday.

Forged ID papers, 2 kg white powdery substance, one laptop, mobile phones, detonator, wire cutters, batteries Bangladeshi and Indian currency, letters written in Bengali, travel guide, books on chemicals and memory cards for camera were seized from them.
The Tetons will soon be gone.

For eight years, the iconic mountain range has stretched across Wyoming license plates. But come 2017, the state's drivers will sport a new scene on the front and back of their vehicles: the Lower Green River Lake and Squaretop Mountain in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation announced the switch last week. Per state law, license plate designs must change every eight years.

According to the department press release, the new design will be featured on the state's 12 specialty plates, its prestige plates and the standard plates that drivers receive when registering vehicles.

Starting Oct. 1, WYDOT will begin accepting applications for specialty and prestige plates with the new design.

Drivers will not be able to install the new license plate until their current registration expires, "unless they pay in advance at the county for the extra months of registration," the release said. Some drivers who pay for two years of registration at once may already have the plates, WYDOT said.

The new design features an array of images: snow-capped mountains, rippled blue water, autumn leaves and, of course, Squaretop Mountain. Another change to the 2017 plates will include a maximum of five letters instead of four.

But one aspect will not change: Wyoming license plates, regardless of design, are required to feature the bucking horse.
"People living in glass houses should not throw stones," said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday. It was aimed directly at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Balochistan as an issue was brought on to the international forum for the first time by India. Swaraj sent the ball deep with a statement that for Indias goodwill all it got from Pakistan was a string of terror attacks. The link was established. She called on the world to join in the fight because terror was global. It's your battle too  Brussels and Paris and Istanbul.

The one statement that stood out was her clear submission that Jammu and Kashmir was part of India and would stay so.

Speaking at the UN is usually important just for the record. It is forever and you get quoted. It is also hard work and you have anything but a captive audience. The toothless gaps in the General Assembly make it tough to gain attention. There is a great deal of movement and dissenters stage walkouts at strategic moments just to break the rhythm in case a certain level of interest has been piqued.

The applause you get is about the level of a childs recital in a drawing room. She did get the issue of the international forum through the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) back on track.

It was sober, straight and honest, and she has sent out a message of a diplomatic offensive.

If the aim was to undo any damage caused by Sharif in his address last week it was not even called for. Sharifs address was not memorable and is pretty much water under the bridge having gained very little international traction. She simply drenched him with contempt which was good.

But what was missing in this opportunity was the lack of an agenda again and no clear warning that whether India received global support or not, it would not accept any more incursions.

Let us agree that she has set into motion a call that the world has to make a decision about Pakistan and that India will continue to try and isolate it.

Swaraj started off providing a gist of the successes of the BJP government and then segued seamlessly into a general diatribe against terrorism and stated much of the obvious about their killing innocents. Opening the door and firing the first salvo from the shoulders of the Afghanistan speech last week she asked guilelessly that who was it that armed them and gave them refuge and support?

Then she went into a generalised call for togetherness on the issue and asked for a recognition of terror sponsors and a dismissal of their membership from the comity of nations, done through a plea to the UN to clear the decks for the anti-terrorism treaty and put erring nations out of business.

Finally, she made an attempt for the jugular and mentioned both Pakistan and Balochistan and took on the contents of the Nawaz Sharif speech. But before she could actually pile on the pressure and stress the point of the neighbour being the villain she went off the burner to praise PM Narensra Modi and his initiatives and then again strayed into a precis of atrocities against India.

In all the fluff some solids nuggets of strength and determination.

Maybe we are not taking it lying down after all.

Here's Sushma Swaraj's speech at the UNGA in English:
Incessant rains in the last 10 days have brought relief to the water-stressed Marathwada region which has been suffering from drought for the past four years.

Given the excessive flow of water, the authorities have opened the gates of the dams at various places in the drought-prone region of Maharashtra.

According to the IMD data of the past week, Latur  one of the worst-hit districts  received 161 mm rainfall which is 350 percent more than the normal rainfall. While Parbhani (143.6 mm), Osmanabad (139.9 mm), Hingoli (92 mm), Aurangabad (78.2 mm), Beed (122 mm) received near or more than 200 percent rainfall than expected. Nanded and Jalna received 101.3 mm and 74.8 mm respectively.

According to The Indian Express, about 90 smaller projects in Osmanabad and 17 medium-size dams are overflowing. The newspaper quoted Latur's deputy municipal commissioner Sambhaji Waghmare as saying that the city will now get more regular water supply as Manjara dam has filled up beyond 70 percent and Manjara river too has enough water. The residents will get tap water every five-six days, Waghmare said.

The IMD department has predicted very heavy rainfall in isolated and most of the places in the region till 29 September.

Water level of Jayakwadi Dam, one of the biggest dams in Marathwada region, rose up to 52 % of its total capacity. pic.twitter.com/x8DuAtQ41s  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

What is causing this deluge?

"Formation of the low-pressure belt in the Bay of Bengal has caused this deluge in Marathwada and various places in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It will continue till 29 September," UN Alse, agronomist and professor with Parbhani's Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University said.

"The last two or three days have seen almost 250 mm of rainfall in some places. Many crops like soybean and black grams were damaged in such places," Alse told Firstpost.

These excessive rains have almost solved the drinking water woes and its daily usage of the people in Marathwada, but in some places, it has destroyed crops like soybean, cotton, black grams etc.

Vaibhav Sahane, farmer from Nanded, told Firstpost: "It's been raining continuously since 10 days. Moong, black grams in my field have been completed destroyed due to excessive rains. Soybean is almost destroyed. People near the rivers were even told to evacuate."

"Although it's nice that it has solved our drinking water issues, but it has damaged crops a lot," he said.

Changing climatic patterns

Is it not strange that till June 2016, the regions or states that were suffering from extreme drought are now facing deluge? A recent article in Down To Earth studied the changing nature of the floods and extreme rain events that we should be worried about.

Sunita Narian, environmentalist and the editor of Down To Earth, writes that it is essential that we understand the "newness" in the growing numbers of "very heavy" rain events.

Narian highlighted the fact that the mismanagement  permitting encroachments on the riverbeds, drains, and storage lakes  have caused the floods to destroy several parts of the country.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh which had been suffering from drought earlier in April are now receiving heavy rainfall.

Agronomists, environmentalists, agricultural scientists have long been stressing on the repercussions of the climate change. For the past two years, extreme weather events like hailstorms, heat wave, frost, unseasonal and erratic rains have played havoc with agriculture in Maharashtra. And now the state has received normal to very heavy rainfall.

Fifteen deaths in rain-related incidents, including seven in a house collapse, were reported in Madhya Pradesh, while Telangana toll rose to 11 with rescue operations still underway.

So, while some are rejoicing as the rains have finally made their solid presence felt in Maharashtra and several parts of the country, we should not ignore that the climate change is the manipulating force behind it.
Just hours after the notice of election for the local body was released, AIADMK General Secretary released the list of candidates for the post of councillor in all the 12 municipalities in Tamil Nadu, The Hindu reported.

According to the notification issued by the Election Commission on Sunday, local body elections will be held in two phases on 17 and 19 October, as reported in The Times of India. The polls will fill up over 1.3 lakh posts in 12 rural and urban municipalities across Tamil Nadu. Chennai and Dindigul corporations will go to poll in the second phase on 19 October, while 10 other local bodies will elect their representatives in the first phase on 17 October. Counting of votes will be done on 21 October.

"Indirect elections to the posts of mayors, municipality chairpersons and other local body chiefs and deputy chiefs will be held on 2 November," reported The Times of India.

Announcing the list of candidates, AIADMK General Secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa retained some old names, while she chose field the party heavyweights from Chennai, to woo the voters. According to The New Indian Express, only three of the incumbent mayors, out of 12, are given a second run at the election. Siting mayors from Salem (S Soundappan), Tiruchy (MSR Jaya) and Thanjavur ( Savithri Gopal) will run on party tickets again, while the deputy mayor of Salem, M Natesan also got a ticket this time again.

In Chennai, sitting Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy has been dropped of the list this time, however, leaders like N Balaganga (from ward No. 78) and JCD Prabhakar, (from ward No. 80) are given a chance and are being looked upon as the front-runners for mayorship of the capital of the state, as reported in The New Indian Express. Apart from this, around 25 sitting councillors have been re-nominated in the state capital, according to The Hindu.

AIADMK also rewarded former Mayor Charubala Thondaiman, who had recently switched alliance from Tamil Maanila Congress to AIADMK, with a party ticket from ward No. 44 in Thanjavur.

According to the report in The Times of India, submission of nominations will be open from 26 September while the last date of submission will be 3 October. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be 6 October.

The reservation for women in this year's civic body poll, however, has been increased to 50 percent, after a Bill was passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly amending municipal and panchayat laws to increase the percentage of reservation for women from 33 to 50, according to The Hindu. In another first, the posts of mayors, deputy mayors and other local body chiefs will be filled by indirect elections after the Tamil Nadu Municipal Corporation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016 was passed amid opposition from DMK and Congress. While the DMK questioned the government's intention behind the amendment, Congress termed it as an attempt to "stifle the voice of democracy," according to The Indian Express.

A PIL has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging the indirect election of mayors, while the court has sought a response from the state government and posted the PIL to 25 October next for further hearing, according to a report in The Indian Express.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav expanded his cabinet on Monday for the eighth time since he assumed office in March 2012.

The swearing-in of 10 new ministers, including Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha, who were all sacked by the Chief Minister earlier, was conducted at Raj Bhavan by Governor Ram Naik.

This comes after Social activist Nutan Thakur approached Governor Ram Naik with a petition to prevent Prajapatis re-induction. Prajapati had been removed as minister on serious corruption charges after the order of Allahabad High Court for CBI inquiry, she said in her petition.

A minister is removed from office under provisions of Article 164 of the Constitution, when he loses the pleasure of the governor.... when Prajapati was removed as minister, he had lost the pleasure of the governor and hence, he cannot be re-inducted in the ministry unless the facts and reasons on which he had lost the pleasure of the Governor get removed, she said.

Out of the 10, seven were accorded the cabinet rank and three ministers of state.

The expansion has a stamp of the old guard  Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Singh, as the duo has overturned the sacking of three ministers, including Gayatri Prajapati, who was accused of being involved in illegal mining and land grabbing. Prajapati takes oath of office and secrecy for the fourth time in the past three years.

Akhilesh Yadav, who won public accolade for sacking the ministers, has been embarrassed by swearing-in of Gayatri Prajapati, whose re-induction in the state cabinet was announced by his father and Samajwadi Party chairman Mulayam Singh Yadav a few days back. Prajapatis re-induction on the cards is a part of a compromise formula to douse the flames in the Yadav clan that took the hue of a major political crisis recently where Mulayam Singh Yadav removed his son, Akhilesh Yadav as state party chief and then the Chief Minister stripped his uncle Shivpal Yadav of four key portfolios.

State minister Abhishek Mishra has been elevated as a cabinet minister and is likely to be one of the Brahmin faces along with Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress have been wooing the Brahmins ahead of the state assembly polls, slated for early 2017.

Other ministers who were also sworn-in included Ravidas Mehrotra, Narendra Verma, Ziya-ud-din Rizvi, Shankhlal Majhi, Riyaz Ahmad and Yaseer Shah.

With Monday's expansion, the number of ministers in the state government rose to 61, one more than the 60-minister ceiling, set in ratio of 15 percent of the total assembly strength.

However, minutes later, Minister of State Laxmikant Nishad was sacked, bringing the head count of ministers back to 60.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, his younger brother and state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav were among other dignitaries who attended the swearing-in.
Historian and writer Ramachandra Guha has predicted that the BJP will be the only dominant national party in Indian politics for the next 15 to 20 years and has said that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi should retire.

In an interview with The Economic Times, Guha said that BJP will be like the Congress of the 1960s and '70s, during which Congress was the only dominant national political party while the Opposition parties only had relevance in some states.

"For the next 15 or 20 years, I think, the BJP will be the hegemonic, determining force in Indian politics," Guha said in the interview.

Guha was extremely critical of the Congress for being a weak Opposition party. "Outside the Congress echo chamber, there is a sense that the Gandhi family is useless. Rahul Gandhi is an object of ridicule and contempt by people who would otherwise be attracted to a liberal Congress point of view," he told The Economic Times.

"Rahul Gandhi should retire from politics, get married and start a family. That will be good for him. That will be good for India also," Guha added.

The historian also warned that BJP's dominance will have "uglier effects" than Congress's hegemony because the RSS was "a bigoted reactionary political force". He added that the fact that cow vigilantism was now becoming official policy in some states was "deeply troubling".

Guha also said that it was worrying that the Indian right wing did not have enough intellectuals in a democracy like India. He further said that a "credible right-wing intellectual tradition" could only come up "outside the RSS ecosystem".

Merely a day after Guha's remarks on the BJP, RSS and his worries about cow vigilantism, IANS reported that a pregnant Dalit woman was attacked by some upper caste people who barged into her home after her family refused to clear animal carcasses from fields in Gujarat's Banaskantha district.

With inputs from IANS
There is no point denying or sugar-coating the plain fact that the voters this election year face a choice between two of the worst candidates in living memory. A professor at Morgan State University summarized the situation by saying that the upcoming debates may enable voters to decide which is the "less insufferable" candidate to be President of the United States.

My own take on this election is that the voter is in a situation much like that of an American fighter pilot in World War II, whose plane has been hit by enemy fire out over the Pacific Ocean and is beginning to burst into flames.

If he bails out, there is no guarantee that his parachute will open. But even if he lands safely in the ocean, he may be eaten by sharks. If he comes down on land, he may be captured by the Japanese and tortured and/or killed.

In other words, there are huge and potentially fatal risks. But, if he remains in the plane, he is doomed for certain. To me, Donald Trump represents multiple and potentially fatal risks. But Hillary Clinton is a certainty of disaster. Her vaunted "experience" is an experience of having repeatedly made decisions that turned out to be not merely wrong but catastrophic.

The most obvious example has been her role as Secretary of State during the Obama administration's decision to undermine and help destroy the governments of two nations  Egypt and Libya  that were no threat whatever to Americans or to America's interests.

The net result was that two Middle East nations that were at least neutral toward the United States, in contrast to others who are hostile and belligerent, were turned into countries where Islamic extremists created turmoil, and one in which Islamic terrorists killed the American ambassador and those who came to his aid.

President Obama and Secretary Clinton inherited an Iraq where terrorists had been soundly defeated, thanks to General David Petraeus' "surge" campaign, which both had opposed when they were in the Senate.

But the Obama administration turned victory into defeat by pulling American troops out of Iraq, against the advice of top military leaders, setting the stage for the emergence of ISIS and its triumphant barbarism that attracted adherents who began waging a terrorist war inside Western nations, including the United States.

A whole series of disastrous military and foreign policy decisions have led to public criticisms by an extraordinary succession of former Secretaries of Defense and top generals who had served under the Obama administration. Such public criticisms of any administration, by its own former high officials, are virtually unheard of.

One of these Secretaries of Defense, Robert Gates  who has served under several administrations of both parties  criticized Donald Trump as well. Secretary Gates said: "The world we confront is too perilous and too complex to have as president a man who believes that he, and he alone, has all the answers and has no need to listen to anyone."

Secretary Gates called Trump "beyond repair." He also criticized Hillary Clinton, so this was no partisan attack. Unfortunately  perhaps tragically  she and Trump are our only alternatives this election year. On the domestic front, as well, Trump is an uncertainty, while Hillary is a guaranteed catastrophe. Given the advanced ages of various Supreme Court justices, whoever becomes the next President of the United States can expect to have enough appointments to that court to determine the future of American law  and American freedom  for decades after that President's term of office is over.

Hillary Clinton has already said that she wants to see the current Supreme Court's decision overturned in a case where they ruled, by a 5 to 4 vote, that both corporations and labor unions have free speech rights. On other issues as well, she has advocated curtailments on free speech. And without free speech, there is no effective limit on what any administration can do.

On racial issues, Mrs. Clinton has repeatedly pushed the idea that blacks are besieged by enemies on all sides, and need her to protect them  in exchange for their votes. Trump has at least supported charter schools, which are one of the few avenues through which the next generation of blacks can get a decent education.

There are no good choices, but nevertheless we must choose.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred for two days the hearing on two appeals challenging Patna High Court granting bail to controversial RJD leader Mohd

Shahabuddin in a murder case, as noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani who would argue for him was not available.

A bench comprising Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday saying it has to strike a balance between the interests of both the parties.

One of the lawyers, representing Shahabuddin, urged that the matter be taken up on Friday as Jethmalani was not available and moreover voluminous case records needed to be studied for proper defence.

"Since there are allegations and counter allegations being made in the case, we shall not pass any order without hearing both the sides. We are fixing it on Wednesday (September 28)," the bench said.

Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, also appearing for Shahabuddin, said his client has been suffering from media trial and should be given adequate opportunity to present his case.

Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on 7 September, was released from Bhagalpur jail on 10 September. He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.

On 19 September, the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Siwan resident Chandrakeshwar Prasad, challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court, in the murder case of his third son.

The apex court is also hearing a separate plea filed by the widow of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, who was murdered in Siwan allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi.

Kalawati Devi, wife of Chandrakeshwar Prasad and the mother of three youths who were brutally killed by henchmen of the controversial politician, had also moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in the case in which he has already been sentenced to life
Welcome to the #FPAmerica mini-series before the first presidential debate at Hofstra University. Debates have rarely turned the race decisively but this election race has upended every rule of politics. This first debate comes after a particularly violent two weeks, and it's gun violence in Houston today as disgruntled lawyer who had numerous weapons randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood before he was shot and killed by police.

Snack on these tidbits before or while you watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off in a race that was never expected to be so tight so late in the election season. This one's on six things these candidates have been saying that has no basis in fact. One thing you can be certain about though - guns are not going away from America and neither are the wingnuts using them to kill innocents.

Who's going to fact check the 90-minute debate is a top concern of the campaigns' strategists given Trump's habit of saying things that are untrue or just plain insulting without evidence and the public's general distrust of Clinton. Both have shifted with political winds and many are wishing they just had more choices. Too late for that, it's going to be either a white man with orange hair or a blonde grandma. The race is in a dead heat heading into the debate, Clinton's leads are shrinking in Penn State and disappeared in Colorado. President Trump, folks?

Here's your mini playbook of possible untruths:

Trump: I was totally against the war in Iraq.

Fact: Trump was for the Iraq War before he was against it.

Clinton: What I did [with emails] was allowed by the State Department 

Fact: Nope. Not allowed.

Trump: Fifty-eight percent of African-American youth are not working.

Fact: Trump has no clue about data about black youth.

Clinton: Under [Obamas] leadership, weve created 15 million new private-sector jobs.

Fact: Obamas leadership has not been such a big deal for jobs.

Trump: Clinton supports open borders and a 550 percent increase in Syrian refugees.

Fact: Trump is wrong about Clintons plans for immigration and refugees.

Clinton: Trump doesnt make a thing in America except bankruptcies.

Fact: Not true.
New York: Republican candidate Donald Trump pledged Sunday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided" capital if he is elected president, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Hillary Clinton also met that evening.

Netanyahu met privately with Trump at his residence in Trump Tower a day before the New York billionaire faces off against Democratic rival Clinton for their first presidential debate.

"Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel," his campaign said in a statement.

Israel captured the Arab eastern half of Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and annexed it in 1980, declaring all of Jerusalem Israel's unified capital.

The United States  and most other UN member countries  do not recognize the annexation and consider Jerusalem's final status to be a key issue to be resolved in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

The US Congress passed a law in October 1995 calling for an undivided Jerusalem to be recognized as Israel's capital and to authorize funding for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

But no US president  Democrat or Republican  has implemented the law, regarding it as an infringement on the executive branch's authority over foreign policy.

'A vital partner'

Netanyahu's office issued a statement about the roughly hour-long meeting but made no mention of Trump's pledge on Jerusalem.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed with Mr Trump issues relating to Israel's security and its efforts to achieve stability and peace in the Middle East," it said.

The Trump statement said he promised Netanyahu that the United States would provide Israel with "extraordinary strategic, technological and military cooperation" if he is elected.

"Mr Trump recognized Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism," it said.

"They discussed at length the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against ISIS and many other regional security concerns."

The campaign also said the two discussed Israel's experience with its security fence used to wall off Israel from the West Bank.

Trump has made building a wall along the US-Mexico border a signature campaign promise.

'Strategic interests'

Clinton met privately with Netanyahu at the W Hotel in New York, where the Israeli leader has been attending the UN General Assembly.

In a campaign statement the White House hopeful stressed "overarching strategic interests" between the two countries and affirmed her support for a robust military aid deal the US recently promised Israel.

The statement underscored that the two nations would work in tandem to "enforce and implement the nuclear deal with Iran," US President Barack Obama's signature diplomatic initiative, which Israel has fiercely opposed.

Clinton also promised Netanyahu to help Israel confront regional "terrorist threats," according to the campaign.

"The Secretary reaffirmed her commitment to work toward a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated directly by the parties," the statement read.

It would guarantee "Israels future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity."

In recent weeks Washington has toughened its criticism of Israel's accelerated building of settlements on occupied land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, warning that it could destroy hopes for peace with the Palestinians.
Developing a reputation as one of the most accessible members of Congress has allowed Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer to be responsive to constituent needs and be an influential member of the peoples house in Washington, he said.

Youre always a little bit in campaign mode, even when youre trying to do your job well, Cramer said. I think this is what politics is supposed to be about. I feel like Im gaining more of an intimacy with the residents of North Dakota.

Cramer, 55, is seeking his third two-year term in Congress. He said he has worked with fellow lawmakers to reduce the federal deficit and pushed for new farm legislation and the new five-year highway bill.

That had been a divisive issue for so long, he said of the highway bill, which passed last year and provides a record $1.3 billion in funding for North Dakota. The measure should allow about 100 highway projects to be undertaken during the five-year period.

The farm bill was passed in 2014, providing a stronger crop insurance program that he said will be a positive for state farmers and ranchers.

Cramer said hes capable of working across the aisle with Democrats, having done so in last year's push to end the nations ban on oil exports. (I) was working with Democrats to gain support. Ending that oil export ban was such a big lift, he said.

Companies began shipping crude early this year. The Associated Press reported the first shipment of North Dakota crude reached the Netherlands in April.

Politically active

Cramer has been active for decades in North Dakota Republican Party politics, becoming the youngest to assume the role of state GOP chairman at age 30.

Cramer lost congressional races to Democrat Earl Pomeroy in 1996 and 1998. In 2010, he lost the GOP nomination to Rick Berg, who ousted Pomeroy that fall.

Cramer chose to run for the House again in 2012 after Berg launched his unsuccessful bid for the Senate. Cramer bypassed the GOP convention, but still won the June primary. He defeated former Democratic state Rep. Pam Gulleson, then won a second term in 2014 by defeating state Sen. George B. Sinner, D-Fargo.

During his time in office, Cramer has sought to stay in touch with constituents, doing a weekly radio call-in program, town halls and coffee shop gatherings whenever hes in the state.

My constituent outreach is a very high priority, said Cramer, who is known for his Coffee with Cramer town hall-style events throughout the state as his schedule allows. He provides attendees with an update on activities in Washington and opens the floor to questions.

Cramer is known for wearing his opinions on his sleeve, providing blunt answers to questions during town halls, hearings and media interviews.

I didnt seek a position of influence to be neutral, he said.

One example is Cramers early endorsement of the eventual GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump. He was subsequently tapped as an energy adviser for the presidential campaign, providing a white paper on energy policy.

Cramer now serves as North Dakotas finance chairman for the Trump campaign. As of the end of August, about $600,000 had been raised, he said.

If elected to Congress, Cramer plans to continue working to push back against what he considers overbearing federal regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management. He's also a critic of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

I still think it comes down to my attentiveness to the people of North Dakota, but also my growing status in carrying the North Dakota brand, Cramer said.
Russia: Moscow on Monday slammed the United States and Britain for accusing Russia of "barbarism" and war crimes in Syria as Russian and Syrian warplanes continued to bomb rebel-held areas of Aleppo.

"We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Moscow and Damascus were repeatedly accused of war crimes at Sunday's emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to demand that Russia rein in its long-standing ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"In short, it is difficult to deny, that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said, adding that incendiary munitions "indiscriminate in their reach" were being used against Aleppo civilians.

Rycroft added that Moscow and the Syrian regime had "unleashed a new hell" on the battered Syrian city.

US Ambassador Samantha Power meanwhile accused Moscow of "barbarism".

At least 124 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo since the army on Thursday announced an operation to take the country's second city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, on Sunday accused Washington of failing to convince armed opposition groups it supports to distance themselves from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and abide by a short-lived ceasefire brokered earlier this month by Russia and the United States.

Churkin however said that reviving the ceasefire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of a "collective" effort on all sides.

Peskov said Monday that the ceasefire has "little effect" but the Kremlin is not ready to bury it quite yet.

"Moscow is not losing the hope and political will to use maximum efforts to reach the point of political settlement in Syria," Peskov said Monday. "So far it's been hard."

Aleppo, divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east, has seen some of its worst fighting in years over the last week, raising widespread international concern.
Tuesday's US presidential debate, a combat of titans pitting the Democrat Hillary Clinton against the Republican Donald Trump, is sure to be a major moment in the campaign, with just six weeks left before the 8 November election.

This first of three debates will give the candidates a chance to introduce themselves  or re-introduce themselves  to skeptical American voters who will be watching closely for the slightest misstep, awkward gesture or fatal altercation.

The debate could break all records for a US political audience, given the sharply contrasting personalities  and positions  of Trump and Clinton.

Time and place

Monday at 6:30 am IST (0100 GMT), at Hofstra University in the city of Hempstead on Long Island, an hour's drive from New York. Hofstra is no newcomer presidential debates, having hosted them in 2008 and 2012.

Length and format

Ninety minutes, in six 15-minute segments with no commercial interruptions. Questions will focus on three broad themes: "America's Direction," "Achieving Prosperity" and "Securing America."

The moderator will open each segment with a question. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond; each will then be allowed to reply to the other's response. The moderator will use the remaining time for follow-up questions.

Each broad theme will be discussed for 30 minutes.

Moderator

Lester Holt, 57, the respected anchor of NBC's evening news program, the country's most widely watched. He moderated one of the Democrats' primary debates in January.

The stakes for Clinton

The bar is higher for the Democratic candidate, given her experience and detailed knowledge of the issues. Clinton will have to show that she is presidential but also honest (55 percent of Americans do not think so), while proving that she has fully recovered from her recent bout of pneumonia. Clinton is not particularly well-liked, and anything she can do to create an emotional bond with voters would boost her cause.

"We typically don't tune in to our televised debates to see who's the smartest of the two candidates and which one has the most facts and figures and policy information that they're spewing for 90 minutes," Mitchell McKinney, professor of political communication at the University of Missouri, told AFP.

McKinney, a specialist in political debates, said television viewers favor candidates who manage to communicate their vision in a few simple, compelling and memorable phrases.

Clinton, with her diligent and detailed mastery of the issues, will have to avoid falling into the trap of giving overly technical and exhaustive responses to the moderator's questions.

"You need to generate a more emotional connection with voters if you're going to prevail," said communications consultant Carmine Gallo.

In the words of Obama, who was asked what debate advice he would offer his former secretary of state: "Be yourself and explain what motivates you."

That has been a constant challenge for Clinton, the least loved of Democratic presidential candidates in years, according to polls.

Clinton herself acknowledges that she cannot match the charisma of her husband, Bill Clinton, or of Obama. More than half of Americans say they are not sure they can trust her.

During her first run for the presidency, in 2008, Clinton presented herself as a tough, Thatcher-style "iron lady." This time, she stresses her role as a pioneer for women's rights and polishes her image as a grandmother, in an effort to seem more likable and accessible.

But it will not be easy for her to wipe away, in a 90-minute debate, an image forged in public opinion over a quarter-century.

Her strength may lie in her ability to counter any attack with an effective verbal comeback.

"What are those one, two or three key messages that they want people to share on Twitter and social media?" Gallo asked. "Listen for the sentence or two that she repeats several times in the conversation."

The stakes for Trump

Trump needs to convince voters that he has what it takes to be president, that he has at least an adequate familiarity with the issues and can make it through a high-pressure debate against a single opponent without losing his self-control. He also needs to reassure Republicans that although he is in many ways an outsider, he would serve as a Republican president.

"Trump connects to his voters on a deeply emotional level, and that can be quite difficult for an opposing candidate to match, because emotion often trumps data," Gallo said.

In this area, the wealthy populist, former host of a successful television program, enjoys a clear advantage.

No candidate in this campaign  with the possible exception of Democratic senator Bernie Sanders  has matched Trump's ability to electrify crowds of thousands.

But Trump did not hold the upper hand in every one of the 12 Republican primary debates. He often stood aside to let the other candidates rip into one another.

In the later debates, when only a few of his adversaries remained, he often resorted to disruptive tactics, using scathing phrases or demeaning nicknames to savage his opponents.

"Unlike the primary debates, where there were multiple candidates on the stage and therefore we heard from Trump periodically, in a 90-minute debate where he's going to have half the time, he can't fill all of this time with one-liners, with self-praise, with the glib attacks  that will wear thin," McKinney said.

"He will have more opportunities to provide substance. When that time comes, will he have the substance? We will be watching to see."

The concern of the Clinton team is that the moderator, Holt, will toss simpler "softball" questions in Trump's direction while pressing Clinton with a much more challenging interrogation.

Either way, these exchanges are sure to be intensively analyzed afterward as part of the continuing debate... on the debate.

Third-party candidates

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, and Jill Stein, the Greens Party nominee, were not invited to the debate. They did not reach the threshold, set by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), of 15 percent support in five national opinion polls.

Johnson's support is currently at 8.9 percent and Stein's at 2.9 percent, according to an average of recent surveys.

A new audience record?

The current record for a televised presidential debate is 80.6 million viewers, set by the 1980 encounter between the Democratic incumbent, Jimmy Carter, and his Republican challenger, former California governor Ronald Reagan. Many analysts expect that to be broken on Monday.
DEVILS LAKE -- A visit from the U.S. Marshals Service to determine if the agency will use a Devils Lake jail to house federal inmates has been stalled by Dakota Access Pipeline protests in south-central North Dakota, but the delay could be a blessing in disguise for the jail.

Representatives from the U.S. Marshals North Dakota District were expected to travel in August to the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center in Devils Lake to review the facility, but protests north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation have kept the federal agency from visiting, LEC Director Rob Johnson said.

We were expecting them for our yearly inspection and we didnt see them, so I reached out to them and said, Were ready for you to swing in anytime, he said. They told me that they had all intentions on coming up here, and it was just because they didnt have the resources because they are sending so many resources toward the protests down south of Bismarck.

Tribal members and Dakota Access Pipeline opponents have traveled to Morton County to the site of construction for the $3.8 million pipeline that would cross the Missouri River. The pipeline would carry 450,000 barrels of crude oil a day from North Dakota to Illinois.

Protesters estimated in the thousands have gathered at a camp near Cannon Ball to voice their opposition for the pipeline, which has been delayed by the Obama administration until agencies can investigate its construction and address tribal concerns.

The protests prompted North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple to declare a state of emergency, sending National Guard members to assist local law enforcement. Multiple protesters have been arrested and charged with various crimes, including trespassing and vandalism.

The protests also have spread to Mandan and Bismarck, as well as other cities in the U.S.

Other jails that hold federal inmates have been inspected, said Dan Orr, chief deputy with the District of North Dakota. He said the protests are part of the reason the U.S. Marshals Service visit to the LEC has been delayed, but their resources are primarily focused on the courthouse.

Johnson said he understands the protests are a priority over the LEC visit, adding the delay allows jail staff more time to improve the jails security.

The U.S. Marshals Service previously housed several federal inmates at the LEC until security and safety concerns arose after several attempted escapes from the facility. Kenneth Eagleman is serving jail time for using a steel grate to break a window at the jail in April, absconding from the LEC for a week before he was recaptured. Wesley E. Brown III also escaped the jail in March 2015 with the help of a correctional officer at the facility. He was recaptured in Oregon and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

The contract with the U.S. Marshals Service is still in place -- the LEC receives $68 for each inmate it holds each day. At one point, the jail housed about nine federal inmates.

The April escape prompted the U.S. Marshals Service to stop using the contract and re-evaluate the LEC to determine what the facility could do to make improvements.

The LEC now holds federal inmates for short periods of times, usually when they are arrested on warrants and are awaiting transfer.

The jail is not a major facilitator for the U.S. agency, but the lack of federal inmates creates a significant loss of revenue, Johnson said. The average daily population for the jail has dropped in recent years, which can be attributed to several factors, including lighter jail sentences. The jail can hold 108 inmates, but the 2015 average population of 88 has dropped to 62 inmates in September.

The LEC has made physical improvements to the jail to prevent escapes, Johnson said. The jail also has made progress in other areas, he added.

There were some things that just became lax that we have refocused on, and weve gotten back to the levels that are expected and even exceeded in a couple of other places, he said. There are still other things that we realize we need to work on, and its going to take time -- we cant overwhelm our staff either -- but we are definitely trending in the right direction, and if the U.S. Marshals came in, they would be very satisfied with what they saw.
International beer heavyweights Heineken and Carlsberg are pulling out of Russia, as part of a mass exodus of Western businesses ramping up pressure on the Kremlin... Read More
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Cigarette maker Philip Morris International (PM 3.34%) has built a truly global business, serving customers on six continents. Yet some of the nations in which Philip Morris sells its cigarettes and other tobacco products are more important to the company's overall success than others, and investors need to watch those markets particularly closely to make sure that they catch any potential changes that could help or hurt the company. Below, we'll look at three key markets for Philip Morris to see how they've fared recently.

1. Indonesia

Indonesia has one of the largest overall cigarette markets of any country that Philip Morris serves, and unlike many areas of the world, that market is growing. In the second quarter of 2016, Philip Morris estimated the size of the total cigarette market at 83.6 billion units, up 5 billion in just the past year. For its part, Philip Morris shipped more than 28.5 billion units to Indonesia during the quarter, claiming about a third of the overall market with brands like Sampoerna and Dji Sam Soe. In particular, Philip Morris has had success with what it calls the Whites segment, claiming four-fifths of the market in that category. The key Machine-Made Kretek market, which makes up about three-fourths of Indonesia's total market, has been less successful for Philip Morris, but the company still claims about 30% of that segment.

Indonesia has suffered from a sluggish economic environment lately, and Philip Morris has seen its market share fall by a full percentage point over the past year. Gains in the size of the market were largely due to the timing of the Ramadan period compared to last year's second quarter, and Philip Morris expects long-term trends to be closer to flat. Nevertheless, Indonesia's sheer size will make it an important market for Philip Morris to target going forward.

2. Russia

Russia also has a strong culture of smoking, and its size makes it an essential element of Philip Morris International's overall strategic vision. The Russian cigarette market sold about 72.1 billion units in the second quarter, and Philip Morris was responsible for 20.5 billion of them, climbing market share of 27%.

Oddly enough, though, Russia is one area in which the Marlboro brand has been almost inconsequential. Marlboro has a market share of just 1.4%, compared to 8% for Bond Street and 3.9% for Parliament. Other brands, which include L&M, Chesterfield, Optima, and Next/Dubliss, were collectively responsible for more than half of Philip Morris sales in Russia.

Troubling for Philip Morris is that the Russian cigarette market is shrinking quickly, posting a nearly 7% year-over-year drop compared to last year's second quarter. The price increases that Philip Morris has implemented to try to offset falling volume have resulted in a hit to market share, and the company will have to balance competitive pressure against its desire for higher profit in order to get the most from the nation.

3. Italy

By contrast, Philip Morris' markets in the European Union are relatively small. Yet the EU is an essential component of Philip Morris' success because of the company's ability to squeeze higher profit margin from many countries there. As an example, in the second quarter, Philip Morris' sales in the EU and in Asia were roughly the same, but EU operating company income of $1.07 billion was more than $320 million higher than the corresponding figure in Asia.

Within the EU, Italy stands out. The Italian cigarette market sold only about 18.7 billion units in the second quarter, but Philip Morris was responsible for more than half of them, at 10.1 billion. Marlboro had market share of nearly a fourth all by itself, and the Chesterfield and Philip Morris brands were responsible for another 20 percentage points of share.

The good news for Philip Morris in Italy is that efforts to reduce the level of illegal trade in cigarettes has paid off somewhat. With the new PMI Impact campaign, Philip Morris hopes to engage a broader set of interested parties to fight smuggling, and the likely result is potential further gains in legitimate sales volumes of its tobacco products. Investors should watch results in Italy closely for additional signs of success on the illicit trade front.

Philip Morris wants to serve the whole world, and it will continue to reach out to customers everywhere it can find them. These three countries will be especially important for Philip Morris in its efforts to capture as much growth as possible going forward.
We Fools believe that the markets are largely efficient, but Wall Street can become overly bearish on a company's stock because of short-term problems. When that happens, investors who take a long-term view are presented with a great buying opportunity

With that in mind, here's a list of three stocks that our team of contributors believe Wall Street has unfairly punished.

The downdraft of downgrades

Matt DiLallo: Oil giant Occidental Petroleum (OXY -0.04%) doesn't get much love from Wall Street. For evidence, we only need to look at the string of downgrades it received since the start of the year:

Wall Street Firm Date Downgrade J.P. Morgan Sept. 12 "Neutral" to "underweight" Raymond James July 7 "Strong buy" to "outperform" Morgan Stanley June 13 "Overweight" to "equal weight" J.P. Morgan May 9 "Overweight" to "neutral" Jefferies Jan. 12 "Buy" to "hold"

One thing all these downgrades make clear is Wall Street's belief that Occidental Petroleum will not outperform its rivals going forward. That's despite the fact that Occidental Petroleum has three critical drivers that should actually enable it to outperform over the long term: A cash-rich balance sheet, a stable underlying business, and untapped upside.

As of the end of last quarter, Occidental Petroleum had $3.8 billion of cash on its balance sheet. For perspective, that's enough money to fund its $3 billion capex budget with room to spare. One reason it has that cash cushion is due to its relatively stable underlying asset base, which consists of cash-flowing enhanced oil recovery projects in the Permian Basin, steady production from its Al Hosn Gas Project in the United Arab Emirates, stable midstream operations, and a counter-cyclical chemicals business.

Further, unlike a lot of oil companies, Occidental Petroleum is growing its production this year, with a projection to increase output by 4% to 6%. Moreover, thanks to its oil-rich acreage in the Permian Basin, the company sees that growth rate accelerating to 5% to 8% annually in the future, driven primarily by higher-margin oil production.

Occidental Petroleum is unique in the oil sector because it has a compelling combination of security, stability, and upside. For some reason, Wall Street just doesn't like that combination, even though it positions Occidental Petroleum to handle whatever the oil market sends its way.

Nice house, bad block

Brian Feroldi: The shipping industry is going through a bit of a rough patch these days, which has caused Wall Street to turn bearish on the entire sector. In turn, shares of Seaspan (ATCO 0.20%) -- arguably the strongest company in the space -- have taken a beating.

Seaspan makes its money by buying container ships and then leasing them out to major liners under long-term charters. Those contracts provide Seaspan with highly predictable revenue and cash flow, which helps it stay afloat when times are tough.

However, liner operators are struggling because so many new boats have come online over the past few years that demand hasn't been able to keep up. That's caused shipping rates to plunge, which is putting the hurt on Seaspan's customers.

Things are so bad at Hanjin Shipping -- a major shipping company and customer of Seaspan -- that it has asked Seaspan to renegotiate its long-term contracts. Seaspan held out as long as it could, but it was recently forced to cave.

While that's troubling, investors need to remember that Hanjin represents only about 5% of Seaspan's revenue. Plus, even in this rough operating environment, Seaspan continues to grow its revenue and profits, and it's having no trouble raising capital or paying out its dividend. That speaks to the strength of its business model.

Seaspan is far from a risk-free investment, but I think Wall Street is currently pricing in an endless stream of bad news. While the next year or two will probably be rough, in time I think the business will thrive and the stock price will take care of itself.

Doubters can bank on this

Sean Williams: Despite having a price target that's currently 4% lower than where it's trading today, and an average analyst rating of 3.2 (implying something between hold and underperform), my belief is that Bank of Hawaii (BOH 2.25%) is getting a bad rap.

The obvious knock against Bank of Hawaii, and the entire banking sector for that matter, are historically low lending rates precipitated by the Federal Reserve's dovish monetary policy. Until we see substantial increases in the federal funds target, it'll be tough for banks to generate significant growth in their net interest margin.

This concern aside, Bank of Hawaii has a number of factors that make it quite attractive. For starters, as a regional bank operating in Hawaii, it's located in an environment that's a hot spot for tourists and travel. Furthermore, based on July 2016 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hawaii has the sixth-lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the country at 3.5%. With a healthy economy, Bank of Hawaii is probably less likely to see loan defaults from consumers or businesses than most regional banks.

More important, though, is Bank of Hawaii's impressive track record. Instead of getting caught up in the same aggressive banking tactics that crippled money center banks during the Great Recession, Bank of Hawaii has stuck to the bread-and-butter banking strategy of boosting deposits and making high-quality loans. During the second quarter, Bank of Hawaii increased its loan and lease balances by 3.3% to $8.3 billion while growing deposits 1.1% to $13.6 billion. Of note, Bank of Hawaii's non-performing assets totaled just $16.3 million compared to $8.33 billion in loans, and its coverage ratio (to cover nonperforming loans) is higher than 170%.

Given its healthy return on assets of 1.1% (typically anything above 1% is good for a bank) and its 2.7% yield, Bank of Hawaii deserves more credit from Wall Street.
Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC) will not make the U.S. Armys next standard-issue sidearm.

The Army didnt select Smith & Wesson and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), its partner in the project, as finalists in the competition to replace the Beretta M9, the Armys current pistol.

The news, announced late Friday, sent Smith & Wesson shares tumbling. The stock fell as much as 7.8% to $25.41 on Monday morning.

We and our partner in the pursuit of the U.S. Armys Modular Handgun System, or MHS, solicitation to replace the M9 standard Army sidearm have been notified by the Department of the Army that our proposal was not selected to advance to the next phase of the competition, Smith & Wesson said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Smith & Wesson was seen as a top contender to win the contract. The companys M&P lineup of pistols has been a big hit among law enforcement and consumers, and its partnership with defense contractor General Dynamics was thought to give Smith & Wesson an extra advantage.

I think weve always been optimistic, Smith & Wesson President and CEO James Debney said during a March conference call with Wall Street analysts. As we look at the requirements of the Army, we know that we do a very good job of meeting those requirements for the Modular Handgun System itself.

Despite its efforts, Smith & Wesson became the first company to announce an end to its bid. Beretta submitted a new handgun for testing, while other leading gun makers, including Glock and Sig Sauer, are also believed to be competing for the contract. The Pentagon is expected to award the contract in 2017, seeking close to 500,000 pistols. Military officials planned to pick three finalists in August, according to IHS Janes.

Debney reiterated in March that Smith & Wesson plans to offer a consumer version of the M&P polymer pistol it submitted to the Army.

Smith & Wesson recently made several moves to expand its business beyond gun sales, which are prone to volatile swings. The Springfield, Massachusetts-based company has acquired laser sight manufacturer Crimson Trace and knife maker Taylor Brands, which has offered licensed Smith & Wesson knives for years.

In August, the FBI process 1.85 million background checks for gun sales and permit applications, easily a new record for the month. The FBIs NICS system has processed a total of 17.9 million background checks so far this year, putting it on pace to beat last years annual record of 23.1 million.
Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP) and Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE: SEP) are very similar companies. Both are midstream master limited partnerships, ,or MLPs, that primarily operate pipelines, though Magellan focuses mainly on moving petroleum products while Spectra operates gas lines. Other than that, the only notable difference between these two is that Spectra Energy Partners currently yields 7.4% while Magellan's is a bit lower at 5.8%.

For some investors, the yield difference alone would tilt the scale toward Spectra Energy Partners. However, before we declare it the winner, we need to dig a bit deeper to see if that higher yield is a warning sign or a reason to buy. Here's a closer look at how these two pipeline companies stack up.

Considering the quality of their credit

One of the first places I like to look when comparing two companies is their credit metrics. As the table below shows, both have solid financials.

Magellan Midstream Partners boasts one of the highest credit ratings among MLPs, thanks to the fact that it has historically maintained a leverage ratio of less than 4.0 times, averaging under 3.5 times in recent years. That said, Spectra Energy Partners isn't too far behind, with its credit rated just one notch lower by two of the three agencies because it has a slightly higher leverage ratio. At just over 4.0 times, though, it's solid for an MLP.

A closer look at these high-yield payouts

The next thing I like to explore when comparing two income stocks is the sustainability of their respective payouts. As this table shows, both appear to back their high yields with solid metrics:

Magellan Midstream Partners and Spectra Energy Partners have a long history of steadily growing their distribution to investors, with Spectra recently announcing its 41st consecutive quarterly increase while Magellan has given its investors a raise 63 times since going public in 2001. Three factors drove this growth. First, both generate relatively steady cash flow since the bulk of their earnings come from stable sources like fee-based contracts. Second, both maintain ample excess coverage, which leaves plenty of room for error. Finally, that excess cash gives them some money to reinvest into expansion projects to grow cash flow.

In Magellan's case, it currently has $1.75 billion of fee-based growth projects under way. One of the largest is a $410 million investment to construct a marine terminal in Texas with Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO). The first phase should come on line early next year, while the second should start up in 2020, which includes a pipeline to connect it with some of Valero's refineries in the area that will enhance the refining giant's ability to access global markets. Beyond that backlog, Magellan could invest another $700 million in expanding that facility as well as in other projects in development. That growth pipeline should provide the fuel necessary to continue growing the company's payout for years to come.

Spectra, meanwhile, has $2.5 billion of growth projects in progress. The largest one is a $1.3 billion investment to build the NEXUS natural gas pipeline in the upper Midwest, which should enter service later this year. It's one of $2 billion in projects the company expects to bring on line in 2018. While Spectra Energy Partners has fewer needle-moving projects secured beyond next year, it's working on $4 billion to $9 billion in potential development opportunities to expand its gas pipeline network over the next five years, potentially providing it with ample fuel to continue increasing its distribution in the future.

This number makes all the difference

Magellan seems to have an ever-so-slight advantage over Spectra in that it has a higher credit rating and could grow its payout at a faster pace over the next three years. That said, one notable edge Spectra Energy Partners has over Magellan is a much lower valuation since it sells for less than 12 times cash flow while Magellan fetches about 14.5 times cash flow. That cheaper valuation is why Spectra Energy Partners has a higher current yield.

That valuation difference is hard to justify given how close these two are in all their other metrics. Because of that, I think the gap will narrow in the future, potentially enabling investors in Spectra Energy Partners to earn a higher total return when factoring in its fatter payout. That double dose of upside makes it the better buy versus Magellan right now in my opinion.

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Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Magellan Midstream Partners and Spectra Energy Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SACRED STONES CAMP  Alex Briggs is a twig on the family tree of William Rockefeller, co-founder of Standard Oil and brother to the better-known John D. Rockefeller.

He inherited good looks, a high IQ and a trust fund to see him through a university degree in mechanical engineering.

At 26, he could have it all, if all is what he wanted. Instead, hes living in a small tent nestled in deep grass at the Sacred Stones camp on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. His belongings fit into a backpack the size of shopping bag. He is booted, bearded and bandana-ed, and its hard to see anything of him in the black and white photos of his buttoned-up great-great-great grandfather.

If that man could have looked down through six generations of time, he would be shocked to see this descendent, who Dumpster dives for food on principle, now standing in unity with Native Americans against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a massive Bakken oil delivery system routed to run right past the reservation.

This young man burns to have a personal relationship with the earth and save it from the very oil that enriched his family. He has designed and would build open source energy sites starting with a foundry and metal shop on a small community scale.

If everyone has the capacity to provide for himself, it would lead to a peaceful and prosperous world," said Briggs, who describes oil as equal "to a centralization of power that corrupts the human spirit."

Those words would have made triple-great-granddad choke on his oysters, but Briggs says his mother, back East, understands where hes coming from.

She grew up with that guilt of coming from a ruthless capitalist who created a monopoly. My parents are very proud of me, he said.

Briggs admits that, not only is he white, he was given everything he needs to prosper in a competitive society. Leaving college without debt, thanks to that trust fund, gives him the freedom to live by his beliefs, instead.

This camp is really a transforming thing, having a powerful culture here that is rooted in the earth, experiencing the world as a sacred and spiritual place, said Briggs, adding that he is in for the winter.

While Briggs certainly has an uncommon background, his type is not uncommon among those attracted to the camp.

Generously sprinkled throughout the temporary world of the Sacred Stones camp and larger overflow camp, where hundreds are living in tents and tepees to protest the pipeline and protect the water, are other non-native young adults. Theyre generically referred to as hippies or rainbow kids around the camps, and they bring guitars, blankets and the hope that, by showing up, they are helping the cause.

Hayley Porter and her friend, Shaunti Lally, of Colorado, held events back home to raise a couple hundred bucks, awareness and donations for the camp. They drove up in his old beater car, with their black lab in the back seat and camped near the river for a few days.

Lally has a masters degree in social change and sociology and says its up to this generation to break the world of its destructive dependency on oil.

If we dont do something, we wont have a world. Its up to us, we have to speak up. We have to have patience for the process and disrupt the momentum thats pushing us to the edge, he said.

The camp seemed a perfect place to try to build Native American trust at the same time, according to Lally.

They are the First Nation defenders. Thats why a lot of us are here, to try to heal those wounds. We have to deal with it and address it, he said.

Jakob Halldor, 27, a red-haired native of Iceland and now of Colorado, camped nearby and said he is part of a growing number of young people, many from the mostly white festival-awareness culture, who want respect for all life.

Were here supporting people who are protecting water. We need to bridge the ethnicity groups, or we wont be able to, he said.

In the next tent down, Dan Isler, of Illinois, looks like the former U.S. Army infantry man he once was, with a tour in Iraq under his belt.

He is more tightly wound than his long-haired, herbal-tea drinking neighbors, but no less passionate. His niece was born with birth defects from tainted well water on their farm and he knows the value of clean water.

In Iraq, I served Halliburton and all those guys. I was a gunner, searching out incendiary explosive devices. I served my country in Iraq, but here, for the first time, I feel like Im serving my nation, he says. I feel at home.

For the threesome from Colorado, its time to pack up the tent in a cold wind with hopes of coming back one day soon. Isler turns to help and has another thought to share, running to catch up.

He points to the camp, where the Native families are camped, many warming themselves to wood fires against the cold that particular morning. There is a prayer circle being held in the shallows of the Cannonball River and the sound of drumming is faint on the northwesterly wind.

Were all affected, not just these people, he says. Why isnt it up to everyone?
Image source: Lumber Liquidators

There's buyout buzz surroundingLumber Liquidators(NYSE: LL)again. That was enough to send shares of the struggling hardwood flooring retailer 14.6% higher last week, but the gains will be hard to sustain if the rumor mill chatter doesn't pan out.

The takeover talk suggested that private equity was looking to pay as much as $30 a share for Lumber Liquidators. That's a tall order for a stock that began the week trading in the mid-teens, a point that some used social to pounced on.

If a buyout was to materialize it would certainly make sense that it would come from the ranks of private equity firms. These are the savvy cash-backed entities that could take Lumber Liquidators and give it a couple of years to restore its brand away from quarterly scrutiny before hitting the market again. There aren't too many home improvement retailers that would chance taking on the negative sentiment that Lumber Liquidators brings to the table since being called out for selling China-sourced laminates with noncompliant levels of formaldehyde. However, a $30 takeout price when you have to go all the way back to last October to find the last time that it wasn't trading in the teens seems like a bit of a stretch.

Lumber Liquidators' fundamentals would need to improve dramatically to justify that kind of markup, and the bitter twist is that if the fundamentals were to improve it wouldn't need a suitor.

Wood chucks

Last week's speculation was enough to send the stock to its highest levels of 2016, but the stock still has a long way to go to get back to where it was before a critical segment on 60 Minutes disrupted its momentum.

Lumber Liquidators initially rejected the claims that aired in the report, but investors and hardwood flooring shoppers weren't buying it. Lumber Liquidators eventually shook up its executive ranks and stopped selling Chinese-made laminate flooring products. Federal regulators eventually closed its investigation on Lumber Liquidators this summer, but customer hesitation remains. Net sales have fallen for five consecutive quarters with comps taking even bigger hits. It has posted losses for six straight quarters.

There are now more than 375 locations, so if and when shoppers come back it could be pretty powerful stuff. However, until comps turn positive and losses get reversed into profits it's hard to hop on a stock that's being kept up by buyout speculation.

A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.

Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Lumber Liquidators. 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.
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Snap, the newly renamed parent company of messaging appSnapchat, plans to start selling camera-equipped sunglasses starting this fall, Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

The sunglasses, dubbed Spectacles, will be sold via limited distribution for about $130, said Spiegel, who described the device as a toy.

The first hardware to be sold by Snap, the sunglasses will record video from the user's perspective in 10-second increments that can be synched with his or her smart-phone.

(Reporting By Christian Plumb, Editing by Franklin Paul)
New U.S. single-family home sales posted their biggest decline in nearly a year in August after soaring to nine-year highs the month before, with analysts saying the trend in sales remains positive.

The Commerce Department said on Monday new home sales fell 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000 units last month. Sales were up 20.6 percent from a year ago.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast single-family home sales falling to an annualized rate of 600,000 units last month.

July's sales pace was revised up 5,000 units to 659,000 units. That level of annualized sales was the highest since October 2007, and even with the decline, the sales pace in August was the second highest since 2008.

Analysts said the level of sales generally supported their view of a strong underlying trend in new home sales and of a quickening pace of overall economic growth in the second half of the year.

"New home sales moved lower in August, but sales were at an expansion high in July and the longer-term trend remains positive due to strong homebuyer demand," said David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide and former chief economist at Fannie Mae.

Following the new home sales release, analysts at Macroeconomic Advisers kept their estimate of third-quarter economic growth at 3 percent, a marked pickup from the first half of the year.

Though new home sales make up just 10 percent of all home sales, evidence that the economy continues to hold up will add to the likelihood that the Federal Reserve follows through on an interest rate hike expected in December.

Evidence in particular that households remain willing to spend - whether on new homes or meals at restaurants - will support the Fed's view that growth in jobs and wages is helping support overall recovery even though other contributors to gross domestic product remain weak.

"There are good reasons to expect GDP growth to rebound," analysts at Capital Economics said in a research note, pointing to a rise in household disposable income and household net worth that is "close to a record high."

Major U.S. stock indices were down by about three quarters of a percent at midday. Homebuilder shares performed slightly better.

Shares in the nation's largest homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc were down 0.66 percent and Lennar Corp shares fell 0.02 percent. Toll Brothers was down 0.59 percent.

The broader PHLX housing index , which includes builders, building products and mortgage companies, was trading up 0.10 percent.

Another housing report last week showed a solid increase in permits for single-family dwellings as the housing market continues to strengthen overall amid a tightening labor market that is pushing up wages.

New home sales have also benefited from a dearth of previously owned houses available for sale.

Last month, the inventory of new homes on the market rose 1.7 percent to 235,000 units.

New single-family home sales fell 34.3 percent in the Northeast to the lowest level since September 2015. Sales were down 2.4 percent in the Midwest and 12.3 percent in the South but rose 8.0 percent in the West to the highest level since September 2007.

At August's sales pace it would take 4.6 months to clear the supply of houses on the market, up from 4.2 months in July.

The median price for a new home fell 5.4 percent from a year ago to $284,000.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Freshly painted Dodge Challenger body shells moving to an assembly line at FCA's Brampton, Ontario factory. The Brampton factory's fate is in question as FCA and the Unifor labor union open negotiations on a new contract. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

A Canadian labor union has given Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE: FCAU) until midnight on Oct. 10 to come up with a new four-year contract -- or it'll strike several key FCA factories.

That may sound like a dire threat, but it seems to be the union's traditional way of calling an automaker to the bargaining table when contracts expire. But the fate of an important FCA plant in Ontario may hang in the balance this time around. Here's what is happening.

What's happening: FCA is next up in this round of negotiations

The Unifor labor union represents about 20,000 hourly employees of FCA, General Motors (NYSE: GM), and Ford (NYSE: F) in Canada. The contracts covering most of those employees expired on Sept. 19, which means its time for negotiations.

Like its U.S. counterpart, the United Auto Workers (UAW), Unifor follows a process called "pattern bargaining." Under the process, it pushes hard to get the best deal it can with one company. It then uses that deal as a "pattern," seeking similar concessions in its negotiations with the others.

Unifor chose GM as the "pattern" company in this year's negotiations. The two came to a deal that was ratified by the roughly 4,000 GM workers represented by Unifor on Sunday.

That means it's someone else's turn, and Unifor says FCA is up next.

What's at stake

Unifor represents about 9,750 workers at three FCA plants in Ontario:

Brampton Assembly builds the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Challenger.

Windsor Assembly builds the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica minivans.

Etobicoke Casting makes die-cast aluminum parts, including pistons for engines.

Simply put, what's at stake is labor peace at those three plants. But one in particular is likely to be the focus of negotiations.

What the union wants from FCA

The union isn't too worried about Windsor Assembly, which has received big investments recently and began building the well-regarded, all-new Pacifica minivan earlier this year.

But Brampton is a different story. Unifor's president, Jerry Diaz, told Automotive News that the Brampton factory is the biggest point of concern for the union and will be the focus of negotiations.

Although Brampton's products, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger and Challenger, are iconic (and in upper-level trims, hugely profitable) products for FCA in North America, the factory has been starved for investment in recent years. That has led, reasonably, to concerns that FCA might intend to close the factory when production of the current-generation models comes to an end in a couple of years.

In particular, Brampton's "paint shop," the section of the factory that paints the cars, is long overdue for a significant upgrade. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that revamping Brampton's paint shop could cost as much as $1 billion, a sum that he said calls the factory's "long-term viability" into question.

The union wants to answer that question in a way that keeps Brampton open and busy for the next four years.

The "pattern": The union's deal with GM

Diaz said that at the beginning of this round of negotiations, his concerns about FCA's Brampton factory were second only to his concerns about GM's plant in Oshawa, Ontario.

Keeping Oshawa open was a top priority in the union's negotiation with GM, and it was successful: GM agreed to significant investments to build future products in Oshawa. GM also agreed to a series of moderate wage increases and promised to eliminate a pension deficit.

In return, the union agreed that new hires would be enrolled in a new lower-cost, defined-contribution retirement plan instead of the traditional defined-benefit pension plan.

How this is likely to play out

Here's the key to the fate of Brampton: What will happen to the next generation of its products?

The fate of the big Chrysler 300 sedan isn't clear. But the Dodge muscle cars aren't going away. The next-generation models are in development now. They're believed to be using the same rear-wheel-drive "Giorgio" architecture that FCA developed for an upcoming series of Alfa Romeo and Maserati models.

By corporate edict, Maseratis are always built in Italy. But no such edict exists for Alfa Romeo. It's possible that Brampton could be overhauled and retooled to make several new Alfa Romeos along with the Charger and Challenger. That would seem to make a lot of sense.

It's also possible that FCA hasanother plan -- that it will push to close Brampton and make all of those vehicles somewhere else. That would be a bitter pill for theunion to swallow.

From the few hints that Marchionne has dropped, I think it's more likely that FCA will bring Alfas to Brampton.If so, the union should be quite happy. If not, expect fireworks. We'll find out more as negotiations get under way this week.

A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.

John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Shares of Deutsche Bank on Monday slid to a new low, as German President Angela Merkel ruled out the possibility of a state-sponsored bailout for the bank as investors around the world question its financial health.

The German banks struggles are a reminder of similar problems American banks faced in 2008, until they were bailed out by the U.S. government. The topic, though, is not exactly at the forefront of the 2016 presidential race, and its absence has been noted by candidates, including third-party contenders.

The Green Partys presidential nominee, Jill Stein, joined the FOX Business Network and explained how she would, if necessary, bail out banks in the future.

We would ensure that the American people are getting a return on their investment, Stein said. So the bailouts of 2008 were just handouts. They were corporate welfare on steroids, to the tune of $16 trillion when you add up all of it.

Stein, who is in favor of bailout out student debt and providing tuition-free public college education, said there are more options than just bank bailouts.

The bank can be, for example, nationalized and turned into a public bank or broken up into smaller banks, Stein said. We need to correct the problem and not just go back to the same problem of banks that are too big to fail, because thats where we are.

Commenting on the latest news about the struggling Deutche Bank, the Green Party nominee said:

This failure of Deutche Bank has been in the works for a while. And our own banks are more consolidated than ever; more risky than ever. What a President Stein would do upon taking office is insist that we use what are called minimum capital requirements so that the banks are not taking really dangerous risks with taxpayer money. And if they do fail, we need to ensure that taxpayer interests are insured going forward and in the process of that bailout.

Though Stein will not be on the debate stage Monday night due to missing part of the requirements set forward by the Commission on Presidential Debates, she stated that she would be responding to questions online.

We are virtually opening up the debate through Facebook and through Twitter, Stein said. People can go to social media. They can go to my website and our web media and they can see through Twitter and through a new app. They can basically watch us live, inserted into the debate through this new democratized form of media that is social media, and the open internet.

She added:

The way itll work is that the candidates will each first answer the questions on the stage in the debate arena, and following Trump and Clinton, then I will answer will answer the question. Then well revert to the open discussion, in which I will also take two opportunities to respond to the issues as they come up. So it will be a virtually liberated debate in which the American people can actually hear the real issues in front of us.
Four years ago, Anthoney Merkas wife and daughter were trying to tickle him when his wife suddenly stopped because she thought she felt something. Six months later, Merka went to the doctor, where he was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"Breast cancer  I didn't think guys could get breast cancer, Merka told Fox 25.

The Oklahoma City man, who lost his grandmother to the disease, is now sharing his story to urge everyone, regardless of gender, to check for lumps. An estimated 2,600 new cases of male breast cancer occur in the United States annually, according to the American Cancer Society. Of that, about 440 men will die.

"There was no information when we started looking, Lisa Merka, Anthonys wife, told Fox 25. When the doctor said it could be, we started to find research. Couldnt find anything."

Merka underwent a double mastectomy. His four children, who have a 50-50 chance of inheriting the disease from him, were all tested, and tests for his daughter Angela came back positive.

"I almost didn't want to believe it, Angela Kolander told Fox 25. But at the same time it was, OK, now we know. Now I can be proactive."

Kolander now sees her doctor every six months to monitor her health.

Merka is a Real Men Wear Pink ambassador with the American Cancer Society. Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin declared the week of Oct. 16 as Male Breast Cancer Awareness Week.
The University of Vermont College of Medicine is changing the way physicians are trained by switching exclusively to a hands-on approach to learning designed to encourage students to solve medical puzzles rather than just memorizing body parts and diseases.

While most medical schools recognize the importance of active learning and use it in some of their classes, UVM is believed to be among the first in the country to commit itself to switching all its medical training to the new system.

"Shifting completely away from the traditional lectures in that way, we are not familiar with any other medical school that has done that across all four years," said Lisa Howley, the senior director of educational affairs at the Washington-based Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents 145 medical schools and about 400 teaching hospitals.

The effort will get a boost from a $66 million donation from 1942 medical school graduate Robert Larner that will provide $4 million a year in perpetuity to help implement the changes. In announcing the donation Friday, the medical school, which has about 465 students, also said it was changing its name to The Robert Larner M.D. College of Medicine.

Making the switch presents a challenge to an educational system that, especially in the early years of medical school, relied on a doctor lecturing to students from the front of the room.

William Jeffries, associate dean at the UVM medical school, points to a 2014 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that determined students in traditional lectures were 1.5 times more likely to fail than students taught with active learning.

"If this was a clinical trial of a new drug or a treatment, we would adopt it because we knew that the other method was inferior to the first method," Jeffries said. "We have to react to that evidence."

Here's how the process works in the new system:

In class, medical students might be given a case in which a patient is complaining of arm pain. The students would focus on which bone is most likely broken and the possible implications of the injury to the circulatory or nervous system.

"That means they have to know the anatomy, and then they have to say, 'Well, in the real world, what are we going to do with that information?" said Dr. William Raszka, a pediatrician who teaches in the medical school.

"The family doesn't come in and say, 'I think my ulna's fractured.' They say, 'My son came in, he fell off the jungle gym and he's holding his hand,'" Raszka said.

To facilitate those types of discussions, the school is removing lined-up desks from classrooms and replacing them with tables where small groups of students can apply the information they learn before class and work together to find answers to questions posed by the teachers. The rarely used books in the medical school library are going to be moved into storage and the information digitized.

The students will still be tested, but rather than focusing on memorized facts, they will be asked to solve problems and demonstrate higher levels of thinking.

For some of the students, active learning has become routine. For some of the faculty, it's a big change.

Third-year medical student Soraiya Thura has been learning medicine under both systems.

"It's a delicate balance," Thura said. "Some faculty members are great at doing it, and they have a natural ability to facilitate this kind of learning."

Raszka said there is resistance among the faculty because they are being asked to change the way things have always been done and it's much more difficult.

"To develop active learning models takes an enormous amount of effort," he said.

UVM is about halfway finished with fully implementing the new system. The faculty will decide on a timetable for full implementation, Jeffries said, who added that it's important to have everyone on board.

"If you've gone with a coalition of the willing but not everybody all in ... that's what's going to be the big challenge."
Susan Kolar, of Rochester, Minnesota knew something wasnt right last year when she missed her period for three months, but multiple pregnancy tests gave negative results. The 37-year-old registered nurse was also irritable, restless and had trouble sleeping; she lost hair, had vaginal irritation and started to gain weight in her abdomen despite eating healthy and working out five days a week. Although she had hot flashes, they subsided after a month.

After her primary care physician and a specialist ran blood tests, Kolar was told her ovaries were no longer working a condition known as primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). Kolar was told she was in premature menopause.

I thought I was just going through some changes of getting older, but never did it go through my mind of early menopause, Kolar said.

Women in early menopause are often missed

Studies show 1 percent of women under age 40 and 5 percent of those under age 45 experience premature menopause.

Experts agree that premature menopause is not a common diagnosis and doctors often overlook it. Although the signs are the same lighter or missed periods, hot flashes and night sweats, changes in mood, sleep disturbances, memory problems, brain fog, rapid weight gain, skin changes and vaginal dryness, symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions.



For example, if a woman is in her 20s and she complains of memory problems, she may be diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed an antidepressant, said Dr. Prudence Hall, founder of The Hall Center in Santa Monica, California.

Likewise, women who have irregular periods are often put on the birth control pill. If a woman is a teenager when that happens and she then tries to get pregnant when shes older and her periods dont start, that woman probably went through premature menopause years before but it was just never formerly diagnosed, said Dr. Stephanie S. Faubion, director of the office of Womens Health at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, M.N., editor of Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution, and Kolars physician.

Causes of early menopause

There are many reasons why a woman might go through menopause early, Faubion said. Most of the time we dont identify a specific cause.

Premature menopause can be caused by chromosomal abnormalities such as Fragile X or Turner Syndrome, an autoimmune condition such as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Addison's disease or even a virus like Epstein-Barr or parvovirus. Women who have their ovaries surgically removed or who undergo chemotherapy or radiation can go into premature menopause.

An overload of heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium can also be a cause.

The endocrine glands are very delicate and can absorb toxins easily, Hall said.

Kolars doctor explained that the reason she was in early menopause was likely due to an autoimmune condition that was causing her thyroid to release an antibody that attacked her ovaries. To make matters worse, there was no treatment.



Hormone therapy is necessary

When premature menopause is suspected, a womans doctor will order blood tests that look at the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol. This work-up should also include the thyroid and the adrenal glands because they can be affected too.

What happens when the ovaries fail is there is very frequently a cascade of other hormones that start to fail, Hall said.

In fact, between 14 and 27 percent of women with POI also have low thyroid function, according to a study in New England Journal of Medicine.

Women who are in early menopause must be treated with hormone therapy until they reach the natural age of menopause.

The lack of hormones during this time frame is critical. Were trying to protect bones, brain and heart from the long-term consequences of estrogen deprivation, Faubion said.

If left untreated, women are at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases, Parkinsons and dementia at an earlier age. Theyre also at an increased risk for colon and ovarian cancer, gum disease and dry eye syndrome.

Women will likely be treated with bioidentical hormones, and they may also need progestins, estradiol and testosterone.

Fertility options

In January, the Mayo Clinic told Kolar and her husband to consider a donor egg or adoption if they wanted to have children.

For me that was hard to swallow at first becausethe thought that ran through my head was I should have had kids sooner. But at the same time I wasnt ready to, she said.

Yet premature menopause may not necessarily mean a woman is infertile. Some women may be able to freeze their eggs.

Plus, between 5 and 10 percent will spontaneously conceive on their own. Since the brain doesnt get feedback from the ovaries that theyre working optimally, it can over-stimulate the ovaries and occasionally the ovaries respond, Faubion said.

Although she has managed her symptoms well on hormone therapy, Kolars doctors arent sure know what an optimal level should be or how long she will have to take it.

And when it comes to having children, shes taking it one day at a time.

Now my priority is my health first. If Im meant to have children then that will happen but if Im not, Ive accepted that too, she said.
Ten men walked in front of flowing traffic and formed a wall. Bewildered, an officer turned to me and said, "Reverend, I don't know what they are doing."

My concern grew more for the men blocking traffic. They were perilously close to turning cars that could easily hit them. Sensing the mood of the gathered protestors, I began to lead them in prayer, speaking loudly into my speaker system saying, "The only one who never gets it wrong, and is the Judge of judges, is God. Looting and going to jail is not the way. We want justice, but we also must conduct ourselves respectfully. Trust me, no one gets away with murder, even if they win a case. Life will never be the same for them."

Moments later, our prayers were quickly answered. It seemed that our words had penetrated those blocking traffic as they willingly dispersed without further provocation. The crowd applauded.

This certainly isn't New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles. This is Charlotte. On a humid Saturday night when the Charlotte Police Department finally released two disturbing videos chronicling the last moments of Keith Lamont Scott, a night when no one could predict with certainty just what embers those videos might inflame among frustrated protesters, it was The Church in Charlotte which dominated the night and made the peace that was so very needed.

On a rough night when body cams called into question the police officers account that Keith Lamont Scott had pointed his gun at them, and after days of raucous looting and volatile protests, it was the Church that finally dominated the narrative of Charlotte. The people of God were so integrated in the crowd that the pervasive mood was like a Sunday worship service.

Chaplains, ministers, pastors, and youth workers all united. One Muslim imam was so overwhelmed by the show of faith that he asked if I could share about the sixth Commandment of Moses: Thou shall not kill.

I was in awe of what was happening. The Church in Charlotte kept the focus on our belief that the truth would indeed prevail, be it in a local court or in the Highest Court of heaven.

I am a pastor in the Bronx who regularly works with law enforcement in my community. I find it difficult to share this, but the truth is many African Americans don't feel protected by the police anymore. They have seen men shot while cooperating (Charles Kinsey), walking away (Terence Crutcher), running away (Walter Scott), choked to death (Eric Garner), shot while backing up with their hands down (Keith Lamont Scott), and the list goes on.

My nine-year old daughter has expressed that she is scared of the police. When I was 9, I loved the police and saw them as heroes.

Today, sadly, some police officers routinely behave like police work is set in a video game with African Americans as its main targets.

We are in need of serious reform, and new equality and real threat assessment police training. Though one percent of the African-American population could accurately be identified as gang-bangers, the other 99% are not threats to society. I am praying that the small batch of trigger-happy officers infecting police forces throughout this country will be proactively removed from the ranks.

Peace is returning to the streets of Charlotte. Sadness still permeates the city, but Charlotte is on the right track.

The city is stabilizing because the Church is engaged.

May we remember in prayer those families now planning funerals: in Charlotte, in Tulsa, and in all places of unrest.
by Thomas Kuruvilla

KUWAIT, SEP 26, 2016: The Malayalam commission of the parish of Saint Therese of the child Jesus (SPMC) in Kuwait, organised a Medical Camp under the guidance of Father Johnson Nedumpurath on September 23 at Don Bosco School.

The camp was organised to commemorate the Year of Mercy and also to honour Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The SPMC conducted a Medical camp for underprivileged women who have Gynaecology related problems. These women do not have access to medical facilities in Kuwait and cannot afford the exorbitant fees at private hospitals.

Six specialised senior doctors from private and government hospitals voluntarily offered their services for the camp. Flyers were distributed, inviting all deserving ladies irrespective of their nationality, religion and language to attend the Camp. It was also publicised through announcements at all the Holy masses.



Many parishioners offered their help by means of time, cash donations, hospital supplies, equipment, stationery, food and medicines. More than 30 nurses voluntarily offered their services for the camp. Don Bosco School management provided their campus facilities, free of charge.

A total number of 266 patients attended the camp and expressed their gratitude to the organisers for providing this merciful service. Doctors also expressed their happiness in rendering their service for this noble cause.

An appreciation letter and a gift was given to all the doctors on behalf of the parish. All the participants and volunteers were provided with snacks and lunch.
March 30, 1981 began as a typical day for Ronald Wilson Reagan, who was just settling into the routine of being president of the United States. He had been on the job for merely two months.

The day had included morning briefings followed by the usual meetings, messages, and perfunctory announcements. That day, he had nominated an assistant secretary here and thereone to the Department of Agriculture, two to the Department of Interior, two to the Department of Health and Human Services. Ho-hum.

Also on the presidents schedule was a speech, listed unremarkably as Remarks at the National Conference of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

It didnt sound like a place to expect any fireworks. It was to be a short set of remarks in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton, a hop, skip, and jump from the White House, a few minutes away via presidential limousine.

Ronald Reagan would see his survival as nothing short of divine intervention. He told this to his children Maureen and Michael, and also shared it with sources as diverse as Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Michael Deaver, Cardinal Terence Cooke, and the Rev. Louis Evans, his pastor at the National Presbyterian Church.

But what began as routine became anything but. What would soon happen would forever, in a flash, change the trajectory of Ronald Reagans presidency, life, and rendezvous with destiny.

The speech went well. This conservative Republican president had been a lifetime union guy, and these Reagan Democrats appreciated that. At 2:25, he made his exit, leaving the hotel through a side door. Surrounded by staff, Secret Service, and curious onlookers, Reagan smiled as he strolled to his car. One unsmiling face in the crowd was an individual named John Hinckley.

Hinckley came carrying no grandiose ideological or political vision. He was, however, carrying a gun. He was also harboring a heavy heart for a young actress named Jodie Foster, whom he had been stalking. The addled young man had a singular personal goal: to gain the attention of Foster. He would succeed.

A nearby reporter yapped out a question as Reagan headed toward the awaiting car door. The new president raised his left arm. Suddenly he heard what sounded like firecrackers, followed by chaospeople screaming, scurrying, falling. In an instant, one of them, Press Secretary James Brady, was lying face down on the pavement in his suit, bleeding from his skull.

Instinctively, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy turned himself into a human shield, placing his body between the president and shooter. He took a bullet for Ronald Reagan.

Another agent, Jerry Parr, thrust Reagan into the backseat of the limo, landing atop the 70-year-old presidents frame as he barked directions to the driver to escape. Jerry, get off, pleaded Reagan, I think youve broken one of my ribs. The president would later recall that the feeling in his upper back was unbelievably painful.

Reagan did not yet know it, but he had been shot. Parr soon figured as much. He noticed frothy blood bubbles coming from the presidents lips. He ordered the driver to head straight to George Washington University Hospital.

To Reagans great fortune, the best and brightest happened to be on hand for a hospital-wide meeting of department heads. The chief thoracic surgeon and chief brain surgeon were both present. Reagan would joke to the superb surgical team: I hope youre Republicans.

Though it was typical of Reagan to react with humor and grace, he was scared. My fear was growing because no matter how hard I tried to breathe, he later wrote in his diary, it seemed I was getting less & less air.

Reagan also reacted with prayer. I focused on that tiled ceiling and prayed, he later said. But I realized I couldnt ask for Gods help while at the same time I felt hatred for the mixed up young man who had shot me. Isnt that the meaning of the lost sheep? We are all Gods children and therefore equally beloved by him. I began to pray for his soul and that he would find his way back into the fold.

Reagan needed all the prayer he could get. Spread out on the table, the surgeons discerned the frightening extent of Hinckleys action.

The mixed up young man had little confusion about his choice of weaponry. He had employed .22 Devastator bullets, manufactured to explode on impact.

One bullet stopped mere centimeters from Reagans heart. If the wound was not stitched soon, and if Reagan was not given a lot of blood, he would bleed to death.

They stitched him up, and the 40th president got the blood he needed.

Ronald Reagan would see his survival as nothing short of divine intervention. He told this to his children Maureen and Michael, and also shared it with sources as diverse as Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Michael Deaver, Cardinal Terence Cooke, and the Rev. Louis Evans, his pastor at the National Presbyterian Church.

When he got back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Reagan recorded that sentiment in his diary. Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can, he wrote.

For Reagan, that service had Cold War contours. He was convinced that the Soviet Union was an evil entity that needed to be consigned to the ash-heap of history. It was a principal reason why he had sought the White House. Now, he made victory in the Cold War his overriding priority.

Incidentally, a year later he would share that sense with someone else who felt the same call, Pope John Paul IIwho, amazingly, also barely survived an assassination attempt near the same time, in May 1981. The two would meet alone for 50 minutes in the Vatican Library on June 7, 1982, where they shared their mutual conviction that their lives had been spared for a special purposeto defeat atheistic Soviet communism.

And that was precisely what they went on to do.

That was the historical-spiritual force that John Hinckleys revolver unwittingly let loose on March 30, 1981.

It was one of numerous ways that Ronald Reagans presidencya consequential one of numerous accomplishments, foreign and domesticwould impact America and the world.

It was a bullet that changed not only Ronald Reagans life but his history and the worlds history.
For all the importance attached to presidential debates, they tend to confirm existing trends. President Gerald Ford may have mistakenly denied Soviet domination of Eastern Europe in a 1976 exchange with Gov. Jimmy Carter. But Ford was already whittling away at Mr. Carters lead before that encounter, and afterward the race kept tightening.

It happened again in 1980. Before their single debate, polls showed Gov. Ronald Reagan gaining against President Carter. Reagans debate performance affirmed the growing perception that he was up to the job, and he won in a landslide.

The exception was 1984. In the first debate that year, President Reagan, then 73 years old, looked confused and out of it. As a result, he dropped eight points. But in the second debate, he delivered the devastating comeback to his opponent, the 56-year-old former Vice President Walter Mondale. I am not going to exploit for political purposes, Reagan said, my opponents youth and inexperience. He quickly regained those eight points and then some, winning 49 states.

Donald Trump's the outsider, and voters thirst for change. Yet most Americans believe he lacks the character and temperament to be president. Mr. Trump must reassure them.

When Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton meet Monday for the first of their three debates, how much is at stake? With so many unhappy voters, a big mistake on either side could scramble the contest. But dont count on it.

To continue reading Karl Rove's column in the Wall Street Journal, click here.
At a recent New York event, a Democratic business titan grabbed me by the shoulder and asked what I thought. I started to say that Donald Trump has the momentum, but he squeezed my shoulder tighter and cut me off.

Hes going to be president, my friend said with conviction.

A similar thing had happened the night before, with a conservative friend, who has not been a Trump supporter, declaring, Trump is going to win.

Im not convinced, but there is no denying that, as the first debate approaches, big change is unfolding before our eyes. The combination of Trumps rise in the polls and Hillary Clintons decline, politically and physically, is so pronounced that it is reshaping voters expectations of the outcome.

A fair, sober dissection of Trumps many flaws might have hurt him, but Big Medias hysterical designation of him as Public Enemy No. 1 is helping him.

Nate Silver, the statistical guru who runs the FiveThirtyEight blog, now gives Trump a 42 percent chance of winning and is sounding the alarm to complacent Democrats. Never seen otherwise-smart people in so much denial about something as they are about Trumps chances, he tweeted. Same mistake as primaries, Brexit.

To continue reading Michael Goodwn's column in the New York Post, click here.
Californias campaign finance watchdog agency is looking into allegations the states Democratic Party funneled millions of dollars from oil and energy companies to high-profile politicians, including Gov. Jerry Browns 2014 reelection campaign.

It was a laundry machine for dirty energy contributions to the Brown administration, a slush fund of sorts, hiding big oil, utility and other dirty energy dollars in close proximity to officials actions, said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, the group that brought the complaint.

A Consumer Watchdog report Browns Dirty Hands highlighted transactions between 2011 and 2014 that seem to show contributions from Chevron, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. were given to the states Democratic Party around the time the party gave Browns campaign donations of similar amounts.

Twenty-six energy companies with business before the state greased the skids via $9.85 million in political donations to Browns gubernatorial campaigns, ballot initiatives, favorite causes ... and the California Democratic Party since Browns run for office in 2010, the report alleged.

In all, the companies gave $4.4 million to the state party, which gave Browns re-election campaigns $4.7 million.

Galena West, chief of enforcement for the Fair Political Practices Commission, confirmed Friday it is now investigating the California Democratic Party for alleged violation of the Political Reform Acts campaign reporting provisions resulting from information contained in your sworn complaint.

However, West said the agency would not be investigating others named in the complaint, which would include Brown, at this time.

California Democratic Party spokesman Michael Soller told the Los Angeles Times his group has received the letter from West and they have been cooperating fully with their inquiry.

Brown over the years has sided squarely with environmentalists on issues like climate change, but also has sparred with them in other policy disputes.

Consumer Watchdog often has gone after Brown and other state Democratic leaders over the years.

In March, the FPPC opened an investigation into Browns executive secretary, Nancy McFadden, over a similar Consumer Watchdog complaint.

Calls to Browns office by FoxNews.com were not immediately returned.

A spokesman for the governor told The San Diego Union-Tribune, The decision not to broaden the investigation speaks for itself.

Consumer Watchdog, in its report, also questioned the timing of company contributions and alleged they were made the same time the governor was discussing Californias climate change initiatives.

The timing on donations suggests that the Brown Administration used the Democratic Party as a pass-through to Brown committees as reward for legislative or regulatory action on behalf of these companies, the report said. For example, at the end of December 2013, three months after weakened fracking legislation was chaptered, Chevron donated $350,000 to the Democratic Party. One week later, the party donated $300,000 to Brown for Governor 2014, while Chevron donated $54,400 to the campaign that daythe maximum amount allowed.

A few weeks later, Brown came out against the oil severance tax that Consumer Watchdog argues would have produced billions for the state.

Chevron had long opposed the tax, the report said.

Hopefully this will shed some light on what looks like a backdoor laundry machine for energy company contributions and probably extends beyond the energy industry, Court said in a statement.
Omran Daqneesh's face, bloodied and bruised, has become an international symbol of the horrors inflicted on the war-ravaged northern city of Aleppo, Syria.

The 5-year-old Syrian boy -- rescued last month from a building hit by an airstrike -- might now have a home in the U.S. if a little boy from New York gets his way.

Alex, a 6-year-old boy from Scarsdale, N.Y., penned a letter to President Obama asking if Omran can come to the U.S. to live with his family and be his "brother." The Syrian boy lost his oldest brother when bombs came crashing down on his family's home in August.

The White House on Wednesday posted a video of Alex reading his letter out loud inside his parents' home -- drawing more than 13 million views in one day.

"Dear President Obama. Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria?" the letter begins. "Can you please go get him and bring him to our home? Park in the driveway or on the streets and we'll be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers and balloons."

"We will give him a family and he will be our brother," Alex says.

The boy also mentions that he has a friend from Syria named Omar and says the three "can all play together."

"Catherine, my little sister, will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him," he says. "We can invite him to birthday parties and he will teach us another language ... And I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it. I will teach him additions and subtractions in math."

Next to the video, posted to Obama's Facebook page, the president wrote: "These are the words of a six-year-old boy -- a young child who has not learned to be cynical or suspicious or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray."

"We should all be more like Alex," he wrote.

Obama also referenced Alexs letter during his speech this week at the United Nations when addressing the international refugee crisis.

"He teaches us a lot," Obama said. "The humanity that a young child can display, who hasnt learned to be cynical, or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where theyre from, or how they look, or how they pray -- we can all learn from Alex."

The photo of a stunned and weary-looking Omar sitting in an orange chair inside an ambulance -- which was taken Aug. 17 -- encapsulates the violence inflicted on Syrians in Aleppo.

The boy had just been pulled from a damaged building after a Syrian government or Russian airstrike hit Aleppos Qaterji neighborhood. Omran was rescued along with two of his siblings and his mother and father from the rubble of their partially destroyed apartment building. His 10-year-old brother, Ali, died in a hospital days later.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday as the presidential candidates brush up on foreign policy hours before their debate.

Clintons meeting with Netanyahu was brief. The two met for less than an hour in Manhattan, according to Clinton campaign officials. Her meeting came after Trump sat down with the prime minister at his residence in Trump Tower at length, Trump campaign officials said.

Reporters were barred from covering either meeting.

Clintons' campaign said in a statement that the two had an "in-depth conversation." She stressed that "a strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States" and "reaffirmed unwavering commitment" to the relationship.

According to her campaign, Clinton stressed her support for the 10-year, $38 billion military aid package signed between the two countries earlier the month and opposition to efforts to boycott Israel. They also discussed Iran, the conflict in Syria and other regional challenges, including her support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict negotiated by the two parties  not an outside organization like the U.N. Security Council.

Trump and Netanyahu discussed such key issues as the Iran nuclear deal, Middle East stability and the problems that the Islamic State terror group has created in the region, according to Trump campaign officials.

Trump and Netanyahu are long-time acquaintances. But in December 2015, Trump postponed a trip to Israel to meet with Netanyahu after the prime ministers office criticized his proposal to temporarily ban Muslim immigrants -- in the aftermath of several terror attacks inspired or executed by radical Islamic terrorists.

The Trump campaign said Sunday that the nominee and the prime minister have known each other for many years and had the opportunity to discuss many topics important to both countries, citing ISIS, the Iran deal and Trump suggesting, if elected, continuing U.S. military aid to Israel.

Trump and other leading Republicans have suggested that Obama and his administration have failed to maintain strong ties with Israel, which has provided Western nations with support and stability amid decades of Middle East turmoil. The United States also provides billons annually to Israel in military aid.

Most recently, Trump and fellow Republicans have agreed with Netanyahu that the administration-brokered Iran nuclear deal hurts Israel, Tehrans enemy, because it lifts economic sanctions without enough safeguards to ensure Iran has indeed curbed efforts to build a nuclear weapon.

Mr. Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism, the campaign also said after the meeting. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State.

They also said Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for more than 3,000 years and that the U.S., with Trump as president, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.

Netanyahus meeting with each of the candidates was designed to put Israel on good footing with the next U.S. president. Both candidates likely will seek Netanyahus support for their respective White House bids, considering Israel is often called the United States most important ally.

The Israeli leader has sought to project neutrality this time after perceptions arose that he favored Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in 2012.

But it also served to showcase the candidates' expertise in foreign policy in the shadow of their first debate Monday, six weeks before Election Day. Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, often says that Trump does not know enough about the world and lacks the temperament to be president. Trump has argued that he has extensive experience with foreign policy through his career as a business executive and blames Clinton for many of the nation's stumbles in foreign policy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Donald Trump will enter his first official presidential debate Monday night with something few pundits would have granted him even a month ago: a respectable shot at winning the White House.

The tightening of the polls in the run-up to this historic face-off between the Republican nominee and Democrat Hillary Clinton has injected added drama into the forum, already expected to draw record audiences thanks in no small part to the personalities on stage. With the race a virtual dead heat nationally and seemingly in flux in key battlegrounds, though, what happens on the Hofstra University stage Monday has the potential to decidedly tilt the race.

A flurry of new polls Monday underscored how much is at stake, as each candidate vies for a momentum-building moment.

A Quinnipiac University national poll showed Clinton edging Trump among likely voters 44-43 percent. A Monmouth University Poll showed Clinton with a stronger 4-point lead among likely voters, but thats down from 7 points last month. Further, the same poll showed three-in-four voters plan to watch Mondays debate.

While both candidates are studying up and putting the final touches on their arguments, Clinton effectively took herself off the trail to prepare, even as Trump continued campaigning last week.

In a sign of how seriously Clinton is treating her on-stage encounter with the opponent she has described as unqualified and unfit, the Democratic nominee was squeezing in one last mock debate and prep session Monday.

Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, in an interview with Fox News, called the debate-day training session "pretty incredible" considering Clinton's experience in these settings.

But Trump is unlike any past debate opponent she has faced, and having the better mastery of policy details Monday night may not be enough to undercut his polling momentum.

Her aides, meanwhile, have been on the offensive saying Trump must be fact-checked in real time during the debate. A number of outlets seemed to have taken the cue, releasing pre-debate fact checks over the weekend.

Each candidate faces a unique challenge at Hofstra.

Trump, who has never held office, faces the task of proving to voters hes ready for the nations highest office amid accusations from critics that he's "unfit" -- while Clinton faces the task of settling questions about her honesty, which polls consistently show are a drag on her bid.

"When you talk about her trust numbers, it's something she really takes seriously and she's going to be talking tonight to the American voter about what she would do so that they understand that she'd be a fighter for American families in the Oval Office, said Kristina Schake, Clinton's deputy communications director. She understands trust is not earned overnight, she knows a lot of people have questions about this and she's eager to get out there and talk to people about it."

While this is Trumps first time on the general election debate stage, he proved himself a formidable opponent during the grueling schedule of GOP primary debates that began last year.

Dont forget, we had twelve bruising debates in our primary already, Republican National Committee Chairman Priebus told Fox News. I think hes very much ready to go.

As is the custom, each side is putting heavy pressure on the others nominee to perform, in the final hours before show time.

Hillary Clinton has been in public life forever.  The expectation is that she will do very, very well. And she must, Priebus said.

Clintons campaign has also warned the media against effectively grading Trump on a curve, pre-emptively arguing that the GOP nominee simply behaving himself is not good enough.

Trumps campaign has answered by continuing to tout the polls.

Fox News Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
In northwest Ecuador, scientists have discovered a new species of ant and they found it in the stomach contents of a poison dart frog.

The new ant species is called Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, and the specimen had been eaten by a frog, a bright orange amphibian called Oophaga sylvatica that is also called diablito in Spanish, which means little devil.

Sometimes people think that our world is very well explored, the lead scientist behind the discovery, Christian Rabeling, an assistant professor at the University of Rochester, said, according to National Geographic. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In this case, the frog which likes to eat ants and dwells in the rainforest produced the new species of ant when the researchers got a sample from inside the amphibian by flushing its stomach contents out with a tube, National Geographic explained.

As of now, the scientists behind the discovery who hail from the United States, Ecuador, and Colombia have just one specimen of the new ant species, which is described in the journal ZooKeys. The researchers report that they named the new ant after an ant-loving colleague, Bert Holldobler, for his 80th birthday.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger
Water vapor plumes estimated to be as tall as 125 miles are possibly erupting into space from the surface of Europa, a moon around Jupiter, NASA announced on Monday.

The source of these potential plumes-- scientists haven't proven that they definitively exist yet-- is thought to be an enormous ocean beneath the icy surface of Europa, and that ocean, in turn, could possibly harbor life. (The space agency said that the ocean on Europa is massive, with two times the amount of water as Earths oceans.) The water vapor plumes are an exciting phenomenon for scientists, who could use them to study whats in that ocean without having to somehow get through the ice.

Europas ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system, Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in a statement. These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europas subsurface.

A team of astronomers gathered the data about these possible plumes by using the Hubble Space Telescope to look at Europa while it transited in front of the gas giant it orbits. With Jupiter in the background, they looked for the plumes, and out of 10 observations, they saw the plumes three times. Their work reinforces previous research by other scientists who detected plumes that could rise as high as 100 miles off the southern surface of the moon.

Europa is not the only moon in the solar system that is thought to have water vapor plumes. Saturns moon Enceladus does as wellwith the likely source being a global subterranean ocean and while these latest plumes were spotted using Hubble, the jets on Enceladus were detected by the Cassini spacecraft.

In the future, NASA could send a mission to explore the possible plumes or use the next-generation space telescope, James Webb, which is due to launch in 2018.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger
Humanity should be wary of seeking out contact with alien civilizations, Stephen Hawking has warned once again.

In 2010, the famed astrophysicist said that intelligent aliens may be rapacious marauders, roaming the cosmos in search of resources to plunder and planets to conquer and colonize. He reiterates that basic concern in "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places," a new documentary streaming now on the CuriosityStream video service.

"One day, we might receive a signal from a planet like this," Hawking says in the documentary, referring to a potentially habitable alien world known as Gliese 832c. "But we should be wary of answering back. Meeting an advanced civilization could be like Native Americans encountering Columbus. That didn't turn out so well."

For what it's worth, some other astronomers believe Hawking's caution is unwarranted. Any alien civilization advanced enough to come to Earth would surely already know of humans' existence via the radio and TV signals that humanity has been sending out into space since 1900 or so, this line of thinking goes.

The alien musings are just a small part of "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places." The 26-minute documentary shows the scientist zooming through the cosmos on a souped-up CGI spaceship called the "S.S. Hawking," making five separate stops.

Hawking observes the Big Bang that created the universe, visits the monster black hole at the center of the Milky Way, journeys to Gliese 832c and tours Saturn in Earth's own solar system. Then, he makes a final stop in Santa Barbara, California, which Hawking calls "my home away from home."

"In 1974, Caltech [the California Institute of Technology] offered me a job in California," the Englishman Hawking says in the documentary. "I jumped at the opportunity. In the sun with my young family, it was a world away from the gray skies of Cambridge, [England]. I've traveled the globe, but I've never found anywhere quite like this."

You can watch a preview of "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places," and learn how to subscribe to CuriosityStream, at the video service's website: www.curiositystream.com.
The largest social network on the planet would like you to believe they are staunchly agnostic and bi-partisan, opposed to picking any favorites. Yet, there are some indications that that Mark Zuckerberg and company have more of a liberal mindset.

A new get out the vote campaign in September, which encourages younger people to register, is targeted at Millennials who typically vote Democratic (and were vehement Bernie Sanders supporters). The social network also joined the First Draft project this month, which is filled with outlets like The New York Times and CNN.

Another recent report claims Facebook and Twitter censored news about the Hillary Clinton health scare, which did not appear as a Trending Topic even though it made major headlines.

Last spring, the Trending Topics debate reached a fever pitch amid allegations of political bias.

A political activist named Pamela Geller found her Facebook page about Islam in America had been removed this past summer. Geller told FoxNews.com she suspects Mark Zuckerberg had given into pressure from Europe and particularly from German Chancelor Angela Merkel. Mark Zuckerberg has adopted a policy of censoring news that portrays Muslim migrants in an unfavorable light and reveals the jihadi motivations of the Orlando killer, she says.

Joshua Fredenburg, a book author and speaker who studies youth culture, says the massive social network wants to appeal to its main demographic -- e.g., those under 30.

One of the primary reasons why I believe Facebook is a left-leaning company is because its biggest audience consists of members of the Millennial Generation who were born between 1977-1994, he says. According to generational studies, most members of the Millennial Generation are more left than right when it comes to political and social issues.

Interestingly, even though Facebook has changed how Trending Topics are picked, the links are mostly generated when stories become popular, so if most users are left-leaning Millennials, the topics could still have a strong political bias, according to Fredenburg.

Michelle Seiler-Tucker, a speaker and business consultant, says there are countless stories of Facebook banning or censoring conservative content. The Geller page removal is one example (although Facebook reps now claim it was an error and the page is back online). Indeed, she says a quick Google search for Facebook censorship shows users complaining about being banned or their posts being removed or censored on a routine basis.

Facebook occasionally conflates right leaning principles with hate speech and shuts down groups or people supporting these ideas, says Seiler-Tucker.

Seiler-Tucker says Facebook even banned stories about itself, which is the ultimate act of censorship. As the social network becomes a major media outlet and one of the most trusted ways people discover news stories, the Trending Topic debate became more scandalous.

Some experts argue that the bias might be overblown, however.

Anthony Orlando, a Public Policy Researcher at the University of Southern California, told FoxNews.com that the campaign contributions from Facebook leadership might paint a different story. For example, the official PAC (political action committee) for Facebook contributed 53 percent in funds to Republican candidates so far in 2016; in 2014, it was 51 percent, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Its unlikely that Facebook is systematically pushing left-leaning content because Mark Zuckerberg or anyone else at the company is left-leaning, says Orlando.

Social media expert Aristotle Eliopoulos told FoxNews.com the real issue has to do with what companies and individuals post on the social network, which Facebook doesnt control. If there are more left-leaning companies and more users posting comments about Hillary Clinton, the social network will take on a certain tone. If more companies like Chick-fil-A post on Facebook, that will turn the tide in a different direction. Facebook could easily shift one way or another.

Fredenburg says there is one way to ensure that Facebook doesnt promote any agenda. He says the company should start a Trust and Safety Council similar to what Twitter has done that includes feedback from experts on both sides of the aisle to keep the social network as neutral as possible. Facebook took a step in that direction when Mark Zuckerberg invited conservative pundits to its headquarters to discuss bias and censorship on the network several months ago.

Mark Zuckerbergs own political viewpoints are not widely known -- he has talked about immigration reform and has a PAC called FWD that takes an opposing view to most of what Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has advocated, especially mass deportation.

Most of Zuckerbergs own campaign contributions tend to fall in the middle. Seiler-Tucker says he appears to be motivated mostly by a personal mission and not claim a party affiliation.

In the end, the social network is too big to pin down. The experts all agreed that there are too many users, too many executives at Facebook, and too many posts either in favor of or against, say, gun control or immigration reform to come up with a definitive answer about bias.
Police arrested two men and a female teenager for the deaths of three people inside a Southern California home over the weekend, officials announced Sunday.

Police said they located the 17-year-old daughter of the deceased couple, who was reported missing after the murders.

Fullerton police Sgt. Jon Radus would not say if the arrested teen was the missing daughter of two of the victims.

"Katlynn Goodwill Yost has been located and she's unharmed," he said.

"State law prevents law enforcement from releasing the names of juveniles who have been arrested for crimes," Radus added. "That said, a 17-year-old female juvenile has also been detained in connection with the murders and is in the custody of the Orange County juvenile hall."

The two men who were arrested were identified by authorities as Josh Acosta, 21, of Fort Irwin and Frank Felix, 25, of Sun Valley, Fox 11 reported.

The investigation into the triple homicide began Saturday morning after a child called 911 to report her parents had died.

Officers responded to the home in Fullerton, 26 miles southeast of Los Angeles, at around 8:20 a.m. local time after a child called 911 to report that her parents had died. Inside, first responders discovered the bodies of two men and a woman. Two young children were found unharmed.

Radus declined to release the children's ages or their relationship to the three adults found inside the home, citing the ongoing investigation. He added that officials do not believe the deaths were a murder-suicide or a random act of violence.

A neighbor told the Orange County Register a couple lived in the house with three children.

"It's sad for the children. They're now without parents," Donna Trice told the newspaper. "The two little girls found the bodies, and that tears me up."

Trice added that some neighbors reported hearing gunshots Friday evening.

Radus did not disclose a motive for the killings but says investigators believe the victims were targeted by the suspects.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yes, its time for another trip. If you are like me, youre excited. But for so many others, getting ready for a business travel often seems like getting set for a long period of stress. I mean, theres the stress of packing, the possibility of an impolite airline crew, uncomfortable hotel rooms, annoying crying babies (usually in the adjacent airline seat) and long delays at the airport.

Business travels are always hectic, but it can be made a bit less miserable with the aid of some of these tips:

1. Dont mess with your health.

Being in a poor state of health can transform any journey from a wow trip to an Oh, not now! disaster. So before embarking, be sure to go for a proper health check. Better yet, if you travel quite a bit, going for regular checks is advisable. Take routine health preserving medication before embarking on these trips.

Related: How to Stay Healthy While You're On the Road

Depending on how long your trip is intended to last and your present health condition, you should take basic tests. You should also check to ascertain that your blood pressure is normal, and that no traces of illness-causing parasites are present in your system.

2. Get some information.

Not all business travels are within one's home country. Many times you will have to travel to countries and cities youve never been to before.

To avoid getting frustrated or stranded upon reaching your destination, its important you make proper inquiries, before embarking on your trip. You should also ensure you get a travel guide for the particular city or country you are going to, before you leave. For instance, this travel guide proves to be helpful if Costa Rica is your destination.

Some vital information you should always get include:

The cost of a hotel room: Hotel charges vary depending on location. Its good to build a reasonable budget before you travel, so you dont appear uninformed at the front desk, exclaiming, That much for a room?!

Internet access fee: Having to pay $30 a day for an internet connection in a $300-a-night hotel is not unusual in some travels. So buying an international data plan for your mobile device may be cheaper than paying daily local rates. Then, use your mobile device as a hotspot for data.

Related: A Guide for Using Mobile Devices When Traveling Abroad

Other basic costs: Information such as the cost of a good meal (yeah, sure!), and the cost of transportation in the city you intend traveling to are also necessary.

3. Pack smart.

As a business traveler, you need to learn to pack like a minimalist. You arent going to a fashion show. Therefore, packing only whats needed will definitely help to minimize the stress of carrying excess baggage.

No matter where you go, you will probably be able to purchase items there. If youre unsure about whether or not you will need something, leave it at home and buy it if you need it.

Other tricks: instead of folding your clothes, roll them. This saves you space and prevents wrinkles (win, win). You can also pack things like socks or underwear in your shoes.

Make sure you dont forget the little vitals: adapters, chargers, USB cords, etc.

4. Pick the right security line at the airport.

The best line is usually not the shortest one. To choose correctly, check the efficiency of the personnel manning the line and the mix of travelers ahead of you.

5. Create an efficient on-boarding routine.

Its also wise to create an on-boarding routine. This is particularly important for long-distance flights. For instance, you could organize all your reading materials in a separate carry-on bag before you get on the plane.

When you reach your seat, take the bag out and put your carry-on away, so you dont waste a great amount of time rummaging through your bags to find all the things you want for the flight, while fellow passengers steam in the aisle waiting for you to sit down.

Related: 8 Rule-Bending Travel Hacks That Help You Fly Like a Boss

6. Meet someone new.

While on the plane, you dont need to look as serious as someone who's been threatened with a lawsuit or someone awaiting a death sentence. Say hi to the person seated next to you. It wont be out of place if you get to know each other better, crack a bit of a joke, exchange business cards and even share a repast.

I have often arrived at my business venue in high spirits just because I had a thoroughly invigorating conversation during my flight, and have just met a new friend, too.

So, bon voyageand have fun!
A man dressed in a vintage military uniform emblazoned with a Nazi symbol and toting a "Tommy Gun" and a hand gun unleashed a flurry of bullets near a Houston shopping center on Monday morning, injuring nine people before he was shot dead by police.



The shooter was identified as attorney Nathan DeSai, FOX26 reported, citing multiple sources. Authorities, however, refused to officially confirm the man's identity.

Officials said the gunman had 2,600 rounds of ammunition either on him or in his car and was carrying a .45 semi-automatic handgun and a .45 semi-automatic Thompson carbine. An "edged weapon still in its sheath" was also recovered from the shooter.

The man's apartment was filled with historic and vintage military items "going back to the Civil War," Houston Police Department Captain Dwayne Ready said during a Monday evening news conference.

Some video of the gun battle exists, Ready said, including footage from body cameras of some of the nine officers who fired upon the gunman. Ready said more than 75 spent shell casings were recovered from the scene, comprising both shots fired by the gunman and police officers.

An ATF official said both guns were purchased legally.

The accused shooter DeSai had previously worked at McDaniel & DeSai LLP, though the practice closed down at some point within the last year, Ken McDaniel told ABC13.

An ABC13 reporter who spoke with DeSai's father said the man had tried calling his son numerous times on Monday but had only gotten the man's voicemail. DeSai's father said his son was upset over the failure of his law firm and the business closed due to a lack of clients.

FBI offering HPD assistance with ongoing investigation of active shooter incident in southwest Houston @HoustonPolice remains lead agency  FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) September 26, 2016

DeSai's father confirmed his son owned multiple guns and said he had a license to carry. He also said DeSai drove a black Porsche, the same type of car police were examing in the shopping center parking lot. That car's license plate showed it was registered to DeSai, ABC13 reported.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the gunman "appeared to be a disgruntled lawyer who took out his anger and frustration on individuals," KHOU reported.

The FBI said on Monday evening that there did not appear to be any nexus to terrorism.

DeSai's LinkedIn page shows he graduated from the University of Tulsa with a J.D. and the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Six of those wounded in the attack were transported to area hospitals. Three have since been released and one person was in critical condition. Three other victims were treated at the scene. Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen said all victims were expected to survive.

A fire official said some people were shot while inside their cars and several people were hit with glass fragments from shattered car windows.

A nearby homeowner told FoxNews.com his wife woke up to gunshots at 6:30 a.m. Shortly thereafter police were seen going into a nearby condo.

A woman said her husband called as the shooting occurred and said, "I'm hit." The man told his wife that the gunman was shooting people with a "red light aimed through the front windshield."

Eduardo Andrade, 42, told The Houston Chronicle that two bullets struck his vehicle.

"As I was driving by Law Street I suddenly heard a big explosion," Andrade said. "I covered myself, accelerated and tried to get out of there. I did not know if someone was following me or trying to shoot me."

Andrade added: "I felt the hot air."

FoxNews.com's Melissa Jacobs in Houston and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The California Highway Patrol says one passenger was killed and 11 were injured when a tour bus carrying students from China hit a tree near Yosemite National Park and went down an embankment.

The Fresno Bee reports the highway patrol said Sunday that the Chinese tourist who died was one of four passengers with serious injuries.

The highway patrol says 22 people were on the bus that crashed Saturday near the tiny village of Fish Camp.

Most were 12- to 15-year-old Chinese students and their adult chaperones.

The highway patrol says the driver was treated for moderate injuries in Saturday's crash.

The group was headed to their hotel in Fresno after visiting the park.

A call to bus operator A Top Line Tours seeking comment was not immediately returned.
A California man has been shot and killed while running from an apparent robbery attempt in downtown Nashville.

Metro Nashville Police spokeswoman Kris Mumford tells local news outlets two men from Los Angeles were walking early Monday near the Country Music Hall of Fame when a Chevrolet Impala pulled up behind them. The two men began running in opposite directions when police say a gunman from the car opened fire.

One victim was shot once and died after being taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The other man wasn't hurt.

Mumford says police are looking for three people in a silver Chevrolet Impala. Surveillance cameras captured two suspects outside the vehicle during the shooting. She says police believe the shooting was an attempted robbery.
As September ends, the presidential candidates are in the home stretch of the campaign. Ask our sitting president or nearly anyone else keeping an eye on electoral politics and theyll tell you: mobilizing a community of volunteers is one of the most important things you can do to win an election.

In 2008, the Obama for America campaign implemented a community organization model we dubbed the Snowflake Model to empower individuals to change their own communities. This approach transformed community activism, allowing volunteers to be responsible and accountable in the name of a common goal. That same model that helped deliver the presidency to President Obama is now being employed by Hillary Clinton to organize and empower volunteers participating in her campaign. Part of what made Obamas and makes Clintons community so successful is a strong alignment between the values the campaigns espouse and whats being asked of the community. Campaigns that celebrate Yes We Can are best served empowering the volunteers within.

Last year, Clinton delivered a speech in Iowa that was broadcast to 650 house parties spread across each of the 435 congressional districts throughout the country. In the speech, she urged viewers to get involved in this campaign. Recently, Clinton launched a mobile volunteering app that encourages users to check into rallies and speeches, share social content and compete with their friends on challenges. These steps are carefully designed to serve as entry points into the campaign's volunteer infrastructure, while forging a deep web of connections between her supporters through shared responsibility.

Community, whether political or otherwise, cant be manufactured or bought. It can however be cultivated, nurtured and organized. It can be scaled. And it can be extremely powerful, whether its goals are around winning an election or engaging consumers around a brand. Embracing and organizing community is one of the few things companies can do to truly connect with customers and employees, and if done correctly, the impact can be immense.

Related: Donald Trump Has Mastered These 5 Psychological Tactics to Get Ahead

Same-same, but different.

What are the commonalities between what a political candidate and a brand face? Well, theyre both constrained by time, size and bandwidth. Theres only one Hillary Clinton and while she has a team, paid staffers can only do so much to reach their audiences. So political candidates look to multiply their efforts. They seek out volunteers or individuals that share their views and as those volunteers exhibit greater interest in participating, their unique skill set or talent is put to use. By organizing groups of individuals into teams, a multi-armed organization is born, each one capable of fulfilling the roles of an independent micro-campaign. Think of it like the A Team, only with many varieties of Hannibal, B.A., Murdock and Peck but without explosions.

On a corporate level, communities can operate using the same model but without an end-date like an election. Corporate communities have a different drumbeat and cadence. They can keep customers and employees engaged in a companys activities while focusing attention on shared goals. However, creating milestones within those activities is key for long-term commitment. Brand-centric communities need a sense of urgency, like in political campaigns, while maintaining a long-term view that values continued development in addition to planned and manufactured activity spikes.

Related: Trump vs. Clinton -- Hot Topics That Will Affect The Average American

Striking the right balance.

So how do brands ensure their unifying vision is clear even when they scale? In a political campaign, it comes down to applying operational discipline to the soft art of relationship building--and making sure everyone has a clear view of what theyre working toward. That means using metrics to track how involved individual community members are and using that data to systematically push those community members toward deeper engagement.

Take Hillary Clintons announcement around vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine. Because the Clinton campaign invested in developing a large network of volunteers and grassroots leaders, her campaign quickly disseminated not only the news, but also the reasons behind Kaines selection. Organizers associated with the Clinton campaign could make a strong argument for why he was the right choice on the ticket, and spread that message to their specific regions and selection of voters.

Businesses should use the same operational discipline to gain insights into who interacts with their brand. JetBlue is often praised with responding to every customer on Twitter, a commendable effort for a brand of its size. But how much does the company really know about its community on Twitter? How long have they flown JetBlue? Have they referred their friends? How likely are they to do so? To leverage the power of the community, these data points must be collected and connected in a way that allows them to drive strategy.

Gaining this level of insight isnt easy, especially for large corporations. It requires infrastructure that is scalable, self-sustaining and built to last. That means paid organizers in place to nourish relationships and engage volunteers and brand advocates as they create their own self-sufficient communities. But as companies and brands gain insights into the individuals in their communities, they can create relationships built on something more than transactional consumer habits--something built on emotional loyalty. Those strong relationships are what will drive real, long-lasting engagement and collaboration.

Related: 8 Ways You're Making a Bad Impression and Don't Even Know It

"All politics is local" is a common refrain from political operatives, but brands should think of their own communities the same way. The Snowflake Model hinges on empowerment, and brands that celebrate those same doers will be able to celebrate accountability throughout their community. The principles around engaging, organizing and mobilizing large groups of people are invaluable, and as companies embrace grassroot philosophies, theyll see real change in how they interact and communicate with everyone their brands touch.
User-generated content (UGC) is like gold hidden in the rubble. Its potential value is great, but you'll need to do a lot of navigating to unlock its true potential. Content marketers have already weighed in on the benefits that can be derived from UGC, and many brands have made the move to make it part of their content-marketing strategy.

Related: 7 Legal Steps You Must Take Before Outsourcing Content Creation

The reason? Improved search-engine optimization wins UGC approval from marketers and brands alike. It also brings enlarged capabilities to win over millennials and unlocks an obvious source of promotional opportunity for businesses to tap into.

But, like every other form of marketing, user-generated content can be tricky if not handled well. This is why it's important to ensure content marketers implement best practices when using UGC as part of their overall strategy. Here they are:

1. Define the legal angles.

The legal aspect of user-generated content is not to be overlooked. Your company should consider issues such as copyrights, responsibility for stolen content and ownership of content. Bigger brands are quick to sort this out before launching their UGC campaigns because they have the advantage of a more powerful and well-sized legal team behind them.

Smaller businesses must invest to get it right from the very beginning, even though theyre exploring UGC to decrease their content-production costs. If yours is one of those small businesses, you need a well-defined legal document that your contributors can access.

This should spell out roles and responsibilities regarding the content they share. The agreement also must state the contents ownership conditions, after you upload it on your servers.

"Clear up any doubts about what your user expectations should be," says Marc Smith, founder and CEO of Top 10 Digital Agencies. "Your users have an expectation of how their content may be used, and for what. Your intentions with the content may be different from theirs. It is the job of well-prepared terms and conditions to clear this up."

2. Optimize content for quality.

Regardless of what else is in the legal agreement, its your companys responsibility to ensure that the quality of user-generated content meets your brands quality standards and satisfies your business needs.

For instance, most small businesses rely on search engines such as Google to attract customers. This means that the website hosting the UGC content must include material worthy of Google rankings.

"Google is increasingly toughening their stance on what the definition of high-quality content is," says Guy Sheetrit, founder of Over The Top SEO. "Your users may not be paying attention to the little details that will make their content stand out. You should wade in to improve the quality of the content from your users and make it more suitable for consumption on your website."

Sheetrit also cautions companies not to diminish the true value UGC contributes to the authenticity of your marketing efforts. "While your team works on improving the quality of your user-generated content, it's important to make sure their message is not lost, he says. This is the essence of using UGC to begin with.

Related: 6 Wise Investments for Your Small Marketing Budget

3. Portray your band with the best user content.

Not all content you receive deserves a spot in the limelight.

Whether the content you publish is user-generated or self-sourced, know that everything you publish affects customer perceptions of your brand. Unless you're Facebook or Instagram, you need filters between what users submit and what your audience sees.

"Bringing the best content in the glare of your audience has a double effect, Smith says. It encourages users to keep producing top-notch content, as they also aim to be noticed; and it also keeps your audience satisfied.

Related: How to Use Content to Create Trust With Users

As brands continue to benefit from UGC in advertising and awareness campaigns, the rules that guide the process will progressively be reshaped to define clear best practices. In the meantime, these strategies can help ensure you dont go wrong in your push to connect with users and your broader market.
Around the world, entrepreneurs are dealing with the same problem. In cities like Chicago, Barcelona, Nairobi, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney, theyre trying to harness the power of the innovation economy by building ecosystems of technologists, investors, industry insiders and more. But for many of these entrepreneurs, building an innovation ecosystem is a difficult, lengthy and costly process, because they lack a clear understanding of how such ecosystems work.

As a successful entrepreneur and a long-time member of Denvers health-tech innovation ecosystem, Ive spent several years collaborating with clinicians, executives, administrators, patients, academics and policy-makers to reimagine healthcare.

During this time, Ive identified five steps that entrepreneurs from any industry can take to build a thriving innovation ecosystem within their city.

Related: 3 Steps You Can Take Now to Unlock Your Inner Innovator

1. Give your problems a voice.

Whether your industry is healthcare, finance or agriculture, its got problems. And if theyre big enough, those problems can provide entrepreneurs with an opportunity to use innovation to solve them. But for innovators to recognize such an opportunity, they have to know what problems exist in your industry. You need to give your problems a voice.

In healthcare, theres no shortage of people who are willing to talk about our industrys wasteful spending, outdated IT systems and lack of transparency. To inspire the development of solutions to these problems, we regularly invite academics, advocates and policymakers to speak about them at our meetups and conferences.

2. Keep the stream of innovators flowing.

With burnout and business failure constantly chipping away at your ecosystem, its important to maintain a steady influx of new members. One popular way to accomplish this is by holding a hack-a-thon. Doing so will introduce people from a variety of backgrounds to the opportunities for innovation within your industry, and possibly even inspire a few of them to become the newest members of your ecosystem.

In our health-tech innovation ecosystem, the business generator 10.10.10 Health frequently pits serial entrepreneurs against wicked problems like Alzheimers in an attempt to inspire the creation of startups dedicated to solving these problems.

3. Encourage your ecosystem to work together.

Once your city has attained a critical mass of innovators, supporting features of the innovation economy like accelerators and incubators will inevitably appear. But until you can convince the different components of the innovation economy in your city to work together towards a common goal, you wont have a true innovation ecosystem.

Related: How Your Own 'Startup Weekend' Will Help Drive Company Innovation

In Denver, Prime Health brought together the different members of our health-tech innovation ecosystem by regularly convening them at monthly meetups, quarterly summits, and an annual pitch competition. Doing so enabled our members to get to know one another and to identify opportunities to collaborate.

4. Engage with established organizations.

At this point, your innovation ecosystem should begin to engage with the major organizations in your industry. While innovation ecosystems are great at developing new ideas, processes and technologies, they often lack the supply chains, distribution channels and existing customers that established companies possess.

By inviting Kaiser Permanente, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) to participate in our health-tech innovation ecosystem, we gave these organizations the chance to learn about cutting edge innovations the moment they were being commercialized, while providing our members with major partnership opportunities.

Related: To Disrupt or Be Disrupted: What's Your Choice?

5. Reach out to other ecosystems.

After identifying your industrys problems, ensuring a consistent stream of innovators into your ecosystem, encouraging its different members to work together and engaging with established organizations, youre ready to start collaborating with other ecosystems. Doing so will expose your members to new ideas, new processes, and new technologies that just might transform how they approach innovation.
We just saw the first Presidential debate. No matter what your view, I think we all can agree it was contentious. The feelings of the campaign in general, and the debates in particular, will undeniably leak into workplaces. What do you do? Or better yet, what dont you do?

To help guide you, here are eight questions and answers to help handle political workplace discussions.

1. Dont employees have a First Amendment right to say what they want politically?

No. The First Amendment applies only to restrictions imposed by the government. Private sector employees have no First Amendment rights in the workplace. If you are an entrepreneur, you can prohibit employees from talking politics without worrying about the First Amendment.

There is one exception -- keep in mind some state constitutions, such as California, apply (or may apply) to private sector employees. So a ban in California, for example, is asking for trouble.

Related: Speak Your Mind, But Know Your Facts

2. Do employees have any rights to express their political views in the workplace, independent of any constitutional right?

Yes, employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) probably would have the right to share their views, including wearing buttons, if the political statement relates to the terms and conditions of employment.

Let me give you two examples -- Vote for Clinton so there is more generous paid parental leave or vote for Trump so that religious rights in the workplace are respected. Keep in mind that supervisors and managers, as defined by the NLRA, are not protected by the NLRA.

3. Can employers discriminate based on message? That is, favor one political view over another?

This may come as a surprise to many but, unlike race, sex or religion, ones political affiliation is not a protected group under federal law and almost all state laws. There are exceptions, such as in the District of Columbia and under a few other local ordinances.

But just because something may be lawful does not make it right. It would be foolish, even if not illegal, to discriminate based on political view point. Do you really want to alienate a large percentage of your employees and customers?

Related: Who do You Support for President? Then You're Fired.

4. What if what is said in the workplace is discriminatory?

What if someone makes a statement hostile to Mexicans or disparages Evangelical Christians? Employers have more than a right to respond to discriminatory messages in the workplace. They have a legal obligation to do so. Employers can brook bias of no kind -- that includes during this election season.

5. Arent we better off just banning all political speech, to the extent we can, to avoid disruptions?

No. It's simply not practical. And, it will get even less so as we approach the election. It also is not desirable. Ban political talk and political opponents will agree on one thing -- you, as the employer, have gone too far.

6. Arent there reasonable restrictions that you can and/or should impose to minimize disruption and/or risk antagonizing customers?

Yes, you probably could have a rule that anyone who interacts with the public not wear a political button or otherwise convey a political message of any kind. I say probably and not absolutely because the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that interprets the NLRA continues to limit what employer can do. But entrepreneurs need to balance the potential legal risk against the business risk of doing nothing.

7. But what if there are disruptions in the workplace?

Some disruptions are inevitable. You absolutely can respond to the disruptions. You are not paying employees to be as dysfunctional as Congress. But focus on the disruption as opposed to the content of the disruption -- unless what is said is discriminatory. There should be both the reality and the appearance of being even handed.

Related: Resilient Small Businesses Will Do Fine Whoever Is President Next

8. Can you as a leader express your own views?

Yes, there is no question that you can share your views. The question is, how and when? Remember, your power is based on your influence, and your influence may be tarnished if you do not temper your political views.

Better to support a candidate than bash the other side. And, at all costs, avoid the "I dont know how anyone could vote for [fill in the blank]." You are effectively calling those who disagree with you idiots. Not exactly the key to engagement.

This article is not legal advice, should not be construed as applying to specific factual situations or as establishing an attorney-client relationship.
Roughly half of the homes and businesses in an area of Cedar Rapids, Iowa expected to see major flooding have evacuated, a city spokeswoman told reporters Monday.

Gail Loskill said police believe about half of the 3,400 residential and 550 commercial parcels in the zone have been evacuated. Loskill couldn't say how many people remain.

The National Weather Service says the rain-swollen Cedar River is forecast to crest Tuesday at 23 feet, which is about 7 feet into the category of major flooding but still below the 2008 record.

The city asked residents and property owners along the river to leave by 8 p.m. Sunday. Cedar Rapids is Iowa's second-largest city, with around 130,000 residents.

In Texas, parts of San Antonio have been swamped with up to 7 inches of rain leading to dozens of high-water rescues and street closures.

The San Antonio Fire Department responded to about 40 high-water rescues Monday, including several people safely removed from a van caught in flooding. Department spokesman Woody Woodward says nobody was hurt.

A city website listed more than three dozen street closures.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch Monday for areas including San Antonio, San Marcos, Seguin and Floresville.

Forecaster Brett Williams said parts of north San Antonio received 6-to-7 inches of rain Monday morning. Williams said Edwards County got up to 9 inches of rain Sunday before the system reached San Antonio.

William predicted the storms would move on by Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Latest on the start of jury selection in the federal trial of Dylann Roof in the Charleston church shootings. (all times local):

10:20 a.m.

Jury screening is underway in the federal death penalty trial of Dylann Roof in the Charleston, South Carolina, church shootings.

About 80 potential jurors reported to the federal courthouse in Charleston on Monday morning. They are the first of hundreds expected to report during the coming days.

The 22-year-old Roof, dressed in a gray and white-striped prison jumpsuit, sat with his attorneys facing the potential jurors as the jury roll call was held. He generally avoided eye contact with jurors, staring down during the proceedings.

Roof is charged with 33 federal counts, including hate crimes and obstruction of religion, in the June 2015 shooting deaths of nine parishioners at Emanuel AME Church.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said trial testimony is likely to begin in late November or early December.

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6:25 a.m.

Hundreds of potential jurors report to the federal courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, in the coming days as the jury selection begins in the trial of a white man charged in deaths of nine black church parishioners.

Dylann Roof faces hate crimes and other federal counts in the June 2015 shooting deaths at Emanuel AME Church. The first jurors report Monday for initial screening.

Three thousand jurors have received summonses  a group that will be whittled to a pool of 700 jurors who return to the courthouse in November to be questioned individually by the judge.

Testimony isn't expected to begin until after Thanksgiving. While federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, Roof's attorneys have said he's willing to plead guilty and serve life if the death penalty is taken off the table.
The Turkish immigrant accused of gunning down five people at a Washington mall smirked at his first court appearance Monday even as reports revealed he had a blog with photo posts of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Accused shooter Arcan Cetin, smirking slightly and wearing a blue, collared shirt, appeared for his first court appearance late Monday morning. Charged with five counts of premeditated murder, Cetin was held on $2 million bail. He only spoke twice, both times to answer "yes, your honor" to a judge's question.

Authorities said they have not ruled out terrorism as a motive in the shooting at the Cascade Mall in Burlington. Police arrested Cetin on Saturday evening after a nearly day-long manhunt. He was described as being zombie-like when he was taken into custody.

Cetin told detectives he was responsible for the mall murders, according to court documents released Monday.

A 20-year-old legal U.S. resident, Cetin appeared to have two blogs on Tumblr that linked to each other, and one of which linked to his Twitter account, according to The Associated Press. Aside from the posts featuring noted Islamists, Cetins blogs also featured posts about serial killer Ted Bundy and the Area 51 test site.

Cetins alleged rampage lasted about one minute, authorities said. Officials believe he used a rifle that was recovered at the scene before fleeing the mall in a car.

Court records show Cetin had previously faced three charges of assaulting his stepfather, The Seattle Times reported. Cetin also was arrested on drunken driving charges. No details were given on when the arrests took place or how the cases may have been resolved.

In the assault case, Cetin was told by a judge last December that he was not to possess a gun, The Times reported.

The Washington mall shooting comes amid a spate of mall attacks throughout the U.S.

On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. Authorities said they are investigating the attack by Dahir Ahmed Adan as a possible act of terrorism. On Monday, nine people were wounded when a man opened fire near a Houston strip mall. Police said the gunman, who was shot and killed by police, was a lawyer who was having problems with his law firm.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Vermont man missing for a little more than a week out at sea was found 100 miles south of Marthas Vineyard Sunday on a life raft and in good condition, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Nathan Carmans mother Linda Carman, 54, was also missing at sea, but she hasnt been found. The two left for a fishing trip out of Port Judith, R.I. on Sept. 17, according to the Hartford Courant. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Groll said officials hadnt told her what Carman had said about his mothers whereabouts.

She was not in the raft, Groll added. The whole situation is under investigation.

Groll said that a freighter found Carmans raft and took him on board. The ship is expected to port Tuesday, but wasnt sure which city it was going to dock in.

The Coast Guard began its search for the pair on Sept. 18 and by Tuesday, the area had expanded to 11,000-square-mile area of the ocean. Search crews from Cape Cod, Maine, New York and North Carolina were all involved.

Monte Montegrio told Fox 61 that Nathan, 22, and Linda Carman, both from Middletown, C.T., that the two left Rams Point Marina in Rhode Island on last Saturday evening and that they frequently meet up to go fishing ever since Nathan moved to Vermont. Theyve traveled as far as Alaska for fishing trips.

"Linda and Nathan go out at least monthly," Sharon Hartstein, another family friend, told The Courant. "They like to fish."

Nathan Carman, who has Aspergers Syndrome and vanished for a period of time in 2011 after his favorite horse died, according to Fox 61. He was found in Virginia a few days later and was unharmed.

Click for more from the Hartford Courant.

Click for more from Fox 61.
A man has died after being shot near Millennium Park, one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office says 54-year-old Peter Fabbri died from his injuries Sunday.

Chicago police say they continue to question a man arrested after the shooting Saturday night.

The shooting stemmed from an altercation between the man being questioned and Fabbri.

Police say Fabbri was walking with two women when an argument with another person turned physical and ended with Fabbri being shot in the head.

The suspected shooter rode a bicycle away from the scene but police caught up with him.

Millennium Park is a 25-acre downtown green space that hosts numerous cultural events. Its most popular attraction is "The Bean," a stainless steel structure with a mirror-like surface.
There is an intense manhunt under way outisde Dallas for a man accused of two overnight murders, a carjacking and other crimes.

Cedar Hill police said they first got calls around 10:30 p.m. about someone firing shots at their vehicles near Interstate 20 and Spur 408.

One man in a Hummer was shot and killed. Several other people suffered non-life threatening injuries. And some were narrowly missed, but their vehicles were damaged.

A second man lost his life at the Texaco gas station on Highway 67 and Cooper Street. Witnesses said the suspect drove up next to him as he was pumping gas, shot and killed him.

The suspect forced the mans passenger out of the car and stole it. The passenger was not hurt.

Dallas police and the sheriffs department are now helping Cedar Hill as they actively search for the suspect. Hes considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Hes described as a white or Hispanic male who is in his early 20s and about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build and dark hair.
A Mexican man has been sentenced to nearly four years in a U.S. prison for driving a vehicle that wrecked at a Texas military installation while trying to smuggle immigrants.

Mario Rodriguez-Gomez was sentenced Monday by a judge in Corpus Christi. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants causing serious bodily injury.

Investigators say Rodriguez-Gomez, while in the U.S. illegally and living in Houston, drove a pickup truck that wrecked May 14 while trying to elude Border Patrol agents.

The truck, with Rodriguez-Gomez and 14 passengers, drove through the entry gate of Naval Air Station Kingsville and hit a barrier. Six passengers were hurt.

Investigators say all of the occupants  from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala  were in the U.S. illegally.
Police in eastern Pennsylvania are trying to figure out who stabbed a 16-year-old to death during a fight that broke out after a person showed up wearing a clown mask.

Authorities said the incident happened Sunday night around 8:30 p.m. in Reading, located about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

"We urge anyone who was there to contact the Reading police," Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams told the Reading Eagle. "Someone was wearing a clown mask and a fight broke out. Anyone who knows anything about this, please contact the Reading police.

Officials told the newspaper they responded to reports of a person lying on a front porch of a home, and that there was a large crowd in the street. The Reading Eagle identified the victim as Christian Torres, 16, who was a 10th-grader at Reading High School.

Reading Police Chief Andres Dominguez Jr. told the newspaper that investigators believe there are several suspects.

I believe the issues got out of control, Dominguez told the Reading Eagle. Everyone in the neighborhood knows each other."

Click for more from The Reading Eagle.
Police reports say a southwestern Michigan teen panicked when his gun went off and struck a friend in the chest, then the 17-year-old then fatally shot himself.

The Kalamazoo Gazette, which obtained the reports through a records request, reported Monday (http://bit.ly/2cwCJjj ) a witness told police that Marsavious Frazier was showing Daquarion Hunter a gun and playing with it Sept. 5 when it discharged in a Kalamazoo alley. Reports say the witness, friend Armonte Tolbert, told police that Hunter fell, prompting Frazier to run, then shoot himself.

The 17-year-olds were pronounced dead about 30 yards apart. A .32-caliber revolver was in Frazier's hand.

Tolbert, who held Hunter after the shooting, says the teens "had no beef with each other." He said he'd known Frazier to make suicidal comments in the past.

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Information from: Kalamazoo Gazette, http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo
BIRMINGHAM, AL -Sep. 23, 2016 == Yesterday, Secretary of State John Merrill's office put out a press release stating that our candidate for House District 79, Gage Fenwick, did not meet the necessary number of petition signatures for ballot access.

Instead of holding a general election to allow write-in votes, Secretary Merrill has taken the position that the voters of Auburn and Lee County do not need to act on their right to elect a representative by popular vote in a nonpartisan election. The residents of district 79 will now be represented by a man who received votes from 6% of registered voters in a partisan primary.

"Alabama citizens have been plagued by corruption in all three branches of government. This election offered the people a chance to stand up against that corruption. Now the voters are being told that their voice means nothing to the Secretary of State" stated Leigh LaChine, Libertarian Party of Alabama Chair. Gage Fenwick's campaign offered voices to disenfranchised Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and other unrepresented minor parties. " I stated before that a vote on a ballot with one choice is no vote at all. Now there will not even be a ballot for the voters to give a stance," Fenwick stated.

The Libertarian Party of Alabama believes that all candidates that meet the minimum qualifications for state or local office should be included on the ballot. The Constitution Party has had its own troubles with ballot access across the state, but a prime example would be for the Lee County Commission race. "The motto of the state of Alabama is 'We dare defend our rights'. Why is our government continuing to disregard the rights of the people by decreeing winners of partisan primaries as representatives for the whole," Fenwick stated.

Only 12% of registered voters participated in the Republican primary for House District 79. That means that 88% of voters chose not to vote for a republican. These voices and the voices of the 6% of republicans that voted for other candidates deserve to have another option. Montgomery has now shown that it has little regard for the voices of Alabama voters and would rather continue business as usual.
When we hear the term well-being, most of us imagine physical health. But well-being holds a much bigger significance in the workplace -- how employees envision their future, goals, overall outlook and attitude.

Related: Commit to Employee Well-Being and Your Team Will Grow the Company

In the November 2015 Impact of Excellent Employee Well-Being study of 2,363 employees, conducted by the O.C. Tanner Institute, employees rated their life at work at the middle point of a 10-point scale. In five years, they said, they didn't see that well-being improving much.

That's not good: With well-being affecting turnover, performance and the overall health of organizations, its necessary for employers to begin changing these statistics. Here are five ways to change how your employees view their well-being in the workplace:

1. Improve their social well-being.

Lets face facts: Many employees spend more time with their coworkers than they do with family. So, having a positive attitude toward their role and future at the company has got to weigh heavily on their interactions with fellow employees. Employers who recognize this will actively focus on team-building and establishing healthy coworker relationships.

To do this at your company, plan events around building teamwork skills and communications. Try coordinating monthly planning meetings where employees can brainstorm ideas for the coming months. Designate a chat room where employees feel free to express to one another work and personal issues. Establish a special team-volunteering day.

2. Look to the future.

Its imperative that employees see how their paths can continue within an organization. Offering them a clear visual will motivate them to strive for goals and see possibilities for personal growth.

So, be specific when showing employees their their future at the company is bright and includes them. Use one-on-one meetings to understand each staffer's expectations and goals. Sometimes, its hard to remember which goals were set, and on what time line; so keep track by utilizing a tool like Workstory, a personal accomplishment journal.

Above all, be transparent so each individual can see what steps need to be accomplished to reach their ultimate goal.

Related: How You Can Improve Employee Engagement (Infographic)

3. Focus in on emotions.

When emotionally drained or stressed, any of us will are going to find it impossible to achieve our highest-quality work. Work-related stress is an enormous factor in mental well-being. Employees who have a natural drive may find it difficult to unwind and take care of that well-being.

Unfortunately, only 63 percent of 828 employees surveyed said they believed that company leaders cared about trying to create a more human workplace focused on employee well-being. The source for this data was The ROI of Recognition In Building a More Human Workplace study released in November 2015 by Globoforce.

Encourage employees to take time for breaks, especially those involving exercise. Relieve pressure by ensuring the organization is properly staffed, and ensure that employees and leaders are on the same page about expectations of goals and hours worked.

4. Offer educational opportunities.

Leaders who provide educational opportunities are showing employees that their goals and future at the company are important. Fifty-five percent of 600 U.S. employees surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in November and December 2015 rated opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work as a very important contributor to their job satisfaction.

Give employees a chance to perform at their highest quality and contribute to the betterment of the company. Providing these opportunities will show them that the organization is invested their future.

5. Recognize hard work.

The overall outlook and attitude of employees has a trickle-down effect from leadership. The way leaders interact and acknowledge accomplishments affects the overall well-being of both employees and the company as a whole.

Related: 10 Examples of Companies With Fantastic Cultures
Authorities say a student has been injured in a shooting on a school bus outside of a southern Michigan school.

The Jackson Citizen Patriot reports the student of the Wilson Academy alternative high school in Jackson was shot Monday afternoon in the upper body and taken to a hospital. Police are searching for the suspect, who fled.

Jackson schools Superintendent Jeff Beal tells the newspaper the school was locked down and a new bus came to pick up the other students. He says a crisis team that includes social workers is coming to the school.

Beal couldn't immediately be reached for further comment by The Associated Press.
A young man has pleaded guilty to killing his father as jury selection was set to begin for his trial in East Tennessee.

The Greeneville Sun (http://bit.ly/2dl5hSA) reports 18-year-old Zachary Thomas Blanchard was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

Blanchard was 16 when police said he shot 36-year-old Robert J. Blanchard at their home in Greene County.

Police said he took his father's van, money, several guns and ammunition. He and three other teens were arrested after a 10-hour search in 2014 in South Carolina, where they were apparently headed for Myrtle Beach.

Blanchard was charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Police said the other teens joined him after the shooting. Their cases were handled in juvenile court.

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Information from: The Greeneville Sun, http://www.greenevillesun.com
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Colombia will take a big step toward emerging from its long nightmare of bloody violence Monday when the government and the country's largest rebel movement sign a peace accord that emerged from four hard years of negotiations.

The significance of the deal can't be overstated: Colombia's five-decade conflict, partly fueled by the nation's cocaine trade, has killed more than 220,000 people and driven 8 million from their homes.

Underlining the importance of the day, the pact is being signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and by the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a rebel fighter known by the alias Timochenko. Fifteen Latin American presidents, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to witness the signing in the colonial Caribbean city of Cartagena.

The ceremony late Monday afternoon will be charged with symbolism. The more than 2,500 guests have been invited to wear white as a sign of peace, and Santos will put his signature on the 297-page accord with a pen made from a recycled shell used in combat.

The signing won't close the deal, though. Colombians are being given the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum. Opinion polls point to an almost-certain victory for the "yes" vote, but some analysts warn that a closer-than-expected finish or low voter turnout could bode poorly for the many challenges the country faces implementing the ambitious accord.

Among the biggest and most controversial steps will be judging the war crimes of guerrillas as well as state actors. Under terms of the accord, rebels who lay down their weapons and confess their abuses will be spared jail time and allowed to provide reparations to their victims by carrying out development work in areas hit hard by the conflict.

The government has also committed itself to addressing unequal land distribution, which has been a longstanding FARC demand harkening back to its roots as a peasant army in 1964, and the administration agreed to work with the guerrillas to provide alternative development to tens of thousands of families that depend on the cocaine trade.

Only if the accord passes the referendum will the FARC's roughly 7,000 fighters begin moving to 28 designated zones where over the next six months they are to turn over their weapons to U.N.-sponsored observers.

The rebels were forced to the negotiating table after being pushed to the edge of Colombia's vast jungles by a decade-long, U.S.-backed military campaign that claimed the lives of a number of its top commanders.

Negotiations, which had been expected to take a few months, stretched over more than four years and had to overcome a number of crises, from the military's killing of the FARC's then top commander, known as Alfonso Cano, shortly after he authorized a secret backchannel with the government to the rebels' capture of an army general who until a few months ago would have been a trophy prisoner.

"What's good about the fact that it lasted four years is that it was a very thorough process," Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the ceremony. Norway and Cuba were co-sponsors of the negotiation that began in Oslo in 2012 and then shifted to Havana.

"The mindset of everyone has changed," Brende said. "I feel very genuinely that President Santos and Commander Timochenko want this to work and not go into the blame game."

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Joshua Goodman is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjoshgoodman . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/joshua-goodman .
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Egypt's president has rejected criticism that the military is being distracted from its core duties by further involving itself in the economy.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also dismissed suggestions of military mismanagement on Monday, saying he and Egypt's defense minister personally approve all spending.

Seeking to reassure Egyptians, el-Sissi said the military could deploy across the entire country in six hours if necessary.

Since its 2013 ouster of elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's military has broadened its economic role by supervising massive infrastructure projects as well as its retail network, which distributes food at discounted prices.

The debate over the military's role in the economy recently moved center stage when it announced its intention to directly import baby formula to counter shortages.
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A district of the Romanian capital is celebrating hundreds of couples who have been married for at least half a century by handing out cash awards and inviting them to a joint lunch.

Bucharest's fifth district town hall says it has given each golden anniversary couple 1,000 lei ($255) to honor family and marriage.

Some 600 people participated in the festive three-course lunch and dance Monday.

Organizer Florentina Popescu said the longest marriage in the district had lasted 66 years. "They are an example for all of us what marriage means," she said.

One of the participants was Silvia Agapi, 72, who has been married for 52  years.

"We started from the idea that we wanted to do everything possible to make the other person happy," she said.
A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services.

Homa Hoodfar returned to Canada via Oman, a brief report on the state-run IRNA news agency said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed her release in a statement, thanking Italy, Switzerland and Oman for their help in the matter.

Hoodfar, 65, was questioned and barred from leaving Iran in March after traveling to the country to visit family following the death of her husband. Her family said she has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since June. Hoodfar until recently taught anthropology and sociology at Montreal's Concordia University.

In July, Iran announced indictments for Hoodfar and three others, without providing any details about the accusations. In recent weeks, Hoodfar's supporters described her health as deteriorating while she was in solitary confinement, saying she was "barely able to walk or talk."

Hoodfar's supporters had pressed diplomats to discuss her case during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York. Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the meeting Wednesday, state television reported.

Kaveh Ehsani, a friend of Hoodfar's in Chicago, said Monday that her supporters asked for "a period of crucial privacy before Homa and her family can address the media."

Canada has not had an embassy in Iran since 2012, when its then-Conservative-led government cut diplomatic ties over Tehran's contested nuclear program and other issues.

Trudeau said Canadians are "relieved that Dr. Hoodfar has been released from jail and will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues."

"I would also like to recognize the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation. They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations," he added.

Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance. In previous cases, dual nationals have faced secret charges in closed-door hearings in Iran's Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.

Several dual nationals have been arrested in the year since world powers reached a nuclear deal with Iran to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

Analysts have suggested Iranian hard-liners hope to use them as bargaining chips with the West. A prisoner swap in January between Iran and the U.S. that freed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans in exchange for pardons or charges dropped against seven Iranians also saw the U.S. make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran.

While that money repaid a 1970s Iranian account to buy U.S. military equipment, it was contingent on the prisoner release. That's garnered criticism from Republicans in an election year.

Others with Western ties known to be recently detained in Iran include:

-- Siamak Namazi , an Iranian-American businessman who has advocated for closer ties between the two countries and whose father is also held in Tehran;

-- Baquer Namazi , a former Iranian and U.N. official in his 80s who is the father of Siamak;

-- Robin Shahini , an Iranian-American detained while visiting family who previously had made online comments criticizing Iran's human rights record;

-- Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe , a British-Iranian woman sentenced to five years in prison on allegations of planning the "soft toppling" of Iran's government while traveling with her young daughter; and

-- Nizar Zakka , a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon recently sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $4.2 million fine.

Still missing is former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran in 2007 while on an unauthorized CIA mission.
Japan's top government spokesman has warned China against expanding its military activity in the skies over disputed East China Sea islands after eight Chinese warplanes flew near the area on Sunday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday that Japan scrambled at least one fighter jet after the planes passed over the Miyako Strait, east of the Japan-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu.

Suga said the aircraft, believed to be two fighter jets, four bombers and two reconnaissance aircraft, did not violate Japanese airspace during a "long-distance roundtrip flight." He added that Japan would respond firmly to any violation of Japanese air space in the future.

Chinese media reports said the flights were part of a routine exercise involving about 40 military aircraft.
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The Latest on the signing of a historic peace deal in Colombia (all times local):

10:20 a.m

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging young Colombians to embrace the country's peace process for the sake of future generations.

At a round table in Cartagena, Colombia, Kerry spoke with former combatants who voluntarily left the guerrillas, land-mine victims and members of anti-rebel recruitment group.

Kerry told attendees that "anybody can pick up a gun, blow up things, hurt people," but it will not be about positive change. He said the United States is "very invested in your struggle for change."

The secretary of state is among a number of foreign dignitaries in Colombia to attend Monday's signing of a peace accord between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Kerry said that the U.S., Norway and partner countries raised $105 million last week for de-mining the country over the next five years.

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9:15 a.m.

There's tight security and a festive mood in the air in the Colombian city of Cartagena as leftist guerrillas and the government are set to sign a historic peace deal.

More than 2,700 troops have been deployed to guarantee the security of 15 Latin American heads of state at Monday's ceremony.

U.N. Secretary-General ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are also scheduled to witness the signing in the Caribbean city.

The peace accord is the product of four years of tough negotiations in Havana between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The South American nation's five-decade conflict, partly fueled by the cocaine trade, has killed more than 220,000 people and driven 8 million from their homes.
Swedish police say one of the four people wounded when gunmen opened fire on a car in the southern city of Malmo has died.

The shooting happened in a residential neighborhood Sunday evening, shocking residents and fueling concerns about escalating gun violence in Sweden's third-largest city.

Swedish media say the shooting victims were in a car when gunmen on motor scooters opened fire and then fled the scene.

One resident, Samiuddin Ahmadi, told broadcaster SVT that two stray bullets entered his apartment, narrowly missing his son.

Police said one of the four men inside the car had died. The conditions of the other three were unclear.

Like Sweden's other major cities, Malmo has seen a rise in gun violence in the past decade, often connected to feuds between rival gangs.
The BBC says journalist Martin Bashir is rejoining the broadcaster as religion correspondent after many years in the United States.

Bashir said Monday he was "delighted" to return to the BBC as religious affairs correspondent, covering the major issues affecting different faiths in Britain and around the world.

Bashir gained fame for a 1995 BBC interview with Princess Diana in which she discussed the breakup of her marriage to Prince Charles.

His 2003 documentary "Living With Michael Jackson" aired on ABC in 2003 to a huge audience.

Bashir joined ABC in 2004 and in 2010 moved to NBC as an MSNBC anchor and a correspondent on the "Dateline" program. He resigned from MSNBC in 2013 after graphically disparaging a comment former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made about slavery.
Some call it "ivory on wings," part of the bill of a critically endangered bird in Southeast Asia that is sought by poachers and carved into ornaments, mainly for sale in China.

The helmeted hornbill isn't getting as much attention as the beleaguered African elephant at a wildlife conference this week in South Africa. But the mass killing of elephants for their tusks is intertwined with the surge in the slaughter of the rare bird with a beak part that is a coveted substitute for ivory.

Poaching of the helmeted hornbill has soared since around 2010, particularly in Indonesia. That roughly coincides with an increase in elephant poaching that has caused a sharp drop in elephant populations over the past decade.
For more than two decades, combat aircraft flown by the U.S. and its European allies have pretty much owned the sky. Now, Russia and China are spending lavishly on new weapons that could challenge that superiority, spurring a new arms race.

Some of the hardware, both planes and antiaircraft capabilities, is expected to roll out in the next few years. The upgrades come as Moscow flexes its muscles in hot spots such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Beijing does so in the South China Seaheightening urgency among Western military brass to push for their own, next-generation combat planes.

The most pressing challenge for the United States Air Force is the rise of peer competitors with advanced military capabilities rivaling our own, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told lawmakers in June, days before being confirmed in the job.

Two months later, the U.S. Air Force certified its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Designed to be hard to detect, the plane is specially built for the sort of limited, precision strikes that have become a hallmark of Western military action since NATOs bombing campaign in Bosnia in the 1990s.

What is considered the Ferrari of combat jets, the F-22, is still relatively new, first fielded in 2005. Designed to shoot down enemy aircraft while flying as fast as twice the speed of sound, it has more recently evolved into a bomber, too, and can soak up intelligence over enemy territory.

More than three-fourths of the U.S. fleet of jet fighters, however, can be traced back to the 1970s. The Air Force has flown its F-15 since 1975. The widely used F-16 has been operational since 1979, and the U.S. Navys F/A-18 was first deployed in 1978.

Those older planes are also the backbone of the air forces of many Asian and European allies, along with newer jets like Frances Rafale and the Eurofighter.

Russia plans to start fielding its first stealth fighter, the T-50, in 2018. The twin-engine plane is designed to be highly maneuverable and equipped with sophisticated electronics to spot enemy aircraft from miles away.

Meanwhile, it has deployed some of its latest combat planes, such as the Su-34 bomber and Su-35 fighter, to Syria. Russias Defense Ministry couldnt be reached for comment.

China has historically relied on Russian designs, many older and some built domestically under license. That is starting to change with the new projects. The countrys air force is rapidly closing the gap with Western air forces across a broad spectrum of capabilities, the Pentagon said this year in its annual assessment of the Chinese military.
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Protesters shouted insults at Rodrigo Rato, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, as he and 64 others entered court for a trial over the alleged misuse of corporate credit cards at a Spanish bank.

Prosecutors are seeking a 4  year jail term for Rato, 67, who headed Bankia group between 2010 and 2012.

The court says investigations indicate there was fraudulent administration and misappropriation of bank funds by the accused in the use of the "opaque" credit cards for irregular and undeclared expenses between 2003 and 2012.

The trial started Monday but questioning of the accused will begin Friday.

Rato was IMF chief from 2004 to 2007 and a leading figure in Spain's acting ruling Popular Party from 1996 to 2004.
As deadly airstrikes pounded Aleppo, Syria over the weekend, a major foreign ground force was also converging on the region. As many as 3,000 Iranian-backed fighters have arrived in Aleppo supporting the Syrian regime in its fight to crush the rebellion, two U.S. officials confirm to Fox News.

There are an estimated 250,000 Syrian civilians trapped in Aleppo facing an onslaught of Russian and Syrian bombs, according to reports. The Iranian-backed Shiite militias include fighters from neighboring Iraq as well as Afghanistan, officials say. Many of those fighters had already been in Syria but recently descended on Aleppo.

The Pentagon is not currently conducting any operations in Aleppo city, Capt. Jeff Davis toldreporters Monday. To date, U.S. policy has been to avoid getting entangled in Syrias civil war, instead focusing on airstrikes against Islamic State targets largely in central and eastern Syria.

One year ago this week, Russia launched airstrikes in Syria in defense of President Bashar al-Assad. Russia took over a Syrian airport along the Mediterranean coast and deployed dozens of fighter jets and attack aircraft including helicopter gunships. President Obama said Russia and Iran's military actions in Syria in support of Assad would lead to a "quagmire."

Rescue workers said the weekend airstrikes were the worst Aleppo had seen in five years. More than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week, according to opposition activists.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in a TV interview broadcast Monday that an internationally-brokered cease-fire was still viable. Al-Moallem, in the interview on Mayadeen TV from New York, also said Assad's administration was prepared to take part in a unity government, incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past by his opponents.

The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting Sunday but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers. "What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, it's barbarism," said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. "It's apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo."

Britain's ambassador to the U.N., Matthew Rycroft, accused Russia of partnering with Syria to carry out war crimes, Sky News reported.

Al-Moallem accused the U.S., Britain, and France of convening the Security Council meeting in order to support "terrorists" inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is "not dead."

Syria's military declared the cease-fire ended one week ago. The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the cease-fire in Syria was ineffective, but that Moscow was not losing hope for a political solution to the country's crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the Kremlin is concerned that "terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks."

Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the United States and Great Britain over Russia's actions in Syria. He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and "such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process" in Syria.

Al-Moallem's comments came as a second group of rebel gunmen and their families began evacuating from an opposition neighborhood in central Syria this month.

Some 120 gunmen and their families are expected to leave the al-Waer neighborhood in the central city of Homs as part of an agreement to restore the government's authority over the neighborhood, Homs Governor Talal Barazi said.

The developments further signal Assad's determination to settle the country's 5-1/2 year long war on his own terms, securing surrenders through sieges and staying in power at least through an interim period to steer the country out of crisis.

Pro-government forces have kept the al-Waer neighborhood under a steadily tightening siege since November 2013, prohibiting food and medical supplies from reaching the remaining 75,000 residents, down from 300,000 before the start of the war in 2011.

In exchange for the evacuations, the government is permitting aid convoys to supply the neighborhood with badly needed food and medical supplies. A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district Saturday.

U.N. humanitarian officials have condemned the sieges against civilians as "medieval" and in contravention to international law.

In New York, al-Moallem reaffirmed his government's proposed roadmap to end Syria's war, saying Damascus would support a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The State Department on Monday announced it received credible threats of "potential terrorist activity" targeting U.S.-branded hotels in Adana, Turkey, warning Americans in the southern city to "exercise extreme caution."

Credible threats of potential terrorist activity targeting U.S.-branded hotels in Adana, Turkey. Exercise caution pic.twitter.com/rKl8iOvId9  Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) September 26, 2016

The warning continued, "U.S. citizens should avoid travel to southeastern Turkey and carefully consider the risks of travel to and throughout the country."

Turkey has blamed the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, for a string of deadly attacks, many of them in the southeastern part of the country. In addition, attackers with guns and bombs killed more than 40 people at Istanbul's Ataturk airport in June -- a rampage blamed on the Islamic State.

Fighting between the PKK and Turkey's security forces resumed last year after a fragile peace process collapsed. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to Anadolu. Human rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also died in the violence.

Tens of thousands of people have died overall since the PKK -- considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies -- took up arms in 1984.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Towing Company Alexandria Roadside Assistance Launches New Service And Website

Alexandria Roadside Assistance offers a mechanic service to help with issues that leave the vehicle stranded beside the road. The technicians can jump start a vehicle, fix a flat tire or tow the vehicle if necessary.

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Alexandria Roadside Assistance and Bryce W. Drennan are pleased to announce the launch of a new roadside assistance service in Alexandria, Virginia. The service which is provided is similar to an affordable and thorough AAA. The company offers a mechanic service which will travel to a broken-down vehicle to provide assistance with a jump start, flat tire or dead battery. If the vehicle won't start or if a tow service is needed, the professionals are able to respond appropriately.

According to a company spokesperson, "We are simple, economical safe, secure and fast. We offer common sense convenience. ARA offers an easier and more reliable method than previously available to maintain your automobile. We are independent and locally owned, with technicians available only a mile away. The service is designed to make your vehicle's operation of the highest priority."

A number of common service problems can cause a vehicle to be non-operational on the side of the road. A dead battery is one of the frustrating malfunctions which plague vehicle owners. The mechanics from Alexandria Roadside Assistance can bring a battery replacement and install it to get the customer on his or her way quickly. The mechanic comes to the stranded motorist so there is no need to coordinate the repair.

The professionals who come to the assistance of drivers are fully trained and experienced. They are able to perform mechanical repair and routine maintenance tasks. If necessary, the firm will take care of towing the vehicle as needed. The motorist covered under the plan is always notified of which experienced and knowledgeable professional will be arriving to perform the assistance tasks.

The locally owned firm is certified and approved and is a contract service provider for many of the largest roadside-assistance networks in the United States. Customers of several insurance firms, vehicle brands, and others receive help from the team at Alexandria Roadside Assistance.

Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/alexandriaroadsideassistance

For more information, please visit http://alexandriaroadsideassistance.com

Contact Info:

Name: Bryce W Drennan

Organization: Alexandria Roadside Assistance

Address: 29 S Early St. Alexandria, VA 22304

Phone: (703) 988-4120

Source: https://www.yelp.com/biz/alexandria-roadside-assistance-alexandria

Release ID: 134321

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Perfect Pet Name: Database Launched To Find The Best Pet Names For Cats And Dogs

Perfect Pet Names have recently launched their pet name generator database, allowing prospective pet owners to search for the best names available for cats, dogs, rabbits and more. Those looking for naming inspiration can search and find traditional and amusing pet names in one place.

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Issued: September 2016; Berkhamsted, Hertforshire.

Perfect Pet Names is the latest addition to the Bow Wow Meow brand, adding a pet name generator to their portfolio of pet-related resources. Alongside identity tags and the Bow Wow Meow Community, users can now search for the best names for their forthcoming pets, according to the database which is supported by user contributions.

Recent reports from the Pet Food Industry in 2015 suggest that not only are there more pet owners than there have been in previous years, but these people are also more likely to spoil their pets in lieu of children, typically treating them as members of the family.

Finding a suitable name for a new pet could not be easier when using the generator, which can be found here: https://www.perfectpetname.com. By entering variables such as gender, appearance and type of animal, users can refine their search results until they find pet names that are appropriate for their new furry friend.

The database is compiled from pet name statistics as well as user submitted name suggestions. The names are then grouped and categorised to ensure that names generated are applicable to the relevant search terms, and voila -recommendations appear on screen.

Choosing a name for a new pet is one of the first things to be done when preparing for a new addition to the family. The right food, bedding, toys, grooming accessories as well as collars, leads, and other accessories are all essentials - but a name to match their unique personality is also a necessity.

This exciting new pet resource will make the transition from first time pet-owner to an experienced one much easier, with owners being able to access the most popular names, naming trends and advice for keeping pets happy and healthy, too.

About Bow Wow Meow

Bow Wow Meow, based in Hertfordshire, is an international business specialising in the pet industry. With roots in both England and Australia, the business is broken down into Pet Tags and the new pet name database Perfect Pet Name.

For more information, please visit https://www.perfectpetname.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Marina Gower

Email: info@bowwowint.co.uk

Organization: Bow Wow Meow Ltd

Address: 271 High Street Berkhamsted Hertfordshire HP4 1AA United Kingdom

Phone: +44(0)845 6800780

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/perfect-pet-name-database-launched-to-find-the-best-pet-names-for-cats-and-dogs/134336

Release ID: 134336

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Sword of Dragonblood Fantasy Series Nature Duality L. S. Goulet Book Launched

A new children's book has launched on Amazon, Kindle and Createspace. Called Sword of Dragonblood, it is written by L. S. Goulet to engage young readers in a fun, adventurous story with an underlying message about the duality of nature.

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Author L. S. Goulet has published a new children's book called Sword of Dragonblood, available through Amazon, Kindle, and Createspace. Its aim is to engage young readers in a fun, adventurous story with the underlying message about the duality of nature. The author explains that not only is the book an adventure but it was an adventure writing it, and she is excited that it's finally out in the world.

More information can be found on L. S. Goulet's website at: https://goo.gl/gdXrZk.

L. S. Goulet lived in Bethel, Alaska where she met her husband in 1989 before moving to Anchorage when he got relocated with the military. After that, she moved to Eagle River, and she still lives there today with her family and their assortment of animals. Her hobbies include reading, drawing, and playing musical instruments. She explains that she loves to write for children and middle grade readers, believing that if only one child enjoys her books she has achieved a great accomplishment.

Sword of Dragonblood tells the story of Darrel Sak, an 8th-grader, who realizes his lifelong nightmares are real and that nothing is as it seems in the small New England town of Blind Spot. Teaming up with Maisy on a quest to save his dad from Proteus Shyfte, he uncovers a plan to dominate the magical world of Shaemaaie. Unfortunately for Darrel, the key to Proteus's evil plan has been transferred to him, and to survive, he must decide just how much he is willing to give up.

The book's website explains that it will have readers befriending strange creatures and battling powerful enemies, with lives at stake and time running out. The focus of the story is that many times situations and people are not as they seem. It touches on the duality of nature and how facing fears can be difficult, but necessary, in order to grow.

L. S. Goulet said: "I felt compelled to express my love of fantasy and adventure to a younger group of people. A book accessible to young readers in both language level, lack of verbal and physical obscenity, and one that followed a protagonist's journey. The result was Darrel, a quirky, snarky, young boy troubled by night terrors who must come to terms with his own fears and superstitions to save his dad, in the Down Dreamer Trilogy."

For more information, please visit https://goo.gl/gdXrZk

Contact Info:

Name: L.S. Goulet

Email: lsgouletauthor@gmail.com

Organization: L.S. Goulet - Author

Address: Eagle River, Alaska



Release ID: 134308

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The Remote Keylogger Developers Announce a New Keylogger for Android's Nougat

( September 26, 2016 ) San Francisco, CA -- The present release of Android's Nougat has compelled keylogger developers as well as other Android security specialists to evolve their software applications in order to accommodate the new Android N platform. While there are a number of changes that make Android's N incompatible with the present generation of keylogger for Android, developers are working quickly to close the gap between Marshmallow and Nougat.

With the Nougat's new notification bar, users will be able to respond to messages from WhatsApp, Facebook and SnapChat from within the notification bar without being forced to exit the current application. This has been one of the major hurdles to developing the parental monitoring application's keystroke capabilities as it has made it difficult to determine in which chat application the keystroke took place.

Another factor is Android Nougat's new "Doze" feature designed to improve the battery life of the Android device. Doze makes receiving chats difficult to capture while in the battery saving mode. While the received message will be captured once the phone is "woke", the time-stamp does not accurately represent the original time the message was received. This is especially true for WhatsApp messages that have not received the double blue tick icon.

Bundled notifications are another new feature native to the Android Nougat. They work by bundling the notification bar into categories such as chats and updates. When the chats option is selected all chats will be in the chat subcategory, and each chat application will be in another category of its own. While this is convenient for YouTube users who don't wish to exit their video while replying to an incoming message; it has made it difficult for Android keylogger developers to capture accurate data regarding the messages received. Typical Android Spy Software pulls information directly from the developers API key, making integration with the notification bar somewhat difficult for keystroke recording.

Small businesses who use Android devices to manage deliveries, communicate time sensitive information or simply coordinate their activities may find it difficult to accurately determine at what time and in what order incoming and outgoing messages took place.

The Data Saver feature has been another obstacle to the new Android Keylogger. With Android Nougat it is now possible to turn off all background applications from accessing the cell's data. If the Android user has activated this feature then the Android device will only allow the running application to send and receive data, making all other applications go dormant; even if messages are received.

Current reviews of the Android Nougat suggest it has made definite improvements over its predecessor Android Marshmallow. The new OS improves battery life, makes sending and receiving messages easier, uses less data and allows for the simultaneous use of two applications in a new "side-by-side" mode.

The Android N development kit has been available for several months and if history is any guide the Android Keylogger compatibility issues will be resolved within 12 months of the official release.

Android users who would like to get a head start and start using the new Android OS can wait for their Android phone's manufacturer update or take advantage of the public release by visiting Android's official website; while newer device carriers will find the update available right in their phone's settings in the "About" tab.

To learn more about changes to the new Android OS in regards to the keylogger application and how it will affect transitions from Marshmallow to Nougat visit The Official Remote Keylogger website.

About The Remote Keylogger 57894:

The Remote Keylogger is a software development company dedicated to parental monitoring applications, loss prevention, and remote accountability software. The development team is currently focused on transitioning its keyloggers from Marshmallow to Android's Nougat as well as keeping up with newer iOS solutions.

The team expects all prior Android Keylogger releases to be 100% compatible with the new Android OS in the 1st quarter of 2017 as it has been developing on the new platform for nearly 12 months.

The developers current plans include keyloggers based on social networks and chat applications as opposed to OS based platforms. The applications planned include WhatsApp, SnapChat, Facebook Messenger and more.

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Level 5 Management Introduces Innovative Virtual CIO Service

Service gives one-man IT departments someone to rely on for strategic planning and foresight, reports Level5mgmt.com.

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Level 5 Management, a premier full-service managed IT provider serving the business owners of Boca Raton and the surrounding areas, has introduced their innovative Virtual CIO Service. This offering from the company aims to give one-man IT departments a hand by planning strategically for their technology needs and helping them make impactful and important technical decisions when it comes to IT spending and organization. Companies who are interested in taking advantage of this service are encouraged to get in touch with the Level 5 Management team via their website.

"Many corporations have the benefit of being able to hire large IT teams to take care of their technology needs. Unfortunately, smaller businesses don't always have this privilege, and many are getting by with just one person taking on this task," said Theon Filippelli, Level 5 Management's IT Director. "While this approach does save money, it often proves the most inefficient way to go about doing things. When there's no time for strategic assessment and planning, it's time to give our team a call. Our Virtual CIO Service allows us to partner with one-man IT departments to give them access to our foresight and experience so they can make better decisions about their company's technological infrastructure."

Level 5 Management's Virtual CIO Services give business owners the benefit of having outside evaluation from an experienced team of professionals who will provide a thorough network assessment and evaluation of data backup systems, security risks, and other potentially costly issues. They'll also help business owners and IT departments develop strategic goals for their technology infrastructure and properly plan their next move so they waste less time and money on solutions that won't work for them in the future. For those companies who need it, Level 5 Management also provides a full suite of Managed IT Services in West Palm Beach to help business owners and IT teams take their results even further.

As Filippelli goes on to say, "Whether it's providing Cloud Solutions by Level 5 or a different service, It has always been a huge part of our mission to create customized IT solutions that fit our clients' needs and budgets. Providing Virtual CIO Services allows us to accomplish that goal for the small businesses we work with. We look forward to having the ongoing opportunity to support our clients both large and small in streamlining their businesses so they can take them to the next level."

About Level 5 Management:

With nearly 30 years of experience as a premier, full-service IT provider, Level 5 Management offers a complete list of IT services and solutions. The company has a proven track record of delivering high-value results for their clients in Boca Raton, Florida and along the Interstate 95 corridor from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale. Combining their qualified technicians, streamlined processes and cutting-edge technology, they maintain and protect business IT assets. Whether they're looking to supplement their current IT department or need a trusted IT partner to manage their technology environment, Level 5 Management customizes IT services and solutions to fit any company's evolving needs and budget.

For more information, please visit http://www.level5mgmt.com

Contact Info:

Name: Theon Filippelli

Organization: Level 5 Management

Phone: (561) 509-2077

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/level-5-management-introduces-innovative-virtual-cio-service/134347

Release ID: 134347

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Plum Gifts Unveils Special Offers For Holiday Season

The company is preparing for the holiday season with a few special offers on their best Christmas hampers and gifts, reports www.plumgifts.com.au.

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Plum Gifts, a premier provider of gourmet gifts and hampers, has recently announced that they are gearing up for the holiday season with the unveiling of their special offers. Right now, the company is offering several of their Christmas Hampers Perth for a special reduced price just in time for the festivities and celebrations. Those who would like to take advantage of these special offers can do so by placing an order at the Plum Gifts website.

Steve Psaila, representative of Plum Gifts, commented "Christmas is right around the corner, and everyone in homes and offices around Australia are preparing to celebrate with parties and gifts. Although this is a joyous time of year, it can also be stressful trying to figure out what to buy for everyone on the list. The good news is the Plum Gifts has the perfect gourmet hampers and gift bags to bring to the party. What's even better is that we're currently running a special offer on a few of our Christmas-themed gifts, which means that our customers will be able to get and send the perfect gift without breaking the bank this year."

Plum Gifts currently has two of their most popular Christmas Gift Hampers available for a special price: the "Christmas In A Bag" and the "Christmas Carry Bag". Both items include gourmet goodies like Christmas pudding, shortbread and brandy butterscotch sauce. For customers who prefer custom Gift Hampers Perth, Plum Gifts can also create a more personalized arrangement.

Psaila continued, "Holiday gift-giving doesn't have to be a stressful experience for anyone this year. Instead, we encourage customers to drop by our website and check out our special Christmas gift offers. We're confident that they'll be impressed with our selection and find something that suits those they want to show their love and appreciation for this holiday season."

About Plum Gifts:

Having been in operation since the early 2000's, Plum Gifts understands that any gift sent is a reflection of the person sending it. With that in mind, Plum Gifts offers an extensive collection of gifts and hampers from delicious, to luxurious, to downright adorable. They make gift giving easy and convenient, and their gifts and hampers are sure to please even the fussiest of people. Plum Gifts specialises in quality Australian gourmet products to create exclusive products for their valued Plum Gift Shoppers.

For more information, please visit http://www.plumgifts.com.au

Contact Info:

Name: Steve Psaila

Organization: Plum Gifts

Phone: 0424 568 966

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/plum-gifts-unveils-special-offers-for-holiday-season/134351

Release ID: 134351

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Flagship Digital Expands Lead Generation Services

The company is partnering with another Australian media giant to ramp up both the quality and quantity of their leads, reports https://flagshipdigital.com.au/.

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Premier branding and marketing firm Flagship Digital has recently announced the expansion of their lead generation services. After shaking hands with Australian heavy hitter Fairfax Media, the company is looking to ramp up both the volume and the overall quality of their Lead Generation Australia. The team at Flagship Digital is confident that this partnership will extend Flagship's reach and allow them to accomplish this goal for the clients they serve.

"The success of a business is heavily dependent upon their ability to bring in a constant stream of customers for the product or service they're selling," said Fady Hanna, Flagship Digital's Director. "When business owners and marketing directors turn to us for help with lead generation, they're expecting us to produce results. For our clients, this means a high volume of high quality leads that are responsive to their offers. Because we're all about creating long-term success for business owners, we've partnered with the leading Australian media company to leverage their already-extensive reach and attract engaged and valuable audiences for our customers."

With their current Lead Generation Services, Flagship Digital already has the capacity to generate nearly 200,000 leads per month for their business customers. Now that they have partnered with Fairfax Media, the company is looking to increase that number 1.5 times, which means they will be delivering 300,000 leads or more per month across their customer accounts.

Hanna continued, "As a Lead Generation Company and Consulting Firm, we have made it our mission to ensure that all clients get high return on their investment. We desire to build long-term relationships with the business owners we serve, and we know that partnering with Fairfax Media will allow us to do an even better job with delivering consistent quality leads to their doorstep."

More information about Flagship Digital's branding and advertising services is available at flagshipdigital.com.au.

About Flagship Digital:

Flagship Digital understands that their success is based on their clients' success. The team's relentless pursuit to yield successful outcomes for all clients is the fuel in every decision, every strategy, and every campaign. Flagship Digital considers themselves an investment firm. They simply operate and achieve their results through Branding and Advertising. For them, results are not simply an ideal, they are an expectation. This approach has allowed Flagship to work with some of the largest companies in the world today and solidify themselves as one of the fastest growing companies in Australia.

For more information, please visit https://flagshipdigital.com.au/

Contact Info:

Name: Fady Hanna

Organization: Flagship Digital

Phone: +61 7 55184 120

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/flagship-digital-expands-lead-generation-services/134382

Release ID: 134382

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Reinfall Design, Screen Printing and Embroidery Company, Releases New Catalog

Illinois based screen printing and embroidery giant, Reinfall Design, set to release new catalog.

--

People who have been looking for the latest and greatest from the screen printing & embroidery industry will soon be able to get involved with Reinfall Design. Today Eric Stecks, Owner at Reinfall Design releases details of the company's brand new release of their catalog. In the new catalog, customers will find brand new styles of shirts, polos, headwear, hoodies and more, including new techniques of screen printing, embroidery and digital printing.

The company's new catalog is designed to appeal to schools, businesses and organizations in need of apparel that will last a life time. Reinfall Design ensures that all of their products are of the highest quality to meet the demands of each and every customer. This is great news for the consumer as it will give more confidence in getting exactly what the customer orders online and what they receive in the mail.

A 100% Money Back Guarantee is made part of their service, since Eric says it gives customers the comfort of knowing they are getting what they ask for. Customers who invest in these products should enjoy this because it will ensure that customers get exactly what they want, guaranteed.

Reinfall Design delivers excellent customer service and Eric made sure this was an important part of their development, as it ensures that customers receive the highest quality attention and get exactly what they need. Customers in need of custom apparel and head wear will likely appreciate this because Reinfall Design takes pride in making sure that the customers get the highest customer care and service.

Eric Stecks, when asked about Reinfall Design's commitment said "We have made major changes to improve our quality, guarantees and customer service and are proud to release our new catalog." This is the latest offering from Reinfall Design and they are particularly excited about this new catalog launch because they have been working on this for several years to ensure the best service and quality and finally all the pieces are in place to provide the nation with high quality apparel at an affordable cost.

Those interested in learning more about Reinfall Design and their screen printing & embroidery service can do so on the website at http://www.reinfalldesign.com To view the new catalog release, visit http://www.reinfalldesign.com/catalog/ Their customer service email is reinfalldesign@gmail.com Reinfall Design is based out of Illinois.

For more information, please visit http://www.reinfalldesign.com

Contact Info:

Name: Eric Stecks

Organization: Reinfall Design

Address: 1113 Cherry Street, Lake in the Hills, IL

Phone: (847) 849-3749

Release ID: 134427

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DNA Analysis Hints at Earlier Exodus of Modern Humans from Africa

A number of scientific papers have been published this week, most notably in the journal Nature, which discuss the thorny issue of how our species spread across the world. Studies of modern human genomes from populations around the globe hint that there may have been an earlier human migration out of Africa, however, the evidence for this earlier migration remains controversial. Understanding how and when our species migrated out of Africa and spread around the planet, reaching far-flung destinations such as Australasia, is still some way off. Rather than clarify and unify theories, genetic studies seem to have muddied the waters somewhat.

A Native of Papua New Guinea  New Research Indicates A Very Ancient Human Ancestry

Picture Credit: Eric Lafforgue

Out of Africa

For decades, palaeoanthropologists argued over the origins of our species. Did Homo sapiens originate from Africa or did we evolve from hominins that had spread across Europe, the Middle East and Asia much earlier? Whilst most scientist now agree that Africa was the cradle of mankind, skeletal remains from various locations and new research into ancient climates, particularly the prehistoric climate of the Arabian peninsula, hinted that modern humans may have migrated out of Africa earlier than 60,000 years ago. Certainly, the migration of modern hominins (and we include Neanderthals and the enigmatic Denisovans within this group), seems to be much more complicated than previously thought. Fluctuating global climates allowed a number of migrations to take place with different species of people occupying different areas and indeed mixing at various points in our short history. Our family tree resembles a very gnarled and twisted sapling.

To read a related article that looks at how changing climates in the Arabian peninsula may have had an impact on human migration: Out of Africa and into Arabia

Five Hundred Human Genomes Analysed (Almost)

Most non-Africans can trace their heritage back to a group of humans that left Africa around 60,000 years ago. However, the study of almost five hundred human genomes (483 to be precise, from 148 world-wide populations), undertaken by scientists at the Estonian Biocentre has found traces of a much earlier Out of Africa human migration. Faint traces of an earlier human migration were recorded in the DNA of the people of Papua New Guinea, but this study suggests that these earlier human pioneers all but vanished, so it does not alter drastically the prevailing theories as to the ancestors of the majority of us. The researchers suggest that a genetic signature representing around 2% of the genome in present-day Papuans originates from an earlier and largely extinct expansion of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. This data, together with fossil evidence and a recently published paper indicating a genetic mixing of Neanderthals and modern humans predating the main Eurasian expansion* contributes to the growing evidence to support the presence of our species outside Africa earlier than 75,000 years ago.

The paper published in the journal Nature and available as a pdf: Genomic Analyses inform on Migration Events during the Peopling of Eurasia.

Attempting to Map Human Migration out of Africa  When Did this Take Place? How Many Times?

Doctor Luca Pagani, lead author of the paper stated:

All the other Eurasians we had were very homogenous in their split times from Africans. This suggests most Eurasians diverged from Africans in a single event about 75,000 years ago, while the [Papua New Guinea] split was more ancient, about 90,000 years ago. So we thought there must be something going on.

Same Edition of Nature Different Conclusions

In another paper, also published in Nature a team of scientists including researchers from the Estonian Biocentre (such as an author of the first paper  Mait Metspalu), as well as scientists from the Harvard Medical School and the New York Genome Centre, along with colleagues from a number of other institutions, came to a slightly different conclusion. In this study, 300 genomes from 142 different populations were analysed and evidence was found of early splits in the populations within Africa, along with a single migration event that gave rise to non-African humans. However, in this paper, no substantial evidence of an early (pre-60,000 years ago), African exodus was identified in the genomes of Papuans and other related populations such as of those groups that make up the Aboriginal race of Australia. This team of scientists conclude that if, the genetic legacy of a more ancient migration survives in these populations, it cannot comprise more than a tiny portion of the entire genome.

The paper: The Simons Genome Diversity Project: 300 Genomes from 142 Diverse Populations.

Early Humans Exploring a New Potential Home

A Third Study  Similar Conclusion

Papers on human ancestry must be a bit like buses. You wait a while and nothing and then three come along at once. In a third paper, also published in Nature, a study of the genomes of the Aboriginal race of Australia by researchers from the Centre for GeoGenetics, the Denmark Natural History Museum affiliated to the University of Copenhagen, along with colleagues from a number of other institutions including the Max Planck Institute, University College London and (once again), Mait Metspalu of the Estonian Biocentre, a similar conclusion to paper two is reached. That, if there was an earlier human migration, then it is represented by only a tiny portion of the genome of living people from Oceania and Australia.

The title of this paper: A Genomic History of Aboriginal Australia.

Professor David Reich (Harvard Medical School) and a member of the Simons Genome Diversity Project that published the second paper summarised the research as follows:

In our paper, we exclude more than about 2% ancestry in Australians, Papuans, and New Guineans from an early dispersal population, and our best estimate is 0%. I am a bit concerned that poorly modelled features of the methods used by Pagani and colleagues [Genomic Analyses inform on Migration Events during the Peopling of Eurasia] may have contributed to a false-positive signal of early dispersal ancestry in them. However, an alternative possibility is that the truth is around 2%, and this might just be consistent with all three studies.

Dr. Mait Metspalu, the scientist who figured in all three publications stated that although the other papers do not detect a definitive signature for an earlier African migration by anatomically modern humans, this idea is not rejected, so long as it just contributes to a tiny portion of the genome in people alive today.

We leave it to the esteemed Professor Chris Stringer from the London Natural History Museum for the final word (for the moment), on this aspect of human ancestry.

Professor Stringer explained that the analysis undertaken by the Simons Genome Diversity Project and those scientists who studied the genome of the indigenous Australians favour the theory of a single migration event out of Africa less than 80,000 years ago giving rise to all living non-Africans. In contrast, the paper with Doctor Luca Pagani as lead author, supports the idea of an additional and earlier modern human migration out of Africa more than 100,000 years ago, genetic traces of this earlier exodus can be found in Papuans, et al.

Tying It All in with the Human Fossil Record

There is certainly fossil evidence to indicate that our species (H. sapiens) was living outside Africa in the Near East, the Middle East and indeed elsewhere more than 60,000 years ago. However, the paucity of the human fossil record, coupled with problems over dating bones and teeth in conjunction with a rather confusing picture involving interbreeding between several species of humans (Neanderthals, Denisovans and potentially yet another species of early human or two), has led to a rather muddled picture. All three papers, although drawing slightly different conclusions, are helping to contribute to a greater understanding with regards to our own ancestry and we expect this lively debate to continue. The evidence is likely to ebb and flow between the different scientific viewpoints, ironically, in a very similar pattern of backwards and forwards that most probably occurred with hominin species as they migrated in and out of various regions in response to climate change and other pressures. A view articulated in a letter entitled Human migration: Climate and the Peopling of the World, co-authored by Professor Chris Stringer and coincidently also published in the latest edition of Nature.

*For the related article published in February which suggests that modern humans and Neanderthals may have interbreed 100,000 years ago: Mapping the Ancient Gene Flow between Ourselves and Neanderthals

Article on human migration into parts of Asia: Laos Man Skull Suggests H. sapiens Spread Rapidly into South-eastern Asia
Fully autonomous farm equipment is something the big brands havent yet offered customers to buy, so Manitoba farmer Matthew Reimer decided to save waiting by building his own robotic tractor to pull a grain chaser during harvest.

Mr Reimer is able to beckon the tractor and trailer from the combine seat once hes ready to unload the grain tank.

On cue, the John Deere 7930 wakes up and sets off at a steady speed towards him  the tractors CVT box ensuring it cant stall and there are no complicated range changes.

When the tractor is close enough, it can turn itself around and begin to match its speed with the combines.

The rig keeps itself a predetermined distance from the header to keep the auger hanging directly over the centre of the chaser bin.

To fill the bin to the brim, the controls allow Mr Reimer to tweak the speed matching system and pour grain right to the corners of the trailer by nudging the tractor half a metre left or right via buttons in the combine cab.

See also: 590hp articulated Tribine combine goes into production

The reality is that the big players have got similar technology waiting to go, but theres one small thing thats holding all of them back  the risk of civil liability if something should go wrong.

So for now, those who want their own robotic high-horsepower tractors will have to follow Mr Reimers lead and create it themselves.

In fact, it might be that early adoption and widespread use of field-working robotics on farms will have to begin at the grassroots level.

Developing a remote control tractor

With that in mind, Mr Reimer has started his own small company, Reimer Robotics, to help other farmers develop and install their own robotic systems.

He charges 20,000 ($35,000) for the labour-intensive process of converting a tractor to remote control.

Mr Reimers success shows that with the current offering of open-source programming, a little self-directed online learning and the variety of components available on the market, producers could design and implement their own on-farm robotic systems  just as he did.

My entire project is open source, he says. Thats how it started and thats how its going to continue.

Farm Facts Name: Reimair Spraying Ltd, Killarney, Manitoba, Canada

Area: 1,000ha (2,500 acres)

Cropping: Wheat, oilseed rape, soya beans

Tractors: John Deere 7930 w/loader, Case IH 9390, Versatile 875

Combine: Case IH Axial flow 9230

Sprayer: Case IH 4230

Cultivation: 15m Morris Deep-Tiller

Drill: 20m Morris Contour (10in spacing)

Chaser Bin: Elmers Haul Master 1150

Open source means the technology is shared by its creators with anyone who wants to use it.

The individual hardware components required to build an autonomous system are widely available and relatively inexpensive.

The Pixhawk controller, available online for about 150, is developed for remote control drones and forms the basis of Mr Reimers system. The total cost of components built into his system is about 3,000 ($5,000).

Pixhawk is the autopilot part of an RC drone and formed the basis of my syste. I stumbled across it, and figured that if I can put it in my tractor then I should be able to make the machine drive itself.

Building the system also required learning a few things about software programming code  the set of instructions used by the system to read and act upon in different circumstances.

Mr Reimer says a basic, free online course taught him to write enough of his own code to make the system work.

I decided I was going to teach myself from information available on the internet. I found a self-study introductory course in the programming language I thought was going to be helpful.

Mr Reimer reckons getting the system to do what he wanted actually didnt take much software code writing  just 600 lines in total.

Safety systems

Currently, the machine is fitted with three fail-safe systems to stop the tractor in the event of a problem. If the radio in the tractor that connects it to the combine loses contact or goes out of its 2km range, the tractor immediately comes to a halt.

There is a stop button on his controller app, and everyone working in the same field with the robot tractor carries a key fob transmitter that can immediately kill the drive.

With a few seasons of real-world use behind it, Mr Reimer has continued to develop and refine his system.

The control modules for forwards, backwards and speed were originally arduinos (micro-computers) sticking out of the steering module with all sorts of wires tangled in the cab. Its now a neat system that sits in a box on the floor and can be easily removed when its not needed, making the whole thing much tidier.

In the combine, the controls have been updated to a tough tablet computer to make the app he created much easier to use. Hes also added a host of extra adjustments and features, including a tractor monitoring system.

Whats next?

I plan to map ditches and where the combine hasnt gone to prevent the tractor from going there, he says.

Ill add more safety features, too. Right now theres no sensor on the front, which would allow the tractor to detect an obstruction and stop on its own.

Id also like to build a smartphone app for the artic driver, so he doesnt have to get out of the truck to unload the tractor and can start the pto from his phone.

Even though his goal is to create machinery that can work without a driver, he believes having a human in the field to keep an eye on things remains a critical component. He calls his concept supervised autonomy.

Mr Reimer also expects to expand the kind of work his robotic tractor can do, focusing next on pulling a set of rolls over seeded soya bean fields. Hes already had it on a snow-blower, controlling the machine from inside the house while it was clearing the yard.

Its crucial that more farmers get involved in developing technology. All the code and instructions can be found online, but if you make something that could be useful for others, dont forget to share it with the world by posting it on the internet.
Shadow Defra secretary Rachael Maskell has outlined Labours policies for farming following the UK decision to leave the European Union.

A future Labour government would extend post-Brexit measures to protect the environment  but without compromising agricultural production, she said.

Ms Maskell made the pledge in her keynote speech to the Labour party annual conference in Liverpool on Sunday (25 September).

See also: Interview with shadow Defra secretary Rachael Maskell

Economic certainty formed the bedrock of delivering food security and a strong agricultural and fishing sector, she said.

But it was clear the government had no plan for the future of the sector, which employed 3.9 million people and where 75% of food exports went to the EU.

While the government may not understand strategic business planning, the agricultural and food sectors do, Ms Maskell told conference delegates

Crucially, how we trade will determine if rural Britain thrives or survives.

Labour would work with the food and agricultural sector to underpin trade with the right financial drivers to grow production  while protecting the natural world.

Labour will back British farming  plough to plate, said Ms Maskell.

Balancing act

A Labour government would ensure that its policies for the countryside would hit the right balance between farming and environmental measures, she added.

We will defend and extend environmental protections, but will not compromise production.

Ms Maskell also gave what she described as a clear commitment to farmers and food manufacturers on the issue of migrant workers following Brexit.

Every shred of evidence says bovine TB will be beaten with better testing, vaccination, better biosecurity and animal husbandry.

Rachael Maskell

Under Labour, the workforce you have recruited, invested in and trained from the EU will have the right to stay and keep their jobs, she said.

A Labour government would establish a new Agricultural Sector Council, to underpin all issues of employment standards, including wages, across the sector.

It would expose all to the opportunities of highly skilled farming jobs, as well as the unbeatable privilege and yet skilled work of rearing stock and growing crops.

Supply chain

Pledging to ensure that all the risks in food production did not fall on farmers, Ms Maskell said Labour would extend the powers of the governments Grocery Code Adjudicator.

This would provide protection right through the food production chain.

On bovine TB, Ms Maskell said Labour would end the badger cull, but still prioritise ending the disease that has ravaged dairy and beef herds.

Every shred of evidence says bovine TB will be beaten with better testing, vaccination, better biosecurity and animal husbandry, said Ms Maskell.

A government that ignores scientists, academics, its own experts and many farmers too, and instead turns its frustration on a badger, is giving false hope.
Gautier historic schoolhouse.jpg

The first phase of a project to restore Gautier's historic schoolhouse -- built in the 1920's as the first school for the county's black students -- has been completed. The city is working to secure funding to complete a second phase of restoration.

(City of Gautier)

GAUTIER, Mississippi -- Thanks to the efforts of city officials and community leaders, Gautier's historic black schoolhouse has been brought back from the verge of collapse.

Built in the 1920's as the first schoolhouse in Jackson County specifically for black students, the building also served for many years as a community center, hosting Boy Scout meetings, community dances, and the like.

But years of neglect had taken its toll and the one-room building was near collapse when a campaign was launched to save the building. A committee was formed, comprised of black church leaders, community leaders and the city's Historic Preservation Committee.

"One of our committee members, who is black, was asked why we wanted to save it," said HPC president Bill Bray. "He said `If we don't know where we've been, we won't know how far we've progressed.' That's really the underlying reason for doing this."

Bray said the committee applied to the state's Department of Archives & History to have the building designated as "endangered." After a survey and lengthy application process, that status was granted, which then allowed the committee to pursue grants to restore the building, located near the entrance to City Park.

Two grants were received which enabled the project's first phase to go forward -- an $80,000 grant from Archives & History, and a $50,000 grant from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources' Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area Grant Program.

That, along with city funds and private donations, led to completion of the $123,000 Phase I, which included a new foundation, new floors, new roof, asbestos removal and other stabilization work, according to Gautier Grants Administrator April Havens.

The committee is now working to secure funding for a second phase, which would involve interior renovation and aesthetics work.

"This building is a reflection of our community," said Bray, who added he hopes more of Gautier's historical landmarks will be preserved.

"Some of the historical structures, monuments we have, have been allowed to sit and deteriorate," he said. "That's what happened to the schoolhouse.
Theresa May is expected to meet farm leaders this autumn as the government starts to flesh out its post-Brexit policies for agriculture.

News of the meeting emerged after NFU president Meurig Raymond attended a Conservative Party event in the prime ministers Maidenhead constituency on Sunday (25 September).

During the event, Mr Raymond chatted to Mrs May for 15-20 minutes.

We had a good conversation, he told Farmers Weekly afterwards.

See also: Industry lays out farming hopes to Theresa May

We were talking about the issues around Brexit  including access to labour and the UKs future trading relationships with other countries.

Mr Raymond said he had thanked Mrs May for the certainty the government had given the industry by pledging to maintain direct payments to farmers until 2020.

He said the prime minister had encouraged the NFU to work closely with the Home Office  as well as with Defra and the governments department for leaving the European Union.

NFU policy

Mr Raymond said Mrs May told him she was looking forward to learning the NFUs post-Brexit policy position following the unions summer consultation with its 47,000 members.

The NFU is expected to publish its post-Brexit policy document following an NFU council meeting on 10-11 October at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.

The document will outline the unions policy demands for agriculture  including its position on farm subsidies, trade, labour and regulation.

Mr Raymond said Mrs May had encouraged the food and farming industry to make its case, saying food and farming would be an important part of the governments exit negotiations.

He added: If we can buy in some unity with the rest of the industry following our council meeting, then she will be looking forward to a meeting after that.

Vision for UK farming

After the referendum result in June, the NFU called on the government to develop an ambitious vision for British agriculture.

The union says it is important the government recognises the importance of the food and farming sector to the economy.

It also wants the government to ensure support to British farmers remains on par with farmers in the EU who continue to be in receipt of subsidies.
'Clash Of Clans' 2016 Latest News & Update: Sept. Update Postponed? Supercell Holds Ground Vs. Air Challenge, Free Trip To Finland!

The much awaited "Clash Of Clans" update for the month of Sept. is still floating with no specific date for release. Numerous reports have been circling the internet saying that the "Clash Of Clans" update for Sept. will roll out by the third week. However, there's only a few more days left until Sept. ends so will the players expect the "Clash Of Clans" update by Oct. instead?

Clan Challenges Update

One of the most awaited "Clash Of Clans" update is the friendly clan challenges. Unlike the usual clan wars where random teams attack each others' base, clan challenges will have an invite for a scheduled war. Although the clan challenge for "Clash Of Clans" update is not detailed yet, there might be a possibility for a clan to confirm or deny a clan challenge.

All Clash reports that as of Sept. 23, Supercell announced that they are preparing for a livestream to discuss new game content and features. Supercell also announced that the friendly war for the "Clash Of Clans" update will be different from air and ground troops composition.

Ground Vs. Air

A Supercell staff posted in the Supercell forum announced that there will a livestream for Ground Vs. Air "Clash Of Clans" update on Oct. 9. The rules for the Ground Vs. Air war is simple - each team will consist of five players and will need to choose either ground or air troops. Supercell will be the one to provide maxed out Townhall 11 accounts for the challenge.

Players who will join the Ground Vs. Air challenge as a sneak peek for the upcoming "Clash Of Clans" update need to sign up online. Once screened and accepted by Supercell, selected players get a chance to play with veteran COC players like Superfinch 30 and LachNessMeownster. Selected players need to go to Finland on Oct. 6- Oct. 10 but need not worry about flight and hotel expenses because it will be shouldered by Supercell.

As of writing, there's still no official statement from Supercell about "Clash Of Clans" update. However, they have the Ground Vs. Air challenge which might be enough to stall the players for a while. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more "Clash Of Clans" news and updates!
Scandal Season 6 Air Date, News & Update: Later than Expected; Kerry Washington Pregnancy Revealed, Tony Goldwyn Expose Incredible Storyline

"Scandal" Season 6 is rolling like crazy to beat its midseason airing target on the ABC network. The casting has been completed and the characters have started table reading the scripts, including Tony Goldwyn, who's playing President Grant.

However, Variety reported that "Scandal" Season 6 premiere has been changed to a later date because the main character Kerry Washington is pregnant with her second child. The show runner, Shonda Rhimes has not disclosed how the pregnancy will be treated in the storyline.

In a trailer released in Youtube, "Scandal" Season 6 will not show Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) as pregnant. Her pregnancy will be hidden from view of the many avid fans of the sexy actress. Due to Washington's pregnancy, season 6 will only have 18 episodes instead of 22.

"Scandal" Season 6 will have an incredibly great story that is waiting to be unfurled comes 2017 according to Goldwyn in an interview. He declared that the Shonda team has been tremendously working out to come up with great episodes.

The making of "Scandal" Season 6 is no joke but a tough exercise for all the show runners. Even to the last minute, Kerry revealed that Rhimes can make changes, even the music, if she needs it to enhance the show.

"Scandal" Season 6 will take off from the last season's finale that revealed whose running for the Vice Presidency. Season 6 trailer shows Olivia Pope insisting entry into the White House to see the President.

Additionally, "Scandal" Season 6 will continue to show Olivia as the lady fixer of the lives and secret keeper of the elite clientele as reported in Gamenguide. However, while she and her team mastered the art of fixing other people's lives, they too need fixing themselves.

"Scandal" Season 6 will be aired on ABC comes 2017.
Stranger Things Season 2 Air Date, Characters, Spoilers, News & Update: Elevens Future Still Uncertain; New Characters, Shocking Plot Details Revealed!

The thrilling, adventure Netflix-original drama, "Stranger Things" has recently been renewed for a sophomore season. Fans are definitely excited to see all the cast members take on a new thrilling adventure again. However, one of the well-loved characters, Eleven, may not be come back for "Stranger Things" Season 2. According to actress Millie Bobby Brown, the production company has yet to inform her regarding her involvement in the show's next season.

The Spanish-born British actress, Brown, recently confirmed to Lorraine Kelly that "Stranger Things" Season 2 is definitely happening. However, she acknowledged the possibility that her character Eleven may not be back for another run. "I'm not sure I'm going to be in it, Brown told Kelly during the interview.

However, fans and critics are speculating that the young actress could be playing coy to avoid any leak and spoilers for the "Stranger Things" Season 2. Fans should note that Netflix has yet to start the production of Season 2. As of the moment, no concrete details have been provided to the fans by the company.

There are rumors circulating online that "Stranger Things" Season 2 might start airing in the summer of 2017 on Netflix. Although the production company has yet to confirm the release date details of the show's second season, the Duffer brothers is said to have already started the development of its sophomore run. If rumors prove to be true, the production should go smoothly as they already have a concrete plot and storyline in mind.

Meanwhile, it has already been reported that the Duffer brothers are thinking about casting more people for "Stranger Things" Season 2. "We would introduce some new characters, but follow this group. We fell in love with the kids and all of our actors, so we want to stay with them," Matt Duffer explained. Stay tuned for more news and updates about "Stranger Things" Season 2.
The Punisher Release Date, News & Update: Jon Bernthal Already Filming Scenes For New Netflix Series, Joins Agents of SHIELD Season 4?

Jon Bernthal's vigilante character, Frank Castle a.k.a. The Punisher, first appeared in Netflix's "Daredevil" season 2. His performance was impressive and stunning enough that fans screamed for the return of his character in a standalone series. Netflix ordered the full season of "The Punisher" in April, but since then, not much about its progress has been reported - until now.

According to reports, "The Punisher" might have entered the production stage. Netflix hasn't announced anything that will confirm the reports, but it is believed that the series has started filming. The speculation started with New York Comic Con (NYCC) posted on its official Twitter account a photo of the former "The Walking Dead" star along with his schedule for the convention. What's striking was the fact that the post explained how Bernthal will only make an appearance at the NYCC for two days due to conflict with his "Netflix production schedule."

It is now widely speculated that Netflix may have started filming scenes with Bernthal for "The Punisher" and this certainly got fans all excited. The chatter doesn't stop there as there are also reports suggesting that Frank Castle will make an appearance in "Agents of SHIELD" Season 4.

As reported by Comic Book, "Agents of SHIELD" Season 4 had a premiere event that featured several guests including, "The Punisher" comic book creator Gerry Conway. There were theories that Conway's appearance at the event may have hinted that his comic book creation will be part of "Agents of SHIELD."

It seems that fans just can't get enough of Bernthal as the ruthless vigilante "The Punisher." It may still be a long wait for them though as Netflix is set to release a couple of Marvel-based series in the coming years. "The Defenders" is one of them and it is slated to premiere sometime in 2017. It is believed that "The Punisher" isn't going to be available until after "The Defenders."
GTA 5 Online Biker DLC Latest News & Update: Launching On October 18? Halloween DLC Included?

Rockstar Games confirmed that the "Grand Theft Auto 5" biker-themed update will be arriving soon. The "GTA 5 Online" Biker DLC was first spotted in July 2016 and there are rumors that it will become available in October.

Rockstar Games revealed that the "GTA 5 Online" Biker DLC is the next big addition to GTA Online. The new content will allow players to create and lead their own Motorcycle Club, consisting of up to eight players. There will be new roles to take on from fresh prospects to club presidents. The "GTA 5 Online" Biker DLC will also include several new co-op and competitive gameplay. It also features new motorcycles, a special custom Biker mechanic, MC Clubhouses, new business locations and opportunities to move up the ranks.

The "GTA 5 Online" Biker DLC will also feature new modes themed accordingly for bikers, new styles, weapons, tattoos and extra features. There will be new business ventures in Blaine County and Los Santos when the "GTA 5 Online" Biker DLC releases. Rockstar Games has confirmed the DLC itself, but not the date of release, but fans are already speculating as to when it may arrive.

YouTube user MrBossFTW explained how the "GTA 5" Biker DLC may release on October 18, following Rockstar's penchant for releasing on Tuesdays. Based on the historical time table of Rockstar Games, it takes about three to four weeks between the initial official reveal and the official launch of the new update. The last "GTA 5Online" Finance and Felony DLC, was first announced on May 9 and launched on June 7. Rockstar may follow the same approach for the "GTA Online5" Biker DLC, which was first announced on September 19.

International Business Times reported that Rockstar Games will probably include the "GTA 5Online" Halloween DLC in the Bikers update in October. There is also a potential business ventures update that will introduce new free-roam events in areas like Paleto Bay, Sandy Shores and Grapeseed in GTA Online. There are rumors that only players ranking over 135 can qualify for the missions after players were encouraged to level up to gain a reward of $1 million in-game currency.
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime, Samsung Galaxy C7 Latest News & Update: Which Variant Should You Choose? Impressive Specs, Features, Prices Compared!

Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and Samsung Galaxy C7 are two of the most compared Samsung variants right now. Both flagships have striking physical similarities that fans are having a hard time in determining such as metallic chassis, curved edges with a slim design. With that said, we have listed the specs and features below to help consumers choose between the two Samsung variants.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime & Samsung Galaxy C7 Specs

Both Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and Samsung Galaxy C7 are somehow different in their built-in features even with the slightly physical similarities. Choosing between the two Samsung variants will always vary especially since most consumers choose what best fits their needs.

For starters, both Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and Samsung Galaxy C7 feature a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. However, the Samsung Galaxy C7 has a bigger screen display, which is 5.7- inch and AMOLED, compared to the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime, which has a 5.5- inch IPS LCD screen.

In terms of performance, the Samsung Galaxy J7 is powered by an Exynos 7870 with 3GB of RAM and a 32GB of internal memory. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy C7 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor along with 4GB of RAM and consumers can choose between the variants with a 32GB and a 64GB of internal storage.

Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime is being outshone by the Samsung Galaxy C7 in camera specs. Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime has a 13-megapixel rear cam and an 8-megapixel front camera with additional specs such as autofocus and a LED flash. The Samsung Galaxy C7, on the other hand, has a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 8-megapixel front cam with features autofocus and dual tone flash.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime & Samsung Galaxy C7 Release Date and Price

The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime was released few weeks ago, with a price tag of $282, while the Samsung Galaxy C7 was released in June 2016, which costs $397. Both Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and Samsung Galaxy C7 run on the latest Android 6.0.1.Marshmallow OS. For more Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and Samsung Galaxy C7 comparisons, stay tuned to GamenGuide!
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- A suspect in a stolen vehicle led law enforcement on a high-speed chase from Gulfport and down Interstate 10 before it came to an end on the Pascagoula River bridge.

According to Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson, it was about 10 p.m. Sunday when deputies spotted a stolen vehicle on I-10 near the 27 mile marker. The deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the vehicle instead exited the interstate at the Lorraine Road exit.

Once off the interstate, the driver -- later identified as 35-year-old Daniel Paul Hartley of Gulfport -- stopped the vehicle so a female passenger could get out. Hartley then made his way back onto I-10, traveling east at a high rate of speed, with law enforcement in pursuit.

The chase continued at a high rate of speed into Jackson County before a tire blew out and the vehicle came to a stop.

Hartley was taken into custody and transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Facility, charged with felony evasion and receiving stolen property. He also had warrants for his arrest on multiple other charges, including burglary of a dwelling, possession of a controlled substance, disorderly conduct/failure to comply and burglary of an inhabited dwelling.

Hartley is being held under a $200,000 bond set by Justice Court Judge Melvin Ray.
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Release Date, News & Update: Imminent Laptop Good For Gamers, Students, Entrepreneurs? Impressive Specs, Features & Price Revealed!

The upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is one of the most anticipated laptops this year. There have been a lot of rumors and speculations spreading about the Surface Pro 5 because Microsoft remained silent about it. Microsoft is one of the big names in the tech industry; no wonder fans are very excited to their new devices.

According to a report from NeuroGadget, the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will have the latest Windows 10 update. It will also have an improved screen sizes that you can choose from 21-inch, 24-inch and 27-inch that also comes with a 4K high resolution display.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 might also have the seventh gen Intel's Kaby Lake processor. It will also sport an improved battery to support its new processor. The laptop will be perfect for gamers not only for its new processor and improved display, but also it has better cooling system compared to its predecessors.

Microsoft will be having their next huge event on 2017; fans can expect that the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will be launched on the said event. According to iTechPost, other new devices of Microsoft like the Surface Book 2 and Surface Phones will also be launched together.

Microsoft is still planning if they're putting a stylus pen on the Microsoft Surface Pro 5. The stylus pen can be easily charged without wires by just attaching it magnetically to the laptop. The laptop will also sport a USB Type-C port; with the new improved port it will make data transfers easier and a lot faster.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 might have a price of $899.00 and it will be followed by other models with higher specs. This includes a $999.00 version that has the Intel's Core i7 and the $1599.00 with the Core i7 Extreme. Microsoft hasn't released any official announcement yet. Stay tuned to GamenGuide to know the latest news and updates for the upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro 5.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date, News & Update: Smartphone Best for Gaming? Impressive Specs, Features Revealed; Launch Happening in MWC 2017

Samsung is reportedly releasing a new iteration in the Galaxy S series that should be available in 2017. While the South Korean tech giant hasn't confirmed anything yet, rumors and speculations regarding Samsung Galaxy S8's specs and features have been making the rounds.

There have been several leaks suggesting that Samsung Galaxy S8 will be another powerful flagship smartphone from the company. The latest report from SamMobile indicated that the device will have a 10nm Exynos processor paired with ARM's latest Mali-G71 graphics processing unit. According to ARM, the Mali-G71 offers superior graphic imagery for UHD content, which makes it the best GPU for high-end gaming and Virtual Reality experiences.

Meanwhile, other leaks suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will have a screen size of 5.2 inches and a screen resolution of 2,160 x 4096 pixels - a significant improvement from Galaxy S7's 1440 x 2560 pixels. The main camera at the back is said to have 30-megapixel lens resolution while the snapper in front will have nine megapixels.

It is also likely that the upcoming iteration will have a dual-camera lens, since the technology is increasing in popularity. Samsung Galaxy S8 is also rumored to have a microSD card slot and storage options of 64 GB and 128 GB.

As for the release date, it is expected that Samsung Galaxy S8 will be out sometime in April 2017. The tech giant is also likely to unveil the smartphone at the Mobile World Congres, which will run from Feb. 27 to Mar. 2.

Although Samsung is known to introduce new products at the said event, it remains to be seen if the Samsung Galaxy S8 will indeed make it by that time. Fans should still take the reports with a grain of salt until the company itself makes the formal announcement. So far, the company has been silent about the device. Stay tuned for more Samsung Galaxy 8 news and updates.
Zenfone 3 Deluxe Latest News & Update: High-end Specs & Features Better Than Apple iPhone 7 Plus? Arriving US in October 2016?

The Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe from the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer is quite a deal and has comes with its share of surprises. It is not known to be a mainstream choice but its premium build and high-end specs have made it a sought after phone in the Android market. It will be interesting to see how it fairs when compared to Apple's iPhone 7 Plus.

As per GSMArena, the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor. The smartphone was announced back in July and later released in Taiwan, two weeks ago. The handset has also arrived in China. It will cost around $750 and sport top-class specs and features including 256GB internal storage, 6GB RAM and 23MP rear and 8MP front cameras with available photo and video-editing features.

Asus has also announced a variant that will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 32GB internal storage and 3GB RAM. With current exchange rates, the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe variant will cost about $495. Moreover, the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra and the standard Zenfone 3 have been made official in China and carry price tags of $600 and $405 respectively, after converting from RMB.

As per iTech Post, the Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe has a Super AMOLED 5.7-inch screen. It has a 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution and has a more than decent battery capacity of 3,000 mAh. The Quick Charge 3.0 feature charges the smartphone for up to 60 percent in just 40 minutes. The fingerprint scanner is placed at the back of the unit.

The iPhone 7 Plus is powered by an A10 Fusion processor, 3GB RAM, quad core CPU with two low power cores, 5.5-inch screen with 1080p display and a 2,900 mAh battery. Design-wise the smartphone looks similar to iPhone 6S Plus. The dual camera with 56mm f/2.8 lens and 28mm f/1.8 lens are a first for the Cupertino-based tech giant.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus no more has the 3.5mm jack. The earphones connect via the Lightning Port and produce amazing sound quality. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more Zenfone 3 Deluxe news and updates!
When I lived at Grand Canyon National Park, cougars (we tended to refer to them as mountain lions) were just a part of life. Attacks on humans were very rare and I actually dont recall ever writing about one during the years I covered the community. In fact, I think I remember reading that there has never been a mountain lion attack inside the park boundary (although its possible that has changed in the years since I left).

But for those of us who lived there, we would receive periodic warnings from the school district about allowing young children to walk to school alone (a group of children that included my young son). Mountain lions may go after what they sense as vulnerable, which includes young children, dogs, cats, etc.

The Philomath Police Department received two separate reports in a three-day period late last week of cougar sightings in the area of Hunsaker Bike Path. Police contacted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and a warning was issued.

As expected, warnings include keeping an eye on small children and pets, and keeping pet food and water bowls inside residences.
I write this piece from a project site in Alaska, where the front page of the Juneau Empire newspaper details the story of a community-wide supported Housing First project that just secured $600,000 from the federal government for a 32-unit permanent housing facility including an on-site medical clinic to serve Juneau homeless residents. Access to the permanent housing does not require one to be drug-free or sober.

Contrast this to Corvallis, where (through funding in part provided by Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center), Corvallis Housing First opened a temporary (four months out of the year) Fourth Street cold weather mens homeless shelter in 2013 without any outreach to community and neighborhoods. Housing First opened its shelter immediately adjacent to an existing single-family residential neighborhood separated only by a 10-foot alley.

Since 2013, the shelter has operated a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shelter under highly contentious circumstances serving a high-risk population  many with serious mental disorders and chronic drug and alcohol addictions. Like Juneau, the volunteer-staffed shelter operates with no requirements to be clean and sober but the Corvallis volunteers have no case-management skills on board.

The Corvallis City Council has decided to again publicly fund the temporary shelter, which is scheduled to open in November. Termed a "no choice but to open" decision, city councilors underscored the inappropriate location of the current shelter, but with no other location immediately apparent to serve this population, no other option seemed viable for this winter. The council also passed a motion that puts it on record in opposition to further funding for the Fourth Street site.

To be sure, high-risk populations are challenging to serve. Absent the Housing First shelter, Good Sam loses money off of every homeless individual who ends up in its emergency room (thus its push for the Fourth Street location). All other existing homeless shelter operations in the community require clean and sober status for facility use. Churches in the community are unable to service this population due to liability and safety issues.

To complicate matters, Housing First has a $500,000 lawsuit filed against it by surrounding property owners, city councilors have been advised by the Corvallis police chief that additional security services around the shelter and neighborhood by an already overtaxed department cannot be provided, and surrounding property owners have successfully appealed their 2015 property tax values due to the location of the shelter (some receiving as much as $100,000 reductions in assessed values, resulting in less taxpayer funds to support other city and county operations). The county has stated it will not be providing financial support to run the shelter, so the responsibility seems to rest solely with the city.

Recently court-subpoenaed records from Housing First show that only 20 percent of the 286 individuals served at the shelter have lived in Corvallis since at least 2012. The bulk of the remainder arrived in Corvallis between 2013 and 2016 after the shelter opened, coming from 31 states outside of Oregon. To place this in perspective, for every night the shelter houses 40 homeless men, only eight were Corvallis residents before the shelter opened.

Im inclined to think we might learn something from the Juneau community in how to serve vulnerable populations in a community. Focus on servicing local residents. Focus on permanent affordable housing tied to continuing medical treatment. Achieve real community-wide support for facility siting and funding.
Taylor and Tony Lawrence.jpg

Monday was a big day for the Lawrence family as Taylor Lawrence was sworn in to practice law on Monday. Pictured (L-R): Bay Lawrence, Anita Lawrence, Taylor Lawrence, Tony Lawrence

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence usually wears his justice hat, pursuing charges to get bad guys off of the streets. On Monday, however, Lawrence got the opportunity to wear his dad hat as he watched his daughter, Taylor Marie Lawrence, sworn in to practice law.

Taylor Marie Lawrence took her oath to practice law in the State of Mississippi before Chancery Court Judge Jaye Bradley.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in History degree from Mississippi State University in 2013 and her Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law this year.

Judge Jaye Bradley and Taylor Lawrence look over paperwork after Lawrence was sworn in to practice law Monday morning.

Lawrence's law school accomplishments include serving as a member of the Moot Court Board, as a senator in the LSBA (student government) and as a member of the Women's Bar Association. Lawrence currently works as a clerk at the Mississippi Court of Appeals for Judge David Ishee.

To cap off officially being inducted into law practice, Lawrence will attend the official Bar swearing-in ceremony Sept. 29 in Jackson.

"I am honored to continue the tradition of the practice of law in my family," she said.

As the proud father, Tony Lawrence said he knew Taylor was primed to be a great attorney since she was a young girl.

"Ever since she was young, I knew Taylor could argue and defend her opinions," he said. "It was an honor to introduce her to the court today to be sworn in to the practice of law. I know she will serve our profession with honor and I hope she has a fun and fulfilling career."
The dogs arriving today, including Cody, pictured above, came from an unlicensed and therefore illegal backyard dog meat operation in Jeonju in South Korea. Photo by E.K. Park/Free Korean Dogs

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Humane Society Internationals campaign to stop the slaughter of dogs for meat is unremitting, and today we are announcing that 31 dogs on the verge of being butchered after living on a South Korean dog meat farm are bound for the United States.

The dogs arriving today came from an unlicensed and therefore illegal backyard operation in Jeonju in South Korea. Neighbors tipped off the authorities and local activists with help from HSI and Free Korean Dogs intervened to rescue the dogs, giving them the needed veterinary care and vaccinations required to transport them to the United States for adoption. The dogs will go to five of our Emergency Placement Partners in North Carolina, including the Outer Banks SPCA in Manteo, Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society, Moore Humane Society in Carthage, Paws of Bryson City, and Watauga Humane Society in Boone. Pet Dominion in Rockville, Maryland is providing boarding for the dogs en route to North Carolina.

South Korea is the only country in the world where dogs are raised on farms to supply the commercial demand for dog meat. It is estimated that between two and 2.5 million dogs are slaughtered for human consumption in South Korea each year on thousands of dog farms scattered around the country, ranging from small backyard enterprises to large-scale industrialized farms with more than 1,000 dogs.

The dogs suffer misery and privation on the meat farms, as you can see in our new video, A day in the life of a dog meat dog. The dogs live in small, barren cages, exposed to extremes of heat and cold, and theyre given meager rations, just enough to survive. Some are housed alone, others in crowded cages. Many suffer from disease, injury, and malnutrition, and all are subject to terrible daily neglect. The meat farms are like puppy mills, but with the purpose of breeding and intentionally slaughtering the dogs and no pretense of proper care.









Since 2014, HSI has closed down a series of dog meat farms, and helped the farmers transition into humane, alternative livelihoods, like growing crops or starting water delivery services. We have brought 526 dogs into the United States and Canada to be adopted, and most have found forever homes with some still up for adoption.

With the Winter Olympics set for South Korea in 2018, we have an opportunity to focus a spotlight on this issue. HSI is creating a public awareness campaign to highlight the cruelty of the dog meat trade, to close the perception within Korea of a pet dog versus a meat dog, and to promote pet adoption in Korea. Koreans tend to prefer small breed dogs and purebreds, and dogs from meat farms are not considered adoptable.

Here in the United States, many of our Emergency Placement Partner shelters report long lines of potential adopters when the dogs are made available. The attention the Korean dogs bring to the community increases adoption of all dogs and even cats awaiting homes in our partner shelters.

HSIs work to end the dog meat trade in other countries is also brisk. In 2013, HSI co-founded the Asia Canine Protection Alliance (ACPA) to combat the dog meat trade in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The campaign has secured a five-year moratorium on the cross-border trade of dogs for meat between all of these countries. ACPA is also working with the Vietnamese government to increase public awareness about the risks involved in consuming dog meat, and the direct correlation of the trade in dogs for meat and the spread of rabies.

In China, HSI is partnering with local animal welfare organizations and supporting their efforts in combating the dog meat trade within their own country. Since August 2014, more than 10,000 dogs have been rescued from large transport vehicles carrying hundreds of captured dogs in crowded cages to their deaths at various slaughterhouses in the country. HSI also has a major campaign targeting the cruel Yulin dog meat festival held annually in June in Yulin, China.

Ending the dog meat trade, in so many countries and so far from our base in the United States, is one of the toughest campaigns weve ever undertaken. But its perhaps the biggest and most barbaric form of companion animal exploitation in the world, and that means weve got to confront it. Well not rest until we win. At every step, well need your help.
A recent story in the news says that Taiwans Defense Ministry has asked Google to blur imagery of some military structures on Itu Aba Island (also known as Taiping Island) in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea is a hotly contested area with several countries, most notabley China, building structures on the reefs of the Spratleys. We had a look at the progress last year and had a look at the latest imagery of Fiery Cross Reef in June this year.

As we have discussed before, censoring satellite imagery is more difficult than censoring other data. A number of countries censor aerial data, mapping data and 3D imagery and because those are often gathered within the countries in question, Google must comply with local laws. But satellite imagery is more difficult to censor. I has been done. It is illegal in the US to publish high resolution imagery of Israel, and Google is a US company so Israel appears in relatively low resolution in Google Maps and Google Earth. Also, imagery updates were stopped for Iraq, Afghanistan, the Ukraine and Syria although we do not know exactly how that was accomplished.

Back to this particular case, if the story is correct and if that was the only facility that Taiwan asked Google to censor, then it would appear they made a serious error. The result has been that many news outlets have published the imagery and it is now not only practically impossible to get rid of all those images, but it has become an object of attention. In addition, Google will be very unlikely to agree to censor it unless legal pressure can be brought to bear. If they were to censor it, a lot of people will notice, and it will become another news story, and then a lot of other countries will want their censorship requests to be honoured as well.

Another question would be who Taiwan wishes to hide the imagery from. Even if Google removed the image, it could still be purchased from the supplier Digital Globe, or imagery of the location could be ordered from various other commercial suppliers. A number of states also have their own spy satellites and the countries most interested in the region could probably capture aerial imagery of it if they wished.

The image that Taiwan wants censored is dated July 8th, 2016 and can only be seen in the default layer as it has not yet (as of this writing) been put in historical imagery.

The military structure in question can be seen below:



We have also created an animation showing that the airport was built since 2006 and the harbour is also being expanded.

Speed in milliseconds per image:


Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Youth crime : 16-year-old in custody for manslaughter

Heiderhof A youth fatally stabbed an 18-year-old in Heiderhof on Saturday in an apparent argument over drugs.

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An 18-year-old boy who was seriously injured during an argument at Heiderhof in Bad Godesberg died on Sunday afternoon. The youth was critically injured with a knife during the incident on Saturday afternoon. His 16-year-old attacker has been arrested and a warrant for manslaughter has been issued.

Police said on Sunday that the argument began at around 7.55pm on Saturday evening on Lieemer Weg in Heiderhof. According to initial inquiries, the fight was about the sale of a small amount of cannabis. During the argument, the 16-year-old allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the upper body of his opponent.

The 18-year-old was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police would not say on Sunday who rang for the ambulance or whether there were any witnesses. The 16-year-old fled the scene but was arrested in Burgstrae in Bad Godesberg after an immediate search was begun. A murder squad from the Bonn police began investigations that evening.

The crime scene in Heiderhof was closed while evidence was gathered. When the weather is good, Lieemer Weg, which connects Marienforster Tal with Heiderhof, is heavily used by hikers and walkers during the day. On Sunday afternoon there was no indication there had been a stabbing there. There was only one patrol car in the area. By night, the remote spot on a gravel path is clearly not a place one runs into someone by chance. It is several hundred metres from the nearby residential street.

Police said the 18-year-old succumbed to his serious injuries on Sunday afternoon. Treatment in intensive care could not save his life. The suspect was brought before a magistrate on Sunday afternoon after intensive investigations by the murder squad and public prosecutors office. The magistrate issued a warrant for manslaughter. During questioning, the 16-year-old admitted to stabbing the 18-year-old. Investigations into what happened are continuing.

After the fatal attack on 17-year-old Niklas P. in May, youth crime in Bad Godesberg is a particularly sensitive and high profile issue. Police and the public prosecutors office did not want to give any further information on the case on Sunday.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
Overheating of Phone

Normally, the lithium-ion batteries generate heat but are optimized to manage the heat when put for charging. However, even if it starts turning too hot to touch, even on moderate usage, all you can do is replace your battery before it can cost your life.

Bulging Mobile Batteries

If your mobile battery is bulging out, all you need to do is just remove the battery from the smartphone preventing it from being exploded. This is because using such a phone can cause harm to the circuitry of the phone, and in turn build a life risk.

Click Here for New Tablets Best Online Deals

Carry Out a Spin Test

While using your phone, in case it becomes too hot to even touch the phone, you should start looking for a battery replacement or to be sure conduct a spin test. Just lay the mobile battery on a table or a floor, and spin it. In case the battery spins, it means that the battery has a bulge in it, and needs replacement.

After identifying, you can take a look at the preventive measures of stopping your Samsung phone battery from exploding as mentioned below.

Don't Damage You Smartphone

There are people who often drop their phone or intentionally damage them. Do you know by doing so you are calling trouble for yourself? Stabbing, dropping or damaging your phone in anyway is a cause that your smartphone might be prone to explosions.

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Recharging Smartphone in Low Temperatures is Prohibited

People living in low-temperature areas are mostly prone to mobile battery explosions.

As per the reports, lithium-ion batteries should always be avoided from being charged in a sub-freezing environment.

This can cause permanent plating of metallic lithium, which increase the chances to battery failure.

Buying Batteries from no so popular makers is a Strict 'No'

Although a few smartphone users are too brand conscious when they are required to buy new parts for their device, many are usually not.

Due to this, several no-name manufacturers are gaining importance in the market. However, they fail to meet the safety standards of products sold at retail stores. Hence, buying these unsafe parts may cost you your life.

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Not Keeping Phone in a Ventilated Place While Charging Can Explode Batteries

There have been instances of exploding batteries when the user kept the phone for charging under a pillow as this may lead to the phone from overheating.

Dropped Phone into Water? Not Getting it Checked by Professional is Restricted

Dropping our phone into water is such a usual sight, isn't it?

To regain our phone back, we often don't take it to a mobile professional but become experts ourselves.

However, experts say that despite all the rescue attempts, there can be corrosion or short-circuiting that can occur inside the phone which can lead to overheating, leading to explosion of the phone.

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'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.
Swiss Voters Approve Law Enhancing Intelligence Agencies Powers

Sputnik News

00:23 26.09.2016

The Swiss voted in favour of a new law providing the country's intelligence services with a wide range of surveillance options, the preliminary results on the government website indicated.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  With 41 percent of population having participated in the Sunday vote, 65.5 percent cast their ballots for the law that would sanction private communications surveillance, including mail and telephone, installment of "Trojan horse" computer programs, cameras and microphones as well as other measures.

According to the Swiss authorities, the intelligence services would only be able to monitor and record private communications if they could properly justify such a necessity.

The Swiss Federal Council had earlier recommended the citizens to vote in favour of the bill.

"This new law will provide Switzerland with up-to-date techniques to respond to the threat against our country," Guy Parmelin, the member of the Swiss Federal Council, said at the press conference, when commenting on the preliminary results.

 Sputnik

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War Crime? American Forces Caught Using White Phosphorus Munitions in Iraq

Sputnik News

23:48 24.09.2016(updated 03:45 25.09.2016)

The banned weapon has long been criticized for its indiscriminate carnage often resulting in shocking injuries to civilians worse than any other known incendiary weapon.

US Forces in Iraq are using white phosphorus munitions in the fight against Daesh militants despite the weapon being banned under international law from use in areas that may contain civilians due to the weapon's indiscriminate nature and the shocking injuries that it causes.

The Washington Post identified M825A1 155mm shells from images posted on a Pentagon public affairs website "Dvids" that showed a US Army artillery unit firing white phosphorus munitions in Iraq.

The United States argues that the use of the weapon is justified because the munitions are not being air-dropped and that they serve a critical battlefield function  notably creating a smokescreen lasting up to 10 minute that allows the US to "obscure" the view of Kurdish forces from Daesh terrorists.

"Coalition forces use these rounds with caution and always in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict," said Colonel Joseph Scrocca in an email to the Washington Post. "When M825A1 rounds are employed, they are done so in areas free of civilians and never against enemy forces," he said, adding that the shells serve only "screening and signaling" purposes.

Traditionally, white phosphorus has only legally been used as a tracing mechanism of bullets allowing troops to track where a shot goes during night-time battle due to white phosphorus' incendiary qualities, but the expanded use does raise major concerns under international law.

The definition of a civilian area under the United Nation's Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, to which the United States is a signatory, does not mean a population center but rather any place where there may be more than a few civilians.

On Thursday, the spokesman for the US-led Coalition in Iraq, Air Force Colonel John Dorrian amended Scrocca's statement claiming that American forces are taking "all reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of incidental injury to non-combatants and damage to civilian structures"  the statement itself an admission that the weapons are being used in areas where they could potentially harm civilians.

Dorrian further refused to say that the US military use of white phosphorus shells has been limited solely to "screening and signalling" purposes as was asserted by Scrocca instead saying the munitions are "used generally for those circumstances" and refusing to say whether the weapon had been deployed in an offensive capacity against suspected terrorists.

 Sputnik

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German Bundeswehr's Secret Afghan Phone Hacking Operation Rumbled

Sputnik News

21:21 24.09.2016(updated 22:22 24.09.2016)

Although it claims its computer experts only carry out laboratory hacks, the German army was engaged in its first hacking mission in Afghanistan last year, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

The German armed forces have an 80-strong team of IT experts working in its Computer Network Operations (CNO) unit in Rheinbach.

The army maintains that the CNO only carry out cyber-attacks and counter-attacks in laboratory conditions. However, the force actually carried out its first hack last year in an operation to free a German hostage, sources told German magazine Der Spiegel.

On August 17, 2015, a 55-year-old German aid worker called Kathe B was kidnapped by armed gunmen from outside the office of Germany's GIZ government aid agency in the Afghan capital Kabul.

After weeks of negotiations with intermediaries, the German military established contact with the kidnappers.

The kidnappers demanded a ransom for the safe release of Kathe B. The Germans agreed to pay the ransom, but were unsure whether the kidnappers would keep to their side of the agreement.

The Bundeswehr send a group of its Special Forces Command (KSK), Germany's elite unit of special forces, to Kabul. If necessary, the KSK were to launch an operation to free Kathe B by force, if the negotiations failed.

However, special forces operations are generally considered to be very risky, and the Bundeswehr approached its CNO to see if it could help.

The CNO was tasked with finding out as much information as possible about the mobile phones used by the kidnappers.

The CNO needed to find out if the kidnappers were indeed keeping Kathe B hostage in Kabul, like they claimed, and if they were on the move at the time when they were supposed to arrive at the meeting point.

"The CNO unit found a solution: Using a mobile phone from an Afghan mobile phone operator available on the internet, they hacked into the provider's system. Shortly after, they hacked into the GPS information on the kidnappers' phones. The kidnappers' movements were more or less followed live," Der Spiegel reported.

On October 17, exactly two months after she was abducted, Kathe B was safely handed over to German soldiers by an intermediary, after the German authorities paid the kidnappers.

The German Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the revelation and told Der Spiegel that CNO operations remain a secret. Despite some opposition from legal experts, it considers the operation to be lawful because of the Bundeswehr mandate to allow the use of all military resources for the rescue and protection of Germans in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most dangerous countries for aid workers. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, in 2014 there were 54 reported incidents of attacks on aid workers in the country. Last year there were 27, a number exceeded only in South Sudan.

Two months before the kidnapping of Kathe B, a Dutch aid worker was also abducted in Kabul, and set free after weeks of negotiations. The day before she was freed, the Taliban announced the capture of another GIZ aid worker in the northern city of Kunduz.

The German Bundeswehr first sent troops to Afghanistan in January 2002, taking part in NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) security operation. Since then over 5,000 German soldiers participated in ISAF, and around 900 remain in Afghanistan today, taking part in the follow-up "Resolute Support" operation which began in January 2015.

 Sputnik

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Defense Minister Demands US to Ground Flights Until AV-8 Jet Crash Investigated

Sputnik News

13:14 24.09.2016(updated 16:53 24.09.2016)

Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada demanded on Saturday a ban on the United States flying McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II ground-attack jets out of its Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa prefecture until the recent jet crash near the region's coast is properly investigated.

Helicopter Crash in Libya's Tobruk Kills Five People

TOKYO (Sputnik)  On Thursday, a US Air Force jet based in the Kadena Air Base crashed in the waters east of Okinawa, the pilot safely ejected. Local authorities later filed a protest to Japan's foreign and defense ministries over the security problems caused by US military presence in the prefecture, calling on the national government to temporarily prohibit AV-8B Harrier II flights in the area until the crash was investigated.

The defense minister insisted on a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the crash as well as on the provision of complete information regarding the incident and on effective measures to be taken in order to prevent something similar from recurring, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Speaking during a meeting with US Forces Japan Deputy Commander Charles Chiarotti, Inada stressed that the crash could have been a disaster had it occurred in a residential area of Okinawa.

Chiarotti responded by stating that the current temporary pause in AV-8 flights was being used for preventive action in order to exclude similar incidents in the future. He added that the Japanese government's questions would be answered as quickly as possible.

On Friday, the US III Marine Expeditionary Force in Japan announced a halt on all Harrier jet flights in response to the incident, adding that all of the jets would be inspected to make sure they meet operational readiness standards.

Okinawa occupies less than 1 percent of Japan's territory but hosts some 74 percent of the country's total US military presence.

 Sputnik

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Military Strikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 25, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed seven oil tanker trucks.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed seven ISIL oil well heads and damaged two supply routes.

-- Near Manbij, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, two weapons caches and a mortar system.

-- Near Mara, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle bomb, a vehicle and a heavy machine gun.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery conducted 14 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a watercraft, two vehicles and a vehicle bomb. A vehicle was damaged.

-- Near Kisik, a strike destroyed an ISIL watercraft.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units, destroying two vehicles, two tunnels and an anti-air artillery system. Four ISIL fighting positions were damaged.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three vehicles, a heavy machine gun and an anti-air artillery system.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, four strikes destroyed three ISIL headquarters buildings, a weapons cache and a mortar system.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Israel vows to complete work on wall surrounding Gaza 'in months'

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:44PM

A senior Israeli military official says the construction of a massive underground barrier surrounding the besieged Gaza Strip will be completed "in a matter of months."

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday that the structure would include a wall deep below the ground as well as a fence above the ground.

Some parts of the roughly 60-kilometer-long wall will also be flooded, he added.

"If the budget comes at the right rate, then the barrier will be built in a matter of months," the Israeli official said

According to a September 7 report on the Israeli Ynet news website, the wall "will reach several stories underground, and will also be several stories above ground."

Israeli media reports said in August that Israeli companies were seeking assistance from international corporations specialized in building underground walls. However, several foreign companies have reportedly refused to play a role in the project, citing political sensitivities.

The Israeli military official also claimed that the project is meant to tackle what it called threats posed by the underground tunnels set up by the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, governing the Israeli-blockaded territory.

The goal is to turn Hamas' underground network into a "death trap," he noted.

Hamas says the underground tunnels are needed to defend Gaza against Israeli attacks and fire. They are also used by Gazans to transfer essential supplies, including food and fuel, to the coastal sliver.

Israel continues to carry out attacks on the besieged territory of about 1.8 million people from time to time.

In early July 2014, the regime launched a 50-day offensive against Gaza, killing nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, and injuring Over 11,100 others.

Israel building several separation barriers

In April, Tel Aviv resumed construction work on a section of a wall separating parts of the West Bank from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.

The United Nations says nearly 60 kilometers of the structure has been built on the Palestinian land.

In a non-binding decision, the International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that construction of the barrier was illegal and called for its demolition as did the UN General Assembly.

Tel Aviv is also walling off an area in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border and the Israeli-occupied side of Golan, citing what it claims to be threats from Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement.

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11 killed in clashes between Chadian forces, Boko Haram militants

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 3:47PM

At least four Chadian soldiers and seven militants from the Nigeria-based Takfiri group Boko Haram have been killed in cross-border clashes in the volatile Lake Chad region.

A security source said Sunday that the clashes erupted a day earlier after Boko Haram militants launched a raid from Nigeria on a Chadian military post near the border with Niger.

"Around 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday night, Boko Haram members attacked the Djoroye border post near the Niger border in the Lake Chad region killing four of our soldiers," said the source, adding, "The Chadian army killed seven Boko Haram fighters".

There was no official confirmation from the Chadian military of the attack.

Chad is a member of a multinational task force combating Boko Haram across its border with Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. The force has been created with the aim of preventing a spillover of the militancy to those countries from Nigeria.

Boko Haram militants launched a similar cross-border raid on members of the Niger army two weeks ago. Officials in Niger said five soldiers and 30 militants were killed in the clashes that ensued on September 14.

More than 20,000 people, mostly Nigerians, have been killed since Boko Haram began waging militancy in northern Nigeria in 2009. The group has pledged allegiance to Daesh, a Takfiri terrorist group mainly operating in the Middle East.

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Yemen shoots down Saudi spy aircraft: Report

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:38AM

Yemeni armed forces have shot down a Saudi unmanned aerial vehicle on an espionage mission in the country's airspace, media reports say.

The spy drone was brought down on Sunday in the west-central province of Sana'a, according to Yemen's al-Masirah television.

It was not clear if the aircraft was operated by the Saudi military or the militants it is supporting on the battle ground against the Yemeni army and fighters of the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

Separately, reports said Saudi warplanes pounded different targets, including military bases, across the province as well as the Baqim district in Sa'ada Province in Yemen's extreme northwest.

The air raids have killed dozens of civilians in the impoverished Arab state in recent years, sparking fresh international criticism of Riyadh's military campaign.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the toll at 10,000. The offensive was launched to reinstate the former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and undermine Ansarullah.

Ever since, Yemeni forces have brought down several such aircraft either in the Yemeni airspace or during retaliatory attacks in the southwestern Saudi Arabian region of Jizan.

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13 dead in various incidents after panic caused by shooting in DR Congo

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:56AM

Over a dozen people have lost their lives in various incidents that followed a shooting in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a local official says.

The development occurred in the Congolese city of Beni on Saturday when a drunken soldier in civilian clothes fired four shots from his gun, causing panic among a crowd, according to Beni's mayor, Jean Edmond Nyonyi.

"Eight people drowned when they threw themselves in the river, four were killed in accidents and one person died of a heart attack," Nyonyi said, without elaborating.

Beni, where fears of gun violence run deep, lies in a conflict-ridden and unstable region of the DR Congo, with more than 700 people killed since October 2014 in massacres blamed on militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

The ADF was founded in Uganda in 1995 and later moved to the impoverished DR Congo, spreading its reign of violence particularly in the North Kivu Province.

In its almost two decades of presence there, the rebel group has been accused of committing serious human rights violations, including recruiting child soldiers and rape, against the local population.

The Congolese army, joined by UN troops, is on the offensive against the ADF and other rebel groups.

The Saturday fatalities took place a day after heavy fighting between security forces and militants loyal to a slain tribal leader in the Central African country claimed dozens of lives from both sides.

The DR Congo is reeling from post-election unrest.

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college lecture hall art

Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

As if rising tuition and spiraling student debt wasn't enough, state taxpayers are also on the hook for a hidden cost at Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities.

As our pals at The Tribune-Review report this morning, taxpayers have paid more than $1.5 million over the last six years for a "continuous" series of searches that's resulted in the hiring of 12 university presidents and one chancellor. And the tab is still growing.

The state System, which is facing a walkout by faculty next month, is looking for a new president at West Chester University, the Trib's Debra Erdley reported, and a search for a new president at Cheyney University is about the start.

As is the case with the rest of higher education, the state System relies on pricey executive headhunters in the nationwide talent searches. But as Erdley notes, faculty leaders and others say the "pricey process, which has yielded Pennsylvania university presidents from as far away as Alaska and as near as an on-campus office, is flawed."

Michael Pollakoff, head of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, tells Erdley that university trustees need to remember that their single, largest responsibility is selecting, evaluating, and "if necessary, [terminating] the president."

Kenneth Mash, president of the system's faculty union, tells Erdley that professors are concerned about the increasing frequency, rising costs and secrecy surrounding searches for top-level executives.

The search for a new president at Edinboro University, for instance, took three years and cost $264,507. After all that, the school's president, Julie Wollman, who was hired in 2012, decamped for Widener University last fall.

"We think there is too much money being spent, and we don't generally feel we have much of a say," Mash told the newspaper. "We certainly seem to have a number of campuses where the presidency is a revolving door, and that's not necessarily healthy."

State system spokesman Kenn Marshall told Erdley that the schools have used executive search firms for at least two decades.

"I believe our feeling is the firms help us to identify, attract and recruit the best possible pool of candidates. We always conduct national searches, and it is important to cast a wide net into to ensure you have the largest possible number of qualified candidates to choose from," Marshall told the newspaper.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

In case you missed it from the weekend, PennLive's Candy Woodall profiled CNN Trumpista Jeffrey Lord of Camp Hill.

Dunno if you've heard, but there's apparently some kind of presidential debate tonight. The Post-Gazette has more.

Pension double-dipping is an issue in governmental races in Burlington County, N.J., just over the river from Bucks County. The Inky has the story.

PhillyMag wonders if America, cowering at every threat, has lost its bravery.

The day before the debate, a new Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll has Hillary Clinton in a dead heat with Donald Trump in Pa.

Here's your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day:

... A photo posted by The 47th Ronin (@gabriel_spangler) on Sep 26, 2016 at 1:18am PDT

Medical marijuana is legal in Pa., but where do things actually stand? WITF-FM takes a looksee.

The Big Debate - will it matter? NewsWorks/WHYY-FM tries to answer that question.

That same Morning Call/Muhlenberg poll also has Pat Toomey in a statistical dead heat with Katie McGinty, 41-40 percent.

So this is worrisome - the U.S maternal death rate is outpacing much of the world, Stateline.org reports.

Politico looks at some of the questions Donald Trump has to answer to prove he's qualified to be president.

Roll Call muses aloud on the possibility of a government shutdown.

What Goes On.

The state House and Senate both come in at 1 p.m. today. Don't expect much in the way of action. The Pa. Chamber holds its annual dinnner at the Hershey Lodge tonight, which means lawmakers will have one foot out the door before they even arrive for work. And at 12 p.m., U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is the featured speaker at this month's Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).

7:30 a.m.: Breakfast for Sen. Camera Bartolotta

11:30 a.m.: Luncheon for Rep. Jaret Gibbons

5:30 p.m.: Reception for Rep. Neal Goodman

Today's comparably light schedule will only set you back $4,500 if you hit all three events and give at the max.

Heavy Rotation.

Here's just the thing to brighten up a gray Monday morning:

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.
Former South Sudan VP ends ceasefire with government in Juba

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:51PM

South Sudan's exiled rebel leader has called for war against the government, ending an internationally-backed peace deal.

Former vice president Riek Machar said on Sunday that he will "wage a popular armed resistance against the authoritarian and fascist regime of President Salva Kiir in order to bring peace, freedom, democracy and the rule of law in the country."

Machar fled to Khartoum after clashes broke out between his supporters and Kiir's in the South Sudanese capital Juba in July.

He added that the international community should "declare the regime in Juba as a rogue government and a spoiler of peace that is threatening regional and international peace and security."

The announcement is Machar's first since the fighting broke out. At the time, he referred to the clashes as an "assassination attempt."

South Sudan has witnessed a new wave of conflict since July 8, when gunfire erupted near the state house in Juba as Kiir and then vice president Machar were holding a meeting. More than 300 people were killed in the clashes. The country gained independence from Sudan in 2011. It has been going through turmoil ever since.

A bloody civil war in South Sudan began in December 2013, when Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup against him. The two parties then got involved in a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the impoverished country along ethnic lines.

The two sides eventually signed an agreement in August last year to bring the conflict to an end. As part of the deal, Machar returned to Juba in April to take up the post of vice president in a national unity government. Despite the peace deal, battles persist across the African state.

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Explainer: Azerbaijan's Referendum Poses More Questions Than Meet The Eye

By Antoine Blua, Arzu Geybullayeva September 25, 2016

Authorities in Azerbaijan are holding a referendum on September 26 over changes to the country's constitution that are expected to strengthen the grip on power of President Ilham Aliyev and his family. Here's what's at stake:

The Questions Facing Voters

The referendum includes a whopping 29 proposed amendments to numerous chapters of the Azerbaijani Constitution, which went into force after a 1995 popular vote and has been amended twice since, in 2002 and again in 2009.

Voters won't have to say "yes" or "no" to the whole package, but instead may choose to approve or reject individual amendments. So it is a potentially confusing array of choices.

The most important of the proposed changes is an extension of the president's term of office from five to seven years. The current head of state, 54-year-old Ilham Aliyev, has been in office since taking over from his ailing father in 2003, paving the way for hastily organized elections; his current term is slated to end in 2018, but a presidential term limit was scrapped in 2009.

Another amendment seeks to create two vice-presidential posts, both of whose occupants would be appointed and dismissed by the president. The first vice president would become the country's No. 2 official and presidential powers would devolve to him or her in the event that the president becomes incapable of discharging his duties -- rather than to the prime minister, who needs to be approved by parliament. Only if the first vice president is similarly incapacitated would presidential powers devolve to the prime minister.

A further proposal empowers the president to schedule an early presidential election and dissolve parliament if twice in one year legislators pass no-confidence measures in the government or reject presidential nominees to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, or the Azerbaijani Central Bank's governing board.

The minimum age for presidential candidates, currently 35, would also be abolished and the age for election to the legislature lowered from 25 to 18.

Another proposed amendment would restrict the right to free assembly to make it contingent on "public order and morality." The proposal comes amid accusations that Azerbaijan's government has escalated repression against its critics, marking a deterioration of an already poor rights record. Human rights groups say dozens of human rights defenders, political and civil activists, and journalists have been arrested or imprisoned in recent years on politically motivated charges.

A further proposed change would grant officials greater power of eminent domain to expropriate privately owned land in the interest of "social justice and effective land use." Such a passage invites fears that officials who already possess considerable discretion over property issues might abuse even greater leverage. Authorities in the capital, Baku, and elsewhere have tangled with residents en masse in the past, including earlier this month when protesting residents complained of being tear-gassed and then seeing their homes demolished without notice or compensation.

In addition, Azerbaijani citizenship could be withdrawn "in accordance with the law."

'Stability And Democracy'

Azerbaijan's ruling officials have defended the proposals contained in the referendum on stability and democracy grounds, while opposition and other critics argue that it is an authoritarian grab for further power.

Central Election Commission Chairman Mazahir Panahov said the referendum was "aimed at protecting stability," in part ostensibly because the country "is developing rapidly and people's living standards are improving." Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov said the amendments could improve the "political system and governance."

Parliament deputy speaker Ziyafet Asgarov said the referendum was important to help "reinforce state authorities, and ensure human rights and freedoms at a higher level."

Ruling New Azerbaijan (Yeni Azerbaycan) Party official Siyavush Novruzov argued that extending presidential terms makes sense to avoid staging elections in three consecutive years in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

'Status Quo Or Worse'

But critics claim the government's proposal of the amendments -- coming immediately after a failed coup in neighboring Turkey -- is intended to consolidate and prolong Aliyev and his family's grip on power.

Ali Kerimli, chairman of the Popular Front Party (AHCP), described it as "an attempt to provide a constitutional foundation for the existing de facto unlimited family power [and] strengthen authoritarianism."

"This referendum only serves to strengthen the president as an institution and weaken all government branches," said former lawmaker Iqbal Agazade, who heads the independent Hope (Umid) political party.

"It looks like the current regime does not see existing legislation as authoritarian enough, or sufficient enough to establish a monarchy," said Arif Hacili, head of the opposition Equality (Musavat) party. "This is why it has decided to change the constitution."

Past As Predictor Of Future Behavior?

There has been speculation that the post of first vice president is being created for President Aliyev's wife, Mehriban, who is a New Azerbaijan Party deputy chairwoman, or for their 19-year-old son, Heidar.

In the past, Azerbaijan has organized constitutional referendums marred by fraud that directly benefited the Aliyev family. In 2002, then-President Heidar Aliyev called a referendum on constitutional amendments that included a stipulation that the powers of the president devolve to the prime minister if the head of state resigns or is incapacitated. Soon after, the elder Aliyev, who had been in power for a decade, appointed his son to the premiership and thus facilitated the transfer of power to Ilham.

And Ilham Aliyev in 2009 initiated the referendum that scrapped the two-term limit on presidents, enabling his 2013 reelection for a third term.

Intensified Crackdown

Human rights groups accuse Azerbaijani authorities of unleashing a new wave of repression to silence critical voices following July's failed coup in Turkey and ahead of the referendum.

A number of activists have been harassed, detained, arrested, and/or fined -- allegedly for campaigning against the vote or for suspected links to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of organizing the coup attempt in Turkey.

"We fear that we are now seeing the beginning of a new wave in the crackdown on civil society and opposition in direct relation to the referendum," Ane Tusvik Bonde of the Oslo-based Human Rights House Foundation said in an August 16 statement.

At least three opposition groups' members have been targeted by law enforcement as recently as August. Republican Alternative movement (REAL) Executive Secretary Natiq Cafarli was arrested on charges of illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of power before being released on September 9, and two REAL activists were sentenced to administrative detention on charges of resisting police. Meanwhile, pro-democracy youth movement N!DA's Elgiz Gahraman was charged with drug possession and ordered into four-month pretrial detention. Several members of the opposition Popular Front -- including Fuad Ahmadli, Gadim Bakirov, and Faig Amirov -- were put in pretrial detention or held in administrative detention.

Authorities also harassed political activist Baxtiyar Haciyev, who was fined 100 manats ($61) on charges of "minor hooliganism" and prevented on September 18 from leaving the country to attend an OSCE conference on human rights (due to what officials would later describe as a technical error).

Sport for Rights, an international campaign drawing attention to human rights violations in Azerbaijan, says it considers the charges against the activists to be politically motivated, and has called for their immediate and unconditional release. The new crackdown "occurs against the backdrop of a dire overall human rights situation in Azerbaijan," an August 18 statement said.

"The media remains completely dominated by the state, and critical journalists operate in a climate of fear," the campaign added. "Excessive restrictions remain on civil society, severely hindering the ability of independent NGOs to operate."

There have been minor gatherings in Baku at which demonstrators have called for the cancelation of the referendum and for democratic reforms. Police have detained some of those protesters.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-referendum-explainer/28011773.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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Tensions Rise As Bosnian Serbs Vote In Banned Referendum

By RFE/RL September 25, 2016

Voters in Bosnia-Herzegovina's autonomous Bosnian Serb entity have cast their ballots in a controversial referendum held in defiance of a high-court ruling from Sarajevo.

The September 25 referendum has led to the most heated debate between Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Serb officials since the 1995 U.S.-brokered Dayton peace accords created the Republika Srpska as one of two constituent states within Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The referendum asks whether voters in Republika Srpska want to maintain a "statehood day" holiday on January 9 -- a Serbian Orthodox Christian holiday and the anniversary of Bosnian Serb lawmakers' 1992 declaration of independence from Bosnia, which fueled three years of ethnic war.

The voting ended at 7 p.m. local time without any major incidents. Initial results are expected within several hours.

Dragan Lukac, Republika Srpska's interior minister and head of its election commission, said on September 25 at a news conference in the city of Banja Luka that "everything is going smoothly" and no incidents had been reported anywhere.

He said there was an absence of voting in Bosniak areas of Republika Srpska, adding that more than a dozen polling stations were not even opened for voting.

Critics of the referendum say it is stoking ethnic tension and is bolstering separatist sentiment within the Bosnian Serb ministate.

Non-Serbs see the date as a symbol of their expulsion from Bosnian Serb-controlled territory and an indication that Republika Srpska is meant just for Serbs.

On September 17, Bosnia's Sarajevo-based Constitutional Court banned the referendum, ruling that the January 9 holiday illegally discriminates against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats.

The Bosnian Serb entity's nationalist president, Milorad Dodik, has pushed for it to go forward.

His critics accuse him of trying to set the stage for a future referendum, possibly in 2018, on whether the Republika Srpska should secede from Bosnia.

Such a move would effectively mean the end of the Dayton accords, which brought a formal end to Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

Dodik, speaking on September 25 to journalists in the town of Laktasi after casting his ballot, said it was an "important day, a solemn day."

"There will probably be joy over the [referendum] results tonight; the atmosphere looks like that," he said. "The days ahead will bring something [new], but we will see in what way."

Asked what his response would be to the Sarajevo-based Bosnian prosecutor's office that has announced it will file criminal charges against him for holding the referendum, Dodik said, "If somebody wants to arrest anybody, let them arrest the whole referendum and hold it accountable."

Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosnian Muslim member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, has warned that holding the referendum in defiance of the Constitutional Court could lead to "an adventure" in which "things could slip out of control."

Speaking in Sarajevo on September 17, Izetbegovic said that "no one is more prepared to defend this country than we are, to defend its constitutional order and territorial integrity."

Dodik insists that secession is not part of his short-term plans for the Republika Srpska.

"On our agenda there is no secession," Dodik told RFE/RL's correspondent in Banja Luka on September 19. "Will secession become a question in the coming years, whether my generation will do it or not? I don't know. But I suppose, having in mind the way things are moving and the brutal force used for imposing things and taking away...that this may get on the agenda."

On September 20, Dodik said those describing the statehood-day referendum as a "secession referendum" were spreading "some sort of hysteria."

"It is not a secession referendum," Dodik insisted. "It's not even the beginning of this process."

In Belgrade in early September, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that "Serbia is and will always be behind the Republika Srpska," adding that "anyone who thinks that they can overrun the Republika Srpska must know that this is impossible because Serbia is always behind Republika Srpska."

Serbia's military forces have been ordered to be vigilant.

Western officials have urged Republika Srpska to cancel the referendum, saying that it challenges the rule of law and the Dayton peace accords.

Valentin Inzko, the European Union's high representative for Bosnia, said the planned referendum is "a direct attack against a constitutional court and, in such a way, it is also an attack on the state."

Inzko said "in the past 20 years we have not heard such language" from officials in Bosnia.

The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo has said there would be unspecified "consequences" if the September 25 vote was not canceled.

The Peace Implementation Council, an international body that oversees the Dayton accords, also has urged the Bosnian Serbs to cancel the referendum.

It said in a statement that Bosnia's borders will not be redrawn and it called on all sides "to refrain from reactive measures and divisive rhetoric."

But Russia, one of the council members and a traditional supporter of Orthodox Slavic Serbs, distanced itself from the statement.

The Russian ambassador to Bosnia has publicly supported the September 25 referendum and called it an act of democracy.

Underlining the Kremlin's support for the Republika Srpska, Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 22 welcomed Dodik to Moscow on an official visit where the two discussed what Russian state-controlled media described as "bilateral interaction."

With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, AP, Reuters, AFP, AP, TASS, and Interfax

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/balkan-tensions -rise-as-bosnian-serbs-push-ahead-with- banned-referendum/28010813.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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Bosnian Serbs Back Disputed Holiday In Referendum

By RFE/RL September 25, 2016

Bosnian Serbs have voted overwhelmingly to maintain a Statehood Day holiday on January 9 in a controversial referendum held in defiance of a high-court ruling from Sarajevo.

Authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina's autonomous Bosnian Serb entity said that with more than 70 percent of ballots counted in the September 25 vote, 99.8 percent supported the holiday.

Turnout was between 56 and 60 percent.

Republika Srpska's nationalist President Milorad Dodik said the vote would go down in history as the "day of Serb determination."

"I am proud of the people of Republika Srpska, of all those who came out and voted," Dodik said in the town of Pale, near Sarajevo.

January 9 is a Serbian Orthodox Christian holiday and the anniversary of Bosnian Serb lawmakers' 1992 declaration of independence from Bosnia, which fueled three years of ethnic war.

The referendum has led to the most heated debate between Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Serb officials since the 1995 U.S.-brokered Dayton peace accords created Republika Srpska as one of two constituent states within Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Dragan Lukac, interior minister in Republika Srpska and its electoral commission head, speaking earlier on September 25 in the city of Banja Luka, said "everything was going smoothly" and no incidents had been reported anywhere.

He said there was an absence of voting in Bosniak areas of Republika Srpska, adding that more than a dozen polling stations were not even opened for voting.

Critics of the referendum say it is stoking ethnic tension and is bolstering separatist sentiment within the Bosnian Serb ministate.

Non-Serbs see the date as a symbol of their expulsion from Bosnian Serb-controlled territory and an indication that Republika Srpska is meant just for Serbs.

On September 17, Bosnia's Sarajevo-based Constitutional Court banned the referendum, ruling that the January 9 holiday illegally discriminates against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats.

The Bosnian Serb entity's president has pushed for it to go forward.

Dodik, speaking in the town of Laktasi after casting his ballot, said it was an "important day, a solemn day."

"The days ahead will bring something [new], but we will see in what way," he also said.

Asked what his response would be to the Sarajevo-based Bosnia-Herzegovina Prosecutor's Office that has announced it will file criminal charges against him for holding the referendum, Dodik said, "If somebody wants to arrest anybody, let them arrest the whole referendum and hold it accountable."

Dodik's critics accuse him of trying to set the stage for a future referendum, possibly in 2018, on whether Republika Srpska should secede from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Such a move would effectively mean the end of the Dayton accords, which brought a formal end to Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosnian Muslim member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's tripartite presidency, has warned that holding the referendum in defiance of the Constitutional Court could lead to "an adventure" in which "things could slip out of control."

Speaking in Sarajevo on September 17, Izetbegovic said "no one is more prepared to defend this country than we are, to defend its constitutional order and territorial integrity."

Dodik has insisted that secession is not part of his short-term plans for Republika Srpska.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, speaking on September 24 in Belgrade, said the "most important thing is that peace and stability are maintained in the region, including Bosnia-Herzegovina."

He added that "Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and of Republika Srpska."

Earlier this month, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that "Serbia is and will always be behind Republika Srpska," adding that "anyone who thinks that they can overrun Republika Srpska must know that this is impossible because Serbia is always behind Republika Srpska."

Serbia's military forces have been ordered to be vigilant.

Western officials had urged Republika Srpska to cancel the referendum, saying that it challenges the rule of law and the Dayton peace accords.

Valentin Inzko, the European Union's high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, said the planned referendum is "a direct attack against a constitutional court and, in such a way, it is also an attack on the state."

Inzko said "in the past 20 years we have not heard such language" from officials in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo earlier said there would be unspecified "consequences" if the September 25 vote was not canceled.

The Peace Implementation Council, an international body that oversees the Dayton accords, had also urged the Bosnian Serbs to cancel the referendum.

It said in a statement that Bosnia's borders will not be redrawn and it called on all sides "to refrain from reactive measures and divisive rhetoric."

But Russia, one of the council members and a traditional supporter of Orthodox Slavic Serbs, distanced itself from the statement.

The Russian ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina has publicly supported the September 25 referendum and called it an act of democracy.

Underlining the Kremlin's support for the Republika Srpska, Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 22 welcomed Dodik to Moscow on an official visit where the two discussed what Russian state-controlled media described as "bilateral interaction."

With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, AP, Reuters, AFP, AP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/bosnian- serbs-back-disputed-holiday-in- referendum/28012018.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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UN chief commends Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders on 'remarkable progress'

25 September 2016  Following a "productive" meeting today with Mustafa Akyncy, Turkish Cypriot leader, and Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Cypriot leader, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed their joint their joint commitment to intensify efforts even further, in line with their stated desire to achieve a comprehensive settlement in 2016.

"We discussed the state of play in the ongoing negotiations to reach a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus," Mr. Ban told reporters after his meeting with the two leaders at UN Headquarters in New York, where the General Assembly's high-level segment is under way.

The Secretary-General said he commended both leaders for their remarkable efforts to date, and for the progress achieved. Welcoming their joint commitment to press ahead with their stated desire to achieve a comprehensive settlement in 2016, the UN chief said that he encouraged them to continue to engage in the process with determination, courage and creativity.

"They informed me that they intend to further intensify their negotiations upon their return to Cyprus. I urged them to make the most of this opportunity, in order to resolve their outstanding issues, without delay, in earnest," said Mr. Ban, adding: "[They] asked me to step up my personal engagement in the process. I stand ready to support them in whatever they may require, including on the international dimensions of the issue."

Stating that the period ahead will be crucial for Cyprus, the Secretary-General said: "Time is of the essence. The United Nations and I will do our utmost to promote a successful outcome."

The UN works through the good offices of the Secretary-General to assist the sides in the search for a comprehensive and mutually acceptable settlement to the Cyprus problem. The UN Department of Political Affairs provides backstopping support and guidance to the Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Espen Barth Eide, who was appointed August 2014.

Mr. Ban took the opportunity of the press conference to comment on the situation in Syria, saying that he is appalled by the military escalation in the city of Aleppo, "which is facing the most sustained and intense bombardment since the start of the Syrian conflict."

"The use of bunker busting bombs brings the violence to new depths of barbarity. Let us remember: the fighting has forced hospitals and schools to operate in basements. These bombs are not busting bunkers; they are demolishing ordinary people looking for any last refuge of safety," he stressed.

The Secretary-General noted that international law is clear: the systematic use of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas is a war crime.

He noted that the UN Security Council met in an emergency session this morning to discussing the situation. "What excuse is there for anything less than determined action to stop the mayhem? How much longer will all those with influence allow such cruelty to continue?" he said, urging all involved to work harder "for an end to the nightmare."

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South China Sea Claimants Blur Lines Between Military, Civilians

By Ha Nguyen September 25, 2016

Southeast Asian nations have tried for years to establish a code of conduct for shipping, fishing and exploring for oil in the South China Sea. The idea is to avoid a conflict in the disputed, and potentially lucrative, waterway.

But some regional experts say such a code may be pointless.

Collin Koh Swee Lean, a maritime scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that's because most countries with overlapping claims in the region believe their military buildups there are justified.

Koh said recently this militarization has become more "nebulous" in recent years. From pirates to fishermen, nearly everyone can be implicated if nations clash over ownership of the islands and waters in the South China Sea.

"You'll find that it's very difficult to define exactly what militarization is," he said at a seminar hosted this week by the Saigon Center for International Studies in Ho Chi Minh City.

Civilian fishing vessel or military patrol?

China has rejected an international tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines over Beijing's claims to most of the South China Sea. Other governments claiming parts of the waterway are Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have airstrips, cargo planes, and surveillance aircraft in these waters, Koh said, and all but Vietnam have fighter jets there. China is the only country to have bombers available.

He said governments traditionally beefed up their militaries by deploying troops or arms. Now they are blurring the lines and investing in other ways, such as coast guards units.

As countries tussle over this territory, Koh said just about everything can be militarized. States build housing for their fishermen all across the South China Sea, as well as piers where they can refuel -- both of which can serve soldiers. Helipads, which might be intended for search-and-rescue missions, can be used to launch weapons.

In another sign that lines are blurring, Koh said fishing boats have attracted suspicion for being painted like navy patrol vessels. What if, he said, fishermen get drawn into the maritime nationalism and take on the role of vigilantes?

Some of the smaller countries hope Washington could limit Beijing's reach if Asian neighbors ever come to blows. But historian Edward Miller of Dartmouth College suggested that could be difficult with the more recent focus on coast guards and fishing fleets, rather than traditional projections of military force.

"They are moving the conflict into an area in which the United States cannot directly participate," said Miller, who has written on the U.S.-Vietnam relationship.

Koh described a Malaysian program in which the government asks citizens to report potentially criminal behavior at sea. On the surface, that could just mean fishermen reporting signs of piracy, smuggling or illegal fishing. But it also could get civilians entangled in military affairs.

Weighing utility of code of conduct

In this context, South China Sea claimants are unlikely to agree on rules of the road, which would be hard to enforce, Koh said.

"My personal thought of a binding code of conduct is, it's useless," he said.

Still, such a code could give smaller nations the benefit of strength in numbers, said Nguyen Khac Giang, a senior researcher at the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research.

For example, he said, if they write a document that clearly forbids building artificial islands, these countries would have a reference when complaining to China for doing just that.

"Southeast Asian countries prefer an international approach in the South China Sea because it's easier for them to discuss with China in a group, within international law," Giang said.

China has resisted discussing the South China Sea dispute in multinational gatherings, and says it will negotiate only bilateral agreements with individual states.

Koh doubted the value of this approach. He said nations have swifter military resources these days and can deploy weapons on short notice. So if they're accused of violating the code of conduct and using force in the South China Sea, they can say the actions are temporary, rather than outright militarization.

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Man Claiming to be Boko Haram's Abubakar Shekau Surfaces in Video

By VOA News September 25, 2016

The leader of jihadist group Boko Haram reappeared in a video posted on social media Sunday, saying he is in good health and rejecting statements by the Nigerian army he has been seriously wounded.

Speaking in Hausa, Arabic and English and in dialects spoken in northeast Nigeria, a man purporting to be Abubakar Shekau said in a 40-minute video addressed to the military, "You broadcast the news and published it in the social media that you injured or killed me, and here I am."

The video was released on Youtube and dated September 25.

Last month Nigeria's air force said Shekau had been wounded in an operation that killed senior members of Boko Haram.

The man uses the video to issue threats against President Muhammadu Buhari, who recently appealed to the United Nations for help in negotiating the release of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the militants more than two years ago.

"To the tyrants of Nigeria in particular and the west of Africa in general, die in your anger and the news is not like as you claimed and as you distributed, because you broadcast the news and published it in your media outlets that you injured me and killed me and here I am, telling you if God willing, you tyrants I am fine and secured if God willing and nothing has hit me and I will not get killed until my time comes," he said.

The military has reported Shekau's death in the past, but a man claiming to be him appeared later to make a video statement, saying he was unharmed.

Boko Haram is blamed for killing about 15,000 people and for forcing more than two million people from their homes during a seven-year insurgency aimed at creating a state ruled by strict Islamic laws.

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Counter-ISIL Strikes Hit Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 26, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed five ISIL oil tanker trucks and two oil well heads.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed nine oil well heads and an oil tanker truck.

-- Near Manbij, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and a tank.

-- Near Mara, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a mortar system.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft as well as rocket artillery conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units.

-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Hit, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area and destroyed three ISIL-held buildings.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a tunnel and a watercraft.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units, destroying two weapon caches, two fighting positions and two tunnels. A mortar system was suppressed.

-- Near Qayyarah, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed three rocket rails, three vehicles, two mortar systems, a rocket system, a fighting position and a weapons cache.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed two ISIL machine guns.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIL's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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The Three Ages of NATO: An Evolving Alliance - Speech by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Harvard Kennedy School

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

23 Sep. 2016 -

Last updated: 26 Sep. 2016 12:21

(As delivered)



Thank you Nick and thank you for that kind welcome and it's great to be here and it's great to meet you. You have so much experience both from academic life but also as a practitioner or as practical politics, being an ambassador to NATO and in public life in the United States. So, you have experience, you have knowledge which we highly value in NATO but I also know that you are highly valued here at Harvard and the Kennedy School with all the knowledge and experience you bring to this school. So, it's great to be here and it's great to be at the Kennedy School at Harvard because Harvard is one the world's most recognized and premier institutions for learning, for public life and I remember very well last time I was here, I was Prime Minister of Norway and I gave a lecture on the sovereign wealth fund of Norway and whether the oil revenue for Norway is a blessing or a curse.

This time, my topic is very different. My topic is NATO and the challenges NATO is facing. I will deliver a speech and then afterwards, I'm more than ready to and happy to answer your questions on many different topics but let me start with the fact that the Kennedy School has alumni which have served all over the world in different positions, as prime ministers and presidents, as politicians from many different political parties and as ambassadors and generals and admirals and I also read that there has been some astronauts that are alumni from the Kennedy School. So there are many people who have served in different positions and many of the people that have served in NATO, they're also alumni from the Kennedy School and I think that if we gathered all of them in a room, they could tell us many different tales. They could tell us about Cuban missiles and razor wire border posts, of velvet revolutions and the tearing down of the Wall, of wars halted and genocide prevented. They would tell you about 9/11 and the first and only use of Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty, as Nick just referred to treating an attack on one as an attack on all; a moment which Nick remembers very well because at that time, he was the Ambassador to NATO as he just told all of us and they would speak of an organization based on the values of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law, on common interests and close friendships. They would paint the picture of an organization that constantly changes to meet the challenges of the day.

Shakespeare once wrote of the seven ages of man. Today, I would like to talk about the three ages of NATO, about where NATO has been, about how it's evolved and about where NATO is going. The first age of NATO began 67 years ago in Washington. After the horrors of the Second World War, the countries of North America and Western Europe came together to find a new, different way forward. They realized back then that going it alone doesn't work. It never has and it never will. Going it alone had only led to centuries of war in Europe and of the United States being drawn into two devastating world wars which started in Europe. By standing together to collective defence, things could be different. By being united, NATO allies could stand up to the bullies of the international arena and say no. We could protect our allies, we could protect our territory, we could protect our people. As a result, the following 40 years were among the most stable and certainly the most prosperous that Western Europe and North America had ever experienced. And then, in what felt like a moment, the world changed. The Cold War ended without a shot being fired on European soil. The Soviet Union collapsed, the people of the Eastern Bloc were free, new countries appeared as others vanished from the map and Europe rushed to be united with many countries in central and eastern Europe joining NATO and the European Union. Russia, no longer an enemy, became a partner of NATO.

This was a time of great optimism and hope for some but for others, it was a time of fear and violence. The wars in the Balkans in the 1990s were brutal and bloody. The threat of another genocide just half a century after the Holocaust was real. So NATO stepped up and we entered our second age, moving from purely collective defence, NATO set its sights on managing conflicts beyond its borders, bringing an end to the war in Bosnia and later stopping potential genocide in Kosovo. This was a new role for NATO, a role we proved adept at playing. So it was no surprise that after 9/11, NATO took charge in Afghanistan too. Troops from every NATO country from the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany, Romania, Estonia and all the other allies joined in. Troops from our partners from around the world all joined together to eradicate al-Qaeda, to fight the Taliban and to bring stability to Afghanistan. Together, Canada and the European allies have lost over 1,000 soldiers in that mission, a mission launched in response to an attack on the United States and we are still in Afghanistan. Supporting the Afghan armed forces which we helped build from almost nothing to an effective force of more than 350,000 soldiers and police. Standing together as we have always done, stronger together as we have always been.

Our unity was essential to managing crisis in our second age but then, in a moment, our world changed again. That moment was 2014. It was the year that for the first time since World War II, a European country seized part of another by force. With its annexation of Crimea, Russia had torn up the national rulebook that had served all nations, including itself, so well for so many years. It rejected the principals set out in the Helsinki Final Act, where all nations are sovereign and independent and should solve their differences through peaceful means, ideas that Russia has helped create. Instead, Russia looked backwards to worn out notions of spheres of influence and of strong nations having dominion over the weak with the fate of millions of people decided by big men in smoke-filled rooms and this is an outdated vision we can never accept. 2014 was also the year that witnessed the breakthrough of the terrorist group ISIL or Daesh, combining extraordinary brutality with a twisted mission of a Caliphate. ISIL has proved a destructive force in Syria and in Iraq. It is attempting to spread its influence through North Africa and around the world and acts of terror have been committed in its name from Ankara to Orlando.

So now, NATO has entered its third age, an age where we must do both collective defence and manage crisis and promote stability beyond our borders. We do not have the luxury of choosing one or the other. We must do both at the same time and this is exactly what we are doing. We have implemented the strongest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War. We will soon deploy 4 multi-national battalions, one each to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania led in turn by the U.S., Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom. We will also increase our presence in southeast Europe. With a stronger multi-national presence in the East of our Alliance, it is clear that any action against any ally will be treated as an attack on all allies.

NATO stands strong and we stand united but we do not seek confrontation with Russia. The Cold War is history and it should stay history. Instead, we want a meaningful and constructive dialogue with Russia. That is why we have held two meetings this year of the NATO-Russia Council, to make plain our differences and to find a way forward; and this is also why I met with Foreign Minister Lavrov a couple of days ago in New York because while we need more defence, we also need more dialogue with Russia. Russia is our biggest neighbour and it's here to stay.

ISIL, however, is totally different. ISIL must be eradicated. Combating terrorism is an essential part of promoting stability beyond our borders. In Afghanistan and elsewhere, NATO has long played a key role in the fight against terrorism and we are stepping up our efforts. Through the global coalition to counter ISIL, every single NATO ally is already in the fight, standing side by side with America and our partners in the region and that coalition is as effective as it is thanks to the long history of cooperation brought about by decades of NATO operations and exercises. NATO's long experience in the Balkans and Afghanistan tells us that an essential ingredient of long term stability is the strength of local forces and local institutions. That's the reason why NATO is building local capacity and NATO has already trained Iraqi officers to better fight ISIL and we are expanding this program. We will also deploy a team to Baghdad to provide strategic advice and support to the Iraqis security forces and our advanced AWACS surveillance planes will provide valuable information to support the air operations of the coalition to counter ISIL in Syria.

Of course, all of this comes at a price. Freedom has never come for free. After the Cold War, defence spending fell across the alliance but last year, the cuts stopped and this year, 22 NATO allies will increase defence spending in real terms. The United States contributes to the collective defence of the alliance in many different ways. Financially, of course, but also by virtue of being the world's only superpower, with its nuclear weapons, its huge armed forces at home and around the world willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to defence the nations and their allies and its moral authority and clout as the world's richest and most powerful democracy.

Assuring European stability has been a central pillar of U.S. foreign policy since World War II, both to prevent conflict from leading to another global war and as the U.S. and Europe form the world's largest trading relationship to ensure its own prosperity. NATO has been the vehicle for securing this goal. It has given the United States a unique role, a unique influence, in European affairs and without NATO, that influence, that stability and that prosperity, would be put at risk and it's something we should all try to avoid. Of course, the United States may be the guarantor of European security but it is far from its sole provider. All allies contribute through the men and women of the armed forces, through the use of the territory and their bases, through their military equipment, from satellites up into space to submarines deep under the ocean. European allies are taking the lead in a new high readiness force we have established in NATO and the forward presence in the Eastern part of our Alliance will also see European allies in the lead; and I continue to press European allies to contribute even more.

In return for this commitment, every ally, including the United States, gets the unwavering support of 27 other democracies, they get tried and tested command and control and deep relationships from the soldiers on the front line to the generals calling the shots. Relationships forged over many years are working and fighting side by side. They get the most powerful, most enduring, most effective and most reliable alliance the world has ever seen.

The world has changed and NATO evolves. This is the way we have kept our nations safe for almost 70 years but while NATO evolves, it also stands true to its founding principles, that united in common cause and common values, we are stronger together than we ever could be apart.

On the 12th of September, 2001, the day after those horrific attacks on this nation, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice received a phone call from the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, from Nick. He told her that every NATO ally stood as one with America and that every ally was willing to defend America. On that moment, Rice would later write, "It is really good to have friends". In its NATO allies, America has the best of friends and it always will. So, my message is that NATO is good for Europe but it's also good for the United States and that's the reason why we are so proud of the Transatlantic Bond. Thank you.

Q: I sort of understand that like the goal of NATO might be to justify its existence [inaudible] understand that if you use the same logic then you're probably right, try to convince that your existence should be continued. But I was wondering whether you have ever thought about it in a different way that NATO tries to present itself as a guarantor against instability [inaudible] for example when Russia - USSR or whatever - it's like this time it's Warsaw Pact unilaterally moved its troops from Eastern Europe and say like, guys, let's live in peace together, let's create one Europe from [inaudible]. But it's like [inaudible] was that like [inaudible] expansion, indeed[?] Russia has like seven bases outside of Russia and NATO has like, all the allies[??] [inaudible] 800 bases. What kind of aggression are we talking about? It's like, of course, [inaudible] for the sole purpose of destroying [inaudible] from your side [inaudible] of course it would be [inaudible] and, of course, you provoke and, of course, you create some kind of tension, of course, you create some kind of instability in the region and you need [inaudible] to respond to[??], if you say like I will come [inaudible] America[?] and I will save you, save you from something that maybe we can move [inaudible] like there is no tension from the site[??] and we will trust each other [inaudible] than just once you aid us to donate[?] more like support [inaudible] it's like it's not the it will not resolve[?] [inaudible] in this way [inaudible] I was wondering [inaudible] you have thought about it in this way, or for you it's a settled question, it's like you just have some kind of a, like, [inaudible] some kind of [inaudible].

JENS STOLTENBERG (NATO Secretary General): NATO does not seek confrontation with does not seek confrontation with with Russia. Actually NATO strives for a more cooperative and constructive relationship with Russia. And we believe that we should try to develop a political dialogue with Russia; that we should try to keep tensions down, that we should do whatever we can to prevent a new arms race. And actually, after the end of the Cold War NATO invited Russia into a broad partnership, and we were able to establish a lot of cooperation with Russia. And I think we moved step by step in the right direction.

But then we have to understand what happened is that Russia partly continued a very substantial military build-up. Since 2000, Russia has tripled defence spending in real terms, but not only and at the same time, we reduced defense spending every year. But not only has Russia tripled defence spending, invested in many modern military capabilities, exercised their forces in a more aggressive pattern and ways. But the most important thing is that Russia used military force against neighbours, against Georgia. They violated the international recognized borders of Georgia. Russia has military troops in Moldova, against the wish of the government of Moldova. And then the last example which is perhaps also the most serious example is that they annexed Crimea, despite that they have signed an agreement recognizing Crimea as part of Ukraine. And they used military force to achieve that goal. And then they have continued to destabilize Eastern Ukraine, supporting the separatists.

So if NATO hadn't reacted to that, then NATO wouldn't have served this main sort of purpose which is to provide defence and deterrence for all allies, including for instance the Baltic countries which feel that it's really a serious situation when Russia used military force against neighbours, which has been part of the Soviet Union, which has also been the case for these Baltic countries.

I say this because because I believe that NATO has to be strong. We have to provide deterrence. We have to stand united, not to provoke a war, but to prevent the war. And this has been very successful for 70 years, and and we have seen peace and stability in Europe for many reasons, but one reason is that NATO has been there making sure that we have stability and security for our allies.

Yeah, I can say more about Russia, but I will just end by saying that I will continue to work for dialogue with Russia, and I and I believe that there is no contradiction between strong defence and dialogue. I actually believe that as long as NATO is strong, as long as we stand together and we provide deterrence, we can also engage in dialogue with Russia. And I don't believe we should try to isolate Russia. I believe that Russia is not only believe, but Russia is our biggest neighbour. It's there's to say. So we have to develop a relationship with Russia and try to reduce tensions as much as possible.

Q: Thank you. My name is Andrew McLauren, I'm a student here in an MPA degree programme. So my question is about Turkey today. When you look at Turkey following the coup this summer, what do you make of that country's increasing slide away from democratic principles and increasing authoritarian [inaudible]? What sort of message would you relay to the leaders of [inaudible]?

JENS STOLTENBERG: Let me start by underlining the importance of Turkey as a NATO ally. Turkey is a highly valued and essential ally for NATO, for several reasons. One obvious reason is that geographic location of Turkey, being so close to much of the turmoil, instability, and the challenges NATO is facing. Turkey is a country bordering the Black Sea, close to Crimea, Ukraine, and the instability to the north of Turkey. They're bordering Georgia where we have instability, and Russia is present with forces in two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

And then, of course, Turkey is bordering Iraq and Syria. So Turkey is by far the NATO ally most affected by the instability, the violence and the terrorist threats coming from ISIL. And they have hosted or they are hosting around three million refugees. And Turkey plays a key role in the fight against ISIL, partly because they contribute themselves with their own forces, their own capabilities in the fight against ISIL, but also of course because Turkey provides the bases, infrastructure for other NATO allies to conduct airstrikes and operations against ISIL.

So I think to just imagine a NATO without Turkey would just really underline how dangerous that would be and how close much of the turmoil and the violence we see in the Middle East would come even closer to the heart of Europe. So Turkey is important for NATO, not least confronting and standing up against all the turmoil and violence we see in the south.

The coup attempt was an attempt to overthrow a democratic elected government. They bombed the presidential palace. They bombed the the parliament. And I visited the parliament just a couple of weeks ago, and it's a quite strong impression to be there in the parliament and to see the main assembly hall and just outside that hall, you see the damage caused by the F-16 or bombs from F-16 fighter jets bombing the parliament. And it's hard to imagine any stronger expression of disrespect for the democracy than using military power against the elected parliament, with the parliamentarians inside.

So, of course, Turkey has the right to protect itself. Turkey has the right to protect itself against terrorist attacks. They have suffered many terrorist attacks. And, of course, Turkey has the right also to prosecute those behind the failed coup.

I'm confidentand I discussed this with the Turkish leadersthat when they prosecute those responsible, that the principles of individual liberty, the rule of law and democratic values should be respected because that's core values for NATO, and I personally attach great importance to those values.

Q: Thank you very much.

Q: Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary General. My name is [inaudible] and I'm a first-year MPP student I'm sorry, second-year MPP student.

Q: Earlier you mentioned speaking with Foreign Secretary Lavrov earlier this week, so I'm sure you're aware of the very precarious nature of the ceasefire deal in Syria, as well as the recent bombing of the U.N. convoy on its way to Aleppo. Some have suggested the only way to ensure civilian [inaudible] in Syria [inaudible] and humanitarian [inaudible]. However that would quit[?] [inaudible] allies[?], particularly Turkey on the ground and potentially U.S. air forces, in direct confrontation with Russia.

So, giving your stated goal of not bringing back[??] [inaudible] Cold War tensions with Russia, how can NATO allies continue to collaborate, as far as our confrontation [inaudible] and ISIL while simultaneously ensuring civilian [inaudible]? Thank you.

JENS STOLTENBERG: The crisis in Syria is really, really appalling, and it's so heartbreaking to see all the civilians that suffer. And every time we think it cannot get worse, it becomes even worse. And the latest example is the example you referred tothe bombing of an aid convoy with aid to aid and help to civilians, and the killing of the many aid workers. This is morally totally unacceptable and it's a blatant violation of basic international law.

For me, that just underlines the importance of continuing to support all efforts to try to find a political negotiated solution. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying that we have not tried before and failed. But there is, in the long run, there is no other way. So we will just continue to support the efforts of the U.N., of the United States and others to try to at least agree on a ceasefire which is respected and unhindered access, safe access of aid to to civilians.

NATO supports the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIL. We support them in different ways, but especially now with AWACS surveillance planes, helping them to have a better picture of the airspace over Syria. And all NATO allies participate in different ways. Several NATO allies also conduct airstrikes and, of course, for the efficiency or for the impact of the efforts of the alliance, it is a great advantage that they have developed a lot of interoperability, the ability to work together, to communicate, to understand each other, to have this kind of advanced military operations based on NATO exercises, NATO standards, and just experience from other operations in Afghanistan or in Libya or elsewhere.

But NATO is not on the ground in Syria and, therefore, I have been always careful going into the operational details or different questions related to exactly how to conduct the military operations in Syria. I will leave that to the U.S.-led coalition, and but I think we all have to understand that a no-fly zone can create a very challenging situation. And that's also the reason why there has been some reluctance to establish a no-fly zone because then it has to be implemented and and, as I say, fully respected, which can be a quite demanding situation to put the forces in the area into.

So we will continue to support the U.N.-led peace process. We will continue to support the U.S.-led coalition to fight ISIL. But NATO will not be present with military forces inside Syria under NATO command.

Q: Hi, my name is Greg Almond[sp] [inaudible] student [inaudible]. We just [inaudible] recently [inaudible] the Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work who gave a presentation wherein he listed[?] some very important facts. First, he said that the Russian military and the Chinese military have reached or will soon reach [inaudible] munitions with the Western alliance. Second, he said the future of United States and Western military superiority[?] will be based on the effective incorporation of artificial intelligence technologies into [inaudible] strategy, are expecting that by 2030, 30 percent of their armed forces will be to be in the form of robotic weapons.

So I'm curious, what is NATO's strategy for the incorporation of robotics and artificial intelligence?

JENS STOLTENBERG: Robert Work and his assessments of what kind of, as I say, the importance of technology and the importance of different kinds of even more advanced weapon systems than we have today, has been something which we have discussed a lot at NATO. He actually visited the North Atlantic Council and perhaps he didn't give exactly the same presentation, but at least he addressed the same issues.

And I think that the message from him is that we have always had a technological edge or advantage compared to our to other nations in in the world. We have to keep that edge. We have to continue to develop our our different capabilities and technologies.

And that's exactly one of the reasons why we also have to invest more in defence because this requires investments in research and development, and it requires that we work together so we get more out of our investments when we do it together. And it also requires an understanding that I think that open societies like NATO countries, they have a big advantage that we will we are better able to utilize some of these technologies.

A lot of networks, a lot of a lot of, for instance, the development of different kinds of artificial technology, artificial intelligence, is something which we have the advantage of applying because we have many more people who are utilizing and using these kind of technologies for peaceful purposes already today.

So the thing is that we have to stay focused, we have to invest in technology, research, to be able to keep the technological edge also in the future.

Q: Thank you [inaudible]. Thank you, Secretary General. My name is [inaudible], I'm a [inaudible] and thank you for coming to our class this morning. It's great. My question is about regional alliances that we've touched upon briefly. What is NATO doing in its capacity to further facilitate regional alliances and showing leadership so that other regional alliances all together [inaudible]?

JENS STOLTENBERG: I think the most important thing NATO does is that we work together, with partners all over the world actually, but especially in our neighbourhood. And it's not always about regional alliances, but it's more about working with different partner nations in our vicinity or our neighbourhood.

It means for instance that we have something called the Mediterranean Dialogue which is the countries in North Africa and the Middle East, including Israel, and we sit down with them and we discuss common challenges, common, as I say, tasks which we address together, everything from fighting terrorism to stabilizing the region. And I believe very much in this partnership concept because it's a way of trying to project stability or to stabilize our neighbourhood based on the idea that if our neighbourhood is stable, we are more secure.

And that's everything from a political dialogue to, for instance, training and helping Tunisia to develop their special operation forces and intelligence.

So it's less about regional alliances, more about regional cooperation between NATO and different countries in different regions, especially in our neighbourhood.

Q: Thank you. My name is [inaudible]. I'm a student of the MPIE[?]. My question is considering that [inaudible] in this evolution of actors[?] that might be considered as [inaudible], you know, the so-called hybrid war, how do you really find the criteria for activating Article 5 so as to maintain NATO's credibility? And I'm thinking particularly about [inaudible] small country, small NATO member country, and small destabilizing actions in which some of the other members might not have the incentives to activate the Article.

JENS STOLTENBERG: The fundamental task for NATO, the core task for NATO is to protect all allies against any threat, and we have been able to do so for close to 70 years. And that applies for both big and small allies, and there has to be and an important thing is that there is no doubt about that. Because the important thing with deterrence is that as long as deterrence is credible, as long as deterrence is is real, then we prevent the war. And that's the best thing, to never really be able or to never be forced to use military force, because if you are strong, you prevent anyone from trying to test your capabilities.

Then you are pointing out something which is a challenge. And that is, during the Cold War the idea of an attack was, in a way, armoured vehicles or battle tanks from the Soviet Union rolling over the border between East and West Germany, and there was no doubt when a war started.

The problem with hybrid warfare is it's much more difficult to define exactly when it starts and actually when you are under attack, or who is behind the attack. Because hybrid warfare is this combination of civil and military means of aggression. It's this combination of overt and covert operations. It's cyber. One of the big problems with cyberattacks is, of course, that you can be under attack but you don't know who is attacking you. And so on.

So we have to adapt. Meaning for instance that we have to develop our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities so we have a better picture, a better understanding that we are more able to see what's going on on the ground. And that's exactly what we are doing. We are developing our intelligence capabilities.

We have now invested we are now soon to deploy a new system of drones to be able to have a better picture on the ground if anything happens. We need to be able to react fast because with hybrid warfare there is less warning time. That's the reason why we are increasing the readiness of our forces. We have tripled the size of the NATO response force so we can quickly deploy forces if needed. And also one of the reasons why we have decided to have forces deployed in the three Baltic countries and Poland, augmenting or increasing their capabilities to respond if there is an attack of any sort against one of these countries.

So we are adapting to a security environment where the threats are less easy to identify and an attack is less easy or more difficult to define. But, you know, hybrid attacks are often just, in a way, the first step, the prelude to a bigger conventional attack.

And part of that is cyber, and we are really stepping up the efforts to defend our cyber networks. We have defined cyber as a military domain. We have sea, land, air, and cyber. All of this to enable us to respond to different kinds of threats.

The last thing is that is that the Article 5 is something which applies, as I said, for all countries. There can be no doubt about that, and NATO will live up to the guarantees we have provided.

Q: Thank you. My name is Dorothy Zinberg. And I have a two-part question, or one is a long story, the other is a question. I was the American delegate to the NATO science policy committee during the years when expansion was being debated, and I would love to hear some of your thoughts about that.

But I think more important for our students is a short history of faith, changes in politics, all kinds of things. It was about 40 years ago that a man by the name of Johan Holst, who became the head of the Oslo Peace Accords, called me and said, "I would like to bring a friend to meet you." I said come on over to my house. I can assure you 40 years ago I was a very, very junior member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. And Johan Holst arrives with this man. And his name is Thorvald Stoltenberg, the Father of Jens. And it looked as if he  [inaudible] political office, and Johan was looking for a job with your Father, and he said He did not tell me he was your uncle at that point [inaudible], but this is what is so fascinating about politics and the way the world changes. Thorvald was about to be voted out of office, the party was going, but the elections changed and he won and he became minister of defense, the minister of foreign affairs, later in life the ambassador to Denmark, ahead of everything in yeah, ambassador to Denmark, ahead of everything in Norway today [inaudible].

And out of those chance meetings, your life really changes. Beginning with meeting him then, I began to work [inaudible] sciences [inaudible] Wales[?], on energy, nuclear power. And, again, it's so much that you never anticipate. So that old phrase "Seize the day." And your mother who should not go unmentioned here was the leading the leading feminist in Norway, cabinet post, major policy decisions, and bringing about major social change in Norway.

MODERATOR: We all thank you, Dorothy. Do you have a question?

Q: I want to know about NATO expansion because I voted against it once.

JENS STOLTENBERG: First of all, thank you for the nice words about my family, and you actually know almost more about my family than I do myself.

JENS STOLTENBERG: And I phone my father every day. So I will phone him now when I get into the car on my way to the airport, then I will tell him that I met you, yeah.

JENS STOLTENBERG: And and you all[?] you can all see[??] [inaudible] my uncle, and Norway Norway is a small country, but we are not the only family, so there are at least some families. So, yeah, then then about expansion. Well, it has been debated all the time, and and some allies have been skeptical, yeah, almost and some have also been against some of the around some enlargement. But at the end, we have always agreed because the only way NATO can enlarge is by consensus. So at the end, all allies have to agree to invite a new ally.

And I believe that if even there are or even if there have always been, you know, pro and cons, I really believe that the overall message is that it has been a great success because it has contributed to stability, to a Europe more whole, free and at peace. And of course, for those countries that for many of them they have they lived for decades under the under the rule of the Soviet Union either as part of the Soviet Union or as a republic in the Soviet Union and/or a part of the Warsaw Pact. So for them to be able to join NATO was a way to make sure that they can remain free, independent, with the protection of NATO.

And I sometimes use the word "expansion" because that's how it's often referred to, but expansion is more like, in a way, NATO moving east, and so taking in Poland and Lithuania and Estonia and so on. But the reality is that it's more that the east has moved west, meaning that those nations, the Baltic nations, Poland, Hungary and so on, and all the other new allies, they have strongly asked for the possibility to become members. And they have decided so by democratic decisions in their own countries. It's not NATO grabbing land. It's the land that moves into NATO, in a way.

And that's that a big difference, because because this is not an aggressive policy of NATO, but it is to respect the free independent choice of free and independent nations, including that they have to they have the right to decide their own path and what kind of security arrangements they want to be part of, including a military alliance as NATO.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Other questions? Yes, sir?

Q: Thank you, Secretary General. My name is [inaudible]. My question is on NATO and Israel. So in May 2016, NATO allowed Israel to [inaudible] missions [inaudible] Brussels[?] [inaudible] cooperation. And I was wondering, many Israelis [inaudible] seem to be very skeptical [inaudible] and he said, and I quote, "NATO is hollow. Everybody knows this except the leaders of NATO." My question is [inaudible] what are NATO's or your personal objectives or priorities with regard to Israel and NATO?

JENS STOLTENBERG: First of all, I think it's good that NATO has been able to develop a partnership to many different countries. And that's the way we work with countries, we cooperate with them, and some of and many of our partners, they actually contribute and are part of NATO operations and missions.

NATO has been in Afghanistan for many years, but we have to remember that many of the soldiers that NATO has deployed there, they're not coming from NATO allied countries but they're coming from partner nations. For instance, Georgia has been one of the major force contributors to NATO, contributors to NATO's presence in Afghanistan, and so on. Jordan has participated, and so on.

So I think that the partnerships are important for NATO and for the partner nations. We welcome the partnership with with Israel, and I am proud that we were able to then make it possible for Israel to open a mission. It's some kind of well, it's a kind of symbolic thing, but I think it is important that NATO as an alliance, 28 allies, have said, "Yes, we would like to have Israel with a diplomatic mission to NATO."

It's a strong political signal. And politics is also about symbols and signals, and this is a strong signal. And it also facilitates some practical cooperation. We can now move further with different kinds of practical programs, something called the Individual Partnership Program which now can develop with Israel. Benefit for NATO, benefit for Israel.

I didn't get exactly who said that NATO was hollow, but, well

Q: [Inaudible]. Barak.

JENS STOLTENBERG: Okay. He is actually a friend, but

[LAUGHS]

JENS STOLTENBERG:  but yeah, and he's a good man. But but and a Labour politician, so but the thing is that I don't know exactly why he said that, but what I know is that we are the strongest military alliance in the world and we provide deterrence every day. And we have been there for 70 years, close to 70 years, deterring the old Soviet Union.

And I think that if you go to Afghanistan, you have seen NATO presence there with more than 100,000 troops providing security, training local forces. We are there today. And if you ask the Afghans whether we are hollow, they will not understand, because we are there, we help them, we train them, we advise them, and we help them to fight the Taliban and to protect them against, you know, all the violence and all the intolerance that the Taliban and all the other terrorist groups in Afghanistan represent.

If you go to Bosnia, they had started genocide. At least it was they killed each other and there was war. NATO troops went in, and we stopped it.

If you if you Kosovo, 5000 NATO soldiers contributing to stability in Kosovo. And if you go to Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, they will now see that NATO troops are coming there, they stand there, and the important thing with the NATO presence in these countries is not that the battle group, battalion is so big, but the thing is that the NATO battalion in Estonia is going to be is going to consist of forces, troops from many different NATO allied countries, signal very clearly that if Estonia is attacked, it will trigger a response from the whole alliance. So the multinational presence of NATO troops in for instance Estonia sends an extremely strong signal that Estonia will not be left alone, but it will immediately trigger the response from the whole alliance.

So for them, this is not hollow. What's hollow for Barak, I don't know, but that doesn't matter so much.

Q: [Inaudible] the operations in Afghanistan are dwindling[?]. So I'm curious about how strategic in Central Asia for NATO [inaudible] relationship with the country's [inaudible].

JENS STOLTENBERG: Central Asia is still important for NATO, and we have many partner nations in the region. But you are right that of course, because we are now reducing our presence, we have already reduced our presence in Afghanistan, the importance of Central Asia at least for the operations in Afghanistan has been significantly reduced. Because before, we had many at least we had bases there and we has troops there, not because because there was as a way into Afghanistan.

We at the top, we had close to 140,000 troops, and we conducted big military combat operations in Afghanistan. Now we have reduced that to 12 , close to 13,000, 12,800 troops, and they don't participate in combat operations anymore. What they do is to train, assist and advise the Afghan forces. So it's a completely different world. And I think it's a very good thing that NATO has ended the combat operations and that we have enabled the Afghans themselves to protect their own country. And I really believe that in the long run it's much better than NATO deploying combat forces, that we enable local forces to protect themselves and to stabilize their own countries.

So therefore also our presence in Central Asia and Uzbekistan has been reduced in many, many cases to zero, because we don't need it for military purposes inside Afghanistan anymore.

MODERATOR: We have time for two more questions, so we will go to be back.

Q: Thank you for coming, Mr. Secretary General. My name is [inaudible] year one at Kennedy School. I have a question that there's a lot of conversation around ISIL, and Syria right now is being used as a playground by Iran and Saudi Arabia. All of these countries are regional [inaudible], regional powerhouses. They have their strategic objectives. What do you think NATO can do in terms of reconciling the strategic objectives of both Iran and Saudi Arabia? And then is there a way that NATO can bring these two powers at the table and create [inaudible] peaceful workable solution in the short term? Thank you.

JENS STOLTENBERG: I recently visited the Gulf Region, and I met also with the Conference of Saudi Arabia recently in Brussels. And one of the things I really have learned a lot more about since I became secretary general is the complexity and the challenges in the whole region, the Gulf Region, Iran, also affecting of course the turmoil, the violence in countries like Iraq and Syria. And I think it is important to be realistic that of course NATO can play a role, NATO can contribute in many different ways, but NATO cannot solve all problems.

So NATO is part of the answer to many problems, but we are not the only answer to all problems. Meaning that to, for instance, solve the or to reconcile the tensions, the problems we see between Saudi Arabia and Iran is not an easy task. And I don't believe that NATO can just go in and solve it. That's actually not for NATO to do.

But what I think is that NATO can, through our corporation for instance with the Gulf States, our dialog with different states in the region, can at least help contribute to reduce tensions. And we can of course contribute to the fight against ISIL, and I have stated several times what we are doing.

We train local forces, especially in Iraq. We work with other countries in the region. I mentioned especially Jordan and Tunisia. We have a very close corporation with several states in the Gulf Region. We will later on this fall open a new NATO regional training centre in Kuwait which will be some kind of hub for partnership, for political dialog, and for training in the region. And of course we even if yeah, we work with Turkey which is bordering and very close to all the turmoil and the violence in Syria and Iraq.

But you know, the extreme difficult relationship, or the different complex relationships in the Middle East is not for NATO just to solve. But we can help, contribute, and that's exactly what we are doing.

Q: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Another question right here.

Q: Thank you, Secretary General. My name is [inaudible] but my question does not actually concern Russia. I'm more interested in NATO policy in another region, in Asia, because there are other partners [inaudible] such as [inaudible]. So in case there is a conflict in the South China Sea specifically[?], [inaudible] how engaged should NATO be in the region[?] [inaudible] NATO [inaudible]?

JENS STOLTENBERG: NATO has many partners all over the world, including Japan, Korea and others. And we have political dialog with them, they participate and contribute to some of our operations. South Korea and Japan contribute financially to, for instance, our activities in Afghanistan, and so on. And so they are partners.

But I think we have to distinguish very clearly between partners and members. Meaning that the NATO collective defence security guarantees an attack on one is an attack on all, applies for the members and members only. Meaning that NATO do not have any security guarantees that covers the South China Sea. That's we are a regional we are a regional organization which covers Europe and North America, Canada and United States.

The important thing in the South China Sea is that the is that the conflicts, the disagreements there are resolved according to the International Law and the Law of the Sea, and we support all efforts to try to find, you know, ways to resolve the disputes by applying International Law. But for NATO, it's not an issue to have any guarantees or a military presence. It may be NATO allies. The United States is present in the Pacific and in that region, but that's as an individual nation, not as not on behalf of NATO.

So the short answer is that NATO has a close partnership with countries in Asia, but we don't have any security guarantees which apply for Asia.



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Tokyo objects to Chinese planes flying over disputed territory

Iran Press TV

Mon Sep 26, 2016 11:8AM

Japan has warned China against expanding its military activity to the skies over disputed East China Sea islands after Chinese warplanes flew near the area over the weekend.

China's Defense Ministry said Monday it had flown more than 40 bombers and other fighter planes through a strait between Japanese islands on their way to drills in the Western Pacific.

The overflights came after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan scrambled at least one fighter jet after the Chinese planes were spotted passing over Miyako Strait.

The strait lies east of the disputed Japanese-claimed Senkaku islands which China also claims and calls them the Diaoyu.

Suga said the Chinese aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace during the long-distance roundtrip flight, but it was the first time Chinese warplanes had flown that route.

He said Japan would respond firmly to any violation of Japanese air space in the future.

The move came after Japan said earlier this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy.

Japan and China have been in a long-time dispute over some uninhabited islets in the East China Sea.

Similar disputes exist between Beijing and other regional countries such as Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines over territories the South China Sea.

In these disputes, which have become a source of tensions between China, regional countries and the US, Washington has shown support for Beijing's rivals.

The seas are important global trade routes and hold huge mineral deposits.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, dismissing rival partial claims from its Southeast Asian neighbors and ejecting any intervention by Japan in the waterway.

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Japan Scrambles Jets in Response to China's Military Air Drills Near Okinawa

Sputnik News

01:27 26.09.2016(updated 01:42 26.09.2016)

Over 40 China's H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighter jets and air tankers flew through Japanese islands on Sunday while heading to large-scale military drills in the Western Pacific.

Warplanes of the People's Liberation Army conducted long range drills after flying over the Miyako Strait that lies between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa, the Chinese Air Force said in a statement.

The jets carried out early warning, sudden assault and aerial refueling exercises, which all aimed to check the forces' blue-water combat capabilities, according to the Chinese military.

As the first group of eight Chinese aircraft, including two fighters, flew over the Miyako strait on the Sunday morning, Japan scrambled fighter jets in response, Kyodo news agency reported citing the country's defense ministry.

The Miyako Strait sits tightly between Japan's Okinawa and Miyako Islands, and is one of the few routes that China can use to get into the Pacific. Beijing has been using the strait since May 2015.

Despite claiming that the group that flew next to Japanese borders Sunday was massive, the state military noted that the Japan's airspace wasn't violated.

The long range drills became the second event of its kind Beijing has undertaken this month. On September 12, some 20 Chinese aircraft flew in the area using the Bashi Channel, which rests between Taiwan and the Philippines.

However, the latest exercises are considered to be the biggest in the recent memory, according to analysts.

"This is very rare  the large number and variety of aircraft have not been seen before," Beijing-based military expert Li Jie said to South China Morning Post.

Also on Sunday, China conducted "routine" patrols in the so-called Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, which Beijing established in 2013.

Upon flying into ADIZ any aircraft is supposed to identify itself with the Chinese authorities. To "carefully monitor and judge the foreign military aircraft" entering the zone, China began patrols in the area, so it could also "respond to different threats in the sky and to protect national airspace," according to military.

"Regular long range drills in the Western Pacific and patrols over the East China Sea air defense identification zone were for the Air Force to protect China's sovereignty and national security, China's air force spokesman Shen Jinke said, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Defense website.

The news comes as tensions over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas are escalating.

Some analysts suggest that China's latest drills is a message to Tokyo, which has recently declared it is ready to participate in patrols in the South China Sea.

"It is a warning from Beijing to Japan: if you are coming to meddle in the South China Sea, then I'm going to flex my muscles at your doorstep," Macau-based military analyst Antony Wong Dong said to the South China Morning Post.

Recently the relations between China and Japan soured because their standoff over the Senkaku/ Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, which they both consider a sovereign territory.

 Sputnik

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Afghan Official Confirms Airstrike Killed Senior Pakistani Militant Leader

By Ayaz Gul September 26, 2016

Afghanistan's ambassador to Islamabad has released a statement confirming the killing of a top Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan.

Hazrat Omer Zakhilwal said in a statement Monday "The killing of top TTP commander, Azam Tariq, in an operation by Afghan security forces in Paktika is yet another proof that Afghanistan is not in business of harboring terrorists as 'assets,' regardless of who they intend to target; and does not distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' of them."

Pakistani authorities allege TTP extremists use Afghan sanctuaries with the help of the neighboring country's spy agency for staging and plotting cross-border deadly attacks on civilians as well as security forces.

Kabul, which has long blamed Islamabad for covertly supporting the Afghan Taliban, rejects the charges.

Media reports Sunday said suspected U.S. airstrikes in southeastern Afghanistan were believed to have killed a top commander of the extremist Pakistan Taliban and several of his partners.

The overnight attack took place in Bermal district of the Paktika province adjacent to the Pakistani border.

Rais Khan, also known as Azam Tariq, of the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the TTP, and his son were among those reported killed in the attack, according to militant sources.

The U.S. military Sunday confirmed to VOA it carried out two airstrikes in the area, but refrained from discussing details for "operational security reasons."

TTP has been waging a deadly insurgency on the state of Pakistan for over a decade. Most of it leaders and a large number of fighters fled to Afghanistan two years ago when the Pakistan military launched a major ground and air offensive against them in border areas.

The Pakistani Taliban is blamed for the killings of thousands of people in Pakistan during the past decade in terrorist attacks.

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The Americas' Longest War Ends with Peace Accord Signing in Cartagena

By Steve Herman September 26, 2016

A final peace agreement between Colombia's government and a national guerrilla movement was signed Monday, bringing an end to the longest-running insurgency in the Western Hemisphere.

"Nobody has given up their ideology," said the maximum leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Rodrigo Londono (better known by his alias of Timochenko), in a speech after signing the peace pact with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

The rebel leader asked for forgiveness for all the harm his movement had caused over the decades.

FARC's funding was primarily derived from the country's illicit cocaine industry, and its armed movement was the last full-blown one inspired originally by Cuban and Soviet ideology against democratic institutions in the Americas.

"No more war," declared Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in his remarks following Timochenko. "I welcome you to democracy, change weapons for votes and weapons for ideas."

The conflict since the mid-1960s displaced millions of people and left more than 250,000 dead.

The front page of Monday's El Tiempo newspaper put it more precisely: "La paz luego de 267,162 muertos. (Peace after 267,162 dead)."

Numerous heads of state and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the signing ceremony at the convention center in Cartagena.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Monday in the Caribbean port city, founded in the 16th century, that depending on the implementation of the peace pact, the United States could remove the FARC from its terrorism list.

"The announcement is an idea," Kerry said. "The implementation are facts, so let's see how it proceeds, but we clearly are prepared to review and make judgments about that as the facts come in."

De-mining

The FARC also has agreed to cooperate with de-mining, an effort being led by the United States and Norway.

Colombia has the second highest number of land mines in the world after Afghanistan, and the explosives have killed an estimated 11,500 people since 1990.

The United States is taking some of the credit for bringing about the peace pact, which diplomats in Washington describe as a transformational event for Colombia and the region and one that President Barack Obama has described as one of the most important achievements during his presidency.

Colombian President Santos, who has staked his reputation on ending the war, had asked the United States to increase its engagement in the four-year negotiating process, which mostly took place in Cuba. A special envoy, Bernard Aronson, was named to participate in the talks.

"This war is all about real people and real suffering, and seeing that come to an end is very, very gratifying," Arsonson told VOA hours before the ceremony.

The U.S. government, in fiscal 2017, plans to spend $450 million to help Colombia bring government services, security, police, education, health, roads and economic development to the vast stretches of the interior that have been left out of national life during the decades of conflict.

Proponents of the deal also note the commitment to work with farmers to get land titles as well as access to transportation networks for their harvests of legal crops, rather than coca leaf production. It includes transitional justice efforts that proponents hope will lead to reconciliation in the countryside.

They also predict it will be the catalyst for Colombia's GDP to grow at twice its current pace and triple foreign investment following years of negative growth and capital flight.

"It's very hard to beat the economics of coca but it comes with coercion and violence," said Marcela Escobari, assistant administrator for the Latin America bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Hoping compromise pays off

Not everyone supports the deal on which Colombians will render a verdict in a nationwide binding referendum set for October 2.

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe contends the deal gives total amnesty to drug trafficking by labeling it a political crime. He said, "Colombians have learned over decades of attempted negotiations with other terrorist groups that impunity always becomes the seed of new forms of violence."

Recent public opinion polls in the country, however, show a double digit advantage for the "Yes" camp, despite widespread loathing for FARC and a robust "No" campaign spanning the political spectrum.

"The consequences of a loss would be catastrophic," Humberto de la Calle, the government's chief negotiator, said in announcing the agreement.

Other peace threats

The peace pact includes a large new security commitment by Colombia's government to go after the extremely violent "bandas criminales" (known by the acronym BACRIM). Some are successors to right-wing paramilitaries that clashed with FARC fighters and other left-wing guerrillas, but also engaged in cocaine production and smuggling along with the killings of labor and human rights activists.

The immediate, biggest threat to the October 2 peace referendum could be low voter turnout. To be valid, the referendum must be endorsed by at least 13 percent of all registered voters.

Besides BACRIM, the smaller Marxist-Leninist rebel National Liberation Army, or ELN, remains active, and even with the Cartagena signing, total peace in Colombia will remain elusive.

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Import Substitution: Glonass Satellites to Switch to Russian Electronics

Sputnik News

14:47 26.09.2016(updated 15:03 26.09.2016)

By 2020 a Russian GLONASS K-2 global positioning satellite in place, built entirely from Russian-made parts as part of the government's ongoing effort to substitute imports amid sanctions, Izvestia reported.

"The GLONASS K-2 satellites will largely be made from Russian components and we are going to start mass producing them before 2020," Nikolai Testoyedov, chief designer at Reshetnev Information Satelllite Systems JSC, Russia's number one satellite maker, told the newspaper.

He added that "making a satellite 100 percent Russian" is a hard task.

"It would be more appropriate to speak about guaranteed availability of components and our ability to make them here in Russia so that we can switch to domestically-made parts any time," Testoyedov emphasized.

He said that Reshetnev ISS was making no use of Chinese-made components, at least for now.

"Our Chinese partners have come here many times to offer their product and we have sent our experts to their enterprises to assess the quality of what they do. Some of our companies are already buying their components and we at Reshetnev ISS are also studying such a possibility now," Testoyedov added.

Last year, Reshetnev ISS was contracted by Roscosmos to build nine GLONASS K-1 and two GLONASS K-2 new generation satellites at a total cost of 62 bln rubles.

GLONASS K-1s are slated to replace the GLONASS K-2 satellites currently in orbit, starting from 2018.

"We have set aside seven GLONASS M satellites we are going to send up whenever necessary, followed by Glonass K ones," Nikolai Testoyedov said, adding that by 2028 the orbital constellation will consist of various generations of satellites.

There are three GLONASS K experimental probes currently in orbit, but they are primarily built from foreign-made components. After the United States banned the export of certain electronic components to Russia, it was decided to switch to the use of domestically-made components.

GLONASS, or GLObal NAvigation Satellite System, is Russia's very own space-based satellite navigation system.

It provides an alternative to the American GPS system and is the second alternative navigational system in operation with global coverage and of comparable precision.

By 2010, GLONASS had achieved 100% coverage of Russian territory and in October 2011, the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites was restored, enabling full global coverage.

GLONASS satellites have undergone several upgrades, with the latest version being GLONASS K.

 Sputnik

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China Deploys Stealth Drones to Guard Disputed Islands in South, East China Seas

Sputnik News

00:20 25.09.2016

Amid mounting tensions over disputed territories in the East and South China Seas, Beijing is preparing to launch stealthy UAVs to oversee and map contested waters and islands.

The domestically-constructed Chinese drones will survey the Senkanu/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by Japan, and vast areas in the South China Sea, which is partially claimed by five other nations, the local media reported.

The South China Sea, which Beijing claims to be its sovereign territory, has some 12,186 islands dispersed across the area of over 3,000 square kilometers, with some of them located over a thousand kilometers away from the mainland China.

"Reefs and islands are important parts of our national territory," Li Yingcheng, general manager of China TopRS Technology Co. Ltd said as quoted by Chinese state-run People's Daily newspaper. "Precise information of their geology is crucial evidence for the demarcation of territorial waters and for safeguarding national maritime interests and security."

Li noted that "many of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea have much larger underwater portions than what is visible above water."

To achieve the goal of monitoring remote and difficult of approach islands, Chinese engineers have designed two unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), ZC-5B and ZC-10, Li said. The drones are equipped with Beidou navigation system, a Chinese analogue of the Google system, and can cover in full territories of up to 80 nautical miles and partially areas spread across 1,500 nautical miles.

The ZC-5B, Li stressed, was specifically designed to map and survey open sea reefs. It has an operating range of 1,400 km and can work up to 30 hours.

The news comes as tensions over contested territories remain high in the region. The South China Sea has been a bone of contention in Southeastern Asia, with some six nations, including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and China having overlapping territorial claims there.

In July, The Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled than China has no historic rights to the territories it claims in proceedings brought before the court unilaterally by the Philippines. Beijing immediately lashed out at the decision, claiming it would not adhere to it.

Since then the other long-living dispute in the East China Sea between China and Japan, has exacerbated sharply. Both sides accused each other of a military buildup in the area and a number of trespassing.

 Sputnik

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India's Deployment of BrahMos Supersonic Stealth Missile is Making China Nervous

Sputnik News

21:27 25.09.2016(updated 00:20 26.09.2016)

India's more hawkish foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a major scoop up of international armaments has Beijing looking to their southern border with concern.

The Indian military deployed a fourth regiment of 100 BrahMos missiles and five autonomous missile launchers in the North-Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh disconcertingly close to the country's border with China amid festering tensions between New Delhi and Beijing in large part based on China's pledge to support its long-time ally Pakistan in the event of an attack.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) immediately denounced the deployment calling it a threat and saying it raises the stakes over a longstanding territorial dispute between the two countries.

The BrahMos "missile with updated capabilities for stealth and mountain warfare could threaten Yunnan and Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) provinces, located across the border from Arunachal Pradesh," said the People's Liberation Army in a statement while a state-run media editorial said the move was "beyond India's 'normal need for self-defense.' Playing tricks, they are bound to suffer the consequences."

China's concern does not appear to be with the BrahMos in its current form with a maximum range of only 180 miles (290km) limiting the potential area of danger across the Chinese border, but Beijing worries that with certain modifications the stealth-capable missile could pose a greater threat.

The state-of-the-art hypersonic missile's kinetic energy makes increases the stealth profile and target penetration characteristic of the weapon constructed jointly with Russia. The missile boasts a max speed of 2,113 MPH (3400kmh), but a hypersonic variant of the BrahMos traveling at nearly twice the speed is expected to be prepared in the next 5 to 7 years with a longer range.

The upgraded BrahMos potentially provides India with a major strategic advantage in mountain warfare with the missile specially designed to select targets hidden behind a mountain range and with the potential for longer range, hypersonic qualities the missile would likely pass through Beijing's defense systems like a knife through butter.

Most concerning, with China's own forays into hypersonic weapons technology, it appears that defense practices of the future are tilted towards offensive rather than defensive capabilities raising the stakes in the event that even a conventional war breaks out.

 Sputnik

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Iran capable of producing missiles of every range, precision, destructive power

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Sept 25, IRNA -- Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said Iran was capable of designing and producing missiles of every range, precision and destructive power.

The minister made the remarks here Sunday morning while addressing the Iranian Parliament's session.

He said Iran has reached a degree of capability in the areas of cruise missile, combined solid fuel and defense missile production and could make and design missiles with all kinds of ranges, precision and destructive power.

Stressing that the long-range missiles Iran is presently producing enjoy a precision of minus 10 meters, the minister said that Iran is going to develop its future ballistic missiles in a way that they could hit far-away sea targets as well.

He further noted that Iran is going to introduce three major products in missile defense areas by the end of the current Iranian year (to end March 20, 2017) which would multiply the country's defense might.

The minister went on to stress the need for the country to update its navy units stationed Mokran coasts in the Gulf of Oman by adding new warships and fleets.

Referring to the sacred defense years, he said the objective Americans were pursuing by backing Saddam army was to silence the voice of Iran's Islamic revolution in the world.

Turning to the present situation of the region, he despised the widespread insecurity prevailing the region, adding that Iran is the only country promoting peace and stability by spearheading anti-terrorism combat.

The General further stressed that Iran observed no restricting elements in improving its defense power save the production of chemical and mass destruction weapons and said since the country is located in a geographically and politically sensitive region, it has to focus on expanding its defense capabilities.

He also noted that Iran would accept no restrictions on missile defense areas and said Tehran is willing to go forward according to pre-planned programs.

1424**1771

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Minister: 3 new missiles to be produced in next few months

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Sept 25, IRNA -- Defense minister has announced that three principal missile products will walk into the production area by the end of the Iranian calendar year on March 20, 2017.

Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan named those three missiles as Ghadir, Sejjil and Khorramshahr.

Dehqan made the remarks at the Majlis ( parliament) open session this morning (Sunday).

By producing these missiles, he said, the country's defense capabilities will multiply.

According to the minister, Ghadir and Sejjil are long-range solid-fueled missiles and Khorramshahr is the one with high striking capability.

1483**1771

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Sayyari: Iranian destroyers likely to visit Italian ports

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Sept 25, IRNA -- Navy Commander Rear-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said here on Sunday that several Iranian destroyers may visit Italian ports in near future.

Speaking in a local gathering, Sayyari added the 43th flotilla of the Iranian Navy is present in the Gulf of Aden to safeguard naval routes for vessels operating in the region.

He said Iran's Navy dispatched a flotilla to Pakistani ports on Sept 24 to convey the message of peace and friendship to other countries .

The Iranian commander added an Italian Navy frigate berthed at port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Sept 24.

The berthing of the Italian warship takes place in line with the two countries' plan to boost friendly military relations.

Meanwhile, Commander of First Naval Zone Rear Admiral Hossein Azad said on Sept 24 that the Italian frigate has been dispatched to the Islamic Republic with the purpose of boosting political, cultural and military relations.

'Such visits are aimed at enhancing international maritime interactions and conducting joint naval maneuvers between two or more countries,' Rear Admiral Azad said in a meeting with Italian Ambassador to Tehran Mauro Conciatori and that country's military attache.

He went on to say that given the international nature of naval forces in all countries across the world, naval units comprising warships and air force units are dispatched to other countries each year in the form of a fleet.

9060**1771

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Iran to produce 3 types of missiles by yearend: Defense minister

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:13AM

Iran's defense chief says the Islamic Republic is set to unveil three new types of missiles in the coming months, adding that state-of-the-art ballistic missile Zolfaqar has been put on the production line.

Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan made the announcement at a plenary session of the parliament (Majlis) on Sunday.

Iran is observing the Sacred Defense Week, which marks the 36th anniversary of the eight-year Iraqi war against the country.

"We will begin manufacturing three fundamental products in the area of missile [development] by the end of the year," said the Iranian minister, stressing that the latest defense achievements will greatly promote the country's defense might.

"These three missiles include Qadir, Sejil (solid-fuel long-range models) as well as high-precision Khorramshahr," he added.

He further announced that Iran has now launched the production line of precision-guided solid-fuel anti-radar jamming missile Zolfaqar.

Zolfaghar, with a range of 750 kilometers, is a multiple reentry vehicle (MRV) missile capable of carrying several warheads.

It is the latest generation of Iran's long-range missiles and can carry out precision strikes against targets on the ground and airport tarmacs.

The missile was unveiled during a recent large-scale naval parade in Iran's port city of Bandar Abbas.

Iran is now capable of designing and producing missiles with any range as well as any level of precision and destructive power when it comes to cruise types and the ones using solid or liquid fuel, he added.

In the future, Iran will develop ground-to-ground ballistic missiles that can hit maritime targets far away, Dehqan pointed out.

"In the area of missile defense, we know no limits to our might, and that is why we will continue to boost our defense power as scheduled," Dehqan said.

He said Iran is the only country that enjoys peace and stability in a region severely troubled by violence, adding that the Islamic Republic is the standard-bearer of the fight against terror and leaves no stone unturned to restore calm to the region.

In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

Iran has also conducted military drills to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art army equipment.

The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

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Grab the popcornthe first debate between Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Donald Trump, the Republican contender, is on Monday night.

You probably know by now that the candidates are far more likely to be asked whether they have pneumonia and how they would get Mexico to pay for a border wall than about, say, teacher evaluation.

But if you were the debate moderator and could ask the candidates one question, what would it be?

We turned this question loose on, of course, Twitter. Heres what our followers came up with:

@PoliticsK12 how do you plan to ensure students with disabilities receive adequate resources and supports at all levels?  Will Ragland (@citizenwillis) September 22, 2016

@PoliticsK12 Should parents have the right to opt their children out of any federally mandated standardized assessments?  Dan Mella (@MellaPHS) September 22, 2016

Why has Common Core failed to reproduce Performance Gap success of MA Education Miracle? What was critical difference? @PoliticsK12  Forfare Davis (@Pseudoplotinus) September 20, 2016

@PoliticsK12 How will they ensure Teachers are prepared 4 the classroom & have the tools they need to make their Students successful?  Lennon Audrain (@LennonAudrain) September 22, 2016

.@PoliticsK12 How do we change the negative narratives driving qualified, passionate people away from going into teaching? #EDdebate  David Coffey (@delta_dc) September 22, 2016

@PoliticsK12 How will they ensure Teachers are prepared 4 the classroom & have the tools they need to make their Students successful?  Lennon Audrain (@LennonAudrain) September 22, 2016

@educationweek @PoliticsK12 Whats your plan to improve education for children with disabilities and minorities?  Carola Pagan (@CarolaPagan1) September 22, 2016

@educationweek @PoliticsK12 What would you do to improve mental health services in our public schools?  Bill Pepin (@wpepin1970) September 23, 2016

@politicsk12 What is your specific vision/plan to improve the inefficiencies and failures of the public education?  Daniel Graybeal,M.Ed (@Mr_graybeal) September 23, 2016

@PoliticsK12 What does ESSA local control that also promotes equity look like, given states poor track record on this front? https://t.co/lU5Mit5o4Q  Rachel Gwaltney (@rachelgwaltney) September 23, 2016

@PoliticsK12 How will you reprioritize education in our country to reverse trends that are caused by a lack of educational opportunities? https://t.co/N5Kd9oXtwR  M. F. Royer (@M_F_Royer) September 23, 2016

@PoliticsK12 : How will you continue legacy of past 2 presidents to advocate 4 financial literacy across US? #PACFCYA https://t.co/VuSrLwqd4R  Susan Sharkey (@Susan_Colorado) September 23, 2016

Some folks preferred to email us their responses:

Competitioncharters, vouchers, and the likeimply winners and losers. What would you [do as] President to support public schools which [is the choice] provided to all children in the country? wrote Debbie Wussland, a former school board member from Jefferson County, Kentucky, which includes Louisville.

And Democrats for Education Reform, which supports Clinton, emailed us a few suggestions, including this one:

Last year, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act. While the law provides a great deal of new flexibility to states regarding testing, accountability, and school interventions, it also has requirements in each of those areas. Would you continue going down the path the Obama Administration has followed to set clear guidelines for monitoring and enforcing the law? Or would you open up policies like annual student testing for re-negotiation?

Want to know where the candidates stand on some key K-12 issues, including school choice, bullying, and education funding? Click here to check out our interactive graphic .

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Defense Secretary Carter, Gen Dunford Lash Out at Obama Over Iran Ransom Payment

Sputnik News

21:14 25.09.2016(updated 00:20 26.09.2016)

Defense Secretary Ash Carter joined by leading defense officials say that they were not consulted before President Obama made the decision that they feel has sullied the name of the armed forces and emboldened Iranian forces.

The Obama administration faces yet another fracture in the tenuous alliance among political, diplomatic and military staffers as the fallout of President Obama's controversial decision to send $400 million in cash to Iran amid the Iranian nuclear negotiations in order to free US naval personnel held hostage after drifting into Iranian waters continues to develop.

According to US Defense Secretary Ash Carter neither President Obama nor Secretary of State John Kerry consulted either he nor Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford before making the ill-fated decision that has top US military officials up in arms.

In response to a question from Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) regarding the decision to proffer $400 million in cash to Iran as a condition for the release of hostages, Carter made clear that he was not invited to the decision making process.

"We weren't involved in this," Carter said. "I don't know all the details of it, and the chairman and I were not involved in that. It is a decision that was taken by the law-enforcement and diplomatic [agencies], and I would refer you there."

General Joseph Dunford reiterated this reality in his testimony before the Senate committee saying, "I am not trying to be evasive, but I don't know the details of that arrangement and it really was a political decision that was made to provide that money, and I don't think it's appropriate that I comment on that."

The statements made by top Pentagon officials directly contradicts the earlier Obama administration position laid out by State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner who said, "There's always an inter-agency discussion around any decision like this, and every relevant agency weighs in."

Statements by the Pentagon officials before Congress in contradiction to the official line show a chasm opening once again between the defense and diplomatic establishment within the administration.

The US President's decision to fully exclude the military branches from the discussion along with recent revelations by Politico that the White House had been wiring cash to Iranian banks before the cash delivery have set the stage for division among the administration's ranks likely to last through the final months of Obama's term.

 Sputnik

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Iran Delivers 38 Tonnes of Heavy Water to Russia in September

Sputnik News

12:41 26.09.2016(updated 13:24 26.09.2016)

Tehran has delivered 38 metric tonnes of heavy water to Russia this month.

VIENNA (Sputnik)  Iran has delivered 38 metric tonnes of heavy water, a material used in nuclear reactors, to Russia this month, Russia's Rosatom nuclear agency CEO Sergei Kirienko said Monday.

"I can inform the respected colleagues that 38 tonnes of Iran's heavy water have been delivered in two flights on September 13 and 20," Kirienko said at the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plenary session.

In July, Alexei Karpov, Russia's deputy permanent envoy to international organizations in Vienna said that Moscow was ready to purchase heavy water from Iran to help Tehran meet commitments under comprehensive nuclear agreements with world powers reached in July 2015.

According to the deal, Iran must store no more than 130 tonnes of heavy water during the first year after signing the agreement.

On June 1, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced plans to sell 92 tonnes of Iranian heavy water to the United States, Russia and several European countries.

Russia intends to support the reelection of Yukiya Amano as the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kirienko said.

"We provide constant support to IAEA Director General Mr Amano, who overall manages to maintain a balanced professional approach in a difficult situation We plan to support his election for a third term."

 Sputnik

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60 Daesh terrorists killed in Iraq's Anbar province: Reports

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 10:3AM

At least 60 members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have reportedly been killed in Iraq's western Anbar Province.

Iraq's al-Sumaria news website quoted Major General Qassim al-Mohamadi, the commander of al-Jazeera Operations, as saying on Sunday that the Iraqi forces had managed to foil an attempted attack by Daesh elements on the city of Hit in Anbar, killing 40 Daesh members in the counter-strike.

The Baghdad-based War Media Cell said that the other 20 Daesh extremists were killed in an airstrike conducted by the Iraqi air force.

Amin Shekhani, a spokesman for a unit of the Iraqi army, said that nine Daesh-linked boats were also destroyed in the south of Nineveh Province.

The Takfiris used the vessels to transport foodstuff and guns between five villages around the Tigris River, Shekhani said, adding that the boats and their occupants were targeted by the Iraqi army in the river. He did not specify how many people were on board the boats and whether they died or were merely injured.

Elsewhere in the northeastern city of Ramadi, which is Anbar's provincial capital, rocket attacks by the Iraqi military left a number of terrorists dead and destroyed three of their cars.

Blast kills six in Iraqi capital

In another development on Sunday, six people were killed and 16 others sustained injuries in an explosion that rocked the district of Eskan in western Baghdad.

Iraq's Shafaq News reported that the casualties came as an assailant set off his explosives among a crowd of people.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in June 2014. The Iraqi army and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have been engaged in joint operations to retake militant-held areas.

The Iraqi forces are said to be gearing up for an offensive in early October to liberate Mosul, the last remaining bastion for the terror group in the north of the country.

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Afghan forces kill top Pakistani Taliban commander

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 7:27PM

Afghan security forces have killed one of the top Pakistani Taliban commanders along with at least 10 other militants in an area along the porous border between the two countries, militant sources say.

Sources in the militant group said on Sunday that Raees Khan, also known as Azam Khan Tariq, the fourth-highest ranking commander in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and his associates were killed in the Laman area of Afghanistan's Paktika province, which is near Pakistan's South Waziristan region.

"I confirm the killing of Azam Tariq along with at least 10 other Pakistani Taliban in Paktika province," AFP quoted a senior militant commander loyal to Tariq as saying.

Tariq had been working as the spokesman for former TTP chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan in 2013.

The latest killing of a top Taliban commander comes as Pakistan has demanded that Kabul hand over fugitive Maulana Fazlullah, the chief of the Pakistani Taliban in the restive Swat valley, who is reportedly hiding in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan blame each other for the Taliban violence plaguing both countries.

Both nations have accused each other of allowing militants to shelter in the border regions and launch bloody attacks that threaten regional stability.

Tensions have also risen along the Afghan-Pakistani border in recent months.

Kabul blames elements inside the Pakistani spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, for supporting the Taliban militants, while Islamabad blames the Afghan government for giving refuge to militants on its side of the border.



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Pakistani Taliban Leaders Reported Killed In Air Strike

By RFE/RL September 25, 2016

Three Pakistani Taliban leaders have reportedly been killed in joint Afghan and NATO air strikes in eastern Afghanistan, Pakistani security sources say.

Sources told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal on September 25 that Raees Khan, also known as Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the Khan Said group of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, was killed in the air strikes late on September 24.

The air strikes targeted the Laman area of Afghanistan's Paktika Province, along the volatile border with Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, a hotbed of various extremist groups.

A senior official with Khan Said confirmed to Radio Mashaal that Tariq had been killed.

Sources said Tariq's son and two other Taliban leaders from North Waziristan were also killed in the attack, but did not give their names.

Afghan authorities confirmed the air strikes and said three Al-Qaeda commanders and six other members had been killed.

Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman for the Defense Ministry, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on September 25 that Tariq was likely among the dead.

Nabiullah Pirkhil, a spokesman for Paktika Province's governor, told Radio Mashaal that among the dead were members of Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network, a radical wing of the Afghan Taliban that is based in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The Khan Said faction in 2014 severed ties with Mullah Fazluallah, the current TTP leader, saying it would operate independently from North Waziristan.

Afghan and NATO forces have increasingly targeted Islamic State, Haqqani network, and Pakistani Taliban positions in eastern Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, the army has conducted large-scale operations to root out militants from the tribal areas since 2014.

But Kabul has accused Islamabad of targeting only Pakistani Taliban fighters, who are fighting to overthrow the Pakistani government, and giving free rein to other militant groups fighting Afghan and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal and Radio Free Afghanistan

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-taliban-leader- killed-in-afghanistan/28011458.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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Airstrike Kills Senior Pakistani Militant Leader in Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul September 25, 2016

Suspected U.S. airstrikes in southeastern Afghanistan are believed to have killed a top commander of the extremist Pakistan Taliban and several of his partners.

The overnight attack took place in Bermal district of the Paktika province adjacent to the Pakistani border.

Rais Khan, also known as Azam Tariq, of the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the TTP, and his son were among those reported killed in an overnight attack, according to militant sources.

The U.S. military Sunday confirmed to VOA it carried out two airstrikes in the area, but refrained from discussing details for "operational security reasons."

"We can confirm that U.S. forces conducted two air strikes recently in Bermal district on September 24 and 25. I can tell you that one air strike was conducted under counter terrorism authorities and the other airstrike was conducted in defense of friendly forces," it said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said national forces conducted operations in Bermal late on Saturday, killing nine militants. It said the dead included two al-Qaida commanders, adding security forces also have seized weapons, suicide vests and communication equipment.

TTP has been waging a deadly insurgency on the state of Pakistan for over a decade. Most of it leaders and a large number of fighters fled to Afghanistan two years ago when the Pakistan military launched a major ground and air offensive against them in border areas.

The counterterrorism operation mainly focused on North Waziristan, once condemned an epicenter of international terrorism.

Pakistani authorities allege TTP extremists use Afghan sanctuaries with the help of the neighboring country's spy agency for staging and plotting cross-border deadly attacks on civilians as well as security forces.

Kabul, which has long blamed Islamabad for covertly supporting the Afghan Taliban, rejects the charges.

The Pakistani Taliban is blamed for the killings of thousands of people in Pakistan during the past decade in terrorist attacks.

But the military says its offensive near the Afghan border areas has eliminated terrorist infrastructures and killed more than 3,500 militants, which has significantly reduced the violence.

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Russian Frigate Admiral Grigorovich Sets Sail for Mediterranean Sea

Sputnik News

15:51 24.09.2016(updated 19:54 24.09.2016)

Black Sea Fleet press service said that Russian Frigate Admiral Grigorovich left the port of Sevastopol for Greece via the Mediterranean Sea to commemorate Admiral Fyodor Ushakov as a part of the annual Russian week on the Ionian Islands.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian Frigate Admiral Grigorovich left the port of Sevastopol for Greece via the Mediterranean Sea to commemorate Admiral Fyodor Ushakov as a part of the annual Russian week on the Ionian islands, the Black Sea Fleet press service said Saturday.

"Today, the newest frigate of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Grigorovich left Sevastopol for a long Mediterranean trip. The ship in the period from September 28 to October 2 will take part in XV annual forum Russian Week on the Ionian islands for the first time, when famous Admiral Fyodor Ushakov under whose command the Russian sailors freed the island of Corfu from foreign invaders in 1799, will be commemorated," the press service said.

In service since March 10, the Admiral Grigorovich is the first of six planned Project 11356 frigates, three of which are due to be delivered to the Defense Ministry by 2017. The frigate left the Baltic Fleet base in the western seaport town of Baltiysk in late April for Sevastopol.

The trials of the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates were successfully completed in the Barents Sea in late 2015. The frigates, displacing 3,850 tonnes, are designed for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare as well as for air defense missions, operating both independently or as part of convoys and naval task forces.

 Sputnik

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Saudi Arabia Faces Increasing IS Threats at Home

By Sirwan Kajjo September 24, 2016

Saudi Arabia is fighting a growing threat from the Islamic State that is both breeding homegrown terrorists and using the kingdom's conservative religious teachings to undermine the monarchy.

Saudi security forces say they detained 17 people this week who belonged to three cells that had ties with IS. The government said the suspects were reportedly planning four major attacks on security and economic targets in the country, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Hundreds of people with alleged ties to IS have been arrested since IS declared war on the kingdom in 2014. Saudi officials said IS-affiliated terror cells carried out several deadly shootings and bombings, many of them targeting security forces and Shi'ite mosques.

IS "presents a very serious threat, not just to Europe and the United States ... but inside of Saudi Arabia," John Brennan, the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, said recently.

For Saudi Arabia, battling IS presents a double challenge. Besides undermining the kingdom through violence, IS also wants to undercut the belief system of the monarch known as Wahhabism.

Doctrine's birthplace

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Wahhabism, an austere Sunni doctrine credited with inspiring the radical ideology of IS. The Islamic State group accuses the Saudi monarchy of using Wahhabism to legitimize its rule, particularly with its custodianship of Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites. Saudi groups linked to the conservative theology have been accused of sending funds to help IS expand abroad.

"IS has two primary objectives in Saudi Arabia," said Abdullah Ghawdi, a journalist at the Saudi Okaz newspaper in Riyadh. "One is to undermine the Saudi security forces and the other one is to target religious scholars."

In July, before the start of the pilgrimage season, IS-linked militants staged a suicide attack in Mecca and Medina, killing several security officers. IS has also been behind attacks on mosques belonging to the Shi'ite minority in the eastern part of the country.

"Salafi jihadism was originated in Saudi Arabia," said F. Gregory Gause III, a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University who monitors developments in the kingdom. "But the Saudi government says that the ideology [IS] has embraced is deviant."

IS's campaign against Saudi interests has increased as the kingdom has become more involved in the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. Saudi Arabia is a major hub for intelligence-gathering against IS.

And IS also has become active in neighboring Yemen, claiming responsibility for killing dozens in August in a suicide bombing. Saudi Arabia and its allies have intervened with airstrikes and military power in the Yemen conflict in support of the exiled Yemeni government.

Directed from top command

Unlike the majority of lone wolf attacks carried out by IS followers in the West, IS attacks in Saudi Arabia have been engineered from the top IS command in Syria and Iraq, analysts say.

"Most of the terror attacks in the kingdoms and the foiled ones have had direct ties [with militants] in Syria and Iraq," said Abdulaziz Sager, who heads the Gulf Research Center, a Saudi think tank.

IS is finding fertile recruiting ground among jihadists who fought for radical Islamist causes abroad, analysts say.

"Many Saudi radicals had joined terrorist organizations in Iraq and Afghanistan," journalist Ghawdi told VOA. "Some of them have returned to Saudi Arabia."

The government has sponsored a rehabilitation program to help reform jihadists. Many of them have been able to return to society. But the rise of IS led some to radicalize again, Ghawadi said.

"Many have joined IS because it was easy to travel to Turkey and cross the border to Syria," he said. "They have maintained contacts with other radicals back home."

Saudi officials have taken steps to limit IS's influence by initiating reforms in the ultrareligious Saudi education system to remove materials from textbooks that could be used by recruiters to radicalize students.

"Our curriculum is currently clear of any texts that might be misunderstood and misused by citizens," said Sadaqa Fadel, a member of the Saudi parliament, known as the Shura Council.

Anti-terror laws

The government also has passed several anti-terror laws "that are more effective in detecting terror cells and suspects," Fadel said.

The 2016 U.S. State Department report on religious freedom credited Saudi Arabia with "making revisions to remove intolerant passages from textbooks and curriculum." However, the report said the Saudi government still "remains uniquely repressive in the extent to which it restricts the public expression of any religion other than Islam."

Saudi Arabia prohibits any non-Muslim public places of worship, and the report said "a 2014 law classifying blasphemy and advocating atheism as terrorism has been used to prosecute human rights defenders and others."

Still, analysts say Saudi Arabia is likely to be targeted by more IS attacks, though IS's impact is ultimately limited.

IS "poses a threat to Saudi Arabia's stability," Saudi watcher Gause said. "But it can't threaten to overthrow the monarchy."

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Syria Violence Escalates As UN Security Council Meets

By RFE/RL September 25, 2016

The United Nations Security Council has met in New York to discuss the spiraling violence in Syria, where a recent cease-fire has collapsed.

At the start of UN Security Council meeting on September 25, the UN's top envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, accused the government of unleashing "unprecedented military violence" against civilians in Aleppo.

His remarks came as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group, said at least 23 people were killed in government air strikes on September 25 in eastern Aleppo, which is controlled by rebel forces.

Over 100 people have been killed since a September 9 truce brokered by the United States and Russia fell apart last week.

The United States, Britain, and France blamed Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, for the recent escalation in fighting.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war," said Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the UN, during the emergency meeting.

"It is Russia's actions that have prolonged the conflict, prolonged the suffering," said Matthew Rycroft, British ambassador to the UN.

"Does Russia think it can install confidence and trust with its partners by negotiating a cessation of hostilities with one hand and supporting the regime, which is bombing Aleppo, with the other hand?" said Francois Delattre, France's ambassador to the UN.

Meanwhile, Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the UN, said that "bringing peace is almost an impossible task now," because he claimed the cease-fire was "sabotaged" by opposition groups supported by Washington.

"The Americans basically said that they were not able to influence their groups and thus fulfill the agreements that they wanted to see," he said.

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari said Damascus "will not give up a single inch of its territory."

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/syria- violence-escalates-un-security- council-meets/28011922.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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UN Chief 'Appalled' By Aleppo Military Escalation

By RFE/RL September 25, 2016

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "appalled by the chilling military escalation" in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, his spokesman says.

"Since the announcement two days ago by the Syrian Army of an offensive to capture eastern Aleppo, there have been repeated reports of air strikes involving the use of incendiary weapons and advanced munitions such as bunker-buster bombs," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on September 24.

Ban "considers this a dark day for the global commitment to protect civilians," Dujarric added.

Damascus has stepped up strikes on rebel-held areas of the city since a cease-fire collapsed last week.

The UN Security Council is to meet in New York later on September 25 to discuss the escalation of violence, diplomats say.

The meeting was requested by Britain, France, and the United States.

UNICEF, the UN children's organization, says recent attacks have left nearly 2 million people without water.

A pumping station providing water for rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo was destroyed by bombing, and the rebels responded by shutting down a station supplying the west of the city, according to UNICEF.

On September 24, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 45 people, among them 10 children, were killed in bombardments in eastern Aleppo.

"The raids are intense and continuous," according to the organization's director, Rami Abdulrahman.

Activists said both Syrian and Russian warplanes were taking part in the offensive.

The Syrian Army said it was targeting rebel positions in the city and denied hitting civilians. Russia has not confirmed its involvement.

The Syrian military announced late on September 22 that it was starting a new operation against the rebel-held eastern part of the city, which is home to at least 250,000 people.

An army source was quoted as saying the offensive would be "comprehensive," with a ground assault following air and artillery bombardment.

On September 24 in New York, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem told the UN General Assembly that Damascus's belief in victory was now greater than ever, adding that government forces were "making great strides in its war against terrorism."

The government refers to all rebel groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's forces as terrorists.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that a revival of a cease-fire in Syria depended on all sides involved and not only on "Russia's unilateral concessions."

"One can only speak about the cease-fire revival on the collective basis," he said in an interview for the TV news show Vesti.

He was speaking a day after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in New York for talks to reestablish a truce.

Kerry reported "little progress" after the meeting.

Moscow and Washington accuse each other of failing to rein in their respective allies in Syria -- where Russia supports Assad, while Washington backs opposition groups.

The five-year conflict has killed more than 300,000 people and driven millions of others from their homes.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/un-appalled-by-aleppo-military-escalation/28011259.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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Alabama officials have approved the states first charter school to open, according to AL.com .

The Alabama Public Charter School Commission voted last week to give the green light for a school to open in Mobile. The school will be is focused on serving students 16-years of age or older who have fallen behind academically or dropped out of school.

The charter school, called Accel Day and Evening Academy, is slated to open next year.

The commission also gave tentative approval for a sports-themed charter school to open up in Huntsville once it gets cleared by a federal judge because the county is under a desegregation order. The school is part of the SLAM charter school network, founded by the rapper Pitbull. The network has schools in Florida and Nevada.

The commission rejected a proposal for a third charter over concerns about the schools financial plans.

Under Alabamas charter school law, only 10 new startup schools are allowed to open each year in the state. But the law allows an unlimited number of schools to convert to charters.

Alabama is the most recent state to adopt a charter school law, which state lawmakers passed in March of last year .

Only seven states remain without charter laws: Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Vermont. Those states share many similarities: most are heavily Republican, rural, and have been resistant to other school-choice efforts , such as taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools.

Related stories:
Russia, Turkey Reach a 'Gentleman's Agreement' on Syrian Airspace

Sputnik News

14:09 25.09.2016

Turkey and Russia are currently in talks over a protocol to coordinate combat flights in the Syrian airspace to prevent incidents, a Turkish military source told Hurriyet Daily News.

While working on a draft protocol, both sides reached a "gentleman's agreement," the source said. According to the agreement, one side must not enter the area where the other side is conducting combat operations.

The decision to coordinate combat flights over Syria was made on September 15 at a meeting in Ankara between Russian Military Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar.

This was the first visit by a Russian high-profile military commander to Turkey after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian bomber over Syria in November 2015. After the incident, contacts between the Russian and Turkish militaries were suspended.

During the meeting, Moscow and Ankara agreed to establish a direct hot line as well as communication channels between the Russian and Turkish air forces to prevent incidents.

"Work to accomplish the protocol continues at the highest level," a Turkish army source told the newspaper. If signed, the protocol will be an important step in building cooperation between Turkey and Russia on the Syrian battlefield.

According to the source, the Turkish military has provided Russia with the coordinates of the areas where it is operating. In return, Russian warplanes will not enter those areas.

"Our communication with Russia functions perfectly," the source said.

The source also noted that Russia is acting very carefully to avoid violations of Turkish airspace and regularly provides information about its flights in nearby areas.

The need to reach a protocol coordinating combat flights became urgent after the Turkish military launched the Euphrates Shield military operation in Syria on August 24.

Then, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that the Russian Defense Ministry had requested information on Turkey's military campaign in Syria in order to prevent aerial incidents.

 Sputnik

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At Security Council, UN envoy appeals for Russia and US cooperation to 'pull Syria back from the brink'

25 September 2016  Amid the unprecedented military assault on eastern Aleppo, where fireballs from incendiary bombs "light up the pitch darkness," the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria today strongly appealed to the Security Council  particularly permanent members Russia and the United States  to rescue a recently collapsed cessation of hostilities, end the bloodshed and speed aid into the iconic city where, overall, some two million people remain under a de facto siege.

"These are indeed chilling days for Syria and particularly, for the people of Aleppo, as last week was one of the worst in this six year of the conflict," Staffan de Mistura told an emergency meeting of the Security Council, echoing a statement issued by a UN spokesperson yesterday which said the Secretary-General is "appalled" by the escalating violence since the announcement two days ago by the Syrian Army of an offensive to capture eastern Aleppo.

Reporting that Aleppo is being reduced to rubble in the face of a "remarkable new intensity  unprecedented in scale and type of bombing," Mr. de Mistura said "this Council has the responsibility to relaunch the cessation of hostilities" and reiterated his appeal for a common course of action, led by Russia and the UN, in three areas: ensuring a ceasefire; establishing weekly 48 hour pauses in the fighting to allow in aid and repairs for Aleppo's damaged water and power facilities; and allow medical evacuations for urgent cases in and around the city.

The respective taskforces on humanitarian aid delivery and a wider ceasefire, created by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), have been meeting separately since early this year on a way forward in the crisis. Russia and the United States are the co-chairs of the taskforces and ISSG, which comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 other countries.

"The one constant in this violently unpredictable conflict is that neither side will win, and that the Syrian people will lose, and they are losing their lives, day by day," he told the Council as the announcement of a cessation of hostilities in early September, the already dire humanitarian situation in Aleppo has deteriorated even further since the Government decided to unilaterally end the truce and begin airstrikes.

Mr. de Mistura painted a grave picture of the situation on the ground, saying that information received by Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) indicates dozens of airstrikes on Friday and Saturday have hit residential buildings across the de facto besieged eastern Aleppo, causing scores of reported civilian deaths and injuries, including those of many children.

"First responders appear overwhelmed and unable to respond at many of the sites. We have seen reports of three of the four centres operated by the 'White Helmets' in eastern Aleppo being hit," he said, adding that as the casualties mount, rescue workers are struggling to pull people from under the rubble.

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UN Security Council Holds Urgent Talks on Aleppo, as Syrian, Russian Jets Pound Rebel-held Sector

By Margaret Besheer September 25, 2016

The U.N. Security Council held urgent talks Sunday about the deadly surge of violence in Aleppo as Syrian and Russian jet fighters bombarded the rebel-controlled eastern sector of the Syrian city.

"The Assad regime is explicit: it believes only in a military solution," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the U.N. Security Council. "It says it is going to conquer militarily every last square inch of Syria. And it does not care what's left of Syria in pursuing that military solution."

The United States, France and Britain called the emergency session to pressure Russia to control its ally Syria to end the attacks on the 275,000 people trapped in the city. The assault  missile strikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire  has flattened buildings, leaving streets filled with debris and chunks of concrete. The U.N. says some 213 people have been killed in the offensive.

U.S. Ambassador Power said more than 150 air strikes had hit the city in the last three days, accusing Russia and Syria of conducting an "all-out offensive" to retake Aleppo.

"Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive," she said.

"Russia should be creating, not destroying, the conditions necessary for the resumption of political talks," British ambassador Matthew Rycroft said. "If it does not take these steps, and more, Russia will only confirm its status as an international pariah."

"War crimes are being committed here in Aleppo," said French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who compared what is happening to the ancient city to battles in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Guernica during the Spanish civil war. He said Aleppo has become a "martyred city."

"The territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately and bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now because of this," said Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin.

U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura gave a bleak update on the situation, saying it is impossible to count the air strikes.

"Sources on the ground tell us they no longer have the capacity to count them accurately," he said. "We heard the words "unprecedented" in quantity and also in scale and type, in the types of bombings."

He urged that the cessation of hostilities not be "buried under the dust of Aleppo's rubble" and called on the Security Council to press for a stop to the violence, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and institute weekly unconditional 48-hour pauses to get humanitarian aid in and the seriously wounded out.

Syria's U.N. envoy Bashar al-Ja'afari also addressed the meeting, vowing that the Syrian government will recapture all of Aleppo. The U.S., French and British ambassadors walked out when the Syrian envoy delivered his statement.

Late Saturday, foreign ministers from the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Britain and high representatives of the European Union pushed Moscow to support humanitarian assistance, stop bombings on Syrians, and renew truce efforts.

"The burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts to restore a cessation of hostilities, allow unfettered humanitarian assistance and create the conditions necessary for the resumption of U.N.-led talks about a political transition," the statement said.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC that Russia is "guilty of protracting this war and making it far more hideous" and suggesting that Moscow was possibly guilty of war crimes in the bombing of a humanitarian aid convoy near Aleppo last week that killed 20 people.

The allies maintained their commitment to dismantle the Islamic State group and asked Russia to focus on al-Qaida-affiliated groups in Syria.

'Fight against terrorism'

As the Russian-backed Syrian military pressed its Aleppo offensive Saturday, the country's foreign minister said Syrians would "not relent in their fight against terrorism."

"Our belief in victory is even greater now as the Syrian Arab Army is making great strides against terrorists, with the support of the true friends of the Syrian people  notably, the Russian Federation, Iran and the Lebanese national resistance [Hezbollah]," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem told the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

His remarks reinforced Western concerns that the Assad government is seeking a military end to the conflict, not a politically negotiated one, and that Russia supports that goal.

The United Nations said intense airstrikes against rebel-held areas of Aleppo had left 1.75 million people without running water, days into one of the heaviest sieges of the war.

Aleppo, the country's largest city, has been divided among government troops, rebel militias, Islamic extremists and Kurdish fighters since 2012. Syrian opposition media called the latest airstrikes over the city the "worst fighting" of the Syrian conflict.

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Ahrar al-Sham terrorists planning chemical attack in Syria: Ja'afari

Iran Press TV

Mon Sep 26, 2016 8:51AM

Syria has told the United Nations that Ahrar al-Sham militants plan a white phosphorus attack on civilians in order to blame it on Syrian government forces.

"I have information that Ahrar al-Sham terrorists intend to mount attacks on civilian population using white phosphorus for the sake of fabricating accusations against the Syrian state and its army," Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja'afari said Sunday.

Addressing a Security Council emergency meeting, Ja'afari said the extremists plan to pose as Syrian army troops and film the whole incident on camera in order to falsify realities on the ground.

White phosphorus is an incendiary material that causes horrific burns, severe injuries or death when it comes in contact with skin. Under the Geneva Treaty of 1980, the use of white phosphorous as a weapon is prohibited.

Earlier this year, the US thwarted a Russian bid to have the United Nations blacklist Ahrar al-Sham as a terrorist group.

Ja'afari said two American weapons experts had suspiciously visited a chemical munitions depot in the militant-held northwestern Syrian city of Saraqib, and departed Syria for Turkey upon examining the site.

Syria, he said, is fully complying with the UN Charter and international law on warfare, dismissing earlier allegations that Syrian forces were making use of incendiary weapons in their operations.

"We condemn the statements of several UN representatives that we are using banned weapons or targeting the civilian population," he said, criticizing the UN for turning a blind eye to the use of chemical weapons by foreign-backed militants.

Ja'afari also pledged that the Syrian government will not cede even a single inch of its territory, adding the army will eventually liberate the strategic northwestern city of Aleppo.

He said politicizing the humanitarian crisis in Syria will only prolong it, increase people's suffering, and help the spread of terrorism.

The army is on the fourth day of an offensive to retake all of Aleppo since the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States.

On Saturday, Syrian soldiers seized back the control of a refugee camp north of Aleppo in their most significant advance on the city.

The advances have prompted a flurry of PR campaign by opponents of the Syrian government, blaming it for a series of events which Damascus says is unaware of.

US officials have oscillated between blaming the Syrian government and the Russian military for an aid convoy attack which both sides deny.

Russia has called for an independent investigation into the attack, saying an armed US drone was in the vicinity of the humanitarian aid convoy that was hit by the airstrike.

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Russia Under Fire At UN After Deadly Aleppo Bombings

By RFE/RL September 26, 2016

Britain, France, and the United States have lashed out at Russia for its actions in Syria, amid an intensification of the bombing campaign over the northern city of Aleppo.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it is barbarism," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on September 25.

Power also said the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and its ally Russia were "laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city."

"Instead of peace, Russia and Assad make war," she said. "Instead of getting life-saving aid to Syrians, Russia and Assad are bombing hospitals and first responders."

The U.S. ambassador went on to call on the Security Council to "have the courage to say who is responsible and tell Russia with one voice to stop."

The UN meeting, requested by Britain, France, and the United States, comes after the Syrian regime declared last week a new offensive against eastern Aleppo, where some 275,000 people are living.

At least 231 civilians have been killed in violence in the embattled city and its outskirts since a weeklong cease-fire, brokered by the United States and Russia, fell apart on September 19, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the meeting that Syrian forces were trying to remove terrorists from Aleppo while harming as few citizens as possible -- without saying Russian forces were involved in the aerial bombardments.

Churkin added that there was a humanitarian corridor by which residents could leave, but it was being blocked by rebels.

He also blamed armed opposition groups for sabotaging the truce and accused the Western coalition of failing to separate the moderate factions it backs from "terrorist" groups.

Syria's Ambassador Bashar Jaafari railed against a "filthy propaganda war" waged by the United States and its allies and said Damascus "will not give up a single inch of its territory."

Churkin said bringing peace to Syria was "almost an impossible task now," but he made clear that reviving the cease-fire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of an "collective" effort on all sides.

"Does Russia think it can install confidence and trust with its partners by negotiating a cessation of hostilities with one hand and supporting the regime, which is bombing Aleppo, with the other hand?" asked France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre.

The British envoy, Matthew Rycroft, said Russia's actions have "prolonged the conflict, prolonged the suffering."

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," Rycroft added.

UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura told the meeting that the past week has been "one of the worst ones in Syria during the near six years of this devastating conflict."

De Mistura said nearly 2 million people in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, are without running water following the escalation in fighting.

He urged the Security Council to press for a cessation of hostilities, weekly 48-hour pauses in fighting to deliver aid, and medical evacuations for several urgent cases in eastern Aleppo.

On the sidelines of the meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged an end to the offensive in Aleppo, saying the bombs "are not busting bunkers, they are demolishing ordinary people looking for any last refuge of safety."

"International law is clear, he said, the systematic use of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas is a war crime."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/us-accuses-russia-of-barbarism-in-syria/28012553.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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Turkey willing to join battle for Syria's Raqqah, says Erdogan

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:5PM

Turkey's president has claimed that Ankara is willing to join a battle for the liberation of the Syrian city of Raqqah from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

"Turkey wants to join ... in a military operation to push IS [an alternative name for Daesh] from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqah, as long as it excludes Kurdish rebel forces," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by private broadcaster NTV as saying on Sunday.

Erdogan said, "Our foreign minister and military authorities are in talks with the United States discussing the matter of Raqqah."

Earlier on Friday, Erdogan had addressed US officials, saying, "If you think you can finish off Daesh with the YPG and PYD, you cannot, because they are terrorist groups too."

Turkey regards the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and its affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), as terrorist forces allied with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region on Turkish soil for more than three decades.

Turkey has been hitting Kurdish positions in northern Syria in the recent past without getting the permission of the government in Damascus, and has also been pounding Kurds in Iraq, which considers Turkey's military operations as violation of its sovereignty.

Syria has been the scene of a foreign-backed crisis since March 2011. Turkey is said to be among the main supporters of the militant groups active in Syria, with reports saying that Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri elements there and facilitates their safe passage into the conflict-ridden country.

The Turkish military started a campaign into the Syrian territory last month with the alleged goal of fighting Daesh and containing Kurdish militants. The operation has been faced with criticism, with critics saying that Ankara is busier fighting Kurds than the Daesh Takfiri militants.

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Turkish Army to Go Further in Syria Establishing 'De Facto Safe Zone' - FM

Sputnik News

18:46 25.09.2016(updated 21:27 25.09.2016)

According to the Turkish foreign minister, the country's forces will move further in the Syrian territory to create a "de facto safe zone."

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkish army will move further south in the Syrian territory to create a "de facto safe zone" of 5,000 square kilometers in the Manbij region, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"First we should go down at least 45 kilometers [30 miles] to close the Manbij pocket. And this area can be a de facto safe zone. It is around 5,000 square kilometers," Cavusoglu told France 24 broadcaster in an interview.

On August 24, Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area of Daesh jihadist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries worldwide.

Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

 Sputnik

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LPR Militia Says Intercepted Ukrainian Combat Drone With Explosives

Sputnik News

13:47 25.09.2016(updated 14:15 25.09.2016)

According to an LPR represenative, the militia intercepted a Ukrainian drone loaded with explosives.

LUHANSK (Sputnik)  A Ukrainian drone loaded with explosives was intercepted by pro-independence militia, a militia representative from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said Sunday.

"After the people's militia neutralized it, and after its flight path and combat load were studied, it was determined that the aircraft was heading toward the city of Luhansk to carry out a terrorist act," Andrei Marochko said at a briefing.

The unmanned aircraft, which carried two improvised explosives, was taken down near the city of Debaltseve, he added, noting that the drone was taking the same path as Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission drones and was set to target civilians in Luhansk.

"The power of the explosives is equivalent to three kilograms TNTWe have recorded cases of Ukrainian combat drones flying along routes used by OSCE unmanned aircraft, thus posing a danger to the mission's drones," Marochko said.

Kiev launched a military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.

In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between Ukraine's conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Though the deal stipulated a full ceasefire in Donbass, the both sides have violated the truce multiple times.

 Sputnik

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US air force renewing nukes keep up with China, Russia

Iran Press TV

Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:20PM

The US Air Force plans to spend billions of dollars to replace its aging arsenal of intercontinental nuclear missiles in order to keep up with Russia and China, a military official says.

The force has nearly 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) mostly of the Minuteman family which were first designed in 1960s, American website Military.com reported Sunday.

The decades-old missiles have reportedly been kept in silos built in the 1950s and are difficult to maintain due to a lack of replacement parts.

"The Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans are upgrading all of their systems," an Air Force official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"They are upgrading all of their legs of the triad -- in that environment, I am not sure it makes sense" to do nothing, the official added.

The air force has set aside an $86 billion budget to design a new missile known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) which is said to have a 50-year life-cycle.

The first GBSD is expected to enter service in late 2020s and the rest will be deployed in the following decade.

Initial requests for proposals on the nuclear renewal were issued in July, when the air force asked major weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing to put forth their plans.

ICBMs are only one part of America's nuclear "triad," which also includes submarines and bombers.

Altogether, the Pentagon has planned to spend $1 trillion to overhaul its three-pronged nuclear attack force over the next 30 years.

The extravagant approach has elicited bipartisan attacks among American politicians, who question the program's feasibility.

"We flat can't afford it. And from a priorities standpoint, it's the wrong priority in the world that we face," Democratic Representative Adam Smith told a forum in Washington last week.

He said countries like China and Russia can boast a "spectacular deterrent" with far fewer nuclear warheads.

"What they have is enough to say 'Don't screw with us, or we will obliterate you,'" he said, adding that in case of a major nuclear fight, "we're pretty much all toast anyways."

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More Blues for Blue Bell: Another Listeria Scare Causes Ice Cream Recall

Just seventeen months after Blue Bell Creameries was forced to recall all of its ice cream products due to listeria contamination concerns, there's more trouble brewing for one of the nation's best selling ice cream brands. Blue Bell is recalling products from its Alabama factory containing chocolate chip cookie dough after learning they potentially contain listeria monocytogenes.

It's the latest blow to a company that was already reeling from recalls and a deadly listeria outbreak last year. So what does the latest recall entail, and mean?

Cautionary Call

The recall involves 1,900 cases of ice cream shipped to Blue Bell's Brenham, Texas and Sylacaugua, Alabama plants, which were then distributed to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The company said the recall was due to possible health risks linked to the chocolate chip cookie dough pieces supplied by a third party, Aspen Hills, Inc.

Thus far, Blue Bell says that there have been no reports of illnesses, and the recall was instituted out of an "abundance of caution." Although Blue Bell said its products in the marketplace have passed its test and hold program, the recall was instituted after potential problems were identified via intensified internal testing.

For Whom the Blue Bell Tolls

Bloomberg reported that Blue Bell was forced to fire or furloughed most of its employees after last year's listeria recall. That outbreak was linked to three deaths and put the future of the business in jeopardy. Billionaire investor and philanthropist Sid Bass helped rescue the company, which resumed operations in July of last year.

Whether Blue Bell can survive another listeria scare remains to be seen. If you're worried about your ice cream, you can see which ice cream containers were affected on the company's website. And if you think you've been sickened by Blue Bell's or any other company's product, you can contact an experienced personal injury attorney in your area today.

Related Resources:
High/Low:

Egg prices over the past few weeks  and gasoline prices in the past few days  have put consumers on a roller coaster. Eggs are cheaper because, among other things, the poultry industry quickly recovered from a bird flu outbreak. Gas became much more expensive over the past week after a pipeline break in Alabama disrupted some of the supply of gasoline making its way to consumers.

Consider both incidents as lessons in the law of supply and demand.

High:

The Danville Sheriffs Department has banned cell phones in the courthouse following the completion of several security upgrades to the main entrance on Patton Street. Sheriff Mike Mondul said Danville was following the lead of other Virginia courthouses, which also have banned cell phones for security reasons  and to protect the integrity of ongoing criminal cases.

Low:

A student at Tunstall High School has been charged with bringing a loaded handgun to campus. It was found in the students locker. Theres never a good reason for a young person to do something like this. In an era of zero tolerance  when even toy guns result in strong consequences for kids  we can only wonder what this student was thinking.

Low:

Danville Community College has fewer students this fall, a local fact that mirrors a statewide trend. Thats too bad.We believe education is the key to a better life for local residents.

High/Low:

After more than a year in the courts, the Pittsylvania County Agriculture Development Board will be required to take and keep minutes for every meeting it holds over the next 18 months.

The ag board is  like every other volunteer board and commission of local government  made up of concerned citizens. But this case should have never dragged out for as long as it has; the Freedom of Information Act is the peoples best defense against a government board or commission that forgets its supposed to serve the public  and not the other way around.

High:

And finally this week, Danville Register & Bee photographer and history buff Matt Bell set out to answer a question that goes to the founding of Danville: Where is Wynnes Falls?

While there are theories and explanations, Bells story  that was published Monday  concludes that the founding of Danville happened along land between the current- day Union Street Bridge and the state line.
Averett University is joining with Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond to offer the seminarys master of divinity graduates a path to a master of business administration degree.

This is another way Averett is trying to serve the needs of not only Danville and the region, but throughout the state, said Timothy Fulop, Averetts vice president for academic affairs and student success.

Averett and BTSR announced the partnership Monday to offer BTSR its master of divinity graduates a prescribed path for an MBA through Averett. For enrolled students, BTSR will provide a shortened master of degree divinity degree format, and upon completion they can apply for Averetts Graduate and Professional Studies MBA program.

The advantage to students is a shortened track to complete their master of divinity in order to move into the MBA program at Averett sooner, according to a news release from Averett.

A master of divinity degree from BTSR takes three years to complete, but under the partnership with Averett, students would finish BTSRS program in two years  before entering Averetts MBA program, Fulop said.

Though Averett offers a flexible MBA program, it usually takes about two years to complete, Fulop said.

Because these [master of divinity] students go into a variety of things, theyre finding an MBA is very helpful, he said.

The degree path will equip future ministers with the necessary business background so that they can go and instantly lead a church directly out of school, according to the news release.

Many recent master of divinity graduates become ministers at smaller churches, which often dont have employees to handle accounting, finances and marketing for the church, Fulop said. Others may use the MBA in other occupations in addition to the ministry, Fulop said.

Were just trying to meet that need out there that people have for a broader education, he said.

This partnership between Averett University and the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond is a testament to our dedication to expanding program offerings to support those who seek to serve in the ministry and who want to strengthen the skills necessary to lead their churches and congregations effectively, said Averett President Tiffany Franks in a prepared statement. Averett University embraces its Judeo-Christian heritage as we strive to enhance students faith development by nurturing and actively pursuing opportunities for them to deepen their faith and to serve.

Offering a shared master of divinity degree and a master of business administration degree will make both schools stronger and provide needed educational experience for both fields, BTSR President Ron Crawford said in a prepared statement. We need ministers with a strong understanding of business and we need business leaders with a strong sense of ministry.

BTSR opened in 1991 and was established by the Alliance of Baptists, but it has since been supported by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The seminary has more than 700 graduates.

Averett and BTSR are both members of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 26, 2016) - Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: GPY) (OTCQX: NTGSF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that its common shares will be eligible for trading on OTCQX under the symbol "NTGSF", effective with the open of business on Monday, September 26th, 2016. The Company's common shares will continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the Company's current symbol "GPY."

OTCQX is the premier market for U.S. over-the-counter securities and offers transparent and efficient trading of established U.S. and global companies. To qualify for the OTCQX market, companies must meet financial standards, demonstrate compliance with applicable U.S. securities laws and be sponsored by a professional third-party advisor.

"In response to growing investor interest we have chosen to have Golden Predator's shares traded on both the TSX Venture Exchange and OTCQX, enabling greater exposure and accessibility to our expanding U.S. and global shareholder base," said Janet Lee-Sheriff, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Predator. "Golden Predator looks forward to broadening its shareholder base further through the OTCQX platform."

About OTC Markets Group, Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for approximately 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS, it connects a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. It enables investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empowers companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

About Golden Predator Mining Corp.

Golden Predator Mining Corp., a Canadian gold mineral exploration company, is focused on advancing its high grade 3 Aces Project in Canada's Yukon. The 3 Aces property is a 225 km  property consisting of 1,118 contiguous quartz claims (23,000 hectares) located in southeast Yukon. The veins discovered to date are characterized by coarse visible gold with a low sulphide content consistent with an orogenic vein model.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exc hange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 26, 2016) - Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: MRO) ("Millrock") announces that induced polarization ("IP") geophysical surveys are presently being conducted on its Stellar gold - copper project located near the Denali Highway in central Alaska. The work is being done by Vista Minerals (Alaska) Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vista Minerals Pty Ltd, a private Australian company ("Vista"). Vista and Millrock formed an option to joint venture agreement on the project in late 2015, as described in an earlier press release here. Millrock presently owns a 100% interest in the claims, subject to Vista's right to earn up to an 80% interest by expending US$4 million on exploration and paying US$300,000 to Millrock over a four-year period. A production royalty would be payable to Altius Minerals Corp.. Vista is the exploration operator and reports that it is presently conducting IP surveys at the Jupiter copper occurrence and on the west flank of the high-grade Zackly gold - copper skarn deposit. Earlier this year Vista significantly expanded the original Millrock claim block by staking of claims, all of which are now subject to the option to joint venture agreement. The property now covers an area of 7,187 hectares.

Millrock President & CEO Gregory A. Beischer commented, "We are pleased to see this project advancing. The Zackly gold - copper prospect presents an excellent opportunity for Vista to establish a modern gold resource and expand upon it. The porphyry and intrusion-related gold targets, none of which have ever been drilled, are virgin country, ripe for a new discovery."

A variety of mineralization styles are present on the property. The lands are considered prospective for high-grade gold-copper skarn deposits, porphyry copper-gold deposits, or other types of copper deposits and intrusion-related gold deposits. Previously, through a comprehensive program of soil and rock sampling and airborne magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric surveys, Millrock identified a number of target areas, each of which is briefly summarized below:

Zackly gold - copper skarn deposit: At Zackly, a historical "reserve" of 185,724 ounces of gold and 61.6 million pounds of copper contained in a deposit of 1,407,000 tons (1,128,500 tonnes) grading 0.132 ounces per ton (6.03 grams per tonne) gold and 2.19% copper has been reported by prior explorers (From Resource Associates of Alaska, 1987, 1987 Final Report: Exploration Results from Zackly Gold-Copper Skarn Prospect Alaska Range, Alaska Volume I, 141 p.).

NOTE: A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources and Millrock is not treating this historic estimate as current mineral resources or reserves. The Zackly resource estimate study by Resource Associates of Alaska utilized a modified polygonal method based on data from core drill holes, reverse circulation drill holes and surface trenches. Calculations were determined using a drill hole radius of influence of 200 feet and a 0.05 opt Au cutoff. This historic estimate constitutes the most recent reserve/resource study known to Millrock. The historical resource estimate is for historical purposes only. The historical resource estimates were prepared prior to the implementation of NI 43-101 and use terminology different from and current reporting standards, including the terms "indicated and inferred reserves" which incorrectly implies economic viability. The historical estimate is suspect based on poor recovery of the diamond core drilling and also the rotary drilling between 1981 and 1987 resulting in significant core loss within areas of mineralization, together with selective sampling, wide drill spacing between sections and the lack of a quality assurance / quality control assay protocol (Eden, K. A., 2011, Stellar Property, Valdez Creek Mining District, South-Central Alaska: NI 43-101 Technical Report, January 8, 2013, 113 p.). Dr. Eden, a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101, has done sufficient work to determine that it is not possible to use the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and Millrock is therefore not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. He has determined that it will be necessary to re-drill the holes to upgrade or verify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, as described in Dr. Eden's technical report which was filed on SEDAR (www. Sedar.com) on January 8, 2013.

Mars prospect: Located approximately 10 kilometers west of Zackly, this prospect consists of altered diorite intruding volcanic rocks with extensive gossan exposures that locally contain copper mineralization. Soil sample lines across altered zones consistently returned anomalous values, including 950 meters, averaging 763 ppm copper, and 1.2 kilometers averaging 462 ppm copper. Rock grab samples of altered bedrock and float were collected previously by Millrock from the prospect. Seven of those samples assayed over 1% copper with values up to 7.4% copper and up to 1.78 ppm gold. Vista indicates it plans to use IP to test for sulfide minerals along a fault structure that appears to extend from Zackly to the Mars prospect.

Jupiter prospect: At this prospect, Millrock previously identified a multi-element geochemical anomaly, which measures 1.7 kilometers by 2.3 kilometers, and is underlain by a corresponding magnetic high. The anomaly consists of 33 soil samples with copper results ranging between 246 ppm to 3850 ppm. They have an average copper value of 832 ppm. Gold values in these soil samples average 92 ppb and range from 5 ppb to 178 ppb. In addition to high copper and gold, the soils contain anomalous silver and cobalt. A grab sample of rock collected by Millrock in an area northwest of the main Jupiter prospect in 2013 returned an exceptionally high value of 23 percent copper, but no follow up work has yet been done. Vista plans to inspect the site of this sample during the current geophysical phase.

Gemini prospect: The Gemini target area is a newly discovered anomaly generated in the recent exploration program. It is a strong copper-in-soil anomaly centered on a chlorite (+skarn +potassic) alteration zone in andesite and basalt. The anomaly is defined by 12 samples over an area measuring 1.8 kilometers by 3.0 kilometers. Copper values range from 356 ppm to 1130 ppm and average 568 ppm copper. The core copper anomaly is accompanied by strongly anomalous lead, gold, and molybdenum, and is surrounded in a zoned halo of zinc, iron and manganese.

Moonwalk prospect: This is an intrusion-related gold prospect located in the north part of the property. The geology, alteration and mineralization is well exposed on the steep north side of a ridge. Moderately dipping sedimentary rocks are intruded by a granodiorite sill. Quartz veins are mapped over a broad zone of east-trending veining which appears to cut both intrusive and sedimentary rock. The vein zone projects over a kilometer in strike at surface. Rock and soil samples from Millrock's work returned results consistently anomalous in gold, antimony, arsenic, bismuth and zinc. A total of nineteen soil samples, covering an area approximately 500 meters by 700 meters over the altered and veined granodiorite averaged 1.15 grams per tonne gold. Rock samples of mineralized vein material returned assays as high as 30.4 grams per tonne gold.

The technical information within this document has been reviewed and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.

About Millrock Resources Inc.

Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is active in Alaska, British Columbia, the southwest USA and Sonora State, Mexico. Funding for drilling at Millrock's exploration projects primarily comes from its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet and Altius.



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Gregory Beischer"

Gregory Beischer, President & CEO

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include without limitation the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programs on schedule and the success of exploration programs.

"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."
Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Canadian Zeolite Corp. (the Company) (TSX.V: CNZ) (OTCQB:CNZCF) (FSE: ZEON) is pleased to announce that Dr. Gerardo Rodriquez-Fuentes one of the world's leading experts in the applications of natural zeolite will be meeting with Mr. Ray Paquette CEO over the week of September 26, 2016. Dr. Rodriguez-Fuentes is a Doctor in Science at the Zeolite Engineering Laboratory, Material Science and Technology Institute, University of Havana, Cuba.

During Dr. Fuentes' visit he will be delivering a scientific lecture at the University of Northern British Columbia titled The Environmental Applications of Zeolites. Dr. Fuentes states; The impact of natural zeolites in the environment is more significant than the one of synthetic zeolites. Even when the products based on synthetic zeolites have a large global revenue  about 3.5 billion USD in 2015  because their main applications are in 1) Catalyzers of oil refining processes, 2) Detergent builders and 3) Absorbers.

The products based on natural zeolites are applied in many environmental fields: 1) Animal feeding, 2) Pet litter, 3) Odor control, 4) Cement production, 5) Water purification, 6) Waste-water treatment, 7) Fertilizer carrier, 8) Fungicide or pesticide carrier, 9) Gas absorbent, 10) Air filtration, 11) Oil absorbent, 12) Desiccant, 13) Aquaculture, 14) Building material production, 15) Plant substrates and 16) Nuclear disaster containment.

The global market of the natural zeolite industry is about 500 million USD (2015), for the reason that the natural zeolite products are treated as commodities. Nevertheless, when natural zeolite products are designed and developed following the methodology named Natural Zeolite Engineering, the value added is higher because there is a unique solution to specific problems using an exclusive technology.

Our innovative products are designed to solve several environmental issues. These new materials and technologies do not replace the traditional uses of natural zeolites. We have also developed technologies to improve the performance of ordinary applications of natural zeolites: fertilizer carrier, soil amendment, treatment of animal feces to compost production, etc.

Dr. Fuentes' lecture and the opportunity to spend time with this world leader in zeolite technologies is of great interest and benefit to Canadian Zeolite as we expand our efforts to increase zeolite awareness, to introduce new green technologies and marketing opportunities for our natural zeolite both nationally and internationally states CEO Ray Paquette.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Ray Paquette

President & CEO

604.684.3301

www.canadianzeolite.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.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete contemplated work programs and the timing and amount of expenditures. Canadian Zeolite does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/CanadianZeolite09262016.pdfSource: Canadian Zeolite Corp. (TSX Venture:CNZ)

To follow Canadian Zeolite Corp. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

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Copyright  2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.
CARSON CITY, Sept. 26, 2016 - Del Toro Silver Corp. (OTCPink:DTOR) (Del Toro or the Company) is pleased to announce that on September 20, 2016, the Company entered into a convertible loan agreement with Lazarus Mining LLC, a registered Nevada limited liability company. Under the terms of the convertible loan agreement, Lazarus Mining LLC has agreed to loan the Company the sum of US$55,000, which was advanced to the Company on September 20, 2016.On September 21, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with Asher Enterprises, Inc providing for the payment to Asher of $50,000 in full and final settlement of two outstanding convertible notes which had a combined principle balance of $63,665. The notes were initially issued in October and December of 2013.According to Del Toro CFO Patrick Fagen This new debt structure not only saves the Company money, it also provides more constraints for conversions on the debt, which protects shareholders from excessive dilution. It will enable us to operate with greater certainty in regards to our share structure and budgeting."This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, operating with greater certainty in regards to share structure and budgeting. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.For further information, please contact Patrick Fagen at 530-416-0266.
IndiaPakistan Trade Abysmally Low; MFN Or Not: ASSOCHAM Business oi-Sneha B K

India-Pakistan trade relations are abysmally low accounting for less than half a per cent of India's total global trade involving both exports and imports, apex industry body ASSOCHAM has said.

Out of India's total merchandise trade of USD 641 billion in 2015-16, Pakistan accounted for a meagre USD 2.67 billion, of this India's exports to the neighbouring country amounted to USD 2.17 billion, or 0.83 per cent of the total Indian outward shipments while imports were less than USD 500 million, or 0.13 per cent of total inward shipments.

"In all, trade with Pakistan was equivalent to 0.41 per cent of India's global merchandise commerce," said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM.

"Thus, the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status or no MFN has not made much of a difference on the bilateral trade, while India has granted Pakistan the MFN status, Islamabad had not responded but even with the MFN status, Pakistan's exports to India remained less than half a billion dollar," said Mr Rawat.

He said that for political reasons, the businesses have not been cultivating interest in each other's country.

"Going forward, as things stand today, it is almost no movement seen in the immediate future. Even the symbolic presence of Pakistan exhibitors at the annual India International Trade Fair (IITF) in November in New Delhi is not expected whether or not formal ties are snapped or not, given the present state of affairs," said Mr Rawat.

On its part, India Inc is fully and solidly behind Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi for steering India's interest in the best possible directions. "The strategic decisions are fully the domain of the government which enjoys the full backing of the nation," the ASSOCHAM said.

Even as India was grappling with the global slowdown, its merchandise exports were USD 261 billion in 2015-16, while imports were USD 380 billion. India's main exports markets are the European Union, the US, Africa and the South East Asia. "There has been fair amount of activity in Latin America as well."

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Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 16:51 [IST]
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By Matthew Waller

The Texas Department of Transportation is set to spend tens of millions of dollars on road projects in the Concho Valley, including a section of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor, TxDOT planners told commissioners this week.

The projects planned for the coming year encompass everything from adding passing lanes to U.S. 277 to rehabilitating railroad tracks.

"It looks like we're going in the right direction," Donald Peterson, an area engineer with TxDOT, told commissioners during their weekly Tuesday meeting.

The projects total $48,165,649, according to documents presented to commissioners.

The addition of passing lanes on U.S. 277 would cost more than $15.6 million. The passing lanes would be divided into several sections and stretch from Tom Green County south to Sutton County.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Yantis Green said he was happy to see the work on U.S. 277 coming to life.

"277 south between San Angelo and Christoval has been a sore spot for the past two decades," Green said. "We've had a number of fatalities on that road. Everybody in Christoval knows someone who has been killed on 277."

The plan to add passing lanes to U.S. 277 is a part of the Ports-To-Plains Corridor project, which involves improvements to a route that stretches from Canada to Mexico and will ideally make San Angelo more of a general transportation hub.

The U.S. 277 project is planned to go out for bids in July. The railroad is set to be rehabilitated in May 2012, from San Angelo to Fort Stockton. That project would cost $760,150.

Smaller projects include putting in sidewalks and crosswalks for schools, which would cost $477,691 and begin going out for bids in March.

There also are wheelchair ramp projects in Ballinger, Bronte and San Angelo, Peterson said.

Funding for the projects comes from "Texas Pacifico Contribution" for railroad siding, "Direct Preventative Maintenance" for a seal coating project, and one construction project of main lanes on Loop 306 about three miles north of U.S. 87 is marked as "Federal Earmarks" and costs $6.1 million.

The money for the U.S. 277 project comes from Proposition 12 funding, which, according to TxDOT records, was part of $3 billion authorized for TxDOT use by the Texas Legislature this summer in general obligation bonds.

"I was glad to see that much work getting done," Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Floyd said.

Peterson said he would be happy to return periodically to give the commissioners more updates.
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By Jerry Lackey, Special to the Standard-Times

Texas Tech Veterinary College has received a $15 million grant from the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. to support the establishment of a new College of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo.

The grant was approved at a recent Amarillo City Council meeting on recommendation from AEDC, according to a news release.

It is a major step forward for Texas Tech's vision of enhancing rural and large-animal veterinary medicine by providing an innovative model focused on improving animal health in the heart of the beef and dairy cattle industry, stated the Amarillo City Council.

"We are truly grateful to the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. and the city of Amarillo for their continued generosity and philanthropy to the Texas Tech University System and our universities," Texas Tech University System Chancellor Robert Duncan said. "Once again, they have stepped up to support our vision  this time for veterinary medicine and the needs of this community, our region and the agriculture industry."

The new veterinary college is expected to add 100 highly skilled jobs and approximately $10 million in annual labor income to the Amarillo economy. Texas Tech's proposal will have an annual impact of more than $76 million on the Amarillo economy and serve as a catalyst for industry partnerships and expanded research in food technology, animal health and prevention of disease outbreaks.

"Not only is this a wonderful opportunity for students seeking careers in veterinary medicine, particularly in a region known as the livestock capital of the United States, it's an investment in our community and economy," Amarillo Mayor Paul Harpole said.

The new veterinary college will be built in Amarillo on the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campus, which headquarters the School of Pharmacy and is home to the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions.

Corn farmers pushing for TPP Passage

To date, 6,352 corn farmers from across the country have written letters to members of Congress, urging them to take up and pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in 2016. The National Corn Growers Association delivered the letters to Capitol Hill last week.

"America's farmers and ranchers need Congress to step up and pass TPP now," said Chip Bowling, president of the National Corn Growers Association and a farmer from Newburg, Maryland. "At a time when the farm economy is struggling, exports represent a rare bright spot for American agriculture. America's farmers and ranchers stand ready to share our bounty and meet the challenge of feeding and fueling a growing world. But we can't do that without trade agreements like TPP."

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade agreement between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries, representing 40 percent of the global economy and one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.
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Small businesses can sell products or provide services to the federal government  and the U.S. Government purchases $500 million worth every year. The distinction of being a small business is important if you wish to register for government contracting.

Any small business can register in the System for Award Management (SAM). The Small Business Administration, for most industries, defines a small business either in terms of the average number of employees over the past 12 months, or average annual receipts over the past three years. In addition, SBA defines a U.S. small business as a concern that:

Is organized for profit

Has a place of business in the U.S.

Operates primarily within the U.S. or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor

Is independently owned and operated

Is not dominant in its field on a national basis

The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form. In determining what constitutes a small business, the definition will vary to reflect industry differences, such as size standards.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) classifies business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy. The NAICS industry codes define establishments based on the activities in which they are primarily engaged. NAICS codes are also used for administrative, contracting, and tax purposes. NAICS is production oriented (not product oriented) and categorizes businesses with others that have similar methods of production.

SBA uses NAICS as a basis for its size standards. Size standards using NAICS as their basis apply to all federal government programs, including procurement.

When the federal government intends to acquire goods or services, it identifies the NAICS code that describes the principal purpose of that procurement.

Your business may have myriad capabilities, and the NAICS code for a given procurement opportunity may not be the same as your primary NAICS code. That will not keep you from bidding or making an offer, so long as you meet the size standard for the procurement and have the capacity to provide the goods or services.

Before you can bid on government proposals, you need to obtain a Dun & Bradstreet, or D-U-N-S, Number, a unique nine-digit identification number for each physical location of your business. D-U-N-S Number assignment is free for all businesses required to register with the federal government for contracts or grants.

When registering for your D-U-N-S Number, you will need the following on hand:

Legal name

Headquarters name and address for your business

Doing Business As (DBA) or other name by which your business is commonly recognized

Physical address, city, state and ZIP code

Mailing address (if separate from headquarters and/or physical address)

Telephone number

Contact name and title

Number of employees at your physical location

Whether you are a Home Based Business

How do I get my D-U-N-S Number?

Good news  getting your D-U-N-S Number is easy. Visit D-U-N-S Request Service to obtain more detailed instructions on applying for your D-U-N-S Number.
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Gentle and generous rainfall over the weekend has put pastures in all of West and Central Texas in perhaps the best condition in decades going into winter. In turn, ranchers will not worry about supplemental feeding of livestock for a while.

Autumn in the Texas Hill Country is more like spring, Lanier "Duder" Duderstadt told me. "We have spring flowers mixed in with tall grass," he said. "I don't think I can ever remember going into winter with the pastures in such lush conditions."

Duder operates the family ranch near Mountain Home in Kerr County.

While at Producers Auction last week, I visited with a number of ranchers who received good rainfall during September except Mike Elkins of Barnhart who said rain events had skipped his ranch in recent weeks. That changed over the weekend.

"We gauged more than 2 inches by Sunday afternoon," he said. "I didn't check the gauge this morning (Monday), but it's muddy everywhere. The pastures are all turning green, already."

The Elkins ranch headquarters is seven miles west of Barnhart. The house is on the county line of three counties  Irion, Crockett and Reagan  and during the years Mike served as Reagan County judge, he officially claimed the kitchen as legal residence.

Ed Cumbie recorded 4.7 inches of rainfall Saturday at the ranch north of Bronte. "We have been in a wet area for several months," he said. "The ground is saturated and the creeks and small streams are all running."

Cumbie's grandparents moved to Coke County from Erath County by covered wagon around 1890. "They brought about 35 head of cattle with them and the journey took about two weeks as they grazed the herd along the way. My dad and his brother drove the cattle," he said.

Cumbie picked cotton as a youngster and saved his money to buy a heifer. "I bought my first registered Hereford heifers in 1937 and got started in the business and became a registered Hereford breeder," he told me.

Gary Speck, who operates the family ranch 10 miles northwest of Eden, said the accumulation of moisture from recent thunderstorms greened up wheat fields with volunteer sprouts. "Maybe the army worms will take care of it before it gets dry enough to plow," he joked.

Seriously, armyworms are now on the march, decimating huge swaths of Texas crops and pastures, said Charles Allen, entomologist at Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in San Angelo.

"Hay farmers and stockmen from east of San Angelo, stretching across the Rolling Plains, Blacklands, East and South Texas are reporting damage from armyworms in Coastal Bermuda grass and early wheat planted for grazing," Allen said. "The fall armyworm, all too familiar to many producers, is the primary culprit.

"During warm weather, the caterpillar stage last about 14 days, but eats about 80 percent of its total intake during the last three or four days. That's when the worms are at their largest and can do the most damage to a crop. It's also when huge numbers of them can transform a hay field from a thing of beauty to a severely damaged nightmare seemingly overnight."

Hay fields and pastures should be judiciously scouted for fall armyworms early in the morning or late in the evening, Allen said. That's because they hide under clods or dead vegetation to escape the heat of midday.

"When two to three armyworms longer than half an inch are found per square foot, it's time to take action as forage losses can be prevented by using an insecticide," he said. "As with scouting, insecticides will be most effective if applied when the worms are actively feeding on host plants in the early morning or late evening."

Kenny Gully, who farms near Vancourt, 20 miles east of San Angelo, said some of the neighbors have spotted armyworms, but they are found in some of the early planted wheat fields.

"We won't plant wheat until our cotton is harvested," he said. "We grow wheat for grain while those stockfarmers who plant early are seeking grazing for livestock and wildlife."

Gully said more than 3 inches of rainfall has saturated fields from Wall to the Veribest and Vancourt area. "Since August 12 one of my gauges has caught more than 16 inches," he said.

Gully said the rains have caused dryland cotton to grow so tall; it could be a problem at harvest time. "We love rain but what we need now is some warm weather to mature the cotton for harvest."

Jerry Lackey is the agriculture editor emeritus. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net.
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By The Associated Press

HOUSTON  Audits and ongoing reviews have found problems with how evidence is handled and stored at four of the eight constable's offices that serve the Houston-area. A review by the Houston Chronicle of the audits as well as interviews with officials found evidence cataloging and control problems have been uncovered in the Harris County constables' offices in Precincts 3, 6 and 7.

The newspaper reported Sunday that in Precinct 3, 2,000 items were initially reported missing; guns, jewelry, electronics and cash were misplaced in Precinct 6; and Precinct 7's evidence room has been described as "a shambles."

This comes as the Harris County District Attorney's Office investigates the destruction by an ex-deputy constable with the Precinct 4 Constable's Office of thousands of pieces of evidence in Houston-area cases. Harris County auditors in May 2015 uncovered evidence problems  not previously made public  in a review of the overstuffed property room inside the Precinct 6 Constable's Office. Auditors reported finding 28 percent of the evidence missing along with $54,000 in cash in a review of a sample of 799 items, the audit shows.

Precinct 6 Constable Heliodoro Martinez told the newspaper he immediately contacted the Harris County DA's Office after the audit. It took five months for a team of two Harris County sheriff's deputies and two of Martinez's own officers to locate the missing cash and other items.
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News stories are starting to trickle out citing "deep concern" about whether Hispanics  who, polls show, prefer Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump  will head to polls in the numbers the Democrats need to win.

But a better question is: Why should Latinos be expected to turn out to vote when so little attention is paid to them? They seem to matter only to journalists hot to publish overly simplistic reports proclaiming that Hispanics will either be decisive or again fail to punch their weight on Election Day.

To put this in perspective, here's what a new weekly poll  a collaboration among the Hispanic polling firm Latino Decisions, Telemundo News and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials  has to say about what Latino outreach looks like in the weeks before the election:

While more than 91 percent of polled Latino registered voters stated they would more than likely cast ballots this year, more than 60 percent reported that they had not been contacted by a campaign, political party or organization.

For all the talk about "The Sleeping Giant" and demography-as-destiny, the major political campaigns are effectively making assumptions about what Hispanics will do come November and then leaving it all to chance.

Why? Because Latinos happen to be concentrated in a few key states and when those states are written off as a lock for a particular candidate, no resources for voter education or turnout are invested in them, setting up a lose-lose situation.

"What it is a lazy, cynical approach to waging national politics that focuses on a handful of states that are perceived to be battleground states while ignoring those states that are perceived to be already decided," said Arturo Vargas, the executive director of the California-based NALEO Educational Fund.

"But Latinos are a 50-state community and, in addition to the injury of not being contacted, then (organizations and candidates) insult us by lamenting that Latinos underperform in elections even though they spent no time and no resources engaging us."

Vargas told me that he has warned top leaders in the Clinton campaign that they cannot travel to the west side of Los Angeles to fundraise and then never bother to cross into the east side of town to engage with the Hispanics that make up one out of every three Latino voters in the state.

Worse, when you take whole constituencies for granted in one geographic region, it ripples outward in a vicious cycle that has the effect of suppressing voter turnout.

"Right now is the last minute before the election, and money to engage Latinos is being dumped into the hands of non-Latino-led organizations in Florida, Nevada, Colorado and a few other places where the races are supposed to be competitive. California has already turned blue, so the money being spent there is virtually nonexistent, even though there are major down-ballot races, like the fight for Barbara Boxer's Senate seat, plus 53 congressional district seats and 17 ballot propositions," Vargas said.

"And then it gets worse: Often Latinos are mobilized, or manipulated, used for specific election outcomes and then left for dead with no infrastructure in place to hold these elected officials accountable. Basically, for each election you're riling Latinos up, telling them, 'This is the most important election of your lifetime,' but when promises are broken and nothing changes, they get disillusioned.

"And then we blame these same people for not coming out to vote next time! This is what happened in the last two presidential elections with immigration reform, and all Latino political animals need to start calling it out for what it is."

As with all other major movements, infrastructure building is key. The Latino vote will never live up to its potential if it has to practically start from scratch every new election cycle.

I've asked the heads of many Latino advocacy organizations how best to create long-term change and the answer is always more money  but timing is just as important.

"In a perfect world we'd start concentrating on the 2032 election now," Vargas said. "Foundations and grant makers need to develop a long-term vision of Latino electoral participation that targets the 7 million Latino children sitting in day care and classrooms today. We cannot wait until our young people are 18 to start talking to them about civic participation. We need to start right now."

Esther Cepeda is a Washington Post columnist. Contact her at estherjcepeda@washpost.com.
A blog for the Bloomingdale neighborhood in Washington, DC.
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The following editorial appeared in the Sept. 16 Houston Chronicle:

The most popular exhibit on display at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville has long been a high-backed wooden chair where some 360 inmates heard for the last time in their ill-fated lives the invitation, "Please have a seat."

"Old Sparky" has been a museum piece since 1965, but during its 40 years as a capital-punishment piece of furniture, the chair could deliver 2,000 volts of electricity into a prisoner's body. That was enough power to light 800 household light bulbs  and to pop eyeballs out of sockets.

Although it would have been hard to imagine as recently as a decade ago, the death penalty itself may be on the way to becoming a relic of American history. In 2009, 118 individuals were sentenced to death nationwide; the number in 2015 was 50 percent less. It's more than 600 percent less since the peak in 1996 of 315. In 2015, juries returned the fewest number of new death sentences, 49, since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Even in Texas, the state that has killed nearly five times as many people as the state with the second-most executions (Oklahoma), the numbers are down dramatically. The last execution in the state was in April, the longest gap in executions since 2008. Six men have been executed so far this year, while 13 death sentences have been halted or delayed. Perhaps most surprising is that six were stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, including four stays in four weeks. The state's highest criminal court is packed with former prosecutors and yet it's being very reluctant these days to sanction this most absolute of judicial penalties.

The death penalty statistics come from Harvard Law School's Fair Punishment Project, which concludes in a report released last month that "the death penalty in America is dying."

The report notes that 31 states legally retain the death penalty, but only 14 imposed a single death sentence last year. Detailed local statistics are even more revealing: Of the 3,143 county or county equivalents in the United States, only 16  or one half of 1 percent  imposed five or more death sentences between 2010 and 2015.

Harris County is one of the 16. Although more death sentences have been handed down here than in any other county, the report points out that death sentences have declined precipitously in the county in the last decade. Between 1998 and 2003, during the tenure of District Attorney Johnny Holmes, Harris County sentenced 53 people to death. Between 2004 and 2009, the nation's third most populous county, had 16. Since 2010, it has had 10. No Harris County jury has imposed the death penalty in a case involving a new defendant since August 2014.

The report also notes that those assessed the ultimate punishment often are young and are beset with intellectual impairments and severe mental illnesses or they've suffered from brain damage, abuse and trauma. "Some are likely innocent."

Questions of morality aside, even the most impassioned death-penalty district attorneys must acknowledge that capital cases are expensive, time-consuming and prone to error. ...

"Americans may still be divided as to whether the death penalty is cruel, but there is no question that it is now unusual," notes Matt Ford, writing in The Atlantic. With polls showing public support at its lowest levels since the U.S. Supreme Court revived capital punishment 40 years ago, it's hard to imagine Harris County ever reverting to the Holmes days, easier to imagine the remaining outliers around the country finally succumbing to reality. The whole sordid business, as the Fair Punishment Project concludes, is "too broken to fix."
The deceased was identified as--- Mohamed Younus (alias) Saan Meah (33), Block-C, shed # 70 of unregistered Leda camp (Tal), he added.



Saan Meah accompanied by other refugee daily workers went to Tekanf land port for working that day in the morning. During the loading timbers at noon, a timber fell down on his head and was killed on the spot, Hussain Ahamed from Leda camp said.



Some Rohingya refugees from the unregistered Leda camp frequently go to Teknaf land port - near the refugee camp - for working for their family survival as they are still not registered as refugee by the concerned authority of Bangladesh and the UNHCR, Ahamed added.



However, the dead body was brought to Leda camp and buried in the refugee cemetery the same day, according to refugees.



I along with my three children will face many difficulties for survival because of no earner to support the family. My elder son Mohamed Hasan is only eight years old, said Tahera Begum, wife of the dead Saan Meah.



Leda (Tal) camp is situated nearby a Mountain so that frequently it had been robbed by the local robbers and the refugees are survived by doing works in local areas and did not get any support from government and other NGOs. There are over 14,000 refugees are living without getting any support from any quarters.
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It was intended as a simple copy-editing fix, but it got caught up in a scandal regarding allegations of a governor's sexual affair and misuse of public funds.A referendum on Tuesday's ballot in Alabama was meant to clarify certain points of impeachment law. But it's impossible to talk about impeachment in Alabama right now strictly in hypothetical terms. Not while there's still talk about impeaching Gov. Robert Bentley.The measure passed, taking 54 percent of the vote.The state House Judiciary Committee has hired a special counsel to look into charges that Bentley willfully neglected his duties and misused public fundsby using state troopers and aircraft to cover up an alleged affair. Bentley has denied any wrongdoing and also denies having had a physical affair with a former top aide.The impeachment referendum actually has nothing to do with the Bentley situation. It was placed on the ballot by the legislature last year -- before news of the alleged affair broke."It's purely a technical revision just for purposes of clarification," said Howard Walthall, a law professor at Samford University. "It came out of a nonpartisan revision commission two years ago."But the timing of the vote means it was linked to the governor's current state of affairs."There will undoubtedly be, in some people's minds, a connection," said Craig Baab, senior fellow at Alabama Appleseed, a progressive advocacy group, who also stressed that it was a constitutional fix that was in the works prior to Bentley's problems.Currently, the state constitution doesn't say how many votes are required in the legislature to impeach or convict an official. It calls for a majority vote but doesn't specify whether that means a majority of those sworn into the body and serving, or simply a majority of those present and voting.Because of the constitutional change approved by voters, an impeachment conviction will now require a two-thirds vote of state senators who are present and voting. It's the same threshold used for convicting a president after an impeachment.The measure also clarifies that the state superintendent of education is no longer subject to impeachment, while conversely making it clear that members of the board of education can be impeached. Superintendents are appointed and answer to the board, while board members are elected.No constitutional officer in Alabama has faced impeachment since 1915, when Secretary of State John Purifoy was accused of bribing an opponent to drop out of the race.Even then, the House voted against impeachment."The committee's tasked with not just Bentley's impeachment but with coming up with a mechanism for impeachment now and in the future," said Bill Britt, editor in chief of, an online news site.The constitutional change won't take effect until January. By that time, legislators may not care too much. Despite the scandal, they don't seem inclined at this point to impeach Bentley. He'll be term-limited out of office in two years anyways."Two things will get Bentley out of office," said Britt. "Time or indictment." poll released in September showed that only 35 percent of those surveyed in Alabama approve of the governor's job performance, which is roughly 10 percentage points less than earlier in the year.By many accounts, Bentley was already pretty much a lame-duck in terms of getting his way with the legislature even before all the scandals broke.
A key member of the Michigan Attorney General's team that has been tasked with investigating the Flint water crisis has resigned from his role after he was arrested Saturday night in Wayne County on suspicion of drunken driving, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.In a Sunday night statement, Attorney General Bill Schuette said the team member is Ellis Stafford, but did not provide details of his arrest -- though spokeswoman Andrea Bitely later said in an email that the arrest was made in Canton. Canton Police declined to comment Sunday."I thank Stafford for his efforts on the Flint Water Investigation," Schuette said in the release. "Ellis and his family are in my thoughts and prayers in this challenging time."Stafford could not be immediately reached Sunday night for comment.Stafford was the Deputy Chief Investigator on the Flint Water Investigative Team, as well as a Flint native and former Michigan State Police inspector. He is also a member of the Detroit Crime Commission, a nonprofit agency that works on dismantling criminal enterprises in the Detroit area.In January he was tapped to join the Attorney General's team investigating what went wrong in the Flint water crisis, along with another member of the Detroit Crime Commission -- Andrew Arena, the former director of the Detroit FBI office. Stafford served as Arena's deputy.According to the Detroit Crime Commission's website, Stafford graduated the FBI National Academy and Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command.Flint's water became contaminated with lead when the city, under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched its drinking water source from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit water system to Flint River water treated at the Flint Water Treatment Plant.
The Missouri Supreme Court issued this week a set of minimum standards for municipal courts, a long-awaited response to charges that municipal courts in the St. Louis area are unconstitutional debtors' prisons that routinely violate the rights of the poor.The standards, which go into effect July 1, address some of the failures that made the St. Louis area a national example of a profit-driven justice system balancing municipal budgets on the backs of the indigent.For example, activists have decried the practice of holding in jail defendants who were unable to pay fines or bail, sometimes waiting for days or weeks to see a judge. In response, the high court established a requirement for municipal courts to have a judge on duty at all times to rule on warrants and bail, and to offer alternative sentences for people who are too poor to pay fines.They set some standards for transparency, too. Under the new rules, courts must have a clerk on duty for at least 30 hours a week. They must at least be pursuing court automation to allow payments online and make available free online access to information about pending cases, outstanding warrants and scheduled dockets.And courts must meet in a space that's large enough to accommodate the public -- no more people queued up shivering outside court on cold winter nights."I don't see any problem with these," said Bryan Dunlop, a lawyer who works as a municipal judge in Maplewood and Beverly Hills. "We've been operating with these for a long time."But the standards stopped far short of what many critics wanted, including forcing some of the county's 80 courts to consolidate.That was one of the recommendations from the Ferguson Commission appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to study ways to heal rifts in the community after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014.And the high court's standards lacked any penalties for failure to comply. The municipal courts merely have to certify twice a year to the presiding judge in their circuit that the standards are being met."The presiding judge and the Supreme Court don't have the inclination or the time to supervise these courts," said Brendan Roediger, an associate law professor at St. Louis University who has sued several courts in St. Louis County on behalf of poor clients. "What we need are rules that can be enforced in an individual case."A Post-Dispatch investigation in 2015 showed the disparity in how people with money and connections are treated compared with poor people unable to hire attorneys, and conflicts of interest in the municipal courts that thrive in an atmosphere of secrecy.The Supreme Court issued a rule in June ordering a municipal judge to recuse himself when he is related to any defendant, or when he has an interest or has previously served as an attorney in the case, or when the prosecutor regularly serves as a judge in another municipal court in which this judge regularly works as a prosecutor or municipal attorney.In a speech Thursday to members of the Missouri Bar Association, Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge said she had showed up unannounced at several municipal courts and found problems.A recorded greeting for one court said it was open until 4 p.m., but a sign on the door said it was closed at 1. Some courts said children were not welcome "despite the Constitution and a not-so-gentle reminder from the presiding judge that courts are to be open to the public," she said.At one court, court clerks wore jackets with police logos, "visually illustrating the lack of separation of the executive branch police from the judicial branch court."At another court, she said, the prosecutor was seated behind the bench with the judge during court proceedings. (Through a spokeswoman, Breckenridge said she would not identify the courts she had visited.)"I experienced firsthand what citizens in our state must encounter every day," she said. "I felt frustrated and angry."She said she expected some of the reforms to be unpopular. To help supervise St. Louis County, she said the court would hire two special monitors.Breckenridge noted in her speech that several courts in St. Louis County were already planning to consolidate. Normandy Mayor Patrick Green confirmed that Normandy's court and several smaller nearby courts were making such plans."By reducing costs, sharing operations, as well as clerical and judicial personnel," Breckenridge said, "we hope to reduce the incentive to use municipal divisions as revenue generators rather than to ensure public safety."
On Saturday, in the evening, at the United Service Club, Spring Hill, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended the Battle of Menin Road Commemoration Dinner hosted by the 25th/49th Battalion, The Royal Queensland Regiment, where the Governor addressed guests.
On Sunday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC departed Brisbane for an official visit to Bundaberg.

In the afternoon, at the Lakes Retirement Village, North Bundaberg, the Governor hosted an Investiture Ceremony where His Excellency presented Mr Eric Cullen with a Medal of the Order of Australia announced on Queens Birthday 2016, and then addressed guests, before returning to Brisbane.
Description

GIS - 26 September, 2016: Mauritius has spared no effort in putting people at the heart of development despite its limitations as an island developing state. The philosophy of the Government is to put the economy at the service of the People. As a Welfare State, Mauritius has been providing free education and health care to all its population and about 50% of the national budget is allocated to social services. Mauritius has spared no effort in putting people at the heart of development

This Statement was made on 22 September 2016 by the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the High Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of the Right to Development, in New York, USA.

The Prime Minister highlighted that in its bid to eradicate extreme poverty and ensure sustainable development, the Government has instituted a Marshall Plan which caters to the needs of the most vulnerable and the disadvantaged. He stated that the plan provides for a subsistence allowance to the extreme poor based on a threshold of 2,720 Mauritian rupees per adult.

He also pointed out that this threshold is 40% higher than the World Banks absolute poverty threshold of USD 3.10 per day per individual, calculated on the basis of purchasing power parity. He underscored that this means that henceforth Mauritius will be wiping out absolute poverty in the country as per World Banks criteria.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth underlined that the Government has also outlined its plan for the future in its Vision 2030, which aims at revitalising the economy and placing Mauritius amongst the high income economies. Furthermore, Mauritius has developed a national policy on ageing and is already working on strategies to address and manage the concerns of an ageing population, he added.

The Prime Minister further stressed that in order to achieve the goals set, Mauritius will need the assistance of its development partners as it cannot accede to financial help and funding given the current criteria in place.

Chagos Archipelago

Prime Minister Jugnauth also highlighted paragraph 9 of the Declaration on the Right to Development in referring to the right of peoples to exercise full and complete sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources. He appealed for the return of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

He stated that if that is unfulfilled it will remain like a wound for Mauritius and a stain to the international community and the United Nations.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth stressed that to this day, part of Mauritius remains colonised, despite the various resolutions of the General Assembly recognising the independence and territorial integrity of Mauritius and calling for the return of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

He recalled that the dismemberment of the Chagos Archipelago from the Mauritian territory resulted in sections of our population being displaced from their homes and relocated on the mainland of Mauritius by the colonial powers, in violation of UN resolutions 1514 and 2066. This not only is a violation of the human rights of our people but it also flouts international law and the provisions of the UN Charter, he highlighted

Prime Minister Jugnauth concluded by saying that the time has come for justice to prevail and that we can make things happen now if we truly believe in the ideals of the United Nations, which is respect for human rights and the rule of law.
(TNS) -- Clarity Communications, a full-service, facilities-based provider of dedicated transport, high speed internet and collocation services, wants to lease dark fiber in Craven County.Dark fiber consists of the unused strands of fiber in a fiber optic cable.The Craven County Board of Commissioners is considering two contracts with Clarity Communications to lease some of the countys dark fiber.One is for the leasing of dark fiber inside of the Industrial Park to provide internet connectivity for a client there, Dennis Holton, Craven County information technology director, said to commissioners during their regular monthly meeting last Monday. The second lease, which is outside of Industrial Park, would give them a backbone from New Bern to the ag extension building.Holton said the agreement would be the same as the contract the county entered into with Moen.The rate is the same, the terms are the same. The lease from here to ag extension is the same rates and the same provisions. They have no ownership in any of this, it is purely a lease agreement for 10 years and the county will not be responsible for providing internet to any of those businesses in the park, Holton said.Clarity Communications and Craven County have been in talks for at least the past three years.They provide a niche for commercial, industrial and military installations in the east for internet access with high speeds, not residential-type speeds, Holton said. The lease for the industrial park will generate about $960 a year, which would go back into the park fund where the commissioners fronted some moneys last year for the Moen project.The county is currently using about 30 percent of the 144 strands of fiber in the ground.After the 10 years, Clarity and Craven County can renew the contract if its agreeable to both parties. If they decide not to renew, Clarity has no vested interest in any of the fiber thats in the park or in the ground.Commissioner Jason Jones expressed concern about the length of the contract.Do you think that this may be a little bit too long, that if it was reduced there may be a better deal financially for the county, Jones asked.Holton said it was possible but the contract gives the county the ability to increase the rate by 5 percent every three years.Commissioner Scott Dacey also was concerned about the logistics of the contract.If this contract says theyre paying us $80 a month and Im paying more than that for my home internet service, that doesnt seem to be equitable for the taxpayer, he said.Clarity currently has a service agreement with New Bern.Theyre in the (city) building on First Street. We all pass through that location at First Street and they want to lease two fibers from the First Street location, where they bring their main internet pipe into New Bern, to get them back to Industrial Park and then distribute to other businesses inside Industrial Park so as far as outside of the park, theyre not wanting anything other than that link between First Street and Industrial Park, but inside of the park they want to lease four fibers so that they can go to businesses, Holton said.The commissioners decided to table the issue for 30 days and have Holton return with an update to respond to the commissioners questions and concerns.
In, Sun Tzu wrote : When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions.The famed strategist was talking about spear-waving warriors, not pen-scribbling energy officials. Nonetheless, its the sentiment behind a new approach to sustainable energy launching nationwide Sept. 26.Enter the Better Communities Alliance (BCA). The project, springing from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is bringing together federal officials with 31 city and county governments  they hope to expand to 100 by years end  along with national laboratory technical experts and industry partners. The idea is to help the local governments accelerate energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and renewable energy efforts.And, finding themselves in difficult territory, DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan thinks its best that the allies join hands to get it done.Not that government sustainability programs are war, exactly  but as pressure mounts globally to build a more sustainable society, and as the public sector eternally wrangles with limited funding, they are certainly a struggle.Say a city wants to improve its buildings energy efficiency. First it will need data about how much energy buildings use in order to target its outreach. That can be difficult in, for example, multi-tenant office buildings where different users all use energy their own way. Some local governments have made big strides in overcoming those obstacles; others havent.I think cities are probably facing issues like that in many different areas, Hogan said.By building a network of local governments to get things done, Hogan is betting that the public-sector partners will be able to talk about problems and offer solutions theyve already discovered. The list of cities and counties on board is diverse  from New York City to Dubuque, Iowa  to help ensure that people with questions can find similarly situated government officials to help. If they have technical questions, they can take them to the DOE, who can take them to its many national laboratories for expertise if necessary. Meanwhile, industry and nonprofit partners ranging from Arup to Philips Lighting, can offer solutions to the governments specific needs.It gives us an opportunity to pull forth a lot of the things were doing in communities, put them in one place and do a lot of things in a streamlined fashion  not just for the communities that were working with, but for all communities, Hogan said.On top of it all, she said, the DOE is hoping to get something out of the initiative as well. The network will serve as something like a database of problems that will keep the department plugged into what local government is struggling with every day. So as it moves to solve problems, it will get a good idea of where it can focus broader efforts in the future.And the efforts are many. Several of the communities involved so far are focused on bringing renewable energy into low-income communities . Others are looking to help buildings become more energy efficient. Some are hoping to save money and set an example by getting more electric and alternative-fuel vehicles into their fleets to save on gas and maintenance.Other problems are more specific, such as the growing movement to establish resilient energy systems on the East Coast. After Hurricane Sandy caused long blackouts at critical facilities in 2012, many governments began to look into the idea of the microgrid, where targeted buildings get renewable energy that can provide localized power throughout an emergency event where its needed most. That requires a lot of moving pieces, and its a new enough concept that many local governments are testing solutions rather than deploying them at scale.And because many of the cities and counties involved in the BCA have already taken on projects like these, their experience can serve as a foundation for other local governments to base their work on. Hogan knows  to recruit governments for the alliance, the DOE looked first at the ones who had participated in its leadership and accelerator programs. That includes initiatives to cut red tape standing in the way of solar power deployment, lighting efficiency programs and wastewater treatment sustainability, to name a few.They really are working to solve these complex issues surrounding clean energy solutions in their community, Hogan said.
In a joint statement on September 23, the groups said they strongly condemned the Arakan (Rakhine) State governments plans to demolish more than 3000 Rohingyas buildings, including 12 mosques and 35 madrasas, in the townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, under the pretext of illegal construction.

The announcement of the demolition order on 18 September has caused consternation to the entire Rohingya community.

They claimed the demolition project is part of their long-drawn-out annihilation and ethnic cleansing policy of the defenceless Rohingya people.

According to their statement, they said this was a joint conspiracy of the Arakan State government and Rakhine Buddhist extremist leaders to destabilize the situation in the territory with intentions to frustrate any attempts to bring about peace and stability in Arakan and produce more internally displaced Rohingyas to be housed in apartheid-like concentration camps also in Maungdaw district.

Concern was expressed that these actions did not match the words of the Myanmar government.

It is surprising that this sinister design was announced at a time when the State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in her first address to the 71st U.N. General Assembly, was defending her governments effort to resolve the crisis over treatment of the Rohingya or Muslim minority by pointing out to the establishment of an advisory commission for Arakan State chaired by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the same time assuring that everybody in Arakan would be safe and secure, the statement said.
(TNS) - When it comes to protecting its power grid in Virginia from cyberattack, Dominion Virginia Power considers its long experience with hurricanes a helpful template."It's just another challenge," said Rodney Blevins, chief information officer and senior vice president for the biggest utility in the state and one of the biggest in the country."One of the things that's important to understand is ... we are obsessed with the reliability of the grid," said Blevins. "To the point where, in certain parts of the organization, you almost can't get people to talk about anything else."It matters little if the attack is cyber or physical, an act of God or bad actors at home or abroad, he said  the same corporate mission would kick in."It's the same outcome you're going to pursue," Blevins said.Cyberthreats to critical infrastructure for power, water and wastewater utilities were center stage Thursday as the three-day Cyber Physical Systems Summit concluded.Tangier Island is located twelve miles offshore, in the Chesapeake Bay. The island is a tightknit, culturally unique fishing community focused on commercial fishing and crabbing. A rapidly eroding shoreline, climate change and a rising sea level puts the island at risk to be completely underwater...The summit was held at Jefferson Lab in Newport News and drew cyberexperts, government officials, academics, military personnel and industry representatives from throughout the region to share information and war stories on a broad range of cybersecurity topics.Blevins said he became CIO at Dominion three years ago after spending nearly three decades in electrical distribution and as an incident commander."Which might seem to be an odd thing," said Blevins. "But the idea of having an incident commander in charge of the IT department at a time when the lights could potentially go out seemed like the right thing to do on the part of our chairman. And I'll tell you, I've learned quite a bit."Anyone can fall victim to an online data breach  even a federal security expert who specializes in preventing data breaches.In fact, Ron Ross of the National Institute of Standards and Technology said he was swept up in several breaches just last year.The "big one," he said, was when hackers...Anyone can fall victim to an online data breach  even a federal security expert who specializes in preventing data breaches.After several major data breaches in recent years, and especially after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, governments from federal to local have been similarly obsessed with security."Virginia takes an 'all hazards' approach to disaster preparedness," said Brian Moran, Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.That approach is especially vital, he said, because the state has so many strategic federal and military assets.The state partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to launch a pilot initiative to spread cybersecurity awareness and conduct security assessments of water and wastewater groups, Moran said.On Thursday, utility experts ran through some of what they've achieved, including developing contacts with intelligence agencies."We focus a lot in sort of the perimeter in," said Nick Santillo Jr., chief security officer at American Water, a public utility headquartered in New Jersey. "That's sort of our defense base. But we have a lot of activity that happens at our perimeter. So we work closely with both the FBI and DHS around sort of who's knocking on our front door."The company gives the federal agencies data from its computer firewalls and denial logs, he said, and meets with them on a regular basis."Cybersecurity is an evolution," Santillo said. "It's a continuous improvement of process."Safekeeping the data of employees and customers from cyberattack is just as critical, said Barry Lawson, associate director for the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association.NRECA is a national trade group representing more than 900 electric cooperatives in 47 states serving more than 42 million customers."Data protection is just another part of operating a business," said Lawson. "When I talk to cooperatives, I'm trying to make sure they understand the risks of not protecting that information. There's reputational risk, there's legal risk. If you're found negligent, you really can have a major financial downfall. Some of our cooperatives are small enough that legal action along those lines could potentially financially do them in."The nonprofit scientific and educational group American Water Works Association, based in D.C., partnered with DHS and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a road map to cybersecurity, said Kevin Morley, the association's security and preparedness program manager.It's important to keep having discussions on cybersecurity, Morley said, "and frame this in the context of risk management versus risk elimination.""The idea that this framework is somehow a checklist of, well, if I do all these things, then I'm good, I can rest assured and can get some sleep  that's not a good way to look at this," said Morley."It's a dynamic threat environment. A dynamic playbook. That's why you have an incident commander guy running things at Dominion, right? It's an all hazards approach. You don't know what's going to be. I just think risk elimination needs to be moved away from the lexicon."The regional cybersummit was the first to be held in Virginia. It was hosted by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who has made cybersecurity the mission of his yearlong tenure as chairman of the National Governors Association.
Out-of-State Drivers?

Eliminating 500 Jobs

(TNS) -- Beginning next month, drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike wont have to fumble for cash or coins to pay tolls or slow down to go through the E-ZPass lane.The state Department of Transportation is replacing dozens of aging toll booths along the 138-mile Turnpike from Boston to the New York border with a cashless, electronic tolling system.The system, developed by Raytheon as part of a 10-year, $130 million contract, photographs license plates with overhead cameras as vehicles pass under gantries over the highway. It charges drivers with E-ZPass transponders or sends bills to those who dont have them.The electronic system is expected eventually to replace every toll booth in Massachusetts.MassDOT has used the high-tech gadgets on the Tobin Bridge since mid-2014 and recently installed 16 spans over the Turnpike. Cameras are expected to begin full operation by Oct. 28.But the technology has critics. Civil liberties groups say the cashless tolling system will widen an already sprawling network of government cameras that capture, store and share data about citizens.There are major privacy issues at stake here, said Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. The government and private companies are amassing huge quantities of data, not just showing where people are going every day but where they end up.Massachusetts doesnt regulate how long the state and police can keep information from toll cameras or license-plate readers mounted on police cars, road signs and traffic lights. MassDOT says data it collects from cameras will be kept confidential.In New Hampshire, police are prohibited from conducting video surveillance without warrants on all public ways, though video use is allowed on E-ZPass toll booths. Maine requires its toll-takers to delete license plate data three weeks after images are collected.Another issue is collecting tolls from motorists who dont use E-ZPass, or whose vehicles are registered in other states.Massachusetts has agreements with New Hampshire and Maine to share motor vehicle registry files with the names and addresses of those whose license plates are photographed. It is negotiating similar pacts with Connecticut, New York and other states, but so far it hasnt reached agreements.That raises serious questions about whether the state is going to collect enough toll money to maintain the roadway, said Mary Connaughton, director of government transparency at the Pioneer Institute and a former member of the Turnpike Authority board.Expanding the number of E-ZPass transponder customers, who now represent about 85 percent of motorists who pass over the Tobin Bridge, is one of MassDOTs stated goals in switching over to a cashless tolling system.Many people dont want or cant afford E-ZPass, Connaughton said. So theres always going to be a portion of the population that wont get a transponder.In the first six months of the Tobin Bridges cashless tolls, motorists who were billed through the mail using the pay-by-plate system racked up more than $2.7 million in late fees and other charges for unpaid tolls.At the time, the late fee was $90 per unpaid toll.In response to a public outcry, the state waived some of those fines and capped late fees at $6 per unpaid toll.Pricing for cashless tolls along the Turnpike has not been set yet, but Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has said the system will be revenue neutral, meaning the state will take in the same amount it now does at toll plazas.Under proposed rates, a motorist with an E-ZPass transponder will pay $6.15 to travel the length of the Turnpike. Someone without a transponder will be charged slightly more, $6.54, which breaks down to 37 cents at each gantry plus a 60-cent administrative fee for the monthly bill.MassDOTs board of directors is expected to vote on the proposed Turnpike tolls at an Oct. 6 meeting.Tolls make big bucks for the state. Last year, MassDOT took in more than $426 million from tolls on the Tobin Bridge, two harbor tunnels and the Turnpike. Combined, the states toll booths register more than 574,000 tolls on an average weekday.MassDOT expects to save more than $45 million a year in expenses by going cashless. Savings will come from eliminating the jobs of more than 500 toll-takers who make an average of $30 an hour.
In March 2009, when President Obama appointed Vivek Kundra as the first federal CIO, it was an unprecedented move. The position had authority to oversee technology investments, spending and opportunities for innovation across the federal government. The news left people wondering what such a position could mean for government. Yet before there was a chance to finalize first thoughts, the president released more news.In short succession he called on Virginias secretary of technology, Aneesh Chopra, to be the nations first CTO, and former eBay and Microsoft security expert Howard Schmidt to be the first cybersecurity coordinator. Later, he called on ex-Googler Mikey Dickerson to be the administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, a group that  along with 18F, its sister service at the General Services Administration  has let loose a wave of new IT, design and policy positions set on rethinking service delivery.The people filling White House positions have included D.J. Patil, a former LinkedIn data specialist, now serving as the countrys first chief data scientist; former Twitter V.P. Jason Goldman, now improving communications as chief digital officer, and Code for America Founder Jennifer Pahlka, who served as deputy CTO from 2013 to 2014. Its also hard not to mention Todd Park, co-founder of the $5.2 billion health IT company AthenaHealth. In his time serving as U.S. CTO (after Chopra), Park founded the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, calling in private-sector talent for yearlong fellowships that tackled pressing government problems.Of all of Obamas tech strategies and programs, these White House roles are the most susceptible to change. A new administration may continue Obamas organizational structure or dismiss it. Typically, a rebranding takes place and people and positions come and go. Yet, if theres one aspect of the new roles that endure, it may be their core ingredients. The common character traits to these hires is a mix of private-sector expertise, presidential authority and job descriptions that embrace modern problem-solving.A new president, whatever his or her political leaning, may apply the same strategy under a set of new titles, for the results have shown promise. They include the development of Data.gov, the national open data portal launched in 2009 with now more than 180,000 public data sets, and the Precision Medicine Initiative, an endeavor spearheaded by Patil and the National Institutes of Health to find genome-based cures for diseases like cancer. In addition, there are several U.S. Digital Service projects that have vastly improved agency operations handling veteran benefits, the immigration process and college education applications, to name a few.
(TNS)NEW HAVENWhen Peter Webster saw a group of graffiti vandals trying to tag a building downtown, he immediately sent a text to police Sgt. Roy Davis  cellphone to tell him what was happening.These kids were arrested trying to tag the court house, Webster said. If I didnt have that cell number to text, (police) wouldnt have had the instant information.Webster is the chairman of the Downtown/Wooster Square District Management Team, where Davis is the district manager. He said it turned out the four vandals were wanted in New York City, Madison and several towns in between.Webster, who has the cellphone numbers of several patrol cops in his neighborhood and other district managers from around the city, said he believes having direct access to a police officer through cellphone is great for community policing.All the district managers and police department officers are lighting fast in their response, he said. I text them and they text me back. It works great.Mayor Toni Harp wants to put cellphones in the hands of all walking beat and patrol officers, a goal she mentioned on her weekly Mayor Monday talk show We are about to make sure every police officer, every patrol officer has a cellphone that is not their personal cellphone but the city cellphone so that they can give out their phone numbers and people can have a personal relationship with those officers who are walking the beat and in their cars so that when something happens in their neighborhood they can call immediately, Harp said on the show Monday.City spokesman Laurence Grotheer said the mayors wish was still in a premature stage and no official plans have been made with the Board of Alders or the police union to acquire the cellphones for officers.Its integral to the citys positive trend in terms of these lower crime rates that is the combination of boots on the ground and walking beats, coupled with technology, Grotheer said. Even something as simple as cellphones, and laptop computers, its all of those things together.Ex-Police Chief Dean Esserman talked about getting cellphones for patrol officers over the years but it never happened. In addition to calling 911 for emergencies, residents can call the police non-emergency line for less dire situations.According to Police Public Information Officer David Hartman, the citys 10 district managers are already given city cellphones along with the entire command staff and anyone in a specialized unit. However officers on patrol, like those on walking beats or in their cars, are not given a cellphone.Many of the officers, however, give their personal cellphone numbers out to residents and community leaders.A lot of what the mayor is talking about is already happening in some parts because of that; most officers are pretty good about giving their cell out to people in their neighborhoods, Webster said.Interim Police Chief Anthony Campbell said he is on board with the idea. Hartman said cellphones can be a great help not just for communicating with residents but also with each other. Although police officers have radios to relay information, Hartman said it is sometimes difficult to access the departments computer system and have access to other department information.Webster said he agrees its an excellent idea and that it is an example of community policing and being able to communicate.You want police to be more human, then you have to treat them like a human. You can relate to someone who you can just text, Webster said.However, he said there can be downsides to having an officers direct cellphone number.The danger is that people can abuse it. Some are going to be calling or bothering them about everything and thats not good. Some people might text during an emergency instead of calling 911 and thats really not good, Webster said.He said residents should be informed of the appropriate use of the direct cellphone to contact police.Resident Maddie Gregory is in her late 70s and lives alone on the first floor of a three-family house. She said she sometimes is afraid to report criminal activity in her neighborhood. If she had the cellphone number of a regular neighborhood cop, she would be more likely to report.It would be convenient, Gregory said. If I know the officer, then I would probably call them more. It depends if I trust them.Aldermanic President Tyisha Walker, D-23, and Majority Leader Alphonse Paolillo Jr., D-17, said in a release that they are anxious to see what the details of the proposal are.We look forward to the proposal being submitted to the Board of Alders so that our board and the public can review it, the leaders said.
F1 sponsorship guru Zak Brown is lining up a top job in the sport, according to the respected business outlet Sky News.

Journalist Mark Kleinman, who has predicted many key developments, says Brown is leaving his specialist sponsorship agency at the end of the year.

Citing sources, the report said an announcement is expected "in the coming days".

Sky News is considered a solid source in this instance, as it is owned by Sky plc, of which new F1 chairman Chase Carey is a non-executive director.

"Reports have suggested that he (Carey) wants to bring in executives to run F1's commercial and sporting operations,? raising questions about the future of its long-serving chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone," Kleinman added.

Another figure linked with an F1 role under the new ownership by Liberty Media is Alejandro Agag.

Agag currently runs Formula E, whose co-owner is Liberty Global, a sister company to Liberty Media.

"I don't know what will happen because although Liberty Media and Liberty Global are different companies they have the same shareholders, but basically there have been no discussions," Agag told El Confidencial newspaper.

(GMM)
In Rakhine State, France has supported programs to address the persistent acute malnutrition in Rakhine State in partnership with the INGO Action Contre la Faim (ACF) for more than twenty years. In 2016, efforts are still required to improve access to treatment of acute malnutrition in infants and children in all Rakhine State including Sittwe and North Rakhine. In the second part of the year, food security and livelihoods projects will be implemented by two INGOs - Solidarites International and ACTED - in the districts of Rathedaung, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U. The projects address the needs of the most vulnerable communities of the targeted areas regardless of ethnic origin and religion.

In Kachin State, France is also engaged towards the growing displaced population as a consequence of ongoing conflicts. A new project implemented by the INGO Premiere Urgence International (PUI) aims at improving food and nutritional security of vulnerable households including in IDPs camps in Bhamo Township.

In Chin State, following the August 2015 heavy floods and landslides across Myanmar, France has funded early-recovery projects in order to provide food and address nutrition needs. Since April 2016, two longer-term projects have been contributing to the rehabilitation of agricultural livelihood. These projects are implemented by two consortiums of international and national NGOs: a consortium between Triangle generation Humanitaire and ArYoneOo in Matupi Township, and a consortium between GRET and CORAD in Hakha Township.

Over the past three years, France has contributed more than  5 million through international and national organizations in order to support communities facing severe food insecurity and nutritional vulnerability, the statement said.
Armed clashes intensified in that region the first weeks of September which prompted the displacement of around 4,000 people from 22 villages to the town of Myaing Gyui Ngu, situated 2 hours north of Hpa An town. Displaced people took refuge in two monasteries. "These camps are well organized. People receive donations, food and water from host communities, local organizations and the authorities. To complement the initial response, we have decided to support them as well", said Khun Kyaw Win, G1 of the MRCS in Kayin.

The MRCS after an assessment last Saturday together with the ICRC has just distributed this weekend over 300 dignity kits (clothes and hygiene products for women), water purifiers, LED lamps, mosquito repellent coils and oral rehydration salt. "Hygiene is the main issue. More latrines are needed and people should be protected from mosquitos", said See Lwin, field officer in charge of ICRC office in Hpa An. "In addition to this, displaced people are very much concerned by their fields and cattle left behind".

The ICRC and the MRCS are distributing 1000 mosquito nets (one per family), additional supplies such as over 800 dignity kits, 50 garbage bins to support waste management in the camps, 200 sleeping mats. A dozen Red Cross volunteers are on the spot to participate to the relief operations and are involved with the Township Health Department for health care, hygiene promotion and camp management with local authorities, for instance maintaining a clean environment and cooking.

The Myanmar Red Cross has a branch in Hpa-An and the ICRC, whose mission consists of helping those affected by armed conflict, has been present in Kayin State since 2000, where it mainly supports a MRCS physical rehabilitation centre.
My favorite piece of clothing is a white linen shirt. The tailoring is plaina straight, loose bodice is framed by a rounded collar and full three-quarter sleeves. In Ukrainian its called vyshyvanka, which means an embroidered shirt, and indeed the ornamentation is what makes this simple garment unique. The embroidery runs near the collar and falls onto the front of the bodice. It covers the sleeves so thickly that in some parts the fabric is hardly seen. The stitches become the bands of stars, snowflakes, lace and guelder rose, kalyna, a plant that in the symbolic language of Ukrainian art speaks of beauty and happiness. On my shirt, kalyna is abstract enough to be either flowers or berries, and it is intertwined with sinuous leaves and wispy stems. In the artists rendering of bile po bilomu, an embroidery technique native to Poltava, only one color is used to capture all of the nuances that in nature are given by a diversity of hues. The color is white.

Bile po bilomu, or white on white, is among the oldest and most complicated embroideries, combining up to twenty different techniques and using drawn thread and counted stitch patterns to create an ornament full of light and shimmer. The artist who created my shirt is Nadia Vakulenko, one of the leading embroidery masters in Ukraine and a teacher at the Reshetylivka Arts Lyceum. Reshetylivka is a small town located in the Poltava region of central Ukraine. I first came here looking for any trace of my great-grandmother Olena and to learn about Ukrainian textile arts. The two aims were closely related, because Olena not only was one of the most creative people in our family, leaving behind several cookbooks and countless knits and embroideries, she also worked at Reshetylivkas Clara Zetkin carpet factory.

If the connection might have been between a German Marxist and Ukrainian carpets is tenuous, that between Reshetylivka and art isnt. Despite its small size, the town has an old heritage as an artistic center of Ukraine, with many original techniques in embroidery, weaving, carpet making, wood carving and painting blossoming in its studios and guilds. Legend has it that the towns cobblers used to make red boots for the Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Host, the well-known dandies. Poltava style embroidery can include a range of colors, but pastels predominatepale blue, sepia beige, delicate pink, grey, sea wave green. Bile po bilomu, or white on white, on the other hand, is the most stylized and complicated of all techniques.

The embroidery captures the glimmer of water touched by ice as well as the whirlwind of falling spring petals. The geometrical motifs with names like a broken branch, nightingales eyes, rams horns or carnations, are alternated with the lace-like drawn-thread embroidery called merezhka poltavska.

Merezhka exists all over Ukraine, but its Poltava variant is marked by the use of rich floral patterns and white color. To create it, a master removes threads one by one, and then embroiders tiny stitches on the remaining fabric to create a pattern. The finished work looks like lace, and its done entirely by hand. The serrated edges on the collar and cuffs are also handmade.

The white on white technique doesnt allow for any mistakes, and an error in counting even a single thread leaves the whole pattern crooked. Moreover, no knots are allowed in the finished work, and the reverse should look as neat as the face side. To give a design luminosity and form, threads of different weights and finishes are used, while the stitches are angled to let light catch the minute details.

It takes almost a year to finish such a garment. There are few places in Ukraine, and indeed Europe, where traditional techniques are still being used. First, the easier cross-stitch introduced in the 19th century has supplanted the laborious traditional methods. Second, machine and computer embroidery have dealt another blow to artisans. Nadia Vakulenko and Alla Kys are in charge of the artisanal embroidery faculty at the Reshetylivka Arts Lyceum, and despite the lack of funds and difficulty of enrolling studentspartly explained by the demographic crisis, partly by the lack of prestige of arts as a vocation, they are completely devoted to fostering a new generation of artisans. Private commissions, like mine, go towards maintaining the school facilities and purchasing supplies.

I find photos of Olena. In one picture, the whole family poses in front of the blooming cherry trees, my grandfather and his twin brother, still mere infants, held by Olenas mother in law. The year is 1929. The older generation is wearing traditional attire, embroidered shirts, thickly pleated dresses, while the younger folk are in shapeless quilted jackets. The contrast between the parents and children that would be accentuated further in the coming decades couldnt be more striking. Looking at Olenas embroideries, chemises, shirts and table linens, I see the white on white motifs that have a distinctive Reshetylivka mark. But the Clara Zetkin factory fell apart along with the Soviet Union and few people are left who remember the 1930s.

Still, the Reshetylivka masters continue their work, and I like the town with its wide streets, cafes and numerous fabric stores. Whenever I come to Poltava, I visit the Arts Lyceum and meet its artists. My white embroidered shirt is a memento of those encounters. Usually I find Coco Chanels statements on fashion too limitingelegance is refusal, less is more, and so onbut I do agree with her on one thing. The beauty of white is absolute.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin
Clinton-Trump debate could be battle of psychology as much as policy (Video)
Over the weekend, Gov. Pat McCrory praised Charlotte police Chief Kerr Putney for making a decision that, beginning Friday, police chiefs no longer will have the authority to make.

Because of a law signed by Gov. McCrory.

"As governor of North Carolina, I concur with the Charlotte police chief's decision to release the tapes," McCrory said in a statement released by his office. "I have been assured by the State Bureau of Investigation that the release will have no material impact on the independent investigation since most of the known witnesses have been interviewed. We have appreciated the ongoing dialogue and team work between state and city officials to seek public transparency while protecting the integrity of the investigation and the rights of all parties involved in this case."

The new law, House Bill 972, does not allow police chiefs or sheriffs to release police body-cam or dash-cam video to the public.

They can show video to people directly involved in the matter but not allow those viewers to make a copy.

Any broader release requires a judge's order. It would be up to the judge  not the police chief, sheriff, city council, county commissioners or even the governor himself  to decide whether releasing the video "is necessary to advance a compelling public interest" or meet some other "good cause."

McCrory proudly signed this law July 11 in a ceremony attended by many law-enforcement leaders. He stands behind it.

Yet it seems impossible to support the law while supporting the actions of a police chief that are contrary to the law's intent and requirements.

Look, it's a bad law. How bad has been clearly demonstrated by events in Charlotte even before the law takes effect.

My suggestion is that it should be the second 2016 law repealed during the 2017 General Assembly session.

Right after HB 2.
A state organization of African American leaders, including two Guilford County commissioners, sent a letter of support to Charlotte on Saturday.

The letter, addressed to the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners on behalf of the North Carolina Association of Black County Officials, expresses "sincerest and most heartfelt sorrow and hope to the people of your community."

"We share in your grief," the letter reads, "and we stand with you in the belief that one day we will overcome the challenges to our society, and bring forth respect and justice for all."

Two Guilford County commissioners - Ray Trapp and Carlvena Foster - serve on NCABCO's board; Trapp as first vice-president and Foster as secretary.

The note, drafted Friday and sent on Saturday, comes after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott, 43, an African American. The police department claimed that Scott had a gun and the officer, also African American, was acting in self-defense, but recently released video footage of the incident did not prove or disprove that allegation.

A series of protests - mostly peaceful, but some violent - began in the Queen City on Tuesday after Scott's death and continued through Sunday.

As African Americans and elected leaders, the letter continues, NCABCO members have a unique and poignant understanding of both sides of the incident.

"Many of us know the pain that the family and friends of Keith L. Scott now are experiencing," the letter says. "As the sons and daughters of Africa, our history in America, our story as African-Americans is rife with bloodshed, anguish and tears.

"Please know and remember that the NCABCO members, individually and collectively, hold you in our thoughts and prayers.

"Our role as elected officials is more than a public service; it is an exceptional calling as we seek to unravel and destroy the web of discrimination and prejudice, and bear witness to understanding and humanity."
GREENWICH  Randall Atcheson, the organist at the First Presbyterian Church, will discuss music theory and play the piano at the Retired Mens Association meeting on Oct. 5.

The 11 a.m. presentation will be held at the First Presbyterian Church on Lafayette Place.

From the RMA:

On November 16 Randall Atcheson, Minister of Music & Organist at the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich will give his thirteenth piano concert at Carnegie Hall. On October 5 he will educate and entertain our audience with some of those pieces on both organ and piano, accompanied with commentary.

Atcheson has had a decidedly versatile career as a much-sought-after artist in the classics as well as in pop and the sacred repertoire. Early in life he was recognized as a prodigy on both piano and organ. He entered Samford University (AL) at age 12 then was accepted at The Juilliard School where he became the only student in the history of Juilliard ever allowed to pursue and receive simultaneous degrees in piano and organ performance. Atcheson won the first Juilliard Organ Competition and subsequently gave the premiere performance on the new pipe organ in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.

After his successful Carnegie Hall debut in 1991, he was added to the distinguished international roster of Steinway Artists. He has recorded a total of 16 albums featuring classical music as well as his unique arrangements of sacred music as featured on Amazing Grace. His Ivory Christmas and True Love albums demonstrate his ability to present familiar songs in a lush, captivating style.

An artist who frequently plays gospel concerts throughout the country, Atcheson was a featured guest on the nationally televised Gala of Stars from Radio City Music Hall, performed at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, appeared as guest soloist with numerous symphony orchestras, and also served as both orchestral conductor and soloist in performances of various Mozart concerti. His heavy concert schedule has taken him to five continents, including performances at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Blenheim Palace in England, Sydney in Australia, Jerusalem in Israel, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy.
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GREENWICH  Eric Trump, the son of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, told Greenwich Republicans Sunday that a shift is afoot in Democratic bastions like Connecticut and New Jersey, with voters ready to back his father in this Novembers election.

Were going to win this thing guys, were absolutely going to win this thing, the 32-year-old Trump, who spent some of his childhood in Greenwich, said at the annual Greenwich Republican clambake at Greenwich Point. Were going to take back our country and start supporting jobs, our military and stop the fraud waste and abuse and put America first again.

Before speaking, Trump spent more than an hour posing for photographs, shaking hands and chatting with picnickers who pressed around him.

I miss Maneros, where did Maneros go? That place was so great, Trump said, drawing whoops of appreciation for Maneros Restaurnt, the long-gone steak house once located on Steamboat Road near his old home.

As Republicans tucked into lobster, chicken and swordfish under the picnic pavilion, Trump touched on subjects including education, the nations defense capability and its worn out infrastructure. Trump said his father would help counter declines in those areas.

We have jets that were made in 1960 and bombers built in the 1950s, Trump said of the U.S. Air Force.

Too many business regulations are standing in the way of American business growth, he lamented, pledging his father would work to restore lost manufacturing jobs in the country.

Michael Mason, Board of Estimate and Taxation chairman, and a friend of the Trump family, said he invited Trump to drop in on the picnic if possible.

Mason said despite early controversies in Trumps campaign he is certain Donald Trump will easily outpoll Hillary Clinton in heavily Republican Greenwich.

We have a long way to go with the debates, which are going to be controversial, Mason said. I think (Trump) has demonstrated who he is to people in Greenwich and now it seems like the polls, and the electoral votes are moving.

Voters also heard from members of the towns legislative delegation to Hartford, as well as state Rep. John Shaban, R-135th, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Jim Himes for his congressional seat, and state Rep. Dan Carter, R-2nd, who is trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-36th, who is facing a challenge from Democratic Board of Estimate and Taxation member John Blankley, said discontent with Democratic proposals like a mileage tax, rail fare increases and regular tax increases put the prospect of Republican control of the General Assembly within reach.

Weve seen record tax increases three times in a row and still have deficits, Frantz said. People are starting to wake up. Theyre reading newspapers and writing editorials and are very much in favor of restoring order up in Hartford.

Eric Trump said that his fathers campaign is optimistic about winning Connecticut.

Were closing in in states like New Mexico and Nevada and New Jersey that dont typically go Republican, Trump said. I think it is because my father is an honest guy and people are sick of politicians.
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Red snapper with grilled lettuce, fennel, and ymer (a yogurt-like Danish dairy product). Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

I thought we were finished watching giant beetroots being carved tableside, one of my guests whispered as we watched, with properly solemn looks on our faces, the beet-carving ceremony unfold during a recent dinner at a newish midtown restaurant called Agern. Maybe youve heard about the beet-carving ceremony at Agern (Acorn in Danish), a noble though weirdly dated establishment that landed, some months back, in a windowless corner of Grand Central Terminal, like a time capsule filled with trendy dining themes from long ago. Or if not long ago, exactly, then maybe two years ago (which is two centuries in internet time), when the upper reaches of the New York dining firmament (along with pretty much the entire international dining world) was abuzz with the retro-purist wonders of the woolly, hyperseasonal, just-foraged Scandinavian dining experience.

In accordance with this rigorously local, haute-Scandi doctrine, the beet in question had been unearthed from the soil just days (or even hours) before, and at $22, will end up costing you as much as a relatively plump free-range chicken. Its cooked for several hours in a traditional Icelandic glaze made with a mixture of salt, ash, and egg whites, then portaged to the table on a bed of linen napkins. The servers make a precise jewelers incision around the shell and tap it open, like a giant coconut, to reveal the steamed beet within. The beet is then displayed for everyone to admire, portioned out in delicate little slices, and consumed by the assembled locavore enthusiasts with the kind of sacred devotion that used to be reserved, long ago, for old-fashioned delicacies like caviar or a giant lobe of foie gras.

Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

Agern is the brainchild of Claus Meyer, who helped trigger the great Scandinavian dining craze 13 years ago, when he and a young cook named Rene Redzepi opened a modest little establishment on the Copenhagen waterfront called Noma. After an impressive run, Noma lost its vaunted title of No. 1 Restaurant in the World a couple of years back, and Meyer and Redzepi have since parted ways. (Redzepi plans to reopen Noma next year as an urban farm in a different location.) Although still influential, the great Scandi craze has begun its inevitable descent from the height of fashion into the realm of parody, which, for better or worse, is what dinner at Agern feels like, complete with the aforementioned sacred-beet carving, a selection of meads to choose from (yes, ones Bushwick brewed!), butter served on chunks of found stone (replete with wood-carved faux peasant butter knives), and discreet references to esoteric weeds procured by our in-house forager in the wilds of New Jersey.

Not that my jaded band of tasters and I didnt enjoy our little jaunt down memory lane, especially in Grand Central, where the options for gourmand commuters have lagged in recent years. The room on the southwest corner, above the Oyster Bar, has been artfully reimagined in clean Nordic tones of polished gray and woodsy, caramel brown. The Danish designers have fit two bars into the room, one for eating, the other for drinking, and the combination of curved wood walls and low, honey-colored lighting gives the space a calm, almost oasislike feel. Commuters who dont have the time to sit down before catching the train can pick up an excellent Danish-style hot dog at the stand next to the restaurants entrance, or forage for nutritious bowls of Danish porridge, loaves of fresh-baked rye, and a nice selection of classic open-faced smrrebrd sandwiches at the new Scandi-themed Great Northern Food Hall next door.

To coordinate this ambitious culinary circus, Meyer has recruited Gunnar Gislason, a talented chef from Iceland, who does a good job translating the Nordic food revolution for this wider audience. Even the world-weary food snobs at my table had nothing bad to say about the soft, warm round loaf of barley-and-sourdough bread that accompanies dinner at Agern, or the little cloud of butter, produced, according to our knowledgeable server, from grass-fed cows upstate. There were no complaints about the carefully rendered starters, like sea bream (cut in silvery fillets and dressed, Scandi style, with slivers of cucumber), or the scallops (with sunchokes, maitake mushrooms, and a scattering of sunflower seeds), or even, after the initial grumblings, the table-carved beetroot, which is garnished with shaved horseradish and little dabs of sour cream.

Sunflower seeds with scallops, maitake, and sunchoke. Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

If there were no complaints, however, there werent many gasps of foodielike glee either, particularly when the spare selection of a la carte entrees arrived. If you have $68 to spend on a piece of beef, I recommend you take it over to Sparks, or even (gasp) to Michael Jordans on the terminals upper mezzanine, instead of blowing it on the grass-fed Hung Beef, which is muffled in a thick sludge of horseradish cream. The gently honeyed roast duck is worth ordering if its on the menu (it wasnt the last time I dropped in), although Gislason and his cooks seem most comfortable with stolid seafood preparations like Atlantic cod done various rustic ways, strips of skate garnished with apples and salsify, and roasted cuts of grouper plated, on the evening I ordered it, with scallions, chicory, and other bits of fashionably wilted greenery.

Will I be returning to Agern to admire this fashionably wilted greenery, or the rough-hewed wooden bowls (in which chunks of fried porridge are served), or the vegetable ash (which youll find scattered over your finely chopped beef hearts)? Possibly not, although there are plenty of reasons, if you have time to kill before boarding the 9:06 to New Haven, say, or need a stiff shot of hard cider before that fraught midtown meeting, to stop by this industrious, slightly off-key operation. The quiet, dimly lit bar is a relief from the usual midtown happy-hour madness, and the bakery, out in the Vanderbilt food hall, sells a dense, brick-shaped whole-grain loaf of bread that in my current state of fiber worship Im still dreaming about. The restaurant recently began serving a stout Scandinavian breakfast (yes, there are whole-grain doughnuts on the menu), and if its culinary fireworks youre after, forgo the baked beet and spend your cash on the desserts conjured up by a young pastry chef named Rebecca Eichenbaum. These include pine-scented ice cream and a dainty wheel of New Yorkquality cheesecake dressed with a spoonful of red-pepper sorbet, and a weirdly successful chocolate mousse flavored  in the classic old haute-vegetable style  with soft little disks of midnight eggplant.

Goats cheesecake with ground cherries and sweet-pepper sorbet. Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

Chocolate with Fairy Tale eggplant and basil granita. Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

Salt-and-ash-baked beet with caraway seeds and huckleberries. Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

Eggs Benedict with smoked pork loin, salt-baked celeriac, and raw apple. Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine

Rating: 2 stars

Agern

89 E. 42nd St., at Vanderbilt Ave.; 646-568-4018; agernrestaurant.com

Open: Dinner nightly; breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday.

Prices: Tasting menus, $140 and $165; a la carte appetizers, $14 to $28, entrees, $28 to $68.

Ideal Meal: Scallops with maitake mushrooms, roast grouper or duck, cheesecake or chocolate mousse.

Note: In accordance with current dining trends, Agern is a tip-free establishment.

Scratchpad: One star for the best of the slightly dated Scandi-style cooking and another for the simpler, more satisfying food-hall fare outside.
For all whopping success with smartphones, Google never managed to get huge in the laptop realm. The long-standing Chromebook program can attest that this is not due to lack of trying, but for one reason or the other (and many have been cited over the years), the web-centric approach to mobile productivity is yet caught on.

Today, some interesting insider info was brought forward that offers a sneak peek at how the search titan is planning to attack the sector yet again.

Apparently, Google is working on a new device within an internal project codenamed "Bison". The tech in question is allegedly a laptop, or perhaps a 2 in 1 convertible that Google is planning to out some time in Q3 next year. A "Pixel 3" moniker has also been suggested, which even in itself hints that we are talking about a successor, or perhaps more correctly, a replacement for the Chromebook family. One in line with the ongoing "Pixel" rebranding.

But it is not just the name that gives the intentions away. Apparently, the device will also be the ambassador to a brand new Google OS - Andromeda. Again, the title is a major giveaway here. Remember how Chrome OS promised support for Android apps, but never quite made good on that promise? Well, Andromeda appears to have taken the opposite approach - burn in proper Chrome support into Android. The source is also confident that this is a totally separate effort from Chrome OS and the ARC project as a whole. "Bison" and "Andromeda" are said to be much larger and higher-level undertakings.

It is definitely too early to speculate on any feature set for the new OS, but it does sound exciting. Furthermore, given the current state of Android with its flourishing app ecosystem, it really makes more sense to put that experience first on a new mobile productivity platform and then add Chrome to the mix. Plus, since Android 7 Nougat already has a Free Form windowed mode baked in, Andromeda less work to do with the desktop GUI department.

We got a few specs for the Pixel 3, too. However, these are entirely preliminary and if "Bison" even survives to a final release, are likely to change. Still, it is said to feature a 12.3-inch display, backlit keyboard, glass trackpad with haptic feedback and force detection and a battery good for up to 10 hours of use, all inside a razor-thin 10mm body.

An Intel Core m3 or Core i5 will to power the laptop or perhaps both variants will exist. Storage should range from 32GB to 128GB with 8GB or 16GB of RAM. Other mentioned features include a USB Type-C port, 3.5mm jack, a fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, quad microphone setup, as well as a Wacom pen accessory. The latter will be offered separately.

Finally, we have early price estimate. It puts the Pixel 3 at $799 in the lower end. Again, this is likely to change at some point. It is also quite likely for us to see a teaser or perhaps even a sneak preview of the Pixel 3 and/or Andromeda at Google's October 4 event. However, as already mentioned, a release is still some time away.

Source
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If you recall, Samsung confirmed over a week ago that it will resume sales of its Galaxy Note7 smartphone in South Korea on September 28. That, however, is not happening now, as the relaunch has been pushed back.

The tech giant said yesterday that sales of the new Galaxy Note7 units will now begin October 1. As for the reason behind the move, Samsung said it will help speed up the ongoing recall of the phablet in the country.

"The recall rate will likely fall sharply should new sales have resumed on Sept. 28," a Samsung spokesperson said. "Affected customers would no longer be able to exchange their devices through domestic carriers starting on Oct. 1, making the process more difficult."

Just to give you an idea, only half (around 200,000) of the total Galaxy Note7 users in South Korea have registered for a replacement unit so far. In case you missed, the company has also extended the Note7 refund period in the country to September 30.

Via
Bowalley Road Rules



The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place.

So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules.

These are based on two very simple principles:

Courtesy and Respect.

Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned.

Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym.

Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse.

However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen.


Published on 2016/09/25 | Source

It looks like Lee Jin-uk won't be going to the Busan International Film Festival.

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According to sources, the "Road to Utah" stars Lee Jin-uk and Ryu Hye-young won't be attending the BIFF this year.

The two have personal reasons for not attending and also, their movie is quite old. The conversations of the audience can be adjusted according to the schedules of producers and stars so their appearance wasn't set in the first place.

In addition, various stars have confirmed that they're not attending the BIFF this year and this might also have an influence in their absence.

However, Lee Jin-uk's management claim that nothing has been confirmed yet.

Many movie makers are also surprised that such an old movie from 5 years ago was even invited to the event in the first place.

Meanwhile, Lee Jin-uk was accused of raping someone in July but was found not guilty.




September 24 is September 11 in the old Julian Calendar. It corresponds to nothing in the Islamic calendar

UH Manoa Celebrates 'Islam Day'

From UH News September 22, 2016

On Tuesday, September 27, the University of Hawaii at Manoa community will celebrate Islam Day with a full day of classes, discussions and a movie screening.

Discussions will include Andalusian Mystical Philosopher Ibn Masarra by Professor Tamara Albertini and a roundtable discussion, What are the most pressing questions facing Muslims today? with University of Hawaii at Manoa faculty and students. There will also be a movie screening The Mirror by Jafar Panahi. All events take place at Kuykendall 101.

Islam Day 2016 is sponsored by Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, Shangri La: A Museum of Islamic Art and Culture, and UH Manoa ethnic studies, history, philosophy, political science and religion departments.

Islam Day (September 24) is a day of recognition for Islam and Muslims in Hawaii. It was established by a symbolic resolution of the State Legislature in 2009. Since September 24 falls on a Saturday this year, the UH Islamic Studies Program moved the celebration to the 27.

For a listing of events please download the event flyer ( PDF ). All events are free and open to the public.

* * * * *

Background: On the trail to Hawaii Islam Day: Saudi money, Libyan assassins, Palestinian Jihad, London bombers, Malaysian sodomy, and laughing Islamists

* * * * *



Islam Day at UH to feature panel talk

Star-Adv September 23, 2016: Albertini said in a news release: Islam Day (Sept. 24) is a day of recognition for Islam and Muslims in Hawaii, established by a symbolic resolution by the State Legislature in 2009. It is not a holiday and no government funds were designated to it, so as to preserve the separation of church and state. Muslims and supporters have seen it as an opportunity to repair the image of Islam damaged by radical Islam.

* * * * *

Yep. By celebrating a day which means exactly nothing on the Islamic calendar and just happens to correspond to September 11 on the old Julian Calendar, the professors at UH Manoa are taking an opportunity to repair the image of Islam damaged by radical Islam.

Here is a handy list of Islamic holidays--note that none of them fall on Sept 24 or Sept 27. UH professors apparently missed their chance to throw a big party for Eid al-Adha which came on Sunday, Sept 11 this year.



BACKGROUND:

Hawaii Islam Day secretly marks September 11

Islam Day: Answering UH Religion Department Prof.

Islam Day: UH Religion Professor comes back for more

On the trail to Hawaii Islam Day: Saudi money, Libyan assassins, Palestinian Jihad, London bombers, Malaysian sodomy, and laughing Islamists

Brookings: Muslims expel reformer from Manoa mosque, claim Arabs discovered Hawaii

One stop from Baghdad: Saddam Hussein's 1982 Honolulu attack

FBI Warrant: Honolulu Muslim busted allegedly trying to join Taliban

Honolulu Muslim Eye-Gouge Attacker Tied to Staten Island Jihadi

Saddam Hussein's 1982 Honolulu Attacker flushed from Iraq: FBI announces $5M reward

Saddam Hussein's Honolulu Airplane Bomber to be Released Early

al-Taqiyya in action: Islamic Information Office of Hawaii defends "Islam Day"

Fisking the Star-Bulletin: Uproar over Islam undeserved

Islam Day: The Muslims are laughing Why, yes, we are indeed

Kona Mosque Plan Questioned

Kona mosque-builder threatens lawsuit

Honolulu Muslim Leader Accuses Radical Muslim of Two Local Attacks

Soft on Jihad: Muslim Eye-Gouge Attacker Was Let out of OCCC Without Facing Charges for Jailhouse Assault

Federal Law Enforcement Foundation: Hawaii Muslims not sanctioned to use our name

Hawaii arrest shows Revolution Muslim Shifting from Ideological to Operational

Hawaii Jihadi Convicted, Could Get 21 Years

Hakim Islam Day Ouansafi to Direct Hawaii Public Housing Agency

Honolulu Maoists & Holocaust Deniers protest against Israel: Star-Bulletin calls them peace activists

Hawaii 'Deep Ecology' Activist Joins White Supremacists
The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has expressed concern that the domestic violence leave proposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) could lead to entitlements for perpetrators as well as victims.



In a submission to the Fair Work Commission in the ongoing 4 Yearly Review of Modern Awards, the union has called for ten days of paid domestic and family violence leave in all modern awards.



However, Ai Group has responded with its own FWC submission, saying that a clause proposed by the ACTU stating that those experiencing family or domestic violence were entitled to leave was vague and unclear.



We are concerned that the clause as presently drafted could be interpreted as entitling perpetrators of domestic violence to a period of leave, the group told the FWC. That is, we consider it arguable that a person who commits any violent, threatening or other abusive behaviour is also experiencing such behaviour and therefore, satisfies the criteria



One areas of concern was that the ACTU proposal assumed a clear distinction between perpetrator and victim, they said.



Even if the proposed provisions were amended to expressly apply only to victims of domestic violence, the eligibility of the entitlement remains unclear.



Thus, those who are violent, threatening or abusive against a member or their family or household may be deemed eligible, the group claimed.



For instance, a male employee who was abusive to his partner and who subsequently received retaliatory abuse from his partner in self-defence would be entitled to the proposed leave, they wrote.



Alternatively, a male employee who is physically violent towards his female partner and subsequently receives text messages that are by their nature abusive would also be entitled to leave.



However, the ACTU has countered these claims.



The ACTUs position  is that eligibility for leave should be restricted to victims of family and domestic violence, not perpetrators, union president Ged Kearney said.



In an interview with Guardian Australia, she said that the Ai Group was missing the point and called upon them to deal with this in a grown-up, collaborative manner to make a difference to the people who are harmed by one of the biggest scourges that society has to deal with.




Featured Post Standing Rock: Six Years Later -- Militarized Police, Cover-ups and the Fight for Justice Militarized police attack Water Protectors in prayer, Oct. 27, 2016 Images from video by Unicorn Riot https://unicornriot.ninja/2016/police-...

White Mesa Ute Spiritual March to Shut Down Uranium Mill



Mohawk Warrior Society Book Launch



Lakota Jean Roach: The True Story of Leonard Peltier



Justice for Dad: Taylor Dewey Shares the Harsh Road to Justice



Justice Dept Files Lawsuit Against Rapid City Hotel



Western Shoshone Ian Zabarte Speaks on Radiation



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About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com

From the publisher Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell, a journalist in Indian country for 40 years. Norrell created Censored News after she was censored and terminated as a staff reporter at Indian Country Today in 2006. She began as a reporter at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a stringer for AP and USA Today and later traveled with the Zapatistas through Mexico. She has been blacklisted by all the mainstream media for 14 years. Contact brendanorrell@gmail.com

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While there is no doubt that finding work overseas will do wonders for your career, figuring out where to move can be difficult especially in todays volatile global market.



HC talked with Ciaran Foley, head of Frazer Jones Australia, about where the best spots were for local HR professionals seeking experience abroad.



There are opportunities across most of the globe for Australian HR professionals. We have placed Australian HR professionals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, he said.



Focusing on the UK, Foley noted that while the Brexit vote saw a slowdown in employment opportunities, this seems to have been short-lived. Today, the UK market seems to be relatively buoyant, he added.



In the US, the long running E-3 visa  which is solely available for Australian citizens in certain professions  means the American market is also ripe for those in the HR field.



We would expect to see a number of HR and recruitment professionals take advantage of the E-3 Visa, and likewise US corporations may start to look at Australia as a pool of HR talent which they can quickly and easily tap into, Foley said.



In general, HR roles in other regions tend to be bigger and broader than those offered locally. They also tend to have a more international flavour, he said, which makes them especially attractive to those seeking to develop their careers.



It is not unusual for Australian HR professionals to head overseas and secure a role which they would find hard to secure locally, he said.



Coupled with the fact they get to experience living and working in a different culture, there are many positive reasons for Australians to progress their career globally.




>HR departments are leading a surprising sea-change in the areas of technology purchasing, adoption and utilisation. And while that may be embraced by employees, its not always welcomed by colleagues down the hall in IT, writes Michael Slip



HR departments are at the pointy end of the bring your own device (BYOD) trend. This trend, in turn, is being propelled by an ever-more-sophisticated array of easily available consumer applications that promise productivity and collaboration benefits, and are willingly embraced by employees wanting to do their jobs better. Technologies like video conferencing (FaceTime), file-sharing (dropbox) and instant messaging (WhatsApp) are on the rise across businesses, often without the knowledge or input of IT departments.



Should HR professionals be concerned or excited? In my opinion, both. There are tough challenges to face when balancing improved employee productivity with adherence to IT guidelines. There are risks and benefits - but they can be balanced. Which is good news, because the consumer app has taken up residence in the office and has found a particularly warm welcome in Australia. A recent Dimension Data survey  the 2016 Connected Enterprise Report  found Australian enterprises were far more likely than their global counterparts to adopt consumer-grade messaging services, with 28% of Australian respondents using them, compared to the global average of 17%.



Some of this is a result of non-IT departments making their own technology purchases, which has met with mixed results. Reports of stratospheric bills generated by Line-of-Business (LoB) leaders wading into the unfamiliar waters of tech purchasing, are not uncommon. Without the back-up of IT departments, their market knowledge and years of negotiating experience, HR and Marketing can pay 20-30 times more than they should for technologies like web conferencing tools.



HR departments must focus on attracting the best employees. Millennials in particular demand modern and flexible working environments, and collaboration tools that at least match those available in their private lives and in their formative school and tertiary education environments. Yet there are technology questions that need to be considered when looking to meet that demand. What about security? Is information that is sensitive for the organisation being protected? How well is intellectual property (IP) being managed? If you decide to adopt an application without the input of IT, who will be responsible for the support of this app, who will train employees in its use, and who will be accountable for employee productivity?



The tide cannot be turned back. IT decision makers need to realise that HR departments  and other LoB leaders  will continue to capitalise on their expanded IT choices until there is a better option. In IT circles, the trend is known as Shadow IT, and while the term may not be commonplace for those in HR, the adoption of consumer apps in the enterprise certainly is. For instance, our survey found 70 per cent of LoB respondents use consumer grade audio conferencing, 62% used messaging applications and 57% reported the use of video-conferencing tools  all without IT permission.



The only way to balance the risks and benefits associated with shadow IT and the influx of personal devices in the workplace, is to have an open dialogue between HR and IT departments. The fact is, many HR leaders dont set out intending to go behind the backs of IT, but they see little other choice when the technology department is slow to react, hidebound to inflexible processes and often unwilling to compromise. So, IT needs to give a little, and HR needs to see the bigger picture regarding paying inflated prices for technology and side-stepping important security protocols.



While the desire to improve employee productivity is a key driver behind the use of these consumer collaboration apps, it must be remembered that if theyre being used within the office, theyre also being used outside of it. It is no secret that the nature of work is changing  10 years ago, everyone worked in the same place and at the same time. Today, the average employee has at least two devices they could use to work at a different place and different time. While consumer apps are easily available on these devices, there needs to be a clear idea of the risk and governance issues involved.



How HR and IT work together is of critical importance, particularly as the rollout of the NBN continues to gather pace, and more employees find that they have the internet speeds required to work effectively from home. It would be a mistake to think employees will not expect a remote working option to be on offer. As our survey found, only one third of Australian companies have any collaboration strategy at all. Those without one will find that instead of managing a sea-change, they will be battling a tidal wave.



About the author

Michael Slip is the General Manager  Customer Experience and Collaboration at Dimension Data Australia


>By Basil O'Raghaillaigh, CEO Logicalis AustraliaMost business leaders view innovation as a key imperative, but what many dont recognise is that innovation doesnt just happen through top-down investment in research and development. Rather, it involves people across the organisation identifying and acting on opportunities, and it manifests itself in a wide variety of outcomes, from new products and services to new business models and new ways of working. But in order for innovation from the bottom-up to be successful, it needs constant monitoring and championing from the top.A believer in employee-led innovation, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously said, It doesnt make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. But while alluring in principle, employee-led innovation is difficult to manage in practice. Staff may have great ideas about how products and internal processes could be improved, but the reality is that most of these ideas never get off the ground, and those that do tend to get stalled by formal procedures and governance processes characteristic of large enterprises.Innovation as a bottom-up activity is about doing things that go beyond the job description. However, this implies that employees take time away from what they are being paid to do, and many business leaders struggle with how to make it work without compromising efficiency. One of the most important concepts for businesses to understand in the new world of technology is that innovation isnt just a one-time event  it needs to be embedded within the culture of a company.The first step is to engage employees, because engaged employees will bring more creativity and motivation to work every day. But how does leadership take this one step further, and encourage staff to develop entirely new products, services or ways of working that impact the organisations long term success?Dropbox is a company founded on the principles of innovation, and it continues to make it part of its modus operandi. In his presentation at the recent CIO Summit in Sydney , Solutions Architect at Dropbox, Daniel Iversen, offered advice on bringing innovation into the workplace through employees, and at scale. He explained that with so many technological and cultural considerations, weaving organic innovation into the enterprise requires a lot of effort, and emphasised the need for top-down support to affect any change within the organisation.Dropbox accelerates the innovation process with its annual Hack Week, a period of five days where teams all over the world work on a project of their choice. A vote is held at the conclusion of the week, and the best 10-15 projects are presented to the C-suite, where the logistics of bringing the ideas into the company are discussed and a strategy devised. A testament to the process effectiveness, Iversen announced that half of Dropboxs innovation to date has come out of Hack Week, and many of these have become common product features, such as read-only shared folders, Recents, and file requests. As Iversen said, Hack Week helps Dropbox become more innovative and agile, but its also a better way of retaining talent because people know they can make a change.Iversens advice to IT leaders was to look at what employees are doing to innovate. What new devices and cloud apps are they bringing in to the organisation? He explained that Dropbox got its start in many client organisations through the line of business as shadow IT. In fact, it is through this method that Dropbox evolved from a consumer startup to the global business supplier it is today. 500 million Dropbox users brought the unauthorised app into eight million businesses, causing it to become so pervasive that administrators demanded an enterprise-level version with security and management features. Iversen encouraged CIOs to understand that in bringing in new technologies and apps, employees arent trying to spite IT; they are looking for new ways to improve productivity and collaboration. IT leaders need to take advantage of what Iversen calls shadow innovation and use it to amplify success throughout the organisation.Innovation comes from the bottom; strategy comes from the top. If employees have the time and resources, they will come up with ways to create efficiencies and foster collaboration, but its then up to business and IT leaders to advance them. Dropboxs Hack Week initiative isnt achievable for everyone, but its an example of embedding innovation within the culture of an organisation, and shows that innovation must be carefully structured and controlled. Life in the digital age is fast and agile  businesses need to be so as well.If youre a business or technology leader looking to drive innovation in your organisation, download our complimentary how-to guide: The age of innovation: When change is no longer an option Basil O'Raghaillaigh is Chief Executive Officer of Logicalis Australia. Logicalis is an international IT solutions and managed services provider with a breadth of knowledge and expertise in communications and collaboration; data centre and cloud services; and managed services.
The Womens Fund of the Blue Ridge awarded Two Rivers Community School a $1,000 grant earlier this week. The grant will fund She Hikes Alone, a sub-program of the schools Mountain Adventure Program, which works with middle school girls creating safe spaces to share stories, ideas, concerns, hopes and dreams. It will include a solo hiking experience as well.

The Mountain Adventure Program is a core experience for Two Rivers students where the school partners with Buffalo Cove Educational Outdoor Center to deliver hands-on, experiential, outdoor education. The programs curriculum is linked to the Common Core Standards providing an additional platform for students to learn. She Hikes Alone is an experience exclusive to middle school girls attending the program.

She Hikes Alone grew organically through Buffalo Coves female instructors connecting with female students by providing solicited advice and a safe space for students to ask questions. Its critical that students feel comfortable during this program in order to grow emotionally, mentally, and intellectually. The partnership with the Womens Fund is a major step forward for Two Rivers boding well for the future of the schools female students and the Mountain Adventure Program.

Were excited about the grant and the newfound relationship with the Womens Fund says Ryan Robinson, the Two Rivers Development Director. He goes on, By partnering with the Womens Fund we know our programming is essential and necessary in our communitys female population. It reassures that Two Rivers is providing the most innovative and progressive curriculum-based programing in Watauga County.

Karen Sabo, Womens Fund of the Blue Ridge Executive Director, adds, Two Rivers has such a positive influence on our community, and has helped develop so many great young people. Were proud to support their She Hikes Alone program, and to help get girls out in nature as part of their personal growth and health.

The Womens Fund of the Blue Ridge seeks to create positive change and economic justice for women and girls in local counties. Through funding to local non-profit agencies like Two Rivers School, the Womens Fund acts as a philanthropic catalyst for all women and girls to have access to the resources they need as they strive to become empowered and reach their full potential.

Local non-profits that have programs exclusively for women or girls may apply for grants with the Womens Fund of the Blue Ridge. Organizations that have not received a grant from The Womens Fund previously must turn in a letter of intent by July 1, 2017. Those invited to apply for grants can access the application on the Womens Fund website, and submit their applications by August 1, 2017. Agencies may apply for up to $10,000. Interested parties will find more information at www.womensfundoftheblueridge.org.

Founded in 2005, Two Rivers Community School is a North Carolina Green School of Quality serving grades K-8. It is a tuition-free public-charter school located in Boone, NC under the leadership of a Board of Directors made up of local community members. The Two Rivers curriculum challenges students with dynamic learning experiences both in and out of the classroom. Academics are at the core of every opportunity provided with the expectation that students grow in both character and intellect during their time at Two Rivers. This year the schools enrollment is 175 students with space still available. If you would like to learn more about Two Rivers Community School, please contact Beth Vossen at 828-262-5411 or email at [email protected].

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News / Education

by Staff Reporter

South Africa's Basic Education Minister Angelina Motshekga has heaped praise on Zimbabwe's education system saying her country has much to learn.Motshekga said she admired how Zimbabwe run it's public examinations which periodically suffers examination leakages."Historically, South Africa looks forward to the education system of Zimbabwe and thus we never hesitated to take up your invitation to this meeting to see how best we can collaborate," she is quoted saying.Zimbabwe was recognised in the past as having arguably the best education system in Africa.In the last two decades, however, funding in real terms has dropped precipitously.
(Hedgeco.NET) The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three company executives with defrauding investors in a purported project to construct the largest movie studio in North America at a suburban location outside Savannah, Georgia.

The SEC alleges that Manu Kumaran, the founder and former chairman and CEO of a startup movie production company called Medient Studios and later Moon River Studios, schemed with his successor CEO Jake Shapiro to make an assortment of false and misleading statements in press releases and corporate filings. They allegedly claimed that construction was underway and projected dates by which the studio would be operational while knowing full well they did not have anywhere near sufficient funding to begin building the touted Studioplex. In addition, Kumaran, Shapiro, and Roger Miguel  the CEO of a separate successor public company called Fonu2 that also operated under the name Moon River Studios  are alleged to have backdated and falsified promissory notes as part of a scheme to issue common stock in exchange for financing.

The SEC further alleges that while the Studioplex never materialized and the company eventually shuttered without releasing a single movie or video game, Kumaran and Shapiro nonetheless enriched themselves in the process. According to the SECs complaint, Kumaran spent an average of $1,700 per day of company funds on his globetrotting travel and personal expenses from April 2014 to June 2014 after claiming publicly that he did not draw a salary and assuring shareholders that all funds were being used to benefit the company. Shapiro allegedly misappropriated company funds for personal use after becoming CEO and lived in a house worth nearly a million dollars that was paid for by the company.

Miguel agreed to settle the charges against him without admitting or denying the allegations. He agreed to be barred from participating in any penny stock offerings or serving as a public company officer or director for five years, and the court will determine monetary sanctions at a later date. The settlement is subject to court approval. The litigation continues against Kumaran and Shapiro. The SECs complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Three company directors who are not alleged to have participated in the fraud were separately charged with violating federal securities laws by failing to timely report their stock transactions in the company while serving on its board. Former New York Democratic Governor David A. Paterson and music producer Charles A. Koppelman each agreed to pay $25,000 penalties to settle the charges against them without admitting or denying the findings. An administrative proceeding was instituted against Matthew T. Mellon II, a businessman and former chairman of the New York Republican Party Finance Committee. The matter will be scheduled for a public hearing before an administrative law judge, who will prepare an initial decision stating what, if any, remedial actions are appropriate.

We allege that Kumaran and Shapiro preyed upon investor interest in the movie industry and financed their own lifestyles rather than build the promised Studioplex, said Walter Jospin, Director of the SECs Atlanta Regional Office. Koppelman, Paterson, and Mellon allegedly failed in their personal responsibility to comply with the beneficial ownership reporting requirements of the federal securities laws.
Democracy is a team game where the rules of fair game apply to everyone. We will not accept the use of violence or its threat, ex-President Tarja Halonen stated, while addressing the crowd at the Senate Square. I hope that our message resonates far beyond our borders, she added.

A minimum of 15,000 people voiced their opposition to racism and political violence in a demonstration organised in Helsinki on Saturday, according to law enforcement authorities.

Finland, she reminded, was the first country in the world to grant full political rights also to women, thus creating the foundation for the co-operation and solidarity that are characteristic of the society today.

Mikael Brunila, a graduate student researcher of extremism at the University of Helsinki, estimated in his speech that the threat posed by far-right movements has been taken too lightly in Finland. The country, he argued, lacks a tradition that would force its decision-makers to distance themselves from extremist organisations.

This is why our politicians are helpless, he said.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) promised in an interview with YLE while participating in a similar demonstration in Kuopio on Saturday that legislative changes will be introduced to improve the capabilities of authorities to intervene in the activities of violent extremist organisations. The legislative changes have been drawn up under the supervision of Paula Risikko (NCP), the Minister of the Interior, and will be discussed by the Government on Monday.

A total of five demonstrations were held in the capital on Saturday. The Helsinki Police Department has reported that no major disturbances occurred during the demonstrations and that only a couple of people had to be taken into custody for not complying with police orders.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Roni Rekomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
News / National

by Simbarashe Sithole

Police in Mashonaland Central have confirmed the death of a 15-year-old form two pupil at Chindunduma High 1.The schoolboy, identified as Cole Hillary Munepi, was allegedly killed on Saturday by a fellow pupil during a fight over ironing.He was pronounced dead upon admission to Madziva Hospital.The boarding master, Luke Gono, reported the matter to the police.Reports indicate that the deceased was grabbed by the throat during the fight, however, the suspect did not realise that he had killed his schoolmate.Police are appealing to boarding schools to ensure children solve their disputes amicably.Cases of murder are on the increase in Mash-Central and police are doing awareness campaigns to curb the trend.
Editors note: This is the 413th in a series of articles recalling vanished Huntington scenes.
"Across the board, Saturday was a big hit and now retailers are getting worried," said the chamber's Graeme McQueen. (pictured)

Unions and Dublin Bus management are to hold exploratory talks aimed at averting further strikes.

Members of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) have agreed to attend the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today following an open invitation to all parties involved.

The WRC intervened in the dispute yesterday and asked unions and management to attend talks aimed at resolving the dispute over a 15pc pay rise sought by workers.

Dublin Bus and Siptu told the Herald they had accepted the invite without preconditions.

It is the first time all parties will sit down together since talks broke down ahead of the first strikes.

Siptu's Owen Reidy said there was hope that the work stoppages scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday could be cancelled "based on progress" at today's meeting.

However, the NBRU said any decision about postponing industrial action would only be considered if Dublin Bus was serious about seeking a resolution to the dispute.

"While the request to attend talks without preconditions is something the trade unions have long been calling for, the fact is that our members are extremely angry that the in- action to date by the company and the Department of Transport has caused severe disruption to commuters and staff alike," said NBRU general secretary Dermot O'Leary.

Meanwhile, Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) said sales plunged by up to 60pc on Saturday when bus drivers withdrew their labour.

Worried

Dublin Chamber of Commerce said there are fears that if further strikes go ahead they could result in job losses.

"Across the board, Saturday was a big hit and now retailers are getting worried," said the chamber's Graeme McQueen.

"The more uncertainty, the more difficult it is to plan, and with Christmas fast approaching they'll have to start looking at reducing staffing hours."

The festive season is a "crucial" time for retailers, and any loss will put them well behind for the whole year, said Mr McQueen
Joseph OReilly was remanded on bail for public-order offences.

A teenager caused a drunken disturbance in a sweet shop when he became "distressed" because his favourite brand of crisps was not in stock.

Joseph O'Reilly (19) was arrested in the city centre store after staff became concerned and contacted gardai.

He pleaded guilty to public-order offences in the incident. Judge Bryan Smyth adjourned the case against him for the production of a restorative justice programme report.

O'Reilly admitted public drunkenness and using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour with intent to cause a breach of the peace.

Dublin District Court heard gardai responded to a call to Nellie's Sweet Shop on Fleet Street in Temple Bar on March 29 last.

Distressed

Garda Frank Johnson said officers arrived at 7.35pm and found O'Reilly in a very intoxicated and distressed state.

"He stated that he was upset because they didn't have a certain package of crisps," Garda Johnson told Judge Smyth.

The court heard O'Reilly, from Greencastle Road, Coolock was very apologetic afterwards.

In a separate incident, on July 15 last, the court heard gardai on patrol saw the accused on Greencastle Road.

When they spoke to him, they found him to be extremely intoxicated, speaking incoherently and stumbling off the footpath on to the road.

He was arrested and taken to Coolock Garda Station.

Garda Joan Fitzpatrick told the court O'Reilly was "very apologetic and obliging with the gardai" in the station.

He had no previous convictions of any kind.

O'Reilly was a "very nervous individual", his solicitor Paula Egan said. He was "very ashamed of his behaviour".

O'Reilly had completed his Leaving Certificate in Colaiste Dhulaigh in Coolock and had done courses afterwards in retail sales and delivery as well as horticulture.

Programme

He was living at home with his mother.

Ms Egan told Judge Smyth the defendant was prepared to take part in a restorative justice programme.

Judge Smyth noted that O'Reilly had shown remorse and had "never been in this kind of trouble before".

He adjourned the case to a date in November, remanding the accused on continuing bail.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Pastor Timothy Chiguvare has said Botswana President Ian Khama and his government has been taking care of Zimbabwean people in his country for so long because President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF ran down Zimbabwe.The pastor said Zimbabwe's administration must bow their heads in shame and apologise to Khama over the insults they directed to him for saying Mugabe must step down.Khama recently said Mugabe is now too old to rule and he could have left the helm ten years ago."President Ian Khama is a leader of leaders who does not make hurt statements or insults against other leaders and he is not a criminal or a looter of public funds, " said the pastor."Botswana has looked after Zimbabwean refugees for more than three (3) decades , the Zimbabwean President should be ashamed and apologize for insulting President Ian Khama who has looked after his people (REFUGEES) for over three (3) decades."The pastor said Botswana is a very good example its economy is very! very! strong and very good for the entire nation of Botswana."There i the rule of law and democracy in Botswana is good. President Ian Khama's government respects the nation's constitution - which is the "Supreme law of Botswana," said the pastor. "Botswana is the only peaceful nation in Africa."
A garda's son is a suspect in the gruesome gangland murder of a criminal who was stabbed multiple times before his body was dumped in a shallow grave in a remote forest.

The Herald can reveal shocking new details about the brutal slaying of Philip Finnegan (24), whose body was found in remote woodland near Carbury in Co Kildare on September 2.

Finnegan was last seen alive at his home at Mary Aikenhead House, James Street, in Dublin's south inner city, on August 10, and detectives quickly got information that he was lured to his death by another criminal he trusted.

It has emerged that this suspect is the son of a garda, who is aged in his 30s and has been involved in serious crime for over a decade.

Extreme

"He has a reputation for extreme and reckless violence and has links to a number of very serious criminal groupings," a source pointed out.

Gardai have been working on the theory that the reason for the murder is a bitter cash argument that Finnegan had with jailed killer Brian Rattigan, which led to Rattigan's mob deciding that the 24-year-old had to be killed.

It is suspected that a major 39-year-old Drimnagh criminal, who is considered Rattigan's right-hand man and has convictions for firearms and robbery offences, was tasked with "organising" the brutal murder.

It is believed this gangster then enlisted the garda's son, who knew Finnegan. It is suspected that Finnegan and the garda's son travelled from Dublin to Rahin Woods in Co Kildare.

"Finnegan was collected by this individual whom he knew and trusted and it seems the victim thought that they were on their way to do a job on another criminal, but in reality he was walking himself into a trap," a senior source said.

"It is believed when they got to the woods, there were a couple of other Dublin criminals waiting for them and Finnegan was brutally stabbed to death.

"It seems he may have put up a fight for his life because when the garda's son was interviewed by detectives before Finnegan's body was actually found, he had a stab wound which it is suspected happened during the violent melee in the woods," the senior source explained.

At the early stages of the investigation into Finnegan's murder, gardai learned that his killers appeared to have tried to burn his body.

He was also buried in a shallow grave in the remote woods, suggesting that his killers may have panicked or been inexperienced, according to sources.

Appeal

There have been no charges so far in the case, which is being investigated by Leixlip gardai.

Finnegan had been involved in a number of gang-related incidents, including in August, 2012, when five shots were fired at him and his pal, Owen Gaffney (26), at Lower Basin Street.

Neither man was injured and both refused to co-operate with the garda investigation into the shooting.

A year earlier, Finnegan had given evidence in the trial of four gardai who were accused of assaulting Owen Gaffney but were later cleared.

In December 2012, a hatchet was thrown through the window of Finnegan's home just hours after a violent disorder incident between two gangs had taken place at McDonald's restaurant in Grafton Street.

In January of last year, Finnegan was cleared of firearms charges at Dublin Circuit Court after a judge ruled that gardai used a threat to induce him to confess to being the owner of a firearm found in a box of toys in his bedroom.

He had pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of a blank firing semi-automatic pistol at his home on March 14, 2013.

In an appeal earlier this month, Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin said Finnegan's life was "snuffed out" in the isolated woods.

"We're determined to get to the bottom of it," he said.

"He was known to gardai, but obviously that does not excuse the manner in which he died or indeed why he died."
A Dublin teenager who died in a car crash has been remembered as a girl who "saw the best in everyone".

Kiara Baird (19) and 38-year-old Maria Wallis died after the car in which they were travelling went out of control and smashed into a lamppost on the outskirts of Ballybofey, Co Donegal, last Wednesday.

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Both women were laid to rest at the weekend after funeral masses at St Mary's Church in Stranorlar.

Fr John Joe Duffy paid tribute to Kiara, who had recently finished a beauty therapy course.

Radiant

"The young woman in the youth of her life, the radiant, beautiful and precious Kiara with her glowing smile, was born in Dublin and moved from Dublin almost seven years ago to Ballybofey," he said.

"She attended St Columba's for almost all of her second-level education. Kiara finished a beauty course in Strabane some time ago and in the last few weeks had embarked on a course in hospitality. I have no doubt that Kiara would have succeed in that area of life for she was most hospitable.

"Kiara had a warm, kind and welcoming heart and beautiful bubbly personality. She was full of life and full of fun, joy and happiness.

"She liked to laugh and she loved to be with her friends, her besties, whom she loved and appreciated. She made friends easily.

"Kiara had a beautiful and kind nature. She saw the best in everyone. She looked out to find the good in people.

"The only type of person who can do that, I believe, is someone who has within themselves that innate goodness, kindness and generosity of heart, which Kiara had.

"She was a people's person, she cared. She loved to socialise, she loved life, loved to be with friends and she loved taking walks and enjoyed the beauty of the outdoors."

Fr Duffy appealed for drivers to think about road safety when getting behind the wheel and asked for people to take responsibility.

Kiara, originally from Clondalkin, is survived by her parents, Tracey and Andrew, and siblings.
Convicted criminal Alan 'Fatpuss' Bradley was given a hero's welcome at a family party the day after he was released from prison.

The 42-year-old was freed on bail last Tuesday after a High Court challenge in which he claimed he should have received enhanced remission from his sentence for conspiring to rob a cash-in-transit van at Tesco, Celbridge, Co Kildare, in 2007.

Bradley was sentenced to nine years in April 2012, backdated to February 14, 2012, with the final two years suspended.

This sentence was reduced on appeal to eight years with 18 months suspended.

His younger brother, Wayne (37), was released from prison last December after serving a sentence for his role in the attempted raid.

Fatpuss's legal team say he is entitled to enhanced remission on various grounds, including that he has engaged in crime awareness, anger-management and peace-education programmes.

On the basis of a one-third remission, Bradley claims he should have been released from Portlaoise Prison towards the end of June.

If granted the normal one-quarter remission, he would be entitled to his freedom in December.

Newspapers

At the High Court, Ms Justice Miriam O'Regan heard that while the State is opposing Bradley's action, it was consenting to him being released on bail until the action has been determined.

After his release, Bradley went straight to his house in Kentstown, Co Meath, to spend time with his family.

On Wednesday morning he walked to his local shops where he bought several newspapers. He declined to comment on his freedom when approached by the Herald.

On Wednesday evening he went to the home of a relative in Finglas who threw a party to celebrate his release.

It is not known how long he stayed at the gathering. As part of his bail conditions he has to observe an 11pm to 7am curfew and reside at his address in Kentstown.

He also had to surrender his passport and undertook not to leave the jurisdiction.

Bradley was the second- in-command of the 2007 cash-in-transit raid behind slain gang boss Eamon 'The Don' Dunne. He also has close links to several major criminals in the capital.

He was considered a major player in several robberies in the 1990s and early 2000s.

These included the 1996 heist at the Santry Omniplex which is believed to have netted about 600,000 and, at around the same time, a robbery at Dunnes Stores in Cornelscourt, Dublin, in which around 400,000 was taken.
Baz Ashmawy has spoken out on the need for society to become more educated about the Muslim faith of Islam.

The TV presenter previously hosted a documentary for RTE called The Lost Muslim in which he investigated the faith of his Egyptian father.

The Dubliner spoke out against the string of terrorist attacks committed by Islamic radicals and stressed the importance of people not equating those atrocities with the general Muslim population.

"It's a lot of just hearing one side of the story. We live in Europe and it's not a majorly Muslim place," he told the Herald.

"There is a lot of confusion. This is what terrorist groups do, they create confusion.

"Everyday Muslims are getting confused with radicals and the only way to change that is to educate people."

Admiration

Baz's mother Nancy, who has also achieved fame through their hit series 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy (inset), is from a catholic family and he says he has an admiration for both religions.

"My mum's catholic and my father's family are muslim, I'm just sailing. I can appreciate both religions," he said.

Baz did not receive any negative reaction after his documentary aired.

"It was a real eye-opener. People really embraced it and they were very cool about it," he said.

The 41-year-old is gearing up for the new series of 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy, which airs on Sky 1 tonight.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

The Matabeleland South chapter of the Joice Mujuru-led Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) has been rocked by tribal and factional fights with interim provincial executive member, Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo, cited as the chief culprit.People on Matabeleland South are said to be skeptical about joining Zimbabwe People First as it is viewed as a Ndebele outfit.ZimPF supporters calling themselves "genuine party members in the province" last week wrote to Mujuru and national co-ordinator Dzikamai Mavhaire requesting for Fuzwayo's expulsion from the party. Fuzwayo is accused of being a tribalist."Fuzwayo is practising factionalism in the party, working only with MDC members and not ZimPF members (sic), which is destroying the party  factionalism is not tolerated in politics and anyone believed to be practising it must be fired from the party immediately," party members wrote to interim leader Joyce Mujuru."Fuzwayo is a serious tribalist who is also a member of Mthwakazi and always fighting against Shona members of the party, which is killing people's spirit of joining the party in Gwanda because they now think it's a Ndebele party".They now want Fuzwayo to be kicked out if the movement. "We think that the party is not progressing well in Matabeleland South because of the presence of Fuzwayo in the party. The party must get rid of dead wood like him to give an example to everyone who pretends to be working for the party when actually destroying it from inside."They accused him of tribalism, factionalism, insubordination and undermining interim provincial chairperson Leonard Mathuthu and other executive members.Fuzwayo reportedly held an "illegal" meeting recently to pass a vote of no confidence against Mathuthu.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Zanu PF thugs yesterday (Sunday) reportedly attacked Zimbabwe People First members including Retired Brigadier General Agrippa Mutambara and left them with bruises and injuries.The party posted on Facebook that Zanu PF thugs were at it again."We shall not be deterred!!! No amount of violence or intimidation will derail the freedom train!!," read the post."Rtd Brig Gen Agrippa Mutambara and other ZimPF supporters were brutally and savagely attacked by axe wielding Zanu-PF youths who had invaded builder Obert Mutasa's plot at Dunaventy farm in Guruve. While Mugabe is talking of UN reforms and threatening to pull Africa out of the UN, his supporters are brutalising opposition political party supporters. A landcruiser 200 series belonging to Builder Wilbert Mubaiwa had its rear windscreen smashed and a Toyota saloon belonging to Builder Manyika was burnt by the Zanu-PF merchants of violence.""Let's stay steadfast, let's build. We are the future."
The days are shorter, but not the list of things you can do.

things-to-do
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

DARING thieves in Harare are now targeting overnight parking lots to snatch cars and later use them as pirate taxes.Most of the suspects are beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty, National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said.Police normally launch raids on pirate taxes commonly known as 'mshikashika".Honda Fit models are preferred brands for pirate taxes.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

A High Court judge Justice David Mangota today ordered an immediate release of arrested activist Linda Masarira.Her case was repeatedly postponed by lower courts.Masarira's lawyers Andrew Makoni and Obey Shava, who are Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) members petitioned the High Court on Wednesday 21 September 2016 seeking a habeas corpus order, which is an order requiring the detained person to be released or to be brought before the court for the lawfulness of the detention to be justified and the detention to be declared illegal and ordering the detained person's prompt release.Masarira, who was detained at Chikurubi Female Prison after she was denied bail on 09 July 2016 at Mbare Magistrates Court, was arrested on 06 July 2016 and charged with contravening Section 38 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 for allegedly obstructing or endangering free movements of persons or vehicles during the #ShutdownZim2016 anti-government protests.The pro-democracy campaigner was denied bail on the basis that she was on an outstanding warrant of arrest in another matter of which she is appearing at Mutare Magistrates Court, while nine of her co-accused persons who are currently on trial with her were all granted bail.The warrant of arrest was issued on 06 June 2016 after Masarira failed to attend court proceedings at Mutare Magistrates Court as she was admitted in hospital after she was arrested and assaulted on 04 June 2016 during a protest held in Harare, where she dislocated her finger among other injuries. The human rights campaigner was only released from hospital on 07 June 2016.More to follow.......
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo sitting with Justice Martin Makonese have dismissed an appeal against nine year jail term filed by a former police officer who was convicted and sentenced for stock theft.Washington Muchenu had filed an appeal on September 19 indicating that the trial magistrate erred in convicting and sentencing him to nine years for stock theft after he was caught with a load of meat from a farm.In his heads of argument he submitted that he was a police officer and was charged and convicted for stock theft before being sentenced to nine years in jail. He stated that there was no clear evidence linking him to the case but the magistrate went on to sentence him.He said the court aqua erred by convicting him when the state had failed to prove a case against him.He prayed for the conviction and sentence to be set aside.But the judges dismissed the appeal.
Opinion / Columnist

MLO condemns in all strongest terms the eviction without compensation, unlawful arrest and mistreatment of the affected poor villagers of Kezi by greedy land looters from Mashonaland to make way for the expansion of the ARDA- TREK irrigation project.In a situation reminiscent to Matabeleland genocide era. The panicking government of Zimbabwe deployed legions of heavily armed soldiers, over 200 anti-riot police and state agents in Kezi, Matabeleland South, to physically and psychologically abuse poor peasants who were peacefully and rightfully demonstrating against unlawful eviction from their land.The poor peasants including harmless and unarmed women and old men, peacefully demonstrated against the expansion of ARDA, TREK irrigation project which will affect over 1000 people who face eviction.For unemployed rural people who's livelihoods solely depend on small scale farming, having their small pieces of land looted by greedy land grabbers from Mashonaland is unthinkable, unacceptable and very cruel. It is normal for such people to show their displeasure through peaceful demonstrations.Instead of addressing the peaceful protests in a peaceful manner the anti-Matebele government of Zimbabwe which has an unresolved genocide case with the people of Matabeleland, sees another imaginary war. Shamelessly sending heavily armed riot police, state agents and the National Army to deal with unarmed poor rural people who are rightfully protesting against Shona land grabbing in their area.Shonas in Harare who are angry with their corrupt government have engaged in violent protests looting shops, burning tyres and police vehicles, beating and even killing the police but no army was deployed there. Come Matabeleland, old man and women peacefully protest against land grabs and legions of armies are deployedWhy are Matebeles treated differently from Shonas? Surely the government of Zimbabwe hates the people of Matabeleland, Matabeleland and Mashonaland are two different countries ruled differently. People of Mashonaland are favoured, respected and ruled according to the Zimbabwean constitution and people of Matebeleland are regarded as colonised inferiors and ruled according to Matabeleland Order In Council and The Grand Plan of 1979. An evil conspiracy document. Shame on these cowards. No wonder why Julius Caesar once said, "cowards die many times before their deaths." No glasses are needed to see the fear that has gripped the evil government of Zimbabwe.We have said it before and we are saying it again that if the government of Zimbabwe is waging war against the people of Matabeleland it must not do it in secrecy. It must at least be man enough to publicly declare it so that MLO is able to defend Matabele nation, a duty we have a capacity to perform without fail, a mission we are prepared to lay our lives for.MLO would like to applaud the community of Matobo and Kezi for bravely standing their ground against land looters that includes the failed Maleme farm grab by one Rodney Mashingaidze.We also commend the people of Makuzeze in Plumtree, Masenyane in Lupane and other areas in Matabeleland for chasing from their schools, incompetent Shona teachers that have been causing low pass rates. We are 100% behind you and watching the proceedings with the eye of an eagle.We urge Matabeleland in its entirety, from Beitbridge border post to Jameson Line border post to unite for the bigger mission ie to kick the government of Zimbabwe and its deployees out of Matabeleland. The deployees that are acting as agents of the oppressive Shona supremacist government of Zimbabwe are the ones who are taking our jobs, stealing our land , abusing us in the private and public offices, public places like hospitals, Home Affairs offices, police stations, schools, border posts and in our communities.Let us unite, fight together from one corner and liberate ourselves from the jaws of black Shona oppression. Let us not worship or show respect to murderers, tribalists, rapists, land grabbers and oppressors.The Republic of Matabeleland by 2018!Izenzo kungemazwi!Sekuseduze lapho esiyakhona asincengi , kasesabi , kasethuseli sitsho esikufunayo. Okukhulu akulamkhosiIsrael DubeMLO Secretary for Information and Public AffairsContact: infomlo13@gmail.com
Opinion / Columnist

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) strongly condemns the unwarranted attack on the people and the country's Constitution by the police commissioner-general, Augustine Chihuri.Chihuri last Friday at a meeting on Public Order and Security Act (Posa), Chihuri in Harare vowed to crush any peaceful demonstrations staged against Robert Mugabe's misrule and the citizens' demands for key electoral reforms before the 2018 elections.The meeting was attended by officers commanding police districts and provinces.What we find shocking is that Chihuri has chosen to declare war on innocent people and disregard the country's Constitution.As the PDP we note that Chihuri has decided to replace Saviour Kasukuwere as Zanu-PF's political commissar.However, we urge him to remove his police uniform and join Zanu-PF structures fulltime as it is wrong and unconstitutional for him to shield behind the police force and issue out unguided political statements.His utterances are clearly from a factional Zanu-PF member who masquerades as the country's top cop while forgetting that his constitutional mandate is to serve every Zimbabwean in a non-partisan manner and without bias.Instead of ensuring that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is protecting the people of Zimbabwe, Chihuri has instead turned the ZRP into an extension of Zanu-PF's security department.Chihuri should be aware that peaceful demonstrations are a right to every Zimbabwean as clearly defined in the Constitution.The correct facts on the ground are that it is instead the police that are using brute force to quell peaceful and lawful demonstrations.Unfortunately, hundreds of law-abiding protesters have been injured in the process due to the police's brutality and terror campaign while an even higher number have been remanded in custody.The unprofessionalism and abuse of the country's Constitution by the police was one of the issues raised at the High Court today, when Justice David Mangota, expressed anger over the continued illegal detention of Linda Masarira.It is regrettable that Chihuri wants to unleash terror on peaceful civilians whose only crime is the demand for the Zanu-PF regime to respect the country's Constitution and provide jobs.To address the issues of violence, fear and impunity, the PDP proposes the independence of institutions that protect the security of the person, the rule of law and the judiciary.Some of these institutions are; the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Human Rights Commission, the Media Commission, the Gender Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the ZRP.Jacob MafumePDP National Spokesperson
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The BJPs three-day conclave in the coastal town of Kozhikode was remarkable for two reasons.

First, the BJP seems to have come of age as the ruling party. It ignored the war-mongering hawks within and outside who wanted military retribution for the terror attack on Uri army base. The party met them midway through aggressive rhetoric against Pakistan, but endorsed the governments move to first isolate it diplomatically.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis direct outreach to the people of Pakistan at a humane level --- through his address at a public rally in Kozhikode --- was an out-of-the-box idea aimed at rattling the Pakistani establishment. It might go down well with the hawks at home as well.

Second, the Kozhikode conclave saw the BJP making a conscious attempt to break the mould. The deliberations at the national council meet underscored the 36 years old partys intent to keep pace with the times and evolve- from a party that fiercely guarded its rightist political space, with Hindutva as the cornerstone of its ideology, to one that showcases inclusiveness with sabka saath, sabka vikas slogan. Addressing the party meet, Modi sought to counter the BJPs anti-minority image, quoting Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhayay to say that Muslims are our own.

It might take the BJP a lot more to convince the Muslims of its sincerity - given provocations from its ideological patron, the RSS, and its affiliates- but Modis remarks could be the first step in that direction.

Economic slowdown is attributed to the rise of many right-wing parties in Europe but its the inverse in Indias case. The BJP has established itself as a pan-India party and it has no reasons any longer to go down that path.

The Kozhikode conclave also saw the ruling party trying for an image makeover to counter the opposition allegations of being pro-rich and anti-Dalit. The BJP has decided to launch Garibi Kalyan (Welfare of the Poor) programmes -- a la Garibi Hatao slogan of late Indira Gandhis government in 1970s.

The political resolution adopted by the partys council spoke of its commitment to end all social disparities and establish an egalitarian society, and to bring Dalits and tribals into the mainstream of development.

Another significant takeaway from Kozhikode was the Prime Ministers announcement that India will ratify Paris Climate Agreement on October 2. It should calm many frayed nerves globally. There were reports that New Delhi was linking the ratification with the membership of the nuclear suppliers group (NSG).

NITI Aayog deputy chairman Arvind Panagariya had said on the sidelines of G20 summit at Hangzhou early this month that India would not be able to complete domestic procedures to ratify it before the end of 2016. But Modi is known to set his own deadlines and it will give a big boost to the global fight against climate change.
Trust Donald Trump to stir up a hornets nest. On Sunday, the Republican presidential candidate met Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump Towers in New York and assured him that a Trump administration would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

This adds to yet another of Trumps assurances, along with his plans for a wall with Mexico and ban on Muslims. But unlike his previous suggestions, where absurdity outshines reason, here, in proposing to ratify Jerusalem as Israels capital, Trump is touching a raw nerve.

Declaring Jerusalem as Israels capital is problematic on many counts.

Read | A Republican president will tear up Iran deal

Jerusalem has been the centre of the Israel-Palestine crisis for more than six decades with both claiming the city (or parts of the city) as their capital. Israel calls undivided Jerusalem its capital, with currently all important government offices and the Knesset situated in the city. Israeli government officials speak of Jerusalem as the capital, including East Jerusalem which has been occupied by Israeli forces since the 1967 six-day war. Tel Aviv for many Israeli officials is the administrative capital.

On the other hand, Palestine proposes to establish East Jerusalem as its capital of a state comprising the West Bank and Gaza.

Read | Will boycotting Israel solve the Palestinian conflict?

Trumps statement will only fuel more controversy that Washington is supporting Israels illegal occupation, and this will enrage the Muslim world and all those who support the Palestinian cause, says Aftab Kamal Pasha, professor, Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU, Delhi.

That Jerusalem becoming the capital of Israel could create tension in the region is a fact that the United Nations acknowledged in 1947. This was why according to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 Jerusalem was to be administered by an international regime. It is a different story that the proposal fell through and after several wars, today, Israel controls the city.

Read | Gaza conflict: Its not a waste of time, Mr Netanyahu

Jerusalem is a centre of worship for the Jews, Muslims and Christians. In addition to Israel and Palestine, in the past Jordan has also stakes its claim over parts of the city.

The US is Israels strongest ally but Washington has always refrained from officially endorsing Israels claim over Jerusalem. It would be counter-productive if the administration in Washington were to not take into account the sentiments of West Asian nations before taking such a step.

Declaring Jerusalem as the capital would also upset efforts to establish peace between Israel and Palestine. Netanyahu has time and again stressed on the need for a peaceful resolution of the crisis  Trumps statement goes against that.

Read | An India-Iran-Israel alliance could be Modis legacy

Most importantly, if a Trump administration were to acknowledge undivided Jerusalem as Israels capital, it would go against the existing UNSC resolutions, especially resolution 476 and 478.

But these nuances are beyond Trump.

His statement might win him support among sections of Jews but it does little to furthering peace in West Asia, especially the Levant, and thats not a good sign of a world leader.

@vijucherian

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As the government reviews the Indus Water treaty, it would do well to remember that the water sharing arrangement and the Rann of Kutch agreements that have both stood the test of time and wars, were both negotiated by a third party. While the World Bank helped India and Pakistan with Indus, the UK played a role in solving the border dispute over the salty marsh lands.

As India and Pakistan spar once again, over the unrest in Kashmir and the terror attack at an army camp in Uri, should New Delhi redraw its redlines and opt for a mediator?

As a keen watcher of the Kashmir conflict, Id make the case that a third party makes maximum logical strategic sense.

Heres why.

It is in Indias interest to engage Nawaz a third party for several reasons. First, Pakistan reiterates its demand for third party mediation on Kashmir and thus would be hard-pressed to reject this approach. Speak to senior Pakistani diplomats and bureaucrats and they will concede privately that were such a process to start, the outcome would evolve towards the view that the Line of Control (LoC) be made the international border.

India has everything to gain and Pakistan more to lose in the event of third party involvement. President Bill Clinton virtually endorsed the LoC as an international border when, he said in Islamabad in March 2000, soon after the short but sharp war in Kargil that, History will not reward those who try to forcefully redraw borders with blood.

Read: Why Indus Waters Treaty is a bad bargaining chip for India

Bilateral talks with Pakistan are unlikely to transform the LoC into an international border. Talks with Pakistan and a third party are likely to be more effective in clarifying the unreality of Pakistans stated goals for Kashmir. It would not be difficult for Indian government officials to defend third party involvement politically. Indeed, it would be easier to generate public support for third party involvement than for a resumption of the bilateral dialogue that hasnt seen much progress since the Mumbai attacks of 2008.

Contemporary history shows that America does not hesitate to bring itself into the South Asia picture when it perceives that to be necessary. It was evident during the Kargil war when Clinton summoned Sharif to Washington and asked him to withdraw his troops from the snow-clad heights.

Post-Kargil and in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks in which American citizens were killed, India should feel more confident about Washington being a prospective third party. India needs no reminder to the direction in which the US tilts when it comes to the issue of state-sponsored terror. Not after Osama-bin-Laden was snuffed out of hiding in Pakistans Abbottabad from under the military establishments nose.

Read: PM Modi takes stock of Indus Waters Treaty, discusses options on Pak

There are of course, various forms of mediation. A smaller country could host such an effort as Oslo did for the Middle East peace process. Special envoystrusted people appointed by the Indian and Pakistani governments respectivelycould meet in Norway, a safe distance away from the pressure of politics and hawks. Given the difficult nature of the Kashmir dispute, any likely settlement would need to be underwritten by the United States for it to stand the test of time. This is possible only if India addresses the unrest in Kashmir and takes positive steps to deal with the large-scale Kashmiri sense of alienation.

Some important questions remain: Would the ISI and the Pakistani Army give up their bleed India policy even if a facilitator manages to help negotiate the conversion of the LoC into an international border?

Well, the chances of their doing so are greater if a third party raises the costs of non-compliance and if India establishes its willingness for a settlement that restores greater powers to the state and addresses the issue of Kashmiri alienation. By doing so, India would also strengthen its international position in the event of subsequent Pakistani non-compliance.

(The author wrote a report on third party mediation for Washington-based think tank, Henry Stimson Centre)

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Monday is the 93rd birth anniversary of Bollywood actor-director Dev Anand.

The actor who charmed a few generations of fans with his style and energised co-workers with his enthusiasm, led a colourful life.

We take a look at 10 best films of Bollywoods evergreen star, who died in 2011 aged 88.

1. Hum Dono (1961)

The dramatic film about look alikes, who were not twins (and that was unusual) and who swap lives. The film saw Dev Anand don a double role with much gusto. Yup, the moustache helped. But Dev Anand remained Dev Anand no matter what he played. And he seldom used disguises. His pairing here with Sadhana seemed blessed by divinity. Hard to say whom Dev Saab paired the best with -- Sadhana, Nutan, Waheeda Rehman, Raakhee or Hema Malini.

2. Kala Pani (1958)

Dev Anand as a man out to prove his jailed fathers innocence exuded so much intensity in his role that you wondered where and how he found the time to romance the very lovely Madhubala and Nalini Jaywant. Raj Khoslas knew best how to tap Dev Anands arrogant romanticism.

3. Bombai Ka Baboo (1960): Directed by Raj Khosla, Bombai Ka Baboo, was one of the first films to portray an incestuous relationship in Bollywood. Dev Anand played a fugitive who ends up pretending to be the son of a couple but falls in love with their daughter (Suchitra Sen). Babu (Dev) is threatened to impersonate the son of this couple which is wealthy and is asked to steal from the house. In the end, Dev Anand plays the role of brother to the woman he loves and marries her off . The song Chal ri sajni still echoes in our hearts. A must-watch.

4. Rahi (1953)



One of Dev Saabs unknown gems. Based on writer Mulk Raj Anands story The Wayfarer, the film about the relationship between British colonists and Indians was shot in a neo-realistic light by progressive intellectual director KA Abbas. Very seldom did Dev Anand step into the territory of the unwaveringly experimental cinema. He did so in Rahi. The film was internationally celebrated. Dev saab and his leading lady Nalini Jaywant went to Russia with the film. It blew the Soviets minds. Nowadays the film is hardy ever screened at any Dev Anand festival.

5. Paying Guest (1957): Nutan and Dev Anand were fantastic together. They did two lovely romantic comedies and Subodh Mukherjees Paying Guest scores over Vijay Anands Tere Ghar Ke Samne. Both the wonderful stars were younger and looked so much in love under the fake studio moon.

6. Guide (1965)

It is the film that defines Dev Anands career. Raju, the Guide who shepherds Rosys career into stardom and falls deep into the morass of corruption and damnation came alive as a real character, blemishes and all. This is the one film that would keep Dev Anand alive in cinema forever.

7. Jewel Thief (1967)

Vijay Anand loved casting his star brother in roles about dual personalities. In Jewel Thief, Dav saab played his own characters double who didnt exist. To find out just how that worked, you had to go through a bevy of gorgeous women - Vyjayanthimala, Tanuja, Helen, Fariyal ... and terrific songs climaxed by the breathless Honthon mein aisi baat where Dev generously allowed his leading lady to take centrestage.

8 Johny Mera Naam (1970)

With the film, he made a glorious comeback after the debacle of his directorial debut Prem Pujari. Johny Mera Naam was a compelling kitsch concoction about two long-lost brothers, several villains and a vamp who stripped for Premnath to an Asha Bhosle song Husn ke laakhon rang that to date remains the most suggestive song-and-dance ever shot in a Hindi film. Vijay Anand made sure every song highlighted Dev Saabs ebullience and nonchalant attitude. Come to think of it, this was Dev Saabs sexiest film ever.

9. Tere Mere Sapne (1971)

A year after the classic kitschy tale in Johny Mera Naam, Vijay Anand directed his star brother in this sensitive film about a doctors descent from nobility to corruption. Mumtaz, who stepped in at the last minute to replace Sharmila Tagore, was a revelation as one of Bollywoods finest actresses. The film is suffused with the sounds of sorrow and romance, regret and nostalgia. Its failure broke Dev Anands heart.

10. Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971)

Arguably Dev Anands best film, this was a charming tender story of siblings separated by squabbling parents (Kishore Sahu and Achala Sachdev). Shot in Kathmandu, the film has an aura of mystery and tragedy surrounding the plot and characters. Dev saab and Zeenat Aman were perfect as siblings, so perfect that all subsequent attempts to cast them as romantic leads collapsed.

With his vast filmography, we must have missed several gems by Dev Anand.

Tweet @htshowbiz and share your favourite films of the actor-filmmaker.

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From Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2000) to the Krrish series, Rakesh Roshan has made many successful films with his son, Hrithik Roshan. Time and again, the film-maker has been asked why he chooses to work only with his son. He justifies the move by saying that with a talented son like Hrithik, he doesnt feel the need to look outside his family. I am not only a father, but also a film-maker. I look at Hrithik as an actor, says Rakesh in a candid chat with HT Cafe. Here, he talks about his equation with his son, his upcoming film Krrish 4, the Kangana Ranaut controversy, and more.

Why did you decide to make Krrish 4?

During Ganeshotsav, my wife (Pinky Roshan) showed me a picture of Lord Ganesha dressed liked Krrish. It was a tweet that she had received. It gave me the confidence to believe that people are still interested in the series.

Do you think Indian superhero films can match up to the Hollywood ones?

We can match up to Hollywood, but we dont have that kind of budgets. They make projects worth $300 million. That is something we cant do. We have to rely more on our content for such films.

A movie that liberated my soul to accept ourselves and celebrate our handicaps.#13yearsofkoimilgaya A photo posted by Hrithik Roshan (@hrithikroshan) on Aug 8, 2016 at 8:51am PDT

Hrithik was embroiled in a major controversy with Kangana Ranaut earlier this year

Hrithik is different. Even when someone [Kangana] was spreading lies about him, he chose to stay calm and dignified. If he does choose to come out with the truth, it will shock everyone.

Why hasnt he spoken about it yet?

He is busy with his upcoming movie. Once he gets free, he might speak about it. It is his choice.

Speaking of the Kangana Ranaut- Hrithik Roshan controversy, Rakesh Roshan says that the truth will shock everyone.

Your daughter Sunaina Roshan, too, has had her own share of struggles, as she was diagnosed with cancer. As a father, what is the most important piece of advice you have given to both your kids?

I havent given them any advice. However, they have seen me grow from my struggling days. They know the kind of person I am. They are following the same path  to work hard, believe in God, and sort out ones karma.

Your upcoming production is clashing with a movie starring Shah Rukh Khan

I had announced my film in February last year. A sudden announcement about the release of another movie is a little unethical. However, I cant stop any film from releasing on the same day.

26.01.2017. #Kaabil A photo posted by Hrithik Roshan (@hrithikroshan) on May 6, 2016 at 7:30am PDT

Reportedly, Shah Rukh and you reached an understanding...

We have met a couple of times. I have told him that nobody is going to gain [anything] out of this clash. I have also explained to him that I cant shift my films release date, as I am a little superstitious. I would have changed the date had I not announced the film. I dont have an ego.
Deepika Padukone has become a trendsetter in a way few could have imagined. After she spoke about her clinical depression, rumoured beau Ranveer Singh followed suit and now filmmaker Karan Johar is the latest one to talk about the darkest phase of his life.

In an interview to NDTV, Karan Johar said there was a time when he felt lonely and depressed. He didnt want to meet people and found excuses to leave the city (Mumbai). It was dark, deep and helpless time. There was nothing I could do about it, he said.

I stopped feeling excitement and happiness. There was lack of sleep and I was always on the edge. I think I hadnt dealt entirely with the loss of my father. There was also the fear that I was not able to find my life partner. There is so much love I get from my friends but where do I take it all? I used to feel very lonely, he added.

When asked if loneliness was a side-effect of the film industry, Karan refused to blame Bollywood: I think the industry per se should not be generalised for the reason of your loneliness but you really wonder how many of your relationships matter. We live in this bubble all the time. We dont know if the emotions we have are just for the film or do I take it further. And at 44, when you dont have a life partner or kids, it is difficult to deal with.

It is a recent kind of anxiety I have discovered about myself. At one point I thought I was having a cardiac arrest but my doctor said it was an anxiety attack. I then met a psychiatric and took medication. And this was just two years ago. I stopped my medication just three months back, he added.

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A boy myself, I asked him why I liked mens crotches, young Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, often wondered. In the book Red Lipstick, Laxmi bares herself open  in her inimitable and unapologetic voice. The book, co-authored by Pooja Pande, narrates the story of Laxmis life; doles out interesting anecdotes and thought provoking one liners. Gender is nothing but an unromantic box, she asserts.

The book from Penguin Random House India gives us a peek into the circumstances that forced Laxmi to become a transgender rights activist as we know her today. And thats achieved through the stories of men who affected her. From her supporting father who announced on TV that it was none of his business to interfere in his grown up sons personal life, to the relative who sexually harassed her when she was a 7-year-old, the book features many men who created, supported or abused her. Laxmi is also the first transgender to have represented Asia Pacific in the UN. Excerpts:

Red Lipstick: The Men in My Life gives a peek into Laxmi Narayans life andteh men who impacted it. the book has been co-authored with Pooja Pande, and published by Penguin Random House India.

What was the idea behind your book which also discusses men in your life?

The idea of the book came in 2012, when I was first editing my first autobiography Me Hijra Me Laxmi in Marathi, which was then translated into Gujarati, English and Hindi. And I thought why not discuss about the men in detail, as its always good to discuss about them, right? My sexuality is only mine and I felt I should explore it and in that process I have explored it fully.

Many avoid using the term hijra for transgenders. However, you use the word to talk about your gender.

The word Hijra is derived from word Hijr which means a journey to find ones true self. So this whole process which I went through from self discovering myself to self recognition and fighting for my gender identity. The word transgender is inadequate, especially in Indian context as Kinnar or Hijra has been part of our history and ancient text like Ramayana , Mahabharata and others. The Hijra or the Kinnar is a community that follows the Guru Chela parampara, and has certain rules, rituals and customs.

Why do you think women are discouraged from talking about their sexuality or desires?

Sexuality was never a taboo in India, we have a very rich history of women who used their sexuality for their best interest  be it the apsaras in Vedas or Draupadi in Mahabhartha, Sita in Ramayana, all were women of substance. It was only after the colonial rule that such morals became a part of our society, they wanted women to be limited to kitchens but now things are changing a bit. Be it Amarapali or Rani Lakshmi Bai both had their own say, so I feel its the patriarchy which limits the women from expressing themselves.

Come on, we all know that sexuality is fluid. Sex is different from sexuality and one needs to find and explore their sexuality, says Laxmi

What are two of your top most struggles as a transgender?

My self acceptance about my sexuality; my communitys recognition by Supreme Court of India.

Your story about your fathers acceptance of your choice to live as a transgender is inspiring. He not only accepted you as a transgender but also told you to dress up (in a saree) at home, if you so wished. This acceptance is still rare.

My father is a true man because he accepted me as I am and supported me in my fight.

Your account of being a victim of child sexual abuse at the tender age of seven by your relative is heart wrenching. How difficult was it to write about it and did you manage to overcome the emotional scars the incident left behind?

It can never be easy it does bring back those traumatic feelings and I didnt know what to do about it. I was naive and I lost my innocence in a way.

You have also spoken about men who approach you for sex yet they call themselves heterosexual.

Come on, we all know that sexuality is fluid. Sex is different from sexuality and one needs to find and explore their sexuality. I wont agree to the term that sexuality is a taboo in India, since ancient times sexuality was appreciated and been in there in Indian history since puranas or vedic times because there is quote in Manu Smriti which says Vikhurthi evam Prakruthi people accepted sexuality in ancient times but after colonisation, we were forced upon by western culture which looked upon as part of decent behaviour or rather their moralistic view. I would rather say we should go back to our culture, rediscover ourselves and not get shackled in the set norms of society. By this book, I have attempted to give the youth some insight on self exploration and also help them understand their sexuality.

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As Chinas telecom firm Huawei starts manufacturing in India, official media here has raised the red flag, warning that Beijing needs to worry about job cuts due to shifting of production bases as economic rivalry increases between India and the worlds second largest economy.

China needs to worry about effect of industrial transfer to India on production chain, an article in the state-run Global Times said today.

As Chinese manufacturers show an increasing interest in setting up assembly lines in India, the economic competition between the two countries is likely to enter a new stage as India and China vie to expand their industry chains, it said.

Huawei joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market would result in job cuts if mobile manufacturing shifted to India.

In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain, but what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India, it said.

Frankly speaking, China cant afford that. The country has to ensure its competitiveness in production chains at a time when India is becoming a new processing base for manufacturers. This will require Chinese local suppliers to maintain technological advantage through continuous innovation, it said.

Another article in the same daily said as Chinese investments are on the raise, Chinas firms must understand Indian company and labours laws before investing.

Indias relatively stable political environment, sustained economic growth momentum, huge population dividend and cheap labour costs have attracted numerous international investors, it said.

Referring to survey by 2014 Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) which ranked India to be the most preferred destination for future investment, it said Chinas direct investment to India soared last year to USD 870 million, six times than in 2014.

However, India was not among the 13 countries which received direct investment from China exceeding one billion in 2015 and Chinas investment in India only accounted for 2.2 per cent of the total USD 39.3 billion foreign direct investment received by India in 2015, it said.

With increasingly more Chinese firms and investors casting their eyes to India, it is urgent to rationally assess the political and economic risks of investing in India, it added. PTI KJV SUA AKJ SUA
Opinion / Columnist

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21It is one of the most difficult decisions for any nation to make and for any transitional justice court to decide, but I firmly believe the time has come to offer Mr. Mugabe immunity for his documented war crimes in exchange for his departure from the political stage in Zimbabwe. This article does not come easy but comes in view of Mugabe's ability to crush and humiliate the opposition at every turn. A disjointed, ineffectual and unimaginative opposition at best.At every turn Mugabe has outsmarted the opposition. The reason why Mugabe is fighting to the end is because he believes, and rightly so, that he will be tried in any post-Mugabe country - an intelligent deduction. However, I strongly feel that he must be offered immunity. I cannot address the wounds and pain of those who have suffered first hand at the hands of Mugabe, but I can certainly articulate this position from a removed third party, as an American constitutional attorney. It is the UN's number one principle on peacekeeping that peacekeepers should not come from the region, so as to be emotional detached thus enabling real solutions to problems.All the solutions I have seen and heard on Mugabe and Zimbabwe express the personal pain and anger towards that regime, this is justified, but this is not a solution building approach. I strongly believe Zimbabwe needs assistance from outside Zimbabwe for its democratic growth. It is inherently racist and tribalist to say: this black nation "got what it deserves," by voting out Ian Smith so we should watch as it burns because this is punishment for black majority rule, after all they voted for the Shona Mugabe.Zimbabwe's democracy is not a black or white issue; a Shona or Ndebele issue; it is about the maturity and growth of a Nation State. All States go through levels of growth: revolution, and civil wars - before they can hold credible periodic elections which support its democracy.Zimbabwe should be encouraged to consider all constitutional options in painting the sanctity of life, peace and security in Zimbabwe. It did not come easy writing this article as I pondered whether Mugabe deserves immunity or not, but I finally decided that perhaps his judgment, like for all of us, will be given by the Creator in due course. But now its for the sake of Zimbabweans. I am talking about the three million in the streets of South Africa, as highlight by former South African reserve bank governor Tito Mboweni. The Zimbabwean women who are prostitues in South Africa, Kuwait and Southern Italy. The Zimbabweans in prisons in Southern Africa, as President Ian Khama noted - these are the people who inform my analysis.Zimbabwe and Italy ComparisonTo understand Zimbabwean politics is to understand the politics of Italy post-Mussolini. Zimbabwe has a majority rural population that sees Mugabe as a liberator, who provides land and food. For an urban Pastor or party to mount a credible movement against Mugabe would have to mean that they become liberators and providers of land and food in their own right; some thing that's undoable in Zimbabwe under the current domestic laws.Mawarire seems not to understand that his countrymen are protesting essentially for regime change not mere economic policy changes. He argues he wants Mugabe to remain and for certain economic issues to be addressed. This seems dishonest to everyone familiar with Zimbabwe protest and opposition politics. Essentially, this flag sought to remove Mugabe by popular protest and riot. This failed. It would take a politician ( or pastor) of great depth to admit this truth and recalibrate his politics in light of such failure. The first step of any growth is honesty. This flag has always been about removing Mugabe, not about school bills and bond notes. The whole world knows this, and ironically Mugabe knows this as well, but Mawarire does not this so?An unimaginative intellect said Mugabe was the cause of Zimbabwe's economic problems, thus suggesting advocating for some Nigerian millionaires to boycott investing in Zimbabwe as that would prolong Mugabe rule. This same unimaginative intellect does not understand that sanctions hurt ordinary Zimbabweans more than they hurt Mugabe and his rule. It is of vital importance that money flows into Zimbabwe to feed the hungry and cure the sick, this is the first common interest shared between ZANU-PF and the opposition parties - human rights is another common area.As noted in other articles, while we suggest solutions to Zimbabwe's crisis, we should not do it in a power hungry manner, in which we front ourselves as the solution - in this regard some have self-nominated themselves to a transitional authority, and yet ironically they accuse Mugabe of not being democratically elected - which regional body voted them as transactional actors and what are their qualifications to govern? A power hungry stomach is a power hungry stomach, it does not matter where the person sits at the table. In this sense, the change markers in Zimbabwe need to go back to politics 101, and that is win votes, get a mandate to govern. Lets encourage the next wave of democratization in Souther Africa the right way, burning Zimbabwe is not the right way.African democrats, practitioners, humanitarians and constitutional attorneys should encourage the economic growth of Zimbabwe as a stabilizing pillar to future democracy and lobby the United Kingdom to honor its Lancaster House Accords with Zimbabwe, and to reimburse land redistribution so as to avoid the government of 2018 inheriting a debt; as well as SADC judgments from the previous ZANU-PF government.I think at this point, it is now common sense to expect the 2018 Zimbabwean elections to afford solutions to democratization in Zimbabwe.The opposition parties in Zimbabwe, who seem to have been outsmarted and out thought by Mugabe should reboot in their planning from ground zero, learn from Zanu PF. For starters, the opposition should hold a popular congress to chose one leader and to unify the parties, among other things.Secondly, the opposition should call to an end of all protests and focus on this impending congress where a popular leader should be chosen and not anointed. It is not Tsvangirayi's right to lead MDC-T. If Mugabe is to be held to a democratic standard, so too must the opposition party leaders. When are Zimbabwe's opposition parties having their national congresses?It is the delegates from all of Zimbabwe's political parties who should chose the final leader and not the amalgamating party bosses. Failure to take head of this advise will return Mugabe to conclude his centurion years as head of state. And if Mugabe wins that election, every one who doubted his popular support should assist in re-building the economy and wait their turn, - this is what mature democracy means: waiting patiently.Immunity for Robert MugabeMugabe, whose political dexterity is unquestionable. I renew my encouragement to Mr. Mugabe to step down, and write his multi-volume autobiography, hopefully divided into Chimurenga I,II,III and IV. Mandela left us with - Long Walk to Freedom, Conversation with Myself, No Easy Walk to Freedom but Mugabe is yet to write anything. In this regard opposition parties should agree in principle to grant Mugabe blanket immunity so that he can step down and document his contribution to African progress. A big reason why Mugabe is not stepping down is that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been promised against him, the time has now come to remove such a prospective prosecution of Mr. Mugabe in the greater interest of change and progress in Zimbabwe.The immunity decision must be billed and enacted as law in Zimbabwe - Mugabe Immunity Act, so that Mugabe can finally step down and rest. It is not uncommon for prosecutors to grant someone allegedly culpable - guilty as sin - immunity, so that they can access vital information or on a national security basis. Mugabe qualifies under both: his memoirs and as former head of state. The opposition should grant Mugabe immunity in an unequivocally clear and enthusiastic manner similar to Tutu's Truth and Recoinciliation Conference in South Africa.Every country must pick and chose its battles so as to remain peaceful. Perhaps, under the freedom of immunity, Mugabe can finally apologize for what he wants to apologize for. The trial of Mugabe in a human rights court is just too divisive a subject for Zimbabwe, it potentially leads to civil war.--------Ken Sibanda, is an American constitutional attorney born in Transkei South Africa. He is known affectionally as Tecumseh for his writings, including the book " International Law: Peace Accords."
Its that time of the year again. The festival season has kicked in, and like every year, smartphone makers are gearing up to lure customers with new offerings. This time, however, theres a slight twist in the tale.

Exploding batteries in Note 7 followed by a global recall of 2.5 million devices and a nearly $14-billion loss in its market value in the last one month  troubles are increasing for Samsung, the worlds largest smartphone maker globally. The ripples are likely to be felt back home as well, especially considering that the company has close to 25% share of the domestic market.

In addition, a much cheaper Galaxy Note 2 also caught fire recently on a Singapore-Chennai IndiGo flight, though the actual reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained. The incident happened after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) along with foreign aviation regulators issued a notification, asking passengers on flights to keep their Note 7 phones off and not charge them.

The timing couldnt have been worse for Samsung India. The festival season, which begins with Onam and ends with Diwali, contributes close to one-third of the sales of mobile phone makers, and though Samsung doesnt sell the Note 7 in India yet (it is likely to be in stores in the first week of October according to reports), the loss of reputation worldwide could hit the sales of its other high-end smartphones here as well.

For Apple and Android phone makers, such as HTC, LeEco, Xiaomi and Lenovo, which have already firmed up their product portfolios, this could be a more profitable Diwali.

By the end of the crisis, on a global scale Samsung might lose around $30 billion In India, too, it will take three to four quarters to stabilise, giving others an opportunity, says Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO and chief analyst of Greyhound Research.

Samsung did not reply to HTs requests for comments.

LeEco, a Chinese smartphone brand, is already stocked-out. It sold 70,000 Le2 mobile phones on its Epic day sale on September 19. We have strong plans in the weeks to come. We see users migrating from top brands to us There will be consolidation, says Atul Jain, chief operating officer of LeEco India. LeEco will grow its retail presence by 50% to 6,000 outlets before October.

Lenovo, which also owns Motorola, has launched seven phones in the last 45 days. It K5 Note is similar to the Samsung Note. It predecessor, the K3 Note, sold more than a million units since its launch in June last year.

We wanted to give more options to customers Brand imagery is important to connect with buyers, says Sudhin Mathur, executive director, mobile business, Lenovo India.

Youngsters in India (half of them are below 25 years) change their phones every year on an average. The brand-conscious GenX may give Samsung a miss for some time now.

Its becoming more difficult for Samsung. Rivals can take advantage and push their products, says Tarun Pathak, senior analyst with Hong Kong-based research firm Counterpoint. Domestic brands will try to capitalise on Samsungs crisis, he added.

Indian firms, including Micromax, did not comment for the story.

Chinese cellphone makers, however, remained bullish.

All premium phones will have a two-year warranty. We will offer pick-and-drop for after-sales service. For more affordable handsets, the warranty has been extended to 15 months, and if the screen breaks in three months, we will change it, says P Sanjeev, head of sales at Huawei. The company has a dual-brand strategy  Honour for the lower end of the segment and Huawei for the premium phone buyer, making it the only brand other than Samsung to have a phone for every kind of pocket.

OnePlus is also bringing more phones to India for Diwali, though general manager Vikas Aggarwal does not see too much impact of the Samsung crisis..

Then theres Apple, Samsungs greatest competitor worldwide, which is set to debut its latest iPhone 7 in India on October 7.

In the end, whoever sells more or less, the customer will gain the most.

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NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the window grille inside his room in southwest Delhis Nangloi area on Saturday night.

Subhash, who worked as a safai karamchari with the municipal corporation, got married six months ago. His family told the police that he was not upset over anything and there was no reason for him to end his life.

Two years ago, Subhashs brother was also found hanging from the same widow grille in the same room. Subhashs brother also committed suicide in the same room. Why he did it is still unclear as there was no suicide note. The family said that they have no idea, why he did it, a senior police officer said. They said they were shocked to find Subhash hanging from the same window , he added.

Subhash, reportedly went to his room after dinner and locked it from inside. The next morning when he did not come out for breakfast till 9 am, his parents went and checked to find him hanging. No suicide note was recovered from the spot.

His wife had gone to her parents house when he committed suicide. His family said that he was not upset or depressed about anything and was in fact happy in his married life and was also planning a child. His family said that Sub hash had even spoken to her mother for over an hour, discussing his future, before he retired to his room to sleep, an investigator said.

Police said that they will be questioning his wife in the case. We have accessed the call detail records of Subhash along with his chats to as certain why he took the extreme step. We have initiated an inquiry into the matter and the investigation is on. A detailed statement of Subhashs family and his wife has also been recorded. His body has been sent for a postmortem examination to identify the cause of death , a senior police officer said.
NEW DELHI: A special court here has awarded three-year jail term to a former CPWD assistant engineer and confiscation of his properties in an 11- year-old disproportionate assets case.

Special CBI judge Gurdeep Singh awarded the punishment to Central Public Works Department official Chandra Pal Singh, who had amassed assets worth Rs 55,81,010 which were disproportionate to his income and he could not provide a satisfactory explanation for their source.

The prosecution has succeeded in proving that the accused was having in his possession, during period of his office ... the pecuniary resources and property disproportionate to the extent of 47.6% (approx) to his known sources of income, the court said.
NEW DELHI: Flying squads are on the prowl in the Capitals government-run schools this exam season. The mission is to prevent students from cheating.

The Delhi government has formed a dozen teams, headed by a sub-divisional magistrate, to conduct surprise checks in its schools during exams, a move that follows the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administrations promise to overhaul the education system and weed out malpractices.

The teams, called flying squads, started their work when the summative assessment (SA)-I exam for Class 3 to Class 12 began in more than 1,100 government schools from September 19. The exam ends on October 4.

We usually have our internal teams conducting inspections. This is the first time we have formed independent external teams, headed by SDMs, an official with the directorate of education (DoE) said.

There are 17 internal teams, headed by DoE officials.

A government directive spelt out the flying squads mandate: ensure zero tolerance is enforced in case of cheating during exams. The city does not have the problem of large-scale, organised cheating the kind noticed in states such as Bihar where a photograph of men clinging to window sills of a four-storey school in Vaishali to pass answer chits to children writing an exam inside shocked the nation in 2015.

Delhis flying squad will be deterrent for anybody trying to do a Vaishali.

It will help build a culture of intolerance towards cheating, DoE director Saumya Gupta said. This is to set an example for years to come.

She clarified the move is not aimed at punishing students, but to plug any loop hole in conducting a fair exam.

The teams will also check if papers were distributed on time and if students have proper seating arrangement because many of our schools are still constructing classrooms.

Also, the squads will inspect the headmaster and teachers are not casual in their approach.

These exams are the first since the AAP government started its Chunauti 2018 scheme to improve the learning level in state-run schools.

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NEW DELHI: He was a fan of Bollywood actor John Abraham. Inspired by his character in Shootout at Wadala, he wanted to become famous and lead a gang.

To fulfil his dream, he left studies and joined a small gang. He started doing drugs, committed thefts and started a gang. The gang carried out robberies masterminded by him. In the last six months, he has been involved in over 12 cases of robberies reported from across Delhi.

Aman (20), along with his associate Abdul (28), landed in the police net on Saturday.

With an increase in the number of robberies in the area, a separate team was formed to keep a close watch on local criminals.

An information was received that Aman will come neat Dwarka Sector 14 Metro station following which a trap was laid and he was apprehended, DCP southwest, Manoj C, said.

A man, has been allegedly involved in over two dozen robberies. With his arrest, one stolen Bajaj motorcycle and 12 mobiles phones have been recovered.

Am an was a brilliant student till class 12, but fell into bad company after his parents separated. He dropped out of school and started taking drugs. He committed petty crimes. He was inspired by movies and wanted to make his own gang and be identified as a renowned criminal. He served six months in jail and came out in March, the DCP said.

During questioning, Aman told police he wanted to make quick money and be like John Abraham. He said he even went to Mumbai to meet him.
GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad police on Sunday arrested a 22-year-old man on charges of abetting the suicide of a 17-year-old BBA student.

The girl jumped off from a mall in East Delhi on the evening of September 21. She reportedly left her house in Ghaziabad following a tiff with her parents. She left behind a suicide note which was recovered later.

The police on Sunday arrested Rinku Kumar Meena, who recently completed BTech and is the son of a farmer from Jaipur. The girl, who was studying at a college in Noida, is the daughter of a sub inspector with provincial armed constabulary at Ghaziabad and her family hails from Baghpat.

Her father had lodged an FIR at Indirapuram police station against an unidentified man for kidnapping under section 363 of IPC after the girl left her house.

Her father said that an unidentified man sent threatening messages and a picture of the girl with a young man, said Rajesh Kumar, officiating superintendent of police (city).

Police said the photos which the accused sent to her father were general pictures taken outside a mall in Ghaziabad that showed the girl with Ritesh Gaur, a friend of the accused.

In the suicide note, reportedly addressed to her parents, the girl stated her mother said something which pinched her heart.

I hid things as I never wanted to disturb you... I admit I made a mistake by speaking to him... and my mistake cannot be rectified now. All this drama started because of me and will now end with me.., the note said.

The police arrested Rinku with the help of electronic surveillance and also called his friend Gaur, a BTech student, for questioning.

The police said the accused would be booked for a betting suicide and criminal intimidation as he sent threatening messages to the girls brother after she snapped communication with him around 7-8 months back following family pressure.

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A car part that broke and fell, after a man allegedly rammed his high end Volvo XC-90 car into a scooter and crushed the rider to death on September 18 , helped investigators solve the Tughlaq Road hit-and-run puzzle on Sunday.

It was a blind case as the police did not have any CCTV footage or any eye witnesses to trace the driver. All that the police had was a part that fell from the bumper when the car hit the scooterist, Harkesh (35), and then rammed into a barricade before zooming off.

All we knew was that the car rammed into a moped crushing the rider, who works as a jockey at Race Course and injured the pillion. The man riding pillion said that the car hit a barricade and fled towards Safdarjung Enclave. Harkesh died on the spot, a police officer said.

The investigators took the car part to workshops to identify the car. We found out that the part belonged to a Volvo XC-90. After the make of the car was identified, we went to showrooms across Delhi and NCR that deal with sale, purchase and servicing of Volvo cars to get information of the cars owner, a police source told HT

The police team then found out that there are only 70 Volvo XC-90 across Delhi and NCR. One car costs around R90 lakhs. The police then made a list of all the people who own the car and physically went and checked all of them.

We made a checklist of all the addresses of people who own this car and went to check each one of them. We also went to the workshops where Volvo cars are serviced to ask if someone had recently come to get a bumper repaired. During investigation, we visited and examined 69 cars but one could not be found. It was later found parked outside a company in Noida. The owner had kept it under a cover, a police source said.

DCP, New Delhi, Jatin Narwal, told HT that the car has been registered in the name of a Noida-based company. The company has more than one managing director, so we are yet to ascertain who was on the wheel when the accident happened. The investigation is on and we will make the arrest soon.

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Gurgaon police have arrested a 21-year-old man from Najafgarh in Delhi for allegedly killing his mother and sister a week ago on suspicion of prostitution. Two others were also held for aiding the suspect, Sumit, in the honour-killing crime.

The three were arrested by police during a routine check by the Palam Vihar crime unit near the Industrial Model Township (IMT) in Manesar on Sunday. Two country-made pistols and cartridges, apart from a Renault Kwid, were recovered from them.

The bullet-riddled bodies of the deceased  40-year-old Sunita and her 15-year-old daughter  were found in a vacant plot of land near the IMT on September 19.

Sumit had been living with his mother and sister  a Class 9 student  at Prem Nagar in Najafgarh. The suspect said he killed his mother and sister because he believed they were involved in prostitution. He felt he was being socially ostracised due to this, said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Sumit Kuhar.

Read | Woman alleges threat to life, dies days later in suspected honour killing

The suspect was allegedly aided by his friends  Dharambir (28) and Pradeep (18)  in committing the murders.

Dharambirs father, Satya Narayan, a head constable with the Delhi police, reportedly helped solve the case.

During an interrogation, Sumit told police that Sunita was also responsible for poisoning his father, Jai Prakash, in 2000. However, there was no case lodged at the time to back his claim.

Kuhar said the trio took the two victims to Manesar in Dharambirs car on the pretext of making a trip to Khatu Shyam temple in Sikar, Rajasthan, on September 18. Once there, they strangled Sunita and her daughter with a dupatta before shooting them. It was a planned murder. The trio dumped the bodies in Manesar, thinking that police will not be able to trace them to Najafgarh, he added.

The three were produced before a court on Monday, and placed in police custody for a day.

Read | Honour killing: Man kills minor daughter, her lover in Tarn Taran

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The Kashmir problem should be solved according to the ideals and fundamental principles that guided Indias freedom movement, wrote activist and politician Jayaprakash Narayan in Hindustan Times on April 20, 1964. As India debates the Kashmir question again, here we republish his article.

The story of Kashmir is an account of confused aims, unsure methods, insincere deals. From the beginning, Kashmir has been the Prime Ministers concern. Yet when Sheikh Abdullah was dismissed from the Prime Ministership and detained, Mr Nehru happened to know of the event just as any other Indian citizen did. That is only one example of the incredible manner in which the Kashmir question has been handled. The present ballyhoo over Sheikh Abdullahs statements raises the doubt if the old story was not going to be repeated again.

After 11 years of dilly-dallying the Sheikh was at last released. But again there seems to be no well-thought-out policy behind that belated decision. Surprise and pain have been expressed at Sheikh Sahebs statements. Unless the gentlemen concerned had deliberately hidden their heads in the sand, they could have saved themselves these emotional upsets. Sheikh Abdullah has said nothing that was not expected from him. Happily, the one same voice in the ruling party is that of the Prime Minister himself.

Why we must listen to Jayaprakash Narayan on Kashmir: Ramachandra Guha

Human Problem

What, after all, is the substance of Sheikh Abdullahs statement? This, that the future of Kashmir has to be decided by the people of Kashmir, and that it has to be done in a manner that the dispute about it between India and Pakistan is amicably ended. With a little imagination it was possible to see that this clear and principled stand of the Kashmir leader opened for India a wonderful opportunity that could be exploited to the advantage of all concerned. What actually is happening, however, is parrot-like reiteration of slogans that carry no conviction in any dispassionate quarters.

One of these slogans is that the accession of Kashmir to India is final and irrevocable,. Thee Sheikh has questioned that, and it is for impartial lawyers to decide the issue. But the vital point to keep in mind is that it is not by legal advocacy that a human problem like that of Kashmir can ever be settled. Indeed, it was such realization that had prompted the original promise of the Prime Minister to ascertain the wishes of the people.

At this point two further slogans are raised:

a) The people of Kashmir have already expressed their will at three general elections.

b) If the people of Kashmir are allow to express their will, it will be the beginning of the end of the Indian nation. Both, to my mind, are baseless slogans. The elections in Kashmir after Sheikh Abdullahs arrest were neither fair nor free. If that has to be disproved, it can be done by an impartial inquiry and not just by official assertions. Delhi seems to believe that by auto-suggestion it can establish any fact it pleases.

I may be lacking in patriotism or other virtues, but it has always seemed to me to be a lie to say that the people of Kashmir had already decided to integrate themselves with India. They might do so, but have not done so yet. Apart from the quality of the elections, the future of the State of Jammu and Kashmir was never made an electoral issue at any of them. If further proof were needed, it has come in the form of Sheikh Abdullas emphatic views who, to put it at the least, is as representative of the people as any other Kashmiri leader.

The story of Kashmir is an account of confused aims, unsure methods, insincere deals, wrote Jayaprakash Narayan in 1964. (KK Chawla/ HT file photo)

Mockery of Nation

Lastly, if we are so sure of the verdict of the people, why are we so opposed to giving them another opportunity to reiterate it? The answer given is that this would start the process of disintegration of the county. Few things have been said in the course of this controversy more silly than this one. The assumption behind the argument is that the states of India are held together by force and not by the sentiment of a common nationality. It is an assumption that makes a mockery of the Indian Nation and a tyrant of the Indian State.

Threats have been held out that should Sheikh Abdullah misbehave, the law would take its course. The law had taken its course for eleven years and the issue remained unsettled. It is not likely to achieve more in the future. It is remarkable how the freedom fighters of yesterday begin so easily to imitate the language of the imperialists.

Forgotten Facts

The last and final slogan raised in the ballyhoo is that there is no Kashmir question at all, and that if there was one at any time, it has now been settled once for all. Kashmir is a part of India and that is a fact of history, they say. That, I think, is the worst form of auto-suggestion.

The slogan-raisers forget that less than half of the State of Jammu and Kashmir is under the occupation of Pakistan. Has that been accepted as a settled fact? If so, when and where? If not, how is that issue of Kashmir settled, except in the private thoughts of those who believe that we shall keep what we have and they shall keep what they have.

Secondly, the issue is still pending before the Security Council and UN observers are still posted in Kashmir. Thirdly, here is a leader of stature of Sheikh Abdullah who clearly states that the issue has yet to be settled.

Therefore, as an humble servant the this country. I plead earnestly that instead of trying to take shelter in a fools paradise of our own making, let us have the courage to face facts and deal with them on the basis of the ideals and fundamental principles that guided our freedom movement. After all, Sheikh Abdullah has not said anything that shuts the door to a reasoned and amicable settlement. All he has done is to envisage the unity and integrity of the original State of Jammu and Kashmir and the ascertainment of the wishes of the people of the re-united State in a manner to be agreed upon. He has indicated that a plebiscite need not be the only way of ascertaining the peoples wishes and has mentioned free and fair election as one method. That is not a stand that does not provide a meeting ground for India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir.

Nehrus Faith

It was encouraging to find that the Prime Minister in his reply to the foreign affairs debate boldly affirmed his faith in Indo-Pakistan friendship, envisaging even some kind of a constitutional tie, and was generous enough to concede that mistakes had been made by both sides. Recent events have proved that the partition of India was a grave mistake and it has failed to solve any problem. However, there is now the incontestable fact of two sovereign nations.

But at the same time the history of the post-independence years has proved another incontestable fact, namely, that neither India nor Pakistan can live and grow unless there is friendship and co-operation between them. The lack of such relationship between them has, among other things, upset the power-balance in South and South-east Asia, depriving the sub-continent of the role that history and geography had destined it to play. The result was the tilting of the balance in favour of China--a most unhealthy state of affairs.

The Kashmir question has to be viewed in this broad perspective.

The question whether settlement of the Kashmir problem would establish friendship between India and Pakistan may be debated, but it cannot be denied that it will go a long way towards that goal, as also create international conditions that will necessarily promote that friendship. I do fervently hope that our leaders would have the vision and statesmanship that this historic moment demands.
The logic of cutting off Pakistans supply of Indus waters seems compelling, but the dangers in it for India are clear. The diplomatic offensive is having some success, especially because the strategic manipulation of the subcontinent (whether for good or bad objectives) is being challenged by terror strikes in America and Europe and the real threat of IS going global. But diplomacy takes time, and may not be seen as an effective way to address Indian anger at Uri. Surgical strikes must calculate the incalculable: Pakistans shaky nuclear finger and its suicidal malevolence. Let us therefore ignore the fact that the Indus Treaty has worked better than some of our domestic interstate ones, and through wars at that; put aside ethical considerations, since it is indeed true that the Treaty is premised on mutual goodwill; and ignore the fact that cutting off water would be a crime against humanity no less deplorable than terrorism. If alls fair in war, that still leaves interconnected practical and strategic considerations.

Why Indus Waters Treaty is a bad bargaining chip for India

The possibility of Kashmir being flooded is being perceived as the biggest obstacle. Kashmirs recent floods were arguably a natural disaster; this would be a government-made human tragedy and a huge setback to peace in the Valley. Assuming we find an unlikely way of avoiding this, say flooding Pakistan instead of parching it, we face other difficulties. Some years ago Hafiz Sayeed and the Pakistan army/ISI/terrorist complex sought to deflect popular unrest arising from inter-provincial water problems while adding another quiver to their arsenal by saying that these problems were arising because of Indias actions. They have not been entirely successful. This would be playing into their hands. Our prime minister has been rightly circumspect and strategically intelligent in distinguishing the Pakistani people, who are increasingly reaping the whirlwind of terror, from their de facto rulers who sowed the wind. By making the populace suffer, we would ourselves be fomenting widespread anti-India radicalisation and empowering the terror masters beyond imagination. We would also lose the strategic benefits of whatever high moral ground we have been acquiring internationally: Pakistan would now be in the news as a war victim rather than a terror state, and the old humbug of equating the two neighbours would find new takers. This, when America and Europe finally show some signs of passing resolutions or imposing sanctions against Pakistan.

Blood and water cant flow together, says Modi at meeting on Indus treaty

Abrogating treaties and weaponising water also have implications both domestically and perhaps vis-a-vis Bangladesh. Indirectly, they strengthen the idea that circumstances may compel Karnataka to defy the Supreme Courts orders, and are likely to lead to a replacement of Bangladeshs nascent goodwill by reawakening that countrys fears over the Ganga, especially given the Inter-Linking of Rivers gaining impetus. Are these pusillanimous fears or bogeys? I think not. If we are thinking strategically, we must do so in all contexts. The Indian people and our gallant armed forces have shown tremendous restraint and dealt with great frustration in the face of a barbaric enemy. But a wise general strikes wisely, not in anger.

(The writer, a researcher on natural resource and livelihood issues, is working on a book on water conflicts. The views expressed are personal.)
Police arrested 76 people on charge of harassment during a drive -- Operation Romeo Free -- on Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road on Saturday night. Police personnel, including women, in civil attire carried out the drive from 10 pm to 2 am, a police spokesperson said.

The personnel were stationed at various crowded points on the MG Road that houses a number of malls, residential complexes and corporate offices. At each point, a women official was deployed with a policeman.

Those arrested were caught making inappropriate gestures at women or misbehaving with them outside Sahara Mall, MG Road metro station, JMD mall, and other places.

Read more: 102 miscreants held for harassing women on MG Road

The drive was carried out under the supervision of assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Mamta Kharab. Those arrested were booked under section 107/151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and kept in lock-ups at the Sector 29 police station and DLF Phase 1 police station, the spokesperson said.

Kharab said the accused, mostly intoxicated, were either misbehaving with bar girls or passing comments on women. Majority of them were arrested after pubs closed around 1 am.

Police deployed about three dozen policemen and 20 women personnel for the drive.

On August 27 and on September 4, police had arrested 50 and 121 people under the same drive.

Last year during September, October, and December, police arrested 250 people under the same drive from different areas of the city, including MG Road.

Police, however said, there has been a dip in cases of harassment after last years drive.

Read more: In Gurgaon, going to office is a risky business

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There was a phase in my life when I was really depressed. I felt directionless, aimless, always on edge, lost I dont want to sound like a poor little rich boy but it can happen to anyone, said Karan Johar, one of Bollywoods best-known directors with several blockbusters to his name, including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and My Name Is Khan, in an NDTV interview.

Hes the latest Bollywood star with all the trappings of success -- fame, money, good looks - after Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh to fess up to depression and urge others to face up to their inner demons and anxiety.

After Deepika Padukone (right) spoke about her clinical depression, now filmmaker Karan Johar is the latest Bollywood celebrity to open up about battling depression. (Pinterest)

When youre 44 and youre lonely, youre not in relationship, you dont want to grow old alone, you dont have kids, and you wonder what your life is going to be and all the success you might get, and all the love and attention that you get, where does that go? said Karan Johar, in the NDTV interview.

Because you have to take it somewhere. And when you dont have that love to share with somebody, you get worried.

Things came to head when he had an anxiety attack two and a half years ago.

It is a recent kind of anxiety I have discovered about myself. At one point, I thought I was having a cardiac arrest but my doctor said it was an anxiety attack. I then met a psychiatrist and took medication. And this was just two years ago. I stopped my medication just three months back, he said.

Lonely at the top

Johar, 44, angst about loving and living is shared by millions of Gen Xers and millennials who have it all but feel somethings missing from their lives.

Weve all felt it  the cloying dissatisfaction that makes you helpless, sad, unhappy and want to stay in bed and not meet people. If it persists for more than a couple of weeks, its likely to be clinical depression that should be treated using counselling to understand the issue and antidepressant medicines such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

I stopped feeling excitement and happiness. There was lack of sleep and I was always on the edge, he said.

Medicines worked for Johar.

I needed medication... first it was much stronger, then we slowly weaned it off and its just three months ago that I actually stopped it all.

Signs of depression include feeling low, sleeplessness, eating little too little or too much, avoiding people and losing interest in things around you.

It got to the point that I was taking comfort in sleeping in long-haul flights and waking in city where I did not want to meet people and could be alone with my thoughts, said Johar.

Depression drives people further into themselves and can end in an anxiety attack, a nervous breakdown or therapy and anti-depressant medication, says Professor Rajesh Sagar, department of psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Back on track

Depression can express itself in a range of symptoms, but everyone goes through highs and lows, treatment should be sought if the symptoms become chronic, recurrent, frequent or disrupt your life, said Dr Sagar.

A staggering 7% of Indias 1.3 billion people suffers from some psychological disorder, with close to 3% needing treatment, shows data from the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences. If untreated, it can lead to self-harm.

Worldwide, one person commits suicide every four seconds, leading to an estimated 880,000 self-inflicted deaths each year. This puts suicide among the top 10 causes of deaths across the world and the seventh most common cause of deaths in India, reported The Global Burden of Diseases Study, 2013.

More than 1,30,000 people in India took their own lives in 2014, shows data from the National Crime Records Bureau. Relationship issues were the biggest trigger, followed by mental illness.

Like all disorders, its important to catch and treat the disease at as early as possible.

Signs of childhood depression are often missed because the only symptoms may be listlessness and anhedonia, the medical word for an inability to enjoy experiences that give others pleasure, said Dr Samir Parikh, chairman, Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare. In still younger children, the signs of depression are crying, clinging to parents, irritability or aggression.

Diagnosis and treatment can put your life back on track.

Medicines dont have to be taken for life. Often, six months of treatment is enough, so people should not fear medicines, says Dr Sagar.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more

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Low or moderate levels of physical activity may significantly lower your risk of bacterial infections as compared to a sedentary lifestyle, a new study has claimed. The risk of viral infections is known to be affected by physical activity, but little information was available regarding the more serious infections caused by bacteria.

Researchers, including those from Aalborg University in Denmark, examined the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and suspected bacterial infections during a one-year follow up. Suspected bacterial infections were determined based on prescriptions for antibiotics.

Results showed that compared with sedentary behaviour, low leisure-time physical activity was associated with a 10% lower risk of any suspected bacterial infection. Further, low and moderate levels of leisure-time physical activity were associated with a 21% and 32% reduction of suspected cystitis (urinary tract bacterial infections), respectively -- compared with individuals classified as sedentary, researchers said.

Suspected respiratory tract bacterial infections, however, were not associated with physical activity level, they said.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was unsparing in her takedown of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs speech at the UN General Assembly. She said Pakistan should give up its dream of snatching Jammu and Kashmir even as she called for the isolation of countries that dont join a global strategy against terrorism.

Read: Abandon your Kashmir dream, it is integral part of India: Swaraj tells Pak

Here are five takeaways from Swarajs address:

1) Front against terror: India wants a united front against countries that speak the language of terrorism, peddle it, nurture it and export it, so that they can be isolated. Swaraj said such countries have no place in the comity of nations. Pakistan was not named to make the appeal not appear like another tit-for-tat.

2) Balochistan: Swaraj did name Pakistan to rubbish allegations levelled by Sharif regarding human rights violations in Kashmir. Pakistan should worry about Baluchistan instead, she said. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression, she added.

Read: Full text of Sushma Swarajs speech at UN general assembly

3) No pre-conditions for talks: Swaraj strenuously denied Sharifs charge that India had set pre-conditions for talks. We took the initiative to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship! We have in fact attempted a paradigm of friendship in the last two years which is without precedent, she said.

4) India will continue to press UN members on the comprehensive convention on international terrorism, which it introduced at the world body in 1996. The failure to adopt it has prevented the world from agreeing on norms to punish and extradite terrorists, Swaraj said.

5) India will submit its ratification of the Paris climate change treaty on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is no stranger to the big stage. She has won seven parliamentary elections and three state polls.

But when she takes the United Nations general assembly podium on Monday evening, Swaraj will be under the global arc lights like never before.

This is her second consecutive speech at the 193-nation body. But last weeks militant attack in Uri that killed 18 soldiers, heightened tensions between India and Pakistan and New Delhis resolve of isolating Pakistan diplomatically are sure to fire a spotlight rarely focused on a foreign minister.

Known for her oratory, Swaraj is expected to give a befitting response to Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who blamed India for the unrest in Kashmir during his speech last week. She is the third speaker of the day and expected to take the podium around 7.15pm.

Read: Modi goes beyond knee-jerk reaction to Uri, harps on Paks vulnerabilities

The Uri attack has whipped up nationalist passions across the country with a growing clamour for military action against Pakistan and pressure on the BJP to come through on its election campaign promises of tough action against militants.

Swaraj  who has often played second fiddle to Prime Minister Narendra Modis big-bang diplomacy -- will have to juggle the weight of all this expectation. It is an act that may even bring up comparisons with the legendary defence minister VK Krishna Menon who led the Indian UN delegation in 1961.

India-Pakistan rivalry or Kashmir has often played out at the UN. But the prime ministers of the two nations primarily led the charge. AB Vajpayee did it in 2002, when he tore into Pakistan. If Pakistan claims to be a crucial partner in the international coalition against terrorism, how can it continue to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy against India, Vajpayee had asked. The ties between the neighbours had nose-dived after the parlimanet attack in 2001.

In his speech, Vajpayee mentioned Pakistans name five times. He also did something which is rare for an Indian prime minister to do at the UN stage: excoriating Pakistans intelligence agency for fomenting terror in India. When foreign minister SM Krishna took the podium in 2009 at the UN, the Mumbai terror attack of November 2008 was a few months old and tempers were no longer flared.

These are different times. In her last UNGA address, Swaraj made references to Pakistan three times and terrorism nine times. But the sky-high expectations are expected to put her oratory skills to a new test.

BJP patriarch L K Advani once famously said the oratory skills of two leaders in the party gives him a complex: One was Vajpayee and the other was Swaraj.

When she won the outstanding parliamentarian award in 2004, the first woman MP to get that award, her oratory received another stamp of approval.

But her hawkish one-liner on Pakistandemanding ten Pakistani heads for every death of an Indian soldier may come back to haunt her. She also struck hardline positions when the government cancelled national security adviser-level talks with Pakistan last year.

Monday is no ordinary day for Swaraj. Her every word will weighed, every pause accounted for, after all, this is her biggest challenge as the foreign minister in the global stage so far.

Read: Uri attack could be the result of Kashmir unrest, says Pakistan PM Sharif

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India on Monday asked Pakistan to give up the dream of snatching Jammu and Kashmir, saying all it had received in response to unprecedented peace overtures were a string of terror strikes and the export of cross-border terrorism.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj delivered a stinging riposte to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs speech at the UN General Assembly, saying Pakistan should look within at egregious abuses in Balochistan instead of leveling baseless allegations against India.

Swarajs address marked the latest exchange in a war of words between the two sides, which has heated up since the terror attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri more than a week ago that killed 18 soldiers. Sharif devoted most of his speech to the Kashmir issue and demanded a UN fact-finding mission into alleged rights violations.

Highlights of Sushma Swarajs speech

India, Swaraj said, had attempted a paradigm of friendshipwithout precedent to resolve outstanding issues but all it got in return was Pathankot, Uri and Bahadur Ali, a terrorist in our custody whose confession is living proof of Pakistans complicity in cross-border terror.

She added Pakistan remains in denial when confronted with such evidence. It persists in the belief that such attacks and provocative remarks will enable it to snatch the territory it covets. My firm advice to Pakistan is: Abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so, she said.

Referring to Sharifs address on September 21, Swaraj said: Those living in glass houses should not throw stones.

Swaraj, who spoke in Hindi, added that those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression.

Read: Sharif raises Kashmir issue with leaders at UN but gets no traction

In a tacit reference to Pakistans policy of acting against bad terrorists while turning a blind eye to good terrorists, Swaraj said there should be no distinction between terrorists and the world community should join hands to script an effective strategy against the menace.

If any nation refuses to join this global strategy we must isolate it. In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account, she said.

Without naming Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, designated a terrorist by the UN Security Council and the US, Swaraj said: These nations, in which UN-designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations.

Swaraj also rejected Sharifs contention that India had set pre-conditions for talks. Did we impose any pre-condition before extending an invitation for the oath-taking ceremony of our government? Did we impose any pre-condition when I went to Islamabad for the Heart of Asia conference and agreed to begin the comprehensive bilateral dialogue? Did we impose any pre-condition when Prime Minister Modi travelled from Kabul to Lahore?

She said the world community is yet to reach a conclusion on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism proposed by India in 1996. This has prevented nations from agreeing on norms to punish and extradite terrorists and there is need to act with fresh urgency to adopt this convention.

Swaraj also brought up the reform of the UN Security Council so that it does not remain an outdated body that reflects the world order of an older era and comes to terms with present day realities.

In a speech seeking to marry New Delhis national interest with global objectives to buttress its stature as an emerging global power, Swaraj stressed Indias commitment to climate change and announced it will submit its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who, she added, epitomised a lifestyle with the smallest carbon footprint.

She also emphasised Indias commitment to the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which she said, were matched by the development vision of my government, which is geared towards the achievement of these same objectives. Several schemes of the Indian government dovetailed with the SDGs, such as the Swachh Bharat, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Make in India and Digital India campaigns.

While India will play a leading role in combating climate change through measures such an international solar alliance, it expects developed nations to hold up their end of the bargain by providing finance and technology transfers.

Full text of Sushma Swarajs speech at UN general assembly
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav expanded his cabinet on Monday with 10 more ministers including Prajapati Gayatri Prasad whom he had sacked earlier this month during the Samajwadi Partys internal feud.

Akhilesh also played the Brahmin card re-inducting two of them into the cabinet. The two--Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha--had also been sacked earlier.

Of the 10 who took oath as ministers on Monday, four were newly inducted while six others were elevated from their minister of state position.

The swearing-in of the new ministers was conducted at Raj Bhavan by Governor Ram Naik.

Akhilesh dropped minister of state Laxmikant Nishad to maintain the ceiling of 60 in the council of ministers.

Ziauddin Rizvi who could not take oath on June 24 also took oath as a cabinet minister.

Ministers of state - Abhishek Mishra, Narendra Verma and Shankh Lal Majhi were elevated as cabinet ministers.

The 10 new ministers include Riyaz Ahmad, Yasser Shah and Ravidas Mehrotra.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, senior ministers and officers were present at the swearing in ceremony.

The expansion had a stamp of the old guard -- Mulayam and his brother Shivpal Singh, as the duo has overturned the sacking of three ministers, including Prajapati, who was accused of being involved in illegal mining and land grabbing.

The chief ministers sacking of Prajapati was seen as a bold step but he finally gave in to Mulayams commands.

It remains to be seen whether Akhileshs gamble of Brahmin faces will pay off. The BJP, BSP and the Congress have been wooing Brahmins ahead of the state assembly polls, slated for early 2017.

But it is only the Congress which has announced a Brahmin  Sheila Dikshit as chief ministerial candidate.

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The scars have not healed. Friends have turned foes. Mosques and madrasas remain locked. The muezzins call for prayers is no longer heard. Many Muslims have left and those who remain are slowly coming to terms with the loss.

Kutba village in Muzaffarnagar  the home of Union minister of state Sanjeev Baliyan  struggles to erase memories of the September 2013 Hindu-Muslim riots. They are also fearful of what the elections due in 2017 will bring. From Dadri to Kairana, communal tensions have been simmering in parts of Uttar Pradesh over issues such as beef and forced migration, and Kutba is fearful of the communal divide widening again in a politically charged scenario.

Its fears are rooted in the attack on 900 Muslim families here, that led to eight deaths. Three years later, the village is also a symbol of the possible polarisation in the forthcoming UP elections. Those who left will vote one way; those who stayed may vote another. But in the midst of this division, the doors for reconciliation are slowly opening.

Those who left

Alijaan comes to the village occasionally to see the hamlet where he was born and grew up. For decades, he was a symbol of communal harmony. Jats depended on him to keep their farming equipment sharp. He says, The riots destroyed our centuries-old brotherhood in half-an-hour.

Though Alijaan has now shifted to the neighbouring village Palra, Jats still visit him to get their work done. He does not refuse.

Read: Hindu inmates observe roza with Muslims in Muzaffarnagar prison

Baliyan asked him to go back to Kutba and make a fresh start. Alijaan was willing but his six sons and their families refused to go back. How can we return to the place where we begged for our lives, but were thrown out for no fault of ours? asks Mohd Naseem, Alijaans son. Where were they when we lived like beggars in camps for over two years?

They are displeased with Baliyan. They say he never came to console them. Rather, he visited Jats who were in jail. Replying to their charges, Baliyan says: I initially avoided meeting them because the atmosphere was not favourable. Now, the hatred has dissipated. I have visited a few families who are living in Palra and tried convincing them to return to the village.

Those who stayed

Village headman Ashok Kutba holds outsiders responsible for violence in the village. We regret failing to protect them (the Muslims). Efforts are underway to ensure their return in order to restore the tradition of harmony and brotherhood here.

Babu, who lost his brother in the violence, suspects there is a hidden agenda behind the move to get the riot victims to return to the village. Once we return, they will mount pressure to dilute cases against the men who have been named and jailed. The riot victims accused 110 villagers of unleashing violence against them. Fifty-eight of the accused were jailed on charges of murder, loot and other henious crimes. They are now out on bail after being in jail for three to 18 months.

Read: Not another Muzaffarnagar, please

Chaudhary Mangeram, who heads 12 villages of the Baliyan Khap, feels both communities should sit and resolve their grievances. His son Vikas was booked for murder and is now out on bail after spending 18 months in jail.

While Jats are the dominant farming community, there was deep economic synergy between all communities.

All castes and communities complement one another, says headman Ashok admitting that villagers face great difficulties without Muslim artisans and labourers. The Muslims, who have now settled down in other villages, too say their income has declined drastically.

Everyone in the village knew us... there was no dearth of work. We are struggling to get regular work after settling down at new places, says Imran a mason, invited by the village pradhan to construct a house.

Dr Naresh K Malik, principal of Chotu Ram PG College, believes this web of inter-dependence will overwhelm the politics of hate in west UP and also shape the 2017 verdict.

Both communities wish to revive their old harmony in the larger interest of society, he says.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday told the Supreme Court that a 26-year-old man, who died in the ongoing protests in the Valley, succumbed to pellet injuries and was not shot at point-blank range, as claimed by his father.

Terming the death unfortunate, the state government said the autopsy report revealed that the young man, who was allegedly killed at Tengpora in Batamaloo area of Srinagar on July 10, died of pellet injuries.

The father of the deceased, Abdul Rehman Mir, has alleged that his son was shot by police at his home at point blank range on July 10. But the Jammu and Kashmir police claims the man died during street protests in the Valley.

Its an unfortunate incident. We are not treating it as an adversarial litigation. It is unfortunate that young people are dying in disturbances in the state. The post-mortem report belies the claim of victims father, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for state government, told a bench of Justice PC Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy.

The post-mortem was conducted on the direction of the apex court.

On August 12, the apex court had ordered the exhumation and autopsy of the victims body under the supervision of the district and sessions judge. It observed that it was a serious matter and such a situation should be handled humanely and with extreme sensitivity.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 23.
India will explore all options to use as much water as it can within the limitations of a 56-year-old pact with Pakistan over rivers flowing into the neighbouring country, a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided on Monday.

The World Bank-brokered Indus water treaty of 1960 is considered among the most liberal water-sharing pacts in the world and has survived three wars and numerous bilateral bickering.

The agreement gives control of the three eastern rivers  Beas, Ravi and Sutlej  to India and Indus, Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan. The pact is seen as generous to Islamabad as it gives lower riparian Pakistan 80% of the water of the western rivers: Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

Government sets up inter ministerial panel for a detailed review of indus water treaty @htTweets  Jayanth Jacob (@jayanthjacob) September 26, 2016

But repeated cross-border terrorist attacks and the Pakistani establishments refusal to acknowledge such strikes originating from its soil could force India to use the water treaty as a bargaining chip to compel its hostile neighbour to mend its ways.

Blood and water cannot flow together, Modi said when he met his top officials to review the pact that took a decade to negotiate and sign.

His remarks reflected Indias anger after Pakistan-based militants killed 18 soldiers at the Uri army base on September 18.

After Mondays meeting, a message was sent out that New Delhi has options to hurt Pakistan within its legal rights under the water treaty as all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, from where these rivers originate or pass through, had supported such a move in the past.

Read | Water as weapon: Risks in cutting off Indus waters to Pakistan

But the government didnt state specifically if the pact would be abrogated or suspended.

The meeting decided the Indus water commissioners from each country will not meet under an atmosphere of terrorism. They have so far met 112 times, at an average of twice a year.

New Delhi will restart its work on the Tulbul navigation project, which Pakistan calls Wullar barrage on the Jhelum, at the mouth of Wullar lake. Pakistan opposes the project, saying it would choke the water flow.

We will wait for Pakistans response before going ahead with other plans discussed at todays meeting, a source said.

Besides, the meeting discussed ways to make use of its rights in the three western rivers for agriculture, storage and hydro-electric power generation. That means India plans to increase the capacity to use its share of water permitted by the treaty.

The pact permits India to use water for 13.4 lakh hectares, but only 8 lakh hectares are in use because of lack of infrastructure. Similarly, these rivers have the potential to produce 18,600MW of electricity, but total planned projects amount to 11,406MW.

If India builds infrastructure such as hydel power projects and irrigation canals to optimise its use of the rivers, even within the treatys framework, the water flow to Pakistan will reduce from its current position. Pakistani farmers depend heavily on these three rivers and a slight dip will affect them heavily.

An inter-ministerial panel will review the working of the pact and expedite measures to exploit Indias rights over the three western rivers. The government will also expedite the construction of three dams across the Chenab.

These steps have the potential to set off a water war in an already hostile environment.

Experts suggested against India cancelling the treaty because it will be difficult to renegotiate a similar agreement and any such move might hurt Indias image internationally. Any attempt at revoking the agreement might invoke similar actions from China on the Brahmaputra.

Read | Mutual trust must for treaties like on Indus water to work, says India

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Karnataka asked the Supreme Court on Monday to modify an earlier order on sharing Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu and said it couldnt release any more water, agencies reported, setting the stage for a face-off with the judiciary.

In its plea, Karnataka has said its reservoirs are dry and it can only release water to Tamil Nadu by the end of the year, news channel NDTV reported. ANI said that the Supreme Court will hear the matter on Tuesday.

The petition came three days after Karnatakas legislature passed a resolution saying the river will be used only for meeting drinking water needs of villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru.

Click here for full coverage of Cauvery water dispute

The resolutions, however, did not mention the top courts order directing the state to release 6,000 cusecs every day (cubic feet per second) of water to Tamil Nadu till September 27. Karnataka has said its citizens would go thirsty and crops ravaged if it released any more water to Tamil Nadu.

Over the past month, both states have been engulfed in the decades-long dispute that triggered large-scale violence in state capital Bengaluru where mobs targetted Tamil-speaking speaking people, damaging property worth crores.

Sporadic violence has continued since then across the state, large parts of which are facing acute water shortage.

For chief minister Siddaramaiah, who gave an impassioned speech in the assembly, a face-off with the judiciary could prove costly given past instances of the states attempts to take on the top court on the more than century-old dispute.

Legal experts quoted in various newspapers and television channels here have varying versions of what can happen -- from tying the apex courts hands in the matter to outright dismissal of the government and assembly.



Read | Karnataka, TN will have to scale down water requirement: Digvijaya on Cauvery row

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China on Monday refuted reports of its troops crossing into Arunachal Pradesh saying that the Chinese military abides by the bilateral agreements reached with India concerning the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Chinas position on the boundary question between India and China is consistent and clear. The boundary between the two sides is yet to be demarcated, Geng Shuang, spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry said replying to question about reports of incursion by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh on September 9.

We are engaged in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences in this regard, he said .

About the incursions, he said the border troops of China always abide by agreements of the two sides and strictly follow the bilateral agreements concerning the LAC.

We hope the Indian side will work together with us to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas and strive to resolve the boundary question at an early date, he said.

While both sides in recent years have managed to reduce tensions between the troops patrolling the disputed areas with various mechanisms, China has not responded positively to Indias proposal to demarcate the 3,488km LAC to avoid border tensions.

The two countries have so far held 19 rounds of boundary talks led by special representatives.
The Congress stepped up its pressure on the BJP-led NDA government on Monday over its inappropriate response to the Uri terror attack, demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss the present security situation in the country, and also to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

The main opposition party has sought considerable scaling down of the Pakistan high commission in Delhi, withdrawal of most favoured nation (MFN) status to the neighbouring country apart from near absolute economic sanctions against Islamabad in response to the Uri attack as demanded by corporate and the non-corporate sector.

India is looking weak as having failed to deliver meaty blows to Pakistan. Security situation is under serious threat and the nation wants concrete actions against the Pakistan, a rogue state flourishing both under the government and military, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. Extreme situations demand extreme decisions. An aimless political strategy is not a synonym for strategic restraint.

Singhvi said the governments message at Kozhikode, where the BJP held its national council, has delivered unsatisfactory and somewhat worrisome response. The only response we have had from a so-called mazboot sarkar are mere statements, rhetoric and jumlas (hollow slogans).

The party also demanded an immediate decision on Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugtis asylum request. Why is there delay in considering and finalisng the asylum request of Bugti? If we have reasons not to grant, reject it but otherwise, why keep it hanging? Singhvi said.

The Congress has consistently asked PM Narendra Modi to fix the accountability for lapses that resulted in the death of 18 soldiers in a fidayeen attack at the Uri Brigade headquarters in Kashmir on September 18.

Political accountability and also administrative accountability of the highest offices have to be also fixed in the context of those responsible for security and for nine days the government is silent on this aspect, Singhvi said.

He said Modis speech demonstrated strategic ambiguity and not strategic response. We do not want this to lead to strategic confusion making India the laughing stock of the world or Pakistan. We find it unreal that one of the biggest responses we could think of was to try and convince our friend Russia not to have joint military exercises with Pakistan and we perhaps failed even in that, he said.
A section of Dalits from a village have threatened to convert alleging that the state authorities were dily-dallying on taking action against some persons who allegedly illegally occupied land given to them by the state.

A cooperative society formed under the Punjab Nazul Act 1956 alloted the land to the Dalits for their betterment.

But, between 2010 to 2014 a number of high-profile people including some who claimed to be from BJP had illegally grabbed 600 acres of Nazul land which also included 41 acres from Dhidwara village, they alleged.

They claimed that despite making a complaint on July 13 last year, the police failed to act due to the pressure from BJP leaders.

However, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar assigned his OSD Jagdish Chopra to look into the matter after some of the Dalit community members met him.

Protesting in front of the mini secretariat for the last four days, the Dalit families have alleged that the police had warned them of dire consequence if they dont stop their protest.

Congress state president Ashok Tanwar who came to support the Dalits alleged that since the BJP government came to power the atrocities against them have been on the rise.

The labour class and Dalits are targeted in the rule of BJP. The law and order situation in the state has become a joke since the day BJP came to power, he said.

The villagers have asked for a CBI probe and demanded that their land be returned or else they will convert and migrate.
An elephant and its calf were mowed down by an express train near Gautam Dhara station in Jharkhands Ranchi district early on Monday.

Railway officials said the elephants were knocked down by the Bhagalpur-Ranchi-Hatia express in Ranchi-Purulia section of South Eastern Railways Ranchi division at around 4.45am.

They were part of a 14-elephant herd crossing the railway track in Ranchis Angara block, which is considered as a migration route of the animals that connect Ranchi and Purulia forest in West Bengal.

The impact was such that the bodies of the elephants fell on two different tracks after the accident. The adult elephants body fell on loop line while the calfs carcass spread across the main line. The calfs body was removed from the track by forest and railway personnel to restore train movement that was affected for at least two hours.

The calfs body was removed from the tracks and there is no obstruction in train movement, senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi division, Niraj Kumar, told Hindustan Times.

Kumar said this was the first time that an accident involving elephants was reported in Angara. We will hold a meeting with the forest department to find out if there had been an elephant corridor there, he said.

Officials of Ranchi forest division reached the spot and verified elephant movement in the area.

Elephants in Ranchi have potential danger from three sidesSilli, Sikidari and Budmuas the population of the pachyderms have increased not only in Ranchi but other parts of the state. They are generally using threes routes for movement, Ranchis divisional forest officer (DFO), Rajiv Lochan Bakshi, said

Lochan added that the population of resident elephants in Ranchi is around 60.

He said they will meet railway officials on Monday and would request them to reduce the speed limit of the trains and blow horn while passing through the elephant routes. We will also request to deploy some railway officials to keep a tab on movement in elephant zone when a train passing from there, Bakshi said.

On August 26, three elephants were killed after being hit by a train in Bankura-Howrah section of West Bengal. Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave had directed the state forest department to put appropriate measures for conservation of elephants in place after discussing the issue with railway officials.

Dave had stressed on initiating steps to prepare a regional landscape plan for the protection of elephants in the East Central Elephant Landscape, comprising West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and other areas.

State forest officials said that they were working on the plan under the Centres guidance and also held a meeting in this regard.

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New Delhi

France welcomed Indias decision to ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement aimed at containing global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

French minister of environment and energy Segolene Royal complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deciding to ratify the ambitious pact.

The historic Paris Agreement, reached in December last year, will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, accounting for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In a tweet, the French minister congratulated Modi for the crucial decision.

French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler also hailed Indias decision to ratify the pact.

Welcome decision by Honble PM @narendramodi that India will ratify #ParisAgreement on Oct 2, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi @PMOIndia, he tweeted.

Read | UN chief lauds Indias decision to ratify Paris agreement

The US has already welcomed Indias decision.

The Prime Minister on Sunday announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2.

During the Paris climate meet in December last year, more than 190 nations agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe. It had set a target of limiting global temperature increases by two degree Celsius.

While western countries, including the US, had been supporting an early ratification of the pact, India had been seeking more time to complete its national processes, fearing that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.

The issue of India ratifying the Paris deal had come up for discussion between Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos earlier this month.

Climate change is a vital aspect and one of the centrepieces of Obamas legacy and the US president has been quite vocal about the effects that climate change may unleash.

He has often said climate change is the greatest long-term threat facing the world, manifesting itself as droughts, storms and flooding.

Read | Heres why India is ratifying the Paris climate treaty
India achieved a milestone in its space exploration programme on Monday when it successfully launched multiple satellites from one rocket into two different orbits.

This mission was the longest for the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV C-35) that lifted off from Sriharikota carrying eight satellites  three from India, including the weather satellite SCATSAT-1, three from Algeria, and one each from Canada and the United States.

The achievements are remarkable considering the frugal budget of the Indian Space Research Organisation, which has made a name for itself for low-cost, high-return space missions.

Heres a look at its top eight achievements:

1 Mangalyaan, 2014: India joined an exclusive global club when it successfully launched the Mars Orbiter Mission on a shoestring budget that was at least 10 times lower than a similar project by the US. The Rs 450-crore project revolved round the Red Planet and to collect data on Mars atmosphere and mineral composition.

2 Chandrayaan, 2008: Indias first unmanned lunar probe was launched almost a decade ago and was a landmark in Indias space mission. Isro joined an elite list of just six space organisations to send an orbiter to the moon. A Tricolor was hoisted on the moon but Isro lost contact with Chandrayaan soon after.

3 Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, 2016: The seven-satellite system created Indias very own satellite navigation system e terrestrial and will provide services in marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, and navigation aide for drivers. Experts said an Indian-owned system will be particularly useful in times of war to gain positional accuracy.

4 Launching 20 satellites, 2016: In June, the Isro launched 20 satellites in one mission, a record for the space agency. Apart from Isros own satellites and those built by university students in the country, the mission carried satellites from the US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia.

5 Indian National Satellite system, 1983: Known better by its popular name Insat, the system is a network of satellites that facilitates communications and broadcasting across the south Asian region. The first satellite in the series was placed into orbit in 1983 and ushered in a revolution in Indias television and radio broadcasting, telecommunications and meteorological sectors. Nine satellites are operational.

6 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, 1993: It was developed in the 1990s and has become the Indian space missions most reliable workhorse. The PSLV carried out its first mission in 1993 but its first successful outing was the next year. For the next 20 years, it launched various satellites for historic missions such as the Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan. PSLV remains a favourite among various organisations as a launch service provider and has launched over 40 satellites for 19 countries.

7 Reusable Launch Vehicle, 2016: In May, Isro successfully tested the Reusable Launch Vehicle  Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) that was built for Rs 95 crore. The winged flight vehicle  dubbed as Indias space shuttle  that glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal in a 10-minute mission was the first stage of a fully re-usable vehicle, seen as the future of low cost, reliable and on-demand space access.

8 Aryabhatta, 1975: The Aryabhata spacecraft that was named after the famous Indian astronomer was the countrys first satellite. It marked a milestone in Indias space programme because it was completely designed in the country and launched from a Russian facility in 1975.
Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar on Sunday kept mum over the possibility of the Janata Parivar reuniting to form a third front, even as Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Yadav and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala called for its formation during the INLDs Sadbhavana rally in Karnal.

The INLD had organised the rally to mark 103rd birth anniversary of its founder and former prime minister late Devi Lal.

The country is facing a threat of communal forces. There is a need to get united as history tells us whenever the followers of Ram Manohar Lohia and Devi Lal got together, the communal forces were defeated, said Shivpal Yadav, younger brother of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose party goes to polls in Uttar Pradesh next year.

INLD leader Abhay Chautala also stressed the need to form a third front. We need to get united. If we take the battle forward under one leader, I assure you that people of Haryana will support you to dethrone the communal forces, he said, addressing the visiting leaders.

Nitish Kumar, however, ignored the call for formation of a third front during his 22-minute speech. Although he agreed that communal forces should be defeated, he did not talk about the need for political outfits to come together under one leader. Nitish, however, extended his support to Chautalas and the INLD in the state.

During his speech, Nitish also appealed to Shivpal Yadav and Abhay Chautala to make efforts in the direction of making their states liquor-free on the lines of Bihar.

After the ban on liquor in Bihar, people there are happy with the decision. Now, I want to appeal to Shivpal ji to take steps to make UP liquor-free too, he said, adding that the INLD should also lead a campaign to force the Haryana government to make the state liquor-free.

Badals stay away

The Shiromani Akali Dal, which is in alliance with the BJP in Punjab and will be going to polls next year, maintained distance from the annual rally.

Punjab chief minister and SAD leader Parkash Singh Badal has had a long association with the INLD, and in a previous rally his son and Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal had targeted Haryana governments, including the present BJP government, for failure to bring development to the state.

Leaders slam crop insurance scheme

During the rally, the leaders condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar for forcing farmers to pay the premium under the PM crop insurance scheme.

The scheme has been launched to provide benefit to insurance companies, said JD(U) leader KC Tyagi. Both Tyagi and Nitish slammed Modi for his alleged failure to deliver on the promises made to farmers during the elections.

INLD tries to woo dalits

The INLD also tried to woo Dalits during the rally, as the organisers installed a bust of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar near Devi Lals bust on the dais. Party leaders praised Ambedkars efforts and said they were also celebrating his 125th birth anniversary.

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Curfew continued in the communally sensitive Kishtwar of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday for the second day as police arrested one more person accused of alleged anti-national and criminal activities from the town on late Sunday night.

Last night, the police raided a house in the town and arrested Raju Kelam against whom some FIRs were registered in the recent protests. He too had been found involved in raising anti-national and pro-Pakistan slogans and also been instigating people from a community, a local said.

Abdul Qayoom Mattoo and Saif-ud-Din Bagwan, arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA), were shifted to the high-security Kot Bhalwal prison on the outskirts of Jammu on Sunday and Firdous Ahmed Bagwan and Kelam are in the custody of Kishtwar Police. Kishtwar is at least 240km from Jammu.

While there has been no relaxation in the curfew since Sunday morning, we will be reviewing the situation this evening. However, essential services are being allowed and we are also facilitating smooth conduct of inevitable things like funerals and weddings, Kishtwar deputy commissioner, Ghulam Nabi Balwan, said.

Balwan added that the fourth accused Kelam has been arrested under various sections including 121, 124 and 153 of the Ranbir Penal Code. The sections slapped against Kelam largely pertain to sedition and inciting passions to cause riots.

Balwan also informed that the army has been kept on a standby.

After the arrest of Mattoo, Saif-ud-Din Bagwan and Firdous Ahmed Bagwan late on Saturday, some people attacked the Kishtwar police station at around 2.30am on Sunday with stones and shouted objectionable slogans. Following the stone pelting, police carried out a mild baton charge and clamped a curfew early on Sunday morning.

Qari Manzoor, another imam who is also wanted by the Kishtwar Police has gone underground but we will find him soon, a police source said.

They all have connections with the Hurriyat Conference... These persons were under watch from a long time now, he added.

The arrested people have been accused of allegedly inciting violence and becoming a threat to peace in the communally sensitive town after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8.

Over 80 people, including two cops, have been killed in the unrest that broke out a day after Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir.

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Former Karnataka minister K J George was on Monday reinducted into the Siddaramaiah ministry, close on the heels of being given a clean chit by the CID in a case related to the alleged suicide of a deputy superintendent of police.

George, a close confidant of the chief minister, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by governor Vajubhai Vala at a ceremony held in Raj Bhavan.

George had resigned on July 18, soon after a court in Madikeri in Kodagu district directed police to register an FIR against him and two police officers in connection with the suicide of 51-year-old M K Ganapathy.

Ganapathy was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a room at a lodge in Madikeri on July 7, prior to which he gave an interview to a local TV channel saying the minister and AM Prasad (now commissioner for traffic and road safety) and Pranab Mohanty (now on central deputation as additional deputy director general of UIDAI) would be responsible if anything happens to me.

The court had issued directions based on a private criminal complaint by Ganapathys son, Nehal, requesting it to direct police to take up investigation against the minister and the officers for allegedly abetting his fathers suicide.

Karnataka CID, which investigated the case, on September 17 gave a clean chit to George and two senior police officers in its B report, filed in a court in Madikeri.

George is likely to retain the Bengaluru development and town planning portfolio, which he had held when he stepped down amid a huge political storm in the state with the opposition gunning for him. He had also held the home portfolio earlier.

With the reinduction of George, the strength of the Siddaramaiah ministry now stands at 34, the maximum constitutional limit for the state.

Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, Congress legislators and senior government officials were present at the swearing-in.

Both opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have taken exception to the reinduction of George.

Earlier this month, Siddaramaiah on September 5 had expanded his cabinet by inducting M Krishnappa into his ministry.
Schools have become very dependent on the cloud to improve learning and teaching environments, as well as peer collaboration.
Pakistan demanded on Monday an international probe to unearth the facts into the terror attack on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmirs Uri earlier this month, terming Indias allegations that the militants were from Pakistan as baseless.

Adviser to Pakistans Prime Minister on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz said that whenever an attack takes place in India, New Delhi always accuses Pakistan without even conducting an investigation into the matter, Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying.

Aziz said An independent international commission should be constituted to unearth the facts about the September 18 attack by four terrorists, that left 18 Indian soldiers dead. India has said the attack was by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, which is also accused of mounting the January 2 Pathankot attack on an Indian air force base.

According to Aziz, this is not the first time that India has levelled such baseless allegations against Pakistan.

Any such attack neither benefits Pakistan nor Kashmir, Aziz said, adding that the attack diverts the worlds attention from human rights violations in Kashmir.

Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan since the July 9 violence in Kashmir, a day after the killing of militant Burhan Wani by security forces.

More than 80 persons have been killed and over 11,500 injured in clashes between the security forces and protesters.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his UNGA address maintained that Islamabad wants peace with New Delhi but it is not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue.

In his speech on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will not forget the sacrifices of the 18 soldiers killed in Uri and will isolate Pakistan internationally for exporting terrorism to the world.
The Supreme Court on Monday was requested to hear a plea challenging the constitutional and legal validity of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.

The petition was moved on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to chair a high-level meeting to look into the possibility of revisiting the water-sharing treaty.

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi will be looking at the pros and cons of the pact, a government official said on Sunday.

The already tense ties between the two countries have nosedived following the September 18 attack on an army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that left 18 soldiers dead.

India blames Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad for the worst strike against the army in a decade in the border state.

The government is under pressure to act against the neighbouring country and many want the Indus treaty, which is generous to Pakistan, to be revisited to pile pressure on Islamabad to mend its ways.

As the petitioner, advocate ML Sharma, asked the court to hear the his plea at an early date, a bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and justice AM Khanwilkar said it would come up in the normal course.

When Sharma again made the request, the court asked him where he was all these years.

Signed on September 19, 1960 by Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan, the Indus treaty is one of the most liberal water-sharing pacts in the world.

The agreement covers six rivers  the three eastern rivers of Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and their tributaries and the three western rivers of Indus, Jhelum, Chenab and their tributaries.

Water from the eastern rivers has been allocated to India, and New Delhi is obligated to let 80% water from the western rivers flow to Pakistan. The treaty gives the lower riparian Pakistan more than four times the water available to India.

The pact has survived three wars between the two countries and constant strain in their bilateral ties.

Sharma says the treaty is invalid as it was signed by Nehru and Khan. The treaty should have been signed by the President of India, he has said.

Reviewing treaty would be difficult for India as it can set off similar problems with China, the all-weather ally of Pakistan.

Read: Why Indus water treaty is a bad bargaining chip for India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated seven new indigenously developed varieties of plants to the nation and interacted with farmers to mark the 75th anniversary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

No country would progress without the use of science and technology, Modi said at the Vigyan Bhawan here where the CSIR marked its 75th foundation day.

Your (CSIR) contribution to the country in last 75 years increases our hopes from you. People would only expect from those who can believer, he said.

The Prime Minster also stressed upon mitigating the gaps between science and research to the industry and common user.

Sometimes we do invention but the common man is kept away from those inventions. We need to abridge those gaps, he said.

Interacting with the farmers from five states through video conferencing, the Prime Minster encoraged them to brand their products for better marketing.

Try to give a specific name to your product (vetiver or khus), this would give them unique identity and will increase their marketing prospects, Modi said while interacting with a farmer at Cuddalor, Tamil Nadu who grew khus.

Talking to another farmer from Jorhat who was a botany student, the Prime Minister expressed his happiness.

I am happy that despite being a botany student you decided to return to the farming, while many dont. We need such spirit, Modi said.

The Prime Minister also interacted with the farmers from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.

The new varieties of the plants that have ornamental and medicinal qualities were developed by the CSIR laboratories, especially Cental Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).

The plants include new varieties of lemongrass, citronella, vetiver and canna lily plant.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior officials on Monday to review the pros and cons of the India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty amid growing pressure on New Delhi to scrap the agreement.

Sources said the meeting would discuss legal, political and diplomatic options related to the 56-year-old treaty that binds India and Pakistan into sharing the water of six major rivers and has survived three wars and repeated strains in bilateral ties.

The NDA government is contemplating reviewing the treaty in the aftermath of a militant attack in Kashmirs Uri that killed 18 soldiers.

India blames Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad for the worst strike against the army in decades and many believe scrapping the treaty  which would lead to millions of acres of parched farmland in Pakistan  will force Islamabad to mend its ways.

Experts, however, say it would be difficult for India to renegotiate the treaty signed in September 1960 that is among the most liberal water-sharing pacts in the world and is seen to be generous to Pakistan.

Any attempt at revoking the agreement  which gives lower riparian Pakistan more than four times the water available to India  might invoke similar actions from China on the Brahmaputra.

Indus Waters Treaty is international treaty and we are a responsible country. Cant behave irresponsibly at the international level, former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal told ANI.

Under the treaty signed by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan president Ayub Khan, the water of six rivers - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries. The pact was brokered by the World Bank.

Read: Petition in Supreme Court calls for scrapping of Indus Waters Treaty

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The Supreme Court deferred on Monday the hearing of petitions seeking cancellation of RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddins bail till Wednesday.

The petitions were filed by the Bihar government and an old couple whose three sons were allegedly murdered by Shahabuddin.

A bench comprising Justice PC Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy posted the hearing for September 28, as noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani, representing Shahabuddin, was not available.

Since there are allegations and counter allegations being made in the case, we shall not pass any order without hearing both the sides. We are fixing it on Wednesday, the bench said.

Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, also appearing for Shahabuddin, said his client was put through a media trial and should be given adequate opportunity to present his case.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared on behalf of Chandrakeshwar Prasad of Siwan -- whose three sons were allegedly murdered at the behest of Shahabuddin -- sought an urgent hearing of the case.

He contended that Shahabuddin has a total of 45 cases registered against him, out of which nine are on murder charges. Bhushan said Shahabuddin has been convicted in 10 cases registered against him.

The top court had on September 19 asked Shahabuddin to respond to two petitions -- one each filed by Bihar government and the victims father --- challenging a Patna high court order that granted him bail in a murder case.

Another petition by the wife of a journalist allegedly killed at the behest of Shahabuddin demanded transferring of the case outside Bihar. This case, however, was not listed for Monday.

Bihar governments counsel Gopal Singh had, on September 19, urged the court to issue non-bailable warrant against Shahabuddin and demanded his presence at the court in the next hearing, but the bench has restrained from passing any such order. It said: We intend to give him (Shahabuddin) a hearing too.

Singh was critical of the HC judge who ruled in Shahabuddins favour and argued that the same judge had in February this year rejected his bail petition. Under the law and SC judgment, he should have examined the fresh plea on merits, Singh submitted before the bench.

Bhushan had said the former RJD parliamentarian is a known notorious criminal and it was shocking to see the casual manner in which the high court had granted him bail.

The RJD leader was released on bail on September 9 after spending eleven years in prison. The high court gave him bail in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan, Prasads son and the sole eye-witness to the cold-blooded murder of his two younger brothers in Siwan in 2004.

Prasad was killed in 2014, and Shahabuddin has been declared guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2004 twin murder case.

The reasoning given by the HC was that the trial in Roshan murder case had not begun and was unlikely to commence because Shahabuddin was lodged in the Bhagalpur jail.

Terming Shahabuddin as a class-A history sheeter who cannot be reformed, Bhushan read out old SC judgements to highlight how the high court had ignored the fact that criminal antecedent of an offender should be considered while granting bail.

Singh said the the Roshan murder case was not a routine incident but was the killing of a star eye-witness to a gruesome crime. Bhushan said enlargement of Shahabuddin on bail had spread fear among those who are witnesses in the cases pending against him. He should be ideally lodged outside Bihar, the counsel said.

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The Supreme Court will on Monday take up petitions filed by Bihar government and an old couple whose three sons were allegedly murdered by Siwan RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin.

The top court had on September 19 asked Shahabuddin to respond to two petitions --- one each filed by Bihar government and the victims father --- challenging a Patna High Court order granting him bail in a murder case.

The victims mother too has filed a petition seeking cancellation of Shahabuddins bail.

A bench of Justice PC Ghose and Justice AK Roy had on September 19 declined to grant an interim stay on the operation of the HC order and said it will give Shahabuddin a hearing before issuing directions. Let him also respond to your stay application, the bench had said, fixing September 26 to hear the matter.

There is also another petition filed by the wife of a journalist allegedly killed at the behest of Shahabuddin for transferring the case outside Bihar. But this case is not listed for Monday.

Bihar government counsel Gopal Singh had on September 19 urged the court to issue non-bailable warrant against Shahabuddin and demanded his presence on the next hearing in the court. But, the bench restrained from passing any such order. It told Singh: We intend to give him (Shahabuddin) a hearing also.

Singh was critical of the HC judge who ruled in Shahabuddins favour and argued the same judge had in February this year rejected his bail petition. Under the law and SC judgement he should have examined the fresh plea on merits, Singh submitted before the bench.

Appearing for Siwan-based Chandrakeshwar Prasad, whose three sons have been allegedly murdered by Shahabuddin, advocate Prashant Bhushan said the former RJD parliamentarian is a known notorious criminal and it was shocking to see the casual manner in which the HC granted him bail.

There are 58 criminal cases pending against Shahabuddin and out of them he has been convicted in eight cases, he said.

The RJD leader was released on bail on September 9 after 11 in prison. The high court gave him bail in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan, Prasads son and the sole eye-witness to the cold-blooded murder of his two younger brothers in Siwan in 2004. Prasad was killed in 2014, while Shahabuddin has been declared guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2004 twin murder case.

The reasoning given by the HC was that the trial in Roshan murder case had not begun and was unlikely to commence because Shahabuddin was lodged in Bhagalpur jail.

Terming Shahabuddin as a class-A history sheeter who cannot be reformed, Bhushan read out old SC judgements to highlight how the high court had ignored the fact that criminal antecedent of an offender should be considered while granting bail.

Singh said the Roshan murder case was not a routine incident but was the killing of a star eye-witness to a gruesome crime. Bhushan said enlargement of Shahabuddin on bail had spread fear among those who are witnesses in the cases pending against him. He should be ideally lodged outside Bihar, the counsel had said.

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Kerala was busy celebrating Onam when the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on the infamous Soumya murder case on September 15, 2016, the day after Thiru Onam - the most important day of the festival. But the judgement, when it arrived, dampened the states festive spirit as the prosecution failed to produce clinching evidence to prove that Govindachamy, the accused, had intended to kill Soumya, following which the apex court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Soon after the verdict was out, television channels and other media outlets went to town erroneously reporting that the 30-year-old Govindachamy, who is lodged at the Central Prison in Kannur, would walk free after spending 16 more months in prison. The media whipped up public ire and put the government under tremendous pressure. The reports eventually turned out to be false, as the verdict turned out to state that the convict would continue in prison for life.

Even so, the Kerala government found itself in the dock as the three-judge bench, headed by justice Ranjan Gogoi, said the prosecution failed to produce reliable evidence to show that the accused had pushed Soumya off the train.

Going into the Supreme Court, the prosecution clearly had the upper hand, as a trial court had found Govindachamy guilty of murder, which was subsequently upheld by the Kerala high court. However, the prosecutions failure to convince the apex court raised doubts about the Kerala governments commitment to a case that shook the conscience of the state.

It was on February 1, 2011, that Govindachamy, a one-armed habitual offender from Virudhachalam in Cuddalore, allegedly threw Soumya off a moving train and raped her in the woods near the railway track at Vallathol Nagar railway station. She succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College in Thrissur on February, 6, 2011.

Soumya, a native of Shornur in Palakkad district, was working as a supermarket assistant in Ernakulam. According to the FIR registered at Cheruthuruthy police station, the 23-year-old looked quite happy when she boarded the Ernakulam-Shornur passenger train on February 1, as she was headed for her engagement the next day.

The prosecutions statement said that on February 1, the accused noticed that Soumya was alone in the ladies compartment. As soon as the train left the Vallathol Nagar railway station, they alleged that Govindachamy assaulted her and repeatedly slammed her head against the walls of the compartment before throwing her out of the train. He too jumped out of the slow moving train and found Soumya lying near the railway tracks. He carried her to the nearby woods and raped her. He was arrested from Palakkad railway station the next day.

On October 31, 2011, a fast track court in Thrissur found Govindachamy guilty under sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder), 394 read with 397 (dacoity, causing injury during robbery) and 447 (criminal trespass) under the Indian Penal Code and handed him the death sentence. Judge Raveendra Babu pointed out that Govindachamy had committed the offences in a diabolic manner and did not deserve any leniency.

Soumyas mother cries after the SC verdict was delivered.

A division bench of the Kerala high court approved the lower court verdict two years later in December 2013, while rejecting the convicts appeal. The division bench of Justice TR Ramachandran Nair and Justice B Kemal Pasha observed that case was among the rarest of rare ones, and said that all evidences showed that the rape, murder and robbery were committed by the accused.

What went wrong?

One argument is that the appointment of a new team based on political considerations weakened the prosecution that failed to establish the accuseds intention to kill Soumya. The Supreme Court bench was unconvinced that Govindachamy had pushed Soumya out of the train, which led to one of two injuries thought to have caused her death.

More lapses came to light when the forensic expert who conducted Soumyas autopsy revealed that the new prosecution didnt approach her before arguing the case in the Supreme Court. My report elaborated all injuries found on Soumyas body. I had also testified in the trial court for four days to clear the Courts doubts. The high court took the post-mortem report as crucial evidence. However, the prosecution in the Supreme Court ignored me, Dr Sherley Vasu, who conducted the autopsy on Soumya and is the head of the forensics department at the Government Medical College, Thrissur, told media persons in Thrissur a day after the verdict.

The Kerala government is struggling to explain why former special prosecutor, advocate A Suresan, who fought the case in the lower court and high court, was not appointed for the SC task. Suresan said the government didnt issue any orders appointing him as a prosecutor or advisor to the standing counsel when

the case came up in the Supreme Court. The government asked me to help the standing counsel. I requested it to notify the scope of my work. But the government ignored my request. It also didnt ask the standing counsel to discuss the case with me, he said.

He revealed that the standing counsel rang him up only after the Supreme Court asked for evidence of murder. The government should have sent someone who has thorough knowledge about the incident, he told reporters in Thrissur after the verdict.

Soumyas mother, G Sumathi, also blamed the government for not appointing Suresan as special prosecutor. I was not aware of the governments decision to change the prosecutor who presented the case in lower courts, she told reporters.

According to advocate general P Sudhakara Prasad, the standing counsel in the Supreme Court, Nishe Rajan Shonker, had indeed requested the services of former prosecutor A Suresan. But Suresan had informed the standing counsel of his unavailability owing to his duty as a managing committee member of the Guruvayoor temple Committee, Prasad told reporters in Kochi on Friday.

Meanwhile, T Asaf Ali, former Kerala director general of prosecution, claimed that the Supreme Court Bench erred in analysing the evidence. The prosecution had framed serious offences, including murder and rape against Govindachamy with scientific evidences. That is why the trial court and the high court gave maximum punishment to the culprit, he told this reporter.

It was scientifically established that Govindachamy had pulled Soumya down from the moving train. She fell a few metres away from the track, which proved that someone threw her off the moving train. We even had witness accounts that Govindachamy behaved violently inside the train, he said. The prosecution claimed to have provided satisfactory answers to the questions, so it must be inferred that the Supreme Court erred in analysing the evidences. However, he later wrote in an opinion piece in Madhyamam that he also believed the government didnt take the case seriously enough. Previous Congress-led UDF government had appointed eminent criminal lawyer Thomas P Joseph for the prosecution. Our panel had state standing counsel Joji Scaria and the prosecution lawyer who appeared in the trial court. However, with the change of guard in state, the CPI(M)-led LDF government had appointed a junior advocate as Standing Counsel and omitted the prosecutor from the case. That is why I said the government didnt take the case seriously. If the government had retained the services of experienced advocates in the panel, the verdict would have been different, he wrote.

Soumyas mother reacted after SC commuted the death sentence of main accused Govindachamy.

Former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy believes that the Supreme Courts verdict shows a lapse on the part of the LDF government. The services of the probe team and advocates, who appeared in lower court and high court for the same case, were not used properly by the present prosecutor. That was the reason for the failure, Chandy reportedly said.

Even as the discussions on implications of the Supreme Court verdict continue, some judicial experts believe that the top court should have held Govindachamy for murder. What the court has overlooked is that Section 300 of the IPC, which defines murder, has four parts and only the first part requires intention to kill. If any of the other three parts are established, it will be murder even if there was no intention to kill. It was regrettable that the court has not read Section 300 carefully. The judgement needs to be reviewed in an open court hearing, opined former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju in a post on Facebook. In another post, he also criticised the SCs admission of hearsay as evidence, saying, Even a student of law in a law college knows this elementary principle that hearsay evidence is inadmissible.

Kaleeswaram Raj, a prominent lawyer in the Supreme Court and Kerala high court, felt that the verdict was shockingly soft and highly dispiriting. With great respect, I may say that the punishment imposed by the Supreme Court is too meagre and has no deterrent effect. Also, it fails to satisfy the public consciousness. [] The court has rightly retained the maximum possible punishment of life imprisonment on the accused who is a potential threat to the society. But the court could have done more than that. There were also other punishable offences which were not properly dealt with. Those included extortion, assault etc, which deserved separate jail terms, he wrote in the media.

The court proceedings have also put Mumbai criminal lawyer Biju Antony Aloor, aka BA Aloor, in the limelight. Aloor, who has appeared in a string of high-profile cases, has reportedly said that he had earned over Rs 15 lakh appearing for Govindachamy, raising several questions about how a petty thief described as a beggar could afford such an expensive lawyer. Some of my previous clients had requested me to take up this case. It is the duty of an advocate to appear from lower court to higher court without fail if he takes up the case. I wont work for free, Aloor told reporters.

Aloor said he felt satisfied after his clients death sentence was commuted and agreed that the prosecution could have done better. The police and the prosecution should be blamed for the verdict. The court would have believed the prosecutions arguments had it presented proper evidence and avoided presenting duplicate documents, he told the media.

What next?

Now struggling to douse public ire, the Kerala government has begun a fire fighting operation. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has himself termed the judgement unacceptable and a concern for those who value human life. The judgement disproved evidences considered by the lower courts. This is not a punishment enough for the crime, he said in a statement.

Sumathi wept inconsolably after hearing the verdict. My daughter didnt get justice but I will fight till the end of my life to secure it, she told reporters.

Meanwhile, Kerala law minster AK Balan has vowed to ensure that Soumyas killer gets the death penalty. The minister also informed the media that the state government will file a review petition soon. It will give us an opportunity to correct the flaws in the submitted documents. Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi will appear for the state government and request an open court hearing, he said.

Published in arrangement with GRIST Media
In a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Indias moves against Pakistan after the Uri attack, key BJP ally Shiv Sena on Monday said the neighbouring countrys PM Nawaz Sharif is now showing off a 56-inch chest.

The Sena also said it feared that India had actually been isolated in the world with its efforts yielding little result other than mere lip service by global leaders.

All of Indias efforts to forge global relations have proved futile as no country actually backed India over the Uri attacks. Global leaders did mere lip service of condemning the terror attacks but the BJPs social media cell took some other meaning out of it and went boasting how Pakistan has been isolated over the issue, an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.

Read | Indias fallen heroes: The 18 soldiers who lost their lives in Uri attack

In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had famously claimed at a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh that a 56 inch chest can solve problems faced by the country.

The Sena noted that neither Russia did stop its joint military drill with Pakistan nor China condemned the terror attacks.

Even Indonesia is offering Pakistan defence equipment and Islamic organisations are openly backing Pakistan while Nepal too wants to maintain good relations with it, the Sena said.

Read | Sharif raises Kashmir issue with leaders at UN but gets no traction

During the 1971 war with Bangladesh, Russia had sent its troops to India to support Indira Gandhi. We cannot see such friendship today.

You (the BJP) may keep on shouting that Pakistan has been isolated. But all your efforts are ultimately futile. We have started fearing if it is India which has actually been isolated over the Uri attack, it said.

Pakistan has already declared war against India. They have shed blood of our soldiers right from Pathankot to Uri while we are only gloating by issuing threats to Pakistan. Mere words wont work now. It is time to give them a tit for tat reply, it added.
Earlier today, an unsuspecting Rahul Gandhi became the target of a shoe attack during his road show in Uttar Pradesh.

Hari Om Misra, the man who threw the shoe, was angry with Gandhi for continuing to hold rallies rather than paying a tribute to the 18 soldiers who died in the Uri attack last week.

This is not the first time an Indian politician has faced the wrath of a protestor in the form a precisely-aimed shoe. In 2012, Gandhi had dodged a similar attempt at a rally in Uttarakhand.

Police arrest Hari Om Misra, the youth who hurled a shoe at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi during his road show in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh. (PTI)

In India, throwing a shoe remains a tried and tested way to lodge a protest, along with burning effigies. Shoes, considered dirty, are the perfect weapon of choice to humiliate, or shame a high-ranking individual.

But shoe throwing incidents have been on a rise since the infamous 2008 incident when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw one at then US president George Bush who was addressing a news conference in Baghdad. The shoe missed its mark, but became press fodder for weeks afterwards, and inspired many similar incidents.

Other international leaders who have the dubious distinction of being attacked with shoes at public meetings include Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, Wen Jaibao and Asif Ali Zardari.

Here are five times Indian politicians found themselves at the end of a shoe missile:

Manmohan Singh: In April 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was addressing a rally in Ahmedabad. The shoe fell way outside the mark. The thrower, an engineering student, was detained by security but let off as Singh chose to pardon him. The student denied being affiliated to any political party and said he had done it only as a publicity stunt.

P Chidambaram: Journalist Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at the home minister in 2009, angered by CBI giving a clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, an accused in the 1984 Sikh riots. The journalist was detained but eventually let off.

L K Advani: 2009 seemed to be a year for shoe throwers. A former BJP office bearer hurled a wooden slipper, or khadaun at LK Advani, the BJPs leading prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming general elections that year. The man, identified as Pawas Agarwal, said Advani was a fake Iron Man and did not deserve to be the BJPs prime ministerial candidate.

Omar Abdullah: On August 15, 2010, then Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah was greeted by a flying shoe during the Independence Day ceremony. The aggressor was not a common youth, but a police constable, which gave rise to the fears of a security breach.

Arvind Kejriwal: On April 9, 2016, a political activist aimed his shoe at Arvind Kejriwal, who was in the middle of announcing round two of the odd-even scheme. Ved Prakash Sharma, the shoe thrower, was part of a breakaway faction of the Aam Aadmi Party and alleged that the odd-even scheme was part of a CNG scam before he was whisked away. Kejriwal has a prior run-in with another shoe-thrower back in 2009, when he was a leader of the India Against Corruption movement.

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Heads of prominent Sufi shrines  including Ajmer Sharif and Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya  will visit the strife-torn Kashmir Valley to appeal for peace there.

The delegation of heads of eminent khanqahs and dargahs led by Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, the spiritual head of Dargah Ajmer Sharif, met home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday and told him they would go to Kashmir to request the people there to contribute in creating peace.

The Kashmir Valley has been simmering with discontent since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani by security forces. More than 80 people have died in clashes following the killing.

The move by the Sufi heads comes after an all-party delegation led by Singh to the Valley failed to break the ice with separatist leaders. The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years, said a home ministry statement.

Sufism is a mystical and moderate form of Islam.

During their discussions with the home minister, the spiritual heads said those creating disturbances must know that there is no bigger power than the power of peace.

Violence can only bring more suffering and solve no problem of humanity, they noted.

Worst, we see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism, the ministry statement quoted the Dargah Ajmer Sharif head as saying.

The delegation consisted of the heads of some of the biggest dargahs in the country, including Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi), Khwaja Banda Nawaz (Karnataka), Dargah Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh), Dargah Maner Sharif (Bihar), Dargah Yusufain Nappalli (Andhra Pradesh), Dargah Ambetha Sharif (Gujarat) and Dargah Haradarwaza (Hyderabad).
Delhi police has written to Canadas department of justice, seeking details of the deleted chats from the mobile phones of Sunanda Pushkar and her husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

The police has sent a Letters Rogatory to the department asking them to get details of chat messages from Research in Motion Ltd, a senior police officer said.

Senior journalist Nalini Singh had told police that she had a chat with Sunanda in which she had mentioned that Tharoor and Pakistani journalist Meher Tara had allegedly exchanged messages that were deleted from Tharoors phone.

51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in a five- star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Tarar on Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor.

Read: Conspiracy theories abound: A timeline of Sunanda Pushkar murder case

Several persons including Tharoor have been questioned in connection with Sunandas death. The police have also conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoors domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple.

In February, Tarar was questioned about her relation with the Congress leader and his wife, her fight with Sunanda over Twitter, and other issues revolving around Sunandas death.

Delhi police had in January 2015 registered a case of murder in connection with Sunandas death.

Read: Probe team member may go to US to collect Sunandas viscera samples

The FBI report sent to Delhi Police in November 2015 had virtually ruled out the theory of polonium poisoning having caused her death.

However, after Delhi Police failed to draw any conclusion on basis of the findings, the report was handed over to a medical board for examination before further proceedings in the high-profile case.

The medical board is yet to give its opinion on cause of Sunandas death.
The Supreme Court will on Monday take up a petition challenging the appointment of Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah (retired) as the vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.

The court had on September 19 posed some tough questions to the university over its choice of vice chancellor, who is a former soldier and has no teaching experience, mandatory for a central university head.

The regulations make it compulsory for the VC to possess certain academic qualifications, saying he or she must be a distinguished academician. How can a retired army officer or a police officer be the head of a central university? a bench of Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and justice AM Khanwilkar had said.

The court was talking about the guidelines laid out by the University Grants Commission, the higher education watchdog, for appointments to central universities like AMU.

We are not questioning his abilities. We are on the question whether his appointment is as per the UGC regulations, the court said.

A former student approached the top court after the Allahabad high court turned down his plea to remove Shah, who is the brother of renowned actor Naseeruddin Shah.

The petition, citing UGC norms, says the VC should have worked for at least 10 years as a professor in a university or on an equivalent post in a research or academic institution.

Appearing for AMU, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran said the UGC regulations were for teachers. UGC has the power to regulate the appointment of teachers and not the VC, he said, adding the university had not adopted the regulations.

But, the bench referred to an earlier verdict that said all central universities would have to follow UGC regulations. If there are regulations and applicable to a central university then the VC has to be appointed as per the scheme that says he must be an outstanding academician, the CJI had said.

The UGC, too, backed the petitioner, saying as a central university, AMU was bound by its regulations even if it didnt approve them. They have to follow it, the counsel had said.

The controversy over the VC comes at a time when the Uttar Pradesh-based university, set up as Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, has waged a legal battle to keep its minority status intact.

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The Supreme Court will on Monday hear an appeal filed by December 16 gangrape convicts, Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh.

They had challenged their death sentence awarded by the Delhi high court in the apex court.

The top court had on April 4 begun final hearing of the convicts appeal almost two years after staying their execution.

Two of the four death-row convicts had written to chief justice TS Thakur and Justice Deepak Misra, stating that they do not approve of the defence counsel appointed by the court to argue their case before the top court as they had given statements against them to the media in the past.

The trial court had in September 2013 awarded death sentences to the convicts.

Six months later, the Delhi high court upheld their conviction and sentence. All the convicts moved the apex court in 2014, which stayed their execution.

Six people, including a juvenile, had assaulted the woman in a moving bus in South Delhi.

Later, the accused threw out the victim and her male friend at an isolated spot.

She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012, triggering nation-wide protests that resulted in giving more teeth to laws related to rape and other forms of sexual harassment.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was expected on Monday to give a stinging response to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs tirade on Kashmir at the UN General Assembly and attack the country for using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

The whole world and the entire nation is waiting to hear from Swaraj, who will deliver Indias vision document for the 71st UNGA, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

With a focus on tackling terrorism, India will corner Pakistan, which used the world body forum to talk extensively about Kashmir four days ago, for being a terrorist state.

India made its sharpest attack on Pakistan on Thursday, calling the country home to the Ivy League of Terrorism which carries out war crimes and pitches for talks with a gun in its hand.

Outlining Indias focus for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, Indias envoy to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin had said that terrorism is the primary concern for India as well as for nations across the world.

Swaraj will address the UN general debate and is expected to give a response to Sharifs speech. We are all looking forward to that, Swarup said.

He did not elaborate on elements of Swarajs address but said I think the broad themes that Akbaruddin has outlined are definitely going to be a part of our presentation at this most important forum in the international community.

Swarup said one can also expect a continued focus from India on the theme of terrorism which is today undoubtedly the single biggest challenge to international peace and security.

Minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar earlier said glorification of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani by Sharif at the world forum is an act of self-incrimination by Pakistan.

He had also said it is shocking that a leader of a nation can glorify a self-declared self-advertised terrorist at a forum such as the United Nations General Assembly after Sharif hailed Wani - who was killed on July 8 by the Indian forces resulting in tensions in the Valley - as a young leader and the symbol of the Kashmiris freedom movement.

First secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Eenam Gambhir also made a strong rebuttal to Sharifs long tirade about the situation in Kashmir, saying it is ironical that a country which has established itself as the global epicentre of terrorism, is preaching human rights and talks about the ostensible support for self-determination.

Exercising Indias Right of Reply, she told the UN General Assembly that shortly before Pakistan gave its hypocritical sermons in the world body, its envoy in New Delhi was summoned in the context of the most recent of the terror attacks in Uri that claimed 18 Indian lives.
The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (Ulfa-I) has asked a Hindu youth group to stop its campaign for boycotting Chinese goods.

In an emailed statement on Monday, the outfits publicity secretary Arunodoy Asom said consumers in Assam have the right to procure goods at the cheapest rate that Beijing offers.

Besides, neighbour China has had age-old friendly relations with Assam and provides a sustainable alternative to Indian traders who have only profit in mind, the statement said.

The outfits mail was in response to a call by Hindu Yuba Chhatra Parishads Assam unit leaders Bolin Baishya and Dipankar Gohain to refrain from buying Chinese goods. This, they said, would hit Beijing where it hurts most.

Central intelligence officials in Assam said Ulfa-Is pro-China appeal was not unusual. China has virtually offered asylum to Paresh Barua, the outfits fugitive military chief. He is known to operate from the Ruili area of China, bordering Myanmar, and is an arms agent for Chinese firm Norinco, a senior officer said.

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UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday lauded India for its swift action over the decision to ratify the Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking forward to receiving New Delhis instrument of accession.

The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift action by India. He looks forward to receiving Indias instrument of accession, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Sunday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this month, the US and China, the worlds two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.

The agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.

Specifically, it seeks to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.

A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Read: India to ratify Paris climate pact on October 2, says PM

Ban said this week that since more than 55 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, a critical threshold has been crossed that will help bring into force the landmark pact that seeks to put the world on a path towards low-carbon growth and a more sustainable future.

I am confident that, by the time I leave office, the Paris Agreement will have entered into force, the UN chief has said.

This will be a major achievement for multilateralism, he said.

India, which along with the US and China is among the worlds top greenhouse gas emitters, has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.

It has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the governments plan to supply electricity to every household.

India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photo-voltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.
India on Monday asked the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to urge Pakistan to engage in honest introspection and focus its energies on acting against perpetrators of terrorist attacks on its neighbours from its territory.

Exercising its Right of Reply under Agenda Item 8 at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, India pointed out that Islamabads short-sighted approach of terrorism as state policy has started showing in other countries of South Asia as well.

We would like to reiterate that India is not the only victim of Pakistans preaching, practicing, encouraging and nurturing terrorism. The deleterious impact of Pakistans irresponsible and short-sighted approach of terrorism as state policy has started showing in other countries of South Asia and beyond, the statement by the Permanent Mission of India said.

Maintaining that India deeply regrets Pakistans continued misuse of the Council to make tendentious references about internal matters pertaining to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the statement pointed out that Islamabads misinformation campaign, backed by fabricated facts and figures, on this issue only reflects the desperation that has seeped into their narrative.

Read | UNGA: Sharif hits out at India, says Kashmirs struggle is legitimate

Pakistans permanent representative to the UN in Geneva Tehmina Janjua had told the Council that there is a general curfew over a major part of Kashmir, the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement.

There is no right to peaceful assembly and association and no freedom of religion or expression in Kashmir, she claimed. She also alleged that there is arbitrary detention and extra judicial killings and torture in the Valley.

Janjua said that India should acknowledge that the only solution to the Jammu & Kashmir issue is a free, fair and impartial plebiscite that has been assured to the Kashmiri people by UN Security Council resolutions, it added.

Pakistans continued support for terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir is the main challenge to protecting the human rights of our citizens in the State. Pakistans selective approach in tackling terror groups operating outside Pakistan and within, despite the numerous solemn promises made underscores the continuing unwillingness to acknowledge the truth, the Indian statement said.

Reminding the Pakistan government about its solemn commitment in January 2004 to not allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, the statement added that New Delhi awaits credible action by Islamabad to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot attack to justice.

Read | Indias fallen heroes: The 18 soldiers who lost their lives in Uri attack

We await credible action by the Government of Pakistan to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot attack to justice. The latest terrorist attack in Uri, where 18 Indian soldiers lost their life and over 20 injured, only underlines that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active, the statement added.

Pointing out that recovery of GPS, grenades with Pakistani markings, communication matrix sheets and equipments and other stores made in Pakistan, and patterns of infiltration and attacks, is clear evidence of involvement of terror organisations based in Pakistan or territory under its control, India demanded Islamabad to live up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against New Delhi.

Taking a jibe at Pakistan, India said that it is unfortunate that Islamabads trust in the methods of terror are so deep that it does not hesitate from using them on its own people in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as the tribal areas in its northwest.

This coupled with the utter disregard for the human rights of religious and sectarian minorities has turned Pakistan into the true epicenter of global terror, the statement said.
The Congress, looking to regain lost ground in Uttar Pradesh, has come up with a smart poll move in the largely rural state that goes to the polls early next year.

Relegated to the margins in the countrys most populous state, the Congress is going all out to win support among the farmers, arguably the biggest bloc of voters in the state.

And, its latest campaign addresses their biggest problem  loans.

The party has come with a Kisan Maang Patra (a list of farmers demands  loan waiver, cheap power and higher price for produce), which after being dismissed as yet another futile exercise seems to be gaining ground and even pegged as a game-changer.

Backed by the poll slogan Karja Maaf, Bijli Bill Half, Samarthan Mulya Ka Karo Hisab (writing off loans, power bills cut to half and renogiated minimum support price), the Congress is confident of the campaign striking a chord.

We are not expecting miracles, but if we can break the 50-barrier in Uttar Pradesh, the perception about Congress will change in the entire country from a dying to a reviving party, a party leader said.

The Congress since 1990s has not even come close to 50 seats in the 404-member state assembly (one of the seats in nominated).

Former union health minister RPN Singh says the patra is catching the imagination of the farming community. Farmers trust us on our poll promise because we have a proven record, he adds.

Read | Farmers in focus: Congress eyes 2019, campaigns for 2017 polls in UP

The Congress-led UPA government waived off farm loans ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha election that it went on to win.

From party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is on a month-long kisan yatra, to chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit, party leaders are spreading the word about the UPAs loan-waiver scheme.

The partys poll strategist Prashant Kishor, or PK as he is known, who has come up with the campaign, has sent the attractive form to every district office.

It comes with three promises and as many pictures  of party president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Dikshit  on one side of the leaf.

On the other is the pledge: Kisano ki karza maafi, krishi, bijli dar ko aadha karane, aur faslon ke behtar samarthan mulya dilane ke Congress party ke is abhiyan ko mera samarthan hai (I support the Congress campaign to waive off farmer loans, slash the power tariff by half and higher support price for crops.)

A farmer has to fill in his name, address, phone number and the loan amount. For every form submitted, a call is made to a designated call centre and a receipt handed out to the farmer. Kishor is monitoring the progress.

How is the scheme helping

1) The Congress has set a target of 20 million signed forms in the state where it barely polled 88 lakh votes in 2012 assembly election. The winning Samajwadi Party got 22 million votes.

2) The campaign mobilises farmers cutting across caste lines in the state where caste a big factor .

3) The cadre and aspiring candidates have been propelled into action as district units vie with each other to submit maximum forms.

4) The last date for submission is September 30 and party members want to be seen as doing their bit for Rahuls farmer outreach.

The campaign would help the party increase its vote share and see strong candidates pass the winning line, a Congress leader said. Those looking to contest are hoping applicants will turn into voters.

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav once said voters sometimes get misled or influenced by lucrative poll promises. The upcoming elections in the state are for the assembly not the Lok Sabha, he said. Who will tell the innocent farmer that the state government cannot write off bank loans?

Congress leader Ajay Rai, who is from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency, says the party is clearly telling farmers that the Congress will write off cooperative bank loans.

Read | Congress falls back on yatra campaign in poll-bound UP

Other loans of the banks will be waived off after the 2019 general election, he says.

If the campaign pays off, the party can showcase it ahead of the 2019 national elections.

Kushinagar, the home district of RPN Singh, has taken the lead and may turn in more than 200,000 forms.

When asked why Varanasi was behind, Rai says, Varanasi will try top the list as it is the Prime Ministers constituency. He must face the heat here.

Mohd Akhtar, who is from Jaunpur, says the form is being talked about. Farmers ask each other if they have filled the form. Now they are demanding the forms. This explains the success of the campaign, he says.
India has raised the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism at the United Nations general assembly many times in the past: Sometimes in scathing terms, sometimes nuanced. Heres a take on what Indian leaders said on the issue from the UNGA platform in the past.

Read: A befitting reply to Sharif in offing? Sushma to address UNGA today

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, UNGA 2002

A speech noted for his trademark flourish and subtle-yet scathing criticism, then prime minister AB Vajpayee tore into Pakistans policy of state-sponsored terrorism after the Parliament attack on December 2001. He took Pakistans name five times and mentioned the Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI, for unleashing terror on India.

If Pakistan claims to be a crucial partner in the international coalition against terrorism, how can it continue to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy against India? How can the international coalition condone Pakistan-directed killings of thousands of innocent civilians, women and children included to promote a bizarre version of self determination he asked.

It requires an effort of logical acrobatics to believe that carnage of innocents is an instrument for freedom and elections are a symbol of deception and repression! If the elections are a mere fraud, why are terrorists being trained and infiltrated into India at the command of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency of Pakistan to kill election candidates and to intimidate voters, Vajpayee said.

SM Krishna, external affairs minister, UNGA, 2009

Krishnas address to the UNGA that came in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack was a balanced speech, where terrorism was mentioned three times but Pakistan once.

The barbaric terrorist attack on the innocent people of Mumbai on November 26, 2008 reminds us of the daily and malignant menace that terrorism poses to all countries. There cannot be any justification whatsoever for such mindless terrorist acts. It is our collective responsibility and duty to work together to ensure that terrorists, organizers, perpetrators and supporters of such crimes are brought to justice, he said.

He also said, India is committed to establishing good neighbourly relations and resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through peaceful dialogue.

Manmohan Singh, UNGA 2013

Then prime minister Singh used the forum to highlight Pakistan-sponsored terrorism at the UNGA. He took the name of Pakistan five times in his speech, in his speech which was also a reply to what Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Shair spoke a day before

State-sponsored cross-border terrorism is of particular concern to India, also on account of the fact that the epicentre of terrorism in our region is located in our neighbourhood in Pakistan, Singh said.

India is committed sincerely to resolving all issues with Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, through bilateral dialogue on the basis of the Simla Agreement. However, for progress to be made, it is imperative that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control are not utilized for aiding and abetting terrorism directed against India. It is equally important that the terrorist machinery that draws its sustenance from Pakistan be shut down, he said.

Sushma Swaraj, UNGA 2015

She mentioned the word terrorism nine times and Pakistan three times. The message was clear: Pakistan must give up terrorism and India will sit down and talk.

While on the subject of terrorism, I take the opportunity to share the challenges that we face in our ties with Pakistan. None of us can accept that terrorism is a legitimate instrument of statecraft. The world shared our outrage at the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which citizens of many nations were helplessly butchered. That the mastermind behind the attack is walking free is an affront to the entire international community. Not only have past assurances in this regard not been honoured but new cross-border terrorist attacks have taken place recently, in which two terrorists from across the border have also been captured alive. We all know that these attacks are meant to destabilise India and legitimise Pakistans illegal occupation of parts of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and its claim on the rest of it

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October is usually a slow month for the hotel industry in Indore, but things are expected to be different this time around.

Hotels stand to gain the most from an increase in business travel in the third week of October when the city will host the Global Investors Summit (GIS).

We expect bookings for 600-700 rooms in premium hotels across the city for the delegates attending the investors summit, Indore Hotels Association president Sumit Suri told HT.

The hoteliers also expect an increase in room occupancy before and after the two-day event as many guests extend their stay to visit the nearby tourist spots.

The meet will benefit the hotels in the city as October is a lean month with room occupancy levels at around 50%. During the marriage season, which starts from November, the room occupancy levels shoot up to 80%.

However, the association has cautioned the government against making bulk booking with only a few days before the event.

It would be better if the bookings are made well in advance after taking into account the existing tariffs so as to avoid any financial loss, Suri said.

The association has also urged the government to make use of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India database to invite eminent hoteliers for the GIS.

In 2014, the government had booked 1,000 rooms as the number of delegates was higher. This year, it has made the registration norms more stringent.

Apart from the representatives from the state, the government expects about 700 industrialists, trade representatives, foreign delegates and other eminent people for the GIS scheduled to be held on October 22-23. Representatives of 15 countries including USA, Canada, UK, Japan, China, South Korea and UAE will attend the mega event.

Bookings for VIPs

600-700 rooms to be booked in citys top hotels for Global Investors Summit

The meet will benefit the hotels in the city as October is a lean month with room occupancy levels at around 50%

Many guests extend stay as they visit tourist places

A large of number of foreign delegates will be accommodated in 3-5 star hotels

In 2014, the government had booked 1,000 rooms as the number of delegates was higher
In a major breakthrough in the 2014 Khagragarh blast case, the Special Task Force of Kolkata Police has arrested six Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (Bangladesh) terrorists from Assam and Cooch Behar and North 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal. Among the six arrested, five are named in the chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Khagragarh blast case.

Three of those arrested are Indians while the rest three are Bangladeshi nationals.

With these arrests, only three of the 29 named in the Khagragarh blast case now remain traceless.

Read: Burdwan blast: NIA court frames charges against 30 accused

Among those arrested was Moulana Yusuf, who was the head of the madrasa at Simulia in Burdwan district where new JMB recruits were indoctrinated and given arms training. He was constructing a new madrasa at Simulia Choti at a spot close to the earlier one, when the blast occured, and he had to flee.

Primary investigations revealed that the terrorists were planning to carry out immediate attacks in the North East and even in Southern India. However, their primary intention is to overthrow the democratically elected Bangladesh government. They were absconding since the blast took place in 2014, said a STF sleuths.

On October 2, 2014 as the entire state was busy in Durga Puja celebrations, an IED explosion at a two-storey house at Khagragarh of Burdwan town killed two and exposed an unprecedented and wide network of Bangladeshi jihadi elements running a virtual arms-and-explosive factory in the state.

Read: Burdwan bombs meant for Bangladesh, says NIA

On March 30, 2015 the NIA framed a 164 page document chargesheet naming 29 accused and 400 witnesses. Eight of the accused were absconding.

Charges were framed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Arms Act. Even in their chargesheet, NIA mentioned that the terrorists are using soil of Bengal, Assam and Jharkhand to overthrow the democratically elected government of Bangladesh, and replace it with a hardline Islamic rule.

Investigators at the site of the Burdwan blast. (HT Photo)

Among the six arrested, Anwar Hussain is a Bangladeshi national and was the head of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen in Bengal. Moulana Yusuf was the second in command and was responsible for coordinating terror modules at different madrasas in the state. Mohammad Rubel and Abul Kalam are IED experts, and the latter used to train the recruits into the outfit. Zabirul Islam and Shahudul Islam were responsible for fresh recruits in the outfit.

Read: Ending the suspense: Mystery of Burdwan blast explained

While two of them have been arrested from Cooch Behar and from Cachar district in Assam, two each were arrested from Bongaon and Basirhat in North 24 Parganas.

Sizable quantities of explosive material, detonators, explosive powders and IEDs were recovered from the accused. We also seized fake Indian and Bangladeshi currency and cellphones and laptops from them, said Joint CP (Crime) of Kolkata Police Vishal Garg.

They were produced at a court on Monday.

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The censorship of plays in Maharashtra ended in March this year, the state government told the Bombay high court on Monday.

Assistant government pleader Vishal Thadani informed court that the then commissioner of police repealed the rule framed under provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 which required the script of plays to be placed for prior scrutiny before the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board (MSPSB).

Thadani was responding to a petition filed by noted actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar challenging the rules which mandated the censorship of plays by the MSPSB.

Read: Amol Palekar moves HC against pre-censorship of play scripts

The actor contended that the rules for Licensing and Controlling Places of Public Amusement (other than cinemas) and Performance for Public Amusement including melas and tamashas were arbitrary and violated the fundamental right freedom of speech and expression, guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.

Under the rules, the scrutiny of performances and scripts had been made mandatory for regulation in the interest of public order, decency or morality. Post scrutiny, a certificate was issued.

Palekar, who has been involved with theater for the past 30 years as an actor, director and producer, contended that, pre-censorship led to a curtailment of artistic freedom because of which, many historic plays could not be performed in their original form.

He stated how producers and directors of famous Marathi plays such Sakharam Baindar, Gidhade and Khairlanji had to fight to retain their original scripts. He objected to the decisions of the MSPSB, stating that those reflected rampant arbitrariness and substantial changes were noticed the boards approach each time its chairman and members changed.

He sought to quash the relevant section and rules on the ground that the Bombay Police Act was enacted with the purpose of regulating the police force in Maharashtra and thus section 33(1)(wa) violates Article 14.

After Thadani produced the notification for the courts perusal, a bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice MS Sonak felt that after the relevant rule was repealed, nothing was left to hear. However, it posted the petition for further hearing on next Tuesday after the actors counsel sought time to examine the repealing notification.
As the Maratha mobilisation reached its peak after a march in Pune on Sunday, the contradictions in the demands made by representatives have divided the leaders.

While a number of people back Chhatrapati Shivajis descendent Udayanraje Bhosales stand on SC/ST Atrocities Act and reservation, others have put forth other demands.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government is ready to discuss various issues with the community to remove contradictions.

Read | All you want to know about the Maratha silent protests

Bhosale said the community will not settle for mere amendments in the Act. It has come to the notice that it is being misused against Marathas, which makes us demand the complete repeal of the Act, he said.

The Satara MP has also taken a different stand on reservation issue saying merit should be the sole criterion as the quota system has created fissures among different communities.

Bhosales remarks are in contradiction with the demands raised by others who want the Act to be altered as well as reservation for Maratha community.

Read | Thousands take part in Maratha kranti silent morcha in Navi Mumbai

Bhai Jagtap, a Maratha leader and Congress member, said he and his party have always asked for amendment in the Act to prevent its misuse.

We have never demanded that the Act be repealed. We want it to stay but with amendment.

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Three persons from a family were deported from Canada to India by immigration officials in Canada after they were found carrying fake visas. An FIR has been registered against the trio and they have been remanded to police custody for further probe.

According to the Sahar police the three had taken a flight from CST International Airport in Mumbai to go to Jordan on September 21. Their tourist visas for Jordan were genuine.

However, on reaching Canada during a check at the Airport, it came to fore that they were carrying fake visas to visit a relative there and were deported back to India. They landed at CST International Airport around 8.30am on September 24.

Immigration officials received them and took them to Sahar police station where a FIR was registered under Sections 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, amounting to cheating and crime committed with common intention. They were produced before a magistrates court and remanded to police custody till Monday.

The Sahar police are in the process of communicating with the Canadian authorities for more information on the crime.

They said they are probing to find out if any documents had been forged by the accused forged to procure the fake visas. In case there are fake documents, forgery sections will be applied, said a Sahar police official.
KOZHIKODE: India would ratify the Paris climate-change deal on October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, a surprise announcement that will accelerate efforts to control global warming.

The pact that is expected to kick in by year-end requires countries to come up with plans to limit greenhouse gas emission to keep global temperature rise to below 2Celsius.

He chose Mahatma Gandhis birth anniversary as the freedom icons life was an example of minimum carbon footprint, the PM said at the BJP national meet in the coastal town of Kozhikode.

India, which accounts for around 4.5% of global greenhouse emissions, held up the final steps of ratification to induce the US to put pressure on China to let New Delhi into the nuclear suppliers group, the elite club of countries that control trade in nuclear technologies.

At the recent G20 summit, US President Barack the Obama did urge his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to let India in and after that New Delhi concluded it had extracted what it could on that front, sources said. China and the US, the worlds biggest carbon emitters, ratified the accord ahead of the summit.

Dithering on joining Paris would give China and others, who have already ratified the deal, first-mover advantage in setting the rules and parameters for the provision of technology finance and standards for future climate change policy, sources said.

India would not be able to complete the domestic procedures to ratify the deal by the end of 2016, Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya had said on the sidelines of the G20 meet.

The cabinet has to approve the ratification of the climate deal following which New Delhi will send the documents (instrument of ratification) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to complete the process. India took a tough stand on emissions and funding when the deal was hammered out in Paris in December. The agreement requires all countries to put forward their best efforts through nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead.

India submitted its action plan on October 2, 2015, committing to reduce growth of its carbon emissions by 33-35% of the economy by 2030. To cut down emissions, India has pledged to increase its clean energy share -- solar and wind -- by 40% by 2022.

For the deal to come into force, at least 55 countries  responsible for 55% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions - have to ratify it. The US welcomed Indias decision. We welcome the news India will join the #ParisAgreement October 2, US ambassador to India Richard Verma said.

Congrats Prime Minister @ narendramodi for your leadership to #ActOnClimate, Verma tweeted.

(With HTC, agency inputs)

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NEW DELHI: Police lodged an FIR on missing documents from the Union home ministry files on the alleged extra-judicial killing of Ishrat Jahan, a Mumbai college girl suspected to be a terrorist and shot dead in 2004.

The Delhi police move could trigger another round of political battle between the Congress and BJP.

The 19-year-old girl was killed by Gujarat police in Ahmedabad along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai and two Pakistanis, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Zohar. Gujarat police said they were Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who had visited the state to kill Narendra Modi, the chief minister then.

The case has seen many twists and turns, the latest being the missing papers.

The ministry has asked police to find out under what circumstances five crucial documents related to preparation of a second affidavit in the Ishrat case went missing.

During Congress leader P Chidambarams tenure as Union home minister, the ministry had filed two affidavits in 2009. The first had details about her alleged terrorist links, but those were omitted in the second, filed more than a month later.

GK Pillai, who was home secretary then, said the second affidavit was changed at the political level, indicating Chidambarams involvement.

But the former home minister had clarified that since a magisterial inquiry in Gujarat had termed the shooting as staged, an additional affidavit was filed. That states it was the responsibility of the state police to act on intelligence inputs provided by the Centre. Later, home minister Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha that crucial documents from the Ishrat files were missing and constituted the panel headed by senior home ministry official BK Prasad to inquire into it. The missing documents included a draft of the second affidavit that Chidambaram had corrected.

The Prasad panel submitted a 52-page report to home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, saying five missing documents pertaining to the preparation of the ministrys second affidavit were removed knowingly, unknowingly or misplaced between September 18 and 28, 2009, when the UPA was in power. But the panel came under question, with Chidambaram calling its report doctored as Prasad has been accused of tutoring a witness.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the anger over the Uri attack was similar to the outrage India felt during the 1965 war with Pakistan and those responsible for the strike would be punished.

The raid on the army camp was an act of cowardice that had shaken up the country, Modi said as he expressed confidence in ability of the army, which lost 18 men in the September 18 strike, to fight terror.

Peoples anger reflects the national conscience. This anger reflects the determination to act, do something for the nation, Modi said in his monthly radio address Mann ki Baat. The statement comes less than 24 hours of the PM sending a stern message to Pakistan during a rally in Kerala, saying India would not forget the Uri attackers.

Pakistan, in turn, accused Modi of irresponsible behaviour and said his remarks were part of a well thought out vilification campaign to distract attention from Kashmir.

India has blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad for the worst attack against the army in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade though Modi didnt name the neighbour in his radio address. In the 1965 war, when late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was leading us, the entire nation shared the same feelings -- determination, anger and patriotism, he said. Modi sought to calm the tempers and urged the countrymen to channelise the anger to work for the countrys progress.

Everyone wanted to do something or the other (in 1965). At that time, Shastri ably tried to relate to their feeling. He gave the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan to inspire people to serve India, Modi said.

Expressing confidence in the armed forces, he said, We have full confidence in the Indian Army and are proud of them the army doesnt speak. They speak through their bravery.

Modi paid tributes to the Uri soldiers, saying the loss was not just of their families but the entire country. That is why, today I will say only this much that the guilty will surely be punished, he said. The PM reached out to the people in Kashmir, where street protests continue for the third month, saying problems could only be solved through peace and goodwill.

Eight-seven people, most of them civilians, have died in the unrest that erupted after a militant leader, Burhan Wani, was killed in a gunfight on July 8.

The people in Kashmir, he said, had identified the anti-national forces and distanced themselves from them to walk towards peace. The unrest and Uri assault have battered the already tenuous ties with Pakistan, which accused Modi of making baseless accusations. It is unfortunate that Indian leadership continues to indulge in a well thought out vilification campaign against Pakistan by making provocative statements and baseless accusations. Such irresponsible display of behaviour at the highest political level is regrettable, the Pakistan foreign office said on Sunday.

Pakistan again needled India, saying atrocities in Kashmir had intensified since the extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri youth leader Wani.

Worried over escalating war of words, the US said it was in favour of India and Pakistan engaging in direct dialogue.

The United States strongly supports all efforts between India and Pakistan that can contribute to a more stable, democratic, and prosperous region, including meetings between the Indian and Pakistani officials, a state department official said.

(With agency inputs)
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA: Donald Trump likes to boast about polls, but only when he is ahead, which he is getting to be in some new ones and closing the gap in others just in time for this elections most spectacular face-off, the first presidential debate on Monday.

Tremendous polls keep coming in, Trump told supporters straight off the bat at a rally here in a state that will play a significant role in determining the outcome of the race. A brand new Rasmussen poll has us up 5 points nationwide.

It put Trump ahead with 44% support to 39% for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who continues to lead the national average of polls compiled by RealClearPolitics  but by a narrowing margin that stood at 2.5%. FiveThirtyEights compilation of polls, which uses a different methodology, had nearly the same result with Clinton ahead by 2 points, 46.7% to Trumps 44.7%. But it put Clintons chances of winning the White House at 58.2% to Trumps 41.8%.

Trump trailed Clinton by eight points in the RealClearPolitics average mid-August, capping a dismal run after the Democratic convention when he clashed with parents of a fallen Muslim soldier and fought with his own party leaders.

His campaign was in complete disarray shortly as aides tried to reboot him, urging him to stay close to script and not get himself into trouble with stray remarks  such as the one that made him look like he was inciting violence against Clinton.

Trump fired them instead, and got himself a new team, headed by Steve Bannon, a hard-charging media executive, and Kellyanne Conway, a well-regarded pollster and strategist, and they set him back on course; disciplined, but himself.

His numbers have been improving since, helped in no small measure by Clintons troubles over her use of a private server as secretary of state, and a health scare on September 11, when she appeared unable to walk or stand by herself.

On September 18, the two candidates were separated by only 0.9 points  Clinton was 44.9% to Trumps 44%  which was a statistically insignificant gap, and which was encouraging enough for Trump to start talking numbers again.

In the most recent poll, a weekly tracking by LA Times with USC (University of Southern California) for a period ending Saturday Trump led Clinton by 4 points  by 46% to 42%; to the 5 point lead given him Rasmussen.

But Americans dont directly elect their president, the Electoral College does and it is the aggregate of members of US House of Representatives and the Senate and three members allotted to the District of Columbia  the total is 538.
NEW DELHI: Even as the last date of the income disclosure scheme (IDS)  a government-provided opportunity for those holding unaccounted money to come out clean  draws closer, the tax department has sent out mails exhorting people to use it and avoid penal action.

The mails were addressed to people who have made large transactions or investments disproportionate to their sources of income, government officials said. The four-month compliance window under the IDS for voluntary disclosure of domestic black money ends on September 30.

The tax department has sourced information on these people as well as their transactions from banks and property registration authorities across states. We have been tracking transactions for the last six years, and have records of the ones that do not match the persons income profile. Mails have been sent to such individuals, said an official from the tax department of the finance ministry on the condition of anonymity.

The tax department reportedly has a list of over 90 lakh non-PAN transactions. Please understand that the letter is not intended to offend anybody. It does not even mention the transaction that led to its issuance. We have just advised the citizen to pay taxes if he hasnt done so on any transaction in the past, the official said.

The mail ends with a statement that this could be the best time to cough up taxes on undisclosed money and transactions. Banks regularly share data on transactions categorised as suspicious with the government. All transactions of `10 lakh or above in cash are recorded by banks, and shared with various investigation agencies.

The government has already issued a warning that those caught with black money after the scheme ends will face stringent action, including imprisonment. The tax department has been sending mailers to many as a reminder, and it should not be taken otherwise Once the scheme is over, those holding illegal money will land in trouble. However, those who have erroneously received the mailers need not worry, said Manoj Fadnis, former president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The Narendra Modi government, in line with its electoral promise to crack down on black money, had launched IDS-2016 on June 1. The government is bent on ensuring the success of this scheme, which also found mention in Mann Ki Baat  Modis monthly radio address  in June.

Those wishing to avail this scheme would have to pay 30% tax, plus a penalty of 7.5% and a similar 7.5% surcharge  adding up to a total taxation amount of 45%.
With a dozen workers and his brother accompanying him, Panshu Gopal Pal is busy preparing idols of the goddess Durga at his workshop in Meerut Road. The third-generation idol maker travels to Ghaziabad from Kolkata with his workers every year to meet the demand for Durga idols. While Durga puja is round the corner for devotees, Pals preparations start almost five months before the festival begins.

I learnt the art from my father who started to work here in 1982. After he passed away, I took on the tradition of idol making in Ghaziabad. We have regular customers from Ghaziabad, Delhi, Meerut and adjoining areas who arrive each year, said Pal, a graduate who loves creating and painting the Durga idols.

He said he uses soil from the banks of Hooghly, a distributary of the river Ganga in Kolkata, to make the idols.

The soil near the banks of the river is suitable for making the faces, hands and fingers. The soil is packed in nearly 40-50 packets and transported to Ghaziabad. We use dyes made of soil, ararot, seeds of tamarind, maida and papaya. We stopped using synthetic colour long ago as there is stress on preventing pollution in rivers from idol immersion, he said.

Pal had set up his workshop at Meerut Road after he began receiving regular orders from Ghaziabad for Durga puja, Laxmi puja and Kali puja.

It generally takes a month for an idol to be completed. First, we prepare the bamboo sticks for shaping the outline of the idol. Thereafter, the soil is readied and pasted on the sticks in layers to give it a shape. Once they dry up, the idols are fine tuned and then we start colouring and painting. We generally use a spray machine to paint the major background portions, but the eyes, hands, ornaments and other parts require painting by hand, said Palash Kumar, Pals younger brother.

Pal and his team have been working as late as 1am so that the idols are ready in time. Their workshop is filled with nearly 100 idols of different deities in various states of completion that are being painted for the upcoming Durga puja celebrations.

However, the artisans are unhappy with the payments they receive after months of hard work. Panshu Pal said his will be the last generation of his family to engage in preparing Durga idols.

The costs are high, but people are not ready to pay up. It takes us months to prepare these idols, but we dont make enough profit. I find it tough to meet the cost of workers, their food, train tickets, and boarding and lodging. I have two sons back home who are studying and I will not allow them to take up this occupation anymore. People give orders, but make lame excuses when it comes to making proper payments. They may engage other artistes for celebrations and pay them lakhs for one or two hours, but there is hardly any payment for artisans like us, Pal said.

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As many as 40 contract workers, including 12 women, of the sanitation department were detained before Punjab water supply and sanitation minister Surjit Singh Rakhra was to arrive at Mattewara village on Sunday morning. They were later let off in the evening.

The workers, under the banner Theka Mulazim Sangharsh Morcha, a conglomeration of 21 organisations, had planned to show black flags to Rakhra, to press for their demands. The workers, who have been outsourced by the sanitation department, want to be directly attached to the department.

Gurpreet Rupra, incharge of the union, said the workers were promised by irrigation minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon that he would arrange their meeting with Rakhra. However, no meeting was arranged due to which, we were infuriated and wanted to register our protest by raising black flags during the event, said Gurpreet.

Sanitation workers protesting in Ludhiana on Sunday. (HT Photo)

Meanwhile, Rakhra said that the Punjab government would provide 100 percent water supply, sewerage and toilets to all households in all villages of the state. Rakhra said that the work on this project under the Swachh Bharat Mission is already underway and would be completed by October 2 next year.

He said this while laying the foundation stone of Rs 21-crore project for providing sewerage facility to 14 panchayats of three villagesMeharban, Jagirpur and Bajra, which are located on the outskirts of the city. Rakhra was accompanied by irrigation minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon. Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said that the Rs 21-crore project will benefit a population of 50,000 from Sahnewal constituency and it will be completed in six months time.
The Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has denied relief to a colonel who has been facing court of inquiry (CoI) proceedings for sexually harassing a woman captain. The colonel was last posted at Chandimandir cantonment.

The incident took place at Alwar (Rajasthan) where Colonel Anil Kumar KV was posted as Commanding Officer of 12 Field Sub Group and the woman captain was adjutant. She filed a complaint with Commander 3 Signal Group, Pune, Southern Command, on August 13, 2015. In the complaint, she narrated nine incidents, ranging from the colonel asking her intimate details, shouting at her, passing sexually explicit comments, commenting on her dress and forcing her to accompany his family on a trip to Jaipur, which she found offending.

After that colonel was posted out to Headquarters Western Command, Signals Regiment, as the Commanding Officer.

The woman officer then filed a complaint before the Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh on September 26, 2015, seeking justice. She told him how senior officers got drafted an apology letter to which she did not agree and was told to go on leave for close to a month. She asked the army chief had she done anything wrong for reporting heinous acts of Colonel Anil Kumar and why he was rewarded with a posting. Who will help me regain my proud moment which I felt this year (2015) while walking on Rajpath on Republic Day which got shattered after getting such a justice? she questioned. I have 45 incidents where Col Anil has faltered in his conduct. I have six messages with me to reveal his intentions. I have got 28 recordings and 8 out of them contain oblivious intentions, she said.

After her letter, a court of inquiry was constituted on October 21, 2015 under Maj Gen Mukti Sharma to inquire into allegations and reasons for delay in action. The court of inquiry submitted to army commander, Southern Command, indicted Colonel Anil Kumar.

After that he was ordered to be attached at Brigade of Guards Regimental Centre at Kamptee (Maharashtra) for disciplinary proceedings.

The colonel then approached AFT for quashing his transfer and raised illegality in convening of the court of inquiry. He obtained stay orders on further proceedings against him on July 19 this year. Central government counsel Gurpreet Singh contended, The court of inquiry is a fact-finding committee. It has collected all the material which shows involvement of petitioner (Colonel Anil Kumar). The petitioner was given full opportunity to cross examine the witnesses and defend himself. But he wanted to examine some witnesses which were not relevant to the case, so permission was denied.

Justice Surinder Singh Thakur in his judgment dismissed the contentions of Colonel Anil Kumar regarding the convening of the court of inquiry but allowed him to examine two witnesses in his defence, though he wanted to examine four more. But at the same time, we would like to say that court of inquiry has also to check that the incumbent who is the subject of inquiry does not use these provisions on the pretext of safeguards as a tool to prolong or delay the conclusions by multiplying useless and irrelevant witnesses and documents, by supplying a list in piecemeal, said the judgment.

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As the city fights the vector-borne diseases  dengue and chikungunya  the anti-malaria office is fighting the extreme staff shortage. Functioning with only one entomologist and one technical expert, and no regular assistant director (malaria), for the last one year, the department is finding it difficult to manage work, especially when mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise.

The posts were sanctioned more than a decade ago. Even if all of them are filled, they certainly are not enough considering todays population, said an officer from the anti-malaria office of Chandigarh health department.

To begin with, the post of assistant director (malaria) is with Dr Deepak Bakshi as an additional charge for the past one year.

The post of anti-malaria officer is with Dr Gaurav Aggarwal, who is serving on contract basis. The doctor is single-handedly running the department. Lately, he courted controversy for allegedly hiding the correct dengue and chikungunya patient figures.

It was a slip on our part and not intentional. We were in the process of confirming the suspected cases, and when all of them got confirmed, we released the true figrues, said Dr health director Vanita Gupta.

A health official said there was only one sanctioned post each of entomologist (a person who study insects) and technical expert. Ideally there should be 4-5 such officials, he said.

The job of entomologist is to keep a track on the identification of species of mosquito, to check new species, its breeding sites, etc. Under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, we dont have any entomologist but under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, we have one.

Ideally, looking at the speed the city has grown, we should have 5-6 entomologists, he said.

The officer said ,For a population of 15 lakh , there is only one sanctioned post of technical expert. There should be at least 3-4.

The role of the technical expert is to do case identification, case resistance, epidemiological surveillance, death audits, identify source of infections, to name a few. Right now, only one person is managing with the help of students, but we need more. Ideally, there should be three to four technical experts to whom areas are divided, said the officer.
After the flight to Sharjah, the city will get connected to the second international destination  Dubai  with the launch of IndiGo Airlines flight on Monday. Till Sunday, 170 seats in the 180-seater plane had been booked. Vaneet Sharma, a travel agent, said, There is good response to the flight. It is a hit among the gulf-bound travellers.

Direct flight

Indigo Airlines 180-seater plane will take off at 4.15pm on Monday with 170 passengers on board

Journey time

3 hours 30 minutes

Travel in

A 180-seater A320 economy airbus will fly between Chandigarh and Duabi daily.

Round trip fare

Rs 9,999

Newly international

At 5.15pm on September 15, Chandigarh International Airport became international as a flight from Sharjah landed with 128 passengers onboard a 186-seater plane. At 6.35pm, an Air India Express plane carrying 182 passengers to Sharjah departed too, this being the first flight from this airport to a foreign destination.

Read more | Chandigarh International Airport, finally: Sharjah, check!
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Captain Amarinder Singh cautioned people to vote carefully lest they end up pushing Punjab again into chaos and anarchy.

Interacting with people from Garshankar assembly segment during Halke Vich Captain programme here on Sunday, he said the Akalis had destroyed Punjab.

Their main achievement has been having pushed an entire generation into drugs, he said, warning people against voting in their favour lest you destroy another generation too.

He further attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and said, What Akalis have done to Punjab in 10 years, Kejriwal did to Delhi in just one year.

Amarinder asked people to recall his tenure between 2002 and 2007 and compare it with that of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab and promised to re-launch Punjab on the path of progress and glory if voted to power.

Later talking to mediapersons, he said suspending rail and bus service to Lahore as retaliation against the attack on soldiers in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir would not make much difference. India must go for limited retaliatory action against Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism and punish the perpetrators of the terror attack which led to Indian soldiers killings, he added.

Responding to another query, he said it was the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which had decided against forging an alliance with the Congress. Claiming that the fourth front being raised by AAPs former state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu would not impact Congress prospects.

Says Gagnejas death a great loss

Jalandhar: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president (PPCC) Capt Amarinder Singh visited late RSS leader Brigadier Jagdish Gagnejas family on Sunday to pay his condolences.

It is a great loss for everyone as Brig Gagneja was not only a noble soul, but an outstanding and a brave soldier, Capt said.

Interacting with the media, he condemned the ruling SAD-BJP and said that Gagnejas was a well-planned and targeted murder and even after one and a half month, the culprits have not been identified, let alone arrested and brought to the book.

Capt Amarinder Singh offering condolences to the family members of slain state vice-president of RSS Jagdish Gagneja at their residence in Jalandhar Cantt on Sunday. (Pardeep Pandit/HT Photo)

The PPCC president said such incidents and issues must be viewed beyond partisan points of view. He said that in a democracy, everyone was entitled to his political beliefs and ideologies.

We have political and ideological differences with the Akalis, the BJP and the RSS and we fight them ideologically and democratically, but killing someone just because you dont agree with his views is unacceptable and must be condemned, he said, adding, Irrespective of which party or organisation Brig Gagneja belonged to, his assassination is a loss to the state and everyone should condemn it.

He added that the Badals had lost all authority and besides Gagnejas murder, the government is still clueless about the killing of the Namdhari Mata Chand Kaur and the murderous assault on Sant Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale.

This is either a deliberate design or complete incompetence on part of the Akali government, he commented, while adding that there is a feeling of fear and insecurity among the people of Punjab after such incidents.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has accused the UT administration of being discourteous and trying to obstruct the renovation of court rooms on the pretext of buildings heritage status.

The unsavoury controversy erupted following a letter from the UT chief architect who stated that he was sending drawings of court rooms on the insistence and the directions of the chairman, building committee (of the high court) that the functionality of the court cannot be sacrificed at the cost of heritage.

Must read | Chandigarhs Capitol Complex declared UNESCO World Heritage site

The courts registrar general took a strong note of the discourteous language and sent a strong-worded letter admonishing the UT administration for this. He told the UT adviser to tell his officers not to use impolite language with the court. The administration has accordingly advised its officers, especially the chief architect, not to use impolite language while communicating with the high court.

Hindustan Times is in possession of the letters exchanged between the high court and the UT administration.

It all started with the chief architect writing to the registrar general in July this year. He referred to a meeting held in June where the building committee of the high court wanted the architecture department to send drawings to upgrade a court room into a model court room.

It was conveyed to the building committee that since it is a part of the heritage building, only minimum basic intervention in comformity of the original structure can be done as committed in the dossier, wrote the chief architect.

He added: However, on the insistence and the directions of the chairman, building committee, that the functionality of the court cannot be sacrificed at the cost of heritage, this has been prepared with modifications which can be reversed if required

This didnt go well with the high court. In his letter in August, the registrar general noted that the matter pertained to establishing of model courts in accordance with the directions passed in the chief justices conference earlier this year.

The building committee of the high court discussed this in its meeting in June this year and requested the UT administration to issue necessary drawings for upgrading court room number 2, which is next to the chief justices courtroom.

The drawing pertaining to the chamber of court room was issued separately by the chief architect, which was approved by the high court. Now, while issuing drawings for court room number 2, the office of chief architect, Chandigarh, has used discourteous language in covering letter addressed to this court, said the registrar general, adding, the committee strongly deprecates the manner of language and twisted contents of the letter.

The registrar general added the building committee of the court desired that the Chandigarh administration be issued necessary instructions not to use impolite language with this court in future.

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Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday called for restraint and spoke against a war between India and Pakistan in light of the terrorist attack in Uri (J&K).

Speaking on the sidelines of a sangat darshan (public meet) in his constituency Lambi in Muktsar district, Badal asked Pakistan to refrain from pushing India to war, saying that in such an event east and west Punjab on either side of the international border would suffer the most.

Punjab on both sides of the border will have to bear the brunt in case a war takes place between India and Pakistan, he said.

Also read | Jobless youth throws his degree certificates at Badals car

On the Indus water treaty, Badal said the government of India would take a decision in the interest of the country and aim at protecting its integrity.

War bad for border people, but need limited retaliation: Amarinder

Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh said in Amritsar on Monday that a war between India and Pakistan will only lead to suffering for those living near the border on both sides. But attacks such as Uri need a firm reply. In an informal chat with the media after meeting families of the school-bus-accident victims, Amarinder said: Border people suffer the worst during armed hostilities. Thats why, I insist on limited retaliation.
After cases of private laboratories overcharging patients to conduct dengue confirmation test came to light, health authorities on Sunday appealed to residents to contact them, if they are being charged more than Rs 600.

An order issued by the Punjab health and family welfare department on September 15, all government and private hospitals and laboratories had been told not to charge more than Rs 600 for conducting a test to confirm the viral infection.

Dengue was added to the list of notifiable diseases in June making it compulsory for health care providers to notify every dengue case to authorities concerned.

Civil surgeon Dr Pradeep Chawla said, The authorities are very serious about it. The rates of the test were capped, so that patients are prevented from any kind of exploitation. We will take strict action against the labs for overcharging for the test. But, one has to notify the health department. Anyone can contact the civil surgeons office directly, if they are asked to pay more than Rs 600. We will take strict action against them.

Chawla added, On receiving a complaint, we will be sending a report of violators to the deputy commissioners office and action against the defaulters would be taken.

Dr Madan Mohan, district epidemiologist, said, We will be taking action against the labs. People should come and notify us. Dengue cases have crossed over 400 and four cases of chikungunya have also surfaced in the city. On an average, as many as 12 cases are being reported in the city, despite a number of steps taken by the district authorities.

3-day polio immunisation drive begins in Amritsar

Civil surgeon Dr Pradeep Chawla administering polio drops to a child in Amritsar on Sunday. (HT Photo)

Amritsar: A three-day polio immunisation drive began in the district on Sunday. The drive is being organised under the banner of the World Health Organisation. The drive is mainly focused on migratory population in the city and low-income group families.

During these three days, children below 5 would be administrated polio drops. Marking the beginning of the programme, civil surgeon Dr Pradeep Chawla inaugurated the drive and flagged off a rickshaw rally to create awareness about the drive.

Dr Chawla said, The aim of the rickshaw rally is to make people aware of the drive as they will move in in different areas of the city.

The teams from the health department would visit different areas of the city and administer polio drops. District vaccination officer Dr Bharti said, We have formed 784 teams with 1,568 members to cover 2,28,570 houses to administer polio drops. Under the drive, the focus would be on migratory population, workers in rice-shellers and other daily workers. The health workers will specially visit the residences of the people belonging to the lower income group. Besides informing about the disease polio drops would be given to kids. htc
Sikh protesters ended their 36-hour occupation of the highway to Kapurthala at 10.30pm here on Sunday after police rounded up the publisher of the recovered torn pages of a bir (copy of Guru Granth Sahib).

Since Saturday morning  after more than 200 torn pages of the bir were recovered from the Bist Doab Sub-canal, three mutilated copies of Sikh holy books found nearby, and torn pages of Hindu sacred text Bhagavad Gita also discovered  many meetings to pacify the agitators had failed. The protesters led by Satkar Committee chief Bhai Sukhjit Singh Khosa gave the local administration 7 days to arrest the culprits or the protest will resume.

Must read | Torn pages of Guru Granth Sahib, Gita found in Jalandhar canal

After almost 36 hours, police rounded up the Amritsar-based publisher here on Sunday evening. Jalandhar police commissioner Arpit Shukla told the media that Jawahar Singh Kirpal Singh and Company had printed these pages in 1987 and its owner, Raghbir Singh, would now be questioned. We arent yet sure who tore the pages and threw these into the canal, he said. Forensic experts will analyse whether the pages were torn or cut with a knife.

At Mahavir Jain Bhawan, the administration had a series of meetings with the agitators all day. State police chief Suresh Arora also camped in the city, while deputy commissioner (DC) Kamal Kishore Yadav, police commissioner Arpit Shukla, and several ADCPs sat with Jagjit Singh Gaba and other leaders of the 31-member Sikh coordination committee.

Also read | Sacrilege in Jalandhar: Sukhbir condemns heinous act, Capt calls for restraint

At one time Khosa asked the protesters what they wanted and they raised their hands to convey they were staying. As the day progressed, their number crossed 200. They came from Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Phagwara, and Kapurthala mainly. Police deployed anti-riot squad on the spot.

Takht Damdama Sahib former jathedar Giani Kewal Singh, Akal Federations Sukhdev Singh, Dal Khalsa leaders, Lok Sabha MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, and former Congress leader Jagmeet Brar got there. Even women and girls are holding prayers under tents pitched over the road. A Muslim group joined them. The traffic from Kapurthala was diverted to 120-foot-wide road and Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Nagar under police supervision.
The mortal remains of Punjab Beopar Mandal president Amrit Lal Jain, who died on Sunday, were consigned to flames at the Durgiana Temple cremation ground here on Monday.

The pyre was lit by Jains eldest son Salil. Members of the business community, industrialists, political leaders, including Congress MLA OP Soni, were present to pay tribute to the departed soul.

Jain died while on a visit to a Malerkotla on Sunday. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh visited Jains residence to express his condolences with members of the bereaved family. He said Jain provided direction to the business community ever since he took over the reins of the Beopar Mandal in l991.

Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal spoke to Jains eldest son over telephone to express grief over his death.
Keeping tabs on power politics in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir:

Meet the snoozing chief minister

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh often falls asleep during official meetings and public functions. He was snoozing at the inaugural function of a daylong workshop on Promoting Use of Space Technology in Governance held at state secretariat. Though his ministers and aides have got used to it, an official from Bihar, who was there to speak on the subject, could not hold himself back. Its strange that your CM heard everything while he was napping. I am amazed he remembered what the other speakers said, he said.

Samplas balancing act

Vijay Sampla is doing a balancing act between his duty as a minister at the Centre and state president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab like a married man. Sampla, who is MP from Hoshiarpur, told journalists the other day that he cannot falter because he knows how to keep balance between mother and wife. Who is the mother and who is wife? asked a curious journalist. Sampla, who is fast learning tricks of the trade, replied: You judge that. Though he ducked the query, it is common knowledge that the minister has been asked by the party high command to stay focused on the party affairs in view of the state elections due early next year.

Spirited Bedi puts Sukhbir in a fix

Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi, a retired IPS officer, put Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in a tight spot at a seminar held on Dr BR Ambedkar at Amritsar. Bedi, while delivering a lecture, appealed to the state government to make examination in patriotism and cultural education compulsory in the state and asked the SAD leader to give a commitment on the same in front of the media there and then. Though Sukhbir nodded his head in the affirmative, Bedi was not satisfied, repeatedly urging him to make the announcement. As students and others started to applaud the former cop, the deputy CM raised his hand to indicate that he will do it. As all this happened in a packed auditorium, the Bedi-Sukhbir dialogue got a loud cheer.

Read more | Kiran Bedi calls for examination in patriotism and cultural learning

(Illustration by Daljeet Kaur Sandhu)

Proud to be a Badal kin

At a time when kinship paves the way for people in politics in Punjab, a relative of a leading state politician has shown there is no point hiding his powerful connection. Rather, he is flaunting it. Chandigarh resident Inderjeet Singh Sidhu, who belongs to village Chak Fateh Singhwala, has no qualms in writing on his letterhead that he is real brother-in-law of (chief minister) Parkash Singh Badal. The letterhead has gone viral on social media.

IPS officer becoming UHBVN MD irks babus

The appointment of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor as chairman and managing director, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), and chairman, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), has caused heartburn among the mandarins in the state, exposing the IAS-IPS fault lines. This is not the first time an IPS officer has been given a post traditionally held by IAS officers. The previous Congress government had also made one as director, sports, which is an IAS cadre post. But the IAS officers, who were caught unawares, seem to have been particularly irked by the latest posting order. They are taking digs at or rubbishing the warped reasons being given for the posting order. But the ire has been vented only in chat groups on WhatsApp or in private conversations, and not to the political brass. Ask them about the Haryana IAS Officers Association and the response is a dismissive grunt. Unlike other associations, ours is about chai-samosa parties, rued a serving bureaucrat, referring to get-togethers held to give farewell to retiring officers and on festivals. The association is headed by the chief secretary.

Rookie partys topi games

A Faridabad-based businessman and some small-time traders and retired state government officials associated with Voters Party were in Chandigarh last week to spell out their political plans. All senior party leaders came to the press conference wearing identical hats. When asked by a curious scribe about the hats, party state convener Sahi Ram Rawat and Pinjore convener Rajendra Dhiman said the hat symbolised the zeal, dedication and devotion of martyr Bhagat Singh. Hope it is not the topi game that the politicians are notorious for.

BJP ministers advice: Torch toll plazas

A BJP minister, who has been targeting ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda for his alleged role in the Jat quota stir violence, got carried away at a press conference he held in Rohtak recently. After the press conference got over, there was informal chitchat and some reporters complained to the minister about hefty amount of money they have to pay at toll plazas. He responded by advising the scribes to torch the toll plazas. His exact words were: Foonk do toll ko. Noticing that the laughter had stopped after his comment, the BJP leader told them that he was just joking, as the press conference had ended.

Posters target Ambala MP Kataria

Posters were pasted at a few places in Ambala and Panchkula by Aam Aadmi Brigade last week, declaring BJP MP from Ambala Ratan Lal Kataria as missing. Kataria was accused of not being there for the people of his constituency who were suffering due to various problems. But he scoffed at the posters, terming one of the brigade members as mental case. The MP read out a long list of functions held by him in his area after the monsoon session of parliament. They had done this earlier also and need to be ignored, he said.

Twin attack on HP Cong chief Sukhu

Himachal Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu shares a good rapport with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. But it doesnt seem to helping him as CM Virbhadra Singh is repeatedly targeting him over appointment of secretaries in the state unit. During his recent visit to Sirmaur, Virbhadra publicly vented his anger against Sukhu. Not just the CM, his son, Himachal Youth Congress president Vikramaditya Singh is also hitting out at the state unit chief. The young leader has put Sukhu into an awkward position by demanding assembly tickets for youths. The defeated candidates should be replaced with young leaders, he said.

Sulking IAS couple goes on leave

HP IAS couple, additional chief secretaries Vineet Chawdhary and Upma Chawdhary went on protest leave when 1983 batch officer VC Pharkha superseded them in June this year. While Vineet is a 1982, Upma belongs to 1983 batch. The two officers first went on medical leave and have now applied for three months study leave for completing a course through distant learning mode.

(Contributed by Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Aseem Bassi, Navneet Sharma, Rajesh Moudgil, Hardik Anand, Gaurav Bisht)
China denied on Monday any knowledge of a senior diplomat assuring Pakistan that Beijing will back the country in case of a war with India.

Last week, the consul general of China in Lahore, Yu Boren, was quoted as saying that China will extend support to Pakistan in case of foreign aggression and that his country was on Islamabads side in the Kashmir dispute .

When asked about Yus categorical statement, the ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) brushed it aside.

I am not aware of the situation you mentioned, MFA spokesperson Geng Shuang said at the regular presser on Monday. The newly appointed spokesperson then repeated Chinas stock answers.

Chinas position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear. As neighbour and friend to both Pakistan and India we hope the two countries will properly address their differences through dialogue and manage and control the situation besides jointly work for the peace and stability of South Asia and the growth of the region, Geng said.

On the Kashmir issue, he said: With regard to the Kashmir issue, we believe it is an issue left over from history. We hope the relevant parties will peacefully and properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation.

Yu was quoted as saying by the office of the chief minister of Punjab province of Pakistan that in case of any [foreign] aggression, Beijing will extend its full support to Pakistan.

It further quoted Yu as saying: We are and will be siding with Pakistan on Kashmir issue... There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in...[India-] held Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris.

Pakistans Dawn newspaper reported the statement, linking it with the rising tensions at borders with India, China has assured in unequivocal terms its support in case of any foreign aggression and also supported Pakistans stance on the Kashmir dispute.

The statement was quoted widely in the Pakistani media and seen to be the latest and unequivocal evidence of Chinas strong support of Pakistan. India has said terrorists from Pakistan were behind the Uri army camp attack earlier this month that left 18 soldiers dead.

At Mondays briefing, Geng also commented on the recent allegations of incursions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), saying that Chinese personnel had abided by bilateral agreements on the border.

Chinas position on the boundary question between India and China is consistent and clear. The boundary between the two sides is yet to be demarcated. We are engaged in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences in this regard, he said.

The border troops of China always abide by agreements of the two sides and strictly follow the bilateral agreements concerning the LAC. We hope Indian side will work together with us to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas and strive to resolve the boundary issue at an early date.
Activists seeking a free Balochistan, who began a week-long protest outside the Chinese embassy in central London early on Monday, have described the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a corridor of death.

The protest will culminate in a demonstration outside the embassy on October 1 and the handing over of a memorandum stating that China is not welcome in Balochistan, which, the activists said, was occupied by Pakistan.

It (CPEC) will cause destruction in Balochistan. The protest is against Chinese and Pakistani expansionist designs in Balochistan, Mehrab, an aide of the Khan of Kalat, told Hindustan Times on Monday. The Khan of Kalat, the head of the family that once ruled the erstwhile princely state of Kalat, is at the forefront of a campaign against rights violations in the southwestern Pakistani province.

There will be a small, 24-hour presence of activists outside the embassy until 2pm of October 1 - Chinas national day - when a large number of people are expected at the demonstration until 5pm, he said.

The activists held placards that said China: Hands Off Balochistan and CPEC is the Corridor of Death and Destruction for Baloch.

The Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) said in a statement: "China has now become the 21st century East India Company in Balochistan. Their expansionist designs are well known in the region.

Its neighbouring country Vietnam is the prime example of Chinese diabolical nature which endured 17 Chinese military invasions. Today we can see that it doesn't respect the international laws over the South China Sea."

The statement added: "China has intensified its efforts to consolidate its permanent grip over Balochistan's Gwadar coast and other areas where in 2001 it sought to anchor its military outpost in the name of Gwadar deep-sea port project."

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Baloch activists have launched a week-long sit-in in front of the Chinese Embassy here to protest against China-Pakistan nexus in resource-rich Balochistan.

During the protest, two Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) members will sit in front of the Chinese Embassy daily for six days, and end with a big demonstration on October 1 -- Chinas National Day.

FBM described the protest as a peaceful campaign against the China-Pakistan nexus in Balochistan.

China has now become the 21st century East India Company in Balochistan. Their expansionist designs are well known in the region. Its neighbouring country Vietnam is the prime example of Chinese diabolical nature that endured 17 military invasions. Today we can see that it doesnt respect the international laws over the South China Sea, the FBM said in a statement.

It further says that Pakistan is in conflict with Balochistan because the morally bankrupted state, dominated by Punjab, has occupied Balochistan in March 1948 in a blatant violation of international norms and law just in the name of Islam.

China has intensified its efforts to consolidate its permanent grip over Balochistans Gwadar coast and other areas where, in 2001, it sought to anchor its military outpost in the name of Gwadar deep-sea port project, the statement adds.

Activists began their protests with placards that read: CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Border) is the corridor of death and destruction for Baloch and China: Hands off Balochistan.

FBM has called on all pro-freedom Baloch and other human rights activists in the UK and Europe to take part in this protest campaign.
Germanys former top spy, Werner Mauss, went on trial Monday accused of hiding millions of euros from authorities.

The 76-year-old dubbed the German James Bond had often been sent on classified operations abroad, but his secret financial dealings are now under scrutiny.

He risks up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of short-changing the state out of a total of 14.45 million euros ($16 million) in taxes from 2002 to 2013.

Prosecutors are accusing Mauss of placing large sums of undeclared funds in offshore accounts, including in the Bahamas, national news agency DPA said.

Investigators first got on his trail after one of his aliases was found among names of UBS account holders found on a CD which the state of North-Rhine Westphalia had purchased from a whistleblower, according to business daily Handelsblatt and Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Mauss had allegedly failed to declare an account that he holds with the Luxembourg subsidiary of UBS.

His name subsequently also emerged in relation to several shell companies listed in the so-called Panama Papers -- leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that exposed the murky offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous.

Mauss has rejected any inkling of wrongdoing, saying the mailbox business fronts were set up to channel funds used in relation to hostage freeing operations.

During the trial, the court will seek to clear up if the account is linked to such humanitarian action or if it was simply an account created to hold illicit income.
Four men were injured, one critically, late Sunday in the centre of Swedens southern city of Malmo, in what police said appeared to be a targeted attack by gunmen riding scooters.

The shooting broke out shortly before 7pm (1700 GMT) in a street in the southern citys Fosie district. Police in the area evacuated one of the wounded to the city hospital.

The three other injured were able to make their own way to hospital, the police said in a statement.

According to witnesses interviewed by the SydSvenskan newspaper, local residents were able to take the injured to hospital in their cars before emergency services arrived.

The attackers were able to flee on scooters. An inquiry has been opened for attempted murder. No suspect has been apprehended, the police statement said.

Multiple eye witnesses told Swedish media that there had been a car chase, with the four victims in one vehicle and two scooters pursuing them.

The car ended up ramming into a tree before multiple individuals on the scooters, who all had their faces covered, opened fire on the vehicle, shooting off some twenty rounds, local media reported.

They were firing automatic weapons, one eye witness said.

One of the victims was hit in the head and remains in critical condition.

While Sweden is generally a peaceful, safe country with low crime rates, police have had difficulty addressing violence in poorer neighbourhoods in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.

In recent years, there have been grenade attacks, shootings and incidents of car arson.

At the end of August, an eight-year-old child was killed when a grenade was thrown into the apartment where he was sleeping.

One of the people registered at the address was a person who had been convicted for murder in a settling of scores between members of the Somali community in Gothenburg, police said at the time.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Sunday met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York and told him if elected to the White House he will recognise Jerusalem as Israels undivided capital.

The meeting between the two leaders at the Trump Towers in Manhattan come a day before the much-anticipated first presidential debate of the 2016 general election.

The meeting between the two leaders reportedly lasted for nearly 90 minutes.

During the meeting, the two discussed the special relationship and the unbreakable bond between their countries, Trumps campaign said.

The topics of military assistance, security and regional stability were addressed, it said in a statement and added that the US under a Trump administration will accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

Trump said that under a Trump administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Trump recognised Israel as a vital partner of the US in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism, it said.

Trump agreed that the military assistance provided to Israel and missile defence cooperation with Israel are an excellent investment for America.

According to the campaign, the two leaders discussed at length the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against Islamic State group and many other regional security concerns.

Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed at length Israels successful experience with a security fence that helped secure its borders, it said.

The two leaders also discussed Israels burgeoning hi-tech and biotech economy and how it has made stunning advances improving and saving lives around the world.

In particular, Trump noted Israels emergence as a world leader in cyber defence and security and its cooperation with the United States in this regard.

Recognising that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long due to Islamic terrorism, Trump agreed with Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbours, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish state, the campaign said.

Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for more than 3,000 years.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet Trumps Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who has supported a negotiated two-state solution in the region.
More than 40 Chinese military aircraft have traversed a strait near Japan, Chinas defence ministry said on Monday, after Tokyo announced it may patrol with the US in the contested South China Sea region.

Chinas air force on Sunday sent 40 planes over the Miyako Strait, between Japans Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on the defence ministrys website.

The planes -- Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft -- made the flights without violating Japans airspace.

The drill is aimed at testing far sea combat capabilities, the statement said, and follows Chinas first military flight over the Miyako strait last year.

The move comes after Japanese defence minister Tomomi Inada said earlier this month that Tokyo would increase its engagement in the South China Sea through joint training cruises with the US Navy, exercises with regional navies and capacity-building assistance to coastal nations.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital waters, dismissing rival claims from its southeast Asian neighbours.

In recent months, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal that said Beijings extensive claims to the waters had no legal basis.

Tokyo, a key US ally, is also boosting defence ties with other countries in the disputed region, with the two Asian powerhouses already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China Sea.

That dispute relates to uninhabited islets controlled by Japan in the East China Sea, known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese.

The Chinese defence ministry said in the statement that it had also mobilised an unspecified number of bombers and fighters to patrol in the East China Sea air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

Beijing sparked alarm after it unilaterally established the ADIZ in 2013, demanding all aircraft submit flight plans when traversing the zone, which covers islands disputed with Tokyo and also claimed by Taipei.

Normalising far sea drills out in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ is based on the need for Chinas Air Force to protect national sovereignty and security and ensure peaceful development, air force spokesperson Shen Jinke said in the statement.

The Chinese military has been monitoring and identifying foreign army planes that entered the ADIZ and took measures according to different air threats since the zone was set up three years ago, the statement added.
With little over a month to go before the general elections, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has appointed Indian-Americans into his Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee.

The committee consists of over 30 members including Indian-Americans -- Puneet Ahluwalia from Virginia, K V Kumar from California and Shalabh Kumar from Illinois, the Trump Campaign announced Sunday.

We are on the cusp of history. It is a movement that I am witnessing this presidential election. I am confident that Trump would be the next president of the United States, Shalabh Kumar, founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition said.

Under Trump administration, India-US relationship would reach a new height, he said.

Puneet Ahluwalia is a member of Virginias Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Advisory Council, while K V Kumar has earlier worked with the World Bank.

It is my great honor and a privilege to be part of Trump AAPI Advisory Committee. This is a pivotal election which impacts the future of our nation and its people, Ahluwalia said.

The Trump Campaign said the committee is elected, and grassroot leaders are appointed who will engage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) on relevant issues to these important and vibrant communities.

Governors Eddie Calvo and Ralph Torres of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) respectively, will serve as the Councils Co-Chairs, it said.

The committee members will support and strengthen ties to each community and provide recommendations on to ensure AAPI voices are heard and included in the Campaign.

Furthermore, the committees formation represents Trump and Governor Pences commitment to AAPI communities, the Campaign said.

Trump and his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence will meet the members and AAPI leaders to discuss the growing concerns over educational opportunities, employment and the economy, which are of paramount concern to the AAPI families across the United States.

Trump understands the critical role Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders play in the growing and providing for an energetic economic base which has been lacking over the past eight years of Obama/Clinton policies, the campaign said.

Trumps Asian American and Pacific Islander Advisory Committee is a great addition to the vibrancy of his campaign, Ron Falconi, Mayor of Brunswick, Ohio said.

His ability to connect with everyday Americans is a testament of his character, and what he wants to do to bring America forward from the past 8 years, he said.
With a tightly controlled state media, little access to outside information and a deeply instilled belief that whoever runs the White House is bound to be their sworn enemy, North Koreans arent expecting much from the US presidential elections  if they know about them at all.

Say the name Donald Trump to most North Koreans and you will get a blank stare. Same goes for Hillary, though some remember the name Clinton. Some remember that Bill Clinton was, as US presidents go, a little more willing to engage with their country than most, though that was long, long ago and didnt last very long. President George W Bush quickly rolled that back and declared North Korea part of the axis of evil.

I dont know about the US elections and I dont care, said Kim Un Byol, a 27-year-old office worker in Pyongyang. As long as we have Marshal Kim Jong Un and nuclear weapons, we have nothing to worry about.

The outcome of the US elections in November could have major ramifications for North Korea  or maybe bring more of the same. Its far from clear how either presidential candidate intends to deal with Pyongyang, or how Pyongyang will deal with a new administration in Washington.

For the most part, the state-run media has been quiet on the topic.

Earlier this month, however, it lambasted the elections as a hot money-squandering competition.

Elections in the US are little short of tycoons ceremonies of choosing their running dogs, utterly indifferent to the will and desire of the popular masses, KCNA, the stated-run news agency, reported on September 3. Only moguls fully enjoy free suffrage in the US. Without money one can never become a successful politician in the US that openly asserts money fertilizes politics.

Money is everything in the US society, it added, citing WikiLeaks as divulging that Democrats got even the present chief executive involved in horse-trading with tycoons to collect more election funds from them.

It is nonsensical to discuss genuine human rights and democracy in such a political climate of the US, it concluded.

Of course, North Korea has a very different way of running its own elections.

There is no public debate over policy. That is decided by the ruling Workers Party and Kim Jong Un, who does nominally stand for elections to his seat in the national Parliament but has never been challenged for his hereditary position as the countrys supreme leader. Voters have only one choice on their ballots. They can choose either yes or no  virtually no one votes no.

A North Korean woman walks down the street where murals of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il decorate the streets in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo)

Going to the polls is expected of all eligible voters, and turnout rates are generally reported at around 99%. But while the elections are in political terms mostly a formality, along with being celebratory-style events, they have solid practical applications. Mustering the nation every so often is a chance for the authorities to hone their mobilization skills, check up on the efficiency of local leaders and get a snapshot of internal movements.

Kim, the Pyongyang office worker who spoke to The Associated Press on her lunch break recently, echoed the argument that the US elections are actually less democratic than the Norths, where the people love the leaders and the leaders love the people.

In capitalist countries like the United States, they buy the presidency so they never take care of their people, she said. Obama fusses a lot about human rights, but I heard about a lot of things like shootings and police killing black people. The US should focus on its own humanitarian issues.

Pyongyang has been extremely critical of President Barack Obamas ongoing policy of strategic patience, which boils down to minimum engagement with North Korea, punitive measures in response to its nuclear tests and rocket or missile launches, and building up ties with allies in the region to put more pressure on North Korea to either back down or feel the economic pain of heightened sanctions and isolation from international markets.

While the media often slams Obama, it hasnt said much about the presidential campaign.

In June, while still the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump got some good press here for suggesting he would be willing to meet Kim Jong Un and was open to re-examining the deployment of and possibly withdrawing US troops from South Korea. One state-sanctioned news outlet juxtaposed the wise Trump with what it called dull Hillary.

But it attributed the column attributed to a China-based scholar, deflecting the notion that North Korea might officially support the comments.

In the meantime, Pyongyang is pushing ahead with its nuclear and missile programs, so whoever wins in November will likely have to deal with North Korea one way or another  and North Korea isnt known for its generosity with olive branches.

Obama is trying to force our system to collapse, but thats just a pipe dream, said Pang Hak Song, a 29-year-old student at Pyongyang Architectural University. The US is our enemy and I dont want to even say that countrys name. But if I had anything to say to the new president, it would be to give up their hostile policy toward our country if they ever want peace.
Pakistan's central bank has directed all banks to freeze accounts with millions of rupees linked to 2,021 individuals under an anti-terror law though the move will not affect anti-India groups such as the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD).

The action was taken against individuals listed in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which permits the seizure or freezing of funds and assets of a proscribed person.

Some prominent names on the list are Maulvi Abdul Aziz (Lal Masjid), Mohsin Najfi (Shia leader), Maulvi Ahmed Ludhianvi, Pariyal Shah, Maulvi Kabir, Aurangzeb Farooqi (all Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat), Allama Maqsood Domki (Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen), Sibtain Shirazi, Mirza Ali, Sheikh Nayyar (all Tehreek-i-Jafria Pakistan), Ramzan Mengal (Lashkar-e-Jhangvi), and Shahid Bikik (Lyari Aman Committee).

This list, however, does not include Kashmir-centric groups such as the JuD, Lashkar-e-Taiba and similar entities.

The list of 2,021 individuals  mostly leaders and office-bearers of sectarian groups  was sent to all banks by the State Bank of Pakistan. Surprisingly, the list includes some people who have died.

"It is sad the government has used different criteria to segregate terror groups," said social activist Jibran Nasir, adding that the government is focusing on sectarian organisations at home and leaving aside those that export terror.

The government can list an individual as a proscribed person in the Fourth Schedule of the anti-terror law if he is suspected of involvement in terrorism or is an activist of an organisation kept under observation.

The list sent to the banks does not include the names of all individuals listed in the Fourth Schedule. Senior counter-terror officials said the complete list may have between 6,500 and 8,000 names. It is not clear what criteria were used to draw up the list forwarded to the banks. Despite being a public document, the Fourth Schedule has never been published in its entirety by the government.

The media reported this was the first time that authorities have ordered that freezing of such a large number of bank accounts on suspicion of links to terrorism. The financial aspect of terrorism has so far received little attention in Pakistan. The latest move follows criticism that not enough was being done to squelch such financing.

Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies director Amir Rana said he was not optimistic about the effectiveness of the move. "The freeze order focuses on the leadership of the sectarian groups, while hardcore terrorists are absent from the list." he said. Accounts of individuals have been frozen, whereas no action has been taken against accounts of banned groups."
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist rebel leader Timochenko will sign a deal on Monday ending a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people, stymied the economy and made Colombia a byword for violence.

After four years of negotiations in Havana, Santos, 65, and Timochenko, a nom de guerre for the 57-year-old revolutionary, will shake hands for the first time on Colombian soil in front of world leaders.

Their deal to end Latin Americas longest-running conflict will turn the FARC guerrilla group into a political party fighting at the ballot box instead of the battlefield it has occupied since 1964.

Some 2,500 foreign and local dignitaries will attend the ceremony in the colonial city of Cartagena, where huge billboards call on Colombians to accept the peace plan.

I cant believe this day has finally come, peace is coming to Colombia, said Juan Gamarra, 43, who sells jewellery in the walled city.

Guests include UN head Ban Ki-moon, Cuban President Raul Castro, US secretary of state John Kerry and victims of the conflict.

Though there is widespread relief at an end to the bloodshed and kidnappings of past decades, the deal has caused divisions in Latin Americas fourth biggest economy.

Some, including influential former president Alvaro Uribe, are angered the accord allows rebels to enter congress without serving any jail time.

The agreement must be ratified during an Oct. 2 plebiscite, but polls show it will pass easily.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - which began as a peasant revolt, became big players in the cocaine trade and had as many as 20,000 fighters at their strongest - will hand over weapons to the United Nations within 180 days.

Its such an important day - now we can fight politically, without blood, without war, said Duvier, a 25-year-old rebel attending a FARC congress last week in the southern Yari Plains.

Colombians are nervous over how the remaining 7,000 rebels will integrate into society, but most are optimistic peace will bring more positives than problems.

Colombias economy has performed well relative to neighbours in recent years, and peace should reduce security costs and open new areas for mining and oil companies. But crime gangs could try to fill the void and landmines hinder development.

With peace behind him, Santos, the scion of a wealthy Bogota family, will hope to use the political capital to push his economic agenda, especially tax reforms to compensate for a drop in oil income caused by a fall in oil prices.
A Philippine Airlines plane en route to Haneda airport in Tokyo returned to Manilas airport 20 minutes into its flight Monday after the crew detected smoke in the cabin. The plane with 235 people on board landed safely and there were no reports of injury.

Firefighters and rescue teams were dispatched but the plane landed without incident.

Airline spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna said the A340-300 aircraft with 222 passengers and 13 crew members returned due to a technical concern.

She said the plane is being examined to determine why it had to turn back and the cause of the smoke was not known.

Passengers will continue with their journey on Monday afternoon on a replacement flight, she added.

Last week, a Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot mistakenly pressed a hijack warning button on a flight approaching Manilas airport, where officials mobilized commando forces and isolated the jet after it landed.

The pilot confirmed to the airport tower that he pressed the distress button but did not say until the plane was parked that it was a mistake, the airports aviation security chief Mao Aplasca said.
From kicking out North Korean workers and ending visa-free travel for its citizens, to stripping flags of convenience from its ships, Cold War-era allies from Poland to Mongolia are taking measures to squeeze the isolated country.

More such moves, with prodding from South Korea and the United States, are expected after North Korea recently defied UN resolutions to conduct its fifth nuclear test.

North Koreas limited global links leave most countries with few targets for penalising the regime on their own.

Mounting sanctions over the years have made Pyongyang more adept at evasion and finding alternative sources for procurement, a recent paper by experts at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found.

Nonetheless, South Korea has been especially active in pushing the Norths allies for unilateral action in hopes of reining in Pyongyangs arms programme.

If long-standing friends of North Korea continue to publicly curb their ties with the country, Pyongyang will have fewer places overseas where its illicit networks can operate unhindered or with political cover from the host capital, said Andrea Berger, deputy director of the proliferation and nuclear policy program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

South Korean officials have declined to say whether they have made inducements to countries to punish North Korea.

Presumably in the course of that diplomatic interaction, it is also being made clear to Pyongyangs partners that deeper trade ties with economies like South Korea will not be fully realizable without taking steps against North Korea, Berger said.

Angola, for one, has suspended all commercial trade with Pyongyang, banning North Korean companies from operating there since the UN toughened sanctions in March, a South Korean foreign ministry official told Reuters recently.

Angola was suspected of buying military equipment in 2011 from North Koreas Green Pine Associated Corp, which is under UN sanction, according to a 2016 UN report. North Korea had also cooperated with Angola in health care, IT and construction, South Koreas embassy there said in December.

Angolan officials did not respond to requests for comment, but the country told the UN in July that it had not imported any light weapons from North Korea in recent years.

North Koreas export of cheap labour has also been targeted.

Earlier this year, Washington urged countries to curb the use of North Korean workers, who number roughly 50,000 and generate between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion annually for Pyongyang, according to a 2015 UN report.

Poland, which hosted as many as 800 North Korean workers, according to some estimates, this year stopped renewing visas, as did Malta.

A North Korean woman walks down the street where murals of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il decorate the streets in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo)

Travel restrictions have also increased, with Ukraine recently revoking a Soviet-era deal that allowed visa-free visits for North Koreans.

Singapore, which has been a hub for North Korea-linked trade, will require visitors from the country to apply for visas starting next month, its immigration authority said in July.

De-flagged

The vast majority of North Koreas trade is with China, and experts warn sanctions will have limited impact without Beijings backing. China condemns Pyongyangs nuclear programme but is also its chief ally and is unwilling to pressure leader Kim Jong Uns regime too far, fearing a collapse that would destabilise the entire region. That means agreeing significantly tightened UN sanctions could be difficult.

Some of the most tangible results of recent efforts to isolate North Korea have seen countries ban its ships from their registries. North Korean-owned vessels are suspected of using other flags to camouflage the movement of illicit cargo.

Landlocked Mongolia, which is among Pyongyangs steadiest allies but also has close ties with Seoul, cancelled the registrations of all 14 North Korean vessels flying its flag, according to a report it submitted to the UN in July, even though sanctions compelled it to act on just one of them.

Cambodia, once the most popular flag of convenience for North Korea, ended its registry scheme for all foreign ships in August, although it did not single out North Korea.

A North Korean military soldier stands guard as North Koreans wave flags and cheer during an aerial display, in Wonsan, North Korea. (AP Photo)

The flags of 69 North Korean ships, none of them on a UN blacklist, have been de-registered since the UN tightened sanctions in March, South Koreas foreign minister said last month. The Norths merchant fleet is estimated by the UN at roughly 240 vessels.

Still, one-off measures by various countries mean Pyongyang can simply shift its business elsewhere - a shortcoming of unilateral actions in general.

China and Russia employ the bulk of North Korean workers and have publicly shown no inclination to halt the practice.

Last week, North Korean state media announced the Sept 19 inauguration of its embassy in the Belarusian capital Minsk. However, on Monday, the Belarus foreign ministry said there was no North Korean embassy there, although it did not immediately give further information.

Pyongyang has been known to use diplomatic personnel, several whom have been caught with large amounts of gold or cash, to procure banned equipment or fund illegal activities.

China, experts say, remains the key.

Rather than being efficient, unilateral actions put psychological pressure on the North, said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University. But like criminal gangs, North Korea wont cringe much under psychological pressure.
An internationally-brokered cease-fire for Syria is still viable, Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said in a TV interview broadcast on Monday, as rescue workers in Aleppo cleaned up from what they said were the worst airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years.

Al-Moallem, in the interview on Mayadeen TV from New York, also said President Bashar Assads administration is prepared to take part in a unity government, incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past by his opponents.

The interview comes amid spiraling violence in Syria, particularly around the contested city of Aleppo. According to opposition activists, more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week under a sustained aerial campaign that UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war. The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, its barbarism, said US ambassador Samantha Power. Its apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.

Al-Moallem accused the US, Britain, and France of convening the Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support terrorists inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is not dead.

Syrias military declared the cease-fire ended one week ago.

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the cease-fire in Syria is ineffective, but that Moscow is not losing hope for a political solution to the countrys crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the Kremlin is concerned that terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks.

Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the United States and Great Britain over Russias actions in Syria.

He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process in Syria.

Al-Moallems comments came as a second group of rebel gunmen and their families began evacuating from an opposition neighbourhood in central Syria this month.

Some 120 gunmen and their families are expected to leave the al-Waer neighbourhood in the central city of Homs as part of an agreement to restore the governments authority over the neighbourhood, Homs governor Talal Barazi said.

The developments further signal Assads determination to settle the countrys 5-1/2 year long war on his own terms, securing surrenders through sieges and staying in power at least through an interim period to steer the country out of crisis.

Pro-government forces have kept the al-Waer neighbourhood under a steadily tightening siege since November 2013, prohibiting food and medical supplies from reaching the remaining 75,000 residents, down from 300,000 before the start of the war in 2011.

In exchange for the evacuations, the government is permitting aid convoys to supply the neighbourhood with badly needed food and medical supplies.

A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district Saturday.

UN humanitarian officials have condemned the sieges against civilians as medieval and in contravention to international law.

In New York, al-Moallem reaffirmed his governments proposed roadmap to end Syrias war, saying Damascus would support a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.
British police said on Monday they were opening an investigation into racist anti-India tweets by Pakistan-born actor Marc Anwar, who was fired from the countrys most popular TV soap following uproar over his remarks.

On Sunday, 25 September 2016 police received a report of a hate crime. Police have launched an investigation and enquiries are ongoing. Hate incidents will not be tolerated in Greater Manchester and should be reported to police, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

Anwar, 45, unreservedly apologised for the tweets that referred to protests and unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. He called Indians b*****ds and used other insulting terms.

The actor was dropped from Coronation Street, the worlds longest-running soap opera, and producers said the storyline would be redrafted to drop his character in future episodes.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Anwar said the language he used about Indians in his tweets was unacceptable and that he felt he had let everyone down.

Anwar said: On Friday evening I saw, on the news, children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir. This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out. I vented my anger.

He added, Again, the language that I used, I sincerely apologise for. But my feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir. And I hope that everyone that I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

Anwar joined Coronation Street in 2014 as a member of the shows first Muslim family. Set in a fictional suburb of Manchester in northwest England, it is one of Britains most-watched programmes with around eight million viewers. He was sacked after the Sunday Mirror published screenshots from his Twitter account.

ITV, the channel that makes the series, described Anwars comments as shocking. An ITV spokesman said: We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar. We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect.

Anwars character, gym boss Sharif Nazir, will still appear in scenes that have already been filmed for upcoming episodes. He also appeared in Hollywood films, including Captain Phillips and 51st State.

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The US accused Moscow of barbarism over the worsening carnage in Aleppo, as Syrian and Russian warplanes pounded the city in one of the heaviest bombing raids of the five-year war.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to demand Russia rein in its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and halt intense air strikes, Moscow and Damascus were repeatedly accused of war crimes.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter terrorism. It is barbarism, US ambassador Samantha Power said at the Sunday session.

Some 124 people, mostly civilians, have died since bunker-busting bombs and sophisticated weaponry were unleashed on residential areas in rebel-held eastern Aleppo after the army Thursday launched an operation to take it.

Combination image of United States ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, and Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin at the Security Council emergency meeting in New York (AFP Photo)

.

It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes, said British ambassador Matthew Rycroft, adding that the high-tech weaponry had inflicted a new hell on war-weary Syrians.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes, and French ambassador Francois Delattre said the atrocities must not go unpunished.

Britain, France and the United States had called for the urgent talks after days of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage a US-Russian ceasefire deal ended in failure at the weekend.

Ban called on world powers to work harder for an end to the nightmare in Syria that has left more than 300,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.

To protest the attacks in Aleppo, the US, French and British ambassadors walked out of the Security Council chamber as the Syrian ambassador delivered his remarks.

Almost impossible peace

Russias ambassador Vitaly Churkin conceded that the surge in violence over the past days meant that bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now.

Churkin again laid blame for the failed diplomacy with the United States, accusing Washington of being unable to convince armed opposition groups that it backs on the ground to distance themselves from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and abide by the ceasefire.

A US-Russian ceasefire deal that would have charted a way forward towards peace talks was broken by the sabotage by the moderate opposition, he asserted.

Syrian rescue workers and residents carry the body of a victim following a reported air strike in the rebel-held Salaheddin district of Aleppo. (AFP Photo)

Churkin however said that reviving the ceasefire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of a collective effort on all sides.

Despite the recriminations, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said a tiny window of opportunity ... still exists for Russia and the United States to help Syria.

He appealed for renewed efforts to allow Syria to step away from the brink of more years of bloody conflict which risks to become even worse.

Residents said cluster bombs rained down on Saturday night on eastern parts of the city, where an estimated 250,000 people are living under a government siege.

At least 19 children were among those killed in the assault, which has included missile strikes, barrel bomb attacks and artillery fire, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

All night long they were dropping cluster bombs. I couldnt sleep until four in the morning, said 62-year-old Ahmed Hajar, who was out looking for bread in the al-Kalasseh neighbourhood.

Were civilians here

In the nearby neighbourhood of Bab al-Nayrab, 30-year-old Imad Habush was baking bread in a small wood-burning oven outside his house.

None of the bakeries are open any more because of the bombing and the shortages of fuel and flour, so people have started making their own bread, he said.

I dont know why the regime is bombing us in this barbaric way. Were civilians here. Were not carrying weapons, and were besieged. We have no way to escape.

Air strikes were continuing on the eastern neighbourhoods on Sunday, the Observatory said, with at least 25 civilians, including two children, killed since dawn.

Once Syrias economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by war and roughly divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east.

The eastern portion of the city has been under near continuous siege since mid-July, causing food and fuel shortages.

Syrias foreign minister said Saturday that his government was confident of victory with support from true friends including Russia, Iran, and Lebanons Shia militant group Hezbollah.

US military chief Joe Dunford said last week that Washington was considering arming Syrian Kurdish forces ahead of an offensive to retake the Islamic State groups stronghold of Raqqa.

An overall view of a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria. (AFP Photo)

Turkeys foreign minister told France24 Sunday that the plan was unacceptable.

Ankara, a Nato member and member of the US-led coalition against IS, launched an unprecedented ground operation in Syria last month, sending dozens of tanks to back pro-Turkish rebels fighting Kurdish militias as well as jihadists.
The 20-year-old man suspected of killing five people with a rifle at a Macys makeup counter had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather, and was described by a neighbour as so creepy, rude and obnoxious that she kept a Taser by her front door.

As investigators tried to piece together information on Arcan Cetin, who was arrested Saturday evening after a nearly 24-hour manhunt, a picture emerged of a troubled young man. Court records show more than a half-dozen criminal cases in Island County alone since 2013.

Authorities said the gunman in the attack at the Cascade Mall in Burlington opened fire in the department stores cosmetics department Friday night, killing a man and four females ranging from a teenager to a senior citizen. The killer then fled.

Cetin said nothing and appeared zombie-like when he was taken into custody on a sidewalk outside his apartment complex some 30 miles away in Oak Harbor by a sheriffs officer who recognized him as the suspect in the rampage, authorities said.

Cetin immigrated to the US from Turkey and is a legal permanent resident, officials said.

Read: Suspect in shooting at Washington state mall captured: Police

As the surrounding area absorbed news of the arrest, critical questions remained, including the gunmans motive. The FBI said early Saturday that there was no indication the shooting was terrorism, but local authorities said later in the day that they were ruling nothing out.

This photograph released on Saturday shows suspected Cascade Mall shooter Arcan Cetin at Skagit County Jail in Mount Vernon, Washington after his arrest in Oak Harbor. (AP)

On Sunday, investigators searched Cetins vehicle and the apartment complex and were seen carrying boxes from a rear, upstairs unit. The four-unit building was surrounded with yellow police tape. Detectives would not say what they found.

Amber Cathey, 21, lived in an apartment next to Cetin for the past three months and said she was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a stun gun handy. Cathey said she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch.

He was really creepy, rude and obnoxious, Cathey said. She said she would try to avoid him by walking the long way around to her apartment if she saw his car in the parking lot. The two were in high school together as well, and Cathey said he acted the same way then.

Amber Cathey, next-door nighbor and former high school classmate of Cascade Mall shooting suspect Arcan Cetin, stands in front of their building. As a neighbour, she said he was "creepy, rude and obnoxious" and was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a Taser by her front door. (AP)

The Seattle Times reported that court records show Cetin faced three charges of assaulting his stepfather. The newspaper said Cetin also was arrested on drunken driving charges. It gave no details on when the arrests took place or how the cases may have been resolved.

In the assault case, Cetin was told by a judge last December that he was not to possess a gun, the newspaper reported. However, the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was going through a hard time.

Attempts to reach Cetins family for comment by phone and social media werent immediately successful. It wasnt clear if Cetin had a lawyer yet. A man who came to the door Sunday morning at an Oak Harbor address believed to be where Cetins stepfather and mother live asked an Associated Press reporter to leave the property.

Social media accounts apparently belonging to Cetin showed he had a fondness for the military and video games.

A Twitter account showed, among other things, selfies, photos of him in younger years and pictures of Turkish food. He once participated in paintball and said he cant wait for Halo 5, the first-person shooter video game. He also tweeted: Shout out to the ROTC peeps. A Facebook account showed he liked military-related sites.

Cetin also appeared to have blogs on the site Tumblr that had not been updated in many months. They included seemingly random posts about serial killer Ted Bundy, a collection of selfies, the top-secret Area 51 Cold War test site and photos of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The two blogs linked back to each other and one of them linked to what appeared to be his Twitter page.

Cetin took part in his high schools ROTC program with former classmate Matthew McClimans, who described the suspect as a pretty normal guy, but he was a little bit weird.

Every once in a while hed make inappropriate comments: Things that are rude or in bad taste, McClimans said.

Oak Harbor is a city of 22,000 on Whidbey Island with many military families associated with the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Sheriffs Lt. Mike Hawley said he spotted Cetin Saturday from a patrol car and immediately recognized him as the suspect in the shooting rampage.

I literally hit my brakes, did a quick turn, I jumped out, Hawley said

Washington governor Jay Inslee, flanked by local law enforcement that worked together to detain Arcan Cetin. (AP)

No immediate charges were brought against Cetin, who awaited a court appearance Monday.

The names of the dead were not immediately released by police. But The Seattle Times identified one as 16-year-old Sarai Lara. Her mother said she survived cancer as a young girl and was a happy student.

Authorities in suburban Seattle identified another victim as Belinda Galde, 64, a probation officer with the Snohomish County District Court.
Blame it on jet lag or maybe a precocious knowledge that his great-grandmother is Canadas head of state but Britains 3-year-old Prince George just wasnt going to be charmed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Landing in Canada on Saturday on a weeklong official visit with parents Prince William and Kate Middleton, George, holding his fathers hand, ignored Trudeau when he squatted down to the toddlers level to offer a high-five variation, the low-five.

Trudeau then switched his palm for a high-five and subsequently offered a handshake, both of which were seemingly rebuffed, creating an awkward moment on the airport tarmac in the western province of British Columbia.

Canadians felt the princely snub acutely, accustomed as they are to seeing their young premier win over millions of fans around the world and attain social media star status.

My heart broke 15 times for trudeau in this  what a mega babe https://t.co/FL0sE5AOpo  alexandra. (@OhAlexaandra) September 25, 2016

Justin Trudeau getting denied a high five by a toddler (even if it was the son of the prince) is a great analogy for modern global affairs  Emmett McConnell (@EmMcCon) September 25, 2016

George did shake hands with Barack Obama on his visit to England in April, when the prince was allowed to greet the US president dressed in natty pajamas and a robe before he went to bed.

George and his year-old sister, Princess Charlotte, are in Canada for the first time but it is the second trip for their parents, who visited in 2011.

On Sunday, William and Kate were to visit the Immigration Services Society of British Columbia to meet staff and volunteers who help recent migrants to the area. The couple also is scheduled to meet young leaders of various industries in Canada and some of Vancouvers first responders.

Before leaving Canada on October 1, the couple is expected to have more than more than 30 engagements, including with aboriginal Canadian communities.

William is second in line to succeed his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, who has been Canadas head of state since she ascended to Britains throne in 1952.
BEIRUT: At least 23 civilians were killed in renewed government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said today, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria.

At the start of that meeting the UNs top envoy to Syria accused the government of unleashing unprecedented military violence against civilians in Aleppo.

Staffan de Mistura said Syrias declaration of a military offensive to retake rebel-held eastern Aleppo has led to one of the worst weeks of the 5 1/2-year war with dozens of airstrikes against residential areas and buildings causing scores of civilian deaths.

He said the offensive targeting civilians with sophisticated weapons including incendiary devices may amount to war crimes.

Medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighbourhoods throughout Aleppos rebel-held eastern districts as an announced government offensive entered its fourth day. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 23 civilians had been killed by 6 pm and said it expects the toll to rise.

Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defence search and rescue outfit said hospitals and rescuers have documented the deaths of 43 people so far.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the opposition areas.

Ive never seen so many people dying in once place, he said from a hospital in the city. Its terrifying today. In less than one hour the Russian planes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 200.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians have been killed by airstrikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since a US-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening.

De Mistura, at the Security Council meeting, warned that if the Syrian government is intent on taking Aleppo, it is going to be a grinding a street-by-street fight where all the infrastructure in the city will be destroyed, but it wont lead to victory.

A so-called military solution is impossible including in Aleppo, he stressed.
JESSORE: With India looking to completely seal its border along Assam, a top Bangladeshi security official has said his country has decided to build a barbed wire fence along the border with India and Myanmar. The government has also approved a project to build a 282-km road along the border it shares with India and Myanmar, said Major General Aziz Ahmed, director general of Border Guard Bangladesh.

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AMMAN: A gunman on Sunday killed prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar outside a court where he was facing charges for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, state news agency Petra reported.

Hattar was struck by three bullets before the assailant was arrested, said Petra.

Witnesses told AFP that a man had opened fire in front of the court in Ammans Abdali district.

The Jordanian government denounced his killing as a heinous crime.

The law will be firmly applied to the person who committed the crime and the government will strike with an iron fist anyone who dares to take advantage of this to spread hate speech, said spokesman Mohamad Momani.

The opposition Muslim Brotherhood and Dar al-Iftaa, the highest religious authority, also condemned the attack.

The 56-year-old Christian was arrested on August 13 after posting a cartoon mocking jihadists on his Facebook account.

He was charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam before being released on bail in early September.

Jordans attorney general had imposed a blackout on media coverage of the case.

Hattar removed the cartoon from his Facebook page after it triggered outrage on social media.

The cartoon features an illustration of God under the title God of Daesh, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

He explained on Facebook that the cartoon made fun of terrorists and how they imagine God and heaven, and does not insult God in any way.

Jordan is a leading member of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber in Iraq killed at least seven people who were setting up tents on Sunday ahead of a major Shia religious observance, officials said.The bomber struck as residents of Baghdads western Eskan neighbourhood were preparing for Ashoura, which commemorates the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

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LONDON: A prominent television channel has sacked Pakistani-origin actor Marc Anwar from one of Britains most popular soap operas Coronation Street for posting tweets that were racially offensive against Indians.

ITV said Anwar, 45, who joined the worlds longest-running TV soap opera in 2014 as a member of the serials first Muslim family, would not be returning to the show with immediate effect.

Screenshots of tweets by Anwar, who plays Sharif Nazir in the series, were first posted by the Sunday Mirror. They referred to events in Jammu and Kashmir and also called for Pakistani actors to stop working in India.

In a statement, ITV said: We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar.

We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect.
LONDON: Imposing international sanctions on Pakistan in the wake of the Uri terror attack would not serve its purpose and would only add to the anti-India propaganda in the neighbouring country, a leading lawyer who had dealt with sanctions on Iran and Russia has said.

The appeal for global sanctions on Pakistan is strategically and diplomatically disastrous for India and the rest of the world, senior London-based lawyer Sarosh Zaiwalla told Hindustan Times.

Having had first-hand experience on the effects of sanctions on countries including Iran and Russia, I can say with certainty that such a situation would further brew anti-India propaganda in Pakistan, he said.

These sanctions would induce heavy economic meltdown within the state, castrating its overall stability and leading to a further impoverished population resorting to a negative rhetoric against India and rest of the world.

If state-sponsored terrorism is prevalent, this would further branch into a glorious propaganda machine, and indeed would threaten the stability of the region, Zaiwalla said.

The only mode of resolution currently viable is through international diplomatic scrutiny to wrestle a peace solution until it works, he added.

The effectiveness of sanctions in world politics, he said, depends on a collective global stance which is unlikely in the case of Pakistan due to the overlapping power structures at play between China, Russia and America.

However, if sanctions are to be imposed as the last measure, an EU-led sanction would be strategically viable as China might veto in the UN security council, added Zaiwalla, who once represented Saddam Hussein and hired Tony Blair in his law firm.

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ROANOKE, VIRGINIA: Donald Trump spoke for nearly 45 minutes but not a word about one of the most anticipated events this election, the first presidential debate. That was unusual for a man who tweets alerts about his upcoming interviews, mostly on Fox these days.

Is he worried he will be a spectacular failure, as suggested by some critics such as Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and leader of the NeverTrump movement?

Or, because he is confident he will crush his opponent, Hillary Clinton?

The debate was playing on the minds of many in the audience at an election rally here in an electorally critical state.

And they were not sure how their nominee will fare.

Umm, lets see, said David Fuller, who self-described as we rural folks. He lowered his head in concentration, looked up, pursed his lips, and went back to staring at the floor. Umm  He will be thoughtful, Fuller, said, adding he was struggling to find the right word to describe how Trump will be at the debate.

Thoughtful? Not many of his supporters will buy that, not the ones who showed up at the rally in T-Shirts reprising the muscular, take-no-prisoners message the Republican nominee has come to be known for.

Not this man, whose T-Shirt proclaimed, blithely: Donald Trump, finally someone with b***s. Or this one: You stomp on my Flag, and I will stomp on your ass. Here is yet another, I am the infidel allah warned you about.

Would they want to see Trump thoughtful?

I am curious to see what he will do, said Russell Drum, an independent who voted for President Barack Obama in 2012 in the hope of change.

But disappointed in the president, Drum is voting for Trump in the same search for change.

His wife, a lifelong Republican who didnt want to give her name so she could be as insulting as she could be of Clinton  and she was, mocking her recent illness to wondering what she does to look young  would spare Trump any misstep.

Behind the brave, angry words, many supporters said they worried Trump might somehow come up short, or throw away the debate, or the one after, because of some slight thrown at him by Clinton, who is likely to come armed with a few.

I would too if I was Clinton, said Michael G Barrett, a retired US navy commander, who had cringed at some of his insults on the campaign trail.

He has fretted about the debate lately. Echoing Trump, Barrett said he feared debate moderators might be unfair to the nominee much like the rest of the media, which, he added, may also spin the outcome in a way so as to declare Clinton the winner.
WASHINGTON: The 20-year-old suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting said nothing and appeared zombie-like when he was arrested by authorities nearly 24 hours into an intense manhunt, authorities said.

Island County Sheriffs Lieutenant Mike Hawley said he spotted Arcan Cetin from a patrol car on Saturday evening in Oak Harbor, Washington, and immediately recognised him as the suspect who killed five people at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington.

Hawley said at a news conference they had received information that Cetin, of Oak Harbor, was in the area. Cetin, who immigrated to the US from Turkey, is a legal permanent resident who has been living in Oak Harbor, authorities said. He had been arrested once before in the county for assault, Hawley said.

Cetin was unarmed and was carrying a satchel with a computer in it. He was kind of zombie-like, Hawley said.

The suspects arrest capped a frantic search following the slayings the day before.

COPS RELEASE CLIP OF CHARLOTTE SHOOTING

Nearly a week of recurring protests over the police killing of a black man in Charlotte, North Carolina, showed no signs of abating after police released videos of the shooting that did not resolve the question of whether the victim had a gun.
Supporters of Xia Lin from both China and abroad, cried foul upon hearing the decision of the Beijing court on Thursday. They say that the decision is a move designed to silence the lawyer and intimidate other human rights lawyers by making an example out of him. They had reservations about the plausibility of the accusation which they say was more intended as a smear campaign against Lin.

Xia Lin, the lawyer known for specializing in ultra-sensitive human rights cases such as the one involving Chinese Contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei, fellow lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, and activist Guo Yushan, was found guilty of acquiring around $700,000 in order to pay off gambling debts, the amount by the way, is less than half the amount declared in the initial accusation that led to his detention in 2014 while he was defending activist Guo Yushan.

The seemingly unfair punishment brought upon the lawyer was condemned by legal experts and human rights activists from all over the world and that the accusation which seemed to be aimed at destroying his credibility prior to the trial is a tactic commonly used in many politically-charged trials.

Maya Wang, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, told AFP: "The sentence is shocking, not only because of its length, but also because it was handed down to a rights lawyer who has tried to protect himself by deliberately taking a low-profile, technical approach to his work."

William Nee, a researcher with Amnesty International believes that the punishment is "shockingly harsh," and hides the true intention of the government which is a means to suppress lawyers willing to take up political cases. What makes the sentence unfair according to Nee is the fact that most lawyers that were detained were suddenly were released or given light sentences.

"Those who have refused to cooperate and admit their guilt are still awaiting trial, and among them, Xia Lin is the first to be sentenced. Such a harsh sentence could be meant to send a message to those who have still refused to cooperate in spite of the enormous pressure that has been put on them an their families," Nee told Al Jazeera.

Xia Lin was a Tiananmen Square protester back in 1989. With an aspiration of helping China become a more humane society, he decided to become a lawyer.

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Last October 2015, the world was shocked when the natural gas reservoir in Aliso Canyon ruptured, making it one of the worst catastrophes in the United States. In response to this matter, the US government has no options but to support the rise of Tesla Motors as it won the bid for building a power storage facility in Southern California.

In Kemberly Penton's report from Hofmag, Tesla Motors' lithium-ion battery is now finally the answer for the world's largest problem with natural gas and power plant. Thanks to the fast advancement of technology that it now brings a broad horizon for discoveries and substitutes for what is known by people before.

Tesla Motors History

Tesla started their business for the production of electric-powered cars in 2003 by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley for they see that electric vehicles could be a lot better than gasoline-powered vehicles. With Nikola Tesla and his inventions, he patented the AC induction motor in 1888. Tesla's mission of accelerating the world to a transition of a sustainable support of energy.

Last April 2015, Tesla unveils the "Powerwall" home and industrial lithium-ion battery packs with the latest energy storage unit known as Powerpack. The use of Powerpack allows the customer's home or business to maximise the use of sustainable energy and likewise removes the boundaries for power sources.

Tesla Battery Project

December 31, 2016, is the expected date of the operation of Southern California Edison to enter utility storage solution with the use of its lithium-ion battery project. Tesla will supply a 20 MW/80 MWh Powerpack system that will help more than 2500 households a day somehow equivalent to providing 1000 electric cars and Tesla vehicles like electric scooters.

Jumping from an automaker to now a company with the extreme focus on energy innovation, Tesla will receive all possible supports from other corporations and government.

This sustainable energy from TESLA will be highly significant in responding to people's needs, and many would expect this to be a success.

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Physicist Stephen Hawking is convinced now more than ever that there are aliens out there and that we should be cautious in answering signals and announcing our existence to them. Despite the caution, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner, and Hawking pooled $100 million to search and listen for signals from Proxima b, commonly known as Earth 2.0.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the giants of science and technology revealed the 10-year mission. Named as "Breakthrough Listen," the search will be aided by two of the world's most powerful telescopes that will give them better sensitivity, access to farther skies, higher radio spectrum, and faster mobility.

"Breakthrough Listen" will be targeting Earth 2.0 as it has been found to have the ability to sustain life and is a whopping distance of four lightyears away from our planet.

"It came only a few months after Stephen Hawking and I, with Mark Zuckerberg's support, launched our Breakthrough Starshot project, which aims to launch a tiny spacecraft to Alpha Centauri within a generation," said Milner.

The news of the trio's efforts to reach out to aliens came just a few days after Hawking's short film "Favorite Places" was released through CuriosityStream. In the film, Hawking welcomes his audience aboard the CGI SS Hawking to travel the universe to his favorite destinations. One of those destinations is a planet called Gliese 832c, and he expresses his hopes of receiving a signal back from a planet like it.

"We should be wary of answering back," he said, as reported by USA Today. "Meeting an advanced civilization could be like Native Americans encountering Columbus. That didn't turn out so well."

With Hawking's firm beliefs that aliens exist combined with Zuckerberg and Milner's efforts, the "Breakthrough Listen" project will collect data for a period of 10 years. Next month, the team will use the Parkes Observatory in Australia to search for radio emissions that differ from the natural background noise.

"I've always been fascinated by the existential questions of life and the universe," said Milner. "It is fundamental to understanding our place in the big scheme of things. You can't know who you are without having others to compare yourself to."

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China's first station Tiangong-1 or "Heavenly Place" is expected to crash to the Earth in 2017. This is expected to happen as Chinese spacemen and authorities have permanently lost control of the 8.5 ton (18,739 pounds) module. The announcement was made to confirm that China has totally lost its control of the 10.4m-long module after suffering from technical and mechanical failure.

Tiangong-1, when it launched in 2011, was known to be China's "potent political symbol" when it comes to the Sleeping Giant's growing power amid its ambition to scientifically push the country at the forefront of technological advancement in space, according to a report from The Guardian.

The said space lab was supposed to comprehensively fulfill its historical mission. Now that it is unmanned, it is ready to enter the Earth's atmosphere in the second half of 2017.

"Based on our calculation and analysis, most parts of the space lab will burn up during falling," said the Deputy Director Wu Ping of China's manned space engineering office. She claimed Tiangong-1's return to Earth would "unlikely to affect aviation affection activities or cause intensive damage to the ground."

"If necessary, China will release a forecast of its falling and report it internationally," she added.

According to Spaceflightnow, as Tiangong-1 loses its altitude, it is expected to encounter thicker parts of the upper atmosphere, and its descent rate will increase. Furthermore, its orbit takes it around the Earth every half and a half between 43 degrees north and south latitude. Still, it is impossible to predict its entry point ahead of time.

Just recently, China launched its new and upgraded Tiangong-2 research module to replace the Tiangong-1 space lab. It is reported that this new spacecraft carries many updates including a robotic arm and refueling equipment that are necessary to refine technologies for China's planned multi-module space station due for completion by 2022.

The big question now is: What is China's hidden goal behind the launch of this spacecraft?

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While most people would question what would it take to send people within the vicinity of Mars, SpaceX's founder and CEO Elon Musk questions how to colonize it. He's about to reveal how in a much-anticipated speech set for Tuesday.

The teaser for the speech was revealed at the International Astronautical Congress held in Guadalajara, Mexico. SpaceX's Musk revealed that he will be offering more details on a system he aptly called "Mars Colonial Transporter," which can apparently send about a hundred people to Mars.

The speech, entitled "Making Humans a Multi-planetary Species" will be streamed online and it's expected to have a certain level of humor.

"I think it's going to sound pretty crazy, so it should be at least entertaining," he said earlier this year at Kennedy Space Center, after SpaceX launched supplies to the International Space Station, as reported by Florida Today.

As crazy as it may sound, the speech is highly anticipated because humanity's constant search of beings that exist outside our planet. In fact, Musk's speech is central to the foundation of SpaceX as it was his goal from the very beginning.

"Elon has been saying since the beginning of SpaceX that they were focused in the long-term on Martian settlement," said Hannah Kerner, executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation. "Especially in comparison to the speed that NASA's 'Journey to Mars' has been moving, people are really looking to SpaceX to follow through on what they're saying."

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) actually has its own version of Musk's Mars colonization and that's what Kerner referred to as "Journey to Mars." In comparison to NASA's mission, Musk's goal involves sending people for landing on the Red Planet by 2025, a decade before NASA foresees being able to send its astronauts somewhere near it.

The reason behind Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Musk's drive and passion to invade and colonize Mars was summarized by Kerner:

"SpaceX is saying, this is for everyone, this is technology for humanity. We're bringing people to Mars because that's what humans do: We explore and we expand."

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Whenever we hear news about asteroids closing on our planet we are terrified and we ask ourselves if is this really going to happen. Many reports throughout the years say that asteroid will collide our planet on this year but it never happened. Many say that if an asteroid will truly hit our planet it is already predicted in the Bible so why are we afraid?

Asteroids are space rocks that orbits on our Solar System. They are usually called "minor planets" while the larger ones called "planetoids." It is said that about 65 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth that made a massive explosion and killing almost all species that was living that time including the dinosaurs. Now, scientists say that the Earth must prepare for possible asteroid collision.

According to The Inquisitr, NASA already determined and classified thousands of this asteroid, but they never released reports of incoming ones. That's why The Minor Planet Center, NASA's funded organization that tracks asteroids, comets and other space object near Earth, opened its news service called "Daily Minor Planet." The news service is committed to giving the public latest news about asteroid potentially approaching the Earth, its size and the probability of its impact.

The Daily Minor Planet will release daily reports on asteroids that will approach our planet, including its name and relative distance to us. With these, NASA scientists will be able to predict and "plan ahead" for possible risks of an asteroid impact.

Earlier reports by Nature World News also stated that NASA and other private companies are fascinated and eager to get more data on these asteroids. This is the reason why NASA is planning to launch Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) in 2021, which will concentrate on protecting the Earth from an asteroid impact. Earlier this month, NASA launched OSIRIS-REx mission with the main purpose of collecting samples from asteroid Bennu and bring it back to Earth for testing.

For the meantime, we have to get information from The Daily Minor Planet on what asteroids will likely hit our planet and hope NASA scientists will come up with a plan for us to avoid any imminent impact.

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A shooting in Houston, Texas has resulted in 6 people sustaining injuries after the shooter opened fire at a southwest Houston shopping center this morning, according to the police.

The scene is now contained, but residents have been asked to avoid the area.

The shooter was described as an African-American and carrying a revolver. Police shot and killed him, according to ABC13 and FOX26.

The shooting has started about 6:20 a.m. local time. A witness told local ABC13 channel that he heard about 100 "steady gunshots" being fired.

"We do not have a count at this time as to how many people have been shot," police said. Earlier, ABC13 reported at least seven people were injured, while KHOU11 says at least six were taken to the hospital.

Victims were lying on the ground, with multiple gunshots initially reported from the scene.

A fire official said some people were shot while inside their cars and the conditions of those wounded were varied. Several people were hit with glass fragments from shattering car windows.

Those who were wounded in the attack were being transported to area hospitals, the HPD tweeted.

"We have several with extremity injuries," an official told reporters. "We have a couple that are more serious."

One witness told ABC13 the shooter fired three or four shots into the front window of her car and also shot the side window of the vehicle. Initial reports indicated seven people were hurt before police reduced the number to six.

Eduardo Andrade, 42, told The Houston Chronicle that two bullets struck his vehicle.

"As I was driving by Law Street I suddenly heard a big explosion," Andrade said. "I covered myself, accelerated and tried to get out of there. I did not know if someone was following me or trying to shoot me."

Andrade added: "I felt the hot air."

Police scanners reported at 6:30 a.m. that a male suspect was firing on vehicles with a revolver, according to ABC13.

At a certain point, a vehicle on Law Street was surrounded by police and a bomb squad was reportedly called in.

Numerous ambulances arrived at the scene. Weslayan Street was briefly closed.

Approximately 20 emergency responders are at the scene, a member of the fire department told ABC13.

A triage area has been set up in a parking lot.

The surrounding stores are usually busy at this time, according to local media.

"At this time, the shooting scene is believed to be contained, but residents are asked to please avoid the area of Weslayan Street between Westpark Drive and Bissonnet Street as it is still an active response and investigation scene," police said.

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NASA has taken an important step in ensuring Earth's security from asteroid attacks. The American space agency is ready with a new computer system called "Scout" that will help scientists in detecting potentially dangerous asteroids.

Scout will help scientists in spotting asteroids that may attack the Earth, reported Space Daily. It will allow them to calculate the possible impact of these asteroids on Earth's surface. The new computer program has the capacity to calculate the path and impact of asteroids heading toward earth.

According to NASA, some asteroids that are near to Earth are dangerous in nature and therefore, require better understanding and precise detection to build impact mitigation strategies. At present, astronomers use a website for the Minor Planet Center of Cambridge to post information about space objects. But it suffers from accuracy issues.

Scout is an improvement on this model as it checks the website automatically after every 10 minutes and calculates the path of objects that have been posted afresh. If it detects a dangerous asteroid, it informs the astronomers through text or mail. The astronomers then intensify their observations with the help of fresh calculations provided by Scout.

Well, this is definitely a significant development. But more than this, NASA has now launched a news service called Daily Minor Planet with the objective of educating people about the dangerous space objects, reported the Inquisitr. It will inform the public about the latest asteroid facts.

Matt Holman, director of Minor Planet Center - the NASA-funded organization behind this news service, said they want the Daily Minor Planet to educate the people in an entertaining way. This is because when they come across any news about threatening asteroid attacks, claiming to destroy the Earth, they may know where to go to find the facts.

It is worth mentioning here that almost every day, Earth faces the danger of asteroid collision. In 2013, scientists acknowledged the threat of falling space rocks. This happened when an undiscovered asteroid hit the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, causing injuries to a whopping 1,000 people.

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The United States and South Korea combined their naval forces together in a military exercise off Sea of Japan as a show of force against North Korea.

This was a direct response to the testing of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles by the North Korean military.

In a report by CNN, the drills by both countries show the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Spruance amalgamated with other warships, submarines and planes armed with long-range, precision, land attack cruise missiles from the South Korean navy.

This is the first time that vessels from both nations performed drill in such a close proximity to the east coast of North Korea that it send alarm bells ringing in Pyongyang. It seems like an act of provocation was what both the U.S. and South Korea were intending to do.

The display of naval power from both countries was a follow up to the flight of United States Air Force B-1 bombers over the Demilitarized Zone. It was the closes to the borders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that the powerful and heavy bombers have ever flown. This flight too, was a response following the announcement of what North Korea claimed to be a successful test of rocket engine.

During the first week of September, approximately four days after North Korea's fifth and possibly most powerful nuclear weapons test, the bombers flew to the south of the South Korean capital of Seoul, over Osan Air Base.

Following the successful joint exercises on Monday, Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea and Task Force 78, said: "We work side-by-side with our ROK partners every day; we are by their side today at sea, and we will remain by their side to defend against North Korea's unprovoked acts of aggression."

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Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took a break from last-minute preparation for the big debate to have separate closed-door meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin in New York.

Netanyahu, who was in New York for last week's United Nations General Assembly, first visited the GOP nominee's home in Trump Tower. The two were discussing military assistance and security for more than an hour, according to a release from the Trump campaign. One item on the agenda was "Israel's successful experience with a security fence that helped secure the borders," echoing Trump's own emphasis on building a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the campaign. Trump also promised to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city, a long-held desire of the Israeli government and many Israel backers in America. That recognition would mark a removal of long-standing U.S. policy. The United States recognizes Tel Aviv as the Israeli capital and maintains its embassy there, as well as many other countries. Clinton's meeting with Netanyahu was held later on Sunday at the W Hotel. Clinton "confirmed her unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship and her plan to take our partnership to the next level," says a senior campaign aide in a news release about the meeting. Among the topics discussed the long-standing Israel-Palestinian conflict. Clinton supports a two-state solution "negotiated directly by the parties," and said in the meeting that she opposed any attempt by outside parties, including the United Nations Security Council, to impose a solution. Discussed was the controversial BDS movement, an effort gaining traction on college campuses that advocates boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. The Clinton campaign characterized such efforts as "attempts to de-legitimize Israel," and said Clinton was committed to countering such protests. You can see a guide to how the candidates' debating styles could clash in the highly anticipated first presidential debate here.



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SpaceX Falcon 9 explosion took the world by storm with alien enthusiasts predicting that a UFO triggered the explosion of the spacecraft. Now, a preliminary investigation carried out by the company has revealed that a huge breach in the helium system caused the accident.

SpaceX made the revelation in an update published on Sept. 23, Friday. The company also revealed that the recent Falcon 9 explosion has nothing to do with a similar explosion that took place in 2015, when a Falcon 9 spacecraft exploded two minutes after lift-off.

The company believed that "a large breach in the cryogenic helium system of the second stage liquid oxygen tank" led to the explosion. Thorough investigation and preliminary review of all the data and debris discarded any connection with the CRS-7 mishap, which occurred due to a problem with the steel strut used to keep high-pressure helium tank down.

The officials further stated that the company is carefully analyzing the fault tree. A team of experts from four different organizations - NASA, SpaceX, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US air force - is still trying to solve the mystery behind the explosion and the reason that led to the breach.

SpaceX further showed its concern over the possible delay in the rest of its mission. The recent mishap has damaged a large area of its launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, which could impact the schedule of other scheduled launches this year.

A group of alien hunters and UFO enthusiasts previously claimed that two passing UFOs led to the SpaceX Falcon 9 explosion. According to a report published by The Express, alien conspiracy theorists claimed that two weird objects flew past the Falcon 9 rocket in the background just before the explosion took place.

Later, a video surfaced that showed strange activity going on around the SpaceX launch pad. The conspiracy theorists claimed that the aliens are particularly interested in SpaceX launch.

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Venice is one of the major destinations for Mediterranean cruises with around 600 large ships passing each year through its Giudecca Canal, awing passengers with picturesque views of the city's 15th century St. Mark's square and Doges Palace.

Early this year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee issued a warning that it will be listing the entire city of Venice as an endangered place. The Telegraph UK reports, "Venice will be placed on Unesco's list of endangered heritage sites if Italy fails to ban giant cruise ships from the city's lagoon by 2017."

Local governments to date and in previous years have already tried banning the large cruise ships but always failed because it is one of the ways the city is getting its 1 million tourists annually, boosting the economy.

But critics believe that these floating behemoths are actually causing Venice more harm than good. They claimed that the large ships are aesthetically deleterious and worried that another disaster similar to Costa Concordia's sinking could cause irreparable damage to the city's ancient architecture.

In addition, they are anxious that these giant ships are damaging the delicate, salt-corroded groundwork of Venice City, which are currently requiring relentless attention to keep it from sinking.



In fact, last Sep. 25, local newspaper La Nuova di Venezia, published an article wherein a dozen undersized pirate boats floated across Venice City's Giudecca Canal, waiting to face the incoming big cruise ship passing by.

Venetian sailors dressed up as pirates donning ripped vests, tri-corner hats, and eye patches. The crowd, which amassed to around 1,000 gathered at the canal's edge chanting, "Get big boats out of the lagoon!" or "No to big boats!"

In lieu, Venetian musicians were also wearing pirate costumes while playing instruments in their floating stage and shouting slogans protesting the entry of cruise ships in the area.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Hotels are getting more people to join their loyalty programs than ever before. Now they just need to raise their engagement levels to keep them coming back  booking direct, as they'd prefer, thus and in 2016 hotel chains have thrown significant efforts behind revamping their loyalty strategies with two main goals in mind: increase the size of membership and steal share of bookings from third-party providers.

It comes to an end after long time when the experts had been suggesting for years and happened during the first three quarters of 2016 when hotel brands began implementing a strategy fenced rates for loyalty members that require log-in and therefore meet parity requirements. Marriott was first with its "It Pays to Book Direct" campaign, Hilton followed with "Stop Clicking Around," and since, most of the major brands have introduced some type of instant room rate discount for loyalty members.

Although 2016 yet doesn't show any statistics regarding the increase of loyalty members for any of the hotel chains, but in 2015 major hotel chains saw their numbers of loyalty program members increase an estimated 13.1 percent to more than 344 million members compared with 2014.

Comes on top InterContinental Hotels Group's IHG Rewards Club as the world's largest hotel loyalty program with more than 92 million members as of December 31, 2015. Marriott International's Marriott Rewards and Starwood Hotels and Resorts' Starwood Preferred Guest programs l eventually combine following completion, and the total membership of that new program would be around 75 million.

Marriott comes with 54 million, with 10 % increase on members in 2015 vs 2014 and continue growing more and more, even those members shore with more than 50 % of the total room night for Marriott globally, although Starwood comes with 21 million members with 50 % share of room nights, but there is no clear information about the % of increase YOY.

With simple look to the other hotel chain loyalty members you will realize how much powerful become the new merge of Marriott and Starwood with estimation of average of 10 % increase vs 2015

IHG Rewards Club 100 Million members , Marriott + Starwood 82 Million, Hilton HHonors 56 Million, Wyndham Rewards 50 Million, Choice Privileges 27 Million, Best Western Rewards 27 Million, and Hyatt Gold Passport 22 Million members .

Before the merge, Starwood points are worth roughly $22.68 per 1,000 points, according to data from travel insights company Wanderbatone of the highest redemption rates around. Couple that with a massive hotel portfolio, and the ability to transfer points to more than two dozen airlines, and its clear why SPG was a top contender in the loyalty game.

Marriott's point valuation pales by comparison, at $8.92 per 1,000 points, according to Wanderbat. Still, the high concentration of affordable brands in the Marriott portfolio means that members need only spend an average of roughly $2,000 to get a free night, compared to nearly $7,000 for Starwood. The bottom line? Your Starwood points will almost surely decrease in value, but these are two of the most popular loyalty programs aroundand neither has blackout dates on bookings for standard rooms. In all likelihood, there will be more tiers for redemption down the line, given the stratification of brands in the merged portfolio, and members will have to keep an eye on whether all premium properties will participate in the program. Changes probably won't come for at least another year, so cash in while you can.

All comes to and happy end on Friday September 23, 2016 Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts officially merged into one company, and the new Marriott company has already made its first major decision: to give reciprocal benefits to members of each of the three loyalty program.

According to Arne Sorenson Marriott CEO The three programs (Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest account (SPG) , will remain separate with members earning, redeeming while Marriott works on technology and product enhancements, and for the time being members will be able to link their accounts at Members.marriott.com to begin earning and redeeming points at all those hotels.

Members of both Marriott Rewards, which include The Ritz-Carlton frequent guests, and SPG will have their status matched and Points Transfer. If they link their accounts, they will be able to transfer and redeem points at a three-to-one ratio. Three Marriott Rewards points will equal one SPG Starpoint. That will apply to redemption stays and the Marriott Rewards Experiences Marketplace and SPG's Moments platform.

It will be understood when some of the high level members i.e. Platinum will be worried about their benefits

The merger of Marriott and Starwood will be more than double the company's presence in such lucrative regions as Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The alliance is the biggest hotel merger in years, but it is not the only one. InterContinental Hotels group acquired boutique chain Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants last year. AccorHotels purchased the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel brands this year. Destination Hotels and Commune Hotels have merged.

The good news, according to media reports and many independent analysts, 2018 or later will be the earliest we might see substantive and major changes to the loyalty programs.

Ahmed Mahmoud

Revenue Your Hotel
We present an exclusive showcase of the new drivers for Indian tourism and travel, new age players that are

driving this business. Come and explore with us, Indias growth story in travel!

BITB is strongly B2B, based upon the growing Power of the Indian Traveller, for both domestic and outbound.

Also, divided into segments as being witnessed in the maturing Indian market.

The show is building strong partnerships that will go into ensuring meaningful conferences and companion

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Each segment is being supported by leading players in their niche. These are key drivers from within India, and

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Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced last week that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Chip Mong Group for a Hyatt Regency hotel in Cambodias capital, Phnom Penh. Expected to open in 2020, Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh will mark the first Hyatt Regency hotel in Cambodia, and will add to Hyatts growing footprint in Southeast Asia.

We are delighted to bring the Hyatt Regency brand to Phnom Penh and Cambodia, and we are honored to begin our relationship with Chip Mong Group, said David Udell, group president  Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation. As Phnom Penh continues to become known as a destination for art, culture, tourism and business, we are confident that the globally recognized Hyatt Regency brand will resonate with business and leisure travelers visiting the country. Furthermore, we believe the hotel will play a vital role in the citys development and will become a landmark in the city and a dynamic member of the local community.

Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh will deliver on the modern expectations of todays travelers and meeting planners. The 250-room hotel will feature authentic food and beverage offerings and will serve as the perfect venue for a variety of events such as weddings, social banquets, exhibitions, meetings, and conferences. Additionally, the hotel will offer a fitness center, spa and a rooftop swimming pool and bar, featuring views of the Royal Palace and the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers.

Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh will be located directly across from many of the citys most popular tourist attractions, including the National Museum and the Royal Palace, as well as cafes, restaurants and art galleries in the area.
Carbonleo announced a partnership with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to build a Four Seasons hotel and private residences on de la Montagne Street. This project, located in a pivotal, vibrant area of Montreal, represents an investment of $250 million and will become a unique and exciting destination for Montrealers and visitors alike.

"Montrealers have been waiting to see how de la Montagne Street would evolve, and we're very proud to be part of this unique project while contributing to the revitalization of this downtown area. Our vision is to create an architectural ode to extraordinary urban living, that will help redefine Montreal's famous Golden Square Mile," said Andrew Lutfy, chair of the board, Carbonleo. "This will become an exciting lifestyle and dining epicentre for both Montrealers and visitors, linking the Bell Centre to the museum district in the heart of the action. We're thrilled to be partnering with Four Seasons, who share our desire to bring an unparalleled experience to this renowned destination, all with a unique Montreal flavour."

With a contemporary design, the 163-room hotel and 18 exclusive private residences will bring exquisite urban living to the area. The Hotel will feature a state-of-the-art spa, an indoor pool, a fitness centre and extensive event spaces including a 6,000-square-foot ballroom with a large terrace. Adding to Montreal's ever-evolving food scene, the complex will also offer three world-class dining venues, including a stunning sun-filled outdoor terrace, all anchored by a renowned local chef. A high-end valet parking service like no other will be available to heighten the experience. Construction is currently underway.

"Montreal is one of North America's great cities, a vibrant urban destination that has long appealed to luxury travellers drawn to its European flair and cultural sophistication," said J. Allen Smith, President and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "In partnership with Carbonleo, we are bringing to Montreal a landmark luxury hotel and private residences that will soon be the city's address of choice," he continued. "We look forward to introducing visitors and locals alike to the highest standards of quality and the most genuine and personal servicethe markers of a Four Seasons experience the world over."

The Hotel and Private Residences will be directly connected to the iconic retailer Ogilvy. Holt Renfrew & Co. Limited plans to expand and transform the Sainte-Catherine's Street Ogilvy location into a unique and exciting luxury retail destination. Spanning 220,000 square feet, the new specialty store will include an adjacent site and become one of the largest in the Holt Renfrew network, offering innovative new retail concepts and a rich assortment of luxury fashion and beauty brands.

"Inspired by the best of both Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy, our plans will leverage these two storied brands with bold new concepts that celebrate Montreal's rich fashion heritage and sophisticated shoppers," said Mario Grauso, President of Holt Renfrew. "We are thrilled to be alongside Four Seasons, a world-class brand that elevates and cements this city's standing as an international luxury destination."

Holt Renfrew is undertaking the careful restoration of the building's magnificent facade. The Ogilvy store remains open throughout this period to serve customers, as will the Holt Renfrew store in Montreal.
In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,  no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eye), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground,  my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space,  all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and parcel of God.  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

***

While the rest of the rap game dwelled on material gain, Mick Jenkins 2014 breakout tape The Water[s] explored water as a metaphor for wisdom, clarity, & rebirth. His outstanding new debut album The Healing Component goes deeper and explores the bedrock of his existence: his faith.

The album is fiery sermon throughout which Jenkins preaches self-love and advises his congregation of listeners to extend a middle finger to the pessimistic. Seldom has a rap album been so explicitly instructive, or lyrically stunning. The Healing Component distinguishes Jenkins, even among the remarkable new generation of Chicago hip hop artists. He currently resides in a two-bedroom apartment on the Southside with his cousin Denzel and his cat Shikamaru. It wont be long before hes moved to a nicer place.

Shortly before the release of The Healing Component, Jenkins spoke to HNHH about the making of the album, how he has strengthened his relationship with God, and how he embodies the truism: a writer is working when he stares out the window.

***

Do you attend church regularly?

I do now. I was raised in the [Seventh-day Adventist] church, but I got away from the practices and going to church and really being around church people because of how people feel about what I do. And I just didnt want the judgement, or something. But just cause all of the stuff that was happening in my life, and how far removed I felt from God, I just kind of turned around. I was going through the motions a lot as opposed to really feeling and believing and setting aside a time to like acknowledge and reflect on my spirituality as I walk in that.

So Ive definitely restarted in the last three months going to church every week as far as when Im at home in Chicago. But more than that, I think it was more important to just rebuild a genuine relationship with God. I dont think just going to church is anything. A ton of people who go to church are completely missing it.

How do you go about rebuilding your relationship with God?

Being honest, talking to God, prayer. A lot of times when I came to God in prayer, it was a lot of, I want, I want, I want. Take care of me, help me. And I never really thanked him. It was just a lot of  If you mirror it to a real life relationship, it was like only hitting someone up when you want something. Its just very much not the way its supposed to be. Its a two-way street. And it takes the stillness to be able to sit, and reflect, and discern what is coming from there. I think a big part of that is reading the Bible and trying to understand it. At least for me, and my Christian faith.

The Healing Component is more explicitly religious than your past projects.

Yeah, because the healing component was love, and part of that is coming from mirroring Jesuss message while he was on Earth. In the face of some very hateful things  all the way to getting killed on the cross, he was very loving and very meek mannered. He was trying to display a way that people should be. And in trying to figure out the definitive statement Im trying to make for my debut album, I thought that was one to mirror perfectly.

If we look around at all the hate and negativity that is very easy to focus on, were looking for what to do and what to do about it. I dont have a lot of faith in the conventional ways of fighting the injustices in the world. There are systems in place that are keeping the injustices of the world booming for years and years to come.

So you think a bottom-up approach is more effective than top-down?

At least for me. Ground level. If Im in a room with 1,700 people, and we got a song like Drink More Water that would light up a room, weve got Spread Love playing  and people are really feeling that, that kind of energy is what you leave the show with. If 25 people do something different, do something better in an attempt to spread love, then Im doing my job on a very groundwork, grassroots level. I think thats the resolve to have.

Psychedelic drugs can have a spiritual component. Have you had any experiences with shrooms or LSD?

I did mushrooms before, it was dope. I probably wont do it again, i didnt like the come down. I just wanted to try it and I did. It was great actually. All the drugs Ive done, Ive had a literal interest. Ive done weed, shrooms, and  I actually use Xanax for what its for. [Laughs] Every once in awhile I might hit a quarter bar before I get on a plane or some shit. Ive never taken a full Xan. Im just not into harder drugs at all, not interested. But still smoking everyday.

What sort of values did your parents instill in you?

My father actually wasnt super, super present in my life. My parents split when I was seven and I moved to Chicago [from Alabama] when I was 10. I stopped seeing him as much.

My mother  Id probably say the biggest thing she tried to instill in me was to speak up for myself. She never really wanted me to adhere to people or rules or following the crowd just because. And she was very adamant about telling me that even in my defiance, I should remain respectful, just because I dont agree or I dont see what is wrong about a situation doesnt mean that I get to be however the fuck I want to be. But she was definitely very adamant about me not going for anything and understanding and researching  going out and figuring out the truth of the matter for myself. I just took that and applied it to everything  government, police  different systems that are in place.

You often cite James Baldwin as your favorite writer. What do you admire about him and how has he influenced your music?

I really like his writing style, the way he speaks. The carefulness. Ive watched a lot more interviews and speeches than books that Ive read. Ive actually only read The Fire Next Time. Read it in school, and on tour twice. Its two letters, one to his son, one to his nephew  about the state of things, and its crazy how its ringing true today. Affirmations of self, and blackness that are necessary for anyone growing up in American society.

I think he arrived at a point much earlier than MLK and Malcolm X  they both shifted their messages a bit as they approached their deaths. But James Baldwin was there already. He talks a lot about MLKs perspective and Malcolms perspective, and thats what kind of endeared me to his opinions and thoughts about things. I admire him a lot.

Baldwin had that fire.

Which is to say. Which is to say  he said that a lot. I fuck with that shit. [Laughs] Hes dope.

Are you still a vegetarian?

Yeah, been one my whole life. Ive had meat, Ive tasted meat. Ive never had beef or pork, but when I was old enough I was able to choose so I stayed vegetarian.

Do you cook?

I do cook. The other day, with my band in Chicago, we cooked, and I made a potato gratin ratatouille thing. I just sliced up some zucchini and squash really thin, as thin as the potatoes and laid them all out with vegetarian sausage between, and then layered it up with cheese. It was fire.

What do you like to do for fun?

I skate a lot. Pokemon Go is something to do while I skate. They work well together. I got a longboard, I dont skate for flips and tricks and shit like that, I just be cruising. I actually took all my longboard hardware off the longboard and put it on a regular skateboard.

I do so much already, when Im at the crib or have free time I dont do a lot at all. I just smoke, try to clean the crib. If the house is clean, Im gonna smoke in the living room and watch shit. If I go out and do stuff, Im gonna skate and spend time with my girl  go to a museum. We can do 50 million different things cause thats my best friend. I go out with friends every once in awhile. When I do have time, I just wanna sit.

I went to the Bahamas on vacation, and we didnt do shit. Our AirBNB provided us with kayaks and we had a private beach. We chilled on that private beach all day everyday. I wasnt down there trying to turn up. I found some weed, we had a private beach, and we made the best out of that.

How long were you there for?

Seven days. That was in May. Some people go on vacation and live it up, but nah, I was really just tryna chill.

Youve said that Wave[s] was concept-free and experimental compared to The Water[s]. How do you characterize The Healing Component in those terms?

As a merging of the two. I definitely was doing Wave[s] to practice some of the more melodic elements on Spread Love. Knowing that I wanted to be better in that, I think those are the most endearing parts of a song. Not necessarily the 16, but the chorus or the bridge  those catchy parts that keep people reciting the words and coming back when they dont even fully know everything about the song or understand everything about the song. Taking that with the great emotion and lyricism of The Water[s], I think that consciously thinking about that while creating it is exactly what The Healing Component is.

Its definitely a more diverse, and warmer sound than The Water[s].

The Water[s] was a little dark. I feel like personally. The sound and the feel to it. Not in the context so much.

It was blue.

I would agree with that.

How have you grown as an artist since you made The Water[s]?

Just growing as a man. I think theres been a lot of learning in the last three years. Not just the music and carving these messages and what I have to say  I think when I do a project that is conceptual I learn a lot over the course of creating the project as I try to make this idea come together and be a cohesive  but life is happening at the same time. Ive done five tours since The Water[s] dropped. I have a business manager, and three businesses, and I do interviews and photoshoots and I have nine people pulling from me for different informations at different times throughout the day. I just had to learn how to deal with all of that, and move through those spaces and adjust. I think thats the most significant part of change in me, is learning how to adjust and balance all of these things. I think with all of that I still have family and friends who still wanna feel like family and friends.

What would you say is your greatest strength as an artist? What makes you different?

I dont know. I would just say my mind.

When were you the furthest away from God? Was it a singular moment?

It was gradual. I was just crumbling under a lot of the pressure of  not crumbling but figuring out what to do. I dont know how to respond and I dont know how to address these things that I cant do nothing about that also arent my fault that also arent what I want. I dont know how to balance my time, emotions that people keep coming at me with and it was just feeling like trapped under all this pressure, not knowing what to do. God knows what to do, God can relieve some of it.

When did you start working on the album?

I started the album in February of last year. The first song I made was Drowning. I continued hashing out the message  songs came out in spurts, three songs at a time. One song here, one song there.

People dont realize how much of the process is thinking. When I get into the studio and record three or four songs for the album, and two of them are Spread Love and Plugged  thats not just, oh this is a hot session  its arriving at all that Id been thinking about and it came out in those songs.

On the opening track of the on the album, you say that youve been meditating. Is that literal?

Yes, Ive literally been meditating. Its that time to be alone, and really reflect on everything thats going on in my life. The decisions Ive made and who they might affect. To really consider these things, and sit down and think. Theres a lot of waking up at 6AM in my living room, smoking, and thinking.

Does the weed help your creative process?

Weed doesnt help me, I just like to smoke. The way I think about weed and how it affects you is that it makes you think differently. No better or worse. In my experience, everything is on a plane. Things have different dimensions. Its not better or worse.

I could think about a shoestring high as hell and focus on a shoestring in a way that Ive never done before. Why? Cause Im trippin. But if I pull some metaphor from the colors or suede on the shoestring  if a valuable idea comes from that  why is that stupid or lesser? Its not. Ive got great ideas that I got while high. Do I think I couldve arrived at them without being high? No.

Theres no discernible trend in your cover art. What was the idea behind the cover for The Healing Component?

Its just the heart. I used a real heart instead of [the heart symbol] because I wanted to be taken serious. What its all about is whats in your heart and what you put into the world. And thats really it.
Ran in association with the organisers of SXSW, South By South Lawn will see acts including The Lumineers and Sharon Jones

While the eyes of the world will tonight fall on the much-anticipated first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the current President of the United States is concerning himself with something far more important  the first festival to take place at The White House.

South by South Lawn is, in fact, organised along with the team behind SXSW, and will see acts including The Lumineers, Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings and DJ Beverly Bond entertaining the crowd on October 3. Additionally, there will be a screening of the Leonardo DiCaprio-directed documentary Before the Flood, which was scored by Nine Inch Nails man Trent Reznor and Mogwai.

While POTUS has had no fear of flexing his musical muscle when booking performers for private functions  his summer barbecue line-up featured Kendrick Lamar and Jangle Monae  this marks the first time that members of the public will be rocking out at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Tickets to the festival were distributed by public ballot, and it's hoped that it may become an annual event  although as yet neither Clinton nor Trump have made it part of their election manifesto.
It's actually not that surprising.

Video game movies, despite their history of critical failure, are becoming more common as Hollywood looks to popular properties to turn into major releases. This year saw the release of Warcraft, based on the popular video game series. An Assassin's Creed movie will release this December, itself based on another popular series of games. That's just from this year. The Resident Evil films have been savaged by critics, but have continued to find success with audiences despite the thrashing.

The Fruit Ninja license was acquired by New Line Cinema, with plans for a live-action family comedy based on the popular cell phone app. We're intrigued to see what this turns into.
The McConaughey kids might find themselves in the Gaeltacht next year

Matthew McConaughey says he wants his three children to speak Irish fluently.

The True Detective actor, who has Irish roots in Cavan and Monaghan, claims that he wants his offspring - Levi aged 8, Vida aged 6, and Livingston aged 3 - not to loose their connection to Ireland, and being able to speak the language is an important part of that.

The Texas native is married to Camila Alves from Brazil. Irish Brazilian, how great is that? Connected to two of the most vibrant, colourful, exciting cultures on the planet," McConaughey told The Irish Sun on Sunday.

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I gotta keep up the Gaelic. I want them reading the literature, I want Riverdancing, I want them saying, grand and lunatic to the marvellous'. When theyre older, I want to send them to that Irish language summer camp you guys do, its like a rite of passage for you guys, isnt it? When youre teenagers. I want them fluent  which means I gotta do a crash course too.

The Hollywood star added that, "My kids are really privileged to call themselves Brazilian Irish."
The pair's debut record will be released in October

Moby & The Void Pacific Choir have announced their debut album These Systems Are Failing.

The LP will be released on October 14. The album features nine tracks, with Are You Lost In The World Like Me?, being the first single

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These Systems Are Failing track listing:

1. hey! hey!

2. break. doubt

3. I wait for you

4. dont leave me

5. erupt & matter

6. are you lost in the world like me?

7. a simple love

8. the light is clear in my eyes

9. and it hurts
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A half-century-long medical marriage came to an acrimonious end in 2004 when Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist Hospital parted ways - the only such split in the history of American medicine - with accusations of poaching employees, threats of legal action and years of fiscal turbulence. The great divorce, driven by fights over money, threatened the future of the two giants of Houston medicine.

Friends of the late Dr. Michael DeBakey, the pioneering heart surgeon who helped grow both institutions and put the Texas Medical Center on the map, told the Chronicle he was "heartbroken" at the end of a marriage that started in 1950, just two years after he moved to Houston.

"It certainly saddens me," the surgeon, then 96, told the paper. "I don't understand it. I don't think it's in the best interests of either institution."

The school and hospital had climbed the rankings, drawn research funding, developed medical innovations and accumulated great wealth as they became linchpins in one of Houston's key industries. They each brought something to the marriage: Methodist's facilities and money - a whopping $2.6 billion in the bank by 2002 - and Baylor's research expertise and national prestige.

DeBakey faced, according to Texas Monthly, "the end of everything he created in the past half-century, which was nothing less than the best medicine Texas had to offer."

More Information Timeline 1950 Methodist affiliates with Baylor College of Medicine seven years after the school moved to Houston. 2003 All but one of Methodist's 20 division chiefs are on Baylor faculty; 200 of the school's 1,200 residents train there. July 2003 Baylor's new CEO says the school will build its own revenue-generating ambulatory care clinic. April 21, 2004 Baylor severs its affiliation with Methodist and makes St. Luke's its teaching hospital. June 23, 2004 Methodist signs 30-year primary affiliation with Cornell's medical school. 2006 Baylor decides to build its own private hospital. 2007-2010 The recession leaves Baylor with $600 million in debt and no inpatient hospital. Jan. 7, 2014 Baylor announces new partnership with CHI St. Luke's. See More Collapse

Observers agree the divorce was driven by finances. Methodist directed about $50 million a year to Baylor; the hospital's doctors thought that was generous, but the school saw it as chump change given its research costs.

Tension between medical schools and their teaching hospitals is practically congenital, said Washington University medical historian Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer. Hospitals focus on "the patient of today" while schools eye "the patient of tomorrow" along with research and the next generation of doctors. However, the physician-historian added, they need each other. "A medical school cannot teach (or) research without strong clinical facilities to do its work in. And conversely, a hospital needs a medical school if it aspires to anything other than local significance."

In 2003, Baylor hired a new CEO, Dr. Peter Traber. That July the school announced plans to build its own outpatient clinic that would provide an independent income stream. Methodist bridled at the proposal, which it saw as competition from its own affiliate. That complicated negotiations to renew their expiring 30-year partnership. Baylor drew up a potential deal with St. Luke's then returned to talks with Methodist, which offered more money, including $7 million if the school helped boost the hospital's rankings.

Insiders thought a compromise was imminent, the Chronicle reported.

But on April 21, 2004, the Baylor board met to decide between primary affiliation offers from Methodist and St. Luke's. Though the longtime partner had more resources, Traber thought the school's vision was more aligned with St. Luke's. The board agreed, bringing the 50-year marriage to an unexpected end.

Larry Mathis, Methodist's CEO from 1984 to 1997, lamented in an email that the split "was terrible for both institutions, for Houston, and for the world."

A custody battle ensued over shared hospital staff, the Chronicle reported in 2005. "Methodist accused Baylor of using residents as 'pawns' when the college began moving some to St. Luke's; Traber responded that Methodist was just unhappy it was losing 'cheap labor.' "

The school - with legal help from Joe Jamail, the "King of Torts" - threatened to sue over the hospital's "aggressive recruiting" of its faculty. Methodist brought 50 Baylor staff members to its new $100 million research institute meant to supplant the school's research and prestige. Its director came from Baylor and encouraged former colleagues to follow.

Houston's then-Mayor Bill White intervened, urging mediation. Talks lasted three months, after which Traber said Methodist had acted "like your child would when told to do something."

Baylor tried to build its own private hospital. But the recession undid those plans and left the school with $600 million in debt and a $72 million operating deficit by 2010. Noting that the school's last profit was in 2003, a credit rating agency in 2010 put its bonds on a downgrade watchlist.

That helped lead to Baylor's 2014 partnership with Catholic Health Initiatives, which had purchased St. Luke's months earlier. They now jointly run the 880-bed Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center and are building a 28-acre, $1.1 billion campus slated to fully open in 2020. Baylor's operating deficits have shrunk, dropping to $2.5 million for fiscal year 2014.

Methodist also has expanded. Since 2004, the system has doubled its number of employees to 20,000; grown its regional network of seven hospitals and six standalone emergency centers; and established new research and academic relationships.

The split did little damage to education at Baylor, according to the school's current CEO. It had "virtually no impact on our training programs," Dr. Paul Klotman said. "We never lost applicants for fellowships."

Before 2004, Methodist had hosted 200 medical residents, all from Baylor. The separation left the teaching hospital without any residents to teach. Two months after the split, Methodist formed a nonexclusive 30-year partnership with the Weill Cornell Medical College - a long-distance relationship with the New York City school. And starting in 2005, the hospital created its own residency programs; it now has nearly 300 doctors-in-training.

Houston Methodist's current CEO, Dr. Marc Boom, recently said the breakup brought a blessing in disguise: an era of unbridled collaboration in the Texas Medical Center and beyond - including between the two estranged partners.

"It's really enabled us to richly collaborate with many different institutions," Boom said, pointing to a new joint program with Texas A&M for medicine and engineering. Methodist also hosts Baylor's ethics and psychiatry programs, among others, and they conduct some research together.

Leaders of both institutions talk about the 2004 separation like ancient history. It's "so far in the past now," Klotman said.

"We obviously don't interact as closely as we did before (but) we're neighbors who get along very, very well," said Boom, a Baylor graduate whose wife, also a physician, has been on the school's faculty since 1997.

"I think," Boom added, "we've all put the past behind us."
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At the controls of a T-38 training jet high over Hondo, 1st Lt. Alex Lauer dueled at up to 485 mph against Capt. Christopher Fiat Umphres, who has 450 combat hours in Afghanistan.

Lauer was shot down just once in the mock dogfight, demonstrating his growing skills.

Lauer, 24, is near the end of an innovative 12-week course at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph that has increased graduation rates in the Air Force, which is struggling to fill a huge fighter pilot shortage as aviators burned out by deployments, budget cuts and extraneous duties flee for jobs elsewhere.

The shortage stands at 723 pilots this year and is expected to worsen, reaching 1,000 in 2017, with no immediate way to plug the gap because the Air Force needs two years to transform a young officer into a fighter pilot. While active-duty pilot training will increase from 200 this year to 285 in 2017, it wont begin to replace the lost talent and institutional memory.

The Air Force has cut the number of active-duty fighter squadrons to 31 over the past 20 years, from a high of 54 in 1996.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, in a briefing with reporters last month, blamed a good economy and airline hiring for the problem. Some estimates say airlines will recruit 2,000 pilots per year for the next decade.

The crisis stems from crushing budget constraints under the congressional sequester, too many nonflying tasks that distract pilots from their main job and a perception that the Air Force doesnt value them, several pilots said.

Even as the Air Force built a fiscal firewall to protect its training units from budget cuts, flying hours went down substantially in many fighter squadrons. Pilots, especially those with families, may be weary of repeated deployments, but some find the drop in sorties stateside over the past 20 years more concerning.

The Air Combat Command wants inexperienced fighter pilots to fly nine sorties a month and its veterans to fly eight. The average this year is only 7.2.

Its not about the money. This is not a bunch of fighter pilots saying, Hey, pay us more or well leave and go to the airlines. said Umphres, 30, an instructor with the 435th Fighter Training Squadron here. Nobody joined the Air Force to be a fighter pilot because someday they wanted to work for Delta.

The Air Force right now has taken something that was every 8-year-olds dream job and theyve made it so difficult or frustrating or incompatible with their family life that they feel like theyre being forced to leave and do something else.

Quiet crisis

Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, recently called the shortage a quiet crisis and outlined plans last week to provide greater support to fighter squadrons.

Goldfein, an F-16 fighter pilot with 4,200 hours in the cockpit, also cautioned that the Air Force could not meet Americas defense needs if the sequester remains. Even with 5,600 airmen added this year, bringing the total to 317,000, retention is a servicewide problem, he said.

Pilots who dont fly, maintainers who dont maintain, controllers who dont control, will walk, he recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee. And theres not enough money in the Treasury to keep them in if we dont give them the resources to be the best they can be.

As the shortage worsens, pressure will only grow for instructor pilots like Umphres, who does three double turns a week. Thats two grueling instruction sorties a day, pulling up to six Gs in mock combat, each lasting about four hours with pre-flight and post-flight briefings.

As the 435ths flight commander, he puts in an additional four hours that include scheduling the next days sorties. Its less of a problem for Umphres than for others. He lives alone at Randolph while his wife studies law in another state.

The mathematics of the problem is simple. There are fewer instructor pilots than students in the Air Force training commands T-38 and T-6A squadrons. Umphres squadron has 40 instructors and 22 T-38C Talon jets, and it graduated 160 pilots in the fiscal year that ends Friday, pilots who move on to their final phase of instruction.

The threat to a certain military culture is more complex. Lt. Col. Jason Ugly Earley, the 435ths commander, mentioned Air Force tribes while bemoaning the lapse of hallowed fighter pilot traditions. He wouldnt elaborate. Other pilots cited the banning of bawdy songs from squadron bars, now called heritage rooms.

Some problems, such as time away from family, arent new. Gen. Mark Welsh, who recently retired as Air Force chief of staff and is now dean of Texas A&M Universitys Bush School of Government and Public Service, said pilots also faced a high deployment tempo when he was young.

But the service cant consistently fight, fly and train the way it would if its maintenance units were fully staffed and supplied and its planes werent so old, he said. The F-15 fighter, for example, was introduced 40 years ago. The venerable B-52 bombers were first deployed in the 1950s.

The Air Force has worked to address the problems, moving 4,500 personnel specialists and administrators into its squadrons from other units, but it has 500 fewer aircraft than it did 10 years ago.

And the extra tasks that drive pilots crazy are the biggest new concern, said Welsh, a San Antonio native who served at Randolph.

When I was a squadron commander, I didnt hear people complain nearly as much about additional duties because we had other people doing them, he said.

In a recent blog, retired fighter pilot Nate Buster Jaros recalled having to monitor the progress of plans to move into a new building, right down to making sure the toilet paper was ordered.

Then theres money. Earley, 42, calls it the least of the bigger issues but said the prospect of equitable compensation appeals to pilots whose aviation incentive pay and bonuses have remained stagnant for years.

Flight incentive pay, based on a pilots age and years as an aviator, is around $650 a month for most and hasnt changed in decades, he said.

The bonus, at $25,000 a year, is the same as during the last big pilot shortage, in the late 1990s. Goldfein wants to increase it, but another former Air Force chief of staff, retired Gen. Ronald Fogleman, said some in Congress want a differential bonus program where you pay fighter pilots a larger bonus than pilots in other career fields.

He hopes Goldfein will push back against the proposal because the Air Force has so many pilots in bombers, airlift, tankers and special operations, that a differential bonus will create second-class citizens where there are none and worsen the pilot retention problem.

But money cant buy what fighter pilots say they really need: love. Theyre bothered by the idea, pushed down from higher echelons, that pilots arent different from anyone else in the Air Force.

Umphres says it bothers people when the service tries to convince them that fighter pilots are not special.

Were willing to work our butts off, but when you then turn around and tell us that were not any more valuable to the Air Force than the guy whos running the commissary, that kind of rubs us the wrong way, he said.

Welsh, 62, has heard the complaints about getting rid of the crude songs in the bars that arent called bars anymore. He sang some of them when he was younger.

But pilots can still call it a bar among themselves, and they can sing other songs, he said, recalling how his father, a highly decorated fighter pilot in World War II and Vietnam, reacted when Welsh shared his squadrons songbook while home from Kunsan Air Base in South Korea in the late 1990s.

He said, Why in the world would you ever sing stuff like this?

Good time to be a pilot

Ask Alex Lauer what he thinks of entering a service that is hemorrhaging pilots, and hell smile and say it doesnt get him down.

I think this is a really good time to be a young pilot in the Air Force, he said.

Lauer, of Sammamish, Washington, will graduate from the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals course at Randolph in October and head to the Basic Course, where hell fly the F-15. Hes among the 45 percent of all Air Force pilots who came out of ROTC programs, in his case at Central Washington University. Another 45 percent graduated from the Air Force Academy, and the rest from officer training schools.

Meanwhile, Lauer has flourished in a squadron that uses a new, more collegial approach to teaching the fundamentals of aerial combat, where instructors encourage students to bring up issues and concerns they might have kept to themselves in the past, so we also end up fixing the things that we didnt even know they screwed up, as Earley put it.

We can open up to each other and we can say, Hey, look, I asked you to do this and you didnt do that. Why? In the past, a student might have said, Yes, no, I dont know, and not want to give any additional answers, said Earley, an F-15 and T-38 pilot with 2,600 hours over his career, including about 50 in combat.

So far, the attempt at a new training culture has cut attrition 85 percent.

Using a video screen and whiteboard in a complex built in 1930, Maj. Matthew Crater Hannon went through the high and low points of Lauers dogfight. It was the first time Lauer had defended himself from an aggressor, and if mistakes were made, he still had reason to smile.

He did pretty well. Were teaching a young man to look over his shoulder and fly a high-speed aircraft, which has a very small window of error before youre no longer effectively flying your game plan, said Hannon, an A-10 veteran of Afghanistan, where he flew close to 400 combat hours.

So Lt. Lauer learned how crucial it is to not only recognize a trigger by the bandit  the trigger meaning once I see (an enemy maneuver his jet) or I see a bandit respond in a certain manner  whats my response?

Lauer had a split second to make the right, life-saving decision.

After 16 years in the Air Force, Hannon, a former instructor at the elite Air Force Weapons School in Nevada, is applying a fighter pilots perspective to events unfolding both in the squadron and at home, where his kids, Jack, 8, and Reese, 11, are an ever-larger issue in deciding his next move.

Whether he stays or goes is up in the air. Hes waiting to see if Congress approves Air Force efforts to give pilots a $48,000 annual bonus.

I would fly fighters for this country for the rest of my life, if it were an option. The only reason I wouldnt do that is at the expense of being the very best father that I could be to my children, said Hannon, 38, of Seguin. And not at the expense of not being able to teach my son the rules and the game of football, not being able to show my daughter how she should be treated on a date.

Nowhere to go but up

At a conference in Florida this past week, Goldfein, the Air Forces 21st chief of staff, reflected on how training time helped prepare him for his first night of battle in the Gulf War. Hed flown at Red Flag, a Nevada exercise that gives pilots a taste of what to expect.

Only his squadron commander had been to war before, but as the mission ensued, he and his fellow pilots saw everything they had experienced at Red Flag  except when an enemy MiG fighter crashed.

And so for those that built that exercise to give young aviators the first 10 sorties so they could survive combat, gentlemen and ladies, it worked, Goldfein told the crowd. And so I came to believe that high-end training against the most difficult threat, in the most difficult environment, is nothing short of a moral obligation.

One of three focus areas over the next four years, Goldfein said, will be to stress the importance of the squadron, where we succeed or fail as an Air Force.

Its where our culture resides, he said.

How to do it is the question.

The limited things that the Air Force can do itself to impact this, one of them is a refocus on letting aviators do what aviators are supposed to do, which is fly airplanes and not do additional duties, said Fogleman, the retired Air Force chief of staff, who has flown fighters, transports, tankers and rotary-wing aircraft, including 315 combat missions.

The other thing they can do is they can advocate to the Congress to increase the money for readiness, spares, fuel for flying hours, and they can advocate for increased bonuses, he continued. Together, I think this can make a difference.

When it comes to retention issues, Welsh, one of the other retired chiefs of staff, thinks there are three kinds of pilots.

The first plan to stay in. They love what they do, are challenged by it and will deal with the daily frustrations of life in the Air Force and work to make improvements. The second group, pushed by personal or family considerations, will get out, and theres no stopping them.

And then theres the third group, which is the group that kind of likes what they do and might stay if we can remove some of these frustrations, he said. Understanding the things that bother them the most and working on solutions to those issues is really where the focus needs to be.

Back at Randolph, Earley ran though the same categories: deployment-weary pilots and families headed out the door, those who might well stay if given better bonuses, and the ones who will fly through the turbulence.

I want to stress the most important one of those three is being part of something bigger than yourself. Thats what keeps people in the military, he said. Thats what motivates people to serve our nation.

Goldfein, who ran a fighter squadron at Aviano Air Base, Italy, during the 1999 Kosovo air war, has said morale and readiness are linked. Asked how he would rank the current state of Air Force morale and readiness, he repeated what Earley had said, almost word for word: Morale comes from being part of something bigger than yourself.

Ive never had an airman come back from a deployment raving about the quality of life downrange. They come back and talk to me about the mission. They talk about whether they were valued, Goldfein said. Whether they contributed and made a difference. Thats what makes high morale.

sigc@express-news.net
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AUSTIN -- The main elements of the long-awaited new Texas African-American History Memorial will arrive Tuesday for installation on the grounds of the Texas Capitol.

State Preservation Board spokesman Chris Currens said Monday that large bronze friezes are to be lifted into place with a crane as workers begin installing the monument, being built just west of the capitol driveway on the south side lawn of the 1888 statehouse.
Last week the Legislative annual Veto Session began and when finished 12 hours later, lawmakers expanded Gov. Nixons already historic status as the states most overridden governor, a record the Democrat has earned after years of clashing with the Republican controlled legislature.

As the day began, the total number of overrides in state history stood at 106, with 57 overrides completed on non-appropriations bills and 49 on budget line-items. Of that total, 84 of the 106 overrides had occurred under the administration of the current governor. With the totals from Wednesday added, the total number of overrides in state history now stands at 119, with 97 of those coming under the watch of Governor Nixon.

The annual Veto Session is required by Article II, Section 32 of the Missouri Constitution, which calls for the General Assembly to convene each September to consider vetoed bills. Overrides have typically been rare in the states history because a successful motion requires two-thirds majorities in both legislative chambers  23 votes in the Senate and 109 in the House of Representatives. Override efforts begin in a given bills chamber of origin. If the originating chamber fails to override, the other chamber can take no action on it.

Coming into the annual Veto Session, the Missouri General Assembly had a total of 20 vetoed bills to consider for potential overrides. By the end of the day Wednesday, the House and Senate had each obtained the votes necessary to enact 13 vetoed bills into law. The total includes seven House Bills and six Senate Bills. The 13 overrides bring the total for the 2016 session to 15 overrides of gubernatorial vetoes. It was during the regular session that the legislature successfully overrode the governor on two measures he had vetoed.

This will be the first installment of several Capitol Reports detailing bills of interest in the 142nd District, in which Governor Nixons veto was overridden.

SB 656  (Gun Bill)  This bill makes changes to the Missouris gun laws to allow our law abiding citizens more options in protecting themselves and their families, with fewer government burdens and interference. This includes Constitutional Carry where a citizen with the lawful right to open carry, may (as of January 1, 2017) keep a firearm concealed in a purse or under clothing. It also expands the castle doctrine by allowing a person who has been authorized by a property owner to be on or in the property to use deadly force as necessary in order to protect themself or others. Citizens will now have the option of a 5 year ($100), 10 year ($200), 25 year ($250), or lifetime ($500) CCW permit if they so choose; and Sheriffs are not allowed to charge more than $100 for a five-year right to carry permit (which was a problem in some of the more urban counties of our state). The Stand Your Ground component removes the duty to retreat requirement, whenever a law abiding citizen is located in an area that they are lawfully allowed, and faced with a threat against their life. Active duty military members with a CCW permit will now have the ability to renew their CCW within two months of their return, rather than having to start the process from the beginning due to an expiration while on deployment.

SB656 is somewhat uncommon in that it contains multiple effective dates, which are very important. The military CCW renewal/expiration was contained as an Emergency Clause within the bill; which went into effect immediately upon the override of the Governors veto. The Constitutional Carry portion of the bill goes into effect on January 1, 2017, to coincide with other changes to the criminal code that will also be implemented on that date. All other components of the bill (extended CCW permits, expanded Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground, etc.) go into effect on 10/14/2016 (30 days from the date of the veto override), which is typical for legislation that the Governors veto has been overridden.

The amount of rhetoric and misinformation concerning this bill coming from Governor Nixon, Democrat legislators and Michael Bloombergs anti-gun Moms Demand Action group was nothing short of amazing. SB656 doesnt change the location where a firearm can be carried (concealed or not). Criminals remain prohibited from carrying a firearm (concealed or not). Despite Governor Nixons best efforts to use anti-gun mayors and law enforcement officials for his political purposes, I vividly remember his imaginary affinity for law enforcement while calling for vigorous prosecution of an officer (Darren Wilson) in Ferguson who was later exonerated following the investigation and examination of the facts. Make no mistake, SB656 is a win for law abiding Missourians, and while I was very proud to serve on the Conference Committee to help in getting it passed during the regular session, it felt even better to successfully override Governor Nixons (historically) misguided veto. Restricting firearm access to those that choose to follow the law has never worked (i.e. Chicago), and I will always continue to oppose any effort to do so.

Our 2nd Amendment right is really the foundation and preservation of all of the other rights that we enjoy. Can you really call it a right, if youre required to ask permission from the government to enjoy it?

House Bill 1631  (Voter ID) The State House voted 115-41 to override Gov. Nixons veto of legislation that creates the framework for requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls in Missouri. The bill would implement a system of voter identification in the state if Missouri voters approve a constitutional change that is on the November ballot (Constitutional Amendment #6). Valid forms of identification would include photo IDs issued by the state, the federal government or the military. The bill also contains provisions to assist individuals in obtaining a valid ID if they do not have one, or to obtain documents necessary for an ID. Additionally, HB1631 contains a provision that would allow a voter without a valid photo ID to vote with a regular ballot, upon executing a statement under penalty of perjury that they are qualified to vote and presenting specified forms of identification (including school identifications, utility bills, bank statements, paychecks, and government documents). Anyone signing a statement shall be required to have their photograph retained by election authorities for future identification purposes. Provisional ballots will be used only for those who refuse to sign a statement of eligibility and will require returning to the polling place with photographic identification and signature matching in order to vote.

Elections have consequences, and election integrity matters. Every qualified voter should be assured that their vote isnt being unduly diluted by those that would take advantage of the system. Within the last week, a redo election was held by court order in St. Louis, due to apparent improprieties with votes cast in the August primary. The results of the Friday, September 16 redo election were astounding and starkly different from the August results; and a new State Representative will take office in January to represent St. Louis City. Was voter fraud the difference? We may never fully know, but the difference in results within a months time raises some serious questions.

A photo ID is required to purchase alcohol, tobacco, to rent a movie, to enter a casino, to use a credit/debit card; even to enter the Democratic National Convention! The implications of voting are of much greater importance to our great nation than any of the aforementioned actions, and voters deserve to know that fraud isnt occurring.

Robert Ross serves the 142nd House District in the Missouri House of Representatives. Contact him at 573-751-1490 or Robert.Ross@house.mo.gov.
The following are excerpts from reports generated by the Houston Police Department:

Chelsea L. Sawyer, 19, of 17347 Brushy Creek Road in Houston, was cited on Sept. 21 for failure to register a motor vehicle.

Orion D. Wickert, 17, of 15849 Piney Drive in Bucyrus, was issued citations for driving while suspended and failure to stop at a stop light after a traffic stop at U.S. 63 and Oak Crest Drive at about 8:45 p.m. Sept. 19.

Mark A. Casso, 31, of 506 W. Highway 17 in Houston, was arrested Sept. 14 for having an active Texas County felony warrant for possession of a controlled substance. An officer made the arrest at the Family Services office and took Casso to the Texas County Jail where he was held without bond.

Dalton M. Sloan, 19, of 2090 Ozark St, in Cabool, was issued citations for driving while suspended and speeding after a traffic stop at Holder Drive and C.W. Harry Drive at about 3:40 p.m. Sept. 17.

Kenneth J. Hall, 56, of 731 Faye St. in Houston, was arrested Sept. 13 for having an active Howell County warrant for passing bad checks. An officer who was aware of the warrant made the arrest after observing Hall walking south on Oak Hill Drive at about 12:30 a.m. He was taken to the Texas County Jail.

Steven W. Holden, 30, of 8877 Hayes Drive in Houston, was arrested Sept. 14 for having an active Texas County warrant for five counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

An officer made the arrest at the state probation and parole office after being advised Holden was there. He was taken to the Texas County Jail, where he was unable to post $250,000 bond.

Joshua W. Holt, 25, of 9242 Friendship Drive in Raymondville, was cited for driving while revoked on Sept. 15.

Richard W. Hampton, 46, of 19752 Highway 32 in Licking, was cited for first-degree trespassing after being observed in Walmart on Sept. 24. Hampton had been banned from all Walmart properties after an earlier incident.
The following are excerpts from reports generated by the Texas County Sheriffs Department:

The Mountain Grove Police Department requested assistance on Sept. 22 in locating a stolen vehicle, which was found outside a residence on Faye Street in Houston where relatives of the vehicles owner live.

They told an officer they didnt know who the vehicle belonged to and that it had shown up during the night. It was towed away by a local towing firm.

A 66-year-old Houston man reported on Sept. 22 that prescription medication had been stolen from his residence in a Tiffany Drive trailer park.

The man named three Houston women as suspects  ages 45, 35 and 25. All three were contacted and interviewed and one of them confessed to swiping the meds. A report was sent to the county prosecutor.

A deputy was dispatched at about 4 a.m. Sept. 16 regarding a report of a man trying to get into a residence on Highway M at Cabool.

Upon arrival, the officer observed a man in the front yard of the home. He was arrested, and after further investigation, the officer determined he had unsuccessfully tried to pry the front door open, but had also gotten into a horse trailer at the location that had living quarters in it.

A 56-year-old woman who lives at the residence said nothing appeared to be missing from the trailer. The suspect  a 42-year-old Willow Springs man  was taken to the Texas County Jail and his vehicle was towed from the scene.

 A 38-year-old Licking woman reported on Sept. 21 that three cartons of cigarettes, tools, DVDs and other items with a total value of $280 had been stolen from her Mallard Road residence. There are no suspects.

A deputy was dispatched Sept. 20 regarding a report of a suspicious vehicle at Horseshoe Drive and Mineral Drive at Houston.

The officer was unable to locate the vehicle, but went to the nearby river access at the end of Mineral Drive and observed a vehicle spin its tires and speed away. The officer then saw a car fully engulfed in flames and firefighting personnel were called in.

The car turned out to be a white Dodge Caliber. It was towed to a local towing yard and Houston police were notified. The cars origin was later traced to Mountain View.

Investigation continues.

Texas County Jail admissions

Sept. 19

Mark A. Hauck  DWI

Jennifer L. Holden  endangering welfare of a child (five counts)

Sept. 20

Amy J. Jackson  stealing, trespassing

James A. Burris  Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) hold

Brandon M. Baker  MDOC hold

Deanna M. Morris  MDOC hold

Monica Sullins  possession of controlled substance

Sept. 21

Carson A. Smith  burglary, property damage

George W. Lamborn  burglary, property damage

Jay D. Greenwood  burglary, property damage, arson

Truman H. Smith  State of Georgia hold

Sept. 22

Clarence A. Keller  Oregon County hold

Cody M. Bressie  writ (to appear before judge)

Amy M. Bowling  Mountain Grove PD hold

Brandy L. Gallaher  West Plains PD hold

Sept. 23

David J. Corwin  burglary, property damage

Payton N. Mordis  burglary, robbery

Scott L. Folsom  48-hour commitment

Sept. 24

John S.W. Richards  DWI

Sept. 25

Jasper D. Robbins  no valid license

Sept. 26

James L. Hawkins  leaving scene of an accident
Martha Jane Bullock (Wheat) died peacefully after a courageous battle with heart failure on Sept. 4, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. She was born July 10, 1941, in Cabool, Mo.

Martha was the daughter of Ralph and Ada (Clark) Wheat. Proceeded by her sisters, Jo Anne and Urma; and son, Jerry Bullock. Martha is survived by youngest son, Jack Bullock; and her grandchildren, Grayson Bullock, Nicholas Bullock and Mitchell Bullock. She will be missed by many other relatives and friends.

Martha graduated from Cabool High School in the class of 1958. She went on to two years of college at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. Martha became a highly respected legal secretary who was awarded by the National Association of Legal Secretaries as Secretary of the Year in 1973. Marthas greatest pleasure was spending time with her family and her beloved Yorkshire terrier Casey.

A funeral and graveside service will be held for Martha at 2 p.m. Oct. 22, 2016, at Bado Community Church in Bado, Mo. The service will be ministered by the Reb. Bill Moore. Bill is the husband to Marthas sister, Jo Anne, who proceeded her in death.

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Implementing wellness policies  and opportunities  in the workplace can benefit employees on a physical and emotional level. From healthy food options, positive social interactions and flexible work schedules, companies are shifting their cultures to ensure their employees feel valued. Healthy Eating and Social Good Recently, companies have begun to combine healthy options, along with social good. For example, companies such as Thrive Market and Fresh Healthy Vending, offer healthy food and beverage options which employers can provide to their employees. San Diego-based Fresh Healthy Vending is the largest healthy vending franchise in the world and pioneered the healthy vending concept. Thrive Market, an online wholesaler of health products, takes it a step further by donating a membership to a low-income American family for each annual membership sold (currently $59.95) so we can all thrive together. Similarly - but also unique in its own right - Andrew Beinbrink, founder of Yoga 4 Homeless, has created a way for employers to promote wellness by combining yoga with community involvement. Beinbrink explains that, Providing employees with local and social impact opportunities is a phenomenal way to engage your employees and a powerful way to make a difference in your community. A companys ability to combine yoga for its employees, with a way to volunteer and help th...
As an HR professional, finding ways to provide your employees with great benefit options while still controlling health care costs can be frustrating. Health care exchange options are something to consider. They can help you match your employees needs with the health plan that fits each of them best, all while managing your costs as an organization. Private exchanges are online marketplaces (not administered by the government) that let you select plans from health insurers like Michigans Health Alliance Plan (HAP). There are currently two types of private exchanges: In some markets, employers can allow their employees to select from multiple insurers, while in most markets, the employer selects one insurer and their employees can then select from a suite of different plan options from that single insurer. Far more health insurance companies participate in private exchanges than in the public marketplace, also known as the Small Business Health Options Program. To gain flexibility, many small business employers are turning to private exchanges. Given the rising cost of health care, savvy employers are coupling the use of private exchanges with a defined contribution plan in which the employer provides employees a fixed dollar amount contribution with which to buy health insurance. Employees can use those funds to pay for the health plan they select for themselves, choosing any plan from any option on the exchange. Depending on t...
Look around your organization. Which of your employees are in line to play critical leadership roles? Do you know? And more importantly, what are you doing to get them ready? If your organization is like most, creating a comprehensive leadership development plan is like keeping a New Years resolution. You know that it is important, you set the goal, you have all the intention to keep it, but then you get too busy, make excuses and soon forget about it. However, based on certain trends, the creation of a leadership development plan is one resolution that organizations can no longer be ignored. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report indicated that 48% of organizational leaders will be eligible to retire by 2015. This is not to suggest that they will all walk out the door next year. However, when they do, organizations must have an established plan to replace them. This is especially true since the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 70 million Americans will retire from the workforce between 2010 and 2020 while only 40 million will enter the job market. If these trends hold, the pressure from the labor market will ultimately cause a war for talented leaders and this is not a battle you want to lose. To plan for this impending reality, organizations must proactively identify and cultivate a talent pipeline. However, cracking the leadership development code is a task only some organizations have perfected. In fact, in 2008, only 36% of companies...
"A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could."  Zig Ziglar Richard Branson followed this famous quote with one of his own in a recent blog postFind a mentor. Branson clearly understands the impact a mentor can have on our success. So, why don't more of us take advantage of the benefits of mentorship? Simply put, it can seem like an overwhelming task. Who do I choose? How should I ask them? How does this whole mentoring thing work? Won't this take too much time? With this in mind, here are 4 simple steps to help you find a mentor and maximize the value of the relationship. Why You Need a Mentor Define what specifically you want your mentor for. Is it to develop special knowledge, skills or abilities? Are you looking for a champion that will advocate for your next promotion? Or, are you just looking for a general resource as a 'go to' or sounding board when you run into a challenge. Being very clear about the why before thinking about the who will help you find the right person and help you both benefit from the relationship. READ MORE: 5 Ways To Find Mentors and Make it Matter - Forbes Magazine Make a Mentor List Draft a list of potential mentors based on the requirements you identified earlier. Not sure where to start? Think about colleagues (past and present). See if your organizat...
Today no CEO dare be caught not talking innovation. However, very few succeed in making innovation happen. There is usually a gap between a CEOs aspiration for innovation and the reality of making organization innovation happen. As a result, most of them repeatedly find themselves faced with more questions and fewer answers. Orbit-shifting Innovation is the outcome of Erehwons twenty-year quest to find answers for the unanswered questions of innovation, the unanswered questions raised and posed to us by CEOs. Surfing through the multiple uncertainties that confront innovation, we have unearthed many innovation myths that CEOS still need to bust. These persistent myths are the reason why innovation doesnt necessarily drive results the way the CEO aspires, resulting in an innovation gap. The first innovation myth is at the heart and soul of every innovation endeavour: the WHY of innovation. Most organizations believe that purpose of innovation is to conjure up a new, breakthrough idea. In pursuing the new, they often miss the bigger picture- will this new idea create a transformative impact? In fact, the world has gotten so seduced with the romance of the new; to the extent that the pursuit of newness overrides the purpose of innovation. Most innovation leaders have become mesmerized with newness to such an obsessive extent that it becomes the end in itself. Whats new about this idea is almost always the first driving ...
"A main job of leaders is to motivate their teams. Faced with endless changes and challenges, employees need leaders who will give them energy to continue when all seems lost. Yet, it is amazing how stupid some leaders can be when they try to motivate their teams. We are especially surprised when we work with really bright executives (Ph.D.'s, MD's, MBA's at Fortune 500 companies) to find that even they employ the stupidest strategies. Here are the seven stupidest strategies that not only dont work, but do the opposite of what is intended: 1. Instituting change via email  I wish I could only count on my two hands the number of times I have seen executives implement changes via an email: new system rollouts, organizational structure changes and other large scale change. Yet some leaders think an email will suffice to communicate change. All it does is leave employees frustrated, scared and unable to succeed. Instead, change should always be delivered in person either individually or in a meeting. While it doesnt necessarily take a lot of time, it does take preparation and thought. We have a time-tested one-minute change speech that brings an organization together instead of tearing it apart during times of upheaval or shift. 2. Being unavailable  How can you motivate your team if you are not available to answer questions, fill in the blanks or lend a supportive ear. John, a Fortune 500 Insurance executive, consist...
eading human rights lawyer has slammed an Australian job ad as morally and legally wrong after the employer specified exactly what candidates should look like.Identified only as Michael, the Melbourne-based employer posted the controversial ad on Gumtree seeking an insulation installer.You will need a good work attitude, steel capped boots and be of Australian descent and appearance as we are marketed as an Australian-owned and family-run company, the ad read.The requirement soon sparked international backlash with many pointing out the ad is not only racist but also illegal  human rights lawyer Hugh de Krester was among the critics.It absolutely illegal in Australia to discriminate against someone on the grounds of race, including racial appearance,' de Kretser, from the Human Rights Law Centre, told 3AW.What Michael was talking about is on its face very clear racial discrimination, it's unlawful, it shouldn't be going on, he continued, adding that the ad is 'morally wrong, legally wrong and no justification for it.An individual can face a fine of up to $8,000 for discrimination while companies can be fined up to $42,000.More like this:
After disembarking their plane in Vancouver, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said a few hellos and quickly dove right into their itinerary Sunday.

The Duke and Duchess arrive @ShewayBC - a charity helping vulnerable mothers overcoming addiction #RoyalVisitCanadapic.twitter.com/IRpmCzmRsM  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 25, 2016

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The royals visited Sheway, a pregnancy outreach program in the city's Downtown Eastside, which is one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods.

The program offers resources to pregnant women and new mothers coping with drug and alcohol issues, to help bring positive parenting experiences.

The term "sheway" is a Coast Salish word for growth. The program incorporates indigenous cultural practices in their health care offerings. Approximately 65 per cent of the women who use the program are indigenous.

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Sheway is a charity serving pregnant women and new mothers with addictions issues. (Photo by Arthur Edwards/Getty Images)

Health and nutrition services are also offered, along with housing and financial aid help, parental counselling, and music therapy.

The program has helped more than 270 women and 300 children between 2015 and 2016, Global News reports.

The Duke and Duchess hear from @ShewayBC mothers about their experiences of overcoming addiction #RoyalVisitCanadapic.twitter.com/LSNBxxRMlz  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 25, 2016

At the centre, Prince William and Catherine took part in a First Nations ceremonial welcome and prayer. They learned about vest-making, baby-welcoming ceremonies, and how to make traditional bannock and tea.

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The Duchess of Cambridge has previously advocated for charities that support families affected by substance abuse. The couple sat down with women who are part of the centre and listened to their experiences overcoming addiction.

Before they left, Hailey Cain, a five-year-old Sheway baby, presented the royal couple with two teddy bears each wearing customized vests.

Prince William and Kate Middleton meet a baby during a visit to Sheway. (Photo by Arthur Edwards - Pool/Getty Images)

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The royal couple are given teddy bears by a young girl during a visit to Sheway. (Photo by Arthur Edwards - Pool/Getty Images)

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Edmontons mayor wants to turn the Royal Alberta Museum's former home into a national centre to celebrate indigenous heritage.

We are a capital city in this country and yet we do not have a national institution which many of the other capital cities do, said Mayor Don Iveson at the Canadian Urbanism Planning Summit on Saturday, the Edmonton Journal reported.

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He added that it would be an excellent way to "tangibly express a commitment to reconciliation."

Iveson asked Edmonton residents for feedback on Twitter, and response was enthusiastic.

@doniveson@edmontonjournal --Excellent idea!! Edmonton has the second highest FNMI pop in Canada yet no official cultural/heritage site.  Sonja Willier (@sonjawillier) September 25, 2016

The former Royal Alberta Museum site is slowly being emptied as its collections are transferred over to the institution's new $375-million home.

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The province is looking for suggestions on what to do with the former site, according to Global News.

The former site of the Royal Alberta Museum. (Photo: Royal Alberta Museum/Facebook)

One of the buildings on its grounds is Government House, where the province's lieutenant governor used to live. It was also a place where treaties between the Crown and Alberta's First Nations people were once signed.

It is literally the home of the Crown in Alberta, so that is a reason why it might be a worthy site," Iveson told Metro News.

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Edmonton's Indigenous Art Park See Gallery
Many people would be nervous to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and B.C. Premier Christy Clark's son was one of them.

Hamish Marissen-Clark was with his mom to welcome Will and Kate to Victoria, B.C., at the start of their Canadian royal tour on Saturday.

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But the teen didn't know where to put his hands, so he stuck them in his pockets, he told Global B.C.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark, her son Hamish Marissen-Clark, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and others welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their family to Victoria, B.C. on Saturday, September 24. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

And social media didn't react kindly, criticizing Clark for not briefing her son on etiquette.

"Y'all forgot to brief Hamish on #RESPECT and keeping his hands out of his pockets," wrote Katelyn Miskulin on Twitter.

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@christyclarkbc y'all forgot to brief Hamish on #RESPECT and keeping his hands out of his pockets. #RoyalVisitCanada #willandkate  Katelyn Miskulin  (@katiemiskulin) September 25, 2016

Marissen-Clark opened up about the reaction in an interview with Global.

Social media was mad at me for it, I felt really bad, he said.

Clark herself also acknowledged that her son got "roasted" online.

Others noted that he didn't seem very interested.

@vickiejomorris@justine_hunter he also did not get the memo "look interested and be attentive"  Martha Burton (@MarthaABurton) September 25, 2016

But the teen gushed about the meeting in the Global interview, calling it "incredible."

Some on Twitter urged critics to leave the teen alone.

@BhupinderHundal@GlobalBC the dirty ugly nasty part of social media. He was probably very nervous and didn't know.better. He's also a kid  Scott Keenan (@scooteroo29) September 26, 2016

While there is a code for how to act around the Royal Family, sticking your hands in your pockets isn't explicitly forbidden.

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A federal government etiquette guide does say that those meeting the royals can choose if they want to bow, curtsy or shake hands.

You also shouldn't address them as "Will" or "Kate"  instead, say "Your Royal Highness" on first reference and "Sir" or "Ma'am" as the conversation continues.

CTV royal commentator Richard Berthelsen also shared some etiquette tips with CTV News, including one obvious one  just be polite.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meets well wishers at Jack Poole Plaza on September 25 in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo: Pool/Sam Hussein/WireImage)

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He told the news site that while it's now common for members of the Royal Family to have informal conversations with people they meet, ordinary folks used to have to wait until they were spoken to first.

If a royal asks you a question, you can ask them one in return, as long as it's polite.

He also said that both selfies and fancy gifts are no-nos. Selfies take too long to frame and big presents are both embarrassing and not needed  the children already have enough toys.

Will and Kate's three-year-old, George, also made headlines for his reaction to meeting someone new when the family touched down in Victoria.

wow prince george is cold as ice pic.twitter.com/9x0eu6FXYZ  David Mack (@davidmackau) September 25, 2016

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was snubbed multiple times when he tried to make friends with the preschooler. A high five, a low five and a handshake were all ignored.

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The Duchess of Cambridge added a Canadian touch to her latest Royal Tour outfit on Monday.

Despite the gloomy weather of the Great Bear Rainforest, Catherine and the Duke of Cambridge were all smiles as they were warmly welcomed to the Heiltsuk Nation in British Columbia by First Nations leaders and the local community.

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Day three's outdoorsy off-duty outfit saw Kate Middleton wearing dark washed Zara skinny jeans, a Holland & Holland Sahara cotton jacket and gold kite earrings designed by Canadian-born Pippa Small.

Day 3 and we get the first Canadian designer of the tour. Kate's earrings are from Canadian-born @pippasmall#RoyalVisitCanadapic.twitter.com/S7XaMN59ED  Alyssa Ashton (@AlyssaJAshton) September 26, 2016

The Pippa Small earrings are the first Canadian-designed piece worn by Catherine this tour, and we could see them perfectly in thanks to Kate's hair being pulled back into a half-up, half-down 'do (ditching her usual blown-out locks).

During the welcoming ceremony, the fashion plot thickened when she took off her jacket to reveal a blue knit sweater over top of a collared plaid shirt.

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She accessorized the outdoorsy look with a clear bubble umbrella, as the rain came pouring down on B.C.'s central coast.

And if you've been keeping up to date with Kate Middleton's style over the decade, you'll know the Duchess has been wearing the same Penelope Chilvers tassel boots for more than 10 years.

Love the fact that Kate Middleton has been wearing the same boots for 10 years pic.twitter.com/BtLOVEWsO0  Caitlin McBride (@mcbride_caitlin) September 26, 2016

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This casual look from the mother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte has been a nice change since her arrival into Canada on the weekend. Stepping off the plane in Victoria, the 34-year-old wore a long-sleeved, collared lapis dress by Jenny Packham with a matching cocktail hat, whereas day two saw Kate in a red embroidered Alexander McQueen frock with pleated tiers.

What can we say? The Duchess really knows how to work her tour wardrobe.

For more moments from the 2016 Royal Tour of Canada, check out the slideshow below:

Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Royal Visit To Canada 2016 See Gallery
Margaret Wente admits she was wrong about Newfoundlanders after all.

The sometimes contentious Globe and Mail columnist stirred some controversy 11 years ago after writing off the province as an isle of surly islanders living in a vast and scenic welfare ghetto.

In a column published Saturday, Wente said since she learned that islanders have a long memory. She elaborated that after actually visiting the province she ridiculed over a decade ago, her opinion has changed.

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Wente writes in her latest column:

Over scallops and beer, they treated us to tales of their early life: five kids to a bedroom, hauling water from the well, eating seal to get them through the winter. Their conversation was salty and wonderfully accented. They dropped and added hs and didnt bother with th at all. Aubrey told us about the job he had as a kid, lighting the fires in the morning at the merchants house on the hill. I remember dem all in deir beds, all huddled up in deir noightcaps, he recalled. I felt like I was in a Dickens novel.

But some arent charmed by Wentes visit to Fogo Island last month or by the revelations she experienced travelling somewhat incognito under her married name Peggy McLeod.

A columnist with The Independent brushed off Wentes piece as an insincere attempt to right her condescension. Hans Rollmann said Newfoundlanders were right to make noise over equalization payments ten years ago.

Our lament was never that we should be given special treatment. Our lament was that we should be treated fair, wrote Rollmann.

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A waterfront studio at the Fogo Island Inn in 2011. (Photo: View Pictures/UIG via Getty Images)

Equalization payments are a form of federal funding meant to help poorer regions maintain its public services, such as education and health care, on a comparable level with other provinces.

Wente said she got thousands of emails from people who wanted to boil me in seal oil after her original column was published.

Judging by my email, I am 90 per cent forgiven. The other 10 per cent still think I stink worse than rancid cod, she told The Huffington Post Canada in an email.

Comments on her latest column range from acceptance to mockery of Wentes late praise of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Suddenly Newfoundland is hot...? Where has she been the past decade or so? Boy, that Wente, always on the cutting edge she is, wrote one user. But those words likely will fall on deaf ears to one of countrys biggest columnists.

I generally don't read the comments, Wente said.

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At size 14, Paoala Torrente broke beauty pageant ideals when she was crowned runner-up in the Miss Italy competition earlier this month.

Despite support from fans all over the world, the 22-year-old model was the target of haters who brutally body shamed her, with many saying she was "too fat" to be a beauty queen.

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According to The Daily Mail, Torrente was "ridiculed by other contestants and trolled on social media over her size after she came second in the competition."

The mother of third-place winner Viviana Vogliacco bitterly told the media that Torrente should have never been allowed to participate in the competition, noting she should be in the "Plus-Size Miss Italy contest" instead of a "mainstream event."

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Fellow model Nina Moric also called out Torrente and was quoted saying Torrente has "too much flesh." Moric has denied saying this, blaming her controversial words on translation issues. But according to The Daily Mail, Italian beauty pageant's organizers actually called Moric on live television and forced her to apologize for her vicious comments.

Despite the cruelty surrounding her, Torrente, an engineering student from Angri, south of Naples, is keeping positive and confident.

"I embrace my curves at 360 degrees, and I'm never ashamed of them," the runner-up said in an interview with The Daily Mail. "I want to tell young women to accept themselves and to understand that feeling good and being happy is the most powerful thing to fight people's words and thoughts."

And the most rewarding part of the Miss Italy experience for Torrente? The messages of support from girls just like her.

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"I started to receive messages from girls who thanked me for participating, for showing that curvy is beautiful and thanks to me, felt better about themselves."

The young model also notes that despite the backlash of body shaming that came from the competition, she does believe the pageant world is improving.

"Now, a lot of girls that don't fit the beauty ideal of tall and skinny compete. That's a really good thing, it means mentality is changing," she said.

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Breaking down stereotypes ... that's what we like to see in the beauty world!
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children are on Canadian soil. Of course, such a royal occasion requires a proper welcome by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, journalist Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.

There's no question the two couples enjoy each other's company.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, react while watching children play during a visit to the Immigrant Services Society in Vancouver on September 25, 2016.

They likely have a lot to chat about as Trudeau's youngest son, two-year-old Hadrien, is right between Prince George and Princess Charlotte in age. (However, Hadrien is more free with the high-fives than George.)

Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau during a visit to the Immigrant Services Society in Vancouver.

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But that is not all these two families have in common. They go way back, considering Trudeau's father hosted the royals several times when he was prime minister. This included Prince William's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Throwback Photos Remind Us Justin Trudeau, Prince William Go Way Back See Gallery





Prince Charles travelled to Canada when he was still single in 1975 and 1976. Both times, he was photographed chatting candidly with Trudeau's mom, Margaret.

During this visit, Charles travelled to Ottawa, the Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Montreal.

The Prince of Wales returned to Canada repeatedly on his own in the following years, but in 1983 his wife Princess Diana accompanied him. By this point, Pierre and Margaret were separated.

Trudeau remembers this trip well.

"I was eleven years old and playing on the driveway of 24 Sussex with my friend Jeff Gillin," he recalls in his memoirCommon Ground. "A car pulled up, the door opened, and an elegant young woman stepped out carrying a gym bag: it was Diana, Princess of Wales. She and Prince Charles were touring Canada at the time and I had been told she was discreetly coming over to swim some laps in the pool  Jeff, his eyes as large as saucers exclaimed, 'Oh my God! That was incredible!'"

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Luca Sage via Getty Images A small business owner chats to a client on his phone

Starting your own business may seem like an impossible task, but with the right resources and the dedicated time and effort, your entrepreneurial dreams can become reality. No one said it will be easy, however. Trusting yourself, knowing your business strengths and weaknesses  and working to improve on them  is the first step to success. Its also important to surround yourself with the right support system  friends, advisors and the right online tools to help you on your way. With this mind, weve partnered with Desjardins to list five tools that will help you plan for the business of your dreams.

Plan Your Business

When its time to share your idea for a business with a partner or financial institution, youll need to ensure your business plan is designed for success. Plans can come in all shapes and sizes, but often share common characteristics. There are online tools out there that can make developing a successful business strategy that much easier. The Desjardins Interactive Business Plan, for example, can help. The step-by-step tool can help you create your plan from scratch and provide tips and tricks to develop a more comprehensive understanding of your business goals and requirements. It also helps you avoid mistakes and start your project with ease.

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Manage Your Business

Looking for a fast and easy way to monitor your invoices and expenses? There are a wide range of online invoicing tools, budget trackers and smartphone apps that can help you track your invoices, manage your expenses and ensure your clients are paid on time. Theres the Desjardinss Billing and Expense Tracker tool thats specifically designed for small businesses and self-employed workers. It helps you manage invoices and expense accounts for free while allowing you to access all information from your mobile device, tablet or computer.

Register Your Business

Depending on the province and territories you live in, you need to officially register your business. Whats the name of your company? What service do you provide? What type of business structure will your company adopt? Checking out the Canada Revenue Agencys online business site or Quebecs business registry, Le Registraire des entreprises, can help answer your questions and ensure youre registering your business the right way.

Promote Your Business

Facebook and Twitter are great platforms to amplify your message. Promoted posts, website blogs and free website hosting tools are all ways you can develop an online presence for your company. Not only can they help get the word out, they can help with marketing and building your audience as well.

Track Your Business

There are a plethora of goal-setting and tracking applications online that can help you create timelines and deadlines for ensuring that you are on the path to success. GoalsOnTrack, for example, is a free mobile app that helps you create a template for tracking your project.

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The subject of the hit Netflix documentary "Making A Murderer" is engaged.

Steven Avery, the 54-year-old Wisconsin native who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach, will wed Las Vegas legal secretary Lynn Hartman, according to Avery's lawyer.

"Steven Avery's engagement to Lynn is one bright spot in an otherwise unbelievably tragic and unfair life story," Kathleen Zellner, who is handling Avery's wrongful conviction case, told US Weekly. "Cheers to both of them."

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According to the Daily Mail, Avery and Hartman, 53, have been dating for eight months but just met face-to-face for the first time last week at Waupun Correctional Institute in Waupun, Wisconsin, where Avery is serving his sentence.

"She's going to be my future wife. We'll be laughing forever," Avery told the Daily Mail. "I'm happy. She treats me decent, she loves me. She's kind of spoiling me right now. I just want to be happy and enjoy my life. I think I did enough time."

Avery has been incarcerated at Waupun for the past 11 years. He previously served 18 years of a 32-year sentence for a rape and murder conviction in 1985 before DNA testing exonerated him.

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Steven Avery is pictured in this file undated booking photo obtained by Reuters January 29, 2016. (REUTERS/Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department/Handout via Reuters/Files)

Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, was also convicted in the 2005 murder of Halbach, but his conviction was overturned in August. Prosecutors have 90 days to bring Dassey, 26, to trial again or he will be released later this year.

Avery was previously married to Lori Dassey from 1982 to 1988 and they have four children together.

In July, Netflix announced "Making A Murderer" would return for a second season. The new episodes will focus on post-conviction life and the fight to get Avery released from prison.

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9 Things Not In 'Making A Murderer' That You Need To Know About See Gallery
Winnipeg  or "Winterpeg"  as it's lovingly known during half of the year  sometimes gets a bad rap once the temperatures are below freezing. But when the city isn't contending with bone-chilling cold fronts and brutal snowfall, it's a playground ripe with nature and wildlife waiting to be explored.

And that's where "Like A Tourist" host Dan Rodo comes into play. He's teamed up with local Winnipegger Grant Calder with the goal of uncovering the city's unique hidden gems that'll make Calder forget about the four years he spent in Toronto.

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For more on where to find the spots teeming with nature, check out the full episode below.

Where To Go: FortWhyte Alive

1961 McCreary Road, Winnipeg, Man.

If you want to get a sense of what Winnipegers are like, go find yourself a bison. Like the official animal of Manitoba, locals are generally chill, but mess around with them and well, you can probably imagine what happens next. You'll find plenty of wild bison at FortWhyte Alive. The environmental centre features 640 acres of land, lakes and wetlands ripe for kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding. The area's also ideal for anyone looking to hike alongside Winnipeg's wildlife.

What To Do: Canoeing At Oak Hammock Marsh

1 Snow Goose Bay On Highway 220, Winnipeg, Man.

Keep the outdoor exploration going with a journey to Oak Hammock Marsh. The conservation area offers a not-too-far escape with a 40-minute drive north from the downtown core. Bring or rent a canoe and trade in city noise for birds and local wildlife hidden among the tallgrasses and bullrushes.

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What To Eat: Bridge Drive-In

766 Jubilee Ave, Winnipeg, Man.

Spending an entire day under the sun will leave just about anyone in need of a cold treat. So make your way to the Bridge Drive-In (or if you're a local, the BDI) for some of the creamiest soft serve in the city. Standout items include the "Sleeping Beauty," a hollowed out pineapple filled with two types of sundaes, topped with bananas and pineapple slices and then smothered in whipped cream  definitely a step above your typical banana split.
By Paula Ethier, Breast Cancer Survivor and CIBC Run for the Cure Changemaker

I can't remember a time when breast cancer didn't cast a shadow over my life. For more than three decades it has been a constant, unwanted and unwelcome companion. When I was 14, my mother passed away from breast cancer. She was 39 years old. Prior to that, the disease took her older sister at the age of 42.

I'm not sure why I was shocked when I was diagnosed in 2002, in my thirties. Certainly, it wasn't a surprise given my family history. I suppose the severity of the diagnosis played a role. Late Stage 3. The future did not look good, or long. I was recently married, and had actually discovered the lump after an examination following the miscarriage of what would have been my first born child.

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Early on in the treatment stage I was informed that I would likely never have a child. That was more devastating to me than the diagnosis itself. It didn't take long for the stitches to come apart at the seams. My career stalled, my relationships suffered, my confidence vanished and my marriage fell under the weight of everything that came with that diagnosis.

I know that my mother would be alive today if the treatment and services available to me were available to her.

Because of my mother's fate, I knew enough that I was already going for regular mammograms. I thought that was enough. It was a good start, but like a lot of young women I didn't really educate myself about breast cancer. I didn't know that mammograms alone, especially for younger women, aren't always the most effective diagnostic tool because of the fact that our breasts are denser younger in life, and that ultrasound might have detected my cancer earlier.

Part of the reason for my lack of awareness was because, despite growing up around the disease, nobody ever really spoke about it. My mother certainly never discussed her breast cancer with me. An entire generation, and generations before her, never spoke about breast cancer. Not with friends, not with family. People with the disease lived in silence, and silence kills.

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Fortunately, that attitude has changed dramatically in the past 20 years, in large part thanks to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. The event has grown to become our country's largest single-day, volunteer-led event in support of the breast cancer cause. It has changed the perception of breast cancer from a disease that people were ashamed to talk about to a movement that has brought together friends, families and loved ones in support of the cause and raised research dollars that have allowed us to learn so much about the disease.

In my lifetime I have seen significant and positive changes in the fight against breast cancer. I know that my mother would be alive today if the treatment and services available to me were available to her. I know this because mortality rates have decreased by 44% since 1986. Today, the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer in Canada is 88 per cent. This is all due to advances in early detection, improvements in screening technology and better treatment options.

Women affected by breast cancer are living longer, healthier lives. They are achieving their career goals. They are travelling the world. They are having children, and their children are having children. But there is still so much that needs to be done.

So much of the research that has gone into these advances are directly related to the CIBC Run for the Cure. Dollars raised have helped fund more than 500 research grants, and involved more than 1500 researchers, all doing their part in the fight against breast cancer.

Women affected by breast cancer are living longer, healthier lives. They are achieving their career goals. They are travelling the world. They are having children, and their children are having children. But there is still so much that needs to be done. The disease's assault on my family didn't end with me. After my diagnosis came my sister, then three cousins. Tragically, more lives have been lost. Some recently. All too young.

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That's why I continue to passionately support the CIBC Run for the Cure. Keeping the conversation about breast cancer going is the only way we will ever, finally, destroy it. I raise money and run because I know that my story isn't unique. It is far too commonplace to bear. One in nine Canadian women are expected to develop breast cancer during their lifetime and last year, an estimated 5,000 women died from the disease.

We've come so far, but clearly we are not yet done. Supporting the run means hope in helping to identify new genetic factors that predispose people to breast cancer. It means hope in developing state-of-the-art technology to design much-needed treatments for breast cancer. It means hope in developing new breast reconstructive surgery procedures that allow women to live better, happier and more confident lives. My mom didn't have that hope or the choices we have today.

One in nine Canadian women are expected to develop breast cancer during their lifetime and last year, an estimated 5,000 women died from the disease.

About five years after my diagnosis, my biggest goal in life was realized when I adopted my daughter, Lily. Through a failed marriage, a miscarriage and what at one time would have been a terminal diagnosis, I was determined to be a mother. I knew I could be because I knew things were getting better. I knew there was a reason to hope for the future, and that I would be there to see it.

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My daughter is now seven years old and on October 2, she will join me, and tens of thousands of Canadians for her first Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. She even has her own fundraising page and like her mom, and so many others, is a Changemaker in the fight to create a world without breast cancer.

Please visit cibcrunforthecure.com and consider donating or participating in this year's event. We are all Changemakers, when we Run.

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There is an elephant in the U.S. election room and it is called welfare. Americans will soon have to choose if they will go Stronger together or will Make America great again. Both presidential candidates seem to agree that more people should enter the middle class and contribute to national growth. But how exactly are those at the bottom going to climb the economic ladder?

Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz highlights that "We have an economic, and not only moral, interest in saving the American dream." Both inequality and poverty create financial instability, whereas a rise in the income share of the bottom 20 per cent actually boosts growth. With 13.5 per cent of Americans living in poverty, the country faces a serious threat to financial stability. Combined with high dropout rates, this could be detrimental to the near-future economy if the government does not intervene.

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What if a more innovative and economical program could provide its beneficiaries with the incentives to work?

The percentage of poor people covered by welfare has shrunk in the last two decades. For example, in 1996, 58.7 per cent of children below the poverty line received welfare; by 2011, the number had dropped to 20.9 per cent.

Education for marginalized groups is also problematic. Even though high school completion rates have risen to 82 per cent nationally, rates among the Hispanic, black, and native communities are significantly lower.

With almost one out of four American children living in poverty, many of whom end up dropping out of high school, we should focus on finding a solution for them, their families, and the good of the economy. A safety net provided by the government is necessary in order to reach those that the market cannot or is not interested in.

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The usual counterarguments to welfare are their cost and inefficiency, and the dependency that poor people develop. What if a more innovative and economical program could provide its beneficiaries with the incentives to work? As behavioural sciences and specifically the nudge theory suggest, incentives can be effective instruments for shaping behaviour. For example, if families were required to keep their children enrolled in school in order to receive government assistance, they would be more likely to do so.

So instead of creating multiple initiatives for poverty, inequality, and education, why not link enrollment in school with conditional cash transfers? What if another condition would be to have a healthier lifestyle, perhaps to go for check-ups or participate in therapy when necessary? Then each dollar spent in cash transfers would save many in medical bills and motivate families to keep their children educated and healthy, which could then lead to a decline in poverty and inequality.

People in the world's richest country should not live in poverty or drop out of school.

Does it sound too idealistic? I have partially described Bolsa Familia, a program run for more than a decade in Brazil and praised by the World Bank. The program is a tool for social and economic transformation and reaches more than 46 million people. In sum, poor families with children receive an average of R$70.00 (about US$35) in direct transfers if they commit to taking their children for regular health check-ups and keeping them in school.

This has resulted in not only reducing current poverty but also, by investing in children, future poverty. Additionally, since Bolsa Familia is partnered with a Brazilian bank to distribute the funds, beneficiaries have opened accounts and use bank card technologies, while also reducing government corruption.

Conditional cash transfers could motivate more welfare recipients to become technologically and financially literate, empower them to meet deadlines and goals, and help them gain the confidence and skills to enter the workforce. As the program can run through online direct deposits, having welfare offices in every city won't be necessary, which is not only expensive but also stigmatizes the poor.

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We need to think of welfare as a socially and technologically innovative system that is sustainable and efficient and keeps the economy stable by reducing inequality and poverty. Even though we tend to think of welfare as wasted money, the Brazilian example shows that existing alternatives are efficient, help the market reach marginalized populations, and keep the economy safe by reducing inequality and poverty.

People in the world's richest country should not live in poverty or drop out of school. Both presidential candidates agree that as a society Americans ought to provide opportunities to everyone. Hillary Clinton has accepted that we need to re-evaluate Welfare Reform but hasn't discussed a specific plan. Donald Trump has said that he won't cut welfare but the country needs to be rich first in order to afford it. In the coming debates, they need to explain how they would achieve it.

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When it comes to malnutrition, babies are among the world's most vulnerable people. In places like Cambodia, World Vision's Starting Strong program protects little ones from life-long stunting and death. Photo: World Vision

As a child advocate, I recently had the opportunity to travel to Cambodia to see some of the work World Vision is doing to make a difference. It was the first time I took my sons to see how many people in developing countries live. I tracked my experience in this travel journal. This is the first of three parts.

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Day 1: On Our Way

This morning my 14-year-old son held my hand on our way to the airport. I cherish these moments as he is growing so fast. I know he is excited about our trip, and maybe a bit apprehensive.

Photo: Joan Kelley Weisshaar Walker

We are going to Cambodia to see a new World Vision program that we are supporters of called Starting Strong. It is staggering to realize that in Cambodia, a reported 32 per cent of children are stunted. Due to a lack of proper nutrition and medical care, they didn't grow as well as they could have. No matter what is done to address it, after the age of two, they will have to live with the effects of stunting - both physically and mentally.

The Starting Strong program cares for little ones in those critical first years of life. It focuses on pre- and post-natal care, and infant care for the first 1,000 days of life and provides families and communities with education on nutrition to prevent stunting.

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I am taking my own children for the first time to see the work we support with World Vision. My kids will be exposed to many things foreign to them like extreme poverty and malnutrition.

My dream is for my kids to learn about how other people live and to embrace the good work that World Vision is doing to make positive changes for people who need our help.

Day 2: Overcoming Tragedy

I know how important this work is, but I am learning a great deal more about the situation that drew us here. Our driver today, known as "Red", was only 10 years old when he was separated from his family, and forced to work hard labor to support the Khmer Rouge.

It's very complicated but in a nutshell, the Khmer Rouge drove everyone out of the city of Phnom Penh and started a dictatorship and genocide that split families, robbed identities, coerced the world with propaganda and killed millions.

Red was given a new name, a new identity and brain washed into thinking he was on the right side.

Red walked us around the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school and the actual location where many prisoners were tortured, forced into false confessions and killed. He explained how he came to remember his actual name, how he survived by his obedience and how he was reunited with surviving family members.

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Red took us around the genocide museum, sharing painful stories of Cambodia's past. Photo: Joan Kelley Weisshaar Walker

I could see the pain and worn feeling on Red's face as he talked about it, even today.

"Do you think your son understands what happened here?" I ask.

Red responds, "That's difficult."

Many students visit this museum and they still don't understand exactly what happened and why. The survivors are still asking too. It's been about 30 years since the Khmer Rouge left Cambodia broken and desolate.

After this long struggle, millions of Cambodians still suffer from the loss of their youth, family and identity. Cambodia still has a long way to go to recover.

Joy amidst pain

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Visiting this World Vision Urban Hub, I was reminded of the role children's laughter plays in keeping a society going. Photo: Joan Kelley Weisshaar Walker

What a joy! We are visiting a World Vision Urban Hub in the city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

We were greeted by many smiling, laughing children and some parents and caregivers. These children have a new outlook on life, there is hope for them, something Cambodians have not enjoyed for years.

But now with World Vision's help, Urban Hubs like this create a place for community. It's a safe place where people can meet each other, make friends, play, learn and talk.

I felt welcome there, too. I coloured. I hula-hooped. I was adorned with paper necklaces. I met a lot of wonderful people and made memories my own children and I will cherish forever.

Still, the pain of genocide is never far away. One adult who had lived through it said that Cambodians lost their childhoods because of war. This is not acceptable.

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"I have a dream for Cambodia that one day Cambodians will be able to help and sponsor other children in other countries," he said, referring to the way Canadians sponsor children in developing countries through World Vision. And to be honest, that is my dream too!

Caring for Cambodia's youngest

It's hard to believe malnutrition is still linked to about 45 per cent of all child deaths globally. In 2015 alone 5.9 million children around the world died before the age of five.

Some of the most vulnerable are newborns and World Vision has launched Starting Strong to address these issues around the world. My husband and I support the Starting Strong program in Cambodia. We take this issue very seriously and have come all this way from Canada to see the need and the work for ourselves.

My observation is that the poverty level is much worse than I anticipated. The good work done by World Vision is faced with many big challenges, but people's lives are better because World Vision is here.

Would you like to learn more? Check back here in the next few days, to read the second and third parts of my Cambodian travel journal.

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At the World Vision Urban Hub in Cambodia I painted "We  You" on a wall. Photo: Joan Kelley Weisshaar Walker

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Have you heard about social enterprises? Social enterprises apply business solutions to social problems. They're incredibly hot right now. So hot, in fact, that I've just come back from the Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) conference in San Francisco where there were over 2000 attendees.

It's the largest gathering of impact investors, social entrepreneurs, foundations, corporations, and global non-profits that are looking for environmentally and economically sustainable solutions to the world's problems. It's a rapidly emerging ecosystem of players looking to deploy capital to solve some of our most persistent global problems, such as access to clean water, access to education, food scarcity, and the accelerating environmental degradation.

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In Ontario, where there are well over 10,000, the provincial government recently unveiled its second five-year plan to boost social enterprises. It's stated goals are to accelerate the growth of the social enterprise sector by investing in and equipping social enterprises with solid business fundamentals; connecting social enterprises to markets and capital to grow and scale; and demonstrating the value of social enterprise and social finance by promoting its potential to investors, government, and communities.

The growth and fascination with social enterprises is fuelled by a few things. One is the demographic influence of millennials who are well documented to want to make an impact in the world both with their work and their purchasing. (87 per cent of millennials purchase products with a social or environmental benefit, 67 per cent would prefer to work for socially responsible companies, and 45 per cent of millennials say they want to use their wealth to help others according to Conscious Company magazine).

As well, family foundations, financial institutions, philanthropists and investors are getting more interested in using their capital to achieve some social good objectives in addition to the financial ones -- some, like CASE Foundation, BlackRock, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are further ahead than others. Corporations themselves are looking to invest in social enterprise as one of their CSR strategies, and many create their own socially responsible ventures such as BMO's Women in Leadership mutual fund which invests in North American companies that promote gender-diverse leadership.

In another hybrid, B corporations are springing up all over the world -- at last count there were 1882 B Corporations in 50 countries, covering 130 industries according to bcorporation.net. B Corps are for-profit corporations that have been certified to meet social and environmental standards.

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It's still a forming and nascent field that is far away from the mainstream, but if SOCAP is an indication, it is gaining momentum.

Strangely absent from this space, and the conversations around impact investing, are charities; I find this paradoxical. For the most part, the new social entrepreneurs are trying so solve the issues that charities have been addressing for hundreds of years, hoping to leverage start-up capital and a for-profit model in order to innovate, achieve lasting change, or marry profits with the social bottom line. From my informal conversations, many of them consider charities old and dusty with out-dated problem solving methods. They often think they can do it better.

While there is a lot to be said about charities' lack of capacity to innovate, engage technology, and think more long-term without fear that their funding for specific programs will dry up, there is a certain naive solutionism on behalf of many enthusiastic social entrepreneurs. The majority of them, just like any other start-up, will not succeed. That is just the reality.

On the other hand, charities are the original social enterprises. I have seen over and over that the biggest and most valuable asset that charities have, one that is hard to gain and replicate, is a deep knowledge of the issues or problems they are trying to solve, and the communities that are affected or involved. This knowledge is something one does not acquire overnight as so many of the nuances around issues are systemic and complex in nature.

In addition, many charities have launched social enterprises to fund their core work, and more continue to do so. For example FoodShare Toronto runs Share Baskets, which creates locally-sourced food baskets to raise funds for their charitable food and food education programs; Battered Women's Support Services in Vancouver runs My Sister's Closet, a shop advocating a zero-waste philosophy which sells new and second-hand women's clothing to help fund violence prevention and intervention services; and Yarmouth Association for Community Residential Options runs All-Ways-Us, a social enterprise that produces a diverse line of all natural bath and beauty products.

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In addition, some charities, like CanadaHelps, have social enterprise models, although they are a charity legally. CanadaHelps (of which I am the CEO) is the largest online donation platform in North America, and has processed over $650 million in charitable donations to aid Canada's 86,000 charities in carrying out their missions. It's a recipient of this year's EY Entrepreneur of the Year Special Citation award, and what sets it apart is that it's mostly self-funded, generating revenues from sales, but still firmly mission-driven. Everything it earns is re-invested back into the organization to speed growth and help more charities.

If we help charities by investing in them and their capacity to experiment with operating models or launch adjacent social enterprises, I think they have excellent chances -- perhaps better than anyone -- to solve and innovate. There's lots of interest from investors in investing in social enterprises that make a profit, but just think what could be achieved if some of the impact capital flowed into social enterprises or initiatives launched by charities.

It is a shame that charities are not bigger part of the current excitement around social entrepreneurship -- we need to recognize the vital role in making this world a better place they've held until now, as well as their tremendous potential to accelerate their impact in the future through better and sustained access to investment capital.
Martin Barraud via Getty Images Doctor pushing wheelchair

For years, we've had a small group of very vocal people who call themselves psychiatric survivors -- people who have had psychiatric treatment, do not agree with it and consider that they have survived it. Now, thanks to CBC radio, we have someone dubbed a psychiatric refugee -- a woman who fled British Columbia for Ontario to escape her involuntary status in a B.C. hospital. And, it was said, she is not the only so-called refugee.

Comparing yourself to people who survived a genocide like the Holocaust or saying that you are comparable to Syrians and others fleeing in leaky, dangerous boats from war is absurd. But what is also absurd is the story that this anonymous person called Sarah by the CBC told. It is just not logical but it is being used to justify the Charter challenge to the B.C. Mental Health Act that I suggested was misguided.

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People deserve to know and to understand what the Mental Health Act is about. They deserve to know the processes that are in place to commit someone against their will and to treat them. And they need to know the safeguards that are in place to prevent excesses and protect the rights of the individual. These are never explained.

First, I encourage you to listen to the interview. To begin with, Sarah said that she went to the emergency at a hospital with her mother because of troubling life events and she wanted help. She was admitted, she said, voluntarily but then her status was changed to involuntary.

Now, for her to have been declared involuntary, she would have had to have satisfied all four of these criteria (page 18 of the guide):

Is suffering from a mental disorder that seriously impairs her ability to react appropriately to her environment or to associate with others;

Requires psychiatric treatment in or through a designated facility;

Requires care, supervision and control in or through a designated facility to prevent her substantial mental or physical deterioration or for her own protection or the protection of others; and

Is not suitable as a voluntary patient.

If she was involuntary, a licensed physician must have assessed her and certified that she met the criteria. Then, another independent physician conducted an examination with the same criteria to extend the stay beyond 48 hours.

( See form 4 where the reasons for the involuntary decision must be listed.)

At the end of one month, she would be examined again to determine if she still met the involuntary admission criteria and the proper form would be filled out to extend her stay a further month (page 20 of the guide). If she no longer needed to be involuntary during this period, the doctor can cancel it and she can always appeal her status to a review board at any time.

Once a patient has been deemed involuntary, they are given a form 5 (consent to treatment) (page 173), which explains to them what treatment is being given. Note that Sarah told the CBC that no one ever discussed treatment with her. They had to.

There are so many holes in what she told the CBC that cast doubt on all she said.

In addition, Sarah's rights would have been explained to her and she would be given a form 13 to sign (page 182). She did say she had to sign something but she was not sure what it was. The person having her sign would have told her that she had a right to a lawyer, that she would be regularly examined by a doctor to ensure she was being held appropriately, informed that she could apply to a review board to assess her capacity, go to court to challenge the doctor's decision and/or request a second opinion from a different doctor.

Next, she would be given a form 15 (page 186) to fill out so that she could nominate a near relative to be informed of her status. She did say that her mother went to the emergency with her so I have to ask where her mother was in all this. Surely she would have been liaising with the hospital staff over diagnoses and treatments. While her mother would have no authority under the act, most doctors do encourage family participation. During the CBC interview, Sarah said that she wished her mother could be involved in her treatment and there is nothing in the act that says she can't be.

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Sarah told the CBC that she absconded during a smoke break and that a form 21 (page 193) had been filled out. That form obligates a peace officer to return her to hospital. Sarah said she went to police in Calgary and told them, and that they called her psychiatrist but they did not hold her for return. The form 21 is only valid within British Columbia, but if 60 days had expired, it would not be valid and she would be deemed discharged.

There are so many holes in what she told the CBC that cast doubt on all she said. It is important for people to understand, particularly in light of the court challenge, what protections there are for an individual who is involuntary. This is not something that anyone takes lightly and is done for the best interest of the patient and for society.

The infamous Vince Li, who beheaded Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus, was initially picked up by Toronto Police in 2004 and taken to hospital. He left hospital against medical advice as there was no mechanism with which to keep him.

Imagine what would have happened if he had been treated initially? Tim McLean would be alive, his family would not have suffered the pain and anguish they did, and the first Mountie on scene might not have developed severe PTSD and eventually taken his own life.

As for Vince Li, he has done so well on treatment that he is now living in a halfway house. I can only guess at the pain he must feel knowing what he did while psychotic and that he would not likely have done if he had been properly treated at the outset.

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Vancouver resident Erin Hawkes has written extensively on how the so-called forced treatment had saved her life. She has written in the National Post, numerous times in the Huffington Post and in the Tyee.

The CBC should interview her as well on the court challenge and they should do better fact-checking. If the plaintiffs in this Charter challenge call Sarah as a witness, we will see how well her story holds up to cross-examination.

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Branding is about more than image recognition for customers. Great brands give their customers something to belong to and talk about. They always have a great story. I was reminded of that last week while in Ontario cottage country visiting relatives and friends before returning to Toronto for some business meetings.

The town of Magnetawan is nestled between Lake Cecebe and Ahmic Lake in the heart of Ontario cottage country, about an hour north of Muskoka. While the once proud marina, restaurant and general store have all burned down under separate incidences and shady circumstances in recent years, from their ashes have emerged new establishments that fill the gap of needs for the town residents and an influx of seasonal guests.

The town of Magnetawan, at the peak of permanent resident status boasts a population of 300. It would hardly seem the launching pad of a global brand.

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But this little town has its own shirt, proudly displayed in all caps as DOWNTOWN MAGNETAWAN across the front. The shirts have a great story. And it's a story that can teach us about good branding. If you've been to the Mag, you likely own a shirt. And if you own a shirt you share the same story and knowledge of the place with others who have been there. Downtown Magnetawan is of course an oxymoron. You could blink and miss it, but that's the point.

For years the Downtown General Store sold the shirts. It was the kind of place that proudly boasted "If we don't have it, you don't need it" which pretty much summed up their approach to retailing. They had it all. Including the sought after shirts at the front, and a shrine of photos that people had sent them, sporting their shirts in places all over the world. Even former U.S. president Jimmy Carter was pictured wearing one.

On two occasions, once in France and the other time in New Zealand, while wearing a Downtown Magnetawan shirt, I had a complete stranger run up to me and tell me they'd been there, which then provoked a conversation of our experiences anchored in this little town.

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Those that wear the shirt have a shared story. They're members of a global tribe. And they always have an emotional connection to the place and their time there, whether it be square dancing in their bare feet at the community centre on Saturday night, cruising down the lake in an old wood launch, or simply coming to town for an ice cream.

Unfortunately the General Store burned down in 2011, and with it the shirts, and the shelves of photos of people wearing them from all over the world, methodically collected and display over the years. In a curious twist of small town politics, the trademark to produce them remained dormant for five years, further adding to the story. Those that had a shirt then became part of history briefly locked in time. Thankfully this year the Home Hardware store in town acquired the rights to produce the shirts once again, and they are now proudly building up that photo shrine, selling the shirts in store and online, as well as helping people share their stories and photos through a Facebook page and the use of hashtags on Twitter @DTmagnetawan and Instagram.

So what's the learning in all this?

1. Great brands always have a story. Downtown Magnetawan shirts had humble beginnings in a small town, and became a global brand simply through brand ambassadors wearing them in their travels. That's a cool story.

2. Secrecy adds value. If you've been there you will understand the absurdity of downtown precluding the name. The shared humour in that is the secret. Many people also have a hard time pronouncing Magnetawan. It's right up there with Penetanguishene. But those who have been there can say it, and often refer to it simply as "The Mag." Fellow tribe members of course, understand.

3. Give people a way to share their story around the brand. For years the photo shrine helped tell the story of Downtown Magnetawan shirts worn across the world. Now those stories are also told through online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where tribe members post photos and share stories.

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Chris Wattie / Reuters Britain's Prince William, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attend a welcome ceremony at the British Columbia Legislature in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, September 24, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

By Tiffany Greene with contributions from Stephen Punwasi.

Get the fancy dinnerware out, the Royal Family is in town. Will and Kate are making an appearance in B.C. to remind us they're still in charge. We're not prudes, we're just cranky millennials -- so we're still going to celebrate. Every day of the tour, we're going to look at how well the loyal subjects of the Commonwealth realm are doing. You know, just to see how much bang for our buck we get.

The Cost of The Monarchy

Oh, you didn't know it costs us anything? It's actually one of the pricier things we do in Canada. According to the Governor General's financial report, we spent approximately $20.86 million last year.

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These aren't just costs we pay in Canada, the whole Commonwealth realm has similar expenses.

Although, there is a line item in the annual report that isn't mentioned in the financials. The "support from other government departments" tallies up to another $22.06 million. Is $42.92 million starting to sound a little more significant?

Hidden Fees

Then there's the hidden costs. The monarchy's provincial lieutenant - governors are covered for expenses. The last number we could obtain worked out to $7,604,502 in 2012. A good portion of it is maintaining stately properties, like the 29-room Fanningbank in PEI. Oh, and that doesn't include royal visits, like the one Will and Kate are on right now.

There's no final price tag on how much the visit will cost Canadians, but using previous visits as a guide, we peg it at around $137,500/day. That works out to around $1.5 million -- excluding the cost of gifts THEY give. If it sounds like a lot, it is. The cost of hosting Will and Kate is three times the amount given to study foreign ownership by the federal government. Or 75 per cent of the projected revenue to come in from the Vancouver Vacant Home tax. Not exactly chump change to fly them around for a vacation.

Across The Realms

These aren't just costs we pay in Canada, the whole Commonwealth realm has similar expenses. Over the next week, we'll be looking at the four largest countries in the realm -- we tried to do five, but the government of Papa New Guinea was less than helpful with their statistics. So, we'll have to deal with just statistics from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

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Canada

The grand total that we estimate (excluding the cost of hosting), is $50.5 million per year. That works out to $1.44 Canadian per capita. That could be down from the $1.85 the Monarchist League of Canada estimated in 2012, but we're assuming they added all of the one offs we get per year -- like the $7.5 million we pitched in for the Queen's Birthday Jubilee. Yeah, $7.5 million -- and you probably thought that free coffee Starbucks gives you is lavish.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the monarchy estimates it costs NZ$4.3 million, or around a dollar a person in 2010. Our look at the same year turned up NZ$18.6 million, or NZ$3.32/person.

United Kingdom

The UK gets the pleasure of entertaining the Monarchy year round, so it's no surprise they pay a (metric?) buttload. There's this year's 150 million pound renovation for Buckingham Palace, the official residence. But that's owned by the people, so apparently we shouldn't factor that in. Outside of that, there's another 42.8 million budgeted in the latest accounts. This works out to roughly 0.80 per capita.

Australia

Australia seems to be under the impression that they don't pay anything -- outside of the cost of visits. Don't worry, Australia, we'll do the math for you! The Governor General's office ran up a tab of $17,669,000.

In addition to that, there's also the costs outlined in their 2013 financial report. There was a bill of $12,767,924 dollars in this report, but they paid for it with "revenue." Notes detail that revenue "is generated from the sale of replacement medals to recipients who earlier received awards under the Australian Honors and Awards system." I'm not fluent in Australian, but it sounds like they're billing the country for it.

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We'll exclude the latter and say it costs A$0.79 per capita. However, if you're Australian and reading this, it's probably much higher. (US$0.76)

The costs per capita contributed from every person in Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Australia. We used US dollars as the currency because we needed a neutral currency to compare.

What Does This Have To Do With Housing?

According to the data and studies we're going to share with you folks over the next week, a lot. Most commonwealth countries are being impacted by the same issues. Home prices, income stagnation, and the institutions governing them seem to look pretty much the same. The value of being in a monarchy is disappearing faster than your retirement funds.

The Monarchist Leagues always say "for the price of a cup of coffee, you can enjoy the stability of the Crown." As a millennial in a post globalized society, you're probably wondering "WTF does the stability of the Crown mean?" We'll take a look at that over the next week. Let the discussion begin.

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Following the EU referendum, a friend told me that he had voted to leave. His reasons were nothing to do with immigration or the democratic deficit in EU institutions. No. He said he just wanted to deliver a slap in the face to the establishment who were lining up to tell him of the dire consequences that would befall the British people if they left the European Union. Isn't that a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face, I said. Yes, he replied, but it felt good to puncture the smugness of the high and mighty who hold us with such disdain and contempt.

This story brings me to Jeremy Corbyn and his emphatic win in the second leadership of the Labour party contest within a year. The more he is attacked and denigrated by mainstream media and the luminaries of the Blairite years, the stronger he becomes. Those who constantly tell us the Labour Party has no chance of winning in a general election under his leadership are ignoring the disillusionment of the many with politics as usual.

Who would have thought Bernie Sanders, who defined himself as a socialist, would come to within a whisker of winning the Democratic Party nomination in the US! The country where describing someone as a socialist is used as an insult. In fact many commentators and pollsters believe that if Bernie Sanders and not Hillary Clinton were running against Donald Trump, he would be doing much better than her. She is being punished for being the establishment candidate, and we may end up with President Donald Trump.

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Jeremy Corbyn has transformed the Labour Party and politics in Britain. He has made it acceptable to be anti-austerity and to demand investments, not cuts, to revive the economy. He has articulated an alternative to neo-liberal economics, that has been the only game in town for so long. The Green Party has advocated such policies prior to the last general election, and I am delighted that, thanks to Jeremy Corbyn, they are now Labour's as well.

Huge numbers, young and old, have flocked (membership over half a million) to join the Party inspired by a man who has throughout his political career fought for the underdog. Yet, in the words of Andy Burnham, he has been treated appallingly by the parliamentary Labour Party.

Party members brimming with ideas and energy had to spend their time, ingenuity and inventiveness fighting attempts by those MPs to remove him by whatever means possible. Imagine what could have been achieved if they had worked with party members to highlight the sheer incompetence of the Tory government.

This army of enthusiastic members, supported by the MPs, would be able to divert their talents and energy to exposing this government and promoting their alternative vision for Britain. They need to be able to reach ordinary voters directly to penetrate the fog of distortion and untruths peddled by mainstream media.

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The people who are inspired by Jeremy Corbyn are not aliens from another solar system. They are ordinary people who are living through the insecurities that are blighting their lives. Young people crippled by debt, spending up to seventy percent of their wages paying rent to unscrupulous landlords for inadequate shelter; older people most in need of our NHS seeing it being starved of funds and being privatised by stealth.
The past week has been an unedifying one in the world of international diplomacy.

World leaders have been at the United Nations in New York for their annual gathering at the General Assembly where they immediately disappointed with a watered down agreement to consider reforming how they deal with the growing numbers of refugees.

If that were not enough, the proceedings were then overshadowed by an outbreak of finger pointing between the Americans and Russians over the collapse of the Syrian ceasefire.

Washington accused Russia of bombing the humanitarian convoy in Syria that killed at least 20 and undermining the truce.

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Russia denied it was involved. But that hasn't stopped the Americans continuing to stoke outrage against Moscow in same week the US itself had helped undermine the ceasefire by killing 63 Syrian troops in an air strike - an attack the US insists was unintentional.

Whether or not Russia did carry out the convoy strike, and past experience of the veracity of American allegations in conflicts where it has taken clear sides gives pause for thought (remember Defense Secretary Cohen's claim ahead of NATO's attack on Serbia in 1999 that 100,000 Albanians had been killed in Kosovo), Washington's attempt to take the moral high ground over Syria is undermined by its actions in Yemen.

The Americans are supplying weapons and intelligence in support of the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war that's involved similar attacks on humanitarian workers, particularly hospitals and clinics.

Moscow is unlikely to feel under much pressure to change its approach in Syria as long as Washington doesn't change its approach to Yemen

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And it's not just the Americans backing the Saudis.

As my former colleague, Robin Lustig, has pointed out in a powerful piece, the UK's new Prime Minister, Theresa May, has brushed off criticism of British arms sales to Saudi Arabia emphasising Riyadh's cooperation against Islamist terrorism.

The hypocrisy and double standards of the major powers and their allies - be they the Syrian or Saudi governments - are more than just words though.

They also directly undermine attempts to bring an end to the fighting and suffering of civilians that all parties claim to want - as I've argued before in the context of Ukraine.

With both sides effectively saying "do as I say, not as I do" and, in the eyes of their opponents, being rank dishonest, it makes it extremely difficult to build even the minimum of trust that's needed for a durable peace effort.

As the siege of Syria's second city Aleppo intensifies again and the Saudi campaign in Yemen grinds on, there is an urgent need for the main powers to get back round the table and at least agree to stop fuelling the conflicts.

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But this week has shown that prospect seems remote.
St Lucia Tourist Board

As a professional travel writer I have been lucky enough to travel to many exotic and exciting places. But on a winter's day in the UK, when I'm sat in my office and it's already dark outside at 4pm, it is to St Lucia that I turn my thoughts.

I was fortunate enough to travel to this incredible Caribbean Island a few years ago. My quest was to interview the Nobel Laureate writer Derek Walcott about his personal favourite places on the island. Walcott has lived most of his life in St Lucia and this verdant volcanic island appears in much of his work. In his epic poem Omeros, which is a reworking of Homer's Odyssey, he writes: "In the mist of the sea there is a horned island/with deep green harbours". The horns are the island's volcanic plugs, the Pitons, which rise as two peaks and provide fantastic views over the lush rainforest interior for those with energy enough to climb them.

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The nearest town to Walcott is Gros Islet, just outside Rodney Bay, and he told me about the Friday night Jump Up, where stallholders set up shop to sell barbecued meats and fish and to ladle out rum punch to the revellers. It is a huge street party with music blaring out of competing stereos that has been going 40-odd years and is on most people's to-do list when they come to St Lucia. Because it is such a tourist attraction some people can be disappointed that they see more Americans and Brits than they see St Lucians. The locals tend to join the party late, when they have finished their shifts at the surrounding restaurants and bars. So if you want to get the local vibe at the Gros Islet Jump Up, then it is best to show up past 11pm, when the families of tourists have gone to their beds and the locals are ready to lime.

There is a competing Friday night street party in the fishing village of Anse-La-Raye a bit further down the West coast. Known variously as seafood Friday, Friday Fish Fry or Friday Fish Fiesta it was set up as a showcase to all the great seafood caught in the area, from whelks and lobster to snapper and conch and to provide a similar party atmosphere for the guests at the hotels in the area so they wouldn't have to head up to Gros Islet. I never made it to the Anse-La-Raye fry, and have heard mixed reports that makes me think it depends very much on the time of year and particular week you go as to whether you will get a full on street party or just a few stalls selling street food. Word is you should arrive early here to get the best food as some stalls run out later in the evening.

Instead, I headed to the other side of the island after a tip-off from Walcott that there was a more authentic party taking place on a Saturday night in Dennery on the east coast. As there are fewer hotels near this fishing harbour, you will find far fewer tourists. Instead you will find plenty of locals jiving to loud reggae music, swigging from bottles of Piton beer and tucking into grilled fish with plantains. Those wanting to get away from the noise of the music and dancing head down to the beach and sit on upturned fishing boats to socialise and chat, while being cooled by the breeze off the sea.

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In a few weeks, over one million internally displaced Iraqis could be fleeing for their lives from the occupied city of Mosul in Iraq. Hundreds of US troops have now stationed themselves at Qayyarah air base, 30 km south from ISIS-held Mosul ready to attack. The UN warns that the aftermath of the attempt to liberate Mosul will likely be the world's most complex humanitarian crisis. 90,000 Iraqis have already been displaced in preliminary attacks through the Mosul corridor adding to a total of 3.4 million internally displaced people in the country, putting Iraq as the highest contributor globally to refugees in 2016.

US troops and Iraqi security forces along with externally funded militias will participate in liberating the city from the remaining 3000 ISIS fighters. Can this operation really be a force for liberation? The US administration, once again cannot keep its hands out of Iraq, and the complex plethora of ethnic and religious militias involved will undoubtedly lead to further suffering inflicted upon innocent Iraqis who have endured two years under ISIS. The US is quick to intervene militarily, as it was in 2003, but fails to provide adequate assistance for reconstruction. Mosul will likely be a repeat. The involvement of self interested ethno-sectarian militants, international allied forces and a domestically distrusted Iraqi security force will only create a poisonous trap of cyclical violence. The increase in political rivalry will be at the expense of protecting and safeguarding Mosul's residents.

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The supposed liberation of Fallujah earlier this year in June was a catastrophe which led to refugees facing obstacle after obstacle in the struggle to survive. After withstanding sniper bullets from ISIS militants whilst fleeing the city, refugees faced a dire lack of humanitarian support on the other side. Many died in the 40 degree heat dessert due to a lack of water, sanitation, food and tents. Shia militias are also reported to have participated in the separation of 1500 men and boys from their families which led to torture, execution and the ultimate disappearance of 900 of them. As a result, senior figures and human rights groups have called for externally funded militias to be excluded from the operation due to their conduct in Fallujah, however Shiite generals have insisted they will be on the front lines against Sunni affiliated ISIS, which is a recipe for further internal violence.

Iraq today is a country of internally displaced people. Up to two million minorities such as Yazidi's, Christians, Kakai's, Shabaks and Sunni Iraqi's have sought refuge in the Kurdish region of Iraq. With a further one million estimated refugees fleeing Mosul next month, and only 38% of UNHCR's original appeal funded, it begs the question of the importance of Iraqi human rights and genuine protected liberation regardless of ethnic or political sect. With a lack of a contingency plan from all parties, inadequate humanitarian resources and the fatal mix of ethno-sectarian militias battling for Mosul, it seems that the loss of lives will be inevitable and accountability, intangible. This is not the liberation that the people of Iraq hoped for.

If you want to help with the humanitarian effort to support and save Iraqi's in Mosul, please donate to Volunteers for Iraq. They are an organisation of volunteers on the ground who are non-sectarian and not affiliated to any political party. They spread awareness of Iraq's cultural history and work on youth projects to help those who are struggling to survive.

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Today, the Labour Party took another major step. As announced today at our conference, the next Labour government will ban fracking. So we came out gunning for the clean technologies of the future, with the jobs and investment that these industries create.

Fracking locks the UK into an industry that is based on fossil fuels long after our country needs to have moved to renewables. Labour's mission is now to work with our colleagues in trade unions and industry to develop the best way to transition our energy industry, making sure we create the vital long-term jobs and apprenticeships we need to build the UK's low carbon future.

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My announcement today clarifies and strengthens Labour's position to date on this highly controversial technology.

Previously Labour had called for a nationwide moratorium on fracking, after the Tories weakened strict environmental safeguards and introduced measures to undermine full and proper community consultation.

Because Labour has always been sceptical about the supposed benefits of fracking. We have never believed that any potential future benefits from fracking make it acceptable for the government to bulldoze over the concerns of local communities or the very real environmental dangers that can occur as a result of weak safeguards controlling the technical process.

Our view has been that unless stringent environmental tests can be passed by would-be frackers, then no fracking should take place. Last year, when Parliament was debating the Infrastructure Bill, Labour outlined 13 core environmental tests that we believed the fracking regime would have to pass before any drilling could start. These included an outright ban on fracking in or under areas of environmental sensitivity, such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and all levels of water protection zones.

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Our amendment to the Bill stated that without meeting all of these 13 strict conditions, fracking 'cannot take place'.

And here we got clear sight of the extent the government would go to in order to ram through this technology in the UK. While the Government accepted Labour's amendment, they then chose to U-turn and radically watered down these safeguards. They later withdrew further protections through secondary legislation. This meant our non-negotiable conditions have been disregarded or weakened to such an extent that the credible environmental safeguards did not exist for us to be able to endorse fracking in the UK. For this reason, Labour called for a moratorium until all these robust safeguards were - if ever - put in place.

But this ignores the fact that the global transition to a 100% clean energy economy is rapidly accelerating.

The last Labour government's Climate Change Act set the ball rolling for governments to come together and thrash out how to really get a grip on this problem. Last December, the international community reached the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change. At the heart of this historic deal is a commitment from 196 governments to reach a net-zero emissions global economy in the second half of this century.

Now we have to get there.

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, warned last week that to minimise the risks to financial stability from such a bold transformation of the global economy, the transition away from high-carbon industries should begin early. He said it should follow a predictable path to help markets anticipate this transition to a net zero economy.

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And so, to provide regulatory certainty about the direction of travel for the UK economy long-term, Labour is now calling for an outright ban on fracking. It is clear that gas will continue to play a part in the UK's energy mix in the short to medium term. But developing a fracking industry in the UK will lock the country into an energy infrastructure that is based on fossil fuels long after our country needs to have moved to clean energy to avoid dangerous global climate change. Failing to acknowledge this is either ignorant or deceitful - and not the Labour way.

Earlier this year, the independent Committee on Climate Change analysed the latest science and warned that exploitation of shale gas on a significant scale was not compatible with UK legal climate targets unless three further regulatory conditions were met. The government took zero action in response. No new measures were introduced; no clarification of the existing rules was provided to ensure the UK would meet these three tests.

Labour MPs have consistently called out the Conservatives' last-minute changes to energy policy since they were elected, which have wrecked investor confidence and caused a crisis in energy investment. A cross-party committee of MPs warned back in February that the Tories' sudden energy policy changes since May 2015 risked creating a 'hiatus' in project developments, which could threaten the UK's ability to keep the lights on and upgrade our energy system while lowering emissions.

Today's announcement sends a clear signal to investors about a future Labour Government's position on fracking.

Labour is clear on the long-term direction of travel of the British economy. The Tories are trying to lock the country into the old, dirty technologies that harm our communities and the people who are forced to live with disruption on their doorstep.

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Their own figures show that it will be cheaper to power the country using solar and onshore wind over gas within the next decade. Yet they continue to plan to bribe communities into dropping opposition to fracking. They are cutting support for clean renewable power at the cost of thousands of jobs. They are even introducing a new tax on businesses that have done the right thing by installing solar panels on the roof of their buildings.
The BBC recently reported that UK police forces were 'sleepwalking' away from communities - they quoted Zoe Billingham an Inspector of Constabulary as saying the police now had less time for "vitally important preventative work in communities". This is against a background of severe cuts to police budgets.

I would go further than that and argue that in many cases UK police a deserting vulnerable communities and are leaving the criminals in charge.

I was a police officer up until 2006 and since then I spent a number of years working in a deprived community in South East England. This community, like many other similar communities, has a larger number of unemployed people, people with more illnesses - physical and mental - and also more offenders and drug addicts - than most others.

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It is important to say, of course, there are also hundreds of families living there as well who just want the best for their children who don't go around breaking the law and just want to feel safe.

Over the years local neighbourhood policing has been reduced from regular appearances by a competent and confident constable and a couple of PCSOs to very rare appearances by a PCSO.

I fully respect PCSO's as individuals - many of them are excellent and many go onto become very good full constables. However - PCSO's have fewer powers - are less well training and less confident than full constables and often don't get the support they deserve from colleagues.

At one time there was a clear sense that the police were in charge of the public spaces in this community but now there is a clear sense that the drug dealers and drinkers and antisocial individuals are in charge.

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Open drug dealing goes on - intimidation of shop keepers and pub staff goes on - shouting and drinking and occasional fighting goes on - all under the useless CCTV system which is ignored by pretty much everyone.

Older people are afraid to go to collect their pensions - school children have to walk passed drug dealers to get to and from school.

From around 11am - providing it is not raining - the small number of criminals are in charge of the public spaces.

If anyone objects to this - the drinkers and drug dealers will intimidate and threaten them. If the police are called - the drug dealers and drinkers will do their best to find out who called them - and it is no fun for those whom they suspect.

The police are told about these things but they have many other pressures on them and being mere human beings - they don't appreciate how bad it is because they are not experiencing it for them selves.

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Their response is to ask people report these things on the 101 system or online - even though they know that it can take ten to twenty minutes to get through to someone on the 101 system and people often give up. Not everyone has a computer and not everyone is confident with computers.

And all the time - residents are frightened and being found out reporting things to police. It is a 'perfect storm' of difficulties reporting things - fear and the inefficiency of the reporting systems.

Often the police will complain that no one reports things - but they don't often ask why this is.

These reporting systems are slowly replacing the face to face contact that there should be between the police and the community leaving people frightened and less supported.

If a community like this had a confident and competent officer - who they saw on a regular basis - who actually knows what is going on and takes a pride in looking after the area then they will feel safer and, I believe, actually be safer.

As it is the police occasionally swoop in and arrest drug dealers (once or twice a year) and they will come when the actual violence starts - but they are not there in between these events when the honest residents and their families have to live with the intimidation and criminal activities of a minority.

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The police don't exist in a vacuum - they are subject to cuts and pressures from ambitious politicians. Police get blamed for too many of societies failings - but their retreat from the communities is wrong and is a betrayal of those who most need them.

Senior police officers live for statistics and crime figures and base careers on playing with numbers - when the real fear and suffering goes on unrecorded.

That an old person is too frightened to collect their pension or that a child has to pass active drug dealers on the way to primary school is not recorded in the figures and the politicians and senior police officers don't know or care about it.
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Following the announcement of Jeremy Corbyn's second Labour leadership victory over the weekend, moderates in the party have now been left at a crossroads - do they stay or do they go?

With Labour embroiled in a civil war that has turned ideological disagreements in to chasms of discontent, the temptation must be there for 'moderates' in the Labour Party to jump ship.

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At a time when an increasingly right-wing Conservative government has gambled on the country's future by holding, and losing a referendum it didn't even want, the Labour Party's polling numbers are pitiful and a travesty for our democracy, with the party on just 26% in the polls.

Despite my personal dissimilarity to the Labour Party and its politics, a country needs a strong opposition to encourage competent governance. Plainly, Jeremy Corbyn's Labour has not delivered that. Since the Conservatives swooped to a Commons majority last May, the Labour Party has spent its time looking inwards, talking to and bickering with itself. It stood by on welfare reforms, it stood by on the Snooper's Charter, and it stood by on the EU membership referendum.

Jeremy Corbyn's wing of the party is fundamentally different to the dominant Blairite factions that preceded it. They are divided on wealth creation, on defence, on civil liberties, on the European Union, on Syria, essentially on all of the crucial issues facing the country today - yet they persist as two parties trying to be one.

MPs have reportedly had to employ protection to attend this week's Labour conference in Liverpool, there have been numerous accounts attesting to a rise in anti-semitism within the party's grassroots, and there have been persistent threats of deselection and even violence against those politicians who don't subscribe to Corbyn's dogma, yet they endure.

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My local MP Liz Kendall, a politician whom I respect very much, was on BBC's Question Time last Thursday and when questioned about the likelihood of her defecting, she responded by saying she wouldn't because she would not compromise on her beliefs. But, the problem is for Labour's moderates, one they seemingly cannot accept, is that despite twelve months and two attempts at removing Jeremy Corbyn's ideology from supremacy, they have failed, the Labour Party is not offering the values of Liz Kendall and co. anymore.

How can the Labour Party continue to operate as two bitterly divided wings, unable to agree on anything significant currently going on in British politics and profess to be an alternative government in waiting? Make no mistake, the squabbling will not stop and we will be left with an opposition more absorbed by a turf war for a name than standing up for the country. The Labour Party need to move away from this belief that, they as an institution, are 'needed'. Opposition is needed, not necessarily Labour.

Any moderates now remaining in the Labour Party are enablers. It is high time now for those who cannot subscribe to Jeremy Corbyn's leadership to leave and make a meaningful stand against the Tory government, based on their principles and not loyalty to a banner that no longer represents them.

Labour dissenters need to quit the party and form an effective, cohesive opposition and abandon this mania for a political brand and the narcissistic purity that comes with it.

Otherwise, the rest of the country will pay the price as Labour continue to hold more long drawn out, self-indulgent conversations with themselves during a time of great national turbulence.

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I know that the second the Liberal Democrats are overtaken by illiberal invaders that don't compliment my liberalism I am gone, off to find a new party that will.

They say people like me; LGBT+ people, BAME people, young people, the working classes, whoever is not the privileged elite need Labour - but we don't. They have not stood for any of these groups for a very long time. Whilst Labour are too busy thinking about themselves to worry about the rest of the world, everyone else is getting shafted by a hapless Tory government.

The Scottish Nationalists are only concerned with Scotland and despite our best efforts, the Lib Dems are too small to provide the opposition the country needs.
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Last year, a woman, Helen Millard, died after being found hanging in a psychiatric ward bathroom. An inquest this week reported that when she had first been admitted, she was under constant observation. But on this day, she was able to spend thirty minutes in a bathroom alone, unchecked, despite staff knowing she had been tying ligatures around her neck up to four times per day. Helen was obviously an amazing woman, "very loving and caring" and "hard-working, determined and very driven" as her husband tells us. Yet she was described as "manipulative", "argumentative" and "hostile" by nursing staff, not just as an idle aside, but in a formal statement. What in psychiatry makes it seem legitimate to speak that way about a struggling woman?

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There have been attempts to challenge these ideas. Feminist critiques of the lack of construct validity of the diagnosis. A 2003 government report rather optimistically titled 'Personality disorder: No longer a diagnosis of exclusion'. Current calls to frame 'BPD' as an illness like any other, or to change the label to one that sounds, well, nicer. But would these changes help? Was it not the (incorrect) idea that she was backed up by medical science, for example, that allowed the nurse to speak in the way she did?

For the label of 'BPD' shuts down our humane response. It allows staff to think and act through the kind of awful language lens used about Helen - to 'other'. Language, especially powerful language around diagnosis, can be dangerous. Consider a recent study. 265 clinicians were asked to watch a video of a woman presenting with 'panic disorder'. They then had to rate her presenting problems and prognosis. A third were just given her presenting problems, a third were given this plus a description consistent with 'BPD' and a further third that and the label 'past PD'. Those who were told the woman had a 'PD' were significantly more likely not just to give the woman a poor prognosis, but to actually describe the panic shown in the video in worse terms.

This matters not least as our sense of ourselves is constantly being constituted through how others experience and react to us, which we absorb and take in. If we are storied as 'manipulative' and 'needy', it can only reinforce our self-hate and the hellish lived reality psychiatry is supposed to be helping with. Worse, these judgement calls, which the diagnosis legitimise, all too often echo the attacks of the critical others who caused the problems in the first place - the abuser who said the patient-when-girl 'asked for it', who told her it was 'her fault' for being too alluring. The bully who said the patient-as-boy 'was a waste of space'. The should-of-been caregivers who neglected to see what was attempting to be communicated, leaving the patient-when-child even more alone.

In the UK, there are daily examples of the damaging effects of the idea 'personality disorder' is a thing. People presenting with self-harm told "it's your choice to die, there is nothing we can do" at the moment when someone, please, needs to believe for them that there can still be a life worth living for, the smallest slither of hope. Women whose self-harm injuries are not judged worthy of treatment because they are self-inflicted, with staff ringing up local hospitals to say "she has this diagnosis - don't treat her". Psychiatrists who, overtly, punish individuals that paramedics have 'forced' them to admit. Changing the label to a nicer sounding name, as some call for, will only slide these damaging set of value judgements and practices over onto a new term.

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We do not need to be restricted by a seeming choice between an illness model or attribution to personality flaw. We can be capable, surely, of recognising that problems lie on a continuum, and that someone can deserve support, care, and treatment for a writ large manifestation of the dynamics of hate, love, rage, destruction and manipulation present in all of us. Perhaps even more so if we can truly acknowledge the consistent association between childhood abuse, neglect and trauma with this most problematic of labels.

We cannot claim that society has a greater mental health awareness, a new understanding of the extent of sexual abuse, when we tolerate traumatised individuals being morally judged, ignored and rejected for manifesting the sequelae of their distress in acute wards and mental health services up and down the country.

I intended to end this piece, by writing: 'For Helen, it is too late. For others, perhaps not'. But I have just been alerted to news of the death of another young woman, Victoria Halliday, her experiences also invalidated via the label of 'personality disorder'.
What exactly is a "Hard Brexit"? How is it different from "Soft Brexit"? Is there a "Hard Brexit" with "Soft" bits like a chocolate covered marshmallow?

It really depends on how Brexit is defined, and its relative scale of hardness to softness. However, everybody's Brexit definition is different, with a narrative is already being formed. The Welsh Assembly voted to reject the Single Market through Brexit. Boris Johnson has urged a quick, "hard" Brexit to by 2019. Jeremy Corbyn has indicated he would like to remove Britain from the Single Market but allow more free movement, whilst other Labour MPs, like Rachel Reeves, have called for more restriction in freedom of movement.

It would be unjust for Prime Minister Theresa May to take sole responsibility in delivering Brexit. Not all leavers wanted this. Jenny Jones and Frank Field, who campaigned for Brexit, did not do so to allow a Conservatives Brexit. Gisela Stuart, who was a prominent leave campaigner, has already clashed with the Government on the status of EU nationals currently residing in the UK. Similarly, the concept of 'Lexit' was not to hand Brexit negotiations to a right-wing government. Brexit was voted for for many reasons, not all of which included handing power to May and her three Brexiteers.

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It will also implement a Brexit for everybody. Many want diametrically opposing Brexit scenarios. Johnson's "Hard Brexit" call juxtaposes Nicola Sturgeon's plea that Scotland remains part of the European Union. The EU's rules do not allow Britain to negotiate free trade deals whilst still part of the Union, something that Dr. Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade, clearly disagrees with. Corbyn has even demonstrated more than one Brexit desire, calling for Article 50 to be triggered immediately and then retracting his statement. There are many hypotheticals, ideas, scenarios and desires.

These are just some of the positions we know of from post-referendum Britain. This is without consulting every single British and European Union national on their stance, their priorities or their fears.

But, Brexit means Brexit. So what is a success of it?

A successful Brexit will likely incorporate many people's opinions. Thus, it is right that the narrative for Brexit is beginning with immigration. Clearly immigration was a major issue among leave voters and campaigners. Nevertheless, immigration is not straightforward. Caroline Flint's preliminary research on 'leave' voters in her constituency, Don Valley, suggests it is unskilled immigration that was the immigration problem people wanted to leave the EU over. The Conservative plan to reduce immigration to the 10,000s is not targeting Brexit concerns. In this instance, the Conservatives are using political turmoil to pursue their agenda. This is not what the electorate voted for, and thus disingenuous.

Parliament is a composition of the electorate's representation. Theoretically (although there are debates to be had about how representative MPs are), MPs represent the electorate. If every MP could, either individually, or in groups, be heard on their views on Brexit, the public could be fairly heard on their concerns. It would be fair more representative of what Brexit should mean to the British public, rather than than May's Government's views. May might have the mandate to direct Britain out of the European Union, but she does not have the mandate to define it.

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If all MPs spoke on Brexit then Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs could fight for national priorities. Similarly, London MPs could fight for London's interests similar to Birmingham MPs fighting for Birmingham, or Yorkshire MPs for Yorkshire, etc. A direction and priority list will be formed from every citizen, leading to a 'successful' Brexit, rather than a 'Hard' or 'Soft' one.

Similarly, the Conservatives would have their priorities brought forward, as would Labour, the Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats and all other parties. Brexit could be defined as a conglomerate of concepts derived from the electorate, rather than Theresa May's ability to negotiate. This would be a fairer, more democratic, Brexit that gave back control to Parliament.

Nevertheless, each party must internally evaluate what Brexit means. Each must define it whilst preparing to leave the EU. However, parties must urge the Conservatives to ensure their priorities and desires are not eclipsed from Brexit proceedings with the EU.
Last week, I was privileged to visit the St Johns Hospice in North London with some very special people. And an even more special dog.

The award-winning Mayhew Animal Home in north London, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year, rescues and rehomes hundreds of dogs and cats every year. It has recently expanded its animal welfare and education programmes into far-off countries such as Afghanistan, Russia, Georgia, India and Nepal.

It also runs an extraordinary programme called 'TheraPaws', taking carefully-assessed dogs into hospitals, hospices, and care homes. The dogs provide comfort and even pain relief to people with life-limiting conditions, as well as delight and stimulation to patients suffering dementia.

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The dog who I accompanied was a 3 year old pug called Flora. What was immediately noticeable was how the whole room seemed to light up whenever she entered. It wasn't just the faces of patients she would bring a smile too. For relatives too, her arrival provided a welcome break and distraction. And when we would go from room to room, it seemed as if staff would emerge from nowhere to pet this four-legged therapist.

There's one 'TheraPaws' dog, though, who has stolen everyone's heart - and is challenging perceptions about dog breeds.

Her name is Lola.

Lola is an 11-year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Over the past year, she and her owner Charlie have been visiting the Kenbrook Residential Home in London which cares for sufferers of dementia.

Lola was adopted by Charlie from The Mayhew after she was dumped at the shelter overnight. She is a rare 'blue Staffie' - puppies with this distinctive coat can sell for 1000 each.

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"We think Lola was used by her previous owners as a breeding machine, and then abandoned when she was no longer wanted," explains Luke Berman, the TheraPaws Project Manager at The Mayhew. "She is the perfect therapy dog because she is so gentle and peaceful."

"Not only is Lola a caring therapy dog who is helping to improve peoples' lives, she is also a brilliant Staffie ambassador who is changing peoples' perceptions of the breed," he adds.

In fact, Lola is not alone. Indeed, there are far more Staffies than any other breed on the Therapaws team.

"Staffies love being around people," says Zoe Edwards, The Mayhew's Animal Welfare Manager. "They bond quickly with their owner and are very eager to please.

"Unfortunately all of these wonderful traits can go against this breed if they end up in the hands of an irresponsible owner who wants to train them and use them for negative purposes," she adds.

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And this is surely the key point. Dog breeds like the Staffordshire Bull Terrier are not innately aggressive. In fact they are intelligent, affectionate and easy to train. And they are used, and abused, by people involved in dog-fighting precisely because of their loyalty and their desire to please.

By the same token, in the right hands, the humble Staffie is a bubbly, friendly dog that can bring immeasurable joy and peace to some of sickest and most vulnerable members of the community.

This is why breed-specific legislation does little if anything to protect people, let alone dogs, as it is facing the wrong direction.

It is also why using dogs - whether they be Staffies or any other breed - in the vicious barbarity that is dog-fighting represents the worst kind of betrayal for these trusting animals.

"All the TheraPaws dogs are amazing, but I do have a soft spot for the Staffies," says Luke.

The story of Maria, another Mayhew Staffie, seems to confirm this.

"It's now been 18 months since we got Maria, and I can honestly say it was the best decision ever," says Maria's adopter. "My son James is autistic and struggles making friends, but having such a strong bond with Maria has given him much more confidence. I can really see the difference in him since she came to live with us."

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The League plans to work with the Mayhew to help educate people and promote greater understanding - and proper care and treatment - of breeds such as the Staffie. It is also helping to rescue, treat and rehabilitate dogs that have been used and abused by dog-fighters. Find out more about our Project Bloodline dog fighting operation.
There I was thinking that Jamie Oliver had been quiet recently. Perhaps, I mused to myself, he has realised the errors of his ways after his very inappropriate and misjudged comments about breastfeeding. A subject in which he presented himself as being an expert, despite the fact that he doesn't actually own a pair of boobs. This is good, I thought, I can go back to liking Jamie for what he does best, creating yummy and delicious recipes for the whole family. Now, creating recipe books really is his area of expertise and I should know as I nearly have every cookery book of his. I should rename my cookery book shelf the Jamie Oliver shelf as they are predominately his books. Actually, if I don't stop buying his books I will be opening the Jamie Oliver library. Luckily, Jamie has ensured that this will never happen as he has only gone and opened his considerable mouth again! Now, instead of a library I am thinking of chucking all my Jamie Oliver cookery books onto the fire. Perhaps I could do this on November 5th and have my very own version of bonfire night, a Jamie Oliver bonfire.

Why am I so cross at Oliver? Jamie took it upon himself to chide Theresa May, you know, the lady who runs the country. The Prime Minister. Yes, but that's not what Jamie is focussing on. No, he is focusing on the fact that Theresa should be acting like a parent. Hmmm. Apparently, Jamie seems to think that Theresa is "letting every child in Britain down". Every child. Jamie then rounds off his ill-judged outburst with the line

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"I wanted her to act not like a politician, but a parent".

I might be wrong here, but it is not Theresa May's job to act as a parent to the country. It is her job to run the country. I find myself wondering if Jamie Oliver is perhaps a little sexist. Would he have said the same thing to David Cameron? I doubt it. Why do we continually see women that are in power questioned over their reproductive systems? This has nothing to do with the job as Prime Minister! Also, for the record, Jamie, Theresa doesn't actually have children. But I understand, she is female and, therefore, you are making the assumption she should be parenting us all. Perhaps, you would like her to pay a visit to you all in Chez Oliver and do a Mary Poppins act. Would you like her to look after your children? Clean up those dirty dishes? Make you a packed lunch? Females are stereotyped in the role of mothering. In recent weeks we have seen Nicola Sturgeon revealing that she had a miscarriage. Something that she felt forced to reveal after the constant intrusive questioning. We never see this level of questioning aimed at male politicians.

Even today there is this constant inference that a woman really shouldn't be in a high-powered job. No, really we should all be putting our reproductive systems to good use and churning out babies. That's our role in our society. It baffles society when some women actually choose not to have a baby. Then some women choose to go and land high-powered jobs because they just happen to the best qualified for the job, well that's really not on. We are told that childless woman are "weird" and that ambitious women are "ruthless" and "cold". Society just can't accept it, instead they choose to focus on their reproductive system. There is a general needling of women that they are somehow inferior and shouldn't have a position of power. When Jamie Oliver thinks it is his place to chide the Prime Minister for not parenting the country, then we know that we have a problem. Yes, we might not agree with her obesity strategy but we don't tell her off for not parenting the country! Theresa May is here to run the country. It's not her job to tuck us in at night; it's not her job to read us nice stories. It's her job to run the country and sometimes that will involve her making decisions that we don't like, decisions that we don't understand. However, I have to trust in her ability to run the country and parenting us has nothing to do with it.

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Perhaps I should be more forgiving of Jamie. I mean, he is just a product of our society. He has just been brought up in a society that teaches men that their opinions are the most important and that they are far more knowledgeable than any woman, even the woman who is running the country. He might be a chef but he is also a man and, therefore, we must immediately get down at his food altar and worship every word that comes out of his mouth. He is a man and a man knows best. It just annoys me because Jamie Oliver seems like a man with a good heart. If I were to go down the parent track, I would suggest that as a father to three girls he might want to think about breaking the sexist narrative. The narrative that means a man always knows best. However, I am not going to go down the parenting track and pull that card on him. I might be a parent but that really doesn't mean that I know best either. We might be parents but that doesn't mean we know everything. Jamie, as a parent could be accused of using the parent card too. Jamie is a man and a parent and, therefore, knows everything, obviously. Perhaps it is like Monopoly but with children: the more children you collect, the more qualified you think you are to speak on everything and anything relating to children. Except that can't be the case as I don't see Jools sharing her opinions on the matter with the press. Hang-on she's a woman! Explains it.

I don't want to see Theresa trying to parent us all. I want to see Theresa doing just what she is doing, being assertive, making tough decisions, trying to run what feels like a very broken country. There isn't time for mopping up tears and putting on plasters. The UK is one big scab at the moment and that might mean that Theresa May has to make some tough decisions, some unpopular decisions but that's what I want in the Prime Minister. Someone that isn't afraid to face-up to the terrible mess the UK is in.

Jamie, get off your potato box, leave Theresa May alone and let her get on with the important job of running the country. Jamie, you need to get back to your kitchen ;-)
When I first told my mother I was a lesbian in 2001 I was so terrified I decided to write her a letter so I couldn't chicken out of it. Much to my relief she instantly rang me up and said, I love you and I just want you to be happy! "But oh no, that means I'll never be a grandmother"! She exclaimed painfully.

My first reaction was of course exasperation and annoyance, "Well mum you know you already are a grandmother (my brothers and sisters have all got children) and also, Lesbians can have children." I rolled my eyes silently down the phone.

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Me and mum

I was 19 and at that age having children and a baby was so far from my world I hadn't given it too much thought. I'd always wanted to adopt ever since I could remember then my other option was a sperm donor, I knew these as my options and left it at that.

It wasn't until I hit my 30s that I was suddenly faced with the reality of actually choosing how I would have children. I was living in the jungles of Mexico (of all places) when my body began to subconsciously scream at me - it was the most bizarre phenomena. I was a very career driven and adventurous lesbian and now suddenly I wanted to nest and spring babies - I felt like a bird that had been off gallivanting around the globe for 15 years and now my inner workings, my (cringe) womanly "clock" lassoed me kicking and screaming to migrate back to my clan to make more red-haired freckly nut jobs.

Indiana Jones eat your heart out

I was working in Wildlife Conservation sleeping in a giant sack fashioned into a hammock being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the deep misty jungles of Tlacotalpan. I realised then that my Indiana Jones days had finally caught up with me - all I wanted to do was go home and be a Mother, I could hear Mary Poppins singing in my ear.

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So that's exactly what I did, I came back to England I met a beautiful woman we fell in love and I told her, I want to have a baby.

My gorgeous partner Sue Lucy

It was my partner who started the seed of the idea; she worried that our child would miss out on having a father or at least to know their roots and heritage. Why don't you have a baby with a friend she asked and we share the responsibility? If we had the choice to let them know their father wouldn't it be nice if we could give them that?

I agreed it sounded like a great idea in theory but how do we find someone like that? The memory of my mums voice on the phone the day I came out to her started to sound less and less ridiculous. This was getting complicated!

I thought of my male friends, most of them single and not in the least wanting to settle down or have a child. I asked around, put the feelers out but the word baby over a pint in a loud pub made them wince as they looked through me and smiled at some hot young thing walking by...

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So of course I did what any half cocked millennial would do... I took the search online.

After a fervent Google search I discovered 'co-parenting' was the term we were looking to do. Much to my dismay the choice of network sites available left a lot to be desired and on top of that once I joined them I realised none of them were free! To me this was antiquated.

After a long time of getting nowhere, trying to sift through hundreds of posts on Facebook groups and having unsuccessful searches on out-dated websites, one day I thought, hang on, I'm a web designer - why don't I just make a free co-parent site?

So that's what I did. MyCoParenting.org is completely free and will always stay that way, there are groups, forums, map search, favourites and best of all you can chat, search and interact with everyone for free.

My CoParenting Website

Since making My CoParenting I have now found a co-parent, ironically a friend I worked with in Mexico saw My CoParenting's Facebook Page and that sparked a conversation leading us to want to co-parent together.

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MyCoParenting.org is not just for lesbian couples, it's for every kind of person; couples who can't conceive, the LGBTQ community and also members who are single that want to have children.

Co-Parenting is about giving every person of every ilk and creed the chance to create love and life when they are ready for it and want to share that responsibility and joy with another.
On 23 September 2016, US Senator Ted Cruz, one of the most ferocious republican opponents and runner-up of Donald Trump during the Republican primary, announced that he was eventually endorsing him. Why endorsing him so late? Why endorsing him at all?

Because a year earlier Cruz had "pledged to endorse the Republican nominee, and I am honouring that commitment." His late pledge came despite having withheld his endorsement in front of a very infuriated and raging crowd at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July 2016 and having told them: "We're not fighting for one particular candidate or one particular campaign. We deserve leaders who stand for principle, unite us all behind shared values, cast aside anger for love. That is the standard we should expect, from everybody."

In the space of just two months, those beautiful principles, values and love he was talking about in Cleveland had simply vanished. What could have made Senator Cruz suddenly change his mind?

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Was Ted Cruz some kind of blind and useless politician who couldn't fully appreciate the risks Donald Trump would represent to the United States and to the whole world if elected? Very unlikely. Trump and Cruz exchanged some harsh words, even insults, during the Republican primary and live in the debates. Trump called Cruz a Canadian who couldn't be president of the United States, insulted his wife on Twitter and even said his father was somehow involved in the assassination of JFK. Cruz had far more reasons not to endorse Trump than to endorse him.

Was Ted Cruz maybe a victim of blackmail? With an influential friend like hacker-friendly president Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump may have access to secret data, confidential emails, videos and documents that could be used against politicians like Cruz to get favours from them, such as a precious endorsement.

We remember that Hillary Clinton accused the Russians of being behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee data and emails in July 2016. In a special interview given to Bloomberg on 1 September 2016, Vladimir Putin had suspiciously said that the hacking of DNC emails and documents had been "a service to the public", although he totally denied accusations that Russia's government had had anything to do with it. "Listen, does it even matter who hacked this data?'' Putin told his interviewers.

Why not thus assume that hacking Ted Cruz could have been easier to the Russians than hacking the DNC and could have therefore given Team Trump the necessary material to 'convince' a particularly difficult opponent like Cruz to support him? Every little helps. The blackmail theory is more likely, however, very difficult if not impossible to prove.

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What if Ted Cruz was in fact politically tied at the time of endorsement? In order to get the party to support him and get elected again in future elections, Ted Cruz may have had to give in to the crowds of the RNC who passionately wanted Trump as their nominee - not him, and so, give up on his great principles, swallow his pride and accept that Trump had made a fool of him, accept the humiliations, the insults, the mockeries, the public shaming of his wife and his father, and simply acknowledge Trump's powerful hand on the Republican party. The survival of one's political career sometimes comes at that cost.

Finally, what if Ted Cruz was as a populist as Trump and already thinking about the next elections? By endorsing him, Cruz had put himself in a win-win situation: If Trump was to win the presidency, he wanted to be able to say to the electorate: "Look at me, I kept my promise and helped Trump win!" If on the other hand, Trump was to lose, he wanted to be able to say to the same electorate: "Look at me, I kept my promise, although Trump was not my choice!"

Did it matter whether Ted Cruz endorsement had come only a few weeks before the election? Maybe not as much to Trump as to Cruz's family and friends.

Did this episode suddenly reveal a new populist Cruz then? No, it has merely demonstrated that Donald Trump's populism now influences even his opponents in the Republican Party. Although, they will unlikely reach his levels before some time. Trump opened the Pandora box and it won't be easy to close it again.

One of the very distinctive marks of true populist characters is the way they can easily cross the line between opportunism and populism. An opportunist will only sacrifice his principles to the benefit of his political career. A populist will jeopardise everything around him, utilise members of his own family if necessary, put his own career at risk, change his views at will, play dirty even with his friends and feel absolutely at ease with it all in order to reach or keep the power. That is what makes them so unstoppable and so dangerous.

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Last week we saw the first proposals for the new constituency boundaries, drawn up by the Boundary Commission. It's certainly caused a stir - with allegations flying around about which parties it will hit harder, whether it will even happen, and who stands to lose their seats in the shakeup.

But less commented on was the fact that this is all taking place as part of a cut in the number of MPs - from 650 to 600.

That's an 8% reduction, which while it may not sound like a lot, could have a worrying side-effect: a corresponding cut in Parliamentary scrutiny.

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There are a few reasons for this - and it matters.

Firstly, MPs jobs are going to get harder. The cut in the number of MPs means many of their constituencies will get larger - with each now having to represent up to 79,000 registers electors (and that's excluding all the unregistered voters, under-18s and non-Commonwealth citizens they also have to be there for). That means many will have to weigh up their priorities - spending more time working for their increased numbers of constituents, or holding the government to account. Indeed, many MPs already feel like they don't have enough time to do parliamentary business - we are in the most demanding era in terms of constituency workloads, and that's only going to increase.

This job doesn't get higher equally for all MPs either - the boundary redrawing is being done on the basis of only registered voters. That means those in areas with lower registration rates could have much more casework - areas with lower registration rates are typically more deprived or have a higher number of residents who are marginalised and excluded from politics. After all, everyone can knock on an MP's surgery door, email them, call them, or need their help and advice - regardless of whether they are registered to vote. There is already an imbalance between workloads of MPs in areas of deprivation compared to those representing more affluent areas. This is only going to be exacerbated by the boundary review done on the basis of an incomplete register.

With fewer MPs, the job of scrutinising the government gets harder too: there is still the same amount of work and legislation to keep an eye on.

And it's about to get harder after Brexit too. There are going to be a huge number of negotiations and deals to be made over the next few years - including sorting trade agreements with around 50 countries. That will require a great deal of Parliamentary scrutiny. That's on top of legislative powers coming back 'in house' - into Parliament - once we're out of the EU within the next few years. While EU regulations do have to go through Parliament, currently most of this is done through Statutory Instruments without debate. Those directives and regulations may now have to be debated. But with fewer MPs to scrutinise all of this this work, all sorts of concerning stuff could slip through the net.

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The elephant in the room though is this fact: while backbench MP numbers will be cut, there is unlikely to be a corresponding cut in the number of 'pay-roll MPs' - those who have to toe the party line as they are in government. If they speak out, they lose their jobs by breaking 'collective responsibility' - so we could see the voice of relatively free MPs reduced while the power of the executive proportionally rises. This is a dangerous position that needs talking about - particularly with the numbers on the pay-roll vote rising significantly as a proportion of MPs in recent years. It's an issue that Nick Clegg raised while the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill was going through, but was never enshrined into the final Act.

But legislation could now be introduced to safeguard against this problem - including rules/caps to maintain a healthy balance between executive and Parliament - that is, not too many ministers, whips and private secretaries in proportion to backbenchers. It's essential in order to safeguard scrutiny and the freedom of MPs to speak out - unhindered by fear of losing their government posts.

Finally, we need to look at how the cut in MPs will affect diversity in politics. There's a risk that female MPs in (generally) more marginal seats will be disproportionately hit by the reduction in members of Parliament. Parties need to be vigilant about this and ensure the hard work done so far in improving the representativeness of the Commons isn't reversed. Why don't parties consider, as some have suggested, having an ambassador in each party to ensure no woman is left behind in this shakeup.
I have never agreed with T S Eliot's proclamation (in The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock) that 'April is the cruelest month'. But then Eliot was writing in 1915, before the awesome splitting of the atom and all that nuclear fission has subsequently bestowed upon mankind, good and bad. To my mind, August overtook April on the day that Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima 71 years ago on August 6th, killing upwards of 140,000 people and consigning millions more to a life of ill-health, health anxieties and PTSD, not to mention all the genetic mutations (both animal and vegetable) that came to light in the generations that followed. August is now dubbed Nuclear Free Month by indomitable anti-nuclear campaigners. So when summer was over I thought I would do some reflecting on all things nuclear ahead of a landmark UN General Assembly vote on a new initiative for multilateral nuclear disarmament, due to take place this November.

I represent the north west of England in the European Parliament which includes the nuclear power stations of Heysham and Sellafield, the proposed nuclear waste dump at Moorside, the shipyards at Barrow-in Furness, home of Trident submarines, and the progressive, peace-loving, radical city of Manchester, one of 5,551 cities and towns around the world that has joined together to form Mayors For Peace. This global initiative has spawned civic exchanges, joint actions, education projects, arts activities, peace trails, and even a Peace Boat which stopped off at 30 ports in 2014 on a pilgrimage from Yokohama to Kobe in Japan and around the world.

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In the first few months of my mandate I accompanied a Mayors for Peace visit to the town of Ors in Northern France where Wilfred Owen met his untimely death just a few days short of the 1918 Armistice, aged 25. My fellow Labour MEP, Afzal Khan, had the privilege of serving as a Manchester Mayor for Peace before becoming elected to represent the NW of England along with me and Theresa Griffin in May 2014. Last year's Manchester Mayor, Councillor Paul Murphy, was equally committed to the peace movement and on Hiroshima Day we shared stories of youthful activism at a moving ceremony in Manchester Museum's Living Worlds Gallery where children's poems and artwork were on display along with seedling Gingko trees donated by the city of Hiroshima.

Manchester City Council is also a founder member of Nuclear Free Local Authorities, a U.K. initiative established more than 35 years ago that aims to campaign against military and civil use of nuclear technology, making a link between nuclear weapons and nuclear power, something that not all so-called 'non-nuclear' states are prepared to do, believing that civil use of nuclear technology is a form of 'green' energy, comparatively cheap and safe, or at least worth the risk, perhaps overly confident in the light if the recent BBC Panorama report.

I work with Parliamentarians and civil society organisations across Europe promoting nuclear disarmament and nuclear security and there have been fresh initiatives on the nuclear issue in diplomatic circles despite conflicts and crises around the world.

Focusing on the catastrophic humanitarian impact of a nuclear explosion, non-nuclear weapons states and civil society decided to make the case that any use of nuclear weapons would be indefensible and a gross violation of humanitarian law ipso facto, under any circumstance. This approach anticipates that if non-nuclear weapon states establish an international consensus on the total unacceptability of nuclear weapons, nuclear powers would eventually respond, and eventually move to get on board.

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Following the failure of the April 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) Review Conference to produce meaningful results fresh initiatives around the humanitarian paradigm picked up momentum.

Led by the Austrian government, 127 nations have formally endorsed the "Humanitarian Pledge", while 159 states have joined the "Humanitarian Initiative". Both initiatives reiterate the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and seek a new international framework for achieving this. To date 847 individual legislators in 41 nations, have also signed the Global Parliamentary Appeal for a Nuclear Weapons Ban including myself and fellow CND member, Jeremy Corbyn.

In December 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on 'Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations', as part of a series of new resolutions. The resolutions reiterated commitments to a world without nuclear weapons, and established an Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) to formulate recommendations on the negotiation of an international legal instrument to move towards that outcome. These recommendations will be presented to the UN General Assembly, this November and December.

The European Parliament has historically adopted resolutions on the NPT process, calling for multilateral disarmament, providing the EU's High Representative with a mandate to engage in the process. Disappointingly, there was no resolution ahead of the 2015 NPT conference. In the meantime, concerned MEPs have worked to put the item back on the agenda, so that the EU can engage in the ongoing international debate, and play its historic role as a promoter of peace.

While the UK government holds onto Trident it refuses to engage in this process, or acknowledge the need for it. Unfortunately, the British Parliament voted to renew Trident in July 2016, but we all know that the struggle is one that requires a long-term outlook.

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The current global, geo-political and security climate, together with emerging technological developments make the case for nuclear disarmament, nuclear security and transparency increasingly compelling.

Russia is reportedly developing a fleet of sophisticated underwater drones that could intercept and destroy our Trident submarines, which are supposed to be undetectable. China is said to be close behind. Our deterrent technology is becoming obsolete, while a new and dangerous arms race looms.

Cyber-attacks and cyber-terrorism pose a threat to nuclear installations that could trigger a nuclear attack by non-state actors. Experts believe Stuxnet virus, allegedly an Israeli-America development, which damaged Iranian nuclear installations was the first of a new generation of malware that could be used by hackers to cause untold catastrophic damage.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama and security experts have warned that a nuclear attack from Daesh is a significant risk, as the group has prioritised the acquisition of nuclear material or nuclear weapon.

Of course, these developments do not mean we should live in fear, or allow governments to introduce draconian surveillance laws or start new arms races. We need to take concrete steps on nuclear arms reduction, the safety, security, and transparency of our nuclear installations, and show concerted and real international effort toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, within an international legal framework.

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That same thinking applies to nuclear energy too. Just like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fukushima changed everything. In 2011, in the aftermath of the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the Japanese government shut down all of its nuclear power plants, for maintenance and safety work. Alarmed by the media fallout from such a devastating disaster Germany announced that it would phase out its nuclear power programme in favour of alternative green energy. It shut down eight nuclear power stations immediately, and planed to phase out all nuclear power altogether by 2022. In the meantime, other large European states like Italy, and even the highly nuclear France, have announced they will reduce their nuclear energy output, while the last Belgian nuclear reactor is due to shut down this year. Meanwhile, the British government seems hell-bent on a different track, forging ahead with plans for several next generation new nuclear power plants.

Massive public subsidies have gone into Hinkley Point C, with favours given out to Chinese and French companies for the project. How ironic it is that Theresa May's interpretation of the fallacious and farcical slogan "take back control", translates into "handing control over to foreign corporation".

The debate around nuclear energy is heated, and it provokes widely differing views on the left with the pro-nuclear camp be-dogged by bad publicity from other parts of the world such as failures at Flamanville in France, dodgy Chinese technology, and the re-discovery of Soviet-dumped toxic radioactive material in the Arctic. To top it all the Austrian government, together with a coalition of German companies, and employee representatives of the French energy company in charge, are all mounting various a legal challenges to the state aid being given to Hinckley C and the terms of the contract for the project.

Sadly, last Nuclear Free August in 2015 we saw the Japanese government backtrack on its post-Fukushima decision, something almost unheard of in the country's highly formal and polite political culture where a governmental decision usually stands. Just 5 days after sombre worldwide commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the Fukushima Sendai reactor was duly switched on amidst mass protests and, more worryingly, despite seismic rumblings nearby.

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I have a particular interest in the Japanese position as I spent time in the affected area during October 2014, as part of a Green Cross Study Visit to learn about the effects of a nuclear disaster first-hand. As part of this I met with Japanese politicians in Tokyo who openly reported that the majority of their citizens did not want a return to nuclear power, so the government was exploring alternative possibilities. However, the enthusiasm that abounded then seems to have seeped away. Despite mounting evidence from environmental experts as well as economists, the nuclear lobby is a powerful force. New evidence demonstrating nuclear material in polar bears gives rise to fears about the global reach of radioactive pollution. I, for one, cannot bring myself to wholeheartedly support a form of energy production which might saddle future generations with an astronomical clean-up bill not to mention all the health costs that could emanate if the unthinkable happened on my doorstep.

Given that public opinion was clearly in favour of a non-nuclear future the U turn by the Japanese government represents a huge blow to democracy and civil society. Naoto Kan, the Japanese Prime Minister at the time of the Fukushima disaster, was in the UK in February 2015 on a speaking tour of communities threatened by an expansion of the UK's nuclear industry. He resigned in the wake of what happened in Fukushima, saying, "Japan needs to dramatically reduce its dependence on nuclear power."

Kan is a powerful figure in the anti-nuclear debate and an embarrassment to the neo-liberal political class who seem to have been bought off by the big power companies, pursuing a "There is no alternative..." argument. He addressed the Welsh Senned during his visit and also talked to the local authority on Anglesey Island and to local campaigners including a farmer fighting to retain his land.

People Against Wylfa B inaugurated a twinning arrangement with the people of Fukushima during Nuclear Free August in 2015 and I sent a statement of support based on what I had learnt from the Green Cross trip.

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I have been to Fukushima Prefecture, to within a few kilometres of the crippled reactor, where cosmetic decontamination exercises result in bags of topsoil lying around in plastic bin bags that are doomed to split and spew their contents in a couple of years. The people who do this painstaking work with hand-trowels are amongst the poorest and most desperate in Japan's society, swept up from the places where unemployment is high with little choice of work options.

Further inland in Fukushima City itself, young mothers try to amuse their children in well-meaning community centres where indoor play has become the norm since radioactive 'hotspots' in the local park mean that public spaces are out of bounds. I also visited a community centre in a trailer park where hundreds of nuclear refugees were living in temporary accommodation, often split up from family members. One woman told me that her husband was in hospital, suffering serious mental illness as a direct result of dislocation from his normal life and home environment. Another wept, wringing her hands, as she told how she felt the guilt and shame of the accident, as if it was her fault for living close by. Now she could no longer visit the graves of her ancestors buried in the village cemetery and she felt as if the threads that bound her and her grandchildren to their identity had been cut. There is nothing that will ever compensate for this deep traumatic loss.

I was thinking about these people a lot during what had been dubbed 'Nuclear Free August' as it was announced that some Fukushima refugees would be allowed to return home if they wished. Certain villages, however, were not on the list of decontaminated safe places and it is unlikely they will be deemed habitable for decades.

Another peace initiative to come out of Nuclear Free Manchester is In Place Of War, an innovative arts project under the direction of Professor James Thompson at Manchester University that works in "sites of war, revolution and conflict to build powerful networks, create social change through creativity, and demonstrate the value of the arts to public space, public life and public debate". Thompson was in Hiroshima for the 70th anniversary as part of a collaboration with Nuclear Futures, an arts platform that works with nuclear survivors to expose the legacy of a nuclear age.

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As someone who worked in the arts prior to becoming a parliamentarian I appreciate the role the arts can play in opening up the debate about some of our most difficult issues. Thompson's work is part of a growing body of applied cultural practice emanating from a rigorous academic perspective. Whilst Thompson was in Hiroshima I was in Bosnia, observing another In Place Of War collaboration dealing with the consequences of genocide. The massacre of more than 8000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995 is considered a war crime and justice is being seen to be done. The Mothers of Srebrenica can take some comfort therefore from the ongoing forensic and judicial process that enables the identification and burial of victims and the trial and conviction of guilty parties. No such processes were put in place for the 'Hibakusha', the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. Indeed, in many cases there were not even bodies to bury, simply shadows on the ground, incinerated unidentifiable body parts. Whether or not anyone should have stood trial for the mass murder of civilians in two Japanese cities in August 1945 is debatable but it is worth remembering the indiscriminate nature of WMD.

In the middle of Nuclear Free August 2015, I also traveled from Bosnia to Ukraine. Bankrupt and still bankrolled by oligarchs, Ukraine has allowed its ancient nuclear power stations an extension to their active working lives up to 2030, raising concerns about health and safety. For those that don't know, Chernobyl is 130 km north of Kiev and still largely uninhabited. Every summer children from Chernobyl come to Workington in my constituency. They stay with generous local families and enjoy a few weeks of bracing activities in the Cumbrian landscape. I wonder if they will always be called Chernobyl Children, even if they miraculously survive into old age, their tender bodies having been subject to high levels of radiation.

Over the past year, the anti-nuclear movement found itself feeling more hopeful than it had for years with a new Labour leader in the person of Jeremy Corbyn, who has shown a lifelong commitment to CND and environmental campaigns, along with fellow Shadow Cabinet members Diane Abbott and John McDonnell. I was one of two Labour MEPs to endorse Corbyn's leadership nomination, partly because of this issue.

Across the border from my NW constituency Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, was as good as her word and held a proper debate on Trident, acknowledging perhaps that the nuclear weapons issue was a contributory factor in Labour losing all but one of its SNPs. The debate resulted in 70% of members opposing Trident renewal. At the Labour Party conference in 2015, a proposal to debate Trident renewal was voted down by the powerful unions within the National Executive Committee, but this is only delaying the inevitable as Corbyn's continuing ethical stance caused huge consternation when he announced that he would not be prepared to push the nuclear button. Labour's free vote on Trident renewal in July only goes to show that views on this are shifting.

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In the NW a proposal from Westmoreland and Lonsdale Constituency Labour Party to debate the issue was withdrawn following advice that this was a national rather than regional matter. Surely it is also a global issue? And it is a jobs issue and a public spending issue and an ethical issue. At some time we will have to talk about it as a party that has within its ranks a broad range of views.

Despite a good deal of speculation about what the Labour Party may or may not ultimately do about Trident, other nuclear issues have disappeared from the news. For example, the establishment has gone very quiet in respect of the case of the British naval whistleblower, William McNeilly, who was discharged from the Royal Navy, to protect its public image following his shocking insider account of poor safety procedures aboard nuclear submarines. McNeilly's case has not been reported on since July 2015, and the media seems to have completely forgotten about it.

Meanwhile the implications of the Iran nuclear deal continue to rumble on with jubilation in some quarters that painful and protracted negotiations finally resulted in the signing of an agreement despite the fact that Iran has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Sadly for the thousands of people languishing in Iranian jails awaiting public execution, it seems there is always a price to pay whatever side you're on.

One can often be criticised for being simplistic about the nuclear issue. After all nuclear power stations help to keep the lights on. But maybe my instinctive dislike of nuclear power as well as nuclear weapons is justified? Chatham House think-tank released a report last year criticising the 'culture of denial' harboured by nuclear power plants around the world with regard to the threat of cyber hacking. The security risks posed by the very existence of processed uranium in all its myriad forms is largely ignored and vastly underreported. In an era of global destabilisation and political turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere it would therefore seem that no nuclear establishment can consider itself safe.

These are just some of the complex interwoven issues that I continue to work on, as we look ahead to the upcoming UN General Assembly vote, and hopefully an international conference to draft a much-awaited UN Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty in the spring of 2017.

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On June 23rd a majority of people in the UK voted to leave the EU. In the months since then, we've not gained any clarity on the UK's future relationship with either the EU or rest of the world.

During the referendum campaign, those supporting remain were criticised for the negative slant portrayed by their messages. We tried to make the positive case for the benefits of the EU, and largely managed to achieve this in Scotland.

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Now, in the cold light of day, it's relatively difficult to see the possible positive outcomes of Brexit. The UK Government has thus far only been clear that 'Brexit means Brexit'. Nothing else is certain.

Hardline, right-wing Brexiteers continue to make the case that the UK is somehow a unique country and that everyone else will be delighted to allow us to have a special, unique, favourable trading relationship. There's a sort of unrealistic patriotism being displayed.

Through the referendum period, the Leave campaign made all sorts of suggestions about how the UK would benefit from leaving the EU - the UK would have 350 million more a week to spend, we would have our fishing quotas back, we would be able to secure our borders - and all of this without detriment to our financial services, our agricultural sector or our universities.

The more I find out about the Brexit process, the more convinced I am that exiting the EU can only be done at huge detriment, particularly to Scotland.

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As has been widely discussed, the Brexit negotiation period will begin when Article 50 is invoked. This will create a period of discussion between the UK and the EU's lead negotiators. These teams will work on hammering out how any future relationship will be shaped. Right now, industry and representative bodies across the UK are making their views known to the Government, hoping their interests can be protected with any new framework.

Universities are asking for protection for academic funding and cross border collaboration, which ensure we can undertake high quality research and attract the best talent. Universities rely on these PhD students to lecture undergraduates and on the research programmes to ensure we are at the cutting edge of academia and have the highest quality universities.

Financial services, incredibly important for the economy of the UK as a whole as well as for both Edinburgh and London, are lobbying for their interests to be protected. The EU treats trade of services separately to trade of goods and has a different framework of agreements. In order for the UK's financial services to continue to thrive and so to continue to pay taxes and support jobs here, they will need to continue to be the EU's main financial centre. This means the UK's relationship with the EU would require to have a strong level of flexibility when it comes to trade of services. The financial services passport is a key element of this, which is documentation allowing UK companies to trade though out the EU. Without this there would be barriers and difficulties and institutions might find it easier to move abroad.

Our agricultural and fisheries sectors are arguing for their rights to be protected. Farming communities want to protect their funding, but to ensure it is distributed in a more appropriate way, incentivising sustainable use of land. Our farmers receive significant levels of funding from the EU. The UK Government has guaranteed this level of funding, but only until 2020. Given decisions about land management need to be taken far in advance in order that sufficient preparation can take place, increased long-term certainty would be preferable. Those involved in catching fish are arguing for increased right to catch, keeping us outside of the common fisheries policy's quotas. There is also a push to try to get back quotas that were sold to foreign fishing boats. To be clear, this portion of the quota was allocated to the UK but then was sold by some of our fishermen to their counterparts in other countries. As these were sold in private deals, it's going to be pretty near impossible to get them back without a significant cost. Fish processors have different key priorities - they're keen to ensure we keep trade links so that they can continue to access their export markets.

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Businesses in general want to protect their access to as many customers as possible, with as few barriers as possible. They also want to ensure the UK is not flooded with cheaply made imports. Trade Unions have an interest here too - workers in some other countries have poor terms and conditions.

Finally, our NHS and many businesses rely on labour from other EU countries. They are pressing the Government to ensure that free movement restrictions do not impact their business models.

The UK Government is faced with all of these conflicting interests and has to ensure that they negotiate the best possible future relationship with the EU and to try to please everyone. In the past twenty years or so, the vast majority of diplomacy and negotiation between the UK and other countries has been ceded to the EU. This means that Brussels is full of trained international negotiators while the UK has very few people with any recent experience. Clearly that puts us on the back foot to begin with.

The UK and the EU will sit down and hammer out a possible deal. They'll discuss movement of people, movement of goods and services, fishing quotas, single market access, university and other research programmes. Eventually an accord will be reached. It's anybody's guess as to how long this will take. I understand that trade deals between countries take at least 5 years usually, but hopefully this part of the process will be done more quickly.

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This is not the end of the process though. Once the EU and UK negotiators have agreed on a proposed framework, it will have to be ratified by all 27 EU countries and possibly also the UK parliament. Each of the 27 countries has the ability to hold up or even veto the deal, so each has to be happy before a deal can be agreed.

The Spanish Government may not support any deal that erodes their access to UK waters for fishing. The Polish Government may not support any deal that removes the ability of their citizens to move freely to the UK. Germany has the chance to become Europe's financial centre if they can ensure the UK's financial services sector faces as many barriers as possible. Most of the EU countries, particularly those with world renowned Universities like the Netherlands, will be keen to receive extra research funding.

Given all the conflicting needs of these countries, it is possible that no deal will be agreed at all, never mind one that is favourable to the UK's interests.

If the UK has to compromise, it is in their interests to compromise on those positions which matter least to the most populated, highest grossing parts of the country. It's difficult to imagine a position where there's a positive outcome for fishing communities, because it's difficult to imagine a deal where the UK doesn't try to protect the financial services industry in London.

Without a deal, the UK's international relationships will be difficult, at best. It's not like the EU and the UK can just agree to keep everything the same until a deal is agreed - to begin with, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) wouldn't let us; we'd also have to keep implementing all EU laws in order to stay on the right side of the EU harmonisation regulations and keep our place in the single market. We're going to have to create a new trading framework with the (WTO). Currently we follow the schedule agreed between the EU and the WTO and because it involves quota and tariff levels we can't just copy and paste it. So while negotiating our EU relationship we will have to renegotiate our WTO membership so we can actually trade with other nations. That agreement has to be ratified by at least two thirds of the 160 plus other countries.

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There's basically no way the Brexit negotiations can go well for us and the UK Government knows it. That's why we're being kept in the dark.
Nujeen Mustafa, a 17-year old Syrian refugee, made headlines last year when she made the journey from Syria to Germany in a wheelchair. As she tells the story of this journey, in her book, published last Thursday, and co-authored with journalist and bestselling author, Christina Lamb, it is hard not to see her experiences as illustrative of those of millions of other Syrian refugees.

Born with cerebral palsy, Nujeen had barely ever left her family apartment in Aleppo when she was forced to flee to Northern Syria. But after a year in her birthplace of Manbij, her family quickly had to flee again to escape the threat of Islamic State fighters. They travelled first to Turkey and finally to Europe.

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Leaving her parents behind in Turkey, as they were too old to make the journey, Nujeen travelled to Europe with her older sister, Nasrine, pushing her in her wheelchair. They crossed borders, from Greece, to fYR Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and finally into Germany.

Nujeen in Croatia in 2015. Photograph: Zeljko Lukunic/PIXSELL/Pixsell

Nujeen, there is no doubt, was one of the lucky ones. She made it to Germany and applied for asylum to live with her brother, 26 years her senior and a film director, who had lived there since before she was born. Nujeen was able to be reunited with her family, unlike many refugee children today who are still trying to achieve this aim.

The death of Raheemullah Oryakhel, 14, killed in Calais, shows another side to the same story. Raheemullah, like Nujeen, had made the journey to Europe, with the aim of being reunited with his brother in England. He had a safe home and bed waiting for him, but wasn't afforded his legal right to be reunited with his family. It's heart-breaking that a lack of action for children in the awful camp in Calais pushed him to try to complete his journey in the back of a lorry.

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 Geai/UnicefFrance

Raheemullah's story is, however, sadly not unusual. Children in Calais, who have the legal right to be in the UK, are trying over 2,000 times a week to reach the UK by jumping onto trains or lorries. This has to stop.

The UK Government has to do something to ensure that they aren't forced to take measures into their own hands, choosing between train tracks or traffickers in a desperate attempt to reach their loved ones. We have to do something to ensure that their stories don't have the same endings as Raheemullah's. In the UK there is much we can do to ensure that at least the 400 refugee children in Calais, who have been identified as having a legal right to be in the UK, are protected and afforded the rights they deserve.

This means making sure they can be safely reunited with their families, and are not forced to make increasingly risky journeys to do so. With the camp facing demolition in the coming weeks, it is vital that the UK works with the French authorities to get children out of the camp before the bulldozers arrive, and into appropriate accommodation where they have access to care and legal support so they can reach their families safely.

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 Geai/UnicefFrance

Last week, as world leaders met in New York to discuss the global refugee crisis, Unicef was calling on the international community to protect child refugees and migrants from exploitation and violence, to end the detention of children seeking refugee status, to keep families together, to promote measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization and to make sure that refugee and migrant children keep learning and have access to health and other quality services.

Although we are certainly a way off realising all of these goals, we hope that this represents a first step in addressing the unprecedented level of human movement the world is facing.

As Nujeen says "This is not about politics, this is about us, people, spirits, souls so please consider that you have the power to change things for the better, to help children like me."
Berlin Cathedral

If you haven't been to Berlin yet, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to explore this incredible cultural centre. Virtually everyone in Germany's capitol speaks English so Brits will find this city easy to navigate; plus, the nightlife in East Berlin is second to none.

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East Side Gallery - Graffiti on the Wall

Pre-WWII Berlin drew artists from all over the world and the city seems to be experiencing a similar renaissance. The Duke Ellington Hotel (where I stay) formerly housed a jazz club named "Badewanne". Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and the Duke himself appeared on stage here and the city's jazz radio station is still on the premises. The cabaret and art scene exploded in the 1920s and theatre flourished with Berthold Brecht making news. The Bauhaus and Art Deco movements were both having a major impact on architecture at this time as well.

Ellington Hotel, Berlin

It's embarrassing to admit this is my first time to Berlin. After studying German at University and spending a lot of time in Bavaria, you would have thought a visit to the capitol was a no brainer. But I have squeezed in as much as possible in my three days to create a day by day guide.

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East End

Day 1: Berlin City Centre

First, get a Berlin Welcome Card at the airport. 42 per person for three days covers all public transport, discounts to several restaurants as well as savings on tours and entrance to a number of museums. Well worth the investment.

Lunch: After dropping our bags, we have lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant called L'Osteria. Basic pizza and pasta which will fuel the rest of the day.

Pizza from L'Osteria

Next, we embark on a short river cruise which will surely put us in the picture. The gorgeous River Spree flows right through the city centre where many art museums are based. Perfectly placed to explore when you finish the short voyage.

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Cruise on the River Spree

The distinctive and modern German Parliament is built, quite literally, over the river with a bridge connecting its two halves. So the vessel sails through this minimalist yet engaging construction.

Parliament Building on the River Spree gettyimages

Russian side Checkpoint Charlie

After disembarking, we head to Checkpoint Charlie. Walking along Friedrichstrasse from Unter Den Linden Strasse, you will pass numerous top designer clothing shops - it is quite a shock, then, on approaching and passing the checkpoint. The juxtaposition of the architecture just on the other side is quite profound - switching from modern excess to brutalist instantly. I found the whole experience here quite moving.

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Checkpoint Charlie

Brandenburg Gate

A short hop on the 100 bus and you will arrive at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. Even though it is very busy, we enjoy taking in these important monuments. Only a few metres away, in the Tiergarten we stumble upon a beautiful pool created in memoriam to all the Roma gypsies dispatched during the reign of the Third Reich. It is a thought provoking exhibit.

In memoriam to the Sinti And Roma Gypsies

Dinner: The Kartoffelkeller Restaurant is a traditional restaurant on the River Spree (Albrechtstrasse, 14B). Simple, typical dishes served here are exceptionally tasty.

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Day 2: East Berlin

We explored part of the East end of Berlin on our second day. Travelling on the Ubahn to the Warschauerstrasse, we walked about 5 minutes to the East side gallery, a large section of the former wall located on Muhlenstrasse. Grabbing a drink on one of the barges permanently moored here gives me time to view the thought provoking wall artwork from a different angle.

Oberbaumbruke

We soon cross the Oberbaumbruke and are now in the east end. Graffiti is absolutely everywhere and there are many more bicycles than in the city centre.

Lunch: We tried vegetarian restaurant Zagel & Punze which offers a charming cross between antique and industrial decor.

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Zagel & Punze

Not everyone is into shopping, and prices are slightly expensive, but, you can't go wrong with German shoes for quality and comfort. Treppen have their outlet on Kopenickerstrasse in this district near the Schlesisches Tor Ubahn station. 'Think' is near the Friedrichstrasse Uban station and Reiker is another brand you will find downtown.

Nickolaivertel

Day 3: Main Highlights

On this beautiful day we head up to Alexander Platz and wizz up to the top of the 368 m tall television tower for great views of the city. Nearby is the extraordinary Nickolaivertel (Nickolai quarter). This is where the double spired State church is located which was reconstructed after WWII. There are shops and a tiny square on the river to have a drink and enjoy the view.

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TV Tower

This precinct is chock full of restaurants and I stumbled upon a traditional one named Altberliner Weissbeirstube which has a typical German food and vibe. Definitely recommend the traditional Apple Strudel which is a fabulous way to top off lunch.

Apfel Strudel

We also visit the Zoologischergarten (zoo) and the trendy shopping centre next door, Bikini Berlin. Across the street is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Only a crumbling ruin is left and it is a stark reminder of the destruction of the war.

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Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Dinner: We have a truly delicious meal at the La Parrilla Steak House also on Albrechstrasse 11. The steaks are excellent as you would expect but my grilled salmon with pasta surpassed my expectations.

Images - Lynn Houghton (unless stated)
Hannah McKay/PA Wire

The case for holding a public enquiry into the British military intervention in Libya is now surely overwhelming. The principles under scrutiny - whether Britain supports international law and whether Ministers tell parliament and people the truth - are as serious as over the invasion of Iraq. The recent Foreign Affairs Committee enquiry into the Libya intervention is partly an indictment of UK policy in Libya but is also partly whitewash.

There are three main cases for Cameron and the government to answer. First, British bombing in Libya, which began in March 2011, was a violation of UN Resolution 1973. This authorised member states to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and to use 'all necessary measures' to prevent attacks on civilians. What it did not authorise was the use of ground troops or regime change. Yet Cameron promoted both.

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General David Richards, then Chief of the Defence Staff, revealed during his evidence session to the Committee enquiry that Britain 'had a few people embedded' with the rebel forces, saying that they were 'in the rear areas' and 'would go forward and back'. This is new information and means that Britain had ground troops in Libya.

In addition, Richards repeatedly told the enquiry that British policy amounted to regime change. Indeed, British bombing clearly went beyond preventing attacks on civilians - three weeks after Cameron assured parliament in March 2011 that the object of the intervention was not regime change, he signed a joint letter with President Obama and French President Sarkozy committing to 'a future without Gaddafi'.

That these were policies were illegal is confirmed by Cameron himself. He told Parliament on 21 March 2011 that the UN resolution 'explicitly does not provide legal authority for action to bring about Gaddafi's removal from power by military means'.

The second case to answer is over Britain's de facto collaboration with radical Islamists during the intervention. The Foreign Affairs Committee concluded that: 'It is now clear that militant Islamist militias played a critical role in the rebellion from February 2011 onwards'. Yet this was known at the time. Indeed, Richards was asked in his evidence session whether 'our intervention empowered extremist groups'. He replied: 'Broadly - the same way that Saddam Hussein's removal did'.

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I documented the role of Islamists in the Libyan rebel forces in a 2012 book. Islamist elements were prominent in the National Transitional Council, which grouped various Libyan rebel forces and which was backed by Britain. Two former mujahideen who had fought in Afghanistan led the military campaign against Gadaffi's forces in Darnah, to the east of Benghazi, for example. Abdel Hakim al-Hasady, an influential Islamic preacher who spent five years at a jihadist training camp in eastern Afghanistan, oversaw the recruitment, training and deployment in the conflict of around 300 rebel fighters from Darnah. Both al-Hasady and his field commander on the front lines, Salah al-Barrani, were former members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), the Islamist force that Britain covertly funded to kill Gadaffi in 1996.

Other commentators recognised the Islamist nature of some of the rebels at the time. Noman Benotman, a former member of the LIFG who had fought the Soviets in Afghanistan, estimated that there were 1,000 jihadists fighting in Libya. Former Director of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove observed that the rebel stronghold of Benghazi was 'rather fundamentalist in character' and Admiral James Stavridis, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, said that US intelligence had picked up 'flickers' of terrorist activity among the rebel groups; this was described by senior British government figures at the time as 'very alarming'.

We are now meant to be believe that all this was beyond the knowledge of British officials at the time.

The third case to answer relates to the arms embargo, which was imposed on Libya in 2011. Resolution 1973 called on UN member states to ensure the 'strict implementation' of this embargo. The Foreign Affairs Committee concluded that the 'international community', without mentioning Britain, turned a blind eye to the supply of weapons to the rebels'. This is a very polite way of putting it. We might first ask what those 'embedded' British forces were actually doing in Libya and whether they were involved in supplying arms; it seems the Committee didn't bother to.

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Moreover, a massive $400million worth of arms was provided to the rebels by Britain's ally, Qatar, much of which went to the Islamist radicals. Qatar also sent hundreds of troops to fight on the frontline and to provide infantry training to Libyan fighters in the western Nafusa mountains and in eastern Libya. Much of Qatar's support went to the 17 February Martyrs Brigade, one of the most influential rebel formations led by Abdel-Hakim Belhaj, a leading member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group who became the rebel military commander in Tripoli.

It is inconceivable that Qatar's military support for Libyan Islamists was not known to British ministers, and backed by them, as they consistently supported Qatar's prominent role in the campaign against Gadaffi, alongside deepening military and commercial cooperation. Indeed, Qatar's chief-of-staff, Major-General Hamad bin Ali al-Atiya, later said: 'We acted as the link between the rebels and Nato forces'. Qatar also played a key role alongside Britain in the 'Libya contact group' that coordinated policy against the Gadaffi regime; the first meeting of the group, in April 2011, for example, was convened by Qatar and co-chaired by Britain in Doha.
Recently, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, blamed the Brexit vote on 40 years of lies and the lies of 'Leave' campaigners. Juncker is correct in one sense, there were many lies during the EU Referendum campaign, however these lies were from the 'Remain' side. The so-called lies from Leavers are a figment of the federalist's imagination.

The UK gives the EU a gross contribution of 350 million a week. This is not a lie, and it is an amount which could be spent on the NHS if the UK Government so wished. These are usually touted as lies, but this stems from 'Remain' campaigners being unable to tell the difference between the words 'gross' and 'net' as well as the difference between the words 'could' and 'will'.

In reality the lies came from the 'Remain' campaign.

European Council President Donald Tusk, said western political civilisation would be destroyed if the UK voted 'Leave'. As I am sitting here writing this article, and as you are currently reading this, it is safe to say western political civilisation has not ended. Therefore, we must conclude this was a 'Remain' lie.

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David Cameron implied in a speech about the "serried rows of white headstones" that World War 3 would be upon us if Brexit occurred. The last time I checked the UK had not invaded Poland or any other country, and therefore we must conclude this was a lie.

George Osborne predicted tax rises and spending cuts would be implemented. To date, no changes to the planned tax rates or public spending have been implemented. So, another lie, and thankfully after his sacking Osborne is no longer in a position create his 'punishment budget'.

Despite Anna Soubry's claim to the contrary on a recent Question Time appearance, Remainers did suggest there would be an immediate Brexit recession. No recession to date, in fact the OECD now believes the UK economy will grow 1.8% this year, up 0.1% on its pre-referendum estimate. Even Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, now admits he is "quietly optimistic" about Brexit. Lie number four.

3 million people in the UK will lose their jobs was the fictitious figure banded about. However, in July the claimant count fell by 8,600 to 763,600, despite an expected rise of 9,500. Another lie.

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"A dangerous fantasy" is how Nick Clegg described Nigel Farage's claim of EU plans to create an army. Barely three months on from the Referendum, Juncker has proposed an EU Army. I'm looking forward to Nick Clegg's next apology video like the one he made after his last whopper.

We were told companies would leave the UK in their droves, especially in the car industry. There is no sign of this, and UK car manufacturing achieving its 12th successive month of growth in July, with production passing one million units in seven months for the first time in 12 years. Lie number 7.

David Cameron said he wouldn't resign as Prime Minister if he lost the Referendum vote. Enough said.

The former Prime Minister also tried to claim the UK could manage its immigration policy while inside the EU. Why are 'Remain' campaigners insisting we start to control immigration in any Brexit deal then? Because we cannot control EU immigration now, proving Cameron was lying.

Universities wanted the UK to remain in the EU because leaving would result in Horizon 2020 funding disappearing. Our new Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has agreed to keep this funding in place. Lie number 10.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

On the afternoon of 19 September, volunteers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, together with their UN counterparts, were happy. They had crossed a crucial frontline point to bring a 31 truck convoy to Orem, an area of western Rural Aleppo desperately in need of aid.

Omar Barakat, the local sub-branch head of SARC, had been working with partners for some time to make this delivery happen. Permissions and access had been obtained for the convoy, carrying medical supplies, food, blankets and winter clothing.

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Hours later, the warehouse and convoy became a scene of carnage. 20 civilians - most of whom were helping unload the aid - were killed. 18 trucks turned to twisted hot metal. Barakat was seriously injured. The attack was so severe rescuers could not reach him. He later died from his wounds.

Since the beginning of this conflict, aid workers have been targeted, and rules of international humanitarian law have been flouted. Volunteers whose only aim is to help their fellow Syrians have been shot, others have been held against their will. Mortars have been aimed at aid convoys or hit Red Crescent facilities.

To be an aid worker in these circumstances requires immense bravery. Many of the volunteers are young people, still studying or freshly out of university, now dedicating their lives not to their future careers but helping their communities. Qualified architects are not rebuilding Syria, they are driving ambulances. Dentists are out on the streets pulling people from rubble and giving first aid. Many of these volunteers have also been directly affected by the conflict - volunteers who have become displaced from one area pick up their duties in a new town. Those who have lost loved ones support others experiencing the same loss.

These volunteers are not collateral damage. They are not acceptable targets when a ceasefire ends. Ceasefire or no, the rules of international humanitarian law still apply. Safe access must mean safe access. Guarantees given by fighting parties must be honoured.

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Euthanasia translates directly as an 'easy death', however English law on euthanasia is anything but easy to understand and is in desperate need for reform as the recent death of Nina Adamowicz and Marieke Vervoort's desire to be assisted to die demonstrate.

In 1993 the House of Lords, then the highest court in the UK, ruled that it would be lawful to withhold life-sustaining medical treatment from Anthony Bland. Anthony had been crushed in the Hillsborough disaster and as a result his brain had been starved of oxygen leaving him in what doctors described as a persistent vegetative state. Anthony had no hope of recovering and their Lordships held that where it was not in a patients 'best interest' to be kept alive it would lawful to cease treating them. Their Lordships also called on Parliament to introduce a law clarifying issues around euthanasia, however there is still no clear statute on the issue.

Where an adult patient of sound mind expresses a clear desire that treatment be ceased the common law however is clear. Simply any touching of another against their consent would constitute the crime of battery. It is everyone's inalienable right to be left alone, even if in doing so you are leaving them alone to die. This is what was reported on in the press recently when Nina Adamowicz won the right to demand that doctors turn off the pacemaker that was keeping her alive, Nina died in her sleep as she wanted. To persist to subject Nina to invasive medical intervention without her consent, even if that intervention was keeping her alive is legally and, I believe, morally wrong.

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This is very different from how Belgian paralympian Marieke Vervoort recently said she wishes to die and the two cases highlight a dichotomy at the heart of English law. Marieke's disability is degenerative, leaving her in chronic pain and subject to frequent fits and this has led her to contemplate an assisted death, where her doctor would help her to end her life. In Marieke's native Belgium, which has one of the most liberal laws on assisted dying in the world, such a death would be lawful. In contrast in English law assisting another to die is a criminal act.

English law draws a clear legal distinction between killing and letting die which has no clear moral basis and in reality leads to secrecy and confusion. It is, for example, lawful for a doctor to prescribe a fatal dose of a painkiller like morphine to a patient if the primary purpose to relieve her pain; that the patient will inevitably die as a result and the doctor knows this is ignored in law. It also seems that if you were to help a loved one to travel abroad for an assisted death that you would not face prosecution, although if you were to be prosecuted you could face up to 14 years in prison. These examples highlight the peculiarities of English law which draw distinctions where there is no moral justification for such.
Getty

Last week, I became a grandmother for the third time. Yet again I had the amazing experience of thinking 'ah, there you are' whilst holding a new baby for the very first time; a brand new person who is nevertheless somehow familiar, as if a close relative had just arrived home after a long trip abroad.

Much has changed since my own granny, a twinkly grey-haired old lady, knitted jumpers and baked the most delicious cakes in the world. Like many contemporary grandparents, I am a member of the generation that American historian Jonathan Pontell has labelled 'Generation Jones', born between 1954 and 1964, who he proposes were cynicised as the boom of the 1960s turned into the bust of the 1970s culminating in the winter of discontent, the era in which we rudely snatched 'peace and love' youth culture from our older siblings and impregnated it with the cacophany of punk; a better fit for the socially discordant austerity into which we were plunged. The roller coaster of boom and bust has subsequently transported us 'Jonesers' to grandparenthood; now how are we going to embrace this?

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I would suggest, apart from superficial differences such as our leisure wear, iPhones and tinted, casual hair, we share a lot of the deeper human experiences of our own grandparents. Like them, we have discovered that aging brings a lot of unwanted physical changes, many of which add up to the unpalatable fact that we Jonesers (except possibly Madonna) can no longer rock that artfully ripped T-shirt or heavy black eyeliner. However, on the plus side, it has brought many of us another generation of children to love at least as much as our own, with the added advantage of not having to deal with most of their mundane misbehaviour or future teenage dramas. Let's face it; it is not going to be us that their teachers are going to speak to about school uniform violations, and it is unlikely to be the keys to our houses that they leave on the bus, or our vehicles that they dent during early parking attempts.

The most positive legacy bequeathed to me by my own grandmother was the ability to reflect on the past whilst looking forward to the future. She had the wisdom to realise that while human endeavour seldom moves along a straight or uneventful trajectory from past to future, the overall direction is generally positive. She lived through the storm and stress of two pan-European wars, sending her husband of six weeks to the first, and her seventeen year old son to the second; nevertheless, she most frequently drew my attention to positive developments during her lifetime; for example the advent of antibiotics that miraculously cured illnesses that were a painful route to disability or mortality when she was a child, and the engineering advances that had taken the world from the very first cars spluttering down the roads of her childhood to the Apollo Moon landing in the last full year of her life. She would usually then pose me the question 'and what miracles might you see in your lifetime?'

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From my present perspective, candidates include even greater advances in medical understanding, particularly in genetics, that mean a cancer diagnosis is becoming less and less likely to be a death sentence; the ongoing development of sophisticated robots currently exploring other planets in our solar system which have the potential to develop into machines that might explore worlds orbiting other suns during our grandchildren's lifetime, and the rapid burgeoning of the world wide web, signposting its eventual potential (beyond the teething pains of Facebook drama and the narcissistic 'selfie') to move the human race further along the road towards a 'one world' perspective.

In 1923, an artist and poet from my grandmother's generation, Kahlil Gibran intuited that children's 'souls dwell in the house of tomorrow'. He would have been disappointed to find that, nearly a century later, we are still largely "educating" them via a blinkered process rooted in the rote transmission of skills and facts followed by relentless testing, because he understood, as my grandmother did, that because human beings are unable to fully predict the societies that future generations will inhabit as adults, human advance is ultimately created through the power to dream; to imagine a tomorrow that is better than today.
When we think of people who are disadvantaged, marginalised, discriminated against or persecuted, certain groups spring to mind; women, those from ethnic minority groups, or those with disabilities. We seldom, if ever, consider that such a group could exist based upon an industry. Issues predominantly affecting white, working class men and their families are often overlooked due to an emphasis on other causes, causes which, while worthy, just happen to be more en vogue or high profile than others. Sadly this is the case for our miners. They took risks for us, many had drastically shortened life spans and/or developed chronic health problems directly as a result of working in mines in order for the rest of us to have the energy we depend upon to live our lives. Not just a bit of coal for the fire, much of our electricity still comes from the 9 coal fired power stations still operating in the UK and in previous decades we were entirely dependent upon coal. Yes, there are environmental concerns about coal fired power stations and we are well on our way to embracing sustainable energy as our primary source of power. But the fact remains - when these men were working in mines our nation was, for better or worse, dependent upon coal at not just a household but an industrial level. Working conditions were tough, extraordinarily dangerous, and miners worked hard. Entire communities were built around mines and the work they provided.

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Miners deserve our respect and gratitude, but instead they have been faced with 30 years of hostility and negative bias from the media and those of us who are not from mining communities are blissfully unaware of the issues they still face. The Miners' Pension Fund has effectively been robbed by the government - leaving people who often sacrificed their health and years off their lives to supply the energy the rest of us needed to live our lives in financial hardship. I spoke to Mick Newton, a former miner, to learn more about the situation and what former miners hope they can achieve with events like their rally this Tuesday (27th September).

"We're holding a rally in Derby square, to bring attention to a long standing scandal. Since 1987 the government and British Coal have taken nearly 9 billion from the Miners' Pension Scheme...The first act of deception was that from 1987 to 1994 there was a contributions holiday, this effectively took 4.7 billion from the fund. British coal justified this by saying it would allow them to keep some pits open. However, they used this money to close pits and pay redundancy. Effectively taking money from miners in order to pay them what they were due and facilitate a process which left many out of work."

This is a recurrent theme, from 1994 to today, 4.2 billion has been taken by successive governments. Under John Major a deal was struck whereby the government would underwrite the fund, ensuring miners would receive their pensions, but allowing them to take 50% of any surpluses. Mick believes the government at the time were able to use the actions of Robert Maxwell to scare monger people into giving the government control: "Maxwell was raiding The Mirror group's funds and the argument was 'you don't want someone like him having it so they can be irresponsible with it'".

Investment surpluses from miners pension funds have been used for compensation schemes which were due to miners for conditions such as vibration white finger and pneumoconiosis, a potentially fatal condition, caused by their work in mines. This compensation should have been entirely independent from pension funds. Miners were effectively paying their own compensation.

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Mick told me that surpluses from the pension fund have also been used to subsidise the wealthy, subsidise bankers, bail out the banks and protect off shore bank accounts. It seems they have generally been plundered and used as a ready source of cash for the treasury, at no cost. He feels, as do many others, that there has been a long standing vendetta against the miners.

"First they took our jobs away, secondly they tried to destroy our communities, and now the only thing that we've got left to fight for which is our pensions, they are syphoning off 50% of our pension fund"

"From 1994 onwards the scheme has not been in deficit, all they've done is take surpluses, the scheme was the second biggest in Europe at one stage. A freedom of information request going back to 1997 shows nothing has been paid in since then, which is when the government took over the fund. Not a single penny has been contributed by the government."

As a result, former miners and their widows are receiving at best half of what they would have been. There are high rates of pensioner poverty in the former mining communities, so residents have less money to spend in shops, which then close down, compounding the level of deprivation these areas face.

Do you feel there has been a negative bias in the media over the last 30 years?

"Definitely. If this was happening to teachers there would be a national scandal, but the miners have been under attack for 30 years."

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"If we take the issue on a patriotic level I worked on the coal face, my dad did and my grandad did, all in different pits, but the coal industry and generations of miners have brought us through the industrial revolution, two world wars and brought us into the digital age and that's all been forgotten as a contribution to the country. With that in mind it was deeply insulting when Thatcher called us 'The enemy within' and the media turned against us because most mining communities were quite patriotic and immensely proud of their contribution to the nation."

"I know a lot of former miners that, when the put was closed, when they finished working down the mines, the first thing that happened to them, was depression. They were constantly being bombarded by the media. They stripped us of all our pride, and dignity. You know, it's not just what they did but it's how they did it, the attacks were so cynical that a lot of miners felt 'what was all that for?'"

The local government pension scheme will soon be debated in parliament, Mick feels there is a risk that what has happened with the miners pensions will happen with local government pensions as there is talk of them taking control over where the investments go. "Soon local government workers will be facing this and fire fighters are already facing similar issues. Government knows there is very little left to privatise and to give to their friends, now they're looking at the pensions of working people and thinking this is an easy take. I don't think it's about the government saying it's because of austerity, it is an attempt by the government to take from working people their security in their senior years, which they've worked very hard for, sometimes become disabled for, and there's been blood sweat and tears. Now we have 42,000 widows in receipt of the mine workers' pension and they of course are living in poverty. They're talking about using finance from local government pension to pay for infrastructure projects, and they will of course award those infrastructure projects to their friends and once again they'll be taking the money and investing it in projects that may have very little return. But with pension schemes, if you're a trustee, you have a duty and a responsibility to invest that money to get the best possible returns. That's not going to happen if the government get control of those investments."

Do you think there's a lack of awareness about the miners' pensions scandal?

"Well I think a few are starting to wake up. The thing is in working class communities we don't start thinking about pensions until we need it, so the problem is, how can you mobilise a mass movement on an issue like pensions because nobody really thinks about that until later on down the line. We paid, I paid about 20 a week, but you always knew that was going to give you security in your senior years and that was going to be a good pension. Lo and behold, they've done various things through the back door to ensure that we haven't. It's not just about them taking the money, it's also about them saying to miners, former miners, you're not having this because we don't think you're worthy of it."

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"It's about a redistribution of wealth. What's happening now with pensions is government philosophy. Redistributing that wealth away from the miners or the workers and upwards into the people who they (the government) represent. Another thing we're unhappy about is how undemocratic these schemes are. With the Miners' Pension Fund, there's no transparency or accountability, they don't have an AGM, you can't hold the trustees to account. They are not liable to freedom of information requests. There's 11 billion pounds in the fund, how can you have finance on that level going unquestioned?"

"One of the things I'm calling for is that pension funds are democratised, that there is more transparency and accountability for the actions taken by those in control. The thing is, private pension schemes have more transparency and accountability and hold AGMs but public sector pension schemes don't."

Whose support do you feel you would like to see? In my view Labour MPs SHOULD be behind this issue because they should be representing working people. Is that something you would agree with and do you think you have already got support from anyone in government?

"Well this is another atrocity, after 1997 we had successive Labour governments, we had an opportunity to address this issue and put it right, nothing was done. In 2002 the Labour government requested a report from Watson and Wyatt who are their own actuaries. Watson and Wyatt came back and said a fairer distribution would be 85% to the miners and 15% to the government because it was a very successful scheme and the level of risk is negligible plus formers miners were dying at a rate of 10,000 every year. So the chances of the government having to pay anything out in future were minimal. But the government did not act upon it. So Labour has been just as bad if not worse. Some MPs are coming forward now. There is more awareness of what's been taking place, but they're very slow in coming forward. I think a lot of them think oh what are the miners going on about again, they're always going on about something. But we only decide to fight and campaign if we think it's worthwhile and we have justification for that. Being surrounded by that level of pensioner poverty, more so for the widows, it's not on. We've been had, we've been stripped of everything we've ever held dear."

"At the rally we'll be calling for an independent public enquiry. Some MPs have been going down the route of trying to get our case heard by the DWP select committee. How can we go in front of a government select committee which is full of MPs when MPs are responsible for the problem? There's too much conflict of interest and that's why we're calling for an independent public enquiry because with that we get the transparency and the accountability and possibly some recommendations at the end of it. We feel this is an absolute necessity and the only way in which we are going to get a successful conclusion. Taking this to a select committee is undermining our case rather than helping it as it puts the decision in the hands of the very people who have caused the problem and let us down in the past."

This has been going on for a long time now and tragically a lot of former miners have already passed away, the sad thing is that even if you do get a positive result at this stage it will come too late for many people.

"Well this is it, this is the other difference between the DWP select committee and an independent public enquiry. If it goes in front of the DWP again it can get kicked into the long grass for years and years, and we saw how long it took for the Hillsborough 96 to get a result, and it was only through their dogged determination and integrity that they got anywhere. We can't afford to wait another 30 years because by that time the 200, 000 mine workers and their dependents will be dead. So we also need a timeframe. We need guidance and strict criteria so we can say you have 6 months to turn this around, we're losing 10,000 beneficiaries every year and their lives are affected now. So this has to be done correctly, be given a priority and be turned around as quickly as possible."

"The TUC need to get involved, we're going to see other sectors having their pensions looked at with the idea that the government can get control of those and do what they like with the investments and I think the TUC has a duty to see what's taking place in some of our communities and realise this isn't just an isolated issue. If they can get away with doing this to the miners they can do it to everyone else and the TUC need to recognize that and back these pension campaigns."

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Depending upon their age miners receive on average between 10 and 40 per week. If you took risks and sacrificed your health and years from your lifespan would you feel grateful for 10 per week? Or would it leave you questioning your own self-worth and the value wider society places upon you? These men have watched friends who risked their lives alongside them succumb to illness and die too young.
On Saturday 24th September, the opening day of CITES CoP17 (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust will again be joining in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos.

Having planted the seed for the marches three years ago when we organised the first International March for Elephants through our iworry campaign, the DSWT remains committed to supporting what has become a truly global movement for both elephants and rhinos. To witness the growth of this movement has been inspiring, as more and more people take up the mantle for these two highly threatened species.

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This year, the marches have been organised to begin on the opening day of the CoP17 (Conference of the Parties), during which time delegates representing 183 countries will decide the fate of elephants and rhinos, among other species, with the decisions they take.

As a field based organisation, operating Anti-Poaching Teams, Aerial Surveillance Units and Mobile Veterinary Teams, we at the DSWT have been witness on a first-hand basis to the impact increased demand for ivory has had on elephants. That demand, which was fueled by a previous CITES decision to allow for the one-off sale of more than 100 tonnes of stockpiled ivory to China and Japan, has seen elephant numbers decimated across Africa. Figures recently revealed by the African Elephant Census, which took two years to complete, further demonstrated the impact. In the area surveyed, which covered 93% of the elephants' range there are now just 352,271 (tragically this figure will already be lower, given the report was completed over one month ago). Between 2007 and 2014, elephant populations fell by a staggering 30%, while in Tanzania they have plummeted by 60% in just five years. The census went on to state that at current rates we could see 50% of the remaining population lost in the next 10 years.

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It's what is behind all these figures that sends shudders down the spine. Individual lives brutally brought to an end with snares, poison arrows, gunshots and traps, many animals not killed instantly, leaving them to walk for hours, days and even weeks carrying fatal wounds that slowly but surely will kill them.

In Kenya, where we operate four Mobile Veterinary Teams with the Kenya Wildlife Service, and a Sky Vet project, we have been fortunate to save the lives of thousands of these injured elephants. However we haven't been able to save them all and, across the continent, tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year. Delve deeper still and you will find orphaned elephants, for a poacher does not care if an animal is a mother with a suckling calf, totally reliant on its mother for its own survival. These are the forgotten victims, left to die from starvation, dehydration or by predators - their fate sealed by an illegal human act. Except in Kenya, for those we at the DSWT have been able to rescue. Working alongside KWS and often with the support of other NGOs, we have been able to rescue hundreds of orphaned elephant calves over the years and more than 100 of these once fragile and ill-fated babies are now living a full and natural life back in the wild. In fact many have gone on to have their own wild born calves and, in at least one instance that we know of, to become a grandmother!

It is impossible to put into words the effect on one's psyche when arriving at the scene of a rescue, especially where a mother has been poached for her ivory and the baby has seen this ordeal unfold. In this situation, more often than not the baby is completely traumatized and cannot know that not all humans are the same, not all humans crave ivory or the death of an elephant to secure it. The majority of us wish to see a world where elephants roam free from fear of poachers, where they are respected and cherished as living beings and allowed to spend their days eating, drinking, playing and socialising. Something many humans are able to take for granted in their lives, yet we fail to help other species, with whom we share this planet, to have the same right. Roi was just 10 months old when she was found next to her dead mother, who'd been killed with a poisoned spear. She was completely confused and disorientated, her life source taken from her, for reasons she could not understand.

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That was two years ago. Today Roi is healthy, strong and surrounded by love, exuded by her fellow orphaned elephants in our care - there are currently 24 babies at our Nursery alone - and our keepers, who provide 24 hour a day care to the infants, playing the role of surrogate mother. To see Roi today brings both joy and heartache, for while she is happy now and will return to the wild when grown, in a world without ivory sales she would never have needed our help for she would be living wild with her mother and the rest of her herd. This is not the world elephants face. That can however change and, over the next two weeks in South Africa, which is hosting CoP17, delegates have it in their power to create the world elephants deserve and one where they can more safely roam the plains.

We march not only for Roi, but for the countless elephants orphaned by poaching, for their mothers and fathers, their brothers and sisters and for the future of their entire species. CITES delegates and National Politicians really do have the ability to affect real and lasting change for elephants, and rhinos, through the closure of all domestic ivory markets, and the reclassification of all elephants to what CITES term, Appendix 1 - this affords the highest degree of protection and lists those species which are threatened with extinction. Trade in these species or their derivatives is permitted only in exceptional scientific circumstances. For elephants, this would mean transferring those populations from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe currently listed under Appendix II to Appendix I and would ensure Africa's elephants, which roam across national borders, are all classified in the same grouping.

We know the marches are seen and heard by these people and that is why they have such an important role to play, especially at the opening of CoP17. So if you can, please join a march near you and show them that all of us, humanity, wants change and a world where elephants are seen only as elephants and able to live without fear.
The anti-ageing industry is at peak demand and recent research by Trinity College Dublin has even shown that how you see yourself ageing can affect brain ageing. As a result, the beauty industry is getting to know you and tailor products to your skin's changing needs.

A popular cosmetics example is the No 7 'Match Made' services available from Boots. These offer bespoke colour consultations allowing you to find out which precise makeup shades suit your unique skin tone. After all, nothing will age you quicker than bad makeup.

On the skincare front Kiehl's recently launched its Apothecary Preparations, a 'personalised skincare service'. Following an in-store one-on-one consultation with one of their customer service reps, facial concentrate serums are recommended to your individual skin type and concerns. This involves a base 'strengthening concentrate' to which additional preparations are added by you at home, each one designed to tackle a specific issue - wrinkles, clarity, enlarged pores etc etc.

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These are undoubtedly positive steps that can help skin to look its best, but when it comes to truly understanding your skin, they still seem fairly superficial.

What I've been exploring this week takes the personalisation concept to the next level and, after 10 years in development, the UK's first DNA-based skincare has now landed. It is also partnering with Selfridges to bring an exclusive quick-turnaround service to shoppers.

I'm frequently invited to try new beauty treatments and product ranges but this is the first one that's ever involved having a DNA test. That, along with a brief lifestyle questionnaire, quickly and easily completed on an iPad, is what my consultation comprised at Geneu, the futuristic skincare company leading the way in taking a genetic approach to beauty.

Having completely forgotten to ask anything about how I should arrive, I turned up makeup-free and had even picked my nail varnish off en route in case they wanted to examine my nails. I mean I've seen CSI and am fully aware of how DNA is taken but clearly driven half mad with excitement about finding out if my numbers had come up on the genetic lottery, I somehow decided this was the way to go.

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After arriving at the swish yet futuristically medical studio Sarah Brown MSc, the wonderful scientific advisor who took my consultation, assured me many people do the same. It's such a new concept after all - swabbing the inside of each cheek then your gum lines with what looks like a lip gloss applicator is hardly what we're used to doing when deciding upon new skincare.

Sarah, like all Geneu's experts, has a background in science so was able to answer all my queries about DNA's effects on skin ageing - the primary concern the brand's current product line addresses. She studied at Imperial College London - the same prestigious university where Geneu's lab is based and where my DNA sample would be heading off to.

So here's what I learned during my consultation: 60 per cent of how well our skin ages is down to genetics, with 40 per cent being down to environmental factors including smoking and sun exposure.

'Free radicals are minute chemicals produced in response to environmental factors and can be thwarted by the skin's natural defences found in our cells, known as antioxidants,' explained Sarah. 'Collagen keeps your skin firm, supple and youthful. Enzymes called collagenases coded by our DNA degrade collagen throughout our lifetime. How active these collagenases and antioxidants are depends on the genes you have inherited.'

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Using the information gathered during your consultation to produce two serums tailored to your skin on a genetic level is what makes Geneu so different. Within 48 hours of my appointment at their Mayfair store I had a set of custom serums waiting and a full report on my skin's DNA profile in relation to the only genes they test for - those connected to antioxidant protection and collagen breakdown (there's no chance of them cloning you - fear not). For those who really can't wait, the new Geneu pop-up in Selfridges Oxford Street, which runs in the Beauty Workshop until 9th October, offers same day test results for those whose samples are submitted by 2.30pm.

Some of my results are pictured above (thank you mum and dad) and although you can return to Geneu - either at their standalone clinic or the Selfridges pop-up concession - to be talked through the findings and pick up your products, or have them sent out to you, I found the report sufficiently comprehensive so had my partner pick them up for me as I had already picked out my choice of casing for the serums and couldn't wait to get my hands on it all.

My kit came with two sets of serums - AOX1 and COLS. The AOX1 serums are hydrating and plumping, formulated to assist the skin's natural antioxidant protection levels, decreasing fine lines. This contains hyaluronic acid, photo-protective peptides and japanese bloodgrass (a plant extract that helps to combat wrinkles). The COLS serum is the one that deals with the turnover of collagen in the skin. It contains vitamins A,C and E, oligopeptides and marine collagen to deal with bigger wrinkles and help the skin appear smoother and healthier.

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You apply two pumps of each, AOX1 first - this gives a sticky base which initially put me off but Sarah confirmed this is meant to be the case so that the second follow up COLS serum can grab on easier. Once the second serum goes on the stickiness disappears and the skin takes on a velvet-y texture. You can then apply your normal moisturiser (if you want to - I've found I don't need to every time) and make up, as usual.

The actual packaging that the serums are contained within looks seriously cool and gadget-y, with a satisfying chunkiness. Available in a choice of three colours - white, black or gunmetal grey - I think the longest part of my consultation was spent trying to decide between them (I went for the grey in the end and even my boyfriend thinks it looks cool). Not gonna lie, fitting the brushed steel-like tubes into the 'lock and load' casing totally makes you feel like a badass scientist. It looks like the kind of thing Lara Croft would strap to her belt.

Another thing that's pretty damn badass is the promised results. Within 1 week of starting your Geneu regime they expect you to notice a more refined skin texture, that looks smoother and better hydrated. Within 6 to 8 weeks fine lines and wrinkles should diminish whilst hydration, skin tone and brightness should increase. With 12+ weeks' use - and this is the bit I'm really looking forward to - your skin's contours should become more defined while expression lines and age-related pigmentation decreases, in addition to the skin having a more 'firm and lifted' appearance overall. Nice.

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I'm usually sceptical of beauty product claims because who isn't? Thinking about it though, if something is expertly designed to tackle the underlying cause rather than the surface effects, why wouldn't it be effective? I've been using my serums twice per day for five days now and, despite having taken an international flight during that time, my skin already feels bizarrely silky - as if I'm wearing a makeup primer - even straight after washing. I'll post updates as I go on my instagram page for anyone who's interested in seeing the progression.

Aside from the whole genetics mind-blowingness and the fact that it's totally non-invasive (read: pain free), plus doesn't inhibit facial movement botox-style, to me the most impressive part of the Geneu offering is that neither the product nor any of its ingredients are tested on animals. Massive props to them for that. For where it sits in the beauty market I also find the price to be completely reasonable, especially when compared to the types of treatments and procedures many people use on top of their regular skincare products in order to achieve the promise of 'youthful' results.

So could Geneu be part of some Cocoon-style movement to reverse the signs of ageing? It can't hurt to find out...
There is barely a person alive today who hasn't at one time or another compared property hunting to dating. From the disappointing first meeting with a basement room in Clapham, to wondering whether you can double text the spacious flatshare in Canary Wharf, searching for somewhere to live especially in a city like London can be just as difficult as searching for The One.

Unfortunately dating has a dark side and so does looking for somewhere to live, especially when you're a young woman on your own. Moving in with complete strangers is unlikely to be anyone's first choice but often poor timing, a lack of money or just plain bad luck means renting a room in a shared house or flat is the only option.

Currently the best way to find spare rooms is on the internet. There are a handful of websites that connect landlords or existing tenants with vacant rooms to those in need of a roof over their head, and they work pretty well, as long as you're willing to put the hours in and are realistic about the state of renting in this country. The issue arises in the same way it does on almost all websites and social media platforms where women are involved, when it becomes an opportunity for men to attempt to solicit sex.

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As an individual person searching for a room on one of the leading rental websites you're asked to create a personal profile to improve your chances of finding somewhere to live. This includes a photo, a few lines about yourself, where you're looking to move and your budget. It sounds fairly straightforward and innocent, but with just a few clicks anyone can access the profiles of thousands of smiling young women, view all of the details on their profile and send them messages. With reams of information and images available to view it's unsurprising that these sites are attracting men with less than honourable intentions.

Once someone has created a profile and started to contact landlords it's easy to be exchanging messages with strangers on these sites multiple times a day and if interest is expressed in a room viewing its common practice to exchange phone numbers. Most people are reluctant to share their number with strangers they meet over the internet unless they're looking for a date and it seems that many men cannot distinguish between what should be a professional exchange and the opportunity to get laid.

A quick search on Google or Twitter reveals numerous reports of women receiving strange, sexual or inappropriate messages from men advertising properties. In some cases men appear to be using the site for dating and want to flirt or ask the user out for a drink and while this isn't illegal it is inappropriate, if a woman wants a date she'll go on a dating site, not a property rental site. Others are more direct, asking women for sex or suggesting they would accept sex in payment for a room; many just send explicit messages or comment on the woman's appearance. Often room rental websites admit freely that property adverts aren't vetted and their safety advice often seems more concerned with the possibility of fraud than the personal safety of users.

Although these messages aren't a physical threat, texts can be deleted and numbers can be blocked, most people associate where they live with safety and comfort. So why when women are looking for the next place they can call home, must they be made to feel vulnerable or scared?

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The threat of danger only escalates once a viewing is arranged. Room viewings typically involve the landlord or an existing tenant providing a tour of the property but this often means that a woman is meeting up with a complete stranger, in an empty property at locations she is unfamiliar with. With little or no vetting carried out by websites, how can women be sure the person they're meeting is who they say they are? Or that they aren't a threat?
Reports from the US today tell us that Betty Shelby, a white police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been charged with manslaughter. And quite rightly so. With yet more harrowing footage from a 'dash cam' (too jolly a name for something that has uncovered such sinister things) and a helicopter show a clearly unarmed man, walking away, and then being shot to death by a police officer. If only this were a one-off. I cannot imagine the sorrow of Terence Crutcher's family, their sense of unbelievable frustration at yet another life being tragically cut short. Never mind the feelings of all black people in the US and the entire world, feeling (yet again) victimised.

One thing really stood out for me in the words of the judge. Apparently, Shelby became "emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted." Now here's a familiar word. Ah yes, a female police officer, being too emotional. No doubt she was on her period or perhaps she was feeling fat that day and decided to take it out on an innocent bystander. The use of the language is pertinent, because it is decidedly feminine, and implies an inability to correctly control herself.

So where are the other convictions? Why weren't officers deemed to be 'emotional' when they shot Demarcus Semer, who was armed with nothing other than his mobile phone? Why couldn't the officers have 'overreacted' when they shot and killed Jeremy McDole, a man sitting in a wheelchair? When lives are being lost, it seems like a trite thing to bring up, but the narrative that is created around these incidents and the use of language to justify or excuse them is part of the problem.

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All too often, when the officers are male, the language that is used revolves around things like 'perceived threat' or phrases like 'thought he had a gun.' Each time, the language used depicts the officers as fighting for good, as protectors of the peace, rather than overgrown children who got trigger-happy because the situation all got a bit much for them.

Men are emotional, too. We shouldn't forget that they are subject to different stereotypes to women. They are supposed to be tough, manly, a hero, saving the day. The blame for these murders could just as equally be traced back to idiotic Hollywood portrayals of good guys and bad guys, and the idea that men have to be violent in order to be powerful.
I've lived all over the UK but South Wales is where my heart is.I was born in Caerphilly and grew up in Cardiff, I love going to the rugby, scoffing Welsh cakes and going out with mates.

Cardiff is a vibrant city, we Welsh are some of the funniest, kindest people I have met and I am proud to say I am Welsh and call Cardiff my home.

As a practising Muslim (though flawed) I've never felt the need to wear my religion as a badge of honour.

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Religion is a private matter between you and whoever you choose your God to be, for me it happens to be Allah. With this in mind, it is with great apprehension I watch a young generation of Muslims with growing puritanical attitudes.

My friends from other faiths often ask me about the face veil, which you do not need to be an Islamic scholar to know is not mandatory attire.

Growing up in Wales I don't recall seeing women in the full-face veil, now it is a common sight.

As a woman, a feminist and somebody who believes in equality I view the niqab as a move away from progressive values many of us hold dear. It is a physical barrier to communication and integration. Women who wear the niqab have every right to dress how they want, because we live in a democracy, but I feel more comfortable communicating with someone whose face I can see. I know others who feel the same but feel they can't say it for fear of being labelled racist.

The horrific terrorist attacks we have seen in France and indeed across the World recently are designed to tear apart communities. We must work together to fight the "us and them" mentality these groups want to create. ISIS are in no way Islamic.

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As Muslims we must unite, join the international fight against ISIS and challenge the way they are defiling our religion and dividing communities.

I attended a dinner in Cardiff City Hall, which focused on tackling Islamophobia in Wales.

It didn't seem representative to me; not one woman on the top table where the had seated the politicians and self appointed "community leaders" and championed by the Muslim Council of Wales and Mend.

These organisations don't represent my views or, I believe, many like me, who are happily integrated into our communities across Wales.

The speaker who made me walk out was Salafi preacher Abu Eesa Niamatullah whose 45-minute speech I listened to and who, in my view, should never have been given a public platform. (Salafi doctrine can be summed up as a fundamentalist and ultra conservative approach to Islam.)

This cleric has said many things I disagree with, including his idea of combating Islamophobia by being more orthodox.

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I had previously read some of his views on the Prophetic Guidance website.

In that he said: "Women should not be in the workplace whatsoever. Full stop. I simply can't imagine how we will safeguard our Islamic identity in the future and build strong Muslim communities in the West with women wanting to go out and becoming employed in the hell that it is out there.

"I am an absolute extremist in this issue in that I don't have any time for the opposing arguments."

It astounds me he was given a public platform in Cardiff and that a Welsh Government Labour Minister shared a stage with him. I for one will not accept or tolerate such misogynistic and orthodox views in my hometown.

Some young Muslims are drawn in by the views of more radical Islamic clerics, watching hours of YouTube videos, going to some mosques where preachers misinterpret the verses of the Quran and isolating themselves from non-Muslims, immersing themselves in a politicised form of Islam looking to right the wrongs of Western foreign policy over many years, citing Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia as examples.

The citizens' commission on Islam, which came to Cardiff, hopes to engage more Muslims in public life. The commission engaged with the MCW and hand-picked individuals put forward by them and others.

The commission was told that radicalisation was not a problem in Wales and that the Muslim community worked well with the Government and police here. I disagree.

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2014 saw Cardiff catapulted to the international stage for all the wrong reasons. Reyaad Khan and Nasser Muthana from Cardiff went to Syria to become terrorists.

2012 saw two Cardiff brothers jailed for plotting to bomb the Stock Exchange. That same year a man was jailed for eight months after threatening to shoot police and council officials at an anti-terror raid in Cardiff and, of course, who can forget the Cardiff man who pleaded guilty to posting a string of terrorist publications on Facebook. These people are under our noses.

Various factors have allowed extremism to brew under the radar in South Wales.

The few mosques across Wales that welcome fundamentalist speakers to preach, radicalisation in the home and online, the liberal left sense of political correctness thrust upon us by many Government officials with no real understanding of different communities and the denial of the wider Muslim community that this is even going on is a volatile combination.

Only by acknowledging problems within the already fractured Muslim community will we stand a chance of rooting them out and going back to living peacefully with each other as we once did.

Many migrants came to the UK in the 1960s. They maintained their faith and culture and gained the respect and trust of their communities by integrating.

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The prime minister, Theresa May, has kept her Brexit cards close to the chest. A crystal ball is not, however, needed to see that in the battle for Britain's future outside the EU, Britain's new trade arrangements will be pivotal. Two radically different options have emerged.

The first, for which the remainers clamour, is to negotiate some form of membership of the Single Market - 'Norway' style, EEA style, or via a bespoke UK-EU deal. For these protagonists, the Single Market seems still to be the only show in town, and no price is too high for entry. They want Britain's focus, therefore, to be on achieving such a deal, irrespective of whatever the various EU countries demand in return. Such a deal would need each of the 27 member states to agree. The odds are against their doing so, as they have already made clear.

Take the sabre rattling by some EU countries who demand continued EU immigration to Britain. At the recent Bratislava summit Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission President, insisted there was 'no prospect' of compromise on this area, and the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, announced that the Visegrad 4 group (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) would veto any deal which limited people's right to work in the UK.

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But the British people voted to regain control of their laws and their borders and in doing and to end free movement from the EU. The Prime Minister knows this well. Immigration is therefore a red line, and an attempt to reach a deal to stay in the Single Market would founder on it.

Nonetheless, this option remains hard fought by some. Their tenacity is seen by the economist, Patrick Minford, to represent another round in the battle to preserve the protection the Single Market gives to producers at the cost of consumers. Minford's new study, Trading Places: Consumers v Producers in the New Brexit Economy, examines the economic context of the referendum, the implications of belonging to or leaving the Single Market and the options for trade post Brexit. The producers fighting for a deal, who include big business and manufacturing industries, benefit from the economic protection of the EU afforded by the tariff and regulatory wall around the Single Market that keeps costs high and cheaper competitors at bay. Producers also benefit by being allowed to import unskilled labour from poor areas of the EU, the so called 'fourth freedom', a powerful 'producer privilege at the expense of the consumers', as Minford puts it. Moreover, through their taxes consumers subsidise the welfare benefits for which many of these unskilled workers are eligible, tax credits c.3,500 on average per year and running to a total of 3.5 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) - and these are figures which exclude other tax-funded general costs such as those for healthcare and education.

Remaining in the Single Market would have to cross the voters' red lines, whereas leaving would bring a huge saving to the consumer and a significant fillip to Britain's economy. Minford and his colleagues estimate the costs of protection which come from Single Market membership 'raise the costs of goods to consumers in the UK by up to 20 percent'. They are, he says, 'far more damaging than the alternative, of being outside with no trade barriers against the rest of the world, leading to lower prices and taxes in the UK ...'.

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This brings us to the second option, for unilateral free trade under WTO rules, one Minford advocates along with growing numbers of international trade economists and lawyers. That course would allow the UK to have access to the EU's Single Market on the same or equivalent basis as the US, Canada and other countries, meeting common and agreed standard conditions for goods and services. It would be consistent with the electoral mandate to leave the EU along with its expensive constraints and the baggage of the Single Market. This option leaves Britain with its sovereign powers intact, the power to control its borders and to be governed by its own laws. It meets the democratic mandate of the referendum.

And while there will be much to negotiate with the EU to give effect to Article 50, on this option there would be no need to delay while trying to draw up a complex trade agreement.

We may find that when it comes to the point, Angela Merkel may prefer to do a special deal with Britain, partly to guarantee that German cars can continue to find their way into UK dealers without the standard car tariff. Indeed, she may want to trump the WTO with her own free trade deal. But unless Britain plans and prepares for the WTO deal, we shall never know.

Sheila Lawlor is Director of Politeia which this week publishes
Scott Olson via Getty Images

This morning I woke up and went on social media like most of us now do, and my attention was immediately caught by an article headline "When black death goes viral, it can trigger PTSD-like trauma" by Kenya Downs. Thank you Kenya.

The main points in the article, for those who won't go and read it are as follows:

Research suggests that for people of colour, frequent exposure to the shootings of black people can have long-term mental health effects. According to Monnica Williams, clinical psychologist and director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Louisville, graphic videos (which she calls vicarious trauma) combined with lived experiences of racism, can create severe psychological problems reminiscent of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

"There's a heightened sense of fear and anxiety when you feel like you can't trust the people who've been put in charge to keep you safe. Instead, you see them killing people who look like you," she says. "Combined with the everyday instances of racism, like microaggressions and discrimination, that contributes to a sense of alienation and isolation. It's race-based trauma."

While research on the psychological impact of racism has only emerged within the last 15 years, Williams says it's "now starting to get the attention that it deserves" and experts are "seeing very strong, robust and repeated negative impacts of discrimination."

A 2012 study found that black Americans reported experiencing discrimination at significantly higher rates than any other ethnic minority. The study, which surveyed thousands of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans, also found that blacks who perceived discrimination the most, were more likely to report symptoms of PTSD. Although African-Americans have a lower risk for many anxiety disorders, the study reported a PTSD prevalence rate of 9.1 percent in blacks, compared to 6.8 percent in whites, 5.9 percent in Hispanics, and 1.8 percent in Asians.

Social media and viral videos can worsen the effects. During the week of Sterling's and Castile's deaths, a scroll through timelines of black social media users could uncover subtle expressions of mental and psychological anguish, from pleas for others not the share these videos, to declarations of a social media hiatus. Williams says that's not unusual. These expressions of anger, sadness and grief can hint at something much more serious.

Now there are some more points that I feel need to be explored from a UK perspective and what it is like being Black in Britain and still having to see these images. Many people dismiss the effect black death in America, especially by the hands of the police, has on the Black community in the UK and especially on our inner-city youth.

Please also remember, although the majority of the world may have seen the edited versions of the death of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile (as only two examples) on the news, those on social media saw these murders raw, without warning and without any emotional or mental protection.

We recently have seen the footage of the ample named PC Savage smashing a car windscreen after a young black man refused to leave the vehicle over here in good ol' London. I've seen a few comments like "if the young man was not guilty, why did he not just get out the car" or the one I love the most "well he isn't helping himself acting like that" but see, things are not that simple.

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Having PTSD or suffering from trauma like the aforementioned, will put the mind into a state of hyper vigilance and paranoia. If you have watched extremely graphic videos of police killing someone who looks like you, then the police, to a mind that is traumatised, do become a threat (not to dismiss in some cases are a threat). Also to the traumatised human unconscious, there is not a difference between the UK and the US police force, in fact there is also not much difference between good and bad police officers.

When we perceive a threat, we act as if threatened, that is what trauma does. So we in the UK must also be mindful of the impact black death on social media is having in our communities and especially on our youth, who's minds have not fully developed yet and are now having to deal with these graphic videos and the vicarious trauma that can accompany them.
Michigan State President Samuel Stanley has apologized and says the actions of the football players who were involved in a postgame melee with Michigan players are unacceptable.
A little enforced New York City regulation requires that teachers remain politically neutral when performing official duties. In 2008, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ruled that public school teachers could not wear political buttons in the classroom. The teachers' union challenged the ban but it was upheld by Federal District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan. Kaplan declared it was up to individual school districts to determine whether buttons in the classroom interfered with learning. However, he warned "school officials may not take a sledgehammer to freedom of expression." A similar ban on political buttons in San Diego schools was upheld by California courts in 1996.

Courts have often given unclear guidelines in rulings on a teacher's first amendment rights. However, what is clear is that school districts have flexibility in enforcing their policies - within limits. In 1972, a New York court sided with a teacher who was suspended for wearing an armband protesting against the Vietnam War. The court held that the teacher's actions did not interfere with educational interests. In 2008, courts overturned an attempt by the University of Illinois to stop employees from attending political rallies and from displaying political campaign bumper stickers on campus.

In Pickering v. Board of Education (1968), the United States Supreme Court ruled that school employees have Constitutional protection when they are speaking about issues of a public nature. In that decision the court overturned a school district's decision to fire a teacher for commenting on school expenditures in a letter to a local newspaper.

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Last week a foreign language teacher in Smithtown, New York was "administratively reassigned" after she posted on her Facebook page, "This week is Spirit Week at Smithtown HS West. It's easy to spot which students are racist by the Trump gear they're sporting for USA Day." While I do not believe her remarks are appropriate, the teacher did not express her views in her classes and is not accused of making remarks at school. As of this time there has been no formal disciplinary action by the school district and no court case.

Social media remains a minefield for teachers with no clear guidelines. An article by Michael Simpson, Assistant General Counsel for the National Education Association, documented a series of teacher firings for online posts.

In 2013 the New York City Department of Education (DOE) issued guidelines for "recommended practices for professional social media communication between DOE employees, as well as social media communication between DOE employees and DOE students." Of course, the guidelines were not really recommendations. DOE supervisors were designated as responsible for monitoring and providing feedback on employee use of professional social media sites.

The guidelines also included "recommendations" for "Personal social media use" for "non work-related social media activity." They include:

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DOE employees should not communicate with students who are currently enrolled in DOE schools on personal social media sites.

DOE employees are encouraged to use appropriate privacy settings to control access to their personal social media sites.

The posting or disclosure of personally identifiable student information or confidential information via personal social media sites, in violation of Chancellor's Regulations, is prohibited.

Personal social media use, including off-hours use, has the potential to result in disruption at school and/or the workplace, and can be in violation of DOE policies, Chancellor's Regulations, and law.

The last recommendation is the one that concerns me and should concern the teachers' union. Saying something has the potential to disrupt, even if it does not actually cause a disruption, is an open-ended assertion of authority over a teacher's right to free expression.

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To help teachers navigate treacherous waters, in 2015 the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued an updated version on the free speech rights of teachers developed by its Washington State branch.

According to the ACLU's interpretation of the Constitution and the law, "Generally, the First Amendment protects your speech if you are speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern. However, if you are speaking in an official capacity (within the duties of your job), your speech will not have the same protection. What you say or communicate inside the classroom is considered speech on behalf of the school district and therefore will not be entitled to much protection. Certain types of speech outside the school might also not be protected if the school can show that your speech created a substantial adverse impact on school functioning." They warn if as a teacher "You post a 'joke' on Facebook about your students being lazy" it is not protected speech even though you are making it in your private capacity.

In addition, "School districts have the authority to control course content and teaching methods. You are generally considered to speak for the school district when you are in your classroom. Therefore, your speech in the classroom does not have much First Amendment protection. This can be a murky area, however. Some courts have ruled that schools cannot discipline teachers for sharing words or concepts that are controversial as long as the school has no legitimate interest in restricting that speech and the speech is related to the curriculum. In general, you should exercise caution so as not to give the appearance that you are advocating a particular religious or political view in the classroom." The same goes for classroom displays.

While "The Supreme Court has ruled that students can wear armbands to school as an expression of their political views and that their right to free speech can only be limited if the speech would cause "substantial and material disruption" . . . The right of teachers to express their views in school on public matters is not so clear . . . Courts have also upheld discipline for teachers wearing T-shirts with political messages or slogans."

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The ACLU warns that if school officials can show political expression outside the classroom "could adversely affect school functions or your effectiveness as a teacher, the First Amendment may not protect you." They offer similar advice for the use of social media, an area where "law is continuing to evolve." According to the ACLU, "if you use social media in your private capacity to express your beliefs on a matter of public concern, you may be protected. However, if you use social media to comment about students, school or other work-related matters, or you use it to engage in what might be considered conduct impairing your functioning as a teacher, the First Amendment may not protect you." None of the examples they offer of "conduct impairing your functioning as a teacher" are similar to what happened in Smithtown.

Education "experts" hedge a bit when discussing whether a teacher has the right to express their views during classroom discussions. In an interview with National Public Radio, Diana Hess, co-author of The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education, reported that their study showed "teachers who were doing an excellent job who shared their own views with students, and there were teachers doing an excellent job who didn't share their views." She and her co-author Paula McAvoy concluded "there are times when it's probably better for teachers to share than other times when it's better for them not to share. That depends in large part on the context -- on who's in their class and what their goals are." However, they also argued the "feeling that the public seems to have that teachers by definition are trying to push their political views on students is just false."

In the fall 2016 issue of Teaching Tolerance, Maureen Costello, the publication's director, argues that in discussions on the current Presidential election campaign teachers should focus on promoting basic American values including that "Truth is essential to the 'American Way.'" In the classroom, this would include a heavy component of fact-checking statements made by candidates who should at least be held to the same evidentiary standards as students.

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I like Costello's ideas. This weekend, The New York Times posted "A Week of Whoppers from Donald Trump" Between September 15 and 21 they documented 31 "whoppers," "falsehoods, exaggerations and outright lies." According to the article, "virtually all of Mr. Trump's falsehoods directly bolstered a powerful and self-aggrandizing narrative depicting him as a heroic savior for a nation menaced from every direction. Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist, described the practice as creating 'an unreality bubble that he surrounds himself with.'"

Students should fact-check statements by both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at the Presidential debates. Politifact, FactCheck, and the Washington Post's Fact Checker are also useful sources. If one candidate comes across poorly when students fact-check their statements, that is the candidate's problem, not ours as social studies teachers.

According to the National Council for the Social Studies, "The primary purpose of Social Studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world." In New York State, students in all grades K-12 are expected to demonstrate "the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation." Despite all the cautionary warnings, teachers would be professionally irresponsible not to involve students in political dialogues.

My advice to social studies teachers is that it is legitimate and legal to state your views on a political issue or candidate as part of classroom dialogue when you teach students responsible citizenship. This is especially important when it helps to open up discussion, model respectful commentary, and illustrate the use of evidence to support a point of view. If in doubt, check with you supervisor and union representative about local ordinances you need to consider. Find out what is recommended and what is mandated. And please don't write about your students on Facebook.

Follow Alan Singer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReecesPieces8
Armed propaganda was used by the Tupamaro in Venezuela, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam after World War II, and, domestically, by U.S. anti-Vietnam war activists to radicalize the non-violent Peace Movement.

In each case, the objective was clear. Expose the opposition's vulnerabilities and brutality, and in the process, raise consciousness. And the operating principle: All conflicts are media conflicts. Win the media war and you win the people's hearts and minds.

Donald Trump understands non-lethal armed propaganda. He has used it to push his major initiatives. His main adversary is not his Democrat opponent. It is the media itself.

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Trump uses media jujitsu. He lets the media, and the "news", confirm the validity of his main campaign themes. While at the same time, he has exposed the news media as inherently bias.

Some examples. He calls for vetting immigrants from the Middle East because of the danger of potential terrorists entering the country. Terrorist attacks are reported by the media in Orlando, San Bernardino, and New York. He calls for stopping illegal entrants from the South. The media reports that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, in 2015, released 19,723 criminal illegal immigrants, including 208 convicted of murder, over 900 convicted of sex crimes and 12,307 of drunk driving. He attacks trade agreements that encourage U.S. businesses to move overseas. Business media reports that Ford will move small car production to Mexico. He decries lawlessness in the cities. The media graphically reports on violent rioting and demonstrations in New York City, Chicago, St. Paul, Minnesota, Baton Rouge, Milwaukee, and Charlotte.

From the onset, Trump knew that if his positions were sound, the news would prove him correct. He wouldn't rely on socio-economic studies to make his case. Trump is a pragmatist. "I like to think that I have that instinct. That's why I don't hire a lot of number-crunchers, and I don't trust fancy marketing surveys."

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His instincts led him to develop his campaign focus. His instincts also told him that events during the campaign would bear him out.

At the same time, he has undermined his prime opponent, the media. Trump supercedes traditional media by the frequent use of Twitter, mass rallies covered live through YouTube, and he regularly attacks commentators and news organizations. As a result, he has induced the same press, which has eviscerated him, to become increasingly partisan. He has raised the public's consciousness --- the press is biased, and can't be trusted. He has diverted the media from unbiased reporting to unabashed advocacy. Gallup recently reported that only 20% have a favorable view of the news media.
Traveling cross country from the Everglades in Florida to the Gila River in New Mexico last weekend, I felt like a visitor from the future, sent with a cautionary tale. Like the Ghost of Christmas Past came to warn Ebenezer Scrooge of the consequences of his actions, I used the story of our beloved, broken Everglades as an example of what could happen if the beautiful, historic wild Gila River was diverted and drained to satisfy "water rights."



The legendary Aldo Leopold helped save the Gila River's headwaters as part of our country's wilderness heritage.

The contrast between where the two ecosystems started and where they are today is achingly real, and the proposed change is loaded with foreboding.

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According to the South Florida Water Management District, historically, "the Kissimmee River meandered for 103 miles through central Florida. . .....Native wetland plants, wading birds and fish thrived there. ..(But) in the 1960s, the Kissimmee River was channelized by cutting and dredging a 30-feet-deep straightaway through the river's meanders. . .. More than 90 percent of the waterfowl that once graced the wetlands disappeared . . . After the waterway was transformed into a straight, deep canal, it became oxygen-depleted and the fish community it supported changed dramatically..."



South Florida's reputation for pristine waters and beaches took a significant hit last summer with a widespread algae bloom resulting from destabilizing the Kissimmee River and its Everglades ecosystem.

The ultimate indignity for the mighty Kissimmee and the Everglades ecosystem came this year when the accumulated interventions resulted in a massive algae bloom discharged into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, dealing a severe blow to the health of the system, humans and the region's economy.

Conversely, the Gila Conservation Coalition which invited me to speak at the 12th Annual River Festival describes the river today thus:

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"The Gila's headwaters were protected as America's first wilderness area by the legendary naturalist and outdoorsman Aldo Leopold... over 300 species of bird have been recorded; streamside habitat supports wildlife ranging from the reclusive mountain lion to the threatened loach minnow, and no large dams impede the natural flow of waters. Sound like Shangri La? It is. . ."

So WHO in their right mind (?!) would propose to divert such a wonder and treasure of nature? According to the Coalition, "a small but influential group of farmers, business interests and the state water development agency are advocating for construction of a large diversion on the Gila River. Authorized to capture an average of 14,000 acre-feet of water annually, or double current withdrawals, this 'new' water supply is intended to increase crop production and urbanization in the region. Up to $128 million in federal subsidies is available to New Mexico to plan and construct this project. A water development project of this magnitude could severely impact the Gila's unique ecological and recreational values."



My new friend Maxine and her husband Adrian took me to their beloved Gila River where she proposed to him. They were married a week ago.

Standing on a rock in the burbling clear Gila River, I couldn't stop thinking how privileged I am to experience "Shangri-la" there, at George Washington Carver National Monument in Missouri which Superintendent James Heaney calls his little Shangri-la, and at my personal Shangri-la in Jamaica that I visited last month for the first time in 17 years. How short sighted and misguided it would be to compromise the Gila for the benefit of a few and the ruin of this beautiful, wild, elemental treasure.

Speaking at the festival that night I encouraged locals to cast a wide net that engages all the racial/ethnic, age and interest groups around the common interest of burnishing the jewel and keeping the Gila free for the benefit of this and future generations. I told them how, looking for an image of New Mexico's children to press the point that we need to save the Gila for them as Aldo Leopold saved it for us, I found a shocking barrage of negative information: For the third year in a row, the well being of the children of New Mexico ranked 49th in the country in 2015.

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I suggested that there had to be other ways to use available funds to settle water rights and other claims so that all feel compensated. In an area where the economy is rapidly changing, including a decline in the traditional activities of ranching and mining, the river could be elevated as an eco-tourism attraction and a major economic driver.

To get to the festival in Silver City required three different planes and a four-hour wait in one airport, but the first thing I saw as I walked down the street early next morning was a sign honoring "the daughter of a slave and a Buffalo Soldier." I immediately felt right at home. While many of my friends were celebrating the long-awaited opening of the National African American Museum of History and Culture in our nation's capital, it was good to know that our presence and contributions extended here and were recognized and celebrated.

At my talk members of the audience eagerly told me about the Buffalo Soldiers buried at Fort Bayard just outside town. I was leaving too early in the morning to visit, so I pledge to go back. Imagine my surprise when I arrived home to this e-mail announcing the NPS' Buffalo Soldiers Study and seeking public input until December 31.

Aldo Leopold warned us that "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

It shouldn't require genius to know that. How could our forbears including Leopold, born 1887, be so much smarter than we are today with all our vaunted technological advancements?

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In the climate of the times that we are in right now, I believe that this election will have implications for generations to come. This election is about much more than opportunity -- lives are literally at stake. It is not an exaggeration to say that the safety and well-being of our loved ones and ourselves is at stake. Ultimately, this election is a referendum on the very identity of the United States of America.



We cannot afford to stay home or abstain, however conflicted we might feel. I hear you. I am in a similar place with many of my millennial peers, however, not voting is absolutely not an option on this one. This vote will define what the future will look like for our families, our communities, and our country. This vote will further a lineage of revolutionary engagement and a reckoning with both who we are and aspire to be as a nation. We need every single one of us to show up.



I am embarking on a tour of college campuses across the country and will meet thousands of young Latinos who I hope to share this message with between now and November. This is an urgent call to action. Not voting this November will mean that all the sacrifices of those who came before us was done in vain. Nothing should make us angrier than not being heard.



During this college tour, I will be partnering with Voto Latino to challenge young people who suggest "my vote doesn't count" or "it takes too long to register."



During Latinx heritage month, which runs from September 15 - October 15, we are rallying the Latino community and beyond to vote, moving from simply celebrating our heritage to building our political power and becoming agents of change. And through VoterPal, a free voter registration app for iOS and Android, Voto Latino has dramatically cut the time it takes to fill out a voter registration form by simply snapping your ID. Download it and see for yourself. Saying "it takes too long" is no longer a valid excuse.



When there are 27.3 million Latinos eligible to vote in 2016, we have to demand that we be heard. But, don't vote just because I told you to.



When you vote, you're not voting just for yourself. Vote so that your parents may earn a livable wage. Vote to help end mass incarceration and police brutality. Vote for the millions forced to go to other countries for safe and quality health care. Vote for the undocumented youth who face the unfulfilled promise of America every day of their lives. Do it for them.



Also, vote for those courageous activists who fought for this right and for the generations to come who will feel the consequences of this election if we are silent.



The stakes are too high and the consequences are dire. But first you need to register to vote at www.votolatino.org. If you're already registered, then please register your family and friends, or register at one of my college stops. Make sure your voice is so loud on November 8 that our community cannot be ignored.
By Angela Pupino and Ronnie Galvin

Lillie Branch-Kennedy tells the story of her family's experience with the criminal justice system in Virginia. Her son Donald was convicted as an accessory to robbery. As a first-time offender he was originally sentenced to 127 years in prison. The sentence was eventually reduced to 28 years, despite the prosecutor's recommendation that the sentence be reduced to 13 years.

Fueled by her family's own traumatic experience, Lillie set out to learn more about the criminal justice system in Virginia. "As a daughter of a probation officer I expected the system to be fair, but as I met with families of incarcerated individuals I realized that all across Virginia families are struggling with a fundamentally unjust system." Her experiences led her to start an organization called Resource, Information and Help for the Disadvantaged (RIHD).

The organization educates and empowers Virginia families and communities on the negative impact of the racially disparate system of mass incarceration. Lillie says, "We knew that something wasn't right, and sure enough as we talked to other families and as we dug into the reality of our system we discovered that injustices were egregious and widespread."

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Her exploration revealed that hundreds, perhaps thousands of individuals were convicted and received inflated sentences because the courts intentionally failed to inform juries that parole had been previously abolished in the state. She also discovered that 10,000 to 15,000 people in Virginia's system have been denied their right to appeal their sentences merely because judges neglected to complete the necessary paperwork that would allow those who were incarcerated to do so. Her instincts confirmed, she sprung into action to form the state's first Mobile Justice Tour. The tour is currently on its fifth iteration and has been instrumental in influencing Governor Terry McAuliffe's decision to make voting rights available for 200,000 formerly incarcerated citizens in Virginia.

The Rev. Dr. James Forbes, one of America's best known pastors, scholars, and theologians points to something deeper, something that operates at the heart of these systems. "We as leaders of faith and moral courage must go to the public square and provide a strong moral voice  advocating for the good of the whole, not for the destructive few  and witness against the extremists' rhetoric and policies. We must challenge unjust systems, but we must be equally if not more fervently focused on challenging and confronting our most closely held beliefs about human value and the dignity of all people."

To address this perspective, Rev. Forbes is helping to lead "The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values," a national multi-state tour to redefine morality in American politics. The Revival entails an over 20 state tour with a mandate to call the nation to a higher moral ground and vision around key issues including economic justice, health care access for all, equality in education, equal protection under the law, and criminal justice reform. Rev. Dr. Forbes is joined in this work by Rev. Dr. William Barber II, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach. In some states they are joined by the Rev. Dr. Traci Blackmon, acting executive minister of the United Church of Christ's Justice and Witness Ministries, and Sister Simone Campbell, leader of the Nuns on the Bus and executive director of the Catholic social justice lobby NETWORK.

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Overexploitation threatens the future of many large animals including sharks and rays. These sleek and majestic animals are often caught as incidental "bycatch" in longline fisheries or targeted specifically for their fins, wings, gill plates, meat, oil, teeth and cartilage. The combination of the "bycatch" fishery and unregulated, international trade in shark products is responsible for the precipitous decline of many species. Indeed, research suggests that some shark species have declined by 75 to 90 percent in the past 15 years.

One mechanism for regulating the international trade of plants and wildlife is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an agreement among governments from 183 member countries that provides a framework for monitoring and controlling international trade of species at risk. It is recognized globally as one of the most effective and best-enforced international conservation agreements and a powerful instrument for biodiversity conservation.

In response to the growing threats to shark and ray populations, many CITES member countries, including the United States, agreed recently to co-sponsor listing proposals to control trade of several commercially valuable shark and ray species. A listing on CITES would better ensure that products from sharks and rays that are traded internationally come from sustainably-managed fisheries that do not drive depletion of wild populations.

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As advocates for the conservation of sharks and other ocean species, the Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP) - a partnership of select U.S. public aquariums including Shedd Aquarium - applauds the sponsorship efforts and is raising awareness ahead of the September - October meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) in Johannesburg, South Africa. There, member countries will review proposals and vote to implement Appendix II listing controls on international trade of sponsored species, including nine species of devil rays, three species of thresher sharks and the silky shark.

Why should we care about sharks swimming in our oceans? Sharks have survived for 450 million years and yet they may be gone within the next few decades because of our negligence. In addition to this philosophical introspection, sharks are critically important apex predators and maintain healthy ocean ecosystems and fisheries, which are both critical for billions of people around the world, especially the world's poorest. Currently, marine fisheries provide a sixth of the animal protein people eat, including the seafood at any restaurant. However, these keystone species - sharks - that help maintain ocean fisheries are quickly losing the battle against over-exploitation and desperately need international protection under CITES.



Ten states and their citizens have acted in the past to protect sharks and we are asking for similar support. In 2012, with backing from residents, Shedd's home state of Illinois became the first inland state to implement a comprehensive ban on the trade, sale or distribution of shark fins. More broadly, in June, Congress introduced legislation that would ban the trade of shark fins widely in the U.S. And, this September, the ACP is hoping to amplify this effort internationally through CITES.

To have the proposals adopted, we need two-thirds of the CITES member countries to cast a supporting vote. Increased international support and advocacy could increase the odds. You can make your voice heard by digitally "signing" a petition through the #SharkStanley social media movement, which will be presented at the CoP17.

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Sitting and thinking in anticipation of tonight's "debate," which, in the history of American Presidential politics has never been an actual debate and tonight is much less likely to be so (Bill Maher compared it to a spelling bee between a human and a basset hound, with the dog winning for not soiling the stage), I return to the role played by today's media. It's not a pretty picture, and while the media is not solely at fault for elevating Trump to his podium tonight, it's been complicit in the forty years of degradation brought to America by the Republican party.

For four decades now the media, for fear of being called "liberal," has not spoken bluntly at the bigotry and hate that rests at the core of Republicanism and conservatism. Not all Republicans, to be sure, and certainly not all principled conservatives. The party of the right has used, sometimes crudely and sometimes not, the racism endemic in the Confederacy and the anti-cosmopolitanism inherent in conservative religious belief in its play for power, and today it stands destroyed, a metaphorical Aleppo, at the feet of newly empowered racists and neo-Nazis.

Clinton Derangement Syndrome has stripped away the veneer of patriotism with which Republicans have draped themselves since the 60's. Better to destroy America, like a blind Samson tearing down the temple upon himself, than allow a centrist Hillary Clinton to continue the Democratic party's policy prescriptions. Better to undermine the Republic and shred the Constitution while pretending to care about Supreme Court nominees for whom it has clearly had no respect this year and who would, under Trump, be powerless anyway.

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The deplorable state of our Union has been enabled and encouraged by the media. This is not news, but its cumulative impact over the past forty years may very well come to fruition in November and lead, ironically, to the destruction of that very media. Well, not the complete destruction - we would be left, of course, with the reality tv world that has created and nurtured Donald Trump.

The media with its cult of celebrity has destroyed the meaning of quality, at least as far as politics is concerned. This was made evident most recently within the LGBT community, where a gay media outlet, Out magazine, published a glorifying photoshoot of Milo Yiannopoulos, Trump's gay white supremacist hatchet man. There was a disclaimer accompanying the story, of course, and then some debate online about the lack of journalistic professionalism vs. the fragility of the LGBT community.

Yiannopoulos couches his bigotry, most grossly directed towards the trans community (unfortunately not a rare phenomenon among some gay white men), with his "concerns' about identity politics, "political correctness" and the victim culture. As those of you who've read my work know, I am deeply concerned with the power of identity politics on the left and the self-victimization and narratives of negativity that are prevalent within the LGBT community. That negativity has risen to the highest levels, and poses a threat to further progress. Not nearly the same threat, though, that Trumpist fascism would present to all of us, gay and trans alike, and would, invariably, include the lap dog Yiannopoulos as well. He might not be the first to be purged, but he ultimately will be, if history is any guide.

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The worst aspect of the Out.com presentation is that it is actually nothing more than a Fallonesque mussing of Trump's hair in print. He is presented throughout in the photoshoot as a clown, and therein lies the brilliance of the fascists and the blindness of the media. By couching the threat of fascism in a clown's outfit to allay the fears of the LGBT masses, Out has done for Trumpist fascism what the communist party organs did for Soviet communism. Communism was once called, by Susan Sontag, "the most successful variant of fascism," "fascism with a human face."

Trumpist fascism is "fascism in a clown outfit."

For those who are not clear on what fascism actually is, let me highlight Adam Gopnik's description:

As I have written before, to call him a fascist of some variety is simply to use a historical label that fits. The arguments about whether he meets every point in some static fascism matrix show a misunderstanding of what that ideology involves. It is the essence of fascism to have no single fixed form--an attenuated form of nationalism in its basic nature, it naturally takes on the colors and practices of each nation it infects. In Italy, it is bombastic and neoclassical in form; in Spain, Catholic and religious; in Germany, violent and romantic. It took forms still crazier and more feverishly sinister, if one can imagine, in Romania, whereas under Oswald Mosley, in England, its manner was predictably paternalistic and aristocratic. It is no surprise that the American face of fascism would take on the forms of celebrity television and the casino greeter's come-on, since that is as much our symbolic scene as nostalgic re-creations of Roman splendors once were Italy's. What all forms of fascism have in common is the glorification of the nation, and the exaggeration of its humiliations, with violence promised to its enemies, at home and abroad; the worship of power wherever it appears and whoever holds it; contempt for the rule of law and for reason; unashamed employment of repeated lies as a rhetorical strategy; and a promise of vengeance for those who feel themselves disempowered by history. It promises to turn back time and take no prisoners. That it can appeal to those who do not understand its consequences is doubtless true. But the first job of those who do understand is to state what those consequences invariably are. Those who think that the underlying institutions of American government are immunized against it fail to understand history. In every historical situation where a leader of Trump's kind comes to power, normal safeguards collapse. Ours are older and therefore stronger? Watching the rapid collapse of the Republican Party is not an encouraging rehearsal. Donald Trump has a chance to seize power. Hillary Clinton is an ordinary liberal politician. She has her faults, easily described, often documented--though, for the most part, the worst accusations against her have turned out to be fiction. No reasonable person, no matter how opposed to her politics, can believe for a second that Clinton's accession to power would be a threat to the Constitution or the continuation of American democracy. No reasonable person can believe that Trump's accession to power would not be. And, this time, would there be a second America, a new Chicago, waiting to receive the once-cosmopolitan citizens ejected by the triumph of this warped will?



Trump is a fascist. Win or lose, he has, with the connivance of the American corporate media which has provided him with billions of earned (free) media, permanently changed the nature of American politics. We are now in the era of an anti-politics, the likes of which this country has never seen. Coupled with the hyperpolarization which has been growing since the institution of the Nixonian "Southern Strategy" in 1968, we are looking into the pit of another civil war.

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I am an optimist; it's been the only way I could survive my own trauma over the decades of my life. I do, however, see a way out, and it begins with a Clinton victory in November to buy us time. But I do not believe that would be the end of it. The rump of what remains of the Republican party will most likely not unite with Democrats to save the Republic, but continue on their path of obstructionism. To end that, to shut down the worst of the polarization that continues to grow, and give most Americans the opportunity to live as a free people, requires what has heretofore been considered a taboo. The last taboo, actually. We must divide the country, and undo Andrew Johnson's overly hasty and corrupt reunification of the country in the late 1860s.

Lincoln went to war in 1860 not to end slavery, but to preserve the Union. That should not have been his cause then, nor should it be ours now. America has always been two countries, conceived in sin, and ending the effort at forced cohabitation would benefit us all. In a world where many will admit matters have improved with the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union, and which is now coming to terms with at least a partial breakup of the EU and the possible fragmentation of the United Kingdom, it might just be time to seriously consider how much better off we'd all be with the Confederacy off on its own. We could have a confederation, with a single currency and Federal Reserve, perhaps. Share a military, like NATO.

But the people we on the Left call deplorables will have the opportunity for self-governance, and may come to a new understanding of the responsibilities of civil society while they celebrate their religious freedom to their heart's content And we on the Left, whom the Right has also thought of as deplorables, or "feminazis" or whatever locution of the day is concocted by Fox News, can go on our very gay way and the Right could still taunt us from behind their border wall along the 36th parallel. I can guarantee that the United States, with some 38 +/- states, will not declare war on the Confederacy to undermine their Christmas celebrations.

Let's give it a thought. A functioning two-state solution which will provide a settled life for most people is a better option than continued ideological stalemate and governmental paralysis, or a fascist takeover of the entirety of our constitutional republic.

In the meantime, don't be self-righteous and vote third party. Don't stay home. Vote for Hillary - and if you don't, America's Jewish grandparents will haunt you for the rest of your life.
A gay pride parade in Jerusalem sounds preposterous: the same city that is the capital to three world religions and a millennia-long touchstone of strife and violence. Even those who are aware of Tel Aviv's internationally known gay culture, which attracted a record quarter-million marchers to its own pride parade in June, would scarcely consider venturing out in their colorful tanktops to march down Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.

And yet, this summer saw exactly that: a record twenty-five thousand Israelis of all stripes emerging onto the streets of the Holy City with rainbow flags and painted faces, marching proudly and resolutely for what was billed as the "Jerusalem March For Pride and Tolerance." Coming one year after a stabbing attack that killed Shira Banki, a 16 year-old straight ally who marched in support of her LGBT friends before being murdered by a fanatic ultra-Orthodox Jew, it was a sobering yet empowering moment in a community where LGBT individuals have long scratched out an existence by keeping a low profile.

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In this environment, it's worth taking a moment to recognize an unlikely supporter of Jerusalem Pride: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In two versions of a video posted to Facebook before the march, one in English and the other in Hebrew -- the latter of which is particularly notable -- Netanyahu clearly positioned himself as a vocal supporter, endorsing the sentiment of the marchers and slamming critics who painted their efforts in a negative light.

"Sadly, some elements of our society are still not yet ready to accept the LGBT community," he said. "My solemn promise to you today is to continue fostering respect for all of Israel's citizens, without exception."

It isn't the first time Netanyahu has used his podium to speak on the subject. In fact, he's released several statements and videos in the past few months, including a stirring speech in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub terror attack last month, where he called on citizens to "comfort and stand together" with the LGBT community. Likud, the ruling right-wing Israeli political party that Netanyahu leads, also welcomed its first openly gay Member of Knesset (MK) this year, Amir Ohana, and the Likud LGBT forum that Ohana now leads had a robust representation at Tel Aviv's recent pride parade.

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Given what many would see as this glaring hypocrisy, one would think that it would be far more politically expedient for the Prime Minister to remain silent on LGBT issues, or issue vague statements that perform the high-wire walk of avoiding specific mention of the LGBT individuals in an anti-gay terror attack, like many GOP leaders did in the aftermath of Pulse.

One of the best barometers of the LGBT community's rising influence is their shifting perception among historically hostile actors. In the United States, leaders of the Republican Party have been attempting - with embarrassingly little success thus far - to convince their base that a realignment is needed. In the Republican National Committee's now infamous "autopsy report," compiled by party elders after Mitt Romney's loss in 2012, they said: "We need to campaign among...gay Americans and demonstrate we care about them, too." As recently as a few weeks ago, Senator Marco Rubio warned his party of the costs of gay intolerance.

Put another way, the LGBT community has become too important of a political constituency to ignore.

As the leader of another country with an empowered LGBT electorate, Netanyahu has always been a keen observer and manipulator of both domestic and international constituencies. These skills have allowed him to claim, for better or worse, the title as one of Israel's longest serving Prime Ministers, second only to its first, David Ben Gurion. This political awareness of the rising influence of both Israel and the world's LGBT community is just as important as the reality that both face common enemies in the radical Islam of ISIS, Hamas, and Iran.

So: Benjamin Netanyahu, LGBT ally?

Not quite. As the GOP so helpfully stated in their autopsy report, "It is not just tone that counts. Policy always matters." To that end, there's a lot more that Netanyahu can and should be doing with organizations like The Agudah, Israel's equivalent to the Human Rights Campaign, to move his government past rhetoric in the direction of concrete steps that will improve the everyday lives of the LGBT community - such as banning conversion therapy of minors and passing civil unions. Some can even be done independent of the complex coalition politics in Israel that often hold up votes on controversial legislation, like increased funding for LGBT issues.

But it's not often that we see foreign heads of state so explicitly courting the LGBT community, underscoring the importance for them to live full, healthy and thriving lives. Rarer still to see it from the leader of a tenuous right-wing coalition of ultra-religious parties.

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And for a country in the Middle East?
A DKT Ghana midwife advising on family planning at a community gathering in Mpraeso, in the Eastern region of Ghana.

ACCRA, Ghana -- Although West and Central Africa is an underachieving region in terms of family planning compared to the rest of the continent, Ghana is the family planning star within that region: It has a higher rate of contraceptive use than all the other 24 countries except the island nations of Cape Verde, and Sao Tome and Principe.

However, Ghana - with 29 percent of married women using modern contraception, is still much lower than Eastern Africa (37 percent) and Southern Africa (59 percent), according to the 2016 World Population Data Sheet. The fertility rate has barely changed since 1998 and more than 1 in 3 pregnancies are unplanned.

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Last month, I visited Ghana to see how the country is faring in terms of of its commitment to family planning. Until recently, Ghana had one of the fastest growing economies on the continent. That fact and the peaceful transfer of power in 2008 were recognized by President Barack Obama in 2009 when he made Ghana the first stop of his first visit to Africa as president. Recently, however, the economy has stagnated.

World Contraception Day on Sept. 26 provides a good opportunity to reflect on the current situation in Ghana and how matters can be improved to enable every Ghanaian woman who wants contraception to have access. The government has set an ambitious goal of reaching 50 percent of married women with modern contraception methods by 2020.

There are several reasons the contraception rate is not higher, but certainly myths and poor knowledge of contraceptives play a large role, including the myth that contraceptives can damage a women's health.

Not only it that not correct, the opposite is true: Contraceptives improve the health of women and children and save lives. This video from the Population Reference Bureau explains how voluntary family planning in Ghana can:

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Improve the health of women and children;

Speed up social and economic growth and development; and

Help reduce poverty

Furthermore, family planning has been proven to be one of the most cost-effective health interventions: It improves the economic well-being of families, communities and nations. Family planning is considered a "best buy," and would save Ghana $2 for every dollar spent on family planning, according to the Health Policy Project of the Palladium Group.

This video from Population Reference Bureau shows how Ghana has reduced its overall adolescent childbearing rate since 1988 but the drop has been much less among the poorest women: "So while Ghana has made tremendous progress in reducing its adolescent childbearing over time, it is critical to target the most at-risk populations, including young women from the poorest households, out-of-school adolescents and those living in rural areas."

I visited one organization in Ghana that is trying to target those at-risk populations. Nonprofit DKT Ghana, an affiliate of Washington DC-based DKT International, came to Ghana in 2011 to try to change the family planning paradigm. Using social marketing, it has launched Kiss and Fiesta condoms, Lydia oral contraceptive and emergency contraception, Lydia Safeload intrauterine devices (IUDs), Famplan injectables and Jadelle implants.

Using a mix of hard-hitting advertising and person-to-person education and promotion, DKT aims to make affordable contraception as easily available as tea, sugar and Coca-Cola.

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They are also trying to make condom use safe and sexy, such as in this TV spot from 2014, and this one, which riffs on the traditional pounding of fufu (a food staple of Ghana), in 2015. In their newest condom spot, they take a more serious look at the consequences of sleeping with someone who has multiple partners in their past.

In a series of videos promoting their Lydia brand of oral contraceptives and IUDs, DKT targets three distinct kinds of women -- a student, a hairdresser and a corporate executive with different messages that speak to each group.

And in a whimsical and humorous take on its line of Fiesta condoms, DKT looks at various aspects of condom use in Ghana -- such as how Ghanaians buy condoms -- in a series of "Fiesta Men" animated videos now running on social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp and on TV.

On Sept. 26, World Contraception Day, DKT Ghana will launch a new campaign called "I Plan," which will feature 15 mini videos. Those videos will be available here starting on Sept. 26.

In 2015, after only four years, evidence shows DKT Ghana averted an estimated 97,000 unwanted pregnancies, 310,000 unsafe abortions and contributed 33% of Ghana's contraceptive prevalence rate.

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In October 2015, when he was a very, very long shot for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump the businessman promised to make the military "much stronger than it is right now" without increasing military spending. "But you know what?" he declared, "We can do it for less."

In September 2016, as the Republican nominee, Donald Trump the politician dramatically reversed his position. He now proposes a massive increase in military spending. And instead of making the military more efficient by cutting Pentagon waste, Trump will "fully offset" the increase in military spending by reducing spending on non-defense programs through reducing their "government waste and budget gimmicks."

For an idea of what that might entail for non-defense spending, consider the Republican budget blueprint passed by the House in early 2015 (no Democrat voted in favor). To offset a significant increase in military spending, the New York Times reports, Medicaid would be cut by $900 billion. Spending on the food stamp program would be shrunk by hundreds of billions of dollars. Spending for Pell Grants for college, job training and housing assistance would be slashed.

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The 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) stopped the Republicans from achieving their guns-not-butter budgetary. The BCA emerged from a confluence of events: A soaring deficit, the result of extensive federal spending that stopped a major economic recession from becoming a major economic depression and the Republican takeover of the House after the 2010 election. The result was a dramatic near government shut down showdown on how to cut the deficit.

The White House and Congress couldn't agree. The BCA was a bludgeon, a crude across-the-board spending mandate intended to spur Congress and the White House to negotiate a more thoughtful approach. They couldn't. As a consequence, in 2013 there was an immediate $110 billion cut in spending, divided more or less equally from defense and non-defense programs. Defense spending comprises about 54 percent of the discretionary budget, that part of the federal budget over which Congress has direct control through annual appropriations. Congress also imposed caps on defense and non-defense spending through 2021.

Although the cuts were supposedly proportional, the pain inflicted was not. Real per-capita funding for non-defense programs have fallen more than 10 percent below 2010 levels while the population served and the demand for services grew. The Veterans Administration, considered non-defense spending, has been swamped by increased demand from older Vietnam War veterans and a new influx from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Rising rents and stagnant incomes have led to an increased demand for rental assistance even while the total number of families receiving assistance has fallen.

The injury to the Pentagon was far more modest. Troop levels declined, but that was to be expected given that two major wars were winding down. The Navy and Air Force got fewer new ships and aircraft than they wanted. Base construction slowed.

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The Pentagon also suffered less because it was able to tap into another source of funding: The Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) reserve established to give the Pentagon immediate flexibility in war spending. Originally the OCO was subject to budget caps but in 2011, the same year caps were enacted, Congress exempted OCO spending, expanded the fund and began tapping it for non war-related Pentagon spending.

Since 2013, Republicans and Democrats have battled over the caps. Each time, at the 11 hour they've agreed to increase them equally for both military and non-military spending, most recently in late 2015 after President Obama vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act that would have raised military but not non-military spending.

Donald Trump proposes to eliminate the caps on military spending and reimburse DOD tens of billions of dollars it lost from past cuts. Increased military spending will be offset by decreasing non-defense spending through improving program efficiency and reducing waste. But the evidence is overwhelming that the inefficiencies and waste fall most heavily on the military side.

Consider that in 1994, the Government Management Reform Act required the Inspector General of each federal agency to audit and publish the financial statements of their agency. All Non-Defense agencies complied. The Department of Defense did not.

In 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld confessed, "we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions." In June 2016, Pentagon's Inspector General criticized the US Army for misreporting $6.5 trillion (yes, trillion with a T) for the 2015 fiscal year. "(I)nserting phony numbers" is how Reuters describes the Pentagon's strategy for balancing the books.

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In 2009 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported on audit quality and independence issues at the Pentagon's Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), the federal watchdog responsible for auditing oversight of military contractors. One Pentagon auditor admitted he did not perform detailed tests because, "The contractor would not appreciate it." That statement makes no sense unless you understand the intimate relationship between the Pentagon and its contractors. From 2004 to 2008, 80 percent of retiring three and four star officers went to work as consultants or defense executives.

"In almost any other realm it would seem a clear conflict of interest. But this is the Pentagon where...such apparent conflicts are a routine fact of life", an in-depth investigation by the Boston Globe concluded.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes criminal penalties on corporate managers who certify false financial reports. But, according to Mike Young, a former Air Force logistics officer, "The concept of Sarbanes-Oxley is completely foreign" to the Pentagon.

According to the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) the Pentagon so far has spent roughly $6 billion on "fixing" the audit problem without success. (POGO is by far the best resource for information related to military spending.)

I doubt there's a real sense of urgency. The military knows that if it misses the next congressionally mandated deadline there will be no consequences. In 2012 Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced a bill Audit the Pentagon that would reduce by 5 percent the budget of any federal agency without an unqualified audit opinion by an external, independent auditor. The bill did not receive a hearing. In 2014 and 2015 she reintroduced the bill but reduced the penalty to a 0.5 percent budget reduction. Still there were no hearings.

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For William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy we are living in "a golden age for Pentagon waste". A recent Reuters investigation by Scot J. Paltrow sums up the shocking mess. The Pentagon is "largely incapable of keeping track of its vast stores of weapons, ammunition and other supplies; thus it continues to spend money on new supplies it doesn't need and on storing others long out of date. It has amassed a backlog of more than half a trillion dollars in unaudited contracts with outside vendors; how much of that money paid for actual goods and services delivered isn't known. And it repeatedly falls prey to fraud and theft that can go undiscovered for years, often eventually detected by external law enforcement agencies."

When outside agencies have been able to gather data they've discovered rampant fraud. Records show that the Raytheon Company defrauded the Pentagon 5 times up until 2003. Lockheed Martin 7 times as of 2013, Northrup Grumman 7 times as of 2010. They continued to receive huge Pentagon contracts.

What could be more vulgar than corruption disguised as patriotism?

Jon Basil Utley, publisher of The American Conservative describes the sorry process by which the Pentagon develops weapons.

Weapons are designed to be built in key congressional districts, not to be the most efficient or cost effective.... The F-22 had 1,000 suppliers in 44 states. The F-35 has 1,300 suppliers in 45 states in key congressional districts and is now estimated to cost up to $300 million per plane. Weapons manufacturing is started before finalized testing so as to build a constituency for programs' continuation. Military contractors then get cost-plus contracts to modify the weapons, which won't work properly because insufficient initial testing was done before manufacturing them.

Given this dysfunctional and self-serving process, it should come as no surprise that the GAO found "staggering" cost overruns of almost $300 billion in nearly 70 percent of the Pentagon's 96 major weapons.

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In the 1960s, Pentagon whistleblower Ernest Fitzgerald exposed $2 billion in cost overruns on Lockheed's C-5A transport aircraft. It was considered a scandal. Today's F-35 fighter plane already has posted cost overruns of $500 billion and more is to come. The F-35 has yet to prove itself battle-ready, and may never be. Nevertheless, earlier this year Congress added and the President signed off on 11 additional F-35's to DOD appropriations.

Wastefulness is not the hallmark only of weapons procurement. Personnel costs are also wildly excessive. The Pentagon is top heavy with officers and generals paid vastly more than civilians with the same skills and education. Most of these officers work in public affairs or procurement or financial management or other jobs that do not require an officer.

The Pentagon currently has over 640,000 private contractors. No one knows the exact number but this is almost certainly an underestimate. They work alongside 800,000 civilian employees. A Rand Corporation report concluded contracting out is 25 percent more expensive than if performed by government employees. One Congressional study found that such contracts are on average, twice as expansive as in-house work. Some 70 percent of federal spending on intelligence is on private contracts. (Think Edward Snowden).

POGO estimates the Pentagon could save more than $20 billion a year if it reduced just its contractor work force by 15 percent.

Walter Pincus writes in the Washington Post about the inherent inefficiencies of contracting out. "The government pays to get the worker qualified, then ends up leasing back . . . former employees."

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There is another danger in contracting out. As a 2014 GAO report warns, "Without a thorough review of contractor activities, DOD risks becoming overly reliant on contractors to support core missions."

Major Kevin P. Stiens and Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Susan L. Turley have observed, "The government lost personnel experience and continuity, along with operational control, by moving to contractors." Air Force Colonel Steven Zamperelli adds, "Private employees have distinctly different motivations, responsibilities and loyalties than those in the public military."

In 2008, in an infamous incident starkly revealed the flaws in private contracting. At least 12 U.S. soldiers were accidentally electrocuted inside their bases in Iraq. Later it was discovered the private contractor knew there were potentially serious electrical problems in the facility's construction, but its contract didn't cover "fixing potential hazards." It only required repairing items already broken!

While politicians refuse to penalize the DOD for not cleaning up its act, many are more than willing to demand accountability for every penny spent on non-defense programs, especially those helping the poor. In March 2014 Virginia House GOP leaders demanded the state's Medicaid program undergo a two-year external audit before expanding it. More than 60 audits had already been performed. In 2013 the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform did a detailed analysis of New York State's Medicaid program because, "Each dollar misspent on Medicaid is one less dollar for the country to use for better health care for the poor, education, infrastructure, national defense, deficit reduction, or any other priority." To date the Committee has yet to do any such analysis of Pentagon spending.

Facing up to and correcting the wastefulness and corruption in the military budget could go a long way toward meeting the rising demands on the non-military, aka, the "butter" side of our national ledger. In this election season, will the citizenry force this issue, this travesty on the national agenda?
By Don C. Reed



As this is written, the world is only hours away from the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Predicted audience estimates run as high as a Super Bowl-sized 100 million viewers.

By the time you read this, the outcome will be clear. The debate will confirm the opinions of those who already have their minds made up; as well as hopefully offering new information for the undecided.

Of one thing we can be sure: It will not be an easy match.

Trump is formidable. Big and loud and bulging with stage presence, he struts and postures like a TV wrestler. He has the colossal vanity of someone whose every wish has been catered to since the day he was born into millions.

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He is an actor. When he goes against Hillary, he will come at her with everything he's got: smiling and thoughtful if that suits his purpose, shouting and pounding the podium if he wants to change the subject.

He may use the implied threat of his size, perhaps leaning forward suddenly in the handshake, hoping to make Hillary flinch.

But that is all right; Hillary has been dealing with aggressive Republicans all her life, beginning with her father, Hugh Rodham. She can stand against the wind.

Notice how when Hillary talks, it is to suggest a solution to a problem. When needed, she will fight back, with calm intelligence, controlled passion and pure grit. Given the choice, she would prefer to deal with issues, to hold plans up to the light, comparing them for America.

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But that would be difficult with Donald Trump, who often does not appear to have a plan at all. He may just promise to develop something unspecifiedly wonderful, on the basis that he can do it because he says so.

When he does have a proposal, he seems willing to abandon it at a moment's notice, or vary it according to the audience. Much of "Trump-speak" is pure self-adulation, at which he is expert. He also loves to paint a picture of gloom and doom, "which only I can fix".

Hillary does not talk or act like that; as her campaign puts it, we are "stronger together".

My instincts are that this unifying approach will win both debate, and Presidency.

Hillary is superbly prepared for the only kind of fighting that really matters, unmeasured by showmanship or debate points.

Her strength is the central requirement of the Presidency: to take on giant problems and systematically defeat them.

How do she and Donald differ?

Compare the two candidates on how they will fight two enormous and expensive medical problems: Alzheimer's disease, and autism, each afflicting millions of people, each costing billions of dollars a year.

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We cannot tell what Trump will do. As far as I can see, he has no position. The only clue is his history: his actions toward people who have disabilities.

We know he will mock a person with a disability, because we have seen him do it; remember that reporter with a disease, who dared to ask a difficult question?

We can also read the public record on how Trump fought for years to avoid legal obligations to accommodate citizens with a disability in his hotels.

Astonishingly, Trump once withdrew medical benefits from an infant, who was ill with cerebral palsy.

Background: during the reading of his father's will, which Trump may have influenced, a nephew was left with nothing. Objecting to being cut off, and feeling Donald was to blame, the nephew sued him--and Trump got "angry".

What happened next? Here is the exact quote from the New York Times:

"...Trump retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits critical to his nephew's infant child.

"I was angry because they sued," he explained..."

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The suit was later "settled very amicably" according to Trump... and presumably the child's benefits were restored. We cannot know for sure because the results were sealed.

What kind of man withholds medical care from a baby?

Read the story.

Perhaps because he has always lived in the cushioned world of wealth, Trump appears unconcerned about the suffering of others.

Hillary? Instead of mocking the disabled, she includes them: bringing them onstage with her. Instead of ignoring the 1 in 5 Americans with a disability, she takes on their challenges.

When she developed her programs to address Alzheimer's and autism, she did not merely listen to the political experts. She went around the country on a "listening tour", and asked the affected people themselves to share concerns.

Her plans reflect this deeper knowledge, enhanced by citizen involvement: to provide practical care for those who suffer, relief for their families, and funding for research to alleviate the condition.

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Example: one huge problem for families affected by autism is that government programs generally end when the person reaches adulthood. The condition does not go away, but the funding does. Hillary's program deals with that in a public/private partnership, working with the family on an individual basis, to help the affected individual achieve a job he or she can hold, with the assistance

they may require.

Example: as any care-provider for an Alzheimer's patient can tell you, one common danger is that he/she may simply walk away from home and become lost. Clinton intends to work with Congress to reactivate a previously-existing plan-- the "Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program"-- to share information and resources quickly when a patient wanders off, to bring him or her home safe.



The debate will show the sparks and fire of two strong leaders, one somewhat louder than the other.

But what we need most now is a quiet strength: someone who can work with others to achieve our common goals.

Is this not how a President should fight: bringing people together, uniting us against whatever problems may arise?

Don C. Reed is the author of "STEM CELL BATTLES: Proposition 71 and Beyond: How Ordinary People Can Fight Back Against the Crushing Burden of Chronic Disease", available now at Amazon.com.
Small group of business people meeting in China.

In America, a momentous transfer of power is less than four months away. No one knows who will be elected president or which party will control which house of Congress.

Yet despite the public's oft-expressed disgust with the candidates, there is nothing secret about the process. Americans have been able to watch as every state chose delegates to select a presidential contender.

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China offers a sharp contrast.

An important transfer of power impends there too. A larger than usual number of Chinese Communist Party leaders will retire next year. Assuming mandatory retirement ages do not change, 85 of 205 Central Committee members, 11 of 25 Politburo members, and 5 of 7 Politburo Standing Committee members will ride off into the sunset.

Other selections also will be made. The biggest prize of all is the presumed reelection of President Xi Jinping.

These contests are as momentous as those in America, but the process in the People's Republic of China is utterly opaque. Presumably President Xi is pushing officials loyal to him; almost as certainly former presidents Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin are working to constrain their successor.

August is when the leadership elite traditionally leaves the Beijing heat for the nearby seaside resort of Beidaihe to continue its deliberations in more pleasant circumstances. Now, back at Beijing's Zhongnanhai compound, much difficult bargaining undoubtedly remains. Why any particular figure advances or falls remains almost impossible to determine.

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It's a bad system for the PRC and the rest of the world.

Set aside issues of democracy and human rights. China has the world's second largest economy. Beijing now ranks second on the planet for military spending. The PRC has growing financial and political impact around the globe. What happens in China matters everywhere.

Thus, stability and predictability are important virtues. Of course, open political systems often yield unexpected results. Most members of Europe's commercial and political elite didn't believe Brexit would happen. Donald Trump won the Republican Party presidential nomination against the expectations of most pundits.

Nevertheless, in both cases the possibilities always were there. Polls placed Brexit within striking distance of victory. The likelihood of a Trump victory steadily increased as primaries occurred.

The respective publics also knew how to influence the political process. No one individual could change the result, but people generally were invested in the elections and perceived the opportunity to hold an unpopular political leadership accountable. In fact, that desire helps account for the unexpected electoral outcomes.

No such possibility exists in China. And that's dangerous for the PRC's future, particularly the nation's stability.

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The Chinese people are growing more sophisticated. They are better educated and have more contact with the outside world. An increasing number travel overseas. People are less likely to accept injustice at the hands of local authorities; some even make the lengthy trek to Beijing to demand justice.

Although the Xi government's broad crackdown against political dissent and human rights activism may temporarily strengthen the CCP's hold on power, repression is unlikely to long suppress popular aspirations for greater participation in the political process and increased accountability for political leaders. The surest route for future conflict and instability would be for the party to attempt to preserve politics as a process that combines mystery, enigma, and paradox, beyond understanding let alone control of an increasingly dissatisfied people being governed.

Such a system also frustrates outsiders interested in investing in or dealing with the PRC. Investment and trade have become more difficult. Multinational companies have been targeted for unclear reasons and absent recourse. Diplomats point to provinces where officials simply refuse to make decisions, lest they find themselves targeted by Beijing for having the wrong political loyalties. Fear of prosecution also slowed the wheels of government and commerce by ending the corruption that traditionally lubricated the political process.

The lack of clarity and predictability also afflicts international relations. Much is at risk in Asia. North Korea is under sanction, yet continues to spew threats at one and all. Earlier this year Taiwan's people voted in an independence direction, increasing tensions with Beijing. The recent international territorial ruling placed greater pressure on the PRC, which must yield or, much more likely, even more aggressively assert its claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

How will Beijing's upcoming leadership transition affect these issues? No one knows. At least foreign leaders are aware of the critical differences between, say, Clinton and Trump, even if their exact policies might evolve once in office. Moreover, the visibility of the U.S. contest showcases the larger political forces at work, which helps observers adapt to the outcome.

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Of course, no nation has an obligation to create a political system to satisfy foreigners. But here the interests of the Chinese coincide with those of outsiders. And if the residents of Zhongnanhai aspire to global leadership, they are likely to find a warmer welcome if the rest of the world has a better sense as to who it is deciding and by what process they are doing so.

The operation of government seems to inevitably frustrate, irrespective of country. But politics is not always mysterious. Even dominant one-party states, ranging from Singapore (continuing) to Taiwan and Mexico (for decades), were more open and accessible than is China. Such an approach better accommodated people as they grew wealthier and more sophisticated, and became more assertive politically.

Of course, the ongoing Chinese leadership change will be orchestrated under the old rules. Which means no one outside of a chosen few will know what is going on. But the new set of leaders should think beyond the present.
As world leaders converged upon New York last week, it was difficult not to feel cynical about their ability to help the 65 million people forced from their homes because of conflict, violence and persecution.

Too often, we read about failed political attempts to end war, protect people from violence, or improve people's health and education services.

But amid the gloomy headlines, good news can be found in the practical solutions that exist to reform humanitarian aid and assure it has a bigger impact on people's lives.

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The political, UN and NGO leaders should focus not just on the politics of refugee crises, but also on adopting new ways to improve the value of the money they spend to help people living in conflict, preventing the recurring conversations about how bad the world is getting for the people we serve.

I want to highlight three concrete actions the IRC advances as part of its 'better aid' platform.

Sustainable Development Goals and humanitarian settings

There is a significant overlap between the biggest gaps in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the contexts of displacement, conflict and disaster. For instance, of the 61 million children worldwide who are not in school, more than one third live in conflict affected areas.

Likewise, people in crisis-affected countries are more than twice as likely to be undernourished as those living in stable countries, and more than twice as likely to see their children die before they reach their fifth birthday.

Countries and donors therefore need more specific guidance, such as targets, on the outcomes that are relevant to displaced people. This is especially important given that refugees tend to remain displaced for an average of 17 years, while for internally displaced people the average length of exile is 23 years.

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That is why it is so important that we name and define the key improvements in health, economic wellbeing, safety, education and power, which we want to achieve for the people we serve. If we can define these collective goals in specific and measurable terms, we will make better use of scarce resources, improve coordination and enhance accountability.

Invest in what works to achieve our collective goals

In addition to including humanitarian contexts and specific outcomes into the SDGs, we know that investing in research evidence provides much needed solutions for service providers, policy makers and practitioners the world over. Imagine if you went to the doctor and they told you that they really don't know how best to take care of you because there isn't enough research to provide actionable guidance. Instead, they rely on instinct and anecdote. Evidence-based interventions are spreading quickly in the development field - we need the same expectations and standards for humanitarian aid.

One such proven intervention comes from Lebanon, where a 2014 IRC study of cash transfers to 87,700 refugees showed that the payments enabled households to meet the needs they prioritized most, reduced negative coping strategies such as child labor, improved access to schooling for children, and did not have undesirable effects on local market prices. Additionally, each dollar of cash assistance spent by beneficiary households generated $2.13 of GDP for the Lebanese economy.

Another such intervention is 'positive parenting'. Since 2010, the IRC has been promoting positive parenting as a way to reduce violence against children in crisis zones. Working with families in Liberia, and along the Thai-Burmese border, this program involves introducing parents to techniques to communicate and problem-solve with their children, and discipline them without the use of violence. After one 10-12 week program, we found a reduction up to 64% in the use of beatings and threats, as well as a reduction in children's behavioral problems and an improvement in family relationships.

Synthesizing evidence and translating it into useful tools for policy makers and practitioners is becoming more common in development. The IRC has worked to apply this experience in the humanitarian sector, launching a new Outcomes and Evidence Framework (OEF), which drives all of the organization's efforts toward achieving five outcomes for the people we serve: Economic Wellbeing, Safety, Health, Education and Power.

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Get away from COST as a four-letter word

It is crucial that we develop a better way of assessing cost effectiveness if we are to ensure that every aid dollar creates maximum impact.

Until now, the non-profit sector has characterized notions of efficiency and effectiveness as the degree to which a given organization channels funds directly to its programs. The related "overhead myth" is that an organization that has a low administrative to program ratio is more efficient and its programs more effective. This approach may serve a purpose in highlighting the worst actors, those with exorbitant overheads relative to their work, but it sheds little light when discerning among the majority of NGOs.

At the IRC, we have developed a simple methodology, called the 'Nutrition Label' approach, to assess the cost of a program relative to its achievements in the lives of beneficiaries.

The methodology not only assesses the cost of outputs - for example, the provision of training to local health workers - but also outcomes, such as vaccination rates among local people.

It is also designed to be comparable across organizations, so that it can be used to measure efficiency not just within the IRC but across the humanitarian sector.

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None of the reforms I've mention in this article are simple. If they were, fewer families would have to flee their homes to avoid death, or to find food. More children would be going to school and fewer would be getting sick from preventable diseases.

But the task is not impossible, either. There are sensible, practical reforms that can and will make a big difference; we just need to implant them... together.
Donald Trump has been a path-breaking Republican nominee for President in so many ways. A flame-throwing billionaire celebrity for many decades, he did not need large sums of donor money to get name recognition and unlimited media exposure.

Trump also serially violated the so-called "11th Commandment" of Republican politics, hurling vicious attacks on his rivals' appearance, stamina, and character more than their policies, which he generally didn't seem to know or care about.

He even trashed the GOP's faux version of history by declaring George W. Bush responsible for 9/11 because he was President at the time and, in a further low blow, called the 2003 Iraq invasion, which he falsely denied supporting, a "big, fat mistake" based on lies about WMDs. (The party's major candidates have always maintained, despite alleged honest mistakes, we were winning the war until Obama prematurely brought the troops home. It was actually Bush who agreed to remove all U.S. troops.)

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As if these crimes against his adopted party were not great enough, Trump has said nothing to indicate he was prepared to cut government spending, privatize Social Security, "reform" Medicare, or take steps to repeal Roe v. Wade.

Despite this odd behavior, Republican primary voters flocked to him, leaving the GOP establishment facing the grim realization that their base was not as enamored of laissez-faire economics, fundamentalist Christianity, and militarism as always assumed. Moreover, they seemed indifferent to their nominee's probity: Trump has been sued numerous times by those he hired and consumers he likely defrauded and may have committed marital rape.

What did his supporters crave? Turns out, more than anything else, it's "uncoded" white nationalism, xenophobia and misogyny. Donald Trump gave them that in spades. Code (aka dog-whistle) is political messaging that means one thing to the general population, but something else to a targeted sub-group. Republicans have employed it for fifty years: "states' rights," "law and order," "family values," "tax and spend Democrats," and "neighborhood schools." It was initially designed to discreetly court Southern whites, who had long maintained, and been indulged in the fiction, that Secession and Jim Crow were about "states' rights," not defending slavery and later restoring white supremacy. Lyndon Johnson's assault on segregation gave the GOP a golden opportunity to turn the South red. Republicans then adapted code to appeal to Northern whites who opposed busing children to integrate schools, and Christian fundamentalists against abortion and gay rights.

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Lee Atwater, perhaps the most successful campaign strategist Republicans have ever had, succinctly outlined the basic approach in an off-the-record 1981 interview with a political scientist, made available only after Atwater's death in 1991.

Questioner: But the fact is, isn't it, that Reagan does get to the Wallace voter and to the racist side of the Wallace voter by doing away with legal services, by cutting down on food stamps? Atwater: You start out in 1954 by saying, "N-gger, n-gger, n-gger." By 1968 you can't say "n-gger" -- that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me -- because obviously sitting around saying, "We want to cut this," is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "N-gger, n-gger."

Code has been used for so long that many of the oldest Republican politicians, if not disingenuous, have seemingly forgotten what it was; naive younger ones may believe it simply expresses conservative political philosophy, not bigotry.

So, to some of these people, the Trump campaign was quite a shock. A small minority have been unwilling to come on board or are still undecided. A handful of conservative pundits, notably George Will, David Brooks and William Kristol (though he brought us Sarah Palin) revile Trump, and George H.W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and John Kasich are among the well-known Republicans who share this contempt. But the overwhelming majority of self-identified Republican voters now support the nominee.

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What is the long-term significance of Trump's campaign for the Republican party and code? If Trump wins, its use will probably decline and bigots will be even more energized. Unless he is pulling yet another scam, this time on voters who trusted his rhetoric, they will also be empowered to some extent. Trump himself is too ADHD to develop a comprehensive legislative agenda, use his Executive powers to institutionalize bigotry, or even vet appointees with that outlook. Perhaps he doesn't even care about governing; only ruling. Regardless, he will be surrounded by aides and hangers-on who will do the "right" thing and have their own pernicious agendas.

On the other hand, if Trump loses, which still seems most likely, but hardly certain, there will be a crisis within the GOP political class. If the election is a nail-biter, there might be intra-party challenges of those whose endorsements of the "nominee" were without enthusiasm, as well as "traitors," such as Kasich and Susan Collins, among others, who refuse to support him. Whether purges would succeed is unclear, because the donor class never warmed to Trump; poorly funded opposition to incumbents typically fail. In this case, code will co-exist with Trumpian prose and be deployed where required.
By Dr. Sudip Bose, MD

Sept. 25, 2016 -- I'd like to take this opportunity before the first presidential debate to offer both candidates for office, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, some perspective related to our veterans' health care.

Let me introduce myself. I served in the U.S. Army from 1995-2007 and as a front-line physician for 15 months while in Iraq. My service in war was one of the longest continuous tours of combat by a physician since World War II. I treated thousands of our troops and also provided medical care for Iraq's deposed dictator, Saddam Hussein, after his capture. I'm founder of TheBattleContinues.org, a nonprofit charity serving injured veterans and speak on veteran health topics as well as what I call "emergency leadership."

I've seen it all, from dealing with soldiers who would ultimately lose limbs from battle wounds to handling casualties of severe car accidents and shootings here in the U.S. as an emergency room physician in Odessa, Texas in the Medical Center Health System. Being an associate clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, I've trained thousands of medical students using my textbook on emergency medical care that has been widely adopted at medical colleges throughout the country.

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While you both have talked about taking care of our veterans, the need to continue care once they leave the service is immense. Our veterans deserve the best health care we can provide in America, and that absolutely must be a top priority.

I'd like to suggest a three-pronged approach to caring for our veterans:

1) We all, as a society, need to help. We can't just dump our veterans into the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and forget about them, assuming they're being taken care of. We, as a nation, send them in harm's way as warriors. They put their lives on the line every day to secure our freedom and allow us to live in the comfort we're used to here in America. But some of these brave men and women have been through the worst violence that humanity can dish out. Handling that mentally requires professional help, patience and time.

Veterans often carry both physical and mental wounds. Their physical wounds can be tough enough to deal with -- but their invisible injuries, even more so. These mental health issues shouldn't be lumped together and referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- a label like that shouldn't be placed on a veteran and be blamed on some incident or incidents a soldier went through. We should think about it more as Post Traumatic Alienation Syndrome -- it's more societal, I believe. Veterans feel alienated by their physical and mental injuries, and it's up to us to help them. We must recognize that 22 veterans a day may commit suicide. We must make the commitment to them to do the best we can to heal the mental wounds they carry as much as the physical wounds. This goes directly to clearing out the bureaucracy and compressing the time it takes to get treatment. We need to be proactive in that regard. We can't wait for veterans to come to us. We need to engage veterans and reach out to them or many will not get the care they need.

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2) Increase a veteran's ability to access quality health care. A veteran should have the right to go to any hospital in the U.S. for treatment. They shouldn't have to wait in line at a distant VA hospital or clinic for days, weeks or months and be denied timely access to health care. A recent Government Accountability Office review of appointment wait times for patients new to VA health care found that veterans wait three to eight weeks for medical appointments; and still others couldn't even get an appointment with a primary care doctor because VA staff did not handle the appointments correctly, according to the GAO report. In all fairness, it also takes civilians an average of 20-plus days to see their primary care physician. I would say my treatment of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was better than what many of our veterans get. Veterans should be universally accepted at any hospital. And the hospital should be well compensated for providing treatment to veterans. Creating veteran HSAs -- Health Spending Accounts -- to use where and when needed would help with accessibility immensely.

3) Get the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs functioning efficiently, or make it a second option, or eliminate it. The amount of money we're spending on the department is eye-popping. President Barack Obama earmarked $182.3 billion for the VA in 2017. That figure has more than doubled since 2013. Support of our veterans needs ultimately to be realized through commitment of budget to step up their care and support with a bigger slice of that pie. Reduce the bureaucracy.

VA hospitals must attract the best doctors available and provide admitting, courtesy and surgical privileges to those top doctors and provide compensation commensurate with each physician's experience. The focus on quality and accountability at every level of the VA -- from the administrative processes to their complete medical care up and down the chain of command -- must be a priority. If a veteran encounters someone within that chain of command who is not effective, there should be consequences, up to and including termination of that VA employee. Quality and accountability must be paramount.

The VA needs to regain the trust of the veterans, which they exist to serve. That will take a long time -- years -- to correct. But we must begin immediately to do that. And, Ms. Clinton and Mr. Trump, it needs to begin with you making veterans' health care a top priority in your early days in office.

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Vegan Date Honey

There are seven sacred foods in Judaism. None of them are brisket. All are vegan, even honey, which here comes from dates and not from bees.

This fruit puree has the thick consistency of apple butter. Spread it on toast, dot it on oatmeal or whole grain pancakes, and by all means, dip apples in it at Rosh Hashanah for a new spin on an old tradition.

Orange flower water is available at Middle Eastern markets.

1-1/3 cup water or black tea

1 cup pitted dates (Deglet Noor or Medjools)

1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon orange flower water (optional but heavenly)

In a small saucepan, bring water to boil. Add dates and stir. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Leave the pot on the burner for 30 minutes.

Pour the dates and water or tea into a food processor and process for 2 minutes, or until smooth and saucy. Add lemon juice and optional orange flower water. Process again for another minute. Keeps covered and refrigerated for several months.

Makes 1 cup.


Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Roanoke, Va., Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. Trump faces Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the first of three debates Monday. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Much has already been written about the dangers that a Supreme Court, with even one or two Trump-appointed justices, would pose to all our rights and liberties. Trumps latest list of ten more possible Court nominees makes that even more clear. In making his announcement last Friday, Trump proclaimed he was using the late Justice Scalia as a model for his picks, delighting the far Right. A quick look at these potential nominees records shows that they would, in fact, swing the court far to the right, maybe even further than Justice Scalia, on issues like the environment, voting rights, money in politics, consumer rights, gun violence, LGBT and reproductive rights, and more. For the sake of all our rights and liberties, Trump cannot be given the opportunity to nominate Supreme Court justices.

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Most of the attention so far has focused on Trumps naming of Senator Mike Lee as a potential Supreme Court nominee. Among his many other radical positions, Lee has denounced Supreme Court decisions upholding marriage equality and a womans right to choose, and has claimed that Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, minimum wage and child labor laws, and many more are unconstitutional. Although Lee has indicated he is satisfied with his current job, at least for now, the prospect of Lee on the Court has excited the far Right.

The lesser-known candidates on Trumps list are similarly alarming. Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady, who as a member of the House helped lead the fight to impeach President Clinton in the Senate, has been dubbed one of the Florida Courts Scalia-Thomas duo because of far-right dissents he and one other conservative have written. These included one dissent that would have invalidated state restrictions on soliciting campaign contributions by state judges, and another that would have reversed a decision protecting vulnerable seniors from mandatory arbitration rules by nursing homes.

Another new Trump candidate, Neil Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, recently argued that the Supreme Courts Chevron decision, under which courts defer to environmental and other agency interpretations of ambiguous laws and which even Justice Scalia had supported, is unconstitutional and should be overruled. Tim Tymkovich, another 10th Circuit judge on Trumps new list, argued in a dissent that a federal regulation banning the carrying and storing of guns on U.S. Postal Service property should be partially struck down as unconstitutional.

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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees AntAnio Guterres speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in the heavily protected Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013. The head of the United Nations refugee agency is warning that Syria could be on the "verge of the abyss" as aid workers brace for a likely increase in the nearly 2 million refugees who have already fled the country's civil war. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)

The latest and fifth straw poll for the selection of the next United Nations secretary-general again placed Antonio Guterres of Portugal as the frontrunner in the informal secret balloting that began in July.

But will it matter?

Although he was the only candidate to receive the required nine positive votes among the 15 Council members, he had two negative ones. Diplomats believe one of them came from Russia, which has veto power.

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Next month, on October 5, the straw poll will distinguish between the five veto-bearing permanent members (the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China) and the other 10 elected nations of the 15-nation Council. But who cast a veto for whom will be kept secret.

At this stage the Council is deadlocked. It appears each of the nine candidates received a negative vote from one of the five permanent members, diplomats said. (see list at end)

Russia has argued that East Europe has never held the secretary-general post so it is time for the region to do so, even though most of its members belong to the European Union and NATO.

Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister, is obviously not from East Europe. But his delivery in open forums organized by the General Assembly was applauded. And he spent a decade as head of the UN refugee agency, a major issue in a time of mass displacement from conflicts.

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And the women?The world body has never had a women secretary-general in its 70 year history. And barring a new entry, it is not going to happen this year either. Even Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who leaves office at the end of the year, said it was high time for a woman to succeed him.

Irina Bokova of Bulgaria and head of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, slipped to sixth place. She was the only eastern European woman with a faint chance.

Susana Malcorra, the Argentine foreign minister and the former chief of staff to the current secretary general, moved up to fourth place, in a tie with Danilo Turk, the former Slovenian president.

But while she is believed to have American support, it is hard to imagine Britain's new nativist government supporting an Argentine because of the lingering Falklands-Malvinas island dispute.

Kristalina Georgiava?She is European Union commissioner for budget and resources and a Bulgarian. But her home country would have to nominate her and persuade Irina Bokova to drop out.

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Reports circulated that at the Group of 20 meeting in China last month her name drew support from Germany as well as Croatia and Latvia, none of whom are on the Council. But others have denied the lobbying.

In second place on September 26 was Vuk Jeremic, Serbia's former foreign minister, followed by the foreign minister of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak. Malcorra and Turk then tied for fourth place.

Bokova was in sixth place. Tied for seventh place were Macedonian Foreign Minister Srgjan Kerim and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who heads the U.N. Development Program. Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman was last.

Helen Clark made clear she was staying in the race. She tweeted thanks to Security Council members who supported her and said she was looking forward to the next phase.

The vote was supposed to be very secret, said Russia's ambassador, Vitaly Churkin. But diplomats in the meeting sent results to several journalists who tweeted them out instantly.

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The results - encouraged, discouraged, no opinion:Antonio Guterres: 12-2-1 Vuk Jeremic: 8-6-1 Miroslav Lajcak: 8-7-0 Danilo Turk: 7-7-1 Susanna Malcorra: 7-7-1Irina Bokova: 6-7-2 Helen Clark: 6-9-0 Srgjan Kerim: 6-9-0Natalia Gherman: 3-11-1
That was it. It became immediately clear that we needed some guidance, or at least some cultural facilitation. We ended up calling my mother, who as a young girl, during World War II, had lived in my great-grandmother's village, had cooked at the wood stove, and had learned those recipes from her mother and other women. She immediately knew what we were getting ready to make, and helped us interpret the somewhat cryptic texts.

Toltonne is a version of vitello tonnato, a familiar recipe from Piedmont, in Northwestern Italy. Interestingly, my great grandmother called it in a way that echoed vitel tonne, a French-inflected name that reflects the influence of French cuisine on the traditions of that part of Italy. The recipe had presumably been jotted down in the 1920s or 1930s, not that long after the unification of Italy in the 1860s. Nevertheless, a specialty from Piedmont had found its way to the mountains of central Italy, showing how a national culinary tradition was slowly developing by connecting very distinctive techniques, ingredients, as well as cultural values and habits. In fact, vitello tonnato appears in Pellegrino Artusi's 1891 The Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, widely considered the first attempt at outlining an Italian cuisine. Maybe adding such dish to her repertoire increased my great-grandmother's sense of being part of a reality that went beyond her village. Tarallo is a more local baked cookie, but nevertheless my mother's explanation was indispensable for us to distinguish it from another dessert with the same name. Just from the ingredients, she knew what her grandmother was referring to. We had no clue.

Once we figured out what we were doing, we had to negotiate cooking on the wood stove. We realized that our hands and bodies were being asked to perform new actions. From the start, you need to know how to choose various kinds of wood pieces to use at specific times, depending on what kind of flame you need. That required buying wood and carrying it upstairs, which we easily did in an elevator but in the past obviously required a great amount of logistics and physical labor. We were also being challenged to materially relate to food preparation in a different way. Heat can be controlled by moving the pot more or less close to the center of the stove, and by removing metal rings that allow more direct contact with the flame. Also, the regulation of the air draft makes the wood burn faster or slower. The oven turned out to be the most difficult to manage, as the heat could only be regulated by the quantity and type of wood burned. In fact, the temperature indicator had only three positions: desserts, roasts, and bread, just giving us the vaguest indication that we were on the right track.

While the toltonne came out gloriously, the arguably simpler taralli were a disaster. The first batch had a scorched surface and a still soft interior, while the second never really cooked, as we may have waited too long for the oven to cool off. I have an all-new admiration and respect for the abilities of those women whose talents were not given enough credit, discounted as what they were supposed to do as wives and daughters. A vast amount of embodied knowledge (and physical endurance) got little recognition, hidden in daily chores or special occasion cooking. At the end of the day, Saverio and I were exhausted, excited about what we had achieved, and in awe of what our female ancestors must have been able to pull off on a daily basis.
Photo by: Andrea Danti/Shutterstock

This past April, experts from 87 countries gathered for a summit in Geneva on "Killer Robots." These state party representatives to the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons were there to discuss whether these robots, more formally known as "lethal autonomous weapons," should be regulated or restricted to operating only under "meaningful human control," which would require humans to retain control over the critical functions of weaponry, such as the selection and engagement of targets.

U.S. Air Force General Paul J. Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called this a "Terminator conundrum," and experts in artificial intelligence (AI) say that the invention of these fully autonomous killer robots is imminent. Bonnie Docherty, senior arms division researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that "there is a real threat that humans would relinquish their control and delegate life-and-death decisions to machines." Human Rights Watch and Harvard University issued a joint report in April on the subject as well.

In the wake of these discussions, there have been calls, including from the Red Cross, to formalize laws and treaties to ban autonomous weapons that select and engage targets without human intervention. Currently though there exists no international law on the use of fully autonomous weaponry.

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It is an important subject. Forms of autonomous weapons, such as remote-controlled systems like drones, are here now, and fully autonomous weapons are on the near horizon. There is even an organization of global robotics and human rights experts dedicated solely to the peaceful use of robotics and regulation of robot weapons. The Future of Life Institute published an open letter last year signed by thousands of people, including notable artificial intelligence and robotics researchers, calling for a ban on autonomous weapons that select and engage targets without human intervention. More recently, there was a conference at Stanford on the Future of Artificial Intelligence, and a UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology. Elon Musk has created OpenAI, which he believes is key to keeping AI in check. And representatives of Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft have been meeting privately to discuss a standard of ethics around AI.

In the not too distant future, super intelligent machines and AI are going to present humankind with some really big challenges and some very intelligent people are thinking about the potential implications. But is it possible we are still underestimating our machines' capacity to learn? To be more like us? Are we are too focused on the machines' technology, while overlooking the underlying humanity that needs to go into them?

I am an international human rights lawyer, and I recently gave a TEDx talk about the future of human rights and technology, focusing on the impact of AI. I believe intelligent machines will dramatically disrupt the human rights paradigm, and they will certainly require that we look at what it means to be human in new ways. Intelligent machines currently being designed will soon have the ability to reason for themselves, to improve themselves, and in a short time will exponentially exceed the intellectual capacity of human beings. This may be the last frontier of invention and innovation. Our machines will likely become better at inventing and innovating than we have ever been or could ever be, including creating as yet unimagined new weapons.

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In order to safeguard humanity, the single most important thing we must do will be to teach concepts of rights and values -- to machines. And I'm not alone in my thinking. For instance, Stephen Hawking has said that "success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history...Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks." Hawking thus believes that the "development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." Elon Musk has called the prospect of artificial intelligence "our greatest existential threat" and thinks that AI weaponry could pose an even bigger threat than nuclear warfare, which is why he supports regulatory oversight of AI. However, in the recent Stanford Report, "The Study Panel's consensus is that attempts to regulate 'AI' in general would be misguided, since there is no clear definition of AI (it isn't any one thing), and the risks and considerations are very different in different domains."

The eminent philosopher and AI expert Nick Bostrom predicts that "the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make...provided that the machine is docile enough to tell us how to keep it under control." Regarding the rise of AI, he thinks that "humans are like small children playing with a bomb."

If we cannot even create common sense gun control policies in the United States, how are we going to do the same for lethal autonomous weapons? Instead of leading with policy, we may be better served by focusing on building compassion into AI operating systems. AI could then not only help control our weapons and save lives, it may also help us find global solutions to many of the existing human rights challenges we already face, and have been unable to solve.

Since the spring, 14 additional countries have joined the call to ban artificially-intelligent weapons. In December, a United Nations group will return to Geneva to debate whether we should establish formal international laws to oversee killer bots. Artificially-intelligent weaponry is inevitable. I believe we will be better served by focusing on finding agreement on values rather than policy. If we rise to that challenge, we may be capable of creating machines that will not only share our highest values, but also help us to improve them.

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How we choose to develop AI will be the key to protecting our future basic rights and freedoms. This means beginning a public dialogue now, and not just among the elite and mega-rich tech companies, about our robotics, software, and computers that have the capacity for intelligent behavior, and not just in connection with lethal weaponry. Scientists and engineers are leading the current research and discussions, but we need more humanist thinkers in the room as well.

And how fast is this technology coming? While the concept of what constitutes a "thinking" machine remains open for some debate, techniques like deep learning and crowdsourcing knowledge for AI are bringing us closer each day to machines that think for themselves. AI is being taught to do everything from feel pain to create art. And Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that we will reach "technological singularity," where AI surpasses human intelligence and comprehension, in less than 30 years. The Stanford Report declined to even discuss singularity.

We are already reliant on machines, using simple forms of AI on a daily basis, like Pandora, Netflix, Siri, video games, and Google. AI technologies like driverless cars, autonomous drones, and game-playing robots are rapidly proliferating.

Humanity will be better served by focusing on instilling values into AI and reducing the human bias that can put lives at risk. Because it's not technology we have to fear, it's people. As long as we remain dangerous to one another, our machines will be dangerous to us. Noted robotics writer, Evan Ackerman, says: "What we really need is a way of making autonomous armed robots ethical." Top AI scholar Stuart Russell agrees, arguing that the survival of our species may depend on keeping AI beneficial and provably aligned with human values. This goes beyond Isaac Asimov's Three Laws and makes a case for robots that can learn as they go along, but that also explicitly acknowledge and understand the uncertainty inherent in life, like humans do, so that they have the ability to course correct while pursuing an objective, instead of remaining dangerously absolute in their programmed path.

We need to start thinking very carefully about the patterns, the values, and the code of ethics we will need to build into our machines and our laws. Values are different than rules. Rules can be broken, or followed for the wrong reason; values are deeper. Acting according to our values means we unearth what's beneath the rules, and follow them only when we determine that they are aligned with our values, like some of our great moral heroes and leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony, and Martin Luther King, Jr., have shown us, so that we impart to them the best values and aspirations human culture has to offer. I suggested some ideas for what those solutions might look like at TEDx.

I've studied war crimes, genocide, conflict resolution, and post-conflict justice. I have become convinced that Dr. Paul Farmer is right: "The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that's wrong in the world." So, it is critical that machines understand values, like the concept of equality. But with the human species' record of human rights violations, are we even capable of this? Do we even have the answers to give them? And who are we going to entrust with this task?

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Learn more about Flynn: flynncoleman.community
"Has it always been like this?" That was the question I was asked not quite three years ago, in the midst of the two-week shutdown of the federal government, by a student on my campus. In the years since then, the level of incivility in our political life, as evidenced by the current Presidential campaign, has only gotten worse. I sought to reassure my student, and to do so not with platitudes but with examples. I chose two.



In 1973, Congress enacted and ultimately passed over a presidential veto, the War Powers Act, one of the most significant pieces of legislation in American history concerning the separation of powers and United States foreign policy. The law limited presidential power to commit American armed forces without a declaration of war or other congressional authorization. The president at the time, Richard Nixon, was a Republican; Democrats were in the majority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. But the bill received bipartisan support and, perhaps most remarkable of all, one of the prime architects of the legislation was Senator Jacob Javits, a Republican from New York. The fact that Javits was from the minority party of the Senate and of the same party as the president did not keep him from playing a leadership role in a piece of legislation that restricted the president's powers and elevated those of Congress.



I also shared with my student a lesser known story told to me by one of my board members when I was a law school dean. This story took place in the 1960s -- once again, Democrats controlled the House and the Senate. This board member, while a student at George Washington University Law School, had worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to a Republican congressman. He delighted in telling the story of the instrumental role he was able to play in legislation protecting consumers of mobile homes. The most remarkable part of this story: at the time, it did not strike him as surprising or even noteworthy that a Republican congressman could play a leadership role in enacting legislation in a Democratically-controlled Congress.



"No," I told my student. "It has not always been like this." Is it possible to reverse the trend toward incivility in our political life and to restore some basis of cooperation, collaboration and dialog? And how might we, as citizens, play a role in this? We should look to the wisdom of Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, a 19th- and early 20th-century teacher, scholar and ethicist in Eastern Europe, whose most famous work, "Guarding the Tongue," explicated Jewish laws and learning concerning speech, the power of words, and especially the danger of gossip and malicious speech. His teachings, as powerful and direct today as they were when written more than 125 years ago, are strikingly simple to articulate and deceptively difficult to implement -- we should watch our words carefully, weighing them as we would our treasures. We should speak, discuss, even argue and debate decently and respectfully of others, questioning their ideas but not their motives.



This Rabbi's teachings apply to us on the national and political level, and on the local and personal level as well. There are those in their political discourse who have condemned entire races or nationalities or ethnic groups. There are those in their personal discourse who disparage neighbors and colleagues, becoming "frenemies" or worse yet, bullies. Guarding our tongue is a message for national debates, for the workplace, and for the kitchen table.



The anniversary of the passing of the Rabbi Israel Meir Kagen occurs on Sept. 27. On that day, a group called Acheinu is asking all Americans to refrain from gossip and harmful speech. Just for one day. It is a small but significant gesture. Is it possible that if we could do so as a society for one day, we might be able to do it for another, and then another? This is something that, as seemingly unattainable as it sounds, is utterly within our control. Ronald Reagan once said, "I've always believed that a lot of the trouble in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other." And as Robert F. Kennedy said in Indianapolis, on the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,



"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another.... Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people."
"If you have a soapbox, stand on it, and scream!" Chelsea Handler closed the first session of the +SocialGood Summit on Sunday with this memorable quote. And the rise of digital media has given everyone a soapbox, but we must be able to wield these screams from soapboxes.

During a recent interview, my good friend and interviewee Sarah Gulley she shared an Aristotle quote with me: "to avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." And I think so often, particularly within our roles as content creators and consumers, we either say nothing or if we do speak up, do so within our bubbled communities.

Standing on your soapbox in our polarizing socio-political climate can be frightening. I have candidly spoken with friends who are surprised when their feeds have content that doesn't align with their personal views. Aristotle's quote from ancient Greece is particularly amplified on the digital platform: if you say or do anything digitally it follows you regardless. And as you elevate your voice and cause, those who do not agree will criticize- and generally in not very productive ways.

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We have lost the ability to agree and to look outside our localized points of view. Many have argued that the rise of digital media has been the great equalizer, connector, and a powerful tool to give power and agency to thousands more people. This is true except that we have bubbled ourselves in to only hear it back.

I do it too- as an advocate for global girls I have gotten the opportunity to work with and meet other girl advocates. I have taken these experiences and tweeted about them, written about them, and even solicited friends and family for donations via social media for the cause I care about. I know that there are people in the world who do not value girls, who marry girls off before they have reached puberty, who still practice female genital mutilation, who still believe we are less than. I know these stats, and it fuels me to work harder and be a better advocate for girls. But if you look at people who I follow on Twitter, overwhelmingly it is other girl organizations who do similar work, and believe in the same causes. I have never received a negative response to a tweet that advocates for girls getting birth certificates or getting to school without being subject to violence. While I like to think that most people are good and truly take no issue with girls receiving a secondary education or birth certificate, I can't help but feel like I am in an echo chamber.

So as I meditate on Chelsea Handler's comments to scream on my soapbox, I think about the impact of my content creation. When I tweet more am I just creating more noise in an already noisy arena? Does anyone really care? And how does caring translate into action? While many don't oppose women's equality and the rights of global girls, we also don't have the funds and support of every person. While the idea of slactivism is a myth: people who first engage with an issue via social media are more likely to take action, rather than less likely to take action, we still are not rallying the support we need to be.

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A student in class last week raised his hand and asked me how Zara is successful without doing marketing. Even though it is early in the semester, I was horrified that I had not yet succeeded in teaching my students what marketing is. As I thought about it some more, my horror calmed down. I know that most, who do not have a depth of knowledge in marketing, have the same problem. They equate marketing with advertising. As they learn more, they discover that advertising is only one of numerous ways to promote products, and promotion is only one of seven fundamental building blocks of marketing. These building blocks, in turn, are merely a marketer's periodic table of elements from which he (or she) crafts a marketing mix of strategies that are used to achieve the goals of a marketing plan.

Articles that mislead

Of course, I cannot blame my student for being confused when many articles have been written about Zara that claim that the company has achieved its success without advertising. After reading one or two of them, most that do not know the underlying marketing fundamentals of Zara will be similarly mislead. To get the wanderers back on the marketing path, I hope to explain how Zara does a lot of marketing, and advertising too. I will do this organizing its strategies according to the seven fundamental building blocks.

Marketing Information System

Zara provides designer fashions at affordable prices because it has an effective marketing information system that captures fashion designs from the catwalk or concert stage and gets them into their stores very quickly. It also obtains feedback from buyers and fixes any problems quickly to keep them happy.

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Corporate Image

The company has been around for a long time. Some trace its beginnings to 1963 with the first store opening in 1975. With over 2,000 stores in 77 countries, Zara makes a lot of brand impressions simply from the signs on these stores. During this period, it has developed a reputation as a fast-fashion company that copies the latest designs for women, men, and children and gets them into their stores in a matter of days.

Positioning

Zara's products are positioned as the latest designer fashions sold at reasonable prices in its own stores. It targets 18-40 year old women, men, and children that live in cities. It produces small runs of these fashions to create uniqueness and a sense of urgency. That is, if buyers don't buy them now, they may not be available tomorrow. Zara's key direct competitors are Topshop, Uniqlo, and H&M.

Product

To fit its positioning, Zara creates 500 or more new fast fashion, short-lived designs each month. They are made with inexpensive materials and labor and embody a fastidious attention to detail. By attending the latest concerts and fashion events, Zara's designers and scouts continuously develop new designs that are fed into Zara's rapid production process and quickly delivered to its stores.

Distribution

Zara sells its products out of 2,000 stores in 77 countries. Most of the stores (90%) are company owned and located near high-end retailers that draw considerable traffic. For those drawn to the high-end stores that want to pay lower prices, Zara is nearby to oblige them. In this way, Zara benefits from the cumulative attraction generated by its higher-end rivals. Also, with all these physical outlets and their online presence, they are able to collect rapid feedback from customers to make changes in subsequent production runs.

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Promotion

Despite its reputation for doing no advertising, Zara does a lot. First of all, Zara gets a lot of attention from word-of-mouth advertising. The 18 to 40 something's that live in cities are nearby their friends, and they are not shy about telling them about Zara. Zara also benefits from endorsements from celebrities that are considered fashion experts. The Duchess of Cambridge is one of them. With 2000 stores in 77 countries located near other high-end stores, the Zara signs on its retail outlets promote the Zara brand.

Whether recognized or not, Zara is doing a lot of marketing

So for those who think that Zara is successful without doing marketing, think again. You cannot violate the rules of the universe. It is impossible to bring products to the market without marketing. As Peter Drucker said,
Last month, J.K. Rowling sent sent out a series of tweets denouncing the practice of volountourism in orphanages, and the support of orphanages in general. It is risky to make broad statements against orphanages, hereafter referred to as children's centers, that often serve as community hubs where vulnerable children can seek refuge. The reasoning why children's centers may be necessary cannot be looked at in either black or white, because there are many bad ones out there, we need to eliminate all of them. Wouldn't it be easy if things worked that way? I believe certain children's centers have their place in society when they offer protection, shelter, and care to vulnerable children who would otherwise end up on the street, at risk of being trafficked, continue to be abused in all forms, or remain outcast from their communities. By our definition, 'vulnerable children' refers to any child that has or is at risk of suffering abuse, being trafficked, abandoned or otherwise in imminent danger due to lack of parental care.

As an aside, I am a huge fan of J.K. Rowling - of course her incredible talent as an author, but also her commitment to vulnerable children. With respect to volountourism, I absolutely agree that volunteers should not be used as replacement for qualified, committed, and local caretakers that are able to provide stable support to those children that need it. But in countries such as Kenya, the government itself relies on privately operated children's centers to be their equivalent of Child Protective Services(CPS) in the United States, which provides social services to vulnerable children (foster care, adoption, or group homes) at a cost of over 100 million per year. The government of Kenya spends nowhere near that amount, and all the financial burden is placed on the centers, which are responsible for not only caring for vulnerable children, but documenting why they were placed in their home, as well as all efforts to reunite them with their families or communities.

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Boys from the Christ Faith Children's Home, which has a community outreach program to support single mothers

You see, if we want to eliminate the existence of children's centers, we have to get deeply involved in the issues and challenges specific to each society. We have to tackle extreme poverty by making quality education readily available, as well as providing jobs, especially to girls and women as they are the primary drivers of economic growth. We have to tackle deep-rooted cultural traditions such as child marriage and FGM, which cause many girls to leave their homes and seek refuge in a children's center, to avoid being victims of such harmful practices. In order to stop the abandonment of newborns in the streets of many slums, we have to provide education and awareness of the consequences of being sexually active, as well as accessible contraceptive or family planning options to young adults who commit these acts in desperation. We have to keep an eye out for and shut down those orphanages that pop up simply to recruit children living in poverty with promises of a better life, only to be exploited to the volontourism so popular in the west, which also places these children in constant danger of an ever-revolving door of strangers. Tack onto all of this HIV/AIDS, abuse, and the rare (but it does happen) occasion where both parents actually do pass away, and we have an extremely complex list of issues we need to tackle before we can confidently say there is no need for an orphanage, anywhere, to exist. Shutting all of them down without understanding the way they operate in local communities, is like ripping the band aid off before the cut has begun to heal.

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Babies at the Good Samaritan Home in the Soweto Slum of Nairobi. All of them have been placed at the center after being abandoned in the streets of the slum. They are being cared for until they are able to be adopted.

In my research in the field, I've come across both the bad orphanages and the ones that are going above and beyond for their children and their families - such as the Simama Project, a children's center with a home based program which supports the education costs (tuition, books, etc) of 100 children who are living at home with their families - a way for these children to be able to attend school rather than be sent to an orphanage because their parents know they will receive an education there that they otherwise could not afford. Or the Christ Faith Children's Home in India, which has a housing project for single mothers where they can live with their children in the center, while learning job skills, which keeps these women and their children together.

These are just a few examples of why I strongly feel that in many countries, many orphanages are serving a crucial role in their communities. They do save the lives of many children, and they provide services to help families in times of need. As for the long term strategy, at what point does the burden of care and alternatives continue to be placed on NGOs and the orphanages themselves? When will local governments step up to the plate and start providing the social services and resources that their communities desperately need? As Ms. Rowling tweeted, these "countries need social care and health systems that keep families together" And while we start working on the long term strategy, I ask people to think twice before calling for all orphanages to be shut down. Take a look at what happened when Rawanda shut down all orphanages in 2011, as an example of the harm this can do when there is no strong back up plan. For anyone wanting to support vulnerable children, do your due diligence, as with any donation you give. Research the center or NGO, how involved they are in the local community, how many children they house, what their re-integration rate is, the primary reasons children end up there, etc. Or start supporting those organizations and initiatives that are working towards solving the societal issues that cause children to live in orphanages: women's rights, extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and sexual Education.
Kathryn Wiley is the mother of six who not just believes in giving back, but lives her ideals. As the CEO of childrenswear brand Rockin' Baby, she operates with a spirit of giving - Mother-to-Mother, Child-to-Child. For every item sold, Rockin' Baby donates one to a mother or child in need somewhere in the world. Besides operating according to her believes professionally, Katherine also teaches her children to give back.

Kathryn has worked hard instill this spirit of giving in her own children. This summer she bought a used school bus, converted it into a functional R.V., and with her husband and six children in tow, drove it from Richmond, Virginia to Portland, Oregon and back. Along the way, the family donated items of Rockin' Baby clothing and baby carriers to families in need at homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and to the victims of the ravaging floods in West Virginia.

Katheryn is raising her children to believe that giving comes from the gut and lives in their hearts. One doesn't give because you have a lot and others don't - one gives because it's the right thing to do. Through their trip this summer, and other acts they have done as a family, Katheryn's family has developed an innate sense of social compassion. By doing this, she seeks to instill empathy and compassion can become integral parts of their personalities.

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When Kathryn's family visited people during their cross-country adventure, they talked as a family about who they were about to meet, their situations, how they ended up where they were, and how it must feel to be without a sense of 'home.' The kids asked questions, and as Kathryn and her husband and I doled out bite-sized pieces of information, they were amazed at how inquisitive the kids became and how much more they wanted to know. If a subject was too uncomfortable or beyond their understanding, they left it aside to be discussed at a later date.

When Kathryn and her children arrived at a shelter, the children amazed her with their compassion and charity. They knew that the children that they met were essentially just like they were - anxious for purpose and a sense of belonging. They talked to them like any other child, just two kids chatting over a swingset. Kathryn's children knew that their acts of giving didn't come from entitlement, but rather from a place of goodness. The families they visited had a need, and they could fill it. Their spirit of giving came from the gut.

So how do you instill this spirit in your own child? Here are some things that have helped Kathryn in her journey:

 Walk the Walk. If we, as parents, are genuine in our giving, it will be passed along to our children. They know when we're faking it.

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 Be intentional in your giving. There is no "best time" or "best thing" to give. It should be a part of your daily life. You should "do unto others" as an act of second nature.

 It's not about the act. It feels good to give. There is some satisfaction in helping others. But your personal feelings and pleasures aren't the point. It isn't the size of your gift or the amount of time spent. It's all about helping others.

 Create a 'Lifestyle of Giving. Start at home. When you wake up each morning and pass each other in the hall and kitchen, hug each other, say good morning, and listen to each other with genuine intent. Think of others first.

 Eliminate the sense of entitlement. Even if your family has been fortunate, create traditions that eliminate a sense of entitlement. In Kathryn's family, a tradition is for us to make Christmas gifts for each

The children think of what they want to make for each sibling, and Kathryn helps them create their hand-made gift. This certainly takes a lot of time and energy from the parents, but when the family unwraps gifts on Christmas Eve, they realize that it isn't about the thing or the size of the gift but think: "My sibling thought of me and made this."

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Co-authored by Francis Gassert

Sonoma County, California and Caldas, Colombia are very different communities, yet they share a common threatclimate change.

Both cities have similar ecological landscapes and agricultural resources. Sonomas wine region is vulnerable to changing rainfall patterns and droughts spurred by warming temperatures; Caldas coffee fields face devastating floods and landslides.

So they joined forced to tackle their shared problem. Through a USAID program, Sonoma and Caldas experts met in each location for a total of two weeks, identified the best climate data available, determined the risks they face and shared resiliency planning best practices, including engaging farmers and accounting for carbon storage in watersheds. Sonoma shared its climate risk data, and Caldas shared its watershed management planning information, enabling both to learn from the other.

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The case of Sonoma and Caldas is a climate resilience success story, but its a rare one. Communities like them worldwide face the same kinds of problems, but typically lack necessary access to data and guidance to accurately assess risks. Without this information, they cant make infrastructure investment decisions to protect themselves from escalating climate impacts.

Help is on the way. The Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP), a public-private partnership launching today, will harness the data revolution to strengthen climate resilience efforts, streamline climate data delivery, and inform researchers and data providers on which climate data are most valuable.

PREP is being launched by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), World Resources Institute (WRI), U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and a network of entities working on climate impact data.

A Platform and a Partnership for Resilience

PREP convenes government collaborators, tech companies, civil society and local governments around the world to create more resilient communities through:

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An open, accessible platform: While abundant climate data exists, it often resides in government and research silos or is overly technical, with insufficient guidance on which data to use and how to use it. PREPs first major output is an open-source beta information platform building on the data architecture of WRIs Resource Watch collaborative. It facilitates access to critical data sets from entities like NASA, NOAA and DOI, transforming them into actionable information that users will eventually be able to contextualize with local knowledge, such as the location of critical infrastructure or vulnerable populations in a specific community. Data flows in and out of the PREP platform from multiple sources, with users like local governments, businesses and real estate developers accessing government data for their specific locations.



Designed by communities, for communities: PREPs beta platform is being launched with collaborating communities in Sonoma County, California; Puget Sound, Washington; and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Over the next 12 months, PREP will work with other communities, while continually adding new datasets and case studies as they become available, as well as new partners. Eventually, the PREP platform will also help communities like Sonoma and Caldas find each other, connect, and share data and stories of the risks they face and how they are building resilience.



A Platform AND a Partnership: PREP is more than just a data platformit will also feature working groups including the worlds leading researchers and data providers, such as federal agencies. This will allow planners consuming climate data to interact directly with the data providers, with both groups learning from each other. Analysts will get climate change data tailored to their location and context to make smart planning decisions, while science translators will learn which tools can help them meet the tailored needs of local planners.

Customization: In the next planned upgrade of the platform, users will be able to create customized dashboards showing live indicators of climate risk, access and visualize data without worrying about storage shortages or software challenges, and create a learning environment with other communities.

Over the next 12 months, we will expand the functionality of the platform. Heres one example of how we envision it will be used:

Imagine a town planner is developing a climate risk assessment in response to growing public concern after a spate of storms and floods. She convenes a team to conduct an assessment using PREP. The team easily accesses data on climate change and variabilitysuch as temperature increases or sea level rise and rainfall projectionsand combines them with local data about critical infrastructure and their vulnerabilities, such as roads, housing developments or power plants. The team can then integrate these findings and data points into their own online community dashboard to provide insights into how climate change could impact their specific circumstances, making long-term planning more climate resilient.

Creating a More Resilient Future

Sonoma and Caldas were luckythanks to USAID, they found each other to solve climate resilience challenges. But with a rapidly changing climate, we need a way for all communities to understand the risks they face and get resilience planning assistance.

PREP can help connect communities on the front lines of climate change find the information they need. Visit the PREP beta platform to join the growing partnership, and harness the data revolution to make neighborhoods around the world more resilient.
"At first glance this race doesn't look very important," says St. George in his piece, showing Woods and Zenzinger knocking on doors. "...the most important race you likely haven't talked about....if Zenzinger wins this re-match, Dems may be in complete control [of state government]....

"While this race dominates the headlines," narrates St. George, flashing images of Clinton and Trump. "This one in Arvada may end up impacting your life more come next year."
Dear Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton,

On January 20th, one of the two of you will be inaugurated. Mr. Trump, at 70, you will be the oldest President in US history. Ms. Clinton, at 69, you will be second only to President Reagan.

I know that you both believe that age should not be an issue in your hiring by the American people in November or throughout your term. Alas, that is not an option for many older Americans. You may have seen AARP's "Staying Ahead of the Curve" survey. Sixty-one percent of workers aged 45-74 were not confident that they would find a job without a drop in pay and 33% of that group cited age discrimination or other age related issues as the reason. And of the 64% of that cohort who had seen age discrimination on the job, ninety-two percent said, "it is very or somewhat common."

Those are just the numbers. Every week, another article or blog comes out with a depressing title (e.g., The New York Times, "You're How Old?: We'll Be In Touch") and personal stories. The marketing executive turned LA Uber driver. The 60-year-old unemployed software engineer who has had plastic surgery to improve his hiring chances in Silicon Valley, where age discrimination can start at 40 or even younger. Ageism also affects all ethnic groups, gender identities, and sexual orientations. Straight white men are not immune.

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Yet when I look for your solutions for this issue, I find very little. While you both have your key issues laid out here and here, there's no one category that covers this topic. I'm not seeing much on the campaign trail. For example, on the same week in August you both gave economic speeches in Michigan, a state where older workers have been hit particularly hard. No solutions were offered.

However, while you may have been able to avoid this issue for the most part during this campaign, it will be harder for November's winner in 2020. For starters, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of older workers over the age of 55 is projected to be one in four by 2022. That is up from just over one in ten in 1992, a major societal shift. And there would probably be more if they could get hired. I know that you're both familiar with the challenges of Social Security. The fund is scheduled to run out by 2034, a year that will sound far closer in 2020 than 2016. Is this where I mention that the number of Americans living until 90 has increased three fold since 1980?

Potential pockets in the job market exist. By 2020, Georgetown University Researchers estimate that 5 million jobs won't be filled due to lack of skills and some of the older boomers retiring. We started to see that gap in July of this year when there were 5.8 million job openings, the largest number since 2000 and only 5.04 million hires. Retraining older workers can be part of the solution. And that brings the added bonus of more workers retiring later and contributing to Social Security longer. But training is expensive.

It's a tough, gnarly issue. And it can be subtle. Yes, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is on the books. Class action suits and discrimination claims have been filed. But they can trigger backlashes. And how do you change the behavior of the management recruiter who is rejecting resumes of older workers but doesn't even realize her bias? Or the fifty-something middle manager whose performance suffers because he doesn't accord his boss, the same age as his son, the proper level of respect? Or the Gen X Lead Engineer who doles out the best projects to the younger coders?

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As you both know, unless tragedy strikes, age happens to all. It's a multi-generational problem that needs to be solved from multiple angles: government policies, business initiatives, tax incentives, private public partnerships, skills training and so on. On a positive note, this country has tackled and been successful with issues that required behavioral change before by pulling multiple levers. For example, the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the adult population has decreased from 42% in 1965 to 16% in 2014.

A few years ago, I had the good fortune to hear Sheryl Sandberg address an audience at Harvard Business School on her book "Lean In." Polished and poised, she brimmed with useful advice for women who wanted to be ambitious in all areas. My friends and I, older Gen Xers or tail-end Boomers, lamented that most of us were just past the "leaning in" stage with high school children or older or none at all. We'd made our choices. But Sandberg raised a question that has resonated with me since then. What would you do if you weren't afraid?

I would solve ageism. Am I afraid of it? Yes. I've seen older, qualified friends retire before their time and many former classmates and colleagues over 45 laid off in disproportionate numbers. And then there are those depressing stories in the media.

I'm fortunate. I work on an executive team with a mix of the generations. The "learn, earn, return at the same time" philosophy of many millennials has transformed my life. It's turned me into a poster child for the multi-generational workforce. And I might add that both of you also embody the multi-generational spirit with your Gen-X wing women (KellyAnne Conway and Huma Abedin), Gen Y children/spokespeople, Gen Z volunteers.

So I'd follow Ms. Sandberg's model to start a national discussion on the topic. "Lean In" puts a positive and powerful spin on the decades-old challenges of sexism, gender politics and "having it all." Ms. Sandberg assigns responsibility to all involved in labor force, not just working mothers.

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I would substitute "Stay In" for "Lean In" and challenge all stakeholders (e.g., government, corporations, all generations, national associations) to build and leverage a multi-generational workforce. A workforce where all able individuals can stay in as long as possibles--as I imagine November's winner will want to in 2020.

One final thought: you might want to rename the Boomers. It's a tired brand. In a Zogby poll from a few years back, forty-two percent of all respondents thought that the Boomer legacy would be consumerism and self-indulgence. (Mr. Trump you might be partly responsible for that finding.) My suggestion: transform the workforce from a House of Brands (Millennials, Gen X, Boomers) into a branded house with Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen X... and Gen B.

So while one of you may be the last Boomer President, you may also be the first from Gen B. And who knows? If you build a multi-generational workforce, there may be more to come.
Tulsa Oklahoma, where I live, has been roiled this past week by the killing of an unarmed black man and father of four, Terence Crutcher, by Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby who was charged Thursday with first-degree manslaughter. Crutcher was thought to be high on PCP during the confrontation after his car broke down, and was found to have traces of the drug in his vehicle. Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said during a news conference that Officer Shelby "reacted unreasonably by escalating the situation from a confrontation with Mr. Crutcher, who was not responding to verbal commands and was walking away from her with his hands held up, becoming emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted." The Crutcher killing is part of a nationwide epidemic of police shootings, which most media pundits and political activists consider to be rooted in racial discrimination. The militarization of American domestic police forces is also a significant factor that should receive greater public opprobrium. According to news reports, Betty Shelby trained with the Air National Guard in the late 1990s before joining the Tulsa Police Department as a drug recognition expert, and her husband, Dave Shelby, who flew in an overhead helicopter during the Crutcher killing, was an Iraq War veteran. The Tulsa Police Department from 1990 to 2014, according to a study undertaken by the Marshall Foundation, also significantly received over $700,000 in military equipment through the Pentagon's 1033 Program, and the Sherriff's office another $817,681. Military-trained officers in Tulsa are thus equipped with military weapons fighting a war against drugs in which they are conditioned to view potential suspects as enemies. Ms. Shelby's overreaction can probably best be understood in this context and not necessarily as a product of her being a racist.

Police video from the Crutcher killing shows one of the helicopter operators, possibly Dave Shelby, telling Ms. Shelby over the radio that Crutcher "looks like a bad dude."



He may have appeared so because he was black, but when conditioned in a military mindset, all suspects are "bad dudes" to be treated accordingly.



The militarization of American police forces goes back a long way. The father of American law enforcement, August Vollmer, credited with introducing important technical and scientific innovations, was a veteran of the Spanish-American Philippines War. Many other veterans of that conflict came back to impart mass surveillance techniques they had pioneered while chasing Filipino guerrillas.



During the Cold War, American police advisers tasked with training their proteges in clandestine surveillance and to assist in counterinsurgency operations in countries like Vietnam came back to advance methods domestically that devalued civil liberties, contributing to the trend towards militarization.



Arthur Brandstatter Jr. who headed a controversial police training project in South Vietnam advised the Detroit police in riot control methods that contributed to the violent suppression of black protestors during the city's infamous 1967 riots.



The declaration of the War on Drugs by the Nixon administration in 1971 tipped the edge unequivocally in the direction of police militarization over support for civil liberties in the United States.



Benefiting from new no-knock measures passed by the conservative Supreme Court, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in conjunction with local law enforcement carried out militarized raids that resembled "assaults on an enemy prison camp in Vietnam" according to a reporter who witnessed the shooting of an unarmed hippie in the back during a raid in Humboldt County California.



During the 1990s, as part of the War on Drugs, Bill Clinton appointed as drug czar General Barry McCaffrey, a Vietnam and Gulf War I veteran, who instituted a "troops to cops" program which subsidized police departments for hiring returning veterans. According to sociologist Peter Kraska, many of these veterans had little patience for carrying out the painstaking detective work necessary to make a case but "just like to play war; they get a rush out of search and destroy missions."



New Haven Police Chief Nick Pastore subsequently told a reporter in reference to the Pentagon's 1033 program that outfitting cops in battle garbs "feeds a mindset that you're not a police officer serving a community, you're a soldier at war."



Information brought out during the trial will enable us to better assess the extent to which Betty Shelby and her husband Dave's military background and the militarization of Tulsa's police force more broadly, contributed to the Crutcher killing.



Americans overall must confront not only the racism underlying the rash of police killings today, but also the cancer of unbridled militarism which has contributed to our republic evolving ever more into a police state.



Jeremy Kuzmarov is J.P. Walker assistant professor of history at the University of Tulsa and author of Modernizing Repression: Police Training and Nation Building in the American Century (University of Massachusetts Press, 2012) and The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs (University of Massachusetts, 2009).
Homework seems to have become the "H-word" for parents in households around the country, especially now that their kids have started another school year.

A blogging mom reported that at a back-to-school night her child's teachers put "so much homework pressure on us parents our heads were spinning."

She asked her son's teacher, "What do you mean by December the kids should know how to automatically add 16 plus 17 in their heads? I still carry the 1 in my head. Are there new math tricks? How do we help teach them? I don't know any tricks."

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Her final words: "Bring on the wine. I'm going to need it."

I can't argue that a good Cabernet can be a satisfying antidote to homework nightmares, especially math and science problems. However, instead of reaching for the bottle, why not reach for the phone and call the experts at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Homework Hotline? At this top-ranked undergraduate engineering school, which I lead, I can attest: those hotline tutors know their math and science; and they are a quick phone call, email, or online chat away from turning all those "Huhs?" into "Ahas!"

Now celebrating its 25th year, Homework Hotline has helped students, predominantly in middle and high school, understand their math and science homework. And "understand" is the key word. Rather than simply giving students answers, these collegiate student tutors, who are no strangers to tough math and science problems, help their younger compadres truly understand the questions, arrive at the answers themselves, and prepare to tackle similar questions on their own.

This free community service has conducted more than a half million tutoring sessions through calls, texts, and online chats with students from Indiana and nearly every other U.S. state. Tutors have been trained to work with students in grades 6-12, are certified by the National Tutoring Association, and have access to Indiana-adopted math and science textbooks, many of which are used in classrooms across the country. We use the latest technology to ensure our service's virtual presence is strong, and that it meets the changing needs of students and online learning communities.

Homework Hotline's educational model has been replicated at several other colleges and universities in the country. The University of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Harvey Mudd College in the Claremont, Calif, area, and some of the branch campuses of Penn State University are using Rose-Hulman's homework hotline in their communities.

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We certainly hope these partnerships will continue to pave the way for other Homework Hotline programs throughout America because there will always be parents looking for a lifeline to help turn those "Huhs?" into "Ahas!" After 25 successful years, Rose-Hulman's hotline is here to stay.
We expect a lot from the courts, and probably too much. They are asked to tackle complex raging social issues like race and abortion, resolve mammoth corporate disputes, cure addictions, mediate longstanding family battles, place children in loving homes and more. In New Jersey this week the limitations of criminal courts were again made apparent. Criminal convictions were dismissed there by an appellate court against Dharun Ravi. Ravi is the Rutgers University student who, in 2010 videotaped his roommate, Tyler Clementi making out with another man in the college dorm room Clementi and Ravi shared. Ravi showed other students the video and Clementi tragically committed suicide by jumping to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

Ravi was arrested, tried and convicted on bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and other criminal charges. Interestingly, Ravi was not charged in court with causing Clementi's death. In charging Ravi, Middlesex County N.J. prosecutors had noble objectives--Ravi acted terribly and clearly contributed to Clementi's profound sadness and embarrassment to the point he could no longer bear it. Death, for him, was preferable.

Public outrage led prosecutors to do what prosecutors and police do: make arrests. But New Jersey prosecutors couldn't charge Ravi with manslaughter since the state law requires evidence--proof--that the Ravi caused Clementi's death under circumstances "manifesting extreme indifference to human life." Legally proving Ravi caused Clementi's death was a steep mountain to climb. Ravi was the cause of Clementi's state of mind, no doubt. His cruel, demeaning and mean spirited actions, for which there is no conceivable justification, deserve the wrath of a modern society. But was Clementi's reaction a foreseeable one? Courts wrestle often with the concept of what a person "should have known" when deciding whom to hold accountable for crimes or civil torts.



The bias intimidation charges the Middlesex County prosecutor charged were, like many bias crimes states have enacted, tools to confront violence fueled by modern day racial or gender discrimination. These crimes, often referred to as "hate crimes" run into legal trouble when they punish hateful opinions rather than conduct (as unpopular opinions are rigorously protected by the First Amendment) or when it becomes impossible for courts to determine exactly what motivated the bad actor. The New Jersey bias intimidation law has come under recent scrutiny for the latter problem.

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Middlesex County prosecutors have to decide now whether to take another appeal or re-try Ravi. The New Jersey Appellate Court was not pleased with the task of having to reverse Ravi's convictions. In doing so, though, they acknowledged the inherent limitations of courts to resolve social woes. They said, in part:

From a societal perspective, this case has exposed some of the latent dangers concealed by the seemingly magical powers of the internet. The implications associated with the misuse of technological advances lies beyond the court's competency to address.


Yamid Duran Ramirez holds his daughter Leyla Duran Vergora after working on his farm where he grows passion fruit, in the township of La Paz, Colombia on January 12, 2015.  Dominic Chavez/World Bank

Peace is within Colombia's grasp. Bringing an end to an armed conflict that has gripped the country for over 50 years and affected the lives of three generations, is more than just good news for Colombians. An enduring peace will form the solid ground for progress against poverty and for inclusive development, establishing a bulwark against the forces that give rise to violence.

For decades, Colombia has been trapped in an environment of violence rooted in inequality, poverty, and weak local institutions that the armed conflict has only made worse. With the recently announced peace agreement, the country is closer than ever to putting an end to this vicious cycle, and to starting the long and challenging process of transformation and territorial development.

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Up to 8 million people have been directly affected by the conflict and more than 5 million are internally displaced. These victims are among Colombia's poorest and most vulnerable citizens. It is estimated that internally displaced people represent half of those in extreme poverty in Colombia. They lack access to dignified housing, quality education, and economic opportunities. Colombia faces enormous challenges to compensate and reintegrate this population.

The post-conflict era will bring challenges, but it will also be a period of opportunity to address important pending issues such as uneven territorial development, equity, and extreme poverty. It will now be critical for Colombia to support the stability and build the confidence of those victims through effective delivery of social services. Rebuilding the social fabric will begin to enable every Colombian to realize his or her potential. Reaching the country's full potential will require the participation of all them, from every region, from every part of society.

The World Bank Group has been working with Colombia to build a development strategy that will benefit the poor and help the country take advantage of the possibilities that come with peace. In recent years, we have been helping the country build and improve economic activity and public services in lagging and conflict-affected regions, with a special focus on the needs of victims through the Collective Victims Reparation Project.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to see the potential of this approach when I visited the Afro-descendent community of Guacoche, in northern Colombia. The community, which suffered extreme violence by paramilitary groups in the 1990s, is benefitting from the government's efforts at social fabric reconstruction, economic compensation, land restitution, rehabilitation, and victims' personal safety. This form of collective reparation serves as an example for other efforts in the country and the world where similar conflicts fester.

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Building a stable peace will also require a focus on vital infrastructure: water and sanitation services, electrification, transport, and the revitalization of the second largest port (Buenaventura) - all of which will benefit a predominantly Afro-descendent community and a large internally displaced population. The post-conflict development agenda will remain central to our partnership with Colombia, which focuses on supporting the country efforts to maintain and strengthen development -- from social mobility to territorial development to productivity and macroeconomic policy.

International experience provides some positive examples of successful negotiations and transitions to peace after long periods of conflict. Aceh in Indonesia and Mindanao in the Philippines are two instances where national governments used the international community to support the foundations of stability and to address long-term developmental goals.

In its long history of working with countries post-conflict, the World Bank Group has drawn a number of key lessons. These include:

Investments must be adapted to regional and local contexts to build credibility and ownership.

Quick results help set foundations for stability and change in the medium term.

The government must be involved to build public trust.

Including citizens and relevant non-state actors in decisions and resource allocation broadens ownership, improves the adequacy of interventions, and strengthens trust.

Periodic surveys are essential to measure progress and impact.

Colombian authorities have outlined a strong path forward for the transition from conflict to peace. And we in the international community are ready to support a more comprehensive peace and development plan that looks at addressing some of the fundamental causes of the violence.

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Peace and development go hand in hand - a strong and sustainable development agenda is critical for continued success. Peace in Colombia provides an opportunity to show the world that it is possible to heal through inclusion and equitable development.
China and Saudi Arabia are building military bases next door to US AFRICOM in Djibouti--and bringing the consequences of American withdrawal from the region into stark relief.

Djibouti, a resource-poor nation of 14,300 square miles and 875,000 people in the Horn of Africa, rarely makes international headlines. But between its relative stability and strategic location--20 miles across from war-consumed Yemen and in destroyer range of the pirate-infested western edge of the Indian Ocean--it is now one of the more important security beachheads in the develohttp://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Braude/e/B001KDV64Kping world. Its location also matters greatly to global commerce and energy, due to its vicinity to the Mandeb Strait and the Suez-Aden canal, which sees ten percent of the world's oil exports and 20 percent of its commercial exports annually.[1] Since November 2002, the country has been home to Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. Expeditionary base--the only American base on the African continent--along with other bases belonging to its French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese allies. (The United States maintains numerous small outposts and airfields in Africa, but officially regards Lemonnier as its only full-scale military base on the continent.)

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But now there are two new kids on the block: On January 21st, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry announced an agreement with Djibouti to host its first-ever base beyond the South China Sea, and construction commenced days later.[2] Though Beijing called the installation a logistics and fast evacuation base, the Asian powers near-abroad rivals, such as Taiwan, opined that it is more likely the beginning of a new, aggressive military buildup to rival the United States. Six weeks later, Saudi Arabia declared that it too would construct a base in Djibouti,[3] apparently as part of its newly assertive policy of countering Iranian proxies politically and militarily throughout the region.[4]

Both new players have made substantial economic and soft power investments in the country to boot. Since 2015, Beijing has poured over $14 billion into infrastructure development.[5] Saudi Arabia, itself a prominent donor to Djibouti's public works, has spent generously on social welfare projects for the countrys poor; built housing, schools and mosques for its swelling Yemeni refugee population; and dispatched teachers and preachers from the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, long a pillar for the promulgation of Saudi-backed interpretations of Islam. Augmenting Saudi aid, moreover, has been further spending by some of its Arab military allies. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have poured millions into charitable work over the past few months--and the UAE in particular is working to spur economic development along the lines of the Dubai model. Even cash-poor North Sudan, newly returned to the Saudi orbit after a years-long alliance with Iran, began construction of a hospital in Djibouti in early February.

Neither the timing nor the confluence of these projects is mere coincidence. Americas diminishing global military footprint has begun to affect the calculation of allies and rivals alike, and the outsized role Djibouti is poised to play in its neighborhood presents a case in point of the consequences. An examination of the changing role the country plays in American, Chinese, and Arab security policy offers a glimpse into potential conflicts as well as opportunities arising from the shift--and some steps Americans can take to prepare for both.

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The American Posture

As the only American base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier serves a vital function for US AFRICOM. Housing 4,000 military and civilian personnel, it is the nerve center of six drone launching stations across the continent, which have attacked targets as far-flung as Al-Shabab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Yemeni-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. U.S. Special Forces, the CIA, and Air Force surveillance craft converge to process and pool intelligence at the camp. It also serves as headquarters to Task Force 48-4, a counterterrorism unit that targets militants in East Africa and Yemen.[6] Special Forces rely on it too: In 2012, when Navy SEALs rescued American and Danish hostages from Somalia, they brought them to safety in Camp Lemonnier.[7] And as a springboard for American-led anti-piracy operations, Camp Lemonnier helps the U.S. maintain its role as the primary guarantor of mercantile security in the Gulf of Aden, the Horn of Africa, and the Indian Ocean. The significance of the base grows only greater amid regional conflagration: The U.S. has been using it to meet its pledge of technical and intelligence assistance to Saudi Arabia in its war against the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.

In 2014, the U.S. signed a new 20-year lease on the base with the Djiboutian government, and committed over $1.4 billion to modernize it in the years to come.[8] This significant expenditure bucks the overall trend of diminishing American military commitments overseas. For example, President Obama has announced plans to reduce the number of active naval vessels to 1917 numbers, possibly including aircraft carriers.[9]

As the segments below will show, America's status in the country stands to be affected by the activities of the Chinese and Saudi bases. It may also be affected by the two countries' soft power deployments, each aiming to influence the cultural and political fiber of the country and, by extension, the policies of its government. America's own soft power commitments have been minimal: the U.S. supplies $3 million worth of food aid annually through USAID as part of the U.N. World Food Program, runs modest health and education projects, and netted only $152 million in trade in 2015.[10] Nor is there any concerted effort to enter the public discussion in Djibouti in the service of American goals or values.

The Chinese Posture

By contrast to the U.S., China has never previously established a base beyond its "near abroad." Thus the Djibouti project, however modest, fuels the perception that Chinas military footprint is growing. Sending such a message may itself be among Beijing's goals. David Shedd, former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told us that [The Chinese] want to signal to the world that they have a worldwide presence. Part of the mission is simply defined as being seen. That in and of itself is defined as an interest.[11]

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With respect to its potential operational significance, the Chinese Foreign Ministry says, "Facilities will mainly be used for logistical support and personnel recuperation of the Chinese armed forces conducting such missions as maritime escort in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance." It would also enable fast evacuation for any of the million Chinese citizens now living in the Middle East and Africa should they require it.[12] The need to prepare for such eventualities became clear to China in the bloody aftermath of the Arab Spring: It evacuated 35,680 nationals employed mainly in Libya's oil industry, and 629 more from Yemen soon thereafter.[13] During the Libya evacuation, China had only one frigate available in the vicinity, so most of the evacuees had to be flown out of the country on chartered commercial planes.

But from Washington to Taipei, observers suspect that the project is more ambitious than the Chinese let on. In an interview on the national news network Taiwan Today, political analyst Lai Yueqian said, [The base] can be used to pin down the United States and any U.S.-led organizations, and if [the U.S.] wants to intervene against Chinas interests, they will have to think carefully, because China will use their military to protect their citizens and their property.[14] In the following clip, Yueqian elaborates on this analysis, bespeaking Taiwanese concerns about the base:

Yueqian's assessment, shared by most Chinese "near-abroad" allies of the United States, is also the view of prominent members of the political class in Washington. At a December hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs in which rumors about the base were discussed, Senator Chris Coons (R-De.) stated in relation to the Djibouti base, [The US has to be] vigilant in the face of Chinas growing ambitions.[15]

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Beijing's outlook toward nearby North Africa and the Middle East differs with American policies. As Taiwan's Lai Yueqian described in the video above, the U.S.- and NATO-led military intervention in Libya angered China. At the U.N. Security Council, Beijing subsequently blocked attempts to engineer a Western military intervention in Syria. With respect to the region-wide conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, America's tradition of siding with Saudi Arabia  or, for that matter, its more recent tendency to tilt toward Iran  may conflict with Chinese policies: Guided by the need to quench its substantial thirst for oil, Beijing mostly seeks to avoid irking either oil-rich nation. A new military base in boating range of North Africa as well as the Arabian peninsula promises to bolster any Chinese political stance--however modestly--with a measure of force. The base, to be located near the small port city of Obock on the northern coast of Djibouti, lies 20 miles closer than Lemonnier to the conflict in Yemen, to which Washington has committed resources in support of Saudi Arabia's war with the Houthis.

But Chinas strategic goals cannot be explained solely in terms of a perceived reaction to Western policies. According to Beijing's most recent defense policy paper, released in May 2015, Chinas armed forces will work harder to create a favorable strategic posture with more emphasis on the employment of military forces and means.[16] This formulation is widely believed to allude to Chinas String of Pearls and One Belt, One Road initiatives. String of Pearls is a metaphor for an envisioned network of naval ports of call, predominantly along the Indian Ocean, to secure sea lanes of transit, commerce, and communication from mainland China to Sudan. The One Belt, One Road initiative seeks to strengthen Chinese exports through commercial land and sea roads, largely along the historic "silk road," straddling Europe and the Middle East. The Djibouti base would be vital in ensuring the success of the latter goal, since most of China's $1 billion in daily exports to Europe traverse the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal.[17] With respect to the former plan, Toshi Yoshihara, Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies at the U.S. Naval War College, has been mapping the intersection of Chinese naval and commercial ventures across the Pacific region. Arrayed together, he told us, they certainly do look like a string of pearls.[18] Djibouti, home to both the nascent base and extensive Chinese economic investment, would clearly amount to a new pearl on the string (see Figure 1).[19]

Are Chinese and American pursuits in the vicinity of Djibouti necessarily a zero-sum game? Some of China's stated goals do not conflict with American aspirations, and to the contrary, may benefit both superpowers as well as their allies: Both the growing Chinese capacity to evacuate citizens from war-torn areas and its further enhancement of anti-piracy operations are each a "public good." On the other hand, a different term in Beijing's political vocabulary raises more disturbing possibilities. In our conversation with FPRI Senior Fellow June Teufel Dreyer, she stressed the principle of "All Under Heaven"--rooted in Chinese imperial history--which places Chinese central authority at the epicenter of a tributary system of dominance over lesser powers. Some analysts of China see the country's recent installation of surface-to-air missiles and fighter jets on Woody Island in the South China Sea as a manifestation of this supremacist tendency.[20] One might ask whether the construction of a Djibouti base reflects the extension of All Under Heaven beyond Chinas traditional orbit.

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At a time of rapid Chinese construction of aircraft and aircraft carriers and more serious competition with American military industries, the base in Djibouti could indeed reflect a Chinese aspiration to eventually meet and surpass the United States as a military and economic power in the area. In January 2016, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a 72-hour exercise involving thousands of marines and the navy special operations regiment in the Gobi Desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The area's topography and climate resemble much of North Africa and the Sahel.[21] Between "All Under Heaven" and China's stated goal of housing up to 10,000 Chinese servicemen in Djibouti, such exercises offer ample basis for concern.[22]

Beijing's hard power initiative in Djibouti is meanwhile accompanied by its soft power initiatives to build ties with state and society alike. The $14 billion in Chinese support for infrastructure development, widely publicized in Djibouti, has generated enormous goodwill with the population. Far exceeding U.S. spending, the injection is also an investment in the government of President Isma'il Omar Guelleh. There are also cultural ventures, such as the new Confucius Institute in Djibouti City, which Beijing typically uses to cultivate personal ties and "assets" within the society.[23] Add to all this China's $1.1 billion in trade in 2014--roughly ten times that of the United States.[24] As Chinese influence grows in Djibouti, its ability to influence the government's foreign policy and security strategies promises to grow along with it.

The Saudi Posture

From a Saudi perspective, stationing troops in Djibouti is both a defensive and a potential offensive measure in its pan-regional conflict with Iran, with particular bearing on the nearby war in Yemen. The defensive aspect was on display in mid-February, when Saudi intelligence officials, tracking the flow of munitions from Iran to its Houthi proxy militia in Yemen, discovered that the Islamic Republic was using Djibouti as a waystation. A ship en route to Yemen carrying encrypted military communication equipment and other hardware had originated in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The Kingdom intercepted it en route, and recognized the importance of strengthening its capacity to act in and around Djibouti.[25] In terms of "offense," Ben Ho Wan Beng, a military analyst in Singapore, speculates that given the Houthi presence in western Yemen, Riyadh could use the base to "open up a new front against the Houthis, who [would] then face the prospect of being attacked from another axis."[26]

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By contrast to the U.S. and its Japanese and Western allies, for which the establishment of a base in Djibouti is a matter of paying rent on a discrete strip of land, Saudis view their own barrack walls as permeable. Djibouti is an Arab League member state, bound to its brethren by ties of blood, culture, and faith. It has also joined the 34-member, Saudi-led "Islamic coalition" against Iran-sponsored terror announced by Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in December.[27] Thus from Riyadh's perspective, all of Djibouti is a kind of "base"--and the Kingdom feels it has a right to weigh in on any of the country's non-Arab military installations. It was hardly a coincidence when the Djiboutian government recently rejected a Russian proposal to establish its own base in the country: Moscow, a staunch ally to the Iran-backed Assad regime in Damascus, would have been at best unhelpful to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen war.

Saudi soft power activity in the country serves to intensify this bond. One of the state-backed organizations spearheading it is the Riyadh-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). The group historically served as a primary exporter of Islamist preaching across the globe--a mission that enabled both Salafi jihadists and the Muslim Brotherhood to politicize and radicalize Muslim communities. But the Kingdom more recently purged the organization of jihadist preachers, and streamlined WAMY's religious line to follow "Salafi traditionalism," which holds that only the head of state has the right to declare "jihad." Moreover, clerical elites who traditionally controlled the group now share authority with stalwarts of the government--call them "lay leaders"--who have their own direct line to the royal family. In Djibouti, WAMY funds and staffs health and human services for the indigenous population, and tends to the needs of Yemeni refugees. Other goals determined by the state appear to take precedence over preaching: provide disaster and poverty relief; back the government of President Isma'il Omar Guelleh; instill an ethos of Djiboutian nationalism that insulates the population from trans-state ideologies; build person-to-person relationships between Saudis and Djiboutians; engineer support for the Kingdom's specific regional objectives. Some of these goals are subtly on display in the following excerpt from a March 21, 2016 report by WAMY on its Djibouti bureau:

To be sure, the positive aspects of WAMY's programs should not diminish the concern that Salafi missionary activity may still promote a profoundly sectarian worldview in Djibouti, casting the Sunni-Shi'ite conflict in existential, rather than political, terms.

As to the presence of 30,000-and-counting Yemeni refugees in Djibouti, Saudis view it as both a humanitarian concern and a strategic opportunity. Twenty-five years ago, in the aftermath of the "Gulf War" to repel Saddam Hussein's invasion and occupation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia established a refugee camp in the northern town of Rafha to host 33,000 Iraqis fleeing persecution by Saddam. The installation served Riyadh and some of its international allies as an intelligence listening post--hundreds of Iraqis were debriefed about the situation inside the country--and as a platform for cultivating Iraqi assets.[28] Though the Yemeni and gulf wars are far from analogous, the presence of a substantial number of newly departed Yemeni civilians in a safe environment far from the battlefield presents the opportunity to tap a similar wealth of information and human networks.

In deepening their security and intelligence presence in Djibouti at a time of unease between Riyadh and Washington, they will be keen to explore potential security partnerships with China. As recently as 2014, Beijing sought to forge joint counterterrorism training programs with the Yemeni government that Saudi Arabia is now fighting to reinstall.[29] More recently, Beijing made a rare break with its policy of neutrality between Iran and Saudi Arabia to express support for the Saudi position in Yemen. In January 2016, King Salman hosted a landmark visit to Riyadh by Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with high-level meetings between senior security and intelligence officials of both countries. The strengthening of these ties may serve to lessen Saudi reliance on American support.[30]

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The importance of Djibouti has become a popular topic of discussion throughout the Saudi-allied Arab world. Prominent voices in Egypt, for example, are talking about building a base there too, while other Gulf allies are ramping up their own soft power projects in the country. The following video montage begins with a clip from Tawfiq Okasha--an eccentric, ultranationalist Egyptian pundit known for his fondness of Israel--in which he makes the case for a Djibouti base. In perhaps a sign of the times, he bolsters his argument by saying that Djiboutians are one of the lost tribes of Israel, and therefore "good people."

Grappling with New U.S. Challenges

In a February letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R-Ca.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Duncan Hunter (R-Ca.) raised alarms about China's rising influence in Djibouti: "[We are] worried that our own strategic interests around the Horn of Africa, specifically our critical counter-terrorism operations, will be impacted by China's growing strategic influence in the region." Recognizing Beijing's soft power gains, they castigated the Djibouti leadership for its "cozy relationship with China," and dubbed the government of Ismail Omar Guelleh a "corrupt and repressive regime." Guelleh is indeed a human rights violator, and the lawmakers' criticism have been echoed repeatedly by the White House in recent months. Doing so has of course done little to improve Washington's relationship with Guelleh: Judging from the angry reaction in Djiboutian state media, he reads the American denunciations as support for his political opponents. When Djibouti holds its presidential elections on April 8, the incumbent's likely victory will bring the government another step closer to China--and a step away from the United States.

America's shifting circumstances in Djibouti--and, by extension, the Horn of Africa and southern Arabia--are a symptom of its broader political and military withdrawal from conflicts in which longtime Asian and Arab allies have a stake. The situation also reflects the weakness of Washington's commitment and capacity to wield soft power in politically contested foreign environments. It will ultimately be difficult for Washington to address the concerns about Djibouti raised by American lawmakers and Taiwanese analyst Lai Yueqian without restoring its support for longtime allies in the Middle and Far East, as well as deploying American soft power alongside military might. To be sure, the U.S. should welcome efforts by China to help protect civilians from the region's tumult and secure the sea lanes for international trade. But it should also be prepared for a formidable new presence in the area capable of challenging American objectives politically and militarily.

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Meanwhile, the growing presence of Saudi Arabia alongside China in the country promises to strengthen security ties between Riyadh and Beijing, potentially at Washington's expense. It is but one example of the increasing interplay between China and the Arab world, for which it behooves Americans to prepare. A first step toward doing so is to address an American gap in studying the phenomenon. From government to think tanks and the academy, Arab affairs specialists have long been institutionally separated from their counterparts in Asian affairs. As the leaders, peoples, and armies of these diverse environments begin to intermingle, the Americans who study and engage them must do the same.

Joseph Braude and Tyler Jiang originally published this article as an E-Note at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

[1] Ben Ho Wan Beng, "The Strategic Attractions of Djibouti," The National Interest, March 18, 2016.

[2] Hong Lei, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Leis Regular Press Conference on January 21, 2016, January 21, 2016.

[3] Habib Toumi, Saudi Arabia to open military base in Djibouti Djibouti keen to expand ties and cooperation with Saudi Arabia,Gulf News Saudi Arabia, March 8, 2016.

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[4] Hasan al-Mustafa, "Al-Diblomasiya al-Sa'udiya Tub'id Iran 'An al-Qarn al-Ifriqi" (Saudi Diplomacy Ejects Iran from the Horn of Africa). Al-Arabiya, October 21, 2015.

[5] Dana Sanchez, "China Financing Most of Djibouti's $14.4 Billion In Planned Infrastructure Projects," AFK Insider, June 11, 2010.

[6] Nick Turse, "The US militarys best-kept secret," The Nation, November 17, 2015.

[7] BBC News, Somalia: Western Hostages Freed in US Military Raid. BBC News, January 25, 2012.

[8] Josh Wood, Djibouti, a Safe Harbour in the Troubled Horn of Africa, The National, June 2, 2015.

[9] Colin Hanna and J.D. Gordon, "Obama naval Doctrine: Anchors Away?" The Hill, March 3, 2014. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/199570-obama-naval-doctrine-anchors-away

[10] United States Census Bureau, "Trade in Goods with Djibouti," accessed 3/27/2016. USAID, "Food Assistance Fact Sheet  Djibouti," accessed 3/27/2016.

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[11] Interview with David Shedd, March 7th, 2016.

[12] Ankit Panda, "Confirmed: Construction Begins on China's First Overseas Military Base in Djibouti," The Diplomat, February 29, 2016.

[13] CCTV, "35,860 Chinese nationals in Libya evacuated:FM," CCTV.com, 3/3/2011.

[14] Entering Taiwan  Taiwan Today, China to Build Military Base in Djibouti, Filmed [December 2015], YouTube video, Posted [December 2015]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZVfEGj0Gh4.

[15] Geoffrey Aronson, China to open its first naval base in Africa, Aljazeera, December 22, 2015.

[16] The State Council Information Office of the Peoples Republic of China, Chinas Military Strategy, en.people.cn, May 26, 2015. http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0526/c90785-8897779.html

[17] European Commission, "Countries and regions: China," accessed 3/27/2016.

[18] Interview with Toshi Yoshihara, March 9th, 2016.

[19] Ross Rustici and Christopher D. Yung, with Scott Devary and Jenny Lin, Not an Idea We Have to Shun: Chinese Overseas Basing Requirements in the 21st Century, (National Defense University, October 2014,) 29.

[20] Ray Sanchez and Barbara Starr, "U.S. Says China deploys fighter jets to disputed South China Sea Island," CNN, February 23, 2016.

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[21] Shang Wenbin, Liang Jingfeng, and Li Youtao, "Chinese Marines, Special Forces Training in Gobi Desert," Military Training International, January 19, 2016.

[22] Daily Pioneer, Chinas military might, now for Africa to see, Daily Pioneer, February 11, 2016.

[23] Joseph Braude, "Radio Beijing in the Middle East," The American Interest, January 20, 2014.

[24] World Bank, "World Integrated Trade Solution," accessed 3/27/2016.

[25] Abd al-Rahman 'Atiya, "I'tiradh Safina Iraniya min Miyah al-Yemen" (Interception of an Iranian Ship from the Waters of Yemen). Al-Hayat, February 14, 2016.

[26] Beng, "The Strategic Attractions of Djibouti."

[27] "Al-Sa'udiya Tu'lin Ta'sis Tahaluf Yadhum 34 Dawla li-'Muharabat al-Irhab'" (Saudi Arabia Announces Establishment of a Coalition of 34 States to 'Fight Terrorism'). BBC Arabic, December 15, 2015.

[28] Interview with Rafha camp administrative officials, Rafha, Saudi Arabia, January 2003.

[29] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China, Wang Yi: China and Arab Countries Should Carry Out Counter-Terrorism Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China, June 4, 2014.

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With the rapid advancement of surveillance technology used by increasingly militaristic law enforcement, public policy and privacy protections have struggled to keep pace. In this relatively uncharted tech landscape, the state can easily and indiscriminately spy on us, invade our privacy, and push the limits of democracy with little regard for the consequences of such widespread abuse.

Nothing epitomizes this kind of abusive law enforcement surveillance more than a cell site simulator (CSS) device, or StingRay--the brand name of a commonly used CSS made by the Harris Corporation.

"Stingrays are mobile surveillance systems the size of a small briefcase that emit a signal that is stronger than the signal of legitimate cell towers in their vicinity in order to force mobile phones and other devices to establish a connection with them and reveal their unique ID," according to Wired magazine. The StingRay and devices like it not only collect meta data on unsuspecting cell phone users, but also determine a phone's location and movement, as well as record calls and text messages. StingRays have even been used to interfere with or block cell phone communication.

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Longstanding use of StingRays

According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been using CSS technology to "track and locate phones and users since at least 1995," long before cell phones were in widespread use.

However, the technology did not generally become known to the public until a few years ago. Thanks to the dogged pursuit of privacy advocates and civil libertarians for more concrete information, the public is finding out that secrecy and obfuscation around CSS technology has been quite deliberate.

In 2004, while seeking retroactive approval for the purchase of a StingRay device, the Miami-Dade Police Department claimed that "wireless phone tracking systems utilized by law enforcement have proven to be an invaluable tool in both the prevention of [criminal] offenses and the apprehension of individuals attempting to carry out criminal acts."

"Likewise, in 2012 the Charlotte, North Carolina, Police Department sought city council approval to purchase a StingRay to 'assist in searches related to criminal and/or homeland security investigations.' A spokesperson for the Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department has stated publicly that his agency uses its StingRay device 'in criminal investigations with no restrictions on the type of crime.' A member of the Oakland County, Michigan, Sheriff's Office described using a Harris Hailstorm device to track and locate fugitives and criminal suspects."

Despite claims by the Harris Corporation that it authorizes law enforcement officials to use the StingRay only in emergency situations, it's clear that the device is used with far less restraint.

In 2010, EPIC determined from records released by the Tallahassee Police Department that "in nearly 200 cases since 2007 where the department used a StingRay, only 29 percent involved emergencies."

Until a year ago, federal agencies were not even required to obtain permission from a judge in order to employ CSS devices and they still have considerable discretion to determine whether a search warrant is necessary.

In September 2015, with mounting public pressure, the Justice Department (DOJ) issued new guidelines on the use of CSS devices. The guidance states that "law enforcement agencies must now obtain a search warrant supported by probable cause" before using a CSS device.

Notably, the DOJ policy waives the warrant requirement for "exigent circumstances," such as "the need to protect human life or avert serious injury," or "exceptional circumstances" in which obtaining a search warrant is "impractical." This leaves wide discretion to law enforcement and, with lack of adequate oversight, can do little to curb surveillance abuses.

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Because the guidance is non-binding, it's unclear how the DOJ policy will be enforced, how abusive surveillance practices will be detected, and what if any are the consequences for those who violate the policy. In addition, the guidance does not apply to local or state law enforcement and can be changed or rescinded by a new US Attorney General.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), sixty-six local and state law enforcement agencies in 23 states and the District of Columbia own CSS devices. But, that number is likely low due to the secrecy surrounding the purchase and use of the devices.

Earlier this year, the New York Civil Liberties Union obtained records indicating that the New York Police Department (NYPD) has used StingRays more than 1,000 times since 2008 "without a written policy and following a practice of obtaining only lower-level court orders rather than warrants."

But, nowhere are StingRays used more ubiquitously than in Baltimore, Maryland.

Last year, in a criminal case involving a carjacking and robbery, a Baltimore Police Department (BPD) detective testified that BPD had used a StingRay device roughly 4,300 times since 2007.

Secrecy, obfuscation and non-disclosure agreements

The secrecy surrounding StingRays and CSS devices is deliberate and involves the longstanding cooperation of the Harris Corporation, the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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In some cases, law enforcement agents have intentionally deceived defense attorneys about the source of evidence used in criminal cases to avoid disclosing StingRay information, according to Wired magazine. Law enforcement has also deceived judges when seeking a court order to use a StingRay device. And, when faced with forced disclosure by a court, federal prosecutors have even dropped charges against defendants in order to avoid revealing information about their use of a StingRay.

In communication from 2011, the Harris Corporation requested that the FCC place confidentiality restrictions on law enforcement acquisition of its StingRay devices. According to the Harris Corporation, disclosure of information on the use of StingRays could "reasonably put public safety officials at risk, jeopardize the integrity and value of investigative techniques and procedures, reveal Harris trade secrets due to the nature of the equipment, and harm Harris' competitive interests." In March 2012, the FCC granted the Harris Corporation's request.

During a 2014 court proceeding that stemmed from the appeal of a 2008 sexual battery case, police officials in Tallahassee, Florida admitted to using a StingRay device at least 200 times in four years without disclosing it to the courts and without obtaining a warrant.

Citing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as a reason for the secrecy, Tallahassee police officials put the issue of NDAs in the national spotlight.

Police in Tucson, Arizona signed an NDA in 2010 regarding their StingRay use, which was hidden until 2014 when it was disclosed pursuant to a public records lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of an investigative journalist.

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An affidavit filed in the Tucson lawsuit by the chief of the FBI tracking technology unit confirmed that the Bureau "has entered into a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with our state and local law enforcement partners."

A heavily redacted NDA was released to MuckRock in 2014 by the Tacoma Police Department, implicating the FCC and illustrating the compulsory nature of the NDAs.

"Consistent with the conditions on the equipment authorization granted to Harris Corporation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), state and local law enforcement agencies must coordinate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to complete this non-disclosure agreement prior to the acquisition and use of the equipment/technology authorized by the FCC authorization."

A similar NDA was signed by the Baltimore Police Department in 2011, which instructs officials to withhold certain information from the public and the courts, and encourages local prosecutors to dismiss cases instead of divulging details about the equipment, according to WBAL News Radio. That arrangement, now several years old, has led police to believe that they can withhold evidence in criminal trials or ignore subpoenas in cases in which the devices are used.

But, the FCC has been disingenuous about its role in the NDA requirement. According to MuckRock, the FCC insisted in 2014 that it didn't require police departments to sign an NDA with the FBI before acquiring or deploying StingRay devices, thereby contradicting the NDA produced by Tacoma police.

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More recently, an FCC official said last month that local police agencies don't need a license under the Communications Act to operate StingRay devices on frequencies reserved for wireless carriers, which is disputed by civil liberties groups and violates the licensing requirements imposed by the FCC.

SingRays chill dissent

While most of the attention on the use of StingRay and CSS technology has focused on routine criminal investigations and its impact on people's Fourth Amendment rights, the First Amendment is also heavily impacted.

Civil libertarians argue that free speech is chilled by both the indiscriminate and targeted use of StingRays. Because the device can access all cell phone data in a given area, it is not necessarily particular about the information it gathers, which during heavily policed protests can chill participation. However, law enforcement can also target their intelligence gathering and pursue specific people such as known political organizers, based not on criminal activity but on the content of their speech.

ACLU principal technologist Christopher Soghoian told the Baltimore Sun there's good evidence that the devices also disrupt cell phone service. StingRays can block data connections in order to force a cell phone to use a less secure connection, and can even block calls outright.

By blocking calls and making communication difficult or impossible, law enforcement can effectively disrupt political activity and stifle dissent.

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FCC complaints

When it was recently confirmed that law enforcement was using aerial surveillance over Baltimore during protests against the murder of Freddie Gray, it became clearer that advanced technology was being used in the same racialized and abusive ways that the BPD was patrolling neighborhoods of color.

In response to this racialized surveillance and alleged cell phone jamming by the BPD, three advocacy groups filed a complaint with the FCC last month, arguing that the BPD doesn't have a proper license to use StingRay devices and is in violation of federal law.

The Center for Media Justice, Color of Change, and New America's Open Technology Institute are challenging the BPD's unauthorized radio operation and willful interference with cellular communications stemming from its use of StingRay technology in the City of Baltimore.

The complaint requests that the FCC "put an end to widespread network interference caused by rampant unlicensed transmissions made by BPD and other departments around the country."

The complaint further states that "these disruptions of the cellphone network--including of emergency calls--disproportionately harm the residents of Baltimore's Black neighborhoods."

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"New technological tools that amplify police power can amplify existing biases in policing. Lack of effective oversight and supervision...in the use of this technology may lead to even greater invasions of privacy and subversions of rights in communities of color that are already the targets of biased policing."

More recently, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed their own FCC complaint, arguing that other police departments have also used StingRay devices in violation of the Communications Act. "The extreme secrecy surrounding use of cell site simulators has stymied effective oversight and left Americans' cellular communications without sufficient protections against interference," the filing reads.

Both complaints are currently pending before the FCC.

What's next?

Earlier this year, a Maryland appeals court upheld a lower state court ruling that police could not use CSS devices without a warrant. The trial court had suppressed evidence in an attempted murder case due to the failure of Baltimore police to obtain a search warrant before tracking the defendant, Kerron Andrews, with a CSS device.

In a 73-page decision, the three-judge panel also strongly rebuked the police for concealing their use of the StingRay from a judge when applying for a court order. Baltimore authorities withheld information about the StingRay because the city had signed an NDA with the FBI in 2011.

The Maryland appeals court found the NDAs and deception to be "inimical to the constitutional principles we revere." To authorize a search, "it is self-evident that the court must understand why and how the search is to be conducted," the ruling said.

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Nathan Wessler, staff attorney for the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project told Wired magazine that, "This is the first appellate opinion in the country to fully address the question of whether police must disclose their intent to use a cell site simulator to a judge and obtain a probable cause warrant."

While the ruling is considered groundbreaking, it's only binding in Maryland. But, Wessler says it still puts federal and local law enforcement on notice that they will face consequences if they deceive the courts.

"By being the first opinion really dealing with this issue, the Maryland court has set the tone for this debate...and I would fully expect courts elsewhere in the country to very seriously look at this opinion as a starting point for their own analysis."

Last year, far right House Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced the Cell-Site Simulator Act of 2015, which would mimic the DOJ policy by requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before using StingRay devices. Earlier this month, Chaffetz announced a forthcoming investigation of StingRay use by the House Oversight Committee which Chaffetz chairs.

Most recently, in a blow to the Harris Corporation and its effort to keep information on the StingRay shrouded in secrecy, last week The Intercept revealed several Harris Corporation instruction manuals "meticulously detailing how to create a cellular surveillance dragnet."

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As technology enables ever-evolving surveillance methods, we must find ways to better protect privacy and free speech. Demanding transparency, holding law enforcement officials accountable, and keeping companies like the Harris Corporation in check are initial steps to curbing abuse.
After years of hard work, high school seniors will soon receive their college acceptance letters and senioritis will take hold of seniors nationwide. Senioritis, even though it sounds like a contiguous disease it is not, but a real occurrence described as a time when students have accomplished their high school goals, are no longer motivated academically or otherwise and mentally "check-out" in their last two semesters of school.

A blog by Counseling@NYU points out that many students don't even realize the potential impact of senioritis on their college careers. Admission invitations could be rescinded, scholarships lost and they may start college on academic probation if their grades slip. This article offers strategies for students and school counselors to mitigate senioritis such as maintaining college credit coursework, having fun but not too much fun and participating in a career-focused internship to maintain interest.

Survey data from The Senior Year Enigma research paper was also shared which showed underclassmen downplayed the senioritis phenomenon. This infographic shows only 7.7% of freshman strongly agree with the statement, "My academic effort will most likely decline in the second semester of my senior year," as opposed to 23.8% of seniors who strongly agree.

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Brought to you by Counseling@NYU'sonline master's in school counseling

My daughter is a freshman in high school so I asked her reaction to this article and she answered a few questions I pulled out Appendix G of this research paper. Here are her responses.



Q: What did you think of the article?



A: I think it paints high school students as lazy and encourages an incorrect stereotype of teens.

I wonder if her friends would agree?



Q: During your senior year what types of classes do you expect to enroll in?



A: I intend to take honors and AP classes and I want to learn new things outside of my typical studies.

This answer seems in line with the article's suggestions about managing senioritis by taking college credit coursework and participating in career-focused internships.

Q: Do you expect to be academically challenged in your senior year?

A: The classes should be challenging or else I'm probably in the wrong classes.

This made me smile [proud parent].



Q: Do you expect your senior year to be a time for you to give serious academic preparation for college or the workplace?



A: Yes, but when I'm a senior I do want to have fun, too. It's the end of high school and I probably will have worked hard for four years.

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She seems at risk for senioritis!

In this quasi-research of my own, her answers seemed congruent to the findings in The Senior Year Enigma survey and the phenomena of senioritis. I'm sure she will learn important lessons about combating senioritis that will carry over into the adult world of work too.

The descriptions about senioritis did ring true for how working professionals move on to new jobs. Let's call it "adult senioritis" and you probably can recall a time in your career when you had a burning desire to leave a position you hated or a job you had outgrown. You might have also once been giddy about submitting your resignation or sad to leave a place where you had learned a great deal and made good friends.

As a professional, no matter how much you hate or love your job and thrilled to be moving on to your new adventure, it's imperative for your reputation to end on the right note. You'll want to feed good karma into your professional network since it will be returned to you in the years to come.

Even if you can't wait to leave an organization, completing work and organizing projects for your successor and remaining respectful to colleagues and supervisors on your way out the door is the right thing to do. If you're leaving a workplace that you love take the time to express your appreciation to supervisors, reflect on your accomplishments and have fun with your co-workers one last time. In both scenarios, your former employer could one day bring you new opportunities and the way you depart leaves a lasting impression.


Ashley Haseotes

Ashley Haseotes is The President and Founder of One Mission, Inc. One Mission is a pediatric cancer charity that alleviates the relentless wrath that cancer unleashes every single day for children and their families. One Mission puts the kids before the cancer. Ashley graduated from Framingham State College in 1998 and is currently pursing her master degree in Mental Health Counseling. Ashley worked in the mortgage industry for 8 years at World Savings prior to starting her family. Shortly after he was born, Ashley's first child was diagnosed with cancer. He is now 10 years cancer free. This experience inspired Ashley and her husband Ari to start a non-profit that would help other families through this same journey. Ashley resides with her family in the Metro West Area of Massachusetts.

How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?

I am an only child, and was raised by a single mother, so figuring stuff out on my own has always been how I roll. From coming home from school to an empty house at the age of 8, to cooking my own dinners the nights my mother worked her second job, I just figured it out. Having your parents divorced forces you to grow up a bit faster than your peers. It is like life gets real, no more puppy dogs and ice cream! No matter how hard parents try to shelter the anger, sadness and hurt of the divorce from their kids we see it, and feel it. Tough stuff, no doubt.

Having to be a grown up myself at such a young age, gave me the tools I needed when it came time to start my own business. Once the idea for One Mission was born I figured the rest out piece by piece.

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How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at One Mission?

Picture your boss going around your office with a pizza cutter and pointing it at you asking how many sales appointments you booked that day! Yup, that was my first real job. The pizza cutter aside, I sold mortgages for a living before I had my first-born. I worked for World Savings, and at the time we were the second largest Savings and Loan Institution. I am terrible at math, which is hilarious that I needed it everyday for this job. Actually, during this job interview I walked out after I figured out how much math I was going to need to use. They called me back after 6 months, and convinced me I would be great at the job, and the rest is history.

What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at One Mission?

I founded One Mission in 2009 after watching my son fight cancer. At first I just wanted to start a non-profit that helped the hospital that saved my son, I didn't really have a solid plan at that point. What ended up happening is similar to what happens when you give a child chocolate for the first time. Once I got a taste for how impactful the money we gave the hospital actually was, I just couldn't stop coming up with ways I wanted to help these kids! We lived at Boston Children's Hospital for over 180 days, we literally called it home. Being a part of making living in the hospital easier for parents and more fun for kids has become my wheelhouse. Over 80% of the money One Mission raises comes from our event The Buzz Off. This event grew so fast and so big for the first three years that I am left with crazy stretch marks! We are leveling out now and are focused on ways to grow and improve rather than reacting to the growth and playing catch up.

What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?

If you have found your path to the non-profit world, congratulations and welcome to some of the most rewarding work out there! If I could tell you only one thing it would be this: Have passion for what you do, and if you don't feel it, find a new gig. Passion for your cause is what will separate the good from the great. Passion for your cause is what will help ease the sleepless nights, loss of a few friends because you are always working, and what will keep you moving forward when you think you have run out of gas.

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Your job is not about the money, or the power you may acquire. A not for profit job is about helping those in need. Each day you will make the ask on behalf of your beneficiaries. I never feel badly about making the ask, I simply picture the parents in their child's hospital bed at 2am holding the pink bucket while their child vomits for the 30th time that day. I feel zero shame in asking my waiter, the valet guy or the locksmith to shave their head for One Mission. I know the parents of the children I help need me to ask. I ask for them!

What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career to date?

Surround yourself with people who are better than you. We all have weaknesses; find people who can make up for yours. Together you will make one kick ass team.

Be real. Be honest. Be kind.

Rome was not built in a day. Be patient. Keep working.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?

Honestly, running a business with three young children can be challenging at best. I find that just when you think everyone is doing well and things are going smoothly, BAM one kid starts having trouble in school or the other kid never stops crying and telling you that you are never home and why can't you do pick up from school like the other mommies! Good times. The reality of this work/Life balance issue is that it is a work in progress and will never be on point or perfect.

I do my best, I like that my children see me working to help children with cancer. I like that they know I raise money that helps living in the hospital easier for sick kids. Do my kids wish I were around more? Yes. Does my husband wish I had a hot dinner on the table waiting for him each night? Defintely. But welcome to the real world. I work in the non-profit sector and I am doing the job of three people while still trying to make it to a parent teacher conference on time for once!

What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?

Issues only exist if you believe they do. Hurdles can be jumped over, or in my case, pushed aside out of my way to go after what I wanted. If I named here a list of issues women could run into in their career, one of two things could happen. 1. My list could create doubt in a woman who previously didn't have any or 2. I just gave someone a crutch to not push herself as hard. Life has obstacles--figure out a way to get around them.

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How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?

I read "Promise me" by Nancy Brinker when I was in my late 20's, before I got married. I loved how her passion for helping and making a difference lead her to start a mogul non-profit! I could identify with her drive then, and once my son was diagnosed with leukemia I understood her mission.

I wouldn't say that I have had a true mentor; rather I have seen what I didn't want and made adjustments to myself in accordance. My husband is the President and CEO of Cumberland Farms, and so we often talk business. Picture fun date nights filled with budget discussions, how to create a cool office culture and so much more! Not your typical date night, but we love it.

Which other female leaders do you admire and why?

Oprah Winfrey. Seriously with this woman!! Talk about laser focus and pushing obstacles aside to reach her goals. I listen to her CD's with Deepak and both of their voices sound like heaven to me. I would die a thousand deaths to ever meet her! Honestly, any story of struggle, perseverance and determination always gets me. I think I just described most leaders, so suffice it to say that I am always looking, reading, watching and learning, but that I am writing my own story. We are all on our own journey; no two are the same. So while looking to others for mentorship can provide assistance, we forge on alone.
Police officers are increasingly being required to wear body cameras so that their use of force can be documented and judged. But what about the action that takes place behind the scenes -- in police stations and prosecutors' offices? It's time to think about what measures can be put in place to hold all law enforcement accountable. As an innocent prisoner and avid writer on wrongful convictions, I say it's time not to only present solutions, but enforce them, too.

We are living in a time when police body cams can help determine if an arrest was warranted, if the officer used excessive force, and if a killing was justifiable. When society can't trust the police who are supposed to protect and serve, it's a serious problem -- one that needed to be addressed a long time ago.

But what's being done to prevent the innocent from going to prison and remaining there for crimes we never committed? I have some ideas for safeguards. Eyewitness testimony must be heavenly scrutinized before it's used as probable cause to incarcerate someone. Video recording all witness statements is crucial. If the accused makes a statement or confession, it must be video recorded, instead of taking the authorities' word for it.

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Penalties should be implemented for prosecutors who are responsible for failing to turn over case discovery (evidence) to the defense prior to trial, or if they come across anything favorable to the defense afterwards and withhold it. Suspension or termination of a prosecutor's law license should be decided on the severity of their misconduct. It should be mandatory that an attorney has tried a minimum number of cases before if a defendant faces an extreme amount of time.

Our laws have yet to catch up with science. Eyewitness misidentification has been a factor in 75% of wrongful convictions that were subsequently overturned by DNA evidence. In a recent decision out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the court ruled in favor of defendant James A. Dennis, an innocent man who has been on death row for the last twenty-five years. In his concurring opinion, Chief Judge Theodore McKee stated, "It is obvious as it is tragic, that mistaken identifications have disastrous effects for the unjustly accused."

Judge McKee went on to say that "mistaken identifications 'also erode public confidence in the criminal justice system as a whole.'" Unfortunately, in Mr. Dennis's case, there was grave prosecutorial misconduct, including the withholding of crucial evidence of Mr. Dennis's innocence. Judge McKee is an excellent judge. In 2011 he was responsible for vacating my own wrongful conviction, although, unfortunately, the United States Supreme Court subsequently reinstated it. The sad thing is that Judge McKee never got an opportunity to view evidence of my innocence -- evidence the prosecution withheld for eighteen and a half years.

Another sad case, but happy ending: On August 23, 2016, innocent prisoner Anthony Wright, who spent twenty-five years in prison, was acquitted at his second trial by a jury after just one hour of deliberation. DNA evidence and evidence of police and prosecution misconduct led to Mr. Wright's acquittal, but, after it became known that law enforcement fabricated evidence against him, the state continued to maliciously prosecute him until the jury finally acquitted him.

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Besides the fortunate innocent prisoners with attorneys or Innocence Projects that support them, we are pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place. The process we go through to get the help of attorneys or innocence projects takes us years or even decades. Some of us get lost in the system that stole our lives.

Let me take it a step further. Here in Pennsylvania, the state press policy clearly states that under no circumstances may a prisoner face be photographed, videotaped, or filmed. In the case of audio recording, we shall only be referred to by our first name. Pennsylvania selects prisoners for interviews based on several considerations including whether or not the prison feels confident or concerned about what we will say publicly and whether we might bring unwanted media attention to the Department of Corrections. Why is this and what's to hide?

In the past, under English common law, if a prosecutor used false testimony to convict an innocent person, once discovered, the prosecutor would be convicted and sentenced to the time sentenced to the innocent.

Today, here in America, when a prosecutor convicts the innocent, and it is learned that s/he used false evidence -- nothing happens. They don't even lose their law license. In most cases, they don't even apologize! I will ask again: What's going to protect the innocent and how long will this continue?
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) thermoelectric plant stands San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Puerto Rico said its Government Development Bank, which is operating in a state of emergency to preserve its dwindling cash, reached an agreement with some credit unions to delay $33 million of bond payments as the commonwealth rushes toward a potential historic default. Photographer: Erika P. Rodriguez/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Puerto Rico has emerged bewildered from a three-night national blackout, which affected 1.5 million customers, left 250,000 without water service, and prompted estimates of close to $1 billion in immediate economic losses, along with incalculable future repercussions.

Sleep cooled by air conditioning or electric fans in tropical temps of 80-plus degrees Fahrenheit became a sudden luxury over the weekend in this Caribbean country, now known as much for its debt crisis as for its salsa music.

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For most -- but not all -- the nightmare ended over the weekend, shifting to the task of throwing out damaged food. Residents of the housing project Residencial El Prado in Rio Piedras reported "que llego la luz" or that the lights came back at about 3 a.m. this Monday morning.

Not surprisingly, and in the wake of $43 million in local public funds being paid to debt restructuring expert Lisa Donahue and the company Alix Partners, there is now talk of privatizing Puerto Rico's electric utility. But with infamous examples of energy firms such as Enron, privatization has long stopped being seen as a panacea.

The historic collapse of basic services -- caused by a fire Wednesday afternoon at a major plant initially blamed on poor maintenance -- culminated fittingly on Friday, September 23, known as Grito de Lares Day, an unofficial holiday in this U.S. territory of 3.4 million American citizens, which officially marks U.S. and local holidays, from Thanksgiving to Abolition of Slavery Day. Sacred to the country's independence supporters, el Grito de Lares, or the Cry from Lares, is named for the rural town of the interior where in 1868 an insurrection against Spanish colonialism briefly declared Puerto Rico independent before being crushed by the authorities.

Thousands of independence supporters traditionally make the pilgrimage to Lares every year to commemorate the day with speeches, music and traditional food and artisan vendors.

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The most memorable of recent history was in 2005, when the FBI chose that date to raid the home of and kill Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a militant leader of the Ejercito Popular Boricua (Boricua Popular Army), who had lived underground for many years. Leaders across Puerto Rico's political spectrum decried his killing at the time, as the FBI reportedly acted without informing local authorities, and a wounded Ojeda Rios bled to death without medical attention.

In the aftermath, photo exhibits and artistic tributes repeatedly featured a searing image of the blood-stained steps at the doorway of his home where he died.

On this year's Grito de Lares, the entire country seemed to be mortally wounded and being left for dead.

The blackout spells the collapse of the Free Associated State -- or "Commonwealth" as Puerto Rico has been called euphemistically -- in even more tangible terms than all the seismic events of the past year, including two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that annulled Puerto Rico's Constitution and sovereignty -- or exposed it as the apparent lie it always was.

The blackout also portends the coming storm of the federally-imposed fiscal control board, instituted as part of PROMESA, the Orwellian-sounding law named for its acronym, Spanish for "promise." President Obama's recently announced appointees to the fiscal control board promise neoliberal economic austerity to do the bidding of vulture hedge funds, as well as social unrest.



The first conference for collaborators of PROMESA, sponsored by the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce at the Condado Plaza Hotel on August 31, was shut down by hundreds of protestors who confronted riot police, some brandishing home-made shields emblazoned with black Puerto Rican flags, a motif started by local artists who stripped the flag of its bright colors on a popular public art display in Old San Juan to signify resistance.

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And a protest occupation has set camp for the long haul at the federal courthouse in San Juan since PROMESA was signed into law on June 30.

PROMESA was passed with a proverbial gun to the country's head, as a July 1 default deadline loomed on payment to the $72 billion debt, with more layers of creditors than top experts involved claim to have ever encountered. Yet the law's one clear benefit, to temporarily delay a tsunami of lawsuits, is now being challenged in federal court, with the same judge presiding who months ago ruled against Puerto Rico's attempt to file bankruptcy for its embattled electric utility.

PROMESA's fiscal control board is now set to convene at Hamilton Custom House this Friday in New York, home to 850,000 Puerto Ricans from a politically established stateside diaspora, which for over a decade now has outnumbered residents on the island, with a record 89,000 leaving last year.

The board became even more controversial with President Obama's recent appointment of Carlos Garcia, a key figure in the administration of previous Governor Luis Fortuno, who was booted out of office by a long-standing tradition in Puerto Rican elections called voto de castigo or punishment vote.



Garcia was a key figure in Fortuno's administration, president of the now nearly insolvent Government Development Bank, and an architect of Law 7, used to lay off thousands of public employees and annul public sector union contracts, later mirrored in the policies of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Because of Garcia's involvement in issuing predatory debt for Puerto Rico, his appointment has been characterized as a conflict of interest.

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A federal fiscal control board in Puerto Rico is often compared to previous incarnations in Washington, D.C. and Detroit, an attempt to normalize what the United Nations defines in international criminal terms as colonialism. But Washington, D.C. and Detroit are not U.S. territories; while D.C. has clamored for statehood, it does not have an independence movement. Yet one telling parallel is that the hardest hit communities in both cities are African-American, as Puerto Rico is treated in federal terms as an ethno-racial "minority" population.

It's no accident that Black Lives Matter uprisings, along with indigenous occupation against the Dakota Access Pipeline by the Sioux at Standing Rock, coincide with Puerto Rico's crisis.

This was recently made explicit in a widely-publicized speech by federal judge Juan R. Torruella, who traced the legal lineage of PROMESA to such past infamous U.S. Supreme Court rulings that justified and perpetuated the Jim Crow era. He concluded by calling for Puerto Ricans to organize an economic boycott of U.S. businesses and imports.

That's a tall order for a country so steeped in consumption, and where 85 percent of food is imported, evident during the blackout with long lines for ice, gas and other goods, wherever businesses with generators managed to stay open.

Such purchases seemed an ephemeral consolation. Even the customary hospitality and humor of Puerto Ricans could not blunt the shock of a nation-wide blackout that lasted three plus days. "The damage now is to the psyche," said one municipal employee reporting to work this Monday morning.

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Outside, a candle-lit gathering Thursday night, a neighbor from an exclusive enclave near the governor's mansion in beautiful Old San Juan looked up at his darkened balcony and remarked, "I thought the country was developed."

It is as if Puerto Rico was submitted to what Naomi Klein calls "shock doctrine," only without electricity.

A common phrase among anti-colonial activists here Despierta -- Wake Up -- Boricua! invokes Puerto Ricans echoing the island's long colonial history with its original Taino name, Borinquen.
LISTEN HERE:

By Mark Green

Each panelist has inside experience with presidential debates moving the needle -- how Reagan passed his 'Commander-in-Chief' orals and how Gore won on points but, sigh, lost politically. Since Trump, Clinton & Holt each benefits from a calm persona, the Host thinks this debate may be far more about policy than personality. Isn't that a good thing?



Pre-Debate Scorecard. Ron thinks that one 1980 debate and this upcoming 2016 one are similar since "the challenger has an advantage with a sitting president [or prominent senator/SecofState] by appearing along side them in an equal way. Also, my father had a number of debates under his belt from the primaries while Carter didn't -- like the way Romney won the first debate with [a rusty] Obama. After it was over, we all thought he had done very well because he made no big mistakes. The next day, while Carter may have won on points and been regarded as 'smarter', that's not how the public judges debates, rather on visual, tone, confidence."

Mary sees one similarity between Donald and Ronald: "Reagan was so demonized by the left that he easily beat expectations -- and Trump may also" on the vitally important "Commander-in-Chief" test. While Ron doesn't disagree with the expectations point, "Trump doesn't know anything and my father knew alot of things. Also, since Hillary knows her stuff so well, she may be a perfect foil to this shameless sociopath."

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Host: while Trump could win a Rally-Runoff because of his proven skills addressing an audience of 20,000, she's spent maybe 99% of her life preparing for this debate while he's spent, what, 1% on issues?



What'll Holt do? Ron speculates that the "mood in the room" may now be to pursue Trump more aggressively since, after thousands of articles on her emails and the Clinton Foundation, "it's time to start inquiring into recent disclosures about his finances" -- taxes, 'charity', illegal $25,000 to AG Bondi. "And the way that Matt Lauer went into the tank for Trump did Holt no favors"...although the Host wonders whether the fail of NBC's Today Show host makes it more likely that NBC's Nightly News anchor will note obvious falsehoods. (E.g.: "Secretary Clinton, Mr. Trump's comment just now that your campaign was also involved in the so-called birther movement has been debunked by all fact-checking organizations. You agree with them and hasn't your opponent now moved beyond the issue of the president's birth?"]

How will the twin terror attacks of last week and the two police shootings of black men this past weekend frame part of the debate? Does Trump have a political advantage on both since all he needs to is play on fear and say "be tough"? Mary says yes "because Democrats have been in charge of our national security for eight years and there's no doubt there are more such terrorist acts and cells now and our intelligence is worse." Host: perhaps but there's certainly no doubt that thousands more died in Bush 43's eight years because of 9/11 than anything under Obama."



Ron.: "But if a voter wants a thoughtful president who waits until more is known before reacting or over-reacting, that favors Hillary."

As for the two videoed gun deaths in Tulsa and Charlotte, why did one lead to days of rioting but not the other? We note that the film was quickly released in Tulsa and the officer who shot and killed the unarmed victim was indicted for second degree manslaughter while nothing like that happened for days in Charlotte.

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Ron criticizes Trump for emphasizing the return of Stop-and-Frisk "which such a big success in New York City." Says Reagan: "Not only didn't it reduce crime there, it would again discriminate against black and brown youth. The problems go deeper that that. What's going on in officers' heads that leads them to use their guns so readily in these cases? This appears to be an issue more of blue than white or black."

"What the hell do you have got to lose?" says Trump of minorities locked in failing inner-city communities? To which Ron responds "apparently their civil rights since stop and frisk was ruled unconstitutional in New York City." Clinton focused afterwards on "institutional racism," although GOP VP nominee Mike Pence took offence at using that term. Mary acknowledges only that "Some cops overreact when facing possible death. Black men are often harassed for no reason. And many black families complain that there aren't enough police in their communities."

So who will "win" the Debate? Because Clinton is heavily favored due to her history, Mary concludes that "if Trump doesn't do something totally insane, people will say that she did as well as expected but so did Trump, which won't move any of their voters." Ron agrees: "Hillary's already won the debate on points because of how much she knows and he doesn't know anything. So it's unlikely that the Debate will have much of an impact."

Host: 100 million or so may watch -- including some soft Trump and Clinton voters -- and it really won't affect the result or margin in November? This Monday night, some pundits will give in to temptation to say, "well he didn't fall off his chair -- he looks Commander-in-Chief- ish." But the next morning most voters will know that they saw only one president on that stage. So my prediction: she'll end the week ahead by 6 and stay ahead."



Quick Takes: Wells Fargo fraud. DOT on Driver-less cars. Sklttles.



Consensus! Sen Warren's take-down of the Wells Fargo CEO was epic and spot-on since 5000 employees cheating customers by creating fake accounts to generate fees is, says Mary, "crony capitalism" at its worst. The Host adds that it's actually more corporate crime at its worst and shows the need for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau which congressional Republicans want to eliminate,

Both panelists wonder why we moving into the Driverless Car era since "no one asked for them or clamored for them", in Ron's words. "They will exist so people can go on-line to and from work. I can see them doing well as an Uber-type car that can pick up people." Also, what about thousands of lives saved since they won't drive while drunk or distracted?
We believe that todays problems require more collaborative approaches that break down silos, recruit new talent and foster greater cooperation. - Jason Rissman, OpenIDEO Managing Director at IDEO

The meeting of the minds at #SOCAP16 was pretty incredible. Plenaries included leaders from at Acumen, IDEO, Stanford, PayPal, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs and many, many, MANY more. Thousands of impact-driven, business minded professionals assembled to discuss ways to create capital markets that were more inclusive and more responsible.

In order to unlock capital for impact entrepreneurs around the world it will take a collective effort at both the local and global level - Jack Knellinger, Principal & Co-Founder of the impact fund accelerator, Capria

But the essence of SOCAP is not about what happens on-stage. SOCAP is the worlds largest petri dish for impact-driven partnership building. And, as we highlighted earlier in this column, its partnership  and the innovations and risk-taking that happens with them  that are the key to helping us achieve a more sustainable and inclusive planet.

Partnerships are so ingrained in the way that social impact organizations operate that we tend to underrate their significance, especially if they are non-monetary partnerships. But, in case you need a refresher, here are just five of the countless benefits to social impact organizations realized their through partnerships:

1. Better understand markets and foster innovation. As Rebecca Masisak, CEO of TechSoup shared, Our partners across the TechSoup Global Network, provide a deep understanding of, and connection to, local civil society. Partnerships continually spur our evolution and open new lines of thinking internally.

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2. Increase capacity. According to Luni Libes, Founder and Managing Director of the conscious company accelerator, Fledge, The key to the value of those accelerators is partnerships. Accelerators act somewhat like a marketplace, bringing a collection of startups to one location, which then attracts investors and mentors. It's a marketplace of connections and partnerships, far more than cash, that accelerates our startups.

3. Accelerate learning. Partnerships also bring new and unexpected perspectives  that burst of surprise when an old way of thinking is turned on its head... like a few words from a grandmother that lead to innovation in vaccine delivery, according Bridget Brennan, Director, Global Engagement & Partnerships for PATH.

4. Reach more people. According to Tim Freundlich, President of ImpactAssets, partnerships give Field building and market moving ability as we eventually reach not just to the existing client in question, but their tens, hundreds, even thousands of other clients over time.

5. Access new resources. As Yasmina Zaidman, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Acumen, highlights, partnerships are critical to accessing the resources, capabilities and networks that can both help these companies to scale and also bring their innovations into the mainstream.

Innovation that matters requires partnerships: Acting alone holds back progress. Successfully scaling up social innovation requires government, the private sector, and the social sector to come together, along with strong global leadership, to make an impact. Im hard pressed to think of a single social innovation that has gone to scale without these three sectors working in partnership. - Steve Davis, CEO of PATH

Here are 5 tips from SOCAP leaders on how your organization can build more effective partnerships:

Leveraging existing supply chains and partnering can be great sources of capital. Let's be inventive! @SOCAPmarkets #SOCAP16  Russ Wood (@bedrocksocialco) September 14, 2016

Yasmina (Acumen) suggests that you always Start with listening. It takes time and trust to really understand what drives an organization to seek partners. Great partnerships solve big problems that the partners can't solve on their own, so honesty about those problems and priorities is key.

Bridget from PATH recommends to Develop a few key evaluation questions that will quickly help you know whether there is enough common ground to warrant a serious conversation. Be ready to articulate your objectives, assets, and needs for the partnership. What do you have to gain? What do you have to offer? What is missing to help you achieve your mission?

A further tip for this comes from Rebecca at Techsoup: Look for where you can uniquely add value to the partnership and where partners can offer more value than if you tried to do everything yourself.

USAID Development Innovation Ventures Portfolio Manager, MC Dinh suggests that you Do research on the type of partnerships the organization has done in the past, offer something that lines up with their priorities.

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As additional guidance, Luni (of Fledge) shares that A common mistake by first-time entrepreneurs is to spend a lot of time meeting with potential partners, expecting to find one or more who will do the hard work of pushing a new product out to customers. Even if your product sits on the shelf at a retailer, it's up to you to get customers to walk in the store, find it, and buy it. The same is true for nearly all services.

MC of USAID suggests that you Have [your] ask very clear. Short, succinct questions usually get the fastest, best result. [And] be persistent, try to receive feedback if the potential partner organization declines to engage at this time. If the deficiencies they've shared with you aren't deal-breakers, apply again with a strengthened proposal.

Rebeca (Techsoup) shared that Our visions are, naturally, only part of the larger landscape. Look at your intervention as a continuous test and learn from what your partners already know. You will avoid mistakes already made, gain perspective, insight and, if they decide to work with you, change the world faster, together.

Jack from Capria builds on this by saying that you should continue to Test, build, reflect, evaluate and decide on appropriate next steps to realize the vision you both hold.

In a discussion post-SOCAP, Yasmina from Acumen shared this tidbit of wisdom that resonates with all I had the chance to talk with at SOCAP:

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Partnering is hard, but it is the path forward for catalytic change at scale.

Do you have thoughts for building more effective social impact partnerships? Let us know in the comments below!
On Tuesday, at the Concordia Summit's Private Sector Forum on Refugees and Migration, Anne Richards, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, announced that the Department of State is in conversation with Refugee Council USA about launching a private refugee sponsorship pilot program in fiscal year 2017.

Refugee Council USA, the umbrella group of nine refugee resettlement agencies, studied private sponsorship and assembled a set of principles that, Richards noted, will provide the foundation for further exploration into the idea. Their statement calls for the U.S. to consider a private sponsorship program that increases resettlement capacity and allows private individuals or groups to play an even larger role in resettlement.

The Niskanen Center, the organization responsible for introducing the idea to the policy debate last September with this Wall Street Journal op-ed and originally sketching out what such a plan could look like in a policy paper from March, applauds Refugee Council and the State Department for their support on this crucial reform to our refugee system that will translate into more support for families on the run from violence, terror, and persecution.

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Widespread Support and Interest and From Various Refugee Actors



Private sponsorship was a common theme at this week's refugee summits in New York. It was announced that Canada, in conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and George Soros, will help "export" their successful private sponsorship model to other countries. By providing training and information about private sponsorship schemes, the Canadian officials will help launch similar programs worldwide to boost admission totals.

Canadian Immigration Minister McCollum claims 13 nations have expressed interest already, including Britain, Australia, Spain and Japan.

Private sponsorship or privately funded resettlement programs are already being implemented in Germany, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, and other countries. There is truly an international trend towards relying on private sector energy and support to further enable nations to aid refugees.

And encouragingly, support for the idea of private sponsorship in the U.S. has taken off recently.

This summer, 22 state lawmakers from Maryland endorsed private sponsorship and wrote, "We respectfully request that our constituents be provided the opportunity to contribute towards the life-saving process of resettlement."

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Bolstering their efforts to increase resettlement, last year, nine Syrian, Muslim, Arab, and Turkish groups wrote a letter to President Obama asking for the ability to help privately resettle refugees here.

Republican Senator Ron Johnson and Democratic Representatives Zoe Lofgren and John Conyers also expressed support for further private sector engagement in the resettlement process.

Finally, 15,000 Americans signed a petition calling for private sponsorship as a way for them to get further involved in aiding refugees worldwide.

Why Such Support?



Alexander Aleinikoff, the former United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees and visiting professor of law at Columbia Law School, offered his take at the recent Migration Policy Institute conference at Georgetown.

Aleinikoff argued that the "demand" for refugees was far higher than the 85,000 or so that will be resettled in America in fiscal year (FY) 2016. He reaffirmed that people around the country are ready and willing to contribute to programs that increase refugee resettlement in the U.S., but the ongoing issue is that these programs don't yet exist, so no amount of private sector interest or financial contributions can boost admission totals.

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This means no check from a philanthropist, no celebrity campaigns or fundraisers, and no outpouring of support from an ethnic or religious group can directly influence the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. Contributions can help the refugees currently here, but can not go towards increasing the cap to welcome new refugees. We've essentially placed a ceiling on American compassion, stifling private sector interest in saving lives.

It seems counter-intuitive for a country like the United States, with such vast physical space, tremendous wealth, a diverse population, and robust history of compassion towards newcomers can lack the mechanisms that translate private sector interest into increased humanitarian admissions.

What we need is a link to connect charitable contributions to increased refugee resettlement. Aleinikoff explains:

If we could find a way to tap into that generosity by saying to private groups or private individuals, you can sponsor refugees at no cost to the government. You would have to be responsible and pay the costs and worry about health care and other kinds of things like that. I think we would find enormous appeal, enormous support for these kinds of programs in this country.



At the event, Aleinikoff discussed the Canadian private sponsorship program, noting that it resulted in the admission of more than 275,000 refugees since 1979. Nearly 15,000 of those refugees were resettled in Canada this year using programs that rely entirely or partially on private sector funding. It's one of the great recent humanitarian accomplishments.

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Unknown to many, the United States also had a private sponsorship program during the Reagan administration. The Private Sector Initiative resettled about 16,000 refugees, mostly those escaping from Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Aleinikoff publicized two major benefits for the launch of such a program in the U.S.

First, the capacity of the American resettlement apparatus could expand dramatically by harnessing private sector actors. At MPI, Aleinikoff argued, "you'd have tens of thousands of groups and people interested in bringing refugees in."

The experience in Canada aptly demonstrates this. More than 9,000 sponsorship groups now exist in the country, and more than $200 million was pumped into the refugee program in 2016 alone. Private sponsorship is working so well, in fact, that the Canadian immigration services can't keep up with the outpouring of support.

In their recent report to Congress, the State Department wrote, "National and local resettlement agencies in the United States have reported receiving a remarkable number of offers of assistance including donations of household and personal goods, housing, and willingness to 'sponsor' or befriend refugees." Tapping into this resource would go a long way in offering a lifeline to refugee families.

Second, and even more importantly considering the current political climate surrounding refugees, private refugee sponsorship serves as a powerful advocacy tool in favor of resettlement.

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At Concordia, Becca Heller from the IRAP, argued private sponsorship is a possible solution to our political climate.

Private refugee resettlement alters the political dynamics by introducing a powerful new narrative about refugee admissions: thousands of individual Americans, not just unelected bureaucrats in Washington, want to provide a safe haven for refugees.

This sort of quantifiable demand for action, and the narrative it encourages, offers an appealing justification for stronger measures on the part of the administration. It creates buy-in from American citizens, which in turns bolsters a new pro-refugee constituency that will be vocal in supporting resettlement. Private resettlement enhances the American resettlement apparatus by bringing new people into the system on the resettlement side.

Looking Ahead to Private Sponsorship in America



There is tremendous opportunity to help refugees if only we give the American people and avenue with which to do so. How much money could have been donated and how many lives could have been saved in the 24 hours after the video of the 5-year-old boy, Omran Daqneesh, surfaced online, depicting the everyday onslaught of violence Syrians experience? And what would that do to change the conversation about refugee resettlement in America and the world?

Aleinikoff argued:

Imagine if the public were given a chance to sponsor refugees -- if congregations and other groups could bring people in. If the American public through private sponsorship could say we'll take them, we want more, we can do this, we believe we can support them, and they need our support. I think it's a wonderful way to push back on some of the ugliness that we have seen.

The American effort to resettle Syrians needs a tremendous boost of courage, a rejection of the anti-Muslim rhetoric that is plaguing our broken political climate, and, most importantly, an infusion of new resources to combat incalculable devastation worldwide.

The U.S. needs a private sponsorship system to increase our ability as a nation to help those in need. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are knocking on our country's door; lawmakers should allow churches, synagogues, mosques, community organizations, and volunteer groups to more forcefully answer the call for help.

Failing to provide an outlet for private contributions fails to tap into the goodwill of the American people and only continues to trap families in conflict. Private-sector driven resettlement will honor American tradition, and not abandon refugees in need of support that could be aided by America's philanthropic muscle.

As support for private sponsorship intensifies, the Obama Administration should continue conversations with the refugee community on how to best to launch a pilot project next year that engages the private sector and increasing resettlement capacity.
It has been 11 years since President Bill Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to inspire world leaders and civil society to make Commitments to Action to tackle problems such as extreme poverty, climate change and the refugee crisis.

This year, celebrities like U2's Bono took the stage, Sting gave a speech and Jon Bon Jovi received a Citizen Award for his foundation's work. Among the meetings 1,000 attendees, world dignitaries --the Prime Minister of Italy, the President of Colombia, the President of Serbia mingled with CEO's from Cisco, Unilever and Airbnb. In the middle, former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton hosted the sessions and welcomed all.

The theme for the 12th CGI held Sept 19-21 was Partnering for Global Prosperity. Throughout the annual meeting, CGI challenged its members to reflect on an interdependent world and the importance of equity and opportunity for all. Collaborating across public-private sectors for social impact is at the core of CGI since its inception and as Bill reiterated, is a key strategy to achieving the lofty United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) adopted in 2015. The SDG's are a call to action and a 17 goal framework to end poverty, fight inequality, and tackle climate change by 2030. Throughout the three day meeting, links between CGI commitments and specific SDG's were reinforced.

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Sounds like business as usual at CGI except this week marks its final chapter as the Clinton's wind down philanthropic activities that could pose conflicts of interest if Hillary Clinton becomes the next president. Amid questions and increased media attention, this final gathering is the Clintons' chance to show the Initiative's impact and legacy to the world.

In his opening remarks on Monday, President Clinton mentioned some impressive statistics. "As we approach the 12th and last Annual Meeting, I am very proud that our community has impacted the lives of more than 430 million people through more than 3,500 Commitments to Action," said Bill. "It has changed the landscape of modern philanthropy." Because of the CGI community he stated, more than 46 million children have access to a better education; more than 11 million girls and women have been supported through empowerment initiatives and more than $313 million in research and development funds have been spent on new vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.

The list goes on and the former president has the data to back it up. He noted that in 2014, the Initiative partnered with the data-mining company Palantir to track progress on its first decade of commitments. The analysis found that nearly 82 percent of the pledges made at CGI were either completed or still in progress. Commitments with partnerships had seen higher success in reaching their goals. The report also found that CGI members have put girls and women at the center of every issue in efforts to make gender equality a reality.

Development experts agree that advancing the full participation of girls and women is not only a matter of human rights; it is also a strategic global imperative. On day two, Chelsea Clinton announced several new commitments that address economic gender gaps, violence against girls and women, and advancement of female leadership. The coalition of partners includes P&G, Avon and IBM. The new program, titled: Girls, Women and the Global Goals, is set to invest more than $70 million in its future goals over five years.

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The week's final plenary featured Ben Affleck, actor, filmmaker and founder, Eastern Congo Initiative in a session titled- Image all the People that explored the nature and science of empathy.

In an open letter on the CGI website written by President Bill Clinton in which he announced the winding down of CGI, he credited its partnership model for changing the face of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. "It's been one of the great honors of my life to be part of this special community, and I hope the hard work and benefits of CGI's great staff and its members' creative cooperation will keep rippling out into the world," Clinton wrote.

Throughout the final day of the Clinton Global Initiative, the tone was positive and the members were optimistic about the future. CGI may be ending but for the business, government and non-profits leaders who launched new initiatives in 2016, the work is just getting started.
We all know that the days of affordable healthcare are long gone. In 2014 US healthcare spending has reached $3 trillion and for me this used to be an abstract figure to be pondered upon while I was reading morning papers. My recent encounter with laboratory bills for the tests that my doctor and my son's doctor ordered showed me how real these cost really were.

With the steady rise of the high-deductible medical insurance plans, working people are seeing the actual costs of the medical procedures and tests more often. Andrea Ryan, Director-Public and Government Relations at the Western Connecticut Healthcare Network (WCHN), which runs three hospitals in Connecticut, New Milford, Norwalk and Danbury), during our phone conversation mentioned an increase of 15% of the high-deductible plans in the past several years. Until recently the public was not too concerned about the increasing costs of the healthcare as the hospitals and laboratories were charging the insurance companies directly according to the contracted prices they had in place. Covered patients did not worry about the charges as they were not responsible paying them or at least not directly.

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Rising medical costs have been attributed to various factors, unnecessary testing and unnecessary visits to the doctors and medical facilities, ER visits that could have been avoided, etc. Ms. Ryan and Mr. Rosenberg, CFO of WCHN told me that it is no secret that healthcare institutions often push the costs of unpaid costs from Medicare and Medicaid users onto the private sector users, making the cycle continue without a real solution in sight.

So how did I end up thinking about the costs of the healthcare? It wasn't the news articles, although there are plenty of them recently (Aetna exiting Obamacare market, Mylan's EpiPen pricing, etc). During the flu season this year my son and I had visited our respective primary care physicians with the respiratory tract infection symptoms, upon which our doctors ordered various tests to be performed to determine what was going on. We were tested for flu and strep infections and also our doctors ordered a test called the respiratory viral panel ( test for various other viral pathogens). My son was diagnosed with the flu (he did not receive any treatments since the diagnosis happened more than 48 hours after the onset of the symptoms). My tests came back negative for all of the pathogens and I weathered the infection using the age-old remedies recommended by our grandmothers, chicken soup, tea, honey and lots of rest (and of course Advil and Tylanol, because we are living in the modern times and why suffer in pain if we can help it).

Several weeks after, our illnesses were just faint memories of discomforts that we had to suffer, reminding us to be grateful for our overall good health. Then, I received two bills from the WCHN laboratory services in the amount of $900 each. I initially thought that this was some sort of a mistake and that we were charged for a service that was not rendered or that a system mistakenly calculated the cost. I am not a person to trust the system (political or any other type) so I was on a mission to find out what the cost was for. It turned out that the some of the cost included in the bill was for several simple tests (flu and strep), which amounted to about $100. The rest was for something called the "RT, multi-AMP test," basically a respiratory viral panel. I was assured that the cost was not a mistake and that I was to pay the bills (gulp, $1800).

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There was no stopping here now. I had to understand why a test (that seemed routine to me) was costing me this much (and it would have cost my insurance the same, if I had a different type of coverage). I used to work for a company that was in the In-Vitro Diagnostics Instrumentation field (an. instruments that use bodily fluids, such as urine, blood or saliva to perform testing for variety of illnesses or pathogens), so I knew a little about how the hospitals procured these tests and which companies were typical providers of the instruments and instrument consumables.

I read my way through multiple editions of Journal of Clinical Microbiology that explained to me that the two most common tests used for the viral pathogen evaluation were BioFire FilmArray test and the Luminex XTag test. Both these test were extensively reviewed in several Journal publications and they both expanded their detection capabilities of the viral pathogens to 20 different viral strains after 2001. Internet is a wonderful thing when doing the research (as long as you stick with to the peer reviewed articles). It was fairly easy to deduce based on the articles that each of the tests cost about $200 (including the reagent pricing and laboratory technician time plus the fringe benefits). So, I wanted to know what test was WCHN using in their laboratories and why was it costing me (the user) four times the cost of what WCHN was probably paying? Further, was this test absolutely necessary for two fairly healthy individuals such as my son and myself? My doctor and my son's doctor both indicated that we were not the only ones reporting this outrageous cost and they had since stopped ordering this viral panel test for the low risk patients with respiratory tract infection symptoms.

When I spoke to dr. Paul Fiedler, the Director of Laboratory Services at WCHN, he confirmed that the test platform used for their laboratories is the BioFire test platform, which did not surprised me. Platform was very stable and allows for encompassing other types of tests necessary to diagnose variety of conditions (some more serious than simple colds). So, what is the WCHN doing to educate the local doctors about what is included in the tests such as the viral panel test (the code in the doctor's office does not go into details about what viruses a person is being tested for)? Dr.Fiedler writes, in his e-mail to me: "We communicate frequently with our clinical colleagues about new tests and test performance through a variety of mechanisms. These include newsletters, Grand Rounds, updates at departmental business meetings, presentations of abstracts at research events, and direct one-on-one consultation with both regional medical directors and local providers" This was not a very specific answer.

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More questions I was asking, more questions were surfacing. Why was WCHN charging me four times the cost of this test? Was this because WCHN was trying to cover for the uncollected costs from the patients under Medicare and Medicaid plans, costs that were not completely recoverable from the government? Was the cost so high because of the uncollectible debt from other private sector patients? In May of 2015 WCHN announced layoffs due to the loss of $1 million in state hospital provider tax per week (totaling $50 million of funding loss per year), so are they recuperating their costs through up charging for services such as laboratory tests?

I had an opportunity to speak to Steven Rosenberg, CFO of WCHN and after our conversation I realized that I never knew how dire of a situation our hospitals were facing. Mr. Rosenberg informed me that each year WCHN has $159 million accrued unpaid debt for costs that Medicare and Medicaid does not cover, along with the $15 million of uncollected debt from people who defaulted on their payments and about $19 million of unpaid costs for the medical care that the hospitals provide for patients they deem cannot afford the care. On top of the newly implemented state tax that the organization pays, this puts them in an extremely difficult situation.

Management of WCHN and their board have realized that they cannot count on the government to pay their share of cost, that is, there will be no additional revenue from the Medicare and Medicaid payments. They are turning to commercial sector and patients like me and our insurance providers to bridge the gap. They are also doing what they can when it comes to reducing the costs without implementing drastic changes that would affect patient care. Mr. Rosenberg says that the hospitals typically like to operate with 3.5-4% profit margins to allow them to reinvest in their equipment and people, but presently WCHN is only breaking even.

What can we do to improve the outlook of our healthcare providers in Danbury, New Milford and Norwalk? Mr.Rosenberg said that they are attempting to reduce their staff with attrition, which ideally would only affect their middle management staff. Each year they are trying to consolidate the supply chain and re-negotiate the contracts they have in place with the existing suppliers. They also try to reduce the length of stay for the patients when appropriate.

Another problem that Mr. Rosenberg sees is sudden increase in private suppliers of various healthcare services (he calls it "the retail healthcare"), such as MRI, Laboratory work and emergency care. Hospitals cannot compete with their cost structure because these institutions are not obligated to care for Medicare or Medicaid users. They do not care for patients without insurance, the request credit cards up front to ensure that they can collect on any charges that cannot be collected through insurance providers.

He says that the state legislators are aware of the issue, but the problem seems to be too big for anyone to wrap their hands around it and suggest any viable solutions that would be beneficial for the hospitals, patients and the state of Connecticut.

So what is left for us patients to do? I had little guidance from my insurance company and the professionals at WCHN. I was told that we (patients) must take steps to understand the tests that our doctors are ordering for us. But we are not medical professionals, how are we to understand which tests are necessary and which could be avoided? My insurance customer service person said that I had free will and could make decisions. Not sure how my free will is related to understanding my medical conditions and required tests, but I did not press further, they were just doing their job, attempting to answer my questions. WCHN is providing resources for the doctors to understand their processes, testing and microbiology per Dr.Fiedler's comments. It was not clear though how this was being accomplished.

What can we do to prevent institutions and companies overcharging for their services? Mr. Rosenberg did not offer clear answers, as this seems to be a problem that cannot be resolved by the hospital management teams only. Our legislative representatives need to get involved, both on the state level and on the federal level. Patients, insurance companies, lawmakers, medical professionals, drug companies and test providers and makers must take the situation seriously and come together to propose some viable solutions. There seem to be too many pieces of the puzzle. Pharmaceutical companies' costs, costs of doctor's services, insurance costs, inability of the government to pay the full cost of the care of Medicare and Medicaid users.

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Until we get answers, we must write to our legislators and ask them to get involved and to take actions and work with the healthcare professionals to stop this out of control cost increases. We have to talk to our healthcare providers and understand what we are paying for. Transparency is the best option for the patients at this point.
Photo courtesy of David Slack, Flickr

With apple season just around the corner, some predictions from America's biggest apple-producing regions have begun to pop up. Sit back down, California: This is the glory season for the North.

Following a disastrous peach season for areas roughly north of central New Jersey, we found ourselves wondering: Are this year's apples okay? After all, many of the same areas grow both apples and peaches. Will this fall be bereft of apple pies?

Apples are grown all over the country, but the biggest apple producers are northern states. In descending order, the top producers are usually Washington State, New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. But the quality of an apple year tends to see-saw; a good year in eastern states like New York and Pennsylvania often means a lousy year in Washington and Oregon, and vice versa.

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This year, Michigan seems to be having a bonkers crop, possibly the strongest in decades. The Michigan Apple Committee recently predicted a whopping 31 million bushel harvest this year, 7 million more than last year. Michigan was hit with warm weather this past spring, just as the Northeast was, but Michigan was lucky enough to move into summer without a crazy cold spell like the Northeast had. So Michigan's apple trees bloomed early, yes, but managed to survive into the summer.

It's also going to be a good season for Washington; the Washington State Tree Fruit Association predicted an increase of 15 percent over last year, up to 132.9 million bushels.

But New York--well, things in the Northeast in general are a little goofy this year. A drought throughout the region has, at best, stunted fruit growth, and at worst actively reduced the crop size. New York State is expecting a crop of around 30 million bushels, which you'll notice is slightly fewer than Michigan's predicted crop. On the other hand, the drought had an unexpected effect: With less water, the apples in New York will have a higher sugar concentration, leading to, yes, smaller apples, but they'll be sweeter and crunchier.

Pennsylvania is expected to show similar characteristics: near the average in sheer crop size, maybe a bit smaller than usual, but the apples themselves are expected to be smaller than last year.

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New England, though not a major apple-producing power (probably due to the relatively small size of the states), is facing some difficulties. As in New York and Pennsylvania, apples themselves are predicted to be smaller, but the drought seems to have affected the more northern New England states much more harshly. It's likely that the crop will be significantly smaller than last year, and that it'll be harvested earlier--so if you're in New England and like to head out to pick-your-own orchards, go out sooner than usual--within the next couple of weeks.

Also on HuffPost:
This article has been submitted as part of the Natural Capital Coalition's series of blogs on natural capital by Edwin Pinero, President; The Pinero Group LLC

This article was originally published on The Pinero Group LLC.

I have prepared for and presented at various events in the past few months where the discussion of the business case for natural capital investment was the topic. Ironically, the discussions have been in either business-heavy groups, or conversely, conservation-heavy groups. In all cases, the groups were not evenly balanced, although it was clear that most agreed there is economic value in natural capital and ecosystem services. Businesses certainly understand this point, but that does not guarantee that the business case can be made for specific investment or integration. In parallel, I have been in involved in numerous events and discussions, predominantly in business-focused settings, talking about the circular economy.

I used an analogy in those aforementioned presentations where I stated that what we need is a Rosetta Stone for translating natural capital value into business case inputs. The Rosetta Stone refers to the stone found in 1799 that provided the core translation between Egyptian hieroglyphics, early Egyptian text, and ancient Greek. In essence, it opened a door that allowed understanding across different languages. The term is now often used to refer to a key tool that translates across languages, thereby promoting common understandings.

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I argue that we need a Rosetta Stone for making the business case for investing in natural capital beyond reducing the demand on raw materials. And I contend that the business case for transitioning to a circular economy can serve that role. The entire basis of the circular economy that makes it different from more traditional industrial ecology and design for the environment concepts of the 1980's and 1990's is that there is now a much stronger economic perspective. True, circular economy has significant environmental, biodiversity, and natural resource value. But it has equal emphasis on cost efficiency, creating opportunity, reducing risks associated with raw material availability and price volatility, and addressing indirect costs of environmental degradation and resource depletion.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation report "Towards a Circular Economy: Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition", explicitly points out the role of natural capital. Specifically, the need to slow down resource depletion as it degrades natural capital. But natural capital can play many other roles in achieving the spirit of circular economy practices. Such roles can include water treatment, flood management, infrastructure resilience, and many others. Each of these roles reflects using nature in lieu of built facilities and grey infrastructure.

So what is holding up more wholesale integration of natural capital investment as part of the transition to a circular economy? What appears to be slowing uptake is the complexity in making the investment business case. One can argue we need such a translation approach for many sustainable practices. This challenge of making the business case is common when it comes to adopting any type of sustainable practice. The reality is that regardless of the social responsibility value or other sustainable development commitment the company may have, any dedication of resources, financial or otherwise, needs a compelling business case. And this is not intended as a slight to sustainable solutions. All business decisions typically need a business case. I have held C-Suite positions in both public and private sector settings and in all cases, be it for a new computer system, new employee hiring, or energy efficiency projects- we had to make the business case when competing for the often limited investment resources. None of my counterparts ever challenged the inherent value of doing the right thing for the environment, and there were even resources allocated for work to be done simply because it was the right thing to do.

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But that is a different discussion than what occurs in strategy and planning sessions when it comes to proposing investment in projects that are competing for allocation of company resources. In these cases, we had to show how such an investment would be good for the long-term health of the business. But whereas it is relatively "easier" to discuss practices such energy efficiency and waste reduction in business case terms, it is a bit more challenging with natural capital and ecosystem services. Therefore, I offer several tenets that make the case for a "natural capital to business case Rosetta Stone". These can be characterized in the context of three "languages": financial, value, and leverage.

Financial Language

A key unit of measure for making the business case has to be financial. In other words, monetizing the impact or benefits will help promote common understanding between organizational elements. One difficulty in doing so is the angst and controversy surrounding the concept of putting a dollar value on nature. We need to keep in mind though that we are not trying to price "nature". The intent is not to put a dollar amount on a tree or a river. Instead, it is the service provided by natural capital that is being valued. It is not practical to price a wetland, but it is possible to put a dollar value on the reduced risk to infrastructure from flooding that is provided by wetlands. Once we accept that we are monetizing natural capital or ecosystem services, and not putting an intrinsic value on nature itself, we can get past the discomfort.

Value Language

Second, we need to be able to speak of the value of natural capital not only as an environmental or sustainability benefit, but also in terms of risk mitigation, operational efficiency, and opportunities. As long as investment in natural capital is couched only in Corporate Social Responsibility terms, then only CSR resources and support will be available. However, companies already spend considerable resources on operational, risk, and opportunity aspects. Being able to see how natural capital can factor in will provide the company with more options and at the same time make a case for natural capital investment.

When it comes to natural capital, there is a difference between quantification and valuation. Quantification is the value-neutral measurement of natural capital. These measures can include straightforward metrics such as acreage of wetlands restored, or impact-related metrics such as the carbon sequestration capacity of a forest. Another common measure of natural capital may be storm water retention capacity of green space or surface water nutrient reduction capacity of wetlands. Valuation then is a representation of what value this quantified attribute brings. These valuation measures can be very direct, for example determination of the difference in cost of providing the green space for storm water management vs. construction of deep tunnels or retention basins. Valuation measures can also be more indirect, such as jobs created or quality of life improvement. Valuation is a metric that a company uses in making the business case for investment.

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A caution on this quantification and valuation aspect: In trying to value the impact from natural capital, the tendency is often to reflect the value in terms of impact to the local economy or community. Although this is useful information, if we are trying to make the business case for companies to invest in natural capital, the quantification and valuation has to also be relevant internally. There needs to be an element where the company can integrate the valuation into their own business model and investment models. In other words, how can such an investment help the company?

Leverage Language

Preserving, managing, and restoring natural capital not only has environmental, biodiversity, and social impact value, but it also has leverage benefit. How can natural capital and ecosystem services be leveraged to help the company, thereby making a more compelling business case? Ecosystems services and green infrastructure can be leveraged to replace or supplement human-provided services or built infrastructure. This ability to reflect natural capital in the context of doing the work that human-made services do can help demonstrate a comparative business case analysis.

For example, restoring coastal wetlands certainly has environmental, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration value. But restored coastal wetlands also provide water treatment and flood mitigation services. These latter attributes can be compared, in cost terms, to building wastewater treatment plants or floodwalls. As with any other case of investment options, it provides balanced and consistent metrics to inform the decision maker whether to invest in natural capital or another solution. In other words, investing in natural capital becomes part of a company's management and growth decision-making process.

Is this a good thing? Or is it best to let the conservation/restoration community remain disengaged from the corporate strategy community? My experience has shown that more often than not, when evaluated on equal terms and in monetary, return-on-investment terms, natural capital scores well against more traditional, artificial features or infrastructure. In other words, investing in natural capital makes business sense- be it for operational efficiency, risk mitigation, or creating new opportunities. Companies know this and are already integrating natural capital and ecosystem services into operations and risk management. What will facilitate more wholesale uptake of this are the new tools and methodologies that provide consistent, transparent, and credible approaches. Restore the Earth Foundation's Eco Metrics model and The Natural Capital Coalition Natural Capital Protocol are examples of this contemporary Rosetta Stone. And if biodiversity improves and the environment, local economy, and community benefit in the process, is that not a good thing after all?

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Disclaimer: Articles in this series are submitted by people who work in organizations who are part of the Natural Capital Coalition, or people who are involved in the natural capital space more generally, the views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of The Natural Capital Coalition, other Coalition organizations, or the organization that employs the author.

Edwin Pinero is President of The Pinero Group LLC, providing consulting services to clients in areas of sustainability such as best practices, strategy, metrics, reporting, awareness building, collaborative efforts, and policy. The group also provides insight on policy and business strategic planning in sustainability, natural resources, energy, and environment.

He has also served in the public sector at both the Federal and state levels addressing sustainability issues. During his service as the White House Federal Environmental Executive, he focused on developing and implementing sustainability policy and practices within the US Federal government. Mr. Pinero served in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as both the Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sustainability as well as holding the office of Pennsylvania State Energy Director.

Follow the Pinero Group on Twitter: @thepinerogroup

On 13th July 2016, The Natural Capital Coalition launched a standardized framework for business to identify, measure and value their impacts and dependencies on natural capital. This ' Natural Capital Protocol' has been developed through a unique collaborative process; a World Business Council for Sustainable Development consortium led on the technical development and an IUCN consortium led on business engagement and piloting. The Protocol is supported by practically focused 'Sector Guides' on Apparel and Food & Beverage produced by Trucost on behalf of Coalition.

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Keep up to date with the Natural Capital Coalition on Twitter: @NatCapCoalition




Vladimir Putin (r) shakes hands with Simon Grigorievich Kukes in 2000 at the signing of an agreement between Tyumen Oil, which Kukes then headed, and the U.S. ExIm Bank. (Photo: Kremlin.ru)

By Ashley Balcerzak

Donald Trump has an interesting relationship with Russia, to say the least. He's praised Vladimir Putin. His former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had business dealings with pro-Russia leaders in Ukraine. U.S. intelligence officials are investigating whether one of Trump's foreign policy advisers met with senior Russia officials to discuss lifting economic sanctions in the event of a Trump presidency.

Here's another tie: Simon Grigorievich Kukes, former chief executive of a now-defunct Russian state-owned oil company, who contributed more than $150,000 to Trump's campaign and joint fundraising committee, Trump Victory. This is the first election cycle he has contributed, according to FEC documents. Kukes gave $2,700 directly to Trump's campaign in March, and then a total of $149,000 to Trump Victory in June and July; another $2,700 of that went to Trump directly, while the remainder was divided between the Republican National Committee's main account, its convention account and its headquarters account.

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Kukes headed Yukos Corp. for a year starting in June 2003, replacing Putin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the wealthiest man in Russia at the time. In what was widely seen as a political prosecution, Khodorkovsky was charged with fraud and sent to prison for 10 years. An international court ruled in 2014 that Putin's government would have to pay $50 billion for using tax claims to take control of and bankrupt Yukos. The court said the government was trying to silence Khodorkovsky, who was using his riches to fund opposition parties to Putin.

Born in the then-U.S.S.R., Kukes immigrated to the U.S. in his twenties and became an American citizen, but has gone back and forth between Russia and the U.S. since then. Kukes served as president and CEO of Russia's Tyumen Oil Company from 1998 to 2003. Kukes is a former partner at Hess Corporation, a New York-based oil and gas company. He was previously general director of ZAO Samara-Nafta, a Russia-based oil producing company and subsidiary of Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil companies.



Kukes at a news conference after he was appointed CEO of oil giant Yukos in 2003. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

Although he listed his occupation as "retired" in FEC documents, Kukes appears to be busy:

He's CEO of NAFTA Consulting, a firm that advises American and Russian oil and gas companies on how to do business together. And he's also on the board of Leverate, an on-demand software company for foreign exchange brokers.

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Kukes has another link with Trump: He bought a five-room condominium at Trump Parc in Midtown West for $1.7 million in 2000, according to the Observer, (which is published by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.)

Trump isn't the only beneficiary of Kukes' funds: He also contributed the max to Elizabeth Cheney's campaign for Wyoming's congressional seat in June. Cheney is the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney.

Neither Kukes nor the Trump campaign had responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
I'd like to know who added me to the email list for the defeated. Last week I was given reasons I must try online dating now and this week I was asked, "How low is your self-esteem?" It isn't whether I suffer from a lack of self-esteem, oh no. This survey assumes my self-esteem festers in a subterranean viper den of self-loathing. The question is how deep is my snake pit. Here is a smattering of the questions:

1. How much do you dislike yourself?

It's hard to be objective in this situation, so I find it helpful to step back and try to see me through someone else's eyes, preferably George Clooney's. On a good day, if I were a recently widowed Mr. Clooney with cataracts and a sinus infection, I'd squint at me and think she's not half bad. With a good personality and the right accessories on her arm (such as myself, George Clooney) she'd be okay.

I could live with that.

Another way to gain perspective while I'm trying to calculate how much I dislike myself is to think about those I really dislike, like Pablo Escobar, Joseph Kony and Heather Bresch, the Mylan CEO who jacked the price of the EpiPen and gave herself a gazillion dollar raise. Compared to the animus I have for those creatures, I dislike myself almost not at all, except for when I eat too many potato chips and yell at Aaron Rogers on TV.

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2. How inadequate do you feel compared with others?

Which others--the people in Denmark who are thought to be the happiest folks on earth? Compared with them I don't feel inadequate so much as aggressive. I'm competitive by nature, so the Danes just make me want to work less, play more and binge watch The Vikings. That'll show 'em.

Who are the others then, to whom I should compare myself--celebrities who "have it all" or millions of Sub-Saharan refugees without food or clean water? I suppose I could keep it close to home and stack myself up against my next-door neighbor, but how do I know she isn't battling mental disease, a broken heart or cancer? She may have won the lottery, bought a yacht and written this decade's Harry Potter, but I sometimes laugh so hard tears roll down my face, and I've never seen her do that.

A better question than 'how inadequate do you feel compared with others' is 'why the f*ck are you comparing yourself to anyone else, snowflake?' Knock it off already.

3. How difficult is it for you to express yourself in company?

Like where, in an Apple Store overrun with customers, when I yell "ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!" as the clipboard guy tells me I am 87th in line for an appointment with a genius, it's 9:03 in the morning and the store's only been open for three minutes?

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Or does the question refer to something less shrieky, such as making a suggestion in a business meeting, drawing personal boundaries when someone steps on my rights, or sticking up for myself when people are rude and inappropriate?

Like a lot of you, I always have the absolutely perfect comment, comeback, retort and clever bon mot for every awkward situation--an hour after it would have been perfect to say it--usually while I'm driving home with the radio on.

The rest of the time I use little tricks to overcome fear, uneasiness and anxiety when I need to express myself in front of others:

*I think ahead thirty years and ask myself whether I will even remember this moment, and if I do, which will I regret more, having stood up for myself or having remained silent? *I consider the worst that is likely to happen. It is rare for anyone to jump up, point at a person and say, "That is the stupidest idea ever!" What do we fear then? We are afraid of what people will think. Holy smokes, there is no way to control that, and better yet, there is no way to really know what another human has rattling around in his brain. Example: Kreckel in HR may look like he wants to throw personnel files at you for suggesting Casual Fridays and flex-hours, when in reality he is wondering whether the people at One-Hour Martinizing think it's weird he has a human-sized squirrel costume dry cleaned twice a week. *I picture Kreckel in a squirrel suit.



4. How much do other people tend to dislike you?

Shit tons, of course. You can't go around exuding self-confidence in your car on the way home from a sales meeting or boast to your cat you have just made a perfect grilled cheese sandwich and not expect there are going be haters.

The thing to remember is that it really has nothing to do with you or me, and everything to do with them. Why on earth would the Swedes despise the Danes when the Danish are the chillest people on the globe? One's got killer meatballs and massages while the other does world-class pastry. They're all beautiful, speak at least five languages and excel at math, so what's the beef? The Danes are too quiet on public transport. Seriously. It's a real thing.

If people can boo an entire nation for not being rambunctious dolts on a train, what chance do you and I have? Unless we are flaming a-holes who go around smacking people with trout, stealing their lunch money and financially raping Americans who are deadly allergic to bee stings and peanuts, chances are there is nothing we can do to alter whether, or how much, anyone dislikes us.

5. If you do badly at something, do you believe it's all your fault?

Who should I blame if I can't parallel park for shit, sink a 40-foot putt to save my soul or style my hair to look like it does when the hair stylist does it? Is Ford at fault when I roll up onto the curb? Are the folks at Titleist responsible for every six-putt? Does David at Hive Salon intentionally arrange my tresses to look like a million bucks knowing full well I will never as long as I live be able to replicate it? (Yeah, he does. I am so onto you, David.)

The question itself mitigates personal responsibility, and suggests instead that we are all just perfect and wonderful, and if we fail at something it cannot possibly be our own fault. But if that were true, then who's to blame for failure? It doesn't just happen, like shit, or jowls.

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Several years ago when I was a freelance producer for an ad agency in Los Angeles, a young account executive screwed up a massive list of telephone numbers that were supposed to match 100 commercials I was editing. When I caught the mistake and realized it was going to put the agency tens of thousands over budget, my first thought was to devise a plan whereby we could work into the wee hours and over the weekend, something, anything, to make up for the mistake and not cost the company additional money. The account executive had another idea.

"Who can I blame?" she asked as innocently as a newborn lamb that can talk.

Self-esteem? It's a soul-killer. Give me integrity any day, snowflake.
Answer by Russell Roberts, EconTalk host, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, on Quora.

Trump is not alone. Bernie Sanders certainly was critical of globalization. Hillary Clinton has toned down or reversed past enthusiasm she had for globalization. Trump's distinctive point is that we've been out-negotiated, and that if a tough negotiator had been in place, we could have gotten better deals with say, Mexico, or China.

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I think that's an artful complaint, but it's misleading and a little dishonest. On one level, trade is quite simple: buy where the value is highest. If your neighbor can make a great car at a great price, buy from your neighbor. But being told you have to buy from your neighbor when the car made in Detroit or Japan is a better buy for you not only keeps you from pursuing the car that is best for you, it also reduces the incentive for your neighbor to do a good job.

The whole idea of free trade is to give people in different nations the opportunity to buy and sell freely with each other. Because the people in different nations have different skills and desires, that is going to mean a rearrangement of economic activity relative to what it would be without free trade. It will generally make both nations richer, though it will not necessarily make every individual in each country better off. If you lose your job because your factory moves to Mexico or China, you are going to have a tough time for a while, and maybe a long while, depending on how long it takes you to find another job that is nearly as good or better. That's not the result of "poor negotiation" by the leaders of the country. It's a result of the natural market forces that have been unleashed, and that in this particular case, make life harder for you.

My claim then, is that the "bad trade deal" argument is something of a red herring. It's a distraction that hides what is really going on and what is possible.

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Let's turn to a more interesting question. Forget the negotiation claim that Trump makes. Is globalization good or bad? There is a temptation to argue that trade is about letting Chinese workers make stuff cheaply for us and in return, Americans lose their jobs. I'm a big fan of free trade. If I really thought that was what trade was about, it would be hard to support it. It is true that one aspect of trade with China, for example, is that American consumers get very inexpensive toys, clothes, and gadgets. It is also true that this causes some Americans to lose their jobs. But there is much more going on.

Because Americans have access to inexpensive toys, clothes, and gadgets, they have more money to spend on other things. This in turn benefits workers who make whatever else Americans buy with their expanded purchasing power. Then there's the flow of capital into America to finance further investment. Our trade deficit with the rest of the world is almost the mirror image of our capital surplus. The U.S. is a good place to invest. (Trump and others fail to mention this, as they want you to see a deficit as some kind of unfairness to be attributed to poor negotiating, but it is actually caused by other underlying causes, such as the investment climate.)

The biggest thing that critics of trade miss is that the effects of opening our borders to products made elsewhere helps our children and our grandchildren. Some workers today, in competition with foreign workers, may lose their jobs, but their children will have better opportunities because we allow people the freedom to buy where they want and sell where they want.

How does this work? It's easiest to see when thinking about a different kind of economic change, like the increased productivity of U.S. agriculture. This has meant that instead of 40% of American workers being in farming, as was the case in 1900, it's now 2-3%. Yet food is cheaper in real terms and much more abundant than it was a century ago.

That's been a wonderful thing, but not for every American. If you owned a farm in 1900 and dreamed of your children being farmers, that dream was much less likely to come true. Many children, when they grew up, were forced to leave agriculture and look for work elsewhere. If they had planned on a career in farming, they often had to give that plan up because of the increase in productivity. There simply weren't enough farm jobs to keep everyone working.

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But the world those children inherited outside the farm was much more interesting and dynamic because we let farming become more productive. New industries and new jobs could arise because America no longer needed 40% of their workforce in agriculture. Imagine a farmer in 1900 being allowed to see how his or her grandchildren's lives have turned out. True, they don't get the privilege of waking up at 4 AM to slop the hogs, but they get to work in an air-conditioned office, live longer, and have access to things like first-rate music in your pocket that a farmer of 1900 could not dream of.

What we often fail to notice is that the world we live in today is a result of the dynamism of yesterday's world, our willingness to accept economic change, and the full range of consequences, good and bad, that come with it.

Now take that example and instead of thinking about changing productivity, suppose we had fewer workers on the farm today relative to 1900 because of increased imports of food. The story's the same. Americans get access to really inexpensive food and in return, new opportunities outside of agriculture are going to be created. That's what I think trade really represents. It's an expansion of opportunity that is enjoyed by many right away, but only enjoyed a generation or two later by a much greater part of the population. For more on this story, see my novel, The Choice.

Having said all that, I do worry about the dynamism of the U.S. labor market. It may be harder for the next generation to enjoy the benefits of increased productivity from trade or innovation. I do think we need a radical overhaul of our school system to prepare the next generation for lives and careers that may be different from what we have been used to. The children of farmers found good jobs that paid well and were satisfying. It may not be as easy for the children of factory workers whose factories close, either because of foreign competition or increased productivity from robots, to find good and meaningful jobs.

This question originally appeared on Quora. - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

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My senior year in film school, I had the privileged of working with director, writer, and producer Jocelyn Moorhouse through a mentorship program. Every week I brought in pages of my screenplays, and every week she patiently read them and gave me encouraging notes to help me through the rewriting process. When I think back on the experience now, a part of me feels sick to my stomach imagining what Jocelyn could have thought of me in some of those moments. I was 21 and stupid. I naively thought that once I exited the halls of higher education, Hollywood would open its doors to me, so enthusiastically wanting to produce every story I could ever dream up starring a bunch of women being women. Ha. Jocelyn, on the other hand, was a working Hollywood director. And a mother to four children, two of whom are autistic. And a wife to another filmmaker, meaning she had another impossibly busy schedule to manage along with her own. She was in the trenches, I was only dreaming about them, and my dreams were much nicer than reality.

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With her latest film, The Dressmaker, out this week, I sat down to talk to her about all the things I didn't know back when I was lucky enough to frequently be in her company, and all the things she's learned throughout the course of her career thus far as a wonderful working female director in Hollywood.

RB: When I first heard about The Dressmaker, when was that? Last year?

JM: You mean when it premiered at Toronto? In October of last year.

RB: Yes. I had just seen a documentary, Hitchcock/Truffaut, which brings to life Francois Truffaut's interviews with Alfred Hitchcock. Truffaut was a young filmmaker at the time, and he sought out Hitchcock to ask him about directing. It was Truffaut's take on Hitchcock that really allowed others to see Hitchcock as an auteur. And after I saw it, I was just left wondering, how could you do something like that with women? What would that be like?

JM: Well, we can try now!

RB: Yes! Though when I first thought to interview you, I was a little more excited about talking about women working in film, and just working in general. But now...I don't know if you've been following our election...

JM: Yes, with great interest.

RB: It's taken a strange turn where now, just recently, a lot of political discussion about what to do for women who are working is just being used to garner votes--bringing up equal pay and maternity leave just for the sake of getting those buzz words out there--I don't think there's much sincerity behind it. But there needs to be. I don't want the discussion of what it's like to be a female film director to become just another buzz word topic, because I think it's really hard to do what you're doing.

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JM: It is. It's hard, because as a woman director, firstly you're facing the challenges of being a female in a very male-dominated industry. And if you happen to have children, you're facing the challenge of having to simultaneously care for the needs of your children and your professional responsibilities. You want to put a tremendous amount of effort and commitment into both. It's extremely challenging and complicated.

RB: When you were in film school, directing your shorts--which, I watched most of them, and they were so great--did you think being a director was going to be as hard as it...is?

JM: No, no. I didn't really. I had been raised by pretty forward-thinking parents who had given me a childhood full of creativity and with the optimistic belief that my gender didn't matter. It was, "You are smart, you will get an education, and you will probably achieve what you want to," and they said that to my sister, and to my brother, and to me. So, that was pretty feminist, actually. They didn't differentiate between my brother and me or my sister.

RB: That's the dream.

JM: So my mother was quite a feminist, without making a big deal out of it. That was just her life philosophy, because she was a working mom and very creative.

RB: And then, in film school--

JM: Well, when I first went off to film school, I was very shocked to have a teacher say to me, "If you want to be a director, Jocelyn, the best thing you can do is learn to type." And I asked, "Why?" And he said, "Because if you're really lucky, you might get to be a male director's secretary." And I was pretty annoyed by that. I knew that was sexism, even at that point in my life.

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RB: Had you shot any of your shorts at that point? Had you screened anything?

JM: No, I had been living in my own creative cocoon. No one had stopped me from making movies. As a teenager, I had a Super 8 camera that my mother had given me, and I used it to make silent movies with my friends. And I would just put David Bowie or Brian Eno on the soundtrack and make these strange little films and they were a great joy in my life. So I felt, yes, this is a part of me. It's who I am, and I'm somehow going to work out how to be a director. And I was very inspired when Gillian Armstrong appeared on the Australian film scene, because up until Gillian directed My Brilliant Career, Australia had not really seen any female film directors since the 1920's.

RB: Wow.

JM: Interestingly enough, our pioneering industry had three sisters who directed their own movies back in the 20's. They were called the McDonagh sisters. They were rich, so they could afford to do it. But there was a great lack of female directors in the Australian film industry from then up until the 80's. So when Gillian Armstrong appeared, I was just entering film school. And I thought, great, if she can do it, I can do it too.

RB: That's very interesting. I got a new textbook, just because I wanted to see how auteurship is being taught in film schools in 2016, and the book mentions a female director from the United States I'd never heard of before, from the 20's, 30's, and 40's.

JM: Really? What was her name?

JM: I haven't heard of her either, isn't that terrible?

RB: She directed Lucille Ball, Kathrine Hepburn, Clara Bow...

JM: Really? How come we don't hear about her much?

RB: I have no idea. Something this textbook points out is that women's history, in the context of the history of film, is lost. Because we don't talk about it at all. So, who knows how many other Dorothys there are--

JM: There are probably quite a few--

RB: Their films are just stacked in the lot archives, waiting to be watched, and to be remembered.

JM: That has to change. Someone needs to do a documentary about them. Someone needs to make people, and particularly young women, aware that it's actually not a rare thing for a woman to direct. For some reason, it's just forgotten. I felt this, actually, when I discovered the McDonagh sisters. And I learned there were quite a few other women around at the genesis of Australian cinema. There were two or three other female directors who were flappers. There's photographs of them behind the camera. They were quite successful, but they were often married to very successful men who also directed and the men tended to get all the attention.

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RB: That still happens quite a bit now, that same dynamic.

JM: Of course it does.

RB: It's interesting because the reality is that women were there, women were doing it, they've just been omitted from the history. Which is ironic in this case because filmmaking is storytelling. So as women have been telling stories, they've ben omitted from the main story. History.

JM: That's why the industry has to change. We need to take back these stories and histories that are told from the male point-of-view. We are all unconsciously being told that women's stories don't matter because we aren't seeing nor hearing them. And in turn we're being told the only stories worth watching, worth financing, and worth filming are male stories. The more stories we can get now with the female gaze, the better.

RB: A female gaze...Wouldn't it be amazing if that actually existed?

JM: It can. It does. In fact, in The Dressmaker I made a point of that!

RB: Yes, yes, that's right, you did. In the scenes with Liam Hemsworth.

JM: Instead of a camera lingering on a woman, why not have the camera linger on a man? And it's not shocking at all. Well, it might be shocking and strange to men watching, but for women it will at least feel like something really familiar, and that will be a relief.

RB: And with The Dressmaker, you're absolutely telling a strong female protagonist's story.

JM: Absolutely! Unashamedly.

RB: At what point in your career would you say you got to the place where you were like, I'm just gonna do that?

JM: Well, when I was a young filmmaker, I was hell-bent on proving that I could make the same films as a man. That my gender shouldn't matter, that being a woman, I could tell male stories. But as I've matured, I've realized that it's actually my responsibility as a female director to tell women's stories. Because it just won't happen that much otherwise. Men will choose to tell male stories. There aren't that many movies with a female protagonist that also are from a female point-of-view with a female voice.

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RB: I relate to what you were saying about feeling you need to prove yourself, that you could make the same movies as a man. I think I felt that way in film school too. Someone told me, "If you keep writing these women's stories, you'll only ever write for Lifetime."

JM: Ah, charming.

RB: Yeah. And it just made me feel like, okay, I guess I'll make it a point to never write what they were thinking I would write.

JM: There's nothing like being challenged, is there? When someone tries to put you into a narrow category, it just makes you want to bust out of that.

RB: I wonder if it's something a lot of female artist, and filmmakers specifically, have to overcome before they can get to that auteur-type level. First they have to deal with this obstacle of, god, first I have to show I can do it. I have to prove I can do the big budget picture, I have to prove that I can handle this, and then I can find my voice later, where as men are just kind of like, what do I want to say and how do I want to say it.

JM: It's true, men don't have to have that first hurdle of proving they can do it. It's just assumed they can, because they're men. Women still do, most of the time, have to clear the extra hurdle and say, hey, look, I can do this. Now will you let me do this? Have I proven it yet?

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RB: So you got to a point where you were collaborating with a lot of other incredibly talented female writers. You obviously wouldn't collaborate with other female directors on movies you're directing, but I am wondering, do you have a good number of friends who are female directors? Or are all the female directors as isolated as they say?

JM: In Australia, I personally know Jane Campion, Shirley Barrett--

RB: Jane Campion is sometimes, very rightfully so, recognized as an auteur--

JM: Oh, yeah. She is.

RB: But in school, she was left out of all of my textbooks.

JM: Why? She's one of our greats.

RB: I don't know.

JM: She went to the same film school as me, we were in the same year.

RB: Really?

JM: Yeah! We worked on each other's films.

RB: That's crazy!

JM: She was a camera operator on one of my shorts, and I played a pregnant girl in one of hers.

RB: In The Dressmaker, Kate Winslet's character, Tilly, comes home and takes back a part of her life, and it is a story, that--I don't want to reveal any spoilers--but it is a story many women will be able to relate to, unfortunately.

JM: There's a certain amount of misogyny she and her mother suffered, yes. A certain amount of patriarchal oppression. It's still very entertaining!

RB: That's the thing! You're dealing with tough subjects that we really should, and have to, deal with, but it's entertaining the whole way through.

JM: I tried to keep a sense of humor about it, because we are dealing with some pretty dark subjects. There are some surprisingly dark moments in the film, which I love. I love combining comedy with drama. That's just how I view life. Robert Altman did that, and I love how the Coen brothers do it. The thing is that she finds a really ingenious and feminine device to get her revenge. She doesn't just go in with a gun and blow everyone away. She is devious, but it's subtle.

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RB: She's a three dimensional character.

JM: I think she is. I love that she's kickass. She was like that in the book. I can't take credit for that. Tilly was very strong and felt that she wanted to punish the evil-doers.

RB: For me, I can always tell when a guy is writing a woman, because it just gets so black and white.

JM: I think it's really hard for a man to understand the female experience. But if there are more movies with realistic female characters, maybe men will learn to empathize more with the female experience, just as we have learned to empathize with the male experience from watching realistic male characters so many times over. We don't go, "I can't follow this because it's about a man." We go, "I can imagine being a man."

RB: Do you watch Game of Thrones?

JM: I do. I love Game of Thrones.

RB: I actually just started watching it this last season. I watched the first and the fifth seasons in the same year, so it's really apparent to me that they've done a lot to flesh out the female characters.

JM: It's not just a matter of seeing them naked now. Though it was interesting in the beginning, they were naked, but they were still tough, which felt refreshing. But now we've got complicated female characters on the show, which is great. Even better.

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RB: After I watched the first few episodes of the first season, my boyfriend asked me, "Well, what would you do to make the female characters come to life more?" and I said, "Why can't the character of Jon Snow be a woman?"

JM: True.

RB: Why can't that amazing story and character development and backstory go to a woman? You know? Just, like, write a...person. Who happens to be a woman.

JM: That's what needs to be written. But it will probably take a female writer and a female producer to get that project going in the first place, and then a female director to come onboard and see it through. But it does start, I think, with producers encouraging writers to generate projects like that. In order to turn the table, have complex characters, and perhaps a female Jon Snow. It's not likely to happen with a man, it's more likely to happen with a female producer.

RB: I do feel like with Tilly in The Dressmaker, that's happening. She has all these elements to her, and they're all present all at once, just like you or me in every day life. In every moment we're facing we have all of ourselves with us, the good, the bad, all of our experiences. Everything. We're people with layers, just like men.

JM: That's why I really liked her, because she wasn't just one emotion. She was fragile while she was incredibly strong. She was vulnerable and she could be intimidating.

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RB: I recently rewatched Uncontional Love, and I couldn't help but compare it to the The Dressmaker in tone.

JM: Interesting.

RB: And that in turn reminded me of one of your shorts from film school.

JM: Oh, my gosh. Which one?

JM: Yes! I remember writing that one, that was fun. I remember the other student, who directed, Felicity was her name, she came up to me and said, "Could you write me a story, I don't know what I want it to be, really, but I know I want a little girl to swallow an orange seed," and I just took it from there. That's quite an absurd little story, isn't it?

RB: It's awesome, and it's the same sort of tone. Mixing humor with really dramatic moments. It's starting to feel like a particular tone of yours, almost in an auteur way.

JM: I think it must be, yes. The way I see life is as a black comedy. There's pathos, but there's really bleak humor. You do sort of need that survivor's sense of humor to stay sane in life, through its challenges. In the past few years, I've faced quite a few, with both my parents passing and my eldest daughter's autism worsening. But that survivor's sense of humor gets you through life, which is why I think I need it in movies, so that the movies feel true to life.

RB: My favorite of your movies is How to Make an American Quilt. Does that one still hold the title for your biggest budgeted picture?

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JM: I would say it does, though The Dressmaker is competing with it.

RB: There was a chart going around Reddit earlier this year, it was a huge statistical compiling of

a massive amount of movies by lines of dialogue give to female characters. Some movies had no lines, a number of movies had very few lines, and a small number of movies gave the majority of the lines to women. How to Make an American Quilt would have been at the very top of that chart!

JM: Well, there's so many women in that! I was so lucky to work with all of them. They were all mentors to me, those incredible actors.

RB: It was an incredible cast. Winona Ryder, Maya Angelou, Kate Capshaw, Anne Bancroft, Claire Danes...

JM: I was always shocked when I walked of the set. Like, oh, my god! Look at these women! How did I get them all here?

RB: And it was a diverse cast of women too. And I think the craziest thing about it. There's so much talk right now about how we don't have diverse Hollywood pictures, and we don't have diverse pictures where the majority of the cast are women. Yet, How to Make an American Quilt happened in 1995. But we're talking in Hollywood as if movies like it have never happened at all.

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JM: I suppose it's good to remind people that it did.

RB: Do you feel like it would be any harder, or would it be just the same, to get that movie made today?

JM: I think there is the market for intelligent films that are aimed at, that are marketed toward women. It was there and it's still there.

RB: I have to ask, did you ever hear from that male teacher again? The one who told you you'd only be a secretary, and to learn to type?

JM: No, I did not. I never heard from him. But I do like to think that he might have noticed that I didn't have to become a secretary.
In spite of the fact that America has not been good or fair to black people, African Americans have always remained loyal to this nation. African Americans have fought to show their love for America and to hopefully "earn" their way to full citizenship. Nothing, though, not even fighting against Nazism and Communism, or fighting for the freedom of other people in other lands, has ever been enough to erase the presence and the scourge of white supremacy and its child, racism. Black soldiers have served as valiantly as have white soldiers, only to come home and face more segregation and outright discrimination in jobs, housing and education.(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-was-black-americas-double-war/)

We have been "good enough" to fight for America, but not good enough to be allowed to be full participants in American society. Fighting notwithstanding, we have been denied full access to perks of free Americans, including being able to get loans for buying homes and starting businesses, having access to quality education and getting good jobs. This reality is what fueled the actions of the late Muhammed Ali years ago, when he refused to fight in the Viet Nam War, and it is what is fueling Colin Kaepernick and, slowly, other African American athletes in their refusal to stand during the signing of the National Anthem.

Too many white Americans seem unwilling to just admit that racism has left deep scars in everyone - black and white - and has traumatized the African-American populace for generations. The damage has been great and deep but in spite of that, African-Americans have continued to fight for full citizenship and dignity.

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There are so many stories of African-American men coming home from fighting in America's wars, only to be relegated, again, to second-class citizenship here. There are so many stories of African- American soldiers who were brutalized by white people upon returning home from war - even though they were still in uniform - with white governments doing nothing to the perpetrators.

There is too much unwillingness on the part of too many white people to ignore America's history when it comes to race. How could anyone not feel some sort of angst upon learning the full history of the National Anthem, and the verse where it celebrated its put down of the efforts of slaves to earn their freedom? (http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/29/sport/colin-kaepernick-flag-protest-has-history-trnd/)

Are African-Americans really expected to celebrate their oppression by white supremacists?

The history we are all taught has left out so much of what really happened to not only black people, but to brown people, indigenous Americans and women. We have been carefully manipulated to believe that "freedom" is and has always been a mainstay of all Americans, but a deeper read of history shows that not to have been the case.

During the Civil Rights movement, a group of young African American girls, ages 13-15, were rounded up and put into prison for protesting in Americus, Georgia. (http://gpbnews.org/post/girls-leesburg-stockade) The story of them being herded into a prison cell, being held there for two months, deprived of proper sanitation facilities and products, made to sleep on the concrete floor ...is not told. Theirs is not the only story ...and yet, people like these survived horrendous conditions and came through those experiences and supported America, even as they pushed past America's ugliness.

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So, it's disingenuous for white people to say that someone not standing is being unpatriotic. African-Americans have been some of the staunchest patriots of this nation. We have stood up for America, and stood for American ideals even as America rejected us and made our lives a living hell. Too many white people believed - and may still believe - that God made America to be a white man's country, and justified their treatment of African Americans on that basis. That belief fueled many of their racist acts, but regardless, African Americans have kept on pushing for justice.
This week the House and Senate are expected to vote on whether to override the President's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act ["JASTA"]. JASTA would allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia over allegations Saudi officials were linked to the 9/11 attacks. The bill makes no judgment about Saudi Arabia's responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. It just removes Saudi Arabia's immunity from lawsuit over support for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both support the bill.

Under current U.S. law, Americans can sue Iran for terrorism in U.S. courts, but they can't sue Saudi Arabia for terrorism in U.S. courts, because Iran is on the State Department's "state sponsor of terror" list and Saudi Arabia is not. The State Department is allowed to take "broader U.S. foreign policy interests" besides concern about support for terrorism into account in forming its list - like the Saudi government's cozy relationship with the CIA.

In January, the New York Times reported that:

"The support for the Syrian rebels is only the latest chapter in the decades-long relationship between the spy services of Saudi Arabia and the United States, an alliance that has endured through the Iran-contra scandal, support for the mujahedeen against the Soviets in Afghanistan and proxy fights in Africa. Sometimes, as in Syria, the two countries have worked in concert. In others, Saudi Arabia has simply written checks underwriting American covert activities ... the long intelligence relationship helps explain why the United States has been reluctant to openly criticize Saudi Arabia for its human rights abuses, its treatment of women and its support for the extreme strain of Islam, Wahhabism, that has inspired many of the very terrorist groups the United States is fighting."

To the Times' list of things that the U.S. has been reluctant to criticize Saudi Arabia for because of the CIA's cozy relationship with the Saudi government, we can add targeting civilians in Yemen with U.S. weapons, in violation of U.S. law. Last week, twenty-seven Senators voted against sending more weapons to Saudi Arabia to use against civilians in Yemen. Why didn't more Senators vote against sending more weapons to the Saudis? In part, because "the Saudis are our friends," which really means, "because the Saudis are the CIA's friends."
In tonight's debate and throughout the remainder of the campaign, Hillary Clinton should take direct aim at the economic plan Donald Trump announced in a recent speech at the Economic Club of New York. It is a blueprint for an economic cataclysm on the scale of what almost happened in 2008 and what did happen beginning in 1929.

Here is a summary of the Trump program in slogans:

Slash Taxes on the Super Rich! Reduce Regulations on Banks and Corporations! Massively Increase Federal Deficits! Bring on Another Great Depression!

This man who presents himself as the champion of the working man (an absurd claim, given Trump's lifelong business record and his complete lack of concern for those he classifies as "losers") is doubling down on trickle-down, and the result of implementing his proposals could not be other than to take the economy and the middle- and working-classes down, down, down.

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The Failed Policies Of The Past

As an historian of the Great Depression (I have written or edited five books on the era), I can state unequivocally that the policies enunciated by the Republican presidential nominee are essentially those pursued by his party in the 1920s and under the administration of George W. Bush that led directly to the two worst economic collapses in more than a century -- the Great Depression and the so-called "Great Recession." In fact, his proposals are to repeat the mistakes of the past, but to an even greater extent than the second President Bush did.

The most basic cause of those past economic disasters was a concentration of wealth and income at the very top and a lack of sufficient regulation of financial institutions. When too much of the nation's income is in the hands of a very few, there is not enough spread among the bulk of the population to maintain sufficient demand -- the level of purchasing needed to keep a consumption-based economy afloat. Mr. Trump proposes not only to repeat the failed policies of the 1920s and early 2000s, but to offer even bigger tax cuts for the super-rich than Mr. Bush did.

Mr. Trump has consistently shown himself to be immune to facts and unwilling to accept scientific evidence (as in his labeling of climate change as a hoax). For those who are susceptible to evidence, here are a few facts that are relevant to what he is now proposing (of course there were other factors in addition to tax rates involved and this is an oversimplification, but the pattern is striking):

In 1925, Calvin Coolidge and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon pushed through a reduction of the top tax rate to 25 percent. By 1928, the richest 0.01 percent of Americans were taking on almost 6 percent of the nation's income. In 1929, the economy collapsed.

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In 1993, when President Bill Clinton proposed a modest increase in the top tax rate to 39.6 percent, Republicans predicted economic disaster and every Republican in Congress voted against it. Over the following years, the "disaster" turned out to be one of the greatest periods of prosperity in American history and a federal budget surplus.

In 2003, President George W. Bush got the top rate lowered to 35 percent. The federal surplus vanished and enormous new debt was run up. By 2007, the richest 0.01 percent were again taking in 6 percent of the income. In 2008, the economy collapsed.

When President Obama took office in 2009, the top rate was returned to 39.6 percent, a stimulus package was enacted, new financial regulations were put in place, and the economy began a slow recovery that has now resulted in the largest gain in median household income since records of that statistic began to be collected in 1968.

What, then, does Donald Trump propose? To cut the top tax rate to 33 percent, lower than the 2003 Bush tax cut -- and to combine that with other giant gifts to the richest Americans, including the elimination of the estate tax, which only affects the very rich, slashing the corporate and capital gains tax, reducing regulations...

Then there is Trump's anti-trade policy, which threatens to slap huge tariffs on foreign-made goods. While it was not the principal cause of the Great Depression, one of the factors in exacerbating the economic collapse of the 1930s was the choking off international trade through the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 and subsequent actions by the United States and other nations. Trump's economic nationalism and general "America First" attitude adds to his prescription for a new economic collapse.

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Don't Get Fooled Again

In the midst of the Great Depression in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called for "bold, persistent experimentation" and said "It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

Donald Trump's approach is bold persistence in doing what has completely failed every time it has been tried in the past. The bottom line of his economic speech can be accurately translated as:

Take a method that has failed every time it's been tried and try it again. If it fails, deny it and try it again. But above all, keep trying the same old thing.

To borrow lines from Pete Townshend, "Then I'll get on my knees and pray / We don't get fooled again."

NOTE: This piece was first published in a slightly different form in the New York Daily News.

Robert S. McElvaine teaches history at Millsaps College, is the author of The Great Depression, and is currently completing a book on America in 1964.
Mrs. J. was in the advanced stages of congestive heart failure, and her condition was worsening. Although it was clear she didn't have long to live, her son was adamant: He did not want hospice care for his mother.

Looking for a way to bridge the divide, the clinicians at Mrs. J's nursing home called on Michelle Drayton, community outreach director for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York's Hospice and Palliative Care division, to meet with the son and discuss what hospice services were available to his mother and to him, and what they really involved.

"The son told me that he didn't want to 'give up' on his mother, and that if he accepted hospice services he felt he would be doing just that, by abandoning medical treatment for her condition," recalls Michelle. As the director of VNSNY's Hospice Outreach Program Effort, or HOPE, she's heard this--and other misperceptions about hospice--many times before. Patiently, Michelle explained to him that patients like his mother are eligible, as part of their Medicare benefits, for a full suite of services designed to improve their quality of life in their final months. His mother's hospice care team would include nurses, social workers, spiritual care advisors and, crucially, the patient's own doctors. What's more, these services could be delivered at home or in a nursing home.

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"We talked about how hospice would enhance Mrs. J's quality of life, by reducing her pain and increasing her comfort," says Michelle. "The more we spoke, the more her son's resistance to the concept of hospice relaxed." Following their conversation, he agreed to enroll his mother in hospice. Within just a few days of starting hospice care, his mother's comfort had greatly improved--and so had his own peace of mind.

Changing the Equation

Project HOPE, the outreach effort that Michelle runs, is working with community residents and care providers in the Harlem neighborhood of upper Manhattan in New York City, striving to overcome myths about hospice like the ones harbored by Mrs. J's son. While hospice utilization in the U.S. is on the increase overall (more than 1.6 to 1.7 million Americans received hospice services in 2014, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization) New York State's rate of hospice use remains the third-lowest in the country, ahead of only Alaska and North Dakota.

Minorities have also been disproportionately reluctant to seek out hospice care at the end of life, with African American and Hispanic patients accounting for about seven percent and six percent of the nation's hospice population, respectively. The numbers for Native Americans and Asian Americans are lower still. The reasons for this are varied, and often have to do with cultural taboos and misperceptions around end-of-life care. Other groups--for example, veterans--have also been slow to embrace hospice care.

To overcome these barriers and make hospice care more accessible, VNSNY and other hospice providers have been joining with local organizations to carry out a range of initiatives tailored to the needs of the communities we serve. In Harlem, through the HOPE model, we're working collaboratively with Harlem Hospital and a number of nursing homes to seamlessly connect patients and families with hospice care where, when and how it will benefit them most. This approach includes training physicians and other healthcare workers on the best ways to introduce the hospice option into a patient's treatment plan, and connecting hospice nurses directly with patients and families earlier in the end-of-life process.

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Myth vs. Reality

Michelle's Project HOPE team is also partnering with faith leaders in Harlem to dispel problematic myths about end-of-life care, such as the idea that hospice cannot coexist with faith. Another common misperception she encounters is that "hospice" is a physical place--namely, a place where no one wants to go.

"I thought hospice meant you were placed in a facility to basically die," says Harlem resident Cassandra Thomas. Believing that, she naturally didn't consider hospice for her 94-year-old father, Cornelius, even though he was in and out of the hospital struggling with a heart condition. Our teams explain to people that hospice is a model of care rather than a facility, and that hospice patients continue to be treated by their own doctors and specialists. We're also careful to point out that hospice services are covered by Medicare as well as most private insurance plans.

Once the Thomas family learned that hospice meant a team of nurses, social workers and other dedicated hospice workers would come to Cornelius's apartment and support the family in caring for him, they embraced the idea. Cornelius was quickly enrolled in home hospice, and his quality of life improved immediately.

Another misperception Michelle often hears, both from family members and clinicians, is that it is too early in a patient's trajectory to start talking about hospice--but we know from experience that it's much more difficult to begin the conversation once a patient or family is in crisis. While many people have an image of hospice patients as elderly and bedbound, they may in fact be up and about, writing on a regular basis, listening to the music they love, taking daily walks to the park, or--as one of our patients in her seventies recently did--traveling out of state to visit family. The earlier in the process we can introduce the conversation about hospice, the more educated and informed patients and families will be when it is time to make the transition.

Another myth that we often hear, in the Harlem community and in other neighborhoods where faith plays a large role, is that accepting hospice means interfering with God's plan. "People think that it goes against their faith, because only God knows when it is time," Michelle says. "We'll explain that we're not interfering with God's plan for your life. Instead, we want to work with you on what your desires are for the end of your life, and help you meet those goals."

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"Giving up and giving in are two different things," agrees Jo-An Owings, pastor at Mount Zion AME Church in Harlem, who collaborates with the HOPE program to bridge the worlds of faith and care. "Sometimes God says, 'You just need to give in to the process that is going on. But you're not giving up on me.'"

Helping Veterans Access Hospice Care

As I noted earlier, America's military veterans are another group that historically has under-utilized hospice care. The need to overcome this barrier has never been greater--in the U.S., military veterans currently account for one in four deaths each year. Yet the culture can be resistant to accepting hospice services, whether it's the Marine determined to fend for himself, or the longtime general used to giving the orders.

At VNSNY, we recognize the need to meet these honorable former service members where they are emotionally. As part of this effort, we recently launched a veterans hospice program that has been awarded a Level Four Partner designation by the We Honor Veterans organization. This program makes certain that all of our hospice patients who have served in combat are recognized and honored for their service, and that they are fully aware of the hospice benefits available to them through the Veterans Administration. Where we can, we also employ veterans as part of our hospice teams. "There is a culture in common for all vets--we speak the same language," says Joseph Vitti, a military veteran who serves as director of our veterans hospice program.
Have you ever wanted to be a best-selling author? Well, it's much easier than you think even if you self-publish.

Just a little background on me: I have published more than five books that have hit the best-sellers list, and most recently I shared these strategies with Evan Shellshear, the best-selling author of Innovation Tools. He applied these strategies, and his results were outstanding, his book ranked No. 1 in Australia and had over 4,000 downloads within five days. Shellshear encouraged me to write this blog - so you can thank him for this.

So, do you want those results? If so, keep reading!

First, if you don't already know, to be a best-selling author on Amazon.com your book has to be downloaded or purchased more than any other book in your genre and category within an hour. What that means is once your book is released, you will have to check where the book ranks periodically throughout the day. You will never be notified by Amazon, so if you don't check you will never know if your book has ever ranked on any of the best-sellers lists. Your book will also rank in the categories you selected when you published it. A little more on that later.

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Now let's begin. Get ready to take some notes ...

If you want the "quick" answer on how to get worldwide exposure and on the best-sellers list, here it is:

1. Enroll Your Book In KDP Select



Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has a program called KDP Select. It will assist in promoting your book and offer your book through its monthly program. To enroll you are required to exclusively publish with KDP Select for 90 days, and within that time period you are offered two ways to get your book even more exposure. One way: For five days it offers you the opportunity to offer your book for free or for a discount with the Kindle Countdown Deal. This is to your greatest advantage because no other online publishing platform offers this kind of promotion.

2. Don't Hold Your Book Hostage - Give Your Book Away For FREE



Yes, you heard that right, free promotion is the best promotion. I have seen the results for both, and free promotion gets the best results. People around the world will finally have your book in their hands, which was the goal to begin with right? Whether someone actually pays for your book or downloads it for free, Amazon.com will still recognize you as a best-selling author. As long as your book is downloaded more, in their eyes, it is still worthy of the title. The focus for them is how many downloads the book receives (my words, not KDP Select).

But if you want to do it the paid way...



3. Price Your eBook Low



When you first release your book you can do two things. You can discount the book with the KDP Countdown Deal promo offer or price your book at .99, and when marketing it let people know it is for a limited time. Remember, the price does not have to remain there, you can always change it back. But if you want great results, the lower the better.

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If you want to maximize the amount of exposure and rank even higher here are the five strategies:

Strategy No. 1 Design Your Book Cover Like a Billboard



Side note: Everyone judges a book by its cover. I am not sure on why the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover," even exists. So it is a must that you invest on a professional cover.

If you take a moment and study the best-sellers list, you will notice that most covers have a title that stands out like a billboard. Your title should stretch across the book and be the main focus point. What that means is that your subtitle should not compete with the main title. The title should draw people to want to click and read more.

Strategy No. 2 Pick The Right Categories and Genre



I mentioned earlier that your book will rank in the categories/genre you choose, and some are highly competitive. So how do you choose the right one you ask? One way is by studying other books on the best-sellers list. See what category they are ranking in and choose accordingly.

Strategy No. 3 Use "Sales Copy" in Your Book Description



There are somewhere between 600,000 to 1,000,000 books published yearly, so please don't be coy when writing your book description. Give it special attention like you would a resume. Because you need to stand out like a "1 million" people are after your job, use "sale copy" or consult with a professional, and study your market to see what's the most-effective approach.

Strategy No. 4 Get Reviews and Endorsement Quotes



My good friend and mentor best-selling author, Kevin J. Donaldson, shared with me that 50 reviews should be the goal to catapult a book to 200 + paid downloads a day. But when I applied this formula I didn't get the same results, but I did get positive results: I saw an increase in downloads and rank.

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I recommend having at least three reviews and/or three endorsement quotes from credible sources before offering your book for free or a discounted price. You really want to maximize the five-day opportunity. Whether you are downloaded or not, KDP Select will help with promotion, so you don't want to miss out on all the eyes viewing your book because it will be 90 days before you can offer it again.

Strategy No. 5 Study Your Market and Then Target People Using Twitter



If you don't want to start from scratch ... go to the people already successful in your field of expertise or the No. 1 best-selling author in your genre that has maybe been on "Oprah" - someone along those lines. Here is one way to reach your target market: Get the Crowdfire app or go to the website, Crowdfire.com.

This came recommended to me by my mentor, who I've had the pleasure of publishing, Forbes Influencer and Huffington Post Contributor, Sean Gardner, the best-selling author of "The Road To Social Media Success."

Start using the app to follow the people that have mastered their market on Twitter. Make sure in your description you have a link to your book and the free or discounted promotional details, and, most importantly, tweet about it! Do this before, during and after your book release.
I am by nature a quiet, reserved person. My life revolves around my family and my business, and the last thing in the world I'm interested in is seeing my picture in the paper. So what was I doing in a television studio last week, protesting disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte's national TV debut on ABC's Dancing With the Stars?

It's actually quite simple.

Lochte's attempt to lie his way out of a drunken episode of vandalism at the Rio Olympics last month by inventing a totally fictitious story about being robbed by gun-toting Brazilian policemen did more than anger local authorities and dishonor the U.S. Olympic team. It also left many Brazilians wondering if their traditional respect and affection for American visitors might be misplaced. I know because I was in Rio with my family for the Olympics and as someone who has been visiting and doing business in Brazil for years, I could feel the atmosphere change virtually overnight as a result of Lochte's fabrications.

Suddenly, simple misunderstandings that previously might have been cleared up with a single phone call came to be viewed in a more sinister light. That's exactly what happened to one of my nephews. The day after Lochte fled the country, a friend of my nephew's sold (at half-price) some extra tickets he had to a beach volleyball competition. Unfortunately, when the people who bought the tickets presented them at the gate, they were rejected by the electronic scanner. This sort of thing happened repeatedly at the Olympics, often for totally innocent reasons. Standard procedure in these circumstances was to check with the central ticket office, which would have authenticated the tickets as legitimate. But in the chilly atmosphere that Lochte's lies had created, the people who bought the tickets were in no mood to give an American the benefit of the doubt. Instead, they had my nephew arrested. Because Lochte had fled Brazil rather than face the music for his lies, my nephew was wrongly labelled a "flight risk" and detained in one of Brazil's most notorious prisons for more than a week before everything was sorted out.

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Fortunately, Brazilian justice is a lot better than Lochte would have us believe, and my nephew was cleared of the charges and released by a judge. He's now safely home with his family in the United States. Nonetheless, it was a frightening experience - one that would never have happened if Lochte hadn't poisoned the well.

It was against this backdrop that I heard that Lochte was going to be one of the celebrity competitors on ABC's Dancing With the Stars. This guy had just been on global television trying to evade the consequences of his actions by telling lies about Brazil - and the idea that he could now literally dance his way out of trouble was unacceptable to me. I know the American public loves redemption stories, and when a so-called hero turns out to have feet of clay, the only thing we enjoy more than watching him fall is watching him climb back onto his pedestal. But usually we expect the redeemed hero to do something more meaningful than a fox trot in a tux. And that's why I, a normally reserved Orange County businessman, found myself leading a protest on Dancing With the Stars.

I should note that before showing up at the studio to protest, I contacted both the ABC network and the show's producers, asking them not to reward Lochte for his craven dishonesty. No one even acknowledged my communications. I should also note that our protest was completely peaceful and non-violent. We did not attack Lochte. We did not rush Lochte. We did not touch Lochte. We did not even say anything to Lochte. All we did was try to put ourselves in front of the cameras so they could see our t-shirts, which displayed Lochte's name overlaid with the universal "no" symbol.

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Throughout my tenure as a spiritual leader, I have played a part in the significant life changing moments for many. I've been asked to preside over weddings (which I don't); meet individuals in hospital beds and homes, during their last hours of life; offer words at memorials and funerals. All intended to elevate people's visions of themselves and the world. These are responsibilities that come with wearing a white sari - showing up at a time of need. And the fine print of my contract with humanity is that there are no preferences, even for my own family. Today, I found myself in a most unusual position of giving the eulogy at my father's funeral through FaceTime while riding a train to New York City. The events leading up to such a unique moment began a month ago. While traveling, I was notified that my father was in a coma. As his only daughter, I was contacted by my family and asked to contribute to the painful, collective decision to keep him on life support or not. I immediately flew to see him right after returning from Europe. I spent quality quiet time and reflection with the soul who played his part as my father. As I sat by his bed, those memories flowed like the Ganges! He taught me how to fish, hunt, and race cars. He took me to horse racing; all of the things a father is to teach his daughter! And, as those memories passed, and I returned to the present moment with him, he was about to leave me. And there was nothing I could do about it. Despite the attainments of my spiritual gifts and the voice of leadership I hold for many, this was a moment beyond it all. When the doctors removed his life support machines, the projection was maybe a few hours or a day. The soul stayed in his body for almost two more weeks.

By that time I had to return to Washington, D.C. Not a single day passed when I didn't wake up sending his gentle soul thoughts of peace. And his gentle heart kept beating, without assistance. When the soul departed peacefully, I was not there but I was at peace. I had sent the message through social media and hundreds and thousands of friends from around the world supported sending his spirit love, light, and peace. It gave me such solace knowing many loving people were blessing his transition.



My family called needing me to sign off on the final burial papers, so I had them notarized in Washington. When I was given the date for his funeral, it was September 19th, the exact date of my departure by train to New York to engage in back-to-back meetings, ranging from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation to dinner at Whoopi Goldberg's home for an AIDS fundraiser, and more. I received a call the night before my trip from my relatives asking me to FaceTime in my final words and blessings for his funeral. I was silent, detached, and wondered... My logistics made it impossible to change my plans to be there physically for his funeral and here was an option to be as present as I possibly could for this important moment in many lives, including my own. I agreed. So while on a packed train from Washington, D.C. to New York City, I walked to an area on the train where I could find some silence, a cubby at the end of the train for personal calls, and I delivered my blessings and message at my father's funeral through FaceTime.



It is a sign of the times in many ways. Technology has now become a humane way to help those of us in circumstances we cannot change, to still be there at a time of need. It has galvanized us now to have access to each other even in times of death, being able to spend those final moments in sacred thought or words with another at the other end of the line. When I saw my family sitting there, and them looking at me on a train, listening intently to every word I spoke, a warm feeling came over me, signaling, "You made it. He hears you."



Our schedules, even for a yogi, have become so full, that there is little room for adjustment. We seem to be in a fast running current, and pausing on the banks is not much of an option. We can only keep swimming, and appreciate the gifts to participate in ways that were previously not possible.



It all goes back to a word and concept near and dear to my heart - Drama. Not in the casual sense of how much drama one has created; but as in the ever-changing and powerful Drama we are ALL in. We are all playing an intricate part in the whole, and when and where our parts intersect, and for how long, is a much bigger story than we can imagine.



When I arrived in New York to attend the Appeal of Conscience Foundation Gala, I sat next to two amazing businessmen, Tom Kenyon-Slaney from the London Speaker Bureau and Ransel Potter from C3 International. I told them I had used FaceTime to participate in my father's funeral that day and watched as their faces changed in shock, and then soften as I shared how I got to that place in time. By the time I finished sharing my story, Ransel put me at ease, as he said, "Wow, now that has to be told, we now know we can use technology for a greater purpose than to chat and make funny faces!" Thank you FaceTime.



I am grateful for technology showing me that it can humanize us despite the myriad of other ways we use it. I am grateful for my father and the part he played in my life. And I am most grateful to Drama, for teaching me endless lessons about the art of showing up, at whatever cost.
The sight of thousands of environmental advocates jetting to Paris or Rio for the latest climate conference has often been discussed when analysts assess the environmental footprints of these gatherings. Though I find these calculation exercises a little ridiculous, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from jet travel is a serious issue. While we can imagine an electric vehicle powered by renewable energy, air travel technology seems very dependent on fossil fuels -- and the global economy remains highly dependent on air travel. Even though we can provide information and interact via phone, web and video, there is no substitute for humans sitting together and breaking bread. What can we do about air travel? Last week, Jet Blue demonstrated that it is possible to take one small step in a sustainable direction. According to Diane Cardwell of the New York Times:

JetBlue, seeking to get ahead of looming restrictions on airliners' greenhouse gas pollution, has agreed to buy more than 330 million gallons of renewable fuel over 10 years, the company said on Monday. It is one of the largest such purchase agreements yet. Under the agreement with the bioenergy company SG Preston, JetBlue would cover about 20 percent of its annual fuel use at Kennedy International Airport, its home base, with a biofuel blend. That is equivalent to 4 percent of the fuel used throughout its network, the airline said.

Biofuels may be a wasteful way of powering motor vehicles, but could be a useful way of reducing the use of fossil fuels for air travel. Jet Blue's long-term commitment can help build the market and infrastructure for aircraft biofuels. In the future, we will need a different technology for air travel, but it seems a long way off. Given the amount of money that airlines pay for fuel, a less expensive way of powering a jet makes economic sense. Unfortunately, biofuels hold only limited promise for reduced fossil fuel use over the near term due to the low price of oil. Cardwell mentions that Lufthansa and United Airlines are also considering biofuels, and there is some movement among international and U.S. regulatory agencies to require biofuels in a jet's fuel mix. In addition to biofuels, the U.N. is trying to build on the Paris climate agreement by setting goals for jet emissions. The United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization is hoping to approve an agreement next week to cap emissions from international air travel. While these targets have many loopholes and exemptions, and will largely be met by the purchase of offsets, they do signal the direction the world is heading in.

Companies like Jet Blue see the future and are moving ahead on sustainability issues, in part to brand themselves and connect to customers who care about these issues. The significance of these initiatives is that visible and important consumer companies know that the cost differential is small and is made up in customer loyalty. These are important steps in building awareness, but must be followed with new technologies that facilitate deep systemic change.

Recognizing the greenhouse gas pollution caused by air travel, NASA has begun a small-scale research effort to address this issue. This summer, NASA announced its:

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Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program for a two-year study. The topics, including three specifically targeted at electrically-propelled aircraft are: alternative fuel cells;

using 3-D printing to increase electric motor output;

the use of lithium-air batteries for energy storage;

new mechanisms for changing the shape of an aircraft wing in flight; and

the use of a lightweight material called aerogel in the design and development of aircraft antenna. These five concepts, in addition to three of the six selected in 2015, address NASA's green aviation initiatives to cut fuel use by half, lower harmful emissions by 75 percent, and significantly reduce aircraft noise.

NASA acknowledges that there is no guarantee that these ideas will be practical, feasible or cost effective, but just like Jet Blue's effort, NASA is attempting to define and address the substantial greenhouse gas impact of air travel. These small first steps are important even if they lack drama.

Air travel presents a vivid example of the degree to which sustainability problems stem from our modern way of life. The answer for some is to do without. An all too common response by some environmental advocates is that virtue can only be achieved by denial. Since I have no confidence that denial is a winning strategy in mass politics or mass economic production and consumption, I think it is very important that we identify technologies and organizational practices that allow us to enjoy our modern way of life without damaging the environment.

Global communication and global travel have transformed economic life in our world and have been important tools in improving quality of life for many. They have transformed our world's culture in ways that we do not yet fully understand. The foreign is increasingly familiar, and in a less positive vein, a homogenized world culture is emerging. Young people are mastering social media, the first truly global institution that has ever been developed. They follow the images they see and the virtual relationships they build with travel and live interaction. While this is far from a universal phenomenon, it is a growing one. Many poor young people can see global images, but don't have resources to touch them. Still, travel has become a mass phenomenon. In the 1950s and 1960s, jet travel was limited to the rich and high-level business executives making relatively rare deals. Today, many people, including those who do not occupy executive suites, travel for business. We are all aware of the use of social media and travel by terrorists and criminals, but I guarantee you the positive and beneficial use of these technologies far exceed the use by criminals. (My favorite positive image is the opening and closing montage of the film Love Actually, depicting friends and families reuniting at an airport.)

And we benefit from the exchange and ideas generated due to air travel. The answer to environmental problems is not typically to eliminate the behaviors that cause the problems, but to study the impact of pollution on the planet's wellbeing, regulate the behaviors that cause pollution, and then develop new technologies and practices to comply with regulations. We have had a great deal of success in pursuing this approach to environmental sustainability. In the United States, air pollution, water pollution, and the releases of toxics into the environment have all been reduced as our economy has grown. Many parts of the country are reducing greenhouse gas emissions while they increase energy efficiency and modernize their energy system. Once the Courts permit the Clean Power Plan, we will see even more progress on greenhouse gas reduction.
Clinton And Trump Debate On Bitter Ayotzinapa Anniversary

Rights advocates will need to mobilize no matter who wins election.

The first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is taking place on the anniversary of the September night, two years ago, when 43 Mexican students were violently attacked and "disappeared" by police, military and criminal gangs in Iguala, Mexico.

That's important, because whether or not the candidates even talk about Mexico on Monday night, the complex relationship between the United States and Mexico has become a high profile electoral issue. But the Ayotzinapa tragedy -- so emblematic of the toxic mixture of political repression and impunity that has accompanied drug war militarization and free trade neo-liberalism -- has not been part of the debate.

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There is a disconnect because neither candidate is speaking honestly about the brutal crisis confronting our southern neighbor or the ways U.S. economic and military policies have made it worse. And no one is proposing anything that will make things better.



Empty Desks at Ayotzinapa College Commemorate Missing Classmates



Donald Trump launched his campaign with an explicit attack on Mexicans and has kept up a racist drumbeat ever since. His best-known campaign promise is to build a wall on the border with Mexico. He also claims he will force non-specific changes in NAFTA "to help American workers" that are more likely to further advantage economic elites.

Trump is bad, provides a poison role model to American children, and deserves utter repudiation. But defeating Trump will not magically fix disastrously misguided Mexico policies developed over many decades.

President Obama inherited the Bush-Clinton-Bush Mexico policies that have effectively enthroned NAFTA, sidelined democratic reform, and institutionalized a vicious and destabilizing drug war.

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In his first term, Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton backed Felipe Calderon's disastrous escalation of the drug war. At the same time, the administration continued building border barriers, both physical and electronic, while deporting Mexicans at a record pace.

In the case of Ayotzinapa, President Obama threw a lifeline to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Pena faced a rising tide of dissent, as the gruesome facts of the attacks on the students became publically known. When Obama embraced Pena at a January 2015 White House meeting, it conferred an imperial stamp of approval that helped Pena retain his grip on power while deep-sixing any chance of a rigorous investigation of the Ayotzinapa crimes.



Honduran Garifuna speaker at Ayotzinapa College, representing the five nation Caravan for Peace, Life and Justice, April 2016

So while you are watching Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump make their cases, take a minute to think about the parents all over Mexico whose deepest desire is to see their children alive again.

No matter who wins the American election, Mexico's emergency will not end. Trump could make things even worse, but in either case, we will need to continue the struggle to end the drug war, reform trade policies (to give relief to workers on both sides of the border), and developing comprehensive immigration reforms --that prioritize the kinds of bi national economic development that creates more options for people to stay, and prosper, at home.

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Ericka Pittman in many ways is like a complicated melody -- there are layers to experience and the more you engage you'll hear various notes in different ways.

She's tough yet vulnerable, strong yet gentle, luxury with a mix of grit. Her life has created the perfect blend of experiences that allow her to simultaneously be a leader in one of the largest hip-hop empires and stay a powerful feminine force that many young women look to for guidance.

At first connection, Ericka comes off quick, she moves fast and if you don't keep up you may get left. The more you speak to her it becomes evident that she has high expectations of herself and everyone around her. Yet while she has these expectations she's committed that everyone that enters her sphere wins.

With a bit more time you notice that underneath the hard exterior and her intrinsic requirement for excellence is a softness and gentleness that just wants the best for people.

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As Vice President of the Chairman's Office at Combs Enterprises, Pittman's job includes a mixture of strategy, operations, marketing, and a ton of multi-tasking. It's her job to liaise between her boss Sean Combs, 22 on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list and the heads of his nine portfolio brands that encompass his empire.

CREATE caught up with Ericka in between LA meetings. We spoke everything from branding to her greatest life lesson and what femininity truly means -- on an intellectual level.

CREATE: In your own words what does your role as VP of the Chairman's Office at Combs Enterprises entail?



Pittman: My role is to bridge the communication between our portfolio brands and the Chairman. We have nine companies -- Sean John, Sean John Fragrances, Revolt TV, AquaHydrate, Ciroc, DeLeon, Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Films, and Blue Flame the Agency.

I also work in figuring out cross-synergistic strategies across company brands for efficiencies. For example, we make sure that, if we are executing Revolt Music Conference, the other brands are aware of what the entire organization is doing and that we're maximizing our Chairmans' presence and exposure for all of the brands.

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CREATE: What does it take to get to a place where your boss essentially hand picks you and creates a role just for you?



Pittman: Something that was communicated to me was that I was in a place, after six years, of checking the boxes of everything that was required of me, specifically from him.

Personally, for me, it was a function of being excellent in everything that I did for and throughout the organization. At that point, I already had the privilege and the honor of working on every single one of our businesses under the portfolio in some capacity.

Because of that, I have a bit of perspective on each of the business lines and each of their objectives, their consumer targets, and the strategies that we set forth over the years for each of them.

I can look at each of the businesses and see where we can cross wires and create efficiencies to create a bigger and more dynamic message for everyone involved.



CREATE: How do you approach designing and building brands?

Pittman: The first think you always have to ask yourself in any brand building exercise, is ' "Where is the hole, where is the white space, what's missing in what I'm trying to do?"

Whether it's creating another vodka or being a female empowerment speaker these things aren't new concepts - it's really about identifying what's missing in that space and figuring out whether or not you or the brand you're creating fills that void.

Identify a niche by backing into what is needed from the market. Finding your white space in any scenario is the first step to creating a brand.

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Honing in on where the area for opportunity is, figuring out how your brand fits that niche, and figuring out a solution for that particular space are the three components of successfully building out a brand.

CREATE: You have an upcoming book titled, "What Mommy Never Told You: A Young Woman's Guide to the Next Phases of Life ". What caused the desire to help young women in this way?

Pittman: Often times, we've had very rigid rules and parameters around how to be a young girl or woman. Advice like -- use your inside voice, cross your legs, head up, shoulders back, legs crossed, graduate from college, get a good job, find a husband.

Then life happens - you become an adult, you've checked most if not all of the standard boxes, and there's no guidebook or rule on what to do next.

I thought it was important to create an easy going, easy to read guide for young women, based on my experience on what has and hasn't worked in my life.

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It's everything from career to finances to relationships looking at, "what's next?"

I haven't gotten married at 26 or 30 years old, what does that mean for me? I've been a coordinator or a marketing manager at this job -- how do I transition into the next role in my career.



CREATE: I think we all can relate to wondering, what's next? What type of nuggets or personal advice would you give young women in creating their own path?

Pittman: I think it's a couple of things.

Number one is to be a solutions-based employee. Identify the problems; it's fine to do that. More importantly, work to identify a solution. Finding solutions often times are the things that get you the gold medal.

If people revere you as a problem solver or a solutions-based contributor they will seek your input and guidance in certain matters that don't have anything to do with your core skill-set. This will introduce you to new opportunities.

Another thing I would say is to always close the circle if you're working on a project make sure that you're committed to the project -- see it through. Make sure you do your work with excellence, at the same time make sure you're in tuned with other people that are involved with the project and figure out how you can help them to make sure that the entire project is a success.

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The third thing I would say is, simply, be excellent. Do your best work, put your best foot forward, and the work will speak for itself.



CREATE: You made an important decision in your grandmother's passing. Can you tell us about the promise you made to your and how it has impacted your life?

Pittman: Maybe six or seven months before my grandmother passed away she pulled out this beaded gown and was very prescriptive about what she wanted to wear in her casket.

At the time I said wow, "this is just so morbid like why are you even talking about this."

She said, "It's not a big deal, but I want you to know where the dress is, that I would like to wear in my casket."

That's the vein of how this woman lived. She was very clear about the type of life she wanted to live, the things she wanted to do in her life, and how she wanted to operate. And she lived a really full, amazing life.

I gave my grandmother's eulogy and one of the things that I considered in her passing was, "What are they going to say about me at my eulogy when I'm laying in a coffin and there are no more opportunities to be exactly who I want to be."

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It gave me this sobering mortality moment that said, "I have to live my life out loud. I have to be fully and wholly who I am through the line, at work, at home, no matter where I am. I have to be me, authentically and boldly."

I realized it wasn't until I embraced that part of my life, the vulnerable side of life that I was really going to achieve success and be the type of person that I want to be.

CREATE: That takes so much courage! You mentioned vulnerability. One of the things you speak of often is a woman leveraging the feminine in business, not just from a physical perspective but also from an intellectual one.

Pittman: Sexuality and femininity -- I talk about it a lot because very few women really understand the difference between the two and they are both powerful and equally ours to possess and use at our will.

There's far more strength in femininity than ever could be in sexuality. If women could learn to embrace the difference and learn how to use femininity, they have an added advantage to their counterpart.

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When I say that femininity is cerebral, it's about how we're hardwired to think. If you look at some of the qualities surrounding femininity we're nurturers, we have empathy, for the most part, we're great multi-taskers, we're able to combine thoughts and ideas in a way that creates synergy.

Men compartmentalize and take on tasks in a way that is very separate and often fragmented, not in a negative way, but that's how men approach situations.

Women have the ability to see every aspect and how one is going to affect the other because we are so nurturing. We can process the impact that a decision might make on four or five other things in a way that doesn't necessarily connect with men.

If we can use these tools in a business setting we have an added advantage.

CREATE: What do you want people to know about Ericka Pittman?

Pittman: That they don't already know? I want people to know that I authentically believe in doing well by doing good. I don't just say it, I really work towards helping people every single day of my life.

Anyone that knows me intimately knows that I'm the person that will put a quarter in a meter that's running low because I don't want somebody to get a ticket. I come across stringent sometimes but at the core of who I am, I care about what happens to people.

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CREATE: I get that. If you were to describe your life in movie title what would it be?

Pittman: I don't have any super fancy titles. But I think, "The Concrete Road" might be a good one because I am from the school of hard knocks.

While I lived a great childhood, I didn't grow up in the best neighborhoods. I've also been raised, nurtured, and guided to be a very gentle, spiritual, and feminine soul.



As a result -- I have this exterior that's really concrete and rigid and a bit rugged but at the core of who I am is very soft and demure and pure and kind inside.
In Nicaragua, 28-year-old Ana lived with her two children in a shack made partly of cardboard. Her children "never told their friends where they lived," Ana says, "because they were ashamed that the walls were full of holes."

Seeking to improve the lives of her family, Ana turned to Habitat for Humanity. She sought a series of microloans to improve her home incrementally. While her husband, Francisco, works abroad and sends money to Ana, she has set up a small beauty salon to earn additional money to pay off the loans.

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Addressing access to safe and decent housing is critical to helping people and families like Ana climb out of poverty. Currently, over 300 million urban households worldwide lack proper housing or are financially stretched by housing costs.

Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere is the first of 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development adopted last year by world leaders. At Habitat, we not only embrace the goal of eradicating poverty, we especially support Goal 11: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Next month in Quito, Ecuador, world leaders will finalize a second global strategy that builds on the 17 Global Goals and provides a path to achieve many of them in urban areas. Habitat III - the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development - will bring together leaders from 193 countries to meet and renew their commitment to sustainable urban development and discuss new challenges and solutions.

Through conversations, sharing and negotiations, the UN Member States agreed on a New Urban Agenda that will define a global urban strategy for the next 20 years.

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What's next?

With the New Urban Agenda in place, the conversation now shifts toward its implementation and holding governments accountable to commitments made. For our part, Habitat will work to reduce poverty and foster more sustainable cities. In the coming years, we commit to:

1)A new urban approach. By 2030, nearly two thirds of the world will be living in urban areas and the number of people living in slums continues to grow. To address this, Habitat has adopted a new urban approach to promote sustainable cities. The approach is based on the premise that there are eight principles that are universal and essential for good urban and housing development, which can be implemented through various contextually adapted practices.

2)Global advocacy campaign. Housing accounts for more than 70 percent of land use in most cities, yet 1 billion people in cities around the world lack secure land rights. Habitat's Solid Ground global advocacy campaign will raise awareness and improve policies and systems around access to land for shelter for 10 million people, with a focus in four key areas: secure tenure, slum upgrading, disaster resilience and gender equality.

3)Inclusive housing markets. Government funding and private philanthropy alone cannot meet the shelter needs of the world's population - local markets are critical. Through our market development products and services, Habitat will accelerate and facilitate better functioning inclusive housing markets to enable over 8 million people to access improved shelter solutions by 2020.

4)Increase access to housing for 40 million people. By 2020, we will implement a wide array of community development strategies, advocacy initiatives and market development approaches, increasing housing access and affordability to housing for nearly 40 million people.

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Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity welcomes the adoption of both the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda. In a world that is rapidly urbanizing, these ambitious plans provide a roadmap for the next two decades. With your help, let's ensure we live up to the challenge.

To learn more visit solidgroundcampaign.org.
Today's Buffalo News print edition devotes its entire front page to the indictment of prominent Buffalo businessman Louis Ciminelli and eight others on federal charges of bribery and fraud in relation to their participation in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" program. The news story is accompanied by the usual "perp walk" photograph, showing Ciminelli following his attorney past the metal detector and conveniently under the "Probation and Pretrial Services" sign at the federal building downtown.

It all seems just a little too convenient for those of us who have long predicted a disastrous end for the governor's billion-dollar boondoggle. Since the plan was first rolled out in February 2013, Solar City's stock has skyrocketed from around $15 per share to a peak of $84 a year later (just as Cuomo's subsidies kicked in) and then plummeted to back to Earth after several quarters of dismal earnings reports.

Solar City is the recipient of 75% of the Buffalo Billion's largesse and its failure to produce products people buy voluntarily, without government incentives, has it looking like another Solyndra before its state-subsidized Buffalo factory is even built. Should it blow up soon after the governor handed it $750 million in taxpayer funds, the peasants just might get out their pitch forks. At that point, heads will have to roll and nothing satisfies a mob like the fall of a successful businessman.

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But let's not forget the real cause of this disaster, whenever it finally occurs: central economic planning by the government (whether federal, state or local). That's what killed Buffalo during the post-WWII era and that's what could kill it again, despite the organic revival happening outside the Cuomo's crony capitalist debacle.

When the government directs capital, whether towards "green energy," manufacturing or "infrastructure," it is overriding the choices of millions of people who have already decided not to spend their dollars on those projects. It should come as no surprise, then, that when the government finally stops intervening and allows people to spend money as they wish, the government's "investment" turns sour.

Not only has society lost the money wasted on the government's unsustainable project, but it has lost the viable projects consumers would otherwise have funded had their money not been taxed and spent by the government. That's called "opportunity cost," something college freshman learn on about their third day in Economics 101.

Lest anyone remember those lessons when the Buffalo Billion goes up in flames, we now have an alternate narrative the perpetrators can promote to avert attention from themselves. "It was all those greedy businessmen and a few bad apples in the government who ruined everything," they'll say. "Otherwise, it would have worked."

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Sure. For the first time ever.

This writer is reminded of Martin Sheen's immortal quip from the classic Apocalypse Now, "charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets in the Indy 500." So, too, is charging businessmen with bribery when the government starts handing out hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds.

Businessmen, like everyone else, respond to incentives. In a free market, they innovate and improve because pleasing customers is the only way for them to make profits. But in a government-directed economy, it's not customers they have to please, but politicians. And politicians don't need innovation or improvement. They need campaign contributions, kickbacks and other kinds of political support.

An even closer Hollywood analogy might be A Few Good Men, where a high-ranking colonel orders two enlisted men to carry out unofficial discipline on a fellow marine and then cuts them loose to face charges alone when the marine is unintentionally killed.

That movie loosely follows the story of the real-life British soldiers charged with murder in an earlier film, Breaker Morant. There, it is a high-ranking British commander, Lord Kitchener, who orders his troops to take no prisoners and then turns his back on them for political reasons when they are brought up on charges.

The latter film was based on a book written by Edward Witton, one of the defendants, called Scapegoats of the Empire.

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We don't know if the defendants are guilty or not. They're indicted, not convicted. But whatever the facts of the case turn out to be, one thing is certain. We'll never see a picture of the architect of this disaster walking under a "Probation and Pre-trial Services" sign.
Do you eat KIND Bars, those ubiquitous fruit and nut bars wrapped in distinctive striped packaging? There's a good chance you do since they are the fastest growing snack company in the US. Last week, I heard Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND Snacks, speak here in Jerusalem about his vision as a corporate citizen, and I was encouraged by what he said.

I was hopeful hearing his vision not only for a healthier society, but also for a peaceful one defined by living in balance with the planet. Lubetzky has real credibility in this sphere. He isn't just the founder of KIND Bars; he's also the founder of The PeaceWorks Foundation, whose mission includes "creative and innovative efforts to foster understanding, tolerance and co-existence in regions of conflict through concrete and practical methodologies."

Over the past six years, I have seen first-hand in Israel how joint projects with shared economic and environmental goals can help overcome mistrust and build connection where it seemed impossible. The organization I founded and direct, The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), organized six Jerusalem Eco Fairs earlier this year, bringing together Jews, Christians, and Muslims to buy and sell locally-made ecological products and services. The fairs were a model of cooperation built around a shared vision and goal, and it's a model proven to work.

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We at ICSD also organize ecological tours of Jerusalem's Kidron Valley, employing both Israeli and Palestinian guides and visiting Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. In the course of these tours participants experience how all people in Jerusalem, regardless of faith tradition, share a common land and a common home. In the same vein, Peaceworks believes that the power of "mutually beneficial economic initiatives can create good relations between rivaling peoples in the same way that business partners anywhere profit from cooperation in today's marketplace."

Daniel said his environmental concern stems from his desire to leave his children a healthy planet, and it's obvious that environmental awareness permeates how he runs his business. He spoke about the importance of the dual-bottom line - companies being economically profitable AND socially impactful. KIND tries to do this in a variety of ways, including selling products that the FDA recognizes as 'healthy,' and having KIND Causes that supports a range of social ventures. Daniel posts about environmental sustainability and social welfare on his personal blog. How many CEOs of major American companies have a blog with an 'environment' section, with articles on bee colony decline, climate change, and ecological food production?

Even environmentally aware businesses have challenges, and KIND is no different. For example, KIND Snacks is now a significant player in the almond market, purchasing 1% of all the almonds grown in the world. So they have to figure out how to maintain a supply of almonds in a way that is both sustainable and affordable.

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The majority of the almonds KIND uses - and they use a LOT - come from California. Almonds are a water-intensive crop: it takes about a gallon of water to grow just one almond. And California, which is in the midst of a prolonged and extreme drought, is the #1 producer of almonds in the world, and the leading supplier to KIND. Lubetsky and his environmentally friendly vision of KIND have to grapple with the multiple challenges this presents. But even with this challenge, there's a plus here.

As Eric Holthaus wrote in Slate, "For now, California's unique Mediterranean climate is almost ideal for almonds to flourish. Yes, almonds use a lot of water, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Almonds are much more efficient water-users, per calorie, than dairy or beef, for example. Replacing a glass of cow's milk with almond milk is a net gain for the environment."

Replacing an egg-and-sausage muffin fast food breakfast with a fruit-and-nut bar is also a net gain environmentally. In the midst of figuring out how to be an environmentally positive corporate citizen, KIND is helping consumers make good choices ever easier with their commitment to not just doing well, but also to doing good. I'm encouraged by their business model built on social and ecological values, and hope they are a model for others.
Deming: While R-CAT stalls, other improvement projects move forward

Credit for a job well done benefiting taxpayers coupled with unbelievable bureaucratic delays is the subject of this week's column.
Early Monday morning Drake's highly anticipated short film "Please Forgive Me," which loosely accompanies his last album "Views" was released as an Apple Music exclusive. It joins 70 other Apple Music exclusives since launch.

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Drake's short 23 minute film "Please Forgive Me" has been released as an Apple Music exclusive. It was co-direct by Anthony Mandler (Rihanna, Beyonce).

According to Rolling Stone:

"The first half of the film borrows heavily from the 1993 drama Indecent Proposal, with Drake's girl, played by Belgian model Fanny Neguesha, offered $1 million to spend the night with a shadowy millionaire. However, instead of fulfilling the parameters of the deal, Drake, his girl and associate Popcaan take out the liaison at the rendezvous point and make off with the cash.

The rapper then goes to return the money to the pissed-off crime boss, and that's when all hell breaks loose in the short film, leading to a violent, explosive conclusion."
Social Music Company BandLab Buys Major Stake In Rolling Stone

Even as streaming has helped the music industry right itself, rock journalism is still undergoing major upheaval. In the latest chapter, a Singapore-based social music company acquired a substantial stake in venerable music magazine Rolling Stone.

BandLab Technologies, a Singapore-based social music company, has acquired a substantial minority stake in Rolling Stone music magazine.

According to the Wall Street Journal, BandLab acquired a 49% stake in the music magazine, but the full financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. However, BandLab's stake does not include ownership in Wenner Media LLC, Rolling Stone's corporate parent, which publishes magazines such as Us Weekly and Men's Journal.

As a part of the agreement, the two companies will form a new Singapore subsidiary called Rolling Stone International, which will include Rolling Stones 12 international licensees and which will be led by Meng Ru Kuok, BandLabs 28-year-old CEO and co-founder.

The stake in Rolling Stone will allow the storied music brand to expand into the live event, hospitality and merchandising businesses in Asian markets where BandLab already has a footprint, the WSJ said. Rolling Stone, like many print publications, is seeking to diversify away from print media, as advertising moves online.

BandLab's flagship product is a free app based social platform with a global community of musicians and fans who create and collaborate on music. It's a part of BandLab Technologies, whose brands cover musical instruments and accessories, web, mobile and social applications and commerce.

Everyone is trying to figure out the new business model, Gus Wenner, a senior exec at Wenner Media told the WSJ.

via CelebrityAcccess

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Their technologies dont and wont last. Our art  if we do it right  will.  T Bone Burnetts AmericanaFest Keynote

Bashing Spotify and YouTube is easy. But T Bone Burnett did much more than that during his keynote address given at AmericanaFest, the Americana Music Festival & Conference last week in Nashville. He issued a call to arms, while reminding his fellow creators that "art is a holy pursuit."

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T Bone Burnett's keynote address given at AmericanaFest,

the Americana Music Festival & Conference, Thursday, September 22, 2016

I have come here today first to bring you love. I have come here to express my deep gratitude to you for your love of music and of each other. And, I have come here to talk about the value of the artist, and the value of art.

When Michaelangelo was painting the great fresco The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, he came under intense criticism from various members of the church, particularly the Pope's Master of Ceremonies- a man named Cesena- who accused him of obscenity. Michaelangelos response was to paint Cesena into the fresco in the lowest circle of hell with donkey ears and a serpent coiled around him devouring, and covering, his nether regions, so to speak.

Cesena was incensed and went to the Pope demanding he censor Michaelangelo for this outrage, and the Pope said, Well, lets go have a look at it. So, they went down to the chapel, and when the Pope stood in front of the fresco, he said to Cesena, You know, that doesnt look like you at all.

See, the Pope didnt want to jack around with Michaelangelo. Michaelangelo was making things that were going to last for hundreds of years. His stuff was going to outlive the Popes ability to do anything about it, so the Pope bowed to the inevitable. The Pope was afraid of a painter.

The painter could create another dimension between Heaven and Earth. Flat ceilings seemed to come down into the room in three dimensions. He painted rooms where priests and the church could sit and be transported to- and engulfed in- a higher realm, learning ancient stories- thoughts kept alive over centuries. And he did it by mixing together things he found laying around on the ground- sand and clay and plants. He was a fearsome alchemist.

"Art is a holy pursuit."

Art is not a market to be conquered or to bow before.

Art is a holy pursuit.

Beneath the subatomic particle level, there are fibers that vibrate at different intensities. Different frequencies. Like violin strings. The physicists say that the particles we are able to see are the notes of the strings vibrating beneath them. If string theory is correct, then music is not only the way our brains work, as the neuroscientists have shown, but also, it is what we are made of, what everything is made of. These are the stakes musicians are playing for.

I want to recommend a book to you  The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul.

John Wilkinson, the translator, in his 1964 introduction, describes the book this way- The Technological Society is a description of the way in which an autonomous technology is in the process of taking over the traditional values of every society without exception, subverting and surpassing those values to produce at last a monolithic world culture in which all technological difference and variety is mere appearance. This is the core of the dead serious challenge we face.

The first nuclear weapon was detonated on the morning of July 16, 1945, at 5:29 and 45 seconds.

At that moment, technocrats took control of our culture.

Trinity was the code name of that explosion. It was an unholy trinity.

Technology does only one thing  it tends toward efficiency. It has no aesthetics. It has no ethics. Its code is binary.

But everything interesting in life  everything that makes life worth living- happens between the binary. Mercy is not binary. Love is not binary. Music and art are not binary. You and I are not binary.

Parenthetically, we have to remember that all this technology we use has been developed by the war machine- Turing was breaking codes for the spies, Oppenheimer was theorising and realising weapons. Many of the tools we use in the studio for recording- microphones and limiters and equalizers and all that- were developed for the military. It is our privilege to beat those swords into plowshares.

"We live in a time in which artists are being stampeded

from one bad deal to another worse deal."

We live in a time in which artists are being stampeded from one bad deal to another worse deal. No one asks the artists. We are told to get good at marketing. I have to say- and I think I probably speak for every musician here- that I didnt start playing music because I sought, or thought it would lead to, a career in marketing.

And, as we are being told that, our work is being commoditized- the price of music is being driven down to zero.

I am working with a group called C3, the Content Creators Coalition run by Roseanne Cash and Jeffrey Boxer to develop an Artists Bill of Rights. Jeffrey is here today to meet afterward with anyone who wants to get into this. The first right artists have is the right to determine what medium they work in. The second is the right to set the price of their work.

Every person worthy of the name artist, from Rembrandt to Paul Cesanne to Picasso to Jackson Pollack

From William Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams to James Baldwin and Jack Kerouac

From Bach to Stravinski to Mahler to John Adams

Every one of those artists made art that to be understood, the world had to change.

They did not adapt to the world, the world had to adapt to them.

The technocrats suggest we crowd source.

I suggest we not.

The very thing an artist does is figure out what he likes.

"the digital tycoons look down on artists"

The technocrats- the digital tycoons  the iTopians  look down on artists. They have made all these tools and they think we should be grateful  subserviant even- and use their flimsy new tools happily to make them ever more powerful. But we can make art with any thing. We dont need their tools. Music confounds the machines.

So the iTopians have controlled the medium and the message for a generation now. And they are making a complete hash of things. The clearest and most pervasive proof of this is the psychedelic political season we are in, which we can see playing out in every election around the world.

Before the atom bomb, we had begun to project idealized versions of people up on screens, while the people whose images were projected would hide behind the screens, knowing they could never measure up.

After the atom bomb, we have automated that process. On facebook, everybody is a star. The idealistic, lysergic promise of the 1960s has been mechanized, allowing us to become ever more facile counterfeiters.

The mask has become the face.

Malcolm Muggeridge said that the kingdom Satan offers a man is to the kingdom of God as a travel poster to the place it depicts.

This internet technology that has been so wildly promoted as being the key, the final solution, to our freedom, has become our prison. What the false prophets of the internet said would replace governments and nation states and commerce, and create a free world of community and sharing, has led instead to a consolidation of wealth and power that makes the monopolies of the early 2oth Century- Morgan and Rockefeller and Carnegie- look weak and ineffective.

Ethan Zuckerman, the director of the MIT Media Lab has apologized for his part in creating what he calls a fiasco. Tim Berners Lee, who diagrammed the schematic for our current internet on a napkin, said at Davos last year that the internet needs to be rearchitected.

Our 21st Century communication network, regarded by its early adherents with a religious fervor, has been turned into a surveillance and advertising mecnanism. The World Wide Web is just that- a web that ensnares everyone who uses it.

Artists must not submit to the demands, or the definitions of, the iTopians.

Lastly, I am here to speak specifically about American music.

This country has been led by artists from Thoreau and Emerson through Walt Whitman to Woody Guthrie, through Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, to Presley and Dylan to The Last Poets and Kendrick Lamar. The Arts have always led the Sciences. Einstein said that Picasso preceded him by twenty years. Jules Verne put a man on the moon a hundred years before a rocket scientist did. Medieval stained glass windows are examples of how nanotechnology was used in the pre-modern era. Those artists were high technologists, and many other things- they were aestheticians, ethicists, conjurers, and philosophers, to name a few.

They took risks. Risks a technocrat could never take. Artists risk everything in everything they do. Risk is what separates the artist from the artisan. Art is not a career, it is a vocation, an inclination, a response to a summons.

We, in this country, have defined ourselves through music from the beginning  from Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier in the Revolutionary War, to The Star Spangled Banner in the War of 1812, to John Browns Body and the Battle Hymn of the Republic in the Civil War, to the incredible explosion of music of the last century that was called Jazz, or Folk Music, or Rock and Roll, or Country Music- because although our music has taken many different paths, it is all of a piece and a most important part of our national identity- of US.

Music is to the United States as wine is to France. We have spread our culture all over the world with the soft power of American music. We both have regions- France has Champagne, we have the Mississippi Delta. France has Bordeaux, we have the Appalachian Mountains. France has Epernay, we have Nashville. Recorded music has been our best good will ambassador. The actual reason the Iron Curtain fell, is because the Russian kids wanted Beatles records. Louis Armstrong did more to spread our message of freedom and innovation than any single person in the last hundred years. Our history, our language, and our soul are recorded in our music. There is no deeper expression of the soul of this country than the profound archive of music we have recorded over the last century.

This is the story of the United States: a kid walks out of his home with a song and nothing else, and conquers the world. We have replicated that phenomenon over and over. We could start with Elvis Presley, but we could add in names for hours- Jimmie Rodgers, Rosetta Tharpe, Johnny Cash, Howlin Wolf, Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Loretta Lynn, Chuck Berry, Hank Williams, Aretha Franklin, Jack White, Dr. Dre. That is the American Character. That is Johnny Appleseed.

At last years MusicCares tribute to Bob Dylan, Jimmy Carter said, Theres no doubt that his words of peace and human rights are much more incisive and much more powerful and much more permanent than any president of the United States. I believe that is undeniable.

Thats who the artists are. We cant forget that.

[Tech companies say:] "Were just going to go ahead and do this, and well sort it all out later

As they did with the atom bomb."

So, in conclusion, there is this sense that the technocrats are saying, Look, were just going to go ahead and do this, and well sort it all out later. As they did with the atom bomb.

As artists, it is our responsibility to sort it out now.

Barnett Newman said, Time passes over the tip of the pyramid. By that he meant that there is a lot of room at the bottom of the pyramid to put things, but that as time passes, gravity washes them down into the sand. But if you put something right on the tip of the pyramid, it stays there.

We aspire to put things on the tip of the pyramid. That is our preference- our prefered medium.

Digital is not an archival medium.

Technology is turning over every ten years. Their technologies dont and wont last.

Our art-if we do it right  will.

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At least six people have been injured after a gunman opened fire on commuters in Houston this morning, according to a Reuters report. The gunman was fatally shot by police.The gunman fired 20 to 30 shots in the parking lot of a shopping center in the upscale Houston neighborhood of West University Place, according to Reuters. All of the victims were inside their vehicles when they were shot.Active shooter scene still active but contained. Suspect DOA, the Houston Police Department tweeted.Several victims suffered gunshot wounds to their extremities, Reuters reported. There were a couple of more serious injuries as well. The victims were transported to area hospitals, and the extent of their injuries was not immediately known.There are no details so far on the identity of the gunman, Reuters reported.
Insurance companies in the UK are more confident than the wider financial sector according to a new report from PwC.It found that, despite a high level of concern about access to the European market once the UK leaves the EU, insurers see opportunity ahead with the acceleration of transformation change.The industry is focused on deepening relationships with domestic customers but is also intending to create jobs in the industry, especially given Londons importance as a global insurance center.However, PwCs UK insurance leader Paul Howe says that some insurers have some work to do when it comes to their workforce.It is surprising that a third of the industry has not yet taken steps to understand how the UK leaving the EU will impact its people. The sooner firms understand the potential impact, the sooner they can reassure staff and concentrate on making the most of the opportunities ahead, Howe said.Citi has completed the sale of its special purpose financial insurance business Financial Reassurance Company 2010, Ltd. to a subsidiary of global reinsurer Munich Re.Citi Holdings CEO Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi said, "This transaction is a positive outcome for Citi and joins this business with an industry leader, Munich Re. It also represents yet another step in our strategy to reduce the assets and businesses in Citi Holdings."The deal involves around $460 million of assets from Citis balance sheet although financial details of the transaction have not been released.The rising cost of homes in Canada compared to household incomes has prompted the financial regulator to propose a new framework to assess capital requirements for mortgage insurers.The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions says that it wants to ensure a more risk sensitive framework for federally regulated mortgage insurers to ensure they have enough capital to withstand potential defaults as rising house prices put pressure on household budgets.When house prices are high relative to borrower incomes, the new framework will require that more capital be set aside, said Superintendent Jeremy Rudin. Ultimately this will continue to provide a level of protection to both policyholders and unsecured creditors.OFSI is inviting stakeholders to submit comments until October 21, 2016.
The unrest in Charlotte over the death of Keith Scott eased somewhat Sunday, as the city lifted its curfew  but questions for business owners in the wake of the nearly week-long protests remain.Demonstrations in Charlotte erupted following the death of Scott, a 43-year-old black man, at the hands of police. Events in the altercation with officers remain disputed in spite of released videos, and protesting has involved broken windows, looting of local businesses and altercations with police officers.Some of the largest employers in the urban center of the city, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy allowed employees to work from home, and local news reported that a number of uptown Charlotte businesses were damaged or looted during violent protests.The rioting was so great, Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency and requested the assistance of the National Guard  actions that raise questions on just how personal and commercial insurance claims filed in the wake of the disaster will be handled.Fortunately for most victims of the violence, insurance experts believe traditional home, auto and business policies will cover the bulk of their losses.Damage due to riots or civil commotion is generally included in comprehensive auto coverage, homeowners policies and standard business property insurance policies, the Insurance Information Institute said during similar protests in Baltimore last year.Business interruption coverage, however  which covers lost income  is only triggered when the insured business incurs direct physical damage or the government shuts down an area due to property damage caused by a peril covered by the companys insurance policy that prevents customers or employees gaining access to the premises.It seems McCrorys declaration of emergency will satisfy this requirement, however.In the event of official declarations of emergency, businesses that havent sustained damage  but have lost profits  can file a claim that will be attended to by insurance companies.However, it is worth noting that even after a covered event, many BI policies have a waiting period of several days before coverage comes into play.Even once the business interruption coverage is triggered, it will not be retroactive to the date of the event, explained Jonathan Reich, an attorney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. In other worlds, for damage caused on Wednesday night, business interruption coverage will not begin until Saturday night. As a result, some losses will not be recoverable under the standard policy.Reich advised businesses with claims to take photographs and put their insurers on notice for any claims resulting from the Charlotte protests.The Charlotte riots are the latest in a public outcry against allegedly brutal police treatment of the black community, sparked by the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.
State Rep. William 'Smitty' Pignatelli speaks on some of the successes of this past legislative session.

End of Session Review: William 'Smitty' Pignatelli

LENOX, Mass.  State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli said despite a slow start to a short session, the Legislature was able to make some progress on big issues.



"It was an interesting session. We have two-year legislative sessions and it was a slow start to the session mainly because of the change in leadership in the Senate and we had a lengthy discord that is still going on about the rules and the joint rules of the Legislature," Pignatelli said. "That slowed our process down a little bit. ...



"But the second year was productive. There were a lot of things we left on the table because it was a short session."



The Lenox Democrat says his focus is mostly on district-oriented work and particularly boasted of the state's investment in MassWorks grant funding, which translated to multiple projects in Southern Berkshire County, and a new bridge replacement program.

"I love being in the district and what we can do in the district. My district did extremely well with MassWorks grants, bridges are being refurbished, roads are being rebuilt, infrastructure is being rebuilt," Pignatelli said.



The bridge program earmarked some state funds for small bridges throughout the state in the $800 million transportation bond bill. The competitive program allows towns access to $50 million set aside to replace bridges that are less than 20 feet long, but which can also be expensive. There are 74 such bridges in Pignatelli's district.



"While I even thought about filing an amendment to increase from 20 to 30 or 40 feet to be more reflective of the bridges that we have here, I realized we have an awful lot of bridges that are 20 feet or smaller and those bridges aren't eligible for federal dollars. So I think it is a good program," Pignatelli said.



On the larger scale, Pignatelli said a lot of progress is being made to tackle the opioid epidemic. The state strengthened the prescription monitoring program by making it easier for doctors to input information and allows them to be compared peer-to-peer on the amount of painkillers they are prescribing.



"I think it is somewhat reflective with the decrease in the Berkshires and statewide. But we still have a very serious problem with illegal drugs on the street that go beyond the prescriptions and medicine cabinets. Heroin is a very serious problem. Heroin is cheaper than a six-pack of beer," Pignatelli said.



The bill also gives patients the right to ask for non-opiate-based drugs and to ask pharmacists to fill prescriptions with fewer pills to avoid having to dispose of extras; sets a stewardship program for drug companies to pay for easy ways to get rid of the unused pills; calls for education in public schools about addiction; limits first-time prescriptions to seven days; and requires anyone admitted to the emergency room for an overdose to be evaluated within 24 hours.



Pignatelli says the state still needs to do more for people suffering from addiction and that starts with a recognition that it is a "societal problem." Otherwise, he said there tends to be a lot of denial and a stigma against those with addiction issues.



"I think we need to pay more attention and I think we need to recognize it, in my opinion, as a mental health issue. We need to break down those barriers of the stigma that is still very strongly there in society and we need to treat it as a mental health issue. We need to treat an addiction like this as we would treat breast cancer or a broken arm. Let's treat it fairly. Let's not stigmatize people and let's get them the treatment they need," Pignatelli said.



The state also passed an omnibus energy bill, which Pignatelli hoped would have gone even further in promoting renewable energy than it ultimately did. He was the co-sponsor of a failed bill that would have raised the solar cap even more that what was approved.



"I advocated for having no cap at all, just blow it off. That was a challenge. We passed an energy bill but we have so many applications in the pipeline that it is already getting maxed out. I always get disappointed with the utility companies. They are in the energy business but yet they are so narrow focused on where their energy comes from. I think all things should be on the table with a utility company, I would think they should be ahead of this," Pignatelli said. "They should be driving this agenda more so than the Legislature ...



"But since they are not doing it, we have to do it."



The cap was raised and the bill also calls for off-shore wind  while Pignatelli doesn't like wind projects in the Berkshires, he does like it off shore  and starts to look at more hydroelectricity. He also argued against language in the bill that would allow energy companies to charge ratepayers for the construction of a natural gas pipeline and he filed an amendment to grandfather reimbursements rates for existing solar projects for 20 years instead of 15.



Pignatelli sits on the Ways and Means Committee, which reviews every bill for its financial impact. While unemployment may have dropped to 3.9 percent, Pignatelli says underneath that the economy is still "fragile." State revenue figures have been coming in below expectations through most of the year and poses a challenge to the budget; another round of mid-year cuts is expected.



"It has become a delicate time in tracking revenues. As we sit here now in September, the governor and the Legislature is looking to see the September revenues. The last three or four months have dropped dramatically. We had to make adjustments just from April to July, when the house did their budget to when the Senate did their budget to July 1 when it started, because revenues started to drop," Pignatelli said.



"If they continue to drop and don't rebound, the governor is going to be making some 9C cuts. A lot of things we talked about in the budget may get cut in September, October, November."



The Berkshire Youth Development Program was one initiative Pignatelli successfully argued for to received double the amount of funding, from $100,000 to $200,000. But he now fears that may be on the chopping block with another round of 9C cuts, discretionary spending cuts made by the governor. He also supports an educational program specifically eyed for parents and teens when it comes to marijuana usage. That coincides with the ballot question looking to legalize marijuana for recreational use. While towns are raising the age of tobacco to 21, Pignatelli says teens are still getting access to cigarettes and he doesn't want the same to happen with marijuana.



"We have to be prepared for it. If it doesn't [pass] then it doesn't. But it doesn't take away the need to understand what marijuana is all about. It is decriminalized. We have medicinal marijuana, that is still evolving, and now we are voting to have recreational use of marijuana. I think people need to understand it and understand the consequences and that you don't want your 12-year-old smoking marijuana," Pignatelli said.



That, too, many be on the chopping block. He also co-sponsored a bill to create a progressive income tax that did not pass. But bills he sponsored to increase the earned income tax credit did pass and were signed into law in August 2015.

Maybe Pignatelli's most notable effort in the last two years is promoting shared services among the towns. Currently, he is looking to pass a bill with language to eliminate any conflict-of-interest concern cited by the Ethics Commission about sharing town administrators. Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge have been discussing the possibility of sharing such a manager but can't because of ethics concerns.



"Between these three towns, we are talking $400,000 salaries and benefits. The mayor in the city of Pittsfield makes $90,000. The governor of Massachusetts makes $150,000 with a $40 billion budget," Pignatelli said.



Already Lee and and Lenox have agreed to share a building inspector. Sheffield and New Marlborough made a joint purchase for equipment. Pignatelli says sharing such services in small towns is going to be the key to sustainability, especially in the wake of dropping populations.



"I think shared services is our sustainable future. What I have always advocated for is that it maintains each community's identify, it streamlines and enhances services, it saves taxpayer money. That's how I look at it," Pignatelli said.



The governor's Community Compact program includes tools for towns to start looking at those types of shared opportunities and 17 of Pignatelli's towns signed on. There was a group signing with the governor and all of those towns last year to celebrate the accomplishments.



"It takes leadership at the local level. It takes an acknowledgement that we can't keep going the way we are going. We have to embrace new ideas and we not only need to think differently about how our services are being delivered, we need to act differently. That is what we've been doing in the Southern Berkshires for over a year now," Pignatelli said.



He is currently unopposed for the next election and he is preparing for the next session. He is looking to refile a bill that creates a mid-level practitioner for dental work to improve access in the Berkshires for oral care. The new position would be able to do more than a dental hygienist but less than the dentist.



"It certainly is a problem here in the Berkshires. Hillcrest Dental has done a good job accepting MassHealth but 50 percent of the dentist in Berkshire County right now are either at or close to retirement age," Pignatelli said.



He is also putting up a bill to manage insurance coverage of acupuncture, which he says has been effective in treating pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. He says a strong painkiller pill should be the last thing to be prescribed and would like there to be more holistic approaches to health care.



Bills he got passed included requiring insurance companies to cover long-term antibiotic treatment for those suffering from Lyme disease. Another one recognizes Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange but died years later. The bill extends eligibility for property abatements for Gold Star spouses of that veteran group.



On local bills, he passed one that allows Mount Washington to install broadband without the needed municipal light plant. In Tyringham, he passed a local bill allowing the town to only pay health insurance on employees working 20 hours or more. Health insurance costs have posed a challenge for small towns with "very part-time" workers.



The next big issue, Pignatelli says, is "a lot of our infrastructure is coming of age at the same time at 70 to 80 years old. The town of Lee, just as an example, can't afford $1, $2, $4 million for a bridge when they know they have 13 other bridges they have to deal with. I think the state has to recognize that," he said.
Lee Premium Outlets have seen some additions before the holiday season ramps up.

Biz Briefs: Lee Outlets Expand Before Holiday Season

Outlet additions: Popular apparel retailer Guess has opened a factory store at the Lee Premium Outlets, and Toys 'R Us Express and Ten Thousand Villages are open at the center through the fall and holiday shopping seasons.



Guess offers a full range of denim, apparel and accessories for women, men and kids and, with a presence in over 80 countries, is a truly global brand that will appeal to the shoppers from far and wide who visit Lee Premium Outlets. The store is located on Main Street at the center, between Johnston & Murphy and Lindt.



Ten Thousand Villages, open through Dec. 31, showcases handmade gifts, jewelry, home decor, art and sculpture, textiles, serveware and personal accessories. The unique products and offerings represent and benefit the artisans of diverse cultures from across the globe and Ten Thousand Villages, an independent nonprofit, is one of the largest fair trade organizations in the world.



Open since the spring, Toys 'R Us Express offers toys for a variety of ages and this location features price matching and lay-away. The store will be open through Dec. 31 as well.







The business of beauty: Williamstown natives Jaycee Markovic and Christine Walsh have opened Berkshire Natural Beauty, an organic skincare company that focuses on unique combinations of fresh natural ingredients such as blueberries and cranberries that are natural antioxidants and pomegranate, rhubarb and dandelions that are bioflavonoids.



Markovic is a cosmetologist with more than 20 years of experience in skin, hair and nail care and is registered cosmetology instructor through the state of Massachusetts. The idea for the company began when the two women found it difficult to find quality organic products at a reasonable price. They began researching the best natural ingredients for your skin and how the different ingredients worked together, and then they researched a manufacturer who had all of the qualities that they were looking for.



Berkshire Natural Beauty offers body lotions, anti-aging cremes, aromatherapy bath crystals, face scrubs and even an all-natural heat gel to soothe sore muscles. They plan to add body scrubs, organic soaps and essential oils in the near future as well as gift baskets for the up-coming holiday season. All of the products are made to order in the United States; there is no animal testing and their manufacturing partner is powered with 100 percent renewable wind energy. Information can be found on their website.






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
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In the aftermath of the 2009 global financial crisis, international financial regulatory bodies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision scrambled for answers to one key question: what caused the crisis. Although there were many causes, regulators uniformly concluded that a lack of sound corporate governance practices was one of the root causes of the crisis. It was said that boards of directors that were asleep at the helm, so-called runaway CEOs, figurehead audit and risk committees, and a lack of checks on moral hazard, were to blame for many of the problems.

This led to a re-evaluation of existing corporate governance rules and policies in the financial services industries, specifically in the context of risk-based supervision, Basel III and Solvency II-type systems. Costa Rica has not escaped this phenomenon. Recently, Costa Rica's financial services regulator, the National Financial System Supervisory Council (El Consejo Nacional de Supervision del Sistema Financiero, or CONASSIF), proposed a new set of corporate governance regulations that would replace existing rules for banks, insurers, pensions managers and securities market participants.

Key features

On January 19 2016, CONASSIF published a draft regulation on corporate governance. Under Costa Rican law, before adopting new regulations, CONASSIF must publish a draft and hear observations from supervised financial entities and the general public. Sources close to CONASSIF indicate that banking and insurance superintendents are the main drivers behind the adoption of these new regulations. Both have been pushing for a modernisation of Costa Rica's financial services regulatory system to bring it closer to a risk-based approach.

The new regulation would repeal the existing corporate governance rules adopted in June 2009. The rules currently in force are much more prescriptive in nature; they spell out a series of requirements that all companies, regardless of their size, industry, scale and risks, must meet. CONASSIF deems this approach outmoded.

CONASSIF has looked to the Organisation for OECD guidance papers on corporate governance and seeks to establish regulations based on principles as opposed to rigid checklists. The draft says that regulation should provide orientation with respect to the supervisor's expectations in connection with the management of regulated entities and empower the board of directors, as the primary party in charge of the organisation, in the definition of the way in which the principles contained in the regulation should be satisfied.

Despite this intended focus, many in the industry feel that the draft regulations still carry significant prescriptive content. This has been one of the main criticisms of the draft.

The regulations will apply to all sectors, including: state- and privately-owned commercial banks; non-bank financial entities; savings and loans associations and co-ops; currency exchanges; securities traders; mutual fund managers; securitisation companies; insurers; reinsurers; insurance brokers and agents; pension fund managers; and, somewhat unexpectedly, non-financial securities issuers.

One of the main features that distinguishes the proposed regulations from the existing rules is the introduction of proportionality and differentiation criteria. These will allow each supervised entity, depending on its size, ownership structure, business and type, to define its own risk profile and assess the potential impact of its operation on third parties.

The draft sets out definitions of the duties of care and loyalty. Although both duties exist in Costa Rica as derived from basic commercial law principles, this is an attempt to formulate the duties in black and white. The draft also provides for a series of duties incumbent on boards of directors and sets minimum guidance on the profile that candidates should meet to be eligible to hold a position on the board, board member selection, the role of the chairperson, and so on.

The new rules require companies to define and state their risk appetite through a formal risk appetite statement, which includes quantitative and qualitative parameters. This would need to be managed through effective risk management mechanisms, including lines of defence and an entity risk manager. A new compliance unit or function will also be necessary. Internal and external audit rules are reinforced.

The new rules also require the adoption of a conflicts of interest policy. They refer to the role and duties of various committees, including audit, risk, appointments, and compensation.

Other key features include the provision of guidance on the duties and qualifications that a general manager must meet, as well as compensation, transparency and accountability parameters. Special guidance is provided for the corporate governance of financial groups or conglomerates.

What to expect

CONASSIF is in the process of reviewing all of the feedback received from the affected sectors. The core of the regulations is unlikely to vary, since this new corporate governance approach is a key component of CONASSIF's risk-based supervision plan. However, there may be some changes to the wording of the rules to ensure that the so-called principles-based approach is not trumped by an overly prescriptive, checklist-type requirement.

The other components of the risk-based supervision system (solvency and market conduct) have either been updated (such as for insurers, which have had new solvency rules since 2014) or are in the process of being developed (such as certain market conduct regulations that are being drafted).

The public consultation period has now passed and the final version of the new regulation will likely be adopted this year. Although the new regulation would come into effect six to 12 months after adoption, financial services companies are already moving to get a grip on what this new regulation will mean. For now, companies are advised to familiarise themselves with the proposed requirements, and assess how much their current corporate governance systems and culture would need to adapt to comply. They should set up a plan to ensure that the required adaptations can be accomplished with the minimum cost. Increases to board member duties and responsibilities may even prompt a shake-up of current boards of directors. Where companies do not yet have a risk manager, hiring one may become necessary.

The ultimate goal is for corporate governance rules to help businesses operate more effectively, while taking account of the interests of all of the company's stakeholders. While it is understandable that local regulators are seeking to modernise existing corporate governance rules, many in the Costa Rican financial services sector question whether Costa Rica requires state-of-the art rules that will come with a significant cost and administrative burden. With few exceptions, Costa Rica's financial entities have operated soundly for many decades with the existing corporate governance model. To revert to a metaphor, one may questions whether Costa Rican drivers really need a Ferrari. Or, indeed, whether one can actually drive a Ferrari on Costa Rican roads. Or would everyone be better served with a decent Fiat or Toyota, which is less costly, easier to drive and just as effective in getting from A to B.

Neftali Garro
Staying connected with friends and family, after having trekked to the top of Mt. Gulugod Baboy

Nothing can connect Filipinos better than a common pursuit  a love for adventure, a sense of community, and a deep appreciation for the countrys spell-binding beauty. Thats how Sino Pinas came into being, crossing over from being an online group to a thriving community of individuals who regularly go on treks and climbs across the archipelago. Thanks to reliable smartphones such as the Galaxy J5 and J7 (2016), which can almost magically receive signals even in places that are regarded as dead spots, Sino Pinas members are able to share images and videos of their adventures with all other Filipinos who share their passion for adventure and the great outdoors.

Recently, Sino Pinas roadtested the Samsung Galaxy J5 and J7 (2016) during a trip to the imposing Mt. Gulugod Baboy in Anilao, Batangas, where the phones signal never faltered, what with Signal Max that allows for wider signal coverage and clearer calls, and Ultra Data Saving that allows optimized data storage. With 48GB of memory, both phones enabled Sino Pinas to easily do what they came for  collect stunning images and videos of our beautiful country and share the stories that these tell with the rest of the world.

Lets hear how this story started:

Who is Sino Pinas? How did this group/venture/community start?

Sino Pinas is a community of Filipinos in quest of discovering the Philippines; its beauty, culture & people - one place at a time. It started out as an online conversations among instagrammers who share the same passion for photography and community-building. Sino Pinas officially started with an "Insta-walk" around the busy streets of Manila, trying to rediscover its scenic spots. From there we developed a small community who used our hashtag, #SinoPinas.

Describe your first hiking experience.

We didn't actually expect for Sino Pinas to grow that big that's why we initially did pure city walks. But 6 months after the foundation of Sino Pinas, we went out of town and brought almost 40 people to Corregidor. This was because we wanted to give people from Manila a unique kind of photowalk. And a few months after, together with the community that we built, we hiked Mt. Balagbag and Mt. Maranat in Rizal. It was another experience that was truly memorable. Our bonds with the community became tighter as we bravely faced the challenges of hiking up the mountain. It was a rewarding experience when we reached the summit. Then it was followed by an anniversary instameet of Sino Pinas in Mt. Pulag, another adventure that's definitely one for the books.

You guys obviously love the mountains and outdoors, but were sure that there are some modern elements you wish reached the mountains. What are these things?

To see the view from the summit is the goal of every adventurer. It's a bonus if we can capture the scenery in its full glory using our devices. And since it's the age of digital technology, I think it's normal for people to instantly share their experience to their social media accounts as soon as they arrived at the summit. So having a stable signal would be a great added element when taking on adventures.

How was your experience when you first impression on bringing the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) out on the mountains?

We took the phone out for a test drive last week when we trekked on Mt. Gulugod Baboy in Anilao, Batangas. It amazed me how helpful it is to get a signal to places where usually it can get difficult. I'm so glad we had it along for the whole experience.

Also, not all destinations that we got across always have reliable signal. This may prove to be inconvenient especially on sharing moments to family and friends. With the new Signal Max feature, this won't be an issue anymore!

Your IG followers are surely composed of travel enthusiasts like yourselves. Can you share a pro tip for first-time trekkers out there?

Pack lightly. Focus on just taking the essentials. It's no use enjoying the journey when when you're exhausted from the excess baggage you're carrying. Be in the moment, be one with nature. We're after the experience of the unexpected. Being alive. Being in the moment. Being here. And remember, leave no trace.

Whats that one thing that pushes you to reach the peak despite the grit and sweat?

Never mind getting all gritty and sweaty. It's part of the journey after all. It's always about conquering that next step, that next climb, that next summit. Seeing them getting accomplished one by one makes the difference instead of thinking of the might have beens.

For Filipinos, the ability to connect and build a sense of community always matter. Thats why Samsung Galaxy J Series (2016) -- effortlessly vanquishes their constant woes of poor signals, weak reception, and expensive data charges----make for trusty, reliable companions that one can depend on, whether up the mountains or on city streets, or wherever else one chooses to be.
American Society of Human Genetics and Mayo Clinic launch educational collaboration

Bethesda, Maryland - The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) and Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine (CIM) announced today a formal collaboration under which the two organizations will facilitate the use of genomics in medicine through the education of health professionals.

Genetics and genomics are evolving rapidly and reshaping significant areas of the healthcare landscape and medical education, says Joseph McInerney, executive vice president ASHG. To keep pace with these developments and translate them into healthcare, learners require accurate, current, and clinically useful information conveyed through high-quality educational products and programs, says McInerney.

As the individuals conducting research and implementing findings in the clinic, Mayo Clinic and ASHG members are particularly well suited to advancing genetic and genomic literacy at this significant inflection point in medical history, says Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B., Carlson and Nelson Endowed Director, CIM, and Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Professor of Cancer Research. By combining the expertise of our organizations and leveraging our resources collaboratively, we hope to fill this need and improve health outcomes.

The first joint ASHG-CIM educational program, targeted to OB-GYNs and related health professionals, will address the use of prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening in pregnant women. Analysis of cfDNA provides a method of non-invasive prenatal genetic screening by isolating DNA in a pregnant womans blood.

"Prenatal genetics is a rapidly moving area with unique clinical and ethical challenges. If we can help providers and patients have more comprehensive conversations around their prenatal screening and testing options, families can make the informed choices that are right for them, says Megan Allyse, Ph.D., assistant professor, Mayo Clinic Biomedical Ethics Program.

CfDNA testing has been marketed heavily by test manufacturers and rapidly adopted by clinicians, despite lingering concerns about inappropriate use and confusion about the interpretation of test results and how they should be communicated to patients, added Michael Dougherty, Ph.D., director of education, ASHG. A series of short online modules and point-of-care tools produced by ASHG and CIM will help health professionals better integrate this genomic technology into their practices.
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Eva Green is done with playing the girlfriend. So much so, in fact, that she has resolved to turn down any script lacking a female character that is equal to the man.

The French actress is best known for playing Daniel Craigs Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale but is now fed up with the stereotypical love interest role.

I dont want to be the woman in the script where it goes, Theres a beautiful, mysterious woman she told news.com.au. Just, OK, forget it. I think I would feel unhappy. Some people play it very well but I want to be as equal as a man, you know what I mean? Its nice not to play the girlfriend. Its exciting to be other.

Green, 36, will next be seen teaming up with Tim Burton once again (she first worked with him on 2012s Dark Shadows) for Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, in which she plays a woman who can transform into a bird.

I had a lot of fun playing her like Mary Poppins on speed, she said. Best of all, there is no love interest in sight.

Heres what some of Greens acting peers have to say about taking those her indoors roles:

Maisie Williams

There are a lot of roles that come in that are the girlfriend or the hot piece. It will say Derek: intelligent, good with kids, funny, really good at this and then it will say Sandra: hot in a sort of cute way and thats all you get. - Evening Standard, August 2015

Michelle Rodriguez

I have such a strong sense of self, there are certain lines I just wont cross. Im really picky about the parts I choose. I cant be the slut. I cannot be just the girlfriend. I cant be the girl who gets empowered because shes been raped. I cant be the girl who gets empowered and then dies. - NJ.com, March 2015

The strongest female characters in TV and film Show all 21 1 /21 The strongest female characters in TV and film The strongest female characters in TV and film Elsa in Frozen (Idina Menzel) This Disney hit does not involve Prince Charming coming to the rescue of a princess in distress. Instead, it focuses on the bond between two brave sisters who are far from defined by the men in their lives. Then of course there is the anthemic "Let It Go", sung triumphantly by Elsa as she decides to claim ownership of her identity and accept herself for who she truly is, regardless of hate from others. IMDB The strongest female characters in TV and film Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones (Emilia Clarke) The most credible contender for the Iron Throne is the diminutive yet fiercely powerful Daenerys.. She conquers armies, kingdoms and hearts by sticking to her principles, inspiring loyalty and remaining likeable as Khaleesi (Queen) despite making tough decisions to retain her stranglehold on the nations she commands. Home Box Office The strongest female characters in TV and film Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence) Katniss draws upon her own resources for survival. Easy to underestimate on appearance, she more than proves herself with courage, intelligence and an impressive ability to think outside the box. The strongest female characters in TV and film Ellen Ripley in Alien (Sigourney Weaver) Often considered one of the best female protagonists of all-time, Ripley was one of the first heroines not to be defined by the men around her or by her relationship to them. The film was also praised for challenging gender roles. 20th Century Fox The strongest female characters in TV and film Peggy Olson in Mad Men (Elisabeth Moss) Peggy is promoted to become the first female writer at Don Draper's advertising firm since World War II. She hates double standards in the treatment of men and women and is a fierce gender equality supporter. Not just an innocent and pretty face. Lionsgate The strongest female characters in TV and film Ryan Stone in Gravity (Sandra Bullock) Dr Stone is a broken woman on the path to recovery after the sudden death of her 4-year-old daughter. Stranded in space, she realises the value of life and begins to make peace with herself after surviving the worst possible odds. Warner Bros The strongest female characters in TV and film Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (Meryl Streep) This 2011 movie follows the life of the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century and what an intimidating figure she was. 20th Century Fox The strongest female characters in TV and film Claire Underwood in House of Cards (Robin Wright) The First Lady is TVs finest example of dogged determination. Claire is steely, cold and often unlikeable, but she fights to the last and wont let anyone get in the way of the Underwoods plans for world domination. Shes clever, calculating and a rare example of a powerful woman in total control. Netflix The strongest female characters in TV and film Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (Jennifer Ehle) Notably strong-willed and independent for Jane Austen's time, Elizabeth is determined not to give in to her mother's desperation to find all her daughters rich husbands. Yes she ends up with one - but she marries him for love and they form a mutual, equal understanding and respect for each other. BBC The strongest female characters in TV and film Olivia Pope in Scandal (Kerry Washington) Crisis manager and revered fixer Olivia runs her own consulting firm and her employees are "gladiators in suits". Fast-thinking and efficient, she is one of few main female protagonists on TV who are "emotionally strong, professional powerful and and personally complicated". Olivia is intense, feminine and a style trend-setter. ABC/Craig Sjodin The strongest female characters in TV and film Cheryl Strayed in Wild (Reese Witherspoon) Faced with huge psychological and physical challenges, Cheryl is determined to save herself from her demons and sets out on a 1,100 mile hike to do just that. It's hard not to warm to her heroism and self-motivation. AP The strongest female characters in TV and film Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey (Maggie Smith) The Dowager Countess rules the roost at Downton, no matter what her stubborn son Lord Grantham says or does. She can shut down any argument with a brilliantly acerbic one-liner (see some of the best here) and is well-known as a force to contend with - Violet certainly knows her own mind and isn't afraid to speak it. Rumours of her leaving sent shivers down our spines. ITV The strongest female characters in TV and film Red in Orange is the New Black (Kate Mulgrew) One thing Red has in bucket loads is respect from the other prisoners in this Netflix original series. She runs a smuggling business but draws the line at drugs, and makes a plan to have Mendez removed when he tries to force her into changing her rules. Red also helps some inmates over drug addiction - she's pretty kickass. The strongest female characters in TV and film Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Rooney Mara) Lisbeth is a world class computer hacker and a rape survivor. She takes special pleasure in exposing and punishing men who abuse women. Compelling for her unconventionality, many have speculated that Lisbeth has Asperger's Syndrome. Rex The strongest female characters in TV and film Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street (Julie Hesmondhalgh) Hayley was a non-confrontational, boundlessly kind and extremely resilient "fan favourite" on the soap. Corrie's first transgender character, she made the transition to a woman from Harold in her early twenties, facing many social challenges. Hayley's biggest hurdle came with a terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis last year, when she made the incredibly hard decision to end her life on her terms. ITV The strongest female characters in TV and film Hermione Granger in Harry Potter (Emma Watson) She might not be everybody's cup of tea but Hogwarts student Hermione is hard-working, tenacious, compassionate and stands her own alongside best friends Harry and Ron on their adventures. WARNER BROS The strongest female characters in TV and film Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) Charlotte Bronte's classic heroine is highly individualised for her time and determined to assert her own identity within a male-dominated society. She only marries Mr Rochester once she is sure that their love is built on equality. LAURIE SPARHAM The strongest female characters in TV and film Mulan in Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) Mulan takes her father's place in the army because he is too frail to fight. She proves herself more capable than any man in Shang's charge and saves China. Really quite impressive. The strongest female characters in TV and film Patsey in 12 Years a Slave (Lupita Nyong'o) Nyong'o won an Oscar for her portrayal of gritty young slave girl Patsey in Steve McQueen's harrowing drama. She retains her hard-working attitude and will of defiance despite suffering relentless abuse at the hands of her owners. Fox Searchlight The strongest female characters in TV and film Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) This true story follows the life of an unemployed single mother of three, who fought tirelessly against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company after discovering their dangerous secret. As the film's tagline reads: 'She brought a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees'. Reuters The strongest female characters in TV and film Jane Wilde in The Theory of Everything (Felicity Jones) Sure, Jane Wilde dedicated much of her life to her genius husband Stephen Hawking, but this film focuses on their marriage ahead of his career. Jane is strong enough to realise the depth of her feelings for a man given just two years to live and determined to face the odds Universal



Emily Browning

I have read a lot of scripts where the girl is just there to be the girl. It is an issue for me. Its not even about strong, female characters. People think that means badass girls with guns - which is really fun to do sometimes - but its just about women being portrayed as real humans. Real, complex, interesting humans. - The Independent, September 2015

Naomi Watts

I would be given back all my studio muscle provided I used it to beat another woman senseless and get so turned on by that thrashing that I would have to have urgent sex with my 60-year-old male costar whose buttocks were to be played by a gymnast. Im still deciding whether or not I should take that job. - Elles Women in Hollywood awards, October 2011

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 30 September
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When Jeff Goldblum was promoting sequel Independence Day 2, a lot of journalists took the time to ask him if his Jurassic Park character Dr. Ian Malcolm would be showing up in Jurassic World 2 (apparently, he'd be open to the idea like a "chicken piccata.")

Someone has now taken it upon themselves to pose the same question to Sam Neill who played paleontologist Alan Grant in the 1993 Spielberg classic.

The actor - who can currently be seen in Taika Waititi's New Zealand comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople - wasn't in first sequel The Lost World but did reprise the role in Jurassic Park III (2001).

According to Neill, Grant has been lured by the accounting industry.

I think the problem is that no one knows where Alan Grant is anymore," he told ShortList. Hes retired from paleontology. Hes sick to death of dinosaurs and running. Hes not quite as fleet of foot as he was, and hes now retired to Dayton, Ohio, and has a very successful accountancy business. I think thats whats happened to Alan. Either that or hes dead.

Jurassic World 2 will see the return of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. J.A. Bayona will take over the role of director from Colin Trevorrow who is hard at work prepping Star Wars: Episode IX; his next film will be A Monster Calls, an adaptation of the Patrick Ness novel featuring Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver and the voice of Liam Neeson.

Following its release, Jurassic World became the fourth highest-grossing film of all time. The as-of-yet untitled sequel will be released in 2018.

Neill has also confirmed he'll be appearing in Waititi's next film, Thor: Ragnarok, alongside his former Jurassic Park co-star Goldblum.
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Louis Theroux fans hoping to watch My Scientology Movie in Ireland look set for disappointment as the countrys blasphemy laws threaten to keep it from cinemas.

The controversial film is directed by John Dower and sees Theroux investigate and attempt to get under the skin of the holy grail of stories: Americas homegrown religion created by a science fiction writer and structured like a corporation with Tom Cruise.

It is being distributed in the UK by Altitude, the company behind Oscar-winning Amy Winehouse documentary Amy, but as of yet there is no Irish distributor and Graham Spurling, managing director of Irish independent cinema chain Spurling Group Cinemas, has shared his doubts that it will be getting one.



Mr Spurling was hoping to run a live Q&A event in October, but Irelands 2009 Defamation Act forbids publication or utterance of blasphemous matter against any religion, with a fine of 25,000 (21,700) for those who breach it. He told Irish lifestyle website Joe that distributors are wary of screening it because they would not be protected from any potential legal action.

There is a chance that distributors might attempt to use a loophole that allows for the screening of works with genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific or academic value, but the financial risk could well be deemed too high.

Earlier this year, Hamish Moseley, head of distribution for Altitude, described My Scientology Movie as an incredibly funny, fascinating and at times unnerving insight into the infamous and controversial religion with Theroux bringing his inimitable approachable style to the big screen where it feels at home with the subject matter.

Speaking about the film, Theroux said: More than 10 years ago, I approached the Church to see if they might let me in to make a documentary. I thought I might be able to bring a sense of nuance and perspective to peoples understanding of a faith that has been much ridiculed.

Just as I have done with other non-mainstream stories, I hoped to see it from the inside and make a human connection with its clerics and congregants. But I was repeatedly turned down.

Created by US author L Ron Hubbard in 1954, Scientology is described as a religious system based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfilment through graded courses of study and training. It is officially recognised as a religion in the UK, the US and Australia among other countries, but has been labelled a cult by various authorities and criticised for alleged brainwashing, preferential treatment of celebrities and financial exploitation. The Church of Scientology vehemently denies these accusations.

The Church of Scientology HQ in Los Angeles

Scientology has proved a stumbling block in Ireland before, when Alex Gibneys 2015 documentary about the controversial religion, Going Clear, failed to secure an Irish release over libel claims.

The Church of Scientology put Theroux and his crew under surveillance and threatened them with legal action throughout the making of My Scientology Movie. It sparked a huge reaction when it screened at the Edinburgh and Tribeca film festivals this year and is set for release on 14 October.
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In a move you can file under things that would never happen if Donald Trump was president, Barack Obama is to screen Leonardo DiCaprios new film on the lawn outside the White House, then have a conversation with him about climate change.

The first-of-its-kind film screening of Before the Flood will take place at the inaugural South by South Lawn: A White House Festival of Ideas, Art and Action on 3 October, which was inspired by POTUS recent visit to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

The titans of film and politics will be joined for the debate by climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe.

SXSL was put together in partnership with SXSW and the American Film Institute (AFI) and will be live-streamed.

It is described on its dedicated mini-site thus:

Earlier this year, President Obama traveled to South by Southwest for a conversation on civic engagement. In Austin, he called on creative thinkers and entrepreneurs from across the country to help tackle our toughest challenges. On Monday, October 3, we're celebrating that spirit of innovation at South by South Lawn, a White House festival of ideas, art, and action.

At SXSL, we'll call on every American to roll up their sleeves and discover their own way to make a positive difference in our country. And it's an opportunity to celebrate the inspiring work so many Americans have already accomplished.
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Nearly 10 years of talks about legalising the international trade in ivory have been scrapped amid efforts to save the elephant from rampant poaching.

The population of the African elephant has fallen by more than 110,000 in just a decade, leaving a population of some 415,000.

There has been a campaign to legalise the trade in ivory, rhino horn and other animal parts, with supporters arguing that turning endangered animals into a valuable economic resource could actually help save them from extinction.

However, at an international meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), member states voted to end negotiations about a legalised international trade which began in 2007.

The European Union used its bloc vote of 28 countries to back the decision.

A European Commission (EC) spokesperson said: In the current circumstances where poaching and trafficking levels remain at alarmingly high levels, the EU considers that there is no justification to prolong discussions on the possibility and conditions that international trade in ivory could resume in the future.

The EU recognises the challenges faced by elephant range states and is a strong supporter of African countries for biodiversity protection and in their fights against wildlife trafficking.

Under current rules, trade in old ivory  before the elephant became formally protected  is allowed; also domestic trade in any kind of ivory is allowed within Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

An EC source told The Independent that the EU had not excluded the idea that the debate could re-open but only after clear indications that elephant poaching and ivory trafficking have substantially decreased.

Two countries, Namibia and Zimbabwe, had tabled motions that sought to explore the possibility of a legal international trade. South Africa has also joined them in opposing the current international ban, which is due to expire next year.

During a debate at Londons Royal Institution ahead of the CITES meeting, South African John Hume, who has the worlds largest rhino farm, argued

If the international ban on trade in rhino horn is seen by the worlds conservation body called CITES to be a positive strategy for all rhinos species, why has South Africa lost 6,000 rhinos to poaching in the last few years? he said.

Wounded elephant rescue Show all 12 1 /12 Wounded elephant rescue Wounded elephant rescue Ben the elephant arrives looking for help Staff and guests at the Bumi Hills Foundation in Zimbabwe were surprised to see a wounded bull elephant seeming seeking help outside their window. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue A vet arrives Vet Dr Richard Hoare flew in from Harare to treat Ben. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Getting Ben on the ground It takes 12 people to get the tranquilised animal on the ground so his wound can be treated. They also gave him a tracking collar so they can see how he is doing in the future. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Ben's gunshot wound The elephant had a septic wound which was 4cm in diameter and 10cm deep. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Looking after a tranquilised elephant The team placed a stick in Ben's trunk to make sure he could breathe. They monitored his breathing throughout the procedure. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Looking for the bullet Workers at the foundation used metal detectors to locate the bullets, however none were found. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Cleaning out the wound The vet and the safari team set about treating the wound, cleaning it out with a probe. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Cleaning out the wound A incision was created below the wound to allow fluids to drain out. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Elephants need a lot of antibiotics Dr Hoare administered a staggering 120ml of long-acting antibiotics to Ben. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue In the wars The two bullet holes in Ben's ears show he has been a victim of poachers before. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Bumi Hills Foundation Helping Ben was a team effort by those at the foundation. Bumi Hills Foundation Wounded elephant rescue Ben's back on his feet A little unstable, but Ben managed to stand up a few minutes after the team were finished, and made his way tentatively back into the bush. Bumi Hills Foundation

These resources are the birth-right of the African people and a major avenue to uplift its people, the rural community who are the poorest of the poor and an easy target for criminals who recruit them for becoming poachers.

But Will Travers, the president of the Born Free Foundation, hit back saying the future of some of the worlds most iconic species would be at risk from a legalised trade, describing the prospect as a nightmare for conservation efforts.

And, speaking to The Independent last week, Paul Gathitu, of the Kenya Wildlife Service, said: "The moment you start selling, you are placing a value on that ivory. And if you give a little of ivory this year, they want more next year."
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Labour has committed to ban fracking if it wins the next election.

The party has so far called for a moratorium on fracking in the UK, and criticised the environmental safeguards that have been weakened by the Conservative goverment.

But Barry Gardiner MP, the shadow energy and climate change secretary, is expected to announce today that the party will ban fracking outright.

 How Fracking works

"Today I am announcing that the next Labour government will ban fracking in the UK," Mr Gardiner is expected to say at the Labour conference.

"Fracking locks us into an energy infrastructure that is based on fossil fuels long after our country needs to have moved to renewables.

"The next Labour government will back the clean technologies of the future.

"We will consult with our colleagues in industry and the Trade Unions about the best way to transition our energy industry to create the vital jobs and apprenticeships we are going to need for the UKs low-carbon future."

Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp Show all 8 1 /8 Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp fracking.Rex.jpg Rex Features Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp 175047802.jpg Getty Images Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp balcombe-fracking-4.jpg Getty Images Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp balcombe-fracking-6.jpg Getty Images Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp balcombe-fracking-5.jpg Getty Images Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp balcombe-fracking-3.jpg Getty Images Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp balcombe-fracking-2.jpg Getty Images Vivienne Westwood joins anti-fracking protest camp balcombe-fracking-1.jpg Getty Images

The Labour Party has said that committing publicly and early to ban the energy will help provide certainty for investors. The news will help signal to people that Labour will look to move the country to an economy powered entirely by clean energy, it said.

The party says that it doesn't believe the returns from shale gas extracted through fracking will be enough to make up for the concerns about the technical problems fracking creates for the environment and communities.

But GMB, the union for energy workers, criticised the move  arguing that it would lead the UK to rely on "henchmen, hangmen and headchoppers for its gas". It would also have to transport that gas across oceans, doing further damage to the environment, it argued.

"Carting gas across oceans is not good from the environment and not good for security of supply in the UK," Gary Smith, GMB Scotland secretary said.

"Given we will need gas to heat our homes and power industry, the question is therefore where are we going to get our gas from. We are increasingly going to be dependent on regimes fronted by henchmen, hangmen and headchoppers for the gas we need. That isn't ethical and is surely an abdication of our environmental and moral responsibilities."

Jeremy Corbyn had already suggested that he would look to ban fracking if he were elected to government, but today's announcement marks the first time the party has committed to making it policy.
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If the skin on your body is dry, flaky, blemished or bumpy in texture, its time you introduced a body scrub into your regime.

Much like the complexion, the key to smooth and radiant skin on the body is exfoliation. Our body naturally sheds dead skin cells every 30 days, but this cycle slows down with age, so regularly exfoliating is important to keep it looking healthy, says Yuni Yunikamiyani, senior therapist at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire.

Aside from clearing away dead, dull skin, exfoliating unblocks pores which help prevent body breakouts; it boosts circulation, which can reduce the appearance of cellulite; it helps your body cream work more effectively, and it improves skin texture, she adds.

There are a host of body scrubs to pick from and these come formulated with either physical exfoliators (salt, sugar, loofah) or chemical (alpha-hydroxy acids). The main difference between them is their texture, and what you choose largely comes down to personal preference. Those with sensitive skin or conditions like eczema should avoid overly gritty scrubs, as they may be too abrasive; opt for fruit enzyme or lactic acid formulas instead.

When it comes to getting the best out of your body scrub, dont go overboard. Exfoliating once or twice a week should suffice. Buff areas for around 30 seconds, using small circular motions, starting from the feet, working up the body and stopping at the neck, Yunikamiyani says.

Read more:

How we tested

We trialled a range of body scrub formulas to see which ones left our skin noticeably softer, brighter and healthier.

The best body scrubs for 2021 are:

Best overall  Tea & Tonic bright awakening halen mon body scrub: 38, Teaandtonic.co.uk

 Tea & Tonic bright awakening halen mon body scrub: 38, Teaandtonic.co.uk Best for ease of use  Sanctuary Spa salt scrub bar: 6, Boots.com

 Sanctuary Spa salt scrub bar: 6, Boots.com Best for relaxation  Mauli Rituals reawaken himalayan hand & body scrub: 58, Maulirituals.com

 Mauli Rituals reawaken himalayan hand & body scrub: 58, Maulirituals.com Best for sensitive skin  Ameliorate smoothing body exfoliant: 10, Cultbeauty.co.uk

 Ameliorate smoothing body exfoliant: 10, Cultbeauty.co.uk Best for energising  Rituals the ritual of mehr body scrub: 14.90, Rituals.com

 Rituals the ritual of mehr body scrub: 14.90, Rituals.com Best for body and scalp  Ouai haircare scalp & body scrub: 32, Cultbeauty.co.uk

 Ouai haircare scalp & body scrub: 32, Cultbeauty.co.uk Best for mature skin  StriVectin crepe control exfoliating body scrub: 25, Feelunique.com

 StriVectin crepe control exfoliating body scrub: 25, Feelunique.com Best for dry skin  The Body Shop wild argan oil exfoliating gel body scrub: 16, Thebodyshop.com

 The Body Shop wild argan oil exfoliating gel body scrub: 16, Thebodyshop.com Best for softening  Tata Harper smoothing body scrub: 78, Contentbeautywellbeing.com

 Tata Harper smoothing body scrub: 78, Contentbeautywellbeing.com Best for body breakouts and blemishes  Sunday Riley charcoal smoothie jelly body scrub: 32, Spacenk.com

 Sunday Riley charcoal smoothie jelly body scrub: 32, Spacenk.com Best for firming and detoxing  Espa detoxifying body scrub: 40, Espaskincare.com

Tea & Tonic bright awakening halen mon body scrub Best: Overall Rating: 10/10 This British-born apothecary brand makes products in small batches. You can immediately feel and smell the freshness when you use this scrub, with over 80 per cent of its ingredients grown on UK farms. Filled with halen mon salt, hand-harvested from Anglesey, botanicals, super herbs such as gotu kola and amla, which adapt to the needs of the body, plus a host of fragrant aromatherapy essential oils  this scrub is a real treat to use. It feels luxurious and has a therapeutic aroma that instantly lifts the spirits. Its oily texture can make the shower slippy, but it glides over the skin seamlessly, exfoliating it to a silky-smooth finish, while laminating it with a lasting veil of moisture  so you can skip the body cream afterwards. Buy now 38 Teaandtonic.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Sanctuary Spa salt scrub bar Best: For ease of use Rating: 7/10 If youre not the linger-in-the-shower type, this no-frills body bar is just what you need. The soap comes infused with natural sea salt and loofah to buff away dead skin, along with sweet almond and evening primrose oils to soften bumpy areas. It is easy to use and does a good job at softening small patches of roughness. Its also scented with the Sanctuarys signature citrus, ylang ylang and sandalwood fragrance. Since the exfoliators in the bar are fine and gentle, you can go ahead and use it on a daily basis. Buy now 6 Boots.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Mauli Rituals reawaken himalayan hand & body scrub Best: For relaxation Rating: 9/10 If your skin, mind and muscles need some TLC, pick this pampering scrub that is formulated to buff away dry skin and ease aches. It is brimming with carefully selected natural ingredients such as mineral-rich Himalayan salts to draw out toxins, and a cocktail of skin-loving organic argan, moringa, almond and coconut oils. It also features clarifying lime, blood orange and grapefruit for their skin-firming properties, Indian frankincense to boost relaxation, along with anti-inflammatory sandalwood and soothing jasmine sambac. The scrub feels gritty and offers a thorough exfoliation. It also glides over the body effortlessly thanks to the oil content, doing a wonderful job at banishing dryness and soothing tired limbs. It leaves a light veil of oil over the body, which doubles up as a nourishing overnight treatment for the skin. We adore its therapeutic aroma that leaves you in a state of pure relaxation  a great one to use before bedtime. Buy now 58 Maulirituals.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Ameliorate smoothing body exfoliant Best: For sensitive skin Rating: 10/10 Even those with sensitive skin can exfoliate if you use the right scrub. This fast-working, dermatologist-approved scrub has a rich and creamy formula that contains biodegradable bamboo granules to gently slough away dead skin, while lactic acid dissolves bumps and ingrown hairs. The addition of shea and coconut butter, plus coconut oil, means that it doesnt compromise on hydration. The scrub is designed to be used on dry skin, but those with sensitive skin should use it on wet skin to reduce irritation. It worked particularly well at reducing the look of keratosis pilaris  those pesky bumps at the back of the arms. Buy now 10 Cultbeauty.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Rituals the ritual of mehr body scrub Best: For energising Rating: 8/10 Sugar is a common exfoliating ingredient and a great choice for those with easily irritated complexions. This sugar-infused scrub dissolves beautifully into the skin; its also enriched with sweet orange peel, known for its brightening and energising properties, making it a good option for morning use. The scrub does exactly what it says on the tub  buffs away roughness and leaves limbs feeling silky smooth. The addition of oils means that skin doesnt feel dry and tight after use, it simply glistens. We also like the added cedarwood oil, which has a potent woody aroma that pleasantly lingers on the skin after use. Buy now 14.90 Rituals.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Ouai haircare scalp & body scrub Best: For body and scalp Rating: 7.5/10 Developed by long-time hair stylist to the Kardashians, Jen Atkins multitasking scrub can be used on the body and scalp. It has a gently foaming formula and relies on sugar crystals to slough away dead skin. It uses probiotics to balance the skins bacteria levels, as well as moisturising coconut oil. The scrub feels quite sticky; however, once it comes into contact with damp skin, you do not feel it as much. Its gentle on the skin, leaving it feeling smoother and softer. Its multitasking blend can be used on the scalp to shift product buildup and excess sebum. This process felt soothing, but it took a while to wash off. One thing to note is that it has a strong musky scent, which we found a little overpowering. Buy now 32 Cultbeauty.co.uk {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

StriVectin crepe control exfoliating body scrub Best: For mature skin Rating: 8.5/10 A breakdown of collagen and elastin as we age can lead to crinkly looking skin. Spiked with quartz crystals and rice powder, plus lactic and glycolic acids, this creamy scrub is gentle on the skin and works a treat to improve its texture. It is also powered with caffeine to firm it, niacinamide (vitamin B3) to strengthen the skin barrier, plus papaya and guava extract to brighten. The combination of ingredients did a great job at eliminating rough areas and gave the skin a more even, firmer and radiant look. Crinkled skin under the arms and around the knees was less visible too. We loved the easy-to-use squeezy tube and the subtle lemon scent. Buy now 25 Feelunique.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

The Body Shop wild argan oil exfoliating gel body scrub Best: For dry skin Rating: 8/10 Dry, dehydrated skin felt super-nourished after using this hydrating scrub, which comes enriched with slow-pressed argan oil from Morocco. Argan shell is suspended in a gel formula that gives the body a deep exfoliation and the oil replenishes moisture. It has a warming aroma and doesnt leave behind any greasy residue, just a pleasant soft sheen  and for an affordable price too. Buy now 16 Thebodyshop.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Tata Harper smoothing body scrub Best: For softening Rating: 8.5/10 Packed into a luxurious gold-topped tub, this uber-exfoliating treatment relies on an array of naturally sourced botanicals such as pink Himalayan and Hawaiian sea salts, organic sugar, cranberry fibres, apricot-seed powder and argan oil to ward off all traces of rough skin. Designed to be used on dry skin, the densely packed and slightly gritty paste-like scrub feels comfortable on the skin and we like how it works into a creamy lather. It loosens up ingrown hairs, making it a great option before shaving. The added argan oil penetrates deeply and drenches dry skin in moisture. It also has a natural, earthy scent (its free from artificial fragrance), which is pleasant if you dont like heavily scented products. Buy now 78 Contentbeautywellbeing.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}

Sunday Riley charcoal smoothie jelly body scrub Best: For body breakouts and blemishes Rating: 9/10 This mint-scented scrub is loaded with a host of ingredients to battle body blemishes. Activated charcoal draws out dirt and grime, salicylic acid unclogs pores and zinc regulates oil production, while manuka branch and leaf oil purifies the skin, giving it a less congested look. To balance things out, coconut water and jojoba seed oil replenish moisture. We loved using this scrub; not only does it come in a squeezy pouch that is easy to use and eliminates any mess, it has a thick, non-oily texture that doesnt slip out of the hands. It gives skin an extra-clean and super-smooth finish, without the residue of some heavily oil-based scrubs. Buy now 32 Spacenk.com {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}}
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The worlds largest radio telescope has been switched on  and started looking for aliens.

The huge project is just one of Chinas huge number of projects in space and science that it hopes to use to take a bigger role on the national stage. Those have also included the countrys growing and military-backed space program.

But it also serves as Chinas big hope for perhaps hearing a message from aliens. One success for the project would be hearing the kind of energy signal that would be sent by another civilisation deep in space.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

The radio telescope  known as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or Fast  is placed in a natural basin in the southern Guizhou province. Its completion is the end result of a process that has taken five years and $180 million.

It also involved the displacement of more than 8,000 people from eight villages to make way for the facility, giving it the 3-mile radius of silence that it needs to work. Those villagers are being given cash or new houses to make up for their movement, according to local reports.

At 500-meters across, it is much bigger than the existing record holder  twice as sensitive and 10 times as fast as anything built before. The biggest in the world was previously the 300-meter Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which even at its smaller size has led to research on the stars that has led to a Nobel prize.

Hundreds of astronomers watched the Fast telescope get switched on in the county of Pingtang, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The telescope will be listening out for gravitational waves, radio emissions from stars and galaxies  and any kind of signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life coming from deep in the universe.

"The ultimate goal of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe," Qian Lei, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told state broadcaster CCTV.

"In theory, if there is civilization in outer space, the radio signal it sends will be similar to the signal we can receive when a pulsar (spinning neutron star) is approaching us," Qian said.

And it has already heard some messages, according to CCTV. During testing it heard a signal from a pulsar that was 1,351 light-years from Earth, according to reports.
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Google is celebrating its 18th birthday. The only problem is that its had at least six 18th birthdays already.

The company is showing everyone a cute, celebratory doodle on 27 September to mark the companys coming-of-age. It shows Googles G blowing up a balloon to spell out the rest of its name  but blowing it up too much, and being carried off into the sky.

But theres nothing especially meaningful about the 27th in the Google timeline. Theres at least six other days that have been celebrated as Googles birthday  and none of them are any more meaningful than any of the others.

The best Google Doodles Show all 50 1 /50 The best Google Doodles The best Google Doodles Mister Rogers Google Doodle celebrating children's TV presenter Mister Rogers Google The best Google Doodles Lucy Wills Google Doodle celebrating haematologist Lucy Wills Google The best Google Doodles Falafel Google Doodle celebrating falafel Google The best Google Doodles St George's Day Google Doodle celebrating St George's Day Google The best Google Doodles James Wong Howe Google Doodle celebrating Hollywood golden age cinematographer James Wong Howe Google The best Google Doodles Seiichi Miyake Google Doodle celebrating Seiichi Miyake, developer of tactile paving Google The best Google Doodles Walter Cronkite Google celebrates US broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite's 100th birthday The best Google Doodles Lantern Festival 2016 Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google Doodle celebrating art critic Sergei Diaghilev Google The best Google Doodles George Boole Google marks mathematician George Boole's 200th birthday The best Google Doodles Sergei Eisenstein Google Doodle celebrating soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein Google The best Google Doodles 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago The best Google Doodles Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Google celebrates physician and suffragist Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 180th birthday The best Google Doodles Sir William Henry Perkin Google Doodle celebrating chemist Sir William Henry Perkin Google The best Google Doodles Nelly Sachs Google Doodle celebrating poet and playwright Nelly Sachs Google The best Google Doodles Thanksgiving 2018 Google Doodle celebrating Thanksgiving 2018 Google The best Google Doodles Nigerian Independence Day Google Doodle celebrating Nigerian Independence Day Google The best Google Doodles Mary Prince Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Mary Prince Google The best Google Doodles Father's Day 2016 Google celebrates Father's Day The best Google Doodles Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google Doodle celebrating "father of football" Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google The best Google Doodles Octavia E Butler Google Doodle celebrating science fiction author Octavia E Butler Google The best Google Doodles Tamara de Lempicka Google Doodle celebrating painter Tamara de Lempicka Google The best Google Doodles Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google Doodle celebrating mathematician and physicist Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google The best Google Doodles Fanny Blankers-Koen Google Doodle celebrating Dutch Olympic gold medalist Fanny Blankers-Koen Google The best Google Doodles John Harrison Google Doodle celebrating clockmaker John Harrison Google The best Google Doodles Guillermo Haro Google Doodle celebrating astronomer Guillermo Haro Google The best Google Doodles St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google The best Google Doodles Carter G Woodson Google Doodle celebrating Carter G Woodson, a pioneering African-American historian Google The best Google Doodles St Andrew's Day Google Doodle celebrating St Andrew's Day Google The best Google Doodles Gertrude Jekyll Google Doodle celebrating horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll Google The best Google Doodles Children's Day 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Children's Day 2017 Google The best Google Doodles Studio for Electronic Music Google Doodle celebrating the Studio for Electronic Music Google The best Google Doodles Olaudah Equiano Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Olaudah Equiano Google The best Google Doodles Fridtjof Nansen Google Doodle celebrating Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen Google The best Google Doodles Ladislao Jose Biro Google celebrates Ladislao Jose Biro's 117th birthday The best Google Doodles Amalia Hernandez Google Doodle celebrating ballet choreographer Amalia Hernandez Google The best Google Doodles Dr Samuel Johnson Google Doodle celebrating lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson Google The best Google Doodles British Sign Language Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language Google The best Google Doodles Eduard Khil Google Doodle celebrating baritone singer Eduard Khil Google The best Google Doodles Fourth of July Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July Google The best Google Doodles Victor Hugo Google Doodle celebrating author Victor Hugo Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google The best Google Doodles Steve Biko Today's Google Doodle features anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko Google The best Google Doodles The history of tea in Britain Google celebrates the 385th anniversary of tea in the UK The best Google Doodles Nettie Stevens Google celebrates geneticist Nettie Stevens 155th birthday The best Google Doodles William Morris Google celebrates English polymath William Morris' 182 birthday with a doodle showcasing his most famous designs Google The best Google Doodles Professor Scoville Google marks Professor Scovilles 151st birthday The best Google Doodles Sophie Taeuber-Arp Google marks artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday

Indeed, Google might not even be 18. If we use one date  when the Google.com domain was first registered  then the company turned 19 on 15 September this year.

But if Google was 18, and so founded in 1998, then theres a lot of dates to celebrate too. Google was given its first investment of $100,000 in August 1998  paid to Google Inc, which didnt actually exist yet.

Then the next month, Google files for incorporation in California, making it an official company and giving it a bank account to deposit that check in. hat happened on 4 September, 1998  the earliest of the celebrated birthdays, and probably the one with the best claim to being the actual birth of Google. The rest of September sees a number of big moments for Google. Those include the establishment of its first workspace  in a garage  and the hiring of its first employee.

All of that confusion led Google to admit in 2013 that it didnt really know when its birthday was.

As such, it has celebrated on at least four days in September: the 7th, the 8th, the 26th and the 27th. The latter  which appears to be what Googles sticking to for now  was first celebrated in 2002, on Googles 4th birthday, though the company has celebrated a range of other dates since.

But in fact, Google has spent much of the month celebrating its birthday  sending out posts and decorating various parts of its headquarters. Google is perhaps so big that it cant just be pinned down to one day  apart from when it needs to make a Doodle for it.

 Best Google's Doodles

The problem is complicated even more by the involvement of the Google Doodle. Googles Doodles are actually older than Google itself is, officially.

The company posted its first Doodle on 30 August, celebrating the Burning Man festival. But even the earliest estimate of Googles birthday  4 September, when the company was incorporated  happened a week after that.
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French President Francois Hollande has said Britain's sovereign decision to leave the EU does not excuse the country from its obligations to refugees. He called on the UK to "play its part" in dealing with the migrant crisis.

Mr Hollande made the remarks on a landmark visit to Calais where he also repeated his plan that the Jungle camp be completely dismantled by the end of the year.

The President was expected to meet with officials at the port but not enter the Jungle camp.

"I want to express my desire to see the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is carrying out and will continue to carry out," the President said before police in Calais.

It's not the case that just because the United Kingdom has taken a sovereign decision it is free from its obligations in relation to France," Mr Hollande said in reference to the Brexit decision, AFP reported.

The President has previously announced plans to move some 10,000 refugees living in the Jungle to centres across the country.

Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Show all 8 1 /8 Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' People gather outside the Eritrean church at the camp The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' A fire at the camp destroyed shelters for 180 people The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' A fire at the camp destroyed shelters for 180 people The Hummingbird Project

Mr Hollande has been criticised over living conditions in the camp, which he acknowledged were "unacceptable". On Saturday, he called the camp a "humanitarian emergency", according to Associated Press.

A UK-funded wall is being built along the road to the port in an attempt to stop refugees smuggling themselves into the tunnel.

Britain has also faced criticism for taking too long to process the applications of those in Calais who have an entitlement to join family members. Earlier this month a 14-year old boy, Raheemullah Oryakhel, was killed when he was hit by a lorry on the main road into Calais. The teenager had a legal right to join his family in the UK.

Under current plans, the UK has committed to accepting 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years. Former Foreign Secretary David Milliband has said this equates to just six refugees per constituency per year, and called for the UK to accept four times that amount.

As bulldozers prepare to raze the Calais Jungle, there has been a marked rise in the number of unaccompanied minors turning up at the site. There has been a 51 per cent increase in the past month alone  11 every day, according to Help Refugees.

The Jungle has gained new significance in the run-up to the French presidential elections next spring. Last week Nicolas Sarkozy said he would force Britain to open a migrant centre to deal with the asylum claims of those living in the Calais camp.
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European business leaders have been urged to ignore statements coming from senior UK government ministers over UKs vote to leave the EU, according to a report.

British diplomats have reportedly warned EU businesses that statements issued by the cabinet committee, chaired by Prime Minister Theresa May, were the only ones to reflect the official UK policy on Brexit.

European business leaders have watched the chaos that has been British politics over the last two months and waited for the new government to give a clear outline of how trade negotiations will work in future. Some banks and financial institutions have previously warned they could begin to move staff to other European countries before Britain leaves the EU.

Recommended Read more Experts issue damning warning over Brexit trade negotiations

According to a report by MLex, a publication providing market insight and analysis, diplomats are trying to reassure foreign investors that ministers circulating their contradictory views on Brexit through the media are a normal part of the policymaking process in the UK.

Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned  forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA  because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty

Theresa May has had an assured start as Prime Minister, and brought some calm to the storm caused by the vote to leave the EU. But divisions have emerged quickly along with contradictory statements from UK Brexit ministers.

These could intensify as UK begins the official negotiations to leave the EU.

David Davis, the news Brexit Secretary, was slapped down by Theresa May after he claimed it was very improbable the UK will remain a member of the single market if it means accepting free movement of people.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman later claimed Davis had been giving his opinion instead of stating government policy.

 Boris Johnson goes 'off script' about when Brexit should happen

Meanwhile, International Trade Secretary Liam Foxs department was forced to withdraw the announcement that Britain might leave the EU without having done a new trade deal first.

Boris Johnson, in a recent interview, indicated that Article 50 should be triggered in May. This was despite Downing Street repeatedly saying that it would not be implemented before the end of 2016.

On Monday, experts have said that civil servants preparing for negotiations to pull Britain out of the EU face as task of mind-boggling complexity.

Stephen Booth, co-director of the Open Europe think-tank, said it was likely that Brexit would end up being a gradual withdrawal from different aspects of the UKs entanglements with the EU, rather than a single big bang event.
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The biggest threat to the global economy is not Brexit, but an impending crash in China, according to one of the worlds most eminent economists.

Speaking to the BBC, Harvard professor, Ken Rogoff warned that China was facing a pretty sharp landing already after years of rapid economic growth. The real picture is much worse than the official one, Rogoff said. I worry about China becoming more of a problem, he said.

The economist rubbished claims that China is a special case and would therefore be able to defy the gloomy projections. Everyone says China's different, the state owns everything they can control it. Only to a point. It's definitely a worry, a hard landing in China, Rogoff said.

Chinese growth has been taken for granted, he said, with the world pinning its hopes on the country to prop up a moribund global economy, that has witnessed anemic growth in recent years, most notably in Europe and Japan.

We've taken it for granted that whatever Europe's doing, Japan's doing - at least China's moving along and there isn't really a substitute for China.

I think India may come along some day but it's fallen so far behind in size it's not going to compensate.

The IMF has marked down its forecasts of global growth nine years in a row and certainly the rumour is they're about to do it again, he said.

He added that China is going through a big political revolution. Beijing has campaigned to tackle corruption and also to move from a focus on manufacturing goods cheaply to a more typically middle-income economy, driven to a greater extent by consumer spending.

Rogoff pointed to other dangers in the world including whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton would be the next US president.

Should Trump be victorious in November, his actions cannot be predicted by commentators, Rogoff said, while a victorious Clinton may find her plans for infrastructure spending are blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Rogoff said he was nervous about the uncertainty around the election, and particularly the prospect of a Trump vicotry, adding that watching the election had been painful for economists because of the protectionist policies of both candidates.

Several international bodies have expressed concern about a Chinese slowdown in recent weeks. IMF expects China's GDP (gross domestic product) to grow by 6.6 percent this year.

The Bank for International Settlements - a global organisation of central banks - released data last week showing the risk of a catastrophic Chinese banking crisis is, by one measure, at its highest ever level.

The BIS said that China's credit-to-GDP gap now stands at 30.1%, a figure the Bank of England described as very high. In fact it is the highest for any country since data was collected in 1995, suggesting an unsustainable credit bubble.

Any crash could have ripple effects the world over. British banks have $530bn wirth of lending and investment in China, or 16 per cent of all foreign assets they own.

Central bank warning

Rogoff also took aim at central bankers, including Mark Carney, warning them of the limits of their capabilities. Monetary policy is not a panacea, he said.

It is a little bit the fault of central bankers for allowing themselves to take too much credit when things are good, and [then] getting blamed too much when things are bad.

But monetary policy doesn't make an ageing economy young, it doesn't make an economy which is having little innovation suddenly innovate, it doesn't make an economy with a Zombie banking sector somehow miraculously healthy.

China's New Year getaway Show all 10 1 /10 China's New Year getaway China's New Year getaway 'Factory worker Mingxiang is learning to cook. He and his wife Haiying are delighted that their daughter Zhi recently came in the top three in her class at school' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Newly married student teachers Danping and Shuizong carry a cross-stitch of the word Happiness' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Changfu, a teacher, is proud that some of his students got into university last year. He also played his first ever game of tennis  and loved it' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Shufeng and his son Ping are roadmen. They love working together' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Jiapeng has just introduced his girlfriend Jijia to his parents. He says it's the best New Year's gift he could give' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Jiantao was robbed when he arrived in Guangzhou, but a shelter helped him buy a ticket home. He says New Year's Day will be a family reunion' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Sha, a student and retired soldier, last year was proud to pass her civil service exams and get her driving licence' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Decorator Benyun says his family's happiest moment last year was the birth of his grandson' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Teenagers Mengyao and Yaqi moved to Guangzhou to work in sales. They enjoy independence from their parents' Yuyang Liu China's New Year getaway 'Retired from local government, Gongxuan has taken up calligraphy and loves playing the erhu' Yuyang Liu

I have a concern about monetary policy at the moment - that it is being asked to take on roles that it's not built for. It is being asked to do helicopter money where you just print money and hand it out to people.

In Europe, central banks are buying up a significant proportion of the corporate debt market - that's what you do in China, in India, they're doing that in Japan also.

There are all sorts of other pressures and I worry in the long run that central banks are losing their independence.
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The news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's divorce has taken the world by storm hitting the front pages of most national publications and setting social media alight.

While heartbroken fans of the Hollywood couple are still digesting the news, it has not taken long for marketing masterminds to turn the latest celebrity breakup into a business opportunity.

Brands that are brave enough to embrace real time news and trends into their marketing strategy can reap big rewards, according to Maria Vardy, managing director at marketing agency Jaywing.

Recommended Read more Madame Tussauds has already split up Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

However, she warned that businesses should be careful when it comes to delicate situations such as divorces, especially when children are involved.

Theres a fine line in getting the approach and sentiment right, especially in the case of brand Brangelina. The end of their relationship is also the end of a lot of the emotional development associated with them as a couple and as a family, Vardy said.

Here are five examples of Brangelina marketing from businesse around the world.

1. Norwegian airlines  Brad is Single

Norwegian Airlines were very quick to react to the news with a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign inviting travellers to choose their flights to LA with the line Brad is single.

The adverts surfaced on Friday, just two days after Angelina Jolie announced she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt.

The company released the ad for discounted flights from Oslo-Norway to Los Angeles, where Pitt is based.

2. IKEA  Breakups happen

The Singapore arm of Swedish furniture giant Ikea published an ad captioned Breakups happen alongside a two-seater modular sofa positioned back to back.

The sofa offers a personalised seating solution, Ikea wrote, perfect for any celebrity relationship.

Crucially, this example is aligned with Ikeas personality, and the brands reaction fits its witty tone of voice and the reality of everyday life, Vardy commented.

3. Free juice for Brad and Angelina

Juice maker Boost Juice jumped on the opportunity to add two extra names to its long running Whats your Name Game campaign, where customers who share a specified name can get a free juice in store.

Brad and Angelina were added at the last minute, the company announced on its Facebook page.

The post received over 2,700 likes and 200 shares.

4. Capi  Jen got her sparkle back

Jennifer Aniston, has been trending on Twitter since the news of Brangelinas demise, as many people seem to think she must have something to say on the matter.

Capitalising on the assuming glee of Pitts former wife, Capi, a sparkling water brand chose to feature her name in its Sparklelife campaign.

Capis Instagram post read: Jen got her sparkle back.

5. Viasat  Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Pitt and Jolie's relationship blossomed on screen as the celebrity couple met while filming Mr. and Mrs.Smith.

Viasat, a Scandinavian television network, chose to comfort nostalgic fans eager to remember the early days of Brangelina.

The most shocking celebrity divorces Show all 20 1 /20 The most shocking celebrity divorces The most shocking celebrity divorces depps.jpg The most shocking celebrity divorces ben-afflect.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces gwen-stefabi.jpg Getty Images for L.A.M.B. The most shocking celebrity divorces melanie-griffith-antonio-banderas.jpg Getty Images for Children's Hosp The most shocking celebrity divorces miranda-kerr-orlando-bloom.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces tom-cruise.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces heidi-klum-seal.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces russell-brand.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces demi-moore-ashton-kutcher.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces jennifer-lopez-marc-anthony.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces gwyneth-paltrow-chris-martin.jpg Getty Images for Entertainment I The most shocking celebrity divorces tiger-woods.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces madonna.jpg Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces 20293.bin The most shocking celebrity divorces 20296.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20298.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20299.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20300.bin GETTY IMAGES The most shocking celebrity divorces 20295.bin Getty Images The most shocking celebrity divorces 20297.bin Getty Images

Using its online streaming servic,e Viaplay, the network put the celebrity couples joint move front and centre on their homepage, including the caption: Happy endings are stories that havent finished yet.
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The Philippine peso slumped to its lowest level in seven years as President Rodrigo Dutertes hard-line policies and erratic statements further alarmed global markets.

The countrys currency tumbled to 48.245 pesos per dollar - a 4 per cent fall in one month and the worst performance of any Asian currency. The peso now stands at its lowest level since September 2009, following widespread western criticism of Dutertes brutal crime crackdown.

(The peso's decline is) mainly due to politics, with the Philippine presidents ongoing war on drug dealers and his intent to seem to alienate all of their major trading partners, Jeffrey Halley, a market strategist at Oanda Asia Pacific told Bloomberg.

Earlier in the month, Duterte commented that US President Barack Obama was a son of a whore, sending the Filipino stock market falling. International investors have pulled $351 million this month, with outflows of cash recorded for the last 23 days straight in a reversal of fortunes for one of the regions strongest economies.

More than 3,300 people have been killed in Dutertes war on drugs, many by vigilantes, prompting President Obama to say that

Credit rating agency Standard & Poors warned last week that the Philippines credit rating may be downgraded if Dutertes policies endangered democratic institutions.

None of this appears to have prompted Duterte to change tack. Philippines had been one of Americas staunchest Asian allies, but the strongman leader has repeatedly said he will seek to distance the country from its former ally.

Duterte said the Philippines had reached the point of no return in its relations with its former colonial ruler, and accused Washington of hypocrisy and lording it over its former colony.

I am about to cross the Rubicon between me and the US, he said, apparently referring to his plans to strengthen ties with its two major global political rivals, Russia and China.

I am ready to not really break [US] ties but we will open alliances with China and... Medvedev, he is awaiting there for my visit, Duterte told reporters, adding he would open up the other side of the ideological barrier.

 Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte reassesses US ties

Finance Department spokesperson Paola Alvarez dismissed concern over Dutertes policies. If one were to ignore the political noise generated by certain groups, one could clearly hear the voices of continued optimism over President Dutertes commitment to bring real change through the implementation of transformative reforms not only in the economy but on the peace and order front as well, he said.

Confidence remains high on the capability of the Duterte administration to deliver on its commitment of inclusive growth.

Last week, Duterte launched an expletive laden attack on the EU after it called on the Filipino authorities to launch an immediate investigation into the rising death toll in the country.

President Duterte said he responded with the words f**k you before accusing the EU of hypocrisy, asking: How many have they killed?

 Rodrigo Duterte calls Barack Obama 'son of a bitch'

Duterte also called UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, earlier this month.

In his final campaign rally before being elected President, Mr Duterte vowed that 100,000 criminals would be killed.

Forget the laws on human rights, he said. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I'd kill you.

I'll dump all of you into Manila Bay, and fatten all the fish there, he said.
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A town house situated in Park Lane, one of the most affluent places in London, is about to become the capitals most expensive student residence.

Most of London students usually live in halls of residence before moving on to house-share.

For this reason it is fair to say few will able to afford the 3,540 square foot three-bedroom flat, which is available for 4,000 a week, 16,000 per month or 192,000 per year.

The newly completed, architect designed, triplex property is result of an 18 month construction project by property company Criterion Capital. It is equipped with glass floors and roof as well as 60 foot high central atrium.

Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Show all 12 1 /12 Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week House glass floor Glass floor provides dramatic views onto the grand reception room below Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Ground floor The lower ground floor has a large reception and entertaining space with views of the dramatic atrium space above Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Bedroom The three bedroom pad is part new build, part refurbishment, cleverly created behind the Park Lane street front Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Living room The luxurious furnishing and dressing scheme was created by Milc, the award winning design house established in 2004 Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Kitchen To one side of the reception room is the open plan fully fitted designer kitchen and 10 seat dining area Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Bathroom The newly completed, architect designed, triplex property is result of an 18 month construction project by property company Criterion Capital Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Bedroom The luxury pad is complete with air conditioning, underfloor heating and 24-hour concierge Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week  Floating within this dramatic atrium is a cantilevered glass staircase with glass balustrades and Oak treads  The lower ground floor has a large reception and entertaining space with views of the dramatic atrium space above Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Master suite The master suite opens onto a spacious private roof-terrace overlooking Hyde Park Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Roof-terrace The 0.7 mile (1.1km) road runs from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch and overlooks the 350 acres of Hyde Park Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Wetherell Inside Park Lane townhouse: The student flat that costs 4,000 a week Entrance  The entrance on Park Lane is through a 10 ft. high solid Oak door, framed by frosted glass and bronze feature windows Wetherell

Wetherell, the marketing agent, said that so far 80 per cent of enquiries for the Mayfair residence have come from students from the Gulf region or their parents.

All other Park Lane homes are apartments and one mansion-palace owned by an overseas Royal family.

The first houses were built along Park Lane in the 1720s, and it became the address of choice for the aristocracy providing London townhouses for the Dukes of Westminster, Dukes of Somerset and the Earls of Balcarres among others.

Recommended Read more The nationality suddenly snapping up property in London

Peter Wetherell, chief executive of Wetherell estate agent, said: This luxurious triplex has the distinction of being the only townhouse with its own private front door on Park Lane, all the other homes on Park Lane being apartments.

"This property will appeal to an ultra-high-net-worth person from the Middle East or Asia, who wants to launch themselves into Mayfair society. Its leisure living, a business base and the ultimate address.

Earlier this year, a study by London estate agent Rokstone, found that the number of Iranian buyers looking for homes in London over the next two years will rise by 25 per cent.

Wealthy Iranian buyers will join the ranks of Qatari, Kuwaiti and Saudi buyers and become significant players in the London luxury property market after the lifting of sanctions.
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Boris Johnsons ancestral village in Turkey has pledged to sacrifice "many sheep" in honour of his visit to Turkey.

The town of Kalfat in Anatolia, which is the home of Mr Johnsons paternal great-grandfather, takes immense pride in his political achievements.

They have also offered to repaint the village and give the Foreign Secretary the full red carpet treatment if he comes to visit.

We will sacrifice many sheep in Boris honour. We will repave our roads, repaint our buildings. We will give him the complete red carpet treatment if he visits his ancestral village, Adem Karaagac, the village headman, told Middle East Eye.

Mr Johnsons mannerisms and blonde hair apparently resemble many of the villages residents.

But what I have noticed on television is that his mannerisms and body movements also strongly resemble those of the people in our village, Mr Karaagac said.

Its a small village and many of the people are distantly related. Even my wife is somehow related to Boris. I am not sure of the exact connection though.

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.

Mr Johnsons father Stanley visited the town eight years ago and the villagers sacrificed a sheep in his honour.
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Matt Healy has condemned The Sun for publishing an article which labelled Emma Watson's speech whining, leftie, PC crap.

The original article belittled the Harry Potter stars recent United Nations speech calling for the reform of campus sexual assault policies in New York.

Rod Liddle, the controversial journalist who penned the column, said that Watson bored the crowd with her speech and questioned why people took the views of celebrities such as Watson seriously.

Anyway, instead of telling them all the rules of Quidditch or how to turn someone into a frog, she bored them all rigid with whining, leftie, PC crap, he wrote.

In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices 621324.bin Getty Images In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices 244032.bin Getty In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices 233759.bin Getty Images In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices Emma-Watson-2 (2).jpg Getty In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices 151966288.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices watson2.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Emma Watson's fashion choices 555526.bin GETTY

Just like all actresses do if people are stupid enough to give them the chance. Why do we indulge these luvvie slebs, most of whom know nowt? Liddle, who is associate editor of The Spectator and former editor of BBC Radio Four's Today Programme continued.

I dont object to them having views and expressing them. I just dont understand why we take them seriously. I suppose they got Emma in because Angelina Jolie is a bit tied up with other stuff at the moment.

Unimpressed with Liddles column, Healy, the frontman of The 1975, expressed his shock at the piece in a tweet.

Watson, who plays the role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, graduated from Brown University in 2014 and then became a Global Ambassador for the United Nations in July 2014, helping to launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe which calls on men to advocate gender equality.

A Sun spokesperson told The Independent: "Rod Liddle was echoing a great many people in sharing his exasperation at celebrities that feel they can lecture us mere mortals. Nonetheless I'm sure Rod will find the views of Matt Healy completely fascinating."

A representative for Watson did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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Growing up on a farm appears to be good for you, according to new study.

Researchers found adults who lived on a farm when they were young had a lower risk of allergies and the women also had stronger lungs than those who grew up in urban or rural areas.

The academics commented on the remarkable consistency of the effect across 14 different countries, saying this supported the idea that it was due to some kind of biological mechanism.

The study drew on the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II, which included more than 10,000 people aged 26 to 54 from 13 countries in Europe plus Australia between 1998 and 2002.

Farm kids were 54 per cent less likely to have asthma or hay fever and 57 per cent less likely to have allergic nasal symptoms than their urban counterparts.

Those who grew up in a village were 26 per cent less likely to be sensitised to allergens than city dwellers.

Women who grew up on a farm had significantly higher lung strength, according to an article in the journal Thorax.

The researchers, from Australia, the UK and several other European countries, suggested that the reason behind the effects was greater contact with animals and the microbes that live on and around them.

The idea is that human immune systems have evolved over thousands of years of close contact with animals, a factor that modern lifestyles have significantly reduced.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

It is possible that prolonged contact with unique farm exposures such as livestock with extensive microbial diversity are unmatched by any exposure in the inner city, the researchers wrote in the paper.

These findings further support the role of both load and diversity in environmental exposures in the development of allergic diseases, as proposed by the microbial diversity hypothesis.

Farmers children also tended to have greater contact with dogs and cats and were more likely to share a bedroom with siblings, they added.

The fact that different countries showed similar trends supported the idea that there is a physical effect, rather than a social one.

The consistency of the findings across multi-country settings suggests that farming effects may be due to biological mechanisms rather than socio-cultural effects that would differ between countries.
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Scientists have discovered a new species thanks to a little fiery-coloured devil frog in Equador.

The never-before-seen species of tropical ant was discovered in the belly of the bright orange frog, also known by its Spanish name, diablito.

Small ant-eating animals, such as the devil frog, forage for bugs in places inaccessible to humans  meaning they are a useful tool for finding new species.

The scientists capture the wild frogs and flush out their bellies, then search their vomit to see what they can discover.

Christian Rabeling, from the University of Rochester in New York, led a study on the small ant that was found in the frogs sick.

Sometimes people think that our world is very well explored," he told National Geographic, "Nothing could be further from the truth".

Since there is only one specimen of the ant, very little is known about it. But it has a long mouth, which Mr Rabeling thinks is used by the ant to catch even smaller animals hiding in crevices.

Several other unknown insects have been found in the devil frogs vomit, meaning more new species may still be announced.

Poisonous frogs get their toxic properties from organic compounds found in the ants they consume  meaning they are particularly good at catching ants and so useful to researchers.

Yet they are also a near threatened species and must be treated with care when they are examined by researchers.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

The frogs are made to vomit by scientists gently filling their mouths with water. Once their stomach contents have flowed out, the frogs are then returned to their natural habitat.

This is not the first time a new species has been found in another animal's stomach. In 1932, a Dunn's earth snake was discovered in the belly of a coral snake.

New types of frog have been discovered recently too. Last Summer, a frog with venom more poisonous than that of a pit viper snake was found in Brazil.

In Russia, frogs with entirely translucent skin were found  although pollution is thought to be to blame for the characteristic.
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Prescriptions of testosterone have gone up by 20 per cent since 2012, costing the NHS nearly 20 million in 2015.

While there are legitimate medical reasons for prescribing testosterone, some physicians have expressed fear the increase is being driven by a misplaced belief in a male menopause.

The hormone can be prescribed in response to symptoms such as erectile dysfunction, low energy and fatigue, usually in older men.

In 2015, there were 346,199 prescriptions for testosterone at a cost of 19.7 million, according to an analysis by medical magazine Pulse, compared to 292,157 prescriptions in 2012, costing 16.7 million. The prescriptions have been increasing since 2001.

Despite this, it is thought the number of older men with low testosterone production  known as late-onset hypogonadism (LoH) - is believed to have remained stable, at just two to five per cent of men.

There are concerns over the effects testosterone treatments could have on men. The hormone is usually produced in the testicles, but using it long term can discourage this and cause the male body to produce more oestrogen.

Research co-written by Dr Richard Quinton, a consultant physician at the Newcastle Endocrine Unit, cited by Pulse has suggested the prescription increases could be linked to an increase in marketing in health and fitness media advocating Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).

This has been echoed by other physicians. Patients with non-specific symptoms or indeed just the normal changes in sexual function that happen with age are influenced by articles in magazines and request testing, which can then result in expectation to prescribe for low-normal readings, said Dr Andrew Green, GP and prescribing spokesperson for the BMAs General Practitioners Committee, to the magazine.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

Dr Martin Duerden, Royal College of GPs prescribing advisor and GP, said he was wary of testosterone being used rather like oestrogen has been used in women as an 'anti-ageing' product in the past among those with low sex drive and energy levels.

Dr Quinton told The Independent the comments from Dr Duerden and Dr Green seem to confirm his papers hypothesis.

While hypogonadism can cause these types of symptoms, doctors have warned they are often likely to be linked to another condition, such as obesity, stress or diabetes, which can also cause low testosterone, taking effect in an aging body.

By tackling these conditions appropriately it is possible to reverse the symptoms.

But many private clinics still tout the benefits of TRT and some patients stand by the alleged improvements to their bodies.

While it is possible for doctors to distinguish between the conditions, Dr Quinton said: The 'Testosteronistas' tend to lump all cases of low testosterone level on older men as LoH, whereas in fact only a tiny minority merit the label.

Dr Quinton added that he was deeply worried by phrases used by some of the groups which promote TRT, such as testosterone deficiency.

He said: Testosterone deficiency seems to be used as a means to justify testosterone treatment on the basis of blood tests for testosterone alone, without an adequate clinical context and framework to suggest real hypogonadism.

Blood tests and treatment for LoH should follow stricter procedures, Dr Quinton added.

However, other doctors have said that decline in taboo around erectile dysfunction recent years has allowed for a more open discussion of testosterone related issues and allowed for improved identification and responsiveness to the issue by doctors.

NHS England said GPs were responsible for the prescriptions to each patient based on need and a clinical assesment.
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Police investigating the disappearance of missing toddler Ben Needham will begin excavation work on the Greek island of Kos today in the search for possible remains.

Ben's mother Kerry Needham, from Sheffield, has been told to prepare for the worst by South Yorkshire Police who suspect he may have died in an accident 25 years ago.

The new line of inquiry suggests the 21-month-old may have been crushed to death by a digger near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating in July 1991.

Konstantinos Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where Ben was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death, a friend of the builder has reportedly told police.

The driver reportedly died of stomach cancer last year, months before detectives from South Yorkshire Police arrived on the island for a renewed investigation.

But Mr Barkas's widow Varvara strongly dismissed any suggestions her late husband had killed Ben in an accident.

A variety of theories on his fate and reported sightings have arisen since his disappearance and Ms Needham had been holding out hope that she would one day be reunited with her son.

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed that its team, led by Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, will begin searching a specific site on Kos, starting today. But they warned progress could be painstaking, with the first dig expected to last up to 12 days.

Detectives are said to have carried out initial inquiries at the site, with experts testing soil and surveying the area with drones.

Last week, Mr Fenwick said: There will be planned operational activity at two locations on the island that have been identified as areas of interest to the investigation.

We continue to keep an open mind and have updated Ben's family about certain lines of inquiry we're currently exploring.

 Ben Needham's mother speaks after new evidence arises

Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police received extra funding from the Home Office to help in the search for Ben.

Ms Needham has been forthright in her support of Mr Fenwick's investigation.

In May, she jumped to the defence of the investigation team when they were pictured on the front page of a national newspaper drinking in the sunshine during a visit to Kos.

Mr Fenwick was called back from the island but a lawyer for Ms Needham wrote to the chief constable saying: Ms Needham trusts the officers involved, believes they are working to the highest standards operationally and professionally and wishes there to be no disruption.

Press Association
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An 11-year-old boy has become Britain's youngest rapist after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a nine-year-old boy multiple times.

The boy from the North Shore area of Blackpool was discovered raping the nine-year-old after the victim's mother heard suspicious sounds over a baby monitor in his bedroom in May.

The victim told specialist police officers that the defendant had raped him nearly every time they had played together and he had told him to keep the incidents secret, the Daily Mail reports.

It is understood the nine-year-old was raped 15 times by the defendant, who is now aged 12.

Further enquires revealed the defendant had sexually touched a seven-year-old boy over his clothing and while on bail he had also sexually touched an 11-year-old disabled boy over his trousers.

The court heard the offences took place between April 2015 and August 2016.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Blackpool Magistrate Court to one charge of raping the same boy 15 times and three charges of sexual touching, the Sun reports.

Brett Chappel, defending, said the boy had been a victim of sexual abuse himself, had pleaded guilty immediately and shown a sense of shame and remorse over the incidents.

He added that the defendant recognised he needed help for his problems and would address them.

Kerry Grieve, prosecuting, said: "He has been assessed as at a high risk of joining in further sexual behaviour."

The boy was sent to custody at Blackpool Magistrates Court ahead of his sentencing at Preston Crown Court, which is due to take place at a later date.
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A British woman is believed to have become the world's youngest ever commercial airline captain at just 26 years old, easyJet said.

Kate McWilliams, originally from Carlisle, told the Press Association she gets quizzed about her age by cabin crew and passengers almost every day and most are "pleasantly surprised and impressed" when she tells them her age.

She began flying aged 13 in the air cadets before embarking on a training programme at CTC Aviation in Southampton on her 19th birthday.

In May 2011 she joined easyJet as a first officer and recently took up the rank of captain after passing the airline's command course.

(PA (PA)

An easyJet spokeswoman said the Luton-based airline has carried out research which leads it to believe she is the youngest commercial airline captain in the world.

Miss McWilliams said: "Personally I don't think my age matters. I've been through the same training and passed the same command course as every other captainso I've proven myself capable regardless of my age.

"I do now get asked how old I am on an almost daily basis which didn't used to happen when I was a first officer.

"Usually that question comes from the cabin crew but sometimes passengers ask too.

"When I tell them I'm 26, most people are pleasantly surprised and impressed with my achievement at such a young age."

Miss McWilliams lives in Reigate, Surrey, and is based at Gatwick Airport.

She flies Airbus A319 and A320 planes to around 100 destinations, such as Reykjavik, Tel Aviv and Marrakesh.

"With Gatwick having such an extensive route network my roster is very varied so I rarely fly to the same place twice in the same month," she said. "That keeps things interesting."

Miss McWilliams recalled that when she was growing up she "never even thought it could be an option" to become a commercial pilot, saying that she "didn't know any I could ask for advice".

A pilot's view from the cockpit Show all 8 1 /8 A pilot's view from the cockpit A pilot's view from the cockpit The flight deck at sunrise Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit The northern lights Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit London from the air Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit The Milky Way over Croatia Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit Canyonlands National Park, US Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit The northern lights from the cockpit Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit The view over Greenland Simon Rockett A pilot's view from the cockpit Leaving Barbados Simon Rockett

But since she began training she has "never looked back".

She added: "I love being a commercial pilot for easyJet, and I am proud that I have now achieved my ambition of becoming a captain."

Just 5 per cent of commercial pilots are female and last year easyJet announced an initiative to double the proportion of female new entrants to 12 per cent over two years.

Julie Westhorp, chairwoman of the British Women Pilots' Association (BWPA), said she hopes Miss McWilliams' progression inspires more women to consider pursuing a career in aviation.

She went on: "Both the BWPA and easyJet are aware of the importance of visible role models for girls and young women when making career choices and continue to work together to encourage young women to consider a pilot career.

(PA (PA)

"Kate's achievement clearly demonstrates to other young women that it is possible to succeed as a pilot in commercial aviation.

"We wish Kate continuing success in her career and are delighted that she is now an excellent role model for other females."

Last week Miss McWilliams flew from Gatwick to Malta alongside Luke Elsworth, who earlier this year became the UK's youngest pilot at 19 years old.

PA
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The arrival of a giant tanker in the Firth of Forth in Scotland on Tuesday will signal the opening of a virtual pipeline transporting vast amounts of gas from US fracking wells  blamed for causing "human suffering and environmental destruction"  to Europe.

Ineos, the company that runs the giant refinery at Grangemouth, plans to eventually transport more than 800,000 tonnes of ethane, using eight specially built ships, across the Atlantic every year  and claims this new supply could revolutionise UK manufacturing.

However, anti-fracking campaigners pointed out that one of the companies supplying the gas, Range Resources, was fined more than $4m (3.1m) for allowing liquid from its wells to pollute groundwater and soil in Pennsylvania in 2014  the largest penalty ever imposed for an environmental offence by the state. One of the central criticisms of fracking is that it can lead to pollution of the land and air, with claims this can affect people's health.

The ship arrives only a day after the shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Barry Gardiner, announced a future Labour Government would ban fracking in the UK, saying it would back "the clean technologies of the future" instead.

The shipment is believed to be the first fracked gas available for use in the UK, where fracking has only been carried out on an experimental basis with the results likely to have been burned off, rather than sold.

Ineos was welcoming the tanker, the Ineos Insight, which bears the slogan shale gas for manufacturing in block capital letters along its side, to the Firth on Tuesday with a bagpiper and a celebratory reception for dignitaries including Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

However not a single Scottish Government minister will attend due to "previous diary commitments". Scotland has imposed a moratorium on fracking and is due to make a decision on an outright ban next year based on expert reports.

What Ineos has named its virtual pipeline will ultimately involve eight ships making repeated journeys across the Atlantic with a delivery of liquefied ethane about once every five days.

Europes largest ethane gas storage tank has been built at Grangemouth to cope with the influx.

The refinerys existence had been threatened as the supply of North Sea ethane  used to make plastics, not as a fossil fuel  dwindled.

Tom Pickering, Ineoss operations director, told The Independent: If we had shut Grangemouth, that would have meant all of those products would have had to be imported. It [the supply from the US] will mean Grangemouth once again has got a heartbeat and will thrive in the future.

Asked about criticism from environmentalists, Mr Pickering said many of the plastics they produce were used by the renewable energy industry.

Ineos also has plans to frack for shale gas in the UK as part of its ambition to become the countrys biggest indigenous shale gas player and to lead a UK and European shale gas revolution.

Range Resources was only one of its suppliers and had been improving their standards over the last few years, Ineos said, adding that regulatory standards governing gas pipes and fracking in the UK were higher than in the US.

However, fracking has been dogged by persistent complaints from local people in areas where it is carried out and protests at proposed sites.

Mary Church, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, condemned the arrival of the ship and its controversial cargo. "It is completely unacceptable to attempt to prop up Ineos's petrochemicals plants on the back of human suffering and environmental destruction across the Atlantic," she said.

How fracking works and where it could happen Show all 2 1 /2 How fracking works and where it could happen How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingHowItWorks.jpg How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingMapWeb.jpg

The campaign group also issued a comment by Ron Gulla, a former resident of Hickory, Pennsylvania, who signed a lease for fracking on his land in 2002.

I have witnessed first hand how the fracking industry has brought permanent damage across the Pennsylvania region, polluted our air, land and water and is destroying our livelihoods, he said.

Those living near drilling, infrastructure or waste sites have suffered water contamination, spills, wastewater dumping and gas leaks, as well as multiple health impacts.

My property and life have been destroyed by this industry. I dont know how the harm the fracking industry has caused can ever be corrected or how these injured places will get back their clean water. We must never lose sight of the fact that water is more important than gas.

Even supporters of fracking in the UK attacked the move to ship fracked gas from the US to Europe. Criticising Labour's plan to ban fracking in this country, Gary Smith, secretary of the GMB Scotland union, said: "Carting gas across oceans is not good from the environment and not good for security of supply in the UK."

Mr Gardiner said the former Chancellor George Osborne had passed "the most generous tax regime for shale gas anywhere in the world".

"There are technical problems with fracking, and they give rise to real environmental dangers. But technical problems can be overcome," he said.

"The real reason to ban fracking is that it locks us into an energy infrastructure that is based on fossil fuels long after our country needs to have moved to clean energy. So today I am announcing that a future Labour Government will ban fracking."

Range Resources was the first company to drill fracking wells in Pennsylvania when the technique took off there in the mid-2000s. It was fined $4.15m in 2014 after liquid from fracking wells polluted the surrounding countryside in Washington County. Officials said the liquid got into groundwater but not drinking water supplies.

The company also agreed to pay one family $750,000 after they complained of illness and blamed a well near their home, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In April, Terry Bossert, Ranges vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs, told a Pennsylvania Bar Institute meeting that the company avoided putting fracking wells near big houses in case the residents used their money to oppose it. A Range spokesman later said the remark had been sarcastic and facetious.
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Labour is to seek to amend the Scottish budget to raise the basic rate of income tax by 1p and to restore the 50p top rate for the highest earners north of the border.

Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale will today insist her MSPs will vote against "another austerity budget" from the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, and will instead bring forward proposals to up the tax rates.

MSPs at Holyrood will be responsible for setting income tax in Scotland from April 2017, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already rejected increasing the basic rate for the five year lifetime of the parliament, as well as ruling out upping the top rate in the first year.

SNP ministers fear that could be financially damaging if those earning 150,000 a year or move in a bid to escape the income tax hike.

But after Labour included the policies in its manifesto for May's Holyrood elections, Ms Dugdale will tell the Labour conference in Liverpool that her party will seek to amend the Scottish budget.

She will say: "With the full range of powers the Scottish Parliament now has, the SNP Government faces a clear choice.

"Accept a Tory Budget from Westminster, or go our own way with proposals to grow the Scottish economy and protect our schools and hospitals."

She will add: "If the SNP minority Government do not accept these proposals, and try to force another austerity budget through Holyrood, we will vote against it.

"If they want support, they'll need to look to the Tories for that. Labour will not help the SNP pass an austerity budget."

Ms Dugdale will use her conference address to hit out at the SNP leader over her refusal to use Holyrood's new tax powers to prevent budget cuts.

She will say: "With the cuts coming down the track from Holyrood, local Government is set to lose 1 billion over the course of this Parliament.

"Our health service is already beginning to show signs of strain as hospitals across the country face cuts or closure. When it comes to our schools, the SNP Government continue to refuse to protect the education budget.

"I accept what Nicola Sturgeon says about these cuts coming from Westminster. I don't question that. What I do question is her refusal to do anything about it."

Ms Dugdale will continue: "Nicola Sturgeon is the most powerful First Minister that Scotland has ever had.

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"In her hands, she has more power than any of her predecessors to change our nation.

"But for a woman who is famous for saying yes, her answer when you ask her to use the powers she has is always no."

In contrast Labour will not "sit back and do nothing," Ms Dugdale will say.

When the Scottish Government brings forward its budget for 2017-18 later this year, she will pledge her party will "place amendments to introduce a 50p tax on those earning over 150,000 and to add a penny to income tax to pay for public services".

She will argue this shows Labour "making decisions for Scotland that the Tories would never make, and using the powers which we have argued for"

Ms Dugdale will add: "This, together with our other tax proposals, will enable us to stop further cuts to public services; to protect our schools and hospitals and the services we all value."

PA
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A man claiming to be able to cure autism has been secretly filmed shouting and threatening to punch or slap an undercover reporter who posed as a patient.

Joseph Kanta offered autism mind training and told the reporter he could cure autism with his training system.

In the footage obtained by the journalist who posed as a vulnerable patient, Mr Kanta can be seen raising his fist at the client and asking whether he wanted a slap or punch.

He is also seen standing over his client and loudly shouting his name.

The BBC reporter filmed the interaction as part of an investigation into a Hungarian firm that was selling a cure for autism in London.

Mr Kanta told the undercover reporter his autism could be cured through a series of training sessions which cost 3,500.

According to the BBC, Mr Kanta said he would do this by locating the patients inner trauma which could take as many as 60 sessions.

The undercover reporter, who gave his name as Jordan said during the sessions he was ordered to make prolonged eye-contact with Mr Kanta, which is something many people with autism find difficult to do.

He also repeatedly told him his mother did not love him.

Jordan said: His hands were getting closer to my face, his body was getting closer to me, his face was getting closer to my face.

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder for which there is no known cure, and can affect people in a variety of ways.

Richard Mills, research director at the Research Autism charity viewed the footage and said: It has no place under the heading of therapy of any kind.

To be confronted by someone who is so threatening is horrifying, it's terrifying.

And to someone prone to stress and anxiety, the effects are likely to be catastrophic, he said.

When asked to explain the footage by the BBC, Mr Kanta said he had been playing a joke, but that his techniques were based on science and had yielded plenty of results in the past.

The training system Mr Kanta was using is said to be based on techniques invented by Zoltan Toth, who runs a company named Stabil Point Technologia in Hungary.

Mr Toth told the undercover team: I can kill autism, the first that did.

Mr Toth put the BBCs research team in contact with Mr Kanta, who he said was the companys trainer in London.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA 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 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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

A petition calling on the government to legislate against unproven treatments for autism has gathered over 50,000 signatures.

BBC Inside Out is broadcast on BBC One in the London area on Monday 26 September at 19:30.
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A policeman who faces losing his job after telling a protestor you dont tell me what to do in my own country has accused the Metropolitan Police force of oppressive political correctness.

PC Marcus Tyson was recorded responding to the pro-Kurdish protestors in central London last month.

He has been placed on restricted duties while an investigation into the incident takes place.

In the video posted on YouTube, the protestors can be heard shouting f*** the police.

PC Tyson is seen walking along next to the group of protestors, and responds to one woman, believed to be the organiser of the march, and tells her you dont tell me what to do in my own country.

Its my country, he adds. You get on and do what youre supposed to do.

I heard that, another protestor tells him. Thats racist. Another later adds that hes recorded the policemans comments.

PC Tyson added: You have no way of organising this properly, you lot have lost the plot.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, PC Tyson, who has been a policeman for 29 years, hit out at the Metropolitan Polices treatment of him, and accused the forces directorate of professional standards (DPS) of oppressive political correctness.

He said: I would like to know upon what basis they regard my statement as being racist, it is purely a statement of fact that this is my country.

The action the DPS have taken against me is so wildly over the top, it discredits the investigators and brings their judgment into question.

He said he accepted the right for people to complain, but said the forces reaction has been disproportionate and is affecting officers ability to work properly.

He added: It is highly prejudicial to have put me on restricted duties.

There are an awful lot of my colleagues who are suffering from this awful and oppressive political correctness that's infected the professional standards units in all of the boroughs and the DPS Met-wide. It means that officers are afraid to do their jobs properly.

If found guilty of racism, PC Tyson could lose his job.

A Met Police spokesman said: A public complaint was made on August 20 regarding alleged comments made by a police constable at a demonstration in Westminster on August 15.

The matter is being dealt with by the DPS as alleged gross misconduct.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA 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

On September 20, it was confirmed that the PC would be subject to local restrictions. These include not having face-to-face contact with the public.
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Ed Balls has warned that Labour may never form a Government again because voters see it as irrational and anti-business.

The former Shadow Chancellor spoke of his fears that, under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour had become a party of protest, rather than a genuine contender for power.

Mr Balls said Mr Corbyn and John McDonnell, the current Shadow Chancellor, now had to choose whether to change course and put together a policy platform to try to win the next general election.

The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Show all 11 1 /11 The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He called Hezbollah and Hamas friends True. In a speech made to the Stop the War Coalition in 2009, Mr Corbyn called representatives from both groups friends after inviting them to Parliament. He later told Channel 4 he wanted both groups, who have factions designated as international terror organisations, to be part of the debate for the Middle East peace process. I use (the word friends) in a collective way, saying our friends are prepared to talk, he added. Does it mean I agree with Hamas and what it does? No. Does it mean I agree with Hezbollah and what they do? No. Reuters The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was a tragedy Partly false. David Cameron used this as a line of attack at the Conservative Party conference but appears to have left out all context from Mr Corbyns original remarks. In an 2011 interview on Iranian television, the then-backbencher said the fact the al-Qaeda leader was not put on trial was the tragedy, continuing: The World Trade Center was a tragedy, the attack on Afghanistan was a tragedy, the war in Iraq was a tragedy. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is haunted by the legacy of his evil great-great-grandfather False. A Daily Express expose revealed that the Labour leaders ancestor, James Sargent, was the despotic master of a Victorian workhouse. Addressing the report at the Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said he had never heard of him before, adding: I want to take this opportunity to apologise for not doing the decent thing and going back in time and having a chat with him about his appalling behaviour. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn raised a motion about pigeon bombs in Parliament This one is true. On 21 May 2004, Mr Corbyn raised an early day motion entitled pigeon bombs, proposing that the House register being appalled but barely surprised that MI5 reportedly proposed to load pigeons with explosives as a weapon. The motion continued: The House believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again. It was not carried. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He rides a Communist bicycle False. A report in The Times referred to Mr Corbyn, known for his cycling, riding a Chairman Mao-style bicycle earlier this year. Less thorough journalists might have referred to it as just a bicycle, but no, so we have to conclude that whenever we see somebody on a bicycle from now on, there goes another supporter of Chairman Mao, he later joked. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn 'Jeremy Corbyn will appoint a special minister for Jews' False so far. The Sun report in December was allegedly based on a rumour passed to the paper by a Daily Express columnist who has written pieces critical of the Labour leader in the past. The minister did not materialise in his shadow cabinet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn wishes Britain would abolish its Army False. Another gem from The Sun took comments made at a Hiroshima remembrance parade in August 2012 where Mr Corbyn supported Costa Ricas move to abolish it armed forces. Wouldnt it be wonderful if every politician around the worldabolished the army and took pride in the fact that they dont have an army, he added. The caveat that every politician must take the step suggests Mr Corbyn does not support UK disarmament just yet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn stole sandwiches meant for veterans False. The Guido Fawkes blog claimed that the Labour leader took sandwiches meant for veterans at at Battle of Britain memorial service in September but a photo later emerged showing him being handed one by Costa volunteers, who later confirmed they were given to all guests. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He missed the induction into the Queens privy council True. After much speculation about Mr Corbyns republican views and willingness to bow to the monarch, his office confirmed that he did not attend the official induction to the privy council because of a prior engagement, but did not rule out joining the body. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn refuses to sing the national anthem. Partly true. The Labour leader was filmed standing in silence as God Save the Queen was sung at a Battle of Britain remembrance service but will reportedly sing it in future. Mr Corbyn was elusive on the issue in an interview, saying he would show memorials respect in the proper way, but sources said he would sing the anthem at future occasions. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cheese True. The group lists its purpose as the following: To increase awareness of issues surrounding the dairy industry and focus on economic issues affecting the dairy industry and producers.

And he told a meeting at the Liverpool conference: I think the Labour party will survive, but I dont know whether the Labour party is going to survive and be a party that can realistically intend to be in Government. That all depends now on how Jeremy responds.

Thats whats happened over the last 18 months and if that trend caries on its a catastrophe  but you cant rule that out.

Recommended Read more Ed Balls has some wise words for us all about Jeremy Corbyn

Mr Balls  who lost his Westminster seat last year - agreed that, for the past 20 years, Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell had given the impression that they wanted to abolish capitalism, rather than reform it.

He added: If we are seeking to overthrow it, we have got no chance of winning the general election.

If people, Im not saying Jeremy, people around Jeremy, continue to say that working with business is bad, that the BBC is part of a right-wing conspiracy, that when the electorate say they believe in this policy position they are wrong and that anyone within Labour who criticises them is a Tory neo-liberal - if thats what they carry on doing, we have absolutely no chance of winning the next general election and we will let down all those people.

Mr Balls also argued that a mass recruitment of more moderate members, to outnumber the Corbynite forces, was probably the only way to turn end the crisis.

Without that, if he was still an MP, he would think to myself, at the moment, there is absolutely no chance of the Labour party getting back to rationality.

Mr Balls also said it had been the wrong time for Owen Smith to launch a leadership challenge, adding: People were in no way prepared.

And, speaking at a Guardian event to promote his book, Speaking Out, he ruled out a political comeback, saying: I had 20 years  and shelf lives are getting shorter.
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Prime Minister Theresa May has taken the unusual step of releasing details of private letters to defend her record on immigration, amid an intensifying row between her supporters and backers of David Cameron.

Mrs May's camp released details of correspondence with Mr Cameron to prove she had a tough aproach to border control, after a new book claimed she had once been branded lily-livered over plans for tougher immigration curbs.

Mr Cameron had wanted a so-called emergency brake as part of his EU renegotiation, to convince voters he could reduce immigration if Britain remained in the Union.

But in his book, All Out War, Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman says he was prevented from doing so by then home secretary Ms May and Philip Hammond, now chancellor.

It quotes one Cameron aide as saying: Hammond spoke first and argued we just couldn't do something that would receive an immediate raspberry in Europe. Theresa said very, very little, and simply said that we just couldn't go against Merkel.

A visibly deflated Mr Cameron was said to have turned to one official and said: I can't do it without their support. If it wasn't for my lily-livered cabinet colleagues....

But according to the details released by the May camp, she twice wrote letters to him - in November 2014 and May 2015 - in which she argued the case for an emergency brake.

In the first she is said to have proposed the emergency brake as one of a series of measures to rebalance the rights of citizens to move within the EU so national governments can act in the best interests of their resident populations.

In the second she was said to have argued that the emergency brake was crucial to cutting numbers and convincing the public the Government was capable of policing its own borders.

Earlier, former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith hit back at Mr Cameron's communications director Sir Craig Oliver after he claimed Mr Cameron had been let down by Mrs May over her reluctance to come out more strongly for Remain in the referendum.

In his book, Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story Of Brexit, Sir Craig detailed 13 occasions on which Mrs May failed to support Mr Cameron before she did reluctantly come off the fence - but only after he gave her a dressing down over the telephone.

He said that throughout the campaign, she had pursued a submarine strategy of disappearing from view, leading one senior Remain campaigner to ask: Are we sure May's not an agent for the other side?

Sir Craig acknowledged that from her point of view, the tactic had proved successful. Amid the murder and betrayal of the campaign, one figure stayed very still at the centre of it all - Theresa May. Now she is the last one standing, he wrote.

However he was accused by Mr Duncan Smith - who campaigned for Leave - of trying to pin the blame for the failures of the Remain campaign on other people.

Craig Oliver is one of a growing number of foolish attempts by ex-government Remainers who lost to shift responsibility for their failure, he said.

The grown-up thing for them to do, instead of carping, is to show some humility and get behind Theresa May as she seeks to get back control of migration with the EU as we leave.

Press Association

Download a free Brexit action plan and investment ideas from Independent partner, Hargreaves Lansdown.
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Conservative MPs will warn Theresa May not to sleepwalk out of the European single market by bowing to pressure from Eurosceptic ministers for a hard Brexit.

Tories who backed Remain in the referendum will try to fight back at the Conservatives conference in Birmingham next week. But Eurosceptics, who often put on a show of strength at packed fringe meetings at the conference, will urge Ms May to start Brexit talks quickly and aim for a clean break from the EU with much looser trading links.

Pro-EU Tories fear the Prime Minister is being pushed into leaving the EU single market and customs union by the three Brexiteers she appointed to key ministerial jobs  Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox. They are locked in a Cabinet battle with Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, who wants to keep open the option of remaining in the single market and customs union.

Some figures in the City of London are worried that Mrs May is drifting towards a hard Brexit that would see companies leave the UK, damage business confidence and damage the financial services sector.

What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you  that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the  judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up  and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty

Dominic Grieve, the Tories former Attorney General who backed Remain, told The Independent: A hard Brexit has no mandate and would be no answer to the problems Britain faces. In fact, by erecting new barriers to trade with Europe, it would put jobs and livelihoods at risk. Our economic future depends on membership of the single market.

Labour MP Pat McFadden, who backs the Open Britain campaign for the closest possible EU links after Brexit, said: The Government cannot simply be led by ideology. These judgements have to be made on the basis of what's best for the UK economy. The Government has been slow to realise what would be involved in leaving the single market and customs union. Businesses are desperately briefing ministers on this but there is an urgent need for a proper assessment which should be shared with the public. We should not sleepwalk into a hard Brexit without knowing what this would mean for the economy.

The Prime Minister has refused to give a running commentary on what she wants to secure when formal Brexit negotiations start, probably early next year. Her spokesman told a Westminster briefing that reports the Government was now set to pursue a hard Brexit strategy were speculation.

John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, said Labour wanted to preserve access to the single market for goods and services, including the financial sector, but stopped short of backing the current full membership. Some pro-EU Labour MPs are worried that their party has not challenged the Government more strongly over Brexit, claiming that Jeremy Corbyn has not spelt out a clear policy and shows little interest in the issue.
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Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis has reignited Labours Trident row by warning Jeremy Corbyn that pushing for nuclear disarmament is helping the Tories.

A defiant Mr Lewis  just hours after being ordered to water down his conference speech  said his leader would be picking the scab by refusing to accept that Labour policy is to renew Trident.

The comments came as Mr Corbyn was accused of running scared of answering questions about the bust-up, after he cancelled a round of TV interviews planned for tomorrow morning.

Earlier, a bid by Mr Lewis to prevent any future attempt to make unilateral disarmament party policy was scrapped at the last minute  on orders from Mr Corbyns office.

A TV camera captured Mr Lewis angry reaction as his speech was altered on the platform autocue as he was about to get to his feet to deliver it.

A post-it note informed Mr Lewis that must not say he would not seek to change his party's current policy of backing renewal of the UK's Trident submarines.

Instead, he told the conference: I am clear that our party has a policy for Trident renewal,  without a guarantee there would be no future attempt to overturn that stance.

Later, speaking at the international policy forum on the fringe of the Labour conference in Liverpool, Mr Lewis was reported as saying it was time to stop picking the scab and move on.

An MP in the room told the Politico website that Mr Lewis said: We have established party policy on this. We are a democratic party and we should now move on, otherwise the Tories will use it as an ambush.

You dont have to go to Sandhurst [a training facility for British military officers] to know you shouldnt walk into an ambush. Theres no point in picking a scab.

Kevan Jones, a former Labour defence minister, criticised Mr Corbyn for dodging media scrutiny, telling The Independent: Clive Lewis tried to take a sensible view.

If Jeremy Corbyn disagrees with that, he should explain why  avoiding questions on this important issue is not the way forward."

And a Liberal Democrat spokesman said: Corbyn is running scared of answering questions about his dysfunctional leadership and his dysfunctional party. He is obsessed with re-fighting the battles of the past.

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said diary management meant the interviews would have to be fitted in later this week, adding: He did 28 regional TV appearances today.
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John McDonnell has spooked business leaders after making a bold pitch to re-establish socialism in the mainstream of politics.

Leading private sector figures reacted with dismay after the shadow chancellor promised a crack-down on Philip Greens, more intervention, looser trade union rules and higher worker wages.

In a sign of Labours turning tides, Mr McDonnell won a standing ovation as he told conference delegates in Liverpool, in this party you no longer have to whisper its name, its called socialism.

Recommended Read more Corbyn supporters fail to block move which could weaken his control

The centrepiece of his speech was a living wage review body with a remit to ensure that minimum incomes were set at the level needed for a decent life, which independent studies suggested would be more than 10 per hour by 2020.

That is above his previous ambition of at least 10 and also above the Governments current National Living Wage target of 9 by 2020.

He pleased delegates with attacks on widely criticised business tycoons like Mike Ashley, going on to pledge: Under Labour there will be no more Philip Greens at all.

Mr McDonnell confirmed his ambition to shake up the tax system to shift the burden away from those who earn wages and salaries and on to those who hold wealth. And he said he was interested in the potential of a universal basic income.

 John McDonnell promises living wage under next Labour government

Setting out his plans for more state intervention in industry, he said: We need a new deal across our whole economy, because whatever we do in Britain, the old rules of the global economy are being rewritten for us.

He also pledged to scrap the Conservatives Trade Union Act and reintroduce collective sectoral bargaining.

Union bosses hailed the speech, including Unite general secretary Len McCluskey who described it as music to the ears of the millions of low-paid workers who are getting poorer under this Government.

Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Show all 8 1 /8 Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith clash at a leadership hustings in Gateshead, where Mr Smith was scarcely able to answer a question without being booed by Mr Corbyns supporters PA Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Jeremy himself admitted he was seven out of 10 in terms of his faith in the European Union. He said it, said Mr Smith during his second live debate with Jeremy Corbyn Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Ballot papers are currently due to be sent out on 22 August and returned a month later, with the result being announced at a special Labour conference on 24 September Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Jeremy Corbyn supporters cheer and wave placards as the Labour Leader addresses thousands of supporters in in Liverpool, England Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Labour Party leadership candidate Owen Smith poses for a picture with supporters during a picnic for young members in London Fields, Hackney in London Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith The Labour leader has a spring in his step at a leadership rally in Sunderland Screenshot Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Labour leadership contender Owen Smith delivers a speech at the Open University in Milton Keynes, where he promised to reverse Conservative cuts set to leave millions of low paid workers thousands of pounds a year worse off PA Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has urged Owen Smith to distance himself from those saying they want to split the Labour party Getty

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, branded it as a bold and grown-up approach to lift workers out of in-work poverty. He added: This policy delivers more than long overdue wage justice.

But CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said businesses would be wary of Mr McDonnells combative tone and focus on extensive intervention.

Mark Littlewood, director-general of the free market Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, dismissed the plans as fantasy economics.

He added: The shadow chancellor wants a return to the industrial strategy of the 1970s, ignoring the past failures of a raft of initiatives, from subsidising the nuclear industry to Concorde. Its time for the shadow chancellor to get real. The long-term economic prosperity of the UK will not be secured by shifting taxation to wealth, by higher spending or by more regulation.

Labours strategy amounts to huge private sector austerity in order to protect and expand the public sector. This would be disastrous for the health of the UK economy.

Terry Scuoler, chief executive of the manufacturers organisation EEF, said: Business will need to be convincedthat some of the proposed policies are relevant for a modern economy. In particular, a return to collective bargaining is a backward step.

And Adam Marshall, acting director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: John McDonnell talks of an interventionist future Labour government, but needs to remember that theres both good intervention and bad intervention. Good intervention creates the conditions for all businesses to thrive, but bad intervention ensnares them in red tape and makes them less inclined to employ, train or invest.

Mike Cherry, national chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, was more positive, welcoming the proposal to expand the Employment Allowance.
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Momentum activists have created a mock general election manifesto with suggestions that all energy companies should be nationalised, the Trident nuclear deterrent be scrapped and a universal basic income to become policy.

The grassroots organisation established shortly after Jeremy Corbyns election as leader in 2015, hosted the session, by Talk Socialism Newcastle, at its World Transformed festival  an event running alongside Labours annual conference in Liverpool.

Organisers created a scenario in which a snap general election had been called and asked activists to write Labours 2017 election manifesto to go to the British public. Momentum activists were then split up into seven areas  economy, defence, environment, education, housing, health, constitutional reform  and asked to create one central policy each.

Following the policy announcements, there was then a press conference where a spokesperson for each policy area was held to account. To the amusement of the audience, journalists included Rachel from the Torygraph, Trevor from the Daily Fail and Charlotte from the Impartial.

On the environment the mock policy suggested that the Labour party will run a national energy board after taking back control of our entire energy grid and all commercial energy producers.

This, they added, would empower the new government, enabling us to guarantee that we exceed the 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2025 which was set by the Climate Change Act.

The defence policy would oversee the transition from an outdated nuclear deterrent to a modern defence strategy that meets the challenges of the real threats we face in the 21st century.

The group in charge of constitutional reform called for the House of Lords to be abolished, a move to proportional representation and the lowering the voting age to 16.

On the economy, activists suggested the party adopt a citzens basic income, which will provide economic security for everyone and abolish poverty. They added the policy will cut through welfare bureaucracy and allow people to take back control of their lives, in a world where work and wages are more precarious than ever.

It comes after Jeremy Corbyn made a surprise appearance at the Momentum festival on Saturday and hailed the movement for their significant contribution to his leadership campaign. He added that ideas put forward by the left-wing group are absolutely essential.

Holding a copy of The World Transformed schedule of events, the Labour leader said: This event here might be described as some kind of fringe extreme ... I see the kind of discussions that are in this programme as absolutely central and mainstream to how people think and what were trying to do.
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British Muslims should be given a new way of reporting hate crimes that bypasses the police, because the Governments controversial Prevent anti-extremism strategy has ruined trust between the two parties, Andy Burnham has suggested.

The shadow Home Secretary called for a root and branch review of Prevent and said the true scale of Islamophobic hate crimes was being hidden because Muslims were reticent to report such crimes to an institution involved in monitoring them.

Mr Burnham, who is Labours candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester, compared Prevent to the French ban on the burkini swimming costume and said it singles out one community for different treatment. He said such an approach risked legitimising or inspiring Islamophobic hate crime.

Earlier this year the UN special rapporteur on the right to freedom of assembly warned that Prevent could actually end up promoting extremism, describing it as a Big Brother approach.

The strategy is aimed at preventing people from becoming radicalised and turning to terrorism. Provisions include giving public bodies, including teachers, a statutory duty to report so-called signs of extremism. These may however include innocuous and entirely legal activities such as people becoming more religious or expressing anti-establishment views. Teaching unions have voted to boycott elements of the programme.

If people have a feeling that the bodies that they would go to are also simultaneously being asked to monitor them theres a possible conflict of interest there isnt there? Mr Burnham told a fringe event at Labour conference organised by the Mend (Muslim Engagement & Development), a not-for-profit company that aims to enhance the engagement of British Muslims in national life.

Then people wont feel able to come forward and say exactly whats happening to them and their family if they also feel theyre being monitored in some way. Is there then a need to create trusted third parties for reporting hate crime so that it isnt the case that people have to go directly to the police or possible the council?

Mr Burnham made his comments after reviewing research by Mend which found that race and religious hate crime had been rising year-on-year in the recent past  as well as a dramatic spike round the EU referendum.

A survey of Muslims conducted by the organisation also found that people who said they had suffered Islamophobic discrimination in the workplace and other areas were unlikely to report it: 61 per cent of people affected said they had not reported workplace discrimination to anyone, and most who did reported it only to friend and family.

Mr Burnham told the fringe meeting: I think what we mustnt do is fall into the trap into which the French have fallen into over a number of years which is to develop a policy agenda that looks like it is targeting one community. We saw that in the summer with the burkini ban.

Our equivalent here, you might say, is Prevent: an approach to policy that singles out one community for different treatment. That is highly problematic, I would say.

In the midst of all these figures weve seen, we know that it is Islamophobia that is absolutely the most virulent strand of this hate that is coming forward.

If governments are doing things to almost legitimise things in some way by saying this community does need to be treated differently, it does need to be watched at a local level, because theres danger here in terms of behaviour, that is highly problematic.

The shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham (Getty) (Getty Images)

He added: Theres a lot of people in this country not necessarily at risk from Islamic extremism but its far-right extremism. Thats what were talking about here, but where is the statutory duty on that?  There are so many issues with it that it needs a root and branch review.

The Home Office has defended Prevent. A spokesperson previously said: Prevent does not target a specific faith or ethnic group  it deals with all forms of extremism. Rather, Prevent protects those who are targeted by terrorist recruiters. This is challenging but absolutely necessary work. Currently the greatest threat comes from terrorist recruiters inspired by Isis.

Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell

Our Prevent programme will necessarily reflect this by prioritising support for vulnerable British Muslims, and working in partnership with British Muslim communities and civil society groups.

We have explicitly said that schools should be safe spaces in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive topics. That includes terrorism and the extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology. They need to learn how to challenge these ideas. Ideas that they see in the newspapers and on the internet every day.

"We expect schools to be proactive in challenging intolerance in the classroom and in school communities. We cannot be neutral in the face of intolerance.
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Britains support for Saudi Arabia is undermining its attempts to hold other international powers like Russia to account for alleged war crimes, Labours shadow defence secretary has said.

Clive Lewis, a former soldier, said Russia should have the full weight of international law thrown at it if it was found to be committing war crimes in its bombardment of rebels in Syria.

But he warned that the UKs support for Saudi Arabias widely-criticised military operation in Yemen was making it difficult to hold other countries to account  because the inconsistent approach offended an international sense of fair play.

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This weekend Britain was accused of blocking EU efforts to set up an inquiry into Saudi Arabias actions in the country, where it is intervening on the side of the internationally-recognised government against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Ministers have dismissed claims that the reported bombing of international hospitals, schools and wedding parties by the autocracy amount to war crimes. They have repeatedly said that Saudi Arabia is best placed to investigate its own alleged crimes; Saudi Arabian investigations into its own actions have thus far absolved itself of any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile Russia has been accused of war crimes in its bombardment of anti Assad-forces in Syria, where it is intervening against enemies of the Syrian government. The accusations centre on the reported widespread use of so-called bunker buster bombs as well as incendiaries against civlians in the east of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Bunker-busting bombs, more suited to destroying military installations, are now destroying homes, decimating bomb shelters, crippling, maiming, killing dozens, if not hundreds, Matthew Rycroft, the UK ambassador to the UN, said during the emergency security council session on Syria on Sunday.

Clive Lewis is Labour's defence spokesperson in the House of Commons (PA)

Incendiary munitions, indiscriminate in their reach, are being dropped on to civilian areas so that, yet again, Aleppo is burning. And to cap it all, water supplies, so vital to millions, are now being targeted, depriving water to those most in need. In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes.

Mr Lewis, an ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, told the BBCs Westminster Hour programme on Sunday that the stark contrast between the approach was making it difficult to consistently enforce international law.

If the Russians are found guilty of this they should have everything thrown at them, the full weight of international law. I agree with that, he said.

But at the same time we want to be seen with an even hand, then the British government, the Conservative government, should be playing the same way with Saudi Arabia.

I think it undermines our attempts to be able to hold Russia to account on this if its proven to be true, if at the same time we seem to be in denial because our so-called ally Saudi Arabia, who may also be committing humanitarian crimes  the UN seem to think that  you cant play hard and fast with one group but not the other. So I think you need to have a sense of fair play with this.

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

Mr Lewis served as an infantry officer in what was then the Territorial Army and fought in a tour of Afghanistan in 2009.

Britain has sold 3.3 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since its bombardment of Yemen started. The Government has ignored calls from the European Parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee to stop granting licences for such arms sales. The Committee on Arms Export Control is split on whether such an embargo should go ahead.
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Secrecy and lack of information about UK public spending is so great that in more than a third of cases, the ordinary taxpayer cant even know who has been awarded a Government or local authority contract, a new report has found.

Spending data was so heavily redacted, the campaign group Transparency International claimed, that in just one month a single London borough  Hackney  recorded 14m in payments without revealing to the public who got the money.

Nationally, the Counting the Pennies report said that at least 35 per cent  more than a third  of published local and central government tender data did not even show who was awarded the contract.

Descriptions of what public authorities had purchased were, the report said, often so vague as to be almost meaningless.

And, it was reported, spending data was displayed in such a bewildering variety of different ways  with 81,057 different column names used by public authorities to describe the money they have spent  that the ordinary taxpayer trying to trace how their money was spent would be left baffled.

The result, said Duncan Hames, the director of Transparency International UK, was that people may be getting away with corruption in public office.

He said: Open data is an essential tool in the fight against corruption. Real transparency significantly reduces hiding places for corrupt individuals and allows the public to hold the Government to account.

There is a danger that although the Government are ticking the right boxes, the true spirit of transparency is being lost. The result is a missed opportunity to flush out questionable contacts and root out waste.

The report analysed a total of 2.3 trillion of published transactions made by local and central government between 2011 and 2015. It concluded that while the UK has, in theory, one of the most open governments in the world ... the system is not working properly in practice.

World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Show all 15 1 /15 World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Petro Poroshenko President of Ukraine World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Ayad Allawi Allawi Iraqs Vice-President between 2014 and 2015, and the countrys interim prime minister from 2004 to 2005 World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates, Emir of Abu Dhabi World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Sigmundur Davi Gunnlaugsson Prime Minister of Iceland World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Sergey Roldugin Close friend of Vladimir Putin World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Emir of Qatar 1995-2013 World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Li Xiaolin Daughter of Li Peng, the former Premier of China (The current vice-president of state-owned power company China Datang Gorporation and former CEO of China Power International Development, she has been nicknamed Chinas Power Queen World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Rami Makhlouf Cousin of Bashar Assad, the President of Syria World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Hafez Makhlouf Cousin of Bashar Assad, the President of Syria World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Clive Khulubuse Zuma Nephew of Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Maryam Nawaz Sharif Safdar Daughter of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Hasan Nawaz Sharif Son of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Hussain Nawaz Sharif Son of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Alaa Mubarak The eldest son of ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Read more here

Despite Government guidelines calling for as much transparency as possible over public spending, the researchers found: A significant amount of the transaction data that is being published appears to be redacted unnecessarily, in effect hiding the details of potentially substantial payments.

In one London borough, which was unnamed in the report, 512m of transactions  equivalent to 52 per cent of all transactions the council published  were redacted so there was little information about the nature of these payments.

The researchers put another London borough, Hackney, at the top of a league table of public bodies ranked in terms of the highest value of transactions that were redacted in a single month.

In May 2015, the researchers claimed, Hackney recorded 14,050,025.66 spent in direct debits where the names of the suppliers paid by the council were redacted  leaving council tax payers unable to tell who had received 14m of their money.

Difficulties in tracking how taxpayers money was spent, the report added, were compounded by the fact that in only 0.75 per cent of cases nationwide, (1 recorded transaction in 133), did the public body provide the unique Companies House identification number of the firm receiving its money.

Comments from Sussex University students asked to find out how councils and central government were spending taxpayers money by using the data they had published included: If youre a citizen you would simply give up.

This was despite measures such as the UK Open Government National Action Plan, launched at the international Anti-Corruption Summit overseen by then Prime Minister David Cameron (at a time when he was under fire over his own familys finances because of the Panama Papers leak.)

These commitments are welcome, the report concluded, However it is now imperative that government works closely with civil society to make sure they are implemented in practice.

Commenting on the 14m spend where recipients of public money werent identified, a spokeswoman for Hackney Council said: A large proportion of the figures listed were direct debit payments. We werent able to include the details of these payments in data collection at that time, but the value of the payments were included so that we could offer as much information as possible.

Since April 2016, following improvements to our banking system, we have been able to provide the full details.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: This Government is determined to deliver on its commitment to continue to be the most transparent government in the world and we continue to build on this.

We are the first G7 country to have committed to the Open Contracting Data Standard on our central purchasing authority and we are now improving the quality and transparency of government grants.

We are also improving the Freedom of Information Act, making more data available across the public sector, and will continue to make government more open.
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After five decades of civil war and four years of negotiations, the longest-running conflict in the Western hemisphere came to an end at last on Monday, as Colombias president Juan Manuel Santos signed a peace agreement with the leader of Farc, the Marxist guerrilla group.

Santos, 65 and 57-year-old rebel Rodrigo Londono, better known as Timochenko, were set to shake hands in Cartagena, as they signed the deal declaring the end of a war in which more than 200,000 people have been killed since 1964. The accord was to be signed using pens made from recycled bullets that were once used in the conflict. Inscribed on the side of each pen was the message: Bullets wrote our past. Education, our future.

The deal will see some 7,000 fighters from Farc (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) giving up their weapons and re-integrating into Colombian civil society, along with 17,000 non-combatants also affiliated with the group, which will now become a legitimate political party.

After the US and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in 2015, the war in Colombia was the last remnant of Cold War conflict in Latin America. Today we have a reason for hope: There is one less war on the planet, Santos said ahead of the ceremony. And that is the war in Colombia.

Among the guests expected to attend the ceremony were United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Cuban President Raul Castro and US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who welcomed the agreement as a foreign policy success for the US, telling reporters: It is time to put the past behind us and start to write a new future for Colombia.

The US State Department will spend $390m next year on the peace process, which is to be monitored by the UN. Colombians are expected to approve the treaty when it goes to a national vote on 2 October.

Yet not all Colombians are content with the peace. Both sides in the war were guilty of human rights abuses: the guerrillas sexually enslaved women and kidnapped civilians for ransom; right-wing paramilitaries affiliated with the army were responsible for multiple extrajudicial killings.

Former president Alvaro Uribe, whose father was murdered by Farc, has expressed outrage that the deal permits rebel leaders to enter the countrys parliament without serving jail sentences first. Some of the guerrillas may prove reluctant to put down their arms, while drug traffickers made feel the conflict was better for their business than the coming peace.

The European Union has announced it will remove Farc from its blacklist of global terror groups, while Mr Kerry said the US would consider doing the same after the peace deal goes into effect.
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Donald Trump has held discussions with Israels Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu about the country's wall separating the West Bank. Over the course of a 90-minute meeting at Trump Tower in New York, the pair discussed at length Israel's successful experience with a security fence that helped secure its borders, according to a Trump campaign press release.

Proposals for a wall between the US and Mexico have been among the most controversial policies suggested during Mr Trumps presidential campaign.

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The Republican front runner has promised to make the Mexican state pay billions for the construction of a concrete structure designed to keep out migrants trying to get into the US. To run the whole length of the southern border with Mexico, the wall would need to be almost 2,000 miles long.

In contrast, the separation barrier in Israel is about 440 miles long, running around the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

Supporters of the barrier say it has been effective in reducing terrorist attacks and activity in Israel.

But others dispute its effectiveness and say it segregates and isolates Palestinians, reduces their access to services and basic freedoms and encroaches on their land. It has been a constant sticking point in Israeli-Palestinian relations and a vivid reminder of the conflict.

Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Show all 12 1 /12 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The fire in my heart is beyond my ribs. You left me beloved - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Let me get enough of you, as Im still hungry for your smile my son - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict They besiege me in my homeland so I flew to heaven - Rodaina Al Agha, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict And I am still facing the pain all by myself - Lama Shakshak, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My brother, I watched you go while my heart was tearing - Helen Mo'amar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My new doll is lonely in the rubble - Ayah Sha'ath, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict When a soul hugs another soul they never split, even in death - Ismail Matar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Everyone is gone and I stayed alone to make the world witness the injustice done to me - Hamza Shaheen, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The hand that carries the arms carries roses too - Madeeha Al Majayda, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My eyes tell you about a dream that overcame the fence - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict A childhood caught in an unjust siege - Hadeel Quidh, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict All the details are torn after you - Hamza Shaheen, 17

Mr Trump said his meeting with Mr Netanyahu also reaffirmed the unbreakable bond between the US and Israel and spoke about regional security, technology, economics and military assistance and cooperation.

The Republican candidate also advocated the aim of recognising Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel  a statement often uttered by presidential candidates during election campaigns.

While the main institutions of the Israeli government are based in the city, Palestinians also stake a claim to it. Jerusalem is also home to a number of sensitive religious sites, such as the Temple Mount and al-Aqsa Mosque  which have been a flashpoint for violence in the past.

The statement said: Mr Trump recognised that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbours, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish state.

The statement gave no indications of any further discussion as to how peace negotiations in the country could progress.

Hillary Clinton also met with Mr Netanyahu while he was in New York. An aide told CNN: "The secretary reaffirmed her commitment to work toward a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, negotiated directly by the parties, that guarantees Israel's future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognised borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity."

She also discussed intelligence and military relations, the Iranian nuclear deal  which Israel has strongly contested, but Ms Clinton supported  and working against attempts to delegitimise Israel, including through the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, the Clinton campaign said.
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Donald Trump has told the Israeli Prime Minister that the United States would recognise Jerusalem as a capital of Israel.

Mr Trumps claim would make a decisive shift is US foreign policy. Although Israel calls Jerusalem its capital city, few countries, including the US accept that. Most embassies are kept in Tel Aviv.

During his meeting with Mr Netanyahu at Trump Tower in New York, Mr Trump told the Israeli Prime minister the US would "recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel."

Contrary to custom, the media was banned from the hour-long talk that took place between the two figures - reportedly at Mr Trumps request.

Mr Trumps recognition of the ancient city as belonging to Israel was announced on the Trump campaign website afterwards.

The Trump campaign acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.

 Is this the most bizarre campaign of all-time?

Jerusalem has been fiercely fought over. Captured by Israel in 1967, Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they hope to make in the West Bank and Gaza strip.

During the meeting Mr Trump also drew parallels with Israels separation border and the wall he plans to build along the US-Mexican border. He praised the 440 mile-long fence, saying that it had been successful.

Mr Netanyahu also met with the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton ahead of the first US presidential debate.

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

According to the Clinton campaign, the Democrat reaffirmed her commitment to the US-Israel relationship and vowed to take their relationship to the next level.

Alongside stating her commitment to Israel's future as a secure and democratic Jewish state, she said a solution to the conflict must be found that provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty and dignity.

The Trump campaign said he agreed with Netanyahu that peace could only be achieved when "the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State."
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The number of murders in the US rose by more than 10 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year  the largest percentage increase in more than 40 years  according to newly released crime figures from the FBI.

Overall, violent crime rose by 3.9 per cent from 2014 to 2015, although the total number of violent crimes remained lower than it was five years ago, and the numbers represent a small uptick in figures that have steadily declined over recent decades.

The FBI statistics, compiled from local law enforcement agencies across the US, showed an estimated 15,696 murders and non-negligent manslaughters in 2015: a 10.8 per cent increase on 2014, but approximately the same total number of killings as in 2009.

The surge in homicides disproportionately affected one demographic: at least 900 more black men were killed in 2015 than 2014. The rising violence was also centred on several large cities, such as Chicago, Baltimore and Houston.

New York and Los Angeles, the nations two largest cities, saw only small bumps in homicides in 2015  slightly up from historic lows in recent years. New York also experienced a marked decrease in murders in the first half of 2016.

The FBI figures show the largest single-year percentage leap in murders since 1971, and are likely to feature in tonights first US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

The Republican nominee has fuelled his campaign with claims of rising violence across the US, criticising President Barack Obama for what Mr Trump has described, without any specific evidence, as a rollback of criminal enforcement.

In fact, despite last years rise, overall violent crime has dropped dramatically in the eight years of the Obama administration. Polls have shown, however, that Americans tend to believe crime is going up even in those years when it markedly declines.

The figures, published on Monday, were compiled from results reported voluntarily by more than 18,000 local law enforcement agencies across the US, through the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

In May, FBI Director James Comey said the agency didnt know precisely what was driving the rise in murders in major cities. But holy cow, do we have a problem, he said.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the data showed there was still so much work to do. Speaking in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, Ms Lynch said: Violence affects all of us  and so all of us have a responsibility to end it.

However, she added, It is important to remember that while crime did increase overall last year, 2015 still represented the third-lowest year for violent crime in the past two decades."
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The Pope has voiced his support for Mexicans campaigning against the government's push to legalise same-sex marriage.

Speaking at his blessing on Sunday, Pope Francis said he supported their protest in favour of family and life, which in these times require special pastoral and cultural attention around the world".

The Pontiff's comments came as tens of thousands of demonstrators in Mexico took to the streets, led by far-right nationalist party Frente Nacional por la Familia (National Front for the Family), to protest against President Enrique Pena Nieto's proposal to legalise same-sex marriage and demanding parents right to control sex education in schools.

It is not the first time Pope Francis has spoken out against gay marriage - despite apparently relaxing the churchs position towards the LGBT community in 2015 - but he has rarely intervened in national debates.

In June, the Supreme Court in Mexico legalised same-sex marriage in a landmark legal ruling that concluded it was unconstitutional for Mexican states to bar gay marriages.

No official legislation was brought forward in parliament to introduce marriage for gay and bisexual couples, instead requiring courts throughout the country to follow suit, but it meant same-sex marriage was effectively legalised throughout the country.

Same-sex marriage is now legal in the capital Mexico City and nine of the 31 Mexican states.

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

Mexican bishops have strongly opposed the measure, with one bishop announcing he was willing to go to prison to defend the family".

The issue over gay marriage appears to have divided Mexico. Earlier in September, a photograph went viral of a 12-year-old boy standing up to a protest march in the state of Guanajuato by thousands of anti-LGBT activists opposing the plans.
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A broke California actor who killed two friends as part of a scheme to steal cash to fund his wedding and costly honeymoon has been sentenced to death. Daniel Wozniak, 32, was convicted last year of the grisly murders of Afghanistan war veteran Samuel Herr and his friend Juri Kibiushi. He now faces a long wait for the death penalty.

In May 2010, Wozniak was living in Costa Mesa, where he planned to marry Rachel Buffett, his co-star in a local community theatre production of the musical Nine. When he realised he could not afford the wedding and honeymoon he had envisaged, he plotted to killed his neighbour, Herr and steal $62,000 that the 26-year-old had saved from his military service.

Wozniak met Herr in the attic of a theatre after asking him to help move furniture. He shot Herr, dismembered his body and dumped the parts in a nearby park. He then used Herrs phone to lure Kibiushi, 23, to Herrs home, where he also shot her, arranging the scene to look as if Herr had sexually assaulted her, killed her and fled.

The plot quickly unravelled after a teenager was caught making ATM withdrawals from Herrs bank account and told detectives Wozniak had put him up to it. Wozniak was arrested at his own stag party on 26 May, 2010, two days before he was due to be married. Buffett, his former fiancee, was later charged as an accessory after the fact.

Jurors deliberated for just one hour and 14 minutes before recommending the death penalty, according to the Orange County Register. Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley said last week that Wozniak chose not to get married inexpensively or to defer his honeymoon He wanted to do it in style, and he was willing to kill two people he knew to accomplish this.

At the sentencing hearing, Herrs father called Wozniak a coward and a poster boy for the need for an effective death penalty in California.

On Friday, Wozniak was sent to Californias death row at San Quentin prison near San Francisco, though the state has not executed anyone since 2006 due to legal challenges over the states death penalty. He joins almost 750 other California inmates awaiting execution.
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Tensions flared between the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigns ahead of the first 2016 presidential debate amidst a dispute over the proper role of its moderator, Lester Holt.

With just hours before the high-stakes encounter on the campus of Hofstra University in New York, the Clinton team once more insisted that Mr Holt, the NBC nightly news anchor, should not hesitate to call out Mr Trump should he make statements he considers factually incorrect.

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But representatives of Mr Trump said that any such interventions from the debates moderator would amount to tilting the night in Ms Clintons favour.

The back-and-forth between the campaigns means there will be almost as much pressure on Mr Holt on Monday night as on the candidates. Appointed permanently to the anchors chair by NBC barely a year ago, this will be Mr Holts first time stewarding a presidential debate.

It is inevitable that whatever Mr Holt decides to do - to be a proactive presence on the stage or essentially restrict himself to introducing the issues and letting the candidates have at it with each other - he will get criticism from somewhere.

No matter what he does, he'll get hammered, Joe Scarborough, the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC said earlier on Monday. Nobody will be happy no matter what he does.

High in Mr Holts mind will the opprobrium that was poured onto his NBC colleague, Matt Lauer, after he moderated a national security town hall in New York, when the two candidates appeared on stage back-to-back for half an hour each.

Mr Lauer, who hosts a morning breakfast programme, was scorned for allowing Mr Trump to repeat a well-known falsehood - that he always opposed the Iraq War - unchallenged and for grilling Ms Clinton with a far tougher fusillade of questions than he did the Republican nominee.

There is concern in the Clinton camp that expectations have been set so low for Mr Trump in advance of the debate that he will need to do very little to be declared the victor. It also worries them that like Mr Lauer at the last event, Mr Holt may treat the two candidates differently.

You should be held to the same standard on knowledge, what kind of plans you have, your ability to explain your plans, Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton communications director, commented. Our concern is just what kind of standard is he held to."

Her campaign manager, Robbie Mook, told NBC on Monday that he remained anxious that Mr Holt should work to keep Mr Trump on the straight and narrow as regards truthfulness so that Ms Clinton does not have spent her precious minutes correcting him.

We don't want Donald Trump's lies, distortions to be a distraction, he said. We want this to be about the issues. We want both candidates to explain their plans to the American people.

Kellyanne Conway, the Trump campaign manager, was on the defensive about an assertion by her candidate last week about Mr Holts political affiliation.

Lester is a Democrat. It's a phony system. They are all Democrats, he said on the Bill OReilly Show on Fox News. Mr Holt is actually a registered Republican.

Ms Conway denied on Monday that Mr Trump had deliberately lied about Mr Holts political leanings but that he rather made a mistake through ignorance. He didn't lie, she insisted. A lie would mean he knew the man's party affiliation.

Appearing on Morning Joe, Ms Conway said that the demands from the other side that Mr Holt should fact-check the candidates was really an effort to game the ref and swing the debate against her side.

She was pressed meanwhile on whether Mr Trump would offer more details on plans to beat Isis which he says he has up his sleeve but which he has so far refused to talk about because they must remain secret.

He'll be happy to offer specifics without telling the enemy what we're going to do, Ms Conway said, adding that people are just amazed that Ms Clinton outlined her strategy against Isis on her website.

Mr Trump is certain meanwhile to come under pressure from Ms Clinton to pledge finally to reveal his tax returns like every other presidential candidate in the modern era - pressure he is almost certain to continue to resist.
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Coronation Street actor Marc Anwars racially offensive comments allegedly posted on Twitter has once again drawn attention to the conflict in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Mr Anwar, a Pakistani-born actor, allegedly tweeted comments about Indian people that were unacceptable and racially offensive and has been sacked from his role on the show by ITV as a result. His comments reportedly called Indian people b*****ds, and p***-drinking c***s, and claimed the country was still killing our Kashmir brothers and sisters.

His comments came a week after 17 Indian soldiers were killed at an army base in Kashmir. Loud explosions were heard and several barracks caught fire in the attack that saw four commando-style men burst into the Uri brigade headquarters during the onslaught.

The Uri base sits on a de-facto border that separates the Indian and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. A further 30 soldiers were injured in the attack, around 12 of whom were left in a critical condition, before the four rebels were killed by soldiers.

Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack and promised it would not go unpunished, while Pakistans army denied the countrys involvement, reiterating Islamabads stance that no infiltration is allowed from Pakistani soil.

Protests erupted in Kashmir last month leaving a number of civilians dead after the shooting of a popular militant leader. Indias home minister has said government troops will start to use chili-filled shells instead of shotgun pellets when attempting to control crowds in the region.

A wounded Kashmiri muslim lies on a hospital bed at a hospital in Srinagar, after being hit by pellets fired by Indian security forces during a protest (Getty Images)

Indian troops have reportedly killed more than 70 people and injured thousands of others in their use of live ammunition and pellet guns during clashes with rock-throwing protesters.

The use of pellet guns has caused the death of at least four people and has blinded more than 100 according to local officials and doctors in the region.

Mohammad Imran Parray, who got wounded after being hit by pellets during a protest recovers at a hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir (AP)

Chili-shells, known as PAVA shells, are instead said to severely irritate and temporarily immobilise people without risking their lives.

I understand that no one will lose their life due to the use of PAVA, Home minister Rajnath Singh said.

Additional reporting by AP
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Customs officials at an Austrian airport have stopped a female traveller carrying two containers of entrails into the country, believed to belong to her late husband.

The packages belonged to a Moroccan national who suspected her husband had been poisoned.

He died during an operation in Morocco, according to the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

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The woman was travelling through Graz airport in the south of Austria but was reportedly stopped by officials after they observed her behaving suspiciously.

When speaking with the officials, the woman said she wanted to have tests carried out on the remains in order to investigate her suspicions around her husbands death.

However, a doctor summoned to the scene said a proper investigation could not be carried out without the full cadaver.

Austrias finance ministry, which is responsible for all customs issues, confirmed the unusual find.

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

However, police said they were not investigating as no laws had been broken.

The entrails have now been stored and are awaiting further examination by scientists.
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Nearly all the EUs member states could follow Britains lead and vote to leave the union, the French MP in charge of European affairs in Francois Hollandes party has warned.

Philip Cordery said there was a widespread perception across the continent that the EU was moving in the wrong direction and that populism and euroscepticism were growing everywhere.

I think what happened in the UK at the referendum could have happened almost every other country in the European Union  except in the other countries no Prime Minister would have been as irresponsible as to ask for a referendum, he told a fringe event at Labour party conference organised by the Fabian Society.

If we look today, euroscepticism is growing everywhere, populist movements are growing everywhere in Europe, he added.

Mr Cordery, who is half English and formerly served as the general secretary of the Party of European Socialists, said EU policies were often incoherent, that a decade of austerity has undermined peoples faith in the European project.

Weve suffered from 10 years of tough austerity policies at the European level and people dont see the EU as progress in terms of jobs, in terms of the economy, in terms of social progress, he said.

What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you  that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the  judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up  and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty

Mr Cordery said the result had to be respected but that Britain could not pick and choose which elements of the EU it wanted to keep. He however suggested less integreated trading area encompassing the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and other states that did not want to forge a federal Europe could be created.

I regret the decision that the British people have taken but its there and we cant not respect it because this would be dramatic for the rise in populism in Europe if the word of the people is not respected it would only increase their strength, he said.

The French government has taken a tough line on Brexit, with Mr Hollandes government pushing to strip Britains financial services sector of its passporting rights to deal in euros. City economists say this move would give EU member states a significant advantage over the UK.

The French President also warned that Brexit did not mean Britain was not free from obligations in relation to France with regard to the refugee crisis and Calais Jungle camp.
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The Dutch parliament has voted to implement a 55 per cent cut in CO2 emissions by 2030, in a move which would necessitate the closure of all of the Netherlands coal-fired power stations.

The unexpected result in the vote last week is non-binding, however, the countrys Labour and Liberal parties have said they will both push for a rapid enforcement of the policy.

The vote, which calls for the countrys CO2 emissions to be cut by 55 per cent by 2030 compared to CO2 levels in 1990, was passed by 77 MPs to 72 against.

The move would bring the Netherlands firmly in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Change agreement, which has a long-term goal of cutting CO2 levels by 80-95 per cent by 2050.

The country saw greenhouse gas emissions rise by five per cent overall in 2015, compared to a year earlier.

Carbon monoxide levels were two per cent higher in 2015 than in 1990, largely due to an increase in coal-fired power generation.

The Dutch Liberal MP and vice president of the parliament, Stientje van Veldhoven, told the Guardian: Closing down big coal plants  even if they were recently opened  is by far the most cost effective way to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement, and all countries will need to take such far-reaching measures. We cannot continue to use coal as the cheapest source of energy when it is the most expensive from a climate perspective.

But the plans may meet resistance from the countrys economics minister, Henk Kamp, of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), who has previously spoken against the closure of coal-fired power stations.

They are the cleanest [coal fired power stations] in Europe. Wed be crazy if we shut them, he said.

In June 2015, a court ordered the Dutch coalition government to implement a raft of measures to reduce greenhouse gases after ruling the country was not meeting its Kyoto goal of reducing emissions by 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

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 vote follows an announcement last month that the Netherlands is also looking at the possibility of banning the sale of petrol and diesel fuelled cars by 2025.
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At least four people have been injured in a shooting in the Swedish city of Malmo.

Masked gunmen on mopeds opened fire on a car they had chased through southern Malmo, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen.

The attackers are believed to have fled the scene and police have said they are investigating the incident as an attempted murder.

Eyewitnesses claim around twenty shots were fired as police found shell casings at the scene, the Mirror reported.

On one moped, there were two masked people and on the other just one person. Both disappeared from the scene after the firing, a witness told local newspaper Sydsvenskan.

Another witness said she no longer feels safe in the city.

"I like it here, but now I'm really scared. There are loads of kids who live here and are out playing," she said.

There has been an increase in gun crime in Sweden over the past decade mostly attributed to feuds between rival gangs.

Meanwhile fears of a terror attack in the city were raised after an explosion was heard in the suburb of Helenehold only hours after the attack.

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 blast was later reported to have been caused by fireworks and it is not yet known if the two incidents are linked.

Bomb disposal experts and police rushed to the area following the explosion.
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Swiss voters have approved a bill which give their security services more power to eavesdrop on its citizens.

A proposed law was approved by 65.5 per cent of those who voted in the referendum, results on Sunday showed.

The law grants the Swiss police and intelligence services the right to tap phones and communications of a suspect with the permission of the federal court, the defence ministry and the cabinet - something that has been banned in the country unlike many of its European neighbours.

The bill was originally passed by the Swiss parliament last year but an alliance of the Socialist and Green parties, commanded enough signatures to force a referendum on the subject.

Switzerlands direct democracy system means the electorate goes to the polls four times a year to make decisions on a raft of new legislation.

The referendum saw a turnout of just 43 per cent - much lower than during previous votes on more controversial topics such as immigration, Islam and the EU, the Guardian reported.

The Swiss defence minister, Guy Parmelin, insisted that the country was leaving the basement and coming up to the ground floor by international standards and it was in no way comparable to the level of surveillance of major powers such as the US.

The vote marks a change in public attitudes following recent terror attacks across Europe.

Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Show all 9 1 /9 Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Policemen outside Rouen's cathedral during the funeral of Jacques Hamel, the priest who was killed in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy on 26 July during a hostage-taking claimed by Islamic State group Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two jihadists, both 19, slit Hamel's throat while he was celebrating mass in an attack that shocked France as well as the Catholic Church Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Muslims place flowers and hold a minute of silence in front of the church if Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, western France, where French priest Jacques Hamel was killed on 26 July Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two people hold each other by the new makeshift memorial in Nice, in tribute to the victims of the deadly Bastille Day attack at the Promenade des Anglais Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the truck attack that killed 84 people in Nice on France's national holiday. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, smashed a 19-tonne truck into a packed crowd of people in the Riviera city celebrating Bastille Day Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police work at a site where a Syrian migrant set off an explosive device in Ansbach, southern Germany, on 25 July, killing himself and wounding a dozen others Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis A Syrian migrant set off an explosion at a bar in southern Germany that killed himself and wounded a dozen others in the third attack to hit Bavaria in a week. The 27-year-old, who had spent a stint in a psychiatric facility, had intended to target a music festival in the city of Ansbach but was turned away because he did not have a ticket Friebe/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police officers walk along train tracks in Wuerzburg southern Germany on 19 July, a day after a man attacked train passengers with an axe. German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the man, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis German police killed a teenage assailant after he attacked passengers on a train in Wuerzburg, southerg Germany with an axe and a knife on 18 July, seriously wounding three people Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images

Green party politician Lisa Mazzone told RTS that the law was approved due to a campaign about fear of attacks.

Swiss authorities briefly feared they had become a victim of a terror attack in August when a man doused a woman in petrol on a train and set her alight before attacking six others in the carriage with a knife.

The man and his victim later died in hospital but people in the town of St Gallen said he had no known ties to extremist groups.
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A European Union effort to launch an independent inquiry into Yemen's civl war has been dumbed down after the UK refused to support it.

The Netherlands had proposed that the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) set up an independent inquiry into civilian deaths in Yemen, but foreign secretary Boris Johnson rejected calls for Britain to support the international inquiry last week.

He insisted that the Government is "using a very, very wide variety of information sources about what is happening to acquaint ourselves with the details" about the war in Yemen, where a Saudi Arabia-led coalition is accused of committing war crimes.

In a joint open letter, Human Rights Watch and other NGOs called for the HRC to "establish an international, independent mechanism to investigate alleged serious violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law committed" in Yemen.

 Footage shows extent of child malnutrition in Yemen as Britain continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia

However, after the UK refused to lend its support, the Netherlands' proposal was watered down to suggest the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) dispatch a mission to monitor the situation.

Blocking attempts to create an international inquiry is a betrayal of the people of Yemen who have suffered so much during this conflict, Polly Truscott of Amnesty International said.

Its shocking. The UK ought to be standing up for justice and accountability, not acting as a cheerleader for arms companies.

Two senior MPs have since urged Mr Johnson to back the independent probe, saying the matter was urgent in light of the country's growing death toll.

On Friday, the OHCHR expressed "deep concern" over increasing attacks against civilians in Yemen after a total of 180 civilians were killed in one month, raising the death toll to nearly 4,000 since the conflict began in March 2015.

Cecile Pouilly at the UN agency said August also saw an increase in the number of attacks against civilian facilities including hospitals, markets, and places of worship.

Her statement came only two days after airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition bombed houses in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, killing at least 32 civilians.

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

Earlier this month leaked draft report from Britain's Committee on Arms Exports Control said Britain shoult halt its sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia while accusations of war crimes are investigated.

The committee, which comprises 16 MPs from four parties, also said it was likely British weapons had been used to violate international law.

Both the European Parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee have already called for exports to the autocracy to stop, but the Government says it has not seen evidence of Saudi war crimes.

Tom Brake, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said: "Again the UK Government are trying to cover up the Saudi Arabian militarys flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.

"A fully independent international enquiry is the least the people of Yemen deserve, yet instead Boris Johnson chooses to put Britains interests, in the form of arms exports to Saudi Arabia, over the urgent need for a full investigation into human rights' abuses.

"Under the May Government, the FCO have abandoned any pretence of an ethical foreign policy. It is all about trade and arms sales now "



Meanwhile, rebels known as Houthis have continued to tighten their siege on the city of Taiz, where they are fighting local forces aligned with the internationally-recognised government.

Additional reporting by AP
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President Bashar al-Assad would have to launch a military campaign in order to recapture rebel-held parts of Aleppo so monstrous it would resonate in history.

The air offensive launched by Syria on Thursday  backed by Russian jets  has escalated markedly in the past 72 hours, after the US and Russian brokered Eid al-Adha ceasefire broke down.

And in a deadly new development for Aleppos civilians, the nature of the bombing campaigns has changed. New incendiary devices and bunker buster ground penetrating missiles have reportedly been dropped by Russian and Syrian planes in the last few days, which pictures shared by people on the ground show have left craters in some places up to five metres deep.

The airstrikes have been so severe that they have forced buisldigs to shake so much they collapse (Getty)

There is nowhere to go, Ammar al-Selmo, the head of Aleppos Syria Civil Defence rescue group said. These new bombs, they make the buildings shake so much that some are collapsing even when there are no strikes, they are so powerful. People cant hide from them, even underground.

Now all diplomatic attempts to reinstall the ceasefire in the almost six-year-long conflict have collapsed, the Syrian regime seems determined to finally crush the last major rebel stronghold, which would leave just a handful of pockets of non-Islamist resistance in the sparsely populated north and south of the country.

In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo

Capturing Aleppo would be highly advantageous to Assad, solidifying his control of so-called 'useful Syria'. But it would have to be a monstrous campaign. An atrocity of this sort would resonate in history, a diplomat close to the peace process said.

 Syrias war: US and Russia point fingers as Aleppo burns

The current air attacks are the worst assault the 250,000 people still trapped in besieged rebel areas have ever faced. US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power called them barbarism in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday.

The UNs Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said he had been shown videos of incendiary bombs that create fireballs of such intensity that they light up the pitch darkness in eastern Aleppo, as though it was actually daylight. One diplomat described the alleged fusillade fireball attacks as one step below a nuclear weapon.

Rescue workers have had great difficulty putting out the huge fires, which add to the dangers they already face in pulling people from the rubble.

The White Helmets and the rebel-run Aleppo Media Centre report that white phosphorous and napalm have also been used.

The air strikes have targeted hospitals (Getty)

Whats more, civilian infrastructure such as rescue centres and hospitals are now the explicit target of bombs, and were among the first sites to be hit, activists on the ground say.

East Aleppos main water pumping station was destroyed on Friday, which led to the rebels shutting off the supply for the rest of the city in retaliation. All two million residents are now without running water.

Two ambulances belonging to the rescue service  also known as the White Helmets  are unusable thanks to the air strikes, as well as two treatment centres and several civilian cars used to transport patients. Streets are blocked by rubble. Several White Helmets volunteers, medical staff and fire fighters have been killed or injured.

More than 200 civilians have died in strikes or been crushed by rubble since President Bashar al-Assad gave the fresh operation the go ahead, several monitors have said, but the strikes are so intense it has been impossible to accurately document the numbers of dead and wounded.

Rebel-held east Aleppo now more closely resembles hell than the city Mr Selmo used to know and love, he says.

The attacks have been so severe that it has been impossible to accurately document the numbers of injured and dead (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

Yesterday, there was a seriously injured man. There was nothing I could do. I had to put him in a body bag while he was still alive, and leave him, he said.

The Syrian governments new scorched earth campaign appears to be designed to cause as much misery as possible to drive the rebels, and any civilian supporters, into submission.

The military has also launched a ground campaign  the first since 2012  and successfully captured the Palestinian camp of Handarat in the north of the city. So far they have been repelled by rebel forces in other clashes on several edges of rebel-held Aleppo.

Both the Russian and Syrian ambassadors to the UN denied that the military operations are deliberately targeting civilians or using incendiary weapons. Russian delegate Vitaly Churkin defended his governments actions in the face of accusations of war crimes from France and the UK on Sunday, going as far as to say that Assad had shown enviable restraint battling terrorists in east Aleppo who use women and children as shields.

The situation in Aleppo on Friday, with regime attacks and territory seen in red, rebels in green, Kurds in yellow and Isis in black (Liveuamap)

Corridors guaranteeing safe passage to government-held Aleppo had been set up, he added, although several reports from the city say at least some residents who tried to cross the siege barricades were shot at by snipers as they did so. Some bodies are still lying in the road as relatives are too afraid of getting killed themselves to retrieve their loved ones.

While de Mistura expressed fears that the battle to take east Aleppo for good could turn into a slow, grinding, street-by-street fight, over the course of months, if not years, the same strategy has worked for the Assad regime in other places.

The last rebel-held neighbourhood of Homs, once a hotbed of regime resistance, is now empty after 300 rebel fighters and their families surrendered and were bussed north in an amnesty deal last week.

People in Aleppo are worried that if the unprecedented level of military violence against the trapped residents continues, it will become seen by the international community as the new normal.

I dont know what will happen next. Where do we go from here? Mr Selmo of the White Helmets said. There is no way out for us except suicide. I expect to see that happening here soon.
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A worldwide association of writers has said religious insult laws must be repealed without delay following the assassination of a Jordanian writer arrested for posting a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.

Nahed Hattar was shot three times in the head by a local imam as he was about to stand trial at the Supreme Court in Amman.

Salil Tripathi, Chair of PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee, said: "Hattars murder is the latest in a string of killings of writers for alleged religious reasons, from the Charlie Hebdo killings in France to the killings of free-thinking bloggers in Bangladesh and attacks on writers in India by extremist Hindu nationalists.

"Use of these laws is making targets of writers, cartoonists, journalists and others who are merely exercising their right to freedom of expression."

 Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar shot dead

Mr Tripathi added: "States now have the clearest possible signal to stop bringing such charges and instead to take seriously the obligation to protect freedom of expression  which includes speech which some may find offensive."

Mr Hattar, a prominent atheist writer, had turned himself in to authorities after Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki ordered an investigation into a cartoon he had shared on Facebook.

The cartoon depics God in paradise, being treated as a servant by an Arab man, who is in bed with two women and asking for wine and nuts.

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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. 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All physical depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden in mainstream Islam, and are illegal in deeply conservative Jordan.

Relatives said the cartoon was posted to illustrate the twisted religious views of Isis extremists and was deleted after the post received angry responses.

His family have criticised the government's response to the killing.

In a statement his cousin Saad Hattar said: The prime minister was the first one who incited against Nahed when he ordered his arrest and put him on trial for sharing the cartoon, and that ignited the public against him and led to his killing.

"Many fanatics wrote on social media calling for his killing and lynching, and the government did nothing against them."

Mr Hatter was considered a controversial figure in Jordan. Although he was born a Christian, he considered himself an atheist.

He was also a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and an outspoken critic of Isis and al-Qaeda.
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Whether you are a frequent user of the London airports, or you go out of your way to avoid the capitals congested and complicated aviation system, you probably think you know how many there are.

Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton are the big four. Well below these in passenger numbers are London City  the business travellers favourite, except when protesters close the runway  and plucky Southend, whose excellent rail link to the City of London justifies its inclusion.

I wont offer the same courtesy to London Oxford Airport, which claims to be located 40 miles to the north-west of the Greater London area. Thats if you measure the distance from the furthest edge of Uxbridge, the outer limit of the capital. Nor do I concur with the Kent airport of Lydd when it self-describes as London Ashford, since it is 65 miles from the former and 10 miles from the latter.

So thatll be six airports, right?

Well, according to the chief executive of Flybe, there should be seven. Saad Hammad is not suggesting a new-build in the Thames Estuary, but something much easier to achieve: opening RAF Northolt to scheduled traffic.

The air base is hemmed in by the A40 to the south, the Tube to the north, and suburbia all around. It is used by a mix of air force flights and business aviation. But, says Mr Hammad, his airline could use Northolt to provide temporary extra scheduled capacity until a new runway is built at Heathrow or Gatwick.

We can connect Northolt efficiently to the regions, said Mr Hammad. Its available right here, right now.

Businesses in the immediate vicinity of NHT (to use its official code), and their clients, would no doubt welcome a network to key UK cities. The main aim, though, is not to create another business airport to the west of the capital, mirroring London City in the east  but to provide extra domestic connectivity to Heathrow, which is six miles south of Northolt.

Airports such as Liverpool, Newquay and Teeside used to have links from Londons busiest hub, but those have been squeezed out as the value of slots has risen. The idea is for Northolt to act as a temporary third runway for Heathrow, albeit with a slightly tricky road connection.

What, though, about the local residents? Mr Hammad told me: Weve made a proposal to the government to operate flights to Northolt within the movement limits today.

The only people who would lose out are the wealthy few who fly in and out of there in noisy private executive jets.

The closest equivalent I can find to the Heathrow-Northolt concept is in Madrid, where Terminal 4 is a good three miles from the original three terminals. The Metro connection actually stops at the pretty village of Barajas on its way between the two airport stops.

The official Minimum Connecting Time specified between flights where a change of terminals at Madrid is required is two-and-a-half hours  plus an extra 15 minutes if you are going to or from T4S, the satellite that feels so remote you would be forgiven for thinking you may have touched down on the moon.

A Northolt-Heathrow connection should surely be no more protracted than that? But the Davies Commission on airport expansion considered this issue. The panel members were unconvinced that there is a credible solution for providing a transfer service between RAF Northolt and Heathrow.

For Mr Hammad, though, NHT is a good temporary fix: Im happy to move out of Northolt as soon as new runway capacity is built elsewhere, so long as we get available and affordable slots.

The government is expected to rule shortly, 15 months after the final Davies Commission report was published, on where that capacity should be.
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Hillary Clinton is a fierce opponent for Donald Trump to take on  this is a fact, considering that she remains ahead of him in the polls (2.1 per cent, albeit) and gaining support from many political heavyweights, including (reportedly) former Republican President George W Bush.

Follow The Indepedent's latest coverage of the presidential debate

However, it seems that Hillary has been advised to take certain steps when debating and challenging Donald Trump  primarily to avoid gender stereotypes. Now, Clinton is a role model for feminists all over the world (feel free to disagree, but Im not too fussed if you do  a female leader of the free world is a huge step and its time we realised that rather than sweating all the small stuff)  yet she is still having to tailor her debating style and actions so that she doesnt fall foul of gender stereotypes.

So, what is Hillary Clinton not allowed to do in her political present and future because shes a woman?

Shes not allowed to interrupt a man

Hillary Clinton has been advised, when debating, that it is much more effective for her to sit back and let Trump finish his diatribe before commenting or coming back with force  as research shows that voters react badly to seeing a woman interrupt or talk over a man. According to the New York Times, she does not want to be seen as pushy [or] play[ing] into gender stereotypes.

Its important, after all, for women to realise that their actions are pushy, bossy or  when theyre seen more positively  feisty. If men had done the same thing, sure, they would be assertive or powerful  but thats just something those moaning, whining, nagging women have to accept about the world, dont they?

Clinton is apparently following this advice on the basis that it may turn voters against her if she does, in fact, act or behave in a particularly masculine (or, as I like to call it, human) manner.

She needs to downplay her own professional experience

There is panic amongst Hillarys campaign that Trump will paint her as the establishment candidate, as she has spent a large amount of her career within Washington and New York politics. This could cause her to look boring and part of the Washington elite.

So this is why Clinton is cautious about calling Trump out on his lies  you know, those lies about Barack Obama not being an American citizen, disputes over Trump Universityin case he brings up the dreaded private email server, or Benghazi, or discusses how the country needs something new  everything that Bernie Sanders stood for.

Hillary needs Sanders voters to stick with her, and not migrate over to Trumpsville in an act of defiance against the norm  so she is downplaying her extensive experience in politics and international relations. Because a woman applying for the presidency isnt revolutionary, but an old white man espousing socialism is.

She shouldnt call out sexism when she sees it

Polls shown that millions of American voters, primarily young voters, believe that Trump is racist and sexist  but point-blank refuse to vote for Hillary Clinton regardless. Hillary is keen to call him out on these things  but has been advised to not go in too strong, in case she looks overpowering and plays into the aforementioned gender stereotypes.

 Clinton ad shows girls looking in mirror as Trump insults women

She is keen to get at Trump, reportedly, by addressing him as Donald, and questioning his net worth  but is cautious about calling him a racist or a misogynist, presumably in case she makes racist and misogynist Trump supporters realise that they actually are racist misogynists. When one compares this to Obama, who has gone in very strong on the African American community voting for Clinton so as not to digress into times of racial tension again, her approach is slightly more delicate and diplomatic. Her advisers clearly dont think talking about that lame old issue of gender equality is a good idea, and who could blame them?

She shouldnt act offended if someone offends her

Clinton has done her best to remain calm and collected when Donald Trump has thrown serious personal insults her way, including him making fun of her recovery from pneumonia and bringing up her husbands infidelities (remember that infamous tweet If Hillary Clinton cant satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America? Because I do.)

Now, a male political candidate belittling and patronising a female candidate isnt exactly anything new. So Clinton has been sure to remain steady, calm and attentive, in an attempt to not react too much to his jibes, in case she looks emotional about the situation. She does not want to look emotional or upset in any way  because, of course, emotion is not an attribute that one wants the President of the United States to possess. Especially if theyre a woman and therefore prone to crazy overemotional outbursts anyway, probably on account of their period.

She shouldnt use facts to back up her answers

Apparently voters and commentators think that Hillary packs too many facts into her answers. I dont even have an explanation for this one.

Recommended Read more The future of the US will be decided in just 90 minutes of TV

The moral of the story seems to be: if youre a female candidate vying for the presidency, its important to distinguish that you are in fact a woman and not one of the boys, but that you will not act like a woman, but you will also not act like a man, show any emotion on subjective opinions, or provide any objective facts to back up your responses.

I, for one, think this sounds fantastically straightforward and wish Hillary all the best in this continuing charade.
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In the last year or so the term cultural appropriation has become more prominent in news headlines. A video that went viral in March of a black female student from San Francisco State University assaulting a white male student for having dreadlocks sparked many debates. Not only was her behaviour called into question but more people began to ask: what exactly constitutes as appropriation? And where do we draw the line?

Accusations recently reached new levels of lunacy a couple of days ago when Kendall Jenner posed for a photo shoot with Vogue Espana. Dressed as a ballerina, Jenner received accusations of appropriating the art of ballet on social media. Many dancers believed it was an insult to professional dancers and that Vogue should have casted an actual ballerina instead. Some people with no experience within dance echoed these outcries, leaving hateful comments on Jenners Instagram account. Such behaviour leads us back to the initial of question: where do we draw the line when it comes to appropriation?

 Theresa May hits out at 'safe spaces'

I find it astounding that people are willing to find offence in something so small and trivial (and that Im defending a Kardashian). Kendall Jenners ridiculous case doesnt stand alone, as one only has to venture into the depths of tumblr to learn that pretty much everything is now cultural appropriation. Yoga was deemed unacceptable at the University of Ottawa, whilst the University of East Anglia banned sombreros for discriminatory or stereotypical imagery.

Recommended Read more Marc Jacobs prompts criticism for his apology over dreadlocks row

By trying to push these non-issues, these people are only hurting their cause, as they appear increasingly petty. If a serious case were to arise, I believe people would be less likely to acknowledge the issue, especially with the same petty band of people who scream appropriation! at the smallest of cases leading the cause.

Humans have always adopted superior aspects from other cultures and this is seen as vital in our growth as a society. We should all be encouraged to adopt and learn about one anothers backgrounds. I should be free to wear a kente if I so wished, without the fear of someone challenging me in the street, questioning if I meet the requirements to do so. It is important that future generations arent funnelled into certain cultural categories and are allowed to embrace and explore other cultures. By doing so, people are able to appreciate one another by getting to experience something different. Sharing aspects of each others cultures should not be vilified but celebrated in our ever-expanding multicultural society.

One only has to look at the evolution of the Notting Hill Carnival to see the positive impact of cultural appropriation. For those unfamiliar with the carnival, it is a celebration of black culture with food, drinks and music across the August bank holiday. People of other cultures have joined in with the celebrations of African and Caribbean culture and as a result have been educated on a broad range of cultures. The increased understanding of other cultures can only be a positive and I hope soon people will realise that its not exploitative to share and embrace one anothers practices.
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When news emerged online of American Muslim hijab-wearing journalist Noor Tagouri being featured in Playboy magazine, social media was predictably set alight. Unsurprisingly, it wasnt just positive coverage  Tagouri, who favours modesty in her dress, was seen as an unexpected fit for the magazine most famous for featuring scantily clad models with bunny tails, to put it lightly.

While most have not been critical of the content of her interview, many have questioned Tagouris judgement in appearing in a publication which has built an empire on objectifying women. This is a pioneering female journalist, after all, who has been lauded as an embodiment of female empowerment. Did she let us all down?

In a time when minorities and in particular Muslims find themselves shipwrecked between the pressures of upholding western societal values and adhering to their cultural and religious obligations, many have chosen to forfeit their identities in a desperate attempt to be perceived as normal Transforming the perception of others and breaking away from the Islamophobic stereotypes perpetuated by prominent public figures like Donald Trump has become a central struggle for many young Muslims, especially women.

Many have defended Tagouris feature in Playboy, claiming that anything that increases hijabi womens visibility and challenges opinions about their supposed oppression is a good thing. But there are limits to how much we can justify in the name of breaking stereotypes. Do we really need to go down the route of associating with an institution based on the objectification of women in the name of challenging perceptions and celebrating female empowerment? Are the voices of women  and in particular Muslim women  buried so deep under the cries of those who claim to speak on our behalf that our only available response is involve ourselves with Playboy, a magazine that has solely existed for the past 63 years for men to gawp at the bodies of half-naked women? Is this really how we reclaim our own narrative?

Since Tagouris interview was published, many have chimed in with the fact that Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, two eminent Muslim male figures who have left behind elevated legacies, were also interviewed by the magazine. While I am critical of anyones association with the publication, I think context matters here. Playboy is known for sexualising women, not men, and Malcom X and Muhammad Ali were not asked to pose on the Playboy cover like Tagouri was.

Most famous Playboy covers Show all 10 1 /10 Most famous Playboy covers Most famous Playboy covers December 1953 The very first Playboy magazine front cover with Marilyn Monroe Most famous Playboy covers July 1958 The bright yellow Playboy cover in summer of 1958 featured popular nude model Agnes Laurent Most famous Playboy covers August 1962 The shot of a woman posing on a beach in a bikini celebrated the first ever cover featuring bikini swimsuit Most famous Playboy covers May 1964 This cover featured Playmate of the year Donna Michelle who used her legs to recreate Playboy's famous rabbit logo Most famous Playboy covers August 1968 The cover of August 1968 edition featured Playmate Gale Olson with the famous Bunny logo covering her body Most famous Playboy covers October 1971 Darine Stern was the first black Playmate to feature on the cover of the magazine Most famous Playboy covers January 1985 The New Year cover in 1985 featured Goldie Hawn who was promoting her latest film Protocol Most famous Playboy covers July 1990 Sharon Stone was featured in the issue to promote her starring role in the upcoming movie Total Recall Most famous Playboy covers December 2007 Kim Kardashian appeared on the cover of the issue to promote the first season of the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians Most famous Playboy covers January 2014 The eagerly anticipated shot with Kate Moss in the famous bunny outfit celebrated the magazine's 60th anniversary

Playboy has actively worked against womens liberation and the feminist movement in America because they presented a counter-narrative to the one Playboy endorsed. The magazine may have rebranded (in 2015) but that does not negate the fact that it has profited to the tune of millions of dollars by presenting women as bunnies and setting them up for men to slather over.

While many of us may not agree with Tagouris decision to feature in the magazine, however, the barrage of hate and abuse she has received online is unacceptable. Its also indicative of a wider social problem we have, wherein misogynistic abuse towards women on social media  no matter how they present themselves, or what they say or do  is rapidly becoming the norm.

Tagouri has her entire career ahead of her and, as a talented young female journalist, Im sure her exposure to the mainstream world will not conclude at Playboy. No doubt this feature has aided her public profile, but beyond that I see very little point in the supposedly boundary-pushing feature. Forgive me if I dont see what there is to celebrate when a hijabi woman  member of an already maligned part of society  makes the revolutionary choice to join forces with a sexist establishment that has debased other women by reducing them to sexual objects for generations.
Chief Justice Susan Denham has said the failure to set the body up has damaged Ireland's reputation

The ongoing failure to establish a judicial council to oversee the conduct of Irish judges is damaging Ireland's reputation internationally, the Chief Justice has warned.

Susan Denham reiterated her concerns about the lack of progress on legislation to set up the body in a speech to herald the new legal term.

Ms Denham claimed the placement of the Judicial Council Bill under the heading of "all other legislation" in the Government's law-making programme represented a demotion of priority.

A council would set a code of conduct for judges, oversee training and education, and deal with complaints about individual judges.

It is almost two decades since its creation was proposed.

The Chief Justice said the lack of a council was causing an "institutional vacuum" that should be a matter of real concern for the Judiciary and Government.

"The failure to progress this institutional reform with the urgency it deserves weighs heavily, both on relations between the Judiciary and the Executive, and on the State's reputation internationally," she said.

The country's top judge added: "In face of the strong consensus in Ireland and internationally as to the need for the establishment of a judicial council, and legislation for a judicial conduct regime, it is therefore a matter of the most real concern to observe what would appear to be a distinct loss of momentum in delivering this historic institutional reform."
Skerries has been named Ireland's "tidiest" town.

The north county Dublin harbour town beat off competition from 858 other contenders to clinch this year's coveted award.

Birdhill in Co Tipperary won Ireland's tidiest village category.

Listowel in Co Kerry was honoured as tidiest small town for the second year running while Ennis in Co Clare clinched the award of tidiest large urban centre.

Announcing the winners at a ceremony in Dublin, Regional Economic Development Minister Michael Ring said it was a fantastic achievement for Skerries.

"This is the first time Skerries has won the overall prize," he said.

"Skerries first entered the competition in 1959 and their win today is evidence of their consistently achieving high standards in the competition at local and regional level."

Mr Ring praised the annual tidy towns competition for building strong community links.

"Tidy towns is one of the most recognisable environmental initiatives in Ireland, but tidy towns is much bigger than that, it encompasses a way of life here in Ireland, where we live our lives showing respect for our neighbours and for nature," he added.

"It is clear that working together and getting things done increases peoples' pride in where they live and helps to build vibrant communities.

"This is why I am delighted to see this competition continues to sustain great interest, even after 58 years."
Age Action said the Government should commit to adding five euro every year to the weekly payment for anyone 66 and over

Campaigners have called for a 25 euro hike in the state pension over the next five years.

Ahead of next month's budget, Age Action said the Government should commit to adding five euro every year to the weekly payment for anyone 66 and over.

The organisation said pensioners are growing old in fear because of overcrowding in hospitals and because of financial pressure from property tax, heating bills and the price of medication.

Justin Moran, head of advocacy and communications at Age Action, said the state pension of 233 euro is 13 euro below where it should be to keep people out of poverty.

"Growing old in Ireland shouldn't mean growing afraid, but it does," he said.

"Pensioners are afraid of losing their home because of rising property taxes. They're afraid of getting sick and relying on an ailing public health system.

"They're afraid of being unable to afford medicine or to heat their homes. They're afraid of going into a nursing home because there is no community care available."

Mr Moran said the 25 euro increase over the five years has already been pledged.

Age Action members are also calling for the r estoration of the fuel and telephone allowances over the next two budgets and t he abolition of prescription charges for medical card holders.

They also want an additional 73.8 million euro to fund 4.1 million home help hours.

Mr Moran added: "More than 85,000 people over the age of 65 are living in deprivation and that number is rising.

"Next month the Government can help to restore the incomes of pensioners, cut by successive austerity budgets, stand by its election pledge and deliver for our senior citizens."

Age Action also said there is an increasing need for investment to enable older people to remain longer in their homes.

Between 2004 and 2013 there was a 44% increase in the number of older people living in nursing homes classified as being low dependency and from 2011 until last year money for h ome help services fell from 211 million euro to 185 million euro.

Mr Moran said: "The practice is to push more and more older people into nursing homes to the point that Ireland has the second highest proportion of people aged 65 and over in nursing homes and hospitals."
it's a big week for Aryzta boss Owen Killian. After pulling off a coup last week with the appointment of Gary McGann as the company's new chairman, all eyes now turn to the Cuisine de France owner's full-year results, due out today.

Since Aryzta announced its purchase of a minority stake in French frozen retailer Picard last August, things haven't been going very well for Killian. The shares are lower than they were this time last year, and investors will be looking for improvements.

Outside Ireland, with major central bank policy on hold for now, politics will take centre stage with the first televised US presidential election debate tonight.

"The ECB, Fed and even BOE have held their meetings, and the markets can finally focus on something other than monetary policy," Societe Generale analysts said.

Opec members plus Russia are due to hold an informal meeting in Algiers on Wednesday. The organisation may be at its closest in years towards agreeing cuts in production quotas, with Saudi Arabia actively seeking a deal. Riyadh has offered to cut oil production if rival Iran caps its own output this year, according to sources familiar with the discussion. (Additional reporting Reuters)
The Central Bank will be able to boost its staff numbers to meet the regulatory demands from an increased number of financial firms looking to move to Dublin as a result of Brexit, Central Bank Governor Professor Philip Lane has said.

The Governor told Bloomberg TV tonight that there would be some level of relocation of companies "depending on how the [Brexit] negotiations go".

He said it was much too early to know at this stage if Ireland would benefit.

"Of course it will be a challenge, but if new business comes along, we will be able to staff up to deal with it," Prof Lane said.

Earlier, the head of the State's National Treasury Management Agency, Conor O'Kelly, told Bloomberg that if the UK continued to "isolate itself", Ireland could benefit.
Health Minister Simon Harris has confirmed that Ireland will launch a formal bid to house the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

He said attracting the EMA was "one of the more interesting opportunities" afforded by Brexit.

"Given the importance of the EMA's work...it's important that any disruption to the agency's work should be kept to a minimum when it relocates from London, probably within the next couple of years," Mr Harris said at a pharmaceuticals industry conference in Dublin last week.

"My department...has already begun to lay the groundwork for preparing a formal bid, and I know that your industry will support our efforts to bring this prestigious agency to Dublin," he added. The EMA is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies for use in the EU.

It employs around 900 people, including temporary staff, and is highly sought-after by other EU countries, along with the European Banking Authority (EBA), which is also set to leave London after the Brexit vote. Officials representing Strasbourg, Lyon, Barcelona, and Milan have already expressed interest in the EMA.

Reuters has previously reported that Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw and Vienna are also in the race to grab one or other organisation in the knowledge that banks and drugmakers will want to maintain close ties with key regulators.

Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association chief executive Oliver O'Connor told the Irish Independent that Ireland had "a strong case" for housing the EMA.

"I think it would be a very good addition to the capability that Ireland has already demonstrated on a global scale for manufacturing, development, and high regulatory standards," he added.
The international profits of US multinationals belong in the United States, a senior tax official at an influential global economic think tank has said.

Although declining to comment specifically on the Apple case, Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of tax policy at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), suggested the profits of large American technology and pharmaceutical firms should be taxed in the US.

The comments will give a boost to the Governments argument that the European Commissions decision concerning Apple is flawed.

If we go beyond the pure state aid with its own aspect  you have the question of where does the profits belong to? Who does it belong to. I think there is no ambiguity here, that the bulk of it belongs to the United States, Mr Saint-Amans said.

When you look at the broad picture, the tech companies, the pharmaceutical companies, and many businesses, when you look at the broad picture, yes the profit belong to the US, the problem is that the US is not taxing it today, because of the lack of tax policy reform.

Mr Saint-Amans said there needs to be tax reform in the United States to ensure profits are taxed where the substance of the organisation lies. He also said Ireland was not a tax haven.

The decision by the competition watchdog - criticised by Finance Minister Michael Noonan - found Apple got a sweetheart deal which allowed them to pay as little as 0.005pc tax on European, and some international, profits.
A 68m research centre developing medical devices which mimic the bodys biology, will be officially opened in Galway today.

Curam, based at NUI, Galway, will be a global hub of research expertise in medical device technology.

A total of 250 researchers will push scientific frontiers to advance medical devices for chronic diseases including diabetes, Parkinsons and heart disease.

Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CURAM said chronic diseases are the particular focus of the research.

Working with industry partners and clinicians, we will better understand the hostile environment of the body and advance medical devices to the next stage where they mimic the bodys biology. We want to launch devices which are more effective for the individual patient, but more affordable to lessen the burden on healthcare systems worldwide, he said.

In the long-term we may have minimally invasive injections instead of operations for back pain, electrodes which degrade within the body over time, or 3D printed muscles and tendons. This will not happen overnight, but the unparalleled combination of scientific, industry and clinical and regulatory expertise which CURAM facilitates will get us there in the coming years, he added.

The centre will be officially opened by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell OConnor, later today.

The Irish medtech industry employs 29,000 people. Curam represents investment of 49 million over six years from Science Foundation Ireland and industry.

In the past 18 months this support has already been used to leverage a further 19 million in funding from the EUs Horizon 2020 programme, over 4.3 million of which has been awarded directly to indigenous Irish industry.
It is understood that the help-to-buy scheme will take the form of a tax rebate targeted at those buying affordable new-build homes. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

The Government is facing a backlash from first-time buyers who will be locked out of a lucrative tax relief scheme.

The Budget is expected to feature a new tax relief measure, worth as much as 10,000, to offset the impact of the Central Bank rules.

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However, TDs are already getting queries from anxious buyers who fear they won't be covered because they bought just before a mid-July deadline.

The Irish Independent has learned that any hopes of opening the scheme to earlier purchases have already been dashed by Finance Minister Michael Noonan, who has ruled it out, saying it would make the plan "less targeted" and "more costly".

The precise details of the proposals won't be made public until Budget Day, October 11.

However, it's understood that the help-to-buy scheme will take the form of a tax rebate - a figure of 10,000 has been suggested - targeted at those buying affordable new-build homes.

Such properties are priced at 300,000 in Dublin and 250,000 in Cork and Galway.

Read more: Will I ever own my own home? Millennials ask the big question as survey reveals harsh reality

Read more: First-time buyers are being 'muscled out' by those paying cash

The scheme will be backdated to July 19, the day the government's Action Plan for Housing was announced.

This was done so that sales to first-time buyers wouldn't be stalled between then and the announcement of the full details in the Budget.

However, TDs around the country have already been contacted by people who are angry they won't be included, or who are anxiously seeking information to see if they'll be eligible.

Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Mick Barry, Fine Gael's Josepha Madigan and Peter Fitzpatrick, as well as Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher, all confirmed that they had been contacted.

Dublin Fingal TD Clare Daly asked Mr Noonan if he would consider backdating the scheme to the start of July.

Mr Noonan has acknowledged that "there may be individuals who are disappointed".

He added: "As with all time- limited reliefs, there will always be people who just miss out."

The minister said that extending the parameters of the scheme would mean it is "less targeted and more costly".

Mr Barry said he had contact from a constituent who was "aggrieved" that his purchase of a new home prior to the deadline means he won't be eligible.

"I'm sure there were significant numbers of people who bought houses two, four, six weeks before the cut-off point," he said.

The Cork North Central TD said his primary concern is that any scheme ensures that it's the buyer that benefits and developers won't be able to engage in "profiteering".

Dublin Rathdown TD Ms Madigan also said she has had multiple queries.

However, she defended Mr Noonan, saying "we're not going to catch everybody in the loop" and insisted he is "trying to take a balanced approach".

She thinks it was a "reasonable" date to use, adding: "They didn't want people deferring purchases pending the commencement of it."

Ms Madigan also wants pressure on the Central Bank to loosen what she described as"draconian" mortgage rules.

Mr Kelleher, also of Cork North Central, said: "If you draw an arbitrary line anywhere... then there's going to be people who won't qualify.

"But at the same time there's a lot of people out there who'll benefit from that extension."

The July deadline will mark a serious setback for families who bought earlier this year who already had to cope with Central Bank mortgage restrictions.

These rules require some 10pc of the first 220,000 required to be saved, and 20pc of the balance thereafter.

However, a senior official at the Central Bank said it doesn't intend to change the restrictions as part of its review of the rules, due in November.

Deputy governor Sharon Donnery said it would be "unwise" to change the rules.

The Professional Insurance Brokers Association described as "an absurd situation" the fact that the Government feels compelled to give tax relief to offset the impact of the rules.

"Let's face it, that is bureaucracy gone mad, one arm of the State restricting lending and the other arm trying to find a release valve," said chief operations officer Rachel McGovern.
Most of Dublins price rises last year happened in the last three months. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The price of an average three-bed semi detached house has risen above 200,000 for the first time since the financial crash, new research has shown.

Countrywide the average three bed semi costs 200,093, an increase of 4,732 since the end of June. The price increase represents a 6.37pc on the same period last year, according to a survey by the Real Estate Alliance (REA).

In Dublin city prices grew by 2.75pc to 373,333 since June, nearly twice the growth reported in the second quarter of the year.

In Clonskeagh increases of 25,000 have been reported in sale prices over the last three months with the average price for a three-bed semi increasing by 5.49pc to 480,000.

Those in the commuter counties and the main cities of Cork and Galway have seen prices rise by an average of just under 3,000 over the last three months.

We are seeing little or no increase in supply nationally, with an increase in funded buyers fueling the market in the short-term, said REA Chairman Michael OConnor.

Many of our agents are now reporting some buyers are returning to the market having achieved a level of savings, and that there is an increase in mortgage-funded purchases.

The average amount of cash buyers has fallen by 3pc to 33pc nationwide, but in Dublin city that figure is down by 7% in three months, with 72pc of transactions now mortgage-funded," he said.
Homeowners could be left open to having their washing machines, toasters, coffee makers and thermostats hacked, as they become increasingly hooked up to the internet, intelligence officials and experts have warned.

The 'internet of things', which will connect 100 billion devices to the internet and each other within five years, will leave people vulnerable to being spied on by their own appliances.

Chris Inglis, former deputy director of the US National Security Agency, said it represented a new threat and people should "just say no" to devices such as dishwashers being brought online.

Many more similar devices are being manufactured with built-in wifi capabilities as the cost of the technology decreases. Devotees of the internet of things (IoT) ultimately want to have almost anything with an on-off switch connected.

Europe's biggest software firm SAP and the German manufacturer Robert Bosch have just signed an agreement to connect everything from screwdrivers to cars to the internet.

In last year's UK Budget, George Osborne, then chancellor, earmarked 40m to promote IoT in Britain, saying it would make the country more competitive. He called it the "next stage of the information revolution, connecting up everything from urban transport, to medical devices, to household appliances".

Developments could include anti-cholesterol pills with embedded sensors that allow doctors to monitor patients' conditions remotely on the internet.

One clothing company wants to put sensors in underwear to monitor exercise. In offices, equipment will know when supplies are running low and re-order it themselves.

"One vision is that all these devices will talk to each other and interact in clever ways," said Benedict Evans, a US technology venture capitalist.

"So if you walk into the house with someone your security camera doesn't recognise, and your calendar mentions 'date', some sort of unified learning-based system will dim the lights, turn up the thermostat, and start playing Barry White."

Cisco, a networking equipment manufacturer at the forefront of developments, has estimated the IoT market will be worth $14.4 trillion by 2022.

Major technology firms are competing to be in the vanguard, with Google having paid $3.2bn for Nest, a company that makes "smart" thermostats and smoke detectors.

However, numerous cases of internet-connected baby monitors being hacked have already been reported in the US.

In Minnesota, a man who had taken control of a monitor and was talking to a child in its crib was traced to Amsterdam. A website was then discovered that linked to thousands of cameras in home nurseries in more than a dozen countries. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Britain wants a trade deal that gives Londons financial district, known as the City, access to EU clients while allowing the government to restrict migration from the bloc (Stock picture)

European businesses have offered Britain scant support ahead of divorce talks with the European Union.

More than 20 European business associations and companies interviewed by Reuters say they back their governments' position that Britain's banking sector can only enjoy EU market access post-Brexit if the country still follows the bloc's rules.

Britain wants a trade deal that gives London's financial district, known as the City, access to EU clients while allowing the government to restrict migration from the bloc.

Senior lawmakers in the British government have said they expect European business groups to support their position because they need access to the financial services the City provides.

But interviews with companies and trade bodies across Europe suggest the most important thing for business leaders is maintaining a single market with a single set of rules that includes the four freedoms: free movement of workers, capital, goods and services.

They are less concerned about losing access to the City of London. Companies including Deutsche Post, Daimler and Fiat Chrysler said they did not see significant disruption if the City loses free access to the EU market.

"We have taken a very clear line that the integrity of the four freedoms must be observed and that there is no cherry picking," said Markus Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, the umbrella body for the biggest EU business federations.

"This is a very clear message we get from our constituency," he said.

The conflict of views gives an early indication of the difficulties facing both Britain and the EU in the divorce negotiations to come. (Reuters)
Conor Quinlan, who starred alongside Jamie Dornan in the newly released 'The Siege of Jadotville', has praised the Northern Irish actor's portrayal of his war hero grandfather, Pat Quinlan.

The movie is based on the true story of Commander Pat Quinlan leading 150 Irish troops to safety after being attacked by around 3,000 mercenaries in the Congo in 1961.

Conor was a youngster when Pat died, but said that Dornan reignited memories of his late grandfather.

He said: "It was pretty amazing. [My grandfather] died when I was six, but I still have vague memories and Jamie definitely captured the quiet authority he had. The essence of a strong, silent and wise man was definitely there.

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"It was surreal for the first week or two seeing him portray him. My family were over the moon watching his performance. It was actually an incredible experience, from day one on set to the movie getting its premiere alongside the veterans it is celebrating."

Conor, who plays Athlone man PJ Joyce in the movie, recognises the challenges and rewards of portraying real people on film.

"I got to meet PJ's family, which was brilliant. They didn't want to shoot me, which means I must have done a good job. It was an amazing experience to get to meet these people who were part of something that epic," he told Independent.ie.

When asked whether he would have liked to play his grandfather, Conor said: "Those are big boots to fill, and I wouldn't even try. Jamie was so fantastic. I couldn't have done it better myself.'

The Siege of Jadotville is in cinemas now and will be released worldwide on Netflix on October 7.
Irish audiences hoping to see Louis Theroux's 'My Scientology Movie' could be set for disappointment, according to the owner of an Irish cinema group.

Graham Spurling, who owns independent cinema chain Spurling Group Cinemas has said on his Twitter that the movie will not get an Irish release, suggesting that this is due to Irish blasphemy laws.

Mr Spurling was hoping to run a live Q&A event in October, but Irelands 2009 Defamation Act forbids publication or utterance of blasphemous matter against any religion, with a fine of 25,000 for those who breach it.

He said: "[I] regret that after much trying [that Louis Theroux's My Scientology Movie] will not get an Irish release. Our blasphemy law to blame?"

Altitude, the company behind the Oscar winning documentary Amy, will be distributing the film in the UK, but it is yet to get an Irish distributer.

Speaking about the film, Theroux said: More than 10 years ago, I approached the Church to see if they might let me in to make a documentary. I thought I might be able to bring a sense of nuance and perspective to peoples understanding of a faith that has been much ridiculed."

Scientology, which was created by L Ron Hubbard in 1954, is described as a religious system based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfilment through graded courses of study and training.

This is not the first time a film on the subject has ran into difficulty in Ireland, with Alex Gibney's 2015 documentary 'Going Clear' failing to secure an Irish release due to libel claims.
(L-R) Nicola Hughes and Alex Mytton attend the launch of Beauty Unbound at Westfield London on May 5, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Westfield)

Nicola Hughes and Alex Mytton attend the Specsavers' Spectacle Wearer of the Year Awards 2015

She made waves on the show as the girlfriend of love rat Alex Mytton, but it appears Dublin model Nicola Hughes time on Made in Chelsea is at an end.

The Sandyford native had become a regular on the UK show - all about the glamorous, rich lives of Londons elite set - for the past two years thanks to her relationship with Alex.

While DJ and socialite Alex confirmed in the shows summer series that he and Nicola had brought their topsy turvy relationship to an end, the blonde model had established herself on the show, moving into a girls-only pad with cast mates.

However, the 26-year-old has not filmed for the most recent series of the MIC, due to air this autumn, show stalwart Rosie Fortescue told the Herald.

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Shes not actually filming anymore, shes not on the show this series, Rosie (26) said.

I wasnt friends with her unfortunately, added Rosie who has been a regular feature on Made in Chelsea since the start.

The British socialite, who has just launched her second jewellery collection, is jetting over to Dublin this week to help host the Arnotts Style Sessions, which take place from Thursday until Sunday.

On Saturday, Rosie will host fashion shows at 2.30pm and 3.30pm and share her style secrets with customers, with well known names such as Lisa Fitzpatrick also taking part across the weekend.

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I think Irish style is very sophisticated and people take more risks than we do in London, Rosie said.

Rosie, whose mother hails from the west of Ireland, said she loves any opportunity to jet across the water.

My mother grew up in Ireland and love it, she said.

I came over for my friend Stephanies wedding to Ross Desmond and it was amazing, she added.
Daisy Lowe and her partner were given nine out 10 for their performance. Image: BBC.

Daisy Lowe and Danny Mac battled for top place in Strictly Come Dancing at the Weekend. Image: Getty.

Daisy Lowe with dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec during the dress rehearsal for the live show of Strictly Come Dancing. Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire

Strictly Come Dancing fans were left unimpressed at the weekend when model Daisy Lowe received the highest score of the night for her first dance, while former Hollyoaks star Danny Mac was undermarked.

Lowe and her partner Aljaz Skorjanec were given nine out of 10 by judge Len Goodman for their romantic waltz, who stated: I dont think Ive seen a dance better than that for week one, ever!

Lowe earned an impressive 32 out of 40 for her performance, which she dedicated to her grandfather who passed away on the first day of rehearsals for the show.

She was awarded eight points by Darcey Bussell, eight by Bruno Tonioli and seven points by Craig Revel Horwood, who told her: It was saccharine and over the top.

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Viewers felt the high nine was an unfair score when Danny Mac was given seven out of 10 by Goodman for his tango which was considered by many the best dance of the night, despite telling him hes 100 per cent a contender.

"How did Danny Mac get less than Daisy? He looked like a professional!" wrote one viewer on Twitter.

Lowe was top of the leader board by the end of the night, with Danny Mac in second place, something she couldnt believe even herself.

I am gob-smacked, I am speechless and that really rarely happens! she exclaimed when the results were revealed.

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Meanwhile, Brays Laura Whitmore and her partner Giovanni Pernice scored 25 points in a steamy Cha Cha, with Bruno Tonioli saying, Carry on like this and Ill need an extinguisher!
Whether or not The Fall has been worth 11 hours of anyones time, let alone deserving of six more, is open to debate.

It would probably have been better if Alan Cubitts psycho-sexual serial killer thriller had wound up the cat-and-mouse game between ice-cold detective Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) and seductive murderer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) at the end of what was a mostly gripping first season.

Instead, Cubitt had Spector escaping Stellas clutches by hightailing it from Belfast to a new life in Scotland with his wife and children, only to swiftly return and resume his campaign of terror and taunting.

So on and bloody on and bloody on it went, interminably and implausibly and frequently very tediously.

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Cubitt succeeded Jakob Verbruggen as director; he isnt the first person to demonstrate that the writer is not always the one on set best qualified to shout Cut! on their own material.

The second season left two questions dangling. 1) Would Spector survive his gunshot wounds? 2) How would Cubitt prolong a story whose credibility had already been stretched to snapping point?

The answer to that last one seems to be by turning the speed knob from snail to glacier. If you thought the previous season of The Fall was on the slow side, last nights episode barely stirred at all. Ive seen clouds on a perfectly calm summers day move faster.

Between the spurts of sparse dialogue, dragged-out shots of dimly-lit rooms and corridors (a regrettable legacy of Scandi noir), and long periods of staring into space, there was enough padding here to insulate an attic.

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As for Spector, of course hes survived! Was there ever any doubt that he wouldnt?

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Pretty much the entire first episode was set inside Belfast General Hospital as the medical team  including new cast arrivals Aisling Bea as a nurse and Richard Coyle as the kind of sparky, wisecracking doctor that exists only inside writers heads  fought to keep him alive.

Blood, guts and medical jargon geysered all over the emergency room, covering every wall and floor in sight. It was all 50 systolic this and 80 systolic that  a load of systolics, if you ask me  and akin to watching a post-watershed, post-bloodshed episode of Casualty or Holby City.

Gibsons colleague and toyboy lover Tom Anderson (Colin Morgan) also lived to pout moodily another day  although given he took a bullet through the elbow, he might not be using his left hand to feel collars ever again.

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Poor Tom was understandably miffed over the fact that Stella was cradling Spector and not him in her arms after the shooting. Why did you run to him? he asked. You seemed ... anguished.

No shit, Sherlock? Maybe that shattered elbow is the best thing to happen to Tom. If hes figuring out only now that theres more to Stellas obsession with Spector than the purely professional, hes quite possibly in the wrong job.

Meanwhile, Jim Burns (Eric Cantona lookalike John Lynch) turned up at the hospital to grimly inform Stella that hed be the one talking to the swarm of reporters gathered outside the hospital.

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All of which brings up another burning question: when is someone going to cast Lynch in a role where he actually gets to crack a smile?
A Dublin air-sensor company is helping American healthcare services reduce their electricity bills with air-quality sensors.

Products offered by NuWave Sensors, which detect pathogens and allergens in the air, are proving particularly popular in US hospitals that wish to monitor indoor air quality.

The business has also recently launched Cair sensors for homes to track particles and humidity that could spark allergic reactions.

Based in Glasnevin, NuWave Sensors has been operating for almost three years and employs 12 people in Dublin. Chief technical officer Stephen Daniels says much of their sales are in America and mainland Europe.

"We sell products all over the world, but the US is a big market for us, as is mainland Europe," he told the Irish Independent. "We sell both the NuWave and Cair sensors there, but industrials are our biggest customers, particularly in America."

The air sensors collate the information and send them to clients via a free cloud-based account. Mr Daniels added that the data tracked by the sensors could encourage hospital management to cut down on their use of air purifiers where necessary and reduce energy consumption.

"There are a lot of hospitals in the US that need to clean the air inside their wards. That's a huge cost," he said.

Meanwhile, the company's domestic sensors can help homeowners detect pathogens that may aggravate asthma or hay fever.

"With the increase of Co2 levels, certain plants like ragweed would produce more pollen," Mr Daniels said.

"The general trends are that global temperatures increase and that provides better conditions for producing pollen."
Brendan Walsh, chief executive of SmartBin, says the companys software can deliver savings by increasing efficiency. Photo: Mark Condren

An Irish start-up hopes to break into its home market after considerable success with waste companies abroad.

SmartBin, which has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, says its clients can make savings of up to 40pc by following more efficient waste collection routes.

The business allows waste management firms to track the fullness of their bins and containers using ultrasonic sensors. The data is then sent back to the company via an app, which provides the customer with live details of how full each container is, and where it is located.

SmartBin also helps its customers plan more efficient routes by only sending trucks to bins that are full.

Brendan Walsh, CEO of the company, says the software delivers more savings and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

"If I am using this software, I can direct my drivers to collect from full bins only," he said.

"That leads to more efficient journeys and a cut of up to 40pc of the cost. From a sustainability point of view, there are less CO2 emissions.

"We can also show you what CO2 emissions there would have been on a standard journey, compared with a more efficient journey."

SmartBin entered the market in 2011, and now has hundreds of customers in North America and Europe.

It currently employs six people in Dublin, one person in London and one person in Chicago.

While it has yet to advertise in Ireland, it hopes to expand into the domestic market in the near future.

Mr Walsh believes the recent introduction of a nationwide Internet of Things (IoT) network in Ireland will help the company, and says there is "absolutely no reason" why Ireland can't become a hub for such technology.

"Just come out to DCU Alpha and you will meet a number of innovative companies doing great things to improve the environment," he said.

"There are lots of people doing really interesting things in the area of sensor devices, especially in Ireland."
A 15-YEAR-OLD boy went on a driving rampage in a car he bought through the Done Deal website, a court has heard.

Judge John O'Connor said at the Dublin Children's Court that it was lucky the teenager had not caused fatalities and was not facing trial for manslaughter.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of dangerous driving on Jan. 10 last at locations in north Dublin: Malahide Road in D3, the Belmayne Avenue and Malahide Road junction, a roundabout in Clarehall and on the R139, Main Street in Clongriffin, the junction of Grand Road and Willie Nolan Road, Coast Road and Moyne Road.

The juvenile court heard the teenager was driving a '99-reg Ford Fiesta which turned away as it approached a Garda checkpoint and drove away at high-speed.

Garda Garret Ryan, of Coolock station, told Judge O'Connor that the teenager was pursued and seen driving through a red light. He then overtook a car causing two on-coming cars to take evasive actions. He went through a pedestrian crossing on the wrong side of the road, broke another red light and hit the side of another car. He turned on to another road and began weaving in and out of traffic in a housing estate.

Garda Ryan said it happened at 3pm and it was busy time of the day. At Grange Road the boy drove on the wrong side of the road and forced on-coming traffic out of his way and he narrowly missed a collision at Willie Nolan Road.

The court heard the boy started to head in the direction of Portmarnock and he drove on the Coast Road on the wrong side. The Moyne Road had been been flooded and when the teenager got there he hit a pool of water and fish-tailed and hit a tree, Judge O'Connor was told.

The court heard he had no prior criminal convictions, is still in school and hopes to become a mechanic. The court heard the teenager is very good at home for his mother.

I want to say sorry, it was a once off mistake, it will never happen again, the boy told Judge O'Connor.

The boy wants to become a mechanic and bought the car cheap, replaced the battery and was planning on selling it, his solicitor Danny Nolan said. The solicitor said the boy, who was accompanied to court by his mother, is ashamed.

The court heard the teen bought the car on the Done Deal four days before the chase.

Judge O'Connor told him his mother was lucky not be in the Coroner's Court dealing with the death of her own child and possibly the deaths of other children as a consequence of his behaviour which put a lot of people's lives at risk. He said the boy could have been facing a trial for dangerous driving causing death or manslaughter

He said it was a very serious case and adjourned sentencing for a probation report to be prepared.
Gardai arrest a man at the scene of the assault on Darrell Hutch

A TEENAGER facing public order charges in two city centre incidents has had his cases adjourned after a court heard he had been victim of a "very serious assault".

Darrell Hutch (19) had the cases put back in his absence when he failed to appear in Dublin District Court.

His solicitor said he was recovering in hospital.

Mr Hutch, with an address in the north inner city, is charged with two counts each of threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour to cause a breach of the peace in a public place, and failing to obey garda directions.

The two incidents are alleged to have happened on O'Connell Street on April 24 and James Joyce Street on May 20.

Mr Hutch had pleaded not guilty on a previous date and the cases were back before the court for hearing.

However, Mr Hutch was not present when his case was called and defence Solicitor Yvonne Bambury told Judge Alan Mitchell the accused was in the Mater Hospital, having been the subject of a very serious assault recently.

"Could you put it back for mention at the moment because I don't know how long it will take him to get back on his feet," Ms Bambury said.

Hearing

No details of the assault were disclosed to the court.

The judge adjourned the proceedings to a date next month, for mention.

He said a new hearing date could be set at that stage.

The charges against Mr Hutch are under Sections 6 and 8 of the Public Order Act.

The charges are summary only - meaning they are dealt with by a judge only at district court level.

Anyone found guilty and convicted of breach of the peace can be fined or given a maximum prison sentence of three months, or both.

Failing to comply with the directions of a garda under the Public Order Act carries a fine and/or a maximum potential sentence on conviction of six months imprisonment.
Three new jurors have had to be sworn for the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick on charges of deceiving auditors.

The move was necessary after two jurors sworn last week at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a man and a woman, asked to be excused.

This was agreed to by Judge John Aylmer.

The judge said a third juror, a man, had to be asked to stand down as it had come the court's attention there was a connection between an acquaintance of his and someone involved in the trial.

Three new jurors were subsequently selected, two women and a man.

It means the specially enlarged jury is now made up of six men and nine women.

Judge Aylmer said he wished to give the jury the opportunity to reflect overnight on whether there was any reason why they could not take part in the trial, which is expected to last for 12 weeks.

"I want you all to be sure you can deal with this case with absolute impartiality," he said.

The judge said there were ten categories of people whom it had been decided could not sit on the jury.

These include people with strong feelings about the banking crisis, anti-austerity protesters, people who had bank shares and people who knew anyone connected to the trial.

Judge Aylmer said jurors should be sure they do not fall into any of the categories cited.

He also warned jurors not to look for information on the internet or social media.

They were not to discuss the case with friends or family either, he said.

Judge Aylmer said it was imperative that they all be impartial and come to a verdict based solely on the evidence they hear.

The jury was excused until 2pm on Tuesday.

Mr FitzPatrick (68), of Whitshed Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow, is facing 27 separate charges, all of which he denies.

These include 21 counts of making misleading, false or deceptive statements to the auditors of Anglo Irish Bank, contrary to section 197 of the Companies Act 1990.

The offences allegedly occurred on dates between 2002 and 2007 and carry a maximum five year jail term.

Five counts allege Mr FitzPatrick did not disclose to auditors Ernst & Young arrangements temporarily reducing the balance of loans to him or persons connected to him at the end of the financial year. The reductions cited ranged in size from 4.3m to 88.9m.

Six counts allege Mr FitzPatrick failed to advise auditors of the need to revise financial statements after each temporary arrangement concluded. The sums involved in the arrangements cited ranged from 700,000 and 119.8m.

Four counts allege Mr FitzPatrick failed to disclose the full extent of loans received by him or persons connected to him from Anglo, ranging in value between 5.5m and 23.8m.

Six counts allege Mr FitzPatrick failed to inform auditors of an arrangement between Anglo and Irish Nationwide regarding loans he received from Irish Nationwide.

He also faces six charges of giving false information contrary to section 242 of the Companies Act 1990 on dates between 2002 and 2008.

The offences carry a maximum jail term of three years. All counts relate to Mr FitzPatrick allegedly producing financial statements giving a false figure for the aggregate value of loans to directors of Anglo.

It is alleged the amounts given left out the value of his own loans.
DUBLIN buses will run tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday after unions called of strikes at eleventh hour talks to end the dispute over a pay rise.

The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) confirmed that it has suspended the 48 hour stoppage in order to engage in intensive discussion to settle the dispute.

However, Saturday's strike that will take place on the day of the All-Ireland replay between Dublin and Mayo is still set to go ahead unless there is progress at talks.

General Secretary of the NBRU, Dermot O'Leary, said his union was placing its trust in the Workplace Relations Commission by suspending the 48-hour strike.

In agreeing to suspend our members industrial action we are placing our trust in the WRC and its assessment, following its separate exploratory discussions with Dublin Bus, that significant progress can be achieved over the next number of days in order to find a resolution to this dispute, he said.

The onus is now very much on Dublin Bus to come to the negotiating table and step up to the plate to go significantly beyond what has already been rejected by all of the staff.

He said the company must work with the unions to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the dispute.

Falling short is simply not an option for commuters and staff alike," he said.

Earlier, the main unions at the semi-state company indicated they would call off the work stoppages company agreed in principle to give a pay rise above 8.25pc.

The National Bus and Railworkers Union and Siptu have been at talks since 2pm to end the disruptive dispute as 13 more days of strikes are planned.

They attended negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission following a weekend invitation in a bid to end the disruptive dispute that has already halted services for six days.

Officials at the Workplace Relations Commission were racing against the clock to reach an agreement that would prompt unions to call off strikes.

There was a very short window for talks as they began at 2pm, while services were due to stop at 9pm ahead of tomorrows strike.

Intense discussions

Speaking outside the Workplace Relations Commission after the talks, Mr O'Leary said unions would enter intense discussions over the next few days to find a resolution to the dispute.

"There is a dispute set for next Saturday which we have not been asked to postpone, and we're not going to postpone," he said.

"There's an opportunity for the employer to come back to the table with the support of those in the department. They will need that support in order to reach a resolution.

"We're quite serious and focused coming in here tomorrow, or however long it takes, to get a resolution to this dispute."

SIPTU Divisional Organiser, Owen Reidy, said the commission had been clear that there was scope to make progress.

"All of the five unions have been very clear the only way we can make progress (is) if we can improve upon what was rejected," he said.

"We are happy the WRC has made this initiative and we are very happy the workers will be able to work tomorrow and the travelling public will not be discommoded."

However, he said he would sound a word of caution.

"We have a couple of days to try and fix this," he said. "The other dates that all of the unions have put in the diary remain, starting from Saturday, but our earnest wish is that we don't have to invoke that."

He said there is a responsibility on Dublin Bus to come to the table and make an improvement on an 8.25pc pay rise over three years.

"There's a window of opportunity now, we just hope that Dublin Bus management use it," he said.

"There's a crisis here that it seems others have sleep-walked into.

"It's up to the government to allow Dublin Bus management to do what needs to be done here."

When asked if the company is willing to negotiate an improvement, he responded:

"We hope that's the case, we've always said were prepared to negotiate and compromise and be flexible, and we'd expect the employer to do likewise.

"We made it very clear to the officials in the WRC that we expect that if a set of proposals were to emerge, to get the acceptance of our people, there would have to be some progress on that, and they came back saying they felt there was scope for negotiation.

"We will ultimately find that out in the next 48 (to) 72 hours. Like all these things you have to try and be hopeful.

"To quote the Minister, we won't be a soft touch, but we are prepared to bargain and comprise and we hope the employer is prepared to do likewise. Because unless that happens, this thing will get worse and everybody will suffer.

"We want to use the next few days to try and be creative and engage meaningfully with the employer.

"I do hope though the Government effectively allows the company to negotiate...the government are not a silent actor here, they are responsible ultimately for the funding of public transport.

"Something more fundamental needs to happen in the next two to three days to stave off further action. We hope no further action is needed, we hope everybody comes to the table with clean hands and prepared to work together in partnership.

"I would imagine most people and most observers would say that if the trade unions and the management, with the assistance of the WRC, can't resolve this dispute in the next three days, I think people would question whether we can resolve it at all."

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Shane Ross released a statement welcoming the decision of Dublin Bus drivers to defer strike action.

The statement read: "He is cognisant of the relief this will bring to the travelling public, businesses and all those who have been adversely affected by the recent strikes.

"He appreciates the role played by the WRC in facilitating these negotiations and hopes that all sides are given the appropriate space to arrive at a solution that is fair and achievable."
Education Minister Richard Bruton reiterated an invitation to the ASTI to engage in discussions, but there has been no response from the union yet.

Secondary teachers now face a lone battle in their dispute with Government over the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) on pay and productivity in the public service.

As two separate Association of Secondary Teachers' Ireland (ASTI) ballots on industrial action get under way this week, the union is isolated in the wake of a likely deal on pay equality for newly recruited gardai.

Proposals that emerged on Friday night are expected to pave the way for a resolution of the garda pay dispute.

Following its rejection of the LRA, the ASTI is seeking two separate mandates from members, which could close more than half of the country's second-level schools by early November. These are the schools where the ASTI represents all or many of the teachers.

The ASTI has asked its members to vote to withdraw from supervision and substitution duties and, separately, to take action, up to and including strike, on the issue of pay equality.

The other two teacher unions, the TUI and the INTO, have accepted the LRA, as a result of which their members are starting to see a reversal of cuts in pay and allowances imposed during the financial crisis.

ASTI members are not benefiting from the pay restoration measures, which started this month with the return of 796 a year, half the allowance for doing supervision and substitution.

Read more: Two-thirds of secondary schools face closure as teachers' union threatens strike action over pay

Read more: Pay deal is on the way to bring equality to 7,000 younger teachers

Newly qualified teachers in the ASTI stand to lose the most, after a top-up deal to the LRA, involving pay rises of almost 2,000 a year, reversing a cut that axed qualifications allowances for teachers recruited since 2012. It is broadly similar to what is now being offered to members of the Garda Representative Association (GRA).

The combination of the LRA measures and the top-up deal means that young teachers who are members of the ASTI could be on 6,000 a year less in January 2018 than their counterparts in the TUI and INTO, if the dispute is not resolved.

As the ASTI dispute continues, the TUI has seen a surge in membership since the start of the school year. Many newly recruited teachers and teachers who were not members of any union have joined the TUI to benefit from the pay restoration measures, and other benefits of accepting the LRA, such as a shorter wait for a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID) for new recruits.

There is also much anecdotal evidence of existing ASTI members finding ways around an anti-poaching agreement - which prohibits members of one union transferring to another at the time of a dispute - and signing up to the TUI.

Last week, Education Minister Richard Bruton reiterated an invitation to the ASTI to engage in discussions, but there has been no response from the union yet.

Meanwhile, the outcome of negotiations between the Department of Justice and the GRA will be assessed by the assocation's executive committee today before it decides whether to put the offer to its members.

The proposals, on the restoration of a rent allowance of 4,000 for recently and newly recruited gardai, need the endorsement of rank-and-file gardai.

The deal has emerged a few days ahead of the result of a ballot of the GRA's 10,000 members on industrial action over the pay row, which is due tomorrow. If the offer is accepted, the threat of action should be averted.

In a statement, the GRA said discussions with the Department of Justice had concluded and a document would be presented to the assocation's central executive committee for its consideration.
The divesting of primary schools to non-denominational status is to be fast-tracked across Ireland.

Children's Minister Katherine Zappone has demanded the accelerated rate of divesting schools from Church control after it emerged just nine schools were handed over in 2015.

The Independent TD is concerned that, at the current rate of transferring schools from Church to non-denominational control, Ireland will not achieve the target of having more than 400 multi-denominational primary schools nationwide by 2030.

More than 90pc of the 3,200 primary schools across the country are still under Church control and patronage.

Ms Zappone, pictured, said the target of 400 multi-denominational schools needs to be achieved as soon as possible.

"I agreed that figure on the basis of my negotiations (to support the Government)," she said.

"I know that Minister (Richard) Bruton is also very committed to this.

"I think his department have identified some initial targets. We are now increasing the pace and I am going to work with him as well as with other advocates to ensure that goes as quickly as possible.

"I am witnessing it (Ireland's increasing multi-cultural make-up) everywhere I go," she said.

The Dublin TD stressed that there is a need to urgently address the issue of non-denominational schools in Dublin because of the dramatic changes in ethnic make-up within some communities.

Educate Together warned that progress on handing over schools has been "unreasonably slow."

Last year, Educate Together stressed that its assessment indicated the urgent need for a network of a minimum of 300 Educate Together schools across Ireland.

That amounts to just 10pc of the primary school network.

Of nine schools divested in 2015, eight went to Educate Together.
Gardai are to be asked to investigate how a critical change in University Hospital Waterford's (UHW) key risk rating assessment was made.

The alteration, which was made outside Waterford and without the knowledge of UHW clinicians, is feared to have been a critical component in the subsequent decision by an independent expert not to sanction an expansion of strategic cardiac services at Ardkeen.

The Waterford hospital now faces the loss of key cardiac services and potential funding to Dublin and Cork.

Campaigner and European Parliament candidate Kieran Hartley confirmed he is to lodge a formal complaint with Waterford gardai today once he has obtained legal advice.

"This isn't just an issue of public safety, though clearly it has huge significance in that regard," he said.

"This also potentially amounts to deception because a critical public health document was changed without reference to the people responsible for compiling it.

"My understanding is that the person believed to have made the temporary data change did not have the authority to do it."

Experts stressed that a risk rating is arguably the single most important data assessed for a hospital.

Mr Hartley said he wants to take legal advice on whether, if public funds are allocated on the basis of the altered information, it could also amount to fraud.

The hospital board said it was "appalled" at the temporary change in critical cardiac risk assessment data.

One medic said such a change was "absolutely unprecedented" and queried its timing.

The HSE has said the risk rating for cardiac procedures has not been changed for University Hospital Waterford.

The current national data matches UHW's own rating.

However, Waterford campaigners said the HSE was referring to the internal rating and not the temporary change which was made to data available nationally.

This data was temporarily altered in August.

The Irish Independent understands that three senior medical officials at UHW are now reviewing their positions because they are so disgusted over how the hospital was treated with the cardiac services review.

On Saturday, more than 2,000 people marched through Waterford city centre to express their fury at the way the local cardiac services were handled.

Mr Hartley insisted that initial indications are that the data change was done by an individual who is not a clinician and who did not have the authority to make the alteration without consultation.

It is believed that the altered data, as well as a radical understating of the population in the catchment area, was then supplied to an independent, Belfast-based expert.

UHW's risk assessment rating was temporarily changed from 20 out of 25 to 16 out of 25 in late August - a rating that Mr Hartley is convinced was critical.

Campaigners are demanding that Dr Niall Herity, who assessed the need for a second catherisation lab, be asked to review his findings in light of the data revelations.

Health Minister Simon Harris has staunchly backed Dr Herity's findings in the Government-commissioned report that Waterford does not need a second cath lab.

However, campaigners are now challenging Mr Harris to consider the implications of the data changes.
IRELANDS only residential detoxification centre for juveniles battling addiction problems faces the threat of closure unless the Government addresses a looming financial crisis.

Aislinn, a Kilkenny-based service operated by the Aiseiri treatment centre group, warned that it urgently requires funding support if it is to continue its hugely successful operations.

Despite Irelands escalating juvenile drug abuse problem and the fact that Aislinn ranks as the only centre of its kind in the country, it is entirely dependent for financing on private sources.

This is despite the fact the Aislinn centre witnessed an astonishing 52pc hike in client admissions last year.

Aiseiri chief executive Paul Conlon warned that while the groups overall financial situation has improved, the funding model for Aislinn simply cannot continue.

He bluntly warned that Government support is now vital to keeping the vital centre operational.

In a desperate bid to rally support, letters were hand delivered to all TDs and Senators at Leinster House yesterday.

The funding model for our adolescent detoxification and rehabilitation service is not suitable, he said.

It is simply not sustainable into the future.

So we are calling on the Government to fund this essential and successful programme into the future.

This will provide a tangible return on the investment for the Exchequer, as young people will be able to take control of their addiction and return to their families and communities, he said.

Aiseiri supporters admitted it was beyond belief that a hugely successful centre like Aislinn should be reliant on private funding sources.

Olympic silver medalist, Ken Egan, backed the Aiseiri campaign and said it was critical that every possible support be offered to groups working to help people address addiction issues.

I started drinking at the age of 13 or 14 and fully appreciate why services like those at Aiseiri are absolutely crucial to people at a young age, the boxer said.

They can literally change young peoples futures as well as helping families come through the ordeal.

Aiseiri issued the funding appeal as the group, which operates treatment centres in Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny, admitted it was dealing with record demand for its services.

Its annual report revealed that 550 clients availed of addiction treatment services in 2015  an increase of 87 or 19pc on its 2014 total of 463.

However, its juvenile centre, Aislinn in Kilkenny, witnessed a 52pc hike in its treatment clients, soaring from 115 in 2014 to 175 last year.

A key change noted last year was a steady increase in the number of women presenting for addiction treatment, many with complex needs.

Mr Conlon said that while the financial position of Aiseiri had improved over the past 12 months, the group found itself under renewed pressure because of the spiraling demand for its services.

He also said the Government needed to consider the need for secondary treatment facilities and housing support for those facing ongoing drug and alcohol addiction support.

We would like to provide such services in the south east, which has no such facilities at present, he said.

We have the infrastructure in place in Waterford to deliver on this and, with a little extra funding, the second stage treatment facility for women could well be a reality in 2017.

Aiseiri also continued to provide a comprehensive aftercare and family service to all those who completed the programme in recent years.
Bread company Johnston, Mooney and O'Brien has recalled one of its sliced pan products due to concerns that it may contain pieces of plastic.

The product concerned is the 'Toastie 800g pan', which they say may contain pieces of blue plastic tubing.

According to the company, consumers who have already eaten the bread are not at risk.

They said: "To the best of our knowledge there is no risk to consumers who may have already consumed the product.

"However, given Johnston Mooney & OBriens high standards of food safety, taste and quality, the company is taking the step of recalling the Toastie Pan 800g with the Best Before Date 29th September, Codes D 27 and E27. No other Johnston Mooney & OBrien products are affected.

"Any potentially affected packs have been removed from the supermarket shelves in co-operation with the retail trade and any that were in the distribution system have been recalled by the company.

"Anyone in possession of Toastie pan with the Best Before Date 29th September Codes D27 and E27 can, if they wish, return the product to their local retailer for a refund. Or they can send the empty packaging with their name and address for a full refund to: Johnston Mooney & OBrien 11 Jamestown Road, Finglas, Dublin 11."

The company has apologised for any inconvenience, but add that they believe this is "the safest course of action."
Dublin Bus workers on the picket at the Ringsend garage at the weekend. Photo: Colin ORiordan

Hundreds of jobs will be gone before Christmas if the Dublin Bus strikes continue, retailers warned after the first stoppage on a Saturday.

Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) revealed that sales in Dublin's city centre plunged by up to 60pc while the buses were stopped this weekend.

The Dublin Chamber of Commerce (DCC) fears retailers in the capital will be forced to consider cutting staff if further strikes go ahead.

"We have a lot of anxious retailers worried now after Saturday's industrial action," said Graeme McQueen, DCC spokesman. "Across the board it was a big hit. Some of the bigger outlets were down 25pc to 30pc.

"They can't afford to keep staff levels the same on (strike) days, not when they're missing out on so much footfall."

Read more: Shops forced to close early as bus strike cripples city

Mr McQueen told the Irish Independent that uncertainty around the strikes was making it difficult for retailers to plan ahead, especially coming into the Christmas season.

"December is fast approaching, the stores will have to start looking at reducing staffing hours," he added.

"They're going to have to be caution about staffing up too because if they can't count on the numbers they usually see coming in around this time of year, they're going to be in trouble.

"A lot of people looking to spend money at the weekend took it elsewhere.

"Christmas is crucial for retailers. It's their lifeblood. If they don't make it big then, it puts a lot of stress on them for the rest of the year."

He added: "No one is winning here, the sooner the strikes are resolved, the better for everyone."

John Murphy of Siptu said it was unfortunate that workers were being affected by the strikes but insisted that there were no plans to 'target' retailers, as has been claimed by Ibec's retail representative body, Retail Ireland.

"If we wanted to hurt retailers, we could have all the strikes at the weekend. Instead, we've spread them out over the various weeks. The last thing we want is for other people to lose their jobs," he added.
A father-of-four died just eight weeks after he decided to discontinue his dialysis treatment because he could no longer face travelling to and from Waterford University Hospital three times a week, his widow has claimed.

Alice Mernagh said her late husband Jim would have continued the weekly treatment if there was a dialysis unit in Wexford, as it would only have been a mere ten minute journey away.

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Now, she has decided to raise the issue at a national level.

In August, it was announced that Wexford County Council refused planning permission for a proposed new dialysis unit in the county.

The decision was met with anger and disappointment by dialysis patients in Wexford as it meant they would have to continue their eight hour round journeys to Dublin and Waterford to be treated.

The journey was the crucifying part. Whatever value he got from the treatment, it would be totally negated by the journey. He would be collected at half 9 in the morning and he wouldnt be back until after 6 oclock, Alice Mernagh told Independent.ie.

The urgent need for a dialysis unit in Wexford was first identified over 10 years ago.

At the moment, there are over 60 patients who have to travel to Waterford and Dublin for dialysis, a lot of them elderly people.

People require dialysis when they have reached the final stage of kidney failure. The process involves removing waste, salt and extra water from the body to keep it balanced.

Around three people would be brought down on the one day and you couldnt be brought home until everyone had been treated.

One evening Jim came home and just said, look it, Im giving up dialysis, I cant do this any more, she said.

Jim (79) had been enduring the gruelling 148km journey since December 2015 when he started his treatment.

Also a diabetes sufferer, he consulted with his own GP and a palliative care team before he came to his informed decision.

He was happier after he made the decision. He just couldn't keep travelling up and down to Waterford anymore, Alice said.

It makes me very angry, so angry. I feel so helpless. I also feel heartbreak for the people that still have to make that awful journey. I feel the issue is a political ball that is being kicked from one politician to the next.

There was a meeting here at Christmas and the assumption after that it was only a matter of time before planning was granted but it didnt happen and that is so frustrating. To the ordinary person who has the experience of travelling up and down, it makes no sense. If there is an available unit somewhere, us lay people dont understand why it just cant be used, she added.

The proposed new unit was due to be built in the Whitemill Industrial Estate.

Wexford County Council said planning permission was refused because the placing of the health unit in an industrial estate ran the risk of sterilising the land around it, thus having a negative effect on businesses in the area.

Speaking at the time of the announcement, Minister of State Paul Kehoe laid the blame at the feet of the HSE and not the Council.

I'm very disappointed with the HSE and the way they handled this. The HSE should have sat down with the County Council to identify and agree a number of suitable sites and then outlined these as the locations they were seeking tenders for instead of leaving it to tender applicants to find sites. The tenderer will always look for the cheapest option, he said.

Last week, Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin said he believed the Whitemill Industrial Estate was not the right choice of location for the unit. He advised against appealing the decision as it will take months, and said the best option is to find a new location.

It is believed a second possible suitable location for the dialysis unit is located in Clonard Village which has pre-approved planning permission for a healthcare facility and a drop-off point for ambulances.

In a statement, the South/South-West Hospital Group said: The South/South West Hospital Group in collaboration with the HSE, National Renal Office and National Procurement are progressing the provision of the Wexford Satellite Renal Dialysis Unit.
The mum of a young boy (8) with cancer said she's "flabbergasted" after a car was donated to their family.

Samantha Richardson from Nenagh in Co Tipperary made a plea to the public to help raise 3,000 to buy a car to bring her son for cancer treatment at Crumlin hospital in Dublin.

The family currently use public transport to bring eight-year-old Alex to Crumlin for chemotherapy.

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Within hours of the family's appeal they reached their goal of 3,000 and one generous man even offered the family a car.

"We're absolutely over the moon. A man from Carlow donated a 2005 Seat. With all the donations we received we'll be able to fix the car up, get insurance and tax and be able to bring Alex safely to his treatment," Samantha told Independent.ie.

"It's so mad how fast everything happened. One person donated 1,000 and another 500. They're huge donations from strangers. We can't thank people enough."

Samantha said eight-year-old Alex is "delighted" with the attention.

"He's been reading about himself and thinks he's famous now. We're so happy. It takes the pressure of us knowing that we have a car when we need it."

Alex was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia in 2014, when he was just five-years-old.

Six months ago the family's car broke down and they were forced to use public transport to get Alex to his treatment once a month.

Samantha said: "Public transport is dangerous for Alex to be travelling on because a normal cough or cold could make him very sick. Its a lot more dangerous for Alex than a normal child because his immune system is very weak."
Health Minister Simon Harris emphatically ruled out any immediate review of an independent report on Waterford cardiac services despite claims it was based on incorrect data.

Mr Harris insisted he "stands over" the independent report on University Hospital Waterford (UHW) cardiac services despite claims the expert who compiled it was supplied with data which included a near 50pc write-down on the hospital catchment area and that the critical UHW risk assessment rating was temporarily amended.

In a clear olive branch to furious UHW campaigners, Mr Harris vowed that all the funding recommendations in the report by Prof Niall Herity, a Belfast-based cardiologist, will be immediately fulfilled for Waterford.

This will include extra staff, new equipment for the UHW catherisation lab and resources for longer opening hours. Mr Harris also indicated that he will be visiting UHW shortly.

More than 2,000 people protested in Waterford city centre last weekend over the treatment of cardiac services at UHW. But Mr Harris stressed that Waterford will not get a second cath lab - though he said he was open to a review late next year to determine the success of the staff and equipment investments.

He was speaking at an event in Cork which was to have also been attended by Junior Minister and Waterford TD John Halligan. Mr Halligan cancelled the previous day after being unable to attend.

Mr Harris flatly dismissed calls for a full review of the independent report after it emerged UHW campaigner Kieran Hartley was lodging a formal complaint with Gardai over how the hospital's risk assessment rating was changed from 20 out of 25 to 16 out of 25.

UHW clinicians said they were "appalled" by the change which was not made in Waterford and which they were not aware of. But Mr Harris said he would not be diverted by "the chatter of local medical politics."

"You could not have got a more independent review than that of Prof Niall Herity. I have published that review in full. The review does suggest that there are a number of things that needs to happen in UHW.

"These are issues that the Government will address. It says there needs to be more staffing of the cath lab. It says very clearly that there needs to be new equipment in the cath lab.

"It says very clearly that the cath lab's opening hours need to be extended. But it just doesn't say there is a need for a second one (lab)."

Mr Harris warned he was not going to get dragged into a political row over UHW funding.

"I want to get on with making the improvements that Prof Herity recommends, investing in the hospital in Waterford. I look forward to visiting it in the coming weeks.

"Then, what I have said to the people of Waterford and I say it very clearly to them again - let us then look at the impact of those improvements on the volume and number of people using the cath lab.

"Let us review the situation next year to see if those improvements have changed the situation. But I have to be guided by independent clinical advice. If I am to start second-guessing independent cardiologists I think that would put our health service in a very perilous place. It is not something I am going to do."

Mr Harris said he was aware of the claims over critical data changes - but he insisted it did not impact on the independent report.

"I am trying to seek some clarity on this. I don't actually believe that the risk register has been changed at all in the last six months," he said.

"I believe the way that risk was categorised both at the hospital and at hospital group level may have been somewhat different.

"However I can say very clearly that this did not have an impact on Prof Herity's report. I have met Prof Herity - he went in independently as a clinical expert in this area, he engaged with clinicians in Waterford, he looked at all the data and he made his decision.

"I stand over the Prof Herity report and that is why I published it in full."

Mr Harris, when informed that some Waterford clinicians are now reviewing their positions given the treatment of UHW, said he expects everyone to work to support the healthcare system.

"I don't (have any information) other than I expect all our clinicians and all those in our health service to work as hard as they can in the interest of patients.

"I am sure they expect me, as a Minister for Health, to be guided in policy decisions that I make by the independent clinical advice available to me."
Dublin Bus unions have indicated they may call off tomorrows strike if the company agrees in principle to give a pay rise above 8.25pc.

The National Bus and Railworkers Union gave the indication as talks are set to begin this afternoon to end the disruptive dispute as 13 more days of strikes are planned.

SIPTU's key negotiator, Owen Reidy, said that it would "have a decision to make" on tomorrow and Wednesday's industrial action if it got a sense from the company that it was prepared to go beyond the pay rise that was rejected.

Officials at the Workplace Relations Commission will be racing against the clock to reach an agreement that will prompt unions to call off industrial action.

There is a very short window for talks as they begin at 2pm, while services are due to stop at 9pm ahead of tomorrows strike.

The General Secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers Union suggested that industrial action could be called off if the company gives a commitment on a pay rise above 8.25pc.

Unions have rejected a 8.25pc pay rise over three years, which was recommended by the Labour Court. It would be worth 2.75pc a year.

We on the trade union side feel weve given reasonability from the start of this dispute, the purpose being to explain to the public what this dispute is about, said Mr O'Leary.

The public can make up their minds if this dispute is fair or not. We will bring that reasonability into the discussions today.

If the company reciprocate with reasonability by acknowledging or recognising that the settlement of this dispute will be beyond the terms of the rejected Labour Court recommendation, then we on the union side have a decision to make at least in relation to industrial action on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we will not be found wanting.

Dublin Bus said all parties have been invited into exploratory talks without preconditions at the Workplace Relations Commission. Dublin Bus will be attending and will not be making any further comment at this time, it said in a statement.

Update:

Arriving at last minute talks to end the row, over a pay rise, Mr Reidy said suspending strikes can only be considered at this afternoon's meeting in the Workplace Relations Commission if there is 'space for engagement'.

"We don't want to mislead anybody, least of all the travelling public who've suffered six days of stoppages and there are many more planned, but hopefully we won't have to go there."

Nbru General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said "everyone knows to settle this dispute, the company will have to go beyond what was recommended by the Labour Court".
The brutality with which artistic genius is exterminated by dictators is well documented. Whether Hitler in Germany, Mao in China or Stalin in Russia, the writer and painter, the poet and musician are seen as a major threat to totalitarian regimes.

The autocrat recognises the artist's power to disseminate ideology through the simple medium of the page or canvas and that message has the power to inspire a nation. In Boris Pasternak's case, his novel Dr Zhivago had to be secretly published in 1956 to avoid expulsion to the Gulag. For Pasternak there was no question of exile - he never joined his family in Germany when they fled during the Revolution. Mother Russia was his true love, so much so that he was forced to decline the Nobel Prize in 1958 lest he be expelled.

Lara is written by his grand-niece and for the first time foregrounds the contribution made by his long-term love, Olga Ivinskaya, to his life. The book is a detailed examination through interviews and letters, and helpfully contextualises the revolutionary transition from Imperial Russia to its totalitarian state. Pasternak was prone to what the Soviet party labelled "bourgeois individualism" - their term for his 'romantic' and, to them, erroneous belief that human beings mattered. However, this book reveals both a selfish, egocentric poet and a genius whose destiny was dictated by his heart and soul.

Boris was with his second wife, Zinaida, when he met Olga in 1946. Olga had been widowed twice when they met; she was 34 and no stranger to tragedy. She was working at the literary magazine Novy Mir (New World) and was already a fan of Pasternak's poetry when he came into the office - from that moment their life-long love story began. He was 56.

The intensity of their affair was marred by the enormous price that Olga ended up paying for loving her 'Boria'. Pasternak never married his muse; he was supposedly saddled with guilt for already leaving two wives. Olga's lack of position made her a pawn in a political game. The Soviets could not be seen to harm Pasternak because of his international fame but due to her association with him, she was imprisoned twice in Siberian labour camps. The second time, her daughter Irina (Katenka in Dr Zhivago) was sent with her. Though not proven, Olga claimed that she miscarried her and Boris's child while imprisoned.

This book demonstrates that Olga was the woman who brought Pasternak joy, love and inspiration, but only the 'legally' married ex-wives enjoyed full protection. She was kept in a state of unofficial bigamy. Pasternak cohabited with his second wife and children in the "Big House" and dropped in on Olga in the "Little House" as the need for typing or sex took him. The arrangement leaves a somewhat bitter aftertaste on the poet's legacy.

David Lean made Doctor Zhivago into the epic film in 1965. It won five Oscars and launched Julie Christie as Lara and Omar Sharif as Yuri in a memorable love story based on Boris and Olga. The producer of Downton Abbey, Liz Trubridge, is currently developing the book for a six-part TV series. The actors who get to play Yuri and Lara have a lot to live up to, bringing this epic to a new generation.

Fiction: Dear Mr M, Herman Koch, Picador, 17.99

Hilary A White

Dutch author Herman Koch is no stranger to brattish feather-ruffling. The Dinner, his 2009 grand entrance, held an uneasy mirror up to his readership and picked holes in what he saw as the hypocrisy of adult life and bourgeois morals. It sold a million copies and was translated into 20 languages. It gave the former actor a platform from which to project about the life of a literary star, and these projections, fetid and cynical, form the buttressing for this elaborate diatribe.

The titular Mr M is a fading novelist in the Netherlands. He had a smash many years ago that he and his publishers have been chasing ever since. Payback told of an unpleasant love triangle exposed some years before the book's release. Mixed up in the scandal was a beautiful high school student, a teacher with whom she had a brief affair and a classmate who later became her boyfriend.

The bestseller was Mr M's take on a case that was never fully resolved in the judicial system. And now the public have accepted Payback as the verdict on the entire thing. People have been implicated for life because of the key-taps of a self-regarding fiction writer.

Koch has much to say about this idea of hubristic authorship and therefore good chunks take the form of an open letter from a stranger. This person stalking Mr M is out to discharge both barrels with an insidious level of threat that goes beyond pure hatemail. They live in the same apartment block and are completely up to speed on every aspect of M's life, including his pretty trophy wife. The calm, sour vigour with which Koch motors along during these verbal slashings is something to behold.

In the meantime, we are brought back to the actual events leading up to that news story that rocked the nation and its aftermath. In these unnecessarily protracted stretches of narrative, Koch shows us the perversions and dark distortions within each of the three characters. This truth is naturally neither pure nor simple.

All this is served up on a self-indulgent platter - one laden with rants about modern Europe, the weak Dutch resistance during WWII, immigration, gender politics and the slimy publishing industry. M is the mouthpiece, but it is Koch who seems desperate to be seen as the classroom messer. This is a cold and jaundiced outlook where the innocent are secretly vicious and those held up by society as men of wisdom are, once broken down, petty and self-serving.

The novel might not deliver "maturation" or "insight" because sometimes life itself cannot do this either. Dear Mr M takes a scenic route to this theory and is guilty of being too interested in such worthiness over the tale in hand. The sermon has devil in its detail. It is bold, provocative, regularly hilarious. But it is a sermon nonetheless.
Clodagh McKenna at the farmers market in Port au Prince today "with these fabulous women who sell the fruits from the local farmers"

Chef Clodagh McKenna shares the flavoursome local recipes that she learned on her trip to Haiti

Creole Chicken with Djon Djon Rice

Djon djon are a Haitian mushroom; you can substitute them with wild mushrooms.

Serves 6

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Ingredients

12 boneless/skin on chicken thighs

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 scallions, finely chopped

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1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 Scotch bonnet chilli, left whole

For the marinade:

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbsp fresh flat parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp of olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the djon djon rice:

250ml water

100g djon djon (dried black mushrooms)

1 tbsp oil

1 clove of garlic

2 shallots, finely chopped

 green pepper, diced

50g pigeon peas (or black-eyed peas)

1 clove

1 sprig thyme

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 hot pepper, whole

100ml chicken stock

200g rice

50g butter

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Clean the chicken using the Haitian meat cleaning method: with lemon or sour orange juice and vinegar. Rinse in cold water.

Make the marinade by mixing together the crushed garlic, parsley, thyme, lime juice, olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and sea salt. Rub the marinade all over the chicken, leave to marinate for a couple of hours, or if possible overnight.

Once the chicken has marinated pop it into a large zip lock bag. Place a large saucepan filled halfway with water over a high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer. Place the chicken into the saucepan and leave to simmer for 45 minutes.

After the 45 minutes, remove the chicken from the saucepan and the bag and set aside. Place a saute pan or skillet to a medium heat, and once hot brown the chicken on both sides. Add a half cup of water to the saucepan along with the tomato paste, scallions, pepper and chilli. Stew the chicken on a medium-high heat for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it is ready to serve.

Meanwhile, soak the djon djon or other mushrooms in 250ml hot water for 30 minutes. Pass through a blender, then strain through a fine strainer. Keep the water and discard the residue.

In a saucepan, pour in the oil, garlic, shallots, pepper and pigeon peas (black-eyed peas). Cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the black water from the djon djon and clove, thyme, a pinch of cayenne, hot pepper and stock.

When the water begins to boil, add the rice and stir for 2 minutes. Cook uncovered until the total absorption of water. Add the butter. Finish cooking over low heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Serve with the creole chicken.

Garlic Prawns with Mango Sambal

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Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of  orange

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

Splash rum (optional)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 prawns, peeled and deveined (3 each per serving)

For the mango sambal:

50g cashew nuts (oiled, salted and roasted)

1 dsp fresh coriander, chopped

1 dsp fresh mint, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp sugar

 tsp fish sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 mango, julienned (cut into thin matchsticks)

 carrot, julienned

 red pepper, diced

 red onion, diced

Method

In a glass dish, mix together the olive oil, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, orange juice, basil, parsley, rum and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the prawns, and stir to coat. Cover, and let marinate for 1 hour. To make the sambal, in a skillet or oven roast the cashews over a medium heat until fragrant and golden, about 8 minutes; set aside. In bowl, whisk together the fresh coriander, mint, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, oil and hot pepper sauce. Add the mango, carrot, red pepper and onion and toss to coat. Heat the grill to high heat. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until pink. Serve with the mango sambal.
The shock has yet to subside among staff at the Bon Secours private hospital in Tralee, Co Kerry, but few want to put their heads above the parapet and say what they think. The news is still too raw and shrouded in conjecture.

It is alleged that a medic working at the MRI and CT diagnostic department raped a female patient in his care there. The overseas national, employed by a third party - an international company that handles diagnostic scans in several Irish hospitals - is said to have attacked the woman after she was changing back into her clothes following a procedure.

The incident happened on September 10, and was revealed in the Sunday World last weekend when it emerged that the man did not turn up to a follow-up meeting arranged with gardai. It is believed that he fled the country. In earlier contact with police officers, the married father-of-one claimed that he and the patient had had consensual sex. It's a claim strongly denied by the woman, who's in her early 60s, and a file has been sent to the DPP.

Management at Bon Secours - which was named private hospital of the year in 2014 - have been tight-lipped this week with its PR consultant, John Drummey, insisting that "it has no comment to make at this time".

The news has sent shock waves through the Irish health system and, according to Stephen McMahon, director of the Irish Patients' Association, the allegations make for sobering reading for those who place their trust in the medical profession. "Obviously, a crime like the one alleged can be perpetrated from any walk of life," he says, "but it's particularly alarming when it's carried out by someone from within the medical profession. These are people that we trust with our health, and hospitals are environments where we need to be taken of care in, so for an alleged rape to happen in that environment is especially disturbing."

The third party, which is conducting an internal enquiry, says the worker in question passed two vetting checks in the past three years, but McMahon says an independent enquiry is essential. "I would call on (Health) Minister (Simon) Harris to open an enquiry into this case to alleviate public fear. As patients, we have to believe that no stone is left unturned when it comes to the recruitment of doctors, nurses and any other medical personnel."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the largest employer in the state, responsible for over 100,000 staff. It says it employs stringent rules when it comes to the recruitment of medical staff, although as Bon Secours Tralee is a private hospital, the HSE has no jurisdiction over it.

"The HSE requires hospitals to ensure that contractual provisions requiring employees to declare whether they are, or have been, the subject of any investigation by a medical registration or licensing body or authority in any jurisdiction with regard to their medical practice or conduct as a practitioner are fully enforced," says HSE communications director Paul Bailey. "Hospitals are also required to ensure that there are appropriate sanctions applied in cases where references are not obtained or checked prior to the doctor commencing employment."

Non-consultant medical doctors (NCMDs) must be employed under NCHD Contract 2010 which stipulates that they sign a declaration prior to employment where the opening clause reads: "I declare I am not the subject of any investigation by a medical registration or licensing body or authority in any jurisdiction with regard to my medical practice or conduct as a practitioner. I have not been suspended from registration nor had my registration or licence cancelled or revoked by any medical registration or licensing body or authority in any jurisdiction in the last 10 years, nor am I the subject of any current suspension or any restrictions on practise.

"In addition, I confirm that I am not aware that I am the subject of any criminal investigation by the police in any jurisdiction."

Bailey says the HSE's National Recruitment Service applies "the same suite of checks - reference checks, occupational health clearance, garda clearance and other validation of medical registration and related documentation - as they do for NCHDs."

The Irish Medical Council says it conducts extensive background checks before it allows doctors to be registered to practice in Ireland. It requires a passport as evidence of identity, a detailed career history, verified qualifications with all documents "notarised by a notary public or attested by a justice of the peace/commissioner for oaths/member of An Garda Siochana". It stipulates that documents signed by a police officer from another state are not acceptable.

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The council also requires a Certificate of Current Professional Status, to prove that applicants are "in good standing with no ongoing proceedings, conditions or findings against you and should be sent directly to the Medical Council from your previous regulatory authority".

Qualifications from non EU-EEA member states are validated on behalf of the Medical Council by the Educational Commission on Foreign Medical Graduates. "The Medical Council also uses the European Union's Internal Market Information system - a secure database - and can directly exchange information on an ongoing basis with other European regulators concerning qualifications, disciplinary histories and sanctions of individual medical practitioners," according to spokesperson Ailbhe Enright.

"Doctors who graduate from Non-European Union countries or Switzerland may be required to sit one of the Medical Council's examinations known as the Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES)," she adds. "The exam is an Open Structured Clinical Exam-format which requires the active participation of the medical practitioner in a simulated medical environment."

And yet, despite such measures employed by both the HSE and the Irish Medical Council, malpractice continues to happens in Irish hospitals. "You need only think back to the doctor who wasn't able to take a pulse to see that some people fall through the cracks," Stephen McMahon says. "She was hung out to dry to an extent, but what about those who employed her? What sort of process had taken place to ensure that that doctor had the competence to do the job?"

The Romanian doctor in question, Asia Ndaga, had been employed by Letterkenny Hospital in 2011 but a subsequent enquiry revealed that she had virtually no experience in caring for patients.

Her medical education was largely based on book-learning and university training rather than on any practical trainee work in hospitals. The Romanian doctors' register had no record of her name.

A senior doctor who works in one of the big Dublin hospitals says the malpractice cases that are covered in the media make for sobering reading, but he says in all his years of hospital work, he has rarely come across medics who have given him cause for concern.

"The language gap can be a problem," he says, "the communication skills can sometimes leave a lot to be desired - and you do hear of the frustrations of patients in that regard - but that's an issue that's not always confined to non-English speakers unfortunately.

"Any fears I would have had about new recruits would be based around exhaustion - the long working hours juniors often have to do - rather than incompetence.

"I read about the guy who confused an ankle and elbow and thought I'd never encountered any doctor who would have made such a fundamental mistake. I'd hate for the public to think that sort of thing happened a lot because, in my experience, it doesn't."

The case the doctor refers to is that of Omar Hassan, who was found to have been responsible for 28 cases of professional misconduct, including misidentifying an X-ray of an ankle as an elbow.

Hassan had managed to move between three Irish hospitals before his mistakes were uncovered. The same doctor had claimed to have passed the Irish Medical Council exams with "high marks".

According to a leading recruitment consultant, stringent application measures and exhaustive background checks can only do so much. "Of course these steps will weed out the 'bad eggs' and raise red flags to any past questionable behaviour, but they can't predict future intent," he says. "What I'm saying is, someone could have an impeccable record but go on to do something highly inappropriate and illegal in the course of their employment."

Meanwhile, the challenges faced by recruiters in the health industry are echoed in other professions, too, according to author and recruitment specialist Rowan Manahan.

"It's getting harder in the private sector," he says, "because they are using multiple-stage selection processes with different interviewers coming at it from different perspectives. We've also seen a rise in platform tests and psychometric profiling.

"But the public services lag behind on all of this. Not always, of course - I'm directly aware of a number of instances of multi-stage recruitment processes being used there.

"But all too often it's a single-hit, 45-minute interview, for quite senior roles.

"Time and again I have recommended conducting long-term audits or just simple follow-ups after a selection process; but I'm not aware of any being done."
Italian politicians are back encouraging young folk to get into bed. Health minister Beatrice Lorenzin has warned of an apocalypse if the nation's declining birth rate isn't tackled. She says Italy risks becoming a 'dying country' and has launched a National Fertility Day, promoted by a series of eye-catching posters. The campaign has got her into trouble. Italians have long memories.

The last time women were cajoled into giving birth for Italy was during the fascist 1930s. One image of a young woman holding an egg timer and rubbing her belly has been judged particularly offensive. Lorenzin has plans to use financial incentives, with improved baby bonuses, to get the population up. There are no plans to follow suit in Ireland. Our birth rate of just under 15 per thousand compares well with eight per thousand in Italy. We mightn't have a designated Fertility Day. But those dark Irish wintry months, warmed by turf and lubricated with plenty of rain, ensure plenty of unspoiled Fertility Nights.

* One factor raised in Italy as contributing to their low birth rate is that the average age of first-time mums is 31-and-a-half. But this is almost universal now in the developed world. In Ireland, the figure is 30 for a first baby, and it's similar right across western Europe, in Japan and in Australia. In the USA, Russia and eastern-European countries, the figure is closer to 25. In African and poorer South American countries, 20 is more likely to be the norm. I am sure that anthropologists and cultural experts can explain away all of these discrepancies. Economic simpletons like myself believe it's all down to the high cost of weddings and house mortgages.

* Over the summer, I got hooked on a TV series called Alaskan Bush People. It features an unusual family of nine who leave civilisation to live in the wilderness of America's most extreme state. There's a touch of The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie about it, but the fascination for me has been their development of basic survival skills that most of us lost generations ago. When doctors, clinics and hospitals are hours away through tough terrain, first-aid know-how and how to watch a sick person for changes become top-notch. The quirky Brown family have their dealings with the outside world, but money rarely enters the equation. Bartering the labour of their five sons pays for almost everything - except medical expenses. Even in Alaska, cash is king for doctors. Medical and dental bills are a constant struggle for America's most self-sufficient family. I'd be interested to hear if any Irish patients do bartering deals with their doctors. I don't want names, but if you know of any interesting stories, drop me a line at PO Box 5049, Dublin 6w or mgueret@imd.ie

* I visited a regional hospital recently and was struck by how unfriendly the rigmarole at hospital entrances has become. Once you manoeuvre into the car park with its minimum 4 charge, you then have to run the gauntlet of a North Korean border-style tannoy system. All day long and well into the night, this plays a loud, recurring and irritating message on loudspeakers, warning that 'This is a no-smoking campus' and that 'Tobacco use is not permitted anywhere on the grounds'. I wish they would turn these bloody things off. Nobody listens to them. Unswept cigarette butts are everywhere, and patients and visitors huddle as close to the entrances as they can to puff on their fags. Like it or not, many smokers are hooked like fish and will light up when they are hospital inpatients. If we are serious about smoke-free hospital grounds, then it is up to hospital authorities to provide a patient courtesy bus or trolley to get their fix off campus. Allowing security staff to taser anyone found smoking is an option but it could cause extra work for cardiac units. If a shuttle bus is too expensive, I'd favour a designated bicycle shed with an ashtray. It makes little sense to have general hospitals pretending to banish cigarettes while mental hospitals and prisons continue to sell them.

* There wasn't a lot of media coverage given to a recent case in the Dublin District Court concerning the unauthorised sale of medicines. Two men pleaded guilty to charges of selling unauthorised medicines at a bric-a-brac stall in Balbriggan market. One received a fine and 200 hours community service, and the other received the Probation Act and paid costs and a donation to charity. The haul included tablets, capsules and suppositories, 5,000 in all. It included the anti-clotting medicine Warfarin, along with a number of potent epilepsy, pain and psychiatric medications too. The danger of these sorts of drugs being available at market stalls would be clear to most, but perhaps the greatest hidden risk is that consumers have no way of knowing what substances these products actually contain. By all means, shop around for medicinal bargains. But make sure it's only pharmacies you shop around in.

* A true story has come to light from the men's room of a London teaching hospital. A distinguished professor of microbiology left the urinal and headed for the door. He noticed that the man who had stood beside him was washing his hands in the sink. The professor shook his head and elucidated his interesting 'no-wash after peeing' policy. "My urine is sterile, my penis is clean," he explained "have you any idea how many faecal organisms are on that tap?"

Dr Maurice Gueret is editor of the 'Irish Medical Directory'

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Mary ORourke says her late nephew, former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan junior, "knew what he was doing" during the economic crisis

Mary O'Rourke's journey into the past is a sometimes dark, painful one.

But it is a journey nonetheless lit up like a lantern by the love she felt for those she lost along the way.

The 80-year-old former Deputy Leader of Fianna Fail can remember her last conversation with "young Brian", as she calls her nephew, the late Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan.

It was near the end of May, 2011. She was in the kitchen in Athlone boiling the kettle one morning when the phone went.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Mary O'Rourke, pictured in The Shelbourne Hotel this week, says she feels her late husband Enda's spirit "very strongly" on their wedding anniversary. Photo: Steve Humphreys Mary ORourke says her late nephew, former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan junior, "knew what he was doing" during the economic crisis / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mary O'Rourke, pictured in The Shelbourne Hotel this week, says she feels her late husband Enda's spirit "very strongly" on their wedding anniversary. Photo: Steve Humphreys

"Ah, Brian, great to hear from you," Mary said to him before asking her nephew - who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at Christmas, 2009 - how he was. . .

"I'll tell you something," he replied. "I'm exhausted tired. I slept all night and I woke up and I want to go to bed again."

"I knew then that he was coming towards the end," Mary says now. "I'd seen people who had been very ill and they get very tired."

In response to young Brian saying he was exhausted, Mary tried to be "motherly or auntie" about it and told him that "sleep is very good for you. I quoted the lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth to him: 'Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care.'"

"That's a lovely line," Brian said.

"He'd know it himself, of course. He knew everything," says Mary proudly now, adding that she taught Latin to Brian when he was twelve - "he would cycle to my house once a week" - and he would always want to be taught the next chapter straight after they finished one. "He was voracious to learn."

"Say it again," Brian told Mary that morning in 2011.

Mary said it again and the two lines after it from Macbeth too: 'The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath/Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course/Chief nourisher in life's feast.'

"That's lovely, Mary," Brian said.

"That was our last conversation," Mary says. The pancreatic cancer claimed his life ten days after that.

"He didn't seem to outwardly suffer, but of course he must have had, no matter how very good the treatment was that he was getting. The only thing, I suppose, is pancreatic cancer is swift, very swift. You don't linger."

Mary "felt to the quick" the way Brian - because of his position as Minister for Finance - was treated after his death in relation to the state of the Irish economy and the deals done. "I knew that Brian knew what he was doing. People were inclined to heap the whole economic disaster upon him. I had to learn to live with that too. There is only so much you could be anguished about. But I felt for him in the illness. He kept up the good face. I used to think, 'You're suffering.' He retained his good spirits."

In terms of her brother Brian Lenihan senior's passing on November 1, 1995, Mary recalls that his physical demise was more lengthy because he underwent a liver transplant in America. "And the day before he went, the fella, the specialist in the Mater, said to me that he would have five good years from the rejig. And he had six."

How did she feel when Brian stood unsuccessfully for the Irish presidency in 1990 - and the whole controversy over "on mature recollection" in relation to a phonecall with President Hillery?

"We were gutted as a family for him but also inspired by how he dealt with it and how he was inspired to fight a great campaign around the country. Politics isn't a story of Pollyannas. We were humbled that he still got the top vote from the people of Ireland," Mary told me. "Mary Robinson went on to be a great President."

"He was as he was," she says of the former Tanaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Justice. "The joie de vivre you saw - that was Brian, except he was much more thoughtful about reading and books and poetry and all that than he ever, ever admitted. It's not that he didn't admit it, but it didn't come to the surface."

And Mary? What is she like beneath the surface, underneath it all?

"Underneath it all! How right you are," she laughs over a pot of tea in The Shelbourne; I poured - she poured her heart out.

"I'm thoughtful, too. I suppose most are thoughtful. I quite like my own company. While I love all my friends, family and grandchildren," she says referring to Jennifer, Luke, Sarah, Sam, James and Scott, "I am never afraid of being alone."

Mary's husband Enda died, aged 65, in January, 2001, after he was taken ill at their home. I ask her to tell me how she felt when she shut the door after the funeral.

"He was buried on a Thursday. I went to the Cabinet meeting the following Tuesday. That was just a weekend. I stayed in Dublin on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and came home on the Friday."

What was that Friday like?

"I remember pushing in the front door with the key and saying: 'Enda's not here.' Because he would always be there and we'd have a talk. You know what I did? And I still do it. I put the radio on in my bedroom, the radio in the kitchen and the radio in the living room. So everywhere I go in the house there are voices, or music. I had to do it. I wanted clamour. I wanted a voice. I missed his voice - apart from everything else I missed. I missed him and his physical presence."

Does she ever sleep on his side of the bed now?

"No. I go in the middle. Funny you should ask me that, about a month after he died, [her son] Feargal was down from Dublin with me for a weekend and he came into my bedroom and he said: 'Oh, ma. You're over on Enda's side.'"

Would she ever go over to the other Enda's side?

"What?"

Will she die a Fianna Failer?

"Ah, no. I see the good in all of them. I often have complimentary things to say about Enda Kenny, or about somebody in Fine Gael. There is quite a lot of good in them. I'm not that dopey that I can't see that side of them. I think it is awful the way they [Fine Gael] are going on now."

Mary says Enda would need "Sir Galahad to be standing up for him. This thing of 'Time he went!', I think, is kind of cruel."

Was it any less cruel in her day?

"No, when you think of Charlie Haughey and all the heaves, that's true," cackles Mary.

Could she imagine Haughey saying he had found his mojo? "No. He would never have admitted to losing it, not alone finding it."

Asked what was Haughey like, Mary comes over almost coy: "He was grand. You see, I wouldn't have known . . . you'll say 'Don't be acting the innocent.'"

Don't be acting the innocent, Mary!

"But seriously, I didn't . . . everything that was going on at the time . . . Terry [Keane] - well, I did know about that because Terry told everyone, didn't she? She sort of did. She did in the end, anyway. And PJ [Mara] started to be quite bold in the bar here, didn't he? He'd say ribald remarks and it would get back. But by God, he was good at his job. Look at the percentage Fianna Fail got. Now I know it was different times and people have different tastes now but he kept Fianna Fail at above 40 per cent for all those years. . ."

Is politics less tribal now?

"It is less tribal now," answers Mary, who served as Minister for Education, Minister for Health, and Minister for Public Enterprise, and who retired from politics in 2011, "because they have to be less tribal. They have to consult with Micheal Martin and he in turn has to consult with his front bench. So that must be kind of different from lording it up, as in - 'It is all your fault!' Do you know when they used to shout that across the Dail. I would have loved to have got up there and shout it back at them: 'How dare you! It isn't all our fault!' They blamed all the stringent measures we had to bring in; that it was all our fault. And that used to really annoy me. You know when they were going on and on?"

Mary says she remembers reading somewhere that Brendan Howlin was walking along Baggot Street and it suddenly struck him: 'We're almost bankrupt. We won't have the money to pay the teachers and the nurses.'

"Now that is not correct," she says. The two Brians - An Taoiseach Cowen and Lenihan - had done the deal with the Troika, she says, and the money was guaranteed. "Ok, it was a horrible rate of interest, and it put a terrible cloud over us for years until we shook it off, but they had done the deal."

What was it like for Mary personally during the 2011 election when Fianna Fail took such a hammering from the electorate?

"That is very funny that you should ask me that," she says. "Because I was so well-known, people weren't going to be rude at the door in Athlone to me because they would meet me the next morning in Dunnes Stores or in the post office. I live in the town of Athlone. So they weren't going to say, 'I'm not going to vote for you', and shut the door. I had none of that. I was treated with politeness."

Would Mary have preferred if they had told her their views on her and Fianna Fail?

"I kind of knew. They weren't as whole-hearted, let me put it like that, but they were not rude."

When the day of voting came, Mary knew in her heart that she was not going to get elected again.

"And I said to myself: 'God - you've had 32 years, Mary. Don't go weeping about that now.'"

Was that a sad day for Mary? With a sadness deepened by the fact that after giving her life to politics - while Enda effectively minded the kids at home - when Mary lost her seat there was no husband to come home to.

"No. I was very lucky. My son Feargal came down from Dublin and [her other son] Aengus in Athlone. I have a lovely niece," says Mary referring to Grainne who she writes about in her new book, Letters of My Life, "and she is a great friend of mine. A woman friend. She was there. And she came to the count with me, which was a very noble thing for her to do, seeing that the word back from the count was: 'You're gone.' So she came with me, and Feargal and some old friends came to the house. But in the end, I went to bed on my own."

Without wanting to know about Mary O'Rourke's bed, did she ever feel she wanted to have another relationship after Enda died? "No. No. I never wanted to. I go out with guys to the films or to the theatre, coffee, whatever. I like men's company. I like talking to you today. I like men's company. But I would never like to go to bed with a guy."

I say to her that I am more interested in her heart than her sex life. When Enda died, was that it with love and romance for her?

"Yeah, I think so. I had a very good relationship with him, all over the place; I had a very good relationship with him, in every sense of the word. And I would never get that again. Ever. Ever."

Does she not think Enda would have wanted Mary to not be on her own and to be happy?

"Oh, he'd want me to be happy. I think he'd be a bit jealous!" she laughs. "He'd want me to be happy alright but I don't think that want would extend to: 'I'd like to see her akimbo with somebody.' So, romance is done with me now. Maybe it is expressed now in my love for my grandchildren."

So she is ruling out being in, say, New York and meeting somebody lovely who has a shared interest in politics and falling in love?

"I have loads of interests. I talk about books with people. No - I am not . . . the sexual urge is not there. Now, I'd always say, 'That's a good looking guy' if I saw a nice fellow."

I say to Mary O'Rourke that I am talking about sharing her heart not her body. "To share the heart? No. I wouldn't feel like it, sharing it. But I am lucky in friendships, both men and women, that I am able to share a lot. But they are purely at that level."

Mary is going to the cinema next week (she doesn't say with who) in Athlone, to see The Siege of Jadotville; she also recently went to see Spotlight. "Very good. I like films. I also read a lot. I like reading about politicians. I read Tony Blair's. It doesn't seem that long ago that he was the darling of Downing Street." Discussing legacies, Mary believes that Young Brian has been "completely rehabilitated. I am very happy about that, yeah, of course. I say: 'Good for him.' I used to spend my time on programmes fighting the corner for him. But gradually people began to realise. I think that was one of the things that featured - only it was below the radar - in the bad turn-out that Fine Gael had in the last election. They spent so long saying, 'It's all your fault' that people started saying, 'Now, hold on now, you're in government. Just get it right, will you.'"

Mary seems to have gotten it right in her book, Letters of My Life. It is a fascinating read, quite, quite different from Mary's last book four years ago, Just Mary. "It was a big success and I stayed in touch with Nicky Howard at Gill, the publishers." In Letters of My Life, Mary has written a letter to "20 people past and present, close and distant, living and deceased" - from ex-FF minister Ray MacSharry to her brother Paddy to Mo Mowlam, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to Sheryl Sandberg, CEO of Facebook. . .

"I reviewed her book," Mary says of Ms Sandberg, "and then her husband died and I felt really, really sorry for her. It didn't matter what money she had, or what job she has, she was left rearing two very young children."

Mary writes in the book that she didn't like the notion of 'lean in' - to encourage women to embrace challenge and risk in the workplace.

"Lean in? I wanted to jump in!" she laughs. "Do you mind if I lean in?" she guffaws.

I say to her that if she had leaned in in Fianna Fail when she started off in politics in the early 1970s, she'd have gone nowhere. "I'd be sitting here talking to Mary Muldoon!"

Does Mary ever think about her own death?

"No, I don't," she says, "because I don't think we die, you see? Of course, we die and people cry but I think you're not down there. I think the spirit is [here]. I frequently feel that Enda and Brian junior are with me. I'm not daft enough to think they are physically with me.

"But I'd often be at home, maybe reading, maybe thinking about what I'm going to do next, and suddenly I'd feel they were there; one or other of them. I feel their spirits still. I mean, Enda is 15 years dead. I feel his spirit still."

Their wedding anniversary was only recently, September 14. Mary felt Enda's spirit "very strongly that day". She looked at the photograph of the two of them on their wedding day - 1960 - and thought: "Two lovely, innocent people." They got married in the Hudson Bay Hotel and went on their honeymoon to the Channel Islands. "That's life. He's gone."

She goes to Mass, not every Sunday but pretty regularly. "I would pray. I would pray for somebody I knew was sick." She mentions a friend who has cancer and that she wants God to make better again. Mary doesn't say her prayers inwardly; she speaks them out loud.

"I can do that!" she chortles. "Sure, I am living on my own!"

Would she ever say a prayer for Fianna Fail to get in at the next election? "They are going to get in anyway. I only wish Brian junior was with them."

Letters Of My Life by Mary O'Rourke, priced 19.99/17.99, is published by Gill Books on September 30
Wine weekend, anyone? Grape escapes are taking travel by storm, our Travel Editor reports.

Know your vins from your vinhos? Got a penchant for base notes and bouquets? Then youll love wine weekends, the latest phenomenon trickling through travel.

Grape-grazing isnt new, of course. From Californias Central Valley to the chateaus of France, tourists have always enjoyed wine country interludes.

But now, the volume and range of grape escapes is booming  from escorted tours to wine cruises and immersive experiences allowing visitors to mix their own blends. This month, the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) even held its first ever global conference on wine tourism.

Wine, food and travel go hand-in-hand, says Sharon Jordan of Uniworld River Cruises. As Irish consumers become more savvy with their wine, so have we in the travel industry. Wine tours tap into landscape, people and heritage, offering rich experiences that click with contemporary travellers.

Its not just about bumper regions like Bordeaux, Rioja or Marlborough, either. Trailfinders says South Africa is its most popular wine destination. Emerging spots range from Hungary to Georgia. Eurostar is even considering a Wine Line that will whisk passengers from London to Bordeaux in 4.5 hours  pending French rail developments in 2017.

Tips for your tipples?

Wine tours work best when you pace yourself, sort the driving ahead of time, plan your meals, and dont treat tasting rooms like the pub.

Now kick back, and enjoy one of the few times in travel (and indeed, life) when spitting is accetable. Slainte!

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You dont have to go overseas for a wine break.

Ireland may be short on vineyards, but a growing number of hotels and country houses are offering wine weekends and events  including Ballymaloe House (ballymaloe.ie), Kellys in Rosslare (kellys.ie), which has wine appreciation talks with Raymond Blake in November, and The Twelve in Galway (above, thetwelvehotel.ie), where managing director Fergus OHalloran graduated as Canadas top sommelier. It has a winter roast with Ribera del Duero wines on October 23 (from 110pp, including B&B).

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Stretch the spend, and the wine world is your oyster.

Sunway (sunway.ie) has a seven-day escorted tour of San Francisco, Sonoma and Napa from 2,679pp next June. Elsewhere, Trailfinders (trailfinders.ie) has a seven-night tour of South Africas Cape Winelands from 999pp, including car hire and three nights at Richard Bransons five-star Mont Rochelle Hotel in Franschhoek.

Uniworld (uniworld.com/ie) also has an eight-day, all-inclusive Bordeaux, Vineyards & Chateaux luxury river cruise on special from 2,059pp, departing October 23.

NB: All prices subject to availability and change.
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Billy Keane Opinion Even a dash to the Croke Park toilet wasnt enough to get rid of space invader who gave me Covid

I did the time, but there was no crime. Banged up I was, under house arrest after two red bars showed up on the Covid test. Im not too bad, thanks for asking. I have it down on a man who was nearly close enough to kiss me at the All-Ireland football final between Kerry and Galway.
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John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity

There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism.
The broadcasting watchdog has launched an investigation into an episode of Coronation Street after the soap was accused of racism for a comment a character made about her hair.

The episode, broadcast in August, saw Eva Price, played by Catherine Tyldesley, visit Audrey's hair salon, where she remarked: "I have more roots than Kunta Kinte.

"No idea who that is, by the way, just something my mum used to say."

Kunta Kinte was a character from the novel Roots: The Saga Of An American Family, which was adapted into a hit TV miniseries.

Based on a real-life ancestor of author Alex Haley, it tells the story of a young man taken from Gambia and sold as a slave.

The comments, which led Coronation Street to "apologise if this dialogue has caused offence", sparked 472 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.

An Ofcom spokesman said: " We're investigating whether a comment made by a character in Coronation Street was offensive and breached generally accepted standards."
Actress Heather Graham visits AOL Build Speaker Series to discuss her new animated film, "Norm of the North" at AOL Studios In New York on January 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Tommy Alastra (L) and Heather Graham attend the dinner of amfAR Milano 2016 at La Permanente on September 24, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images for amfAR)

Heather Graham at the premiere of "The Guru" at Universal Studios Hollywood CityWalk Cinemas, Universal City, Ca. Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003. Photo by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect.

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 12: Actress Heather Graham visits AOL Build Speaker Series to discuss her new animated film, "Norm of the North" at AOL Studios In New York on January 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 28: (L-R) Jonas Tahlin, Heather Graham and guest attend Dana Brunetti's Pre Oscar party hosted by Steve Shaw at the private residence of Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Absolut Elyx on February 28, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx)

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Heather Graham attends Dana Brunetti's Pre Oscar party hosted by Steve Shaw at the private residence of Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Absolut Elyx on February 28, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx)

Heather Graham poses for a portrait during amfAR Milano 2016 at La Permanente on September 24, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for amfAR)

(Original Caption) Arrival of Heather Graham, who plays 'Felicity Shagwell' in the film. (Photo by Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images)

Heather Graham in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999

Heather Graham was the definitive 'it' girl of the late nineties and early noughties.

With roles in Boogie Nights, Austin Powers and Scream 2, rarely a film was made without at least one appearance by Graham in it. Then in 2007, after a Hollywood hiatus, she burst back on to our screens in The Hangover.

Expand Close (Original Caption) Arrival of Heather Graham, who plays 'Felicity Shagwell' in the film. (Photo by Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp (Original Caption) Arrival of Heather Graham, who plays 'Felicity Shagwell' in the film. (Photo by Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images)

Now, she's 46 and while her career might be a little quieter in recent years, she looks better than ever.

Graham attended the exclusive amfAR Milano gala during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday night and dazzled in a metallic bandeau dress.

Expand Close Heather Graham poses for a portrait during amfAR Milano 2016 at La Permanente on September 24, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for amfAR) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Heather Graham poses for a portrait during amfAR Milano 2016 at La Permanente on September 24, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for amfAR)

And she's staying tight-lipped on her love life - the actress famously said in 2013 she would prefer to be "happily single than unhappily married" and was last linked to ex- boyfriend Taylor Harcott in 2015 and sparked romance rumours with Chris Martin in April of this year.

The secret behind her impossibly youthful appearance? 11-12 hours sleep night.

Expand Close Heather Graham poses for a portrait during amfAR Milano 2016 at La Permanente on September 24, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for amfAR) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Heather Graham poses for a portrait during amfAR Milano 2016 at La Permanente on September 24, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for amfAR)

I have not ever opted to do surgery, because its scary. Maybe some people get it done and you cant tell and thats great, but I feel like it makes your face look weird. I think if youre happy, then thats the glow," she told Vegas magazine.

Expand Close Actress Heather Graham visits AOL Build Speaker Series to discuss her new animated film, "Norm of the North" at AOL Studios In New York on January 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actress Heather Graham visits AOL Build Speaker Series to discuss her new animated film, "Norm of the North" at AOL Studios In New York on January 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

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"I admire people like Susan Sarandon. Shes older, and shes really vibrant and alive. Im open to playing different kinds of parts. Itd be great to stretch, but at the same time I want to feel hot. I feel really young."
Syria's foreign minister has said an internationally-brokered ceasefire is still viable, as rescue workers in Aleppo sifted through the rubble from the heaviest air strikes on rebel-held areas of the city in five years.

Walid al-Moallem said the Syrian government is prepared to take part in a unity administration incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer which has been rejected in the past.

Opposition activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week under a sustained aerial campaign which UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the five-and-a-half year conflict.

The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the matter, but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and western powers.

US ambassador Samantha Power said: "What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism - it's barbarism.

"It's apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo."

Air strikes on Aleppo killed at least six people on Monday, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run collective.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported hours later that 12 were killed, including three children.

Mr al-Moallem accused the US, UK and France of convening the Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support "terrorists" inside Syria.

But he said ongoing communications between US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is "not dead".

Syria's military declared the ceasefire over one week ago.

A spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin said the ceasefire is ineffective, but that Moscow is not losing hope for a political solution to the country's crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov added that the Kremlin is concerned that "terrorists are using the ceasefire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks".

Mr Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the US and UK over Russia's actions in Syria.

He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and "such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process" in Syria.

Mr Kerry said the Syrian and Russian governments "seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process".

During a visit to Colombia, the US secretary of state said: "While they're pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated."

He said the Syrian opposition "won't be particularly excited about having a negotiation when they're being bombed and starved," adding that statements by the Syrian government are "almost meaningless".

In the central Syrian city of Homs, meanwhile, a second group of rebel gunmen and their families began evacuating from an opposition area.

Some 120 gunmen and their families are expected to leave al-Waer as part of an agreement to restore the government's authority over the region, Homs governor Talal Barazi said.

The agreement struck over al-Waer was in keeping with Syrian president Bashar Assad's determination to settle the war on his own terms, securing surrenders through sieges and staying in power at least through an interim period to steer the country out of crisis.

Pro-government forces have kept al-Waer under a steadily tightening siege since November 2013, prohibiting food and medical supplies from reaching the remaining 75,000 residents, down from 300,000 before the start of the war in 2011.

In exchange for the evacuations, the government is permitting aid convoys to supply the neighbourhood with badly-needed food and medical supplies.

A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district on Saturday.

UN humanitarian officials have condemned the sieges against civilians as "medieval" and in contravention of international law.

In New York, Mr al-Moallem reaffirmed his government's proposed roadmap to end Syria's war, saying Damascus would support a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.

AP
Kate McWilliams, originally from Carlisle, says she gets quizzed about her age by cabin crew and passengers almost every day Credit: PA

While many wish to write "young high-flyer" on their CV, for Kate McWilliams it's simply a matter of fact.

Aged just 26, the easyJet pilot is believed to be the youngest in the world to become a commercial airline captain.

Expand Close Miss McWilliams flew last week from Gatwick to Malta alongside Luke Elsworth, who earlier this year became the UK's youngest pilot at 19 years old Credit: PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Miss McWilliams flew last week from Gatwick to Malta alongside Luke Elsworth, who earlier this year became the UK's youngest pilot at 19 years old Credit: PA

On one recent flight, she and her co-pilot had a combined age of just 45.

The recently-promoted Miss McWilliams flew last week from Gatwick to Malta alongside Luke Elsworth, who earlier this year became the UK's youngest pilot at 19 years old.

With women making up for just five per cent of pilots, Miss McWilliams, originally from Carlisle, said she gets quizzed about her age by cabin crew and passengers almost every day.

"Personally I don't think my age matters. I've been through the same training and passed the same command course as every other captain so I've proven myself capable regardless of my age," she said.

The newly promoted captain began flying aged 13 in the air cadets before embarking on a training programme at CTC Aviation in Southampton on her 19th birthday.

In May 2011 she joined easyJet as a first officer and recently took up the rank of captain after passing the airline's command course.

An easyJet spokeswoman said the Luton-based airline has carried out research which leads it to believe she is the youngest commercial airline captain in the world.

Miss McWilliams said: "I do now get asked how old I am on an almost daily basis which didn't used to happen when I was a first officer.

"Usually that question comes from the cabin crew but sometimes passengers ask too.

"When I tell them I'm 26, most people are pleasantly surprised and impressed with my achievement at such a young age."

Miss McWilliams, who lives in Reigate, Surrey, flies Airbus A319 and A320 planes to around 100 destinations, such as Reykjavik, Tel Aviv and Marrakesh.

"With Gatwick having such an extensive route network my roster is very varied so I rarely fly to the same place twice in the same month," she said.

"That keeps things interesting."

Miss McWilliams recalled that when she was growing up she "never even thought it could be an option" to become a commercial pilot, saying that she "didn't know any I could ask for advice".

Just 5 per cent of commercial pilots are female and last year easyJet announced an initiative to double the proportion of female new entrants to 12 per cent over two years.

Julie Westhorp, chairwoman of the British Women Pilots' Association (BWPA), said she hopes Miss McWilliams' progression inspires more women to consider pursuing a career in aviation.
A man has opened fire near a supermarket west of Paris, critically injuring two people.

A spokeswoman for the Versailles public prosecutor's office said the man, believed to be in his 60s, went back to his home and elite police are now at the building.

The incident happened near a supermarket in Port-Marly, about 20 km or so west of Paris.

"He went home and the RAID (elite police unit) is readying for negotiations with him," said the spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman added that they they do not believe the incident is linked to terrorism.

More to follow
Police said nine people have been shot and wounded in Houston

A lawyer who left six people injured, one critically, after randomly shooting at drivers in Houston, Texas, has been shot and killed by police.

Another three people suffered injuries from glass or debris after the shootings, which were said to have been carried out by a "disgruntled" unidentified lawyer who had either been sacked "or had a bad relationship with his law firm", according to Houston mayor Sylvester Turner.

A number of weapons were found at the scene, while a bomb squad robot examined a Porsche car and officers checked the man's flat in the affluent West University Place.

One witness, Jennifer Molleda, said she found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the car park of a nearby strip mall after he had told her on the phone that he had been "hit".

She said two shots had gone through the windscreen of Mr Wakim's Mustang, and he told her that he had seen a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries.

"He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried," Ms Molleda said, adding that she believes the gunman was "aiming to kill".

Ms Molleda added that a few weeks ago, the suspect brandished an assault-style weapon at people on the roof of the complex. She said she did not know him very well, but described him as quiet. "He's a normal, average Joe," she said.

Another witness, Lee Williams, described how the gunman took shots at passing traffic. He left his home in the area upon hearing gunshots and began directing traffic away from the complex, noting that people usually cut through the area to avoid busier intersections.

One car ignored him, he said, and was immediately shot at. Mr Williams could not see the gunman because it was dark, but believed he saw the muzzle flashes.

"Whatever cars were going by, he was shooting at them," the 55-year-old said, noting he heard at least 50 gunshots over 40 or so minutes.

As he was being interviewed, neighbours patted him on the back, thanking him for keeping people safe.

AP
Reports said a Canadian-Iranian professor has been freed from prison and flown out of Iran

A retired Canadian-Iranian professor has been released from prison in Iran on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of the country, it has been reported.

The decision to release Homa Hoodfar ends her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services.

Mrs Hoodfar returned to Canada via Oman, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed her release in a statement, thanking Italy, Switzerland and Oman for their help in the matter.

Mrs Hoodfar, 65, was questioned and barred from leaving Iran in March after travelling to the country to visit family following the death of her husband.

Her family said she has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since June. Until recently, she taught anthropology and sociology at Montreal's Concordia University.

In July, Iran announced indictments for Mrs Hoodfar and three others, without providing any details about the accusations. In recent weeks, her supporters described her health as deteriorating while she was in solitary confinement, saying she was "barely able to walk or talk".

Mrs Hoodfar's supporters had pressed diplomats to discuss her case during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York. Canadian foreign minister Stephane Dion met with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the meeting on Wednesday, state television reported.

Canada has not had an embassy in Iran since 2012, when its then-government cut diplomatic ties over Tehran's contested nuclear programme and other issues.

Mr Trudeau said Canadians are "relieved that Dr Hoodfar has been released from jail and will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues".

"I would also like to recognise the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation. They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations," he added.

Iran does not recognise dual nationalities, meaning those detained cannot receive consular assistance. In previous cases, dual nationals have faced secret charges in closed-door hearings in Iran's Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.

Several dual nationals have been arrested in the year since world powers reached a nuclear deal with Iran to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. Analysts have suggested Iranian hard-liners hope to use them as bargaining chips with the West.

Others known to be held include Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman sentenced to five years in prison on allegations of planning the "soft toppling" of Iran's government while travelling with her young daughter.

AP
A general view shows Jordanian police and civilans gathering at the scene where prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar was shot dead outside a court in Amman where he was facing charges for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam. Getty Images

A prominent Jordanian writer was shot dead by an Islamist gunman yesterday outside the courtroom where he was due to stand trial for offending Islam by sharing a cartoon on Facebook.

Nahed Hattar, a 56-year-old intellectual from Jordan's Christian minority, was gunned down on the steps of a courthouse in Amman in what appeared to be a religiously motivated attack.

The gunman was arrested at the scene and a security source identified him as Riyad Ismail Abdullah, a 49-year-old imam who was wearing traditional Islamic robes at the time.

Abdullah recently returned from making the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, the source said. He is believed to have acted alone.

The killing is a fresh blow to Jordan's image as a bastion of stability amid the sectarian violence that is wracking much of the Middle East and the latest in a string of killings linked to cartoons about Islam.

Mr Hattar was arrested last month for sharing a cartoon on Facebook which showed a jihadist smoking in bed with two women while Allah waits attentively at the window for him. The jihadist orders Allah to fetch him some wine and take away the dirty plates while demanding the archangel Gabriel get him some cashew nuts.

Mr Hattar said the cartoon was intended to mock jihadists and their twisted interpretation of Islam but Jordan's government charged him with insulting the faith and "provoking sectarian rifts". The writer rejected the charges and planned to fight the case. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
The US Coast Guard said one of two Connecticut people who had been missing for a week following a fishing trip has been found alive

One of two Connecticut people who had been missing for a week following a fishing trip has been found alive, drifting on an inflatable life raft off the coast of Massachusetts.

The US Coast Guard had suspended its search for 54-year-old Linda Carman and her 22-year-old son, Nathan, of Middletown, on Friday.

The mother and son disappeared on September 18 after leaving a Rhode Island marina to go on a fishing trip in a 31ft fishing boat named the Chicken Pox.

The Coast Guard in Boston said Nathan Carman was found by a freighter about 100 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard.

He was said to be in good condition. Linda Carman's whereabouts remain unknown.

AP
The officer was due to face a court-martial next month

A US air force colonel who was charged with rape has been found dead at his Colorado home.

Colorado Springs police found the body of Col Eugene Caughey on Sunday after being called to an incident in which a man was feared to have taken his own life. Post-mortem tests are taking place.

The 46-year-old had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs, which operates key military satellite systems.

Col Caughey was accused of raping a woman in late 2014 or early 2015. He was also charged with adultery, indecent filming or photography, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer.

His court-martial had been scheduled for October 17.

AP
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Government Approves Merger of Railways and Union Budgets, Contemplates Advancing Budget Presentation

After a long period of consultation and deliberation among government ministries, key stakeholders, and experts, the Cabinet decided to approve the merger of the railway and union budgets from 2017. This marks the end of a 92 year colonial legacy of presenting the separate railways budget and follows from recommendations by the Niti Ayog, the national policy think tank established under the Modi government. The merger is meant to complement the organizational restructuring recently introduced in the railways ministry by removing it from the deeply political budgetary exercise. Among other benefit, the merger will allow the railways ministry to work under the radar and implement the massive scope of reforms required. Further, the government has clarified that the railways ministry will retain functional autonomy despite its proposals getting amalgamated within the general budget.

RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates

In addition to the above discussed merger, the government is contemplating advancing the presentation of the union budget by a month. The move is to enable the speedy implementation of budget proposals to kick-start revenue mobilization and capital expenditure from the beginning of the financial year itself. This will be a big improvement on the current process whereby the budget gets presented end of February, passed in May, and implemented from September-October onwards, despite the financial year starting on April 1. Furthermore, the union budget will no longer use the plan and non-plan categorization of public spending, given the governments abolition of the Planning Commission. Instead, spending will be classified in terms of revenue and capital accounts.

Taxi Aggregators, E-commerce Companies Required to Register for GST

The government recently released a 268-page document that details the taxation rules and procedures for various sectors, including for e-commerce and cab aggregator firms, under the impending goods and services tax (GST) regime. Compiled in the form of answers to 500 frequently asked questions (FAQs), the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) clarified the impact, scope, and structure of the new tax framework.

As per the rules based on the Model GST Laws, cab aggregators like Ola and Uber will have to register under the GST regime and there will be no threshold exemption for them. Similarly, e-commerce firms like Flipkart and Amazon will also need to register under the GST regime. The industry is currently demanding centralized registration and not separately in every state where the company has business. In other clarifications, the CBEC states that a tax evasion of over US$ 375,234 (Rs 2.5 crore) could result in up to five years of jail time with a fine; it would be three years if the amount of tax evaded is between US$ 75,047 to US$ 375,234 (Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore), and one year if it is between US$ 37,523 to US$ 75,047 (Rs 25-50 lakh).

Indias Complicated FDI Policy in Retail

India has one of the most complicated regulatory frameworks in the world when it comes to its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the retail sector. The countrys retail sector is classified into numerous segments  single-brand, multi-brand, wholesale, and e-commerce, all of which are regulated differently and governed by a separate FDI policy. This has made the system too convoluted, particularly for international investors, and the often stringent entry conditions have impeded foreign interest in the sector.

The introduction of the latest retail segment  food-only retailing  has added to this confusion. The new FDI policy permits 100 percent foreign investment but for only those outlets that exclusively sell locally sourced and produced food items. Moreover, in the single-brand retailer segment, the government has relaxed the 30 percent local sourcing rule for companies offering cutting-edge technology or firms who are state-of-the-art; however, what these terms mean exactly are still uncertain and subject to the governments case-by-case estimation. Meanwhile, foreign entry in the multi-brand retail segment is virtually impossible as only a few states have agreed to such ventures, and thus, retailers are unable to create a regional supply chain or establish the required back-end infrastructure. More crucially, the current government is reluctant to welcome any new proposals in this segment.

Finally, in the e-commerce segment, the rules announced in March of this year have pushed existing players to re-strategize their operations to comply with the changed regulatory environment. Online marketplace firms (business-to-business) will benefit from 100 percent FDI but none of the sellers on their respective platforms can exceed 25 percent of the firms total revenue, prompting these companies to cut sales from their largest sellers. Additionally, marketplace firms cannot influence the pricing and discount on goods sold on their platforms. The new rules have only added to the cost of fierce competition in this segment, which have seen companies completely reorienting themselves, divesting unprofitable operations, or utilizing increased foreign funding.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email india@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight.

An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2016

Doing Business in India 2016 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in India. As such, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Indian market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to stay up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.

Pre-Investment Due Diligence in India

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we examine issues related to pre-investment due diligence in India. We highlight the different regulatory, tax, and socio-economic issues that a company should be aware of before entering the Indian market. We also detail some of the topics related to entry structures while investing in the Indian market, as well as cultural and HR due diligence, which may differ from state to state.

Strategies for Repatriating Funds from India

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we look at issues related to repatriating funds from India. We highlight the unique regulations for sending funds back from India, examine the various strategies companies can make use of while repatriating, and look at remittance procedures for different types of Indian entities. Finally, we give some tips on how expats can remit their Indian money to their home countries.
Nihar Info Global applies for trademark registration for 'ONVO' Nihar Info Global Limited informed to the exchanges that it has successfully applied for Trademark registration of its private label "ONVO" under the 'Trademark Classes 18 and 21. ... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:37 pm

Rupee rises 4 paisa to 82.29/$ Early on Friday, the rupee strengthened against the US dollar by 4 paise to 82.29, helped by a weak US dollar in the international market and strong local equities. The influx of new fore... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:30 pm

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Dhanuka Agritech soars ~8% as board to consider buyback Dhanuka Agritechs stock surged as much as 8% in Fridays intraday session and touched a high of Rs742. The company stated in its filing with the exchanges that at its ensuing ge... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:18 pm

Markets trade flat amid volatility; Nifty below 17,800 dragged by metals Domestic benchmark indices in a volatile session and trading flat after a gap-up opening on Friday. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks are in the green during the afternoon market session ami... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:00 pm
Average retail gasoline prices in Chattanooga have risen 0.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.19 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga. This compares with the national average that has fallen 0.7 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.20 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Chattanooga during the past week, prices on Sunday were 26.0 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 17.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.

According to GasBuddy historical data, gasoline prices on Sept. 26 in Chattanooga have ranged widely over the last five years:

$1.93 in 2015, $3.05 in 2014, $3.14 in 2013, $3.55 in 2012, and $3.28 in 2011.

Areas nearby Chattanooga and their current gas price climate:

Knoxville- $2.07, up 2.1 cents per gallon from last week's $2.05.

State of Tennessee- $2.16, up 2.1 cents per gallon from last week's $2.14.

Huntsville- $2.14, up 5.1 cents per gallon from last week's $2.09.

Overall, gas prices across the U.S. begin the week moving lower in 40 of 50 states.

"It's been almost a week since service has been restored to Colonial Pipeline's Line #1, a major gasoline source for the southeast and Atlantic seaboard..." said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. "While it appears that retail gas prices have peaked in 4 of the 6 states hit hardest (AL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA) by the pipeline damage & shutdown, and those averages are now ebbing lower, statewide averages continue to climb in two states: Tennessee ($2.16/gal) and Virginia ($2.10/gal). Those states' averages were at $2.14 and $2.08 respectively on Sept. 20, the day before service was restored.

"While it appears that the worst may be behind us, we're not out of the woods yet, where gasoline inventory levels are concerned," he said. "The overall drop in gasoline inventory tied to Colonial Pipeline was approximately 8.5 million barrels. To put that in perspective, in the two weeks following Hurricane Katrina, east coast gasoline inventories shed 3.3 million barrels."
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians owns and operates the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in Highland, California. Photo from Facebook



More tribes in California are welcoming labor unions to their casinos as the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act hangs in limbo on Capitol Hill.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians , the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians are among the latest to adopt the Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance , The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. They operate three of the largest casinos in the state so a significant number of employees are covered by their actions.

"California tribes exemplify the growing list of Indian tribes who are regulating labor relations with their employees," Richard Guest of the Native American Rights Fund said in testimony in support of the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act.

According to Guest, the Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance -- which has been included in the Class III gaming compacts signed by the tribes -- differs from the National Labor Relations Act . But it offers protections for both tribes and their employees, he said.

The effort comes as Indian Country lobbies Congress to pass the H.R.511 , the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act. The bill exempts tribes and their enterprises from the National Labor Relations Act.

The House passed the bill last November but it hasn't been taken up in the Senate . The White House has raised objections to the measure.

Read More on the Story: Why Inland tribes declined exemption that would have made unionizing harder (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 9/25)

From the Indianz.Com Archive: Tribal labor law rider killed by wide margin in House (June 27, 2005) NCAI between 'rock and a hard place' on labor rider (September 13, 2004) Tribal labor amendment fails in House vote (September 13, 2004) Federal labor board expands jurisdiction over tribes (June 4, 2004)

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The date January 15, 2009, gave the world a hero named Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III who saved the lives of 155 passengers on a damaged flight by successfully landing it on the Hudson River. The recently released Clint-Eastwood-directed, Tom Hanks starrer, Sully rightly throws light on the Hudson Miracle that made history in the aviation industry.

Here are some facts you ought to know about the hero pilot who made the impossible possible

1. He has been a US Airways pilot since 1980

Image Credit: Reuters

And therefore, all his experience paid off on January 15, 2009, when the US Airways plane he was piloting struck a large flock of Canada geese birds during liftoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport. Both engines were terribly damaged. There were only three options for him - either return to LaGuardia airport or land at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey or the most dangerous one - land on the Hudson.

2. He had just 208 seconds to make the miraculous decision

Imagine the pressure on a pilot to land a damaged plane safely! There were 208 seconds from when the US Airways Flight 1549 jet got hit by birds at 2,818 feet above LaGuardia. The brave pilot chose to land in the water rather than going back to LaGuardia, which wasnt a sane decision according to the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board).

3. Brace for impact were the words he announced before the landing

Image Credit: Youtube

When the plane was about to rest on the Hudson waters, the pilot shouted brace for impact to the panicked passengers.

4. He suffered flashbacks and insomnia for several weeks after the accident

Image Credit: huffingtonpost

The flashbacks and insomnia are rightly shown in the movie Sully, as Sullenberger suffered from PTSD symptoms. He told 60 Minutes that he experienced the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling" during and after the landing.

5. It took 15 months for the NTSB to conclude that Sullys decision of landing the plane on the river was right

Image Credit: Sully/Trailer

It took 15 long months for NTSB to declare that Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeff Skiles made the right decision to ditch the plane in the Hudson River. However, in the movie, the hearing is immediately after the crash.

6. Republicans tried to get Sullenberger to run for Congress in 2010

Image Credit: BBC

But he turned them down as he didnt wish to enter politics.

7. Sullys water landing was indeed miraculous

Image Credit: usatoday

It was because of Sullys perfect landing by bringing Flight 1549 down at the perfect speed and angle, that the plane stayed steadily on the water. Had the planes nose angled up too high, it would have broken in half.

8. Only one flight other than Flight 1549 has landed in the Hudson river

Image Credit: AP

But it crashed. A vintage WWII fighter plane crashed into the Hudson River in May 2016, killing pilot Bill Gordon. The cause of the crash was most likely mechanical failure.

9. Sully got his luggage back

Image Credit: AP

Finding the pilots luggage was another miracle. It was retrieved and now is on display at the Carolinas Aviation Musuem in Charlotte.

10. Sully promotes the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as he lost his father to suicide in 1995

Image Credit: nypost

After battling depression, his father committed suicide. This made Sullenberger support the cause of suicide.

11. He founded Safety Reliability Methods, Inc., a company that provides management, safety, performance, and reliability consulting services, in 2007

Image Credit: inquisitr

Theres a mention in the movie about Sullenbergers new business. He started a company called Safety Reliability Methods Inc which offers safety consulting services.
The recent Uri attack claimed lives of 18 of our most courageous soldiers and it definitely left India in a state of shock and anger. While many are debating the issue whether India should strike back and attack Pakistan, others are busy ranting and grieving on their social media accounts.

Twitter

However, there is one actor who believes in call to action rather than armchair activism. According to a DNA report, Akshay Kumar has issued cheques of Rs 5-10 lakhs for each of the martyr's families. Just a month ago, Akshay was invited at a felicitation ceremony of soldiers where he had said,

"A medal or an award is good but not enough. More needs to be done for them and their families. They need money too."

(Also read: Akshay Kumar Donates Rs 80 Lakhs To Army Jawans, Proves Yet Again Why He Deserves Respect!)

Rohit, whose younger brother Rockey, a Border Security Force constable, died fighting terrorists during the Udhampur terrorist attack in 2015 was praised Bollywood's Khiladi Kumar. He said,

"Its a great step from Akshays side because he is the only actor who thought about us and what a family goes through when a soldier dies for the country. We felt really nice that at least someone spared some time for us."

Twitter

Akshay Kumar presented 10 families with Rs 5 lakh each and has left a very high precedent for all other actors to follow.
It is quite sad but the reality is that we are an anxious generation! A 2013 report from the American Psychological Association found that those between the ages of 18 and 33 showed the highest levels of stress and anxiety. On a scale of one to ten, they averaged a score of 5.4. And 39 percent of these anxious young people confessed that their stress levels have increased significantly in the past year.

momjunction.com

In 2016, statistics changed a little  middle-aged folks between 40 and 59 were found to be the least happy and the most anxious, according to a study from the Office of National Statistics. Anxiety is still pretty commonplace among young adults, and it shouldn't be taken flippantly, since it can affect the overall health and well-being. Here are the most common reason for anxiety among twenty somethings.

www.jerseygirltexanheart.com

People often tell me, the more time they spend looking through everyone else's lives, the more they think they are not good enough just the way they are. This is not good in the long run!

Not having a stable job and finances

20s is the time when most of us are not financially stable. Also most of the 20 somethings these days are not into saving money even either. No wonder they are stressed out!

www.lovesove.com

Knocked down often than expected

Our parents have raised us to believe that we have to always excel in life and that we can do anything! But the reality of adult life is much more than that and harsh as well. We don't always get what we want, and many of us are not tuned to face defeat and take it in our stride.

Our society doesnt take mental healthy seriously

Unfortunately in India, we don't take psychological and behavioural factors very seriously! In our country we are only treated for our physical ailments. It is so not common to go see a doctor for the sole purpose of discussing anxiety issues. This may result in a lot of anxiety disorders going un-diagnosed. We need to teach this generation that stress and anxiety need to be treated the same way you would a physical ailment.

playbuzz.com

Not living a very healthy lifestyle

Most youngsters tend to take their health for granted and think that they can party all night and quickly bounce back. Well, this sort of a lifestyle can be very destructive and can lead to elevated stress levels.
It is hard to imagine China without trying to take over any known and functional spheres of the world. Be it manufacturing, services, and now space.

In the advent of their universe-adventure, the world's largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life on Sunday in Beijing.

Could China's giant space telescope help us find alien life? https://t.co/0PdkD5efHP pic.twitter.com/41vAtOhMik  CNN (@CNN) September 25, 2016

The project is a testament to Chinas rising ambitions of unravelling space and outer life along with its chase for international scientific prestige.

The colossal telescope measures 500 meters in diameter and is tucked away in the forest of Guizhou province in China.

dailymail

The telescope will be known as FAST (Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope).

China poured in as much as $180 million and 5 years to complete this project. During its launch, hundreds of astronomers around the world watched the launch of FAST.

FASTs main job is to search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

phys.org

However, the ultimate goal is to find laws of the development of the universe.

"In theory, if there is civilisation in outer space, the radio signal it sends will be similar to the signal we can receive when a pulsar (spinning neutron star) is approaching us," said Qian, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

FAST entails the needed power and technology to discover a larger portion of the sky and hidden galaxies.

abc

Now that it is functional, it will scan the cosmos and 4450 movable panels. It will also be used to reflect radio signals from distant parts of the universe towards a 30-tonne retina hanging above the dish.
Not in too many Indian villages would residents welcome you to click a photo of their toilets and then pose for a photoshoot with the lavatory in the background.

In Sikkim's Basilakha, a village of 120 families in its east district, residents happily escort you to show their toilets, with some of them bragging about the upgrade to European commodes.

Basilakha is not an exception.

In every village of Sikkim, a former monarchy annexed to India in 1975, people have a sense of pride that their state is India's first and only open defecation-free state, a record reiterated early this month by a nation-wide sanitation survey undertaken by a Central government agency, the National Sample Survey Office.

BCCL

"Our family has had sanitary latrine for many years now. But cleanliness here is not because of our toilets alone. No one here uses plastics, no one smokes in public places, no one urinates in the open, and no one litters. There is a penalty for every violation," says Ganga Subba, a resident of Basilakha and cultivator of cardamom, vegetables and flowers, which she sells in the weekly bazaar of Gangtok, the capital city located about 30 km from her village.

Gangtok and, for that matter, every town and village in Sikkim, could make a perfect case study for the Swachh Bharat Mission  except that the state began its cleanliness drive more than a decade before Swachh Bharat was even a gleam in the Modi government's eye.

The model has evolved over the years to ensure citizens abide by the rules  breaking them fetches stiff fines.

Urinating in a public place, for example, could cost a resident or a visitor Rs 500; the penalty for smoking in public places is Rs 200.

These provisions of penalty  all part of a legislation passed by the assembly  have been enforced for over a decade now.

BCCL

"When I see the Swachh Bharat campaign in such a big way across the country, I feel vindicated. Yes, I did something right way back in 2003," says CM Pawan Chamling.

The campaign for a clean Sikkim began 13 years ago, with the first acknowledgement of its success coming in 2008 when the Government of India bestowed the state with the Nirmal Rajya award, a national honour for cleanliness.

In Sikkim's main cities such as Gangtok or Namchi (the latest addition to the Central government's list of smart cities), there has been a conscious effort to install public filters for drinking water, build more public toilets and introduce a better signage system  some of the parameters often deployed to rank a city's cleanliness.

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However, Gangtok mayor Shakti Singh Chowdhary, a Haryanvi born and brought up in Sikkim, is not happy with the city receiving only the eighth rank in an all-India clean city ranking survey  Swachh Sarvekshan 2016  released early this year. He explained how the city authority has been working hard on parameters such as segregation of waste before disposal, and introduction of a better signage system for public toilets. He believes that relative poor performances in those parameters pulled Gangtok down to the eighth rank, behind cities such as Mysuru, Visakhapatnam, Surat and Rajkot.

Plastic, banned in Sikkim for over a decade now, is rarely spotted. But the city is confronted with a bigger devil  PET (polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles, which are discarded by tourists. In government functions, those bottles have already been banned and if, the state machinery has its way, there could soon be a complete ban on such water bottles, forcing tourists to use only only RO or filter water available in designated public places, hotels and restaurants.

brunchnews.com

Clean, Green & Happy

The state may go ahead with such a radical move as there is a political consensus on a PET ban.

Congress state unit president Bharat Basnett says his party would welcome a state government ban on PET water bottles which, once executed, would be yet another first in India.

Basnett adds: "Sikkim has been clean from the days of Cleanliness is in our culture. Let's give full credit to its disciplined people, and not the government."

While Sikkim has clearly emerged as the cleanest, with a possibility of becoming the first state with zero poverty (only 8% families are now living below poverty line), the challenge is to maintain the momentum.

"Sikkim has a history of good civic behaviour. Yet, it will be quite challenging to sustain its cleanliness drive and also its ODF (open defecation free) status," says Akshay Rout, an officer on special duty in the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation and one of the nodal officers in the Central government's Swachh Bharat mission.

out adds that Kerala and Gujarat are the two other states that have been moving fast towards becoming 100% open defecation free.

vipbags.com

For Sikkim, a bigger challenge has however come in the form of the 14th Finance Commission, which has changed the earlier formula of Central funding, which in 2015-16 was 20% lower than a year ago. This, at a time when funds to all other states have seen a 35% aggregate increase after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations. If the average increase of Central funds to all other states had been applied, Sikkim should have received `3,313 crore in 2015-16, and not `1,974 crore, according to a November 8, 2015, letter of CM Chamling addressed to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a copy of which was reviewed by ET Magazine. Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front is an ally of BJPheaded NDA at the Centre.

An anguished CM says that although the reduced flow of funds from the Centre won't impact Sikkim's cleanliness drive, it will impact maintenance of the state's infrastructure, mainly roads.

For citizens of Sikkim, though, the theme song may well be "Don't Worry, Be Happy". As Sikkim's lone Lok Sabha MP Prem Das Rai says: "Because of clean living, people in Sikkim are healthy and happy. I can claim Sikkim is one of the happiest states in India."

Mahatma Gandhi, on whose birth anniversary two years ago the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched, had said: "It does not require money to live neat, clean and dignified." Chamling will doubtless take pride in Sikkim's neat, clean and dignified citizens, but he would also be quick to point out that their swachhata is hardly a reason to tighten the money flow to the state.

vipbags.com

The Cleanest MG Marg In India Belongs To Gangtok

The mayor of Gangtok, Shakti Singh Chowdhary, is a Haryanvi Jat originally from Hisar. Chowdhary was brought up in Sikkim, as his father Kor Singh made it a base for his trading business with Tibet. A mechanical engineer by profession, Chowdhary was drawn into politics in 2010 when Gangtok Municipal Corporation was formed; he was elected as a councillor before getting elevated as its deputy mayor and then mayor last year. As this writer walked along with Chowdhary on Gangtok's MG Marg, he says: "India has so many MG Margs. But this is the cleanest MG Marg in India."

Chowdhary says a ban on plastic is complete in Sikkim. But PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles have become a source of litter.

"We have installed filters for drinking water. The government is likely to ban the use of such water bottles in entire Sikkim," he says.

Though Gangtok has clearly emerged as a leader in cleanliness in the country, it is still ranked eighth in an all-India clean city ranking carried out on the parameters of availability of individual household toilets, community toilets, and collection, transportation and processing of solid waste, among others. "We lost marks as we did not have proper signage for public toilets. We have now improved on this," says Chowdhary.

voiceofsikkim.com

Sikkim is clean and happy, says Prem Das Rai

Edited excerpts from an interview with Prem Das Rai, Lok Sabha MP, Sikkim

On cleanliness and happiness

Our CM says Sikkim has clean food, clean air and clean water. We are a fully organic state. Clean food comes from there. There is clean air because we don't have any polluting industry. The water is clean because it's glacial-fed. So, there is clean living. And when there is clean living, we are not surprised that the National Sample Survey Office has described us as the cleanest state. Because there is clean living, people are healthy and happy. I can claim Sikkim is one of the happiest states in India.

On setting up industries

The Government of India's industrial policy has enabled us to set up some pharmaceutical units. We encourage knowledge-driven and IT-driven industries. Boston Consulting Group has been preparing a report for us on how to leverage the opportunities and position ourselves in 2025.

On trade with China

During the Vajpayee government, there was an agreement under which India decided to back off a little on the Tibet side, and China ensured that it would recognise Sikkim as an integral part of India. That quid pro quo finally helped open up Nathu La for border trade (2006). It's border trade and, therefore, it's very small. Tibetan and Chinese authorities wanted to open it up much more but the Government of India is a little reticent.
Eight students of CMR Institute of Technology, here, have won gold medal for their project on the use of fly ash, to rid dying lakes of pollutants and restore their health.

The recent 'Indian International Innovation Fair', held in the city, recognised their project as an out-of-the box solution.

economic times

Their project offers a solution to two issues - overflowing plastic garbage and polluted lakes - plaguing Bengaluru.

Fly ash can be used to treat Bengaluru's polluted lakes, while being combined with plastic waste to manufacture flexible composite bricks.

Fly ash is a byproduct of coal combustion, generated by thermal power plants and cement factories. The fine grey particles transported by the wind and deposited in surrounding localities are known to cause or worsen respiratory disorders and make soil infertile.

The second and third-year students from different departments - Nithin Kumar V , Pranav Bhat, Sudarshan MS, Gururaj R, Vinay Kumar BA, C J Anoop, Pavan R Reddy , Naren M - have collaborated on this project and won several accolade.





When Karnataka State Pollution Control Board chairman, Lakshman, inspected the dying Varthur lake last week, where he interacted with the team.

"He said they will consider using the method to treat the highly polluted waters of the lake and asked us to conduct further tests," said V Nithin Kumar, a second-year ECE student.

inhouse.digital The idea was born around this time last year. During a chapter on water technology, students were looking for solutions to the city's polluted lakes. "It is known that fly ash can adsorb heavy metals and organic matter present in a solution,"said Kumar. The team tested it with a sample of water from Bellandur lake and found that the brownblack water became clear and did not smell anymore.

"About 100 ml of water can be clarified in five minutes by adding one-tenth of fly ash. When speeded up using vacuum, it can be done in a matter of seconds," Kumar explained.

A simple filtration then separates the fly ash and other pollutants from the water. Combine this with waste plastic to make bricks and the result is a highly flexible brick that can better withstand tremors.





"These bricks can be used in noncritical constructions such as walls and temporary army camps. We hope to implement these ideas and take them to the market," said CJ Anoop, a third-year student of Information Science.

While it is a promising proposition, it may not be practical to implement.

Professor TV Ramachandra, Coordinator of Energy and Wetlands Research Group at Indian Institute of Science, while appreciating the work of the students, said: "As fly ash does not absorb all nutrient content, it may not be the right method of purification for large water bodies such as lakes. It can be useful in smaller and specific purposes such as treating effluents within a factory or in industry dry-cleaning."




Bhadra's story speaks a lot about how love and attention can transform lives.

After being flung off the roof by two medical students in Chennai, it was nothing short of a miracle to see that the pup survived. The pup was discovered by some animal activists in Chennai who then went on to fight for justice for the dog, who was then named Bhadra.

Shravan Krishnan

Over the next few weeks, we traced Bhadra's recovery and fight alongside the activists to bring the animal abusers to justice.

Read: After Being Arrested, The Men Who Threw A Dog Off The Roof Are Already Out On Bail!

Shravan Krishnan

We prayed for Bhadra when the surgeries took place and followed the activists as they took the matter to court.

Read: Dog Thrown Off Rooftop By Chennai Man Found Alive, Currently Undergoing Treatment

Shravan Krishnan

All of us, you and me, followed the painfully slow process of Bhadra's slow recovery while staying at the home of a kind animal activist.

Shravan Krishnan

Bhadra soon became the face of the nation's movement against animal cruelty and animal activists working every single day for the betterment of their lot were brpught into the spotlight.

Antony Rubin

The fight against animal cruelty became everybody's fight and more and more people joined the movement to give animal abuse laws more teeth.

Shravan Krishnan

And now, Bhadra has been adopted! A kind Chennai resident has opened his heart and his home to him and we are loving Bhadra's new avatar!

Check out Bhadra's latest picture!

Shravan Krishnan

Bhadra's story is a story that needs telling to promote compassion for animals and we hope that people see the joy and transformation they can bring into another's life simply by being kind.
First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga will celebrate Jesus Christ: The Sent One during its 65th annual World Missions Conference on Oct. 9-12 on the church campus. The conference kicks off with the Sunday morning services featuring speaker, Dr. Richard Pratt, president of Third Millennium Ministries. Mission partners from eight countries will speak in Sunday school classes. Sunday evening from 4:30-7 p.m. a Missions Fest featuring live music and barbecue will be held in the Connector parking lot.

Monday through Wednesday evening services will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. Monday evening will highlight East Asia and Dr. Pratt speaking again. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings German Pastors Fridtjof Leemhuis and Sigi Borchert of Berlin and Hamburg, respectively, will speak about their churches experiences ministering to Syrian refugees who have migrated to their cities.

Mission Vision for children age 4 to 10 will be held Oct. 10-12. Lunch events are also planned for those days.

For additional events, specific times, and locations, please call 423-648-7906. The public is cordially invited.
Want to lay your hands on an iPhone 7 or 7+ before their launch in India? If you are ready to shell out a few bucks extra - and have no hesitations about accessing the black market - all you need to do is pay a visit to the Palika, Gaffar or Lajpat Nagar bazaars in New Delhi.

BCCL

In what is surely just the tip of the iceberg, customs authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday seized more than 75 pieces of iPhone 7 and 7+.

A similar consignment was intercepted recently, taking the total number of phones seized to over 100 in just a week. Customs officials arrested one person for smuggling in the phones worth Rs 46.39 lakh from Hong Kong where the devices were launched recently.

BCCL

The modus operandi is quite simple: The carrier is handed over the consignment at the place of origin (read Hong Kong). He is helped by his accomplices at the airport there for uninterrupted transportation.

BCCL

After landing in India, the man carries the consignment out of the airport and hands it over to agents. These agents, in turn, supply the devices to local markets for sale.

During questioning, the accused revealed that he had smuggled in several other consignments recently. Govind Garg, deputy commissioner, customs, said: "The man arrived at T3 early on Saturday. A customs team intercepted him at the Green Channel and searched his baggage. Several iPhones were found in his bag."
Sushma Swaraj speech at the ongoing 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York had "the whole world and the entire nation" tuned in to hear her ideas on Pakistan and terror, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said hours ago.

A year has passed since I stood at this hallowed podium to address members of the international community,so much has changed since then:EAM pic.twitter.com/BMTeomDYTy  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016



Speaking in chaste Hindi, she began not declaring war on Pakistan but by focusing on the Modi government's core promise of development. And her speech was padded with soft diplomacy, including acknowledging the UN's role in making World Yoga Day possible.

I am happy that the 17 goals adopted by this Assembly are matched by the development vision of my Government, which is geared towards the achievement of these same objectives. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Campaign), more than 400,000 toilets have been constructed in schools. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Educate the Girl Child, Save the Girl Child) programme has become a nation-wide mission.

She touched many important points:

Poverty alleviation

"Today the biggest challenge all of us face is the poverty prevalent in all corners of the world"

Climate change



She made a reference to climate change and sustainability. "We must curb reckless consumption & adopt lifestyles in harmony with nature."

Sanitation



"Sanitation is also a big issue, and we have started 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyan' under which 4 lakh toilets are built in 2 lakh schools."

This was the build up to what would suddenly segue into the hotly anticipated bit - terror.

We need to focus on countries and elements that provide a safe haven to terrorists. We should come together to fight terrorism.

If we want to eradicate terrorism the world has to have one voice:

Terrorism is the biggest violation of Human Rights EAM @SushmaSwaraj at #UNGA pic.twitter.com/TL81YVeI1A  India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) September 26, 2016



9/11, Dhaka, Brussels were mentioned in the same breath as Pathankot, Uri , and Bangladesh, in what seems a call for a united stance on a terror.



"In the last 15 days, we understand the pain of New Yorkers. We have faced similar challenges. Kabul, Dhaka, Brussels, Pathankot, Uri attack prove that we have not been able to fight terrorism. Terrorism is the biggest human rights violation."

"Some countries nurture, export, sell terror. they must be isolated."



Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror. But when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan remains in denial.

Terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights.

In a hit at Pakistan, she said that he who sows the seeds of terror will reap the fruit. It is our demand that we isolate any country that doesn't support the fight against terror. Those countries are guilty of supporting - they don't deserve presence in the global community . and nations that speak the language of terrorism, we must identify these nations and hold them to account. These countries deserve no place in the UN.

Hitting at Nawaz Sharif's speech at UNGA just 5 days ago:

On 21st September, the Prime Minister of Pakistan used this podium to make baseless allegations about human rights violations in my country. I can only say that those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression.



"Those who have houses of glasses must not attack others"

More significantly, she very firmly hit out at Pakistan's alleged role in inciting Kashmir unrest, telling them to "Stop dreaming" about snatching away Kashmir from India. "Pakistan should not assume that they can snatch away Kashmir with these acts - Kashmir will always be ours."
For most of last week, a little known water treaty has become the centre point of India's diplomatic salvos at Pakistan. From finding a mention in PM Modi's recent speech to being mentioned in the UN by India's envoy, the 56-year-old Indus water treaty finds itself not in the middle of a storm, but the storm itself. With India contemplating the possibility of scraping the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 with Pakistan, the future of more than a billion people rests on the result of a meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Indus Treaty survived full scale wars in 1965, 1971 along with the Kargil conflict, and attacks on 26/11 in Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. So does Uri attack merit a response this big?

Before we hope for any colossal decision be taken, there are several ifs and buts which need to addressed before we think of closing the tap on the Indus.

Here are major repercussions India would be and should be wary of before taking a decision.



First, what is the Indus Water treaty?

The Indus treaty is called the worlds most generous water-sharing arrangement. Signed on September 19, 1960, it shows how India and Pakistan share the water six rivers  The eastern Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, and western Indus, Chenab and Jhelum and their tributaries.

How Pakistan is benefited from this?

1. Pakistan gets 80% of the water in the 6-river Indus system. This is 90 times greater volume of water than Mexicos share under a 1944 pact with the US.

2. It is Asias only treaty with specific water-sharing formulas on cross-border flows.

3. A virtual line on the Indian map splits the Indus basin.

4. Indias sovereignty lies in the lower rivers, Pakistans in the upper.

5. Only water pact compelling an upper riparian state to defer to the interests of a downstream state.

If we scrap it, we will flood our cities

Before we scrap the treaty, we should ponder over this - where would the water, prevented from flowing into Pakistan, go? It would go to our own states, and since we don't have enough dams and canals to channelise the flow of the water, we are certain to flood our cities, especially in Jammu & Kashmir.

AFP

J&K is a mountainous state which would prevent the water from flowing towards the lower plains. Had the Indus flowed in Punjab or Haryana, the natural flow to lower plains would have prevented from flooding the cities. If we scrap the treaty in haste, an Uttrakhand like situation is possible.

Since Kashmir isn't an agricultural state, any short terms measure to build infrastructure wouldn't be of much help. And it would take years if India does mull building infrastructure to bring this water to Punjab. From here, with help of a canal system associated with Bhakra Nangal Project, the water can be channelised into states like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Since we don't have infrastructure in place, any decision in haste could be catastrophic.

Does India's UN Security Council dream take a beating?

India dreams of becoming a permanent member of the UNSC and its claim to the elite club isn't a joke anymore. Major powers, except China, have given silent consent for India's inclusion. But the scraping the treaty would lead to a loss of credibility, since Indus Water Treaty also involves the World Bank.

AFP

At present, India has cornered Pakistan, both in UN as well as at other international levels. Scraping of the treaty would tilt the sympathies of international community in Pakistan's favour which would definitely play the victim card.

What if China stops the flow of Indus and Brahmaputra?

China is Pakistan's all weather friend, and if India tightens the noose around Pakistan over tapping the Indus water, China might retaliate in order to safeguard its USD 1.5 billion investment in Pakistan - the CPEC. China doesn't have a water sharing treaty with India and can stop flow of Indus by building a dam. Not only Indus, but other rivers like Brahmaputra too originate from China and the country is already constructing a dam on the river. This is likely to affect the flow of water into India's north-east. If China decide to divert the Indus, India could lose as much as 36 per cent of the river's water.

AFP

If India scraps Indus treaty, given the current geo-political scenario, China might strangle the inflow of rivers from its territories into India.
A Jordanian writer who was charged with offending Islamic sentiments after he posted a satirical cartoon on Facebook has been shot dead.

#BREAKING: Prominent Jordanian writer shot dead outside court: news agency  AFP news agency (@AFP) September 25, 2016

A gunman shot Nahed Hattar on Sunday outside the court where he had gone for his trial after allegedly posting a cartoon on his Facebook page. His post apparently offended the religious sentiments of a lot of people in the country.

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Nahed Hattar was hit by three bullets that killed him. He was standing outside the court in the capital city, Amman.

The 39-year old Riad Abdullah (the gunman) has been arrested. He was a well-known extremist in the city and Muslim preacher in a local mosque.

Keep in mind when reading this story that Jordan is one of the most progressive countries in the Middle Easthttps://t.co/u9e39vcE1o  Jon the Revelator (@jrireland1) September 25, 2016

Hattar was taken into custody in August for 15 days on charges of insulting God and posting an image with demeaning content related to the religion.

The cartoon depicted a man lying in the bed with two women and asking God to bring him a drink.

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This ignited a lot of rage on social media, that finally resulted in the attack. Hattar was born a Christian but he was an atheist all his life. He said he had not meant to cause offence and wanted to expose radical Islamists' view of heaven.

Hattars family and supporters, however, believe that it was the government that fuelled the entire incident, which resulted in his death.

A loss for Jordan and freedom of speech - Jordanian writer killed outside court for 'insulting Islam'https://t.co/LLv3QEB3aB  Samer  (@WaladShami) September 25, 2016

"The prime minister was the first one who incited against Nahid when he ordered his arrest and put him on trial for sharing the cartoon, and that ignited the public against him and led to his killing," the writer's cousin, Saad Hattar said.

"The government will strike with an iron hand on all those who exploit this crime to broadcast speeches of hatred to our community." said a spokesperson to the Petra news agency.

Hattar earned himself a lot of hatred over the years with his controversial cartoons.

Amid all the unrest, the Jordanian government condemn the attack, but then, who is to blame?
Things got a bit awkward for Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, when 3-year-old Prince George refused to high-five him. When the royal couple along with baby George landed in Canada, George, holding his father's hand, ignored Trudeau when he squatted down to the toddler's level to offer a high-five variation, the low-five.

Trudeau then tried harder by offering him a handshake, which was again ignored. The news of this little snub spread over social media and Twitter had some hilarious tweets.

Justin Trudeau: "hey lil fella how's it going?"

Prince George: "I own you" pic.twitter.com/9rYRuLsdti  Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) September 26, 2016

"Kneel, prole, kneel before your Prince!" https://t.co/UbltPGxA7h  Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) September 26, 2016

Guess it was jet lag that made the prince a little grumpy. Because he did shook hands with US President Obama on his visit to England in April.

Image Credit: Reuters

Its Prince George and sister Charlottes first trip to Canada.
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The General Overseer (GO) of the Fingers of God Church, Alagbado Lagos state, Bishop Kayode Joseph Abiola Peller, has cast aspersions on Senior Pastor of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), T.B Joshua, and Chris Oyakhilome, founder of Christ Embassy.

Bishop Peller who is a son of the late renowned magician, Professor Peller, called out clergymen, accusing them of being magicians.

The renowned magician, said the duo, his colleagues in the ministry, use their eyes with demonic powers in them to superimpose their thoughts into people.

In a recent interview with Flip TV, Peller said: What I see Temitope Joshua do from my own magic experience is what we call mesmerism. It is also called hypnotism.

He claimed that while T.B Joshua uses Kabballah magic to hypnotize his congregation and the general public over his miracles, Chris Oyakhilomes association with Joshua makes him a suspect.

Taking on Oyakhilome, Peller said: I used to believe Oyakhilome before. That ended the day I saw him and Joshua doing miracles and castigating our pastors, Ayo and Okonkwo.

When you castigate these great men of God, you are no more for God. They do miracles but dont know what they teach.

I would say they use magic on their followers since I was a former magician. I see in their actions hypnotism and seduction. I mean the way we used to seduce our congregation; those that come to watch our magic those days.

I see mesmerism, hypnotism and occult display in what they do. How can people jubilate over atmosphere of miracles and before they get to the bus stop, the miracles have gone. Miracles are not limited to atmosphere. God is in charge of everywhere, he added.

According to the Bishop: They use the eyes with the demonic power in them to superimpose their thoughts into people. It happens, for most of those walking in the streets have very weak spirits. For there is witchcraft ability in every man.

That is what we call telepathising: I mean, when I see them do their drama of healing while dancing from one side to another. I know its hypnotism.

These are dangerous occultist words. Telepathising, hypnotism, occultism, kabbalah magic are processes of ruling the minds of weaker men. It could go to the length of seeing the magic maker in the dreams once the weaker person allows the demonic spirit of the conjurer to influence his mind.

Defending his criticism on the duo, the reformer said: Let nobody think that I am jealous of them because their churches are big. If I want to make mine big I know what to do. I am the son of Peller. I know where things happen.

I am not a mugu, to say the truth. They cant fool me. I want to make heaven. I dont want my work to be a waste; for every work built on faulty foundation, shall not stand the test of time.

Foundation of deceit, occultism and demonic power cannot stand the test of time when the owner leaves. Jesus will deny them on that day.

God only can say if Joshua is a real man of God. I dont judge them; only God can do that.

Having said all these, I have nothing against them. For I feel that nothing can be except God allows, Bishop Kayode quipped.

It would be recalled that about a fortnight ago, a very popular Ghanaian witch doctor, Nana Kwaku Bonsam said T.B Joshua comes to him to acquire spiritual powers. He challenged the Nigerian prophet to come out openly to deny.

Source: Naij
Independent Healthcare Properties (IHP) and Morning Pointe Senior Living will celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony of Morning Pointe of Spring Hill on Tuesday, at 10:30 a.m., on Miles Johnson Parkway south of Duplex Road.

Mike Stalnaker, pastor of Community Baptist Church will give the invocation. Maury County Mayor Charlie Norman, Spring Hill Vice-Mayor Bruce Hull, State Representative Sheila Butt (R-Tn.) House District 64, J.B. Sills, Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce chairman of the board, Alan Watson, CEO of Maury Regional Medical Center and Brian Marger, COO of TriStar Centennial Medical Center will be among dignitaries and local officials to give remarks at the event. Students at Columbia Academy will sing songs of dedication, followed by the Turning of the Earth ceremony. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

The Spring Hill development will become the Chattanooga-based senior health care services companys fourth community in Middle Tennessee and 16th in the state.

The first phase of the $25 million state-of-the-art senior campus in Maury County will create 200 construction jobs and another 65 permanent healthcare positions upon its opening in Spring 2017.

Morning Pointe of Spring Hill, conveniently located on Miles Johnson Parkway south of Duplex Road, will provide seniors in Maury and Williamson counties with assisted living and Alzheimers memory care services.

Situated on 10 acres, the new 58,000-square foot community will feature two single-story buildings with 73 spacious assisted living apartments. Twenty of the apartments will be located in The Lantern  a secure, dedicated area designed for residents with Alzheimers disease and other memory care disorders. The landscaped campus will offer high quality amenities, including fine dining areas, life enrichment programs and professional health and wellness services. Innovative and therapeutic programs such as SimpleC Companion services and the Meaningful Day program have been developed by the Morning Pointe team and incorporated into daily activities to ensure the highest quality of care for residents.

The second phase of the development will feature a 35,000 square foot, freestanding Lantern Alzheimers Center of Excellence with 44 specially designed apartments for Alzheimers and memory care residents.

The continued expansion of Nashville into Maury and Williamson counties on I-65 offers an opportunity for Morning Pointe to serve additional aging seniors, says Greg A. Vital, president and CEO of IHP and Morning Pointe. With an increasing number of people living longer, Morning Pointe is working to meet the need, giving residents and their families options and choices in quality care and customer service.

Morning Pointes expansion is a positive contribution to Spring Hills development plans for the future, says Spring Hill Mayor Rick Graham. Spring Hill is rising, evolving beyond the scope of a commuter city, and so we welcome this expansion effort as we continue to cultivate a great city to live, work and retire.

In a Sept. 22 story published in the Spring Hill Home Page, Vital spoke about the areas good quality of life and strong economic base. He stated that these qualities are attractive to young families who want their parents to live closer to them.

With the enormous growth, and people living longer and staying healthier, its a growing dynamic as adult parents relocate to be closer. And I think thats feeding a lot of the services provided, Mr. Vital told the Spring Hill Home Page.

Morning Pointe has served seniors in Middle Tennessee for 15 years and is the regions choice for assisted living and memory care in the area. In addition to its Spring Hill location, Morning Pointe operates three additional senior campuses in Brentwood, Columbia and Franklin.
Later tonight, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will face off for their first presidential debate in what is expected to be a tight race to the White House.

The event, which will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, will cover three main topics: Americas Direction, Achieving Prosperity and Securing America.

Here, weve rounded up 10 things you should know prior to the much-anticipated event.

1. The debate will air live at 9 p.m. ET on all major cable and broadcast networks  including CNN, Fox News, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, and C-Span.

2. For the first time, the U.S Presidential debate will also be live streamed on Facebook and ABCNews.com.

3. NBC News veteran, Lester Holt will moderate the debate.

4. Holt is the first black journalist to moderate a presidential debate since 1992.

5. The NBC News veteran will kick off the night with a question to Clinton, 68. The Democratic presidential nominee will have two minutes to respond before Trump, 70, can jump in with his own answer.

6. The Trump campaign organization believes Holt is a Democrat, even though, hes registered as a Republican in the state of New York.

7. Trump and Clinton are preparing differently. According to The New York Times, Clinton has a thick dossier on her opponent that not only analyzes his stances on various social and political issues but also takes note of his psychological makeup. Trump, on the other hand, is aiming to use his unpredictability to undercut Clinton, according to CNN.

8. Ahead of the debate, Trump got into a Twitter battle with Billionaire Mark Cuban after the Dallas Mavericks owner was given a front row seat by the Clinton campaign Organization. In response, Trump suggested he would offer a front row ticket to Gennifer Flowers, Bill Clintons former mistress.

9. To make this debate even more controversial, Gennifer Flowers then tweeted at Trump: Hi Donald. You know Im in your corner and will definitely be at the debate!

10. Although Trumps team denied inviting Flowers to attend the debate, analysts believe she could make a surprise appearance tonight. In a statement to CNN, the real estate moguls campaign manager said that they have not formally invited the model and actress to the debate and we do not expect her to be there as a guest of the Trump campaign.
Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has urged the media to always verify facts before publishing and broadcasting their stories.

He gave the advice while reacting to reports in a section of the media about the use of bulletproof cars by Adamawa State governor, Muhammad Umar Jubrilla Bindow, in spite of the ongoing economic recession in the country.

Abdulsalami, who was in Yola, the Adamawa State capital for the Regional Conference on Peace Building and Reconstruction in the Chad Basin holding from the 26th  28th of September, 2016, said, I have been to Adamawa twice and I was in the same car with the governor on both occasions. I didnt see any bulletproof cars.

He, however, maintained that the media has a vital role in assisting Nigeria to reposition itself as a country with a strong commitment to good governance by making public officers accountable to the public.

The former head of State then commended Governor Bindow for his good work in the State and tasked the good people of Adamawa to contribute their own quota by supporting the current administration.

I have known Bindow before he became governor and I have no doubt that his sincerity and commitment to good governance makes him the right person for Adamawa State.

Peace is key to the development and growth of any nation or state. It is therefore paramount for all group and religious leaders, youths and every member of the society to support the government in its pursuit for sustainable peace in the region, he said.

Earlier, the former Head of State was taken round Yola by the state governor on inspection of 66 completed road projects within the capital, initiated and completed by his administration.

Mr. Abdulsalami expressed satisfaction by the infrastructural development and progressive strides recorded by Bindows administration in less than 24 months of becoming Governor.

Governor Bindow also informed the former Head of State that there are about 16 road projects in Mubi north and Mubi south, a 35.7km road in Shelleng local government area and 9 more local governments have roads earmarked for commissioning soon.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Timi Frank, has threatened to mobilize members of the party to stage a protest against the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, if he fails to convene an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting within the next 14 days.

Mr. Frank gave the warning in Abuja on Monday.

The deputy spokesman of the APC, who fielded questions from journalists on the crises rocking the party, said Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubus call on Chief Odigie-Oyegun to resign for alleged compromises over Ondo State governorship primary election, had vindicated his struggle to save the party.

Frank said the NEC meeting was necessary to solve all crises, especially the Ondo crisis, which he noted, might affect the chance of the party during the election.

According to him, APC supporters may sabotage the process if we do not bring all the aggrieved persons together. We should strategize to ensure victories in Edo and Ondo States.

He blamed Mr. Odigie-Oyegun for the internal crises in National Assembly and States like Bayelsa, Kano, Kaduna, Kogi and Edo.

Frank, who voiced concerns that none of the decisions reached at the last APC NEC meeting had been implemented, likened the current case of Odigie-Oyegun to Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, whose late removal from office, he said, led to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defeat in the 2015 general elections.

I am the first person to foresee what is happening. I said there were issues and crises. As at that time, I was alone. Nobody sees where I am coming from. He (Oyegun) has tried. But you cant give what you dont have. Oyegun cant take this party to where it wants to get to. Is it not clear that there are crises? We have internal issues. They are now public issues.

Nothing has been heard about the resolution to downsize the Board of Trustees (BoT) and form Elders Council. Oyegun is not bothered. We cannot run a party like a one-man show. Today, it is Tinubu who is speaking. More people will speak out. Those who keep quiet, what happened to Tinubu will happen to them. It seems as if we are not prepared to show that we are the ruling party.

We should set up a committee where Tinubu will speak about the weighty allegations against Oyegun. He must call for an emergency NEC meeting if he has nothing to hide. If we cant resolve it now, then we cant resolve it again. I call on Oyegun to call for this meeting. It has shown that Oyegun cant do the job. Mr President launched Change Begins With Me. The change has to start from the party. When people see change in our party, they will also emulate, said Frank.

He, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to save the APC from collapse by uniting all members who are automatically loyal to him.
Oil workers, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, have threatened to shut down the country should the Federal Government carry out its plan to sell national assets to augment revenue shortfall.

Also, the Trade Union Congress on Sunday said it would join PENGASSAN to shut down the country if the government remained adamant on its plan to sell some national assets.

PENGASSAN, in a statement on Sunday by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojugbana, said the government should look into other ways to increase its revenue base while plugging loopholes and leakages in governments finances.

The union, which described the plan to sell the national assets as a self-destructive move for Nigeria, said, The plan meant to solve short-term financial obligations is targeted at handing over our collective wealth to a few individuals and further impoverish the rest of our countrymen and women.

It said government at all levels should pump money into the economy through the execution of capital projects and payment of workers salaries to revive the economy.

PENGASSAN said it would not sit back and watch the sale of national assets, especially those in the oil and gas industry, such as the Nigeria LNG that had become a huge revenue-earner for Nigeria; refineries and shares in the upstream oil and gas JV operations being shared among those in power and their cronies.

It said, Any attempt to sell these national assets will be met with stiff resistance from the association, as PENGASSAN will galvanise every support, including that of our sister union and labour centres to shut down this country by ensuring that every activity in the oil and gas sector is brought to a complete halt.

Some opportunists in the clothes of businessmen and short-sighted politicians had earlier advocated the sale of public assets such as the NLNG, four state-owned refineries, Nigerias stakes in the Africa Finance Corporation, the nations airports and reduction of governments shares in upstream oil joint venture operations and this was approved by the National Economic Council.

Reacting to the recent approval of the sale of the national assets by the NEC, Ojugbana said the sale of the assets would further compound the economic and security problems in the country.

He added, They should tell us what will happen after the recession if we have sold the assets to greedy individuals. Will the country go cap in hand begging those individuals who bought the assets and borrowing from them?

He said the plan is ill-timed and unwarranted as it does not serve national interest, adding that no nation could develop, survive or feel secure after selling all its national assets.

PENGASSAN stated, Doing this will further mortgage the future of our great country in the hands of few cabals. These individuals are just looking for advantage to further loot the country through illegal acquisition of the national assets as in the case of various oil blocks held by a few powerful Nigerians.

The sale of national assets is not only surprising but also embarrassing for a nation experiencing economic recession. The proponents of the sale of national assets are those who have been actively involved in the operations of the nations economy in the past. They were part of those responsible for the countrys current economic situation.

According to him, such sales in the past, including the power and steel sectors privatisation, are just a shift from public monopoly to private monopoly, which has further worsen those sectors.

It is, therefore, the candid position of PENGASSAN that such a plan should be thrown into the trash bin. Government should continue to seek better ways to address the present economic challenges and reduce areas of wastage. The long overdue calls for diversification of the economy should be driven with all seriousness; more action is required urgently than propaganda mechanism, he said.

The President of the TUC, Mr. Bala Kaigama, said on the telephone on Sunday that the Congress would collaborate with the two major unions in the oil sector because the planned sale of the assets was flawed.

He noted that if those who invested in the assets had sold them, the current administration would not have met them.

Kaigama said, We will solidarise with them. You cannot sell vital assets like that. You dont. If those who invested in the assets had sold them, would they have met them?

Of course, these business people, who are saying sell and sell, let them pay the appropriate taxes. Those people who are not paying the appropriate taxes, let them pay the appropriate taxes and money will accrue to the Federal Government.

TUC will solidarise with NUPENG and PENGASSAN to shut down the country.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, on its own, said while it would take necessary steps on the issue, it had not taken the decision to shut down the country.

The General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, stated on Sunday that the congress would inform Nigerians when the decision was taken.

Ozo-Eson added, No. We are a democratic organ; we have our processes. We have not taken a decision; when we take a decision, we will let the country know.

If individual unions have announced, we have no quarrel with that. We are opposed to it (assets sale) and we will take the necessary steps. We have not yet taken that decision of shutting down the country or whatever. We will inform the nation when we take that decision.

Selling national assets signifies panic, says don, activist

Also, a frontline economist and Executive Chairman, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building, Prof. Olu Ajakaiye, has said selling national assets because of the current economic recession in the country will amount to taking a panicky measure.

In an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday, Ajakaiye said rather than selling national assets in a hurry, the government should undertake a comprehensive study of the funding gaps required to bail the nation out of recession in order to determine the best step possible.

He stated, The highly publicised Medium Term Expenditure Framework and similar basically financial programming tools do not contain specific screened, selected and prioritised projects and programmes to which Nigerians can relate. Resource gap determined from such tools can be dangerously misdirecting and can create unnecessary panic. Sale of assets in a panic situation like was done carelessly during the late 1980s should not be repeated.

If the resource gap includes recurrent, sale of assets to close such gap will be inappropriate because it is tantamount to consuming capital and that will be irresponsible. Moreover, what happens when the proceeds of the sale is exhausted? What are we going to sell to pay the next salary, for example?

If the resource gap is exclusively due to bona fide capital projects that have been properly screened, selected and ranked in order of priority based on their direct and indirect contributions to national development goals, alternative financing options should be carefully considered. The first step is to surgically consider cutting excesses and illegitimate as well as unreasonable components of recurrent expenditure.

Ajakaiye said the personnel cost component of government should be cleaned up by sustaining and generalising ongoing application of technology to eliminate all forms of impurities in the system including ghost workers.

He argued that no attempt should be made to retrench workers, saying this would be inconsistent with the goal of reducing unemployment and legitimately reflating the economy.

He added that salaries and allowances of political and public office holders should be drastically reviewed downwards.

Ajakaiye said, This is consistent with the slogan of Change Begins With Me. Change should begin with those at the top. The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission should quickly propose such reductions so as to make it mandatory. Very few political and public office holders followed the example of the President and Vice-President because it is optional.

A civil rights activist, Imma Okochua, said savings from the removal of petrol subsidy as well as monies recovered from looted public funds should be used to fund gaps in government resources.

He said, If the recession was caused by the fall in oil price and especially by the reduced production and exportation due to militancy, why dont you solve the militancy problem? Is it impossible to solve?

When you have sold our national assets and we have consumed the proceeds, or the government has squandered it, and oil prices remain low and the militants remain undefeated or persuaded, what will the government do? Will they sell us to the highest bidder?

He urged the government to ensure that it made effective use of the N50 stamp duty it was collecting from payments into current accounts.

Source: Punch
Three soldiers and an officer of the Nigerian Army have died after the vehicle they were riding in ran into an Improvised Explosive Device and ambush by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

The Army, in a statement by its spokesperson, Sani Usman, early Monday morning, said troops of Operation Lafiya Dole on administrative patrol from Maiduguri, encountered the explosive device and ambush between Miyanti and Dareljamal, Borno State.

Usman, a Colonel, said the ambush was cleared and three Boko Haram militants were killed by the troops.

He said the troops also recovered a Machine Gun, one AK-47 Rifle and some quantity of ammunition.

Unfortunately, we lost an officer and 3 soldiers, while 16 soldiers and 3 Civilian JTF sustained injuries during the encounter. Similarly, 2 vehicles that entered the IED were badly damaged, he added.

The statement said the wounded have since been evacuated and are in stable condition.
Members of the Boko Haram sect have been described as merchants of fear by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State.

The governor was reacting to Sundays explosion involving troops of Operation Lafiya Dole on administrative patrol, whose vehicles encountered Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and ambush by insurgents between Miyanti and Dareljamal. The attack left four soldiers, including an officer dead while 16 others, were injured.

Speaking with journalists in Bama, where he relocated to since last Wednesday to coordinate reconstruction efforts of the town which was destroyed by Boko Haram, the governor said the terrorists are bent on instilling more fears into the people and their communities in the state and the Northeast region generally.

He said, The Boko Haram insurgents are merchants of fear. They are also vendors of fear. They want to instill fear in us, the governor said on last Sundays attack on military convoys in the area

I think we should be stubborn enough to follow our convictions against the wanton destruction of lives and property not only in this state, but the entire affected sub-region of the country.

We have the courage to realize our dreams of an enduring peace in the state and the Northeast.

He noted that the state government and its entire citizens have to rebuild Borno brick by brick, saying the rebuilding and rehabilitation of Bama had commenced last Wednesday.
The Federal Government has hailed what it described as the ringing global endorsement which President Muhammadu Buhari received from world leaders during his recent trip to the United States for the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Presidents Barack Obama of the U.S and Francois Hollande of France as well as Secretary-General of the U.N, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, at separate meetings with Buhari on the sidelines of the 71st UNGA, hailed him and expressed confidence in his leadership.

The endorsements came at a time the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, called for the presidents resignation over the current economic hardships in the country.

The Federal Government, however, appealed for continuous support for the president.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who made this position known in a statement yesterday in Lagos, said it was delightful to hear from world leaders that Buharis determined and committed leadership as well as his integrity had given Nigeria a positive image in the comity of nations.

He added that the global communitys appreciation of the giant strides the administration had made in fighting terrorism and corruption, as well as in deftly managing the nations economy at a time of global economic downturn, indicated that it was on course in the quest to ensure a better life for the people.

World leaders, including US President, Barrack Obama; UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon; French President, Francois Hollande and Switzerlands President, Johann Schneider-Ammann, all took turns to extol Pres. Buharis leadership. This should be a source of hope and pride to Nigerians who have borne the brunt of the difficulties associated with the current economic downturn, the minister was quoted as saying in the statement signed by his Special Adviser, Mr Segun Adeyemi.

The president sent a clear and direct message to world leaders on such issues as poverty, climate change, terrorism, plight of IDPs arising from Boko Haram activities, diversification of the economy and the creation of an enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria. The timing of the presidents message and the platform in which he highlighted those issues could not have been more apt, and this will undoubtedly complement the administrations efforts at tackling those key issues, he added.

Mr. Mohammed expressed optimism that the country would soon begin to reap the benefits of the US-Africa Business Forum and the presidents meeting with top Nigerians professionals, which took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarafi, has exonerated President Muhammadu Buhari of blame over the current economic recession in the country.

According to the former Kaduna State Governor, the issues that built up to land the country in the present economic recession, predated the present administration.

The caretaker chairman of the opposition PDP, therefore, described the present economic situation in the country as a product of collective governance failure, which builds up over the years.

Mr. Makarfi expressed these views in an exclusive interview published by LEADERSHIP yesterday.

The PDP chieftain said the present economic recession has strong roots in structural inadequacies in the economy, which successive governments in the country have refused to address.

Some of these things are structural that even predate this democracy, long before 1999. They are issues that dates back to the time of the military and the intermittent civilian administrations that we had. Depending on how you look at it, you can apportion blames anyhow you wish, but that being the case, it is a collective responsibility, from a collective failure, he said.

Though he posited that the Buhari government must take some of the blame for the economic downturn, especially in view of the admittance by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that there is failure in quite a number of monetary and fiscal policies, Makarfi warned against the politicisation of the economic recession.

If you politicise the problem, we at the high level, it may not affect us personally but it will continue to affect our followers in whose interest we say we are doing politics. Of course if you come to the current administration, even the CBN has acknowledged that there is failure in quite a number of monetary and fiscal policies. I have not heard a strong statement from the executive on what is its own failure. But again, blame game is a major factor. You solve half of the problem when you acknowledge that the problem exists, shifting the problem in order to apportion blame to your opponent is unhealthy and it is not going to make us come out of the woods, he said.

While faulting the mix in the President Buharis cabinet, he noted that The personal integrity of the president you cannot question even before he won election. So where you should give credit, you should give credit, and where you should acknowledge something you should acknowledge, and where you should criticise, you should criticise and say no, that is not the way to look at it.

On the Buhari administrations war against corruption, Makarfi notes that it is only when a government is not in power that you can measure corruption. Whether it is governor, minister, chief executive of parastatals, friends of government, it is only when the government is not in power that independently you can know and measure its level of corruption. APC is now in power, let it be any other party then you can be in a better position to measure which period was more corrupt.

He, however, gave thumbs up to the anti-corruption fight of the federal government to the extent that it has touched areas where no such fight has touched under any previous government.

Let us also look at history. For the first time, military men and high level civil servants are taken to court. Just look at the military officers being prosecuted for alleged corruption. This has not happened before. It has not been proved, still an allegation, but it is more than the entire campaign fund you are talking about, he said.
What could have become a major disaster in Lagos State was averted on Sunday after a loaded petroleum tanker fell and spilled its content in the Ikorodu area of the state.

However, a motorist, whose identity had yet to be ascertained, was crushed to death as his Hyundai Saloon car with number plate, KJA 421 AH, was mangled under the weight of the fallen tanker.

The driver was said to have been trapped inside the car and was unable to escape.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident happened around 3.30am at the Ikorodu Township Roundabout.

It was learnt that the tanker, which belonged to Forte Oil, was at top speed when the driver lost control at the roundabout, which led to the accident.

Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire Service, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police Force, were said to have brought the situation under control.

A LASEMA official said the agency arrived at the scene around 4am, adding that its emergency response team brought out the victim dead from the wreckage.

He said, Preliminary report revealed that the truck was laden with 33,000 litres of petrol belonging to Forte Oil. While the driver was trying to turn at the roundabout, the truck fell on the Hyunda Saloon car, which had the driver as the only occupant. The man was trapped in the car.

The prompt response of emergency responders and security operatives prevented the incident from escalating into a major fire disaster due to the spillage and the proximity of the scene to a filling station.

The truck was carefully lifted upright, while the dead body was extricated by LASEMA men with the use of light duty equipment. There was nothing on him or in the car with which we could identify him.

He said the vehicles were cleared off the road to allow for free flow of traffic, adding that the police later towed them away to the station.

The LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, said proper investigation would be carried out into the cause of the accident by relevant government agencies.

Motorists, especially articulated truck drivers, must avoid speeding and adhere to all traffic rules and regulations to avoid a recurrence, he added.

The spokesperson for NEMA, South West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the victims corpse was deposited in the morgue of the Ikorodu General Hospital.

He said, The operation was concluded without an explosion in any of the densely populated area where the PMS spilled into through the drainage channels.

Source: Punch
The Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed will officially launch the state Infrastructure Development Fund (IFK) today.

Alhaji Abdulwahab Yusuf, the alternate Chairman of the IFK Implementation Committee, revealed this in a statement while speaking with reporters on Sunday. He added that the governor will also sign an agreement with the independent for trustees of the scheme.

According to him, the event will hold at the Government House, Ilorin and will be witnessed by stakeholders in the construction, banking, education, business and public sectors as well as government.

Alhaji Abdulwahab noted that the official launch of the IFK will mark the commencement of the scheme, which according to him was established as a sustainable funding window for the implementation of major capital projects and also ensure prompt payments to contractors.
Troy Kemp, Director of the National Center for the Development of Boys will speak at The Montessori School this Friday, from 9-10:30 a.m. His topic will be Understanding Boys.

Mr. Kemp, former Associate Headmaster of The McCallie School, took on the role of Executive Director of the Center this July. According to the Centers website, his first efforts have been around organizing, interpreting and sharing existing research with a community of adults in need of guidance on how to improve their efforts to help young men.

The Montessori School is hosting one of Mr. Kemps Understanding Boys talks as part of a semester-long professional development program focus on how best to engage boys in todays educational environment. The program is free and open to the public.
Some lawyers under the aegis of Human Rights and Corruption Activist yesterday called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to treat any evidence of financial misconducts against former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, with caution.

The anti-graft agency recently froze about $31million belonging to the former First Lady while four companies, allegedly used to launder about $15.6million of the sum on behalf of Mrs. Jonathan, have pleaded guilty to the offence.

But the lawyers, represented by Barrister Ugchukwu Osuagu, said at a media briefing in Abuja on Sunday that the former First Lady must be treated fairly.

They equally urged the EFCC not to compromise its status as an impartial anti-corruption body.

We are not against the fight against corruption by the EFCC, but, let it be done with decency. The EFCC must not be seen as unleashing so many vendettas and carefully planned rehearsed acts of witch-hunt against Mrs. Jonathan, the lawyers said.

Barrister Osuagu said his group, which was in contact with Mrs. Jonathan, had discovered that she was neither a director nor a signatory of the companies linked to the money laundering charges.

According to him, She did not open any bank account in the name of any company and had mandated that the accounts be converted to her personal names which were never done.

It was in 2013/14 or thereabouts that she was given the ATM cards for all the three accounts; where in two of the accounts belonged to her mother, he added.
Some land grabbers and their thugs have invaded the Federal Housing Estate in the Alagbado area of Lagos State, killing Jamiu Olipede, the son of Oba Musiliu Olipede, the Olorile of Itori Oke Egba land, Ogun State.

It was learnt that Jamius death was the culmination of a land crisis in the estate, as the land grabbers had claimed that part of the land on which the Federal Government built the estate belonged to them.

Our correspondent gathered that 29-year-old Jamiu, who stayed on Lewis Avenue, Federal Housing Estate, was shot and hacked to death on Wednesday during another attempt by the land grabbers to enforce a court judgement which purportedly gave them the portion of land.

PUNCH Metro learnt that for some months, the land grabbers had also attempted to eject some of the residents.

It was gathered that on Wednesday, at about 11pm, some of the land grabbers, led by men identified only as Sholebo, Bature, Kosoko again invaded the estate and allegedly went to Jamius apartment on the avenue.

Our correspondent learnt that they allegedly called him out, after which they shot and hacked him to death.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident was reported at the Alagbado Police Division.

The monarch, Oba Olipede, said his son had called him on the telephone that some people were threatening him.

He said, Some people came to his house and asked him to move out. They said they had won a case in court. The men were violent and told my son to pack out or they would kill him. The Federal Housing Authorities sold the land to my son. So, there was no need to argue with the land grabbers. But they brought hoodlums to kill my son.

A landlord in the estate, who gave his name only as Salami, said the thugs had earlier threatened to evict him and other residents from their apartments.

He said, That was on September 1, 2016. They were led by one pastor who claimed that they got a court judgment and that I and some other residents should leave our apartments.

They disconnected the power supply to our apartments. I reported the harassment to the police at the Alagbado division. The Divisional Police Officer invited the land grabbers to his office and asked them to produce court documents to back their claims; but they could not.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident.

She added that efforts were on to arrest those responsible for the killing and their sponsors.

She said, The victim was killed by some people, led by one Adebayo. Policemen went to the scene and removed the corpse. Effort is on to arrest the ring leader of the group.

Source: Punch
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, have arrested an Italy-bound passenger for being in possession of wraps of narcotic drugs that tested positive for cocaine.

The seizure, according to NDLEA spokesman, Ofoyeju Mitchel, weighed 375 grammes.

The suspect, Anazodo Innocent, was found to have inserted seven pellets of cocaine in his anus on his way to Italy.

NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba explained that during routine check on passengers, Innocent, 46, was nabbed as he was about to board a Royal Air Maroc flight going to Milan, Italy.

The anti-narcotics agency said the suspect owned up to the crime and is cooperating with investigators.

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd.), described the suspects action as desperately crafty and cunning just as he disclosed that the agency had taken some strategic measures aimed at uncovering the tricks employed by drug trafficking syndicates.
Fugitive ex-militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo, has dismissed as false, reports that four persons drowned in a boat mishap on their way to the venue of his late father  Thomas Ekpemupolos burial ceremony held in his hometown of Gbaramatu in Delta State.

The spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command had on Saturday confirmed the incident but said the number of casualties was yet to be ascertained.

For your information, there is no manifest to show the number of passengers in the boat. So the number of deaths is not certain yet, the bodies will float by tomorrow (Sunday), said the police spokesperson, SP Celestina Kalu.

In his reaction, Tompolo, in a statement issued yesterday through his media adviser, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, dismissed the reported death of the four persons as a deliberate mischief by some persons out to cast aspersions on his person.

We wish to state clearly that there was no such incident linked to the burial of Tompolos father. Tompolo fathers burial which took place during the weekend was crowned with huge success.

The three days burial programme for late Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, which started on Friday and ended on Sunday morning was attended by over 10,000 persons, including the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Barr Kingsley Otuaro, representatives of the speaker of the House of Representatives and other top government functionaries ended in a peaceful atmosphere, Bebenimibo said.

The statement, however, noted that if the tragic incident indeed occurred as reported in the media, the leaders of Kurutie and Ogulagha communities (where two of the purported victims were said to hail from), who were deeply involved in the burial arrangement, did not even raise such issue during the ceremony.

Therefore the story is another attempt by enemies of the Ekpemupolo family to cast aspersion on High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and other members of the family, it said.

It further described the burial ceremony as carnival-like and a unifying event, which was attended by the Ijaws from all over the country, the Urhobos, the Itsekiris.

Sympathizers were adequately entertained with music, food and drinks, and everyone was apparently satisfied with the way the burial ceremony was planned, it added.

The former militant leader, who expressed his appreciation to all and sundry, who contributed in one way or the other to the success of the burial ceremony, advised journalists to always observe the principles of objectivity and accuracy in news reporting and writing as there is no alternative to responsible journalism in Nigeria, particularly now that he said the federal government is preaching attitudinal change of Nigerians in the country.
The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Abdullahi Gana, has directed the immediate deployment of 20,000 personnel to Edo state for the September, 28 governorship election.

This is contained in a statement issued by Emmanuel Okeh, the Assistant Commandant, Corps Public Relations Officer in Abuja on Monday

He said the acting Deputy Commandant General, Operations, Hillary Madu, has been asked to relocate to Edo for the purpose of the election.

Okeh added that Madu would be assisted by two Assistant Commandant Generals in charge of Zone G Benin and Zone E Owerri with five commandants drawn from neighbouring states.

He noted that the personnel were to be re-deployed from Kogi, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa and Anambra state commands respectively to complement the Edo Command.

He advised the personnel to work in synergy with other sister security agencies in order to ensure peaceful conduct of election without rancor.

He warned that any personnel caught in any act of misconduct would be dealt with in accordance to the law and ethics of the corps.

Gana also approved the deployment of sniffer dogs, Specialized Units such as the SWAT, CBRN, CTU, Undercover and Special Forces to protect the critical infrastructure and national assets in the state and its environs.

He urged politicians in the state to play according to the rules as achieving victory was not a do or die affair.

He called on the winner to accept the result with humility and the loser to accept same with magnanimity.

Gana urged citizens of the state to come out en masse to exercise their franchise without fear or favour and cautioned parents to be on the look-out for their children and wards, and ensure that they were of the best ever behaviour.

The commandant general advised youths in the state to shun thuggery and vices that negate peaceful conduct of election.
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, has demanded the removal of the partys National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, over what he called the latters anti-democratic handling of the party affairs.

Tinubu made this demand in a scathing statement entitled, Oyeguns Ondo fraud: The violation of democracy in the APC, released by the Tinubu Media Office on Sunday.

The party leader said the APCs democratic credentials had been dealt a big blow by Odigie-Oyeguns conduct, especially with his handling of the outcome of the Ondo State governorship primary.

He said the APC was a party borne out of the quest for democratic good governance, arguing that the ideology was currently under a critical threat by those who managed to be in the party but were never part of it.

According to him, from the partys inception, the principles of democratic fairness and justice are to guide the APCs internal deliberations.

He stressed that the partys founders realised that it was only by fair dealing that the party could remain faithful to the progressive ideals that were presented to the Nigerian electorate as governing creed.

If the party can not justly govern itself, it will find it difficult to establish and maintain just government throughout the nation, he said.

The APC leader stressed that before now, the party was the embodiment of a democratic promise made between its members as well as a democratic vow made to the public.

Tinubu said, Evidently, some errant members believe that promises and vows are mere words to be easily spoken and more easily broken. Chairman John (Odigie-) Oyegun has breached these good pledges in a most overt and brazen display.

In doing so, (Odigie-) Oyegun has dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead. It is an awful parent who suffocates his own child for the sake of a few naira.

The party was supposed to buttress the APC members elected to government at all levels. Because of (Odigie-) Oyeguns conduct of our affairs, the party is rapidly becoming an albatross to those it is meant to help.

On the just concluded Ondo State governorship primaries, Tinubu said, (Odigie-) Oyeguns comportment regarding the Ondo State primary will become the textbook definition of political treachery and malfeasance of the basest order.

In early September, the (Ondo) State primary was held. A purported winner was named. Having faith in the ways of the party, Tinubu publicly accepted what he assumed to be a verdict honestly derived.

As a democrat, one must face the possibility of defeat and accept such an outcome with as much grace as one would embrace victory.

The APC leader said one of the few bright spots during the conduct of the primary was the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, whom he said chaired the primary convention with decorum and impartiality. He noted that he (Abubakar) was unaware that a tampered list had been slipped into the process.

Tinubu added, Indeed within hours of the announcement, news began to filter in that gravely disturbed me. Credible allegations of fraud troubled the waters.

The delegate list had been materially altered by someone in a strategic position to do so. The names of over 150 valid delegates were excised to make room for an equal number of impostors.

This was not a clerical error. The alteration was wilfully executed that the primary would be directed toward a chosen end that bore nothing in common with the will of most state party members. A cunning few had tried to deceive many into believing they were outnumbered.

The APC national leader narrated details of what transpired behind closed doors during the NWC meeting, held to deliberate on the report of the appeal panel saddled with the responsibility of handling the appeals.

He accused Odigie-Oyegun of upturning the decision of the majority who voted in favour of the cancellation of the primary and the conduct of a fresh one.

Tinubu stated, He has shown that he and democratic fairplay cannot exist in the same party at the same time.

If Tinubu is to choose between John (Odigie-) Oyegun and progress toward a better Nigeria, the choice has already been made. For those who care about the party, who care about Nigeria and its chance for a better tomorrow, now is the time to stand against this brewing evil before it grows to encompass all we have built and all we hold dear.

Attempts to get the reaction of Odigie-Oyegun were unsuccessful.

He neither picked nor returned several calls made to his line.

A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.

Source: Punch
Senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have been warned against allowing their counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to determine who becomes what, as the Presidency prepares to release names of chairmen and members of some federal government agencies.

The warning was given yesterday by leader of the APC Caucus in Abia State, Chief Sam Nkire.

The APC chieftain also advised the senators not to be misled into believing that the current recession in the country was as a result of President Muhammadu Buharis bad economic policies.

Chief Nkire, who gave the advice in a statement in Aba on Sunday, said the whole world knew that PDPs reckless spending, coupled with corruption during its sixteen years in power, brought Nigeria to where it is today.

He added that President Buhari was just an undertaker who, more than anything else, needed support and time to get the country out of the woods.

Nkire also appealed to his party members in the Senate, to ensure that all the president nominees for the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), are confirmed when they appear for screening.
The police have arrested the Special Anti Robbery Squad officer who fired the shot that killed an undergraduate of a polytechnic in Edo State, Joseph Eidonojie-Ugbeni.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect was nabbed on Friday shortly after PUNCH Metro published the report.

Our correspondent had reported that some SARS officers, who were chasing a suspected Internet fraudster at the Ogoja Market along LASU-Igando Road, had started shooting sporadically.

The bullet was said to have hit 20-year-old Joseph in the head, while his cousin, Friday Ojah, fled to avoid been killed.

Ojah had told our correspondent that the policemen took Josephs corpse and dumped it in the boot of the fraudsters car, before driving away to the command headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos.

It was gathered on Sunday that the officer that fired the shot had been arrested and taken to the scene of the incident.

A source said, He was arrested on Friday and taken in handcuffs to the place where the incident happened.

A legal practitioner and friend of the victims family, Saheed Sanni, said the family had decided to petition the Inspector-General of Police on the case to demand justice for the victim.

It was learnt that the suspected fraudster, Badoo, who the officers were allegedly chasing on the day of the incident, had reported at the command headquarters.

A source said the suspect had been detained.

He said, Badoo lives in that community and is popular; the SARS officers also know him. He was not their target that day. They had actually conducted a raid and arrested some people. They were leaving when they sighted him in his car. They called his name and he quickly abandoned his car and fled.

He had just returned from the bank that day. Badoo had travelled to South Africa and had recently returned to the community.

The victims father, Patrick Eidonojie-Ugbeni, demanded justice for the son.

He said, The Badoo they were chasing showed up on Friday at the SARS office with his lawyer and parents. I met the Officer-in-Charge of SARS as well. They shot my son in the head and they claimed that he had a gun and that they shot him in self-defence. How is that possible when he was shot in the head from behind? All I want now is that the police should release the post-mortem result and the police report on the incident.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the case had been transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.

She said, The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has directed that the case be investigated by the homicide section. We will come out with the full report at the conclusion of investigation.

Source: Punch
Hundreds of workers, under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have blocked the entrance of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun state.

The workers are protesting against the alleged poor running of the institution by the current management.

The workers, who gathered at the gate of the Alabata main campus of the university to start the protest as early as 6.30am on Monday, blocked the entrance with most of them carrying placards with various inscriptions such as EFCC do your work, Bring back our suspended members, Oyewole be honest with workers etc.

As at the time of this report, the protesting workers, under the leadership of Fasunwo Olurotimi, are about to match from the main gate to the Senate building.

Fasunwo, who is Chairman of SSANU, said the union would address the media after the protest, just as he vowed that we shall not wait till corruption eats FUNAAB. We shall fight against it with all the resources at our disposal.
The American Lung Association in Tennessee is asking the community to nominate outstanding women in the area for the 2017 Women of Distinction award.

The 32nd Annual Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, from 11:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m., in the Chattanooga Convention Center Ballroom. The event, which benefits the American Lung Association in Tennessee, is a Chattanooga tradition that honors one Tennessee Woman of Distinction, plus 10 of the Chattanooga area's most accomplished women who have distinguished themselves within their family, career and community.

Nomination forms can be obtained from the Chattanooga office at 629-1098, or may be downloaded from on-line at www.TNwomenofdistinction.org. All nominations are due by end of business on Oct. 17. They need to be faxed (629-0054), mailed to the American Lung Association, Chattanooga office (ALA, 1466 Riverside Drive - Suite D, Chattanooga, TN 37406) or e-mailed (Shirley.Cudabac@lung.org ).

This annual event benefits the American Lung Association in Tennessee and its mission to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States today. Lung Cancer is the #1 cancer killer of women in the U.S., surpassing breast cancer in 1987. In Tennessee alone, more than 814,000 children and adults are affected by lung disease such asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer.

Individual and table reservations for the event will be available soon as well as various sponsorship levels will also be available.

Monies raised from the Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon help fund lung cancer and lung disease research, advocacy and education here and nationwide as well as ensure clean air and healthy lungs for all Tennesseans.
Governor of Rivers State Chief Nyesom Wike, has stated that the painful general hardship occasioned by the countrys economic crisis, affects all Nigerians, hence, all hands must be on deck to resolve the challenges.

This is just as he disclosed that his administration had put in place a working framework to shield the people of the state from the negative effects of the economic downturn.

Wike spoke yesterday at the Saint Cyprian Anglican Church, Port Harcourt, during the inter-denominational church service to mark Nigerias 56th Independence Anniversary.

The hardship that flows from the economic downturn affects all Nigerians, irrespective of the political party they belong to or whether they dont belong to political parties.

That is why we must work together to ensure that we end the economic recession. It is in our interest as a nation that we continue to build alliances, as this economic recession cannot be resolved through methods that exclude other stakeholders, he said.

The governor stated that Rivers State would continue to be viable with the state government executing pro-people projects, whether or not Nigeria is in recession.

Wike, who urged Nigerians to celebrate the fact that the country is still united despite the different challenges, called for more prayers for the country to make sustained progress in the coming years.

In his sermon, Bishop of Anglican Niger Diocese, Rt. Rev. Raphael Ebirien, urged the federal government to focus on resolving the current economic recession as Nigerians are suffering.

Ebirien also called for justice, fair play and equitable distribution of resources to reduce the level of marginalisation under the present administration in the country.
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has backed calls for the sale of some national assets to raise funds to reflate the economy out of recession, saying the move will reduce government borrowing.

There has been a raging debate over the proposal to sell off some national assets to revive the countrys ailing economy.

The proposal to sell some national assets was first mulled by the National Economic Council (NEC), the highest economic decision-making body, which is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last week, and since then, some prominent Nigerians, among them, Africas richest man, Aliko Dangote; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, have spoken out in support of the idea.

They argue that the funds to be raised from selling some of the countrys assets will be used to reflate the economy, reopen factories and put money in peoples pockets.

But the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as many Nigerians opposed the proposal, describing it as a threat to the economic independence of the country.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, also threatened total shut down of the country, if the government goes ahead with the plan.

Contributing to the debate, which has been on the front-burner since last week, Adeosun, during a meeting with business editors of some national dailies in Abuja over the weekend, said the federal government, after undertaking a medium term expenditure framework and debt strategy, discovered that the country can no longer rely on borrowing to finance infrastructure development as a result of its accumulated deficit.

The infrastructure challenges we face are so serious and the kind of money that we need, we cant borrow because when you have an accumulated deficit, you need to look for the money that will sustain what you are doing for the next three to four years. So, that is what we are looking at and having a more strategic approach so that, over time, we will borrow less, which, of course, is good in the long run, said the minister.

While answering questions on the suitability of selling off some national assets when some that had been sold in the past had not been properly managed, she said: I think there are lots of assets being considered. There are some unused assets that are just lying idle and people have come and said, These things you are not using, can we lease it from you?

I think when you are looking for money, some things that government is sitting on, we dont have money to do them and so it makes sense for me to unlock those things as it will bring money to the economy at these difficult times so that we can move forward.

I dont think we have got to the stage where we say its this or that asset. The conversation now should be: should we just keep borrowing, or now that things have got to this stage, we should start to dislodge some under-utilized assets. And its not exclusive to us: Saudi Arabia is selling some of its oil assets. So if you sell an asset and use it to finance another asset which is going to give you more, then I dont have a problem with that.

Adeosun also disclosed that there are some assets that can be leased out and there are some which may need to divest.

The investor will need to look at the risk and pricing accordingly. We can sell to the Nigerian people or the pension fund and you can also list these assets on the stock exchange. So there are different types of sales, she explained.
Professor Allan Lichtman, a distinguished professor of history at American University, Washington D.C, has correctly predicted the winner of every U.S presidential election since 1984 and has now said he is certain that Republican candidate Donald Trump will win the November 8 election and also explained how he came to the decision

According to Lichtman, his prediction isnt based on horse-race polls, shifting demographics or his own political opinions but he uses a system of true/false statements he calls the Keys to the White House to determine who will win the election and its always worked since 1984.

The keys to the White House, which are explained in depth in Lichtmans book Predicting the Next President are: 1. Party Mandate: After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections. 2. Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination. 3. Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president. 4. Third party: There is no significant third party or independent campaign. 5. Short-term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign. 6. Long-term economy: Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms. 7. Policy change: The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy. 8. Social unrest: There is no sustained social unrest during the term. 9. Scandal: The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal. 10. Foreign/military failure: The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs. 11. Foreign/military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs. 12. Incumbent charisma: The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. 13. Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero.

Source: Lichtman
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that Nigeria has the people and the resources to surmount her economic problems.

Receiving President of the African Development Bank, AfDB, Akinwunmi Adesina, at State House, Abuja, on Monday, President Buhari said: God has given us people and resources. It will take hard work on our part, but we will make it. We will get out of our problems. We are determined to produce what we eat, and stop importation. We will also chase those who stole, and get them to refund.

He said the country appreciates helping hands being lent by the AfDB, assuring Nigerian-born Mr. Adesina, who was the immediate past Minister of Agriculture, that we will not let you down. Your country wont disappoint you.

The visiting AfDB president expressed appreciation to Buhari for the support the country gave him when he ran for the topmost position in the financial institution last year, thus making him the first Nigerian to occupy such position since the bank was established in 1964.

He also lauded President Buhari for successes recorded in securing the country, particularly in the North East, noting that there can be no development without adequate security.

Mr. Adesina described recent economic decisions taken in the country as bold, tough, uncomfortable, but right, adding that Nigeria would reap the dividends in the short and long run.

You can count on the AfDB as a true friend of Nigeria. You should support massive investment in infrastructure, and we are here to also support. Closing the infrastructure deficit will enable growth, and create employment. Nigeria is too big to fail, Mr. Adesina said.

He also unfolded the packages his institution has for Nigeria, which include; $1 billion of budget support, $300 million to create jobs for 185,000 youths, $250 million towards North East infrastructure development, $1 million grant to deal with challenges of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), $300 million for infrastructure development around Abuja, $200 million for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to deepen facilities, among others.

Mr. Adesina expressed delight with what he called President Buharis push on anti-corruption and stance on governance, adding that building institutions was critical.

To that end, he said AfDB would give a total of $4.8 million as grant for institutional support, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) getting $2 million, and $1million to Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

You can always count on my support, and that of the ADB, Adesina told President Buhari.
The Nigerian Army has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of over 200 abducted Chibok School girls by disputed Boko Haram leader, Abubabar Shekau.

The Army made the call in response to the video released yesterday by Shekau, in which he reiterated the terrorist groups demand for a swap deal.

The spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Sani Usman, stated that the video has shown beyond all reasonable doubt, the earlier suspicion that Shekau is mentally sick and unstable.

He added that the ranting is also another sign that the end is near for him which is part of the signs of all wicked people.

Usman said the Nigerian Army assures the public that they should not be bothered by the contents of the video clip.

He said it is public knowledge that the military has been making concerted efforts to clear the remnants of the militants and rescue all persons held hostage by them especially the abducted Chibok Secondary School girls.

He said this is a task that will be accomplished, no matter how long it takes. We are determined in this regards. Already thousands of persons have been rescued by troops from the group.

Usman added that the video has further shown that he has derailed and no longer believes and practices the Islam he professes to follow.

The Army spokesman insisted that the disputed terrorist leader was absent at the last Eid prayers video, noting that it is equally reported that he could not even lead prayers.

Usman said: No nation or society would believe him or any Boko Haram terrorist based on antecedent and as he has shown over times to be irrational and therefore unreliable especially when it comes to negotiations on the release of the abducted girls.

Therefore, he [Shekau] must release them unconditionally, he said.

He also assured Nigerians and residents of Maiduguri, Kano, Kaduna and Zaria not to panic, stating that the military has what it take to defend them and deal decisively with the remnants of the Boko Haram group.

He stated that: We are just counting down to the day when all the few remnants will be totally wiped out or brought to justice.

However, a window still exists for the repentant ones among them to lay down their arms and surrender to justice.

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters yesterday said it is immaterial whether Shekau is alive or not.

The spokesperson for the DHQ, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar

Abubakar said the military is not bothered if Shekau is alive, explaining that the most important task is to finish what the military is doing decimating Boko Haram in the North East.
Soybean Oil Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - 1 minute ago The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 73.75, which will be followed by reaching support level 68.16 and if it keeps on moving down below that level,...

Soybean Meal Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - 2 minutes ago The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 419.1, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 439.

Soybean Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - 3 minutes ago The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 1380.4, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 1423.2 and if it keeps on moving up above that level, we...

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Wheat Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - 5 minutes ago An uptrend will start as soon, as the market rises above resistance level 872.4, which will be followed by moving up to resistance level 906.2 and 947.

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Cyclist Fatally Struck By Flatbed Truck In Roscoe Village

By Mae Rice in News on Sep 26, 2016 3:18PM



The Damen and Addison intersection (Google Maps)

Update, 9/27:

The cyclist has been identified as 23-year-old Anastasia Kondrasheva, of the 3600 block of W Shakespeare Ave., in Logan Square, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. An autopsy is scheduled for later today.

The driver who struck Kondrasheva was cited for failure to take due care of a bicyclist in the roadway, according to a police spokesperson.

Original:

A female cyclist was fatally struck by a flatbed truck on Monday morning in Roscoe Village, according to police. The crash occurred at 7:50 a.m. in the 1900 block of West Addison St., and appears to have been a right-hook collision.

The driver of the small flatbed truck, headed north on Damen Ave., was making a right turn onto Addison and hit the cyclist, also headed north on Damen Ave., police told Chicagoist. They believe the cyclist was in her 30s.

The truck driver remained on the scene, and the Chicago Police Department's Major Accident Unit is investigating.

Virginia Murray, 25, was killed in a similar right-hook crash in July; and 20-year-old Lisa Kuivinen was struck and killed by a semi truck in August in what appears to have been a similar circumstance.

Last week saw two serious bike injuries and two fatalities in the Chicagoland area. Eighteen-year-old Northwestern University student Chuyuan Qiu was fatally struck by a cement truck on Thursday in Evanston; and 60-year-old Chicago man Wlodzimierz Woroniecki died after he was hit by a motorcycle in Franklin Park.
@targanl St Johns NL (September 16, 2016) The 15th annual Targa Newfoundland competition has concluded. Over the course of five grilling days on a variety of surfaces and weather conditions the champions have emerged.

Stages started in North West Brook, Hodges Cove and North Harbour. After lunch in Cupids, where local members of the community fueled competitors with a delicious pan fried cod meal, they then continued on to the last stages of the event, concluding in the town of Brigus. The final course is known to competitors as the battle ground that separates the true drivers from the weekend warriors. This years contenders were able to complete the final push without incident, a testament to the skills of this years teams.

A team from Massachusetts, Lloyd Dahmen and Shane Kenney driving a Cadillac Sedanette, sadly werent able to complete the event due to having an off in the second to last stage in front of a local residents house. In a kind hearted turn of events, they took their sorrow to brighten the day of the locals grand son by providing him with their Targa license plate in an effort to turn their hard luck in to a gracious gesture.

Bert Howerton, of Pennsylvania and Newfoundlands Sean English in a 1995 BMW 325i missed a right turn during the stage in Tickle Cove yesterday, sending them off the road. Even after their misfortune, the team commemorated the completion of this years event by walking across the finish line, bumper in hand, to receive their medal. Sean English said we owe a big thank you to the Targa Safety requirements which allowed us to walk away without a scratch. English was grateful for the help of Tickle Cove locals who helped extract their car from off the course, Its a true testament that Newfoundlanders always come together in a time of need, and that something good always comes from something bad.

The day ended with the crowning of division winners at the fair grounds located on Water Street in Brigus. The winners of this years tarmac rally are Newfoundlanders Richard Atkinson and Jonathan Cole in the Classic division, Billy Anderson and Max Cline Abrahams in the Modern and Quebec natives Ludovic and Lauriane Lognay in the Open division. Defending champions Marius and Renee Damm took home the win for Grand Touring. Anderson and Abrahams also took home the Grand Master Challenge title.

Owned and operated by Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited, Targa Newfoundland is one of three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world. The 2016 competition will start in St. Johns on September 12th and conclude back in the capital on September 16th. The rally will cover more than 1,600 kilometers of challenging roads in the central and eastern portions of Newfoundland. It includes over 440 kilometres of closed-road, flat-out Targa stages.

From: Robyn Quinn-Moffatt/ Public Relations Consultant/CRO

Enjoy Targa: Watch from a Safe and Secure Place Newfoundland



International Motorsports Limited

303 Thorburn Road, Suite 2-D, St. Johns, Newfoundland & Labrador,

Canada. A1B 4R1

Cel: 709-727-8536

Tel: 709-722-2413 Tel: 877-332-2413 Fax: 709-753-7646

targanfld.com

www.facebook.com/targanl

www.twitter.com/targanl
Christine Lagarde is in a reflective mood as she and her staff at the International Monetary Fund prepare to escape the oppressive heat of a Washington summer for vacation. She has plenty of grounds for serenity. She has just started a second five-year term as managing director of the global financial guardian after winning the unanimous support of the Funds 189 member countries. The European debt crisis that dominated the IMFs attention for the past six years has largely abated, even if risks remain and the Funds internal auditor has criticized the organizations early bailout efforts. And Lagardes tireless lobbying and diplomacy have put the IMF in its strongest position in years, with dramatically expanded financial firepower, the approval of long-overdue quota reforms to give emerging economies a greater voice in the organization, and strong relationships with arguably her two most important shareholders, the U.S. and China.

Yet the atmosphere at the IMFs Washington headquarters, like that in financial markets, is distinctly uneasy. The global economy continues to undershoot expectations. Tepid U.S. growth has stayed Janet Yellens hand at the Federal Reserve since last Decembers rate hike; doubts about Chinas expansion and debt buildup have weighed on the value of the renminbi; the U.K.s Brexit referendum is fanning concerns about stability in Europe; and several key emerging markets, including Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa, are struggling with varying degrees of economic and political dysfunction. The Fund is expected to reduce its growth forecast once again when it releases its World Economic Outlook in early October, at the start of the annual IMFWorld Bank meetings in Washington.

More worrying: Sputtering economies are undermining support for an open international economy marked by freer trade and interconnected markets for goods and capital  the very system that the Fund was founded to promote, in the dying days of World War II. The U.K. vote to leave the European Union and the rise of Donald Trump, who captured the Republican presidential nomination by promising to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and threatening to impose tariffs on China, reflect a rising populism fueled by insecurity and stagnating middle-class incomes in many advanced economies, particularly the U.S. Left unchecked, this sentiment could foster a wave of protectionist measures around the world, turning todays sluggish economy into tomorrows global recession.

There is no question that there is a backlash, Lagarde says in an interview in her 13th-floor office at the Fund, three blocks west of the White House. Rather than trotting out the usual bromides in favor of liberalization, the IMF and global leaders need to address the causes of that backlash head-on, she contends, by acknowledging that globalization has produced losers as well as winners, and seeking ways to help the former and soothe the discontented. We should absolutely identify the costs and benefits of globalization, and not be the sort of blind advocates of something which has moved lots of people out of poverty but which cannot be analyzed just in terms of benefits, she says. If the mission is stability, both in terms of financial stability and growth and prosperity, it has to operate for the benefit of the people.

Those are unusual words coming from the head of the IMF, which traditionally has played the role of global fiscal scourge, imposing austerity on profligate governments in return for big bailouts. The question is whether those words mean anything, and if so, whether Lagarde and her team of crack economists and policy advisers will be heard.

For a global economy that remains mired in an unusually prolonged period of slow growth  secular stagnation, in the words of former U.S. Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, or the new mediocre, as Lagarde calls it  the Funds policy recommendations are awfully conventional. Central banks should maintain accommodative monetary policies; Treasuries with budgetary room for maneuver need to boost spending on infrastructure and other growth-fostering investments; and governments should implement oft-promised structural measures, such as pro-growth labor market policies, product and service market deregulation and financial reforms, to spur growth, senior IMF officials say. The political pendulum threatens to swing against economic openness, and without forceful policy actions, the world could suffer from disappointing growth for a long time, Lagarde wrote in a blog post on the eve of the Group of 20 meeting in Hangzhou, China, earlier this month.

These days, the idea that fiscal policy should play a bigger role alongside monetary policy in promoting growth is hardly revolutionary. In fact, central bankers are among the biggest proponents of such a shift. The need for public spending to take some of the pressure off central banks was one of the big themes of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas Citys economic symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, late last month. Yet few countries are heeding the message. Washington gridlock has kept fiscal policy out of the equation in the U.S. for several years. The European government with the greatest ability to ramp up spending  Germany  refuses to do so, and the Fund has declined to press Berlin on the issue. China has stepped up government spending this year to achieve its growth targets, but the spending risks exacerbating imbalances and aggravating tensions with Chinas trade partners, who want Beijing to shift from an export-led model to an economy driven by consumer demand.

Policymakers need to do much more than tinker around the margins if they want to put the global economy back on a robust growth path, says Mohamed El Erian, chief economic adviser at German insurer Allianz and a former IMF official, who ran for the managing directors post back in 2004. His prescription includes big increases in infrastructure spending, corporate tax reform, tackling income inequality in the U.S., moving to some kind of fiscal union in the euro area, and considering innovative measures  potentially including forgiveness  to reduce high debt levels. If we dont do something new, something really bad is going to happen, El Erian warns.

Yet even if Lagarde and her colleagues wanted to be that bold, its doubtful they would find a receptive audience. The Fund has maximum influence when its money is badly needed  as in the Asian financial crisis of the late 90s or the more recent European debt crisis  or when member governments face a common threat and have a shared interest in coordinating their policy response, as in the 200809 financial crisis or the currency instability that led to the Louvre accord in the mid-1980s. Neither is the case today, notes Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. The Funds lending is on the wane, and international solidarity is ebbing. You have to have a sufficiently shared diagnosis that you can share the prescription, Truman says.

Lagarde recognizes that the prospects for policy coordination are modest in the near term, but she is moving in other ways to extend the Funds influence and shape the global policy debate for the long haul. She is pushing her officials to use the IMFs lending and economic surveillance activities to tackle income inequality, enhance economic opportunities for women and combat climate change and other environmental risks.

In July, for instance, the Funds annual review of the U.S. economy warned about pernicious secular trends in income: labors share of income is around 5 percent lower today than it was 15 years ago, the middle class has shrunk to its smallest size in the last 30 years, the income and wealth distribution are increasingly polarized, and poverty has risen. To counter those trends, the IMFs economists recommended a wide range of policies, including increasing the earned income tax credit for low-income households, raising the minimum wage, improving paid family leave and child care assistance, and stepping up training programs and vocational partnerships. Similarly, the Fund has been a big champion of Prime Minister Shinzo Abes efforts to increase female participation in the workforce in Japan and advises other countries, including Saudi Arabia, to move in the same direction.

For an organization that was established to oversee the global exchange rate system and help countries facing balance-of-payments difficulties, these new issues strike some observers as a case of mission creep. They are all commendable, but they are not the main job of the Fund, and they never will be, says one former IMF official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yet Lagarde enjoys strong backing from her staff and member governments to focus on this wider range of issues. The extended remit is just the latest evolution of the institutions mission, akin to its involvement with low-income countries beginning in the 1990s and its role in helping to foster global financial stability, which the G-20 assigned to the IMF in the wake of the 200809 financial crisis.

The Fund should address things that undermine sustained macro stability, says Siddharth Tiwari, director of the IMFs strategy, policy and review department. Inequality does. Migration does. Climate will, sooner or later. On all these things, we would be asleep at the wheel if we did not point out the macroeconomic consequences. Not to bring it into the discussion would be irresponsible. Inequality, regional conflicts and even drought all helped fuel the social uprisings of the Arab Spring, says Masood Ahmed, who will step down next month as director of the Middle East and Central Asia department: The next wars going to be fought over water. That will have huge economic consequences, and weve got to focus on them. Lagarde gets plenty of latitude to expand her terrain because, in the view of most member countries and IMF observers, she has played a difficult hand well over the past five years.

The institution was in turmoil when she arrived in July 2011. Her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, had been forced to resign over allegations that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York City. Lagarde, then serving as French Finance minister, immediately put her name forward, and despite concerns about yet another European (let alone French national) taking over, she easily beat her only rival, Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens, for the job. Greece was already struggling to meet reform targets under its initial 110 billion (then worth $145 billion) bailout, granted a year earlier, and the Fund had recently teamed up with European Union institutions to extend massive rescue programs to Ireland and Portugal. With nearly 80 billion of its own funds at stake and a complicated troika of the IMF, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission to manage, the Fund needed someone with the experience, clout and political skills to work with EU leaders and save the euro.

Shes guided the Fund effectively through some perilous times, says Eswar Prasad, an economist at Cornell University and a former Fund staffer. In addition to managing the euro area bailout programs, Lagarde scored two breakthroughs late last year. She finally won the U.S. Congress approval of reforms of quotas and voting rights, something emerging-markets countries had demanded for years and IMF members had agreed to in principle back in 2010. That has rebuilt some of the legitimacy that the Fund had lost, Prasad says. The institution also agreed to include the renminbi in its currency basket, the Special Drawing Right (SDR), satisfying a key goal of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The renminbis addition, potentially the biggest change to the international financial system since the abolition of fixed exchange rates in the early 1970s, will take effect at the start of next month.

Lagarde, who ran unopposed for a second term earlier this year, has won plenty of fans. Count Janet Yellen as one of them. Christine is enormously impressive  a charismatic leader, respected worldwide, the Federal Reserve chair wrote of Lagarde earlier this year in a Time magazine profile naming her as one of the worlds 100 most influential people. She is also a good friend and fun to be around  witty and refreshingly direct, whether were sharing a stage or a private meal.

The fund has come a long way from its days as an enforcer of the so-called Washington Consensus, when it imposed tough austerity programs on troubled Asian economies in the wake of the regions 199798 financial crisis and touted the merits of free trade, privatization and liberal regimes on cross-border capital flows. In recent years the organization has tempered many of its fiscal recommendations and revised its thinking about when and how to lift capital controls. Officials are more willing to admit they dont have all the answers  a healthy dose of humility given the Funds repeated failures, alongside those of most other official bodies, to predict the course of the postcrisis recovery.

We havent really gotten robust growth going in the global economy, says a candid Maurice Obstfeld, the IMFs chief economist. And weve had a big shift in manufacturing allocation and income distribution. So you get what we have now, which is slow recovery, social turmoil, a lack of faith in elites, in experts, in policymakers more generally. Economists were aware of the strains but totally did not see such a strong reaction coming.

What haunts Obstfeld, like many other economists and policymakers, is the risk of a negative feedback loop in which todays low-growth and low-productivity trends depress tomorrows consumer spending and investment, which in turn suppress growth on an almost permanent basis into the future. In our increasingly interconnected world, where concerns about Chinese or European growth can boost the dollar, raising fears about the U.S. recovery and prompting the Fed to hold off on rate hikes, no country appears able to break out of the cycle on its own. That requires the Fund to play the role of cheerleader for global policy coordination, as Obstfeld puts it.

There is a global problem of low aggregate demand and low growth, he says. National measures could be much more effective if they were implemented simultaneously. Appeals for policy coordination are more often honored in the breach than in the observance, though. At their Hangzhou summit earlier this month, G-20 leaders once again pledged to step up policy coordination but made few concrete commitments. That may be just as well. Two years ago the G-20 endorsed an action program of country-specific policy recommendations designed to boost the groups collective output by 2 percent over five years, but members have failed to deliver on many of those promises.

Critics say the Fund is playing small ball and failing to offer the kind of bold, imaginative policy proposals required to lift the global economy out of its doldrums. Back in 2010, Obstfelds predecessor, Olivier Blanchard, issued a paper suggesting that countries raise their inflation targets to 4 percent  double the prevailing standard  to avoid the risk that interest rates could get stuck at the so-called zero bound, the supposed limit for policy rates. Blanchard took a beating for suggesting something that was considered heretical in central banking circles, and the Fund quickly dropped the idea. Six years later, however, the ECB, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan have cut rates deep into negative territory in desperate bids to spur their economies and fend off the risk of deflation, while the president of the San Francisco Fed, John Williams, has dusted off Blanchards proposal and suggested raising the inflation target to give the Fed more leeway to ease monetary policy in case of a slump.

I dont hear anything interesting from the Fund that makes me want to sit up and take notice, says the former IMF official. For his part, Obstfeld plays down the idea that there is a magic solution for getting the world economy out of its funk and defends the IMFs incremental approach. If you can raise trend growth by 0.2 percent a year, looking out 20 years from now, cumulatively that would have a big impact on living standards, he says. I dont think we should despair, and I dont think we should scorn very small gains in growth.

Preventing the spread of bad ideas, such as the rolling back of globalization, is as much of a priority these days as the drafting of exciting new ideas. The backlash that Lagarde perceives is evident in World Trade Organization data showing that international commerce in goods and services has declined as a share of the global economy since 2012  the first time thats happened for a prolonged period since World War II.

For David Lipton, the IMFs first deputy managing director and Lagardes right-hand man, the challenge of todays populism represents a stark change from the mid-90s, when he served as a senior official in the U.S. Treasury under Robert Rubin and Larry Summers, the high priests of the Washington Consensus. With rival Donald Trump disparaging the North American Free Trade Agreement as a disaster and promising to bring jobs back to America with more-protectionist policies, Democrat Hillary Clinton has distanced herself from her husbands trade legacy and come out against Barack Obamas signature initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Globalization gets unfairly blamed for a lot of the economic insecurity generated by the high-debt, low-growth aftermath of the global financial crisis and the rapid pace of technological change, Lipton says, and the IMF needs to robustly defend the openness of the global economy. But he acknowledges that the entry of China, with its massive supply of cheap labor, into the global trading system has been very disruptive and that it demands a policy response from the U.S., Europe and other advanced economies.

Its our institutions mandate to try to maximize or enhance the benefits of globalization, Lipton says. We also need to try to help countries limit the costs of globalization and where there are winners and losers try to reeducate or compensate the losers and see that they find new opportunities. If protectionist pressures arent managed effectively, he contends, the world risks damaging its most promising growth engine for the future: emerging and frontier markets. What would be a great outcome would be if ten, 15 or 20 countries can grow for the next 40 years the way China grew in the last 40, Lipton says. It would be great for the people of those countries, and it could potentially add up to a substantial global impulse.

The IMF's evolution under Lagarde can be seen clearly through its involvement with Europe, which defines the Funds recent past, and with China, which may be its future.

The institution was already deeply engaged in Europe, its biggest and most complicated bailout effort ever, when Lagarde arrived. The debt crisis erupted in late 2009, when the newly elected Socialist government of thenprime minister George Papandreou announced that Greeces public finances were in far worse shape than expected and revised the projected deficit to 12.7 percent of gross domestic product, more than double his predecessors estimate.

Under Strauss-Kahns leadership the Fund made the critical decision in May 2010 to extend Athens more credit relative to its IMF stake  3,200 percent of the countrys quota  than it had ever done, even though its own economists judged Greeces debt to be unsustainably large. There were strong reasons for doing so. Financial markets were still wobbly, Europe was recovering more slowly than the U.S. from the global crisis, and officials feared a Greek default could spur a Lehman Brotherslike collapse, forcing Greece out of the euro and potentially triggering a breakup of the single currency.

But the bailout decision was also controversial, and the Funds own auditing arm revived the issue in July 2016 with a scathing 86-page report on the institutions role in providing bailouts and designing economic adjustment programs for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. The Independent Evaluation Office faulted officials for complacency before the crisis in failing to recognize the risks posed by current-account imbalances within the euro area. Top officials consulted only perfunctorily with the board before deciding to give Greece exceptional access to IMF resources, did so despite the Funds own economists belief that Greeces debt was unsustainable, and used overly optimistic assumptions about the countrys potential for economic recovery, the IEO said. The complicated troika process tied the Funds hands, the office asserted, and potentially subjected IMF staffs technical judgments to political pressure from an early stage.

The report amounted to a pretty searing indictment of the organizations role in the bailouts, says former IMF staffer Prasad. The IEO report stings because it laid bare the importance of political factors in the IMFs decision-making process, he adds.

Lagarde accepted the need for clearer rules about potential future involvement in a currency union but said the IEO criticisms benefited from the advantage of hindsight. With the passage of time, it may be too easy to forget what the world looked like in 2010, she said in a statement. In private, Fund officials arent exactly contrite. Its hard to imagine a similar situation occurring in the future, says one senior official, but if it did, I have little doubt that the IMF would do the same thing again.

Greece, meanwhile, continues to wither. Its economy is 45 percent smaller today than it was before the crisis erupted (by comparison, U.S. output shrank by a quarter during the Great Depression), unemployment is just below 25 percent, and debt has ballooned to 180 percent of GDP. After the economys slight recovery in 2014, the debt-talks brinksmanship of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tipped the country back into recession in 2015 and 2016. Growth once again is forecast  for next year.

Under Lagarde the Fund has gradually broken away from the German line of demanding tough austerity measures in Greece and advocated more-realistic fiscal and economic targets combined with debt relief. The IMF stopped disbursing funds to Greece in 2014 and declined to join the EU when it released a fresh 10.3 billion in May, because the Europeans provided no debt relief and called on Athens to achieve a primary budget surplus (that is, before interest) of 3 to 3.5 percent of GDP, more than double what the Fund considers possible and a far cry from todays deficit of 0.5 percent. Few countries have ever sustained a surplus of that size, much less a nation like Greece, which has seen seven governments and ten Finance ministers since the crisis broke out. The Fund doesnt rule out reengaging in a future support package, but it has to add up, says Poul Thomsen, who heads the European department and has overseen the Greek negotiations from the start.

IMF officials worry about potential backsliding by the Portuguese government on its economic adjustment program; the electoral impasse in Spain, which hasnt produced a successor government in the past nine months, also makes them uneasy.

The real concern, though, is Italy. The government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has failed to calm fears of a possible banking crisis stemming from the systems 360 billion of nonperforming loans, in part because officials fear falling afoul of EU rules against state subsidies. The impasse frustrates Lagarde, who notes that the unions rules against bank bailouts contain exceptions for cases of systemic risk. They have the rules, she says. All they need is to use them intelligently at the moment. Meanwhile, officials are nervously watching to see if Renzi can win a crucial October referendum on a proposal to trim the size and powers of the upper house of Parliament to make Italian governments more stable. Defeat could bring down his government and precipitate a wider crisis. As one senior IMF official puts it: Renzi is undertaking reforms. People think he is the best shot they have had in many, many years.

More broadly, Europe still struggles with high debt, high unemployment and low growth. In July the IMFs latest review of the euro area economy bluntly criticized the bloc for failing to carry out many structural reforms leaders have long endorsed, including the completion of a banking union and a capital markets union to strengthen the financial system, product and labor market reforms to spur growth and more EU-funded infrastructure spending, as proposed by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. The implementation record is pretty poor across the board, says Mahmood Pradhan, deputy director of the European department.

Some critics chide the IMF for not challenging Germany. Lagarde advises countries that have fiscal space to use it to support growth, but the Funds euro area review did not call out Berlin despite the fact that Germany is set to have a slight budget surplus this year and run a current-account surplus of 8.5 percent of GDP. The Fund is still a little bit reluctant to abandon its traditional focus on limiting fiscal deficits, says Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Rising populist pressures wont make reform any easier and might aggravate Europes economic woes. Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party in her native state of MecklenburgWestern Pomerania early this month, and Marine Le Pen, the anti-EU National Front leader, currently tops the polls for Frances presidential election next May.

We are pretty much at the limit of what can be done inside the existing architecture, says the IMFs Thomsen. Unless you keep on pushing for more integration  not in a dramatic way but complete banking union, complete capital markets union, find a way for some centralized fiscal spending like the Juncker initiative  unless you do that, youre one shock away from another existential crisis.

Ironically, the best news out of Europe lately may be the Brexit referendum. The outcome has created great uncertainty about the U.K.s future relations with the EU, but financial markets stabilized after an initial sell-off, and the U.K. economy shows little sign of tumbling into recession, as many economists had warned. (The Fund itself predicted the country would likely be worse off economically in the long run.)

Brexit demonstrated that the financial plumbing, strengthened in the wake of the 2008 crisis, worked, says the IMFs Tiwari. This was the maximum stress you could have put on the system in terms of not expecting the result, and the Bank of England was able to take the financial system through without a Lehman-like moment.

With China, Lagarde has sought to enhance the Funds surveillance of the mainland economy, the worlds second largest, while strengthening relations with the Beijing leadership.

One of the first things she did after taking over as managing director was to elevate Min Zhu, a former top Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) official whom Strauss-Kahn had recruited as a special adviser, to a newly created deputy managing director position  in effect, creating a Chinese seat at the very top of the IMFs management. The symbolism wasnt lost on Beijing, which has pushed for a level of influence and visibility at the Fund commensurate with its newfound economic status. The move also strengthened ties between the Fund and Chinas central bank, which Lagarde and her team consider the countrys strongest force for market-oriented economic reform.

Reflecting the new global economic pecking order, Lagardes team now includes Lipton as first deputy managing director, a post traditionally held by an American; a Japanese deputy managing director, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, a former special adviser to Prime Minister Abe; a Chinese deputy managing director, Tao Zhang, a former PBOC deputy governor, who succeeded Min last month. A third deputy managing director seat has no national flag attached to it; the post is currently held by Carla Grasso, a Brazilian and Italian national and former senior executive at Brazilian mining company Vale who serves as the Funds chief administrative officer.

Relations with China further improved after the Fund agreed last November to include the renminbi in the SDR, saying it had fulfilled the criteria for being considered a freely usable reserve currency. The change will take effect on October 1, when the renminbi joins the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen and British pound in the currency basket. It will rank third in importance, making up 10.92 percent of the SDR, behind the dollar (41.73 percent) and the euro (30.93 percent) and ahead of the yen (8.33 percent) and the pound (8.09 percent).

The SDR move recognized years of financial liberalization by Beijing that included promoting the renminbis use for settling trade payments, providing greater access for foreign investors to the mainlands stock and bond markets, and allowing market forces to play a greater role in setting the currencys value. We did the right thing, says Tiwari, who led the Funds revamp of the SDR. The Fund was evenhanded. We put the evidence out, and the evidence pointed toward the inclusion of the RMB in the SDR basket.

The irony is that international use of the renminbi has stalled since the Funds decision. The currency accounted for 1.72 percent of global trade payments in June, down from 2.79 percent ten months earlier. More significant, the renminbi has weakened more against the dollar since the end of 2015  falling 2.5 percent, to 6.6628 to the greenback  than it did in the sudden, one-day depreciation in August 2015 that triggered turmoil in global financial markets. The renminbi has fallen by 7 percent against the CFETS RMB Index, a currency basket the PBOC launched late last year.

George Magnus, an Oxford, Englandbased economist and adviser to UBS, suspects Chinese authorities are tacitly encouraging an orderly currency decline to give their economy a boost. If the slide continues, he wrote in a recent blog post, then we will know that something has changed, suggesting that China is in fact going for a more significant depreciation. If thats the case, it would inject more deflationary pressures into the global economy and likely forestall any attempt by the Fed to raise interest rates. The reaction in financial markets, judging by the August 2015 tumult, could be severe.

China managed to grow at a 6.7 percent rate in the second quarter, ahead of Beijings target of 6.5 percent for the year, but the nature of that gain  driven by fiscal stimulus and investment by state-owned enterprises, banks and local authorities  worries many analysts. The Fund was blunt last month in its annual review of the Chinese economy, calling on the authorities to take urgent action to rein in SOEs, slow the rate of credit growth and facilitate the transition to a consumer-led economy, even if that means a moderate slowdown in the growth rate.

China has had a couple of quarters of solid growth, and now everyone is incredibly complacent, but the longer-term imbalances in that economy are actually not being addressed as quickly as we would like to see, and that creates a risk, says chief economist Obstfeld.

New deputy managing director Tao expresses confidence that Beijing will heed that advice. The authorities attach great importance to the IMF analysis, he says. They will endeavor to find a way to implement these policy recommendations whenever and wherever they fit.

Lagarde would be only too happy if China and the other members actually did heed the IMFs recommendations so readily. Alas, the real world is rarely so simple. The fight to save globalization will test her skills to the limit in her second term. 




Oil prices bounced back only modestly in early trading on Monday after a sharp sell-off on Friday ahead of this weeks Algiers summit between members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia to discuss possible production caps. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released for the week ending on September 20 suggest that speculators are not holding out much hope for a significant outcome from the meeting, with bullish positions in listed derivatives markets declining for the 14th consecutive week while bearish bets rose. Some cash-starved smaller producers have called for large curbs while others, such as Libya and Iran, have ramped up production. The question of Saudi Arabias willingness to make cutbacks has been central to sentiment in crude-oil markets. There are clear signals that Saudi Arabia is increasingly feeling the pinch of low energy prices. Today the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the central bank, announced a liquidity injection of more than $5 billion for lenders to combat rapidly rising rates resulting from oil-prompted withdrawals from bank coffers. The move comes in advance of Saudi Arabias first international bond sale which is expected to bring in $10 billion in October.

Clinton, Trump running neck and neck ahead of debate. In advance of the first presidential debate tonight between GOP nominee Donald Trump and the Democrats Hillary Clinton, new polling suggest the race remains close. A Bloomberg Politics national poll indicated voters were split roughly down the middle when asked to choose between the two. Separately, a poll conducted by Washington Post in conjunction with ABC news that was released on Sunday found that Clinton held a slight lead but one that had eroded from a prior 8 percent to only 2. The event will be held at Hofstra University on Long Island.

European regulators consider ChemChina Syngenta merger. In a statement issued today, the European Commission targeted a deadline of October 28 to rule on China National Chemical Corp.s proposed $43 billion acquisition of Syngenta. U.S. officials have already blessed the deal, which would position state-controlled National Chemical, better known as ChemChina, as the worlds largest pesticide producer. The announcement comes as concerns have arisen over the competitive effects of a recent series of megamergers within the agrichemical industry.

Moodys lowers Turkish debt to junk status. Moodys Investors Service reduced the sovereign debt rating of Turkey on Friday to the noninvestment grade Baa3 because of weakening economic fundamentals and the geopolitical impact of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans handling of a July coup attempt. Both Erdogan and Economic Minister Nihat Zeybekci have sharply criticized international ratings agencies for supposed political bias after Erdogan used the unsuccessful coup to consolidate power and eliminate rivals. The Turkish lira declined against all major currencies in trading on Monday.

German business confidence improves. Data issued on Monday by the Ifo institute included the highest reading for one business sentiment index in over two years. The business climate specific survey index increased to 109.5 versus consensus forecasts for 106, while both current-conditions and expectations-specific indices also rose. As the mood in German corporate suites appears to rebound, the countrys largest lender continues to face mounting challenges. Shares of Deutsche Bank hit an all-time low in early trading on Monday as investors fret over demands by U.S. regulators that are more than double what the lender had set aside to resolve litigation over the sales of mortgage-back securities.

Cross-border acquisition in specialty chemicals. German chemical additives producer Lanxess announced an agreement today to acquire U.S. rival Chemtura Corp. in a cash deal valued at more than $2 billion. The bid, which represents an almost 20 percent premium to Fridays closing share price for Chemtura, will be financed through bond issuance. In structuring the deal Lanxess will abandon a previously announced share-repurchase program.

Singapore firm buys a stake in Rolling Stone. Over the weekend, Wenner Media confirmed it has agreed to sell a 49 percent ownership in flagship publication Rolling Stone to BandLab Technologies, a digital music company. The move represents a partnership between two heirs: BandLab is run by Meng Ru Kuok, son Singapore agribusiness magnate Kuok Khoon Hong, while Wenner Media is led by Gus Wenner, son of Rolling Stone founder Jan Wenner. The two firms plan to partner on developing the Rolling Stone brand internationally. The iconic publication has faced pressures similar to many established media firms in recent years, as declining print advertising revenues have not been fully offset by digital ones.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued new draft criteria for how much capital federally-regulated mortgage insurers have to put behind their portfolios. If the increased capital requirement is implemented next year, it could result in policyholders paying more for mortgage insurance.The financial regulator reasoned that the new rules are an attempt to address riskier elements of the countrys mortgage market. New drivers of risk were considered in the making of the draft, such as the creditworthiness of the homeowner, the remaining amortization period and the outstanding loan balance. If approved, the draft takes effect January 1, 2017.Homeowners with large mortgages secured with small down payments (typically less than 20% of their homes purchase price) are required to obtain mortgage insurance which compensates lenders for losses should the mortgage default.When house prices are high relative to borrower incomes, the new framework will require that more capital be set aside, OSFI superintendent Jeremy Rudin stated in a release last week.OSFI asserted that the new capital requirements are there to ensure that mortgage insurers are in a better position to withstand severe, but plausible losses. Genworth Canada MI, one of the countrys biggest mortgage insurers, confirmed that it is currently holding more capital than required by current rules and said that it expects to be fully compliant with the new requirements next year.The company also warned that the new rules could lead to a corresponding increase in premium rates.Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, another major mortgage insurer, told Business News Network that it supports efforts that better position mortgage insurers to withstand severe economic challenges.
The Federal Court of Australia has approved the transfer of Macquarie Lifes risk business to Zurich Australia Limited, which will see the creation of Australias 4biggest retail life insurer in the IFA segment.The confirmation of the acquisition means Macquarie Lifes risk insurance portfolio, including FurtureWise, Active, and Sumo policies, will be transferred to Zurich; and will see the expansion of Zurichs product and service offering effective October 1.Said date will also see the transfer of Macquarie Life staff to Zurich, bringing with them additional sales and service capacity, to cater to an inforce customer base which is expected to grow 60 per cent as a result of the acquisition.Tim Bailey, CEO of Zurichs life and investment business in Australia, said the court approval marked a major milestone for Zurichs Australian business, strengthening its commitment to the local market and accelerating the strong growth trajectory the company has seen over the last five years.This acquisition sees the coming together of two businesses which share a track record of customer service excellence and a commitment to the retail advice sector, Bailey said.The opportunity to add to our product set  particularly the innovative Active and Sumo offerings  is also an exciting one, broadening the range of solutions that are backed by our global brand strength.From the date of transfer, currently pegged at October 1, Zurich will also assume responsibility for administering all in force Macquarie Life risk insurance policies, including FutureWise, Active, and Sumo policies, as well as managing all new and existing claims.The transfer will not require action from existing customers, nor will it affect the terms of conditions of their cover, its cost, and their chosen payment method.Both existing and new customers can benefit from the best of both worlds, with the creation of a bigger, stronger business opening up access to new solutions and the added confidence that they are protected by a leading global insurance group who will be there when it matters most, said Bailey.
The government is determined to resist pressure from the elements of the $60 billion life insurance industry to temper new laws banning hefty upfront commissions, it has been reported.Financial services minister Kelly ODwyer told the Australian Financial Review that draft legislation to deal with conflicted remuneration would be discussed at the October meeting of the Federal Parliament.The changes will reduce upfront commissions, from some 120 per cent of the first years premium to a maximum of 60 per cent.Advisers will be allowed to receive ongoing annual commissions of 20 per cent but will also be given a two-year clawback period to discourage churning. This means that if a policy lapses in its first year, the adviser will have to refund 100 per cent of the commission in the first year and 60 per cent in the second, the Australian Financial Review explained.ODwyer said the government would not succumb to pressure from the Life Insurance Consumer Group (LICG), a group of advisers who battled with Financial Services Council (FSC), one of the nations most powerful lobby groups, over the changes. LICG have also met with crossbench senators and Coalition backbenchers, hoping to have them back down, similar to that which occurred on superannuation, the report said.Despite this, O'Dwyer vowed to push ahead with the reforms: "The government is very committed to these reforms. We're not watering them down."The draft legislation, which is part of the wider reform agenda Life Insurance Framework, was before Parliament when the election was called; and must now be formally reintroduced, with changes initially set to take effect in July, the report said.LICG seeks to convince the Association of Financial Advisers ( AFA ) to withdraw its support of the Life Insurance Framework.Mark Dunsford, head of LICG and NOW Financial Group director, claimed that the AFA and Financial Planning Association of Australia were forced into accepting the 60 per cent limit with threats to an even lower threshold, the Australian Financial Review reported."The FSC's proposals will result in alarming competitive advantage being gifted to the big banks and FSC members while hurting independent financial planning businesses and consumers," Dunsford said.He said if brokers were not paid via commissions attached to insurance products, they would have to charge customers a service fee, which would worsen the problem with under-insurance.John Trowbridge, a former APRA executive who led an inquiry into life insurance, called on the government to proceed with the job, saying The reforms are good. They don't go as far as they might but they are a very important step forward. There is a conflict of interest between advisers who receive big up-front commissions and their customers. It creates a number of perverse consequences."Sally Loane, FSC chief executive, said the bill to reduce upfront commissions in life insurance represented the unfinished business of the Future of Financial Advice reforms."The life insurance remuneration reforms will significantly reduce upfront commissions which have been found to create incentives to offer advice that may not be in consumers' interests," she said."The proposed changes are consistent with concerns raised in the Financial System Inquiry, the landmark Trowbridge Review and the ASIC Report 413 which found misaligned incentives were influencing the quality of life insurance advice."
"We see these climate perils as no different to an explosion"
Man Shot In Head Near Millennium Park Dies

By Mae Rice in News on Sep 26, 2016 1:59PM



Peter Fabbri, 54 (via GoFundMe)

Update, 1:45 p.m.: Paul Pagan, a 32-year-old man with a record of gun convictions has been charged with the shooting.

***

A 54-year-old Berwyn man who was shot in the head near Millennium Park on Saturday died Sunday evening. Peter Fabbri was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 5:53 p.m. last night, according to the Chicago Medical Examiner's office.

Fabbri, while walking with two women, was shot at roughly 7:35 p.m. on Sunday by an offender on a bike, potentially in an argument about a woman, police said. He was shot three times in the head and twice in the stomach, according to a GoFundMe page raising money for Fabbri's cremation expenses started by Nina Parks. Parks, who says that she was Fabbri's niece and one of the women with him at the time of the incident, wrote on the page that Fabbri was "brain dead" after the shooting, and died when the family decided to take him off life support with "tears in our eyes and down our faces."

Fabbri was reportedly leaving a wine tasting downtown and heading toward a train station when the argument started and escalated.

As of Saturday, police had a person of interest in custody in relation to the shooting, but no charges have been filed. The shooter initially escaped the scene of the crime on a bike, though Fabbri's sister, Shelly Fabbri, told CBS she tried to chase him down.

An autopsy has not yet been scheduled for Fabbri.
Trump International Hotels Management LLC agreed to pay $50,000 to settle with New York State over data breaches that exposed 70,000 credit card numbers and other personal information, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced on Friday.

The company, which is led by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and three of his children, manages a number of hotels around the world under the Trump Hotel Collection name.

According to Schneiderman, bank analyzes of hundreds of fraudulent credit card transactions in May 2015 found Trump Hotels was the last merchant where a legitimate transaction took place. An investigation turned up malware in computer systems associated with Trump hotels in New York, Las Vegas and Chicago.

Another breach was reported to Trump Hotels in March, Schneiderman said. Investigators found credit card malware had been put on 39 systems affecting five hotel properties, including Trump SoHo New York.

Trump Hotels violated New York law by not providing notice of the breaches to consumers as soon as possible, Schneiderman said. After learning about malware in 2015, it took some four months for the company to put a notice about it on its website, he said.

Aside from the $50,000 penalty, the settlement requires Trump Hotels to beef up its data security policies.

Unfortunately, cyber criminals seeking consumer data have recently infiltrated the systems of many organizations including almost every major hotel company, a Trump Hotels spokesperson said. Safeguarding our customers data is a top priority for the company and we will continue taking actions to do so.

Schneiderman is also looking into other Trump activities. In 2013, he filed a fraud lawsuit against Trump over his Trump University series of real estate seminars.

More recently, Schneiderman has announced a probe into whether Trumps charitable foundation abided by New York non-profit laws. Trump has claimed the moves by Schneiderman, a Democrat who is backing Hillary Clinton for president, are politically motivated.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld, additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Daniel Bases)

Topics Cyber New York
The MEMIC Group, a Portland, Maine, headquartered workers compensation specialty insurer, has promoted Scott Meinke to executive underwriter for the Atlantic region.

Meinke initially joined MEMIC in 2014 as a senior production underwriter, in which he worked to develop business opportunities in the Virginia and Maryland markets and helped launch MEMICs entry into North Carolina.

Prior to joining MEMIC, Meinke served as the senior business development consultant at Accident Fund Insurance Company of America.

Source: The MEMIC Group

Topics Maine
Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. announced that its reinsurance segment, Aspen Re, has appointed Philip Hough as managing director, Asia Pacific. Hough will be based in Singapore and will report to Aspen Re Chief Executive Officer Thomas Lillelund.

Hough joined Aspen in November 2005 as a senior property reinsurance treaty underwriter. In July 2007 he was appointed head of Aspens European property treaty business following the opening of its Zurich branch. In January 2015, he was appointed additionally as the global product head for the international property pro rata and per risk treaty portfolio.

Prior to joining Aspen, Hough was a vice president at Transatlantic Re in Paris and he began his career as a facultative underwriter at Mercantile and General Reinsurance Co. in 1992 in London.

Source: Aspen Re

Topics Talent Human Resources
Security giant Guardsmark has agreed to pay $115,000 and to provide other relief to settle a retaliation discrimination case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

EEOC sued Guardsmark for retaliating against a security guard who opposed a sexually hostile work environment.

According to EEOCs lawsuit, Memphis-based Guardsmark terminated an employee who was working at a General Dynamics Land Systems location in Sterling Heights, Mich., in retaliation for his role in a womans sexual harassment complaint.

Another security guard used security cameras to zoom in on womens private parts. The employee told a woman about the guards actions, and the woman filed an internal sexual harassment complaint. Guardsmark responded by firing him the day after it learned of the internal sexual harassment complaint.

EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Michigan (EEOC v. Guardsmark, Case No. 2:13-CV-15229) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Michigan Training Development
President Barack Obama on Friday vetoed legislation allowing families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, which could prompt Congress to overturn his decision with a rare veto override, the first of his presidency.

Obama said the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act would hurt U.S. national security and harm important alliances, while shifting crucial terrorism-related issues from policy officials into the hands of the courts.

The bill passed the Senate and House of Representatives in reaction to long-running suspicions, denied by Saudi Arabia, that hijackers of the four U.S. jetliners that attacked the United States in 2001 were backed by the Saudi government.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.

Obama said other countries could use the law, known as JASTA, as an excuse to sue U.S. diplomats, members of the military or companies  even for actions of foreign organizations that had received U.S. aid, equipment or training.

Removing sovereign immunity in U.S. courts from foreign governments that are not designated as state sponsors of terrorism, based solely on allegations that such foreign governments actions abroad had a connection to terrorism-related injuries on U.S. soil, threatens to undermine these longstanding principles that protect the United States, our forces, and our personnel, Obama said in a statement.

Senator Chuck Schumer, who co-wrote the legislation and has championed it, immediately made clear how difficult it will be for Obama to sustain the veto.

Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, issued a statement within moments of receiving the veto, promising that it would be swiftly and soundly overturned. He represents New York, home of most of the Sept. 11 victims.

Both the Democratic and Republican candidates for president, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, said they would have signed the bill into law if they were in the White House.

Some Doubts

If two-thirds of the lawmakers in both the Senate and House vote to override, the law would stand, the first such override since he became president in 2009, and possibly the last.

Obama leaves office in January. Fridays veto was the twelfth of his presidency.

An override has been expected, despite some lawmakers saying they had doubts about the measure.

In a letter seen by Reuters on Friday, Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, said he would oppose the override.

My primary concern is that this bill increases the risk posed to American military and intelligence personnel, diplomats and others serving our country around the world, Thornberry wrote in a letter encouraging his fellow Republicans to sustain the veto.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday he thought there were enough votes to override a veto, but had concerns. I worry about trial lawyers trying to get rich off of this. And I do worry about the precedent, he told reporters.

The 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism group, which has pressed Congress to uphold the legislation, called Obamas veto explanation unconvincing and unsupportable.

The Saudi government has lobbied heavily to stop the bill, the European Union has formally opposed it and Gulf States have condemned it.

Major U.S. corporations such as General Electric and Dow Chemical have also pressed lawmakers to reconsider.

The bill is not balanced, sets a dangerous precedent, and has real potential to destabilize vital bilateral relationships and the global economy, GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports the bill.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Grant McCool)

Topics Lawsuits USA Legislation
Yahoo Inc. was sued on Friday by a user who accused it of gross negligence over a massive 2014 hacking in which information was stolen from at least 500 million accounts.

The lawsuit was filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, one day after Yahoo disclosed the hacking, unprecedented in size, by what it believed was a state-sponsored actor.

Ronald Schwartz, a New York resident, sued on behalf of all Yahoo users in the United States whose personal information was compromised. The lawsuit seeks class-action status and unspecified damages.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said the Sunnyvale, California-based company does not discuss pending litigation.

The attack could complicate Chief Executive Marissa Mayers effort to shore up the websites flagging fortunes, two months after she agreed to a $4.8 billion sale of Yahoos Internet business to Verizon Communications Inc.

Yahoo on Thursday said user information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and encrypted passwords had been compromised in late 2014.

But the lawsuit suggested that the breach might have been warded off had Yahoo, having been targeted by hackers before, lived up to its promise of taking user privacy seriously and bulked up its security measures.

It also faulted Yahoo for taking roughly three times longer than organizations typically need to uncover the breach.

Yahoo demonstrated reckless disregard for the security of its users personal information that it promised to protect, according to the complaint.

Schwartz is represented by two large U.S. class-action specialists, the law firms Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Labaton Sucharow.

The case is Schwartz v. Yahoo Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 16-05456.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Alan Crosby)

Topics Lawsuits California USA Cyber Claims
Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. is trying to escape responsibility for not considering that a pipeline that ruptured in Arkansas was susceptible to seam failure despite a history of such problems, according to a federal agency.

Exxon Mobil is challenging a finding by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that the oil giant violated safety regulations, which led to the pipelines rupture in Mayflower in 2013. The company, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp., also has challenged the $2.6 million fine levied by the agency, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

In a document filed with a federal appeals court, the safety administration said the Pegasus pipeline, built in 1947-48, had experienced numerous seam failures, both during testing and in-service.

Those included an in-service leak in 1984 as well as leaks during hydrostatic, or water-pressure, testing in 1969, 1991 and 2005-06. The failures had been increasing while also occurring at lower test pressures over the years, the agency said. Both factors indicated a likelihood that seam degradation was taking place, it said.

Exxon Mobil is especially concerned about an agency order that the company revise its seam-failure susceptibility process for all such pipes in all of the pipelines it operates, not just the Pegasus.

The company has said it operates more than 1,000 miles of pipeline that is in similar condition as the Pegasus and is subject to federal safety regulations. The same kind of pipe is used in 25 percent of the nations oil pipelines, it said.

The Mayflower rupture led to the long-term evacuation of 22 homes. Three of those were demolished, and many residents never moved back into the neighborhood. Exxon Mobil shut down the roughly 850-mile pipeline running from Patoka, Illinois, to Texas shortly after the accident. All but a 211-mile section in Texas remains closed.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics USA Arkansas
Experts are warning about the dangers of opioid and heroin abuse in South Carolina, pointing out that almost as many people die from overdoses of such drugs as are killed in accidents each year on the states highways.

During a seminar Thursday by the Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors, authorities also said overdoses cause more deaths than violent crime and major fast food restaurants in the state probably have at least one illegal drug transaction in their parking lots each day.

Local media report the session was held to increase public awareness about opioid and heroin abuse.

Last year, 637 people died in motor vehicle accidents in South Carolina while 550 died of heroin and opioid abuse.

Acting U.S. Attorney for South Carolina Beth Drake warned that children need to be taught by middle school the dangers of opioid abuse. Many youngsters who get addicted start by taking medicine from the family medicine cabinet.

Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten warned that waiting until high school can be too late. By that time, she says, some students are already having what she called pill parties in which kids put various prescription pills in a bowl and then take several to get high.

State lawmakers this year passed legislation to increase peoples access to Narcan, an the opioid antidote to combat overdoses. But Wooten says theres a downside to that  the fact that drug users get complacent.

Its getting this mindset that its not a big deal. Get this shot of Narcan that will reverse this and Ill be OK, Wooten said. A lot of these cases I see that have died, they got Narcan. They still died. It is not a silver bullet.

Drake urged parents show their young teens a DEA film called Chasing the Dragon, viewable on YouTube. Dragon is the slag word for an addictive drug that winds up killing the user.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Drugs South Carolina
Attorneys for Yarnell residents who lost their homes in the deadly 2013 Arizona wildfire are asking the Court of Appeals to allow their clients to sue the state.

KJZZ-FM reported that previously homeowners sued the state Forestry Division, but a trial judge dismissed the case concluding the state had no duty to protect the residents property.

At a hearing Wednesday an attorney for the state said Arizona is not responsible for protecting everyone who chooses to live adjacent to wilderness.

Plaintiffs attorney David Abney says that since the state fought the fire, it voluntarily agreed to try to protect Yarnell. Abney wants the appellate court to give his clients a chance to make their case to a jury.

The 2013 Yarnell wildfire killed 19 firefighters and burned more than 120 homes.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Homeowners Arizona
Big data and analytics have become more embedded than ever in the insurance industry as insurers look for edges across the business. According to a recent survey from Strategy Meets Action, Data and Analytics in Insurance: 2016 and Beyond, 86% of P&C insurers in North America have a strategic initiative in place for enterprise data and analytics. And, benefits are starting to roll in from early projects in areas like customer segmentation, new business, and underwriting profitability. Now, insurers are moving on to applying analytics in more areas, like CRM, risk analysis, underwriting operations, fraud, and profitability analysis.

The analytics capabilities that have been in place over the past several years are already bearing fruit, leading many insurers to expand into other business areas, says Mark Breading, SMA partner and report author. While there are many factors influencing results in areas such as underwriting profitability and customer segmentation, the analytics projects have contributed to the industry improvements in these areas.

The percentage of insurers budgets being devoted to analytics is also increasing, SMA found. Nearly 10% of insurance IT spending goes to data-related initiatives. And, those dollars are in some cases being matched by the several business areas that are looking to analytics to provide a boost. Insurers are creating data practices at the enterprise level to provide oversight and guidance to analytics initiatives.

Insurers generally are becoming more sophisticated in the management of data and analytics, with more companies establishing enterprise-wide units, led by chief analytics or chief data officers, and staffed with data scientists, Breading adds.

The formalization of analytics as a core practice area is allowing carriers to operationalize data more seamlessly. Following are several stories, from insurance company data leaders, about how insurers have taken data strategy from the outskirts to the center of their enterprises.

Sentry Insurance: Core Project Supports Data Excellence

Sentry Insurance, a multiline insurer based in Stevens Point, Wisc, represents a classic case of how insurers have granted analytics an increasingly larger profile. Sean Nimm, the companys VP of analytics, came up through the ranks as an actuary  the business side. He works with Jim Frank, VP of IT for the carrier, to carry out the companys overarching strategy around analytics technology and process.

There are different skill sets and different capabilities that you need to have a successful analytics area: business knowledge, data management, and statistics, for example, Nimm says. The challenge is trying to fill all three of those.

The realization that Sentrys data was increasingly valuable came about while the company was in the midst of a legacy system modernization, Frank says. As Sentry installed new administration systems, it realized it was able to leverage its internal data in new ways to get better at things like pricing.

A lot of the buildout on the data side didnt come from an analytics need -- we were undergoing a significant amount of core modernization and we needed to use data as the hub to blend the old and new together, Frank says. To support legacy system modernization, we built operational data stores [to facilitate data migration]  suddenly this data was exposed a lot more conveniently to use.

In addition to core software from Guidewire and Accenture, Sentry is using Tableau to turn its newly gleaned insights into actionable information for end users like underwriters. A lot of insurers are investing in data as an asset  theyre buying tools to put data in front of people. But its the infusion of the art into the science  who can begin to apply data more creatively  that will define success, Frank says.

This year, the company has donated $4 million to the local campus of the University of Wisconsin to support data analytics education and get more of the artist types into the organization. Its not just about data scientists, its about building teams of employees and associates that understand what the data means, Frank adds.

The biggest change that Sentry has noticed since formalizing analytics is the speed with which insights can change the business, Nimm says. The kinds of changes that once took weeks to respond to now can be addressed much faster.

The world is changing so quickly, and weve had some opportunities to capitalize, Nimm explains. Business leaders are able to take historical data, create personas, and set pricing strategies based on that, and in near real time see how that improves or changes results. Sentrys analytics growth was facilitated by a core systems replacement project. But, Frank says, integrating analytics across the business doesnt have the same kind of defined beginning and end that most IT projects do.

One of the things Ive realized along the way is that theres no finish line with these data projects, he says. We build assets that have been out there for years, but Sean and his team push us on in adding to and clarifying what they need. The stabilization doesnt have an endpoint.

AXA: New Focus on Data Assets

Louis DiModugno is both the chief data and chief analytics officer for AXA in the U.S., a life insurance carrier. Early on, he says, his job involved a lot of evangelizing the potential for data and getting the business sides on board. Now, though, the time has come for action.

For our first year, we were really focused around creating value with our analytics initiatives: this is what we are, this is what we do, he explains. Now what were trying to do is develop data assets that are going to be more focused on specific entities. Were looking at data assets around customer interaction, claim and claim interaction, prospects and prospect interactions.

AXAs analytics organization comprises two major threads, DiModugno explains. On one side is the acquisition and management of raw data  a more technology-driven piece around compliance and security. That practice has evolved over time, he notes, as consumers and regulators have themselves become more mature about how much of their personal data is out there for companies to access.

What was interesting is that in the past AXA has been the one that has been really adamant about people working with our data  we tell people we really need to understand their controls, he says. Now that we are dealing with some big data vendors, they are pushing the same requirements back on us that we had been putting on others. Its showing the maturity of the industry.

On the other side is the actual analytics run on the data. That teams task has been focused on visualization and making it possible for underwriters and other concerned parties to get what the data says.

Weve moved away from spreadsheets  were using a visualization tool throughout the organization, DiModugno says Our next step is really helping the underwriters understand why the model come up with the score it did. People are a still little bit concerned when a machine tells them what to do.

DiModugno says that the company isnt quite ready to give up underwriting decisions to a model, but does see the speed facilitated by analytics being crucial going forward.

Where we really focus is to take the data that were getting through our normal applications and speeding up our decision process, he says.

CUNA Mutual: From a Different Perspective

CUNA Mutual, which provides a range of insurance and financial products to credit unions, recently hired Harsh Tiwari as its first chief data officer. Tiwari joined the company from Capital One bank and said that the difference between his new job and his old one comes from the roots.

Capital One was founded on the principle of data. The two founders spun it out of the Bank of Virginia, taking the credit-card portfolio and said they could use database marketing to run the business, he explains. But insurance as an industry came up with an actuary practice that says, I cannot precisely predict risk for any one individual, so I will collect a large group. Data means I can take the variations that appeal to smaller and smaller groups. Its a different perspective.

As CUNA has made the decision to bring analytics to the forefront, Tiwari is applying some of the lessons he learned in his previous position.

The first step is actually building an infrastructure where you bring in meaningful data. Many data warehouse projects stop without doing anything. How do we do this in a smart way that continues to see the value? And once you see the bottom line dollars, whats the next step after that? he says. I will work with IT in terms of building the infrastructure, and I will work with business to make sure the data is doing work for them.

Tiwari says that when trying to get buy in from a variant group with established best practices, its important to facilitate their adaptation.

How do you actually bring in a new capability, this thing called data and analytics, and embed them across the company so that you can shift the trajectory we are on? he asks. I am a big believer that data is something everyone can use. You need to hide the complexity a bit. I dont need everyone to use SQL. How do you develop tools to get to the actions they need to get differently?

American Family: A Less Linear Approach

American Family Insurances analytics strategy has matured in the couple years since its division was launched, according to Eduardo Fontes, who was named research and analytics director this year.

We have been boosting predictive modeling capabilities and using less generalized linear models (GLMs), Fontes says. GLMs are still widespread across our business, but when it comes to machine learning, non-linear techniques transfer and analyze data more quickly and capture different signals we never have before.

The new technique means that data like customer phone calls and claims data are analyzed with an open-ended feel. Leveraging machine learning means that the data can take its own path to find the optimal workflow for AmFam associates.

We recognize we dont have a lot of touchpoints. Thats fine, Fontes says. We want to make the basic obligations better. New data [from calls and claims adjusters] allows us to standardize workflow. We use this data to really streamline the claims process.

American Family is also applying its new-look analytics to usage-based insurance. The company is invested in digital signal processing technology that Fontes says limit the amount of time it takes to tell a driver how well they drive.

We generally ask ourselves, Do we have the internal capabilities to do what we want to do and can we learn the skills in the short term? If not, we use a vendor. Vendors speed up the learning process, he says. We are currently leveraging and learning from the [UBI] pilots to do a deep dive.

Gen Re: The Power of Predictive

Guizhou Hu has been VP, chief of decision analytics for Gen Res Individual Products Division, based in Stamford, Conn., for a year and a half. His latest accomplishment was helping to incorporate Mortality Assessment Technology (MAT) he developed in his previous position, at the healthcare company BioSignia, into the life and health reinsurance process. MAT, Hu describes, is a statistical methodology to build prediction models  a crucial component of Gen Res strategy.

Combined with advancements of machine learning technology, we have developed prediction models which outperform any underwriting models in the marketplace, he says. Not only can we use them to improve our own facultative underwriting decisions, but we can also offer models to our customers as a value-added service.

Gen Res decision analytics team has been in place for five years, Hu says. Charged with improving data gathering and data management processes for both internal and external data, it collaborates with IT and business units like underwriting and actuarial to maximize the advantages provided by available data.

The key driver for us has been the competitive advantage that can be gained through improved underwriting via analytics, he says. Going forward we will focus on additional products and other functions including claims and marketing.

Munich Re: A Future Focus

Munich Res chief data officer, Wolfgang Hauner, says the company is looking to innovate more, leveraging new partners from the startup community to add to its analytics portfolio.

Having senior innovation executives co-located at Plug and Plays Silicon Valley facility has given us the opportunity to learn and experiment with new technology and provide valuable insight to entrepreneurs about the insurance vertical, Hauner says. Our goal here is to understand the future of risk and identify new opportunities for our global reinsurance and specialized primary insurance business.

Analytics serve to help Munich Re push the boundaries of insurability, Hauner explains. Our central center of competence is connected to various analytics units and helps us to bring big data approaches to our core business and de-centralized analytics units, he says. More specifically, some of our new platforms are geared towards a faster evaluation of data, while in other cases big data has influenced our approaches to understanding risks. This applies to all lines of business and has effects across a wide range of fields.

In addition to Plug & Play, Munich Re is partnered with Hortonworks in Germany, which is helping the company develop a Hadoop-powered data lake. Our cooperation with Hortonworks is an important part of our infrastructure design that will allow us to gain more insight by combining internal and external data, Hauner says.
This is the blog of China defense, where professional analysts and serious defense enthusiasts share findings on a rising military power.
(Bloomberg) -- Automated cars have the backing of President Barack Obama, whos signed off on whats largely been a hands-off approach to regulating the burgeoning industry, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

The U.S. is allowing road trials by the likes of Alphabet Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. because real-world testing is critical to the technologys acceptance, and for companies and regulators to understand its potential, Foxx said in an interview Saturday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week released guidelines for the industry that stopped short of offering prescriptive rules that car and tech companies have to follow.

The president is a techie at heart, Foxx said in Karuizawa, Japan, where Foxx was attending a meeting of G7 transport ministers. Foxx said Obama has given him wide latitude in figuring out how to improve mobility, raise the level of safety and create more choice and equity in how transportation is accessible to people.

The Obama administrations embrace of the technology stands in contrast with the approach taken by China, which surpassed the U.S. as the worlds largest auto market in 2009. The government warned automakers in July against testing their self-driving vehicles before regulations are finalized. Thats been a setback to companies including Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Baidu Inc. and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., which have urged Chinas government to speed up the its rule-making process.

Real-world testing will teach manufacturers as well as us regulators more about what works well and what doesnt work well and is a critical part of the path to autonomous vehicle acceptance, Foxx said. We also believe that can be done with a high relative level of safety.

Alphabets Google self-driving car program racked up about 1.97 million miles of autonomous-mode testing near its Mountain View, California, headquarters and three other U.S. cities through August. Uber last month started allowing customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicles capable of automated driving.

The technology hasnt entirely escaped scrutiny. NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety board are investigating a May 7 fatal crash involving Tesla Motors Inc.s Autopilot driver-assist system. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has said a software update introduced this month may have been able to prevent the death of the driver.

Highway fatalities climbed by 7.2 percent, the highest one-year increase in almost half a century, to 35,092 last year, according to the Transportation Department.

While NHTSA has emphasized the potential of automated vehicles, the hands-off approach may not stay for good. NHTSA said within its guidelines last week that it may eventually seek authority for a pre-market approval system, in which the regulator would have to sign off on the safety of automated vehicles before theyre sold.

This would be a wholesale structural change from the existing regulatory approach, in which automakers self-certify the safety of their cars, the agency said.

Theres obviously an issue around acceptance and trusting the technology, and one way perhaps that the confidence level can be increased is by having more rigor on the front end of a product coming into the marketplace, Foxx said. Its certainly a question we felt strongly enough needed to be placed in the document.
Even six years after the Panama Papers leaked a confidential list of offshore accounts held by the global elite, tax morality is still very much on the table.
Nel terzo trimestre del 2016 il prodotto interno lordo, espresso in valori concatenati con anno di riferimento 2010, corretto per gli effetti di calendario e destagionalizzato, e aumentato dello 0,3% rispetto al trimestre precedente e dello 0,9% nei confronti del terzo trimestre del 2015. Lo sostiene lIstat.

La crescita congiunturale e la sintesi di un aumento del valore aggiunto nei comparti dellindustria e dei servizi e di una diminuzione nellagricoltura. Dal lato della domanda, vi e un contributo ampiamente positivo della componente nazionale (al lordo delle scorte), in parte compensato da un apporto negativo della componente estera netta.

Nello stesso periodo il Pil e aumentato in termini congiunturali dello 0,7% negli Stati Uniti, dello 0,5% nel Regno Unito e dello 0,2% in Francia. In termini tendenziali, si e registrato un aumento del 2,3% nel Regno Unito, dell1,5% negli Stati Uniti, dell1,1% in Francia. Nel complesso, il Pil dei paesi dellarea Euro e cresciuto dello 0,3% rispetto al trimestre precedente ed dell1,6% nel confronto con lo stesso trimestre del 2015.

I dati Istat sul Pil sono in linea con le stime del governo ha commentato il ministro dellEconomia, Pier Carlo Padoan, arrivando alla Camera per lincontro con il gruppo Pd sulla legge di Bilancio. ll titolare di via XX Settembre in un tweet, poco prima, aveva sottolineato come i dati Istat confermano che leconomia e sulla strada giusta e le stime di crescita sono affidabili. Ma occorre spingere per accelerare
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REE Stock News - Defense Metals (TSX-V: DEFN.V) (OTCQB: DFMTF) Drills 113 metres of 2.50% Total Rare Earth Oxide at Wicheeda

Vancouver, British Columbia - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mining / Metals / Green Energy Stock News - Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN / OTCQB: DFMTF/ FSE:35D) is pleased to announce high-grade Rare Earth Element ("REE") assay results from one additional core hole, totalling 383 metres (m), collared within the northern area of Defense Metals' 100% owned Wicheeda REE Deposit.

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Breaking EV Stock News: Pre-orders for Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) FIVE Electric-SUV Crossover Exceed Expectations as the FIVE 'Strikingly Different' Tour Begins

BREA, Calif. - October 28, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today that the Mullen FIVE "Strikingly Different" EV Crossover Tour which began yesterday, in Pasadena, California, is off to a great start with first day reservations exceeding expectations and overwhelmingly positive customer feedback.

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Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures Third Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA Worth Approximately $1.5M in Revenue for First two Fiscal Quarters of 2023

CAVE CREEK, Ariz. - October 27, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-derived, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured three key significant orders for its newly acquired, non-nicotine plant-based vape product, HYLA.

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Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses

NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore.

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Xu Xiuling, joint secretary of the China Initiative for Social Finance (CISF) delivers a speech at the China Charity Fair Social Finance and PPP Summit Forum. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]

Social finance as a means of philanthropy is gradually becoming a global mainstream, but it can only work if it is self-sustainable in terms of investment reaping actual financial reward as part of its social value. This was the consensus reached by participants to the China Charity Fair Social Finance and PPP Summit Forum held in Beijing on Saturday.

In light of international practice, social finance will become a class of assets for wealth management and financial investment, said Ms. Xu Xiuling, joint secretary of the China Initiative for Social Finance (CISF), formed by CreditEase, where she is a senior vice president.

Social finance is also known as finance for public welfare. It is a new type of investment paying attention to economic reward while providing social benefits. Impact investing, socially responsible investing, venture philanthropy and micro financing are among the better-known aspects.

"Charity is very cool, because it teaches us how to spend money in a more meaningful way. Finance is also cool, because it greatly raises our happiness. This is why we should blend them together," said Xu.

Public-private partnership (PPP) is believed to be the best mode to help achieve this goal. In a PPP program, the private party provides a public service and assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk in the project. In some types of PPP, the cost of using the service is borne exclusively by the users and not by the taxpayer, therefore lessening the government's burden of fund provision.

There are already successful international practices for China to follow, among which are Eytan Stibbe's investments in Africa. Stibbe's company, Vital Capital Fund, built water purification plants and dairy farms in countries like Nigeria and Uganda, projects local governments could not easily afford. Speaking at the meeting, he said such projects also involved partners like Coca Cola and the World Bank; corporate investors reap a return from such projects while improving local people's livelihood.

Stibbe advised modernization work in less developed places in China to attract such social finance investors to supplement the poverty-reduction campaign led by the Chinese government to make win-win results for all, besides being an innovation in itself.
The countrys courts are never fully idle, but the legal system goes into a form of hibernation in late summer.

In a weeks time, however, the lawyers will return from their vacation refreshed, litigants will foregather and another legal year will begin.

As the recovery gathers pace, the downturn that hit the legal world is largely over. However, scar tissue remains from various cutback-related confrontations and, certainly, the world in which lawyers and judges operate has changed fundamentally.

Senior judges faced-off with the Cabinet over reductions in their pay and pension packages.

The Chief Justice, Susan Denham, played a part in cooling passions. Pickets were not mounted outside judges chambers.

The three-year tenure of Alan Shatter as justice minister was one of long overdue reforms pursued, but with plenty of squawking and many feathers ruffled. Courthouses were closed across the land, dealing a blow to country towns.

Barristers and solicitors, reliant on the public purse, endured sharp cuts in income.

Practitioners on circuit will tell you that in many smaller towns, solicitors have felt the pain along with their neighbours as local economies have been hollowed out. The large law firms sailed through the recession, largely intact.

Many are now booming. Solicitors practices elsewhere have suffered  the result being a much greater concentration of power and wealth in the profession.

The Law Society Gazette, however, has reported an uptick in hiring of young professionals over the past couple of years.

Just 10% of practising solicitors are now aged over 55 and a distinct majority are female as the ripples of recovery spread.

A key Shatter reform, the launch of a new Court of Appeal, was implemented almost two years ago.

Critics argue that its establishment has meant the addition of yet another layer in the courts. What cannot be denied is that the new court has facilitated a considerable easing in the pressure on the Supreme Court.

Delays in actions reaching Irelands top court had reached over four years as the judges struggled to cope with a huge case load.

In 2014 alone, the Supreme Court dealt with over 700 cases, some of them pretty frivolous in nature. Compare this with the US and UK Supreme Courts, each of which handle around 85 to 90 cases each year.

Around 1,350 cases were transferred from the Supreme Court to the new Court of Appeal. The intention is that the Supreme Court judges should concentrate on cases of legal or national importance.

Now, it seems, the ten-person Court of Appeal is itself struggling with its workload despite what insiders say is a Trojan work rate. In contrast, the Supreme Court has succeeded in clearing its backlog of legacy cases.

When the Court of Appeal was established, part of the Supreme Court workload was passed over to this body, leaving the rest with the Supreme Court.

The establishment of this court opened up a large number of vacancies further down the chain and some lawyers suggest that enforced selections have resulted in talent mismatches, with judges lacking the necessary experience handling difficult cases.

The whole issue of judicial appointments remains a thorny one. Some question the current trend to promote judges up the line rather than to recruit from leading practitioners. Many in practice like the idea of losing colleagues to the Bench as it can mean more work for them in their areas of activity.

Whisper it, but some lawyers and judges tend to push hard their case for appointment or promotion.

Such activity, surely rather demeaning, is not something one wants if the traditional separation of powers between the Executive and Judiciary is to be best preserved.

The truth is that, despite past reforms, political party allegiance has remained a factor in the handing out of jobs on the Bench. Fortunately, many such appointees have gone on to display independence of mind, or base ingratitude towards those who raised them up from the ranks.

The latest Programme for Government contains a commitment to replace the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board with a new Judicial Appointments Commission drawn largely from outside the legal profession.

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, has said that the Government will push to enact the legislation in the coming months.

Given the rickety state of the Government, this cannot be taken as a given.

A big disappointment to many is the failure to fulfil Alan Shatters plan for a specialist Family Court system.

However, the media have been granted access to report on cases subject to the condition that if names of parties are revealed, heavy penalties could be applied.

The easing of reporting restrictions has opened the previously mysterious family courts to scrutiny, reducing levels of suspicion.

The recovery has meant that investment in the rebuilding or refurbishment of seven major courts, including Anglesea Street in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Mullingar and Letterkenny, is well underway, with just four projects remaining outstanding.

The wheels of justice can appear rusty but they do run.

The Irish legal system is well-regarded overseas, in part because of our Common Law legacy.

However, Irish lawyers and jurists draw from several wells, including the US, the old Commonwealth and, of course, the European Court of Justice and Court of Human Rights.

The sheer level of delay has remained a bugbear, though the establishment of the Commercial Court and the introduction of case management and the promotion of alternative dispute resolution have greatly helped.

Technology has reduced the need for witnesses to appear in person  greatly reducing the costs borne by the State and by private parties.

But some things never change.

Those old familiars of the law  the litigant-crank; the windy, verbose counsel; and an ever-present avalanche of paper, carried around these days in wheelies  have not gone away.

There are aspects of the law as practised in our courts, which Charles Dickens, author of the Bleak House account of a law case lasting generations, would quickly recognise.
Dublin-based educational technology (EdTech) start-up, Code Institute, would like to teach the world to code, or at least become the leading global provider of coding education.

Just one year after becoming the first Irish company to launch a coding bootcamp, it has raised 500,000 in funding and is preparing for the imminent launch of its second product  a coding course for business professionals.

As part of its plan to expand globally, it is also working on establishing a network of partners across Europe, North America and Asia.

Having become the first to set up a university-accredited coding bootcamp in Europe, Coding Institute CEO Jim Cassidy says the company is now aiming to set a global benchmark for the vocational training of software developers.

Code Institute was founded by Anthony Quigley, the co-founder of Digital Institute, who identified a chasm-sized gap in the market for training software coders.

Every industry in every country is looking for more coders  there is a severe skills shortage in this sector.

Learn how you can join 94% of our grads, now working at top tech companies.



Attend our Open Evening, September 28: https://t.co/9kXjuzqjfw pic.twitter.com/myeG61RZOf  Code Institute (@codeinstitute) September 24, 2016

"The European Commission has predicted that, by 2020, some 825,000 jobs will be vacant across Europe because of a shortage of people with ICT skills, according to Mr Cassidy.

Mr Quigley began investigating new ways to fill this gap. While the traditional education route for coders is via university, which can take up to four years, he set out to design a course which would allow students become software developers in just three months.

Establishing the company in Dun Laoghaire in early 2015, he hired a staff of three to develop the syllabus while consulting with employers about their requirements.

Our first classroom Bootcamp kicked off in September 2015. This comprised 13 students, all of whom are now working, and in January 2016 we launched our Bootcamp course online, he said, adding the company has now achieved accreditation from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. This is hugely significant and gives the course global validity.

The Code Institutes Coding Bootcamp course offers 600 hours of tuition  it is available as an in-classroom course over a 12 -week period at a cost of 8,000 and is also offered online for the students to learn at their own pace at a cost of 4,000. By the end of this year, Mr Cassidy expects the Code Institute to have 350 active students.

We have provided four in-classroom courses but the majority of students are online, coming from Ireland, the UK, Europe and the US, and our first China-based student has just started.

The coding bootcamp is aimed at people looking for a career change as well as people already working in the IT sector who are looking to up-skill.

Our students have included an astrophysicist as well as a deli worker who now works full-time as a software developer, said Mr Cassidy.

The companys second course, Coding Fundamentals for Business Professionals, launches in October 2016. This is designed to teach non-technical staff to understand the language of coding and is developed specifically for people whose job requires knowledge of software and technology. Coding Fundamentals for Business Professionals is an online course, comprises 30 hours of tuition and costs 1,495.

Mr Cassidy said this is the first course of its kind, and that Code Institute is working on developing several other courses.

Earlier this year, Code Institute secured investment of 500,000 which came from Kernel Capital and Enterprise Ireland, which has identified the company as a High Potential Start-Up. The funding is being used for R&D, staff hire and to develop sales internationally.

Now employing a staff of 16, it is currently recruiting and expects to grow to 20 by the end of the year.

We have plans for two new products over the next six months. Our plan is to partner with education providers around the globe. We have already signed agreements with partners in the UK and are in discussions with other training organisations in Europe, the US and south-east Asia, said Mr Cassidy.

Long-term, he says Code Institutes aim is to bring fundamental changes to the way coding is taught.
Last month, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council refused Mr Kavanaghs New Generation Homes planning permission for 63 new houses near Oatlands College.

The council refused planning permission after Transport Minister Shane Ross and 200 others objected to the plan.

In his objection, Mr Ross argued that the nine houses, 24 duplexes and 30 apartments would lead to a significantly increased population in Mount Merrion without factoring in the impact on schools.

If such a development were to proceed it would place further unnecessary pressure on local schools and families, he wrote.

I recognise the ever-pressing need for increasing the number of available housing units in Dublin, Rathdown and the Greater Dublin region as a whole.

"However, due to these highlighted reasons, I do not feel that this planning application would assist the pursuit of sustainable development of the Stillorgan area, he added.

In its decision, the council refused planning permission on the grounds that the development doesnt address the retention of trees on the site and doesnt provide for quality usable public open space areas.

The council stated that the proposal would adversely affect the sylvan character of the site and the residential and visual amenity of future occupants of the proposed development.

However, New Generation Homes  through its Balark Investments entity  has retained planning consultants, Brock McClure to lodge an appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

The Mount Merrion Residents Association has also appealed the decision to have the grounds for refusal strengthened.

In the appeal, Brock McClure stated that the reason for refusal is unwarranted.

It also pointed out that an examination of the existing trees on the site finds that they are of limited quality and expected lifetime and do not warrant retention.
The clamour to get eager young people onto the property ladder has been growing over recent months.

Such campaigning has been bolstered in the past week with the publication by the CSO of its new and improved Property Price Register.

In 2010, according to the statisticians, over 50% of property purchases were made by first-time-buyers.

By last year, in a market flooded with wealthy cash-buyers and institutional players, the figure had fallen below 25%.

Dail deputies have been left in no doubt by angry constituents that those blasted Central Bank mortgage rules are keeping young Johnny and Jane from buying their home sweet home.

So, something will have to be done.

Lets, for a moment, put to one side the debate about whether a first-time buyers incentive will work or not, and spare a thought, this budget day, for an oft-forgotten group of people.

The story of Irelands reluctant landlords provides a salutary lesson.

Despite what you may have read or heard, rising house prices have not yet slain the negative equity dragon. Tens of thousands of people, most of them in their 30s and 40s, are still burdened with Celtic Tiger millstones.

Many are forced to seek larger properties, most commonly due to the challenges presented by growing families, but find that they cannot sell up. This creates two problems.

First, they must rent out their properties. Second, no-one is going to offer them an additional mortgage  and they are now at the mercies of Irelands soaraway rented sector.

Many reluctant landlords arent clearing the mortgage on their properties. Theyre topping them up after rent.

Then there are the costs and the inevitable work that comes with being a landlord. At the end of the year, tax must be paid on the rental income. Charged at the marginal rate, only 75% of mortgage interest can be written off.

As for the almost mythical negative equity mortgage  theyre rarer than hens teeth. The banks have been offering mortgages that enable owners to sell their home and then transfer the outstanding negative equity onto a new, more expensive property.

These mortgages exist outside the Central Banks lending restrictions  so, in theory, the 20% deposit is not required. In practice, though, there has been barely a trickle in take-up.

Either the banks havent been selling the message loud enough  or the qualifying criteria is not as clear-cut as were led to believe.

Yes, for those in significant negative equity there has been mortgage interest relief for many years now. However, interest relief has its limits  it only applies to those who are owner-occupiers.

Once the reluctant landlord moves out  they kiss interest relief goodbye. We wont hear much about this group of homeowners over the next month or so  but perhaps we should. They, too, were once encouraged and incentivised by Government and very vocal vested interests.

Rent was dead money  home ownership was deemed by most as the only way to go. Now, this group of people find their ability to spend or save severely constrained.

Instead of going out and splashing a bit of cash on consumer goods or services they are ploughing it into accommodation costs. Everybody needs to take a pause right now.

Should the Government go down the road of a tax rebate scheme for new home-buyers, or a deposit top-up scheme, it runs the risk of driving up house prices further. There is no need to supplement the demand for property. The problem is on the supply side.

The Central Bank lending restrictions have, undoubtedly, prevented the housing market from running away with itself again. The new rules have played a vital role in averting another bubble scenario, but clearly there is a legitimate argument for them to be tempered or adjusted slightly.

By all means tackle the under-supply of new homes. When it comes to putting more money in home-buyers pockets however, think of our generation of reluctant landlords and think twice.

Paul Colgan is economics editor with Ireland Live News on UTV Ireland.
The digital reading habits have led to broader audiences, but have also impacted advertising revenue for the newsprint operators and made the licensing and enforcement of the rights in these publications increasingly difficult.

The European Commission, earlier this month, released its draft updated copyright rules in an attempt to regulate the digital economy and ensure rights are properly attributed and protected.

The new EU copyright rules recognise the important role press publishers play in investing in and creating quality journalistic content.

For the first time they will be legally recognised as rights holders regardless of the medium used to relay content and be in a better position to negotiate the use of their content with online services.

However, not everyone welcomes the proposals, with US tech giants such as Google among those most concerned.

The main meat of the Commissions vision of copyright reform, an expanded publisher ancillary right for online content, has been dubbed a Google news tax, or more accurately a link tax.

The idea is that news aggregators, including Google news, should pay publishers for the content on their search engine  the headlines and article snippets that are displayed.

The scope and the enforcement of copyright in the digital environment have been among the most complex and controversial issues for lawmakers for the last decade.

Due to the ubiquitous use of digital technology, modern regulation of copyright inherently touches upon various areas of law and social and economic policy, including communications privacy as well as Internet governance.

In June, Indias finance minister Arun Jaitley announced in his budget speech the introduction of an equalisation levy on international digital services provided by the likes of Google and Facebook.

The idea is to indirectly tax internet giants for the money they make from Indian advertisers content by imposing a levy of 6% on the payments these advertisers make. The tax has been aimed at technology companies that make money via online advertisements but make no corporation tax returns in India.

Whereas the EU has not said it will introduce an equalisation levy, there is considerable concern that Indias first step to tax the digital economy may be followed by individual EU member states who have individual tax regulatory control within their own countries.

In the case of the equalisation tax in India, it remains to be seen whether the foreign company will stand to bear the loss by simply accepting lower margins because of the new tax or hike the advertising rate taking the new tax into account.

But Google may play hardball, as it did when Spain introduced strict copyright rules in January 2015, which made it impossible for individual publishers to waive their rights to remuneration.

Google shut down its news service in Spain and removed all Spanish publishers from its global newsfeeds, saying it could not afford the significant costs the law created for something that generated no advertising revenue.

A link tax could be bad news for all publishers, but particularly for smaller publishers that will find that this is not the way to address falling revenues from traditional print sales.

It must be recognised that news aggregators deliver huge traffic to publishers websites.

Also, very few young people get their news from one source anymore. News aggregators are the way they find out what content is available, before going on to buying access to those articles that are behind paywalls.

More than ever before, consumers are enjoying the freedom of news from multiple sources and, thereby, delivering advertising revenue to many different publishers.

And, yes, we need copyright laws in Europe that recognise the reality of the Internet, but they should be capable of being enforced without a damaging levy or linked taxation system.
Budget 2017 has now been confirmed for October 11. This years budget will be the most unusual one for many years, given that it will basically have to be approved by the main opposition party, Fianna Fail, in advance and it will be presented by the most fractured and unstable government since the early 1980s.

The danger is that Irish politics will revert to type and the offering we will get next month will be a populist one lacking in any real long-term strategic perspective.

Given that the possibility of an election any day is so real, all parties to the process will be more interested in delivering populist gifts rather than an offering that would be good for the long-term stability and resilience of the country.

The global backdrop against which the budget will be presented is quite challenging. The global economy has been growing too slowly for too long and the policy backdrop is both bizarre and unprecedented.

Policymakers are still struggling to lift the global economy out of the morass that resulted from the immense shock of 2008. Ireland will also have to deal with the immense uncertainty generated by Brexit.

Once the UK invokes Article 50, Irelands future trading relationship with the UK will be totally up in the air.

There is little that Ireland can do to influence these external risk factors. However, there is a lot we can do to make sure the economy is as resilient as possible and that the ability to deal with negative external developments is as strong as possible.

Controlling wages and all aspects of competitiveness is essential. In that context, the ongoing dispute at Dublin Bus is of concern.

A free-for-all on the wage front is exactly what the Irish economy does not need at the moment. Sound public finances are also essential and populist fiscal measures that do nothing to enhance the growth potential of the economy should be avoided.

The Minister for Finance has made it clear that there will be 1bn to play with on Budget day. He has made it quite clear that the focus on the personal taxation front will be on reducing the burden of the USC for low and middle income workers.

There is a lot of debate about  and opposition to  reducing the personal tax burden. It would be nice to see some of those opponents admitting that the personal tax burden on those who pay tax is pretty punitive in this country.

Back in 2006, when we had a level of employment in the economy that is quite similar to employment levels in 2016, income tax totalled 12.4bn and accounted for 27.2% of the total tax take.

This year, income tax is expected to total 19bn and will account for over 40% of the total tax take. This shows just how much the burden of taxation on those who work and pay income tax has increased since 2006.

An excellent report from the Irish Tax Institute, this week, shows just how progressive the Irish income tax system is.

The report shows how the personal tax burden is higher than in most of our competitors. We endure the high marginal tax rate at very low levels of income and we are one of only 13 OECD countries that has a marginal tax rate in the 50s.

Despite these facts, the left still believes that the solution to every problem is to slap more tax on those who get up out of bed and work.
Managing waste from the $400bn industry has posed huge challenges for years, but now a solution has been found.

BHSL, an agri-tech business based at Kantoher Business Park in Ballagh, West Limerick, has developed manure-to-energy technology aimed at transforming the environmental impact involved.

The patent-protected system converts the poultry manure into energy, which is then used to provide heating for future batches of chicks, or sold back into the electricity grid.

It is the only system available that meets both the United States and European Union environmental regulations. It already has over 110,000 operational hours on British farms.

In 2015, the European poultry business of global business group Cargill signed a 20-year agreement with BHSL to convert manure to energy on its poultry farm in Herefordshire, England.

The BHSL process has the dual advantage of helping farm profitability through reduced energy bills and through improving production efficiency.

An average poultry farm creates a massive amount of manure. This will vary depending on the age of the bird and the feed used.

BHSL recently agreed a $3m manure-to-energy pilot project with the State of Maryland in the US.

The patented energy centre to be used in the project was recently shipped from the companys plant in Ballagh and will be fully operational next month.

Maryland is one of six states in the US that surround Chesapeake Bay, where, after decades of intensive agriculture, many fields are overloaded with phosphorus.

Over 1bn chickens are produced in the region each year (12% of total US production), resulting in the production of an estimated 1.2m tonnes of manure.

This is contributing pollutants that flow into the Bay, causing severe environmental problems including algal bloom and damage to fish and shellfish stocks.

Maryland State has provided $1m funding to support the pilot project, with the balance of the $3m investment funded by BHSL.

Ann Swanson, executive director, Chesapeake Bay Commission, said BHSLs solution has the potential to play a very significant role in reducing levels of pollution in the bay.

We have been looking for options to address the bays environmental challenges while supporting the farm community. If it works, it will be one of those win-win situations, with a financial benefit to the farmer and a positive environmental impact, she said.

With 11,000 commercial poultry farms in the US producing 7.5bn chickens each year, BHSL is targeting the country as a key export market.

Poultry litter left behind on a chicken houses floor is collected and burned in a heated layer of sand suspended over jets of air in a process called fluidised bed combustion. It creates the energy that heats the chicken houses. Any excess energy can be sold as electricity back to the power grid.

The main by-product is an ash that can be sold as fertilizer that is non-polluting and only 8% of the volume of the original material used, making it cost effective to transport to grain-growing areas.

Finding an economic alternative to land spreading for poultry manure produced in broiler rearing was the primary aim of the companys founders.

Over the past decade, BHSL has been developing its range of products, overcoming the many and diverse difficulties in reliably processing manure into thermal energy.

It is now building a strong sales pipeline for product delivery in 2017 in export markets such as the United States, New Zealand, Poland, Germany, Holland, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

Chief executive Declan OConnor said the potential size of the US market opportunity for BHSL is conservatively estimated at over $500m.

In the Chesapeake Bay region alone over 1bn chickens are reared each year. State governments are increasingly aware of the environmental challenges the poultry manure by-product poses for the Bay and the water sources that flow into it.

Our unique solution can both reduce costs and increase revenue for the farmers while solving the environmental challenge they face. We are very excited about the potential to grow our sales in the US following the State of Maryland demonstration.

The chief executives brother and company founder Jack OConnor, is BHSLs chief technology officer, who designed the patent-protected system.

Ten years ago our family poultry farm in Limerick was on the verge of closure as it couldnt operate within strict new EU regulations on ground water pollution.

That gave me the idea to develop this miniature fluidised bed technology which has now been tried and tested, with over 110,000 hours of successful operation on farms in Ireland and the UK.

BHSL is now aggressively ramping up its sales operations and we see a major global opportunity to export our product and add jobs to our team of 28 who already work in the business, he said.

The company says that poultry farmers who use its system can benefit from a reduced environmental impact, lower energy costs, improved animal welfare, faster chicken growth and additional revenue.

Based on farmer Bob Murphys 112-acre farm in Rhodesdale, Maryland, the impact of the system will be closely monitored by researchers from the Universities of Maryland and Georgia to ensure all of the findings are fully verified by an independent third party.

Murphys farm produces 3,650 tons of manure annually which historically has been trucked to other farms for use as fertiliser.

But that is not a long-term solution as other farms, like Murphys, will soon have soil phosphorus concentrations that exceed agreed limits.

Mountaire, the poultry company for whom Bob Murphys farm grows chickens, is supporting the project. It is the seventh largest chicken producer in the US, selling over 330m birds each year.
Ms Justice Denham has called for the establishment of such a council, which would defend the independence of the judiciary and ensure an appropriate relationship with other branches of the Government.

She has said that the 20-year delay in establishing a judicial council, has created a significant institutional vacuum and is a matter for real concern for the judiciary and the State.

But she has made very pointed criticisms of the Fine Gael-led minority government for downgrading the status of a bill which would see the council established.

She said the placement of the Judicial Council Bill under the heading all other legislation, would appear to be a demotion from its status under previous government legislative programmes.

She added the failure to progress this institutional reform with the urgency it deserves weighs heavily, both on relations between the judiciary and the executive, and on the States reputation internationally, as a modern democracy governed by the rule of law.

The absence of such an institution  by whatever name it may be called  sets Ireland apart from the overwhelming majority of EU member states, as well as leading common law jurisdictions such as the United States, Canada and Australia, Ms Justice Denham said in her statement.

Her remarks are contained in a statement marking the beginning of the new legal year. She was speaking in the context of Ireland having to issue a report internationally but said the report will show that progress has been extremely slow.

It is therefore a matter of the most real concern to observe what would appear to be a distinct loss of momentum in delivering this historic institutional reform.

In the coming week Ireland is to give an update to an international body (GRECO, a Council of Europe anti-corruption group) on five recommendations relating to the judiciary, which it made in late 2014.

The report will show no real progress from Ireland despite an extension of time.

Throughout 2014 and 2015 the Judicial Council Bill featured in successive iterations of the Governments Legislative Programme, with an indication on each occasion that early publication of the bill was planned.

The Programme for a Partnership Government published in May 2016 does not contain provision for a Judicial Council Bill, notwithstanding the fact that a judicial council had been included in an earlier discussion draft of the programme published earlier that month.

This vacuum in the Infrastructure of the State of Ireland has been remarked upon at international level, she said, referring to a 2012 United Nations recommendation that a judicial council be established.

GRECO stated that within 18 months following the adoption of the report of the October 10, 2014, Ireland shall report back on the action taken in response to the recommendations contained herein.

The 18 months expired in April 2016. However, it was extended to September 30.

Three of the GRECO recommendations  the first, fourth and fifth d1 would be met by the establishment of a judicial council, Ms Justice Denham said.

In response, a spokesman for Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald said the Government is prioritising the legislation for publication this session.

The bill, the complexities of which should not be underestimated, is at an advanced stage of drafting. Intensive work has been done on it over the summer months and the bill has progressed very substantially. It is a very substantial undertaking comprising at least 75 sections, he said.

Following consultations with the attorney general, the Government said it was satisfied that the specialist drafting of the bill is coming to a conclusion.

The Tanaiste echoes the views of the Chief Justice as regards the importance of enacting this legislation and is fully aware of the pressing need for it, the spokesman said.
Since 1979, the festival has earned a reputation for bringing together some of the biggest names on the traditional and folk scene  as well as championing some of its up-and-coming stars.

The festivals highlights include Mick Flannery, an unassuming artist from Blarney whose sole focus is on his craft of songwriting.
The rise in poaching over the past decade is the worst Africa has experienced since the 1970s and 1980s, and is the main driver for the most serious declines in elephant populations in 25 years.

Estimates from a range of sources including aerial surveys and dung counts suggest numbers are 93,000 lower than in 2006, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

But because the new figures include elephants from previously uncounted populations, the experts say the true population loss is closer to 111,000 in a decade.

A report presented to an international conference on protecting wildlife under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species warned habitat loss also posed a long-term threat to the species.

The findings are based on over 275 new or updated estimates for individual elephant populations across 37 countries where they are found in sub-Saharan Africa.

Overall, there are estimated to be 415,000 elephants in Africa, although there may be an additional 117,000 to 135,000 in areas which have not been systematically surveyed.

IUCN director general Inger Andersen said: These new numbers reveal the truly alarming plight of the majestic elephant  one of the worlds most intelligent animals and the largest terrestrial mammal alive today.

It is shocking, but not surprising that poaching has taken such a dramatic toll on this iconic species.

This report provides further scientific evidence of the need to scale up efforts to combat poaching.But she added: These efforts must not detract from addressing other major and increasingly devastating threats such as habitat loss.

The new data comes as experts warn the illegal ivory trade shows no signs of decline.

Analysis by wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic said the global trade continued unabated in 2015, with a continuing rising trend in large raw ivory shipments of 100kgs or more.

Responding to the Traffic report, WWFs Ginette Hemley said: Its increasingly clear that despite unprecedented global calls to end elephant poaching, international crime syndicates are still shipping vast amounts of ivory out of Africa.

She called for efforts to bring down trafficking kingpins, close domestic ivory markets and quash consumer demand for ivory, in order to save elephants.

The IUCNs elephant status report said East Africas population has halved, mainly due to a 60% decline in numbers in Tanzania.

But elephant numbers have been stable or increasing since 2006 in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.

Central Africas forest elephants have been hit by poaching for ivory since the 1990s, with the Democratic Republic of Congos once significant population reduced to tiny remnants.

Gabon, Cameroon, and Congos forest elephants have been affected by heavy poaching, while the savannah populations of Chad and the Central African Republic have also been hit.

And Southern Africa is now seeing the emergence of poaching as a threat, with declines in Mozambique and some parts of Zimbabwe, while major populations in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are stable or increasing, the report said.
Mr Kennys comments come ahead of a crucial meeting between Violeta Bulc, the European commissioner for transport, and US secretary of transportation Anthony Foxx in Montreal tomorrow, when the NAI case will be discussed.

It is a year to the day since Norwegian Air International (NAI) announced its plans to fly to Boston and New York from Cork.

The Dublin-based airline, a subsidiary of low-fares giant Norwegian, applied to the US Department of Transportation (DoT) for a foreign carrier permit almost three years ago.

It is still awaiting a final decision. It is now the longest pending application of its kind ever considered by the US.

It is facing intense opposition from several influential US and European pilot and cabin crew unions.

The Taoiseach said he has raised the issue twice with US President Barack Obama and insisted that politics is not to blame for the delay.

We have had discussions at a European level and at an American level. You cant get any higher than the American president, Mr Kenny said.

He said the issues raised by NAIs opponents have been dealt with comprehensively, and that the proposed services comply with the Open Skies EU-US Agreement.

Enda Kenny

This is not a political obstruction. There is now a claim for this to go to arbitration.

If the matter becomes approved in the meantime, there will be no need for arbitration.

But it is a matter for common sense to prevail here  for a situation that is in compliance with the Open Skies Agreement and that will have enormous beneficial results on both sides of the Atlantic, he said.

Despite the protracted delays, Norwegian insisted that it remains committed to launching transatlantic flights from Cork.

However, with a final decision on the licence not expected until after the US presidential elections in November, hopes are fading that the Boston service will start before the end of the year.
The Irish Examiner/B&A opinion poll found that 54% said they had no interest in Ireland becoming more carbon neutral, with 46% stating they were not at all interested.

The finding comes as Ireland comes under more pressure to meet its greenhouse gas emission targets, with the agricultural sector coming under sharper focus because of its role in contributing to emissions.
Sean Cunningham (73) was residing at St Gabriels Nursing Home, Glenayle Road, Dublin 5.

John Cunningham said his father was suffering from dementia, with short term memory problems following a brain tumour.

Mr Cunningham was admitted to Beaumont Hospital in April 2014 after he went missing and was later found in Galway. He had previously gone missing for two days while on holiday in Madrid.

The family were finding it increasingly difficult to care for him, Dublin Coroners Court heard. Mr Cunningham said on one occasion he observed his father with too much food in his mouth but said his father was able to eat.

He needed 24 hour care but there were moments when he was very lucid, Mr Cunningham said.

His father was discharged from Beaumont Hospital to St Gabriels Nursing Home in August 2014. His care plan noted that he had been at risk of falling as his mobility was poor but there was no note of difficulty swallowing.

Care assistant Iwona Grondzewksa brought Mr Cunningham to the dining room in his wheelchair around 5pm on December 16 2014. There was one member of nursing staff and one member of catering staff present in the dining room at the time, the inquest heard.

Mr Cunningham was placed at a table for four on his own as other residents were being helped to the dining room.

Sr Marian Connor said she heard an unusual cough, which she said did not sound right and ran to Mr Cunningham. Concerned by his colour, she shouted for help.

I asked for a glove in order to clear his airway and to call a nurse, Sr Connor said.

Helen Jones, who was clinical nurse manager at the time, performed the Heimlich manoeuvre numerous times but Mr Cunningham remained unresponsive. Staff began chest compressions. An ambulance was called at 5.25pm and arrived five minutes later. Mr

Cunningham was rushed to Beaumont Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

A post-mortem found the cause of death was cardio respiratory arrest due to an episode of choking on a food bolus. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane returned a verdict of misadventure.

The coroner noted the importance of documentation and communication between staff and recommended that a full handover is given and all observations are followed up in a health care setting.

The coroner affirmed the recommendations of an internal review conducted at the nursing home which included new dining room protocols regarding meal time supervision and a new emergency alert system.
Mr Harris has confirmed he is to make the initiative, which could be in place as early as next year, a central plank of upcoming negotiations with doctors when talks on the new GP contract begin in November.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Harris accepted that due to the recession and a growing number of GPs retiring from the profession, isolated rural communities are being left without basic primary care.

He said the Government must now consider creating state-paid salaried GP posts in the areas as soon as next year because the existing private practice model means these communities are being ignored.

There are always going to be parts of this country where it may not be viable to establish a GP practice, but where a GP is needed.

That is why Ive said we want the GP contract negotiations to include the option, and I stress the word option, of a salaried GP.

So for example, in parts of rural Ireland or indeed in certain parts of urban Ireland where people absolutely need GPs but it may not be viable to run that as a self-employed business, the State  the HSE  will step in and employ a salary.

Ive asked a number of GPs about it, people have different views, but in general people certainly believe as an option its worth including. What we are saying is that if the market cant provide a GP, then I feel as minister for health there is a duty on me to put in place a policy that will, he said.

While Mr Harris declined to explain how much the State will pay GPs to move to rural areas or how many communities are currently without a local doctor, the proposal is likely to cost taxpayers millions of euro extra a year.

A recent survey by the Irish Medical Council found large parts of the country are now struggling to attract GPs with Clare, Wexford, Monaghan and Offaly among the worst affected.

The issue formed a key part of the general election campaign in rural Ireland, with Independent TD Dr Michael Harty winning a seat in Clare on the back of the issue and a wider No Doctor, No Village, pressure group being established.

However, while some GP groups are in favour of the plan, it is unclear whether the terms provided by the Department of Health will be attractive enough to convince GPs to move to areas they previously avoided.
Council officials have confirmed that the parking spaces are to be made available in town centres of Bandon and Skibbereen and close to the pier in Bantry.

The confirmation came at a meeting of the councils Western Division in Clonakilty when the issue of providing better parking for elderly people was raised by Cllr Paul Hayes.

He put down a motion that the local authority would endeavour to incorporate age-friendly parking spaces in future street public realm works. He said these parking spaces should be placed near public buildings frequented by older people, such as post offices, libraries, churches etc and would be marked as priority parking areas for older people.

Cllr Hayes told officials that Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures forecast a dramatic increase in population age in the next few years.

The council and other bodies need to be cognisant of these changes coming down the track.

Currently, there are 540,000 people aged 65-plus in Ireland which accounts for 12% of the total population, Cllr Hayes said.

This is set to rise to 1.4m, or 22% of the total population, by 2041. While the projected changes in the population aged 65 and over are striking, changes for the group aged 80 and over are even more dramatic. Over the same 30-year period, the number of people aged 80 and over in Ireland is projected to rise from 130,600 to 458,000. Thats an increase of 250%, he said.

Quoting from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA 2014), Cllr Hayes said ageing on this scale is unprecedented in Irish history. He said that similar projects to aid elderly motorists had already been completed by local authorities in Carlow, Kilkenny and Limerick.

The idea is that these parking spaces will not be policed but be similar to the parent and child courtesy car parking spaces in supermarkets. Im hoping that people will do the right thing and not park in themif they do not consider themselves old, Cllr Hayes said.
After twenty-seven years on air, and despite regular criticism from some quarters, RTEs flagship show has withstood the test of time  a testament to the large fan base that still remains loyal to the soap.

Undeniably, the show has been at the forefront of tackling major social issues facing Irish society. In doing so, the northside drama has never shied away from representing Irelands minorities.

Often the inclusion of characters from such minorities has been reflective of the broader changes taking place in Ireland. In particular, the role of LGBT characters throughout the years has certainly played an important role in bringing gay characters nightly into Irish living rooms.

Interestingly, along with the 4,000 episode milestone, 2016 also marks the twentieth anniversary of Fair Citys first (near) gay kiss.

Two years after the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ireland in 1993, RTE, after toying with the idea of having an existing character come out as gay, decided to make the move and introduce a new character for the purpose of flying the rainbow flag in Carrigstown. In 1995, Eoghan Healy (Alan Smyth) was introduced.

The significance of his eventual coming-out, which took place on a New Years Eve special in 1995, was evident from the reaction by the Irish public, particularly the watching gay audience.

Following the coming-out episode, calls to a regional gay helpline almost doubled immediately after the broadcast. This public reaction was indicative of the political significance of having a gay character on prime-time TV, while also making huge gains for gay visibility in the Irish media.

As Eoghan settled into Carrigstown life and became a regular fixture, writers were keen to convey Irelands new sexual landscape by giving the university student a love interest. Not long after his coming out, drinks promoter Liam Casey appeared in the local pub McCoys, with the plot suggesting that he was to be a love interest for barmaid Imelda (who inadvertently was renting a house with Eoghan)  and so the plot thickens.

Following an invite to dinner at Eoghan and Imeldas, the Irish nation held its breath as Eoghan and Liam retired to the kitchen to wash the dishes, only to find themselves moving in for a clinch.

However, history was not to be made as Imelda barged in on the pair at the crucial moment. As the gay Irish audience exhaled their disappointed breath, it was clear that RTE was still unwilling to go all the way with the gay by depicting a full on same-sex embrace.

A few episodes later however, Eoghan and Liam did manage to hold hands in McCoys bar, while simultaneously turning the heads of soap matriarchs, Hannah Doyle and Eunice Phelan.

Despite the initial reluctance to portray gay intimacy on screen, by 1999 Fair City was to have three openly gay characters and since then, Carrigstown has embraced characters from all sides of the LGBT spectrum (although McCoys has yet to see a trans character cross its threshold).

In 2008, Yvonne Doyle came out as bisexual and had a commitment ceremony to her then partner Connie in the local community centre.

Meanwhile in 2012, Laura Halpin came out as the soaps first regular lesbian character and eventually hooked up with Sash Bishop, who came out of the closet following a stint in prison.

Although it is very easy to dismiss soap storylines as whimsical, no value can be placed on having the lives of minorities such as Irelands gay community reflected on screen.

So, on the celebration of its 4,000 episode, it is important to acknowledge the role that Fair City has had in bringing gay characters and their lives into the living room of Irish homes on a nightly basis.

As well as helping to normalise the LGBT community (and what better way than have to them in Carrigsotwn), Fair City, perhaps for the first time in Irish television history, introduced the first positive representation of a gay person in the Irish media.

Paraic Kerrigan is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University, where he is an Irish Research Council and John Hume Scholar. His doctoral thesis, entitled Queer (In)Visibility in Irish Media, 1974-2014, interrogates media representations of gay Irish people and the political significance of media visibility for minority groups.
Burma Lower House Votes to Dismiss MNHRC Members

MNHRC members are seen surrounded by reporters at a press conference at their headquarters in Rangoon on Sept. 21, 2016. / J Paing / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  The Lower House approved the emergency proposal of MP U Htay Win Aung, calling for the dismissal of three Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) members for urging two underage domestic workers to settle a case of abuse with cash compensation instead of legal action.

The girls, San Kay Khaing, 17, and Tha Zin, 16, originally from Rangoons Kawhmu Townshipalso known as Daw Aung San Suu Kyis constituency escaped from the Kyauktada Township household of a prominent tailoring family earlier in September, after five years in domestic servitude. With the MNHRC serving as a broker between the families of the victims and the alleged abusers, the latter paid out a total of US$4,000.

Five members of the family are currently in police custody, arrested after outrage spread regarding the handling of the case.

In Mondays parliamentary debate session, 16 lawmakers spoke in support of the proposal. They were largely from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), but among them were one military appointee and a lawmaker from the Taang National Party (TNP).

The Lower House summoned the MNHRCs chairman U Win Mra and commission member U Zaw Win to the hearing and allowed one person to speak in the commissions defense.

The MNHRCs U Zaw Win, an ex-military general and former director general of the correctional department within Burmas notorious Insein Prison, briefly presented a statement to House Speaker Win Myint saying that the group had carried out their work on the case honestly.

When a vote was called on the proposal, out of 400 lawmakers, 383 voted in support, 8 abstained and one objected.

The Irrawaddy called MP U Htay Win Aung, who submitted the proposal, to ask his opinion on the outcome, but he declined to comment.

NLD lawmaker U Zar Ni Minn described the MNHRCs actions in the abuse case as ignoring the existing laws in Burma as well breaching provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The pursuit of cash compensation, he said, was reckless and not in line with the commissions obligations.

U Zar Ni Minn also urged the MNHRC to form a department specifically focused on the protection of children.

TNP lawmaker Daw Nan Muu encouraged the MNHRC to carry out more surveys on the ground, and pointed out that since the groups formation under ex-President Thein Sein, few people in conflict-torn Shan State had heard of MNHRCs work.

Ko Swe Win, chief reporter at Myanmar Now media outlet, first looked into the case of the domestic workers after it was brought to his attention. He spoke to The Irrawaddy on Monday and said he was gladdened by the lawmakers efforts.

He said that three commission members, including U Zaw Win, and Daw Mya Mya, former central committee member of the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, and Dr. Nyan Zaw, former superintendent of Moulmein hospital, facilitated the MNHRCs response in the abuse case.

One commission member told reporters [in a press conference] that sometimes she even beats housemaids, and that contravenes existing laws, Swe Win said.

The MNHRC, he added, should be re-formed with new members, he added.

The commission was formed with 11 members and established in 2011. The MNHRCs chair Win Mra and member Khin Maung Lay are now also serving as commission members in the Kofi Annan-led Arakan State Advisory Commission, which is focused on finding lasting solutions to violence and tension in Arakan State.
Features Promises Unmet for Workers in Thai Shrimp Industry

Burmese former shrimp shed worker Tin Nyo Win, right, sits next to his pregnant wife Mi San during an interview in Pathum Thani, Thailand in June 2016 / Margie Mason / Associated Press

SAMUT SAKHON, Thailand  Facing international pressure over human trafficking in the seafood trade, Thailand promised almost a year ago to compensate victims of slavery and industry leaders vowed to bring all fish processing in-house.

That hasnt always happened. Instead, some formerly enslaved shrimp peelers have been deported. Shrimp peeling sheds are being inspected and authorized to keep operating.

The Associated Press found that while some Thai companies that export shrimp to the US have given formerly entrapped workers better jobs in-house, others still use middlemen who employ laborers in remote, guarded warehouses.

Shed owners frequently break environmental, labor or safety laws. Seventy-five percent of the 109 inspected so far this year were cited for violations, and 24 were ordered to close.

Human rights groups and media reports documenting abuse in Thailands $7 billion annual seafood export industry have brought international pressure. Last year, the AP reported on slavery inside the Gig Peeling shed outside Bangkok in Samut Sakhon, where more than 100 people were locked inside and forced to work 16 hours a day, ripping guts, heads and tails off shrimp that entered supply chains of most major US supermarkets and companies including Red Lobster, Whole Foods and Wal-Mart.

One of the workers, Tin Nyo Win, ran away and told police, who raided the factory and rescued the other workers, including his wife. This month, the couple were deported to Burma after being held almost a year in a Thai government shelter.

The government had said victims and witnesses of human trafficking could stay and work in Thailand for up to one year while their cases were investigated. This year the US State Department commended Thailand for reforms and removed it from a global human trafficking blacklist.

Those Thai reformson paperinclude paying whistleblowers like Tin Nyo Win and providing victims compensation, education, employment and other assistance. But Tin Nyo Win said he and his wife werent even given food sometimes.

They dont treat us like humans. They treat us like dogs, Tin Nyo Win said hours before Thai authorities took them away.

Authorities said that although the couple were victims of modern-day slavery, they had illegally entered Thailand to begin with. Nattamon Punbhochar at the Thai foreign ministry said the couple never requested compensation and were deported in accordance with a memorandum of understanding Thailand has with Burma.

Col. Prasert Siriphanapitat, Samut Sakhon deputy police commander, said five people including a shed owner have been charged in Tin Nyo Win s case. All are out on bail.

Last year, facing a boycott over abuses, major seafood groups and certifiers decided to protect workers by moving all labor in-house, banning outsourcing of shrimp pre-processing. Yet dozens of pre-processing sheds continue to operate.

Some are large factories, others nothing more than large garages. Labor advocates say theres little oversight to ensure abuses arent occurring.

The AP recently visited a handful of Samut Sakhon shrimp sheds buzzing with workers hand-peeling shrimp on residential streets or behind walls.

Were following rules 100 percent, said Boonchai Seafood director Taweesak Suralertrungson.

Documents at Boonchai show it processes shrimp for May Ao Food Co., one of Thailands leading exporters to the US.

Boonchais operations passed a government inspection. But the industry had vowed to eliminate middlemen. May Aos shrimp carries global industry certification that says peeling and heading of shrimp must occur in facilities owned by and completely controlled by the processing plants. May Ao is also a member of the Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA), which promised to eradicate third-party pre-processing.

May Ao and TFFA officials initially said all shrimp peeling is in-house before conceding that it wasnt. TFFA President Poj Aramwattananont said May Aos factory is too small to handle all the labor, and that theres nothing illegal about pre-processing in independent warehouses.

We are not 100 percent clean. You will always find some problems, but those are rare, he said.

Some Thai seafood exporters have improved working conditions. Thai Union opened a large, clean peeling warehouse where 1,200 workers get subsidized meals and opportunities for bonuses.

I have more rights. I like it, said Thet Paing Oo, 23, a migrant from Burma.

He said he spent six years working 15-hour shifts at shrimp sheds without a day off. Now his salary has increased and he gets one day off a week.

Yu Wa, 35, also from Burma, teared up at memories of her previous shed, where she was locked inside and paid by the kilogram, not per day.

I am treated well and the boss is good, she said. Its much better.
Burma State Counselor Fatigued after International Trip

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visits the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Sept. 14, 2016 / Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

RANGOON  Burmas State Counselor Office announced on Monday that Daw Aung San Suu Kyis health is stable but she needs to take some rest for a while.

The announcement came after the State Counselor arrived home on Sunday night from a more than two week trip to Britain and the US.

On Friday the 71-year old skipped a meeting with the Partnership Group on Burma at the United Nations in New York as her doctor advised her to rest.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not able to greet supporters waiting outside the airport on her arrival on Sunday as she has done on previous returns. The Ministry of Information announced that a scheduled meeting between the State Counselor and business people on Wednesday was postponed, without giving explanation.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is feeling fatigue as she was on a very tight schedule during her US trip, a statement released Monday morning said.

She is also suffering a gastric problem as she didnt have meals at regular times during the trip and is suffering from arthritis in her neck. But her health is not in a state of concern and she just needs to rest for a while, the statement added.

Daw Aung Suu Kyi flew to Britain on Sept. 10 prior to a trip to the US upon the invitation of the US government.

Burmas State Counselor had meetings with the British Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Obama, and other international officials and dignitaries. She gave a speech at the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Business Business Community Awaits Updates on Economic Policy

Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the launch of the governments economic policy at the Myanmar International Convention Center in July in Naypyidaw. / Aung Htet

RANGOON  A scheduled meeting between Burmas business community and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been postponed following her two-week international trip to the US and the UK and reports of fatigue.

At the meeting, the business community expected to receive news from the State Counselor following the US lifting of economic sanctions on future investment and economic policy.

The State Counselors Office announced on Monday that Daw Aung San Suu Kyis health was stable but that she needs to take some rest for a while.

We understand that her health is not well, and thats why the meeting was postponed, said Myat Thin Aung, chairman of the Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone.

The National Planning and Finance Ministry is still expected to clarify new foreign investment policy details before the end of the month, as previously scheduled.

The countrys new Investment Law was submitted to the Lower House last week and is set to be discussed in Parliament this week.

The new draft bill combines the Burma Citizens Investment lawenacted in July 2013 and governing local investmentand the Foreign Investment lawenacted in November 2012 and governing foreign investmentinto one law.

Dr. Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), told the Irrawaddy that, once her health improves, the business community expects the State Counselor to address how the country will move forward with foreign investors and the new investment law.

Detailed investment and economic policies are important for businessmen, he said.

The parliamentary session was scheduled to end Sept. 23 but that has been postponed until Oct 7 so that Parliament can debate and pass the investment law.

Dr. Soe Tun, vice chairman of the Myanmar Rice Federation, agreed with the need for more detailed economic policies, two months after broad economic policies were released by the Ministry of National Planning and Finance.

We need to know which sectors the government plans to prioritize and promote in order to plan projects over the next five years, he said.

During Daw Aung Suu Kyis trip abroad, she met with British Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Obama, and other international officials and dignitaries. She gave a speech at the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Features Eyewitness on the Front Line

Soldiers from the Burma Army-backed militia the Border Guard Force repair a pagoda damaged by fighting. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

It looks, smells, and feels like a war zone. The highway is lined with military vehicles and 120mm artillery guns point up into the mountains where rebel troops from a Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) splinter group hide. Locals have fled their homes, which are now occupied by soldiers of the Border Guard Force (BGF), the Burma Army-backed militia.

We travel with the BGF troops through the abandoned villages to their front line. A fellow reporter said she could smell death moments before a soldier points to the burial site of 40 soldiers killed in recent clashes. Most were Burma Army soldiers, he said. The total number of casualties in this latest conflict is unknown.

Fighting between a DKBA splinter group and the BGF began on Sept. 2 and subsided by Sept. 19 in the Mae Tha Waw area of Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State. With the support of the Burma Army, the BGF now control the highway between Mae Tha Waw and Myaing Gyi Ngua two-hour drive by car. Mae Tha Waw is near the border with Thailand and home to small-scale cross border trade.

During our time at the front line we darent leave our cars or stray off the road as the area is littered with landmines. Because of this, and the splinter groups mastery of guerilla tactics, the BGF soldiers we met told us they do not follow assailants into the jungle.

They may have claimed victory, but in reality BGF troops only occupy the highway, and no one knows if and when the DKBA splinter group troops will launch another offensive.

Despite the obvious death toll and this limited victory, soldiers of the BGF greeted us with warm smiles. Maj. Naing Maung Zaw, assistant to the head of BGF Col. Saw Chit Thu, confidently told visiting reporters that this was the last war for the Karen ethnic group.

The recent fighting in Karen State, also known as Kayin State, began with the death of the DKBA splinter group leader Maj. Na Ma Kyar at the hands of an elephant mahout he was holding hostage. The group alleged Burma Army involvement as Maj. Na Ma Kyar was on their wanted list. The conflict soon escalated and the faction, now led by Maj. Saw San Aung, released a statement on Sept. 9 saying that it would be opening more frontline battles.

In the eyes of the BGF, this was a big mistake. Saw San Aung is a trouble maker. Wherever he lives, he creates fighting. Maj Naing Maung Zaw told The Irrawaddy on the front line. Now, he has to run away, the BGF soldier added. Leaders of the BGF feel that Maj. Saw San Aung and fellow splinter group leader Brig-Gen Kyaw Thet should have stayed quiet and enjoyed the benefits of their control areas.

In a video posted to his own Facebook, Col. Saw San Aung said he desired peace and wanted to join the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference convened by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the end of August. But the central government did not invite the group to the conference. We can only act as insurgents if you dont invite us to join the peace process, he said in the footage.

Another BGF colonel we met on the front line, Col. Myint Wai, said that the DKBA splinter group came to attack us first and we decided to fight back. The BGF launched their own military operation on Sept. 13. It took three days to capture mountain bases in Ba Gwe Khong where he said, we joined forces with the Tatmadaw [Burma Army], but the BGF led the front line of attack.

We seized Yeik Khar Khong and Mee Htwe Khong on Sept. 19. Two of their men were killed at Yeik Khar Khong.

For now, it seems, the BGF and Burma Army continue to control the Mae Tha Waw area. They might develop the town of Mae Tha Waw, increase border trade in the area and build a new road to the state capital Hpa-an. The Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River could be another development project pursued if the Mae Tha Waw area remains at peace.

The DKBA splinter group may now face difficulties holding bases in the area. Even the political group the Karen National Union (KNU) had little control of the Mae Tha Waw area, and has even less now. An armed group of the KNU, the Karen National Defense Organization Brigade 5, led by Maj-Gen Ner Dah Mya, also has a big base nearby and will also be feeling pressure from its new neighbors.

The BGF is well armed-with M16 rifles, superior to the G3 used by Burma Army. The soldiers look more professional, sporting matching uniforms (unlike the Burma Army in the region), long army knives, and dark sunglasses. They look like commando soldiers.

The BGF have a negative reputation in Karen state due to their close ties to Burma Army generals; critics claim they are puppets of the Burma Army. Many are former DKBA members who agreed to serve the BGF, tempted by business opportunities in the Thai border town of Myawaddy, where BGF leaders often flaunt wealth with gold rings and amulets. The BGF have enough power and influence in this area that even the Burma Army dare not oppose it.

In a calculated PR move, our visit to the front allowed the BGF to show how they administer the Mae Tha Waw area. They donated food to Buddhist monks and showed us a pagoda they were rebuilding after damage from firefights. They gave donations to the refugee camp at Myaing Gyi Ngu monastery.

Karen community leaders have criticized the BGF for fighting other ethnic Karen rather than together pressing the government for greater rights. In fact the BGF includes other ethnicities, including Burmese former civil servants. Maj. Naing Maung Zaw is ethnic Mon. It seems the chief concern of BGF members is personal benefit; they are very different from members of Burmas armed ethnic groups fighting for their rights.

The two-week conflict has forced nearly 4,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter elsewhere in the area. Many of the displaced are children and women. Despite efforts by the Burma Army, the majority have refused to go home. Community leaders have been powerless to stem the violence. U Thuzana, an influential monk and co-founder of the original DKBA, is hosting many refugees at his monastery in Myaing Gyi Ngu. His calls for peace among the armed groups have fallen on deaf ears.

On the front line, Col. Myant Wai of the BGF was asked how he felt about ethnic Karen fighting each other. For us, we wanted to have peace. But its hard to know what the DKBA want, he said.

The DKBA are our brotherhood, he added awkwardly. We used to eat together, travel together, and live together. If we can all live in peace then Karen people could travel easily.

Maj. Naing Maung Zaw also said he regrets the disturbance in the peace, but for him there was only one way to counter DKBA splinter group aggression. We have to think of our family. If we make the right decision, our families will prosper and live with honor, he said.
Monday, September 26th, 2016 (8:44 am) - Score 823

One of the largest business broadband ISPs in Australia, Exetel, has this month launched itself into the United Kingdoms already crowded communications market and theyve towed their No B.S policy along for the ride.

The provider, which claims to be the 5th largest Australian ISP as well as being the largest privately owned, has been busy building its UK base for the past year. Exetel now seeks to dethrone the likes of BT, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and others by providing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) with the solutions they need  but at a much more reasonable price than what was available.

Exetel Statement Our motto has always been No B.S. Here in the UK, we aim to keep the idea of simple and straightforward solutions parallel to our competitiveness, flexibility, and responsiveness. Weve seen how long it can take some suppliers to get back to their customers and how hard it is to get clear and accurate information on a solution while navigating hidden costs and T&Cs. Thats where our No B.S policy kicks in and we like to Get Things Done.

Exetel has also partnered with London-focused wholesale network provider Virtual1 for their data solutions in the United Kingdom, which should provide them with an array of options for suppliers such as Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, Colt, Level3, Vodafone and SSE.

Interestingly they are one of the few business ISPs that seem to be up-front with their pricing (most others prefer to hide such details behind a Request Quote form) and as such were able to view several example packages for their Fibre Leased Lines, FTTC and EFM services.

Example Business Internet Connectivity Packages Fibre Leased Lines (speeds up to 10Gbps)

* 100Mbps Symmetric

* Free Installation (takes approximately 45-90 working days)

* 36 Month Contract

* Unlimited Usage

* Includes Fully Managed Router PRICE: 392.00 +vat Monthly Fibre-to-the-Cabinet

* 20Mbps Symmetric

* 500 Installation (takes approximately 35 working days)

* 36 Month Contract

* Unlimited Usage

* Includes Fully Managed Router PRICE: 179.00 +vat Monthly Ethernet in the First Mile

* 10Mbps Symmetric

* Free Installation (takes approximately 30 working days)

* 36 Month Contract

* Unlimited Usage

* Includes Fully Managed Router PRICE: 238.00 +vat Monthly

Its important not to confuse these example prices with domestic connections because an uncontended (we assume) managed business line will always be significantly better quality than your home connection, although Exetels website fails to reference whether or not a Service Level Agreement (SLA) applies. The 500 installation fee for FTTC also seems to be a bit odd unless theyre doing something special (very possible), but again they dont say.

One other small problem is that Exetel have muddled the description of FTTC so that its the wrong way around: Copper is used from the nearest exchange to a cabinet in the street where fibre is then used to connect to the building; unless this is a special form of FTTC that weve not heard about before, although the clue is usually in the name.

Otherwise we wish the best of luck to Exetel, even if the UK is already home to an aggressively competitive market. Like most providers theyll also be largely dependent upon existing infrastructure and its many limitations.
Monday, September 26th, 2016 (12:57 pm) - Score 3,029

The rural community of Cotwalton in Staffordshire (England) has become the latest to help pay for an ultrafast (330Mbps) FTTP broadband upgrade through BTs existing Community Fibre Partnerships scheme, but the twist is that its also the first one to be combined with public funding.

At present such partnerships tend to be made available to those living in the final 5% of UK premises, which often reflects smaller rural communities that are not currently planned to benefit from the wider state aid supported roll-out of superfast broadband via the Broadband Delivery UK programme (e.g. Superfast Staffordshire).

Normally the funding will reflect a mix of investment raised by both the local community and BT itself. In addition, eligible communities with Schools in them can also apply to BT for a grant worth up to 20,000 towards the cost of a new local fibre upgrade (usually slower FTTC rather than FTTP) and then locals would fill in the remaining gap from their own pockets.

However the setup in Cotwalton is the first one to make use of public money, which comes via the Superfast Staffordshire scheme that is separately working with Openreach (BT) to ensure that 95% of local premises can access superfast Internet speeds of 24Mbps+ by 2017 (or 97% when looking at just the raw fibre footprint including sub-24Mbps speeds).

BT now hopes to see this approach being replicated for other small rural communities around the UK.

Mark Winnington, Staffordshire Councils Economic Growth Leader, said: Were pleased to partner with BT and the Cotwalton community to connect them to the national fibre infrastructure. The great contribution from these local residents at last made it viable to bring ultrafast broadband to this community, so this partnership approach is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Piloting this arrangement with BT is a real way forward and were looking to work with more local communities to collaboratively fund similar projects. This means we can make the BDUK money go further as weve funded this based on our local arrangement.

Bill Murphy, BTs MD of Next Generation Access, said: This is a significant first for our Community Fibre Partnership programme and for Staffordshire. We hope well be able to replicate this approach elsewhere, and were keen to have discussions with other local bodies who might wish to consider a similar project.

Apparently BT are currently working with around 140 UK communities to deliver similar upgrades, although its unclear how many of these involve the faster and more expensive Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband technology instead of the usually slower but cheaper Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) solution.

The press release doesnt explain why FTTP was chosen, but we will ask (in some rare causes it can be cheaper to deploy FTTP than FTTC for very small communities). Similarly were not told how much the roll-out itself is expected to cost or exactly how many premises will benefit. Well update once Openreach report back, if they report back.

In the meantime Openreach said that their engineers were expected to complete the extensive engineering work, which includes installing around 3 kilometres of fibre optic cabling, sometime next year (2017).

Mind you not everybody will be happy with the thought that a community felt as if it had no other option than to donate its own money in order to get better broadband, which many regard today as being nearly as important as water or electricity.

UPDATE 28th September 2016

Openreach has confirmed to us that they expect to reach around a dozen premises with the technology, but sadly they dodged our question about how much it actually cost. However we did learn that the deployment doesnt exist outside of the usual Broadband Delivery UK contracts as the local body money came out of unallocated budget from phase one of Superfast Staffordshire (the standard gainshare mechanism will apply).
9 Successful Digital Disruption Examples

We know this about 5G: It will operate at higher frequencies than LTE and the amount of data that will be transmitted will grow over time.

From the technical perspective, small cell technology is the answer. A potentially huge obstacle is emerging, however. What will the process look like and which carriers will gain permission to deploy these devices in public spaces?

Municipalities can demand different things of those wanting to deploy small cells. This, if cascaded over thousands of municipalities per carrier, could result in a huge headache for carriers launching 5G services.

Yesterday, The Herald News in Massachusetts said that Fall Rivers City Council Committee on Public Works and Transportation voted last week to table a request for permission to install 14 poles. Mobilite, which is working with Sprint, had asked for permission twice before.

The reasons for the move, according to the story, were questions about potential health risks, impacts on the city and questions on the contract with the vendor. The motion was referred to appropriate offices for study of these questions, including the Board of Health, the story said.

Aesthetics can also be an issue. WirelessWeek last week reported that T-Mobile was on the losing end of an appeals court decision in a case testing whether San Francisco can control where small cell equipment is located based upon how it looks. The company had challenged a 2011 ordinance passed by the city enabling them to control placement in public rights of way based on that criteria. T-Mobile, Crown Castel and ExteNet filed suit, lost and appealed. The companies lost the appeal as well.

The good news for carriers is that the municipalities cant be obstinate, unreasonable or too demanding. Martha DeGrasse at RCR Wireless points out that municipalities get paydays from approvals: They get both franchise fees and money from monthly leases. Moreover, elected officials dont want to be the reason that cellular service in their municipality is not as good as it is elsewhere.

Thus, they generally are eager to play ball. However, even if parties are willing, the process seems to be cumbersome. DeGrasse wrote that [l]essons learned in one city may not speed the process in the next, since each jurisdiction has different agencies and processes.

It seems likely that almost all municipalities would be able to amiably work out arrangements with carriers. After all, the cellular carriers want access and the municipalities want money. Both want happy people, whether they are called the subscriber base or the electorate.

What may be tricky, however, is creating cookie cutter master agreements enabling the process to be worked through with little disruption. Its possible: Municipalities and the early cable operators did it and an industry that changed the nation was born. It will be interesting to see how the process unfolds.

Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
When I posted my blog on Thursday, we were waiting to see if Yahoo was going to make an announcement about a data breach. Of course, shortly after it posted, Yahoos announcement did come and it was more shocking than I think most of us expected.

First of all, that 200 million users affected was way low. It is more than 500 million user accounts compromised, a greater number than the U.S. population.

Second, it is believed that the breach was caused by state-sponsored actors, but Yahoo isnt saying much more than that. To that point, Vishal Gupta, CEO of Seclore, told me in an email comment:

The fact that the Yahoo breach is being tied to state-sponsored actors is extremely alarming. The fallout from this attack could be devastating. For example, this nation now has access to 500 million phone numbers. With talk of Russian attempts to influence the election, it isnt difficult to imagine how access to the contact information, and personal details, of that many potential votes could be used maliciously.

Now, we dont know if this was Russia or who, but I get Guptas point. The information gleaned from this breach could be used in ways that we never imagined before.

Third, it took a very long time for this breach to be made public. The story I wrote about Thursday, the release of data by the hacker called Peace, made it appear that this breach was recent. But as eWeek reported:

As it turns out, after its investigation, Yahoo ultimately found no evidence to substantiate Peaces claims of gaining Yahoo user account information by way of a breach that occurred in 2012. That said, after completing the investigation into the alleged 2012 breach, Yahoos internal security team conducted a broader, deep-dive review of its systems. In so doing, the team identified evidence of a breach by a state-sponsored actor that occurred in 2014.

There is no excuse for a breach taking years to be revealed, and this is something that needs to be addressed in Congress. But I cant get all worked up over the panic that Im seeing unfold. That information was compromised two years ago  at least (Im not sure I completely trust anything being said at this point). Chances are good that a lot of it has been used already in some manner, as Jason Trost from the Anomali Labs team, pointed out to me in an email:

Many people use their Yahoo address as a primary personal address, and primary addresses are often used as the destination for password reset links for other sites  think banking, ecommerce, taxes, health care, etc. So, if this was compromised in 2014, and it was a state sponsored group and Yahoo didnt know until now, we would suspect that this intelligence has been exploited for quite a while. I would not be surprised if larger service providers or social media companies come out with similar announcements from breaches occurring around the same time, especially if Yahoo shares the details of the attack with its peers.

There have been a lot of recommendations to change Yahoo-related passwords, and I agree. Im going to go one step further and say that if you reused any of those Yahoo passwords on other sites, change those passwords, too.

And watch out for phishing emails. I already saw one, forwarded to me by a family member, that Im positive is related to the Yahoo breach, but was very difficult to discern without careful inspection.

Sue Marquette Poremba has been writing about network security since 2008. In addition to her coverage of security issues for IT Business Edge, her security articles have been published at various sites such as Forbes, Midsize Insider and Toms Guide. You can reach Sue via Twitter: @sueporemba.
Only a few people have knowledge about Apple's latest project, which has something to do with Siri's integration to a smart home device.

Amazon was the first company to release a smart home device, which they called Echo. The Amazon Echo looks like a speaker that is an all-in-one remote control that can control everything at home.

Now, Apple is ready to show its prototype to the world and other companies, promising to offer the same benefits. The Cupertino-based company started the project two years ago, aiming to create a device that can compete with Amazon's.

Siri As The Main Control

According to a Tech Times report, the tech giant has been working with this technology for quite some time but the shipping company was the first to release it in the form of Echo.

Like the Echo, Apple wants to control the appliances, music and even the lights at home. There are some talks indicating that it will have some form of facial recognition through a camera and some other features.

The Siri speaker might be configured with Apple's new W1 chip, which was first seen in the recently revealed AirPods, according to Apple Insider. The report also noted that with W1, the speaker could use "one-click" setup to pair with compatible devices.

According to Apple executives, Siri is set to be on 'deep neutral network' to improve the quality of smart home device.

At the moment, the devices are still being tested in engineers' homes, as per the Bloomberg report. The prototypes are still at the development stage and still need approval from U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval.

Amazon is very aware with this latest project of Apple and the former company believes in the power of Alexa, the voice of Echo.
Arctic's sea ice is melting because of climate change and spring and summer season. Fortunately, winter season is fast approaching, which will significantly lessen melting. However, it will not help saving the ice. It is only a meantime solution to a long-term damage.

2016 is seeing the second lowest ice extent, Alternet reported.

"It's tied with 2007 as the second-lowest (extent)," said Julienne Stroeve, a senior research scientist with the Snow and Ice Data Center on the NSIDC's journal regarding climate change (via Kuac). It should be noted that this is just a preliminary announcement.

Stroeve continued, "And when you look at what's happening with Arctic sea ice, this is a long-term trend that we're seeing, and we're on that trajectory of having an Arctic that's ice-free in summers."

Discovering The Real Condition Of The Arctic

Ice melting caused the Northwage Passage to open up, according to reports. This allowed a luxury cruise from Anchorage, Alaska to pass through up to New York. Moreover, a storm that recently passed through turned ice near in North Pole thin and brittle.

For the past seven months, the sea ice is in its most criticial form. The level of sea ice last August was striking. "The texture of the ice can be comparable to curdled milk or exploded pillow," according to Amelia Urry, associate editor of Grist, a science and technology website.

According to DotEarth, the rapid decline is mostly due to the rise in air temperatures. The rate at which the Arctic is warming is roughly twice as fast as the world's average, which when added to other natural occurence such as ocean warming and wind patterns, contribute to the diminishing ice extent.

"There is no point in the past 150 years where sea ice extent is as small as it has been in recent years," said Florence Fetterer, a Snow and Ice Data Center principal investigator.

NSIDC has promised a "full analysis of the Arctic melt season" in early October, which will also see a discussion about the winter sea ice growth on the Antarctic.
AMD's newly launched products have improved the market prospects of the chip maker, making its stock a more attractive short target.

AMD Stock

According to The Wall Street Journal, Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) stock is not usually considered a safe bet among chip companies. But the latest market successes of the company made betting against it a no longer a sure thing either.

Profit Confidential explains that, in the 1990s and into early 2000, the stock market used to be about hardware behind servers and personal computers (PCs) and back then stocks like Cisco Systems, Intel and AMD were among the starts of Wall Street. But the current stock market has become focused on the Internet and social media stocks.

AMD Then And Now

The PC used to be all the rage in the 1990s and was achieving a rapid adoption rate in the retail market as well as in business. Intel and AMD were engaged in a fierce competition on the market to develop the fastest CPU. Prior to the technology meltdown in early 2000, Intel stock was below $80.00, while AMD stock was trading at just below $50.00.

Today Intel and AMD continue to compete in the fading PC space, while numerous other chipmakers emerge in mobility and other more growth-oriented areas. AMD stock is nowhere near the levels it was back in its glory days. Last Thursday, Sept. 22, AMD stock was trading way down at $6.40.

While this figure might seem not much, in fact, AMD stock is actually at its highest level since May 2012. From its 52-week low of $1.65, at $6.40 AMD stock is well up. This shows the renewed hope on Wall Street for AMD as a promising chip maker company.

After launching it latest APUs and GPUs on the market, some analysts are expecting that AMD will report revenue growth of 3.50% and 6.0%, respectively for 2016 and 2017. There is also optimism on the market about company's soon-to-be-launched next generation "Zen" processor.
Microsoft is indeed in the spotlight as the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will soon be released to the public. With this, there are a lot of rumors and speculations that point out to what the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will look like, as well as its internal specs.

Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't released any official statements about the truth behind the development of the new device. But on the lighter side, the speculations have ample grounds to turn it into plausible rumors.

If ever it is true, then most probably the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will be running on the recent update of Windows 10. It is also possible that the Surface Pro 5 will run on the latest Windows OS as this is mandatory for Microsoft.

Release Of The Surface Pro 5

Microsoft's next big event will happen by 2017. Most probably, the Surface Pro 5 will be unveiled in the said 2017 event.

The said event is said to unveil a host of other Microsoft products, such as the Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 as well as a possible Surface phone. An all-in-one desktop computer is also said to be also released together with the other devices.

Another rumor that is highly plausible is the possibility that the Surface Pro 5 will run on a new Intel processor which will be released by the last quarter of 2016. Microsoft is known to only use Intel products for its own gadgets.

Specs And Price Of The Surface Pro 5

A stylus pen is also currently being planned by Microsoft. This would be a very big move for the company as it will improve the overall experience for users of the device. If the stylus pen proves to be true, then it would make sense for it to have its own rechargeable battery. According to Tech Radar, the Surface Pro 5 will most likely be priced at $900.

Microsoft is introducing a lot of new features to the Surface Pro 5, making it a gadget that will surely be a captivating and mesmerizing device. This proves that Microsoft is far from being behind in the tech industry as it continues to showcase innovative new designs and gadgets into the market.
Microsoft and Sony are always in stiff competition against each other because of the continuous onslaught of innovation that the Xbox and PlayStation consoles have exhibited over the years.

Now, the time has come for Microsoft to bring back the competitive favor to Sony as the PlayStation Plus will not be featuring 4K gaming. Microsoft has taken it to the next level as it burst out in a series of tweets pointing out the failure of Sony's partnership with "Fallout 4."

Microsoft Criticizes Sony And The PlayStation 4 Pro

Alberto Panello, the senior director of product management and planning at Xbox stated to Eurogamer that the statements targeted against Sony, specifically to its newly released PlayStation 4 Pro, is not a form of disrespect but instead a product of truth.

"We've got a product to sell, they've got a product to sell, so we're going to highlight the things we think make our product advantaged over their product... But it doesn't come with a disrespect for what they're doing," Panello said.

This is a very obvious statement to defend and reason out Microsoft's ongoing pursuit of criticism. Of course, it is not just about bashing, but it is all about the competition. Whichever the case may be, the recurring exchange of criticisms will be normal for both competing parties.

The company heavily believes that 4K is the future of gaming and that if this grows in popularity, then it would surely revolutionize the gaming industry. Surely, Sony will not just let this come to pass, as speculations of criticism regarding the lack of 4K capability for gaming on Microsoft's Xbox One S is a very safe way to get back on Microsoft.
Curiosity Stream features famous Physicist Stephen Hawking in a 25-minute film. The recently released "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places" also details Hawking's pursuit of alien life.

Hawking And Planet Gliese 832c

Hawking revealed that scientists have already found thousands of planets outside the solar system. He added that some are burning hells featuring gates of fire and lava. He mentioned that others are solid diamond made in deadly x-rays from a dying star. Hawking considers some of them as more like Earth.

According to the USA Today, the film takes Hawkings and his viewers on a trip around the universe. He is aboard a CGI spaceship. One of their destinations is the planet Gliese 832c. So far, it could be one of the closest habitable planets in the universe.

Hawking described Gliese 832c as a super-Earth five times more massive than our planet. He expressed that it's actually a breathtaking sight. Though scientists are not certain that it is habitable.

He admitted that its atmosphere may be so thick. It will cause the surface to be concealed by super heat and smog. Gliese 832c's spin could be locked by the gravity of its sun. It means that one side of the planet is always facing the sun.

Establishing Contact With The Alien Life

However, Hawkings is still hopeful. He said that there could be life in Gliese 832c. That is if the planet could have Earth-like temperatures with an abundant liquid water. Apparently, his Breakthrough Listen Initiative is in the range of Gliese 832c.

The said initiative uses sensitive radio telescopes. It pick-up potential signals from other planets. According to Hawking, they might receive a signal back from a planet like Gliese 832c. But he reminds people to be wary of answering it back.

The meeting of an advanced civilization may not turn out so well. He compared it to when the Native Americans encountered Christopher Columbus. Even so, he did acknowledge that such a discovery would be the greatest scientific discovery in history.

According to Christian Science Monitor, the Breakthrough Listen Initiative is specifically searching for signs of communication from outer space. He said that it's time to commit in finding life beyond Earth.
Samsung immediately addressed the explosion cases of the Galaxy Note 7 with a replacement program. Unfortunately, users report that the Galaxy Note 7 replacement still having battery issues, albeit not explosive ones.

According to a report from South Korean TV news network YTN, there are several complaints from users in South Korea concerning the replacement devices. The newly released Galaxy Note 7 replacements, which are presumed to be safe, still have battery issues such as very fast draining and difficulty in charging.

One of the users who complained reached out to YTN said that the replacement unit wouldn't recharge past 10 percent after connecting it to a power outlet overnight. YTN even had a chance to test the handset and the device discharges from 75 percent to 49 percent in a matter of 39 minutes.

Samsung has not confirmed the number of cases reported so far but a spokesperson did mention that the problem is not related to batteries and confirmed that the company was looking closely in all of the reports and complains.

The replacements of the said device were made first available to South Korean consumers just this Monday and the tech giant acknowledged the issue with the non-removable batteries on Friday.

An updated report from Phone Arena indicated that Samsung's sale of the new Galaxy Note 7 handsets has been postponed after a government agency requested for it to do so while the replacement program of the company for the faulty devices have yet to be completed. The sale of the smartphone is now expected to resume on Oct. 1.

It was reported that South Korean Tech giant made a voluntary recall of over 2.5 million Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones worldwide early this month after the issues concerning to devices which are exploding and catching fire when it is being charged.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the United States, Feb. 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

Although the U.S. presidential election is destined to become the world's hot political issue in the rest of 2016, the emphasis on populism still goes beyond many observers' expectations.

Usually for political elite, their dissatisfaction with the status quo can easily encourage them to turn to the "people" for help, and this often happens when a close competition reaches a climax.

Populist movements in American history

From a historical perspective, populism in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is definitely not an individual or special case in the history of American politics, but it has been there since shortly after the founding of the country.

A representative figure was Andrew Jackson, who believed that the president's authority was derived from the people. He was considered very approachable to the poor and his populism helped him win the 1829 election.

A representative event was the "Grange Movement". The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry was founded in 1867 to advance new agricultural methods and promote the social and economic needs of American farmers.

As a social trend of thought, populism saw three development peaks in the United States in the 20th century represented by the populist movements led by Huey Long in the 1930s, George Wallace in the 1960s and Ross Perot in the 1990s.

Although populism has no systematic theoretical base in the United States, it can still be detected in the enlightenment spirit of a number of leaders, such as Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, and James B. Weaver, a two-time failed candidate.

Ultimately, populist movements in American history were launched by white people for their own interests, ignoring and even brutally trampling on minority groups' interests.

Who are the "people" claimed by the candidates?

There were three representative candidates in the 2016 U.S. presidential primaries, namely the Democratic Party's Bernard Saunders and Hilary Clinton, and the Republican Party's Donald Trump, all seeking help from the "people" because of their professed "dissatisfaction" with the situation at the time.

For the leftist Bernard Saunders, the "people" he meant were mainly those blue-collar workers feeling "lost" in society.

For Hillary Clinton, it is those middle- and low-skilled workers who feel their country is going "backwards" compared with the outside world.

For Donald Trump, the "people" he talks of include both the blue-collar workers and middle- and low-skilled workers mentioned above.

Therefore, an obvious characteristic of the 2016 U.S. presidential election is the convergence of ethnic politics and populism, which is nothing new and can be described as "singing the same old song."

If more than 12 million illegal immigrants have the right to vote some day, will any political figures dare to break the bottom line of "political correctness?" So, compared to the short-term populist politics' impact on the United States, the real long-term impact is coming from ethnic politics.

Populism in the 2016 U.S. presidential election will eventually disappear in the powerful current of history and not get out of control. There are four reasons.

First, the root cause of populist politics in the United States can be traced back to its original constitutional design. One of the most fundamental concerns in the design of American constitutional government has always been distrust of government. This provides a theoretical basis of constitutional government and rich soil for populism.

Second, a so-called ideological compromise exists in modern American politics, that is, it will not to go to extremes. Therefore, even if there is an extreme voice, it will be absorbed and neutralized within the mainstream political parties.

Third, all the previous populist movements in the United States were essentially not revolutionary movements against the American capitalist system. They were, at most, reform movements responding to social injustice.

Fourth, there is one common aspect of populism. Although theoretically it represents the grass-roots, it is a concept played by the elite.

Lin Hong, a researcher into populism, has suggested elitism is an inner driving force of populism. The temporary fusion of elites and middle and low classes in a certain situation is a strategic choice of the former. Elites are the designers and play the leading role in populist political mobilization, because talk of the "people" can provide legitimacy for it.

Wang Chuanxing is a professor of Shanghai-based Tongji University School of Political Science and International Relations.

This article was translated by Li Jingrong based on the original unabridged version published in Chinese.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
"Hawaii Five-0" explains how they made it possible for Steve McGarrett and Jack Lord to meet face to face in the series. Meanwhile, a number of serial killers have emerged in paradise including the Chess-Piece Killer. Fans need not worry as the team will get a lot of help in the coming episodes.

Executive Producer, Peter M. Lenkov, tells in an interview "I originally conceived of the idea - a scene between McGarrett and Jack Lord - to be the final scene in the series, but realized last year that the end was nowhere near and if I wanted to be the first to do something like this, I better commit soon," Fortunately the scene for the two men fits perfectly in season 7's storyline, he added.

After the conceptualization, they had to ask permission from Lord' estate. The estate of the late actor is managed by a bank who, after reading the script, gave their permission. "It wasn't too difficult since they knew this was going to honor his legacy."

And before they were able to make the scene look real, they needed help from Counter Punch Studios and Picture Shop visual effects to create Lord's face in CG version. They cast a body double that resembles Lord's body features.

Lenkov did not want to give away the mystery but hints the new threat "will be even more cerebral than Wo Fat" who has a worldwide crime empire under his command. As the team tries to figure out the Chess-piece mystery, they will have to work with MI-6 agent Harry Langford, played by Chris Vance, to eliminate the terrorist who plans to activate nuclear reactors in Europe. McGarett and Danny also ask help from Alicia Brown, an FBI Profiler, to find the serial killer vigilant.

Hawaii Five-0 airs every Friday at 9:00 PM ET on CBS.
Since the stable version of Chrome OS includes Google Play Store access, Chromebooks can now run Android apps easier.

Google Play Back On Stable Chrome OS Version

According to Engadget, now Android apps on Chromebooks are available to more users, not only to early adopters. Google has released a stable version of the operating systems that includes Google Play Store access in beta. This means that users have now the opportunity to run mobile apps on top of their usual web access.

At the moment, the new update is available on Acer Chromebook R11 and Asus Chromebook Flip. It is still not clear on which systems the update will come coming next. Most tech analysts expect although that the Chromebook Pixel 2 will be the next, since the device it is the only one listed by Google's official website as supporting Android apps in beta Chrome OS releases.

Other Chromebooks besides the Chromebook Pixel 2015 version are expected to get access to Google Play in the near future. Among them are included plenty of models from the computer manufacturers Dell and HP.

The timeline of making the update available on other Chromebooks is not known yet, but tech analysts are expecting it to be in a few weeks, so Google can ensure the initial push to more users goes smoothly before they push the update to more models. As it is well-known, Google likes to take its time with extended testing and software rollouts.

According to Android Central, this new update demonstrates the fact that Google has made a significant progress in getting Android apps and Google Play working on Chrome OS. The Chrome Stable update to 53.0.2785.129 for the Acer R11 and Asus Flip is still in beta, but it is nice to have the apps available again. The update is a definite improvement on the Stable channel.
China has recently finished building the world's largest radio telescope. It was unveiled at a ceremony on Sunday. It's part of the country's scientific endeavors. The telescope has already received its first space signals.

China's Massive FAST

China's radio telescope is called the Five Hundred Metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). Its dish has a diameter of 500m. It is now the largest in the world. The previous record holder, the Aricebo Observatory in Puerto Rico, has a 305-meter diameter. The dish is made up of 4,450 triangular panels, according to The New York Times. It has a collecting area of 2.1 million square feet.

It was constructed for five years in Guizhou Province, China. It is specifically located in a vast natural crater. FAST is a project of the National Astronomical Observatories of China. The said telescope actually cost $180m. FAST is able to collect radio waves emitted by objects in space, according to BBC.

FAST's Project Manager Prof. Peng Bo revealed that it was able to detect radio waves from three pulsars. The extremely dense stars are rapidly rotating. He also disclosed that they are a key scientific target. Its massive size is an advantage. The telescope can pick up signals even from the farthest parts of the universe.

China's President Xi Jinping has also expressed his excitement for FAST. He said that it will help his country to make major advance and breakthroughs at the frontier of science. He went as far to call it China's "eye in the sky".

FAST's Bright Future

Prof Peng admitted that FAST still has to undergo three years of calibration, testing and tuning. Until then, the telescope won't be fully functional. However, he shared that they could still carry out some science in its testing phase. In fact, they would be working with international astronomers.

FAST's Chief Scientist Prof Nan Rendong seems to confirm it. He said that the said collaboration is a vital part of the project. He added that they will accept proposals from foreign scientists. They will also let them be in the allocation committee.

FAST does indeed offer a very bright future for astronomers.
According to reports, on Friday, Sept. 23, a Lexus vehicle upgraded with Google self-driving technology was struck by a car that ran a red light in Mountain View, California.

Google Autonomous Car Crashes

According to Fortune, some analysts believe that this might be the worst crash involving Google's driverless vehicles. However, on the good side, in this road accident there were no reported injuries.

A photo of the crash aftermath posted by the online publication 9TO5Google shows the Interstate Batteries van apparently at fault. For at least six seconds the self-driving vehicle's light was green before the "car entered the intersection," according to a statement from Google.

According to Engadget, Google's autonomous cars do not have a flawless safetly record but this latest road accident shows clearer than ever that human mistakes and careless human drivers remain the greater threat. This seems, however, the worst incident to date involving Google's autonomous cars. In previous road accidents the crashes have usually involved human drivers rear-ending the Google self-driving cars at low speed.

Google stated that it will likely release full details on the collision in its autonomous car report scheduled for the end of the month. The crash differs significantly from recent incidents involving Tesla vehicles that were driving in Autopilot mode.

Those crashes suggested some failure of the vehicles' detection systems that prevented them to properly read and respond to their environment. In the case of Google's autonomous vehicle crash it is hard to lay much blame on the self-driving system for being struck by the van running a red light.

The road accident involving Google's autonomous car shows instead a much different issue for self-driving cars. The problem is here that for decades to come these technologically advanced cars will still have to continue sharing the road with fallible human drivers.

A recent Goldman Sachs report suggest that at current ownership models and replacement rates it could be as far as 2060 before the American auto fleet reaches full autonomy.
The Android Nougat update might have already been released but not every Android phone has received it yet. In fact, there are some phones that are yet to receive the Android Marshmallow update. Luckily for some users, Android Nougat update is coming soon to their Sony, Motorola and Samsung devices.

Android Nougat Update For Sony Xperia Phone, Release Months Confirmed

Sony has previously confirmed the list of devices that will receive the Android Nougat update. However, the company did not mention the exact dates for the release. Fortunately, a leak from Sony Slovakia's presentation showed the company's roadmap for the Android Nougat update.

According to the said presentation, the Sony Xperia Performance and Sony Xperia XZ will get the Android Nougat update in October. The Xperia X and X Compact will get their Android update in November, and the Xperia Z5 series, Z3+ and Z4 tab will follow in December. The Xperia XA and Ultra on the other hand, might have to wait until early 2017 to get their Android Nougat update.

Android Nougat Update For Motorola Devices, Coming Soon

Although Motorola or Lenovo hasn't confirmed the release of the Android Nougat to Moto devices yet, rumors are circulating about an October release. According to a source, the most recent models from Motorola like the Moto Z series, will all get the update in October. The recent Moto X series, on the other hand, might get their Android Nougat update in November. For the other models like the Moto G4 and Moto G, they might be set to get their Nougat update early 2017.

It was also said that older devices from Motorola might not be lined up for a Nougat update. The 2nd Gen Moto X for example, the source says its processor is no longer compatible with Android Nougat.

Android Nougat Update For Samsung Devices, Coming Soon

According to a recent report, Samsung is already in the process of testing the Android Nougat update on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Furthermore, based on Samsung's Android update history, the company is also likely to release the update to the S6 devices. The exact date is not yet determined, but given that the testing is already ongoing, the release would arrive pretty soon.

In the case of the Galaxy Note 7 on the other hand, it may not be getting the Android Nougat update together with the S7 and S7 Edge. The company already stated that the implementation of the custom features to Nougat may require them around two to three more months.
Updated 10/03/16: Carphone rehouse leaked some info about the xel xel Xphones. Its our clearest look at them yet.

Get ready for a hardware-palooza.

The company is set to not only unveil a pair of smartphones during its just-announced Oct. 4 event in San Francisco, but we also may also see some other gear that will surely make it onto the holiday wish list of anyone thats a fan of services.

Youll be able to watch the livestream right here.

The story behind the story: te Monday, the company sent out a press invite a playful tweet that takes you to a not-so-subtle teaser site. Its clearly a phone the URof madeby.google.com tells us that instead of this being just another Nexus partnership, is more fully in control of its latest smartphones.

Goodbye Nexus, Hello xel

After a steady flow of rumors leaks, were pretty confident that were going to see two smartphones, dubbed the xel xel X Android lice captured some blurry images of two devices that match the rumor mill: 5-inch 5.5-inch phones made by HTC.

Andoid lice These very well could be the latest smartphones from .

The rotating images on the teaser site are a good hint therell be a focus on the cameras photo capabilities. During last years unveiling of the Nexus 6 5X spent quite a bit of time favorably comparing the 6s low-light capabilities to the ione. Its definitely something to keep your eye on.

Carphone rehouse accidentally published its listing for the xel xel Xon Oct 2. Though quickly pulled, sharp readers took screen captures of the page, which featured the specs marketing images.

Gooles new phones will come in two sizes, with very few differences between them.

In terms of specs, its exactly what the rumors suggested: a speedy Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM, either 32 or 128GB of storage, AMOD displays (1080p for the smaller xel, 1440p for the xel X. Batteries are 2770 mAh 3450 mAh, respectively. The phones are to launch with Android 7.1 feature 8Mfront-facing 12Mrear cameras.

is once again touting a great camera, but will it st up to the best of Samsung Apple?

The marketing slides went on to tout a fantastic camera, but the competition is fierce. st years Nexus phones took great photos, but the cameras were ponderously slow. Beyond that, most of the marketing was centered around s latest apps like lo Duo, the power of Assistant.

Home

Home, featuring a purple base.

The first look at Home came at the companys I/O conference in May. Its essentially a Googly version of Amazons popular Echo, with an always-ready Assistant listening. This sounds like as good a time as any to show this off, which should finally include pricing, availability, some more details about what the device can actually do.

A new tablet

recently got a pretty solid rumor from Blass about a Huawei-built, seven-inch tablet coming from . Its not clear if this will also bear the xel name or how it will fit into s new bring efforts. ve argued before that were long overdue for a stock Android tablet of this size, were glad to see one may finally be coming.

4K Chromecast Ultra

New hardware is always better with leaks. Thanks to Venturebeat, we have a pretty solid look at s new Chromecast Ultra, which rumor has it will support 4K streaming.

Venturebeat The Chromecast Ultra features a similar design to the current hardware available.

Another report puts the price at $69, making it the most expensive option of the Chromecast family. But its a smart move given the rising popularity of 4K the success has had with Chromecast, unlike its other television initiative.

fi

s OnHub router isnt the last word when it comes to the companys home -Fi efforts. will purportedly release a product called fi that will be a more traditional home network router. dont have much on how it will be a supposedly better choice than all the other routers out there, but were sure will have something to say about it at the upcoming event.

Andromeda

The idea of some type of Chrome Android merger has been floated for a while, but its looking way more real thanks to the latest rumor. Andromeda is the alleged code name for a hybrid Chrome-Android operating system that could usher in a new era of -powered computing. The latest is that a forthcoming Huawei tablet could run Andromeda. The considerable Android developer community will want assurance from this would be a smooth transition, so well surely watch this one closely.
 Flash

Officials of Consulate-General of China in San Francisco confirmed Sunday that over ten Chinese tourists were injured in a bus accident on a tour of Yosemite National Park in California Saturday afternoon.

Officials told Xinhua that two were seriously injured and they are still receiving treatment at a local hospital while the other eight who suffered minor injuries had been discharged from the hospital after medical treatment.

According to a local police department report, the accident occurred "at approximately 17:35 local time on Saturday." The tour bus was run by 'A Top Line Charter" and a total of 22 people on board when the crash happened.

"Most of the subjects were under the age of 18 years old. The location of the accident was Highway 41 and Road 630, just outside of the town of Oakhurst," local police said.

The cause of the bus accident is still under investigation.
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 Flash

The no-fly zone proposal for Syria will only strengthen the terrorists and their supporters, a senior Iranian military official said on Sunday.

Civilians watch as a tractor clears the rubble following Syrian government forces airstrikes in the rebel held neighbourhood of Tariq a-Bab in Aleppo on September 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said that recent pushes by some U.S. officials to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria are aimed to control the Arab country through terrorists.

The Americans are against Syrian airplanes' bombing of the terrorists' positions, hence, they attempt to empower the militants by enforcing a no-fly zone, said Vahidi, the former Iranian defense minister, according to Tasnim news agency.

Last week, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also said in New York that only the terrorist groups will benefit from the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Syria.

Latest proposal by the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry involves grounding combat aviation over specific parts of the Arab country to ensure the safety of passages for humanitarian aids to the besieged civilians.

Syria and its allies, including Iran and Russia, have been against the proposal which, they say, is a demand to stop eliminating those who continue their fight against the Syrian army and kill civilians.
Many consumers have reported or complained over the update of the Windows 10 on their personal computers. Complaint claims range from an unwanted upgrade, and that some other computer functions also stopped working,

Consumer watchdog website Which reported that they had over 1000 complaints that the update has caused nothing but problems. These include unwanted automatic installation of Windows 10, syncing problems, lost files, printers, and wi-fi cards and speakers that are no longer working.

In an interview with Telegraph, director policy of Which Alex Neill mentioned that "Many people are having issues with Windows 10 and we believe Microsoft should be doing more to fix the problem." He added that people today are heavily reliant on computers and that problems are frustrating and stressful for users.

Which also reported a survey of 2,500 people, wherein 12 percent reverted back to their previous OS after unwanted upgrades with Windows 10. In a previous case, a United States customer Teri Goldstein received $10,000 compensation after the update left her computer unsuable for days. She had lost $17,000 in her business when her computer rendered unusable. She also claimed that Micorosft offered her $150 but Goldsten filed a case against the tech giant in court.

In response to the research, Microsoft said, "The Windows 10 upgrade is designed to help people take advantage of the most secure and productive Windows. Should a customer need help with the upgrade experience, we have numerous options, including free customer support."

Which is calling to all consumers affected by the upgrade to come forward and be aware of their rights as consumers.
Editors and writers from Palestinian news publications reported that their Facebook accounts were 'blocked' with no apparent reason.

According to Aljazeera, the incident involves editors from the Shebab News Agency with 6.3 million likes and three executives from the Quds News Network with 5.1 million likes, who were also not able to access their accounts. Both news agency cover news, and its pages are two of the widely read pages for Palestinian news.

Those affected alleges that their pages may have been caused by an agreement between Facebook and the Israeli government a few weeks ago to combat "incitements" caused by Palestinians on social media. Qud's News Network, which is non-political, also experienced a suspension of the account but access was restored during the weekend.

Reports cite that 145 Palestinians have been indicted of incitement so far. Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked also mentioned that Tel Aviv had submitted 158 requests to Facebook for the past four months to remove content deemed as "incitement," and that 95 percent of these requests were granted.

A $1 billion lawsuit was filed against Facebook last summer for allegedly assisting groups in "recruiting, radicalising, and instructing terrorists."

The Electronic Intifada reported that Facebook apologized for the mistake. A spokesperson mentioned that "the pages were removed in error and restored as soon as we were able to investigate," adding that the Facebook team processes millions of reports and sometimes commit errors.

The two news agencies went down after being reported of violating Facebook's community standards. After the investigations, the accounts were restored. News agencies are expected to protest their experience and announced that they are using the hashtag #FBCensorsPalestine to make their point.
Newspapers are widely reporting that both major presidential candidates poll unusually low in popularity. A variety of polling organizations and media outlets have reported this situation, and in the United States they are free to report such news. And they do. News media are also free to print comments from readers, whether well-reasoned or not, whether politely stated or not, whether factual or not. And they do this, too.

A free press is one of the hallmarks of our American culture, and it is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution: Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press... We take it for granted. But freedom of the press has not existed in every country and at every time in history. In the communist USSR, for example, reporters were not free to report what they saw or heard. And in Nazi Germany, the Third Reich took total control of the press and used it as a propaganda machine. Nothing negative was allowed.

In the United States, the press may be not only negative, but wrong, without being declared criminal. So it is remarkable and dangerous, as well as unprecedented in our country, for a presidential candidate to act in ways that attempt to curtail freedom of the press. It is unprecedented to deny press credentials to a major newspaper and to declare an intention to make it easier to sue media for their coverage of the news. Such ideas are one serious step in the direction of censorship and perhaps two steps away from state management of the press to limit or, in the word used in the Constitution, to abridge freedom of the press.

We may have two presidential candidates whose popularity is low, we may have two candidates about whom we are not enthusiastic. But we have only one candidate who threatens the First Amendment to our Constitution: a candidate named Donald Trump. He is a candidate who treats reporters with disrespect, who at best does not understand the importance of a free press, or at worst is consciously attempting to use the press in ways that undermine the Constitution.

Polls this year may be correct about the candidates lack of popularity, but I pray they are incorrect that Trump is pulling ahead. His election would be a disaster, not only in terms of his attitude toward the press, but even worse in what it would say about American citizens willingness to accept his attitude and to ignore the dangers that attitude represents.

When casting your ballot in November for president, please be mindful that of the freedoms we value, freedom of the press was included in the First Amendment along with freedom of religion and of speech, so important is it to our ongoing greatness as a country. No one can make our country great, or greater, by threatening or limiting that freedom.
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By Human Rights Watch |  

Authorities Fail to Prevent, Punish Violent Attacks

(Tunis)  A long-awaited new law maintains restrictions over the construction and renovation of churches and discriminates against the Christian minority in Egypt. The law, passed by Egypts parliament on August 30, 2016, applies only to Christian houses of worship.

Recent incidents of anti-Christian violence that left one person dead, several injured, and numerous properties destroyed were prompted or preceded by anger among some local Muslims over actual or alleged church construction. Even when authorities have made arrests, they have rarely prosecuted suspects, creating a climate of impunity for violent crimes that target Christians.

Many Egyptians hoped that governments would respect and protect freedom of religion, including for Christians, after the 2011 uprising, said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Instead, the authorities are ignoring the underlying systemic issues and sending a message that Christians can be attacked with impunity.

The website of Al-Youm al-Sabaa newspaper published the law and explanatory memo on August 30.

The new law allows governors to deny church-building permits with no stated way to appeal, requires that churches be built commensurate with the number of Christians in the area, and contains security provisions that risk subjecting decisions on whether to allow church construction to the whims of violent mobs.

Estimates of the size of Egypts Christian population, the great majority of them Coptic Orthodox, range from 6 percent to 10 percent of the total population of 93 million. Authorities have done little in the years since the 2011 uprising to change policies that have long disadvantaged their community.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pledged to respect freedom of belief and made important visits to Coptic Christmas masses. Authorities, however, have failed to protect Coptic Christians from violent attacks and instead enforced reconciliation sessions with their Muslim neighbors that deprive them of their rights and allow attackers to evade justice. In some cases, Christians were obliged to leave their homes, villages or towns.
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By Michelle Bentley | (The Conversation) |  

The group known as Islamic State (IS) reportedly used a sulpur-mustard gas against US troops in Iraq. It was detected in a black oily substance found on a rocket fired at an American airbase in Qayyarah, south of the city of Mosul.

None of the soldiers stationed at the airbase  deployed there to support a forthcoming Iraqi offensive to take back Mosul from IS  have suffered any symptoms of mustard gas poisoning. The base took decontamination measures after the rocket hit.

This is not the groups first chemical strike. Reports are mounting up that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are now part of the organisations arsenal  and all thanks to US foreign policy.

The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the regional chaos that followed is a major reason why IS emerged in the first place; had the war never happened, the group might never have existed, and it certainly wouldnt have been able to tear through and take control of huge swathes of the country.

So at last, the US has finally found WMD in Iraq, but only after its own actions allowed them to spring up there again.

Playing it down

In 2003, WMD were at the core of the USs push to disarm Saddam Hussein. But times have changed, and the US is being very muted about WMD being made and deployed in Iraq. While you might expect the threat of a chemically armed terror organisation to be exactly the thing the US would want to shout about, the Pentagon has instead played down the incident and ISs chemical capability.

Navy captain and Pentagon representative Jeff Davis struck a note of calm, saying IS had in the past used chemical arms only to little effect. He also said the agent used in this latest incident was low-grade and that the weapon itself was imprecise and crude.

The US military has also been very keen to highlight that this event hasnt impacted the mission in any way. Spokespersons said the US doesnt consider Islamic States chemical tactics a threat, and have not changed their security procedures as a result of what happened at the airbase.

There are lots of reasons not to make a song and dance about the strike. While its now been confirmed that sulphur-mustard was used, no-one was hurt  so why make a fuss? The US also probably doesnt want to admit that IS is capable of carrying out any sort of attack against American troops, especially not with a weapon like this. And with a major push to take back Mosul in the offing, the US doesnt need ISs capacity and capabilities amplified any further.

Another explanation, however, is less practical: the US doesnt want to talk about WMD in Iraq because it was an American-led war that created the situation in which these weapons have ended up in the country. Its also a difficult reminder of the threats invoked as a pretext for that devastating conflict. In 2003, the US cried wolf  and despite the change of regime since then, it doesnt want to remind everyone what a mess that turned out to be.

No WMD in Iraq

The Pentagon has very noticeably not called this chemical weapon a weapon of mass destruction. All reports have referred only to mustard gas, even though chemical arms are typically thought of as mass destructive  at least, they were when Hussein had them.

As former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rices infamous smoking gun/mushroom cloud comment in 2002 made clear, WMD is a very emotive term. It not only sets a particular weapon apart as something especially destructive, but comes with the implication that everything should be done to get rid of it. The whole premise for the Iraq War was that WMD were so intolerable that the US (never mind the worlds reticence) had no choice but to intervene.

Todays Pentagon clearly hopes that by staying away from that sort of language today, it can defuse any pressure to get more deeply involved on the ground in Iraq. If the presence of WMD demands intervention, the US should therefore be even more involved than it is now. But President Obama has long shown an aversion to intervention not only in Iraq, but also in Syria, where IS and Bashar al-Assad are also using chemical warfare. WMD proliferation in Iraq could force Obama to change his policy.

Ultimately, chemical weapons control is only a foreign policy priority when it suits the US. This is not a good basis for dealing with the situation in Iraq, Syria, or anywhere else where these weapons are used. There needs to be more consistency. Otherwise, the chemical threat is just another rhetorical tool used to justify (often controversial) US policies.

Michelle Bentley, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Royal Holloway

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Wochit News: ISIS Fired Mustard Gas At U.S., Iraqi Troops
By Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola | (The Young Turks Video Report) |  

Donald Trump is one of those stupid guys who thinks hes smart. The media still lets him steamroll them with nonsense. Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola, hosts of The Young Turks, break it down.

The only explanation for the lopsided coverage of the election by the political press so far is that, for some mysterious reason-defying logic, theres a false equivalence at work. Its become an almost throw-away phrase, bearing little weight these days. The political press certainly doesnt take it too seriously, thats for sure. Were just gaming the refs, they say. Someones always bitching about the media, they say. Whatever helps them sleep at night, I suppose.

Nevertheless, according to what were observing online and via cable news, Hillary Clintons negatives appear eons more grievous than Donald Trumps missteps, even though theyre not  and this disparity unfairly elevates Trump and his poll numbers. This is how elections are tilted toward despots and undisciplined strongmen. Theyre legitimized and humanized despite their long menu of unprecedented gaffes, lies and treachery.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Only a week after seeming to agree to a ceasefire, Russia and the Syrian regime in Damascus appear to have decided to throw caution to the winds and simply wipe out the pocket of rebel resistance in East Aleppo.

If the regime has all of Aleppo, all of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Latakia, then it has Syria. Poor, rural, thinly populated provinces such as Idlib (held by al-Qaeda and its allies) and Raqqa & Deir al-Zor (held by Daesh/ISIL) just dont count. They can make trouble from the margins, sort of the way FARK in Colombia did for decades, but they cant win.

The military blog Sic Semper Tyrranis is convinced that the Syrian Arab Army and the Russian Aerospace forces can win the war outright. If they mean by winning what I just said taking and holding all the major urban population centers then yes. If they mean taking back control over the whole country, then no. Damascus just doesnt have the troops to take back the rural Sunni areas, and nor can it prevent them from attacking regime forces. Moreover, it is unlikely that Damascus will ever really get control back of the Kurdish regions of the northeast, where the YPG is backed by the Pentagon and that is 10 percent of Syrias population and an important agricultural area.

So the regime can have 70% of Syria population-wise, perhaps, though in a fragile way that leaves much of the population open to violence. (Colombia in the days of high FARK activity was among the more violent societies in the world).

Still, taking back all of Aleppo and seeing Daesh strangled to the east by the Kurds and by a newly effective Turkish barricade would be an enormous victory for Damascus.

Unfortunately, precisely because the Syrian Arab Army is woefully understaffed, the methods the regime is using against East Aleppo are extremely brutal.

The Syrian Arab Army took the strategic Palestinian refugee camp, Handarat, near East Aleppo, late last week, but al-Qaeda and its allies say they have recovered it. Some of the bombing was in support of the Syrian armys attempt to make that advance.

Damascus has put the civilian population under a siege for the last 20 days, and no supplies have come in for weeks. Food staples are running low and so are essential medicines, for the 200,000 to 300,000 who live in East Aleppo. This weekend, the Syrian Air Force intensively bombed civilian neighborhoods, allegedly joined by Russian Aerospace fighter-jets. (Thats what Moscow now calls their air force, and since they can get to space but the US no longer can, I guess they have dibs on it.)

On Sunday, the bombardment of East Aleppo by jets and helicopter gunships is said to have killed 66 persons and wounded some 200. While the Arab press says all of these were women and children, I presume some were guerrillas targeted for elimination by Damascus and Moscow, and that the rest were what the military calls collateral damage i.e. innocent bystanders savagely murdered from the sky. The neighborhoods targeted were al-Halak, Bustan al-Basha, al-Ard al-Hamra, Tariq al-Bab, al-Muyassar, al-Mashhad, al-Salihin, al-Qatarji, and al-Ansari.

Arab sources say that since the ceasefire collapsed on Sept. 19, 378 are dead and 1407 wounded.

The siege and the air campaign are surely softening up measures. At some point the Syrian army, supported by Hizbullah and by a new wave of Iraqi Shiite volunteers, will have to invade East Aleppo and take territory. From what we are seeing, it will be a horrible thing, with tens of thousands of new refugees created and a large civilian death toll.

But it will also make the regime unstoppable. Three and a half years ago, the rebels thought they could take Homs and cut Damascus off from resupply by cutting the road to the key Mediterranean port of Latakia. Hizbullah intervened and the rebels were defeated in Homs. Then two years ago, the al-Qaeda-led forces swept into Idlib and thought they might be able to just take the port of Latakia, after which they could starve out the southern capital of Damascus. But last fall Russia intervened and pushed them out of Latakia province, and built up the Tartous base outside Latakia, making the point that Moscow wont let it fall. So the Salafi forces are bottled up in Idlib and have not prospect of breaking out or challenging the regime in any serious way. Now the FSA may be about to lose East Aleppo. The rebel position in the north is being eroded. And as we speak there is no plausible way for it to overthrow the Syrian government in any time scale that matters.

What is likely is that the rebels can keep enough rural territory to prove a thorn in the regimes side for years to come, and peace is still distant. And even if the regime really could win, remember that it has killed tens of thousands and is not forgiving. The bloodshed wont stop soon.



Related video:

Euronews: Syrian government planes bombard Aleppo as diplomacy degenerates
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 26, 2016) - Alianza Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:ANZ) ("Alianza" or the "Company") announces that the financing announced on September 22, 2016 has been increased to $300,000, from $250,000, and is fully subscribed. Alianza will now proceed to close the financing and file for approval with the TSX Venture Exchange.

Jason Weber, BSc, P. Geo, Director and CEO of Alianza commented that, "We are very happy to have the support of our shareholders and are working diligently to advance our exploration projects in Peru, Nevada and Yukon Territory with a focus on engaging new partners on some of these very prospective gold, silver and copper projects."

Under the terms of the financing Alianza will sell 2,400,000 units at $0.125 per unit, where each unit is comprised of one common share and a half non-transferable common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire an additional common share for a period of 3 years at a price of $0.20. Securities issued in this offering will have a four month hold period. Certain current shareholders and insiders may be participating in this offering. Finder's fees may also be paid on portions of this offering.

These funds will be used to continue the execution of the Company's business model. This includes reconnaissance exploration of recently staked properties in Peru and additional work at existing projects in Nevada and Yukon.

About Alianza Minerals Ltd.

Alianza increases the chances of success in mineral exploration by using the "Prospect Generator" business model, focussing on gold and copper exploration in Latin America and Nevada.

The Company has 25.9 million shares issued and outstanding, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE:ANZ). Mr. Jason Weber, BSc, P.Geo., Alianza's President and CEO is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Weber supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this release.

To learn more visit: www.alianzaminerals.com.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. STATEMENTS IN THIS NEWS RELEASE, OTHER THAN PURELY HISTORICAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING STATEMENTS RELATING TO THE COMPANY'S FUTURE PLANS AND OBJECTIVES OR EXPECTED RESULTS, MAY INCLUDE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON NUMEROUS ASSUMPTIONS AND ARE SUBJECT TO ALL OF THE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES INHERENT IN RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT. AS A RESULT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.
KELOWNA, BC, Sept. 26, 2016 /CNW/ - Diamcor Mining Inc. (TSX-V.DMI / OTCQX-DMIFF), (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of rough diamonds delivered, tendered, and sold in the Company's current fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2016 from its Krone-Endora at Venetia project in South Africa (the "Project").

In an initial tender and sales completed in July 2016, the Company sold 3,626.19 carats of rough diamonds, for gross proceeds of USD $537,619.55, resulting in an average price of USD $148.26 per carat. In a second, and final, tender for the quarter completed early in September 2016, the Company sold 4,648.28 carats of rough diamonds, for gross proceeds of USD $629,317.94, resulting in an average price of USD $135.39 per carat. This brings the combined rough diamonds tendered and sold during the current fiscal quarter to 8,274.47 carats, generating gross proceeds of USD $1,166,937.49, resulting in an average price of USD $141.03 per carat. The price per carat realized during the tenders and sales completed during the period were consistent with Company expectations for the goods being offered, and reflect the continued price weaknesses in certain categories of rough diamonds. Rough diamonds delivered, tendered and sold in the current period were the result of rough diamonds recovered prior to August 16th, 2016. Rough diamonds recovered after August 16th and until September 30, 2016 will be recorded as rough diamond inventory on-hand for the second fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2016.

The total of 8,274.47 carats of rough diamonds delivered to tender in the Company's current second fiscal quarter represents a ~171% increase when compared to 4,845.93 carats tendered and sold in the Company's second fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2015. Rough diamonds tendered were the result of the continued processing of material in the +1.0mm to -26mm size fractions, along with initial limited processing of material from various larger size fractions during the period. The combined efforts currently underway are designed to support the continued advancement of objectives consistent with the recommendations of the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report ("Updated Technical Report") filed by the Company on April 28, 2015, and to aid the Company in arriving at initial production decisions for the Project. The recovery of all rough diamonds to date are incidental to the ongoing commissioning and testing exercises performed at the Project. The above-noted testing exercises and incidental recoveries do not form part of the Updated Technical Report and therefore no general grade, price, or quality determination is intended by the Company at this time due to the nature and purpose of the processing of this material.

About Diamcor Mining Inc.

Diamcor Mining Inc. is a fully reporting publically traded junior diamond mining company which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol V.DMI, and on the OTC QX International under the symbol DMIFF. The Company has a well-established operational and production history in South Africa and extensive prior experience supplying rough diamonds to the world market.

About the Tiffany & Co. Alliance

The Company has established a long-term strategic alliance and first right of refusal with Tiffany & Co. Canada, a subsidiary of world famous New York based Tiffany & Co., to purchase up to 100% of the future production of rough diamonds from the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project at then current prices to be determined by the parties on an ongoing basis. In conjunction with this first right of refusal, Tiffany & Co. Canada also provided the Company with financing to advance the Project. Tiffany & Co. is a publically traded company which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TIF. For additional information on Tiffany & Co., please visit their website at www.tiffany.com.

About Krone-Endora at Venetia

In February 2011, Diamcor acquired the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project from De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, consisting of the prospecting rights over the farms Krone 104 and Endora 66, which represent a combined surface area of approximately 5,888 hectares directly adjacent to De Beers' flagship Venetia Diamond Mine in South Africa. On September 11, 2014, the Company announced that the South African Department of Mineral Resources had granted a Mining Right for the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project encompassing 657.71 hectares of the Project's total area of 5,888 hectares. The Company has also submitted an application for a mining right over the remaining areas of the Project. The deposits which occur on the properties of Krone and Endora have been identified as a higher-grade "Alluvial" basal deposit which is covered by a lower-grade upper "Eluvial" deposit. The deposits are proposed to be the result of the direct-shift (in respect to the "Eluvial" deposit) and erosion (in respect to the "Alluvial" deposit) of material from the higher grounds of the adjacent Venetia Kimberlite areas. The deposits on Krone-Endora occur in two layers with an average total depth of less than 15.0 metres from surface to bedrock, allowing for a very low-cost mining operation to be employed with the potential for near-term diamond production from a known high-quality source. Krone-Endora also benefits from the significant development of infrastructure and services already in place due to its location directly adjacent to the Venetia Mine.

Qualified Person Statement:

Mr. James P. Hawkins (B.Sc., P.Geo.), is Manager of Exploration & Special Projects for Diamcor Mining Inc., and the Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 responsible for overseeing the execution of Diamcor's exploration programmes and a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta ("APEGA"). Mr. Hawkins has reviewed this press release and approved of its contents.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Mr. Dean H. Taylor

President & CEO

Diamcor Mining Inc.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel (250) 864-3326

www.diamcormining.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. While these forward-looking statements represent our best current judgement, they are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict and which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Further, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

WE SEEK SAFE HARBOUR

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.

SOURCE Diamcor Mining Inc.
TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2016 /CNW/ - RNC Minerals ("RNC") (TSX: RNX) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated September 9, 2016, Eric Sprott beneficially now owns, through his holding company 2176423 Ontario Ltd., approximately 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of RNC on a non-diluted basis and approximately 13% on a partially diluted basis. On September 23, 2016, 2176423 Ontario Ltd. acquired 27,530,000 common shares and 9,265,000 ("Warrants", as defined below) of RNC. The common shares were acquired through participation in the bought deal private placement which closed on September 23, 2016 and through a separate transaction on September 23, 2016 facilitated by Haywood Securities Inc., as lead underwriter on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters. Mr. Sprott did not beneficially own any securities of RNC prior to September 23, 2016.

2176423 Ontario Ltd. acquired 18,530,000 units of RNC ("Unit") on September 23, 2016 through the bought deal private placement offering. Each Unit consists of one RNC common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). In addition, 2176423 Ontario Ltd. acquired 9,000,000 RNC common shares as part of a separate transaction facilitated by the underwriters on September 23, 2016. In total, 2176423 Ontario Ltd. now holds 27,530,000 common shares and 9,265,000 Warrants, or 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of RNC on a non-diluted basis and approximately 13% on a partially diluted basis.

Mark Selby, President and CEO of RNC commented, "RNC is pleased to welcome Eric Sprott, one of the world's premiere gold investors, as our largest shareholder. We are excited to have his support as RNC works to unlock the potential at Beta Hunt and focus on value creation across our portfolio of assets."

Eric Sprott commented, "I look forward to being a supportive shareholder and participating in RNC's growth as it continues to ramp up gold production at its Beta Hunt mine in Western Australia. I am also looking forward to seeing the mine unlock its excellent exploration potential to grow the existing gold resource base."

The common shares and Units were acquired by 2176423 Ontario Ltd. for investment purposes. 2176423 Ontario Ltd. has a long-term view of the investment and may acquire additional common shares or Units either on the open market or through private acquisitions or sell the common shares either on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other relevant factors.

A copy of 2176423 Ontario Ltd.'s early warning report will appear with RNC's documents on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval and may also be obtained by contacting Mr. Sprott at (416) 362-7172.

About RNC Minerals

RNC is a multi-asset mineral resource company focused primarily on the acquisition, exploration, evaluation and development of precious metal and base metal properties. RNC's principal assets are the producing Beta Hunt gold and nickel mine in Western Australia, the Dumont Nickel Project located in the established Abitibi mining camp in Quebec and a 30% stake in the producing Reed copper-gold mine in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake region of Manitoba, Canada. RNC also owns a majority interest in the West Raglan and Qiqavik projects in Northern Quebec. RNC has a strong management team and Board with over 100 years of mining experience at Inco and Falconbridge. RNC's common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol RNX. RNC shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol RNKLF.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" including without limitation statements relating to the bought deal private placement and separate transaction.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of RNC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: failure of the parties to sign definitive agreements and satisfy conditions of closing; future prices and the supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, projected cash costs, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to RNC's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although RNC has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and RNC disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE RNC Minerals
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 26, 2016) - Auryn Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:AUG)(OTCQX:GGTCF) ("Auryn") is pleased to announce that it has acquired the option to earn a 100% interest in the Banos del Indio gold project located 10 km to the north of Auryn's Huilacollo project with known gold mineralization (see figure 1 and figure 2). The project is located in the Tacna province of Southern Peru. The Banos Del Indio gold project hosts one of the largest untested alteration systems in the Andes and is located within a prominent epithermal belt.

Shawn Wallace, President and CEO commented, "Our pursuit of acquisitions in Peru has been largely predicated on our technical teams vast knowledge and experience in the country. Banos Del Indio represents an exceptional exploration opportunity that our technical team has been aware of and desired for several years."

Mr. Wallace further stated, "With these acquisitions in Peru and the others that we have recently completed, our goal of building a diverse portfolio with high grade exploration targets in Canada and some of the largest scalable oxide exploration targets is being achieved. We look forward to aggressively executing capital efficient exploration programs including substantive drill programs over the next few years."

Banos Del Indio Property

The Banos del Indio epithermal property is comprised of 7,534 hectares of well-developed high-level steam heated epithermal style alteration and is considered by Auryn to be one of the largest untested epithermal alteration centers in Peru (see Figure 3). Banos del Indio shares many similarities with the La Coipa mine complex in northern Chile where economic mineralization is principally located beneath similar high-level steam heated epithermal alteration. Initial exploration to define drill targets will focus on structural mapping, multi-spectral analysis to identify high temperature clays, volumetric sampling and induced polarization geophysical surveys.

Antonio Arribas, Director of Auryn, stated, "Banos del Indio is one of the largest and least explored alteration anomalies that I am familiar with in the region which I have been aware of for several years. The property is situated in the perfect location for significant epithermal discoveries in Southern Peru."

The Company acquired the rights to the Banos del Indio property through an option agreement with a local Peruvian company, Exploandes S.A.C (the "Banos Option"). Under the Banos Option, the Company may acquire a 100% interest, subject to a net smelter return royalty (NSR), through a combination of work expenditures and cash payments (all dollar amounts are in USD) as detailed in the table below:

Due dates Property Payments Work Expenditures On signing $ 100,000 - Within 12 months of the commence of work (additional) $ 100,000 $ 200,000 Within 24 months of the commence of work(additional) $ 100,000 $ 250,000 Within 36 months of the commence of work (additional) $ 200,000 $ 1,000,000 Within 48 months of the commence of work (additional) $ 150,000 $ 2,000,000 Within 60 months of the commence of work (additional) $ 2,500,000 - Total $ 3,150,000 $ 3,450,000

The Banos del Indio NSR is 3.0% with 50% (being 1.5%) buyable for $6,000,000. In the event the Company does not complete a feasibility study within 3 years of exercising the option, an escalating advanced royalty starting at $200,000 per annum shall become payable. The total amount of the advanced royalty is capped at $1.5 million.

The Company is also obligated to pay a production bonus of $2,500,000 upon initial commercial production.

cbdocembed url="http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1070514_F1-3.pdf" /}

The Banos del Indio licenses are located within a special economic zone situated within 50km of the Peruvian boarder. As a non-resident company, Auryn's right to ultimately exploit these licenses or register its interests require approval from the Peruvian government in the form of a Supreme Decree. Auryn is in the process of submitting its applications with respect the approval and anticipates receiving the approval prior to exercising its option.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The securities to be issued pursuant to the transaction have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The principal factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements in connection with this news release include the uncertainty of Homestake shareholders approvals, and the outcome of regulatory and judicial approvals. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com
VANCOUVER, Sept. 26, 2016 /CNW/ - Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM: TSX-V, ASM: NYSE-MKT; "Avino" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the completion of an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate from the Company's Avino Property located near Durango in west-central Mexico. The new estimate encompasses the property's San Gonzalo Mine, the main Avino Mine system, and the property's oxide tailings. The estimates have been included in an updated NI 43-101 compliant technical report prepared by QG Australia Pty Ltd., and this report will be available on SEDAR within 45 days.

"This new resource estimate highlights the important progress we've made since the last resource estimate" said Avino President and CEO, David Wolfin. "During the past ten years, our mine site exploration efforts have been successful, consistently identifying new resources."

Mr. Wolfin noted that the Company's investment in resource expansion will continue to grow. "Exploration and development spending at Avino's Mexico operations has averaged $4.6 million annually since 2006," he said. "Going forward, we will continue our efforts to expand and further define resources at the Avino mine while conducting exploration on strategically located targets through the entire Avino property."

The following is a summary of current resources at the San Gonzalo and Avino Mines, as well as the updated oxide tailings resource, grouped into the measured, indicated and inferred categories. The effective date of the resource estimates is August 31, 2016.

The resource estimates were prepared by Michael O'Brien P.Geo., Pr.Sci.Nat., who is a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and who is an employee of QG Australia Pty Ltd (an ARANZ Geo Company) and independent of Avino, as defined by Section 1.5 of NI 43-101.

Table 1  Summary of Resources for the Avino Property, Durango, Mexico

Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources Grade Metal Contents Resource

Category Deposit Cut-off

(AgEQ

g/t) Metric

Tonnes AgEQ

g/t Ag

g/t Au

g/t Cu% Ag

Million

Tr Oz Au

Thousand

Tr Oz Cu T Measured Avino

System 55 950,000 143 74 0.33 0.69 2.3 10.0 6,550 Measured San

Gonzalo

System 125 170,000 357 272 1.50 0.00 1.5 8.2 0 Total

Measured All

Deposits 1,120,000 176 105 0.51 0.58 3.8 18.2 6,550 Indicated Avino

System 55 500,000 129 68 0.36 0.56 1.1 5.7 2,800 Indicated San

Gonzalo

System 125 320,000 310 237 1.30 0.00 2.4 13.3 0 Indicated Oxide

Tailings 50 1,330,000 124 98 0.46 0.00 4.2 19.8 0 Total

Indicated All

Deposits 2,150,000 152 111 0.56 0.13 7.7 38.8 2,800 Total

Measured &

Indicated All

Deposits 3,270,000 160 109 0.54 0.29 11.5 57.0 9,350 Inferred Mineral Resources Grade Metal Contents Resource

Category Deposit Cut-off

(AgEQ

g/t) Metric

Tonnes AgEQ

g/t Ag

g/t Au

g/t Cu% Ag

Million

Tr Oz Au

Thousand

Tr Oz Cu T Inferred Avino

System 55 5,790,000 155 81 0.57 0.58 15.1 105.8 33,550 Inferred San

Gonzalo

System 125 540,000 403 314 1.58 0.00 5.5 27.5 0 Inferred Oxide

Tailings 50 1,810,000 113 88 0.44 0.00 5.1 25.6 0 Total Inferred All

Deposits 8,140,000 162 98 0.61 0.41 25.6 158.9 33,550

Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred resources as an Indicated or Measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to the Indicated or Measured mineral resource category.

Figures in the table may not add to the totals shown due to rounding.

The mineral resource estimate is classified in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum's "CIM Definition Standards - For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" incorporated by reference into National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects".

Mineral Resources are reported at cut-off grades 55, 125 and 50 g/t silver equivalent grade for the Avino, San Gonzalo and oxide tailings respectively as indicated in the table.

Following are highlights for each deposit:

San Gonzalo Mine

A measured and indicated resource of 490,000 tonnes at an average grade of 250 g/t silver and 1.37 g/t gold totaling 5.1 million troy ounces of silver and 21.6 thousand troy ounces of gold using a cut-off grade of 125 g/t silver equivalent.

An inferred resource of 540,000 tonnes at an average grade of 314 g/t silver and 1.58 g/t gold totaling 5.4 million troy ounces of silver and 27.3 thousand troy ounces of gold using a cut-off grade of 125 g/t for silver equivalent.

Measured and indicated tonnage at San Gonzalo has increased by about 67%, while the inferred tonnage has decreased by 50% from the previous estimate. The lower inferred figure takes into account resource depletion from the mine's operations since 2012.

The San Gonzalo Vein System is comparatively high-grade and provides flexibility during times of uncertain metal prices.

The Avino Mine

A measured and indicated resource of 1,450,000 tonnes at an average grade of 72 g/t silver, 0.34 g/t gold and 0.64% copper totaling 3.4 million troy ounces of silver, 18,551 troy ounces of gold and 9,350 tonnes copper using a cut-off grade of 55 g/t silver equivalent.

An inferred resource of 5,790,000 tonnes at an average grade of 81 g/t silver, 0.57 g/t gold and 0.58% copper totaling 15.1 million troy ounces of silver, 106 thousand troy ounces of gold and 33,600 tonnes of copper using a cut-off grade of 55 g/t silver equivalent

The Avino Vein System contains the most tonnage on the Avino property and includes significant copper grades. Development drifting on the Avino Mine totalled 2855 metres in 2015 and 1108 metres in the first half of 2016.

Mr. Wolfin noted that the previous resource estimate included no measured resources, with the estimate prepared using mainly drill hole information providing indicated and inferred categories only. "With the additional underground sampling and more up-to-date geological information, we've been able to better refine the categories to include the measured category," said Mr. Wolfin.

Oxide Tailings

An indicated silver resource of 1,330,000 tonnes at an average grade of 98 g/t silver and 0.46 g/t gold totaling 4.2 million troy ounces of silver and 19.8 thousand troy ounces of gold using a cut-off grade of 50 g/t silver equivalent.

An inferred resource of 1,810,000 tonnes at an average grade of 88 g/t silver and 0.44 g/t gold totaling 5.1 million troy ounces of silver and 25.6 thousand troy ounces of gold using a cut-off grade of 50 g/t for silver equivalent.

"We're also very excited about advancing the evaluation of the oxide tailings," Mr. Wolfin added. "The drilling we've conducted over the past year has increased resources significantly and helped us better define the deposit."

This new estimate includes data from 57 holes drilled during the last two years. Due to closer drill hole spacing, there is sufficient information to justify elevating 1,330,000 tonnes of the previous 2,340,000 tonnes of inferred resources to the indicated category. However, there is still an additional inferred resource of 1,810,000 tonnes in the new estimate.

Further studies are planned to advance the Tailings Resource towards a production decision for an agglomerated heap leach Merrill-Crowe precipitation operation.

The oxide tailings resource is accessible on surface and contains significant gold and silver grades.

Method of Calculation

The estimation methods used were substantially the same for all three deposits, providing a consistent baseline for strategic planning.

Mineral resources were estimated by ordinary kriging, optimized using kriging neighborhood analysis and verification by means of nearest neighbor and inverse distance methods, swathplot comparisons of estimates and visual inspections. Block models were created for the San Gonzalo and Avino Vein Systems and the oxide Tailings deposit and estimates were made into blocks of sizes 10m easting x 5m northing x10m elevation (San Gonzalo and Avino) and 40m easting x 40m northing x 2m elevation (oxide Tailings).

Classification of the mineral resource was based on kriging variance as a measure of uncertainty with adjustment to practical geometries using geological knowledge of the deposit.

Silver equivalent cut-off grades were applied to satisfy the condition of reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction and were calculated using conversion formulas AgEQ = Ag + 55.9 * Au + 72.99 * Cu for Avino Vein, AgEQ = Ag + 69.37 * Au for oxide tailings and AgEQ = Ag + 56.38 * Au for San Gonzalo vein System.

Cut-off grades were calculated using current costs, silver price of US$19.50/oz, gold price of US$1,250/oz and copper price of US$2.10/lb.

Since 2013, Avino has drilled 57 new holes on the oxide tailings deposit, nearly three thousand channel samples representing 14,470 metres of vein material have been obtained on the Avino and San Gonzalo Veins, and 46 surface drill holes, (totaling 7,960 m) have been drilled on the San Gonzalo and Avino vein systems. This investment has significantly increased the amount of information available for resource estimation.

Fundamental changes since the previous mineral resource estimates are (1) depletion due to mining (over 1 million tonnes milled since the beginning of 2013), significant new sampling information (almost double in the case of the Oxide Tailings) (3) changes to silver equivalent calculation and cut-offs and (4) reclassification of mineral resources in the light of improved understanding of confidence in the deposits at distances from the underground channel samples and drill hole samples. More sampling information does not always lead to direct increases in resource tonnages and metal. In some cases, the new information provides improved understanding (developed by variogram modelling and kriging neighborhood analysis) that may demote some portions of mineral resource from high confidence categories such as measured and indicated to a lower confidence category such as inferred. Currently, for the San Gonzalo and Avino Vein Systems, estimated blocks more than thirty metres from sampling are not considered to be of sufficient confidence to be indicated category resources and have been classified as inferred resources. Consequently, the total indicated resources for the Avino Property are significantly less than those were reported previously. For the Oxide Tailings, estimated blocks more than fifty metres from sampling are not considered to be of sufficient confidence to be indicated category resources.

Qualified Person(s)

Avino's projects are under the supervision of Chris Sampson, P.Eng, BSc, Avino Consultant and Mr. Jasman Yee P.Eng, Avino director, who are both qualified persons within the context of National Instrument 43-101. Both have reviewed and approved the technical data in this news release except for the quotes.

About Avino

Avino is a top-tier, low-cost junior producer. Avino's mission is to create shareholder value through profitable organic growth at the historic Avino property near Durango, Mexico, and the Bralorne property in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. We are committed to managing all business activities in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner while contributing to the well-being of the communities in which we operate.

For more information, please visit Avino's website at www.avino.com

On Behalf of the Board

"David Wolfin"

________________________________

David Wolfin

President & CEO

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.

Safe Harbor Statement - This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (together, the "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including our belief as to the extent and timing of various studies including the PEA, and exploration results, the potential tonnage, grades and content of deposits, and timing, establishment, and extent of resource estimates. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the dates of technical reports, as applicable. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, the price of gold, silver and copper, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government authorities, uncertainties associated with legal proceedings and negotiations and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking information. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; uncertainties and risks related to carrying on business in foreign countries; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers, directors or promoters with certain other projects; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; tax consequences to U.S. investors; and other risks and uncertainties. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors - The information contained herein and incorporated by reference herein has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which differ from the requirements of United States securities laws. In particular, the term "resource" does not equate to the term "reserve". The Securities Exchange Commission's (the "SEC") disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources" or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards, unless such information is required to be disclosed by the law of the Company's jurisdiction of incorporation or of a jurisdiction in which its securities are traded. U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Disclosure of "contained ounces" is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Sept. 26, 2016) - TOMAGOLD CORPORATION (TSX VENTURE:LOT) ("TomaGold" or the "Corporation") is pleased to report the results of its drilling program on the Hazeur property, adjacent to its Monster Lake property in Chibougamau. TomaGold has an option to acquire a 70% interest in the property from Visible Gold. This phase of work should enable TomaGold to meet the conditions for the acquisition of its interest.

The program consisted of a total of eight holes, including seven drilled on the Hazeur property and one on the Monster Island property, which is wholly owned by TomaGold. The drill targets were for the most part significant geophysical anomalies, often supported by nearby historical drill results.

The best results were obtained in Holes HA-16-03 to HA-16-08, which were essentially drilled to test the mineralized structure of the Philibert deposit (historic resource of 1.4 million tonnes at 5.3 g/t Au*; Soquem 1990). This deposit lies about 1 km southeast of the eastern edge of the property, and the structure hosting it crosses the entire Hazeur property from east to west. The results for these holes were as follows:

Hole # From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Grade

(g/t Au) HA-16-03 99.90

107.70 104.70

113.30 4.80

5.60 1.09

0.58 HA-16-04 82.50

96.00

97.50 84.45

101.25

98.75 1.95

5.25

1.25 6.50

1.63

4.47 HA-16-05 75.80 76.20 0.40 0.04 (VG) HA-16-06 122.25 123.75 1.50 0.82 HA-16-07 129.00

148.50 142.50

151.50 13.50

3.00 0.40

0.48 HA-16-08 64.95

76.50 69.00

79.50 4.05

3.00 1.15

1.12

Two specks of visible gold were observed in Hole HA-16-05, but were not included in the subsample sent for assaying. Based on the observation of the dips in the core, the Corporation estimates the true width of the mineralized zone at about 90% of the width intersected by drilling.

"This is a successful first drilling program, as it supports the presence of the mineralized structure of the Philibert deposit on the Hazeur property," said David Grondin, President and CEO of TomaGold. "Furthermore, the mineralization intersected bears a distinct resemblance to the "106" structure at the Philibert deposit. The Philibert structure is a promising model for the discovery of similar deposits on the Hazeur property, and additional drilling is warranted, particularly on the western part of the property."

Hole HA-16-01, drilled on the Peter Smith showing on the Monster Island property, and Hole HA-16-02, drilled on the "Hazeur north junction" showing, did not return any significant grades.

TomaGold also acquired six additional claims covering 112.45 hectares from Torino Power Solutions in exchange for 1.2 million shares of the Corporation. These claims are located in the middle of the block of claims held by TomaGold and Visible Gold, on the same mineralized structure that the Company believes hosts the Philibert deposit. Several drilling programs were realized on these claims, which showed strong results and high-grade gold values in the last program in 2014. Here's a summary of the best results obtained to date.

Hole # From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Grade

(g/t Au) HO-92-01 43.30 45.00 1.70 3.17 HO-92-04 54.60

67.50

98.20 55.00

69.40

109.60 0.40

1.90

11.40 5.62

3.89

1.04 HO-92-05 75.60 76.10 0.50 3.57 HO-92-06 127.20 131.80 4.60 8.46 HO-92-08 174.00 175.50 1.50 3.11 HO-92-10 176.70 178.80 2.10 3.18 HO-92-16 266.90 267.50 0.60 3.49 WP-14-01 160.71 161.16 0.45 4.27 WP-14-02 214.75 216.00 1.25 7.66 WP-14-04 208.50 209.00 0.50 24.55

The Corporation estimates the true width of the mineralized zone at 75% to 80% of the width intersected in the drill holes.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.

The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Andre Jean, Eng., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Sample Preparation and Analysis

TomaGold has implemented and adheres to a strict Quality Assurance/Quality Control for the present drilling program.

The core is sawed in half, with one half kept as a witness sample in Chibougamau and the other half shipped directly by bus to ALS Chemex in Val-d'Or, Quebec.

The half core is then ground to 1/8 " and split into two halves by ALS. One half is kept as a witness (reject) by ALS in Val-d'Or.

ALS pulverizes the other half at 150 mesh and takes a 50 g sample for analysis. The rest is kept at ALS and identified as "pulp".

Cautionary Note

*The Corporation advises a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as such the Corporation is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The resource calculation was part of an Economic Potential study of the Philibert Deposit and was calculated based on 189 diamond drill holes for a total of 39,945 metres of core using the best practice guide for the evaluation of gold deposits produced by the CRM (Centre de recherches minerales, now COREM). The resource was not prepared under current CIM definitions of mineral resources.

About TomaGold Corporation

TomaGold Corporation is a Canadian-based mining exploration company whose primary mission is the acquisition, exploration and development of gold projects in Canada and abroad.

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. The statements in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements". Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those described in such "forward-looking" statements.
The Brazil Supreme Court [official website] approved a motion by prosecutors to open a preliminary investigation into accusations from Sergio Machado, former Transpetro head, that president Michel Temer sought illegal campaign donations in 2012. It was revealed by the Supreme Court in June that portions of Machados plea bargain testimony allege that Temer requested contribution from an engineering group in relation to Sao Paulos 2012 mayoral campaign, which was legal but resulted from illegal kickbacks on contracts with Petrobras. Transpetro is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company, which is currently the subject of Brazils largest corruption scandal to date. Temer, the former vice president of now-impeached Dilma Rousseff, has denied the accusations [Reuters report].

More than 100 individuals and 50 politicians have been arrested in connection to the Petrobras scandal that continues to plague the country as it prepares for the upcoming summer Olympics. Earlier this week a Brazilian judge accepted charges [JURIST report] against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva relating to the Petrobas Oil Scandal. In July da Silva filed [JURIST report] a petition with the UN Human Rights Committee, claiming that his corruption investigation has been riddled with impartiality and abuse of power by the judge. In May Brazils Supreme court suspended [JURIST report] lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha after being suspected of obstructing investigations into his allegedly corrupt activities. Also in May local media in Brazil reported [JURIST report] that the countrys top prosecutors had requested an investigation into sitting-President Dilma Rousseff over alleged connections to the Petrobras corruption scandal. In April the Supreme Federal Court in Brazil ordered [JURIST report] the legislature to commence impeachment proceedings against Temer.
A southern China court on Monday sentenced three prominent labor organizers to suspended prison terms, almost nine months after they were arrested during a crackdown on civic organizations working outside of the Communist Party. Zeng Feiyang, who was indicted on claims of gathering a crowd to disturb social order was sentenced [NYT report] to three years with a four-year suspension, while the two other organizers, Tang Jian and Zhu Xiaomei, were sentenced to one-and-a-half years with two-year suspensions. The three activists were important figures in the labor movement in China, effective at organizing workers to fight for higher wages and better working conditions. Recent downturn in Chinas economy and labor shortages have led to a crackdown by the government on such activities. While the activists will not immediately serve prison terms and their sentences have been called a relatively good result [Reuters report] by human rights lawyer Chen Xuejin, the suspended sentences will make it difficult for the three men to continue with their labor work.

Chinas human rights record has drawn international scrutiny. Last week a Chinese court sentenced [JURIST report] noted human rights lawyer Xia Lin to 12 years in prison. In July China announced plans to prosecute [JURIST report] prominent human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng on charges of subverting state power, furthering its recent crackdown on political dissidents. In April a civil rights lawyer was arrested and released [JURIST report] for posting an image online mocking Xi in relation to the Panama Papers release. In January Chinese authorities arrested [JURIST report] high profile human rights lawyer Wang Yu and her husband on charges of political subversion.
Pakistani police are committing serious human rights abuses [press release], Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported Monday, calling for a complete overhaul of the countrys police system. The report [text], This Crooked System, looks at the history of the Pakistani police and details occurrences of arbitrary arrest, torture, extra-judicial killings and sexual violence, especially among religious minorities that are vulnerable to disgruntled and corrupt members of the force. The rule of law wont become a reality in Pakistan unless the law enforcement forces tasked with imposing the law are also held to it, said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW. For this to happen, the government needs to bring changes within the system and address the improper influences outside of it.

Pakistan has been under pressure to improve human rights conditions for years. Last week HRW called on Pakistani authorities to halt the execution of a mentally disabled man [JURIST report], saying executing people with mental health conditions is an affront to decency and serves no criminal justice purpose. Earlier this month a human rights lawyer was re-arrested in Kashmir [JURIST report]. Earlier this year UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein expressed his concerns regarding Indian and Pakistani authorities refusing to allow the Human Rights Council access to Kashmir [JURIST report]. The UN also petitioned Pakistan earlier this year to cease rights infringement relating to a construction project that has displaced civilians and damaged sites of cultural heritage [JURIST report].
The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Congo [embassy website], Jean-Claude Gakosso, embraced the countrys new constitution [UN News Centre] on Saturday before the UN General Assembly [official website], which he said will improve political, economic and social governance. The new constitution, which Gakosso said was more adapted to the requirements of the rule of law in its most commonly accepted sense, is structured on the separation of powers, particularly entrenching the independence of the judiciary, and abolishes the death penalty, works towards equalizing education opportunities for both genders, and recognizes fundamental rights of indigenous peoples. In addition, the constitution laid the groundwork for a more participative democracy. Finally, Gakosso reiterated his belief that the new constitution will improve the political, economic and social governance in [the Congo].

Last year the Republic of the Congos electoral commission announced that voters had approved [JURIST report] an amendment to the constitution [text, PDF, in French] that would allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to extend his term in office. The amendment, approved by the citizens of the Congo in a referendum, allows presidents to renew [JURIST report] their term twice and removes the age limit for presidential candidates, currently set at 70. Nguesso, who is 72 and serving his second term, would be ineligible for the presidency without the amendment. Before being elected to office in 2002, he also served as president from 1979 to 1992. With the referendum approved, Nguesso plans on seeking another term in office in the next election. While officials claimed a 72 percent voter turnout in the referendum, opposition leaders said turnout was under 10 percent and had called for results to be annulled [VOA report].
Swiss voters on Sunday voted to approve a new surveillance law allowing their national intelligence service broad powers to spy on terrorist suspects and cyber criminals, as well as the ability to cooperate with foreign intelligence agencies. While Switzerland is a country where the right to privacy is considered very important, the new law will allow security agents to tap phones and computer networks. This marks a drastic change from previous surveillance capabilities, as the intelligence agency relied solely on information from public sources and other authorities. Some left-wing groups have expressed their displeasure saying the new legislation violates citizens right to privacy and will undermine Switzerlands neutrality. Likewise, Amnesty International said the law would lead to disproportionate levels of surveillance and was harmful to freedom of expression. Despite some opposition, the new surveillance law garnered 65 percent of the vote [Al Jazeera report] on assurances by Yannick Buttet, the Christian Democratic Party vice president, that the law is not intended to function in a manner similar to the US National Security Agency (NSA), which was exposed and criticized for setting up a vast data-gathering apparatus. The Swiss defense minister, Guy Parmelin, said Switzerland is leaving the basement and coming up to the ground floor by international standards of surveillance.

Surveillance and data collection have been a worldwide topic of discussion, particularly after Edward Snowden leaked top-secret [JURIST report] NSA documents in 2013. Last month a UN rights groups criticized [JURIST report] the Investigatory Powers Bill, stating it could threaten freedom of expression and association. In December China passed a new anti-terrorism law [JURIST report] that requires technology companies to provide information to the government obtained from their products and make information systems secure and controllable. Last October the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied [JURIST report] a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union to halt the bulk collection of phone records by the NSA. The court ruled that Congress intended for the agency to continue its data collection over the transition period, and the new legislation was to take effect November 29. In June of last year the French Parliament adopted [JURIST report] a new surveillance bill that would give French intelligence serves the authority to monitor Internet use metadata. In February 2015 the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled [JURIST report] that the UKs mass surveillance of citizens Internet use violates human rights law. In July 2014 civil liberties groups sued [JURIST report] the UKs Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6, alleging that the agency accesses data from undersea cables in violation of the rights to private life and freedom of expression.
Attacks in Aleppo, Syrias capital, were called a breach of international humanitarian law in a joint statement [text] by EU officials on Saturday. The EU is urging countries with influence on the parties to encourage negotiations to cease the attacks and allow humanitarian aid to victims in need. Suffering in Aleppo has become worse in the last 48 hours, according to the officials. They denounced the targeting of a humanitarian convoy, which was hit by an airstrike last week. Because of this, many civilians in Aleppo were deprived of water supplies. According to UN officials, millions more civilians were also left without water [AFP report] after attacks damaged a pumping station. The EU said it will review actions it could take to help parties in negotiations.

The conflict in Syria [JURIST backgrounder] has continued for five years in a civil war surrounding the legitimacy of Bashar al-Assad. Earlier this month Russian officials stated [JURIST report] that a US-led airstrike that killed Syrian troops could threaten the ceasefire agreed upon between Syrian and opposition forces. In August a top UN official submitted a report detailing an in-depth investigation into chemical warfare [JURIST report] used by Islamic State and Assad in Syria. That same month Amnesty International said that a suspected chlorine gas attack in Aleppo could amount to a war crime [JURIST report]. In July Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] cluster bombs have been targeted at civilians and rebels in Northern Syria. In June UN human rights experts called for the immediate protection [JURIST report] of thousands of Syrian civilians.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will enact laws to have stricter regulations on the sale and operation of drones, according to a statement by the countrys General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) [official website] Monday. The regulations will focus on [Reuters report] imports, sales, and performance and will also address separate regulations for heavier drones and pilotless aircraft. The GCAA is currently developing a process [Arabian Aerospace report] in Abu Dhabi to link drone approval systems so that private drone users can have their devices approved more quickly. The GCAA hopes this will make the air space safer. The agency currently operates an app that allows users to learn of current regulations [materials] and drone no-fly zones, but there have still been incidents of airport closures because of the unmanned vehicles. The GCAA has not yet set a date for the new regulations.

The use of drones [JURIST backgrounder] is controversial in both the international arena and in domestic circles. In April Human Rights Watch issued a report stating that fully autonomous weapons, as opposed to the current remote-controlled drone weapons, must be internationally prohibited [JURIST report]. Also in April a US appeals court upheld a district courts dismissal of a Freedom of Information Act request for information about the US governments use of drones for targeted killings. In November the Second Circuit ruled that the US government may keep secret [JURIST report] memoranda related to the legal justification for the use of drones for targeted killings of those in other countries believed to be involved in terrorism.
The Bianconeris preparations for Tuesday evenings Champions League matchday 2 meeting with Dinamo Zagreb have officially moved on to Croatian soil after the squad touched down at Zagreb International Airport shortly before 17.00 CEST today.

Following this mornings final training session in Vinovo, Massimiliano Allegris men made their way to Caselle for a flight across the Adriatic Sea to Zagreb where the Italian champions are set to face their Croatian counterparts at 20.45 tomorrow night.

They will now take in the surroundings of the citys Maksimir Stadion during an official walk around, with Massimiliano Allegri and Giorgio Chiellini scheduled to talk to the media shortly afterwards at 17.45.
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FILE - In this file image taken from video released Friday Oct. 31, 2014, by Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, centre, the leader of Nigeria's Islamic extremist group, surrounded by his fighters. Islamic extremists have killed eight soldiers and wounded 17 in two attacks in northeastern Nigeria, the country's military said Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. The attacks bring the official toll to 10 troops killed and 24 wounded this past week in a resurgence of violence after a lull as the extremists confronted a leadership struggle. (AP Photo/Boko Haram,File)
Fullerton, Calif., Police Sgt. Jon Radus tells media that police have arrested two men and a 17-year-old girl in connection with the slaying of three adults in a Fullerton house at the Fullerton Police Department in Fullerton. (Cindy Yamanaka/The Orange County Register via AP)
335 Shares Share

The British National Health Service (NHS) was born in 1948, based on legislation passed that year mandating free high-quality health care for all paid by taxes. In contrast, the U.S. started Medicare in 1966 to provide health care to the elderly and the State Childrens Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1993 to fund health care for children whose parents were unable to afford it. Health care in the UK is still almost entirely funded by the government (through taxes, of course), which it is not in the USA.

Britain is proud of the NHS, and rightly so. They have it figured out. Or so it would seem. Everyone can get care and nobody goes bankrupt because of huge medical bills. Brits do have to pay for prescriptions, but everything costs the same, the equivalent of $11 per month.

So why would the Economist, the global news magazine based in London, call it a mess? This article says that the NHS is in trouble, and needs to learn some new tricks in order to stay effective. It turns out that Britain only spends 7.3 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare which is significantly below average for its peers in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, and plans to cut that expenditure to 6.6 percent in the next year. Because their population, like ours, is aging, costs of care are actually rising so already pinched services are being further curtailed. Because of the high costs of caring for patients with complications, some local health commissions will not provide routine surgery to patients who are obese or smoke cigarettes. General practitioners are overworked and cant provide the kind of preventive services that keep patients out of the hospital, and nursing homes are unable to house all of the patients who need their beds, so those patients stay in the hospital, limiting the beds available for sick people or people needing surgery.

The U.S., in comparison, spends over 17 percent of its GDP on health care, at least 5 percent more than the next highest OECD country. Most of our problems are not due to stinginess of payers, but rather to distribution of health care dollars, with some people having no access to affordable medical services and others receiving care that is very expensive which they may not need or want. Many of us long for a fully government funded health care system like the NHS.

So what has gone wrong with the NHS, then? Im not entirely sure, but I have some ideas. Since the government is the payer for services, they have the ability to limit funding. Because of the inevitable waste that goes on with the provision of medical services, it could well be that 6.6 percent of GDP is plenty to provide good health care. It is not enough right now with the system they have. Because the government pays for services regardless of whether the consumers find them to be of good quality, there is no direct incentive to please the patient. Because doctors dont know how much things cost, they are less able to be good stewards of resources. Their health care delivery is, therefore, inefficient, and reducing funding has not made it better.

We do have similar problems in the U.S., with both lack of knowledge about what things cost and lack of incentive to do things better or more efficiently. Because the government is not the only payer and so cannot put a cap on payment for health care, our system is much more expensive. Our hospitals are prettier, and our technology is more snazzy, and we probably do more miracle cures per capita. But citizens of the UK have universal access to medical care, and nobody goes bankrupt because of medical bills.

Since health care per the NHS is not what we want, but we do want universal access with good quality and lower costs, how shall we do it? Americans have enough mistrust of government, and fiscal conservatives are absolutely allergic to the federal government being the sole provider of health insurance, so we will not get socialized medicine anytime soon. The Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) has improved our situation considerably. Expanding Medicaid to cover Americans whose income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line has helped in the 31 states that have adopted that. (My state, alas, is not one of them.) It is now easier and cheaper for the rest of us to get insurance, which helps avoid catastrophic and crushing medical bills.

But even people with health insurance go bankrupt due to their share of health care costs, combined with inability to work. Footing part of our medical costs is supposed to help us make more frugal decisions, which is one of the reasons most health care proposals have included some kind of a deductible (cost sharing). Unfortunately most patients dont have the information they need to make frugal decisions and their doctors dont know enough about costs or other options in many cases to help them do this.

In the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) an article reported that an intervention to give doctors information on costs of the various aspects of their patients care as well as a look at their outcomes significantly reduced costs while improving hospitalized patients health. This seems obvious. Of course knowing what things cost and how a patient fares will make us do a better job and not cost so much. The strange thing is that this is not standard practice. We dont know what the tests and procedures we order actually cost. And most of us dont get a longitudinal view of how a patients illness or surgery actually turned out.

So if we could have any system at all, what would be best for us here in the USA? Im not sure it actually matters, as long as we get what we need and so long as there is enough shared knowledge about what things cost, how well they work and what are the alternatives. The direction we have gone, with private and government funded insurance, has lead to our present situation. But if the insurance companies paid physicians to take care of patients, and how much we actually made depended on providing the most appropriate care that caused the least unpleasant impact on patients lives, costs would go down, and care would improve. This would require that patients voices be heard. It would require that doctors knew what was good value and the health care industry was encouraged to create options with better value. A single government payer could do this, but not without built in systems to feedback what patients value and what actually works and innovate actively to improve quality.

Janice Boughton is a physician who blogs at Why is American health care so expensive?

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
MADISON  They call her the ID Lady.

Wearing a black T-shirt, with large block letters on one side saying Ask Me and About Voter ID on the other, Molly McGrath moved back to her native state of Wisconsin last year with the mission of helping people vote.

For McGrath, that dedication includes navigating homeless people through the voter registration form, helping people new to Wisconsin get an in-state drivers license, arranging free cab rides to the DMV and even personally driving people to where they can get the required ID.

She also helps explain the complex and seemingly ever-changing election laws in Wisconsin. This will be the first presidential election where voters are required to show photo ID, a law passed by Republicans that has survived a series of court challenges from liberals.

Theres a tremendous amount of unawareness and confusion about the law, McGrath said on a late summer morning inside a church near the state Capitol where she was helping a steady stream of people register. You cant help but think, is this confusion a bug or part of the design?

Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans who swept into power in 2011 quickly passed a law requiring photo IDs at the polls, arguing it was needed to combat fraud despite scant evidence of any widespread voting irregularities.

They didnt stop there.

They also restricted early voting hours to the two weeks before an election with no weekend hours and a limit of one location per municipality. That was a particular blow to Milwaukee and Madison, the states two largest and most Democratic cities, which had expansive early voting.

Liberals fought the changes and in July won big when a federal court struck down more than a dozen Wisconsin election laws championed by Walker and Republicans. The judge said limits on early voting times and locations intentionally discriminates on the basis of race.

I reach this conclusion because I am persuaded that this law was specifically targeted to curtail voting in Milwaukee without any other legitimate purpose, Judge James Peterson said.

Madison and Milwaukee moved quickly to begin early voting Monday.

And while he didnt strike down the voter ID law, Peterson did require the states DMV to quickly issue credentials to anyone trying to obtain a free ID but lacking the underlying documents, such as a birth certificate, needed to get it. A federal appeals court has put on hold a separate ruling that would have allowed those without IDs to sign affidavits at the polls attesting to their identity.

Both sides are bracing for a close election, where turnout  or the lack of an acceptable photo ID for a large number of voters  could tip the scales.

In a 2014 ruling striking down the voter ID law, which was later overturned, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman estimated that 300,000 registered voters in Wisconsin lacked a required ID. For context, Walker won re-election in 2014 by about 137,000 votes and Ron Johnson defeated Russ Feingold in the 2010 Senate race by just over 105,000 votes.

And in 2000 and 2004 the presidential race was decided by the tiniest of margins  about 6,000 votes in 2000 and 11,000 in 2004.

The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton running about even in the state. It also showed Feingold leading the incumbent Johnson by 6 points in the hotly contested Senate race.

That makes every vote all the more crucial. The state Elections Commission is trying to spread the word about the law with radio and TV public service announcements, online display and video ads, pre-show advertising at movie theaters, bus ads and Facebook ads.

Campaigns, political parties and advocates like VoteRiders are also trying to spread the word to people like Duane Dahl. He didnt have a photo ID until McGrath came along. She works with VoteRiders, which helps low-income and people of color get IDs and registered to vote.

Dahl, who has been homeless at times in Madison, said he was confused about the laws, what he needed to get an ID, and where to go. But in March he got his ID and voted in primaries in April and August.

I got lucky, Dahl said. Other people have had a huge struggle trying to get ID.

Matthew Kurtz, 45, is homeless and hasnt voted since he was 18. After helping him register, McGrath reminded him hell need his ID on Election Day to actually cast a ballot.

Dahl said hell pay more attention to politics now that he can actually have a say in who gets elected.

If you dont vote you dont have a right to be crying or complaining, Dahl said.

Vietnam veteran Mike Battles, 70, said hes voted in every election since Johnson. He has an ID and is registered to vote, but he recently moved. Battles sought McGraths help in getting his registration changed so he can vote at his new address.

Battles said he was motivated to vote for Clinton.

I dont want to see Trump elected because the middle class and lower will suffer, he said.

While McGrath is passionate about her work she tries to remain nonpartisan. When another potential voter tells McGrath Im scared of Trump she laughs it off.

I dont care who you vote for, she says, as long as you vote.
Wells Fargo has given its customers one more reason to take a hard look at their accounts. The bank recently disclosed that about 1.5 million deposit accounts and 565,000 credit card applications may have been opened by employees without customer permission, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bank is paying $185 million in fines to the CFPB, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney.

If Wells Fargo identified you as a victim in its review of accounts dating back to 2011, you should have already received a letter of notification and a check in the mail, or a message on your bank statement and an account credit, says Wells Fargo spokesperson Richele Messick. The bank has refunded $2.6 million so far, with an average credit of $25.

Its still a good idea to check for any unfamiliar accounts in your name, however. Wells Fargo is now reviewing accounts opened in 2009 and 2010, and more could turn up.

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If you have a mortgage, auto, student or other loan but no deposit or credit card accounts with Wells Fargo, you should be in the clear, says Messick, because such lending and mortgages fall under a separate division of the bank.

You can see all of your Wells Fargo bank and credit card accounts by logging in at www.wellsfargo.com (opens in new tab). Or to talk to a bank representative, visit a branch or call the customer service phone number listed on your bank statement or on the back of your credit card.

Here are two other steps to take to keep your finances safe:

Check your credit reports. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com (opens in new tab) to get free copies of your credit reports from each of the major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

A handful of statesColorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermontrequire that the bureaus provide an additional free copy to residents each year, which could be useful if youve already claimed your free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com in the past 12 months.

Some online credit tools offer credit report information at no charge. At CreditKarma.com (opens in new tab), for example, you can sign up to see information from your Equifax and TransUnion reports.

Search your credit reports for credit card accounts that you dont recognize. Banks don't report deposit accounts or debit cards to the three big credit agencies, although overdraft protection on a checking account may show up on credit reports, says credit expert John Ulzheimer, formerly of Equifax and credit-scoring company FICO.

If Wells Fargo checked your credit report in the past two years, that activity would show up as an inquiry on at least one of your credit reports (after two years, inquiries disappear from the reports).

Any inquiries that appeared on your report within the past year could be pulling down your credit score. If you believe that any Wells Fargo inquiries from the past year are tied to an account application that you didnt request, you can ask the bank to have them removed, Ulzheimer says.

You may not necessarily want to close a credit card account opened by Wells Fargo without your knowledge. Shutting it down may seem like a no-brainer. But by doing so, you could lower the amount of credit available to you. That could increase the ratio of your credit card balances to your overall credit limitswhich may cause your credit score to drop. "If you have a credit card on your credit report that has no balance and a large, unused credit limit, thats very likely going to help your score," says Ulzheimer.

To keep your credit score in healthy territory, always try to hold your credit card balances to no more than 20% to 30% of your credit limits. Leaving an unused credit card account open may be your best bet as long as its not racking up annual fees or other charges.

In some instances, the Wells Fargo employeesgiven incentives in the form of bonuses that they could earn for meeting sales targetsmoved money from customers original bank accounts to the new, unauthorized accounts. If the balances of the original accounts werent high enough to cover the transfers, they triggered overdraft or insufficient-funds fees.

In other cases, unauthorized credit card applications that the bank approved left customers with cards that incurred annual fees, interest charges or other fees. Some customers also had debit cards and PINs activated in their names or were enrolled in online banking without their knowledge. That's what you need to look forand act upon.
There's a potentially nasty birthday surprise lurking for those who have health coverage through an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan. Most people in that boat should promptly drop private coverage and sign up for Medicare when they turn 65. If the transition doesn't go smoothly, they could face big coverage gaps and hefty financial consequences.

When it comes to making the leap to Medicare, "the most pervasive problem is doing nothing," says Casey Schwarz, senior counsel for education and federal policy at the Medicare Rights Center. People who are happy with their marketplace coverage might not even think about signing up for Medicare. By the time they do, their initial enrollment period may have passed, making them subject to lifelong late-enrollment penalties.

Since the Affordable Care Act exchanges launched in 2013, the focus has been on getting people into these plans--not getting them out. Consumer advocates have voiced concerns that people in marketplace plans receive little information about making the switch to Medicare. But thats starting to change as early retirees who flocked to the marketplace in recent years struggle to navigate the Medicare transition. The Department of Health and Human Services said this summer that the marketplace would start giving enrollees Medicare-related information as they near age 65.

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If you're in a marketplace plan, you should start thinking about Medicare enrollment several months before your 65th birthday. You'll need to sign up during your initial enrollment period, which is the seven-month period starting three months before the month you turn 65 and ending three months after. You'll also need to notify your marketplace plan that you're dropping coverage, making sure you coordinate the end date of your marketplace plan with the effective date of your Medicare enrollment. Notify your marketplace plan at least 14 days before you want coverage to end.

The Costs of Not Switching

If you like your marketplace plan, it may seem tempting to hang on to it. While it's illegal for anyone to knowingly sell a marketplace plan to someone who has Medicare, there's nothing preventing marketplace enrollees from keeping their plans beyond age 65.

But keeping a marketplace plan and delaying Medicare is generally a bad idea. Once eligible for Medicare, most people no longer qualify for any tax credits that offset the cost of marketplace plans. If you continue to collect them, you may have to pay back thousands of dollars worth of subsidies. And if you fail to sign up for Medicare during your initial enrollment period, youll likely face stiff penalties for late enrollment.

Whats more, procrastinators "may not be able to purchase a medigap policy when they do sign up for Medicare," says Tricia Neuman, director of the Medicare policy program at the Kaiser Family Foundation. During your medigap open enrollment period, which is the six months starting the month you're both 65 and enrolled in Medicare Part B, you can buy any supplemental policy sold in your state, even if you have health problems. If you miss that window, in many states insurers may reject your application or charge you more based on preexisting conditions. (And, yes, Medicare and medigap have different enrollment periods.)

Another reason to stay alert: Insurers can seek permission from Medicare to switch their marketplace enrollees automatically into the insurer's own Medicare Advantage plan at age 65, Neuman says.

There are some limited situations where it can make sense to stick with a marketplace plan beyond age 65. If you have coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)--the marketplace for small businesses--and your employer has more than 20 employees, your employer coverage will be the primary payer even if you sign up for Medicare, says Bonnie Burns, policy specialist at California Health Advocates. And you won't face a Part B late-enrollment penalty, so long as you enroll when your employment ends. So you might consider taking only Part A, which is free and covers inpatient hospital care, while delaying Part B.
Kiribati is for travellers  those who have a passion for exploring and discovering, people who like an adventure off the tourist trail to places where few have been before, and people who want to understand a country  not just see it. Kiribati will challenge your view of how life should be and show you a less complicated way of living where family and community come first.

Situated in the equatorial pacific, in the east Kiribati offers world class fishing (both game and bone fishing) from Kiritimati Island. In the west is the Gilbert Group of islands, which offer amazing and unique cultural experiences. The countrys capital of Tarawa has historic sites and artefacts where one of the bloodiest battles of World War II , the Battle of Tarawa.

If you are visiting as part of your work, we would encourage you to explore Kiribati to experience these delights  South Tarawa should not be the only Atoll you visit when you have 33 to choose from, even the nearby North Tarawa offers a very different perspective!
By Shashwat Pradhan

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares cooled after four straight sessions of gains, dragged by consumer and health care stocks and as investors shifted their attention from central banks to American politics.

The S&P/ASX 200 index edged down 15.40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,415.9 by 0205 GMT.

Investors are awaiting Monday evening's U.S. presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that could influence stock trading. The first of three debates ahead of the November election looks set to draw a record high U.S. television audience. "The (Australian) market won't like it if there are signs that Trump might get in," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst with OptionsXpress.

Democrat Hillary Clinton, suddenly vulnerable in the presidential race, is under pressure to deliver a strong performance against Republican Donald Trump in the debate, a moment that could be the most significant yet of the 2016 election. Reuters/Ipsos polling shows about 20 percent of the electorate remains undecided, far higher at this stage in the campaign than the 12 percent undecided four years ago.

Oil prices slumped 4 percent on Friday on signs that Saudi Arabia and Iran were making little progress in achieving preliminary agreement ahead of talks by major crude exporters next week aimed at freezing production. "We have had a few sectors turn positive, namely the materials and the financials, coupled with property trusts and discretionary. So, if we see this momentum continue, there is a good chance we will close in positive territory," Le Brun added.

Consumer stocks were among the biggest drag on the benchmark. Retail giants Wesfarmers Ltd and Woolworths Ltd fell 1.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Miner Iluka Resources Ltd fell as much as 3.4 percent to record its biggest intra-day percentage loss in three-weeks.

Oil major Woodside Petroleum shed 0.8 percent while WorleyParsons Ltd declined 1.5 percent.

Sai Global soared as much as 33.2 percent, its biggest intra-day percentage gain since it started trading. The firm is backing a $761 million takeover from Hong Kong-based Baring Asia Private Equity, two years after KKR & Co LP and a domestic buyout firm scrapped a higher offer. Whitehaven Coal Ltd was among the top gainers, reversing Friday's losses to climb 5.4 percent.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index drifted down 0.3 percent, or 25.32 points, to 7,271.42.

New Zealand reported a wider-than-expected trade deficit in August, as milk powder exports plummeted to a seven-year low and meat exports also waned. Utilities, health care and telecom stocks were the biggest drag on the index.

Meridian Energy Ltd dropped 2.3 percent while Spark New Zealand Ltd wilted 1.1 percent.

For more individual stocks activity click on (Reporting by Shashwat Pradhan; Additional reporting by Aparajita Saxena; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
* Aug exports +6.5 pct y/y vs -1.4 pct in Reuters poll

* Aug imports -1.5 pct y/y vs -4.25 pct in poll

* Aug trade surplus $2.13 bln vs poll's $1.22 bln surplus

* Jan-Aug exports -1.2 pct y/y, imports -8.8 pct y/y

BANGKOK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Thailand's customs-cleared exports in August unexpectedly rose for the first time in five months, led by auto shipments, but it is too early to tell if the trade-dependent economy's recovery is starting to solidify given the still-soft global demand.

Exports increased 6.5 percent from a year earlier, commerce ministry data showed on Monday, compared with the median forecast for a fall of 1.4 percent in a Reuters poll. In July, shipments fell 6.4 percent In August, imports dropped 1.5 percent from a year earlier, producing a trade surplus of $2.13 billion for the month. Many imported materials are assembled into completed goods and shipped out again. In July, annual imports slumped 7.2 percent.

Thai exports, worth about two-thirds of the country's economic output, have declined in each of the past three years.

The central bank has forecast exports will decline 2.5 percent this year and 0.5 percent in 2017. (Percentage change from a year earlier, in dollar terms; figures may not add up exactly due to rounding):

Aug July June May Exports (pct y/y) 6.5 -6.38 -0.1 -4.40 ($bln) 18.83 17.05 18.15 17.62

Imports (pct y/y) -1.5 -7.2 -10.1 0.50 ($bln) 16.70 16.20 16.18 16.08

Trade balance ($bln) 2.13 0.84 1.97 1.54 ($1 = 34.66 baht)

(Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
FRANKFURT, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is looking into whether it should allow instant payments to be settled around the clock, ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Monday.

"The Governing Council has decided that it will launch and closely monitor an investigation with market participants on the necessity of extending settlement operating hours for a subset of its regular settlement services up to 24/7/365 to allow for real-time settlement of instant payments," Mersch said.

He added the ECB will also weigh the case for a euro zone-wide system to manage assets used as collateral to borrow money from the bloc's central banks.

To read his speech, please click: (Reporting By Francesco Canepa)
HANOI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0424 GMT.

Sept 26 Sept 23 USD/VND mid-point 21,946 21,942 USD/VND interbank 22,311/22,312 22,311/22,312 USD/VND unofficial 22,300/22,315 22,300/22,315 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.06/36.32 36.10/36.38

Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.4-0.7 0.4-0.7

1 week 0.5-0.8 0.4-0.8

1 month 1.6-2.2 1.7-2.4

3 months 3.2-4.2 3.3-4.2

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom)
The United States Department of Agriculture is celebrating a million acres of farms enrolled in its conservation stewardship program Tuesday with a visit to DD Farms, Inc. in Bloomer.

The program is open to farms that practice energy-efficient, eco-friendly approaches and practices. It is the largest conservation program in the USDA, said Tom Krapf, assistant state conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

DD Farms represents many CSP farms in the way it manages conservation practices, protecting natural resources and trying new things, Krapf said. The northwest region of Wisconsin has historically been a strong sign-up area for this program.

Among the practices DD Farms employs are advanced irrigation water management, GPS-controlled irrigation and planting a cover crop of winter rye, DD Farms co-owner Tony Pecha said.

Pecha said they enrolled the farm in a five-year program six years ago, took a year off and enrolled again this year for another five years. He thought the conservation practices CSP valued were good, sound practices for farms to adopt, and the financial assistance through the program also helped.

Farms can apply to the CSP program during an application period each year, Krapf said. Then USDA staff evaluate operation, document resources the farms are protecting and look at what potential enhancements the farms could apply to their practices.

This whole program recognizes people who are doing conservation, have been doing a good job and want to do even more, and thats really unique, Krapf said. A lot of our programs are dealing with problems, while this is more of a recognition of good conservation work already being done.

For Pecha and Thomas Short, the other co-owner of DD Farms, the value of the program made sense.

We make our living off of our land, and they quit making land a long time ago, Pecha said. Now we need to conserve and take of what we have for our welfare and the next generation.

USDA members will be at DD Farms, Inc. in Bloomer from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27 to celebrate with Pecha and Short, as well as members of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the USDA-NRCS national chief, a representative from U.S. Rep. Ron Kinds office and other.

There will be a short presentation, speeches and then a tour of the farm to check out the practices in use.

We make our living off of our land, and they quit making land a long time ago. Tony Pecha, co-owner, DD Farms
(Recast, adds annual estimate)

By Alonso Soto

BRASILIA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's current account deficit shrank in August to its smallest in almost a decade thanks to an improving trade balance, central bank data showed on Monday.

The country had a deficit of $579 million, below the $850 million shortfall forecast in a Reuters poll and the smallest since 2007.

A recession in its second year has dragged down imports while a weaker Brazilian real has helped bolster exports from one of the world's top producers of soy, sugar, corn and iron ore.

Still, the central bank slightly raised its 2016 external accounts deficit to $18 billion from $15 billion previously as recent gains in the real have reduced the positive momentum of the trade balance.

At the start of the year, the central bank estimated a external gap of $41 billion.

The country also attracted $7.2 billion in foreign direct investment in August, slightly above forecasts in a Reuters poll for an inflow of $7 billion.

Brazil posted a current account deficit of $4 billion in July, and a deficit of $4 billion in August of 2015.

(Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by W Simon and Bill Trott)
(Adds new info)

BAKU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A large gas leak at Azerbaijan's Guneshli oil field during maintenance caused a fire on Monday, the state energy company SOCAR said.

SOCAR said earlier a fire had broken out at the well on one of the Guneshli oil platforms, which belongs to the company, but then said that it was just the gas leakage.

"Despite of all security measures, (a) gas fountain turned into (a) fire," SOCAR and the country's Emergency Ministry said in a joint statement.

All 49 workers had been evacuated from the platform, it said. No casualties are reported.

In December last year, 30 workers were killed on one of SOCAR's offshore rigs during a large storm.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Polina Devitt and Margarita Antidze; Editing by Alexander Smith)
By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  The family of a Bremerton teen missing since Sept. 9 is asking for help in finding her, fearing she may be in danger.

JohnnaLynn LaFrombois, 16, last contacted her family on Sept. 12, when she called home from the downtown Bremerton library.

"We're very worried about her," said her mother, Pat Hardy, noting her daughter is involved in several high school groups and takes advanced classes Bremerton High School.

The Bremerton Police Department is investigating the case and has informed other area law enforcement agencies to keep a look out for her. She has also been listed on a national database for missing children.

LaFrombois, who is of Native American and Hispanic descent, is 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 140 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes, her mother said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 and reference Bremerton police case number B16-007348.
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Doug Nelson, Poulsbo

Let's wave the flag more often

Recently we've seen professional athletes sitting or kneeling during the national anthem and a Missouri state lawmaker sat during the Pledge of Allegiance. We're a great country because we can express ourselves.

But when there are men and women that give their lives for the flag or anthem, there is no reason to make a point by disrespecting our flag.

Is it possible to wave the flag too much? Is it possible to study Washington, Lincoln or Shakespeare too much?

I believe we are not waving our flag enough.

We are developing a tendency to be timid about the stars and stripes. Walk the streets on July 4th and count the flags. It is our nation's birthday, a sacred day in world history, the most important day of America. Why isn't the flag flying from every home? It's a symbol of our national unity. It's the spirit of our undying devotion to our country. It stands for the best that is in us and faith in our republic.

Isn't the flag representative of Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Nathan Hale, Gettysburg and Valley Forge, Paul Revere, Jackson and others who fought and died for our heritage?

It is time for us to pause. Let us rekindle in ourselves, our children and our grandchildren the way of patriotism, a burning devotion to the principles and ideals upon which our country was founded.

The flag is a symbol of this nation, a giant in technology, education, industry and commerce. Our great republic, the chosen infant destined to be a shining beacon of light, noble and magnificent, the haven for the oppressed and persecuted.

Can we wave it too much? I don't think so.

Ellen Middents, Silverdale

County should support CSTOCK

The Kitsap County commissioners were presented with a well thought out plan for the CSTOCK theater to be built at Ridgetop Middle School. ("County mulls request for CK theater," Sept. 21)

They can show support by pledging $450,000 to build the theater. CSTOCK has raised $1.6 million. The school district has given the land and will pay 25 percent of building costs.

Surely our county can support such a fine project.
Stuff reports:

A new report estimates Antarctic-related activities pump $178 million into the New Zealand economy with Canterbury the major beneficiary. National Antarctic programmes run by New Zealand, the US, Italy and the Republic of Korea contribute $167m annually, buying goods and services from more than 900 firms. The report said the multiplier effect of downstream and household spending meant the full economic impact for the country was $432m, and almost 7000 jobs  more than half of them in Canterbury  were based on Antarctic-related activities.

As always be sceptical of multiplier effects, but even without that it is a very useful contribution. Being a major gateway to Antarctica for other countries is good for us.

Chief executive of Antarctica New Zealand Peter Beggs said about 4000 people heading for Antarctica to work passed through Christchurch each season. Many of the 3500 internationals stayed on to travel around New Zealand when their stint on the ice ended, and some brought friends and family here to join them. The report noted future opportunities for Christchurch included the US$300m rebuilding of McMurdo station by the US Antarctic programme, and the Chinese governments plan to build a research facility in the Ross Sea area. Scott Base also needed a major upgrade, estimated to cost $150m, to extend its life and support quality research. Beggs said they had put a business case for Scott Base to Treasury and hoped to get some funding in next years budget. If the Chinese opted to use Christchurch as their base for the building of their research facility, that had huge economic potential because the stocking and refuelling of just one ship could run to $1m, he said.

Would be great to support a Chinese base also.

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A federal law provision routinely applied to projects involving historic structures has the possibility of extending the life of the Cobban Bridge, which the Chippewa County Board has voted to replace.

Starting the process that is called for under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 has begun, said Jason Kennedy, environmental review analyst for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The process can be relatively short. But other cases take a lot of time.

It can take a couple of years if it is somewhat drawn out or controversial, said Jim Koenig, a systems program supervisor for the DOTs Eau Claire office.

Even more time could be needed. Kennedy said one Section 106 project in southeast Wisconsin that hes working on has already been going on for four years.

The Cobban Bridge, which lies between Jim Falls and Cornell, is not on the National Register of Historic Places, but it has been declared eligible to be placed on the list. That makes it eligible to fall under the provision of Section 106, Kennedy said.

Paperwork

The process will require the county to produce documentation on whether whats called an adverse effect to the bridge can be avoided, said Kitty Henderson, executive director of the Historic Bridge Foundation based in Austin, Texas.

She said the county will also have to show documentation on alternatives to tearing down the bridge, such as converting it to a pedestrian bridge or having traffic go one way on a repaired bridge and having a new one-way bridge built next to it.

Henderson has requested to be included as a consulting party in the Section 106 process of the Cobban Bridge, which was built in 1908 by the Modern Steel Structural Company of Waukesha. It was moved from its original location in 1916 with the creation of Lake Wissota. Parts of the bridge were moved by horses and sleds during the winter and installed in its current location in 1919.

I believe the style of bridge (Pennsylvania overhead truss) ... is one of the few still in the state of Wisconsin, said Jim Schuh, vice president of the Chippewa County Historical Society. The group paid to repaint the state historical marker at the bridge site last year.

Poor condition

The bridge itself is showing its age. Because of its condition, the county has been inspecting the bridge every six months.

That bridge, its days are very, very numbered, said Chippewa County Supervisor Glenn Sikorski, chairman of the countys Highway Committee.

Sikorski said having the county do nothing about the aging bridge will not work. However, he added, We are in no position to put huge amounts of money into that bridge.

The idea of replacing the bridge is nothing new. The bridge had rehabilitation work done on it in 1995, but by 2009, the county began looking at replacing it.

Eventually the county hired the engineering firm of AECOM of Stevens Point to do a feasibility study for a bridge replacement. AECOM project manager Bruce Gerland was unavailable for comment on when a new bridge could be built, which was not specified when the board in March voted for a southern route for a new bridge.

The county began holding meetings on the topic in November 2014.

Cost: $13 million

A Cobban Bridge Location Study was issued by the county Jan. 5. It concludes the bridge is in poor structural condition, with an outdated design and restrictions on its width, the weight of vehicles using it, its height and how fast vehicles may go across it.

The study estimated the cost of rehabilitating the existing bridge at $13 million, and it would be difficult or impossible to maintain the historical integrity of the structure. Keeping and maintaining the bridge is a liability for the county, it concluded.

In March, the County Board voted 15-0 to endorse a route for a replacement bridge south of the current bridge, linking County TT and 180th Avenue. The board was told the cost of a new bridge would be $7.2 million, which would include the cost of taking out the existing bridge.

The cost of the new bridge would be split, with federal and state funds being used to cover 80 percent of the cost, with the county responsible for the rest. Section 106 kicks in since federal funds are involved.

A month after the vote for a southern route for a new bridge, seven new members of the 15-member board were elected. The Cobban Bridge has not been taken up by the board since.
Trump's promise: Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel 26 September, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

NEW YORK (Christian Examiner)  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with both presidential nominees in advance of the candidates' first debate Monday evening.

Netanyahu met with Clinton at her hotel for an hour and engaged Trump at his New York City home in the Trump Tower for 90 minutes.

According to the Clinton campaign, the Israeli leader and the former secretary of state discussed the recently-signed security agreement between the U.S. and Israel which provides $38 billion in military aid for the sole democracy in the Middle East.

A Clinton campaign aide also said the prime minister also discussed the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu characterized as a grave mistake, and a "two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated directly by the parties that guarantees Israel's future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity."

Clinton was said to have "reaffirmed her opposition to any attempt by outside parties to impose a solution, including by the UN Security Council."

At Trump's home, however, the Republican nominee leaned heavily in Israel's direction, offering a greater level of support for the Jewish homeland than any previous American administration has  even declaring Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital.

According to the Trump campaign, the candidate acknowledged that "Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel."

In 1995, Congress passed the "Jewish Embassy Relocation Act," which authorized the relocation of the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The act included a provision that allowed the president to issue a waiver at six-month intervals to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. Since it was passed, every U.S. president  Republican and Democrat  has issued the waivers throughout his administration's tenure.

Trump said in March he would relocate the embassy if elected president. Palestinians, however, want part of the Old City of Jerusalem (East Jerusalem) as the capital of a Palestinian state.

Trump also said he wanted "a just and lasting peace" with the Palestinians, but not at the expense of Israeli security. He said the Palestinians have to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

In May, the Israel Democracy Institute polled Israelis and found Hillary Clinton was viewed more favorably than Trump by 10 points (Clinton, 38; Trump 28). However, another poll in June suggested Israelis believe Trump would be better for Israel's security (Trump, 37; Clinton, 36). In the same poll, however, Israelis said Clinton would likely be the better president.

Israeli reaction to the meetings, however, was hardly mixed. On the prime minister's Facebook page, the comments related to his visit with Clinton were virtually all negative, with many citing Clinton's lack of trustworthiness, her acceptance of money from Israel's enemies, and her character. One person called her "the devil's daughter."

Trump, though comments on his meeting were more plentiful and generally more positive, still had detractors. Several called Trump and his advisers "anti-Semitic."
SHARE Suspects wanted in overnight shooting on Fourth Avenue South in downtown Nashville. (Photo: Metro Nashville police)

By Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY NETWORK  Tennessee

A 30-year-old California man was shot and killed overnight while walking with a friend in downtown Nashville, Metro Nashville police said.

According to police, Teddy Grasset and Larry Niehues, 28, both from of Los Angeles, were walking on Fourth Avenue South near Demonbreun Street and Korean Veterans Boulevard just before midnight when a gray or silver Chevrolet Impala with three people inside pulled up.

Police Capt. Gregory Blair said two of the suspects got out of the Impala and approached the men, spooking them. The driver, police say, remained in the car.

Police spokeswoman Kris Mumford said Niehues ran south toward Korean Veterans Boulevard and was not hurt, but Grasset ran toward Demonbreun and was shot in the chest by one of the suspects.

The suspects then fled the area.

Grasset was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he later died, Blair said.

Police believe the shooting stemmed from an apparent robbery attempt.

Blair said detectives are investigating why the victims were in town, but noted they were not in town for the Titans-Raiders game.

A complete description of the suspects was not available.

Mumford said the men had been on Broadway and were planning to take a ride-share back to a Murfreesboro Pike motel where they had been staying.

The suspect's vehicle appears to be a newer model silver Chevrolet Impala with a sun roof and spoiler.

Anyone who recognizes the suspects is asked to call Emergency Communications Center at 615-862-8600 or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward. People can also send an electronic tip by texting the word CASH along with the message to 274637 (CRIMES), or online at www.nashvillecrimestoppers.com.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072. Follow her on Twitter: @nataliealund.
SHARE DAVID LEE DALTON

By News Sentinel staff

A man with 57 prior forgery and theft convictions earned 12 more felony convictions from a Knox County jury on Monday.

A jury convicted David Lee Dalton, 52, on six counts of aggravated burglary, one count of attempted aggravated burglary, one count of burglary and four counts of forgery, according to a news release from Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen.

From February to July, Dalton broke into six homes and a garage where he stole electronics, tools and other items that he pawned at various stores throughout Knox County, Assistant District Attorney General TaKisha Fitzgerald said in court. Dalton also stole checks, forged them and passed them at local banks, Fitzgerald said.

Dalton was sentenced to 20 years in prison, which he will serve after finishing a 12-year sentence out of Washington County, the release states.

"When you have 57 felony convictions and you commit 12 more felonies, you have dedicated your life to crime, and you do not deserve to walk among our free society," Allen said. "The length of this sentence ensures he will not victimize the citizens of Knox County for a long time to come."

Dalton's prior convictions are from forgery and theft cases in Washington, Williamson, Greene, Sullivan and Hawkins counties, according to the release.

More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel.
The Howard H. Baker Jr. U.S. Courthouse (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

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By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

A federal appeals court is not only serving up a defeat for prosecutors in the case of a twice-deported undocumented immigrant caught in Knoxville but sprinkling salt into the wound for booting the Honduran too soon.

Wilmer Canelas-Amador, 43, had faced nearly five years in federal prison for sneaking into the U.S. a third time, but a 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision issued last week ensures he will instead spend a few months behind bars before  presumably  he will be sent back to Honduras.

Document: Court of Appeals decision in U.S. v. Canelas-Amador

In striking down the heftier sentence, the court opined the federal government has no one to blame but itself.

"As anyone who watches detective shows on television can tell you, it is rarely good news when 'the feds' take over on a case  they are generally portrayed as likely to bungle the whole thing, permitting the guilty party to get off scot-free," Judge Alice M. Batchelder wrote in the opinion. "This trope is certainly a gross exaggeration. But at least in this case there may be a grain of truth to it, albeit in circumstances involving the less-than-thrilling minutiae of immigration law and the federal sentencing guidelines."

Canelas-Amador's case could have been an example of illegal immigration enforcement done right, according to court records. He came to the U.S. illegally in his 20s, working construction. In 2009, Canelas-Amador was arrested in Tennessee  the county is not identified  for aggravated assault, a felony characterized as a crime of violence under immigration law. The details of the crime are not included in the opinion or records in U.S. District Court.

The federal government quickly deported Canelas-Amador. There was just one problem. Although the Honduran had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, he was deported before he was sentenced. When he sneaked back into the country in 2012, he was again quickly caught, sentenced to a year in prison for illegal re-entry and sent back to Honduras. That aggravated assault case remained unfinished.

In March 2015, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, was conducting a sweep in Knox County for illegal immigrants. Agents showed up at an residence on Willow Way Drive in search of another undocumented immigrant when they encountered Canelas-Amador.

He readily admitted a second illegal re-entry offense. This time, the stakes were much higher when Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooklyn Sawyers convinced Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips to boost the Honduran's penalty range because of that prior aggravated assault. Phillips sentenced him to 57 months, or nearly five years.

Assistant Federal Defender Laura Davis appealed. She argued that because Canelas-Amador had been deported before being sentenced in that aggravated assault case, he had not yet suffered a conviction, so Phillips shouldn't have held that against him.

According to the 6th Circuit, the law on what constitutes a conviction under immigration law is murky, with appeals courts across the nation divided on the issue. On the one hand, the court noted, Canelas-Amador signed a guilty plea and, therefore, could be considered convicted of the crime. On the other hand, the court said, the government's deportation of Canelas-Amador prevented a judge from sentencing him and, therefore, formally completing the conviction process.

The appellate court opted to invoke what's known as the "rule of lenity," a long tradition of ruling in favor of a defendant when the law is less than clear in its language.

"It reflects our nation's solemn commitment to the principle that it is better to not punish those who have done wrong  or, in cases like this one, to punish them more lightly  than to countenance legal provisions so foggy that they fail to provide fair notice and thus, ultimately, leave the rights of the innocent unprotected," Batchelder wrote.

Lest the federal government blame the court for chopping Canelas-Amador's penalty range down to two to eight months on the illegal re-entry conviction, Batchelder pointed the finger of blame back at the government.

"It was the action of the federal government, not Canelas-Amador, that resulted in his removal from the state before a formal judgment of conviction could be entered," she wrote. "Its desire to see the immigration laws executed promptly is understandable  even quite commendable  but it has no one to blame but itself for the consequences of having in this instance acted too quickly."
SHARE January 27, 2015 - Michael Mullins, 53, appeared in Knox County Criminal Court Division 3 for arraignment. He was indicted on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated rape in the attack of 79-year-old Jessie Lee Maples at Morningside Park in Knoxville on April 18, 2008. Mullins was convicted in a series of rapes and murders of Beatrice Marie Cole, Valerie Ector, and Gwen Jackson in Memphis. (Michael Patrick/News Sentinel) March 4, 2016 - Sgt. W.D. Merritt, a crime investigator with the Memphis Police Department, poses for a portrait at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar. Merritt took recorded statements from serial killer Michael Mullins where he confessed, in detail, to the murders of Beatrice Cole, Valerie Ector, Gwen Jackson, and the attack on Jessie Lee Maples. "It was a group effort. It wasn't one or two people," Merritt said. "Without this (finger)print, without their work, I mean, this case probably would not have been solved. It would have been impossible because we had no idea who Michael Mullins was at that time." (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) March 15, 2016 - Jennifer Nichols, a Shelby County prosecutor, became involved with Michael Mullins' case, and was taken aback when she heard his confessions. "I was so fascinated. I've never said (to a defense attorney) before, "You need to come up to my office and listen to this. You've got to hear this guy before you get too far into things," Nichols said. "His willingness to admit what he did, even trying to deflect some of the blame off himself. His willingness to say, "I picked up a brick and hit her in the head (was unusual)." (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) June 13, 2016 - Sgt. Joe Stark, a homicide detective with the Memphis Police Department, worked on the Michael Mullins case and thought "it was obvious that he can manhandle any woman of their size," Stark said. "Most of the women were small stature - the victims were. I think that there's more out there, but we couldn't find any unsolved (cases) in Memphis that matches what we saw in him - at least what we could find." (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) Related Coverage 'Shes alive': 79-year-old Knoxville woman barely survived attack

UNCOVERED: 'It was a very brutal murder'

UNCOVERED: Killer attacks fourth victim and leaves a clue

By Jody Callahan, USA TODAY NETWORK  Tennessee

For more than 13 years, a serial killer targeted women living in the margins in Memphis and one in Knoxville, yet for much of that time, no one knew he even existed. This is the fifth and final installment of a five-part series.

***

Until his fingerprints matched those found at Gwen Jackson's murder scene in May 2012, Michael Mullins had been little more than a nuisance to police forces across the state.

In Memphis, he'd been arrested at least 13 times for mostly petty crimes: panhandling, contempt of court, public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, theft. He'd been jailed here, but never sent to prison. In Knoxville, he'd been arrested in August 2002 for beating a homeless acquaintance, and again in February 2008 after police found him with crack. Neither case went anywhere.

But now, Mullins was connected to a brutal murder, and police suspected whoever killed Jackson was tied to at least two other incidents.

So, on June 7, 2012, barely two hours after fingerprint analyst Robert Winston gave police Mullins' name, officers found and arrested him at Downtown's Memphis Union Mission. He'd just been kicked out of the shelter after a positive cocaine test.

Soon, Mullins was in an interrogation room at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar. W.D. Merritt, the dogged homicide investigator assigned to Jackson's case, knew he had his man. He knew Mullins raped and murdered Valerie Ector in 2011 and Jackson in 2012, both in Memphis. He knew Mullins had raped and tried to kill Jessie Lee Maples in 2008 in Knoxville.

But he had no idea Mullins killed Marie Cole in 1999.

****

Mullins was born in Memphis on June 28, 1961, the fifth of seven children. He lived with his mother for a while, then moved to West Memphis to live with his father.

Mullins wasn't much of a student, failing first grade and last attending Memphis schools in the ninth grade in 1977. He was frequently absent, once missing an entire month of school. His grade promotions were all social, and there is strong evidence that Mullins is illiterate. Various intelligence tests put his IQ at 59, 62, 65 or 69, any of which one expert said would be regarded as a "mild intellectual disability."

Mullins' mother, Ida Tucker, was apparently shot and killed in front of him on Aug. 6, 1980, in South Memphis. Family members said she died in Mullins' arms, that he had her blood all over him. Mullins told a psychologist that "me and my mother did not get along too well."

Family members also said Memphis police ruled Tucker accidentally shot herself with her own shotgun, something they still don't believe. Memphis police, however, could find no record of her death. Mullins' father also died around that time.

Mullins sometimes worked for his brother, William Harris' landscaping company. Other times, he worked in concrete construction, a trade his father taught him. That job, his brother said, often took him all over the South, including Louisiana and Texas.

Mullins fathered one child as a teenager, but had no contact with her. He married after his mother died and had another daughter with whom he occasionally spoke.

Mullins tried to kill himself a few times and claimed to have had hallucinations. At one point, he was diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic. He was prescribed several medications, but failed to regularly take them. He was in rehab on "several occasions," according to police.

In interviews, Mullins' family invariably described him as quiet, someone who kept to himself. At different times, Mullins lived with both Harris and his sister, Janice Mullins. They say they never saw him get upset or violent.

Yet when Dr. James Walker, a forensic neuropsychologist, examined Mullins after his arrest, Mullins admitted "wanting to hit the heads of others and take his brother's life with a brick."

****

Merritt knew Jackson's killing was very similar to Ector's death 10 months earlier. He also knew DNA found on Ector in 2011 matched DNA found on Maples in Knoxville in 2008. He knew all three women had been bludgeoned in the head, left nude from the waist down and covered with a blanket. He knew the fingerprint on the bag containing the malt liquor can found at the scene matched Mullins.

But he had to make certain Mullins was the killer, that his fingerprint hadn't just wound up at the crime scene accidentally. Finding an empty beer can isn't rare in Downtown Memphis.

He needed DNA, and Mullins willingly supplied it. Merritt sent it to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Meanwhile, down the hall in the cold-case unit, Sgt. Bill Ashton had been following the case. Something about it jogged his memory of working the crime scene 13 years earlier of Marie Cole, whose first name was Beatrice.

"I was in the office and talking to everyone about it. And Beatrice Cole's case just came to mind. I couldn't remember her last name, but I remembered her first name, Beatrice," said Ashton, who spent 17 years as a homicide detective. "I said, 'I gotta go find that case.' The DNA from that crime scene had never been submitted. I submitted it to TBI also with a letter (saying) if you get a profile, check it against these other three cases."

The results came back: The DNA in all four cases was the same. It belonged to Mullins.

"It was this guy's time to be caught," Merritt said.

****

Mullins is an addict. His brother discovered this in 1997, when Mullins called asking for money. When Harris declined, Mullins became enraged. Harris later found out Mullins had pawned a pager he bought him, then used the money for drugs.

"I didn't fire him. I got mad at him and didn't want to talk to him for a day or two. When he came back, I told him he had to straighten up and fly right. He said he would and he kinda tried," Harris said.

But one day, Harris was driving home and passed by a pawn shop. When he looked in the window, he saw one of the lawnmowers on display was his. Mullins had stolen and sold it, too.

Mullins claimed he knew nothing about one of the killings, but when presented with evidence, he came clean.

Some of what he told the police was proved false, particularly when he claimed he killed the women in self defense. He claimed each of the women consented to sex, something police don't believe. He also claimed many of his victims drank and did drugs with him, even when their toxicology reports came back negative. He repeatedly tried to blame his actions on his drug habit, saying he attacked Maples "because I was on them drugs real hard."

Even his apology, told to police in one of his interviews, rings hollow: "I apologize for treating that woman that way, taking advantage of her. I don't want anyone taking advantage of my mother, my sisters, my daughter. I apologize for everything I've done. I don't mean no harm. I just ain't lined up right. I need some serious help."

From his confessions to police regarding Cole, who Mullins killed on May 28, 1999, in Downtown Memphis:

"Me and this girl, whatever her name, Beatrice, we had two quarts of 45. We had some dope, cocaine. We went up there and smoked dope, got our drink on, smoked some cigarettes."

Mullins said he and Cole then had sex, and he left to use the bathroom. When he came back, Mullins said he saw Cole having sex with another man. That enraged him.

"I got that (expletive) brick and hit her in the head with it. I hit her two times. It was a concrete block. ... I said, 'I tell you what, I'm gonna bust your (expletive) head.' After I got through beating her with the brick, I went on Beale Street and started drinkin'."

Cole's toxicology report was clean for both alcohol and drugs.

****

His brother and sister still refuse to accept that Mullins murdered three people and beat a 79-year-old woman so badly she never left a nursing home.

In an interview at his Berclair home, Harris said he didn't think his brother did it, or, if he did, someone made him do it.

"I said, 'No, they got the wrong somebody.' I still say they got the wrong somebody. I know my brother better than anybody in my family," Harris said. "I can't say that he didn't do it. I said they got the wrong somebody. I say he didn't do that by himself."

His sister, Janice Mullins, recalled her shock at seeing her brother's face on the morning news the day he was caught for Jackson's murder. Yet until a reporter told her, she didn't know there were three other victims. When told that Maples was 78 when attacked (she was actually 79), Janice Mullins kept repeating, "78," and shaking her head.

"Four women? Four women?" she said. "78 years old? How?"

She later repeated she didn't believe a man with three sisters could do what her brother did to these women.

"I'm not saying he's not capable. I find it hard to believe, what I know of my brother," she said. "I don't understand that. Like I say, he got three sisters."

But in one of his interviews, Mullins told authorities he had a "history of becoming physically aggressive with others when angry."

And in another interview, Mullins admitted he'd kept his dark side from his family.

"I got a brother and sister," he said. "They don't even know anything about this."

****

When Mullins confessed to his crimes, the almost delight he took in answering police questions disturbed those working on the case.

"Yeah, there's something definitely wrong, especially if you listen to the interviews. That's kinda spooky," Detective Joe Stark said. "Me and Mike Brown were talking to them. He's asking Sergeant Brown, 'Mike, you got anything you want to ask me? I'll be glad to answer it.' "

Or, in Merritt's view: "He's not right."

In Mullins' confession to attacking Maples, he told police he'd never seen her before, despite living two floors above her for as long as a year.

"I came behind and I pushed her down the hill. I pushed her down in the bushes. And I put my feet in her face, stomping my feet in her face. ... In the face. About two times. ONE, TWO!

"Then after I stomped her in the face, I took her clothes down and we had sex. No sir, she didn't say nothing. She couldn't say nothing 'cause she was in a state of shock."

****

Did Mullins choose his victims at random?

"I think he knew them. I think he had the type of personality where he was very friendly to anyone he met," said Gerald Skahan, now a judge but then the public defender specializing in murder cases who was appointed to represent Mullins. "I think he did know all his victims prior to them being killed and something along the way set him off to do that. I don't know if it was ever determined what did that."

Mullins lived in West Memphis with his father for a while, and was four years younger than Cole. There's no evidence he knew her, but it's not an impossible they encountered each other there.

Mullins lived two floors above Maples and it is likely he would have seen her coming and going from the Isabella Towers on one of her miles-long walks.

There's no proof Mullins and Ector met, but they were both homeless addicts living around Downtown Memphis, so it's possible their paths intersected at some point.

Mullins was well aware of Jackson, however. His family members say Mullins talked about her often, pointing her out when they passed her in a car. Once, Harris said, Mullins asked him for $20, told him to stop the car, then ran over and gave the money to Jackson.

But according to Ron Bezon, who manages the St. Mary's soup kitchen, Mullins and Jackson got into a spat a couple of days before she was killed. Mullins  as he often did  tried to jump line at the soup kitchen, but this time he tried to do it to Jackson. She was having none of it.

"One day Michael got in front of Gwen. Probably two or three days before (the murder) happened. They had an altercation, which I didn't think anything of. It was just somebody being belligerent," Bezon said. "He didn't want to conform to the simple rules that we had. It had to be his way, doing whatever he wanted to do."

****

Brown, who interviewed Mullins after his arrest, felt some empathy toward Mullins.

"Those are just psychopathic tendencies he had. They're narcissistic and seem disconnected from people. In a sense you have to feel for somebody like that, because you know there's trauma that happened to them," Brown said.

From Mullins' confession to attacking Ector in Downtown Memphis on Aug. 4, 2011:

"We was smoking dope one night. She ran off with my dope. I tracked her down and I brought her back. I took a brick and I hit her in the head with it. Concrete block. Throwed it in the garbage can."

****

Memphis authorities charged Mullins with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated rape. Veteran Shelby County prosecutor Jennifer Nichols became involved with the case.

"I was so fascinated. I've never said (to a defense attorney) before, 'You need to come up to my office and listen to this. You've got to hear this guy before you get too far into things,' " Nichols said. "His willingness to admit what he did, even trying to deflect some of the blame off himself. His willingness to say, 'I picked up a brick and hit her in the head' (was unusual)."

Mullins was interviewed by numerous mental-health professionals to determine his competency to stand trial. While all agreed he was mentally ill and mildly retarded, some of the psychologists believed he was exaggerating the extent of his disability to curry favor. Ultimately, he was ruled competent to stand trial.

Under normal circumstances, someone with a body count like Mullins would have been a candidate for the death penalty. However, federal law prohibits that punishment for anyone with an IQ under 70, and Mullins' highest recorded score was 69.

So Nichols and Skahan worked out a deal and on Dec. 5, 2014, Mullins pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated rape. He was sentenced to three life sentences without parole for the murders and three 15-year sentences, also without parole, for the rapes.

Even now, Nichols and Skahan still have disagreements as to who Mullins really is.

Skahan: "Michael was one of the easiest people I ever represented. He was very friendly, polite, obsessively clean. ... If you met Michael, you would think he was simple. You would probably think he was mildly retarded. You would think that he was harmless."

Nichols: "Not harmless! He picks up bricks and bashes people's heads in."

Skahan, later: "He's just a fascinating person. He is so different. He's the kind of guy that psychologists could write a book about or make a movie about. Why does he do this? Is it instinct? Does he really enjoy killing?"

Nichols: "Does he have that much anger in him?"

****

Mullins repeatedly tried to claim Jackson had hit him in the head with a stick, and he had then gone and found a brick with which to beat her.

Except detectives discovered he got the brick before he interacted with her, which proved to them he planned to attack her. Mullins even claimed to one of his psychologists that he threw the brick at her from a distance of five feet.

From Mullins' confession to killing Jackson on June 6, 2012:

"I turned around and I pushed her down. It went a little further and I picked up a brick and I hit her with it."

"(I hit her) about two times."

"Naw, she didn't say nothing, she just went out of it and I just walked on off."

Police then asked Mullins what he did after he murdered Jackson.

"I left and went to sleep."

****

Although Maples had been attacked in April 2008, she didn't die until November 2012. Family members said Jessie never really recovered from the attack, but the Knoxville medical examiner's office did not rule her death a homicide.

"Our medical examiner could not connect her death to the injuries he got from her assault," said Leslie Nassios, the Knox County prosecutor who handled the case. "The medical examiner told me that she felt like the time was too remote. For my medical examiner not to make that connection, you can bank on it."

On May 1, 2015, Mullins pleaded guilty to the attempted first-degree murder and aggravated rape of Maples. He was sentenced to 50 more years in prison.

Mullins is now behind bars at the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, not far from Elizabethton in East Tennessee.

He is housed in a cell with another inmate. He is enrolled in Adult Basic Education, and his security level is classified as "minimum restricted," Tennessee Department of Corrections representative Alison Randgaard said. That means he can move around the prison on a regular basis, but is locked down in his cell from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Mullins, who turned 55 in June, has had no infractions in prison, Randgaard said.

The TDOC denied a reporter's request to meet with Mullins. Mullins never responded to a letter seeking a telephone conversation. A message asking Mullins to call was left with Harris, who talks to his brother regularly, but to no avail.

****

One question remains for almost everyone involved in the Mullins case: How many more victims are out there?

Not are there more victims, but how many have yet to be connected to him? No one in law enforcement  not even his attorney  believes Mullins committed just these four assaults.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was ever linked up to an unsolved homicide of a homeless, vagrant or transient person," Skahan said.

Nichols: "I think it's very unlikely that these are the only ones. I just don't believe it."

Merritt said he went back through MPD's murder books  bound volumes with a description of every killing  through the early 1980s and didn't find anything definitive.

"There were a couple of cases I found that we thought he might've done," Merritt said. "They didn't necessarily have their head bashed in, but they were women, they were homeless, addict types. But there was no DNA, some of the victims pretty much decomposed. And if you didn't have some leverage against him, he wasn't gonna confess to them."

Memphis police homicide detective Joe Stark sent an alert to departments around the state, asking if anyone had similar assaults in their records. No one responded.

Harris said his brother often disappeared for months at a time, then suddenly popped up in some random town. No one knew where he was, or what he was doing.

"He often worked out of town. You could lose contact with him for six months to a year," Harris said. "This guy went back and forth to a lot of places, and that concerned me. It wasn't just Knoxville. He'd go from any city he wanted to at any given day or time."

For the full "Uncovered" series, click here.
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The University of Tennessee is encouraging people interested in urban forestry and wildlife to attend the Institute of Agriculture's annual Woods and Wildlife Field Day on Friday, Oct. 14.

Speakers at this year's event at the UT Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge, will focus on urban woods and wildlife species that thrive on the rural-urban interface, according to a news release from the UT Institute of Agriculture.

At the event, experts and scholars will give educational presentations on birds, beetles, dogwood trees and deer management, among other subjects.

Sam Adams, an arborist at UT, will give a lecture, "Residential Arboriculture  A Toolbox for Homeowners," during a barbecue lunch.

After lunch, UT students in the department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries will demonstrate forestry and arboriculture management skills.

Sharon Jean-Phillippe, a UT associate professor of forestry, will discuss potential career pathways for people passionate about arboriculture and forestry.

Registration for the event begins at 8 a.m. Oct. 14, but organizers encourage attendees to preregister at 865-483-3571 or email utforest@utk.edu. The $10 fee covers the cost of the event and helps pay for the barbecue luncheon. Deadline for early registration is Oct. 5.

An early-bird networking breakfast will start at 7 a.m., with the day's events scheduled to begin at 8:15 and conclude by 2:30 p.m.

"We look forward to hosting a variety of visitors who want to learn about urban forestry practices and wildlife management," said Kevin Hoyt, director of the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center.

For more information, visit www.forestry. tennessee.edu.

News Sentinel staff
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The National Forest Service has a major embarrassment on its hands. How the agency resolves the problem ultimately might restore favorable relations with Native Americans  or set them back decades.

The problem is this: Someone with the Forest Service approved the building of trenches and berms using heavy equipment along a three-quarters-of-a-mile section of the trail near Coker Creek in Monroe County without authorization. The work, at a cost of $28,500, was done in 2014 and ostensibly was to keep out all-terrain vehicles and prevent erosion by cutting wide and deep ditches across the trail.

The Forest Service agrees the work was not authorized and was in violation of federal law. Finding out how it happened and identifying those responsible has been somewhat elusive. The Forest Service won't release names, saying it doesn't discuss personnel matters.

The section of the trail that was damaged is near Fort Armistead, an abandoned fort that was a holding facility for the Cherokees in the 1830s on their forced march to Oklahoma. When the Forest Service dug up sections of the trail in March and June 2014, it didn't own the land but was planning to purchase it.

Documents provided to The Associated Press by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and verified by the Forest Service outlined an extensive process employees should have followed before doing the work. Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, called the work "one of the most blatant desecrations of a sacred site" in modern U.S. history.

Many Forest Service officials didn't know the trail had been disturbed until the summer of 2015 when the agency brought representatives of Cherokee tribes and the National Park Service together to develop an interpretive plan for the trail and for Fort Armistead.

The Forest Service has apologized to the tribes for the physical damage to the trail and the emotional damage to Native Americans. The service also is consulting with the tribes over how to repair it. The Forest Service has halted all work within a half-mile on either side of the trail in four of the 11 states through which the trail passes.

Sheila Bird of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma said she appreciates that the Forest Service is trying to make it right. "They came to us with an enormous amount of humility," she said.

There is a sad irony here: The government that took the land from Native Americans 180 years ago and later sought to preserve the Trail of Tears as a historic site again showed it has little regard for the feelings of those tied to the trail by pain and history.

The environmental group has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct an investigation. An investigation certainly is needed. It should be thorough, public and be conducted with compassion for the ancestors of those forced to leave their homes.

The physical damage to the Trail of Tears can be repaired and the historic trail restored, but the damage and culture shock to the ancestors of those who were forced to travel the trail from Tennessee and other Southern states will take a lot longer to heal.
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The Knox County Board of Education is searching for a new superintendent, and they have recently held two forums to ask input from parents as to what kind of individual they should be seeking. In that regard, I believe the new superintendent should make it his aim to empower parents.

Parents should have the greatest say over the academic upbringing of their children. Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., have over-reached to the point of meddling in the affairs of local communities regarding educational administration. I am convinced that some of these federal officials think they know what is best when it comes to educating our children, and they wish to use our schools as labs to engineer our children according to their agenda and values. This is wrong.

I optimistically believe that many, if not all, of the issues raised in the forums can best be resolved by parents working with local school officials and educators. In my view, local control of schools means the following:

1. Greater accountability to parents.

2. Increased responsiveness to parents' real concerns.

3. No cookie-cutter approaches.

4. Bottom-up control (from the parents to the local and state educators), rather than top-down control (unelected federal bureaucrats dictating endless guidelines to local schools they never see or personally care about).

5. Interests of parents placed above the interests of national teachers' unions.

6. Local values recognized and respected.

As a Knoxville transplant with one child in his second year in the Knox County Schools system, I know nothing of board history or past superintendents. I am simply weary of the federal government increasingly meddling in local affairs, and I want parents to control their local schools, not unelected bureaucrats who care more about their agenda than our children. For that matter, the state should have a say before Washington.

Jeremiah McCarver, Knoxville
home Tech Samsung Galaxy S8 release date, news, specs rumors: Device to boast 10-nm Exynos 8895 chipset, Mali G71 graphics card

While the next Samsung Galaxy S-series smartphone is not expected to be out until 2017, there is nothing to stop the public from speculating regarding the features of the company's next big device. Coming out of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle this year, the Galaxy S8 is expected to allow the South Korean tech giant to bounce back. As early as now, it is being rumored that the Galaxy S8 will be packed with a very powerful processor and graphics chip.

According to Sam Mobile, the Galaxy S8 will be using the Exynos 8895 processor. Along with the powerful chipset, Samsung is said to equip the processor with its perfect match, the ARM's Mali G71 GPU.

The online publication quoted ARM's description of the graphics card, saying that the Mali G71 will boast "40% better performance density and 20% external memory bandwidth saving compared to Mali-T880." To note, this year's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy Note 7 use the high-tier variant of the latter GPU, Mali-T800 MP12. The Mali G71 is said to focus on much intense graphics processing and give way to 4K screen feature and virtual reality (VR) support. ARM's latest GPU is based on the new Bitfrost architecture.

The Exynos 8895 is expected to have a clock speed going all the way up to 3 GHz, Tech Times reported. Together with the Mali G71 video card, the Galaxy S8 will be compatible with Vulkan, OpenGL ES 3.2, GPU Compute, and Android Render Script APIs. At 16nm, the Mali G71 will run at 850MHz and allow a fill rate of 27.2 gigapixels per second.

The rumors are rife that the Mali G71 is more powerful than the GPU used in Snapdragon 830 chipset. The SD 830 has yet to be announced but if ever the earlier rumor turns out correct, it will be the first time that an ARM GPU is more efficient than a Qualcomm video card.

As of now, Samsung has not mentioned an estimated release for their next S-series Galaxy smartphone, but it is likely that it will be released in the same month that the Galaxy S7 was launched this 2016. Due to the ongoing Galaxy Note 7 recall, it is possible that the release schedule for the next Galaxy device will be affected.
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Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has issued a call for violence amounting to a violent revolution when Hillary Clinton is elected as our next president. He is following the lead of Donald Trump, who has previously threatened the country with "Second Amendment people," which is nothing but a dog whistle for the same thing. The last time the country was threatened openly with violent revolution in a presidential election was 1860 during the slavery controversy, and we all know how that came out, except maybe Bevin, Trump and their allies.

Poor Bevin doesn't even have any ideological consolation since Trump's platform consists solely of what's good for Trump, even if it means destroying our foundational alliances such as NATO and shilling for Russian and possibly Chinese interests.

Threatening civil war if you don't get your way was demonstrated to be a bad idea in 1860 and is an even worse idea today. In essence these people are nothing but bullying thugs who demand such things as transparency from others without providing it themselves. There's the obvious example of Trump's tax returns, which he doesn't dare disclose, and the example of 20 million missing emails from the George W. Bush administration that were a direct violation of federal law. Clinton has allegedly 30,000 missing emails, but an FBI investigation has found her not prosecutable. Who needs to be locked up? Clinton or Dick Cheney and Bush? Trump and Bevin should also be locked up for inciting riots and violent overthrow of the government.

Hopefully our neighboring state will come to its senses in the next governor's election.

Ben Brabson, Sevierville
$700,000 grants awarded for Cumberland Plateau Forestland restoration and improvement

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 at 9:48 p.m.



KNOXVILLE  The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and International Paper (NYSE: IP) have awarded $700,000 in grants to support forestland restoration and working forests throughout the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. The American Forest Foundation, the Nature Conservancy-Tennessee Chapter, the University of Tennessee, the Alabama Forestry Association, and the National Wild Turkey Federation will receive grants through the Forestland Stewards Initiative, a partnership of NFWF and International Paper. These five grants will leverage more than $769,000 in additional funds and in-kind support from agency and project partners, ultimately establishing more than 2,200 new acres and enhancing an additional 6,100 existing acres of native forest, as well as protecting 1,500 acres of working forest and wildlife habitat in the region.



Established in March 2013, the Forestland Stewards Initiative is a pioneering partnership created to conserve and restore southern forestlands representing some of Americas most iconic landscapes. These forests provide critical habitats for endangered wildlife and economic opportunities for local communities. Through the initiative, International Paper has committed $7.5 million over five years to restore native forests, strengthen important fish and wildlife populations, and protect watersheds  while at the same time promoting and supporting working forests in eight states across the southeastern United States.



By creating a stakeholder network of diverse organizations, partnerships like the Forestland Stewards Initiative enable International Paper to deliver on our commitment to use natural resources responsibly, thus strengthening the communities where we live and operate  including our home state of Tennessee, said Tom Cleves, vice president of global citizenship. Through a combination of co-ops, land trusts and conservation groups, these grants put the necessary resources in place to really make a difference.



Conservation efforts are most effective when all stakeholders work together on a landscape scale vision and focus their efforts on measurable results, said Jay Jensen, director of NFWFs Southern Regional Office. The grants announced today support collaborative projects that are the building blocks of a healthier forest, which will benefit wildlife, provide cleaner air and water, and strengthen the natural infrastructure that protects our communities.



The Forestland Stewards Initiative will help us maintain and showcase the only prescribed fire timing and frequency demonstration area in the eastern U.S., said Craig Harper, professor of wildlife management in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries at The University of Tennessee. Data from the Bridgestone/Firestone WMA demonstration area will help guide management decisions regarding prescribed fire for shortleaf ecosystem restoration as well as management for specific wildlife species. The public will be able to view prescribed fire effects in a pristine environment, almost totally void of nonnative invasive species.



Since 2013, NFWF and IP have invested more than $7.6 million in projects through the Forestland Stewards Initiative, and these investments have been used to leverage more than $15.9 million in additional funds from grant partners, for a total investment of more than $23.5 million for forestland conservation. These projects will restore more than 21,800 acres and improve more than 157,000 additional acres of native forest and wildlife habitat. NFWF and International Paper anticipate that through this initiative, more than 200,000 acres of forestlands will be restored and improved, and more than 3,000 private landowners will be engaged through outreach and technical assistance to implement forest stewardship practices.



The initiatives latest round of grants will benefit numerous species and support working forests in three priority regions in the Southeast: the Carolina Low Country Forests; the Cumberland Plateau of Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee; and the Piney Woods of Texas and Louisiana.





Coordinating Partner: The Nature Conservancy-Tennessee Chapter

Title: Cumberland Plateau Tennessee Working Woodlands



Objective: Launch Working Woodlands, an innovative forest conservation program that will provide incentives to conserve high value shortleaf pine-oak forests, riparian and aquatic habitats and associated species of conservation concern on private lands in Tennessee.

Award Amount: $100,000



Project Description: The Nature Conservancys Tennessee Chapter and partners will build on private landowner relationships and strategically seek additional landowners to launch a Working Woodlands program in the Cumberland Plateau. This innovative project will provide incentives to landowners to establish conservation easements and forest management plans for conserving high value shortleaf pine-oak forests, riparian and aquatic habitats, and associated species of conservation concern on large tract private lands. The project will reach at least 75 individuals and implement cost-share opportunities to improve 50 acres of shortleaf pine-oak habitat and protect 1,500 acres of forest habitat with conservation easements on private lands.



Project Partners: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Department of Agriculture - Division of Forestry, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service





Coordinating Partner: University of Tennessee Extension

Title: Bridgestone/Firestone Wildlife Management Area Prescribed Fire Timing and Frequency Demonstration Area



Objective: Demonstrate the effects of prescribed fire on the establishment and maintenance of naturally regenerated shortleaf pine and oak savanna/woodland.

Award Amount: $70,000



Project Description: The University of Tennessee Extension and partners will demonstrate the effects of prescribed fire on the establishment and maintenance of naturally regenerated shortleaf pine and oak savanna/woodland. Project will take place on 156 acres of the Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness Wildlife Management Area, an established demonstration area that supports naturally regenerating shortleaf pine and various oak species and is maintained with periodic prescribed fire. Data collected from the site will provide information for educational publications and will be provided to landowners during a field day workshop. In addition, the project will work with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to provide private landowners with management options and cost-share opportunities for shortleaf pine and oak savanna/woodland restoration.



Project Partners: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service





Coordinating Partner: National Wild Turkey Federation

Title: Cumberland Shortleaf and Woodland Savannah Restoration - II



Objective: Restore shortleaf pine and oak woodlands/savannas on public lands in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Award Amount: $186,000



Project Description: The National Wild Turkey Federation and partners will restore shortleaf pine and oak woodlands/savannas on public lands in Tennessee and Kentucky. Project will result in 6,002 acres restored through shortleaf plantings, prescribed fire, and forest opening enhancements. In addition, the project will host public outreach events across the Daniel Boone National Forest of Kentucky and the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area of Tennessee, engaging over 700 people. These conservation activities will enhance the extremely high plant and animal diversity within the landscape.



Project Partners: U.S. Forest Service  Daniel Boone National Forest, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Tennessee Wildlife Federation





Coordinating Partner: Alabama Forestry Association

Title: Incentives for Planting Shortleaf Pine in the Alabama Cumberlands - II



Objective: Provide cost-share incentives for site preparation and planting shortleaf pine. Project will overcome a major barrier to planting shortleaf pine and will result in the restoration of 1,136 acres of shortleaf pine/upland savanna forest in the Cumberlands of Alabama.

Award Amount: $150,000



Project Description: The Alabama Forestry Association and partners will restore 1,136 acres of shortleaf pine in the Cumberland Plateau region of Alabama through financial assistance to private landowners. Efforts build on a previous project phase that identified barriers, including financial, for private landowners to plant shortleaf in the region. Partners will directly address these obstacles with private landowners, promoting sustainable management and ensuring ongoing access to technical assistance. The project will target tracts in close proximity to existing shortleaf stands or that are being planted as a result of other shortleaf pine planting projects to increase landscape level benefits.



Project Partners: American Forest Foundation, Alabama Forestry Commission, Natural Resource Conservation Service





Coordinating Partner: American Forest Foundation

Title: Shortleaf Restoration on the Alabama Lauderdale and Freedom Hills Forever Wild Tracts - II



Objective: Partners will expand upon ongoing efforts to restore shortleaf pine habitat on Alabama public lands in Lauderdale and Colbert counties.

Award Amount: $194,000



Project Description: The American Forest Foundation will build upon ongoing efforts to restore shortleaf pine habitat by establishing shortleaf pine on public lands within the Lauderdale and Freedom Hills Forever Wild tracts in Lauderdale and Colbert counties. The State Lands Division will plant 1,100 acres of shortleaf pine in the 2016-2018 planting seasons. Primary activities include ensuring proper access, site preparation, reforestation, and management of the established stands. The project will serve as a demonstration site for education and outreach for existing and future shortleaf restoration efforts in the region, with a particular emphasis on management regimes that align with private landowner objectives.



Project Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - State Lands Division, Alabama Forestry Commission, Alabama Treasure Forest Association, Alabama Forestry Foundation, Auburn University, U.S. Forest Service, and Aldo Leopold Foundation.



Learn more about Forestland Stewards at: www.nfwf.org/forestlandstewards. Learn more at www.nfwf.org. For more information about International Paper, please visit internationalpaper.com.

Published September 25, 2016
Releases from NASA, NASA's Galex, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, HubbleSite, Spitzer, Cassini, ESO, ESA, NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, Royal Astronomical Society, NRAO, Astronomy Picture of the Day, Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Gemini Observatory, Subaru Telescope, W. M. Keck Observatory, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, JPL-Caltech, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, ICRAR, etc
By Choi Sung-jin



It has been quite a while since Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, became a Chinese quarter, with streets covered with Chinese-character signboards and the air filled with touting in Mandarin. "I feel like some unwelcome alien in my own country," a Korean visitor said Saturday.



The Korean tourism industry's dependency on Chinese visitors, called youke, stood at 35.5 percent in 2013 but jumped to 48.8 percent in the first eight months of this year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. In the case of Jeju-do, 85.5 percent of foreign tourists who visited the southern resort island last year were Chinese.



The Bank of Korea also has warned against undue reliance on Chinese tourists, calling for the industry to reduce the number to at least 25 percent, as with Japan.



The potential risk of excessive reliance on one country is huge. Any policy change in Beijing can shake up the very foundation of the tourism industry.



The number of Japanese visitors to Korea, for instance, has tumbled since former President Lee Myung-bak visited the Dokdo Islets in 2012 and is yet to return to the level of its best years. If the Chinese government changes its policy because of chilling bilateral relationships, as seen by the recent conflict over the deployment of U.S. antimissile system here, a serious crisis may hit the nation's tourism sector, industry insiders say.



"Most newly built hotels, shopping centers and duty-free stores in Korea have had Chinese tourists in mind, and a horrible consequence will follow if the China market crumbles," said a tour agent. Because most Chinese come to Korea on cheap package tours, they offer little incentive to upgrade the domestic infrastructure, such as service quality and various facilities, experts say. Another problem is the relative neglect of tourists from other countries because the industry's attention is on China.



The solution is simple, albeit not easy _ diversify the tourism market.



"The current trend of Chinese tourists taking up an overwhelming majority will likely continue for the time being," said Professor Kim Nam-jo of Hanyang University. "It is good for the industry to try to enlarge market size but more important is to diversify it and reduce risks."



Most urgent was the need to expand the Indian market and the Muslim market in Southeast Asia as well as restoring the Japanese market, Kim said.



The adverse effects that Chinese tourists have on Korea are not limited to economic damage.



After the recent murder of a Korean woman praying at a Catholic church by a Chinese visitor in Jeju Province, some residents said such an accident had been long anticipated but came a little earlier and in more gruesome way than expected.



"Since the incident, I feel scared when Chinese tourists reeking of alcohol enter my store," said a woman running a supermarket in Jeju City. A housewife also said she had told her daughter to avoid Chinese people since the murder. "I am frightened to run into a Chinese man in a back alley," she said.



Even before the incident, many Jeju residents had harbored ill feelings against some ugly and disorderly guests from the neighboring country. It has become all too common to find Chinese men going around bare-chested in summer. Others try to take away rocks by breaking them with stones.



The number of Chinese tourists committing crimes in the island province increased from 58 in 2011 to 260 in 2015, and, in the first eight months of this year, the number has reached last year's total, up 66.1 percent from a year ago.



The types of crime have become diverse, including murder, robbery, theft, violence, fraud and interference with business. The criminal acts are also increasingly violent. Early this month, a female restaurant owner suffered a brain hemorrhage when a group of Chinese tourists beat her after she tried to discourage them from drinking wine brought from outside. Three other people were also injured.



Some Jeju residents held a protest rally, calling for the provincial administration to come up with measures to reduce Chinese tourists' disorderly behavior.



Other people are concerned that the growing antipathy against some problematic visitors could spread to the Chinese community as a whole. "Particularly since the murder incident, the sense of anger and crisis felt by residents here is different from before," said Choi Kwang-il, a civic activist. "We should take care not to allow the ongoing atmosphere to lead to hostility toward Chinese immigrants and short-term visitors as a whole."



Some experts say now is the time for the central and provincial governments to review their policies favoring China.



For example, 646,188 foreigners have entered Korea in the first eight months of this year under the visa waiver system, which allows foreign visitors to stay on the island for up to 30 days without visas, and 99 percent of them were Chinese. It also has led to the sharp increase in the number illegal sojourners to around 8,000, making it difficult for police to detect suspects. The Chinese murder suspect also came to Korea without a visa.



The investment immigration system, which gives permanent residency to foreigners who invest $500,000 or more and live on the island for five years, has also resulted in reckless development and environmental destruction, the experts say.



A Jeju provincial official acknowledged various adverse effects.



"We also feel embarrassed with the recent series of crimes and incidents, but easing of entry procedures is a common trend in other countries," said the official, wanting to remain anonymous. "We will take supplementary measures after examining the effects on tourism, economy and diplomacy and in consultation with the central government."




Labor unrest clouds outlook for Korea's largest carmaker



By Lee Hyo-sik



An all-out strike by unionized workers crippled Hyundai Motor's operations here, Monday, incurring tens of millions of dollars in lost production and tarnishing its corporate image.



This is the first time in 12 years that Korea's largest carmaker has faced a full-scale walkout; one that paralyzed its domestic plants in Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju.



It is feared that Hyundai won't be able to meet market expectations in the second half of 2016, amid deteriorating business conditions here and abroad, if labor and management fail to conclude wage negotiations soon, analysts said.



The union at Hyundai Motor staged a one-day, full-fledged strike at all plants, pressing the company to offer more concessions.



Prior to the latest strike, the union staged partial walkouts 19 times this year, disrupting the production of 101,400 vehicles at the carmaker's domestic plants and incurring 2.23 trillion won ($2 billion) in lost sales.



Union members also plan to hold partial walkouts Tuesday to Friday, suspending Hyundai's domestic operations for six hours every day.



In late August, the company's union and management reached a collective bargaining agreement under which the company will raise the base monthly salary by 58,000 won, increase annual bonuses by 350 percent and offer a 3.3 million won one-time bonus, among others.



But workers voted down the agreement, sending wage negotiations back to square one. Union leaders then asked the company for more concessions, which management refused.



"Labor and management ironed out a consensus after undergoing a prolonged, painstaking process," a Hyundai Motor official said. "Union workers should honor the agreement signed by their leaders. Internal conflict among union members led to the rejection, not the lack of our concessions. We believe that, before labor and management resume negotiations, the union should get its own house in order first."



The escalating labor unrest is widely expected to hurt Hyundai's performance in the second half of the year. The firm earned 47 trillion won in sales in the first six months of the year, up 7.5 percent, but its operating profit fell 7 percent to 3.1 trillion won.



Production disruptions caused by frequent strikes will make it harder for the company to deliver vehicles to consumers in a timely manner, while it becomes more difficult to sell cars amid the continued domestic consumption slump.







Shrinking car production



With Hyundai struggling to churn out as many vehicles as it should, Korea has lost its status as one of the world's top five car producers, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).



The country's five car producers  Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong  manufactured a combined 2.55 million passenger and commercial vehicles in the first seven months of the year, the sixth-largest in the world.



In 2015, Korea was the fifth-largest car-producing nation at 4.55 million cars, compared with India's 4.12 million. But so far this year India is outperforming Korea, making 2.57 million cars during the January-to-July period.



Asia's fourth-largest economy will likely be overtaken by Mexico and other competing nations in the coming years as local carmakers refrain from expanding production in Korea. Instead, Hyundai and Kia have been rushing to build plants overseas to take advantage of incentives such as lower labor costs and taxes, while GM and Renault Samsung import cars from their foreign affiliates rather than produce them here.



"There is no reason whatsoever for Hyundai and other carmakers to expand production in Korea. I don't even have to say why that is," the Hyundai official said. "Kia just opened a plant in Mexico and we will also open two new plants in China over the next year."




The Allianz Life guitar band "Peak Time" performs at Saemmul Hospice in Seoul on Sept. 22. / Courtesy of Allianz Korea



By Kim Tae-gyu

Allianz Life Korea said Monday that the insurer had held corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities at an orphanage and a hospital for terminally ill patients in Seoul last week.

Around 20 employees of the Seoul-based outfit visited Ethel Village, an orphanage for girls, to clean the facility and have outdoor activities with the girls there.

The firm's in-house guitar band, "Peak Time," also performed at Saemmul Hospice for patients diagnosed with terminal cancer.

After that, the band members helped them have a meal and take a short walk where possible.

"My heart was full because we could give some comfort to patients who suffer from difficult diseases. One of them grabbed my hand and thanked me for being friend to chat with," an Allianz official said.

"I plan to proactively take part in various CSR activities for our neighbors during the rest of the year."

Allianz Life Korea, a mid-tier life insurer here, has maintained a good reputation as a responsible corporate citizen.

It formed a partnership with three major charities  Good Neighbors, Child Fund and Save the Children  so that its workers can make donations periodically.

Once they make a promise to contribute a certain amount every month to one of the three organizations, Allianz Life donates exactly the same amount under a matching grant, which attracted a vast majority of Allianz employees.

Around half of employees also partake in CSR activities arranged by the company and some employees or agents organize such good-will activities on their own.

"Allianz is different from other companies in that its employees are very serious about charity and CSR activities. Some of them have worked for the same orphanages or hospitals for several consecutive years," a Save the Children official said.

In particular, the company has been recognized for its consistency as amply demonstrated by its support for biannual meetings of student council leaders at elementary schools in Seoul and its vicinity.

Allianz started to financially underpin the events in 1992 and has continued to do so for the past 24 years.
Mercedes-Benz Korea President and CEO Dimitris Psillakis, second from right, carries out car maintenance with the company's mechanics at its service center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The company also operates the "Mercedes-Benz Training Academy" to produce future auto experts at the center as a part of its corporate social responsibilities.

/ Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea



By Jhoo Dong-chan





Mercedes-Benz Korea's service center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is shown above.

Mercedes-Benz is receiving favorable responses from customers here for its differentiated after-sales service program, My Service.

According to the local unit of the German luxury carmaker, Monday, it has invested a total of 190 billion won ($171.3 million) to open two more showrooms, three service centers and 40 repair work bays. By the end of this year, it is expected to have a total of 42 showrooms, 49 service centers and 13 certified used car showrooms as well as 775 repair work bays.

The My Service program is currently operated only at 12 service centers in Korea, but will be expanded to 70 percent of all the service centers by 2018, an official said.

The company's investments in expanding its service network for My Service are a part of Mercedes-Benz Korea President and CEO Dimitris Psillakis' vision announced earlier this year.

"The growth rate was the highest among three German premium brands  Benz, BMW and Volkswagen  and was also higher than the imported auto market's average of 24.2 percent. Korea became the world's eighth-largest sedan market for Mercedes-Benz," he said during a press conference earlier this year.

"Mercedes-Benz's success in Korea is attributed to our customers' continuous support of our brand. In a bid to keep our sales strong here, we will now look for balanced growth with our customers by providing top-quality after-sales services in accordance with their needs."





Mercedes-Benz Korea mechanics repair vehicles at the Quick Service Bay in the Yongin Service center, Gyeonggi Province. It also offers one-on-one counseling about the customer's vehicle during maintenance or repair.



The My Service program is a customized after-sales car repair service in accordance with customers' preference, started March 2015.

Under the program, Mercedes-Benz Korea provides four different options for customers who visit the service centers for regular maintenance or repair services. The Economic option is for most customers who look for rational service expenses while the Lounge option provides one-on-one counsel over the customer's vehicle in a comfortable waiting room during maintenance or repair. It also offers the Speed option, a quick service for busy customers.

For those customers who are not able to visit the service center, Mercedes-Benz Korea provides pick-up and delivery options as well.

According to market researcher Consumer Insight, Mercedes-Benz has topped the consumer approval rating among the three German premium brands six years in a row.

"I was very impressed by the My Service program at its service center," said a Mercedes-Benz C220 sedan owner surnamed Yoon.

"A Mercedes-Benz official offered counsel while my car was under maintenance, asking various questions about the vehicle's condition. I am very satisfied with Mercedes-Benz Korea's after-sales service."





The interior of Mercedes-Benz Korea's Yongin service center is shown above. The customer waiting area features private TV and PC rooms with massage chairs. It also operates a canteen serving free coffee and snacks.



Apart from the My Service program, Mercedes-Benz Korea also invested a total of 25 billion won to open the Mercedes-Benz Training Academy at its service center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, earlier this year.

"The training academy was the largest car education program in size among imported car brands. It's the first Mercedes-Benz training academy in Asia and the third in the world. It is one of Mercedes-Benz Korea's social commitments in the country," a Mercedes-Benz Korea official said.

Along with the trainee academy, Mercedes-Benz Korea has been carrying out many types of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs since the company started its sales operations in 2002, Psillakis added.

"The company now plans to focus more on educating children and supporting senior citizens living alone and other underprivileged people," he said.

"We will bolster coordination with our dealerships when implementing social programs to maximize effect. We will further educate young students about traffic safety. For older students, we will also give them opportunities to learn more about how cars are built and operated so that they can develop an interest in cars."

Despite a sluggish import car market in Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea has outperformed the nation's domestic car market in sales by selling 24,488 cars, up 6.8 percent from the same period last year, while the overall import car market fell 2.6 percent to 116,749.

It aims to sell a total of 50,000 cars this year on the back of its highly expected new E-class and SUV G-Class lineup.

The latest E-class sedan, which was unveiled during the Busan International Motor Show, wowed media and motorists with its autopilot along with its self-parking system called "Parking Pilot."

It also added various safety features like "Evasive Steering Assist," which adds steering torque when a driver performs an evasive maneuver. Another safety technology applied in the model is the "PRE-SAFE impulse side" that uses the front seat side bolsters to move the driver or front seat passenger three inches closer to the center of the car to lessen the impact of a crash.




By Choi Yearn-hong





Poet Lee Seo-bin

I appreciate a Korean poet who mails his or her new poetry book to me. The book crossed the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. continent to reach my residence in Northern Virginia. It is a nice gift, but it is more than a gift, because it comes with it the special consideration of a senior poet living in a foreign country. This new poetry book was from Lee Seo-bin, whose name is so strange, that I could not myself distinguish the writer's gender. Later, I learn that she is my dear friend's protege.

Of course, she is a relatively young poet from my perspective. On New Year' Day in 2014, it was announced that she won the DongA Ilbo's Shinchun Munye (New Spring Literary Competition), the most coveted literary prize in Korea. In the early 1960s, as a young aspiring poet at Yonsei University, I submitted my poems to that competition. I made the final round twice but could not win.

The reviewers mentioned my name and my poem, saying "Sorry Choi, we can select only one winner." Unfortunately, the second best entry did not receive a prize, which discouraged me. I gave up literary competitions, lamenting that I did not have talent to win. In my junior year, however, my mentor at Yonsei University recommended me to the Modern Literature Monthly, another venue in which to become a poet.

Ms. Lee made her prestigious debut in the Donga Ilbo competition, so I opened her book with admiration. Her poems are typical of the New Year Literary Competition winners. In modern times, the newspaper competition has promoted a certain style, ambiguous metaphysical languages and sophisticated techniques I could not comprehend. The competition in the 1960s was not like that. Now, I regrettably accept this modern trend in poetry. Lee is not very far from such a norm, but I can find more readable and understandable poems in the book. "Duck Watch," the winning poem chosen by the Donga Ilbo, required background or motif explanation. I sent my question and she responded to me that she was motivated to write the poem by an abandoned wall clock with a duck in the pond on its face. I loved the end line, "night sky is one watch shining in the darkness." But "Moon's Orbit" is very readable. She compared the moon's orbit and the Tibetan monk's painful practice of austerities  creeping on a rough road with his body, standing up, and bowing whenever he makes one step forward. I found another good poem, "About Nothing." In it, she was a philosopher seeking the emptiness of heart and soul and filling the new void. "0" means everything from the full moon to the universe. "0" also means nothing. "0" is a mystic number, starting all the numbers.

All in all, I enjoyed reading most of her poems.

I will choose one poem from this book, "From the Labor Party Building" (pages 110-111) for my sociopolitical discussion.

It seems to me that this poem was written from her visit of the North Korean Labor Party Building still standing in Chorwon, north of the 38th parallel. Chorwon was a city of North Korea before the Korean War broke out in 1950. At the end of the War, it became a part of South Korean territory. The building, which survived the war, has become a historical building that presents the tragedy of the war and has attracted tourists and poets.

The screams and crying out of tortures filled up the underground chamber.

Those who could not survive the tortures become mulberry trees.

Their blood solidified becomes red mulberry.

All tourists look like Dracula men and women with red lips after enjoying mulberry.

They are all anthropologists investigating the Labor Party Building as a prehistoric place.

The poet saw the bullet holes, the half-ruined building. She felt the pain to see one nation divided like two branches of one mulberry tree. Then, she seemed to blame both sides for failing to reduce the tension and tragedy. Why? I could not comprehend her thinking process after the first paragraph. She may represent the mind of many young South Korean people. Unfortunately, I do not agree with her thoughts. I do not want to blame North and South Korea evenly or equally, because the North has been causing many serious problems against peaceful coexistence and cooperation. My question with regard the North and South: Which side is threatening the peaceful balance of power? Or which is actively seeking a peaceful reconciliation and eventually unification? Are poets supposed to be neutral? I don't know. Poets are men and woman of compassion, but the North Korean regime does not deserve the poets' compassion. They should see the wasteland of literature in North Korea, which consists only of Communist Party-controlled literature. They should see North Korea's nuclear bombs and submarine-launched long-range missiles. I cannot be neutral to the two Koreas. But I try to be fair to both.

The half-ruined building that had witnessed the war must be a symbol, a metaphor of the divided nations. I vividly remember the moment when I first crossed the 38th parallel as a young army lieutenant in Yeonchon. It was 1984. Later, I wrote a series of poems, "DMZ," in which deer and other wild animals were killed when they stepped on the mines buried during the Korean War.

We, both poets and non-poets, see the DMZ and border land in sorrow. We should see things clearly. What is going on in the North and the South? Neutrality is not fairness at all in this case. This is my small message to Lee and my fellow Korean poets.

Dr. Choi is a Washington D.C.-based poet.
South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party on Monday cast doubt on the neutrality of National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun after he made controversial remarks during last week's parliamentary session to sack the agricultural minister.

Last week, South Korea's opposition parties passed a motion to dismiss the Cabinet minister over alleged ethical lapses, while the ruling party boycotted the vote and walked out of the session. The Saenuri and the presidential office have argued the dismissal motion was politically motivated and had nothing to do with actual wrongdoing.

In a voice recording obtained by the Saenuri, Chung, who is originally from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, said the ruling party should not "ask something for free."

Political observers said the recording came after Chung unknowingly left his microphone on during the session.

"They (Saenuri) should bring up something, whether it be (the extension of the investigation on) Sewol or something else, but they are not doing it," Chung said in the recording to an unidentified person.












By Kang Seung-woo

Ban Ki-moon

With U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon well ahead of potential rivals for next year's presidential election in public polls, political activities are increasing in his hometown and surrounding areas in the Chungcheong provinces.

Recently, people from the region have been promoted to high-ranking positions in the government, stoking speculation that such appointments are linked to a potential run for the top office by Ban.

In addition, although the presidential election is more than a year away, politicians and influential figures have already rushed to the region to establish a connection with the U.N. chief, who plans to return home in January after completing his term in December.

According to the latest public surveys, Ban, who was born in Eumseong and attended schools in Chungju, both of which are in the provinces, would still beat any other candidate in the presidential election.

In a survey conducted by the local daily Joong-Ang Ilbo Monday, Ban ranked first with support of 32.7 percent, trailed by Moon Jae-in, a former chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, with 17.3 percent and Ahn Cheol-soo, a former co-chairman of the People's Party, with 8.1 percent.

Another survey by the Chosun Ilbo, released on the same day, found that Ban also held a comfortable lead over the two potential rivals as his approval rating stood at 27.4 percent against Moon's 16.5 and Ahn's 8.2.

Although Ban, a career diplomat, has never explicitly mentioned his presidential ambitions, he could possibly run in the election on the Saenuri Party ticket.

Without a clear successor to President Park Geun-hye, the ruling party  particularly those loyal to her  has courted Ban.

As Ban is enjoying steady popularity, the Chungcheong provinces have been put on the political map. The region has long remained on the political periphery as other regions, such as southeastern Gyeongsang and southwestern Jeolla provinces, have effectively dominated the nation's political landscape.

The ruling party floor leader, Rep. Chung Jin-suk, is from Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, while presidential chief of staff Lee Won-jon is from Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, as well.

Along with them, Kim Jung-hoon, who attended the same high school as Ban, took the top post of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Army Gen. Leem Ho-young, from Eumseong, became the deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, last week.

For this reason, some Saenuri politicians from the region, who failed to win a nomination for the April 13 general election, are said to be exploring ways to make a connection with Ban as a steppingstone in resurrecting their careers.

In addition, some of them have participated in Firefly, the nation's first online fan club for the U.N. chief that plans to hold an inaugural general meeting on Nov. 10 to begin activities in earnest. The club was established in June.
By Choi Sung-jin



Chinese media outlets recently criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in unusually strong tones, warning that Kim would destroy himself under China's sanctions if he continued his provocative maneuvering.



Particularly, these critical articles were major items on Baidu, China's biggest portal site, prompting analysts to speculate that the Chinese government was sending strong warnings to North Korea before the United Nations slapped North Korea with additional sanctions.



According to North Korea watchers in Beijing, articles criticizing Kim published on Chinese media outlets specializing in military affairs appeared on the news page of Baidu's mobile phone service on Sunday and remained there for some time.



"It is hard to find stories that openly criticize Kim in the Chinese media, and if there are some, they are erased right away in most cases," an observer said. "So we find it quite unusual to see articles on Baidu that enumerate Kim Jong-un's mistakes and even mention political upheaval there, as major news items."



Given the Chinese government basically censures major articles, it was possible to interpret the latest appearance of openly critical stories of Kim as Beijing's strong warnings against North Korea in the run-up to additional sanctions,he said.



In an article headlined "Why Kim Jong-un is not afraid of China's sanctions?" the Chinese military journal, "Military Fuke," said North Korea was surrounded by enemies on all four sides and that Kim was stubborn and heroic.



"Some may praise Kim's behavior, but national leaders who do not care about their people's survival can't help but face abandonment by the people," the journal said. "As the leader of a dictatorial country, Kim is demanding that his people endure hardship but is enjoying an extravagant life himself. Such disparity between words and deeds is a big mistake on the part of Kim."



Kim's conceited behavior would only speed up his own destruction, the journal said, adding that the young North Korean leader was desperate to save "face" by threatening to bomb South Korea's presidential office, attack the United States and sever diplomatic ties with China.



"The North Korean public is now slowly awakening to reality, however, as seen by the graffiti under the statue of Kim Il-sung, which says Kim Jong-un is a bastard,'" it said. "Currently, the myth of Kim Jong-un is being gradually broken, which means the Kim's regime has begun to falter. The more the North Korean public knows about Kim's true character, the more they are likely to abandon the Kim dynasty."



The media outlet predicted that a cataclysmic change would hit North Korea before long because the Kim regime had deceived its people. "The Chinese government has expressed dissatisfaction with North Korea several times, but the latter has acted at its pleasure, inviting various sanctions by the Chinese government," it said.



Particularly, the journal hinted strongly that the additional sanctions could shake the Kim Jong-un regime from its foundation. "Any further arbitrary acts by North Korea will lead to the severing of diplomatic ties between the two countries, which in turn means the stoppage of all materials and necessities, causing grave situations in North Korea," it said.



If China stops supplying food and other commodities, North Korea would fall into a worse situation and the North Korean people's anger would be directed at Kim Jong-un because he was responsible, it said.




By Kang Seung-woo

South Korea and the United States conducted a joint naval exercise in the East Sea, Monday.

The drill featured the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance as well as the South Korean Navy's Aegis Destroyer Yulgok Yi I, submarines and anti-submarine helicopters. P-3 patrol aircraft from the two sides also joined the operation.

During the exercise, the South Korean and U.S. naval forces participated in tactical maneuvering, live fire drills and anti-submarine warfare. They also conducted simulated precision strikes on key ground targets in North Korea, the South Korean Navy said.

The latest exercise came as the North Korean regime continues to ratchet up tension on the Korean Peninsula, threatening to strike the U.S. mainland as well as South Korea, following its fifth nuclear test, Sept. 9.

In response, the U.S. Air Force flew two B-1B strategic bombers over the peninsula twice to send a strong message of unified resolve against continuing acts of North Korean aggression.

"This combined operation was carefully coordinated and is another tangible example of how well our ROK-U.S. alliance works together," said Vice Adm. Lee, Ki-sik, the commander of the South Korean Navy fleet.

"This combined tasking was aggressive in nature and proves that we will always be ready to deter aggression and defeat enemies to maintain stability and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region."

Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, said, "This operation showcases the unwavering strength and resolve of the U.S. and South Korean navies."

"We work side-by-side with our South Korean partners every day; we are by their side today at sea, and we will remain by their side to defend against North Korea's unprovoked acts of aggression."
Officials of Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit, the operator of subway lines 5 to 8 in Seoul, display revised operating schedules at Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul, Monday, as unions of subway and railroad operators will go on strike Tuesday in protest of the new government-initiated performance-based salary system. / Yonhap



By Lee Kyung-min, Hong Dam-young

Unions of subways and railroad workers will launch a joint strike nationwide today to protest the government-initiated performance-based salary system.

This is the first time in 22 years that the subway and railway unions have walked out together.

While affected municipalities and subway and railway operators say there will be no major disruption of public transportation because they have secured replacement workers, public inconvenience and logistics damage is inevitable if the strike becomes protracted.

The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, to which most subway and railway unions belong, said its members will go on strike to prevent the imposition of the merit pay system, which it claims will cause excessive competition among workers and eventually cause damage to the public.

"The Park Geun-hye administration is pushing ahead with the system without workers' consent," the union said in a press briefing in Seoul. "How long to continue the strike depends on how the government reacts."
Seats for ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers are vacant during an audit session of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee at the government complex in Sejong City, Monday.

/ Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon



By Jun Ji-hye

The ruling Saenui Party is going all out to oust National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, claiming that he breached political neutrality by siding with the opposition parties.

Ruling party Chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun said Monday that he will stage a hunger strike indefinitely until Chung steps down. Lee claimed the speaker abused his power when he skipped the due procedure of seeking the ruling party's consent before allowing a vote calling for the dismissal of the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Kim Jae-soo to go ahead Saturday. The three opposition parties passed the no-confidence motion, while the ruling party boycotted the vote.

Chung is originally from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), although he left the party after being made parliament speaker in accordance with the law.

Adding fuel to the controversy, it was later known that Chung said, before conducting the vote, that the ruling party should not "ask for something for free," apparently referring to the governing party's request to cancel the vote.

In a voice clip recorded by an unidentified person and obtained by the Saenuri Party, Chung said, "They (Saenuri) should bring up something, whether it be (the extension of the investigation on) Sewol or (holding a parliamentary hearing on) the Korea Parent Federation, but they are not doing it."

Political observers said the recording apparently happened after Chung unwittingly left his microphone on during the session.

An aide to Chung explained that at the time, Chung was talking to Rep. Kim Boo-kyum of the MPK who arrived at the parliamentary session late and did not know about situation there. The aide added that Chung did not express his own opinion but just explained how the session had progressed before Kim got there.

But ruling party members strongly criticized Chung for damaging "parliamentarism," saying that the speaker virtually brokered a political deal in favor of the opposition parties.

"The recording is evidence that the MPK condemned an innocent minister as part of a bargaining ploy," the Saenuri Party said in a statement.

In addition to the chairman's hunger strike, the ruling party members began a "one-person relay protest" beginning with former Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung at the National Assembly. Reps. Chung Jin-suk, Won Yoo-chul, incumbent and formal floor leaders, and Cho Won-jin, a Supreme Council member, will take turns participating in the protest.

The ferry Sewol, which sunk in April of 2014, was en route to the southern resort island of Jeju from Incheon, west of Seoul, with a total of 476 passengers. Most of the 304 dead were high school students on a field trip. The incident dealt a harsh blow to the Park Geun-hye government for its failure to properly rescue the passengers, as well as its negligence in overseeing the safety regulations governing local ships.

The right-wing Korea Parent Federation has been embroiled in controversy over allegations that it staged pro-government rallies after receiving instructions from Cheong Wa Dae.

Chung's political neutrality was questioned by the ruling party earlier this month as well after he allegedly sided with the opposition bloc's stance on the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system.

During the opening speech of the regular parliamentary session on Sept. 1, Chung criticized the government's move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that Seoul agreed to deploy by the end of next year.

At the time, members of the Saenuri Party also refused to participate in parliamentary proceedings, calling on the speaker to resign and make apologies, but the controversy was resolved after Chung expressed regret over his remarks.

The ruling party said it will do everything this time to oust Chung including taking legal action.

"We will file a complaint with the National Assembly Ethics Committee against Chung and request the prosecution to bring criminal charges against him for abuse of power," said Kim Do-eup, the Saenuri Party's deputy floor leader.
By Jun Ji-hye

The military is preparing to set up a Special Forces unit that will be tasked with assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, sources said Monday.

This is part of the counter-measures being considered to better respond to mounting threats from the North's evolving nuclear and missile programs as tension remains high after Pyongyang's fifth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 9.

The Ministry of National Defense has recently reported its envisioned measures, which also include a new operational concept dubbed "Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR)" to President Park Geun-hye. Park endorsed them, sources said.

On Sept. 22, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said during a parliamentary interpellation session that the military is planning to put together a Special Forces unit, comprised of personnel from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, which will take full charge of assassinating Kim, indicating that the military will begin preparations soon.

At the time, Han also mentioned that KMPR was designed to annihilate Pyongyang with a barrage of pre-emptive missile attacks once signs of a North Korean nuclear attack are detected.

"The plan is an operational concept to retaliate against a North Korean attack, using our missile capabilities," Han said.

Sources said the ministry is now pushing to secure a budget necessary to maintain the special unit and operate KMPR.

The ministry refused to confirm whether it began the preparation for the launch of the unit, citing confidentiality.

On Sept. 9, the isolated state conducted its fifth nuclear test, claiming to have successfully detonated a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be mounted on a ballistic missile. The test followed a series of launches of short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles in recent months.

In the wake of the test, observers say the North is now apparently in the final stages of completing its nuclear and missile programs.
Police raided a hospital in Seoul on Monday as part of their investigation into a farmer who died there earlier this week after he was hit by a police water cannon during a protest last year.

The Seoul Jongno Police Station said it raided Seoul National University Hospital to obtain medical records on Baek Nam-gi, 69, who was pronounced dead of acute renal failure Sunday.

The activist had been in a coma since a water cannon knocked him down during the massive antigovernment demonstration in central Seoul in November last year.

Critics have blamed the police for excessive force in the protest.

Police, however, argued there is no clear link between the water cannon and Baek's death.

Earlier in the day, a local court rejected police's request to conduct an autopsy on Baek to better determine the cause of death, while allowing them to raid the hospital to gain documents of his full medical records.

Police said they will decide whether to reapply for the writ after analyzing the documents obtained.

Earlier this month, former police chief Kang Sin-myeong refused to apologize for the incident during a parliamentary hearing, saying it is "inappropriate" to issue an apology for every injury or death during crackdowns of demonstrations. He said causes and legal responsibilities must be clearly defined beforehand. (Yonhap)
By Kim Bo-eun



Police raided Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) Monday to seize the medical records of Baek Nam-ki, 69, who died Sunday after 10 months in a coma after being knocked over by a water cannon during a rally last November.



The raid came as conflicts between civic groups, law enforcement authorities and politicians are escalating over the death of the farmer.



Police, who have been claiming that the cause of Baek's death is unclear, asked the prosecution to request a warrant to conduct an autopsy, Sunday night, but the Seoul Central District Court rejected this Monday.



Warrants were requested for both an autopsy and Baek's medical records, but only the one for the latter was approved.



Police are maintaining that an autopsy is needed, and said they are considering reapplying for the warrant.



"When Baek was first hospitalized, he had a subarachnoid hemorrhage, but his physician said Sunday that renal failure was the cause of his death," said National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner Lee Chul-sung in a press conference, Monday.



"We will decide whether to re-file for a warrant after receiving documents from the court regarding the rejection, and discussing the issue with the prosecution."



Baek's family members and civic groups supporting them claim the death was caused by the water cannon, and oppose the autopsy. They said they would continue to fight until investigations find out those who are accountable and they are punished; and measures are set up to prevent such a case from recurring.



"We must have an independent counsel investigate the case, and deadly water cannons should be banned so that no more victims arise from the state's exercise of violence," they said during a press briefing in Seoul.



They plan to collect signatures and hold candlelit rallies daily until their demands are met. The movements are likely to continue until Nov. 12, when civic and labor groups plan to host a large-scale rally, marking the one-year anniversary of the protest held last year.



Opposition party lawmakers have joined in, claiming an investigation must find out those accountable.



"The court rejected the warrant request, which was made despite clear video footage and testimony" showing the water cannon caused the death said Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), at a council meeting at the National Assembly.



"An autopsy opposed by bereaved family members should not be conducted."



However, the ruling Saenuri Party has maintained a difference stance on the issue, with spokeswoman Kim Hyun-a calling Baek's death "a regrettable result of protests, which developed into violent, illegal acts," in a briefing, Sunday.



At last year's rally, police hit Baek with a water cannon at 10 atmospheres of pressure. Police guidelines state the cannons should be set at less than seven atmospheres when protesters are within 20 meters, which was the case with Baek. Video footage shows police continued to spray Baek with the water cannon even after he was knocked down.



Following the incident, bereaved family members filed a complaint with the prosecution against seven individuals including the then-chief of the NPA Kang Sin-myeong, alleging attempted murder.



The prosecution began questioning the individuals in June, but Kang and former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief Goo Eun-soo have not been summoned.



On Sept. 12, a hearing was held on the case at the National Assembly, but made no progress because requested data was not submitted.



Baek's family also filed a damages suit against the government and police officials, demanding a total of 730 million won in compensation.




Potential presidential candidates are from top left, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former chairman of the opposition People's Party Ahn Cheol-soo and ex-chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) Moon Jae-in. From bottom left are former floor leader of the Saenuri Party Yoo Seong-min, ex-Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, ex-Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung and South Chungcheong Governor Ahn Hee-jung. / Graphic by Cho Sang-won



By Kim Hyo-jin



The race for Cheong Wa Dae has virtually begun.



Political parties are stepping up their preparations for the presidential election in December next year as behind-the-scenes activities for a group of potential candidates are heating up.



United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently gave the strongest hint yet about his possible presidential bid as a ruling Saenuri Party candidate, stirring debate and speculation across the political circle.



With former presidential candidates Moon Jae-in and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo expected to join the race, other presidential hopefuls have stepped forward announcing their bids to compete with the mainstream candidates.



In the previous elections by this time of the cycle, it was relatively easy to predict who would become the next president.



In September 2006, Lee Myung-bak, then a potential candidate hopeful in the ruling party, garnered over 30 percent approval, gaining traction to win the 2007 race.



In the last election, the ruling party's potential candidate Park Geun-hye stood at around 30 percent approval rating in late 2011 while leading tight competition with Moon and Ahn.



However, the approval ratings of the current leading potential contenders  Ban, Moon, and Ahn  have lingered around or less than 20 percent.



Analysts say there are still a number of factors to be considered to tell who would become the winner.



"Now, chances are open to all potential contenders," said Yoon Tae-gon, a senior political analyst at Moa Agenda Strategy.





Ban Ki-moon



With no prominent figure in the ruling bloc, Ban has been noted as the strongest potential presidential candidate. Ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers affiliated with President Park Geun-hye have wanted him to join hands with them since early this year.



Ban, who is scheduled to finish his term as the U.N. chief in December, clarified the date of his return to his home country, giving the strongest hint yet about his potential presidential bid.



At a meeting with floor leaders of the political parties, who were on an official trip to the United States as part of parliamentary diplomacy, on Sept. 15, he said he plans to come back to Korea by mid-January and wants to meet the public and leaders of various fields to explain his decade-long achievements at the U.N.



Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), interpreted such remarks as a clear sign that Ban's determination for a presidential bid is resolute.



"It was an achievement that we figured out Ban's mind. The opposition bloc will soon contemplate strategies against him," he told reporters upon his arrival from the U.S.



Political analysts expect that Ban will keep his distance from the parties for months while seeking a soft landing in domestic politics.



It is more likely that he would join the Saenuri Party at the last minute before the primary or seek to be a single candidate in the ruling bloc after the Saenuri Party picks its own candidate, they view.



He does not have to risk being a target of the political offensive by opposition parties by joining any one party too early. Also, he may need some time to figure out how to keep a fair distance from Park and her followers, the senior analyst Yoon said.



"No candidate has ever won the presidential election by appealing to being the incumbent President's political heir," he noted.



"It won't be desirable for Ban to be viewed as Park taking the initiative in his presidential bid. He could have his eye on building an independent image while remaining outside the existing parties."





Moon Jae-in



Since the MPK's leadership contest in late August, many political insiders have said it may be a foregone conclusion that the party's former Chairman Moon Jae-in will win the presidential candidacy.



In the contest, candidates from the party's mainstream faction whose members follow the legacy of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon, swept up most of the leadership seats, fanning speculation that Moon will smoothly pave the way toward the 2017 race.



Even still, the MPK has multiple potential contenders some of whom have already heralded their bid for the Presidency.



South Chungcheong Governor Ahn Hee-jung and Kim Boo-kyum, a four-term lawmaker who has a parliamentary seat in the ruling party's stronghold Daegu, stepped forward, presenting themselves as competent replacements of Moon.



Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who ranked fourth in the pool of the potential presidential candidates from rival parties following Ban, Moon, and Ahn in recent polls, is also expected to join the heated atmosphere soon.



Mayor Park said in a recent interview that he will clarify whether or not he will run soon, saying "It is not a responsible attitude if you turn your back on reality riddled with contradictions and pain."



Hwang Tae-soon, a political analyst, views that during the primary race anyone could be thrust into the spotlight despite Moon's firm ground in the party.



"Moon is, for sure, the leading potential candidate at the moment but once the party kicks off the race for the primary, no one knows how things could change," he said, noting that ex-President Roh gained powerful momentum from TV debates between party contenders in 2002.



Ahn and Kim have been noted odds-on potential candidates from the opposition bloc.



Ahn is known to have been a close confidant to ex-President Roh who assumed the secretary-general post in Roh's camp during the campaign and became a presidential official who managed general state affairs while Roh was in office.



Kim emerged as a powerful figure in the party since the April 13 general election. He secured the parliamentary seat in Daegu, Saenuri's home turf, being a symbol of breaking regionalism in the country.



Meanwhile, Moon is stepping up the start of a think-tank by October, which will be tasked with devising policies to ease polarization and social anxiety, presumed to be the basis of his presidential pledges, party officials said.





3-way competition



Ahn Cheol-soo, ex-chairman of the opposition People's Party, is certain to join the 2017 race, according to opposition lawmakers and party officials.



Speculation is high that he will hardly discuss putting up a single opposition candidate with the MPK, making it a three-way presidential race.



Although included in a leading group among potential candidates in various polls, Ahn has trailed Ban and Moon. In the latest Realmeter poll, 11 percent of the respondents viewed him favorably while 23.4 and 17.6 percent did so for Ban and Moon, respectively.



In an effort to gain steam in the run-up to the race, Ahn is reaching out to former Saenuri members who bolted out of the party in opposition to Park followers and non-mainstreamers of the MPK.



What remains to be seen is if he can embrace those conservative and liberal outliers and establish ground where they can compete for the candidacy with Ahn outside the realm of the People's Party, pundits say.
South Korea and the United States conducted a combined maritime exercise in the East Sea as part of a show of force against North Korea's provocations, their navies said Monday.

It was the first coordinated operation conducted by the allies outside routine exercises and with Seoul and Washington using the maneuvers to send a strong message of unwavering resolve against growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, the navies of South Korea and the United States said in a joint statement.

In its latest provocations, the North conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test early this month, only four days after firing off three ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

"We work side-by-side with our ROK partners every day; we are by their side today at sea, and we will remain by their side to defend against North Korea's unprovoked acts of aggression," Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea and Task Force 78, said in the statement.

Vice Adm. Lee Ki-sik, commander of the ROK Fleet, said the two allies will always be ready to deter aggression and defeat the enemy to maintain stability and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance and U.S. P-3 patrol aircraft joined South Korea's Navy's Aegis destroyer Yulgok YiYi, submarines, and anti-submarine helicopters in the latest exercise. (Yonhap)
North Korea has hastily dispatched agents from its State Security Ministry to flood-damaged areas bordering China to block mass defections of residents there, a U.S. broadcaster, monitored in Seoul, reported Monday.

This summer, the North's northeastern provinces adjacent to China were devastated by heavy rains accompanied by Typhoon Lionrock. The United Nations estimates that 138 North Koreans were killed and 400 others are missing in the country's worst flooding in its history, with about 20,000 houses destroyed.

The North Korean authorities employed the step as defections have become easier as the heavy rains wrecked lots of border facilities, such as guard posts, and barbed-wire fences, the Radio Free Asia (RFA) said, citing a source in the North.

"The ministry sent its agents to border areas pertinent to an order from the Central Committee of the North's Workers' Party on Sept. 18, and they are currently staging inspections in all border areas," the source in North Hamkyong Province was quoted as saying.

The agents from the ministry have taken hold of overall border control, the source said.












The top commander of United States Forces Korea (USFK) met with senior military officials in the United States last week to discuss issues involving North Korea's evolving nuclear and ballistic missile threats, the U.S. military said Monday.

USFK Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks had separate meetings with U.S. military and interagency officials to discuss options to deter North Korea from future provocations and the need to increase coordination in countering threats by the North, the official statement said.

Officials that Brooks met include John O. Brennan, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and Gen. Raymond A. Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, it said.

"USFK is working closely with leaders and experts from across the U.S. government to respond to the threat posed by North Korea. Our extensive U.S. coordination in Washington complements our alliance cooperation in Seoul and enhances our ability to deter North Korea," Brooks said.

The meetings were held two weeks after North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 9. Four days earlier, Pyongyang launched three ballistic missiles, raising concerns that it has made headway in acquiring technology to put a warhead on a long-range missile.

The allied forces are "taking actions to respond to North Korea's continued aggressive behavior and will leverage the full range of military capabilities to provide and strengthen extended deterrence against threats to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region," the statement said. (Yonhap)
The female head of a Chinese conglomerate, who has been arrested on charges of having exported U.N.-banned goods to North Korea, has also been conducting brisk business activities in the North, a Chinese news outlet reported Monday.



Ma Xiahong, head of Liaoning Hongxiang Group and in her 40s, began trade with the North in the 1990s by exporting China's oil to the North and importing mineral resources from it, and even set up a mineral joint venture in Pyongyang, according to the online media site Xianzhaiwang based in China's Hubei Province.



Ma's transactions with the North have been going on, although trade between the two nations was somewhat affected by the North's nuclear tests between 2006-2009, the site said.



Via trade with the North, the Hongxiang Group has developed into a firm that ranked 189th on the list of China's top 500 trade firms in 2010, the media said.



North Korea experts here said the report shows Ma has maintained close relations with the North Korean regime in business projects in the North as well as conducting intermediate trade between the two nations.



A source in North Korea said, "As far as I know, Ma has made investments in mineral companies in the North as the North has done so in Hongxiang subsidiaries in China."



Based on wealth accumulated via trade with the North, Ma was chosen as one of the top 10 female leaders in the Chinese border city of Dandong in 2011 and a talented female entrepreneur in 2012, the source said.



She even become a council member of the Liaoning Province in 2013, although she was recently dismissed from the post under the pretext of election fraud in the wake of revelations by the latest South Korea-U.S. joint research report, the source said.



According to the joint research report released by South Korea's Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) in Washington a week ago, six Hongxiang subsidiaries have transacted with sanctioned North Korean entities and have traded in various goods and services that raise nuclear proliferation concerns.



Titled "In China's shadow: Evolution of North Korean Overseas Networks," the report said that the Chinese conglomerate



exported aluminum oxide, which can be used in uranium enrichment, to the North in recent years.



The company has been also selling other "dual-use" items, such as aluminum ingots, ammonium paratungstate and tungsten trioxide, all of which can be used in the North's missile or nuclear programs, according to the report.



In 2009, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co., one of the six subsidiaries, also partnered with the North's Korea National Insurance Corporation (KNIC) to form a joint venture engaged in the wholesale trade of textiles, stationery, electrical equipment and other goods, the report said. The KNIC is an European Commission-sanctioned North Korean entity. (Yonhap)




President Park Geun-hye's chief of staff Lee Won-jong on Monday urged presidential aides to do their best "until the end" to achieve the current administration's policy tasks to tackle a series of economic and security challenges.

With one and a half years left until the end of the government's term, Lee stressed unity among staff members to cope with the challenges during the first gathering of all secretarial employees since he took office in May.

He also emphasized the need for the staffers to move forward in the same direction, share policy goals and stay creative in their handling of state affairs, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.

"The organization whose members share goals is strong," Lee was quoted as saying. "This period of your life will never come back. Let's live intensely by dedicating a piece of your life to the nation and people."

At the gathering, Kim Kyou-hyun, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, highlighted the gravity of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, calling for all-out efforts to address the escalating security challenge.

Kim, in particular, reiterated the need to "fundamentally change Pyongyang's strategic calculus" to have it renounce its nuclear ambitions. (Yonhap)
By Barton Swaim



In 2016, when politicos reach for a metaphor to describe the election, they often invoke "stakes," and especially stakes that "couldn't be higher." It seems to me they used to prefer "crossroads," but I don't hear much about crossroads anymore; mainly it's about those stakes that for some reason can't get any higher. When California Gov. Jerry Brown finally decided to endorse Hillary Clinton, for example, he did so because "the stakes couldn't be higher," not because we'd reached a "crossroads."



Seeking numerical confirmation of my suspicion, I used the Nexis database to catalog the number of times the phrase "stakes couldn't be higher" appeared in news articles with the names "Obama" and "Romney" from January to September 2012. I got 52 hits. I did the same for "stakes couldn't be higher" with "Clinton" and "Trump" from January to September 2016. I got 111 hits. I did the same for the word "crossroads," and the candidates' names from January to September of 2012 and 2016. For Romney vs. Obama, "crossroads" appeared 2,477 times. For Trump vs. Clinton, "crossroads" appeared 1,171 times.



Maybe we've just exchanged one hokey phrase for another, but I wonder if the shift doesn't signify a different outlook from the one we had in elections past. A different outlook, and a bleaker one.



Almost every presidential contest has been called a "crossroads" of some kind. "Today," wrote South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad Connelly in 2012, "our country is at a crossroads and the existence of (the) American dream is threatened like never before." Michael Brown, a delegate to the Democratic convention in 2012, likely would have disagreed with Connelly about everything, but about the country's metaphorical location he concurred: "I feel like our nation is at a crossroads where one side diminishes science and history," he told the Star-Telegram. "It is my duty as an American and a father to work to give my daughter the best chance to have a better life than I have led."



The trouble with crossroads  literal crossroads  is that if you come to one and make the wrong choice, you can't just pretend that making a better choice at the next crossroads will somehow fix the problem. You have to turn around and go back to the first crossroads and make the choice you should have made before. It's a tired phrase, but at least it signifies the importance of a choice between two very different alternatives, one good and one bad. If you can call an election a "crossroads," you must have some hope.



And that's how we seem to have thought about the election of 2012: as a philosophical choice in which the nation might either continue its embrace of piecemeal socialism, or reject further government expansions into the free market. Democrats believed the former was the right, good path; Republicans wanted to take the other road, and they hoped to persuade a majority to take it.



That wasn't necessarily an accurate assessment of the 2012 election, but that's how partisans on both sides framed it. We were at a crossroads.



The "high stakes" metaphor operates differently. It doesn't require hope. Just fear.



In a sense, "the stakes couldn't be higher" is just another way of expressing the truism that this year's presidential election is "the most important election of our lifetime." Of course it's the most important election in our lifetime; it's the one happening right now, and we can't predict the outcome or consequences, and that makes us nervous. Similarly: Of course "the stakes couldn't be higher" because the winner becomes the chief executive of the United States government, and what could possibly be higher than that?



Mary Kay Henry, president of SEIU International, managed to combine the cliches in her Clinton endorsement: "For working families, the 2016 election is the most consequential of our lifetimes. The stakes couldn't be higher  nor the contrast starker  on all of the issues our families need to get ahead."



Although Henry mentioned getting "ahead" at the end of the second sentence, her diction isn't quite coherent at that point (working families need "issues" to get ahead?). What she's chiefly communicating  I don't think I'm wrong in thinking  is the possibility of doom. If the wrong candidate wins, all is lost.



The National Rifle Association's Chris Cox sounded just as fearful, maybe more so, when he spoke to the Daily Caller about the Supreme Court vacancy. "And the stakes, with Justice Scalia's passing and that fifth majority vote being gone for the basic right to own a firearm, the stakes couldn't be higher."



We're not facing a choice between two visions. For Cox, as for Henry, we're facing danger and ruin.



"The stakes couldn't be higher," then, begins to sound like code for "I'm not happy about it either, but the alternative's even worse." This is an unhappy place. I wish we could go back to that stupid crossroads.



Barton Swaim is the author of "The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics." He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times. It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.




Two photos tell one story, loud and clear. We ask President Park Geun-hye to give a look at them and have a laugh before getting back into the daily grind of political fighting.



The first shows U.S. President Barack Obama with his back to the camera taking a photo of former first couple George W. Bush and Laura Bush.



The second has Michelle hugging Bush from behind with Obama showing the tip of his tongue as an act of affected jealousy. Both were taken during the opening of the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to African-Americans in Washington, D.C., Saturday. They were carried by some local Korean newspapers.



These capture the typical American brand of levity at the highest level  setting aside their differences and uniting in moments of crisis.



Bush and Obama were poles apart in their backgrounds and politics. Bush is a Republican from Texas. Obama is the first black president from the Democratic Party. By some historical accounts, Bush took a mad run on an anti-terrorism campaign and drove his country close to bankruptcy, while Obama has spent most of his two terms on a salvage operation.



As shown by the killing of a black man by police in Charlotte, South Carolina, race is still a cause of trouble in the U.S., proof that the world's sole superpower as any other place is not perfect.



But the Obama-Bush photos show that their differences shouldn't spell the end of the world, the two setting aside their differences and enjoying a moment of LOL. True, they won't see any tightening of political differences tomorrow. Rather, they would be going back into their usual political trenches and fighting as hard as before. The chance, still, is that they will remember a small moment they had to confirm the other side was not a monster.



Back to our political scene, that moment of truce is sorely missed.



President Park is too serious, tending to take everything as a matter of life and death. She spoke out against the opposition's passage of a dismissal bill on Kim Jae-soo, the minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, dubbing it as a putsch by the fifth column in a time of national emergency.



If politics is a theater for the nation, Park's three years and seven months in office are filled with a suffocating nonstop series of tragedy  Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth. We the people desperately need some "Much Ado About Nothing."




It's time for pushing labor reform once again



It is likely that Korea will cede its status as the world's fifth-biggest carmaker to India this year. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), Korea produced about 2.55 million cars in the first seven months of the year. India's car output, in contrast, surpassed 2.57 million.



It is the first time in 12 years that Korea has lost the No.5 spot in car production. Last year, Korea's annual output reached 4.55 million cars, compared with India's 4.12 million.



The prospects for the rest of the year are not bright, either, because Korea's car exports declined 14.3 percent in the January-August period and tax incentives for new car purchases expired in June. Moreover, labor strikes have hit major local car manufacturers.



To make matters worse, Mexico, ranked seventh globally, is in hot pursuit of Korea as the world's leading carmakers rush to relocate their plants there.



Against this gloomy backdrop, one may well worry that the country's car industry might be sandwiched between industrialized nations and emerging economies. Not surprisingly, it's not easy to catch up with the United States, Germany and Japan in technology and productivity and head off challenges from China and India.



It might be premature of course if you say that the Korean car industry is in crisis only with a short-term slowdown in car production. Hyundai Motor Group, however, which owns both Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, sold 8 million cars around the world last year as part of the global "Big 5" makers following Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors and Renault-Nissan. By contrast, China ranked first in car output with nearly 25 million cars last year but is devoid of its own strong brand.



However, given the car industry's far-reaching impact on other industries and its ripple effect on employment and exports, it's urgent to map out countermeasures. This isn't something taken lightly, considering that as domestic production facilities go abroad, the fewer domestic jobs become. Hyundai and Kia assembled nearly 55 percent of their cars abroad last year, and if such production facilities had been at home, their contribution to employment would have been enormous.



Admittedly, one can recognize the need to build car plants overseas because of the problem of market access. But the government and the car industry should work together to create more jobs by luring relocated car factories back home.



The biggest problem is that Korean carmakers are notorious for high costs and low efficiency. For example, wages at the nation's five carmakers boast a world-class level with their average annual salary reaching 93 million won. But their productivity is among the lowest in the world.



On Monday, union workers of Hyundai Motor went on their first full strike in 12 years after rejecting an earlier compromise on wage increases. Whether to go on strike is certainly a matter of choice by unionists. But it's hard to expect the nation's largest carmaker to maintain its competitive edge at a time when labor-management relations are shaky. Certainly, it's time to step up efforts to reform the labor sector once again.




Seoul National University Professor Oh Uh-taek

By Lee Min-hyung

Seoul National University (SNU) Professor Oh Uh-taek has been named the new head for a brain science laboratory at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), the nation's leading research institute said Monday.

Oh, 61, is one of the country's leading experts on brain science, serving as a pharmacy professor at SNU for more than two decades since 1988. As of this January, the Korean Brain Society also named Oh as its new chairman, in recognition of his expertise and experience in physiology and pathology.

He studied pharmacy at SNU, receiving a bachelor's and a master's degree from the university. Oh has since studied physiology at the University of Oklahoma, earning a doctoral degree there.

Expectations are his decades-long experience in brain science will strengthen KIST's brain research capacity, the institute said. Oh's tenure begins January, replacing current head Dennis Choi, a neurology professor from the Stony Brook School of Medicine in New York.

"KIST decided to name Oh as the new chief of the brain research lab, as part of a bid to strengthen our research capability," KIST President Lee Byung-kwon said in a statement. Under the leadership of Oh, KIST is expected to take a leap forward in scientific achievement, Lee added.

Meanwhile, KIST has been pushing to strengthen its brain research capacity in line with the government-led "brain science development strategy" introduced by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) this May.
Lebanon police detectives are investigating reports by four high school students that a teacher touched them inappropriately and made suggestive comments. The state Childrens Division may also be investigating after the resource officer called the states Child Abuse hotline.

According to an incident report from the Lebanon Police Department, the four students went to the resource officers office around 11 a.m. Friday.

They reported that their teacher has been making inappropriate comments to them during class. They reported the teacher has also been touching them in a way they feel is wrong. The students said they already filled out statements of what happened and turned them in to the principal's office. They all said they did not want to return to the teacher's class because of these issues, the resource officer wrote in the incident report.

A spokesman for the Lebanon School District says the teacher is on paid administrative leave while the students allegations are investigated.
Missourians can provide input on a new license plate design to commemorate Missouris 200th anniversary of statehood. State law requires the Department of Revenue to start issuing license plates with a new design no later than Jan. 1, 2019.

The new design commemorating the bicentennial will replace the current Missouri bluebird license plate.

According to state law (301.125, RSMo), an Advisory Committee is responsible for determining the new plate design. The committee is made up of the director of the Department of Revenue or his or her designee, the superintendent of the Highway Patrol, the correctional enterprises administrator, the director of the Department of Transportation, the executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, and the chairs of the Transportation committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The Committee invites public input into the final design through a series of public meetings. The first such meeting will take place in Springfield on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 6 p.m. at the Missouri Department of Transportations District Office at 3025 E. Kearney St. (just west of the interchange of U.S. 65 at Kearney).

Further details are on the
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

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PRESS RELEASE

Duterte To Visit China and Japan in October

Sept. 24, 2016 (EIRNS)Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has announced formally that he will visit China on Oct. 19-20, confirming the reconciliation between the two countries after Obama and former President Noynoy Aquino had provoked a crisis and turned the Philippines into a tool of Obamas military confrontation with China.

Duterte will follow the China visit with a visit to Japan.

Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang welcomed the visit on Sept. 23 and said that

"Huge differences or not, as long as China and the Philippines maintain the political willingness to resolve problems, there will be no insurmountable obstacles in the development of bilateral relations."

A source in Dutertes office told Global Times that it was possible that former President Fidel Ramos, whom Duterte appointed as an envoy to China, could visit as early as next week to lay the groundwork for talks.

A major early agreement is being sought by Duterte to restore fishing rights in contested areas, especially the Scarborough Shoal. Other issues will be Dutertes interest in getting Chinese involvement in rail and other infrastructure in the Philippines, and cooperation in his intense crackdown on drugs. Much of the methamphetamines which are wrecking Philippine youth are produced in China.

Duterte told a group of Chinese businessmen in Manila on Sept. 22 that "You will see me often" in China.
PRESS RELEASE

Poroshenko Wants Special Status with NATO, Now

Sept. 25, 2016 (EIRNS)The Bulgarian news website Novinite reported, yesterday, that Ukraine has filed a "special partnership" request with NATO, state news agency UNIAN has said. The document was sent in an official letter from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, before a Ukraine-NATO Commission meeting in Brussels. If granted, this would give Ukraine a status with NATO equal to that of Finland and Sweden.

This is a real provocation which can only have the effect of sabotaging the Minsk II agreement in the Donbass region of southeast Ukraine. There is widespread agreement among observers on both sides that Poroshenko cant implement the Minsk agreements anyway, because the special status provision for Luhansk and Donetsk are virulently opposed by the armed neo-Nazi groups that Poroshenko relies on to keep in power. "Special partnership" status with NATO, therefore, appears to be his alternative.
PRESS RELEASE

Syrian Foreign Minister: We Believe in Victory

Sept. 25, 2016 (EIRNS)In his address, delivered yesterday to the UN General Assembly, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem made clear that the Syrian governments orientation is towards victory and that that victory will be on behalf of the world as a whole.

"Everyone knows full well that terrorism would not have spread through my country if it hadnt been for the external support of well-known countries. It is no longer a secret that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have played a part in this, promoting their Wahhabist Takfirist ideology and their death fatwas that have nothing to do with Islam,"

Moallem said. At the same time,

"Turkey has opened its border to let in tens of thousands of terrorists from all around the world and has provided them with logistical support and training camps under the supervision of Turkish and Western intelligence."

"We, in Syria, are combating terrorism on behalf of the whole of the world," he said, because every time a foreign terrorist is killed in Syria, that lessens the chances of a terrorist attack in his country of origin.

"Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab Army is making great strides in its war against terrorism, with the support of the true friends of the Syrian people,"

Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, Moallem said. He expressed Syrias willingness to cooperate with anyone in the battle against terrorist groups, but it must be coordinated with the government.

"Without such coordination, any action would be considered a breach of sovereignty, a flagrant interference, and a violation of the principles and purposes of the [UN] Charter,"

he said. He condemned both the Sept. 19 U.S. attack on Syrian troops in Deir Ez-Zor and the Turkish incursion into northern Syria.

As for eventual settlement of the conflict, Moallem said that Syria was ready for any solution that follows a two-track pathcounter-terrorism and a political track through an intra-Syrian dialogue that allows Syrians to determine the future of their country without foreign interference. "We reiterate our commitment to move forward with the Geneva track under the auspices of the United Nations," he said, but a political solution "must be based on respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria and the unity of its people."
College students in blackface. A white chef telling people how to eat Vietnamese pho. Students of color who consider bad sushi in the dining hall to be a cultural insult. A white writer writing about nonwhite people in a clumsy fashion. These are some of the incidents of cultural appropriation, as some would call them, that have provoked important questions: Who owns culture? Who has the right to speak for a culture? Are minorities too sensitive? Do identity politics encourage conformity in thinking? What happened to the right to free speech?

Extremists exist on either side of the debate. On one side, libertarians of free speech argue that anyone should be able to say anything. From this view, minority protests against stereotypes and appropriation limit the imagination, art and dialogue. On the other side, people are speaking up loudly about their cultures being hijacked.

Though some people are admittedly too sensitive about their culture, they are not all minorities. White people have proved that they too engage in identity politics. Whiteness, which has for centuries been unmatched in its dominance, and hence could be the invisible norm, is in something of a crisis as vocal minorities challenge it.

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The sensitivity over culture cannot be understood in isolation from deeply entrenched histories of colonization, exploitation and inequality. When African Americans point to white people appropriating black music and profiting from it, it is not simply an issue of whether white people can enjoy and adapt black music. African Americans are also remembering how white people enslaved black people and profited from their labor, and how that racist system is passed down to an environment in which white people own the record companies, the concert venues and the radio stations. With this inherited power, they can exploit black musicians and promote white musicians.

When the inhabitants of poor, urban neighborhoods that have become hip bemoan gentrification, they are not simply being resentful against newcomers who are white, Asian or wealthy. These newcomers may believe they are making their neighborhoods more attractive, but many are unaware that decades of racial covenants, redlining and white flight created the segregated areas they are moving into. The appearance of the white hipster in neighborhoods that white people abandoned long ago remind the current residents that they dont truly own where they live. Their lives are subject to economic forces they dont control and to the desires of people wealthier than they are.

And its not simply people of color who feel this way. Many white people do as well. For much of American history, white people benefited from a society built at the expense of people of color whose land was taken or whose labor was exploited. Now, that economic system has left many working-class and middle-class whites behind. They see shrinking paychecks, lost blue-collar jobs, the hollowing out of industries and small towns, the destruction of pensions, and they may blame those who appear different from themselves: black people who seemingly dont work hard enough or Latinos and Asians who seemingly work too hard and for too little.

Once the majority, white Americans are understandably scared about their inevitable decline into a minority population. The country is diversifying as California already has; Latinos have outnumbered whites in the state since 2015, and demographers predict whites will become a minority in the United States by 2060. While some white people scoff at the complaints of minorities, they seem implicitly to understand that being a minority has not always been a pleasant experience  hence their fear of becoming a minority. These white people demand their country back, a more prosperous America where they once owned the culture. They too fear cultural appropriation, except that in this case it means the loss of the privileges that were long a benefit of whiteness, privileges which people of color appear to be taking.

Thus we have the battle lines drawn in what pundits of the 1990s called the culture wars. We are still fighting those wars, but to think that we are fighting only over culture misses the point. We are also fighting over ownership, property, profits, rights and lives, as we have been for centuries. The cultural things we fight over  food, neighborhoods, music, literature, the flag, the national anthem  are symbols of that history. Its no surprise that those who have earned large or small profits from that history see these fights in a different way than those who have been deprived because of that history.

How to move forward? First, recognize the history of economic appropriation that makes possible cultural appropriation. Without such a recognition, we will continue to fight the wrong battle. Though it has been important for political progress in this country to organize around cultures and identities, these types of struggles wont fundamentally change how some people benefit from an economic system built on racial discrimination and many others dont.

Second, engage in careful and curious conversation with people different from ourselves, both in terms of demographics and ideas. When I say careful, I mean that it is possible to use ones free speech and yet also be respectful and ethical. It is advisable not to insult people, as in the case of a white author wearing a sombrero to make her point about cultural oversensitivity. When I say curious, I mean that too many of us are not interested in the lives of others, if my experience with my airplane seatmates is any indication. Too many people would rather talk about themselves rather than ask questions of others.

Third, accept criticism. People of all sides revert to human nature by seeing the failures of their opponents and not their own side. Examining ourselves and acknowledging our mistakes and excesses is difficult, but without doing so, it is too easy to look down on others without realizing that we do many of the same things we accuse others of doing. When it comes to identity politics, this means acknowledging that people sometimes are too sensitive, and that includes white people.

Fourth, practice solidarity. Reject the politics of division that have existed in this country since the 17th century, when white property owners convinced poor whites that their interests aligned with wealthy whites rather than indentured and enslaved blacks. Todays aggrieved white working class would be better off building alliances with working-class people of other cultures, and vice versa, rather than be seduced by the call to build walls. The reality is that walls wont keep people out, and walls wont keep profits in.

As for those of us who are writers, whose work is all about culture: No one told us our job would be easy. For centuries, though, the job was easier for white writers who could get published and who could say anything they wanted about anyone, anywhere. Now those people who were written about are writing back and speaking out. They demand a conversation, they criticize, and sometimes they are too sensitive. But they are not silencing anyone. The ones who are truly silenced are the ones who cannot get published.

The ones who can get published simply have to do their research, know that their audiences are more diverse, brace themselves for pushback, and understand that saying whatever one wants is not necessarily a sign of artistry. It is just as likely an artless provocation. It is possible to write about others not like oneself, if one understands that this is not simply an act of culture and free speech, but one that is enmeshed in a complicated, painful history of ownership and division that needs to be addressed responsibly  that is to say, with great artistry  in ones writing.

If all of this seems too difficult, then you understand why people would rather fight over things like food, and why building walls may seem easier than building bridges.

Nguyen is the author of Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War and the forthcoming short story collection The Refugees (February 2017). His novel The Sympathizer won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

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With the impending late-2016 arrival of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and the expected late-2017 arrival of the Tesla Model 3, affordable long-range battery electric vehicles are an option for increasing numbers of American drivers.

But most prospective owners are confused about how theyll charge their electric vehicles, and where, and how long it will take, and how much range theyll get between charges and how much the electricity is going to cost them.

Their confusion is about more than a lack of familiarity with new technology. The EV charging infrastructure is a fractured, multifaceted monster, involving competing or even conflicting charging systems and equipment, and it is rife with complicated pricing schemes.

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An EV owner charging at home on a regular 110-volt wall plug in one part of the city may pay an entirely different rate than another owner charging the same kind of vehicle, on the same kind of outlet, in a different part of the same city.

Rates will vary depending upon which utility the consumer uses, what rate plans are available and what time of day (or night) the vehicle is being charged.

Public station offerings are even more varied, including free 110-volt plug-ins at libraries, free 240-volt plug-ins at department stores and free 480-volt superchargers at Tesla charging stations  as well as myriad paid rates at privately run stations that often require special memberships or debit cards.

People have been going to gas stations for a hundred years, but were just at the beginning of this technology, said Genevieve Cullen, president of the EV trade group Electric Drive Transportation Assn. Things seem confusing at first.

Here is a primer on EV charging options.

HOME CHARGING, THE CHEAP WAY

A striking number of plug-in hybrid owners do all their charging at home, at night, on a simple 110-volt wall plug. Scott Briasco, of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Powers EV program, said that more than half of the 20,000 plug-in EVs in the utilitys service area are charging this way.

It isnt fast. Most cars charge at the rate of about 4 to 5 miles of range per hour. So, a mid-range vehicle like the Chevy Volt, with an all-electric range of 50 miles or so, will take 10 hours to completely recharge its battery.

This kind of charging is relatively inexpensive and requires no special equipment. (The vehicles usually are sold with an extension cord.) Owners drive home, plug in, recharge overnight and drive on.

What do they pay? It depends. Some utilities offer special EV deals, which allow vehicles to be charged at a lower rate. Others offer special time of use plans, which allow vehicles to be charged at night, when electricity demand is low, at lower rates.

Charging at an average low rate of 12 cents per kWh, for example, it would cost about $2.40 to bring a Nissan Leaf up to full charge, or about $3.50 to charge 100 miles worth of range into a Chevy Bolt EV.

That compares very favorably with gasoline-powered car costs. In a vehicle that gets 25 to 30 miles per gallon, with gas at the current California state average price of $2.75 a gallon, that 100 miles of range would cost $9 to $11.

Other costs are involved. The average EV costs more than its gasoline-powered equivalent  sometimes several thousand dollars more  but those EV purchase prices are somewhat offset by state and federal rebates or tax credits.

There are sometimes unexpected cost savings.

Eric and Jennifer Berkowitz began leasing a Fiat 500e plug-in electric in late 2015 from a dealer near their San Francisco home. They qualified for a special EV rate from Pacific Gas and Electric, which allowed them to charge the Fiat cheaply, overnight, plugging into a wall plug in their garage.

But they soon realized they also could run their heavy appliances at night, at the same EV rate. The result: No more visits to the gas station and a reduction in their total electric bill.

Our usage went way up, but our total bill actually went down, Eric Berkowitz said. I think I spend more on lettuce than I do on my car.

HOME CHARGING, THE FAST WAY

Pure battery electric vehicles have larger batteries than hybrid plug-ins and longer ranges, and they require more charging time.

So, some EV owners elect to install dedicated 240-volt chargers in their garages. These can cost from $300 to $800, plus installation costs that, depending on the age of the home and other factors, can run an additional $1,000 or more.

These costs can be somewhat offset by rebates, offered by many utilities to encourage home charging. (The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is offering up to $500 in rebates and will throw in $250 more if the consumer invests in a dedicated meter. This rebate can rise to $80,000 for business owners who install multiple chargers at their commercial locations.) Other organizations, like the South Coast Air Quality Management District, also offer incentives.

Home owners who go this route can charge at a much faster clip. An EV with a 100-mile range, for example, could recharge at the rate of 20 to 25 miles per hour and go from empty to full in only four to five hours.

I dont think I will ever go back to a gas vehicle.  Gail Forcone, drives a 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV

How much will that cost? The fast-charge electricity costs the same as slow charge, but as with the 110-volt home charging, the price can vary widely.

While some utilities offer online calculators to help customers determine whether they could save by going electric, and how much, the rates at LADWP will not be the same as those charged by Southern California Edison or Pacific Gas and Electric.

Its not as simple as the gasoline system we have now, said David Reichmuth, senior engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Electricity pricing is all over the map. Its hard to figure out.

A typical Southern California Edison customer on the utilitys EV plan, said spokesman Paul Griffo, spends $142 for a months worth of electricity  with $29 of that going toward charging the vehicle.

Overall, Reichmuth and others say, EV users are saving money on fuel costs. The nonprofit electric vehicle organization Plug In America, comparing gasoline rates to electricity rates, puts the fuel savings at the equivalent of $1.10 per gallon for a California EV owner whos charging at home.

But it depends where they live. An EV owner in Hawaii, where electricity is expensive, could actually pay more to charge an EV than run a car on gas, while in the state of Washington, where electricity is cheap, gasoline energy costs four times the equivalent in electricity.

Kevin Wood, clean transportation manager for the Center for Sustainable Energy, said that of EV owners surveyed, 60% say they went electric to save on fuel costs  compared with far fewer who had environmental motives or were mostly interested in getting HOV lane access.

Saving money on fuel costs is the No. 1 reason for most EV purchases, Wood said. But people who bought Priuses had a higher rate of the carpool lane being more important than the environment.

CHARGING IN PUBLIC

Some EV users live in apartment buildings and have no access to home chargers and no way to install them.

But they still can take advantage of charging at public locations. Some businesses offer charging for their employees. Many libraries, colleges, post offices and public utility offices offer 110-volt charging or 240-volt faster charging  for free.

But mostly the available juice is privately controlled. Companies like ChargePoint, EVgo, Blink, Greenlots and others build and maintain charging stations, open to the public, where batteries can be recharged on demand.

At these locations, 240-volt Level 2 and 480-volt Level 3 fast chargers can bring a battery-only electric vehicle up to charge much faster than many home units. A Level 3 charge can restore 80% of battery capacity in a half-hour.

But unlike a gas station, you dont just roll up and start pumping energy. At most of these stations, users first must register with the operating company and obtain a PIN, membership number or dedicated charge card, or download an app to a smartphone.

Sometimes, the electricity if free. ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano said 65% of his companys 30,000 charging locations  in the workplace, at retail stores or civic buildings  dispense electricity at no charge.

But theres no guarantee that a charge port will be available when you need one.

Phil Jamtaas usually charges his leased Nissan Leaf at home on a 240-volt system that takes five to six hours to restore the cars 107-mile range. He also uses a free fast charger dispenser at a local DWP building.

But its getting more well-known lately, Jamtaas said. Sometimes I arrive, and there are two cars already waiting.

The Web service PlugShare can help, by supplying real-time online information about the nearest charging stations, how many ports are open and how much they charge. (Some manufacturers include software that gives this same basic information on the vehicles navigation screen.) The ChargePoint network also has begun offering a waitlist program, which allows members to reserve a place in line at a station of their choice.

The rates vary. At the Glendale City Hall building, for example, Level 3 fast charging is available via a Greenlots system at 34 cents per kWh.

Just around the corner, at a Vons supermarket, a similar system maintained by ChargePoint will do the same kind of charging for as low as 17 cents a kWh. But that rate rises to 31 cents per kWh during the 4-7 p.m. peak period, and its 50 cents per kWh for those hours during the summer.

Even the same company can charge differently at different locations. At one Blink-operated garage in downtown Los Angeles, the rate is 49 cents per kWh, according to its website, while at another, the rate is $4.99 per hour.

At the LADWPs downtown Los Angeles John Ferraro building, 12 fast-charger ports are available  and theres no charge for using them. But the free electricity runs only from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and only on weekdays.

Gail Forcone, of Placentia, drives a 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV. The battery electric vehicle has a range of about 80 miles per charge, more than enough to get Forcone back and forth to work every day. While she prefers to plug in at home, Forcone said sometimes she forgets and has to hit the quick charge, where a 20- to 30-minute wait brings her up to full range.

Forcone, who pays $15 a month for her membership in the EVgo charge network and about 10 cents a minute to use the quick charger, said that some months, her quick-charge bill is $30. Other months, she doesnt use the network at all.

I dont think I will ever go back to a gas vehicle, she said.

Electric Tesla cars parked at a supercharger facility in Sarpsborg, Norway. (Tore Meek / NTB scanpix via AP )

THE SUPERCHARGERS

Not all battery electric vehicles are alike. They dont all charge at the same speed, and they dont all use the same equipment. So, while a Nissan Leaf, Kia Soul EV or Mitsubishi iMiEV can use a CHAdeMo Level 3 fast charger, a Chevy Volt cannot. The Bolt EV, when its here, will have a DC fast-charger adapter as a $750 option, but using the CCS Combo, not the CHAdeMo system.

A number of EVs can restore their batteries to 80% or 90% capacity in 30 minutes on a Level 3 fast charger. A Tesla parked at a Tesla Supercharger station can do it even faster. And its free.

The Silicon Valley-based premium carmaker allows its Model S sedans and Model X crossovers to restore their batteries to capacity at no charge. But only Tesla vehicles can be connected to the supercharger system and its proprietary hardware.

Tesla has said it will not offer the same kind of free supercharger network to purchasers of base-price models of its more affordable Model 3 electric sedan, a proposed $35,000, long-range electric vehicle that Tesla could begin selling by late next year.

By then, more people may be driving Bolts and other EVs coming from other manufacturers. There will be more public charging stations for them to use.

ChargePoints Romano, who charges his Tesla Model S at his Los Gatos, Calif., home, said he feels good about the future.

We have built a good business on a small amount of cars, he said. With more and better-priced [electric] models ahead, this will make a very large business for ChargePoint, and we can help feed that virtuous cycle of more people buying more of those cars.

Charles.Fleming@latimes.com

Twitter: @misterfleming

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In the category of adding insult to injury  or perhaps piling one injury on top of another  Wells Fargo is an expert.

Nothing demonstrates that more than the banks insistence on forcing the victims of its vast fake-account scam into binding arbitration, a system in which customers are at an overwhelming disadvantage. As my colleague James Rufus Koren reported last year, the San Francisco-based bank has succeeded in getting several judges to toss fraud lawsuits over the bogus accounts by asserting that, even though the accounts are fake, they stem from legitimate accounts the victims opened, in which they agreed to submit any future disputes with the bank to an arbitrator.

But as the scale of wrongdoing at Wells Fargo has become clearer, the banks arbitration dodge is coming under the spotlight. Earlier this month, Wells Fargo paid $185 million to federal and Los Angeles authorities to settle allegations that its employees had opened as many as 2 million bogus accounts for customers and strangers, all in order to meet relentless sales quotas imposed by the banks brass.

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We believe theres a shift in the mentality about how these things are perceived.  Utah attorney Steven Christensen, explaining why forced arbitration clauses like Wells Fargos are vulnerable

When he appeared last week before the Senate Banking Committee last week, Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf was pressed on whether he would cease enforcing mandatory arbitration for customer accounts that were not authorized. (He said he would have to talk to my legal team.)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and five other Senate Democrats followed up with a letter Friday urging Stumpf to immediately end Wells Fargos use of mandatory arbitration clauses in your customer agreements. He hasnt responded. Nor has the bank replied to our request for an update.

We believe theres a shift in the mentality about how these things are perceived, says Steven Christensen, a Utah lawyer who has filed a class action complaint against Wells Fargo in Salt Lake City federal court.

Arbitration clauses have increasingly become a scourge victimizing customers of big companies. As we observed in 2014, when President Obama effectively outlawed them in workplace discrimination or abuse cases brought against federal contractors, arbitration clauses are buried in the boilerplate you sign when you enroll with a cable company, go to a doctor or hospital, or take a new job. Typically they favor the bigger party  a Wells Fargo, for example, will be party to perhaps hundreds or thousands of arbitration hearings per year, while the average customer may face one in a lifetime.

Always favored by judges, who are all too happy to get penny-ante consumer cases off their dockets, arbitration became even more common after 2011, when the Supreme Court upheld an AT&T arbitration clause that forbid its wireless customers to band together in a class action.

None of this gives a flavor of just how abusive the Wells Fargo arbitration strategy is  or how judges effectively collude with big companies to bury fraud allegations. The best example comes from a lawsuit brought last year in San Francisco federal court by Wells Fargo customers Shahriar Jabbari of California and Kaylee Heffelfinger of Arizona. The lawsuit sought class certification.

According to the lawsuit, Jabbari had opened savings and checking accounts with the bank in 2011, but within two years discovered that he had seven more that he hadnt authorized. Soon enough, he was getting dunning notices from collection agencies for unpaid fees on those accounts, some of which had been opened with manifestly forged signatures or even no signatures at all.

Heffelfingers experience was similar. She opened a checking and a savings account with Wells Fargo in March 2012, the lawsuit says. Wells employees started opening bogus accounts in her name even before that, starting in January. She ended up with seven accounts, some opened with forged signatures and fake Social Security numbers.

Wells Fargo demanded in its defense that the case go to arbitration, noting that its arbitration clause was exceedingly broad: Anyone who became a Wells Fargo customer was agreeing to boilerplate in their customer agreements that covered any dispute with the bank whatsoever, including claims based on broken promises or contracts, torts, or other wrongful actions. Theoretically speaking, if Wells tried to take your first-born child in settlement of an overdraft, it would be up to an arbitrator to split the baby.

Not only that, but the very question of whether a dispute was subject to arbitration was itself an issue for the arbitrator to judge. This provision, implicit in many arbitration clauses, is a Catch-22  arbitrators get paid by the case, so only rarely will an arbitrator toss a case that brings him a hefty check.

San Francisco Federal Judge Vince Chhabria agreed with the bank. The banks assertion that its employees alleged misuse of information related to their legitimate accounts in order to open fake accounts may relate to the legitimate accounts, so Wells contention that it was subject to arbitration was not wholly groundless.

The only close call, Chhabria found, involved the accounts opened for Heffelfinger before she opened her legitimate accounts. Even there, however, he bought the banks argument that the information used to open those bogus accounts might have come from a meeting she had at a bank branch at which she turned over personal information as a prelude to opening her accounts. Whether that mattered, the judge said, was up to an arbitrator.

Lawyers for Jabbari and Heffelfinger were prepared to appeal Chhabrias ruling, but they settled with the bank first.

Thats a good example of how the bank could bury facts related to its scandal. With the settlement, not only the details of how the clients could have been defrauded, but the issue of the arbitration clause, was closed.

Christensen, the Utah lawyer, thinks Wells Fargo wont be able to hide behind the arbitration clause forever. He believes Chhabrias reasoning wont hold in other courts. We feel strongly that if a court ruled you could not bring an action for fraud, that would be against public policy, rendering the clause unenforceable. He says several of his clients have had customer relationships with Wells Fargo that may have predated the arbitration clause, so it wouldnt be applicable. And other victims of the banks wrongdoing may not have been customers at all.

But the most important consequence of Wells Fargos over-reliance on arbitration is that it brings home the drawbacks of allowing big businesses to saddle their customers with clauses the latter probably dont read and certainly dont fully understand. If Congress wishes to extract a silver lining from the Wells Fargo scandal, it could do worse than outlawing binding arbitration that keeps aggrieved consumers out of court, entirely.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
The U.S. hotel industrys robust recovery from the recession is expected to slow down next year partly because of growing competition from short-term rental companies like Airbnb.

That is one of the conclusions of a Moodys Investor Service analysis that provided a rare look at data on how short-term rentals are affecting the lodging industry.

The Moodys report noted that Airbnb has been growing rapidly, to more than 2 million listings worldwide from 300,000 listings in 2014. In comparison, the conventional lodging business offers 15.7 million hotel rooms around the globe.

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Moodys revised its outlook for the lodging and cruise industries to stable from positive, with occupancy declining as much as 1% in 2017 due to increasing supply, the likely toll from Airbnb competition and weak corporate profit growth, the report said.

Moodys and other analysts previously had been unable to discern an impact of short-term rentals on traditional hotels because the lodging industry has been flourishing since the recession ended in 2009, masking any harm from Airbnb and other rental sites.

But now that the growth in the hotel industry has begun to slow down, Moodys report shows that hotel occupancy data and overnight rates are dropping faster in those cities with a high concentration of Airbnb rentals, such as New York and Miami.

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, which have lower concentrations of short-term rentals compared with New York and Miami, occupancy and overnight rates have taken less of a hit, said Margaret Taylor, senior vice president at Moodys.

For example, in New York, Airbnb rentals represent nearly 25% of all lodging, according to Moodys. The average daily hotel rate in New York fell 1.6% in 2015 compared with the previous year and declined 2.9% in the first eight months of 2016 from the year-earlier period, Moodys said.

In Los Angeles, where Airbnb rentals represent about 12% of all lodging, the average daily hotel rate rose 7.5% in 2015 and 9.2% in the first eight months of 2016, according to Moodys.

It does appear from what the data show is we have some markets, like New York, are impacted more and other markets like Los Angeles not as much, Taylor said.

Other factors, such as business travel spending and the strength of the U.S. dollar compared with foreign currency, are also factors in U.S. hotel rates, she said.

Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas played down the effect of Airbnb on the hotel industry, suggesting that short-term rentals are drawing new travelers.

Hospitality is a large and growing market and for us to win, no one has to lose, he said. We know Airbnb is helping more people travel, many of whom would have stayed home without us, and thats good news for everyone.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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Lawmakers were skeptical last week when Mylans chief executive said that the company made only $100 in profit for a two-pack of EpiPens. During a House hearing, she repeatedly referred to a poster board showing how little of the $608 list price trickled back to the company.

The incredulity was warranted: The profit CEO Heather Bresch told Congress about was calculated after factoring in the 37.5% U.S. tax rate, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

That tax rate is more than five times the overall tax rate the company actually paid last year and is much higher than its actual U.S. tax rate, which tax specialists have pegged at close to zero.

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Before taxes, the EpiPen profit is actually $160 for a two-pack. At the hearing, Bresch said the company sold about 4 million two-packs a year. The device delivers an antidote to potentially deadly allergic reactions.

It is intellectually dishonest to include tax provisions for U.S. taxes that arent due, and that the company does not in fact anticipate ever having to pay, said Edward Kleinbard, a professor of law and business at USCs Gould School of Law.

Mylan has reduced its effective tax rate through an inversion by relocating its headquarters to the Netherlands. The companys overall tax rate is well below the U.S. tax rate, at 7% in 2015, according to the SEC filing. But the taxes the company pays in the United States have been pushed down even further.

Mylans U.S. tax rate is close to zero, a very, very low rate, said Robert Willens, an independent tax expert.

Mylan defended the way it reported its profit.

Tax is typically included in a standard profitability analysis, and the information provided to Congress has made clear that tax was part of the EpiPen Auto-Injector profitability analysis, Mylan spokeswoman Nina Devlin said in a statement. It also is important to note that use of a statutory tax rate for the jurisdiction being analyzed (in this instance, the U.S.) is standard.

Johnson writes for the Washington Post.

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As if he doesnt have enough on his plate with solving the mystery of an exploding rocket and tweaking Teslas driver-assistance software, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk will discuss plans for colonizing Mars at a space conference in Mexico on Tuesday.

In a highly-anticipated speech titled Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Musk is expected to, among other things, describe the large rocket that will one day take humans to Mars.

Once called the Mars Colonial Transporter, Musk tweeted earlier this month that the rocket can go well beyond Mars, so will need a new name. On Twitter, hes recently referred to it as the interplanetary transport system.

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On Sunday night, Musk teased more details of the rocket, tweeting that SpaceX achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine. The Raptor engine is powered by methane and liquid oxygen, and will have a thrust of about 310 metric tons. Musk tweeted that he would provide more details about the engine Tuesday.

Analysts said Musks speech is a reaffirmation of the companys long-term plans.

Everything hes doing, at least in his mind, is a step in that direction, said Bill Ostrove, aerospace and defense analyst for market research firm Forecast International. Everything is geared toward that ultimate goal of establishing these colonies on Mars.

In April, Hawthorne-based SpaceX said it was planning to send an unmanned Dragon spacecraft to Mars as early as 2018. NASA has agreed to provide technical support to SpaceX for that mission, such as help with data transmission from deep space, in exchange for entry, descent and landing data.

Musk has said that if all goes according to plan, SpaceX could send people to the Red Planet in 2024, with arrival in 2025.

NASA has said its robotics missions to Mars usually take about eight months to get to the Red Planet, though it was looking at ways to decrease that timeframe for human missions.

Industry experts have questioned whether SpaceXs Mars mission could become a public-private partnership. NASA is developing the Space Launch System, a heavy-lift launch vehicle that could take missions to an asteroid or to Mars.

The agency expects to launch SLS and its Orion crew capsule on an unmanned test flight in 2018, with a potential crewed flight to an asteroid in the mid-2020s and a Mars mission by the 2030s.

Theres a lot of practical synergies, said Greg Autry, assistant professor of clinical entrepreneurship at USC. It makes sense that the government and SpaceX team up rather than compete.

Times staff writer James F. Peltz contributed to this report.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

For more business news, follow me @smasunaga
Veteran actor John Cusack, who will begin shooting the chase thriller Misfortune next week, has wrapped up some business away from the set, selling his home in Malibu for $10.3 million.

Sitting along a stretch of sand in a gated community, the Spanish-style home came up for sale earlier this year for $13.5 million or for lease at $75,000, records show. Prior to the sale, the multilevel house, built in 1974, last changed hands in 1999 for $2.1 million.

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The 4,660 square feet of living space features high ceilings, painted beams and wrought iron chandeliers. In the living room, walls of picture windows take in the coastline and open water.

Other living areas include a large kitchen, a den/office, an exercise room, three bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. The master suite, outfitted with an oversized bath and a fireplace, opens to a private balcony.

The lower level of the home includes a dry sauna and direct access to the beach. A two-car garage sits off the front entrance.

Brant Didden of 4 Malibu Real Estate was the listing agent. Jonathan Steindorff, also of 4 Malibu Real Estate, represented the buyer.

The 50-year-old Cusack gained fame in the 1980s for the films Better off Dead, One Crazy Summer and Sixteen Candles. More recently he appeared in Love & Mercy, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and Cell.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com

Twitter: @NJLeitereg

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The presidential candidates had come to a New York stage to make their plea to voters: Hillary Clinton, building a case for her experience, and Donald Trump, arguing for his outsider vigor.

Each had a disadvantage  or, depending on your level of political apathy, an advantage: They were puppets.

Were gonna build a wall. A huge beautiful wall, said Trump, all 1 fuzzy feet of him. The one in China you can see from space. Youll see ours from the Death Star.

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To a question about connecting with millennials, the Clinton springing from a hand on midtown Manhattans New World Stages said: Ive been adulting for mad long. My pantsuits are on fleek.  If Im elected its gonna be so lit.

The Clinton and Trump puppets  manipulated and voiced by the married couple and past Avenue Q actors Maggie Lakis and Rob McClure  were part of the Avenue Q Town Hall event, a scripted piece of puppetry that aimed to put Monday nights human-sized proceedings in furry context.

How to satirize what many will say has long revealed itself as parody isnt easy. But Avenue Q had been making fresh comic fodder of standby subjects like political correctness for some time. A mock debate  complete with questions from the live audience (Avenue Q cast members)  just seemed right.

Me longtime Internet computer user. Me running out of space on hard drive, said Trekkie Monster, known from the show for his adult activities online. How can me permanently delete browser history? he asked Clinton.

Another cast member piped in with a question for Trump: Should I be worried about being stopped and frisked because Im a person of fur?

The event was the brainchild of the press agent Sam Rudy and carried out by current Avenue Q director Jen Bender. Rudy, who also was the media point man for Hamilton for the last year, had staged a George W. Bush-John Kerry debate as an Avenue Q publicity event during the 2004 election. He thought that, 12 years later, it might be a good time to revisit the idea.

I felt like everybody just needs the opportunity to blow off a little steam, and one of the things we learned from Avenue Q over the years is that it offers people a chance to do that while thinking about real issues, Rudy said. Plus, he added, its nice to find a way to keep the show in the news.

How can me permanently delete browser history?  Trekkie Monster, in a question posed to the puppet Hillary

The world is very different from when Avenue Q opened on Broadway in the 2003-2004 season, winning the Tony Award for best musical. Some political realities, however, remain.

Back then, a contested and consequential presidential election was unfolding. The show inserted George W. Bushs name in For Now, the this-too-shall-pass-themed closing number; this time around, the show was interpolating Trumps.

We have a unique ability to comment on whats happening, Bender said. We can take things a step further than on SNL because were puppets.

Bender added that she saw a similarity to Hamilton too. Thats a period show seen through a modern lens, and were a modern show through a modern lens.

In interviews, cast members said that in some ways they shared with Trump the fight against political correctness. But they said the similarities went only so far.

McClure said he had spent a few weeks studying Trumps speech and body movements to play him as a puppet.

It didnt actually take all that long. He only has like seven phrases he keep going back to, the actor said, going into an elongated outerboro-tinged Fantastic.

McClure said he had taken a Colbert-like approach to the role. If you just believe fully in what youre saying, it will reveal itself to be absurd.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

Designed by Rick Lyon, who had created the original Q puppets, the Trump and Clinton puppets were dropped Sunday night at McClures dressing room for Something Rotten, whose cast he joined this summer.

After the live debate the puppets  with their human operators  were to make an appearance on Bravos Watch What Happens Live, a kind of counterpoint reminiscent of the old State of the Union commentary on Comedy Central. Rudy said he hoped that Mondays appearances were just the first of several stage and screen dates.

Avenue Q had a long history on Broadway, playing nearly six years. But its now had a longer run at the smaller off-Broadway New World Stages: It will celebrate its seventh year at the theater next month.

Along the way it has become a New York theater improbability  the outre staple. Avenue Q these days reliably plays to tourists who want to see what was the fuss was about, if belatedly.

On stage Monday, Lakis Clinton offered a reason why people still come as she showcased some topical humor.

Womens rights and teachers rights and puppet rights and Hamilton lottery rights, she said, referring to the still-hot Broadway ticket.

McClures Trump was asked a question about gay rights.

This should have been left up to the states, he said. Marriage should be between a man and a woman. Usually a beautiful younger woman with an accent.

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

On Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT

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Shes the lone woman in The Magnificent Seven. Shes the (seemingly) perfect wife with a terrible secret in The Girl on the Train. And shes playing a starlet opposite Warren Beatty in the veteran actors upcoming Howard Hughes movie, Rules Dont Apply.

But even with three major films arriving in theaters in the space of two months, the thing thats exciting Haley Bennett the most at the moment is the prospect of meeting Martha Stewart when theyre both scheduled to appear on Seth Meyers late-night show in October.

Can I please hang out with her? Bennett asks her publicist, taking a break from promoting The Magnificent Seven at the Toronto International Film Festival. Id just want to ask her if I could live with her for like a month. Thats all. Just a month.

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Now it might seem odd on the surface for a 28-year-old actress who grew up in the backwoods of Ohio, a young woman skilled in shooting, horseback riding and procuring borderline-legal fireworks, to be that stoked about hanging with homemaking magnate Stewart.

But it turns out that Bennett knows her way around the kitchen too and is, in fact, so dialed in to the art of baking that one way  or perhaps the best way  to understand her is to flip through her recipe box and look at three key creations from the past couple of years. Pour yourself a cup of joe and join us, wont you?

First slice: Apple pie

For her debut movie, 2007s Music and Lyrics, Bennett wowed critics with her turn as a privileged pop queen asking Hugh Grant to write her a hit song. Bennett sang, danced and slyly satirized the celebrity diva archetype. At the age of 19, she had a worldwide hit on her resume.

But Bennett struggled to find a suitable follow-up, acting in more than a dozen mostly forgettable movies over the past decade that didnt find an audience or advance her career.

I begged. I fought. I had my heart broken on numerous occasions, Bennett says. But I kept at it. What else was I going to do?

She did work with filmmaker Terrence Malick (on the yet-to-be-released Weightless), who recommended her to Antoine Fuqua, resulting in a small role in Fuquas 2014 movie, The Equalizer.

Two years later, Fuqua asked her to audition for the role of Emma, the avenging widow in The Magnificent Seven. Bennett baked an apple pie and brought it to the meeting, thinking the character wouldnt visit somebody and just show up empty-handed. Plus, Bennett adds matter-of-factly, Im just a good host.

I didnt think it was within the realm of possibility that I would ever be cast in this film, just based on the way things had been going for many years, Bennett adds. I had lived a long time in a willful, but necessary state of denial.

Second slice: Peach cobbler

Once she arrived in Baton Rouge, La., last summer to shoot The Magnificent Seven, Bennett made up her mind that she would ride harder, shoot better and complain less than her seven male titular co-stars, which included Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt.

Hawke says he was initially suspicious of Bennett, watching her break her horse with her little bonnet protecting her from the sun. But he quickly came to respect her work ethic. A turning point came with the casts Fourth of July party at Hawkes rented house  to which Bennett showed up with a peach cobbler. As the actor describes it: There were songs, fireworks, near brawls, laughter and a lot of wives who wanted to loathe her. But Haley was always there floating above the heat of the fray with pure positivity.

Throughout, she was the lone woman in the middle of an absolute tsunami of testosterone, Hawke adds. But she kept her cool.

Bennett howls when apprised of Hawkes comments. (Especially the wives part.) Like other actresses of her generation, she possesses an unapologetic, I-am-what-I-am genuineness. And shes equally at home wearing a gun holster on the set or a borrowed western-tinged Stella McCartney dress to an interview. Or, in the words of Girl on the Train producer Marc Platt, shes both ethereal and inviting. (You try pulling that off. Its not easy.)

In addition to the Independence Day peach cobbler, Bennett brought a vat of mint juleps (initially she thought it was very strong alcoholic sweet tea, but that must have been another occasion) to the Magnificent bash and supplied all the fireworks. Ive got a few tricks up my sleeve, she says, smiling.

 The Girl on the Train features Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans and Allison Janney.

Third slice: Lemon meringue

While in the middle of this testosterone tsunami, Bennett drove to Baton Rouges Books-a-Million one day and spied a novel that promised a story told from the perspective of three female narrators. Sold. The book was The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins best-selling psychological-thriller. And it just so happened that Magnificent Seven costume designer Sharen Davis had worked with Tate Taylor (The Help), who was making the movie version of Girl. Davis told Taylor he needed to meet Bennett.

So on a day off, Bennett drove four hours from Baton Rouge to Taylors home in Mississippi, listening to Janis Joplin the whole way (Bennett has an extreme fear of freeways, and Janis got her through it) and hoping the lemon meringue pie she baked  her favorite pie, by the way  wouldnt melt on the journey. (It did. But it was still delicious.)

You know, there was that very special pie in The Help, the poop pie, Bennett starts, giggling. So I thought it would be kind of cheeky and funny to bring the pie to lunch.

Tate and I got on like a house on fire, maybe because we had the same long trajectory to success, she continues. And Tate says, Weve both been served our share of [poop] pies in our time. And off we went.

The recent acting experiences  including working with Beatty and an upcoming PTSD drama Thank You for Your Service  have provided the adventures Bennett has been dreaming about most of her life. The notoriety that comes with the high-profile movies? She calls that a storm shell have to embrace and, maybe, dance in the rain a little bit.

Bennetts ultimate goal  or one, anyway  is to own and run a fully sustainable farm in the Massachusetts town of West Tisbury on Marthas Vineyard. Shed produce all her own goods, let her rescue animals run free and, yes, put that Kitchenaid mixer she bought in Baton Rouge to more good use.

If acting doesnt work out, Im probably going to be a professional chef, Bennett says. Youll see me on Top Chef someday. My Midwestern hospitality needs an outlet, you know?

glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp

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Matt LeBlanc plans to be back in the drivers seat on Top Gear when the long-running British car series returns in 2017.

BBC Two announced news of LeBlancs return Monday morning, saying that the actor had been signed to a two-series deal.

I am thrilled that Matt LeBlanc is returning to Top Gear. Hes a huge talent whose love of cars is infectious, said BBC Two Channel Editor Patrick Holland in Mondays statement. I cant wait for the series to return to BBC Two next year.

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LeBlanc, who made several previous appearances on Top Gear, joined the program as a regular presenter in early 2016, when he and British radio and TV personality Chris Evans were hired to replace Jeremy Clarkson.

Clarkson, who had been involved with the series since 1988, did not have his contract renewed by the broadcaster in 2015, after a controversial run with the show, including the use of racially charged language on-set and a physical altercation with a producer.

Evans announced in July that he would not be returning to Top Gear despite signing a three-year deal in 2015.

Stepping down from Top Gear. Gave it my best shot but sometimes thats not enough, Evans tweeted. The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best.

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Stepping down from Top Gear. Gave it my best shot but sometimes that's not enough. The team are beyond brilliant, I wish them all the best.  Chris Evans (@achrisevans) July 4, 2016

Evans departure comes after a stark drop in ratings for the series, which premiered with 4.4 million viewers and fell off to an audience of 1.9 million by July.

BBC Two is confident about a future paired with LeBlanc, however.

Matt was hugely popular with Top Gear viewers last series with his humour, warmth and obvious passion for cars and for the show, director of BBC Studios Mark Linsey said in a statement. I couldnt be more delighted that hes agreed to come back and do more for us.

Returning to Top Gear means that the actor will be working triple time on either side of the Atlantic. The fifth and final season of LeBlancs Showtime series Episodes is scheduled to air in 2017 and his new CBS sitcom, Man With a Plan, on which LeBlanc plays a stay-at-home dad, debuts Oct. 24.

Top Gear Season 24 will air in 2017. The series can be seen on BBC America.

libby.hill@latimes.com

Twitter: @midwestspitfire

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Maybe hacking your meditation practice with high-tech programs and devices also is the ultimate irony, but can they really be time savers? A brain-trainer?

I tested three systems that promised to deliver more quickly the effects of meditation.

As they say about traditional meditation, you dont feel the benefits while youre sitting but throughout your day. Was I calmer, more present, focused? Perhaps. Each device allowed me the freedom and lack of interruptions to reach a peaceful, altered state of awareness.

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Heres what I found:

A sci-fi recliner

If purchasing a zero-gravity chair is out of the question, The Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village houses a Somadome, a device that looks like a sci-fi super recliner. The 5-by-6-foot pod with a hinged, illuminated dome lid bathes users in color immersion light therapy while they don headphones and select one of eight themed sessions, including Love, Relax, Recharge and Succeed.

When I pick Manifest, the dome glows lavender and a guided track utters phrases such as, I am one with the universal mindthe great subconscious mind.  My consciousness doesnt register that beats are surging through the headphones, the better to help me access brain wave states normally reached through meditation. My eyelids grow verrrrry heavy as I slip into relaxed, refreshing semiconsciousness that seems to end too soon.

The makers say using the device two or three times weekly can develop healthier mental and physical patterns and help liberate users from the constant distraction of modern society. The device is now at six resorts, including the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. At the Westlake Village Four Seasons, a session is $85, or $45 with an additional spa service.

Mind-altering cinema

Building on the concept of lucid dreaming, the Dream Reality Cinema program uses a film series to train the unconscious to bring improvements to the conscious life and with practice, control them. The process, developed by Hungarian philosopher and human cybernetics researcher Sandor Lengyel, is said to offer pure uninterrupted access to the subconscious.

Eager to reach that state, I enter the darkened back room of a Beverly Hills storefront, recline in one of two zero-gravity chairs and don noise-cancelling headphones and video glasses. After a short introduction, the glasses display a 40-minute, surrealistic movie filled with colorful, abstract images. Throughout, a voice exhorts in various ways that Im successful, in control, powerful. I struggle to stay awake.

The website details many of the expected physiological benefits, but I had none, apparently; just a vivid, nightmarish dream that night. The best progress is achieved, according to the website, by two to three weekly visits continuously; each session is $80, or eight for $240. Info: www.dreamrealitycinema.com

A headband for the mind

Fun fact: When your brain neurons are active, they release electricity. Muse, a brain-wave-sensing headband, connects via Bluetooth to a mobile app that measures and rewards your meditation-training progress by the consistency of your focus. The app also instructs you on how to correctly position the headband and interpret the wearable techs real-time biofeedback.

Using the app, fitting the headband and focusing my thoughts to calibrate the device is easy. Not so easy? Maintaining the steadiness. When my mind wanders, the headband measures the activity and translates it in real time to the apps soundscape. With the beach soundtrack, lapping waves and wind intensify when I lose focus. When my brain settles into calm, I hear chirping birds (a distraction I disabled). The sounds act like road signs to keep my meditation on track and learn new meditation methods.

Muse creators meant to gamify meditation for an achievement-oriented demographic that likes devices and measurable feedback, according to Jackie Cooper, a company marketing executive. After sessions, users receive an email that elaborates on the techniques employed  such as counting breaths  or helpful reminders that using Muse may be simple, but sticking to a practice isnt always easy. The device retails for $249. Wanderlust Hollywood offers Wednesday training sessions. Info: www.choosemuse.com

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Its the 34th annual Banned Books Week, a celebration of writing that has been challenged by would-be censors.

This year, the emphasis is on diversity, a nod to the fact that more than half of the books challenged or banned in American libraries and schools are by writers of color.

The Banned Books Week website features a list of frequently banned books dealing with characters with diverse backgrounds. It includes perennially challenged authors such as Sherman Alexie, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Khaled Hosseini.

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Its not just authors of color who are being targeted. The most recent American Library Assn.s list of challenged or banned books includes several titles dealing with LGBT issues, including David Levithans Two Boys Kissing, Alison Bechdels Fun Home and I Am Jazz, a childrens book co-authored by Jazz Jennings, a teenage transgender girl.

Libraries and bookstores across the nation are observing Banned Books Week by promoting literature by frequently challenged authors, often in innovative ways.

In Washington, D.C., the public library system organized a scavenger hunt leaving books across the city with black-and-white covers featuring no information other than the words would-be censors used to describe their contents. (The Catcher in the Rye is anti-white, and under the cover boasting filthy trashy sex novel is John Knowles A Separate Peace.)

Skylight Books in Los Angeles will observe this years Banned Books Week with an open mic featuring authors Steph Cha, Natashia Deon and Chris L. Terry on Tuesday night, and theyll be running a blind date with a banned book sale.

In February, Banned Books Week chair Charles Brownstein noted the alarming trend of nonwhite authors being challenged, writing, By shining a light on how these ideas are censored, we hope to encourage opportunities to create engagement and understanding within our communities, and to emphasize the fundamental importance of the freedom to read.

A report released Monday by PEN America echoed these concerns with Missing from the Shelf: Book Challenges and Lack of Diversity in Childrens Literature, addressing the issue of LGBT authors and authors of color being disproportionately targeted by those seeking to ban books.

While book bans and challenges may seem like a thing of the past, they are alive and well in schools and libraries around the country, PEN America Executive Director Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. And they disturbingly, tend to disproportionately target books that speak to the experiences of LGBT people and people of color.

The events are sponsored by a number of groups, including the American Library Assn. and the American Booksellers Assn. (AAP).

On AAPs website, project manager Olusina Adebayo explained why books with minority themes are so frequently challenged.

Because the definition of diversity stems from what is considered to be outside the norm it has frightened parents who want to protect their children from overexposure, Adebayo writes. The banning and censorship of books stifles constructive dialogue and promotes division over understanding. Unfortunately, our society has characterized that which is different as being bad or off-putting.

Schaub is based in Austin, Texas. Follow him on Twitter.

The top 10 most-challenged books of 2015

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green. Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit and unsuited for age group.

2. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James. Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group and other (poorly written, concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it).

3. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings. Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint and unsuited for age group.

4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin. Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group and other (wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints).

5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group and other (profanity and atheism).

6. The Holy Bible. Reasons: Religious viewpoint.

7. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Reasons: Violence and other (graphic images).

8. Habibi by Craig Thompson. Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit and unsuited for age group.

9. Nasreens Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter. Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group and violence.

10. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. Reasons: Homosexuality and other (condones public displays of affection).
Fullerton police have arrested three people, including a 17-year-old female, in connection with a triple homicide at a residence from which a teenage girl was also reported missing and considered at risk, authorities said Sunday.

The suspects and family are known to each other, Sgt. Jon Radus told reporters at an afternoon news conference at the Fullerton police station. This is not a random act of violence.

Two suspects were identified as Josh Acosta, 21, of Fort Irwin, and Frank Felix, 25, of Sun Valley. The juvenile was not named because of the individuals age.

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All three suspects were in custody by 8:45 a.m. Sunday on suspicion of murder and conspiring to commit a crime, police said. No other details were disclosed about the investigation.

Radus would not say whether the juvenile was Katlynn Goodwill Yost, 17, whom police had identified earlier as the person who was missing from the house. But police did say that the teenager had been located and was unharmed.

The homicide victims were identified as Christopher Yost, 34; Jennifer Goodwill Yost, 39, who is the mother of Katlynn; and Arthur William Boucher, 28, a friend who occasionally stayed with the family.

Officers arrived at the house in the 400 block of South Gilbert Street on Saturday morning after receiving a phone call from another young girl who lives there, saying her parents were dead.

Police found the bodies of the victims, all of whom had suffered significant trauma, Radus said.

Police did not release any details about how the victims were killed, but said no weapons were recovered at the scene.

Two young girls were in the house and unhurt, according to authorities.

The girls, who are 6 and 9 years old, are safe and staying with relatives. It was the 6-year-old who called police early Saturday morning and told them her parents were dead, Radus said Sunday.

The girls are receiving counseling. These children have been through an incredibly traumatic experience, Radus said.

On Saturday, police described Katlynn, the 17-year-old, as a missing/at-risk person.

Were concerned about her welfare because she lives in a residence where three people were found deceased, Radus said at the time.

Friends and neighbors at the scene Sunday morning said they had no idea who might have committed the killings or why.

See the most-read stories in Local News this hour 

One neighbor said he heard a loud bang sometime after 11 p.m. Friday, but did not think much of it. A second neighbor said she was startled awake sometime before midnight by a single, loud noise, but went back to sleep.

Both neighbors asked that their names not be used.

Another woman in front of the house Sunday morning, who asked that she not be identified, described herself as a longtime friend of Jennifer Yost.

She said Yost was a stay-at-home mom, into crafts and cooking, who sewed some of her own clothes and occasionally made stuffed animals for the kids. The husband, Chris Yost, was a mechanic who worked on cars in the backyard, neighbors said.

Officers had been looking for Katlynn since 9 a.m. Saturday.

By Sunday morning, the crime scene tape had been removed, the TV trucks had left and the neighborhood appeared to be back to normal. Two candles stood on the front porch of the small house with an American flag and a Hawaiian lei hanging on the front door.

In the backyard, toys and a pair of pink childs flip flops were abandoned on the ground. I love you Mom, was etched on the side of a cinderblock wall.

jack.dolan@latimes.com.

Twitter: @jackdolanLAT

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UPDATES:

Sept. 26, 11:08 a.m.: This article was updated with details on the suspects charges.

This article was originally published at 5:10 p.m. Sep. 25.
San Francisco police said they are investigating a possible hate crime after two tourists from New York were pepper-sprayed Saturday night by a group of assailants yelling homophobic slurs.

The two men, both 28, were at a fast food restaurant in the citys Fillmore District on Saturday about 7:30 p.m. when the incident began, said SFPD Sgt. Michael Andraychak.

One of the men was standing outside the restaurant at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Fillmore Street while his friend ordered food when two men began yelling homophobic slurs at him, Andraychak said. Soon after, police say, three other men jumped out of the car to join them.

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When the mans friend came out of the restaurant to check on him, the five assailants attacked, yelling more epithets and pepper-spraying both men before fleeing in a blue minivan.

The San Francisco Chronicle identified the victims as Neil Frias and Jeff White, both of New York City. The pair said they were visiting to attend the Folsom Street Fair, one of the citys racier festivals.

In a Facebook post, Frias said the attackers were telling us we are destroying the institution of family values.

Both victims are now fine, Frias wrote, but he was blind for about three hours.

It was one of the scariest moments of my life, Frias continued. To think that people have so much hatred inside of them to target people.

Both men were treated and released at the scene.

Andraychak says SFPDs Special Investigations Division, which handles hate crime investigations, will be leading the search for the attackers.

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A man who led the California Highway Patrol on a pursuit through the San Gabriel Valley on Monday morning was captured on the edge of a freeway overpass by an officer who sneaked up from behind and wrestled the man to the ground.

The man kept CHP officers at bay for about 15 minutes after he exited the northbound 215 near Highland Avenue, stopped his car, then reached into the backseat and pulled out a long, thin black object that officers believed to be a weapon.

With officers shouting orders and pointing their guns at him, the man ignored commands and strolled across several lanes of traffic until he reached a freeway overpass.

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With the object in his hand, he leaned over the side as if he was considering jumping, then crossed to the other side, which had a concrete embankment lining the freeway below.

As he moved closer to the edge, CHP officers closed in. A K9 was ready to pounce but CHP officers kept it leashed because the man was carrying the object, authorities told KTLA.

The man eventually moved to the overpass side and hung his legs over the side as if to drop down. Thats when a burly officer came up from behind and wrestled him down in a bear hug. The man was quickly taken into custody.

Riverside County sheriffs deputies had tried to pull the man over about 8 a.m. because the vehicle he was in was reported stolen, said CHP officer Devon Boatman. The pursuit reached the 60, 605, 10 and 215 freeways.

Joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

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A man on the verge of starting a career as a registered nurse was killed early Sunday when an argument at a college party spilled into violence that left three other people wounded, authorities said.

George Korchev was shot and killed after an argument at an apartment near the University of Illinois carried into the street, authorities said. He was a bystander, police said.

Korchev, who lived in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein, was supposed to start work as a registered nurse on Monday at Advocate Condell Medical Center, according to a hospital statement.

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We lost someone whose life mission was to help others, said Justin Konieczny, a friend and former high school classmate of Korchevs.

Police in the college town of Champaign said the shooting started at 12:40 a.m., outside an apartment near the commercial heart of the University of Illinois campus. Four people were shot, none of whom were involved in the dispute, police said.

There were no immediate arrests, and police did not name a suspect.

Our preliminary investigation completely points to an argument taking place at the party and the argument spilled out into the street and thats when a fight occurred, Champaign police spokeswoman LaEisha Meaderds said, adding the reasons for the fight werent yet clear.

Korchev was pronounced dead just after 1 a.m. at Carle Foundation Hospital, according to police and the Champaign County coroner.

The three wounded shooting victims were taken to hospitals with injuries described as non-life-threatening.

A person fleeing the shooting was hit by a car and suffered minor injuries.

At 1:08 a.m., about half an hour after the first gunfire, another shooting was reported nearby. One person was wounded and taken to a hospital. Police believe the two attacks may be related.

Korchev was born in Ukraine and moved to the U.S. when he was very young, said Joey Grant, who had been friends with Korchev since middle school. He had one sister.

He was always looking out for everybody, Grant said. He was just a great person. He was just very happy and very bubbly. He was always talking to everybody.

Korchev was visiting a friend from high school at the University of Illinois, Grant said. The friend also was shot but is recovering, he added.

Kathryn Lawlor, a teacher who graduated from the University of Illinois in May, caught some of the gunfire on a cellphone recording.

Lawlor said she had come to the university to celebrate her 23rd birthday. As she was heading to a bar with friends, she said, she walked past an empty lot where she saw between 100 and 200 people gathered.

I whispered to my friend, That looks like bad news to me; that doesnt seem right, Lawlor said. Her friends dismissed her as overly cautious, she said.

Moments later she started the cellphone recording and gunshots are heard in quick succession.

Some people thought it was fireworks, but I knew. Ive shot guns before for recreation, so I know what gunshots sound like, Lawlor said.

Rosenberg-Douglas and Coleman report for the Chicago Tribune. The Associated Press and the Tribunes Megan Crepeau contributed to this report.

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Two years after an embarrassing series of scandals swept this remote Air Force base, the only home to both B-52 bombers and nuclear-tipped Minuteman III missiles, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter flew in Monday to take stock.

The Pentagon spent $1 billion to upgrade conditions here and at other bases after discovery of rampant drug use, poor leadership and widespread test cheating led to dismissal of dozens of launch officers.

Much of the money went for better equipment, from maintenance trucks to the elevators that officers take to command posts in underground facilities known as capsules. It also paid for deep cleaning the capsules for the first time since they were built in 1962.

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The overhaul has improved security and morale for the launch officers, known as missileers, Air Force officials said. But Carter said more needs to be done.

I realize it feels at times that most people dont often think about your mission, which I know can be frustrating, Carter told airmen in front of a B-52 carrying six cruise missiles.

Were now beginning the process of correcting decades of under-investment in nuclear deterrence  and I do mean decades, because it dates back to the end of the Cold War, when funding for the enterprise dropped, he said.

The Pentagon released a 60-page report in November 2014 that detailed problems in the nations nuclear force. It singled out Minot as a special case for attention.

Isolated on the windswept and often frozen plains of northern North Dakota, Minot is the only U.S. base with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable bombers, two legs of the so-called nuclear triad. Submarines that carry ballistic missiles are the third leg of the triad.

The Pentagon has proposed a $348-billion plan to upgrade the nuclear arsenal, including the bombers, missiles and subs. The next president and Congress will decide whether the nation needs and can afford that.

The Pentagon has begun the decade-long process of developing a new stealth bomber, dubbed the B-21 Raider, and replacing the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine. The Air Force last month started initial assessments of a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

In his speech, Carter cited Russias nuclear saber-rattling and building of new nuclear weapons systems, as well as North Koreas recent nuclear and missile tests, to justify the new weapons.

In todays security environment  one thats dramatically different from the last generation, and certainly the generation before that  we face a nuclear landscape that continues to pose challenges, and that continues to evolve  in some ways less predictably than during the Cold War, he said.

The missileers in Minots 15 capsules command 150 nuclear-tipped missiles that are housed in underground silos several miles away. Much of the equipment is showing its age.

Its all stuff from the 1960s, said Maj. Matthew Adams, 35, who was on alert in one of the underground missile control centers.

Theres structural fatigue on engines and concrete bunkers, said John Noonan, a former Minuteman III launch officer who is now a national security analyst. These have all been neglected for a quarter-century, and were fast approaching crisis mode.

Stepping inside the razor-wire fence along the perimeter at Minot is like stepping back to the Cold War.

Massive B-52 bombers regularly rumble into the sky while missile officers down in the capsules are supposed to launch a nuclear attack at a moments notice.

Were still on the same level of alert that we were on during the Cold War, said Lt. Col. Jared Nelson, commander of the 742nd missile squadron, nicknamed the Wolfpack. I dont think people understand that.

Thats one reason morale remains a problem.

Most missileers are assigned the job out of military school. It is seen as tedious work, sitting 24 hours at a time below ground, breathing recycled air and dealing with aging technology.

The career field will never attract many volunteers because of its reputation as a backwater that produces few generals, and as a force without a future, said Bruce Blair, a former ICBM missileer and founder of Global Zero, a group that seeks elimination of nuclear weapons.

To give more authority to the head of the Air Force nuclear force, known as Global Strike Command, the Pentagon recently chose a four-star general for the first time. But the new commander, Gen. Robin Rand, has a background as a pilot, not a missileer.

The pick spoke volumes about the dominance of fly-boys over missileers and represented yet another slight, Blair said.

The Air Force also changed policies under which missileers thought they needed to score 100% on tests they take three times a month or they would be blocked from promotion.

The 2014 Pentagon study deemed the culture of perfection a contributing factor in the cheating scandal, which came to light after an investigation into drug use among missileers turned up text messages with test answers.

The missileer tests are now pass-fail and are called a learning exercise.

Stephen Schwartz, a nuclear weapons policy expert and the coauthor of Atomic Audit, which assesses the costs of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, said the reforms havent fixed the underlying problems.

The skills of a missileer are not readily applicable to the civilian sector, let alone to other military professions, he said.

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn

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How two police shootings of black men sent Tulsa and Charlotte in different directions
The recent fatal police shootings of two black men spurred soul-searching across the nation but drew vastly different reactions from the cities in which they took place.

In Tulsa, Okla., on Thursday, a group of 50 demonstrators was preparing to march when people suddenly started cheering. Have some ice cream! activist Shay White told demonstrators from a microphone. The officer who shot Terence Crutcher had just been charged with manslaughter. White told everyone to go home to rest, and the crowd quickly obliged.

Charlotte, N.C., has prospered in recent years, but many black residents have been left behind 

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At the same time, more than 1,000 miles away in Charlotte, N.C., marchers were just getting started. They attempted to take over a highway when police in riot gear hit them with tear gas.

We want the tape! they shouted, demanding that police release the video of Keith Lamont Scotts death.

Both cities have a fraught history with race and policing. But Tulsa, the more segregated of the two, has attempted reforms in recent years and embraced transparency in dealing with the community after a shooting.

Charlotte, on the other hand, is still reeling from an incident in September 2013, when a white police officer fatally shot Jonathan Ferrell, an unarmed 24-year-old black man, with 10 bullets after he crashed his car in a neighborhood a few miles from where Scott died.

A jury deadlocked in the trial last year and the dead mans family settled a civil lawsuit with the city for $2.25 million. Police have faced criticism for being slow to implement the racial bias training and community outreach they promised after the shooting.

In Tulsa, clergy-led vigils followed Crutchers shooting, with the citys police chief vowing to do better. Within two days, video of his death was released to Crutchers family, who watched it with black pastors and elected officials. At one point, the chief consoled a family member who couldnt endure the footage.

Police publicly released video clips a day later, and charges were filed less than a week after the shooting.

In Charlotte, protests left businesses looted and a 26-year-old protester dead. Hundreds came into the streets of downtown as the National Guard patrolled with rifles.

Pastor Jennettie Marshall at a protest over the police shooting death of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Okla., last week. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press )

Police showed Scotts family video of the shooting two days after his death, but vowed not to release footage to the public despite family demands. The police chief said he was against full transparency and suggested charges  if any  would be pressed only after a protracted investigation.

He relented to pressure four days after Scotts death, releasing inconclusive tapes that further fueled anger on the streets and demands from demonstrators for more evidence. The officer who shot Scott is on leave. The city-imposed curfew was lifted Sunday.

What [was] there to hide? Why did this happen in Tulsa and not here? said the Rev. Rodney Courtney. We look and we wonder. Courtney is an activist and pastor at Neelys Grove AME Zion Church in Gastonia, outside Charlotte.

Marq Lewis, who helped organize protests in Tulsa, said the release of the police video there quickly eased building anger. Lewis praised the Tulsa Police Department, saying officers provided protection for demonstrators. That a lot of times tears down the tension, said Lewis, president of the grass-roots group We the People Oklahoma, referring to the groups cooperation with officers and the release of the tape.

In Charlotte, there was disdain even among community groups that have worked with police. To the police chief whom we had worked with very closely in the past: Shame on you, Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP branch, said during a blistering news conference last week with black leaders.

Oklahoma passed a law in 2015 that allows for the release of body camera video, with exceptions for footage that depicts a death unless it was caused by a law enforcement officer. In North Carolina, a law will go into effect in October that prevents police from releasing such videos unless they are ordered to by a judge.

The Rev. Traci Blackmon, a United Church of Christ pastor from Ferguson, Mo., who was on the front lines there after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, said both cities had learned from the social movement that has grown around police shootings but had diverged in their reactions.

What I see is the consequence of seeing this play out in Ferguson, in Baltimore, in Chicago, in Texas. You have quicker responses by people who now come together, said Blackmon, who met over the weekend with black clergy including Courtney to plan the launch of a Commission on Reconciliation and Equity.

I dont give the kudos to charge an officer with manslaughter when its murder, but it is a step forward from what we have had in the past, Blackmon said.

There were also significant differences in what the videos displayed. The footage of the Tulsa shooting clearly shows Crutcher had his hands up and that he had no gun; the video of Scotts shooting doesnt make it clear whether he had a gun and shows his hands at his side. But reaction to the shootings varied before the public or families had seen police evidence.

In Tulsa, community members credited clergy in keeping demonstrations peaceful before video footage was released, while protests in Charlotte were initially less organized and erupted into riots hours after Scotts death.

Though action in both cities was dominated by locals, the Charlotte protests also attracted a handful of high-profile activists from California, Missouri, South Carolina and other states.

Courtney, the North Carolina pastor, suggested that greater numbers of people may have protested in Charlotte because the city has a larger African American population and more black-run institutions. Among its 800,000 people, 34% are black and 44% are white.

The city has one of the fastest-growing poverty rates in the country, which is largely concentrated in poor black neighborhoods on its west and east sides, fueling a larger sense of inequality that was on display at the protests. But those trends dont explain or excuse violence, said Courtney, noting that police in riot gear and memories of other recent police shootings made for a volatile climate.

The city of Tulsa, with 400,000 residents, is 15% black and 57% white, and has its share of controversy over policing. Black residents largely live on the citys north side, where Crutcher died.

The scars of violent 1921 race riots linger, and activists said a collective memory of them may have made protesters more hesitant to express themselves through property damage. The 1921 violence began after accusations spread that a black teen had assaulted a white teen, and a white mob burned 1,100 businesses and homes in a black neighborhood. As many as 300 people died.

Activists have criticized the citys police, saying they have shifted in recent decades from a community policing model. Crutchers shooting came nearly five months after a Tulsa County volunteer deputy was sentenced to four years in prison on a manslaughter charge for shooting and killing Eric Harris, an unarmed black man, during an undercover operation in 2015. The white reserve deputy said he mistakenly reached for his gun instead of his Taser.

Small rallies have continued in Tulsa, where some residents have pressed for murder charges against the officer who shot Crutcher.

Nancy La Vigne, director of the Justice Policy Center at the Washington-based Urban Institute, said the contrasts between the two cities boiled down to the difference between being open and transparent and not.

You can see for yourself, La Vigne said. Its stunning.

 WARNING: This video contains graphic content. Tulsa police released several police car and helicopter videos after Terence Crutcher, an unarmed 40-year-old black man, was fatally shot by a white police officer.

Warning: This video contains graphic content. The body camera video of the Charlotte police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Warning: This video contains graphic content. The dash-cam video of the Charlotte police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Kaleem reported from Charlotte and special correspondent Eaton from Tulsa.

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A disturbing portrait began to emerge Sunday of Arcan Cetin, the man suspected of killing five people at a Washington state mall, but authorities appeared no closer to determining the motive for the crime.

Cetin, 20, who came to the United States from Turkey as a child, was described by authorities as having called out womens names as he allegedly killed them in a hail of bullets Friday night at the Cascade Mall in Burlington.

By the time he was found carrying a computer bag near his home in nearby Oak Harbor about 24 hours later, he was depicted by the sheriff who arrested him as zombie-like and docile.

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Cetin had been repeatedly charged with domestic violence and was under a court order prohibiting him from possessing a gun. In the puzzles of his social media history, he was described by friends and others as both likeable and unbearable.

If Cetin is the sum of these parts, it may be a challenge to determine what could have driven him to commit the crimes hell probably be charged with Monday.

As Lt. Chris Cammock of the police department in Mount Vernon, south of Burlington, said Saturday, he and a task force investigating the shooting have a lot of questions to answer.

I dont know what his motivations were to do this. I dont know what his motivations were to continue [shooting]. I dont know what his motivations were to stop, Cammock said.

Authorities have not officially released the identities of the four female and one male victim, but Mount Vernon School District Supt. Carl Bruner confirmed the youngest killed was Sarai Lara, 16, a sophomore at Mount Vernon High School.

For Sarai and all of the victims of this senseless tragedy, he said in a statement Sunday, we stand together with the broad Skagit County community.

The others reportedly ranged in age from their 50s to 95.

Said Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton, We have suffered a devastating loss of five treasured members of our community who had done nothing more than what we all have done on any given day  gone to the shopping mall.

Investigators have not revealed what, if anything, Cetin  who pronounces his first name as ar-zhan  has told them since his arrest. But his capture and jailing were greeted with both relief and anger.

Uhlaine Finnigan, 19, a former classmate at Oak Harbor High School, remembered Cetin as someone to avoid in the school hallways. She didnt want to comment further Sunday but gave permission to use her recollections from a Facebook post after his arrest.

Hed grab and slap my friends and  even caressed my friends chest, along with other women, she wrote. Has been known to be violent towards girls too.

Another classmate, Austin Hendrix, 19, told the Seattle Times, He would grope women in high school and middle school.

And several other former classmates told reporters they liked Cetin well enough during his school days, but found him difficult to know. On Cetins Facebook page, a friend wrote that he was both annoying and funny. Another wrote, Truth is: You are a very odd character. You were always going on about being Russian and stuff like that, but under that you really supported America (or so it seemed to me) and I always thought that was really cool.

According to his Facebook page, Cetin is a native of Turkey, not Russia, and goes by the nickname the Turk. He came to the U.S. with his parents and is a legal permanent resident, officials said.

The Associated Press quoted a neighbor, Amber Cathey, 21, describing Cetin as really creepy, rude and obnoxious  so much so, she said, that she complained to apartment management and kept a stun gun handy. Cathey said she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch.

His Tumblr page, with arcanmotherrussiavodkaandak47 as part of the Web address, includes a photo of him with an apparent assault-style weapon. He also posted, without comment, a photo of serial killer Ted Bundy at age 4, sitting next to a snowman.

See the most-read stories this hour 

Court records show Cetin has faced three domestic violence assault charges in Skagit and Island counties, involving disputes with his stepfather. There is no record of any convictions. In December, however, a judge ordered Cetin not to possess firearms. The judge also suggested imposing a no-contact order, but the stepfather objected, saying Cetin was going through a hard time and needed the stepfathers help.

One post on Cetins Tumblr page urged readers to repeat the phrase Subhan Allah (Glory to God) 10 times and then reblog this, do not stop reblogging it.

Police had no comment on the suspects religious beliefs.

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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7:30 p.m.: Updated throughout with additional reporting.

This article was originally posted at 4:05 p.m.
Five people were killed in a shooting this weekend at a Macys store in a mall north of Seattle. Authorities do not plan to make their identities public until Tuesday, but details about four of the victims have been reported by some of their employers and Washington state media.

Heres what is known about them:

Sarai Lara

The 16-year-old high school sophomore was the youngest victim of the gunman who opened fire in the department store in the small city of Burlington.

Lara survived cancer and was told by her doctor that she was doing well, her mother, Evangelina Lara, told the Seattle Times through a translator.

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The family has Mexican roots, and Sarai Lara was proud of her heritage, her mother said. She had a wide network of friends at school and helped at home, caring for her 5-year-old sister.

Born in Mount Vernon just south of Burlington, the teen was described by her mother as bright, all smiles and her right hand at home.

Its not fair what happened to her, Evangelina Lara said.

1 / 11 Surveillance video shows the gunman during his shooting rampage at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash. (Washington State Patrol / AP) 2 / 11 Burlington resident Gabrielle Moore joins a group prayer at Maiben City Park in Burlington, Wash. (Lindsey Wasson / AP) 3 / 11 Surveillance video shows the suspect in the Cascade Mall shooting rampage. (Washington State Patrol / AP) 4 / 11 Nick Torset of Sedro-Woolley, Wash., prays at Central United Methodist Church during a vigil for the five people killed in the Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington. (Karen Ducey / Getty Images) 5 / 11 Selena Orozco, left, and Rachel March, both 15, attend a vigil at Central United Methodist Church in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., the day after the mall shooting. (Karen Ducey / Getty Images) 6 / 11 A sign displaying community solidarity hangs on a door at Maiben Park, scene of a gathering after the deadly shooting at a Burlington, Wash., mall. (Karen Ducey / Getty Images) 7 / 11 Residents form a circle for a prayer at Maiben Park in Burlington, Wash., the day after the mall shooting. (Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press) 8 / 11 Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis talks to reporters at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash. (Ted S. Warren / AP) 9 / 11 A video image shows a suspect wanted in the Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington, Wash. (Skagit County Dept. of Emergency Management / AP) 10 / 11 Law enforcement officers work the crime scene outside Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash., after Friday nights shooting. (Dean Rutz / Associated Press) 11 / 11 Law enforcement officers take positions outside Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash., after Fridays shooting. (Dean Rutz / Associated Press)

::

Chuck Eagan

Eagan was set to retire next year after decades as a maintenance worker for Boeing Co., his aunt Carol Thrush told the Associated Press.

Boeing said in a statement that we are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague. Eagan worked for 41 years at the companys commercial airplanes division in Everett, Boeing said.

Thrush described Eagan, 61, as kind and generous with a beautiful smile. Her parents raised him in the tiny town of Unity in southeastern Oregon before they moved to the Seattle area when he was about 11.

He traveled with Boeing all over the world, doing repairs on airplanes, said Thrush, 77. He was an all-around great guy.

Thrush said her nephew told her that Eagan and his wife were eating dinner and shopping at the mall. They had made their way to Macys when the shooter opened fire.

The couple ran, but Eagans wife fell down as she was trying to get away. Eagan was shot as he helped her, Thrush said.

Eagan had two daughters and three grandchildren.

::

Belinda Galde

Galde, 64, was a longtime probation officer with the Snohomish County District Court who dedicated her life to helping those who stumbled along the way in life, her colleagues said.

In a statement, the court called Galde a devoted and esteemed public servant. She started working there in 1989.

She was an amazingly kind and caring individual who was much adored by her friends, her co-workers and the thousands of probationers who she helped find a better way to live, the court said.

::

Shayla Martin

Shayla Martin, 52, of Mount Vernon was working in the cosmetics department when the gunman opened fire, her older sister Karen Van Horn told the Daily Herald.

Van Horn, who works at the newspaper, said her family received official word Sunday that Martin was among the dead. Officials said a body with Martins work name tag was found at the scene, Van Horn said.

Martin was an avid reader, regularly devouring two or three books a week, said Van Horn, who described her sister as classy, sweet and independent.

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Trump and Clinton hold separate meetings with Israeli prime minister in New York

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this morning in New York with Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/47FSwY8Ha2  PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 25, 2016

Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took a break from last-minute debate preparation Sunday to visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in separate, closed-door meetings in New York.

Netanyahu, who was in New York for last weeks United Nations General Assembly, first paid a visit to the GOP nominees home in Trump Tower. The two met for more than an hour, discussing military assistance and security, according to a release from the Trump campaign.

One item on the agenda, according to the campaign, was Israels successful experience with a security fence that helped secure the borders, echoing Trumps own emphasis on building a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump also pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital city, a long-held desire of the Israeli government and many Israel backers in America. Such recognition would mark a departure from long-standing U.S. policy. The United States recognizes Tel Aviv as the Israeli capital and maintains its embassy there, as do many other countries.

Clinton met with Netanyahu later on Sunday for just under an hour at the W Hotel.

Clinton confirmed her unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship and her plan to take our partnership to the next level, according to a senior campaign aide in a news release about the meeting.

Among the topics discussed was the controversial BDS movement, an effort gaining traction on college campuses that advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. The Clinton campaign characterized such efforts as attempts to de-legitimize Israel, and said Clinton was committed to countering such protests.

Clinton and Netanyahu also discussed the long-standing Israel-Palestinian conflict. Clinton supports a two-state solution negotiated directly by the parties, and said in the meeting that she opposed any attempt by outside parties, including the United Nations Security Council, to impose a solution.
Israelis set their alarm clocks to watch Clinton vs. Trump

Even though the U.S. presidential debate began at 4 a.m. local time, Israel televisions public television channel broadcast it live with simultaneous Hebrew translation.

Israelis tend to follow U.S. politics, but this presidential election has generated extra interest. Tal Schneider, a political blogger who hosted a WhatsApp group for debate watchers, said that more Israelis tuned in than in years past.

At 4:30 my Twitter feed was filled with Hebrew comments, said Schneider. A lot of people set their alarm clocks.

The debate came just one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held court in New York City with both candidates. News reports highlighted Hillary Clintons promise to block any anti-Israeli resolutions at the United Nations and Donald Trumps vow to recognize Jerusalem as Israels undivided capital.

Its no surprise that Israelis have been trying to discern where the candidates would take U.S. policy on two issues: the U.S.-led nuclear agreement with Iran and the stymied peace process with the Palestinians.

While Trump is seen as hewing to recent Republican approach of unqualified support for Israel on both issues, his talk about resetting foreign ties with allies in Europe and Asia has stirred concern about what consequences that could have for Israel. Though Clinton is better known than Trump in Israel, theres concern that she would continue the Obama administrations critical posture toward expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli commentators duly noted that Netanyahu was the only foreign leader aside from Vladimir Putin to get mentioned in the debate.

Israel television anchor Yaakov Ahimeir honed in on his statement that the U.S. should not be the policeman of the world, taking it as an indication that Trump would adopt an isolationist foreign policy if elected.

The banner headline on the home page of Hebrew language Walla! News site summarized the candidates attacks on each other like this: Clinton: He has no plan on ISIS; Trump: Youve left a mess in the Middle East.
When I opened Facebook, I found a message directing me to eat a very sensitive part of the male anatomy between two slices of bread and expressing the fervent hope that I would soon get run over.

That was one of dozens of vile Facebook screeds calling me: un-American, a fascist, a moron, delusional, an imbecile, fanatical, disgusting, disgraceful, a control freak sociopath, and the worst part of the human race.

One person said that the government needs to investigate my organization for fraud. Another wrote, I will do everything in my power to put you out of business.

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What did I do to unleash this online vitriol? Did I kick a puppy on YouTube? Shred a painting of Ronald Reagan? Star in the female version of Ghostbusters?

All I did was ask In-N-Out to add a veggie burger to its menu ... but something about the request unsettled quite a few of the burger joints fans.

None of the above. All I did was ask In-N-Out to add a veggie burger to its menu. I did so in my capacity as communications manager for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes alternatives to animal-based meat, dairy and eggs.

My Change.org petition elicited more than 30,000 signatures quickly, but something about the request unsettled quite a few of the burger joints fans, with many letting me know, often with the creative use of multiple obscenities for emphasis, that this petition has threatened their most deeply held values and could well destroy the Union.

According to angry carnivores, this seemingly benign and completely inanimate food item (a veggie burger) has some pretty nefarious intentions. It turns out veggie burgers persecute religious groups (Youre attacking a CHRISTIAN BUSINESS and it is WRONG), seek to destroy American values, and are hell-bent on ruining everyones good time.

There were actually some arguments among the expletives. One of the more common suggestions was that having a veggie burger at a fast food restaurant is like asking a steakhouse to offer something besides steak. I have yet to see this steakhouse that serves nothing but steak, but I suppose if one exists, it would probably turn a higher profit by diversifying the menu a bit. Veggie burgers are already quite popular at classic chains such as Burger King, Johnny Rockets, Dennys, Ruby Tuesday, and White Castle.

Besides, meat-alternatives arent just for vegans and vegetarians. Lots of consumers dabble in tofu, tempeh and seitan at lunch, even if they turn to poultry, pork and red meat at dinner. The meat-alternatives market is projected to reach $5.17 billion by 2020, and the trade journal Meatingplace is encouraging the entire meat industry to develop plant-based proteins. The reasons for this shift are numerous, with concerns including human health, animal welfare and the environmental consequences of meat production.

Adding a meat-alternative to the menu harms no one, helps many and provides a phenomenal opportunity for In-N-Out to do good while doing even better financially than they already are.

Seriously, whats more American (and less fascistic) than that?

Of course, my organization is not asking In-N-Out to remove any choices from its menu. And for the multiple Facebook commenters who accused us of forcing our lifestyle down other peoples throat  literally: You know we cant compel you to eat anything, right?

But there is one more, quite insidious harm a veggie burger might wreak upon our nation that Ill admit we had failed to consider. We have learned that this single menu addition could lead to In-N-Out, and quite possibly the whole country, becoming a gender-free, multicultural safespace to cuddle in thats populated by the worst types of humans.

Seriously? Cmon, no one is standing in the way of you and your double-double order. Why so many people would get so worked up over someone wanting to buy a different burger is beyond me. But then again Im a narcissistic, candyass liberal and soft vegan nerd.

Emily Byrd is the California-based communications manager for the Good Food Institute.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

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Perhaps never have Americans been as familiar with both presidential nominees as they are with the two on the debate stage Monday night.

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump needs to spend much time introducing themselves to voters. Instead, they will seek to use this uninterrupted forum to sharpen attacks, provoke and knock the other off balance.

The result could be a battle of psychology as much as policy.

Anything is possible, said Elizabeth Ossoff, chair of the psychology department at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. In the past, we might have been able to predict where the candidates were going to go in terms of their policy strengths. But I also think they know what people have been responding to, and the moderator is going to go to some of these character issues as well.

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter | The race to 270

Here are some hurdles Clinton and Trump must overcome and strengths they can turn to in their last big chance to sway the unusually large chunk of the electorate that remains undecided.

1. Trump as Oval Office occupant

Trump thrived in the freewheeling Republican primary debates, relying on his gift of timing and his willingness to insult or be vulgar. The most infamous instance came in Florida in March when he responded to Sen. Marco Rubios personal attacks.

"He referred to my hands. If they're small, something else must be small," a defensive Trump said. "I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee it."

While those performances were memorable, they also led to criticisms that Trump lacks the temperament to serve as commander in chief, a line of attack the Clinton campaign has seized on.

Whether he can tone down his approach  or whether he wants to  is one of the chief questions about Mondays debate. Trump has in recent weeks stuck closer to a script, speaking regularly with a teleprompter and hewing to a message of change while casting Clinton as the embodiment of the status quo.

If Clinton finds a more sober Trump onstage, she may be tempted to go after what have proved to be his emotional triggers, another analyst said.

Theres one area that makes him anxious, where he doesnt look comfortable, he looks different to me as a psychologist, and that is when they talk about his bankruptcies, said Bart Rossi, a clinical psychologist, referring to Trumps business record. Hes always good at deflecting, minimizing, marginalizing everything. But not on bankruptcies.

2. Clintons likability

Clintons ratings on favorability and trustworthiness are among the lowest for major-party nominees  save for Trumps. Still, they are barriers for her in winning the votes of independents and Republicans put off by Trumps inexperience and bombast.

Her use of a private email server while secretary of State and the investigations it spawned have been key factors weighing her down.

She also faces a challenge unique to women in seeking power, Ossoff said.

Even though shes seen as competent, theres a sense of unease with a woman in that position, she said. So people may look for, at some level  a subconscious level  a way of reducing her legitimacy toward that role by seeking out some of these other attributes that people have focused on.

How does she counter those perceptions? Aides for rival Democratic campaigns pointed to the opening and closing statements she made in primary debates this year, particularly when she shared more of her personal story or connected her work to a specific policy concern such as the water crisis in Flint, Mich.

I want to be a president who takes care of the big problems and the problems that are affecting the people of our country every day, Clinton said in a Democratic primary debate in South Carolina.

3. Crooked Hillary

Trumps need to show presidential temperament may come into conflict with one of his most effective tools: boiling down a message about his opponent into a single, catchy put-down. Low-energy Jeb Bush, Little Marco Rubio and Lyin Ted Cruz led to Crooked Hillary. The insult will probably feature in Mondays nights debate as Trump seeks to push Clinton off balance.

That has a tendency to place the other person immediately on the defensive, and rather than come out and better Trump on what they know, theyre responding to his attack, Ossoff said. That puts them in a more vulnerable and weaker position in the eyes of the people watching it.

Ossoff saw little value in Clinton nicknaming Trump in return.

Its hard to play that one-up game without being seen in the eyes of the voters as too hard and too cold and not fulfilling the stereotype of the female personality, she said.

4. One on one

Trumps biggest liability could be the clock. As the number of candidates in Republican debates dwindled, the time for answers expanded. Trump struggled to fill time, and he opened himself to more fact checking from his opponents and the moderators, though not nearly as much as Clinton is likely to engage in.

Democrats hope he is unlikely to last 90 minutes onstage without an outburst, particularly in the face of sustained challenge and counterarguments from a woman.

They point to his first debate last year, in which Fox News Megyn Kelly was the first to pose him a direct question about his public comments disparaging women. He bristled at what he saw as unfair treatment: Ive been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be, based on the way you have treated me, he said. In the days that followed he continued to challenge Kelly as unfair, leading to his suggestion that she had blood coming out of her wherever to explain her tough questions.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more 2016 campaign coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter

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Obama's debate advice to Hillary Clinton: Be yourself
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump step onto the biggest shared stage of their presidential campaign Monday chasing the same goal: persuading voters to discard long-held and sharply negative views of them.

Trump faces the biggest task in this first presidential debate, to accomplish in one night what he has not been able to pull off in 15 months: demonstrating to voters beyond his core supporters that he would be a stable and credible occupant of the White House.

Clintons task is just slightly less imperative, and only because of the narrow edge in most polls that she has held on to leading into the debate.

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She needs to break through voters perceptions of her as untrustworthy and convince them that her years of political experience are matched by a gut-level understanding of the fears and concerns of everyday Americans.

Two groups will be foremost in the candidates sights: college-educated suburbanites who usually vote Republican but have been reluctant to side with Trump, and Democratic-leaning younger voters who threaten to spurn Clinton for minor-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, who will not be onstage.

Those deviations from typical political alliances, coupled with fresh divisions among blue-collar workers, have created a presidential contest whose momentum has flipped back and forth, denying either candidate a lasting lead.

Debates and convention speeches are the kinds of events where voters open their points of view and come in and are ready to listen, veteran Democratic pollster Peter Hart said.

For Donald Trump, he said, its not how clever he is or how bombastic. Its a question of Is he serious? Does he have the right temperament to be president?

As for Clinton: People know that she is safe in terms of temperament and safe in terms of knowledge and ability, Hart said. They are only trying to answer one question: Can I relate to her or, in reverse, can she relate to me? 

A definitive win by one candidate in the debate  43 days before election day  could reshape the race with very little time left to alter the new trajectory in the places that matter. Early voting begins Thursday in Iowa and Oct. 12 in Ohio, with other important states opening balloting a week later.

The race doesnt seem to be shifting based on policy positions; it seems to be shifting based on the temperament of the candidate, Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray said. And thats why these debates are so important.

In a race as riotous as this one, voters have had few opportunities since the primary season to ponder the candidates.

In just the last 10 days, the contest has been rocked by Trumps effort to put an end to his five-year quest to prove that President Obama was foreign-born, startling terrorist attacks in three states and days of violence in Charlotte, N.C., after a police shooting of an African American man. Barely have candidates responded to one crisis before another erupted.

Those events have offered a clear look at the opposite approaches the candidates probably will bring to the stage during the 90-minute, nationally televised gathering at Hofstra University here amid New Yorks Long Island suburbs. (Two other presidential debates and one vice presidential gathering will be held before Oct. 19.)

Clinton has responded with reserved words and multi-part plans, Trump with broad assertions that its time to get tough.

Until now, however, their conflict has been long distance; placing the candidates next to each other, with millions watching, will provide a more probing measurement of both.

What do undecided or unpersuaded voters want to see from that matchup?

Not what they have, said Republican pollster Whit Ayres.

Given the level of disgust with both candidates, its hard to pinpoint any one factor that would make many people feel a lot better about either one, he said.

Far more voters are either undecided or siding with minor-party candidates this year than at comparable times in previous presidential elections. Typically, interest in alternative candidates drops as election day nears and voters focus on those more likely to inhabit the White House.

Yet given the distaste for both candidates, it is not clear whether that tradition will hold. That is particularly true for younger voters, many of whom sided with Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries.

Sanders has been campaigning for Clinton among those voters, but many have been reluctant to embrace her as they once did Obama.

How those voters view the debate becomes terribly important, Hart said, setting them as Clintons top goal.

Is it simply a reaffirmation that I cant stand these two candidates, or is it a situation of I know I hate Trump, but I can handle Hillary Clinton?

The corollary for Trump is finding some way to appeal to the overlapping voting groups that so far have disdained him: suburban voters, college-educated whites and women. They make up a growing share of the vote, to his peril, in key states such as Pennsylvania and Virginia, which make up Clintons election firewall.

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter | The race to 270

A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday illustrated the difficulty for Trump in attempting to overcome what that survey pegged as a 6-percentage-point Clinton advantage among voters likely to cast ballots this fall. (Trump has picked up ground in some important states, but Clinton retains more options to getting to 270 electoral college votes.)

Among women, the NBC/WSJ poll found, Clinton held a 14-point lead; among white voters with college educations, she led by 6. Trump led by a narrow 2 points among men and 18 points among white voters without a college education, not quite enough to overcome Clintons strengths.

Yet the conflicts that have left some voters undecided or looking elsewhere were evident when the poll plumbed views about the campaigns many controversies.

Almost 7 in 10 voters said they were concerned about Trumps criticisms of women, immigrants or Muslims, criticisms that Clinton has hammered in ads in key states. Two-thirds believed that Trump lacked the temperament necessary in a president.

When it came to Clinton, almost two-thirds of voters said they were concerned about her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of State; more than 6 in 10 were critical of her judgment regarding overseas conflicts.

Worries about Clinton and Trump have prompted near-despondency among some voters.

At an upscale shopping mall in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, several days ago, some threw up their hands about their options.

I dont feel 100% great about either one of them, said Juanetta Burch, 36, of Westerville, one of a ring of suburbs sought after by both campaigns.

She lamented the tone and focus of the campaign that she said has left voters like her bewildered about what each candidate would do if elected.

All of the unimportant things are pushed forward, she said. All of the important things get lost in all of the nonsense.

Like Burch, Omeliah Nembhard, sitting in another part of the mall with her 9-month-old daughter, Kohlyn, said she was leaning toward Clinton because she was offended by Trump. But Nembhard, who is 21, was not thrilled about it.

I dont really feel like its going to make a difference, she said of the election. The less worse one is the winner.

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Twitter: @cathleendecker

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When first-time candidate Bryan Caforio explains how he got into politics, he points out that it was his experience as a lawyer that fueled his decision last winter to jump into a heated Los Angeles County congressional race.

Caforio, 33, whom Democrats have identified as their best chance to oust one of the states Republicans, says that as a trial lawyer he saw a system in which far too many people in our community were taken advantage of on an almost daily basis because corporate politicians were looking out for the biggest banks and the wealthiest corporations instead of the people back here at home.

The comments came in a recently released campaign video called My Story that shows Caforio talking to a worker in a welding mask. The candidate then explains how his wife, Lisa, told him that instead of doing this one case at a time, instead of doing it one client at a time, he ought to run for Congress to build a better system and an economy that works for everyone and not just the wealthy few.

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But an examination of Caforios six-year tenure at the Century City firm Susman Godfrey suggests his work more often involved being called upon by large corporations and multimillionaires from around the globe in times of legal need.

Caforio represented former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt during his contentious divorce proceedings in 2015. He was part of a legal team that defended Union Oil Co. of California in 2013 and 2014 when a group of 46 Montana residents accused the oil company of contaminating their property by letting petroleum seep from nearby storage tanks.

He also helped Skardon Baker, an executive with a downtown L.A. investment firm, defeat an architect who claimed he had been bilked out of $22,500 owed to him for designing a backyard cabana for the financiers Hancock Park home.

Caforios defense of Union Oil in particular cuts against a main tenet of his campaign so far: aggressively attacking incumbent Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) for his slow response to the Aliso Canyon gas leak last winter.

In a fundraising email sent by Caforios campaign last month highlighting his endorsement by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, Caforio criticized Knight as being bought and paid for by the oil and gas lobby while describing himself as a conservation voter my whole voting life.

Caforio said in an interview he was only on the Union Oil case a few months and that his endorsements from the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters point to his strong environmental stance.

He also said he has not and will not accept campaign contributions from gas or oil companies, pointing out that Knight has accepted $14,000 from Sempra Energy, the company responsible for the Aliso Canyon leak, during his runs for the state Legislature and Congress.

I recognize climate science, he said. I recognize the key role we need to play protecting our planet, our community from climate change.

The original Union Oil complaint, filed in 2013 by residents of Cut Bank, Mont., about 25 miles south of the Canadian border, accused the firm and four other companies of failing to warn residents that petroleum had spread across, and seeped into and under their homes. At least one resident complained of oil seeping up into her crawl space, according to Jonathan Cok, an attorney for the residents.

The suit was eventually settled when the companies agreed to put $13 million into a fund to clean up the area under a plan approved by the state environmental department. Some residents were given confidential settlements as well, Cok said.

Cok said he did not remember Caforio among the sea of lawyers who represented the oil companies during the proceedings in Montana. He recalled one pre-trial conference where he counted at least 60 attorneys present.

Updates on California politics 

National Democrats are betting on Caforio to flip Californias 25th Congressional District, a traditionally Republican bastion that stretches from Lancaster west through Santa Clarita into Simi Valley.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report called Knight the most vulnerable incumbent in California this summer after the number of registered Democrats surpassed Republicans in the district. Democrats now have a 4,564-voter advantage among registered voters  a single-percentage-point lead  while about a fifth of voters in the district have no party preference, according to the latest figures from the California Secretary of State.

That demographic shift along with the potential harm presidential nominee Donald Trump could have on down-ballot Republicans has made national Democrats giddy at the thought of ousting Knight. Caforio has attacked Knights waffling on Trump as well as Knights firm opposition to abortion.

Caforio angered some local Democratic party activists when he entered the race last December. He and his wife had only recently moved from Los Angeles into the suburban district. Still, Caforio outraised and defeated the other Democrat in the race, LAPD Lt. Lou Vince, who was hampered by poor fundraising as well as by revelations he was once accused of assaulting a black motorist.

Since the launch of his campaign, Caforio has emphasized his legal career. He calls himself a consumer rights attorney in campaign material. When he spoke to The Times last fall he said he had a history of taking on the toughest fights, including suing Swiss bank UBS on behalf of an investor.

In that case, the investor wasnt exactly an average Joe. Caforio represented Egyptian activist investor Ahmed Hussein, who accused UBS of disrupting a proxy fight he was waging with the board of a healthcare company, according to federal court records.

Caforio and another attorney from his firm won Hussein a $2-million award from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Hussein  using the same team of lawyers  later sued UBS for more than $55 million in damages. UBS pegged Husseins net worth at $400 million in 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Though Hussein was a wealthy client, Caforio said it doesnt change the fact that he suffered losses. Caforio boasted of his own work that he was still going up against one of the largest banks in the world.

The case was one of five listed on Susman Godfreys online biography for Caforio under the heading notable representations. That page was deleted sometime between April and August of this year but an online cache remains available.

Caforio started working at the boutique law firm in 2009 after he graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for Judge Sidney R. Thomas of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Caforio, a partner in the firm whose motto is High Stakes. High Performance, earned $517,629 working at the firm last year, according to a financial disclosure form he filed with the House of Representatives as a candidate for office. He has withdrawn from his partnership as he campaigns for Congress and is not currently drawing a salary, he said.

His former co-workers have been generous to his campaign  contributions from employees of the firm add up to $78,920, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Another notable case involved Caforios defense of the software company RealNetworks after another company sued it in 2012 for more than $30 million in a patent dispute. According to Susmans webpage, the case was settled for a confidential amount.

Though it wasnt among the cases his firm highlighted, Caforio told The Times that in 2010 he represented a court-appointed receiver who was tasked with recovering money for investors who federal prosecutors said were defrauded by former Sherman Oaks money manager Bruce Friedman in a $228-million investment scam.

He also represented the National Credit Union Administration when it took on RBS Securities Inc.

One of Caforios more peculiar notable cases didnt involve big corporations or patents but rather a dispute over a backyard cabana.

The two-year case in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica began in 2010 when Skardon Baker, then a managing director and equity partner from the downtown Los Angeles investment firm Oaktree Capital Management and former speechwriter for George W. Bush when he was Texas governor, was sued by an architect he had hired to design the cabana in 2006.

A judge ruled in Bakers favor in 2012.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.

javier.panzar@latimes.com

Twitter: jpanzar

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Hundreds of children teetered and waddled into the MOMS Orange County Baby Olympics on Sunday during the 13th annual Orange County Childrens Book Festival.

The Santa Ana-based nonprofit hosted the all-day event, held at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, to encourage families to be active and healthy with their youngsters, especially during National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

The free event featured Olympic-themed activities, contests, prizes and book readings by Olympic athletes.

Families took part in friendly competitions, including the bean bag shot put, diaper dash, hula hoop contest and the daddy diaper changing contest.

alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
More than 15,000 walkers and runners wearing pink took part in the 25th annual Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure on Sunday in Newport Beach.

Participants laced up their shoes for the 5k run and walk around the Fashion Island shopping center. A kids one-mile fun run and a breast cancer survivor parade also took place.

This years race had more than 445 teams; the largest was the 330-member First American Caring For Our Community team, according to a news release.

Event organizers said Monday that they expect to meet their fundraising goal of more than $2 million, which will be used to aid breast cancer awareness, education and services.

We were truly blown away by the support of all those who share our dream of one day living in a world without breast cancer, said Lisa Wolter, executive director of Komen Orange County. As we celebrate 25 years, this race marks a special milestone for our organization and the breast health community  decreased mortality rates, better treatment options and more local breast health resources  but there is still so much left to do in our communities.
Theres a first time for everything, I thought as I rolled into a Gas & Grass south of Colorados state capital, pulling up next to a pump.

The station was pricey: Fuel cost at least 15 cents or more a gallon than at neighboring establishments, but this place combined the features of a traditional gas station with a marijuana dispensary,



For the record: A caption in an earlier version of this article referred to the Green Solution as the Garden Solution.

Why is it so expensive? I asked an employee who was checking a nearby pump.

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She replied, You get a 5-cent discount per gallon if you buy weed too.

Welcome to the entrepreneurial world of Colorados green rush, the billion-dollar-a-year industry that has emerged since the state began permitting the sale of marijuana to adult recreational users two and a half years ago.

The legalization has given rise to a new genre of travel: cannabis tourism. California may be keeping an eye on such developments in Colorado because of a November ballot measure that would legalize adult recreational use.

In Colorado, for instance, you can go on a marijuana-friendly walking tour, get a pot-infused massage or go to an art class called Puff, Pass and Paint.

 Proposition 64, a measure that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, has qualified for the California ballot.

23% of those surveyed said the availability of marijuana positively influenced their decision to visit.  Colorado tourism study

Colorado set all-time records for visitation and spending in 2015, according to a July tourism study commissioned by the state. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said the availability of marijuana positively influenced their decision to visit.

The flip side: 14% said it negatively influenced their interest in visiting.

I wanted to explore this travel phenomenon, so I spent most of my time in Denver, considered the hub of Colorados recreational weed market.

I started with a self-guided tour on South Broadway Boulevard, known as the Green Mile because of the dozens of dispensaries in the neighborhood. Their green-cross symbol made them easy to identify. (Green, someone at a dispensary told me, because its the color of pot.)

The budtenders  yes, thats what theyre called  tried to explain the differences between indica, sativa and hybrid plants; the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol, the key ingredient in pot. (See the glossary for more info.)

They also discussed the pros and cons of smoking methods, vaporizers, edibles and the salves and creams that supposedly reduce pain.

Much more complicated than I imagined. What if a customer just wants a joint? Is that available?

A worker at Ganja Gourmet, where the walls are decorated with psychedelic posters, replied, Sure, $8..

I moved on to Wellspring, a light-and-bright shop that looked like a small-town pharmacy.

If you spend $50, you get a joint for a penny and 10% off edibles, one of the budtenders was telling a shopper.

Theres that entrepreneurial spirit again, I thought to myself.

My mini-tour was interesting, but I was still confused. Unlike what you find at wine tastings or stops along a bourbon trail, marijuana has existed largely out of sight. I needed a guide to navigate this scene.

Enter My 420 Tours, one of a handful of companies in the city getting in on the pot industry by offering a variety of tours, classes and vacation packages. (My 420, pronounced four-twenty, is named for April 20, a date that celebrates marijuana smoking. The origin of the term 4-20 is the subject of much discussion, although it most certainly pertains to pot consumption.)

In any case, you can get a two-and-a-half-hour, behind-the-scenes tour of a dispensary and a production facility ($49), take a two-hour cooking class where youll learn how to roll authentic sushi and perfect joints ($69) or invest in a three-day immersive weekend vacation, including pot-friendly hotel accommodations ($1,295).

With our tours, visitors get to see the latest the industry has to offer, said Danny Schaefer, My 420s chief executive. We also offer a safer and better experience for consumers.

Schaefer estimates he serves more than 300 clients a week; almost two-thirds are seeking hotel reservations.

But finding a place to stay can be troublesome for tourists; laws prohibit using cannabis in a public area, and most hotels prohibit smoking in rooms.

With our tours, visitors get to see the latest the industry has to offer  Danny Schaefer

Local tour companies have set up partnerships with some nationally branded hotels that allow the use of vaporizers. (No open flames, a receptionist said when I called one hotel to double-check.)

Most of the accommodations dont advertise they allow the use of weed because of conflicts with federal laws prohibiting marijuana, Schaefer said.

Travelers can find Rocky-Mountain-High hotel listings in some local publications such as PotGuide.com, but no names, just such convoluted headlines as: Downtown Denver Convention Center Nationally Recognized Hotel Includes Premium Vaporizer, Guide to the City, and Discounts.

Accommodations, cannabis friendly or not, werent a concern for me; I was staying with friends.

My 420 Tour included a guided visit to a dispensary and a grow house (an indoor marijuana production facility).

Many Denver tour companies offer private or group tours on a bus, with educational talks about the differences in products.

The camaraderie on the bus is amazing, said Brett Davis of Colorado Cannabis Tours.

You get people from all over the world. Theyre all saying, Can this really be happening?

By the time the trip is over, theyre all friends.

My group visited Native Roots, a large, trippingly cool dispensary in downtown Denver. There, I learned a little about edibles, which can be as basic as brownies and cookies or as sophisticated as drinks, sauces and gourmet truffles.

All are cannabis-infused and are a popular alternative to smoking.

Next on the itinerary was a grow house called Buddy Boy, where we wandered through eerily lighted rooms chock-a-block with budding pot plants, from 6-inch seedlings to 6-foot-tall giants ready for harvest.

Tim Nolan, the facility manager, told us there were 16 strains here, including Golden Goat, Durban Poison and Lemon Kush, adding that the plants live about 100 days. All of us shot selfies in front of leafy monster plants or giant bags of product waiting to be distributed.

Colorado may be on the cutting edge of legalized marijuana sales, but it isnt the only state where adult recreational use is legal. Washington, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia have OKd its use. Of these, Washington and Oregon allow retail sales; Alaska and D.C. arent quite there.

Then, of course, theres the California marijuana proposition. I asked Schaefer of My 420 whether he was watching the developments in the Golden State.

Were super-excited, he said. California is a target for our expansion plans.

Glossary

Dispensary: A store that specializes in legal marijuana sales.

Edibles: Marijuana-infused products that you can eat, such as baked goods, or drink, such as colas and coffee. (Read more below).

Indica: A type of marijuana plant that is said to produce a more relaxed high. Some people use it to induce sleep.

Cannabis: Also known as marijuana, Mary Jane, ganja and pot, among other names. Cannabis is a flowering plant that contains psychoactive ingredients and is used for recreational and medicinal purposes.

Sativa: A type of marijuana plant that is said to produce a more energetic high, although some people think it also causes paranoia or anxiety.

THC: Tetrahydrocannabinol,the chemical responsible for most of marijuanas psychological effects

Edibles

Marijuana edibles have turned over a new leaf. Gone are the days when brownies were full of enough sticks and leaves to choke a horse.

Today, food is infused with cannabis, usually in the form of cannabutter (cannabis and butter, natch). And it has expanded from brownies and cookies to all sorts of products, including colas, gummy candies, truffles and a host of other surprising foods.

The up side: Some advocates say it offers a high that is more relaxing than smoking pot, and its ingestion leaves no telltale smoke.

The downside: People sometimes overeat, which can unintentionally intensify the reaction.

Marijuana dispensary personnel  and the packaging itself advise users to start small. Unlike smoking, which usually affects users fairly quickly, edibles work slowly. You have to digest them first.

Like all Colorado-sanctioned marijuana products, edibles are closely regulated, with portions clearly marked. One popular Denver edible is the Sweet Grass Kitchen snickerdoodle cookies ($25 for 10). One cookie constitutes one portion.

Just dont eat it and think an hour later that its not working, a sales clerk said. People get in trouble when they take more because they think its not working.

State Tips

If youre seeking your own Rocky Mountain High, consult Colorados Good to Know website, before you go. Heres a summary:

Buying legally

Adults 21 and older can buy and possess up to an ounce of marijuana at a time from licensed retail locations.

Dont take it with you

Its illegal to leave Colorado with any marijuana products.

Where to use it

Hotel owners can ban the use and possession of marijuana on their properties, so check first to see if theyre 4-20 friendly. Public marijuana use is not legal anywhere in Colorado, so youll need to find a private residence or hotel/rental that allows it.

Dont reek up the ride

Its illegal to drive high and to use marijuana in a vehicle even as a passenger.

Dispose of leftover weed safely

Dont leave it in hotel rooms and never leave it any place where a child might find it. Good to Know suggests using a secured container and in a safe place thats out of sight and out of reach of children, like in a large dumpster.

If you go

THE BEST WAY TO DENVER

From LAX, American, United, Southwest, Delta, Frontier and Virgin America offer nonstop service to Denver; Southwest offers direct service (stop, no change of planes); and American, Southwest, United, Virgin American and Delta offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares from $198, including taxes and fees.

WHERE TO STAY

Dont assume a hotel allows marijuana use. Check with the lodging to see its rules on consumption.

Crawford Hotel, 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver; (800) 844-432-9374 or (720) 460-3700, www.thecrawfordhotel.com. Fantasize youre in a Pullman car during the glory days of train travel in this hotel set inside the citys remodeled Union Station. Other room designs include lofts and classic styles. Doubles from $359 a night.

Art Hotel, 1201 Broadway Ave., Denver; (303) 572.8000, www.thearthotel.com. The Art Hotel, adjacent to the Denver Art Museum, is true to its name, displaying contemporary art throughout the hotel and rooms. Open and airy. The year-old hotel has 165 well-furnished rooms and suites. Doubles from $245 anight.

Drury Inn and Suites, 4550 N. Central Park Blvd., Denver; (303) 373-1983; www.druryhotels.com. Denvers downtown may be where the action is, but its also home to high-priced hotels. This Drury Inn is about six miles from downtown, but the ambiance and price are right, and it includes parking and breakfast. Doubles from $139 a night.

WHERE TO EAT

Cheba Hut, 1531 Champa St., Denver; (720) 974-1880, www.chebahut.com. If you have the munchies, Cheba Hut can satisfy them with toasted subs that have names such as Acapulco Gold (barbecue chicken), Humboldt (guacamole and veggie) or Magic Mushroom (portobello). The Phoenix-based chain has more than a dozen locations, including this downtown Denver shop. Subs from $4.

Stoneys Bar & Grill, 1111 Lincoln St., Denver; (303) 830-6839, www.stoneysbarandgrill.com. This funky downtown restaurant is named after its proprietor, not because stoners patronize it. But some cannabis tour groups do stop by for tacos, salads, burgers or to try some of the 17 beers on tap. Burgers from $6.

Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver; (303) 592-6712, www.unionstationindenver.com. Choose from deli, bar, fine-dining or snack restaurants at this impressive Denver landmark, a historic makeover of the citys onetime transit hub. Among the choices: Get a burger or brat from Acme Delicatessen or comfort food from the Kitchen Next Door. Entrees from $12.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

TO LEARN MORE

Visit Denver, Denver Colorado Vacations & Conventions, 1575 California St., Denver; (303) 892-1505, www.denver.org
Vietnam has become the biggest hub in the world for trafficking in horns and other body parts of the rhinoceros, a critically endangered species which is being killed by poachers in South Africa at the rate of one every eight hours.

An estimated 1,300 rhinos are slaughtered for their horns across Africa annuallyup from just 100 in 2008with the bulk of rhino horn smuggled by criminal gangs into Vietnam, according to surveys by international wildlife trade experts.

Yet Vietnam hasnt launched a single successful high-level prosecution against illegal rhino horn traders.

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The standing committee of CITES, the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, meeting this week in South Africa, has warned Vietnam that the body will not tolerate the countrys failure to enforce bans on the rhino horn trade.

The warning suggests that possible trade sanctions could be in the offing as early as next year.

CITES is responsible for regulating trade in endangered species, including bans where appropriate, but depends on member states to enforce the ban.

Its beginning to look like the only way they will take it seriously is sanctions, said Colman OCriodain, trade analyst with the World Wildlife Fund, who complains that Vietnam had resisted action on wildlife trafficking for years.

For the past six years its been known that Vietnam is the biggest market for rhino horn. So far, over six years there has not been a decision to suspend trade with Vietnam, he said.

In South Africas world famous Kruger National Park, the situation is dire: On average, 12 criminal gangs are operating at any one time in the park, according to South African authorities. Only 25,000 rhinos remain in Africa, most of them in South Africa, which has lost 6,000 since 2007. A total of 1,215 South African rhinos were poached and 1,175 were illegally killed last year.

Vietnam has made steps to improve compliance with international treaties.

In 2012, Hanoi signed an agreement with South Africa to begin controlling the illegal trade in rhino horn. In 2014, it joined 45 other countries in signing on to the London Declaration on illegal wildlife trade, committing to enforcing laws against wildlife poaching and reducing demand for illegal products. In recent years, Vietnam has amended its own laws to make trafficking in illegal wildlife products a crime.

But soaring demand among a newly prosperous middle class appears to have made prosecutions difficult, said Leigh Henry, senior policy advisor with the World Wildlife Fund, which sits on the CITES rhino working group.

Requests have been made for Vietnam to report on specific items including seizures in the domestic market. They only reported one. The biggest concern that I have is that they have failed to launch prosecutions as a result of that seizure. We havent seen any enforcement actions for markets in Vietnam, said Henry.

Within CITES, the U.S. and Britain have been the strongest advocates of tougher action to force Vietnam to comply, she said.

Pressure on Vietnam mounted this year, after a yearlong investigation by a Netherlands-based nongovernment organization, the Wildlife Justice Commission, which identified the Vietnamese village of Nhi Khe as a major trafficking hub for illegal wildlife products. Investigators found staggering amounts of rhino horn, ivory, tiger products and other illegally traded items.

In Nhi Khe, WJC investigators identified enough rhino horn to account for just under half the animals poached in South Africa last year. Investigators identified the horns of 573 rhinos, 907 elephants and items from 225 tigers and other animals, worth more than $53 million.

Investigators posing as buyers saw rhino horns and tiger bones piled onto electronic scales, and rooms piled with elephant tusks, according to one undercover investigator on the project, who cannot be named because it could jeopardize his work on future projects.

The investigation exposed WeChat and Facebook accounts used to advertise banned wildlife parts and 17 Chinese bank accounts used by traffickers to take payment from Chinese customers.

Undercover video footage gathered by the group shows a young woman sitting behind a counter in a Nhi Khe shop, as customers from China  the villages main market  handle bracelets and necklaces made of rhino horn.

WJC executive director Olivia Swaak-Goldman, an international lawyer formerly with the International Criminal Court, said investigators were told by local people that police were bribed to overlook the trade.

We have information from individuals that they feel that they dont have to fear from the police, that they felt protected, Swaak-Goldman said.

The group handed a 5,000-page file on Nhi Khe to the Vietnamese government in January, including evidence implicating 51 traders, but the government took no action against those identified.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT

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As night fell, the line of mourners was still hundreds of people long, snaking from the memorial altar, down a corridor and out the funeral hall doors. The somber sounds of funeral hymns filled the air.

The mourners, shuffling forward, many with their heads bowed, had come to pay their respects to Baek Nam-gi, a 68-year-old farmer who died Sunday after 10 months in a coma. As is customary at Korean funerals, the mourners placed a white carnation on a memorial altar, then bowed on their hands and knees three times in front of the casket.

Baek, a longtime activist, had been hospitalized in a coma since November, when he fell back and hit his head after being blasted by a police water cannon at an antigovernment protest in central Seoul.

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We have to remember, and reveal the truth that cant be blocked with a water cannon.  Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon

Protesters had been criticizing President Park Geun-hyes government on a variety of issues. Baek and other farmers took part to call on the government to intervene in the rice market to boost prices.

South Koreas liberal opposition seized on Baeks case as emblematic of what it calls the Park governments heavy-handed handling of dissent. Photos of a soaked Baek lying unconscious on his back in the middle of a road were widely shared on South Korean social media and came to symbolize what some called the regression of democracy in the country.

South Korean riot police block off an entrance to Seoul National University Hospital funeral home during a service for deceased farmer and activist Baek Nam-gi on Sep. 25, 2016. (Steven Borowiec / For The Times )

Baeks death has prompted growing calls for the government and police to apologize, and to determine the specific cause of his death.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon took to his official Twitter account to express his condolences, also writing: We have to remember, and reveal the truth that cant be blocked with a water cannon. By early Monday, the message had been retweeted nearly 10,000 times.

On his Facebook page, Moon Jae-in, a prominent left-wing politician and presidential candidate in 2012, criticized the president, writing, Baek died without a word of apology or consolation. President Park and the police should now offer warm words of consolation.

Outside the room that held Baeks casket, Yoo Young-hoon, 64, said, This is a very sad day. We think that the government should investigate the exact cause of Baeks death and should apologize sincerely.

Yoo had known Baek since 1987, through their work with the Korean Catholic Farmers Movement, an activist group. He said he will fondly remember Baek as a kind man. He was someone who sacrificed, who fought for our countrys democratization, Yoo said.

Im just a citizen who wishes to mourn how an unarmed man died because of government violence, said Son Chang-yeon, 50, a teacher.

The calm inside the funeral home contrasted sharply with the scene outside, where there was tension between mourners and the hundreds of riot police officers who stood guard, carrying shields and clad in protective gear. Police standing shoulder to shoulder formed a barricade that blocked off one of the main entrances to the funeral home, leading to arguments with mourners.

What youre doing is illegal, while youre the ones who are supposed to enforce the law, one furious middle-age man screamed at police as they denied him access to the main entrance, instructing him to enter the funeral home through another door.

Baek was born in 1947 in Boseong, a rural community in the south of the country, known for its rolling tea fields. He was expelled from university twice in the 1970s for his activism opposing the military government of President Park Chung-hee, the father of the current president. He is survived by his wife, son and two daughters.

Borowiec is a special correspondent.

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A lawyer for Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman said Monday he will argue that his client has been the victim of torture.

Attorney Jose Refugio Rodriguez said the Sinaloa cartel boss legal team has submitted evidence of alleged abusive treatment of Guzman in prison.

Cruel and unusual treatment is torture, Rodriguez said.

Guzmans lawyers have complained in the past that he is not being allowed to sleep, mix with other prisoners or receive enough visits. They said that caused him anxiety and elevated his blood pressure to dangerous levels.

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The government says special security measures are needed following Guzmans escape from the maximum-security Altiplano prison near Mexico City in 2015, when he fled through a mile-long tunnel dug to the floor of his shower. That was his second prison break.

After Guzman was recaptured in January, prison authorities woke him every few hours for head counts but later softened that security procedure.

Lawyers have filed appeals seeking to prevent Guzmans extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapons and murder charges.

A hearing on those appeals was expected later Monday, but Rodriguez said the torture allegations are not part of that.

Guzman is being held in a federal prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso.

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As thousands of Colombians offered both hope and skepticism, the government of Colombia and leftist rebels who fought a bitter civil war for more than half a century signed a historic peace accord Monday, closing the Western Hemispheres longest armed conflict.

Heads of state from across the Americas watched as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and leftist guerrilla commander Rodrigo Londono formally ended the long and brutal war, then shook hands.

Colombians, almost all dressed in white, chanted Si a la paz - yes to peace - and Si, se pudo - yes we could.

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It is a historic day in Colombia, said Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who sat next to Santos at the ceremony. A lot of hard work has been accomplished. Theres a lot of hard work to go.

By the only official accounting, more than a quarter million people  267,162 in all  were killed in the conflict. During the 1990s, Supreme Court justices and politicians were routinely assassinated and Colombia teetered on becoming a failed narco-state.

 FARC leaders are scheduled to sign a historic peace agreement, under which an estimated 7,000 peasant fighters would give up their weapons and restart life as Colombian civilians.

Bernard Aronson, a special U.S. envoy to the peace talks, noted how arduous the four years of negotiations had been. This is a good peace, he said. There were no winners and no losers. Everyone won peace.

President Obama has lauded the accord as one of his administrations most important foreign policy achievements. Along with the U.S. rapprochement with Cuba, it marks the end of the last Cold War-era conflict in the Americas.

Much of the credit, U.S. officials say, goes to the U.S.-financed Plan Colombia, which poured billions of dollars into the country to help the government fight the guerrillas.

But critics say Plan Colombia, which is being used as a model for Central America and elsewhere, had serious flaws.

Even supporters of the strategy of full-bore military support for the Colombian army say human rights should have been addressed earlier.

The war gave rise to egregious abuses by the army, including extrajudicial assassinations and the rise of right-wing paramilitary death squads. The leftist guerrillas also committed atrocities, including sexual enslavement of women and kidnappings of civilians.

In recent years, Plan Colombia evolved into Paz (Peace) Colombia and began to shift money to nonmilitary sectors, such as justice institutions and development.

Although aid still tilts toward Colombias army, the Obama administration aims to spend $450 million helping the Colombian government extend basic services into long-neglected rural areas, fighting drug-trafficking and taking care of other civilian needs.

Distribution of U.S. aid is only one of the hurdles as the accord goes into effect. Sponsors of the peace process are bracing for multiple challenges.

Under the agreement, an estimated 7,000 fighters from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, will lay down their weapons and rejoin civilian life, along with 17,000 noncombatant followers.

Many of these were taken [by the FARC] as children and they know no other life, said Marcela Escobari, an official with the Latin America bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development. If they are not given alternatives, they will turn to some sort of illicit activity. Reinsertion will be very complicated.

Kerry seemed to leave the door open Monday to removing the FARC from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. He said the Obama administration would review the designation as the rebels demobilization and reconciliation became facts.

The list of potential spoilers is long.

A former Colombian president is leading a campaign to derail the agreement. Dissident guerrillas may refuse to lay down their guns. Some communities where demobilized rebels are to be resettled have balked at the idea.

There are many in Colombia, especially those involved in the super-lucrative drug trade, who would be happy to see the country remain in a state of conflict.

U.S. officials are particularly worried that demobilized guerrillas could be targeted for assassinations to discourage peace, as has happened in other post-conflict societies.

Spoiling is much faster and easier than making peace, said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with Obama administration rules. It took four years to make peace, and it can be destroyed in four minutes.

The United Nations will be charged with monitoring how the peace deal unfolds, much as it did at the conclusion of the wars in El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1990s.

But the Colombia mission will be more complicated. For starters, the country has more armed factions than existed in other Central American conflicts. It also has a far greater component of criminal activity, primarily in the form of drug trafficking.

In addition to helping to demobilize the rebels, the agreement calls for issuing land titles to peasants and expanding education and other government services into rural areas.

President Santos will put the deal to a popular vote Sunday. The referendum is not legally binding, but he has said he wants all Colombians to invest in peace.

Vote yes! Lets make peace now, urge government billboards here in the colonial gem of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast.

Many in Colombia view the accord with a mix of hope and skepticism. Especially for those who suffered the most, there is dismay that many of the fighters will be given immunity from prosecution.

Some people want justice, said Jose Samuel Garcia, a priest in San Vicente del Caguan, a town in a FARC stronghold in southern Colombia. Not everybody is capable of forgiveness.

That seemed clear early Monday when Kerry met with former combatants and land mine victims at a vocational school where former guerrillas are learning to become hairdressers and carpenters.

This, what is happening today, is very positive, a 23-year-old former guerrilla who gave his name as Jonathan told Kerry. But it is not going to end the war. He predicted many FARC members will simply change their armbands and join other armed groups.

Times staff writer Kate Linthicum contributed from southern Colombia.

For more on global affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter.

MORE WORLD NEWS

Fears for Mexicos economy grow as the peso nears the 20 to the dollar mark

Chinas self-proclaimed most charismatic philanthropist accused of falsifying millions in donations

Jordanian journalist shot to death on courthouse steps after posting controversial cartoon to Facebook
Chinas policy lenders have been key to projecting the countrys economic influence in Latin America even as it pursues a renewed strategic focus on Asia. By Tom Nelthorpe
All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced.  19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
UFOs have been sighted on and off this year from most parts of the world. The latest incident occurred on Sept. 19 when a resident of Colorado witnessed a distinctive UFO together with a number of black helicopters.

According to Enstarz the witness heard the sound of an aircraft above and noticed something strange, it was said that the witness experienced a white orb of light moving over the trees and rooftops. He also spotted three black helicopters behind the aircraft at very high speed, the witness believed it to be an alien spacecraft.

The craft had disappeared beyond the mountains leaving the witness to lose track, but he is very certain that it was not an airplane or a helicopter due to its shape, the witness was firm in his belief and said he had not seen anything like this before. It was said that the UFO had no lights blinking like any other aircraft.

Trying to get an evidence of the UFO the witness failed to record the sighting due to low battery on his cell phone, he later reported the sighting to the Mutual UFO Network. Several incidents have occurred this year in various parts of the world. It was also believed that there were alien activities on the outskirts of planet Saturn.

As stated on MobilenApps a renowned NASA scientist Norman Bergrun said that the Saturn rings are the base for numerous organic UFO activities. He further added that those UFOs have the potential to generate a source of energy which helps them to power up their spacecraft.

The researcher first published his views in a book titled "Ring makers of Saturn" in 1986. Many other scientists did not agree with him and his views. But what is certain is that there has been an increase in UFO sightings all around the world this year.
Pennsylvania State Police say a trooper found a mobile counterfeit money scheme when he stopped a van Sunday on Interstate 78 in Lehigh County.

The trooper found a $20 bill still on the scanner of a personal printer/scanner in Jennifer Gustafson's van, as well as bleached $1 bills and fraudulent $20 bills with the same serial number hidden underneath the front passenger seat, according to state police.

State police seized the van and arrested Gustafson.

Later that day, state police contacted the Secret Service field office in Philadelphia and learned fake $20 bills with the same ID numbers as those in the van had been used 33 times in 13 states.

Agent Brian Keslick said in his experience he expected the number of discovered fake bills would "increase exponentially," as cash deposits made over the weekend are then counted at banks in the beginning of the work week.

Gustafson, of Tucson, Arizona, was arraigned Monday morning on two counts of forgery, as well as possession of an instrument of a crime, receiving stolen property, possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license and speeding.

Gustafson, who turns 48 on Thursday, was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

State police said a trooper stopped Gustafson because she was speeding and the temporary vehicle registration taped to the rear windshield in a plastic bag was illegible. The stop was along the highway before the Lehigh Street interchange in Allentown.

The trooper said he smelled the odor of burnt marijuana, and later found marijuana in the woman's purse and in a backpack in the van, along with five books of stolen checks.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Coroner says nothing suspicious about man's death

Authorities are investigating the death of a 22-year-old man found dead inside a parked vehicle in Bethlehem.

Lehigh County Deputy Coroner Jason Nicholas identified the man as Bradley A. Petfield, of the 600 block of Ninth Avenue in Bethlehem.

Petfield was pronounced dead at 9:25 a.m. Sunday after being found inside a vehicle in the 1200 block of West Lehigh Street, according to the coroner's office.

It remains unclear what led to his death. Petfield's cause and manner of death will be determined following an autopsy scheduled Monday, Nicholas said.

The Lehigh County Coroner's Office and Bethlehem Police Department are conducting the investigation. A request for more information has been sent to Police Chief Mark DiLuzio.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An 18-year-old drove off Sunday night after not paying for a cellphone he was buying in the parking lot of the Bethlehem Township Wal-Mart, police said.

William L. Hundley, a Northampton Community College student from Sharon, Pennsylvania, is charged in a robbery Sept. 25, 2016, in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Bethlehem Township. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

William L. Hundley, a Northampton Community College student from Sharon, Pennsylvania, met Stephen Harrington about 8:30 p.m. at 3926 Nazareth Pike to buy a white iPhone 6 for $240, police said.

Harrington gave Hundley the phone to look at and Hundley asked to take the sim card out, police said. Hundley then spun the tires and began to drive off, according to police.

Harrington grabbed the car door, tried to retrieve his phone and hung on for 20 to 30 feet before falling to the ground, police said. The 1999 Acura TL struck a concrete column.

Hundley got out, chased down Harrington and punched him in the face, police said. Harrington ran to his vehicle and drove off.

Police, arriving for a report of the crash, arrested Hundley. He was charged with robbery, simple assault and disorderly conduct.

He was arraigned Monday morning before District Judge John Capobianco and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail, according to court records.

A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled Oct. 11 before District Judge Patricia Broscius.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An Allentown man is accused of removing an air conditioning unit and entering the home of his ex-girlfriend after being banned repeatedly from the property.

Nixon Montalvo-Velez (courtesy photo)

Nixon Montalvo-Velez, 33, of the 400 block of East Susquehanna Street, at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 12 allegedly broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend in the 1200 block of Lebanon Street in Bethlehem. The victim awoke to find Montalvo-Velez in her living room, city police said.

The victim told investigators Montalvo-Velez had broken in four days prior by removing an air conditioner in the window and crawling inside. Officers found the AC unit to be damaged with the plastic cracked and shoved back into the track of the slider.

The pair on Sept. 12 began arguing and Montalvo-Velez grabbed her cellphone, police said. When the victim grabbed the phone back, Montalvo-Velez bit her arm and then struck her in the eye with his hand, according to police.

Court records indicate Montalvo-Velez is on the Bethlehem Housing Authority's "banned list" and had several verbal and written warnings in the past to stay off the property. City police said he was arrested at least once in the past for trespassing at the same home and had multiple arrests for trespassing at other Bethlehem Housing Authority properties.

Montalvo-Velez is charged with burglary, criminal trespass, defiant trespass, simple assault and harassment. He was arraigned Friday before District Judge John Capobianco, who set bail at $75,000.

In lieu of bail, Montalvo-Velez was taken to Northampton County Prison. The judge ordered he stay away from the victim.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A McDonald's employee was assaulted and money was taken from an unlocked safe early Sunday morning during a strong-arm robbery at the Bethlehem Township business, police report.

Two men entered the restaurant just after midnight at 3919 Nazareth Pike and one of the men punched a female employee in the face and then kicked her after she fell to the floor, police said.

After taking an undetermined amount of cash, the men fled in a vehicle, police said.

The employee did not require hospitalization, police said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A 17-year-old Portlaoise male described as a thorn in the side of police has been given a suspended sentence for attempted robbery.

Judge Catherine Staines said that the youth had been totally out of control between the ages of 15 and 16, when he amassed a large number of serious charges.

The youth appeared before last weeks district court on foot of two bench warrants, having failed to appear in court on May 25 and again on June 16.

Inspector Maria Conway gave evidence that on February 26 this year, the gardai were alerted to an alarm being activated at Beechfield House, Mountmellick Road, Portlaoise.

When they arrived at the scene, the gardai saw a male exiting the rear of the house, and a second male, the accused, was found hiding in a shed.

Both males were arrested, and the court heard that the accused was out on bail at the time of the offence.

Defence, Mr Philip Meagher said that the house was empty at the time.

He said his client had been getting into a lot of difficulties at the time, as he was hanging around with a group of young men committing antisocial behaviour and using drugs.

His mother felt it was best to remove him from the scene and so he went to the UK to work with an uncle in the building trade, which was why he had missed his court dates.

Mr Meagher said his client was now a changed young man and much more mature.

He appreciates he was a thorn in the side of police locally, but he is now turning a corner, said Mr Meagher.

Saying she had to think of the victims of his crimes, Judge Staines asked did the accused have any compensation saved from his building work, to which Mr Meagher said he had 500 in court.

The court also heard that the accused had paid some compensation for the theft of an iPhone, in a separate matter.

There was also a charge of attempting to commit a robbery on June 29, although nothing was taken in this offence, said Insp Conway.

Judge Staines said she had to mark the seriousness of the offending, and imposed ten months' detention on the attempted robbery charge, suspended for two years.

The other charges were taken into consideration.
We have been telling you about the Conference Access Fund and how it has helped members to attend. Before we got to Brighton, Matthew Clark told us his experiences in a post titled Young, disabled and believed in. By happy coincidence, I was delighted to be able to call him to speak in the debate on Mending the Safety Net (the Social Security policy paper) which I happened to be chairing, and he was an impressive first time speaker. You can watch the debate and his contribution here, starting at about 1:05. Matthew speaks at 1:44.

Another of the members to benefit from the Access Fund has sent in this review:

I would like to thank the members who have supported the conference access fund. Their kindness has enabled members like myself to attend the conference by helping with extra costs for attending the conference. For me it has allowed me to pay for a support worker to assist me with travel to and from the conference, participate in the fringe events, volunteer on the Your Liberal Britain stand and witness the debates in the conference centre. There were so many things to do at conference, it was hard to choose which events to take part in. The interview between comedian Matt Forde and Tim Farron was really funny. I recommend people watch Matt Fordes new television show, this too is very funny. The guardian Q & A with Nick Clegg was also candid with elements of humour. Did you know he has a book out?????

I met lots of lovely people from other constituencies, witnessed (if the newspapers are to believed) dance moves at the Lib Dem disco that would make a horror movie proud, joined a very good quiz team and won and whilst working on the Your Liberal Britain stand got my photograph taken with Tim Farron and Norman Lamb which was a nice surprise. I look forward to helping out with Your Liberal Britain in the future. It was good to see the Mending the Safety Net policy document being discussed at conference. As a result of the previous conference in York, I contributed in the consultation. When I have some spare time I will also write a review of the Fringe events I attended and answer the questions on the sex worker consultation. At conference I also got asked by one of my quiz team members if I was going to run as a councillor. At this stage Im not sure if this would be an ideal role for me as I prefer to do things behind the scenes. However I will investigate what is involved at the next conference and give it some deliberation. I would encourage anyone with a disability to make use of the conference access fund if required to attend conference because they will enjoy the variety of things to do and build their confidence. I also would like members to continue to support the conference access fund financially and one day hopefully hold a ball to raise funds for the conference access fund, as it will give disabled members, members with children and members on a low income a chance to experience life at conference.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and to the recipients who have given feedback to the Conference Office.

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
This is the slightly edited text of the speech to party conference on Sunday 18th September, moving the motion with the same title. The text of the motion can be seen here.

We believe in social mobility, but social mobility is more than simply plucking a few from disadvantaged backgrounds, by unreliable assessment and unfair procedures, at the age of 11.

In any case, all-embracing division at age 11 sends a damaging message about how we value each young person.

Actually, we believe in more than social mobility; we want even people who choose to stay in particular social groups to be better educated and better off. Not only is that good for them, it is necessary for our economy.

Gone are the days when unqualified youngsters from secondary modern schools could walk into a good job.

Gone, we hope are the days when an educated elite takes charge of everything and the rest are merely simple-minded servants.

Likewise we need more education for our society and our democracy; local and national governments and voluntary organisations have more complicated decisions to make, requiring greater understanding and participation on the part of all our people.

Theresa May accuses her opponents of ideology. So what ! We Lib-Dems have ideas that fit the practical needs of everyone, including the working class. SHE simply has the dogma of a past elitist system inappropriate in a competitive, complicated globalised world. She cannot justify that dogma on the basis of providing opportunity for the few to step up the ladder; she has already reneged on her promise to govern for everybody.

Some parents are understandably excited about the possibility of their children getting into a grammar school; schools branded good as judged by high exam results, due largely to selecting only those who can achieve them. I say to these parents, do not be deceived; the majority of your children will not benefit from this policy. Sam Freedman, former advisor to Michael Gove, wrote a few days ago Selective schools destroy choice As a parent I dont want a shot at a good school place, I want a guarantee and that is impossible in a system with selective schools.

Children in selective systems who do not get into grammar schools do worse than their equivalents in comprehensive systems and there is little correlation between test performance at age 11 and later achievement. Only 3% of children in grammar schools are from disadvantaged backgrounds compared to 19% in other schools.

Even if there were a reliable fair way of dividing children at age 11, the idea would still be flawed.

Children are highly-sensitive human beings who have a huge and complex variety of talents, that can still change and develop so much. Dividing children at age 11 into just two types is crude in the extreme. It is an unintelligent approach.

Now, I used to hear a few left-wing teachers and recently some trade unionists say that in a comprehensive school they must all be taught the same. That is the opposite mistake. Likewise in a grammar school some do not benefit from all being taught the same. Comprehensive schools are there to cater for the complex mix of talents and very many of these schools have shown it can be done, including, ambitious parents note, for the very bright

Now, learning is not just about academic knowledge; the mix of talents in one school can itself be stimulating for all children. With discipline and a caring environment, being in the same school with your peers in all their differences is itself a good lesson.

Lets not just be negative here. The positive alternative is to focus on the right kind of flexible natural selection within schools and where necessary for neighbouring schools to cooperate in providing for those with exceptional talent or particular problems. Most important of all is the quality of teaching, the continuous training of a variety of talented teachers and quality support in the first 5 years of a childs life.

Finally, if we really want to improve life for the disadvantaged we cannot expect the schools to do it alone. The schools community matters. In 2013, an organisation called Research and Information on State Education, said that up to 80% of the differences in performance in schools was accounted for by what goes on outside the school.

So lets say to Theresa May; if you really want to improve life chances for everyone, you must abandon your proposals for grammar schools; concentrate on resourcing local services so they can all work in partnership with our schools; improve early years AND above all, ensure good quality well-supported teachers.

* Nigel Jones is currently secretary of Newcastle under Lyme Liberal Democrats and the Chair of the Liberal Democrat Education Association.
DEPUTY Niall Collins has called for a major overhaul of the gambling industry in Ireland which is largely regulated by legislation going back to 1931 and 1956.

Goodbody Stockbrokers estimates the gross revenue from gambling in the county at over 1 billion a year. When one thinks of betting it is of having a punt on a horse or a GAA match but Deputy Collins said that around 130 million comes from gaming machines in the back of pubs and amusement arcades.

These, for example, are very much under-regulated. It is hard to believe that a billion euro industry has so little governance, said Mr Collins.

The TD says the on-line market has exploded since 2008 with users able to bet on every sport imaginable with the click of a button on their smartphone.

I read an article with a counsellor in Bruree House who said there has been a 50% increase in the number of gambling addicts presenting there for treatment. He put it down to the fact that people can now gamble anywhere, anytime and he made the point that betting adverts feature prominently during ad breaks of many sporting events, said Mr Collins.

The alcohol industry has seen increased regulation in terms of advertising and similar rules needs to be enforced on the gambling industry, he said.

There doesnt seem to be the same recognition of the potential that gambling has to cause similar effects to alcohol. Gambling addiction is on the rise and has the power to destroy peoples and their families lives if it gets hold of them. We have all heard stories of people losing money and then start betting bigger and bigger amounts to try and recoup their losses. It puts huge mental stress on them when they cant pay the mortgage or household bills," said Mr Collins. Lack of regulation is also having an effect on the majority who enjoy a bet on a horse race.

I have been made aware of an increasing trend of on-line bookmakers closing or restricting the accounts of winning horse racing punters. It seems that if you have a handful of winning bets they will restrict or close that account down. I know of cases where they limit the amount a person can bet to under a 1 yet they will happily accept endless amounts from a losing punter. They also send them emails with free bets and bonuses. The counsellor likened it to a drinks company sending you an email that there is a free pint for you in your local pub. There would, quite rightly, be uproar. Yet bookmakers do it on a daily basis. It is enticing people to bet, said Mr Collins.

He says instead of restricting those who win they should be restricting or trying to help those losing vast sums of money.

Bookmakers are making vast profits and by not accepting bets on horse racing from those who win now and then they are turning people away from the sport. Tens of thousands of men and women are employed in the horse racing industry in Ireland with County Limerick being one of the highest. A lot of funding comes directly or indirectly from the betting industry.

Bookmakers cant have it both ways. They cant just shut down those who win occasionally and keep accepting wagers from long-term losers, said Mr Collins, who called for bookmakers to be forced to accept a bet from any customer to lose a minimum liability like in parts of Australia. Gambling is here to stay and Mr Collins says a root and branch examination of the industry is needed and new laws introduced to govern it - sooner rather than later.
ANOTHER positive week begins with news for Limerick that IDA Ireland and the Department of Jobs and Enterprise will today announce a further 100 jobs for the city.

WP Engine, a Texas-based tech firm that powers websites and applications built on Wordpress, has made a commitment to generate 100 jobs, over a three-year period, as part of establishing its new technical support and innovation centre here.

The Limerick Leader first reported news of the Texan IT firm establishing a base in the city in July.

Announcing the jobs at the Savoy Hotel this morning, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will be joined by Minister for Jobs Mary Mitchell OConnor, Minister of State for Small Business, Pat Breen, IDA Ireland, and WP Engine management.

Welcoming the 100 new jobs, Minister Noonan said: Both Ireland and WP Engine share an international focus and a desire to grow by creating value through hard work and endeavour. I'm confident that the people of Limerick and its surrounds will provide WP Engine with the skilled and motivated workforce it needs to continue its success.

Minister Breen said that these jobs will create a knock on effect on the wider region.

Were excited to announce our new office in Limerick! Follow @WPEjobs for news, events, and job openings #WPEIreland https://t.co/djks30kaEc pic.twitter.com/RMnVtITSVu  WP Engine (@wpengine) September 26, 2016

Also welcoming the news, IDA Ireland CEO, Martin Shanahan described the jobs announcement as a terrific investment.

Its presence here will serve as a compelling reference seller of the location for other technology companies. The benefit of 100 new jobs to the local area and economy will be substantial.

Last Monday, Limerick City and County Council announced its 500m city development plan, which aims to see 5,000 new jobs over a five-year period. On Tuesday, Fazzi healthcare services promised 300 new jobs at its city centre base, also over five years.

With customers ranging from individuals and startups to multinational corporations such as AMD, Network Rail, New Relic, Soundcloud, UnderArmour and Warby Parker, WP Engine offers a subscription-based service for WordPress users, providing them with a range of managed services, including security, cloud hosting, developer tools, disaster recovery and internationally award-winning support.

It is estimated that around 5% of the online world visits a website powered by WP Engine every day.



WP Engine is focused on building the best managed WordPress platform in the world and were incredibly proud to be opening our new Technical Support and Innovation Centre in Ireland, said Heather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine.

As a company we aim to be present in cities that are successful in terms of job creation and attracting businesses - as represented by our offices in Austin, San Antonio, San Francisco, and more recently London.

"Limerick, similarly, has a terrific environment and culture where the community, government and business leaders are committed to building local talent and creating a technology innovation and incubation center. We wanted to help further build and be a part of that ecosystem.
THE DEPARTMENT of jobs and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan today launched web firm WP Engines three-year plan to bring 100 new jobs to Limerick city centre.

Minister Noonan was joined by Minister for Jobs Mary Mitchell OConnor, Minister for Small Business Pat Breen, IDA Ireland representatives and management from WP Engine at the launch in the Savoy Hotel this Monday morning.

The new technical support and innovation centre for the Austin-based firm, which powers websites and applications built on Wordpress, is currently based at Patrick Street, but will officially move to Dominick Street as it expands.

Minister Noonan welcomed the jobs announcement and commended IDA Irelands very strong performance in delivering foreign direct investment in Limerick.

The Limerick city TD said at the Savoy Hotel that there was huge interest from UK businesses in investing in Ireland as a result of Brexit, following a three-day visit to London last week.

The Minister also played down fears over his health, after he had to take a week off work a number of weeks ago.

Both Ireland and WP Engine share an international focus and a desire to grow by creating value through hard work and endeavour. I'm confident that the people of Limerick and its surrounds will provide WP Engine with the skilled and motivated workforce it needs to continue its success, he said.

Minister Mitchell OConnor said that it was a wonderful day for Limerick. This is the second time I have heard about jobs in downtown Limerick, so there will be a lot of energy and synergy in Limerick city.

WP Engines Limerick base so far has recruited 10 employees, who are being sent to the United States for training.

Its CEO, Heather Brunner said that it is honoured to be basing a strand of the Texan company in Limerick, and that they are now accepting CVs for the Patrick Street office.

She said that the base will help fuel our growth. She added that it serves an array of small and medium enterprises in Ireland, as well major companies, including Ryanair, Glanbia and Dell.

Ms Brunner said that they intend to integrate into the local community and work with local authorities.
ADARE has retained its title as the tidiest village in Limerick after it secured an impressive 318 points in this years Tidy Towns competition.

Sponsored by SuperValu, the results of the national competition were announced in Dublin this afternoon, with Skerries in North County County Dublin taking the overall prize.

Birdhill was named Irelands tidiest village, Listowel as Irelands tidiest small town and Ennis as Irelands tidiest large urban centre.

Adare, which was awarded the County Prize, was also awarded a gold medal.

Elsewhere, Ardpatrick (314), Galbally (313), Kilmallock (308) and Newcastle West (301) were awarded bronze medals in their respective categories.

Ardpatrick was highly commended by the judges while Galbally was commended with Rockhill (232) receiving an endeavour award after its mark improved by 12.5% compared to 2015.

Limerick city centre, meanwhile, added an impressive 12 points to last years tally to secure 286 points this year.

Every one of the Limerick communities which took part in this years competition saw their points increase year-on-year while a number of communities took part this year having taken breaks from the competition.

See this week's Limerick Leader, broadsheet editions to see what the judges said about your local community - out Thursday
THE MAYOR of Limerick City and County, Cllr Kieran OHanlon, will tomorrow attend a Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the life and work of the late Sir Terry Wogan.

The service, which is organised by the Wogan family and the BBC, will take place this Tuesday in Westminster Abbey in London.

The memorial service will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2, and will mark the 50th anniversary of Terrys first radio broadcast for the BBC.

Mayor OHanlon said: Im honoured that I was invited by Terrys family to be present at the service. I will be representing the people of Limerick at the special event.

Terry was a Limerick man through and through, and never forgot where he came from. Everyone was saddened to hear of his passing when news filtered out in February that he had died.

The doyen of British broadcasting died in January, following a short battle with cancer.

Born in Limerick city in 1938, Mr Wogan began his broadcasting career with RTE before moving to the UK in 1966 where he began working for the BBC until the end of his career.

His Wake up to Wogan radio show was one of the most listened programs to in Europe  attracting around eight million regular listeners.
Upcoming H.R. Harmer sale: What are the top lots?

Apr 30, 2021, 7 AM

An example of the 90 issue from the set of Atlanta trial color proofs on card will be offered during the Oct. 13-15 H.R. Harmer auction.

An unused 1847 10 George Washington stamp will be auctioned by H.R. Harmer Oct. 13-15.

By Michael Baadke

The 3,012th sale by the California auction firm H.R. Harmer will take place Oct. 13-15 with a notably diverse selection of United States and worldwide individual lots and collections.

The material encompasses single stamps and blocks, a broad range of proofs and essays, all manner of postal history, and much more.

The first session on Thursday begins with more than 50 lots from the Van Ingen First Bureau Issues collection, which includes a number of proofs complementing the stamps and postal history offerings.

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A set of 1894 1 to $5 unwatermarked Roosevelt small die proofs  17 proofs neatly arranged on a full sized 1903 gray card page (as issued)  is described as clearly the best of only a handful [of] intact pages, only 85 sets issued (Scott 246P2-284P2). H.R. Harmer notes a Scott catalog value of $5,075, with an opening bid of $1,800.

A later selection of proofs includes one lot of 1881 Atlanta trial color proofs on thin card for the 1869 stamp designs (Scott 123TC4-132TC4), missing only the rare 90 Lincoln with green frame and black vignette.

Created in limited numbers for the 1881 International Cotton Exposition in Atlanta, the proofs from this handsome group are described as sound, bright, and fresh, a small minority with small thins. Against a Scott catalog of $19,460, this lot opens with a $13,000 bid.

The auction offers 33 lots of the first two U.S. stamps, including a very nice unused 1847 10 black (Scott 2) with neatly trimmed close margins and exceptional rich color, crisp impression. The stamp is accompanied by a 1958 certificate from the British Philatelic Association attesting to its authenticity.

Citing the $15,000 Scott catalog value, the stamp opens at $4,500.

The U.S. postal history material features a few appealing bisects, including an 1869 2 brown bisect (Scott 113c) with a single (113) paying the 3 rate on a small cover to Pennsylvania.

Another bisect use from 1898 divides the 1895 4 dark brown Lincoln (Scott 269); a pen notation notes the lack of 1 and 2 stamps.

The Thursday session also includes some 60 lots from the Robert Markovits postal history collection.

Collectors will find 90 covers franked with stamps of the Presidential series, approximately 300 covers of the Overrun Countries issue, groupings of various special delivery issues, and much more.

The second auction session on Friday offers more worldwide material, starting with British Commonwealth stamps and covers, and moving into general worldwide material. Boer War postal history is represented in this session with 145 lots.

The Saturday session consists primarily of collections and accumulations, again with both United States and worldwide material.

Auction lots for this sale can be viewed online, and online bidding options are available.

Additional information about this auction is also available from H.R. Harmer, 2680 Walnut Ave., Suite AB, Tustin, CA 92780.
COLUMBUS  Members of the Johannes family traveled from Arizona and California to dedicate Frontier Park on Saturday.

But there was another person in the crowd who traveled much farther to be at the event.

Norman Udland is a city manager in Lyngdal, Norway, and he was at the dedication ceremony as part of a 10-day trip to the United States through a municipal exchange program of sorts.

After visiting family members who live in Colorado and Wyoming, Udland spent the week shadowing Columbus City Administrator Joe Mangiamelli and learning about community.

He met Mangiamelli two years ago when the local official and two others from Nebraska traveled to Norway for a study trip through the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a partnering university in Kristiansand, Norway.

Udlands time here is a bit of a reunion mixed with business, since he and Mangiamelli attended a government function in Kearney and theyll head to Kansas City, Missouri, for the International City/County Management Association annual convention before he returns to Norway on Tuesday.

Udland, whose home city has a population of about 8,500, has noticed some similarities between Lyngdal and Columbus, but there are also some major differences.

The makeup and roles of the city governments stood out.

In addition to the municipal responsibilities found here, Udland is in charge of running the local schools and health care system.

Its more of a complete job of developing the community, he said.

Udland said the political system in Norway is also more inclusive. The city board he works with includes 35 members, while Columbus City Council has just eight representatives.

I think in Norway people tend to participate more in local politics and contribute, he said. I think here its more difficult to find someone to care for the society.

Still, he was impressed with Columbus, its recent growth and the partnership between the city and local businesses.

Its nice to see how you get things done, although you do things differently, he said.

Udland also got a good feel for the importance of agriculture in Nebraska as he stood next to a cornfield during Saturdays park dedication.

Thats amazing, he said of the presence of row crops within city limits.

But its important for your economy, he added, referencing the Archer Daniels Midland ethanol plant he saw during a two-hour tour of the city.

Udland isnt a complete stranger to agriculture  the municipal emblem for Lyngdal features a cow that represents a popular cattle breed in Norway  but the landscapes in Nebraska and his home country vary drastically.

Lyngdal sits along the countrys southern coast, where two fjords and a mountainous backdrop make the city a popular stop for cruise ships.

Were big in tourism, said Udland, who found a connection with a local attraction.

Udland learned that Andrew Jackson Higgins was born in Columbus and he visited the memorial in Pawnee Park dedicated to Higgins and the landing craft he designed.

The Allied forces used Higgins boats during the D-Day landings in northern France as they fought against Nazi Germany in World War II.

Thats a part of our identity, that day, D-Day, and Normandy, Udland said.
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Lionfish, which have no natural predators in the Atlantic, threaten reef systems by preying on fish that clean the reef and keep it healthy.

The robotics company iRobot, known for creating the autonomous and endearing Roomba vacuums, is taking steps to make a clean sweep of lionfish in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, with a robot designed to target and dispatch the invasive fish.

A diving robot will enable individuals on the ocean surface to remotely zap and kill lionfish with electrical charges. The effort is meant to help curb the fast-growing populations of these voracious predators, which are recognized by environmental officials as a serious threat to marine ecosystems in the western Atlantic.

The initiative to launch the lionfish-targeting robot is called Robots in Service of the Environment (RISE) and represents an iRobot partnership with organizations and volunteer experts in the fields of robotics, engineering and conservation. The lionfish project is the first RISE effort to address environmental challenges with robotic solutions, according to a statement on the RISE website. [The 6 Strangest Robots Ever Created]

3D renders of the robot show a remotely controlled device equipped with a camera, so that users can track the lionfish remotely. At the front of the robot are two discs mounted on rods and facing each other. When the fish is positioned between the discs, the robot's operator triggers a lethal electrical shock; the robot then collects the fish in a net or cage to bring it up to the surface.

A 3D render of a prototype for a remote-controlled robot that would hunt and kill invasive lionfish. (Image credit: RISE)

The first generation of robots will measure about 2.5 feet (0.8 meters) in length, according to John Rizzi, executive director of RISE. The team's goal is to design compact robots suitable for recreational hunters, as well as larger models to accommodate greater numbers of lionfish for commercial hunters, Rizzi told Live Science. Production and in-water testing of working prototypes is anticipated for November, Rizzi said.

Deadly invaders

Lionfish is the common name for the Pterois genus, which contains 12 species. They are striking to look at, as their bodies are covered in bold stripes and delicate, fluttering fins that are offset by rows of venomous spines, making them a popular choice for aquarium owners. Native to Indo-Pacific ocean waters, the flashy-looking predators can measure between 2 and 17.7 inches (5 and 45 centimeters) long, weighing up to 2.9 pounds (1.3 kilograms).

If only the non-native lionfish had stayed confined to their aquariums. But for more than two decades, invasive lionfish have been breeding in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea at an alarming rate. And with no natural predators in those regions to keep their numbers in check, lionfish are decimating native fish populations.

In Florida and in the Bahamas, where native fish and coral reef ecosystems have been especially hard-hit by booming lionfish numbers, environmental officials have organized hunting events encouraging divers to catch as many lionfish as possible. Research showed that the hunts can help native fish rebound, but they are most effective when targeting small areas, and won't control lionfish populations on a larger scale.

Could diving robots help conservationists gain control of these invasive pests? Rizzi told Live Science that they could, by allowing users to target deeper waters where lionfish breed, and where diving hunters typically can't go.

"The average recreational diver stays close to shore and can only dive to 80 to 100 feet [24 to 30 meters]," Rizzi explained. "Big colonies of lionfish have been found down to 900 feet [274 m]. We believe this device is the only way to economically kill populations off at greater depths."

Diving robots would need to get very close to their targets to deliver the killing shock, and tests showed that the lionfish didn't seem spooked by an approaching robotic hunter, Rizzi said. While other fish would quickly swim away when approached with probes similar to those the robot would carry, lionfish didn't respond  perhaps because they aren't used to being hunted by natural predators in that region, Rizzi suggested.

"We'll be their first predator," he said. "They won't see us coming."

Original article on Live Science.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 26 2016

On Tuesday, October 18th, the Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island, along with Stark Home, will host a murder mystery dinner event to benefit KiDS NEED MoRE.

Interior designer Marlaina Teich combines her passion for charity and her devotion to the design industry to help local cause.

Long Island, NY - September 22, 2016 - On Tuesday, October 18th, the Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island, along with Stark Home, will host a murder mystery dinner event, Mystery by Design, to benefit KiDS NEED MoRE, a non-profit organization that runs a camp for children and young adults coping with cancer and life-threatening illness.

The event will take place at Stark Homes beautiful and spacious new Long Island showroom. Rio Hamilton will serve as MC for the night, guiding the featured cast through a semi ad-libbed script filled with audience participation. Proceeds from the event will be used to purchase a mobile camp RV to provide a fun, camp-like experience for those kids not well enough to attend camp.

Marlaina Teich, a premier New York based interior designer, and a founding member and Vice President of the Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island, takes time away from her thriving business to focus on her other passion, giving back.

Bringing local design professionals together to benefit local charities is what the Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island is all about, Teich, who had an integral role in pulling the event together, explains, Weve assembled a great cast of design professionals and Im so excited for the fun evening we have planned to benefit a wonderful cause.

The cast of characters for the event includes Tyler Wisler, Tyler Wisler Home, HGTV Design Star, Stephen Fanuka, Million Dollar Contractor, Ellen Baker, Elle Baker Interiors, Barbara Viteri, Designerlebrity, George Oliphant, George to the Rescue,Justin Shaulis, Justin Shaulis Inc, Home Rules, Marlaina Teich, Marlaina Teich Designs, Robin Baron, Robin Baron Design,Keith Mazzei, Keith Mazzei Interiors, Lisa McMahon, Lisa McMahon Public Relations, Iris Dankner, Holiday House, andAndrea Correale, Elegant Affairs Catering.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at online. The cost for Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island members is $50 in advance/$75 at the door and is $75 in advance/$100 at the door for non-members.

About The Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island

Designers + Builders Alliance of Long Island, A Foundation Built on Giving, is a unique organization uniting all home-trade professionals under one roof  for networking and industry-focused activities. The mission is three fold: to foster the concept of good design on Long Island, produce programs that enhance relationships among the myriad of home trades and most importantly, to raise money for worthy, local causes. The D+BAofLI is a registered 501(c)(3) charity.

About KiDS NEED MoRE

KiDS NEED MoRE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of children, families & young adults coping with cancer and life-threatening illness. In 1990 a group of concerned parents created a camping experience for their children diagnosed with cancer and their siblings. Camp Adventure now serves the east coast and tri-state area. It remains one of the only camps of its kind to serve child cancer patients and siblings. In 2013, a dedicated group of Camp Adventure volunteers began KiDS NEED MoRE (Motivational Recovery Environments, Inc.) to parent the camp and ensure its longevity.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 26 2016

These sessions are designed to provide information, answer questions, and empower Medicare beneficiaries to make well-informed decisions.

Nassau County, NY - September 26, 2016 - Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced today the Nassau County Department of Human Services, Office for the Aging is collaborating with CMS (Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services) to provide consumer information forums on Medicare health and prescription drug plan options for older residents. These sessions are designed to provide information, answer questions, and empower Medicare beneficiaries to make well-informed decisions with regard to their personal health and prescription drug coverage needs.



The open enrollment period for Medicare begins on October 15, 2016 and will continue through December 7, 2016. During this period, currently enrolled beneficiaries can make changes to their Medicare health plan and/or Part D coverage and/or enroll in a different plan that will best suit their personal situations.



Representatives from CMS and the Nassau County-funded Health Insurance Information and Assistance Program (HIICAP), operated by Family and Childrens Association, will be available at the following convenient and accessible locations to explain how to compare the different available plans and what factors to consider prior to enrolling in a new plan:



Friday, October 7, 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Bethpage Senior Community Center

103 Grumman Road West, Bethpage 11714

(516) 571-9910



Friday, October 14, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Herricks Senior Community Service Center (south side rear door)

999 Herricks Road, New Hyde Park 11040

(516) 305-8976



Tuesday, October 18, 12:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Glen Cove Senior Community Service Center

130 Glen Street, Glen Cove 11542

(516) 759-9610

Wednesday, October 26, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Freeport Senior Community Service Center (Salvation Army)

66 Church Street, Freeport 11520

(516) 623-2008



In addition, representatives from the Nassau County Department of Human Services, Office for the Aging; the Nassau County-funded Senior Counseling Program operated by Family and Childrens Association; the Nassau County funded Senior Case Management Program operated by Catholic Charities and Family and Childrens Association; the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island; and the Residential Energy Affordability Partnership (REAP), will be available to discuss the benefits of their programs. EPIC information will be available at all locations. As an added convenience, Flu shots will be available at the Bethpage and Freeport locations, and require no out of pocket cost.



Lunch is available at all locations with the exception of Bethpage. Please call the site directly for more information and to make a reservation.



Persons interested in attending one of the above informational sessions can call the site directly or (516) 485-3425, Ext. 2322, for direction and information.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Don Miller Published: September 26 2016

Lt. Governor issues proclamation in recognition of Hunger Action Month to bring awareness of the chronic problem of food insecurity in our local communities and across America.

Hauppauge, NY - September 26, 2016 - New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul recently met with Island Harvest Food Bank and local anti-hunger advocates to discuss the issue of food insecurity on Long Island and see first-hand what the food bank is doing locally to help solve this insidious, yet often unrecognized problem that persists in our communities.

The Lieutenant Governor also toured Island Harvest Food Banks Hauppauge Distribution Center and spoke with volunteers from PSEG Long Island who were on-hand sorting and packing up food to be distributed among the Island Harvest Food Banks network of member agencies across Long Island.

Lieutenant Governor Hochul issued a proclamation in recognizing September as Hunger Action Month, an annual, a national call to action highlighting the chronic problem of hunger in our local communities and across America, and she commended Island Harvest Food Bank for the important work they do in helping our most vulnerable neighbors on Long Island.

About Hunger on Long Island

Hunger is a state in which people do not get enough food to provide the nutrients for active and healthy lives. It can result from the recurrent lack of access to food. More than 316,000 Long Islanders face the risk of hunger every day, according to Island Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization. Those facing hunger include adults (often working two jobs), seniors and veterans. Unable to make ends meet, they (and their children) are often forced to go without food. Approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs served by Island Harvest Food Bank.

About Island Harvest Food Bank

Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans, and others at risk of food insecurity. As a result of Island Harvest Food Banks dynamic business model, more than 94 percent of expended resources go directly to programs and services that support over 316,000 Long Islanders facing hunger. Island Harvest Food Bank is a lead agency in the regions emergency response preparedness for food and product distribution, and is a member of Feeding America, the nations leading domestic hunger-relief organization. Island Harvest Food Bank is a four-star-rated nonprofit by Charity Navigator, an independent charity watchdog organization. More information can be found at www.islandharvest.org.

Photo caption: Lt. Governor Kathleen Hochul is joined by Island Harvest Food Bank staff, member agencies and volunteers in proclaiming September Hunger Action Month. The proclamation was issued amid locally-grown potatoes destined for Long Islands food insecure families. Island Harvest Food Banks partnership with the Long Island Farm Bureau and local farmers is the leading farm-to-food bank program in New York State.
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
Sajna Mehsud. (Photo credit: Dawn)

US and Afghan forces are reported to have targeted a group of leaders and operatives from the Pakistan-based Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan, the Haqqani Network, and al Qaeda, according to reports from the region. At least one senior leader, known as Azam Tariq, is thought to have been killed in the strike.

The airstrike took place in the Laman area of the eastern Afghan province of Paktika on Sept. 24, according to RFE/RL.

Tariq, a former spokesman in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, his son, and two additional leaders from his group were killed along with three unidentified al Qaeda leaders and six operatives, Afghan officials told RFE/RL. The governor of Paktika also said that Haqqani Network members were present during the airstrike.

Paktika: Jihadist haven

The Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan and al Qaeda are known to have a presence in Paktika province. Paktika abuts the Pakistani tribal agency of South Waziristan, and jihadists move freely across the unmonitored border.

The US hit the Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan in an airstrike in Paktika in February 2016; 18 of its fighters are reported to have been killed.

The Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan is a breakaway faction of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Its leader, Sajna Mehsud, a.k.a. Khan Said, is listed by the US government as a specially designated global terrorists. His forces are known to wage jihad in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. US intelligence officials who track the Taliban and al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region have told The Long War Journal in 2015 that Sajna remains a close ally of al Qaeda. [See LWJ report, US strikes Pakistani Taliban faction in eastern Afghanistan.]

The presence of Sajnas forces in eastern Paktika is not surprising, as multiple Taliban factions  including the Haqqani Network and al Qaeda  are known to operate there.

Al Qaeda, which is a close ally of the Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban faction that is entrenched in Paktika, is also known to operate in the province. Just two days ago, General John Nicholson, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that the US military is hunting al Qaeda in Paktika and six other provinces in Afghanistan.

In the summer of 2015, two senior al Qaeda leaders were killed by the US in airstrikes in Paktikas Gomal and Bermal districts.

At the end of July 2015, the US killed Abu Khalil al Sudani, a senior al Qaeda leader who took direction from Ayman al Zawahiri, in an airstrike in Paktikas Bermal district. Sudani had a hand in al Qaedas external operations network, which plots attacks against the US and the West. On Sept. 14, 2015, Afghan intelligence said that it killed an al Qaeda commander known as as Khuram in the Gomal district.

Additionally, al Qaeda is known to have operated a camp in Bermal during the summer of 2015. The raid on the Bermal camp gave the US information on the existence of two other al Qaeda training camps in the Shorabak district in Kandahar province, the outgoing commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General John Campbell, told The Washington Post last year.

US and Afghan special operations forces rescued Ali Haider Gilani, the son of Pakistans former prime minister, in a joint raid in May 2016 in Paktika province. Gilani later told reporters that he was held by al Qaeda.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here.
If youre raifanning in 2016, chances are you know someone who has taken the plunge and purchased a drone.

Just last week, after seeing yet another friend buy a drone and capture spectacular images, I went online to look at one. After seeing the price, I promptly shut my computer (Lets be honest, journalists arent exactly swimming in cash). But besides the cost, theres another reason I have yet to take my railroad photography to new altitudes with a drone.

Railroad photographers have been seeking higher angles since the beginning. For decades, that has usually meant putting in a little sweat equity. Take the dean of western railroad photography, the legendary Richard Steinheimer. From Donner Pass to the wilds of Montana and Idaho, Steinheimer never shied away from climbing over the next ridge to take in the view and the results were almost always spectacular.

Another photographer who frequently seeks out higher ground the old fashioned way is my father, Tim Franz, although its gotten him in trouble on a few occasions.

When I was a kid, Id often join my Dad trackside and on one summer day in the early 1990s we chased an Alco-powered freight on the Maine Coast Railroad. Damariscotta is one of the classic locations on the former Maine Central Rockland Branch and we got there well ahead of the train to scope out a spot. As we waited, my Dad looked up at a nearby tree and realized an even better view could be had if we just climbed up a few branches. Dad swung his camera over one shoulder and his pre-school aged son over the other and started climbing. A few minutes later, the train rolled by and a classic view of New England railroading was captured forever.

But that wasnt the end of the story. A few days later, my parents and I went on a Sunday drive and we passed the tree we had scaled earlier in the week. As we drove by, I excitedly yelled from the backseat, Mommy, thats the tree we climbed for a picture! As you can imagine, Mom was less than excited about that revelation.

A decade after the incident at Damariscotta, my Dad and I found ourselves in northern Maine shooting the Canadian American Railroad. A favorite spot of ours was called Camp 12, where the railroad went through a series of rock cuts and passed a massive cliff that offered some great panoramic views of the railroad.

On a cold day in March 2000, my Dad, our friend Mike and I were at the bottom of the cliff looking up at its rocky, icy mass. Mike and I had reservations about climbing the ledge in the snowy conditions, but my Dad thought nothing of it, and the results were spectacular (you can see the shot in the book Railroads of the Pine Tree State Vol. 2). While I often wish I had mustered up the guts to scale the cliff too, my Dad was thankful that Mike and I stayed below since we had to help guide him down (It was a heck of a lot easier going up than coming down, my Dad said later).

Had my Dad owned a drone its likely he could have gotten both shots in a much safer manner than he did, but the backstory behind each of the images would be a lot less interesting.

Now, Ill admit that there are many spots a drone can climb where a human simply cannot go (an absolutely stunning photo of the Alaska Railroad recently posted on Railpictures.net proved that). But I think theres something to be said for putting in a little sweat equity to earn that stunning shot when you can, just like my old man has done for years.

I often think about those early adventures with my Dad when Im climbing the hills of Glacier National Park, along BNSF Railways Marias Pass route. With a camera slung over my shoulder and a cold wind blowing in my face, I always feel a sense of adventure when climbing over that next ridge. For my money, the effort to get a great photo is almost as important as the image itself, and I dont think Id get that same sense of excitement from holding a remote control.

For now, Ill keep seeking higher ground the old fashioned way.
Picture Keeper Connect combines a dual Lightning and USB thumb drive with mobile and desktop apps that make it easy to back up precious photos, videos, and contacts.

Its shameful how Apple provides only 5GB of free iCloud storage to customers, no matter how many devices they own. Its simply not enough space for all the photos and videos we shoot these days. Now theres a plug-and-play solution that takes the burden of backing up personal media off of the Cupertino-based companys shoulders.

As photos and videos are being backed up, the Picture Keeper Connect app displays a thumbnail for each file.

Plug in, back up

At roughly 3.5 inches long, 0.75 inches wide, and 0.25 inches thick, Picture Keeper Connect looks like a standard FAT32-formatted USB thumb driveand it is, with the addition of a Lightning connector at the opposite end for use with compatible iOS devices.

Plug it in, launch the free app, and tap Start Backup to copy all of your photos, videos, and/or contacts onto the thumb drive. The process is simple enough for anyone to do, but once content has been safely copied, youll still have to manually clear it from your iOS device. Restoring content is equally easy, although its all or nothingyou cant selectively choose which files are added back.

I have over 20,000 photos stored in iCloud Photo Library and tested the lowest-capacity 16GB model ($49 on Amazon); 32GB ($75 on Amazon and 64GB ($76 on Amazon models are also available. I had reservations, since the 16GB device certainly couldnt handle all of my data. As it turns out, theres a setting to disable backup of iCloud Photos content, instead targeting only those full-resolution files actually downloaded to the device; videos and contacts can also be independently disabled.

When a Picture Keeper Connect fills up, another can be purchased to pick up where the previous one left off. But its not the cheapest backup method around, and the storage itself isnt upgradeable. The app scans for content each time, performing an incremental backup of only whats new.

Mobile helper

Picture Keeper Connect also provides an alternate backup method that doesnt require a USB drive and is free for anyone to use. The first time you open the app, youll be asked to register for an account, which is used for temporary backup. Within 48 hours, you can log in from the Mobile Helper application on Mac or PC and safely download files to your computer.

Picture Keeper Connect backups are incremental and can span multiple drives, and the app can even send reminders so you wont forget to back up in the future.

Mobile Helper eliminates my biggest complaint with Picture Keeper Connect: If you have thousands of photos to back up, the thumb drive drains your battery quickly. I watched the power level drop from 75 percent to less than 25 percent after only an hour, so youll want to charge up first. With Mobile Helper, the Lightning port can be used to stay powered, which youll need to do since its a much slower method.

The beauty of Picture Keeper Connect is you can set up different accounts for everyone in the family, and back up all of their content to the same USB drive. Unlike many cloud backup services, PKC doesnt rename original files; theyre copied straight across, sorted into folders based on album name.

In the case of apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, this is a good thing, because photos saved from those services get backed up. Unfortunately, iCloud Photo Sharing images also come along for the ride, even if youre the one who shared them originally Id love to see more granular control over what gets backed up in future updates.

Bottom line

Picture Keeper Connect is a pocket-friendly product for backing up all of your iOS devices, and its easy enough to for everyone in the family to use.
The great Gold Rush Music Festival returns to the township of Waihi, with the first nuggets of gold dropping for the highly anticipated return of the 2023 festival.
When we sold our house and moved into an RV, we had to give away a ton of our stuff so that we could start living minimally in a smaller space. We gave away a lot of stuff to family members, had neighbors come by and take whatever they wanted, we had Salvation Army come to our home to do a big pickup, and more. We didnt sell a single thing, instead we gave it all away.

And, it felt great.

Now, we live in a 33 foot RV and are definitely living a minimal lifestyle.

We arent the norm, though.

The size of the average home in 1950 was less than 1,000 square feet. Fast forward to 2013, the average home size has increased to nearly 2,600 square feet (according to the U.S. Census Bureau).

We were fairly close to that size when we owned a house. The house we owned in the St. Louis, Missouri area was around 2,500 square feet, if you included our finished basement, and it was just for myself, my husband, and our two dogs. Our home in Colorado was almost as big, at slightly over 2,000 square feet (with no basement).

However, we decided to buck the norm and started living minimally by completely downsizing our life.

This isnt to say that we are perfect, though. I used to keep pretty much everything I came across, and my basement was proof of that. I would always say Oh, but Ill use that eventually!

And then, eventually would never come, haha!

All the clutter and everything else that went with keeping everything youve ever bought can get annoying.

We made the decision to start living with less stuff for many reasons, but the main reason was that traveling nearly full-time added to the stress of owning a home. So, we figured why not just take it a step further and actually travel full-time?

All of the belongings we have are now inside the RV, except for a few childhood items and photo albums that my dad left me after he passed away. Those are all stored at a family members home.

Now, life is great.

Living minimally has been great, and Ive learned a lot by giving away nearly all of my belongings.

Below is what Ive learned by living with less stuff and living minimally.

I have wasted a lot of money in my life.

Okay, so this is probably a given. If I was able to give away nearly everything Ive ever bought, that means that Ive probably wasted thousands of dollars in my lifetime.

Knowing this has really helped me understand how to manage my money better.

Now that I realize how much money Ive wasted, I am much more able to say no at the store when debating whether or not I should get something. I now realize that I dont really need much, and this helps me to only buy what I need instead of things that will just create clutter.

I can also walk into a store and only buy exactly what I need, even if that store is Target!

I have so much more control over my spending and that has saved me a lot of money in the past year.

Related:

I dont need a lot of the things that I once thought I needed.

I kept a lot of things because I thought I needed them for the future. On a regular basis, I probably only used around 25% of the things I had in my house.

Actually, probably even less than that.

I know Im not alone  many people keep items because they think they may need them in the future. You know the feeling  you buy something, dont use it right away, and years later you find it but just cant throw it away in case there is some circumstance where you need that exact item.

If this is you, then you should put a timeline of no more than one year on the item. If you dont use it in that timeframe, then theres a big chance that youll never need it.

Chances are that you wont miss it much.

When I think about how much stuff we gave away, I honestly cant even remember half of the things. Now, I know that I never really needed the majority of those things.

Owning more stuff doesnt make you happier.

Having more stuff doesnt make you happier.

Its really that simple. Things dont make you a better person, they dont make you more successful than others, or anything else.

I know this because I have less stuff than I have ever had, and I am happier than ever.

You should only own something if you truly want it. Who cares about what everyone else has!

Giving away nearly everything feels great.

Sure, this blog is all about making and saving money, and I could have easily sold a lot of the things that I gave away for thousands of dollars.

However, it felt great giving it all away, and honestly, it was a lot easier.

If I had to do it again, I would do it all over again.

Life is much more peaceful living with less stuff.

Getting rid of so much stuff has made life much more peaceful. Hanging on to so much stuff for years and years can add an insane amount of clutter to a persons life, both physically and mentally.

I know this personally because I kept many things, such as clothing, because they were things I held onto after my dad passed away. I kept outfits that I wore the last time I saw him, from his funeral, and so on.

It just wasnt healthy.

By getting rid of things, I was able to finally let go. Hanging onto those things and looking at them every day wasnt healthy.

Its easy to start living minimally.

As you can see from the above, living minimally has a ton of positives. One last positive is that its very easy to do.

Many people think that living minimally would be difficult because you have to get rid of so much stuff, change your mindset, and more. However, its been a very easy change for us.

Having less stuff and spending less money on things we dont need allows us to spend more time on things we care about and actually want to do. Plus, now we hardly ever have anything break because there arent many things in our life that can be broken.

We dont miss anything, we dont feel like we need anything  we are happier and much more carefree now by living with less stuff.

Are you interested in living minimally? Why or why not?
Della Buckingham kissed her mother, Amy Lou Buckingham, goodnight a little before 10 p.m. on April 16, 2015.

The teenage girl made her way up the stairs, oblivious to what would transpire as she tucked herself into bed. Little did she know that the Boogey man did not hide in the shadows, but something else worse  and very real  was about to take her mother away from her.

Amys sister, Elsie Buckingham, her father, mother and all three of her children were at the home as Della headed to bed.

There was a loud boom, Elsie said.

A bullet fired by Amys ex-boyfriend, John Wayne Strawser Jr., struck Amy in the chest, piercing her heart. Amy dropped to the ground outside the Tunnelton, West Virginia, home.

Strawser, a 39-year-old man from Terra Alta, West Virginia, had been drinking and showed up at the home shortly after 10 p.m., a few minutes before the murder. Amy and Strawser went outside in the rain and were arguing when he fired the shot and drove off, police said.

Amy had broken up with Strawser and was seeing another man, according to police.

He didnt have to kill her, Elsie said. We all knew within two weeks she would have taken him back. Thats how she was, always seeing the good.

Elsie described her sister as having an immensely caring heart. As her father, who had rushed outside when he heard the gunshot, held her in his arms, Amys heart stopped beating.

Amy was filled with laughter, Elsie said. No matter what, she seen the good in people, always wanting to help.

The Buckinghams home would no longer be filled with Amys cheerful laughter.

Family members called police and told them that Strawser had shot Amy, police said.

Sheriffs department

Rain continued to fall as members of the Preston County Sheriffs Department caught up to the Subaru station wagon Strawser was driving shortly after he murdered Amy. They attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

As the two deputies approached the vehicle, Cpt. James Root drew his shotgun and aimed it at Strawser through the passenger-side window.

Its him, Root was heard saying on his body camera, footage obtained from the Preston County Sheriffs Department. Ive got a shotgun pointed right at you, so dont do anything stupid.

If you move a muscle, I will mess you up, he added.

Strawser stepped on the gas and took off.

Bang, click, bang. Body camera footage shows Root unloading two rounds of buckshot at the fleeing vehicle.

If I wouldnt have hesitated, I had a head shot, Root said later on his body camera as he spoke to another deputy as they searched for Strawser. I hesitated for a second because I thought Hes not really going to drive off.

An investigation report created by West Virginia State Police said Root fired at Strawser because he feared he had a gun and was going to fire on the officers. Root had intimate knowledge of Strawsers ownership of weapons.

His lack of action two weeks earlier allowed Strawser to remain in possession of the Rossi Ranch Hand gun authorities believe Strawser used to kill Buckingham.

Firearm

Roughly two weeks prior to Amys murder, following up a family members request, Root went to Strawsers home to conduct a welfare check. Strawsers family had not heard from him in a while and they began to worry, according to Preston County Prosecuting Attorney Melvin Snyder.

(Root) went to the house and (Strawsers) father, who actually owned it and had the keys but let him live there, opened the house for him and went through the house, Snyder said. (Root) found the Rossi in one room and sort of picked it up.

Snyder said Root was unable to get the mechanism to work on the gun and left without taking it or alerting any other department of what he had found.

Police later found the gun in a box in a swampy area near Strawsers home.

(Strawser) is knowledgeable about guns, Snyder said. Hes cleaned it, fixed it, got it working well, because its working just fine when we find it out in the place out in the woods not far from (Strawsers home).

Strawser was on probation at the time of Roots visit, having pleaded guilty in 2013 to stalking in Preston County. Snyder said Root, who declined comment on the incident, never reported finding a gun in Strawsers home at that time. The information only came forward after the investigation began into Buckinghams murder.

Snyder sighed when asked why Strawsers probation was not revoked upon discovery of a firearm in his home, which is a direct violation of his probation, the protection from abuse order obtained by an earlier victim and a misdemeanor offense given Strawsers status as a convicted felon since 2002, when he was convicted of motor vehicle theft in Garrett County, Maryland.

It should have, Snyder said. I think what the problem was, I just dont think the Sheriffs Office ever thought to communicate back to probation to say Oh, wait a minute, we checked this guys house and hes got weapons there. I just dont think they ever thought to pass the word.

I wish they had, because if they had and I had found out, I would have revoked him, Snyder added. It just is what it is.

Root declined comment on the incident, saying it would be inappropriate for him to comment in light of Strawsers pending case for the 2014 shooting death of Timothy Davison on Interstate 81 in Franklin County.

The Rossi Ranch Hand gun that Root found is also the same weapon authorities believe Strawser used to kill Davison.

Root was promoted from lieutenant to the rank of captain less than nine months after Buckinghams murder.

He, and other officers, pursued Strawser on that April night in 2015 in the area near Tunnelton until they wrecked, and Root got his truck stuck on uneven ground. This gave Strawser time to get away and ditch the car.

As officers approached the field where Strawser was last seen, they spotted a fire in the distance.

Its a brush fire or something, Root was heard saying on his body camera. I dont see where his car went.

That fire, however, was Strawsers car. The cars horn wailed as fire ravaged the interior before the sound slowly tapered off.

If hes in it, great, hell be in it later, he said.

Officers and a canine approached the vehicle, still engulfed in flames.

The tires had been destroyed, the upholstery and cushioning on the drivers side seat were gone  leaving only a metal frame  but Strawsers body was nowhere to be found.

He had fled the scene.

The vehicle was owned by a woman he was living with at the time of Buckinghams murder, according to police. Strawser had also been texting the same woman the night he allegedly killed Davison.

Interrogation

Strawser returned home the next morning and was taken into custody for questioning by West Virginia State Police.

He just didnt seem to care what was going on at the time, Sgt. C.W. DeBerry said. We told him that we were speaking to him about a woman who had been shot and killed and just didnt seem to really care that she was killed.

Strawser told police that he knew Amy, but that she was just someone with whom he was having sex.

She was just a sex toy. She got somebody better, he told police. ... Ive got five (sex) buddies. Well, four now.

Entries from Amys diary provided a very different view on the twos relationship.

The diary, covered in red heart stickers and the words Amy Loves John, painted a picture of a woman who cared deeply about Strawser.

She wrote about getting excited when she knew she was going to get to see him and feeling overcome with remorse when she lied or knew she had hurt him. Buckingham scribbled things like I love John and the kids 4 life 4 ever.

On one page Amy wrote down Strawsers name and date of birth, along with the names and dates of birth of her three children. The two went to high school together and had been dating since 2010, after they reconnected through Facebook, Elsie said.

Other diary entries, however, showed Amys disappointment by Strawsers, at times, lack of reciprocation of her feelings.

I just wish that everything will go alright today, but it didnt, Amy wrote in one entry in 2012. ... I was hopen (sic) to see (Strawser) ... I dont think it is going to happen tonight if he do come down it will be a mircle (sic).

Amy invited Strawser to visit nearly every day of their five-year relationship, but he typically came up with an excuse, upsetting Amy, Elsie said.

Amys 37th birthday on Jan. 4, 2014 was no different. The day typically spent in celebration was filled with tears.

He never showed up on her birthday, Elsie said. She cried all that night.

Unbeknownst to her, the day that marked Amys birth had begun with Davisons death.

Strawser is accused of chasing down, shooting and killing Davison along Interstate 81 near Greencastle shortly after 2 a.m. Jan. 4, 2014.

Strawser told police that on the night of Amys murder, he had gone to see her but left and purchased marijuana in a neighboring town. He said the car he was driving, the one that was found burning, was stolen when he went to buy the drugs.

Strawser told police he heard a gunshot, but Amy was fine when he left the home.

She did a little sigh that she does when she gets mad and walks away, he told police.

Officers pressed further.

She just like when she gets mad, if we argue and she gets mad shell go, Strawser said, pausing to make a sighing noise. And just walk away. And I know thats ...

She couldnt walk too far, an officer interrupted.

... The end of the conversation, Strawser finished.

History of violence

But, Strawser was not one to walk away, especially when it came to women. Court records are filled with women accusing him of becoming jealous and violent, striking out and destroying property whenever they tried to get away.

Elizabeth Butler had only been on one date with Strawser when she said Strawser destroyed her truck, stalked and harassed her in 2013 in Garrett County, Maryland.

Despite a long history of similar criminal behavior, Strawser was given a deal to essentially drop those charges if he paid Butler $800 to repair the truck. Butler tried for more than a year to collect the money from Strawser.

Multiple court hearings were delayed because Strawser knew how to manipulate the system, Butler said.

Just before Strawser murdered Amy he was brought into court to answer for his failure to pay, but the case was not heard, Butler said.

They didnt have time to hear my case, because they had overbooked the docket, Butler said. Not my problem, and thats exactly what I told them. I said This is bull. This is not my problem. He should be going to jail because he hasnt paid.

His next court date was scheduled for three days after he murdered Amy, Butler said.

I say, if Maryland would have done their job, that woman would still be alive, she said.

Multiple calls and emails by The Sentinel to Garrett County States Attorney Lisa Thayer-Welch were not returned.

In August, Strawser was convicted of first degree murder for killing Amy following a nearly week-long trial filled with emotional testimony from her family.

The only available sentence under West Virginia law for this conviction is life without parole, Snyder said.

She never deserved to have her life ended this way, Elsie said.

She said her sisters main goal was to see her three children graduate from high school, a dream that was snuffed out by one man who was not stopped in time. Amys oldest son graduated a little more than year after her death.

My sister was filled with joy. (She) always had a smile, Elsie said. And most of all loved her family. ... Her children was her life.
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Ten Hag explains duo's absence

Article

The boss talks about his XI to face West Ham and why there is no place for Lindelof and Antony.
Donald Trumps Electoral Struggle

After touting her pro-labor union record, the Wicked Witch of Chappaqua rhetorically asked, why am I not 50 points ahead? Her chief rival bluntly responded: because youre terrible.* No truer words have been uttered by any of the candidates about one of their opponents since the start of this extraordinary presidential campaign!

That Hillary Clinton is even remotely competitive in the race despite her flagrant and undeniable corruption, numerous breaches of national security, a long incompetent and bungling political career, and the utter lack of any personal charm or charisma, points to ominous trends within the American electorate that if not checked will mean political futility for future challengers of the status quo and continued economic deterioration.

Simply put: Killary is in contention despite a mountain of negatives because the dependency class of the electorate has mushroomed to such an extent that anyone who seeks its reform is automatically at a disadvantage, while candidates, no matter how vile, who promise to keep the gravy train rolling or expand it, will remain viable. This is the dilemma that Donald Trump faces.

Most of the data in this regard is quite telling. To show how far the US has fallen as an economic power, government workers outnumber manufacturing workers by 9,932,000! The three levels of government  federal, state, local  employ some 22,213,000 people while the manufacturing sector employs 12,281,000.** Parasitical bureaucrats outnumber those who actually create wealth by almost double. Not only is this a recipe for economic stagnation and decline, but it creates an entrenched voting bloc and contingency for government-friendly office seeking politicians. There have been few if any more government-friendly figures over the past century than Hillary Rotten Clinton!

Those who are dependent on the State goes far beyond mere government employees: 46 million receive food assistance, 66 million people are Social Security recipients, 8 million people receive unemployment insurance. Federal government spending on for-profit firms comes to some $500 billion, which Charles Murray has estimated is about 22% of the workforce or about 36 million people. Non-profit organizations and NGOs with income of $2 trillion and 12 million employees receive about one third of their funding from the government which accounts for another 3 million dependents. This brings the total American State-dependency class to a staggering 181 million members!***

Summing up this disturbing data, the eminent economist and philosopher, Hans-Hermann Hoppe wrote:

. . . only 79 million people or about one third

of the adult (above 18) US population of 260 million

(or about 25 percent of the total population of 320

million) can be said to be financially wholly or largely

independent of the State, whereas close to 70 percent of

the US adult population and 57% of the total population

are to be counted as State-dependents.****

These trends will be accentuated, to say the least, if Donald Trump is defeated, which will give Hillary and the Republican-amnesty crowd free reign. After grants of amnesty for the millions of illegals already in the country are given and opening of the nations borders to even more, any hope of true reform of the welfare state will be extinguished. Moreover, it will further burden those of the productive, non-dependency sectors of society who will have to support even larger groups of parasites and free loaders.

The Left clearly understands what is at stake, which is why they see Trumps anti-immigration stance, his talk of closing agencies (Department of Education), and grappling with federal spending as a direct threat to their power base. This is why they are apoplectic in their opposition to the billionaire businessman turned presidential contender. He and his constituency are, for the most part, outside of the dependency class.

A population that is increasingly tied to government largesse is obviously not conducive for economic growth. For Donald Trump to make America great again, the nations burgeoning dependency class must be halted. Not only will this mean that the Trump Movement will not be a passing political fad, but will have a necessary and lasting impact.

That Hillary Clinton is not significantly ahead despite her enormous advantages must be cause for a lot of sleepless nights among the power elite. A Clinton Presidency would secure the Lefts electoral dominance for years to come.

One man stands in their way.

* Guy Benson, Question From Hilary Clinton Why Arent I 50 Points Ahead?' Townhall. 22 September 2016. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2016/09/22/question-from-hillary-clinton-why-arent-i-ahead-by-50-points-n2222202

**Terence P. Jeffrey. Government Workers Now Outnumber Manufacturing Workers by 9,932,000. CNS News. 2 September 2016. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/government-workers-now-outnumber-manufacturing-workers-9932000#disqus_thread

***Hans-Hermann Hoppe. Democracy, De-Civilization , and Counterculture. HansHoppe.com. 26 September 2015. http://www.hanshoppe.com/2015/09/democracy-de-civilization-and-counterculture-pfs-2015/

****Ibid.

Antonius Aquinas@AntoniusAquinas

By Antonius Aquinas

http://antoniusaquinas.com

 2016 Copyright Antonius Aquinas - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




MARTINSVILLE  Annexation will be discussed during Tuesday nights Martinsville City Council meeting.

Virginia cities have been prohibited from annexing areas in adjacent counties since the 1970s. In exchange, they get an annual lump sum of funding for their law-enforcement agencies.

This year, the General Assembly extended the annexation moratorium until 2024.

However, the states Commission on Local Government was directed to examine annexation issues and prepare a report to present to lawmakers by the end of 2018. The report is to evaluate how the annexation ban has affected localities and look at possible alternatives to the ban, among other things, according to a state website.

The local government commissions Annexation Study Stakeholder Group is accepting written comments from localities about annexation issues through the end of the month. Martinsville officials are preparing comments that they will discuss with the council when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on the second floor of the municipal building on West Church Street uptown.

The council will consider giving city officials permission to submit the comments to the group.

Other agenda items for the meeting will include:

@ Hearing an update from the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce about its efforts to help the city with small business development.

@ Hearing an update from the West Piedmont Planning District Commission about a regional strategic planning effort.

@ Hearing comments from a National Weather Service official about Martinsville recently being declared a StormReady community.

@ Proclaiming October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

@ Considering approval of routine-type budget amendments.

@ Hearing public comments about city matters not on the agenda. Anyone wishing to speak will be given a maximum of five minutes. This portion of the meeting will not be televised.

At 7:30 tonight, the council will hold a neighborhood meeting in the auditorium at Patrick Henry Elementary School on East Church Street Extension. The meeting is intended to give residents of the Druid Hills and uptown areas an opportunity to informally discuss neighborhood matters with council members. However, the meeting is open to the public.

Council members will tour the neighborhoods in a van at 5:30 p.m. to observe the conditions of properties there.

Mickey Powell reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at mickey.powell@martinsvillebulletin.com.
This years Farmington Fall Festival went off without a hitch and drew a large crowd Saturday. Vendors lined the streets and people milled around looking at the crafts and goods for sale.

In addition to vendors, there were many other activities going on throughout the day. On Jefferson Street, near the courthouse, a Chalk Art Festival was underway and adults and kids alike set to the street creating the best chalk drawing they could imagine.

Timothy Smith, 10, of Farmington, was doing just that. In his designated square he had decided to draw a remembrance drawing for all those who lost their lives on 9/11.

I am at a chalk drawing contest and I am drawing the twin towers, said Smith. I got this picture in my head and I thought what if I drew a flag around the World Trade Center to show we remember. When I saw other pictures of the flag on the World Trade Center I wanted to draw a flag around it to show that for the contest.

Smith had been working on his drawing for nearly an hour and was very excited to have the opportunity. His mom, Robin Smith, said Tim was preregistered for the event and had been excited about it for a while.

He has been thinking about what he could draw for a few weeks, said Robin. This is all him. He decided on his own what he wanted to draw. This is our first time entering the contest, but we have been down here before just looking at everything.

Robin said they really like the festival and the whole family enjoys it.

The second annual Pooch-A-Palooza, hosted by Hensco Technologies and the Farmington Pet Adoption Center, was happening on the courthouse lawn again this year. Dogs of all sizes and dressed in costume were all around the square preparing for the parade and costume contest.

Farmington resident Linda Harris was waiting in the shade with her two pups, Baily Rose and Shaggy, for the parade to start.

I help with the rescue locally and this is important to me, said Harris. I came out to represent animal rescue and I try to help out as much as I can. We make it work and I am a big animal lover. Animal rescue is close to my heart and I wouldnt miss this for the world.

Harris said it is an awesome organization and no matter what they always find a way to help the animals that come through their facility.

This years Fall Festival was sponsored by US Bank and the block surrounding the courthouse was closed to traffic for the event. There was also a car and truck show held on East Columbia Street with proceeds to benefit the African American Masonic Cemetery.

The Mineral Area Heritage Tractor Club hosted a tractor show on Jackson Street.

There was a Kids Corner on the US Bank parking lot hosted by Parents as Teachers, Belgrade State Bank, Missouri Department of Conservation, and American Family Insurance  Edward Felker. There was also a Dora the Explorer meet and greet for the kids.

Also on the US Bank lot Walgreens and Mineral Area College Student Nurses Association hosted a Health Corner with flu shots and health screenings.

There were performances by the Farmington School of Dance on the main stage at Columbia and Washington streets, the Goat Farmer Band performed and Jordan Voss performed as well.

The evening ended with a cornhole tournament hosted by Cuzzins to benefit Shop with a Cop, along with music provided by Two Lane Highway.

See more coverage of this year's fall festival in this week's edition of the Farmington Press.
MARTINSVILLE  State and local officials are encouraging high school students to register to vote when they turn 18.

As part of a challenge issued by Gov. Terry McAuliffe last week, high schools statewide will be able to compete to see who can register the highest percentage of their voting-age students. Schools that reach or exceed 65 percent will receive a congratulatory certificate from the governor.

The Commonwealth needs to ensure we have a robust democracy that is reflective of all our citizens, McAuliffe said in a news release. Therefore, it is important to teach younger Virginians that voting is a civic responsibility and encourage students to engage in the process by registering to vote.

The 2016-2017 Governors Challenge in High School Voter Registration will start Tuesday and run through the last week of April, which will be the states second annual High School Student Registration Week.

Already, though, Martinsville and Henry County officials and educators have been encouraging students to register to vote when they are old enough.

Martinsville High School (MHS) will participate in the challenge. Registration information is being provided to students on signs and televisions in the schools commons area, and government class teachers have registration forms for eligible students, said Sarah Byrd, the city schools communications/community outreach director.

A photo ID card is required to register to vote. Byrd said teachers have been concerned because some students do not have such identification.

The city registrars office will made IDs for free, and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles office in Martinsville will make them for a small fee, she said.

During the past spring, one MHS teacher took a few students to the registrars office so they could get IDs, Byrd mentioned.

Magna Vista High School and Bassett High School will not be participating in the challenge, said Monica Hatchett, coordinator of family and community engagement for the Henry County Public Schools.

However, educators encourage students to register to vote by allowing staff from the county voter registrars office to go into the schools to help those eligible to sign up.

County Registrar Elizabeth Stone said she has been going into county high schools and registering students to vote since 1976.

Earlier this month, she registered 115 at Magna Vista and 103 at Bassett, she said. On similar visits during the spring, she signed up 49 at Magna Vista and 98 at Bassett.

In the fall, we usually get more registrations because that is when more students seem to take government classes, Stone said.

They love it. They feel more mature now that theyre registered to vote, she said.

City Registrar Cindy Barbour did not have statistics on how many 18-year-olds in Martinsville recently have signed up to vote. She said that a few have stopped by her office to register, but people also can register online.

Of those who have stopped by to register, they seem excited and eager to participate in the electoral process, Barbour said.

She and Stone said that students seem most interested in registering during presidential election years.

On Nov. 8, voters will elect a new president from among Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Republican contender Donald Trump, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson.

The registrars said they have heard little from students concerning their feelings about the election.

When registering them, the students seldom ask any questions in regard to politics although they are given the opportunity, Stone said.

They are excited to learn that they have the ability to run for public office someday, she added.

Barbour said she believes student interest in this years election is high because she already received about 10 requests for absentee ballots from students attending colleges outside the area. Usually by this time in an election year, she has received only two or three, she said.

Nov. 1 is the last day that people can request for an absentee ballot to be sent to them by mail.

In-person absentee ballots can be cast at the registrars offices Monday through Friday until Nov. 5 by residents who are registered voters and will not be in Martinsville-Henry County on Nov. 8. The offices will be open on two Saturdays, Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, according to Barbour.

The deadline to register to vote in time to cast a ballot in the Nov. 8 election is 5 p.m. Oct. 17, Stone said.

Mickey Powell reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at mickey.powell@martinsvillebulletin.com.
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SPRINGFIELD The ambiance at this annual festival will be strictly Italian.

Italian food and music will be the focus as Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish presents A Taste of Italy on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the school auditorium at 36 Margaret St., Springfield.

"The colors, the warmth, the tastes, smells and the music heard -- all will be Italian," said Linda A. Tammi, a parishioner and publicity co-chair for the Taste Committee. "We want everyone to experience an authentic Italian family feeling."

A Taste of Italy will take place on the first day of Italian Heritage Month and begin with Mass in the church on William Street at 4 p.m.

"On Being Italian: A Story of Food, Family and Faith," the new Republican Heritage book chronicling the Italian-American community in Western Massachusetts from its beginnings to the present will be on sale during the Taste of Italy. A portion of the proceeds will go to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. Editor Wayne Phaneuf will be on hand to sign copies of "On Being Italian."

The church is the first church for Italian immigrants in the Springfield area.

More than 40 favorite Italian main and side dishes and desserts will be offered; recipes from different regions of Italy will reflect the church's heritage.

Among the dishes that will be offered are ricotta ravioli, lentil soup, gnocchi, chicken cacciatore, pepperoni ripieni, luganica and peppers, chicken scaloppini, chicken francese, eggplant rolatini, ziti and meatballs, bracciole, eggplant parmigiana bianca, linguini with white clam sauce, polenta and meat sauce, trippa, pizza, lasagna, insalata di baccala, frittelle di fiore, insalata di calamari, tortellini/antipasto salad, chicken marsala, polpetti di risotto and pasta e fagioli.

This year new food items were added according to the family recipes of parishioners who have not cooked for the event; for example, "wild pasta" is something that has not been available before.

A dessert table will feature special pastries and Italian ice as well as espresso and

cappuccino from La Fiorentina, Anna and Leo Daniele. A pastry table (pasta dolce) will be available from the Women's Guild, the St. Vincent dePaul Society and La Fiorentina.

"The special dishes that have lasted several generations are always great and allow for individuals to share their family recipes," said Teresa E. Regina, a parishioner and member of the Public Relations Committee for the Taste. "In addition, this is a time when many of Italian background return to celebrate and to meet former neighbors and friends."

Food tickets will be sold at the door, and visitors will be able to select which Italian

"tastes" they want to purchase. Food can be enjoyed there and or available to take home.

Tammi's favorite part of the Taste is getting to sample many dishes of fellow parishioners. "I may not know everyone in our large parish, but at the Taste I feel as if I am invited into everyone's kitchens, the place in Italian families at the heart of growing up Italian," she said. "I may not belong to that family, but I feel a lovely bond with them because of our shared experience."

Along with parishioners, participating businesses include La Fiorentina, Frigo Foods Inc., Milano Imports, Mom & Rico's, Monte Carlo Restaurant, Partner's Restaurant, Primo's Pizzeria, Salvatore's Restaurant, Storrowton Tavern and Typical Sicilian Restaurant.

IF YOU GO

Event:

A Taste of Italy

When:

Saturday, Oct. 1, 4:30 to 8 p.m.

Where:

School auditorium at 36 Margaret St., Springfield

Entrance fee:

Free

For more information:

Call 599-4715

"What makes a Taste experience unique is that one actually gets to see and smell the food right before your eyes, unlike a restaurant where you order off of a menu. You can just follow your eyes to see what looks tempting to you and follow your nose!" Tammi said. "There is not doubt, however, that Italian cuisine has something for almost every taste; the variety of pasta dishes, meats, pastries is pretty tantalizing. It's just too much good food in one place to pass up."

A Grand Raffle and a 50-50 raffle will take place at 7:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the event are designated for Our Lady of Mount Carmel projects.

"Those with and without Italian ancestry come to enjoy the great food and to have the opportunity to see people with whom they may have lost contact over the years," Regina said. "The event is kept alive by the pride Italian-Americans have for their ancestry and by the desire to share special times."

There is no entrance fee; parking is free too.

For more information, call 599-4715.
SPRINGFIELD -- Longstanding Springfield institution The Student Prince Cafe and The Fort Dining Room has updated its menu, now featuring a lunch item dedicated to the governor of Massachusetts.

Customers can order "Governor Baker's Nothingburger," featuring eight ounces of sirloin beef on a bed of hydroponic green bibb lettuce.

The concept for the menu item came about after the governor dismissed a call for Paul Sagan, the chair of the state's elementary and secondary education board, to resign.

Sagan was criticized after donating $100,000 to the ballot campaign to increase the number of charter schools in Massachusetts.

"I think that's ridiculous," Baker said after being asked by reporters about the matter. He added, "It's a nothingburger."

Andy Yee, owner and operator of multiple restaurants in Western Massachusetts, is an avid news reader, especially of articles regarding Baker.

"Governor Baker is a great friend of Springfield, a great friend of the Student Prince," Yee said. "He comes in when he's traveling by Springfield."

When he heard of the Baker's use of the phrase "nothingburger," Yee knew he wanted to feature it on the menu.

The plain burger represents the nothingness of the phrase, with the lack of toppings. The large pile of green lettuce denotes money, in reference to Sagan's six-figure donation.

Yee, whose family runs the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee, bought the Student Prince Cafe and The Fort Dining Room with Peter Picknelly, chairman and CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines and business consultants Michael K. Vann and Kevin B. Vann.

Baker attended the grand reopening of the restaurant in 2014, where a ceremonial sausage was cut for the special occasion.

In years since, Baker has stopped by the restaurant to greet the owners and eat a quick bite. He attended a fundraiser for the Massachusetts Republican Party at the Student Prince last fall, an Oktoberfest cocktail hour and private dinner hosted by Picknelly and Tony Ravosa.
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BOSTON Boston police are investigating a Sunday morning shooting on fashionable Newbury Street just after closing time for area bars, the

Boston Globe

reported.

A police spokesman confirmed that a man in his mid-20's was shot and wounded near the intersection of Newbury and Clarendon streets at 2:08 a.m. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Newbury Street is noted for its upscale retail and restaurant scene.

Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident.
hc-middletown-missing-boaters-0922-20160921-001.jpg

The 32-foot aluminum boat Nathan and Linda Carman had taken on a boating trip.

(Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)

A 22-year-old Connecticut native was rescued this weekend 100 miles south of Martha's Vineyard, floating on an inflatable raft, after he was missing at sea for a week.

Nathan Carman had gone on a fishing trip from Rhode Island with his mother a week ago. Their vessel, a 32-foot aluminum boat, began taking on water while they were at sea.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Groll told the Hartford Courant that Carman is in good condition but the whereabouts of his mother, Linda Carman, are still unknown.

"She was not in the raft," Groll told the Courant. "The whole situation is under investigation."

Carman was spotted by a freighter and taken aboard this weekend. In days prior to him being found, the U.S. Coast Guard began a search for the pair that covered 11,000 square miles of ocean. The search was suspended Friday.
800px-Latin_Public_School.jpg

Boston Latin.

(Wikimedia)

The elite Boston Latin School is no longer considered one of the top schools in the state, according to a state assessment, after students opted out of taking the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam.

The school has been downgraded from receiving a Level 1 rating - the highest level - to a Level 2 by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Boston Latin fell a level because more than 40 students did not take the exam, including 13 who opted out. "This is completely unacceptable," Walsh said Monday on Boston Herald Radio. He added, "this is a flawed system," of the state accountability system.

At least 95 percent of a student body must participate in state education exams. "We've been very clear with our schools and our districts," Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester told reporters Monday, adding that this is an expectation is "No less important for Boston Latin than any other school."

Chester said there is "no provision" for opting out of the exam. Across the state, 41 schools were downgraded for not meeting the threshold for the number of students expected to take assessment exams.

There were 1,718 students in grades seven through 12 enrolled in Boston Latin last fall. The students who participated in the exam scored a cumulative 92 percent.

The 381-year-old institution is often named a top school in the nation. This year, the school was ranked 51st of the top high schools in the United Stated by U.S. News & World Report.

It was named a "Blue Ribbon School of Excellence," by the U.S. Department of Education five years ago, the federal department's highest award.
PFL Tech Inc. is a marketing technology company that provides sales enablement and marketing automation solutions, as well asprinting, mailing, and fulfillment services. They also provide some great Montana Jobs.
2016-09-28 09:00:00

MonTEC

Contact:

At this meetup, starting at 9:00 am, join us for networking and coffee, then at 9:30 am Andy Commons will hold a training. After a quick break, well come back together at 10 am and tune into Googles live stream with Tim Reis Director of Performance Agencies at Google and David Chung, Mobile Site Transformer at Google.

Tim Reis leads Googles Performance Solutions Activation team for North America, leading the implementation of performance product (desktop, tablet and mobile search, performance display and re-marketing products) strategy for the region. Prior to his current role, he led the Mobile Solutions team and the Mobile Display advertising team at Google. He is a 30 year veteran of media sales serving in roles that have spanned print, television and online.

While AdWords is designed to help businesses reach new customers on mobile, what happens after the link is tapped? David will explain the importance of building a mobile user experience and share tips on how to optimize existing websites for better engagement and conversion.

Join us Wednesday, September 28th at 9:00 am. Coffee (of course) and morning treats will be provided.

RSVP Now! http://1millioncups.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7838487b05ac2138b064bcaeb&id=a455178344&e=ab05a34b50

Want to present?

Were always looking for companies to present. You get to practice a 6-minute explanation of your business and then answer questions from our diverse audience. Learn more http://1millioncups.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7838487b05ac2138b064bcaeb&id=885bf251de&e=ab05a34b50 about this great opportunity, and if your company qualifies.
The National Land Transport Authority (NLTA) hereby informs the public that taxis are now allowed to provide service without the requirement of having a Work Access Permit (WAP).

Taxi drivers shall have to produce their Public Service Vehicle (Taxi) Licence (PSVL) or Full-Time Drivers Licence or Part Time Drivers Licence, as applicable, to an Enforcement Officer, on demand. The PSVL (Taxi) Licence or Full-Time Drivers Licence or Part Time Drivers Licence will serve as a WAP for the taxis. Taxi operators should also strictly adhere to sanitary protocols.

In line with the Closing Down Order applicable in Constituencies 15,16 and 17, taxi operators having their base of operation in these Constituencies will be authorised to operate only within Constituencies 15,16 and 17 and will not be allowed to operate outside these Constituencies.

However, these taxi operators will be allowed to proceed outside these Constituencies ONLY in the following exceptional circumstances:

1. in case of a medical emergency or to convey a person to the hospital for his appointment. The person proceeding to a medical institution for appointment should, on demand, produce documentary evidence to an Enforcement Officer; and

2. to convey students sitting for an examination in an Examination Centre situated outside Constituencies 15,16 and 17. The student should, on demand, produce his Timetable and Student Identity Card to an Enforcement Officer.

Likewise, taxi operators having their base of operation outside Constituencies 15,16 and 17 will not be allowed to enter into these Constituencies except in case of a medical emergency, that is, to convey passengers to a medical institution found in these Constituencies or to convey students sitting for an examination in an Examination Center found within these Constituencies.

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by Tanya Gazdik , September 25, 2016

Artsana USA, Inc.s infant brand Chicco is celebrating new moms as they navigate the realities and challenges of modern motherhood.

A video, which features a new mom receiving a "360-degree" performance review a few months after returning to work from maternity leave, is part of the brands #NeverStopGrowing campaign.

The campaign was created and executed by Chiccos U.S. agency partners, MullenLowe and MediaHub. The video is supported by media, social and influencer partnerships.

Like so many moms, she becomes her toughest critic. But when the tables turn and she experiences the praise, awe and gratitude coming from those touching all aspects of her life -- even her baby -- her perspective changes. She sees, feels and understands the monumental job shes doing in her roles as a mother, daughter, sister, friend, wife and more.

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The effort is linked to Chiccos new NaturalFit bottle-feeding collection that bio-mimics breastfeeding. For many new moms, feeding their child can be a great source of both solace and stress.

Research by the company revealed the emotional tug of war mothers face. Moms are performing many new roles, but they dont believe they are performing any role as well as they would like, said Brenda Liistro, general manager of feeding and care for Chicco in the U.S.

We hope our campaign will provide everyone who knows a new mom a glimpse into her reality and inspire them to be supportive, understanding and uplifting, Liistro tells Marketing Daily. After all, chances are the moms (and dads!) around you have no idea how well theyre really doing.

Regardless of whether you are a working mom, a work-from-home mom or a stay-at-home-mom (or something in between), the feelings of new motherhood are universal, Liistro says.

Were aiming to encourage and empower new parents to #NeverStopGrowing by celebrating them and their efforts, Liistro says. The concept pushes against the antiquated notion that having a baby means putting ones self on a shelf  a notion Millennial parents outright reject (but still sometimes struggle to live up to).
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, September 25, 2016

Yahoo was hit with a wave of class-action suits late last week, after it revealed that hackers stole information associated with half a billion accounts.

By Saturday, at least four separate complaints had been filed in two different federal courts -- the Northern District of California and the Southern District of Illinois.

The cases follow Yahoo's announcement on Thursday that it suffered a massive data breach in late 2014. Chief Information Security Officer Bob Lord stated that hackers may have been able to obtain names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, security questions and passwords associated with 500,000 accounts. Most of the passwords were encrypted, according to Yahoo. The company says it believes a "state-sponsored actor" is responsible for the attack.

The lawsuits all allege that Yahoo failed to adequately protect users' information. Some complaints also include allegations related to the time lag between the data breach and Yahoo's disclosure.

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"Despite the fact that the attack took place in late 2014, Yahoo was so grossly negligent in securing its users personal information that it says that it did not even discover the incident until the summer of 2016," Ronald Schwartz, a Yahoo user who lives in New York, alleges in papers filed in San Jose, California.

North Carolina resident Maria Sventek, who also filed a case in the Northern District of California, alleges that the lag time prevented users "from protecting themselves from the security breach."

Lord said last week that Yahoo doesn't believe that hackers obtained information about financial accounts.

But some of the plaintiffs argue that they're now at risk of the type of identity theft that could ultimately lead to a financial loss.

"Biographical data is ... highly sought after by data thieves," New York resident Edward McMahon alleges in papers filed in the Northern District of California. One form of identity theft, branded 'synthetic identity theft,' occurs when thieves create new identities by combining real and fake identifying information and then use those identities to open new accounts."

It's not clear whether judges will allow these cases to move forward. In the past, some judges have thrown out lawsuits over data breaches, ruling that consumers can't sue based on their fear of future economic harm.

But last year the influential 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a class-action lawsuit against Neiman Marcus, which suffered a data breach in 2013. The appellate judges said that customers of the department store "should not have to wait until hackers commit identity theft or credit card fraud" before proceeding in court. In that case, unlike Yahoo's situation, hackers appeared to have stolen credit card information.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, September 26, 2016

Google will make several announcements Monday during Advertising Week related to measurements and metrics. While some aim to prove the lean-in influence of television and YouTube campaigns on search. Others focus on the impact of online ads to in-store visits and sales and remarketing across devices, apps and Web sites.



The features will roll out during the next few months.

Advertisers rely on search advertising to increase brand awareness and drive conversions for television and YouTube video ads. On Monday, Google will announce the forthcoming release of Brand Lift metrics to measure TV campaigns showing how television ads increase searches on Google and YouTube.

The tool measures the direct impact that YouTube ads have on consumer perception and behavior from the initial impression to the final conversion -- metrics such as brand awareness, ad recall, and consideration.

Early tests show that YouTube generates almost two times the searches per impression that TV generates, Brad Bender, Google VP of display and video advertising, wrote in a blog post. When running Brand Lift on both a TV campaign and a YouTube campaign, Google can report on the incremental searches for the brand, he wrote.

But Google's obsession to "close the loop" through measurement and metrics doesn't stop there. The series of announcements in New York also includes cross-device remarketing for Google Display Network and DoubleClick Bid Manager to help advertisers reach the same user across devices, apps, and sites.

"In addition to the interaction between TV, YouTube and online search, there is now a real connection between online ads and offline visits to stores," Bender wrote. "Thirty percent of smartphone users who visit a Web site or app on their phone buy something in a store within 24 hours."

Foot traffic in stores increase when the ad shows a business address, Google Maps directions and photo, per Bender.

The trend prompted Google to introduce what it calls location extensions and store visits measurement for the Google Display Network measures the impact of ads on actual visits to the store, hotel, auto dealership or restaurant.

Display ad location extensions for Home Depot reached consumers browsing their phones near the brands popular stores, delivering eight times the return on investment the stores.

Google also introduced cross-device remarketing for Google Display Network and DoubleClick Bid Manager to help connect with the same individual across devices, apps and sites.
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, September 26, 2016

Rolling Stone is taking on a new investor and active partner as it lays the groundwork for a big international expansion, the iconic arbiter of music and popular culture announced over the weekend. The overseas growth strategy targets Asia in particular, reflecting the rapid emergence of a relatively youthful middle class with disposable income and leisure time in countries across the region.

Rolling Stone publisher Wenner Media has sold a 49% stake in the magazine to BandLab Technologies, a digital music and media company based in Singapore, for an undisclosed sum. (It should be noted that the stake is in Rolling Stone magazine, not Wenner Media, which includes other businesses and continues as a privately held company.)

The deal was spearheaded by Wenner Media founder Jann Wenners son Gus, who has assumed a major strategic role as the company repositions itself for the digital age. BandLab CEO Meng Kuok acquired a legacy music retailer and transformed it into an online music collaboration platform with backing from his billionaire father, beginning in 2012.

According to the partners, Kuok will lead a subsidiary of the magazine called Rolling Stone international, also based in Singapore, which has traditionally been a launching pad for foreign brands seeking to penetrate the Asian market. The subsidiary will not have any control over editorial content, but will help build out new businesses in areas like live events and merchandising.

Rolling Stone already publishes four overseas editions in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, India, Indonesia and Japan. But that leaves some major gaps in its regional coverage, namely China, the continents biggest market, and South Korea, the epicenter of the wildly popular K Pop musical scene, which has tens of millions of fans across Asia and the world.

The move comes as legacy print music publications face the challenge of reinventing themselves for the digital age. For example, rumors have been circulating that Spin Media, publisher of flagship music mag Spin, as well as digital properties, is up for sale following an estimated $5 million loss last year. Last week, Spin Media sold several properties  Idolator, Buzznet and PureVolume  to start up media company Hive Media.

Conversely, established publishers are also looking to bolster their reach among younger consumers by acquiring digital music media publishers. Last year, Conde Nast acquired music review and criticism site Pitchfork Media, which also has an established events business, including annual Pitchfork Music Festivals in Chicago and Paris.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, September 26, 2016

Google can't shake a privacy lawsuit alleging that it unlawfully scans Gmail messages.

In a ruling issued late last week, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh in the Northern District of California ruled that people who are suing Google can proceed even without proof of financial injury.

Koh rejected Google's argument that the case should be dismissed due to a recent Supreme Court ruling in a matter involving the online data broker Spokeo. That decision stemmed from allegations that Spokeo violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by posting incorrect information about a consumer. The Supreme Court ruled in May that Spokeo was entitled to dismissal, unless the consumer could show that the errors caused him a "concrete" injury.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed last year by San Francisco resident Daniel Matera, who said he doesn't have a Gmail account, but is forced to communicate with Gmail users due to the "ubiquity of Gmail."

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Matera, like others who have sued Google and Yahoo over email ads, alleged that Google "intercepts" email messages and sells ads based on their contents. He accused Google of violating the federal wiretapping law as well as a California privacy law.

Google's terms of service currently disclose that it analyzes the contents of email messages for features including "tailored advertising." But Matera says that as a non-Gmail user, he never agreed to those terms.

The company argued that the lawsuit over its email practices should be dismissed for several reasons, including that Matera didn't allege that he suffered concrete injuries. "Plaintiff does not allege, for example, that the alleged violations led to the disclosure of his confidential information to third parties, or that he suffered any other purported harm from the alleged 'interceptions' of his emails," Google wrote earlier this year.

But Koh said that Matera's allegations warranted further proceedings, noting that people filed lawsuits for invasion of privacy long before lawmakers passed specific laws protecting electronic communications, including the federal Wiretap Act.

"Invasion of privacy has been recognized as a common law tort for over a century," Koh wrote.

"The Court concludes that the judgment of Congress and the California Legislature indicate that the alleged violations ... constitute concrete injury in fact," she added. "This conclusion is supported by the historical practice of courts recognizing that the unauthorized interception of communication constitutes cognizable injury," she wrote.

While the ruling is a loss for Google, the company won't necessarily have to stop scanning emails as a result of the case.

Yahoo, which was also sued for allegedly violating users' privacy by scanning email messages, recently settled the litigation by adding new language to its privacy policy, and agreeing to make some technical changes to the way it scans emails. That deal, which was finalized last month, doesn't otherwise obligate the company to change its practices. The settlement requires Yahoo to pay up to $4 million to the class-action attorneys who brought the lawsuit.
Alopecia areata  an autoimmune skin disease that causes patchy hair loss on the scalp, face, and body  affects as many as 6.8 million people in the United States. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center have identified a promising therapy for the disease that stimulated hair regrowth by 92 percent. Share on Pinterest Researchers have found that JAK inhibitors may help people with alopecia areata regrow their hair. With all forms of alopecia area, the bodys immune system attacks healthy hair follicles, which causes them to become smaller and decrease in production to the point where hair growth may stop altogether. For people who have less than 50 percent hair loss, current treatment options work to disrupt or distract the immune attack and stimulate the hair follicle. For people who experience more than 50 percent hair loss, there are oral and injectable medications available. However, these treatments are not successful for everyone. Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers conducted an open-label clinical trial  whereby both researchers and participants knew what treatment was administered  of 12 people with alopecia areata. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation/Insight, were released alongside a separate study from Stanford University and Yale University that tested a similar drug.

JAK inhibitors could stimulate hair growth Alopecia areata is the second most common form of hair loss that occurs at any age and affects both men and women equally. While there is currently no treatment capable of completely restoring hair, CUMC investigators have shown that topical and oral drugs that inhibit the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes, known as JAK inhibitors, could potentially fill the role of stimulating hair regrowth. Although our study was small, it provides crucial evidence that JAK inhibitors may constitute the first effective treatment for people with alopecia areata, says Dr. Julian Mackay-Wiggan, associate professor of dermatology and director of the Clinical Research Unit in the Department of Dermatology at CUMC, and a dermatologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. This is encouraging news for patients who are coping with the physical and emotional effects of this disfiguring autoimmune disease, she adds. Previous research by the team revealed specific immune cells and dominant inflammatory signaling pathways that are responsible for attacking the hair follicle in people with alopecia areata, resulting in the follicle entering a dormant state. Later studies of mouse and human hair follicles showed that JAK inhibitors reawaken these dormant follicles by blocking inflammatory signaling.

Three quarters of participants exhibited 50 percent more hair regrowth The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have already approved two JAK inhibitors: a medication used to treat bone marrow malignancies called ruxolitinib, which was the focus of the CUMC research, and a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis called tofacitinib that the Stanford/Yale study explored. These disorders are both characterized by dysregulated signaling pathways, similar to alopecia areata, which is dominated by the interferon signaling pathway. Even though the diseases are very different, this common feature gave us the initial idea to test JAK inhibitors in people with alopecia, says Dr. Raphael Clynes, Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology at CUMC. The researchers tested their hypothesis by enrolling 12 people with moderate to severe alopecia with more than 30 percent hair loss. Participants were administered 20 milligrams of oral ruxolitinib twice a day for 3-6 months. Follow-up took place over a further 3 months to assess the permanence of treatment response. Results showed that nine of the patients  75 percent  presented 50 percent or more hair regrowth. By the end of the treatment period, 77 percent of participants who responded to ruxolitinib therapy achieved more than 95 percent hair regrowth. In the follow-up period, one third of people who had responded to the treatment proceeded to experience significant hair loss, although not to the degree of before treatment.
Saunas have been used for thousands of years and are still popular today. A sauna can help people to unwind and relax, and it may have other health benefits. Sweating has long been used as a therapy. The Mayans used sweat houses 3,000 years ago, according to Harvard Health Publications. In Finland, saunas have been used for thousands of years, and 1 in 3 Finns still use them. In the United States (U.S.), there are thought to be over a million saunas. The main benefits proposed for saunas are for relaxation and cardiovascular health. However, a sauna may not be suitable for everyone. Fast facts on saunas: Here are some key points about saunas. More detail is in the main article. A sauna is a room in which people aim to relax in dry heat.

It may provide benefits for cardiovascular health that resemble those derived from exercise.

Drinking alcohol before or during a sauna can be dangerous.

Anyone who has a cardiovascular problem or who is pregnant should seek medical advice before using a sauna.

What is a sauna? Share on Pinterest A sauna helps relax, and it may have other health benefits, too. A sauna is typically a room heated to between 70 to 100 Celsius or 158 to 212 Fahrenheit. Traditional Finnish saunas usually use dry heat, with a relative humidity that is often between 10 and 20 percent. In other sauna types, the moisture is higher. Turkish-style saunas, for example, involve a greater level of humidity. A sauna use can raise the skin temperature to roughly 40 Celsius or 104 Fahrenheit. As the skin temperature rises, heavy sweating also occurs. The heart rate rises as the body attempts to keep cool. It is not uncommon to lose about a pint of sweat while spending a short time in a sauna. Types of saunas There are several types of sauna, based on how the room is heated. These include: Wood burning: Wood is used to heat the sauna room and sauna rocks. Wood-burning saunas are usually low in humidity and high in temperature. Electrically heated: Similar to wood-burning saunas, electrically-heated saunas have high temperatures and low humidity. An electrical heater, attached to the floor, heats the sauna room. Infrared room: Far-infrared saunas (FIRS) are different to wood-burning and electrically-heated saunas. Special lamps use light waves to heat a persons body, not the entire room. Temperatures are typically lower than other saunas, but the person sweats in a similar way. Usually, infrared saunas are about 60 Celsius. Steam room: These are different from saunas. Instead of dry heat, a steam room involves high humidity and moist heat.

Possible health benefits Regardless of how a sauna is heated, or the humidity level, the effects on the body are similar. When a person sits in a sauna, their heart rate increases and blood vessels widen. This increases circulation, in a similar way to low to moderate exercise depending on the duration of sauna use. Heart rate may increase to 100-150 beats a minute while using a sauna. This may bring some health benefits. Easing pain Increased circulation may help reduce muscle soreness, improve joint movement, and ease arthritis pain. Reducing stress levels As the heat in a sauna improves circulation, it may also promote relaxation. This can improve feelings of well-being. Improving cardiovascular health The reduction in stress levels when using a sauna may be linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular events. One study, conducted in Finland, followed 2,315 men ages 42 to 60 over the course of 20 years. Findings suggested that people who use a sauna may have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Of the participants in the study, a total of 878 died from cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, or sudden cardiac death. Participants were categorized by how often they used a sauna, including once a week, two to three times a week, and four to seven times a week. After adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors, increased sauna use was linked with a reduced risk of fatal cardiovascular-related diseases. Participants who used the sauna two to three times a week were 22 percent less likely to experience sudden cardiac death than those who only used it once a week. Those who used a sauna four to seven times a week were 63 percent less likely to experience sudden cardiac death and 50 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who only used a sauna once a week. More research is needed to find out if there is a definite link between sauna use and a decrease in deaths from heart disease. Sauna use may also be associated with lower blood pressure and enhanced heart function. While studies may be promising, sauna use should not replace an exercise program to keep the heart healthy. There is more evidence to support the benefits of regular exercise. Skin problems A dry sauna dries the skin during use. Some people with psoriasis may find that their symptoms reduce while using a sauna, but those with atopic dermatitis may find that it worsens. Asthma People with asthma may find relief from some symptoms as a result of using a sauna. A sauna may help open airways, loosen phlegm, and reduce stress. Lower risk of Alzheimers? In 2016, researchers from Finland published findings of a 20-year study that linked sauna use with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimers disease. The study involved 2,315 healthy men aged from 42 to 60 years. Those who used a sauna 2 to 3 times per week were 22 percent less likely to get dementia and 20 percent less likely to get Alzheimers than than those who did not use a sauna. Those who used a sauna four to seven times a week were 66 percent less likely to get dementia and 65 percent less likely to get Alzheimers than those who used a sauna once a week. However, the results do not prove that a sauna causes the reduction in risk. It may be that people with dementia do not use a sauna. More research is needed to to confirm these findings.

Health risks and precautions Moderate use of a sauna appears to be safe for most people. However, a person with cardiovascular disease should speak to a doctor first. Blood pressure risks Switching between the heat of a sauna and cold water in a swimming pool is not advisable , as it can raise blood pressure. A sauna use may also cause blood pressure to fall, so people with low blood pressure should talk to their doctor to make sure sauna use is safe. People who have recently had a heart attack should also talk to their doctor first. Dehydration risk Dehydration can result from fluid loss while sweating. People with certain conditions, such as kidney disease, may be at a higher risk of dehydration. The increased temperatures can also lead to dizziness and nausea in some people. Precautions To avoid any negative health effects, the following precautions are also advised: Avoid alcohol: Alcohol increases the risk of dehydration, hypotension, arrhythmia, and sudden death. A year-long studies of people in Finland who experienced sudden death showed that in 1.8 percent of cases, the person had had a sauna within the last 3 hours, and in 1.7 percent of cases, they had done so in the last 24 hours. Many of these had consumed alcohol. Limit time spent in a sauna: Do not spend more than 20 minutes at a time in a sauna. First-time users should spend a maximum of 5 to 10 minutes. As they get used to the heat, they can slowly increase the time to about 20 minutes. Drink plenty of water: Whatever type of sauna a person uses, it is important to replace the fluids lost from sweating. People should drink about two to four glasses of water after using a sauna. Avoid sauna use if ill: People who are ill should also wait until they recover before using a sauna. Women who are pregnant or those with certain medical conditions, such as low blood pressure, should ask their doctor before sauna use. Supervise children: Children aged 6 and above are safe to use a sauna, but should be supervised when doing so. They should spend no longer than 15 minutes in there at one time.

Far-infarared saunas: Do they work? Far-infrared saunas (FIRS) have been recommended for people with mobility problems and health issues that make it difficult for them to be in the high temperatures normally found in a sauna. A review of studies found that the benefits of FIRS may possibly include : improvements in some types of high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cardiovascular problems

increase in exercise tolerance

reduction in oxidative stress, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue Data regarding weight loss and blood glucose levels was inconsistent. However, the researchers note that the evidence is limited by issues such as small sample size, short duration, and the fact that the same core research group carried out many of the studies.


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The SC's orders came on a plea from amicus curiae Gopal Subramaniam who argued that the manufacturers of chewing tobacco are circumventing the court's direction to implement the gutkha ban by selling the same product in twin pouches. The amicus said he was speaking for millions of users of chewing tobacco who were not present before the court but were suffering from numerous diseases due to products manufactured by the petitioners.Subramanian brought to the notice of the court the following content in the government affidavit on the subject "To circumvent the ban on the sale of gutkha, the manufacturers are selling pan masala (without tobacco) in one packet and flavoured chewing tobacco in another sachet often conjoined and sold together by the same vendor to defeat the purpose of the FSSAI rule. So consumers can buy the pan masala and flavoured chewing tobacco and mix them for consumption. Hence, instead of the earlier ready to consume tobacco mixtures, chewing tobacco companies are now selling gutkha in twin packs to be mixed as one.""In view of the above, concerned statutory authorities are directed to comply with the above mandate of law. We also direct the Secretaries, Health Departments of all the States and Union Territories to file their affidavits before the next date of hearing on the issue of total compliance of the ban imposed on manufacturing and sale of gutkha and pan masala with tobacco and/or nicotine," the court ordered.The apex court taking note of the submissions directed all state food safety officers concerned to ensure strict enforcement of the gutkha ban and file a compliance report by November 9.The Health Ministry had issued orders banning gutkha sale on the basis of a report of the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare which found there were over 3,095 chemical components in smokeless tobacco products including 28 proven carcinogens.The report further indicates a strong association between smokeless tobacco usage and incidence of oral, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, throat and renal cancers. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey India recently showed 35% of all Indiana adults used tobacco in some form. Of these, 21% used smokeless tobacco, 9% smoked and 5% used both chewing and smoking tobacco.A report released in 2014 by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute found that users in India and Bangladesh make up 80 per cent of the total smokeless tobacco users in the world.Another report by the Health Ministry had estimated the total economic cost attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in 2011 amounted to Rs 1,04,500 crore in India, equivalent to 1.04% of the country's gross domestic product.Source: Medindia
Russia-NATO Update is a new monthly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, covering the latest news on Russia-NATO relations from the Russian and East European media.

On September 22, 2016, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov spoke at the Russian Civic Chamber on military security issues in the context of Russia-NATO relations. In his remarks, Ryabkov stated that Russia proposed to the US the idea of developing a collective sector-based missile defense in Europe.[1] He then added that NATO has officially named itself a "nuclear alliance", since "its nuclear doctrine provides for the possibility of launching a nuclear first strike on potential opponents." Ryabkov also said that Russia is "seriously worried" that the United States is planning to deploy its new nuclear aircraft delivered bombs in Europe under the program of upgrading its nuclear arsenal.[2] As the Soviet Union-Russia have frequently done in arms discussions concerning Europe, Ryabkov clearly differentiates between the more constructive Europeans and particularly Germany and the Americans. Below are excerpts from Ryabkov's remarks:[3]

'The Ball Is In NATO's Court Now'

"The military-political situation in Europe and the causes of its deterioration are being discussed in a fairly heated manner at various bilateral and multilateral forums, including the OSCE. The discussion has revealed that our opponents from the United States and NATO, at this stage, are not looking to find common ground. 'Containing' Russia is beginning to take on dynamics of its own, and 'openness to dialogue' has taken a subordinate role.

"Westerners continue to insist on the need to 'learn the lessons of the Ukraine crisis and related events' from the perspective of 'strengthening' the OSCE political and military tools. They would like to tighten, primarily, the provisions of the Vienna Document on confidence-building measures that allegedly allow Russia to 'selectively' fulfill its obligations, including in relation to the Ukraine crisis.

"We stand by our principled position that it is imperative to overcome the crisis plaguing the regime for conventional arms control in Europe, which should take into account existing political and military realities in Europe. The ball is in NATO's court now."[4]



Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. (Source: Sputniknews.com)

US' "Circumvention" Of The Russia -NATO Founding Act And The Issue Of "Substantial Combat Forces"

"In addition to a 'purely defensive' plan, enshrined in the Warsaw Summit, to deploy, on a continuous rotational basis, four reinforced multinational battalion groups in Poland and the Baltic States, we are aware of US plans to deploy, in Central and Eastern Europe, additional military units near the Russian border. In addition, NATO's focus on building up its presence on the sea and in the air in the Black Sea region has been confirmed.

"All of that is portrayed as a US initiative to 'build confidence' among its European allies, and as a 'powerful political signal' about the unity of the alliance, the solidity of transatlantic ties, and the commitment to obligations under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.[5] In practical terms, it would mean an increase in the real presence of NATO troops near our western borders and more weapons and military equipment in European advanced depots. Of course, these plans are peddled as 'not violating' NATO obligations under the Founding Act in part related to the non-deployment, on a permanent basis, of 'substantial combat forces' on the eastern 'flank' of the alliance.

"Even though the specific parameters of what constitutes 'substantial combat forces' remain unspecified, it can still be argued that the US plans to establish its permanent rotational presence in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States (units will be rotated, but the materiel will remain in place), if implemented, would mean a circumvention of the Founding Act's provisions on waiving the obligation of 'permanent deployment.'

"We continue to remind NATO of the absence of numerical parameters to define 'substantial combat forces' and the specific proposals advanced by Russia on this account back in 2008-2009."

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) And The Conventional Arms Control in Europe (CAC)

"In the declaration of the NATO Summit in Warsaw (as in Wales in 2014), the allies reaffirmed their determination 'to preserve, strengthen, and modernize conventional arms control in Europe.'[6] Nevertheless, in the two years since the Wales summit, we have seen no practical steps on the part of NATO. Toward the end of 2014, the alliance more or less finished work on the CAC [Conventional Arms Control in Europe] in Europe, but NATO members decided not to submit their initiatives to 'non-bloc states,' including Russia, 'until the situation around Ukraine normalizes.' So preparations for possible talks on the issue were suspended. Instead, NATO members, especially recently, continued and even intensified their accusations against us with regard to Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the CFE [the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe] and its resulting 'failure' to meet its obligations under the Treaty.

"Over a long period, at various international forums and in bilateral contacts, we have repeatedly advocated for a substantial update of the arms control regime in Europe and the need to bring it in line with the current military-political realities on the continent. As is known, this had to do with the fact that the older CFE Treaty became hopelessly outdated and it was impossible to return to it, while its adapted version, which was adopted at the OSCE Istanbul Summit in 1999 and which we had urged our Western partners to ratify for almost eight years, has not come into force.

"One of the signals that the Europeans are once again showing interest in the issue was an article by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, 'Greater Security in Europe for All: Reviving Arms Control,' of August 26, 2016.[7] In response, we held consultations in Moscow with a deputy chief for disarmament and arms control in the German government. Naturally, the German vision of the situation that has evolved in the European security sphere considerably differs from the Russian view on a number of aspects, but it seems that the ball is slowly starting to roll.

"We will continue to closely watch the response to the German call from its allies, whose efforts brought the conventional arms control dialogue to an impasse and froze it. For our part, we are always open to discussion of international security and stability issues based on equality and mutual respect for interests."

'The US Approach... Is Based On The Desire To Enhance The Transparency Of The Russian Armed Forces'

"In its Warsaw Summit declaration, NATO also declared the 'importance of modernizing'[8] the 2011 Vienna Document[9] 'to ensure its continued relevance in the evolving security environment, including through its substantive update in 2016."[10]

"In this context, NATO members have lately been insisting on a substantive consideration of their proposals that are on the table at the OSCE Forum in Vienna. This refers, in particular, to two 'packages': [the one proposed by the] US and [the other by] Germany.

"The US approach (in principle, we could talk about a general NATO approach) is based on the desire to enhance the transparency of the Russian Armed Forces, above all, our various types of military activity, so as to, by modernizing the 2011 Vienna Document, at least partially compensate for the lost opportunities to 'x-ray' us that they had before Russia suspended its participation in the CFE Treaty.

"Germany, as the current holder of OSCE chairmanship, has incorporated some Russian ideas from previous years into its initiatives. In addition, it proposes a number of updates to the Vienna Document to improve conditions for the conduct of verification activities and the establishment of military contacts.

"For our part, we are explaining to our OSCE partners that it is futile to count on the modernization of the Vienna Document given NATO's current policy of confrontation with Russia, and that the bet on 'containment' is incompatible with the proposals made by some NATO member countries to 'modernize' confidence- and security-building measures. Our Western partners are inclined to work closely with us in this area. However, at the same time, pressure is mounting. On top of the traditional claims, there is now a new one: Russia's 'reluctance to participate in the modernization of confidence- and security-building measures in Europe...

The Formation Of US Global Missile Defense, Including Its European Segment, Is Obviously A Destabilizing Factor

'NATO continues building up its missile defense potential in Europe, implementing its Phased Adaptive Approach. We have repeatedly voiced our concern over the deployment of strategic infrastructure elements in the direct vicinity of our borders, which is directly affecting our security interests. The formation of US global missile defense, including its European segment, is obviously a destabilizing factor because at a certain stage the latter may start to negatively affect our strategic deterrent. It has not yet reached this stage but the potential of the US-NATO missile shield will be enhanced. In this context we consider it indicative that Washington and Brussels have not concealed their reluctance to adjust their missile plans despite the adopted agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

"We will continue to carefully monitor developments and demonstrate to the Europeans the inevitable adverse consequences of the US project's implementation. Russia has always been ready for constructive and respectful dialogue on missile defense issues. We have repeatedly proved this in practice by making proposals on specific forms of cooperation in order to turn this issue from an 'irritant' to concerted effort. Thus, we offered to the United States to use information from Russian radars in Gabala [in Azerbaijan] and Armavir [in Russia] and suggested the idea of building collective sector-based missile defense in Europe.

"The United States and other NATO countries were not ready for the honest and equitable cooperation proposed by Russia. We do not see any signs that they are ready to consider the interests of both sides on a reciprocal basis or take measures to enhance international stability, peace and security based on the principle of equal security for all. Importantly, American and other NATO officials crudely distort facts in their statements on the missile defense dialogue. They claim, for one, that Russia allegedly cut off this dialogue on its own. We are disseminating the true version of events via Foreign Ministry channels.

'We Are Seriously Worried That The United States Is Planning To Deploy Its New Nuclear Air[craft Delivered] Bombs In Europe'

"The nuclear factor continues to strongly influence security in Europe. NATO has officially named itself a 'nuclear alliance.' Its nuclear doctrine provides for the possibility of launching a nuclear first strike on potential opponents. Its members, including non-nuclear states, are enhancing cooperation on joint nuclear planning and handling US tactical nuclear arms that are deployed in some West European countries, using carrier aircraft, crews and infrastructure of non-nuclear countries. Such 'joint nuclear missions' of NATO members are a serious challenge to non-proliferation because they directly contradict the letter and spirit of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"We are seriously worried that the United States is planning to deploy its new nuclear air[craft delivered] bombs in Europe under the program of upgrading its nuclear arsenal. These bombs are less powerful but more precise, which may attest to the intention to use them against military targets in densely populated areas under certain military scenarios. In this way they are ceasing to be 'political weapons' and becoming 'battlefield arms.' The impression is that the United States is going to return to its nuclear brinkmanship, which was typical during the times of confrontation between blocs.

"Indicatively, all this is being done under the cover of the allegation of 'Russia's growing nuclear threat.' Provisions of our Military Doctrine on using nuclear arms are being openly distorted. The European public is being brainwashed to believe that in the past few years Russia has been revising its views on the place and role of nuclear weapons and putting increasingly greater emphasis on them, which is untrue.

"The deployment of launchers for anti-ballistic missiles in Romania (and potentially in Poland) similar to those that are used on US warships to launch Tomahawk mid-range cruise missiles has become a new element of the situation in Europe. Deployment of such launchers on the ground may be considered a direct violation of the INF Treaty by the United States."

Endnotes:
The sharp spike in violent Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the past week triggered many responses on social media. Palestinian social media accounts featured new hashtags such as "rage for your honor" and "the return of [Intifada] operations," as well as hashtags that were launched with the start of the current Palestinian wave of violence on October 2015, such as "Al-Quds Intifada" and "the Intifada continues."

As during previous spikes of violence in the past year,[1] Facebook pages of Palestinian towns and neighborhoods posted photos and footage from the scenes of attacks, as well as graphics and messages praising the perpetrators. Facebook pages associated with Hamas also posted calls for additional attacks.

The following are examples of messages and images posted on social media over the past week:

Images From Gazan, Hamas-Affiliated Facebook Pages

The Hamas daily Al-Risala posted a cartoon on its Facebook page titled "The Intifada continues in Jerusalem and the West Bank" showing a knife as a gear stick in "drive" mode:



Facebook.com/alresalahNet, September 19, 2016.

A Gaza-based Facebook page posted an image of a car running over praying Jews in Jerusalem with the caption: "Our martyrs are in heaven and their murderers are in hell. This is what we were told by the Prophet, peace be upon him."



Facebook.com/sA.asRssA, September 18, 2016.

The Facebook Page "Sons of Al-Aqsa," which uses a Hamas logo as its profile picture, posted an image of a rifle and bullets with the caption: "Rage for your honor. Fire your bullets and make them a herald of death with a thousand messages in its folds."



Pro-Hamas Facebook page, September 18, 2016

The same page also featured a poster captioned "the Intifada continues" with the message: "Youths call to declare Tuesday [September 20] a day of rage and [to conduct] a general strike in the Hebron province. #share #rage_for_your_honor."



Pro-Hamas Facebook page, September 19, 2016.

A Facebook page belonging to an all-girls high school in Rafah featured a poster bearing a Hamas logo that shows an Israeli soldier being stabbed in the back with the text "Stab, son of Hebron!" The poster was accompanied by the message: "For liberty, we will spill blood; for the homeland, we will sacrificemartyrs; we will strike you and stomp on your heads, oh cowardly Zionists."



Facebook.com/1127776270567293, September 19, 2016.

Posters, Inciting Images From Other Facebook Pages

The Facebook page "heroics of a jihad fighter" posted the following image with the caption: "Stab, as your knife has made us love knives; stab and do not fear the oppressors; stab for the oppressed; stab so Palestine may live; stab, since the enemies will leave and we will stay."



Facebook.com/username.romnseat, September 17, 2016.

The Facebook page " youth of Jerusalem" posted an image showing a masked man wielding a knife and a rock wearing a shirt with a map of greater Palestine and the text "all the land." The accompanying message says: "What is left is to stab you, [which is an act] that smacks of honor, and the sweetness of your fear is the key to victory. Your joy at [the Palestinians'] suffering will not last, oh [Israeli] settlers. #Revenge_will_come."



Facebook.com/shabablquds2016, September 17, 2016.

The same Facebook page posted another image titled "victory begins with the knife." The image was accompanied by the caption: "Stab, stab, stab. The glory of the knives continues. [The knives] will scorch the hearts of the settlers."



Facebook.com/shabablquds2016, September 16, 2016.

Facebook user Raji Hamad posted an image with the text: "Rage for your honor and break the hand that reached for her braids and hair."



Facebook page of Raji Hamad, September 18, 2016.

A poster on the Facebook page "The Martyr Muhannad Al-Halabi"[2] is captioned: "Rage for your honor. Muhannad is not dead. There are hundreds behind him."



Facebook.com/zz2345, September 19, 2016.

The Facebook page "the Intifada continues" posted an image of a child holding two knives with the text: "Our choice is liberation." The image was accompanied by the caption: "Stomp on the heads of the Jews."



Facebook.com/1231701890185173, September 19, 2016



Endnotes:
Time and again, aliens have fascinated us and caught our attention. This fascination is evident, thanks to some of the amazing fictional movies exploring this extraterrestrial segment. While we have E.T., Star Trek and Independence Day in Hollywood to name a few; back home too we have had some stint with creating movies on aliens. I mean who can forget Koi Mil Gaya!

Have you ever imagined that what if aliens are for real and they considered us to be a threat for their civilization? What if they think of us as extraterrestrial beings and might attack anytime soon? No, we are not hinting at anything here, its just a fictional query that came to our minds.

 YouTube

But, having said that even in movies, encounters with aliens can have two effects  either it will be good or life threatening. We dont know about the former, but renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking warns people about making first contact with the aliens (if any) in the real life. This is not the first time he showed this concern. In the year 2010 as well, he mentioned something similar that if there exists any intelligent life outside our universe, they might not be as friendly as we expect them to be.

In the documentary titled Stephen Hawkings Favourite Places which is being streamed on CuriosityStream, he mentioned that One day, we might receive a signal from a planet like this (referring to planet known as Gliese 832c). But we should be wary of answering back. he further added, Meeting an advanced civilization could be like Native Americans encountering Columbus. That didnt turn out so well.

 YouTube

The planet Gliese 832c is located at some 16 light years from Earth, making it a potentially habitable planet. Hawking feels that there are chances of life in that planet and the people on Earth should be cautious of making any contact with them. On the other hand, some astronomers believe that Hawkings concern is unnecessary. The reason they feel is that Earth has been sending signals into the outer space since the past 100 hundred years already, so the aliens might have gained a lot of knowledge by now. Hence, things might not turn out to be that bad as it is being anticipated.

Check out the trailer of this documentary where Stephen Hawking pilots his space ship, the SS Hawking, and explores the black holes, the Big Bang, Saturn and returns back to Santa Barbara.

Source: The Mary Sue
Sex slavery is very real today, even though International Law says its illegal in every country of the world. In fact it is so real, that according to the Global Slavery Index, 45.8 million people are in some form of modern slavery in 167 countries, as of 2016. Just let that truth sink in. According to findings made by the report, 58% of those enslaved live in India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. This doesnt mean that the slate for other countries is clean. Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden and Belgium, the United States and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand fall into the category of lower estimated prevalence.

 The Conversation

Yes, the international law prohibits slavery. And yet, slavery is very, very existential. Were in the 21st centurythe digital age. And slavery is as prevalent as it was in the dark ages. Its just the medium that has changed now. Technologythe boon of our lives; thats what organisations like the ISIS and Boko Haram are using to facilitate the trade, no holds barred. In fact, the Islamic State has openly advocated the revival of sex slavery, without any fear whatsoever. We could debate over why they have no fear. But, there isnt much of a debate, really.

According to a Business Insider story published earlier this month, sex slavery is thriving on social media, courtesy of apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Threema, Surespot and even Facebook. Shocking? Im not done yet.

James Cockayne of The Conversation UK opened the lid on a thriving network of slave trade that operates through most of the major social networking apps. This report comes to light after Nadia Murad Basee Taha, an ISIS victim of trafficking, recounted her horrific experience, last December, following which the UN Security Council requested the Secretary-General to come up with a report on human trafficking in conflict areas. And the deeper you dig, the murkier it gets.

Young Nadia begged the UN Security Council to wipe out ISIS. But, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

According to Yazda, an international Yazidi non-profit organisation, an estimated 5,000 Yazidi women, children and men are being held captive in sex slavery by the ISIL. Group rape against innocent young girls have been reported, while minor girlsunder the ages of 12have been subjected to rape and forced marriage. On their website, the organization recalls the plea of a young woman in a desperate call for help over a telephone conversation: We have no choice. We have to accept what they tell us to do or we will die. Bomb us. We prefer death over being abused by the hands of these cold-blooded murderers, said another woman.

 Maya Alleruzzo

According to the UN Report, Yazidi women and girls over the age of nine are subjected to brutal sexual violence. Some were handcuffed behind their backs during the rapes while others had their hands and legs tied to the corners of the beds. Many women and girls reported being injured as a result of the rapes, suffering bleeding, cuts, and bruising.

[H]e raped me every day that I was with him... He told me that if I did not let him do this thing to me that he would bring four or five men and they would all take turns raping me. I had no choice. I wanted to die, says one of the women who were interviewed by the UN.

HOW THEY WORK?

In his story for Business Insider, James writes that the ISIS fighters used Telegram, a popular encrypted communications app to set up online slave auctions, photos of women were circulated, along with their age, location and price.

 AP

According to another horrifying story in the Washington Post, by Joby Wick, two ISIS captives were being auctioned for sale on Facebook, on 20th May 2016. Islamic State Fighter Abu Assad Almani, said to be a German national, put up a picture of a young woman on his Facebook profile, with the caption, She is for sale. The description read, To all the bros thinking about buying a slave, this one is $8,000. He uploaded a second post of another woman that Wick describes as having a pale young face with weepy red eyes. The post read, Another sabiyah (meaning slave), also about $8,000. Yay, or nay? These images were captured by the Middle East India Research Institute, a Washington nonprofit group, monitoring Jihadists social media accounts. Wick goes on to write that most ISIS-used social media sites have been increasingly used to perpetrate this form of trade.

 Express

James Cockayne writes in The Conversation UK that displaced female Syrian refugees had also been traded on WhatsApp. An article by The Guardian highlights that the agents would send pictures of their prospective catch by WhatsApp to the networks top echelons, earning $2,500 per woman if the deal went through.

As simple as uploading photo on Facebook and WhatsApp, asking Do you want to buy her? An e-commerce strategy for women in sex slavery; Facebook and WhatsApp marketing at its rudimentary best. Mark Zuckerberg, are you listening?
LANSING  The Huron County Road Commission was recognized for having one of the lowest employee injury rates among road commissions in the state.

Low injury rates just dont happen in our business, said Jim deSpelder, administrator of the County Road Association Self-Insurance Fund.
HURON COUNTYThe next meeting of the Huron County Chapter of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel (MARSP) will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the First Presbyterian Church in Bad Axe.

A donation will be collected for the baby pantry.
Caleres, Inc. engages in the retail and wholesale of footwear in the United States, Canada, China, and Guam. It operates through Famous Footwear and Brand Portfolio segments. The company offers licensed, branded, and private-label athletic, casual, and dress footwear products to women, men, and children. Its retail shoe stores provide brand name athletic, casual, and dress shoes, including Nike, Skechers, adidas, Vans, Converse, Crocs, Puma, Birkenstock, New Balance, Asics, New Balance, Under Armour, Bearpaw, Timberland, Sperry, and Dr. Martens, as well as company-owned and licensed brands, such as Dr. Scholl's Shoes, Blowfish Malibu, LifeStride, Naturalizer, Zodiac, Circus by Sam Edelman, Franco Sarto, and Ryka. The company also operates naturalizer.com, naturalizer.ca, vionicshoes.com, samedelman.com, allenedmonds.com, drschollsshoes.com, lifestride.com, francosarto.com, ryka.com, bzees.com, and zodiacshoes.com, as well as Vince.com, blowfishshoes.com, and veronicabeard.com websites. In addition, it designs, sources, manufactures, and markets footwear to retail stores, such as national chains, online retailers, department stores, mass merchandisers, independent retailers, and catalogs. Further, the company wholesales men's apparel, leather goods, and accessories under the Allen Edmonds brand; footwear for women under LifeStride brand; Italian footwear Franco Sarto brand; athletic footwear for women under the Ryka brand; women's shoe collection under the Vince brand; and women's footwear under the Bzees brand; other footwear under Zodiac brand; and women's footwear collection under Veronica Beard brand, as well as Via Spiga brand. It operates approximately 980 retail stores. The company was formerly known as Brown Shoe Company, Inc. Caleres, Inc. was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.
GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
China Mobile Limited provides mobile telecommunications and related services in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The company offers local calls; domestic and international long distance calls and roaming services; and value-added services, such as caller identity display, call waiting, conference calls, and others. It also provides wireless Internet service, as well as digital applications comprising music, video, reading, gaming, and animation; wireline broadband services; and wireline voice services. In addition, it offers dedicated line and IDC services to corporate customers in a range of industry sectors; and basic corporate communication products comprising corporate VPMN and SMS, and tailor made solutions. Further, the company provides international telecommunications services, which includes IDD, roaming, Internet, MNC, and value added business services. Additionally, it offers telecommunications network planning, design, and consulting services; roaming clearance, IT system operation, and technology support services; value-added platform development and maintenance services; mobile data, and system integration and development services; network construction and maintenance, network planning and optimizing, and training services; electronic communication products design and sale of related products; and non-banking financial services. It also provides mobile cloud research and development services; call center services; e-payment, e-commerce, and Internet finance services; and mobile Internet digital content services, as well as operates a network and business coordination center. The company serves 950 million mobile customers and 187 million wireline broadband customers. The company was formerly known as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and changed its name to China Mobile Limited in May 2006. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. China Mobile Limited is a subsidiary of China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited.
Nebraska: Gathering against the repeal...

LINCOLN, NE  The Republican Liberty Caucus of Nebraska met in Lincoln on Saturday for its biennial convention where it passed a resolution by voice vote declaring that the organization "opposes capital punishment by any method and calls on voters in Nebraska to vote to retain LB 268".





The resolution cited the recent study by conservative Creighton economist Dr. Ernie Goss which found capital punishment to cost $14.6 million more than life without parole annually. It also stated that "the execution of an innocent person constitutes one of the greatest possible abuses of government power."





Founded in 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus is a nationwide grassroots organization which promotes individual liberty and limited government within the Republican Party. It has chartered groups in many states, including Nebraska.





State Senator Laura Ebke of Crete, a past chair of the caucus and now a registered independent, said she understands the growing movement by conservatives of all party affiliation to oppose the death penalty.





The passage of this resolution reflects a growing segment of Nebraska Republicans who recognize that the broken death penalty system can't be fixed. Those of us who don't trust the government with our retirement savings or healthcare, certainly can't trust it to make life and death decisions with perfect fairness and accuracy," Ebke said.





Matt Maly, of Nebraska Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, also spoke Saturday in opposition to bringing back Nebraskas death penalty.





"The result of this vote doesn't surprise me. It was conservative legislators who lead the effort to get rid of this wasteful program and it's conservative voters who will keep it gone," Maly said.





Its obvious the closer we get to the November election, more and more Republicans and conservatives are deciding that the death penalty is a broken government program that we can do without. This overwhelming vote by a conservative group within the Republican Party sends the message that a growing number of Nebraska Republicans support what our conservative led legislature did and it's important that they get out and vote 'retain' on November 8th."





Retain a Just Nebraska is a public education campaign to urge the retention of LB 268, the Nebraska Legislatures vote to end the death penalty. Supporters include fiscal conservatives, law enforcement officials, faith leaders, murder victims families, and Nebraskans from all walks of life. It is a statewide coalition conducting public education on the smart alternative of life in prison without parole, which protects society without the many problems of our death penalty system. Source: Retain a Just Nebraska, September 25, 2016.is a public education campaign to urge the retention of LB 268, the Nebraska Legislatures vote to end the death penalty. Supporters include fiscal conservatives, law enforcement officials, faith leaders, murder victims families, and Nebraskans from all walks of life. It is a statewide coalition conducting public education on the smart alternative of life in prison without parole, which protects society without the many problems of our death penalty system.

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Selling execution drugs "is an expression of political views, no different than signing a referendum petition or selling a t-shirt," an anonymous pharmacy argues in a new court filing.





A pharmacy whose drugs have been used in 16 Missouri executions is arguing that its actions are political speech protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, and that its identity should remain secret.





Death row inmates in Mississippi subpoenaed information from the Missouri Department of Corrections - including about the drugs and supplier - months ago. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has attempted to have the subpoena quashed, but so far has been unsuccessful.





In the past 2 weeks, the supplier has spoken up for the 1st time, under the pseudonym "M7." In a motion filed late Friday night, M7 said its drug sales are political speech.





The "decision to provide lethal chemicals to the Department was based on M7's political views on the death penalty, and not based on economic reasons," M7 wrote in an affidavit.





Although the pharmacy argues its execution drug sales are not based on economic reasons, it has made considerable money in the process.





Missouri has paid M7 more than $125,000, all in cash, for execution drugs, according to documents obtained by BuzzFeed News. The amount they are paid per execution - $7,188.88 for 2 vials of pentobarbital - is well above market value, and experts have expressed concern that the cash deals could violate federal tax law.





"The fact that M7's expression of political views involves a commercial transaction does not diminish M7's First Amendment rights," the pharmacy's attorneys wrote in Friday's court filing.





Selling execution drugs "is an expression of political views, no different than signing a referendum petition or selling a t-shirt."





Although M7 repeatedly cites a Supreme Court case - Doe v. Reed - for the proposition that "compelled disclosure of signatory information on referendum [is] subject to First Amendment review," M7 does not mention the outcome in the 2010 case: The Supreme Court ruled that petition signers, in general, are not protected by the First Amendment against having their identity revealed under a state's public records law.





While the court was split on whether petition signers' names could ever be shielded from public scrutiny, a majority of the court appeared skeptical. The court, however, left the possibility open, with Chief Justice Roberts writing for the court, "[T]hose resisting disclosure can prevail under the First Amendment if they can show 'a reasonable probability that the compelled disclosure [of personal information] will subject them to threats, harassment, or reprisals from either Government officials or private parties.'"





It is that possibility that M7 uses to press its case for avoiding disclosure here.





Mississippi death row inmates have subpoenaed the Missouri execution drug information to help make their case against the Mississippi Department of Corrections in a challenge to its current execution protocol. In order to succeed, the inmates have to come up with a better method of execution. Their attorneys have subpoenaed information from several other states who have carried out executions recently.





M7's attorneys say the pharmacy will not sell execution drugs to Mississippi - and speculated that the subpoena would be "nothing more than a sham.":





"At issue in this matter is whether the discovery process can be used to find out the names of lethal chemical suppliers so that anti-death penalty activists may harass and boycott those suppliers in an effort to coerce them into not supplying lethal chemicals," the attorneys wrote.





M7 argues - using the Doe v. Reed case - that it is afraid of facing boycotts, harassment, and even threats if its identity were revealed. The pharmacy sought out the opinion of a "threat assessment expert" to lay out his opinion in their motion.





The expert, Lawrence Cunningham, has testified about the threats to execution drug suppliers in Texas and Ohio as well. BuzzFeed News recently revealed that Cunningham's marquee example - that the FBI investigated a serious bomb threat to a supplier - was false. Cunningham spoke to no compounding pharmacies as part of his research, and based much of his opinion on social media.





M7 appears to have copied, quite literally, the evidence from the Texas and Ohio cases in making its argument that disclosing the information is unsafe - although, this time, Cunningham made no mention made of the now-discredited alleged FBI investigation.





"[T]here is a significant and substantial threat of physical harm to the compounding company/pharmacy, delivery personnel and pharmacist, as well as others in the vicinity of the compounding company/pharmacy if the identity of the compounding company/pharmacy or pharmacist is publicly disclosed," Cunningham wrote in an declaration.





This is the 2nd time the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has heard the case. Originally the court declined to quash the subpoena, arguing much of the state's argument was speculation. But at the request of Missouri, the court agreed to rehear the case.





This past week, the M7 pharmacy also attempted to intervene in an open records lawsuit that has been ongoing for more than 2 years in Missouri by several First Amendment groups, media outlets, and this reporter.

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Source: buzzfeed.com, September 26, 2016
The former vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, who was awaiting court-martial on allegations of rape and adultery, was found dead Sunday at his home.

Col. Eugene Caughey, 46, assigned to Air Force Space Command staff at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, was to begin his court-martial Oct. 17 on charges of rape, assault, adultery and other lewd acts dating back to 2013.

The Colorado Springs Police Department is investigating the cause of his death, the Air Force said in a statement.

Sgt. Tim Stankey, a police department spokesman, told Military.com on Monday police were dispatched to investigate an apparent suicide. Stankey said police "do not suspect foul play at this time" but added that investigators will look to the coroner's office for the official cause of death.

The coroner's office said it could be four to six weeks before the findings of an autopsy are released.

Caughey's court-martial originally was set for August, but he was granted a continuance.

The 23-year veteran of the service was formally charged Dec.10 with rape and assault. He allegedly used "unlawful force" to hold the victim "against the wall and floor" while committing a sexual act sometime "in late 2014 or early 2015," according to his charge sheet.

The colonel also took photos of his genitals while in uniform, and committed six counts of adultery dating back to 2013, the documents say.

In June, Caughey's lawyers argued at preliminary hearings that the adultery charges should be removed because the Uniform Code of Military Justice is biased toward heterosexuals.

Maj. Keith Meister argued before Air Force judge Col. Wes Moore on behalf of Caughey that the UCMJ is outdated because it defines adultery to be between a man and a woman, and there are now same-sex couples serving in the military who wouldn't be subject to the same rules, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported at the time.

The prosecutors countered that there are other penalties same-sex spouses would be subject to, under Article 134 of the UCMJ.

Caughey could have faced up to 12 years in prison just for the six charges linked to adultery, the Gazette reported.

His civilian attorney, Ryan Coward, said Caughey was looking forward to his day in court and had been participating in his defense.

"I think this surprised everybody," Coward said, adding that his client had served honorably for 20 years. "This is just a very tragic event that occurred for him and his family."

Caughey's family had no comment, Coward said.

Caughey joined the Air Force in 1993. He said he survived the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on the Pentagon, according to a story on the Schriever AFB website.

"I was a captain inside the Pentagon that morning when a plane crashed into the west side of the building," Caughey wrote.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
Despite Flipping in Surf 4 Times in a Year, Marines Say New ACV Is the Future of Amphibious Warfare

Some Marine veterans familiar with the vehicle and its operations have worried about the reliability of the ACV.
Retired Army Col. David Dodd served more than 27 years in the military, including two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. He serves as the director of operations at Shields of Strength, and on the Board of Directors ofPoint 27 outreach to veterans, military families, first responders, athletes and the chronically ill.

Voting is a civic responsibility for all Americans, and I believe every member of the armed forces and every veteran should consider voting to be a personal duty.

The oath we took when entering the military said, in part, "I  will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same."

Voting is an act of supporting the Constitution, and it is a means for service members and veterans to perform their duty.

In the same oath, we pledged to obey the orders of the president of the United States. As the commander in chief, the president has the authority to commit U.S. forces to combat operations.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and military families have a personal stake in the competence, judgment and character of the commander in chief, and voting is the proper vehicle to voice their opinion and choice for civilian leadership.

What's at Stake

Selecting a commander in chief has far-reaching implications for troops, including rules of engagement, funding for military benefits, disposition of captured terrorists, characterization of terrorist attacks against military personnel, treatment of deserters, and personnel policies. It also includes roles for women in combat, homosexual and transgender policies, and more.

It is the commander in chief who nominates the secretary of defense, the secretaries of the military services, and other political appointees. It is through these appointees that the commander in chief's policies are implemented across the Department of Defense.

Just as important are the commander in chief's selections for other key government agencies, including the State Department, CIA, FBI, NSA, Supreme Court and Department of Veterans Affairs. Each of these organizations deeply and directly impacts the lives of troops and military families.

Federal, State, Local Elections

In addition to voting for a presidential candidate this November, 33 senators, 435 congressmen, plus state and local officials will be on the ballot. Each of these officials will have an impact on troops and their families.

Congress will approve the defense budget and VA funding. State and local officials govern schools, first responders and tax issues that directly impact military families.

Military personnel have a responsibility to make informed decisions when selecting men and women for public office.

Be an Informed Voter

John F. Kennedy said, "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all."

The Army defines duty as, "Accept responsibility for your own actions and those entrusted to your care."

Prior to voting, troops should educate themselves on the issues and the candidates. One valuable resource is GovTrack, a web-based tool that allows one to quickly see how incumbent congressmen and senators vote on issues such as VA funding, defense funding, funding for foreign aid, removal of sanctions against hostile governments, etc.

Register to Vote. It's Easy

In order to vote, service members must register. It's a very easy process. Simply complete the Federal Post Card Application using the FPCA online assistant, or pick up a hard-copy version from your Voting Assistance Officer or nearest U.S. Embassy or consular office.

Double-check that your contact information is accurate in case your election office needs to reach you.

'A Vote Is Like a Rifle'

Theodore Roosevelt said, "A vote is like a rifle: Its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."

Members of the armed forces have exceptional character, and they adhere to time-honored codes of conduct and values, including duty, honor, integrity, loyalty, personal courage, respect and selfless service.

As we approach Election Day, it is essential for troops, veterans and their families to register to vote; become informed about their local, state and federal candidates; and educate their friends and family.

We all swore to support and defend the Constitution, and our oath has no expiration date. Do your duty and vote.

-- If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
Blog Hinangai

While there is much discussion in Guam about the economic benefits of increasing the islands military presence, the damages/dangers that they represent are rarely mentioned. This blog, a supplement to the Peace and Justice for Guam Petition, is meant to counter that by providing information about the US military in Guam, with the hopes of steering policy away from a dangerous unilateralist course to more sustainable notions of regional development and a strengthening international solidarity.
Many Michiganders can relate to scenes of summer camp: The smell of crisp pine, the uncomfortable bunk beds held within rows of log cabins - and the elementary-grade social strata that one must awkwardly navigate for seven hot summer days.

"Camp Manna," a feature-length film featured as the last installment of this years' ArtPrize: OnScreen, is familiar to many, a throwback to the summer camps of yesteryear.

Co-directors and Grand Rapids natives Eric Scott Johnson and Eric Machiela have been working together for a few years to concept, write and produce the film, which was handled by their joint production company, GRLA.

"It's a funny story," said co-director Eric Johnson. "It's silly, but it has a lot of heart."

The film dives into a week spent at a Christian summer camp, which is turned upside down by a new camper, Ian (played by Luke Michael Klein), who arrives and does not want to be there. Faced with spending a week at a confusing, obscure religious camp run by a slightly off-his-rocker Vietnam vet who goes by Cujo (played by Gary Busey), Ian must figure out his place, navigating the trials of trustworthiness and friendship to work toward the ultimate goal of the week: Competing in the "God Games," an Olympic-style event that is the crowning glory of the camp.

"With many successful indies, they happen in worlds that are timeless," said Johnson. "Camps are like that. They exist outside of modernity. A camp is its own ecosystem, and that allowed us to produce the film really effectively."

"Camp Manna" was filmed in Northern Michigan near Traverse City at a YMCA camp. During filming, the cast and crew stayed at the camp, allowing for everyone working on the movie to bond and really get into the feeling of a summer camp.

"We were motivated to film (in Northern Michigan) considering that this area had been very influential in concepting this idea," said Johnson. "Camp is a really great moment for people."

Being from Grand Rapids, both of the directors had their share of summer camp stories from growing up and wanted to translate that into a film that is lighthearted and pokes fun at the quirks that teenagers, religious and summer camps have.

Johnson and Machiela developed the story from a collection of their own childhood experiences, allowing them to take a closer look at something from a campers' perspective.

"It's a satire about a boy who ends up at a religious camp sort of on accident," said Johnson. "He finds himself in the environment where he finds himself uncomfortable, like a fish out of water. We love the idea of watching a character journey through that. It allows us to satirize something we grew up with."

The directors have a relationship with Christian Gaines, executive director of ArtPrize, and were invited to participate in OnScreen.

"It's a really awesome collaboration between ArtPrize, Celebration Cinemas and us," said Johnson. "We hope that represents the future of what's possible in indie film."

The movie has yet to make its formal debut, but Johnson said ArtPrize was a good place to start.

The Saturday night screening of "Camp Manna" was the first time anyone saw the film in full. Johnson said it was largely meant as a cast and crew screening, as many of the cast and crew members are from Michigan.

"It's really important to keep the community involved," said Johnson. "We really wanted to have a way to say thank you, it's a big deal. We feel really thankful."

There is no premiere date set yet for "Camp Manna."
assembly line.jpg

(File)

DETROIT- Unifor members working at General Motors plants in Canada are getting general wage increases totaling 4 percent over four years and $6,000 signing bonuses as part of a new contract, ratified Sunday.

Members of the Canadian union voted 64.7 percent in favor of the contract.

GM led negotiations with Unifor, which has 23,050 workers the Detroit Three automakers.

Heading into the talks, Unifor had particular concerns with GM, as the Detroit automaker plans to phase out products at its plant in Oshawa. But the contract reached with the automaker calls for C$554 million (about $421 million) in new investment at the facility, which is about 40 miles east of Toronto.

With the investment, Oshawa will be transitioned to a plant the builds both cars and trucks, making it the only of its kind in North America for GM, according to Unifor. Unifor has not said publicly which products will be built at the site going forward, but multiple reports have said the plant will get unfinished Chevrolet Silverados for final assembly.

About 2,600 workers currently build the Chevrolet Impala, Equinox, Buick Regal and Cadillac XT5 on a flex line at the Oshawa site. The facility lost production of the Chevrolet Camaro last year as the pony car's assembly was shifted to GM's Lansing Grand River Plant.

There will also be volume shifting from Mexico to GM's plant in St. Catharines, and improvements at GM's parts distribution center in Woodstock. About 700 temporary jobs will converted to full-time positions with benefits.

"The gains made in this agreement are historic and more than what has been achieved in the past ten years," Unifor president Jerry Dias said in a statement. "Unifor has shown what is possible when workers have a union, and a united bargaining committee to speak on their behalf."

With the GM contract ratified, Unifor on Monday begins negotiations with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Ford Motor Co. is to follow.
While this may sound outrageous, this tactic appears to be the modus operandi for those who wish to turn peaceful protests into destructive riots.As Zero Hedge reports, as shocking as this statement is, it should not be a total surprise. 18 months ago, as the riots flared in Ferguson, there was one man pulling the strings of this domestic false flag George Soros. In an apparent effort to keep the medias attention on the city and to widen the scope of the incident to focus on interrelated causes  not just the overpolicing and racial discrimination narratives that were highlighted by the news media in August, liberal billionaire George Soros donated $33million to social justice organizations which helped turn events in Ferguson from a local protest into a national flashpoint.We know, this sounds outrageous. However, consider the following.As the Free Thought Project has continued to report, memos and documents published by DCLeaks continue shedding light on billionaire globalist George Soros and his progressive organization, Open Society Foundations (OSF). Due to their poor digital curation, however, the leaks are hard to comb through which is leading to the information slowly trickling out. The latest of the documents, however, reveals the billionaires attempt to organize a national movement to create a federalized police force.The document shows that OSF saw the killings of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, and Freddie Gray as an opportunity to implement this mission of federal police guidelines. OSF, according to the documents, then held a meeting titled, Police Reform: How to Take Advantage of the Crisis of the Moment and Drive Long-Term Institutional Change in Police-Community Practice.The memo further documents that Soros-financed groups and personalities influenced a Task Force on 21st Century Policing, created by President Obama. Last may, the task force released a final report consisting of 60 recommendations recommending protocol to local departments on how to modify policing practices.The information is from a 61-page report of an Open Society U.S. Programs Board Meeting that took place in New York City in May of last year.Read more at Who's Behind the Charlotte Riots? Police Say 70% of Arrests are from Out of State Being Bussed In*
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - For visitors like Deena Maki, the Downtown Market at 435 Ionia Ave. SW is a fun collection of food vendors and restaurants with a gourmet ambience and a trendy urban vibe.

'We like to come here to eat because of all of the variety," said Maki, who stopped by to buy gourmet popcorn with her son and his girlfriend on Friday, Sep. 23. "It's kind of like a glorified food court in a very good place."

Maki's son, Liam Regan, said he appreciates the high quality of the market's fare, which emphasizes locally-grown food sold by local merchants.

Three years after it opened, President and CEO Mimi Fritz says she's happy to have that image locked in for the $30 million development designed to reshape the south end of downtown Grand Rapids.

Fritz shrugs off as growing pains several high-profile closings inside the market hall and the slow arrival of key restaurant tenants.

"The Market Hall is only one-fifth of what we do," says Fritz, who was hired four years ago after serving as marketing director for Downtown Holland and its outdoor farmers market.

Fritz says most of her day involves developing other aspects of the market to fulfill its mission of becoming the region's destination for all things related to food.

That involves running an incubator kitchen that helps startup food companies prepare their delicacies or drinks for sale to the general public. Fritz says the kitchens, which are available on a 24-hour-a-day basis, are being used at about 60 percent of their capacity.

The Downtown Market also hosts several series of cooking and baking classes aimed at kids, teenagers and adults with aspirations of becoming gourmet chefs.

Fritz' staff of 40 full-time and part-time employees also rent out the second- floor banquet facilities for events such as weddings and corporate events. In the past year, the market scheduled about 400 events and meetings, including 65 weddings, Fritz said.

The market is owned by a nonprofit corporation formed by Grand Action, a coalition of community leaders that also spearheaded the construction of the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place convention center.

Downtown Market was built with $15 million in public grants, $12 million in private funding and a $3 million loan from the state. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board recently gave the market another year to begin paying on the principal of the state loan, designed to help the project get underway.

While the market keeps its books closed to the public, Fritz said they are sustainable and meeting expectations with half a million guests annually. Sales per square foot are up about 15 percent over the market's first year, she said.

Nonetheless, the Downtown Market has had its hiccups, with several early vendors closing their shops and kiosks.

The outdoor farmer's market, which originally was open on Saturdays and Tuesday evenings, has been abandoned. The outdoor market pavilion now plays host to monthly vintage street markets and other holiday-related events.

Other closures include Simpatico, a Holland coffee brewer, Penelope's Creperie, which made fresh crepes, and the market's original produce vendor.

The most notable closure came last December, when Montello Meats announced it was closing its fresh meat counter. As one of the market's anchor tenants, the meat counter and its meat locker have been vacant since January.

Jeff Butzow, the neighboring fishmonger at Fish Lads, is taking over the meat counter and meat locker. As of Friday, Butzow's new store, Carver's, had stocked one of the meat coolers with fresh cuts of beef, pork and chicken.

Linda Hundt, owner of the Sweetie-licious Bakery and Cafe, said she has been pleased with the sales from her spot at the front of the market, across the way from the recently opened Social Kitchen and Bar.

"It think it's been a great three years," said Hundt, who started her bakery in DeWitt and also has moved into a storefront in East Grand Rapids' Gaslight Village. "The first year was a struggle. But when you have a restaurant, that's the way it is."

John Green, chairman of the Downtown Market's board of directors and a senior vice president of Founders Brewing Co., said the market's governing board considered the first three years a success.

"From a business perspective, our largest success is that we have been able to operate a financially sustainable organization," said Green. "With a facility as complicated as the Downtown Market, that is no easy task.

"While the Downtown Market cannot be everything to everybody, we are quite proud of how adaptable and responsive we have been, particularly in the areas of education programming, incubator kitchen programming, and tenant growth and expansion."
Wouldn't you love to see your charitable donation grow from $100 to $10,000?

A group of women living and working in the greater Grand Rapids area are making that happy, and on Sept. 1, were able to present a gift of $13,200 to the Family Network of Wyoming to provide durable medical equipment to clients.

Women Who Care of Kent County, with a membership of 132 women, chose FNW as the recipient of their funds, generated by their personal donations of $100 each. Using the model of 100 Most Influential Women, members each submit the name of a non-profit agency they would like to fund. Three names are drawn and the nominating member makes a presentation. A committee then selects the recipient. Presentations are made four times a year.

Jessica Lehti, who lives and works in Hudsonville, is a member of Women Who Care.Her husband was in a serious accident, leaving him paralyzed.

"We had the means to get the equipment to help him progress," said Lehti, a financial advisor with Edward Jones. "Through our experience, I realized not everyone had those resources." When she learned that FNW had a program to loan wheel chairs and other medical equipment, she nominated the agency to receive funds.

Some other projects who have received a donation from Women Who Care include the Godfrey-Lee Eeducation Foundation outdoor program; In the Image school shoes for children project; and the purchase of violins for Grand Rapids Public Schools music programs.

FNW Director Dale Eschavaria said the agency's medical equipment division, which includes wheel chairs (including power chairs), crutches, walkers, shower benches, toilet aids, knee scooters and even hospital beds is "Wyoming's best kept secret."

About 3,200 have received medical equipment. Eschavaria said the medical equipment is donated to FNW, then cleaned and repaired to be passed on to others who are waiting for insurance claims to be processed, or who have no insurance, or who cannot afford co-pays or maintenance costs. Power wheelchairs often come in with dead batteries or parts missing.

Eschavaria said they are expensive to repair. "A new battery could cost as much as the chair," he said. The money from Women Who Care will be used for batteries, repairs, parts, and special fixtures for power chairs. Surplus supplies may be given to area ministries for delivery overseas.

For Morgan Ziemba, 6, of northwest Grand Rapids, the gift of a power wheelchair from FNW has made a big difference in her mobility. Though she can walk with the support of braces on her legs, she can manage only short distances. Her parents, Shari and Phil Ziemba, said the power chair will help her navigate long distances at her school, CA Frost Academy.

For information about Family Network of Wyoming, call 895-9919; or visit www.familynow.us.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Mayor Christopher Taylor says he welcomes DTE Energy's interest in redeveloping a prime riverfront property in Ann Arbor, possibly incorporating a new Amtrak station on Depot Street.

But as it stands now, no decision has been made on whether Depot Street will be the location for a new train station to replace the existing one.

Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor.

A site in Fuller Park in front of the University of Michigan Hospital remains one of the options in the running.

"Our common goal is to bring expanded Amtrak service to Ann Arbor, to bring new commuter rail service to Ann Arbor. We should site the train station at the location that best achieves these ends," Taylor said in a statement.

"If that location proves to be on Depot Street, then I would very much look forward to working with DTE to integrate the station into their plans."

Taylor said he's delighted by, and very much appreciates, DTE's interest in improving its property along the Huron River.

City Council Member Jane Lumm, an independent from the 2nd Ward, said she, too, thinks the possibilities for cleanup and redevelopment of the riverfront property are exciting opportunities to explore with DTE.

DTE spokeswoman Randi Berris confirmed on Friday that DTE still has big plans for a mixed-use redevelopment of the old MichCon property at 841 Broadway St., and the company sees potential for synergy with a new train station.

DTE has been working with a private developer and architect to come up with plans for a development including a riverfront restaurant, hotel, office space and significant green space open to the public.

"Our goal is to develop a very special mixed-use development that benefits the community and takes advantage of the riverfront location," Berris said.

"Incorporating a new train station could be an important part of that. And we really hope a decision on the rail station will be made as quickly as possible."

The city is inviting members of the public to give feedback on remaining options for a new Amtrak station at two meetings Monday, Sept. 26, at the downtown Ann Arbor library, 343 S. 5th Ave.

One session runs from 4-5:30 p.m. with a presentation at 4:30 p.m. and the other runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. with a presentation at 7 p.m. Both sessions will take place in the lower-level multipurpose room.

After those meetings, the city will be working to prepare a report that will go to the Federal Railroad Administration, identifying a preferred option. The city is hoping to get the FRA to sign off on a preferred option yet this fall.

Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
YPSILANTI, MI - Students were evacuated from several residence halls on Eastern Michigan University's campus after a mattress caught fire on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 26, university spokesman Geoff Larcom confirmed.

Firefighter were called about 2:45 p.m. Monday to the Putnam Hall, 199 Putnam-Phelps, for the fire, which Larcom said appeared to be caused by a curling iron left on a mattress.

The fire was quickly doused, Larcom said. The extent of damage to the dormitory was not immediately clear.

The fire was contained to the single room, although smoke alarms sounded at Putnam, Walton, Phelps, and Sellers halls, according to an email sent to EMU students and employees by EMU Vice President for Communications Walter Kraft.

No one was injured, but two students and three police officers were checked for smoke inhalation as a precaution, according to the email.

Students will be allowed to reenter the buildings after additional smoke is cleared, according to the email.

Firefighters remained on scene and students remained outside of Putnam about 3:30 p.m. Residents were allowed back into the neighboring Walton Hall at about 3:45 p.m.
Milan_Bakery.JPG

Milan Bakery and Diner (1035 Dexter St., Milan) had the most violations in the August Ann Arbor area restaurant inspection report with 21 total violations, five of which were priority violations.

(file photo | Ann Arbor News)

The Washtenaw County Public Health Department's restaurant inspections for August, 2016 are in. Of the 203 restaurants and food service facilities inspected in August, 37 had two or more priority violations, which are the most serious violations that are most likely to lead to food-borne illness.

Fifteen restaurants this month had three or more priority violations, six restaurants had four or more, and three restaurants had five priority violations.

This month, 112 restaurants had zero priority violations, and 25 restaurants and institutions had no violations at all: Brecon Village Country Store, Brewed Awakenings, Cafe Calvary Bible Church, Earthen Jar & Simple Pleasures, Forest Health Medical Center, Gabriel's Hoagie Shop (Ypsilanti), Glass House Brewing, Hello Faz Pizza, Hustling Hoagies LLC (Mobile), Iorio's LLC, Jet's Pizza (E. Michigan Ave., Saline), Little Caesar's Pizza Treat (W. Stadium), Paesanos, Shinola Cafe, St. Andrew Catholic Church, St. Mary's Church, St. Mary's Parish Center, Starbucks (Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.), Star's Cafe, Subway (Milan), Tasty Green Cafe, Waters Kitchen, Wendy's (Plymouth Rd.), Zion Lutheran Church, Zou Zou's.

Below is a searchable table of August 2016 inspection results. You can search by restaurant name or city, or you can click the search button without selecting either restaurant name or city to get a list of all results. Each of the columns in the table is sortable by clicking on the column header.

You can follow this link to search the Washtenaw County Public Health Department's restaurant inspection reports to see specific details about the violations noted by the inspectors. A description of the different types of violations can be found at the end of this post.

Here are excerpts from the August restaurant inspection reports, with a focus on the restaurants with the largest number of priority violations:

Love At First Bite DBA Milan Bakery (1035 Dexter St., Milan) had 5 priority violations and 21 total violations, the most of any restaurant in the August inspections.

Chlorine sanitizer concentration in dish machine at 0-10 ppm. Chlorine sanitizer concentration in wiping cloth bucket at front wait staff area at 0ppm. Chlorine sanitizer solution must be at 50ppm for proper sanitization of food contact surfaces. Dish machine is ordered out of service until it can be shown to dispense the proper sanitizer concentration. To correct, repair dish machine so that it dispenses chlorine sanitizer at 50ppm. PIC had dishwasher wash dishes in 3-compartment sink in the meantime. Food employee corrected sanitizer concentration in wiping cloth bucket by re-mixing solution to 50ppm.

Par-cooked hash browns being kept in hotel pan on grill that has not be turned on. Hash browns at 117f. Potentially hazardous foods held hot must be kept at 135f or above to minimize potential for bacterial growth. PIC corrected by discarding hash browns. Diced ham on top rail of kitchen prep unit found at 60f. Diced ham was kept on top of top rail well. Potentially hazardous foods must be placed into the top rail well in order to maintain temperature. PIC corrected by discarding diced ham. Prep unit near the large staff wait station broke down 2 days ago. No foods located in reach in cooler of this unit. Foods located on top rail of this unit at today's inspection. Ice has been placed on top rail to keep foods cold. Potentially hazardous foods found out of temperature such as: whipped butter - 68f cottage cheese - 47f sour cream - 46f house made ranch - 49f par-cooked bacon - 59f cut lettuce - 49f cut tomatoes - 49f. PIC corrected by discarding these foods. Potentially hazardous foods must be kept at 41f or below to minimize potential for bacterial growth. Ice is not a reliable medium for keeping potentially hazardous foods at 41f or below. This unit is ordered out of service for holding potentially hazardous foods until it can be shown to hold foods at 41f or below.

Containers of sausage gravy and brown gravy found on grill top with temperatures observed between 108-132f. Per PIC, these are being reheated prior to placing on steam table, but sausage gravy has already been served to some customers. Potentially hazardous foods must be reheated to 165f prior to serving. PIC corrected by reheating these gravies to 165f.

Container of sabra hummus found in sandwich prep unit at bakery counter with a best by date of 7/25/16. Foods must be discarded by their expiration date. PIC corrected by discarding hummus.

Majestic bleach is being used as a sanitizer in the wiping cloth buckets and 3-compartment sink. This beach does not have an EPA reg. Number and is not approved for use in a food service establishment. To correct, remove majestic bleach from facility and obtain bleach that is approved for use in a food service establishment.

Leo's Coney Island (6889 State St., Saline) had five priority violations and 16 total violations in the August report.

Found ready to eat (RTE), time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, several cups and bowls of rice pudding passed its 7 day datemark. PIC corrected by having employee discard rice pudding and has been instructed to monitor and ensure items passed it's 7 day datemark are discarded.

Found a plastic tube connected to the spout of the fill faucet on the left and right steam table below the flood rim of the steam table. PIC corrected by removing and discarding plastic tubes and has been instructed to maintain air gaps.

Found time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, 2 large containers of lemon rice soup 53 f (made previous night), not cooled properly. PIC corrected by discarding soup, and has been instructed to monitor and ensure hot TCS food is cooled properly

Observed dishwasher wearing gloves handle soiled dishes, load dishwashing machine, and using same gloves handle clean dishes. Employee corrected by removing gloves, place clean dishes handled with soiled gloves back into the soiled dishes area, removed soiled gloves, wash hands, and then handled clean dishes with clean hands. PIC has been instructed to monitor and ensure dishwashers handle clean dishes with clean hands or clean gloves, and to change gloves when task change.

Found time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, liquid egg 49 f, garlic sauce 49 f, in the 2 door under the counter cooler. PIC temporarily corrected by discarding TCS food above 41 f, and has been instructed not to use cooler until repaired/replaced to hold TCS food at 41 f.

Abe's Coney Island Restaurant (402 W. MIchigan Ave., Ypsilanti) had eight total violations in the August report. Five of those were priority violations.

PIC indicates cleaning/sanitizing of shake machine to be with hot water and vinegar. This is an improper method of cleaning and sanitizing this unit in place. Equipment food contact surfaces must be sanitized before use after cleaning. To correct, follow manufacturers instructions for cleaning/sanitizing from manufacturer's website. Correct by 8/26/16. (8/30:

Parcooked bacon found in wic at 56f. Parcooked from previous night, time uncertain. Parcooked bacon requires proper cooling to 70f in 2 hrs, and 41f in an additional 4 hrs per 3-501.14 immediately after parcooking. Parcooked bacon immediately after initial heating must be cooled according to time and temperature parameters specified for cooked potentially hazardous food under 3-501.14. Corrected by discarding bacon.

Parcooked bacon found at 115-120f in trough off grill being held in temperature danger zone, awaiting further cooking. Bacon was cooked to proper temp. Within 15 min. Parcooked bacon was not labeled as such. After initial heating, prior to cooking to proper temperature, must be labeled as parcooked. Once parcooked, do not leave sitting in trough in the temperature danger zone, and employ proper cooling as indicated above. To correct, follow above procedures. Correct by 8/26/2016. (8/30:

Cough syrup found stored on shelf with food. Discontinue this practice to avoid potential for contamination of food. Corrected by discarding.

The condensate drain line for the wic has fallen from its clamp, down into the receiving sewer receptacle. The spray rinse arm has loosened from clamp and hangs below top rim of drain table. The spray rinse arm and drain line require air gaps to minimize potential for back siphonage. To correct, resecure and tighten clamp to provide air gap. Ice machine is leaking onto floor causing ponding and damage to floor surface/coving. Pepsi cooler condensate line leaking into bucket that was close to overflowing. To correct, repair leak by 11/16/16. (8/30:

McDonald's Restaurant (2675 Plymouth Rd.) had four priority violations, and 12 total violations in the August report.

Found time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, wrapped burritos 53 f in stacked containers in the 2-door worktop cooler, not cooled to 41 f within 4 hours. PIC states burritos were wrapped this morning, and corrected by discarding all burritos. PIC has been instructed to monitor and ensure burritos are cooled properly and not stacked.

Found heavy accumulation in the pop nozzles in the self service pop machine. To correct follow manufacturer's directions and clean pop nozzles and clean on a more frequent schedule. Found pieces of muffin residual stuck on the side panels of the muffin display case in the front counter. To correct clean muffin case, and clean when soiled or at least daily.

Use a chlorine test kit and found little to no sanitizer in all of sanitizing buckets, which are used to wipe food contact surfaces. PIC corrected by having employee make fresh sanitizing solutions of about 100 ppm of chlorine in all sanitizing buckets. PIC has been instructed to monitor and ensure proper sanitizing concentration is maintained at all times. Used a chlorine test kit and found dishwashing machine not chlorine sanitizing dishes, later found dishwashing machine control set to hot water sanitizing, but this dishwashing machine is setup and designed to chemical sanitize dishes only. In addition, found the control panel on the dishwashing machine opened and someone had set dishwashing machine to hot water sanitize. PIC states he does not know who set dishwashing machine to hot water sanitizing. PIC corrected by resetting panel to chemical sanitize, and then found dishwashing machine chemical sanitizing dishes. Management has been instructed to monitor and ensure dishwashing machine is set to operate as designed and to lock control panel to prevent staff from tampering with dishwashing machine.

Found time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, a tray of corn and bean mix in the cold hold rail which was not turned on, and on time control with a discard time of several days, exceeding 4 hours. PIC corrected by discarding corn and bean mix, replaced corn and bean mix, and placed a time control mark of 4 hours on container.

McDonald's Restaurant (1070 Huron River Dr., Ypsilanti) had four priority and 10 total violations in August.

Found ready to eat (RTE), food, an opened package of pickles stored on the bottom shelf next to raw shell eggs and bacon. Pic corrected by relocating pickles on shelf above raw animal meats.

Found time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, a canister of whipping cream 53 fin a single use cup, that was inserted in top holder, which had a missing canister holder. PIC temporarily corrected by discarding whipping cream, and has been instructed to keep whipping cream in cooler until canister holder has been replaced and can keep whipping cream at 41 f. This is not a repeated cold hold violation.

Found spray bottles of cleaning chemicals hanging above condiments in the front counter area, and on prep table next to happy meal bags each filled with toy. Employee corrected by placing spray bottles of chemicals in chemical storage area away from food and food utensils.

Found time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food on time control, shredded cheese and lettuce on the prep table without time control marks. PIC corrected by discarding cheese and lettuce, restocked supplies and provided time marks. PIC has been instructed to monitor and ensure tcs food on time control are marked to indicate when the food is removed from temperature control (not to exceed 4 hours).

Panchero's Mexican Grill (1208 S. University) had four priority violations and a total of 9 violations in August.

At the cash register, observed an employee donning and doffing the same pair of single service gloves several times during the inspection. Corrected during the inspection by discarding the used pair of gloves and educating the employee. Item corrected. This item will be checked during followup

At the in use manual dishwashing sink observed the residual quat sanitizer concentration of the final rinse at 0 ppm. The facility uses a Venturi metered dispensing system. The sanitizer reservoir is empty. Pic corrected by installing a new sanitizer reservoir. Item corrected. ************************risk control plan needed********************************* this violation was observed during the last inspection. Therefore, a risk control plan needs to be developed and submitted to the health department for approval. A copy of risk control form was provided during the inspection. Please complete and submit within 30 days. Thank you.

Improper cold holding inside the prep top cooler at the make line observed the following temperature/food combinations (degrees f): guacamole 48 sour cream 50 cheese 55 salsa (fresh) 49 these items have been in the unit since opening, have not been recently prepped, and should have been at the proper cold holding temperature. It appears the top portion of the cooler is not being operated as designed. The containers are overfull and the unit cover is not in place. Pic corrected by discarding the affected foods in the trash. The unit shall be operated as designed or replaced with a proper piece of equipment. This item will be checked during followup.

On several occasions observed two different employees not wash their hands as outlined above. Including: 1. After operating the cash register 2. After handling raw animal proteins 3. After using cleaning rags 4. Before donning gloves item temporarily corrected by reeducating the staff. This item will be checked during followup.

Where can I see the inspection results?

Washtenaw County posts links to all inspection reports for restaurants, University of Michigan foodservice establishments and facilities inspected by the State of Michigan, such as grocery stores, food processing plants and convenience stores.

Click here for access to all Washtenaw County food service inspections!

What do the violations in the reports mean?

Washtenaw County Public Health's Environmental Health Division is responsible for inspecting all food service establishment operations in Washtenaw County. These food service establishments are regulated under the State of Michigan's Food Law and Michigan Modified Food Code.

* Priority violations are the most serious. Correcting these eliminates or reduces a problem directly associated with foodborne illness. Examples include improper food temperatures and lack of hand washing.

* Priority foundation violations are problems that can lead to a priority violation. Correcting these problems may keep priority violations from occurring. Examples include not having an appropriate food thermometer, not having sanitizer test strips and not having soap or paper towel at a hand sink.

* Core violations are related to general sanitation and facility maintenance. Examples include dirty floors and improper facility lighting.

Priority and priority foundation violations must be corrected immediately at the time of inspection or within 10 days. Core violations must be corrected within 90 days of the inspection.

How frequent are inspections?

Routine inspections take place twice per year (or once per year if the business is only open seasonally). Routine inspections are typically unannounced. Each inspection is a snapshot in time, and conditions found at the restaurant are not necessarily the conditions that could be found in the restaurant at other times. Sanitarians (otherwise known as health inspectors) ask many questions about the menu, operations and procedures to get the best possible idea of the day-to-day conditions of the restaurant. Environmental Health conducts additional inspections if a foodborne illness or other complaint is reported.

What if I have a complaint?

Environmental Health responds to general restaurant complaints as well as foodborne illness complaints. Please call our office at 734-222-3800 to file a complaint or to report a suspected foodborne illness.

Washtenaw County Public Health promotes health and works to prevent disease and injury in our community. Visit us online at http://publichealth.ewashtenaw.org.
FOCUS ON DEFENSE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA
Russia is preparing to renew flight testing of a high-power flying laser designed to operate as an anti-satellite weapon, the Tass news agency reported. Mounted on a modified Ilyushin Il-76MD-90E transport plane the airborne laser laboratory aircraft flew for its first test mission in August 19, 1981. Two aircraft were modified and equipped for the tests that ceased following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2009 the project was revived as the A-60SE, mounting the original 1LK222 laser. This laser weapon will likely be used to dazzle adversary satellites or burning through sensitive optics and sensors using intensive enery laser bursts. With an effective range of 1,500 km (930 miles) such a laser can target reconnaissance satellites orbiting at low earth orbit (LEO). The effect on target range to temporarily disrupt to disabling adversary reconnaissance or missile warning satellites. Some sources claim the program also aims to develope a more powerful laser, that will be able to defeat aircraft and missiles.

The program discontinued in 2011 due to lack of funding but has apparently regained interest among Moscows strategists as it is considered as an asymmetrical response to looming space-based threats. Platforms suggested for the operational systems may be the original, refurbished A-60SE, newer Ilyushin-476 platforms, or the prospective strategic bomber PAK-DA.

The Russian laser weapon is not equivalent to the American anti-ballistic laser (ABL) developed and tested in the early 2000s. The United States developed a much more powerful chemical laser designated YAL-1. It was designed as an anti-missile proof of concept. YAL-1 demonstrated such capabilities in 2010, but the results were incolclusive and the project was scraped in 2011. According to some media sources the Russians could be considering a similar high power chemical laser for the Sokol Eshelon (Falcon-Eshelon) program, developed by Voronezh-based Khimprom-Avtomatika corporation.

The Russians designed their flying laser with more modest ambitions  to dazzle or burn reconnaissance satellites in low-earth orbit. The first Russian high-power laser weapon was developed in 1977 by the Institute of Atomic Energy, Kurchatov under the Falcon-Eshelon program in the days of the Soviet Union. It was assembled on an IL76MD-90E transport plane designated Beriev A-60. This one of a kind aircraft received extensive modifications that included an extended nose section that mounted the targeting LIDAR laser beam director. The Megawatt class CO2 laser used a different assembly, lasing through a large retractable dorsal turret. This laser was developped especially for this flying lab, Other visible modifications include two large nacelles, installed along the lower fuselage  One housed the turbo generators used to power the laser, and another replaced the chin cabin, housing the targeting lidars APU. Two A-60 aircraft were built and used in the classified flight testing program that lasted through 1993 when the program was terminated.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the Falcon-Eshelon research program moved under the Almaz Antey concern, which continued to work on the laser program, alsthough without an airborne platform, all activities were limited to ground based tests. These activities were part of its strategic air defense systems.
The French Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry is taking a delegation of local firms to France next month, and is planning to a hold a French fair in Yangon later this year as part of efforts to boost trade relations between the two nations.





The aim of the trade mission is to help Myanmar companies link up with buyers, suppliers and partners in Europe, according to officials from the chamber.

Commercial relations between the two countries are developing and it will continue to be so in the future, said Guillaume Rebiere, executive director of CCI France Myanmar. We are not only here to help French companies invest in Myanmar. We also want to play a part in the sustainable development of [the] Myanmar economy by local companies.

The industry body will be looking to connect French firms with local companies, including those working in the food, agriculture and timber sectors.

Currently, French investors in Myanmar are largely focused on construction, hotels and tourism, food and beverage, and oil and gas, the chamber said.

Myanmar imports of French products rose 66 percent in 2014 to 94 million euro (US $103 million). Products ranging from aeronautical equipment to pharmaceuticals and cars are among those commonly shipped in, according to the CCI France Myanmar.

Local exports to France more than doubled to 62 million euro in 2014, with products including jewelry and garments among those commonly shipped.





Mr Rebiere said ensuring European quality standards for local products and adhering to customs processes in the EU were among the challenges encountered among local exporters eying the European market. These barriers would be overcome, he said, as relations between the two nations developed.

The visit will take place from October 16 to 20, and the French product fair will take place on December 1 at Novotel Yangon Max.
The government is working through a long list of infrastructure needs to determine priorities for development, the minister for construction told a forum of business leaders in Nay Pyi Taw last week.





Speaking at a forum on corporate social responsibility on September 21, construction minister U Win Khaing said that the countrys roads, power connectivity and even public housing were in poor shape after years of neglect.

Infrastructure management is an essential imperative for the development of any country, he said. The ratio of GDP to investment in infrastructure has been very low, he added, without providing a figure.

Better-quality roads would mean greater access to market, said U Win Khaing, which would help rural areas to develop.

Basic infrastructure, like roads, electricity, and public housing are all weak and require development, he said. People are facing many problems.

Some 70 percent of the country lives in rural areas, while millions of people do not have access to decent roads, the minister said. It was these areas the government wanted to prioritise for infrastructure development, he added.

We will do as much as we can do for it with the state budget, U Win Khaing said.





Serge Pun, chair of Serge Pun and Associates, said that the private sector also has a role to play in infrastructure development projects, but there needs to be a clear government policy in place in order for businesses to be assured of their investment.

Everyone acknowledges there are improvements needed in infrastructure and there are many developers willing to invest, he said. The government needs to develop a specific policy for infrastructure.

Infrastructure development was necessary to spur economic activity in rural areas, said U Than Aung Kyaw, a spokesperson at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.

It is important that we development in an inclusive and equal way, across the entire country, he said.

Proper government planning with stable infrastructure development would lead to increased trade and can boost investment in Myanmars rural areas, said U Than Aung Kyaw.

Translation by Emoon
Its billed as the political showdown of the century  and Yangonites will be able to watch.





50th Street Bar is hosting a delayed broadcast of the opening US presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tomorrow evening.

After one of the longest, nastiest campaigns in American history, this will be the first time that Clinton and Trump directly square off face-to-face.

[It] will certainly be a pivotal moment in the campaign, said Laura Grace from Democrats Abroad  the official Democratic Party arm for expat Americans  who is organising the watch party.

Commentators from across the political spectrum agree. Clintons seemingly unassailable lead from earlier in the cycle has all but evaporated in recent weeks.

According to one analysis from statistician Nate Silver, who correctly predicted every state result of the 2012 campaign, Clinton now has only a 58 percent chance of winning  down from almost 90pc in August.

It is now clear that the race will be much closer than many predicted, Grace said.





While the event is being organised by Democrats Abroad, Yangons Republicans, Greens and even Libertarians (should such a subset actually exist) are also invited to watch. As too are the political and apolitical from around the world.

Whether non-Americans are genuine political nerds or just curious what the fuss is about, or simply want to be entertained, this debate will have something to offer, Grace said.

She said Americans will be able to register to vote at the event if they havent already done so. Americans unable to attend can register to vote at votefromabroad.org.

As an expat, it can be tempting to ignore whats happening back home  especially politics. But American politics will affect you no matter where you live.

She said there are more than 8 million American citizens living abroad which could tilt the race one way or another.

Tomorrows debate is the first of three before the November 8 election. It will be divided into the loftily titled topics of Americas Direction, Achieving Prosperity and Securing America.

According to The New York Times, the total television audience may reach 100 million viewers  the largest ever for a US presidential debate.

The debate watch party will be held tomorrow from 6:30pm-9pm (a delayed feed 10 hours after the live event) at 50th Street Bar, 9/13 50th Street, Botataung township.
Veteran National League for Democracy official U Win Htein has denied rumours circulating on social media that he had resigned from the party due to poor health. A supposedly official statement from the NLD did the rounds online on September 24, stating that the party would let U Win Htein retire given his health problems.





The statement included an official party seal and said U Win Htein had handed in a letter of resignation to party headquarters on September 23, which was also posted online.

In the disavowed letter, the NLD official purportedly cited health problems as his reason for stepping down from his role as a member of the NLDs central executive committee. It also said he admitted to having made a number of poor decisions in resolving party disputes, especially his role in the removal of executive committee members in Shan State.

Earlier this month, U Win Htein travelled to the NLDs Taunggyi township office to oversee changes to the local leadership. While there, he terminated the party membership of U Tin Maung Toe, chair of the partys Taunggyi district branch, who had posted criticism online about recently announced changes to the states southern executive committee membership.

His actions  which several local party leaders in Shan State criticised  were seen as particularly controversial because he said State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had ordered the leadership reshuffle.

In the disavowed resignation letter, U Win Htein purportedly apologises for the misuse of the name of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi while resolving the problem in Shan State.

But responding to the materials circulating online, U Win Htein was unequivocal in denying their authenticity.

The statement is fake and contains wrong information, he said.





He said he was healthy and fully capable of handling his party duties.
With the flare-up of deadly clashes in Kayin State now over, the state government is preparing to return villagers who had fled the fighting to their homes in the Mae Tha Wor area of Hlaingbwe township.





The fighting, which began in August, pitted the Tatmadaw and an aligned Border Guard Force (BGF) against a splinter faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

U Min Tin Win, state minister for social affairs, told The Myanmar Times that the displaced families will be able to return to their homes after the Tatmadaw conducts a landmine clearing process over the coming days.

Now that the fighting has ended, we need to think about resettlement. We wont pressure the villagers to return to their homes and we wont allow them to return if it is not safe, he said.

Nearly 4000 residents have taken refuge at the Mying Gyi Ngu monastery in Hpa-an where they are reliant on government and public donations for support. Several hundred others also reportedly fled across the border to Thailand.

The state government, which will arrange transportation for the displaced, will also help to rebuild homes and schools destroyed in the fighting and will provide some food supplies, the social affairs minister said. The state governments efforts will be assisted by the Tatmadaw and the Myaing Gyi Ngu monastery.

Daw Naw Htee Khu, who left her home with her family in Mae Tha Wor when the most recent round of fighting erupted, said she was scared to return because of the threat of landmines. A village administrator was killed in a landmine blast on September 16, according to the volunteers.

If a landmine explodes, we will die or be severely wounded. Thats why we dont want to go back to our home, she said. Once the landmine clearing process is complete, we have decided that we will return immediately.





While the displaced families wait in limbo for the opportunity to return home safely, they remain in need of vital aid.

Ko Aung Kyaw Soe, a volunteer near the Thai border, said that supplies, especially food, clothes and stationery for children, are short. He added that the Tatmadaw should try to clear the landmines quickly.

Some aid groups think that they dont need to provide any more aid as the fighting has ended. They need to know that the villagers still need assistance and donations, he said.

The fighting was sparked by the DKBA splinter groups announcement on August 31 that they would escalate their offensive efforts if the Tatmadaw and BGF kept harassing their troops. The death of DKBA leader Major Na Ma Kyar in late August is also believed to be a cause of the clashes.

On September 23, the Tatmadaw released a statement announcing the end of fighting between the forces following the seizure of all the DKBA splinter militias bases.

According to the Tatmadaws statement, during the 19 separate clashes, four DKBA troops were killed and a number of senior military officials and troops were killed or wounded.
A Dutch citizen has been arrested for outraging religious sentiments after unplugging the amplifier used by monks to broadcast a sermon. Klaas Haytema, 30, of Wans in the Netherlands, is due to appear in court today.





Mr Haytema is accused of disconnecting the amplifier at about 10pm on September 23 outside his hotel near Thusarita Dhammaryone, a religious community hall in Yadanar Bomme East ward of Maha Aung Myay township, Mandalay Region.

Soldiers had to be summoned to protect him from an angry crowd that surrounded his hotel and demanded that he be handed over to them. They dispersed only when the authorities promised to take legal action against him.

The foreigner has been detained in police custody because the immigration department and the head of the sermon recital team are pressing charges, said Police Captain Hla Myint of the tourist police.

U Kyaw San, who was delivering the sermon, filed charges at the police station in Maha Aung Myay township under section 295 of the penal code for intending to insult religious feelings or beliefs, and under section 4 (2) and 13 (1) of the Myanmar Immigration Law.

In the three-month period of Buddhist lent, our ward recites sermons every night before the Sabbath day. The foreigner came and unplugged the cord connected to the amplifier, said Ko Phone Myint, a resident of the ward.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
LEBANON  Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital invites the public to an open house for the hospitals new Surgery and Same Day Surgery departments, before these areas are sterilized and put to use.

The open house is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, at the hospital, 525 N. Santiam Highway.

Snacks and door prizes will be available.

The hospital is expanding these departments, as well as its Emergency Department, to meet the health care needs of east Linn County into the future. Total project cost is $11 million, with the Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation raising $2 million of that total.

Phase one includes two large surgical suites, an additional minor procedure room and 14 private Same Day Surgery patient rooms. This phase is scheduled to be ready for patient care by the end of October.

The second and third phases will include 21 private Emergency rooms, including two large trauma rooms. The new Emergency Department will be more than double its current size.

The project adds 15,000 square feet of building space to the hospital, along with a renovation of 10,000 square feet of the existing hospital. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.

For more information about the project, call 541-451-7161.

For information about contributing toward the capital campaign, call Betty Koehn, foundation director, at 541-451-7063
On September 23, The Myanmar Times published the first of a two-part series about Raysuana, a young Rohingya woman who was discovered semi-conscious at a military compound in Sittwe township on August 18 and who died 12 hours later without being taken to a hospital or any kind of criminal inquiry having been launched. Today we look at what happened to her after she was found, and reveal why she did not receive the medical attention she so desperately needed. Read Part I here.





When Raysuana arrived at Thet Kya Pin Clinic at around 8am on August 18, the odds were already stacked against the young woman who had been found naked and injured in the bushes at a military compound earlier that morning.

The facility is a basic health centre for members of the Muslim Rohingya minority who are denied freedom of movement by state authorities and are usually required to go through a complicated referral process before they are allowed to go to the nearby state hospital.

It would be another hour until the state doctor would turn up for duty, and so the Thet Kya Pin village administrator U Hla Myint handed Raysuana over to the clinics medical assistants for care. She was placed on the bare metal slats of one of the clinics mattressless beds to await the doctors arrival.

Some clothes were hurriedly found and a woman at the clinic dressed Raysuana, noting as she did that there was blood around the young womans vagina.

On the way to the clinic, I called to police and reported it and then I reported it to [a second] police station, said U Hla Myint, who had been contacted earlier that morning by officers at the nearby military compound where Raysuana had been found and told to take her to the clinic.

I arrived with her at the same time as the police got there, said U Hla Myint.





But the police, who are under the authority of the military, did not open a criminal case.

U Hla Myint set off to the neighbouring camps and villages to find out if anyone knew of a missing woman. Raysuanas mother had fled to Malaysia after riots broke out between ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya Muslims in 2012, leaving 140,000 displaced. Raysuana had been taken in by another family.

A victim of sexual assault, or psychiatric episode?

The in-patients section of Thet Kya Pin Clinic is, in reality, more outside than in. No wall separates the open-sided ward from the rest of the sparse health facility, and the male and female patients who lie on the few beds are entirely exposed to public view.

Such circumstances are far from ideal for any victim of gender-based violence.

But despite Raysuana having been found naked, other than a bra, and despite the fact that the woman who helped care for her when she arrived at the clinic reported possible injuries to her vagina, Raysuana was not treated as a potential victim of GBV.

Instead, sources have told The Myanmar Times that after the state doctor arrived she was classified as a psychiatric case.

This is understood to have played a significant role in why more effort was not made to ensure she received the necessary permission to be taken to the nearby state hospital for proper examination and treatment.

The allegation has been denied by the state health department, which told The Myanmar Times that because Raysuana was unable to speak, the doctor could not ascertain whether her condition was psychiatric in nature or not.

However, medical staff who attended the clinic later in the day are understood to have been told Raysuanas was a psychiatric case and explained to their seniors later that they were not informed of the circumstances in which she was found.

The reason for the discrepancy in accounts is unknown. What is clear, however, is that due to inadequate medical assessments, a flawed and unclear set of referral protocols, and fear of reprisals, Raysuana was not treated as an emergency case nor as a possible victim of sexual violence.

The possibility that a confused, naked and injured young woman may have suffered a sexual assault and/or traumatic head injuries  with potentially life-threatening internal injuries  did not appear to be considered significant enough to either of the male doctors who treated Raysuana that day, nor to hospital authorities, to ensure she received an emergency referral.

I believe if shed been taken to hospital, she would have lived, said one witness with a medical background who saw Raysuana at different moments from her arrival at the clinic until her death.

An act of kindness hides the truth

Dressing Raysuana was an act undertaken to restore her modesty. However, once she was clothed in a high-necked blouse and longyi, no further examination was undertaken to determine whether she was a victim of gender-based violence, or had internal injuries.

Indeed, such was the reluctance of the state doctor to examine her at all that he appears to have missed injuries even to less intimate parts of her anatomy.

The Myanmar Times spoke to three different medical workers involved in Raysuanas treatment and each, separately, mentioned her most obvious injury was one to the back of her shoulder.

Yet according to the state medical department, no such injury was recorded in Raysuanas medical notes. When The Myanmar Times asked Dr Thaung Hlaing, the state public health director, about this, he suggested the fact that she was clothed by the time the doctor saw her meant the wound was likely missed.

As for the possibility that Raysuana had been sexually assaulted, he appeared sceptical.

For rape  I dont agree, said Dr Thaung Hlaing. We cant even see  could not see for medical reasons. Our doctor was also reluctant to handle her, he said, referring to the fact that there was not a qualified female nurse or doctor present.

The state doctor did do a basic examination of Raysuana, checking her extremities and analysing her state of consciousness.

Our doctor examined her [using] the Glasgow Coma State [assessment] and she was in the middle, borderline. He informed us and started the transfer [process to send her] to the city general hospital, Dr Thaung Hlaing.

Protecting reputations, risking lives

But a second problem was coming to the fore. No one in the community had been found to identify Raysuana and there were no relatives to give any form of medical consent, so there was no one to travel with her to the hospital as an attendant.

According to international agencies based in Sittwe, in an emergency situation a patient can be transferred to the hospital from Rohingya camps or villages without an attendant.

Under right to life protocols and given the high possibility that Raysuanas unconscious or semi-conscious state at the time she was found indicated the possibility of serious head trauma, she should have been sent straight to the hospital from the military compound rather than the clinic, an international expert in the state capital said.

But even following the doctors recommendation at the clinic, the local community and the medical authorities were reluctant to send Raysuana to hospital alone, and medical authorities denied her a transferral unless she had an attendant.

Our department was ready to assist her to come, but unfortunately there was no one to come with her, said Dr Thaung Hlaing. Im not making excuses; thats just what happened.

Among the many rumours that abound in ethnically and religiously divided Sittwe, one in particular strikes fear into the heart of the Rohingya community: There is a commonly held belief that Muslim patients who go to Sittwe Hospital are deliberately hurt or even murdered by the ethnic Rakhine staff who work there.

While reports of careless or insensitive treatment of Rohingya patients have on occasion been verified by witnesses, no evidence has emerged of deliberate harm, let alone murder.

Regardless of their veracity, the impact of these rumours has been significant. Not only were members of the Rohyinga community reluctant to send Raysuana to hospital unaccompanied, but also hospital authorities refused to take her amid fears they could be held responsible were she to die without a witness from her own ethnic background.

The other [Rohingya] community still doesnt have trust in our hospital. If we admitted her without an attendant and she died, we cant explain why or what we did, said Dr Thaung Hlaing.

He added, They dont dare accept her in case the media or the international community say something.

Too frightened to get involved

As the village head U Hla Myints efforts to find anyone who knew the injured young woman continued to prove fruitless, he asked if anyone else from the community would be willing to accompany her to hospital, but no volunteer came forward.

They were not her relatives and they were afraid the girl would die in hospital. They didnt want to be involved, he said.

With no one to accompany Raysuana, and the hospital refusing to take her alone, the doctor put her on a drip and admitted her to the clinic while the search for her family continued.

We have the drip-line there and put these measures in front of people, said Dr Thaung Hlaing.

He added that if Raysuana died at the clinic with witnesses there, it would cause fewer problems than were she to die alone in hospital with no one from her community to witness what had happened.

My doctor was very reluctant even to touch her, [other than] for life-saving measures.

As for ensuring she was treated for a possible sexual assault, If were informed theres been an assault well check but otherwise we cant. If its not a police case, we cant and the police did not inform us, he explained.

According to those working on gender-based violence issues, it does not legally require that a formal police case be opened for an incident to be treated as possible GBV. This is not something those involved in Raysuanas case appeared to be aware of, or willing to put into practice.

She was very unlucky. My doctor didnt see any red [blood stain] on her longyi, Dr Thaung Hlaing added, saying that without such clearly visible evidence, the doctor was unable to act.

A second chance for help missed

At around 2:30 that afternoon  by which time Raysuana had been lying in the open facility for around six-and-a-half hours having had only the most cursory of examinations  a doctor from the INGO Mercy Malaysia arrived to take over medical care at the clinic.

According to sources, Raysuana, having been admitted to the clinic as an in-patient, was not considered to be under his charge as the organisation was tasked solely with out-patient treatments and hospital referrals that afternoon.

The Mercy Malaysia doctor did, however, examine her informally.

As soon as [the doctor] realised she was semi-conscious, he said she should be referred to hospital and called for an ambulance, said one source present at the time.

The source said the doctor did not believe Raysuana was at imminent risk of death, but considered it important that she receive X-rays and other medical checks that could not be carried out at the clinic due to its lack of facilities.

But the problem was [she] needed a security guard and a patient attendant, but they said shes unknown and there was no attendant so [the doctor] cannot refer her, said the source.

According to the source, [The doctor said he] didnt know how serious Raysuanas condition was, but because of the situation it did not look like an emergency. Her condition was stable.

Asked why this second doctor had not followed up on the possibility that Raysuana had been a victim of gender-based violence, another source close to the case said the doctor had not been made fully aware of the circumstances in which the young woman had been found.

The source said that according to his understanding of events, Raysuana had gained some consciousness and at times had been able to get up and was acting erratically.

[The Mercy Malaysia doctor] saw this woman pulling out her drip and wandering around incoherent and accepted the assessment of the state doctor who had admitted her  that she was a psychiatric case, the source said.

It should be noted that no direct witnesses, including medical staff, spoken to during interviews in Rakhine State described such behaviour by Raysuana.

U Hla Myint, the village administrator, returned to the clinic at around 5pm.

I said to the doctor, No one wants to take care of her in hospital so what should we do? The doctor said, Let her stay one night [at the clinic] and check on her condition.

By 6pm, the Mercy Malyasia doctor left the clinic for the night, leaving Raysuana in the care of Yasmin (not her real name), a Rohingya woman who had worked at Sittwe General Hospital before the inter-communal conflicts of 2012 and acted as a nurse at the clinic.

Around an hour later Raysuana died, having regained the ability to speak in the last minutes of her life when she called out for her mother.

She was very unlucky, said Dr Thaung Hlaing. If she could have overcome the night, she could have come to the hospital.

A final indignity

Early the following morning, U Hla Myints attempts to discover Raysuanas identity finally had some success  although it was too late for the young woman.

He received a message that someone knew of a girl matching Raysuanas description who had been living in Ohn Taw Shay and then later Let That Mar villages.

It emerged that as well as her second mother at Ohn Taw Shay, where Raysuana had stayed for three years after being displaced in the 2012 riots, as well as Su Ra Ka Tu, the mother of her friend in Let That Mar, with whom she had been living before her disappearance, she also had a cousin by marriage living on the outskirts of Thet Kya Pin.

But like others in the community, Raysuanas relatives did not want to get involved either.

Idris, an elder from Let That Mar, takes up the story.

We found out what had happened when the head of the village [U Hla Myint] came to us, he said.

Her Let That Mar friends collected Raysuanas body from the clinic and carried her to her relatives home.

But they were not close relatives and they didnt want to bury her. Thats why we had to take her back here, Idris explained.

There was no investigation, but we reported it to the police at the gate [the checkpoint for people entering the Rohingya villages].

At first we waited for some investigation and then we asked the police and the head of the village how we should proceed. We were told its a normal inquiry for this case so we can bury her now.

Standing by the patch of earth where she laid Raysuanas body to rest last month, Su Ra Ka Tu recalls the day she buried the young woman she had hoped would become a sister-in-law to her daughter.

I first saw her body in the morning after she died and by the time we got her here to the village it was about 11am. I buried her at 4pm.

We couldnt call her family before I buried her. At the time there was no phone connection to Malaysia.

Raysuana was buried without an autopsy or even a doctors declaration as to cause of death. Demands by Amnesty International for an independent inquiry have so far gone unmet.

As for the state health authorities and international agencies involved in this case, so far no public announcement has been made as to what action will be taken to prevent such an incident from happening again.
Following a display of military might in an armed forces drill over the weekend, the Tatmadaw chief warned defence personnel that they must strictly follow the Geneva Convention and military code of conduct.





The chiding follows a nearly unprecedented admission of military misconduct. A court martial earlier this month convicted seven soldiers of murdering Shan civilians in a botched interrogation, and sentenced them each to five years in prison.

The Tatamdaw has often been hit with accusations of human rights abuses, especially against ethnic minorities, but admissions of culpability are extremely rare.

Local people have become victims in conflicts. All of you are to perform your duties in accord with the military code of conduct, especially when we cannot identify whether someone is a friend or enemy. We cannot designate someone as an enemy just because they are in a military zone, Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told the 5000 assembled military personnel.

If any military personnel fail to follow the code of conduct in the field, legal action will be taken against them, he added.

The senior general delivered the remarks in Meiktila on September 24 following a drill that exercised both land and air fleets. The Tatmadaw chief said the two-day exercise  and the expenditure of much time, money and manpower to conduct it  was necessary to build the capacity of soldiers shouldering the duty of national defence.

Infantry troops, armoured vehicle squads, airforce personnel and an anti-terrorism unit all participated in the combined military exercise which involved several fighter jets. The final day of the exercise included mobilising a 155-millimeter howitzer and 122-millimeter rocket missiles.





We dont see any country as a potential enemy. We are just doing this exercise as a conventional war game to build the capacity of our army for conventional war purposes, said a high-ranking military commander.

The Tatmadaw has conducted at least three such collective trainings combining land and air units since 2011, according to the armys chief training officer Lieutenant General Maung Maung Aye.

As the commander-in-chief mentioned, we follow military laws and international rules and regulations in our tasks, he said.

In a press conference after the drill, he said the exercise was a success in terms of building defence skills.

A military officer speaking on condition of anonymity said, Almost all of the weapons we used were made by and for the Tatmadaw. We have had to rely on our own capabilities for the most part while we were sanctioned.

The Tatmadaw invited 20 local journalists to observe the drill, which was the first such demonstration open to the press.

The essence of the military exercise is in the harmonious cooperation of infantry, airforce, artillery and all other supporting forces, said Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

According to the Global Firepower index, which ranks the strength of 126 militaries worldwide, the Tatmadaw comes in at number 33, below Thailand at 20, and just above Malaysia at 34. According to the index, Myanmar has 406,000 active frontline personnel and a defence budget of US$2.4 billion. In the 2016-17 annual budget, the defence ministry received the largest share, with K1.24479 trillion appropriated.
The strike at Sakura garment factory is finally over, two months after it began. The truce required the intervention of lawmakers to negotiate a reduction of daily production targets.





Now, we have all returned to work at the factory, said Ma Thuzar Win, a sewing operator. Factory officials agreed to pay us our wages again starting from the date we returned to the factory.

The workers strike outside the Japanese-owned Sakura garment factory began in late July when factory officials tried to increase the workforces daily production targets without employees consent.

The picketing workers split ways on September 17 when about half of the protesters decided to return to the factory production line. But 171 workers kept the protest going, dissatisfied with the Arbitration Councils ruling, which did not resolve the primary concern  production quotas.

The Yangon Region arbitrational body had instructed the factory to rehire the 316 striking workers, consult with them over production expectations and compensate with back pay over the striking period. Ruling on an appeal, the central Arbitration Council upheld the ruling on September 12, minus the stipulation of back pay.

But as the dispute resolution body did not weigh in on the production quotas, leaving the issue to be negotiated between employer and employees, workers said they feared returning would result in their concerns being steamrolled.

On September 21, members of the Hlaing Tharayar township branch of the National League for Democracy arranged negotiations between the factory officials and remaining protesters.

We were worried about the strikers. They could have faced legal action if they failed to obey the councils ruling and did not go back to work. So we arranged talks, said Yangon Region MP U Myat Min Thu (NLD; Hlaing Tharyar 2).





He said the factory agreed to allow the protesting workers to resume their jobs at the factory with the former, baseline production targets. The workers agreed in front of the labour officials and the MPs. He added that factory officials also promised compensation for the strike period, and to obey all labour laws going forward.

We agreed to go back to the factory after some consolations and compromises, said Ma Cho Cho Latt, a union leader and one of the striking workers.

She added that all workers agreed to sign employee contracts.

Factory officials declined to comment on the settlement when contacted by The Myanmar Times on September 23.
While receiving two awards for his reporting this weekend, journalist Ko Swe Win called for an overhaul of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission as soon as possible.





The chief correspondent of Myanmar Now, a news agency supported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was honoured for his work revealing how the police and the rights body failed to respond to a case involving the long-term abuse of two teenage maids.

If [the MNHRC] is reorganised, the government must ensure that the new members really posses the ability to respond to human rights matters with good intentions, he said while receiving the Presidents Certificate of Honour from Minister of Information U Pe Myint on September 23. They need to determine whether the members are really qualified for the commission and have a relevant, results-driven background.

Ko Swe Wins account of his initial reporting of the case months ago to the Kyauktada township police, followed by his witnessing of the MNHRC arranging a financial settlement, ignited outrage across social media. The public anger in turn prompted the arrest last week of five family members connected to the case.

The two initial victims, Ma San Kay Khine and Ma Thazin, had endured years of physical violence and psychological abuse before eventually escaping bondage at the Ava Tailoring shop on 40th Street in Yangon and returning to their parents.

Ko Swe Win told The Myanmar Times yesterday that he had thought about not writing an article due to the sensitivity of the issue and young age of the victims, but was angered by the sideskirting of proper legal action. The MNHRC closed the case after Ava Tailorings owners agreed to provide financial compensation.

I tried my best to follow the legal channels concerning the case, but it ended with compensation and I could not do anything further. Thats why I decided to write the article, he said in Yangon yesterday while receiving a second award from the Myanmar Journalist Network.

He added that he had only been able to write the article because he was privy to a closed-door meeting on September 15, during which the MNHRC arranged the financial agreement. The rights body has defended its handling of the case, saying it was responding to the request of the victims families, and that it had never stood in the way of criminal proceedings.





But Ko Swe Win said the commission and the police both could, and should, have done more.

This is a criminal case because it involved the torture of underage young child labourers, he said. It also involves slavery because the girls were kept confined and were not allowed to meet their parents. This case should not have been settled through a monetary agreement.

He also encouraged the government to be more transparent with the media in future cases.

I appreciate the government for awarding these certificates because it means the government stands on the side of the truth and shows full support for the media and our investigations, not only in this one case, but also in the future, he said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has been providing security to Ko Swe Win and to the victims families by order of the president. The Presidents Office announced last week that it would review the MNHRCs involvement in the case.

On September 22, Pyithu Hluttaw MP U Htay Win Aung from Dawbon township submitted an urgent proposal calling for disciplinary action against the commission members due to their failure to protect the two housemaids. The proposal was accepted for debate.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe
Two weeks ago the Obama administration declared that it will drop all remaining economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar. Since 1997, when the sanctions were established as a response to the gross human rights abuses being committed by the countrys ruling junta, they have prevented any tangible trade between the two countries.





During his meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was visiting Washington for the first time as Myanmars de facto leader, President Barack Obama sought to reward the progress the Southeast Asian nation had made toward democracy. The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time, he said. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that the people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government.

But is lifting the sanctions the right thing to do?

The latest round of changes to the sanctions, which the Obama administration began easing in May 2012, will terminate the National Emergencies Act. It defines Myanmar as an extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. This law forms the basis of most remaining sanctions.

By terminating the state of emergency as it applies to Myanmar, the trade ban imposed on 104 individuals and companies cited on the Treasury Departments Specially Designated Nationals list will cease to exist. Importantly, restrictions designed to block trade with North Korea and curtail the trafficking of drugs and gems will remain in place.

Given that the sanctions targeted those individuals and companies considered to be the most responsible for previous human rights abuses as well as those most threatening to the future peace and stability of Myanmar, lifting them is unsurprisingly contentious. So was this decision the right thing to do?

The case for





The most touted benefit for Myanmar is the anticipated increase in economic development and preferential trade with the United States. Military-backed conglomerates will certainly benefit from this new arrangement, but so will countless small and medium-sized enterprises. A more immediate task now is to improve quality standards, production facilities and logistics chains in Myanmar. The lifting of the sanctions provides further motivation to make this happen.

A related benefit is that any growth in employment will aid the position of Myanmars young democratic government. Given the fragile state of party politics in Myanmar, whereby the only viable alternative to the National League for Democracy is the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, policy changes that fortify the public standing of the ruling party should be encouraged. The windfall that is expected to follow the removal of sanctions will thus be credited to Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government.

Myanmar will also become less economically dependent on China, whose investment is not conditional on respect for civil liberties and political rights. Since the late 1980s, China and the United States have invested approximately US$18 billion and $248 million, respectively. This imbalance actually encouraged military officials and business cronies to profiteer from Chinas investment. The opening of the American market offers not only new opportunities for private and public companies but also support from a country that normatively approves of democracy in Myanmar.

The case against

The most obvious reason not to lift the sanctions is that those individuals linked to the previous military regime would benefit from the decision. This includes prominent business cronies, known criminals and established human rights abusers. Companies linked to the previous military regime would also benefit, especially the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings and the Myanmar Economic Corporation. Together they dominate the agro-farming, airline, banking, minerals, tourism and trading industries. The removal of sanctions would therefore benefit the few, not the many.

Another problem, expressed by ethnic civil society organisations, is that ending the sanctions releases pressure on the military to abide by international human rights norms amid ongoing conflict. There remain a number of pressing issues threatening the stability of the country and its most vulnerable people, a joint letter stated. These issues are deeply concerning as they include the severest of human rights abuses, and progress on these dire matters should be required to lift further sanctions. This appeal evidently fell on deaf ears.

Lifting the sanctions also takes away the leverage they provided the government in its relationship with the military. This is the criticism made by Human Rights Watch: The sanctions are crucial for pressing the military to end rights abuses and transfer power to a civilian government. They shouldnt be fully lifted until the democratic transition is irreversible. In other words, the sanctions offered a means to get the military to the negotiating table on reforming the 2008 constitution. Without them, it is unclear how to get the military to invest more fully in democratisation.

The right thing?

All that said, dropping the sanctions was the right thing to do. This is because the entire case against doing so is premised on the notion that the sanctions actually worked.

This claim runs counter to a series of devastating critiques offered by Morten Pedersen (2008) and Lee Jones (2015). They reveal how those individuals and companies targeted by the sanctions had actually been able to circumvent the restrictions and displace their costs. The consequences of the sanctions were thus avoided altogether and/or suffered by average citizens.

The further claim  that without the sanctions, the military would not feel pressured to comply with international human rights norms  is irrelevant. The widespread abuses committed by the military against various ethnic groups easily predate the start of sanctions and will continue to occur with the end of them.

The final claim, that the sanctions provide the government with leverage over the military in the context of reforming the constitution, fails to account for the real reason why the military abdicated day-to-day control of the government. Not only does this extrusion strategy remain in place, but also the supposed pressure of sanctions are inconsequential to it.

 New Mandala

Lee Morgenbesser is a research fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University. This article is a collaboration between The Myanmar Times and New Mandala, a website on Southeast Asias politics and societies based at the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs.
The explosion of smartphones and tablets is transforming the way we communicate, work and manage our personal lives. We stay connected everywhere, and collaborate on the go at every opportunity we get. We need the ability to access business applications at the highest speeds and quality possible  regardless of where we are or which device we are using.

Do you find yourself smiling when you enter a restaurant, coffee shop or office and see a prominent weve got Wi-Fi information sign? I sure do! Nothing better than being able to get a solid connection with excellent connectivity so I can send quick emails, reliably Skype into meetings and perhaps peek at Instagram. Today we live and work in a world that has become dependent on our mobile devices for access to both personal and business applications in a safe and productive manner. This connectivity requirement crosses boundaries of business size. So whether you are a large multi-national enterprise, a branch office or a small to midsize business (SMB), the need to connect is there.

The combination of mobile devices and cloud based applications is changing the way small and midsize businesses (SMBs) operate and how

Mohsin Shah

their employees engage with customers and interact with business processes. Forbes reported that SMBs who adopt mobile technologies are seeing double the revenue growth  and are creating up to eight times as many jobs as their less mobile-ready peers. Empowering your employees to interact seamlessly with customers and partners can help build a competitive advantage and also greatly improve productivity. In the U.S. alone, SMBs are saving more than $67 billion a year using mobile applications, tablets and smart phones in day-to-day activities.

SMBs using the network as a business enabler

SMBs are embracing new technologies such as mobility, cloud and unified communications to help them compete cost-effectively in this new mobile work environment. For them, the network is evolving from an IT resource to a strategic business enabler. To support employee productivitywhether working from home, in meeting rooms, or at client offices  SMBs need a simple and reliable network infrastructure that can be supported by limited IT resources.

A recent study shows that 67 percent of the SMBs are using tablets for business purposes, and 93 percent are using smartphones that are often owned and managed by the employee but used for business purposes. Given their sheer number, properly securing access for these BYOD devices and onboarding them to the network without significantly increasing IT operations costs need to be an integral part of the conversation when preparing the foundation for your mobile-first business apps.

A Mobile-First Network creates a solid foundation

Its clear in this new business environment that the mode of choice for employees is mobile. Your business must have an affordable, high-performance and secure Wi-Fi infrastructure that can support this growing number of mobile devices and cloud-based applications. It also needs to deliver the quality experience that users expect, along with the level of security controls that your business processes will demand.

Mobile Unified Communication (UC) solutions such as Office 365 now extend enterprise-grade voice, conferencing and collaboration to mobile devices and are more widely available. A strong network infrastructure allows you to prioritize and optimize business critical applications, so you can respond faster to customers and make smart decisions quickly. You need an integrated solution that can handle issues like network reliability, security and intelligent application management:

Here are important considerations when choosing a Mobile-First solution:

Screaming fast connections - While wireless is the primary means by which employees will access the network, you need an end-to-end integrated wireless and wired infrastructure that is easy to deploy, offers built-in security and high connection speeds, along with the tools to collect and analyze network performance data.

- While wireless is the primary means by which employees will access the network, you need an end-to-end integrated wireless and wired infrastructure that is easy to deploy, offers built-in security and high connection speeds, along with the tools to collect and analyze network performance data. Security - With the arrival of digital workplaces comes added security threats. You will need integrated and automated security controls to help protect your business data from malware and unauthorized users. Wireless intrusion detection and prevention can safeguard your infrastructure from wireless threats, rogue access points and clients.

- With the arrival of digital workplaces comes added security threats. You will need integrated and automated security controls to help protect your business data from malware and unauthorized users. Wireless intrusion detection and prevention can safeguard your infrastructure from wireless threats, rogue access points and clients. Network and application visibility - With the increasing number of devices connecting to the network, you may need more insight into users, devices, and applications running on the network to ensure that the network is running smoothly. You need a flexible and easy-to-use network management solution that can grow with your business  from free built-in network management to full-feature enterprise management.

- With the increasing number of devices connecting to the network, you may need more insight into users, devices, and applications running on the network to ensure that the network is running smoothly. You need a flexible and easy-to-use network management solution that can grow with your business  from free built-in network management to full-feature enterprise management. Room to Grow - Your business is constantly evolving, and so should your network. You need a solution that can grow as you grow. It should provide you the flexibility to build out your network to suit your business needs. Whether you start with a controller less Wi-Fi solution, and then add a controller to scale  or use built-in management interfaces, then add cloud-based or software-based options later  your network should evolve with your business and allow you to protect your existing investments.

Edited by Alicia Young
[September 26, 2016] One of Latin America's Largest Grocery Chains to Host Revionics Profit Optimization Event in Chile

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Revionics, Inc., a leading profit optimization company, to host a Retail Profit Optimization Workshop titled, Advanced Strategies for Profit Optimization,featuring one of its customers from one of Latin America's largest grocery retail chains. The event will be held on Wednesday, September 28th at the NH Collection Plaza in Santiago, Chile. With mounting pressure from ecommerce giant Amazon's big push into Latin America and the ecommerce sector expected to reach $85 billion in sales by 2019 at annual growth rates of 17%, retailers need to make bold propositions in pricing and promotions, or risk losing market share to their competitors. To combat these pressures head-on, this workshop will provide insight into how winning retailers are utilizing predictive analytics, competitive insights and demand modeling to drive omni-channel pricing and promotional strategies with precision. Retailers will learn: Strategies to overcome technology and process disruptions

How to harness analytics across pricing, promotion and markdown decisions

Ways to execute more profitable promotions

How to achieve margin and revenue improvemets that are measurable



Featured Speakers Include:

Manager of Pricing, one of Latin America's largest grocery retail chains

Carlos Rodriguez , Regional Director of LATAM for Revionics

Aditya Rastogi, Director of Global Science Services for Revionics

Juan Thorne , Senior Manager of Pricing Strategy for Revionics To register for this event, or to learn more, click here. Social Media Posts:

Twitter:

Leading Latin American grocery chain to headline @Revionics Advanced Strategies for Profit Optimization workshop: http://ow.ly/k6mB304vULv LinkedIn:

One of Latin America's largest grocery retail chains & Revionics host workshop in Chile around pricing and promotion strategies to help retailers combat competitive pressures, avoid profit-eroding decisions and ignite profitability. http://ow.ly/k6mB304vULv About Revionics

Revionics is a global leader in profit optimization services and solutions. Our unparalleled analytics and science serve as the backbone of omni-channel retailing to help performance-driven retailers execute profitable pricing, promotion, markdown, and space decisions with predictable business outcomes. The result: achieve speed to value and ROI, improve margins, drive top-line sales and respond faster with precision. Revionics' SaaS-based model integrates analytics, technology and services to deliver an unmatched advantage for retailers  Competitive Insights, Price Suite, Promotion Suite, Markdown Suite, and Space and Assortment Suite  all from a predictive platform to drive long-term growth. Trusted by some of the most profitable retail brands, Revionics optimizes more than 62,000 retail sites across 18+ million products, and more than 2.6+ billion item/store combinations are modeled weekly. Learn more at www.revionics.com. Contact: Alison Raffalovich

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Phone: +1 (512) 826-0538 (USA)

[email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160125/325727LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-of-latin-americas-largest-grocery-chains-to-host-revionics-profit-optimization-event-in-chile-300333608.html SOURCE Revionics, Inc.

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Veteran gospel musician, Diana Hopeson, has expressed her profound gratitude to the Multimedia Group for the support and contribution towards the growth of her career and the gospel music industry.

Mrs Hopeson disclosed that the Multimedia Group, particularly Joy FM, since it was established, has provided the needed platform for the growth of her musical career.

The former president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) made the remarks when she paid a surprise call on Joy FM to thank the station as she marks 25 years in gospel music.

Accompanied by renowned gospel musicians such as Mary Ghansah and Bernice Offei, Mrs Hopeson presented the station with a plaque, a copy of her new single titled 'Aseda' and a cake.

Welcoming Mrs Hopeson and her delegation, Mark Okraku Mantey, Programmes Director of Hitz FM, thanked her for the gesture and assured her that you are our friend and the Multimedia Group will always be her home.

Mark Okraku Mantey Emma Morrison, Head of Joy Business, together with Mrs Hopeson, Mary Ghansah and Bernice Offei cut her anniversary cake.

The former MUSIGA president revealed that she has bounced back from a 10-year hiatus and Ghanaians should expect a single from her every three months.

She disclosed that she will soon release the video for 'Aseda' in two weeks' time.
Samuel Becerra brought 50 clay bird whistles to Monteith Riverpark for children to paint during Festival Latino. An hour and a half later, he had only 11 left.

It was the first time the Eugene-based artist had been invited to set up an activity booth for his pre-Columbian art at the Sunday afternoon festival, and he wasn't expecting the turnout to be so large.

"I'm surprised. There's a lot of activities for kids," he said.

Parks & Recreation Department employees and representatives from the Hispanic Advisory Committee weren't surprised at all, but they were pleased their strengthened partnership paid off so well.

"We tried hard to expand it this year, find ways to build on what had been done in the past," said Katie Nooshazar, recreation programs manager for Parks & Rec.

The city actually began the event, now in its 11th year. The idea, back in 2006, was to mark both Mexican Independence Day and National Hispanic Heritage Month, showcase the Latino culture and bring the Albany community something new to celebrate.

The Hispanic Advisory Committee took over in subsequent years, but had to overcome the challenges of having only volunteers to do the organizing, said Tina Dodge Vera, who belongs to both the committee and the Human Relations Commission, also part of the festival.

So this year, the Hispanic Advisory Committee took the lead on cultural aspects for the festival, advising the city on the best musicians, activities and food vendors to book. In turn, Parks employees used their festival expertise to establish the connections, organize the setup and bring in the crowds.

Midway through Sunday's event, representatives from both groups said they think the partnership paid off. More than 600 people had visited in just the first two hours, and organizers said they saw twice as many people from non-Latino backgrounds as they usually see.

That's good, Nooshazar said, because the idea is to appeal to a broad range of residents.

"It's not a festival for Latinos, it's a festival about Latino culture, Latino heritage," she said. "It's an incredible asset to our community, and we want to celebrate that asset."

Parks employees worked hard at organizing the space at Monteith Riverpark, bringing in additional food vendors, finding more musicians, expanding children's activities and placing signs to heighten awareness, she went on.

"I think what we want to do here is build a festival that Albany embraces and is as proud of as Northwest Art & Air and River Rhythms," she said.

Visitors Sunday who had been to the festival in years past said they noticed a difference and appreciated the effort.

"I was very impressed and pleased to see they made a great effort to include kids' activities," said Viviana Gonzalez of Tangent, who helped sons Jared and Julian Aquino, ages 9 and 4, hammer together helicopter kits from Home Depot.

The helicopter station, new this year, was a favorite so far, she said, "And the music and food."

Mayra Valencia of Corvallis had never come before, but said she was delighted with the number of things to do. Son Alexzander Garcia, 5, had an especially good time learning to use a fire hose with help from an Albany firefighter, another new activity this year.

Valencia was born in Mexico but grew up in the United States. She said she wished she'd had more opportunities as a child to learn more about her culture. That's an opportunity she wants to make sure is there for Alexzander and his little sister, 2, and the festival helps make it happen.

"We want our kids to be proud of their heritage, and to know it," she said. "We want to give them the opportunity to be a part of it."
Seth Amponsah, GAPI Chairman

26.09.2016 LISTEN

The Ghana Association of Phonographic Industry (GAPI), made up music producers in the country, will on Tuesday, September 27 organise a capacity building workshop for members and all industry players.

The workshop which will be held at the Cultural Centre in Kumasi for the northern sectors is being organised by GAPI under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, with funding support from the Ghana Cultural Forum.

The workshop is in line with the vision of the new board of trustees of the association who were recently sworn into office to work to ensure that the members of the association acquire basic skills in music to enable to them meet the challenges ahead of them.

The one-day workshop will feature renowned professionals in the music industry who understand the importance of music as an art form and the incredible force it carries globally.

The workshop will also provide participants with insight and knowledge about how music is created, effective leadership and decision-making process, copyright law, among others.

A source close to GAPI told BEATWAVES that the workshop will also deliberate on development in the music industry and help chart a collective way forward.

He stated that the music and the creative industry has not witnessed massive enhancement due to the absence of advocacy workshops to equip the players with the needed skills to fight for the industry.

The source added that the workshop is part of measures put in place by the new board of trustees, led by ace music producer, Seth Amponsah, to reshape and strengthen the activities of the association.

By George Clifford Owusu
The 2016 Ghana Movie Awards (MAG) has announced that entry for submission of works will close on October 20. This follows MAGs new strategy to open entry all year round immediately after hosting the awards in December.

The Ghana Movie Awards is an event to recognize excellence by annually honoringachievements of actors, writers, directors, producers, technicians and other professionals in the film making industry of Ghana and the rest of Africa.

It is organized by Gollywood Production Limited with support from major stakeholders of the film industry, to provide opportunities for filmmakers to have spotlight on their films. It also aims to promote and support Ghanaian filmmaking.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES: OCTOBER 20, 2016

To compete for a MAG:

Pick, complete and return an official entry form to the secretariat at the Silhouette Advertising office located at No Ct 419/4 floor, Goodwill Road, Kokomlemle close to Unicredit, former Procredit Building, or call 0302 244643, 0302 244645

Dates and venue

Nominations will be announced on November 10. The category winners will be announced November 30 at the Kempinski Hotel.

Nomination

The Planning committee, MAG Executive Academy members Screening and Active-Academy members reserve the right to place entries into alternative categories if they feel it is to the benefit of the title. Each submission should be entered separately. Entries will be assessed and successful submissions will be programmed for screening and entering the awards.

Formats

Formats acceptable for selection process: 5 DVDs. Final date for submission is October,20 2016.

Selection

MAG Executive Academy members, general public and Active Academy members will select final award winning entries by voting for the favorite movies, actors and TV soaps. All nominees will be notified at least 15 days before the awards show.

Publicity

Organizers reserve the right to use extracts form submission for awards publicity and Marketing

CATEGORIES
25.09.2016 LISTEN

By Laudia Sawer, GNA

Tema, Sept 25, GNA - Barely one week into the filling of nomination for the December 7, elections, only one woman has picked a parliamentary nomination form to contest one of the three constituencies in the Tema Metropolis.

Miss Ebi Bright, Tema Central parliamentary candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is the only woman among 13 prospective candidates who have picked the form since the Electoral Commission of Ghana opened nomination.

Nana Oduro Numapau, Tema Metropolitan Electoral Officer, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency.

Nana Numapau said as at close of work on Thursday, his outfit had issued the forms to only one woman in the Metropolis.

He added that apart from having only one woman showing interest to represent the people in Parliament, no person with disability has picked the forms.

Out of the 13, the Tema East and Tema Central constituencies saw three persons each while Tema West has so far received seven of the forms.

He noted that the forms were mainly picked by the NDC, New Patriotic Party (NPP), Convention Peoples Party (CPP), and the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP).

Two independent candidates, one each for Tema East and Tema West, had also picked forms to contest the seats.

On the voter transfer exercise which was started a fortnight ago, he indicated that about 600 transfers has been successfully done to the three constituencies in the Tema Metropolis.

Nana Numapau said the applicants showed proof of relocating to the area adding that an average of 70 to 80 applications were handled daily.

GNA
President Mahama has been rated 'F' in his attempts at fighting corruption in the country by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

A US-based policy think tank,The Heritage Foundation in its 2016 economic freedom index, earlier observed that although Ghana had made significant progress in areas such as rule of law, the country was still struggling with the fight against corruption.

Speaking on the findings, Manager of the Nana Addo 2016 Campaign, Peter Mac Manu, told Citi News' Sixtus Dong Ullo that President Mahama has to do more to fight the canker.

I think that as a Ghanaian my level of living is going down so if you tell me that we are above Ivory Coast and Ivory Coast having come out of war , their level of living is getting better that is the issue. Everybody wants to live a better life. It is not the indexes we are talking about.I think President's Mahama's rating in the fight of corruption is F.

Fight against corruption is a process

But a leading member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), E. T. Mensah in a rebuttal indicated that the fight against corruption cannot be easily won.

The Ningo-Pramprah Member of Parliament believes it will require a collective effort from all to fight the canker

The fight against corruption is a process, it is not an event. It started from somewhere and it is still going on and governments have come and governments will go and come and this will continue. Like President Kufuor said sometime ago. Corruption days from Adam so for me like President said sometime ago, corruption days from Adam. We just need to ensure that all of us fight corruption at all levels and we should see it as a process and not an event.

Ghana is 63rd most corrupt country

In 2013, Ghana was ranked 63rd out of 177 countries surveyed in the year's global corruption perception index (CPI).

The index released by Transparency International, said the country scored 46 out of 100 on the scale from zero to 100.

Ghana was ranked 64th out of 174 countries surveyed in 2012 and 69th in 2011 in the CPI.

'Ghana must take corruption ranking seriously

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International had counseled government to take seriously the nation's ranking on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Ghana moved two places from 63rd in 2013 to 61st in 2014 out of the 175 countries which were surveyed worldwide.

Despite this marginal improvement in the 2014 ranking, the GII is of the view that the nation must not rest until corruption is drastically reduced or eradicated if possible.

 citifmonline
A female passenger has died when a taxi she was boarding submerged in flood at Nsukwao in the New-Juaben municipality of the Eastern region.

The vehicle which had four passengers on board, submerged when the driver attempted to drive through the flood at the Kenkey Factory road.

Three of the passengers were rescued by residents, but the flood towed away the driver and the female passenger.

The driver was later rescued in a heap of rubbish in an unstable state.

According to Starr News' Eastern regional correspondent Kojo Ansah , the female passenger was found dead in the taxi as a rescue team of NADMO officials, fire service and police arrived at the scene.

Ansah reports that several houses had also been submerged with several properties destroyed as the rains set in.

Meanwhile, the MP for New-Juaben South Dr Mark Asibe Yeboah has abandoned his campaign launch in solidarity with the affected persons.

-starrfmonline
Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has reiterated his call for a peaceful atmosphere going into the 2016 elections.

He stressed law and order are paramount in such crucial exercise to ensure growth and development in the country.

According to him, election is not about shedding blood, but a healthy competition for the development of the country.

Addressing the chiefs and people of Larteh at a durbar to climax their Odwira festival, Mr Amissah-Arthur appealed to supporters of political parties to be circumspect in their utterances and behavior in order not to spark any violence.

He assured the chiefs and people of Larteh that President John Mahama and the NDC stand for development so all their remaining infrastructural challenges will be addressed.

He urged Ghanaians to jealously guard the country's peace so that government can bring the needed development to the people.

On his part, the Omanhene of Larteh, who is also the Benkumhene of Akuapem Traditional area, Nana Asiedu Okoo Ababio thanked Mahama for bringing development to the area.

-starrfmonline
Lawyers of Fadi Samih Daboussi, have indicated that they will take legal action against the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for the unlawful detention of their client.

The Ghanaian writer and journalist known to be a sympathizer of the opposition NPP, was reportedly arrested at the Kotoka International Airport last Friday for allegedly publishing a book which many say contains offensive comments about President John Mahama.

Subsequently, the BNI is said to have ransacked his home.

Lead Counsel for Mr. Daboussi, Hassan Tampoli told Citi News he has been denied access to his client for the past forty-eight hours.

He has not been released. I have not been given access to him. They won't let me see him, they won't let me talk to him. They won't give me any update about his condition. They simply are holding him incommunicado. They will not even tell him what exactly is his offence. They won't tell me who the complainant is and they will not tell me the offence for which reason they still holding him custody. We shall approach the court with a writ of habeaus corpus for the court to compel the BNI to release him 

The BNI is yet to give reasons for the Mr. Daboussi's arrest but critics say his arrest is politically motivated.

Meanwhile, a group calling itself Ghana Must Know has threatened to stage a mass action at the premises of the BNI, if it fails to release Mr. Daboussi by midnight.

We are occupying BNI as early as 5am to demand the release of our brother. We are not going to do anything that will breach the peace of this country. We are only going there to demand for his immediate release. If they are not doing that then maybe it will follow with a mass demonstration across the country, Convener of Ghana Must Know, Hopeson Adorye told Citi News.

-citifmonline
The overall level of economic freedom in Ghana has grown higher than the countrys neighbours, says the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom released by Heritage Foundation at Institute of Economic Affairs.

The Washington-based organisation scored 186 countries across the world on four fundamental pillars covering open market, rule of law, regulatory efficiency and limited government.

There are 10 categories under the pillars, which include property rights, freedom from corruption, fiscal freedom, government spending, business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom, and financial freedom.

Ghana outperformed its neighbours like Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote dIvoire in the categories as the index showed the country progressed significantly well in all aspect of the four main pillars.

The country scored 63 in the latest economic freedom index whiles Liberia 52.2, Sierra Leone 52.3 and Cote dIvoire scored 60.

The improved performance of Ghana, he said: Comes as no surprise as our neighbouring countries are riddled with either political instability or civil conflict.

However, it performed woefully as compared to South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, that had political independence in the same era as Ghana.

But some analysts said the West African countrys democratic evolution had been interspersed and frustrated by scores of military takeovers, until 1992 that saw the country make remarkable progress in ensuring rural of law.

Just after independence in 1961, GDP [Gross Domestic Product] or per capita in Ghana was $ 190, whereas South Korea was a meagre $92.

Today as we speak, GDP/Capita for Ghana stands at $ 1,380 whereas South Korea is $27,222.

Nigeria posted a gain of almost 2.0 points, but the pace of job creation has been impeded by bureaucratic rigidity and corruption in the economy, leading to increasing frustration among underemployed youth, the 484 page index said.

Meanwhile, South Africa, is increasingly hampered by social instability exacerbated by frequent violent strikes and a lack of employment opportunity.

The Heritage Foundation described economic freedom as the fundamental right of every person to control his or her own labour and property.

In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, James Roberts, Research Fellow at Heritage Foundation, said during the presentation in Accra.

Mrs Karen Hendrickson, Director of Advocacy and Programmes, Heritage Foundation, said: the performance of Ghana in the rankings implies that we have a long way to go to improve our economic freedom and to ensure economic development.

Overall, the index ranked Ghana as a mostly free country  meaning we can still do better.

The Economic Freedom Index results provide compelling evidence that economic dynamism is best sustained when government institutionalise economic policies that empower individuals.

When people have more choices, they are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity, Hendrickson said, in turn, it is an entrepreneurial activity that creates jobs, investment opportunities, and the new products and services that enrich our lives.

The Freedom index is designed to show the close correspondence between economic freedom and entrepreneurial opportunity.

The discussion centred on the critical relationship between individuals and the government.

The index showed that state action or government control that interferes with the individual autonomy limits economic freedom.
The Deputy Chief of Staff in-charge of operations, Kenneth Wanjagi, has told inhabitants of the Northern Region that they would commit a mistake if they fail to endorse President Mahama in the December polls, considering that hes one of their own.

He thus called on them to vote massively for John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), saying the NDC is the only party that cares for the people of the north.

He made the comments at the launch of the NDCs regional Campaign at Bimbilla in the Northern Region.

The Deputy Chief of Staff noted that, Ghanaians need a government that will bring more development to the region.

He cited projects that the President has done in the north, adding that, if northerners make the mistake of changing the government those projects will remain incomplete forever.

The President has started several projects like the eastern corridor road, the schools that are at various stages of completion, the hospitals, roads that are not completed and many more other projects, if there is a change in government, we run the risk of having them not completed altogether.''

''As northerners, we need a government that is noted for completing projects and not political parties that are specialized in abandoning projects. We need continuity and not any government that does not care about northerners''.

Mr. wanjagi questioned what northerners will be telling the world if they do not show love for their own citing the volta and Ashanti regions as an example.

We called Volta region our world bank because of JJ Rawlings, look at Kufour's time, he won massively in Ashanti region during his first and second terms in office; but if we neglect our own son, or own brother, husband and so on, then what are telling the world that we don't care about ourselves. If we northerners make a mistake and change the government, it is our own mistake.''

He noted that, under the Presidency of John Dramani Mahama, northerners have witnessed an international flight from the north to Suadi Arabia at the Tamale International Airport.

The Tamale International Airport was started by Kwame Nkrumah and it was abandoned for so many years until recently that His Excellency John Dramani Mahama during his first tenure in office at least we can witness an international flight from Tamale to Saudi Arabia and that is a record for us.''

The NDC regional campaign launch brought together some of the bigwigs in the region including the Deputy General Secretary, Koku Ayindoho, Mohammed Muniru Limuna, the campaign coordinator, Mohammed Mumuni, Inusah Fuseni and Murtala Mohammed.

The rest were the northern regional minister, Abubakari Abdallah, his deputy A.B.A Fuseini, the regional chairman of the NDC Chief Sofo Azoka, other regional executives and parliamentary candidates in the region.



Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira/citifmonline.com/Ghana
An Accra High Court has cleared Mr Joseph Mensah, a contestant in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) primary in Kwesimintsim Constituency of the Western Region, to contest in a fresh primary to be organised by the party, barely three months to the polls in December.

It said this is to be done to elect the party's parliamentary candidate in the coming general elections

The Court, chaired by Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Eaash, gave this order.

Judgement was made after the Court upheld claims by one of the contestants, Joseph Mensah, that he was unjustifiably disqualified from contesting in the primary that involved the incumbent MP, Joe Baidoe-Ansah.

The ruling of the Court was that the party should allow Mr Mensah to participate in the primary and any other future elections in the constituency, because his disqualification was not lawful and was against the tenets of the Constitution.

The Courts ruling for fresh primaries in the Kwesimintsim Constituency comes just a week before the filing of nominations on September 30, which means that the primary could be held latest by Wednesday, September 28 to enable the winner file his nomination.

Mr Mensah was disqualified by the Constituency Vetting Committee on the basis that he was not a member of the party.

The Committee claimed that, the candidate's party identity cards were fake, and he was also a former cadre who worked with the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) under leader, Flt Lt J.J. Rawlings and that he was also working for the interest of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

After his disqualification, Mr Mensah appealed against the decision at the National Appeals Committee level, which also endorsed the disqualification by the constituency, forcing him to take the matter to court.

Mr Baidoe-Ansah, who was accompanied by some supporters to the Court, said he accepts the ruling of the court and that he was prepared to contest again for the Kwesimintsim Constituency.


Although it may seem counterintuitive, reports that the unemployment rate in Linn County is slowly rising actually amount to good news for area workers. And it's always a good idea, when digesting the latest statistics from the Oregon Employment Department, to look at a broader perspective.

As the Democrat-Herald's Kyle Odegard reports elsewhere in this edition, Linn County's unemployment rate for August was 6.5 percent. (We're using numbers that are seasonally adjusted  that is, they've been adjusted to take into account normal seasonal fluctuations.)

That 6.5 percent mark represents a slight increase from July's 6.4 percent.

In a county such as Linn, where the unemployment rate was in the double digits as recently as April 2013, it's easy to see how a slow increase in the jobless rate would trigger a whole new set of economic worries.

But that kind of worry is premature here, and there's a reasonably simple reason why: Remember that the calculations that make up the unemployment rate only include those people in the workforce who actually are looking for work. It wasn't all that long ago that people had given up looking for jobs. If you're jobless and so discouraged that you've given up looking for work, you don't get included in the unemployment calculations.

Now, though, as the mid-valley's economy continues to bounce back from the recession, many of those people have decided to start job-hunting again. But it's the fortunate soul who lands a job immediately; job-hunting takes time even in the best of times. And while those people are handing out resumes to prospective employers, they again are counted as part of the unemployment rate.

So, oddly enough, the slight bump in the county's unemployment rate is a sign that the recovery is continuing to gather steam  and, in fact, a look at the number of new jobs created in Linn County helps confirm that.

Since August 2015, economists say, Linn County has added 1,280 jobs, a 3.1 percent increase. During the same stretch of time, the civilian labor force has jumped by about 1,850 workers in the county. Remember that the labor force includes everyone who has a job or who is looking for one, so you can understand how the unemployment rate can rise even at a time when the economy is churning out new jobs.

A longer perspective helps here as well: The unemployment rate for Linn County a year ago in August was 6.9 percent, so we've seen year-over-year improvement. And, again, it wasn't too long ago (May 2009, to be exact) when the jobless rate here was 14.9 percent, more than twice the current rate.

The employment skies aren't completely cloudless: Many of our current job gains have come courtesy of the private sector, and some economists believe private job growth would slow if voters approve Measure 97, the proposed corporate sales tax. Linn County's rate of job growth still lags the state's, a sign that some of the county's smaller communities still are struggling economically.

And the Legislature, which has passed a number of measures recently making it harder for Oregon businesses to prosper, seems determined to keep the streak going: Sen. Michael Dembrow of Portland says he'll introduce a bill in the 2017 session proposing "flexible scheduling," a mandate requiring some employers to give employees early notice of scheduling changes. At a time when legislators and other state officials are counting on a booming economy to help fill the state's coffers, it might be wise for them to refrain from actions that could stall the recovery. (mm)
The NPP fraternity has resort to yet another strategy to deceive well-meaning Ghanaian's that mamprusis are sidelined by the ruling National Democratic Congress. This is a calculated attempt to make the NDC unpopular by the good people of mamprugu. Before I proceed I will like to school the so called intellectuals the meaning of neglect even though they claimed to know better than anybody who belongs to a different political party meanwhile common neglect they cannot define.

Neglect is failure to look after someone or something properly or to pay little attention to something. On this note are our opponents saying government has failed to look after the mamprusis or pays little attention to us? I will like them to come out and say the gospel truth on what they want the government to do for the good people of mamprugu of which the government has not done.Better still in what context are they saying that government has neglected mamprusis?

As it is obvious to every patriotic Ghanaian that NPP is the architect of political vilification and lies. We should therefore treat this with all the contempt it deserves. What they are saying is to put dust into our eyes for their own chip polical gains. They want to take us for granted for their own parochial interest.Npp has nothing better to offer mamprugu and Ghana at large.

It is high time the so called NPP in mamprugu comes back to their senses and call a spade a spade but not a big spoon. In fact it is on records that the ruling government has involved mamprusis in the administration of the country than the kufour led administration. Mamprusis are always remembered by the NDC government be it development or government appointees.

We are proud as a matter of fact to have the personalities below who have served and continue to serve mother Ghana within the current administration.

The current chairman of the Hajj commission Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul Rauf Tanko who doubles as the parliamentary candidate for YAGABA-KUBORI constituency was appointed by his Excellency the president of the republic of Ghana John Dramani Mahama.

Hon.Stephen Sumani Nayina was appointed as the northern regional minister from 2009-2011 by the late president John Evans Fifi Atta Mills.

Hon. Nansamu Asabge was the deputy northern regional minister before his subsequent appointment as Ghana ambassador to Burkina Faso.

Hon. Dr.Sugri Tia the member of Parliament for gambaga-nalerigu constituency has occupied the ministry of food and agriculture, heath as deputy and now a deputy minister of housing and resources all within this administration.

NAA Abdulai Mandiaya Bawumia, the Paramount chief of Kperiga traditional area who is the elder brother of Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia was the Ghana ambassador to Burkina Faso before his subsequent appointment as the Ghana ambassador to Cameron.

Hajia Gariba Boyah is the current deputy Ghana ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The latest appointment is the current northern regional minister and member of Parliament hopefully for walewale constituency, Hon. Abdallah Abubakari whose appointment was been referred to by the myopic and narrow minded individuals in the NPP fraternity as a token given to mamprusis by the president to retain power in the upcoming December 7th general elections.

All the above mentioned personalities are of mamprugu origin unless our opponents want to say that they are not mamprusis per their definition of a mamprusi. My dear readers, what really shows that mamprusis are neglected or sidelined by the ruling government?

So far, 5 mamprusis have served in 10 appointments in the NDC administration as against 2 in the NPP reign. Hajia Alima Mahama and Hon. Ben Bukari Salifu were the only appointees in the kufour led administration. The question is which government has neglected the mamprusis? Is it the NDC or the NPP? I anticipate that an affirmative answer be return to these questions by the so called indigenous mamprusis within the NPP.

Theodore Rosovelt of blessed memory once said about the man in the arena that "whose face is marred by dust, sweat, and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again because there is no effort without error and shortcomings but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who

spreads himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the triumph of high achievements and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly" . On this note mamprusis have chosen reality over falls promises.

I shall return with more testimony to the good works of his Excellency Wumpini John Dramani Mahama to the good people of mamprugu.

#ichosejm

#wechosejm

#theychosejm

#we have chosen continuity and reality with changing lives and

transforming mother Ghana.

#mobilizing the students for operation win all seats in mamprugu is

actively on course.

ABDUL MAJEED ALI(FOUNDING MEMBER AND INTERIM EXECUTIVE OF STUDENTS NETWORK FOR JM AND PC'S IN MAMPRUGU)

TEL:+233244671304

E-mail: [email protected]
As a human rights ideologue with an inborn predilection for the promotion and protection of the inherent dignity and the inalienable rights of all members of the human family, I, for one, buried my head in shame when President Mahama goofed terribly over his recent UN speech on democracy (See: Full Text of President Mahamas UN Speech-cityfmonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 21/09/2016).

Hear President Mahama: Democracy is not a one size fits all system. Different countries are at different stages of the democratic journey. Democracy evolves and cannot be forced. It doesn't help for bigger powers to go proselytizing democracy. It can have its negative consequences as we are experiencing in parts of North Africa and the Middle East. But still a properly functioning peer system can avoid some of the melt downs we are experiencing in some African countries due to the desire to remain in office interminably.

Human progress is not a seamless movement forward. It encompasses periods of reversal, mistakes, fumbling and falling. All parts of the world have been through this, learnt from their mistakes, picked themselves up after a fall and continued moving. Africa must be allowed the same latitude.

By inference, President Mahama is antipathetic to civil liberties and personal integrity rights which include inter alia, freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly and association, the freedom of religious expression, freedom from unlawful and political imprisonment, freedom from torture, freedom from unlawful physical or other harm, freedom from cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the right to a fair trial (Neumayer 2005).

As a matter of fact, several extant quantitative studies on human rights repressions cite democracy as a crucial factor that may negatively or positively impact on the repression of human rights by states (Hathaway 2002; Hafner-Burton and Tsutsui 2005).

Whats more, some contending schools of thought insist that democratic states are less likely than autocratic states to repress human rights (Henderson 1999; Poe, Tate and Keith 1999; Hafner-Burton and Tsutsui 2005).

It is also worth mentioning that in so far as Ghana has ratified quite a number of the United Nations human rights instruments which are geared towards the promotion and protection of inalienable human rights and democracy, it becomes extremely troubling when our president backslides and makes such an impolitic appeal.

Apparently, there is complementarity, indivisibility, universality, interrelatedness, interdependence and mutually reinforcing relationship between democracy and human rights. Recent examples include the enactment of United Nations resolutions 19/36 and 28/14 on Human rights, democracy and the rule of law (UN 2016).

In other words, democracy and human rights are inseparable. Thus, one cannot choose, for example, democracy over human rights, for it would be inappropriate to do so.

The values of freedom, respect for human rights and the principle of holding periodic and genuine elections by universal suffrage are essential elements of democracy. In turn, democracy provides the natural environment for the protection and effective realization of human rights.

These values are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further developed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which enshrines a host of political rights and civil liberties underpinning meaningful democracies.

Ironically, democracy deficits, weak institutions and poor governance are among the main challenges to the effective realization of human rights.

In fact, democratic governance stresses the role of citizens without any hindrance or exclusion  in moulding their human growth and the human advancement of societies. However, individuals can only make such contributions when their collective potential is harnessed through the enjoyment of human rights.

In 2011, for instance, the UNDP assisted more than 130 countries and devoted US$1.5 billion in resources to democratic governance, making UNDP the world's largest provider of democratic governance assistance. UNDP supports one in three parliaments in the developing world and an election every two weeks (UN 2016).

In 2014, UNDP programme strengthened electoral processes around the world and helped register 18 million new voters. UNDP also works to foster partnerships and share ways to promote participation, accountability and effectiveness at all levels, aiming to build effective and capable states that are accountable and transparent, inclusive and responsive  from elections to participation of women and the poor (UN 2016).

In March 2012, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution titled Human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which reaffirmed that democracy, development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms were interdependent and mutually reinforcing. The Council however reminded States to make continuous efforts to strengthen the rule of law and promote democracy through a wide range of measures.

In furtherance to this resolution, OHCHR, in consultation with States, national human rights institutions, civil society, relevant intergovernmental bodies and international organizations, published a study on challenges, lessons learned and best practices in securing democracy and the rule of law from a human rights perspective.

Based on the study, in June 2013 OHCHR organised a panel discussion on these issues, with the participation of international experts.

Besides, in March 2015, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 28/14, which established a forum on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to these areas.

OHCHR also works to underline the close relationship between human rights and democracy within the United Nations system.

It is against this backdrop that every patriot and proponent of democracy and human rights must be extremely worried over President Mahamas unmeasured speech at the UN 71st General Assembly in New York.

As observes by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, there can be no human security without human rights.

The fundamental human rights norms must be the starting point for everything we do nationally, regionally and internationally (Ramcharan).

Interestingly, however, the 2016 World Freedom report by Freedom House indicates that government agencies in Ghana occasionally restrict press freedom through harassment and arrests of journalists, especially those reporting on politically sensitive issues.

The report stresses that in September 2015, journalists and media organizations condemned presidential staffer Stan Dogbe, who allegedly attacked Ghana Broadcasting Corporation journalist Yahayah Kwamoah and damaged his recording device.

The 2016 report states that media groups criticized police for failing to protect journalists from TV-Africa who were attacked while covering demonstrations in the slum known as Sodom and Gomorrah in Accra.

In January 2014, police in the Upper West Region arrested the host of the radio talk program Sungmaale FM, along with two panellists, for on-air comments about police strategies toward criminal activity. The detainees were released the same day, and the acting commissioner of police of the Upper Western Region apologized for the officers unlawful conduct.

In March 2013, two photojournalists from state-owned newspapers were brutally beaten by security officials while they were taking photos of Mahama during Ghanas Independence Day celebrations. The Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) and the Media Foundation for West Africa condemned the attack and demanded an immediate probe. The Ghana Armed Forces conducted an investigation of the incident and in April exonerated the military personnel involved of any misconduct. However, public uproar over the exoneration led the countrys chief of defence staff in May to apologize to the photojournalists and say they would be compensated.

In January 2012, several agents of the Bureau of National Investigations attacked a reporter for the private Daily Guide when she attempted to photograph the deputy superintendent of police, who was being investigated for alleged offences.

In June 2012, four police officers assaulted a reporter for the state-owned Daily Graphic, who was covering a drug raid conducted by the police. The government indicated that it was investigating both cases, but no charges were brought against either.

In March 2011, teachers union members who were conducting a peaceful march against a new wage policy were subjected to beatings, tear gas, and arrest by police in Accra.

In February 2010, NPP activist Nana Darkwa Baafi was detained on charges of publishing false news with intent to cause fear or harm to the public or to disturb the public peace. His arrest prompted the NPP to boycott parliamentary proceedings for two days. Baafi had alleged during a radio interview that former president John Rawlings had set fire to his own government-sponsored residence in an effort to acquire new housing. During Barfis hearing in March, NPP and NDC supporters clashed at the Accra courthouse, leaving two injured. The case was ultimately dropped in October.

In July 2010, criminal charges were brought against the acting news editor of Joy FM, Ato Kwamena Dadzie, for his coverage of the scandal surrounding the STX Korea housing deal.

In fact, the list is not exhaustive, however, time and space wont allow me to enumerate all in this periodical.

Nevertheless, given that the NDC government is fond of civil liberties and personal integrity rights violations, President Mahamas opposition to democratic governance should be a bother to every human rights activist.

In any case, based on President Mahama and his NDC governments recent record on unlawful detentions, it came as no surprise when the officials of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) were reported to have detained the prolific writer and NPP sympathiser, Fadi Dabousi for inexplicable reasons (See: Journalist, Fadi Dabbousi, reportedly arrested at Kotoka-ghanaweb.com, 23/09/2016; Fadi Dabbousis lawyer threatens to sue BNI; classfmonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 25/09/2016).

K. Badu, UK.

References will be available on my blog at: www.alljoycom.wordpress.com
I'm a reggae addict and one of my all-time greats is Andrew Peter Tosh. My favourite among his many great hits is Glass House. The first four lines read, If you live in glasshouse, don't throw stone. And if you can't take blow brother, don't throw blows.

I remember vividly the first time I heard the song. I was then in primary six. I fell in love with the song so much that I literally begged my friend to lend me his father's cassette. I had the Mama Africa cassette album for only a day. But I could sing every word of the Glass House song by the time I returned the cassette. I've since made the song my guiding principle. From the results I've had so far, I think Wofa PK should emulate my example.

Did I hear you ask who Wofa PK is? He is our Vice-President, and the economic guru who gets confused anytime Dr Bawumia delivers an economic lecture. Maybe he hasn't heard the song before. Maybe he has, but failed to listen carefully to the lyrics. If I were him, I would listen to the song carefully and stop throwing stones at others.

It is an open secret that Wofa PK's favourite pastime since his secondary school days is having amorous and erotic relationship with guys of the same-sex. Yes, it is alleged. But as the popular Akan proverb says, When the frog narrates events from the river-bank to the effect that the crocodile is dead, one has no reason to doubt it.

Indeed, it was his alleged gay partner who willingly let the obese cat out of the bag. The bloke didn't even mind his picture being splashed on the front page of the ubiquitous Daily Guide. His narration was so vivid that it was difficult not to believe his story. (Read the January 9, 2012 online or print edition of the Daily Guide if you doubt me.)

We knew this weakness of his but held our tongues out of respect for the position he occupies. But if Mr Creptua has forgotten that he is in a glasshouse and has resorted to throwing stones, then some of us feel obligated to remind him of the type of house he is living in. For your information, Creptua was how he and his gay partner were alleged to be called when they were in a top boys' senior secondary school in Cape Coast in the Central Region.

Many have attacked Mr Creptua for descending so low and referring to the height of Nana Addo during a campaign tour. Much as I dislike seeing older folks being disrespected, I believe it behooves the elderly to show maturity in their words and actions. If a sane adult opens his mouth wide and vomits very stinking words, he is likely to receive like words in return.

Yes, Nana Addo is short, but he is not gay. Neither is he corrupt. Much mud has been thrown at him without success. Such a man is my choice for the presidency.

In the meantime, my compatriots eagerly await Wofa PK to redeem his promise and respond to Dr Bawumia's hefty economic blows that have dazed him and his ilk. He has been to Kwahu and a few other places but had failed to speak on the Bawumia lecture. Frankly, we eagerly await his so-called illuminating economic response!

Abusuapanin, the Chief Propagandist is at it again! After eating humble pie and apologizing for all the lies and propaganda he spewed out during the 2008 polls, many of us thought Fiifi Kwettey had repented. How wrong we were! Among other lies, the man is reported to have said the $750 million Eurobond was virtually wasted by the erstwhile Kufuor government.

He was, however, exposed last Saturday on Newsfile, when Wofa Kwaku Baako produced a World Bank document which detailed how the Eurobond facility was used. About $286 million was used for investment by the Volta River Authority; $134 million for investment by Electricity Company of Ghana; $90 million on road infrastructure; $54 million on Bui Dam; $31 million on the West Africa Gas Pipe-line and a host of others. Only liars and propagandists could refer to such wise investments as waste!

Am I surprised? No, I'm not. I'm not because Fiifi and his ilk are unrepentant liars. But for lies and propaganda, would they have become ministers and deputy ministers? I wouldn't repent if I were them. Or would you?

By the way, have you seen the Mahama cash-for-vote video? I've seen it but couldn't tell whether it was cash being dished out or something else. Interestingly, Chief of Staff says it was not cash but leaflets. He was, however, contradicted by his boss who says it was cash. Well, whether cash or leaflet, the value is the same. After all, it is Mahama paper.

I would end today's piece with an unsolicited advice to incompetent politicians and those living in glasshouses. It is better to close your mouth and let all assume you are a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!
26.09.2016 LISTEN

It is public knowledge, whether true or false, that a certain Ashanti queens brothers death is put squarely on the head of this notorious queen. She is blamed for secretly feeding her brother who was a paramount chief, but now deceased, with a type of meat he was strictly forbidden by tradition and custom to eat. The meat in itself was not poisonous but tradition forbade him from eating it.

How was that possible, we may all want to know? She would cook for him the forbidden meat but would let him believe that it was some different meat other than the tabooed one. Take for example lamb (mutton) and someone telling you its goats meat; you may find it difficult telling the difference. Both types of meat may look the same and taste the same if the meat comes from a baby sheep (lamb) or a baby goat. So was her trick played on her brother?

Could eating the forbidden meat have sped up his death? I dont know but the superstitious ones do believe so.

Anyway, this publication is put out to advise two categories of persons; those who cook for others and those who eat from food cooked by others.

Those who cook for others: When you become a suspect in the eyes of many to have deliberately caused the death of someone through the food you served to the person(s), please stop inviting people to eat from your table. Should you continue cooking and inviting people to eat from your home, those who are aware of your history will always turn down your invitations to them by offering you credible or flimsy excuses to justify why they cant turn up. They may at times even not bother to offer you any excuse for failing to turn up.

Those who carry their stomach before them, eating from every bowl and from anywhere: To these people, I will advise them to be extremely careful of where and from whom they eat. From what I have heard from many people with or without knowledge of our African black magic called juju, most of the deaths caused and blamed on people for casting evil spells on others using juju or fetish are mostly false. It is not the juju that kills but the poison they may put in the food you eat or the water/alcohol you drink that kills.

If you stay away from eating anyhow, anywhere and from anyone, juju will struggle but it may never succeed in killing you.

Have you not heard of chairs being stuffed with poison-induced needles or items of that sort and offered to people to sit on? Once you sit on that chair and you slightly get pricked by any of the needles, you will get infected and by how lethal the poison is, you can die.

Was it any wonder then that when President Ede bii Keke Mahama attended the funeral of one Mr Agyei, alias Chumbey, at Kumawu barely a week, two or three ago, he refused to pop around the said queens house to drink or eat anything? All her great expenses made - cooking expensively sumptuous meal, purchasing expensive drinks from abroad and rushing down to Ghana from the Americas all with the aim of cornering the President in Kumawu to treat him to some sort of mini party even though he had come to mourn with the pastor of his Accra Baptist Church in line with Romans 12:15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep, came to naught.

The President, despite his numerous shortcomings and corrupt attitudes and practices, may not be the type that eats from every bowl provided it is not libidinal-related.

As once said by my friend, Dr James Charles London, from the Kumawu Ankaase royal family, If you are engaged in litigation with anyone, make sure you do not eat and drink from outside in order not to get easily killed by them through poisoning.

I will not go into any further details about anything regarding cooking for others and eating from anywhere anyhow as a word to the wise is enough

I dedicate this publication to all those who cook for, and eat from, others.

Rockson Adofo
Does tonights first US 2016 presidential debate have the mojo to be dubbed as such?

The hype has been profound. And it would perhaps come close to blows in terms of its intensity. But until the dust is settled no one knows whose nose would be bleeding at the first US 2016 presidential debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump says journalist and author Gordon Offin-Amaniampong:

The epic debate which comes off tonight (Monday Sept.26) live from Hofstra University in New York is expected to pull viewership record of 100 million the biggest since Reagan and Carter debate in 1980 according to bookmakers.

What more? The debate will have its firstsFirst time a male candidate will debate a female in US political history. And the first time both major parties (Democrat & Republican) have expressed deep misgivings about the candidates vying for the number One office.

In the meantime, I can say emphatically that the mock debate sessions and drills are over for Mrs. Clinton whos vowed not to ignore caution or take anything for granted.

The reason, I believe she cannot tell which of the Trumps she will be facing off hours from now. Is it the Trump that builds the great wall between the US and Mexico and makes the Mexican government pay?

Or the Trump that meets the Mexican president in a more presidential fashion but returns home hours later and doubles down his earlier claim/?

Mr. Trump is like a chameleon- a protean character. He can hit below belt, he can jab and punch-drunk his opponents plus hes capable of gifting upper-cuts. According to the New York Times Clintons opponent had largely shunned traditional debate preparations in the build up to the historic matchup. However, the paper reports, the business mogul had been watching videos of Mrs. Clintons best and worst debate momentslooking for vulnerabilities.

But what are viewers expectations in the 90-mionute Titans fight?

From the Clinton camp: Viewers are expecting the former secretary of state to debate on issues, be herself, avoid drifting too much into Trumps corner at the same time being offensive.. Counter attacks and occasional interruptions could cause him to lose his cool. This would cast Mr. Trump as brusque and a man of no temperament and unfit to be president.

Being seen as a tough candidate would also boost her chances and help her carry the night

On the other side, Trumps supporters expect him to unleash his trademark punches--- the style that spurned him to take down 16 Ninjas at the Republican primaries. Even though that reputation is said to be a myth, his supporters think otherwise, urging the controversial nominee to punch hard.

The question remains how cleverly can Mr. Trump do this without stepping on the toes of Mrs. Clinton?

Remember his remarks concerning Carli Fiorinas looks at the republican primaries?

But all said, there will be eyeball to eyeball, boot for boot and punch for punch in tonights face off. There will be nothing like kiddies gloves.

Debates in the past

The first general election debate in the U.S was Senator JF Kennedy the democratic nominee and vice president Richard Nixon the Republican nominee. The debate was held in Chicago at the studios of CBSs, WBBM-TV. The candidates had three debates but the one held on October 7 at the WRC-TV NBC studio in Washington DC drew the largest crowd.

The debate drew over 66 million viewers out of a population of 179 million, making one of the most watched broadcasts in the US television history.

The 1980 debate between Reagan and Carter drew 80 million viewers out of 226 million.

Recent debates have drawn decidedly smaller audiences, ranging from 46 million for the first 2000 debate to a high of over 67 million for the first debate in 2012.
The Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions have the highest incidence of poverty, food insecurity and the least climate resilient. As smallholder farmers, decreasing annual rainfall, erratic rainfall patterns due to climate change are affecting rural livelihoods adversely.

For instance, the Upper East Region, which falls within the Sudan Savanna zone, is known for a uni-modal rainfall regime lasting five to six months and a long dry period of six to seven months. Average annual rainfall of 885mm can be very patchily distributed and farmers sow seeds two or three times before the rains set in reliably somewhere in July or August.

Predominantly, farmers household food security becomes a major problem despite the fact that they tediously and labouriously till the land for cropping each year.

It is significant to note that crops such as the late and early millets which used to yield a lot of produce for the farmers to enable them feed their families and to secure some in their food barns for the lean seasons no longer turn out with good yields and this has adversely affected food security in the region- a trend that clearly reflects in higher incidence of poverty. The highest proportion of food-insecure households in the country is found in the Upper East Region where 28 percent of the people are either severely or moderately food insecure.

The phenomenon has necessitated a feeding calendar to be instituted by many deprived households in the region particularly in the rural areas. Between September and January some households are able to feed three times a day. March to June, twice daily and from July to August once in a day and in some cases not at all because food is simply not available. It is very significant to point out that the scenario in the Upper East Region is not only confined to that region alone, but cuts across the Northern and Upper West Regions also.

Effects of weak ecosystem services

The question one may pause to ask is: what might have accounted for the plight of these regions? The answer is not far from fetched. It is scientifically proven beyond reasonable doubts that what has accounted for this is the mismanagement of the ecosystem which plays a very important role in the survival of human life on this earth.

The valuable environmental services provided by natural ecosystems are too often lost as a result of mismanagement and lack of incentives to preserve them. Natural ecosystems provide a variety of environmental services. A typical example is that forests, in addition to all their other functions including the conservation of biodiversity, retain rainfall and snowmelt, filter water and release it gradually for other hydrological services. Yet these hydrological services may not be appreciated until deforestation results in floods and degradation of water quality, increasing the vulnerability of downstream populations and threatening their health and livelihoods as often experienced in the Northern Region periodically.

Perhaps land users typically receive no compensation for the services their land generates for others and, therefore, have no economic reasons to take these services into account in making decisions about land use.

Payments for Environmental Services (PES) intervention

However, with the introduction of the Payments for Environmental Services (PES) by the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project (SLWMP) in the three regions, all is not lost. The PES is a major tool for the restoration of the ecosystems and the effective management and conservation of natural resources. There is hope and a brighter future for farmers and landowners in these regions.

The Payments for Environmental Services, also known as payments for ecosystem services, are payments to farmers or landowners who have agreed to take certain actions to manage their land or watersheds to provide an ecological service as a means of ensuring the conservation of natural resources. This would in no doubt motivate and encourage farmers and landowners to adopt sound Sustainable Land and Water Management practices.

The PES Scheme has already begun in earnest in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. Under the project, four hundred and fifty (450) farmers in the three regions who are undertaking specific Sustainable Land and Water Management interventions are being paid under the PES concept on a pilot basis. This is to enable such beneficiaries manage their land sustainably, protect the riparian vegetation of rivers, improve the vegetative cover to provide ecological services.

The PES under the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project is being sponsored by the World Bank and being implemented by the Ministry of Science, Environment, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with other stakeholders including the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga on Wednesday, the Upper East Regional Director of the EPA, Mr. Asher Nkegbe, explained that the scheme would not only contribute to land degradation neutrality but would also help address climate change issues.

During a visit by this writer to the Asasong Community in the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region, which is one of the beneficiary communities of the PES scheme, farmers and landowners were seen busy working to protect the ecosystem including forest reserves, sacred groves and biodiversity, watersheds among others.

Mr. Nkegbe, who is also the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) National Focal Point for Ghana, stated that the instances where most community members engage in negative practices such as the indiscriminate and illegal logging, cutting down of trees for charcoal production, rampant bush burning would be a thing of the past now that the communities have alternative source of livelihoods.

With the introduction of the PES scheme, which is a market-based mechanism and offers incentives in the form of supplementary incomes to the farmers and landowners for protecting, preserving and conserving the ecological zones in the areas, the communities are now managing the natural resources, he said.

He added: Typically with the PES, forest owners or farmers are paid to manage their resources to protect watersheds, conserve biodiversity, capture carbon dioxide through tree planting [and] natural regeneration to ensure sound Sustainable Land and Water Management. Negative practices such as the indiscriminate and illegal logging, cutting down of trees for charcoal production, rampant bush burning such negative practices will be stopped.

Mr. Nkegbe, who stated that the concept had garnered substantial international interest as a cost-effective means to improving environmental management and livelihoods, cited Chile, France, Costa Rica, Brazil, Vietnam and Uganda as some of the countries that had reaped a lot of benefits from the concept.

He stressed that the approach which recognises the important role the environment plays towards the general wellbeing of people would be replicated in other communities depending on the success story of the pilot phase.

Mr. Nkegbe urged the beneficiary farmers and landowners to put up their best to ensure that other communities also benefit from the project and indicated that the PES scheme, aside from conserving the natural resources for posterity, also empowers the lower-income communities to earn money to help improve upon their livelihoods.

He assured the beneficiary farmers and landowners that once the project had signed a contract with them, their payments would be lodged at rural and community banks and would surely be paid based on their performance contract.

According to him, work done by the beneficiary farmers would be assessed after the first six months and one-third of their contract sum would be paid if they were able to achieve 70% of the earmarked results. Then, the rest of the money would be paid after the next six months on condition that work done is satisfactory. He said farmers could also forfeit the contract sum if they bridged the contract.

This is a critical rallying point because many rural people depend largely on the natural resources to make a living. The scheme is a powerful tool for providing additional employment and supplementary income for the rural community members, Mr. Nkegbe affirmed.

The Regional Director stated that the new scheme also had a great potential to increase agricultural productivity by improving soil fertility and rainfall patterns to boost up harvests and ensure food security for the rural poor.

USAID-funded Feed the Future Ghana Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Project

To help make greater impact in restoring the ecosystem in the three northern regions, there is the need to scale up PES Scheme to reach more communities in the three regions.

Much as environmental protection plays an integral function in food security, the introduction of Feed the Future Ghana Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Project, a 5-year initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), abbreviated as USAID-AgNRM, is a welcoming development.

The project, which is yet to be implemented by Winrock International and its partners in the three northern regions, seeks to provide a scalable, integrated landscape approach to support sustainable economic development and rural livelihoods. It is also aimed at, increasing nutrition, providing climate change adaptation and strengthening natural resources in northern Ghana. For such a laudable project, the PES should be integrated into its implementation process. This would in no doubt help in the conservation of watersheds and biodiversity corridors as well as the promotion of trans-boundary solutions and ecosystem services.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the PES Module is among the best Sustainable Land and Water Management interventions that can be used to effectively manage and conserve natural resources in northern Ghana as well as help mitigate climate change and reverse land degradation in the three regions which would eventually lead into the increase of household food security.

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26.09.2016 LISTEN

Former President of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA), Stephen Corquaye, has described as suicidal the directive by government to use hospital staff as an alternative for pharmacists while members of the association are on strike.

Mr Corquaye in an interview with journalists on the last day of the extension of their services to in-patients and emergency cases said the directive by government puts the lives of Ghanaians in danger.

Some hospital staff should hold the front while the pharmacists are on strike is suicidal every person that works in the health sector, especially medicine, is very critical. So when experts are there and you put unqualified people there then you and I, our lives when it come to the issue about medicine is in real danger, he stated.

Mr Corquaye said dispensing of medicine when it comes to healthcare delivery was very important, in fact they play about 65 percent of the total medical cost and if you do not handle it well, the health of the whole nation will be in danger.

The health ministry in a press statement last week directed all heads of health institutions and agencies to ensure that there is continuous dispensing of medications at all health facilities as the Ghana Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) continues its strike.

The press statement issued by the ministry read, Patients on admission and out-patients should be having complete supply of medication, and pharmacies should remain open for non-striking staff to handle under the supervision of the heads of the institutions.

However, Mr Corquaye mentioned that what the ministry should have done was to sit down and amicably resolve an issue that is six years old.

If the government itself has set up a cabinet sub-committee as far back as 2013 and has brought a recommendation and has been sent for implementation and it never sees the day of light, the National Labour Commission has also taken a ruling that is also not being enforced so who is violating the law is it we or the employer? he asked.

Touching on the issue of where the association has reached with government negotiations, Mr Corquaye said although government's posture in settling the matter was not encouraging, the association had made some progress.

He, however, stated that the decision of whether to go back or not must be a collective decision made by the members of GHOSPA.

Government posture has not been good although we have made some little inroads, we think that government should have handled issues better because of the fact that our services are very crucial, he stated.

The former GHOSPA president, however, appealed to the public to be a little more patient with the association as it demands what is rightfully theirs.

Anytime we go on strike, we do not go because we want to but because we have been pushed so much to the wall, we cherish our customers and clients and we put them first that is why we decided we have to extend the time.

Now today is the tenth day and we have decided to take stock of what has happened and see how best we can review our strategy, he disclosed.

Government is yet to reach an agreement with GHOSPA after three weeks of strike by the association.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
A teenager, who robs people of their valuables in the night with a sharp knife in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, has been arrested.

Augustine Kyeremeh, 18, robbed a certain teacher at knife-point which resulted in his arrest.

The teenager usually carried out his nefarious activities at obscure places at Ash Town, which is located in the heart of the city.

ASP Mohammed Yussif Tanko, the Ashanti Regional Police PRO, disclosed that Kyeremeh pulled a knife on the hapless teacher and forcibly took away two mobile phones and an amount of GH550.

The teacher later reported the matter to the police, who arrested Kyeremeh after investigations.

ASP Tanko, who disclosed this to the media in Kumasi, said Kyeremeh admitted the offence during interrogation.

He stated that the police were conducting further investigations to determine his involvement in other cases.

ASP Tanko urged the public to provide the police with vital information to ensure the arrest of hoodlums before they strike.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
A police informant, who ensured the arrest of a cocaine dealer at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo region, is said to be living in fear as a result of death threats from the family members, DAILY GUIDE has gathered.

The accused person, Mohammed Shafew was remanded into prison custody by a Fiapreh Circuit Court to reappear on October 7, 2016.

The paper learnt that the informant personally mobilized some macho men from Techiman to arrest Shafew after the police failed to arrest him.

Consequently, Mohammed Shafew was charged with possessing narcotic substance without lawful authority.

The accused is known to the police in the Techiman Municipality but anytime he is arrested, he bribes the police and left off the hook but because this time he was caught red-handed with the substance and handed over to the police, the law enforcement agents were forced to prosecute him. The informant is living in fear because the family members of the accused are threatening him with death on phone, a source told DAILY GUIDE.

The informant has therefore appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) through the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command to ensure the speedy trial of the accused person.

When DAILY GUIDE contacted the acting regional police spokesman, Sergeant Sampson Gbande for his comment, he said he had no knowledge of the issue so could not comment on it.

FROM Daniel Y. Dayee, Techiman

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The French Embassy appears not to be enthused about Ghana's urban infrastructural development.

It is for this reason that it' organizing a two-day seminar on public-private partnerships and sustainable cities at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra starting from 29th September 2016 to interact with policymakers, architects and estate developers and brief them on new urban infrastructural trends.

A statement issued by the Embassy in Accra stated: Ghana is the second biggest economy of the ECOWAS zone after Nigeria. The country attained the category of lower middle-income countries in 2010 and has better development indicators than most sub-Saharan economies. However, infrastructural needs remain crucial: transport, roads, water and sanitation, health, administrative organization, and most especially electricity supply.

The programme is being organized in partnership with Business France and the French Chamber of Commerce in Ghana.

The first day will feature a seminar on public-private partnerships and focus on four key sectors for Ghana's economy.

For each sector, a French company will present a project it successfully completed in a country similar to Ghana.

On 30th September, in order to have a better understanding of the French approach and an illustration of these PPP examples, the Embassy, in partnership with Institut Francais and ArchiAfrika, will organize a presentation on the Ghanaian and French approaches to sustainable cities.

This will be carried out through round tables with both countries participants, and the presentation of a digital demonstrator designed from A to Z by more than 100 French companies, showing the unique and original global approach that puts together private companies, as well as public decision makers to design a whole city, it said.

It stated that on the second day, the conference will focus on architects and policy makers, and the realities and perspectives of sustainable cities in Ghana would be addressed.

Since French companies have recorded worldwide success in the aforementioned sectors, particularly through public-private partnerships, these will serve as good examples to meet Ghana's current needs.

The sustainable city approach will allow decision makers and urban actors to think and act differently, with new practices and techniques designed for a new urban model with effective solutions for critical issues such as housing problems, urban ecology, transports, human and social development.

Since 2010, the Ghanaian population in urban population areas has been 51.5 percent and it's expected to double by 2030.

A business desk report
LEBANON  At 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce will host a community forum about recreational marijuana dispensaries at the River Center, 3000 Santiam Highway. Speakers will present information on both sides of the issue, followed by a question and answer session.

Chamber executive director Shelly Garrett said the forum is intended as a way to educate local voters about a measure on the November ballot that would ban recreational marijuana sales in the community.

The forum will be moderated by Judge Tom McHill and is free and open to the public.

Since many of our neighboring communities have this same issue on their ballot we encourage folks from other communities to attend as well, Garrett said. We hope this will provide an evening of valuable input for voters.

Presenters will include:

 Mandi L. Puckett, a Certified Prevention Specialist with the Addictions Counselor Certification Board of Oregon.

She is the executive director of CLEAR Alliance, a statewide educational non-profit organization focused on substance abuse prevention. Puckett previously worked for a non-profit for 12 years as the prevention supervisor and coordinator of alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention efforts in Jefferson County, including supervising other prevention specialists. Her efforts included spearheading the Jefferson County Prevention Task Force, its Meth Task Force subgroup and numerous community prevention projects  including developing community partnerships and adopting the county-wide Jefferson County Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Protocol (the first such protocol in the state of Oregon).

 Wyatt King is a local community leader and city promoter who wants Lebanon to balance embracing the cannabis industry with limiting its downsides. He has made the case for legalization to city council and other public forums, combining research on cannabis with his knowledge and love for our community.

King is an agent and owner at RKI Insurance. He was a member of the Lebanon 2040 Strategic Action Plan Task Force that developed the communitys long-term action plan and oversaw development of a new city logo.

 Lieutenant Michael S. Iwai is a 19-year veteran of law enforcement.

He is assigned as a Patrol Lieutenant to the Albany Area Command Office with the Oregon State Police. Iwai served as Oregons 4th Drug Evaluation and Classification Program State Coordinator from 2008 to 2014.

He is a former chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Drug Recognition Expert Section and Oregon DRE Advisory Committee. He is currently an appointed member of the IACP Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), and serves on the board of directors with Children Learning through Education and Research (CLEAR) Alliance.

Since 1999, Iwai has been a certified and credentialed Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and obtained DRE instructor certification in 2002. He continuously instructs all NHTSA/IACP impaired driving curricula in and outside the state of Oregon.

 Brock Binder has been an active member in the cannabis industry since the beginning roll out of House Bill 3460, securing the state's 14th Medical Cannabis Dispensary license and the very 1st in Benton County.

Studying under Todd Dolotto, one of the founding chairs of HB 3460, Brock created an economic feasibility study on becoming a marijuana producer in Oregon for his Senior internship project with Oregon State University. Carrying his vast knowledge in Cannabis retail operations, product expertise and an active role in the Oregon Cannabis Retailers Association as well as the Oregon Responsible Edibles Council, Binder strives to educate the Corvallis/Benton County area on the holistic plant that is changing the world around us.

 Judge Tom McHill is a longtime resident of Lebanon and a native Oregonian.

He practiced law in Lebanon for 29 years at the law firm now known as The Morley Thomas Law Firm.

For the last 22 years of his practice, Tom was also the city attorney for the City of Lebanon. He managed the law firm (then known as Morley, Thomas & McHill) while practicing law.

Since January 2011, Judge McHill has served on the Linn County Circuit Court bench.

He was recently reelected to a second term. As the Circuit Court is the trial court for Oregonians, Tom has presided over trials of all kinds, including criminal cases, domestic relations cases and any other case before the court. Since September 2011, he has presided over the Linn County Drug Treatment Court.


Vodafone Ghana has launched its 'Yee Twi Kor Reloaded promotion to reward customers with the ultimate winner expected to take home GH150,000 after 90 days.

Under the 'Yee Twi Kor Reloaded' promotion, Vodafone customers who buy airtime, make calls, send SMS, browse the internet or purchase bundles will stand the chance of winning various prizes.

Agnes Emefa Essah, Marketing Director of Vodafone Ghana, said 'Yee Twi Kor Reloaded' is a new and expanded promotion, which has been designed to reward more Vodafone customers for their loyalty over the years.

Similar to last year's promotion, customers will notice that our recharge cards on the market have two scratchable panels with opaque latex covering.

The first scratchable panel will have the top-up pin and the second panel will have the hidden prize which when scratched reveals what the customer has won, she said.

The Head of Vodafone Marketing further noted that airtime winners will see another 14-digit pin number on the second panel behind their scratch card which they have to recharge their phones with the second pin to redeem their airtime reward instantly.

Again, customers, who win cash, will have their prize monies delivered to their phones through Vodafone Cash. In order to ensure that the cash prizes are paid to the actual winners, they need to recharge their mobile phones with the airtime on the scratch card.

They can then withdraw the cash at any Vodafone Cash agent nationwide or register their Vodafone Cash accounts and be able to buy airtime with their prize money, she stated.

She said prizes worth over GH2.5 million will be given to over 730,000 customers during the 90-day period, adding that customers can continue to build points for the race to win the monthly cash prize of GH30,000 and ultimate cash prize of GH150, 000 at the end of the 90 days.

Yolanda Cuba, CEO, Vodafone Ghana, in her remarks, reiterated the commitment of the telecom giant to providing its customers with new and amazing experience.

With the success of last year's promotion, Vodafone customers will join the telecom company on its journey to impact more lives, she indicated.

Going forward, our strategy is to provide unmatched customer experience and ensure that our customers are empowered to become all they want to be based on the platform we provide, she said.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri


New Patriotic Party (NPP) incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West Constituency, Irene Naa Torshie Addo, has declared her unflinching support for the elected parliamentary candidate for the area, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, in order for the party to retain the seat in the December elections.

She further asked her supporters to take the party at heart, eschew any differences and join the campaign team of Mr Ahenkorah.

Naa Torshie Addo, Deputy Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, made the call when she mounted the platform to address enthusiastic party supporters at Community 2, Tema, at the weekend.

I am pleading with you. I came to perform my role but the current government has sent the country back so I am asking you people of Tema West to vote massively for Nana Addo and Carlos on December 7.

Supporters of Tema West, I have the singular honour to introduce to you the new Member of Parliament for Tema West for 2017. God bless you all, she emphatically stated.

She further urged Ghanaians to reject the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and vote massively for the NPP to return to power.

Mr Carlos Ahenkorah advised party supporters to desist from petty gossips and lies that have the tendency to create divisions in the NPP in Tema West.

He also urged his supporters to unite with every member of the party as had been demonstrated by the incumbent MP and himself.

Mr Ahenkorah pointed out, What has happened in Tema West has put much joy in my heart..

Naa Torshie does not hate me; I also do not hate her but you, our supporters, have created enmity in the party. She has emphatically stated here that there is only one parliamentary candidate in Tema West; and I am the candidate, he pointed out.

The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NPP, Ishmael Ashietey, urged party supporters in Tema West to unite and work assiduously for the party.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema
SOME petty traders at Bantama market in Kumasi have reacted angrily after they were evicted from their selling points in the market by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) in a mini decongestion exercise carried out yesterday.

The assemblys taskforce, with support from the police, pulled down structures considered to be at unauthorized places and forcibly removed wares and trading commodities of the traders on pavements and lorry terminals.

The action has since drawn the anger and condemnation of the traders, who said it was a deliberate attempt by the city authorities to deprive them of their livelihood.

But the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of KMA, Godwin Kumah Nyame, reacting to the negative backlash, defended the operation, saying the Assembly notified the traders and gave them ample time to relocate.

He indicated that the affected people and their activities had become a complete nuisance that had threatened the existence of other services at the terminal.

He told Hello Fm, a Kumasi-based radio station, that the affected traders had ignored repeated warnings by the Assembly to relocate to the new market at Abinkyi christened Afua Kobi Market.

According to Kumah Nyame, it was unacceptable for the traders to take over the section of the market which is a lorry terminal to create unnecessary vehicular congestion.

However, one of the affected traders, Akwasi Adjei, denied claims by the Assembly that the place was a terminal, insisting it was a market place that ought to be occupied by traders and not vehicles.

In his view, the action of the KMA was too heavy handed, and that its not very nice approach to see city authorities looking like mafia and destroying livelihoods, adding that he was extremely gutted by the exercise.

Meanwhile, the affected traders now have to make a final decision about whether to move to the Afua Kobi Market or wait for the pressure to subside and then return.

The Bantama market is one of the popular markets in Kumasi and has been hosting traders since time memorial due to its location at the city centre.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi
A group calling itself Saltpond Forum at Saltpond in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region has threatened to mobilize the residents of the area to boycott the 2016 general elections.

According to the group, Saltpond which qualifies to be labeled as Ghana's 'Political Mecca' has been abandoned and that they can no longer stand the marginalization being meted out to them by both the ruling government and the opposition, hence the need to boycott the elections.

The President of Saltpond Forum, Dr Ransford Gyampo made the threats at a press conference on Wednesday at Saltpond.

Dr Gyampo noted that in spite of the role and contribution of Saltpond towards Ghana's socio economic and political development, the town has been abandoned as presidents tour Mfantseman without setting foot at Saltpond not alone to attend their festival even when they invite them.

Do we have memories as a nation? Is this how politicians want to treat the land that had the foundation for Ghana's partisan political contestation? The battle for independence may not have been fought and won without Saltpond, he added

He called on the government as a matter of urgency to provide the people of Saltpond with update on resources accruing from the Saltpond oil field and how beneficial they have been to the people of the area

We sense a grand but surreptitious scheme to relocate the municipal capital from Saltpond to Mankessim simply because of Saltpond's stalled development, we believe this approach is very irresponsible and a defeatist solution to a problem that can be tackled to honor the role and contribution of Saltpond towards Ghana's development, he stated.

He underscored the need for government to implore positive and proactive approach to address the pertinent developmental challenges confronting the people of the area.

Dr Gyampo appealed to the people of the area both from home and abroad to unite, return home and contribute to the development of the town.

DAILY GUIDE has learnt that Saltpond served as a venue for political meetings and activities of Ghana's two great political parties; the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and the Convention people's Party (CPP) that fought for the nation's independence. The two parties were even formed there.

The palm tree which was planted by Dr Kwame Nkrumah to signify the formation of the CPP and the Convention House where UGCC was formed still remain tourist attractions.

From Sarah Afful, Saltpond

Email:[email protected]
A Ghanaian citizen Richard Asante Yeboah has petitioned the US government over the some aspects of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) privatization deal.

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) signed an agreement with government to cede part of ECG to private partners under the Power Compact II.

But ECG workers had accused MiDA of acting in bad faith in the entire cession process

Mr. Asante Yeboah told Citi News the deal is not in the interest of Ghana and must be reviewed.

He explained that the petition seeks to indicate to them and also make it clear to these individuals that there ought to be a full scale investigation into the whole process leading into this ECG concession arrangement.

Compact II in full force

Meanwhile, the Power Compact II earlier this month came into full force despite a law sui t against MiDA over the concession of the ECG.

But the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU) had insisted that MiDA acted in bad faith in announcing the deal because they had objections over aspects of the agreement.

According to the General Secretary of PUWU, Micheal Adumatah Nyantakyi, the ECG can be made profitable without necessarily handing over the company to a private partnership arrangement under the compact two.

ECG workers protest

ECG workers embarked on a number of exercises including a sit down strike and demonstration in a bid to protest the concessionary arrangement.

Ghana to get over 498m dollars

Ghana signed the Power Compact with the United States of America acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington DC on August 5, 2014.

The Ghana Power Compact would provide Ghana with a grant sum of four hundred and ninety eight million, two hundred thousand United States Dollars (US$498,200,000) to improve the performance of Ghana's power sector, unlock the country's economic potential, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

About US$350 million of the grant is being invested in ECG to make the country's power distributor operationally and financially more efficient.

The Compact is being implemented by the Government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
The Deputy Attorney General and Parliamentary aspirant of the National Democratic Congress for the Bolgatanga East Constituency, Dr. Dominic Ayine has stated that President John Dramani Mahama performance is second to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in terms of infrastructure development in Ghana.

According to him no president in the history of Ghana except Dr. Kwame Nkrumah has contributed significantly to expand the countrys infrastructure than president Mahama.

Speaking at his campaign launch in Zuarungu in the Upper East Region, Dr. Ayine said the unprecedented infrastructure development under president Mahama have significantly contributed to the growth of the economy contrary to claims by the NPP that, borrowing to develop infrastructure was compounding Ghanas debts.

Dr. Ayine cited that, when Kwame Nkrumah built the Akosombo Dam, the Tema motorway, factories, secondary schools across Ghana, the founding fathers of the NPP said Nkrumah was borrowing too much.

The message of the NPP to fool Ghanaians that, the massive infrastructure in the area of roads, hospitals, community day senior high schools, irrigation facilities among others are liabilities cannot be true because they remain assets of Ghana, Ayine noted.

Dr. Ayine said the Bolga East constituency has had its share of the national cake under his leadership and appealed to constituents to vote massively to retain him and president Mahama.

I have phenomenally developed the constituency The Zuarungu market has been constructed, we have built CHIPS compounds, we have provided 23 boreholes for communities, we have built schools in Nykorkor, Kumbosko, Dulbila and renovated other schools in the constituency.

The Gambibgo community day school is ongoing; we are building a modern community library in Zuarungu among others.

All these things that we have done, I (Dr. Dominic Ayine) and president Mahama deserve to return to parliament and the flagstaff house respectively Ayine stated.

A thirteen member constituency campaign task force was inaugurated with a herculean task of ensuring victory for Dr. Dominic Ayine and President John Mahama on 7th December, 2016.

Dr. Ayine added the NPP should tell Ghanaians what they would do better than president Mahama and stop wasting Ghanaians time.



By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The vehicle of the Member of Parliament for Manhyia North in the Ashanti Region, Collins Owusu Amankwah, has been broken into and ransacked by unknown assailants.

Confirming the incident to Bright Kwesi Asempa, host of Yen Nsempa morning show on Onua FM, the MP said the perpetrators broke into his car parked on his compound in early hours of Sunday when he was asleep.

They made away with an amount of 620 cedis in addition to some documents he described as valuable.

It was around 1:50am Sunday morning that my car alarm woke me up and I alerted my brother. We quickly went out to check and realized that lights in my car were on. I realized my documents were everywhere in the car with some missing, a cash of 620 Ghana cedis that I left in the car was also taken, he recounted on Monday morning.

The Manhyia North Member of Parliament expressed surprise as to how his car was broken into and why those particular documents were taken.

He would not attribute any political motive to the Sunday dawn incident, he said, At this point I cannot say much because I have lodged a complaint to the Police and they will look into the matter, and I believe the perpetrators will be brought to book.
Inmates of the Navrongo Prison in the Upper East Region, have called on politicians to visit and educate them on their manifestos to enable them to make informed electoral choices.

The inmates made the call when the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) visited them to educate them on political tolerance, the rights of a voter, electoral offences and the steps of voting.

Mr. Ganvu Paul Kwame, the Municipal Director of the Kassena-Nankana Municipal, said the programme was part of the Commissions efforts to ensure all inclusiveness in the political process.

Mr. Joseph Kwaku- Yeboah, the Deputy Regional Director of the NCCE for Upper East, told the inmates that as Ghanaians they were major stakeholders in the election process, hence the need to participate fully in the upcoming general elections.

He said voting was very essential since it enabled the electorate to hold politicians accountable and to also participate in the decision-making process of the country.

Mr. Joseph Yeboah urged all the inmates and the electorate to uphold the culture of political tolerance during the forthcoming general elections to ensure peace.

He called on the electorate to abide by all the electoral rules and also to vote correctly to minimize the incidence of rejected or spoilt ballots.

The inmates were educated on the steps of voting and the dos and donts of elections.

The Deputy Director, who also educated the inmates on the rights of the Ghanaian voter, said every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind had the right to vote and was entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections.

I urge you all to vote with conscience and resist the temptation of accepting money and gifts from politicians, he said.

The programme was funded by the European Union.
It was a discussion about events leading to Kennedy Agyepong's invitation by the police and ultimate blatant abuse of his fundamental human rights when he was held well-beyond constitutionally permissible period of 48-hrs without being brought before a judge. And instead of Kwesi tackling the issue from that angle while he state his point of disagreement with Kennedy Agyepong over whatever comment he was said to have made in response to Nii Lantey Vanderpuye's declaration of all non-GAS as person-non-gratta with the four walls of Odododioodooo, Kwesi rather went off tangent and delve into launching scathing personal attacks on Ken.

He described those pronouncements by Ken as singular act that had completely shattered every chance of NPP's quest to kick out incompetent saint Atta-Mills and his bunch of greedy pigs, at the polls on 7th December, 2012.

Indeed, the level of Kwesi Pratt's hypocrisy has now gotten to the point where if care is not taken, he might even end up making some people believe that the wife of Atta-Mills is a man. And my reason is simple: we currently have on our hands, an Atta-Mills-led NDC which was not able to tell the good people of this nation, the location of their multi-billion dollar party office complex Asiedu Nketia said was at the point of completion during their FONKAR-GAMES finals in Sunyani, nearly a year ago, yet, Kwesi Pratt thinks Ghanaians have, out of the blue, forgotten about this gargantuan rot just because of one pronouncement of Kennedy Agyepong?

The mother of all state-sanctioned thievery by using Alfred Agbesi Woyome as a farcade,still lingers on and shameless charlatan Kwesi Pratt doesn't believe the good people of this nation are going to express their rage over this unprecedented thievery at the polls on December 7th? This is the same Kwesi Pratt who, during Kufuor's Administration, vociferously advocated for the exploitation of natural cement deposits at Otekpolu and threw his support firmly behind candidate saint Atta-Mills. But today, this very same Kwesi Pratt has made a skillful acrobatic summersault to support STX housing fiasco that had absolutely no intent to exploit this so-called gargantuan deposit of natural cement in serene environs of Otekpolu.

Inciting people of Dagbon against NPP

Kwesi Pratt, in 2008 shouted all over the roof-tops that the people of Dagbon must never embrace peace until the killers of Ya Na are found and after undertaking a trip to Tamale to incite the good people of Dagbon against the NPP, actually sat in the studios of Ghana's Radio Rwanda (radio gold) and dared sitting president Kufuor, who was the commander-in-chief of our nation's armed-forces, to venture into vicinity of Tamale and see if he (Kufuor) would return to Accra in one-piece. But a conflict breaks out in Bawku under the nose of saint Atta-Mills, and Kwesi Pratt says the president must not go there, but rather, jet-fighters must be used to bomb those trouble-makers into shreds!!!

There was also a point where Kwesi Pratt created a huge sense of fear and panic when he lied through his gargantuan dental formula by saying a woman had died at the ridge hospital during child-birth, due to a power outage. When it was proven that the story was a complete lie and fittingly invited to appear before media commission, he came out with a barrage of insults on members of the commission describing them as charlatans and told them to go to hell. When tax evasion skills of Kwesi Pratt was brought into the open by then Auditor General, insults and name-calling was what he(AG)got in-return on Radio Rwanda' 'alhaji-alhaji' programme.

Indelible Woyome-Gate thievery

Following the state sanctioned woyome-gate thievery, Kwesi Pratt now argues that the case is in court so we must not discuss it in way that will make Alfred Woyome look guilty since he is a Ghanaian whose rights must be respected, and that, it is only a competent court of jurisdiction that can pronounce him guilty. But rather ironically, it is this very same Kwesi Pratt who pronounced Dr.Charles Wereko-Brobbey and Mr. Kojo Okyere Mpiani guilty of unprecedented financial genocide against the good people of this nation, over issues surrounding [email protected] celebrations, when no court had declared them as such.

Demise of CJA

Kwesi Pratt and his now defunct CJA stomach-direction charlatans actually organized press conferences and massive media blitz to ask saint Atta-Mills to arrest Wereko-Brobbey and Kojo Mpiani and simply throw them into jail. Meanwhile, when Tsatsu Tsikata was fittingly convicted and jailed by a court of competent jurisdiction, this very same Kwesi Pratt was up-in-arms against the verdict and actually described it as bogus.

The Judge who sat on the case became a public enemy number one in the sight of these NDC bigots. They claimed the verdict was even written for the learned judge by some powers behind the scenes, hence, the formation of Free Tsatsu Movement. The jailing of Victor Selormey, Kwame Peprah and Sepa-Yankey by a competent court of jurisdiction, were all described as bogus by Kwesi Pratt.

A person who was shouting all over the place because his paper, THE 'UNSIGHTLY' INSIGHT, wasn't being given adverts and access to the seat of government, is today mute over same treatment being meted out to the editor of 'the searchlight' newspaper, Ken Kurankye, just because free ultra-modern printing houses, 4WD vehicles, fresh wads of cash and diplomatic passports are flowing waa! waaa!!waaaa!!!

I'm rehashing these past devilish acts of Kwesi Pratt just to prove a point that his explosive attack on Kennedy Ohene-Agyapong on Tuesday,17th April edition 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM, was nothing but pure act of unprecedented senseless hypocritic bigotry!!. As a matter of fact, a former highly prominent public office holder of this nation once told me that Kwesi Pratt is a character that has never been committed to a course if it doesn't come with a commensurate financial reward .And with his behavior under the Atta-Mills-led administration, I now have absolutely no shred of doubt that what I was told is a gospel fact.

What is treason?

Now, the Oxford Dictionary defines treason as the offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender pledges allegiance or betraying the state into the hands of foreign power. Synonyms of treason are Betrayal, Perfidy and treachery. Having laid out the meaning of treason, can anyone justify the actions of the authorities that in Ghana, for foisting a charge reserved for the likes of Rawlings?

Folks let me be clear, I don't condone the remarks made by the MP, but for him to potentially face the death penalty for venting his frustration as a result of the inactions of our security agencies in the crimes committed by devotees of the NDC regarding the ongoing voter registration makes our democracy a joke. All one has to do is to contextualize his remarks by correlating them to the voter registration crimes for one to know this is a crime of cacology (bad choice of words) and not treason. In anycase, where are the lawyers to prosecute a complex case of treason/genocide against Kennedy Agyepong when a much easier case of state-sanctioned "woyome gate" thievery is lying fallow?

Selective justice

The selective justice being propagated by Atta-Mills-led administration is very embarrassing to say the least. Rawlings stood on stage at last year's June 4 celebrations and called Kufuor a murderer and a thief but our security agencies never invited Rawlings for questioning giving the severity of the accusations.

Recently, a FONKAR aficionado accused the president's wife of taking 5 million dollars from Woyome and he was arrested. Do you see the selective justice on display? The truth of the matter is that Kennedy Agyepong has always been a target because of his bombastic personality and braggadocio mouth, and this poor choice of words on his part is an opportunity for the NDC to silence him once and for all. And if you think this is not politically motivated, then with all due respect you are naive.

Radio Gold

A character as Raymond Archer, who in 2008, engaged in criminal act of hacking into people's private phone conversations and playing them on his highly subversive "election forensics" programme on Ghana's Radio Rwanda (radio gold), today has the damn nerve to condemn Sammy Awuku? As we speak, the transmission wave of great OMAN-FM has been jammed when radio Rwanda was given the room to carry on with its genocidal bigotry during the 2008 elections.

Damn-right vagabonds as Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa and James Agyenin-Boateng who cocooned themselves in the studios of Radio Rwanda (radio gold) and called on NDC wee-smokers to besiege the EC with murder weapons are ministers of state and being paid massive wads of cash by tax-weary and economically battered Ghanaian. Indeed, abject hypocrisy has now become a virtue under saint Atta-Mills and this is why he will surely be a one-term president!!!

Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei

Email: [email protected]
Fadi Dabbousi, the fierce critic of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration who was arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) on Friday, 23 September for criticizing President Mahama says he respects President Mahama a lot but will not fail to criticize his government.

Fadi, a Ghanaian-Lebanese pilot, author of  59 Years Of Ghana To Nowhere; The Future Is Now , and a strong supporter of Nana Akufo-Addo, was picked up by the BNI when he landed in Ghana from Lebanon on Friday, 23 September aboard an Egypt Air flight, for alleged offensive conduct against President John Mahama.

Fadis book, according to sources, pushes for a change in leadership in Ghana.

His lawyer, Hassan Tampouli, had earlier threatened to sue the state security agency for abuse of his clients rights.

Earlier yesterday (Sunday), the BNI reportedly returned books they seized from the detained journalists residence.

Hassan Tampouli told newsmen that on Sunday at about 5:45 am, operatives of the BNI returned to the residence of Mr Fadi without a search warrant but they were given access to the property.

Meanwhile, Fadi who was released Monday dawn in an interview said he only wanted to push for change through his publication but not to insult Mahama.

I respect President Mahama a lot because he is our President whether we like it or not but that will not deter me from criticizing him when he is taking the people of Ghana for granted and to the wrong direction.

I didn't intend to insult him and so I find it hard to believe the conduct of the BNI he stated.

He indicated that he was treated well by officials of BNI during the entire period of detention, adding that his arrest and detention was not in connection with anything bad that he had done.

According to him, though the BNI did not charge him upon his arrest, he has been ordered to report on Friday.

Adomonline
Ahanta simply means the land of twins. Others have varriedly interpretated it have come from "hata" which means to dry oneself after being wet or cold. Ahanta just like all other tribes are also surrounded by myths and legendary. The Ahanta language itself is one of the Akan groups and sub unit of the several Kwa languages across the forest zone of Sub Saharan Africa.

There are varied traditions about the origins of the Ahantas. Some traditions recounts that Ahantas are part of group Akans who migrated from the old Bono Kingdom in the present day Brong Ahafo region, migrated further southward, cross the Pra river and settled at their present day location. Other traditions also narrates that the Ahantas are believed to have come from the mouth of a Whale being led by their king and warlord Badu Bonsoe.

Whatever the story is about the origins and the migration of the Ahanta story, we are part of the sovereign state of present day Ghana. We are all Ghanaians with a common destiny but the Ahanta must carry on with the pride of his identity and live in harmony with all tribes to create a conducive atmosphere for development of our motherland Ghana.

The Ahantas are presently located at the south western part of Ghana. Share boundaries in the North with the Wassas, West with the Nzemas, East with the Fantes and South by the gulf of guinea. For easy political and local government administration, the Ahanta land is divided into Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (formerly of Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly) with administrative capital at Sekondi-Takoradi and Ahanta West District with the capital at Agona Nkwanta.

The traditional capital of the Ahantas has always been Busua but currently Esikadu is also another capital whilst Dixcove has maintained its independence of Ahanta states. Some notable Ahanta towns are , Sekondi, Kwesimintsim, Apremdo, Beahu, Ewusiejoe, Bokro, Aboadi, Agona Nkwanta, Butre, Esikado and Akwidai.

According to 2010 population census, there are some 2 million Ahantas in Ghana presently involved in various trades and profession with religious distribution of Christianity, Traditional African Religion and Islam in some lesser extent. The Ahanta kingdom was believed to be one of the richest kingdoms in the sub region which reached its peak in the 19th century.

Traditionally, the Ahantas have been farmers, those along the coast practicing fishing and pockets of them involved in trading. The modern day Ahanta is involved in almost all occupation that cut across the social life of every Ghanaian. Ahantas are gradually creeping into teaching, nursing, engineering, medicine, business and a lot more into other profitable ventures.

Ahantas have never lived in isolation but rather filled their space in history and time. The Ahanta state and Ahantas are one of the first tribes to come into contact with Europeans and their civilizations as far as Africa is concerned. On 27th August 1656, the Ahantas and Dutch Gold Coast signed the Butre treaty. The Butre treaty eventually became the longest partnership agreement between an European nation and an African state.

It lasted for 213 years. The treaty expired on 6th April 1876. Ahantas just like other tribes along the coast of the Atlantic ocean, suffered the injustices of slave trade and colonialism. Unrecorded number of Ahantas were shipped to the Americas as slaves and the beheading of Nana Badu Bonso II leaves scars of foreign rule and domination in the memories of the Ahantas.

The Ahantas have contributed their quota perfectly to the struggles and the liberation of blackman from foreign rule and domination. Badu Banso II was constantly fighting the Dutch rule in efforts to drive them away despite the Butre treaty binding. Ceasure of Forts and Castles along Dutch and British Gold showed how the Ahantas believed in self rule and dignified their self respect, custom and practices.

In politics and struggles for independence, the Ahantas played their key role as required. Hannah Cudjoe also known as Esi Badu from Busua was one of the first and finest female political activists to have graced Ghana. She and the brother Emmanuel Dadson were actively involved in UGCC movement in Tarkwa. When the big six were arrested, she went round raising funds for their release.

When Kwame Nkrumah broke away from the UGCC and formed the CPP, she followed Kwame Nkrumah and become the propaganda Secretary of the CPP. She travelled extensively with Kwame Nkrumah and toured the whole of Ghana as part of Kwame Nkrumah's entourage. She was also a philanthropist who fought nudity among Northern women. She was constantly seen distribution second hand clothes in the Northern parts of Ghana. In education, she is credited with the concept of nurseries as she opened a lot of nurseries schools across the country.

In modern Ghanaian politics, the likes of Paapa Owusu Ankomah, the current member of parliament for Sekondi, Hon Joseph Cudjoe, the current member of parliament for Effia, Joe Baidoo Ansah of Kwesimintsim and former Minister of Trade and Industries under the presidency of J.A Kuffour, Hon George Kwame Aboagye, the current member of parliament for Ahanta West, Samuel Johnfia former member of parliament for Ahanta West, the late Mr. S.K Kwofie also a former member of parliament for Ahanta West and a host of others have contributed their quota meaningfully to the political development of our democratic processes and nation building. There are enviable number of youth involved in party politics as well as local government administration.

Nana Kobina Nketsiah IV, the Omanhene of Esikadu and Otumfour Nadu Bonso XV are great Ahanta kings alive today. Nana Kobina Nketsiah is renowned lecturer with several years spanning at the university of Cape Coast. He is a pack of wisdom as he is currently and constantly seen and heard speaking at public forums. Otumfour Nadu Bonso XV is also a former member of council of state and one of the longest reigning kings in present day Ghana. He is 50 years on the throne.

If Ahanta's have been able to stand the test of time all these years, then what is missing now? I guess it's the Ahanta pride. It is fast fading away. Our forefathers and ancestors carried the pride of Ahanta personality but it appears the present generation seem to have lost track of the pride in the Ahanta personality and wish to be associated with other tribes more than their God placed tribe. People of Ahanta decent now feel shy to mention their identity. There is increasing number of young Ahantas who are suffering from inferiority complex disease which is affecting greatly the self dignity and worth. Currently in places like Sekondi-Takoradi and it environs, the Ahanta language is almost of extinction. The same cannot be said of Gas despite challenges of urbanization and infiltration of other languages in Ga states. It is time for us to be proud of our identity as Ahantas. We should be proud of our land, food, water, cloth and everything that has the spirit of Ahanta in it.

This is the time we must all rise as movement of right thinking Ghanaians to take up our place in politics, education, music and movie industry, fashion and designing industry, sports, tourism, conquer the business world, travel the world and explore many opportunities to build upon the left offs of our fathers. We must rise to the occasion and be recognised as a dominance force in our contributions to the development of Ghana. We must request for our share of national cake and be apportioned appropriately. We should take up challenges as youths to wean our land from poverty and diseases. We should project the new Ahanta personality in the right perspective.

It's time to place the Ahanta personality into the right perspective. The good thing that has ever happened to me is the joy that I am an Ahanta from Apemenyim.

Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III

[email protected]

0248644201

#Ahantadiaries2016_09_26
The embattled fire officer in the controversial penis biting and alleged rape case, that took place in Techiman, has been provisionally charged for rape by the Techiman police.

Divisional Officer, Eric Ansah, was last week arraigned before the Techiman Circuit Court for attempting to rape Ataa Takyi , a beneficiary of the Community Fire Protection Assistant module of the Youth Enterprise Agency (YEA) at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo region.

He was charged based on the complaint lodged by the lady in question on Saturday. She said the commander attempted to rape her in her room for which she bit his penis in self defense.

The court, presided over by Her Lordship Juan Eyi King, on his first appearance, granted the accused a GHC2, 000 bail to allow him recover from the injury he sustained, and asked that he reappears before the court on 11th October, 2016.

The lady, who was not in court on the first hearing, may face charges of causing harm to the man if investigations turn out that the commander did not attempt to rape her as reported.

Officer under suspension pending investigations

Meanwhile, D.O Eric Ansah, has been interdicted by GNFS to allow for an enquiry into the matter.

The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Prince Billy Anaglate in an interview with Citi News, said the Fire Service could not confirm or deny the allegations against D.O Eric Ansah.

He added that, the officer will remain under suspension pending investigations .



By: Jonas Nyabor/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) says individuals entrusted with resources of the country are "stealing them."

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia believes retaining the current government would amount to an endorsement of the wanton dissipation of the nation's resources.

He therefore made a strong call for Ghanaians to vote in the NPP in the December elections.

Speaking to residents of Nyanyano, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region, the former deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana said, we should end the practice where people will steal our money to Burkina Faso and Dubai.

Water is a problem, is that not so? Light bill is a problem, is that no so? School fees are a problem, is that not so? he asked in Twi to which the people chanted, yes. He said, when you look at our country the currency is not faring well and this isnt that we dont have money as a nation but it is because of bad management.

The celebrated economist has maintained momentum in his criticism of government with 71 days to the presidential and parliamentary polls.

At a public lecture held at the National Theatre on September 8, he accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of recklessly mismanaging the nations economy.

Related Article: Bawumia delivers lecture on Ghanas economy

According to him, taxes and loans raised under the eight years of the NPP from the period of 2001-2008 was GHC20 billion compared to the GHC248 billion the NDC government has had from 2009-2016.

This, he believes was 12 times the nominal resources the NPP had in its two terms.

That was not the first time he has taken on the NDC government. In March 2014 when the Ghanaian cedi was being battered in the international financial market, Dr Bawumia predicted the cedi would suffer further if the government failed to be forthright with Ghanaians.

Government mocked at his claims and the cedi suffered against currencies such as the US Dollar, the UK Pound, the Chinese Yen and the South African Rand.

The NDC debunked some of his claims at a Forum for Setting the Record Straight Series, addressed by the Transport Minister Fifi Kwetey on September 22.

Related Article: E xcuse that NDC received more resources than NPP lazy, laughable - Fifi Kwetey

He said said any argument that compares resources the NDC has had to determine its performance is a lazy and laughable excuse.

The NDC, he said has demonstrated that without oil money it could grow the economy and make Ghanaians live a better life.

Mr Kwetey said: the real average GDP of the eight years of the NPP from 2001-2008 stood at 5.66 percent as compared to the NDCs 6.3 percent.

But Dr Bawumia said the NDC has been unable to defend some of the claims of impropriety levelled against its functionaries.

When we challenged the NDC they couldnt defend because they know the money is there. Our priority is to give every constituency $1 million every year to undertake developmental project, he said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers
26.09.2016 LISTEN

We were made to believe that teacher licensing was the best option until i came accross this:

_*"All newly recruited teachers will have to be licensed before they will be allowed to teach"*_ in a reportage.

I became so sad after reading the full reportage on licensing of teachers which is to start from 2016/2017 academic year, upon realizing that 2016/2017 academic year has already begun.

These particular set of newly trained teachers have been the most harshly treated batch of teachers. They were denied trainees allowances forcing them to access loans and making them debtors, their school fees was the highest ever recorded in history forcing many to be school drop-outs, many were sacked for getting a number of referals which UCC itself has not sacked its regular students for same reaons, many among these batch risk being posted for failing just a single subject which was not a yardstick for recruiting trained teachers since time memorial. They paid ghc5 for serial numbers aside internet charges to be posted to regional offices. Salaries of These 16000+ newly trained teachers for september have been tactically swayed away. The list goes on and on.

The above unbearable conditions being forcefully faced by these teachers has not been the only anti-teacher policies made operationalized under the watch of Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and the Director General of GES Mr Jacob Kor, and i bet it is never going to be the last.

Under their watch, more than 20,000 pupil teachers were laid off, most of which were denied their salaries which remained unpaid for almost two years before their expungement, salaries of more than 3,000 professional teachers has also remained unpaid for more than two years, as i talk to you now, more than 49,000 teachers dont know their fate about their unpaid salary arrears which has remained outstanding for almost three years.

And all these happenings are being ochestrated easily since teacher unions who are supposed to protect and defend teachers has rather become government unions who have delight in defending government. I was therefore not surprised when one Dr Tawiah was applauding teacher unions for their immense role in reducing teacher absenteeism. Interestingly, the teacher unions themselves cannot tell the exact role they played which led to the reduction of teachers absenteeism.

Whilst Dr Tawiah was recommending several pragmatic measures as antidote to teacher absenteeism, his doctorate degree couldn't make him realize that teacher/employee satisfaction carries 90% of the solution they are looking for. I was expecting doctor to recommend balancing of *Declaration of zero tolerance* for teacher absenteeism to *Declaration of zero tolerance to non-payment of teachers*. How do you expect a teacher who has been posted to "land-of-no-return" to be present all the time whislt you have denied him or her salaries for almost three years?

What at all does leaders of education want from teachers?

Upon all the unbearable treatment, are you not satisfied yet?

So you couldn't reduce the sting than to topple it up?

Licensing of teachers is not a bad thing to do though, but GES has not shown any commitment for teachers fate to be entrusted into their hands. How can an office who cannot work on just 60,000 documents be allowed to work on more than 200,000 documents?

Who is going to pay for the license fee at this time no license in Ghana is being given freely?

If licensing of teachers is the best option, why not license all government workers? Are teachers guinea pigs to be used for pilot testing anytime government is introducing a new policy?

I am waiting for the day one teacher union will rise and say "enough is enough". Until then, the likes of deputy Minister of education Alex Kyeremeh will continue to take unmerited credit for reducing teachers absenteeism from 27% to 7% whilst teachers continue to shed tears day and night.

Owusu Baffoe Daniel

[email protected]
Libreville (AFP) - Ali Bongo will be sworn in on Tuesday as Gabon's president for a second seven-year term, his office announced, three days after his election victory was controversially validated by the constitutional court.

The ceremony will be held at the seafront presidential palace in Libreville, the presidency told AFP Monday. It gave no details of who had been invited or the time of the event.

Bongo's victory in the August 27 vote was confirmed on Saturday by the country's top court, which dismissed opposition claims of vote fraud.

Violence erupted on August 31 after Bongo, 57, was initially declared winner.

Demonstrators set parliament ablaze and clashed with police, who made a thousand arrests.

Gabon's election controversy

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed. The government has given a toll of three dead.

Jean Ping, 73, Bongo's main election rival, lashed the court's ruling as a miscarriage of justice and declared himself "president elect".

Ping, a career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, had filed a legal challenge after Bongo was declared winner by a mere 6,000 votes.

Ping had asked for a recount in Haut-Ogooue province, where 95 percent of voters in the Bongo family stronghold were reported to have cast their ballots for the president on a turnout of more than 99 percent.

The Constitutional Court upheld Bongo's victory and put the winning margin higher at around 11,000 votes.

In its final tally, the court ruled Bongo had won 50.66 percent of the vote (172,990 votes) and Ping 47.24 percent (161,287 votes).

The European Union's electoral observer mission said Sunday it "regretted" that Gabon's Constitutional Court "had been unable to satisfactorily rectify anomalies observed during the count".

Bongo's family has exercised a long grip on power in the oil- and mineral-rich country of 1.8 million people.

Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 41 years until his death in 2009.
Like it happens in every election year, famous and celebrated personalities are heard and seen opting for one presidential candidate over the other, and urging their fans to vote for them. We are not sure when this started in Ghana but it appears this practice is not exclusive to us and it has come to stay not only in Ghanaian politics, but in Africa, the States, and beyond. In the United States of America, celebrities like, Beyonce, 50 cent, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and a host of others have all endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, whereas stars like Ted Nugent, Mike Tyson, Aaron Carter, Willie Robertson, Jesse James and Kid Rock have stood behind Donald Trump ahead of the 58th US elections this November. In the case of Nigeria, Rita Dominic, Mercy Johnson, Ini Edo, DBanj, Joseph Yobo, Jay Jay Okocha, Ramsey Nouah, Duncan Mighty and many others, threw their weight behind PDPs (People Democratic Party) Goodluck Jonathan, whiles Yemi Alade, Obafemi Martins, Desmond Elliot (now a politician), MI, Ice Prince, Flavour, Iyanya and others went in for APCs (All Progressives Congress) Muhammadu Buhari in their elections March last year.

In the Ghanaian context, celebrity endorsement rises with each passing general election. Today, celebrity endorsements have reached a height where celebrities now form networks and associations to promote their choice of candidates-the first time this is happening in our electoral history. Whilst some are on the side of the biggest opposition NPP, many others are for the ruling NDC and one is out for PPP. The NDCs President Mahama has been endorsed by Abeiku Santana, John Dumelo, Mr. Beautiful, Kalsum Sinare, Amanzeba, Bull Dog, Papa Nii, Rex Omar, Belinda Akua Amoah (MzBel), Paapa Yankson and others. There are groups like Celebrities for Mahama, Ashanti Faithfuls for Mahama etc. On the other hand, we have individuals like Okraku Mantey, Daddy Lumba, Wisa, Kwabena Kwabena, Sidney, Socrates Sarfo, Matilda Asare, A-Plus, Kwaw Kesse, Cwesi Oteng, Great Ampong, Nana Ampadu, Leo Mensah, Maame Dokono etc. together with groups like Agya Koo agenda 57 for Nana Addo, all solidly behind the NPPs Nana Akuffo-Addo. Papa Kwesi Ndoum has also received endorsement from Kumawood star Kofi Essuman Davis (known in showbiz as Rev Salinko), after which he was reportedly wooed to run on the partys ticket as parliamentary candidate for the Atwima Kwawomang Constituency. Although his Mahama paper is played at most party events, sensational Shata Wale has joined the neutral train, indicating that his song is not a campaign song and he is not going to endorse any candidate in this elections.

It is true that democracy allows everyone freedom of choice and therefore all who are eligible (celebrities inclusive) are entitled to decide who to vote or campaign for. Celebrities have fans from different political backgrounds just like chiefs and pastors, and one may expect that they do not get involved in politics because of the fun base. Article 276 of the 1992 constitution forbids chiefs from engaging in active politics, and religious leaders are as well expected to restrain from campaigning for political parties. But when we have some chiefs and pastors endorsing political candidates, there is no point in discouraging celebrities from doing so. The should be at will to endorse whoever they want to endorse without threats or discrimination whatsoever visited on them.

Interestingly, all celebrities that have been contacted by the media on their endorsement so far have vehemently denied getting benefits for their endorsement. The genuineness of these endorsements face questions. Some of these endorsements may be out of sincere conviction,

Agya Koo, Matilda Asare and others in Agya Koo Agenda 57 for Nana Akuffo Addo visit their candidate.

but some may come as punishment for neglect or ill-treatment, reward for a favour, a bait for an expected reward when the candidate wins, among others. Personal interest underscores many of such endorsements. For example, If a celebrity has been a party faithful from childhood (unknown to fans) and comes out to tell us to vote for the candidate of his party, he or she has done no one good, it is a matter of personal interest. Many are of the opinion that celebrities are paid money to campaign for the candidates and may not even vote on election day. It is alleged as well, that some of these celebrities are coerced with money, cars and big promises to announce their support for a candidate or compose a song, and the deal ends there. Nevertheless, when people say celebrities who endorse candidates are opportunists, I hold that there is nothing wrong with that. After all, celebrities are into industry, not ministry.

The bad news about political endorsements is that, our kind of politics sees supporters of the party we do not support as enemies. Considering that celebrities have huge following from all political quarters, they end up laying off fans who do not support the side they are at. On Radio Golds political program on 22nd September 2016 for example, Mr. Beautiful alleged that a decision was arrived not to give him a role in Kumawood again after he came out openly to endorse Mahama. At NDCs campaign launch this year at Cape Coast, John Dumelo told the crowd that he and his family are under attack and suffering insults because he aligned himself to politics. Lucky Mensah has had his own share of the insults, attacks, and discrimination that celebrities are visited with when they choose a side. After cross carpeting and composing a song for the opposition leader, he comes to tell us that his life is under threat. Today, Kofi Adu (Agya Koo) is visited with attacks and insults on social media and other platforms because he announced support for the experienced politician last week. It happens as well that after a person endorses a candidates, supporters of the opposing factions go on a fault-finding expedition. Whatever bad thing the person does as well is linked up directly to the party and candidate the celebrity has endorsed. We quite remember how many people were pointing fingers to President Mahama and the NDC when Bokom Banku went bleaching and got involved in some issues of abuse. After endorsements, the celebrity is closely linked with the party and its candidate so much that whatever bad that celebrity does is seen as what the party approves. There is a lot we need to change as a people, our kind of politics is not one we can boast of.

Actor John Dumelo addressing party supporters at NDCs campaign launch at Cape Coast on 14th August this year.

So how effective are celebrity endorsements in winning elections? Actually, politicians need not to rejoice so much when celebrities endorsed them because it does not at all guarantee victory. The candidate have gained nothing more than a famous (I didnt say influential) person assuring them of a single vote -that is if they are able to vote successfully on election day. Pundits and scholars argue that celebrity endorsements have no effect whatsoever when it comes to persuading voters one way or the other. In the Ghana situation however, citizens will follow you and like you as long as you do what they like. In 2012 for example, Diana Asamoah turned her spirit filled and much-loved Mabor wodin na mafr3 wo gospel song into a Nana Addo endorsement song. Daddy Lumba killed it with Nana ye winner and even till date that song is a hit, Philipa Baafi did also Nanalized her hit song Go High. None of them went to the grounds to campaign for him, and the assumption was that people will listen to the songs and vote for the candidate, but it doesnt work like that. This year, MzBel has done for President Mahama with her popular song what Diana Asamoah did to her gospel song for Nana. Lucky Mensah, Daddy Lumba, Kwabena Kwabena and A-Plus have all composed very beautiful songs for the former lawmaker and respected diplomat. But the important question is, is that enough to get win the needed votes?

Our political culture as a country is such that, a whooping majority of Ghanaian electorates ascribe to the Party Identification module. This is to say that most people are either NDC or NPP supporters regardless. The few who we describe as floating voters (many of which are Rational Choice voters) are not the kinds who will hear a melodious song or listen to a popular figure and decide on who to vote for. Neither will they vote for a party simple because their favourite celebrity endorsed the partys candidate. It comes to reason then that the impact of celebrity endorsement on election results are minimal.

Perhaps, the greatest success of political celebrity endorsement over the years is the Oprah Effect in the US, where it is believed that Oprah Winfreys endorsement of Obama was one major factor that gave him a win over Hillary Clinton and subsequently over . The dynamics are worthy of nothing, Oprah was a female who chose a male candidate, supported him with funds (she is riiiiiiich), featured him twice on her much patronized magazine, openly campaigned for him on many counts, joined and spoke at rallies, and featured Barack and Michele Obama on her show close to the elections. That is the kind of effort that gets results! The efforts of Oprah Winfrey is believed to have raked in a million votes for Obama to beat his contender. Is there any celebrity doing close to that in Ghana?

Whiles celebrities come up with tweets, Facebook posts, press releases or press conferences to endorse presidential candidates, their mere endorsement rakes in little vote. Its really difficult to get people to do something they otherwise wouldnt do or to switch teams because a popular figure has done same. The thousands of followers who admire these celebrities so much, is what gives these celebrate weight. Thus, their ability to pull their fans along their decision is what scores the impact they bring to the election. The deal is in canvassing votes and convincing people. Well, it is true that most of them cannot leave their schedules and go campaigning. Notwithstanding, one thing celebrities who endorse candidates in Ghana have failed to do is raise funds or donate towards the campaign of their candidates like it is done in other parts of the world. It remains then, that the sure impact of celebrity endorsements is agreeably threefold. They draw more people to campaign rallies or events, create a thrill in the media, and entertain supporters. Goodluck Jonathan had more celebrity endorsements than Buhari, but we know who won that elections. Obama had more celebrities to his side, and he won too. Other factors do contribute to election victory, but if celebrity endorsements will have an influence in elections, more is expected of endorsers.

Wait, let me ask you this as I end, will you vote for a candidate because your favourite celebrity supports that candidate and have asked you to vote for his or her choice?
The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, has expressed optimism that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) will retain all the 11 parliamentary seats in the Upper West Region, in the upcoming December 7 elections.

My six-day working tour of the region has boosted my confidence into believing that not only would we win all eleven seats; but we will also maximize the votes of our Presidential candidate, President John Dramani Mahama.

All the traditional authorities I visited acknowledged the fact that the NDC government under President Mahama has brought development to their areas, and this gives me hope for December, he said.

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) had two seats in the Upper West Region, but lost them to the governing NDC in the 2012 general election.

The Chief of Staff, who toured the region to campaign for President Mahama who is currently on an international assignment, explained portions of the NDCs 2016 manifesto to the chiefs and people of the region.

He also took the opportunity to engage the rank and file of the party, visited project sites, and toured constituencies, during which he assured the residents of more development should President Mahama win.

The Chief of Staff had earlier paid courtesy calls on the Wa Naa, Wicheau Naa, Dorimon Naa and the Nadowli traditional council.

The rest were the Nandom Naa, Bulinga Naa and the Kaleo Traditional Council.

He inspected ongoing projects at Doble where a 30-unit market is almost complete, and the about 98% completed community Day Senior High School at Luggor in the Wa East District.

Mr. Julius Debrah was impressed with the achievements of President Mahama as a lot of communities have been connected to the national grid, most roads have been tarred, CHP compounds, nursing training colleges, and water provided for the people.

I am very convinced that the Chiefs and people of the Upper West Region would retain the NDC for a second term to enhance the economic well-being of the people, he stated.

Julius Debrah has therefore urged the NDC in the region, not to leave anything to chance, saying lets intensify our campaigns, campus to campus, market to market and shop to shop.

We have an attractive record of achievement and our manifesto is promising more, therefore go all out to woo more people especially the first time voters to vote for John Dramani Mahama and the NDC, the Chief of Staff added.

By: Richard Mensah/ghelections.com/Ghana
The Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa South constituency in the Eastern Region, Samuel Atta Akyea, has expressed concern over the closure of the Kyebi Water Treatment Plant following the pollution of the Birim River.

According to him, the closure of the plant is beginning to take a toll on residents who depend on it as their sole source for potable water.

The Kyebi Water Treatment Plant was shut down last month because the water was left untreatable due to excessive pollution from illegal mining activities in the area.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Water Resources and Works and Housing, Abraham Otabil, in an earlier interview told Citi News the Kyebi water system being run by the Ghana Water Company has been temporarily shut down. This is due to the peak rise of the water turbidity and also as a result of the raw water colour which has exceeded the threshold value of 200mtu as per the plant designed and construction hence it has rendered the plant and then fresh water resources untreatable.

Mr. Attah Akyea said residents in the area are suffering as a result of the closure and therefore need governments intervention to provide an alternative source of potable water.

He said, They should come to the aid of the community by giving them boreholes, as many as they can, given the fact that the President could not prevent the messing up of the River which was helping about a fifth of the Eastern Region.

The legislator also said he was unable to make any major intervention to assist the residents.

He questioned that if the President of Ghana is not able to eliminate galamsey, how can a Member of Parliament cause arrest and deal with these illegal activities.

Galamsey destroying water bodies

Citi News has gathered that residents of the Brong Ahafo Region also risk losing a major source of potable drinking water, River Tano, due to the activities of Galamsey operators.

The water body, which has a total catchment area of about 1500 kilometers square runs through Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, and serves the Ghana Water Treatment Plant at Abesim near Sunyani.

Several water bodies across the country are under severe threat as the menace of galamsey has heightened with little or no effort by government to stop the act.



By: Jonas Nyabor/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) (www.AIGAfrica.org) has today issued a call for applications for its 2017 scholarships for a Masters Degree in Public Policy at the renowned Blavatnik School of Government, the UKs first school of Government, at the University of Oxford. The call was issued by the AIG Chairman and Founder, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, and Founding Directors, Mrs. Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Mr. Herbert Wigwe and Dr. Jeya Wilson, ahead of the inaugural meeting of the Initiatives Panel of Advisors in Lagos, Nigeria. From 2017, the AIG will fund five scholarships each year as part of a new five-year partnership which is based on the shared purpose of building good governance and public leadership.

The AIG is a Foundation established in recognition of the fact that Africas poor record of public sector governance is a critical factor preventing the continent from achieving its true potential. The initiative brings together proven private sector innovation, leadership and funding into a private-public partnership to attract, inspire and support future leaders of Africas public sector. The AIG believes that the high-calibre individuals trained at the Blavatnik School will drive best practice standards of governance across Africa, ensuring sustainable economic growth and social justice.

The AIG Scholarships will have an initial focus on candidates from Nigeria and Ghana, allowing the students to study for a Master of Public Policy (MPP) alongside classmates from across the globe. The scholarships will be available to those who can demonstrate academic excellence, proven leadership and commitment to public service and who intend to return to the public sector in Africa after completing their studies.

Along with the scholarship scheme will be an academic fellowship scheme. The AIG Visiting Fellowship will also be available from 2017, open to candidates who can demonstrate an outstanding contribution to public policy that has yielded meaningful impact on the public good, and commitment to public service in their country, region and globally. The Fellowship is open to senior officials or practitioners working in or with government and who are resident in West Africa.

Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of the Africa Initiative for Governance, said: The AIG Scholarship and Fellowship initiatives are scalable interventions aimed at tackling Africa's intractable challenge of poor public sector leadership. I am confident that our partnership with Oxford University's prestigious Blavatnik School will become fertile ground for growing future statesmen and women who will change the African continent for good. I encourage anyone who believes that they fit the profile for these scholarships and fellowships to apply.

Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, said: We are deeply grateful to the Africa Initiative for Governance for partnering with us. The Blavatnik School of Government shares with the AIG a clear purpose  to transform government through effective leadership and better governance. The shared programme will enable excellent West African scholars, from all backgrounds, to study for an MPP and will also bring senior practitioners from the region to the School as AIG Visiting Fellows  providing opportunities to help drive transformational public sector leadership across the African continent.

The AIG Panel of Advisors is made up of eminent personalities selected from across West Africa and will act as the selection panel for the award of scholarships and fellowships, as well as mentors to successful applicants. The Panel will also meet regularly to debate the challenges that Africas public sector faces and to conceive and propose solutions with long term impact. The panel is made up of:

His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Dr. Enase Okonedo, Dean of the Lagos Business School

Alhaji Abubakar B. Mahmoud (SAN), Managing Partner, Dikko and Mahmoud

Mr. Ernest Chukwudi Ebi, MFR

Mr. Segun Adeniyi

Mrs. Yemisi Ayeni

Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Databank, Ghana

Biographies of panel members are available upon request. Online applications will open on the AIG website (www.AIGAfrica.org) on Monday, 10 October, 2016.
26.09.2016 LISTEN

Energy policy think tank, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has told Citi Business News thousands of Ghanaians lose their lives every year because they inhale fumes from dirty diesel.

ACEPs Deputy Executive Director, Benjamin Boakye says people are dying because we import this dirty fuel. World Bank estimates that 17, 500 people die annually in Ghana because of air pollution and dirty diesel contributes significantly to this number.

ACEP in partnership with Swiss NGO, Public Eye, recently revealed that Swiss commodity trading firms are exploiting lax regulatory standards to sell dirty diesel to African consumers.

The report which surveyed eight African countries including Ghana, indicated that the sulphur content of diesel samples in such countries was more than 300 times compared to that of Europe, US and Kenya in Africa which has 50 parts per million (ppm).

The report also cited the alarming health implications from air pollution.

For instance, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates that by 2030, Africa will have three times as many deaths from traffic-related particle dust than Europe, Japan, and the US combined.

But the National Petroleum Authority, which regulates the industry has denied the allegation.

The authoritys CEO Moses Asaga told Citi Business News It is a blatant exaggeration to say that millions of people are being affected by that. We have sought permission from the EPA and that the emission test of Ghanaian vehicles which use diesel has so far been considered to be in the acceptable range. I think that all the comments are from a point of ignorance. I'd rather that the agencies particularly ACEP consulted the Authority to know the details on how the market entails before coming out with the conclusion, Moses Asaga remarked in an interview with Citi Business News.

Moses Asaga explains Ghana's standard of 3000 ppm falls within the regional margin quoted by countries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

He however added, a significant reduction in the sulphur content will cost Ghana about 300 million dollars. Our refinery in Ghana has been producing 1000 parts per million; as such if we want to decrease to 50 parts per million, that will imply the whole refinery will have to be re-configurated which may need a capital cost of between 200 to 300 million dollars.

But the Deputy Executive Director of ACEP Benjamin Boakye in an interview with Citi Business News, at the sidelines of the launch of the Africa Oil Governance Summit in Accra today- Monday said the situation must be resolved to prevent further damage.

People are dying because we import this dirty fuel. World Bank estimates that 17, 500 people die annually in Ghana because of air pollution and dirty diesel contributes significantly to this number.

If you look at the growth in the fleet of cars in Ghana, the numbers have increased significantly, between 2005 and 2015 the numbers doubled, so it tells you that pollution has also doubled and we must check this.



By: Citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
The maiden Gracefields apprenticeship mentorship reality show spearheaded by the Gracefields Chapel came to a close over the weekend.

The program which aimed to groom and fund budding business ideas was championed by the Gold Club, an offshoot of the Gracefields Chapel which consists of business executives, corporate bodies and achieved entrepreneurs.

It was the climax of months of assessing business plans submitted for vetting and a battle of ideas for the cash price of 5000 cedis and a 1 year mentorship program.

Three finalists, Joyce Adomako, Lord Kwesi Kyei and Amuche Daniel Prosper made it to the grand finale to defend their business plans before a panel of judges drawn from the echelons of business executives.

The overall winner who took the cash price of a five thousand cedis, Lord Kwesi Kyei is on the verge of setting off with an online marketing platform which will be an E  shopping mall for handicrafts of African origin.

Speaking to Ultimate Business Report, he indicated that his innovation, Creative Africa, has begun making some strides in linking African designers and artists to buyers across the world.

I see more and more people getting into the business of making handicrafts and selling them but I feel they are not doing much to market it to a larger market. There is a big gab between those who produce these products for sale and those who want to buy them and my idea is to bridge that gab, he explained.

The first runner up, a young fashion designer and instructor received machines worth 2000 cedis for her innovation, Design Deravishing. Joyce Adomako wants to put made in Ghana fashion products at par with international brands.

She told ultimate business she hopes to leverage on innovation, precision and reliability to break the Ghanaian preference for foreign fashion products.

Her business model is to use local raw materials for beads, clothes, embroidery, hats, bags and the like with the best of finishing and branding for the youthful and corporate market.

The second runner up, Prosper Daniel Amuche is also developing a niche marketing platform which he has christened All Phones where transactions to do with purchasing, repairing and swapping phones can be done.

The President of the Gold Club Isaac Ofori Gyeabuor who was elated about the success of the maiden edition, stressed need for entrepreneurs in the Christian faith, to believe in their ideas and champion them to the benefit of the Kingdom.

He indicated, This is only season one and the program has made massive impact. We believe that people with great ideas need to be supported because you never can tell when the next Google or facebook will come from.

Encouraging the church to support the course he advised, We are financiers who mobilize resources and put it at the disposal of the church for the kingdom. No kingdom can work without money and we believe God gives us money not only for our personal use but also to finance the kingdom.

The Head pastor of the Gracefields chapel, who also stood in as guest of honor for the event rev Simon Ampofo charged Christians to see need to develop themselves holistically and extend their financial influence to grow the church.

He expressed concerned that, Most often the church tends to concentrate on the spirit of a person. But added that we believe in building up the total man which is the body, the spirit and the soul of a person.

The Gold Club is a department of this ministry which has the intent of helping raise up kingdom financiers to support the kingdom agenda and this is one of their flagship programs to raise young entrepreneurs who are Christians who can be supported with finances.

These young people will one day contribute to the kingdom work and I find it a laudable idea for the church to embark on this. I am thankful to God for this first one which has turned out successful, Rev Ampofo added.

All three will be taken through a year mentorship program with the GMC consult to ensure that their businesses gain the right footing to take off successfully and sustainably.
The Deputy Attorney General and Parliamentary aspirant of the National Democratic Congress for the Bolgatanga East Constituency, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has stated that, President John Dramani Mahamas performance is second to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in terms of infrastructural development in Ghana.

According to him, no president in the history of Ghana except Dr. Kwame Nkrumah has contributed significantly to expand the country's infrastructure than president Mahama.

Speaking at his campaign launch in Zuarungu in the Upper East Region, Dr. Ayine said the unprecedented infrastructural development under president Mahama, has significantly contributed to the growth of the economy, contrary to claims by the NPP that, borrowing to develop infrastructure is worsening Ghana's debts.

Dr. Ayine cited that, when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah built the Akosombo Dam, the Tema motorway, factories, secondary schools across Ghana, the founding fathers of the NPP said Nkrumah was borrowing too much.

The message of the NPP to fool Ghanaians that, the massive infrastructure in the area of roads, hospitals, community day senior high schools, irrigation facilities among others are liabilities cannot be true because they remain assets of Ghana, Ayine noted.

Dr. Ayine said the Bolga East constituency has had its share of the national cake under his leadership and appealed to constituents to vote massively to retain him and president Mahama.

I have phenomenally developed the constituency. The Zuarungu market has been constructed, we have built CHIPS compounds, we have provided 23 boreholes for communities, we have built schools in Nykorkor, Kumbosko, Dulbila and renovated other schools in the constituency. The Gambibgo community day school is ongoing; we are building a modern community library in Zuarungu among others.

All these things that we have done, I (Dr. Dominic Ayine) and president Mahama deserve to return to parliament and the flagstaff house respectively Ayine stated.

A thirteen member constituency campaign task-force was inaugurated with a herculean task of ensuring victory for Dr. Dominic Ayine and President John Mahama on 7th December, 2016.

Dr. Ayine added that, the NPP should tell Ghanaians what they would do better than president Mahama and stop wasting Ghanaians time.

Mahama next to Nkrumah in terms of dev't  Ofosu Ampofo

The Vice Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofu, similarly touted President John Mahama's achievements over the past four years at the partys manifesto launch, saying he comes next to Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah in terms of infrastructural development .

According to him, President John Dramani is the second President who has the highest record of infrastructural projects apart from former President Kwame Nkrumah.

By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana
26.09.2016 LISTEN

Nigeria is widely known for its free and vibrant media. Nigerian journalists are acclaimed to be diligent in criticizing the government and in covering sensitive issues. However, when it comes to reporting religious and paranormal claims, particularly claims of witchcraft and demonic possession, Nigerian media are often found wanting because the critical component is often missing. In fact, there is a clear lack of reasonable journalism in the countrys print and broadcast media. By reasonable journalism, I mean writing and broadcasting news in ways that are informed by fair, sensible and sound judgment.

I am using the recently reported case of a flying wizard by the Independent Television in Benin to illustrate my point. According to this report, a middle-aged man who was found naked in a church compound was alleged to be a wizard. Workers at the City Gate church in Benin City were shocked to find him inside the premises of the church because the gates were locked. They concluded that the man was a wizard because they believed he accessed the compound mysteriously!

The reporter interviewed the founder of the church, Prophet Ojo Agge, who confirmed that the man was on a spiritual flight and doing spiritual battle in the area before he crashed and landed in the church compound. Other church members who spoke to the reporter also said that the man was a wizard who was being used by some spiritual forces. The reporter later interviewed the alleged wizard who claimed spirits spoke to him while he was flying over the area and led him into the compound, though the gates were locked.

He said his crashing into the church premises was a work of God. The reporter went ahead to broadcast this story based on the accounts of the pastors, his church members and the so-called flying wizard. There was no indication that he made efforts to get a wide range of views on the subject.

Obviously, the reporter failed in his duty to uphold the principles of reasonable and responsible journalism. From the report, there was no indication at all that the journalist tried to cross check the information he was given to ensure that it was accurate and factual. I mean why didnt the reporter probe further into the counterintuitive claim that the man was on a spiritual flight before he crashed and landed in the compound? Do human beings fly spiritually? Why didnt he try to find out other ways the man could have used to gained access to the compound including jumping in through the fence or the possibility that the alleged witch might have connived with the prophet and founder of the church, who opened the gate for him in the night in order to forge this strange and mysterious incident?

Why didnt the reporter query the claim that the man allegedly flew spiritually and then landed materially in the compound? Why didnt the reporter solicit the views of psychologists and psychiatrists given that the alleged wizard was going about naked and was hearing the voices of spirits? The reporter should have added a critical element to the story given that the flying wizard had no physical wings that could enable him to fly.

It is often said that stories have many sides. Unfortunately, this story like most paranormal accounts in the Nigerian media has one side and the journalist presented only that one side which attributed this incident to witchcraft even when other more plausible sides and explanations exist as to how the man could have physically gained access to the church compound.

There have been similar reports in the Nigerian media of witches stealing pregnancies or peoples stars. There are stories of women who transformed into cats or birds, people who died and later resurrected. All sorts of stories that are incompatible with reasonable media. Such reports are rampant in the Nigerian media nowadays and are often presented without critical perspectives. Journalists seldom add a rational skeptical voice to their accounts or try and balance or put them into contexts. These stories are filled with errors, inaccuracies and misinformation that never get retracted or corrected.

For instance, it was once reported that the Nigerian police arrested a goat in Ilorin Kwara state. The story was that the goat was a car thief who turned into a goat to avoid being apprehended by members of a vigilante group. There was never any follow-up report to correct the mistaken notion that a human being turned into a goat.

Reports of purportedly mysterious and supernatural happenings are presented in a manner that reinforces existing counterintuitive and superstitious notions and compromises the principles of responsible and reasonable journalism. We cannot expect to achieve a rational society without a rational media establishment that presents religious and paranormal issues in a fair and sensible manner.

We cannot hope to realize a weakening of witchcraft beliefs with irresponsible, unreasonable and sensational media practices. At a time of growing concern about the harmful effects of witchcraft beliefs and imputations in Africa, journalists need to understand the importance of balanced, accurate and fact-based reporting of religious and paranormal claims to the cause of Nigerian, nay African enlightenment.
26.09.2016 LISTEN

The case of Bioresonance

Bioresonance is an umbrella term which is traditionally used to describe the interaction between the bio-field of a living organism and frequency patterns that interact with specific parts of it. There are many different types of bio-resonance modalities which fall under this umbrella term. It is the ability of an external frequency/pattern to resonate with a specific item in the bio-field of the physical body. True bio-resonance is a conscious interactive exchange between the consciousness of a life form and a bio-resonance modality such as a piece of bio-resonance equipment.

Dozens of similar unconventional electronic devices have been made and marketed over the years. Bioresonance Tumor Therapy, the Cell Com system, the Rife machine, and the zapping machine are just some of the popular systems on the market today.

Bioresonance Tumor Therapy was developed by Martin Keymer, a German biophysicist, who claims the therapy is rooted in the age-old idea that it is possible to tap into the vital energy that flows throughout the body.

The Rife machine (or Rife frequency generator) was created by Royal Raymond Rife, an American who asserted that cancer was caused by viruses  he called them the BX and BY viruses. The machine emitted radio waves at the same frequency as those discharged by offending viruses. According to Rife, the radio waves created vibrations that "shattered" the viruses.

The Zapper designed by Hulda Clark, PhD , a physiologist, used her devices to treat patients with cancer, AIDS, and other diseases in a Tijuana, Mexico medical clinic.

Tesla said it. Science proved it. It is a known fact that everythingincluding our own bodiesis made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies. That being said, can frequencies affect us? They sure can. Frequencies affect frequencies; much like mixing ingredients with other ingredients affects the overall flavor of a meal. All tissues like skin, liver, bones and other organs have their own oscillation and resonate on their own special frequencies. Bioresonance according to Paul Schmidt means seeking and then passing on all the frequencies necessary for the stimulation and final regulation of the organism and giving the body the chance to self-regulation.

Bioresonance is based on modern biophysics, which teaches us that all matter has a resonant frequency. Similarly, every cell in our body also resonates at a particular frequency, which takes the form of an electromagnetic field. Groups of cells in an organ or system have unique multiple frequency patterns which form a complex frequency make-up for the whole body.

The oldest form of Bioresonance is the light of our sun. If sunlight reaches our skin, regulations are initiated. This is not caused by the heat of the sun, but by the ultraviolet portion of the light spectrum. Thus, ultraviolet light is able to stimulate the formation of pigments.

Bioresonance literally means resonance in the biological self. Bioresonance method is a special diagnosis and therapy procedure based on resonance in ones biological self. Bioresonance diagnosis and therapy are achieved through Bioresonance devices which were first invented in Germany some thirty years ago  Dr. Morrel invented the MORA Bioresonance device, one of the first of its kind.

The Bioresonance method is built on findings based on biophysics and quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics, in short, identified that everything in the universe is a compressed energy and that each emits its own unique electromagnetic frequency.

Bioresonance therapy is also considered as energy therapy which does not use any drugs or medications. Hence, it is non-invasive. Basically the main aim of the Bioresonance therapy is to biologically energize and stabilize ones body, so that ones immune system is boosted. In general a strong immune system will mean the bodys own self-healing power will be able to regulate and restore the body to the optimum condition.

When our body is ill or diseased the bodys frequency patterns are disturbed or distorted. By sending the healthy frequencies back into our body, Bio-resonance rebalances the body and creates an environment in which the body heals itself. Bioresonance treatment enhances the bodys own regulation and detoxification, thereby balancing any imbalance, strengthening any weakness, and boosting the bodys natural immune system. Bioresonance Therapy is a very powerful and natural way for the body to recover its optimum state of health.

Over the last century, there has been a persistent stream of pioneers practicing a variety of such techniques  Dr. Albert Abrams, Dr. W Boyd, Georges Lakhovsky, Royal Rife, Ruth Drown, De La Warr, Bruce Copen, Hans Brugemann, Robert Becker, Paul Schmidt, Cyril Smith, Jean Munro and Dr. Hulda Clark to mention but a few  and claiming success.

Russian Bioresonance Research

In addition to the above named researchers, the Russians have also been experimenting during the last 20 years and have actually progressed to the point of having manufactured their own range of Bioresonance devices. The company is called Deta Elis which is spearheaded by their top scientist Dr. Sergei Konoplov, a medical doctor, Ph.D. physicist and electronic engineer.

Given the language barrier between the Russian East and the English-speaking world, a lot of these research findings have not been released. However, there are very few English-speaking health practitioners that have been trained by the Russian company to understand the principles of Bioresonance diagnostics and treatments  Dr. George Georgiou, Ph.D.,N.D.,D.Sc (AM), a Holistic Medicine practitioner, researcher and author is one of them.

This is what he has to say about the Deta Elis company and their Bioresonance devices  you can see him presenting the concepts in a video that was recently made on youtube.

One of the main problems with Bioresonance devices that other researchers have invented is that they were expensive and aimed mostly at health practitioners to install in their clinics. As many treatments were required, this meant that the patient had to travel to the clinic repetitively to receive their treatments, which was both inconvenient and expensive.

The innovation of the Russian company was to produce devices that can be purchased at a relatively low cost by the patient and used on a daily basis in the comfort of their own home. This is akin to having your own personal doctor in your own home.

Moreover, their Bioresonance devices could also be programmed using a simple USB dongle plugged directly into your computer  known as the Therapy 8.0 USB device . This contain over 3,000 frequencies covering a wide array of health issues ranging from parasites, bacteria, fungi, viruses to basically all the organ systems in the body and their pathologies. This is as close to Star Trek medicine as we are going to get!

To be able to sit with a patient and systematically identify the underlying causative factors and offloading them, is the only way of truly helping patients with chronic diseases. This is exactly what the Deta Professional device is capable of doing  it is a sophisticated Bioresonance diagnostic as well as therapeutic device that has the capability, in trained hands, to truly identify underlying causative factors.

Dr. Georgiou is presently completing the online training programme that will be required by professionals, along with further hands-on clinical practicums in different venues around the world.

Once the qualified health practitioner has identified the underlying causative factors, then they can take this information and place it on the portable Deta devices so that the patient can take these home with them and run them daily.

The two main portable devices are the Deta AP (standing for Anti-Parasite and used for eradicating microbes) and the Deta RITM (in Russian this means Rhythm and is used for all the organ systems and their pathologies). It is the Therapy 8.0 USB dongle that is used to program these devices to the needs of the individual patient.

Apart from the programming, it is also possible for any layperson to use the devices for preventative health, helping to offload parasite and bacterial loads that we all carry, along with helping to up regulate organ systems. The devices come with pre-installed programs capable of doing just this.

With all the research presently continuing in the use of Bioresonance devices to help peoples health concerns, it will not be a distant dream to reach the level where we have such devices that can self-diagnose and self-treat a wide array of health problems, including many of the chronic diseases of today  the 21st century is only just around the corner!

Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu is a Research Professor of Prostate Cancer and Holistic Medicine faculty lead- Holistic Urology, Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine, Larnaca City, Cyprus. He is the National President of the Alternative Medical Association of Ghana (AMAG). A registered alternative Medical practitioner with specialty in orthomolecular oncology, Prostate Cancer Policy maker and researcher. He can be reached on 0541090045. E mail: [email protected]
The regulator of Ghana's aviation industry, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has banned the use of Samsung Galaxy note 7 on all airlines operating in Ghana.

The ban took effect from Monday 26th September, 2016.

According to the GCAA the ban follows recent safety reports following the use of Samsung Galaxy note 7.

Phone manufacturer Samsung recently recalled over 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices due to several reported cases of overheating or outright explosions during charging.

The GCAA joins several other aviation regulators across the world, that are also caring out similar moves, against the use of the phone on board airlines.

Per the ban all airline passengers as well as crew in possession of a Galaxy Note 7, cannot travel with the phone from Ghana and are prohibited from caring the device, while passengers coming from other countries to Ghana cannot turn on the device or charge them on board an aircraft.

A statement issued from GCAA said 'following these recent events, the GCAA directs that all passengers and crew in possession of these devices should not turn on or charge them on board aircraft.

Passengers and crew are also herby prohibited from stowing these devices in any checked baggage, even when turned off'.

The GCAA adds 'the directive shall form part of the safety briefing to passengers on board all airlines operating in Ghana and operating into and out of Ghana until otherwise directed by the Authority'.

By: Vivian Kai Lokko/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
The Ashanti Region Police says it will not entertain any form of violence before or during the elections especially from muscled men popularly referred to as macho-men.

The Regional Command has since declared a zero-tolerance for violence perpetrated by these muscled men.

"To build your body is not a crime in Ghana but it becomes a problem when you use that physique to perpetrate acts that are criminal," ASP Mohammed Tanko Ashanti Region Police spokesperson said in an interview with Joy News Editor Dzifa Bampoh.

The declaration was made in reaction to a stabbing incident involving a machoman, Sani Mohammed who was accused of stabbing two Rev Fathers in Adugyama in the Ahafo Ano North District of the Ashanti Region.

Rev Father Daniel Affum and Rev Father Anthony Awuah were said to have been attacked without provocation.

"I can see that we are not safe here. For somebody to come from nowhere to pounce on us and nobody was there to rescue us. That has put me in fear," Rev Father Affum said in an interview with Ohemeng Tawiah.

The incident which happened Saturday left the two priests injured and Rev Awuah hospitalised.

Sani Mohammed has since been arrested and sent to the Regional Police Command where investigation is said to begin.

According to ASP Tanko, the suspect has apologised profusely to the victims and to the police for his actions but they will have none of that.

He said they will prosecute the suspect once investigation is concluded. He said the suspect is currently facing three counts of assault, unlawful harm and unlawful damage.

ASP Tanko believes the prosecution of the suspect will send a strong signal to all machomen that the police can entertain the muscle building phenomenon but will countenance any form of violence or intimidation by the macho men.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
26.09.2016 LISTEN

By Francis Ameyibor, GNA

Accra, Sept. 26, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has affirmed that under its next government structure (2017-2021) it would roll-out additional social protection initiatives to sustain the livelihood of the vulnerable and lift others out of poverty.

The NDC said under the second term of President John Dramani Mahama, the government would continue to consolidate and expand the interventions that have been implemented over the last four years and introduce additional social protection initiatives, the party stated in its 2016 manifesto.

The NDC 2016 manifesto tagged: 'Changing lives and Transforming Ghana,' the party said if retained in power, it would implement a graduation programme that identifies vulnerable persons to be trained and empowered to own their own businesses.

The analysis of the NDC manifesto is captured under the Ghana News Agency project 'GNA Tracks Elections 2016,' which seeks to educate the electorate on the various issues raised by political parties, elections management body and other governance bodies.

The GNA Tracks Elections 2016 project also seeks to ensure gender and social inclusion in national politics and also provide voice for the youth, vulnerable groups, opinion leaders and broader spectrum of the society to contribute to peaceful elections.

The GNA Tracks Elections 2016 project has also created a platform to analyse the manifestos of all political parties and provide in-depth news item on each thematic area as captured to the electorates for them to make an informed judgment.

The NDC 2016 manifesto under the specific headline: 'Consolidating Social Protection,' said social protection has remained an integral part of the broad social development policy of the NDC.

It aims to advance the livelihood of the vulnerable in the society including women, children, persons with disability, indigents and the aged.

The Party explained that under its new mandate it would develop an enhanced national household registry that identifies vulnerable persons and extremely poor persons for support; increase the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) beneficiary households to 350,000.

The Party said artisanal fishing communities, coastal and inland and deprived inner city communities including zongos would not only be targeted for the LEAP but would also be one of the earliest beneficiaries of the Progressively Free Senior High School intervention.

It also works to ensure substantial transformation of these communities under the Economic Transformation and Livelihood Empowerment Programme.

The NDC noted that under a renew mandate it would improve access to quality healthcare by continuing to register vulnerable persons including indigents, kayayei, prisoners, aged persons and persons with disability on the National Health Insurance Scheme; and pursue the passage of the Aged Bill as well as the Social Protection Bill.

The Party said it would also improve the targeting of social protection interventions to cater for excluded groups such as out-of-school children, child-headed households, people with severe disabilities, lepers and the aged and urban poor.

The NDC said it would continue the empowerment of 'kayayei' head porters by extending the 1,000 pilot Out-of-School (Kayayei) Yes Empowerment Authority Programme to cover 10,000 kayayei even as we work to provide them with alternative livelihood opportunities.

'We will continue the process of registering all 1.7million pupils in school-feeding schools on theNHIS; expand the coverage of Elderly Persons Welfare Card (EBAN), to enable more of the aged have preferential access to banking services, hospitals and free metro mass transit bus rides,' the Party stated.

The Party said it would upgrade the EBAN card into an electronic card for financial transactions; introduce a Special Economic Scheme for Senior Citizens under which vulnerable senior citizens above 65 years who are not on any formal pension scheme will be granted a bi-monthly stipend by the State.

The next NDC government would offer special assistance for the education of students with special-needs including, but not limited to, schools for the blind, deaf, autism and cerebral palsy.

It would also introduce motorised transport (tricycles) for physically challenged persons; demonstration models would be presented to the National Federation of Disabled Persons for evaluation.

The NDC said an additional 30 per cent increase of the District Assemblies Common Fund reserved for Persons with Disability to cater for their free NHIS subscription.

On its achievement under the social protection initiatives over the past four years the NDC said the government was the first hit the Millennium Development Goal target of halving extreme poverty two years ahead of the 2015 deadline; launched the National Social Protection Policy; and finalised a Social Protection Bill.

It also launched the National Targeting Unit to develop the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR) database and Management Information System (MIS); and increased the LEAP beneficiary households from 71,000 in January 2013 to 146,074 in June 2016.

Increased the proportion of the District Assemblies Common Fund allocated to

Persons with Disability by 50 per cent as well as proposed amendments to the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) to make it consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.

The NDC said over the past four years it developed a draft on Ghana Accessibility Standards on the built environment in collaboration with the Ghana Standards

Authority to facilitate access for persons with disability; and introduced EBAN to 10,526 elderly persons above 65 years to provide 50 per cent rebate on Metro Mass transport fare for the elderly.

The EBAN card also provides priority access to all social services, transport terminals, hospitals and banks; finalised the National Ageing Bill for submission to Parliament.

The NDC said as part of its achievement's it has register more than 92,000 people comprising 11,000 prisoners, more than 10,000 Persons with Disability, more than 10,000 elderly persons, 60,000 LEAP beneficiaries and 1,000 Kayayei free of charge on the NHIS.

The NDC said it provided LEAP support for inmates of witches camps, state orphanages and leprosaria; set up coordinated gender-based response centres at Mallam Atta and Agbogbloshie markets to provide counseling services, humanitarian and psycho-social support to Kayayei and other vulnerable market women.

The NDC has strengthened the gender legal framework through Affirmative Action Bill; Intestate Succession (Amendment) Bill; Property Rights of Spouses Bill; Human Trafficking Legislative Instrument; and Domestic Violence Legislative Instrument.

It launched the National Gender Policy to mainstream Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment into Ghana's development efforts; Granted educational scholarships to more than 300 girls and trained them in masonry and spraying mechanics and launched the first Government Shelter for abused women and children.

The NDC government also shut down the witches' camp at Bonyase in the Northern Region; and provided free NHIS registration for over 800 inmates of witches' camps.

GNA
By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA

Assin Nsuaem Kyekyewere (C/R), Sept. 26, GNA - The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has encouraged first time voters to actively participate in the December 7 General Election.

They must not sell their votes and or be influenced by the material things handed to them by candidates in exercising their franchise but they should make a choice that would further Ghana.

Speaking at a Civic Voter Engagement forum to sensitise first time voters at Assin Nsuaem Kyekyewere in the Assin South District ahead of the 2016 General Election, Mr George Briku, the Assin South District Director of the NCCE, said voting was the civic responsibility for every citizen.

The Civic engagement, supported by the European Union (EU), formed part of activities by the NCCE to intensify voter education among the registered voters, especially first time voters

It is also aimed at deepening the interest of the electorate and encouraging high voter turnout in the elections.

The incidences of spoilt ballots and rejected ballots have been very predominant since 1992.

In 1992, rejected ballots accounted for 3.6 per cent of the total valid votes cast as against 1.53 per cent in 1996.

The first round of the 2000 Elections also saw rejected ballots accounting for 1.8 per cent of the total votes cast, while in 2004, it constituted 2.2 per cent of the total valid votes cast.

In 2008, rejected ballots went up, recording an overall 2.4 per cent of the valid votes cast while in the 2012 elections, the number of rejected ballots stood at 2.3 per cent.

Mr Briku explained that the decision to engage first time voters was, therefore, necessitated by the fact that rejected and spoilt ballots continued to be on the increase.

He took first time voters through the various steps of voting and advised them to vote early and also leave the polling centres after voting and return later to observe the counting if they wished.

He also urged them not to wear any political party's paraphernalia to the voting centres to ensure peace.

Mr Briku asked political parties to complement the efforts of the NCCE by educating its followers on how to vote properly saying that, voter education was a collective responsibility.

GNA
By Maxwell Awumah, GNA

Hohoe (V/R), Sept. 26, GNA - Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has called for bold action to light up Africa within the next 10 years.

'Ten years is the timeframe. We need to take Africa out of the darkness. Period,' he told a panel discussion in New York, recently on 'How Energy Can Spark Global Prosperity.'

It was at the instance of the Global Initiative Annual Meeting, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency.

Dr Adesina shared the stage with Nancy Pfund, Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners, a venture capital firm; and Wanjira Mathai, Director, Partnerships for Women's Entrepreneurship in Renewables, at the Wangari Maathai Institute, with audience including policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors as well as members of civil society participating.

He highlighted the urgency to bring energy to the millions of people who do not have access to it.

The problem of access to energy is well documented. Of the 1.3 billion people who do not have access to electricity in the world, more than 600 million live on the African continent.

'Africa is just tired of being in the dark,' Adesina told the audience.

She said: 'Lack of energy is one of the major impediments to economic growth, which in turns make it difficult for young people to get the jobs they need. In addition, it can be a source of serious public health problems.

It is estimated that around 600,000 Africans, mostly women, die each year as a result of household air pollution.

'It does not make sense for a woman to die just to cook a decent meal,' Adesina said.

The AfDB launched a New Deal on Energy for Africa, which outlines the solutions to Africa's energy problems in a rapidly changing technological and economic landscape.

The Bank would invest $ 12 billion in different energy projects for the next five years, and would leverage about $ 50 billion from the private sector.

GNA
26.09.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Sept. 26, GNA - The Forestry Commission Ladies Association has planted trees at Manya Jorpanya in the Greater Accra Region as part of efforts to encourage communities to help sustain the forest.

The exercise, part of the Greening Ghana Campaign, was also to educate the surrounding communities close to the Shai Hills Reserve on the need to preserve the Forest Reserve and to cultivate woodlots, which they could rely on for their household activities.

In all, the group planted 1,111 trees on a hectare of land donated by the Divisional Chief of Manya, Nene Tei Djahene Korabo IV who is celebrating his 18th year on the throne.

The Vice President of the Association, Mrs Mary Balkono, said the body is a reflection of the Commission's vision to create and protect more forestry and wildlife resources in the country.

She said the Forestry Commission could not carry out activities alone and needed the communities' participation and support to succeed.

Mrs Balkono said there is the need for community engagement and education on how these resources should be protected and also to plant more trees to protect the environment.

'This particular community is close to one of our reserves and this is part of measures to prevent the community from entering the reserve for their needs. With what we are doing, they won't have the interest to enter the reserve to cut down trees but use the woodlot,' she said.

The ladies also educated the students of the Manya Jorpanya Junior High School on the importance of trees to human life and handed over the woodlots to the school to ensure they nurture the seedlings to grow well.

At a meeting with Nene Karabo IV prior to the tree planting exercise, the Association expressed appreciation to him for the hectare of land released for the tree planting exercise.

Nene Karabo IV said his administration has ensured that the community members are environmental conscious and that no one is allowed to cut down trees indiscriminately.

'There is restriction on tree cutting here. Before you cut down a tree here you need a permit. If you go ahead without it, sanctions apply,' he said.

He said he would do all in its power to ensure that unbridled development does not destroy the beauty of the community.

The Greening Ghana project was launched in 2010 to address environmental menaces such as deforestation, illegal mining and chainsaw operations and their attendant ramifications that are robbing the nation of its water bodies, forest reserves, wildlife habitation and other natural resources.

The project also seeks to ensure the restoration of wildlife habitats and forest reserves by planting trees in communities and along water bodies.

GNA
Two Adult Nursing students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are raising funds to help provide orphaned children in Zambia with a better start to life.

Christina Powell and Jessica Brazener will also be delivering donated items, such as medical supplies, in person when they volunteer at a hospital in the town of Livingstone.

The best friends, who met on their first day at DMU, organised this elective placement as part of their course and wanted to help local people as well as strengthen their medical knowledge.

Jessica, 22, said: "We have both always wanted to go to Africa, so applied for the placement and then researched the area. The idea of helping a charity sprung from there."

Fundraising so far has netted more than 1,000 in online donations and the students will meet up with the founder of The Butterfly Tree - a UK charity that works in malaria prevention and HIV education - in Zambia, to choose where the money will be spent.

Christina, 25, said: "Zambia has an estimated 1.4 million orphans. The Butterfly Tree has four main aims - water, food, health and education - all essential for providing these children with a better start to life."

The second years will spend 16 days at Livingstone General Hospital to gain an insight into managing patient care in an environment that lacks equipment we rely on in the UK.

Christina said: "We'll be based in a hospital where anything and everything happens. Our placement will mainly be observation, but we will help where appropriate.

"It may be a shock at first. There is a different standard of healthcare and it will be interesting to see how they make the most of limited resources."

RELATED NEWS

Find out more about DMU's nursing courses at our Open Day

'Shining star' Lesley lands nursing role after winning volunteer award

Double celebration for DMU nursing graduates

Since their placement was approved, Jessica has been putting the skills she gained while working in a charity shop to good use, arranging various fundraising events.

The charity advised on useful items to bring with them and money netted from a raffle is being used to buy dressings and creams to treat burns, which are common because people cook with charcoal.

Companies including Lush have provided toiletries to give to local people and friends have donated clothes that they will deliver to an orphanage. Boots in Nottingham, where Christina works, has donated tombola prizes and offered to double the final fundraising total.

The students are "so excited" about their upcoming adventure, which they believe will offer valuable experience and help towards their goal of working in an acute setting when they graduate in January 2018.

Christina, who has always wanted to be a nurse, said: "I really enjoy the placements, as it's real life, and I love the course."

Jessica added: "You get a lot of support at DMU."

Christina and Jessica will be in Zambia between 15 October and 1 November.
By Hafsa Obeng, GNA

Accra, Sept. 26, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Monday remanded John Akanyork, a trader for robbing Desmond Tsey, of GH50.00.

John pleaded not guilty to the charge but was remanded by the court to reappear on October 10 for trial.

Presenting the facts of the case, Police Chief Inspector, Kwabena Adu, told the court that the complainant is a student of Bishop Herman College, Kpando, while the accused person is a trader.

He said on September 19, the complainant was going to pay his grandparents a visit and also to inform them he would be leaving for school later in the day at Jaccot Hotel, Adenta.

He said on reaching the entrance of the hotel, the accused person approached the complainant and enquired from him, if the Hotel was operating of which the complainant answered in the affirmative.

The prosecution told the court that, John forcibly put his hand in the complainant's pocket and took GH50.00 from it, but the complainant held his hand and demanded that he return the money.

He said John pulled a screw driver from his pocket and threatened to stab the complainant if he did not leave his hand.

Police Chief Inspector Adu said, out of fear for his life, the complainant freed the accused person from his grips and started screaming for assistance.

The accused person took to his heels but was chased by some onlookers and was arrested and handed over to the police.

GNA
On June 14, 2016, Indian President Shri Pranab Mukherjees delivered the following speech at the unveiling ceremony [of a Gandhi statue] at the University of Ghana.

At this point we should make it clear that the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Ernest Aryeetey, who welcomed Pres. Mukherjee to Ghana and the University of Ghana, and the Minister of Education Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, both never raised any objections to the statue because, like all our aliterate, unread political leaders and academics and students at large, they may not have been aware of the well-documented history of Gandhis racism in both South Africa and India.

They may not also have known about movements and scholars and researchersboth in India and the international communitynow challenging the hagiographic scholarship on the history and legacy of the man the world only knows as Mahatma. Perhaps, we can now hopefully understand why our educational system (s) is in tatters with such ignorant and backward leaders and educators in leadership positions across the country, Ghana, and the continent, Africa.

In any event we will like to cap our Tear Down The Gandhi Statue with this speech.

We hope this speech should provide some contexts for the series and the controversy (Note: Please read A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR READERS at the end of the speech).

Read on:

THE SPEECH

Good Afternoon to all of you! It is indeed a pleasure and privilege for me to be amongst you.

It is a great pleasure whenever I have such an opportunity to see the bright faces, sparkling eyes and young minds of students filled with high hopes, aspirations and a strong desire to make a change in the environment in which they live.

Dear students, your quest for innovation and yearning for positive change are the Critical Mass and Centre-of-Gravity around which a Nation's hopes and aspirations are built. By challenging society's mores, seeking the rationale of ideologies and questioning systems and beliefs, you prevent society from wilting into complacency. I am, therefore, delighted to be with you today.

My delegations consists of Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Surjit Singh Ahluwalia, Member of the Lok Sabhathe House of the People and Shri Mansukh Mandaviya , Member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. We bring to you the good will, love and affection of the people of India.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am aware that the University of Ghana is one of the largest in Africa, and home to one of the most vibrant student communities in Africa. The scholarship that emanates from this University has contributed to the currents of change and advancement in Ghana and other countries in your neighbourhood and beyond.

Friends, today's robust and confident India is not an overnight phenomenon. Decades of toil and the sacrifices of our leaders strengthened by the momentum generated by hundreds of thousands of students and scholars are behind India's freedom and rise; it is their innovations, discoveries, rock-solid determination and self confidence, and more importantly a burning desire to serve the nation, which has contributed to India's success.

Independent India, after 1947, refused to simply replicate what the developed countries were doing, nor did we follow blindly the models of development that might have been successful elsewhere. We recognized that natural and financial resources were only one side of the coin of development; but the other side is the quality of human resource that alone can transform the natural resources into prosperity and happiness of the people.

Distinguished members of the Faculty and dear Students, you would be aware that since the 1960s, the Government of India, guided by her experience, has been sharing her knowledge and skills with nations in Africa and other developing countries. India's capacity-building programmesIndian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarships scheme - have become household names across Africa. Every year, 250 Ghanaian government and semi-government officials receive training in India while about 20 scholars pursue full-time under-graduate, Masters and Ph.D programmes on scholarships. I have learned, to my delight, that students from Ghana are rated by institutes and universities in India as the finest among all foreign students. Please accept my hearty congratulations. Having recognized Ghana's immense human resource potential, I am happy to announce that the Government of India has decided to increase seat allocations for Ghana to 300 ITEC slots and increase the number of annual scholarships under other Indian schemes to forty.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen: The friendship between India and Ghana is rooted in our common history of struggles against foreign domination and struggle for independence. Both our peoples cherish the shared vision of our founding leaders and the values of democracy, plurality, inclusiveness and human dignity. These commonalities have bound us in a fraternal embrace. The measureless goodwill and the extent of familiarity and affinity that exist between our two peoples defy geographical logic and confound political scientists! No wonder our two governments work so closely together on major international issues and in multilateral organizations including the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement. By adapting our bilateral relations to the present global context and the changing geo-political dynamics of the present situation, we will be able to renew and nurture this goodwill and affinity.

We should recognize that challenges are an inevitable and integral part of the developmental process. Today our nations face many similar challenges:

 The goal of eliminating poverty,

 Defeating the scourge of international terrorism;

 Sustainable development in harmony with our environment and eco-systems;

 Preserving and further refining our democratic systems and strengthening our democratic institutions;

 Adding greater value to our resources and efficiently generating employment for our youth.

We not only have to be watchful, but have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in confronting them. India, as a friend and partner, is with you in this journey.

In brief, there is a need for a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our relationswhile building further on the foundation of our mutual goodwill. We need to define a new positive and create a brighter, innovative and updated narrative of India-Ghana relations.

I am confident that our youthwho are our leaders of tomorrow would fit in seamlessly into this renewed and revised model of cooperation. By duly making them stakeholders, we will succeed in reinvigorating our partnership and taking it to a new level.

My dear friends, I do believe that science and knowledge will simply remain a scholarly preserve if it is not translated into wisdom that guides humanity towards a better tomorrow. Education is like a lamp, brightly-lit, which should show the way and enlighten many more lives. I would, therefore, call upon the youth of Ghana to employ your learning and knowledge in the service of your society and your nation. I am confident that the coming generations of this great nation, the inheritors of the legacy of the great son of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, have the credentials to make their Nation proud. I have no doubt that you will claim for Ghana the rightful place that it deserves in the comity of Nations.

Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen: I believe that Ghana is already moving in the right direction. Your democratic credentials are the envy of many African countries; your rapid progress in realising the Millennium Development Goals is commendable; your social and religious harmony is exemplary and the peace and stability that prevails in this country are your greatest assets. Your role in the integration of the Economic Community of West African States is widely recognised. The exceptional solidarity shown by Ghana in rendering their support to Ebola-affected countries in Africa is worthy of admiration. However, no developing nation can afford to be complacent. We should continue to strive and be watchful. The road ahead is very long, and sometimes tortuous. Alone we may stumble, but together we can go farther.

Ladies and gentlemen: India has suffered many challenges in its long history, and continues to confront them. But we are ready to share our success and the expertise we have developed in some key sectors with the people of Ghana under the umbrella of our South-South cooperation programmes. This is one of the reasons why India organized the Third India-Africa Forum Summit in October last year in New Delhi. We want to enhance our developmental cooperation with Africa.

India calls upon students and the faculty of this great university and others to take full advantage of the scholarships and training opportunities announced by India at the India Africa Forum Summit last year. The capacity building dimension of India-Africa relations has been vastly expanded to include research in various fields such as agriculture, bio-technology and other subjects of relevance to your country.

In this context , I would like to commend two eminent centres of learning in Ghana for their role in nurturing an institutional relationship with India: the first is the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, which has been coordinating the Pan-African e-network Programme, a brainchild of my illustrious predecessor, the Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The second is the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of ICT Excellence in Accra, which, I am happy to note, has been imparting ICT skills to the youth of Ghana and also other countries in this region. I am looking forward to visiting this Centre tomorrow morning.

My dear distinguished friends, let us pause and take a look at the present day geo-political global scenario. Outdated structures cannot resolve problems of today. Positive transformation cannot be brought about by archaic systems and concepts. The United Nations, established in the wake of the 2ndWorld War cannot effectively respond to the rapidly evolving international challenges that we face today. It is imperative that the organs of the United Nations should keep pace with the changing times. A country of India's size which houses every sixth citizen of the world and the entire African continent do not have a place in the permanent membership of the Security Council. Reform and change of the United Nations is inevitable.

Let me conclude quoting from Gandhi the Mahatma, the Father of the Indian Nation, whose statue I have had the honour of unveiling in the precincts of this University today: Gandhiji had exhorted us against:

Wealth without work; pleasure without conscience; knowledge without character; commerce without morality; science without humanity; worship without sacrifice; and politics without principles.

There is no better counsel than the above for the youth, the future leaders of our two countries. I wish you all success in your future endeavours. The world belong to you bright young men and women and the entire community wants you to make the change you desire to see the in the world.

Thank you.

A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR READERS

While we revisit the past of Mahatma Gandhi, we will also do well not to lose sight of our own historical and contemporary historical figures and being critical of them where we have to. The point is that we have already mentioned some of these names in the series and will not repeat them here.

During the Bambatha Rebellion (or Uprising), for instance, which arose when Zulus rejected a new poll-tax imposed on them by the colonial British government, the British killed close to four Zulus while others hanging, whipping and shooting others.

Gandhi played an important role in this armed suppression of the Zulus by petitioning the British to recruit Indians for the task and by urging his fellow Indians to contribute to the war effort in against the Zulus, only for him to lie entirely about his and Indians role in the war efforts in his autobiography.

Of course, much has been said about this by scholars and author and historians and civil rights activities from around the world, including Indian and South African, and will not explore them here.

The other fact is the series was not meant to be an academic treatise or dissertation as it was intended only to scratch the surface. This is not a matter which Ghanaians should have to seek anybodys content in order to dismantle the statue.

The statue should simply be taken down and replaced with an authentic African hero or heroine. As simple as that!

SOME REFERENCES

Fazlul Huq. Gandhi: Saint or Sinner.

Ivan Van Sertima. African Presence in Early Asia.

Ashwin Desai & Goolem Vahed. The South African Gandhi: Stretcher-Bearer of Empire.

Arundhati Roy. Debunking the Myth of Gandhi.

University of Ghana (main website). (June 14, 2016). SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA. Retrieved (pdf) from

http://presidentofindia.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/Speech/Document/532/1_University_of_Ghana_Speech.pdf

See also:

http://presidentofindia.nic.in/speeches-detail.htm?532
you are here:
Bjork is so special to us, she is our very favourite kukl. Her Twitter feed is full of wonder, so here are 20 Bjork tweets to make your heart big with love!

Bjork = philosophy|music|style. When one evolves, the others do too. And evolve is the right word because Bjork is so utterly aware of herself as a natural lifeform. Back when we were baby mooks we made Bjork our icon of the week, and she is still always and forever more our great love and our very favourite kukl*. Her tweets are so full of wonder and exploration, weve shared 20 that make us love her all over again!

1. Of course Bjork knows when the equinox is. Such a nature child.

happy to tell you i will be singing in royal albert hall on the fall equinox. i know. it is bragging. spoiled brat. pic.twitter.com/eOnfepDPzM  bjork (@bjork) July 19, 2016

2. The album Vulnicura documents the end of a relationship  so raw  but Bjork has so much warmthness to give.

vulnicura live album is all ready for you ! warmthness . b . https://t.co/GLa1ad148C pic.twitter.com/FJN0Sjfmhb  bjork (@bjork) June 14, 2016

3. Our priestess! And yet she needs no title. She simply is.

accept all happiness from me then I shall turn my face and hear one bird sing terribly afar in the lost lands pic.twitter.com/fPpaT1oF8o  bjork (@bjork) May 4, 2016

4. Bjork the protector stands up for the wildnerness and boosts the signal always and forever

sign the petition to help iceland stop the destruction of its wilderness. no matter where youre from, you can help! https://t.co/RQNuq8kl6h  bjork (@bjork) November 6, 2015

5. Bjork stands up for ALL the wilderness. As above so below.

the ocean is like family: its where we came from, we must take care of it so it can take care of us #worldoceansday https://t.co/k5v5tRjSYy  bjork (@bjork) June 8, 2015

6. Bjork lives in the real world. She knows.

 youre not just imagining things . its tough . everything that a guy says once , you have to say five times .  pic.twitter.com/0ankhLIfc8  bjork (@bjork) October 28, 2015

7. Of course Bjork wants to reach out and talk to philosophers. She is living our dream.

i reached out to the philosopher timothy morton to see if he would be interested to start a dialogue with me . http://t.co/hgIALiTO2b  bjork (@bjork) July 24, 2015

8. Whenever Bjork the explorer heads into the studio or out of the door we yearn to know what she will bring back from her travels this time.

i feel at home whenever the unknown surrounds me http://t.co/xxaFjJ0SJ4  bjork (@bjork) March 13, 2015

9. Two words  WITCH. QUEEN.

 my album covers are like tarot cards  http://t.co/cwDOWKz4gT pic.twitter.com/FonrCmA6LP  bjork (@bjork) March 7, 2015

10. If Bjork was a Tarot card, which would she be though? Bjork melds art and science like the ultimate alchemist. So maybe Art in the Thoth deck by Lady Frieda Harris would be a good fit. Its all about the structures

The core of biophilia is comparing structures in nature with musical structures . pic.twitter.com/Vj373VmWOx  bjork (@bjork) December 8, 2014

11. The Biophilia project got factored into Nordic education as a means to boost interest in science through music technology. Thats a lesson wed love to attend.

bjork talked about the biophilia educational program with icelands foremost publication, the reykjavik grapevine: http://t.co/RhRJ4qfz6V  bjork (@bjork) September 19, 2014

12. Hell yeah, she supports other creatives.

judah adashi is a cellist who listened to unravel & heard a new song inside it  listen to the song here: http://t.co/wGjexlhKJa  bjork (@bjork) September 25, 2014

13. Its all so quiet

shake us out of the heavy deep sleep

do it now! pic.twitter.com/aR3KTgxmPv  bjork (@bjork) April 29, 2013

14. She makes us feel like anything is possible.

declare independence! dont let them do that to you! pic.twitter.com/Ne2SJWc5x7  bjork (@bjork) February 27, 2013

15. Were feeling this one.

a lot of the time i get obsessed by little nerdy things in my corner that no one else is interested in. bjork, 2005 pic.twitter.com/oPox5KRHF7  bjork (@bjork) February 22, 2013

16. Yep.

17. Bjork means business.

 i became the union leader for sound in a visual environment .  http://t.co/DLM4cde9jF  bjork (@bjork) February 27, 2015

18. Of course we had to talk about her style at some point! Ursula from Disneys Little Mermaid needs to be re-envisioned like this.

dark matter envelopes bjork in belgium. pic.twitter.com/s47FAGRD  bjork (@bjork) August 17, 2012

19. If you get trapped in a rock that grows around you for the next three centuries, Bjork will get you out. Thats how liberating she is.

its about this other, shamanic, kind of liberating character that sleeps somewhere inside us thats dying to get out http://t.co/NtiJLjhCS5  bjork (@bjork) May 6, 2015

20. Bjork is beyond brand. She is pure artist. Thats why her name is on our lips today and every day.

many warm thankyous for your love and support  bjork is the brit awards best international female of 2016 ! pic.twitter.com/OFaIq3pp3O  bjork (@bjork) February 24, 2016

*Kukl means witch in Icelandic.

Bjorks album Vulnicura is available on Amazon and all good places.
NYLON magazines favourite new cool girl, soul-searching Brooklyn songstress beccs is currently releasing her new EP Unfound Beauty.

Just who is beccs, mastermind behind new EP Unfound Beauty?

Introducing beccs, the endearingly abbreviated stage-monicker of Becca Gastfriend, a dreamy-dressed enchantress of the alternative/soul variety hailing from Brooklyn, USA. Classically trained- a student of the Cello at the tender age of four before becoming a songstress- beccs is well-qualified to win over our ears. And boy, does she succeed in this mission.

1-Therapy (4/5)

One word review: Powerful

Allow us to introduce you to the opening track on the EP, Therapy. Its been released alongside a music video which visually interprets the internal battles faced when going through therapy for an eating disorder. This song is a soulful, emotional exploration of introspection and the outcome of a lengthy period of therapy, during which beccs turned to songwriting as a form of catharsis and self-expression.

The lyrics tell listeners, Im in an abusive relationship. Her name is Me, reminding us that when we treat ourselves as our own worst enemy, we are both victim and aggressor. An affecting song which plumbs the emotional depths of suffering and healing, side by side. An exploration into the darkest expanses of the soul.

2-Scared of Me (5/5)

One word review: Provocative

Scared of Me is a masterpiece of philosophical introspection which proves that this songstress has an innate understanding of girlhood and womanhood. In this 3.20 masterpiece, beccs explores the contradictions of womanhood with painful accuracy- our redoubtable chanteuse is unafraid of her lover, but remains in fear of her own self. Its almost a declaration of war, and we are hit with lyrics such as Im a soldier, Im a fighter, reminding us of the everyday battles faced by women across the world.

A compelling exploration of the uglier aspects of life as a member of the female of the species, making for a gut-puncher of a song.

3-Waiting (3/5)

One word review: Poignant

This is the kind of record youd ideally listen to in a bath full of bubbles, drinking a glass of chilled wine freshly grabbed from the fridge. The lyrics should probably not add up to such a chilled-out mood, as they take the listener on a tour through the deeper and darker elements of the self-reflection including waiting for the lonely, foolish fears of the night to fade, and facing fears about life slipping away without ever being lived.

As she describes a life on hold, the narrator of this ballad to a life-on-pause expresses the anxieties of every not-quite-satisfied-just-yet girl whos found herself wondering if the future will bring a revolution or a thunderstorm.

4-Its For You (5/5)

One word review: Soulful

This track has been covered by The Beatles, and was originally written for Cilla Black by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Here we find a powerful cover, and beccs rich, classic voice lives up to the original well-enough, employing a rollicking, staccato style. The video for the original, sixties version featured Cilla Black dangerously striding around a circus setup, and this track retains an atmosphere of moody soulfulness.

Ultimately, this is a song about a woman who is awaiting a tall, dark stranger to tip their hat above the horizon. It explores the fragility and vulnerability of being in love, and the darker theme of surrendering of self to an unfolding romance. One for all of us who have been unlucky in love.

5-Unfound Beauty (4/5)

One word review: Exquisite

Co-written with Hernan Olalla in Spain, Unfound Beauty is the title track of the EP. This rollicking track has been featured in the movie Yellow Heart (dir. Sophia Harvey), where it was the soundtrack to a forbidden love story which unfolds between a modern-day Echo & Narcissus. The song will also be featured in All Of Me, a documentary on eating disorders by award-winning filmmaker Bess O Brien.

As beccs dulcet tones tell of a messy partnership, uttering: I use you/Just as much as you use me, we are taken on a journey through the knotty puzzle of love. Its a conflicted song which discusses the dynamics of a complicated love story and a journey into self-worth. As the melodic strings pull the unsuspecting listener into a delicate contemplation of the meaning of love itself, Spanish utterances grant the lyrics a rhythm all of their own.

Teeny tiny final thought: Girls got soul. Emotionally-rich songstress with an original voice.

Unfound Beauty EP on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/beccsmusic/sets/unfoundbeautyep

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Get this: After many schools have phased out cursive writing lessons across America, more schools are bringing the lessons back.

As it goes, technology was such just a few short years ago that the emergence of electronic documents  completed on computer keypads  no longer required a handwritten signature.

However, according to The Economist, technology innovations in handwriting recognition are reversing the trend. As more people forgo clunky desktop computers in favor of mobile devices, handwriting is now a faster way to input data than keyboards.

As a result, reports The Economist, a number of school boards in America have instigated a return to basics  especially time spent learning longhand.

Which is great news.

Look, cursive isn't just a way to put words down on paper or an electronic pad. It helps young people develop fine motor skills.

Secondly, kids who write in print, rather than cursive, open themselves to the risk of forgery, argues Katie Zezima in The New York Times.

Third, says Zezima, kids who can't read cursive cannot comprehend historical documents, such as the U.S. Constitution  much like half of our politicians.

I have nostalgic reasons for continuing the art of cursive.

Up into my 30s, I sent, and received, letters to lots of friends all over the country  I still have a box in my attic that contains every single one of them.

The last time I sorted through the box, I stumbled upon a letter I had received in 1985. It was from a fellow I'd gone to Penn State with, who went on to become a newspaper editor in Maine. It was written on a light-blue final-exam booklet with great wit and humor.

As I read it, I was transported back several years to the age of 23. I laughed out loud as I read it. As soon as I finished, I began fishing around the box for more letters.

I found a stack of pink envelopes sent to me by two girls, Bonnie and Tracey, who attended the same college as my friend Griff. He had them send me an anonymous letter once during our freshman year. A robust correspondence resulted between 1980 and 1984 (and I dated Bonnie in 1985). As I reread those letters, I laughed so hard tears tumbled down my face.

I spent hours that day rereading the dozens of letters I'd received over the years. It was amazing to me how much living I'd done and forgotten about. And I hope the many letters I have sent to many friends brings them similar unexpected pleasure now and again as they root through their own boxes of letters.

One of my most prized possessions is a letter written by my father's father in 1924 consoling a woman whose mother had just died. He wrote the letter when he was 21 (he died at 34 when my father was only 3).

I was given his letter in 1997 by the son of the woman my grandfather wrote the letter to. I was struck by how similar my grandfather's style is to my father's  how similar his tone and style are to mine  and moved by the beauty and artfulness of his signature.

In any event, I understand that the world has changed. I communicate by email and text these days, just as most people do.

Still, the least we can do is to pass on our powerful cursive tradition to our kids. Maybe they'll take the time to handwrite a few letters to their friends.

And have something to cherish the rest of their lives.

Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970's Childhood" and "Wicked Is the Whiskey, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Tom@TomPurcell.com.
European equities are a complex market. We have a broadly declining working population, slow productivity, structurally high unemployment, high debt levels and more recently the risk of EU dissolution. This is not exactly a recipe for success.

However, an investor that disregards European equities on this basis alone is a first-level thinker. The real question is how much of the bad news is already priced in, which admittedly, requires assumptions to be made on the future status of the European Union.

Our analysis shows that under most plausible scenarios, Europe is more attractive than the United States on a 10-year view. There appears to be two standout opportunities from a valuation perspective; namely European energy and European emerging market exposure.

These markets offer 10-year valuation-implied returns of 7% and 8.4% respectively, which look very healthy in light of a poor overall backdrop that is offering 3.5%. The real issue is whether these are value traps, and whether we can realistically expect mean-reversion under an environment of potential structural stress. This is where a margin of safety is desirable, and something we believe is available at the current time. For instance, the dividend yield of European energy is currently 6.4%; considerably higher than the 20-year average of 3.8%. Even emerging market Europe, which isnt known for its strong dividend profile, is offering 3.9% versus a 20-year average of 2.4%. The same valuation appeal is apparent for earnings, book values and cash-flow. What is in a Valuation? Valuations remain the core driver of Morningstars portfolio decisions, and a framework of absolute value, relative value, fundamental risk and contrarian sentiment form a basis for selection criteria. This involves meticulous ongoing calculations around return-on-equity, book values and profit margins; among others; to identify pockets of opportunity and risk in the equity market spectrum. Most markets continue to offer positive real valuation-implied returns, as would be expected from an asset class that entails higher risk. Apart from a few selected unappreciated markets, a large percentage of countries appear to offer relatively weak return profiles, with more than 50% of the universe offering less than 4% over the next 10 years from a valuation-implied perspective. The United States is generally unattractive as it sits at the lower-end on a relative basis, offering a small real return profile over the next 10-years. The UK and Japan are balanced. Emerging markets are generally attractive, with the highest valuation-implied returns coming from many in the Europe, middle-east, Africa (EMEA) region.




Chris Christie isn't on trial yet. But the testimony on the first day, Friday, of the trial of Bridget Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff and of former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, indicates that Christie-- who has two years left in his term-- will likely face trial and impeachment by the state legislature. Testimony from former Christie crony David Wildstein-- who already pleaded guilty to 2 federal counts of conspiracy as part of a plea deal for his cooperation-- indicates that Christie was the mastermind behind the plot to shut down the George Washington Bridge as an exercise in political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee.





Wall Street Journal's trial coverage painted a picture Wildstein and Christie went to Livingston High School together and both were campaign volunteers for GOP politicians. In 1985, when he was 23, Wildstein, whose family is very wealthy, was elected to Livingston's town council and subsequently served as mayor, where his abrasive style and right-wing extremism ended his electoral aspirations. Afterwards he surreptitiously ran a blog, under the pseudonym Wally Edge, PoliticsNJ.com-- financed by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The blog is widely credited with having helped launch Christie's political career. When he became governor, Christie invented a make-believe, highly paid job at the Port Authority for Wildstein, his second highest-level Port Authority appointment after Bill Baroni (the guy on trial now). Wildstein had no job description but he functioned as Christie's spy and enforcer on the agency. Over the weekend, the's trial coverage painted a picture placing Christie at the heart of a corrupt, self-serving system

At the instruction of Chris Christie, the Port Authority systematically allocated grants, vehicles and steel from the Twin Towers to Democratic elected officials from whom New Jerseys Republican governor sought endorsements for his 2013 campaign, a former Port Authority official testified Friday.



David Wildstein, a cooperating witness in the trial of two ex-Christie aides accused of creating a traffic jam as political payback, said he had received instruction from the governors office to use the Port Authority goody bag in this way.



The Port Authority was asked to play a role in helping the governors office secure certain endorsements, Mr. Wildstein said.



Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes asked who gave this instruction.



Asked initially by Mr. Stepien, Mr. Wildstein said, referring to Christie aide Bill Stepien. There were others, he added.



What others? Mr. Cortes asked.



Gov. Christie, Mr. Wildstein replied.



...While Friday was the first day Mr. Wildstein appeared in court, his presence has loomed throughout the first week of the trial. Defense attorneys, quoting witness interviews, have called Mr. Wildstein maniacal, a miserable prick and an asshole, among other labels. During opening statements, one defense attorney suggested the government had made a deal with the devil.



Federal prosecutors have noted that while Mr. Wildstein has lied before, his incentive to tell the truth is strong because prosecutors will write a letter to the judge with a sentencing recommendation.



Mr. Wildstein faces up to 15 years in prison.



In court on Friday, Mr. Wildstein outlined a systematic and organized plan to use Port Authority resources to support Mr. Christies re-election bid. The Port Authority provided valuable resources that the governor wanted to get credit for, he said.



These resources included steel from the former Twin Towers, flags flown at Ground Zero, World Trade Center tours, vehicles, patronage positions and grants, according to Mr. Wildstein. The governors office was always to be the deliverer of good news, he added.



In a May 2011 email shown in court, Mr. Wildstein wrote to Ms. Kelly, mentioning the Port Authority goody bag.



I like goody bags! Ms. Kelly replied. I appreciate it.



In his testimony Friday, Mr. Wildstein also discussed his relationship with Mr. Baroni, whom he described as one of the closest friends Ive ever had.



At the Port Authority, Mr. Wildstein, whose title was director of interstate capital projects, functioned as Mr. Baronis chief of staff, he said. But because Mr. Baroni liked to be the good cop, Mr. Wildstein acted as the bad cop-- being very aggressive, making sure that things got done, he said.



The two men primarily represented the interests of New Jersey and Mr. Christie, operating according to what they called the one constituent rule, he said. They first discussed this rule in 2010, he said, at a Starbucks in New York City.



The only person who mattered was Gov. Christie, Mr. Wildstein said on Friday. He was the one constituent. If it was good for Gov. Christie it was good for us. If it was not good for Gov. Christie, then it was not good for us.



Mr. Wildsteins testimony also offered a window into business practices at the governors office and the Port Authority. Mr. Wildstein said numerous people in the governors office told him to use his personal email address because such communications were considered not discoverable to public-records requests, he said.

before the new spate of revelations. According to WNBC one Assembly committee chairman the chances are probably So... when will New Jersey's legislature start impeachment proceedings against Christie-- who was already viewed negatively by 68% of New Jersey citizens the new spate of revelations. According to WNBC one Assembly committee chairman the chances are probably 50-50 that the assembly would pursue impeachment and that "obstruction of justice" would be an obvious charge against Christie.

The decision on impeachment will be up to Democratic Speaker Vincent Prieto and if he gives the go-ahead, the Assembly Judiciary Committee would begin the process.



It takes a majority of the 80-member Assembly to vote articles of impeachment.



If it passes the Democrat-controlled body [the Dems hold 52 of the 80 seats but many of the assemblymen are controlled by corrupt party bosses close to and in business with Christie], the trial would be in the Senate, where two-thirds of senators would be needed to convict. Although Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, they would need three Republican senators to join them if all Democrats vote to convict.

NY Times also Friday, thealso broaching the impeachment question , reported that "obstruction of justice means that an individual 'purposely obstructs, impairs or perverts the administration of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent a public servant from lawfully performing an official function by means of flight, intimidation, force, violence, or physical interference or obstacle, or by means of any independently unlawful act.' ... [A]n impeachment trial could mean that considerations outside the scope of the focus of this federal trial could be examined, including whether Christie and his administration used quid pro quo governmental incentives to compel more than 60 Democrat elected officials to endorse him; if the scheme of retribution extended beyond Fort Lees borders; and whether Christie and his staff lied or withheld evidence in a state taxpayer-funded investigation of the scandal. If Christie were convicted-- an admittedly unlikely political outcome-- it would remove him from office and preclude him from serving in any public office for the state, but such a prohibition would not apply to any potential federal position, including a cabinet post in a potential Trump administration."





The Observer predicted that the intensifying scandal will make it Last week,predicted that the intensifying scandal will make it even harder for the GOP to hold onto the governor's mansion , a laughable understatement. "Short on resources and resigned to campaigning with the shadow of Christies record-low approval ratings over its head, the state Republican partys best hope could be for the governor to step down early. That move would see Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, who has already announced her bid for the 2017 gubernatorial election, take Christies place in the event of Christies resignation or a successful impeachment."

Montclair State University political scientist Brigid Harrison said that Guadagno, and Republicans as a whole, will have a tough row to hoe whether Christie stays or goes. She believes there is an outside chance that Democratic lawmakers might pursue impeachment.



If in fact the governor knew during Bridgegate what was occurring, it certainly could be considered an impeachable offense according to the constitution, she said. Its a much different gubernatorial race than with Christie in office.



You have a Republican governor who has record low approval ratings, and one would think that theyre only going to plummet further in light of the revelations during the trial. You have a Republican party that has really been decimated in terms of both its war chest and its ability to raise money. And also, importantly the governor has really failed to develop a bench.



Guadagno would have to distinguish herself from the rest of Christies Republican coalition in Trenton in just 18 months. Harrison called that a tall order for a woman who has been frequently relegated to ceremonial appearances during Christies time out of state. Other potential Republican hopefuls like Assemblyman Jack Ciatarelli (R-16) and Assembly Minority Jon Bramnick (R-21), she said, would also need to forge new images.

As Seton Hall Universitys Matt Hale told The Observer, "Christie has so damaged the Republican brand in the state that I dont think any Republican can get elected." New Jersey Politics, Inc-- the bipartisan, boss-run political machine that runs the state-- understands that and is trying to decide if it will get behind reliable Democratic hack Steve Sweeney (Norcross' state Senate president) or self-funding Goldman Sachs crook Philip Murphy. Progressives may have to chose between former Congressman Rush Holt and Jersey City's reformist mayor Steven Fulop.
A one-off release of what is claimed to be South Africas oldest brandy, a 42-year-old single cask pot still from Distells Van Ryns brand, was sold at the recent Nederburg Charity Auction for R40,000 (US$3,000, 2,260, 2,600).

The organisers say it was sold to an international buyer and the money goes to good causes. The special edition brandy was created especially to mark 42 years of the Nederburg auction, the showcase for South Africas best wines.

The brandy, which started its journey from the vine in 1974 when it was distilled and placed into a 1,000-litre French oak cask in the of Van Ryns maturation cellars. This special cask has been under the custodianship of four master distillers at Van Ryns.

It was a rare privilege to be responsible for the final step in realising this unique brandys legacy, said Van Ryns current master distiller, Marlene Bester. Working with such an exceptional matured brandy might happen only a few times in any distillers career.

Bester said the age of the brandy gave an incomparable smoothness to the mouth feel, while an alluring bouquet of chocolate, hints of coffee and subtle notes of red berries and spice on the nose and palate had developed to perfection over the past 42 years.

In 2014 the Van Ryns Charentaise Collection, a 10-year-old potstill brandy was sold at the auction for R25,000. The reserve price for the Van Ryns 42-year-old single cask potstill brandy was R30,000 and the winning bidder paid R40,000.

The Van Ryns 42-year-old potstill brandy was one of 18 lots sold at the annual auction. Just over half a million rand was raised for two community-based organisations  the Breytenbach Centre in Wellington and the Hope Through Action project in Paarl.
Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive.

To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
The continuous growth of home prices in Toronto, coupled with the increased influx of overseas nationals fleeing the Vancouver market, will eventually compel Ontario to implement a foreign home buyers tax similar to that of B.C., according to the former Minister of Finance.In a contribution piece for the Financial Post, Joe Oliver argued that such a levy will give the Toronto market the breathing room it needs, even if the measure might prove to be unpopular in the short term.[Whats] at stake is much larger. Increased foreign buying is going to exacerbate an overheated real estate market, to the detriment of all Torontonians and at risk to the broader economy, Oliver wrote.However, Oliver emphasized that the tax should be enacted in concert with other steps to cool down Torontos housing segment.The realistic goal of a property transfer tax is to moderate price escalation. It is not a silver bullet that creates affordability since that would only result from a market crash, which would have broader economic consequences, mostly negative, he stated.I would time the implementation differently than in B.C. The tax should take effect the instant its announced, rather than giving buyers eight days to skirt it. Also, it should not apply retroactively to transactions that were signed but not closed, which is fundamentally unfair.Furthermore, Ontario should work to improve supply by eliminating regulatory roadblocks altogether.The most pressing need is for the provincial government to reduce red tape on housing construction, which adds significantly to cost, delays and financial risk, Oliver said. [Opening] up for development a mere five per cent of Ontarios Greenbelt could provide mixed housing for 1.5 million people and generate 1.25 million person years of employment.Most importantly, Oliver contended that the province need not wait for a federal-level intervention to start addressing Torontos housing issues.While we wait for the prime minister to fulfill his promise to take measures so that the affordability of homes is accessible for more Canadians, we require action at the provincial level. A tax on foreign purchases in the red-hot GTA market would address a rapidly looming problem.
Welcome to Week 33 of Mystery Mondays. The answer to Week 32s Mystery Photo is: The ceiling of the Agriculture Building (aka Exposition Hall and/or the Roundhouse) at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Downtown Dayton. Built in 1874, the Roundhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places but is currently in danger of demolition since the fair will be changing locations after 2017. I took this photo on September 3, 2016 during the 164th Annual Montgomery County Fair.

We congratulate our randomly drawn winner Chad McCoy of Dayton! Rapid Fired Pizza certificates are coming your way!

We challenge you to tell us where in the Dayton area this photo was taken by filling out the form below. Well do a random drawing from all those with a correct answer and the winner will get 2 pizzas from Rapid Fired Pizza.

Enter here:

http://goo.gl/forms/dyU55fzc48

Well post the winner next Monday with details about the photo as well as a new photo to challenge your knowledge of the Dayton area.

Thanks for playing and good luck!

Heres our Mystery Photo for Week 33:

Photo by Tom Gilliam of DaytonGram & Tom Gilliam Photography.
The city of Dayton has just revealed their new branding, created by The Ohlmann Group, a Dayton based advertising agency. The blue and green logo plays homage to our flight history in a modern way. The contract for the new look and branding was for $25,000.

Along with a new logo, a brand new website was also introduced.The new site features a much-improved search function, electronic forms, sections for business, residents and an easy navigate I Want To section that guides you contacts, forms, volunteer opportunities and more.

You can also sign up for notifications about, construction, job openings, city meetings and more through text message or email using Thunderclap, a social meadia crowdspeaking platform. During the week of September 26, the city will randomly select 10 Thunderclap participants to receive a swag bag of tech goodies that will show off your Dayton pride.

The website was created by a Manhattan, KS firm, CivicPlus, which specializes in government website design. The contract with CivicPlus was just under $60,000 for the new website.
Ho Chi Minh City is planning a more service-based economy in the next five years. Photo by AFP

With a projected 8 percent GDP increase, the southern business hub will still outperform most of the country.

The economy of Ho Chi Minh City is well on track to expand 7.6 percent in the first nine months and 8 percent by the end of the year, officials have said.

That would be the lowest annual growth rate in the last 6 years, when Ho Chi Minh City's GDP growth rate ranged from 9.2 percent in 2012 to 11.8 percent in 2010. Last year the rate was 9.85.

Vietnam's economy as a whole is estimated to grow 6 percent this year, down from 6.68 percent in 2015. It is cooling down due to a decline in agriculture, as a historic drought has hurt rice and coffee production.

Ho Chi Minh City is shifting its economic focus to the service sector, which is expected to contribute 60 percent to the GDP by 2020.

Nearly 26,000 new companies with a total capital of more than VND212 trillion ($9.5 billion) were launched in the first nine months, accounting for a third of all new entries nationwide.

The city since 2014 has also carried out an ambitious plan to reduce the number of state-owned companies sharply from more than 100 to only seven by the end of 2018. It has succesfully privatized, shut down and merged around 40.

Related news:

> World Bank revises down Vietnams GDP forecast again

> PetroVietnam aims to produce more oil amid modest GDP growth

> Vietnams GDP growth to slow next year: ADB
After years of delay, Mexico could open up its vast shale oil fields to U.S. drillers as soon as next year, the Mexican secretary of energy said Friday.

Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, speaking to energy executives, attorneys and academics at Rice University, said that the long-suspended auctions for northern Mexicos shale fields could reopen after the first quarter of 2017.

Everything will be ready by March, he said.

The fields could provide Houston oil companies with nearby and ready-made opportunities for expansion. Much of it is essentially an extension of the Eagle Ford reservoir, which stretches from central Texas and into Mexico. Local companies, familiar with the geology and now experts in hydraulic fracturing, could be first in line to develop the fields.

Mexico, in the middle of sweeping energy reform, is holding auctions to sell the rights for private companies to drill in its untapped oil fields. The country has gathered more than $22 billion in private sector commitments so far, on projects ranging from oil drilling to pipelines to power plants.

But the state suspended bids for shale field exploration when oil prices crashed two years ago.

We thought industry wouldnt be interested, Coldwell told the roughly 100 people at the event.

The country also lacked environmental rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing and the pipelines necessary to transport natural gas, a byproduct of oil drilling.

Companies recently told Mexico they were interested again in a shale auction, Coldwell said, and environmental regulations are expected to be ready by March.

Mexico nationalized its energy industry and kicked foreign oil drillers out of the country more than 70 years ago. But in 2013, with soaring electricity rates and plummeting oil and gas production, Mexican lawmakers passed a sweeping set of energy reform laws, which opened the country to widespread private investment for the first time since 1938.

The national oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, kept some of the countrys proven reserves to drill in the future. Mexico then started auctioning blocks of oil land that Pemex wasnt holding.

The first three auctions mostly sold rights to shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico. The next auction, this December, is for 10 deep-water fields. Shale lots could follow.

More than three-quarters of the prospective resources are in deep water or shale. To access such reserves, the country needs drilling technology and financial resources not now available in Mexico, Coldwell said.

The deep-water sections are considered prized because they are near existing offshore drilling rigs along the U.S. border in the Gulf; oil companies already know how to find oil there and how to tie production into existing pipelines.

Some, however, are skeptical that oil companies will jump into Mexican shale. It looks to have more natural gas than oil, which makes it less valuable. Security might be an issue. Water is hard to find. And there are few pipelines, storage tanks or other pieces of the supply chain.

Still, analysts said, the Mexican shale fields are huge, with untold volumes of oil and gas.

Theres a lot of potential, said Pablo Medina, an analyst at the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie.

They will get developed, he said. Its just a matter of time.
One cadet joined Air Force JROTC after she exhausted other electives. Other cadets drew inspiration from family members who served in the military.

Now the students are among the majority -- female leadership of the Midland High JROTC program. Cadet Capt. Natalie Jarratt, group deputy commander, said having female leaders reflects the growing recognition of women in the U.S. military.

"It's a breakthrough year," Jarratt said. "Now women are open to every job in the military. JROTC was never closed to women, but they didn't step up to leadership roles until now."

The trend mirrors the JROTC program at Lee High, in which participation of young women has increased over the past decade. This school year, 32 of the 98 cadets are female.

"It represents a gigantic leap from when I came here in '06," said retired Lt. Col. Barbara Bevins, senior aerospace science instructor at Lee High. "We didn't have 10 females in the whole program."

In previous years, few females served as leaders in Midland High JROTC. Now, they hold three out of four senior staff positions in the program. Young women also have other leadership roles, serving as officers and commanders.

Cadet 2nd Lt. Melynna Morgan, team commander, said seeing young women as leaders has inspired her.

"I'm a better person now watching these seniors become something in this corps," Morgan said. "It makes me want to become something in this corps."

Cadet 1st Lt. Taylor Sharpe, cadet training officer, said participants in Midland High JROTC are encouraged to respect others in the program, no matter rank or gender.

"There's no difference between a man or a woman," Sharpe said. "We're all cadets. We're all expected to respect each other."

In Midland High's JROTC, the male to female ratio is 5-to-1. Nationally, 38 percent of cadets in the Air Force JROTC are female, according to a newsletter published this month.

Retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Deynzer, aerospace science instructor at Lee High, said numbers for female participation in JROTC fluctuate across the country.

"One of the things that catches my eye is watching females rise above the boys, seeking leadership roles," Deynzer said. "We see that in corporate roles, too. I come from a generation when there were always guys in leadership roles. Now women want those positions."

The U.S. military opened all occupations and positions to women in December. But only a fraction of female active-duty military officers served as leaders in 2015, according to Department of Defense data.

Female JROTC leaders at Midland High said they face some backlash within the corps. Jarratt said some males in the program are hesitant to obey them.

"Some younger cadets were raised a certain way all of their lives," Jarratt said. "They won't listen to women."

Outside the corps, the leaders said peers and family members have mixed feelings about their involvement in JROTC. They said some show support while others are critical.

Cadet 2nd Lt. Rheanna Jordan, Raiders commander and cadet training director, said discouragement has pushed her to be a strong leader.

"My goal this year is to prove I deserve to be in that [training] position," Jordan said.
Doan Trung Dung, 45, is suspected of the murder of four in Quang Ninh Province. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Cuong

The arrest was made 3 days after the murder of a woman and 3 children.

At around 9:00 p.m. on Monday, police in the northern city of Hai Phong arrested Doan Trung Dung, a suspect accused of killing a 61-year-old woman and her three grandchildren in the nearby province of Quang Ninh.

Dung was arrested near the Binh Bridge in Thuy Nguyen District and subsequently brought onto a car at 11 p.m. heading to Quang Ninh Province to be handed over to the police.

Police have suspected Dung of killing Nguyen Thi Hat, 61, and the three children, aged 9, 8 and 3, at their house last weekend.

Dung, 45, is Hats grandson-in-law. His criminal record has been made public, which is not an unusual practice in Vietnam.

The killings, described by local media as heartless and brutal, were discovered in the early hours on Saturday.

Hats daughter, Vu Thi Thanh, returned home after her night shift and found her mother, her two children, and her niece dead.

Related news:

> Grandmother and 3 grandchildren murdered overnight in northern Vietnam

> Victims' relative named suspect in brutal murder case in northern Vietnam
Injection wells: Problem or opportunity?

In the op-ed on Sept. 19, RRC should act to stop fracturing-related earthquakes, the authors got one thing right: their use of the word trigger, and not cause. This is an important distinction that even articles written by RRC folks seem to miss.

There is no way that fracturing can cause an earthquake. Can water injection cause an earthquake? Pretty sure that is not a possibility either, for reasons similar to the behavior of shock absorbers on your car: Fluid cant move fast enough. However, water injection could lubricate existing faults, triggering an earthquake.

Mother Nature is causing the pressure buildup in faults. It happens continuously, storing up pressure, little by little. Over time, this amounts to enormous energy. When the friction in the fault cant contain it anymore, the fault slips and we have an earthquake.

What will cause the fault to slip? If we do nothing, eventually the fault will build up to a level that could cause significant death and destruction. The public doesnt think much of earthquakes in the middle of the U.S., but in 1812, a series of quakes made the Mississippi River run backward. It happens.

So, what if the U.S. Geological Survey and the community at large stop looking at this solely as a problem and begin looking at it as an opportunity? Could we possibly use water injection wells placed in strategic places to let the pressure off troublesome faults? Which would you rather have, a series of 3.0 earthquakes, or one 7.0 that flattens your community? Granted, a 5.8 is too much.

If the storm chasers discovered the ability to not just predict, but to control a tornado, wouldnt that be good news?

Obviously, this will take a lot more study, but first we have to recognize it as an opportunity.

Floyd Prather

Helping Hands devoted to helping others

Helping Hands is true to its name. All workers are volunteers and work faithfully to help others. Thankful shoppers are very appreciative. Honesty prevails.

Example: I dopped my emergency money and an honest teen had turned it in. Example: I left my credit card in the card reader, forgetting to take it out. They made the effort to get my phone number and called to alert me.

What a group of loyal members, devoted to helping others.

Skippy Malone

Nation needs statesmen with core conservative values

I supported George W. Bush and voted for him but I did not understand him and he definitely did not represent me. I admired his courage for entering the arena and commend him for his stance on Iraq and Homeland Security.

However, had I known that George would unbelievably and constantly profess Islam to be a peaceful religion; or known he would enthusiastically host/celebrate eight annual Muslim Ramadan Dinners with prayers going up from our White House to Allah, the Muslim Moon God of War; or known he would push to legalize more than 14 million illegal aliens; or known he would seriously attempt to hand over our port security and our safety to Muslims; or known he would recklessly grow our gummit while spending lavishly and not vetoing even one of the many pork-laden bills that came by his desk; or known he would, as a previously undisclosed Universalist, profess our God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be one and the same as Mohameds Allah; or known he would work feverishly to create an inexorable hell for Israel by dividing their land, giving half to their eternal, terrorist enemies despite Gods stern biblical warnings against doing so; or known he would within one month of leaving office disclose the fact, that he heretofore had failed to mention to his Christian base, that he does not believe the Bible; or known he would return to our Midland where I would hear him gleefully announce to the crowd that  ... today was a great day for America and a good man took the oath of office ..., referring to Barack Hussein Obama; then I would have more diligently searched for a true Conservative Christian to support.

George W. Bush greatly hurt our cause and our nation. He fooled me and disappointed me.

May we find noble statesmen/candidates who in truth and in fact possess godly wisdom and core csonservative values, not worldly yet spiritually naive politicians with flexible, foggy values. They struggle for power and lust for self-aggrandizement and will unavoidably get lost in the maze, while leading us into deep, dark, godless waters.

Miller Houghton

Letters policy

There is a 350-word limit, unless its a candidate or ballot-related letter; then the limit is 200 words.

Letters must be submitted to letters@mrt.com.

Deadline is noon Thursdays for the following Sunday.

Reporter-Telegram policy limits individuals to one letter in a 30-day period.

Letter-writers should include phone number and address. Failure to do so could delay letters publication.
Health officials fret as the country is one of the biggest consumers of beer and liquor.

The Ministry of Health is considering a ban on sales of liquor and beer after either 10:00 p.m. or midnight as officials aim to reduce negative impacts of drinking.

Nguyen Huy Quang, director of the ministrys Department of Legal Affairs, told a seminar in Hanoi on Monday that the ban is part of a new bill on alcohol consumption that is being drafted.

The proposal is based on similar bans already in place in several countries, which the official said have proved effective in curbing the impacts of drinking.

The bill is expected to be put before legislators in 2018.

Vietnam is currently the second biggest consumer of beer and liquor in Southeast Asia, only after Thailand; the 10th largest in Asia; and the 29th largest in the world, Vice Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said.

If prevention measures are not applied effectively, Vietnam may become the biggest consumer of beer and liquor in the world, not just the 29th, Long said.

A new study jointly conducted by the ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 77 percent of Vietnamese men drink liquor and beer, nearly half of them drink at hazardous levels.

Nguyen Phuong Nam, an official from WHO, said at Monday's seminar that nearly 67 percent of the total 1,840 traffic accident patients in the study had high concentration of alcohol in blood and 45 percent of them drove after two hours of drinking.

Is Vietnam a start-up nation or drunken one? he asked.

According to the Vietnam Beverage Association, local drinkers consumed a total of 3.4 billion liters of beer last year, up 10 percent year-on-year but surging around 40 percent from 2010.

On average, each Vietnamese person drank 38 liters of beer in 2015, more than four times higher than the global average.

The Ministry of Health said that half of drinkers drive after two hours of drinking. The Traffic Safety Committee also said that 40 percent of road-related fatalities, or some 4,000 deaths, were linked to drunk driving in 2015.

Drinking alcohol, including beer and liquor, increases the risk of developing cancers of the mouth, upper throat, voice-box, bowels, liver and breasts, health experts say.

Meanwhile, Vietnam still aims to produce 4.1 billion liters of beer in 2020, up from 3.4 billion liters in 2015, according to a plan for beer, liquor and beverage production until 2025.

Beer output will be raised to 4.6 billion liters in 2025 and 5.5 billion in 2035, according to the plan that has been made public recently by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Liquor output is expected to increase to 350 million liters through 2020-2035.

Related news:

> Vietnam plans more beer production as locals keep guzzling

> Beer, big bucks and babes: tapping into Vietnam's thirst
Be measured in the margins you ...
The drum was found deep under the ground in damaged condition, with several dents on its surface and body. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Long

The landowner's heart must have skipped a beat when he pulled out the Dong Son relic.

A resident in the northern province of Thanh Hoa unearthed an ancient bronze drum yesterday while digging the foundations for his house.

The drum, 59cm in diameter and 43cm in height, was found deep underground in a damaged condition, with several dents to the surface and body.

Based on its shape and patterns, researchers said the item is a Dong Son bronze drum, an icon of the Dong Son culture, a complex society of farmers and sailors who lived in what today is northern Vietnam and made bronze and iron objects between about 600 BC and 200 AD.

The object has specifically been identified as a type I (Heger I) bronze drum in accordance with the 1902 typology of Austrian scholar Franze Heger, and dates back approximately 2,000-2,500 years, said Dr. Do Quang Trong, director of the Ho Citadel Heritage Conservation Centre.

Local authorities and related departments are in the process of taking the antiquity in for preservation under the provisions of Vietnam's Law on Cultural Heritage.

Dong Son drums were the earliest form of bronze drums found in Southeast Asia and southern China, and have been used by many different ethnic groups from prehistoric times to the present.

Typical designs on these highly ornamental drums reflect a sea-oriented society, featuring boats, warriors, birds, animals, fish and geometric symbols for clouds and thunder.

The Dong Son culture got its name from Dong Son Village on the banks of the Ma River in Thanh Hoa Province. A number of bronze drums were also found by chance in 1924, marking the first evidence of the culture's existence.

Related news:

> Vietnam's ancient town limits visitors to Japanese bridge to save old icon

> Audio service to guide tourists through Vietnam's ancient capital

> Vietnamese man fights confiscation of massive gemstone
Our bookstore offers 3,000 copies for sale. There are some precious books hidden away but you must be very lucky to find them. The price of a rare book can be tens of thousands but many readers are willing to pay millions to have them, a stall owner named Guong said.
AMARILLO - Every year is a learning year right now for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologists and anyone else dealing with the sugarcane aphid, both on grain sorghum and forage sorghum in the Texas High Plains.

We have a lot more information about grain sorghum than we do on the forage sorghum, said Dr. Ed Bynum, AgriLife Extension entomologist at Amarillo.

Bynum, participating in a recent forage sorghum turn-row meeting near Bushland, said the crops are pretty close to each other, the major difference being the grain sorghums are shorter and the forage sorghums are taller and have more leaf area.

But I think the type of damage the sugarcane aphid is causing is basically going to be the same regardless of whether its forage sorghum or grain sorghum.

What is known, he said, is the amount of yield loss is greater in grain sorghums when infestations become established in the whorl stage than during the flowering and grain-filling stages.

We know when infestations get started in the whorl stage and you dont do anything to protect the sorghum, you can have as much as 80 to 100 percent yield loss in that grain sorghum, Bynum said.

So, I would expect that it would be similar to that in these forages. Looking at the forage sorghum plots, what was evident is where infestations were really heavy, they were not putting on the amount of grain as others that did not have as heavy an infestation.

Bynum said specific data will be coming in after Dr. Jourdan Bell, AgriLife Extension agronomist in Amarillo, and her team measure the grain yield, silage yield and quality.

While the biggest expected damage from the sugarcane aphid is the loss of grain yield, he said it also weakens the stalk. So in forage sorghums that grow taller, weak stalks could result in a lot of lodging.

Another thing worth noting, Bynum said, is the grain sorghum trials infested at the grain-filling and dough growth stages saw yield losses of only about 20 percent.

So there is a lot of difference between when the sugarcane aphids begin to build up in the grain sorghums and also the forage sorghums, I believe, he said. The question is, what kind of management practices can you do to try to avoid the level of damage you get?

After two years of infestations in the High Plains, he said they know the aphids generally are brought in from the South.

They dont overwinter north of Amarillo, or havent in the last two years, so we know that the aphids have to be blown back in here, Bynum said.

In the South Plains, they begin infesting sorghums in the early part of June and populations build in July, he said. But infestations the last two years in the Amarillo area and north havent been seen until August and into September.

Your management practices need to aim at avoiding the sugarcane aphids until you can get the forage sorghums at a later growth stage, Bynum said. I would think that if you can adjust your planting dates and plant earlier, you can get into the field and get the crop up and get it cut before you get the sugarcane aphid damage.

The second part of the equation is controlling the sugarcane aphids, he said.

What levels of control are you going to get when the sorghum is waist-high compared to when it is 5-feet tall or taller? We know the level of control is better if you can get better coverage within that canopy.

Bynum said two aerial insecticide applications were made to the forage sorghum field plots. The first application was with Transform at a rate of 2 ounces per acre, a high rate, trying to get good control.

They did get a good level of control, but because of the pockets of infestations and sorghums that were taller than others, they still had areas that didnt get good control, so the aphids built back up, he said.

A second application of Silvanto was made about two and a half weeks later, at a rate of 6 ounces, and again some plots had good control while others didnt, Bynum said.

It comes back to the amount of leaf canopy and it not allowing that chemical to get down into the plant, he said. Try to scout as early as you can and if you find sugarcane aphids, try to get an application on as early as possible. You dont want to allow the population to build up and have to treat when plants are taller and there is more leaf area on the plant.
Samsung scientists who packed too much charge into the latest smartphones may be graduates of the Duracell School of Battery-Making. Who knows what happened, but my Uncle Mort -- reaching into the deepest crevice of his unbounded wisdom -- believes some of em want to both burn something as well as start something.

The 104-year-old denizen of the thicket in East Texas continues to be amazed about the far-reaching news topic making big splashes in public and social media.

Company leaders now are recalling Samsung Galaxy Note 7s. Mort believes theyd call the battery folks on the carpet if not for fear of their setting it on fire.

Morts not saying the Samsung folks are grandstanding. This is a serious matter, and people who would quickly settle for 15 minutes of fame could wind up facing 15 years of law suits.

Mort has dealt with multiple dozens of so-called inventions that shook his work shop to numbers just short of the Richter Scale.

There are safer ways to make the Guinness Book, he claims. Just the other day, an 81-year-old guy in China had eye brow hair measuring 7.2 inches.

Guinness believes this to be a world record, but this heralded bunch of record-keepers had best take note: Guys around the world will challenge this record, figuring it would involve no exercise, no money and no great thought.

During my college years, I spent summers editing a small weekly newspaper called The Brown County Gazette. It fell on hard times later, and is now defunct. It was published in Bangs, something of a Mayberry community, where weekly headline stories were sometimes hard to come by.

One week, a farmer showed up with what he called the largest watermelon ever grown in Brown County. I repeated his claim in the caption under a photo that made the front page on a sleepy summer day.

Woe was me! As the weeks rolled by, other farmers delivered melons, each claimed to be still bigger.

In those days, running newspaper photographs involved engraving costs, and the publisher was hesitant to expend such funds, except maybe to run with an obituary.

And even then, whether a photo ran sometimes rode on whether the person was a luminary, but thats another story.

Think of the possibilities if efforts to cultivate long eye brow hair catches on. Men long since bald have new hope. Many, no doubt, have abandoned hope.

Mort figures this to be the perfect time for him to set out on developing a potion to spur eye brow growth, with this leading to new hair styles. Well have guys trying comb-backs instead of comb-overs, he cackled.

And he has strong advice for people holding stock in companies that manufacture hair pieces. Sell now, he advises.

Mort mentioned participants eager to participate can do so no matter their age or no matter their station. Rich or poor, at home or in care centers, guys with no head hair will be welcome, he bragged.

He warned, though, that if the eye brow rage catches hold, we may have to consider furrowing other parts of the body, since brows will be busy.

I guess we cant have it both ways. Maybe some guys with heads absent of hair will have to decide whether to content themselves in being bald or reveal worry in some other manner.

Before leaving the subject of hair, I must share a vignette observed recently. At a school luncheon on grandparents day (when were permitted to bring food of grandchildrens choice and then go to the bookstore to buy them presents), a kindergartener couldnt find his granddad.

The principal asked him to describe the missing grandpa.

Well, hes got a bunch of hair on his chest.

Dr. Don Newbury is a speaker in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Inquiries/comments to newbury@speakerdoc.com. Phone: 817-447-3872.
The carrier has ordered 10 new wide-body A350s for direct services to the U.S.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines is planning non-stop services to the U.S., starting with flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles using new wide-body aircraft, according to aircraft provider Airbus.

A press release from the French manufacturer this month said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese flag carrier to deliver 10 more A350-900 aircraft, which will be used for non-stop flights to the U.S.

At 8,169 miles, the new route between Tan Son Nhat Airport and LAX is a bit shorter than the worlds current longest A350 route of 8,446 miles, between Singapore and San Francisco.

Last year, Vietnam Airlines put the first four A350 XWB aircraft into use, each able to carry 305 passengers.

Duong Tri Thanh, president and CEO of Vietnam Airlines, said the fuel efficient planes are suitable for the carriers plans of intercontinental routes to Europe and the U.S.

The specific timeline for the new service has not been revealed. Sources said it might be followed with flights to San Francisco, Washington and Vancouver.

Vietnam Airlines previously announced plans to fly to the U.S. in 2018.

The countrys top carrier posted a pretax profit of nearly VND1.6 trillion ($71.7 million) in the first six months this year, up around 58 percent from a year ago. It served 9.65 million passengers, 40.8 percent of the total number for all Vietnamese airlines.

There are more than 1.7 million people of Vietnamese heritage living in the U.S., and around half of them in California.

U.S. tourists are increasingly intersted in Vietnam as a destination. The country approved one-year visas for U.S. visitors earlier this year. It aims to draw 1 million tourists from the U.S. by 2017.

Trade relations between the countries have also been growing in recent years, from about $220 million in 1994 to $45.1 billion in 2015.

Related news:

> Vietnam's budget airlines soar past passenger trains

> Vietnam Airlines to open direct flights to US in 2018
MERIDEN  The city has hired legal firm Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C. to investigate Meriden police Captain Patrick Gaynors complaint against Chief Jeffry Cossette alleging a pattern of retaliation against him and other officers since Cossettes son was convicted of violating a prisoners civil rights and falsifying a report.



The complaint was filed with Deputy Police Chief Timothy Topulos on Sept. 1.



The Chief has engaged in a pattern of retaliatory conduct toward officers who he believes were responsible for bringing an incident involving his son, a former police officer, to light, Gaynor states in the complaint. This pattern began in 2013, when his son was convicted in federal court, and continues to date.



The day after filing the complaint, Gaynor was placed on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation into allegations that he misused/misappropriated city funds for your own personal benefit, according to a letter from Cossette to Gaynor dated Sept. 2. That investigation is ongoing.



Cossettes son, former Meriden police officer Evan Cossette, was convicted by a federal jury in 2013 after pushing a handcuffed prisoner in a holding cell, resulting in a significant head injury. Evan Cossette resigned from the police department and was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison. He was released in December of 2014.



City Manager Guy Scaife said he made the decision to bring in an outside party to oversee the investigation into Gaynors complaint.



Certainly, the chief was aware and understands so its not really anything unusual, Scaife said. I wanted an outside party to look at it so nobody could say there was bias.



Gaynor has been with the police department for 19 years and has worked in patrol, narcotics, SWAT and training in addition to previously serving as president of the Connecticut Council of Police Unions, AFSCME 15.



President Barack Obama asked Gaynor to serve on the Medal of Valor review board in 2012.



Most recently Gaynor served as interim director of the citys emergency dispatch center, which was the subject of a probe after delayed response time to a fire resulting in the injury of three firefighters last year. City officials praised Gaynor for his performance overseeing the department. Gaynor returned to his regular duties as commander of police operations after the city hired former Bridgeport Public Safety Communications Director Doree Price to direct the dispatch center.



The investigation into Gaynors complaint against Cossette is underway. Scaife said Attorney Floyd Dugas and his legal team will be heading the investigation.



Floyd Dugas assists us on a routine basis, Scaife said. His firm and staff are handling it.



Dugas previously defended the city against a wrongful termination claim from former officer Donald Huston, which was ultimately denied by a state arbitration panel. Huston and fellow officer Brian Sullivan sent a letter to former City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior in 2011, alleging nepotism and disparate treatment in the police department, including improper conduct by Evan Cossette. An investigator hired by the city determined many of Huston and Sullivans allegations were unfounded. The two officers were then investigated for violating department rules on truthfulness and conduct and cause was found to terminate. Huston was terminated in 2013. Sullivan had already retired on disability.



In regard to Gaynors complaint, Scaife said it is unclear how much the legal services of Dugas will cost or how long the investigation will take.



Its not a complicated investigation, but... you want to be fair to all parties, Scaife said.



Scaife declined to comment on the specifics of the complaint. Gaynor praised Scaifes handling of the investigation into his complaint.



Im happy that the city manager is taking this seriously, Gaynor said. Its a step in the right direction.



ltauss@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ






State Senate candidate and businessman Mike Nicastro is challenging Sen. Henri Martin to explain his record in Hartford of voting against job creation and economic development programs while telling his constituents back in Bristol, Harwinton, Plainville, Plymouth/Terryville and Thomaston that he has a plan to create a confident future for Connecticut.



Recently, Martin joined with other Republican senators for the launch of their 2017 agenda. While filled with promises, the document provides no details about how the state would pay for these campaign promises. When repeatedly asked by the media present, no answers were offered.



Martins confused record on economic development includes:



Voting against job training and job creation programs Small Businesses Express and STEP-Up. Those programs have helped businesses create and retain 1,452 jobs in the 31st Senate District.



In 2016, Martin backed a last minute budget that would have delivered the largest cut to higher education in our nations history, would have cost 8,000 construction jobs and was still out of balance by $150 million.



In 2016, Martin voted against the creation of a landmark program to help cities like Bristol attract entrepreneurs and start-up companies through the creation of Innovation Places. Due to Martins lack of leadership, Bristol missed out on a critical planning stage funding grant to help bring more innovative and good-paying jobs to the area.



In February of 2015, Martin complained vehemently to the Bristol Press about a budget proposal which would have eliminated certain tax credits for ESPN. He stated, I feel like its a broken promise, and Were making it difficult for them to believe anything the state promises. Now in his latest plan, A Confident Future he calls for an end to all corporate welfare, including the same tax credits he defended just last year.



Connecticut residents can be confident in our future only when our elected officials start with being candid but keep a positive attitude and dont make ridiculous comments such as the state is in a death spiral, said Nicastro. He continued, Henri and his leadership would flunk a Marketing 101 class and frankly Im not sure Henri read his proposal. One minute hes angry about any negative impact on ESPN and now he wants to treat them like a pariah. Which is it? The ability to grasp economic issues starts with understanding the value of the biggest employer in the district and then reconciling that value with the important task of measuring the efficacy of economic development programs. You can do both but it requires an understanding of the economic complexities, the ability to speak for yourself and looking for positive outcomes for all involved. I have that ability and want to bring my years of experience to the residents of Bristol, Harwinton, Plainville, Plymouth/Terryville and Thomaston, so they have a honest, trusted voice in the senate.



For more information, call 860-202-0348 or visit votenicastro.com.



 Press Release






JOHN DAVENPORT, STAFF / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

PrimeFlight Aviation Services, which contracts with airlines to provide cabin cleaning and other services, is laying off about 90 San Antonio-area workers due to a lost contract with multiple airlines at the San Antonio International Airport, according to a notice filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.

The WARN Act requires most employers with more than 100 employees to provide 60 calendar-day advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs of employees. PrimeFlights contract with the airlines ends Nov. 1.
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Social media app Snapchat is introducing video-recording glasses called Spectacles and is changing its company name to incorporate the new product.

The glasses can record video 10 seconds at a time by tapping a button on the device. The video is then uploaded to the popular image-messaging app via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The glasses are the first hardware from the Los Angeles-based company.

The glasses record so-called "circular video," meaning it plays full-screen on any device in any orientation.

They will be available in the U.S. in the fall on a limited basis and cost $130.

LOOK BACK: Houston gets its own Snapchat story

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Snapchat's 26-year-old founder Evan Spiegel explained his rationale for creating Specticles.

"It was our first vacation, and we went to [Californian state park] Big Sur for a day or two. We were walking through the woods, stepping over logs, looking up at the beautiful trees.

"And when I got the footage back and watched it, I could see my own memory, through my own eyes - it was unbelievable.

"It's one thing to see images of an experience you had, but it's another thing to have an experience of the experience. It was the closest I'd ever come to feeling like I was there again."

OTHER USES: 10 unusual ways people are using Snapchat

In a way, the Spectacles recall Google's venture into eyewear, Google Glass, which took photos and video. But that device also had a screen that let you surf the web as well and cost $1,500.

Google shuttered that venture in early 2015 after it received a tepid response from users.

The company says it's changing its name to Snap Inc. since it now has more than one product. The app will retain the name Snapchat.
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A 3-year-old girl riding in a car with her family Sunday in Stockton was killed when they drove into the middle of gunfire in a residential area, police said.

The shooting was reported just before 8:30 p.m. near Commerce and West Jefferson streets. No one in the car was the intended target of the shooting, said Officer Joe Silva, a Stockton police spokesman.
Swashbuckling pop star Adam Ant, whose tribal-beat hits and crazed pirate getup were staples of the early days of MTV, is coming to San Antonio on Feb. 15.

He'll play the jewelbox that is the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre on a tour marking the 35th anniversary of his landmark album "Kings of the Wild Frontier." Tickets, $35-$40, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at Ticketmaster.com.
hinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks to Montreal businessmen at the 6th China-Canada Economic & Trade Cooperation Forum in Montreal, Canada September 23, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Christinne Muschi

The deal will allow Chinese officials to travel to Canada to interview Chinese citizens considered inadmissible.

An agreement signed between Canada's border agency and China will result in the faster deportation of Chinese citizens deemed inadmissible by Canadian authorities, a Liberal government spokesman said on Sunday.

The deal will allow Chinese officials to travel to Canada to interview Chinese citizens considered inadmissible, with the aim of verifying their identities and documents, said Scott Bardsley, press secretary to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Bardsley said the verification process could otherwise take a long time and had often delayed deportations.

According to Canada's immigration department, those deemed inadmissible include people with criminal records, serious health or financial issues or who have lied on their visa applications.

The agreement, a one-year pilot program, was part of law enforcement accords signed during Premier Li Keqiang's Canadian visit last week.

The border agency agreement, which will not be in place immediately, is similar to one China has with the European Union, and officials from both countries will revisit the matter in November, said Bardsley.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both countries are also talking about an extradition treaty, which China has long wanted so it can press for the return of what it says are corrupt officials who fled to Canada. Human rights advocates are opposed, citing what they say is a flawed Chinese justice system.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, elected last year, is trying to improve ties and increase trade with China, the world's second-largest economy, after a decade of rocky relations under his Conservative predecessor.

The countries on Thursday settled a trade dispute and said they would start exploratory talks on a free trade pact.

The countries also signed a memorandum of understanding under which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ministry of Public Security of China will cooperate to combat a broad range of crimes. Bardsley said the memorandum was a renewal of a similar one signed in 2010 that called for broad cooperation.
It was a celebration of their craft and a drive to instruct and encourage other photographers to become better photographers. Artists from San Antonio and Austin's visual arts community gathered for the 4x5 Photo Fest at Brick in the Blur Star Arts Complex Saturday night for the one-day photo event.

The event had various guest speakers and sessions designed to give photographers advice and information on photography as a career, either as a visual artist, a photojournalist or commercial photographer.
When Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 vanished, hours turned to days, and days to weeks with no information.

There has never been a satisfying answer.

One Greenwich resident, however, believes she knows what happened. And with decades of experience as a journalist and aviation safety specialist, she is speaking with authority.

My theory is that an electrical malfunction knocked out systems on the Boeing 777 and that the plane lost pressurization, incapacitating the pilots, said Christine Negroni in her new book, The Crash Detectives: Investigating the Worlds Most Mysterious Air Disasters.

The book will be released Tuesday. Negroni will appear at the Ferguson Public Library in Stamford at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 as part of her book tour. The event will also feature Dudley Williams, a Stamford politician and friend of Negroni.

The Crash Detectives ties aviation science with performance psychology and the physiological effects of oxygen deprivation that have led to commercial air accidents in the past, she said.

Likely, the men in the cockpit were overcome by the altitude sickness known as hypoxia, which robbed them of the ability to think clearly and land the plane safely, she wrote. Commercial aviation is both more and less advanced than people think.

Her claim is rooted in research and Occams razor  the principle that when there are multiple possible explanations, the simplest one is the most likely.

If theres one thing I bring to a job, it is that I am not an engineer or a pilot, Negroni said. But I am able to translate their worlds, and hopefully make it compelling.

In the beginning, Negroni had her eyes on the ministry. While attending Mercer University, one of her work study jobs was to drive a bus in rural Georgia ferrying women jail inmates.

She and the inmates developed a crush on a disc jockey they listened to on the local radio station, she said. She eventually met the radio personality, which led to a job at the station.

She ditched her ministerial aspirations and slowly worked her way up the professional media ladder, eventually moving to Chicago for a job at WGN, an independent regional television station.

When her husband got a job at the New York Times, she moved back to the New York City metropolitan area. She has lived in Old Greenwich for 23 years, working as a network correspondent for CBS and CNN, doing work for New Jersey Public Television and the New York Times.

She was launched into airline accident investigations when she got the chance to cover the crash of TWA Flight 800 for CNN. The Paris-bound plane exploded 12 minutes after it took off from the Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

The coverage was divided into two parts. She was assigned to cover what she called the tin kickers, the crash detectives whose job was to discover what could have gone wrong.

The other portion of CNNs coverage was the FBI investigation into whether the disaster was caused by terrorism or other criminal interference.

Since not all the information Negroni collected made it to the public, after things cooled down, she said, she realized she was sitting on a book.

In 2000, she published Deadly Departure, about the crash that led to the most expensive airline investigation the United States government had embarked on. It went on to be a New York Times Notable Book.

She began working with law firms representing the families of those killed in air accidents and with various authorities that deal with safety regulations.

Looking at current accidents has a place beyond speculation, she said. Negroni spent five weeks working for ABC news covering what the investigators were doing in Kuala Lampur, the Malaysian capital, after the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 in March 2014.

An unsuccessful search is still not the end of the story, Negroni wrote in the introduction to her new book. Thinking about scenarios of what might have happened can identify hazards that need to be fixed.

Im glad I have this niche, she said. You can spend a whole career going from one story to another, but Im glad I have this wealth of knowledge.

pfrissell@hearstmediact.com; @PeregrineFriss
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The presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump is too close to call, as Clinton takes 44 percent of American likely voters to Trumps 43 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll, released Monday morning ahead of the first debate.

Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson is polling at 8 percent with 2 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, according to national poll released this morning.

But likely voters asked who will win the debate gave the edge to Clinton, 41 percent to 32 percent for Trump. The televised debate will likely be pivotal in the presidential race: 84 percent say they planned to watch and 55 percent say they are more motivated than usual to vote, the Q Poll found.

Eleven percent say they are less motivated and 33 percent say their motivation is "about the same as usual."

There is a small gender gap and a wide racial divide in the four-way likely voter matchup as Clinton leads 47 - 42 percent among women, while men go to Trump by a narrow 44 - 40 percent. Trump leads 50 - 36 percent among white voters, while non-white voters back Clinton 66 - 24 percent.

"The race for president is a virtual tie and millions of likely voters consider the first debate must-see TV. And for those inclined to place a wager on the likely winner, Hillary Clinton is the best bet," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

"In this Super Bowl of American politics, the ratings will be huge and the contenders start dead even."

In the four-way presidential matchup, Trump leads 86 - 5 percent among Republicans and 42 - 35 percent among independent voters. Democrats back Clinton 90 - 6 percent.

Asked about the candidates' health, American likely voters say 73 - 18 percent that Trump is healthy enough to be president. Clinton is healthy enough to be president, voters say 58 - 31 percent.

For 33 percent of voters, their opinion of Trump was affected in a negative way by his participation in the so-called "birther movement" which said President Barack Obama was born outside the U.S., while 4 percent say their opinion was positive and 60 percent say it did not affect their opinion.

Trump's announcement that he now believes President Obama was born in the U.S. did not affect their opinion of him, 78 percent of likely voters say.

A total of 50 percent of voters are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" that they or a family member will be a victim of a terrorist attack, while 50 percent are "not so concerned" or "not concerned at all."

Government anti-terror policies have not gone far enough to adequately protect the country, 51 percent of voters say, while 27 percent say they have gone too far restricting civil liberties.

Quinnipiac University pollsters surveyed 1,115 likely voters nationwide from Thursday through Sunday, with live interviewers calling landliens and cell phones. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

Visit http://www.qu.edu/polling or http://www.facebook.com/quinnipiacpoll for the full report.
SEYMOUR  A local T-shirt company has drawn consumer complaints from around the country, with customers saying they did not receive merchandise they ordered or that promised refunds never arrived.

More than three dozen consumers have filed complaints against The Nerd Cave LLC with the Connecticut Better Business Bureau over the past two months, BBB spokesman Howard Schwartz said Monday. At one point the consumer protection agency received complaints at a rate of six a day, he said.

The company failed to respond to 15 of 54 complaints, Schwartz said. Customers said they saw ads for the Nerd Cave shirts on social media and several well-known websites, he said.

Buyers placed their orders and The Nerd Cave charged their credit cards, but they never received the merchandise. In several complaints and customer reviews, consumers say they repeatedly tried to contact the company without success, Schwartz said. Others say even if they did get ahold of customer service, they were promised things that were not followed through on.

The business is owned by Igor Dviniatin, and registered with Connecticut's Secretary of the State under his fathers address in Seymour. The BBB informed Dviniatin by mail when the first complaint was filed last April. He has not responded to that complaint and several others received in the last two months, Schwartz said.

Messages left for the company by phone and e-mail were not immediately returned, but the Nerd Cave web site has a contact page and a form to request refunds.

The company says it uses the Direct to Garment method, where a printer directly applies the ink onto the T-shirt with inkjet technology.

It involves a special printer, which prints the ink directly onto the garment in the desired design. DTG uses specialty inks, which are absorbed by the fibers of the garment, the company website states.

For that reason, shirts ordered at the same time may arrive separately, and once orders are sent to the printer they cannot be canceled, the website states. The online shop shows shirts with licensed logos from movies and TV shows, comics and manufacturers like Harley-Davidson.

The Nerd Cave LLC has not responded to the BBBs request for an outline of how the business plans to address the above outlined pattern, and the pattern remains, Schwartz said. Complaints have been received from 24 states, he said.

When The Nerd Cave has responded, it has been sporadic. Some consumers say the business did refund their money, but others who were told they would get a refund on their credit cards say they are still waiting for their refunds.

Under the Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule governing credit card purchases, sellers must ship merchandise within 30 days of ordering, unless otherwise specified in advertising or by mutual agreement with the consumer, Schwartz said.

If an order doesn't arrive within that time period, the vendor is obliged to inform the buyer that the delivery will take longer, and offer to cancel the order for a full refund within one credit card billing cycle, he said. Consumer complaints say the company provided no such disclosure to its customers.
STAMFORD  A local rabbi with a passion for broadcast media will achieve a lifelong dream Monday when his Jewish television network is shown nationwide.

Rabbi Mark Golub launched the Jewish Broadcasting Service nearly two years ago on a regional Optimum channel. Modeled after PBS, Golubs JBS is a cultural and educational Jewish programming and a viewer-supported, nonprofit network.

JBS will also be carried nationwide by DirecTV starting Monday, expanding the channels reach to millions of satellite subscribers.

Its very hard to explain what makes somebody fall in love with something, but I have been in love with radio and television since I was a child, said Golub, 71. What I wanted to do with JBS was inform and educate and inspire American Jews through the power of electronic media ... thats why it is so exciting to go nationwide.

Golub has been in Stamford for more than 40 years, leading a local Chavurah that operates out of the Stamford Jewish Community Center.

JBS is a reflection of what I have been able to experience with theses extraordinary families that I have come to know in my Chavurah here in Stamford, said Golub, considered Stamfords senior rabbi because of his long tenure. When we were on Optimum that was fabulous because not only were we broadcast in my home community, but we were on the air in one of the most populated Jewish communities in America  the greater New York City metropolitan area  bringing my experience here to so many other people.

Golub has a history in the broadcasting business dating back to the early 1970s when he worked for WMCA radio. This inspired him to start his longest-running program: LChayim. It began as a radio talk show in the late 1970s, but now its telecast on JBS as an hour-long interview and discussion of some of the most complex issues facing the Jewish community.

More Information JBS high holiday broadcasts (All times EST) Rosh Hashanah Sunday, Oct. 2 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 Morning Service: 9:30 a.m. Afternoon Service: 3:15 p.m. Evening Service: 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday, Oct 4 9:30am Yom Kippur Tuesday, Oct. 11 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 Morning Service: 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Afternoon Service: 3:30 p.m. See More Collapse

We have never missed a Sunday since 1979, Golub said. LChayim is a great tool for education, but JBS on the whole deals with a lot of complex sensitive issues  like the Israel-Palestine conflict. We represent the gamut of Jewish opinions, but every single discussion is respectful and civil and enlightening.

In addition to the JBS educational and cultural programming, Golub also broadcasts live services every Friday and on Jewish high holidays. Golub looks forward to having the national audience with the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

There are many people who, for different reasons, whether it be age or health or physical ability, are unable to get to a synagogue for services in person, Golub said. Our live telecasts allow these people to participate in a huge part of Jewish life that they are otherwise shut out of.

He hopes the larger audience will also mean more funding for the network.

The channel is already very broad and diverse, so our programming is OK as it is right now, he said. What I am hoping is that a larger audience will mean more people will be supporting JBS, and if more people donate to our cause, our programming will definitely expand. There are many things we still want to do, but just dont have the funding right now.

JBS can be seen on DirecTV channel 388 and can be streamed live at www.jbstv.org or through the channels Roku app.

nora.naughton@scni.com; twitter.com/noranaughton
What was supposed to be a weekend of revelry and excitement for two friends in town for San Franciscos Folsom Street Fair turned ugly Saturday night when five assailants attacked the men with pepper spray for no apparent reason other than they are gay.

The violence was particularly shocking for Neil Frias and Jeff White, both 28, because they were assaulted in a city lauded for its progressive values and broad acceptance of the LGBT community.

Im trying to make sense of it, Frias, who works as a publicist in Manhattan, said Sunday. I would think what happened last night would happen somewhere else, not here.

The friends were visiting from New York for the weekend festivities surrounding Sundays Folsom Street Fair, a world-famous leather-themed street party in San Franciscos South of Market neighborhood packed by fetishists celebrating the citys kinky subculture.

Frias and White said they were attacked at about 9 p.m. outside a McDonalds at Golden Gate Avenue and Fillmore Street in the citys Western Addition. As Frias left the fast-food restaurant, he said five men pulled up in a blue minivan. They were saying, You fags are destroying family values, Frias said. I said I didnt want any trouble, and one of them got out of the van. I thought he was going to take a swing at me, but he sprayed me across the face.

Frias said he was hit with the unmistakable searing sting from the pepper spray as a second man came at him with another can of the aerosolized weapon. A third assailant, he said, attacked White, who crawled into a ball to protect his face from the painful blast.

I was completely vulnerable, he said. I thought they were going to start beating me.

A nearby woman shouted that she was calling the police, prompting the mob to jump back into the minivan and speed away. Police and paramedics responded to the attack, and the two victims returned to their Union Square hotel.

The thing that was the most remarkable about the situation is how unprovoked it was, White said, still reeling from the encounter Sunday morning. I was literally tying my shoe when they came at me. Its mind-boggling.

Officers at the San Francisco Police Departments Northern District station said they were aware of the attack and were searching for surveillance video that may have captured the incident.

We take these crimes very seriously, said Officer Carlos Manfredi, a San Francisco police spokesman. If anybody feels they can attack someone based on their sexual preference, were going to go after them and hold them accountable.

Frias said part of the reason he comes to San Francisco is because of its major influence on LGBT rights. But hate crimes are an all-too-common reality  even here and especially during events that celebrate the LGBT community.

San Francisco police reported at least two hate crimes targeting the LGBT community during Junes Pride festivities. Emmanuel Morancy, 50, was arrested and charged with attacking two gay women during the Pride Parade, police said. Earlier that morning, an unidentified assailant yelled an antigay slur before firing a pellet gun at a 25-year-old man.

Such hate crimes, though, are notoriously underreported to police, according to experts. A 2014 survey of more than 400 LGBT people, conducted by the San Francisco LGBT Center, found 45 percent of people had experienced physical violence and 70 percent of people reported being harassed due to their sexual orientation.

Frias and White, who say they have both dealt with violence and bullying on various levels, were determined to not let Saturdays violence define their trip to San Francisco. The physical pain from the attack had subsided by Sunday, as the two geared up for the fair.

Im mad that I didnt get to go out last night, White said. Its Saturday night in San Francisco Folsom week.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
A 1,500-acre wildfire fueled by hot temperatures and blustery winds grew quickly Sunday in rural Sonoma County, firefighters said.

The Sawmill Fire started around 11 a.m. about 10 miles east of Cloverdale near The Geysers geothermal field between Highway 101 and Highway 175. By 6 p.m., it was 10 percent contained.

Residents of 36 homes near Cloverdale were ordered to evacuate as the flames grew Sunday afternoon, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. A Red Cross evacuation center was providing water, food and shelter at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Healdsburg.

Cal Fire / /

In addition, the Aidlin Geothermal Power Plant, one of 14 Calpine plants at The Geysers, was evacuated as well, officials said.

Our remaining plants at The Geysers continue to operate normally, and our team is constantly assessing the situation and will take all steps necessary to ensure the safety of employees and the preservation of our facilities, said spokesman Brett Kerr. We can also confirm that all of our employees are safe and accounted for.

While only homes outside of Cloverdale were evacuated, those in town said they were watching the situation closely.

Mike Stok, 51, lives in San Francisco but spends his weekends with his wife at their home in Cloverdale. He said he first noticed smoke from the fire Sunday morning, smoldering over a ridge to the east of town. By the afternoon, what first looked like hazy smog had become a thick, dark plume of smoke. Stok and his wife said they were not notified about any possible evacuations from their home in the center of town Sunday.

As he watched Cal Fire air tankers make passes over the burn area from his front porch, he hoped the flames stayed on the other side of the nearby ridge.

Its pretty scary. On warm and windy days like this, you see a fire and you hope the forces keep it from spreading, but the conditions are robust, he said. Life is going on as normal in the middle of town, but its pretty obvious theres a fire burning nearby.

The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning and a heat advisory for the area for Sunday and Monday. Gusty winds and low relative humidity made for critical fire weather conditions, forecasters with the weather service said in the alert.

The fire is burning just west of a region of Lake County thats been devastated by wildfires over the past two years.

This years Clayton Fire eviscerated the small town of Lower Lake about 30 miles northeast of the Sawmill Fire. The Valley Fire of 2015, which started about 10 miles east of The Geysers, destroyed much of Middletown on its way to becoming the third-most-destructive wildfire in state history.

Chronicle staff writer Jill Tucker contributed to this report.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
Gabons Constitutional Court has confirmed that incumbent Ali Bongo has won re-election for President.

Gabon held a Presidential election in late August, pitting sitting President Ali Bongo against former Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Ping. The election was tight and both sides claimed victory, but on August 31st, the Electoral Commission announced that President Bongo had won the election with 49.8 percent of the vote against 48.2 percent, an advantage of fewer than 6,000 votes. Opposition representatives on the electoral commission refused to confirm the results, and abstained from the subsequent confirmation vote.

Following the announcement, Mr. Pings camp declared the elections process had been rigged, and thousands of protesters took to the streets in Libreville. Over the next few days the protests continued, and in the end, at least five people died in clashes with security forces, over one thousand were arrested, the city suffered some damage and looting, and the National Assembly building was set on fire.

Jean Ping eventually filed a legal challenge and demanded a recount, based on the results from President Bongos home province of Haut-Ogooue, which showed a voter turnout of 99 percent, as opposed to 56 percent nationwide. Over 95 percent of votes cast in Haut-Ogooue were for Mr. Bongo.

And thus the issue landed before the Constitutional Court, which had until September 23rd to make a decision. Later that day, the Court ruled in favor of incumbent Ali Bongo.

Libreville, and indeed Gabon as a whole, was calm in anticipation of the Constitutional Courts decision, and the hope is that the calm continues, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield while attending the UN General Assembly in New York:

Im hopeful that the people of Gabon will see the courts decision as acceptable, as transparent, and that the country will start the process of healing itself, and rebuilding.

The United States hopes that both Mr. Bongo and Mr. Ping accept the decision of the court, and that they embrace a process that will lead to stability in Gabon.
BRIDGEPORT  A propane tank exploded behind a Merchant Street house Sunday evening and sparked a raging fire that ran up the building and entered the dwelling, causing extensive damage.

The fire at 82 Merchant St. began around 6 p.m., but no one was injured, according to witnesses and medical personnel at the scene. Within minutes, witnesses said, the multistory apartment building was engulfed in fire, and flames could be seen leaping from the interior.
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393

Yards allowed by the Raiders defense  a high number, to be sure, but Sunday marked the first time in three games this season that Oakland (which allowed 363.3 per game last season) held the opposition to fewer than 500. Tennessee had 148 yards after the first half, at which point it trailed 17-3. The Titans finished 2-for-12 on third-down conversions, 0-for-1 on fourth down.

Next game

The Raiders odyssey continues with a game in Baltimore against Joe Flacco, left, and the Ravens  Oaklands third road game in the first four weeks and the first of three in the Eastern time zone. According to CBS Sports, the Raiders will travel 31,580 miles this season, second only to the Rams (37,072).

The Big 3

Noteworthy stats from Sundays game:

53

NFL-record 50-yard field goals for Sebastian Janikowski, who hit a 52-yarder in the second quarter.

1

Turnovers committed by the Raiders this season: Derek Carrs fourth-quarter interception.

102

Receiving yards for Michael Crabtree, the 12th 100-yard game of his career, fourth with the Raiders.
New York

As police and federal agents hunted for the man suspected of setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey, millions of people received an alert on their cellphones asking for help finding the bombing suspect. But a phrase in the short message, "See media for pic," has put a spotlight on the limitations of the nation's emergency alert system.

The alerts, including the one sent last Monday about bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, are sent to cellphones to alert people in a geographic area of imminent threats to safety. They are currently limited to only 90 characters and cannot transmit multimedia files, like photos or video.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer argues the Wireless Emergency System is using outdated infrastructure and is in desperate need of an upgrade. The New York Democrat, who said the recent alert lacked critical details, wants the Federal Communications Commission to revamp the system with the capability of including photos and video.

"When it comes to a terrorist or other very dangerous criminal on the run, a picture not only is worth a thousand words, it could save a thousand lives if the right person sees it," Schumer said. "We can't afford to have an emergency wireless response system that is stuck in the '90's."

The FCC already is considering a rule that would expand the length of messages to 360 characters and allow phone numbers and web links to be included in some messages. The commission's chairman, Tom Wheeler, said earlier this month that the new rule "would enable the public to receive additional, vital information in wireless alerts." FCC spokeswoman Shannon Gilson told The Associated Press that Wheeler has asked his fellow commissioners to vote on updates to the agency's wireless alerting rules. A vote is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Robert Morse, assistant general counsel at Verizon, wrote to the FCC in April that the company supports making the alert messages longer, but warned that including links could cause network congestion and said multimedia messaging for emergency alerts "is not feasible at this time." AT&T said it, too, had concerns that embedding links could cause congestion, but said it was amenable to a time-limited trial.

Since the Wireless Emergency Alert system was rolled out in 2012, it has been used to send more than 21,000 messages nationwide, mainly to warn people about dangerous weather conditions or missing children, federal officials said. The system has been used several times in New York City, but last week's alert was the first time the city used the system for a wanted-person message, officials said.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the alerts have proven to be a valuable tool. Rahami, the 28-year-old bombing suspect, who is facing both federal and state charges, was arrested hours after the alert was sent.
On September 18, the Foreign Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and the Republic of Koreas Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se held a meeting in New York on the side-lines of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss their countries coordinated response to North Koreas most recent nuclear test and its other recent and repeated missile-related provocations.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the three top diplomats said that North Koreas flagrant disregard for multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions expressly prohibiting its ballistic missile and nuclear programs requires even stronger international pressure on the regime. North Koreas provocative actions are further deepening its isolation and undermining the need of its people who suffer greatly at the hands of the regime. In this regard, the three countries are working closely with partners at the United Nations and in other fora to pressure the DPRK.

In remarks to the press in the company of the two foreign ministers, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States remains deeply committed to our treaty obligations, to our mutual defense obligations, and to rolling back, the provocative, reckless behavior of the DPRK.

Referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a reckless dictator, Mr. Kerry declared that the global community will not be intimidated and will not pull back from our obligations under the nonproliferation treaty and all of our international efforts to rein in nuclear weapons rather than see them proliferate.

Secretary Kerry said the United States is prepared to sit down with North Korea to deal with issues of peace on the Korean Peninsula, ending the DPRKs isolation and attracting economic development, as long as North Korea is prepared to honor its international obligations and previous commitments to denuclearization. The immediate need for the North Korean leadership, he said, is for them tonot engage in any more provocative actions, not engage in more testing particularly, in order to bring countries together and to begin a serious negotiation about the future.

The joint statement from the meeting also noted the positive role that the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea are playing to promote regional peace and stability and address global challenges.
The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, in partnership with Afghanistans Ministry of Energy and Water, recently organized a two-day Energy Business Opportunities Conference in Dubai. More than 200 participants representing Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Turkish, European and North American companies working in the energy sector attended the event, in addition to Afghan and international financial institutions and officials from various Afghan Ministries, the Emirates, and the United States Government.

The two-day Energy Conference aimed to promote foreign investments and joint venture opportunities in Afghanistans emerging energy sector, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydro projects, and created a platform for business-to-business matchmaking sessions between local and international investors and financial institutions.

The conference also included discussions on Afghanistans first competitive bid, the 10 Mega Watt Kandahar Solar Farm, an Independent Power Producer project, as well as information about financing energy projects in Afghanistan, perspectives of various international donors on investments in the Afghan energy sector, and an exhibition on energy services.

We want to improve Afghanistans competitiveness in the field of energy through fostering successful collaboration and strategic partnerships between international and local businesses in order to promote energy technology in the country, said Ali Ahmad Osmani, Afghanistans Minister of Energy and Water.

The U.S. Government through USAID is committed to assisting Afghanistan achieve its potential in the renewable energy sector, this conference provides the opportunity for Afghan and International partners to collaborate in joint initiatives in this field, said U.S. Ambassador P. Michael McKinley.

Renewable energy technologies are powerful tools for alleviating poverty, expanding rural development, and stimulating private sector growth while promoting sustainability.
The United States is very concerned over the situation in Ethiopia, particularly the instability in the Oromia and Amhara regions, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in an interview. Speaking in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield called the response by the government to protests an intense and somewhat harsh crackdown:

We have had discussions with the Ethiopian government encouraging that they have dialogue, and that they open the possibly for press freedom, civil societys ability to function, and that many of the people who have been put in jail be released.

In Oromia anti-government protests began in November 2015, and they have also occurred in the northern Amhara region.

Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield said the United States believes that the situation in the country could deteriorate and that the Ethiopian government is aware of that possibility as well.

Weve met with Prime Minister Hailemariam [Desalegn] in New York, and we have encouraged him to look at how the government is addressing this situation.

We think, she said, it could get worse if its not addressed  sooner rather than later.
Last Friday night I found myself outlining a chapter on temporal discourse analysis for a class I am taking, fielding questions from my students about an essay that was due and working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shells for our family Halloween costumes. Somewhere between the third shell and discussion of intercontextuality, I found myself humming "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, specifically, "And you may ask yourself, how did I get here?" Because in that moment, I truly wondered how I got here.

This past summer I began working on my Ph.D. through Texas Tech. When I told people I had been accepted, though they were excited for me, frequently the questions arose of "why" and "how?" Why pursue more education? And how would I be able to do it with my job and children? I am doing this for me, I told them. It is important to me. And how? I guess I will figure that out.

As I think about my own answers to those questions, I reflect on the challenges for so many of our students. Why are they doing this? For kindergarteners through 12th-graders, the answer would seem simple: because they have to. However, maybe that is part of the problem with modern education. We have drifted away from the idea that education is a privilege that was not always awarded to all citizens. Up until the 1960s we still had people fighting for the privilege of quality education. Actually, we are still fighting for it today.

Every day, teachers and students walk into classrooms with the odds stacked against them. At least in West Texas, many schools face staffing issues that cause more pressure for existing teachers. They are underpaid. They are dealing with academic, social and cultural issues that are complex in ways for which no teaching program can truly prepare them. Our students, likewise, are struggling with their own issues of trying to keep up, get ahead, fit in.

By the time they reach college age, many of them will have left the education system because they cannot figure out the "why." School is a punishment rather than an opportunity, a box to check before moving on. Why bother?

How did we get here? Though I could say we have lost our way, I'm not sure that we have ever truly had it. Though people love to say, "In my day..." followed by a list of the academic standards they believe should still be applied, few of them contextualize education with the current society. Our population has grown. Logically, more students means a need for more teachers who are qualified. Demands have also increased for accountability and funding, which means we are asking teachers to do more, more, more with very little difference in pay or support. Saying that education was fine 50 years ago and we should just revert back to that is not realistic nor productive in education problem-solving.

It is easy for those who do not work in education to critique the system. Everyone knows how to fix the education system -- just ask them. Read the comments section of education articles or the local Facebook groups devoted to community issues. They all know what is wrong with the system, and they know how to fix it -- at least for their child. Therein lies the problem. Education is not just for one child or even one group of children. It is for a generation of future citizens who are all in need of help that cannot be delivered in a one-size-fits all package. Yet, logistically, building an education system that meets the needs of all students is not fiscally feasible, at least not with current priorities.

We then come to the second question posed about my own educational pursuits. How? How can we make this work? First, we as citizens can become more educated: actually attend school board meetings, read policy papers and talk to teachers about their struggles. Look at how funding works and speak to your representatives about issues in educational funding. Figure out what is really going on in classrooms, rather than reminiscing about the past. Ask any teacher you know and they will be able to tell you what kind of struggles they see from both the student and teacher side. See how you can get involved with the school districts in meaningful ways beyond just attending sporting events. This also applies to people who don't have school-age children.

For our students to really grasp the why of education, we must model for them its importance while committing to work on the how. It is only then that we can begin making progress for our children.

Amber Kelly teaches English and history at Howard College and is dean of General Studies.
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Torrential rain slammed San Marcos and Texas State University Monday, a familiar occurrence for the Hays County area, which has seen two deadly weather disasters in the past year and a half.

RELATED: Hays County still feeling aftermath of historic Memorial Day flooding a year later

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for Hays County until 2 p.m. Monday, as Texas State offices and operations remained open, as well as the Round Rock campus, the university tweeted.

Plans for evening classes at the university will be announced by 3 p.m.

Texas State officials canceled classes at the main San Marcos campus Monday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. due to the weather.

Texas State students took to Twitter to express their frustration before the university decided to cancel class. Many thought university officials should have canceled classes sooner than they did.

RELATED: SUV ends up in Texas State campus pond after driver is cut off, officials say

While many students complained about the rain on Twitter, some looked on the brighter side, tubing in campus fountains and kayaking near the campus.

Click through the photos to see some of the reactions students had Monday.

In San Antonio Monday, there were 40 reports of water rescues in the area. National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Runyen told mySA.com that the area received 3 to 6 inches of rain overnight and in some isolated pockets on the North Side there were up to 7 inches of rain.

RELATED: 3 Texas State professors' offices ransacked, blood left on wall

It has been almost one year since extreme flooding hit San Marcos on Halloween weekend, damaging about 1,000 homes in what Hays County Judge Bert Cobb declared a disaster zone at the time. That flood came six months after 11 people died during the historic Memorial Day weekend disaster in 2015. Two children remain missing from the flooding, which Gov. Greg Abbott called "the highest flood we've ever had recorded in the history of the state of Texas."

When the Blanco River crested at 43 feet, it beat the previous record set in 1929 when it rose to 32 feet. And it crested during one of the wettest months in Texas history, according to the National Weather Service. At one point, the river rose 20 feet in one hour.

Staff Writer Tyler White contributed to this report.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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San Antonio native Robert Harvey Harold Hugman knew first-hand the devastation that hurricane rains and flash floods caused throughout the city.

When the historic flood of 1921 ravaged downtown, Hugman was just 19 years old, a recent graduate of Brackenridge High School.

RELATED: The 1921 flood caused death, destruction, new regulations

He continued his studies at the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Texas at Austin, and earning his degree in 1924. Five years later, Hugman proposed the beautification and flood-control plan, "The Shops of Aragon and Romula," that we know today as the River Walk.

There is a lot you probably didn't know about the River Walk. Take a look through the slideshow brush up on your River Walk trivia.

RELATED: 10 reasons why San Antonians hate to visit the River Walk

Funding and development of the River Walk took years; it wasn't completed until 1941. In that time Hugman, worked on several area projects we enjoy today, including the redesign of Woodlawn Lake, Elmendorf Lake and Concepcion Park.

Despite Hugman's numerous contributions to San Antonio, the architect fell into obscurity until HemisFair '68 brought international attention to the River Walk.

In honor of Hugman's February 8 birthday, we revisit the San Antonio Express-News story behind how the visionary architect helped save the River Walk.

jmscott@mysa.com
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As San Antonians made their morning commutes Monday through high-water and heavy traffic, Facebook initiated their "Safety Check" feature activated during "times of disaster or crisis."

Facebook users in the Alamo City began marking themselves "safe" on "The Flooding in San Antonio, Texas" Facebook Safety Check in the morning hours of Monday to let their family and friends know they were accounted for. However, not all San Antonians will see the feature when they log in because of Facebook's algorithms.

RELATED: Parts of Interstate 35, 10 closed after flooding near downtown San Antonio

Some areas of San Antonio received up to 5 inches of rain overnight, activating a flash flood warning that expired at 7:45 a.m, according to the National Weather Service.

As of 9:45 a.m, the San Antonio Fire Department had reported at least 40 calls for water rescues, according to spokesman Woody Woodward.

The Safety Check feature was created in 2011, after more than 12.5 million people in Japan were affected by the "devastating" earthquake and tsunami.

"Unfortunately, these kinds of disasters happen all too frequently. Each time, we see people, relief organizations and first responders turn to Facebook in the aftermath of a major natural disaster," Facebook said when launching the feature.

RELATED: 8 tips to escape your car in a high-water emergency

According to Facebook, those in the affected area receive a notification asking if they are safe. Only a user's friends will be able to see their safety status and the comments, Facebook said.

Facebook determines user's locations and sends the Safety Check prompts by looking at the city listed on a profile, location if a user has opted into the Nearby Friends feature and the city where a person is using the internet.

SAFD reminds area residents to avoid low water crossings and stick to the "turn around, don't drown" motto. Vehicles can stall out in only a few inches of water and a foot or two of water is enough to float a 3,000 pound car, according to SAFD.

Staff writers Rebecca Salinas and Quixem Ramirez.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
When a country is deemed to have stepped outside of international norms or standards, the community of nations may impose sanctions against the sitting government, non-state actors or individuals deemed to be responsible for offending acts. The idea is to persuade the offending parties to change their policy by restricting trade, investment or other commercial activity, and in the case of individuals, travel to the United States.

In the early years of this century, such was the case with Cote dIvoire. Seeking to facilitate peace negotiations to put an end to the countrys bloody civil war, the United Nations imposed targeted sanctions on certain individuals who significantly contributed to the conflict. Many in the international community followed that lead, including the United States, which imposed sanctions on specific individuals beginning in 2006.

Then, in 2010, Ivorians elected opposition leader Alassane Ouattara to the Presidency. The President was recognized by the international community as the countrys new leader. Nonetheless, the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to give up the Presidency, and the fighting, which had largely ceased in 2007, was renewed. More sanctions were imposed by the United Nations, as well as by individual countries, including the United States.

On September 14th of this year, recognizing that the situation in Cote dIvoire has vastly improved, President Barack Obama lifted U.S. sanctions on the Ivory Coast. President [Obama] determined that Cote dIvoires advances in restoring peace and democracy and developing its political, administrative, and economic institutions represent significant improvements since President Bush declared the national emergency in 2006, said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner in a written statement.

Cote dIvoire has taken important steps to strengthen its governing and economic institutions and reconcile the differences that led to war," said White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price in a separate statement.

"Challenges remain as the country continues to tackle difficult land reform issues and works to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are felt throughout the Ivoirian population."
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SAN ANTONIO  A garbage truck stuck in high water early Monday morning prompted a rescue after large amounts of rain filled the streets of the Alamo City on the Northeast Side.

At least nine fire units responded to the intersection of Holbrook Road and Aina Lane just before 8:30 a.m. for one of at least 40 water rescues reported throughout the city Monday morning.

MORE: Parts of Interstate 35, 10 closed after flooding near downtown San Antonio

The driver of the garbage truck was rescued and was not seriously injured, an official said at the scene.

The intersection where the garbage truck was located was completely flooded and firefighters had to leave the vehicle in the water, as it was too far away from where the firefighters were stationed.

Firefighters across San Antonio had responded to 40 high-water rescues between 5 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. this morning due to the weather, according to SAFD spokesman Woody Woodward. No major injuries were reported.

NWS meteorologist Jason Runyen said the majority of San Antonio has received between 3 and 6 inches of rain overnight and into the morning, but some areas on the North Side have received isolated pockets of up to 7 inches of rain. The Weather Channel reported that San Antonio received a month's worth of rain before 8 a.m.

RELATED: Flash flood warning in effect for Bexar County after some areas received 5 inches of rain

Even after the rain ended, some roads remained impassable into the evening hours.

After nightfall, the fire department dispatched two boats to rescue the occupants of a car under a flooded Interstate 35 underpass by Seguin Road.

Firefighters rescued a disabled woman from the beige sedan after two others made it out on their own, including her nephew, Terry Lunforrd, 35, who was driving and had tried to cross a barricaded, flooded section of the road. Lunforrd said he saw car lights on the other side and didn't see the pitch-black water under the poorly-lit underpass.

Lunforrd said once his car hit the water and started sinking, he tried to turn around but "every time I turned, we just kept going deeper and deeper."

He said he jumped out of the car window, pulled out his own 13-year-old nephew and swam him to safety. He couldnt move his aunt, and first responders had to rescue her by boat.

"That was a scene that I never experienced - my car lights went dead, and there was nothing. No light," Lunforrd said.

SAFD Battalion Chief Richard Giusti, who works with the fire department's special operations unit, led the response - his fifth water rescue of the day. Wrapping up the scene, Giusti offered a few choice words to future drivers in flooded areas of San Antonio.

"Simple advice," he said."Don't go around the barricades."

RELATED: 8 tips to escape your car in a high-water emergency

Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA

Staff writers Rebecca Salinas and Emilie Eaton contributed to this report.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @TylerLWhite
Before taking cover from the rains that barreled into Austin and surrounding areas Sunday afternoon, residents pointed their phones to the dark sky for Armageddon-like photos that produced their own social media storm.

Photos on Instagram and Twitter reveal different vantage points of the formation some called a "poltergeist" and "spooky."
On Thursday September 22, 2016 our beloved mother, grandmother, sister and loving wife Reyna Velazquez Marin began her next journey in heaven after a hard fought, heroic battle with breast cancer.

Reyna was born on May 22, 1964 in El Barrio De Victoria, Juchipila Zacatecas, Mexico. She married her husband of 35 years, Pedro Marin, in 1981 and immigrated to the United States that same year. She was the loving Mother of 4 children, Jose, Pedro Jr, Daniel, Sonia and the loving Grandmother of 3 grandchildren, Issiah, Samuel and Jacob.

Reyna took pride in all of her work but was especially proud of the work she accomplished with the local McDonalds establishments, for which she was a proud employee of for close to 20 years. Reyna also participated and loved helping with local community events and cancer fundraisers. She was one of the most courageous, compassionate, and selfless souls anyone could encounter. Her contagious smile will never be forgotten and she will most certainly be missed by everyone that had the honor of crossing paths with her kind soul.

Services will be held on Wednesday, September 28 at 10 A.M. at St. Josephs Catholic Church and is open to the public. In lieu of flowers, we ask family and friends to please make a contribution at www.liverudegirls.com which helps provide local mammogram assistance, cancer awareness and many other community assistance programs.
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This weekend, the New York Times surprised no one by officially endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the United States, joining nearly every other major American newspaper in recommending Clinton.

But one California newspaper went against the blue tide by boldly endorsing Donald Trump for President.

That paper? The already controversial Santa Barbara News-Press.

Politico pointed out the California anomaly in its Monday morning newsletter. Not only is it Trump's only endorsement from a California paper, it's one of the few anywhere in the nation. So far, he's gotten official endorsements from the National Enquirer, New York Observer and New York Post.

Clinton has been endorsed by over 80 newspapers across the country.

Over the past decade, the newspaper has mostly made headlines for owner Wendy McCaw's many lawsuits.

The News-Press was bought by McCaw, ex-wife of early cellular communications pioneer Craig McCaw, in 2000. Reporters and editors alleged improper interference by the ownership in editorial decisions, and in 2006, nine journalists resigned from the paper. They were all awarded the Ethics in Journalism Award by the Society of Professional Journalists.

In 2010, former News-Press editor Jerry Roberts was awarded over $900,000 after an arbitrator rejected the McCaw's claim that Roberts violated his employee contract by discussing McCaw's alleged newsroom meddling.

"Mrs. McCaw is capable of great vindictiveness and appears to relish the opportunity to wield her considerable wealth and power in furtherance of what she believes to be righteous causes," the arbitrator wrote.

The Times also notes McCaw has sued a magazine for a critical article about the paper's management, threatened to take legal action against a Santa Barbara hair salon that displayed an anti-McCaw sign, and was "involved in a protracted battle with the California Coastal Commission over allowing public beach access near her Hope Ranch estate."

In the 2012 Presidential election, 57.3% of Santa Barbara County voters voted for Barack Obama. Forty percent voted for Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
Experts will be on hand 1-5 p.m. Oct. 1-2 at the Coventry Homes New Home Information Center, 16914 San Pedro Ave. in San Antonio, to answer questions and guide attendees through the intricate process of building a custom home on land they own.

The decision to design and build your own home can be a daunting one, said Jim Eller, division president for Coventry Homes in San Antonio. Our goal with these Build on Your Lot workshops is to provide people with the information they need to make well-informed decisions when they are ready to start.

Attendees will be able to meet one-on-one with experts, including a licensed Realtor, a mortgage specialist, an architectural designer and an experienced Coventry Homes site selection and construction process, Eller said.

We have assembled a panel of very knowledgeable specialists, he said. They will be able to answer whatever questions you have, from how to get started and how to finance a construction loan to how to develop a custom floor plan. In fact, our architectural designer can help you create a personalized floor plan to take home.

With more than 25 years of experience and a 98 percent customer recommendation rate, Coventry Homes uniquely qualified to guide attendees through the homebuilding process. The companys Build on Your Lot program allows buyers to work with one construction superintendent from site evaluation to move-in.

There are so many advantages to building with us, Eller said. We are a nationally recognized builder, so we have some serious buying power, and we can pass those savings on to our customers. Additionally, we offer a free site evaluation, which allows you to lock in pricing before construction begins, and we offer more plans to work from and more flexibility because we have more experience.

Energy efficiency is another advantage. Every Coventry Home in the San Antonio area is certified through the U.S. Green Building Councils LEED for Homes program. Homes certified through this program use less water and energy, use fewer natural resources, create less waste and are healthier for the occupants.

Coventry Homes was the first major builder in San Antonio to construct its homes to the LEED for Homes standards, Eller said.

We are also the first volume builder certified green under the Green Built Texas specifications. What this means is that we have outside inspection companies come in and inspect your home, so you are assured that your home has been built to the highest possible eco-friendly standards.

The builder backs its homes with a two-year written heating and cooling cost guarantee, provides a two-year warranty on materials and workmanship and a 10-year structural warranty. Our homes are a smart choice for consumers, whether they buy in one of the communities we build in or choose to build on property they own, Eller said. Not only do we offer high-quality construction; we really work with you to make sure you get the home of your dreams.

The builders designs are flexible, so homebuyers can make changes limited only by building codes, deed restrictions, budget and imagination. Adding options such as wine or media rooms and outdoor kitchens are not the only ways the builder can help buyers.

Design professionals can help customers choose the perfect kitchen island, decide how much cabinet space they need and add all of the small architectural and design details that will make the home uniquely theirs.

Whatever you need, whatever your lifestyle demands, we will work with you, Eller said. We have built a lot of homes over the past 25 years and have worked with a lot of homeowners. If there is a way to do it, we will find it.

The Build on Your Lot workshop is open to the public and is a come and go as you please type of event. There is no need to stay for the entire length of the workshop.

For more information about Coventry Homes or this event, call (210) 885-3110 or visit BuildOnYourLot.CoventryHomes.com.

Editors Note: This content is made possible by Coventry Homes. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com.
Its no wonder that Phyllis Brownings name has become synonymous with real estate in the San Antonio area. From founding the Phyllis Browning Co. in 1989 with three agents to a family of more than 200 agents today, her company has gained a reputation for treating their clients like family.

Real Estate is a relationship business, Browning emphasized. Some people are going through financial, marital or health issues. It can be a sensitive time in peoples lives. We get to know people in a different way.

Browning didnt set out to be a real estate agent. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in education, she taught elementary school for a few years before taking time off to start a family with husband Jamie and raise three children. She became a Realtor when her oldest child was 10. After 10 years with another real estate company, she opened Phyllis Browning Co. in 1989.

Since day one, our business culture has been all about family, Browning said. We look after each other and are there for each other in the good and not-so-good times. Everyone on the team lives by Phyllis Browning Co.s mission to treat others as you want to be treated: the Golden Rule.

This culture has consistently earned Phyllis Browning Co. recognition as a Top Workplace, an annual award voted on by employees and sponsored by the San Antonio Express-News.

We are involved in charitable community organizations, and our agents continue to give so much of themselves to the community and to the families of their buyers and sellers, Browning said. The fact that we have consistently, year after year, been named one of the citys top workplaces is a really nice honor.

Brownings accomplishments and honors are numerous, including San Antonio Small Business Leader of the Year, San Antonio Womens Hall of Fame, San Antonio Business Hall of Fame and top rankings in residential real estate sales to name a few.

Brownings daughter, Jennifer Shemwell, joined the company as a relocation director in 1993, when she was almost 25. She became vice president in 2006 and president in 2009.

Browning is still active in the company as chairman and CEO but mainly acts as an agent for close friends. She still goes into the office almost every day and frequently meets her daughter for lunch to discuss company business.

Shemwell, a Yale University graduate, followed in her mothers footsteps because I love meeting people and helping them accomplish a goal in their life, she said. Buyers and sellers each have a unique set of needs, and I always challenge myself to make the experience as easy and fun as possible for my clients.

One of the challenges of being a Realtor is encouraging people to be patient and wait for the right buyer, Shemwell said. People often become emotional about their houses after living there for many years and are unable to see things objectively from the point of view of a new buyer, which is where a Realtor comes in.

I am very proud of the brand and reputation my mother and our company have established after 28 years. We really love our employees, agents and customers, and every relationship is about people and giving them the best care and service we know how to give.

Phyllis Browning Co. started out in a small Victorian house of less than 2,000 square feet in 1989 before moving to its current 4,000 square-foot office at 6101 Broadway a few years later. Currently, the company is building a new, two-story main office at 6061 Broadway, which is expected to be completed in Fall 2017. The new building will be approximately 8,000 square feet and is expected to house 90 to 100 agents, plus agents for the companys land and ranch division.

The company has five locations with agents living in San Antonio, Boerne, Fredericksburg, New Braunfels and Austin who represent buyers and sellers from throughout the San Antonio area, ranging from Alamo Heights to the Texas Hill Country.

Phyllis Browning and her company have weathered the ups and downs the economy has had on the real estate industry, ranging from the oil boom and bust to the 2008 economic crisis. Nevertheless, Browning said she wouldnt trade it (real estate) for the world.

Shemwell seconded her mother: I love every day. I feel like Im living my dream job.

Brownings son Craig is an agent with Phyllis Browning Co., having received a master of business administration degree from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Her son John is a doctor in San Antonio. Her husband, Jamie, is retired from Browning Construction Co.

Editors Note: This content is made possible by Phyllis Browning Co. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com.
WILTON  For Teen PeaceWorks co-presidents Kaitlin McNamara and Kaitlin Zappaterrini, the upcoming production of The Yellow Dress isnt only an event meant to spread awareness on teen dating violence. For them, it also is a chance to plant the seeds of inspiration in young minds, as once was done for them.

When McNamara and Zappaterrini chose to attend an adaptation of The Yellow Dress  a play revolving around the dangers of dating violence  back in the eighth grade, their decision was an innocent one.

It was a weekend night and they were simply looking for something interesting to do, but this decision would ultimately change the trajectory of their high school careers.

We were very moved by it. I had always known that dating violence was going on, but seeing someone tell such a moving story really struck at home for both of us, McNamara said.

The Yellow Dress is just one of many offered by Deanas Educational Theater, an organization that adapts current issues such as dating violence, bullying, cyber bullying, sexual coercion, harassment and respect to the theater. The goal of plays like these are to address these subject matters in a setting where students, military personnel and communities can ask the hard questions and get honest answers.

In the case of McNamara and Zappaterrini, the dramatic one-woman play based on the stories of young women who were victims of dating violence shook them to their core.

Both girls credit that eighth-grade viewing of The Yellow Dress as the reason that they joined the Teen PeaceWorks club upon entering Wilton High School.

The club had lain dormant for a few years prior to their arrival, but in their four years in school, the two worked together to revive the club to its previous status.

Its really important to continue raise awareness about dating violence. Sure, we all know its there, but sometimes if youre not directly seeing it, you sort of forget that it can be hiding within plain sight, Zappaterrini said.

Since reviving Teen PeaceWorks, Zappaterrini said that she heard a lot of positive feedback from the community. In one instance, Zappaterrini even heard of a case at school in which the clubs message had prompted someone to get out of an unhealthy relationship.

However, with college on the horizon and the clubs future uncertain, the Teen PeaceWorks co-presidents are looking for the next generation of high schoolers to fill their shoes  and thats where the Thursday, Sept. 29 showing of The Yellow Dress comes in.

We want to inspire a new group of people to lead PeaceWorks. Seeing The Yellow Dress was the moment that I decided to join a club that would fight against teen dating violence. That play really lit a fire beneath Kaitlin [Zappaterrini] and I, and it became something that we were really passionate about, McNamara said.

The two seniors are bringing back the play that had galvanized them to pick up the cause nearly four years ago in the hopes that it can work its inspirational magic once more.

I dont only want this play to raise awareness about dating violence. I want this play to make people as passionate about this cause as Kaitlin and I are. If we can reach only two more eighth graders with this play, then weve done our job, she added.

McNamara believes that, much like her eighth grade self, other young Wiltonians will see this hour-long story of a young woman who warmly tells us of a relationship that begins as young love, full of passion and promise, but ends in tragedy, and it will transform them for life.

The Yellow Dress performance will be held at Wilton Library, beginning at 7 p.m. Admission to the event is free, but the library asks that you register for the show on their website at wiltonlibrary.org.

ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1046; @Tomlinson_PE
DENVER  U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper last week marked the one year anniversary of the historic decision not to list the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act by celebrating the ongoing unprecedented collaborative conservation effort to conserve the sagebrush ecosystem with stakeholders at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

The Administration, in partnership with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, also released a report highlighting recent actions to conserve the sagebrush ecosystem, including efforts to minimize further habitat disturbance, restore the health of fire-impacted landscapes, reduce invasive grasses and provide opportunities for landowners and ranchers to invest in conservation actions that benefit the greater sage-grouse and the success of their own operations.

The roundtable provided representatives from the federal family, ranchers, industry, conservation community and the states an opportunity to discuss continued success of on-going efforts, challenges and next steps as they work together to implement the landscape-scale, science-based, collaborative habitat conservation plans.

One year later, theres a lot to celebrate, said Secretary Jewell. We knew that the work didnt stop with the listing determination, and Im pleased that we collectively continue to make great progress on addressing threats to the bird, conserving the sagebrush habitat and providing a path forward for sustainable economic development.

The diversity of people here today is evidence that there continues to be a broad commitment to conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse from more than just federal and state regulators, said Hickenlooper. Well need to maintain that broad level of support from landowners and others to ensure Bureau of Land Managements RMPs can be implemented as intended, which is to conserve the species as well as support economic sustainability.

The Sage Grouse Initiative is an example of how when agriculture and conservation partner together, we can reach our common goals for the greater good, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. More than 1,300 ranchers have conserved over 5 million acres of land as a part of this effort and USDA has invested more than $400 million to reach $760 million with our partners through 2018. Through the commitment of Americas ranchers to improving habitats for other wildlife, we have achieved a historic outcome for the sage grouse, and shown that conservation can also benefit ranching operations and our rural economies.

The meeting marks the one-year anniversary of the Interior Departments U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement that the greater sage-grouse does not warrant protection of the Endangered Species Act because of historic conservation and partnership efforts. The long-term decline of the greater sage-grouse and its sagebrush habitat sparked an unprecedented collaborative conservation effort across 11 western states that continues today.

The FWS reached the no-listing determination after evaluating the birds population status, along with collective efforts by Interiors Bureau of Land Management, USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Forest Service, state agencies, private landowners and ranchers and other partners to conserve its habitat.

Earlier this month, the BLM issued internal guidance that clarifies how aspects of the agencys land use plans will be implemented as it relates to oil and gas leasing and development, grazing and the collection and use of land management data. Those land use plans, developed in cooperation among local, state and federal agencies as well as private landowners, were cited by the FWS as a key reason it found that the greater sage-grouse did not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The greater sage-grouse is an umbrella species, emblematic of the health of sagebrush habitat it shares with more than 350 other kinds of wildlife, including world-class populations of mule deer, elk, pronghorn and golden eagles. Roughly half of the sage-grouses habitat is on federal lands, most of it managed by the BLM and USFS. These tend to be drier uplands where the birds mate, nest and spend fall and winter. While the federal plans that were developed to save the greater sage-grouse may differ in specifics to reflect local landscapes, threats and conservation approaches, their overall goal is to prevent further degradation of the best remaining sage-grouse habitat, minimize disturbance where possible and mitigate unavoidable impacts by protecting and improving similar habitat.
The bill to raise the states cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack didnt make it out of a joint committee.

BUFFALO, Wyo.  Late last week, a Wyoming House-Senate committee killed another attempt to raise the states cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack, the Caspar Star Tribune reports. The Joint Revenue Committee had been asked by the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network to increase the tax from its current 60 cents per pack. Rep. Mike Madden suggested a compromise by raising the tax 30 cents to reach 90 cents per pack, but that was rejected as well.

The Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association testified that if Wyoming jacked up the cigarette tax, smokers would simply drive across the border and pick up cheaper cigarettes. The association also pointed out that such a tax increase would trigger a correlating bump in black market cigarettes in the state.

As difficult as times are right now, it would not be welcome [to lose additional revenue from tobacco sales], said Mike Moser with the Wyoming State Liquor Association.

In November, North Dakota voters will consider whether to raise the state cigarette tax to $2.20 per pack. Meanwhile, California voters could have the chance to vote on jacking up their states cigarette tax by $2 during the November elections. California also recently raised the tobacco buying age to 21. For more on why states and municipalities continue to increase the age limit for tobacco purchases, read Must Be 21 to Buy in the March issue of NACS Magazine.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  The robots are comingwell, at least to Washington, D.C. This fall, the first autonomous robots will start delivering restaurant food and groceries in the nations capital, Recode reports.

Starship Technologies will begin a pilot program with the robot deliverymen in Washington, the first U.S. location to okay ground-based robots on its sidewalks. The company is scouting for additional U.S. cities to conduct its tests, but in the meantime, Washingtons robot-friendly regulations makes it a logical starting place.

This summer, Starship started using the robots to deliver goods in England, Germany and Switzerland. In London, robots deliver for food companies, while Switzerland is using them for the post office. Other tech companies are in the process of developing robots to deliver goods, including Dispatch, which has yet to test a prototype.

As with their European counterparts, the robots will be accompanied by humans to ensure a smooth delivery. Since Starships rovers only have a two-mile radius, a delivery van will drop them off at central destinations.
Blindfolded Clinton Invites Debate Coaches To Attack Her With Talking Points From All Sides Onion (David L)

Britains best embalmer: I can rattle through eight people a day Guardian (J-LS)

From Bicycles To Washing Machines: Sweden To Give Tax Breaks For Repairs Slashdot (furzy)

The Alice in Wonderland mechanics of the rejection of (climate) science: simulating coherence by conspiracism SpringerLink (Chuck L)

How climate science deniers can accept so many impossible things all at once Guardian (Chuck L). A layperson-friendly recap of the preceding article.

Deep-sea volcano a hotspot for mysterious life Associated Press (Jon M)

Incentive malus : Poor scientific methods may be hereditary Economist (Dan K). We linked to a Slashdot recap yesterday.

Some cities are taking another look at LED lighting after AMA warning Washington Post (J-LS). Notice how they are worried only about humans? I hear birds start tuning up in Manhattan hours before sunrise, usually 3:30 AM. They are clearly getting messed up by the lights.

Theres too much drug blood on Americas hands to lecture Duterte South China Morning Post (J-LS)

Brexit

Brussels must fight and beat McDonalds in the battle for tax justice Guardian

Barroso etait deja en contact etroit avec Goldman Sachs durant son mandat Lexpress

The French (primary) revolution Politico

Syraqistan

Imperial Collapse Watch

HOW THE BORG SPENDS 36 HOURS IN TEXAS by Michael Brenner Ph. D. Sic Semper Tyrannis (resilc) Syria as Metaphor Foreign Policy in Focus. Resilc flags this quote: Ordinarily, all this roiling discontent could be contained by a well-functioning economy or by a set of foreign enemies to focus American enmity. But the election of a much-disliked president next year  take your pick  may well prove to be a tipping point. It doesnt take much to turn a well-armed population into a mob. And that, of course, is the ultimate nightmare for Turkey and Iran and Saudi Arabia and the United States  when Syria ceases to be a gloomy metaphor for what is happening outside its borders and becomes instead a grim reality.

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

2016

Scare stories will not stop populist insurrections Wolfgang Munchau, Financial Times (Alan T). The big object lesson is the Brexit vote. Notice this conclusion:

This leads us to a third lesson: do not insult or provoke the voters. After the Brexit referendum, the losing side kept on pointing out that pro-Brexit supporters were older and on average less educated. Hillary Clintons infamous depiction of half of Mr Trumps supporters as deplorable fits the same category. The more you insult the other side, the more you end up driving undecideds into their camp.

BARACK OBAMA AND DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN: THE ULTIMATE EXIT INTERVIEW Vanity Fair. J-LS: Vintage Obama: monumental self-regard, coupled with an almost clueless lack of self-awareness. He clearly believes his presidency has been a stunning success.

What Will Michelle Obama Do After the White House? Vanity Fair. J-LS: VF doubles down on the legacy craziness not only do we have to endure the long wet kiss of the DKG interview w/ Barack, but have to suffer this tripe as well, served up by Senior Hollywood writer Julie Miller.

Amid scrutiny, California to track all police use of force Seattle Times (Chuck L)

Black Injustice Tipping Point

Why Oil Prices Will Rise More And Sooner Than Most Believe OilPrice

What If The Oil Rebound Never Happens? OilPrice

Treasury Markets Biggest Buyers Are Selling as Never Before Bloomberg

How many Wells Fargo employees were fired for NOT committing fraud? BoingBoing (resilc). Lets hope this question comes up at the House Financial Services Committee hearings this week.

Guillotine Watch

10 obscene displays of wealth that shock average Americans MarketWatch (J-LS)

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (yahoo7):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Authorities say a couple wanted in connection with murder cases in Arizona and Nevada has been found dead in a desert area southeast of Kingman. Mohave County Sheriffs detectives say the bodies of 26-year-old Hunter McGuire and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Samantha Branek, were found lying next to each other Friday with gunshot wounds to the head. Lake Havasu City police say it appears McGuire shot himself, but its unclear if Braneks wound was self-inflicted. The county medical examiners office will determine an official cause of death. Authorities say the couple was being sought in connection with a double homicide in Kingman on June 28. They say McGuire also was considered a suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman Monday in Las Vegas.
Honduran President Orlando Hernandez speaking last week in Washington. LENIN HOLLY (EFE)

On November 27, 2015, Vidal Leiva was shot by three hitmen who had been waiting for him outside his home. He dropped to the floor and took several bullets to the torso. The shooters scattered; Leiva was taken to hospital. Family and friends went to the police, who said that they didnt have the staff to deal with the situation. Members of his community took up in arms. They ransacked several buildings trying to find the culprits... There were more injuries, more raided houses, more fights... It was an utter disaster.

Leiva is a leading figure in the Garifuna community of Honduras and an outspoken defender of his communitys land rights against foreign investors. Leiva had received various death threats for his community activism. But the attack in November was the first time the threats had translated into violence.

Here justice is only served to the barefooted... not to the wealthy

Leiva spent six days recovering in hospital. Concerned for his safety, and hugely skeptical of the police, several indigenous communities in the region took it upon themselves to defend Leiva from further attacks. They guarded the hospital. Morning, afternoon, evening, night; in shifts. Each shift had over 50 people, men and women, looking after me until I recovered.

Eight months on, this reporter asked Leiva if the police ever found the gunmen. He said no. Here justice is only served to the pies descalzos [the barefooted]... not the wealthy.

A new international mission has been set up by the Organization of American States (OAS) to tackle such injustice in Honduras. The Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) aims to capture the most corrupt individuals in the country. But the MACCIH, as it is known in its Spanish initials, has an enormous task ahead.

More than 90% of murder cases in Honduras go unsolved. Police are routinely accused of taking part in targeted killings. Mario Diaz, judge and President of the Association of Judges for Democracy in Honduras, explained recently that judicial independence is a chimera. Journalists are silenced, activists assassinated. The killing of human rights defender Berta Caceres provoked ripples of outrage in the international community in March, but the intellectual authors of her crime have yet to be found.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets last year after reports emerged alleging that up to $350 million had been embezzled from the social security system, much of which was reportedly funneled to the ruling National Party. The protesters, known as the Indignados, called for the resignation of current President Juan Orlando Hernandez, as well as an independent investigation into government-level corruption based on the successful mission against impunity in Guatemala.

More than 90% of murder cases in Honduras go unsolved, and police are routinely accused of taking part in targeted killings

Juan Jimenez Mayor, chief of the MACCIH and former prime minister of Peru, is quietly confident about its potential for success: We want the mission to leave behind a big legacy in the country, he said. The MACCIH will work with the Honduran government, civil society, the OAS and a team of international judges and prosecutors. Among its targets, the mission aims to rid the justice system of chronic corruption, radically reform the transparency of political parties and uncover the officials at the heart of the social security scandal.

But the MACCIH got off to a shaky start. The assassination of Berta Caceres dulled the appetite of the international community to cooperate with Honduras and the mission initially struggled to secure funding. It also failed to win over many of the activists who had participated in the Indignados movement. The MACCIH cannot prosecute and has to rely on the General Attorneys Office to take any allegedly corrupt individuals to court. Tomas Gomez, who replaced Berta Caceres as leader of the land-rights organization COPINH, says the voices of many activists have been ignored and calls the mission a joke to the Indignados who went out and protested.

Jimenez refutes complaints that the MACCIH has excluded sections of the public, pointing out that the mission carried out 140 meetings with organizations from civil society in its first three months. According to Jimenez, much of the resentment from some members of the Indignados movement stemmed from a lack of understanding of the MACCIHs potential to effect change. He claims it has the same capacity to investigate as the Guatemalan mission. But without local commitment to judicial independence, plans to tackle corruption will fall at the first hurdle.

And corruption in Honduras goes to the very top. The Honduran Supreme Court is a striking portrayal of the difficulties facing the MACCIH. On December 12, 2012, four judges were dismissed from their positions on the Supreme Court by the National Congress, in a flagrant violation of the Honduran Constitution. Rosalinda Cruz de Williams, one of the sacked judges, called their dismissal a judicial monstrosity. They were replaced in the early hours of the morning by four new judges, hand-picked by the National Party.

In the months leading up to the sacking, the judges had ruled against several bills that were favored by the government. Among the proposed laws, they rejected a Charter Cities Bill that aimed to create small autonomous zones in the country controlled by foreign investors. Jose Antonio Gutierrez Navas, another of the sacked judges, claims that Hernandez, president of Congress at the time, approached the judges in August 2012 to intimidate us to pass the bill. The judges ignored the political pressure and ruled the project unconstitutional by four votes to one. They lost their jobs within two months.

If its possible to sack the judges at the stroke of a pen, what cant the authorities do? President of the Latin American Center for Human Rights Ignacio Boulin

Ignacio Boulin, President of the Latin American Centre for Human Rights (CLADH), pinpoints the sacking as the final blow to judicial independence in Honduras: If its possible to sack the judges of the highest court of justice at the stroke of a pen, what cant the authorities do?

Gutierrez claims that the judges protests against their dismissal were quickly silenced after their families received death threats: "There's been constant intimidation against us."

The newly stacked Supreme Court later passed the Charter Cities Bill under a new name. For Dana Frank, expert on Honduras and professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, it all fell into place around the Supreme Court. She calls the sackings a technical coup, the ultimate power play for Hernandez.

The dismissals sparked a shakeup in the judicial branch. Marcia Aguiluz, of the Center of Studies for Justice and International Law, describes how the single Supreme Court judge who voted in favor of the original Charter Cities bill, Oscar Chinchilla, was rewarded with the position of attorney general the following year. The selection process for the role was marred with controversy; some allege Chinchilla was not on the original eight-strong shortlist of candidates. He is now in charge of the investigation into the social security scandal and shows no signs of pursuing those at the top.

Chinchilla is the main figure with whom the MACCIH has to work to strengthen democracy in the country. While Jimenez recognizes that political influence over Honduran institutions is one of the biggest problems facing the country, he describes his relationship with the attorney general as a positive one. He opened the doors of the attorney generals office to us; we dont have any restrictions to information whatsoever. On August 22, the MACCIH released a call for applications for a new panel of anti-corruption judges tasked with taking on high-level white-collar crimes in the country. Jimenez hopes the panel will be the first step toward judicial independence in the country.

Any party found guilty of illegal activities will face sanctions that could lead to the banning of the party itself

But the mission does not have long to make its impact felt. Elections are on the horizon, with primaries set to be held in March 2017. Hernandezs camp appears to be making moves to run for a second term, despite the fact that re-election is prohibited by the Honduran constitution.

The MACCIH recently announced a bill to clean up Honduran politics. The new law, which Jimenez calls highly advanced for Latin America, would introduce caps on spending during electoral campaigns and ensure transparency over party financing with the creation of an independent auditing body. Significantly, any party found guilty of illegal activities will face sanctions that could lead to the banning of the party itself.

Dana Frank agrees the law would be a step forward, but argues that its implementation in the coming election season would depend on the very government that has thrown out the rule of law and is documented to have stolen millions of dollars from the National Health Service to fund its 2013 campaigns.

Who, then, she continues, would enforce the law?

The MACCIH is under immense pressure to ensure the next elections are free and democratic. The Clean Politics bill and the social security investigation will give strong indications of the missions potential to effect real change. Following the example of the Guatemalan mission would set a striking precedent for democracies in the region. However, its success will be defined by its willingness to take on figures who see the mission as a PR exercise. The MACCIH has a long way to go. But if it wants to get the job done, it will have to confront some powerful enemies.
Regional elections held in two northern Spanish regions on Sunday yielded predictable outcomes, reflecting the problems in breaking a nine-month deadlock in national politics.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) reaffirmed its hold on Galicia, where the incumbent premier Alberto Nunez Feijoo won a third term in office with an absolute majority of 41 seats in the regional parliament, representing over 48% of all votes.

The Basque Socialists performed very poorly in absolute terms

The leftist En Marea coalition, which includes the anti-austerity Podemos, secured the same number of seats (14) as the Galician Socialists, but mathematically attracted 16,000 votes more than them.

And in the Basque Country, which follows its own political dynamics, voters gave a re-election victory to Inigo Urkullu, whose moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) secured 29 seats. But Urkullu will need to find allies, and will turn to the Socialists for support.

This is the only good news for the Basque Socialists, who performed very poorly in absolute terms, managing no more than nine seats, seven fewer than in 2012. They were easily outdone by the left-wing nationalists of EH Bildu (17 seats) and by Podemos (11). The PP earned nine seats.

Overall, the Socialist Party (PSOE) has lost significant ground in both regions, further eroding the figure of party leader Pedro Sanchez as he wages an internal battle over national strategy.

PNV President Andoni Ortuzar (l) and Basque premier Inigo Urkullu greet supporters after their win. LUIS TEJIDO (EFE)

The PP, for its part, appears unaffected by the string of corruption probes affecting the party, the latest involving former mayor of Valencia Rita Barbera.

While the PP traditionally does poorly in the Basque Country, its resounding victory in Galicia and the fact that the PSOE tanked in both regions is good news for Spanish acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

For the last nine months, the interim PM has been insisting on the need for the Socialists to let the PP form a national government, either by actively voting for him or at least abstaining at the investiture vote to find a new prime minister.

So far, Sanchez has refused to do so, but this attitude is now being questioned by several leading party figures who say it is better to be in the opposition than trying to cobble together an alternative government with Podemos and regional separatists.

If no progress is made soon, Spaniards will have to go to the polls for a third consecutive time, currently scheduled for December 25.

English version by Susana Urra.
Following his partys poor performance in key regional Spanish elections on Sunday, Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday he wants to put his leadership to the vote at a party conference in October at which primaries would be held, a move that most regional leaders oppose.

Cesar Luena, the PSOEs secretary, reflected the views of many senior Socialist Party leaders on Sunday night when the full scale of the partys defeats in the regional elections was announced.

Were not happy with these results, which are not positive for the PSOE. This is a negative result in both regions, and I would say that this has been a difficult campaign for the PSOE, he told journalists.

Party leaders are confident Sanchez will change his mind at Saturdays key meeting

The Socialists lost 11 seats in the two regional parliaments, taking their presence there back to the low levels of the 1980s.

Sanchezs announcement came after a meeting on Monday morning at the PSOEs headquarters in Madrid with senior party leaders to analyze the results of elections that saw the conservative Popular Party (PP) consolidate its position in the northwestern region of Galicia, with the Socialists losing votes to the left-leaning En Marea coalition. In the Basque Country, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) increased its share of the vote, with the PSOE trailing fourth.

Sanchez faced criticism at Mondays meeting from at least half of the 26-member permanent commission of the PSOEs federal executive. He has come under growing pressure from senior regional leaders to break the countrys nine-month political deadlock, which has seen two inconclusive elections won by the PP. Sanchez has refused to abstain in Congressional investiture votes and allow PP leader and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy form a government, despite mounting calls from Socialist regional leaders to do so.

The partys federal committee is expected to oppose his plans to put his leadership to the vote

Instead, Sanchez has reached out to Spains newest political formations, the center-right reformist Ciudadanos, and the left-leaning anti-austerity Podemos. The problem is that the two parties are opposed over key issues such as the right for Catalonia to hold an independence referendum. Without the support of the two, and that of smaller, regional parties, Sanchez cannot hope to win the 176-seat majority in Congress he would need to govern.

Furthermore, his critics point to Sanchezs preliminary deal with Ciudadanos after the inconclusive elections of December 20, 2015, which the PP won, but that fell apart after Podemos refused to join the alliance.

The deadlock led to a second national election on June 26, with similar results. Last week, campaigning in the Basque and Galician regional elections, Sanchez made a public appeal to Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera, the leaders of Podemos and Ciudadanos respectively, to work together to throw out the government of Mariano Rajoy.

On Saturday, Sanchez will meet with the partys federal committee, which is expected to oppose his plans to hold a conference that would put his leadership to the vote, seeing this as potentially creating further divisions within an already fractured party.

Sanchez insists that the PSOEs grassroots supports his strategy of stonewalling Rajoy and wants to see a broad coalition of what he calls the forces of change.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Natural health products, cosmetics and over-the-counter drugs to be governed under one set of rules in Canada

Makers of natural health products could face steeper fines if new rules are approved

Infant formula products claim to increase intelligence, reduce colic and be allergy-proof

(NaturalNews) The Canadian government is cracking down on claims made on natural health products . Newly proposed rules could give Health Canada the authority to recall natural health products and cosmetics it deems unsafe, impose fees on manufacturers and enact tougher penalties for violators, according to reporting byHealth Canada is the federal agency responsible for ensuring national public health. It collaborates with provinces and territories to uphold the integrity of Canada's healthcare system, while looking for ways to improve it.The new proposal is a result of "the proliferation of misleading and unproven claims on product labels."In Canada, natural health products are currently regulated similarly to prescription drugs, meaning that manufacturers are required to apply for government licenses in order for products to reach store shelves. Each product is assigned a unique number that appears on labels, providing indication of approval from the government.However, unlike prescription drugs, natural health manufacturers are not currently required to provide extensive research backing product claims.But if the new system is approved, natural health products, cosmetics and over-the-counter drugs will be governed under one set of rules and be regulated based on each product's potential health risks.The new system would classify many vitamins, minerals and homeopathic products, as well as cosmetics as "low risk." These products would not be licensed by Health Canada "Manufacturers would still have to meet Health Canada's quality standards, but they would be prohibited from making disease treatment or prevention claims on product labels.""Any other claims on product labels would have to be accompanied by a disclaimer stating the information has not been verified by Health Canada,"reports.Many in the holistic health community feel that tougher regulations on natural health products are unfair, considering the fact that many conventionally sold products that have remained on store shelves for years are far more unsafe.For example, in the U.S., many rice protein products sold in commercial retailers have been found to contain high levels of toxic heavy metals . Through lab testing, the Health Ranger identified that rice protein products contain cadmium, tungsten and lead.For more information on those results, click here Under Canada's proposed rules, products considered to have a "moderate" or "higher risk" will undergo a government review.Only companies that can back up such claims with scientific evidence will be allowed to make health claims . Examples of these products include allergy medications and over-the-counter painkillers.The reason for the proposed rule change is so that Canadians can trust the safety and efficacy of the products they are purchasing, said Health Canada.Under the new rules, consumers purchasing homeopathic remedies will have a better understanding about whether they work or not, said the agency."If someone is marketing something, they're going to have to back that up with evidence," said Timothy Caulfield, a Canada research chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta.Companies caught violating the new standards could face steeper penalties, as well. The maximum fine is currently set at $5,000 for natural health products and cosmetics. But for drug companies, it's $5 million.User fees might also be applied to companies selling natural health products and cosmetics.The move is similar to one made by the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA), which established new standards for claims made on infant formula.If approved, the infant formula industry will have to "gather evidence to back assertions of how their products actually function in a baby's body."The FDA says that because infancy is a "vulnerable period when critical growth and development occur," more precautions should be taken "to ensure the safety of all modifications to infant formula, even if the purpose of the modification is to more closely mirror the composition and health benefits of human milk."The FDA's proposal will be adopted pending a 60-day comment period.
Chemical medicine complex enforcing mass vaccination in California, prosecuting doctors who don't comply

Who put California's vaccine-extremist agenda in effect in the first place?
How aluminum destroys the brain

Babies get 10 times the adult dose at birth

(NaturalNews) Much of the controversy over additives in vaccines has centered around the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, which is no longer found in childhood vaccines except for flu shots. But did you know that many childhood vaccines contain potentially toxic, brain-damaging levels of aluminum Aluminum is included in vaccines as an "adjuvant," a component that boosts the body's short-term immune response in order to produce antibodies to the vaccine agent faster. This very function may be part of what makes aluminum in vaccines dangerous.Aluminum is also a neurotoxin that has been linked to various types of brain damage.Numerous human and animal studies have linked aluminum to brain damage, including Alzheimer's disease. For example, one study found that mice injected with aluminum developed behavioral changes and problems with cognitive and motor function. Autopsies later showed that the motor neurons in their brains and nervous systems showed changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).Another study, published by researchers from the University of British Columbia in 2013, found that the risk of autism diagnoses in children was directly correlated with how many aluminum-containing vaccines they had received.Researchers have speculated that many of aluminum's neurotoxic effects might be due to its immune-stimulating properties. They have speculated that this property might trigger autoimmune reactions in certain people.In fact, immune adjuvants have been linked with a variety of immune-mediated diseases, including some for which there is still no name. Conditions linked with exposure to immune adjuvants include siliconosis, Gulf War Syndrome, macrophagic myofasciitis syndrome and some post-vaccination phenomena. Notably, all four diseases share certain signs and symptoms with each other. This observation led a group of researchers from Israel's Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases to propose a new syndrome in 2011, called Autoimmune (Auto-inflammatory) Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants (ASIA).In a study published inin 2013, researchers reviewed the evidence linking aluminum adjuvants to neurotoxic effects. They found that aluminum has been linked to both Alzheimer's disease-like symptoms and to the disease itself in adults, as well as to a disease sharing characteristics of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS. It has also been linked with Gulf War Syndrome. The researchers suggested that aluminum should be considered a potential trigger of ASIA.So why are our kids being injected with aluminum, and how much are they getting?First, it's important to understand that while aluminum occurs naturally in the environment, the body reacts to injected aluminum differently than it reacts to aluminum ingested in food . That's because when the body ingests aluminum, it works to flush it out as quickly as possible to prevent levels in the blood from rising.The FDA states that for patients being fed intravenous (IV) fluids exclusively, the IV fluids must not contain more than 25 mcg of aluminum per liter (a liter is roughly equivalent to an adult dose). It also notes that as little as 10 mcg of IV aluminum can cause kidney failure in premature infants or those with kidney problems.So how much aluminum is in the hepatitis B vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend giving to babies on the day they are born? A shocking 250 mcg The CDC further recommends that at the age of 2 months, children be given a round of vaccines that collectively contain between 295 mcg and 1,225 mcg of aluminum, depending on the particular combination of shots used.By age 18 months, a child following the CDC vaccination schedule may have been injected with as much as 4,925 mcg of aluminum.Is it any wonder that people have questioned the necessity of strictly following the CDC's vaccination schedule?
WIRED publishes pro-Monsanto propaganda piece

National Honey Bee Advisory Board: Unleashing RNAi technology 'would be more naive than our use of DDT'

(NaturalNews) Okay, maybe Monsanto didn't actually set out to kill off the honeybees , but they're doing a darn good job of it, if you ask me  and threatening the lives of the rest of us humans, as well.And their recent tactics have included a clever propaganda campaign designed to paint a kinder, gentler picture of their devilish operations, but it's just a thin veneer concealing a whole lot of ugly.Not only that, but their efforts to pretend that they are actually trying to help the honeybees might unleash another Pandora's box of reckless nature-meddling technology that could lead to even more disastrous consequences for the environment, the bees and everyone else.I'm not sure if someone atmanaged to bribe the staff of, but a recent article published by the online magazine seems to be nothing more than an apology piece written to make the company somehow appear more human.However, the article, entitled, actually reveals some disturbing facts about a new experimental technology the company is developing, while also avoiding any discussion about glyphosate and its deadly effects on honeybees.It's as slanted a piece of journalism as I have ever come across, but even though it's obviously nothing more than pro-Monsanto propaganda , it contains some very interesting information.The article's main focus is honeybee expert Jerry Hayes, who for the past five years has worked for Monsanto as a sort of public relations figure whose job is to explain to beekeepers the company's program involving genetically-altered RNA (ribonucleic acid) that in theory will control the varroa mite  one of the many threats currently facing honeybee populations.The technology  which is still in development and which has so far failed in several field trials  involves altering strands of RNA (single-stranded chains of cells similar to DNA that process proteins and carry genetic information) to give it the ability to kill the predator mites.The process is called RNA interference, or RNAi, which theoretically allows altered RNA to zero in on specific organisms, such as the varroa mite.From thearticle:"Traditional pesticides act like chemical backhoes, killing their targets (beetles, weeds, viruses) but harming good things along the way (beneficial insects, birds, fish, humans). RNAi, in theory, works instead like a set of tweezers, plucking its victims with exquisite specificity by clicking into sequences of genetic code unique to that organism."That may sound nice, but there are a number of possibly serious risks and unknowns associated with unleashing such a technology  but hey, that never stopped Monsanto before, did it?Monsanto's mantra has always been: "If it makes money, let's try it out  no matter how dangerous it might turn out to be!"In fact, even the Monsanto-praisingarticle acknowledges that this technology could pose a serious threat:"Lots of very different living things share genes and genetic sequences, which means it is theoretically possible, if unlikely, that RNAi could harm organisms beyond its targets. ..."In comments submitted to the USDA, the National Honey Bee Advisory Board argued that using the technology 'would be more naive than our use of DDT in the 1950s.'"And who was one of the first manufacturers of which causes liver, reproductive and nervous system damage?That's right  Monsanto, of course!But I digress. ...Aside from revealing some of the the details regarding this unproven and potentially disastrous new Monsanto technology, thearticle conveniently skirts the issue of glyphosate, its bee-killing properties and its likely significant contribution to(CCD), by shifting the blame to neonicotinoid pesticides:"[Hayes] knew that environmentalists linked colony collapse to neonicotinoid insecticides and that they thought Monsanto was somehow to blame. But he also knew that Monsanto doesn't make insecticides. The company's most famous product, glyphosatethat's Roundupkills plants."But glyphosatekills bees  it's a scientifically-proven fact  and the article makes absolutely no mention of that fact.And so it appears that the publishers ofhave either sold out to Monsanto  like so many scientists, politicians and regulators have already done  or they are just plain stupid.Knowingly or not,has become just another Monsanto shill. ...
NASA has sponsored a ton of investigations and studies to enable scientists and researchers to excel in many different fields concerning topics that are of scientific importance. Recently, a NASA-funded sounding rocket was able to solve a cosmic mystery and, at the same time, reveal another.

The presence of invisible light in space has long been established. And although they cannot be seen by the naked eyes, the infrared signals and cosmic microwave do exist. However, the source of some X-ray invisible light is still being contended.

But thanks to the DXL sounding rocket, the mystery -- or part of it -- was solved. The Diffuse X-Ray emissions from Local Galaxy (DXL) paved the way for scientists to provide concrete answers about the X-ray sources in the universe. A recent study using the DXL sounding rocket was published in the Astrophysical Journal and it confirmed some theories as to where X-rays originated. This new knowledge further strengthens mankind's understanding of the Solar System's neighborhood during the ancient times. Most X-rays come from solar wind or solar materials within the Solar System and Local Hot Bubble, which are potential hot interstellar ingredients found right outside the Solar System.

Aside from providing confirmations about the origins of some X-ray emissions from nearby galaxies, the DXL sounding rocket has also discovered a new mystery. Based on its reading, an entire classification of X-rays doesn't come from any known source.

"We show that the X-ray contribution from the solar wind charge exchange is about forty percent in the galactic plane, and even less elsewhere," Massimiliano Galeazzi, an astrophysicist at the University of Miami and an author on the study said in a press release. "So the rest of the X-rays must come from the Local Hot Bubble, proving that it exists."

Other high energy X-rays were also discovered that NASA said couldn't possibly come from the first two identified sources.

"At higher energies, these sources contribute less than a quarter of the X-ray emission," Youaraj Uprety, lead author on the study and an astrophysicist at the University of Miami said in a statement. "So there's an unknown source of X-rays in this energy range," Uprety added.

Although DXL had provided a confirmative knowledge about X-rays, it also started a new line of inquiry that is focused on finding out where these mysterious cosmic X-rays come from. Today, there are a lot of theories suggesting potential sources of these cosmic mysteries, but further studies had to be conductive before their origin can be identified.
Cuban President Raul Castro is met in Cartagena by Colombian Foreign Minister Paty Londono. LUIS ROBAYO (AFP)

More information La firma de la paz con las FARC busca impulsar el si al plebiscito

After four years of peace negotiations, on Monday Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos will sign an accord and then shake hands with Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), ending half-a-century of conflict with the leftist guerrilla force. Present at the ceremony in the Caribbean resort of Cartagena de Indias will be 13 heads of state, some 30 foreign ministers, and more than 2,500 dignitaries.

But while the leaders of the two sides are in agreement about ushering in a new era of peace, the conflict in this South American country will not truly be over until the Colombian people validate the accords in a referendum that will take place on October 2, in a weeks time.

The government and the FARC hope the ceremony will boost support in the referendum

Opinion polls currently suggest that the electorate will vote Yes and approve the peace deal. But given that in recent weeks the polls have swung in both directions, and given the their fallibility in the case of the UKs Brexit vote, an air of uncertainty hangs over the plebiscite as voting day approaches.

When the referendum was called, most people rejected a deal with the FARC; but when the peace accords with the guerillas was announced at the end of August after talks in Havana under the auspices of the Cuban government, support shifted significantly, with some polls putting the Yes camp 30 points ahead of its opponents. Over the last week, that lead has slowly eroded: the latest poll, by Opinometro de Datexco, shows 55.3% in favor, with 38% against and 4.3% still undecided.

Despite the nervousness within the government and the FARC, some on the respective negotiating teams argue that media coverage of the narrowing gap between supporters and opponents of the deal will mobilize the still undecided to see the importance of a formal deal to end decades of violence and for the FARC to join mainstream politics. Voter turnout in Colombia is generally low, which has raised the specter of a stalemate whereby the Yes vote wins narrowly but without reaching the required figure of 4.5 million voters.

Colombians must now validate the accords in a referendum on October 2

The government and the FARC will be hoping that Mondays signing ceremony will boost support for a Yes in the referendum in the final stage of the campaign. In any event, there will be nothing like it in the coming seven days. Heads of state and representatives of international institutions have been arriving over the weekend, while the FARC team, which is staying about an hour from Cartagena, plans to meet with many of the guests away from the limelight.

The FARC arrived from its conference held in the southeast of the country. Ostensibly, the event was to discuss the accords, but having invited more than 1,000 journalists from around the world, the guerrilla movement was keen to present its best side, organizing concerts and other activities. The government was happy at this approach, with media coverage of the event, dubbed Colombias Woodstock by some pundits, putting the peace deal in a good light.

English version by Nick Lyne.
A Los Angeles Times poll conducted early this year revealed that heavy traffic is one of the biggest concerns of Southern California, even exceeding the ranks of personal safety and housing costs.

Now, according to a report published in Phys.org, the California Energy Commission is investing $2 million to study whether piezoelectric crystals -- crystals that create an electric current when compressed -- can be used to produce electricity from the mechanical energy created by vehicles driving on roads.

Aside from energy from fossil fuels, a car also produces vibrational energy. This, according to some scientists can be used to produce environmental, renewable energy.

Building on this, California lawmaker Mike Gatto proposed in 2011 Assembly Bill 306 to develop this kind of technology for Californian roads.

If implemented, the Piezoelectric generation system would include implanting small, round piezoelectric transducers beneath the pavement of roadways to capture energy produced by vibrations that vehicles generate as they move across surfaces. The energy could power the road sides and if harnessed well, can be fed directly into the power grid.

"You would embed them about 10 inches down," Gatto told Pasadena Star News. "If you've ever stood in a parking garage at a mall you can feel all of that vibration. Well, these transducers would gather that energy and it would be collected at a central source."

The bill was vetoed because of the lack of funding. It was only this year when the California Energy Commission finally agreed to sponsor the project.

According to Associated Press, the commission is still looking for a university or a company to conduct a field test on whether the crystals could really produce electricity if installed under asphalt given that the device will be experiencing some extreme wear and tear conditions. Aside from that, they also want to know if the project is cost-efficient as it might be too costly to be implemented.

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After watching Michael Bay's Transformers movies, we've secretly wished our cars could turn into one. But in real life, a company in Turkey has just made a fully functional Transformer-like robot.

Letrons is a prototype of the transforming vehicle created by Turkish company Letvision. The prototype robot is named Antimon, which is modeled after a BMW 3 Series car and drives and transforms by itself via a remote control.

According to the Letrons website, the prototype was completed in about eight months with 12 engineers and four supporting technicians working on it. The vehicle mode features include a dynamic control system, a powerful engine, remote control software, Wi-Fi technology and dynamic lights. In robot form, it could move its neck and head, arms, wrists and fingers.

The video shows a red BMW driving via a remote control and slowly turning into a

While Autobots and Decepticons in Transformers movies and TV series could walk, Letvision has not yet developed this functionality on the prototype. According to the company, the walking functionality could be added if a series of funding will be provided. In the mean time, Letrons' cars are only functioning via remote control and could not be driven yet. "This is possible in the near future due to [the car's] electric engine," Letrons said on the website.

Letrons' cars will be made available commercially in the near future, but there is no information yet on the cost of each transforming vehicle and when it will be available for purchase. Moreover, according to the project website, the car will be sold if the buyer's "reason for use meets the criteria of the Letrons team." The company also plans to release a whole line of Letrons transforming cars after Antimon, namely Bizmut, Argon, Wolfram and Tantal, which will be built from various models of cars.
North Korea has tested a new rocket engine last week in preparation for a satellite launch, and the same technology could also help fly missiles, reports said.

According to North Korea's state-run media outfit NK News, the country's supreme leader Kim Jong Un supervised the ground test of a rocket engine on Tuesday, Sept. 20. The test, which was done at the Sohae Space Center in North Phyongan Province, was for a new type of high-power rocket engine for a geo-stationary satellite, which is a type of satellite located in circular orbits that are about 35,800 kilometers (22,000 miles) above the Earth's equator. Geo-stationary satellites are used for communications, surveillance and weather applications.

Kim Jong Un had requested officials, scientists and technicians to round off the preparations for launching the satellite as soon as possible on the basis of the successful test, the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a recently published report. In the same statement, Kim told them to develop satellites for various uses and turn the country into a "possessor of geostationary satellites in a couple of years to come."

However, observers outside the country believe that the space program could be a step in developing technologies for ballistic missiles, which could carry nuclear bombs. The South Korean military is speculating the possibility that North Korea is advancing its missile program with the ground test of this new high-thrust rocket engine that could be used for long-range missiles.

According to David Wright, a senior scientist at a science advocacy group called Union of Concerned Scientists, the new engine advances both the country's civil and military rocket efforts.

"This is the kind of thing you try and build to get more rocket capabilities, whether you are trying to build a ballistic missile or space-launch vehicle," Wright told Space.com.

According to KCNA, the rocket engine could produce 80 tons of thrust, which indicates that the rocket could be one of the most powerful ever existed. It would be 2.5 times as much thrust as the engine of North Korea's Nodong missile, which, according to Wright, was an upgraded version of Iraq's 1990s Gulf War missile.

North Korea is prohibited from launching space vehicles or ballistic missiles following multiple UN sanctions in response to its nuclear weapons program. The country's long-range rocket test in February drew concerns and criticisms from neighboring nations and world powers, adding new UN sanctions.
An international team of astronomers has discovered five new Trojan asteroids sharing the same orbit as the planet Neptune.

Astronomer Hsing-Wen Lin of the National Central University in Taiwan detected the Neptunian Trojans through the Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System or PS-1) telescope, which is a wide-field imaging facility in Hawaii and is one of the best tools to search for the Trojans, comets, and even Centaurs.

"PS1 survey has a very wide survey area that is deep enough to cover a large part of the Neptune trojan cloud," Lin said in a statement. "PS1 currently is the only one with the capability to detect several Neptune trojans in a single survey."

The solar system is filled with Trojan Asteroids, which are objects that share the orbit of a planet or a larger moon. Over 6,000 of these types of asteroids are orbiting with Jupiter, and others are orbiting within Saturn's moons, around Earth, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune.

Previously, Neptune had 12 Trojans. But Lin's team discovered five new Neptune Trojans, which might also offer insight into where they come from. Using data obtained by the PS-1 survey that ran from 2010 to 2014, the researchers found four L4 Trojans, which orbit Neptune's L4 Lagrangian point 60 degrees ahead of the planet, and one L5 Trojan, which orbits the L5 region 60 degrees behind the planet. The objects were about 100 to 200 kilometers in diameter.

According to the researchers, the four L4 Trojans were primordial in origin, owing to their stability. However, the L5 Trojan was more unstable than the others, which led to the hypothesis that it was a new addition.

"The 2 of the 4 currently known L5 Neptune Trojans, included the one L5 we found in this work, are dynamically unstable and should be temporary captured into Trojan cloud," Lin told Universe Today. "On the other hand, the known L4 Neptune Trojans are all stable. Does that mean the L5 has higher faction of temporary captured Trojans? It could be, but we need more evidence."

Moreover, the results of the researchers' simulation survey indicated that the newly discovered Trojans had unexpected orbital inclinations of between 10 to 18 degrees, where previously discovered Neptunian Trojans typically had high inclinations of more than 20 degrees. This led the researchers to assume that there are two groups of Neptunian Trojans.

The researchers detailed their findings in a paper published on arXiv.org.
A killer asteroid with devastating force of 3 billion nuclear bombs will possibly hit Earth, a Chinese astronomer warns. The asteroid was detected by Zhao Haibin, an astronomer from the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China, using China's largest telescope.

Daily Star quoted Haibin in an interview saying how the technology has helped astronomers in identifying probable threats to the solar system.

"With the help of our images, astronomers across the globe have a more accurate moving trajectory of the asteroid," Haibin said. The report added that the asteroid can lead to an extinction level event, leaving the entirety of Earth toasted.

According to IB Times, the asteroid called 2009ES measures 10 miles in width. Despite the destruction it would dawn upon the planet, experts cannot determine where and when exactly it will hit Earth. However, based on the images captured by the 1.2-meter Schmidt telescope camera, it is estimated to pass within 18.8 lunar distances.

Inquistr stated that 2009ES is one of 1,640 near-Earth asteroids, called "minor bodies," that are moving towards the planet. The asteroid was first detected in 2009. Because of the dreadful and misleading estimates that it will hit the earth on September 2015, NASA released a statement saying that it would not hit the Earth within a few hundred years.

"There is no scientific basis -- not one shred of evidence -- that an asteroid or any other celestial object will impact Earth on those dates," Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object office, said at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

During the discussion of NASA's planned Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) held on Sept. 14, John Holdren, U.S. President Barack Obama's chief science adviser, said Earth is not well-prepared for an asteroid strike, adding that there are more things to do to make the planet less vulnerable to such a catastrophic event.

Scientists are closely monitoring the movement of 2009ES. Any changes on its path could have potential impacts on Earth because of its massive size.
A misdiagnosis has lead a Portugese man to believe he couldn't walk, thereby spending his 43 years in a wheelchair.

According to Agence France-Presse, Rufino Borrego was diagnosed with incurable muscular dystrophy by a resident doctor in Lisbon hospital when he was 13 years old. Since then, he became bounded to his wheelchair.

It was not until in 2010 when he learned through a neurologist that he only had myasthenia, a curable disease that can be treated by just an asthma medication.

Borrego is now 61 years old and much of his life has already been wasted. But he insists he does not feel any resentment toward the doctor who did the misdiagnosis.

According to Borrego, he understands as the disease was not quite known during the time they were trying to figure out what his disease was.

IB Times notes that Borrego is now living a normal life and only requires two physiotherapy sessions a year.

"I just want to make use of my life," Borrego told Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias.

Mayo Clinic defines Myasthenia or Myasthenia gravis as a disease characterized by weakness and rapid fatigue of any of the muscles under your voluntary control.

According to Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, Inc. Myasthenia is probably under diagnosed and the prevalence may be higher that what is on record. It cannot be directly inherited and it is not contagious. Common symptoms of the disease include blurred vision, weakness in arms and legs, muscle fatigue and difficulty in breathing.

There is an association between Myasthenia Gravis and other autoimmune diseases. A study published in National Center for Biotechnology Information have found an association between severe asthma and myasthenia gravis

Meanwhile, because of the technology advancement, the diagnosis of the disease has become more apt and accurate. In addition, advanced therapies have also been made available to manage the disease.
Construction workers in Brazil have stumbled upon one of the most frigthening creatures in the planet -- a man-eating anaconda.

According to Inquisitr, the snake, measuring 33 feet (32.8 feet, to be exact) was discovered after the workers set off an explosion to destroy a cave in Belo Monte Dam to make way for their project.

The Belo Monte Dam is one of the most controversial dams being built today. Internationalrivers.org said it is being constructed on the Xingu River in the state of Para, Brazil and would allegedly destroy a huge area of the pristine Brazilian rainforest. Its construction began in 2011 under the watch of Eletronorte.

A footage showing how the workers lifted off the Jurassic-like creature from the rubbles has been circulating online. Although the video was taken months back, it is only getting the attention now after some animal lovers and activists criticized the workers.

Some of them left a comment on the video criticizing the workers for killing such precious creation of nature.

Until now, it is not clear whether the anaconda was actually dead when it was found or if the workers intentionally killed it. The rest of the footage showed a crane lifting the humongous reptile and at one part, it showed the anaconda chained up.

Daily Mail notes that the longest snake ever captured is a snake named Medusa which was captured in Kansas City. According to its official record on Guinness, it measures a whopping 25 ft 2in long.

Anacondas are semiaquatic snakes found in tropical South America. Live Science notes there are currently four recognized species of anaconda ---green anaconda, the yellow, the dark-spotted anaconda and the Bolivian anaconda.

Being at the top of the food chain, anacondas are not endangered species. Their major threats include deforestation and hunting as their skin is used for manufacturing commercial products.
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that allows Californians to rescue animals trapped in hot cars without fear of prosecution.

The bill signed on Saturday lets citizens smash car windows to set the pets free as long as there is no other way to rescue them.

That means rescuers can break into the car if the animal appears to be in peril, the car is locked and law enforcement is not arriving quickly enough.

The rescuer must stay at the scene until law enforcement responds to the situation.

The bill was introduced after a series of incidents in which dogs died after being left in closed cars on hot days.
Californians braced for another hot day as forecasters warned of soaring temperatures and wildfires, including one burning in Sonoma County, due to hot, dry and windy conditions.

A high-pressure ridge is expected to bring temperatures in the 80s and 90s in coastal areas and triple-digit heat in inland areas on Monday, the National Weather Service said.

For example, temps could soar to 102 degrees in the Tri-Valley area near Livermore on Monday and even break the 90-degree mark in often-foggy San Francisco, according to the NWS. In Southern California, Los Angeles could see temperatures as hot at 103 degrees and San Diego could reach 100.

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This follows on a second consecutive day of heat. Several parts of the state saw record-breaking heat on Sunday as temperatures ran 10 to 25 degrees above normal for this time of the year.

San Francisco had a high of 98 degrees. A record 104 degrees was set in Camarillo, about 47 miles northwest of Los Angeles, beating the old record of 102 set 38 years ago.

Meanwhile, the weather was not helping the state's firefighters. Cal Fire crews had to battle a wildfire in rural Sonoma County in nearly 100-degree heat. The fire, which broke out Sunday morning near Cloverdale, spread to more than 2 square miles and forced about 90 people to evacuate from their homes, state fire officials said.

The fire was threatening The Geysers, a large geothermal field that provides electricity to Sonoma and its four neighboring counties.

By Monday night, the fire was 45 percent contained.
Governor Jerry Brown signed on Saturday a law that requires hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction, along with Automated External Defibrillator awareness in high school health classes.

California is the 35th state to provide CPR training in schools, along with Washington, D.C., American Heart Association spokeswoman Robin Swanson said. State Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) authored the bill.

"As an Emergency Medical Technician for over 30 years, I know that CPR is one of the most important life skills a person can have," Rodriguez said in a statement.

"By teaching CPR in high school, we are sending students into the world with essential, life-saving skills," Rodgriguez said.

High schools will begin to teach CPR in health classes in the 2018-2019 school year, Swanson said, in a lesson that takes 30 minutes.

"I am so glad I learned CPR at a young age because it helped save my friend's life," 13-year-old American Heart Association volunteer Skylar Berry said in a statement.

"We should all be prepared to act in the case of an emergency and I'm happy other students will now get the chance to learn CPR," Skylar said.

Skylar used her CPR training to save a friend from drowning in a swimming pool when she was 11, Swanson said. Many others have died because no one near them could administer CPR.

"If someone had been near my daughter at the time of her collapse had known how to conduct CPR, her life could have been saved," AB 1719 advocate Debbie Wilson said in a statement.

"I want all students to have a chance to learn this life-saving skill so other families don't suffer the same heartbreak that ours did," Wilson said.

Every year, more than 350,000 people suffer from sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, and less than one-third receives CPR from a bystander, Swanson said. CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chance of survival.

"So many lives have been saved because of the heroic act of bystanders who performed CPR. On the other hand, there are just as many stories of people who did not make it because no one nearby took action," cardiothoracic surgeon Kathy Magliato said in a statement.

"With CPR in schools, we have the opportunity to create a generation in which teens and young adults in California [are] trained in CPR as part of their health education and prepared to save lives. AB 1719 will add thousands of qualified lifesavers to our state," Magliato said.
Folks in the South Bay were on hand for a special Sunday screening of a Netflix Original Documentary that is set to debut this weekend.

The film, coined "Audrie and Daisy," dives into the world of social media bullying and highlights the sexual assault cases involving two teenage girls, including one from Saratoga, who faced droves of humiliation and ridicule after reporting their victimization.

"Audrie and Daisy," which debuted at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, came into existence after Saratoga teenager Audrie Pott took her own life at the age of 15 following bouts with bullies. Pott was sexually assaulted in 2012 and later scorned on social media after pictures taken by her assailants surfaced publicly.

Those in attendance at the Los Gatos Theatre, including the family of Audrie Pott and California State Senator Jim Beall, watched the film before participating in a panel discussion.

Filmmakers are hoping to inform the public and ignite a discussion about the dangers surrounding sexual violence and online bullying.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are set for a Monday night showdown during the first presidential candidate debate moderated by NBC's Lester Holt. If you don't want to stay home and watch the presidential candidates duke it out from the comfort of your own couch, there are plenty of watch parties scheduled to take place across the Bay Area.

Nonpartisan Watch Parties

San Jose State University Watch Party

Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Library at San Jose State University in San Jose

When: 6:00 p.m.

Description: Millennial-aged voters will be a heavy contingent at this watch party on the South Bay campus.

Status: Open

Santa Clara University Watch Party

Where: Learning Commons at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara

When: 5:45 p.m.

Description: College-aged voters will be on hand to voice support for both candidates at this watch party.

Status: Open

University of California, Berkeley Watch Party

Where: Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley

When: 6:00 p.m.

Description: Crowds will watch the two candidates face off in a neutral environment.

Status: Open

Brigade Watch Party

Where: Hotel Zetta in San Francisco

When: 5:30 p.m.

Description: A range of voters are expected to attend this sold out nonpartisan event that will both screen the debate and enlist a discussion about the millennial vote, technological innovations in the election, the state of the current political climate and more.

Status: Sold out

Watch Parties Supporting Republican Candidate Donald Trump

Marin County Trump Campaign Debate Watch Party

Where: Marin Trump Headquarters in Novato

When: 5:00 p.m.

Description: Donald Trump supporters will be out in full force to voice their favor in the republican candidate.

Status: Open

Santa Clara Trump Campaign Debate Watch

Where: Round Table Pizza at Cambrian Plaza in San Jose

When: 5:00 p.m.

Description: Donald Trump supporters will be out in full force to voice their favor in the republican candidate.

Status: $10 charge, RSVP necessary

Alameda GOP Debate Watch Party

Where: Katalina's Island Grill in Hayward

When: 6:00 p.m.

Description: Donald Trump supporters will be out in full force to voice their favor in the republican candidate.

Status: RSVP necessary

Watch Parties Supporting Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton

Presidential Debate Watch Party

Where: Santa Clara County Democratic Party Headquarters in San Jose

When: 5:30 p.m.

Description: Supporters of Hillary Clinton will join together to watch the democratic candidate go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump.

Status: RSVP necessary

Beer for Hillary Debate Watch Party

Where: Thirsty Bear Organic Brewery in San Francisco and Half Moon Bay Brewing Company in Half Moon Bay

When: 5:00 p.m.

Description: Millennial voters and progressives are expected to attend this event while simultaneously supporting Hillary Clinton and sipping on local craft brews.

Status: Open

The Chapel Watch Party

Where: The Chapel in San Francisco

When: 5:00 p.m.

Description: A large crown of Clinton supporters will be brandishing #StrongerTogether and sipping on drinks while watching the first presidential debate.

Status: RSVP necessary
Madison Nguyen is battling current San Jose city councilman Ash Kalra for a seat on the California State Assembly, but an outside headache is giving the former San Jose vice mayor fits.

Nguyen's campaign said that a man claiming to be a volunteer has been traveling door-to-door in San Jose and promptly engaging in arguments with residents, as first reported by the Mercury News.

The Nguyen campaign, which is hoping to lock up the golden state's 27th State Assembly District in the November election, took to social media to voice its frustration as well as clarify its non-affiliation with the fraudulent volunteer.

"I want to be very clear that this person or persons is not with our campaign," Nguyen said on Facebook. "We expect all our volunteers to treat everyone with respect."

Nguyen added that the imposter or imposters do not have campaign material in hand while engaging in discussions with San Jose residents. Verified volunteers walk the streets with specific handouts, according to the campaign.

Anyone with information regarding the fraudulent activity is asked to call Chris Ratana, Nguyen's campaign manager, at 408-471-9143.

State Assembly District 27 encompasses most of San Jose and Nguyen edged Kalra by roughly 14 percentage points in June's primary election, according to election results.
Two children who were the subjects of an Indiana statewide Amber Alert Monday afternoon were found dead later that night, Elkhart police said.

Amber Pasztor, 29, of Fort Wayne, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and is being held in Elkhart County Jail.

About 5:25 p.m. an officer walking out of the Elkhart Police Department on Marion Street, was stopped by Pasztor, the children's non-custodial mother, who was driving a vehicle matching the description of the one described in the Amber Alert, police said. Pasztor told the officer there were two dead children in the backseat of the car, police said.

Indiana State Police

The statewide alert was issued for 7-year-old Liliana Hernandez and 6-year-old Rene Pasztor.

The children were last seen at 6:21 a.m. ET in Fort Wayne and were believed to be "in extreme danger," police said.

Fort Wayne is 125 miles north of Indianapolis.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Allen County Sheriff's office at (260) 449-7661.
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union have voted to authorize a strike amid an ongoing contract battle with Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Board of Education.

The union said Monday that 95 percent of members voted in favor of a strike.

This should come as no surprise to the Board, the mayor or parents because educators have been angry about the school-based cuts that have hurt special education students, reduced librarians, counselors, social workers and teachers aides, and eliminated thousands of teaching positions, the union said in a statement.

The unions governing body will meet in a special session Wednesday to determine the next steps, including whether they will issue a 10-day strike notice to the Chicago Board of Education.

If that happens, the first possible date for a teachers strike would be Oct. 11.

The contract battle has been going on for months.

Among other things, the CTU is upset about CPS plan to phase in a 7 percent pension payment for teachers. That payment was previously covered by the city.

The CTU claims the Chicago Board of Education has rejected nearly all of the unions contract proposals after working all of last year without a contract.

Teachers overwhelmingly approved a strike during the union's last vote in December.
A gang member and convicted gun offender has been charged in the fatal shooting of a suburban Chicago man near Millennium Park over the weekend, police said.

Thirty-two-year-old Paul Pagan was charged Monday afternoon in the murder of of Peter Fabbri, police announced.

BREAKING: CPD has charged 32yo gang member & 2 time convicted gun offender Paul Pagan in Millenium Park murder. Press briefing 3pm @ HQ pic.twitter.com/tEVFLS4PHG  Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) September 26, 2016

Family members said Fabbri was in the city attending a wine tasting with his sister and girlfriend when he "was the victim of another act of gun violence."

The 54-year-old Berwyn man was shot around 7:30 p.m. Saturday while walking with two women near the intersection of East Monroe Street and South Michigan Avenue, authorities said.

There, he got into a verbal altercation with another man and when the altercation turned physical, the man pulled out a handgun and shot Fabbri in the head before fleeing on a bicycle, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Fabbri was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but family members said in a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for his cremation he was taken off life support Sunday night.

He died just before 6 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

"As of yesterday my uncle was brain dead and was technically alive only due to the life support," an update on the page read. "It is with a broken heart and tears in our eyes and down our faces that he has been taken off of life support and has officially been welcomed into the gates of heaven."
The Bankia credit card trial began on Monday. Claudio Alvarez (EL PAIS)

One of the biggest scandals to rock Spanish society during the economic crisis has finally reached the courts.

Monday marked the opening of the trial over the so-called tarjetas black, complimentary credit cards handed out to dozens of officials at two struggling banks.

The credit cards were not opaque and they were not black

Defense lawyer for Jesus Pedroche

Between 1999 and 2012, former executives and board members at Caja Madrid, which later merged with other failed lenders to form Bankia, were given credit cards that drew money from a bank fund. These amounts did not show up on any bank documents or job contracts, nor were they reported in tax returns.

The 65 defendants (there were originally 66, but one of them has since passed away) used these cards liberally to pay for personal expenses, racking up bills worth 15.5 million on everything from gourmet restaurants to designer clothes and expensive trips.

Rodrigo Rato is the suspected head of a "corrupt system" of embezzlement during his time as a banker . JAVIER SORIANO (AFP)

The suspects include Rodrigo Rato, a former finance minister with the Popular Party (PP) who also headed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2004 and 2007.

Rato became chairman of the Caja Madrid savings bank in 2010, then went on to head Bankia, the bank that resulted from the merger of Caja Madrid with six other struggling lenders.

The executives and board members who enjoyed this financial bonus represent nearly every political party and every labor union in Spain. They face prison terms of one to six years for embezzlement.

A concerted effort

A group of protesters hurled insults at the defendants as they walked into the headquarters of the High Court in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) on Monday.

Once inside, defense lawyers launched a concerted effort to get their clients exonerated from further prosecution, alleging that the Excel spreadsheet detailing their clients bills between 1999 and 2003 is not a valid piece of evidence.

We neither know about the Excel [spreadsheet] nor what kind of custody its been in. Besides, its full of mistakes, duplicate expenses and places where my client has never been, and there is nothing to support that those expenditures really took place, said Dolores Marquez de Prado, the lawyer for Angel Gomez del Pulgar, a board member sponsored by the Socialist Party (PSOE).

Defense lawyers launched a concerted effort to get their clients exonerated from further prosecution

Lawyers also sought to get Bankia, which is part of the private prosecution, thrown out of the case on the grounds that it was not affected by the alleged wrongdoing. A third line of reasoning attempted to convince the bench that any existing crimes have already expired under the statute of limitations.

But experts are certain that once these preliminary issues are dealt with, the hearings proper will get underway on Friday as planned with a statement by Rodrigo Rato. According to the schedule of hearings, the last defendant will testify on October 7, followed by expert witness accounts until December 23.

The trial will try to determine whether the cards were really part of the bank executives salaries and legal payment for board members, as the defendants now claim.

State attorneys and the private prosecution are focusing particularly on Rato and Miguel Blesa, his predecessor at Caja Madrid. Both men are accused of misusing funds and face prison terms of up to six years.

Some of the board members claim that their credit cards were a supplement because of their dedication to the bank, and that the Tax Agency was aware of their existence.

They were not opaque and they were not black, said the defense lawyer for Jesus Pedroche, a board member for the Popular Party (PP), who faces a four-year prison term if found guilty.

Living in the lap of luxury EL PAIS, Madrid Spaniards struggling under the weight of a long economic crisis were particularly infuriated to hear that executives had spent 3 million on restaurants, 2 million on cash withdrawals, over 1.5 million on trips, over 1 million on groceries and household items, nearly 800,000 on hotels and around 700,000 on jewels, clothes and accessories. And this, at a lender that ultimately had to be bailed out using 22.4 billion of taxpayers' money. The credit cards were used up until May 2012, when the state stepped in because of the imminent risk of bankruptcy. This, in turn, triggered a EU bailout of Spain's entire financial system. The scandal broke in October 2014, and since then, only 14% of the money has been returned. However, any alleged crimes perpetrated between 1999 and 2003 have expired under the statute of limitations, meaning that only the money spent between then and 2012, amounting to 12 million, is under scrutiny.

English version by Susana Urra.
A mother was shot and killed while driving in a Chicago suburb Sunday night in a shooting that also wounded her 4-year-old daughter and younger brother.

Dinesty Tillman was driving northbound on Richard Street near Washington in Joliet around 10:30 p.m. with her 4-year-old daughter, 3-month-old baby and younger brother when shots rang out, according to police.

The 23-year-old mother drove under a viaduct and crashed after the shooting before she and her brother got out of the car to call police. Authorities arrived to find Tillman collapsed on the ground as her brother stumbled from the car with a gunshot wound to the arm. The 4-year-old girl suffered a graze wound to the knee and the 3-month-old baby was uninjured, police said.

Tillman was pronounced dead at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiners office. Her 22-year-old brother was listed in fair condition at the hospital.

"She was fun, bubbly, she had an awesome personality," said Tillman's sister Aquita Tillman. "She loved her kids. She ate, slept and breathed her girls. Just had an awesome personality."

Police said it wasnt clear if the victims were targeted, but none of the victims are believed to have gang ties. Family members said they believe Tillman, her daughters, and her brother were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When theres young children in the car you know no matter you know you might have against the other people theres nothing right about that at all, said Deputy Chief Alan Roechner with the Joliet Police Department. If anybody was in the area or knows anything, heard anything or talking about anything at all please call us.

No one was in custody as of Monday morning, police said.
A man has died after being shot near Millennium Park in downtown Chicago over the weekend, where he had been attending a wine tasting with his sister and girlfriend, officials and family members said.

Peter Fabbri, 54, of Berwyn, died just before 6 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

Family members said Fabbri was in the city attending a wine tasting with his sister and girlfriend when he "was the victim of another act of gun violence."

Fabbri was shot around 7:30 p.m. Saturday while walking with two women near the intersection of East Monroe Street and South Michigan Avenue, authorities said.

There, he got into a verbal altercation with another man and when the altercation turned physical, the man pulled out a handgun and shot Fabbri in the head before fleeing on a bicycle, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Fabbri was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but family members said in a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for his cremation he was taken off life support Sunday night.

"As of yesterday my uncle was brain dead and was technically alive only due to the life support," an update on the page read. "It is with a broken heart and tears in our eyes and down our faces that he has been taken off of life support and has officially been welcomed into the gates of heaven."

A person of interest was in custody Saturday and being questioned, police said.
The expletive outburst cut through the courtroom and Judge Dennis Porter was clearly not amused.



"This aint no [expletive] court, this is a circus," exclaimed L.B. Joseph loudly.



It was the first day of testimony in the trial in which he and his brother stand accused of a total of six sexual assaults.



Two years ago the Cook County States Attorneys office charged the two brothers, L.B. and Leondo Joseph, in a series of rapes.



Last week the trial began in one of the six cases for which they were arrested: the sexual assault on a woman on Dec. 17, 2011.



"They are a team," said Assistant Cook County States Attorney Mary Jackovac. "They worked together. They raped her together.



Cook County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Porter is presiding over the trial in which both brothers declined a lawyer and are representing themselves.



The alleged victim testified that both brothers repeatedly assaulted her after she was abducted at gunpoint and held captive in a car from midnight until 8:00 in the morning. The brothers, she said, took turns going from the front to the back seat in order to assault her.



The brothers have entered pleas of not guilty.



Leondo Joseph declined to give an opening statement but L.B. Joseph said he has a bachelors degree from DePaul, lives in Lincoln Park and is a licensed security guard.



In his opening statement to the jury, L.B. Joseph referenced Italian literature and quoted Gandhi, but outside the jurys presence he loudly uttered his expletive quote.



Joseph called the states case all lies and the womans claims the lies of a prostitute and said the sex was consensual.



Sarah Layden of Rape Victim Advocates watched as he cross-examined the woman he allegedly raped.



It was probably one of the most horrifying things to see, to watch, she said. My heart went out to the victim as she was testifying. I cant imagine what that felt like for her.



Also in court was Michelle Ford, whose daughter Nikki Saez in an interview two years ago spoke of what allegedly happened when she met L.B. Joseph.



He would punch me or hit me or choke me, she said and then sexually assault her.



In the Saez case, instead of rape, the Cook County States Attorneys office charged L.B. Joseph with battery and he was found not guilty.



"My daughter didn't get justice. Hopefully these other females will get justice," Ford said as she arrived for court.



Also in court was the mother of the Joseph brothers who declined to be interviewed.
Bill Nunn, who passed away Saturday, starred in over 71 film and television roles over the span of his career. His roles ran the gamut from newspaper editor Joseph Robertson in "Spider-Man" (2002) and its sequels to playing opposite stars like Harrison Ford, Whoopi Goldberg and Hugh Grant in films like "Regarding Henry," "Sister Act" and "Extreme Measures."

But to a generation of film fans, Nunn will forever be immortalized as 'Radio Raheem' from Spike Lee's 1989 classic, "Do The Right Thing."

"Do the Right Thing" (DTRT) may have been controversial in its time, yet it plays alarmingly contemporary in light of recent deaths of black men at the hands of police. The scene featuring the death of Nunn's character could be ripped from today's headlines and, with little tweaking, be substituted with Eric Garner, Terence Crutcher or Keith Lamont Scott. But beyond its lasting social significance, the film was also a showcase for a group of largely unknown actors who have gone on to become major players on both the big and small screens.

Samuel L. Jackson: To kids today, Jackson may be Nick Fury of "Avengers" fame or the guy pitching you Capital One Credit cards, but at the time of his casting as Mister Senor Love Daddy in DTRT, Jackson had less than a dozen film credits to his name. One film, "Sea of Love," listed him simply as Black Guy in the credits, while he had a memorable turn as Hold-Up Man in Eddie Murphy's "Coming To America." He's come a log way in the years since, playing everything from his Oscar-nominated role as Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction" to Mace Windu in "Star Wars" episodes I, II and III. At one point, Jackson was recognized as the highest-grossing actor of all time, but he was recently surpassed by Harrison Ford.

Jackson now has 166 film credits to his name and counting. He'll reprise his role of Nick Fury in "Avengers: Infinity War" in 2018.

John Turturro: A veteran actor of more than 100 film and television productions, Turturro actually made his screen debut as an uncredited extra in Martin Scorsese's 1980 classic "Raging Bull." He had small roles in big films including "The Color of Money," with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, and Woody Allen's 1986 "Hannah and Her Sisters" before catching the eye of director Spike Lee, who cast him as Pino in DTRT. He quickly became a favorite of the director, appearing in no less than seven Spike Lee "joints" over the course of his career.

Turturro most recently captured raves and critical acclaim in the HBO miniseries "The Night Of."

Martin Lawrence: Lee cast Lawrence in DTRT for his first film role, although the character he played, Cee, didn't have much screen time. Lawrence went from that bit part to major Hollywood roles starring opposite Will Smith in "Bad Boys" and "Bad Boys 2" and spawned his own "Big Momma" movie franchise. The comedian also starred in a TV series "Martin" from 1992-1997.

Lawrence recently confirmed he and Smith will be partnering again for a third film in the "Bad Boys" franchise.

Danny Aiello: With the exception of stage and theater actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, many of the actors appearing in DTRT were relatively new to their craft. Danny Aiello was the other notable exception, having already been a movie veteran when he appeared in the film. With credits including "The Godfather: Part II" and "Fort Apache the Bronx," Aiello added a certain amount of gravitas, complexity and humanity to what could have been a two-dimensional role of pizzeria owner Salvatore "Sal" Frangione.

Aiello was rewarded for his effort with the only acting nomination bestowed on the film at the Academy Awards: best actor in a supporting role.

Now 83, Aiello is still acting. He most recently appeared in the 2014 film "Reach Me" with Kyra Sedgwick and Thomas Jane.

Giancarlo Esposito: Long before he terrified TV audiences as drug kingpin Gustavo Fring on the hit "Breaking Bad," two-time Oscar nominee Giancarlo Esposito brought the character Buggin' Out to life. He had his "brand new white Air Jordan's" stepped on by a Larry-Bird-T-shirt-wearing neighbor in DTRT, and the rest was history.

Esposito has gone on to have a prolific career in both television ("Breaking Bad," "Once Upon a Time," "Revolution") and movies ("Derailed," "Sherrybaby" "Waiting to Exhale"). Nominated for a supporting actor Emmy for "Breaking Bad," Esposito is currently one of the stars of the Netflix musical drama "The Get Down."

Rosie Perez: Rosie Perez burst into the public consciousness in the musical intro of DTRT, which was her film debut. Perez has gone on to a long career in films like "White Men Can't Jump," "Fearless" and "It Could Happen to You."

In 2014, fans got to see another side of Perez as she joined the hit daytime talker "The View," opposite Whoopi Goldberg and then co-host Rosie O'Donnell, before departing the program in 2015.

Spike Lee: Lee wrote, directed and starred in DTRT, which was nominated for two Academy Awards, including best original screenplay. It was Lee's third major film production and the first to deal head-on with the issues of race and police brutality. His two preceding films, "She's Gotta Have It" in 1986 and "School Daze" in 1988, only flirted with the idea of sexual politics and racial inequality.

Lee now has 66 directing credits under his belt and was also nominated in 1998 for his documentary "4 Little Girls." Lee received an honorary Oscar in 2015, but still called for an Oscar boycott in 2016 to protest the lack of diversity in Academy Award nominations.

Upon hearing of Nunn's death, Lee took to Instagram and Twitter to mourn the passing of his friend.

"My Dear Friend, My Dear Morehouse Brother- Da Great Actor Bill Nunn As Most Of You Know Him As Radio Raheem Passed Away This Morning In His Hometown Of Pittsburgh. Long Live Bill NUNN. RADIO RAHEEM Is Now RESTING IN POWER. RADIO RAHEEM WILL ALWAYS BE FIGHTING DA POWERS DAT BE. MAY GOD WATCH OVER BILL NUNN."
A Pennsylvania man who was arrested early Monday morning in Westport is accused of trying to sexually assault his friends mother in her home.

Police responded to a local home at 12:30 a.m. Monday and the victim told police she woke up to find her sons friend, 22-year-old Charles Ayala, of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, standing over her while she was in bed and he was trying to unbuckle his pants.

As officers investigated, they determined that Ayala and the victims son has been out partying, both at the victims home and at a home on Inwood Lane earlier in the night, and Ayala got drunk, police said.

Ayalas friend then brought him back to the other house and left him the car for the night, but Ayala returned to the victims home around midnight and went into the house, police said.

The woman said she woke when Ayala turned the lights on and she saw him walking toward her.

She was able to push by him and run downstairs, but Ayala followed her downstairs and touched her inappropriately, police said.

She then ran to the kitchen, grabbed her phone and went outside.

When she banged on a neighbor's door for help, Ayala placed both of his hands on her shoulders and began pulling her toward him, police said, but the neighbor pulled the victim inside and told Ayala to leave.

Ayala went back inside the victims home and the woman was not injured, but Ayala then fought with the victims son and another friend when they arrived to help the woman, according to police.

Ayala was charged with first-degree burglary, creating a public disturbance, fourth-degree sexual assault and second-degree unlawful restraint.

He was held on a $100,000 bond, which was reduced to $25,000. Its not clear if he has an attorney.
One of two boaters from Middletown, Connecticut, who was missing for a week was found alive at sea on a life raft, but the Coast Guard is not continuing the search for his mother, who is still missing.

Nathan Carman, 22, and his mother, 54-year-old Linda Carman, were reported missing Sept. 18 after heading out in the boat Chicken Pox and failing to return from a fishing trip off Point Judith, Rhode Island.

On Sunday afternoon, a China-based freighter called Orient Lucky spotted a life raft 115 nautical miles off Martha's Vineyard, found Nathan Carman inside of it and picked him up, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Nathan, a Middletown native who has been living in Vermont, was wearing a life vest and had an emergency bag of food and water. But there was still no sign of Linda Carman.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Groll said during a news conference on Monday that the chances of Linda Carman surviving are minimal.

"Unfortunately the decision to suspend a case is never an easy one and we will not be reopening the search for Linda Carman at this time due to the fact that survivability -- we're beyond that point," Groll said.

Signs have been placed outside Linda Carman's home that ask people to "Never Give Up."

She said the Coast Guard took into consideration the weather, water temperature, the fact that Linda Carman was unprotected from the elements and had no food and water. The only one life raft aboard the Chicken Pox was the one Nathan had so his mother would not have access to one.

"The likelihood of her being alive is minimal," Groll said.

Nathan Carman spoke briefly with the Coast Guard and told them the motorized boat the mother and son were in started taking on water off the coast of New York on Sunday, in an area called Block Canyon.

Nathan went looking for his mother to get in the life raft, but he couldn't find her, according to the Coast Guard.

Nathan is due to arrive in Boston sometime n Tuesday night.

The Coast Guard search included an area near Block Island and it expanded through 62,000 square miles, from the coast of Rhode Island to New York and as far as New Jersey.

Sharon Hartstein, who has been friends with Linda for more than 20 years, said Linda let her know she would be leaving Rams Point Marina in Point Judith early on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 18, and they were supposed to come back later that day. They went out in a 31-foot aluminum fishing boat named the Chicken Pox, The Associated Press reported.

She showed us the last text messages between her and Linda: So she sent this email Friday, I mean text message, saying that they were going from Rams Point around 1 [a.m. Sunday], back by 9 [a.m. Sunday]. Call me 12 noon if you dont hear from me. Thanks for being there.

Nathan  who suffers from Aspergers Syndrome -- was the center of a 2011 investigation when he went missing and was found in Virginia.

A friend of the family said on Sunday that Nathan is in good condition.
The New Haven Fire Department is upgrading its communications systems thanks to a federal grant awarded to the city.

We really view the portable radio as part of the protective ensemble that a firefighter has, acting New Haven fire chief Matthew Marcarelli said.

The city plans to purchase the department 95 new portable radios, replacing the 15-year-old radios firefighters are utilizing now.

Theyre not waterproof and theyre really not designed to be used by firefighters. They really have the law enforcement officer in mind, Marcarelli said. Weve had some increased difficulties recently, part of that is because of maintenance issues with the older radios

New Haven is receiving nearly $400 thousand from a Department of Homeland Security grant to assist fire departments.

Chief Marcarelli showed NBC Connecticut how the new radios are better designed for firefighters.

When the firefighter has a gloved hand, he can adjust the volume and he can change the channel on the radio, he said. Plus it also has some remote controls on the speaker mic which is typically worn on the firefighters collar.

Theres also an emergency button firefighters can push if they cant speak over the radio.

And it will emit a loud tone so we can attempt to find the firefighter by that noise, Marcarelli said.

These upgraded radios could make a difference when firefighters find themselves in life-threatening situations.

Its their lifeline of their communication between the inside of a burning building or the hazardous environment theyre operating in and the incident commander who is operating the scene, Marcarelli said.

Each of the new radios cost between $4,000 and $5,000 and the city is chipping in 10 percent of what the federal government is contributing to pay for them.

Chief Marcarelli said he hopes the firefighters start using the new radios in the next couple of months.
Hartford police made several arrests and seized several vehicles during a crackdown on illegal operation of ATVs and motorcycles.

Newington police said that on Sunday they worked with the Hartford Police Department Traffic Division on the enforcement.

Hartford police said the departments tracked down problem riders through information from neighborhood residents and surveillance. Police made two arrests and issued four misdemeanor summons. They also seized four unregistered dirt bikes, a stolen dirt bike, one ATV and one scooter.

Police said more arrests and seizures are forthcoming.

Hartford police said illegal ATV, motorcycle and dirt bike riding causes major issues on city streets and cause a nuisance for neighbors. Deputy Chief Brian Foley said this was one of the biggest issues for Hartford residents.

Police have said the riders difficult to catch because most don't pull over for signal lights and police cannot pursue them.
With hours before presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump debate, Quinnipiac University in Hamden has released a poll, calling the race a virtual dead heat.

They said Clinton, a Democrat, takes 44 percent of American likely voters, while Trump, a Republican, has 43 percent, with 8 percent for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and 2 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

This compares to a 41 to 39 percent Clinton lead among likely voters, with Johnson at 13 percent and Stein at 4 percent, in a Sept. 14 survey.

In a head-to-head matchup, Clinton gets 47 percent to Trump's 46 percent.

Likely voters said, 41 percent to 32 percent, that Clinton will win tonight's presidential debate and 84 percent of voters said they plan to watch the highly anticipated showdown.

There is a small gender gap and a wide racial divide in the four-way likely voter matchup as Clinton leads 47 percent to 42 percent among women, while men go to Trump by a narrow 44 percent to 40 percent.

Trump leads 50 percent to 36 percent among white voters, while non-white voters back Clinton 66 percent to 24 percent.

"The race for President is a virtual tie and millions of likely voters consider the first debate must-see TV. And for those inclined to place a wager on the likely winner, Hillary Clinton is the best bet," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "In this Super Bowl of American politics, the ratings will be huge and the contenders start dead even."

The debate tonight will be the first time the candidates confront each other face-to-face.

You can watch it live on NBC Connecticut tonight. Coverage starts at 9 p.m.
The state will begin accepting applications for medical marijuana research proposals starting in October, the Department of Consumer Protection announced.

DCP said in-state research will strengthen the states medical marijuana program and create more opportunities for employment in the field. The research will also help the medical community continue to monitor the safety of marijuana in treating patients.

Hospitals, healthcare facilities, institutions of high education, licensed medical marijuana producers and licensed medical marijuana dispensaries are all eligible to submit proposals.

We are excited to have serious research take place in Connecticut and look forward to approving any proposal that meets our requirements, said Deputy Commissioner Michelle Seagull in a press release.

For specific information on submitting a proposal, visit the DCP website here.
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

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Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

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Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

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There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

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The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

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This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh

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A disgruntled lawyer wearing military-style apparel with old Nazi emblems had two weapons and more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition when he randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

Nine people were injured during Monday morning's shootings on the street in front of a condo complex. Six were shot and three had eye injuries from flying glass. One person was in critical condition.

Police did not identify the man and did not have information about a motive. A bomb-squad robot examined a Porsche that police said belonged to the gunman. Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database showed the car is licensed to Nathan DeSai at an address in the condo complex.

Multiple injuries were reported during an active shooter incident in Houston Monday morning.

The man had two legally purchased guns  a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a semi-automatic rifle commonly known as a Tommy gun and an unsheathed knife.

Nine officers were involved in a shootout with the man, who was firing randomly at people driving by, police said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV in Houston that DeSai was a lawyer who was "disgruntled" and was "either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm." But DeSai's former law partner, Kenneth McDaniel, disputed that assertion, saying they jointly closed their 12-year-old law firm in February due to economic conditions related to Houston's energy industry downturn.

McDaniel also said he hadn't had contact with DeSai lately and that police called him Monday morning to check on his safety, though they didn't explain why.

Active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers; no reports of other suspects at this time #hounews  Houston Police (@houstonpolice) September 26, 2016

"He went his way with his practice and I went with mine," McDaniel said, adding, "All I can say it's a horrible situation. I'm sad for everyone involved."

Calls placed to phone numbers connected to DeSai and his father were not immediately answered. DeSai's father, Prakash DeSai, told KTRK that his son lived in the condo complex and drives a black Porsche. He also said his son, whom he saw Sunday, was upset because "his law practice is not going well" and stays upset "because of his personal problems."

Perrye Turner, special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston Division, said officials don't believe the incident is tied to terrorism.

Jennifer Molleda and her husband live in the same condo complex as Nathan DeSai. Though she heard gunshots about 6:12 a.m. and called 911, her husband left for work. The 45-year-old called not long after and he told her, "I'm hit, I'm hit."

After the shooting stopped, Molleda found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the parking lot of a strip mall. His Mustang had two shots that went through the windshield, and he told her that he saw a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to a hospital to be treated.

"He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried," Molleda said, adding that after she saw everything, she believes DeSai was "aiming to kill."

Jason Delgado, the property manager of The Oaks at West University condo complex, said DeSai was involved in two recent incidents at the complex.

In August, Delgado said, police were called after roofers working in the complex said DeSai pointed an assault-style rifle at them. He said there wasn't enough evidence to move forward with charges because the man contended he didn't point the gun at roofers. Molleda mentioned the same incident.

Last week, DeSai became upset because of water pressure problems at his home, asked for maintenance help and expressed his displeasure in an email to the management firm that implied he'd "intimidate his way to getting what he was asking for," Delgado said.
In a combative opening debate, Hillary Clinton emphatically denounced Donald Trump Monday night for keeping his personal tax returns and business dealings secret from voters and peddling a "racist lie" about President Barack Obama. Businessman Trump repeatedly cast Clinton as a "typical politician" as he sought to capitalize on Americans' frustration with Washington.

Locked in an exceedingly close White House race, the presidential rivals tangled for 90-minutes over their vastly different visions for the nation's future. Clinton called for lowering taxes for the middle class, while Trump focused more on renegotiating trade deals that he said have caused companies to move jobs out of the U.S. The Republican backed the controversial "stop-and-frisk policing" tactic as a way to bring down crime, while the Democrat said the policy was unconstitutional and ineffective.

The debate was confrontational from the start, with Trump frequently trying to interrupt Clinton and speaking over her answers. Clinton was more measured and restrained, but also needled the sometimes-thin-skinned Trump over his business record and wealth.

Classic comfort Greek street food is the staple of Zo Boston, which cranks out gyros and soups with precision and speed.

"There's something he's hiding," she declared, scoffing at his repeated contentions that he won't release his tax returns because he is being audited. Tax experts have said an audit is no bar to making his records public. She said one reason he has refused is that he may well have paid nothing in federal taxes. He interrupted to say, "That makes me smart."

Trump aggressively tried to turn the transparency questions around on Clinton, saying he would release his tax information when she produces more than 30,000 emails that were deleted from the personal internet server she used as secretary of state.

Trump's criticism of Clinton turned personal in the debate's closing moments. He said, "She doesn't have the look, she doesn't have the stamina" to be president. He's made similar comments in previous events, sparking outrage from Clinton backers who accused him of leveling a sexist attack on the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

Clinton leapt at the opportunity to remind voters of Trump's numerous controversial comments about women, who will be crucial to the outcome of the November election.

Latinos recuerdan la represion policial de la que fueron vIctimas en Los Angeles.

"This is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs," she said.

The televised face-off was the most anticipated moment in an election campaign that has been both historic and unpredictable. Both sides expected a record-setting audience for the showdown at Hofstra University in suburban New York, reflecting the intense national interest in the race to become America's 45th president.

The centerpiece of Trump's case against Clinton was that the former senator and secretary of state is little more than a career politician who has squandered opportunities to address the domestic and international she's now pledging to tackle as president.

"She's got experience," he said, "but it's bad experience."

With a dining room as eclectic and one-of-a-kind as the menu, Ruxbin is a new neighborhood gem in Noble Square. Co-owner and chef Edward Kim infuses the cuisine with a worldly range of culinary influences, serving everything from empanadas with a Korean twist to crispy

Both candidates portrayed themselves as best-prepared to lead a nation where many are still struggling to benefit from a slow economic recovery and are increasingly fearful of terror threats at home and abroad. When Trump jabbed Clinton for taking time off the campaign trail to study for the debate, she said, "I prepared to be president, and that's a good thing."

The candidates sparred over trade, taxes and how to bring good-paying jobs back to the United States.

Clinton said her Republican rival was promoting a "Trumped-up" version of trickle-down economics  a philosophy focused on tax cuts for the wealthy. She called for increasing the federal minimum wage, spending more on infrastructure projects and guaranteeing equal pay for women.

Trump panned policies that he said have led to American jobs being moved overseas, in part because of international trade agreements that Clinton has supported. He pushed her aggressively on her past support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact while she was serving in the Obama administration. She's since said she opposes the sweeping deal in its final form.

"You called it the gold standard of trade deals," Trump said. "If you did win, you would approve that."

Disputing his version of events, Clinton said, "I know you live in your reality."

[NATL] Clinton vs. Trump: The First Presidential Debate of 2016

Trump struggled to answer repeated questions about why he only recently acknowledged that Obama was born in the United States. For years, Trump has been the chief promoter of questions falsely suggesting the president was born outside of America.

"He has really started his political activity on this racist lie," Clinton charged.

Trump also repeatedly insisted that he opposed the Iraq War before the 2003 U.S. invasion, despite evidence to the contrary. Trump was asked in September 2002 whether he supported a potential Iraq invasion in an interview with Howard Stern. He responded: "Yeah, I guess so."

Presented with the comment during the debate, Trump responded: "I said very lightly, I don't know, maybe, who knows."

The Republican also appeared to contradict himself on how he might use nuclear weapons if he's elected president. He first said he "would not do first strike" but then said he couldn't "take anything off the table."

Clinton said Trump was too easily provoked to serve as commander in chief and could be quickly drawn into a war involving nuclear weapons.

"A man who can be provoked by a tweet should not have his fingers anywhere near the nuclear codes," she said.

Trump replied: "That line's getting a little bit old."

Some frequently hot-button issues were barely mentioned during the intense debate. Illegal immigration and Trump's promises of a border wall were not part of the conversation. And while Clinton took some questions on her private email server, she was not grilled about her family's foundation, Bill Clinton's past infidelities or her struggle with trustworthiness.

FactCheck.org and PolitiFact fact-checked the debate live. See the tweets below:
What to Know President Obama joined civil rights leaders to open the newest Smithsonian Saturday, ringing a historic bell as the museum opened.

Timed entry passes for the opening weekend are no longer available, but visitors can enjoy a free music festival without tickets.

Be prepared for road closures, large crowds and heightened security in the area surrounding the National Mall.

"Phenomenal." "Hopeful." "Exhilarating." Visitors were enthralled by their trips through the new National Museum of African American History and Culture on its opening day, describing the experience as inspiring, cathartic and phenomenal -- a word that came up again and again.

Crowds lined up early for the new African American History Museums 2nd day. Visitors shared what they were most looking forward to seeing.

New groups of eager visitors are lining up outside the newest Smithsonian on Sunday, sharing their thoughts on what they're most looking forward to seeing now that Washington, D.C.'s highly anticipated black history museum has opened its doors after more than 100 years in the making.

'Phenomenal': Visitors Share How They Feel After Seeing African American Museum

"I think just being able to look at all the African American history in one set location, looking at Prince's jacket, Chuck Berry's Cadillac; I'm just excited about the whole thing," said Jennifer Kirby, who traveled with her family from Atlanta.

"I'm just going to say Emmett Till's original casket, because I lived through that era," said visitor Vivian Favors.

[NATL-DC]Thousands Attend Opening of National Museum of African American History and Culture

With thousands of items occupying 85,000 square feet of exhibition space, the new Smithsonian is chronicling the complex relationship between the United States and a people it once enslaved, and telling the story of those who worked to make the necessary changes to bring the country to where it is today.

Alexis Lennon, of Takoma Park, said she thought the museum did an "amazing job of telling our story."

"It was life-changing for me to finally have a place that embodies African American culture," she said Sunday.

Lifelong D.C resident Denise Evans said she jumped at the opportunity to visit the museum when a friend who couldn't make it offered her a ticket Sunday morning.

Evans, 49, said the museum was "sort of heartbreaking," but also interesting and uplifting.

"Unfortunately so many things are repeating itself and so it was a little bit heartbreaking to see that as far as we've come we are beginning to repeat those same patterns of discrimination," Evans said. "But I think because we can see the path from it then we can sort of being ourselves out of it again."

Her favorite exhibit highlighted African American fashion.

"Just really being able to see that we have our own style, that we can own who we are and that we really do have an impact on much of what the whole does... so much of that has been quieted, and so seeing it on display it's like, 'OK, right, we are pretty cool and we are creative and we are gifted,'" she said.

"I'm still tearing up about it, because my grandmother did not get a chance to see this, but I'm very blessed." - Tonya Grice on #NMAAHC pic.twitter.com/MPNcveijgj  Lexie Schapitl (@lexieschapitl) September 25, 2016

The museum is offering extended hours for its grand opening weekend.

Sunday, the museum will stay open from 7 a.m. to midnight, but passes were snapped up almost as soon as they became available. Although admission is free, the museum is using a timed pass system to control crowds and alleviate wait times.

Despite the lengthy lines both outside and inside the museum, visitors said the timed entry pass system is efficient, keeping wait times down.

However, anyone heading toward the museum this weekend should be prepared for large crowds and heightened security.

Freedom Sounds Festival Open to Public

The museum's outdoor music festival is open to the public on the Washington Monument grounds, with no tickets required. The festival, Freedom Sounds, is celebrating the talent and creativity of African-American artists, with jazz, R&B, gospel and hip-hop artists throughout the weekend.

The Roots, Living Colour and Public Enemy headlined Saturday night. Performances continue throughout the day Sunday, with another main-stage concert scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. A surprise special guest is slated to perform.

People gathering and dancing at the Freedom Sounds Drum Circle #APeoplesJourney #NMAAHC pic.twitter.com/3VTF5gRqNa  Stacy Schoonover (@StacySchoonover) September 25, 2016

Lylie Fisher and Meghan Collier are "enjoying sitting under a tree, with great food, great friends and fabulous music." #NMAAHC pic.twitter.com/FVy8nLOA3p  Stacy Schoonover (@StacySchoonover) September 25, 2016

Dr. Greg Carr, associate professor and chair of the department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University, discusses the the significance of the museum and what can people expect when they walk in.

After 'Incredible' Experience, Museum Goers Plan to Return

Lennon and Andres Rossy toured the museum for more than three hours Sunday, but said they would need much more time to see everything inside.

"You definitely can't do it all in one day," said Rossy, of Takoma Park. "So we'll be back, but I had a great time."

Margaret Baxter and her husband drove up from their home in Durham, North Carolina to visit the museum with Margaret's 71-year-old grandmother.

As a fan of history, Baxter said she enjoyed the exhibits on slavery and segregation in America.

"It would probably take you two to three days to see every single thing, but it's so well put together," she said. "It's incredible."

10 Things You Must See at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Her grandmother, D.C. resident Marthena Baxter, said she enjoyed seeing the exhibits highlighting "entertainers from back when," like Chuck Berry, Barry White and James Brown.

Marthena Baxter said she plans on returning to the museum after crowds die down to "really take everything in."

"The whole place was amazing, absolutely amazing," she said. "I will be back."

Go inside the National Museum of African American History and Cultures Sweet Home Cafe with Executive Chef Jerome Grant.

Saturday's Dedication Ceremony: "By Understanding this Story, It Binds Us Together"

Centuries of struggles and strife, decades of planning and pain, and years of hoping for a place that African-American history can call home culminated Saturday morning as President Barack Obama officially dedicated the museum.

Obama opened the museum Saturday with the ringing of the historic Freedom Bell from the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, which was organized in 1776 by slaves.

Obama said the new national museum will help to tell a richer and fuller story of the country.

"It helps us better understand the lives, yes, of a president, but also the slave. The industrialist, but also the worker. The teacher or the cook, alongside the story of the statesman," he said. "By understanding this story, it binds us together and reaffirms we are all Americans."

He continued his message of the inclusion of African Americans in American history, calling it "an act of patriotism to understand where we've been."

"We're not a burden on America or a stain on America or an object of shame and pity for America. We are America. And that's what this museum explains," Obama said. "Hopefully, this museum makes us talk to each other and listen to each other and see each other."

The dedication featured speeches by Obama, civil rights leader U.S. Rep. John Lewis, former President George W. Bush and the museum's founding director, Lonnie Bunch. It also featured rousing musical tributes with a local flair, including Howard University's "Showtime" marching band and an a capella presentation by a choir from D.C.'s Duke Ellington School for the Arts.

The museum, the 19th and newest of the Smithsonians, opened to the public following the dedication ceremony.

"It's a historic event," said Leslie Howard, who traveled from New Orleans to attend the dedication. "And the fact that we have our first black president to dedicate it shows you how God works."

"We want to make sure we reinforce the commitment to preserve African-American history," said Glen Yonkers, Jr., a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, which was founded at Howard University in Washington. Members marched to the mall for the dedication Saturday.

"Our fraternity was built for African-American men to have a place to share our history and stories," said fraternity brother Jude Collins. "This was the only place to be today."

Seeing the dedication was a family event for many; Alicia Frayer came from Charleston with her husband and three daughters to attend. "I'm inspired by history," she said. "It's a major part of our history, and the fact that our history and culture are here for everyone to see is so important."

Many celebrities came to the museum's dedication as well, including Oprah Winfrey, who has donated more then $20 million to the museum.

The museum tweeted a video of Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae arriving. Robert De Niro, Angela Bassett, Will Smith and Patti LaBelle were among those presenting during the dedication.

Lexie Schapitl contributed to this report.

For more information about the museum, check NBC Washington's full coverage here.
The Dallas Cowboys and Legends Hospitality opened the doors to a restaurant inside AT&T Stadium.

A grand opening event for the 19,000 square foot restaurant was held at 11 a.m. Monday.

"Stadium Club at Texas Stadium was always a fan favorite, and we're excited to welcome guests to a revamped version that will offer a game day atmosphere any day of the week for all occasions," Cowboys executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones said.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and Dallas Cowboys alumni attended the grand opening. Visitors are welcome to stay to watch the Monday night game.

The restaurant will be open to the public seven days a week for lunch and dinner. During Cowboys home games, the restaurant will only be open to Stadium Club members.

For more information on Stadium Club, visit attstadium.com/stadiumclub or call 817-892-4000.
A disgruntled lawyer wearing military-style apparel with old Nazi emblems had two weapons and more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition when he randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

Nine people were injured during Monday morning's shootings on the street in front of a condo complex. Six were shot and three had eye injuries from flying glass. One person was in critical condition.

Police did not identify the man and did not have information about a motive. A bomb-squad robot examined a Porsche that police said belonged to the gunman. Texas motor vehicle records in a commercially available database showed the car is licensed to Nathan DeSai at an address in the condo complex.

Multiple injuries were reported during an active shooter incident in Houston Monday morning.

Please join me in keeping the victims of the shooting in Houston this morning in your thoughts and prayers https://t.co/lxRQXOjSgq  Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) September 26, 2016

The man had two legally purchased guns  a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a semi-automatic rifle commonly known as a Tommy gun and an unsheathed knife.

Nine officers were involved in a shootout with the man, who was firing randomly at people driving by, police said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV in Houston that DeSai was a lawyer who was "disgruntled" and was "either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm." But DeSai's former law partner, Kenneth McDaniel, disputed that assertion, saying they jointly closed their 12-year-old law firm in February due to economic conditions related to Houston's energy industry downturn.

McDaniel also said he hadn't had contact with DeSai lately and that police called him Monday morning to check on his safety, though they didn't explain why.

Active shooter at Weslayan & Bissonnet has been shot by our officers; no reports of other suspects at this time #hounews  Houston Police (@houstonpolice) September 26, 2016

"He went his way with his practice and I went with mine," McDaniel said, adding, "All I can say it's a horrible situation. I'm sad for everyone involved."

Calls placed to phone numbers connected to DeSai and his father were not immediately answered. DeSai's father, Prakash DeSai, told KTRK that his son lived in the condo complex and drives a black Porsche. He also said his son, whom he saw Sunday, was upset because "his law practice is not going well" and stays upset "because of his personal problems."

Perrye Turner, special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston Division, said officials don't believe the incident is tied to terrorism.

Jennifer Molleda and her husband live in the same condo complex as Nathan DeSai. Though she heard gunshots about 6:12 a.m. and called 911, her husband left for work. The 45-year-old called not long after and he told her, "I'm hit, I'm hit."

After the shooting stopped, Molleda found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the parking lot of a strip mall. His Mustang had two shots that went through the windshield, and he told her that he saw a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to a hospital to be treated.

"He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried," Molleda said, adding that after she saw everything, she believes DeSai was "aiming to kill."

Jason Delgado, the property manager of The Oaks at West University condo complex, said DeSai was involved in two recent incidents at the complex.

In August, Delgado said, police were called after roofers working in the complex said DeSai pointed an assault-style rifle at them. He said there wasn't enough evidence to move forward with charges because the man contended he didn't point the gun at roofers. Molleda mentioned the same incident.

Last week, DeSai became upset because of water pressure problems at his home, asked for maintenance help and expressed his displeasure in an email to the management firm that implied he'd "intimidate his way to getting what he was asking for," Delgado said.
An American Eagle flight from Dayton, Ohio to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was forced to land Sunday after a mechanical issue, the Fort Worth-based airline said.

American Eagle flight 5946 landed in Louisville, Kentucky Sunday night with 51 passengers and four crew on board.

Debbie Wilson, a passenger on the plane, shared a photo on Facebook and wrote that the aircraft lost pressure at 34,000 feet. American Airlines officials did not elaborate on the mechanical issue, but said no one was hurt.

The airline was expected to bring in a replacement aircraft for a Monday morning departure.

No further information was released.
Our tour of opinions started in Grand Prairie, where Momma C (also known as Cynthia Lock) forced NBC 5s Kristin Dickerson to eat a bite of her chocolate pie before agreeing to an interview.

I love that you force-fed me a bite of your pie, Dickerson told Lock.

You like that? said Lock with a laugh.

The Brass Bean coffee shop does have fantastic pie.

Lock and her friend, Gregory Johnson, explained that they used to date, but now theyre roommates.

Its a joyful friendship, but when it comes to the presidential election, the tone of their conversations change.

Im worried about America, Im worried about our country, said Lock. Because this is a really important decision, and its important that everybody vote.

In the Bishop Arts District, NBC 5 set up a table and chairs to provide an open-platform to just talk.

Well, come on over, Evan. Have a seat! said Dickerson to 23-year-old Evan Hunter.

I think this is probably one of the most important elections, said Hunter. I mean everyone is important, but this one especially.

"I guess the thing that came to my mind is just kindness, when asked what she thinks our country needs more of.

For Calvin Roberts, he said we need to do less talking and more listening.

Listening to another person that creates conversation and creates empathy and understanding, said Roberts.

While NBC 5 listened, we also heard frustration from Jessica Phillips.

She said she isnt a fan of either presidential candidate.

So its very frustrating to think that potentially the next four or eight years of my life are going to be run by either one of these two people, Phillips said.

In Fort Worth at Paris coffee shop, we learned from Larry behind the bar that most conversations dont involve politics.

We just talk about sports, Larry said. No politics? Dickerson questioned. Nah, we dont talk about anything like that.

A different Larry, sitting at a table next to the diners bar, answered Dickersons questions about whats appropriate conversation.

Is it dangerous to talk politics with people who you arent close with? Dickerson asked Larry Griffin.

Yes, he answered with a smile.

Its a topic that evokes passion, and when its safer not to talk about it, we were grateful that these people did.

It means a great deal now days that so much is on the line, said Griffin.
Two adults and a teen girl were arrested in connection with a triple homicide in Fullerton, police announced Sunday.

A child called police and "indicated" her parents had died, prompting officers to go to the home where they found three dead adults Saturday inside a Fullerton home, Fullerton police said in a statement.

A 17-year-old named Katlynn Goodwill Yost went missing after the three were found dead and was later found the day after the murders.

Fullerton police said they received the call around 8:21 a.m. Saturday. They responded to a home in the 400 block of South Gilbert Street where they found two men and a woman dead. The victims' identities have not yet officially been released.

Two children  a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old  were also found in the home, but both were safe, authorities said.

Fullerton police noted the incident was being investigated as a triple homicide.

As of 8:45 a.m. Sunday, two adult males were arrested in connection with the three murders. A 17-year-old girl was also detained in connection with the murders, but police would not release the girl's name.

"State laws prevents law enforcement from releasing the names of juveniles arrested for crimes. That being said, a 17-year-old female juvenile has also been detained in connection with the murders and is in the custody of the Orange County Juvenile Hall," Sgt. Jon Radus of the Fullerton Police Department said.

Anyone with information about the deaths was urged to call Det. Coffman 714-738-5361, or Sgt. Rowe 714-738-6776, both of the Fullerton Police Department Crimes Persons Unit.
Guessing games and county fairs go together like powdered sugar and hot funnel cake, but there is one guess-fun competition that's fairly rare on a county fair's slate: the after-the-fact numbers.

For example, if you had to estimate how many people attended the 2016 LA County Fair, knowing that it ran from Sept. 2 through 25, and knowing that it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (save Labor Day), would you land on the right number?

If you said in the neighborhood of 1,300,000 visitors, you'd be correct. And you'd also be correct to think that the Pomona extravaganza, which'll celebrate its first 100 years in 2022, just released several big numbers from its annual hoedown, as it traditionally does on the day after the fair's final adieu.

While the number of visitors to the LA County Fair is of the huge-huge-huge variety, there are other mind-bogglers in the mix, from the 40,000 balls of deep-fried bacon guacamole sold at Chicken Charlie's to 100,000 turkey legs that moved at The Midway Gourmet.

Other foodstuffs that ventured into jaw-dropping territory, in terms of numbers sold, include Krispy Kreme triple-decker burgers (7,000 sold at Chicken Charlie's) to four pallets of Oreos that crossed the counter at The Midway Gourmet.

It isn't all about those famous deep-fried treats, though. Look to the 142,146 cans of non-perishable foods donated by guests, as well as the 57,637 school supply items that made the donation bins.

One reason given for the fair's banner year? The exceptional weather seen throughout most of the month, with very few "it's too darn hot" days in the run.

As for the multiple blood drives during the event, a giveback staple? Gratitude goes out to the guests who lined up and gave over 4,000 pints of blood.

And if you're wondering if you did it all at the fair, well, here's an easy way to figure that out: There were over 500 animals to coo over at The Farm, with another 200+ critters found throughout the property (including the ever-beloved Stanley the Giraffe).

Over 600 shopping booths also could be found at the Pomona spread.

Perhaps you did do it all, from the turkey leg noshing to the pig petting to the stuffed animal purchasing, but perhaps there are gaps you'll need to close next year, in terms of your full-scope fair experience.

Best start planning now, as the LA County Fair opens in just over 11 months on, Sept. 1, 2017.
Bill Nunn, the actor most famous for his role as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," died Saturday in Pittsburgh, Lee announced on Instagram. He was 62.

"My Dear Friend, My Dear Morehouse Brother- Da Great Actor Bill Nunn As Most Of You Know Him As Radio Raheem Passed Away This Morning In His Hometown Of Pittsburgh. Long Live Bill NUNN," Lee wrote on Instagram.

Nunn appeared in a number films throughout his career, which spanned from the late 1980s into the 21st Century. He acted opposite Tobey Maguire in the "Spiderman" franchise, in "New Jack City" with Wesley Snipes, and in "Sister Act" starring Whoopi Goldberg.

But his most notable role was Radio Raheem, the Bedford-Stuyvesant resident who spoke in poetic prose about his brass knuckles emblazoned with the words "love" and "hate."

In the film, racial tensions in the Brooklyn neighborhood simmer during a steamy summer day. They boil over at night when Nunn's character is choked to death by a New York City police officer.

"RADIO RAHEEM Is Now RESTING IN POWER," Lee wrote on Instagram. "RADIO RAHEEM WILL ALWAYS BE FIGHTING DA POWERS DAT BE. MAY GOD WATCH OVER BILL NUNN."
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

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Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh

USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens
"Making a Murderer" subject Steven Avery is engaged, his lawyer confirmed to NBC Chicago.

Avery is set to marry Lynn Hartman, a legal secretary from Nevada, according to his lawyer Kathleen Zellner.

The 54-year-old who has spent more than a decade in prison for the murder of Teresa Halbach, told the Daily Mail his relationship with Hartman began with letters and phone calls, but the pair met in person last week when Hartman visited him at the Waupun Correctional Institute in Wisconsin.

Avery told the website hes "happy" and said "she treats me decent, she loves me, shes kind of spoiling me right now."

According to her social media profiles, Hartman is a self-described bankruptcy specialist, legal assistant and "supporter of the wrongfully convicted Steven Avery."

Avery was launched into the spotlight when a Netflix docu-series chronicled his release from prison after spending 18 years behind bars for a rape he didnt commit and his eventual arrest on murder charges soon after his release.

Avery was convicted in 2007 of killing Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer for "Auto Trader" magazine who vanished while taking photographs of a van at the Avery family's salvage yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

Both Avery and and his then 16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey were sentenced to life in prison in the case, but Dasseys conviction was recently overturned by a federal magistrate judge. Wisconsin's attorney general has appealed that decision, however, keeping the now 26-year-old Dassey behind bars.

Averys attorney is seeking permission to perform extensive scientific tests on evidence she believes will show hes innocent.

Its not Averys first engagement and, if the two wed, it wont be his first marriage. Avery had previously wed Lori Mathiesen and was also formerly engaged to Sandy Greenman, a woman featured at the end of the Netflix series, and Jodi Stachowski, who also appeared in episodes.

Stachowski has claimed Avery is not the man he was portrayed to be in the documentary series and called him a monster behind closed doors.

"He threatened to kill me, and my family and a friend of mine," Stachowski said in an interview with HLNs "Nancy Grace" show just as the Netflix documentary about Averys conviction was sweeping the nation.

In her first interview following the series' release, Stachowski said she endured an allegedly violent, volatile and abusive two-year relationship with Avery.

While neither Avery nor his lawyer have not commented on the abuse allegations, Stachowski said she asked Avery multiple times if he killed Halbach, and each time he adamantly denied it. She also said she had not seen Avery physically hurt others during their relationship.
Viola Davis said Sunday that her own experiences with sexual assault led her to become an advocate for the Rape Foundation and encouraged others to visit treatment centers so they'll become supporters.

"You must," she said. "And then let your heart do the rest."

"Myself, my mother, my sisters, my friend Rebecca, my friend from childhood, we all have one thing in common: We are all survivors of sexual assault in some way, shape or form," Davis said Sunday at a benefit for the foundation.

It provides free medical treatment, counseling and legal aid to sexual assault victims at its Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House, which specializes in caring for sexually abused children.

An advocate for the group since playing its founder in a 2010 film, Davis was among the guests of honor at the organization's annual fundraising brunch held at billionaire Ron Burkle's Greenacres estate in Beverly Hills, California.

Davis said half of the survivors helped by the Rape Foundation are children, adding that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before age 18.

Her own sister is among the casualties: She was sexually assaulted at age 8 and still struggles today.

"I continue to pray for my sister," said Davis, who has previously spoken publicly about her sister's attack.

The brunch was held in a tented space in Burkle's backyard, where "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman, "Vampire Diaries" actress Nina Dobrev and the supporting cast on Davis' "How to Get Away With Murder" were among the guests in 95-degree heat.

David Schwimmer was the master of ceremonies. The actor-director started working with the Rape Foundation during his "Friends" days and has served on its board of directors for the last 12 years. He said the brunch supports a year's worth of services at the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House.

The Rape Foundation also provides educational programs for first responders and middle- and high-school students.
Fellow Miami firefighters will say goodbye to one of their own who was tragically killed this past weekend.

Chadrick Davis, a 23-year-old who spent the last two years as a member of the Miami Fire Department, was shot after attending a wake near NW 44th Court in Northwest Miami-Dade Saturday.

Davis is the son of a retired Fire Lieutenant, Malcolm Davis, and the godson of current MFD Chief Maurice Kemp.

Davis was one of two people killed in the shooting, along with 22-year-old Sir-Earnest Terrell Williams.

The body of Davis was transported to a Northwest Miami-Dade funeral home Tuesday, passing by three seperate stations and allowing fellow firefighters a chance to say goodbye.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with funeral cost and other expenses. You can donate by clicking on this link.
Snapchat claims it reaches 41 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 years old on any given day.

Donald Trump's presidential campaign is trying to win that group over with a new Snapchat geofilter debuted on Monday, the day of his first debate with Hillary Clinton.

The star- and firework-spangled "Debate Day" filter uses Trump's trusted epithet for Clinton, "crooked Hillary" on top, where it reads: "Donald J. Trump vs. Crooked Hillary." The national, sponsored filter was paid for by Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., according to fine print on the filter itself and confirmed by Snapachat.

Geofilters are a feature on Snapchat that lets users overlay images onto their photos or videos. They're often of city or town names, but users can design and purchase their own filters to be used in certain places for periods of time. The filters must be approved by Snapchat.

Clinton and her allies were outspending Trump's campaign in TV ads by a 5-to-1 margin as of last week, NBC News reported. Clinton has purchased ads on Snapchat before, including during the Republican National Convention, but didn't have a Snapchat filter of her own on Monday.

The Trump campaign  which has grown in part on the strength of the candidate's Twitter presence  is no stranger to using social media to score points in the debate. Earlier this month, Donald Trump Jr. drew outrage along with retweets when he posted an image showing the internet meme Pepe the Frog, which as been used by some white nationalists, next to his father.

Watch the debate here at 9 p.m. ET.
You can argue whether presidential debates have the power to swing an election, but they are a dependable source of images and sound bites that help color voters' perception of the candidates - for good and for bad. It began with the first televised debate between a tanned and vibrant John F. Kennedy and a peaked, flu-wracked Richard M. Nixon in 1960 and continued through 2012, when Mitt Romney's story about "binders full of women." Countless quips, gaffes and zingers have occurred in the intervening years. Here are some of the most memorable, in chronological order.

[NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail

Welcome to television, Mr. Nixon

Pollsters found that people who listened to this debate on the radio thought that Nixon, the vice president, beat Kennedy. But those who followed on television, where Kennedy's youth and poise contrasted with Nixon's age and dourness, sided with Kennedy, who won the election. No single moment of this debate stands out; the entire episode illustrates how Nixon underestimated the power of television. Nixon would later run for president and win, but he refused to debate ever again.

Ford's foreign policy blunder

President Gerald Ford, who ascended to office after Nixon's resignation, was challenged by former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in 1976. In this clip from the second of three debates, Ford tells an incredulous Max Frankel that "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration." Carter would later say that the debates helped him win the election.

Reagan's zingers

Carter and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan debated only once in 1980, a week before election day, and Reagan showed himself adept at two key debate techniques: affably diffusing an attack and distilling a candidacy down to a single phrase. When Carter criticized Reagan's position on Medicaid, Reagan quipped, "There you go again." And during his closing arguments, Reagan asked voters to ask themselves: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Both lines became classics, and Reagan won by a landslide.

Carter's Amy speech

Reagan's inspiring performance stood in stark contrast to Carter's flatness. That was exposed in his closing arguments, when he finished an argument about nuclear weapons by invoking his daughter, Amy. Some analysts point to this remark as the debate's worst.

Reagan strikes back

Reagan was challenged in 1984 by Walter Mondale, who'd served as vice president under Carter. Reagan maintained a large lead for most of the campaign. But Mondale appeared to gain ground in their first debate, when Reagan, who was, at 73, the oldest sitting president, appeared tired and a little disoriented. In the second debate, Reagan again showed his knack for amiably diffusing criticism by addressing the age issue head-on.

The rape question

The 1988 race between Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis and Vice President George H.W. Bush featured two debates, the first of which was largely uneventful. But the second began with journalist Bernard Shaw asking Dukakis if he would support the death penalty for someone who raped and killed his wife. Dukakis, a staunch opponent of capital punishment, answered resolutely that he would not, but the dryness of his response cemented the prevailing image of him as reserved and stiff. Soon after the debate, Bush began to climb in the polls.

Perot's "giant sucking sound"

The series of debates in 1992 featured three candidates: President Bush, former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and independent candidate Ross Perot, whose campaign was fueled by anti-Washington anger. Bush and Clinton spent much of the first debate attacking each other, and voters reacted in polls by declaring Perot the winner. In the second, Perot's straight-talking, humorous delivery reached a crescendo in his opening remarks, when he went on a tirade against the North American Free Trade Agreement, predicting that it would result in a massive loss of jobs to Mexico. The line became an instant hit.

Bush checks his watch

Later in the second debate of 1992, a member of the audience stood to ask the candidates a question about how the national debt had affected them personally. From the back of the stage, Bush glanced at his watch and then botched the question, struggling to explain himself before admitting, "I'm not sure I get it." A few minutes later, Clinton gave an impassioned response, and the debate was as good as won.

Gore tries to intimidate Bush

The last of three debates between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 2000 was held in a town-hall meeting style, leaving the candidates free to roam the stage while answering questions. The exchanges between Bush and Gore had become increasingly testy, with Gore at times expressing impatience with Bush's answers. That tension came to a head during Bush's attempt to explain how he thought the two men differed. Gore stood up and approached Bush in what seemed to be an effort to intimidate him. But Bush's handling of it gave him the upper hand.

McCain: that one

The 2008 race featured three debates between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. In the second, a town-hall style meeting, the candidates largely refrained from attacking each other's character but parried on policy in what was generally considered a boring exchange. Perhaps that is why the Democrats and the media fixated on a slight blunder by McCain as he tried to explain the two men's differences on energy policy. Emphasizing a point, he referred to Obama as "that one," which Obama's campaign tried to exploit as evidence that McCain was out of sorts and irascible. T-shirts and Facebook pages mocking the phrase sprouted up. Pundits argued whether it was that bad of a mistake, but it became the most discussed aspect of the debate, and that wasn't good for McCain.

Romney's "binders full of women"

In in answering a question about pay equity for women, Mitt Romney said during the 2012 presidential debate that as governor of Massachusetts he made an effort to include women in his administration. He said his team reached out to several women groups to find applicants and got "binders full of women." The commentary about Romney's phrase took off online even before his second debate with President Barack Obama wrapped up.
What to Know More than 100 million people are expected to watch the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at 9 p.m. Monday

The debate, which is at Hofstra University on Long Island, is expected to draw some 10,000 protesters

There will be unprecedented security for the event, including thousands of police officers and many road closures and detours

Police on Long Island say about 2,000 protesters have gathered outside the scene of the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Nassau County police say 24 people have been arrested on mostly disorderly conduct charges. Police gave no other details on the arrests.

Interest in the presidential race has been intense, and the campaigns are expecting a record-breaking audience to watch the 90-minute televised debate.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off in their first debate Monday night at Hofstra University. Some 100 million people watched as the two candidates sparred. Melissa Russo has the debate night takeaways.

A Super Bowl-sized audience will be watching at home: more than 100 million people may haved watched the 9 p.m. debate at Hofstra University, organizers said. If so, itd be the largest debate viewership since the Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter debate drew 80 million viewers back in 1980.

With just 43 days left until Election Day, Clinton and Trump are hoping to come out strong and win voters early on. Many Hofstra students said theyre still undecided and that the debate will be a key factor in their decision.

Students at Hofstra University are pumped about the debate, especially those studying politics. Natalie Pasquarella headed to class to learn how some students are prepping for debate day.

[NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail

At one of the four university debate watch parties on campus Monday night, about 100 students gathered and waited excitedly as they waited for the candidates, chanting "USA" and Hofstra." At another watch party hosted by Sirius XM, one freshman, said she was "terrified about this debate."

Meanwhile, other groups of students were out voicing their opinions Monday morning as police set up barricades. Some went to the student center as early as 3:30 a.m. to express support for Trump or Clinton. Other students outside the center had their hands raised. They said the issue of black men being shot by police isnt getting the attention it deserves and that they hope to raise awareness.

I think about how black lives are not on the agenda for the debate. Were talking about immigration, were talking about problems overseas, but theres a problem right here in America with our people and I just want this to be talked about, one student said.

"I don't want to hear about what is going on [from Trump or Clinton]," said protester Misitura Yussuf. "I want to know what they are going to do to bring about peace and equality."

Yussuf and Jacinda Wadhwani were holding a sign saying, "Protesting is patriotic." Wadhwani said her concerns as part of the Black Lives Matter movement would "probably not" be addressed during the debate.

Some of the other diverse groups protesting included Hardhats for Hillary, socialists and activists calling for a living wage and financial revolution. The protesters were confined to an area several blocks long.

Protesters also flocked to Hofstra's designated free speech zone, an area police set up across a six-lane roadway from the actual debate site. Police say the goal is to keep opposing groups from tangling with each other. Anyone who enters the free speech zone must go through a metal detector.

The first to arrive at the Hofstra debate's free speech zone- a giant Donald Trump head. Let the show begin! pic.twitter.com/fwbN7mKdpJ  GREG CERGOL4NY (@GREGCERGOL4NY) September 26, 2016

https://twitter.com/GREGCERGOL4NY/status/780475440800620544

"We'll segregate the groups in order not to pour gasoline on a fire," said Thomas Krumpter, the acting Nassau County police commissioner. He said police will not tolerate "any violations of law, but we will do everything we can to protect people's rights for free speech."

Despite the arrests, it was nowhere near what police were estimating: Nassau County Police said they were expecting more than 10,000 protesters and that they added extra officers to the event. It is one of the biggest security details the agency has had to deal with in recent years, with thousands of police officers set to patrol.

Susan Gottehrer, director of the Nassau County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said her organization would have about 10 people monitoring the activities of police and demonstrators.

Many officers were at their posts Monday morning and rows of barricades were set up along Hempstead Turnpike and nearby roads. Traffic was rerouted and many road closures were in effect by 5 a.m. Some of those closures will last until midnight.



"We're not looking to inconvenience anyone," Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said at a news briefing Monday. "We ask for patience from residents, motorists. Some media is reporting that 74 percent of the country is going to tune in."

Police briefly cordoned off a part of campus just before 6 p.m. to investigate a report of a suspicious package at the library. They cleared it shortly afterward.

A suspicious package by the Axinn Library is being investigated. Officials have blocked all access to the main unispan pic.twitter.com/IqpBu9YObk  The Hofstra Chronicle (@HUChronicle) September 26, 2016

Students are building a social media presence ahead of Mondays Presidential Debate. Andrew Siff reports.

The stakes could not be higher for the candidates, with a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll showing the race in a virtual dead heat ahead of the debate. In the poll, Clinton has 46 percent of the vote and Trump has 44 percent. A Bloomberg poll has the two candidates locked at 46 percent each in a head-to-head.



Among likely voters in New York, Clinton holds a 24-point lead over Trump in a two-person race, according to a NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll released Monday. Clinton gets the support of more than 90 percent of Democrats as well as 10 percent of Republicans in the poll. She also holds a five-point lead among independent voters.

Students say the entire campus is excited and some say the debate will help them decide who to vote for in November. Melissa Russo reports.

While there may be more than 100 million watching on television, some 7,500 Hofstra students entered a lottery to try to see the debate live in person. Only a lucky 350 of them were picked for what has become the hottest ticket in town.

While millions watch the first presidential debate on TV, a lucky 300 Hofstra University students will get the chance to watch the debate live. Natalie Pasquarella sat down with some of those lucky lottery winners.

Alyssa Salati, one of the students who got the winning email, said her ticket also came with a warning.

"It says if you make a disruption you'll be thrown out, so I don't think people will go crazy," she said.

"It's just exciting to be part of campus and to be there making history," she added.

Why the candidates can lure undecided voters with their performance in the debate at Hofstra Monday night. Roseanne Colletti reports.

The showdown between Clinton and Trump - the first of three presidential debates - comes as both candidates are viewed negatively by large numbers of Americans, with Democrat Clinton facing questions about her trustworthiness and Republican Trump struggling to convince many voters that he has the temperament and policy depth to be president.

Interest in the presidential race has been intense, and the campaigns are expecting a record-breaking audience to watch the 90-minute televised debate at Hofstra.



Student Sophia Papadopoulous said the Hofstra campus has been like a circus. She said she and members of the university's debate team planned to watch the showdown at a viewing party Monday night.



"I'm looking forward to hearing them talk about policy instead of attacking one another," Papadopoulous said.

From the politics to the anticipation some are saying Mondays debate could rival the super bowl in viewers and there are high expectations from voters. News 4s Melissa Russo reports from Hofstra.

Junior Robin Pereira, a journalism major and Clinton supporter, said regardless of the debate's outcome, she felt the buzz had turned the campus into a politically active place. She said she has friends who want to vote because of it.

A record audience is expected when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton face off in their first presidential debate Monday night at Hofstra University. NBCs Tracie Potts reports.

For Clinton, victory in November largely hinges on rallying the same young and diverse coalition that elected Barack Obama but has yet to fully embrace her.

"Hillary has recognized that she has a lot of work to do to earn people's trust," said Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager. "We think this debate is a fantastic opportunity for her to present not just what she is going to do to make a difference in people's lives, but she actually has a long history of getting this done."

Top Tri-State News Photos

Trump has tapped into deep anxieties among some Americans, particularly white, working-class voters who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying nation. While the real estate mogul lacks the experience Americans have traditionally sought in a commander in chief, he's banking on frustration with career politicians and disdain for Clinton to push him over the top.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Trump was often a commanding presence in the Republican primary debates, launching biting personal attacks on his rivals. But at times, he appeared to fade into the background, especially during more technical policy discussions - something he'll be unable to do with just two candidates on stage.

Clinton has debated more than 30 times at the presidential level, including several one-on-one contests against Obama in 2008 and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. But Monday's contest is her first presidential debate against a candidate from the opposing party.

The first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump could be one of the most watched ever, and no one is taking any chances with security. Greg Cergol reports.

Hofstra University Showcases Humans of Hofstra in campus campaign. Natalie Pasquarella reports.
Connecticut has launched an interactive website designed to provide outdoor enthusiasts with information and maps detailing Connecticut's network of rail trails.

The CT Rail Trail Explorer includes trail maps, directions, parking information and tools that allow visitors to calculate distances between points on the trails.

There is also an option to print out a personalized map once users have settled on a route.

The site contains information and maps for the Air Line, Hop River, Moosup Valley and Larkin rail trails and a link to information about the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.

The trails are open to hikers, bicyclists and horseback riders. They cover 88 miles and pass through the 22 towns. All trails have stone dust surfaces, except for the Farmington Canal trail, which is paved.

Check out the interactive website here.
What to Know Many students at Hofstra University said they're still undecided about who they'll choose for president in November

The Long Island college hosts the first debate Monday in what has been a raucous presidential race

Clinton and Trump hope to get past their record low favorability ratings and woo undecided voters at the debate

Security was tightening and suspense was building at Hofstra University out on Long Island Sunday night. Many students say they're still trying to decide who to vote for and that a debate here on Monday will be a major factor in their final choice.

Hofstra is hosting the first debate in a presidential race that has been one of the most sensational and unpredictable in years.

Everyones excited to have such a big event happen on our campus, student Brianna Fuccillo said.

The energy was palpable in the crisp September air on Sunday ahead of the Monday night debate in Hempstead. Political messages were spilling out of dormitory windows and the debate-related merchandise is already sold out.

Long Island and Hofstra are going to be the center of the universe tomorrow, probably 100 million people watching, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said. Absolutely fantastic.

The most intense studying on Sunday seemed to be off campus: Hillary Clinton hunkered down for the third straight day in a Westchester hotel doing debate prep before taking a diplomatic diversion.

Clinton and Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss shared security concerns after a week when terror hit the tri-state area.

The candidates answers on the subject of security are of particular interest to Hofstra freshman Dempsey Goodale.

Im very excited to see it, because Im personally still undecided about who I support. This debate is going to be really influential about who I pick, Goodale said.

In a Hofstra dining hall Sunday, a group of freshmen will be voting for the first time. Most of them are undecided. They are the voters who the nominees will be targeting Monday night.

Im a little in between, but probably more towards Hillary than Trump, Ashley Smetana said. Im just not a very big fan of Trumps personality and how he has handled different situations throughout this debate and election.

I dont really want a politician, so I like Donald Trump, Lauren Lacy said. But I dont like what he stands for. Im also a Democrat, so I like Hillary, but I dont really trust where she stands because shes kind of a little shady.

Yes, hes very outspoken, but at least hes honest about his policies and the way he wants to move forward with this country, Alisha Patel said of Trump.

As many as 100 million viewers may turn in for Mondays debate, but its those undecided voters who really matter for the candidates on stage.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have one thing in common going into the debate: theyre trying to lesson their high unfavorability ratings. Trump needs to send presidential vibes and Clinton needs to channel approachability and trustworthiness.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts lifted a citywide curfew Sunday evening after a weekend of peaceful protests and demonstrations over the police-involved shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott, NBC News reports.

In a statement, Roberts and the chairman of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners urged the community to continue to "show their unity in a peaceful and legal manner."

Violent protests rocked the city last week after a police officer shot and killed Scott on Tuesday. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency, calling in the National Guard.

As the week drew on, the demonstrations continued, but protesters remained peaceful. Many called for the police to release the dashcam and bodycam footage taken during the shooting, and the department released some of that footage to the public Saturday.
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A Montgomery County police chief credited his officers for putting their lives on the line to save the life of a suicidal gunman. Gunshots discharged during the overnight incident in Abington Township but luckily no one was hurt.

The 32-year-old man said goodbye to family members in the area of Limekiln Pike in Upper Dublin Township and left his home late Sunday night, said Abington Township Police.

Upper Dublin Township Police sent out an alert and shortly before midnight, an Abington Township Police officer spotted the man walking in the area of Limekiln Pike and Mount Carmel Avenue, said Abington Chief Bill Kelly. The officer stopped to offer the man a ride home.

Since the man had his hands in both pockets, the officer patted down the man and felt a gun in one of his pockets. At that point, the man drew his gun, began waving it around and shouted "shoot me!" multiple times, said Kelly.

The officer drew his weapon and a sergeant who also responded to the scene then lunged at the suicidal man, said Kelly.

During the struggle for the gun, several shots were fired but luckily no one was hit.

"They were putting themselves at risk, obviously," said Abington Township Police Chief Bill Kelly. "If they had failed to be able to control that weapon and keep it away from them and when it was discharged like that obviously they were in grave danger at this point."

Kelly said the officers did "what all police officers try to do which is end these things peacefully."

"Sometimes that doesn't happen, fortunately because of their courage and their skill they were able to do that in this case," said Kelly.

Kelly didnt identify the man who police arrested.

"I am very appreciative of the dedicated and courageous actions of the officers who spared the life of this suicidal man," said Kelly.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Two masked intruders shot and killed a South Jersey man inside his mobile home overnight.

The home invasion attack along Alfred Drive in the Hilltop Mobile Village in Browns Mills around 9:50 p.m. left 37-year-old Norman Mosley dead, said the Burlington County Prosecutors Office.

Another person who was in the home at the time, rushed Mosley to Deborah Hospital where Mosley died a little more than an hour later, said prosecutors.

No one else in the home was hurt.

Investigators didnt immediately offer a motive for the deadly attack carried out by two men.

Officials with Hilltop Mobile Village declined to comment on the shooting or say how long Mosley had been a resident.

Law enforcement asked anyone with information to call county central communications at 609-265-7113 or contact Pemberton Township Police at 609-894-3352.
Two people killed in a deadly plane crash Sunday in central New Jersey have been identified as a New Jersey man and a Pennsylvania woman, according to authorities.

Gerald Budge, 59, of Robbinsville, New Jersey, and Karen Lowe, 52, of Telford Pennsylvania died in the crash at an airport in the Pittstown section of Alexandria.

A 9-1-1 call came in about 12:30 p.m. for a report of an accident at Sky Manor Airport, according to Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III.

State police troopers from the Kingwood barracks and Quakertown Fire and Rescue reported to the scene, about a half mile southwest of the airport's runway at Sky Manor and Oak Summit roads, Kearns released in a statement.

Our condolences go out to the families of the victims. I commend the quick response of our first responders and their continued service to the community, Kearns added.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
Why Iskander wasnt used during April War (video)

Aram Sargsyan, Chairman of the Democratic Party, considers the changes occurring in Armenias political life to be a compulsion by the Russian Federation. I would be very glad if it was decided independently by our people, but alas, I cannot see such a tendency. Of course, Russias role must be serious, as we are connected with Russia at state level in every way as our strategic partner, Aram Sargsyan told the journalists, highlighting that Russia is concerned about rise of anti-Russian moods in Armenia. Economist Vardan Bostanjyan, who was also present at the meeting, added that not a single person makes changes in our country. The dismantling of our countrys system is very dangerous and fraught with negative consequences, and in terms of that we need not a single person, but a group of adherents, who will carry out those changes in an arranged way, he highlighted. Touching upon the Iskander displayed during the military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the RA Independence, Aram Sargsyan said that according to his information Armenia had received it before April War and he cannot understand why it wasnt used, April War may even have been prevented.
A motorcyclist riding a stolen bike died after striking vehicle making an illegal turn along the Roosevelt Boulevard Sunday afternoon, said Philadelphia Police.

The unidentified 27-year-old motorcyclist wasn't wearing a helmet as he sped in the inner eastbound lanes near C Street around 4:10 p.m., said police.

A 40-year-old woman driving a 2006 Kia Optima suddenly made an illegal left turn onto C Street from the outermost inner lane of the westbound Boulevard, turning into the path of the 2013 stolen Kawasaki bike, said police. The motorcycle struck the driver's side of the Kia.

The force of the crash left the biker and the motorcycle in the center median when the bike caught fire, said police.

Medics rushed the victim to Einstein Medical Center where doctors pronounced him dead around 7:45 p.m., said police.

The Kia driver was treated at the scene and refused to go to the hospital, said police.

No word yet on if any charges will be filed.
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Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday questioned Donald Trump's "moral center" as a result of the Republican presidential candidate's comments about America's housing collapse.

Biden told a Hillary Clinton rally at Drexel University in Philadelphia on Tuesday that Trump had bragged at Monday's presidential debate about profiting from the failed housing market.

The vice president said Trump "is a guy who said it was good business for him to see the housing market fail."

Biden added, "What in the hell is he talking about?

"I've been there for eight presidents, Democrat and Republican, I've disagreed and I've agreed. But every president I have served with including the Republicans has had a moral center about what it was to be an American, about what we're supposed to do, about what basic fundamental rights are," Biden said.

At the debate, Clinton said Trump had rooted for the housing collapse in 2006 because he saw it as a way to go in and make money. Trump responded, "That's called business, by the way."

Biden said Trump "brags about gaming the system and bankruptcy."

Biden appeared at Drexel University on National Voter Registration Day. The Clinton campaign said he would launch a voter-registration drive and urge Pennsylvanians to register to vote.

"My name is Joe Biden and I work for Hillary Clinton," Biden told the crowd at the start of his remarks Tuesday.

He also mentioned his and his wife's excitement over the undefeated Eagles and rookie QB Carson Wentz. He complemented the tough Philly sports fans.

"Philly fans are the most informed fans in the world," he said.

Michelle Obama will also stump for Clinton at two universities in Philadelphia and one in Pittsburgh.

She plans to appear at La Salle University on Wednesday. People can sign up online to attend the noon event. She plans to appear at the University of Pittsburgh later that afternoon.
At the Islamic Center of Passaic County, which draws about 2,000 people each Friday for communal prayers, the talk is about how this year is different.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, people of other faiths in the surrounding community were generally able to see the difference between the radical perpetrators and American Muslims, said Omar Awad, president of the center. But he suggested that distinction seems to be blurring in the public mind amid the anti-Muslim rhetoric of the presidential campaign and growing anger over terrorist strikes in Europe and the United States, the latest allegedly plotted by a New Jersey Muslim.

"They're trying to strike fear between neighbors, between the very fabric of society that we spent so much time trying to make sure that we knitted," said Awad, a New Jersey native, sitting in the offices of the 27-year-old Paterson mosque.

Like Muslims around the country, New Jersey's have been slogging through a particularly painful year.

On the campaign trail, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, falsely claimed that Muslims in Jersey City celebrated when the World Trade Center fell, as he sought to promote a proposed national database for Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques.

Gov. Chris Christie, who once sharply dismissed those who questioned the loyalty of a Muslim judicial appointee, has endorsed Trump.

And now New Jersey Muslims are facing the broad scrutiny that follows when someone in their community is suspected of being a militant. Ahmad Khan Rahami, a U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, who worked at his family's chicken takeout restaurant in Elizabeth, has been charged by federal officials in two states with planting bombs in New York and at a military charity run and a train station in New Jersey. Federal authorities said he praised Muslim extremists and prayed he'd be martyred.

"I don't want the stigma to go out that there's some kind of issue in Elizabeth, that it's a hotbed for people with radical ideas, because it's not," said Hassen Abedellah, an attorney and Elizabeth native, who is president of the Darul Islam mosque in the city.

Abedellah said he was "in shock" when he learned that Rahami was being sought by police. Abedellah could not say for sure whether Rahami had ever worshipped at Darul Islam, but said the suspect could have passed through, since many Muslims in the community at one time or another have attended Friday prayers there.

It is the latest difficulty for one of the larger Muslim communities in the United States. Muslims comprise about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but make up about 3 percent of the residents in New Jersey, according to the Pew Research Center. New Jersey Muslims are predominantly African-American, Arab or South Asian, plus Muslim asylum seekers from the Balkans and elsewhere. Several Muslims serve as state judges and mayors, among other public positions.

In Elizabeth, Muslims have had a presence since at least the mid-20th century, developing mainly from a community of African-American Muslims and eventually growing to encompass immigrants from around the world, Abedellah said. Friday prayer at Darul Islam can draw as many as 500 people.

The Sept. 11 attacks hit hard in New Jersey. Hundreds of victims of the suicide hijackings came from the state. In the aftermath, Muslim leaders joined with other religious and community leaders to quell any backlash. Mohammad Ali Chaudry, a Pakistani-born economist who had lived in New Jersey since the 1970s, ran for public office in 2001 in Basking Ridge and said he encountered no bias.

"Not a single person during that walking campaign, going door to door, asked me what my religion was," said Chaudry, who went on to serve on the township committee and, eventually, as mayor. "They were concerned about what am I going to do about the deer problem. We have a lot of deer. How am I going to keep taxes down?"

Still, suspicion followed the community. Reports by The Associated Press revealed that the New York Police Department had been monitoring the daily life of Muslims in New Jersey, New York and beyond, including monitoring the Muslim Students Association at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and Muslim businesses and mosques in Newark. New York City has since settled lawsuits accusing the department of waging a covert campaign of religious profiling and illegal spying.

"People felt very uncomfortable knowing that they are part of society but not really accepted as being part of the society," said Mikal Nash, a professor at Essex County College in Newark and author of "Muslims in Newark, New Jersey: A Social History."

New Jersey also found itself at the center of movement against Islamic law, or Shariah, in the U.S., after a state judge denied a woman a restraining order against her husband, who she said beat and sexually assaulted her. The judge said the husband's Islamic religious views meant he believed he was entitled to sexual relations at any time with his wife  legal reasoning that Muslim law experts rejected and a ruling an appellate court later reversed. Yet, the case was seized on by advocates for bans on Islamic law in other states.

In New Jersey, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes reported to the government remains low but is increasing, rising from four in 2014 to 14 last year, according to researchers at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, Bernardino. But tensions can be seen in the vocal resistance to building mosques in some communities, with an ongoing fight in Bayonne and another in Basking Ridge that has stretched over four years and is now in court.

Christie's political pivot has been especially disheartening for New Jersey Muslims. They had viewed the governor as a reliable ally. Five years ago, he drew notice for slamming critics of his decision to appoint an American Muslim, Sohail Mohammed, to the Superior Court. "They're criticizing him because he's a Muslim American," Christie said, condemning conspiracists who argued Mohammed would bring Islamic law into state courts.

"This Shariah law business is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies," Christie said.

Chaudry, a longtime Republican, said he was stunned when the governor backed Trump this year. Chaudry had worked with the New Jersey attorney general's office on Muslim outreach and was appointed by Christie to a state commission on public service. But because of Trump, he left the GOP to join the Democrats, and has since been heavily involved in registering Muslims to vote, conducting outreach after Friday juma, or communal prayers, and surrounding the recent celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday. He is also coordinating public speaker training for young people at his mosque.

"You have to be at the decision table," Chaudry said.

Despite the tumult, and the glare from the Rahami case, New Jersey Muslims are persevering. The Islamic Center in Paterson is encouraging families to attend a holiday celebration called "Great Muslim Adventure Day" at the Six Flags amusement park in New Jersey. And next weekend in Elizabeth, where Rahami lived, more than 300 people are expected to attend the sixth annual meeting of the American Muslim Consumer Consortium, on marketing to Muslims and commemorating their achievements in the business world.

"I encourage Donald Trump and his supporters to come and see what the real American Muslim community in the U.S. is all about," said Sabiha Ansari, a co-founder of the conference. "We are just as patriotic, proud and American as anyone else."
Crews have quelled a fire at a residential building across the street from Sweetwater High School in National City.

The fire broke out at approximately 1:05 p.m. on the 2700 block of Highland Avenue in National City, National City Fire Department officials said.

National City firefighters said they rushed to the scene of the fire, adding that they move fast in hot and dry conditions like the ones in San Diego Monday.

The one-alarm residential fire sent sparks flying, setting off three spot fires on the Sweetwater High School campus. A nearby pepper tree was a concern as well, firefighters said.

No residences were damaged in the process, but the fire burned close to local residences.

Students at Sweetwater High School are on break.

No other information was immediately available.
As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump prepare to debate at Hofstra University Monday night some locals are planning viewing parties here in San Diego - and everyone has a different opinion about the candidates.

The 90-minute debate will be the first of three nationally televised presidential debates between Clinton and Trump.

San Diegan Oliver Asis is planning to watch and says picking a candidate has been difficult for him.

Kind of interesting to see that as a country those are the two we collectively selected, he told NBC 7. I think itll be interesting to see how they stand on some key issues.

Although Joyce Muscat has qualms about Hillary Clinton, she said she fears a Trump presidency more.

The trust issue has been there, but I do think she's qualified for this position, Muscat said. I just think it's very scary when I think of Trump being in office. I just feel very scared for our country.

Hope Malis said that although she wishes another candidate were heading the Democratic party, shes still not rooting for Trump.

I hope that she does well enough to make him embarrass himself and make us proud of her, she said.

Another Clinton supporter, Margaret Cotton, said she thinks most people have much up their minds, and doesnt think the debates will sway too many opinions.

I think most people, they're pretty firm in their mind, she told NBC 7. They may not share it with other people but they're pretty firm in their mind who they're going to vote for.

Still, the candidates may have the chance to sway Holly Bell.

Well I haven't really been watching much of anything or paying much attention. I need to start doing some research and then I'll make some decisions, she said. I will be voting, I'm just not sure as to who or what yet. It just seems like too much of a circus right now.

The sentiment of these voters was clear  get out and vote. Its important and a privilege as a American citizen.

The debate will air on all major networks at 6 p.m. Monday night with NBC Nightly News Lester Holt as the moderator.

Three local watch parties include:

The San Diego County Democratic Party at their campaign office on Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

The Log Cabin Republicans at the Uptown Tavern in Hillcrest

San Diego State University at the theater in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union

All three parties start at 5:30 p.m.
Why German Ambassador learnt Latin

European Day of Languages has been celebrated throughout the word for the 15th and for the 5th time in Armenia. The anthem of European Union sounds in the Pedagogical University. Professor Melanya Astvatsatryan, Head of Chair of Foreign Language Teaching Methods consecutively speaks two languages- Armenian and German; German Ambassador is also present. The aim of the event is the preservation of languages. Before that Mozart sounds dedicated to his 260th anniversary. Germanys Ambassador Matthias Kiesler stresses the importance of all those languages, which are spoken even by several thousand people. They should be preserved, I am happy that this event kicked off with the language we all understand, the language of music. It proves the cultural roots of Armenia. Those, who know a few languages, can find a job more easily and have competitive advantages, notes Vice-Rector of the Pedagogical University Ara Yeremyan. The Ambassador can also see other advantages and speaks about them citing his own experience, When I was a student, I decided to learn one more language besides English. It was Latin. Though I didnt need it in my work, it gave a chance to get acquainted with Roman art and culture more closely. There are few students in Armenia, who know Latin. People are more interested in English and German in our country. As a result the specialists state that the prospects to study in Europe have never been so close.
A driver who led officers on a pursuit through three Southern California counties, smoking a cigarette and throwing trash out a window, was pulled from a freeway overpass by an officer, ending a tense standoff Monday morning in San Bernardino.

The hourlong pursuit came to an end when the driver of the stolen Toyota Camry exited the vehicle on the side of 215 Freeway with what appeared to be a piece of metal that was removed from the car. He walked across all freeway lanes and climbed onto the edge of an overpass, dangling his legs over the side, as officers approached with a K-9.

As he gestured with the wiper blade at one group of officers, another officer dashed up from behind the man and pulled him back from the ledge and onto the ground. Other officers joined the struggle and took the man, who appeared to be bleeding from his leg, into custody.

"I knew that if I didn't take the opportunity that it could have been worse and luckily for me it worked out that I was able to help him,"said CHP Officer Reynaldo Avalos, who grabbed the man from the edge.

Paramedics treated the man on the side of the freeway. Details regarding his condition were not immediately available.

The man repeatedly said, "The system doesn't work. The system doesn't work, I tried to get a job," as paramedics wheeled him on a gurney to an ambulance.

The man said he had spent time on Skid Row and was "out of options."

The pursuit began at about 8:45 a.m. after a report of a stolen vehicle near Morongo Valley, just west of Joshua Tree National Park in Riverside County.

The black Toyota Camry was on the westbound 60 Freeway, near Moreno Valley, before the driver entered the Pomona and Diamond Bar areas. The driver exited onto the northbound 605 and eastbound 10 freeways in the Covina area and threw items, including a plastic bag, out the window before lighting a cigarette.

The driver, the vehicle's lone occupant, doubled back into eastern Riverside County, passed the 15 Freeway transition and headed north on the 215 Freeway into San Bernardino County.
What to Know Witnesses say a motorcyclist fatally shot by a D.C. police officer did not intentionally drive into the officer's cruiser as police said.

Police said the officer was trying to get out of the passenger side of the cruiser when he shot the man, but witnesses say he was inside.

The officer didn't have his body camera on at the time and, as a result, the Metropolitan Police Department has changed its body cam policy.

The family and friends of a man who was fatally shot by D.C. police staged a protest Monday morning to call for answers on his death.

The group of protesters briefly blocked traffic during rush-hour and then stood along M Street NW, chanting and holding signs that said "Justice for Terrence" and "We Need Answers."

Police said 31-year-old Terrence Sterling of Fort Washington, Maryland, purposely drove his motorcycle into the passenger side of a police cruiser on Sept. 11 as an officer was trying to get out of that side of the car.

The officer fired his service weapon, hitting Sterling, police said. Sterling was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

However, witnesses gave a different account of the crash.

Several witnesses said the collision was unavoidable and Sterling did not intentionally strike the cruiser. They also said the officer was not trying to get out of his car, but instead rolled his window down and shot Sterling from inside the car after the crash.

Police have acknowledged the officer who fired the fatal shot did not turn his body camera on until after he fired his weapon. He and the officer who was driving the cruiser have been place on administrative leave.

Earlier this month, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a change to the city's body camera policy in response to the shooting.

"We have immediately implemented procedures to ensure that body worn cameras are being activated properly and as intended by the body worn camera protocol," Bowser said. "Dispatchers began reminding officers to turn on their body worn cameras when they are dispatched to calls for service."

But Sterling's loved ones are calling for more action following his death.

"One, for the two officers to be identified; two, for the body camera footage to be released; and three, that the officers be fired, if not indicted, tried and convicted," said Jerry Swanson Jr., one of Sterling's friends.

The Metropolitan Police Department said the shooting is still under investigation.

"This is an investigation. You have to get all the evidence. You have to get all the witness testimony," said Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham.
What to Know A Howard County police officer shot and wounded a man who pointed a weapon at police during a standoff.

James Schueler got out of his Jeep and pointed the gun at nearby officers. A police officer fired once, hitting him in the body.

The friend told police Schueler was suicidal, had talked about threatening family members, and said he would commit suicide by cop.

A Howard County police officer shot and wounded a man who pointed a weapon at police during a standoff early Monday morning, according to the Howard County Police Department.

Investigators said the man, James Andrew Schueler, 42, of Columbia, Maryland, was stopped by police around 7:30 a.m. after they were called by a friend of Schuelers. The friend told police Schueler was suicidal, had talked about threatening family members, and said he would commit suicide by cop.

Officers stopped Schueler at the corner of Hayshed Lane and Tamar Drive in Columbia, but Schueler refused to get out of the car, telling police he had a gun and was going to hurt himself. Police said Schueler held a gun to his head, and negotiators were called to the scene.

About 45 minutes later, investigators said Schueler got out of his Jeep and pointed the gun at nearby officers. A Howard County police officer fired once, striking Schueler in the body.

Police tactical medicals provided immediate aid. Schueler was transported by helicopter to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where is he is in serious but stable condition.

Investigators said the gun was a replica pellet gun, nearly identical to a semi-automatic pistol. The officer, who has not been identified, has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after this type of incident.
Boston officials are reportedly considering a plan which would radically re-shape schools across the city.

According to the Boston Globe, the plan would create a system of elementary schools that end at grade six and high schools that start at grade seven.

The move is intended to boost the quality of education for seventh and eighth-graders by concentrating support services in fewer schools.

It would also help with a decline in enrollment in the middle-school grades.

Superintendent Tommy Chang has been talking about the idea with school principals since the summer.
A young boy was killed Sunday afternoon after being struck by a car in Grafton, Massachusetts, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.

Authorities said the 5-year-old boy, who has not been identified, was hit near his home on Samuel Drive at about 3:52 p.m.

The death appears to be the result of a tragic accident, the district attorney's office said.

The driver of the car has not been identified.

State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office and Grafton Police are investigating.
A Massachusetts man convicted on a number of child sexual assault charges, was sentenced to serve up to four decades in prison on Friday, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

Earlier this month, Paul Mealy, 57, of Taunton, was convicted of two counts of rape of a child with force, two counts of rape of a child, one count of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery of a person under 14.

Authorities said Mealy raped a female relative "about two to three times every week for 15 years." The victim was between the ages of 5-years-old and 20-years-old when the rapes occurred, from 1984-2000.

The victim came forward in 2014 and Mealy was arrested shortly thereafter.

In addition to Mealy's lengthy state prison sentence, the judge in the case also placed him on probation for 40 years.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III released a statement thanking the jury for their verdict in the difficult case:

"I have nothing but admiration and respect for the victims perseverance in this case. She was abused by a relative for 15 years, which was an incredible breach of love and trust, said Quinn. Its very difficult to testify against a relative, and I commend her for that. The defendant deserved this lengthy state prison sentence, which will keep him imprisoned most likely for the rest of his life.
A Massachusetts man is being forced to serve his house arrest inside a parked van in his Millbury driveway because his home has been condemned.

"It wasn't destroyed when I left," 44-year-old Christopher Bernard told necn.

Bernard was in jail on a probation violation in July when the board of health and animal control officers responded to complaints from neighbors about his home on Hayward Lane.

Authorities found piles of trash, animal feces, more than a dozen cats and three dogs with flea infestations and other ailments.

Bernard was charged with animal cruelty and the house was condemned.

"When I came back to the house, it was boarded up, they shut the water and sewer off," Bernard said.

But Bernard was sent to live at the home anyway, and in fact he's required to live there, ordered by a judge to be on a GPS monitoring bracelet under house arrest.

And since he can't live inside his house, Bernard lives in his van, overlooking Dorothy Pond.

"It's just like camping for a couple of weeks," said Bernard, "Not too bad, it's better than jail!"

But the situation has baffled town officials.

"It didn't seem to me like the first place I would put somebody in a van in the driveway of a condemned house," said Interim Millbury Town Manager Bernard Plante.

The house is now for sale, and Bernard's realtor told necn he has a buyer and plans to close by October 7.

The sale is something the town and its attorneys will be watching closely.

"I want to make sure we get the back taxes, the utilities are paid, and I want to make sure the clean up is involved in the sale of the house," Plante said.

And that would be welcome news for neighbors who said they are sick of what some have called an eyesore.

"Brings our values down," neighbor Chris Gardner said.

"There's going to be hopefully somebody taking it and demolishing and putting up a beautiful new house," said another neighbor, Cindy Bunnewith.

Town officials have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. to make sure they have all the proper liens in place to recoup what's owed to the town.

Bernard is due back in court October 19, but says he'll go back sooner to modify his home confinement details if the house sale goes through.

As for where he'll live, he says it definitely won't be his van.
A Massachusetts man found guilty of gunning down a former Army sniper who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted 28-year-old Salem resident Peter Castillo on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of Stephen Perez.

Prosecutors said Castillo shot Perez in the back in the early morning hours of April 28, 2012, following an altercation between two groups of people in Boston's Theater District.

Authorities said Castillo fled to the Dominican Republic after the shooting. He was captured in January 2015.

Family members have said the 22-year-old Perez, of Revere, was in college and hoping to join a federal law enforcement agency.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has determined Boston Latin School violated the Civil Rights Act.

The office found Boston Latin School mishandled it's review of the allegations that a male student addressed a female black student during class "using profanity and a racial slur and threatened to lynch her with an electrical cord."

After an 8-month investigation, the USAO determined there was one violation of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination by public schools against students based on race.

The office also investigated two other racially charged incidents and the effectiveness of the school's "efforts to create an inclusive school climate for all of its students."

During the investigation the USAO also found that Boston Latin School "did not consistently apply policies and procedures relating to student discipline."

"The reality is anytime a child is threatened, how dare we not notify parents," Michael Curry, of the NAACP Boston told necn.

Per an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Boston Latin School will implement a four-point plan that address the issue of racial discrimination complaints and how the school handles each incident.

All students, faculty, and staff will attend mandatory training each year to discuss racial harassment, retaliatory conduct, reporting procedures and policies, and cultural competence.

A system of "restorative justice" will be implemented to the school as well as establishing a diversity and non-discriminatory officer who will be responsible for monitoring complains of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

The school will also conduct an annual survey of the racial climate.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says no student should feel unsafe at school and hopes to implement the 4-point plan at all Boston Public schools.

"It's important now what we do with reporting the next step," Walsh said.

The mother of the student who was threatened said the findings affirmed what they believed the whole time.

"We are glad the conclusion will result in an improved culture and climate at Boston Latin School," said the mother in a statement.

Read the full report below:
PM expresses regret to Dashnaktsutyun (video)

According to the ARF faction secretary Aghvan Vardanyan, the Prime Minister said that there are misunderstandings in the society and in the media outlets connected with the first session of the Government, but he didnt have such a desire. Artsvik Minasyan will soon become Minister of Nature Protection. Aghvan Vardanyan knows why the PM cannot see him in the renamed Ministry of Economy, In the renamed ministry the PM wants to see a person with more business thinking, a person connected with business. The number of ministerial positions isnt important to Dashnaktsutyun; with the agreement with the Republican, the party has formulated the issues- corruption, shadow. Vahram Baghdasaryan isnt that much concerned about the fact that the other ministers appointed by PM arent Republicans, Karen Karapetyan fulfills the functions adopted by the HHK. But Mr Karapetyan appointed his friends as ministers. Vahram Baghdasaryan reminds that those friends are members of the Republican team, though they arent partisans, Armenia is a small country and it is possible that they have ties with each other. The Republican Party has never, especially recently, based on the party membership and wont do so. No one will make those ministers become a member of the Republican Party, says Mr Baghdasaryan. This is fraud for Levon Zurabyan, even if no one is a Republican, this Government is based on the Republican Party, This base hasnt been changed for already 18 years. According to the Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction head Levon Zurabyan, the Republican has been engaged in corruption and shadow for already 18 years, and for already the 7th time in those 18 years it announces its desire to make changes, what more, without the Republicans.
Willimantic police have charged a man with attempted murder in connection with a stabbing Saturday night.

Angel Alvarez, 53, of Willimantic faces charges of criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree assault, violation of a protective order, and disorderly conduct.

Police said they responded to a report of a domestic dispute around 10:50 p.m. When they arrived they found a female victim outside with multiple stab wounds to her back. She was taken to Windham Hospital for treatment, then airlifted to Hartford Hospital. She is listed in critical condition, police said.

The victim has not been publicly identified.

Alvarez was arrested on scene. The Willimantic Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the incident.

Alvarez is being held on a $1 million bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 26, 2016.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will hold a rally in New Hampshire on Thursday.

Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at 3 p.m. at the New Hampshire Sportsplex in Bedford. His visit comes one day after Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is scheduled to talk about college affordability with Bernie Sanders at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Trump has made several visits to the Granite State since locking up his party's nomination. New Hampshire is seen as a key swing state in this year's presidential election.
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was in New Hampshire on Monday, speaking to a crowd of supporters at Milford Town Hall.

The crowd was smaller than expected, but still rowdy and steadfast in their support for Donald Trump.

"We just need him to literally save our country," said Genevieve Kelly as she waited in line to see Pence.

"We do not want crooked Hillary as a president," said Lauren Marsh who was at Monday's rally with her dad.

"I think he's the only one who can fix our economy," said Ed Russo who made the trip from Middleton, Massachusetts.

Just days ago, experts were saying that Hillary Clinton's nine point lead put New Hampshire out of reach for Trump, but that gap is shrinking.

In a one-on-one interview after his rally Monday, Pence told necn it's because his party is uniting at just the right time.

"When Donald Trump or I go into an area, the determination of the people to be a part of a movement that restores American strength at home and abroad is palpable," Pence said.

Milton, New Hampshire resident Kelly Desmarais agreed.

"I think he's getting a little more mojo behind him, he's learning where to speak where not to speak, he's saying the right things that people want to hear," Desmarais said.

With just six weeks left in the race, the New Hampshire GOP says their ground game is the strongest it's ever been.

"We do have the largest trained staff that we have ever had in our party's history," said New Hampshire GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Horn. "We have 11 offices across the state and more people hitting more doors than ever before."

Democrats though have more than 25 field offices in New Hampshire and claim their grassroots campaign is unmatched.

"We have over 100 field organizers on the ground out everyday direct order contact," said New Hampshire Young Democrat's President Lucas Meyer. "The operation we are running in the state is frankly historic."

Still they admit they're working in a battleground state  up for grabs until election day.

"It's New Hampshire  you really have no idea what's going to happen," Lucas said.

Both candidates have an aggressive schedule in New Hampshire this week. Clinton will be at University of New Hampshire in Durham on Wednesday with Bernie Sanders. Trump will hold a rally on Thursday at the New Hampshire Sportsplex in Bedford.
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence is returning to New Hampshire for a campaign rally.

Pence, the governor of Indiana, will appear in Milford at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, just hours before his running mate, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, is scheduled to take the stage at Hofstra University for his first debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Pence and Trump have each campaigned in the state several times since the summer, as has the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine.

Clinton is scheduled to visit New Hampshire on Wednesday, her first trip to the state since July.

New Hampshire is a key battleground state in the presidential election, although it offers only four Electoral College votes. Trump handily won the February primary, while Clinton lost to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders is scheduled to join Clinton at her stop at the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday.
A majority of Maine voters supports legalizing recreational marijuana this November, according to a new poll by the University of New Hampshire survey center, commissioned by the Portland Press Herald.

The poll found 53 percent of respondents supported legalization, while 38 percent opposed it.

"We're excited about the polling, and it affirms what we've been hearing from people across the state," said Alysia Melnick, spokesperson for the Yes on 1 campaign.

Question 1 would allow adults 21 and older to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana. It would allow retail shops to be established in municipalities that allow it, and collect a projected $15 million in tax revenue annually.

"Mainers are ready for this," said Melnick.

Opponents of the measure are also getting ready to increase campaign efforts in the weeks leading up to the election.

"It's going to be a very robust, aggressive campaign," said Scott Gagnon, director of the No on 1 campaign. He said the No on 1 campaign is planning TV ads and forums, touting endorsements from groups like the Maine Chiefs of Police and the NAMI Maine chapter.

"It will increase access to youth and fundamentally change our communities," said Gagnon.

The ballot question has mixed support among the medical marijuana community.

One business strongly supporting the measure is SJR Labs, a medical marijuana extraction company, and JAR medical marijuana consulting in Southern Maine.

Partner Joel P. said Question 1 would allow his two businesses to grow. "We could go from six employees to double or triple that if this passes," he said.

SJR Labs takes plant materials and turns them into oil cannabis extract for medical marijuana caregivers, using a non-combustible CO2 process. JAR consulting helps other medical marijuana operations plan, and lets growers sublet space for plants. Joel P. said he is already in the process of expanding his business, in preparation of recreational marijuana passing in Maine.

"It will give us the chance to develop a business plan five, 10 years out," he said. "Currently we're not confident doing that."
Christopher Reeve is famous as Superman in movies. As the man of steel with amazing superpowers, he was unbeatable.

In real life, though, a bad fall from his horse left Reeve a quadriplegic. How suddenly life changes. One day youre a hero with superpowers. The next day youve lost control of your body.

The loss of control over their bodies is devastating for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. An Israeli startup now offers the hope to regain some of the lost control with its app, Sesame Enable.

Background

The spinal cord is the main pathway for transmitting information between the brain and the nerves that lead to muscles, skin, internal organs and glands.

Spinal cord injuries result from a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures vertebrae. Displaced bone fragments bruise the spinal cord tissue. Most injuries don't completely sever the spinal cord. Instead, compression of the vertebrae destroys the nerve cells that carry signals up and down the spinal cord between the brain and the rest of the body.

Quadriplegia results from an injury to the spinal cord in the neck area. Movement of the limbs is lost. Breathing is impaired. Personal independence is lost.

Thousands of lives are impacted. There are over 250,000 quadriplegics in the United States. Care often costs more than $400,000 a year. Men under 30 years old are most often the patients of spinal cord injuries. Car accidents are the biggest cause.

The impact



SCI patients depend on caregivers for activities of daily living (ADL). Life diminishes further as theyre unable to use computers or control appliances by themselves. It doesnt have to be this way. An innovative app to control Internet of Things (IoT) devices now enriches the lives of quadriplegics and expands their independence.

Human-machine interfaces



User interface designers have made it easier for people to interact with technology. But keyboards, joysticks and mice all assume the user has motor skills. This assumption doesnt always apply to quadriplegics. Voice control is also difficult.

Whats needed is another human-machine interface for the severely disabledsomething they can manage with even limited body control: head movements.

Open Sesame

Most IoT devices can be controlled through a mobile app. But how can quadriplegics with little body control use those mobile apps? A new human-machine interface was needed.

Oded Ben-Dov and Giora Livne (a quadriplegic) founded Sesame Enable to solve this challenge. Their solution is a mobile app for Android smartphones.

Their app uses the phones camera and sophisticated algorithms to interpret the users head movements. The users control other IoT apps on the phone with head gestures to manage their connected devices, send messages and play games. The Nest app, for instance, can be controlled with Sesame Enable. A person with a spinal cord injury adjusts the room temperature based just on head gestures.

The disabled can do more for themselves with the Sesame Enable app. Its affordable and works on regular Android smartphones. It doesn't require any changes to the mobile apps or IoT devices.

Support from Google.org



Google.org has provided support to Sesame Enable. This wonderful non-profit supports tech entrepreneurs who are using innovation to tackle some of the worlds biggest challenges. It invests in teams that have bold ideas for creating lasting global impact.

Annually, Google.org donates over a $100 million in grants and $1 billion in products.

SCI resources

Spinal Cord Injury Information Pages: a wonderful resource for those living with a spinal cord injury or other disabling injuries of the spine. I found it to be the best resource for background research on SCI for this article.

AbleData: a federally funded database that provides information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment. It contains information on more than 25,000 assistive technology products, information on customized products, and do-it-yourself designs.

Spinal cord injuries are devastating. Reeve was confined to a wheelchair after his accident and required a portable ventilator for the rest of his life. He persevered and advocated for others with spinal cord injuries.

Reeve would have been pleased with the freedom Sesame Enable offers quadriplegics.
With the general election creeping ever closer here in the United States, now seemed like a good time to get an official stance from the four presidential candidates who will be on the ballot about critical issues around technology and privacy.

I narrowed my list of questions for them down to just four (my original list was around 12) in order to make this easy for each campaign to answer. And each campaign was asked the exact same questionswith no variation whatsoever.

Even so, the only campaign to respond to me in any real way was Jill Steins. The Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson and Donald Trump campaigns declined to provide concrete stances or clarificationsthough I did get some helpful links from a Johnson surrogate.

As such, I took a little time to try to find existing quotes and the positions of the other candidates on the topics, which was harder than it should have been. Whenever I needed to include my own words in order to explain their views, I put those words in brackets to make it clear they are not direct quotes from the candidates.

If I was unable to find a position/statement from a candidate on a question (there are a few of those moments), I would love to hear if anyone else is able to. This is all about getting accurate information about the candidates and their positions on tech/security issues, not about spinning things to make one candidate look better than another. Along those lines, if the individual campaigns would like to make any clarifications or corrections to this, reach out to me and I will gladly post an update.

Also note: The candidates responses are in alphabetical order based on their last names.

----------------------------------------------------------

Lunduke: What is your stance on end-to-end encryption for private citizens?

Clinton: Encryption of mobile communications presents a particularly tough problem. We should take the concerns of law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals seriously. They have warned that impenetrable encryption may prevent them from accessing terrorist communications and preventing a future attack.  from TechDirt.

[It should be noted that this article points out that the Clinton campaign itself relies on encryption but does not believe other citizens should be allowed to.]

Johnson: Security is important, for sure. But throwing away our right to privacy has the opposite effect of protecting our freedom. Thats why the Fourth Amendment says that the government cant snoop into our private lives unless they have a good reason to do so. Besides, is the government more likely to secure our freedom by collecting trillions of bits of unmanageable data or by identifying real threats and focusing their efforts on properly warranted searches?  from JohnsonWeld.com.

Stein: End-to-end encryption should be an internet standard, just like SSL for financial transactions.

Trump: [I found it difficult to figure out what Donald Trumps position on this issue is. He doesnt appear to have made any sort of direct statement. But he is a supporter of bulk data collection of U.S. citizens, which suggests he would be against end-to-end encryption (which makes that data collection more difficult).]

Lunduke: What is your stance on open source software usage within state and federal government agencies?

Clinton: The federal government spends nearly $90 billion in information technology, but the American taxpayer doesnt get $90 billion in value. Hillary will make it easier for the federal government to find, try and buy innovative technologyincluding open source software. She would also break large federal IT projects into smaller pieces, so it will be easier to stop projects that are over budget or failing to meet user needs, and also more feasible for small and medium-sized businesses to support public service projects.  from HillaryClinton.com

Johnson: [I could find no time that Johnson has mentioned the words open source, free software or any other related phrases.]

Stein: We are in favor of open source software usage within state and federal government agencies as long as regular audits are performed to protect vital data from being unknowingly transmitted. Using open source software is an excellent way for government agencies to save money. Ideally, agencies should contribute any code customizations back to Free/Libre Open Source Software projects.

Trump: [I was unable to find any time that Donald Trump referenced open source software in any way.]

Lunduke: Do you agree with the ACLU and Human Rights Watch that Edward Snowden (and other whistleblowers) should be pardoned?

Clinton: Because he took valuable information and went first to China and then is now under the protection of Vladimir Putin, I think that raises a lot of questions about everything else he did. So, I do not think he should escape having to return and answer for what he has done.  from TheHill.com

Johnson: Based on what I know about Edward Snowden, I would pardon Edward Snowden.  from TexasTribune.org

Stein: Yes. We would pardon Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, John Kiriakou, Jeffrey Sterling, Julian Assange and other whistleblowers.

Trump: I think Snowden is a terrible threat. I think hes a terrible traitor. And you know what we used to do in the good old days when we were a strong country  you know what we used to do to traitors, right?  from WashingtonTimes.com

Lunduke: What is your stance on the current activities of the NSA in regard to surveillance and data gathering of U.S. citizens?

Clinton: On NSAs spying power, Clinton said, ... how much is too much? And how much is not enough? That's the hard part. I think if Americans felt like, number one, you're not going after my personal information, the content of my personal information. But I do want you to get the bad guys because I don't want them to use social media, to use communications devices invented right here to plot against us. So, let's draw the line. And I think it's hard if everybody's in their corner. So, I resist saying it has to be this or that. I want us to come to a better balance.  from TheAtlantic.com

[It should also be noted that Clinton voted for, and voted to re-authorize, the Patriot act.]

Johnson: "The NSA is a complete executive order as it is under Truman. We could turn those satellites on what is supposed to be the enemy. The fact that theyre pointed on us right now, doesnt that cause everyone a bit of concern? It should. Look, theres due process for spying, but due process is not blanket collection of all of our data."

Asked if he could eliminate the NSA via executive order: "Apparently. Im waiting for someone to prove me wrong. This is what Ive been told.  from TheHill.com

Stein: The ubiquitous surveillance conducted by the NSA erodes fundamental rights to privacy and free association, while furnishing a gigantic surveillance-industrial complex with taxpayer dollars. The warrantless internet and phone dragnets were ineffective in providing predictive value for anti-terrorist initiatives, as there was simply too much data to filter in any meaningful way, and instead were used as a repository of potential evidence (gathered without a warrant) only after an accusation had been made.

We have become the most surveilled population in history, and the potential for abuse is enormous. The way to stop terrorism is to stop funding and arming terrorists and countries that support terrorism and to end U.S. wars and foreign policies that create blowbacknot through unconstitutional spying that treats every cell phone and computer user as a suspected enemy of the state.

Trump: Well, I tend to err on the side of security, I must tell you, and Ive been there for longer than you would think. But, you know, when you have people that are beheading if youre a Christian and frankly for lots of other reasons, when you have the world looking at us and would like to destroy us as quickly as possible, I err on the side of security. And so thats the way it is, thats the way Ive been, and some people like that, frankly, and some people dont like that.  from TruthInMedia.com
Funeral held on Thursday in Tadley

TRIBUTES have been paid to Tadley borough councillor Rob Musson who died earlier this month.

Conservative councillor Mr Musson, who represented Tadley south on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council died on September 7, aged 63.

Borough council leader, Clive Sanders, who is also the borough councillor for East Woodhay (Con), said that he was saddened to hear of Mr Mussons death.

Mr Sanders said: Rob was a very well-regarded councillor in the borough, not only dedicated to serving the Tadley South community he represented, but also devoting time to support other organisations in the borough.

He was valued for his unique ability to view complex issues from different angles to see things that other people didnt see and for his determination to stand up for what he thought was right, but most of all he was just a good person to have around who contributed so much.

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to his family at this sad time.

The chairman of Tadley Town Council, David Leeks, who was Mr Mussons fellow borough councillor for Tadley South said: Rob was a great councillor  he would often join a debate looking at it from a new angle, one that nobody had seen before.

He was a trustee of the Allotments for the Labouring Poor charity and the Tadley & District Community Association.

He was a very well-respected chairman and councillor.

First elected to the borough council to represent Tadley South in 2007, in recent years, Mr Musson had been a member of three borough council committees  economic planning and housing, Manydown overview, and scrutiny and audit and accounts.

He was also the chairman of the borough councils economic prosperity and performance committee.

Mr Musson was a managing director for the Japanese corporation, Eizo, a manufacturer of high-end computer displays.

Mr Musson was a school governor at the Hurst Community College and he was also chairman of the management committee for the neighbouring Hurst Leisure Centre, both situated in Brimpton Road, Baughurst.

A husband, father to four children and a grandfather to nine, he and his wife had also been foster carers for several years.

Mr Mussons funeral was held at St Pauls church, in The Green, Tadley, on Thursday (September 22) at 1.30pm, where donations were made to St Michaels Hospice, Basingstoke.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low around 55F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low around 55F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
When a pharmaceutical company first develops a new drug to be used for a disease condition, it is initially sold under a brand name by which the clinicians can prescribe the drug for use by patients. The drug is covered under patent protection, which means that only the pharmaceutical company that holds the patent is allowed to manufacture, market the drug and eventually make profit from it.

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In most cases, the drug patent is awarded for around twenty years in the United States. The lifetime of the patent varies between countries and also between drugs. Since the company applies for a patent long before the clinical trial to assess a drugs safety and efficacy has commenced, the effective patent period after the drug has finally received approval is often around seven to twelve years.

Once the patent has expired, the drug can be manufactured and sold by other companies. At this point, the drug is referred to as a generic drug. According to guidelines in most countries, including those from the US FDA, generic drugs have to be identical to the branded drug in terms of efficacy, safety, usage, route of drug administration, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Therefore, a drug can be manufactured as a generic drug when the following apply:

Its patent has expired

The company that would manufacture the generic drug certifies that the patents held on the drug are either unenforceable, are invalid or would not be infringed upon

There has never been any patents on the drug before

In countries where the drug has no patent protection

Once the generic drug is on the market, the monopoly of the patent holder is removed. This encourages competition and results in a significant drop in drug costs, which ensures that life-saving and important drugs reach the general population at comparative prices.

The company holding the initial patent may, however, renew the patent by forming a new version of the drug that is significantly changed compared to the original compound. However, this may require new clinical trials and re-application of the patent. Furthermore, the new compound may have to compete with the original generic molecule on the market, unless the drug regulators find faults and remove the original from the market altogether.

Further Reading
Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited ("Concord Medical" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCM), a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Medstar (Shanghai) Leasing Co., Ltd, has signed a contract with IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) for the purchase, installation and maintenance of a proton therapy system, which will be installed at Beijing Proton Medical Center.

The Beijing Proton Medical Center is jointly developed by Concord Medical and China-Japan Friendship Hospital. The construction is expected to commence in this quarter. The center will be equipped with IBA's ProteusPLUS four room configuration, including three gantry-rooms and one fix-beam room. All rooms will be equipped with IBA's next generation Pencil Beam Scanning capability.

Dr. Jianyu Yang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Concord Medical, commented, "We are delighted to see Beijing Proton Medical Center has made a significant breakthrough after so much efforts had been made in these years. It is Concord Medical's first proton therapy center in China and we are glad to have IBA as our equipment vendor. Our partner, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, is a well-known general hospital in Beijing, with outstanding scientific research ability and nationwide brand awareness. Going forward, we will learn from the experience and technology from other advanced proton centers in the world and are committed to providing the best treatment for the cancer patients in China. By carrying out joint clinical research projects with oversea peers, we hope to achieve more academic breakthrough in proton cancer therapy research. "

Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer of IBA commented, "We are delighted to be enhancing our presence in China, another important indication of the appeal of our offering in the emerging markets. We are also pleased to be supporting Concord Medical to advance its vision of bringing proton therapy to more patients in China. IBA's proton therapy technology has been used to treat more cancer patients than any other company in the world. This extensive experience and knowledge of proton therapy treatment has allowed IBA to ensure that more patients are able to access this highly accurate form of cancer treatment."
Equicare Health Inc. announces that the company will demonstrate their oncology patient engagement software at the ASTRO Annual Meeting in Boston starting today. As part of the focus on patient engagement, Equicare has partnered with local non-profit, The Samfund, to investigate approaches to survivor engagement within the oncology community at ASTRO.

Equicare will support The Samfund, which provides financial support to young adult cancer survivors, by donating $25 to the organization each time visitors complete the survivor engagement survey within their exhibit booth. ASTRO visitors are encouraged to visit Equicare in booth #9051 during exhibit hours, Sept 25  27, 10AM - 5PM to complete the patient engagement survey and support The Samfund.

"ASTRO is always an excellent showcase of the best of oncology technology and we are pleased to demonstrate the benefits of our patient engagement software here. This year, however, we're especially proud to step beyond a demonstration to do something positive and practical for cancer survivors through The Samfund and our survivor engagement survey," states Equicare CEO, Len Grenier.

"The data collected in this survey will provide valuable insight into the challenges faced by oncology professionals, and will help us better understand the interactions between providers and cancer survivors," adds Samantha Watson, CEO of The Samfund. "The financial contribution from Equicare is, of course, hugely beneficial to our organization. We are grateful for their support and hope to see many ASTRO attendees at their booth."

Equicare is also proud to support the ASTRO Survivor Circle program. The Survivor Circle honors cancer survivors in the cities where ASTRO's Annual Meeting is held, and this year The Samfund is one of two organizations receiving the Survivor Circle Grant, along with Boston Cancer Support.
It has become commonly accepted that women do worse than men following a heart attack or other coronary event. Earlier studies have documented that young women are more likely to die from cardiac-related events compared to men in the twelve months after hospital discharge. A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, drawing on contemporary data from 26 hospitals, reports that young patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have good one-year prognosis and that both men and women now do equally well.

The occurrence of coronary heart disease in the general population has steadily declined over the past few decades, however, premature ACS remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The rate of decline in deaths from ACS among young to middle-aged adults has slowed, possibly due to increasing prevalence of abdominal obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in this population. In young women it has even increased.

"Despite such trends in younger adults, outcomes data in this population are still scarce," explained lead investigator Louise Pilote, MD, MPH, PhD, Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. "Furthermore, sex differences in adverse clinical outcomes of these patients remain understudied. We therefore aimed to measure the incidence of adverse clinical outcomes, as well as rates and reasons for rehospitalizations over the twelve months following hospitalization for an adverse coronary event, in patients aged 55 years or less."

Investigators used data from GENESIS-PRAXY (Gender and Sex Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease from Bench to Beyond in Premature Acute Coronary Syndrome), a multicenter prospective cohort study of patients hospitalized for ACS.

The wider aim of GENESIS-PRAXY is to document potential differences between men and women in presentation, access to care, and outcomes after the premature occurrence of acute coronary syndrome, and to investigate the potential biological, clinical, psychosocial, and environmental determinants of these differences.

Eligible patients were adults aged between 18 and 55 who were admitted to hospital with a confirmed diagnosis of ACS. Between January 2009 and April 2013, over 1,200 patients were enrolled in centers in Canada, the United States, and Switzerland.

Specifically, investigators documented two types of adverse clinical outcomes: major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) defined as any occurrence of recurrent ACS, a need for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, or cardiac-related mortality; and death (all-cause and cardiac-related).

In contrast to earlier studies, these investigators observed similar rates of major adverse cardiac events, deaths, and cardiac-related rehospitalizations between men and women in the year following hospitalization for premature ACS. In both men and women, the majority of rehospitalizations were cardiac-related, with chest pain or angina the most common reasons for rehospitalization.

Women were overall more likely than men to be rehospitalized for all causes after premature ACS, regardless of ACS type, but this difference was not present when looking at cardiac-related rehospitalization specifically. Men and women faced a high, yet similar, likelihood of MACE within the twelve months following the initial event. Women did not have an increased risk of mortality compared to men, and the overall mortality rate was low. The survival rate at one year was 99%.

"Although women were more likely to be rehospitalized, they had similar outcomes to men," commented Dr. Pilote. "It has been shown that women are more concerned and aware of their health than men, so it is possible that women have a greater rate of rehospitalization because they are more inclined to consult, and likely to be admitted following ER visits, given their recent ACS history.

"The 99% survival rate at one year is encouraging, and is lower than mortality rates observed in prior studies of older and comparable age patients, which may indicate that practices in younger ACS adults have improved," she concluded.

"In 2012, almost 1,900 Canadians under the age of 55 died from ischemic heart disease, which accounts for 9% of all deaths under 55 years in Canada annually. Premature ACS is also a significant cause of lost work productivity, unemployment, and disability in this young age category," noted Tara L Sedlak, MD, and Mona Izadnegahdar, PhD, of Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in an accompanying editorial. "This comprehensive and well-written study is encouraging for the future and provides valuable and much needed insight into understanding and improving the prognosis of younger ACS patients. The results of this long-term study, among an ACS population, are reassuring in that no important differences were seen in mortality or MACE between men and women during the first twelve months."
The first data on dental fillings that can actively repair tooth decay is presented by Professor Robert Hill. Professor Hill is Chair of Physical Sciences at the Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London and co-founder and director of research at BioMin Technologies.

Over 80 percent of the population in the UK has at least one filling, with seven being the average while eight million cavities are filled with amalgam each year.

This data, indicating smart repair of tooth decay, prolonging the life of composite fillings and reducing the need for mercury based amalgams indicates a significant step forward in tooth restorative materials.

Professor Hill outlines how new bioactive glass composites are unique in their ability to release fluoride as well as the significant quantities of calcium and phosphate that are needed to form tooth mineral.

Professor Hill explains that while current dental fillings include inert materials, the data on the new bioactive glass composite shows that it interacts positively with the body providing minerals that replace those lost to tooth decay.

"Our scientists and dentists at Queen Mary University of London replaced the inert tooth filling materials with our new bioactive glass, explained Professor Hill. "Not only did this bioactive glass composite remineralize the partially decayed teeth, but it also creates an alkaline environment that discourages the bacteria that caused the initial decay.

"The new bioactive glass also fills in the gaps with tooth mineral thus preventing the oral bacteria which cause tooth decay from establishing themselves. Research in the US suggests this will potentially prolong the life of fillings and slow secondary tooth decay because the depth of bacterial penetration with bioactive glass fillings was significantly smaller than for inert fillings."

Richard Whatley the CEO of BioMin Technologies who has recently licensed the technology from Queen Mary Innovations adds "We plan to translate the remineralizing technology developed with the BioMinF toothpaste into restorative dental products. This is a really exciting development which is attracting interest from a number of commercial companies."

He added, "There is also huge pressure to eliminate mercury based amalgam fillings by 2020 which is outlined in a host of international agreements. Using this type of bioactive glass composite to fill cavities eliminates the need to use mercury based amalgam by offering aesthetic white fillings which help heal the tooth."
The University of Alicante presents the results of a project to establish European guidelines for preparing the population for life after full-time employment. The results urge people to start planning as soon as 50.

'Start early' is the main message from project partners at the close of BALL, a two-year project led by the Evris Foundation in Iceland, in which Reykjavik (Iceland) and Lublin (Poland) Universities of the Third Age and the Permanent University of the University of Alicante (UPUA) also participated. The project addressed the urgent need to establish directives and best practices for preparing individuals early for retirement, stressing the importance of on-going learning, environment and cultural factors, and knowledge sharing.

In the final project meeting of this Erasmus+ initiative, the partners presented lessons learned and the main tangible results of the collaboration. These include a model awareness-raising campaign, the "Personal Development Academy" and the "Warehouse of Opportunities", all of which are outlined in the directives and recommendations document, "Towards a Dynamic Third Age".

Specifically, the University of Alicante led the development of the awareness-raising campaign model with the intention of enabling any centre, institute or association to prepare the local population for retirement. Researchers Concepcion Bru and Ronda and Nuria Ruiz of UPUA first made a European map of retirement and carried out surveys on the retirement situation (reports here). They then used this data to design the awareness campaign.

So why is it important to prepare for retirement?

The figures indicate that in welfare societies a person aged 50-55 has between ten and fifteen years before retirement, and then twenty more years of a full and active life after that. It is essential, then, that we ask ourselves what we want to do with our time during this period of our lives; what might we need to train in beforehand, from financial and legal issues, to preventive health, social skills, leisure activities, dependence prevention.

Bru stresses the importance of carrying out awareness-raising campaigns on the value of the third age in society, aimed both at the general public and those approaching retirement: "More and more people are living longer and in better health [and] the sudden stop in the activity you have spent your whole life engaged in" can lead to depression and related mental health issues.

Encouraging physical activity and inspiring a sense of inclusion and purpose is the overarching goal of the BALL project, but the key for Bru is that retirees, or those approaching retirement, are able to "reinvent themselves. Engage in something they've never done before, like volunteering. If you prepare yourself in good time and with good organisation and guidance, a better retirement is possible".

The idea, Bru tells us, is to continue work in the EU to put these recommendations into practice. Indeed, they are already being implemented by companies that took part in the project, as well as at an institutional level, via the regional ministry of education and the University of Alicante. Not to mention at the UPUA itself: "Much of the material we already teach is straight out of the project recommendations. This is why they asked us to participate, for our experience" (Bru).
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. While many cases of COPD are the result of an individual's habitual factors, many people in developing countries suffer from it due to indoor air pollution caused by poor housing and inappropriate cooking fuels.

Medical research carried out in Bangladesh has linked the high prevalence of COPD among women of rural Bangladesh to wide use of biomass for cooking in poorly ventilated kitchens.

An articled titled Indoor Biomass Fuel Smoke Exposure as a Risk Factor for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) for Women of Rural Bangladesh, published in Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College Journal, has concluded that COPD among rural women in Bangladesh is associated with the smoke from indoor biomass fuel.

The study was carried out among 250 women over 40 years of age living in five Upazillas (sub-districts) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. One in five women (20.4%) in the study had COPD.

Most of the households in the study area used biomass, which included wood, cow dung and charcoal, for cooking while some used natural gas or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). The prevalence of COPD among women using biomass was significantly higher (16.4%) than women using LPG (4%).

Dr. Rajat Sanker Roy Biswas, author of the article and Resident Physician in Chattagram Maa Shishu-O-General Hospital, Bangladesh, explained: "I carried out the research because I found many non-smoking women being admitted to the hospital with COPD".

"Rural women in Bangladesh neglect their health issues, so cooking is done mainly indoors with an open-fire traditional cooking stove, in a small adobe kitchen with a roof made of wood or grass, with or without any ventilation", Dr Biswas added.

Biomass smoke contains many pollutants and exposure to it causes several diseases including acute respiratory infections (ARI), middle ear infection, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, asthma, cancer of the nasopharynx and larynx, tuberculosis, perinatal conditions and low birth weight, and eye diseases such as cataracts and blindness.

The author has recommended use of cleaner fuel, use of burners or stoves that release less smoke from the combustion and regular respiratory health check ups of rural women who use biomass for cooking.
For patients who have cancer that has metastasized to the brain, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) results in statistically comparable survival rates, reduced cognitive decline and better quality of life (QOL), compared to whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), according to research presented today at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Surgical resection of large symptomatic brain metastases is often indicated to confirm diagnosis, remove the lesion(s) or reduce pressure within the brain, but there is a high incidence of tumor recurrence after surgery alone. Although post-operative WBRT significantly reduces tumor recurrence in the brain and is the current standard of care for patients following resection, the treatment can negatively impact a patient's cognitive function and quality of life. SRS targets escalated doses of radiation to the tumor with extreme precision; the advanced technique can eliminate cancerous cells in a single or very small number of sessions while limiting the impact on surrounding tissue.

"Stereotactic radiosurgery to the surgical cavity is widely used, despite the lack of clinical trials to substantiate its effectiveness," said Paul D. Brown, MD, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "Our multi-institutional, randomized trial is the first to demonstrate clearly the efficacy of SRS compared to WBRT in a post-operative setting."

The trial was conducted at cancer centers across the U.S. and Canada from 2011 to 2015. Participants included 194 patients, each with one to four brain metastases. Patients were randomized to receive either SRS or WBRT after surgical resection of one lesion. The majority of patients (77 percent) had a single brain metastasis, and lung tumors were the primary site for most patients (59 percent). The average patient age was 61 years, and study arms were balanced on baseline patient and tumor characteristics.

Primary outcomes in the trial included overall survival (OS) and cognitive deterioration free survival (CDFS), which was defined as a decline greater than one standard deviation from the patient's baseline in any of six cognitive tests. Major secondary endpoints included local control of the surgical bed, time to intracranial failure, and quality of life (QOL). Researchers computed Hazard Ratios (HR) to compare outcomes between treatment arms.

With a median follow up of 15.6 months, there was no statistically significant difference in overall survival rates between treatment groups, with a median OS of 11.5 months following SRS and 11.8 months following WBRT (p = 0.65). Moreover, SRS patients experienced significantly longer survival without cognitive decline, with a median CDFS of 3.2 months for SRS and 2.8 months for WBRT (HR, 2.0; p < 0.0001).

The cognitive impact of WBRT persisted at six months following treatment. The rate of cognitive deterioration at six months was 85.7 percent after WBRT, compared to 53.8 percent after SRS (p = 0.0006), with a higher percentage of WBRT patients experiencing worse immediate recall, memory and attention compared to those treated with SRS.

WBRT did provide higher overall intracranial tumor control; rates at six and 12 months were 90.0 and 78.6 percent with WBRT versus 74.0 and 54.7 percent with SRS (p < 0.0001). There was no clinically meaningful difference in median surgical bed relapse free survival between treatment arms, although long term follow-up showed better control with WBRT (7.7 months vs. 7.5 months, p = 0.04).

Patients treated with SRS experienced better quality of life than those who received WBRT. At three months following treatment, declines in QOL and physical wellbeing were significantly smaller after SRS than WBRT (mean QOL change from baseline: -1.5 vs. -7.0, p = 0.03; mean wellbeing change from baseline: -6.4 vs. -20.2, p = 0.002). At six months, physical wellbeing (decline of -3.2 vs. -15.1, p = 0.016) remained significantly better for SRS patients for.

"Our results confirm that radiosurgery to the surgical cavity is a viable treatment option to improve local control with less impact on cognitive function and quality of life compared to WBRT," said Brown. "There is no significant difference in survival whether a patient receives post-operative radiosurgery or WBRT, and radiosurgery avoids the well-known toxicities of WBRT. Furthermore, due to less time commitment and a quicker recovery after SRS, patients can restart systemic therapies more rapidly. Radiosurgery to the surgical cavity after resection of brain metastases, should be considered a standard of care and a less toxic alternative than the historic standard of care WBRT."

Source: American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
People under the age of 30 account for the majority, or 40 percent, of new HIV infections in the United States. This age group is also more likely than adults to own a smartphone and use this device to download apps and access health information. Recognizing adolescents' connection with mobile technology, a research team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with colleagues at Emory University, has secured $18 million in funding over the next five years from the National Institutes of Health to form the UNC/Emory Center for Innovative Technology or iTech.

"iTech will facilitate the execution of six research studies. Each study will use technology to address a barrier to the HIV care continuum," said Lisa Hightow-Weidman, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine and principal investigator of the Behavior and Technology (BAT) Lab at UNC. "For youth at risk of becoming infected with HIV, we will develop apps that aim to increase HIV testing, and use of and adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. For youth who test positive for the virus, we will develop electronic health interventions to engage them in care and improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy."

Based at UNC, iTech includes seven sites around the US, allowing researchers to collaboratively develop the center's health interventions. These health interventions will target 15-24-year-olds at risk for or currently living with HIV, specifically young men who have sex with men (YMSM). In 2010, YMSM accounted for 72 percent of new HIV infections among people aged 13-24. Hightow-Weidman said HIV disproportionately impacts African American and Latino YMSM; therefore, these groups will be a major focus of iTech's interventions.

"Despite recommendations that high risk youth receive an HIV test at least annually, many YMSM have not been tested in the last year and more than half of youth with HIV are unaware of their infection," Hightow-Weidman said. "Barriers to testing among youth include misperception of individual risk, fear of testing positive, concerns about confidentiality and access to healthcare services. Developing interventions to improve the uptake of HIV testing and facilitate entry into prevention and care services is the goal of our iTech studies."

The award for iTech is one of three U19 applications funded by the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to support the new Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN). UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health also received funding for a U24 award to serve as the ATN's Coordinating Center. The center will serve as the central resource for network communications, cataloging of biosamples, and data management.

The mission of UNC's Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases is to harness the full resources of the University and its partners to solve global health problems, reduce the burden of disease, and cultivate the next generation of global health leaders.
Glioblastomas are incurable malignant brain tumors. Usually the patients affected survive for only a few months. In addition, every tumor is quite different, which makes treatment very difficult. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now developed a completely new method as the basis for creating custom-tailored, two-stage therapies. Using tumor samples from a patient, they do lab tests to determine which substances can first make the different types of cancer cells uniform and then effectively kill them. The study has already been published online and will soon appear in the print edition of the technical journal "Clinical Cancer Research".

Glioblastomas are among the most common and malignant of brain tumors. "The tumor cells characteristically display great variety", says Professor Dr. Bjorn Scheffler of the Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology at the University of Bonn, who recently began doing research at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and is a Professor at the Essen University Hospital. The cells in such a brain tumor can display very different characteristics, such as varying cell size or number of cell nuclei. Because the different cancer cells within a tumorous tissue also develop different modes of defense against therapeutic measures, the treatment of patients is extraordinarily difficult. After surgical removal, radiation, and chemotherapy, this type of tumor often returns; drugs are then usually no longer effective.

A team under Professor Scheffler, consisting of researchers from the Bonn University Hospital, the Life & Brain Center, The German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, Tufts University Boston/Massachusetts, and other institutes in the USA, has now developed a new method that is expected to combat such complex brain tumors better. From tissue and cell samples from five glioblastoma patients, the scientists obtained 33 individual cancer cells capable of reproduction, which grew into very different tumors in the lab. For each patient, multiple representative test systems were thus available to study the different facets of a tumor representatively and individuallyseparately.

For each individual cancer cell, 180 active substances are tested

To find the best therapy for each one of these 33 tumor facets, the researchers tested about 180 different active substances. In doing so, the scientists made a surprising observation: "One and the same active ingredient caused most of the tumor facets to die", reports lead author Roman Reinartz of Professor Scheffler's Team. However, the cancer cells of individual other tumor facets of the same patient survived the treatment and were even able to reproduce much more intensively. "These initially resistant tumor facets could then be combated much more effectively with other active ingredients".

The different nature of the tumor cells requires the use of combined therapeutic measures. How many drugs were then needed to combat all the facets of a tumor effectively? "In the best case scenario two", explains Reinartz. Instead of using the combined chemotherapies simultaneously, as was previously the case, the researchers want to proceed step by step in the future. This is how the therapy of the future could look like: In order to prevent the further spread of the tumor in the brain, parts will be removed surgically, as is the current procedure. In the future, the tissue samples obtained could be subjected to lab tests, in order to catalogue the response behavior of the various tumor facets. For each patient, the suitable combination treatment could then be designed, which, in the first step, would turn the variety of different tumor cells into a mass of cancer cells of the same type. In the second step, the precise substance would be found selected from the catalog that would be the most effective weapon against the specially particularly enriched tumor facet.

Scientists bring order to chaos

Until now, the differences in the types of cancer cells in a glioblastoma have prevented successful treatment, because some of the resistant tumor facets might reproduce more intensively under the chemotherapy. With their method, the scientists are creating order from this seeming chaos. Professor Scheffler provides a comparison for the procedure: "Like a car that is disassembled into its individual parts to check for damage, we examine the different cancer cells". Once the characteristics of the cells of the tumor are known, this knowledge can be used to steer the complex system in the right direction.

With funding from the Lichtenberg Program of the Volkswagen Foundation, the researchers under Professor Scheffler at the University of Bonn have spent about eight years studying the characteristics and mechanisms of glioblastomas. "Our strategy can be expected to improve therapeutic chances substantially in the future, because this route makes it possible for us to make very precise predictions for the custom-tailored treatment of patients", says Professor Scheffler. The researchers have already carried out this step successfully in mice. In order to make the therapy available to people as well, further research will be necessary.

Source: University of Bonn
One Medicine: how human and veterinary medicine can benefit each other

Professor Roberto La Ragione

News-Medical speaks to Professor Roberto La Ragione, Chair of Trustees at Humanimal Trust, about the concept of One Medicine and how human and veterinary medicine can collaborate, share knowledge, and initiate research for the benefit of both humans and animals.
(Image: Manav Sinha)

(Image: Manav Sinha)

Hero MotoCorp has launched the new Achiever 150 at a price tag of Rs 61,800 and Rs 62,800 for the disc brake variant. All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi.The Achiever comes fitted with a 149 cc engine that delivers 13.4 horsepower and 12.8 Nm of torque and comes connected to a 5-speed transmission. The biggest attraction about the engine, though, is that it is BS-IV compliant. Which means the bike can continue to go on sale even when the new emission regulation norms come in place starting April 2017 wherein, it is mandatory for all two-wheelers to have a BS-IV engine.The bike also comes with Hero MotoCorp's i3S technology (idle-start-stop system) which helps in delivering a better fuel economy. The company claims that the bike is capable of doing 0-60 km/h in five seconds.In terms of styling, the Achiever comes with enlarged fuel tank, rear fairing, redesigned tail light, analog-digital speedometer with side stand indicator and Automatic Headlamp On (AHO) which enhances safety during daytime and low-visibility conditions.The bike will be available in three colour options and the company also unveiled a limited edition Achiever to commemorate the 70 million customers of the company. Only 70 units of this variant will ever be made.The company claims to have a market share of over 65% and 55% in the 100cc and 125cc segment respectively. What remains to be seen is whether the company is able to create a mark for itself in the premium 150 cc segment with their new offering.
That picture of @MichelleObama hugging George W. Bush makes me smile...#ItsMy2Cents  Larry King (@kingsthings) September 26, 2016

america needs these pictures rn pic.twitter.com/kqgTnnTRI1  David Mack (@davidmackau) September 24, 2016

Michelle reminds George Bush of all the women his parents paid to raise him. pic.twitter.com/3botIJ5ivG  Rod (@rodimusprime) September 25, 2016

A photo posted by Jack Fegeley (@shekelmaster46290) on Sep 25, 2016 at 6:10pm PDT

The first national museum devoted exclusively to the history and culture of African-Americans is now open.President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama opened the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall by ringing a bell from a historic African-American church on Saturday.The Obamas were joined at the museum by former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Former President George W. Bush had signed the law authorising the construction in 2003.Apart from the historic opening of the museum, the event saw the reuniting of two friends - Michelle Obama and George W. Bush.The first lady reached out and held Bush in a hug while President Barack Obama and former first lady Laura Bush clapped and looked on.While the event was important, it was this particular moment that grabbed the world's attention and internet users were quick to respond.As soon as the pictures made their way to the social media, internet users jumped in to have some good time and took it as an opportunity to flex their photo-editing skills.With input from AP.
Japanese pop girl group Pottya, who describe themselves as "chubby", performed their hits while eleven plus size amateur models strutted along the catwalk at a new men's fashion show in Tokyo aimed at breaking down obesity taboos.The Tokyo Pochari (plump) Collection, jointly organised by a plus-size clothing brand Sakazen Shoji Co and fashion magazine, Mr Babe, featured models weighing more than 100 kg (220 pounds) walking, twirling and posing on the catwalk.Thursday's event attracted more than 100 people, who were invited to disclose their weight for a discount on a new range of ready-to-wear plus size clothing items, but organisers said the event wasn't just about sales.They hoped to change attitudes towards plus-size people in Japan, where obesity levels are among the lowest in the developed world and large people - sumo wrestlers aside - are often depicted as figures of fun on television."I wanted to spread a notion that big and tall men, who have trouble finding clothes to wear, can actually choose from a wider varieties of outfits and enjoy being fashionable," said Li Tianwei, Sakazen Shoji sales manager.This year's event was so successful that organisers hope to run a bigger show in 2017 with both male and female models, they told Reuters."As a fatso or big woman, I want more of these kind of events. Even this one is still small-scaled, I want it bigger," said 37-year-old Momoko Kashiwazaki.
New Delhi: The first Incredible India Tourism Investors' Summit witnessed signing of 86 pacts worth around Rs 15,000 crore for the development of tourism and hospitality projects.



The first investment summit for tourism held in India came to a resounding close on Sunday with several announcements being made to promote investments in the sector.



This summit will be organised annually to boost tourism in the country. Besides, there are plans to set up an investor facilitation desk and task force to promote tourism.



"We will assist and support investors for making India the tourist destination of choice," a statement by industry body CII quoted Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma as saying.



He was speaking at the valedictory session of the 'Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit (IITIS) 2016' organised by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the CII and the Tourism Finance Corp.



The Minister assured the support and assistance of the Ministry of Tourism for investment projects.



He referred to the tourist helpline in 12 languages and highlighted that a portal is being opened for inviting suggestions. "Let us join hands to give tourists a memorable experience," Sharma said.



Among the major announcements are: institutionalisation of IITIS to be held annually with the next summit to be organised in September 2017; setting up of a task force headed by Secretary, Tourism, with membership from relevant ministries, states, and industry associations to undertake strategic planning and setting up of an investor facilitation desk to handhold investors and facilitate projects.



Besides, such meets will be organised in states with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said at the valedictory session.



States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh exchanged 86 MoUs during the session and many more are in the pipeline, aggregating close to Rs 15,000 crore, the statement said.



Gujarat exchanged MOUs worth around Rs 9,000 crore, Karnataka with Rs 2,600 crore, Rajasthan Rs 1,000 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 500 crore and Chhattisgarh Rs 12 crore.



Also B R Shetty group is keen to invest Rs 450 crore and Costa Cruise Rs 750 crore, Triveni Singapore close to Rs 800 crore in the country.



Global Director, Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank Cecile Fruman noted that the tourism sector is among the top sectors with potential to create jobs.



The World Bank is supporting India's Buddhist Circuit development and will provide support for sustainable tourism development including through funds, she added.
New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an urgent hearing on a PIL seeking declaration of the India-Pakistan Indus Water Treaty as unconstitutional.



"There is no urgency in the matter. It will come up for hearing in due course," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A M Khanwilkar said.



Advocate M L Sharma, who filed the PIL in his personal capacity on the issue, sought urgent hearing of the matter saying the treaty was unconstitutional as it was not signed as per the constitutional scheme and hence should be declared "void ab initio".



When the petitioner advocate pressed for an early hearing, the court asked him where he was all these years.



"Keep politics aside. The matter will come in due course," the bench said when the lawyer insisted on an urgent hearing.
New Delhi: In yet another breach at the LoC, gunshots were heard near the border in Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir. It is unclear whether terrorists infiltrated into India.







The village of Jalandara Bagtor has been cordoned off by security forces.



Search operations are underway.






Following the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an India Army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, the government on Monday decided to review the 56-year-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.At a meeting of senior officials chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was decided that an inter-ministerial commission would be set up to go into various provisions of the bilateral treaty that was signed in Karachi on September 19,1960, out of Pakistan's fear that since the source of rivers of the Indus basin are in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan during times of war."Blood and water cannot flow together," official sources here quoted Modi as saying during the meeting.The meeting decided to look at the full utilisation of the waters of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, the three western rivers of the Indus water system that flow through Jammu and Kashmir.The suspension of Jhelum navigation project is being reviewed and the government is working towards maximizing the use of western rivers for farmers in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.This includes increasing agricultural usage and hydroelectric capacity around the western rivers.Sources said that government plans to increase the storage capacities on western rivers and will increase the hydroelectric power generation from western rivers to 18,600 Mega Watts.Sources also said that government promised to work expeditiously on 3 dams on river Chenab.However, the government will not participate in the meetings of the Indus Water Commission which have taken place every year since 1960 because such meetings cannot take place in an atmosphere of terror, sources said.Government sources had earlier told CNN-NEWS 18 that the matter needs to be studied thoroughly before reviewing the treaty and taking it forward.The water distribution treaty brokered by the World Bank was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 after Islamabad's fear that since the source rivers of the Indus basin are in India, it could potentially create drought and famine in Pakistan during times of war.According to the agreement, India has control over three eastern rivers -- Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- all flowing from Punjab.Pakistan, as per the treaty, controls the western rivers -- the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum that flow from Jammu and Kashmir.Jammu and Kashmir has been demanding a review of the treaty as it robs the state of its rights to use the water of the rivers.India has been making diplomatic efforts to isolate Pakistan on the issue of "exporting terror" in the wake of the September 18 Uri attack. The meeting on the Indus Waters Treaty is being seen as an indication that the government could be looking at more options to exert pressure on Pakistan.(With inputs from IANS)Also read: Indus Waters Treaty: India to Use Water as Weapon to Fight Pakistan
New Delhi: Karnataka government on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of the September 20 order, asking it to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till Tuesday, on the ground that its reservoirs do not have sufficient water.



A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra on September 20 had directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till September 27, while raising the quantum fixed by the Supervisory Committee by 3,000 cusecs.



Karnataka, in its fresh plea, had expressed inability to implement the apex court order on various grounds including the fact that it does not have adequate water to supply to its cities including Bengaluru.



The apex court had on September 20 also directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) as directed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in its award.



On September 12, the apex court had asked both the states to ensure that "law and order" prevails.



It had modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.



The apex court bench was also critical of the language used in the plea of Karnataka seeking to keep in abeyance the September 5 order asking it to release 15,000 cusecs water per day to Tamil Nadu.
Kolkata: Six suspected Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists, including five wanted in the 2014 Khagragarh (in Burdwan) blast case, were arrested from West Bengal and Assam.



Joint Commissioner (Crime) Vishal Garg said, "Three were Bangladeshi nationals. Soon after the Khagragarh blast they left West Bengal and moved to South India and North Eastern states. They were planning subversive activities in some South Indian states. We are trying to find out the details."



The arrests were made by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police. "Those who were arrested include Anwar Hussain Farooq, the head of the outfit's West Bengal unit, and Yusuf Sheikh, the second in command in the state," Kolkata police sources said.



Sheikh, also the JMB chief motivator in the state, carried a Rs 10 lakh reward on his head announced by NIA.



The four others who were wanted in connection with Khagragarh blast of October 2, 2014, were Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jadidul Islam.



Kalam and Rubel were carrying on their heads a reward of Rs 3 lakh and 1 lakh respectively.



Yusuf and Shahidul were arrested from Natun Bazar under Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas district yesterday while Farooq and Rubel were picked up from Bagda Road in Bangao in the same district, Garg said.







Kalam was held from Coochbehar station in north Bengal yesterday while Jahidul was arrested from Cachhar district of Assam on Saturday.



Forged ID papers, 2 kg white powdery substance, one laptop, mobile phones, detonator, wire cutters, batteries Bangladeshi and Indian currency, letters written in Bengali, travel guide, books on chemicals and memory cards for camera were seized from them.



(PTI inputs)








New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear on Wednesday a petition by the Bihar government challenging the grant of bail to RJD strongman and former Siwan MLA Mohammad Shahabuddin in a murder case by the Patna High Court.



As the defence counsel sought a week's time alleging that Shahabuddin has become a victim of trial by the media, the bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy said they would not like to postpone the hearing even by a day.



"Since allegations and counter-allegations have been made, we don't intend to adjourn the matter. So many witnesses have been bumped off. You want to wash away everything?" the court asked.



However, later the judges indicated that they will adjourn the matter until Wednesday at the request of the defence counsel that Ram Jethmalani, who is going to represent Shahabuddin in the case, is yet to be briefed on the matter.



Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner and slain Rajiv Roshan's father Chandrakeshwar Prasad, urged the court to stay the September 7 Patna High Court order granting Shahabuddin bail. But Justice Ghose declined to put on hold the high court order immediately, saying, "We don't intend to pass an order of stay at this stage."



Opposing the plea by Bhushan, senior counsel Shekhar Naphade told the court that they are seeking adjournment also because they have to file some orders granting bail to Shahabuddin from various courts in Bihar.



Chandrakeshwar Prasad has moved the apex court challenging granting of bail to Shahabuddin as the trial in the Rajiv Roshan murder case is yet to commence.



Rajiv, the third son of Prasad, was allegedly killed by the henchmen of Shahabuddin, who was sentenced to life in a twin murder case. Shahabuddin's henchmen had allegedly killed Prasad's other two sons as well, and Rajiv was the sole eye-witness in the twin murder case.


Swaraj said there are countries that "speak the language of terror, nurture it, peddle it, and export it" and urged the UN General Assembly to isolate any nation that do not join in the fight against terror.

She said nations that peddle terror must be identified and that such countries should be held to account.

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA. https://t.co/9ZgwAbfPDr  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

#71stUNGA

Strange that Indian EAM is disowning the UN SC resolutions and that too at the UN  SpokespersonMOFA (@ForeignOfficePk) September 26, 2016

Modi Govt again flip flops on Pakistan in U.N. Let's India down. Much touted offensive of Modi Govt is unreal, misleading & hollow.  Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 26, 2016

Deeply disappointed by EAM Sushma Swaraj's address in UN. Even steered shy of calling Pak a 'terror state'. Strategic ambiguity writ large!  Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 26, 2016

Nation wants concrete action against rogue Pakistan not aimless political acronyms & rhetoric Modiji as seen in U.N.56 inches chest a Jumla?  Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 26, 2016

Addressing the 71st session of United Nations General Assembly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday emphatically declared that Kashmir belongs to India and that its offer of unconditional friendship to Pakistan was met with a series of betrayals in the form of cross-border terror attacks.Speaking in Hindi at the United Nations General Assembly, Swaraj in her 18-minute address said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan by inviting his counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, and also visiting Lahore last December in a goodwill gesture."But what did we get in return? Pathankot, Uri, Bahadur Ali," she said, referring to the January 2 terror attack on an air force base in Pathankot that left seven soldiers dead, and the Uri attack of September 18 in which 18 soldiers died, and the capture of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali.In a retort to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech last week where he harped on Kashmir, she said in the UNGA: "Kashmir is an integral part of India and it will remain an integral part of India. No one can take it away by force."Hitting out at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Swaraj very categorically said that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.The External Affairs Minister called upon the world body to unite in its fight against those who "seed" extremist ideologies."The germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster, backed by technological sophistication that threatens the peace and harmony of our world." She said, adding that "If we want to defeat terrorism, there is only one way - that we unite across our differences."Clearly referring to Pakistan, she said: "These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations."Sushma termed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's allegations of human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir as "baseless" and said "those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression."After the address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sushma Swaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at the United Nations General Assembly.Responding to the speech, Pakistan Foreign Ministry said "Can Indian EAM explain that if Kashmir is an " integral part of India, why is it on the Agenda of Security Council?"Congratulating Swaraj for speaking in Hindi at the international foray Shashi Tharoor told CNN-News18, "It was a well drafted speech. By speaking in Hindi Sushma was targeting Indian and Pakistani audience.""The balance of the speech was striking and the message strong" he added.The Congress however seemed disappointed by Sushma's speech.Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted "Modi Govt again flip flops on Pakistan in U.N. Let's India down. Much touted offensive of Modi Govt is unreal, misleading & hollow."Swaraj's speech assumes significance in the backdrop of Nawaz Sharif's statement that Uri Attacks could be in response to the situation in Kashmir Valley.(With inputs from agencies)Also read: Indian Minister Disowned UN Resolutions in Speech: Pakistan
United Nations: India on Monday told the UN that its offer of unconditional friendship to Pakistan was met with a series of betrayals in the form of cross-border terror attacks.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to the podium at UNGA and emphatically declared that Kashmir belongs to India and Pakistan will never be successful in its designs.

Hitting out at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Swaraj very categorically said that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.

In her 18 minute-long address, Swaraj also referred to Uri and Pathankot attacks and said that countries that harbour terrorists need be isolated.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan by inviting his counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, and also visiting Lahore last December in a goodwill gesture.

But what did we get in return? Pathankot, Uri, Bahadur Ali, she said, referring to the January 2 terror attack on an air force base in Pathankot that left seven soldiers dead, and the Uri attack of September 18 in which 18 soldiers died, and the capture of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali.

Swarajs speech was in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs diatribe against India over Kashmir and Uri Attacks.

Swarajs speech assumes significance in the backdrop of Nawaz Sharifs statement that Uri Attacks could be in response to the situation in Kashmir Valley.

(With inputs from IANS)

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United Nations: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday lauded India for its "swift action" over the decision to ratify the Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking

forward to receiving New Delhi's instrument of accession.



"The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift

action by India. He looks forward to receiving India's instrument of accession," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.



Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.



The agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.



Specifically, it seeks to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.



The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.



A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.



Ban said this week that since more than 55 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, a critical threshold has been crossed that will help bring into force the landmark pact that seeks to put the world on a path towards low-carbon growth and a more sustainable future.



"I am confident that, by the time I leave office, the Paris Agreement will have entered into force," the UN chief has said.



"This will be a major achievement for multilateralism," he said.



India, which along with the US and China is among the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the

shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.



It has announcedplans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the governments plan to supply electricity to every household.



India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photo-voltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.
Over the last couple of years, India has been following a revised tactic at the UNGA with the specific aim of countering Pakistani propaganda. India has been fielding its Foreign Minister instead of the head of government which is the Prime Minister to spell out our position at the UNGA. This is because if the Prime Minister were to speak, then alphabetically since I comes before P, the Indian Prime Minister would have to speak before his Pakistani counterpart which would not give him a chance to respond to Nawaz Sharif's diatribe. Instead India has been fielding External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, arguably the best speaker in this government after the Prime Minister to do all the talking. So as Sushma takes the podium at the UNGA for the second year running, at a time of tense bilateral ties between India and Pakistan, what should we expect from her speech later tonight. Here are five broad areas she will touch upon.





1. Terrorism. Obviously the Uri attack will form the backdrop for Indias reply at the UNGA. Much of Sushmas speech is expected to focus not just on Uri but also on the series of attempts, both foiled and successful, at disturbing the peace in South Asia. There have been 17 such attempts in the last 3 months alone. Post Uri, there have been at least 3 infiltration attempts which have been thwarted. Sushma will try to strengthen the perception that India is a victim of terrorism that is emanating from across its borders. Not just India, but all the terrorism that afflicts South Asia, whether in Afghanistan or in Bangladesh is all coming from the same source, Pakistan.



2. No war-mongering. Given the state of play between New Delhi and Islamabad and given the mood on the street in India post-Uri, it is easy and tempting to fall into the trap of sounding the battle bugle. But as was clear from the Prime Minister's speech over the weekend in Kozhikode, India is not going to plunge South Asia into another war. Modi seems to have made the simple calculation that India has far more to lose if we were to go to war than our adversary Pakistan. Hence the line, 'we are ready for war. War against poverty, war against illiteracy and war against disease.' Sushma will cash in on that and portray that India is willing to play statesman but there has to be resolution to the terrorism issue.



3. Balochistan. In keeping with the Prime Minister's Independence day speech where he highlighted the massive human rights violations in Balochistan, Gilgit and POK, Sushma too will pursue this new strategy. India's attempt is to blunt any negative propaganda from the Pakistanis on Kashmir by showing them the mirror on Balochistan. That explains the rationale behind the decision to grant political asylum to Baloch leader Brahmdagh Bugti. So far no country has made a noise about interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs, so why not make hay while the sun shines?



4. Indo-Pak dialogue. Nawaz Sharif in his speech last week had said that India was imposing unnecessary pre-conditions for dialogue. Sushma is expected to reiterate her stand from last year. India doesn't need any four point proposal. Our only condition is to end terrorism, and the we'll talk. India is keen to show the international community that it is not being obstinate about not returning to the negotiating table. Big countries don't walk away from dialogue.



5. Kashmir. Obviously one wouldn't expect to see the Indian foreign minister acknowledge the failings of her government over the last 80 days which has seen Kashmir burning, but her attempt will be to show that much of the unrest in the Valley has been instigated by vested interests from the other side. Again the attempt would be to isolate Pakistan on the global stage for actively supporting violent terrorists like Burhan Wani and constantly keeping the pot boiling in Kashmir.



Hopefully after Sushma's speech, and now that we are not going to war any time soon, we can focus back on domestic politics. Gau raksha, anyone?






Mumbai: Four days after a group of men were spotted moving suspiciously near a Naval base at Uran near here, Navi Mumbai police on Sunday called off their search operation.



"The search operation for the suspects in Uran has been operationally modified. But check points continue to be on the vigil. Any information on the issue is being thoroughly verified and steps are being taken to counter any untoward incident," Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said in a statement today.



Indian Navy, which had sounded highest state of alert after the first report of sightings of the armed suspects, had wound up the search operation two days back.



Some students of the Uran Education Society's school had reported to have seen some suspicious-looking armed men in Uran, about 47 km from here, on Thursday, following which their teacher had informed the police. Subsequently, the Navy had issued a "highest state of alert" along the coasts, where several sensitive establishments and assets are located.



The alert had come four days after the Uri attack, which left 18 soldiers dead.



Massive combing operation in Uran and Karanja areas is being carried out with the help of Coast Guard and CISF.



The elite commandos from National Security Guard (NSG) and state police's specialised 'Force One' had also been roped in.



Western India's biggest naval base, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, fertiliser plants, refineries, power plants and the country's largest container port, JNPT are located in close vicinity of Uran.



Coastal security has been top priority after the 26/11 attacks, in which multiple locations in Mumbai were targeted by Pakistani terrorists who landed in the city using sea route.



The fishing town of Uran is located across the eastern water front of the financial capital. The base located close to the town also houses units of MARCOS, the Navy's elite strike force.
New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday left on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two West

African nations besides participating in a number of events.



His visit to Nigeria is at the invitation of his counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.



From Nigeria, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.



The vice president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal and MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim.



In Abuja, Ansari will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.



He will also meet the governor of Lagos and deliver an address to the joint business forum at the University of Lagos.



The vice president will inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex at Abuja and interact with members of the Indian community both in Abuja and Lagos.



"The vice president's visit (to Nigeria) intends to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, expand and diversify bilateral economic engagement and explore new avenues of partnerships on a wide range of issues of shared common interest," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.



In Mali, Ansari will meet the president, the prime minister and also address the National Assembly.



The visit to Mali is aimed at boosting the relationship between the two countries and explore new areas of cooperation to expand and diversify bilateral relationship.


Srinagar: Controversial Independent MLA from Langate Sheikh Abdul Rashid was on Monday detained along with several of his supporters as he tried to march towards the local office of the United Nations Military Observers Group.



Rashid and his supporters were detained by police near Sher-e-Kashmir Park while marching towards Sonawar office of the UN Military Observers, a police official said.



The MLA and dozens of his supporters were taken to Kothibagh Police Station.



A spokesman for the MLA said they were marching to the UN office to demand plebiscite for settlement of Kashmir issue.
Bengaluru: Former Minister KJ George was sworn in as a cabinet minister in Karnataka government on Monday, a week after the Karnataka CID cleared him of all charges in the suicide case of Mengaluru Deputy SP MK Ganapathi. On the same day, News18 had reported that George would be reinstated as a minister within a week or in a month's time.



The CID submitted a report at the local court in Kodagu district giving a clean chit to George who had to quit as Bengaluru Development minister when a TV channel aired a video of Dy SP Ganapathi's statement - made shortly before he was found dead - naming the minister as one of the persons harassing him.



The CM had to drop him and order a probe after Opposition parties stalled the Karnataka assembly, and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa raised the issue in Parliament in July.



After George's resignation Siddaramaiah kept his portfolios with himself and, sources in the government indicate, there was an understanding that he would get his portfolios back if cleared in the CID probe.



George, who earlier handled the home portfolio, is considered close to Sonia Gandhi and acts as a link between Siddaramaiah and the Congress high command. He is also a very influential MLA from Bengaluru city with a big following.



Dy SP Ganapathi committed suicide in July alleging harassment from George and two senior IPS officers ADGP AM Prasad and IGP Pronab Mohanty. After George's resignation, these two officers were transferred, but they were also given clean chit by Karnataka CID due to lack of evidence.


Panaji: Senior NCP leader Praful Patel on Monday said his party is yet to discuss with Congress on the issue of having an alliance for the Goa Assembly elections slated next year.



"There are many discussions (for alliance in Goa Assembly polls) that are taking place. At this moment I don't want to give any committed answer but as NCP we are working to strengthen the party," Patel told PTI.



He said the NCP is yet to discuss with the Congress (on the issue of alliance).



"We had fought along with Congress in past. Whether to go with them or not will be decided as election nears. There are other political parties that too are also talking," he

said.



NCP in alliance with Congress had fought 2012 Goa Legislative Assembly election but had failed to win on even a single seat in the coastal state.



Patel was in Vasco to address workers' convention in which kicked off the party's campaign for Goa polls.



"We will work to be in a position to contest on maximum number of seats. Depending on the situation, we will= try to form a larger combination," he added.



The leader also said ahead of Goa pollsall options are open.



"Today we are starting our campaign from Vasco constituency. We will work towards further strengthening the party," the NCP leader said.



"There are many people who are in touch with us. As the party decides and as the situation demands we will take an appropriate decision. There are other political parties talking to us so we will take appropriate decision," he added.



Patel said at the end of the day, the NCP also has to take other parties along.



"Goa is looking for alternative. They have seen five years of BJP-MGP and I am sure people want a change. There are lot of smaller parties that are also contesting so we will

talk at the appropriate time," Patel added.



Tomorrow, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee is scheduled to meet here to shortlist the candidates and also discuss on the possibility of alliance with 'like-minded parties'.


Lucknow: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was quick to blame the RSS and BJP after a shoe was thrown at him during a rally in Sitapur district of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.



"A BJP and RSS worker attacked me when I was heading for my rally. I would like to tell them that they can keep attacking me but I will continue fighting. I won't back down," he said.



The BJP was quick to denounce the shoe-throwing incident and accused Rahul Gandhi of copying AAPs modus operandi of blaming others and trying to get political mileage out of the incident.



Rahul's JHOOTE PAR JHOOT. Blaming BJP shows his desperation. Has Cong begun to stage events like AAP? Shoe throwing & political use condemnable, tweeted BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao.



The shoe thrown by Hariom Sharma, a resident of Shastri Nagar locality, flew past the Congress leader's head and missed him narrowly.







He was immediately detained by the police.



An eyewitness claimed to have heard Sharma say "roadshow is useless" after he threw the shoe at Gandhi.



The Congress leader has been on a poll campaign in the election-bound state.


Burlington: The 20-year-old suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting said nothing and appeared "zombie-like" when he was arrested by authorities nearly 24 hours into an intense manhunt, authorities said.



As the small city absorbed the news, critical questions remained, including the shooter's motive.



Island County Sheriff's Lt Mike Hawley said he spotted Arcan Cetin from a patrol car yesterday evening in Oak Harbor, Washington, and immediately recognised him as the suspect who killed five people at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington.



Hawley said at a news conference they had received information that Cetin, of Oak Harbor, was in the area Cetin, who immigrated to the US from Turkey, is a legal permanent resident who has been living in Oak Harbor, authorities said.



He had been arrested once before in the county for assault, Hawley said.



"I literally hit my brakes, did a quick turn, I jumped out," Hawley said. "We both jumped out with our guns, and he just froze."



Cetin was unarmed and was carrying a satchel with a computer in it.



"He was kind of zombie-like," Hawley said.



The suspect's arrest capped a frantic search following the slayings of five people the day before.



The first 911 call came in just before 7.00 PM (local time) on a busy Friday at the Cascade Mall- A man with a rifle was shooting at people in the Macy's department store.



By the time police arrived moments later, the carnage at the Macy's makeup counter was complete.



Four people were dead, and the shooter was gone, last seen walking toward Interstate 5. The fifth victim, a man, died in the early morning hours yesterday as police finished sweeping the 434,000-square-foot building.



"There are people waking up this morning, and their world has changed forever. The city of Burlington has probably changed forever, but I don't think our way of life needs to change," Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton said yesterday at a news conference.



Authorities said it now appears the rifle was brought into the mall from the suspect's vehicle that was there, Mount Vernon police Lt Chris Cammock said yesterday night.



Cetin has not been charged, Cammock said. He will be booked into the Skagit County Jail and is expected to appear in Skagit County District Court tomorrow.
Washington: Alleging that Pakistan is using jihadist extremism to administer and is bent upon extinguishing other cultures in the country, a top US lawmaker has warned Islamabad that it might be headed for 1971 like partition soon if it continues to do so.



"Those who think that they can keep Pakistan together by attacking and extinguishing other cultures with jihadist extremism should go visit Dhaka," Congressman Brad Sherman, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific said at an event yesterday.



In his address to the Sindhi Foundation, he said the successive Pakistani governments, in particular the current one, has systematically tried to attack the rich cultural heritage of Sindhi.



Sherman was felicitated by the Washington-based Sindhi Foundation for his efforts in protecting Sindhi language and people.



It is using government machinery to "extinguish" the rich Sindhi language and culture, the Congressman said.



"If Islamabad thinks that the way to establish and retain its territorial integrity by slowly or quickly trying to extinguish the cultures of the nations that Pakistan has unified together, well they should look at Bangladesh," Sherman said.



President of Karachi-based Sindh United Party Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah claimed that religious extremism prevails today in Pakistan because of its "two-nation theory".



"When it is being claimed by the State that it is Muslim state and the rule of Islam is the fundamental instrument of the state affairs than the peace and harmony in the region will be always under threat," he said.



"We demand from the world community to support the secular, national and real democratic forces in Pakistan for their autonomous national identity in the federation of Pakistan," Shah said.



Unnecessary involvement in the internal affairs of neighboring countries has created security problems in the region, he added.



"We believe that Pakistan should maintain good relations with all its neighboring countries, particularly Afghanistan and India through non-interference in their internal affairs," Shah said.



This will reduce the tension on border and defence budget, he said, adding the funds so saved shall be spent on the development of the country to bring peace, progress and prosperity.



Sherman alleged the government of Pakistan is using jihadist extremism as a tool to find excuse for slow development and corruption in the country.




It may be hard to believe today, but for almost 200 years there were brothels in Lynchburg and thanks to a local researcher, the bawdy women who lived in them are brought back to life every year during a tour at Old City Cemetery.

For 20 years, local historian Nancy Weiland has led a guided walking tour to the gravesites of some of Lynchburgs sporting ladies buried at the cemetery. More than a dozen were buried on site and Sunday Weiland shared their personal stories she has uncovered while researching the history of the red light districts in Lynchburg during the 19th and early 20th centuries  a passion of hers since the 1980s.

We probably wouldnt know this part of history, Weiland said during Sundays Bawdy Ladies of 19th-century Lynchburg tour at the cemetery. As historical as Lynchburg is, I seem to be the first and only one to come along and say 'Hey, I think Im gonna investigate the prostitutes of Lynchburg.'

The ladies worked first at Buzzards Roost downtown and then on Fourth Street between Federal and Monroe streets. The last brothel closed in 1964.

Many of the stories Weiland told before a crowd of dozens of onlookers Sunday were humorous and light-hearted but some others ended with tragedy and suicide.

Ted Delaney, the cemeterys executive director, said this is the only cemetery in the city that does this kind of tour since all others prevented these women from being buried there. Old City Cemetery was owned by the city, so therefore, no one could be denied.

Delaney said there are still some people who still remember the red light district on Fourth Street.

World War II soldiers would come and wait in line there, he said.

The goal was to become a madam who ran the brothel. The best sporting houses had maid, housekeepers, cooks and a piano player.

The men often used these facilities as a social club, she said. They would go there to play cards, have a drink and the better homes were finely furnished and the women dressed in the latest fashion.

Often times in her research, Weiland found that the prostitutes occupation was really listed as seamstress in various Censuses. She said to find out whether they really were a seamstress or not, she had to look at the listed address for where the woman lived since many lived in the red light districts.

The going rate for the services these women offered was about $5 in the 1940s.

Jenny Thurman, who participated in the tour two years ago, said she learns something new every time she comes.

Even since I came last time, Ive learned a lot more, she said. I think because the story is so in depth you cant take it all in at one time. I think its just really cool because a lot of people dont know the background of Lynchburg, they dont know theres a lot more to Lynchburg.

Between 1907 and 1910 there were 30 madams on Fourth Street running brothels, Weiland said.

So were talking about eight houses on Monroe, seven houses on Jackson and Fourth Street had 16 houses, so we had 31 houses in the district.

In 1860 the total population of Lynchburg was 6,853. It was estimated there was one prostitute for every 3 males inhabitants in Lynchburg, she said.

At the end of the tour she reminded people that, whatever their opinion is about the profession, to remember that many of the girls moved on with their lives, got married and had children and never looked back.

This is one of those complicated stories  you can see theres a humanity here, she said. You follow through in the Victorian time when women had no choice and what they could do to earn a living and so this is the profession they either chose because they were a single mother, widowed, they had no home to go to and a lot of them worked their way out of it. You cant look at these women with one opinion or another; theyre just a little bit of everything.
Kroger adds ClickList to second Lynchburg-area store

Kroger on Thursday added ClickList, its service combining online ordering with curbside pickup, to its Forest store.

The service allows customers to order groceries online (hot foods and prescriptions excluded) at www.kroger.com/clicklist, then pick them up the next day for a $4.95 fee.

The grocery chain said it adds 25 jobs each time it begins ClickList at a store. Last week, it began offering the service at its Timberlake Road store, the first in the Lynchburg region to offer ClickList.

Kroger employs more than 700 people in the Lynchburg area.

Staff reports

New VAR president named

Claire Forcier-Rowe, manager of Long & Foster Real Estates Hanover and Bay/River offices, has been elected president of the Virginia Association of Realtors.

She succeeds Bill White, president of Joyner Fine Properties, as the elected leader of the association  one of the largest trade groups in the state with more than 32,000 members.

Forcier-Rowe will assume her new post Nov. 8.

Throughout my experience at VAR and with national peers, I have gained significant insight into industry shifts and opportunities to expand the professional development of our members, Forcier-Rowe said in a statement.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Theme park industry group leaving Va.

The largest association for the theme park industry is moving its headquarters to what many consider to be the theme park capital of the world.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions on Wednesday announced it intends to move its headquarters to Orlando from Alexandria, Va., outside Washington.

The move would take place in 2017.

Association officials say the move will allow professionals in the theme park industry to connect with its professional staff.

They say it also will make it easier to recruit candidates involved in the industry.

The association also says it intends to hold its massive annual conference in Orlando for another five years. The association had committed to holding the conference in Orlando through 2025 and now that commitment extends to 2030.

Associated Press

Estate planning workshop planned for farmers

The Campbell County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension is holding a Farm Transition and Estate Planning Workshop Nov. 15.

Families with questions about taxes, legal and family issues of transferring their farms, estates and agricultural businesses are encouraged to attend.

Topics will include goals for the future of your farm, business profitability, Medicaid, guardianship issues, retirement planning, planning to divide your estate, tax management, and business organizations related to agriculture.

The panel will include attorneys and extension agents with experience in ownership succession issues, the use of limited liability companies, and other techniques used to transfer wealth.

The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cooperative Extension Office at 163 Kabler Lane in Rustburg. Registration is $10 per person, which includes lunch. For more information, contact Todd Scott at the Campbell Extension Office at (434) 332-9538.

Margaret Carmel
Hawk Claus spreads Christmas cheer in DC's Grifter Got Run Over By a Reindeer first look

Take a look at two stories from the DC holiday special including the titular chapter and a Hawkwoman and Hawkman tale
Byline of a trailblazer

As a memoir, Byline documents the life and career of the late, trailblazing, Newsday editor-in-chief who carved a unique path in a profession that had always been defined by men.

On one level, Byline is a history of Trinidad and Tobago journalism and Mills special place in that history considering she served as editor- in-chief at two out of three, major daily newspapers in her long, illustrious career.

Equally important, Byline offers a glimpse of Mills writing style, offering proof of her ability to identify, shape and package a story in her own indelible style.

Whether she is speaking about idyllic days of growing up in Diego Martin, her familys move to Belmont, the treasures of discovering a newspaper library or her coverage of Prime Minister Eric Williams death, Mills has an uncanny way of creating meaningful experiences for every reader out of her own reflections.

Mills daughter Suzanne, who has followed in her mothers journalistic footprints, adds yet another level to this book by presenting a personal essay about her mother that adds a touching, insightful look at the end of Mills life.

Highlighting Mills energy and enthusiasm for journalism, Suzanne captures how her mother always mustered the strength and energy for the cause of family and journalism.

The essays and interview Suzanne has gathered from stalwarts of journalism capture the indomitable spirit and reflect the respect and enthusiasm that Mills inspired in her journalists.

Journalist John Babb covers the ground before Mills became a journalist, tracing her early career at the Trinidad Guardian to her last job at Newsday, Horace Monsegues interview and Dr Hamid Ghany add their insights into Mills as a journalist, but it is Andre Bagoos essay, A Sleeping Dragon, which captures the excitement of journalism and gives the most insight into Mills as a fierce competitor and champion of free speech.

Included in Bagoos essay is Mills commentary, dated Friday, February 10, 2012, about a police raid on Newsday offices.

Here, readers experience Mills, well into her 80s, defending her journalists and freedom of speech with the energy of a young woman, not at all like the octogenarians we imagine.

Each chapter of Mills memoirs offers some surprising new revelation that stems from a memory.

The importance of family clearly emerges in Mills memoirs, and it becomes an unspoken lesson about the importance of valuing family for all who tend to bury their lives with work.

There is likely to be unexpected revelations.

In Providence, Mills rebelled against the uniform; she wanted to be a lawyer, and she had no clear idea which profession she would enter when she graduated from secondary school.

Her early days at the Gazette, where she started off as a librarian, reveal the type of news carried in the 40s, and Mills reactions to that news, which varied from humour (discovering a letter from her uncle published in the newspaper) to shock (at discovering how domestic violence was treated).

Byline is the story of an iconoclast who understood the power of language and dared to dream beyond what most of us can imagine. As Babb writes, Despite every effort to make us fail, Newsday grew from zilch to become the Peoples Paper in less than a decade. It was beyond everyones wildest dreams.

But perhaps not beyond Thereses. You can find Byline in leading bookstores throughout TT and on Amazon.com.
SUSPENDED COP HELD IN RIA'S ABDUCTION

The trio were who were up to late yesterday assisting police officers with the investigations, were detained at a house along the Rochard Road, in Penal and taken into police custody after shortly after midday yesterday.

The police officer detained is reportedlu on suspension leave. Police officers have also issued an official sketch of a fourth suspect. The sketch shows a man wearing a cap with the writings, Police. At the crime scene Penal polices officers also found a black X-Trail vehicle matching the description of the getaway vehicle used in the abduction of the young mother. According to police reports at about 8am yesterday, a high-powered team comprising officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Criminal Investigation Department and others acting on information went to a house along the Rochard Road, Penal.

Reports said that a search warrant was executed at the premises where police officers found to the back of the house, a black X-Trail vehicle parked in a garage. The vehicle was subsequently impounded and sent for forensic testing. Investigators spent hours at the premises as crime scene investigators combed the premises. Sookdeo, a well-known hairdresser of Ragoo Village Extension, Wellington Road in Debe, was snatched moments after kissing her nine-year-old daughter Elena and son Toraz, five, as she saw them safely through the school gates. She drove away from the school, up a hill, a stones throw away to Picton Estate Drive, where she made a routine turn every morning and evening before heading back home.

Police believe her abductors were lurking nearby and, according to reports, as she attempted to turn was intercepted by a man dressed in police uniform. The man, police said, dragged Sookdeo out from behind the steering wheel of her red Nissan X trail SUV and threw her into a waiting black Nissan X trail before speeding off. Surveillance cameras in the area picked up the vehicle.

Newsday was told the getaway vehicle was spotted in the Lengua district sometime later.

Sookdeos cell phone and handbag remained in her vehicle.

Today marks five days since the young mothers disappearance.

Yesterday as police condoned the premises, scores of curious neighbours lined the roadway.

Among the neighbours were Sookdeos family members who rushed down to the scene with the hope that the young mother was found. They told Newsday that they hoped that this new information would help with the case. We are not giving up.

We have spent the days searching and looking all over for Ria in all different forests, Cedros and Moruga,said relative Asha Dass.

She said that the police officers have accompanied them in some of the searches while they conducted other searches on their own as groups. We are just looking and hoping to find something that would help us.

We are praying and hoping to find her, Dass said. Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Sookdeos father Frankie Rajkumar, 64, said that he was hopeful that a breakthrough would be made into the disappearance of his daughter. While we are not sure if that was vehicle in fact used , but I am glad that we are making some headway, the distraught man said. The family continues to host prayer services at their home. Investigations are continuing.
Two die in highway crash

The two dead men have been identified as Rajendra Persad, a Guyanese national, and Daniel Alexander, from Maraval. Their deaths brought the total number of road fatalities for the year to 67. The driver of the Hilux, has been charged with driving under the influence as he failed a breathalyser test which police performed after the accident.

According to reports, at around 11.45 on Saturday, the driver, a 49-year-old contractor of Bonne Aventure Main Road, Gasparillo was driving his vehicle along the north bound lane along the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway. At the same time a white Nissan Frontier, driven by Persad, who is employed at Victoria Medical Laboratories, San Fernando, was travelling in the same direction, but behind the Hilux.

When the driver reached near the Chase Village Overpass, Persads vehicle slammed into the rear of his Hilux. Persad lost control of the vehicle and it flipped several times before reaching to a stop on the median of the highway.

The occupants were trapped in the vehicle, until police and emergency services were called and FSSO Mahadeosingh and a party of officers of the Fire Service arrived, and used a cutting instrument to free the occupants free from the vehicle.

Alexander succumbed to his injuries at the scene, and Persad was rushed to the Chaguanas Emergency Department, then transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, however Persad did not survive the trip to the hospital.

Investigations are ongoing.
Mom fears son will act up

It is the son she takes care of at home who concerns her the most.

Alana is unable to get a steady source of the drug Susterna, which her son needs to get an injection once a month to treat his condition; he is schizophrenic. Susterna is an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia.

Alana said her son began taking the treatment in April when his condition was diagnosed and she had been getting the medication at the Wellness Centre, in Port-of- Spain.

She went to the centre as usual two weeks ago for her son to get his usual injection only to be told they had none in stock. She was advised to go to the St Anns Psychiatric Hospital to get the medication.

There, she was turned away and told to return the next day.

I went back the next day and they told me they only had the injection for certain patients. I have been up and down with my son.

Hes an outpatient at St Anns Hospital and I am trying to make sure that he stays okay because hes a young man, hes 27. The head nurse took me to the back and I saw all the injections there. They told me he could get it only if he is admitted to the hospital. He does well once he gets the injection so there is no need to have him admitted, Alana told Newsday.

Alanas problem was that she was told that Government was no longer going to purchase the drug because of the high cost. One dose of Susterna was between $3,000 and $4,000.

 I spoke with someone and she told me that they had orders from up high that they would not be purchasing the medication. The nurses said they were not allowed to give the drug to new patients.

That medication is not only for schizophrenics you know, but the people are accepting things just as it is. They are just taking what the doctor gives them. They gave him Risperdal and that makes him like a zombie and he is unable to work if he uses it. He is unable to function as a human being.

That is why we are having so many homeless people. What they are saying is that the minister prefers to have mad people on the streets and they are going to cause harm to people, then their family would have to go to social welfare to get financial support to keep them, Alana said.

She said most patients with schizophrenia did not take their tablets, so the injection was more feasible.

My son has taken other medication where when I look at him, I dont know my son. When he gets the injection he is able to do things normal, you would never know that he has a problem My son has a four-year-old and his mother left when he started to get because she did not know about his condition I am a sickly woman. I have a severe spinal condition, my spine is degenerating, and I dont know how long I would be able to look after him and my grandson, it is too much for me to cope. I have to see about my son, take my grandson to school, provide for them. I dont get disability for him, she said.

Alana said her son was totally dependent on her and was calling on the powers that be to assist her.

What am I, other people, what are we supposed to do? Are you saying it is hopeless for these people? I cannot deal with him when he acts up and I am afraid because I cant handle him, she said.

A medical source said most patients did not want to take their medication and therefore had to be given a depot (an injection of a substance in a vehicle that tends to keep it at the site of injection so that absorption occurs over a prolonged period.), and that lasts for about a month Those are very important for patients who do not take their medication. The older drugs have more side effects, some of them Parkinsons -like effect with tremors and stiffness in the muscles. the source said.

When Susterna came out the hospital had a directive to see how it worked on the younger patients and monitor them. The intention was never to switch somebody to an older medication which is the Modecate.

Right now there is a difficulty where there is limited amount of this Susterna injection so if we start this on a young person, after three or four injections we may not have any more. The problem is the purchasing, we are not getting enough to start new patients.

The challenge now is to see how we can change over now to the old clients who already have it.

Cost wise, the Government is not going to buy any more for a while or if they are, it would be in small amounts so that we could start new patients on it, the source said.

The source said Alana was being beaten up by the system while she wanted to do what was best for her son.

We should be giving whats best for him, but the challenge we face is that we do not have sufficient injections available.

She got the injection this month, but she does not know about next month, the source said, adding that there was also a shortage or oral medication.

The source said that mentally ill patients were very particular and accustomed to a colour and a tablet, and would question any change in their daily routine.
Stalin brought to tears on 75th birthday

While the nation wined down its celebrations for 40 years of being a Republic, Black Stalin celebrated his 75th birthday on Saturday among friends, family, and admirers, all of whom gathered to pay tribute to the living legend .

Stalin, who suffered a stroke in 2014 that doctors said rendered him unable to sing the same way again, was dressed in characteristic African garb and sat beside his wife, Patsy Calliste. He smiled and was even brought to tears as young people and veteran calypsonians and musicians serenaded him with his own, long list of classic calypsos .

One of the Black Mans - as he was affectionately referred to on the night - grandchildren, Keegan Calliste, opened the celebrations by playing the National Anthem on the steelpan. The national instrument featured prominently for the rest of the night, the highlight feature being a surprise appearance by Len Boogsie Sharpe who accompanied Sugar Aloes and Chucky Gordon while they sang Stalins Play One, Love yuh own, and Mr Pan Maker. Junia Regrello, Deputy Mayor of San Fernando, praised Stalin for covering the development of pan and the plight of pan people more comprehensively in his work than any other calypsonian .

Regrello ended his address singing the chorus of his favourite Stalin tune, Sufferers. Sufferers just want to know wey the next food coming from. This point was driven home when Master of Ceremonies, comedian Damian Melville, dressed himself in tattered clothes and satirically critiqued the irony between the international fame of the steelpan instrument and the continued poverty and suffering of many steelpan players .

Play yourself! Melville ordered the lifeless pan, you get big now, you going all over the place, but look at me! Play yourself! After I done play meh heart out for Panorama, I cah find a seat on the maxi. The captain tell meh to find a seat somewhere on the ground, but they make sure and pack you up neat and safe to take you home. Well here, he said, tossing pan sticks into at the glimmering tenor pan, play yourself! Black Stalin, the prolific writer and holder of five Calypso Monarchs and an honourary doctorate from the University of the West Indies, continued to be celebrated with appearances from Brian London, reigning Calypso Monarch Devon Seale, and penultimately by another of his grandchildren, Keevan Calliste, winner of the first Junior Ex Tempo Monarch, earlier this year .

The night was closed off with a grand finale by another calypso legend, David Rudder that the 400-strong crowd waited four hours to experience. All artists that appeared expressed their deep gratitude to the Black Man for his contribution to the culture .

Junior Bisnath, one of San Fernandos most untiring artists and champions for culture, asked patrons to write their names and well-wishes on a wooden plaque during the intermission and after the show. Bisnath said it would later be framed and engraved by him and given to Stalin to be kept at his San Fernando house where he continues to grow stronger .

Works and Transport Minister, Fitzgerald Hinds, represented Prime Minister Keith Rowley in his absence. Hinds said that the night was to celebrate the life, the works, the philosophy, the contribution, of a great son of the soil.
Memorial unveiled in Dr Williams honour

Reginald Vidale, Chairman of the Committee, said that he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, asking for Republic Day to be renamed Dr Eric Williams Republic Day but he has not yet received a response.

You see that is the kind of respect that those who should know better give to the legacy of the Father of the Nation, my nation, your nation, Trinidad and Tobago, said Vidale.

Vidale, who also pronounced San Fernando to now be the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, asked the audience to Look around again and tell me who you see. Sitting in the audience was Deputy Political Leader of the PNM, Joan Yuille Williams, Deputy Mayor Junia Regrello, former Education Minister, Marilyn Gordon, former MP, Jennifer Johnson, and other members of the City Corporations council. Regrello, after welcoming the obelisks building, gently rebutted Vidales claim by noting Joan Yuille Williams presence.

Our political leader is engaged in matters of state that are very critical at this time and our Deputy Leader Ms Joan Yuille Williams is representing the Political Leader and Prime Minister at this time. Regrello, referencing Vidales anger at not being responded to by the Prime Minister, said it is not that your recommendation is not being considered, it is just that these things take time. We must just learn to have a little patience as these things do take time and consultation. Regrello ended his speech with what he called one of Dr Eric Williams favourite Biblical quote.

How blessed it is for men to dwell together in unity. The obelisk, unveiled on what would have been Dr Eric Williams 105th birthday, is the latest work of the Dr Eric Williams Memorial Committee which has been advocating for the introduction of symbols to remember the Father of the Nation for the past 34 years. According to Vidale, permission was granted for the construction of the obelisk by former San Fernando Mayor, Dr Navi Muradali in 2013 after the shortest meeting in the history of the Council jumped at the opportunity to have it done. It stands on Harris Promenade, the latest statue to grace Heroes Row, as Vidale called it, which includes statues of Marcus Garvey, Mahatma Ghandi, and Simon Bolivar.

Sponsored by Chief Executive Officer of the Belgrove Group of Companies, Keith Belgrove, the obelisk is clad in black tile and reinforced concrete, its foundation is 20 feet into the earth and it stands on a base of four feet before shooting another 13 feet upward.

According to Belgrove, the structure was engineered by Cion Archibald, constructured by Peter Phillip, and its granite engraving was designed and done by Anthony Dickson, one of his own employees.

Belgrove spoke about the symbolism of the obelisk.

An obelisk symbolises the dispersement of negativity, and we find that in our move from a colony to a nation. An obelisk reaching to the sky to God represents power - to march from Chaguaramas, winning independence, what more shall we say about power? The obelisk also represents harmony in the way it was constructed. How else can we describe harmony except every creed and race find an equal place? Belgrove shared his hopes to one day change the obelisk from concrete to solid granite.
Father claims daughter and mom missing

Speaking in a saddened tone, Joel said, I last saw my daughter in July when I went to visit her in Barbados.

She and her mother were scheduled to be in Trinidad last Tuesday but have not been heard of since. According to a very distraught father, he made his routine checks by communicating with Tonyas mother, who stated that she too did not receive any messages from her daughter. According to Joel, checks at the Piarco International Airport indicated that both mother and daughter, did in fact enter the country on September 20.

When Newsday spoke to the Mr LeGendre, he was on his way to Barbados to do further checks. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of both three year old Jazz Anjali King-LeGendre and her mother Tonya Alexis King are asked to call 761-4259
Met Office eyes bad weather

Referring to this as an area of disturbed weather, the posting said the centre of an area of low pressure associated with a Tropical Wave lies 2400 kilometres east-southeast of the Windward Islands, and is moving west at about 30 kilometres per hour.

Currently the leading edge of this area of disturbed weather is along 45W longitude and there is a 30% chance of this system intensifying into a Tropical Cyclone over the next 24 to 48 hours, said the Met Office statement.

Env i ronment a l conditions are expected to be conducive for gradual development of the disturbance later this week as the system approaches the Windward Islands. They urged all interests in the Windward Islands to pay close attention to information being issued by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service as the progress of this system is closely monitored.

We wish to underscore that at this time Trinidad and Tobago is not under any tropical cyclone threat, watch or warning.

The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service is closely monitoring this weather system and will issue another bulletin at 8:00 a.m.

tomorrow or sooner if the situation warrants. The National Hurricane Centre in Florida, in its similarly-worded statement yesterday also added, A tropical depression is likely to form later this week.
Sexual education is critical moral engineering

United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, John L Estrada, feature speaker at the Family Planning Association of TT (FPATT) Report to the Nation and its 60th anniversary observation held at the Hilton Trinidad, last Wednesday, said he learned about sex along the way. Estrada said he learned about respect for self and others in the Marine Corps, and it was not until very late in life that he finally succeeded at figuring out how to have the loving marital relationship he had long sought.

Im lucky I managed to make good choices even with this hodgepodge education about something so central to being human. There was no formal sex education when I went to school here in Trinidad.

I learned from what I saw around me, and most of it was not healthy.

As a father, I want something better for my children. I want them to learn about sex in a careful, intentional, values driven, evidence-based way.

As a leader I believe that sexual education is one of the most critical pieces of moral and civil engineering we can give to our children because ultimately, sexual education is about teaching our children to respect themselves, to respect others and to respect the integrity of the family, said the father of twin daughters.

Estrada said it was hard to talk about sex, much less agree about how to talk about it, which was why diverse citizens, with diverse religious and cultural backgrounds have struggled to agree how and when and if they should talk to their young people about sex.

He said parents generally preferred that sex education happen at home.

But, if every dad feels as shy about giving the sex talk as I do, I guarantee that its being avoided, that its not always happening, that its not happening as candidly as it could, and that some parents simply arent prepared to give it, he said.

The ambassador said one could see by the high teen pregnancy rates, the unacceptable incidence of domestic violence, bullying of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI) community and occurrence of human trafficking that leaving sexual education to be done in the home, simply did not work.

He added that it was our responsibility as a society not to leave something so important to chance.

Our young people are learning about sex outside the home, from images they see in the media at Carnival time in Trinidad, and during Super Bowl half-time in the US from lyrics they hear on the radio, from pressures they feel in society.

When you learned about sex did you learn what you needed to know to make the best decisions? Did you learn to respect yourself and others? Did you learn about the importance of family? We need to counter the sexual education which our children are exposed to with purposeful conversation, in community meetings, at church, in public debates and in schools, Estrada said.
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Bury the Bodies in case you missed it

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Superheroes Keep

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(Newser)  A judge in Rome handed down an unusual sentence to a man convicted of hiring a child prostitute, ordering him to give the 15-year-old girl 30 books on the subject of women's dignity, reports the BBC. In addition to two years in jail, the 35-year-old man must buy the victim novels by Virginia Woolf, poems by Emily Dickinson, The Diary of Anne Frank, and other famous works. The order "suggests that the judge favored a remedy that would help the young girl to understand the real damage that she had suffered was damage to her dignity as a woman," the newspaper Corriere della Sera wrote, via the AFP.

One author on the list, however, said it was the man who could use some feminist enlightenment. "Adolescence is not the time for reflection. What he did was much worse: an adult who, knowingly, paid for sex with a minor," said Adriana Cavarero, author of Notwithstanding Plato. The unidentified john was busted as part of a three-year probe into a pedophile ring in an upscale suburb of Rome. Teens aged 14 and 15 were lured into sex work and used the money they were paid to buy new clothes and cell phones. The mastermind was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2014. At his trial, the judge said the ring preyed on "children who got carried away with debauchery, without restraint, so they could easily earn money." (Read more Anne Frank stories.)
(Newser)  A Florida mother says she brought her then-6-year-old daughter in for a dental appointment to get a tooth extracted with Dr. Howard Schneider in 2014but, instead, she came in to the procedure room to find her daughter "face-first" on the bloody floor with scratches, bruises, and all eight of her front teeth extracted. When Brandi Motley couldn't get an attorney to take her case, she "turned her minivan into a rolling billboard attack on Schneider," ABC News reports. Then, in April 2015, she posted about her experience on Facebook, and the post went viral. She found other parents who said they'd had similar experiencesthey allege Schneider, who catered to children in low-income families, performed unnecessary procedures, harming their kids in the process, in order to collect millions in Medicaid fundsand they started protesting outside Schneider's clinic.

Ultimately, the attorney who'd at first refused the case took on 131 individual lawsuits against Schneider, settling 104 of them thus far, but Schneider continues to insist he's done nothing wrong. After the protests had been going on for weeks, Schneider shut down his clinic after more than 50 years of practicing dentistry, and voluntarily gave up his dental licensewhich meant he avoided a full investigation by the dental board. In November 2015, he was arrested and charged with 11 counts of Medicaid provider fraud; he pleaded not guilty and may go to trial, although his defense team is seeking to have the 78-year-old declared mentally incompetent in order to avoid a trial, News 4 Jax reports. In May, USA Today reported that some parents accuse Schneider of going so far as to choke his patients into unconsciousness rather than using anesthetic. (Read more dentist stories.)
(Newser)  Now here's something you don't see every day: an F-16 fighter jet buzzing through the skies of North Korea and launching fireworks. The plane roaring over people's heads at the country's first air show Sunday was actually a remote-controlled mock-up of the fabled US Air Force fighter, the AP reports. The choice of flying a one-sixth scale model F-16 at the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival was an odd one considering the outrage North Korea regularly expresses over the presence of US troops and Air Force bases in South Korea. Officials refused to comment on the origin of the model F-16.

The model fighter did, however, appear to please the crowd watching the air displays Sunday at Wonsan's newly renovated Kalma Airport. Thousands of North Koreans and hundreds of foreign tourists and journalists invited to the event were also given a rare glimpse of North Korea's own air force fighters, including a MiG-29 and Su-25 ground attack fighter, acquired from Russia. The air show's first day opened Saturday with an aerobatic display by US-made Hughes MD 500 military-use helicopters, which has raised questions of whether international sanctions against North Korea had been violated. (Last week, all 28 sites on North Korea's Internet were leaked.)
(Newser)  He was wrongly convicted of rape and robbery and served 22 years in prison before DNA evidence freed him in 2002. Now Clark McMillan, 58, says the $832,000 the state of Tennessee paid him is not enough to right the wrong, the Tennessean reports. McMillan, the first man in the state to be cleared after a wrongful conviction, says medical bills have eaten up most of the settlement, and those years in prison left him without job skills. A gunshot wound when he was 18 left McMillan, who is diabetic, paralyzed in his right leg. "Im treated like I should be glad to have gotten something," McMillan told the Tennessean. "There has been nothing to cover job training, placement, medical care, post-traumatic stress. Help me restore my dignity so I can get a job. My compensation is controlled by the state and they dictate what my life is worth."

State lawmakers in 2004 voted to pay McMillan $250,000 up front and the rest in a monthly annuity of $3,400. Although McMillan's criminal record was expunged, he said there is still a stigma with potential employers. On Tuesday, McMillan will ask the state Parole Board to recommend he be granted a formal exoneration. If allowed, it would allow him to seek more compensation. "There is not enough money to compensate people going through something like that," says McMillan's lawyer, who's a former state legislator. They should increase the compensation and lower the bar" for exoneration. McMillan was convicted in 1980 for the rape and robbery of a 16-year-old girl in Memphis and sentenced to 119 years in prison. The Innocence Project took over his case in 1996 and eventually uncovered DNA evidence that cleared him. "I'm not angry," McMillan told CNN when he left prison. (This innocent man was released from prison after 33 years.)
(Newser)  Assistance for nearly 80,000 people in the Syrian town of Uram al-Kubra was on its way in a 31-truck convoy last week when the endeavor was blown to bits by airstrikes, killing nearly two dozen people and decimating 18 of the convoy's vehicles, per the New York Times. The unexpected attack sealed the doom of the tenuous ceasefire between rebels and the Syrian government, the end of which had been announced just hours earlier. And the Times notes that the bombardmentcalled an "attack on humanity" by the Red Cross, per NBC Newsset a "new, awful precedent" in the Syrian war, now endangering workers trying to bring help those in need and catching off-guard the people who least suspect being targets. "We went from paradise to hell" in just a few minutes, rescue worker Ammar al-Salmo tells the Times about the moments before the convoy was attacked and the devastation that took place soon after.

"There was nothing in the sky. And then the circle of madness began," he adds. The US has blamed Syria and its Russian allies for the attack on the UN/Red Crescent convoy, with the Times finding evidence of a "sustained, coordinated attack," backed by interviews, photos, videos, and other data (Russia and Syria deny this, with Russia claiming the convoy may have simply caught fire, per CBS News). A Russian drone tracked the convoy beforehand, and there were about 30 explosions over several hours once the assault began, per the Times. "We saw fire, injured people, human parts, some people burning in their vehicles," Salmo says. A local paramedic tells the Chicago Tribune the attack "erased the convoy from the face of the Earth." "If this had been a military position, it wouldn't have been targeted with such intensity," he notes. (Read the Times' timeline for the awful events of that day.)
(Newser)  It's time for black Americans to send the rest of the country a message by boycotting "the very system that was built on the backs of black people here in America," says actor Isaiah Washington. The former Grey's Anatomy star has joined the #Missing24 movement to call for a boycott of work, school, and shopping for 24 hours starting Monday to protest injustice and police brutality, USA Today reports. "Every African born in America is fed up, hurt, confused, saddened and angry about the continued extrajudicial killings by public servants in our streets," Washington wrote in a Facebook post.

If every African-American "that was really fed up with being angry, sad and disgusted" stayed home for a day, "from Wall Street to the NFL ... Black Lives Would Matter," Washington wrote in another post. Washingtonwho says he won't speak to the media "until the People of America give me a 'reason' to"has also called for black users of Facebook and Twitter to black out their profile pictures for 24 hours. Washington's call for a boycott has been widely shared in social media, but it's not clear just how widespread the Monday boycott will be, the Huffington Post notes. (Read more Isaiah Washington stories.)
(Newser)  Authorities are trying to discover the types of drugs involved in a spate of overdoses that killed seven people in the Cleveland area Sunday in the latest outbreak of drug overdoses in Ohio. Officials suspect they were either heroin or fentanyl, the AP reports. "This cluster of deaths is deeply concerning," Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson said in a statement. "Although there is no clear link between the individuals, this number clearly raises the possibility of a very deadly drug in our community." He issued a warning to take extreme caution while also advising people not to use illicit drugs.

The deaths were reported across the countyin both Cleveland and its suburbsand weren't limited to one area, a spokesman for the medical examiner says. The outbreak comes after 52 people died from heroin or fentanyl during August in the same area. The opioid deaths last month were the most in the county's history, the medical examiner's office said. Cuyahoga County, which has about 1.2 million residents, is on pace to record more than 500 overdose deaths from heroin or fentanyl this year, Cleveland.com reports. The wave of deaths follows outbreaks of overdoses in Akron and Cincinnati involving the animal sedative carfentanil, which is used on elephants. (Read more drug overdose stories.)
(Newser)  Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is gone far too soon, and his death is made even more tragic by the fact that the 24-year-old was looking forward to becoming a father. In an Instagram post the week before his death in a boating accident Sunday, Fernandez shared a picture of pregnant girlfriend Carla Mendoza and wrote: "I'm so glad you came into my life. I'm ready for where this journey is gonna take us together. #familyfirst," Mashable reports. The Marlins' Sunday game against the Atlanta Braves was called off and there were moments of silence held for Fernandez in other MLB games, the AP reports.

"All I can do is scream in disbelief," Cuba-born Marlins exec and Hall of Famer Tony Perez told reporters Sunday. "Jose won the love of all. I feel as if I had lost a son." The death has caused deep sorrow in Miami, where many empathize with his life story. As a teenager in 2007, Fernandez saved his mother's life during his fourth attempt to defect from Cuba. He "was just beginning to share and live the best parts of his realized American dream," writes Dan Le Batard in a moving tribute at the Miami Herald. "He had his first baby on the way. He worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get to the top of this mountain, and he barely had time to enjoy the view." (Read more Jose Fernandez stories.)
(Newser)  When struggling actor Daniel Wozniak couldn't afford the fancy wedding and honeymoon he wanted, he decided to murder his friends and neighbors instead of going for a cheaper option. The 32-year-old former resident of Costa Mesa, Calif., was sentenced to death Friday for the 2010 killings of Samuel Herr, 26, and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, Herr's 23-year-old girlfriend, the Los Angeles Times reports. Prosecutors say Wozniak, who wanted to steal the $62,000 Herr had saved from his military service in Afghanistan, shot the man to death in an empty theater on a military base before dismembering him and dumping his body parts in a Long Beach park, People reports.

Wozniak then used Herr's phone to lure Kibiushi to Herr's apartment, where he shot her to death and tried to make it appear that Herr had sexually assaulted her and fled. Days later, Wozniak was arrested at his bachelor party after detectives tracked him through suspicious ATM withdrawals, the Orange County Register reports. "You, Dan, are a coward and a poster boy for the need for an effective death penalty in California," Herr's father said at the sentencing hearing. Wozniak's former fiancee, Rachel Buffett, has been charged as an accessory after the fact. Buffett and Wozniak were cast members in a community theater production of the musical Nine at the time of the murders. (Read more California stories.)
(Newser)  There'll never be a bona fide Beatles reunion, but scientists at Sony's CSL research lab have come up with an alternative: a song written by artificial intelligence that sounds like something that could've been penned by the Fab Four, TNW reports. Quartz calls "Daddy's Car," the lab's first attempt at an AI-generated pop tune, "pretty good." In a blog post, researchers explain how they went about creating this catchy tune, as well as "Mr. Shadow," an American standards-type song in the style of Gershwin, Berlin, and Ellington. The lab's Flow Machines software analyzes various musical styles and composers from an enormous song repository, then "[exploits] unique combinations of style transfer, optimization, and interaction techniques" to come up with a new song in the desired style.

There is actually a human element to it all: A composer (in this case, Frenchman Benoit Carre) takes the melodies and harmonies spit out by the algorithm, writes the lyrics, and then produces and mixes it all together. Which is all rather neat, except for a couple of things: First, it sounds somewhat emotionlessor as Vocativ puts it, "a bit like the Beatles on anti-depressants" (and honestly, the harmonies hover close to Beach Boys territory, too). Digital Trends also points out that it muddles what's considered original music and what's not, meaning the technology "could either be seen as a threat to musicians" or prove to be a viable tool that supplements human creativity. (AI robots recently judged a beauty contest, with controversial results.)
(Newser)  A missing 22-year-old boater who'd been given up for dead is safe and sound aboard an ocean freighter that spotted his life raft. His mother, however, remains lost at sea. Nathan and Linda Carman went missing on Sept. 18 after setting off from Rhode Island on a fishing trip in their 32-foot boat. The Coast Guard searched more than 60,000 square nautical miles, an area bigger than Georgia, before suspending its hunt on Friday, reports CBS Boston. On Sunday, however, a freighter about 100 miles south of Martha's Vineyard picked up Nathan in a four-person inflatable raft. He's in good condition, so much so that he will remain on the ship until it reaches land on Tuesday. It remains unclear what happened or whether there's a chance 54-year-old Linda Carman is alive.

"She was not in the raft," says a Coast Guard spokesperson, per the Hartford Courant. "The whole situation is under investigation." The Carmans regularly went out fishing along the coast, perhaps once a month, says a family friend. Nathan lives in Vermont and Linda in Connecticut. Nathan, who has Asperger's, was the focus of a previous search mission in 2011, reports Fox61. He disappeared at age 17 from Connecticut after the loss of his horse and turned up four days later in Virginia. In fact, Connecticut declared a Missing Person's Day after the incident, a move in honor of Nathan and a woman who went missing in a separate incident. (This boater survived thanks to skills that would have impressed MacGyver.)
(Newser)  The crime itself is unthinkable: A decade ago, Arlena Lindley's boyfriend beat her 3-year-old son to death. But for Lindley, the aftermath managed to get worse: She was convicted of failing to protect her child, and after prosecutors asked for a sentence of 10 years, the judge gave her 45 years instead, reports BuzzFeed. "Arlena collapsed," writes Alex Campbell. As a previous investigation by the website showed in 2014, Lindley was far from alone in receiving this kind of punishment. That 2014 story, however, has prompted a backlash against the idea of abused women receiving longer sentences than men who did the actual abusing. It seems to be helping: This latest update, for instance, is about how Lindley has been freed 35 years early and is now living with her father in Texas.

Campbell writes about that ride away from the prison: "They spent much of the drive laughing, especially as Arlena absorbed her first shocks to the system. She chewed her first piece of gum in years. Roy, a 63-year-old retiree, showed his 30-year-old daughter how to take a selfie." Things quieted, however, as they neared Dallas, where Lindley was to visit her son's grave for the first timeshe was already in jail when the funeral took place. Since her release, Lindley has gotten a manufacturing job at a company that makes organic dog food ("I didn't even know they had that") and is slowly working to get her life back on track. Click for the full story, which notes that one woman remains in jail serving a 30-year sentence while the man who physically abused her daughter got only two years. (Read more BuzzFeed stories.)
(Newser)  A high-ranking Air Force Space Command officer who was charged with rape and other crimes was found dead in his Colorado home after civilian police received a report of a suicide, officials said Monday. The body of Col. Eugene Caughey, 46, was found Sunday at his off-base home in Colorado Springs, city police said. Authorities haven't said how he died. The officers who found him dead were responding to a report of a suicide, Colorado Springs police Sgt. Tim Stankey said. Caughey was relieved of his duties in June 2015 after the rape investigation began, the Air Force has said. His court-martial was scheduled for Oct. 17, the AP reports.

Caughey, who joined the Air Force in 1993, had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. The unit operates military communications and weather satellites, as well as global positioning system satellites, which have broad civilian and military uses. Caughey was accused of raping a woman in late 2014 or early 2015. He was also charged with adultery, indecent filming or photography, dereliction of duty, and conduct unbecoming an officer. Prosecutors accused him of photographing his exposed genitals while in uniform and groping women twice. (Read more Air Force stories.)
Srinagar:

Defying militant threat and the separatists call, thousands of youth across Kashmir have turned up to fill 10,000 posts of Special Police Officers (SPOs) despite the ongoing unrest which has claimed 82 lives.

We have received over 25,000 applications from the aspiring candidates willing to serve as SPOs from across the 10 districts of the Valley, a senior official supervising the recruitment process told PTI.

On September 22, the Centre had approved the recruitment of an additional 10,000 SPOs with immediate effect to strengthen the Jammu and Kashmir police particularly in view of the unrest in the Valley.

There are already 25,000 SPOs in the state, engaged on a monthly honorarium of Rs 6,000.

The official said the highest number of applications at 8,600 were received from north Kashmirs Kupwara district followed by Budgam (4,000), Baramulla (3,853), Anantnag (2,400), Ganderbal (1,600), Kulgam (1,258), and Bandipora and Srinagar (1,000 each).

While 800 applications from aspiring candidates were received from Pulwama district, 500 youths applied for the job in Shopian district, he said.

The official said the fitness test of the aspiring candidates has already been conducted in various districts which saw encouraging turnout of the youth ignoring the call of separatist leaders and the militant threats.

Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, in the last week of August, had issued a threat, warning the youth against joining police as SPOs.

Whosoever gets appointed as SPO should also be ready to face the consequences, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naik had said in a video circulated through social networking sites on August 30.

Terming the recruitment of SPOs as a ploy of the government, Naik had said, India wants to weaken our freedom struggle and wants us to fight with each other.

Separatists, on the other hand, had asked the youth to ignore the enticement aimed at breaking their ranks, alleging that the government by absorbing the youth as SPOs was trying to revive Ikhwan Militia of 1990s to crush the freedom struggle.

The fresh recruitment drive is nothing but to revive the notorious Ikhwan culture in the state which in mid 90s wiped out almost a whole hatchery of freedom loving people throughout the Valley, hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani had said in a statement on August 7.

Kashmir Valley is on the boil since July 9 following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces a day earlier. The widespread clashes left 82 people including two cops dead, and thousands injured.

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New Delhi:

India's decision to ratify Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2 has been welcomed by international community, including the United States and United Nations.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday lauded India for its swift action over the decision to ratify the Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking forward to receiving New Delhis instrument of accession.



The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift action by India. He looks forward to receiving Indias instrument of accession, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.

The US has also welcomed Indias surprise decision to ratify the key climate change agreement.



We welcome the news India will join the #ParisAgreement October 2, US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said.



Congrats Prime Minister @narendramodi for your leadership to #ActOnClimate, Verma tweeted.

We welcome the news India will join the #ParisAgreement Oct 2. Congrats Prime Minister @narendramodi for your leadership to #ActOnClimate  Rich Verma (@USAmbIndia) September 25, 2016

Earlier, in a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Also read: Dont reward nor rebuke Muslims, empower them: PM Modi; India to ratify Paris Climate Change agreement on Oct 2

There is one work left in the CoP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it. Today on the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, I announce that India will ratify the decisions on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, he said while addressing BJPs National Council meet in Kozhikode, Kerala.



Modi said he had chosen the date, which is next Sunday, as Mahatma Gandhis life was an example of minimum carbon footprint.



During the Paris climate meet in December last, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.



The pact will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries that account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.



Talking about the need to ratify the COP21 decision, Modi said there is a looming threat due to global warming to many coastal countries and cities. Even Kerala, where the conclave was being held, is also a coastal area.

Also read: Paris Climate Change agreement: Impact on India



While Western countries, including the US, had been supporting an early ratification of the pact, India had been seeking more time to complete its national processes as it fears that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.



The issue of India ratifying the Paris deal had come up for discussion between Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos earlier this month.



Climate change is a vital aspect and one of the centerpieces of Obamas legacy and the US president has been quite vocal about the affects that climate change may unleash.



He has often said Climate change is the greatest long-term threat facing the world, manifesting itself as droughts, storms and flooding.

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is set to address the UN General Assembly on Monday. All eyes are set on her speech in which she is expected to deliver a stinging response to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's "tirade" on Kashmir.



Swarajs speech, scheduled for around 7 pm (IST), is expected to reflect the mood of the nation set by Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech in Kerala on Saturday and continuous efforts of an army of Indian diplomats at UNGA in New York.



Whilst PM Modi spoke to conscious of Pakistani people and asked them to introspect over the development conditions in their nation before supporting violence against India, the diplomats have been keeping even the likes of Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif on the edge through their strong presence in New York.

Also read: Sushma Swaraj reaches New York, to address UNGA on September 26



Lets have a look at excerpts of the key speeches on Uri attack that reflect the mood of the nation:



Prime Minister Narendra Modis reply to Pakistan on Uri attack:



Giving his first speech after Uri attacks, PM Modi on Saturday said, "Let me tell Pakistan that the sacrifice of 18 Indian soldiers will not go to waste."



"There is one nation in Asia whose aim is to spread terrorism and is working toward ensuring that the 21st century does not belong to Asia," he said, referring to Pakistan. "Every nation is holding only one country responsible for terrorism. Only one country in Asia is a safe haven for terrorists.



Minister of State, External Affairs Ministry, MJ Akbar on Uri attack:



Pakistans discourse has no takers in United Nations, MoS MEA MJ Akbar told media on Saturday, Indias version stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was accepted by the world because it is the honest truth.



Responding to question on Pakistans denial of proof of its involvement in Uri attacks, MJ Akbar said, Sure there are at least 1-2 scientists in Pak, if they examine DNA samples (of terrorists).



They (Pakistan) will get proof of Pathankot and Uri attack. Pakistan can fool its own people but not the World, he said.Earlier on Thursday, MJ Akbar said, We cannot have prosperity without peace, and the principal threat to peace now is terrorism. The poor are the most vulnerable victims of terrorism, not least because conflict leads to devastation.



Indias representative at United Nations Syed Akbaruddin:

Pakistani Prime Minister left from United Nations General Assembly with an empty bag, they got no support, whilst there is a crescendo of support against terrorism at in the international community, said senior diplomat Akbaruddin on Friday.



Akbaruddin said what is finding resonance among the international community is the terror threat that India is facing and not what Sharif said in his speech.



Of the 131 nations which have spoken in the General Debate so far, 130 have not referred to the primary issue that Pakistan has raised. So what does that mean? he asked, adding that India is gratified by the support it is getting with countries increasingly standing up and voicing their support to deal with the menace of terrorism.



First secretary at the Permanent Mission of India in New York Eenam Gambhir on Pak as Ivy League for Terrorism:



One of the hardest hitting replies to Pakistans plea at United Nations came right on Day 1, and that too by a young diplomat.



Eenam Gambhir, first secretary at the Permanent Mission of India in New York, took the floor to exercise Indias Right to Reply following a combative speech by Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif accusing India of human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir and gave a fitting reply:



The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism. It attracts aspirants and apprentices from all over the world. The effect of its toxic curriculum is felt across the globe.

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NEW DELHI:

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred for two days the hearing on two appeals challenging Patna High Court granting bail to controversial RJD leader Mohd Shahabuddin in a murder case, as noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani who would argue for him was not available.

A bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday saying it has to strike a balance between the interests of both the parties. One of the lawyers, representing Shahabuddin, urged that the matter be taken up on Friday as Jethmalani was not available and moreover voluminous case records needed to be studied for proper defence.

A "Since there are allegations and counter allegations being made in the case, we shall not pass any order without hearing both the sides. We are fixing it on Wednesday (September 28)," the bench said. Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, also appearing for Shahabuddin, said his client has been suffering from media trial and should be given adequate opportunity to present his case.

A Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7, was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10. He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him. On September 19, the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Siwan resident Chandrakeshwar Prasad, challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court, in the murder case of his third son.

The apex court is also hearing a separate plea filed by the widow of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, who was murdered in Siwan allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi. Kalawati Devi, wife of Chandrakeshwar Prasad and the mother of three youths who were brutally killed by henchmen of the controversial politician, had also moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in the case in which he has already been sentenced to life.A

Earlier today, the Supreme Court was to hear petition against bail granted by Patna High Court to RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin on Monday. A petition was filed by Chandababu and Bihar government against bail granted to Shahabuddin.

Shahabuddin was present his response in the Supreme Court on Monday. Chandrashekhar Prasad also known as Chandababu is the father of three brothers who lost their lives in Bihar, Chandababu said in his petition A that there is atmosphere of fear ever since Shahabuddinas release from jail.

Complainant has said that Patna High Court has granted bail to Shahabuddin without considering statements of any witness. Also the High Court neglected the fact that Shahabuddin is also accused of murder of a journalist Rajdev Ranjan in Siwan.A

Lawyer P.Bhushan told SC there were 45 cases against Shahabuddin, out of which 9 are murder cases, & 10 cases he had been convicted in

a ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016A





Shahabuddin's lawyer asked for more time to respond in the matter.

a ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016A A





Bhushan told the division bench that Shahabuddin is a serious threat to the society if his bail is not cancelled.





(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted his predecessor Manmohan Singh on his 83rd birthday, wishing him a long and healthy life.



He also spoke to Singh and extended birthday greetings to him.aWarm birthday wishes to Dr. Manmohan Singh ji. May God bless him with a long and healthy life,a he said in a tweet.



aPM @narendramodi spoke to Dr. Manmohan Singh ji and extended birthday greetings to him,a the PMO said in a tweet.



Singh, who served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, was born in Gah in Pakistan. Singhas family migrated to India during partition in 1947.

Warm birthday wishes to Dr. Manmohan Singh ji. May God bless him with a long and healthy life. a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

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Washington:

Alleging that Pakistan is using jihadist extremism to administer and is bent upon extinguishing other cultures in the country, a top US lawmaker has warned Islamabad that it might be headed for 1971 like partition soon if it continues to do so.



Those who think that they can keep Pakistan together by attacking and extinguishing other cultures with jihadist extremism should go visit Dhaka, Congressman Brad Sherman, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific said at an event on Sunday.



In his address to the Sindhi Foundation, he said the successive Pakistani governments, in particular the current one, has systematically tried to attack the rich cultural heritage of Sindhi.



Sherman was felicitated by the Washington-based Sindhi Foundation for his efforts in protecting Sindhi language and people.



It is using government machinery to extinguish the rich Sindhi language and culture, the Congressman said.



If Islamabad thinks that the way to establish and retain its territorial integrity by slowly or quickly trying to extinguish the cultures of the nations that Pakistan has unified together, well they should look at Bangladesh, Sherman said.



President of Karachi-based Sindh United Party Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah claimed that religious extremism prevails today in Pakistan because of its two-nation theory.



When it is being claimed by the State that it is Muslim state and the rule of Islam is the fundamental instrument of the state affairs than the peace and harmony in the region will be always under threat, he said.



We demand from the world community to support the secular, national and real democratic forces in Pakistan for their autonomous national identity in the federation of Pakistan, Shah said.



Unnecessary involvement in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries has created security problems in the region, he added.



We believe that Pakistan should maintain good relations with all its neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan and India through non-interference in their internal affairs, Shah said.



This will reduce the tension on border and defence budget, he said, adding the funds so saved shall be spent on the development of the country to bring peace, progress and prosperity.



Sherman alleged the government of Pakistan is using jihadist extremism as a tool to find excuse for slow development and corruption in the country.

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Mexico City:

A human rights group is urging the nearly one million US citizens who live in Mexico to vote in hopes of keeping Republican Donald Trump out of the White House, organisers have said.

"We are going to Mobile the almost eight million Americans who live abroad, a million of them in Mexico, and we want them to vote to stop Donald Trump," said Joseph Huff-Hannon yesterday, a campaign leader at Avaaz, an activist organisation for political, environmental and human rights issues.

Under the shadow of Mexico's Angel of Independence monument, about 200 people gathered to register to vote next to a billboard-sized placard featuring an anti-Trump cartoon, one day ahead of the first presidential debate between Trump and his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Passersby posed with an effigy of Trump while a mariachi band serenaded them. The bureaucratic complications of registering to vote when Americans are abroad can discourage people from casting ballots and the Avaaz campaign is aimed at making the process easier.

Trump has vowed to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by migrants to Mexico to make their country pay for a massive wall across the border. He has also called Mexican migrants "rapists." "Let's hope we never see this gentleman in the White House -- or the wall," Huff-Hannon said.

"Don't forget that in 2000 George W Bush won the White House by something like 500 votes in Florida," he added. Trump has fervently ruled out any legal status for undocumented migrants.

In practice this would mean an extension of a precarious limbo status for millions of migrants, mainly of Mexican origin, who have been waiting for years or even decades to come out of the shadows. Most Americans favour some sort of immigration reform.

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NEW DELHI:

Karnataka moved Supreme Court on Monday seeking modification of its order asking it to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka has expressed its inability to release water as directed by SC, says its reservoirs do not have adequate water.

Earlier Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he stated that the state will move an application before the Supreme Court on Monday seeking changes in the apex courts order of September 20 on the Cauvery issue.

Siddaramaiah has informed PM Modi about the resolution passed by both the Houses of the Legislature on Friday. He stated that the petition will modify schedule of Cauvery water release to Tamil Nadu.

Earlier The Supreme Court, in its interim order on September 20, had directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu upto September 27.

The state legislature on Friday passed a resolution directing that the state government should not draw water from the existing storage in the four reservoirs of the state, and save the water to meet the drinking water needs of the towns and villages in Cauvery basin and for Bengaluru.

The letter also states that The government has no intention to disregard any of the orders of the Supreme Court,.

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Hyderabad:

With heavy downpour pummelling Telangana over the past few days, authorities are keeping a watch on the flood situation even as over 1,000 villagers were evacuated in Karimnagar district.

The water from the under-construction Mid Manair Dam in Boinapally mandal of Karimnagar had started overflowing from the bund and the earthen embankment had got breached, resulting in floods in the area.

"Over 1,000 villagers staying in six villages near the Mid Manair dam, which was overflowing, were evacuated last evening. It was a precautionary evacuation... the situation has now improved and they will be sent back today," Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Pradeep Chandra told PTI Monday.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had yesterday directed his ministerial colleagues to stay in their respective districts and monitor the flood situation and supervise relief and rehabilitation works.

In view of the flood situation, Rao cancelled the Cabinet meeting scheduled today and asked the ministers to work in coordination with district-level officials and ensure evacuation of people from the low-lying areas to safer places.

In the wake of increasing flow in Godavari river and its tributaries following heavy rains in the catchment areas of the river in Maharashtra, the Chief Minister directed the district ministers, officials and also the police of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts, to remain alert.

Rao further directed Warangal district administration to be on high alert as river Godavari is in full spate. The river is receiving huge inflows, therefore those living on the banks of the river should be alerted. Similarly, the CM asked the minister T Nageshwara Rao to maintain alertness in Khammam district as the water level in the river could reach danger level at Bhadrachalam in the district.

"We are taking measures in view of the heavy rains in the past few days in the state including in Hyderabad, which is unprecedented after the 1908 floods in the city," he said. DIG (Warangal Range) Ravi Varma told PTI, "We are keeping a watch on water level in Warangal and Khammam districts. Our personnel have been deployed in the villages along the river bank, if necessary, the process of evacuation will begin."

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New Delhi:

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be under the global arc lights like never before when she starts her much-awaited speech at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly at 7:15 pm on Monday.

In her second consecutive speech at the 193-nation body, Swaraj is likely to raise India's concerns after the recent Uri attack and about the the evidences revealing Pakistan's direct involvement in the terror attacks in India.

Last weeks militant attack in Uri killed 18 soldiers and increased tensions between India and Pakistan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech in Kerala, vowed to diplomatically isolate Pakistan in world.

Also read: PM Modi sets the agenda, Sushma to deliver diplomatic blow against Pak in UNGA

The country is hoping that the isolation of Pakistan will begin with Sushma Swaraj's speech at the UNGA session in New York today.

Known for her great oratory skills, the Indian foreign minister is all set to give a befitting reply to Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who blamed India for the unrest in Kashmir during his speech at the same podium last week.

Let's have a look what are the top five things Sushma Swaraj should raise against Pakistan during her speech at the UNGA assembly-



1. Pakistan, an Ivy League of Terrorism

India's strong Right of Reply to his speech called Pakistan home to the 'Ivy League of Terrorism' and a 'terrorist state' that commits 'war crimes' by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. India should raise its concerns with all the evidences against Pakistan in almost all terror attacks in India.



2. Terrorism is the 'primary concern' for India as well as for nations across the world

India should focus on the theme of terrorism which is today undoubtedly the single biggest challenge to international peace and security. The foreign minister is expected to tell the world how India is suffering from the menace of cross-border terrorism since decades.



3. The worst violation of human rights is terrorism

India should talk about Pakistan's long-standing policy of sponsoring terrorism and its consequences spread well beyond the Indian-sub continent region. The killings of innocent people and the soldiers is the worst violations of human rights, and it must be stooped by those countries who are involved in backing the terror groups.

4. India will not forget Uri attack

Prime Minister Naredra Modi said in a strong message to Pakistan over the weekend, "The sacrifice of our 18 soldiers will not be forgotten. We will ensure that the international community works to isolate you." It's time for India to respond strongly to let the whole world know that the country is not going to forget the deaths of its 18 brave soldiers.



5. Pakistan, a terrorist state

Let's reiterate the fact from the UNGA podium once again that Pakistan is a terrorist state, which channelises billions of dollars, much of it diverted from international aid, to training, financing and supporting terror groups as militant proxies against it neighbours. India is the biggest victim of Pakistan-supported terrorism, and the country will not hesitate from taking storing actions against the neighbouring state.

Also read: Who is India's NSA Ajit Doval and what is 'Doval Doctrine'?

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Moday chaired a meeting to review the Indus Water treaty with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries.



National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary and senior PMO officials are present at the meeting.



The review is being undertaken as India weighs options to give a befitting response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead.

Delhi: PM Modi chairs meeting on Indus Waters Treaty. FS Jaishankar, NSA Doval, PM's principal secy Nripendra Misra also attend meeting pic.twitter.com/wae4oqRabh  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

There have been consistent calls in India that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.



Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six river - Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - were to be shared between the two countries.



Pakistan has been complaining of not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in couple of cases.



Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had said last week that his state will fully support whatever decision is taken by the Union government on the 1960 agreement.

Also read: Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing on PIL Indus Waters Treaty

The treaty has caused huge loss to Jammu and Kashmir as the people of the state cannot fully utilise the waters of various rivers, particularly Chenab in Jammu, for agricultural and other activities, Singh had said.

The state government will support whatever decision is taken by the central government on Indus Waters Treaty, he had said.



India had last week made it clear that mutual trust and cooperation was important for such a treaty to work.



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New Delhi:

A person attempted to hurl a shoe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his road show in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

Later, the police arrested the local who tried to hurl shoe at Rahul and started questioning him.

Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in Sitapur on his 'Deoria to Dilli kisan yatra' during which he was raising issues related to farmers.

During his rallies, the Congress vice president accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not paying heed to the problems of farmers.

So far, Rahul has addressed 17 khat sabhas, 12 mega shows and over 500 public meetings during his yatra, a Congress leader said.

Local hurls a shoe towards Congress VP Rahul Gandhi during his road show in Sitapur(UP),detained by police pic.twitter.com/oU3YsB3Fru a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 26, 2016

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New Delhi:

Hours after shoe was hurled at Rahul Gandhi during a road show in Uttar Pradeshs Sitapur on Monday, the Congress Vice President blamed the BJP and RSS after the attack. He said that he was not scared and remains unaffected over the incident of shoe hurling.



"I was just traveling on a bus and a shoe was thrown at me. It didn't hit me. I want to tell the BJP and RSS that you can throw as many shoes at me but I am not backing down. I am not scared of you. I will continue believing in love and harmony and you can stick with hate," the Congress leader said while addressing a gathering.



A shoe was hurled at Rahul Gandhi while he was riding in an open top vehicle in Sitapur, around 85 km from Lucknow. The show hit the person, former union minister Jitin Prasada, who was behind Rahul Gandhi.

#WATCH: Congress VP Rahul Gandhi says "BJP, RSS throw as many shoes you want on me, I don't fear you...I am unaffected by it" pic.twitter.com/SqkOipDwZY  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 26, 2016

"The Congress has left the country in the dumps in the past 60 years. I have been a journalist for two years and I know...What were they doing when they were in power?" the show thrower Anoop Mishra, who claimed to be a journalist, said.

Watch: Shoe hurled at Congress VP Rahul Gandhi during his road show in Sitapur



Rahul Gandhi is on a month long Kisan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, where elections are slated for early next year.

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New Delhi:

The Congress on Monday demanded that the Narendra Modi government should convene a special Parliament session to discuss the security situation in India after the Uri attacks that left 18 Army soldiers martyred. The party also demanded that Pakistan be declared a terrorist state.

Congress also demanded that the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and the imposition of economic sanctions must also be withdrawn.

Pakistan should be declared a terrorist state immediately, a special Parliament session should also be called, said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

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New Delhi:

The Indian and US army are conducting a joint military training exercise Yudh Abhyas 2016 at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand. The exercise that commenced about a fortnight back witnessed the soldiers upgrade themselves with strategies of fighting and doctrines of combating the enemy. The bilateral training exercise will conclude on September 27.

All the drills are being conducted as per the strict guidlines of the UN. The exercise is being held in the forest area of Chaubattia, where the altitude ranges from 6000 feet to 7800 feet. The Indian and the US Army soldiers are taking part in this two-week long joint drill that will see them fine tune their tactical and technical skills in countering terrorism.

Some of the key highlights of the joint exercise are as follows:

1. Yudh Abhyas is not merely a joint military exercise but the operational drills on ground have been made very close to hypothetical war like situation so that it serves as in active combat engagement.

2. Though it has been hailed as military exercise but the ultimate objective of the exercise from an Indian standpoint is to achieve war preparedness ahead of its proposed offensive strategy the security forces might adopt.

3. The mountainous region of Ranikhet has been specifically chosen for the exercise as the physical topography and geographical conditions are very much akin to Kashmir where the terrorist camps operate.

4. The exercise specifically focusses on search and drill operations. The Indian army shall have gained expertise and insights on combative tactics of the enemy like how does the terrorist set traps, how does he sit in an ambush and how he does resort to guerrilla warfare techniques.

5. Some of the drills of the exercise include how to combat the terrorist when they intrude from difficult areas and take camouflage through natural defences.

6. The drill not only focuses on the physical dimension of warfare but also covers the important elements of planning, preparation and execution of strategies. The drill also stresses on making use of state of the art equipment for tracking, identification and surveillance.

The US contingent is being represented by a Company of 5th Infantry Battalion, 20 Infantry Regiment, 2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7 Infantry Division, US Army while the Indian side is being represented by an Infantry Battalion.

It can be very well summed up that the timeliness of the war exercise is brilliant as the Indian army shall be better prepared to combat and engage the enemy in any military action planned out by the higher command in the near future.

The army is living up to the famous military cliche - "Those who train in peace, bleed less in war".

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New York:

In a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs tirade on Kashmir, India on Monday said those accusing others of rights violations must introspect as it censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the worst form of state oppression in Balochistan.



Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her address at the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA) session said there are nations in our midst where UN designated terrorists roam freely and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, an apparent reference to Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

ALSO READ: Abandon this dream, Sushma Swaraj's advice to Pakistan on Kashmir at UNGA - Top 10 quotes

Here are the LIVE updates:

Long queue of people wanting to compliment EAM on her #UNGA address pic.twitter.com/vz5ymBLc4e  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 26, 2016

#WATCH: "Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always be. Pakistan should stop dreaming", says EAM Sushma Swaraj at #UNGA pic.twitter.com/1OYsdks4vf  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

#The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression

#We should adopt Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to develop norms to prosecute terrorists



#Those who seed extr't ideologies, reap a bitter harvest. This germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster



#Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will be always. Aap (Pak) sapna dekhna chor dijiye

EAM begins on the most critically imp subject of terrorism, speaks of the blood & tear of victims from Paris to Pathankot & Brussels to Uri pic.twitter.com/hxcMlGw3rf

 Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 26, 2016

EAM Sushma Swaraj addresses the 71st session of UN General Assembly in New York #UNGA pic.twitter.com/7CBCSa1cI3  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

#Humne sharton ke hisaab pe nahi, mitrta ka haath badhaya. Par hume kya mila? Pathankot? Uri? Bahadur Ali?

#Bahadur Ali is a living example of Pakistan's cross border terrorism

#Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others



#Jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke ho, unhe doosre par patthar nahi fenkne chahiye

#Aatankwaadiyon ko paalna kuch deshon ka shaunk ban gaya hai

#We all have to come together to fight the scourge of terrorism, if some country is not willing then it must be isolated

#We need to identify who gives shelter to the terrorists? How are they able to carry out such activities?. We need to uproot terrorism

#Who finances terror and terrorists? Same question was raised by Afghanistan on this very platform few days back

#I am very thankful to the UN for its tremendous support for International Yoga day

#Sanitation is also a big issue, and we have started 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyan' under which 4 lakh toilets are built in 2 lakh schools

#A year has passed since I stood at this hallowed podium to address members of the international community, so much has changed since then

#Today the biggest challenge all of us face is the poverty prevalent in all corners of the world: EAM Sushma Swaraj

#EAM Sushma Swaraj addresses the 71st session of UN General Assembly in New York



#EAM Sushma Swaraj speaks at UN General Assembly in New York

Stage set for India.

EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives at UN for her address to 71st #UNGA session pic.twitter.com/GO9Gwg0DRV  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 26, 2016

She also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become their calling card.



In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account, Swaraj asserted in her nearly 20-minute speech in Hindi.



These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations, Swaraj said, in essence making a call to the international community to isolate such nations.

ALSO READ: Sushma Swaraj's speech at UNGA - 5 things Indian foreign minister must raise against Pakistan at United Nations



In a strong rebuttal of the baseless allegations made by Sharif from the podium of the General Assembly about human rights violations by India in Kashmir, Swaraj said, I can only say that those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression.

(With inputs from ANI)

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New Delhi:

Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on Monday said India was not willing to address Kashmir issue. His statements came after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj slammed Pakistan while addressing the UNGA, saying Pakistan should stop day dreaming about Kashmir because it is an integral part of India and will always remain so."

India unwilling to address historical disputes like Kashmir, that directly fan misunderstanding, Raheel Sharif said. Earlier, Mohammed Nafees Zakaria, Spokesperson Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan, posted a series of tweets attacking India on various issues.

Can Indian EAM explain that if Kashmir is an " integral part of India, why is it on the Agenda of Security Council?" he said.

Strange that Indian EAM is disowning the UN SC resolutions and that too at the UN. 71stUNGA Indian EAMs reference to Pakistan's province of Balochistan is a violation of UN principles and International law.

Reference to Balochistan is a continuous admission by India of its involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan.

India trying to divert world attention from its atrocities on defenceless Kashmiris in IOK but her efforts will not succeed.

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New Delhi:

Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the 71st United States General Assembly session earlier in the day at New York.

Sushma made an emphatic statement about how some countries were sowing, growing and exporting terror. She put across Indiaas strong position against terrorism and how the world should combat the ever growing menace in one voice and take stringent action.

She took an indirect dig at neighbours Pakistan and slammed them for sponsoring terrorism. Sushmaas speech at the UNGA has drawn mixed reaction from the political sphere in the country.

While her party, the BJP applauded her speech by stating that it was a fine specimen of her oratory skills that highlighted all the critical issues the nation faced, the opposition party particularly the Indian National Congress had a divergent view on her speech. While on one hand Shashi Tharoor from the Congress praised Swaraj for making a fine speech, both the Congress spokespersons Randeep Surjewala and Abhishek Manu Singhvi criticized Swaraj for avoiding to directly mention Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism.

Here are some the major reactions of political parties on Sushma Swaraj's address a

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA a PM Narendra Modi

EAM brought it out clearly, Pak should stop day dreaming & look at human rights violations in their territory: MoS I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore

Sushma ji presented India's viewpoint very well at UNGA. Congratulations to her a Arvind Kejriwal

Nothing will happen by giving speeches at UN. We can't even name Pakistan. Why? Nawaz Sharif names us: Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena on EAM Swaraj

I think the thrust of the message was a good one and that Indians can stand behind the message: Shashi Tharoor on EAM Sushma Swaraj

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA. https://t.co/9ZgwAbfPDr a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

Nothing will happen by giving speeches at UN. We can't even name Pakistan.Why? Nawaz Sharif names us: Sanjay Raut,Shiv Sena on EAM Swaraj pic.twitter.com/iuvzzonlvX a ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Like all MEA drafted speeches it was a well crafted and well written speech: Shashi Tharoor on EAM Swaraj's #UNGA speech pic.twitter.com/zRhQ13kI4i a ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

EAM brought it out clearly, Pak should stop day dreaming & look at human rights violations in their territory: MoS I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore pic.twitter.com/27dOG9pjYB a ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Why did EAM forget to place Pak sponsored terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur,Udhampur & 2attacks in Pompore in UN?Modi Govt placating Pak still? a Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 26, 2016

Why is EAM Sushmaji shy of calling 'a spade a spade'in U.N?Why did we not call upon UN for diplomatic & economic sanctions against Pakistan? a Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 26, 2016

Sushma ji presented India's viewpoint very well at UNGA. Congratulations to her a Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 26, 2016

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Beijing:

China strongly declined reports of its troops crossing into Arunachal Pradesh and claimed that their military abides by the bilateral agreements reached with India regarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"China's position on the boundary question between India and China is consistent and clear. The boundary between the two sides is yet to be demarcated," Geng Shuang, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said replying to question about reports of incursion by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh on September 9.

"We are engaged in dialogue and consultation to properly address differences in this regard," he said. About the incursions, he said "the border troops of China always abide by agreements of the two sides and strictly follow the bilateral agreements concerning the LAC". "We hope the Indian side will work together with us to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas and strive to resolve the boundary question at an early date," he said.

While both sides in recent years have managed to reduce tensions between the troops patrolling the disputed areas with various mechanisms, China has not responded positively to India's proposal to demarcate the 3,488-km LAC to avoid border tensions. The two countries have so far held 19 rounds of boundary talks led by Special Representatives.

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BETHEL - You dont have to fly to London to stock up on bangers, party poppers or curd.

UK Gourmet has satisfied the hankerings for delicacies from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales since they first opened in Newtown in 2003. But after 13 years in business, UK Gourmet recently moved across the border to 78 Stony Hill Rd. in Bethel, about half a mile from their original location.

The new location is larger, giving owners Lisa and Nigel Whitmore room for more food and other products from the United Kingdom.

We were desperate for space. Our old place was 600 square feet and we were there for 13 years, Lisa Whitmore said. There was no room to add anything new and we like to carry as much variety as possible. The more chocolate, cheese and chips, the better.

The new space is 1,460 square feet.

The Whitmores celebrated the move with a ribbon cutting and subsequent party at nearby The Meeting House Pub last Friday. The traditional English dish bangers and mash was served at the party. The ceremony started with an Irish blessing read by Father Robert Wolfe of St. Mary Parish. Bethel First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker, flanked by store employees and personnel from the Bethel and Newtown chambers of commerce, then welcomed the new store and cut the ribbon.

Im happy that Lisa and Nigel moved their business to Bethel, Knickerbocker said. I wish them all the success in the world.

Heather Hansen ONeill, president of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, added: I was thrilled to see the great turnout for the UK Gourmet ribbon cutting. They are wonderful Bethel Chamber members with an eclectic stock of English and Irish treats and gifts. I plan on shopping there this holiday season.

UK Gourmet offers food favorites such as bangers (sausage), English cheeses, teas, Bistro gravy, rashers (bacon), Yorkshire pudding, soda bread, black pudding and Shepherds pie. The store also has an extensive collection of party poppers (or crackers), an English party favor tradition. There are also shelves full of coffee mugs, hats, bracelets, pillows and other collectables.

Were a destination, Lisa Whitmore said. People come from all over to see us.

The new location also includes a mural of a classic red English telephone booth, which was painted by employee Kara Gavin.

Whitmore, who grew up in Bethel, said it was bittersweet leaving Newtown after 13 years in business. She said she and her husband also considered other locations in Newtown, Sandy Hook and downtown Bethel for the relocation.

We loved Newtown and everyone was so great to us. We had amazing neighbors in the plaza, she said. We came across this place and it is only half a mile away from the old location. Route 6 is accessible to 84 and Route 25. Its nice to have that access.
Popcorn sales fund Scouting adventures and post-secondary scholarships

OTTAWA, Sept. 26, 2016 /CNW/ - Throughout October, Scouts across Canada will venture door-to-door and to community events to sell Scout Popcorn to help fund Scouting adventures such as an international service project in a developing nation, attending a jamboree in Canada or overseas, purchasing equipment for a backpacking trip through Canada's wilderness or creating an exciting science experiment.

Through Scout Popcorn, Scouts Canada proudly supports the Canadian Armed Forces by allowing Canadians to choose to purchase and donate popcorn to the men and women in uniform at military bases in Canada and around the world. This year, Scouts Canada has expanded this program to also include distribution of donated popcorn to veteran's hospitals, military training facilities and Military Family Resource Centres across Canada.

Scout Popcorn is a major donor of goods to the Canadian Armed Forces. Since 2011, Scouts Popcorn customers have purchased $824,000 of popcorn for Canada's military personnel, which has been sent to Canadian Forces bases in Canada and abroad including in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, Ukraine and more.

"Canadians are always looking for new ways to show our appreciation for the dedicated service of our troops, both present and past," said Andrew Price, Executive Commissioner and CEO of Scouts Canada. "We welcome the opportunity to continue to provide Canadians with a vehicle to share a token of their gratitude through the gift of Scout Popcorn."

Since Scout Popcorn's inception in 1989, the fundraiser has generated more than $108 million in sales with funds raised directly supporting local Scouts. Scouts can earn scholarship money to support their post-secondary goals. Youth that sell $2,500 or more of popcorn in a single year have six per cent of their total sales for that year, plus each year following, invested into their own post-secondary scholarship account. Since the scholarship program began in 1995, 1,179 Scouts have enrolled, amassing a total of $424,000 in scholarship funds.

Selling Scout Popcorn teaches Scouts important life and business skills such as marketing, strategy development and financial responsibility, and improves self-esteem and confidence.

Scout Popcorn is supplied by Trail's End and is available in a variety of flavours and packaging from popcorn kernels and microwave popcorn to gourmet flavours like butter toffee caramel corn; cheddar cheese and jalapeno; caramel corn with almonds, cashews and pecans; white chocolatey pretzels and more. Products are available with 0g of trans fat and all products are certified Kosher.

Scout Popcorn is delivered in December before the holidays, making it the perfect present, hostess gift or treat to serve when entertaining friends and family. For the complete list of products visit: scouts.ca/popcorn.

To purchase Scout Popcorn and support a local Scouting group call 1-888-SCOUTS-NOW or visit Scouts.ca/popcorn.

About Scouts Canada

Kids in Scouts have fun adventures, discovering new things and experiences they wouldn't discover elsewhere. Along the way, they develop into capable, confident and well-rounded individuals, better prepared for success in the world. For tens of thousands of children and youth across Canada, Scouts is the start of something great. Scouts Canada is the country's leading co-ed youth organization, offering programming for children and youth aged 5-26 in multiple languages, reflecting Canada's multicultural landscape and communities. For more information, visit Scouts.ca.

Scouts Canada is a not-for-profit organization (Charitable Registration No.10776 1694 RR0028) and a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

SOURCE Scouts Canada

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The Pentagons emerging Arsenal Plane or flying bomb truck is likely to be a modified, high-tech adaptation of the iconic B-52 bomber designed to fire air-to-air weapons, release swarms of mini-drones and provide additional fire-power to 5th generation stealth fighters such as the F-35 and F-22, Pentagon officials and analysts said.

It is also possible that the emerging arsenal plane could be a modified C-130 or combined version of a B-52 and C-130 drawing from elements of each, Pentagon officials said.

Using a B-52, which is already being modernized with new radios and an expanded internal weapons bay, would provide an existing militarized platform already engineered with electronic warfare ability and countermeasures designed to thwart enemy air defenses.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Arsenal Plane development would be funded through a $71 billion research and development 2017 budget request.

An Arsenal Plane networked to F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters would enable the fighter aircraft to maintain their stealth properties while still having substantial offensive bombing capability. If stealth fighters attach weapons to their external pylons, they change their radar signature and therefore become more vulnerable to enemy air defenses. If networked to a large flying bomb truck, they could use stealth capability to defeat enemy air defenses and still have an ability to drop large amounts of bombs on targets.

Such a scenario could also likely rely upon now-in-development manned-unmanned teaming wherein emerging algorithms and computer technology enable fighter jets to control the sensor payload and weapons capability of nearby drones from the cockpit of the aircraft. This would enable Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance assets to more quickly relay strategic or targeting information between fighter jets, drones and Arsenal Planes.

A B52 could modified to carry 80 to 200 air to air missiles or drones. This would be about 20 to 50 times more than the F22 or F35. The F-22 can fit four air-to-air missiles and two 1,000-pound bombs in its internal bay, whereas the F-35, next to two air-to-air missiles, can only carry two 2,000-pound bombs in its stealthiest configuration.

Engineers are now equipping all 76 of the Air Force B-52s with digital data-links, moving-map displays, next-generation avionics, new radios and an ability to both carry more weapons internally and integrate new, high-tech weapons as they emerge, service officials said.

The new B-52 Arsenal Plane could, for the first time, configure a primarily air-to-ground bomber as a platform able to fire air-to-air weapons as well  such as the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile, or AMRAAM.

The B52s are already being modified with the 1760 Internal Weapons Bay Upgrade, or IWBU. This will allow them to internally carry up to eight of the newest J-Series bombs in addition to carrying six on pylons under each wing.

The first increment of IWBU, slated to be finished by 2017, will integrate an internal weapons bay ability to fire a laser-guided JDAM. A second increment, to finish by 2022, will integrate more modern or cutting-edge weapons such as the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, JASSM Extended Range (ER) and a technology called Miniature Air Launched Decoy, or MALD. A MALD-J jammer variant, which will also be integrated into the B-52, can be used to jam enemy radar technologies as well.

SOURCES  Scout, US Dept of Defense
Nate Buster Jaros is a retired USAF fighter pilot with over 2,000 hours in F-16 C/D/CM and T-38A/C aircraft and over 500 hours in General Aviation aircraft. He is currently a Test Pilot, Instructor Pilot, and LO SME with Lockheed Martin Skunkworks.

Nate provides a detailed review of China J-20 stealth fighter.

Several other analysts have said that the the J-20 is not a fifth generation fighter.

Nate says China will have a fifth generation fighter, and its development of the J-20 (amongst other fifth gen platforms) is significant.

* the J-20 is also called the Black Eagle

* the J-20 looks kind of like an F-22 Raptor

* It basically is a copy as China stole TERAbytes of F-35 data and they pieced together the basic tenets of stealth technology and apply them to its modern aircraft designs.

* the J-20 is that it is a single seat, twin engine, canard/delta design, stealthy fighter platform. There are just four copies being tested right now, with fully operational fighters predicted to be ready by 2018.

The Black Eagle has two Saturn AL-31 engines producing about 30,000 lbs of thrust each. With the possibility of more powerful Xian WS-15 engines currently in development, those are speculated to produce 44,000 lbs of thrust each. The F-22 has roughly 35,000 lbs of thrust per engine.

New engines will make the J-20 better in a dogfight.

The Black Eagle is big. It weighs an estimated 43,000 lbs empty / 80,000 lbs MTOW (Max Takeoff Weight). The Raptor weighs in at 43,000 lbs empty / 83,000 lbs MTOW. Nate believes that the J-20 will be a bit heavier than this, just based on size alone.

It is predicted that the J-20 will carry four to six long range missiles and possibly two short range heat-seeking missiles as well, all inside internal bays. Very Raptor-like. The F-22 carries six long range missiles and two heat-seeking missiles, and air-to-ground options too. The Raptor also has a gun, the J-20 does notwe think.

Researchers speculate that the J-20 will have similar performance and agility as a Raptor, some think it will be a fighter/bomber only. Nate believes the J-20 will be more of a night one strike asset, with the ability to quickly penetrate enemy defenses, deliver weapons, and safely retreat. Its not going to be an overly capable dogfighter.

The Black Eagle will be Chinas best plane. It will be able to sneak in and deliver some crippling blows to any nearby adversary.

Armed with capable air-to-air missiles, and pilots trained in LO tactics, its enough the outclass any US fourth generation fighter while BVR (Beyond Visual Range) or provide highly capable strike and standoff to Chinas leaders.

SOURCE- Fighter Sweep
In the South China Sea, China has built three major islands Fiery Cross, Subi, and Mischief Reef which all have approximately 10,000 foot runways, deep water harbors, and enough reinforced hangars to house 24 fighters as well as bombers, tankers, and airborne early warning aircraft. China is also building other airfield support facilities

The Obama administration, as with other geopolitical issues, is running out the clock until the next presidential administration. National Security Adviser Susan Rice imposed a gag order on military leaders over the disputed South China Sea.

Adm. Harry Harris is proposing a muscular U.S. response to Chinas island-building that may include launching aircraft and conducting military operations within 12 miles of these man-made islands, as part of an effort to stop what he has called the Great Wall of Sand before it extends within 140 miles from the Philippines capital, sources say.

Harris and his U.S. Pacific Command have been waging a persistent campaign in public and in private over the past several months to raise the profile of Chinas land grab, accusing China outright in February of militarizing the South China Sea.

But the Obama administration, with just nine months left in office, is looking to work with China on a host of other issues from nuclear non-proliferation to an ambitious trade agenda, experts say, and would prefer not to rock the South China Sea boat, even going so far as to muzzle Harris and other military leaders

Facts on the water

* China has established superior naval and air force capability

* China can easily fully develop the artificial islands into full military bases as a well as the Scarborough Shoal

* The US would have to commit tens of thousands of marines and a few aircraft carrier groups and fully deploy to Philippine bases and pretty much start a major shooting war to push China out of the South China Sea. For the next six months the US will not even sail within the 12 mile limits and will not even talk harshly about the situation

* China is developing heavy cargo aircraft with the Ukraine and would be able build up and supply the islands under more circumstances

Range arcs depicting potential coverage of HQ-9 SAMs, YJ-62 ASCMs, and DF-21 ballistic missiles from Chinas larger South China Sea island bases.

The election last spring of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who has since showered threats and epithets on the United States, has changed Chinas calculation.

That does not mean China has given up on the long-term goal of what could be a vast military base on Scarborough Shoal. But for the moment, the plans appear to be postponed.

A pause would allow for talks between China and Southeast Asian nations on a so-called Code of Conduct to lay down rules of behavior in the South China Sea. Premier Li Keqiang of China called for the codes completion at a recent summit meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Laos.

The questions are whether Beijing is willing to dampen its sovereignty claims now that it has established its tactical advantages in the South China Sea and if countries like the Philippines are willing to cut cooperative development deals that split the resources and push out any actual sovereignty resolution.

The Philippine Constitution dictates that Philippine entities must retain 60 percent capital and ownership when it comes to joint exploration with foreign companies  a condition that Beijing can hardly accept unless both sides are willing to caveat their stances.



SOURCES  War on the Rocks, USNI, Stratfor, NY Times
Senator representing Kaduna central senatorial district, Shehu Sani has once again criticized President Muhammadu Buhari's led federal...

Senator representing Kaduna central senatorial district, Shehu Sani has once again criticized President Muhammadu Buhari's led federal government over moves to sell national assets in order to revive the ailing economy.Mr. Sani on his social media account said: If we have to sell our national assets to fund the 2016 budget; then we have to sell our coat of arms, national flags and anthem to fund the 2017 budget; as for the 2018 budget, the nation moves from recession to receivership, then we auction the whole territorial land mass of our country to the Bourgeoisie class to raise cash; then we all live on tenancy. This is what our 'lumpen capitalists' want.Recall that that federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has said that it is ready to sell off national assets to fund the 2016 budget and save the country's economy from recession.
A Group of Human Rights Lawyers has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to put an end to the media trial of the ...





A Group of Human Rights Lawyers has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to put an end to the media trial of the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, saying it could worsen the countrys situation and that President Muhammadu Buharis government should stop saying it would not probe Goodluck Jonathan while maligning his wife Patience Jonathan.Addressing newsmen on behalf of the group, in Abuja, Ugochukwu Osuagwu, said they were not against investigating and prosecuting the former First Lady, but it should be done in line with the laws, and not on the pages of newspapers or internet.Osuagwu revealed that the $31.4million released to the public is not the correct figure of what is in the said Skye Bank account owned by Mrs Patience Jonathan. According to him, The actual figure is $8.2million. This is the correct amount not $20m, not $31.4m released to the public.We wish to state that the story of the EFCC and as published by various media concerning Mrs. Jonathan and Skye bank are false, malicious and does not reflect the true picture of what transpired.We are not against the fight against corruption by EFCC but let it be done with decency but must not be done or seen as unleashing so much vendetta, vindictiveness and carefully planned and rehearsed acts of witch hunt against Mrs. Jonathan.We as concerned citizens termed this media trial as a complete defamation of character against the past president. Remember what goes around comes around. With the recent development, a bad precedent is being laid down.He explained that going by the brief they received from the Ex-first Lady, the three accounts opened in companies names were opened in error by Dudafa, the SA on Domestic Affairs to Patience Jonathan and she had complained to the Bank management to convert the accounts to her personal account but the bank failed to effect her request.But the said bank officials did not change the account names despite her request, having debited her account to the sum of $300 as service charge. Why were the officials of the Skye bank not also arraigned with the affected companies being charged to court?Can a company that does not own an account in a Bank plead guilty to forfeit what does not belong to them as EFCC did in Lagos last time the matter came up? he asked.Osuagwu noted that the Buhari administration should stop saying that it would not probe Goodluck Jonathan, when his wife is currently being maligned in the media, adding that this media war is scaring investors away from investing meaningfully in our country.The group called on the anti-graft agency to lift the caveat placed on the personal account of the wife of the immediate past president.
Ahead of the Wednesdays rescheduled governorship election in Edo state, the Commander, 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General ...





Ahead of the Wednesdays rescheduled governorship election in Edo state, the Commander, 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Benbela Raji, has announced the deployment of 1,900 military personnel, six drones and six gunboats to the state.Addressing reporters after a combined security meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday in Benin, Raji explained that the two drones will be deployed in each of the three senatorial districts and six gunboats for the riverine areas.Raji disclosed that no military personnel would be found at either the voting or collation centres but they would cordon off adjoining routes to the polling units to prevent those that may want to cause havoc.According to Raji, The Nigerian Army is there to play a supportive role to the security agencies. Should there be issues or security challenges beyond the control of the security agencies, the military will, of course, be activated to take care of such situations.Recall that the nations electoral umpire had postponed the election originally fixed for September 10 till September 28 due to security concerns raised by the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services, DSS.Also speaking after the meeting, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris announced the restriction of movement in and out of the state which will commence at 1am on Wednesday.Speaking through the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of operations, Joshak Habila, Idris explained that the restriction would include a lock down of all highways within the state and inroads.He added that the police would also conduct semi-temporary checks on vehicles and persons plying such roads.I want members of the public to know that at 1am on September 28, the highways, the in-ways and the out roads, roads that are leading into Edo and those ones going out, will be locked down.There will be semi-temporary checks on vehicles and personalities using the roads, he said.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has thrown their weight behind the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Godwi...

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has thrown their weight behind the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Godwin Obaseki, urging all workers in the state to vote for the party in Wednesdays governorship election.It would be recalled that over 10,000 people from other parties reportedly decamped to the APC ahead of the gubernatorial election which is 24hrs away.Comrade Uche Obigwe who represented the President of the NLC at a rally, said labour had decided to adopt Obaseki due to the developmental strides of the Governor Adams Oshiomhole-led administration in the state.According to him, For those who are new in the labour movement, they will not understand but those who are old in the movement will know that Adams Oshiomhole has taken Edo State to a new level. When I was at the airport, I remember 8 years ago, if you want to come to Edo State for a meeting, the flight that comes to Abuja is about three times a week because nobody was coming to Benin.But today, two aircrafts land in Benin from Abuja every day. I remember when there were no hotels to lodge because nobody could invest in hotels in Edo State. Today Edo has so many hotels and people now come to Benin because somebody has transformed Benin. So we are backing Obaseki so that Edo will not go back to the dark ages. He has to continue from where Oshiomhole stopped he stated.
Detectives have uncovered another multi-billion naira transaction believed to have been carried out by former Petroleum Resources Minist...

Detectives have uncovered another multi-billion naira transaction believed to have been carried out by former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is probing a N4billion hotel deal between Mrs. Alison-Madueke and a former military administrator, whose identity is yet to be released so as to protect the investigation.The hotel may be placed under Interim Forfeiture as soon as the preliminary investigation is concluded,But detectives of the anti-graft agency have secured the relevant papers on the hotel valued at N4billionAlso, it was gathered at the weekend that some business associates of Mrs Alison-Madueke were yet to refund to the EFCC about $1.85billion traced to them.They would rather follow through the case than make a refund, a source said.According to the anti-graft agency, the hotel was one of the five being investigated in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.It can be recalled that a special team of operatives was drafted to Port Harcourt to locate five houses suspected to be the ex-ministers.It was learnt that the interim report of the team indicated a strongly suspected hotel purchase deal between the ex-minister and the former military administrator.An EFCC source said: We have been able to link the N4 billion hotel in Port Harcourt to the ex-minister. We are probing alleged sales deal between her and a former military administrator.We have been able to ascertain the value of the hotel. But we are gradually tracking how the deal was carried out including verification of bank details and transactions by all those involved.Some of these deals we are unearthing were carried out in layers in order to shield them away from anti-corruption agencies. But we are cracking them all.The source added: For strategic reasons, we will not reveal the identities of the ex-MILAD and others connected with the deal at this stage of investigation.But very soon, the transactions will be made known to the public. Do not forget, we have four other properties under surveillance.About two weeks ago, another asset of the ex-minister in Abuja, allegedly worth over N500million, was confiscated pending her trial.The anti-graft agency had earlier seized a mansion worth N3.58billion from the ex-minister, bringing the haul in Abuja to about N4.08billionWith the latest tracking of the hotel in question in Port Harcourt, the properties allegedly linked to the ex-minister are worth about N8.08billion.As at press time, none of the business associates of Mrs Diezani, who are under investigation, has refunded anything from the $1.8billion traced to them.A source in the EFCC said: Apart from subsidy funds which some of them paid back, they are yet to refund the $1.85billion traced to them.The battle is in the court; we will do our best to recover these slush funds. I think they are prepared for the legal battle.The EFCC has, however, secured a Mareva Injunction from Justice O.O. Oguntoyinbo to freeze some foreign accounts and seize some assets linked with Mrs Alison-Maduekes associates in the United Kingdom.Some of the off-shore financial institutions, where accounts have been frozen include BNP Paribas (Switzerland), LGT Bank (Switzerland), Standard Chartered Bank (London),Barclays Bank (London), Standard Energy (Voduz, Switzerland), HSBC (London), Corner Bank (Lugano, Switzerland) and Deutsche Bank (Geneva).Section 34 (1) of the EFCC Act 2004 empowers the commission to freeze any account suspected of being used for financial crimes.The section stipulates that the chairman of the commission or any officer authorised by him may, if satisfied that the money in the account of a person is made through the commission of an offence under this Act or any enactment specified under Section 6(2) (a)-(f) of this Act, apply to the court ex parte for power to issue or instruct a bank examiner or such other appropriate authority to freeze the account.The National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK arrested and quizzed Diezani and four others on October 2, 2015 for alleged bribery and corruption and money laundering.Also, the EFCC has quizzed five more suspects since the interrogation of Mrs Alison-Madueke by the NCA.The NCA last year obtained permission from a Westminster Magistrates Court to seize 27,000 pounds from Mrs Alison-Madueke and two other women.Although NCA detectives have visited the country this year in line with the ongoing probe of the former minister, it was unclear when she will be formally arraigned in court in the UK.While the UK investigation was in progress, the EFCC uncovered another $115million poll bribery scam in which the ex-minister was implicated.But the ex-minister recently described allegations against her as cold-hearted and inhuman at a time she is ill.
THE Federal Government has pleaded with the United States to lift its ban on the importation of Nigerias crude, describing the action as...

THE Federal Government has pleaded with the United States to lift its ban on the importation of Nigerias crude, describing the action as antithetical to the flourish of trade and economic cooperation upon which Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, was founded.The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Nigige, who made the plea, also told the American government to demonstrate stronger commitment to improve economic ties with African nations through balanced trade relations. Senator Ngige made the plea at a Ministerial Roundtable meeting on Africa Growth and Opportunity Act at the Department of Labour Building, Washington D.C, United States.He said the stoppage of Nigerias crude importation had led to low foreign exchange receipts and consequent technical recession in some African countries. Ngige, who led Nigerias delegation at the meeting to the round table, titled Trade and Worker Rights: Inclusive Economic Growth in Africa Through Trade on the Day One of the Roundtable, said the capacity of Nigeria to tackle anti-labour practices, such as child labour, cheap labour and human trafficking, was being hampered by dwindling resources, which the stoppage of the import of the Nigerian crude by the US had accentuated.He said poverty at the low income levels made the fight against anti-labour practices at the base difficult. He urged the US to assist African countries in the entire agricultural value food chain of production, processing and preservation as well as give increase educational assistance to farmers.He said: The founding ideal of AGOA is to foster a symbiotic economic cooperation between Africa and the United States. However, the capacity of the Africa nations such as Nigeria to effectively tap into the full potentials of the body is being checkmated by limited resources. There is need therefore for America to rethink initiatives that once made AGOA attractive to African countries. Rescinding her decision on Nigerian crude is one of such steps that could be taken to buoy up our economy and regain enough capacity to protect workers rights and promote decent work in an inclusive economic growth. The US must do more to assist junior partners by extending some labour projects and technical aide being executed in some African countries such as Madagascar, Zambia and Kenya to Nigeria.Speaking further on Nigerias initiatives for improving internationally recognized workers right, the Minister said Nigeria had ratified and domesticated eight core conventions of the International Labour Organization, ILO, dealing with child rights and fair labour practices, drawing the attention of the international community to the strong backing for fundamental freedoms and labour rights enshrined in the constitution, especially in section 40.Earlier in his address of welcome, the US Secretary of Labour, Tom Perez, pledged the commitment of the United States to the growth of AGOA and urged African countries to strive towards the recognition of workers rights as an essential element of inclusive economic growth
According to reports, Patience Jonathan has concluded plans to drag the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the African Com...

According to reports, Patience Jonathan has concluded plans to drag the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the African Commission of Human and Peoples Right in Gambia.Sources close to the legal team said they took the decision to seek legal redress in a court free from manipulation.Already a new group, The Rebranded Indigenous People of Biafra (TRIPOB) has thrown its weight behind the decision to drag the EFCC before the African Commission of Human and Peopless Right over its case Mrs Jonathan.The group, in statement by its spokesman, Chima Phillip Effiong Osuji, condemned what it called the the undue harassment and campaign of calumny masterminded by the EFCC against Patience Jonathan.The group insisted Mrs Jonathan cannot get fair trial in a Nigerian court commended and Mr Timipa Jenkins Okonipere for his decision to drag the EFCC before the West African Court.TRIPOB believes that under the current political dispensation in Nigeria, Mrs. Jonathan cannot obtain fair and impartial judgment. Furthermore, by virtue of the enviable political height which the Goodluck Jonathan family has attained, it would be most advisable if Mrs. Jonathan goes outside for relief.
Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed has hailed the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari by world leaders during the 71st...

Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed has hailed the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari by world leaders during the 71st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, the minister said it was delightful to hear from world leaders that President Buharis determined and committed leadership as well as his integrity have given Nigeria a positive image in the comity of nations.The statement reads: These three areas (economy, security and the fight against corruption) are the priorities of the Buharis administration, and its efforts have not gone unnoticed globally, despite the attempts by naysayers to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians. World leaders, including United State (U.S.) President Barrack Obama, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, French President Francois Hollande and Switzerlands President Johann Schneider-Ammann all, took turns to extol President Buharis leadership.This should be a source of hope and pride to Nigerians, who have borne the brunt of the difficulties associated with the current economic downturn as well as the countrys negative global image in the past. While thanking Nigerians for their perseverance, there is no doubt that by continuing to give their unalloyed support to the President, they will be ensuring that these tough times will not last.The minister said the fact that the President was able to highlight and seek a global rallying point on critical issues issues during his trip will have a positive effect on the country.The statement further reads: The President sent a clear and direct message to world leaders on such issues as poverty, climate change, terrorism, plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) arising from Boko Haram activities, diversification of the economy and the creation of enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria.The timing of the Presidents message and the platform in which he highlighted those issues could not have been more apt, and this will undoubtedly complement the Administrations efforts at tackling those key issues.
The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, says seeing children going to school without shoes is heartbreaking.

The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, says seeing children going to school without shoes is heartbreaking.She spoke on Monday in Lagos at the launch of Project Bright Steps  her initiative established to address such problems and focus on childrens social welfare, education and healthcare.She said, Wearing shoes is not a luxury, but a necessity. It is heartbreaking to see some of our children going to school without shoes.Walking without shoes has caused many children to fall ill or lose their feet to infections and other life-threatening diseases.This initiative will begin to equip primary one to three pupils in all public primary schools across the state with made in Nigeria shoes, socks, bags and other education materials.This is also to encourage local production of school materials as over 175, 000 pupils will benefit from the project this year.These children represent the future of our country and we will continue to do our best to motivate them for excellence.She noted that a properly equipped pupil is better motivated, more confident and has high self esteem, which will translate to better academic performance.Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, lauded the initiative, saying the education and moulding of children  the nations future leaders  required collective effort.These materials will give succour to these children and help them unleash their full potentials in life.Our administration will continue to ensure that every child enjoys quality education that will transform their lives for a better and brighter tomorrow, he said.The governor urged non-governmental organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to support governments efforts in providing basic education needs and making schooling conducive for children in the state.Mr Olanrewaju Ogunyemi, Chairman, House Committee on Education, Lagos State House of Assembly, also said at the event that infrastructure upgrade was required in some primary schools in the state.He urged private organisations to partner with government and take up rehabilitation and repair projects in such schools as their corporate social responsibility to the communities.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Italys Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Graziano Delrio (Source: VNA)



He rejoiced at the progress seen in bilateral relations since they were lifted to a strategic partnership in January 2013, especially after the Vietnam visits by Italian PM Matteo Renzi in June 2014 and President Sergio Mattarella in November 2015.

Italy remains a big trade partner of Vietnam in the EU with bilateral trade growing over the years to USD4.3 billion in 2015.

The PM believes that their economic, trade and investment ties will be strengthened as Italys Chamber of Deputies ratified the Vietnam-EU Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation, and Vietnam and the EU are working towards signing and implementing a bilateral free trade agreement.

The Vietnamese Government supports Italian firms in making long-term business plans and effectively carrying out projects in Vietnam, particularly in fields the two sides have strength in and demand for such as machinery manufacturing, textile and garment, footwear, wood processing and support industries, he noted.

He spoke highly of the outcomes of the talks between Minister Delrio and Vietnams Ministry of Transport Truong Quang Nghia, adding that though the ministries inked several cooperation agreements, their collaboration has not been on par with potential.

He asked the two Governments to continue facilitating partnerships between their countries companies, particularly in transport.

Both ministries should increase information exchanges while creating favourable conditions for businesses to engage in transport infrastructure projects through public-private partnership and seek cooperation opportunities in seaport management and operation, seaport infrastructure and services development, and logistics services, PM Phuc said.

He also asked Italy to promote the EUs early signing and ratification of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement and recognition of the market economy mechanism in Vietnam, which, he said, will enhance equal and mutually beneficiary cooperation between the Southeast Asian nation and the EU.

The Vietnamese leader also took this chance to ask the visiting minister and the Italian Government to support and participate in the maintaining of navigation and aviation freedom and the promotion of trade in the region and the world.

At the meeting in Hanoi, Minister Delrio informed his host about the outcomes of the working session between the two transport ministries.

With its experience in infrastructure and transport building and management, Italy is ready to cooperate with Vietnam in building seaports and airports which the ASEAN country is prioritising.

The Italian Government is proud to be a major EU partner of Vietnam and always considers the country as an important partner to foster multi-faceted relations with, he noted.

Echoing PM Phucs view about bilateral cooperation potential, he said his countrys Government is also interested in maintaining navigation and aviation freedom and ensuring trade and global economic development. Italy wants to accelerate joint programmes and projects with Vietnam, especially in aviation and railway./.
As Nigerianeye earlier reported, Nigeria's economy team consisting of the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun ...

As Nigerianeye earlier reported, Nigeria's economy team consisting of the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and others, had a meeting with Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB).After the meeting, the bank approved $1 billion loan towards meeting the deficits in Nigerias 2016 Budget, believed to partly responsible for the countrys economic crisis.AfDB President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, disclosed these to State House correspondents on Monday after meeting with Vice President and other members of the Economic Management Team (EMT) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.Stressing that Nigeria is the largest shareholder of the bank, Akinwunmi said the bank is in Nigeria to offer its strong support to the country as it faces tough time.He said: African Development Bank (AfDB), we have a very strong delegation team to meet Vice President and the economic management team. The banks largest shareholder is Nigeria. It is very important for me to be here and to talk to the Nigerian government about the challenges and opportunities that are in Nigeria.Im not here to lecture the Nigerian government. Im here to support very strongly. We have said that we are going to support the Nigerian government with the budget support to be able to deal with some of fiscal imbalance that they have. We are looking to consider for an award of $1 billion to help to deal with that particular deficit.
Dr Titus Okunronmu, a former Director in the Budgetary Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said that selling the countrys asse...

Dr Titus Okunronmu, a former Director in the Budgetary Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said that selling the countrys assets to boost the economy will further restrict income.Okunronmu in Ota, Ogun, said that rather than restrict income the government should redistribute income through untapped resources.According to him, selling the assets to those in government means that income has further been restricted instead of redistributing income.He said that to sell the nations asset was not a problem but who would be the buyers and who would manage the proceeds from it? Besides, Okunronmu said that the sales would yield little because the assets would be poorly prized since the country was in need of scare forex.What should be done, in my own opinion, is that the Federal Government should utilise untapped resources to boost the economy.There should be the immediate fixing of the four refineries at optimal capacity to check the use of scare forex on importation of petroleum products.This and other untapped resources will create the platform for our products to be sold to other West African countries as well as generating various employment opportunities, he said.He said that the country was endowed with many untapped resources which urgently needed to be used to return the country to path of growth.He said that Nigeria had all it takes to become one of the top 10 economies in the world if adequate political will was applied.According to him, this is the right time for the government to look inward in solving the economic challenges of the country.The former CBN director added that fixing foreign exchange issues was not a problem but depending less on imported goods was the issue.`We need to be less import-orientated country and nationally our love for imported goods must change because the demand for dollars for such goods was exerting heavy pressure on the nations currency, he said.
ATLANTIC CITY -- An Atlantic City man was injured in a shooting early Sunday morning, police said.

A 21-year-old was shot Sunday morning in Atlantic City.

The 21-year-old was found shot near the corner of South Carolina and Baltic avenues around 2:05 am, according to a news release.

He was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in the city and treated for an injury not considered life-threatening.

Police didn't release any other details about the incident.

Anyone with information is asked contact the police at (609) 347-5788 or send a text to TIP411 (847411).

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Wesley Clark endorsement

General Wesley Clark endorsed Josh Gottheimer for the 5th Congressional District on Monday.

(Sara Jerde | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

MAYWOOD -- A retired four-star general and former supreme commander of NATO said Monday he thinks Josh Gottheimer, the Democratic candidate hoping to unseat Rep. Scott Garrett (R), will be the best advocate for veterans in Washington.

General Wesley Clark stood beside Bergen County Executive James Tedesco and several veterans in the Maywood American Legion as he formally endorsed the man who once helped him run his 2004 presidential campaign.

"Josh Gottheimer is one of the most talented people I've ever run across in the private or public sector," said Clark, who has won multiple distinguished service medals.

Gottheimer shared his plan to address veteran issues, which included making the Veterans Affairs department more accountable, investing more resources in mental health care for veterans to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and helping troops transition back in to society with programs that could help them find careers.

Gottheimer and Garrett are in a heated race to for the 5th Congressional District, which Garrett was first elected to represent in 2002. At the news conference, Gottheimer argued Garrett hadn't taken on veterans' issues since he's been in office.

Sarah Neibart, Garrett's campaign manager, responded to the allegations and called the representative a "persistent veterans advocate."

Garrett's campaign also announced an endorsement of his own on Monday, from Teaneck Councilman Mark Schwartz, a Democrat.

Schwartz said he and Garrett didn't agree on all things foreign policy, but that the representative's stance on Israel is what motivated him to endorse him across party lines. Garrett has said he supports efforts to establish peace among Israel and the Palestinians, but that he supports Israel's right to exist as an democratic nation and defend itself against attacks.

"You're never going to agree with anyone all the time, and his stance on Israel is why he has my endorsement," Schwartz said.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
WESTAMPTON TWP. -- Two men are currently sought in connection with a violent burglary, where the homeowner was allegedly kicked and slashed during his pursuit of the suspects.

It was just before 2:30 p.m. Sunday when Westampton police were called to a Bentwood Drive home for a report of a burglary that had just occurred. The homeowner told police that he returned home and saw two black males running out a side door.

The homeowner chased down the two men, whom he then got into a "scuffle" with, police said, adding that he received a kick to the face and 2-inch cut on his abdomen that was allegedly inflicted with an X-ACTO knife.

The two suspects were then seen getting into a gold- or champagne-colored Chevrolet Tahoe parked on Bentwood Drive and fleeing the scene. What may have been stolen from the home remains unclear, police said.

Authorities describe the first suspect as a black male in his early to mid 20s with a light complexion, average build, standing approximately 5 feet, 9 inches tall with black dreadlocks that had blonde ends. He also had tattoos on both arms.

The second suspect is described as a thin black male with a dark complexion in his early to mid 20s, standing approximately 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 2 inches tall with black hair that was short on the top and faded on the sides.

Readers with information regarding the incident are asked to contact the Westampton police Detective Bureau at 609-267-3000 ext. 144.

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
An electrical fire ravaged the East Orange home of Gwendolyn Dixon, 82, in March 2016.

The fire started in the basement of the three-family home and moved up to the first floor before it was extinguished.

A renter lived on the first floor, Dixon on the second and her son, who also paid rent, lived on the third floor.

They all lost their home.

An electrical fire damaged the first floor and basement of Gwendolyn Dixon's home.

The Red Cross set Dixon and her son up for three days at a local hotel, and after that, they had to move around. They depended on donations from friends and even temporarily moved to Georgia to stay with family.

Before the move to Georgia, Dixon saw in the neighborhood a contractor -- Michael Solise of Clean Air USA -- who she said once did work on her roof.

She hired him to fix her home, signing a contract for $84,200.

Dixon received the first insurance check for $29,579.35. It was dated July 21 and written to both Dixon and Solice.

Dixon, in Georgia, told Solise the check had arrived, she said.

"After a promise of being able to resume my residence so that I could continue living in my home within two weeks, the contractor insisted I return in order for both of us to sign the check," she said.

Dixon returned to New Jersey and moved back to the hotel on Aug. 8.

Dixon said she met Solise at a Wells Fargo branch the next day and a rep said they'd have to open an account together to make the deposit, and they did.

"Two days after signing the check contractor Michael Solise went to the bank and took out all my money," Dixon said.

After Bamboozled got involved, we asked Wells Fargo if a joint account was needed. A spokesman said a check written to two parties would have to be endorsed by both, but could be deposited into either party's account.

This sounded horribly familiar in the wake of Wells Fargo fake account scandal. Were Wells employees pressured to create unneeded accounts?

Either way, the money is gone.

Dixon said she asked Solise why he withdrew the money.

"He replied, 'So that the insurance company wouldn't freeze the check,'" Dixon said. "I asked him to put the money back into the account."

He never did.

NO CONSTRUCTION?

Dixon began to worry when no work started on the home.

She tried calling for updates.

Solise told her in the second or third week of August that he was waiting for an architect, Dixon said.

Gwendolyn Dixon looks into the basement of her fire-destroyed home.

In another conversation, Dixon said, Solise said he had an electrician at the house.

She also asked about the permit.

"Mr. Solise told me he had to wait 20 days for the permit," Dixon said. "I later found out he had never applied for a permit."

Solise also said he needed an asbestos report, Dixon said.

"I found out that was not true," Dixon said. "He only needs a letter stating he would make all corrections if any asbestos was found."

On Sept. 15, records show, Solise told Dixon's son via text message that an asbestos company was coming to the house.

Dixon's son asked for an update via text on Sept. 20.

"I have everything under control," Solise said in the text. "For the last time do you think I'm not going to do that work? Are you kidding me?"

Dixon investigated.

She spoke to the building department, which explained the architect requirement and that the contractor only had to put in writing he would take care of any asbestos. Reps also told her Solise had never applied for a permit -- something Bamboozled later confirmed with the building department.

Next, Dixon visited the Hillside address listed on Solise's Business Registration Certificate.

The address was for a furniture store, and employees said they didn't know Solise, Dixon said. There was no sign of a business called Clean Air USA.

Dixon said Solise stopped answering her calls, so she filed a complaint with Consumer Affairs in Essex County.

"I'm in a very, very bad spot and about to lose my home, after 82 years in one house. I was born and raised there," Dixon said.

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

Bamboozled learned about Dixon's case after two of her neighbors independently asked for help on her behalf.

We reviewed Dixon's story and the documents.

The contract is missing many items required by state law. For example, there is no start or end date for the job and the HIC registration number is missing.

Gwendolyn Dixon reads the "unsafe structure notice" on her front door.

While Solise has a valid Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration, it was only valid as of Sept. 6. That means he was working as an unregistered contractor when Dixon hired him.

One document has a number after the words "Contractor's License," but it's not the HIC number. We've been unable to determine what that number represents.

Another document says he's been licensed in the state since 2002, but state records show that's not true.

On the contract, the description of the job is somewhat unusual, so we're sharing it in its entirety, exactly as it was written.

"Construction contract between clean air usa and homeowner Gwendolyn Dixon rehabilitation to fire damage 3 family property All services provide by clean air usa must meet the satisfaction Of homeowner Gwendolyn Dixon as well as all parties with vested Interest all work must be done in according with specs provide by Insurance adjuster this includes all building and construction Materials labor and site security and all required tools and machinery Needed for the completion of contract compliance with laws."

There was more.

"clean air usa shall provide the services in a workmanlike manner in compliance With all applicable federal state and local laws and regulations including But not limited to all provisions of the fair labor standards act the americans with disabilities act the federal family and medical leave Act and the new jersey contractors registration act."

Another document listed his specialties, including electrical and plumbing, but the state has no record of a plumbing or electrical license for him or the company.

We asked Solise for a status update on the job.

"Actually I'm waiting for a certain document," Solise said. "The work will get completed as I told her she can't rush this stuff."

Solise said he needed the architect plans and the asbestos report and "that's why the permit was denied." He said there were delays because "people are very busy."

We asked why he withdrew the money from the joint account.

"I'm not privy to tell you that," Solise said, noting he has an attorney.

Gwendolyn Dixon outside her East Orange home.

We asked how much he had spent on the job so that if Dixon wanted to cancel the contract, she'd know how much to expect back.

"You're asking me too many questions. Right now it's not any of your business," he said.

We asked for his attorney's contact information, and Solise told us not to call him again, disconnecting the call.

But there were still questions, so we sent Solise a text message saying Dixon wanted her money back, and asking about the address he uses, the deficiencies in the contract and more.

Solise didn't respond.

We asked the furniture store if it had a relationship with Solise or his company.

An employee did some checking, and said Solise used to work for the company but was fired, and that Solice had no dealings at the address.

We asked the Treasury Department what happens if a business lies on its registration.

The Division of Revenue would first have to first receive a complaint from another agency, such as Consumer Affairs, said spokesman Joseph Perone. Then the account would be reviewed to "determine if any action should be taken, including revocation," he said.

Consumer Affairs confirmed the furniture store address was used on Solise's HIC application.

The agency said it can suspend or revoke any registration upon proof it was obtained through fraud, deception or misrepresentation.

"Listing a false or invalid business address on an HIC registration application would constitute obtaining an application through misrepresentation," a spokeswoman said.

The division said it recently received Dixon's complaint, which is now under investigation.

"We are especially concerned about the fact that the victim is an elderly woman," said Steve Lee, director of Consumer Affairs. "The division will not allow vulnerable senior citizens to be financially exploited by predatory and fraudulent contractors."

We reached out to the folks at the Department of Community Affairs to see if it could help Dixon with temporary housing.

Nothing has come through yet, but Dixon had praise for the agency's efforts.

"They've been very helpful, and they continue to be very helpful," Dixon said. "I think they're doing everything in their power and I really appreciate it."

"I wouldn't wish this on nobody," Dixon said.

Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com.

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CAMDEN -- A Pennsauken man who served time for manslaughter was sentenced Friday to nearly six years in prison for illegally selling 16 guns, including firearms with high-capacity magazines and filed off serial numbers, authorities said.

Ammie Steward, also known as "Beav" and "B," 41, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden in December 2012 to dealing firearms without a license and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon for illegally selling 16 guns between May 2012 and Aug. 15, 2012.

Steward, however, wasn't sentenced until this past Friday, and the U.S. Attorney's Office hasn't yet indicated the reason for the delay in sentencing.

Federal authorities have said Steward resold 14 guns originally bought by his uncle, Eric J. Reed, from Pennsylvania gun shops and gun shows between May 2012 and Aug. 15, 2012.

Reed pleaded guilty in January 2013 to dealing firearms without a license and transferring a firearm to a previously convicted felon, and was later sentenced to about five years in prison.

The other two guns sold by Steward were illegally purchased from Michael Wayne Lee, who authorities said, used a straw buyer to purchase firearms from gun shops in the Philadelphia area. Lee was sentenced this past July to 11 years in prison.

Steward sold 16 firearms between May 2012 and Aug. 15, 2012 on nine separate occasions for profit and without a license, including 12 pistols and two rifles, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. Steward also admitted to using a power tool to destroy the serial numbers on 14 of the 16 firearms.

The guns were sold near Canal's Liquors on Route 38 in Pennsauken to a witness who was cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fishman said.

Seven of the guns were sold along with high-capacity magazines, and, on at least one occasion, Steward sold a Kel Tec PLR-16 .223 caliber pistol along with a 30-round magazine and a box of ammunition. Steward also sold a Romarm/Cugir, WASR 10/63 .762 caliber rifle with two high-capacity magazines and a bayonet.

All 16 firearms are now in the custody of law enforcement, Fishman said.

Steward was sentenced on Friday to 71 months, just short of six years. He'll also be required to serve three years of supervised release when he completes his sentence.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
HADDON TWP. -- Ask Mayor Randall Teague how he feels about the Haddon Towne Center mixed-use development going up along Haddon Avenue, and he'll use the word "excited." But it's in a rather subdued, somewhat weary way.

That's because the $52.8 million project has been planned, negotiated, litigated and redesigned for about 16 years. If the project was a teenager, it could get its learner's permit.

"We're excited that there's finally something being built there," Teague said. "It was a compromise to get the project going."

Originally, the project included 201 luxury condos and 25,000 square feet of retail, the latter of which town officials hoped would fill a "hole of vacant and industrial properties" on that stretch of Haddon Avenue. What's being built now is 252 high-end apartments in seven buildings, with half of the original retail space.

Less than a half-mile away, another redevelopment project is underway -- again, thanks to compromise.

The Westmont Theatre at 49 Haddon Ave. Sept. 10, 2016.

A historic theater being turned into a gym may not be everyone's idea of a success story, but township officials are pleased that something is being done with the Westmont Theatre.

The township sold the dilapidated, vacant theater to Lazgor LLC for $50,000 and the Cherry Hill company is "going to spend millions" fixing it up, Teague said.

The building's facade and marquee will be preserved and restored in accordance with the state and national Historic Register rules. A Planet Fitness with a 10-year lease will open inside, maybe as early as November, Teague said.

"We tried for years to keep it as a theater," he said, but no developers were interested in shelling out around $5 million to renovate a 1,200-seat theater.

It's easy to dream up the consummate projects for the consummate downtown, but after a while, reality sets in.

"Everybody wanted to make it the perfect, ideal development for Haddon Township. Everyone had the township's best interests at heart," Teague said of the Towne Center project. "I think at the end of the day there is relief that construction is going on."

A downtown dream

Township officials began looking at how to redevelop the stretch of Haddon Avenue between Center Street and East Crystal Lake Avenue -- less than a five-minute walk to Westmont PATCO Station -- as early as 1999.

They chose Fieldstone Associates' designs for a condominium and retail development and signed a contract.

The biggest piece of the property was the long-closed Dy-Dee Diaper facility. After signing the contract, the township worked to acquire the other parcels to create a five-acre property for the project, sometimes with resistance from the owners.

Teague said the township also had to do environmental assessments and in some cases, remediate contamination issues.

"That process took a long time," Teague said. "And during that time, the real estate markets crashed and the financial markets crashed. It was financially unfeasible to go forward" with the condo and retail development.

A lawsuit filed by the Fair Share Housing Center in Cherry Hill in 2011 was the next hold-up. The center argued that Haddon Township was required to include affordable rental units in the project, while Fieldstone and the township believed that it had already met its affordable housing obligation.

Teague said the suit cost taxpayers about $1 million in legal and professional fees.

While they were still litigating, Fieldstone Associates in 2014 presented new plans for the development that included only apartments. Residents and town officials were not pleased that the downtown storefronts they had envisioned had been scrapped.

The settlement that Fieldstone, the Fair Housing Center and the township ultimately came up with in 2015 laid out the current plan for 252 rental units, 25 of which are designated affordable, with 12,500 in retail space on the first floor facing Haddon Avenue.

Finally building

Art Corsini, a developer at Fieldstone Associates, said the Doylestown, Penn. limited partnership is "very, very excited" that construction has begun on Haddon Avenue.

"It's going to be a wonderful project," he said this week.

Construction on the site started in early 2016. Now, passersby can see the elevator shafts that will serve the four- or five-story buildings, as well as the concrete, steel and wood beginnings of several buildings. The clubhouse is further along -- it has walls, windows and a roof. There will be a total of 474 parking spaces.

Fieldstone will build and manage the development, as it has at sites around New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Corsini said that the high-end apartments will be ready for occupancy by sometime in the first quarter of 2017.

Besides their nice apartments, residents will have access to an outdoor pool, fire pits, and inside the clubhouse, a fitness center and coffee bar. Potential renters are already registering for apartments at HaddonTowneCenter.com, he said.

He said the first-floor retail space could be one or many storefronts, depending on the needs of the leasee. "We haven't leased it yet but we've had quite a few calls," he said.

Now the Towne Center project is off the ground, Fieldstone is reimbursing the township for the $8 million it borrowed to acquire the properties that make up the site. The municipality also funded a $6 million infrastructure bond that Fieldstone will have to pay back.

The developers and Haddon Township have agreed to a $15 million, 30-year payment in lieu of taxes arrangement that will benefit both sides, Teague said. Since the township will get 95 percent of the payment each year, it will pocket more than it would in regular property taxes, split with the county and schools.

Plus, Teague said, it's a lot better than the amount of taxes collected on the site while the project was delayed: Zero.

"It took us a long time to get there and it was the result of many compromises on everyone's part," he said.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
TCNJdebate.jpg

The College of New Jersey students Caitlyn McNair, left, and Jennifer Loughran, right, helped develop debate questions submitted to the Commission on Presidential Debates. (Sarah Ratner | The College of New Jersey)

( )

EWING -- Like so many other Americans, Caitlyn McNair can't wait to watch Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton go head-to-head Monday night in their first presidential debate, she said.

But while McNair, 20, is eager to hear what the candidates say, the junior at The College of New Jersey likely will be more interested than most viewers in what the moderators ask. There's a chance it could be a question she helped pick.

McNair, of Hackensack, was one of 150 college students selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to suggest questions to moderators in this year's debates. She and her TCNJ classmate Jennifer Loughran were picked to travel to California, help generate hundreds of potential questions and narrow that list to the five best.

There's no guarantee the moderators will ask any of the questions the students submitted, but McNair and Loughran have high hopes that they'll hear them, they said.

"It will be very exciting to be sitting there wondering if something that you helped put together is going to be asked," McNair said. "There was a lot of thought that went into the wording of the questions."

In order to be picked for the initiative, called College Debate 2016, students had to illustrate that they are active in political discussions on campus and able to engage in civil conversations about the election.

Both McNair and Loughran, a junior from Lakewood, passed that test and were sent to Dominican University of California, about 20 miles north of San Francisco. There, they met with a collection of politically engaged students from across the country.

There were some students in "Make America Great Again" hats, others in Hillary Clinton shirts and a few that didn't seem to lean toward either candidate, said McNair, who declined to reveal which candidate she supports.

Despite differing political views, the students worked collaboratively, said Loughran, who said she doesn't like Donald Trump but isn't sold on Hillary Clinton either.

"We didn't focus on the candidates themselves," Loughran said. "We focused on issues."

The students were given 15 broad topics and narrowed that list to five: foreign policy, social justice/civil rights, immigration, education and income inequality and economy.

Then, they broke into groups to generate subcategories in those topics, come up with dozens of questions and vote for the five best questions to submit to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Because of a tie in the voting, the group put forth six questions, including two in foreign policy.

McNair might miss the beginning of the debate because she has a late class, but she fully expects a text from Loughran if one of their questions is asked, she said.

"I am going to probably freak out," McNair said. "And then call my dad and make sure that he was watching and he knew it was one of the questions, too."

Here are the six questions the students picked:

Foreign Policy: What specific circumstances would prompt the United States to use military resources in a foreign country? How would you utilize the nation's military resources?



How do you plan on supporting Syrian civilians without creating further conflict with other political actors?

Social Justice/Civil Rights: What will you do to reduce the recidivism and mass incarceration rates in communities where poverty and violence are prevalent?

Immigration: What is your plan for aiding the employment of skilled refugees and immigrants in their respective fields?

Education: How will you ensure quality education to areas of socioeconomic disadvantage both in terms of K-12 and access to higher education?

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
EWING -- A former assistant music professor at The College of New Jersey has settled her age discrimination suit against the school for $145,000.

The music building at the The College of New Jersey in Ewing. A former music professor settled her age discrimination suit against the school for $145,000.

Susan Guerrini, of Marlton, was let go by School of Arts Dean John Laughton in May 2011, about a month after the personnel committee agreed to re-appoint her, the suit says.

It was the only re-appointment overruled by Laughton, the suit says.

The news was first reported by NJ Civil Settlements, which provides a partial list of settlements paid by New Jersey government agencies and their insurers to those who have sued them.

Guerrini, now 67, alleges the dean told her she "had been around the block many times, in fact around the block quite a few times."

He also described a newly hired assistant music professor as "young," "innovative" and "fresh blood," the suit says.

Laughton was hired in 2009, a year after Guerrini.

Guerrini will receive $90,022.14 and the her attorneys received the rest --$54,977.86.

The school admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement.

"The College of New Jersey denies the allegations but agreed to the settlement to avoid the cost and uncertainty of further litigation," it said in a statement emailed to NJ Advance Media.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
CSB 8005 vessel (Photo: PANO)

The vessel CSB 8005 was designed and built in 12 months by the Netherlands Damen Group and the Song Thu Corporation, presenting an advanced and modern design satisfying international standards.

With a capacity of 8,960kW, the vessel has a length of 90 metres and a width of 14 metres. Equipped with modern weapons, it can be operated in Vietnams sea and continental shelf for 40 continuous days on an area of 5,000 nautical miles.

After being put into operation, CBS 8005 will be used on patrol for protecting sea and islands sovereignty; enforcing laws at sea and the continental shelf; and carrying out search and rescue work in Vietnams and international seas.

In addition, the multi- purpose vessel is also responsible for rotating troops and providing logistics for forces at sea.

Earlier, on September 22nd, the multi- purpose vessel CBS 6002 was handed over to the High Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard Zone 1. At 54.05 metres long and 8.7 metres wide, the vessel can be operated with the maximum velocity of 12.2 nautical miles per hour and during 45 days at sea.

The handing over of the vessel contributes to updating equipment and satisfying the increasingly high demand for reconnaissance requirements in protecting sovereignty and sovereign rights at sea, as well as in realising law enforcement in Vietnams sea and continental shelf, and international seas where Vietnam has agreements./.
NEWARK -- If Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour accomplished anything Sunday night, the sprawling jukebox show reminded us that there are two sides to every coin in the rap mogul's pocket.

First, there was the boisterous, impassioned artist, who for two and a half hours in Newark rocked, emceed, slinked and grinned alongside past label signees and/or friends Mase, Lil Kim, Faith Evans, DMX, The Lox and more -- virtually every popular New York-area rapper of the past two decades (not named Jay Z, Nas, Mos Def, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J or the Wu Tang Clan).

But behind all the hype was Combs' staunch businessman persona, the stone-faced grinder who once forged an East Coast rap conglomerate from nowhere, shepherded Notorious B.I.G. to the mid-'90s mainstream, and surely saw Bad Boy's 20-year anniversary as an opportunity to re-illuminate a label that's slipped from relevancy. Here, Combs raised a bottle of his self-owned Ciroc vodka to the crowd more than once, touted his new horse -- the unimpressive Moroccan rhymer French Montana -- as "the future of Bad Boy" and urged fans to check out his son Christian "King" Combs' upcoming album.

Sean "Puffy" Combs at the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour at Prudential Center, Newark NJ, Sept. 25, 2016. (Mark Brown | For NJ.com)

"I'm passing that torch to you, baby," Puffy told his 18-year-old boy.

Because no one else on the night's nostalgic lineup -- not the aging R&B groups 112 or Total, not past breadwinners Mase or Lil Kim, and not Puff Daddy himself (the original moniker has returned) -- seem poised to return Bad Boy to the here-and-now limelight, and outdo Lil Wayne's Young Money label or Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music anytime soon.

But none of that really mattered Sunday night, inside a packed Prudential Center where hip-hop fans paid solely for the throwback jams.

And within Combs' first-ever Newark performance, the sing- and rap-a-longs -- "hit after hit after hit after hit," as Puff described -- were ultimately electric. Check out these highlights, moments and notes from the show.

MOMENTS AND NOTES

- For some, or at least for 20-somethings like me, seeing Combs rap center-stage has almost become a novelty. It's not that the 46-year-old emcee has stopped making music -- a sequel to his gigantic 1997 debut "No Way Out" could be out before the new year. But as he said earlier this year, his focus is shifting to acting, and in the last decade, his pop-culture footprint has been more visible on TV, on MTV's "Making The Band," or in comedy films "Get Him To The Greek" and "Muppets Most Wanted" (you think Biggie was a Kermit fan?).

But in Newark, Combs was incendiary, spitting his hits through about 10 costume changes and igniting the crowd early with his original smash "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." The track's original collaborator Mase trotted out on stage in an oversized, white mink coat, which would later be undone by a comically large fur from Combs -- complete with a 15-foot trail held by two stagehands.

Sean "Puffy" Combs and members of The Lox at the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour at Prudential Center, Newark NJ, Sept. 25, 2016. (Mark Brown | For NJ.com)

- For all the show's intertwining, with most of the night's acts emerging regularly to provide guest vocals on each other's songs, there was still a Biggie-sized hole on the stage. A Bad Boy reunion show without The Notorious B.I.G. is a Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame night without Michael Jordan. But clips of Biggie were respectfully shown on the big screen throughout the gig, most poignantly a B.I.G. interview with a California radio station that detailed his feud with west coast hip-hop stars -- a rumored cause of his murder -- before the full-Bad Boy-cast encore of his "Mo Money Mo Problems."

Though the Puff Daddy/Faith Evans/112 mega-hit and Biggie tribute "I'll Be Missing You" -- perhaps the most ubiquitous Bad Boy hit to date -- was left off the set list.

- On the R&B side, Newark-raised "first lady of Bad Boy" Faith Evans was a shining, belting light in her six-song mini-set. In a beautiful white dress -- most of the acts wore pure white -- her wild, soulful runs on "Soon as I get Home" and her duet with genre also-ran Carl Thomas "Can't Believe" were terrific on a night largely dominated by rap, and when her set was over, Combs bowed down: "you sung me to my knees!"

- Some kudos must be given to the night's crowd. Sure, just about every track blasted Sunday was a single at some point, but still, the audience shrieked head-long at every pass, and kept to the show's bring-em-out pace. These were true, die-hard hip-hop fans and it was fun to watch.

Members of Total, The Lox, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Lil Kim at the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour at Prudential Center, Newark NJ, Sept. 25, 2016. (Mark Brown | For NJ.com)

THE SET LIST

Puff Daddy

"Victory"

"O Let's Do It"

"Bad Boy for Life"

(Unknown) (Mase enters)

"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"

"Been Around The World"

112

"It's Over Now"

"Dance With Me"

"Peaches & Cream"

"Anywhere"

Total

"Trippin'"

"No One Else"

"What You Want" (with Mase)

"Kissin' You"

The Lox

"Last Day"

"We Gonna Make It"

"I Get High"

"Knock Yourself Out"

"Wild Out"

Carl Thomas

"Emotional"

"Summer Rain"

"I Wish"

Faith Evans

"No Other Love"

"I Love You"

"You Gets No Love"

"You Used To Love Me"

"Can't Believe" (feat. Carl Thomas)

"Soon As I Get Home"

French Montana

"Hot N***a" (Remix)

"Ain't Worried" About Nothin"

"Loyal"

"Same Damn Time" (feat. Puff Daddy)

Lil Kim

"Quiet Storm" Remix

"Big Momma Thing"

"No Time"

"Magic Stick"

"Get Money"

"Lights Up"

DMX

Medley, including "Party Up," "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" and "X Gon Give it to Ya"

Puff Daddy w/Mase

"Feel So Good"

"I Need a Girl (Part One)"

"I Need a Girl (Part Two)"

"Only You" (Remix) (feat. 112)

"Can't You See" (feat. Total)

"Love Like This" (feat. Faith Evans)

"Whoa" (feat. Black Rob)

"All The Way Up" (feat. French Montana)

(Unknown) (feat. King Combs)

"All About The Benjamins"

Encore:

"Mo Money Mo Problems"

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A business owner was arrested Monday on charges he hired foreign workers at his IT companies, and scammed them out of the full-time salaries their visas required.

Sowrabh Sharma, 31, of New York and the two IT companies he partly owns - SCM Data Inc., of New Jersey, and MMC Systems Inc., of Virginia - were charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to obstruct justice, and conspiracy to harbor aliens, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. The companies' head of finance, Shikha Mohta, 33, of Jersey City, also faces the same charges.

Sharma and the others allegedly carried out the scam by recruiting student visa holders, recent college graduates, and other foreign nationals to jobs in the company, and then sponsoring them to obtain H-1B visas, Fishman said.

The H1-B visas allow U.S. employers to temporarily hire expert foreign workers, as long as they are full-time employees who are paid annual, non per-diem salaries. The two companies recruited and hired the foreign workers to act as consultants to their clients' businesses, authorities said.

Sharma, Mohta, and others at the company allegedly created false payroll records that reflected full-time salaries, while really paying the foreign employees less, Fishman said.

During a U.S. Department of Labor audit, Fishman said the group is accused of creating phony leave and vacation slips to explain why employees who were supposed to be working full-time were not.

Instead, authorities allege, the employees were "benched" without pay, a violation of the visa. They were only getting paid while they were on assignment at a client's business, officials said.

The five-year scam was aimed at saving on labor costs, authorities said.

Sharma is scheduled to make an initial appearance Monday afternoon in Newark federal court.

Mohta and another employee appeared in court last year on similar charges. Sharma is facing a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if convicted of the charges, officials said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A fight broke out inside an office at Newark City Hall Monday morning between two employees, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Around 10 a.m. Monday, "a disgruntled employee" came into chief of staff Amiri "Middy" Baraka's office and became "very verbally abusive" to Baraka's secretary, said Frank Baraff, Director of Communications for the city.

The confrontation grew into a "struggle" between the two women, Baraff said.

A Newark police officer assigned to executive protection detail observed the two female employees "shoving" one another, and intervened, said Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

The employee, Porscha Fleming, was escorted out of the building, he said. She has been charged with simple assault, Ambrose said.

While it's still unclear what Fleming was upset about, and why she allegedly attacked Baraka's secretary, Ambrose said it stemmed from a disagreement between the two women.

It's also unclear what, if any, injuries Baraka's secretary suffered in the altercation, but Baraff said she was "OK."

"Everything has a two-way street," said Jay Jones, a family member and spokesman for Fleming. "The (secretary) did make a gesture towards her and (Fleming) acted on the gesture."

Fleming was taken to St. Michael's Medical Center for evaluation before being released without bail, Ambrose said.

As of 4:15 p.m. Monday, the secretary had not returned to her office in city hall. Middy Baraka, brother of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, could not immediately be reached for comment on the incident.

The incident remains under investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's office.

Michael Anthony Adams may be reached at madams@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelAdams317. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Daniil Kvyat says his confidence and hunger for racing in F1 returned with his performance at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Russian has been under pressure this season, being replaced by Max Verstappen at Red Bull after four races and struggling since his return to Toro Rosso. Following difficult race weekends in Belgium and Italy the team was much more competitive in Singapore, with Kvyat finishing ninth after a battle in the race with Verstappen.

When it was put to him that the exciting race in Singapore was good for both fans and drivers, Kvyat replied: "Absolutely!

"A Grand Prix like the one we had in Singapore is a race that makes you remember why we are Formula 1 drivers, why we love what we do. I can tell this race made me hungry for racing and attacking again, and that's just what I did until the very last corner of the Marina Bay Street Circuit. I left my soul out there and I enjoyed every single lap of the race."

On the battle with Verstappen, Kvyat said having a well balanced car helped him keep the Red Bull behind.

"I enjoyed it a lot! I loved the battle with Max. I kept him behind for two stints even if he had a faster car both in cornering and straight lines. The STR11 was in a very good shape and we looked after our tyres properly."

And Kvyat says the improvements Toro Rosso made over the race weekend in Singapore helped increase confidence within both himself and the team.

"We, as a team, had some tough races due to our deficit in terms of straight-line speed. We needed a good race to re-gain some confidence in our potential. I, as a driver, feel that my confidence is back as well. I believe in myself and the team: we can do good things together, for sure. I have to be thankful to everybody, as the car was great all weekend in Singapore and they've never stopped supporting me.

"We now have a better understanding of what is going on with the car. In Singapore we saw a clear picture of where we are in terms of performance. Of course the Malaysian Grand Prix will be a tough one for us, but we will try and get the most out of it."

FEATURE: When F1 team-mates fight for the title

F1i Classic: Sepang 2001 - Ferrari pulls off a masterstroke

F1i's Eric Silbermann asks what Nico Rosberg has to do to get the credit he deserves

From the cockpit: Felipe Nasr on lights and shadows in Singapore

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Not hired because of dreadlocks? That's ok, federal court rules
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House Jan. 6 committee plans to unveil "surprising" details at its next public hearing about the 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol. The session Thursday afternoon is likely to be the last public hearing before midterm elections next month. The panel is expected to include new evidence from the U.S. Secret Service about its actions with Donald Trump that day. Ahead of a report later this year, the panel is summing up its findings. The committee says Trump, after he lost the 2020 presidential election, launched an unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory. They say the result was the deadly mob siege of the Capitol.
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and government officials have discussed with the World Bank Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Satu Kahkonen the development of roads construction strategy for 2016-2018 years.

As the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers said on Friday, during the meeting Groysman said that the construction of roads in Ukraine is one of the priorities of the government and stressed the need to coordinate the efforts of the Cabinet with the World Bank "to start the reconstruction of Ukrainian roads the next year."

"We need to develop a strategy for the development of Ukrainian roads, identify the resource that we need for its implementation, stages of work required - we have to do it before the end of this year," Groysman said.

As reported, the participants of the meeting discussed the main directions of motorways development strategy for 2016 to 2018, as well as the possibility of funding through the revision of the current package of World Bank projects not being used efficiently.

Groysman spoke out in favor of the finalization of the strategy until December 1 and the beginning of its first phase implementation from April 1 of the next year.

He also proposed to increase the level of the working group to the level of Vice Prime Minister.

Groysman thanked Kahkonen for the support of government initiatives for construction highways in Ukraine.
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Dutch-based FreezOil. a bidder for the purchase of the BRSM-Nafta gas stations, is mulling the construction of a bioethanol factory in Cherkasy region, Cherkasy Regional State Administration said on its website.

"We consider Cherkasy region as a priority one... First of all, we are attracted by volumes of maize production there, because it is needed for the production of bioethanol," the administration's press service quoted Chairman of FreezOil's Board of Directors Roland Pieper as saying.

According FreezOil, its plans include the construction of three plants in Ukraine to produce bioethanol. The projects are estimated at $100-150 million each.

As reported, in November 2014, Dutch investment fund FreezOil Fund announced plans to acquire BRSM-Nafta.

Ukrainian media associated BRSM-Nafta with fugitive ex-Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Eduard Stavytsky. Meanwhile, the company itself denies any connection with Stavytsky.
LetterOne (L1), which manages the assets of the Alfa-Group, owned by Mikhail Fridman and his business associates, is still interested in increasing his stake in Turkish cellular provider Turkcell as it sees good opportunities for synergy between Turkcell and VimpelCom, Fridman, who chairs the supervisory board of Alfa-Group, told reporters in Kyiv.

"Turkcell is on the whole a splendid company - as they say there's a good appetite for Turkcell - but only on the condition that this is a normal company, run by its shareholders and not the state," Fridman said.

Alfa's effective stale in Turkcell is currently 13.2%. The Alfa-Group's Alfa Telecom Turkey owns 49% of Mehmet Karamehmet's Cukurova Telecom Holdings (CTH), which has a 52.91% stake in Turkcell Holding A.S. The latter owns 51% of Turkcell.

Cukurova has until November 18 to decide whether to buy 13.2% of Turkcell or sell its own 13.8% stake to L1 for $2.8 billion. If Cukurova misses the deadline for a decision to buy, this will be interpreted as a decision to sell in favor of L1, according to London arbitration court materials.

"At Turkcell we intend to follow the arbitration's decision to the letter - either they buy us out or they sell us their stake. We would be happy with either, and we hope they will follow this ruling closely as well," Fridman said.

He said that L1 did not currently have any board room influence at Turkcell. "Despite the fact there's not one share that belongs to the state, all decisions are made by government officials," he said.

Fridman said the state was currently deciding whether to buy L1 out or not because Cukurova does not have funds of its own.

The Swedish-Finnish TeliaSonera is also a shareholder in Turkcell, both directly and via a 47.09% stake in Turkcell Holding. TeliaSonera controls 37% of Turkcell shares outright and Cukurova has 26.98%.
ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH) owning Alfa-Bank in Ukraine and finishing a deal to buy Ukrsotsbank hopes that equal conditions on the market would be created, the group is ready to fight for leading positions on the market, the largest shareholder in ABHH and head of the supervisory board of Alfa Group Mikhail Fridman has said.

"Of course, we want to be a leader, at least one of the obvious leaders in the private bank segment of the Ukrainian bank market We never liked second positions," he told reporters in Kyiv.

The businessman said that the acquisition of Ukrsotsbank and plans to gain leading positions on the Ukrainian bank market are linked only to business interests.

He said that existing crisis is a good time for investing and strengthening the leading position on the market. He said that even in the countries with smaller economies than Ukraine and in countries facing crisis the market leaders still have a chance to earn.

The businessman added that Alfa-Bank seeks to fight for leadership on the market thanks to improved technologies, increasing efficiency and conveniences for clients, as well the reduction of the cost of services and expansion of their range.
SCHERERVILLE  Forest Ridge eighth-grader Veronica Ruiz-Avila said peace means being able to wake up every morning knowing that you are safe and loved.

Ruiz-Avila, 13, is one of the 207 students at Forest Ridge Academy and among hundreds of thousands of people in the world who celebrated International Peace Day on Wednesday.

The International Day of Peace (Peace Day) is observed around the world each year. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations Resolution 36/37, the day is devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.

With tears in her eyes at some points, Ruiz-Avila said her parents are from Bolivia. She said when she thinks about the violence going on around the nation and the shootings and bombings in the United States, she doesnt understand why.

I think its so wrong, she said. I dont understand why people are hurting other people. The bombings, what is the point of it? What are they trying to prove? Humans are humans. Were equal. I wish people would understand that everyone is equal. No one is superior. I think the bombings are terrible.

Students at Forest Ridge completed dozens of projects over the last couple of weeks. Every student at Forest Ridge from the preschoolers to eighth-graders participated in an art project directed by art teacher Carrie Coslov where they painted a piece of what was a large white dove on a black background.

Ruiz-Avila said she thought the dove picture that students put together was really good and showed how students are able to collaborate. Eighth-graders also guided the younger students and cut out a picture of their own hands and wrote a statement about what peace means to each of them.

Parent Hamdeep Singh, who is also the secretary of the Forest Ridge Academy School Board, and school Principal Cindy Arnold said more than 33 different nationalities are represented at the school.

Singh said she attended a conference with representatives of the school and was impressed with an author there, who talked about peace and how people find joy and peace in their life.

Its so in line with our schools philosophy of becoming a citizen of the world, respecting diversity, focusing on the environment and sharing and being kind to all, she said.

Arnold said Forest Ridge is one of many schools that are an International Peace site.

As head of the school and just as a person, it makes me sad to see the negative things that are going on in the world when there are so many positive things going on, yet people focus on the negative, she said.

Arnold said students are involved in numerous positive projects to bring joy and peace to others throughout the year including making bags for people in hospice, sending treat bags and snacks to members of the military and raising money for the Gary Animal Shelter.

Forest Ridge Academy first-grader Kala Stash, 6, said what he learned from International Peace Day is the importance of being nice to all animals and humans.

Im nice to all my friends. I have three big brothers. Im the youngest. I dont like that so much, he said.
Its no secret that U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, is a big advocate for the steel mills that line the lakeshore in his district.

But The American Iron and Steel Institute made it official by giving the 16-term congressman the 2016 Congressional Steel Champion Award. The AISI said it chose Visclosky, the vice chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus and a frequent sponsor of pro-steel legislation, for his unwavering dedication to the American steel industry and its workers.

I thank the American Iron and Steel Institute for this recognition and appreciate your constant advocacy and unwavering support for the American steel industry, Visclosky said after receiving the award at the fall meeting of AISIs Policy and Planning Committee in Washington D.C. I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that American steel companies and steelworkers are able to produce the highest quality steel and compete on a level playing field.

U.S. Steel President and CEO Mario Longhi and AISI President and CEO Thomas Gibson presented Visclosky, who represents Indianas heavily industrialized 1st District, with the award. Longhi said Visclosky was being recognized for his continuous support of the steel industry over his 32-year career in Congress.

Congressman Pete Visclosky is a recognized leader on behalf of our industry, said Longhi, whos also chairman of AISIs Policy and Planning Committee. Throughout his career, hes been an advocate in Washington for the men and women working in Indianas steel mills and mills all across the country. The 23,000 steel workers in Indiana, and all of us in the North American steel industry, are deeply grateful for his leadership.
PORTAGE  A Burns Harbor man was arrested early Saturday morning after police said he crashed a van into the front of a local liquor store, striking an employee.

Erik Allen, 20, allegedly fled the scene after the crash and was caught later by police when he was spotted running across Interstate 94 into a wooded area near Bass Pro Shop and taken into custody.

In addition to Allens arrest, four other people were arrested after they ventured out of a nearby hotel to see what was happening and were found to be part of an alleged underage drinking party at the hotel, according to Portage police.

The woman who was struck by Allen was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. She told police she was standing outside the store about 6:30 a.m. when she saw the van exit the hotel parking lot at a high rate of speed and in her direction. She said the van jumped the curb and headed toward her, but was coming so fast she couldnt jump out of the way. She said she recalled hearing loud music as the van approached and that the ice cooler next to her moved. She told police she believes she passed out.

The van struck the woman, the ice cooler and knocked over two pop machines. It came to rest with the left front bumper pushed into the front of the building, according to the report.

Allen then fled the scene and was caught later. He was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, four counts of operating while intoxicated, consumption of alcohol by a minor and never receiving a license, all misdemeanors. He was transported to a local hospital for medical clearance and then to Porter County Jail, according to police.

During the investigation, police were approached by Kevin Latour, 18, of Warsaw, and Jacob Nelson, 18, of Portage, who told police they were outside of the hotel smoking a cigarette when the crash happened. According to the report, both seem intoxicated and registered positive for alcohol on portable breath tests. Both were arrested for minor consumption or possession of alcohol and transported to Porter County Jail.

Two other 17-year-olds also were arrested at the scene, and both were charged with underage drinking and one with an additional charge of false informing. They were released to their parents.
HAMMOND  Police wounded a 33-year-old suicidal man who fired several shots during a hourslong standoff Sunday night and eventually leveled a shotgun toward officers, officials said.

Bryan Jones, 33, of 1583 177th Place in Hammond, was shot once by a Hammond police officer and taken to Community Hospital in Munster, where he was in stable condition Monday morning, according to Indiana State Police.

Events began about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, when Hammond police went to the home to check on a man who called a veterans' help hotline and said he was contemplating suicide, Hammond police spokesman Lt. Richard Hoyda said. Hammond police did not identify the man pending formal charges.

Initial responding officers and two police negotiators were sent to the scene, and police learned the man had a handgun, Hoyda said.

A police negotiator spoke with the man on the phone, attempting to persuade him to surrender, put any weapons down and come out his front door, Hoyda said.

During the negotiations, police saw what appeared to be a shotgun near the man's front door, Hoyda said.

At 9:18 p.m., police saw the man fire a shot outside his home. At 9:20 p.m., the Hammond SWAT team was called to the scene. At 9:27 p.m., the man fired another round outside his home, police said. At 9:47 p.m., he fired more rounds and was in possession of a shotgun, Hoyda said.

At 9:52 p.m., the man leveled a shotgun at officers and a member of the SWAT team fired one shot from a rifle, wounding the man, Hoyda said.

The man immediately was taken into custody and transported to the hospital by Hammond Fire Department personnel. He was found to be wearing body armor, police said. He also had a knife and handgun, in addition to a shotgun he dropped when he was shot, Hoyda said.

The man remained under guard at the hospital. The officer who wounded the man is on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting by Indiana State Police.
HAMMOND  Police are investigating an armed robbery at a local restaurant and a separate robbery late last week in which three suspects returned a cellphone when confronted by the victim's girlfriend, police said.

A man in a ski mask robbed the Pepe's Restaurant at 6720 Indianapolis Blvd. about 10:15 p.m. Friday, Hammond police Lt. Richard Hoyda said.

The man entered the business, displayed a gun and left with cash, police said. No injuries were reported.

The man was described as black and tall with a thin build. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie, bluejeans, gloves and a ski mask, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Shawn Ford at (219) 852-2998.

On Thursday night, three men robbed a 30-year-old Hammond man of his cellphone after knocking him off a bicycle in the 7500 block of Marshall Avenue and punching and kicking him, police said.

The victim's 26-year-old girlfriend was on the phone with him as the robbery occurred, got in her vehicle and searched the area. She found three possible suspects in a driveway of a residence in the 7100 block of Marshall, police said.

The three returned the man's cellphone and asked that police not be called. After learning the woman had called police, the three left the area.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Kelly Mickey at (219) 852-2964.
PORTAGE  A South Haven woman was just looking for a friend to talk to Sunday morning.

Instead, she told police the "friend" beat her, attempted to strangle her, attempted to take off her clothes and bit her.

Police received a call to the 5300 block of Plaza Avenue about 3 a.m. Sunday when someone heard a woman shouting for help.

Police discovered the woman, 27, crawling on the ground outside of the apartment building, crying with fresh blood dripping from her nose and mouth.

She told them she had called her friend Julian Varga earlier because she needed someone to talk to. Varga picked her up at her home and brought her to his. She told police both had had a couple of drinks.

When she realized she left her phone in his truck, he wouldn't let her get it and instead attacked her, biting and trying to disrobe her. She pushed him off of her and tried to escape, causing him to hit his face.

Varga allegedly continued the attack outside where he alleged pulled her to the ground and shoved his fingers in her mouth and down her throat to stop her from screaming.

He let her go when police arrived, going back into the house. When he wouldn't respond to police commands to open the door, police kicked it in and found him inside the home in bed. He initially said little to police, but then began yelling and cursing at them as he was being arrested.

The victim was transported to Portage Hospital. Varga was charged with felony counts of criminal confinement and strangulation and misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct and taken to Porter County Jail.
Two ferries being on the balance sheet of public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia, are idle at the port as there are delays with their repair, Head of Odesa Regional Administration Mikheil Saakashvili has said.

"The egregious example of damage at our ports. When Russia has blocked our cargos and we have founded an alternative route for shipments across the Black Sea and Caspian Sea to the Central Asia and China, the issue of transport facilities is acute now. Two super ferries belonged to the Ukrainian railways are idle at the Chornomorsk port. According to the official version, they are idle due to absence of technical repair," he said on his Facebook page.

Saakashvili said that repair of the ferries could have been finished in a couple of weeks and it costs less than one ferry earns making one voyage.

"I have a more realistic explanation why it is happening so. The monopolist today operates the ferries. It sets high prices without competition and looks like it paid to someone in Kyiv all this time so nothing can threaten this monopoly," he said.
INDIANAPOLIS  A Valparaiso man convicted last year of child molesting received a fair trial and is not entitled to any reduction in his 40-year sentence, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Robert Stevenson, 47, was found guilty by a Porter County jury for repeatedly molesting a girl while she was between ages 2 and 4 1/2.

On at least one occasion a younger boy was in the same room watching television while Stevenson molested the girl, according to court records.

In his appeal, Stevenson argued the girls testimony was incredibly dubious and cannot be trusted. He also said his lengthy prison term is inappropriate given his limited criminal history.

The appeals court rejected those claims, 3-0.

Appeals Judge Cale Bradford, writing for the unanimous court, said Stevenson failed to demonstrate the victims testimony was incredibly dubious, because there was sufficient evidence that he spent time alone with the girl and her description of his body was reasonably accurate.

As to Stevensons criminal record, Bradford noted that while this was his first felony conviction, Stevenson previously had been found guilty of seven misdemeanors and was arrested in 2007 on a domestic battery charge that was dismissed after Stevenson completed a diversion program.

The evidence presented at trial suggests that he has apparently chosen not to refrain from victimizing others and has apparently moved from victimizing innocent women to victimizing innocent young children, Bradford said.

Bradford added that the nature of Stevensons offense is abhorrent, as he repeatedly victimized a young child over whom he was in a position of trust, and as such his 40-year sentence is not inappropriate.
INDIANAPOLIS  Dont look for Gary or East Chicago to be home to a bustling Lake Michigan port anytime soon.

Thats the word from Rich Cooper, Ports of Indiana CEO, who last week told a panel of Hoosier lawmakers, led by state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, that neither city has the lakefront infrastructure or available land necessary to develop a profitable port for ocean-going ships.

We can handle double the cargo that were handling today at Burns Harbor without any additional investment, Cooper said. Theres still tremendous capacity there.

As a result, a second Northwest Indiana port likely wouldnt grow shipping to the Region, only redirect it to more locations  and thats not cost-effective, Cooper said.

He also identified specific issues with Gary and East Chicago port sites proposed in the past by both citys mayors and state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, among others.

In Gary, Cooper said his agency determined that most of the dock wall and a large chunk of property in and around Buffington Harbor is owned by Carmeuse for its quicklime manufacturing operation.

He said the remainder is tied up in a trust created by Don Barden, the late former owner of the Majestic Star casinos.

Its a slippery slope there, and its a very complicated real estate transaction, Cooper said. Even if that dock wall became available for use, Im not sure how much land is remaining for someone like the Ports of Indiana or another development to come in.

He said an East Chicago port possibly could handle barge traffic but is not suited for larger ships, and the cost to accommodate ships there is unreasonable with an already operational port just down the shore.

Weve got such tremendous untapped capacity at Burns Harbor that I think it would be a mistake to split the pie, Cooper said.

If anything, Cooper said the ports could use more open land near Burns Harbor linked by rail to the port, in case the states economic development efforts lure a major company looking for a new location that offers road, rail and sea connections.

In 2015, the Burns Harbor port handled 2.8 million tons of cargo, including dozens of fermentation tanks for the booming craft brewing industry.

The states two Ohio River ports, located in southwest and south-central Indiana, handled a combined 9.4 million tons of cargo, prompting Republican Gov. Mike Pence to suggest in January that the state establish a third river port in southeastern Indiana.

Cooper said that proposal is under review.
WASHINGTON  The financial crisis that struck in 2008 touched off the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression, wiping out $11 trillion in U.S. household wealth and leaving about 8 million Americans jobless. More than 5 million families lost their homes to foreclosure. Reckless trading and aggressive practices on Wall Street in the prior boom years received much of the blame.

In the aftermath, Congress enacted an overhaul of financial rules aimed at preventing another meltdown and multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout of banks. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law gave regulators new oversight powers and tools to shut banks without resorting to bailouts. Risky lending was restricted and a new federal agency was charged with protecting consumers from deceptive marketing of financial products.

Republicans and many in the business community complain that the restrictions have raised costs for banks, especially smaller ones, and other businesses, stifling economic growth. They want the overhaul law repealed.

Where they stand

Hillary Clinton says the Dodd-Frank law should be strengthened. Shed slap a new risk fee on the biggest banks and financial institutions, and give regulators more power to force high-risk banks to shrink or break apart. That doesnt go as far as Bernie Sanders Break them up mantra during his Democratic primary campaign against her.

Donald Trump wants the financial overhaul law to be repealed, or at least mostly dismantled. He embraces the view held by Republicans and business interests that the regulations have increased costs and smothered growth. He calls the law a disaster and a disgrace.

Gary Johnson has said he wouldnt have bailed out big banks when the Great Recession hit, that the system would have worked without tinkering. He is generally opposed to government regulation.

Why it matters

Eight years on, the economys recovery from the havoc brought by the financial crisis has been halting and slow.

And popular resentment still smolders over the multibillion-dollar bailout by U.S. taxpayers of Wall Street mega-banks and financial firms in the crisis. It gave a big lift to Sanders upstart campaign.

Beyond their stake as taxpayers, American consumers have an interest in the financial regulations that came in after the meltdown. The Dodd-Frank law set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which expanded regulators oversight of mortgage firms, credit card issuers, payday lenders, student loan providers and others.

Debate rages over whether Wall Street banks still are too big to fail  with government bailouts inevitable. Critics of Wall Street say bigger banks can mean reduced competition and higher fees for consumers. Several of the banks did get bigger as they absorbed failing institutions during the crisis.

On the other side, defenders say big banks such as Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are getting smaller and simpler on their own, mainly by selling off big-chunk assets and businesses. Generally, though, the shrinking thats occurred isnt enough to overcome the bulking-up during the crisis.
PORTAGE  The Elvis FANtasy Fest returns Oct. 7-9 for its 24th year of fun, music and raising money for the Porter County Special Olympics.

The festival will be held at Woodland Park, 2100 Willowcreek Road.

The weekend event celebrates the musical legacy of Elvis Presley along with remembering his humanitarian ways by giving to the charity.

The weekend event begins on Oct. 7 with a welcome party hosted by local tribute artist Quentin Flagg. He will perform a short show and then provide dance music for the get-together.

Elvis FANtasy Fest brings people in from as far away as Washington and fans come from the Chicago area along with Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Iowa.

Special guest this year is Donnie Sumner, who was a member of the Stamps Quartet and sang backup for Presley during the 1970s. Sumner not only will perform for Sunday mornings Gospel Brunch but will be judging the contest.

Along with Sumner, a Chicago quartet, The Spaniels, will be singing some of Presley's well-known gospel songs.

Saturday is the first round for the Ultimate Tribute Artist Contest, which is a qualifier for the contest produced by Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis during the annual celebration each August. It is produced by license agreement with E.P.E.

Twenty-one Elvis tribute artists will compete to win cash, and the top ETA will represent the Portage Elvis FANtasy Fest in Memphis.

Following an Italian dinner provided by Special Olympics, a headliner show, "Elvis, Back to the Future," features four top, award-winning Elvis tribute artists, including the 2015 Ultimate ETA Contest champion, David Lee from Birmingham, Alabama. The other performers are Quentin Flagg, Doug Church and Robert Washington. All four have won the Portage event in the past.

Ryan Pelton, last years winner, will perform on Sunday to open the final round of the contest.

Special Olympic athletes and parents serve as the volunteer force to help run the event. There will be an auction along with a theme basket raffle. Food is served at the event along with several dealers who sell Elvis merchandise.

Parking is free. Tickets are available online at elvisfantasyfest.com or can be purchased at the door. Prices range for $35 to $120 depending on the type of ticket needed.
WASHINGTON  Donald Trump needs to prove to voters that he has the policy depth and gravitas to serve as commander in chief. Hillary Clinton needs a moment to connect with Americans who question whether she can be trusted.

In an election year that has upended political convention, the candidates best opportunity to conquer their weaknesses will come in the most traditional of campaign forums: tonights 90-minute, prime-time debate.

Both campaigns expect a record-setting television audience for the high-stakes showdown, which could help tip the balance in a tight White House race.

The visuals alone will be striking as the candidates step behind their podiums at Hofstra University in suburban New York. Clinton will be the first woman to take the stage in a presidential general election debate. Trump has spent years on Americans television screens as a reality show host, but it can still be jarring to see him at politics upper echelons.

Six weeks from Election Day, and with early voting already underway, the opening debate is one of the few opportunities left for the candidates to motivate supporters and sway a narrow band of undecided voters. According to a new Associated Press-Gfk poll, more than 85 percent of likely voters backing Clinton or Trump say their minds are completely made up. About 13 percent said they were undecided.

The candidates preparation has been a microcosm of their sharply different approaches to politics and presumably, the presidency.

The Democratic nominee has taken full days away from campaign travel to pore over briefing books, practicing to pounce if Trump makes false statements and steeling herself for the possibility that he levels deeply personal attacks. Shes been preparing for the debate at her home in Westchester, New York, and a nearby hotel, where she was spotted with aides Saturday afternoon.

Longtime Clinton aide Philippe Reines is playing Trump in mock debates, according to a person familiar with the preparations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity. Reines is a combative political operative who is deeply loyal to Clinton.

Former President Bill Clinton has sat in on some sessions, offering advice from his own White House debates.

Trump has eschewed traditional debate preparations, but has held midflight policy discussions with a rotating cast of advisers. Hes also spent numerous Sundays batting around ideas with aides.

The Republican businessmans loose approach is potentially risky given that he is new to many policy issues expected to come up during the debate. But advisers contend he will compensate by being quick on his feet and point to his experience at performing under pressure.

Imagine the practice and the training of 13 years of reality television on The Apprentice and then imagine Hillarys experience reading hundreds of papers, said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a Trump adviser who has been talking through policy with the candidate in recent days.

Clinton aides fear Trump will indeed be judged more for his performance than his grasp of the numerous challenges that pass across a presidents desk. Theyve been flummoxed by Trumps ability to sail through the campaign without fleshing out many policy positions and glossing over past statements that he no longer views as politically palatable.

On Friday, the Clinton campaign released 19 pages of what they called Trumps seven deadly lies, including his false assertion that he opposed the Iraq war from the start.

Even if he meets some kind of lowered bar of being semi-coherent and not having any outbursts, its hard to imagine hell avoid his own propensity for lying, said Brian Fallon, Clintons campaign spokesman.

Asked whether Clinton herself planned to call Trump out in the debate if he tries to lie about his past statements, Fallon said, I dont think she would let anything like that pass.

People familiar with Clintons preparations say she has been working through answers to questions that hit at her lack of trustworthiness in the eyes of many Americans, a problem that has dogged her throughout the campaign. Supporters cringed during a candidate forum earlier this month when Clinton was pressed about her email use at the State Department and became defensive, rather than apologizing and trying to move on quickly.

Clinton has debated more than 30 times at the presidential level, including several one-on-one debates with Barack Obama in 2008 and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. But this will be her first presidential debate against a candidate from an opposing party, which Democrats say will give her far more latitude in drawing a contrast and defending herself.

Its a lot more comfortable running against people in the other party than it is debating in the primary, said Anita Dunn, who worked on debate preparations with Obama. The differences dont have to be manufactured. The differences exist.

Trump had an uneven record during the Republican debates, sometimes controlling the crowded contests and other times fading into the background. He flipped back and forth between being bombastic and trying to act restrained.

Trumps less-than-restrained side was on display Saturday as he took to Twitter to criticize Clintons decision to ask businessman Mark Cuban  a frequent Trump critic  to be one of her guests at the debate. The Republican nominee suggested he might put Gennifer Flowers, a woman who had a relationship with Bill Clinton, right alongside Cuban.

Trump misspelled Flowers first name in his original tweet, then sent a corrected version minutes later.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Catherine Lucey in White Plains, New York, and AP Polling Editor Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.
In few places is the opening of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture more eagerly anticipated than in the unincorporated Southern Indiana burg of Lyles Station.

Fifty residents and descendants of residents, about a quarter of the population of this 200-year-old African-American farming community, have chartered a bus Friday and on headed to Washington, D.C., to attend Saturday's grand opening. There they checked out, among other things, objects that for years were tucked away in their barns and attics but are now on display as part of the inaugural exhibitions of the decades-in-the-making, $540 million museum in the heart of the nation's capital on the National Mall.

The items are typical 19th century stuff: a horse-drawn plow, a communion cup, a quilt, and so on. But the collection is significant because Lyles Station is significant. Of the roughly 100 black farming settlements that popped up in the Midwest in the 19th century, Lyles Station may be the last one still going.

"What excited me was the fact that it was still an active African-American farming community," said Anna-Lisa Cox, a museum consultant and expert on 19th century race relations in the Midwest. "Of the over 70 (Midwestern African-American settlements), few if any still had active farmers working the land who had arrived there before the Civil War."

Indiana figures prominently in the museum's opening in another way. The second-largest private funding source is Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, which gave $20 million. Only Oprah Winfrey gave more: $21 million.

For the people of Lyles Station, the new museum is a rare opportunity to achieve a type of immortality. In Gibson County, a few miles from the city of Princeton, Lyles Station has long been a history-minded place. It has its own small museum, housed in the old schoolhouse. But the Smithsonian takes the story to a new level.

"We're just thrilled about it," said Stanley Madison, a fifth-generation Lyles Station farmer who donated his great-grandfather's scythe to the museum's collection. "This really puts us on the map, historically. We're proud of what we've done and what we do, and why shouldn't we be  we feed people."

Cox said Lyles Station's first settlers came in 1815 but that even she, a researcher at Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, had never heard of the place until just a few years ago. How she learned of it was pure happenstance.

"I stumbled across a pamphlet Maxine Brown had created on the Indiana African American Heritage trail she was working on," Cox recalled.

"Maxine Brown," Madison said, is "how we got our foot in the door."

Brown, of Corydon, for the past 30 years has been a tireless promoter of Indiana's African-American history, which in her opinion has been neglected. In the 1980s, she bought and rehabilitated the Corydon Colored School, built in 1897, and converted it to a cultural center and event space.

Most recently, she raised money for a historical marker commemorating James Overall, a black leader and Underground Railroad organizer in 1830s Indianapolis. The marker, which will be across the street from the Walker Theater in downtown Indianapolis, will be dedicated Sept. 29, nine years after it was first proposed.

"African-Americans played a much larger role in Indiana than most people realize," Brown said.

For Lyles Station, James Overall and other African-American people and things, celebration of their cultural and historical significance has been slow in coming. Negro History Week was first commemorated in 1926 but gained little traction until 50 years later, when it was expanded into Black History Month.

Dozens of small museums devoted to African-Americans have popped up, but mostly just since the 1990s. The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, considered the top museum of its kind, was established earlier, in 1961, and has about 15,000 objects in its collection. But only now does black history get its own major, federally funded national museum, one whose collection contains 36,000 objects, including the items from Southern Indiana.

Lyles Station was never a booming place, but at one time it at least bustled. Even in its heyday, around 1900, it was mostly farm fields, but it also had a general store, a post office, a school, an African Methodist Episcopal Church and about 800 residents. A giant flood drenched its fields in 1913, and after that the population began to scatter.

Some people went on to do extraordinary things.

Alonzo Fields (1900-1994), whose father had conducted Lyles Station's volunteer marching band, moved to Washington and became the first African-American chief butler at the White House. He planned and served at state dinners and parties for presidents Hoover through Eisenhower. ("The spiked punch always went over big," Fields noted in his autobiography.)

Matthias Nolcox (1886-1985), whose forebear Joseph Nolcox was one of Lyles Station's founders, studied education at Harvard and later moved to segregated Indianapolis, where in 1927 he became the first principal at the new black high school Crispus Attucks. (In a 2011 interview with IndyStar, Nora Taylor Hart, the last living member of Attucks' first class, recalled Nolcox as "very strict." ''There was no playing around. 'Nolly does not forget' was his motto.")

Other people stayed in Lyles Station and lived the same rural life their families had lived for generations. When he was in the Air Force in the 1950s, Norman Greer found himself answering the question, "Where you from?"

"Lyles Station, Indiana," he would say, and nobody had ever heard of it. Greer shrugged and went about his business, which today is back in Lyles Station, where he farms the land his forebears farmed before the Civil War. He grows corn, soybeans and wheat on 300 acres. He is 79.

Last spring, representatives from the Smithsonian came to his farm and held a ceremony at which they dug a few spadefuls of Greer's soil and carted it away with them. "I'd say it was maybe two or three gallons' worth," Greer said. "That was kind of a shock to me, that they'd want the dirt, but it's an honor."

Earlier this month, he traveled to D.C. for a sneak preview of the new museum. There, in "The Power of Place" exhibit, in a glass jar a foot or so tall, was his dirt.

Source: The Indianapolis Star, http://indy.st/2crwy56
The leadership of a 6,800-mile hiking-and-biking route stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific gathered over the weekend in Porter for its annual meeting.

Billed as The nations first coast-to-coast, non-motorized recreational trail, the American Discovery Trail passes through Northwest Indiana on its way from Delaware to California.

"It goes through a variety of landscapes," said Joe Taylor, an American Discovery Trail administrator and president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Authority, in Iowa. "It connects as much as it can already-existing trails across the country. The goal is to keep building trails so someday you can go coast to coast on a trail."

The American Discovery Trail splits into northern and southern branches between Ohio and Nebraska, giving Indiana two stretches of trail. In the Region, the American Discovery Trail uses portions of the Erie Lackawanna and Pennsy Greenway trails as well as local roads.

Other stretches of the northern Indiana route takes advantage of some of Indianas most prominent trails, including the Whitewater River Gorge, Cardinal Greenway, Sweetser Switch and Nickel Plate.

Taylor arrived in Porter on Friday for the American Discovery Trail Society board meeting, which was held Saturday at Spring House Inn in Porter.

"We'll be exploring the Region outside the meeting room," said Taylor, who's visited the dunes several times. But first, board members and state directors planned to review the past year's accomplishments and set goals for next.

The group's general goals are to recruit volunteers to help promote the trail, and encourage placement of signage along it. "You can be walking sections of the trail and not even know you're on the American Discovery Trail," Taylor said.

The American Discovery Trail is included on the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's latest Greenways & Blueways map. Mitch Barloga, NIRPC active transportation planner, is a board member and state director for the northern route.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, who both call New York home, tangled on the issues and exchanged barbs on the economy, crime, race and national security as they faced off in their first presidential debate Monday night at Hofstra University.

 See our complete TWC News/NY1 blog of the event.

The 90-minute event, in front of a largely New York audience, was moderated by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt.

On the topic of fighting crime, Trump said it was imperative to bring down the crime rate in big cities like New York and Chicago.

"Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Chicago since Barack Obama became president. We have to bring back law and order," Trump said. "Stop-and-frisk worked very well in New York -- Mayor Rudy Giuliani is here -- it brought the crime rate way down."

"The argument is that it's racial profiling," Holt said of the controversial practice that was the subject of a federal lawsuit againt the NPYD in 2013.

"No, the argument is that we have to take the guns away from these bad people who shouldn't have them," Trump responded.

Clinton, in her retort, said that she respected the work of the NYPD in reducing New York City crime to record low levels.

"But too many African American and Latino men have ended up in jail for non-violent offenses," Clinton said. "It's just a fact that if you're a young African American man, and you do the same thing as a young white man, you are more likely to be incarcerated. We've got to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice system."

The discussion led to a larger back-and-forth on the topic of race.

"The African American community has been let down by our politicians," Trump said. "They talk good around election time, like right now, and after the election they say 'See you later, I'll see you in four years.'"

"I think that Donald just accused me of preparing for this debate -- and yes, I did," Clinton said. "And you know what else I've prepared for? I've prepared to be president. And I think that's a good thing."

In a separate exchange, Clinton pushed Trump to release his tax returns, which the real estate mogul said he would do it if she would produce the more than 30,000 e-mails that her staffers deleted from her personal e-mail server when she was secretary of state.

Clinton, acknowledging that her use of the server was a mistake, said, "If I had to do it over again, I would obviously do it differently."

In another clash, Trump was asked about comments he had made that Clinton doesn't have the look of a president.

"She doesn't have the look, she doesn't have the stamina," Trump said. "You have so may different things you have to be able to do as president, and I don't think she has the stamina."

"As soon as he travels to 112 countries...or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a Congressional committee...he can talk to me about stamina," Clinton retorted.

"I agree, Hillary has experience," Trump said, "but it's bad experience."

Also in dispute during the debate: Clinton's government-driven approach to growing the economy versus Trump's tax-cut approach.

"You have what is called now the Trump loophole, because it would so advantage you and business you do," Clinton said to the billionaire during an early clash. "It's Trumped-up trickle down. Trickle down didn't work -- it got us into the mess we wee in in 2008 and 2009. Broad-based, inclusive growth is what we need in this country, not more advantages for people at the very top."

"Typical politician. All talk, no action." Trump replied. "Our country is suffering because people like Secretary Clinton have made such bad decisions. We are in a big fat ugly bubble right now, and we better be awfully careful."

The debate got off to a civil start, albeit briefly, as both candidates addressed questions about how to secure American jobs.

"Donald, it's good to be with you," Clinton said to Trump at the end of her answer, in which she discussed investing in infrastructure and pursuing equal pay for women.

Trump, in response, called for a tax on companies that move manufacturing overseas.

"If you think you're going to make your air conditioners or your cars, and bring them into the country without a tax, you're wrong," he said.

"Under his tax plan, which would blow up the debt, we would lose three and a half million jobs," Clinton retorted.

The debate was divided into six segments of 15 minutes each, the first two of which focused on "America's direction," with the next two dealing with the economy and the final two focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Some experts were predicting the debate could draw more than 100 million viewers overall, which would break the current record of about 80 million viewers, set in 1980 in the debate between Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter.
Ukrainian-British Stiletto Systems Ltd. that designs ammunition and small weapons is ready to participate in the upgrade of ammunition for small weapons of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to Interfax-Ukraine's sources in the defense sector, recently the company held a successful presentation of new ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and National Guard in Ukraine.

The new ammunition included Stiletto 9mm LUGER bullet with muzzle velocity 600m/sec, a close quarter armor piercing round designed to penetrate all current body armor and light armored vehicles; Stiletto 7.62/51 armor piercing 'Sniper' bullet with muzzle velocity 810 to 830m/sec capable of piercing 12 to 20.5mm (Brinell hardness 450) armor plate at ranges from 100 to 600m; Stiletto.338LM armor piercing 'Sniper' bullet with muzzle velocity up to 900m/sec capable of piercing all known body armor up to a range of 1,800m and armor plates from 12 to 20.5mm at a range of 700m; Stiletto AP bullet of 5,56 x 45 mm (with wolfram carbide core) capable of piercing armor plates over 10mm from the distance of up to 450m.

The source said that now Stiletto Systems Ltd. is working on plans to organize production of new bullets in Ukraine.
It's an old sea tale with many tentacles  octopus tentacles, that is. A Staten Island Ferry accident some 50 years ago claimed the lives of more than 400 people, or did it? Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci has the fishy details:

Overlooking the murky waters of New York Harbor  a memorial to one of the most mysterious boating accidents in maritime history.

Dedicated in loving memory, the monument reads, to the passengers and crew of the Cornelius G Kloff, who lost their lives on November 22, 1963:

"I had no idea," said one man. "But I don't even remember hearing about it."

That's because it didn't happen. Staten Island prop artist Joe Reginella created the five-foot monument as, he says, a social experiment.

"See if I could create an urban legend and see if people would buy it," Reginella said. "And it's also a social experiment; see how many people would believe it."

That was certainly true when NY1 visited the memorial on a recent morning.

"At least you have some memories of people who came here and were lost their lives," said one passerby.

"That's nice," said another. "A ferry boat, swallowed by an octopus. Ok, I understand that, yea."

According to the story Reginella created  the Staten Island ferry boat was heading toward the Whitehall terminal with nearly 400 people aboard, when it disappeared  never to be seen again.

Witnesses describe seeing "large tentacles" that pulled the boat below the surface.

To reinforce the hoax  Reginella created a Facebook page, and a website commemorating the make-believe disaster:

Reginella got an angry call from the Staten Island Museum, where people have tried to visit a ferry disaster museum there:

"I just think this is a horrible joke; you've got people misled," said a voicemail message left for Reginella.

Most people we caught checking out the memorial stopped, took a picture and moved on.

Just a handful expressed any doubt about the facts surrounding the Staten Island ferry octopus disaster.

"I don't think there was a giant squid in the water," said one skeptic. "I don't think so."

"It's an octopus?" asked another incredulously. "That's um...ok...so it's some sort of a, some sort of a joke."

Reginella says he's observed about 90 percent of the people believe his hoax, something he says makes him happy and dubious at the same time.
Whats Streaming

ALL IS LOST (2013) on Amazon and iTunes. A mostly silent Robert Redford gives the performance of his life as a man on a yacht in the Indian Ocean, where a lot goes wrong: A shipping container punches a hole in the hull, the cabin floods, the electrical system is ruined, and attempts to communicate go awry. Writing in The New York Times, A. O. Scott called J. C. Chandors man-against-nature parable, with its undercurrent critique of global capitalism, an action movie in the most profound and exalted sense of the term.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE on Acorn TV. In Agatha Christies mystery, 10 people are trapped on an island, murdered one by one according to the sinister instructions derived from sinister nursery rhyme. Miranda Richardson, Sam Neill and Charles Dance star in this three-part BBC production. Mike Hale of The Times called it an artsy, darkly humorous psychological horror story that settles into a satisfyingly eerie groove.
Tiger Oil filed for bankruptcy in the 1980s, but decades later it made news again when Mr. Daviss memos started showing up on the internet, notably on the website Letters of Note. The sites founder, Shaun Usher, declined to identify the oil industry source who made him aware of the memos in 2010 or so, but with Mr. Daviss permission he has included them in a new book, Letters of Note: Volume 2 (2016).

I wanted to put him in the first book, Mr. Usher said on Saturday in a phone interview from his home in Manchester, England. But his first response was just literally: Not interested. Thanks. But I kept trying.

After Mr. Davis saw a copy of that book (Letters of Note, 2013), which included correspondence by the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Mick Jagger and Galileo, he reconsidered. He wrote a letter, asking Are the same kinds of celebrities going to be in your second book? Mr. Usher responded by mentioning a few: Winston Churchill, Beatrix Potter, Richard Burton. And that was enough to persuade Mr. Davis; he even volunteered to send a photo.

He wasnt embarrassed by the contents of the memos, Mr. Usher recalled.

As a manager, Mr. Davis appeared to be concerned about the dress code (On days you have to work, and you think you should be off, you wear slouchy dress attire, he complained), idle conversation (Do your jobs and keep your mouth shut! he once wrote, in all capital letters) and office furniture (I am paying you to work  not slouch in your chair with your feet up on a desk or table).

Mr. Davis had gone into the oil business with money from a divorce settlement. In the 1950s he worked as a chauffeur for Helen Gilmer Bonfils, the fashionable Denver Post heiress and owner, one of the most powerful women in Colorado. In 1959, when she was 69 and he was 28, they married, although he was, as The Post once reported, a pugnacious and profane high school dropout.
Looking to build on momentum from the Paris climate agreements milestone last week, government officials will gather in Montreal beginning Tuesday for final negotiations on a deal to cap greenhouse gas emissions from international jet flights.

The measure  which is supported by many governments, by the aviation industry and to some degree by environmental groups  is expected to be approved by Oct. 7, the last day of the nearly two-week assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency that oversees international air travel.

Last week, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, announced that he had secured enough commitments to ensure that the Paris accord, which was reached in December, would enter into legal force this year.

And at least 55 countries, including the United States, China and most of Europe, have announced support for an aviation agreement. If all of them participate, it would be a major step in reducing the environmental impact of international air travel, an often-overlooked contributor to climate change, largely through the purchase of credits to offset emissions.
Rolling Stone, a magazine that for decades helped shaped music and popular culture but now finds itself facing significant legal and economic challenges, has brought in an outside investor for the first time in its nearly 50-year history.

BandLab Technologies, a Singapore-based music company co-founded and led by Meng Ru Kuok, the son of the Asian business magnate Kuok Khoon Hong, will take a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone, forming a partnership with the magazines parent, Wenner Media.

Rolling Stone, founded by Jann S. Wenner in 1967, says the partnership is intended to help the magazine expand into new markets and bolster its brand internationally.

We really were looking for a strategic partner, Mr. Wenners son Gus, who is currently the head of digital for Wenner Media, said in an interview. This was kind of as strategic as I could possibly find because we have a shared vision and theyre going to be extraordinarily additive as we continue to evolve and transform our business.
The Treasurys schedule of financing this week includes Mondays regular weekly auction of new three- and six-month bills and an auction of four-week bills on Tuesday.

At the close of the New York cash market on Friday, the rate on the outstanding three-month bill was 0.17 percent. The rate on the six-month issue was 0.40 percent, and the rate on the four-week issue was 0.08 percent.

The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week:

MONDAY

Florida Board of Education, $140.4 million of general obligation unlimited tax refinancing bonds. Competitive.

Florida Department of Transportation Turnpike Enterprise, $175 million of debt securities. Competitive.
Homework! Thats something I thought was a good thing. At least a little homework. How else can you really learn? But studies are mixed on the value of doing schoolwork at home, with opponents claiming it produces little, if any, gains in learning at the cost of family time. (For more from this perspective, check out The Homework Myth (Ch. 2 here) or Race to Nowhere.).

I visited Jack in his office recently and he shared the following problem, which he thought might be fun to try out on Numberplay. I agreed completely. Lets try 
Good morning. Ill be spending a lot of today with Kim Severson, our national food correspondent, up from Atlanta to help us welcome guests to our Food for Tomorrow conference, which starts tomorrow in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., at the Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture. It would be great if we were cooking, but well be in a car, talk, talk, talking, and when we need gas, well stop, and Kim will scout for pork rinds, because you never know: There may be a better kind than Golden Flake.

I hope youll be cooking. (Not in the mood? Head on over to Facebook and watch our cool little video about making a ricotta tart. See if you dont want to make that baby tonight or later this week.)

If I were cooking, Id be pleased this evening to serve Pierre Franeys great old recipe for chicken breasts with lemon alongside some plain rice and a platter of green beans with shallots. It makes for a relatively fast meal, and it should leave you time to clean up ahead of the first Clinton-Trump debate of this election season. (Alternatively, you can roast up some loaded nachos and eat them while watching, drinking beer and taking a shot of whiskey every time Mrs. Clinton says breaking down barriers and each time Mr. Trump mentions the wall.)

Id be making plans for the rest of the week, too. Im excited to try my hand at David Taniss recipe for lamb steaks with Lebanese spices. Id like to serve Florence Fabricants recipe for broccoli rabe made shakshuka-style. I want to make Nigella Lawsons recipe for salmon in a ginger and lemongrass broth. Its getting to the time of year when I want to eat Davids recipe for pork chops with apples and cider. And who doesnt want, as fall begins to cool off our evenings a little, to settle into a dinner of Jamie Olivers recipe for eggplant Parmesan?
Certainly there are no supermodels anymore  like Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford  that era has gone now, Ms. Ananna said. Sure there are beautiful stars, rising and falling all the time, but few, if any, girls will ever reach those heights again. Social media can make careers soar, but it can also overexpose them. After two or three seasons plenty have disappeared  and some of the biggest faces simply burn out. Ultimately, fashion will always be searching for something new.

That is where they come in. Casting often ends up being a year-round process for shows, according to Ms. Ananna  42, and originally from Paris  as agencies continually send new girls for consideration, usually scouted straight from the streets of their hometowns.

The major advantage of casting for the biggest houses is that it gives you the best possible 360-degree view of the marketplace, said Ms. Nicoli, 44, an Italian who began her career as a backstage dresser in Milan after earning a doctorate in political science. Agencies from even the most remote countries have you on their mailing lists.

The demands are such, she adds, that, most casting directors now work in teams rather than independently  it can be incredibly difficult to carry the stress and client needs on your own. Leila and I might do the same job, but our different personalities and tastes, and healthy exchange of opinion, unquestionably make us better at our jobs.

The priority, they say, is always to find and to introduce faces unseen by anyone else. Models like Ms. Martinez go on to be cast elsewhere, of course (in her case, Prada is a client of Ms. Brokaws), but brands want the kudos of being first  and are willing to pay for results.

Barbara and Leila have a very international point of view, and are always able to combine established models with a cool new crew of girls, Mr. de Vincenzo said after his show in Milan on Friday.
The uniquely uncivil presidential campaign is about to produce one of the biggest civic gatherings in decades: For 90 minutes on Monday night, a polarized nation will pause to watch the first head-to-head encounter between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump, The Times reports. The total audience, network executives and political strategists say, could be as high as 100 million viewers  Super Bowl territory.

Will you be one of the tens of millions of people expected to be watching?

All day Monday, Sept. 26, we invite students to share their predictions for the first presidential debate between the two candidates.

Then, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, we invite students to share their reactions as they watch the debate and we live-moderate comments.

We encourage you to use the reply button to respond to other commenters, and the recommend button to favor those you especially like.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) jointly with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on September 25 raided the office of CJSC Smart-holding as part of the criminal proceedings regarding the seizure of property of Mykolaiv Okean Shipyard and making the shipyard bankrupt, prosecutor general's spokesperson Larysa Sarhan has said.

"During the pretrial investigation all persons involved in the bankruptcy procedure are checked if they are implicated to the above-mentioned crimes, in particular, liquidators, officials of Mykolaiv Okean Shipyard, Smart-holding and other enterprises," she said on Facebook.

Sarhan said that a total of 23 raids were conducted in Mykolaiv, Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

She said that due to committed crimes a damage of over UAH 1.5 billion was caused to the shipyard.

She said that the investigation is underway.
On Saturday, Donald Trump once again used his Twitter feed to kick up a news microcycle when he tweeted that if Mark Cuban, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and occasional Trump nemesis, was going to attend the debate, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him! Trumps campaign was quick to clarify that he was just making a point, but by merely mentioning the idea, Trump managed to reopen a chapter of ancient Clinton history that has played a mercifully small role in an otherwise sordid election cycle.

Back in 1992, even the press seemed embarrassed by its excessive interest in the subject of Flowers, who sold The Star tabloid the story of her affair with Bill Clinton. (He denied it at the time, then later confirmed, under oath, that they had had sex.) When the story first broke, much of the reporting was meta-coverage, the press wringing its hands over a relatively new tabloidization of the news. Its interesting in a time-capsule sense, reflecting a media that was more impressed with itself than it is today and, in its frequent references to bimbos, more sexist. Jeffrey Frank, writing in The Washington Post shortly after the Flowers story emerged, bemoaned the Bimbonic Plague of scandals. He questioned the motives of women like Flowers and Jessica Hahn, who accused the televangelist Jim Bakker of sexually assaulting her, for exploiting themselves in the media  Hahn posed for Playboy  while defending themselves from the very charge that they were bimbos. (So lets start with the fact that I am not a bimbo, Hahn told Playboy.)

Frank tried to answer the question of how it was that journalism had come to such a crisis point. Is The National Enquirer ready to take its place beside the National Review in our national debates? he asked. Casting about for historical precedent, he brought up another big tabloid story that he argued had propelled the infidelities of the powerful into more respectable journalistic quarters: Donald Trumps extramarital affair with Marla Maples, who famously sparred with Trumps first wife, Ivana, on the ski slopes of Aspen, Colo.

In 1990, The New York Post sold 40,000 additional copies with a front-page story about Maples and Trump, in which an unnamed friend of Mapless says she proclaimed Trump (in what became the famous headline) the best sex I ever had. Diane Sawyer also interviewed Maples on Prime Time Live, and Maples fervently denied ever saying such a thing; she could not imagine, she told Sawyer, what kind of so-called friend could plant the story and live with it. In that story, and in so many others, Trump reaped a kind of glory from even the most tawdry of headlines, while the women in his life, so much collateral damage, inevitably suffered for them.
It might be hard to remember now, with one governor embroiled in a corruption scandal for the last three years and his counterpart across the Hudson River plunging headlong into another, but Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew M. Cuomo of New York were once lionized for relentlessly prosecuting bad behavior in government.

The wars they waged against corrupt politicians, as the attorney general of New York (Mr. Cuomo) and the United States attorney for New Jersey (Mr. Christie), won them bipartisan kudos and, eventually, smooth ascents to their states highest offices. After the ethical morasses that swamped figures such as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York and Alan Hevesi, the states former comptroller, and former Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey in the 2000s, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Christie  each a tough prosecutor with not-so-secret White House aspirations  looked more immaculate than ever.

Those were the days.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, spent Thursday reeling at the arrest of one of his closest friends, confidants and former aides, as well as the arrests of several other close advisers and donors. Prosecutors had accused them of involvement in a long-running bribery scheme whose many grubby details included the fact that two of the governors former aides referred gleefully to corrupt payoffs as ziti, a la The Sopranos, and to one skittish ziti contributor as fat boy. (As in: Handle fat boy carefully. We dont need an interruption in that Zitti delivery or else well really be up the creek.)

Over in New Jersey, Mr. Christie, a Republican, is up a very unpleasant creek of his own. A former top aide and a former political ally are on trial over their roles in the 2013 scandal that elevated a traffic jam on access lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge into an immortal symbol of political payback. Having helped puncture Mr. Christies presidential hopes earlier this year, the lane-closing episode later went on to help sink his bid to join the Donald J. Trump ticket.
I think the internal experience is going to be really, really helpful to me. I didnt operate in a vacuum. I was a precinct commander for a long time. I know a lot of people in the community. I know a lot of the electeds. So that learning curve, if I were an outsider, its not there. Im sure theres going to be things Im going to need to do better and need to learn about, but I think Im well prepared to go upstairs.

What sort of expectations has Mayor de Blasio set for you and for the department?

His expectation is that I continue to keep the people of the city safe, and continue to build on the neighborhood policing model. Thats going to be my primary focus as police commissioner. As youve seen over the past two and a half years, we need to evolve, we need to make a better connection to the community.

I think were ready to operationalize neighborhood policing. Its a change in the way we do business, so there is a learning curve for the cops. Were pushing that decision making down to its lowest level, that problem solving down to its lowest level. Its not something they can learn overnight. But we dont have this expectation that theyre just magically going to be able to do it.

How are you measuring the success of the neighborhood policing program?

A number of different ways. Ultimately, its a crime-fighting model. So we have to make sure were keeping the violence down. A huge part of this is to make sure theres community satisfaction, and anecdotally, its working, but we need to do more than that. Were in the middle of putting together now a survey instrument to make sure we get almost real-time feedback to see how were doing.

Youre following Commissioner Bratton, a huge figure in American policing. Whats the most notable way youre different from him?

Thats a question Im getting a lot. A lot of what I do is person to person. I was a precinct commander for six and a half years, and I made it my business to know every cop in that precinct, and I made it my business to make sure I knew not every community member  because theres 140,000 in the 44th Precinct [in the Bronx]  but as many as I could. That connection, that local connection, is something that Ive built on since I was a transit cop, for the last 33 years. Just coming up through this organization and being a supervisor since 1987, and seeing so many different aspects of this job, probably makes me a little different than him.
To the Editor:

While Nicholas Kristof (Would you hide a Jew from the Nazis? (Column, Sept. 19) focuses on heroes who are remembered for their bravery and sacrifices in the face of Nazi brutality, I am reminded of the unsung and unknown ordinary Germans who, as part of what German historian Detlev Peukert called everyday resistance, also chose to assist Jewish friends during the war in Europe. Many of these were members of the banned German Social Democratic Party, which maintained underground networks during the war.

I came to know of this during the late 1950s in Hanover, Germany, where my former wifes family was visited by a young Israeli man whose family had once lived in the same apartment building. He had come to thank her family for the help they and others in the building had given him, as a small child, and his family in leaving Germany. The German families never thought of themselves as heroes even as they, as Socialists, had resisted Nazism in small ways throughout the war. I dont think they would have told me about what they had done; I came to know only because I was present when the young Israeli visited.

News reporting on the apparently dominant mood in the world today against refugees most likely does not take into account the everyday resistance that may be unobtrusively as active as it was in Nazi Germany.

AMADIO ARBOLEDA

Tokyo
To the Editor:

Re Examining the U.N.s record on urgent global issues (World News, Sept. 21): Somini Sengupta writes that the 1951 Refugee Convention obligates countries to offer protection to all those fleeing war and persecution. The convention only obligates governments not to send or return refugees to locations where they might be persecuted, an act known as refoulement. They are under no obligation to grant them asylum. Thus, Turkey is under the obligation not to send a Syrian back to Syria where he or she might be persecuted. Conversely, Greece or Germany are perfectly well entitled to send a Syrian back to Turkey where he or she in theory runs no risk of persecution.

ALEXANDER CASELLA

Geneva

The writer is a former director for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Li Yang had no interest in being a fashion designer when he was growing up in the industrial city of Changchun, China. He liked science best at school  and though he would play after class in his mothers clothing factory, where she manufactured mass-market apparel, he read Japanese manga, never fashion magazines. The feminine figures he sketched resembled Hayao Miyazakis Princess Nausicaa, heroine of the post-apocalyptic tale Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind  not the typical elongated croquis of fashion illustrations.

This boyhood fascination with fantasy and science fiction continues to drive the 29-year-old designer today at his Paris-based brand Quetsche. For his recent fall/winter 2016 collection, his third collection to date, Li imagined a world where giants discover naked humans living under their floorboards. Touched by their frailty, the giants refashion their own clothes to cover the humans nudity. In Lis hands, the unisex collection features winter coats with comically oversize pockets that appear to be cut from giant wool trousers, and tube-like silk dresses look as though they have been crafted from enormous shirt sleeves. Elsewhere, an apron dress appears to be fashioned from the fly of jumbo-sized pants.

I like creating a character, and thats why I like fashion  because I can create a particular woman, Li says of his work. Shes always a strong woman, who has a certain idea about fragility, and wears an armor to hide her femininity  she reminds me of my mother. As well as running the factory, Lis mother raised him for the most part on her own  his father, who held a post in the Chinese military, was rarely home. I would only see my father once a year, he says now, I hated the military for that reason. Still, his father made a mark as well: a military influence is ever-present in Lis designs, but is always kept in balance with femininity. For spring/summer 2016, this translated into a collection of bomber jackets, trench coats and baggy utilitarian pants overlaid with delicate silk organza, while fall/winter 2016 featured a map motif that resembles a camo print.
Good morning.

Welcome to California Today, a morning update on the stories that matter to Californians (and anyone else interested in the state).

Tell us about the issues that matter to you  and what youd like to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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Lets turn it over to Katie Benner, a New York Times technology reporter based in San Francisco.

Over the weekend, Snap (formerly known as Snapchat) introduced its latest product  camera-embedded sunglasses called Spectacles  with an online video of millennial women goofing off in a Los Angeles skate park, recording fun moments of their sun-kissed afternoon.
I feel like we are returning a favor, said Mr. Shakur, who has demonstrated against police shootings in Cleveland, Baton Rouge, La., Milwaukee and New York. We want to give them some information to let them know they can do better than us and continue to keep the protest up.

An event called Show Up for Charlotte on Saturday showcased the response, as emotionally weary protesters spent an afternoon in a park here, hugging, catching up and nibbling on pizza while also passing around poster boards and markers, creating signs with slogans like Stop the Fear, Black Lives Matter. From a stage, organizers thanked local residents for putting the day together and people from out of town for coming to the city during its time of crisis.

In an interview, Ashley S. Williams described learning new skills in the past week, like how to provide jail support when activists are arrested, and said organizers had traded stories about the challenges they face. There is a lot of staying up late and crying. There is a lot of trying to strategize about what the next thing there is to do. There is a lot of, So how are we going to escalate if our demands are not met? And theres a lot of, like, How can we make sure that folks that are coming have something to do and feel part of this?
Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, said that Mr. Trump, whom he has advised, had an opening to present himself as a stern leader and an agent of change for minorities. Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Gingrich said, was vulnerable to being tagged as part of what he called a wing of American intellectual culture defined by the concept that the police are dangerous, and if only we didnt have any guns, nobody would get hurt.

But Mr. Gingrich also encouraged Mr. Trump to acknowledge directly that blacks faced a steeper hill to climb.

Im hoping hell do more of it, Mr. Gingrich said, and communicate that being black in America is different and is harder, that the legacy of slavery and discrimination is real.

Even in other times of social unrest, few if any presidential candidates have constructed their political arguments around themes of race, gender and cultural diversity as much as Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump. And their message has only intensified before the first debate, which looms as a showdown for a wide spectrum of voters  minorities and women and more educated voters on one side, white men and working-class voters on the other.

Mrs. Clinton, who holds a slim lead in national poll averages, has responded to the violence of the last week by casting herself again as a champion of diversity and inclusion. She spoke out quickly after the fatal police shooting of a black man in Tulsa, Okla., to denounce systemic racism against blacks. And after the recent bombings in New York and New Jersey, she rushed to make the case that Mr. Trump had endangered the country with his oratorical attacks on Muslims.
WASHINGTON  In Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.s 11 years on the Supreme Court, his unfolding legacy has been marked by a debate over whether his very occasional liberal votes in major cases were the acts of a statesman devoted to his institution, a traitor to his principles or the legal umpire he said he aspired to be at his confirmation hearings.

This election could settle that debate.

If Donald J. Trump becomes president and follows through on his vow to appoint a conservative to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice Roberts will continue to lead a court dominated by five conservative justices. But the absence of Justice Scalia, the courts longest serving and in some ways most dominant member when he died in February, means Chief Justice Roberts could lead in a more assertive way.

Were a liberal to replace Justice Scalia  whether it was President Obamas pick, Judge Merrick B. Garland, or someone named by Hillary Clinton should she win the presidency  a majority of the justices would be Democratic appointees for the first time in almost 50 years. That would open a new chapter at the court, and leave Chief Justice Roberts, a Republican appointee with a generally conservative voting record, in the minority in many closely divided cases. And it could force him to choose between becoming a marginal figure or concluding that a new era on his court requires a new kind of leadership  and a move to the left.

Its been a long time since there was a chief justice who was in dissent across a wide range of important issues, said Pamela S. Karlan, a law professor at Stanford.
A delegation of businessmen from Turkey will soon visit Ukraine to discuss investment opportunities, Deputy Head of Ukrainian Presidential Administration Kostiantyn Yeliseyev has said.

"The president also had a rather specific business meeting with the president of Turkey. After all, you know that there is enormous investment potential of our cooperation, in particular, we have agreed on the Turkish delegation's visit, which will include representatives of the investment circles, the office that deals with privatization processes in Ukraine, to look into our ability to extend cooperation with the Turkish side," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
Exposure to Zika while pregnant does not mean a child definitely will be born with microcephaly, an unusually small brain and head, or have Zika-related health problems. But the risk is real, and pediatricians are trying to figure out how to follow these children, and how to take care of the ones who do have problems. While nobody knows the actual risk of Zika exposure to a fetus, studies have suggested that between 1 percent and 13 percent of pregnant women infected with Zika in the first trimester will have a child with microcephaly, but more could have children with more subtle developmental problems related to in utero exposure to the virus.

Earlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced a $350,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to create a network of pediatricians prepared to deal with a generation of children with Zika-related health problems. When babies are born with damaged brains because of Zika they will need medical care and their families will need support.

But how do you prepare for a new and evolving and still poorly understood clinical challenge? Pediatric experts got together over the summer to talk about it. The meeting was convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it brought together a range of pediatric subspecialists, from neonatology and neurology, infectious diseases and developmental behavioral pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, ophthalmology and orthopedics and more.

Theres so much we dont know. Dr. Peter Jay Hotez, the dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said several big questions need to be answered. How does the virus do its damage? What is the full spectrum of damage, from the clearly visible microcephaly to less visible neurological changes? And what happens to babies exposed to Zika after birth, when the brain is still developing?

The meeting yielded interim guidelines, published in the C.D.C. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Initially at C.D.C., our biggest goal was to make sure pregnant women didnt get Zika, said Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrician and clinical geneticist who is the director of the Division of Public Health Information Dissemination at the C.D.C. This meeting was really trying to make sure those babies have the best chance to reach their fullest potential.

For the children born with microcephaly, whose fetal brain growth has clearly been disrupted by the virus, the recommendations draw on the very recent and quickly evolving experience of doctors in Brazil. These babies are at risk for seizures, feeding problems, tightly contracted joints, thyroid problems, eye problems, and developmental delays. They need regular neurological examinations, hearing tests, vision tests, hormone tests and lots of medical backup.

If you see a child who has such significant microcephaly, you know the issues, said Dr. Fan Tait, a pediatric neurologist who is one of the associate directors at the A.A.P. and took part in the meeting.
MEXICO CITY  Firefighting crews extinguished a fire aboard a fuel tanker belonging to the Mexican state oil company, Pemex, late Sunday afternoon, about 30 hours after an explosion sent flames billowing into the air off the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz.

Pemex said all 31 crew members aboard the tanker, the Burgos, were safely evacuated.

The tanker was carrying 80,000 barrels of diesel fuel and 70,000 barrels of gasoline, but officials said the boats double hull reduced the risk of a spill.

Up to now, we have not detected any extensive spill, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, Pemexs chief executive, said at a news conference in Veracruz that was broadcast by radio on Sunday, shortly before the fire was contained.

It was too early to determine the cause of the explosion, he said.

The 558-foot Burgos was carrying the fuel from the port of Coatzacoalcos to Veracruz and was 6.7 nautical miles offshore when the explosion occurred at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Mexicos communications ministry said.
MEXICO CITY  Two years after 43 Mexican college students disappeared during a night of violence committed, in part, by security forces, the mystery of their fate remains unsolved.

An international panel of legal and human rights experts who spent a year studying the case questioned the Mexican governments ability and willingness to get to the bottom of it.

Since the experts departure in April, the government has broadened its investigation to include a wider range of possible suspects. In addition, the attorney generals top investigator resigned amid an internal affairs inquiry into his handling of the case.

Still, there is a prevailing feeling here and abroad that the Mexican government alone cannot be left to figure out who was behind the violence in Iguala in Guerrero State on the night of Sept. 26, 2014, and what happened to the students, most of them freshmen. Many observers are now pinning their hopes for justice on the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which will deploy a team to shadow the investigation.
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnian Serbs voted overwhelmingly in a referendum on Sunday to keep their national holiday despite a ruling by Bosnias highest court that the vote was illegal.

Organizers in the autonomous Serb Republic part of Bosnia said that with 71 percent of votes counted, 99.8 percent of voters had supported the Jan. 9 Statehood Day holiday, with turnout possibly as high as 60 percent.

Most of the regions Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats oppose the holiday. It coincides with a Serbian Orthodox Christian festival and denotes the Serbian territorys 1992 secession from Bosnia, which set off a bloody three-year war that ended with the Dayton accords. President Milorad Dodik of the Serb Republic, who has been accused of using the referendum to set the stage for a secession vote, said it would go down in history as the day of Serb determination.

I am proud of the people of the Serb Republic, Mr. Dodik said, of all those who came out and voted. He spoke in Pale, the town near Sarajevo that was the headquarters of Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president convicted in April of genocide in the Bosnian war. Bosnias international peace envoy, Valentin Inzko, said that the referendum was an attack on Bosnias constitutional order and that its results would not be legally valid.
We have gathered from around the world to discuss the principle and the future of self-determination in direct contradiction to those seeking a global solution to the people of the world, he told the conference. Much like the people of Catalonia, the people of Ireland, the people of Puerto Rico and many other peoples that are represented at this conference, we believe that the best people to govern Texas is the Texan people.

Participants praised the so-called Brexit vote to take Britain out of the European Union as the new lodestar of those seeking self-determination.

The Kremlin paid a chunk of the cost for the gathering of about a dozen international groups. We are not poor, said Alexander V. Ionov, the president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, which organized the gathering for the second consecutive year.

It was impossible to determine what level of Kremlin support the conference attracted, and Mr. Ionov declined to elaborate beyond confirming the receipt of a presidential grant, but the external signs indicated nothing elaborate.

True, the conference moved from the President Hotel, a favorite of regional governors in town for Kremlin meetings, to the far fancier Ritz-Carlton, a few hundred yards from the Kremlin walls. It is the kind of place where John Kerry, the secretary of state, stays in Moscow. Yet the universal samovars dispensing tea at such gatherings took several hours to materialize. There was no lunch.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain  Spains main opposition Socialist Party suffered significant defeats in two regional elections on Sunday, increasing pressure on the party leader, Pedro Sanchez, to negotiate an end to the nine-month deadlock in Spains national politics.

Sundays regional elections were won by the leaders of the two incumbent parties: the Popular Party in northwestern Galicia and the Basque Nationalist Party in the Basque region, which borders France.

At a time of political impasse in Madrid, the regional votes were also being watched to see whether Spains four national parties could soon end their squabbling over how to form a new government. The deadlock is threatening to force an unprecedented third national vote this December, a year after the first inconclusive election was held.

The stalemate reflects in large part the emergence of two parties  Ciudadanos and the far-left Podemos  which won seats in Spains national Parliament for the first time in December. This prevented both of Spains two traditional parties  the Popular Party and the Socialists, which have alternated in office for over three decades  from leading a new government. At the same time, Mariano Rajoy, the caretaker conservative prime minister, and Mr. Sanchez have failed to discuss forming their own coalition.
For six days beginning on Oct. 21, visitors to the crenelated, fortresslike Park Avenue Armory will find its 19th-century interior transformed into a light, modern setting. Translucent scrims will obscure the dark-wood lobby and second-floor period rooms, which will open to the public for the first time since their recent restoration. Muted colors will turn the Drill Room into airy galleries.

Theres a message in this metamorphosis, which was commissioned for the American debut of the European Fine Art Fair, known as Tefaf. With its careful vetting of objects on display, dating from antiquity to the present, the fair is considered the most prestigious art bazaar in the world.

Tefafs arrival in Manhattan from its home in Maastricht, the Netherlands, is more than just another event on the cultural calendar. Its an attempt by the fair, whose 270 exhibitors face a shrinking audience in Europe, to secure and revitalize its future. Its a chance for dealers in historical art  Tefafs forte  to staunch the stampede of collectors into contemporary art and show that works of older art can look just as good in a modern setting as in a grand, classical home.

And its a test of the global art market, which shrank to $63.8 billion in 2015, a 7 percent drop from 2014, and continues to wobble, judging by auction results, this year. Many more people need to know what we are doing, said Patrick van Maris, the fairs chief executive.
Over the weekend, entrance lines snaked up along the Mall. On Sunday, opening hours stretched from 7 a.m. to midnight. The building was packed throughout.

Still, the mood was largely jubilant. The crowds, thats part of the excitement, Ms. Taylor said.

Decades in the making after a hard-fought Congressional battle for funding, the museum felt to many like a culmination. It has brought everything together, said Florence Claggett, 66, a retired federal employee, who has tracked its progress for years, sometimes from her office window across the street.

Ms. Claggett had attended the March on Washington in 1963.

I was 13 years old, she said. I rode the bus all the way down Seventh Street; I was at the end of the reflecting pool. She said the museum gave her a sense of accomplishment, where we stand on the backs and shoulders of all the people who came before us.

On Sunday afternoon, a choir from Morgan State University, the largest historically black college in Maryland, sang spirituals and Glory, the Oscar-winning song from the movie Selma.
LONDON  Marc Anwar, an actor on Coronation Street, one of Britains most popular soap operas, has been fired for posting a series of Tweets condemning India and Indian citizens in incendiary language.

The Greater Manchester Police said they were investigating the incident after receiving reports of a hate crime, The Guardian reported. (The show is filmed in the Manchester area, where Mr. Anwar is based.)

The actor posted the Tweets on Friday after news reports of fighting between Indian forces and protesters in the Kashmir region. Protests over Indias presence in the disputed region, which both India and Pakistan claim, have grown in recent months.
There are sickly European banks. And then there is Deutsche Bank.

Shares of the German banking giant, like those of a number of its peers in Europe, have swooned over the last year as investors reject banking models that rely on volatile market activities as opposed to collecting deposits or managing investor accounts.

The latest turbulence came on Monday. Shares of Deutsche Bank touched new lows after a German magazine reported that Berlin had ruled out providing government aid to Deutsche Bank.

The question of assistance arose after a disclosure by the bank last week that the United States Justice Department, as an opening position, was seeking $14 billion in penalties as part of its investigation of the banks underwriting of residential mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis.

That sum is equal to the banks market capitalization, which now stands at $14 billion.

A Deutsche Bank spokesman said on Monday that John Cryan, its chief executive, had at no point asked Chancellor Angela Merkel to intervene in the issue with the Justice Department.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin held a meeting in New York City with a parliamentary delegation of Italy headed by President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Fabrizio Chicchitto.

During the meeting the sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation between Ukraine and Italy in the areas of mutual interest, as reported on the official website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

"The Italian side said it supports the territorial integrity of our state and confirmed its willingness to continue defending the inviolability of the principles of the international law," the statement reads.

Klimkin informed the Italian parliament on the situation in the east of Ukraine and in Crimea, the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements, as well as the actions of Ukraine on opposition to Russian hybrid war, which he said "undermines the security on the European continent."
The S.E.C. has been down this road before, and that case did not turn out well. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was accused of insider trading in 2008 in shares of a small internet company in which he owned a substantial stake. The S.E.C. said he received negative information from a corporate executive and promised to keep it confidential but then sold out his position in the company before the announcement.

The S.E.C.s case was hamstrung by the refusal of the corporate executive to travel to the United States to testify in person, leaving the agency with little evidence to show an agreement, which Mr. Cuban denied making when he testified. A jury found that he did not violate the securities laws, and ever since, he has been a thorn in the side of the S.E.C., posting on Twitter that the case against Mr. Cooperman is a witch hunt.

To avoid similar problems, the S.E.C. does its best in the complaint to show that Mr. Cooperman is untrustworthy, and therefore any denials he might offer about agreeing to keep the information confidential would not be credible.

The S.E.C. claims that he improperly sought to influence the Atlas executive who provided him with the information to deny having shared it after Omega Advisors received a subpoena as part of the insider trading investigation. Although it could not charge him with obstructing justice, because only the Justice Department can pursue a criminal case, the agency certainly wants a jury to infer guilty knowledge from an attempt to cover up receiving confidential information.

Right before he started buying, the complaint says, Mr. Cooperman told a consultant to Omega Advisors that the investment in the company was not a good one, using an expletive to describe Atlas. The S.E.C. hopes to show that the information about the asset sale caused a sudden change in sentiment, a harbinger of insider trading.

The S.E.C. goes a step further in trying to put Mr. Cooperman in a bad light by pointing out that he asserted the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination rather than testify about the Atlas trading. Any time a witness refuses to answer questions, the governments interest is piqued because that looks like smoke coming from a fire.
Representative Posey is among those who say the federal government has no business forcing businesses to try. He accuses the financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, of pursuing a political agenda by pressing companies to quantify climate risks.

These politically motivated and mandated disclosures are not about protecting investors, they are about shaming companies, or at least attempting to shame companies, into adopting their agenda, he said in July.

It is a waste of resources for the companies, for their shareholders, and for the S.E.C., said Mr. Posey, who has accepted donations from oil and gas companies.

George Cecala, a spokesman for Mr. Posey, did not respond to requests for further comment.

Advocates of fuller corporate disclosure say the sums at stake are vast. Even under a plan that would limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius  a goal agreed to as part of the Paris deal  climate change could wipe out $1.7 trillion of global financial assets, according to a peer-reviewed study published earlier this year in the journal Nature.

How could anybody tell the S.E.C. to ignore the climate? Ms. Lubber of Ceres said.

The issue has been for investors, corporate executives and environmental leaders gathered in New York this week for Climate Week, an annual showcase tied to the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.

Discussions here have been galvanized by news that more than 20 world leaders had ratified the Paris climate accord on Wednesday, all but ensuring that the agreement will be adopted by the end of the year. And Exxons acknowledgment that the S.E.C. was asking about its climate-risk accounting gave further hope to proponents of fuller disclosure.
BERLIN  Audis head of technical development, Stefan Knirsch, is leaving his job immediately, the carmaker said on Monday, as investigations continue into a diesel emissions scandal facing its corporate parent, Volkswagen.

An investigation by the American law firm Jones Day, which was hired last year by VWs supervisory board to look into the scandal, found no evidence of wrongdoing by Audis chief executive, Rupert Stadler. But the departure of Mr. Knirsch, who had been Audis head of engine and transmission development, adds to concerns that VWs flagship luxury brand may be more deeply entangled in the scandal than previously thought.

Audi said in a statement that Mr. Knirsch was leaving immediately in consultation with the supervisory board. It cited no reason for his departure, and it did not name a successor.
ROME  Another day, another Italian landmark restored by an Italian luxury brand. Or so it often seems.

On Thursday, just before Bulgaris accessories presentation in Milan, it was the Roman jewelers turn to celebrate. The house had underwritten a 10-month cleaning and renovation of the Spanish Steps, the monumental staircase that links the Piazza di Spagna to the Piazza Trinita dei Monti. Built between 1723 and 1726, the staircase has been the backdrop to haute couture fashion shows and featured in iconic films, like William Wylers 1953 bittersweet comedy Roman Holiday.

It also happens to offer tired tourists a place to sit and catch their breath, even though several mayors have tried to dissuade visitors from getting too comfortable on the steps, banning snacking or loitering, but the ordinances have not been enforced and the staircase succumbed to the wear and tear of modern mass tourism.

At 1.5 million euros, or $1.7 million, the project involved more than 80 restorers and craftspeople, who took what Claudio Parisi Presicce, the municipal superintendent for Romes cultural heritage, described as a surgical, very detailed approach to cleaning and repairing almost 32,300 square feet of travertine stone, as well as plaster, brick and marble.
The death rate from ovarian cancer declined in the United States by 16 percent from 2002 to 2012, among the largest reductions in the world.

The rate in the United States, 4.85 per 100,000, puts it roughly in the middle of a list of 47 countries whose rates and trends were described recently in a study in Annals of Oncology.

The countries with the lowest ovarian cancer mortality rates are Brazil, Hong Kong and South Korea, and those with the highest are Lithuania, Ireland and Latvia. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have rates higher than the United States, as does the European Union as a whole.

Still, all European countries except Bulgaria showed declines, and the rate in the European Union fell 9.9 percent over the period.
TYLER, Ala.  The hard clay soil in this rural Southern county has twice cursed Dorothy Rudolph. It is good for growing cotton and cucumbers, the crops she worked as a child and hated. And it is bad for burying things  in particular, septic tanks.

So Ms. Rudolph, 64, did what many people around here do. She ran a plastic pipe from her toilet under her yard and into the woods behind her house. Paying to put in a septic tank would cost around $6,000  a little more than half of her familys annual income.

It was a whole lot of money, she said. It still is.

Here in Lowndes County, part of a strip of mostly poor, majority-black counties that cuts through the rural center of Alabama, less than half of the population is on a municipal sewer line. While that is not a hardship for more affluent communities  about one in five American homes are not on city sewer lines  the legacy of rural poverty has left its imprint here: Many people have failing septic tanks and are too poor to fix them. Others, like Ms. Rudolph, have nothing at all.

That is not so uncommon. Nearly half a million households in the United States lack the basic dignity of hot and cold running water, a bathtub or shower, or a working flush toilet, according to the Census Bureau. The absence has implications for public health in the very population that is the most vulnerable.
The bridge manager explained to Mr. Wildstein that the lanes were used to ease congestion from traffic flowing though the town of Fort Lee. They were the result of a deal between a long-ago mayor of the town and a former governor of New Jersey.

Mr. Wildstein quickly recognized that the lanes could be a point of leverage for Mr. Christie, who had been wooing the mayor of Fort Lee to endorse his re-election in 2013.

If the lanes were closed, Mr. Wildstein realized, traffic would back up in Fort Lee.

It would be two more years before Mr. Wildstein, a self-described bad cop for Mr. Christie at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge, carried out the plot to close two of the three lanes, creating gridlock in the town for four days.

In between, Mr. Wildstein testified, he told Bill Baroni, his boss and Mr. Christies top staff appointee at the Port Authority, about the idea. He told Mr. Christies deputy chief of staff, Bill Stepien, who was keeping track of endorsements and would go on to run Mr. Christies re-election campaign. He told Bridget Anne Kelly, who replaced Mr. Stepien in Mr. Christies office, and is now on trial with Mr. Baroni on charges that they conspired to close the lanes to punish the mayor for not endorsing Mr. Christie, and then covered it up.

And when Mr. Wildstein, Ms. Kelly and Mr. Baroni had finally decided to act on the plot and had concocted a story that it had to be done as part of traffic study, Mr. Wildstein testified that he also told a Port Authority commissioner who was seen as a member of the Christie team, who understood the need to hurt the mayor.
A New York City police officer was charged on Monday with second-degree murder, accused of fatally shooting a man during an off-duty confrontation on July 4 in Brooklyn, the officers lawyer said.

The officer, Wayne Isaacs, is the first police officer in New York State to be prosecuted by the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, since he was given the power to investigate killings involving the police.

Officer Isaacs was driving home after finishing a 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift when he got into a traffic dispute with another driver, Delrawn Small, at a red light on Atlantic Avenue in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn, the authorities said.

According to initial police accounts of the episode, Mr. Small, whose girlfriend and two children were in the car, approached the car of Officer Isaacs and punched him through an open window. Surveillance camera footage then showed Mr. Small, 37, recoiling from gunfire; the medical examiner later said that he had been struck three times by bullets from a 9-millimeter pistol  in his arm, chest and abdomen.
Within legal circles, the effort is known as Civil Gideon, a reference to the 1963 Supreme Court case that established a right to counsel in criminal cases.

It is gaining traction in New York as the city grapples with an affordable housing crisis. The total stock of affordable housing is dwindling, according to many measures, while costs are rising. From 2000 to 2012, the number of apartments renting for $1,000 or less dropped by 400,000, according to an analysis by the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer.

People are literally falling off a cliff fighting for necessities without a lawyer, said Jonathan Lippman, the former chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, who has long argued that the poor should have a right to counsel in civil cases. The playing field is uneven, lopsided because the tenant has no idea how to navigate the system.

The bill has brought together a broad coalition that includes labor unions and the New York City Bar Association, as well as traditional tenant rights advocates. On the steps of City Hall on Monday, elected officials, including borough presidents from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan, the city comptroller and the public advocate, gathered to register their support for the bill. A large crowd of tenants who turned out waved signs and chanted legal aid.

The mayors office has not taken a position on the pending legislation, but Steven Banks, the commissioner of the Human Resources Administration, whose agency now coordinates the citys legal initiatives to prevent eviction, noted the city had already made an unprecedented commitment to providing tenant legal services, referring to the money the city had set aside for tenant legal services. Mr. Banks said his office was reviewing the impact of the proposed legislation.

Providing legal representation to all low-income tenants would cost the city about $200 million a year, according to a March report by Stout Risius Ross, an independent advisory firm, for the bar association. But the report contended that the effort would save the city even more than that  over $300 million, annually  by keeping 5,237 families a year out of shelters, at a cost of $43,000 per family, along with other savings, such as through the preservation of rent-regulated affordable housing.
Donbas militants attacked Ukrainian army positions 14 times in the past 24 hours, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters said on Facebook on Monday.

The enemy was most active in the Luhansk sector, where six ceasefire violations were recorded. The militants staged armed provocations by use of grenade launchers, machineguns and small arms near Novo-Oleksandrivka and Popasna, it said, adding that Popasna also came under attack of an anti-tank missile system.

Grenade launchers, machine-guns and small arms were fired near Verkhniotoretske in the Donetsk sector, it said.

Small arms were used near Maryinka, Novotroyitske and Pavlopil, the press service said.

The press service said that the Ukrainian army was strictly complying with the ceasefire regime.
The copper statue of Vladimir Lenin stood above the Lower East Side cityscape for more than 20 years, facing southwest with one arm perpetually raised as if in mid-oration. Visible from neighboring buildings and the sidewalk below, the statue topped a 13-story luxury apartment building on Houston Street and presented an unusual juxtaposition: the founder of Soviet Communism perched atop a decidedly capitalist enterprise.

Over time it became one of the more familiar pieces of art in the neighborhood, seen by some as a bit of kitsch and by others as a contextual nod to the days when Communist meeting halls dotted the nearby blocks and May Day marches drew tens of thousands. Then, last week, the statue disappeared, removed from the roofline as swiftly and efficiently as Josef Stalin once purged rivals from power.

Michael Rosen, the developer and one of the owners of the building, called Red Square, said last week that he had learned that it could soon be sold to someone who might not want to keep the likeness of Lenin. He said he then arranged with a business partner to take down the statue, which he installed in 1994 as a sort of experiment with symbols.

I wanted to do something creative, fun, an homage to the history of the Lower East Side, which had been a hotbed of political thought, he said, adding that the statue originally had been positioned to appear as if Lenin was waving toward Wall Street.
To the Editor:

Re SUNY Application to Excise Felony Question (news article, Sept. 15):

It is good news for all New Yorkers that the State University of New York has decided to ban the box and no longer ask prospective students about their criminal records. My university, the City University of New York, has not asked for this information for many years.

Now New Yorks two public universities have affirmed an important principle: Higher education should be open to all. But a larger principle is at stake: Public universities can play a critical role in the countrys emerging criminal justice reform movement.

As important as it is to open the front door to those with criminal convictions, public universities should also be funded to provide high-quality education to the men and women who are held in our prisons. With welcome leadership from the Obama administration, philanthropies like the Ford Foundation, brave elected officials and an army of advocates, this common-sense idea, killed in the 1994 Crime Act, is now once again within reach.

Public universities can be allies in this movement to restore college education to our prisons. Recognizing that virtually all prisoners return home, public (and private) universities should build educational pipelines that link college courses in prison with college courses in the community.
HONG KONG  I returned to my native Hong Kong in 1998 after more than two decades of working as a reporter in New York City. I was hired to start a journalism program at the University of Hong Kong, my alma mater, and train a new generation of reporters to tell the stories of Hong Kong, China and Asia. It was a big and timely beat.

Hong Kong was handed over to China after 156 years of British rule 10 months before I returned. In an ingenious stroke designed to reassure the international community and Hong Kong people, Chinas paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, devised the one country, two systems arrangement: Beijing would assume sovereignty, but Hong Kong would keep its rule of law and capitalist ways for 50 years.

The political rules were written to ensure that pro-Beijing forces would control the local legislature, known as LegCo, and Hong Kongers were willing to accept an imperfect system in the hope that a more accountable government would evolve. Many were heartened in 1998 when, in the first post-handover LegCo election, the Democratic Party won 13 of the 50 seats and became the dominant opposition.

As I caught up with friends from my college days, I shared their excitement about the citys future. Many veteran activists cherished the idea that cosmopolitan Hong Kong, where people enjoyed freedom of expression, could inspire democratic change in mainland China.
To the Editor:

Your excellent Sept. 23 editorial The Wells Fargo Spillover Effect doesnt highlight the missing oversight of Wells Fargo by its major federal regulators: the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve.

After the recent financial crisis, federal regulators were supposed to increase their surveillance and oversight. The opening of a huge number of bogus accounts since at least 2011 and continuing until recently  in spite of a 2013 Los Angeles Times expose  boggles the mind.

Worse still is the failure of Wells Fargos outside auditors, KPMG, to notice the fraud. As a former chairman of the audit committee of a New York Stock Exchange company and the president of a company that rates corporate accounting practices, I am shocked at the lack of internal controls at Wells Fargo.

VICTOR GERMACK

New York

To the Editor:

Re A Banker Faces the Music (Business Day, Sept. 20): How comforting to read that Wells Fargos chief executive, John Stumpf, accepts full responsibility for all unethical sales practices at Wells Fargo. His contrition is hardly needed.
To the Editor:

As a reader who has decided that I cannot possibly cast a vote for Donald Trump, and therefore must vote for the Democratic candidate for president, I would like to offer a critique of your Sept. 25 editorial endorsing Hillary Clinton.

You state that the best case for Hillary Clinton cannot be, and is not, that she isnt Donald Trump. However, that is precisely why most of the people I know who are voting for Mrs. Clinton are doing so. For these people, including me, there is simply no choice. Your Sept. 26 editorial, Why He Should Not Be President, seems to acknowledge this unfortunate fact.

Of the people I know who (to my surprise) plan to vote for Donald Trump, 100 percent say they are doing so because they simply cannot vote for Mrs. Clinton. And their reasons are not adequately addressed in your editorial.

Many consider her ethically challenged, as demonstrated by disclosures about the Clinton Foundation and the myriad scandals following the Clintons throughout their political lives. How about the way Mrs. Clinton, famously an advocate for womens rights, belittled the victims of her husbands attentions?
WASHINGTON  Iraqs prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has said that by the end of the year Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, will be liberated from the Islamic States control. As of this month, Mr. Abadi, a Shiite, has had two years to rebuild the Iraqi Army with the support of an international coalition. Unfortunately, the institution remains incapable of liberating Mosul on its own, forcing Mr. Abadi to rely on Shiite militias  many of which serve as Irans proxies in Iraq  to conduct the war.

Meanwhile, Sunni Arabs  the one group in Iraq that should be given a major role in liberating its own areas  have been marginalized and sidelined by the government in Baghdad.

The marginalization of the Sunni community has been a common theme since 2003. Former Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Malikis political exclusion of Sunnis helped contribute to the rise of the Islamic State. Today, there is a new prime minister, but the same disastrous policies. As the speaker of Parliament, a Sunni Arab, acknowledged, the door is closed for Sunni Arabs to join the fight.

This is a mistake, and one that Washington should work urgently to correct. Preventing Sunnis from liberating Mosul will destabilize Iraq into the foreseeable future.
We dont pay attention to our reefs in the same way we do with our forests  and we should, Dr. Phinn said. And assuming it works, and they put a satellite up afterward, it will be a major step-change in coral reef science and management.

Scientists hope to assemble a detailed portrait of thousands of square miles: the clear blue of shallow waters, the white-capped dark swirls of the deep sea, and the reef, like a backbone cresting Queenslands east coast from the tip of the Cape York Peninsula toward Bundaberg in the south.

And, now, they want scale, too.

Dr. Hochberg wants detail so fine that he can tell how much algae is in the bright white sand, and on the reef, and how much of any reef is coral and how much is sand. Scientists also want to know how rising sea temperatures, water acidity, pollution, sediment and overfishing affect reefs over time.

So few large-scale scientific surveys have been done of the worlds reefs that little is known about them, he said. How can you tell me about a forest from a single walk into the woods and a look at a grove of trees? Dr. Hochberg said. How can a scuba diver tell you about the health of a reef from 10, or even 20, dives?

Complicating matters further, data collected to support predictions of declining reef health are not uniform and are surprisingly sparse, he said. Some countries lack the money to monitor reefs in their own backyards.

The Heron Island experiment involves groups of scientists collecting data at sea level and in the water that they hope will validate information collected on the jet as it flies back and forth across the reef. The reefs around Heron Island are one of six Great Barrier Reef sites to be surveyed.
When the leader of a flock goes the wrong way, what will the flock do?

With human beings, nobody can be sure. But with homing pigeons, the answer is that they find their way home anyway.

Either the lead pigeon recognizes that it has no clue and falls back into the flock, letting birds that know where they are going take over, or the flock collectively decides that the direction that it is taking just doesnt feel right, and it doesnt follow.

Several European scientists report these findings in a stirring report in Biology Letters titled, Misinformed Leaders Lose Influence Over Pigeon Flocks.

Isobel Watts, a doctoral student in zoology at Oxford, conducted the study with her advisers, Theresa Burt de Perera and Dora Biro, and with the participation of Mate Nagy, a statistical physicist from Hungary, who is affiliated with several institutions, including Oxford and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
If this theory is right, Mrs. Clinton is likelier to retake a more comfortable lead than to fall behind Mr. Trump. One could even spin Mrs. Clintons narrow lead as good news: Shes still ahead despite some episodes that might have hurt her  like the basket of deplorables comment and her pneumonia (and secrecy about it).

The other theory holds that Mrs. Clinton really has lost ground, and that theres no reason to suppose that shes likelier to rebound than to keep falling.

Why would she have lost ground? Part of the explanation might be that her post-convention bounce hadnt actually faded by Labor Day. Another possible reason is that Mr. Trump has been fairly well behaved over the last month. He hasnt gotten himself into too much trouble, relatively speaking, since his feud with the family of Capt. Humayun Khan, allowing other stories  including ones about Mrs. Clinton  to supplant the steady stream of news coverage about Mr. Trumps remarks.

If this theory is right, Mrs. Clinton would still be the favorite  she leads today, after all  but she would be in danger. One could argue that she led by a large margin only because Mr. Trump failed to clear even the lowest bars of competence and decorum for a presidential nominee. It would also suggest that the debates are a big opportunity for Mr. Trump: By simply being perceived as acting presidential, he could cement his current gains and even make additional improvement.

Which theory is right? Historically, its not obvious that either interpretation is the better one. Sometimes, races really do change for good. Other times, shifts in the polls are just noise.

One thing that helps Mrs. Clinton is that the current pool of undecided and minor-party voters is quite diverse. It includes disaffected young idealists, blue-collar Democrats, well-educated Republican-leaners and probably some of the voters who dont pay much attention to the news and who just cant make up their mind between two unpopular candidates. In general, a more diverse pool of undecided voters helps the candidate in the lead, since it makes them less likely to break one way.
A lawyer wearing a military uniform with a Nazi emblem and armed with two guns and nearly 2,600 rounds of ammunition opened fire on random passers-by in Houston early Monday, injuring nine before he was killed by the police, the authorities said.

Six of the victims were taken to hospitals, one in critical condition and another in serious condition, the police said. Three others were treated at the scene.

At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Capt. Dwayne W. Ready of the Houston Police Department described a tense episode that began about 6:30 a.m. local time.

The first reports of gunfire began to trickle in when children were being driven to school, workers were setting off for their jobs and it was still dark on Law Street, where the shooting took place. The street is part of West University Place, an upscale area in southwest Houston.
Interior Ministry of Ukraine will submit a package of legislative initiatives to the Verkhovna Rada, which will include the imperative of the presumption of innocence of the police officer, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said.

"The imperative of the police officers presumption of innocence is to become a social norm. First, obey the police officer, and then appeal his actions! We are not talking about the required legislative amendments necessary to be adopted, relevant to the experience of the developed world democracies. The society needs to accept this rule as a necessary rule for its own security," Avakov said on his Facebook page on Monday morning.

According to him, this is not the restriction of civil liberties, but the rule of security through the order procedure for a very short time, delaying the citizen's right to appeal actions of a police officer.

"Is this a great responsibility and high-priority right to the police? Yes, it is! But there is no other way. The police force, which is being changed and reformed, should and will receive more rights and greater public confidence. There is no other way of establishing an effective law enforcement system. It is necessary to improve the police forces, enhance their level of competence and responsibility for ensuring the freedoms of every citizen. The confidence level should also be raised," the interior minister said.

According to Avakov, police officers presumption of innocence should work the way it works in Germany, U.S., UK, France, Italy, Canada and many other countries.

"The presumption of innocence of the police officer (first obey - then appeal) is one of the tools of establishing a collective system of internal security! The Interior Ministry will ask members of parliament to implement the package of legal security initiatives in the legislative field. The changes are being prepared for submission to the parliament!" the minister said.
Again and again, in private conversations and in public forums, the globalists spoke of feeling besieged. Take the valedictory address of former President Bill Clinton, the paterfamilias of the globalist reunion. The Clinton Global Initiative is one of the major factors in helping to transform what had been a week centered on United Nations diplomacy into a broader Davos-on-the-Hudson for international aspirations.

Mr. Clinton spoke of the globalist vision of a nonzero-sum world in which everyone wins together and of how that idea was under attack by zero-sum tribal politics.

In a discussion Mr. Clinton moderated on shared prosperity, his four guests were esteemed globalists. The panel included Mauricio Macri, a former businessman who recently defeated Argentinas entrenched populists to become president; Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister who styled his own career on the pro-market progressivism that Mr. Clinton called the Third Way; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister and World Bank official; and Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, who was a forceful advocate for Britains remaining in the European Union.

Argentina has suffered decades of populism, Mr. Clinton said in welcoming Mr. Macri. Mr. Clinton told Mr. Khan that he was an example of positive interdependence. But the panels insight was limited by the absence of anyone who could explain populist ire with authenticity  who could explain why, as Mr. Clinton put it, the intensity of the feelings of people resisting our being pulled together outweighs the intensity of those who are winning from this.

The advocates of a more densely enmeshed world seemed caught in a bind. Their project has long been to get people to enlarge the sphere of their worry, to look beyond national boundaries.
What? Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a plan to fund the government through early December, or once again, it will be lights out for many operations.

The problem this time: Passing a plan all seemed quite simple, since Democrats and Republicans gave up several policy items they wanted attached to the overall spending bill. But the measure still omits $220 million that Democrats wanted to help Flint, Mich., and other cities manage emergencies, and they are threatening to block the bill when it comes to the Senate floor on Tuesday.

Who to watch: Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, and Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader from Nevada, who may broker a final deal. Keep an eye on Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan and a longstanding and fierce advocate for Flint who rarely gives up a legislative fight easily.
Losing a beloved life partner is never easy at any age, no matter the circumstance. The loss can be sudden and totally unexpected  a fatal heart attack, traffic accident or natural tragedy like a flood or earthquake. Or the loss can be long in coming from a progressive illness that gives the surviving spouse weeks, months, even years to prepare for and presumably adjust to its eventual inevitability.

Psychologists have long maintained that after a brief period of sometimes intense bereavement, the vast majority of surviving spouses adjust well, returning to their previous work, daily routines and prior state of contentment within a few months to a year  a psychological outcome referred to as resilience. Studies by George A. Bonanno and colleagues at Columbia University as well as others, for example, have found that 60 percent of people who lost a spouse were resilient  satisfied with their lives and not depressed.

But new research is calling this global assessment inadequate to describe the aftermath of spousal loss for many if not most people, suggesting a need for more effective and specific ways to help them return to their prior state of well-being. Someone who ranks high in life satisfaction may nonetheless be having considerable difficulty in other domains that can diminish quality of life, like maintaining a satisfying social life, performing well at work or knowing who can help when needed.

The Jewish faith in which I was raised offers one such source of support, specifying a period of mourning that gives survivors needed time to adjust to a new normal. It designates a weeklong visitation  the shiva  during which friends and relatives gather with the bereaved to express condolences and relate memories of the deceased. It also calls for a 30-day period of readjustment that includes daily prayers.
These factory workers in Southern China are fighting for labor rights. For inspiration they look to an unlikely source: Kentucky coal miners. 00:13:41 -00:13:59 We want to let them know how foreign workers organize, demonstrate and negotiate. The workers were brought here together by this man, Wu Guijin, a former factory worker turned labor activist. TITLE: In China, A Surge in Strikes 00:19:21 -00:19:28 Chinese workers rights have always been bad. 00:19:28 -00:19:38 But now, especially during these years of economic downturn, the situation is getting worse and worse. In 2013, Mr. Wu participated in a strike at a furniture factory. But China can be a dangerous place for those that step up to the establishment. 00:06:17 -00:06:21 I was accused of gathering crowds to disturb traffic order. 00:02:53 - 00:03:02 Because I safeguarded rights with my workmates collectively, I was put into prison for more than one year. 00:03:02 - 00:03:06 Now I am released. I am helping with workers. 00:20:30 -00:20:38 In my opinion, Chinese workers are some of the best in the world. 00:20:38 -00:20:43 And generally speaking, they work hard and can bear hardship without any complaints. 00:20:43 -00:20:49 They will not protest until they have no - alternative. PART II Geoffrey Crothall, China Labour Bulletin They are supposed to get pensions, social insurance. They are supposed to get severance pay when they are laid off. These fundamental labor rights are being denied to them. And the only thing they can do in the situation is (to) take collective action The government refuses to help or just tries brush them off. And in many cases, they have no option but to resort to these very extreme measures, such as climbing to a lot of buildings, threatening to jump or even taking much more violent measures Across China, the frequency of worker strikes and demonstrations has more than doubled from a year ago. There is clearly a very obvious correlation in the number of protests that we are seeing in relation to the economic distress clearly evident throughout the country. So at the moment the picture not at all optimistic. PART THREE Lunch with Workers These workers toiled in a foreign owned textile factory until recently. When the factory decided to relocate to a more affordable location, workers pensions started to disappear. Mr. Wu is helping the workers file suit in a local court. Mr. Wu Why did they relocate the factory? Where will it go? And what happen happened to the workers employment duration after relocation? Would there be any change to the salary? They demanded an explanation. 169 00:00:40-00:00:45 red vest: We have been working in this factory for 17, 18 years, but they only paid for our 11 years social insurance.  170 00:01:40-00:01:47[crying] black: I dont think we will win because the government was helping when we were trying to defend our rights. 00:01:47-00:02:02 black: Now in the legal process, they wont help us; if they help us, the government will lose face. 00:02:02-00:02:15 black: But we are trying to do what we can, to set an example for younger workers, to fight for our rights. Mr. Wu Workers have awoken. Many enterprises are transforming and relocating. Workers have to face problems like finding new employment or retirement problems, and especially getting their outstanding wages. All of these things invoke their motivation to take some action. PART FOUR Part Five - back to beginning 00:05:21 -00:05:24 America was not born good. 00:05:25 -00:05:30 America used to be awful. It became what it is by protesting. As factories continue to close and labor disputes continue to rise, social stability across Chinas factory landscape has become a concern. 00:05:34 -00:05:38 People will die in Chinas future revolution. 00:05:38 -00:05:41 Many people do not believe this, but I think it must happen. And while labor activists like Mr Wu aim to help those who are most vulnerable, the government has been making his job increasingly difficult  and increasingly dangerous. OUTRO Labour Expert Dude Now, the political situation is much tougher. The key difference I think is the current administration is taking much time offline on civil society Those labor rights groups now are the target of a very vicious crackdown. Several have been arrested and are facing charges in Guangzhou currently. Labor Activist 00:53:15 -00:53:23 For now, the situation is very intense but we are still doing it. 00:53:23 -00:53:43 If I get arrested or go missing, I will not regret it, as long as I do right by my own conscience.
WASHINGTON  Kim Jong-un is headed to the moon.

That, at least, is one of the official North Korean explanations for the testing last week of a rocket engine that, if as powerful as the North claims, would rival the commercial rockets that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, of Amazon and Tesla, now use in their aerospace companies to fire payloads into space.

Inside the United States intelligence agencies, though, there is considerable skepticism that North Korea is truly eager to plant a flag on the lunar landscape. The agencies are exploring another explanation: that Mr. Kim, the North Korean leader, is racing ahead, as the United States is distracted by a bruising presidential election, to develop a way for his growing arsenal of nuclear weapons to reach New York and Washington.

The North may not be working alone. An intelligence finding that the United States quietly made public in January suggests that the development of the Norths big engine, which it claims produces 80 tons of thrust, may be part of a joint partnership with Iran. A Treasury Department announcement of sanctions against Iranian officials and engineers named two who had traveled to North Korea to work on an 80-ton rocket booster being developed by the North Korean government.

The Obama administration has responded to North Koreas nuclear and missile tests with gradually escalating sanctions, mostly through the United Nations. But on Monday it went a step farther, announcing criminal charges and Treasury Department sanctions against four Chinese individuals and a company that it said engaged in money laundering to help the Norths programs for weapons of mass destruction.
In a separate statement, Mr. Ghasemi said that the Canadian and Iranian foreign ministers held talks last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranian intellectuals and scholars exist in Canada; it is important to have a consular section in Canada, Mr. Ghasemi said. Given the status of Iran and its strong influence in the region, it will be important for Canada to have their own embassy in Iran as well.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada expressed relief at Professor Hoodfars release. In a statement on Monday, Mr. Trudeau said that the Canadian government had been working at the highest levels to free her since she was detained. Some of that work had to be done through intermediaries, he said, because Canada has no diplomatic representation of its own in Iran; he thanked Oman, Italy and Switzerland in particular for their help.

I would also like to recognize the cooperation of those Iranian authorities who facilitated her release and repatriation, Mr. Trudeau said in the statement. They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations.

Several dual citizens who have been arrested in Iran since the summer of 2015, mostly by the intelligence department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. At least three people with dual American and Iranian citizenship are in custody: Siamak and Baquer Namazi, and a person whose name has been withheld in news reports at the request of the persons family, out of fear that mentioning the name might jeopardize a potential release.
CALAIS, France  The migrants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea and elsewhere keep coming. Almost 100 a day arrive at this dusty, ramshackle camp perched at the edge of the English Channel, just 31 miles from Britain, their ultimate goal.

The French authorities have tried for 18 months to dismantle the vast camp, known as the Jungle. In their last attempt, in March, when about 4,000 people lived here, they leveled almost half of it. But since then, the camp has almost doubled in size. It is larger than ever, and it remains one of the most visible symbols of Europes inability to cope with the influx of so many desperate people.

Dazed and ragged, new migrants stumble up the industrial road from nearby Calais every day, past the graphite electrode factory and underneath the well-guarded highway overpass that serves as the entrance to the camp, where three Afghan boys recently took shelter.
Undeterred and infuriated by Western accusations of war crimes and barbarity in the aerial assault on Aleppo, the Syrian government and its ally Russia intensively bombed the city in northern Syria on Monday for the fourth consecutive day. Residents and rescuers there described the bombardment as among the worst yet in the five-year war.

Both the Kremlin and the Syrian government appeared to harden their position that the United States and its partners had caused the disintegration of a fleeting cease-fire last week. The Russians went as far as suggesting that the Western portrayal of them as war criminals in the Syria conflict risked a further alienation in relations.

Insurgent-held neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo were hit with dozens of air attacks in the predawn hours, killing and wounding many people, according to doctors, nurses and activists in the city. By some estimates the deaths totaled 100 or more for the fourth day.

A number of monitor groups disseminated graphic photos and video clips portraying the medical mayhem wrought by the bombings.
The president, who was elected on a platform of improving relations with the West and escaping crippling economic sanctions, has been seen as vulnerable to a challenge from Irans hard-liners, for failing to deliver on his promises. Many sanctions remain in place even after the signing last year of a nuclear deal, primarily because of what the United States says is Irans support for terrorism and human rights violations.

Tehran denies those accusations, but no European or American bank will finance business with Iran as long as the sanctions remain in effect, unless the United States Treasury specifically certifies the deal, as it did for recent contracts with Airbus and Boeing.

Image Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is seen as part of Irans hard-line faction. Credit... Vahid Salemi/Associated Press

Mr. Ahmadinejads two presidential terms, from 2005 to 2013, were defined by confrontation with global powers, especially the United States. He is widely admired by the rural poor but is despised by the middle class majority. Corruption grew substantially during his tenure, and it continues to be a major problem today.

Experts say most of the profits from record-high oil prices during Mr. Ahmadinejads years were pumped around the state apparatus or were invested in ambitious housing projects that now stand empty in desert plains, without proper utilities or transportation infrastructure.
The good news? Time Travel, like all of Gleicks work, is a fascinating mash-up of philosophy, literary criticism, physics and cultural observation. Its witty (Regret is the time travelers energy bar), pithy (What is time? Things change, and time is how we keep track) and regularly manages to twist its readers mind into those Gordian knots I so loved as a boy.

Time Travel begins at what Gleick believes is the beginning, H.G. Wellss 1895 The Time Machine. When Wells in his lamp-lit room imagined a time machine, Gleick argues, he also invented a new mode of thought. Western science was undergoing a sea change at the same time, of course: Lyell and Darwin had exploded older conceptions of the age of the Earth, locomotives and telegraphs were transforming space, and Einstein was about to punch a major hole in Newtons theory of absolute time. Meanwhile, in literature, Marcel Proust was using memory to complicate more straightforward storytelling, and it wouldnt be long before modernists like Woolf and Joyce were compressing, dilating, and folding time in half.

Image James Gleick

But according to Gleick, Wells was the first to marry the words time and travel, and in doing so, The Time Machine initiated a kind of butterfly effect, the novel fluttering with each passing decade through the souls of more and more storytellers, who in turn influenced more and more of their successors, forking from Robert Heinlein to Jorge Luis Borges to Isaac Asimov to William Gibson to Woody Allen to Kate Atkinson to Charles Yu, until, to use Bradburys metaphor, the gigantic dominoes fell. Nowadays, Gleick writes, Time travel is in the pop songs, the TV commercials, the wallpaper. From morning to night, childrens cartoons and adult fantasies invent and reinvent time machines, gates, doorways and windows, not to mention time ships and special closets, DeLoreans and police boxes.

Its also in the science. Gleick is a polymathic thinker who can quote from David Foster Wallaces undergraduate thesis as readily as from Kurt Godel or Lord Kelvin, and like many of the storytellers he thumbnails, he employs time travel to initiate engrossing discussions of causation, fatalism, predestination and even consciousness itself. He includes a humorously derisive chapter on people who bury time capsules (If time capsulists are enacting reverse archaeology, they are also engaging in reverse nostalgia), he tackles cyberspace (Every hyperlink is a time gate), and throughout the book he displays an acute and playful sensitivity to how quickly language gets slippery when we talk about time. Why, for example, do English speakers say the future lies ahead and the past lies behind, while Mandarin speakers say future events are below and earlier events are above?

If you say, he writes, that an activity wastes time, implying a substance in finite supply, and then you say that it fills time, implying a sort of container, have you contradicted yourself?
No Ukrainian servicemen were killed yet two were wounded in the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman for ATO issues Oleksandr Motuzianyk said.

"None of our servicemen were killed during the past day, however, two men suffered injuries in the hostilities near Avdiyivka," he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

Hostilities have been shrinking throughout the contact line, in particular, in the Donetsk and Mariupol sectors, Motuzianyk said.

Small arms were used near Novozvanivka and Popasna in the Luhansk sector, the Defense Ministry spokesman said. The hostiles used anti-tank weapons near Popasna.

Avdiyivka and Verkhniotoretske remained hotspots in the Donetsk sector, Motuzianyk said. As many as fifty-one 120mm and 82mm mines were lobbed into Ukrainian positions in Avdiyivka over the past day. The hostiles used a grenade launcher and machineguns in the same area.

Three violations of the truce were observed near Mariyinka, Pavlopil and Novotroitske in the Mariupol sector, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman said. Small arms were used in every incident, he said.
In a Caribbean resort city, far from the jungles where guerrilla battles once raged, the Colombian government and the countrys largest rebel group signed a peace agreement on Monday evening.

The ceremony, held in Cartagena, brought an end to a 52-year-old war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, whose Marxist insurgency marked the last major war in the Americas.

What we sign today is a declaration from the Colombian people before the world that we are tired or war, President Juan Manuel Santos said in his prepared remarks, that we dont accept violence as the means of defending ideas.

It was a moment perhaps reminiscent of the Good Friday Agreement that ended the conflict in Northern Ireland or the Oslo Accords that promised peace in the Middle East. And it was an image that generations of Colombians had yearned to see on their soil: A sitting president shaking the hands of the very rebel leader whom government forces had once hunted in the mountains, as the two sides pledged a future of peaceful politics.
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman supports the development of a multi-level health system, including both the institute of the family physician and highly specialized clinics.

"There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Its been already invented throughout the world. Look at the way our people live. What do we have? People die in the first years of retirement in our country. This is a big problem and challenge for all of us," Groysman said.

Groysman said there is a need to establish the institution of the family doctor as the primary level of medical care.

In addition, according to Groysman, a secondary level of medical care, which is more complicated, will be formed at the municipal level and more complex and specialized tertiary medical care will be provided at the regional level.

"The third level is a specialized medical care with a high level of complexity. This means that the third level belongs to the regional hospitals which should receive better equipment. Regional hospitals will not perform ordinary surgery," he said.

"If we are talking about highly complex surgeries  this is the fourth level, including metropolitan hospitals, hospitals of the system of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, where there is appropriate equipment and specialists, performing highly complex surgeries, such as organ transplantation," the premier said.

Groysman also said that the health financing system would be also changed.

"Today, money is invested in the hospitals, but we want to invest in specific people, in a specific medical service to promote competition between medical institutions. We can provide competitive salaries in this way," Groysman said.
Lee County Sheriffs Office

 First-degree theft of property was reported Sunday in the 300 block of Lee Road 483 in Opelika.

 Second-degree theft of property and third-degree burglary was reported Sunday in the 600 block of Lee Road 271 in Valley.

Auburn Police Division

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property were reported Friday in the 1200 block of Aubie Drive.

 First-degree attempted theft of property, third-degree criminal mischief and criminal mischief-damage to business property was reported Friday in the 1700 block of East Glenn Avenue.

 First-degree theft of property was reported Friday in the 600 block of North Gay Street.

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle was reported Saturday in the 2000 block of North College Street.

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and third-degree criminal mischief was reported Saturday in the 1400 block of Hickory Lane.

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and second-degree theft of property was reported Saturday in the 100 block of Hemlock Drive.

 First-degree theft of property was reported Sunday in the 300 block of East Glenn Avenue.

 Second-degree criminal mischief was reported Sunday in the 100 block of North Ryan Street.

 A 46-year-old, of Auburn, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and harassing communications.

 Joshua Alan Harvey was arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree criminal trespassing.

 A 30-year-old, of Opelika, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana.

 Leonard Allen Thrower, Jr., was arrested Friday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, fleeing/attempting to elude an officer and failure to appear.

 Melissa Anela Chambers was arrested Friday and charged with driving under the influence and fleeing/attempting to elude and officer.

 A 26-year-old, of Auburn, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and failure to appear.

 A 30-year-old was arrested Friday and charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 A juvenile was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and minor in possession of alcohol.

 A juvenile was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and criminal littering.

 A 19-year-old, of Auburn, was arrested Saturday and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

 Victor John Xayavong was arrested Saturday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

 Joseph Johnson, 42, of Auburn, was arrested Saturday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Opelika Police Department

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and theft of property occurred between Thursday and Friday in the 100 block of Veterans Parkway.

 First-degree theft of property occurred Friday at Grub Mart #28, 1900 Marvyn Parkway.

 Second-degree theft of property occurred Wednesday in the 2000 block of Cunningham Drive.

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle occurred between Wednesday and Friday in the 100 block of Veterans Parkway.

 First-degree theft of property occurred between Sept. 19 and Friday, Sept. 23, in the 1700 block of Airport Road.

 Second-degree theft of property and third-degree burglary occurred Friday in the 3900 block of Cahaba Street.

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property occurred Saturday in the 300 block of Springhill Avenue.

 Carlos Lopez Perez, 20, of Opelika, was arrested Sunday and charged with driving under the influence.

 Colton Suede Burks, 22, of Corinth, Mississippi, was arrested Sunday and charged as a fugitive from justice on warrants through the state of Mississippi for burglary and possession of counterfeit bank notes.

Chambers County Sheriffs Office

 Hazel Scott, 75, of Lanett, was arrested between Friday and Sunday and charged with child endangerment, conspiracy of sex abuse of a child, first-degree conspiracy rape and conspiracy sex abuse of child less than 12.

Lanett Police Department

 Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property were reported between Friday and Sunday in the 1300 block of South Gilmer Avenue.

 First-degree criminal trespassing was reported between Friday and Sunday in the 300 block of North 5th Avenue.

 Second-degree assault was reported between Friday and Sunday in the 1600 block of 19th Street Southwest.

 First-degree theft of property was reported between Friday and Sunday in the 5400 block of 22nd Street Southwest.
Each year the OAS Secretary General publishes a proposed Program-Budget for the coming calendar year. The OAS General Assembly meets in a Special Session to approve the Program-Budget. Find these documents from 1998-2013 here.

Each year in April, the OAS Board of External Auditors publishes a report covering the previous calendar years financial results. Reports covering 1996-2016 may be found here.

Approximately six weeks after the end of each semester, the OAS publishes a Semiannual Management and Performance Report, which since 2013 includes reporting on programmatic results. The full texts may be found here.

Here you will find data on the Human Resources of the OAS, including its organizational structure, each organizational units staffing, vacant posts, and performance contracts.

The OAS executes a variety of projects funded by donors. Evaluation reports are commissioned by donors. Reports of these evaluations may be found here.

The Inspector General provides the Secretary General with reports on the audits, investigations, and inspections conducted. These reports are made available to the Permanent Council. More information may be found here.

The OAS has discussed for several years the real estate issue, the funding required for maintenance and repairs, as well as the deferred maintenance of its historic buildings. The General Secretariat has provided a series of options for funding it. The most recent document, reflecting the current status of the Strategy, is CP/CAAP-3211/13 rev. 4.

Here you will find information related to the GS/OAS Procurement Operations, including a list of procurement notices for formal bids, links to the performance contract and travel control measure reports, the applicable procurement rules and regulations, and the training and qualifications of its staff.

The OAS Treasurer certifies the financial statements of all funds managed or administered by the GS/OAS. Here you will find the latest general purpose financial reports for the main OAS funds, as well as OAS Quarterly Financial Reports (QFRs).

Every year the GS/OAS publishes the annual operating plans for all areas of the Organization, used to aid in the formulation of the annual budget and as a way to provide follow-up on institutional mandates.

Here you will find information related to the OAS Strategic Plan 2016-2020, including its design, preparation and approval.
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Other Autonomous and/or Decentralized Organs,

Agencies, Entities, and Dependencies

The OAS Charter provides for subsidiary organs, agencies, and other entities as considered necessary. Specialized organizations are the intergovernmental organizations established by multilateral agreements and having specific functions with respect to technical matters of common interests to the American States.

Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR)

The Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR) was created by the General Assembly in resolution AG/RES. 1682 (XXIX-O/99) to address problems related to natural disasters and to serve as the leading forum at the Organization of American States (OAS) for discussion of this topic, in coordination with the competent national organizations.

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Justice Studies Center of the Americas

The Justice Studies Center of the Americas was established by the General Assembly as an intergovernmental entity with technical and operational autonomy. Its objectives are to help strengthen human resources, facilitate the exchange of information and other forms of technical cooperation, and support reform and modernization of the justice systems in the region.

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Administrative Tribunal

The Administrative Tribunal of the Organization of American States was established on April 22, 1971, by resolution AG/RES. 35 (I-O/71), adopted by the General Assembly at the ninth plenary session of its first regular session. Its function is to settle any disputes that may arise with staff members of the OAS General Secretariat by reason of administrative decisions, when the staff members are alleging non-compliance with the terms of their respective appointments or contracts or violations of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat and other applicable provisions, including those relating to the Retirement and Pension Plan of the General Secretariat. The Tribunal has six members and its own Secretariat.

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Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)

Established in 1962, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental institution that operates under a cooperation agreement concluded with the OAS to support development programs and assistance to victims of natural disasters and humanitarian crises. The Secretary General is Chairman of the PADF's Board of Directors, whose members include 25 leaders from the private sector from throughout the hemisphere. All the members of the Board of Directors work on a volunteer basis, serve as a support group to the OAS, and make monetary contributions and contributions in kind to the Foundation's programs.

The PADF's mission is to promote integral development among the most disadvantaged in Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to create a hemisphere of opportunity for all. This mission is accomplished by forming innovative partnerships with private, public, and nonprofit organizations and institutions, in furtherance of the OAS' priorities. One of the Foundation's most important objectives is to strengthen civil society in the region and raise donations from businesses, corporations, civic groups, international agencies and organizations like USAID, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, among others. It also accepts contributions from government agencies in the region.

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Board of External Auditors

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution AG/RES. 123 (III-O/73), adopted on April 14, 1973, and Permanent Council resolution CP/RES. 124 (164/75), of June 10, 1975, the Board of External Auditors is responsible for the external auditing of the General Secretariat's accounts.

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Inter-American Defense Board

The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) was established in 1942 to study and recommend measures for the defense of the Hemisphere. It is the oldest multilateral military organization in the world. On March 15, 2006, during its XXXII special session, the OAS General Assembly approved the new Statutes of the Inter-American Defense Board, which states that the Board is an entity of the OAS that provides it and its member states with advice and consultancy services on their programs, promotes hemispheric peace and security, builds confidence among the parties through ties of military cooperation and strengthens relations between civilians and military. It also supervises a senior-level academic program in security and defense studies at the Inter-American Defense College.

To further the purposes of the OAS Charter, the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) provides advisory services to OAS programs, promotes hemispheric peace and security, builds confidence among the parties through ties of military cooperation, strengthens relations between civilians and military, and oversees the advanced academic program of studies in security and defense offered at the Inter-American Defense College.

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Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial body of the OAS whose purpose is to apply and interpret the American Convention on Human Rights. The Court has both contentious and advisory jurisdiction. It is made up of seven judges, elected in a personal capacity by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

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Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

The activities of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) are governed by the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat (GS) (Chapter IX, Advisory Services, Auditing, and Fiscal Control), the Budgetary and Financial Rules, and Executive Order No. 95-05. Those provisions establish the function of the internal audit, which helps the Secretary General and the governing bodies to ensure that responsibilities at the various levels of the administration vis-a-vis the General Secretariat's programs and resources are discharged. The objective of the Office of the Inspector General is to ensure that operating procedures and financial transactions at headquarters and in the offices of the General Secretariat in the member states are systematically reviewed. The Inspector General's Office also checks to ensure that the established policies, rules and practices are being observed and carried out correctly, efficiently and economically.

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Selection Committee for Scholarships for Academic Studies and Professional Development (CSBEAT)

The Selection Committee for Scholarships for Academic Studies and Professional Development (CSBEAT) awards academic scholarships under the OAS Scholarships Program, in keeping with the Organization's rules and regulations.

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Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL)

Established by the General Assembly in 1994, the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission has technical autonomy in the performance of its functions, within the limits set by the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), the CITEL statutes and the mandates of the General Assembly. Its mission is to facilitate and promote the sustained development of telecommunications in the hemisphere.

Technological innovation, digitalization and the convergence of technology and telecommunications, broadcasting and data processing have revolutionized the ways in which people learn and communicate with each other. Telecommunicationswhich includes information and communication technologies (ICTs) - are vital to every country's economic and social development and to make access to information universal, sustainable, generalized and readily available. However, despite the impressive growth and spread of telecommunications services in the Americasincluding the ICTs, disparities persist and narrowing the digital divide continues to be a priority.

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Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP)

The purpose of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) is to serve as the permanent inter-American forum of the member states of the Organization for strengthening cooperation in the development of the port sector, with the active participation and collaboration of the private sector. Its principal objectives are to strengthen inter-American dialogue, provide training and technical cooperation and promote the ports of this hemisphere.

The Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) serves as a permanent inter-American forum for the member states of the Organization of American States to strengthen cooperation and develop the port sector, with the active participation of and in partnership with the private sector.

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Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)

The General Assembly created the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) in 1986. It is based on the principles and objectives spelled out in the Inter-American Program of Action of Rio de Janeiro against the Illicit Use and Production of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Traffic Therein, adopted in 1986, and the Anti-Drug Strategy in the Americas, adopted in 1996. Under CICAD's Statute and Executive Order 08-01 Rev. 2, it has an Executive Secretariat with the rank of department.

CICAD's anti-drug program is divided into six areas of activity: Demand Reduction; Educational Research and Development; Supply Reduction and Alternative Development; Money Laundering; Institutional Development; the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), and the Inter-American Observatory on Drugs.

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Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE)

The Secretariat of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) was established by Executive Order 05-13, Rev. 1. Its mission is to support the member states at CICTE's regular sessions and preparatory meetings, to offer technical assistance and training programs, and to promote coordination and cooperation among the member states and with multilateral and international organizations so as to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism. The Secretariat's program is divided into the following areas: Border Controls, Financial Controls, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Counterterrorism Policy Engagement Exercises, and partnerships with other international, multilateral, and international organizations.

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BEIRUT  At least 26 civilians were killed in new government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria.

At the start of that meeting the U.N.s top envoy to Syria accused the government of unleashing unprecedented military violence against civilians in Aleppo.

Staffan de Mistura said Syrias declaration of a military offensive to retake rebel-held eastern Aleppo has led to one of the worst weeks of the 51/2-year war with dozens of airstrikes against residential areas and buildings causing scores of civilian deaths.

He said the offensive targeting civilians with sophisticated weapons including incendiary devices may amount to war crimes.

Medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighborhoods throughout Aleppos rebel-held eastern districts as an announced government offensive entered its fourth day.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7:30 p.m. and said it expects the toll to rise.

Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defense search and rescue outfit said hospitals and rescuers have documented the deaths of 43 people.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties, and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the citys opposition quarters.

On the sidelines of the meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to force a halt to the hostilities in Aleppo, and he condemned Russia and the Syrian governments alleged use of bunker busting bombs, which are designed to penetrate underground facilities.
MOUNT VERNON, Wash.  Arcan Cetin, the man accused of shooting five people to death in a rampage at a Washington state shopping mall last week, was charged Monday with five counts of first-degree murder.

In documents filed in Skagit County District Court, Cetin, 20, of Oak Harbor was accused of using a Ruger rifle with a 25-round magazine to open fire Friday at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, roughly 65 miles north of Seattle. Four women and a man, ages 16-95, were killed in the attack, the authorities said.

According to the court filing, which cited witnesses and surveillance footage, a man arrived at the mall in a car, removed a rifle from the trunk and walked into the womens department of a Macys store. There, he first shot the teenager near a clothing rack, then four more people at a cosmetics counter. The gunman then laid the rifle on the counter and left.

Cetin, who was taken into custody about 24 hours later, told law enforcement officials during questioning that he was the gunman, the court filing said.

Cetin is being represented by a public defender, Keith Tyne, who declined to comment Monday.

Details on a possible motive have not been released, and the prosecutor in the case, Richard Weyrich, would not discuss whether police had questioned Cetin on the subject.

During a brief appearance in court Monday, Cetin was formally charged, and bail was set at $2 million.

His demeanor there matched a description given by a sheriffs deputy who took him into custody: zombielike. Cetin was led into the courtroom in chains and stood stone-faced as charges were read.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.  Cherrell Brown turned to Facebook in the hours after the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, a black resident here, hoping to reach a network of activists with which she has connected.

Charlotte fam, yall need folks to ride through? Brown, 27, an activist based in Greensboro, N.C., wrote at 9:03 p.m. Tuesday. In 4 minutes, she had an answer. Yes, urged Ashley S. Williams, a Charlotte-based organizer.

Three hours later, as protesters confrontations with the police turned violent, Brown and several others from Greensboro arrived in Charlotte, equipped with milk to treat tear gas exposure. Brown, who joined demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore and New York, has stayed here, sharing her protest skills.

I just wanted my folks here in Charlotte to feel supported, Brown said. I have seen this so many other places, this kind of uprising that happens after a police shooting. And so to see it happen in my home state, I had a picture of what some of the immediate response looks like, and the immediate needs.

On Sunday night, city officials lifted a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew that had been imposed after episodes of violence during the first two days of protests here.

Like in many cities rocked by police killings, Charlotte in the past week has become the center of both boisterous demonstrations about the killing of Scott and bittersweet reunions for a cadre of activists who have grown close through racially charged tragedies.

A tightly knit group of organizers already existed here, and had been demonstrating on issues like a fatal police shooting in 2013 and fighting a North Carolina law that restricts restroom access for transgender people. Yet as violence erupted on Tuesday, local organizers put out a call for help that was answered by activists from places like Ferguson, New York and Chicago, who are joining meetings at churches, bonding in hotel rooms and passing along information in casual conversations.

Friday morning, Dhoruba Shakur, 26, and five others who protested in Ferguson after the shooting death of Michael Brown, a black teenager who was killed by a white police officer, piled into a rented van and drove 11 hours from St. Louis to Charlotte. The group brought safety kits that included goggles, ear plugs and Band-Aids.

I feel like we are returning a favor, said Shakur, who has demonstrated against police shootings in Cleveland; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Milwaukee and New York. We want to give them some information to let them know they can do better than us and continue to keep the protest up.

An event called Show Up for Charlotte on Saturday showcased the response, as emotionally weary protesters spent an afternoon in a park here, hugging, catching up and nibbling on pizza while also passing around poster boards and markers, creating signs with slogans like Stop the Fear, Black Lives Matter. From a stage, organizers thanked local residents for putting the day together and people from out of town for coming to the city during its time of crisis.

In an interview, Ashley Williams described learning new skills in the past week, like how to provide jail support when activists are arrested, and said organizers had traded stories about the challenges they face. There is a lot of staying up late and crying. There is a lot of trying to strategize about what the next thing there is to do. There is a lot of, So how are we going to escalate if our demands are not met? And theres a lot of, like, How can we make sure that folks that are coming have something to do and feel part of this?

The potential for protesters to come from beyond North Carolina unnerved local and state officials. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief, Kerr Putney, acknowledged on Friday that out-of-state demonstrators had influenced his decision to request a curfew for Thursday night. And Gov. Pat McCrory, a former mayor of Charlotte, said Friday that there are some groups that are coming into our state that are here to cause anarchy and to not respect our law, respect our property or to respect our citizens.

Police officials have said that most of the arrests since the protests began were of North Carolina residents.

Three years ago, the death of Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old black man who was shot 10 times by a white officer in a Charlotte subdivision, led to protests here. Randall Kerrick, the officer who fired the fatal shots, was charged with voluntary manslaughter, but the case ended in a hung jury and a mistrial in August 2015. Prosecutors decided not to retry the officer, and the case was dismissed, leading to more public outcry.

Activists have also been pushing back against a North Carolina law that requires people in publicly owned buildings to use restrooms that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificates.

There are, like, 10 organizers in Charlotte who do everything and so on the drop of a dime, maybe we could get like 250 people to show up to something, Ashley Williams said.

But Tamika Lewis, 27, another local organizer, said activists sought outside help in frustration. They are clearly not listening to the citizens of Charlotte, so we are calling in reinforcements, she said. She has opened her four-bedroom home to at least 10 protesters, who are spending nights strategizing and sharing tips about how to stay safe during potential clashes with the police.

Taliba Obuya, 33, a field organizer with Amnesty International and a longtime activist who lives in Atlanta, said she welcomed people to stay in her hotel room because many came out of a sense of love and community but could not afford to pay for accommodation.

People were talking about they need somewhere to shower, and I was like, Well its only me and my room tonight. Come on, she said.

Charlene Carruthers, national director of BYP 100, a group focused on justice issues for black people, said the past week had been something of a reunion, much like when she protested in Ferguson and Baltimore. It feels like familiar space, said Carruthers, who lives in Chicago. And so people say hello, people give you a hug, they ask you how you are doing.
BEIRUT  Syrias foreign minister said Monday that an internationally-brokered cease-fire is still viable, as rescue workers in Aleppo sifted through the rubble from the heaviest airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaking to Mayadeen TV from New York, also said the government is prepared to take part in a unity government incorporating elements from the opposition, an offer that has been rejected in the past.

Opposition activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the past week under a sustained aerial campaign that U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war. The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and Western powers.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, its barbarism, said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Its apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.

Airstrikes on Aleppo on Monday killed at least six people, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run collective. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported hours later that 12 were killed, including three children.

President Bashar Assads media adviser told Al-Mayadeen TV that the Syrian government abided by the cease-fire but the rebels did not. Bouthaina Shaaban said once the truce expired, our Syrian Arab army resumed its operations against terrorists.

Al-Moallem accused the U.S., Britain, and France of convening the Security Council meeting a day earlier in order to support terrorists inside Syria. But he said ongoing communications between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meant a truce agreement brokered two weeks ago is not dead.

Syrias military declared the cease-fire ended one week ago.

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the cease-fire is ineffective, but that Moscow is not losing hope for a political solution to the countrys crisis.

However, Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the Kremlin is concerned that terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks.

Peskov also took issue with harsh criticism by the United States and Britain over Russias actions in Syria.

He said Russia considers the tone of the criticism unacceptable and such rhetoric is capable of causing serious harm to the resolution process in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Syrian and Russian governments seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process.

While theyre pounding Aleppo, dropping indiscriminate bombs, killing women and children, talk of a unity government is pretty complicated, Kerry said during a visit to Colombia.

He said the Syrian opposition wont be particularly excited about having a negotiation when theyre being bombed and starved, adding that statements by the Syrian government are almost meaningless.

The White House meanwhile said its difficult to envision any military cooperation with Russia in Syria because Moscow has repeatedly failed to fulfill its commitments to the cease-fire deal.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Syrias government has launched a concerted campaign to strike civilian targets, and that Assads forces are trying to bomb civilians into submission. He says government forces have also targeted the Civil Defense, volunteer first responders also known as White Helmets.

In the central Syrian city of Homs, meanwhile, a second group of rebel gunmen and their families began evacuating from an opposition neighborhood.

Some 120 gunmen and their families are expected to leave al-Waer as part of an agreement to restore the governments authority over the neighborhood, Homs Governor Talal Barazi said.

The agreement struck over al-Waer was in keeping with Assads determination to settle the war on his own terms, securing surrenders through sieges and staying in power at least through an interim period to steer the country out of crisis.

Pro-government forces have kept al-Waer under a steadily tightening siege since November 2013, prohibiting food and medical supplies from reaching the remaining 75,000 residents, down from 300,000 before the start of the war in 2011.

In exchange for the evacuations, the government is permitting aid convoys to supply the neighborhood with badly needed food and medical supplies.

A Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy of 36 trucks delivered assistance for 4,000 families in the district Saturday.

U.N. humanitarian officials have condemned the sieges against civilians as medieval and in contravention to international law.

In New York, al-Moallem reaffirmed his governments proposed roadmap to end Syrias war, saying Damascus would support a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.

Associated Press writer Vivian Salama in Cartagena, Colombia, Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.
What to expect from the first U.S. presidential debate

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- The first of three presidential debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, will be held Monday at Hofstra University in New York.

The debate will last 90 minutes without commercial breaks. NBC's Nightly News anchor Lester Holt will be the moderator to ask questions.

It would be the first-ever one-on-one debate between the two candidates, and the clash is expected to draw a record 100 million viewers. What can viewers expect to see as the two polar opposites face off against each other?

A WELL-PREPARED CLINTON VS. AN UNPREDICTABLE TRUMP

As a veteran debater, Clinton has more stage experience than most of the presidential candidates in recent history. But she still took a better half of recent weeks preparing for Monday, looking into massive data about Trump's history and past performances, doing mock debates with her team and preparing to defend possible attacks from the freshly businessman turned politician.

"I do not know which Donald Trump will show up," said Clinton in an August fundraising event in New York.

How would Trump approach the debate, and whether Clinton has any effective plan to tackle his facade will be interesting to watch for.

"Maybe he will try to be presidential and try to convey a gravity that he hasn't done before or will he come in and try to insult and try to score some points," said Clinton.

Trump, on the other hand, showed little clue if he will stay on message while looking presidential or resort to petty insults and name-calling that had worked to his advantage on the debate stage in the primary season.

He had been on the campaign trail to the various battleground states, paying minimal attention to the materials his team collected for him, and refused to participate in mock debates. But he had been studying videos of Clinton's previous debate performances "looking for her vulnerabilities," according to The New York Times.

Even if Trump decides to act "presidential," It is unclear whether he can resist the temptation to attack Clinton on personal issues, including her health and her husband's past infidelities.

But it's certain he would not give up the opportunities to go after the scandals that had been plaguing the race from day one, like Clinton's private email server and her relations with big donors.

"I can talk about her deleting emails after she gets a subpoena from Congress and lots of other things," said Trump in a recent interview with Fox News.

NOT ABOUT POLICIES

History has shown that a presidential debate was seldom a contest of which candidate has better policies.

Instead, it's a show of character and temperament. This was true ever since the very first nationally televised debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960. Radio listeners thought the debate had been a tie. However, with a baggy suit and bad makeup exposed by his constant sweating, Nixon was widely deemed loser of the debate by TV viewers in contrast to a well-dressed and poised Kennedy.

Clinton has been widely acknowledged by voters as experienced and competent for the job of president. There's hardly any doubt about it. She also has been in many one-on-one live debates throughout her long political career, while Trump has never done even one. So it becomes imperative for Clinton to appear experienced, mature and relatable. If Trump can drag her into an angry dog fight and exchange of name-calling, then he would have a better chance.

Being the first female major-party nominee in U.S. history, it would also be intriguing to see how or if Clinton will play the "gender card."

Studies find that gender stereotypes play an important role. It is already a concern how the viewers would perceive the fact that a 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 meters) Trump will tower over a 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 meters) Clinton when they stand together on stage. Research has also found that a man appearing aggressive will likely be perceived positively, while a woman appearing aggressive is mostly received negatively.

If Clinton remains calm and collected when under attack from Trump, and not get defensive or dismissive as she sometimes does during the campaign, she will score a better image among voters. Trump, on the other hand, should avoid his previous sexist rhetoric to ensure viewers wouldn't become sympathetic towards Clinton.

DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS

"When I watch her in the debate, she just seems somehow slimy and can just wiggle out from any question or situation," said Brian Grasso, a sophomore at Duke University.

To gain an upper hand, Clinton has to find a way to change the public's reception of her as a dishonest and untrustworthy establishment politician, which is a difficult job to do.

The expectation for Trump to emerge as the winner of the debate is relatively low. People don't expect him to speak with lots of substance. He just needs to show voters that he can handle the job as president, and not someone who cannot control his mouth from speaking outrageous things.

The debate will also be a clash of views on whether the country is in decline. Trump had painted America as a dark and desperate place, and Clinton will have to challenge it.

The three major topics announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates are "America's Direction," "Achieving Prosperity" and "Securing America," which are translated to economy, national security and the candidates' vision for the country's future.

Recent bombing attacks in New York and New Jersey, tensions between police and African Americans in Charlotte, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and shootings in Burlington, Washington could all fall in line with Trump's rhetoric, as he had benefited before from inciting fear among the American public after similar incidents.

"For all his lack of substance, Trump's showmanship, as ex-TV star, makes him a formidable debate foe," wrote Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for the Clinton campaign.

Trump's team had urged the candidate to hold his own and stay focused on important themes like economy, anti-terrorism and protection of the country's borders.

"A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man you can trust with nuclear weapons," Clinton said during her Democratic convention speech.

How Clinton would attempt to get under Trump's skin in the debate and bait him into losing his temper will be a scene to look out for.
SACRAMENTO  Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed legislation that would have fully repaid local agencies for about $1.6 million in costs incurred in responding to the December mass shooting in San Bernardino, saying that he did not want to set a precedent in which the state will assume all financial responsibility for future emergency costs.

SB1385 by Sen. Connie Leyva, a Chino Democrat, would have required the state to reimburse 100 percent of the costs incurred by local emergency agencies in responding to the terror attacks in which two gun-toting attackers killed 14 people. It was approved unanimously by the state Legislature. Normally the state repays local agencies 75 percent.

In his veto message Sunday, Brown said the state Office of Emergency Services will work with local agencies on cost recovery.

The Democratic governor, a fiscal moderate who regularly rebuffs efforts to add new state spending commitments, also announced vetoing other bills he said would have collectively cost the state $240 million, which he says should be addressed during state budget talks.

The budget process allows for all spending proposals to be weighed equally through public hearings, negotiations, and finally, approval of a balanced budget, Brown wrote in a veto message accompanying several of the bills. This is the best way to evaluate and prioritize all new spending proposals, including those that increase the cost of existing programs. Brown noted that the next budget cycle begins on Jan. 10.

Other bills Brown announced vetoing Sunday include:

 AB492 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, which would have provided $50 per month in diaper stipends to parents participating in California welfare-to-work programs;

 AB1770 by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, which would have extended eligibility for California food stamps to noncitizens living legally in the United States.
He refused to wear makeup. Sweat glistened on his chin as he spoke solemnly to the camera on that fateful day 56 years ago. Richard Nixon mopped his face with a handkerchief, and modern politics as we know it was born.

Pundits say that presidential debates  broadcast for the first time on Sept. 26, 1960, between Nixon and the handsome upstart John F. Kennedy  cant win a candidate an election, but they certainly can lose him one. Theyve become an integral part of the American electoral process  equal parts spectacle, theater, substance and circus  but critics say only Democrats and Republicans need apply.

It really is a rigged system, said retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, the vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 2012.

If only people understood, this is really big stuff.

Third-party candidates use words like collusion and conspiracy to describe their systemic shutout from the political Greatest Show on Earth. So Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Gray are pressing a long-shot federal antitrust lawsuit against the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates, as well as the Republican and Democratic national committees. Their goal? To crack open the enormously popular debates to outside voices, once and for all.

Its too late to make a difference this time around. But they hope thats not yet true for the next election cycle.

On Monday, Democrat Hillary Clinton will square off against Republican Donald Trump in the first of four televised presidential debates (including one vice presidential debate) featuring the the general election candidates. Some say it could be the most consequential event in a riotous 2016 election season.

But voters eager for a none of the above voice will not find one. The commissions rules make it extremely difficult for third-party candidates to qualify, and Johnson and Stein were excluded this year because neither is polling above 15 percent.

Gone, according to Johnson, Stein and Gray, is a vital opportunity to speak directly to the American people and influence the national discussion.

To be excluded from the debates is an electoral death sentence, their suit says. There are no alternative means for  candidates to acquaint themselves to the American public that even approaches the exposure provided by the presidential debates. Exclusion from the debates guarantees marginalization.

In 2012, the three faceoffs between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney attracted enormous audiences  67.2 million viewers for the first debate, 65.6 million for the second and 59.2 million for the third, the suit says.

Expectations for Monday run closer to 100 million viewers.

In the lawsuit, the third-party candidates argue that the illicit objective of the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates is to control the multimillion-dollar market related to organizing, promoting, sponsoring and fundraising for the forums; to artificially advantage the Democratic and Republican Party candidates by excluding all rivals; and to impair competition in the marketplace of ideas and the marketplace of the candidates themselves.

HOODWINKING

First, some history. From 1976 until 1988, the presidential debates were run by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters. The organization wasnt averse to third-party voices, to the apparent annoyance of the majors.

In 1980, the league invited independent presidential candidate John Anderson to join President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan on the debate stage. Carter refused to debate with Anderson; Reagan refused to debate without Anderson; and when the lights came up on the stage in Baltimore on Sept. 21, 1980, the president was missing. Carter was excoriated, and you may remember what happened next.

Not long after that, the heads of the Republican and Democratic parties  Frank J. Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk  began to wrest control of the debates from the league, the suit says.

In 1985, Fahrenkopf and Kirk signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Presidential Candidate Joint Appearances, stating that future joint appearances should be principally and jointly sponsored and conducted by the Republican and Democratic National Committees.

The League of Women Voters challenged the move, arguing that putting control in the hands of the two dominant parties would deprive voters of one of the only chances they have to see the candidates outside of their controlled campaign environment.

Nontheless, in 1987, the RNCs Fahrenkopf and the DNCs Kirk created the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates. At a news conference, Fahrenkopf said debates were not likely to include third-party candidates, and Kirk said he believed they should be excluded.

At first, it appeared that the commission and the league might cooperate: The commission would sponsor the first presidential debate of 1988, and the league would sponsor the last, they agreed. But two weeks before the leagues show was slated to air, the campaigns of George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis delivered a 16-page list of debate conditions that were negotiated between the two parties behind closed doors, in the leagues words.

That list demanded that the campaigns control everything from the selection of questioners to the composition of the audience to access for the press. The league balked, calling the demands outrageous.

Never in the history of the League of Women Voters have two candidates organizations come to us with such stringent, unyielding and self-serving demands, league President Nancy M. Neuman said at the time.

The League of Women Voters is withdrawing its sponsorship of the presidential debate scheduled for mid-October because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter, she said. The parties aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and honest answers to tough questions. The league has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.

Over the intervening 28 years, there has been one commission-organized debate that included a third-party candidate: Ross Perot in 1992, with Bill Clinton and the senior Bush. That was allowed to occur because both parties thought Perots inclusion would ultimately help them, but that may have backfired, the suit contends: Perots public support nearly tripled after the debate, from 7 percent to 19 percent.

It hasnt happened again.

The commission is the alter ego of the RNC and the DNC, the suit says. The admitted goal of the commission at its birth was to create and maintain a monopoly, and sole control, over the presidential debates, and maintain monopoly control over the presidential debates market, the presidential elections market, and the electoral politics market.

DISMISSED

The commission has faced similar suits before. It asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Johnson, Stein, Gray et al dont have legal standing to file because their alleged injuries are entirely speculative and not the result of any of defendants actions, and the court cannot fashion any remedy that would provide redress for their alleged injuries.

Straining to cast its efforts as a violation of the antitrust laws is a novel, but deeply flawed, theory, the commission argued.

Over the years, televised candidate debates have been magnets for lawsuits brought by candidates with very modest public support who seek to litigate their way onto the debate stage with candidates who enjoy far greater public support, it argued. While such plaintiffs often cast themselves as guardians of the public interest, typically, as here, the plaintiffs urge that the law happens to require an approach to debate invitations that would result in their (but not all candidates) inclusion in the debates in question.

It does not advance the public interest in robust debates for the law to be used as a blunt instrument to compel an overly-inclusive approach to issuing debate invitations, the commission argued. A debate sponsor faced with the prospect of cacophony on the one hand, and liability for not inviting enough candidates on the other, might choose not to hold a debate at all.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer agreed with the commission, dismissing the suit on Aug. 24.

(B)ecause plaintiffs have no standing and because antitrust laws govern commercial markets and not political activity, those claims fail as a matter of well-established law, she wrote. Plaintiffs alleged injuries are wholly speculative and are dependent entirely on media coverage decisions. The alleged injuries  failure to receive media coverage and to garner votes, federal matching funds, and campaign contributions  were caused by the lack of popular support of the candidates and their parties sufficient to attract media attention  .

Plaintiffs have not alleged a concrete injury traceable to the commission, and thus they lack standing.

On Sept. 1, Johnson, Stein, Gray et al asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reverse that decision.

This charade will have to stop, Gray said. People think that these debates are neutral, but they arent. Its all about money and power.

Contact the writer: tsforza@scng.com
Four years ago, Csanad Szegedi was a deputy leader of the radical nationalist Jobbik party in Hungary, and he blamed Jews as well as the Roma people for his countrys problems. But then he learned he was a Jew himself, and everything changed.

Szegedi was once notorious for his extremist views and anti-Semitic statements, and as a leader of Jobbik, he helped co-found the Hungarian Guard  a paramilitary group that marched through Roma camps wearing black uniforms reminiscent of the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross party that ruled Hungary during the Second World War. He was regarded as a rising star in the anti-immigration party Jobbik, the third biggest party in Hungarys National Assembly, but after making a startling discovery four years ago, Szegedi realized that his life to that point and everything he thought he believed in had all been a lie.

In 2012, the young politician discovered that his own grandmother was Jewish, and had been wearing long sleeves or plasters in the summer to conceal the Auschwitz concentration camp number tattooed on her arm. She was a Holocaust survivor, but Szegedi didnt even believe the Holocaust had happened. He later described how shocking this revelation was to him First of all because I realized the Holocaust really happened.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Although the discovery of his Jewish heritage had shaken him to the core and made him doubt his convictions, Csanad Szegedi remained a part of Jobbik for several months, and the party leader even considered keeping him around as a tame Jew, to fight anti-Semitism accusations against the party. He eventually walked away, though, and completely turned his life around.

In the four years since discovering he was a Jew, Csanad Szegedi became an Orthodox Jew, took the Hebrew name Dovid, visited the Auschwitz concentration camp, had circumcision surgery, started eating kosher and regularly attending synagogue. He is now preparing to make allyah (the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel) with his family.

Israel is an amazing country, and I believe that every Jew who lives in the Diaspora [outside of Israel] seriously considers making aliyah to Israel, at least once in his life, Szegedi told Israeli newspaper Maariv. There are many more positive elements than negative elements in being a Jew, and the biggest gift for any Jew is the existence of the State of Israel. After the nightmares that my relatives underwent in the Holocaust, my family and I very much want to be part of the positive dream that Israel constitutes for us.



The 34-year-old politician describes now describes converting to Judaism as having been reborn. I had this set value system that I had to change completely. I had had this value system until I was 30 and I had to admit that it was all wrong and to find the will to change, he recently said.

The paradox of Hungarian nationalism, is that we are proud of our own achievements, but were not willing to look at those of other peoples. Were afraid their cultures might be as valuable as ours, Szegedi adds. Four years ago, he would have proudly called himself a nationalist, but today he is a completely different person.

Regarding future political ambitions in Israel, Csanad Szegedi says he is currently focusing on his activities against anti-Semitism in Europe, adding that professionally, I will immediately look for bodies and organisations with which I can coordinate in the fight against anti-Semitism, and I will of course seek to join the World Zionist Organizations extensive activities in Israel and abroad.

Sources: BBC, International Business Times, The Independent
Students at the Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu, south-west China, are apparently studying harder and sitting in on extra classes just to see their impossibly beautiful female educators.

Photos of 16 attractive female teachers from Sichuan Normal University have become a hot topic on Chinese social media websites, after they were uploaded online by their school. The good-looking teachers, who specialize in a variety of majors, including singing, dancing, artistic design, theater and English, were apparently selected to pose for the photos in a bid to change Chinese peoples views on successful female teachers, who are often perceived as old, ruthless and cold. The campaign was a big hit, and after the success of the first batch of photos posted in May, the university published a second series of photos on September 19.

A teacher surnamed Xu, who is in charge of the universitys social media publicity department, told the Daily Mail that the teachers were selected based on their popularity, academic achievements and physical appearance. Because were a teachers college. Our students will be teachers in the future. We wanted these lectures to be their examples and to show them what they could become, Xu said, adding that students are very willing to take their lessons. Some said they would sit in on extra classes just to see these teachers.

How being lectured by young beautiful women could show students what they could become is a puzzling mystery to me, but the reaction online has been overwhelmingly positive. People wont stop praising the teachers on their looks, with some calling them goddesses and impossibly beautiful. If I were still studying, I would surely work harder, one WeChat user commented.

Despite the generally positive feedback, there were a few comments that criticized Sichuan Normal University for relying on the physical attributes of its female teachers to promote itself. Its no use to say they are pretty. The key is if they know how to teach and if they teach hard, one person wrote.

This isnt the first time the attractive teachers of Sichuan Normal University made news headlines. In 2014, photos of an young English teacher went viral online, with reports that she had brought the attendance rate of male students to a historic high.

Photos: Sichuan Normal University
Saudi Arabia is gearing up for a lobbying salvo in the U.S. and in September hired two lobbying giants  Glover Park Group and Squire Patton Boggs  to represent the government of that Arabian Peninsula nation on Capitol Hill.

The pacts come soon after the passage of a Congressional bill titled the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which amends the federal judicial code to allow the families of terrorist attack victims to sue foreign governments. That bill was introduced in May in the Senate and sponsored by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX). A House bill appeared in September. The bill was passed by Congress on September 9.

A majority of the 19 hijackers responsible for the 9/11 attacks  15 of them  were Saudi citizens. A 28-page declassified 9/11 report released in July by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee (which was originally redacted from the original 9/11 Commission Report prepared by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and released in 2004) suggested possible ties between some of the 9/11 hijackers and Saudi officials.

The report read: According to various FBI documents and CIA memorandum, some of the September 11 hijackers, while in the United States, apparently had contacts with individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government. The report also noted that it should be clear that this Joint Inquiry has made no final determination as to the reliability or sufficiency of the information regarding those alleged contacts.

President Obama vetoed JASTA on September 23. In a three-page message to Congress regarding his decision, Obama said the bill undermines core U.S. interests, and would neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks.

Congress is currently attempting to override the Presidents veto.

According to Foreign Agents Registration Act documents filed on September 20, Squire Patton Boggs has been hired by the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh to advise it in connection with legal and strategic policy advice and advocacy on foreign and related issues in the U.S. government.

Squire Patton Boggs is charging Saudi Arabia $100,000 per month for the work. Representation was effective beginning September 19. The pact was signed by global managing partner Ed Newberry, who will be joined by former Senator and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS); former Senator John Breaux, (D-LA); and Jack Deschauer, former director of Senate affairs for the Department of Defense and a veteran of Qorvis/MSL and Levick Strategic Communications.

Glover Park Group has been hired by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia to provide communications and government relations counsel and support" to Saudi Arabia "in connection with general foreign policy and related matters, as well as legislative, public policy and media-related activities of interest.

That agreement, also filed September 20, was signed by Glover Park managing director Joel Johnson, who is former senior advisor for policy and communication to President Clinton and chief legislative and communications advisor to former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD).

Glover Park is owned by British ad/PR conglomerate WPP.

Saudi Arabia in 2002 hired Patton Boggs through D.C. firm Qorvis/MSL (then Qorvis Communications) amid widespread U.S. accusations that the country was partially responsible the 2001 terrorist attacks. Qorvis/MSL has remained Saudi Arabias go-to PR counsel ever since, and was still doing work for the nation last year. Publicis Groupe acquired Qorvis in 2014.
Washington, D.C.-based healthcare and life sciences agency Spectrum has opened a new office in Chicago.

Spectrums new Windy City digs, located on Clark Street in the heart of the Loop, will officially open in October. Agency officials told ODwyers that the new Midwest outpost will house teams representing all of the Spectrums practice areas and has a capacity for more than a dozen employees, with contingencies for growth. The healthcare and public affairs firm is actively recruiting for positions at the VP, account supervisor and senior account executive levels at the new location, agency officials told ODwyers.

David Zitlow

We decided to expand our operations to Chicago in the second quarter of this year to better serve our existing clients and because of the continued investment in and growth of health technology in the region, Spectrum president Jonathan Wilson said. We also wanted to offer Spectrums unique brand of independent, health, science and technology agency experience and One Spectrum culture to the considerable talent pool that exists in Chicago.

The new Chicago office will be led by David Zitlow, who has been appointed to the role of executive vice president and will spearhead the firms health technology practice.

Zitlow joins Spectrum from Burson-Marsteller, where he served as chair of that WPP units U.S. healthcare practice. Prior to that, he was the chief marketing and communications officer for biotechnology company CBR Systems and was formerly executive vice president and healthcare practice leader at GolinHarris.

When asked what impact a Trump or Clinton presidency could have on the healthcare communications landscape and how that industrys professionals serve their clients, Zitlow said he hopes the presidential debates beginning tonight provide some much-needed clarity regarding how each candidate plans to address the needs for advancements in research and increased access to medical care.

Clearly, one candidate stands for universal coverage and the other is advocating for wholescale reform. But both plans are lacking on specifics. In my opinion, the challenge each candidate needs to address is how he or she will balance the need for increased access to care with the importance of investing in technology and research that will deliver new and better approaches to treatment, Zitlow told ODwyers. Theres no question that innovation is disrupting every aspect of healthcare  from how diseases are diagnosed to how new drugs are developed to how and where care is delivered. Our clients are on the forefront of innovation and will benefit from a President who understands the importance of working with industry on new solutions to the complexity of the healthcare marketplace.

Spectrum, which also maintains a New York location, opened an office in Atlanta last year. That outpost is led by executive VP Amanda Sellers.

Spectrum in 2015 accounted for more than $14.8 million in net fees, revealing 83.5 percent year-over-year growth. The agency celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
26/9/2016 - Taxes on the labour income of the average worker in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries totalled 21.7% of total labour costs in 2013, one-third lower than in OECD countries, where the average was 35.9%, according to the first edition of Taxing Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than 90% of the difference between LAC and OECD is due to personal income tax (13% of total labour costs).

The new report, covering 20 LAC countries, was produced jointly by the Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Centre and the Centre for Tax and Policy Administration both of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report was launched today in Buenos Aires during the VI LAC Fiscal Policy Forum hosted by Argentinas Ministry of Treasury and Public Finances.

The relatively low level of the LAC tax wedge - which measures the difference between an employers labour costs and an employees corresponding net take-home pay  reflects very low average personal income tax (PIT) rates. In fact, Mexico was the only country included in the report where workers had to pay PIT at the average wage level. In comparison, PIT represented 13.3% of the labour costs of an average worker in OECD countries. In the LAC region, the vast majority of the working population have incomes below the minimum PIT thresholds due to generous specific allowances. The prevalence of informal labour markets and tax evasion also contribute to the low levels of PIT revenues.

The tax wedge for the average one-earner married couple with two children in LAC countries was 21.4%, only 0.3 percentage points less than that of the single worker, according to the report. The corresponding difference in OECD countries, where working family benefits are substantially higher, was 9.5 percentage points. Family allowance schemes exist in only five of the 20 LAC countries  Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay  and are unavailable at the average wage level in Chile.

A special chapter of the report explores the relationships between taxes on wages, characteristics of labour markets and levels of labour informality in LAC countries. The interaction between lower earnings thresholds of social security contributions (SSCs) -generally at the minimum wage level- and social security programme contribution rates increases the costs of adhering to social programmes for those with earnings in the lower and middle-income deciles. Meanwhile, the cost of formal labour market participation, as a percentage of earnings, decreases for those in the upper half of the earnings distribution with earnings above the minimum thresholds.

The analysis shows that high rates of informality are correlated with high formalisation costs, especially for those at the lower-end and in the low-middle range of the income distribution. This adds to the many other non-tax factors that explain the decisions of individuals in the LAC region to either join or remain in the informal labour market.

Key findings:

The tax wedge across LAC countries varies widely, from 34.6% in Argentina and 32.2% in Brazil to 11% in Trinidad and Tobago and 10% in Honduras. Colombia and Uruguay also have levels above 30%, while Guatemalas tax wedge is also less than 15%.

Chile (19.1% of gross wage earnings) had the highest personal average tax rate (defined as PIT plus mandatory employee SSCs) in the region followed by Uruguay (18.0%) and Argentina (17.0%). The lowest rates were in Honduras (3.6%), Guatemala (4.0%) and Trinidad and Tobago (4.5%). The average amongst the LAC countries was 9.3% compared with the OECD average of 25.4%.

For the single worker without children, LAC tax systems start to exhibit slight progressivity around the eighth income decile as workers in some countries start to pay PIT. On the other hand, for a one-earner married couple with two children, the average tax system is slightly progressive at lower levels of income. It then becomes proportional in the middle-income deciles before matching the single worker without children at the upper deciles of the income distribution.

Requests to receive a copy of Taxing Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean by e-mail should be sent to Bochra.Kriout@oecd.org.

Further information is available at: www.oecd.org/development/taxing-wages-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-2016-9789264262607-en.htm.

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Members of Team Offutt, veterans, civic leaders and local community members came together during a luncheon held to honor prisoners of war and those who never returned from war at the Patriot Club Sept. 16.

This is one of the most important things we do in the Air Force, said Col. David Berg, 55th Wing vice commander. This reaffirms that we, as active-duty members, will never leave another military member behind.

As part of the event, guest speaker Matthew Jones, retired U.S. Army and Vietnam veteran, spoke about his experience in Vietnam.

I had comrades who were wounded, killed or MIA, Jones said. I almost made the MIA list - I spent 48 hours in the jungles after my helicopter was shot down. I was finally rescuedI was one of the lucky ones. I would never know the anguish of captivity and my family would never have to face the pain of not knowing my fate.

Jones said these types of events are important in recognizing the sacrifices service members have made in defense of our country.

Were here to honor the courage of Americans; captives and our missing countryman who risked everything facing the worst of war to preserve the best of America, he said. Were here to remember the pledge our nation has made to account for every service person who has not come home.

Jones also took the opportunity to recognize the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the work they do in locating and identifying missing military members.

There are still 1,618 missing and unaccounted for in my conflict, Vietnam, he said. World War II still has 73,121 missing, and Korea has 7,799 missing. Every year we decrease the numbers but it can be a slow process. I want you to remember that these numbers are fathers, brothers, sons and husbands. We must never allow these service people to pass from our nations consciousness.

As part of the luncheon, a Missing Man Table ceremony was performed by the Offutt Honor Guard. The ceremony, conducted at many military functions, includes an empty dinner table set for one for the POWs and MIAs who cannot attend.

The event was organized by Offutts Chapter 984 of the Air Force Sergeants Association in conjunction with the national day of recognition honoring POWs and MIAs. A memorial POW/MIA 5k run was also held prior to the luncheon as part of the remembrance events.

POW/MIA days are important, said Tech. Sgt. William Adams, Chapter 984 AFSA member and event organizer. They afford us an opportunity to honor those service members who have yet to make it back home. Additionally, they send a clear message to current service members that if they ever face a similar fate, this nation will do whatever it can to bring them home.
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Cuban President Raul Castro holds a welcoming ceremony for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) before their talks in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 24, 2016. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

China on Saturday pledged to further forge ahead bilateral relations with Cuba through enhancing high-level exchange of visits and promoting economic cooperation.

The pledge came as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday.

Li arrived in the capital of the Caribbean country on Saturday afternoon following a visit to Canada.

Hailing the progress made in the past 56 years since the two countries set up diplomatic ties, Li said China has firmly adhered to the policy of China-Cuba friendship, supported Cuba in following a socialist path and promoted bilateral pragmatic cooperation.

China stands ready to further enhance high-level exchange of visits, deepen economic cooperation and step up coordination on international affairs with Cuba so as to push forward bilateral ties, said Li.

Both China and Cuba are currently facing urgent tasks of developing the economy and improving the livelihood of the people, said the premier.

China wants to focus on development and cooperation with the Cuban side, supports Cuba's industrialization process and would like to conduct cooperation with Cuba in infrastructural construction and industrial equipment production, Li said.

The Chinese premier also called on the two countries to expand trade and investment cooperation, share development experience and make more frequent people-to-people exchanges.

Raul Castro, for his part, spoke highly of the historic significance of Li's visit, the first official visit by a Chinese premier in 56 years.

He said Cuba agrees with China on measures to develop bilateral ties and is willing to learn from China's development experience.

Cuba looks forward to increasing high-level exchanges with China, and expanding down-to-earth cooperation with China in trade and education, Castro added.

He also suggested the two countries enhance coordination on international affairs so as to safeguard common interests of the vast number of developing countries.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of some 20 cooperative agreements in areas including economic technology, finance, production capacity, telecommunication, environment protection, and inspection and quarantine.

Li arrived in Havana Saturday for a three-day official visit to Cuba, the first official visit to the Latin American country by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1960.

At the airport, a welcoming ceremony was held for Li, which was attended by Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's first vice-president of the councils of state and ministers, and some other senior officials.
Agricultural News

Oklahoma Tribes to Receive Portion of New Funding for Tribal Community Development From USDA

At the 8th Tribal Nations Conference hosted today by President Barack Obama in Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack underscored the Administration's support for tribal communities with $9 million in new funds to support community development and education. Since 2009, under Vilsack, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested more than $3 billion in economic development efforts for Native Americans.





"Since day one of this Administration, USDA has been committed to a Department that works side by side with Tribal governments and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives," said Vilsack. "We have expanded investment in Native and Tribal community businesses, education, food security, housing, health care and infrastructure. Today's announcement continues our efforts to promote economic development and job creation in Tribal communities for years to come."





Earlier today, President Obama kicked off the 2016 White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington. This event provides tribal leaders from the 567 federally recognized tribes with the opportunity to interact directly with high-level federal government officials and members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs. Each federally recognized tribe is invited to send one representative to the conference. This year's conference builds upon the President's commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country and to improve the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives.





At the event, Vilsack made three significant funding announcements, one of which affects Oklahoma directly.





 $2.3 million in grants to 13 tribal organizations for agricultural and conservation training, outreach and technical assistance in 15 states, including Oklahoma. The grants are part of USDA's Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, known as the 2501 Program. The grantees will leverage USDA funds along with partner funding, and serve tribal groups in Oklahoma, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.





 $3.8 million in grants for 28 projects that will help Tribal communities and businesses in 15 states. USDA is providing the funding through the Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. The grants can be used for technical assistance, training and other activities to help develop or expand small and emerging businesses in rural areas.





 $2.9 million in grants to help 20 Tribal colleges make equipment, infrastructure, facilities and educational improvements. The grants will be provided through USDA's Tribal College Initiative Grant program, which supports tribal land grant colleges and universities. The program is an important source of funding for higher education in Native American communities. In 2011 and 2013, USDA Rural Development awarded Nebraska Indian Community College two grants totaling $280,000 to build a classroom and training facility for construction and vehicle maintenance. The new, 4,000-square-foot facility is large enough to provide hands-on training.





In conjunction with the funding announcements, U.S. government partners, including USDA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) affirming the U.S. government's commitment to protect tribal treaty rights and similar rights relating to natural resources through enhanced interagency coordination and collaboration. Additionally, another agreement was signed to extend an earlier MOU regarding Native American sacred sites.





Finally, in support of today's gathering of Tribal leaders in Washington, the USDA Forest Service published a new final rule in the Federal Register ensuring that federally recognized Indian tribes have access to forest products for traditional and cultural purposes. For more information on this rule, please see the Federal Register notice.





USDA has significantly expanded its support for Tribes and tribal communities since 2009, providing $3.1 billion in Rural Development programs and services, including $553 million to build or upgrade more than 300 tribal facilities and $55 million to support Native-owned businesses and economic development. To better coordinate and target USDA support for challenged areas, USDA launched the StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity initiative in 2010. Today, StrikeForce has invested more than $23.5 billion in 970 persistently-poor counties, parishes, boroughs, census and Tribal areas across the nation. In support of education, USDA supports scholarships for students to attend Tribal Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, and provides additional funding to support research and extension in American Indian communities. For more information on Federal housing support programs in Indian country go to: www.usda.gov/otr.





Secretary Vilsack has made it a priority to build a new era for civil rights at USDA and ensure that all customers and employees are treated fairly, and all Americans are treated with dignity and respect. Under Vilsack's leadership, USDA announced the historic Keepseagle settlement agreement with Native American farmers who have faced discrimination by USDA in past decades. USDA established the Office of Advocacy and Outreach in 2010 to improve access to USDA programs and enhance the viability and profitability of small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. And to improve relations with Native American tribes, USDA named the first Senior Advisor on Tribal Relations in 2012. For an interactive look at USDA's work to improve our Civil Rights record, visit the USDA Results project on Medium.com and read Chapter Eight: The People's Department: A New Era for Civil Rights at USDA.





Source - USDA













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Chinese scientists on Sunday maneuvered the country's Tiangong-2 space lab to a preset orbit 393 kilometers above Earth's surface, in preparation for a planned docking with the Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft set to launch next month.

Tiangong-2, which blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the back of a Long March-2F T2 rocket on Sept. 15, has already gone through about nine days of on-orbit testing before Sunday's maneuver, according to Li Jian, deputy head of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

"All test results suggest the space lab is in good condition," Li said.

Earlier reports said China's future space station, which the country plans to put into service around 2022, will also be orbiting the Earth at approximately the same height - 393 kilometers above ground.

The Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft is expected to carry two astronauts into space to dock with the Tiangong-2 in October. The astronauts will work in the lab for 30 days before returning to Earth.

Li said the docking will be the country's first-ever simulation of future space station docking technologies, which will see the manned spacecraft "catching up with the space station using its own space maneuvering capacities."

In April 2017, China's first space cargo ship Tianzhou-1, which literally means heavenly vessel, will also be sent into orbit to dock with the space lab, providing it with fuel and other supplies.
China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Sunday said police have seized over 3,300 people for stealing and trading private information of Chinese citizens via the Internet in a national campaign.

The suspects were linked to over 1,200 criminal cases, the MPS said in a statement. They include 270 insiders from banking, education, telecommunication, securities and other sectors, in addition to some 90 professional hackers.

In one case, it said, 13 people led by a suspect surnamed Qiu gained access to 60 million items of private information linked to popular Chinese online shopping portals such as taobao.com, jd.com, and dangdang.com.

A total of 420,000 items of illegitimate and fraudulent information have been removed from the Internet since the campaign started in April, the statement added.

The development came as authorities try to raise awareness against rampant cyber and telecom fraud across the nation.

Telecom fraud became a public sore point in China after a case last month in which Xu Yuyu, an 18-year-old high school graduate in Shandong Province, died of cardiac arrest after losing her tuition money to a telecom fraudster.

According to the MPS, infringement of private information via the Internet often serves as a precursor to telecom fraud.

It said the ministry will keep up high pressure on crimes that involve stealing, trading and illegally taking advantage of citizens' private information, and will work to urge e-commerce, instant messaging and social networking platforms to step up internal supervision.
Every day thousands of pounds of fresh produce are thrown away because they arent cosmetically perfect.

Next month, local chefs will chop and roast misshapen potatoes, crooked carrots, disfigured squash and other imperfect produce before simmering them together to create an autumn stew that will be served at a local nonprofits fundraiser.

Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue, which picks up food that businesses would otherwise throw away and redistributes it to food pantries, on Oct. 8 will hold the Great Food Makeover  A No Food Waste Fest.

Im blown away all the time, said Beth Ostdiek Smith, founder and president of Saving Grace. The food looks great. Its not wilted. We arent picking up garbage. Its fresh, healthy food. It isnt sellable anymore, but its definitely still edible.

During the event, which is open to the public, multiple bands will perform, providing a range of local music. Games and activities will keep kids entertained, while adults can enjoy cooking demonstrations hosted by local chefs or browse the interactive booths.

The event will run from noon to 4 p.m. at Turner Park in Midtown Crossing. Tickets are available online at savinggracefoodrescue.org and cost $12 in advance or $15 at the door. VIP tickets are available for $50, which includes special tastings.

More than 50 volunteers are needed to assist in the event. Anyone interested can find more information on the website.

Last year the group hosted an international food waste and awareness event, Feeding the 5,000. In one day, the organization served 1,000 free bowls of stew. The event this year will be similar, Smith said, but will include sponsors and donors in the festivities. She expects 800 to 1,000 community members to attend.

Smith began the nonprofit three years ago when she became inspired by a food rescue operation run by a friend in Arizona. She previously worked in inner-city schools and then as an event coordinator and was disgusted by the amount of food she saw being thrown in the garbage daily.

Smith said she took a leap of faith and started Saving Grace to help become a solution for hunger and landfill waste, of which food is the top contributor within Omaha. She hopes to make healthful, nutritious meals more available to low-income community members, because access to fresh produce is limited at food pantries, which rely heavily on nonperishable goods.

We dont want anyone to create any extra, Smith said. There is so much food already out there. It just needs to get to someone who will use it.

Saving Grace provides food to 23 charities and food pantries regularly. The food is picked up every morning and delivered that afternoon to ensure freshness. Donated food can be prepared items, such as leftover catering, or dairy, bread, meat, fruit and vegetables.

In July the organization handed out its 1 millionth pound of food and is continuing to exceed distribution goals. In an average month 35,000 to 45,000 pounds of food are distributed. The group set a record in July, redistributing over 75,000 pounds.

During this time of year we get more because there are more fruits and vegetables available, and there are a lot of events happening, Smith said.

The organization now has two refrigerated food trucks, but with growing demand, Smith expects to add a third truck within the next year.

Smith wants to encourage community members to be aware of their own food waste and to join the movement.

It just makes sense to do when 40 percent of our food is going to the landfill and one in five kids are going to bed hungry every night, Smith said.
This springs live-streaming of Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholders meeting on the Internet may have trimmed the number of people who attended the gathering in person and stayed in Omaha hotels that weekend.

But 17 million people have seen at least parts of that April 30 meeting, the first Berkshire session shown online. Thats far more than the total attendance in the 51 years that Warren Buffett has been in charge of the company.

That huge Internet audience might actually persuade more people to trek to Omaha for future meetings, if attendance trends at conventions and sporting events apply to Berkshires Woodstock for Capitalists.

Yahoo Finance announced Monday that it also would live-stream the next meeting, to be held May 6, 2017, at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.

Were thrilled that Warren Buffett and his team came back to us to bring this amazing event to the world, Yahoo Finance Editor Andy Serwer said Monday in a press release.

Convention organizers have wrestled in recent years with the question of whether live-streaming their meetings would hurt attendance, said Deb Ward, spokeswoman for the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau.

So far theyve found that organizations benefit by having more people familiar with their activities, and if the meetings are valuable, more come to events in person.

Its like a football or baseball team building fans interest by broadcasting games to local TV or radio audiences, building enthusiasm that can fill seats in a stadium or ballpark.

Youre creating new audiences instead of taking an audience away, Ward said. You get people excited who have no clue what its like going to a Berkshire Hathaway meeting, and they say That looks interesting, Id like to go. 

But the Berkshire meeting is not a typical convention, as she noted. The main event is a five-hour question-and-answer session with Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, sitting behind a table on a stage, answering questions from shareholders, journalists and stock market analysts.

If there are home runs or strikeouts, theyre all verbal.

Yahoo Finances live-streaming included pre-meeting interviews and a tour of the Berkshire exhibitors who occupy the CenturyLink exhibition hall, and live analysis during the meetings lunch break.

In the past, Buffett urged his shareholders to attend the meeting in person, partly to experience his hometown and partly as a reward for those faithful enough to make the trip. He had banned people from making audio or video recordings of the meeting, mostly to avoid someone selling the recordings.

As Buffetts financial success grew and the estimated number of Berkshire shareholders passed 1 million, the crowds at the meeting grew too, reaching an estimated 44,000 at the 2015 meeting, which Berkshire promoted as a celebration of its 50th year under Buffetts control.

That celebration may have attracted extra people, meaning the 2016 drop-off likely was not due to the live-streaming alone.

Fans had been asking that the meeting be available online, and Buffett decided to experiment with Yahoo to give shareholders and business owners who couldnt come to Omaha  especially those in foreign countries  a chance to see him and Munger in action.

He asked that the meeting be live-translated into Mandarin Chinese, an indication of his interest in that country as a potential place to invest Berkshires $60 billion-plus in cash. The 2017 meeting will be translated into Mandarin, too.

Buffett estimated that the 2016 crowd in Omaha was down about 10 percent from 2015, although there was no exact attendance count. Figures from the Convention & Visitors Bureau show that there were about 560 fewer hotel rooms rented on the Friday and Saturday of the 2016 meeting than in 2015, and the hotel occupancy percentage declined, too.

But the 2016 hotel rentals were still 1,000 ahead of 2014, and the city has about 1,000 more hotel rooms than two years ago, Ward said.

Berkshire businesses reported good sales during the 2016 meeting weekend, including $9.3 million at the Nebraska Furniture Mart on the meeting day alone.

Some regular attendees from other cities have said they stayed home and watched the meeting online, but seeing Buffett in person and taking part in related activities during the days surrounding the meeting remain a strong draw.

For next year, Ward said, more people have seen what kind of experience it is, and maybe theyll come to see it in person. Youre coming to see a rock star.

The Omaha World-Herald is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
A man accused of breaking into the home of the brother of the late Nebraska punter Sam Foltz is headed to trial in Greeley County District Court.

Scott L. Davis, 38, of Lennox, South Dakota, is charged with felony theft over $5,000 and criminal mischief in connection with the theft of global positioning system units from a highway construction site. Monday, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Davis also will be charged in connection with a break-in at the Jordan Foltz home, Greeley County Attorney Cindy Bassett said. The prosecutor said she will file felony charges of burglary and theft along with misdemeanor charges of trespassing and criminal mischief against Davis.

Officials said both the theft from the home and the theft from the construction site occurred Sept. 3 near Greeley, a central Nebraska farm community.

The break-in at the Foltz home occurred while the family was in Lincoln for a tribute to Sam Foltz, who was killed in a car crash in Wisconsin in July. Davis is accused of stealing a television and tools from the home and a vehicle there.

The break-in stoked outrage among Husker fans who concluded that the Foltz residence had been targeted by a burglar who likely knew that the owner was out of town for the tribute.

Davis is scheduled to appear in district court on Oct. 17.

Davis also was charged in York County with third-offense driving under the influence of alcohol and driving while his license was revoked. He filed court papers saying he is unemployed and unable to afford a lawyer, so a public defender was appointed to represent him.

A York County sheriffs deputy had arrested Davis on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on Interstate 80. An inventory of the vehicle Davis was driving included a gas container with the name Foltz written on it. A TV belonging to Foltz also was found.

Davis is being held in the York County Jail on $20,000 bail and would have to post $100,000 bail in Greeley County. Davis would need 10 percent of both amounts, or $12,000, to be released.
Two drivers were involved in the March deadly collision.

Carl Gauff, 60, was killed after an SUV hit him head-on.

David Hadi, 39, on Monday was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison, convicted of drunken driving and colliding with Gauff.

But the bond between their wives endures  proving resiliency to loss and heartbreak.

On Sunday night, Jacqueline Gauff visited Miriam Yunis and spoke about the letters the Gauff family submitted to the court for sentencing, a relative said.

Yunis updated Gauff on her four children and said that theyd like to go to the library more often.

Gauff offered to take the children to the library when she can and agreed to have another relative tutor one of Yunis children in math.

The family also will invite Yunis family to Thanksgiving dinner and make sure the family has food for Christmas, said Sandra Alcaraz, a relative.

We want to be there for (Yunis) and her kids, Alcaraz said. Its not her fault.

Hadi pleaded no contest in July to a motor vehicle homicide charge. Prosecutors dropped another charge: DUI causing serious bodily injury.

Under state sentencing guidelines, Hadi must serve 15 years in prison before he is eligible for parole and must be released after 25 years. He was given credit for 198 days already served.

Im angry, frustrated and glad he got that sentence, said Nanone Bell, Gauffs sister. I will miss (my brother).

Police have said that on March 13, Hadi was driving a 2000 Ford Expedition east in a westbound lane of L Street about 8 p.m. Near 36th Street the SUV collided with a 2011 Hyundai Sonata driven by Carl Gauff, who was driving west on L Street.

Earlier, Yunis had attempted to take away the keys from her husband.

Gauff was taken to Nebraska Medical Center, where he died.

Gauffs 15-year-old grandson Dontae Chavez suffered a lacerated spleen and a concussion.

Hadis blood-alcohol level after the crash was .308, almost four times the legal limit of .08, officials have said.

High is an understatement, Douglas County District Judge Thomas Otepka said about the blood-alcohol level, adding that Hadi had drunk 2 pints of vodka starting that morning.

Hadi didnt address the court, possibly adding to court officials belief that he didnt express much remorse, according to the presentencing report.

His lawyer, Matt Miller, said Hadi showed remorse in other ways, such as agreeing to a plea deal instead of putting the Gauff family through a trial.

Hadi was born in Sudan, Miller said, spent time at a refugee camp in Ethiopia and was exposed to violence.

Sometimes you get a little numb to certain things, numb to death, and I dont think thats being unremorseful in any way, Miller said.

Otepka said that in a presentencing interview with probation officials Hadi hardly spoke about the victim or the impact of his actions that night.

If he fled a country because of death and he came here and caused death, theres some irony in there, tragically, Otepka said.

Yunis, dressed in bright African clothing, wore a button that bore Gauffs photo and the words Gone but never forgotten. More than a dozen family members and friends of Gauff in the courtroom also wore similar buttons or T-shirts.

Josephine Alcaraz, Jacqueline Gauffs sister, read a letter to the court.

What a wonderful and amazing man you took from us, the note began. I was truly blessed to have him in my life.

Josephine said she struggled with hate and anger, but then she met a kind woman: Yunis.

Do I hate you? Josephine rhetorically asked Hadi. No. Am I angry? Yes. You made a stupid choice to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Yunis began to sob, clutching the hands of her children, who had been silent the entire hearing.

Otepka paused the proceeding.

I should have said this before, he said. I dont allow children in this courtroom.

The three children left with a friend.

Yunis stayed, alone on the courtroom bench. But not for long.

Sandra Alcaraz went to her side and hugged her, and Yunis rested her head on Alcarazs shoulder.
Northwest High School students and parents said they were shaken by a fight that ended in a stabbing Monday, but hoped it was an isolated incident that wouldnt continue to disrupt the school.

Violence broke out in a restroom, where a fight between two girls escalated into a stabbing that left a 16-year-old girl with serious injuries.

Im not worried to send my daughter back there tomorrow, Jennifer Boatwright, a parent who heads the schools volunteer group, said Monday. The staff and the adults that are there working all have a true passion for helping the kids, and theyre going to do everything they can to keep everybody safe.

According to a police report and email sent home to parents, the two students, both juniors, were involved in a fight at Northwest shortly after 11:30 a.m. One girl, identified by police as Dominique Berry, was stabbed.

The stabbing occurred in a second-floor restroom at the school, located at 8204 Crown Point Ave., Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Farmer said. A student who witnessed the incident immediately reported it to school staff, and police were called. A school resource officer  a uniformed police officer  and security personnel also responded.

The suspect in the stabbing, a 17-year-old girl, was taken into custody. The girl later was booked on suspicion of felony assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony and a misdemeanor warrant.

In the OPS student conduct code, assault resulting in an injury and possession of a weapon are among the most serious infractions a student can commit and can result in expulsion.

Berry was transported in critical condition to the Creighton University Medical Center, where she was joined by her parents and some school administrators from Northwest, Farmer said.

Police said her injuries are not life-threatening. She was listed in serious but stable condition Monday afternoon.

Police remained at the school Monday to collect evidence and to interview students, Farmer said. Because police quickly took a suspect into custody, school was not on lockdown and classes werent interrupted.

Robocalls and emails went out to parents, alerting them to the stabbing.

Students said the stabbing left the school buzzing all day. A section of the building where it happened was closed off for the police investigation.

Everyone was pretty much panicking and wanted to go home, senior Shanelle Vaughn said. Eventually, students calmed down, she said.

Her mother, Tina Vaughn, also attended Northwest and said it was a good school with teachers and staff who communicated with parents and stayed on top of issues. Still, she was scared when she got a robocall informing her of the stabbing.

Shes a senior, so she deals with a lot of girls up in here that have problems, Tina Vaughn said. Parents need to learn to raise their kids, Im sorry.

Other students and parents lamented that Northwest, which has battled a reputation as a school with discipline problems but has seen its enrollment grow in recent years, was once again attracting negative attention.

Northwest enrolled about 1,570 students last year.

Its a good school. Theres just the people in it who make bad decisions and the school has to pay, sophomore Kirsten Peaker said.

One mother, who was picking up her son, a junior, said she thinks OPS needs to take a hard look at installing metal detectors at school entrances.

Im surprised theyre not doing more to stop kids from bringing in weapons, she said.

Last fall OPS sent out a survey to parents and staff asking whether they would be comfortable with beefed-up security measures, including metal detectors and drug- and gun-sniffing dogs.

School resource officers are already posted at all high schools and middle schools, but OPS mainly uses walk-through metal detectors at selected high school sporting events.

Parrish Alternative School, Blackburn Alternative School and the Accelere Program at Blackburn do have metal detectors, and high schools were given hand-held metal detector wands several years ago.

After receiving close to 3,000 responses to the survey, OPS is moving forward with a drug-sniffing dog who can conduct random searches. Installing metal detectors at high school entrances was not as popular among respondents.

World-Herald staff writer Jay Withrow contributed to this report.

A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that the stabbing victim was a sophomore.
Chinese housing market frenzy: shocking scene at the opening of a new real estate in Hangzhou

Surveillance camera caught the shocking moment a new real estate in east China's Hangzhou city open for sale on September 24. The spree was prompted by the new restrictions on Monday which prevent people born outside Hangzhou from buying more than one property.

The said real estate was sold out in a mere couple of hours, according to reports from local media.

Hangzhou is the latest in a series of Chinese cities to introduce property curbs in a bid to deter speculators and cool the market, which has reported rapid price increases in recent months.
Bewtra break-in

At 2:16 p.m., someone tries to break into the home of Dr. Chhandra Bewtra. She and her family are not home, but the intruder is spooked by the
Three organizations have teamed up on a scholarship opportunity giving high school students the chance to compete in a presidential-style debate.

Students from across the state can submit a presidential platform, devoid of any political affiliation, in an essay and video. Two students will be selected based on their ability to address issues, look for solutions and argue for their position in an organized manner. Both students will receive $1,000 scholarships and will face off in a presidential-style debate moderated by political journalists from Nebraska newspapers. The winning student will receive an additional $1,000 scholarship.

The contest was created by Nebraskans for Civic Reform, the Nebraska Career Education & Innovation Foundation, and the Nebraska Department of Education.

Civic engagement is critical to helping explore new career pathways for Nebraskas youth, especially in public service careers like teaching, where we are seeing shortages across the state, Heath Mello, executive director of the career education agency, said in a press release.

Applicants must submit their presidential platforms before Oct. 16 online at nereform.org/2016/09/19/presidential-platform-challenge or by mail to the Presidential Platform Challenge at 1327 H St., Suite 102, Lincoln, NE 68508.
The Omaha Public Schools board will spend $12,500 to seek feedback on Superintendent Mark Evans job performance before setting any raise.

The board recently approved a contract with Category One Consulting, a local company run by two former ConAgra Foods employees, to collect and analyze feedback from staff on the job performance of Superintendent Mark Evans.

A board subcommittee devised an accountability matrix that will be used to determine any raise for the superintendent. Staff input is one category.

Evans can earn a raise if the district meets goals outlined by the board, such as higher ACT scores, improved state test scores and lower suspension and expulsion rates. Feedback from parents and staff also will be factored in.

Data on those performance metrics will be crunched this fall, now that state test scores are public.

Depending on the results, school board President Lou Ann Goding has estimated that Evans could add an additional 3 percent to 3.5 percent to his base salary, or about $8,434 to $9,839. The board renewed Evans contract last month at an annual base salary of $281,139, with board members saying any raise would be determined later.

Several board members said bringing in an outside evaluator to conduct and analyze the surveys would eliminate any conflicts of interest or nervousness among district staff when it came to filling out a confidential survey about their boss.

Board member Matt Scanlan said the board subcommittee on accountability decided the best approach was to have a third party conduct the survey.

With that approach, he said, there would not be any perceived anxiety from our (staff) that are taking the survey that the administration would be collecting and analyzing that information, Scanlan said.

The district bid out the work, and Category One Consulting submitted the lowest bid, at $12,500, Scanlan said. The board unanimously approved the contract at its meeting last week.

The cost is a tiny fraction of the overall OPS budget and will allow the board and public a glimpse into how the superintendent is perceived by administrators and teachers, Scanlan said. If Evans is to receive a raise, Scanlan said it should be based on hard data that shows the district is moving in the right direction.

It not only helps us determine what a fair raise would be for the superintendent, it also gives us feedback from the buildings, the administrators, the principals, Scanlan said, so we can analyze as a board and say Weve got a good culture going on or we can look and say This is something that needs to be addressed.

I believe its money that will be well spent, he said.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb.  Central City native and internationally known painter Todd Williams has put all 93 Nebraska counties on canvas for a statewide exhibition during Nebraskas sesquicentennial celebration next year.

Nebraska joined the union on March 1, 1867.

Its sesquicentennial has been in the planning and development stage for several years. One of the first major projects involved Williams and Painting the Legacy of Nebraska, which recognizes all 93 counties, featuring historic locations and aesthetic scenes relevant to each individual locale.

For Hall County, Williams painted the Platte River. One painting shows the river during the drought of 2012, and the other involves the annual spring migration of the sandhill cranes on the Platte River.

Growing up in Central City, Williams developed his gift of painting and art. After high school, he attended Central Community College in Columbus and graduated with an associates degree. He then earned a bachelors degree from the Kansas City Art Institute and worked 10 years for Hallmark Cards until 2002, when he decided to pursue a career as a professional artist.

He said growing up in Nebraska was always impacting his imagination and he wanted to bring its beauty to life on canvas. Williams said his goal was to paint one or two paintings of each county showing both the counties historical legacy and the diversity and simplicity of the landscape and landmarks.

Williams said his artistic influences have been the American Impressionists of the 19th century and early 20th century. American Impressionism is a style of painting characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors. He said his Nebraska paintings have now all been completed and will be part of a traveling exhibition in the state next year, including Stuhr Museum.

For the Legacy of Nebraska project, he worked with historians, sponsors and leaders in each county to determine significant subjects. The project seeks not only to educate Nebraskans about their history, but also to reach well beyond the states borders with a traveling exhibition, a Legacy of Nebraska commemorative collectors art book, and a documentary film produced by NET, Nebraskas public television affiliate.

The exhibition will open at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln on Statehood Day, March 1, 2017. The exhibition will be on view there until June 4. It will then travel to Grand Islands Stuhr Museum, where it will be on display from June 17 to Aug. 20. All 120 paintings will then move to Omahas Gallery 1516 from Sept. 1 to Oct. 15, 2017. For the rest of the year, the collection will be split up into regional selections and will be simultaneously exhibited at Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, David City; Homestead National Monument of America, Beatrice; Gallery 92, Fremont; Knight Museum, Alliance; Norfolk Arts Center, Norfolk; and the West Nebraska Art Center, Scottsbluff.

Williams said it is his desire for this project to reawaken an appreciation for the arts while preserving the unique beauty and heritage that Nebraska has to offer.

More information about his work can be viewed at ToddWilliamsFineArt.com. Information about the Painting the Legacy of Nebraska project is at ne150.org/events-programs/painting-the-legacy.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP)  Several thousand residents of Cedar Rapids left their homes Sunday as floodwaters began to spill out of the rising Cedar River, and Iowas second-largest city worked to apply the lessons officials learned after the record 2008 flood.

The river crested Saturday night in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, which are about 55 miles upstream from Cedar Rapids.

The water levels in Cedar Falls and Waterloo were slightly lower than had been expected, but they still reached levels that were second only to those in 2008, when a major flood devastated the region.

The National Weather Service predicted that the river will crest at 23 feet in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday morning  well below the 2008 record of 31.12 feet. Officials asked those living in about 5,000 downtown homes near the river to evacuate. They said it could be days before people can return home.

The Cedar Rapids school district said Sunday that it is canceling classes through Wednesday because of the flooding. District officials will re-evaluate the situation by Wednesday afternoon.

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said the city has been preparing to deal with a major flood since that of 2008, which caused billions of dollars of damage. City workers and volunteers have been working for days to build a temporary system of levees to try to contain the floodwaters.

All the work is coming together, and you can see the benefit of planning and preparation, Pomeranz said.

After the 2008 flood about 1,350 homes near the Cedar River were bought out and razed to reduce the amount of damage that future floods could inflict. About 45 acres of green space are part of that area today.

On Sunday morning more than 100 volunteers helped remove the seats from the restored Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids and move them to the second floor to protect them from floodwaters. The theater was heavily damaged in the 2008 flood because it is one block from the Cedar River, and it cost $35 million to restore.

Unlike in 2008, residents have had more time to prepare for a flood. The benefit of that extra time was clear in the small town of Palo, upstream, where residents of more than 80 homes evacuated.

Kim Hutchins, whose home in Palo is about 10 miles from Cedar Rapids, told the Des Moines Register that she spent Saturday packing up her kitchen while some friends unhooked her furnace in the basement and moved it to the garage. Most of her furniture was piled onto trailers to move.

Theyve been telling us it was coming for days. Last time we had eight or 10 hours to get out, said Hutchins, 53, who planned to stay with her mother.

Palo residents were being urged not to use water on Sunday because of a sewer line break and area flooding. Officials said they were working to repair the sewer line quickly. In the meantime, they were providing bottled water to residents.

Officials in Waterloo and Cedar Falls hope their communities will sustain less damage in this flood because of steps taken since 2008, but Black Hawk County Emergency Management Coordinator Lorie Glover said the extent of the damage wont be clear until the water recedes.

In Waterloo, the Cedar River crested at 22.95 feet Saturday. Thats well below the 2008 record of 27 feet but still caused major flooding. It remained at 22 feet Sunday afternoon.

We do have pockets of damage in some areas that we will be looking at, but the water is still very high, Glover said. We need to wait until it goes down a little bit before we can get into some areas to look at what damage there will be.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
DES MOINES (AP)  Some of Iowas most powerful interest groups along with environmental organizations are backing efforts to clean up the states waterways, but there isnt unity about how to take action on an issue that has frustrated lawmakers in the past.

Spurred by a Des Moines Water Works lawsuit that blames three northwest Iowa counties for polluted drinking water downstream in the Des Moines River, there are several ideas for improving Iowas streams and lakes. However, Gov. Terry Branstad has rejected two of the most prominent suggestions.

Although the lack of action is frustrating, it reflects the complexity of the problem and possible solutions, said Diane Rosenberg, who heads Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, one of 20 groups that have joined a coalition seeking a statewide moratorium on new and expanded livestock confinement operations.

We need to look at who should be paying for our water cleanup, she said. There are a lot of people who argue where that responsibility falls.

The Iowa Farm Bureau also has weighed in, passing a resolution this month that supported using new and existing state revenue to pay for water quality improvements.

Iowas Water and Land Legacy  a coalition of agriculture, business and conservation groups, including the Iowa Soybean Association  called for raising the state sales tax by three-eighths of a cent for water quality and other natural resources programs. Their push follows failed efforts in the Legislature to add money to a natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund created in 2010 that still has no funding.

Apart from the state efforts, last month, a national group called the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative announced its plans to add sustainable farming practices in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska and to reduce excessive nutrients from the waters that enter the Mississippi River. The groups founding members include Monsanto, PepsiCo and Walmart.

Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes said in an email that the governor continues to believe long-term funding for water quality initiatives can be found without raising taxes on Iowa taxpayers.

Kirk Leeds, CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association, said his organization supported the governors failed proposal last session to redirect some education infrastructure money toward water improvements. Leeds said the association is open to discussions, but that he doubts lawmakers would agree to use existing state dollars in lieu of generating new funding.

You pit people against each other. Are you going to reduce school funding? Are we going to reduce support for medical services? Wheres those dollars going to come from? he said. Thats why the three-eighths-cent sales tax makes sense.

Although Branstads plan last session to redirect some education infrastructure money toward water quality was rejected by lawmakers from both parties, he has begun promoting a revamped version. Branstad also still supports legislation passed in the Republican-controlled House that would use existing state dollars for water quality.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AMES, Iowa (AP)  Iowa State Universitys president was returning from an 11-day personal trip to North Carolina when he damaged a small university-owned airplane in a rough landing, the school confirmed Saturday.

President Steven Leath, a pilot, flew himself and his wife on July 3, 2015, in the universitys Cirrus SR22 to Ashe County, North Carolina, where he owns a home and helps manage a family-owned Christmas tree farm.

While returning 11 days later, Leath caused substantial damage to the plane after he hit the runway with one wing and a runway light with the other upon landing in Bloomington, Illinois. Leath has blamed gusty conditions for the incident. Flight experts said it appears to have been pilot error.

University spokesman John McCarroll said the trip to North Carolina involved personal business for Leath, who reimbursed the university for part of the flight costs in November 2015. The plane was landing in Illinois so that Leath could meet with a potential donor before returning to Ames, McCarroll said.

The university, which is responsible for the aircraft maintenance, paid for the $12,000 in repairs to the plane instead of filing an insurance claim because we had the money, McCarroll said. The plane also was stored at the Bloomington airport for three to four weeks, but the cost of that wasnt available, he said.

In addition, the university sent its other aircraft to pick up the Leaths in Bloomington at a cost of $2,200 that was billed to the Greater University Fund, a pot of unrestricted donations that Leath controls.

Leath reimbursed the university a total of $3,500 for three other trips to North Carolina in which he used the plane, including one last month. The reimbursements have been paid at a rate of $125 per hour to cover costs such as fuel, McCarroll said. Several private companies advertise hourly rates of about $300 to rent similar aircraft.

The trips were a mix of university and personal business or instances in which a business trip was scheduled before or after personal trips and Leath needed the flexibility of the schools plane to meet his official obligations, McCarroll said.

Still, Leaths routine use of a university aircraft for personal travel would appear to conflict with school policies and possibly with state law. Any public official who uses state-owned property for any private purpose or for personal gain to the detriment of the state is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. Noting that prohibition, university policy says employees cannot remove any kind of university property for personal use from the buildings or grounds, even if it may seem to be of no value.

In addition, university policy requires employees to schedule their travel in a manner that excludes consideration of personal gain. Policy of the Iowa Board of Regents, which governs the school, requires leaders such as Leath to serve as role models and stewards of the institutions finances and promote, by personal example, ethical behavior among employees.

McCarroll said that Leath did not inform the Iowa Board of Regents about the accident immediately after it happened, but that he informed board President Bruce Rastetter at an unspecified later date.

After the accident, the board voted on Aug. 5, 2015, to extend Leaths contract through June 2020. The contract guarantees Leath his full annual salary of $525,000 if the board fires him without cause, a buyout that would be about $2 million today.

Rastetter issued a statement on Friday saying that he was aware of Leaths use of the plane: He is a licensed pilot and can fly aircraft for which he is certified.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For the first time in at least a decade, the City of Omaha and its police and firefighters are putting enough into their pension plan, according to an actuarial analysis.

Thats the good news from the 2015 actuarial report on Omahas police and fire pension fund.

The upshot, said Omaha Finance Director Steve Curtiss: It doesnt mean youre out of the woods by any stretch, but its an achievement.

The bad news: The fund brought in a paltry return on its investments last year  0.2 percent  and its funded ratio rose only slightly.

On that front, weve basically treaded water, Curtiss said.

The police and fire pension is one of two plans covering Omaha city employees. The other plan covers civilians.

Its been less than 10 years since Omaha instituted a package of pension reforms intended to prevent a collapse of the police and fire system, including increased payments from both the city and employees and reduced pension benefits.

At the low point, in 2010, the city was putting in less than 44 percent of what an actuary said it should contribute to the fund.

Last year, for the first time, that contribution figure has risen above 100 percent. The city contributed $42.1 million, slightly more than the $41.9 million that the actuary determined was required.

Overall, as of Jan. 1, the plan was funded at 50.8 percent. The actuary determined the plans liability to be $1.2 billion, compared to $621 million in assets.

The funded ratio is up slightly from last years 49.6 percent. And it is well above the 39 percent ratio in 2008, which was the low point.

John Wells, president of the Omaha police union, said the report shows that the pension reforms have been working.

We continue to move in the right direction, which is moving to be fully funded, he said.

But Jim Vokal, CEO of the Platte Institute, an economically conservative Nebraska think tank, says 50 percent funded isnt anything to brag about.

Omaha still has a problem with police and fire, and were not going to earn our way out of it, he said.

The Platte Institute is set to release a report about the pension plan today that again advocates a move away from a traditional pension for firefighters and police officers.

The citys civilian workers have recently adopted a hybrid plan for new workers that functions as a cross between a pension plan and a 401(k).

The debate hinges on the current police and fire pension plans assumption that it will produce, on average, an 8 percent return over the long run.

The plan has exceeded that target over the last few decades. But Vokal argues that its not a reasonable assumption going forward in this post-Great Recession economy.

If the plan doesnt produce the projected rate of return, that means its actual liability will turn out to be much higher than the current estimate.

Without it, their plan doesnt work, the system doesnt work and the liability grows, Vokal said.

Curtiss said the city is aware of the criticism about the projected return rate. And he noted that Omahans know they wouldnt be able to expect 8 percent on their personal 401(k) plans.

But he said a pension plan doesnt function like a 401(k). Instead, its more like an endowment, because its supposed to exist forever. That allows for a longer-term view of investments, as well as more diversification.

He questioned whether the Platte Institute experts can accurately predict whats going to happen in the market over the next several decades.

If they know for sure whats going to happen, I want to go to Vegas with them, he said.

Mayor Jean Stothert, who was in the hospital late last week and not available to speak about the pension report, has said the city has made good progress on the pension plan but theres still more work to be done.

Fire union President Steve LeClair could not be reached for comment late last week.

The city and the Omaha Police Officers Association could not come to an agreement over the 2015 labor contract, in large part because Stothert wanted additional pension concessions from officers. The 2015 police contract is now before the states labor court.

Wells said the report shows that the pension plan is now on track, so additional concessions wouldnt be necessary. He said making more cuts to benefits could hurt the citys ability to attract good job candidates to be police officers.

Wells also said the plan needs to be considered over the long term. A low return in single year, he said, doesnt mean doom.

My question to (Vokal) is, if we have an 18 percent return, does that mean we increase benefits? he said. No, so stop freaking out about it.
In the heart of the Bemis Park neighborhood, the Tudor-style house at 1010 Mercer Park Road stands out from the rest.

The clinker bricks covering the late-19th-century British-style home hold strong. The original wrought-iron fence still surrounds the property.

Designed by architect Bilger Kvenild and constructed in 1929-30, the 1010, as it is called, was built for the vice president of K-B Printing Co., Josiah B. Redfield, as a retirement home.

With no knowledge of the history behind the 1010, Carrie Derrick, an interior designer, purchased it in December, intending to renovate and resell it.

Shortly after Derrick bought the house, a young man she had hired to help clean it discovered the original blueprints, bound in a book in an upstairs closet.

The blueprints were like a treasure map for Derrick. Not only would they allow her to restore a majority of the homes original details, it listed Kvenilds and Redfields names at the bottom.

In February, almost two months after she purchased the 1010, Derrick received a message from Paul Adair, an Omaha resident. He contacted her via her account on Houzz, a website focused on architecture, interior design and decorating.

Adair told Derrick that he had photos from 1930 of the interior of the 1010. He asked whether she would like them.

Derrick arranged to meet Adair at her place of work, Reinhardt & Associates Architects. When they met, Adair gave her the pictures along with the email address of his cousin, Jo Short.

Adair said Short, the granddaughter of Josiah Redfield, recently had contacted him.

Short, 83, lives in California and was doing Internet research on the 1010. She noticed the house had been sold to Derrick. Short had connected with Adair, whom she had never met, and asked him to give the photos to Derrick.

The rest is history, Short said.

Over the months that followed, Derrick and Short kept in contact. To inform Derricks renovation work, Short would share family pictures, home movies filmed at the house and countless stories.

Involving her in the process of the restoration has made it so much more meaningful than I ever thought possible, Derrick said. The work Ive done has brought her a joy and happiness that she has expressed to me many times.

Derrick created an Instagram account called Urban Restorative so Short could see photos of the restoration process.

Short even helped Derrick find a secret room. The old blueprints had not shown the space, which was hidden behind a wooden panel.

Derrick said the secret room was empty. Back in the day, Short told her, the room contained her grandfather's important papers, valuables and guns. Short also said that she and her sister used to play house in the room.

Although Derrick had an image of what she wanted the restoration to look like, she still asked Short questions about the original state of the house.

To restore the house to its original condition, much of the interior was stripped. The kitchen was demolished, and new cupboards that resembled the original ones were installed. Bland green carpeting was removed to expose the original hardwood floors. Wallpaper that had been painted over was removed, and the walls were painted to resemble the original color. All of the woodwork, doors, windows and fireplace are original.

Derrick said that Short felt just as much a part of the project through frequent emails and Instagram posts.

After seeing how pleased Short was with the restoration work, Derrick knew she needed to invite her to Omaha to see the 1010.

On Sept. 10, with the renovation process complete, Short and her son, Steve Short, arrived in Omaha. The following day Derrick arranged to meet the two at the 1010.

Derrick and Short hugged when they met.

I felt like I had already known her for a really long time, Derrick said. We just hugged and she said, Thank you so much for doing this. 

For nearly an hour and a half Short walked through the 1010. It was the first time she had been in the house since 1947.

Short told Derrick stories that she remembered and often got emotional as she entered various rooms.

My happiest days were spent at 1010, Short said. So when Carrie invited me to come and see the house restoration, I jumped on the chance.

The next day Derrick welcomed members of Restoration Exchange Omaha, a local preservation group, to the 1010. After the meeting, Derrick invited Short to meet the board members and take them on a tour of the house.

She really enjoyed doing it, Derrick said. Getting to show it off, talking about how it was her house.

Before she left on Sept. 13, Short visited Duchesne Academy, where she attended school; the Durham Museum; her grandparents graves at Forest Lawn Cemetery; and her great-grandparents graves at Prospect Hill Cemetery.

It was wonderful for me to visit 1010 again, as it was No. 1 on my bucket list, Short said.

Derricks plans have always been to sell the house after the renovation was complete.

Its not so much the hard work that makes it difficult to let go, she said, its the emotional connection that has developed.

It kind of breaks my heart to sell it, Derrick said. I still feel an attachment to it, and I think I always will.
Teenagers leading cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens into a ballroom in front of a dinner crowd might seem unusual to those who have never been to the Aksarben Purple Ribbon Auction, organizers acknowledged.

Leading the animals onto freight elevators to the upper level of the CenturyLink Center, down a hallway and into the ballroom is, in fact, a logistical marvel, Kevin Kock of the Aksarben Foundation told the nearly 300 people gathered for the auction Sunday.

But the auction and the 89-year-old Aksarben Stock Show and Rodeo, the largest 4-H stock show in the United States, is an annual rite of passage for generations of families. It also raises thousands of dollars for scholarships, prizes and awards.

This weekends stock show drew 1,055 4-H participants from Nebraska and surrounding states, as well as Minnesota, North Dakota and Illinois.

Thirty were chosen to sell their animals in the auction, which capped off the weekend activities.

This years auction brought in $243,000, Kock said. The highest bid of the evening was $20,000 for a reserve champion calf from a calf challenge competition and was raised by Neligh Gehl of Ericson, Nebraska.

Art entries also were part of the auction. Six artworks raised $8,200, Kock said.
Thanaleng Railway Station in Laos is a favorite place for wedding photos, with many young couples in the capital city of Vientiane traveling thousands of miles to the countrys only railway station.

Railways do not play a significant part in the transport sector of this Southeast Asian country since it largely lacks the required infrastructure. As a result, the Thanaleng Railway Station is more like a scenic spot rather than a transport hub.

But in five years things will change. Chinese workers are now constructing the 417-kilometer high-speed railway that will link China's Yunnan Province and Vientiane.

At the just-concluded G20 Hangzhou Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged G20 members to be a team of action instead of a talk shop." His words were echoed by many countries and their peoples who aspire for development as well.

In todays world, the roadblocks laying ahead of economic recovery and growth are not civilization disparities," but rather innovation barriers and lack of connectivity.

The driver of national development should be practical action rather than empty talk. As an emerging power influencing the landscape of global governance, China takes practical action as one of its creeds.

The diligent Chinese rely on their own efforts for success, and Chinas remarkable development in the past decades comes from such efforts made by millions of Chinese families. These achievements in turn futher bolstered China's belief in practical actions.

Compared with the G8, which has been criticized as a talk shop by Western media, the G20 succeeded in offering crisis-response remedies after it was launched. However, the G20 is in danger of becoming a talk shop if the consensus reached during each summit cannot be implemented.

In order to ensure all of the initiatives put forward at the two-day summit are workable and feasible, China devoted tremendous efforts to its two-year-long preparation work. All the important agendas were set based on the views and feedback collected from various parties.

Since it assumed the G20 rotating presidency, China also hosted 66 meetings in 20 cities.

Xi emphasized at the G20 Summit that one action counts more than a dozen programs. Though the action-oriented Hangzhou Summit has ended, the Hangzhou consensus, like a new flame, will inspire more actions.

If all sides can translate the Hangzhou consensus highlighted by pragmatism into concrete actions, brighter prospects for the world await.
LINCOLN  A vehicle accidentally left running in a garage at a north Lincoln apartment complex caused carbon monoxide levels to rise inside the building, killing one person, authorities said.

The Lincoln Journal Star reported that firefighters called to the apartment Friday night found 80-year-old Dale Moyer dead.

Other residents in the 24 apartments were evacuated.

Battalion Chief Jeremy Gegg said that no one at the scene required medical attention.

Residents were allowed to return after officials used fans to clear the poisonous gas from the building.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
LINCOLN  The companies that manufacture opioid painkillers and their allies have not overlooked Nebraska and Iowa in their efforts to influence state policy.

The companies have given campaign cash to a broad spectrum of elected officials on both sides of the river.

At the same time, the companies and allied advocacy groups have maintained lobbyists in both states to keep an eye on proposed legislation and on state rules and regulations.

The investment appears to be working. The Pain and Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin gave both states high marks for what it called balance in state pain policy. The group  part of a network of opioid drug makers, trade groups and allied nonprofits  defines balance as ensuring the availability of opioid painkillers for medical uses while controlling illegal use of the drugs.

Neither state last year made significant changes in laws governing opioid painkillers.

This year, Nebraska lawmakers approved a bill aimed at stopping opioid addicts from doctor- and pharmacy-shopping to get more pills. The drug companies took a neutral stand on the measure.

Meanwhile, drug companies donated to large numbers of candidates for state office in Nebraska and Iowa.

Records kept by the National Institute on Money in State Politics show that opioid drugmakers gave Nebraska candidates a total of $181,811 from 2006 through the primary this year.

Iowa candidates got a total of $255,815 in the same period.

The top beneficiary of drug company funds in either state was former Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who got $54,200 during the course of two re-election campaigns and an unsuccessful run for governor.

Former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman had the second highest total  $39,000  while former U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa pulled in $23,000 during his failed gubernatorial bid.

Iowa state lawmakers, particularly those in positions of power, got several times as much as their Nebraska counterparts. Republican House Speaker Linda Upmeyer has received $24,550 in drug company cash, followed by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, with $15,300.

Half of the current members of each legislative house in Iowa have gotten money from the drugmakers, while more than 80 percent of Nebraska lawmakers got donations. Nebraska State Sen. Kathy Campbell, Health and Human Services Committee chairwoman, topped the list with donations totaling $2,800.

Meanwhile, lobbyists in both states tried to make sure that lawmakers heard the pro-opioid side on issues. An average of 11 lobbyists in Nebraska and 33 in Iowa represent the positions of the drugmakers and allied groups that are part of the Pain Care Forum.

Both states might have seen more legislative action on opioids if they had the same level of problems as some states, particularly those in the southeast. Nebraska ranked 50th and Iowa 48th lowest among states for the rate of drug overdose deaths in 2014.

Nebraska had 125 drug overdose deaths in 2014, or 6.6 for every 100,000 people. Iowa had 265 deaths, a rate of 8.5 per 100,000. The national average is 14.8 per 100,000.

Still, health care providers wrote 1.38 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in Nebraska last year, enough for 3 of every 4 men, women and children in the state to have one.

There were 2.12 million prescriptions written in Iowa last year, or enough for 7 of every 10 state residents. The Nebraska rate is slightly higher than the national average; Iowas is slightly lower.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will debate tonight for the first of three times.

Watch the debate from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Central time. It will be carried live by all the major broadcast networks and cable news channels and streamed on nearly two dozen websites. Estimates approach Super Bowl levels of 100 million TV viewers.

Lester Holt of NBC will moderate the debate, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. His preselected topics are Americas direction, achieving prosperity and securing America. But Holt and NBC can change them based on news developments.

The debate will feature two 15-minute segments on each theme. The candidates are to have an opportunity to respond to each other, which would make it a true debate.

Both will try to show integrity. Clinton, the Democrat, will work to expose Trump as a policy lightweight and a dangerous potential president while she tries to avoid coming across as overly prepared. Trump, the Republican, will try to demonstrate a command of issues and resist making personal attacks that could backfire against him.

The candidates deployed their top supporters to the Sunday shows to take early jabs at their opponents and lower expectations for a showdown expected to draw 75 million viewers  many of them disenchanted with both candidates, the least-popular presidential hopefuls in history.

Facts and who will determine them during the 90-minute debate seemed to be a top concern of the campaigns' strategists given Trump's habit of saying things that are untrue and the public's general distrust of Clinton.

Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager, told ABC's "This Week" that he is concerned Trump will continue his habit of sometimes saying things that aren't true and still get a passing grade. He called on Holt to correct any inaccuracies made by the candidates. But Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said it's not the job of debate moderators to fact check.

Trump's vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, meanwhile, said that Gennifer Flowers will not attend the debate. Trump had tweeted that if frequent Trump critic Mark Cuban attended the showdown, he'd put Flowers, allegedly the former mistress of Clinton's husband, Bill, in the audience too. Conway said that Flowers had a right to be there if "somebody else gives her a ticket." But Pence drew a harder line.

"Gennifer Flowers will not be attending the debate tomorrow night," Pence said on "Fox News Sunday."

Conway on ABC defended the tweet, saying Trump "wants to remind people that he's a great counterpuncher."

This report contains material from the Washington Post.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MIAMI  Donald Trump says taxes in the United States are higher than almost anywhere else on Earth. Theyre not.

He says he opposed the Iraq War from the start. He didnt.

After years of spreading the lie that President Barack Obama was born in Africa, Trump says Hillary Clinton did it first (untrue) and that hes the one who put the controversy to rest (also untrue).

Never in modern presidential politics has a major candidate made false statements as routinely as Trump has.

Trumps candidacy was premised on upending a dishonest establishment that has rigged American political and economic life, so some of his loyalists are willing to overlook his lies, as long as he rankles powerful people, Republican strategist Rob Stutzman said.

It gives him not only license, but incentive to spin fantasy, because no one expects him to tell the truth, said Stutzman, who worked against Trump during the primaries.

It has forced journalists to grapple with how aggressive they should be in correcting inaccurate statements, particularly in the presidential debates that start today.

At a time of deep public mistrust of the media, the arbitration of statements of fact, long seen as one of reporters most basic duties, may be perceived as partisan bias.

But so does the shirking of that role. Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, one of the debate moderators, has faced a storm of criticism for telling CNN: Its not my job to be a truth squad.

After a Sept. 8 town hall on NBC, critics skewered moderator Matt Lauer for failing to correct Trumps false statement that he opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl drew milder reprimands for letting Trump repeat the same lie twice in a July interview on 60 Minutes, responding yeah both times with no correction.

Trumps Democratic rival faces integrity questions of her own. A new Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll found that 41 percent of voters saw Trump as better than Clinton at being honest and straightforward; 31 percent thought that Clinton would be better than Trump in that area.

Republicans have used Clintons use of a private email server when she was secretary of state to cast doubt on her honesty, saying she has been untrustworthy for decades. Her efforts to fight back were damaged when FBI Director James Comey said in early July that she had been extremely careless in her handling of emails that officials said should have been considered classified.

Nonetheless, the scope of Trumps lies is unprecedented.

Buzzfeed unearthed an audio recording showing that Trump backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and a 2011 video in which he called for swift military action against Moammar Gadhafi, then the leader of Libya. In the months since then, Trump has lied on both issues, saying he opposed the use of force in Iraq and Libya.

Trump campaign press secretary Hope Hicks and adviser Jason Miller did not respond to an email requesting comment.

In Trump: The Art of the Deal, his 1987 best-seller, Trump said a little hyperbole never hurts.

People believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. Its an innocent form of exaggeration  and a very effective form of promotion, he said.

PolitiFact, a Tampa Bay Times site that won a Pulitzer for its coverage of the 2008 election, has rated 70 percent of the Trump statements it has checked as mostly false, false or pants on fire, its lowest score. By contrast, 28 percent of Clintons statements earned those ratings.

As we noted when we awarded Trump our 2015 Lie of the Year award for his portfolio of misstatements, no other politician has as many statements rated so far down the dial, PolitiFact writer Lauren Carroll reported in June. Its unlike anything weve ever seen.

When Trump released his child care plan on Sept. 13, he said Clinton didnt have one. She did. He has often described himself as popular among blacks; the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll found that 7 percent of black voters support him.

Trump also depicts crime as rising and out of control in Americas inner cities despite years of falling crime rates. He has said that black people kill 81 percent of white homicide victims, when in fact whites kill 82 percent of white homicide victims, according to PolitiFact.

********

FACTCHECK

In a recent television ad called Only Way, HILLARY CLINTON said, It takes Democrats and Republicans working together. Thats how we ... got the treaty cutting Russias nuclear arms.

THE FACTS: Clinton is referring to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, an agreement between Russia and the U.S. designed to limit both countries deployed strategic nuclear weapons.

By February 2018, Russia and the United States each have to meet restrictions such as 700 deployed ballistic missiles and heavy bombers.

New START has a limited impact in that it focuses on one portion of Russias nuclear program: deployed strategic weapons. The treaty does place tighter limits on those weapons than any past treaty. But Russia was actually already meeting the treatys limits, for the most part, when treaty implementation began in 2011.

Also, the treaty does not restrict either country from stockpiling weapons or require them to destroy any existing weapons.

We rate Clintons claim Half True.

 PolitiFact

HILLARY CLINTON told Orlandos ABC Action News on Wednesday: Ive met the standard that everyone running for president has met. I have to say, my opponent has not met that standard. I am physically, mentally healthy and fit to be president of the United States.

THE FACTS: Its not clear what standard Clinton is referring to; disclosure of health information by candidates has varied widely over the years. And this year, the candidates would be among the oldest (and in Trumps case, the oldest) to take the office for a first term. PolitiFact has found that Clintons health release in 2015 was on par with Mitt Romneys and Barack Obamas from 2012, and shes released more details since her bout with pneumonia that led to a collapse outside a 9/11 memorial. Trump has left out more details than Clinton, but both omitted key information, per a New York Times analysis of their health.  Politico

DONALD TRUMP told Fox and Friends on Sept. 19: If somebody looks like hes got a massive bomb on his back, we wont go up to that person ... because if he looks like he comes from that part of the world, were not allowed to profile. Give me a break.

THE FACTS: After the recent bomb explosion in New York, Donald Trump spoke of restrictive U.S. policies that he said do not allow profiling of potential terrorists on ethnic grounds.

Trump gets the rules wrong. Profiling to prevent terrorism is permitted, with some restrictions, under policies set by President George W. Bush and affirmed by President Barack Obama.

First of all, if someone is carrying what looks like a massive bomb on his back, police are going to ask questions. There is a clear basis for approaching a person who appears to be carrying a bomb, no matter what the ethnicity, religion or race.

In 2003 Bush issued a ban on profiling by federal agencies  with the exception of using it to combat terrorism and to screen airline passengers and people at border crossings and immigration checkpoints.

Profiling is permitted to screen airline passengers and immigrants  and law enforcement can use it to combat terrorist threats.

 The Washington Post
No wiggle room on the death penalty

Tom Venzor, the executive director for the Nebraska Catholic Conference, purports to summarize the churchs moral guidance on the death penalty (More Commentary, Sept. 19 World-Herald).

While his commentary reaches the correct conclusion  that the death penalty should remain abolished in Nebraska  it errs in three respects:

 It offers Catholics (like Gov. Pete Ricketts) seeming justification for defying the churchs teachings.

 It nowhere mentions Pope Francis unequivocal demand for global elimination of the death penalty.

 It ignores the simple teaching of the Ten Commandments, applicable to all Christian faiths: Thou shall not kill.

Respectfully, the Nebraska Catholic Conference, as a teaching resource for all, should be as clear and unequivocal as is the pope, and it should offer no political cover for Catholics who reject clear church teaching.

And to the anti-big-government conservatives who are unconcerned with the morality of taking human life, we should ask: Why do you fear the government taking our guns but authorize big government to take its citizens lives?

Tom Kenny, Omaha

Bacon has the wrong kind of resume

U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford is no more qualified to be a brigadier general than Don Bacon is qualified to be a congressman. The skill set is quite different.

Bacon obviously has the requisite military training and experience, including how to give and how to follow orders, to be a general.

Ashford, on the other hand, having served 16 years in the Nebraska Legislature and one term in the U.S. House, has the experience and the demonstrated ability to be a legislator.

Taking and giving orders may work on the battlefield. Negotiating and compromise are the skills necessary to get things done in Congress.

The risk of having Bacon representing the 2nd District in Congress is that he will use his skill set and do what he is told  toe the party line. We have seen Ashford use his skills to seek input, reach across the aisle, listen and make his own decisions on behalf of Nebraskans and the good of the nation.

Think about it. Experience matters.

Peg ODea Lippert, Papillion

Their future is at stake

If we worry about your childrens future or your grandchildrens, we had better wake up.

Do we really want another dishonest Clinton to serve as president? Or worse yet  Barack Obama on the Supreme Court? Do we want James Comey to continue to serve as director of the FBI or Loretta Lynch to continue to be our attorney general? I hope not.

Wake up before it is too late.

Wayne Beckner, Falls City, Neb.

Build a wall but keep our ties to Mexico

I hope a President Donald Trump builds that wall to stop the illicit flow of immigrants across the border. But I also hope that he makes sure it does not choke off our cultural connections to Mexico.

L.J. Jones, Omaha

If it aint broke ...

The economy is on the rise, family incomes are up, unemployment is down, more people have medical coverage than ever before, and the Islamic State is losing territory every day. So explain to me whats wrong with more of the same?

Yet Donald Trump continues to mislead, denigrate minorities, mock women and the disabled and possibly even use his charitable foundation funds illegally, and between punches, his supporters nod their heads and cheer.

I think we know why hes hiding his tax returns, but what Id really like to see are his college transcripts.

Jackie Nagle, Omaha

When it comes to our kids, safety first

Drivers, please watch out for our children. When there is a pedestrian crossing, slow down and look to see if there is a child waiting to cross the road. If there is someone there, be sure to stop.

I have observed that some cars do not stop when a pedestrian is waiting to cross the street. We must watch out for our children.

Please slow down as you approach a pedestrian crossing and always stop if a child is waiting to cross. Lets make Nebraska a safe place for our children to walk to and from school.

Nancy Krueger, Hastings, Neb.

Congressional grandstanding

When a chairman of a U.S. House committee says, We decide whats relevant  not the Department of Justice nor the FBI (Chaffetz subpoenas FBI files on emails, Sept. 13 World-Herald), what does that tell you about why Congress accomplishes so little?

The main goal of our present Congress is to be re-elected. It has nothing to do with working for the American people. These lawmakers are anti anything and everything.

What is it about the three branches of our government that they dont understand?

Cecil Case, Omaha
On Saturday, September 24, Beijing witnessed one of the events that has confirmed the city an international cultural and racial melting pot.

It was the cultural show of the Third Liangmaqiao Diplomatic Chinese-Foreign Culture Exhibition at the Liangmaqiao Diplomatic Residence Compound (DRC), Chaoyang District.

Taking part in the event reminds you of the beauty of variety in cultures, races and peoples as over 35 countries pitched their places in addition to Chinese multiple stands by various companies, service agencies, hotels and government establishments to show their cultural identity. So wonderful was finding out that some countries identities were hoisted by Chinese citizens who displayed artifacts, wears, foods and other items of the countries they represented.

The exhibitions included cultural wears, food, inventions, attires, accessories, art work, drinks, beverages, jewelry, and the rest. Also, many Chinese firms and organizations including top hotels were part of the exhibition during which visitors had free recipe samples, shared wines, other drinks, beverages, practiced Chinese paintings, body paintings, had fun and friendship.

It turned out a very interesting and remarkable day that at least six countries from every continent of the world through their embassies and media organization had stands and took part effectively. Among them was the China-Africa Press Centre (CAPC) Beijing and the New York Times.

African countries like Ghana, Egypt, Sudan, Benin Republic and more took part and displayed African foods, jewelry, artwork, wears, and fabrics.

Most notable hotels in Beijing especially around the zone also had their stands. Drinks, food, wears, invention products, art works, gift items and many more featured and were celebrated as parents, youths and children all mixed to make the annual event a success in blend of cultures and races.

At the pavilions, there was a rich mix of races as participants joined even strangers and other visitors to have photo shots that ended in the people asking each other of their countries and exchanging contacts.

Also, many provinces of China, districts and companies had full representation at the exhibitions including the Duty Free Diplomatic Shop in Jianguomenwai, Fangxin 365.com that markets traditional organic foods of the Heilongjiang province of northeastern China, the Qaidam culture of the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai province. Even the famous Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was also there as their medics offered some free preliminary medical tests and made prescriptions.

Other countries like Russia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Poland and Ecuador were present with their cultures to showcase.

Others were Israel, Iran, Venezuela, Croatia Sri Lanka and Spain.

Emewu, senior editor of The Sun Newspapers Nigeria is Fellow of the China Public Diplomacy in Beijing and former intern at Peoples Daily. ([email protected])
It was the 1960s and Judy Varner, like others of her generation, was eager to change the world.

She became a social worker  working with minority girls  and she dabbled in local politics.

But it wasnt until she moved to East Lansing, Michigan, in 1989 and took a job in a totally unrelated field that she would make her greatest mark.

Varner, who retired this year as president and chief executive officer of the Nebraska Humane Society, will be inducted into the 120th Aksarben Court of Honor Oct. 15 during the 2016 coronation and scholarship ball. The honor is in recognition of her work caring for abandoned and abused animals.

During Varners watch, the Omaha-based society grew from a single, outdated building into a four-building campus with 150 employees and an $11 million annual budget.

The level of care that the NHS gives is the best in the country, she said.

Though Varner always loved animals, she initially had no interest in working to protect them. That is, until she saw a help-wanted ad for director of the Lansing humane society.

On her way to the job interview, she stopped to get her hair done and wound up with a stylist who had a friend who worked there. The stylist shared her friends heartbreaking stories of the animals.

During the interview, Varner recalls discussing euthanization. She also saw the animal graveyard, where bones were sticking out of the dirt. Yet she was touched by what the staff was trying to do with so little.

Afterward, she called her dad. There was no way she was taking that job, she told him.

But her dad, Durward B. Woody Varner, president of the University of Nebraska system and later president of the NU Foundation, asked: Do you think you can change it?

She said she could.

He told her that she had a responsibility to take the job.

By the time she left Lansing for Omaha, the Michigan society had an updated building and supportive fund-raisers.

I found my niche, she said.

In Omaha, Varner had to learn a new aspect of animal care  dealing with law enforcement and animal control issues. Curbing illegal dog fighting and animal hoarding resulted in multiple death threats, but she never blinked.

To me there is right and wrong. And thats pretty clear, she said.

Growth of the Nebraska Humane Society coincided with the publics attitude toward animals.

Twenty-six years ago, animals did not have the recognition they have now, she said. They are receiving the respect for the contributions they make to our lives.

One family told her of a small dog that changed their mother, who was elderly and tended not to leave home.

This little dog got her out, she recalled them saying of their mom taking the dog on walks. She became a new woman.

Animals used to be valued for their ability to work. They were farm animals, mousers.

Today they are part of the family, which Varner said creates a different set of problems.

Many owners dont know how to train their dog or cat properly. The animals misbehave, destroy a rug or furniture and cause stress for everyone.

In her own home, she crates her dogs and gives them dog chews and toys stuffed with frozen peanut butter to keep them occupied during the day. Other options for owners include pet day care, dog walkers and trainers, she said.

Animals have a healing power that crosses all racial and socio-economic boundaries, Varner said, and the demand for pets keeps growing because of our technology-driven lifestyle. She theorizes that we are cocooning in our homes, interacting only through our phones and the Internet.
6 JMB operatives arrested, conspiracy to terrorise India foiled

Bengaluru

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Sept 26: The six people belonging to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh had planned on carrying out terror strikes in different parts of the country according to preliminary investigations. Six people were on Monday arrested by the Special Task Force, Kolkata for their role in the 2014 Burdwan blast case.

Out of the six people arrested, five were named in the chargesheet by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the Burdwan blasts case. 3 are of Bangladeshi origin while the others are Indians. The police also seized from them laptops, mobile phones and detonators informed Vishal Gary, Joint Commissioner of Police.

The arrests of these people is extremely crucial considering that the JMB had tied up with the ISIS with an intention of setting up the Bengal Calipate. The NIA is likely to seek custody of these people. Since the attack in Dhaka, there has been a high alert about the possible activities of the JMB-ISIS combine.

Investigators say that even when a module of the ISIS was busted in India, it was found that some members especially from West Bengal had closely been associated with the JMB. The ISIS and the JMB have come together to set up a Bengal Caliphate which would cover, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and

Bangladesh.

The investigations into then Burdwan blasts also had found that members of the JMB had planned on preparing over 500 bombs and transporting it to Bangladesh. They had plotted a series of attacks in a bid to destablise the establishment which has cracked down on Islamic terrorists.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 14:36 [IST]
Cauvery row: Can't release water till December, Karnataka tells SC

Bengaluru

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Sept 26: Karnataka will tell the Supreme Court that it can release Cauvery water only at a later date. It will not be possible now, Karnataka would state in its petition seeking a modification of the Supreme Court's which directed it to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu between September 21 and 27.

Karnataka's contention is that it has no water to release now. It would tell the court that it will be able to release water to Tamil Nadu sometime in December or just before that. Apart from this, the petition would mention the resolution of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council which unanimously decided to release Cauvery water only for drinking purposes.

Heading for a confrontation

Legal experts say that it is clear that Karnataka is heading for a confrontation on this issue. Since the ad-interim order of last week which directed the release of water, Karnataka has not yet implemented the same. Instead the state resolved to use the water only for drinking purposes in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru.

However, for the Supreme Court to haul up the legislature for contempt will not be possible. It would have to first declare the the resolution as unconstitutional before it initiates contempt proceedings.

Also read: Cauvery issue: Karnataka message to SC, TN Cauvery is now only for drinking not irrigation

Karnataka would state before the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the intention is not to disobey the order.

The issue is that the release of water is not possible now. It can be done at a later date, sometime on or before December, Karnataka would tell the court. This point would be made when the Supreme Court asks Karnataka why it had not implemented its order passed last week.

Karnataka's chief secretary Aravind Jadhav and water resources minister, M B Patil held discussions with the legal team. A strategy was formulated on how to go about this matter and also avoid contempt proceedings.

OneIndia News
Tamil Nadu bandh over Cauvery issue today: All you need to know

Cauvery row: 'HDK meeting PM was a waste of time', says TN Minister D Jayakumar

Release 31.24 TMC water to TN in July: Cauvery Management Authority to Karnataka

Cauvery row: Path to a Constitutional crisis

Feature

oi-Vicky

While Karnataka has told the Supreme Court that it can't release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till December due to shortage, here is a look at the timeline of the whole issue:

1892 and 1924: Two agreements in place to share water

1974: Agreement comes to an end. Karnataka constructs dams and increases irrigation area

1970 to 1980: Fact finding committee comes into force. Finds that Tamil Nadu irrigated an area of 1,440,000 acres to 2,580,000 acres. Committee finds Karanataka irrigated 680,000 acres. This leads to Tamil Nadu demanding an increase in water share.

1990: Both states move Supreme Court following which direction issued to Centre to constitute the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT).

1991: CWDT passes interim order directing Karnataka to release 205 TMCft of water to Tamil Nadu every year. Karnataka witnesses severe riots in which several persons are killed.

1995: Tamil Nadu goes to Supreme Court. Court tells TN to approach tribunal and also asks PM Narasimha Rao to intervene. PM orders release of 6 tmcft of water to TN. Karnataka says interim order flawed and was ambiguous on distress sharing.

Also read: Cauvery row: Can't release water till December, Karnataka tells SC

1998: Cauvery River Water Authority Constituted to ensure implementation of CWDT order.

2002: Cauvery River water authority directs release of 0.8 tmcft of water to TN. Karnataka defies it, gets pulled up by Supreme Court, following which order is followed by then CM, S M Krishna.

2005: Karnataka refuses to implement the distress sharing formula and cuts out Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Six rounds of talks held and farmers from both sides try and come up with a solution.

2007: CWDT passes final order. Says out of 740 tmcft water, TN to get 419 tmcft, Karnataka 270 tmcft, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmc ft to Puducherry. Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu go to Supreme Court to review tribunal's order.

2012: Karnataka directed by Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh to release 9,000 cusecs of water to TN. Karnataka and TN oppose it terming it as unacceptable. Supreme Court slams Karnataka for not following PM's order.

2013: The final award of the CWDT notified by the centre. Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court seeking setting up of the Cauvery Management Board. Also seeks Rs 2,480 crore in damages from Karnataka for not following tribunal's orders.

Sept 5, 2016: Supreme Court orders release of 15,000 cusecs of water to TN for ten days. Protests erupt in Karnataka.

Sept 12, 2016: Karnataka seeks to modify order. Supreme Court orders release of 12,000 cusecs of water. Protests turn violent.

Sept 19, 2016: Union water resources secretary chairs the first meeting of the supervisory committee orders Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water.

Sept 20, 2016: Both states go to Supreme Court which orders release of 6,000 cusecs of water for seven days.

Sept 23, 2016: Karnataka legislature passes resolution stating water will be released only for drinking purposes. TN files contempt plea in Supreme Court against Karnataka.

Sept 27, 2016: Karnataka to go to Supreme Court to seek modification of its Sept 20 order. Stage set for confontration between Karnataka and Supreme Court.

OneIndia News
Bank holidays in November 2022: Here is the full list of non-working days

Happy Chhath Puja 2022: Wishes, quotes, Facebook status, WhatsApp messages to share with your loved ones

Caught on camera: 17-year-old teenager stabbed to death for protesting sister's harassment in Delhi

In Pics: Sunanda Pushkar death case

Feature

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

High profile Sunanda Pushkar death case is still a big mystery to general public. More than two years have passed but investigation team have yet not reached to final conclusion in the case. Nobody yet knows whether her death was a natural one or she was murdered.

Earlier, the Delhi Police had claimed that her death was unnatural. Sudhir Gupta, head of AIIMS Forensic Science department, said the FBI report also said the death was due to poisoning as was concluded by the AIIMS.

Delhi Police has written to Canada's Department of Justice seeking details of the deleted chats from the mobile phones of Sunanda Pushkar and her husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

The police has sent a Letters Rogatory to the department asking them to get details of chat messages from Research in Motion Ltd, a senior police officer said.

Story continues in Pics.

Sunanda Pushkar death-Suicide or murder? Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was found dead at a five-star hotel in Delhi on January 17, 2014. Sunanda Pushkar death- Suicide or murder? New Delhi: Union minister Shashi Tharoor carries the mortal remains of his wife Sunanda Pushkar during her cremation procession at Lodhi Road crematorium in New Delhi. Sunanda Pushkar death- Suicide or murder? Haridwar : Sunanda Pushkar's husband Union minister Shashi Tharoor and her son Shiv Menon before immersing her ashes in River Ganga in Haridwar. Sunanda Pushkar death- Suicide or murder? Sunanda Pushkar who married Shashi Tharoor in 2010, found dead in Delhi's hotel. Sunanda Pushkar death- Suicide or murder? Photo of Union minister Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar at their reception party. Sunanda Pushkar death- Suicide or murder? On 17 January 2014, a day after the Twitter controversy, Sunanda was found dead in room number 345 ofthe Leela Palacehotel inChanakyapuri, New Delhi. The Delhi police confirmed that she was murdered, with the medical board calling her death 'unnatural'.

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Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 16:32 [IST]
People already getting 5Gs of 'garibi', 'ghotala', 'ghapla', 'ghalmel', 'gorakhdhanda under BJP: Akhilesh

Akhilesh Yadav expands cabinet, 3 sacked ministers back

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, Sep 26 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav expanded his cabinet on Monday for the eighth time since he assumed office in March 2012.

The swearing-in of 10 new ministers, including Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha, who were all sacked by the Chief Minister earlier, was conducted at Raj Bhavan by Governor Ram Naik.

Out of the 10, seven were accorded the cabinet rank and three ministers of state.

The expansion has a stamp of the old guard -- Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Singh, as the duo has overturned the sacking of three ministers, including Gayatri Prajapati, who was accused of being involved in illegal mining and land grabbing.

Akhilesh Yadav, who won public accolade for sacking the ministers, has been embarrassed by swearing-in of Gayatri Prajapati, whose re-induction in the state cabinet was announced by his father and Samajwadi Party chairman Mulayam Singh Yadav a few days back.

State minister Abhishek Mishra has been elevated as a cabinet minister and is likely to be one of the Brahmin faces along with Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress have been wooing the Brahmins ahead of the state assembly polls, slated for early 2017.

Other ministers who were also sworn-in included Ravidas Mehrotra, Narendra Verma, Ziya-ud-din Rizvi, Shankhlal Majhi, Riyaz Ahmad and Yaseer Shah.

With Monday's expansion, the number of ministers in the state government rose to 61, one more than the 60-minister ceiling, set in ratio of 15 per cent of the total assembly strength.

However, minures later, Minister of State Laxmikant Nishad was sacked, bringing the head count of ministers back to 60.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, his younger brother and state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav were among other dignitaries who attended the swearing-in.

IANS
Pak off the FATF grey list doesn't mean it's not under scrutiny anymore: MEA secretary

Imran Khan again targets Pakistan's establishment on Day 2 of protest march; govt rules out talks over snap polls

Anti-India tweet: After job loss, Pakistani-origin actor apologises

India

oi-Oneindia

By Maitreyee Boruah

Days after his anti-India tweets, Pakistan-born UK actor Marc Anwar has apologised on a video-sharing website on Monday. The 45-year-old's apology comes hours after he was sacked from the popular British TV drama, Coronation Street, for his racist and offensive comments against Indians.

In the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFceIay0flY), he said, "On Friday 23rd September 2016, I posted a number of tweets which have been misconstrued and made out as an attack on the people of India. Whilst my language was totally unacceptable my frustration was vented at the governments of the two countries and their hypocrisy. My absolute sympathies lie with all those suffering in areas of conflict. In this particular instance especially of those of Indian occupied Kashmir."

The broadcaster of the television soap, ITV, on Sunday said Anwar's comments about Indians on social media are "entirely unacceptable, racially offensive".

"We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar," said a spokesperson from ITV.

"We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to 'Coronation Street' with immediate effect," added the spokesperson.

The actor became a part of the world's longest-running TV soap opera in 2014. He played the role of a Muslim man named Sharif Nazir in the drama series.

His offensive tweets came close on the heels of escalating tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir in the recent times.

"Indians killing our Kashmir brothers and sisters," Anwar wrote. He called Indians "b*****ds" and used other insulting terms.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 16:38 [IST]
Not just India's share, Govt mulling to cut down Pakistan's share of river water as well

Response to Uri: Modi pours cold water on Indus water retaliation against Pakistan

India

oi-Vicky

Blood and water cannot flow together, says Prime Minister, even as he rules out stopping water to Pakistan.

For all the talk about scrapping the Indus Water Treaty as retaliation for the Uri terrorist attack in which 18 Indian soldiers died, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday decided not to do so.

At a high level meeting he chaired, Modi ruled out scrapping the 1960 agreement with Pakistan, but decided that India would henceforth use a greater share of the water from the river. Currently, India lets more than 80 percent of the Indus river to flow into Pakistan. The invisible elephant in the room: China.

[PM Modi chairs meeting on Indus Water treaty]

At the meeting, the Prime Minister called, however, for a more aggressive strategy saying, "blood and water cannot flow together".

India is expected to put in place a more aggressive strategy, which would include using more of the waters from three of the six rivers in the region that supply water to Pakistan. This strategy is aimed at putting pressure on Pakistan to mend its terrorist ways.

India has also reportedly decided to suspend Indus water commission talks. The government also wants to revive the suspend Tulbul navigation project. The Prime Minister asked for dams under construction in Jammu and Kashmir to be expedited.

[When Modi reviews Indus Water Treaty, one wary eye will be on China]

The Indus Water Treaty was signed on September 19, 1960. The treaty deals with the rivers Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and their tributaries and the three western rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and their tributaries.

India is obligated to let 80 per cent of the water from the Western rivers to flow into Pakistan.

Earlier today, in the Supreme Court, a petition was filed by advocate M. Sharma seeking to declare the treaty as unconstitutional. The Bench asked the petitioner why he had decided to challenge a treaty that was signed nearly 60 years ago.

At the meeting, in which National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar and other senior officials were present, the China factor, too, was debated.

In the Brahmaputra, China is the upper riparian state. It could stop the flow of water from the Brahmaputra into the North Eastern states, some officials are said to have cautioned.

OneIndia News
(Photo/Shenzhen Evening News)

Local authorities in Shenzhen, Guangdong province have pledged to get to the bottom of several 6-square-meter apartments that reportedly sold for 880,000 RMB each.

The special design of the micro-apartments went viral in late July, when word got out that a residential compound in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen would sell ant houses with a minimum area of 5.73 square meters.

The ant houses were recently unveiled, boasting an additional 6-square-meter living space offered for free by the real estate developer. Each apartment contains an actual usable floor area of 12 square meters. Only nine such apartments were made available, and they allegedly sold for nearly 900,000 RMB each, Securities Times reported.

While the sales team in charge of the apartments insisted that each unit was properly licensed with property certificates, local authorities denied in August that such rooms were approved as residential living spaces. Authorities claimed they were intended for offices instead, according to Shenzhen Evening News.

The apartments saleable area is far larger than its property area. The management bureau of Nanshang District is looking into the matter this afternoon. We will make public the results in a timely manner, wrote the Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen on its official Weibo on Sept. 25.

In 2012, the city instated a regulation that properties intended for residential use should be no less than 22 square meters. However, micro-apartments continue to be available in the city, especially near prestigious primary and high schools, according to Securities Times.

(Photo/Shenzhen Evening News)
'Never invited or met him': Hamid Ansari on row over Pak journalist

BJP uses photo to back its claim of Hamid Ansari's connection with Pak journalist

Hamid Ansari embarks on 5-day visit to Nigeria, Mali

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 26 Vice President Hamid Ansari today left on a five-day visit to Nigeria and Mali, where he will hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the two West African nations besides participating in a number of events.

His visit to Nigeria is at the invitation of his counterpart Yemi Osinbajo.

From Nigeria, Ansari will go to Mali on September 29, the first ever high-level visit to that country from India.

The vice president is accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal and MPs Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Mohammad Salim.

In Abuja, Ansari will hold talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives and deliver an address at the National Defence College of Nigeria.

He will also meet the governor of Lagos and deliver an address to the joint business forum at the University of Lagos.

The vice president will inaugurate the High Commission of India Chancery complex at Abuja and interact with members of the Indian community both in Abuja and Lagos.

"The vice president's visit (to Nigeria) intends to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, expand and diversify bilateral economic engagement and explore new avenues of partnerships on a wide range of issues of shared common interest," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

In Mali, Ansari will meet the president, the prime minister and also address the National Assembly.

The visit to Mali is aimed at boosting the relationship between the two countries and explore new areas of cooperation to expand and diversify bilateral relationship.

PTI
From being a victim of terrorism to exploring global solutions: India praised at UN's Counter Terrorism meet

India's satellite launch order book stands at Rs 280 crore

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Sriharikota, Sep 26 India has a satellite launch order book of around Rs 280 crore for third parties. The country is also in discussions with others for contract manufacturing of meteorological satellites, said top Indian space officials here on Monday.

The officials spoke to the media here after the successful launch of eight satellites-three Indian and five foreign-with an Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

"Our order book size for launching foreign satellites stands at around Rs 280 crore. This will take us around two/three years to exhaust," said of Antrix Corporation's Chairman-cum-Managing Director S. Rakesh.

Rakesh said discussions are on with several parties for orders worth a similar amount.

The Antrix Corporation is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

According to Rakesh, the company closed last fiscal with a turnover of Rs 1,923 crore crore and is expected to close the current fiscal with a revenue of around Rs 2,000 crore. He said the company is looking at consolidating the performance and achievements of ISRO.

On making satellites for others, ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said: "Our meteorological satellites have excellent capabilities which, barring the US, others do not have." He said India is in discussions for making meteorological satellites for others.

According to Kumar, ISRO will look at the possibilities of contract manufacturing satellites for others along with Indian industry as it has to cater to the country's needs first.

He said there are opportunities and converting them into actual orders depends on various factors.

Queried about ISRO's plans to make six-tonne satellites, Kumar said the focus now is to get the same output from four-tonne satellites instead of going for a six-tonner.

The move will save sizeable sums for India as it pays to launch heavier satellites through the European space agency's rocket Ariane.

Asked about the launch of Saarc satellite, Kumar said the satellite is being readied, adding that while Pakistan has said it is not interested in the India-built Saarc satellite, discussions are on with Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

India on Monday morning successfully put into orbit its own weather satellite SCATSAT-1 and seven others -- five foreign: three from Algeria (Alsat-1B 103 kg, Alsat-2B 117 kg, Alsat-1N 7 kg), and one each from Canada (NLS-19, 8 kg) and the US (Pathfinder, 44 kg); and two Indian: Pratham (10 kg) built by Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) and Pisat (5.25 kg) from PES University, Bengaluru, and its consortium.

With this, India successfully completed yet another multiple-satellite launch in a single rocket mission and is marching towards the milestone of 100 foreign satellite launches.

Till date, India has successfully launched 79 satellites for international customers. Interestingly, this was also PSLV's longest launch spread over two hours and 15 minutes.

The Indian space agency ISRO also put into commercial use its multiple-burn technology in its rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Simply put, multiple-burn technology is the switching off and switching on of a rocket's engine in space mainly to deliver satellites in two different orbits.

IANS
LVM3 exemplifies Atmanirbharta, says PM Modi as he congratulates ISRO on successful launch of OneWeb

ISROs complex, historic launch: From students to weather satellites

India

oi-Oneindia

By Maitreyee Boruah

Indian space scientists on Monday scripted history by placing eight satellites in two different orbits on the same flight of the workhorse PSLV rocket.

[ISRO successfully puts into orbit 7 more satellites, following SCATSAT-1]

It was a new technological feat for the Indian Space Research Organisation, which demonstrated for the first time what's known as multiple burn -- turning off and on rocket engines in mid-flight in order to be able to launch spacecraft into orbits at different heights.

A typical flight of the PSLV to launch satellites into polar orbit takes about 17 minutes. Monday's PSLV C-35 flight lasted more than two hours.

The rocket first put the ScatSat-1 weather satellite into polar sun synchronous orbit at 730 km 17 minutes after launch at 9.12 am. The rocket's engines then turned off and then fired almost two hours later to reach a 689-km orbit where it deployed the other seven spacecraft.

[India's satellite launch order book stands at Rs 280 crore]

This kind of a twin-orbit manoeuvre was only achieved by European Space Agency's Vega rocket recently.

"This is a challenging two-in-one mission that puts India in a unique league of nations having the capability to achieve two different orbits in a single mission," said ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi patted on the back of the scientists with this encouraging tweet, "Our space scientists keep scripting history."

The PSLV C-35 carried three satellites from India, three from Algeria, and one each from Canada and the US.

#WATCH ISRO successfully launches PSLV'S longest flight with SCATSAT-1 & other 7 satellites on board pic.twitter.com/8Kp1eazSr2  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

Apart from Isro's ScatSat-1, the two other Indian satellites were built by students of IIT-Bombay and those of PESIT University in Bengaluru.

ScatSat-1 The 371 kg ScatSat-1 is meant for ocean and weather-related studies. Its main objective is to achieve data quality for Climate Data Records, apart from facilitating routine meteorological applications, the Isro said. Pratham An initiative of the students of IIT-Bombay, with help from Isro. The satellite took nine years to build, with some 250 students of successive batches involved in the project. The microsatellite weights over 10 kg. Pratham will be useful for scientific studies, help in tsunami warnings and correcting errors in GPS communication. PiSat PiSat is the second student satellite that flew on the PSLV C-35. The satellite was built by students of PESIT University, Bengaluru. The 5-kg PiSat is a remote sensing nanosatellite, built with the help of Isro scientists. It is a three-axis stabilised imaging nanosatellite and generates 13 watts power with S-band RF (radio frequency) communication, said the ISRO. The PiSat's imaging camera puts out pictures with 80-metre resolution. Interestingly, PESIT students have even established a mini-control centre on its campus to track and maintain the satellite post-launch and have built telemetry and telecommand systems into the satellite. AlSat-1N The Algerian nanosatellite weighs seven kg. It is the smallest of the three Algerian satellites on board. AlSat-1N is a joint venture of Algerian Space Agency, the UK Space Agency and Surrey Space Center. AlSat-1N is also hosting three UK payloads from various institutions and aims to take images of the Earth and send back data from the UK payloads. AlSat-1B The second Algerian satellite is a technological collaboration between the Algerian Space Agency and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). It weighs 103 kg. The earth observation satellite will monitor agricultural activities, the state of the environment and natural disasters. AlSat-2B The third Algerian satellite has been developed with help from Airbus Defense and Space. The AlSat-2B weighs 117 kg. The images taken by the satellite will be used for multiple purposes including cartography, agriculture, forestry, water management, land planning and management of natural disasters, said the ISRO. BlackSky Pathfinder-1 The 44-kg microsatellite from the United States is meant for commercial purposes. BlackSky provides 1-meter resolution satellite imagery on-demand to companies, organisations and nations, for various kinds of use. Can X-7 It has been developed by the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), Canada. Can X-7 is an experimental technology demonstration satellite. Its main feature is a drag sail, which will allow the satellite to de-orbit.

OneIndia News
Second time lucky? AAP conducts Punjab-like 'Who should be CM' survey in Gujarat

Why is BJP not bringing Uniform Civil Code across the country: Kejriwal in Gujarat

Kejriwal woos traders in Punjab, meets Radha Soami sect chief

India

oi-PTI

Jalandhar, Sept 26: On his second visit to Punjab within three weeks, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday reached out to traders promising to end 'raid raj' and also met Radha Soami sect chief Gurinder Singh Dhillon in a bid to broaden AAP's base the state which goes to polls next year.

Taking potshots at the Centre over black money compliance window, Kejriwal alleged IT department is targeting traders across the country to meet its target while big businessmen like Vijay Malya were going scot-free.

Wooing the business community, traditionally considered BJP supporters, he said if AAP forms next government it would end 'raid raj' and bring "business-friendly" policies in the state as it has done in Delhi.

The AAP national convenor also met Radha Soami sect chief Gurinder Singh Dhillon at Beas. The sect has a considerable following in the state.

Kejriwal met Dhillon at Radha Soami headquarters, also known as Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, and spent over 30 minutes with him.

Reconsider removal of DERC chief, Kejriwal urges Jung

"During the meeting, they discussed the political scenario of Punjab in view of upcoming assembly election in the state, an AAP spokesman said.

Earlier, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had also met the Radha Soami sect chief at Beas.

Kejriwal said the trader community has complained to him of unnecessary IT department raids.

"Instead of conducting such raids, IT sleuths should be raiding Vijay Malya and I'm sure their target of at least Rs. 7000 crore could have been met," he said in an apparent reference to Centre's Income Declaration Scheme which gives citizens time till September 30 to declare undisclosed income.

"Giant corporate houses are being allowed to go scot free with the loot, which indicates the government's intention on the issue of black money," the Delhi CM said.

He claimed the AAP government in Delhi reduced VAT on many items from 12.5 per cent to 5 per cent even without the traders asking for it.

Speaking on the occasion of Maharaja Agarsen Jayanti here, Kejriwal, who attended the programme as chief guest, vowed to end 'raid raj' in Punjab if his party comes to power after the 2017 Assembly poll in the state.

"It is our observation that raid raj instead of curbing corruption encourages it among corrupt bureaucrats and inspectors," he said, adding, it's very important governments must discourage 'raid raj' in any state.

"When we came to power in Delhi, about 150 raids were being conducted per month, which we stopped and now raids are allowed only in cases the department has ample evidence against whom the raid to be conducted," he said.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 8:14 [IST]
Missing Ishrat files: Probe will focus on P Chidambaram too

India

oi-Vicky

The Ishrat Jahan issue is far from over. With the Delhi Police registering an FIR to probe into the missing files, the political heat is bound to rise and the alleged role of former home minister, P Chidambaram on the missing files will be the focus of the probe.

After filing an FIR in the Ishrat Jahan missing files case, the focus of the probe is likely to be on former home minister, P Chidambaram. There has been a mystery over the files that have gone missing from the Home Ministry.

The police will probe the missing of five key documents which had led to the preparation of the second affidavit. While in the first affidavit the union government had said that there were details about Ishrat's terrorist links, in the second one these points were omitted. Ishrat Jahan was killed in an encounter at Gujarat in 2004.

Chidambaram will be the focus

After the filing of the second affidavit in 2009, the BJP accused the Congress and Chidambaram in particular of changing the narrative. The BJP said that between the two affidavits, Ishrat Jahan went from terrorist to innocent girl killed in a fake encounter.

The BJP after coming to power at the centre decided to revisit this case and find out what led to the narrative changing. Former home secretary of India, GK PIllai had said recently in an interview with OneIndia (Interview: Chidambaram should have guts to admit revising Ishrat affadavit and not hide- G K Pillai) that the affidavit was changed at a political level.

The home ministry had set up a one-man committee to probe into the missing files. The committee headed BK , was the additional home secretary, said in a 52-page report that the files were removed knowingly, unknowingly or misplaced. He said that the files had gone missing between September 18 and 28, 2009 when the UPA was in power.

Now with the Delhi Police registering an FIR, the probe will go deeper into how the papers went missing. In the midst of all the allegations and counter allegations, Chidambaram's name has cropped up several times.

The Delhi Police will also probe if the former home minister had anything to do with the files vanishing.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 10:40 [IST]
Cable bridge collapses in Gujarat; at least 70 dead; PM takes stock of situation

Prez, PM Modi express grief over deaths in Gujarat bridge collapse, Cong asks party workers to extend help

Narendra Modi dedicates 7 new plant species to nation

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Sep 26 Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi on Monday dedicated seven new indigenously developed varieties of plants to the nation and interacted with farmers to mark the 75th anniversary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"No country would progress without the use of science and technology," Modi said at the Vigyan Bhawan here where the CSIR marked its 75th foundation day.

"Your (CSIR) contribution to the country in last 75 years increases our hopes from you. People would only expect from those who can deliever," he said.

The Prime Minster also stressed upon mitigating the gaps between science and research to the industry and common user.

"Sometimes we do invention but the common man is kept away from those inventions. We need to abridge those gaps," he said.

Interacting with the farmers from five states through video conferencing, the Prime Minster encoraged them to brand their products for better marketing.

"Try to give a specific name to your product (vetiver or khus), this would give them unique identity and will increase their marketting prospects," Modi said while interacting with a farmer at Cuddalor, Tamil Nadu who grew khus.

Talking to another farmer from Jorhat who was a botany student, the Prime Minister expressed his happiness.

"I am happy that despite being a botany student you decided to return to the farming, while many don't. We need such spirit," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also interacted with the farmers from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.

The new varieties of the plants that have ornamental and medicinal qualities were developed by the CSIR laboratories, especially Cental Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).

The plants include new varieties of lemongrass, citronella, vetiver and canna lily plant.

IANS
Cable bridge collapses in Gujarat; at least 70 dead; PM takes stock of situation

PM Modi dedicates maze garden, Miyawaki forest, houseboat service near 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat

Prez, PM Modi express grief over deaths in Gujarat bridge collapse, Cong asks party workers to extend help

News flash: J&K is an integral part of India, and will be always: Swaraj to Pak

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Sept 26: ISRO hosted press conference in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) after launching of PSLV's longest flight SCATSAT-1 for ocean and weather studies.

Get all the latest news updates of the day:

11.45 pm: What is unknown is what the NDA Govt is going to do to change Pakistan's behaviour,the country wants to know this from the PM: Manish Tewari

11.30 pm: Depending on Pakistan's response, India may take further action: Government sources

11.00 pm: Suspension of Indus water commission talks & review of Tulbul project are the first steps taken by India: Government sources.

10.30 pm: The world has known for the last 25-30 years now that Pakistan is a net exporter of terror: Manish Tewari,Congress

10.00 pm: EAM brought it out clearly, Pak should stop day dreaming & look at human rights violations in their territory: Rajyavardhan Rathore

9.30 pm: Houston Police: Suspect in shooting near strip mall that wounded 6 is dead. (AP)

9.15 pm: Two Naxals including an area commander surrender before police in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh.

8.45 pm: Those who seed extr't ideologies, reap a bitter harvest: EAM Sushma Swaraj.

8.20 pm: Bahadur Ali is a living example of Pakistan's cross border terrorism: EAM Sushma Swaraj

8.00 pm: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others: EAM Sushma Swaraj on Nawaz Sharif's Kashmir rant at UNGA

7.35 pm: we gave frienship and got pathankot, says sushma swaraj at UNGA.

#WATCH: "Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always be. Pakistan should stop dreaming", says EAM Sushma Swaraj at #UNGA pic.twitter.com/1OYsdks4vf  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

7.33 pm: We should adopt Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to develop norms to prosecute terrorists: EAM Swaraj at UNGA.

7.32 pm: Those who seed extr't ideologies, reap a bitter harvest. This germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster: EAM Sushma Swaraj at UNGA.

7.27 pm: "Kashmir is an integral part of India, and will always be. Pakistan should stop dreaming", says EAM Sushma Swaraj at UNGA

7.26 pm: Bahadur Ali is a living example of Pakistan's cross border terrorism, says EAM Sushma Swaraj.

7.25 pm: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others, says EAM Sushma Swaraj on Nawaz Sharif's Kashmir rant at UNGA.

7.24 pm: We all have to come together to fight the scourge of terrorism, if some country is not willing then it must be isolated, says EAM Sushma Swaraj.

7.23 pm: We need to identify who gives shelter to the terrorists? How are they able to carry out such activities?. We need to uproot terrorism: EAM.

7.22 pm: Who finances terror and terrorists? Same question was raised by Afghanistan on this very platform few days back, says EAM Swaraj at UNGA.

7.14 pm: I am very thankful to the UN for its tremendous support for International Yoga day: EAM Sushma Swaraj.

7.12 pm: Sanitation is also a big issue, and we have started 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyan' under which 4 lakh toilets are built in 2 lakh schools: EAM.

7.11 pm: A year has passed since I stood at this hallowed podium to address members of the international community,so much has changed since then, says EAM.

7.10 pm: Today the biggest challenge all of us face is the poverty prevalent in all corners of the world: EAM Sushma Swaraj

7.06 pm: Sushma Swaraj addresses the 71st session of UN General Assembly in New York at UNGA.

6.49 pm: EAM Sushma Swaraj arrives at UN for her address to the 71st UNGA session (source: MEA).

EAM Sushma Swaraj arrives at UN for her address to the 71st #UNGA session (source: MEA) pic.twitter.com/JDjyyKsIzl  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

6.37 pm: BJP MLA Sangeet Som's reaction on being asked if Pakistani actors should be allowed India.

6.18 pm: Several injured in shooting in a mall in Houston(Texas): US media

5.55 pm: We will go to Kashmir and tell the youth that there is no better country for us than India: Sayyed Zainul Abidin (Leader, Ajmer Sharif).

5.50 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh meets sufi leaders in Delhi.

5.19 pm: As an Indian, yes it hurts. It hurts every Indian to hear of such incidents regularly: Virat Kohli on Uri Attack.

5.18 pm: Its sadenning, I can only pay my condolences to the families of our jawans who suffered in the incident: Virat Kohli on Uri Attack.

5.15 pm: India to use potential of 18000 megawatt of power from the western rivers under Indus water treaty: Sources on PM-Water ministry meet.

5.12 pm: Discussed in the meeting chaired by PM Modi on Indus water treaty: 'India to use fullest legal rights in the treaty', say Sources.

5.10 pm: India to expedite construction on 3 dams on River Chenab; Pakul Dul Dam, Sawalkot Dam and Bursar Dam.

5.00 pm: PM Modi said 'blood & water can't flow together at the same time' in meeting with Water ministry officials on Indus Waters treaty: Sources.

4.48 pm: Presentation given to PM Modi about the implications for India-Pak: Water Ministry sources after meeting with PM Modi on Indus Water Treaty.

4.47 pm: As per SC order if there are any impediments in implementation of the court order the committee may submit the status report: Justice Lodha.

4.31 pm: Presentation given to PM Modi about the implications for India-Pak: Water Ministry sources after meeting with PM Modi on Indus Water Treaty.

4.30 pm: You will get to know soon whatever the Govt decides: Water Ministry sources after meeting with PM Modi on Indus Water Treaty.

4.27 pm: We have decided to submit the report to the Supreme Court: Justice Lodha after Lodha committee meeting.

4.01 pm: Your anger is your weakness, I am not going to take it even if you give it to me, says Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh on shoe hurled.

4.00 pm: A short while ago somebody hurled a shoe on us, it didn't touch me..but hit him (person next to RG) on the arm: Rahul Gandhi in Sitapur,UP.

3.45 pm: Fire extinguisher explodes in a car in Haridwar (Uttarakhand), one person gets injured.

3.31 pm: 39 years Woman and her mother in law murdered in their house in Vasant Nagar, Bengaluru. Investigation underway.

3.12 pm: Five CRPF jawans injured in a grenade attack in Anantnag district's Wanpoh (J&K), being treated in a hospital.

3.00 pm: Local hurls a shoe towards Congress VP Rahul Gandhi during his road show in Sitapur (UP),detained by police.

2.51 pm: Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen served notice from BMC after some mosquito breeding spots were found at her house in Khar.

2.50 pm: Local attempts to hurl a shoe at Cong VP Rahul Gandhi during his road show, arrested by police in Sitapur (UP).

2.45 pm: Local attempts to hurl a shoe at Congress VP Rahul Gandhi during his road show, arrested by police.



2.40 pm: Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen served notice from BMC after some mosquito breeding spots were found at her house in Khar.



2.23 pm: Five CRPF jawans injured in grenade attack in Anantnag district's Wanpoh (J&K). More details awaited.

2.15 pm: They were planning to have a conspiracy in parts of the country, they are members of banned org Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh: Police.

2.10 pm: Bhopal Municipal Corporation demolish building which is illegally constructed.

2.00 pm: These terrorists were absconding after Khagragarh blast in Bardhaman,3 are of Bangladeshi origin & the other 3 of Indian: Vishal Garg,Police

1.54 pm: Delhi: David Campbell Mulford, Vice Chairman, International Credit Suisse meets Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

1.35 pm: Trivandrum: Kerala Student Union's protest outside the Secretariat against self financing management college agreement

1.30 pm: Indus Water treaty is an international treaty,& we are a responsible country. Can't behave irresponsibly at international level:Kanwal Sibal

1.30 pm: Ernakulam sessions court adjourned hearing on Jisha murder case to 30th Sep. Court asked prosecutor to make sure witnesses are present during trial. Court also also directed availability of translator during procedure.

1.27 pm: We could even then look at how we need to review the Indus waters treaty: Kanwal Sibal, Former Foreign secretary

1.25 pm: Appointment of VC in Aligarh Muslim University - SC refers the matter to 3 judge bench and posted matter for further hearing after Dussehra.

1.24 pm: If Pak continue to pursue their policy of using terror as instrumental policy agnst us,then we may hv to think of other options:Kanwal Sibal

1.23 pm: It will entail a lot of problems at the legal level, with the World Bank etc: Former foreign Secy Kanwal Sibal on Indus waters treaty

1.22 pm: I don't think we are at the moment thinking of abrogating Indus waters treaty, that will be a drastic step:Former foreign Secy Kanwal Sibal

1.21 pm: Worst has been said, whatever EAM says now has to be within the framework of what the PM has said: Kanwal Sibal (Former Foreign Secy)

1.15 pm: Delhi: PM Modi chairs meeting on Indus Waters Treaty. FS Jaishankar, NSA Doval, PM's principal secy Nripendra Misra also attend meeting

1.10 pm: PM Narendra Modi chairs meeting on Indus Waters Treaty. FS Jaishankar, NSA Doval and PM's principal secretary Nripendra Misra attend meeting

1.05 pm: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet expansion underway; Shankh Lal Manjhi takes oath as a Cabinet Minister.

12.54 pm: Kanpur Test: India (318 & 377/5d) beat New Zealand (262 & 236) by 197 runs to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series #INDvNZ

12.49 pm: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet expansion underway: Gayatri Prasad Prajapati takes oath as a Cabinet Minister, to be re-inducted

12.47 pm: Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet expansion underway, Mohammed Ziauddin Rizvi takes oath. CM Akhilesh and Governor present

12.45 pm: Five of the six terrorists were named in NIA chargesheet, in connection with a blast in Bardhaman two years ago.

12.43 pm: Yudh Abhyas 2016: Joint military drill between India and US troops underway in Almora, Uttarakhand.

12.40 pm: Special Task Force of Kolkata police has arrested six Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists.

12.33 pm: Chhattisgarh: 1 Maoist killed in an encounter with security forces in Kondagaon; 12 bore SBL rifles, 1 pipe bomb, 1 grenade recovered.

12.30 pm: The Apex court issued notices to all the civic agencies, including all the three MCDs and NDMC over Chikungunya menace in Delhi.

12.28 pm: SC takes plea filed by Anil Mittal on chikungunya menace in Delhi as a suo motu matter & registers it as a PIL; Next hearing on Sept 30.

12.15 pm: Based on the actual signals from SCATSAT-1, we have confirmed that solar panels and antenna mechanism have deployed: Kiran Kumar

12.13 pm: We are working on our GSLV Mark-3, towards the end of this year we intend to realise this launch: ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar.

12.11 pm: The next launch for us is on October 4th, this is a communication satellite GSAT-18: ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar in Andhra Pradesh

12.07 pm: ISRO's press conference in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) after launching of PSLV's longest flight SCATSAT-1 for ocean & weather studies

11.55 am: I'm grateful and will take this opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka: KJ George on his reinduction into Karnataka Cabinet

11.49 am: Plea in SC on deaths due to Chikungunya/Dengue: SC issued notice Del Govt after hearing Dr Anil Mittal's plea.

11.46 am: Bhushan told the division bench that Shahabuddin is a serious threat to the society if his bail is not cancelled.

11.45 am: Also, take it as a responsibility to guide the new generation youths: PM Modi at CSIR Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in Delhi.

11.44 am: The nation is proud of you all, hope you move forward with even more strength and dedication: PM at CSIR Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

11.43 am: Need to connect science with the common citizens in this technology driven century: PM Modi

11.42 am: Lawyer P. Bhushan told SC there were 45 cases against Shahabuddin, out of which 9 are murder cases, & 10 cases he had been convicted in. Shahabuddin's lawyer asked for more time to respond in the matter.

11.41 am: Have always said, per drop more crop. We must also think about- an inch of land and a bunch of crops: PM Modi

11.40 am: SC decides to hear matter related to cancellation of bail of Shahabuddin on Wednesday

11.40 am: The more technology we use, the more waste management we can do. India needs intervention for affordable technologies: PM Modi

11.39 am: Today, health sector is mostly technology-driven and I think it is a good opportunity for you: PM Modi at CSIR Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

11.38 am: I think if the youths of the country are given an opportunity, they will definitely do something out of it: PM Narendra Modi in Delhi.

11.22 am: It is a matter of pride for every Indian that CSIR is celebrating 75th year of committed contribution to the development of modern India: PM Modi.

It is a matter of pride for every Indian that CSIR is celebrating 75th year of committed contribution to the development of modern India: PM pic.twitter.com/Z67rQ2zHkm  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

11.12 am: Earthquake jolts southern Japan, preliminary magnitude of 5.7; no tsunami warning issued.

10.57 am: Delhi based lawyer files PIL challenging the constitutional validity of the Indus Waters Treaty.

10.40 am: KJ George takes oath as Karnataka Minister after getting a clean chit by CID in DySP Ganapathy suicide case.

KJ George takes oath as Karnataka Minister after getting a clean chit by CID in DySP Ganapathy suicide case. pic.twitter.com/2Uq8AsRkLj  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

10.14 am: CSIR Platinum Jubilee Celebrations - PM Narendra Modi present at the exhibition.

Delhi: CSIR Platinum Jubilee Celebrations - PM Narendra Modi at the exhibition of unique work of CSIR pic.twitter.com/ArasZp1Wh4  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

10.00 am: Gunshots heard after security forces cordoned off Bagtor in Gurez village, Bandipur district (J&K) near LoC.

9.48 am: Yudh Abhyas 2016: Joint military drill between India and US troops underway in Almora, Uttarakhand.

Yudh Abhyas 2016: Joint military drill between India and US troops underway in Almora, Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/ud6iI5t8Ym  ANI (@ANI_news) September 26, 2016

9.37 am: PM Narendra Modi congratulates ISRO for the launch of PSLV's longest flight SCATSAT-1

Moment of immense joy & pride for India. Congratulations to @isro on successful launch of PSLV-C35/SCATSAT-1 & 7 co-passenger satellites.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

9.15 am: ISRO launches PSLV's longest flight SCATSAT-1 for ocean, weather studies in Sriharikota.

8.45 am: Narendra Modi wishes former PM Manmohan Singh on his birthday.

Warm birthday wishes to Dr. Manmohan Singh ji. May God bless him with a long and healthy life.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

8.17 am: Supreme Court hear matter related to cancellation of bail of Shahabuddin, filed by family of the victims and others.

8.04 am: Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti and senior officials to brief PM Modi on Indus Waters Treaty at 12 PM today.

8.00 am: Sushma Swaraj to address UN General Assembly Session today in New York (US).

OneIndia News
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out

Suspicious bird with rings on its legs caught near India-Pakistan border

Rajasthan Governor stresses on value-based education

India

oi-PTI

Kota, Sep 25 Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh today stressed on value-based education saying it inculcates true human virtues and only when teachers are dedicated to the service of the nation they can instill tolerance among the students.

Speaking at the first convention ceremony of Agriculture University of Kota he appealed the students to develop innovative techniques of crop cultivation and conservation and stressed the need for nutrient management, soil testing and water-selfreliance.

He awarded five gold medals and 178 graduate and post- graduate degrees to the students.

Singh asked the agriculture scientists to make efforts to enhance agriculture productivity per hectare.

Deputy Managing director of Indian Agriculture Research Council Narendra Singh Rathore stressed the need to bring transformation in horticulture, milk and dairy sectors.

Chancellor, Agriculture University of Kota, G L Kushwaha told two villages Chomakot in Kota and Chachlao in Jhalawar- are being developed as Smart Village by the university and other 55 have been adopted for agricultural innovations.

Sangod MLA and member of Board of University Management, Heeralal Nagar also spoke on the occasion.

The Governor also laid the foundation stone for the Administrative building of the varsity.

PTI
It took 70 years for Yamuna to get this dirty, can't be cleaned in 2 days: CM Kejriwal

Release water in Yamuna: Activists

India

oi-PTI

Agra, Sep 25 World Rivers Day was today celebrated here with activists demanding release of water in Yamuna which was dying a "slow death".

Held at the Etmauddaula View Point Park on the Yamuna bank, tourism-industry members threatened to go on indefinite hunger strike from November 1, if water was not released in the river.

They said a dry Yamuna was a serious threat to the Taj Mahal whose foundations required constant moisture.

Surendra Sharma, founder president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association said, "There was no water in the river. Only toxic waste and pollutants from upstream cities, industrial effluents were flowing contaminating the dwindling water resources".

The activists also put up a photo exhibition over pollution in the water body at the Goverdhan Hotel to highlight the plight of the river by human waste and industrial pollutants.

At evening, they gathered at the Yamuna Arti Sthal to draw attention to rivers in India facing increasing threats associated with climate change, pollution and haphazard industrial growth.

Jugal Kishore Shrotriya, a temple priest and a young green activist, said the Yamuna, for all practical purposes, was "dead in Agra".

"Only garbage, carcasses and sewer flow. The aquatic life has been decimated. So many plans and schemes to save the river have gone down the drain," he said.

Activists said the free flow of the river has been obstructed by a series of barrages upstream that hold up all the water.

"What reaches Agra is just waste and sewage. The Yamuna Action Plans have made no discernible improvements in water quality.

The flow is inadequate. The sewage treatment plants either do not work or are short of resources," Shravan Kumar Singh of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society said.

PTI
Sunanda Pushkar's death: Cops say she was in mental agony because of Tharoor-Mehr affair

Sunanda case: Police seeks details of deleted chats

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 26: Delhi Police has written to Canada's Department of Justice seeking details of the deleted chats from the mobile phones of Sunanda Pushkar and her husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

The police has sent a Letters Rogatory to the department asking them to get details of chat messages from Research in Motion Ltd, a senior police officer said.

Senior Journalist Nalini Singh had told police that she had a chat with Sunanda in which she had mentioned that Tharoor and Pakistani Journalist Meher Tara had allegedly exchanged messages that were deleted from Tharoor's phone.

51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in a five- star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Tarar on Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor. Several persons including Tharoor have been questioned in connection with Sunanda's death.

Sunanda Pushkar death case: A Timeline

The police have also conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoor's domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple.

In February, Tarar was questioned about her relation with the Congress leader and his wife, her fight with Sunanda over Twitter, and other issues revolving around Sunanda's death.

In Pics: Sunanda Pushkar death case

Delhi Police had in January 2015 registered a case of murder in connection with Sunanda's death. The FBI report sent to Delhi Police in November 2015 had virtually ruled out the theory of 'polonium poisoning' having caused her death.

However, after Delhi Police failed to draw any conclusion on basis of the findings, the report was handed over to a medical board for examination before further proceedings in the high-profile case. The medical board is yet to give its opinion on cause of Sunanda's death.

PTI
The poster of Meet the Flockers on Youtube.

A petition submitted to the official website of the White House on Sept. 21 called on the U.S. government to ban a controversial song encouraging violence and crimes against Chinese people.

"We the People," the official White House website, serves as a rallying point for many people to come together and highlight important issues. Any petition that collects over 100,000 signatures within one month is guaranteed to receive a response from the White House.

The recent petition, which had over 32,000 signatures as of press time, demands that the U.S. government ban the song Meet the Flockers by hip-hop artist YG from public media, and also investigate [the] legal responsibilities of its writer.

The song's lyrics encourages people to find a house and scope it out, find a Chinese neighborhood, because they dont believe in bank accounts. The song, which was released two years ago, has garnered over 430,000 views on YouTube as of press time.

I am appalled at the sickening lyrics. It is no doubt discrimination, which encourages thugs to loot a specific ethnic group. Such a distasteful song should be banned from the public media, said a New-York based human right activist surnamed Wang. Wang told Peoples Daily Online on Sept. 26 that the petition is another platform for Chinese Americans to voice their discontent after Peter Liangs indictment.

In addition to the petition, chat groups have also been formed on social media such as WeChat to support the banning of the song. "Civil Rights," a WeChat public account that was founded in 2013 to support Chinese Americans legal rights, has also called for Chinese communities across the U.S. to get involved and sign the petition.

For a long time, Chinese Americans have been looted or even killed by certain ethnic groups. Chinese living in the U.S. always submit to humiliation and violation, making us the target for those criminals. We cannot let the video go viral, or it would harm you, your friends and family members! read one post published by the group on Sept. 24.

Chinese Americans have been increasingly active in protesting for their civil rights in recent years. In February, over 10,000 people participated in rallies around the country to protest the indictment of a Chinese-American police officer Peter Liang, who was accused of killing a man with a bullet.
Sunanda Pushkar's Death: Experts to examine documents, Arguments on charges on Aug 20 and 22

Sunanda Pushkar's death: Cops say she was in mental agony because of Tharoor-Mehr affair

Charge Shashi Tharoor for murder in Sunanda Pushkar case: Police to court

Delhi police gets time to go through Sunanda Pushkars tweets

Sunanda Pushkar death case: Court adjourns order on framing of charges against Shashi Tharoor

Sunanda Pushkar death case: A Timeline

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Delhi, Sept 26: Delhi Police has written to Canada's Department of Justice seeking details of the deleted chats from the mobile phones of Sunanda Pushkar and her husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

The police has sent a Letters Rogatory to the department asking them to get details of chat messages from Research in Motion Ltd, a senior police officer said.

Here is a chronology of the case.

January 17, 2014: Sunanda Pushkar found dead at Delhi's Leela Palaces hotel,a day after she was involved in a spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on Twitter over the latter's alleged affair with Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvanathapuram.

January 19, 2014: AIIMS Post-mortem reports indicate a case of sudden and unnatural death.

January 21, 2014: The subdivisional magistrate (SDM) says that Sunanda died due to 'poisoning'.

January 23, 2014: The probe into the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar transferred to the Crime Branch of Delhi Police.

January 25, 2014: Murder case is transferred back to the Delhi Police.

In Pics: Sunanda Pushkar death case

September, 2014: Delhi Police gets viscera report from AIIMS doctor.

January 1, 2015: Police registers murder case in connection with the death of Sunanda.

January 21, 2015: Delhi Police's SIT conducts polygraph test on 6 close aides including Tharoors' domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple.

February 2015: Delhi Police sends Sunanda Pushkar's viscera samples and other evidence gathered from the hotel room to an FBI laboratory in US.

June, 2015: Controversy over her death deepened when AIIMS doctor Sudhir Gupta claimed that he was pressured to give a false report in the case.

November 2015: Delhi Police receives viscera report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which confirmed the presence of lidocaine (used to relieve itching, burning and pain due to skin inflammation) in her body.

January 10, 2016: The final report by AIIMS medical board said that Sunanda died of poisoning caused by anxiety drug Alprax. All India Institute of Medical Sciences experts also said there could be chances of an injectable poison, in view of certain marks on Sunanda's body.

January 15, 2016: BS Bassi who was Delhi Police commissioner that time said Sunanda's death was not natural.

February, 2016: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Delhi Police questioned Shashi Tharoor in connection with his wife's murder case. Tharoor retierated that Sunanda died due to medication.

July 18, 2016: Delhi Police questions Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar in connection with the Sunanda's murder case.

OneIndia News
Britain's Prince William, Kate tour Vancouver without kids

International

oi-PTI

Vancouver, Sept 26: Prince George and Princess Charlotte stayed behind with their nanny as Britain's Prince William and his wife, Kate, continued their tour of British Columbia, a day after George left Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hanging on a high-five.

The 3-year-old George made headlines in the United Kingdom when George, seemingly shy and overwhelmed, declined to high-five and then shake the hand of Trudeau during the arrival ceremony Saturday at the airport in Victoria, BC.

The prime minister was among several dignitaries waiting on the tarmac to greet the royals when they emerged from their flight. Videos and photos of the interaction were shared widely by British media. The Mirror wrote: "Superstar politician Trudeau might have endeared himself to millions online through his outspoken feminism, support for diversity and willingness to embrace internet memes, but it seems to take more than that to impress Will and Kate's eldest."

The Daily Mail shared a story with the headline: "Sorry, one doesn't high-five with commoners." The kids are remaining in Victoria as their parents visit other parts of British Columbia and Western Canada until October 1 on their first official overseas trip as a family of four.

On the second day of their trip the British royal couple flew on a float plane to Vancouver, where they were greeted at the waterfront by several hundred fans who gave them a raucous welcome. Both spent time talking with people and appeared to be trying to shake hands with everyone they could.

What a great way to arrive in the city! #RoyalVisitCanada pic.twitter.com/NwDlTgSP7k  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 25, 2016

Kate, with her hair down, was wearing a red-and-white patterned dress by the late British designer Alexander McQueen, red shoes and a red purse. The couple then stopped at an outreach center for women with drug and alcohol addictions who are pregnant or parenting.

The Duke and Duchess hear from @ShewayBC mothers about their experiences of overcoming addiction #RoyalVisitCanada pic.twitter.com/LSNBxxRMlz  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 25, 2016

A staff member introduced them to a 5-year-old girl, who gave them teddy bears. "George would love this," William said as he accepted a teddy bear in a black vest. Charlotte, 1, is on her first overseas trip. George is on his second.

Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, later met the royal couple outside the Immigrant Services Society's new Welcome House. William asked a refugee from Afghanistan about how the society had helped him, and the refugee replied that it helped him get into a technology course so he could learn new skills.

Syrian refugees who met the royal couple said they wish more world leaders were as attentive to their country's plight. Canada has welcomed more than 30,000 refugees since Trudeau became prime minister.

PTI
Video: Why Chinas former president was escorted out from stage

China's N Korea coal imports surge despite sanctions

International

oi-PTI

Beijing, Sep 26: China's coal imports from North Korea have surged in recent months, government data showed today, raising questions about Beijing's commitment to international sanctions intended to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

As the isolated country's sole ally and main provider of trade and aid, Beijing's participation in the UN-imposed restrictions is crucial for their success.

But in August China imported 2.465 million tonnes of North Korean coal worth 113 million, 60 percent more than in April when sanctions were imposed and 35 percent more than a year ago, according to data on the Customs website.

Imports of North Korean iron ore also rose, from 110,500 tons in April to 197,000 tons last month, data showed.

The UN Security Council in March agreed to impose sanctions on certain North Korean exports, including coal and iron, But it also said it would allow trade to continue for "livelihood" purposes -- if the proceeds did not go towards funding Pyongyang's nuclear or weapons programmes.

The UN did not set criteria for making that determination, leaving each country to make its own decision.

In April China announced it would place restrictions on imports of both items, among others.

Trade with the world's second largest economy is crucial for the isolated and impoverished North, which has suffered regular food shortages and an outright famine in the mid-1990s.

In 2015 China accounted for more than 90 per cent of North Korea's USD 6.25 billion in total trade, according to figures from South Korea's state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

China's total imports from North Korea in August rose 16.7 per cent year-on-year to 291.3 million, Customs data showed.

The figures come just weeks after North Korea tested its fifth and most powerful nuclear device.

China has said it "firmly opposes" the test, but analysts believe it has resisted targeting the North's fragile economy for fear of provoking the regime's collapse.

It fears this could prompt a flood of cross-border refugees and ultimately the prospect of US troops stationed on its border in a reunified Korea.

The international community has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy to try to persuade China to use its leverage with Pyongyang.

PTI

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Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 18:53 [IST]
Donald Trump should not be US president: NYT, Washington Post

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Sept 26: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should not be elected as the next US president as he is "unfit" for the post and makes "crude generalisations" about nations and religions, two of America's most influential newspapers have said in their editorials.

Editorial boards of 'The Washington Post' and 'The New York Times' on Sunday made a strong case that Trump should not be elected as the president. The editorials came ahead of an all-important first presidential debate in Hofstra University on Monday.

"It is beyond debate that Donald Trump is unfit to be president," said The Washington Post, while 'The New York Times' argued the case in its lead editorial 'Why Donald Trump should not be president'.

A day earlier 'The New York Times' endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as the next president of the US. The elections for the next occupant of the White House would be held on November 8. Latest polls show that the two are in a dead heat.

Also read: The New York Times endorses Hillary Clinton for President

About a month ago, Trump, 70, was trailing Clinton by more than seven-eight points on an average. "Voters attracted by the force of the Trump personality should pause and take note of the precise qualities he exudes as an audaciously different politician: bluster, savage mockery of those who challenge him, degrading comments about women, mendacity, crude generalisations about nations and religions," The New York Times editorial Board wrote.

"Our presidents are role models for generations of our children. Is this the example we want for them?" the daily asked. As Americans prepare to watch the first presidential debate, The Washington Post editorial board said the challenge for today's audience was to avoid the trap of thinking of this debate as yet another opportunity for "the real Trump"  or even a "new Trump"  to emerge, either stylistically or substantively.

"It's way too late for that. The real Trump has been before the citizenry ever since he announced his candidacy in a rambling jeremiad that blamed Mexico for 'sending' 'rapists' to the United States as illegal immigrants. It has been said that the true test of an ordinary person's character is how you behave when no one is watching," it said.

"The corollary standard for a presidential candidate could be: how you behave repeatedly in public, before the one big night when everyone is watching. Even by that more forgiving standard, Trump has already flunked," The Washington Post said.

The editorial said Trump had amply demonstrated his "unworthiness" to occupy the Oval Office. "It's beyond his capacity in the upcoming 90-minute question-and-answer sessions to reverse or even substantially modify that conclusion," the daily said.

Meanwhile, the Trump Campaign slammed 'The New York Times' for endorsing Clinton. "The New York Times' Editorial Board is the embodiment of the rigged system Donald Trump is running against," said Jason Miller, senior communications adviser to the Trump Campaign.

PTI
Benjamin Netanyahu says he spoke to Biden about COVID, Iran

Exit polls indicate no clear winner in Israeli elections: Will it end the Netanyahu era?

In Pics: What made headlines across the world

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Sept 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Trump Towers. the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu is said to have lasted for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, post the meeting Trump said that if he is elected in NOvember, he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's united capital.

In other news, the British roual couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton has a busy day in Vancouver as they met several Syrian refugee familes.

They even stopped by the Sheway pregnancy outreach program in the Downtown Eastside and interacted with several mothers' stories about the impact colonialism had on First Nation families.

Here are some images from across the world that made headlines:

Benjamin Netanyahu meets Donald Trump Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves in his vehicle after a meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Trump Tower. American Muslim day parade organised in New York Participants march in the Muslim Day Parade on Madison Avenue, New York. Donald Trumo suffers a blow A girl and her father kick a pinata representing U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaning against a symbolic wall, at the Independence Angel monument in Mexico City. The pinata and the wall was set up by an organization that aims to encourage U.S. citizens to participate in the elections and vote against Donald Trump. Prince William, Kate Middleton have a royal time in Canada Britain's Prince William tickles a baby as his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge looks on during a tour of Sheway, a center that provides support for native women, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Three killed in boat accident in Miami Investigators appear at the scene of a boat accident off Miami Beach. Authorities said that Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez was one of three people killed in the boat crash early Sunday morning. He was 24. One passenger killed in tour bus accident, California Rescuers work the scene of an accident after a tour bus carrying students from China hit a tree near Yosemite National Park outside the Sierra Nevada town of Oakhurst, California. The California Highway Patrol said on Sunday at least one passenger was killed and 11 were injured in the accident, the Fresno Bee reports.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Monday, September 26, 2016, 16:07 [IST]
Pak off the FATF grey list doesn't mean it's not under scrutiny anymore: MEA secretary

Imran Khan again targets Pakistan's establishment on Day 2 of protest march; govt rules out talks over snap polls

Pak raises Kashmir issue at UNHRC in Geneva

International

oi-PTI

Islamabad, Sep 26: Pakistan today raised the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva alleging that there was no right to peaceful assembly and no freedom of religion or expression in the Valley.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Tehmina Janjua told the Human Rights Council that "there is a general curfew over a major part of Kashmir", Foreign Office said in a statement here.

"There is no right to peaceful assembly and association and no freedom of religion or expression" in Kashmir, she claimed.

Stop dreaming about Kashmir: India tells Pakistan

She also alleged that there is "arbitrary detention" and "extra judicial killings and torture" in the valley. Janjua said that India should acknowledge that the "only solution to the Jammu & Kashmir issue is a free, fair and impartial plebiscite that has been assured to the Kashmiri people by UN Security Council resolutions, it added.

PTI
Pak off the FATF grey list doesn't mean it's not under scrutiny anymore: MEA secretary

Imran Khan again targets Pakistan's establishment on Day 2 of protest march; govt rules out talks over snap polls

Pakistan welcomes peace agreement in Afghanistan

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Islamabad, Sept 26: Pakistan on Sunday welcomed the signing of a peace agreement between the Afghan government and the armed resistance group Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan, saying it supports the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace efforts.

The peace deal was signed in Kabul on Thursday after months of negotiations that will allow the group to start political activities and take part in elections. The group will declare permanent ceasefire, the 25-point peace agreement said.

"Pakistan welcomes the recent agreement signed between the government of Afghanistan and Hekmatyar (Chief of Hizb-e-Islami)," Xinhua news agency quoted the Pakistan Foreign Ministry as saying.

"Pakistan wishes to see peace in Afghanistan and we support all sincere Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace efforts to that end," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The statement said the people of Afghanistan deserve peace and prosperity, adding Pakistan remains committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan as it is in the larger interest of the region and Pakistan in particular.

The agreement will pave the way for the return of Hekmatyar to Kabul in weeks to seal the agreement along with President Ashraf Ghani.

The United States had designated Hekmatyar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2003 for his "support to terrorist acts committed by al Qaeda and the Taliban," according to the State Department.

Kabul will approach the United Nations Security Council, the United States and other institutions to "lift restrictions by them against Hizb-e-Islami party of Afghanistan, its leadership and members as soon as possible".

IANS
UK PM Liz Truss resigns after 45 days in office, successor to be elected next week

Prachanda, Xi set to meet in Goa during BRICS summit

International

oi-PTI

Kathmandu, Sep 26: Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit next month in Goa, where India has invited the leaders of the seven-nation BIMSTEC grouping.

The Nepalese prime minister will meet the Chinese President in Goa on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC meeting, a senior Maoist leader close to Prachanda told PTI.

The eighth BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - summit and retreat is scheduled in Goa on October 15 and 16.

India has especially invited the leaders from Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries to participate in the retreat that will follow the summit on October 16.

BIMSTEC includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand and India. Xi was earlier due to visit Nepal next month. But there has been no official confirmation about Xi's visit to Nepal.

The leader, however, said the proposed visit has not been cancelled and the government was making preparations for it to happen. Nepal government has previously refuted reports that said the Chinese president's visit was cancelled as China was unhappy with the new Prachanda-led government who visited New Delhi ahead of Beijing earlier this month.

India seeks BRICS' cooperation to meet shortfall of pulses

Reports have said China was unhappy over the lack of preparation for Xi's proposed visit and over implementing the pacts reached by Prachanda's predecessor K P Sharma Oli's government to step up construction of road and rail links to Tibet to reduce landlocked Nepal's dependence on India.

Oli followed a pro-China policy, straining Indo-Nepal ties. The ties had also strained after the new constitution was promulgated in Nepal last year, following which Madhesis, the inhabitants of southern Terai plains who share cultural and family bonds with Indians, began a months-long protests at tborder trading points with India against the Oli government.

They claimed the constitution was discriminatory and intented to politically marginalise them. Media reports here however have sauggested that Prachanda has asked Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat and Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, who are attending the 71st UN General Assembly session, to return to make arrangements for the upcoming visit of the Chinese president.

Meanwhile, Nepal has requested China to expand its railway network to border points besides the planned expansion to Kerung (Geelong port) - the nearest Chinese town from Nepal's Rasuwagadhi border point, a Commerce Ministry official said here.

China is considering to extend its Qinghai-Tibet Railway network up to the Geelong Port. "We have requested asked the Chinese authorities in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to consider expanding its railway to other border points during the Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee meeting held in Lhasa last week," said Rabi Shankar Sainju, joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry.

PTI
An Akali Dal leader shot dead an AAP leader in Punjab. Both the victim and the accused were involved in a land dispute for the past 12 years. According to police the SAD leader went to allegedly encroach a piece of land belonging to AAP worker when the incident happened.
Karnataka govt has asked Supreme Court to modify an earlier order on sharing Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu. The Siddaramaiah government filed a petition in the court to modify its last order in which it asked the state to release 6,000 cusecs for seven days. Karnataka has said that it cannot release water to Tamil Nadu till December this year.
The U.S. has yet to fully embrace China as its peer, but it should. Not only should the U.S. embrace China as its peer, it should take seriously Xi Jinpings idea of creating a new major-country relationship model. That proposal is not a challenge to the U.S.-led order, but a starting point solution for overcoming the tragic history of great power politics. In fact, a recent conference on national security largely ended on this same down-to-earth note.

The CIA and Georgetown University hosted a public conference on national security called INTELCON on Sept. 20, 2016, featuring scholars and experts from across the U.S. Five panels of experts examined five national security topics and the first panel engaged the topic of whether great power rivalry is an enduring danger or a thing of the past. Discussed by John McLaughlin of Johns Hopkins University, Peter Clement of CIA, and Dennis Wilder of Georgetown University, the experts agreed that great power rivalry is enduring, but also recognized its more nuanced form.

The discussion began with some historical facts about what McLaughlin describes as an atypical century. For example, he talked about how the U.S. had an unchallenged position in the world for about 17 years till the financial crisis rattled U.S. confidence in its position. Wilder continued that point when discussing China. He said the financial crisis changed Chinas world view. Then, in 2012, Xi proposed to work with the U.S. to build a new major-country relationship without conflict, without confrontation, with mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. Chinas message was loud and clear. We share the same stage now, so let us try something different. Weve struggled with that since 2012, said Wilder.

After the unipolar moment ended, the world shifted from a simple black-and-white world to a complex gray world; a more nuanced world, but U.S. strategy is still catching up. We dont have a lot of practice with this type of world, McLaughlin said. Take the U.S. pivot for example, which was a classical response to great power politics and a rejection of Xis proposal. Economically, the also U.S. feels challenged. Chinas big transformational ideas, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that many U.S. allies play a role in and the Belt and Road initiative, are game-changing ideas. And they are not U.S. ideas. [They] rival anything the United States has come up with in terms of changing the dynamic, said McLaughlin. The U.S. remains a powerful force, but is losing its edge. The U.S. needs to adapt.

If the basic premise of great power rivalry has changed, so should the approach. On this point, Wilders advice is practical and realistic. The U.S. should invest more heavily in understanding the Chinese position and vice versa, and the two sides should figure out what a new major-country relationship means. Though rivals on some levels, China and the U.S. are linked and need each others help to solve problems. The last thing China wants is conflict with the U.S., but China does want the U.S. to respect its sphere of influence. If the U.S. can understand this point and sit down with China to work out a solution to the tragic history of great power politics, then perhaps conflict and confrontation can be avoided. It is certainly worth a try.
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Sky News 30 Oct 2022

South Korea's president has declared a national period of mourning over a stampede during Halloween festivities - as the number of..
A dog owner in Jinan, Shandong province was recently turned down for a bus ride after the bus driver insisted that dogs weren't allowed on the bus.

According to a report by Iqilu.com, the man turned a deaf ear to the driver's words, marching onto the bus with his dog and sitting down in an available. Several other passengers were annoyed by the man's behavior, quarreling with the stubborn dog owner. Eventually, the man kneeled down and kowtowed to passengers, saying, Sorry, but my dog is even better than a child.

Despite his plea, the man's deeds had no effect; he was told to take a taxi. Regulations of Jinan's public bus system clearly state that passengers are prohibited from bringing pets on the bus.

Zhao Chuanying, an employee who manages a branch bus company in Jinan, expressed his sincere hope to passengers that "everyone [would] behave in accordance with regulations," respecting other passengers' health and safety, and refraining from bringing pets on the bus.
Olivier Charmeil

Executive Vice President, Head of General Medicines and Emerging Markets, Sanofi

As one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies to enter China in 1982, Sanofi is deeply exploring the Chinese market. In September, Mr. Olivier Charmeil, EVP, Head of General Medicines and Emerging Markets and Mr Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Sanofi visited China again to perform the strategic planning and realize the long-term growth.

Reporter: What is the importance of the China market to Sanofi?

Olivier Charmeil: As Sanofis third-largest market, China is definitely important. Sanofi entered China back in 1982, and has regarded China as a strategic market.

Our China strategy is based on three growth pillars: i) enhance our core business  Sanofi has developed a strong portfolio in diabetes, cardiovascular, CNS and oncology; ii) expand geographically to improve patients access to high-quality innovative healthcare products and service  especially Chinas county market through our specific development strategy for primary care; iii) continue to drive innovation  accelerate new product launches and enhance our R&D capacity in China.

I first came to China in 1985, and have witnessed the great changes that have taken place since then. Meanwhile, people have been changing their views of China. When Sanofi entered China's market 30 years ago, it was left relatively alone. But now it is definitely an important part of our global development strategy.

Reporter: The overall economy has slowed down. What is your view of the trends in Chinas healthcare market?

Olivier Charmeil: While GDP growth in China has slowed down, some fundamental factors have convinced us that Chinas healthcare market will keep growing in the future: i) urbanization  which drives the healthcare industry to some extent; ii) the enhancement of health education  which has patients seeking the most suitable drug; iii) the aging population  the population aged 60 and above is expected to reach 200 million or even exceed 250 million in the next few years, further driving the healthcare industry; iv) the government  which is dealing with and addressing medical problems and challenges. Today, nearly 300 million patients with cardiovascular disease and nearly 100 million patients with diabetes have been diagnosed in China. China accounts for one-third of global diabetes patients. I believe Chinas healthcare industry will become a high priority and further develop.

Reporter: What is the new product launch plan for China? Do you have any update on R&D?

Olivier Charmeil: We expect to focus on six new major products globally, five of which will be launched in China by 2025. They include atopic dermatitis and asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and hypercholesteromia products, as well as two diabetes-related products. We hope to work with the Chinese authorities to accelerate drug approval. Im not talking about Sanofi, but all pharmaceutical companies in China. New product launches in China are now being compared with those overseas. The Chinese authorities are working very hard to reduce the timeline. We want to work together with them. That is why we are including China more and more when carrying out international clinical trials. We want to ensure these innovative products will be launched in China ASAP.

China is an emerging market with a lot of potential for new product launches. Diabetes, for example, has great unmet medical needs and is one of the growth drivers.

Reporter: The Healthy China strategy should be a top priority for the Chinese government, as it was emphasized by President Xi Jinping at the National Health Meeting held in August. What is the implication for the healthcare industry? Will there be any impact on Sanofis strategy in China?

Olivier Charmeil: Ensuring peoples health is a strategic priority and a valuable development strategy. We strongly advocate President Xis focus and are proud to be part of the Healthy China strategy.

Nowadays, big hospitals are too crowded, so the Chinese government is developing a hierarchical medical system. For example, people with common colds are encouraged to be treated at community health service centers. Patients in remote areas or counties may receive local treatment instead of going to big cities by air or by train.

Sanofi established its Primary Care Business Unit at an early stage. Our professionals give ongoing training and education to county-level doctors. Now we are focusing on community health service centers with the same concept. In this sense, our efforts are aligned with the Chinese governments targets. Sanofi will maintain its commitment to China, follow closely the evolution of the healthcare environment in China and support the governments efforts to improve medical service.
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The Prime Minister, Peter ONeill has reaffirmed the importance of working with global partners to enhance healthcare delivery in the nation.In the past week the Prime Minister has met with senior representatives of the World Health Organisation, health officials from the Chinese Government and in November will travel to Cuba to discuss options for bringing more doctors to the country.Disease and illness do not observe borders, and we in Papua New Guinea must have an open policy to bring in expertise and skills where we can find them around the world, PM ONeill said.Expanding universal healthcare is a core policy of our Government, and we are working to increase the number of healthcare professionals that serve our people.We have increased the number of young doctors and nurses coming through our system, and we are talking with our partners overseas.We will continue discussion with Cuba on the prospect for bringing doctors to work in our districts.I also met today with representatives from Chinas Health Department who shared their experience in dealing with Malaria in Africa.In a meeting with Dr Shin Young-soo, the World Health Organization's Regional Director for the Western Pacific, the Prime Minister shared an update on current healthcare policy developments in the nation and the ongoing desire to further engage with the WHO.The programs delivered by the World Health Organisaintion have made a real difference in our country, the Prime Minister said.This includes the Global Polio Eradication Initiative that is spearheaded by the World Health Organisation.The initiative is an important step towards a polio-free world.The Prime Minister said the program that has been rolled out in the current term of Government has is having successes, but more work is needed.We have changed the way healthcare is delivered in Papua New Guinea.You can see this in the way we have refurbished and restored many of our hospitals.The change that has occurred in Port Moresby General Hospital in the past few years is just one example.We still have a way to go, but we are making progress and this is keeping more of our people alive and families in good health.Hospitals are now getting direct funding, so we are not seeing the wastage that was occurring when the bureaucracy managed the funding.These resources are now being used to build new infrastructure, new operating theatres and new wards.---III---Images: Prime Minister Peter ONeill, Health Minister Michael Malabag, and Health Secretary Kase Pascoe welcome Dr Shin Young-soo, World Health Organization Regional Director for the Western Pacific, and his delegation in Port Moresby last week.
Opalesque Industry Update - Even with recent economic woes, Latin America retains a burgeoning middle class with more money to spend on fast-growing sectors such as healthcare, education, technology and retail. These industries remain largely inaccessible via public markets, and the best way for institutional investors to access them -- and the opportunities they represent -- is through private equity and venture capital managers, according to "The Private Path to Latin America's Most Dynamic Sectors," a new report from global investment firm Cambridge Associates. "The Latin American middle class is on course to comprise 40% of the region's population by 2030 and this demographic is increasingly demanding higher-quality products and services," says Iigo Garcia, Investment Director at Cambridge Associates and co-author of the report. "Sectors such as healthcare, education, and information technology are benefiting directly from these trends and are in fact growing at a rate well above the overall Latin American economy." Among the report's insights regarding the private investments opportunities in Latin America: Latin America has a deep bench of privately held lower-middle-market companies, which private equity managers typically buy or provide capital to in order to create returns for their investors. According to the report, there are over 130,000 lower-middle-market companies in Latin America; they compose more than 80% of private sector economic activity and are responsible for 60% of the region's GDP.

A sector that has attracted private capital but still has room for growth is healthcare. Almost $1 billion of private equity investments went to Latin American healthcare companies in 2015. In Brazil alone, 28% of all private equity capital invested last year was in the healthcare space. But overall healthcare spending across Latin America lags significantly behind most developed countries, underscoring that industry's growth potential in the region.

Venture investments in the region, from both global and regional venture capitalists, increased almost tenfold between 2010 and 2015 -- from $63 million to almost $600 million -- according to the report. These investments may be in response to the growth of mobile access and smartphone users in the region -- by 2012, 98% of the Latin American population had a mobile signal -- and also in anticipation of the expected growth of ecommerce and online ad spending in countries like Mexico and Brazil. There are certain considerations that institutional investors should bear in mind when reviewing private equity and venture capital opportunities in Latin America: Key factors that may affect a Latin American private investment program are exchange rates and currency fluctuation. Historically, currency swings have been a negative for USD investors -- though some years have seen appreciations that have been positive for the dollar. Currency exchange would have benefited investors in funds raised between 2000 and 2006, for example. Says Garcia, "As with all private investment strategies, investors in Latin America benefit from maintaining a long-term view and consistent exposure, as opposed to pursuing exposure sporadically or opportunistically."

There is a wide spread between the best- and worst-performing managers in Latin America. Between 1998 and 2010, top quartile manager returns in the region outpaced median returns by over 1,000 basis points on a net internal rate of return (IRR) basis. "While manager selection is always important in private investments, this spread is larger than in more developed economies such as the U.S., making careful manager selection crucial for success in Latin America," adds Garcia.

Returns for both local and global funds have been modest overall, but "local" managers -- those with funds, teams or resources dedicated solely to Latin American investments -- have demonstrated an ability to beat global managers. On average, investments by local funds have outperformed by 0.3X-0.5X turns of gross multiple on invested capital their global peers, or "fly-ins," according to the report. "For investors seeking regional diversification and differentiated exposure to emerging markets, Latin American private equity and venture capital is worth a closer look," says Andrea Auerbach, Managing Director at Cambridge Associates and co-author of the report. Auerbach will deliver the keynote address at the Annual LAVCA Summit & Investor Roundtable on Wednesday, September 28 in New York, NY.
Reprinted from Globe and Mail

It has been one year and one week since a coalition of dozens of organizations and artists launched The Leap Manifesto, a short vision statement about how to transition to a post-carbon economy while battling social and economic injustice.

A lot has changed: a new federal government, a new international reputation, a new tone around First Nations and the environment. But when it comes to concrete action on lowering emissions and respecting land rights, much remains the same.

Our new government has adopted the utterly inadequate targets of the last government. Alberta has a climate plan that would allow tar sands emissions to increase by 43 percent, wholly incompatible with the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

And the push for new pipelines -- often sold as "nation building" -- continues to tear us apart.

What I find striking is the narrowness of our public discourse -- how much continues to be treated as unsayable and undoable when it comes to keeping carbon in the ground. Other countries are moving ahead with policies that begin to reflect the scientific realities. Germany and France have both banned fracking.

Even in the United States, there is a wider spectrum of debate. The new platform of the Democratic Party, for instance, states that no new infrastructure projects should be built if they substantively contribute to climate change -- essentially the same position that caused all the outrage around The Leap Manifesto.

So what's going on here? Why is it so hard for Canadian political leaders, across the political spectrum, to design climate policies that are guided by climate science?

There are many factors, of course -- the need for jobs in an economic downturn, the power of the fossil-fuel lobby, to name a couple. But we are hardly the only country contending with these forces.

I think there is something deeper at play, something that brings us back to the founding narratives of this nation. The story begins with the arrival of European explorers, at a time when their home nations had slammed into hard ecological limits -- great forests gone, big game hunted to extinction.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during a symposium on the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 17, 2016. Xi on Wednesday called for steady advance of the country's Belt and Road Initiative to benefit people along the routes. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

China has signed cooperative agreements on science and technology with 49 countries along the Belt and Road route. Such an achievement has fully leveraged the role of science, technology and innovation in the countrys Belt and Road Initiative, an official said on Sept. 25.

At a symposium on scientific cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun told media that scientific innovation would be a crucial cooperative area for China and other countries along the Belt and Road route, Thepaper.cn reported.

Scientific innovation is playing a positive role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and has already achieved great results. China has now built bonds of cooperation with 158 countries and regions. Among these, China has signed cooperative agreements on science and technology with 49 countries along the Belt and Road route, and has launched a series of science and technology partnership programs, Yin said at the symposium.

According to Yin, China invested 1.4 trillion RMB ($210 billion) in scientific research in 2015, ranking second in the world. Expenses for the sake of scientific research reached 2.1 percent of the countrys GDP, with 77 percent of the investment made by enterprises.

The Belt and Road Initiative has raised an urgent need for strengthening scientific and technological cooperation. China and countries along the [Silk Road] have a lot in common, and the future of their scientific cooperation is bright, Yin added.
Reprinted from Reader Supported News

Our way of life is under threat by radical Islam and Hillary Clinton cannot even bring herself to say the words," Donald Trump tweeted back in July. Trump says the words all the time. Just look at how he responded after the pressure-cooker bomb went off in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood and other explosive devices were discovered few blocks away and in New Jersey on Saturday morning September 17.

While New York City mayor Bill de Blasio carefully called the explosion "an intentional act" of criminal violence before police and FBI had determined whether or not it was an act of political terrorism, Trump took enormous credit for calling it a bomb from the start. "We better get very tough, folks," he told a rally in Colorado on Saturday. "We better get very, very tough. We'll find out. It's a terrible thing that's going on in our world, in our country, and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant."

No one knew exactly what had happened, Trump admitted to the crowd. But he clearly wanted his followers to believe that it was another terrorist attack by a radical Muslim, which the police and FBI now believe it was. In no time, they identified a 28-year-old Afghan-born, naturalized American named Ahmad Khan Rahami over the weekend, arrested him after a shoot-out on Monday, and are now investigating whether or not he had accomplices and any ongoing links to the Taliban or other terrorist groups in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Trump similarly pumped himself up after suicide bombings killed 32 people and wounded over 300 in Belgium in March. "I have proven to be far more correct about terrorism than anybody -- and it's not even close," he tweeted. Ditto after Omar Mateen went to a largely gay nightclub in Orlando in June and perpetrated a deadly mass shooting. "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism," Trump tweeted. "I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!"

Selling himself and his personal smarts, Trump wants to "make America scared again." He wants to feed and fuel the anti-Muslim bigotry of so many of his followers, especially among white supremacists, theocons who want America to be a Christian nation, and disgruntled white workers looking for a scapegoat to blame for the loss of so many good-paying factory jobs. Hitler and his Nazis blamed Jews, Trump and his nasties blame Muslims.

Am I making too big a stretch? Just consider the all-too-revealing tweet by his son Donald Trump Jr.: "If I had a bowl of skittles [fruit-flavored candies] and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem."

Young Donald took his simplistic metaphor directly from a children's book by Julius Streicher, publisher of the hate-filled Der Sturmer, which ranted against Jews, Catholics, Communists, and Capitalists. "Just as a single poisonous mushroom can kill a whole family," Streicher wrote in his fable, "so a solitary Jew can destroy a whole village, a whole city, even an entire Volk [nation]."

Replace Streicher's solitary Jew with young Trump's Syrian refugees or any Muslim in America, whatever his or her ethnic or racial roots. Does that give you a sense of the general direction in which Daddy Trump is taking our country? Would you prefer to wait for a return to waterboarding or worse, which Trump has urged? Or putting Muslim suspects into indefinite military custody as "enemy combatants," which Senator Lindsey Graham advocates? Or detention camps, mass deportations, and even a new Holocaust?

Long before most of that, Trump's hate-filled fantasies will jeopardize your safety and mine -- and, far more, the safety and well-being of our Muslim friends and neighbors.

"Our local police -- they know who a lot of these people are. They are afraid to do anything about it because they don't want to be accused of profiling," he told Fox News.

"You know, in Israel they profile. They've done an unbelievable job, as good as you can do," he went on. "They see somebody that's suspicious, they will profile. They will take that person and they'll check [him] out. Do we have a choice? Look what's going on. Do we really have a choice? We're trying to be so politically correct in our country. And this is only going to get worse."

Trump has also called for more stop-and-frisk policing in American cities, just at a time when police are killing blacks in a spate of truly scary shootings. White Americans do not yet live in a police state. Black Americans do, and Trump would only make it worse.

"He does not understand how policing works," said New York mayor Bill de Blasio, who fought to get rid of both profiling and stop-and-frisk. What Trump proposes, said de Blasio, "will simply alienate the very people who we need to be partners in the fight against crime."

De Blasio's comments are not simply progressive rhetoric or political correctness. In the prompt identification and arrest of accused bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami, the joint police and FBI task force interviewed a group they found driving his car. The group included some of his relatives, who cooperated with the police and appeared to have provided information that helped lead to Rahami's capture.

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Reprinted from Robert Reich Blog

Last week, Congress engaged in a bipartisan barrage of CEO bashing.

The Senate Banking Committee assailed Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf for pushing employees to create as many as two million bogus bank and credit card accounts without customer's consent -- making customers pay overdraft and late fees on accounts they never knew they had.

Louisiana Republican David Vitter pressed Stumpf on when he knew about the wrongdoing. "In 2011, about 1,000 employees were fired over this," said Vitter, incredulously, "and you were never told about that?"

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform criticized Mylan Pharmaceutical's CEO Heather Bresch for raising the price of its Epipen, an emergency allergy treatment, by 500 percent -- forcing customers to pay $608 for a two-pack that had cost $100 in 2009.

Noting that Mylan had sought legislation to increase the number of patients who receive prescriptions for EpiPens, Representative Mick Mulvaney, Republican of South Carolina, angrily told Bresch: "You get a level of scrutiny and a level of treatment that would ordinarily curl my hair, but you asked for it."

Such shaming before congressional committees tends to reassure the public Congress is taking action. But -- especially with Republicans in charge -- Congress is doing nothing to prevent the wrongdoing from recurring.

Can we be clear? CEOs have only one goal in mind -- making money. If they can make more money by misleading or price gouging, they'll continue to do so until it's no longer as profitable.

For years we've watched Congress grill CEOs of Wall Street banks about bank fraud.

If it's not John Stumpf's sham accounts, it's JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, whose bank failed to report trading losses (remember the "London Whale?"). Or it's Goldman Sachs's Lloyd Blankfein, whose bank defrauded investors.

Wells Fargo's Strumpf made $19 million last year, partly because all those new accounts helped maintain the bank's profit machine. Sure, the bank was fined $185 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the fraud, but that's chicken feed relative to what the bank pulls in. Between April and July, 2016 alone it had revenues of $22.16 billion.

Why should we expect Wells Fargo or any other big bank to stop such frauds, when they're so lucrative?

For years we've watched Congress condemn CEOs of pharmaceutical companies for price gouging: If not Mylan's Heather Bresch, it's Turing Pharmaceutical's Martin Shkreli, who jacked up the price of Daraprim -- used to treat HIV patients -- from $13.50 to $750 a pill.

Or Valeant Pharmaceutical's Michael Pearson, who quadrupled the price of Syprine, used to treat an inherited disorder that can cause severe liver and nerve damage. Or Amphaster Pharmaceuticals CEO Jack Y. Zhang, who hoisted the price of naloxone, used in cases of heroin overdoses, to more than $400 a pop.

Heather Bresch made $18.9 million last year. Mylan's incentive plan will bestow additional bonuses of $82 million on top executives if they hit certain high profit targets by 2018.

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Reprinted from Strategic Culture

Following US President Barack Obama's dubious stellar performance this week at the UN General Assembly recounting a litany of lies for almost one hour before the eyes of the world, it was the turn of Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to insult humanity's intelligence.

Like his American ally, who inverted reality by claiming that US war crimes against numerous nations were a virtuous legacy, Erdogan performed a similar spellbinding conjuring trick. In his address to the UN, the Turkish president said his military has rendered peace to the Middle East region by invading Syria last month.

Can you imagine Adolf Hitler declaring to the then League of Nations that Germany had just invaded Poland to restore peace to Europe? It is astounding, when you think about it, how the august international forum in New York City indulged Erdogan and Obama with such polite attention, when they are both responsible for the supreme war crime of aggression against the sovereign state of Syria?

Turkish and American troops are occupying a 100-km wide swathe of northern Syria after they both launched Operation Euphrates Shield on August 24, with tanks and warplanes in support of ground forces.

Syria and Russia have both expressed concern over the incursion, with Damascus denouncing it as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. American warplanes have been violating Syrian sovereignty for nearly two years. Just because Turkey and the US claim that the latest operation is aimed at fighting the ISIS terror network, that still does not confer legitimacy.

Four weeks on from the US and Turkey launching the incursion into Syrian territory, Ankara says that it is expanding its occupation.

Earlier this week, Erdogan said his troops would push further south into Syria to take a total area of 5,000 square kms -- about five times the area already under its present control. In Orwellian jargon, the Turkish-US forces are labelling the annexed territory as safe zones . Exactly to whom this is being made safe for is not yet clear.

While in New York City, the Turkish leader urged the US to step up its military cooperation with Ankara to, as he put it, finish off Daesh [ISIS] in Syria. Erdogan is pushing Washington even harder to get onboard with the long-held Turkish objective of setting up no fly zones in the occupied northern Syrian territory.

Erdogan also hinted that he expected a Clinton presidency to be more gung-ho about escalating military involvement, and in particular implementing no fly zones. Hillary Clinton has already said that she would take a more hostile line towards Syria and Russia, going as far as declaring she would deploy military force to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

It is notable that Erdogan is making his appeals solely to Washington for greater military intervention to finish off Daesh in Syria. Surely, if Turkey was serious about this stated objective then it would be entreating Russia to join forces, given that Russia has shown itself to be the most effective military power against the terror groups, after it was requested to intervene by the Syrian government last year.

That Erdogan wants to go it alone with the US on his supposed anti-terror mission in Syria points to an ulterior agenda. That agenda is nothing less than war on Syria.

Using the pretext of fighting terrorism is a risible cover for the fact that Turkish and American military forces are illegally operating on Syrian soil. And as they expand their presence towards the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, what should become apparent is that these two NATO members are involved in an full-on invasion of Syria.

Forget about ISIS or any other terror outfit that Washington and Ankara are publicly claiming to be combating. Turkish media last year exposed the Erdogan government's cross-border weapons supply to illegally armed insurgents in Syria. The notoriously porous Turk border is porous because that is part of Ankara's covert war on Syria, in league with Washington and other NATO members, Britain and France, as well as the Wahhabi terror-funding Saudi regime.

Russian military surveillance footage has also proven that the Turkish authorities were colluding with terror groups in running oil-smuggling operations, until, that is, Russian aviation forces obliterated this Erdogan war racket.

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Global Frozen Bakery Additives Market 2016 Industry Trends, Sales, Supply, Demand, Analysis & Forecast to 2021

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Global Frozen Bakery Additives IndustryThe Global Frozen Bakery Additives Industry report gives a comprehensive account of the Global Frozen Bakery Additives market. Details such as the size, key players, segmentation, SWOT analysis, most influential trends, and business environment of the market are mentioned in this report. Furthermore, this report features tables and figures that render a clear perspective of the Frozen Bakery Additives market. The report features an up-to-date data on key companies product details, revenue figures, and sales. Furthermore, the details also gives the Global Frozen Bakery Additives market revenue and its forecasts. The business model strategies of the key firms in the Frozen Bakery Additives market are also included. Key strengths, weaknesses, and threats shaping the leading players in the market have also been included in this research report.The report gives a detailed overview of the key segments in the market. The fastest and slowest growing market segments are covered in this report. The key emerging opportunities of the fastest growing Global Frozen Bakery Additives market segments are also covered in this report. Each segments and sub-segments market size, share, and forecast are available in this report. Additionally, the region-wise segmentation and the trends driving the leading geographical region and the emerging region has been presented in this report.Get Complete Report with TOC :The study on the Global Frozen Bakery Additives market also features a history of the tactical mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships activity in the market. Valuable recommendations by senior analysts about investing strategically in research and development can help new entrants or established players penetrate the emerging sectors in the Frozen Bakery Additives market. Investors will gain a clear insight on the dominant players in this industry and their future forecasts. Furthermore, readers will get a clear perspective on the high demand and the unmet needs of consumers that will enhance the growth of this market.Table of ContentChapter One Frozen Bakery Additives Industry Overview1.1 Frozen Bakery Additives Definition1.1.1 Frozen Bakery Additives Definition1.1.2 Product Specifications1.2 Frozen Bakery Additives Classification1.3 Frozen Bakery Additives Application Field1.4 Frozen Bakery Additives Industry Chain Structure1.5 Frozen Bakery Additives Industry Regional Overview1.6 Frozen Bakery Additives Industry Policy Analysis1.7 Frozen Bakery Additives Industry Related Companies Contact InformationGet Sample Copy of Report @Chapter Two Frozen Bakery Additives Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.1 High Purity colloidal silica Supplier and Price Analysis2.2 Equipment Suppliers2.3 Labor Cost Analysis2.4 Other Cost Analysis2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure2.5 Frozen Bakery Additives Manufacturing TechnologyAbout Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Market Research Report On Argentina Orthotic Devices Market Outlook to 2022

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Based on the availability of data for the particular category and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.The data in the report is derived from dynamic market forecast models. GlobalData uses epidemiology and capital equipment-based models to estimate and forecast the market size. The objective is to provide information that represents the most up-to-date data of the industry possible.Get the Free Sample copy of this Report @The epidemiology-based forecasting model makes use of epidemiology data gathered from research publications and primary interviews with physicians to establish the target patient population and treatment flow patterns for individual diseases and therapies. Using prevalence and incidence data and diagnosed and treated population, the epidemiology-based forecasting model arrives at the final numbers.Capital equipment-based forecasting models are done based on the installed base, replacements and new sales of a specific device/equipment in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers. Data for average number of units per facility is used to arrive at the installed base of the capital equipment. Sales for a particular year are arrived at by calculating the replacement units and new units (additional and first-time purchases).Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.Scope- Market size for Orthotic Devices market categories - Orthopedic Braces & Supports and Orthotic Splints.- Annualized market revenues (USD million), volume (units) and average selling price ($) data for each of the market categories. Data is provided from 2008 to 2015 and forecast to 2022.- 2015 company shares and distribution shares data for Orthotic Devices market.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Argentina Orthotic Devices market.- Key players covered include Ossur hf., DJO Finance LLC, 3M Health Care Ltd., Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH and others.Reasons to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and whats the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand and capitalize.Read our latest Press Release atTable of Contents1 Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 41.2 List of Figures 42 Introduction 52.1 What Is This Report About? 52.2 Orthotic Devices Market Segmentation 52.3 Definitions of Markets Covered in the Report 63 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina 73.1 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Revenue ($m), 2008-2015 73.2 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Revenue ($m), 2015-2022 93.2.1 Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market, Argentina, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2008-2015 113.2.2 Orthotic Splints Market, Argentina, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2008-2015 133.2.3 Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market, Argentina, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2015-2022 153.2.4 Orthotic Splints Market, Argentina, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2015-2022 173.3 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Volume (Units), 2008-2015 193.4 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Volume (Units), 2015-2022 213.4.1 Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market, Argentina, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2008-2015 233.4.2 Orthotic Splints Market, Argentina, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2008-2015 253.4.3 Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market, Argentina, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2015-2022 273.4.4 Orthotic Splints Market, Argentina, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2015-2022 293.5 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Average Price ($), 2008-2015 313.6 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Average Price ($), by Segment 2008-2015 333.7 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Distribution Share by Revenue ($m), 2008-2022 353.8 Orthotic Devices Market, Argentina, Company Share by Revenue ($m), 2015 364 Overview of Key Companies in Argentina, Orthotic Devices Market 384.1 Ossur hf. 384.1.1 Company Overview 384.2 DJO Finance LLC 384.2.1 Company Overview 384.3 3M Health Care Ltd. 384.3.1 Company Overview 384.4 Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH 394.4.1 Company Overview 394.5 DeRoyal Industries, Inc. 394.5.1 Company Overview 394.6 Endolite North America Ltd. 394.6.1 Company Overview 39MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Detailed examination of Austria Hip Reconstruction Market Outlook to 2022

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MarketResearchReports.Biz presents this most up-to-date research on "Austria Hip Reconstruction Market Outlook to 2022 "GlobalDatas new report, Austria Hip Reconstruction Market Outlook to 2022, provides key market data on the Austria Hip Reconstruction market. The report provides value, in millions of US dollars, and volume (in units) and average price data (in US dollars), within market segments - Primary Hip Replacement, Partial Hip Replacement, Revision Hip Replacement and Hip Resurfacing.Note: This is an on-demand report and will be delivered within 2-3 business days of the purchase (excluding weekends)The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for the market category, and global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants. Based on the availability of data for the particular category and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.The data in the report is derived from dynamic market forecast models. GlobalData uses epidemiology and capital equipment-based models to estimate and forecast the market size. The objective is to provide information that represents the most up-to-date data of the industry possible.The epidemiology-based forecasting model makes use of epidemiology data gathered from research publications and primary interviews with physicians to establish the target patient population and treatment flow patterns for individual diseases and therapies. Using prevalence and incidence data and diagnosed and treated population, the epidemiology-based forecasting model arrives at the final numbers.Capital equipment-based forecasting models are done based on the installed base, replacements and new sales of a specific device/equipment in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers. Data for average number of units per facility is used to arrive at the installed base of the capital equipment. Sales for a particular year are arrived at by calculating the replacement units and new units (additional and first-time purchases).Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.Download Sample copy of this Report atScope- Market size for Hip Reconstruction market segments - Primary Hip Replacement, Partial Hip Replacement, Revision Hip Replacement and Hip Resurfacing.- Annualized market revenues (USD million), volume (units) and average selling price ($) data for each of the market categories. Data is provided from 2008 to 2015 and forecast to 2022.- 2015 company shares and distribution shares data for Hip Reconstruction market.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Austria Hip Reconstruction market.- Key players covered include Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., Stryker Corporation, DePuy Synthes, Inc., Smith & Nephew Plc and others.Reasons to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and whats the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand and capitalize.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 41.2 List of Figures 42 Introduction 52.1 What Is This Report About? 52.2 Hip Reconstruction Market Segmentation 52.3 Definitions of Markets Covered in the Report 63 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria 73.1 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), 2008-2015 73.2 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), 2015-2022 93.2.1 Primary Hip Replacement Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2008-2015 113.2.2 Primary Hip Replacement Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2015-2022 133.3 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Volume (Units), 2008-2015 153.4 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Volume (Units), 2015-2022 173.4.1 Primary Hip Replacement Market, Austria, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2008-2015 193.4.2 Primary Hip Replacement Market, Austria, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2015-2022 213.5 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Average Price ($), 2008-2015 233.6 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Average Price ($), by Segment 2008-2015 253.7 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Distribution Share by Revenue ($m), 2008-2022 273.8 Hip Reconstruction Market, Austria, Company Share by Revenue ($m), 2015 284 Overview of Key Companies in Austria, Hip Reconstruction Market 304.1 DePuy Synthes, Inc. 304.1.1 Company Overview 304.2 Smith & Nephew Plc 304.2.1 Company Overview 304.3 Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. 304.3.1 Company Overview 304.4 Stryker Corporation 314.4.1 Company Overview 314.5 B. Braun Melsungen AG 314.5.1 Company Overview 314.6 Mathys AG Bettlach 314.6.1 Company Overview 314.7 DJO Finance LLC 324.7.1 Company Overview 325 Hip Reconstruction Market Pipeline Products 336 Appendix 346.1 Research Methodology 356.1.1 Coverage 356.1.2 Secondary Research 356.1.3 Primary Research 366.1.4 Company Share Analysis 366.1.5 Distribution Share Analysis 366.1.6 Benchmarking 366.2 GlobalData Consulting 376.3 Contact Us 37MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Discover the Austria Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market Outlook to 2022

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"Austria Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market Outlook to 2022 " is the latest addition to MarketResearchReports.Biz industry research reports collection.GlobalDatas new report, Austria Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market Outlook to 2022, provides key market data on the Austria Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints market. The report provides value, in millions of US dollars, and volume (in units) and average price data (in US dollars), within market segments - Shoulder Replacement, Ankle Replacement, Elbow Replacement , Digits Replacement and Wrist Replacement.Note: This is an on-demand report and will be delivered within 2-3 business days of the purchase (excluding weekends)The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for the market category, and global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants. Based on the availability of data for the particular category and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.The data in the report is derived from dynamic market forecast models. GlobalData uses epidemiology and capital equipment-based models to estimate and forecast the market size. The objective is to provide information that represents the most up-to-date data of the industry possible.The epidemiology-based forecasting model makes use of epidemiology data gathered from research publications and primary interviews with physicians to establish the target patient population and treatment flow patterns for individual diseases and therapies. Using prevalence and incidence data and diagnosed and treated population, the epidemiology-based forecasting model arrives at the final numbers.Capital equipment-based forecasting models are done based on the installed base, replacements and new sales of a specific device/equipment in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers. Data for average number of units per facility is used to arrive at the installed base of the capital equipment. Sales for a particular year are arrived at by calculating the replacement units and new units (additional and first-time purchases).Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.Download Sample copy of this Report at :Scope- Market size for Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints market categories - Shoulder Replacement, Ankle Replacement, Elbow Replacement , Digits Replacement and Wrist Replacement.- Annualized market revenues (USD million), volume (units) and average selling price ($) data for each of the market categories. Data is provided from 2008 to 2015 and forecast to 2022.- 2015 company shares and distribution shares data for Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints market.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Austria Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints market.- Key players covered include DePuy Synthes, Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., Smith & Nephew Plc, Stryker Corporation, DJO Finance LLC and others.Reasons to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and whats the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand and capitalize.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 41.2 List of Figures 42 Introduction 52.1 What Is This Report About? 52.2 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market Segmentation 52.3 Definitions of Markets Covered in the Report 63 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria 73.1 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), 2008-2015 73.2 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), 2015-2022 93.2.1 Shoulder Replacement Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2008-2015 113.2.2 Shoulder Replacement Market, Austria, Revenue ($m), by Segment, 2015-2022 133.3 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Volume (Units), 2008-2015 153.4 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Volume (Units), 2015-2022 173.4.1 Shoulder Replacement Market, Austria, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2008-2015 193.4.2 Shoulder Replacement Market, Austria, Volume (Units), by Segment, 2015-2022 213.5 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Average Price ($), 2008-2015 233.6 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Average Price ($), by Segment 2008-2015 253.7 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Distribution Share by Revenue ($m), 2008-2022 273.8 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market, Austria, Company Share by Revenue ($m), 2015 284 Overview of Key Companies in Austria, Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market 304.1 DePuy Synthes, Inc. 304.1.1 Company Overview 304.2 Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. 304.2.1 Company Overview 304.3 Tornier N.V. (Inactive) 304.3.1 Company Overview 304.4 Exactech, Inc. 314.4.1 Company Overview 314.5 Biomet, Inc. 314.5.1 Company Overview 314.6 Stryker Corporation 314.6.1 Company Overview 314.7 Limacorporate S.p.a. 324.7.1 Company Overview 324.8 Wright Medical Group N.V. 324.8.1 Company Overview 324.9 DJO Finance LLC 324.9.1 Company Overview 324.10 Smith & Nephew Plc 334.10.1 Company Overview 335 Shoulder Reconstruction and Small Joints Market Pipeline Products 346 Appendix 356.1 Research Methodology 366.1.1 Coverage 366.1.2 Secondary Research 366.1.3 Primary Research 376.1.4 Company Share Analysis 376.1.5 Distribution Share Analysis 376.1.6 Benchmarking 376.2 GlobalData Consulting 386.3 Contact Us 38MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Decline in Consumer Demand for Air Conditioners to Negatively Impact Chinese Home Appliance Industry

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ALBANY, New York, Sep 23, 2016: MarketResearchHub (MRH) has recently announced the addition of a new report on the Chinese market for home appliances to its vast repository. The research study, titled Chinese Home Appliance Industry and Market, June 2016, offers an unbiased assessment of this market by examining its past and current performance, prime trends, and growth prospects for June 2016.Request for Free Sample Report:With the continual rise in the disposable income of consumers, the demand for home appliances has witnessed a substantial increase in China over the last few years. The significant reduction of raw material prices has also driven the growth of the Chinese home appliances industry in the recent years. However, despite the robust historical performance, the market is experiencing subdued growth in 2016. The latest trends also point towards sluggishness in the growth trajectory of this market in the near future, notes the research study.In this research report, the Chinese market for home appliances has been broadly assessed on the basis of the product. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and LCD TVs have been identified as the key products available in this market. In June 2016, air conditioners witnessed a severe decline, dipping 11.3% year-on-year, whereas, refrigerators and washing machines experienced a mild year-on-year decline of 2.8% and 0.5%, respectively.The air conditioner segment is likely to experience a further weakening of demand in the near future. However, the LCD TVs segment is expected to witness strong growth in the coming months, owing to the rising export of LCD TVs from China, states the market study. In June 2016, exports of LCD TVs reached over 25% year-on-year, thanks to the significant rise in exports from leading Chinese brands, namely Hisense, TLC, Changhong, Skyworth, and Konka, totaling a shipment volume of 2.1 million units  translating into 12.1% year-on-year.This 14-page research report offers an in-depth assessment of the performance of the Chinese home appliance industry, taking various factors, such as the production volume, pricing of products, capacity utilization, the dynamics of demand and supply, revenue, export/import dynamics, and the growth rate of this market.Browse Full Report with TOC -The research report also has studied the competitive landscape of the China market for home appliances. It has examined the profiles of the leading home appliances manufacturers in China to determine the current market hierarchy. As per the study, Xingxing, XiaoYa, Ronshen, Mitsubishi, Tongfang, Chigo, HF-Sanyo, Littleswan, Siemens, Konka, Bosch, Hisense, Sony, Haier, LG Panda, Gree, Panasonic, New-fly, TCL, Skyworth, Changhong, Midea, Kelon, MeiLing, Galanz, Daikin, Sanyo, Aux, Xinl, Electrolux, Sharp, LeTV, and Samsung are the key participants in this market.Market Research HUB (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel : +1-518-621-2074Email : sales@marketresearchhub.comWebsite :
[File photo]

The release of Shanghais first Michelin guide on Sept. 21 got off to a rocky start, as one of the guides 1-star picks, Taian Table, was forced to shut down just one day after the rankings were released. According to China Daily, chef Stefan Stiller has already assured the public that Taian Table will reopen in a new location with all the proper paperwork. However, that closure was just the beginning of complaints and backlash against the Michelin rankings.

Though not initially expected to be controversial, the release of the guide has sparked a great deal of criticism, with many netizens and industry insiders bemoaning perceived slights and outmoded choices. In total, the French restaurant ranking system awarded Shanghais dining scene one 3-star ranking, seven 2-star rankings and 18 1-star rankings.

George Chen, owner of Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse, told City Weekend Shanghai, they need to spend a bit more time in Shanghai, as some of these places are so out of date by reputation, and the Chinese centric list is almost laughable.

Indeed, many commented that the lack of Western restaurants on the list constituted an oversight, as Shanghais food and beverage scene prides itself on its international scope. Chef and restaurateur Eduardo Vargas noted, If you look at Michelin in Japan, most of the stars are for Japanese restaurants, same in France, mostly French restaurants. So obviously Chinese restaurants for the China markets  I understand that theyre trying to recognize Chinese cuisine, but we also have Japanese, Spanish and Western food here too.

Xia Lianyue, a senior industry expert, noted in an interview with Xinhua that, regardless of any backlash, Michelin recognition remains the ultimate accolade in the restaurant business. It carries undeniable influence, and also tends to considerably grow a restaurants customer base. Even as some argue that the Michelin guide is fighting for increasingly crowded real estate thanks to popular food review apps and an unprecedented number of foodies confident in their own preferences, Xia remains optimistic about the ultimate benefit of the guide.

We often see foreigners navigating their way [to Chinese restaurants] to eat a meal, and then later we realize that its because of a Michelin guide recommendation. The Michelin guide is an opportunity for Chinese food to enter the world, and for the world to recognize Chinese food, Xia stated.
Latest Report On Biosurgery - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts

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The report analyzes and presents an overview of " Biosurgery - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts " worldwide.Prompt hemostasis, effective incision closure, tissue and vessel sealing, and post-operative adhesion prevention have been paramount concerns for surgeons for decades. As medical technology advances, the surgeons toolbox expands to include more effective products that actively cease bleeding, close external and internal ruptures in tissue, and provide physical barriers between tissues to prevent dangerous adhesions. These biosurgery products have become indispensable keystones in any operating room environment.This report focuses on the Biosurgery Market outlook for the Asia-Pacific space. It provides a comprehensive analysis of major companies, product portfolios, unmet needs, market drivers, barriers, and overall trends. The Asia-Pacific countries covered in this report are the Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea.HighlightsKey Questions Answered- What is the current and future market outlook for the biosurgery space in the Asia-Pacific market?- Which are the key, high growth markets? Which segments are growing the fastest?- What are the unmet needs? What is the scope for more innovation and what are the end-users looking for in their products?- What are some of the newer innovations that may fulfill these unmet needs? What are the physician perceptions and market outlooks?Download Sample copy of this Report at :Reasons to buy- What Physicians Think quotes provide a unique insight into how healthcare professionals are reacting to events within the industry, and what their responses could mean for industry strategists. In this report you will understand the perceptions of leading physicians and other stakeholders from around the world. This information is essential for all strategic decision makers in every organization allowing them to act on high quality information.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents1.1 List of Tables1.2 List of Figures2 Executive Summary2.1 Key Metrics in Major Markets2.2 Market Dynamics2.3 What Do Physicians Think?2.4 Key Players in the Global Biosurgery Market2.5 Asia-Pacific Market Future Outlook3 Introduction3.1 Catalyst3.2 Related Reports4 Market Access4.1 Reimbursement4.2 Regulation4.2.1 Asia-Pacific4.3 Key Mergers, Acquisitions, Deals, and Partnerships5 Unmet Needs5.1 Overview5.2 Optimal Mechanical Properties5.3 Preparation and Storage5.4 Safety Concerns5.5 Better Biocompatibility5.6 Emergency and Military Use of Hemostats6 Competitive Assessment6.1 Company Share Analysis6.1.1 Asia-Pacific6.2 Major Players6.2.1 Advanced Medical SolutionsMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Booming Real Estate Sector to Encourage Growth of Wealth Sector in Germany

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Albany, New York, September 23, 2016: Market Research Hub (MRH) has recently announced the addition of a new market research study to its vast collection of research reports. The 42-page research study, titled Challenges and Opportunities for the Wealth Sector in Germany 2016, provides a detailed analysis, presenting insights into the key factors that are anticipated to determine the growth of the market in the near future. The product segmentation, growth drivers, limitations, and the competitive landscape of the wealth management market in Germany have been discussed at length in the study.Request for Free Sample Report:The research report analyzes the high net worth individual (HNWI) population and their performance across the forecast period. It helps in determining the growth prospects and challenges the country is expected to face. The potential opportunities in the market have been highlighted in the research study to offer a clear understanding and formulate business strategies effectively. Furthermore, the research study covers vital data related to the independent market sizing of HNWIs in Germany across the five wealth bands, overall HNWI volume, and allocation and wealth trends throughout the forecast period. In addition, the asset allocation across thirteen asset classes of HNWI and UHNWI has also been included in the research study.According to the research study, in 2015, German HNWI wealth outside their home country was US$1.5 tn. The foreign asset holdings are projected to reach a value of US$1.9 tn, holding a share of 30.8% in the countrys overall HNWI assets by the end of 2020. In addition, the German HNWIs are expected to grow progressively more interested in investing in Asia Pacific and hold a 39.9% share of the foreign HNWI assets in this region by the end of 2020.In 2011, among the key asset classes for German HNWIs, the equities segment led the overall market with a 24% share, followed by real estate and business interests. The equities segment is expected to remain in the leading position in the coming few years. The share of German HNWIs in the real estate segment is expected to rise significantly as the real estate market is projected to grow robustly in the global market. In 2011, the alternative assets, fixed income, and cash holdings were among the key performing asset classes, thanks to the safety they offered during and after the global financial crisis of 2007-2008.The rise in high net worth individual wealth and volumes over the next few years is expected to be moderate, owing to existing issues concerning the double dip recession in European markets. Nevertheless, the rise in the number of HNWIs in Germany is estimated to be higher if compared to other key European Union markets, including France and the U.K.Browse Full Report with TOC -Furthermore, the competitive landscape of the German wealth sector has been included in the research study, focusing on key developments in the private banking industry and wealth management industry in Germany. In addition, the role of wealth managers, domestic private banks, family offices, and foreign private banks in the German wealth management market has also been studied in the report.Market Research HUB (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel : +1-518-621-2074Email : sales@marketresearchhub.comWebsite :
Graphene composites market expected to reach approximately US$90 million by 2021

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A new report recently published by Beige Market intelligence titled Graphene Composites Market by Volume (production and consumption), by Price (MT), by Capacity Utilization, by Production (exfoliation, CVD) by Product (graphene oxide, grapheme films, graphene nanoplatelets) by Application (paints and coatings, energy storage, electronics and semiconductor, photovoltaic, healthcare, filtration) by Geography (APAC, EMEA, North America, South America) with industry analysis, size, growth, trends and forecast 2016  2021 predicts the market to be worth approximately US$90 billion by 2021.Federal incentives are playing an important role in the development of the graphene composites market. A number of corporates and start-ups in this space heavily rely on the federal support from their respective governments to establish themselves and grow. There has been a focus on nanotechnology which in itself is driving the graphene composites market. Numerous countries embark upon the pursuit of novel technologies to gain a competitive advantage in the key areas of defence, aerospace, automotive and healthcare, it is imperative for them to set up a framework to encourage the same.The Expected Installed Capacity for Production of Graphene Composited is expected to be 4 thousand MT by 2021A number of vendors operating in the market are undertaking aggressive capacity expansions in order to capitalize on any potential growth in demand. As of 2015 though, graphene despite showing promising application potential is not being adopted widely on account of its price premium in comparison to the conventional materials that in turn is attributed to the lack of economics of scale. Absence of a dedicated sustainable market shall only result in underutilization of these newly expanded capacities. Only 20 % of the production capacity of graphene was utilized in 2014.Approximately 30 % of the Graphene produced worldwide is through Exfoliation Method as of 2015Exfoliation alone is often perceived to a difficult way to yield graphene on account of aggressive chemical or physical agents that are to be deployed in the process. As a result, Intercalation is widely used in tandem with exfoliation to yield the desired graphene product. Intercalation involves temporary inclusion of a molecule in-between another layered material. These molecules can easily be removed or altered by various chemical reagents and as a result can be easily modified to yield the ideal product of choice.The APAC region is expected to contribute to more than 50% of all the Graphene produced in 2021The region is a hub for electronics manufacture with leading manufacturers such as SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, and Toshiba having their manufacture bases here. The electronic industry is one of the biggest adopter of novel nanomaterials as it embarks on improving the computing power. The regions electronic industry accounts for about 50% of the global graphene consumption in electronic applications.Intense Competition among VendorsCompanies operating in this market include 2D Carbon Tech, Angstron Materials, Applied Graphene Materials, BGT Materials Ltd, CVD Equipment Corp, Deyang Carbonene Tech, Directa Plus, Grafoid, Graphene Nanochem, Graphenea, Group NanoXplore Inc., Haydale Graphene Industries, Ningbo Morsh, Power Booster, The Sixth Element, Vorbeck, Wuxi Graphene Film and XG Sciences.To know more about the report, please click the linkAbout Beige Market IntelligenceBeige Market Intelligence is a new-age provider of competitive business intelligence, working across various industry verticals. Our expertise and knowledge ensures that the market analysis Beige provides is comprehensive, detailed and complete. The analysis helps our client organizations become aware and to make educated decisions, as far as investing or devising a marketing strategy is concerned. The actionable insights delivered through our market research provide a comprehensive market analysis for every level of market segmentation in an industry.Our team of experts ensure the analysis you receive is not just analyazed and presented, but can also be customized based on the clients requirement. Our deliverables guarantee our current global client base do not look beyond Beige when it comes to competitive intelligence.Beige has an employee base present across the globe. Our analysts come with numerous years of industry experience, which ensures we not only understand our clients but deliver high quality reports as well.Beige Market IntelligenceChinnapannahalli Main Road, Dodanekundi , Bangalore- 560037Contact uscontactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473
Wind Turbine Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Market to Log CAGR of 8.8% to 2023

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Transparency Market Research has released a new market report titled Wind Turbine Operations and Maintenance Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023. The report defines and segments the wind turbine O&M market, providing analysis and forecasts of the global revenue. According to the report, the global wind turbine O&M market stood at US$9.3 bn in 2014 and is likely to reach US$20.6 bn by 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 8.8% between 2015 and 2023.Download Free Research Report Brochure :Wind turbine O&M services include operations, maintenance, asset administration, remote monitoring, and repair of wind turbines installed at wind farms. Wind turbine O&M services can be scheduled maintenance services or unscheduled maintenance services. Scheduled maintenance services are carried out at regular intervals. Unscheduled maintenance services are carried out in event of sudden breakdown of a wind turbine or its components. Different components of a wind turbine such as gearbox, rotor blade, generator, inverter, brake, and tower require regular maintenance to operate efficiently. Gearbox assembly, rotor blades, and brakes are some of the components which are more susceptible to breakdown and require monitoring and maintenance at regular intervals.global-wind-turbine-operation-maintenance-marketThe global wind turbine O&M market has been segmented on the basis of application into onshore wind turbine O&M and offshore wind turbine O&M. Onshore wind turbine O&M was the largest application segment of the global wind turbine O&M market, accounting for more than 90% of the market share in 2014. However, demand for offshore wind turbine O&M services has been increasing owing to rising number of offshore wind farms and the complexity involved in servicing offshore wind turbines. Increasing number of aging wind turbines, and rising number of gearbox failures and generator assembly failures have augmented the global wind turbine O&M market. Additionally, increased presence of financial institutions and private investors as owners of wind farms has boosted the demand for wind turbine O&M services. Moreover, growing share of offshore turbines in the wind energy mix has also boosted the demand for wind turbine O&M services. Increased cost of logistics and lack of skilled workforce are anticipated to hamper the global wind turbine O&M market in the near future.In terms of geography, the global market for wind turbine O&M has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World (RoW). Europe accounted for around 40% of the global wind turbine O&M market share in 2014. However, the wind turbine O&M market in RoW is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the second-fastest growing market for wind turbine O&M during the forecast period. Some of the leading companies in the global wind turbine O&M market include Enercon GmbH, Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, GE Wind Energy, Nordex SE, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Siemens Wind Power GmbH, Suzlon Group, Guodian United Power Technology Company Ltd., and UpWind Solutions Inc.The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial revenues (on availability), business strategies, and recent developments. The global wind turbine O&M market has been segmented as follows:Global Wind Turbine Operation and Maintenance Market: By ApplicationOnshoreOffshoreAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Dispensing Systems and Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, Forecast, Demand, Outlook 2019

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Dispensing systems are devices which dispense chemicals, inks, or other solvents. The solvents dispensed can be in a quantity desired by the consumer or in a pre-defined quantity. Dispensing systems play an important role in the day-to-day life of consumers. These systems are used in a number of applications such as in large-scale industries for dispensing oil and other solvents, pharmaceuticals for syringes and disinfecting solutions, household chemicals such as detergent liquids and other cleaning solutions, and personal care products such as shampoos and moisturizers, foods such as syrups and sauces, and beverages such as water and aerated drinks.There is an increasing demand for dispensing systems and equipments in developing countries such as India and China. Increasing disposable incomes and changing lifestyles are the main reasons for the increasing demand for dispensing systems in these regions. Innovation of dispensing systems in terms of esthetic designs as well as technology is another reason for augmenting the dispensing markets growth. In addition to this, dispensing systems are more convenient to use compared to traditional systems, thus driving the global market for dispensing systems and equipments.Get FREE Sample PDF file of Dispensing Systems and Equipment Market :The ever changing consumer needs is one of the key factors affecting this market. This results in manufacturers having to constantly upgrade their technology. Moreover, the lower profit margins due to mergers and acquisitions have adversely hampered some of the smaller players in this market. The trend among consumers towards preferred suppliers is expected to hamper the growth of small scale suppliers and resultantly make this market extremely competitive.There is a growing opportunity in the dispensing systems market with regards to its application in various sectors. Furthermore, innovation in terms of design and size along with cost-effectiveness, up-gradation of technology and supply is expected to further fuel the demand for this market. Moreover, large scale industries are looking at automated dispensing systems to be installed in their plants, which have the properties of handling volatile chemicals and other solvents. In addition to this, these systems are replacing traditional continuous thread closures.Some of the key manufacturers of dispensing systems and equipments include Jensen Global Dispensing, Global Closures Systems, Weatherchem Corporation, Hydro Systems Company, Nordson Adhesive Dispensing Systems, Berry Plastics Corporation, Continental AFA, and AptarGroup among others.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Stem Cell Banking Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares, Demand, Analysis And Future Research Report 2016

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Stem Cell Banking Industry 2016 Market Research Report" to its huge collection of research reports.The Global Stem Cell Banking Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Stem Cell Banking industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Stem Cell Banking market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Stem Cell Banking industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Stem Cell Banking1.1 Definition and Specifications of Stem Cell Banking1.1.1 Definition of Stem Cell Banking1.1.2 Specifications of Stem Cell Banking1.2 Classification of Stem Cell Banking1.3 Applications of Stem Cell Banking1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Stem Cell Banking1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Stem Cell Banking1.5.1 Industry Overview of Stem Cell Banking1.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Stem Cell Banking1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Stem Cell Banking1.7 Industry News Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2.4 Other Costs Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Stem Cell Banking2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Stem Cell BankingMake an Enquiry of this report @3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Stem Cell Banking3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Stem Cell Banking Major Manufacturers in 20153.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Stem Cell Banking Major Manufacturers in 20153.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Stem Cell Banking Major Manufacturers in 20153.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Stem Cell Banking Major Manufacturers in 20154 Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Stem Cell Banking by Regions, Types and Manufacturers4.1 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Stem Cell Banking by Regions 2011-20164.2 Global and Major Regions Capacity, Production, Revenue and Growth Rate of Stem Cell Banking 2011-20164.3 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Stem Cell Banking by Types 2011-20164.4 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Stem Cell Banking by Manufacturers 2011-20165 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Stem Cell Banking by Regions, Types and Manufacturers5.1 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Stem Cell Banking by Regions 2011-20165.2 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Stem Cell Banking by Types 2011-20165.3 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Stem Cell Banking by Manufacturers 2011-2016About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Matrix Awarded as Best Intelligent Security Solutions Provider by Electronics Maker

Matrix has bagged the Electronics Maker Award for Best Intelligent Security Solutions provider for the second time. Electronics Maker, one of the leading magazines for Electronics Industry, has instituted this Award to recognize the companys best contribution and performance in particular field.The Award was selected across various categories based on internal data, market analysis and features learning. EM Top editorial and advisory panel chose the winners. Such awards boost and encourage the industries to reach greater heights and strive for further excellence in the years to come.Winning the Electronics Maker Award is not only a great source of honor and pride, but also an inspiration to set the bar higher for ourselves. Matrix has consistently delivered world-class products to its customers. This award is a validation of innovation, quality and reliability of Matrix products. I thank our customers and channel partners for their trust in Matrix. I congratulate the entire Matrix team for this achievement. says Ganesh Jivani, Managing Director, Matrix.Matrix is in the field of manufacturing Telecom and Security products and it indigenously designs, develops and manufactures these products. Matrix has won the award for its intelligent security solutions. It is the technology and the quality of the products that has helped Matrix defy competition from well established brands.Established in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. An innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization; Matrix is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like Video Surveillance solutions, Access Control, Time-Attendance, IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, Terminals, Convergence solution, VoIP Gateways and GSM Gateways. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global footprints in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa through an extensive network of more than 500 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many international awards for its innovative products.Mary ThomasMatrix Comsec, 394, GIDC, Makarpura, Vadodara  390010; Ph: +91 265 2630555; Fax: 2636598
ESOS Enforcement Update from the Environment Agency

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Up to 1,700 organisations are being investigated by regulators of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), it has been revealed.The Environment Agency says the organisations are being investigated because regulators believe they may have been required to participate in the scheme but failed to make a submission before the final deadline.ESOS is a mandatory requirement for all large enterprises in the UK. If a qualifying organisation doesnt meet the deadline, they could receive a basic fine of 50,000, plus an additional fine of 800 per day up to a maximum of 80 days.A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: Following the passing of the original compliance deadline of the 5th December 2015 and the grace period of up to the 29th January 2016, we have been looking at corporate data to identify those organisations that should be participating in ESOS.He added: We will normally use enforcement notices to bring organisations into compliance, serving civil penalties only in the most serious cases. Compliance notices can be served in cases where we suspect a breach and require further information.A dedicated ESOS Enforcement Team are now targeting those organisations deemed to be the highest risk. A number of compliance and enforcement notices have already been issued.A total of 150 organisations who submitted an Intent to Comply Late Notification but have not yet submitted Full Compliance Notification, are also being monitored closely.How can TEAMs ESOS Services help you?Are you one of those organisations who havent complied?TEAMs experienced consultants can provide a full ESOS Scheme Consultancy; starting from Initial Assessment to a full review of available energy data and the submission of your data to the Environment Agency. The ESOS report is a four yearly requirement and will require director sign-off within your company before it is submitted. Our service is fully flexible to meet your specific requirements.TEAMs ESOS certified consultants can provide full ESOS Scheme Consultancy including all or any of the following: Collating data for building, transport and process energy use Review of portfolio to determine number of energy surveys required Carry out energy surveys following BRE guidelines Produce survey reports including cost-effective energy efficiency recommendations ESOS Assessor review, verification and sign-off Preparation of Submission Document and Evidence Pack including sign-off by an accredited ESOS Lead Assessor The initial assessment is free to existing TEAM software and bureau customers.For more information, simply call us on 01908 690018 or contact us atTEAM is the UKs leading supplier of carbon and energy management solutions. With over 500 customers in the UK and worldwide we specialise in energy management software, outsourced energy management services and energy consultancy.TEAM (Energy Auditing Agency Ltd.36 The ForumRockingham Drive, Linford WoodMilton KeynesMK14 6LY
Global Glucose Meter Consumption Market by Manufacturers, Analysis, Research, Share, Growth, Sales, Trends, Supply, Forecast to 2021

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Global Glucose Meter Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021Summary of the report:Glucose Meter is a medical device for determining the approximate concentration of glucose in the blood. It can also be a strip of glucose paper dipped into a substance and measured to the glucose chart. It is a key element of home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM) by people with diabetes mellitus or hypoglycemia. A small drop of blood, obtained by pricking the skin with a lancet, is placed on a disposable test strip that the meter reads and uses to calculate the blood glucose level. The meter then displays the level in mg/dl or mmol/l.Check complete report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Glucose Meter Consumption in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers Roche Johnson & Johnson Bayer Abbott OMRON Healthcare India Pvt Ltd ARKRAY, Inc. Grace Medical B. Braun Medical Inc. i-SENS Infopia Co., Ltd. Hainice Medical Inc Mendor All Medicus Co., Ltd. 77 Elektronika Kft. Delta OK Biotech Co., Ltd. MEDISANA AG FIFTY 50 Nova Biomedical Oak Tree Health Omnis Health Simple Diagnostics US Diagnostics, Inc. SD Bio Standard Diagnostics, PVT, Ltd. Nipro Medical Corporation Terumo Group Homemed (Pty) Ltd Sinocare Inc. Yuwell medical equipment & supply Co., Ltd. Yicheng Electrical Biology CompanyAvail more information from Sample Brochure of report @Market Segment by Type, covers By function Hospital glucose meters Blood testing with meters using test strips Noninvasive meters Continuous glucose monitorsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into Medical Home CareOrder a copy of Global Glucose Meter Consumption Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021@MarketIntelReports (MIR) aim to empower our clients to successfully manage and outperform in their business decisions, we do this by providing Premium Market Intelligence, Strategic Insights and Databases from a range of Global Publishers.A group of industry veterans who are well experienced in reputed international consulting firms after identifying the sourcing needs of MNCs for market intelligence, have together started this business savior MarketIntelReports.MIR intends to be a one-stop shop with an intuitive design, exhaustive database, expert assistance, secure cart checkout and data privacy integrated. It curates the list of reports, publishers and studies to ensure that the database is constantly updated to dynamically meet the targeted, specific needs of our clients.MarketIntelReports currently has more than 10,000 plus titles and 35+ publishers on our platform and growing consistently to fill the Global Intelligence Demand  Supply Gap. We cover more than 15 industry verticals being: Automotive, Electronics, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Chemicals, Building & Construction, Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Banking & Finance, Media and Government, Public Sector Studies.Mayur S.Sales Manager2711 Centerville Road, Suite 400,Wilmington,Delaware,19808United Statessales@marketintelreports.comTelephone: 1-302-261-5343
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Industry Market Overview | Forecast & Analysis (2016-2020)

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2016 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Industry Report is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions of the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) industry, focusing on the main regionsNorth AmericaEuropeAsiaAnd the main countriesUnited StatesGermanyJapan China.Check complete report @The report firstly introduced the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) 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.Avail more information from Sample Brochure of report @The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) Basic information;2.) The Asia Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) industry;3.) The North American Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) industry;4.) The European Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) industry;5.) Market entry and investment feasibility;6.) The report conclusion.Order a copy of Global Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Industry 2016 Market Research Report @About us:MarketIntelReports (MIR) aim to empower our clients to successfully manage and outperform in their business decisions, we do this by providing Premium Market Intelligence, Strategic Insights and Databases from a range of Global Publishers.A group of industry veterans who are well experienced in reputed international consulting firms after identifying the sourcing needs of MNCs for market intelligence, have together started this business savior MarketIntelReports.MIR intends to be a one-stop shop with an intuitive design, exhaustive database, expert assistance, secure cart checkout and data privacy integrated. It curates the list of reports, publishers and studies to ensure that the database is constantly updated to dynamically meet the targeted, specific needs of our clients.MarketIntelReports currently has more than 10,000 plus titles and 35+ publishers on our platform and growing consistently to fill the Global Intelligence Demand  Supply Gap. We cover more than 15 industry verticals being: Automotive, Electronics, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Chemicals, Building & Construction, Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Banking & Finance, Media and Government, Public Sector Studies.Contact us:Sales ManagerMayur S.2711 Centerville Road, Suite 400,Wilmington,Delaware,19808United Statessales@marketintelreports.comTelephone: 1-302-261-5343
Syrian government forces gather in the largely deserted Palestinian refugee camp of Handarat, north of Aleppo, on September 24, 2016 after they captured the area following multiple Russian air strikes. (AFP/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Battles continued in Aleppo on Sunday coupled with airstrikes on rebel-held areas, as Western powers dropped political barrel bombs on Russia and the Syrian government.

Several rebel factions succeeded on Sunday to retake the strategic Handarat camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern province of Aleppo, just a day after the Syrian army and Palestinian fighters wrested control over it.

Handarat, located 13 km northeast of Aleppo, has emerged as a battlefield over the past few months between the Syrian army backed by the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds on one side, and several radical rebel groups, including the Nour Addien Zinki, Nusra Front, Levant Front, and the Levant Legions.

The camp has a special importance due to its proximity to the Castello road, the main rebel supply route into rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

The Castello road has been recently recaptured by the Syrian army, and taking Handarat enables the army to secure more areas around that key road, which seen several attacks by the rebels in the hope of taking it back.

Military sources in Aleppo told Xinhua that battles are still taking place in the vicinity of the camp, as part of the army's resolve to take back that camp.

Handarat is also close to the Jandoul roundabout, another intersection leading to the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city.

Capturing Handarat will also expose several rebel-held areas in Aleppo to the fire of the Syrian army, which will further tighten the government siege on eastern Aleppo.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian and Russian warplanes continued to strike rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo on Monday.

It said 52 people were killed Monday as a result of the intensified airstrikes on rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo.

The UK-based watchdog group said the death toll could likely rise due to the high number of wounded people, and those stuck under the rubble.

The monitor group said the Syrian and Russian warplanes have intensified airstrikes against rebels over the past few days, following the end of a week-long truce, which expired last Monday without extension.

The Syrian Defense Ministry announced Thursday the commencement of a new offensive against rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo, urging the civilians to leave immediately and the rebels to lay down their weapons.

On Friday, Syrian warplanes dropped leaflets over eastern Aleppo, renewing calls on civilians to stay away from the rebel positions and advising the rebels to surrender.

The renewed military showdown in Aleppo came just days after a Russia-U.S. brokered truce expired last Monday with no extension, due to the rising tension between Russia and the United States.

The Syrian army said in a statement that the rebels violated the week-long truce over 300 times, adding that the U.S.-led coalition struck positions of the Syrian army during the truce in Deir al-Zour, killing 90 soldiers, which was deemed by Russia as the biggest violation to the truce.

The U.S.-led attack on Syrian army positions in Deir al-Zour was the first since the coalition started operations in Syria two years ago. Washington said the attack was "unintentional," a claim totally rejected by the Syrian government.

On the international arena, superpowers exchanged accusations during an emergency Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York, casting shadows over diplomatic efforts.

Britain has accused Russia of war crimes, while the United States accused Moscow of "barbarism."

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," The U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said.

"History will not look kindly on security council members who stay silent in the face of this carnage," she continued.

For his part, Matthew Rycroft, the UK ambassador to the UN, said "bunker-busting bombs, more suited to destroying military installations, are now destroying homes, decimating bomb shelters, crippling, maiming, killing dozens, if not hundreds."

"In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," he added.

Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the UN, agreed with his British counter part, saying the war crimes they accused Moscow of "must not go unpunished."

The Russian envoy, Vitaly Churkin, responded with saying that the U.S. has no control over the rebels it's backing in Syria.

He accused the U.S. and other Western countries of supporting the terrorist groups in Syria.

Churkin also charged that the rebels were the ones who have undermined the U.S.-Russian deal on Syria, including the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari asserted that the Syrian government will remain committed to combating terrorism.

He stressed that the Syrian army will recapture every inch in Syria, including the rebel-held part in eastern Aleppo.
Global Digital Music Market with Focus on Live Streaming: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2016-2020)

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Scope of the ReportThe report entitled Global Digital Music Market with Focus on Live Streaming: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2016-2020) analyzes the global digital music market with detailed analysis of market sizing and growth. It analyzes market by value and market share by sources with focus on streaming music.A detailed overview of streaming music market is also discussed in the report. Streaming music market analysis has been done on the basis of value, volume and market segment. The report also provides an analysis of consumer behavior on the basis of consumer preference, spending nature of consumer, consumer interest in streaming services, consumer listening hours and consumers respond towards top streaming music players.A brief regional analysis of the US and Germany digital music market is also being done in the report. The US is the largest market for digital music globally with the highest revenue. Germany is the largest digital music market within the European region and third largest in the world. The report provides detailed description of the US and Germany on the basis of value, volume and market share by segment.The report also assesses the key opportunities available and summarizes the driving forces that are and will be accountable for growth of the industry. Growth of digital music market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration previous growth outlines, growth drivers and the existing and forthcoming trends.Furthermore, the report portrayed a competitive landscape of the digital music market with detailed comparison of top market players. Apple music is the market leader with highest revenue and number of paid subscribers in 2015.A brief company profiling of major market players namely Apple Inc., Spotify Limited, Deezer and Pandora Media Inc. has provided in the report on the basis of aspects like business overview, financial overview and business strategies adopted by these companies.Country CoverageThe USGermanyCompany CoverageApple Inc.Spotify LimitedDeezerPandora Media Inc.Get free sample copy atExecutive SummaryMusic market has two major segments: Physical and digital. Physical music market comprises of music in the form of CD or vinyl whereas digital music market composed of audio content that is distributed to the music lovers through internet. Digital sector includes downloads as well as on demand digital streaming. Digital streaming is either subscription based or ad-supported which is free of charge. In ad-supported music, advertiser is liable to pay for the music streaming on behalf of customers. Current music marketplace offers a wide variety of digital options like download, streaming, cloud, music videos and ringtones.The global digital music market is growing tremendously with astonishing growth rates over the past few years and is anticipated to grow further over the forecasted period (2016-2020). Major factors contributing in the growth of the market are rising smartphone penetration globally specially in developing economies, availability of cheap internet services, expansion of streaming format, technological advancements, change in consumer behavior and consumer desire to access latest music etc.In the forecasted period, market will be pushed by increasing number of on- demand consumers, collaboration between music providers with social media platform, rising number of catalog software and blending of streaming music with wearable technology. In spite of high growth, market is still facing certain challenges that are hampering the growth of the market. Challenges encountered by the market are lack of unique services, rampant piracy, legal complexity and intense competition.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports.MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients.We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074 FREEWebsite:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Announcing New Techniques of Business

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Vebsecure has declared the launch of premium services for the website development solutions. Vebsecure is based in Noida, India. The solutions are very cost- effective. We continue to combine its core competence of web development solutions which has led us to serve top-notch customers globally. You can reach us atVebsecure is a service enterprise that has expert in conceptualizing and implementing polished and advanced designs. Our highly tech-savy designers live up to the requirements of the customer. We strive hard to produce the best result.In Vebsecure Technology is not a constraint as we have an experienced team that own proficiency in multifarious platforms including iPhone, Android, Blackberry, HTML and so on.Vebsecure believe in manual coding markups and always endeavor to code the structure of mobile apps and games from the scratch so that possibilities to find out errors are zero.We have persisted in the market for over decades and have developed a credible reputation amongst the market facilitators. Moreover, the skilled professionals have on hand experience of mobile and web development for more than half a decade.Vebsure is active and successful in the social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Our company has adapted to the digital age and it helped us increase our reach.Nevertheless, the customers business is safe and secure with the technicians. We do provide a high level IT services with absolute confidence, protecting your important data and your business.The apps provided by Vebsecure are known for their impressive productivity improvement through planned organization of workflows and optimized processes.The information from anywhere is a business priority that we capitalize on. We help the customer to keep communication between the stakeholders, personal and insightful at various techpoints.For more details please visit our website:Veb Secure is a leading IT company for offering business solutions for every small scale and large scale businesses. We offer numerous business solutions that can be counted on.Vebsecure Media Pvt. Ltd.A 67, Sector 57Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301
Assignmentconsultancy.com: Where Quality speaks for UK students

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What makes an organization legendary? We at assignment consultancy Inc believes that any organization who have the ability of extending their support and service to that last person standing at the end of the spectrum waiting for his turn are the organizations which turns greatness into legendary. And that is our mission statement at our company.Assignment consultancy Inc is working towards achieving that legendary status through their incessant effort of providing the very best of service to each and every student through its networks. Education is the right of every individual and no must be deprive of it by any means. We are taking one more step forward to this analogy as we believe in saying that best education is the birth right of every individual and we will provide the very same with our diligent efforts and never ending networks. We are trying to attain a status where no one student will go unnoticed under our supervision. We have teamed up individuals who are experts from their respective fields to create a formidable team which have the ability to provide the very best of our designated service. We do not sell our service we promote them in a way where we feel privileged if any student take it up.As a result of globalizing our network we are now ventured our operations in UK. We have based our primary networks in the city of London, Northampton, Edgbaston, Bristol and Southampton. From there on we will be delivering all our services across all the cities of UK. We are introducing accounting assignment help online, finance assignment help online, management assignment help, business assignment help and assignment help UK. We are dedicating a whole team of assignment expert with all the requisite expertise for our UK operations. I hope it will strike the right chord with all the students across UK.Customer retention is our top priority:We have developed an extensive programme so that all our clients remain intact with us in longer run. For all our existing clients we have introduced a new offer which gives them a discount of 50% on selected services which includes accounting assignment, finance assignment, management assignment and business assignment. For our new clients we are doing their first assignment free of cost as introductory offer. This will help us in creating bigger pool of clients and students across the world. Client retention is our top most priority though our service itself is enough for them to stay in course with our company.Quality is our main focus:We have taken cues from apple Inc in surpassing our own standards. Apple Inc over the years has set new benchmarks in terms of providing the premium quality to their clients at any cost which has taken their product beyond excellence. Excellence is something which we also crave for as we all rest all things will follow afterwards. We are inclined to provide the best of quality across all our services so that students and all our clients feel satisfied and may reckon it as a worthy experience. We make associations with our clients so that they feel protected against any mishappenings and fraud. We work towards the needs and requirements of our clients and we deliver the same for them.Achieving something which is beyond reach:In quest of achieving excellence we are thriving to go beyond our own imagination. We at assignment consultancy Inc is now planning to extend our database to 10 million web pages and topics. This is unheard of within our contemporaries and they must be envied of it. Shine and rise is our mantra for this project and we are hopeful to achieve it.Assignment consultancy, Inc: We are the finest and the most trusted assignment writing service provider. We have achieved this status through our continuous and diligent efforts and believing in the power of the quality of service provided. Our ultimate goal is to provide the very best of service to our esteemed clients.122 Bethnal Green Road,Greater LondonEngland - E2 6DGWebsite:Email: support@assignmentconsultancy.com
Near Field Communication Market Worth US$ 21 Billion by 2021

Near Field Communication Market

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New York, September 24: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Near Field Communication (NFC) Market by Device Types (Smartphone, Tablets, PCs & Laptops), by Product Types (Non-auxiliary Products, Auxiliary Products) and by Applications (Mobile/Contactless payment, Healthcare) - Global Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2021The Near Field Communication (NFC) market is expected to cross USD 21.00 Billion by 2021.Download Free Sample Report:NFC  Near Field Communication Market is based on wireless interface which enables all communication devices and electronic gadgets to get connected with each other by establishing radio connectivity under proximity. This technology is mainly used for smartphones, laptops and tablets for Short range of data exchange. The near field communication market is expected to grow at a very fast space in the forecast period.The major driving factors of Near Field communication Market are as follows: Convenient transfer and security of data Increasing penetration of smartphones Contactless paymentsThe restraining factors of Near Field communication Market are as follows: High costs of installations Security concernsBrowse Full Report:The Near Field communication Market is segmented based on Product type as Non Auxillary Products as  NFC Tags, NFC Readers, NFC Chips; Auxillary Products as  NFC enabled mobile sim, others (NFC cover). The Near Field communication Market is segmented based on Devices as smartphones & tablets, PCs & Laptops, Others (Infotainment and Stereo Headphone). The Near Field communication market is segmented based on application as Mobile/ Contactless payment, Information sharing, user authentication & access control, Monitoring Healthcare systems & others.The Near Field Communication Market geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geography market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.This report provides:1) An overview of the global Near Field communication Market and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2020.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for Near Field Communication Market.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for various types of Near Field communication Market with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include NXP Semiconductors (Netherland), Broadcom Corporation (U.S.), STMicroelectronics NV (Switzerland), MediaTek, Inc. (Taiwan), Renesas Electronics Corporation (Japan), Gemalto NV (Netherlands), and Texas Instruments (U.S.)are provided in the report. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Market Segmentation of Near Field communication is as follows:MARKET BY PRODUCT TYPE Non-auxiliary productso NFC Tagso NFC Readerso NFC Chip Auxiliary productso NFC enabled Mobile simo Others (NFC cover)MARKET BY DEVICES Smartphone & Tablets PCs & Laptops Others (Infotainment and Stereo Headphone)MARKET BY APPLICATION Mobile/Contactless Payment Information Sharing User Authentication & Access Control Monitoring Healthcare system OthersBY GEOGRAPHY North America Asia Pacific Europe Latin America and Africa Middle EastAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Thermal Energy Storage Market Worth US$ 1800.0 Million by 2021

Thermal Energy Storage Market

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New York, September 24: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Thermal Energy Storage Market by Technology (Sensible Heat, Latent Heat, and Thermochemical) for Commercial and Industrial, Utilities, and Residential End Use Applications - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2014  2020The thermal energy storage market is expected to exceed more than US$ 1750.0 Million by 2020 growing at a CAGR of more than 16% by 2020.Download Free Sample Report:Thermal energy storage technology is used for storage and transferring energy such as heat energy, energy from cold or ice water or air. This is very different technology need in many areas. In this it stores or collect the thermal energy for later use in many areas such as in town, district or at multi user building or individual building. Thermal energy storage technologies help to decrease utilization of energy and raise energy supply by proficiently utilizing re-new able energy sources. Many of renewable energy sources will not exist all over day, so that time thermal energy storage technology will be the best solution for use. Thermal energy storage technologies are also used for moving peak energy which is used into off peak hours.The major driving factors of thermal energy storage market are as follows:Development in variable energy sources drives acceptance of thermal energy storage technologiesDeferral of distribution and transmission rise through the use of thermal energy storage technologiesIncreasing need for access to reliable, efficient, cost competitive electricity propels increase in the marketThe restraints factors of thermal energy storage market are as follows:High grid interconnection barriers and investment slow down development of the marketBrowse Full Report:The thermal energy storage market is segmented on the lines of its technology, end user and type. Under technology segmentation it covers sensible heat, latent heat and thermo chemical storage. The thermal energy storage market is segmented on the lines of its end user like commercial, industrial and residential end user. Based on type segmentation it covers heat storage and solar power. The thermal energy storage market is geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geography market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for thermal energy storage and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2020.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for thermal energy storage4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for various types of coatings with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include CALMAC, EVAPCO, Inc., Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I), and Goss Engineering, Inc. ,Abengoa Solar, S.A., Baltimore Aircoil Company, BrightSource Energy, Inc., Burns & McDonnell, Caldwell Energy, FAFCO Thermal Storage Systems, Ice Lings, Steffes Corporation, and TAS Energy.. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Thermal Energy Storage Market has been segmented as below:By Technology AnalysisSensible HeatLatent HeatThermo chemical StorageBy End-user AnalysisCommercialIndustrialResidentialBy Type AnalysisHeat StorageSolar powerBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Paladion Appoints New Regional Head for its Operations in the Middle East

Amit Roy, executive vice president and regional head for EMEA at Paladion

Paladion, a global cyber security leader, today announced the appointment of Amit Roy as the new executive vice president and regional head for EMEA. Amit is one of the founding members for Paladions operations in the Middle East and has been with the company for over 12 years.Amit will now head companys business operations across Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA), and will be responsible for continuing Paladions impressive growth, overseeing sales operations and increasing the companys presence across the region.There is an increasing demand in the Middle East for top notch cyber security services. Amit has an outstanding track record with Paladion, and experience working with a wide variety of customers. He has helped leading enterprises in the region adopt cyber security frameworks that has decreased vulnerabilities and successfully mitigated sophisticated cyber threats, said Rajat Mohanty, CEO, Paladion. We welcome him to the senior management team and look forward to using Amits extensive experience to provide greater value to existing and new customers in the region, added Rajat.Amit Roy said, Paladion has spearheaded several cyber security initiatives in its 16 years to combat ever evolving cyber threats. I have witnessed, firsthand, for more than a decade how our teams have adapted their cyber defense techniques and mechanisms to changing technologies, attack strategies, evolving malware, evasion techniques and more to protect our customers from cyber criminals.Paladion is at the height of its innovation with its CyberActive Threat Defense and Response model; a cyber defense model that is constantly innovating and a security design that enables analysts to think like attackers and respond in a coordinated manner. I am excited to be leading the charge to bring this service to the Middle East.Amit has completed his Masters in Marketing from Institute for Technology and Management, India. He has over 15 years of computer networking, security sales and marketing experience, and has held several leadership roles during this time. Before joining Paladion in 2004, he worked with CMC Limited as an Account Manager for three years and was responsible for managing key accounts for the company.About PaladionPaladion is a global cyber security provider that offers end-to-end information security services and solutions in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Paladion is rated and has been recognized and awarded by Gartner, Asian Banker and Red Herring, amongst others.For over 15 years, Paladion has been actively managing information risks for over 700 customers. Paladion provides a complete spectrum of information risk management comprising of security assurance, compliance, governance, monitoring, security analytics and security management services to large and medium-sized organizations. Paladion is also actively involved in several information risk management research forums and has authored many books on the same. With a staff of over 800 dedicated security experts, Paladion has 6 Security Operations Centers (SOCs) across the world.628, Business VillageTower B, DeiraDubai, UAE
Fidelis Cybersecurity Debuts Advanced Threat Detection Network and Endpoint Solutions to Detect and Stop Cyber Attacks at GITEX 2016

Dubai, United Arab Emirates  September 26, 2016  Fidelis Cybersecurity, the leading provider of products and services for detecting and stopping advanced cyberattacks, today announced its participation in GITEX Technology Week 2016 to be held at Dubai World Trade Center, October 16-20.Fidelis Cybersecurity (Hall 1, stand E1-30) will demonstrate the latest updates to Fidelis Network and Fidelis Endpoint and invites members of the security community to learn how to improve threat detection accuracy by 30% and recover 50% faster from critical security incidents using integrated network and endpoint solutions from Fidelis.Organizations in the Middle East face an array of highly skilled attackers with motives that range from data theft to the destruction of critical infrastructure, said Jason Mical, vice president of endpoint products, Fidelis Cybersecurity. Its no longer simply a case of perimeter security and remediation once a breach happens. Security organizations must incorporate deep and automated threat detection and analysis to quickly and accurately respond to threats before they escalate and data theft occurs.GITEX attendees are invited to learn more about Fidelis solutions. Fidelis Network analyses network traffic at multi-gigabit speeds in real-time. It detects the tools and tactics of advanced attackers  including advanced malware, exploits, command and control activity, and data theft techniques  that can often get past traditional network security systems, such as firewalls and intrusion prevention systems. Fidelis Endpoint allows an organization to initiate an investigation and respond to a threat, no matter where it is in the corporate environment  network, endpoint or mobile device  across all ports and protocols, without depending on third-party proxies.In addition to demonstrating its market-leading solutions, Fidelis will be showcasing its new malware database and freeware tools that the security community can take advantage of to counter attacks and prevent data theft without cost. New resources include the Barncat Threat Intelligence Database, the ThreatScanner tool for finding malware residing on an endpoint, and CCNumberFinder to support PCI DSS compliance.Between shrinking IT budgets and the explosion in the number of security vendors in the market offering seemingly similar solutions, CISOs face the daunting task of choosing a comprehensive security solution that is right for their organization. At Fidelis, we understand these challenges and are committed to providing solutions that reduce the time to detect and resolve incidents, prevent data theft and stop attackers at every stage in the attack lifecycle. In fact, a recent study by a leading analyst firm showed that our products detect 35% more threats than existing solutions and deliver a risk-adjusted return on investment of 170% over a three-year period.There is no doubt that security is high, if not at the top, of the agenda of every CISO in the Middle East. As the largest regional IT exhibition, I am excited to join the local team at GITEX and use it as a platform to meet with industry peers, partners and customers and demonstrate how our network and endpoint solutions relentlessly pursue attackers no matter how deep they are hiding in an organizations environment, concluded Jason.Fidelis Cybersecurity is creating a world where attackers have no place left to hide. We reduce the time it takes to detect attacks and resolve security incidents. Our Fidelis Network and Fidelis Endpoint products look deep inside your traffic and content where attackers hide their exploits. Then, we pursue them out to your endpoints where your critical data lives. With Fidelis youll know when youre being attacked, you can retrace attackers footprints and prevent data theft at every stage of the attack lifecycle.Vernon SaldanhaProcre8Villa 41, 81D StreetUptown Mirdif, Dubai, UAEPO Box: 78835
Tissue Processing Systems Market - Global Industry Trends and Forecast - 2023

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Tissue Processing Systems Market: OverviewTissue processing is a process of preparing the tissue for analysis by embedding the tissue in a solid medium that will provide sufficient rigidity to the tissue, so that thin sections of the tissue can be cut. A tissue processor is used to prepare samples of a tissue by fixing, staining and dehydrating the tissue. The processors are generally single unit devices that can house a variety of processing techniques to suit the diverse needs of the laboratory. Tissue processing includes various stages: collection, labeling & fixation of specimen, dehydration, clearing, impregnation, embedding and finally trimming & sectioning.Get a Free Sample Report:Tissue processing can be carried out manually (hand processing), but in case of multiple specimens it is convenient and more efficient to employ a tissue processor. Tissue processing devices are available since the 1940s and have evolved to be safer in use, process more quickly, handle larger specimen numbers and produce superior quality outcomes.Tissue Processing Systems Market: SegmentationThere are two major types of tissue processors, the fluid-transfer processors also called as enclosed type in that specimens are kept in a single process chamber and fluids are pumped in and out as requisite. The other type is the tissue-transfer also called as dip and dunk processor in which specimens to be processed are moved from container to container. The modern processors offer efficient fluid circulation, temperature manipulation and vacuum/pressure cycles to improve processing and decrease processing times.Tissue processing systems market can be classified on the basis ofTypesFluid-transfer processorsTissue-transfer processorsVolumeSmall volume processorsMedium volume processorsLarge volume processorsTissue processing is important for the microscopic analysis of tissues and cells that require preparation of extremely thin, high quality sections to demonstrate abnormal and normal structures. Mostly fresh tissues are very delicate and can be easily damaged and distorted, thus it is impossible to prepare thin sections from it. To study the tissue under microscope, tissue must be chemically preserved or fixed.Tissue Processing Systems Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, the global tissue processing systems market is segmented into four major segments for the purpose of the report: North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW). North America has been the traditional market leader, trailed by Europe. Together, these markets constitute the largest share in the tissue processing systems market. The reasons for this include: new and emerging technologies and rapid advancements in microscopy technology, an increasing number of academic and commercial healthcare institutions, and a deeper emphasis on research and development activities in life science industry.However, Asia Pacific market is also witnessing a very positive growth due to development of healthcare system, rising pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry along with the encouraging regulatory environment and growth in medical tourism in countries such as India and China. Along with Asia Pacific, Latin American countries are also witnessing an admirable growth. Majority of the growth in this region is attributed by the growth and development of healthcare industry in China, Brazil, and India.The development of the medical industry, the growing prevalence of various types of diseases, and a willingness to spend on accurate medical instruments are among the other notable factors that will help keep this market on the growth track.Tissue Processing Systems Market: Key PlayersThe global tissue processing systems market is highly fragmented due to the participation of many global as well as new players in this market. Some of the major players in the market are IHC WORLD, LLC, Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, Siemens AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Universal Microtomes.Research Report:The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market ResearchTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Critical and Chronic Care Products Market - Global Industry Trends and Forecast - 2024

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Critical and chronic care products are the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life-threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring whereas chronic care products refers to medical care products which addresses pre-existing or long term illness, as opposed to acute care which is concerned with diagnosis and treatment of short term or severe illness of brief duration.Get a Free Sample Report:As per Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2004, the need for better management of chronic conditions is urgent. About 141 million people in the United States were living with one or more chronic conditions in 2010, and this number is projected to increase to 171 million by 2030, when almost every other American will be living with one or more chronic conditions. Unless these chronic conditions are managed effectively and efficiently, the implications of these numbers for morbidity and mortality, workplace productivity, and health care costs in the coming decades will be staggering. For example, one estimate projects that by 2034, the number of people with diabetes will double to 42 million and the related health care spending will triple to $336 billion. Similarly, the American Heart Association projects that by 2030, 40 percent of the U.S. population will have some form of cardiovascular disease and the related health care costs will triple from the current $273 billion to $818 billion. Productivity losses associated with chronic diseases are projected to triple to $3.4 trillion from the current $1.1 trillion.The critical and chronic care products market is expected to witness a steady growth during the forecast period. The growth of overall health care sector during the forecast period is expected to influence the growth of global critical and chronic care products market. Besides this, the major driving factors for global critical and chronic care products market are population aging and an increase in rate of chronic diseases. Moreover, increase in number of health care facilities across the globe is expected to fuel the growth of global critical and chronic care products. Also, Increase in lifestyle influenced diseases such as coronary heart diseases, along with the growing affluence has resulted in a steady growth in demand for critical and chronic care products. On the flip side, the high cost of these critical and chronic care products can act as an impediment to the growth of global critical and chronic care products market.The critical and chronic care products market can be segmented by treatment, by devices, by temperature management, by vascular access, by patient care, by blood testing devices, by end-user and by geography. In the terms of treatment, the Critical and chronic care products are classified into surgical, medical, pediatric, psychiatric, burn care, trauma care, myocardial infarction, other intensive care treatment. The trauma care and myocardial infarction comprises the largest market share of the total critical and chronic care products market. Based on the devices, the market is segmented into anesthesia airway: endotracheal tubes, intubation accessories, mechanical ventilation; drainage systems: chest drainage catheters, external ventricular drainage catheters, thoracic kits, wound drainage system; infusion systems: I.V. disposables, syringe infusion pump software, syringe infusion pump systems, large volume I.V. administration sets, volumetric pump accessories; patient monitoring: respiratory monitors, hemodynamic monitors, neuro monitors, cardiac monitors, fetal and neonatal monitors, multi-parameter monitors; pressure monitoring: pressure infusors, pressure monitoring accessories and components, pressure transducer systems; ventilators: non-invasive ventilators and invasive ventilator.Based on temperature management, the critical and chronic care products market is classified into blood & fluid warming systems, convective warming systems, hyperthermia and hypothermia management devices. Based on vascular access, the market is segmented into, implantable ports and peripheral intra-venous catheters. Similarly based on patient care, market can be segmented as, Level0: normal wound care, Level1: patients with deteriorating conditions who need additional care, Level2: patients with single failing organ system or post- operative care and Level3: patients requiring additional advanced support systems. Based on end-user, the critical and chronic care products can be segmented as, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers/clinics and rehabilitation centers.Geographically, North America occupies the largest market share followed by other developed region like Europe. The United States accounts for a major share of the global market. The high awareness level in this region led the market of critical and chronic care products for expansion significantly. However, the same factor of affordability has restrained the markets in developing regions. Despite of this, Asia Pacific has shown striking increase in its growth rate for the critical and chronic care products market. Rising population, increase in disposable income, and increase in awareness level are some key factors driving the Asia Pacific Market. Due to this factors, the Asian market is observing high number of new entrants compared to those in developed regions.The Major players reported in the market include Abbott Laboratories, Piramal, Mylan, Convatec, Novartis, GE Healthcare, Abbott, Plunketts Health Care, Sproxil, Safaricom, Dexcom, Walgreens and Baxter International, Inc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.Research Report:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market ResearchTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Wound Debridement Products Market by aging population, 2015 to 2021

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Wound debridement is a procedure to remove contaminated, dead tissue and foreign substance from a wound. Wound debridement product helps to reduce various types of microbes, toxins and other foreign material that inhibit healing of the wound. On the basis of method of debridement, wound debridement products market can be segmented into selective methods and non-selective methods. Selective methods include larvae debridement therapy or bio-surgical debridement, enzymatic or chemical debridement and autolytic debridement. Non-selective methods include mechanical debridement, ultrasound and sharp and surgical debridement. On the basis of type of wound, wound debridement products market can be segmented into acute wounds, burn wounds and chronic wounds. Acute wounds include surgical wounds, traumatic wounds, abrasions, necrotizing fasciitis, lacerations, contusions and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Burn wounds include chemical burns, electrical burns, flash burns, radiation burns and thermal burns. Chronic wounds include diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers and pressure ulcers. Process of wound care includes preparation, controlling bleeding, irrigation and cleaning, closure and infection control. Process of wound healing includes stages such as inflammatory response, coagulation cascade, vasodilation, cellular activity, debridement or cell growth and healing, scarring and fetal wound healing.Download TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:North America, followed by Europe, has the largest market for wound debridement products due to product innovation, rise in incidence of diabetes cases, increasing healthcare spending and growing aging population in this region. Asia is expected to show high growth rate in the wound debridement products market in next few years due increasing demand for better healthcare facilities, adoption of advanced wound debridement products, developing healthcare infrastructure and increasing patients population in the region.Increasing incidence of hard and heal wounds, growing aging population, rise in prevalence of chronic diseases, increasing adoption of debridement products and techniques and rise in patients population are driving the market for wound debridement products. In addition, rise in demand for better healthcare, reimbursement policy, increasing healthcare expenditure and cost effectiveness of debridement products are driving the global market for wound debridement products. However, economic downturn is restraining for the growth of global wound debridement products market.Request Sample Report@Growing demographics and economies in the developing countries such as India and China are expected to lead growth in wound debridement products market in Asia. In addition, increasing demand for wound bed preparation method, rise in popularity of wound care at home, advancement in debridement products and growing awareness about benefits of timely wound management are expected to offer new opportunities for global wound debridement products market. Demand for reducing hospital stay, rise in incidence of hard and heal wounds, increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, growing number of collaborations and partnerships and new products launches are some of the latest trends that have been observed in global wound debridement products market. Some of the major companies operating in the global wound debridement products market are Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc, Coloplast A/S, ArthroCare Corporation and Misonix, Inc. In addition, some other companies operating in the global wound debridement products market are Derma Sciences, Inc., MediWound Ltd, PuriCore plc and Smith & Nephew Plc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
"I Am Not Madame Bovary" grabs top honors at San Sebastian Film Festival

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing accepts the Silver Shell for Best Actress award the 64th San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain on Septeber 24, 2016. [Photo: Weibo.com]

Chinese-language film "I Am Not Madame Bovary" has grabbed both the Best Picture and Best Actress awards at the just concluded San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.

The dark comedy by famed director Feng Xiaogang follows protagonist Li Xuelian, as she puts on a legal fight for a decade after a fake divorce goes wrong.

The film is presented in a round frame in its entirety, with pictures showing through a circle against a black background.

Feng Xiaogang says the story and the visual effects help make the movie uniquely Chinese.

"I wanted to organically combine the round frame effects with the content of the film. It's a very Chinese story. The story can only happen in China, and the round frame likens the film to a traditional Chinese painting."

The film stars actress Fan Bingbing, who is excited to be recognized with the Best Actress honor in Spain.

"I'm very happy. It's like being in a dream, really. As a Chinese actress, I am very proud and happy to be recognized at the San Sebastian Film Festival. "

"I Am Not Madame Bovary" will open in Chinese theaters on November 18th.
Global Automotive Clutch Market 2016: Industry Growth with CAGR in Forecast-2022

Automotive Clutch

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MRS Research Group addsGlobal Automotive Clutch Market 2016 Share,Size,Trends and Forecast to 2022 Market Research Reportreports to its database.Global Automotive Clutch market report is sole collaboration of the data and market research methodology to gain highest performance.Our research team has put immense efforts to make it better to understand. The report global Automotive Clutch market represents recent developments, technology, raw material, restraints and opportunities in the market.Market information will includes demanding sector and opportunities, challenges and future trends.We offer our reports to small, medium and big organization.We gather information from multi-dimensional sources like primary, secondary and direct sources.Access Full Report @We provide an experts knowledge to the client which offer solution to the client specific needs.We explore recent technology and R&D to resolve complex problems of the client.Our team is accompanied with analyst, research team, talented expert and which serves you worlds best report.It keeps belief to retain customers by providing them comprehensive analysis about market attractiveness, future forecast, recent trends and its competitors.This report offers you accurate and authentic first hand information on market that will help user to plan the organizations actions in future.Request For Free Sample Report @The report will provide you deep knowledge of historical information, market drivers and related parameters of the market.The report includes accurate and sharp information on global market which allow you to take proper decision.It handles numerous reports on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, food and beverages etc.The 'Global Automotive Clutch Industry, 2016-2022 Market Research Report' is starts with definition, application, products, technology and others.It includes major players of the market, company profile, installed capacity, competitors strategies and others.The report will allow you to understand easily with schematic diagrams and statically data.It also represents supply and demand, production capacity, import and export and many more.Further it covers points segments on the basis of products, types, application; end users, geography whichever applicable for the competitive landscape analysis.Table Of Content On Automotive Clutch Market (Index) :Chapter One Introduction1.1 Brief Introduction1.2 Development of Industry1.3 Status of IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology2.1 Development of Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Manufacturing TechnologyInquiry For Buying Report @MRS Research group provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Prof Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free : +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@mrsresearchgroup.com
Global Automotive Cockpit Electronic Market 2016: Industry Growth with CAGR in Forecast-2022

Automotive Cockpit Electronic

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MRS Research Group addsGlobal Automotive Cockpit Electronic Market 2016 Share,Size,Trends and Forecast to 2022 Market Research Reportreports to its database.Global Automotive Cockpit Electronic market report is sole collaboration of the data and market research methodology to gain highest performance.Our research team has put immense efforts to make it better to understand. The report global Automotive Cockpit Electronic market represents recent developments, technology, raw material, restraints and opportunities in the market.Market information will includes demanding sector and opportunities, challenges and future trends.We offer our reports to small, medium and big organization.We gather information from multi-dimensional sources like primary, secondary and direct sources.Access Full Report @We provide an experts knowledge to the client which offer solution to the client specific needs.We explore recent technology and R&D to resolve complex problems of the client.Our team is accompanied with analyst, research team, talented expert and which serves you worlds best report.It keeps belief to retain customers by providing them comprehensive analysis about market attractiveness, future forecast, recent trends and its competitors.This report offers you accurate and authentic first hand information on market that will help user to plan the organizations actions in future.Request For Free Sample Report @The report will provide you deep knowledge of historical information, market drivers and related parameters of the market.The report includes accurate and sharp information on global market which allow you to take proper decision.It handles numerous reports on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, food and beverages etc.The 'Global Automotive Cockpit Electronic Industry, 2016-2022 Market Research Report' is starts with definition, application, products, technology and others.It includes major players of the market, company profile, installed capacity, competitors strategies and others.The report will allow you to understand easily with schematic diagrams and statically data.It also represents supply and demand, production capacity, import and export and many more.Further it covers points segments on the basis of products, types, application; end users, geography whichever applicable for the competitive landscape analysis.Table Of Content On Automotive Cockpit Electronic Market (Index) :Chapter One Introduction1.1 Brief Introduction1.2 Development of Industry1.3 Status of IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology2.1 Development of Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Manufacturing TechnologyInquiry For Buying Report @MRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client. While, expertise research specialist helps to provide strategic solution in specialists consulting. It consists of head such as, latest report, category, niche market and news. Reports published on the million of category like chemical, machinery and equipment, consumer goods, manufacturing and construction etc. Latest national, international, business News published under news portal.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free : +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@mrsresearchgroup.com
Global and China Petroleum Resin Market 2016 - ExxonMobil, Kolon, Eastman, ZEON, TOTAL, Formosan Union, Mitsui Chemicals, Maruzen, Arakawa, IDEMITSU

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This report studies Petroleum Resin in Global and China market, focuses on price, sales, revenue of each type in global China. This report also focuses on the sales (consumption), production, import and export of Petroleum Resin in North America, Japan, Europe, India, Southeast Asia and China, forecast to 2020, from 2015.Split by product types, with sales, revenue, market share and price of each type, as well as the types and each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers, in 2015 and 2016, covering:C5, Aliphatic ResinsC9, Aromatic ResinsHydrogenated Petroleum ResinsRequest for sample report atSplit by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Petroleum Resin, revenue and market share, for each manufacturer in 2015 and 2016. Top players, covering:ExxonMobilKolonEastmanZEONTOTALFormosan UnionMitsui ChemicalsMaruzenArakawaIDEMITSURuTGERS GroupNevilleResinallShangdong QilongZibo LuhuaZhejiang HenghePuyang ChangyuLanzhou TianyouHenan G&DGuangdong XinhuayueLanzhou XinlanShanghai JinsenYangzi EastmanDaqing HuakeShangdong QibangTangshang KerunSplit by regions, this report focuses on the sales (consumption), production, import and export of Petroleum Resin in North America, Japan, Europe, India, Southeast Asia and China, from 2011 to 2020 (forecast), covering:North AmericaEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaSplit by applications, this report focuses on consumption and growth rate of Petroleum Resin in major applications. CoveringTackify aliphatic polymersEVA-based adhesivesContact adhesiveOthersWith 138 pages, 163 charts and eight chapters, to display the market present situation and future, clearly and deeply.Access full report atTable of ContentsGlobal and China Petroleum Resin Research Report to 20201 Petroleum Resin Overview and Each Type1.1 Product Overview of Petroleum Resin1.1.1 Definition and Product Scope of Petroleum Resin1.1.2 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Petroleum Resin 2015-20201.1.3 China Market Size (Value and Volume) of Petroleum Resin 2015-20201.2 Product Segments and Price of Each Type1.2.1 Product Type of Key Manufacturers1.2.2 Price List of Each Type in 2015 to 20161.2.3 Market Share and Growth Rate of Each Type1.2.4 C5, Aliphatic Resins Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.5 C9, Aromatic Resins Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.6 Hydrogenated Petroleum Resins Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.3 Price List (Interviewed) of Each Type for Key Manufacturers in 2015 and 20161.3.1 Price List (Interviewed) of C5, Aliphatic Resins by Key Manufacturers1.3.2 Price List (Interviewed) of C9, Aromatic Resins by Key Manufacturers1.3.3 Price List (Interviewed) of Hydrogenated Petroleum Resins by Key Manufacturers2 Competition Analysis by Manufacturers in Global and China2.1 Global Market Petroleum Resin Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.2 Global Market Petroleum Resin Revenue and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.3 Global Petroleum Resin Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.4 China Market Petroleum Resin Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.5 China Market Petroleum Resin Revenue and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.6 China Petroleum Resin Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 2016Fior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Global and China Mobile Phone Antenna Market 2016 - Pulse, Molex, Amphenol, Skycross, Galtronics, Sunway, Speed, JESONcom, Auden, Deman, Ethertronics

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This report studies Mobile Phone Antenna in Global and China market, focuses on price, sales, revenue of each type in global China. This report also focuses on the sales (consumption), production, import and export of Mobile Phone Antenna in North America, Japan, Europe, India, Southeast Asia and China, forecast to 2020, from 2015.Split by product types, with sales, revenue, market share and price of each type, as well as the types and each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers, in 2015 and 2016, covering:PIFA(Planar Inverted F Antenna)Internal Planar MonopoleInternalPCB &FPCLDS(Laser Direct Structuring)Request for sample report atSplit by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Mobile Phone Antenna, revenue and market share, for each manufacturer in 2015 and 2016. Top players, covering:PulseMolexAmphenolSkycrossGaltronicsSunwaySpeedJESONcomAudenDemanEthertronicsSky-wave3gtxSouthstarSplit by regions, this report focuses on the sales (consumption), production, import and export of Mobile Phone Antenna in North America, Japan, Europe, India, Southeast Asia and China, from 2011 to 2020 (forecast), covering:North AmericaEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaSplit by applications, this report focuses on consumption and growth rate of Mobile Phone Antenna in major applications. CoveringMobile PhoneWith 136 pages, 168 charts and eight chapters, to display the market present situation and future, clearly and deeply.Access full report atTable of ContentsGlobal and China Mobile Phone Antenna Research Report to 20201 Mobile Phone Antenna Overview and Each Type1.1 Product Overview of Mobile Phone Antenna1.1.1 Definition and Product Scope of Mobile Phone Antenna1.1.2 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Mobile Phone Antenna 2015-20201.1.3 China Market Size (Value and Volume) of Mobile Phone Antenna 2015-20201.2 Product Segments and Price of Each Type1.2.1 Product Type of Key Manufacturers1.2.2 Price List of Each Type in 2015 to 20161.2.3 Market Share and Growth Rate of Each Type1.2.4 PIFA(Planar Inverted F Antenna) Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.5 Internal Planar Monopole Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.6 InternalPCB &FPC Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.7 LDS(Laser Direct Structuring) Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.3 Price List (Interviewed) of Each Type for Key Manufacturers in 2015 and 20161.3.1 Price List (Interviewed) of PIFA(Planar Inverted F Antenna) by Key Manufacturers1.3.2 Price List (Interviewed) of Internal Planar Monopole by Key Manufacturers1.3.3 Price List (Interviewed) of InternalPCB &FPC by Key Manufacturers1.3.4 Price List (Interviewed) of LDS(Laser Direct Structuring) by Key Manufacturers2 Competition Analysis by Manufacturers in Global and China2.1 Global Market Mobile Phone Antenna Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.2 Global Market Mobile Phone Antenna Revenue and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.3 Global Mobile Phone Antenna Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.4 China Market Mobile Phone Antenna Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.5 China Market Mobile Phone Antenna Revenue and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.6 China Mobile Phone Antenna Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 2016Fior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Synthetic Rubber Market share, 2015  2020

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The report covers forecast and analysis for the Synthetic Rubber market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on volume and revenue (USD Million). The study includes drivers and restraints for the market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes study of opportunities available in the Synthetic Rubber market on a global level.Get a copy of free Sample Report @In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the Synthetic Rubber market, we have included a detailed competitive scenario, and product portfolio of key vendors. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters five forces model for the Synthetic Rubber market has also been included, strategic development along with patents analysis is included in this report. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, where in type segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.Get in-depth TOC (Table of Contents) with Tables and Figures @SBR, BR, EPDM, NBR, and Others are the major types of Synthetic Rubber. Synthetic Rubber finds widespread applications in Tires, Industrial Goods, Footwear, and Other. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2015 to 2021.The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.Inquire more before buying this report @The report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include LANXESS AG, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corporation), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), KUMHO PETROCHEMICAL, TSRC Corporation, Asahi Kasei Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil), DuPont, Dynasol Elastomers, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., The Dow Chemical Company, and Versalis S.p.A.This report segments the Synthetic Rubber market as follows:Browse detail report @Synthetic Rubber Market: Type Segment AnalysisSBREPDMBRNBROthersSynthetic Rubber Market: Applications Segment AnalysisTiresIndustrial GoodsFootwearOtherSynthetic Rubber Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout US:Syndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Syndicate Market Research cover more than 30 industries includsing energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@SyndicateMarketResearch.comWebsite:
Mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) Market - Major Scope of Growth is Expected in Emerging Nations

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In its latest report, Transparency Market Research studies the growth trajectory exhibited by the Mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) Market and the factors compelling organizations to adopt these advanced solutions. The report is titled Mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024, and is available on the companys website for sale.Expanding at a 38.0% revenue-based CAGR between 2014 and 2022, the global mPOS market is expected to reach US$38 bn by 2023. It was recorded at US$2 bn in 2015. Imparting a major chunk of revenue to this market and its meteoric rise is its product segment of card reader accessories, which is progressing at a CAGR of 43.3% within the same forecast period.Complete data can be viewed atLarge Influx of New Players to mPOS Services ExpectedThe number of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) vendors has increased significantly over the recent past, thanks to the ease with which companies can establish their presence in this space. The concept allows small business owners to set up their own POS services to help them carry transactions with their customers.They can do this without the need for heavy investments in support software, further increasing the appeal of mPOS for vendors. These services are capable of speeding up transactions, simultaneously improving consumer experience and support, making mPOS a highly sought-after service by a large portion of global vendors in various industry verticals.NFC-enabled mPOS Out to Make a Mark With High Global ProliferationOne of the greater trends for mPOS is the migration of mPOS services on to near field communication devices. Apple was the key driver for this segment after the introduction of Apple Pay in 2014. After that, the launching of the now majorly used services such as the mPOS variants for PayPal and Google Wallet.Additionally, the use of NFC in mPOS is expected to increase even further after a wider scale of implementation of host card emulators. Most of the major names in the global banking industry, such as Barclays Bank PLC and ING Group have planned to create a global usage of HCE mPOS. The same can be visible through its high scale implementation in China and India, where mPOS is generating high traction.India and Other Emerging APAC Nations Show Major Scope of Growth in mPOS SalesAs revealed by the World Bank, India had nearly 6.9 POS terminals for every thousand individuals. This low number of terminals, coupled with the smartphone sales boom, and the high population density of the country, have placed it at the top of the charts for growth potential in mPOS, says a TMR analyst.A few challenges still exist for players in the mPOS market. For one, the Indian market for mPOS is largely unorganized. According to the IBEF, only 7% of the Indian retail market was organized in 2013. This makes India a highly potent untapped market for organized retail and the large scale introduction of mPOS technologies and services. Banks have already begun providing mPOS enabled cards, further increasing the scope of awareness and use of mPOS.A highly competitive market awaits those looking to provide mPOS services, says Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new report. There are already a large number of players in the market. As a result, it is difficult for players to achieve substantial differentiators for themselves to set their services apart.TMR finds that Ingenico S.A., PAX Technology Ltd., and VeriFone Systems, Inc. were the leading providers of mPOS services in 2015 through a flurry of positively received innovative efforts. The former has also made heavy investments in making mPOS available across all three major smartphone operating systems: Android, iOS, and Windows and has also covered a landmark acquisition of ROAM Data, Inc. in 2012. Additionally, players such as VeriFone are investing significant amounts into improving their customer engagement practices and methods.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global and China Liquid Crystal Polymer Market 2016 - Celanese, Sumitomo Chemical, Polyplastics, Ueno Fine Chemicals, Toray, Solvay Plastic, AIE, Shanghai PRET

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This report studies Liquid Crystal Polymer in Global and China market, focuses on price, sales, revenue of each type in global China. This report also focuses on the sales (consumption), production, import and export of Liquid Crystal Polymer in North America, Japan, Europe, India, Southeast Asia and China, forecast to 2020, from 2015.Split by product types, with sales, revenue, market share and price of each type, as well as the types and each type price of key manufacturers, through interviewing key manufacturers, in 2015 and 2016, covering:Basic GradeHealth GradeRequest for sample report atSplit by manufacturers, this report focuses on the sales, price of each type, average price of Liquid Crystal Polymer, revenue and market share, for each manufacturer in 2015 and 2016. Top players, covering:Celanese(US)Sumitomo Chemical(JP)Polyplastics(JP)Ueno Fine Chemicals(JP)Toray(JP)Solvay Plastic(BE)AIE(CN)Shanghai PRET(CN)Split by regions, this report focuses on the sales (consumption), production, import and export of Liquid Crystal Polymer in North America, Japan, Europe, India, Southeast Asia and China, from 2011 to 2020 (forecast), covering:North AmericaEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaSplit by applications, this report focuses on consumption and growth rate of Liquid Crystal Polymer in major applications. CoveringElectronic fieldAutomotive fieldMedical devicesOthersWith 133 pages, 172 charts and eight chapters, to display the market present situation and future, clearly and deeply.Access full report atTable of ContentsGlobal and China Liquid Crystal Polymer Research Report to 20201 Liquid Crystal Polymer Overview and Each Type1.1 Product Overview of Liquid Crystal Polymer1.1.1 Definition and Product Scope of Liquid Crystal Polymer1.1.2 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Liquid Crystal Polymer 2015-20201.1.3 China Market Size (Value and Volume) of Liquid Crystal Polymer 2015-20201.2 Product Segments and Price of Each Type1.2.1 Product Type of Key Manufacturers1.2.2 Price List of Each Type in 2015 to 20161.2.3 Market Share and Growth Rate of Each Type1.2.4 Basic Grade Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.5 Health Grade Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.2.6 Type 3 Specification and Price in 2015 and 20161.3 Price List (Interviewed) of Each Type for Key Manufacturers in 2015 and 20161.3.1 Price List (Interviewed) of Basic Grade by Key Manufacturers1.3.2 Price List (Interviewed) of Health Grade by Key Manufacturers1.3.3 Price List (Interviewed) of Type 3 by Key Manufacturers2 Competition Analysis by Manufacturers in Global and China2.1 Global Market Liquid Crystal Polymer Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.2 Global Market Liquid Crystal Polymer Revenue and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.3 Global Liquid Crystal Polymer Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.4 China Market Liquid Crystal Polymer Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.5 China Market Liquid Crystal Polymer Revenue and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 20162.6 China Liquid Crystal Polymer Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2015 to 2016Fior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Global Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid Consumption Market 2016 - Dow Chemical, LOTTE CHEMICAL, SiC Processing, Total, BASF, Exxonmobil, Royal Dutch Shell plc

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The Global Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid Consumption 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid market.First, the report provides a basic overview of the Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. And development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.Request for sample report atSecondly, the report states the global Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid market size (volume and value), and the segment markets by regions, types, applications and companies are also discussed.Third, the Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid market analysis is provided for major regions including USA, Europe, China and Japan, and other regions can be added. For each region, market size and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.Access full report atIn a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.1 Definition and Specifications of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.1.1 Definition of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.1.2 Specifications of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.2 Classification of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.3 Applications of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.5.1 Industry Overview of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid1.7 Industry News Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2.4 Other Costs Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting Fluid2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Solar Wafer Cutting FluidFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Japanese Encephalitis Market: Evolving Industry Trends and Insights 2014 - 2020

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Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral infection mostly found in the rural parts of the Asia. Encephalitis According to World Health Organization, intensification and expansion of irrigated rice production system in South-East Asia over past 20 years is primarily responsible for escalating the disease burden by Japanese encephalitis. The disease is caused by flavivirus and affects approximately 68,000 people annually in Asia.Astonishingly there is no permanent cure to the fetal disease and about 20-30% of patient usually dies within a short span of time from the onset of disease. Moreover approximately 50% of the survived patient population develops permanent brain damage. The disease can be broadly classified into three prominent categories: prodromal febrile stage followed by acute encephalitic stage marked by CNS involvement. The last stage is either marked by either recovery or persistence of symptoms with permanent neural damage.Apart from paddy fields Japanese encephalitis is also predominant in areas where pigs are here pigs are intensively raised and is passed to mosquitoes that bite the infected pigs. Major outbreaks of Japanese encephalitis occurs usually in every 5-10 yearsDownload free exclusive Brochure of this report:Symptoms of the Japanese encephalitis include mild fever, prolonged headache, neck stiffness, coma, seizures, spastic paralysis, drowsiness, dilated pupil, disorientation. Additionally onset of mental issues such as hallucinations, tremors and confusion are other common symptoms predominant among patients suffering from Japanese encephalitis. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Inactivated Vero cell culturederived Japanese encephalitis vaccine manufactured as IXIARO is the only licensed and available in the United States. In May 2013, FDA licensed IXIARO for use in children 2 months through 16 years of age. Vaccines such as SA14-14-2, IC51 marketed in Australia and New Zealand as JESPECT and ChimeriVax-JE marketed as IMOJEV are other very promising vaccines which are likely to escalate the overall market for Japanese encephalitis. Countries that had major epidemic in past include china, Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand. Countries such as periodic Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Nepal, and Malaysia do have epidemics but instance are very rare as compared to the major epidemic countries. side effects of Japanese encephalitis vaccine include: fever, muscle pain, light headedness, stomach upset, seizures and skin rashes.Some of the major restraints to the growth of the market include high cost of the vaccines which is limiting the sales of the vaccines due to poverty and lack of appropriate healthcare infrastructure. An inexpensive live-attenuated vaccine is used in China, but is not available elsewhere. As preventive measure vaccination against Japanese encephalitis is compulsory for foreign travelers visiting to regions with high prevalence of infection. Though infection to travelers It is estimated that less than one in a million travelers develop Japanese encephalitis in any given year.Geographically the market for Japanese encephalitis is majorly contributed by the Asia-pacific followed by the Rest of the World market pertaining to high prevalence rate and sales of vaccines. Lack of appropriate stock of preventive vaccine in the United States is major restraints to the growth of the market. Travelers are major contributors in spreading disease in European and America region. Key manufacturers for Japanese encephalitis market include Chengdu Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd, Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd, Intercell Biomedical Ltd., Novartis International AG, Sanofi Pasteur and others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Animal Growth Promoters and Performance Enhancers Market:Trends and industry Analysis  2020

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Animal growth promoters and performance enhancers are defined as the chemicals or drugs that help animals in growing faster by digesting their food more effectively, getting maximum benefit out of it and allowing the animals to develop into strong and healthy adults. These chemicals also protect the animal from various types of microbial diseases. Animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market can be differentiated on the basis of different type of animal growth promoters and performance enhancers and on the basis of animal classes. Depending on the nature and use of chemicals, various types of animal growth promoters and performance enhancers are available in the market which are as follows:Microbial productsPrebiotics and ProbioticsYeast ProductsEnzymesHerbs, oils and spicesDownload free exclusive Brochure of this report:Microbial products capture the major share of the animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market. These products are used for destroying or inhibiting bacteria by administering a low dose. The use of microbial products for growth promotion has arisen with the strengthening of livestock farming. Infectious agents lessen the yield of farm animals and for controlling these microorganisms, the administration of sub-therapeutic antimicrobial agents and antibiotics is performed. Depending on the animal classes, the animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market has been differentiated into following categories:LivestockAquaculturePoultryPorcineEquineLivestock and poultry are the dominating classes of animals which are provided with animal growth promoters and performance enhancers. Increase in the yield of the products such as eggs, wool and milk, which are originated from these animals is the major reason which is driving the animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market among livestock and poultry classes. Additionally, the increasing demand of meat worldwide is the other major factor which will propel the animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market in the future. Animal growth promoters help the animal in gaining weight and fat, which results in more meat production and expensive selling of animal. According to an experiment conducted by Biomin Holding GmbH, company involved in developing animal feed additives and premixes, the piglets which were fed with phytogenetic feed additives comprised of essential oils from anise, citrus, oregano and plant extracts gained 5.2% extra weight compared to the normal growing piglets. The faster growth of the animal coupled with extra meat and fat amount will assist the animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market during the forecast period.However, the stringent regulations set by the government of the U.S. and Europe against the use of animal growth promoters and performance enhancers is restraining its market. For instance, in 2003, the European Union has banned the use of antibiotic growth promoters which consist of monensin sodium, flavophospholipol, avilamycin and salinomycin sodium in the animal feed. Under the regulation, only the used or processed additives which would be authorized by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) would only be allowed to be sold in the market. This regulation has resulted decline in the sales of microbial animal growth promoters and performance enhancers in the European countries, hence restraining the market.Some of the market players in the animal growth promoters and performance enhancers market include Simfa Labs Pvt. Ltd., Bayer AG, Bioniche Life Sciences, Inc., Bupo Animal Health, Zoetis, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co., Inc. and Cargill, Inc.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Cuban President Raul Castro attend a signing ceremony for the cooperation agreements between China and Cuba, at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday September 25, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana.

The meeting was followed by signings of around 30 agreements on economic cooperation in such areas as science, agriculture, industry, energy, public health and environmental.

Li Keqiang is the first Chinese premier to visit Cuba since the two countries established diplomatic relations 56 years ago.

The trip comes two years after President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Caribbean country.

China is Cuba's second largest trading partner following Venezuela. Bilateral trade reached $1.6 billion dollars in the first nine months of last year, up 57 percent year on year.

The Chinese premier said that his trip aimed to deepen the two countries' relationship, forge new areas of economic cooperation and "intensify mutual political trust."

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Neurometabolic Disorder Market: New Market Research Report Announced; Global Industry Analysis 2014 - 2020

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A Neurometabolic disorder is a group of individually rare and progressive disorders limited to symptomatic patient care. The analytical and clinical research result predicts significant development in explaining the molecular genetics, biochemical irregularities, pathogenesis of this disorder and diagnostic testing. The major symptoms of neurometabolic disorders are caused by progressive destruction of mental, motor and perceptual functions. These disorders also include seizures and loss of function associated with early death (before adulthood). Neurometabolic disorders primarily affect multiple organs and their symptoms vary from acute life-threatening disease to sub-acute progressive degenerative disorders. The most common neurometabolic disorders are amino acid apathies and organic acidurias followed by lipofuscinoses, congenital lactic acidosis, neuronal ceroid urea cycle disorders, peroxisomal disorders, while the less frequent are glycoprotein, mucopolysaccharidoses, degradation disorders, sphingolipidoses, and fatty acid oxidation disorders. The neurometabolic disorders market can be segmented on the basis of various disorders such as Pompe Disease, Fabry Disease, Gauchers Disease, Niemann-Pick Type C Disease and Mucopolysaccharidosis VI.Download free exclusive Brochure of this report:Gauchers disease is a genetic disorder in which lipid (fatty substance) accumulates in the cells and certain organs. The disorder is differentiated by fatigue, low blood platelets, anemia, bruising, enlargement of liver and spleen. The major products used in treatment of Gauchers disease are Cerezyme manufactured by Genzyme (subsidiary of Sanofi SA) and VPRIV (velaglucerase alfa for injection) manufactured by Shire Plc. Pompe Disease is one of the rarest diseases, hereditary and often lethal disorder that disables the skeletal and heart muscles. It causes mutation in acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA) enzyme producing gene that tends to accumulate excess amounts of lysosomal glycogen mount up in various parts of the body, cardiac and skeletal muscles are the most fatally affected. The products used in treatment of Pompe Disease are Myozyme/Lumizyme manufactured by Genzyme (subsidiary of Sanofi SA). Fabry disease is a rare form of genetic lysosomal storage disease leading to deficiency in enzyme alpha galactosidase A (a-GAL A) that accounts for the associated clinical abnormalities of brain, eye, skin, heart, kidney and peripheral nervous system. The treatment regime of Fabry disease includes Fabrazyme that is manufactured by Genzyme (subsidiary of Sanofi SA) and Replagal manufactured by Shire Plc. Niemann-Pick Type C Disease is a lysosomal storage disease related with the mutations in NPC-1 and NPC-2 genes where the transport system related with cholesterol and glycolipids is disrupted and which leads to their excessive accumulation. The treatment for Niemann-Pick Type C includes Zavesca a product of Actelion Pharmaceuticals. Mucopolysaccharidosis VI consists of malfunctioned activity of the lysosomal enzymes, which interrupts the degradation of mucopolysaccharides which leads to abnormal buildup of keratan sulfate, dermatan sulfate, heparan sulfate. The standard treatment against mucopolysaccharidosis VI is with Naglazyme a product of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.The growth in institutional and research fields form transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and lipidomics is expected to develop more advanced diagnostics and treatment. The various economic leverages provided by USFDA for orphan drug and diagnostics manufacturing companies are expected to grow the market. Various institutional bodies investing the knowledge and economic sources in orphan disease research incur funding from various sources that is expected to contribute to sort out the role of very rarely studied organelle in neurodegenerative diseases and aging.Some of the major players in the Neurometabolic disorders market are Shire Plc, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc., Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sanofi SA, Pfizer, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. and others. The neurometabolic disorders market was dominated by Sanofi SA, GlaxoSmithKline, Amicu Therapeutics, Inc, and Pfizer, Inc.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Apoptotic Therapeutics in Oncology Market: Advanced technologies & Trends and industry Analysis  2020

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Apoptosis is the death of cell in a programmed fashion that is observed largely in multicellular organisms. This programmed cell death occurs in a cascade of biochemical events which include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation and chromosomal fragmentation. Anywhere between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis in the average human adult. This cascade has been hypothesized to be exploited as an ideal method of anti-cancer strategy traditionally by inducing DNA damage with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.These methods have been the backbone of most anti-cancer therapies today, but with increasing knowledge of intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis, innovative apoptotic agents have been under investigation since the past several years. There are currently several of these agents in clinical trials for potential role in cancer therapeutics and are expected to become another weapon in our arsenal for the fight against cancer. In technical process death receptors CD95, death receptor DR4 and DR5 along with tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 TNFR1 can effectively induce apoptosis when bound by their ligands. Significant evidence obtained in several animal models confirms the validity of strategies for targeted apoptosis and has revealed an enormous potential for therapeutic intervention in a variety of illnesses. Almost all key participant proteins in cellular apoptosis regulation have been identified and can be targeted by therapeutic strategies which include above mentioned death receptors, Bcl-2 proteins, caspases, endogenous caspase inhibitors and transcriptional regulators.Download free exclusive Brochure of this report:The current scenario is quite challenging with greater restraints than drivers due to low success ratio. The superior tumor killing activity of TRAIL agonists and the toxic side effects associated with systemic treatment of other death ligands. In animal models a great degree of success was achieved for treatment against inflammatory bowel disease with the help of anti-TNF antibodies or genetic TNF knockout. WHO predicted that annual cancer cases will reach to 19.3 million by 2025 from the 14.1 million annually in year 2012. There were 8.2 million deaths from cancer in the world in 2012 according to cancer research U.K. More than 60% of worlds total new annual cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. These regions account for 70% of the worlds cancer deaths. This also represents a sizable opportunity for innovative cancer therapeutics companies worldwide. Current economic scenario indicates an improving purchase power and increasing investment in healthcare in developing countries which also governs the fact that emerging players in this arena can profit considerably contrary to conventional observations that profit can be gained only from developed regions such as North America and Europe.Current companies that are involved in the research and development of targeted apoptosis therapeutics include Genentech and Amgen are in the process of conducting phase-1 clinical trials for soluble TRAIL agonists as anti-cancer agents. An agonistic TRAIL-R2 antibody (TRA-8) was generated by Sankyo Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) and proved to be cytotoxic against primary hepatocellular carcinoma cells without inducing cell death in normal hepatocytes. Human Genome Sciences Inc. has recently enrolled patients in phase 2 clinical trials with the TRAIL-R1-specific human monoclonal antibody HGS-ETR1 for the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer, colorectal carcinoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. According to the study, approximately six of 57 patients enrolled even reached a stable disease situation. GlaxoSmithKline disclosed a series of similar piperidinyl substituted isatins and related 5-alkylaminosulphonyl-3,3-dichloro-oxindoles. With this, Pfizer has also continued research in caspase inhibitors such as isatin-based caspase inhibitors, from which the compound MMPSI, a (2-methoxymethylpyrrolidinyl)-sulfonylisatin, was able to reduce ischemic injury. This can also be used in targeted apoptosis for cancers. Several Merck inhibitors are currently in preclinical trials.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Nano-Enabled Packaging For Food and Beverages Market : Major companies Amcor Limited, and Others

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According to a new market report published by Persistence Market Research Global Market Study on Nano-Enabled Packaging For Food and Beverages: Intelligent Packaging to Witness Highest Growth by 2020, the global nano enabled packaging market for food and beverages industry was worth USD 6.5 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.7% during 2014 to 2020, to reach an estimated value of USD 15.0 billion in 2020.Browse the full Global Market Study on Nano-Enabled Packaging For Food and Beverages: Intelligent Packaging to Witness Highest Growth by 2020 report @The global progress in technologies is making lives simpler and safer. Nanotechnology is one such field which is dynamically progressing and is contributing to the development of several industries, including food and beverages packaging. Nano-enabled packaging gives longer shelf life to food and beverages as compared to traditional plastic packaging. Food and beverages packaging is done through two different technologies under nano-enabled packaging-active and intelligent packaging. Active packaging has a comparatively larger market than intelligent packaging.Download Research Study Here @Intelligent packaging is growing at a faster rate as compared to the active packaging. Customers prefer traceable food and beverages packaging, since it offers information such as expiry date and best use period, present state of the consumables. The radio frequency identification (RFID) tags keep customers informed about the state of the food within the packaging. Intelligent packaging is mostly used for fruits and vegetables, meat products, and beverages. Stricter regulations associated with active packaging have been stimulating the use of intelligent packaging in Europe and North America.Intelligent packaging in the U.S. is growing mainly due to the increasing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. Americans are shifting their breakfast preference from junk foods to fresh alternatives. The U.S. is one of the largest producers and exporters of cherries globally. With the ease in trade regulations, fruit exports of the U.S. have increased. In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that after ten years of negotiations, U.S. cherries can be exported to Western Australia, one of the most important markets for cherries. The increasing demand for intelligent packaging in international trade (especially in fruits) is laying out opportunities for this technology in food packaging.The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) proposed by FDA in 2011 is another growth indicator for intelligent packaging wherein the fresh produce, including fruits and vegetables, are required to be scientifically grown, harvested, packaged, and stored. The farm products that come in the acts domain are lettuce, spinach, cantaloupe, tomatoes, sprouts, mushrooms, onions, peppers, cabbage, citrus produce, strawberries, and walnuts.Nano-enabled packaging finds its application in several industries, including bakery, meat, beverages, fruit and vegetables, prepared foods, and others. The increasing demand for meat products, beverages, vegetables, and prepared foods is expected to drive their respective nano-enabled packaging markets, while the market share of bakery products is expected to decline on account of the rapid growth of other application segments.Nanotechnology is at a nascent stage and, therefore, usage of nano-enabled packaging is low in the food and beverages industry. Limited numbers of buyers have more leverage to negotiate with nanotechnology companies. On the other hand, there is a plethora of companies providing nano-enabled packaging solutions to the food and beverages industry.Nano-enabled packaging market for food and beverage is very competitive with a large number of players offering an array of patented products. The major players in this industry include Amcor Limited, Bemis Company, Inc., Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, L.L.C., Klockner Pentaplast, Sealed Air, and Tetra Pak International S.A.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26

By Orkhan Guluzade  Trend:

The referendum in Azerbaijan fully reflects the democratic expression of will of Azerbaijani people, Necdet Unuvar, chairman of Turkey-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Friendship Group at Turkey's Grand National Assembly, told Trend Sept.26.

He noted that no violation was noticed by the group members during the observation of the voting process.

The state has taken all necessary measures to hold a transparent referendum, said Unuvar and emphasized the high voter turnout in the polling stations which they have visited.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26

Trend:

The voting in referendum on making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) Sept.26.

The voting will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours).

As many as 117 international observers have been accredited in Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum. They are members, MPs from around 35 countries, as well as various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Security cameras have been installed at 1,000 polling stations (around 20 percent) in 119 constituencies across the country in order to fully observe the processes in polling stations on the day of voting.

The number of polling stations in the referendum will exceed 5,600 and there will be around 10 observers in each polling station.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree July 18 on submitting the draft Referendum Act On making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution to the Constitutional Court.

The draft Referendum Act envisages establishing first vice-president and vice-president positions in Azerbaijan, extending the presidents term of office from five years to seven years, given the authority to the president to dissolve the parliament (Milli Majlis) and declare early presidential election, removing the age limit for presidential election, decreasing the age limit from 25 to 18 for participation in the parliamentary election.
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It was all about the dogs Saturday at Chippewassee Park, and they were lapping it up.

Eighteen-month-old Newfoundland Goliath may have won the largest dog contest, weighing in at 150 pounds, but many dogs at the Bark in the Park event found he was just a gentle giant.

Goliaths owners, Richard and Christiana, also had a dog, Pepe, a teacup Chihuahua who took honors for tiniest dog.

It was a good event, said Jeffery Gilles, a professional chef in Midland who started making pet treats at a friends suggestion and called it Jiffee Pet Treats, which he sold at the event. It was an even bigger turnout than last year.

Gilles was escorted by his Labrador Frisbee and Jack Russell/Chihuahua Snoopy.

They enjoyed it, he said. It was an all-around nice event.

Bennigans presented and sponsored the event, which was also sponsored by Soldans Pet Supplies, Eastman Animal Hospital and TCC of Midland. The Midland County Humane Society, ROAR Rescue of Beaverton and Amazing Grace Pet Rescue were on hand showing some of their adoptable dogs.

Its great that they put things on like this, said Michelle Check, of Freeland, who was pushing her Weiner dog, Molly, around in a stroller.

She was there with friends Jacki Sous, of Freeland with her American Eskimo, Ella, and Debbie Fries, of Saginaw, who was also pushing her 14-year-old Pomeranian, Monet, around in a stroller.

I love it. I came last year and brought friends this year, said Fries referring to Sous and Check.

More than 500 people and an estimated 250 dogs were out for the event. Activities included a photo booth for pets and their owners, dog fun runs, silly dog tricks/stuns, canine costume contest, Weiner dog races, dog fashion show and weigh-ins for largest and tiniest dog.

The prizes for contest winners were provided by Soldans Pet Supplies and Eastman Animal Hospital.

Starr Machelski, of Akron, said it was a fun event for people on a budget.

This is something free you can do with your dog, said Machelski, who was there with her Beagle/Dotson mix.

She is having a ball, she said. She thinks everyone is here to see her.

Scott Bublitz, along with son, Freddie, said their dog, Sumo, a Rottweiler, was having a great time.

This is an awesome event, said Bublitz from Au Gres and formerly of Midland.

Dogs were greeting each other, playing together and they were all getting along. The larger dogs even took well to the smaller dogs trying to bully them.

Beaverton resident Emily Noyes, of the Midland Animal Hospital, said it was so much fun watching the different dogs. One of her favorites was watching a Bull Mastiff named Poppy crawl across the ground Army style for the pet tricks/stunts contest. It was extra special because she trained the dog.

Kara Cotter, of Midland, was at the event with the Humane Society of Midland County. They brought five dogs that were up for adoption

There was a lot of interest in the dogs, Cotter said.

Evelyn Roehrs, of Midland, said there was one particular adoptable dog she saw that she planned on talking to her husband about when she got home.

I like that they bring the dogs out. It allows prospective adopters to see how they act with other dogs and people, Roehrs said.

ROAR Rescue of Beaverton showed seven of the various breed dogs it had available for adoption.

For available pets for adoption from the Humane Society of Midland County, visit http://www.hsomc.org. For pets available via ROAR, visit https://www.facebook.com/roarrescue
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Faith communities from Midland are coming together to sponsor a new branch of the statewide nonprofit, Foster Closet of Michigan.

The organizations 17 branches are volunteer-run and provide clothing, toys, shoes, baby needs and other necessities to children placed in foster care throughout the state.

Nearby branches in Bay, Isabella and Gratiot counties provide the same services. The Foster Closet of Michigan-Midland Branch, at Holy Family Episcopal Church, 4611 Swede Ave., is the latest project spearheaded by the Midland Area Interfaith Friends. The group meets every other month and includes practitioners of Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Bahai and Mormonism, among others.

One of its first projects was to organize a bone marrow donor drive for Nancy Wolanin. Wolanin, a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish who has been with the Interfaith Friends since its inception, along with Debra Ballard, are now branch managers of the Foster Closet of Michigan-Midland Branch.

We were thinking: where is there a need in Midland? It was a Foster Closet, Wolanin said, explaining that she knew foster parents who had heard of the nonprofit. I taught school  special education and kindergarten for 29 years, and when foster kids would come into the classroom, so often they had so little. They had nothing.

Wolanin said sometimes foster children are unable to take any of their belongings with them, such as if they are potentially contaminated by drug use in the home.

Foster parents need to quickly figure out, especially if they get more than one (foster child), what the needs of the child are, she said.

To be ready for any needs, faith groups from the community collected everything from diapers to Halloween costumes, blankets to notebooks and clothing of all sizes. Wolanin said they also plan to hold fundraisers to fill any gaps.

On Sunday, about a dozen teens from Muslim Youth of Mid-Michigan, an Islamic youth group serving the Great Lakes Bay Region, sorted through the many bags of donated clothing at Holy Family Episcopal Church. They removed damaged items, organized clothing by size and season and packaged diapers, school supplies and bedding.

By the end of their two-hour shift, the cluster of donated bags and boxes had mostly transformed into neat and labeled plastic totes.

This is a sight to behold! Wolanin said as she watched the teens. Theyre so industrious.

Wolanin said she plans to have other area church youth groups visit to help with sorting throughout the year.

Community service is a huge emphasis for our youth, said Umbareen Jamil, advisor for the Muslim Youth of Mid-Michigan. Im always looking for volunteer opportunities.

She added that this volunteer activity, as well as collecting donations from the Midland and Saginaw mosques, has been an opportunity to raise awareness of the foster care system. Many immigrant families, she said, come from nations that do not have a transitioning care system like foster care and are unfamiliar with it.

I, through Nancy, have learned so much about (the foster system), Jamil said. I didnt really realize the need; I did not know Foster Closets existed. I didnt know anything about this until she brought it up. I think theres something missing there. These are, obviously, kids right here in our community that need our help.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, about 13,000 children are in foster care throughout the state at any given time. Between 85 and 100 of those children are in Midland County, Wolanin said.

For the Muslim youth  as with most faith communities  charity is vital. The teens wore shirts with a quotation from the Prophet Muhammad, reading: Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith.

I love volunteering where I can help others and I know its making a difference, said Manahil Khan, 17, of Midland. A senior at Dow High School, she is also the president of the Muslim Youth of Mid-Michigan.

Ive been sorting school supplies, and it makes me really happy because I love school supplies shopping. I feel like it will make (foster children) want to go to school more because its all really nice things. It makes me feel like were making a difference and making kids happy, she said. Thats what I feel community service is about: helping others and making them feel good about themselves.

While sorting, Khan and other volunteers made sure that donated items still looked nice.

We left the tags on the new things to let the (foster children) know that its new, and they have value and they can get new and great things too, Khan said. We just want to make them feel like theyre welcome and have the same value as us. Theyre not different.

Wolanin said that letting children know they are valued is important.

Children who have been severely abused or neglected have very low self-esteem, so we want to make sure the clothing we are giving them looks nice and makes them feel good, Wolanin said. Our job is to boost the self-esteem of children who are taken out of their homes.

Since the Midland Area Interfaith Friends began collecting donations about a month ago, they have received a large amount of clothing, shoes, toys, diapers and other items. They are continuing to collect donations for the Foster Closet at Holy Family Episcopal Church. The group also has storage space at Floyd Church of God in Midland for extra or out-of-season items.

People are coming out of the woodwork. Once people hear about it, instead of having a garage sale, they say: Id rather just donate it! Wolanin said.

The Foster Closet serves all of Midland County and can accommodate others living in a nearby county without a Foster Closet. It is able to provide for children from infants through age 18; the caregiver must show proof of fostering to receive items. To donate items or to make an appointment to pick up items for your foster child, call Wolanin at (989) 513-0568. To learn more, visit www.fosterclosetofmichigan.org
Why You Keep Seeing Donald Trump Fundraising Ads On the Liberal Sites You Visit

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | September 26, 2016 |

When you pop open your web browser every morning and open up Pajiba or any of your other favorite liberal rags to get started on the days #hottakes or bedwet about the latest polls (ohshitohshitohshit), you might wonder why that validating anti-Donald Trump post you keep reading is littered with ads for Donald Trump. I probably receive a tweet or an email every day from someone either laughing or raising their eyebrows because they keep stumbling upon Trump ads on a decidedly anti-Trump website.

Are there subliminal messages in those ads? Is there something in your web history that suggests that you might unconsciously prefer the Trump/Pence ticket? Are we trolling you?

No. Its none of the above. The truth is, the Donald Trump campaign is just really, really bad at web advertising.

But wait, you might be asking: Didnt the Trump campaign tout that it collected $12 million in small donations in August? Thats pretty impressive, right?

No, not if you knew what Donald Trump spent to earn that $12 million.

Most of you probably know how web advertising works. Ad networks, like Googles Adsense and Facebook, give advertisers all sorts of cool tools that enable advertisers to specifically target the exact right readers for their message. In fact, if you wanted to, you could run an ad and target it to so many specific demographics that you could effectively reduce the ads reach to exactly one person. If your boyfriend, for instance, lives in Portland, Maine, grew up in Arkansas, loves the Arkansas Razorbacks, went to BU law school, and is between the ages of 35 and 44, you could target all those criteria and basically only reach me. It would be a terrible way to propose to someone, but it could be done through a Facebook ad that a reader would take days or maybe weeks to finally notice.

Anyway, it appears that the Donald Trump campaign doesnt effectively use these tools, because yes, while Donald Trump did raise $12 million in August from small donors, it spent $11.1 million to raise that money, which is an unprecedented burn rate. Its basically the equivalent of a minimum wage working earning $300 a week but spending $200 for childcare, and $50 a week on a car payment and gas to get to work, which effectively nets out $50 for 40 hours of work, or $1.25 an hour.

All of which is to say, Donald Trump runs his campaign like he would run the country: So ineffectively that hed spend resources to elicit a contribution from a man who loathes him, like former Mexico President Vincente Fox.

Today I received an email from @realDonaldTrump asking for moneythis smells like defeat. Of course I had an answer for him pic.twitter.com/VbtjZm5eRm  Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) September 24, 2016

On the bright side, one of the reasons that Clinton can run more television commercials than Trump is because she has so much more money on hand, so think of the Trump ads you occasionally see on the site this way: Trump is wasting his money on them, money he cant use to air ads against his opponent.

In other words, you are doing a service to America by visiting Pajiba.

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

An observer mission of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS), headed by Deputy Chairman of Council of Federation of the Russian Federal Assembly Ilyas Umakhanov, is monitoring the constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan.

The mission began monitoring at the second polling station of the 29th Sabayil constituency in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In total, the mission includes 22 observers  MPs and representatives of high legislative bodies of the six members of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Tajikistan) as well as employees of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat.

The voting for making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).
BLOOMINGTON  Local residents were honored for their voter registration efforts Saturday night at the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Banquet.

Jerry James, the groups treasurer and political action chairman, received the Roy Wilkins Award for his efforts with voter registration. James has been active in organizing voter registration drives and encouraging people to get registered and to exercise their right to vote. He has worked with organizations such as Not In Our Town, the McLean County YMCA, the Bloomington Housing Authority and several others.

The award is named after Roy Wilkins and is considered the ultimate achievement for service in the local branch. Wilkins, from St. Louis, was a notable activist in the civil rights movement and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1967.

The women of the Bloomington-Normal Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority have worked with James on his voter registration efforts to register voters in the community and were honored with the Merlin Kennedy Award. The organization has set up tables at community events and canvased neighborhoods to register voters, NAACP officials said.

The Merlin Kennedy Community Service Award was created to honor people in the community who make a difference in the areas of community service, promoting diversity and inclusion. Kennedy of Bloomington was honored two years ago as a McLean County History Maker.

The awards were presented at the annual Freedom Fund Banquet, held Sunday at the DoubleTree Hotel and Convention Center in Bloomington. Litesa Wallace, a state representative of Illinois District 67 from Rockford, was the keynote speaker.
BLOOMINGTON  City staff is recommending the city spend $169,000 to hire a consultant to evaluate long-term office and operations space needs for all its departments except for police and fire.

Chicago-based BKV Group was selected in March from a list of general architectural, engineering and land surveying firms qualified to perform city services for three years.

The City Council will consider the request when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 109 E. Olive St.

"What we would like to do is figure out a better way to more effectively use the space that we've got," said Assistant City Manager Steve Rasmussen. "We've worked on this for a year and we have not been able to come to a decision that satisfies all of the requirements."

The space needs of 10 departments are compounded by the city having more office space than it needs in the Government Center, a building at 115 E. Washington St. of which the city leases half, and not enough room in City Hall, said Rasmussen.

The consultant's evaluation would focus on office space in City Hall and the Government Center; the operational needs of public works, parks and recreation and water departments; and short-term measures to address those needs.

The study would help plan for a $50 million operations center  housing public works, parks, water and fleet  that is included in the city's proposed five-year capital improvement plan.

The study would not include planning for a new city hall to address office space needs, said Rasmussen.

"Somewhere in the future the city is probably going to have to build a new city hall," said Rasmussen. The problem with that is it's a lot of money (at an estimated cost of $50 million) and its a long way off."

Public Works Director Jim Karch will ask the council to approve spending $73,299 to build a temporary garage to shelter public works vehicles during the winter, including dump trucks pre-loaded with salt.

The building could be dismantled and moved if an operations center is built, said Karch.

Since 2012, city has leased Connect Transit's vacant bus barn, located just south of city's salt dome at East Street and Oakland Avenue, for $62,718 annually. The lease has expired and the building's deteriorating state makes it unsafe to use for vehicle storage, said Karch.

The proposal calls for public works employees to place footings and erect a concrete foundation for the temporary garage. The rest of the structure, which has a 20-year manufacturer's warranty, would be built by Greenfield Contractors of Bradford.

The council also will consider ratifying Mayor Tari Renner's appointment of Jim Jordan, who has been serving as a city liquor commissioner, to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

After a special liquor commission Tuesday, Renner said he no longer ask Jordan and commissioner Sue Feldkamp to assist him in liquor-related matters.

"I will just hold the hearings," he said.
"Although I would love for the citizens to be able to have their say on the ballot ... my duty is to apply the law here," Circuit Court Judge Scott Kording said.
BLOOMINGTON  A 90th birthday celebration for Route 66 will be held during the second annual Route 66 Miles of Possibilities conference next month in Bloomington.

The timing is just working out perfectly for this conference to come to Bloomington-Normal at this time, said Geoff Ladd, program manager for Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway and a member of the committee organizing the conference. There is so much going on and so many new Route 66 destinations in Bloomington-Normal, it is a great time to showcase those things as well as have a celebration of 90 years of Route 66.

The conference will be Oct. 20-23 at the Chateau Hotel and Conference Center and will feature more than 25 speakers and presenters focusing on economic development; promotion and marketing; research and education; and preservation of existing landmarks, said Route 66 historian Terri Ryburn, the head of the committee organizing the conference.

This will be a great opportunity for anyone with an interest in Route 66 to get more information or just have fun, she said. But the speakers we have scheduled have a lot of great information. People can pick and choose which sessions they want to go to, but we are also going to have some fun things, too, which will be open to the public. Its the 90th anniversary and we are happy to be able to celebrate it here.

The speakers include Cory Jobe, director of the Illinois Office of Tourism; Ellie Alexander, director of tourism for Pontiac; author Jim Hinckley; WGN Chicago radio personality Dave Hoekstra; and Bill Kemp, librarian for the McLean County Museum of History.

A number of public officials from towns and cities along Route 66 will attend, Ladd said.

The economic impact of Route 66 is so important, he said. One of the things we like to say in our office is that we understand that travelers are already coming down the road, but we like to stress the importance of having something in your community to encourage them to want to stop in your town.

The inaugural conference, attended by about 100 people, was held last year in Edwardsville. Several of this year's events, such as a hot dog roast, a dance party, storytelling, and then Vacation and Cars movies, are open to the public.

This is an important conference because we want to tell the story of Route 66 and tell it properly, Ryburn said. We want the Route 66 enthusiasts to be here, but we also want to share our fun with the public and get them interested, as well.

We are really looking forward to this because it is an opportunity to learn about new ideas and share some information, Ladd said. But it is also an opportunity to look ahead and to the future and talk about what more we can do. We will have a group of people with a love and a passion for Route 66 and I believe a lot of good will come out of this conference.

Registration is $100 or $90 for Route 66 Association members. For information, visit www.route66milesofpossibility.com.

Next year's conference will be in Joliet.
BLOOMINGTON  Leon Ford wants to travel the world but first he needs to complete his obligations to the criminal justice system.

The 18-year-old Bloomington teen was placed on two years' probation after he and several friends took a car that didn't belong to them. Ford was 16 at the time and now realizes that his "goofing off with friends" was a mistake.

"It was scary going in front of the judge. He can determine that happens to you. He can control your life," said Ford, who spent 30 days in juvenile detention.

The interview with Ford and others is part of a series by The Pantagraph on the challenges facing youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The project looks at how changes at the state and local level have helped and in some cases limited the ability of advocates to help youth and their families.

Ford hopes to get a job that will support his dream of seeing the world. A technical school may be part of that.

"I want to travel the world, go as many places as I can," he said during a recent interview at his family's home on West Market Street.

Ford credits his mother, Barbara Williams, with helping him stay motivated to complete a high school degree through the Regional Alternative School.

"She wants to see me do good. She makes sure I'm at school every day and I have everything I need," said Ford.

Staying out of trouble "is harder than most people think," said Ford, especially for young black males living on the city's west side.

Ford said he is cautious of the company he keeps and his appearance in public.

"Sometimes you just have to separate yourself from people. And I think twice when I go out after dark. I keep my hands outside where they can be seen and don't want to be doing anything suspicious," said Ford.

Part of the team that has helped Ford avoid more scrapes with the law has come from the Center for Youth and Family Solutions. Help with job applications and transportation are two of Ford's needs that caseworker Kim Harris has met. Having a positive role model who instills confidence is important, said Ford.

"If you don't have someone in your corner, you'll be doing bad stuff," he said.

Joseph Gardner also has a network of support that has been there from the beginning.

In the first three days of his life, Joseph was rescued twice: first by the Chicago police officers who found him in a trash bag hours after birth and then by his great-great-grandmother, Irene Gardner, who agreed to care for him.

Gardner, now 77, makes sure he attends his classes at Heartland Community College and follows all the rules of his probation. Joseph, 18, got into trouble with the law as an adolescent after he moved from Chicago to Bloomington to live with his mother when Irene Gardner became ill.

He didnt have any structure and he got out of hand, Irene Gardner recalled.

After talking with Josephs probation officer, Gardner decided to relocate to Bloomington.

We had a team to help Joseph, Gardner said of the court services staff and YouthBuild, a community agency that helps at-risk youth with life skills and education. Joseph earned his high school diploma in June and received a special leadership award from YouthBuild, an honor that came with a trip to Washington, D.C.

Shy and soft-spoken, Joseph would like to complete a four-year degree in business. I like it at Heartland. They help me with my reading and life skills, he said.

As the widowed mother of eight and a grandmother on three generational levels to 57 children, Gardner has no regrets about the ongoing care shes offered Joseph since he was abandoned as a newborn by his 15-year-old mother.

Hes my baby. Im glad I did it because it made a great difference for him, Gardner said.

CYFS provided case management services through Juvenile Redeploy.

Doug Braun, youth, family and community outreach coordinator for CYFS, said agency services are "an extra layer of support for parents who are struggling just to exist in some cases."

Participants in the programs tend to be low income, minority males who are one mistake away from incarceration in the state's juvenile corrections system, said Braun.

"It's important that they have a chance to develop positive relationships. Some kids just don't have hope," said Braun.
Samsung recently recalled a lot of their Galaxy Note 7 due to the issue of their batteries blowing up. As damage control, the giant tech company is now advising their subscribers to lessen the amount of time they are charging their device. Apparently, this would help to keep them safe and at the same time, still keep their smartphones functioning well.

According to a report by The Verge, Samsung announced a solution that benefits the software of the Galaxy Note 7. The company made a statement that their users could now charge it up to 80 percent, when last week, 60 percent was the safe zone for charging just so the batteries don't overheat. Meanwhile, these phones that can be charged to the said percentage were only the ones available in Korea. There is no word yet if this is applicable to users in the United States, which is why it is highly advised that owners of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 should just return their unit.

A photo posted by Technology fans (@technology_fans) on Sep 25, 2016 at 12:51am PDT

On the other hand, Samsung is ready to replace all of the Galaxy Note 7 that are said to be defective. About half a million Samsung galaxy Note 7 have already been shipped in the United States for replacement in major retail stores where half of the defective smartphones have already been returned. There are still some people who don't want to turn in their phones, which is why Samsung doing their best to do some damage control.

The company seems to not be doing so well with their product recall. The 90% users of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 may have returned the unit and got a new one, but they were still complaining about other problems related to it. Bloomberg wrote that these problems about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 could be the result of the company rushing their work to compete with the new iPhone 7.

Do you think Samsung would still be able to recover from this issue with their Galaxy Note 7? Tell us your opinion in the comments section below.
Angelina Jolie's divorce from Brad Pitt is more than just about a marriage ending. At the center of this awful mess are the Jolie-Pitt kids, all of whom are still minors. Will Brangelina's children have to testify against one of their parents in court in a looming custody battle?

Of the Jolie-Pitt kids, it is only Maddox, the eldest at 15, who could tell the courts his custody preference as stated by California laws, CBS News reports. However, divorce lawyers say that parents usually want to avoid having their children speak in court. "It's emotionally draining on the child," divorce lawyer Steven Mindel told the news outlet. Instead, the matter regarding custody could be best settled privately between lawyers and this is likely the route Brangelina will take.

Angelina Jolie has petitioned for sole physical custody of her children Maddox, Pax (12), Zahara (11), Shiloh (10) and eight-year-old twins Knox and Viviene, but has given Brad Pitt visitation rights. However, as the actor has just hired his own lawyer in Lance Spiegel, as USA Today reported, there are speculations that the actor will be contesting his soon-to-be ex-wife in the custody battle. It is believed that Brad Pitt may want to ask the courts for joint physical custody.

Since Angelina Jolie released a statement announcing her divorce from Brad Pitt, the actor apparently has not yet seen his children. The father-of-six is the subject of an FBI investigation involving child abuse.

Brad Pitt apparently got drunk and then shouted and hit Maddox, while arguing with Angelina Jolie during one of their travels. "He knows the severity of the allegations and wants to be cleared of abuse before he sees them," a source said, Us Weekly quoted.

Angelina Jolie is represented by lawyer Laura Wasser. She is believed to have moved out of the house she shared with Brad Pitt and is staying in a rented place in Malibu with the six children.
A school event, which was supposed to be for fun, turned controversial in a high school in Memphis, Tennessee. A few students decided to come dressed as Adolf Hitler for its "Villain Day" on Wednesday, Sept. 21, as part of its Homecoming Week celebrations. However, some parents were outraged by what they saw.

One parent, Sherita Miller, told WREG, that she saw a student dressed as Hitler "standing in the building of Bartlett High and saluting." Another parent said that dressing up as the German dictator, who sparked the Holocaust, crossed the line. "It offends a large group of people," Dan Tilley said, citing that it was inappropriate especially with what's going on around the world.

Photos of the students dressed in villain costumes were being shared on social media, which is why locals in Memphis got wind of what the kids were wearing. The matter has escalated into a debate on WREG's Facebook page.

Despite the parents' indignation, some believe that dressing up as Hitler for Villain Day was perfectly fine. "It's called freedom of speech," said one comment on the page. "I really don't understand what the uproar is about. It was a costume day and they are teenagers," another Memphis local said.

Bartlett High was supposedly celebrating different themes for Homecoming Week and it was the students who picked these themes. The school administration supervises the events.

Soon after the photos of students dressed as Hitler made rounds on the internet, Bartlett City Schools received the complaints from parents and concerned citizens. However, the school has released a statement saying that the event was "heavily monitored," Metro reports.

The school authorities apparently didn't find any student wearing Hitler costumes and received no actual complaints on the day itself. Instead, parents have been asked to seek out Bartlett City Schools personally if they have any more concerns about Wednesday's event.
Sarah Jessica Parker's "Divorce" on HBO marks her return to television after 12 years of absence. The actress was once HBO's muse when the cable network ran her critically-acclaimed series "Sex in the City" (SATC). She played the iconic character Carrie Bradshaw in this show. Now that she's returning to HBO with "Divorce," will Sarah Jessica Parker be able to leave her old image behind?

Sarah Jessica Parker played the woman who championed female independence on SATC as Carrie Bradshaw. But on "Divorce," viewers will get to see the actress deviate from this persona, as she plays a long-time married character who is struggling in a bad and unhappy marriage.

Sarah Jessica Parker is Frances in "Divorce," who is a wife and mom who has finally come to terms with the fact that she has to dissolve her marriage. She also realizes that going through a divorce is not so easy, but Sarah Jessica Parker insists that despite the heavy theme, "Divorce" is also a comedy, per New York Times.

For years, the actress has been looking for a good material to mark her TV comeback and "Divorce" actually came at a right time for her. Being married to husband Matthew Broderick since 1997, Sarah Jessica Parker understands the highs and lows of long-term commitments. "It's when you start to think about relationships, the time spent, what came of it - and what do you do with where you find yourself now?"

Sarah Jessica Parker explains that she - or her real-life marriage, for that matter - is nothing like Frances in "Divorce," in the same way as her character on "Sex and the City" isn't a lot like her in real life. However, playing Frances is more challenging. "She was so distinct from not only Carrie but any other character I have ever played," the actress said per E! Online in describing Frances.

She also reveals that fashion-wise, Frances has a practical and vintage style, which differs a lot from Carrie Bradshaw's ground-breaking fashion sense. Viewers will get to learn more about Frances when "Divorce" premieres on HBO on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 10 p.m. Take a peek at the teaser below.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

The Referendum Assessment Mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) started monitoring the referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan on September 26.

The mission representatives began monitoring the polling stations of the Sabail district constituency.

The PACE mission, consisting of seven people, will monitor different polling stations in Baku and its suburbs.

The voting for making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

As many as 117 international observers have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.
Netflix's "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" is all set for filming its third season. The feel-good comedy series starring Ellie Kemper has actually been delayed following the actress' pregnancy.

However, it was Ellie Kemper herself who confirmed that production is getting started in "a couple of weeks" for "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Season 3. Speaking with TV Line at the Emmy red carpet recently, Ellie Kemper said that the cast have already done the table read.

She also hinted that the new season of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" will involve "more singing." Watch her talk about the Netflix show in the video below.

"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" films in the busy streets of New York City during the summers, with new season releases every spring the following year on Netflix. However, Ellie Kemper was in the last term of her pregnancy this year, thus production was moved to a later date. She has largely kept her pregnancy on the down low but had to tell her boss, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" co-creator Tina Fey, about it.

The actress and her husband, Michael Koman, welcomed their first child in early August, per E! Online. They have been married since 2012. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" co-star Tituss Burgess announced Ellie Kemper's baby's birth in a touching Facebook post.

Meanwhile, it's not likely that Kimmy Schmidt will become a new mom on the show. But Ellie Kemper has some ideas on what her character would be like, should "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" head in this direction. "I think she would be a very optimistic, tenacious mom. I think she would endure those sleepless nights much better than I have," the actress told E! Online.

As viewers of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" knows, nothing leaves the character fazed and she always finds the silver lining in each situation. Her trick is in taking things ten seconds at a time. "I really do think there's some profound wisdom in her mantra, which is to take things ten seconds at a time," Ellie Kemper said.
Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis hopefuls are definitely keeping their faith that the former flames could still get back together. As the public already knows, "The Pirates of the Caribbean" actor has gone through a nasty divorce with ex-wife Amber Heard. Now that the actor is free, fans are definitely thinking that he will come running back to Vanessa's arms.

However, a new report might just squash any possibility of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis reuniting. New rumors have surfaced claiming that Johnny and the newly separated Angelina Jolie are spending too much time together talking about the actress' heartbreak because of ex-husband Brad Pitt.

According to The Sun, Angie has idolized Johnny ever since they worked together on the film "The Tourist." The two developed a bond, with the tabloid even claiming that Johnny seduced Angie, but the motive didn't amount to anything since their former partners were always visiting them while filming.

Now that the two are newly single, the publication claimed that they have found comfort in each other. Apart from also hiring Johnny's divorce attorney, Angelina is reportedly in constant contact with the actor sparking more talk that there could be something more between them.

Gossip Cop recently weighed in on the rumors and claimed that the new reports involving Johnny and Angelina are 100% fabricated. The website slammed The Sun for releasing another baseless report as it usually does.

Johnny and Angelina might not be an item, but that doesn't guarantee that a Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis reconciliation will be in place. As Celeb Dirty Laundry previously noted, it would be highly unlikely for Lily Rose and Jack's mother to come rushing back to her former partner's arms.

Stay tuned for more Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis updates here!
Kim Kardashian recently shared in a recent interview that for a time, she considered voting for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, after her stepfather, Caitlyn Jenner, encouraged her to do research on the real estate mogul as well as the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Kardashian released in a new statement that she is not voting for Trump and will stand by Clinton.

In a report by US Weekly, the 35-year-old "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" reality star was interviewed in the latest issue of Wonderland magazine and she said that she was on the fence and was thinking about voting for Trump after talking to Jenner. Kardashian then took to her website that a quote from the interview was released causing her friends, families, and the camps of the candidates to message her so she wanted to explain her side.

The mother-of-three continued to say, "There was a point when I wasn't 100% sure I was even going to vote in this election; I didn't want to vote blindly." She noted that she also thought about not voting to make it look like she is not making her voice be heard. She then researched on Trump and Clinton and talked to family and friends about it so she weighed the issues such as gun control and protecting women's rights, The Washington Post reported.

Kardashian concluded her statement that she was able to find out that she stands with Clinton without a doubt. The "Selfish" author noted that she believes Clinton will best represent the country and is the most qualified for the job. She took her kids, North and Saint West, into consideration in making the decision to vote for Clinton, she said.

Although she is not voting for Trump, Kardashian said that she believes both candidates have the intention of making the country a safer and a stronger place for Americans but they have different ideas on how to achieve that.

The Trump and the Clinton camps have not yet commented on the matter.
Quite a number of women employees have been suffering from painful periods while at work, leading to instances that heavily affect their job performance. Is it time for employers to grant monthly menstrual leaves to female workers?

Dr. Gedis Grudzinskas, a consultant gynecologist based in London, United Kingdom, said women employees should be open about their period pain more while on the job, BBC reported. Employers, in turn, should be understanding and emphatic about the situation as well.

A survey from YouGov, a market research company headquartered in London, found that 52 percent of women had period pain that affected their work. However, only 27 percent of them informed their boss that their painful menstrual period was to be blamed for their inability to work. Out of the 52 percent, almost a third of the women filed at least a day's sick leave due to their period pain.

Grudzinskas said that menstruation is normal, but there are women who "suffer terribly and they suffer in silence," BBC further reported. Grudzinskas added that females shouldn't be shy about their period pain, while companies "should be accommodating with leave for women who are struggling with painful periods."

Period pain is painful muscle cramps felt in the abdomen and can spread to the back and thighs, according to the National Health Service. It occurs when the womb's muscular wall tightens or contracts, resulting to the blood vessels lining your womb to compress. During that compression, the blood and oxygen supplies to the womb get cut off, pushing the tissues in the womb to discharge chemicals that then trigger pain.

Period pain is felt in intense spasms, but can be dull and more persistent in some cases. Period pain also varies; some periods cause little or no discomfort, while others tend to be the more painful type that causes women's inability to function. Women with period pain can also have nausea, diarrhea, and headaches.

Grudzinskas said that people often forget that half of the workforce is composed of females. A happy, comfortable, and productive workforce can be partly attributed to women feeling supported by their employers.

There are natural remedies to cure period pain. One of those is chamomile tea, which alleviates menstrual cramps and soothes women's mood discomfort. Ginger is also beneficial, so it's best to combine these two ingredients together, according to the Huffington Post.

Eating vegetables rich in magnesium and chlorophyll such as spinach and chard is helpful as well, especially during the week leading up to your period. Dark chocolates can also help, while junk food and sugary drinks and treats should be avoided.
Since "House of Cards" Season 4 aired its finale episode, there have been rumors claiming that Claire might killer her husband Frank because she was able to have a taste of power and now she wants more. It has also been rumored that the showrunner of the series, Beau Willimon was fired due to the actor portraying Frank, Kevin Spacey.

Ecumenical News reported that there have been no confirmations yet as to when "House of Cards" Season 5 will be coming back to the small screen but rumors about what the next installment will be about has been a hot topic.

"House Of Cards" Season 4 ended with Frank Underwood wanting to be re-elected for the position of the President of The United States while Claire is set to run for the Vice Presidential post. The rumors that have been circulating involves Claire possibly not being content with being a Vice President so she will carry out a plot to kill her husband. She will reportedly have Frank assassinated so that she will take on the role of the president once he takes office.

Accordingly, "House of Cards" cast member Mahershala Ali, who plays the role of Remy Danton, assumed that if Frank would be killed off on the show's fifth season, it would be interesting if someone close to him caused his demise. Ali shared as to who he believes would be responsible for Frank's rumored death in "House of Cards" Season 5, "Like, maybe, at some point, because he's the one closest to him, my guess would be Stamper (Michael Kelly)."

Kelly was also asked in an interview if he believes that he would be killing Frank in "House of Cards" Season 5. He pointed out that his character and Frank never turned against each other and they trust each other their lives so he thinks Doug will never kill the "House of Cards" lead character.

As for Willimon being removed as the showrunner for "House of Cards," Game N Guide reported that there have been no confirmations about the matter but it is rumored that Spacey was the reason for him being removed. Accordingly, two veteran writers are taking over the position of Willimon.

"House of Cards" Season 5 is expected to be back on Netflix by early 2017.
Weeks after the man responsible for the death of Jacob Wetterling showed authorities the remains of the child who had been missing for almost three decades, a public memorial was held for the victim. His family showed photos of him when he was still young years before he was abducted, sexually assaulted, and killed.

The parents of Wetterling, Patty and Jerry, were joined by 3,600 people. The service was held at the College of St. Benedict in Minneapolis, the hometown of Wetterling, according to CBS. As for further reports, the parents of Wetterling did not want the public memorial to be about his death but about his "short powerful life."

Wetterling's family showed photos of the victim when he was still a child. A slideshow played on stage and in one of the photos, Wetterling was seen parroting his father for a Father's Day surprise.

Moreover, Wetterling's sister Amy also talked at the public memorial. She shared that when her brother was taken, she was only 13 years old and she needed her friends. She added that she continued to rely on the support that her friends have given her throughout the years.

"Jacob's caring heart ... continues to be felt through each of you, we are and always will be Jacob's hope," Amy Wetterling said. Wetterling's brother also spoke up about how he loves Wetterling and that he has changed his life forever, ABC 5 reported.

The parents of Wetterling also addressed other parents who are searching for their children. They also called out children who have the courage to come forward and report their abuse.

During the public memorial, Governor Mark Dayton and other notable public officials were seen. Dayton released a statement following the public memorial, saying that it is a difficult time for Minnesotans in general as the tragedy surrounding Wetterling affected everyone. Dayton declared Oct. 22, 2016 the "Jacob Wetterling Day."

Wetterling was out with his brother and a friend and were on their bikes when he was abducted. The three boys were coming home from a video rental store on Oct. 22, 1989. He was kidnapped at gunpoint and his killer, was arrested only last year due to child pornography charges. As part of a plea deal, the suspect detailed the killing of Jacob and what he did to the boy before he was killed.
Prince William, Princess Kate and their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, have arrived in Victoria, the capital of Canada, last weekend in their first tour as a family. The eight-day visit is packed of royal duties and also serves as the children's formal introduction to British Columbia, which also has Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as their monarch.

The three-year-old George stepped down the Royal Canadian Air Force jet while clasping his parents' hands, The Guardian reported. His 1-year-old younger sister stayed in her mother's arms. The royal family was greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, former TV presenter Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.

Prince William told thousands of attendees outside the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia that he and his wife are "delighted" to return to Canada. The royal couple first visited the country in 2011, just three months after their marriage and they haven't forgotten the "warm welcome" that Canada gave them at the time.

"That is why we are so pleased that George and Charlotte can be with us in Canada this time round, beginning their own lifetime of friendship with this wonderful country," Prince William continued, as quoted by The Guardian. Trudeau, meanwhile, thanked the royals for introducing the country to George and Charlotte.

The family-of-four is rarely seen in public appearances, in spite of the fact that George already visited Australia and New Zealand with his parents in 2014 when he was just nine months old. The Canada trip is Charlotte's first official royal visit.

The royal family will stay at the Government House in Victoria during the week-long tour. Both George and Charlotte were fast asleep when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended meetings with the Trudeaus and the Governor General David Johnston later that day, Hello! Magazine reported.

Kate told Johnston and his wife Sharon that her children ate a hearty meal and had "a very good tea" after their arrival. She also shared that the two kids were "super excited" to fly in an airplane.

Kate also offered a parenting advice to well-wishers who welcomed the royal couple. She told one mother with a six-month-old daughter that parenting will "get easier" and "better" from that stage onwards, the publication added.

Prince William and Princess Kate have more than 30 engagements while in Canada, People reported. The royal parents are hoping to bring George and Charlotte along to at least one outing. This could be at a children's party for military families scheduled on Thursday. But even though their parents are out in their duties, the young royal children will be looked after by their nanny, Maria Turrion Borrallo.
Last February, Donald Trump made a controversial narrative about General Jack Pershing's execution of Muslim prisoners in the Philippines in 1903, not to mention his announcement that he would destroy the Islamic terrorists overnight once elected as the president of the United States. Trump's statements highlighted the observation of Matthew Arnold in his poem, "Dover Beach," where the rise of "ignorant armies" was a result of bad education.

It has been a known fact that education is essential to the democracy and way of life of the American people. In fact, U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. once said that education is not only vital to the nation's economic progress but also to its freedom, Parent Herald previously noted.

These aforementioned statements seemed to resonate Matthew Arnold's beliefs that the main purpose of education is for industrial democracy. But as the American education tumbles, modern democracy might lead to confusion, violence and the rise of what is called as "ignorant armies."

In an article published on The Daily Beast, writer Sol Stern outlined how the American education shook the nation's democracy's foundation, citing the education philosophies of Matthew Arnold. According to Stern, the resurgence of the "child-centered" education and the progressive education revolution have caused the ignorance of both young and old Americans when it comes to history and civics.

Since the desertion of teaching important knowledge in schools would have adverse implications to the well-being and cultural unity of the United States, scholar E.D. Hirsch Jr. urged experts to restore a comprehensible grade-by-grade curriculum to thwart the disastrous effects of progressive and child-centered education. Unfortunately, with today's digital-age revolution, millennials have long forgotten the importance of cultural literacy.

Due to the distractions of digital age social media and technology, the younger generations are no longer interested to read historical and cultural books, which further hamper their intellectual curiosity. This digital age is also one of the reasons for the collapse of American education, leading to the toxicity of the society and democracy.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Journal-World has recently outlined why there's a need to restore the confidence of Americans in the value of education. As a matter of fact, 57 percent of Americans have lost their confidence in the quality and availability of higher education while 68 percent are unhappy with the nation's K-12 education system.

With the alarming poll results, the publication stressed that education should be added to the agenda as the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections loom. But if education remains to be neglected, then a detrimental future awaits the nation and its people.
Who doesn't have beautiful reminiscences of Michael Jackson being a total performer? Kids, Prince Michael Jackson Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson remember him, who would've turned 58 years old last Aug. 29, 2016 as "the man who was more than a legend" and "the man that means more to us than anything and anyone ever could."

The world was stunned, cried and mourned after a shocking news had surfaced about the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. And seven years after, it would have been Jackson's 58 birthday celebration on Aug. 29, 2016. To celebrate the day, King of Pop's first-born son, Prince Michael Jackson Jr., has written a sonnet for his dearly deceased father.

Together with his heartfelt poem, Prince wrote: "Happy birthday to the Man who was more than a legend. I love you." In the poem, he said: 'To many he is a king, to me, a man, all he inspires, to lead a noble cause."

Marie Claire reported that Prince's sister, Paris Jackson reposted the sonnet on Instagram, with the caption: "Love this ... proud of you big brother. And happy birthday to the man that means more to us than anything and anyone ever could."

On being a parent, Michael Jackson said in an interview with the USA Today Magazine in December 2001 that fatherhood has changed him in a huge way. He continued to say: "It's your responsibility to make sure they're taken care of and raised properly with good manners."

"He was the best father anybody could have. He raised us the right way and there is nothing anyone can do to make us forget about him," Prince disclosed via the Express in June 2014. "He was always concerned about humanity. He helped many charities," he added.

Paris Jackson also told the Daily Mail that his dad was an incredible dad and they loved him to death. "He'd try to educate us as much as he could and was always looking out for us. He was very protective," she recalled.

Teddy Riley, American-songwriter and once producer of Jackson's "Dangerous" album, also said something about Jackson's parenting style. He relayed to MTV.com: "He (Michael Jackson) read them a book every day. When we were in Virginia during the Invincible [sessions], there was not one day missed reading the children something. So that showed me right there that he was an incredible father."
"Vikings Season 4" Part 2 from History and by creator Michael Hirst may yet fulfill the reunion among Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and Christian monk Athelstan (George Blagden). While a reunion between Ragnar Lothbrok and King Ecbert (Linus Roache) is an inevitability, one between the Kattegat ruler and Athelstan may be similarly so in "Vikings Season 4" Part 2.

Fans of the History series would recall the profound friendship between Ragnar Lothbrok and Athelstan that began reluctantly in "Vikings Season 1." Although Michael Hirst, as Zap2It reports, said that Athelstan was originally meant to be a story device of relatively minor significance, the development of the monk's friendship with Ragnar Lothbrok and even with King Ecbert turned the importance of the "Vikings" character.

Ragnar Lothbrok and Athelstan last saw each other in life shortly before the monk was murdered by a jealous Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) in "Vikings Season 3." Athelstan was seen once more as a spirit by King Ecbert and Ragnar Lothbrok in "Mercy" of "Vikings Season 4."

Never forget those you have lost. #Vikings pic.twitter.com/cIdAon9a1B  Vikings on HISTORY (@HistoryVikings) September 13, 2016

Once more Athelstan was seen by Ragnar Lothbrok in a mirage of his old life when he was a farmer in "Vikings Season 1" just before he journeyed to raid Paris in S4. Significantly, this is the same episode ("What Might Have Been") in "Vikings Season 4" where Ragnar Lothbrok asked the Seer about when the Kattegat ruler will die.

"You'll die on the day that the blind man sees you," the Seer told Ragnar Lothbrok. Michael Hirst told Zap2It, as a highlight that the monk has profound impact on both Ragnar Lothbrok and King Ecbert, that "Vikings Season 4" Episode 20 will see traces of Athelstan.

"Vikings Season 4" Part 2 may see a few more episodes which hint Athelstan, and one wonders if these will be the ones surrounding the imminent death of Ragnar Lothbrok. If "Vikings Season 4" Part 2 does bring Athelstan back to Ragnar Lothbrok and King Ecbert in this period, little wonder then that Michael Hirst says the monk's presence will bring tears to History viewers.

"Vikings Season 4" Part 2 airs in History on November 30. How would you like to see Ragnar Lothbrok and Athelstan reunite in "Vikings Season 4" Part 2?
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

An observer mission of the Australian Parliament started monitoring the referendum in Azerbaijan Sept. 26.

The delegation head Christopher Back and Australian MPs observed the voting process in the polling stations #29 and #30 of the eighth constituency in Binagadi district of Baku.

The voting for making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

As many as 117 international observers have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.
UFC heavyweight, Roy "Big Country" Nelson, kicked referee John McCarthy after his spectacular win at UFC Fight Night 95 in Brazil. The long-time contender says he did it after McCarthy took too long to stop the fight.

UFC Fight Night 95 was filled with plenty of amazing highlights, from Cris Cyborg's dominating TKO victory in her UFC debut, to Eric Spicely's masterful rear naked choke. But one thing that happened that night, which arguably stole the show, was when Roy Nelson kicked referee Big John McCarthy on the rear, as the latter was attending to Bigfoot Silva, who was knocked out cold on the ground.

Nelson and Silva's match was the fourth of the night, and started off quite slow, given the two behemoths who were facing off against each other. The first round was rather uneventful, with Nelson swinging and missing with his heavy right hand, and Bigfoot getting off a few sharp leg kicks, but in the second round, Nelson landed with a heavy overhand right that sent Bigfoot to the floor. As Bigfoot hit the canvas, Nelson was looking at McCarthy to stop the fight, but the veteran referee told him to keep going, as he saw that Bigfoot was still somewhat defending himself.

McCarthy eventually called the stoppage but only after Nelson landed more heavy shots from the top. Afterwards, Nelson proceeded to push McCarthy with a kick, then flipped him off as he went back to his corner. In the post fight interview, Nelson says that he didn't want to hurt Bigfoot any more than he should have, and was frustrated with McCarthy for not stopping the fight sooner, which affected him to kicking the official, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.

Nelson says that while apologizes for the unnecessary kick, he doesn't take back what he did, according to Bloody Elbow. He continued to say in the post fight interview that his feelings were hurt by McCarthy for not stopping the fight, because he already knocked Bigfoot out and didn't want to add more damage to a guy who already has his share of head trauma.
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Paganism is a long way from universal acceptance, but were well down the path of becoming mainstream. The fact that theres a Pagan channel on the worlds largest religious website is one sign of our progress.

While Im happy to see our concepts and values make their way into the wider culture, Im much less happy to see mainstream concepts and values influencing our Pagan and polytheist traditions and practices. Considering the size difference between Paganism and the mainstream, its not hard to guess which one will have the greater effect on the other. The same thing is happening in vastly larger religious traditions.

Over on the Patheos Progressive Christian channel, theres an excellent essay by Robert Hunt titled The Real Schism, Its Not What you Think. It deals with a very specific issue within one Christian denomination, and as such most readers of this blog are not likely to be interested in it. Im going to quickly frame a few key quotes and then get into why its relevant to Pagans and polytheists.

First, the schism in question:

The United Methodist church appears to be following other major Protestant denominations into the throes of division. The issue is same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBTQ persons living in same-sex relationships.

The authors main point:

The real schism and the future of schism was determined in the Methodist church back in 1939 when lay persons were given an equal vote with clergy on all matters of church discipline and doctrine.

His reasoning:

The laity in any popular religious movement will have a worldview and self-understanding shaped far more by their social context than by their religious community The inevitable result is that the authority of the clergy has come to fall effectively under the authority of the laity. Nothing related to the practical outworking of doctrine in the life of the church can be implemented without the laity.

And the outcome:

In matters of doctrine Christianity has no uncontested reading of its authorizing sources. If it remains popular then Christianity will remain deeply influenced by popular culture.

What does this have to do with Paganism, whose most popular variant (Wicca) was intended to be a religion where everyone is clergy, and whose phenomenal growth has largely come from solitary practitioners only loosely affiliated with a specific tradition, much less an established institution?

Unless you think were special snowflakes, everything.

Now just to be clear, it has nothing to do with accepting and embracing LGBTQ persons. With the exception of a few outliers, the Pagan community settled that debate a long time ago. It has nothing to do with establishing orthodoxy (we havent and we wont) and not much to do with hierarchy.

It has everything to do with the fact that like the Methodists, we draw our members from the mainstream culture. And so like the Methodists (and pretty much every mainstream religion), Pagans and polytheists have a worldview and self-understanding shaped far more by their social context than by their religious community.

The modern Pagan movement began as a response to the excesses and inadequacies of industrial society and the Christian church. Cut off from the land, people began to seek spiritual relationships with the land and the spirits of the land. Cut off from their heritage, people began exploring the religions of their pre-Christian ancestors. And with half the population excluded from the priesthood and from direct identification with their God, people began searching for a religion with Goddesses as well as Gods.

When the Golden Dawn was founded in 1888, these were radical ideas. When Gerald Gardner published Witchcraft Today in 1954, these were mostly radical ideas. But by the time Starhawk published The Spiral Dance and Margot Adler published Drawing Down the Moon in 1979, these ideas werent particularly radical any more. In 2016 theyre thoroughly mainstream.

Which is not to say theyre accepted by everyone. Clearly theyre not, or we wouldnt have problems with fracking, religious discrimination, and misogyny. But when it comes to how we live our lives, the mainstream has caught up with us and most of us are pretty mainstream, to one extent or another. And thats not entirely a good thing.

In a 2014 Dr. Kimberly Kirner, an anthropology professor at California State University Northridge and a fellow Druid, surveyed 800 self-identified Pagans about their spiritual practices and actions related to environmental sustainability. She found that Pagans overall household ecological footprint in the United States is statistically similar to the American average on multiple measurements: house size, meat consumption, transportation use, and other key factors related to a households contribution to ecological sustainability.

This is one example  Im sure you can think of more. Pagan ideas have found their way into the mainstream society, but the mainstream society has found its way into Paganism too.

How do we retain  and in some cases, regain  what makes us unique as Pagans?

Modern Paganism has no long tradition of clergy authority. Having seen its abuses in Christianity, we have largely tried to avoid it (sometimes to our detriment, but thats another post for another time that I probably wont write). We used to have respect for the expertise of Pagan authors, but now there are so many authors  not all of whom know what theyre writing about  that respect has been diluted into insignificance.

Any living religion needs a healthy tension between the past and the future. It needs some people calling us back to our core values and foundational principles, to the ways of our ancestors, and to the beliefs and practices that make us unique. It needs other people pulling us forward, making sure were continually learning and growing and that our religion remains relevant in the lives of its followers.

Neither of these roles require clergy to fill them. Ive seen Christian denominations where the clergy has tried to persuade the laity to keep the faith and Ive seen others where the clergy has exhorted the laity to move into the brave new world. Ive also seen clergy afraid to challenge their parishioners for fear of losing their income

Maintaining our Pagan identity does not require clergy. It does require people who are intelligent, educated, experienced, and dedicated to their religion and to its long-term success. And it requires the respect of the practitioners  not to follow the experts blindly, but to carefully consider what they have to say, especially when dealing with challenging issues.

How do we help Pagans and polytheists have a worldview and self-understanding shaped more by our religious communities than by the mainstream culture?

To start with, we need to have actual religious communities. Despite the disdain some of us have for them, there is no substitute for good, healthy, local Pagan groups. If you are unwilling or unable to participate in a local group, then find a virtual community. But not just any virtual community will do  as with our face-to-face groups, we need virtual communities that are centered around our Pagan traditions and are not simply a collection of people we like. If your community doesnt challenge you at least as much as it affirms you, its not going to counterbalance the effects of the mainstream culture.

We need religious specialists. Many Pagans enthusiastically embody the ideal of the Renaissance Man, but none of us can be experts in history, archaeology, linguistics, theology, philosophy, ritual, music, visual arts, pastoral care, political action, and magic. There is only one Master of All Arts and its not you or me. But many of us have some skill in one or two of these areas, and some of us are legitimate experts in them. Lets listen to the specialists in our wider community. We dont have to always agree with them, but we need to carefully consider what they have to say, even when they make us uncomfortable. Especially when they make us uncomfortable.

And we need a commitment to regular spiritual practice. There is no substitute for daily meditation, prayer, offerings, and other individual practices. There is no substitute for weekly, monthly, and seasonal celebrations, whether we observe them in local groups, virtual groups, or by ourselves.

Few of us live a monastic lifestyle  our days are busy and hectic. But that only emphasizes the need to carve out a few minutes every day to remind ourselves of who we are and what we want to be.

The mainstream world constantly bombards us with its values and priorities. Most of the time its trying to sell us something and the price is often far more than money. Our Paganisms, polytheisms, witchcrafts, and other religious and spiritual traditions can help us resist the influence of the mainstream, but only if we practice mindfully and diligently, and only if we are committed to a healthy tension between the foundations of the past and the dreams of the future.
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The Arab Republic of Egypt, will on October 9, 2016, mark the 150th anniversary of its legislature, which is one of the oldest in the world.The celebration, which would hold at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, will be attended by the President of Egypt, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Egypts 596 Members of Parliament.Speakers of Russian, American, European, Chinese and Japanese parliaments and Arab legislatures, are also expected at the event, a statement on Monday by Ahmed Maher, Information Officer, Egyptian High Commission, Abuja, stated.It said that the history of Egypts parliament, the first in the Arab, African and Middle East regions, dates back to October 22, 1866 when the 75-member Council of Consultative Deputies (Maglis Shura Al-Nuwab) was formed.The statement noted that the council, which was inaugurated during the era of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879), held its first meeting on November 25, 1866.It read in part, According to the 2014 Constitution of Egypt ,the new parliament, which was inaugurated on January 10, this year, is the most empowered and diverse parliamentary body in Egyptian history.For instance, women made extraordinary gains and now hold 89 seats in the House of Representatives, making the highest percentage of female representation (14.9 percent) in Parliaments 150-year history.The same is also true about Christians whose number now stands at 39 (6.5 percent) while the number of political parties represented in parliament rose to 19, with 245 MPs (41.1 per cent).Meanwhile, the 3rd session of the 4th legislative term of the African Parliament will be held at Sharm El-Sheik from October 9-19, 2016.Egypt played a significant role in the formation of African Union as one of its founding members. It hosted the first African summit in 1964.
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About 75% of military recruits arrive at a training base with no bank account and have to be bussed to a local bank to open one, says Jill Castilla, CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond. The bank's team is building a platform that will help service members save and build credit.
Iran to dispatch 3,500 skilled manpower to Ireland: Deputy Minister

09/26/16

Source: Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran - Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Mohammad Amin Sazegarnejad said on Saturday that somer 3,500 Iranian skilled manpower in the fields of Hoteliering and culinary will be dispatched to the Republic of Ireland. Iran and Ireland have signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect.



Exporting Manpower

(cartoon by Reza Jangi, Iranian daily Etemad)





The MoU was signed by head of Board of Directors of Iran's international Employment Association Hassan Karbasi and head of Restaurants Association of Ireland Anthony Gary.

Sazegarnejad, who is currently on a visit to the Republic of Ireland leading a delegation from private sector, said in a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Ireland for the Middle East and North African Affairs Estefan Doveson that implementation of JCPOA opened the door of the European countries to Iranian skilled manpower.

In the meeting, Doveson expressed pleasure with presence of Iranian delegation in Dublin, saying that Iran is a country with ancient civilization with rich natural resources, placing the country in an important position in the world arena.

He called for expansion of bilateral ties, especially in economic relations.

The senior diplomat said that the procedure for issuing visa for Iranian manpower will be eased soon.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Aygun Badalova  Trend:

The referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution is being held transparently, Carmen Quintanilla, a Spanish MP and member of the European Peoples Party (EPP) delegation, told Trend Sept. 26.

People are very pleased with the voting process, she said. Azerbaijani people are voting for their democracy and freedom. I would like to congratulate all Azerbaijani people on this occasion.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.
Iran Releases Canadian-Iranian Professor Detained on 'Security Charges'

09/26/16

Source: VOA

Iran says it has released a retired Canadian-Iranian professor, who had been detained on "security charges." A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Homa Hoodfar was released on humanitarian grounds.



Retired Iranian-Canadian professor Homa Hoodfar

(undated photo made available by Amanda Ghahremani)





Hoodfar, 65, who most recently taught at Concordia University in Montreal, was arrested June 6 after a visit to Evin prison in Tehran.

Her passport had been confiscated and she was banned from leaving Iran, according to her family.

Iran does not recognize dual citizenship and has arrested multiple dual nationals over security-related issues.
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Todays savvy bank robbers dont break into vaults looking for gold or diamonds: Theyre more likely to be hacking networks looking for access to the Swift payment system. Illusive Networks wants to catch them in the act.

In February, hackers exploited Bangladesh Banks access to the Swift fund transfer network to steal US$81 million  and almost got away with $951 million.

They had infiltrated the banks network, installing malware on the Swift Alliance Access server that exchanged messages with the gateway to Swifts secure fund transfer system. They used the banks Swift credentials to order payments, while their malware interfered with the printing of confirmation messages, delaying the banks discovery of the electronic heist.

Its not yet clear how the attackers obtained the credentials: Inside help is one possibility, while another is that they found the credentials somewhere on the banks internal network.

Now an Israeli company hopes to foil future heists of this type by making it easier for attackers to find Swift credentials and servers  or at least, something that looks distractingly like them  as they explore a banks network.

At the SIBOS banking conference in Geneva on Monday, Illusive Networks announced a new addition to its Deceptions Everywhere product line: Swift Guard

In an effort to catch hackers as they move laterally around a network theyve broken into, Illusive seeds customer networks with what it calls deceptions, or decoys masquerading as high-value targets. It says these work better than traditional honeypots because they are everywhere and its harder for attackers to recognize them as fakes. If an attacker interacts with any of the deceptions, Illusives management console raises an alert.

Swift Guard disguises itself as key pieces of Swift infrastructure including credentials, databases, gateways and access servers and web interfaces. It doesnt directly protect the real targets; it just buries them in a haystack of fakes, making it likely that, as the attackers move around the network, they will be discovered before they find what they are looking for.

In Bangladesh Bank they were doing thousands of searches for the Swift machine till they found it, said Illusive CEO Shlomo Touboul. If the bank had been using Swift Guard, that would have resulted in a series of alerts before the attackers were able to install their malware one of the Swift servers.

Dozens of banks are already using Deceptions Everywhere, and theyll get the Swift Guard component at no extra cost, Touboul said. For new customers, the price will depend on the network that needs protecting.
One of the biggest security risks for computer users is their web browser. According to Microsoft, 90 percent of phishing emails use the browser to initiate attacks, which can then be used to help attackers establish a beachhead inside a company.

Microsoft is aiming to better protect users and organizations from the threats that they face with a new feature called Windows Defender Application Guard. Its designed to isolate Microsoft Edge from the rest of the files and processes running on a users computer and prevent computer exploits from taking hold.

This is a move that could drive greater adoption of Microsofts browser in the enterprise, at a time when the company is fiercely competing with Google in that space. Security of company assets is a big problem for enterprises, and Microsoft is offering them another way to help protect their users without requiring those users to be security experts.

Heres how it works: when users navigate to untrusted websites in Edge with the feature enabled, Microsofts browser launches new sessions that run in virtualized containers on their Windows 10 PCs and tablets.

In the event theres malicious code on those sites that tries to deploy on users machines, it gets deployed into the container, isolated from the operating system and everything else.

When users quit their Edge sessions, the container is destroyed, and the malicious code is supposed to go along with it, thereby protecting users from whatever payload they may have been exposed to.

According to Rob Lefferts, Microsofts director of program management for Windows Enterprise and Security, the other key thing about the feature is that the containers isolation is enforced using a secure root of trust that runs on the computers processor itself.

While Application Guard is a powerful capability, that comes at a cost. Because the container is destroyed whenever a user quits Edge, any cookies or cached items accumulated during that time go with it. In other words, even if users check the Remember Me button on a website, theyll have to log back in next time they open Edge. Virtualizing Microsofts browser will also lead to some loss of performance.

IT administrators will be able to set the service up to whitelist certain trusted sites which will run in a traditional, non-containerized form, so users can get the same sort of browsing experience theyre used to from those sites.

Lefferts cautioned that the feature wont be right for every organization, or even every employee.

It is really [for] environments that want to run locked-down browsers, he said in an interview. Finance organizations, healthcare organizations, a whole slew of military organizations that I talk to.

Microsoft is still in the process of building the feature, and will be rolling it out to Windows Insiders in the coming months. The company expects Windows Defender Application Guard to be generally available some time in 2017, for organizations that are subscribed to the Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 plans.

That means there are still some questions left unanswered about what Windows 10 Application Guard will mean for users. For example, the company isnt saying yet what sort of impact running Edge in a container will have on its performance.

Lefferts said that the company is still working on getting the performance right, and wants to make both the Edge startup experience and the browsing experience feel good to users.

Looking forward, Microsoft may make the same containerization technology available to other applications, Matt Barlow, the corporate vice president for Windows Marketing, said during a press conference. But right now, the company is working to ship the first version of the feature.

Windows Defender Application Guard is one of a number of security-focused announcements that the company made at its Ignite conference in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday. It also announced that Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection and Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection will share intelligence across both services to provide IT administrators with an easier way to manage threats.

The company is also releasing a new Secure Productive Enterprise service, which gives companies an easy way to buy a suite of its advanced security capabilities across Office, Windows and its Enterprise Mobility + Security suite.
Googles much-anticipated hardware event on October 4 may have more in store than some new Pixel phones and Google Home pricing. A report from Android Police speculates that Google will use the moment to unveil its highly rumored merger of Chrome OS and Android into one hybrid operating system.

The whole mess started over the weekend when Android chief Hiroshi Lockheimer tweeted that October 4, 2016 would be as historic as the original roll out of Android on September 23, 2008. Android Police believes Lockheimers tweet is hinting at the mash-up project, which AP says is called Andromeda internally.

We announced the 1st version of Android 8 years ago today. I have a feeling 8 years from now well be talking about Oct 4, 2016.  Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 24, 2016

Additionally, 9to5 Google has discovered code in the Android Open Source Project for Android 7.0 that directly references Andromeda devices.

The latest rumors of an Android-Chrome OS merger began in October 2015. At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google would launch the new Android-Chrome OS project in 2017. Before that, however, Google would debut an early version of the new operating system in 2016, the Journal said. With three months and a few days left in 2016 and Lockheimers teaser tweet, AP figures its now or never for Andromeda to see the light of day.

The implications for a post-Andromeda Google is far from clear. Several other outlets, in addition to the Journal, reported that Chrome OS would not be going away. That would mean device makers will have three options: Android, Chrome OS, and Andromeda.

Unless Google has a clear, easily understandable reason to keep Chrome OS and Andromeda as two parallel projects this could get confusing, fast. Do you want the Android-powered laptop that runs Android apps and has the Chrome browser, or do you want the Chrome-based laptop that runs Android apps?

Google will also have to explain why Andromeda is even necessary for consumers. Phones and tablets have no real need for Chrome OS, and Google just spent significant time getting Android apps to run on Chrome OS.

With just over a week to go until the big day we should know what Googles plans are soon. We may even see the first Andromeda-powered laptop next week. In a separate report, Android Police says Googles working on a new Andromeda-powered Pixel laptop code-named Bison that is due out in late 2017.

The story behind the story: Andromeda is an interesting code name for the project. Assuming its not a boring mash-up (Andr-ome-da), the name is thematically linked to the idea of a merger. Andromeda is the closest galaxy to our ownand its scheduled to collide with the Milky Way in about 4 billion years. Android and Chrome OS are (presumably) on a similar collision course if these Andromeda rumors pan out. Hopefully it wont take 4 billion years to complete, although knowing Google it could be in beta for about that long.
Chances are you began your career busing tables, working retail, or doing IT work, carefully planning out your shifts week by week. A new Microsoft app for Office 365, called StaffHub, seeks to make this chore easier and replace the break room calendar.

At first glance, StaffHub seems like just another shared calendar from Outlook or the like. There are a couple of key differences, though: Workers can swap shifts themselves or ask others to cover for them. StaffHubs also a messaging app, so, for instance, one cook can send another cook a message about an ingredient shipment thats scheduled to arrive. (Microsoft didnt say, but those employee-to-employee messages would presumably be monitored by an employer.) The other difference from your typical shared calendar, unfortunately, is the price: A company must be signed up with at least an Office 365 kiosk license to use it, which costs $4 per user, per month.

The master StaffHub calendar.

StaffHubs main interface allows workers to see when theyll work on a week-by-week schedule, and who theyll be working with. While those workers may not have access to internal company resources, the messaging portion allows management to push schedule updates, reminders, and other warnings, like, say, a visiting VIP. Workers will also be able to view training manuals and other literature.

Right now, StaffHub is in public preview, for Android, iOS, and the web; StaffHub doesnt have a UWP version at present. It requires more than just downloading the app, however, as the business will need to visit Microsofts website, staffhub.ms, and request a license.

Microsoft debuted the new app at Microsoft Ignite, its cloud and productivity conference where it debuted new Office features, a Nissan partnership that treats cars like PCs, and new features to secure its Microsoft Edge browser.

Why this matters: While this seems geared towards small businesses, its hard to belive your neighborhood bar has the financial resources to pay for the necessary licenses. Instead, this seems like a product Microsoft will be marketing to nationwide chains like Chilis, Best Buy, or Burger King, where each company employs thousands of hourly workers whose shifts vary on a weekly basis.
Nearly a year after a Phelan mans body was found in a shallow grave in Los Angeles County, a couple was arrested in Arizona in connection with his death, San Bernardino County Sheriffs officials said Sunday.

Dale Brewster, 45, and Debbie Harris, 48, will be brought back to San Bernardino County following their arrest Friday at a motel in the 22200 block of West Old Highway 66 in Seligman, Arizona, according to a sheriffs release.

They were booked into Prescott jail on suspicion of the murder of Allen Godfrey, 38, whose remains were found in the desert in Llano near the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county line in early December, according to reports.

Godfrey lived on Brewster and Harris property in the 10000 block of Wilson Ranch Road in Phelan, according to the release.

Deputies were called out to the property Aug. 18 of last year by Brewster to report he had been in a physical fight with Godfrey the day before and that the 38-year-old ran off, officials said.

Later that same day, Godfreys family reported him missing.

A body was found Dec. 8, in a shallow grave. In March of this year, the body was identified as Godfrey.

The San Bernardino County sheriffs Homicide Detail assumed the investigation and found the couple in Arizona Friday.

With assistance from the Yavapai County Sheriffs Department, detectives arrested Brewster and Harris, officials said.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation can call Detective Tina Kirby or Sgt. Greg Myler at 909-387-3589. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or visit the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.
Downtown Riversides sparse silhouette has been dominated by a few boxy, nondescript towers, two domes and Mount Rubidoux.

Now, officials hoping to bring the city center into the 21st century want to pave the way for upward growth by getting rid of limits on the height of buildings.

Most of Riversides downtown districts cap buildings at 60, 100 or 140 feet, though a few were granted exceptions, such as the 166-foot Mount Rubidoux Manor and the 196-foot County Administrative Center.

Allowing more structures to be taller could create some visual interest and help identify Riverside with a skyline, Community and Economic Development Director Rafael Guzman said.

The Riverside City Council will discuss possible changes to downtown height limits on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

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LIFTING THE LID

Near the turn of the 20th century, early skyscrapers in growing cities like Chicago were born of a need for more office space where little land was available, said Catherine Gudis, who directs UC Riversides public history program.

The real estate values began to get higher and higher, so it began to make more sense to fit more people going up instead of going across, she said.

For years, Southern California had plenty of space to build out and residents who liked to drive, so many of the tallest structures in Los Angeles werent built until the 1960s or later.

But as the amount of undeveloped space in downtown Riverside dwindles, city officials have begun looking ahead.

Guzman worried that a council goal to provide more housing combined with height limits that typically result in four- to six-story buildings could turn the downtown into an uninteresting, imposing hulk he compared to the sprawling Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles.

We came to the realization that we would really have a monolithic, one-uniform-height area, he said.

To solve that concern, city planners drafted changes that would allow exceptions to downtown height limits. The initiative is dubbed lift the lid.

It wont mean the skys the limit.

To get a permit to be taller, projects would have to meet certain requirements based on lot size, square footage of the building and decorative amenities such as an atrium or pedestrian walkway.

Based on existing buildings and case studies, City Planner Ted White said, the upper limit for most projects is likely to be around 17 stories, or a little taller than Mount Rubidoux Manor.

Youre not going to get a World Trade Center type of thing, he said.

PAST AND FUTURE

Early reactions to the taller building initiative seem favorable, if not ecstatic.

Personally Id rather see it in the periphery, to keep the look and the feel and the charm of downtown, said Tom Donahue, a downtown resident and former general manager of the 127-foot, 12-story Marriott Riverside.

If taller buildings are done right, workers in new office space and patrons of new shops would help support local restaurants, and all of that together could increase the citys tax base, Donahue said.

It would be a great segue between where we were and where were going.

For David Leonard, a longtime city resident and member of the Old Riverside Foundation, the main concern is the shadow effect of high rises blocking views of downtowns many historic buildings.

To the extent (that) they cant be seen or appreciated because theyre in a canyon of tall skyscrapers, it ruins the effect of the historic resource, he said.

To address that, the city would keep the 60-foot cap in the Mission Inn Historic District and create a buffer between commercial areas and residential neighborhoods.

Guzman said theres no pipeline of projects waiting to bypass the height limit, but the change is expected to drum up interest.

Developer Mark Rubin, who built the Raincross Promenade apartments and Citrus Tower office building downtown, said allowing taller buildings makes sense.

Why restrict someone that wants to spend their own money (on a project)?

Hes now building a mix of apartments and retail space that incorporates the facade of the historic Stalder building and in places will reach seven stories.

The only way you can develop that site is by going up, he said.

For cities like Riverside that arent typically defined by tall buildings, balancing the interests of business, residents and government is key to reaching a result with which everyone can live, said Jason Gabel, communication manager for the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

If everyone is involved in the discussion, Youre going to be most likely to have a city that everybody whos lived there for years can enjoy and the people who move there to live in the tall buildings can also enjoy.

<p><img class=alwaysThinglink src=http://cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/836275934238605312/1024/10/scaletowidth#tl-836275934238605312;1043138249 style=max-width: 100%; data-mce-src=http://cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/836275934238605312/1024/10/scaletowidth#tl-836275934238605312;1043138249 data-mce-style=max-width: 100%; /></p><script async= charset=utf-8 src=http://cdn.thinglink.me/jse/embed.js type=mce-text/javascript data-mce-src=http://cdn.thinglink.me/jse/embed.js></script><p><b>Contact the writer:</b> 951-368-9461, <a href=mailto:arobinson@scng.com data-mce-href=mailto:arobinson@scng.com>arobinson@scng.com</a>, @arobinson_pe</p>
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

The referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution is going on in an organized manner, Nurlan Dulatbekov, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries (TurkPA) International Observes Mission and a Kazakh MP, has told Trend.

Dulatbekov said the TurkPA mission has already visited three polling stations and in the afternoon the mission plans to continue monitoring the referendum in Baku.

The mission will also visit polling stations in the suburbs of the Azerbaijani capital, he noted.

Everything has been organized well: the polling stations are equipped with everything, so that the voting process would run smoothly, Dulatbekov said.

The TurkPA International Observes Mission includes MPs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
FULLERTON  Four people associated with Saturdays triple homicide in Fullerton were involved in the Southern California furry community, a group of fans who congregate online, at meetups and at conventions to admire and dress up like animals, a member said.

A lot of people in our community were devastated, said Christopher Parque-Johnson, 23, of Garden Grove, an artist, performer and videographer for the SoCal Furs, which has members from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. Ive been hearing from a lot of people. It bothered everybody.

It makes no sense.

Parque-Johnson led a group of furries, as they call themselves, to the site of the homicides Sunday night. They laid roses, left cards and lit candles to honor victim Jennifer Yost, Parque-Johnson said, because she was a mother figure to the SoCal Furs. The two identified accused killers are also furries, as is Yosts daughter Katlynn Goodwin Yost, Parque-Johnson said.

All of them were always nice to everybody, said Parque-Johnson, known in the furry community as Bandit, a raccoon inspired by the film Over the Hedge.

The Orange County District Attorneys Office, as early as today, will determine whether to file murder charges against two men and a 17-year-old female accused in the triple homicide.

Christopher Yost, 34; his wife, Jennifer Yost, 39; and their friend Arthur Boucher, 28, were found dead in the Yost home in Fullerton on Saturday morning. Two of the couples daughters, ages 6 and 9, were home when police arrived. The younger girl alerted police by calling 911, saying their parents had died.

On Sunday morning, police arrested Frank Felix, 25, of Sun Valley; Joshua Acosta, a 21-year-old U.S. Army mechanic based at Fort Irwin; and a 17-year-old female on suspicion of murder.

The trio were arrested after police had asked for the publics help in finding Jennifer Yosts missing daughter, Katlynn, who is 17.

Katlynn Yost was located, but police said state law prevents them from saying whether she was the arrested teenager.

Fullerton police on Monday released the official booking charges for the three: murder and conspiracy. The Fullerton Police Department declined to comment further on the case Monday.

The District Attorneys Office will decide whether to directly charge the 17-year-old as an adult or take her case to juvenile court, where a judge would decide if the teenager is appropriate for adult court.

Parque-Johnson said he knew the accused men and Katlynn Yost, who identifies herself as a furry on her Facebook and Twitter accounts, but did not associate them with one another.

Weve never seen them huddled together, Parque-Johnson said. We didnt know them as friends of each other.

Parque-Johnson said he was closest with Jennifer Yost.

People looked up to her, he said. A lot of people cared about her.

Joshua Acosta and Frank Felix were helpful in setting up and breaking down weekend events, Parque-Johnson said.

They were trying to be outstanding citizens, Parque-Johnson said.

Furries have been around since the 1980s. They admire anthropomorphic animals  characters that walk on two feet and speak like humans. Most of them are non-suiters, meaning they dont spend $1,000 to $5,000 or more on full-body animal costumes. Instead, they create characters and wear badges with their characters displayed.

Parque-Johnson said furries have been unfairly characterized in the media as a group of sexual deviants. Sexual activity involving some people in furry costumes has happened in the three-decade history of the furries, according to media accounts.

If we see it, we dont allow those people back, Parque-Johnson said. We feel that behavior would be very inappropriate in our group. We think that is very weird.

The furry community comprises mostly adults under 30, although there are some older furries who were fans of Disney movies involving animals with human characteristics such as in Robin Hood.

Furries watch movies, play video games, draw pictures and trade cards, Parque-Johnson said.

People come to us to get away from the negative stuff in life, he said.
There he was, a new Los Angeles Police Department officer, in a hospital bed, unconscious, recovering from a bad beating.

When Stan Kensic finally came to on that day in 1962, Police Chief William Parker was there to greet him.

Did I make probation? Kensic said, recalling his first words.

He not only made probation, he went on to serve a distinguished 29-year career, retiring as a captain. He now lives in Murrieta.

Yet department officials never made a big fuss out of what Kensic endured 54 years ago when he and colleague Frank Tomlinson were assaulted while stopping two men they thought might have been involved in a string of burglaries near the USC campus.

To me, it was just a part of the job, he says.

Imagine his surprise when he was invited to a big luncheon in downtown Los Angeles this month. There, Kensic and Tomlinson were presented with LAPD purple hearts for their heroic actions from so long ago.

It was nice to be honored, Kensic, 77, says. I still cant believe that they did it.

Kensic was honored because somebody nominated him for the 2016 Above & Beyond award, said LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado. Its not unusual for somebody from so long ago to be remembered, she said, noting that officers from the 1960s, 70s and 80s were also recognized this month.

In other words, there is no shelf life on being remembered for doing great things, not even after 54 years.

Kensic and Tomlinson were on patrol on April 27, 1962, when they saw two men looking at mens suits in the trunk of a parked vehicle, according to the commendation the retired officers received.

Knowing there had been a series of smashed window burglaries at area clothing stores and seeing the suits on hangers and covered in plastic, Kensic and Tomlinson stopped to investigate.

After they started their interviews separately with the two men, Tomlinson noticed Kensic was in a struggle and went to help. Within moments a group of men descended on them.

The officers were separated by the crowd and beaten. Tomlinson was shot while Kensic was knocked unconscious during the incident. A dozen people were eventually arrested.

Tomlinson, who now lives in Camarillo, had to endure several surgeries and Kensic was hospitalized for a month. Both eventually returned to active duty.

In his typical low-key just the facts maam, style, Kensic didnt think his award this month was a big deal. But his wife Nancy and his friends thought otherwise.

Kensic started our interview by noting that on the night he was injured, he was feeling cold feet about his planned wedding to Nancy the next day, and had decided to call it off.

Today, joking, she says to him, See, God punished you because you changed your mind.

He got married a month later, black eyes and all at the wedding. In typical Kensic style, he just went on about his business after his recovery.

A long policing career was not what Kensic had in mind when he hitch-hiked across the country from his native Pennsylvania to Southern California because he wanted an adventure. But he needed a job when he got here, the LAPD was hiring, and so he went to work.

He said he enjoyed traveling into downtown LA recently after so many years to meet up with so many former colleagues.

I felt like I was back home, he said.

Added Nancy: It was like a reunion.

A reunion that included a regular guy who says he was just doing his job so many years ago, heroism and all.

Contact the writer: carllove4@yahoo.com
One published media report this month said the campaign to legalize marijuana in California had raised $18 million. Within days, other major news outlets pegged the total at just one-third that amount, while a nonprofit campaign watchdog group said the figure was $11 million.

Why the conflicting numbers?

Its complicated. And it points to the growing difficulty of tracking funds in California campaigns, despite  and in some respects because of  election fundraising disclosure requirements that are among the most extensive in the nation.

One factor in the case of Proposition 64, the pro-legalization initiative on the November ballot, has been a proliferation of committees filing reports each time they move funds between groups promoting or opposing the measure. Thats led to millions of dollars being counted twice and has made it difficult to track the origins of some of the money.

One of the biggest challenges for citizens is just finding the information, let alone having some basic context for what theyre looking at, said Laura Curlin, data director for Berkeley-based MapLight, which tracks campaign finances.

Due to Californias robust reporting laws, getting accurate campaign fundraising data typically requires retrieving and analyzing multiple documents filed with the Secretary of State in different formats and on different cycles.

Transparency also has been hampered by a state website thats hardly been updated since before the MySpace era, despite a series of federal court rulings over the past six years that have made it easier for major donors to remain anonymous.

Most of the public doesnt pay all that much attention to the issue, said Rick Hasen, a law professor at UC Irvine who specializes in elections. But those who do pay attention will have a harder time following the money.

MONEY MATTERS

How fundraising is reported can influence the outcome of elections, according to Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who focuses on campaign finance.

The public views the amount of money you have raised as a proxy for viability, she said.

That perception can influence how citizens vote, she said, along with the ease or difficulty of fundraising as balloting approaches.

Reports of a surge in financial support for a measure can motivate opponents to give more, Levinson said. But if the financial advantage of one side or the other is portrayed as extremely large, she said it can scare off potential donors who dont want to throw money at a losing cause.

Being able to accurately track whos giving cash to a campaign can have an even bigger impact on an election, Hasen said.

He pointed to Proposition 16 in 2010. The measure would have made it harder for new public utilities to get started in California or fledgling utilities to expand. After it was disclosed that the private utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was bankrolling the effort, voters rejected the measure.

FOLLOWING THE FUNDS

Experts say theres cause for concern about how money is quietly influencing politics in todays climate.

Dark money and gray money is a huge problem, Levinson said.

The U.S. Supreme Courts 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case contributed to the growth in campaign super PACS by allowing corporations and unions to spend as much as they want on independent ads and mailers to support or defeat candidates.

Such political action committees are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2016 election, including campaigns in California.

The Citizens United decision also paved the way, Levinson noted, for nonprofit social welfare or trade groups to spend unlimited amounts campaigning for or against ballot measures and individual candidates with no requirement that they disclose who gave them that money.

PACs and nonprofit groups can shuffle money back and forth for a variety of tax, organizational and tactical reasons, including an attempt to hide the source of the true contributors from the public, Hasen said.

With Proposition 64, there are eight committees supporting the measure and two working to defeat it. Thats double the number of committees working around any of the other 16 measures on the November ballot.

When the conflicting campaign totals were reported in early September, the primary Yes on 64 committee had taken in $6.6 million. But when that was combined with all the fundraising reported by the other pro-legalization committees, the total reached nearly $18 million.

Some of the biggest PACs backing Proposition 64 also are supporting measures in other states. That makes it tough to determine how much of the money will go to the California effort.

In addition, several million dollars have been transferred between independent committees before reaching the official Yes on 64 campaign. In some published reports, that appears to have led to counting the same funds multiple times.

Californias hyper-disclosure requirements can cause confusion, said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of New York-based Drug Policy Action, which advocates for drug law reforms across the country and is financially backing passage of Californias measure. But he said theres been no nefarious motivation for moving funds between pro-Proposition 64 committees.

His organization has two types of nonprofits, Nadelmann said, each with distinct roles, contributors and committees backing the measure. Money is sometimes moved between the groups for budget reasons or to be sure contributions are being used as donors requested, he said.

The states Fair Political Practices Commission has opened an investigation into a complaint filed by the Yes on 64 camp about how long it took Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action  the biggest financial backer of efforts to defeat Californias marijuana legalization measure  to disclose $1.4 million in contributions from an out-of-state donor, agency spokesman Jay Wierenga said Friday.

Theres no estimate for how long the investigation will take, Wierenga said. Most are wrapped up within 180 days, but he said the agency prioritizes campaign-related investigations in the months leading up to the election.

SAM Action leaders say they only recently reported the donations because it wasnt originally clear what portion would go toward defeating Prop. 64.

TACKLING THE TECHNOLOGY

When Californians voted to become the first state to allow medical marijuana in 1996, campaign spending could be tracked only by sorting through hard copies of forms filed at the Secretary of States Sacramento office.

That changed in 2000 when the agency launched Cal-Access, an online database of campaign finance information. But the site hasnt been updated to allow searching, aggregating and sorting contributions by donors or other basic computer-assisted analysis. The site also crashes frequently.

Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, is seeking to change that. His Senate Bill 1349  now awaiting Gov. Jerry Browns signature  would require the state to overhaul Cal-Access and replace it with a system thats easier to navigate.

With all the money being spent in this years elections and on various ballot measures, disclosure is more important than ever, Hertzberg said. He said his bill modernizes Californias database so campaign and lobbying disclosures are quick and easy for everyone to access online immediately.

Secretary of State spokesman Sam Mahood said if Hertzbergs bill becomes law, a new version of Cal-Access will be operational in 2019  just before the next presidential election cycle kicks into high gear.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7963 or bstaggs@ocregister.comTwitter: @JournoBrooke
Firefighters responded shortly after midnight Monday, Sept. 26 to a 1-to-2 acre wildfire at Lower Waterman Canyon Road and Highway 18, where it was under shaky containmnent shortly after 1 a.m., a San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman said.

The Canyon Fire was alarmed at about 12:15 a.m. and with downslope winds blowing at 5-10 mph, units had the blaze contained, but commanders at the scene were concerned about spot fires working past the lines in the Santa Ana wind conditions, County Fire spokesman Mike McClintock said by phone.

He said the fire was in the city limits of San Bernardino, but threatened the nearby San Bernardino National Forest. Units at the scene were from the U.S. Forest Service, San Bernardino County Fire Deparment, and Cal Fires San Bernardino County unit.

All three agencies are on the scene or have units en route, he said.

He said a firefighting helicopter with night-firefighting capability was being flown in from the Angeles National Forest district because of concerns over the Santa Ana wind conditions in the area.

Crews are working to contain it and have set a wet line around the fire, mopping up and cutting a line around it. McClintock said.

A wet line is descibed as a line of water or chemicals sprayed on the ground to establish a temporary control line around the fire.

Cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.

Authorities have closed Lower Waterman Canyon Road in the area of the blaze, but it was not expected to affect Highway 18 traffic.

It wont impact any commuters in the morning, he said.

McClintock said firefighters will be on the scene throughout the night.
A DANGEROUS robber, who inflicts knife wounds on his victims without provocation, has finally been nabbed after many months of hiding.



Richard Kwame Adjei, 24, on November 10, 2015, inflicted knife wounds on one Stephanie, after which he robbed the lady and fled.



The suspect, who the police in Kumasi described as very dangerous and wicked, had since managed to elude arrest to face the law.



But he finally ran out of luck as he was apprehended by the police when his attempt to rob another person some days ago, hit the rocks.



It was at the police station that Stephanie identified Kwame Adjei as her attacker, ASP Mohammed Yussif Tanko, the Ashanti Regional Police PRO, said.



He said Kwame Adjeis brutal attack on Stephanie was swift so by the time people got wind of the attack, the suspect had vanished into thin air.



ASP Tanko indicated that Stephanie reported the case to the police and was issued with a medical form to seek prompt medical attention.



He said police made all attempts to locate Kwame Adjei and arrest him but the whereabouts of the suspect always remained a mystery.



ASP Tanko disclosed that just recently, Kwame Adjei popped up at Labour Roundabout in Kumasi where his attempt to rob another person failed.



He said Kwame Adjei was arrested and hauled to the police station to face the full rigours of the law.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Togbe Kelley IX, the Dufia of Kpedze Sreme, has appealed to the Government to upgrade the Kpedze Polyclinic into a District Hospital, with mortuary services.



He said there was a growing pressure on the facility, which was serving more than 6,000 people in the District.



Togbe Kelley made the appeal at a durbar of chiefs and people of Kpedze Sreme to climax this years Yam Festival of the area.



Kpedze is the biggest commercial town in the Ho West District, with the Polyclinic being the Districts main health facility.



Togbe Kelley recounted how patients spent hours in queues to access healthcare at the Polyclinic and how some patients had to journey to Ho, many kilometres away, for peculiar services and said an upgrade of the clinic would improve healthcare delivery in that farming community.



He, however, commended the Government for the development projects in the community and reiterated the commitment of the people to play their civic roles towards nation building.



Mr Samuel Ewordey, the Ho West District Chief Executive, said the Assembly had renovated some bungalows towards the upgrade of the Polyclinic into a District Hospital.



He said all the major roads in the District were being fixed and the five-kilometre-Kpedze township roads were also being worked on.



Mr Ewordey said the Kpedze Market was also being upgraded, with a slaughter house, to boost the economic activities of the area and asked the people to look at the good work of the Government and retain it in power.

Source: GNA









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The young woman who bit the penis of the Techiman Municipal Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service, DO III Philip Ansah Andoh has been arrested for causing harm.



This follows preliminary investigations by the police which revealed that the girl, Ata Takyi had been in an amorous relationship with the Commander. The latest revelation was contrary to earlier reports that the Commander had been harassing her for sex.



The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Sergeant Sampson Gbande, told The Ghanaian Times, in an interview that she was arrested after the incident, for causing harm but was now on police enquiry bail. Sgt. Gbande said Ata had been asked to report periodically to the police, until investigations were concluded.



Ata Takyi, who is a beneficiary of the Community Fire Protection Assistant module of the Youth Enterprise Agency (YEA), was alleged to have bitten the commanders penis at her apartment last Saturday.



The Commander was said to have visited her at midnight on that fateful day, and allegedly attempted to forcibly have sexual intercourse with her. Ata was said to have initially struggled with him, but as he seemed too strong for her, she agreed to her request.



Then as they engaged in fore-play, she bit his penis, a source said.



According to the source, after the incident, she called the office to report a fire outbreak, and personnel of the municipal office rushed there only to find their Commander in the room bleeding.



He was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Source: Ghanaian Times









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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There are strong indications that the majority of Ghanaians want the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to retrieve all monies lost by the state through corruption scandals, especially judgement debts.



According to the latest survey by policy think-tank, IMANI Ghana, it is important that the government pursues and retrieves such monies for the benefit of the country.



Respondents were drawn from all the 10 regions of Ghana and were asked to rank their expectations on several projects and themes.



These included governance, gender, health, education, agriculture, the economy and infrastructural development.



A total of 10,020 respondents were sampled for the survey. For instance, in the Western, Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions, representing 62, 68 and 56 percent respectively, the respondents insist that it is very important such monies went back into state coffers.



IMANIs pre-election report was a yardstick to measure expectations of the citizenry.



The government has over the years been rocked by corruption scandals, notably the Alfred Agbesi Woyomes GH51.2 million controversial judgement debt.



Last year, 35 people, including the top brass of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), were arrested by operatives of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for allegedly stealing over GH107 million from the national kitty.



They were held for acting together to pay allowances to non-existent service personnel between September 2013 and August 2014.



The case has so far stalled, with speculations that the wife of a top official in the NDC administration was a beneficiary of the scandal.



She allegedly received a brand new V8 cross country vehicle; and the suspects are ready to go to town with the deal, DAILY GUIDE has learnt.



The government again paid GH429 million to the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) for a training programme for the youth, which was never done.



Meanwhile, the government is also in court in an attempt to retrieve the cedi equivalent of $325,472 in judgement debt wrongfully paid to ISOFOTON SA.



Beyond the call for the retrieval of dubious judgement debts, Ghanaians want pro-poor government interventions such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Free Maternal Care, Metro Mass Transit, among others, to continue but SADA, GYEEDA, MASLOC, Single Spine and 15 others scrapped.



The findings indicated that some 25.12 percent of the respondents want SADA to be scrapped.



While 16 percent want the GYEEDA programme discontinued, 12 percent want the freeze on employment lifted.



Seven percent of the respondents called for the discontinuation of the LEAP programme, while another 6 percent want a scrapping of the free school uniform, free exercise books and free education policies of the government, as well as the discontinuation of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).



No Borrowing



They were also unhappy with high government spending. They largely answered no to a question on whether the government should continue to spend heavily in spite of the countrys rising debt stock.



Respondents from the Central Region were the most emphatic in the response, with 95 percent, followed by the Western Region with 87 percent and the Greater Accra Region with 86 percent.



On fighting corruption, 69 percent of people sampled in both the Ashanti and Upper East Regions, 49 percent in Brong-Ahafo and 53 percent in Eastern Region hold the view that it is very important the government works to reduce the prevalence of corruption.



The respondents further generally agree on the importance of education  primary, secondary and pre-tertiary  but argued against the cost of the latter.



Touching on agriculture, respondents in the Ashanti, Greater Accra, Northern and Western Regions believe the subsidization of seedlings and fertilizer is very relevant and key to ensuring food security all year round in the country.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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SEND-Ghana has organized a community forum in Yendi aimed at sensitizing the community members on anti-corruption laws as part of measures to help reduce corruption in the country.



The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) and other anti-corruption civil society organizations comprising SEND-Ghana and Ghana Anti Corruption Coalition (GACC) is implementing a USAID funded activity, known as, Accountable Democratic Institutions and Systems Strengthening (ADISS) in 50 districts in Ghana over a four-year period, spanning from September 2014 to September 2018.



Five districts in the Northern Region namely, Tolon, West Mamprusi districts, The Savelugu/Nanton and Yendi Municipalities and the Tamale Metropolis are benefitting from the community durbars.



The goal of ADISS is to increase government accountability by renewing and building upon ongoing anti-corruption efforts and increase capacities of anti-corruption CSOs to motivate citizens to apply pressure on policy makers to reduce corruption.



Mr Joseph Azam Makido, the officer in charge of the Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) under SEND-Ghana, speaking at the sensitization forum, said the citizens participation in the fight against corruption was low hence the need to embark on such a crusade.



He said there are some cultural practices that breed corruption and at the same time hinder the fight against corruption and expressed the hope that the project would help citizens to play their expected roles in the fight against corruption.



Mr Makido used the occasion to educate the community members on specific anti-corruption laws as well as the main socio-economic practices that hinder the fight against corruption and informed them about available platforms for reporting corruption.



He said GII and its consortium expected citizens to be more informed and understood the different socio-economic practices that hinder the fight against corruption in their respective districts, which would help the fight against corruption to succeed.



He appealed to traditional authorities as well as community members to commit themselves in fight against corruption in their areas by reporting corrupt practices to the appropriate persons and institutions.



Officials from the Yendi Municipal offices of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) took turns to educate community members on the aspects of the Criminal Code, impact of corruption and anti-corruption laws.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The flag bearer of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, has taken a swipe at Nana Akufo-Addo, claiming the 72-year-old New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer still lives in his fathers house despite his age.



Apart from saying Mr Akufo-Addo lacks the capacity to manage Ghana, Mr Ayariga said at 72, Nana Akufo-Addo should retire from politics.



Speaking on Class FM on Monday, September 26, Mr Ayariga said he had many successful businesses across the country which made him the best nominee for president in the December polls though he was not as boastful about his accomplishments as the flag bearer of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, who he claimed was going round describing himself as adwumawura  creator of jobs.



Talking about his accomplishments, Mr Ayariga said: I made my first $1million at the age of 24 without working with any government. I have never been in a government position; I have never worked as a Minister for you to say I have stolen government money. I built my first house at the age of 22; at age 72, my senior and my father, Nana Akufo-Addo, is still living in his fathers house. At this age 72, I would have retired from politics and been advising young men of this country to move this country forward and not contest with them anymore.



The former Peoples National Convention flag bearer accused Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Nduom of contributing to the hardship in the country. According to him, the two nominees have served in government before and, therefore, they have contributed in building this country.



So, if they go round telling Ghanaians Ghana is in crisis and Ghana has become a difficult place for us to live and that we need a change, yes, lets accept and believe that we need change but that change will not be a change from the NDC to any of them because if Ghana is in crisis, these people are part of the problem why Ghana is in crisis today, because they were given the opportunity to serve and have served, the 2012 Peoples National Convention presidential candidate explained.



Mr Akufo-Addo was the Foreign Affairs Minister and Attorney General in the erstwhile Kufour-led government while Dr Nduom served as the Minister of Private Sector Development.







Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

Azerbaijani nationals in Germany are casting their votes in the referendum to amend the countrys Constitution at the polling station created in Azerbaijans embassy in Berlin.

The polling station #17 of the Yasamal constituency #3, established in Azerbaijans embassy in Germany, was opened at 08:00 local time (GMT+2) and will be closed at 19:00, the embassy told Trend Sept. 26.

All the conditions for a transparent and free voting were created at the polling station, said the embassy.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.
Four major political parties, the CPP, PPP, NPP and NDC, took advantage of the Manifesto Dialogues platform provided by e.TV Ghana to give some details of their plans in the educational sector ahead of the December 7 elections.



The forecourt of Valco Hall, University of Cape Coast which hosted this second edition of the dialogue series was heavily packed with students, the general public and sympathizers of the various political parties.



Even though so far it is only the NDC that has launched its manifesto ahead of the elections, the other three (3) parties who are yet to release their manifestos gave the gathered crowd some interesting highlights on how they will handle the educational sector under their governments.



Being the first to the take their turn at the dialogues, the CPP, represented by Mr. Richard Adongo, said a CPP government will discourage the establishment of private tertiary institutions and those that will be allowed to set up must have and prove their capacity to help solve particular needs of the economy. He also said CPP will create a graduate pool in certain strategic fields similar to the Cuban Medical Brigade and will export such graduates to other countries who need such support.



He continued that agric colleges will be established to modernize our agriculture and accelerate our economy.



As the only party to have released their manifesto, the NDC rep, Mr. Simon Peter Gyekye, touted the NDCs achievements in the educational sector citing the 200 Community Schools being built and the provision of ICT facilities to Senior High Schools in the country. On what new innovation the NDC party will undertake in the educational sector, Mr. Gyekye said ICT laboratories will be provided for most basic schools in the country to enhance teaching and learning.



On his part, the NPP representative at the dialogues, Mr. George Ayisi, said, The NPP will pay the fees of teachers who are undertaking distance education courses in order for them to concentrate on their teaching in the classroom. Tax waivers will also be given to all teachers who buy and import vehicles for their personal use in the country. He added that the NPP will focus on vocational, technical and general education at the second cycle level by building 350 community schools.



Mr. Ayisi continued that they will provide quality education by partnering churches to manage mission schools in the country.



The PPP MP aspirant of Cape Coast North, Sarah Bucknor, who happens to be the only woman among the panel, stated that, the PPP will within one(1) year upon assumption of office standardize education from kindergarten to the senior high school levels by providing logistics and other infrastructure that teachers and students will need to ensure quality education. She added that CPP will assist private tertiary institutions with the necessary logistics to improve tertiary education and also upgrade the level of all teachers in the country.



Mrs Bucknor continued that to enforce the Free Compulsory Basic Universal Education (FCUBE), a PPP government will establish the Education Police to punish parents who refuse to send their children to school.



The Manifesto Dialogues at Cape Coast proved that many Ghanaians are ready to subject policies of the parties to scrutiny before making a decision on who to vote for. Students and some lecturers came out in their numbers to listen and ask questions in order to understand the various issues.



The next stop for the Manifesto Dialogues is at the University of Ghana, Legon on the 6 October, 2016



The Dialogues is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy Fund (Ned Fund), YFM and Happy FM.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Actor and comedian Kofi Adu affectionately called Agya Koo has had it easier switching into the political mood as he has accused President Mahama and his NDC team of not being better mangers of Ghanas economy.



Agya Koo was at the Techiman North Constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region to the NPPs parliamentary candidate for the area Martin Oti Gyarko, as he launched his campaign. In view of the veteran actor, President Mahamas continuous stay in office after the 2016 election would lead to unprecedented number of stowaway among Ghanaians.



He advised the gathering to support the candidature of Martin Oti Gyarko and vote out the incumbent MP who is also and Deputy Minister of Education, Alex Kyeremeh. According to him, Hon. Kyeremeh is part of the group of the people who ill advised President Mahama to scrap allowances for student nurses.



Matilda Asare, another popular actress based in Ashanti Region, was also there to support Martin Oti Gyarko

Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ email: [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In case youve missed the past month of politicking, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull & Co. have been warning the Australian public that marriage equality might be a far bloody way away if their dang plebiscite doesnt go through. Still, it aint going nowhere without crossbench support, which Labor has been very unwilling (read: not at all willing) to give, and Bill Shortens posse hasnt showed any sign of relenting.

So, todays meeting between Attorney-General George Brandis and his ALP counterpart Mark Dreyfus was meant to provide a pathway for the plebiscite to move forward in some sort of mutually beneficial manner.

Of course, because this is Australian politics, a bipartisan solution was brokered within hours Labor stonewalled the ever-living shit out of any kind of compromise, effectively sticking with their plan to introduce a marriage equality bill in Parliament sans a plebiscite.

Heres some footage we snuck out of the room:

Senator Brandis said he tried to get Dreyfus to budge, but by his estimations, on some nine occasions, I said to them: What do you want?'

Im disappointed that on every occasion, when I asked Mr Dreyfus to state what the Labor Partys position was, [he] refused to do so.

It was just last week that Dreyfus signalled a few tweaks that might encourage Labor to shift its stance  namely, assurances the publics eventual decision would bypass the pollies and automatically become law or the removal of public funding from the vote  but neither of those options were tabled by the ALP in todays meeting.

In turn, Dreyfus said the Attorney-General did not suggest anything that the Government is prepared to change. Essentially, Australias two largest political forces played an elaborate game of Ill show you mine if you show me yours, and both came away with sweet FA.

Perhaps both of em were too shy to pony up for fear of displaying some kind of political weakness. Perhaps Labor knows theyre in a position of power, so theyre using plebiscite concessions as some kind of bargaining chip. Best yet, maybe they really, truly, dont want a massively expensive vote thats been criticised in too many ways to list right here.

It seems there might be another meeting between the two before Parliament resumes, so watch this space.

Source: ABC.

Photo: Krystle Wright / Vince Caligiuri / Getty.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with CommBank to help you beautiful people DreamFar. To do this, CommBank flew three people and their mates O/S to live out their most ambitious travel plans. One winner dreamt of discovering history and fashion in London, so we made it happen. Keep reading to find out Londons most happening spots for your own plans, before heading HERE to learn how CommBanks helping Aussies Dreamfar.

If youve ever watched an episode of Sex and the City, or if youre generally worldly, then youll know that certain thriving metropolitan hubs are often divided into sections called boroughs. Referring to them as such, when applicable, is one way to look like you know a place like the back of your hand.

Why is that important? Well, no one wants to look like a touristy potato. Behaving like a local will make your trip more enjoyable, because youll be clued-in on where / whats hip-hop-happening. Thats why weve focused on three boroughs in Ye Ol London Town.

We were just there with Morgan + her boyfriend Teina to make her dream of discovering Londons history and fashion come true with CommBank. Check out what went down in the video below.

Yeah, its time you went on a holiday, so check out how the locals live their best lives in the boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Brixton.

HACKNEY

Photo: Mathias Zaglmayer / Getty.

Hackney is a completely gentrified area in London. Just up the road from Shoreditch as well as nearby Dalston, its a real mix of folk and kind of like Sydneys Redfern  theres council housing next to beautifully renovated million-dollar terraces, making it a primo spot for people-watching.

London Fields

London Fields Westside, E8 3EU.

Photo: MeetUp.

If, per chance, you find your damn-fine self in London during summer, then scurry on over to London Fields for a chill Sunday BBQ. There aint nothing better than sipping on a cider in the sun while enjoying some food. In London youre able to purchase everything you might need (like snacks and drinks) from conveniently located stores. Shrubland Mini Mart is right near London Fields  while it might just be a convenience store, its also an incredible place to park yoself and take in the many different types of humans who live around Hackney.

Broadway Market

Broadway Market, London E8 4QJ.

Photo: Broadway Market / Facebook.

Hit up Broadway Market in Hackney for a double shot of cafe culture, yall. Get your ass there on a Saturday because it pops off  the whole street is closed and lined with clothes + food vendors. Think: freshly shucked oysters, home-made ice cream, gourmet scotch eggs, fresh truffle pasta, home-made sauces, delicious bakery treats, pulled pork rolls and literally anything youd ever want for. If you cant get there on a Saturday, theres still a heap of joints that are open regularly, like the ones below.

LEau a la Bouche

35-37 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH.

Photo: LEau a la Bouche / Facebook.

Why journey across a body of water to visit France when you can get a hit of Paris at deli + wine bar, LEau a la Bouche.

The Cat & Mutton

76 Broadway Market, London E8 4QJ.

Photo: The Cat & Mutton.

If one goes to London and *doesnt* have an authentic pub experience, did they even go? Get your fix at The Cat & Mutton.

Bella Vita

53-57 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH.

Photo: @bellavitabroadway / Instagram.

Hanging out for some carbalicious loving? Bella Vita has you covered on the pizza / pasta craving front.

Pavilion Bakery

18 Broadway Market, London E8 4QJ.

Photo: Pavilion Bakery / tumblr.

Head to Pavilion Bakery for a decent cup of Joe, and the most delicious goddamn cookies youve ever eaten.

SHOREDITCH

Photo: kkong5 / Getty.

Shoreditch, located in East London but closer to the city, is THE place to eat, drank, shop and partay. It has those inner-city feels without it being overly touristy as nearby areas can often be. We reckon its well worth your valuable time to book a tour with Alternative London. These guys can give you the inside-scoop on food, drink and street art in London via a walking / bike tour during the day or night. They also provide a street art course if youre wanting to emulate your inner Banksy.

Ace Hotel

100 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JQ.

Photo: Ace Hotel.

Your best bet for accommodation in Shoreditch is the epic Ace Hotel. Its cooler than ice cold and filled with creative types by day, but then a rowdier crowd at night. The hotel also has its own in-house cafe, which is perfect for those who need a coffee first thing to become remotely human.

Allpress

58 Redchurch St, Shoreditch E2 7DP.

Photo: Allpress.

Reckon Aussies have a better handle on making coffee than the Brits? Grab a taste of home at the Strayan-run joint, Allpress.

Dishoom

7 Boundary St, London E2 7JE.

Photo: Dishoom.

Dishoom is WHERE ITS BLOODY AT for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That being said, theres no denying its brunch service on a Saturday or Sunday is this establishments highlight. Dont, and we mean DONT, be a fool and overlook the bacon + egg naan ft. chilli relish  itll change your view of the world. Dishoom is always packed, so make sure you book yourself a table in advance.

Shoreditch House

1 Ebor St, London E1 6AW.

Photo: Shoreditch house.

Have a crack at befriending a member of the lucrative + ritzy Shoreditch house. This exclusive establishment has some jaw-dropping features and is a must-go for those who like to party in style.

BRIXTON

Photo: Gerard Puigmal / Getty.

If you head south of the river, youll hit Brixton. Its like a little village with a bigger city vibe, and somehow manages to be even less touristy than Shoreditch whilst still being jam-packed with people. If youre game on heading to Brixton, theres no better way to get to know it than with a guide from CityUnscripted. If youre lucky, mega legend Yunna (one of the ace tour guides) will show you the areas ropes.

Pop Brixton

49 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PQ.

Photo: Pop Brixton.

Pop Brixtons an epic pop-up market made of shipping containers thatve been refurbished into food / drink / fashion joints. Be sure to get amongst the pizza, ramen and vietnamese food here, fam. Its nek level.

Brixton Academy

211 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9SL.

Photo: Brixton Academy.

Brixton Electric

Town Hall Parade, London SW2 1RJ.

Photo: Brixton Electric / Facebook.

Both Brixton Academy and Brixton Electric are true establishments of the area. Check out their schedule to see whos playing at either while in town.

Ritzy Cinema

Brixton Oval, Brixton SW2 1JG.

Photo: Ritzy Cinema / Facebook.

Ritzy Cinema is one of Londons original independent cinemas and is fitted out with two bars, killer snacks, and puts on late night shows / stand up nights every now and again.

DAMN, LONDON. YOU FINE AS HELL. Hopefully yall have enough to work with to live like a local in the city, cause aint nobody got time for travel basics.

If youre game on getting yourself to London (or anywhere in the world), then CommBank can provide savings tips to get you there quicker. Head HERE to learn more.

Photo: Samuele Seguso / Getty.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

As of 10:30 Moscow time (GMT+3) 230 people, or 15 percent of voters, have cast their ballots in the referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution at the polling station in the countrys embassy in Russia, the embassy press service told Trend Sept. 26.

The 48th polling station of the 17th Yasamal constituency was established in the embassy and 1,500 Azerbaijani citizens, permanently or temporarily residing in Russia, were registered at the station.

One more polling station was opened in the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg and another one was created at the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg.

Representatives of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) are observing the voting process.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people.

Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

In accordance with Azerbaijans Constitution and the Electoral Code, polling stations were created in the countrys diplomatic missions in about 40 countries for citizens who live abroad or who are on a business trip so that they can participate in the referendum.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Asebaa
FILE -- In this In this March 12, 2016 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem sits beneath a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad as he speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria. An internationally-brokered cease-fire for Syria is still viable, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in a TV interview broadcast Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, and President Bashar AssadAos administration is prepared to take part in a unity government. The interview on Mayadeen TV came as rescue workers in Aleppo cleaned up from what they said were the worst airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the northern city in five years. (SANA via AP, File)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

Azerbaijani nationals in France are actively voting in the referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution at the polling station in the embassy in Paris, Trend learned from the embassy Sept. 26.

The citizens of Azerbaijan, permanently or temporarily residing in France, as well as the Azerbaijani students in the French universities, are casting their ballots at the polling station in the embassy.

The station has all the conditions for a transparent and free voting, the embassy noted.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people.

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

In accordance with Azerbaijans Constitution and Electoral Code, polling stations were created in the countrys diplomatic missions in about 40 countries for citizens who are abroad so that they can participate in the referendum.
With two royal families living in the same city, one very important event should be on the calendar: a playdate!

Swedens Princess Madeleine currently lives in London with her husband, British-American businessman Chris ONeill, and their two children, Princess Leonore, 2, and son Prince Nicolas, 15 months.

London, of course, is also home to another royal family of four: Prince William, Princess Kate and their little ones, Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 16 months.

With similarly-aged children, we think a royal playdate is in order!

I would love [a playdate], Princess Madeleine exclusively told PEOPLE at the World Childhood Foundation USA ThankYou Gala in New York City.

Madeleine and Kate, both 34, have more than just their royal brood in common. They both devote time and effort to important causes involving children all over the world.

Madeleine works on behalf of vulnerable children with the World Childhood Foundation. And Kate has made major efforts in erasing the stigma of childrens mental health.

And although they havent met yet, Madeleine is delighted by the idea of joining forces with Kate.

Im sure we will cross paths  and who knows what we will do when we do! she says.

 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.

With two active toddlers to chase after, the royals better wear some comfy shoes.

We try to do a lot of activities because my little Leonore, she has lots of energy, so we have to keep her stimulated and busy, Madeleine tells PEOPLE of her day-to-day routine as a busy mom of two.

Inside Swedish Princess Madeleines Life as a Normal Mom!

And Leonore has plenty of experience when it comes to playdates. The Swedish princess is just one of several young royals running around the palace.

Madelenes sister Crown Princess Victoria and her brother Prince Carl Philip both welcomed newborns earlier this year. Victorias son Prince Oscar was born in March, and Carl Philips son Prince Alexander was born in April.

Weve always been quite close  even though Ive lived abroad  but when you have kids, its an extra connection, Madeleine says of the bond she shares with her siblings.

And the little cousins, Leonore and Estelle (Victorias 4-year-old daughter), theyre very close  theyre more like sisters, she adds. Victoria and I try very hard to make it so they really can see each other and play and have fun.

Cousins are great  they are your friends, but theyre family. They can support each other.
Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince George and Princess Charlotte are in Canada  and the royal family of four have already provided us with several amazing moments since they touched down on Saturday.

1. Georges diss.

Prince George got a little shy when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeauknelt down and tried to give George a high five when he landed in Victoria, Canada, on Saturday. In a video, the little royal shakes his head as Trudeau tries high fives, low fives and a handshake to no avail.

But the toddlers royal wave is still on point. He offered a little wave to those assembled on the tarmac when the Royal Canadian Air Force jet the royal family arrived on for their tour of Canada.

Dominic Lipinski-Pool/Getty

2. Kates style.

The royal mom of two stepped off the plane looking impossibly fresh and fashionable in a royal blue Jenny Packham suit with a matching hat and Queen Elizabeth IIs diamond maple leaf brooch. She topped off her updo with a chic Sylvia Fletcher for Lock and Company hat with maple leaf details. She also slipped on her Gianvito Rossi suede pumps, which retail for $675.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Her mini-me Charlotte coordinated perfectly in a light blue dress with a matching bow in her hair.

Chris Jackson/ Getty

On Sunday, Kate stunned in a red and white Alexander McQueen dress which she paired with bright red suede heels and a matching clutch from Miu Miu.

Andrew Milligan - Pool/Getty Images

3. Charlottes tour debut

The last time the world saw Princess Charlotte was during the royal familys balcony appearance during Trooping the Colour in June. The littlest royal was all smiles in her mothers arms on Saturday in a pretty blue floral smock dress. Her light brown locks were accessorized with a sweet blue bow.

Charlotte wasnt the only stylish royal tot  big brother George and his trusty knee socks stole the show once again!

Chris Jackson/Getty

4. Prince Williams hilarious reaction to a royal poop.

Will and Kate may have had a day without their kids in Vancouver on Sunday, but they werent far from diaper duty! During a visit to Sheway Pregnancy Outreach Program, a charity aimed towards helping mothers overcome addiction, one 3-month-old baby named Hunter couldnt hold in his excitement about meeting the royal couple.

Hunter had a royal poop just as they were coming to meet us, mother Jordanna Coleman told PEOPLE.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte Receive Adorable Matching Gifts on Canada Tour

Coleman had to quickly change her son, so he was cloaked in just a diaper and a blanket to meet Kate and Will. Luckily, William was very cool about the incident.

Will was like, Oh, they always have the best timing, dont they?  she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Welcomes Prince William, Princess Kate and Kids to Canada

5. The Cambridges and the Trudeaus join forces.

International power couples unite! Will and Kate finally came face-to-face with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. Both pairs are good-looking, young, glamorous and have used their high-profile status to shine a light on the causes most important to them.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Will and Kate were greeted by the Trudeaus on the tarmac at the airport on Sunday. Kate and Sophie immediately drew comparisons for their perfectly coordinated royal-hued ensembles.

PA Images/Sipa USA

They met again on Sunday when they visited with refugees and families who were relocated through the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Once inside the Immigrant Services Society, they met with refugees and families to hear about how the center had helped them adjust to their new life in Canada.

 With reporting by TIARE DUNLAP
Princess Kate packed a few high-fashion dresses for the royal familys tour of Canada  but she also made sure to bring along her favorite well-worn boots!

During a rainy trip to the remote island of Bella Bella on Monday, Kate wore her trusty Penelope Chilvers long tassel boots in a brown shade called conker, which Kate has had in her closet for over a decade.

 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.

Handmade from Spanish leather, the $674 boots are fully lined and feature a Goodyear Welted Commando rubber sole, perfect for navigating the wind and rain on Monday. Kate also wore the boots when she went hiking on a five-hour hike in the Himalayas with Prince William in April.

IAN VOGLER / DAILY MIRROR / ZUMA

REX / SHUTTERSTOCK

She paired the boots with a Holland and Holland jacket, her go-to Zara jeans and earrings by Canadian designer Pippa Small. While indoors for the ceremony, she showed off a stylish blue sweater which she wore over a blue-and-white plaid collared shirt.

PA IMAGES / SIPA USA

DOMINIC LIPINSKI / PA WIRE

Its great to see the Duchess wearing the first boots we made for her in 2004  10 years on, Chilvers previously told PEOPLE. The boots only get better with age. She looks fabulous in them.

STEPHEN LOCK / REX USA

Will and Kate traveled without Prince George and Princess Charlotte to see the Great Bear Rainforest  the worlds largest temperate rainforest, which is home to the Kermode (Spirit) bear.

DOMINIC LIPINSKI / PA WIRE

Upon arrival, they were greeted warmly by the historic First Nations owners of the community. They were then honored by the Heiltsuk people, as Hemas  a hereditary chief  and Umaks, a woman of high rank or standing.

DOMINIC LIPINSKI / PA WIRE

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Welcomes Prince William, Princess Kate and Kids to Canada

George and Charlotte stayed behind in Victoria, where the family is based during their eight-day trip.
Rachel Brougham: This is why Halloween is the best
Details added (first version posted on 12:48)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by President of the European Academy for Elections Observation (EAEO), Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Stef Goris.

The delegation included speaker of Maltese parliament, head of the observation mission of EAEO Angelo Farrugia, as well as MPs from Malta, Serbia, Italy, France, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The president hailed the importance of the fact that Stef Goris, who represents an important organization such as the European Academy for Elections Observation, visits Azerbaijan accompanied by a large delegation to monitor the referendum.

Saying a number of observers from more than 30 countries, as well as important international organizations came to monitor the referendum, President Aliyev hailed the significance of their observing the voting.

The president said work was carried out to educate people on each issue which was put to a vote, adding that all necessary measures were taken to excellently organize the referendum.

President Aliyev said it is important that the European Academy for Elections Observation mission monitors the voting not only in Baku, but also in the regions.

President of EAEO, Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Stef Goris noted that from the early hours, members of the mission have monitored the referendum in different polling stations.

Saying they will continue their mission after the meeting, Goris noted that the organization will release a statement on the results of their observation following the final assessment at the end of the day.

Speaker of Maltese parliament, head of the observation mission of EAEO Angelo Farrugia said that they observed a peaceful and organized voting at polling stations, adding that the voters had a careful approach to every issue put to referendum.
I wanna tell you a family story that we have. My stepdad. This happened in the 1920s about. My stepdad was 6 or 7 years old and he had gone on something like a scouting trip with the... Well, anyway, it was at Lake Erie and at the time there was like a sandbar or peninsula or something that went out into Lake Eerie. It was very narrow and the tents were lined up single file and him and his best friend Tommy were in the last tent at the end of the peninsula out in Lake Erie. He was, even at the age of 80 years old, before he died, I didn't get a whole lot of details on the story because he would become very emotional but he was able to confirm to me that this is what happened. What happened is, some time during the night his friend Tommy disappeared and there was no trace found of the child. Nothing was ever heard of the child again. And the only... he said that the lake monster took Tommy. And even to the day he died he still said, the lake monster took Tommy in the night. So that's our family story and I never met anybody that was more credible than my stepdad.**********LEBANON, TN (KTRK) -- A string of frightening encounters involving children and clowns has officials warning people to be on the lookout for these characters this Halloween season.The Tennessee Highway Patrol says this October, if you see something, say something.Cameron Frails says there were at least two clowns involved in this latest in a string of bizarre incidentsTHP says watch for clowns trying to lure children in to the woods. They are possibly predators.Clown sightings have been recorded through late summer in South Carolina, southern Kentucky, Tennessee and a few other states.A teenager in Coffee County, Tennessee claimed to be attacked by a clown in recent days while other children reported clowns trying to lure them into the woods across the southern United States.At a local shop in Lebanon, clown costumes remain a best seller for this year's Halloween season. - Clown Warnings Issued Ahead of Halloween **********Customs officials at an Austrian airport have stopped a female traveller carrying two containers of entrails into the country, believed to belong to her late husband.The packages belonged to a Moroccan national who suspected her husband had been poisoned.He died during an operation in Morocco, according to the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.The woman was travelling through Graz airport in the south of Austria but was reportedly stopped by officials after they observed her behaving suspiciously.When speaking with the officials, the woman said she wanted to have tests carried out on the remains in order to investigate her suspicions around her husbands death.However, a doctor summoned to the scene said a proper investigation could not be carried out without the full cadaver.Austrias finance ministry, which is responsible for all customs issues, confirmed the unusual find. - Woman stopped at Austrian airport with bag containing her husbands entrails **********- several of the authors (Tim Beckley, Claudia Cunningham and Butch Witkowski) will be joining us on Arcane Radio - October 5th.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

The referendum process in Azerbaijan is being held in a transparent manner, Craig Kelly, an Australian federal politician, a member of the Australian House of Representatives, a member of the observation mission of the Parliament of Australia told Trend Set. 26.

The missions observers once again became witnesses of the fact that the referendum process in Azerbaijan is held transparently, Kelly said.

He noted that transparency and control of the referendum process in Azerbaijan is even higher than in Australia, adding that for example, in Australia, nobody asks to show IDs before voting.

Further talking about Azerbaijan, Kelly mentioned a special spray that is applied to a persons thumb and which eliminates the possibility of multiple voting. He said that he several times tried to wash off the traces of this spray on purpose, but each time the check showed that some traces of it were left.

This once again makes it possible for a person to be sure that the referendum process is being held in an open and transparent manner, said Kelly.

He added that the observer mission from Australia visited about ten polling stations in Baku and Absheron Peninsula.

There are no queues in Azerbaijan in front of polling stations as in Australia, but people dont cease to come, and the ballot boxes are being filled, said the member of the observation mission.

Kelly added that he was glad a lot of women are taking part in the referendum.

He said that the mission will continue its work during the day.

Kelly noted that he and his mission will visit several polling stations during the day and then at night will observe the counting of votes.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).



The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

People at the polling stations are quite active and they are also aware about what they are voting for, Ramona Manescu, member of the European Parliament from Romania, representative of the European Peoples Party, told Trend Sept.26.

We participated yesterday in the discussions and we have seen the preparation for the referendum. We have visited the polling stations just to see if they have already prepared, said Manescu, adding that they have also met the board of the electoral commission.

She pointed out that all the procedures in preparations for the referendum meet the international standards.

I think everything will go smoothly, Manescu added.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).

The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

As many as 117 international observers  MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.

The total number of the observers is around 53,000.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

As of 15:00 Moscow time (GMT +3) 879 people, or 56 percent of voters, cast their ballots in the referendum to amend Azerbaijans Constitution at the polling station in Azerbaijans embassy in Moscow, Russia, the embassy told Trend Sept. 26.

The polling station #48 of the Yasamal constituency #17 was established in the embassy and 1,500 Azerbaijani citizens, permanently or temporarily residing in Russia, were registered there.

One more polling station was opened in the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg and another one was created at the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg.

Representatives of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) are observing the voting process.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).



The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

In accordance with Azerbaijans Constitution and Electoral Code, polling stations were created in the countrys diplomatic missions in about 40 countries for the Azerbaijani citizens abroad to be able to participate in the referendum.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Asebaa
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

The referendum is a kind of vote of confidence in the Azerbaijani president, in the independent Azerbaijan, in its independent domestic and foreign policy, Ilyas Umakhanov, deputy chairman of the Council of the Federation of Russias Federal Assembly, head of the observation mission of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, told reporters Sept. 26 in Baku.

Umakhanov said that the representatives of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly have visited 60 polling stations.

I want to note with satisfaction that there is a high activity of citizens both in Baku and in the whole country, he added.

Queues lined up in front of polling stations before the opening of district election commissions, in other words at 07:45 (GMT+4) people already came to the places of vote, added Umakhanov.

One the one hand, it shows the political maturity of the Azerbaijani society, its commitment and understanding of the importance of the issues included in the agenda of the referendum, he said.

On the other hand, of course, we all understand this very well, and such an understanding is also shared by other observers, including observers from the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries (TURKPA), that it is a kind of confidence vote to the Azerbaijani president, to the autonomous and independent Azerbaijan, added Umakhanov.

The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and will wrap up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT +4).



The number of voters in Azerbaijan stands at 5,267,111 people, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum.



The total number of the observers is around 53,000.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution on Sept. 26.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Detectives Scott Bramhall and Micah Wilson of the Puyallup (WA) Police Department (Photo: NLEOMF)

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has selected Detectives Scott Bramhall and Micah Wilson, of the Puyallup (WA) Police Department, as the recipients of its Officer of the Month Award for September 2016.

On the afternoon of August 11, 2015, the Puyallup (WA) Police Department received multiple 911 calls about a man walking around a neighborhood on the west side of the city randomly shooting at residents and their children with a handgun. The suspect had just attempted to steal a vehicle and killed its owner, a well-known Puyallup resident, in the process.

When confronted, the suspect began shooting at the police, striking a patrol vehicle. He then hijacked an SUV and led officers on a high-speed chase through the city, continuing to shoot as he drove. The suspect crashed the vehicle into multiple cars near the Washington State Fairgrounds and encountered then-Officer Micah Wilson in his marked vehicle. Trying to escape from Officer Wilson, the suspect shot at the officer and attempted to steal another vehicle before fleeing on foot.

"When I come around the corner, someone broadcasts that it's a newer SUV," Officer Wilson said. "Simultaneously, as I'm coming around the corner, I'm looking at a newer white SUV that's stopped in the middle of the road at a funny angle with the window down. Our bad guy is behind the wheel, and I see the gun come up and he opens fire."

Detective Scott Bramhall, a plain clothes fraud officer, approached the area of the vehicle crash in his unmarked car and observed the suspect shooting at bystanders. Detective Bramhall was able to fire two shots from his sidearm from over 80 yards away, striking the suspect once. The suspect was still armed and attempted to stumble away.

"The offender stepped out in front of a citizen's car and I had a clear line of shot, so I fired at him and missed," said Detective Bramhall. "And he turned and was [treading] away from me and I took another sight-picture on him and I was able to bring him down with the second shot."

Recognizing that the suspect still posed a threat, Officer Wilson drove his front tire over the suspect, pinning him to the ground. The action effectively separated the suspect from his weapon and allowed officers to safely take him into custody.

Detectives Bramhall and Wilson were awarded the Washington State Law Enforcement Medal of Honor for their actions that day. Detective Bramhall has since retired from the force.

"By definition, [Detectives Micah Wilson and Scott Bramhall] went above and beyond putting themselves in harm's way," said Puyallup Police Chief Bryan Jeter. "Micah, I think was shot at five or six times and continued to pursue him, and same with Detective Bramhall. He's a detective, so he's in plain clothes, so he didn't have time to throw on his vest and put himself in harm's way, knowing this guy has shot somebody else already and had shot at least four police officers that we know of, and other citizens."

"Detectives Bramhall and Wilson showed exemplary service to their community by stopping a gunman who was aiming to hurt innocent people," Memorial Fund President and CEO Craig W. Floyd said. "Putting themselves in danger for the sake of the safety of others shows why they deserve all of the honors bestowed upon them, including our September 2016 Officer of the Month Award."

Located in the nation's capital, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of America's law enforcement officers. The Memorial Fund's Officer of the Month Award Program began in 1996 and recognizes federal, state, and local officers who distinguish themselves through exemplary law enforcement service and devotion to duty.

Detectives Scott Bramhall and Micah Wilson, along with the other Officer of the Month Award recipients for 2016, will be honored during National Police Week at a special awards ceremony in Washington, DC, in May 2017.

For more information, visit www.nleomf.org.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

One of the greatest problems with ignorance in America is that far too many Americans lack even rudimentary comprehension of the U.S. Constitution with specific emphasis on the Bill of Rights. Its little surprise that most ignorant Americans are rushing to support Donald Trump who is as deficient in the fundamentals of the Constitution as his racist acolytes or he would hesitate proposing national policies that violate the law of the land. The truth is that Trump likely understands the rudiments of the Constitution, but as an aspiring dictator, the Constitution and Bill of Rights run counter to his plan to impose East German Stasi or Gestapo police state tactics on Americans who are not Aryan Christians.

To get an idea of just how clueless Trump is about the Constitution, or the state of society where African Americans are being targeted for death by rogue police, he proffered a proposal that is patently unconstitutional and was already struck down by a federal court. Trump thinks imposing stop and frisk nationwide is what the nation needs under his leadership, and in light of the recent racially-motivated killings by police officers it appears that Trump has designs on increasing the frequency of death by cop.

First, according to the Fourth Amendment, there is no legality in targeting any American for detainment or illegal searches without probable cause. The Amendment states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The fundamental flaw in any stop and frisk action is that it violates the fundamental right of the American people to be free of being stopped and searched without probable cause. It is particularly so since about 85 percent of stop and frisk victims in New York where it was struck down in federal court were African Americans and Hispanics. To further demonstrate that Trumps plan is not about combating crime but waging war on minorities is that stop and frisk has been shown that it does not work to reduce crime or take guns off the street. It did, however, create greater mistrust and animosity for police tasked with being American Stasi.

A national stop and frisk proposed by a racist bigot like Trump would also target suspected adherents of the Muslim faith based on his past statements calling on Americans to spy on their neighbors and turn them in to law enforcement  another Stasi tactic. And, to punctuate that point a few months ago Trump actually said that Americans who refuse to report what they think might be their neighbors involvement is suspicious activity, like a woman wearing a hajib or families attending a mosque instead of a church, should face justice.

There is little doubt that Trump is devoid of awareness there is already targeting of people of color by law enforcement and it is curious that he would propose a national stop and frisk policy when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just handed down a ruling suggesting that African American males are justified in running when approached by law enforcement officers due to being racially profiled.

The Massachusetts Court ruled that African American men in Boston who avoid run-ins with police officers may be justifiably motivated by a desire to avoid the recurring indignity of being racially profiled, (or shot and killed) and that fleeing from the cops should not be automatically interpreted as evidence of criminal activity. The court said:

We do not eliminate flight as a factor in the reasonable suspicion analysis whenever a black male is the subject of an investigatory stop. However, in such circumstances, flight is not necessarily probative of a suspects state of mind or consciousness of guilt. Rather, the finding that black males in Boston are disproportionately and repeatedly targeted for FIO [Field Interrogation and Observation] encounters suggests a reason for flight totally unrelated to consciousness of guilt.

Such an individual, when approached by the police, might just as easily be motivated by the desire to avoid the recurring indignity of being racially profiled as by the desire to hide criminal activity. Given this reality for black males in the city of Boston, a judge should, in appropriate cases, consider the reports findings in weighing flight as a factor in the reasonable suspicion calculus. (author bold)

Of course, a Massachusetts court can only comment or rule on the targeting of African Americans in Massachusetts, but the recurring racial profiling is, and has been, an ongoing nationwide atrocity long before Donald Trump took over the Republican Party. The courts statement is contrary to Trumps Stasi-Gestapo idea of implementing stop and frisk nationally.

The Massachusetts court even referred to aspects of the Fourth Amendment that Trumps plan would violate on principle; none the least which is illegal searching or detaining any American without probable cause or a warrant. And no, being an African American male, a Hispanic American, or an American suspected of being a Muslim is not probable cause to violate the Constitution.

Donald Trump claims all of his proposals are intended to make America great again but there is nothing whatsoever American or great about systematically targeting specific demographics for law enforcement intrusion into their lives. What Trump is proposing is making America like 1930s Nazi Germany, 1950s East German Stasi and the current state of affairs in Vladimir Putins Russia. And, if any American believes for a minute that a stop and frisk imposition would end with people of color or people worshipping in the wrong faith, they are deluded.

There is no group in America that will be safe from a tyrant like Trump because if he is willingly proposing abolishing the 4th Amendment, there is nothing to stop him from attempting to abolish the rest of the Constitutions Amendments. If gun zealots believe he wont attempt to confiscate their firearms to advance his tyrannical policies unchallenged, they failed to pay attention in history class or how tyranny emerged in ISIS-controlled Iraq, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, or Putin-controlled Russia.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

Heading into the final stretch of this long tiring campaign and the first presidential debate, it is refreshing to see a few outlets beginning to call out Donald Trumps pathological lying. And yes, when a person cannot go three minutes and 15 seconds without lying, their mendacity is pathological. First it was the New York Times stating that going forward, the paper would call out Trumps lies when it was warranted, and then Newsweek all but accused the scam artist and big-time wrestling celebrity of committing perjury and spent a few hundred words accusing him of serial lying; either to a court and-or to Republican voters and the American people.

One of the pesky issues following Trump is his abject refusal to release his tax returns to give American voters a little insight into the kind of person that claims to be, all at once, the epitome of genius, a successful self-made billionaire, a military mastermind, an economic god, and the most religious man in America.

Of course everything Trump says if false, including why he cant release his tax returns, but if debate moderators are half-way competent and Hillary Clinton really wants to put Trumps feet to the fire, they will corner him on why he refuses to do what every presidential candidate since Nixon has done and give the people a glimpse into his finances; something Trump refuses to consider.

As a former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner and current practicing tax lawyer, Fred Goldberg said he comprehends why it may be inconvenient for Trump to release his tax returns. But we all know  and the IRS has confirmed  that nothing prevents any of us from releasing our tax returns any time we want. As an aside, Mr. Goldberg is a lifelong Republican who is supporting and voting for Hillary Clinton.

Despite the mountain of lies issuing forth from Trumps lips, both the current and a former IRS commissioner have stated categorically that nothing whatsoever prevents any American taxpayer from either choosing to release, or conceal, their tax returns. Former commissioner, Reagan-appointee, and George H.W. Bush assistance Treasury Secretary Goldberg rightly noted:

Those who aspire for the highest public office have done so for decades, and they do so precisely because their returns provide a window (for better and worse) into who they are. Goldberg noted that Hillary Clinton released her familys tax records showing what they make, what tax rate they pay (34%), and how much they contribute to charity. He also said that Trump could satisfy those meager requirements by releasing the first two pages of his returns and Schedule A (personal itemized deductions), but he refuses to release anything and devises new and easily refutable lies for why.

As a man suffering a severe pathological inclination to lie every three minutes, the voters are entitled to view this window into the corrupt confidence man who aspires to lead this country.

Mr. Goldberg made a very astute observation that, to anyone listening carefully to Mr. Trump, it is obvious that there is something nasty in his returns he doesnt want revealed; he has promised that he will never release even a page of his returns. Even Willard Mitt Romney gets it that for Trump to reject calls to release his returns so vehemently, there must be a bombshell the scam artist doesnt want revealed to the public and why he keeps fabricating new lies about why it is never going to happen.

First Trump pledged to release his returns if he won the nomination. Then he promised to release his returns when the IRS current audit ends; he still lies and says he is prevented by the IRS from releasing anything while under audit. This is all while claiming that he is, has been, and always will be under continuous audit by the IRS because Obama. Then he played the persecuted Christian card and claimed he was in perpetual audit because of his deep-seated religiosity. Finally, he told another easily debunked lie that he can hardly release any current or years-past return, including alleged audited returns now closed, because doing so would adversely impact any current and future IRS examinations. As Mr. Goldberg noted, through his myriad lies, Trump telegraphed that he will never release his tax returns under the phony conditions he claims prevent him from doing so.

Every reason Trump has proffered thus far for why it is impossible to release his returns is a bald-faced lie according to current IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. As far back as April Mr. Koskinen began answering ongoing media queries about Trumps refusal to release his tax returns and elucidated why Donald Trump is a liar.

Koskinen first explained that the only reason the IRS ever audits a taxpayer, including alleged religious billionaire taxpayers, is when something pops up in your tax returns they find suspicious. Its basically all about the numbers. Mr. Koskinen also bristled at the idea that either Party or religious affiliation is part of any IRS audit red flag. The IRS Commissioner said,

We dont care who you are. Whether you go to church, or dont go to church. Koskinen reiterated that audits only occur if there is something suspicious in a return and no other reason. Of course Trump is not remotely religious. No serial liar, thrice-divorced misogynist, three-time accused rapist, or corrupt politician can claim to be religious. But he does pander to evangelical extremists who love the idea of a beleaguered Christian martyr standing strong against the IRS.

Mr. Koskinen was also happy to address Trumps claim that it is an IRS prohibition for a taxpayer to release his or her tax return while an audit is ongoing. He explained,

The taxpayer controls his returns. Theres nothing in an IRS audit process that would keep you from sharing that information, any way you wanted to.

He also addressed Trumps lie that he has been audited every year during the time President Obama has been in the Oval Office. He stated twice that it would be rare for someone to be audited every year, and that a taxpayer would not have to undergo another audit for a few years, two or three at least, after an IRS audit the previous year. As a seasonal tax professional over the past twenty-plus years, one can attest to the veracity of Mr. Koskinens portrayal of the IRS audit system.

It is difficult to imagine that there is not something devastating to Donald Trump in his tax returns or he would have released them instead of fabricating new unbelievable lies about why he cant do what every other presidential candidate does as a matter of course. It is true that pressing him during the debate is not going to incite him to be honest and give the voters a view of how he cheats to make his millions, but it will put his filthy lies to rest armed with IRS commissioners statements debunking those flimsy excuses.

Americans deserve to know, at the least, how much Trump earns, how much he contributes to charity, and what tax rate he pays. They also deserve to know just how much of his income is derived from his Russian oligarch pals and how many millions he has fleeced from the government and his many, many financially-ruined business partners, subcontractors, and material suppliers. Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of not being transparent regularly, but if he is unwilling to release his tax returns like every other presidential candidate, hes not only not being transparent; he is hiding something devastating and lying profusely to cover his corruption.
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CNNs Brian Stelter, who is big on facts, and was even called an idiot pipsqueak by Sean Hannity for fact-checking Hannitys hero, serial liar Donald Trump, was told by Debate commission chief: Candidates should fact-check each other.

This comes not only at a time when Americas newspapers have made the unprecedented announcement that a candidate, Donald Trump, is a liar, but it would result in two candidates expending 90 minutes of their time and ours, calling each other liar and advancing political discourse not one whit. It is a recipe for chaos. It is a recipe for disaster.

The executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, Janet Brown, appeared with Brian Stelter on CNNs Reliable Sources and was asked by Stelter if moderators should fact-check candidates. Her less than satisfactory response was,

I think personally, if you start getting into fact-checking: what is a big fact, what is a little fact?



And if you and I have different sources of information  does your source about the unemployment rate agree with my source?



I dont think its a good idea to get the moderator into essentially serving as the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The director of the #Debate commission is wary of moderator fact-checking  here's why https://t.co/eLNhxKXo53  Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) September 25, 2016

The Poynter Institute, which hosts The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), correctly called this an unfortunate argument.

Brian Fallon, Press Secretary for Hillary for America, told Stelter that if the moderator closes their ears to Trumps lies, it will extend an unfair bias to Trump,  who lies on an average of every three minutes. To put things in perspective, when Trump spoke for 35 minutes Sunday and told seven lies, he was telling fewer lies than he usually does.

If the moderator "closes their ears to Trump's lies, it will extend an unfair bias to Trump" @BrianEFallon https://t.co/ubRn4EnT0Q  Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) September 25, 2016

Ann Compton, former White House correspondent for ABC News, told Stelter on the program, We hate to leave absolute errors of fact on the table There has to be some kind of check.

Why are checks so critical to this debate? In March, The Huffington Post reported that they,

[A]ssigned five and a half reporters to look into a roughly 12,000-word transcript of Trumps town hall event on CNN the night before. It took us hours, but in all, we found 71 separate instances in which Trump made a claim that was inaccurate, misleading or deeply questionable. Thats basically one falsehood every 169 words (counting the words uttered by moderator Anderson Cooper), or 1.16 falsehoods every minute (the town hall lasted an hour, including commercial breaks).

Donald Trump lies like other people breathe, and he is more than willing to cover himself by pretending he doesnt remember even while bragging about his great memory. He simply cannot open his mouth without spouting falsehoods, and he spews them faster than most of us can fact-check.

Kellyanne Conway pretends the Trump campaign wants to give voters the conversation they expect, when what she really wants to present them with is an unchallenged lie-fest by her historically dishonest candidate.

As HuffPo showed, Trump lied 71 times in one hour. The debate is 90 minutes. One certainty is that tonight, Donald Trump will lie. He will lie a lot. The Los Angeles Times said this weekend that the Scope of Trumps falsehoods unprecedented for a modern presidential candidate.

As Newsweeks Kurt Eichenwald, fresh from demonstrating that Trump either lied under oath or lied to his own followers, cautioned Sunday night,  reality is, if ur informed  with REAL info, not bias confirmation  u know more than the reporters. Dont fall 4 expectations game.

Confirmation bias if basically hearing what you want to hear, interpreting new evidence as confirming what you already believe to be true.

The facts are out there; they are readily available; and there is no excuse for any viewer with access to the internet to remain uninformed.

This does not excuse the abrogation of responsibility by Janet Brown, which ensures a lot of people, instead of hearing the facts and becoming informed, possibly for the first time, are going to have the opportunity tonight to have their biases confirmed instead.
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More than four years of conflict between Rochester City Lines and the city of Rochester over local bus service moved into a new courtroom on Friday.

Rochester City Lines, which ran local bus service from 1966 until 2012, has filed documents with the Minnesota Court of Appeals in hopes it will overturn the city's dismissal of the company's protest of the process to choose a bus service provider starting in 2017.

City Lines originally came into conflict with the city over the Request for Proposal process that resulted in First Transit winning the service contract in 2012. That case eventually reached the Minnesota Supreme Court, which ruled in 2015 that a trial should be held to resolve the company's complaint of arbitrary and unfair action by the city. That trial is pending.

Meanwhile, the city began a new process in June to choose a bus service provider for the next contract period. First Transit's five-year contract expires at the end of the year. First Transit, City Lines and two other companies have filed for the contract.

City Lines filed a protest of the Request for Proposal process, which it still characterizes as unfair. Justin Templin, the Eden Prairie attorney hired by the city to manage the process, dismissed the protest in August. City Lines has asked the appeals court to rule on the validity of that action.

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"They are repeating some of the very things that the Minnesota Supreme Court pointed out could be questionable," said General Manager Dan Holter. "We're not trying to be a road block. We're just trying to get fairness."

The city was notified of the appeal Friday and has 30 days to prepare a response. That means the decision for the 2017 bus contract will be made before the appeals court will rule on the case. Templin says interviews for the contract will be held in October and a decision will be made on Oct. 17. He said City Lines' legal actions will not affect its status in the competition

"We have a very specific scoring system. It is not subjective," Templin said. "It's math."
Nicki Novotne

Art on the Go

Describe your business?

I am a traveling art studio that turns your home or business into a mini art studio. I teach group classes of painting on canvas using acrylic paint and also wine-bottle crafting.

What drove you to launch Art on the Go?

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I've always enjoyed art, but never knew what to do with it. A friend asked me to come to her house to teach her to paint, as I had previously taught painting classes in Rochester. A week later, she tells me she has a group of seven ladies that want to come, too. She also mentioned those seven ladies wanted me to go to their houses for a party, too.

So I bought more art supplies and started Art on the Go. I thought I would just be painting for friends and family, but it spread like wildfire through social media.

How many hours do you typically work in a week?

I would say I'm always working, but realistically, some days I work 14-hour days, and others I work just a couple hours. My hours vary from week to week. On average, I'd say I work about five to eight hours per day, about 35 to 50 hours per week, including nights and weekends.

How many employees?

I do not permanently employ anyone  I am a one-person show. However, as I expand, I anticipate this changing.

When did you start your business?

Feb 27, 2014.

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If you left another job to start this business, what was it?

I worked at a local broadcast station for five years in a department called Creative Services. That particular department wrote, filmed, edited and produced commercials.

Do you work elsewhere in addition to the time you put in at your business?

I actually started my business during the last year of my employment at the local broadcast station, where I was already working full time. I did both for as long as I could, but eventually I was running on empty. I had to make a decision as to whether to pursue being a business owner or to stay at my full-time job. I know I made the right choice!

What sacrifices did you make to launch this business?

I gave up a steady paycheck every week for the unknown. I also changed my relationship status to make more time for the business. I took away my safety net of having that steady paycheck and changed my living arrangement. I'm pleased to say I'm making it work.

What is the best thing about owning a business?

The flexibility in hours, the ability to be creative and spending more time with my family.

ADVERTISEMENT

What is the hardest thing about owning a business?

Being responsible for doing everything right and convincing people to give it a try. Once people try it, they seem to truly enjoy themselves and have a new sense of confidence.

What's your hope for your business in the next year?

I plan to grow the business and hire staff to help with some upcoming painting classes this winter. I also have other plans that I will reveal at a later date when they are more solidified. I can't give away all my secrets!

What inspires you to keep doing it?

Every painting class I teach inspires me to keep going. From the beginning of class, when I hear 'I don't have any artistic ability, and mine will look nothing like that.' To the end of the class when I hear the same person say, 'Wow, I surprised myself. I can't wait to do it again.' The best feeling is when they tell me they had a great time painting and can't wait to do another one.

I enjoy the freedom my business allows me to have, to be myself (purple hair and all). I'm making my own dreams come true. Art and people are my passions and I feel I have finally found my calling. I don't have bad days at work. I don't get out of bed and say, 'Ugh, I don't want to work today.' I truly love what I do, so much to the point that it doesn't even feel like a 'job' or 'work.' It feels like it's what I have always needed and wanted. It makes me appreciate and be thankful for every day.

How can you be reached?

507-244-1942 or artonthegoroch@gmail.com.
Sticking around in New York following his address to the UN General Assembly last week, Benjamin Netanyahu called on both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton yesterday. We received the Trump campaigns summary (readout) of the meeting. I was interested in it and thought some other readers might find it of interest:

Donald J. Trump met privately today with Prime Minister Netanyahu for over an hour at Mr. Trumps residence in Trump Tower. The two have known each other for many years and had the opportunity to discuss many topics important to both countries.

Mr. Trump and the Prime Minister discussed the special relationship between America and Israel and the unbreakable bond between the two countries. The topics of military assistance, security and regional stability were addressed. Mr. Trump agreed that the military assistance provided to Israel and missile defense cooperation with Israel are an excellent investment for America. Mr. Trump said that under a Trump administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Trump recognized Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism.

They discussed at length the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against ISIS and many other regional security concerns.

Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed at length Israels successful experience with a security fence that helped secure its borders. They discussed Israels burgeoning hi-tech and biotech economy and how it has made stunning advances improving and saving lives around the world. In particular, Mr. Trump noted Israels emergence as a world leader in cyber defense and security and its cooperation with the United States in this regard.

Mr. Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State.

Finally, Mr. Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.

The meeting concluded with both leaders promising the highest level of mutual support and cooperation should Mr. Trump have the honor and privilege of being elected President of the United States.
In advance of Monday nights debate, Hillary Clintons cheerleaders in the media have been encouraging moderator Lester Holt to contradict, during the debate, candidates whose assertions of fact they disagree with. Glenn Kessler, the liberal fact-checker for the Washington Post, even compiled a list of assertions he says dont withstand fact-checking, the vast majority of which are by Donald Trump. He urges the moderator to clip and save.

It is wholly inappropriate for a moderator to argue with a candidate about facts, and Kesslers piece illustrates one of the main reasons why. In his list of allegedly false facts articulated by Trump, Kessler includes this one:

The rise of ISIS is the direct result of policy decisions made by Obama and Clinton.

This is false, Kessler declares:

The Islamic terrorist group emerged as a direct result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Thus, Kessler, who, wants moderators to use his list, is encouraging Lester Holt to debate Donald Trump about what caused the rise of ISIS  the policies of Obama and Clinton or the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Any fair-minded person will realize that this is not a moderators proper role.

Moreover, Kessler, the fact-checker, doesnt seem even to understand the difference between a factual question, a matter of opinion, and a mixed question of fact and opinion.

Statements about causation  e.g., what policy produced what result  tend not to be pure questions of fact. Complex phenomena usually have multiple causes and/or things that plausibly can said to be a cause. What politicians and their friends in the media (and litigators) call the cause (or the direct result, to use Kesslers phrase) inevitably will be whatever is in their interest (or the interest of their client) to blame.

As a liberal, Kessler wants to blame the invasion of Iraq for the rise of ISIS. As an opponent of Clinton, Trump wants to blame Obama administration policy. Neither is lying or inventing facts. They are using selective facts to support opinions that serve their interest. At worst, they are spinning.

Keep in mind, too, that assigning a causal relationship between a policy and a result usually requires speculation about what would have occurred absent the policy. Such speculation is more a matter of opinion than of fact.

Would ISIS not have emerged in the absence of the U.S. invasion of Iraq many years earlier? I dont know, and neither does Kessler. But, as a partisan liberal, its in his interest to advance the claim that, but for our invasion of Iraq, there would be no ISIS, and that therefore its emergence is the direct result of the invasion.

Thats Kesslers right. But he shouldnt be asking the moderator of a presidential debate to advance this partisan position on Monday night.

Even if Kesslers speculation about the effect of the Iraq invasion is correct, moreover, it is still not inconsistent with assigning responsibility for the rise of ISIS to Obama and Clinton. Whatever is true of the Iraq war, it may well be that ISIS would not have emerged as we know it  i.e., would not have risen to the point of being a serious menace  but for the policies of Obama and Clinton.

In other words, its possible that the rise of ISIS depended on both the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent policies of the Obama administration in Iraq (where we removed our troops) and Syria (where we were, in the view of many, too passive). Kessler appears to dismiss this possibility, as one would expect a partisan to do.

There are other reasons why moderators should not purport to fact check assertions made by candidates while the debate is in progress. Obviously, it allows the moderators bias to enter the proceedings, as Kesslers claims about the rise of ISIS demonstrate.

But even in the absence of bias, moderator fact-checking is a recipe for mischief. The moderator, however he may view himself, is not omniscient. Rather, he knows only some facts.

Lets say Candidate A asserts a false fact, the moderator knows the fact to be false, and he corrects Candidate A, thereby making him look bad. Now, lets say Candidate B asserts a false fact, the moderator doesnt know the fact to be false, and therefore doesnt correct the candidate.

Candidate B has received an obvious and undeserved boost from the moderator. It should be the goal of the moderator to boost neither candidate.

My final point is that contemporaneous fact-checking by the moderator isnt necessary. If a candidate misstates an important fact during the debate, the other candidate will probably call him or her on it. If a particular voter finds the dispute important, he or she will likely find out which candidate was right. An army of fact-checkers is available to assist the voter in this endeavor.

Even if the candidate who misstates a fact isnt corrected by his or her opponent, the same army of fact-checkers will have its say once the debate is over. Voters who consider fact-checking valuable and reliable will consult the fact-checkers.

Unfortunately, the fact-checking army consists mostly of liberal partisans like Glenn Kessler. Even so, the post debate fact-checking likely will be more reliable and comprehensive than in-debate fact-checking performed by a moderator who has no time to check his own view of the facts and is busy enough trying to moderate the debate.

Despite the mischief associated with in-debate fact-checking by a moderator, I expect well see some of it on Monday. Indeed, I expect well see some of it because of the mischief it can cause.
Tehran, Iran, September 26

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iranian-Canadian professor Homa Hoodfar who was under arrest in Iran has been freed, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Baharm Qassemi announced.

The retired professor was freed for humanitarian reasons such as [concern for] her illness, he said, ISNA reported September 26.

The spokesman added that Hoodfar has returned to Canada via Oman.

Hoodfar is a sociocultural anthropologist and professor emeritus of anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal.

While she is most widely known for her work on Western perceptions of the veil or hijab in its varied forms, meanings, and historical uses, much of her work has focused on women's roles in public life in Muslim societies.

Hoodfar was arrested in Iran in early June. Websites close to the Iranian government stated that she had met charges of collaboration on soft revolution plans designed by foreign governments.
Tomorrow night is, of course, the long-awaited first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Some are saying it will be the most-watched debate in presidential history, with 100 million or more tuning in, and it could have a decisive impact on this years election. One fun way to follow the proceedings in the company of hundreds (maybe thousands) of your fellow conservatives will be to log into Power Line Live. You can comment on the action as you see what others are saying. No doubt some of the Power Line crew will be hanging out there.

I will be doing something a little different, however. The Young Leadership Council, an arm of my think tank, Center of the American Experiment, will be holding a debate watching party at the Pourhouse, a downtown Minneapolis bar. Not only will I attend the YLC party, I will attempt to live-stream the debate, the party and my commentary (along with occasional guests) to Power Line, via YouTube. If it worksand Joe Malchow assures me that it will!you will be able to tune into the live stream by clicking on a post here on Power Line.

The YLC crowd, while generally respectable, might be a little rowdy for this event. I am told we will be in a section of the Pourhouse called the Hooch. If you live in or near the Twin Cities, you are invited. Who knows, if it all works you may be live streamed onto the PL site.

Here is the invitation to the YLC event if you can make it. It costs just $15 and includes appetizers and a drink. (Depending on how the debate goes, you may want several.)

And this is what the Pourhouse looks like when it isnt hosting presidential debate parties:

One way or another, we hope you will tune in to Power Line as you follow the proceedings on Monday.
In writing about the pathetic efforts of John Kerry to arrange a cease fire in Syria, Ive referred to the Secretary of State as the village idiot. But what about President Obama?

Though his intellect may be overrated, hes anything but an idiot. Obama is, instead, a clever operator who often thinks several moves ahead of his domestic, though not his foreign, adversaries.

Why, then, has U.S. policy paved the way for Assads revival, Iranian and Russian success in Syria, and the massacre of up to half a million Syrians?

Ive come to believe that the answer lies in the Iran nuclear deal. I base this view in part on the great reporting of Jay Solomon for the Wall Street Journal.

For example, Solomon revealed that in 2013, Iran told Obama that if he were to strike the regime of Bashar Assad following the latters chemical-weapons attack, the Iranians would end the talks over their nuclear program. Obama duly canceled the strike and later reassured Iran that the United States would not touch Assad.

In my view, Obamas priority from Day One has been to negotiate a nuclear deal with the mullahs and use the deal as a springboard to a kind of alliance with the their regime under which Iran would stabilize the region and the U.S. would basically exit. This desire best explains why Obamas Syria policy serves Irans interests.

My view finds powerful support in a piece in Tablet by Tony Badran of the Federation for Defense of Democracies. Having read Badrans piece, it seems to me that the pro-Iran tilt manifested in Obamas Syria policy is even more pronounced than I had suspected.

Badran states his thesis this way:

Americas settled policy of standing by while half a million Syrians have been killed, millions have become refugees, and large swaths of their country have been reduced to rubble is not a simple mistake, as critics like Nicholas D. Kristof and Roger Cohen have lately claimed. Nor is it the product of any deeper-seated American impotence or of Vladimir Putins more recent aggressions. Rather, it is a byproduct of Americas overriding desire to clinch a nuclear deal with Iran, which was meant to allow America to permanently remove itself from a war footing with that country and to shed its old allies and entanglements in the Middle East, which might also draw us into war. By allowing Iran and its allies to kill Syrians with impunity, America could demonstrate the corresponding firmness of its resolve to let Iran protect what President Barack Obama called its equities in Syria, which are every bit as important to Iran as pallets of cash.

Obamas intentions should have been evident from the beginning. After all, as Badran points out, if Obama purposefully took the Iranian regimes side during the 2009 protests so as not to upset the prospect of rapprochement, he similarly wasnt about to commit the United States against Irans longest-standing strategic ally, Assad.

But Obama did a great job of masking his pro-Assad tilt and confusing none-too-bright media. Badran writes:

[B]y 2012, criticism of the administrations policy had grown more vocal, and calls rose to give military support to the Syrian opposition, a proposition the president was always opposed to. As this was a fixed position for Obama, the task before the White House was, therefore, one of public relationsto quiet the calls for supporting the opposition, outside and also within the administration, without doing anything that would actually upset Assad and his patrons in Iran. Messaging, as always, was of paramount importance to the White House. As the Wall Street Journal reported in early 2013, White House national security meetings on Syria [in 2012] focused on what participants called strategic messaging, how administration policy should be presented to the public. To that end, the administration started putting out targeted talking points. The administration laid down its now-infamous mantra: There is no military solution in Syria.

Unfortunately, Assad, Iran, and Russia did not share this view  as Obama knew. Thanks to U.S. policy, Assad, Iran, and Russia appear to be right.

Not content with the no military solution mantra, Obama added argument that he wanted to avoid further militarization of the situation in Syria. Thus Jay Carney stated:

We do not believe that militarization, further militarization of the situation in Syria at this point is the right course of action. We believe that it would lead to greater chaos, greater carnage.

In light of subsequent developments, this statement is obscene, but it was always ridiculous. A no-fly zone would have prevented much of the carnage  and presumably virtually all of carnage rained down from the air  that has occurred since Carney spoke this rubbish several years ago.

But a no-fly zone would have thwarted Irans ambitions. Thus, argues Bedran, it was always a non-starter for Obama.

Russias presence in the air over Syria provided Obama with an excuse for rejecting a no-fly zone. But, as Badran says, the administration had firmly rejected such action for years before the Russians were anywhere near Syria.

It seems likely that Obama welcomed Russias direct intervention since (1) it served Irans interests and (2) made it much easier for Obama to defend not taking military action. Indeed, Obama sees Russia as a partner in Syria. According to Bedran, partnership with Russia is what the White House has sought after since late 2015 and throughout 2016 with [Robert] Malley as the point man, negotiating directly with the Kremlins special envoy. Malley, by the way, is virulently anti-Israel.

The cynicism of Obamas pronouncements on Syria  his strip tease as Badran calls it  is encapsulated by what he and his team have said about Russian intervention in Syria. Initially, the administrations line was that Russia had made a tragic mistake by becoming involved in a quagmire (never mind that, as we pointed out at the time, its military involvement was limited almost entirely to air strikes). Now, Team Obama argues that Russia holds all the cards in Syria and that our only option is to work with the Kremlim.

Russia and Iran hold all the cards because Obama allowed them to. Badran makes a strong case that Obama allowed them to because because he wants Iran to prevail.

One might admire the elegance of Obamas strip tease, if not for the demise of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and the triumph of our arch-enemy in Tehran.
Donald Trump has added ten more names to the group people he says exemplify what hes looking for in a Supreme Court Justice. Previously, he put out a list of eleven such possibilities. I discussed that group here.

The new list consists of:

Mike Lee  U.S. Senator, Utah Neil Gorsuch  Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Margaret Ryan  Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Edward Mansfield  Justice, Iowa Supreme Court Keith Blackwell  Justice, Georgia Supreme Court Charles Canady  Justice, Florida Supreme Court (and a former Congressman) Timothy Tymkovich  Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Amul Thapar  Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Frederico Moreno  Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Robert Young  Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court

Clearly, Trump is doubling down on geographic diversity and still eschewing judges from Washington, D.C. and the Northeast. And once again, hes looking to state courts for potential nominees.

The tilt away from Eastern jurists is beginning to look like an unfortunate fetish. It seems to me, for example, that Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District Columbia, should make any list of the top 21 conservative candidates for the Supreme Court.

It also looks like Trump is stretching to find ethnic diversity. Amal Thapar (South Asian) and Frederico Moreno (Hispanic) may be fine district court judges, but its unusual (though not irrational) to elevate a trial judge to the Supreme Court. They may have made the list because of their ethnicity.

Similarly, in looking to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces to find the only woman on the new list, Trump may have had gender in mind.

These are quibbles, however. Although Im not familiar with everyone on the list, in general its members appear to be, in the words of the Heritage Foundations John Malcolm, eminently qualified to sit on the high court and solidly conservative. I believe, however, that Trumps first list is stronger than his second.

Sen. Lee joins his brother Justice Thomas Lee on Trumps combined list. The Senator, though, has yet to endorse Trump and said through a spokesperson that his inclusion on Trumps list wont change this. The spokesperson added this obligatory statement: Sen. Lee already has the job he wants which is why he is campaigning to represent the great people of Utah again this year.

Given Mike Lees collaboration with Dick Durbin on leniency legislation for federal drug felons, I wont be heartbroken if he never joins the Supreme Court.

The fact that Trump has put out a second list of conservative potential Justices still doesnt guarantee that he will actually nominate a conservative. However, I think it more likely than not that Trumps first selection will come from one of the two lists. After that, all bets are probably off, and he might well pick a moderate.

But one conservative and one moderate (the overall pattern of Republican presidents) is much better than two liberals, or more likely two left-liberals, which is what well get from Hillary Clinton.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, says the Nigeria Broadband Penetration has reached 20.95 per cent.

Mr. Danbatta said this on Monday in Abuja while presenting the first progress report of the eight point agenda he unveiled to the media in 2015.

According to him, broadband is a flagship of the eight point agenda he unveiled in Kano and Lagos.

The active mobile broadband penetration released by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development shows that Nigeria has reached a penetration of 20.95 per cent.

On the percentage of internet penetration, the country has reached a milestone of 47.44 per cent, second to South Africa in the continent, he said.

Mr. Danbatta said the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development was set up by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO in 2010.

He said the provision of the National Broadband Plan that had a set target of 30 per cent penetration from 2013 to 2018, also accentuated emphasis on broadband penetration.

According to him, the commission recognises its prime responsibility in the actualisation of the national broadband plan.

He said the commission was set up with the aim of boosting the importance of broadband on the international policy agenda and expanding its access in every country.

The NCC boss said that the commission was also set up as a key strategy in accelerating progress towards national and international development targets.

We have been able to articulate a regulatory framework that will enable strategic and systematic licensing and deployment of broadband infrastructure across the country.

A broadband implementation monitoring committee has also been established within the commission to give proper assessment on regular basis of broadband infrastructure deployment.

These steps are critical success factors, which we have identified and primed for various broadband initiatives.

Mr. Danbatta said that the commission had been able to fine tune the infrastructure provision licenses awarded for Lagos and North central zones.

He said the commission had already advertised the bidding and selection process for interested service providers in the remaining five zones designed for effective coverage of the nation under the Open Access Model.

(NAN)
Nigerias Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, has assured the international community that the countrys armed forces is taking measures to improve its human rights records, the ministers spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Dan-Ali, according to his spokesperson, Tukur Gusau, gave the assurance in New York on Friday during a high level meeting with a team from US Department of Defence led by Amanda Doyle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Africa.

It was part of activities of the Nigerian delegation to the just concluded United Nations General Assembly.

The Minister was said to have told the American team that the Nigerian Armed Forces is partnering with Human Rights Commission to address the allegations of human right violations against its troops.

In its Northeast operations against Boko Haram terrorists, and the massacre of hundreds of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in Zaria last December, Nigerias military has been locally and internationally criticized for having poor regard for human rights.

On June 3, 2015, Amnesty International released its report titled: Stars on their shoulder. Blood on their hands, accusing the Nigerian military of committing war crimes in the course of its counter-terrorism operations against Boko Haram in Northeast Nigeria.

The report alleged that the Nigerian military committed countless acts of torture, extra-judicially executed more than 1,200 people, and arbitrarily arrested at least 20,000 people, which included mostly young men and boys.

The report also said many Nigerians had become victims of enforced disappearance and at least 7,000 people died in military detention.

The Nigerian Defence Headquarters, however, dismissed the report as concocted and biased.

It is clear that Amnesty International becomes more active in presenting distractive allegations whenever the terrorists are losing ground in the battle, said Chris Olukolade, former Director of Defence Information.

But Mr. Dan-Ali assured the International community that Nigeria is taking proactive measures to address any possible human rights violations by its personnel.

Some of the measures, according to the minister, include establishment of human rights desk in all the formations of the Armed Forces and close collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission.

The ministers spokesperson said Ms. Doyle expressed satisfaction with the success acheived in the fight against terrorism and the way human rights issues were being addressed.

He said the American Deputy Assistant Secretary also advised on the need for Nigeria to publicise more on the efforts of the Nigerian Armed forces towards improving its human rights records.

She also assured the minister of the continuous support of the U.S. to the Nigerian military especially in its fight against terrorism.
Officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on September 18 brutalised a shop owner, shave his hair and stuffed it into his mouth, the victim and a rights group have said.

The trader, Abdullahi Ibrahim, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was brutalised based on his stance on a mobile phone charger purchased by a civil defence official in Gombe.

Mr. Ibrahim said he refused to replace the accessory, valued at N1,500, after selling it to Bala Yayari, an Assistant Superintendent of the Corps, who later claimed it was defective.

Mr. Ibrahim, 25, runs a phone accessories shop at Arawa Market in Gombe town. He said he refused to accede to the officers request for replacement because his shop assistant, who sold the Infinix phone charger, tested and certified the accessory as okay before the officer left with it.

Later, the officer returned with the same charger and asked my assistant to replace it. But my assistant insisted that the charger was functional when the officer bought it, he said.

Then the officer asked for the owner of the shop. They called me on the phone and he asked me to come to the shop immediately or else he would close down the shop.

The trader added that before he arrived at the shop, the officer had phoned two men of the NSCDC who came in mufti.

As soon as I arrived, they asked me to give them N1500 or replace the phone charger. I told them I am not aware of the transaction but they should allow me confirm from my assistant.

After my assistant briefed me about the transaction, I told them that since the device was tested before the officer paid, there was no way we could replace it.

THE ATTACKS

The refusal of the trader to return the money later turned sour as the security officials would not accept such.

It was at that moment that the two men held me by my waist, dragged and bundled me into their waiting Peugeot 406 car and took me to the Gombe Division of the NSCDC, he told PRMEIUM TIMES

At the division, Mr. Yayari directed that the officers on duty to lock me up. Even before I could be taken behind the counter, one of the officials slapped me.

As soon as I was thrown behind the counter, one of them ordered me to remove my shirt. He started flogging me even before I undressed and he continued flogging me until I sustained severe injuries.

The official later brought out a scissors and asked me to kneel down and he shaved off the hair on my head as well as my beard. He then ordered me to gather the hairs and put them in my pocket, which I did.

The officers then asked me to hold my ears while still kneeling down. Then they asked me to give them the N1500. One of them forced his hand into my pockets and located the money in it. He removed only N1500 and returned the rest to me.

Finally they asked me to frog jump out of the premises Mr. Abdullahi narrated.

The victim, who said he wants justice, said his family members reported the matter to the police before he was taken to the Gombe Specialists Hospital for treatment.

ACTIVISTS SEEK JUSTICE

A group of activists in the state said it was taking the matter to court because the NSCDC officer is allegedly notorious for such flagrant abuse of official power.

We took up the matter and visited the state headquarters of NSDC to lodge a complaint, Mr. Hashidu told PREMIUM TIMES.

Even though the state commandant said he was investigating the matter, we are taking it to court because this is a glaring case of gross abuse.

This officer is not even serving here in Gombe but in Shongom Local Government Area. He is notorious for using his office to exploit and maltreat innocent civilians. We have another case against him and we will soon take the matter before the state commandant he said.

Mr. Yayari could not be reached for comments as officials at the Gombe command of the NSCDC said he was being investigated.

However, the commandant of the Corps in Gombe State, Shem Sunday, said his command was investigating the incident.

We are aware of the incident and we have since issued a query to the officer, Bala Yayari (ASC) on the allegations levelled against him and we are also investigating the matter.

Anyone found guilty will be sanctioned in accordance to the law, Mr. Sunday told PREMIUM TIMES.
At least four soldiers were killed and 16 others injured in a bomb attack on Sunday, the Army has said.

The attack occured when suspected Boko Haram members staged an ambush on an army convoy outside Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Since the split in its leadership between the erratic Abubakar Shekau, and Abu-Musab Albarnawi, in August this year, Boko Haram, a group the Nigeria army claimed to have decimated, has stepped up its hostility targeting mostly soldiers and civilians in remote locations.

The Sunday attack took place on the day the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, made his first video appearance in about six months. It brings to 10 the number of soldiers the Nigerian Army confirmed killed in clashes with Boko Haram in the last six days.

Earlier on Sunday, the Army had confirmed the death of another four soldiers in a battle with insurgents at the Dikwa-Gambarou road in Borno. Two other soldiers were injured in that battle while 22 insurgents were killed, the Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, said.

In the latest attack, Mr. Usman, a Colonel, said in a statement on Sunday night that troops on administrative patrol were ambushed by Boko Haram insurgents.

Today, troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE on administration patrol from Maiduguri encountered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and ambush between Miyanti and Dareljamal, Borno State, he said.

The ambush was cleared and 3 Boko Haram terrorists were killed by the troops. They also recovered a Machine Gun, 1 AK-47 Rifle and some quantity of ammunition.

Unfortunately, we lost an officer and 3 soldiers, while 16 soldiers and 3 Civilian JTF sustained injuries during the encounter. Similarly, 2 vehicles that entered the IED were badly damaged. The wounded have since been evacuated and are in stable condition.

The Boko Haram leader had in his Sunday video threatened the Nigerian government and the military of more attacks. He also demanded the release of his detained members in exchange for the abducted Chibok school girls that have been in his groups custody since April 14, 2014, when they were taken away from their school dormitory.

The Boko Haram insurgency has caused the death of over 20,000 people and displaced over two million others in Northeastern Nigeria since 2010.

The group is rated the deadliest terror group in the world giving the spate of its attacks.

The group in apparent bid to increase its depleted rank of fighters offered to free the over 200 Chibok girls in exchange for its arrested members.

President Muhammadu Buhari last week sought the mediation of the United Nations in any prisoner swap, saying the split in the leadership of Boko Haram makes it difficult for his government to know whom to trust.
A former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of perpetrating injustice, saying he would rather not hold the honorary title of national leader in such a party.

I would rather not have any title yet reside in a party that honours democracy than hold a title in a party that says it honours me but that treats justice with indecency, Mr. Tinubu said in an explosivestatement on Sunday, in which he chronicled the alleged political sins of the partys national chairman, John Oyegun.

Mr. Tinubu had been accorded the position following the critical role he played in the emergence of the APC as a major challenger to the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Partys decades-long hold on power.

Mr. Tinubu said Mr. Oyegun favoured a candidate in the APC gubernatorial primaries in Ondo State and forced his choice through using a sleight of hand.

A conspiracy to steal the Ondo primary had been uncovered. Fortunately, the grand deception afoot had been unable to cover its tracks fast enough. Truth began to cry for justice, he said.

Several candidates filed petitions contesting the result. The party established an investigative board to review the evidence. In a two to one decision, the panel found the delegate roster had suffered tampering. The panel recommended that a new primary should be held using the valid delegate list. This recommendation was tabled before the National Working Committee (NWC).

After many hours of deliberations spanning several days, a final vote was held by the NWC. Beforehand, NWC members agreed that the decision of the majority would become the stance of the party. Such is the way of democracy. The NWC voted six against five to cancel the fraudulent results and hold an honest primary. For a moment, it seemed the party would restore its integrity by giving democracy a chance. However, those who sought to scam an entire state would not let the vote of 11 people spoil their enterprise.

After the NWC vote, a noticeably agitated Chairman Oyegun proposed the NWC engage in prayer before concluding the meeting. Adhering to this chairmans request, NWC members began to pray. Seeing that the others had taken his bait, Oyegun used the prayerful interlude to secretly excuse himself from the meeting. Contravening the NWC decision and in violation of all rules of fundamental decency, Oyegun decided to safeguard the fraud done in Ondo by perpetrating a greater fraud. Oyegun arrogated to himself the right to submit the name of Rotimi Akeredolu to INEC as the candidate of the party, Mr. Tinubu said.

Mr. Tinubu said this had shown that there was an evil and regressive force within the APC using Mr. Oyegun to derail the partys democratic and progressive tenets.

He said he deliberately excused himself from occupying official positions within the APC in order to avoid being accused of meddlesomeness as part of his relentless sacrifices, but even this had been taken for granted by those in his ranks.

Tinubu has consciously refused to hold any official position with the party to avoid the perception that he was trying to control all and sundry. Tinubu has even kept his peace for some time despite many things that happened within the party that were not quite right. He exercised this forbearance because the party is young. A collective endeavour cannot avoid the mistakes and errors of organizational newness and evolution.

Yet, the wrongs Oyegun committed had nothing to do with newness or the mistakes occasioned by the path of reform. His actions are in the nature of the old wrongs that have afflicted our national politics much too long. If Oyegun wants to walk backward into the past, he has every right to it. However, he has no right to drag the party or any of us with him. Against our choosing.

Mr. Tinubu said he was dissociating himself from the honorary title which the partys top echelon had accorded him since APC was formed in 2013.

The informal title of national leader of the party was given to Tinubu at the onset which he accepted it as a sign from those who wished to recognize my contributions to the partys formation. It is an honorific title which he has been proud to wear until today, Mr. Tinubu said. I would rather not have any title yet reside in a party that honours democracy than hold a title in a party that says it honours me but that treats justice with indecency. I find greater honour and comfort where democracy and fairness are found and respected.

Mr. Oyegun did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES requests for comments.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26

By Aygun Badalova  Trend:

The voter turnout in the referendum in Azerbaijan has reached 66.8 percent, according to the results of the exit poll held by French OpinionWay company at 152 polling stations in 118 constituencies, Deputy Managing Director of the company Bruno Jean Bart said during the press conference in Baku Sept.26.

He noted that 320 employees of the company interviewed more than 12,000 citizens who voted in the exit polls.

About 80 percent of respondents voted for increasing the presidential term, he added.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree July 18 on submitting the draft Referendum Act On making amendments to Azerbaijans constitution to the Constitutional Court.

The draft Referendum Act envisages establishing first vice-president and vice-president positions in Azerbaijan, extending the presidents term of office from five years to seven years, giving the authority to the president to dissolve the parliament (Milli Majlis) and declare early presidential election, removing the age limit for presidential election, decreasing the age limit from 25 to 18 for participation in the parliamentary election.
John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has stepped down from the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

Mr. Tsoho is the second judge to do so.

Mr. Kanu is facing treason charges brought by the Nigerian government for leading a separatist group.

He has been in detention since October 2015.

The first judge in the case, Ahmed Mohammed, stepped down in December 2015, after Mr. Kanu said he had no confidence in him.

In a new petition to the National Judicial Council, Mr. Kanu accused Justice Tsoho of judicial rascality and called for his investigation by the council.

In the petition made available to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Mr. Kanu through his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, asked the council to investigate Mr. Tsoho for giving parallel judgements on the same request.

Mr. Ejiofor said after Mr. Tsoho decided in favour of the defence in an application for the protection of witnesses by the prosecution, and later ruled in favour of the prosecution, without seeking the permission of a higher court.

At the opening of session on Monday, another counsel to Mr. Kanu, Chuks Muoma, said the continuation of the matter by Mr. Tsoho would amount to a great disservice since there was a petition against him, before the NJC.

Mr. Tsoho announced he had stepped down, pending the decision of the council.

Even if I am cleared of any bias by the NJC, I will not continue with this case, said Mr. Tsoho.
Information reaching PREMIUM TIMES indicate that armed gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram are currently attacking Kuburvwa Village.

The village is 10 km from Chibok Town, where over 200 female students were kidnapped in Borno in April 2014.

According to an official of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Borno State, Abbas Gava, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on phone from Maiduguri, the gunmen invaded the agrarian village at about 6.30 p.m.

The shot sporadically forcing residents to flee into surrounding bushes.

As I am speaking to you now the gunmen are setting every house on fire after chasing the villagers away, Mr. Gava, the spokesman of the Vigilante Group, said.

From the information we have received from our operatives in Chibok and Kautikari, the number of casualty cannot be ascertained for now because the Boko Haram insurgents are still in the village.

Details to come later
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has demanded the investigation of Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged judicial misconduct.

Mr. Kanu, who is facing trial following allegations of treasonable felony, maintaining an unlawful society and possession of illegal items, accused his trial judge, Mr. Tsoho, of negating judicial principles and upturning a decision of the court without prior permission by a higher court.

In a petition addressed to the National Judicial Council and made available to journalists on Sunday, Mr. Kanu said the conduct of Mr. Tsoho amounts to judicial rascality.

According the petition, Mr. Tshoho changed his courts decision to hear the testimonies of witnesses secretly after he had initially ruled that witnesses testifying in the matter would not be allowed to were masks or give statements in secret.

On the 9th day of February, 2016, the defense was ambushed with an application filed on that day by the prosecution, seeking the courts endorsement for secret trial of the defendants.

The defense led by chief Chuks Muoma, SAN, promptly notified the court of our intention to oppose the application, pursuant to which it was thereafter adjourned to the 19th day of February, 2016, for the hearing of the application, the petition said.

Recounting the past records of the case, Mr. Kanus lawyer and junior counsel to Mr. Muoma, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said the court presided over by Justice Tsoho gave a ruling on the next adjourned date in favour of the defence; but ordered a parallel decision when the prosecution insisted on having its witnesses protected.

He added that the court gave its second decision regarding the protection of witnesses, after a verbal request was made by the witness; an act which Mr. Ejiofor claims is in negation of laid down rules.

He further accused the judge of refusing his client access to proceedings of the court, until a petition was written to the chief judge.

The rulings (of the court) were eventually given to us on Monday, the 25th day of April, 2016, barely two months and fifteen days after the ruling of 9th February, 2016, was delivered, two months and six days after the ruling of 19th day of February, 2016 was delivered and one month and 18 days after the ruling of 7th March, 2016 was delivered, said Mr. Ejiofor.

He therefore asked the cuncil to investigate the alleged infractions and act accordingly.

Mr. Kanu had made a vote of no confidence on another judge of the same court, forcing the judge to hands off on the matter.

He is facing trial alongside two others: Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwauwisi.
An FCT High Court on Monday adjourned the trial of Lawrence Pepple and Henry Ogbulue, to October 21. Both men were aides to Kingsley Kuku, a former adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta.

The Judge, Mamman Kolo, adjourned the cases at the instance of the counsel to the defendants, Jay Jay Ezeuko.

Messrs. Pepple and Ogbulue were separately arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for criminal conspiracy and fraudulent acquisition of property while in office as public servants.

Their offences contravened Section 26(1)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 12 of the same Act.

The EFCC Counsel, Farouk Abdullahi, called Reuben Ajibade, a retired Acting Head of Administration in the Office of the Special Adviser to the former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta.

Mr. Ajibade told the court that Mr. Pepple was the technical assistant to Mr. Kuku and was employed to provide specialised advise on the amnesty issues.

When Mr. Pepple was engaged by the special adviser, letter of his appointments was issued to the defendant and I can identify the documents when shown to me.

Mr. Abdullahi tended the documents and urged the court to admit the four documents as exhibits.

But, the counsel to the defendant, Mr. Ezeuko opposed the tendering of the documents, claiming that the documents were computer generated.

According to him, it did not conform with Section 84 which requires a certificate to reproduce so that this court will make sure that the documents are not fictitious.

My submission finds relevance where the witness admitted that they do not have original copies of such documents in the office file, he said,

He urged the court to reject the documents.

In his response, Mr. Abdullahi argued that the documents were not those contemplated under the law. He said that the documents were duly certified by an officer in the office of the Special Adviser to the former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta.

The judge admitted and marked the documents as exhibit A, B, C and D.

In a related case, Mr. Ezeuko cross-examined Mr. Ajibade during the hearing of Mr. Ogbulues case.

Mr. Ogbulue is also standing trial for the same offence.

The witness also said that Mr. Ogbulues original appointment letter was not in the office file because the defendants were given the original.

Mr. Ajibade said further that the original copy of the appointment letter was first shown to him by an EFCC officer Chris Odofi, in the station.

I did not also have the defendants original copy of acceptance letter of appointment in the office file. I was the Head of Administration Department but I cannot employ anyone at my own discretion, he said.

(NAN)
The United Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF, has observed an increase in violence against children in Nigeria, and attributed rising youth restiveness in the country to the phenomenon.

A child protection specialist with the global organisation, Ladi Alabi, made the disclosure on Monday in Jos, Plateau state at a one-day workshop for journalists, preparatory to the official launch of an awareness campaign on violence against children in the state.

Mrs. Alabi, who is a field officer with UNICEF, said a survey by the global organization indicated that the rights of a lot of children were being violated in the country. He called for child justice administration to protect the rights of minors and the future of Nigeria.

A survey conducted by the National Population Commission with support from UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that millions of children suffer violence every year in Nigeria  approximately 6 out of every 10 children experience some form of physical, emotional or sexual violence before the age of 18.

The Survey also reveals that one in two children experience physical violence; one in four girls and one in ten boys experience sexual violence; and one in six girls and one in five boys experience emotional violence.

She lamented that, in particular, cases of rape of children were on the increase. She however counseled journalists at the workshop on ethical reporting of children-related issues.

The workshop was organized in conjunction with the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, aim at ending violence against children in the state.

She however noted that Nigeria is taking the right steps in addressing the challenge by being the first country in West Africa and eighth in the world to adopt UNICEFs policy for combating the scourge.

Mrs. Alabi said Plateau state will become the fourth in Nigeria and first among the 19 northern states in Nigeria, when it launches the campaign against violence on children on Thursday.

UNICEF, which is operating in 190 countries, is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate the protection of children worldwide.

The organization said the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress.

Earlier, an assistant director, Children Welfare, at the state the ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Fidelia Seklec, thanked UNICEF for partnering with the state on protection for children.

Mrs. Secklec urged parents and guardians to be closer to your children, know their desires, and know how to handle them.

A communique is expected at the end of the workshop.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, received a total of 2,133 complaints from both domestic and international air passengers between January and June 2016, statistics from its Consumer Protection Department have indicated.

A document issued by the department and obtained on Monday by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos showed that the NCAA received 2,091 complaints from passengers flying international routes and 42 from those on domestic routes.

According to the document, Turkish Airlines recorded the highest number of complaints with 431 cases, while Air France recorded 372 complaints.

This was followed by Ethiopia Air and Emirates Airlines which recorded 214 and 213 complaints respectively.

It indicated that 1,800 of such cases were successfully resolved with compensation paid by airlines to the affected passengers during the period under review.

Sam Adurogboye, General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, told NAN that the regulatory agency was committed towards the protection of the rights of passengers.

(NAN)
Despite the economic downturn caused largely by fallen prices of oil in the international market, President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria will fulfill its obligations to the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).

Receiving President of the bank, Bashir Mamma, at State House, Abuja, Monday, President Buhari said: We may be limping because of fallen oil prices, but we will fulfill our commitments to the bank. We may have fallen behind, but we will live up very soon. We will maintain the objectives of setting up the bank, which is to help our less financially endowed neighbours.

Mr. Mamma disclosed that EBID is the financing arm of ECOWAS, which has been there for about 30 years, and was initially set up as a Fund, to help less developed West African states, but we now cover all parts of the sub-region.

He added that EBID set up Ecobank, and has also established an airline, after the national airlines of most member countries collapsed.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is the head of a seven-member selection panel for masters degree scholarship awarded by the Africa Initiative for Governance, the organisation has announced.

Africa Initiative for Governance issued calls for applications on Monday, and said successful candidates will attend the renowned Blavatnik School of Government, the UKs first school of Government, at the University of Oxford.

The announcement was made by the founder of the group, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, and directors, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Herbert Wigwe and Jeya Wilson, ahead of the inaugural meeting of the Initiatives Panel of Advisors in Lagos, Nigeria.

The group said from 2017 it will fund five scholarships each year as part of a new five-year partnership which is based on the shared purpose of building good governance and public leadership.

The scholarships will have an initial focus on candidates from Nigeria and Ghana, allowing the students to study for a Master of Public Policy (MPP) alongside classmates from across the globe, the organisation said in statement.

Along with the scholarship scheme will be an academic fellowship scheme. The AIG Visiting Fellowship will also be available from 2017, and will be open to candidates who can demonstrate an outstanding contribution to public policy that has yielded meaningful impact on the public good, and commitment to public service in their country, region and globally.

The AIG Scholarship and Fellowship initiatives are scalable interventions aimed at tackling Africas intractable challenge of poor public sector leadership, said Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede. I am confident that our partnership with Oxford Universitys prestigious Blavatnik School will become fertile ground for growing future statesmen and women who will change the African continent for good.

Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, said: We are deeply grateful to the Africa Initiative for Governance for partnering with us. The Blavatnik School of Government shares with the AIG a clear purpose  to transform government through effective leadership and better governance.

The AIG Panel of Advisors is made up of eminent personalities selected from across West Africa and will act as the selection panel for the award of scholarships and fellowships, as well as mentors to successful applicants.

The panel will also meet regularly to debate the challenges that Africas public sector faces and to conceive and propose solutions with long term impact.

Other members of the panel are Enase Okonedo, Dean of the Lagos Business School; Abubakar Mahmoud, Managing Partner, Dikko and Mahmoud; Ernest Chukwudi Ebi, Segun Adeniyi, Yemisi Ayeni, Ken Ofori-Atta, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Databank, Ghana.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on Monday in Abuja said that selling the countrys national asset is not an alternative option to addressing its present economic challenges.

The President of the Union, Ayuba Wabba, stated this while inaugurating the NLC-ASUU Think-Tank Group.

The group, he said was expected to dialogue with the Federal Government on ways of addressing the countrys current economic challenges.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the NLC-ASUU think-tank group comprised a ten-member committee drawn from the different sectors of the economy.

The group is expected to represent the interest of Nigerians and come up with developmental agenda.

The members of the committee include Omotoye Olorode, Dipo Fashina, Muhammed Aliyu, Muttaka Usman, Isacc Nwaogwugwu, Yemi Bangbose and Isa Aremu.

Others members are Sonny Atumah, Peter Ozo-Eson and Hauwa Mustapha.

Mr. Wabba said the committee was specifically inaugurated to intellectually engage the Federal Government on issues of national importance.

We have three ways of engaging government, the intellectual way, the NLC way which is protest, and we have lawyers that are ready to engage government.

We are ready to follow through with all the three ways.

He, however, called on Nigerians to protect the nations asset by saying no to the sale of the countrys national assets as was being proposed by some individuals.

According to him, the nations national asset is all it has for the future generation. He urged the government to rather ensure the implementation of tax justice in the country.

This, he said, would prompt the generation of funds for the development of the economy, adding that tax evasion and tax waivers should be discouraged.

It is only the poor and the working class that pay tax in this country, but if the high and mighty pay tax then we will have more than enough to go round.

The NLC chairman urged the Federal Government to look into the countrys fiscal and monetary policy as well as take stock of the countrys asset.

He maintained that foreign exchange rate had not only added to the problem facing the country, but had also made few Nigerians wealthy.

He, therefore, advised government to use available resources to drive economic development by embarking on projects such as building of roads and other infrastructure rather than investing in foreign trips.

Mr. Wabba added that there was also the need for government to block all forms of financial leakages, especially in the downstream sector.

Responding on behalf of other members, Mr. Olorode, a professor, thanked the NLC leadership for inaugurating the committee.

He said the committee was a way to enthrone the desired change, adding that it was poised to realising its objective.

(NAN)
The recent recommendations that Nigeria sell its asset to raise funds is dangerous and troubling, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Chukwuma Soludo, said on Monday.

Some of those who have made such recommendations include the National Economic Council, NEC, the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Africas richest man, Aliko Dangote.

Mr. Soludo, who dismissed the proposal as largely self-serving, said the scheme would only be a win-win for government and its private sector collaborators, with Nigerians and the economy as the losers.

Although he noted that the recommendations remained mere advice subject to final approval by President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Soludo said he considered the proposal as fundamentally flawed and based on a false foundation.

The NEC, at the end if its retreat a fortnight ago, urged government to consider the sale of asset, including the Nigerian LNG, the four state-owned refineries, Nigerias equity in Africa Finance Corporation, AFC, and the airports.

The Council equally asked government to consider reducing governments equity holdings in upstream oil and gas joint venture operations to build reserves to help reflate the economy on the path of recovery.

But, the recommendation has equally attracted criticisms from concerned Nigerians and groups like Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, which described those behind it as economic vampires government must beware (of).

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, on Sunday also labelled the recommendation as a self-destructive move Nigerians must resist.

Mr. Soludo, who said he had dismissed similar proposals in the past as a joke, said he decided to join issues with the Senate and NECs convenient but flawed call as a resort to easy, albeit lazy approach to quick fixes.

Although the former CBN governor noted that in extreme, exceptional circumstances, sale of certain asset could be a last resort option, he was of the view Nigeria was currently not near the threshold, while the institutional framework for its effective use was also not in place.

Any sale of asset now amounts to chasing pennies, when, by acts of omission or commission, we are losing pounds, he said.

Such a hasty auction of national asset can only benefit a privileged few with cash and access, while jeopardizing Nigerias long term economic interests. It will be a historic mistake.

He faulted the objective of the policy for being identified with attempt to get the economy out of recession, which is a short-term problem.

He also criticized governments $10-15billion valuation expected from the asset sales, arguing the revenue the country was losing daily in oil production/sales through disruptions in the Niger Delta would far exceed the expected revenue from asset sale.

If building reserves or budget revenue is the objective (of selling asset), it seems to me we are chasing pennies through asset sale, while losing pounds, he said.

How much are we losing each day in oil production/sales through the disruptions in the Niger Delta? What does it cost to fund the security vessels to protect oil companies, vis-a-vis equipping the Navy to do its job, and how many billions of dollars can be saved from that over time?

How many hundreds of millions or billions of dollars are being lost through inappropriate pricing and auctioning of the telecommunications spectrum assets? How much is being lost by way of portfolio/FDI inflows and export revenue due to the incoherent, inconsistent and distorting export and exchange rate policies?

Indeed, the amount of capital flight out of Nigeria is estimated to be far in excess of the expected revenue from asset sales, Mr. Soludo said.

He described as troubling the argument in favour of asset sale as the only way to reflate the economy out of recession, saying the argument suffers what economists might call policy myopia or time inconsistency problem.
Details added (first version posted on 18:59)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev received the delegation headed by Pakistans Defense Production Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain Sept. 26.

Touching upon the importance of the visit of Pakistans defense production minister to Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev noted the significance of the Pakistani ministers participation in Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2016).

President Aliyev recalled with satisfaction the visit of Pakistani president Mamnoon Hussein to Azerbaijan, praised the visit as a good indicator of sincere and fraternal relations between the two countries.

The president noted the high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the fact that the two countries always support each other at all international organizations and expressed his gratitude for the support in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Ilham Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan, in turn, also supports Pakistan in the Kashmir issue, and added that Pakistan is one of the nearest and biggest friendly countries for Azerbaijan.

He expressed confidence in further successful development of cooperation in the sphere of defense and military industry between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

Pakistans Defense Production Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain expressed satisfaction with his next visit to Azerbaijan.

The minister on behalf of Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif invited President Ilham Aliyev to his country. He noted with satisfaction the highest respect of Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev received the invitation of the Pakistani prime minister with gratitude.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara on Monday used a speech he delivered at a colloquium to rail against the prevalent budgetary system in the country and called for sweeping reforms to the process.

Reform of the process of the passage of the Appropriation Act in the National Assembly that encourages more openness and transparency especially at the Committee levels, Mr. Dogara said.

He spoke as a guest of honour at a seminar organised by Orderpaper.ng, a multimedia news platform with primary focus on the activities of the legislature, held at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

Mr. Dogara spoke on the theme: Budget as Tool for Efficient Executive-Legislative Relations.

His appearance came in the wake of allegations of budget fraud in the House of Representatives and he used his speech to allay the fears of Nigerians on the matter while offering a new way forward.

Mr. Dogara, a major target in the budget padding scandal, also decried the current budgetary system that is highly permissive of laziness, wasteful spending and fraud.

A situation where an approved budget is not allowed to operate for 12 months is constitutionally unacceptable. This is the main reason for failure of budget implementation every year and the cause of abandoned projects that litter the Nigerian landscape.

When projects are not completed, the nation is terribly shortchanged as the money and effort invested in it is lost. In this regard, we must institute a compulsory mechanism that rolls over major projects that is not completed in one budget year into the following years budget.

The current practice of not including on-going projects in the following years budget is a huge waste of resources, Mr. Dogara said.

To resolve this, Mr. Dogara recommended a critical operation of financial year as defined in Section 318 of the Constitution.

He also recommended an amendment of Section 82 of the Constitution to reduce the time the previous years budget will continue to run in the event that the Appropriation Act is not passed at the beginning of the Financial year from 6 months to 3 months.

Mr. Dogara also said current budget process lacked requisite transparency. He called for a broader participation of key sections of the society during deliberations to foster transparency.

Subjecting budget defence exercise to stakeholder involvement in a form of public hearing. Subjecting the annual budget to public scrutiny at National Assembly will give stakeholders opportunity to make their inputs and challenge incorrect assumptions in the Budget.

This process will involve the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other professional bodies. The National Assembly will benefit from the research skills of various CSOs and the technical expertise of professional bodies at the enactment stage of the Appropriation Bill. I am aware that many CSOs scrutinise the Budget yearly and usually point out areas of duplications and wastages. We need to institutionalise this mechanism, Mr. Dogara said.

Later at the event, attendants signed a communique read out by journalist and author, Chido Onumah, on the need for budget reform and proper engagement.

In the communique, the participants recommended that media and civil society should improve their watchdog roles in monitoring the budgetary process. They also recommended pre-budget consultations and liaison between the legislature and the executive and also effective tracking of projects and evaluation of budget expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability. They also asked that the role of anti-corruption agencies in the budgetary process be clearly defined and enhanced.

Guests at the event included the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal; Director of Centre for Democratic Development, Idayat Hassan; Premium Times Publisher and CEO, Dapo Olorunyomi; and Oke Epia, the editor of Orderpaper.ng.
The Commissioner of police in Borno State, Damian Chukwu, has said that operatives of the Explosive Ordnance Department (EOD) under his command defused 67 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) buried by Boko Haram insurgents at the military barracks in Bama.

Mr. Chukwu, who spoke to journalists on Sunday evening, said the explosives which have since been evacuated, may have been planted in the barracks shortly before troops of the Nigeria military liberated Bama town.

He said the defused bombs had enabled reconstruction workers to carry on with their work without any hitch.

The CP noted that Bama town, which now temporarily serves as the seat of the Borno government, following the relocation of the governor from Maiduguri last Wednesday, has been beefed up with more police to ensure the adequate safety for the visitors and workers alike.

As the governor and his team were going to Bama to monitor reconstruction work, we put together various components of my operational units, the Police Mobile Force, the Counter-Terrorist Unit, the Special Protection Unit, the EOD i.e. the bomb disposal unit, the intelligence group as well as the conventional police, to go with them, said Mr. Damian.

In the process of doing reconstruction work in the military barracks, the soldiers and other people there saw some buried IEDs  about 67 of them  and called the attention of my men.

It is believed that the insurgents buried those bombs while they were there, especially when the military came back to displace them.

We had to deploy the EOD unit who brought out the bombs and destroyed them and then gave way for reconstruction work to continue.

The CP added that more police personnel have been deployed all the liberated local government headquarters with a view to protect the returnees and prevent the return of the insurgents.

There are quite a number of other local governments where we are presently deployed in, he said. We are in Konduga Local Government, it is midway between Maiduguri and Bama.

We also have Mungono, it is midway between Bama and Baga; In Baga, a town that shares boundary with Chad, military operation is still going on there but the town has been liberated except for the pockets of insurgents in the outskirt, said the CP.

Meanwhile, the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, had Sunday commended the Nigeria police in Borno state for deploying additional 200 operatives of its Mobile Police unit (MOPOL) to Bama.

The governor said such deployment would further encourage the workers to remain calm and carry on with their work.

The governor had however called on the deployed police personnel to cooperate with other sister security agencies and the army to achieve  a common goal. He assured them their N20,000 monthly would be paid as at when due till the reconstruction work ends by December.
Titus Okunronmu, a former Director in the Budgetary Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said sale of the countrys asset to boost the economy will further restrict income.

Mr. Okunronmu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun, that rather than restrict income, the government should redistribute income through untapped resources.

According to him, selling the asset to those in government means that income has further been restricted instead of redistributing income.

He said to sell the nations asset was not a problem but who would be the buyers and who would manage the proceeds from it?

Mr. Okunronmu said the sales would yield little because the asset would be poorly priced since the country was badly in need of forex.

What should be done, in my own opinion, is that the Federal Government should utilise untapped resources to boost the economy.

There should be the immediate fixing of the four refineries at optimal capacity to check the use of scare forex on importation of petroleum products.

This and other untapped resources will create the platform for our products to be sold to other West African countries as well as generate various employment opportunities, he said.

He said the country was endowed with many untapped resources, which urgently needed to be used to return it to path of growth.

He said Nigeria had all it needed to become one of the top 10 economies in the world, if adequate political will was applied.

According to him, this is the right time for the government to look inward in solving the economic challenges of the country.

The former CBN director added that fixing foreign exchange issues was not a problem, but depending less on imported goods was the issue.

We need to be less import-orientated country and nationally our love for imported goods must change because the demand for dollars for such goods was exerting heavy pressure on the nations currency, he said. (NAN)
A former Governor of the Central Bank, Chukwuma Soludo, has insisted that senior lawyer, Femi Falana, apologise for making incorrect allegations.

Mr. Falana had called for Mr. Soludos probe, after he accused the former bank chief of doling out $7 billion to commercial bankers while he was in office. The Senior Advocate claimed that the loan was never returned by the beneficiary banks.

Mr. Soludo has, however, clarified the disbursements; saying it was never a loan, but deposits placed in the appropriate banks by the federal government.

I cant believe that the learned and respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria does not know the difference between a bank LOAN and a bank DEPOSIT, Mr. Soludo said.

The former Central Bank chief added that none of the 14 Nigerian banks needed a loan or requested for a loan, and the CBN did not grant any loan with our foreign reserves.

Read Mr. Soludos full statement below:

FEMI FALANA CONTINUES TO LIE: I INSIST ON HIS APOLOGY

Chukwuma Charles Soludo

I have just read further statement from Femi Falana in response to mine and his position that he does not need to apologize to me but that instead I may wish to direct my demand for apology to Mr. Festus Odoko (then head of corporate affairs at the CBN). I hereby further wish to state as follows:

When I read Falanas original statement, claiming that he had evidence, that I dolled out $7 billion of foreign reserves to banks as a LOAN, I denied the charge and challenged him to publish such evidence. His evidence turns out to be a newspaper report quoting the announcement by CBN through Mr. Odoko that deposits worth $7 billion representing the apex banks share of the foreign reserves estimated at about $38 billion has been released to the consortium of bankers (The Guardian newspaper of 5/10/2006). The same newspaper report noted that the Investment Committee of the CBN (charged with responsibility for deciding where and how our foreign reserves should be kept) approved the decision to allow 14 Nigerian banks with capital base of more than $500 million to be part of the consortium of banks that hold our foreign reserves as deposits.

In all honesty, I cant believe that the learned and respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria does not know the difference between a bank LOAN and a bank DEPOSIT, and there is no way I would have imagined that he was referring to the deposits with banks as LOAN. As I stated in my earlier response, Nigerias foreign reserves are required by law to be kept in foreign currency abroad. This has been kept either as deposits in banks or invested in sovereign instruments such as the US treasury bill. Before 2006, none of the Nigerian banks was considered big enough or with the infrastructure to manage our foreign reserves. Consequently, our reserves were kept with a consortium of other countries banks such as JP Morgan Chase, USA, UBS of Switzerland, Citibank, USA, Bank for International Settlement (BIS), Switzerland, etc. Indeed, in much of the 1990s especially under Gen. Abacha, our reserves were almost exclusively kept with BIS Switzerland.

After the consolidation of banks by December 2005 and as part of our long term vision that Nigerian banks should ultimately take charge and manage Nigerias entire foreign reserves, the CBN took the patriotic step of allowing the biggest of our banks to join the consortium of other countries banks holding our reserves as deposits. The CBN decided as a first step to give the biggest Nigerian banks a small portion of our reserves, $7 billion as deposits, while the remaining $31 billion as at that date remained with other countries banks as deposits and other investments.

It is interesting that Femi Falana would refer to the deposits held by Nigerian banks as LOAN while saying nothing about the other deposits with other countries banks.

Let me state that none of the 14 Nigerian banks needed a loan or requested for a loan, and the CBN did not grant any loan with our foreign reserves. As I stated in my earlier statement, the CBN Act does not allow the CBN to grant loans with our reserves to banks, and no loan was ever made. Chief Falana is therefore looking for a repayment of a LOAN by banks that never existed in the first instance. Under my tenure, Nigerias foreign reserves grew from $10 billion to all time high of over $62 billion and due to our efficient management, Nigeria never lost a penny of it.

Finally, I must say that I dont believe any of the conspiracy theories flying around, including those who question the motive, timing, and content of his bogus claims, and some even allude to it as a hatchet job. Going into the archives to fish out a newspaper report of 10 years ago about deposits and making up a fantasy story around it to become a loan, could give anyone cause for suspicion. Even several of the allegations against my successor, Emir Sanusi, are laughable and betray a lack of most elementary knowledge of how a bank such as the CBN works. As one of his admirers, I want to believe that this is one of those cases he is proving to be human after all and therefore could get his facts completely wrong. It may be challenging for him to admit his error and apologize, but if he is not on a mission, it is the only honourable thing for him to do.
The House of Representatives Committee on Ethics and Privileges on Monday concluded public hearing on its investigation of a lawmaker from Kano, Abdulmumin Jibrin.

At the resumed hearing on Monday afternoon, Mr. Jibrin failed to appear before the committee. He is accused of breaching the privileges of members.

Nicholas Ossai, the chairman of the 11-member committee, said Mr. Jibrin had been accorded enough privilege to defend himself.

Mr. Ossai said there was no reason why Mr. Jibrin should not appear before the committee since his demand that the proceeding be conducted before members of the public had been met.

He asked that we invite media, civil society organisations, student unions, members of the Nigerian Bar Association and some university lecturers, which we did from the first day, Mr. Ossai said.

The committee was convened by the House on September 21 after a lawmaker, Emmanuel Oker-Jev, moved a motion seeking the suspension of Mr. Jibrin for allegedly breaching members privileges by distributing internal House documents to the media.

The speaker, Yakubu Dogara, whom Mr. Jibrin accuses of budget fraud, said the Kano lawmaker, through this action, had inflicted damage to the image of the National Assembly.

Mr. Jibrin indicated over the weekend that he would not appear before the committee, citing impartiality and questioning the independence of its members.

This contradicted Mr. Jibrins earlier statement in which he gave conditions that Mr. Ossai cited as the only ground under which he would honour the committees invitation.

During the sitting, Mr. Ossai gave the clerk of the committee 30 minutes to make efforts to reach Mr. Jibrin.

The clerk said he tried to contact Mr. Jibrin through phone call and text message, without success.

We assured him that, as a member of this committee, he would be given fair hearing. The committee also went out of its way to make sure that this proceeding is made public. I think this committee has been seen to have observed the dictates of the Constitution on the matters of fair hearing, Mr. Ossai said.

It is a duty for this committee that at all time Nigerian are carried along and we have done that.

Mr. Ossai said he had challenged Mr. Jibrin or anyone else to come forward with evidence showing that he had compromised or expressed bias over the scandal. He offered to willingly recuse himself from the committee in the face of such proof.

Mr. Ossai told PREMIUM TIMES after the hearing that his committee would analyse evidence before forwarding it findings to the House in the shortest time possible.
Fifteen condemned felons, including a woman, are awaiting their dates with the hangman at the Gombe State main prison.

The facility, built 97 years ago with capacity for 379 inmates, currently hosts 1076 persons, including more than 250 awaiting trial for various offences.

The deputy comptroller of the prison, Muhammad Abba, disclosed this on Monday when the state governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, visited the facility as part of the ceremony marking the states 20th anniversary.

Mr. Abba said four of the inmates are serving life sentences at the prison.

He said the inmates include 113 awaiting trial for armed robbery, 119 for culpable homicide and 44 for rape.

Welcoming the governor to the facility, the Comptroller General of Prisons, Jaafaru Ahmed, who was represented by the state Comptroller, Ahmed Adamu, lauded the cordial relationship between the state government and prison service.

He expressed gratitude over the decision of the state government to involve the prison inmates in the anniversary celebration.

Mr. Adamu also commended the Dankwambo administration for uplifting the standard of the prison, which was built in 1919.

He listed the interventions by the state government under Mr. Dankwambo to include building a one-storey block of five cells, another block of four cells for VIPs and two security towers.

He said the administration also provided a Toyota Hilux van and an 18-seater bus for conveying prisoners to courts across the state capital, as well as drugs and beddings.

The comptroller, however, asked for more. He urged the state government to provide free medical service to the prisoners at public hospitals.

He also wants the inmates, who he said are mostly youth, incorporated into the various skills acquisition programmes of the state to facilitate their integration back into society.

Mr. Adamu said the National Open University of Nigeria has approved a study centre for inmates in the state, with the institution also waiving both registration and tuition fees for them.

The governor, while lamenting the condition of the facility, appealed to the inmates to take advantage of their incarceration to improve on their education with a view to turning over new leaves in their lives.

He directed his commissioners to, within one week, intervene with a view to alleviating the plight of the prisoners regarding the provision of drinking water, light, and bathing soaps, among other essentials.

Mr. Dankwambo, before leaving the facility, donated a cow, food items as well as blankets, clothing and germicides.

He said based on the prerogative of mercy, his administration will release some inmates on October 1.
The Jigawa State Government on Monday in Dutse said it would support 108 female groundnut oil millers with N270,000 seed money to start their own businesses.

Muhammad Mujaddadi, Special Assistant to the governor on Empowerment, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that each beneficiary would receive N2,500 to buy a sack of groundnut for oil milling.

We discover that most of these women get five to six measures of groundnut on credit and pay back after they have milled and sold the oil.

So government feels it is better to provide them with seed capital that will enable them buy the groundnut in large quantity to enable them make more profit, Mr. Mujaddadi said.

Mr. Mujaddadi said four groundnut oil millers were selected as beneficiaries from each of the 27 local government areas of the state.

He explained that 74 of the beneficiaries had applied for the scheme while the remaining 36 were yet to submit applications.

Mr. Mujaddadi said the free gesture was part of the state governments empowerment scheme aimed at eradicating poverty among rural dwellers.

The gesture will encourage women to engage in productive activities and assist in developing small-scale businesses among women at the grassroots, he said.

He said the government would continue to accord special priority to women, considering their vulnerability in the society.

This will also enable the women to contribute meaningfully to the economic wellbeing of their families, he noted. (NAN)
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the deployment of 25,000 officers to ensure peace and security during Wednesdays governorship election in Edo State.

In a statement by Don Awunah, Force Public Relations Officer, the police boss said the security plan would guarantee free, fair and credible election, secure electoral process, and enable eligible voters exercise their franchise freely and voluntary.

The police said the police officers would be joined by tactical teams which include Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, Special Protection Unit, Force Animal Branch, Police Air wing [Aerial patrol), and Marine Police Unit [Riverine Patrol).

This is in addition to the deployment of other sister agencies to ensure a robust security template for the election, the statement said.

Also, Police Helicopters, gun boats, Armoured Personnel Carriers, Police Dogs and technical platforms will be deployed.

The police security would also secure election material and officials, ensure adequate security before, during and after the election, according to Mr. Idris.

In the same vein, protection of life and property in the entire State will be of paramount importance, the statement added.

However, the Police will be firm and decisive in dealing with any infractions of the law, actions and activities that constitute breach of peace and contrary to public order.

The police also announced a restriction of vehicular movement in the state from midnight Tuesday to 6pm Wednesday, except those involved in essential duties who must be properly identified.

The IGP wishes to entreat all Police Officers and Officers of all sister security agencies deployed for the election to conduct themselves in the best professional manner, maintaining apolitical disposition and strictly adhering to the rules of engagement, the statement added.
The Ogun Police Command says it will prosecute a pentecostal pastor, Wale Fagbere, who allegedly invaded a traditional shrine in Ketu area of Ayetoro in Ogun.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abeokuta on Monday that the cleric would be charged for malicious damage and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace.

What he did was wrong and so he must be charged to court. If it was the other way round too, they will also be charged to court.

Everyone has a right to worship whatever deity one chooses without fear or favour, he said.

Mr. Oyeyemi, however, said he could not tell in which court the accused would be arraigned as at press time.

Mr. Fagbere on Saturday attempted to pull down a traditional shrine in Ketu, Yewa North Local Government Area of the state.

But he was reported to have immediately gone numb upon entering the shrine, attracting a crowd to the scene.

He, however, regained consciousness after the traditional ruler of the town, Abdulaziz Adelakun, intervened and directed that some traditional rites be carried out on him.

(NAN)
Details added (first version posted on 17:57)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev received the delegation headed by Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov Sept. 26.

The head of state noted the importance of the Belarusian ministers visit to Baku with a big delegation to participate in the Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2016). Noting that the military cooperation between the two countries is developing successfully over many years, President Aliyev said that the relations in this field give satisfaction. He praised it as an indicator of high confidence between Azerbaijan and Belarus and as a good expression of the fact that the countries are based on multilateral cooperation in the economic, political, military and other fields.

Having said that equipments, purchased in Belarus over the recent years, meet the highest standards, the head of state noted that they talked about it at the meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that the Azerbaijani specialists are also pleased with the high quality and reliability of the equipment. President Aliyev praised this as an indicator of the great progress made by Belarus in the military-technical sphere.

Touching upon the relations existed between the two countries throughout the history, the president highlighted that there are good prospects for further development of bilateral cooperation.

President Aliyev noted the importance of the demonstration of Belarusian military equipment at Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2016) in terms of Azerbaijans familiarization with innovations in this area and determination of opportunities for cooperation.

Noting that the visit of the Belarusian minister to Azerbaijan will further serve for the development of relations between the two countries, the president said that the visit created a good opportunity to discuss issues related to the further development of cooperation.

Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov conveyed to President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan greetings of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

The defense minister noted that Azerbaijan is a friendly country for Belarus in the South Caucasus, which it trusts and Belarus is a country that can become a reliable friend for Azerbaijan in the center of Europe. Noting Azerbaijan's support for Belarus in its difficult period, the minister expressed his gratitude for this to President Ilham Aliyev.

Noting that his visit to Azerbaijan coincided with an important day for the country, Andrei Ravkov described the referendum as an important event.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for greetings of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and asked to convey his greetings to the Belarusian president.
Theres a gorgeous, upscale restaurant inside Tropicana Atlantic City that is the casinos best-kept secret. The problem is that its been the casinos best-kept secret for more than 30 years.

If the talented culinary team at the Trop has its way, though, that will all change over the next six months.

Il Verdi, a spectacular Italian restaurant, will suddenly become THE place for Trops loyal players to dine when Fin and Seaside Cafe close early next month to pave the way for multiple concepts by Iron Chef Jose Garces that will debut next spring.

The issue with Il Verdi is that its hard to find. Tucked around a corner off the casino floor near the escalators to the showroom, there is no real frontage, just a nondescript side door. But once you find it, youll treasure that discovery.

A big reason for that is Restaurant Chef Jack Flanigan, who talks about the restaurant with such love, youd think hes talking about his own business. Thats because hes been involved in the restaurant for more than 20 years. Together with his experienced wait and kitchen staffs and direction from Director of Culinary Operations Demetrios Haronis and Vice President of Food and Beverage Renee Fleifel, Il Verdi is in great hands.

And just in time for Fins closing and Il Verdis expansion, theres a new menu, and it may be the best they ever offered.

I, along with our guests, love the intimate charm of Tropicanas hidden gem, and with the new menu the chefs have put together showcasing Italys finest flavors, it is definitely worth seeking out and seeing for yourself why Il Verdi continues to be successful for over 30 years, Fleifel says.

The menu has always been awesome, but ... were really proud of this one, Flanigan says.

The biggest new addition is fresh pasta made daily in house, including rigatoni, penne, linguini and fettuccini for must-try pasta entrees such as their rigatoni Bolognese ($21) with a sausage ragu; linguini with littleneck clams ($21) with white wine, garlic, Italian parsley, basil and olive oil; homemade ravioli ($24) filled with fresh mozzarella in a basil pomodoro sauce; and Spaghetti Alla Chitarra ($27) with rock shrimp, calamari, Calabrian chilies, white wine and a roasted plum tomato sauce.

But the winner of all the new homemade pastas is the ricotta-stuffed gnocchi ($19), light, melt-in-your-mouth pasta pillows with blistered heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic and EVOO.

When you make pasta yourself every day, its just better  simple as that, Flanigan says. The gnocchi are really over the top. We used to have a potato gnocchi, but these are Demetrios babies ... theyre light as a feather and the best I ever had.

Of course, there are other reasons than pasta to visit Il Verdi.

Like the Cubanelle pepper ($11) stuffed with hot sausage, Pecorino Romano and sharp provolone served over a bit of homemade marinara made from San Marzano tomatoes; the spiedino ($12)  Italian grilled cheese with parmesan and herb-crusted fried Fiore di Latte mozzarella with a roasted garlic anchovy sauce and marinara.

For meat eaters, there are two new dishes: a double-cut pork chop ($34) pan seared with garlic, rosemary, broccoli rabe, hot and sweet vinegar peppers and sharp provolone; and a 42-ounce Tomahawk ribeye chop ($89) for two thats as good as, if not better than, anything Fin offered. The 28-day-aged long-bone ribeye is grilled with roasted garlic and truffle butter, served with parmesan herb fingerling potatoes.

Its just awesome, Flanigan says. Its something I always wanted to have on there. There is a wow factor with that Tomahawk. Ive seen one person eat it all, but its also great for sharing.

Seafood lovers wont be left out with Salmone Susanna ($34), grilled Faroe Island salmon topped with jumbo crab, tarragon and diced tomatoes in a white wine butter; or the Fra Diavalo ($52) with a pound-and-a-half lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari in a spicy marinara over linguini.

Flanigan knows that if you go to Il Verdi, youll go back. He sees it every day.

Its a very quaint dining experience. Its not loud or bright. Theres plenty of marble and a mirrored ceiling that reminds you of the classic casino Italian restaurants. The same footprint is here from when it opened, Flanigan says. Our servers are knowledgeable. Its our hidden gem. People have to find us, but when they do, theyre glad. Its worth the effort.

Haronis agrees. Theres something special about this place. While it may be a classic casino Italian restaurant, the foods a perfect mix of traditional and modern presentations ... the new menu has made it more approachable in price. We dont want to be just for high-rollers anymore. We think its so good everyone should experience it.

IL VERDI

Where: Tropicana Atlantic City

When: 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays through Tuesdays; will go to daly when Fin closes on Oct. 1 until the new Jose Garces restaurants open in spring.

How much: Appetizers range in price from $11 to $42; soups $8; salads $11 to $21; sides $6 to $10; pasta $18 to $27; seafood $32 to $52; meats $32 to $89; desserts $10.

Services: Major credit cards accepted. Liquor license. Disabled access through front door. Eat in. No takeout. Private parties. No catering. No kids menu. No smoking.

More info: Call 609-340-4000 or go to Tropicana.net

Between you and me: All desserts ($10) are homemade, including a mind-blowing tiramisu and Limoncello mascarpone cheesecake. But the house favorite are beignets, lightly fried cream cheese dough filled with ricotta filling, dusted with powdered sugar and served warm with a trio of sauces: chocolate, white chocolate vanilla and caramel. You can thank us later.
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ATLANTIC CITY  Redenia Gilliam-Mosee, the former president of the citys Boys and Girls Club and the first African-American woman vice president in the resorts casino industry, will receive one of the highest honors in the gaming industry.

Gilliam-Mosee will posthumously be inducted into the American Gaming Associations Gaming Hall of Fame during an event at The Venetian Las Vegas on Wednesday. Gilliam-Mosee died on New Years Day 2010 at the age of 60.

She was the face, the voice and the conscience of the gaming industry in its earliest days in Atlantic City, said Michael Pollock, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group.

The Gaming Hall of Fame, since its inception in 1989, recognizes leaders with gamings highest honor who have distinguished themselves through significant contributions to the industry. This year, a five-person selection committee of industry stakeholders reviewed a number of nominations.

Born in Newark, Gilliam-Mosee and her family moved to Atlantic City when she was 10.

Gilliam-Mosee  who worked as a chambermaid in high school  later left the resort to earn her bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Wilberforce University in Ohio, and a master's degree in city and regional planning from Rutgers University. She then taught as an assistant professor in the Planning and Community Development department of Livingston College, on the Piscataway campus of Rutgers University, from 1971 to 1979.

Gilliam-Mosee got her hard work and dedication from her mother, said state Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson

Her mother expected excellence from her children, said Johnson. She was smart, tough and at the same time classy. She was special.

She returned in 1979 to work as a consultant for Bally's Atlantic City, where she was an executive for more than 20 years.

Its an overdue honor, said state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, a former Atlantic City mayor, of her induction. Icon is the right word to describe her. She was proud of growing up here and being an Atlantic City High School graduate. She acted as a bridge between the city and casino industry, something that is lacking right now.

Despite her success, Gilliam-Mosee always worked to make the city a better place, Pollock said. During her tenure, she helped leverage millions of dollars from the casino industry on behalf of community initiatives.

Her commitment to the city was unquestioned, and as a result, her company  Ballys  was seen as sharing that commitment, Pollock said. She was seemingly everywhere in those early days, and it is no exaggeration to say that she showed other gaming executives in other markets how to connect to their communities. In other words, her legacy still exists.

She spearheaded a $3 million upgrade for the Boys and Girls Club, which doubled its capacity when the new facility opened more than 15 years ago; and a project called Jacobs Family Terrace, the city's first casino-sponsored housing project; and HOPE: Homeownership Opportunities for Performing Employees, a program dedicated to helping Bally's Atlantic City workers buy their own homes.

Her nature was to give back and make sure that young people coming up had opportunities, Whelan said. She cared about the future.

Contact: 609-272-7046

Twitter @ACPressHuba
LOWER TOWNSHIP  Three township residents have been arrested and charged in a February bank robbery at gunpoint, the Cape May County Prosecutors Office announced.

A gunman wearing a black ski mask robbed Crest Savings Bank at 3306 Bayshore Road in Lower Township on Feb. 25, the Prosecutors Office said Monday. The robbery sparked a manhunt across the township after the suspect fled into the woods.

Joseph P. McCarraher Jr., of the Villas section, was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, certain person not to have weapons, terroristic threats and hindering apprehension, the Prosecutors Office said. His age was not provided.

McCarraher was in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton on unrelated charges at the time of the arrest, the Prosecutors Office said.

Trevor Seer, of the Erma section of the township, and Meghan L. Valeri, of the North Cape May section, also were arrested last week in the robbery.

Seer was charged with first-degree robbery and hindering apprehension. Valeri was charged with hindering apprehension. Their ages were not provided.

The investigation immediately after the robbery included K-9 units, a State Police helicopter and officers from multiple departments. Bus service was suspended the following day for students at Lower Cape May Regional High School, the Richard M. Teitelman School and the Sandman School, neighbors said.

The prosecutor said the Cape May County Sheriffs Office, Lower Township Police Department, Wildwood Police Department and FBI assisted in the investigation.

In April, a SWAT team served a warrant to McCarraher after he failed to appear in court, the Prosecutors Office said at the time of the incident. Police shot and killed a dog while serving the warrant after the dog bit a member of the SWAT team, the prosecutor said.

McCarraher was previously wanted for violating his probation by unlawfully possessing a weapon in 2015, according to the Sheriffs Office.
Many people are to blame for the rise of Donald Trump as a political force, and most of them reside on my side of the aisle. But that story is familiar by now.

But not all of the blame belongs inside the conservative family.

Consider President Obama. One of the central insights of both the Obama campaign and administration (the difference is subtle but real) is that Obama benefits when his critics overreact. In 2008, then-political adviser David Axelrod coined the phrase "no drama Obama" to describe not only his client's personality but his messaging. By seeming unflappable in the face of criticism, Obama comes across as presidential. The more heated the criticism, the more presidential he seems.

The thing is, Obama often intentionally provokes the conservative base. As the Washington Post's Paul Waldman put it in January 2015, Obama "seems to come up with a new idea every couple of weeks to drive (the GOP) up a wall." That makes him a master at trolling.

For those still not up to speed with the lingo, "trolling" is an internet term for saying outrageous things in order to elicit an even more outraged response. Or, as Urban Dictionary defines it, "The art of deliberately, cleverly and secretly pissing people off."

For instance, although ideology and policy no doubt play a role in Obama's frequent refusal to use the phrase "Islamic terrorism," he also seems to enjoy watching his critics shriek about it.

In late 2014, when Obama announced that he was going to unilaterally block the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants in the country - after insisting for years that the Constitution wouldn't allow him to do anything of the sort - many writers on the left and the right recognized that at least part of his strategy was to bait Republicans. Obama could have changed the policy quietly, without much fanfare. Instead, he sought to incite as much right-wing anger as possible.

Tellingly, the White House didn't give the exclusive to Univision or MSNBC, but to Fox News. As liberal writer Bill Scher put it in Politico, "Operation Epic Troll" was a "smashing success."

Obama played a similar game with his birth certificate and the whole birther craze. He could have released his birth certificate as early as 2008, when the Mephistophelean Hillary Clinton henchman Sid Blumenthal was whispering in reporters' ears. But Obama didn't for years - in part because he knew the conspiracy theory would galvanize his base. It not only confirmed everything liberals wanted to hear about the right, it also provided Obama with an endless supply of one-liners. And for a long time that worked well for Obama; he got to mock birthers and play the dignified victim.

You can probably already see the problem. When you throw out so many buckets of chum, you have no idea what kinds of creatures you'll attract.

Obama chummed the waters for so long, he pulled in a Great White Shark. A man often in error but never in doubt, with a thumbless grasp of facts and a total willingness to repeat conspiracy theories, rumors and innuendo as the truth, Trump was almost the personification of the collective id of the angrier strata of the Republican base.

Trump's claim last week that he was doing a public service by "ending" the issue Clinton "started" was itself a brilliant bit of trollery. He was trying to have it both ways, simultaneously saying that the birther movement was nefarious and illegitimate from the beginning, and that he was some kind of statesman for relentlessly pushing the birther story.

None of that matters now. Like Obama, Trump exploited birtherism for his own advantage, worming his way into the GOP.

Obama allowed the issue to fester in the fever swamps of the right, and now he's facing the real possibility that he will be replaced by the Swamp Thing.

Email Jonah Goldberg at JonahsColumn@aol.com.
MAYS LANDING  Local winemakers converged at the South Jersey Wine and Food Festival to showcase their unique wines to hundreds of visitors Sunday at Lake Lenape Park.

The festival, established in 2010, featured 14 wineries from South Jersey and several food options from local vendors.

For some of the vendors, the festival was an opportunity to show what South Jersey has to offer in fruit and wine.

I think festivals like this help the whole industry, said Brett Castone, an employee of Tomasello Winery in Hammonton. We use local blackberries from Hammonton. It shows the partnership between the farmers and wineries in the area.

Lise Clark, of Pilesgrove, Salem County, said the festival in Mays Landing has one of the nicest crowds of all the festivals she attends in New Jersey each year.

Clark is the owner of the Chestnut Run Farm in Salem County, which produces various types of Asian wines from fruit that is grown on site. She said South Jersey has ideal conditions that allow farmers to grow fruit used in local wines.

She also said this is the second time her winery has been featured at the South Jersey Wine and Food Festival.

Its a nice venue and its a nice crowd, she said.

Contact: 609-272-7260
CAPE MAY  City officials have partially filled in a tide pool at the Cove beach where a little boy nearly drowned last month.

The state Department of Environmental Protection approved the citys request to fill in the large pool of tidal water just west of Second Avenue, which formed last year due to erosion. City Manager Bruce MacLeod said the permit did not allow enough sand to be moved to completely eliminate the hazard.

City officials and residents had been concerned about the pool  a large sunken area about 30 feet from the Atlantic Ocean surf, filled with seawater and rain, located out of view of lifeguards. The city installed signs telling bathers to stay out of the water.

On Aug. 31, a 5-year-old boy was rescued from the tidal pool at Cove beach after he was found unconscious by a beachgoer who alerted lifeguards. He was taken to Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House, where he was treated.

DEP spokeswoman Caryn Shinkse said the Division of Land Use Regulation approved an amendment earlier this month to the citys beach maintenance plan to allow a one-time transfer of sand.

If it turns out for any reason that additional sand has to be moved or transferred or scraped in this particular zone, the city would have to start the process over and request and receive additional approval, Shinske said.

City workers filled in a portion of the tide pool Sept. 20 to a depth of about 24 inches using city equipment and a bulldozer the city rented for about $2,000, MacLeod said.

MacLeod said there wasnt enough sand available for the city to completely fill the tide pool, which he said reached a depth at 5 feet.

We did some calculations and realized that the amount of sand we had available to transfer was not going to be nearly enough to completely eliminate the tidal pool, MacLeod said. But we followed through with the purpose of trying to fill in as much of the tidal pool as we possibly could and to target the deepest areas.

He said the city hopes some of the water will be able to evaporate at the shallower depths.

MacLeod said that after Tropical Storm Hermine on Labor Day weekend, another tide pool formed at the Cove beach, this one closer to the water. That tide pool was not able to be filled, he said, due to lack of sand. He said future storms may allow that pool to drain naturally.

Shinkse said the tide pools are in a zone that has restrictions on beach maintenance due to endangered shorebirds and plant life, specifically seabeach amaranth. She said the Division of Land Use Regulation determined that currently there is no threatened or endangered nesting bird activity or sea beach amaranth in this zone.

This fall, the city will receive two beach renourishment projects from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which may help the situation. The first stretches from the Cape May Coast Guard base to the jetty at 2nd Street. The second runs from the Cove beach to Cape May Point.

MacLeod said the city hopes that the Army Corps will place enough sand to completely eliminate the tide pool at the Cove.

Obviously, we dont want to have any unfortunate incidents where someone might fall into the tidal pool particularly not thinking it might have the depth as much as 4-, 5-, 6-foot deep and something tragic happen. We would like to eliminate that if at all possible, he said.

After the near-drowning incident, DEP spokesman Larry Hajna confirmed the city reached out in May asking for permission to fill in the tidal pool and was told that due to restrictions in its beach maintenance plan for nesting birds and other wildlife, it could not.

The city has continued the dialogue with New Jersey DEP Bureau of Coastal Engineering and Land Use Regulation to make sure that we have permission to do sand movement and sand transfers and they are aware of the conditions of the beach, so that we can address issues like the tidal pools, hopefully, now moving forward, in a quicker manner than what happened earlier this year, MacLeod said.

Contact: 609-272-7251
A Florida contractor has been charged in connection with pocketing $75,000 of client insurance money and repair grants, Ocean County officials said.

Richard Woodard, 63, the part-owner of Willwood Builders in Clearwater, Florida, was charged with theft by failure to make required disposition on behalf of seven victims, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced Monday.

Around 2 p.m. on Sept. 21, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department at the request of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Economic Crimes Unit found and arrested Woodard on Friar Tuck Lane in Dunedin, Florida.

Woodard and his company allegedly took more than $75,000 from seven known victims using client savings, insurance money, and the state Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) grants paid without Willwood Builders finishing the work.

Woodard was held at $150,000 bail, no 10 percent, pending his extradition to Ocean County.

The prosecutors office recommends that anyone with issues to report regarding Woodards Willwood Builders Construction Company can contact Economic Crimes Unit Detective Lindsay Llauget at 732-929-2027 Ext. 3462.

--Erin Serpico
If history is any indication, the defeat of a November ballot question on North Jersey casinos would not end the fight to expand gaming beyond Atlantic City.

Low poll numbers and a pro-North Jersey casino group dropping its marketing campaign last week suggest Atlantic City will retain its state monopoly on gambling for at least two years, the next time a referendum could resurface.

Thats what happened more than 40 years ago, when a 1974 referendum, which lacked specifics about where New Jersey casinos would be located, failed. That paved the way for the approved 1976 public vote, which designated Atlantic City as the lone spot for gaming halls.

This time, however, a vote to allow casinos in North Jersey would simply continue the proliferation of legalized gambling on the East Coast, where casinos have popped up in surrounding states, siphoning business from Atlantic Citys market  and each other.

So a vote for even more casinos is a harder sell, said Robert Ambrose, an instructor at the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management at Drexel University.

With the proliferation of so many regional gaming houses within a two-hour ride from A.C., this competitive market is not the same as it was in 76. Ambrose said. The casino sell in New Jersey is harder this time, as the market dynamics have changed and not everyone wants one in their town. A lot of promises were made during the campaign in 1976 to legalize casino gambling. Some were delivered and some were lost, like playing cards in a dealers shuffle.

Opponents and even some supporters of the current referendum said there arent enough details, such as exact locations for the new casinos and the tax rates they would pay.

If you look at it, its very similar, said state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, who was Atlantic Citys mayor from 1990 to 2001. The 1974 referendum lacked details, while the 1976 plan had all of the details. I hope its dead for, not just this year, but the near future. But you never know.

Voters will decide whether to approve as many as two casinos in North Jersey during the Nov. 8 election. The ballot question states the new casinos must be in separate counties and at least 72 miles from Atlantic City, where four casinos closed in 2014 and another, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, is set to close Oct. 10.

Jeff Gural, operator of the Meadowlands Racetrack, has said he is still committed to building a casino at the site and hopes that measure could come back in 2018, if its defeated this year. Gural looked to partner with Hard Rock International to build a 650,000-square-foot property that featured 200 gambling tables and 5,000 slot machines at the site.

Deutsche Bank said last year North Jersey casinos could generate $500 million in gambling revenue.

The public question on the 1976 ballot, unlike its predecessor, limited casinos to Atlantic City, said Michael Pollock, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group. It also specified that the tax revenue raised through casino gambling would be used to finance new programs for senior citizens.

Assemblyman Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, expects the issue to come up again in two years. With the fight against expanding gambling, weve proven North Jersey casinos are not inevitable, he said.

A recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll found only 40 percent of voters supported expanding casino gaming in the state.

Ambrose said there is irony in that number, too.

Ironically, the latest polls are showing similar numbers to the defeated 1974 first referendum to establish casinos statewide. That vote failed 60 percent to 40 percent, he said.

Contact: 609-272-7046

Twitter @ACPressHuba
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26



By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:



The referendum on amending Azerbaijans constitution has been held transparently, Nathalie Goulet, French senator and vice-chair of the Senates Foreign Affairs Committee, told Trend Sept.26.



We just spent some time at polling stations. Then we checked the opening of the boxes and everything was very transparent, she added.



Goulet noted that the voter turnout in the referendum in Azerbaijan is more than in France and it is a good result.



The senator said they also had an opportunity to meet with refugees and IDPs from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts occupied by Armenia.



Big work has been carried out by Azerbaijani government to provide the refugees with better accommodation, said Goulet.



All those people want to go back to their lands, to Nagorno-Karabakh, to the surrounding regions, whatever time it will take, she added.



The referendum on making amendments to Azerbaijans Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and wrapped up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours).



As many as 117 international observers  MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  have been accredited by Azerbaijans CEC to observe the referendum. The total number of the observers is around 53,000.
Shame on pageant execs for politicizing Miss America

As a former Miss America hostess committee member for 33 years, I was delighted that the pageant had undergone a revival and watched the show with pleasure this year.

However, I was horrified at the end when the contestants were asked pointedly political questions about the presidential candidates. What were the judges thinking? The competition is not a forum to support or denounce either candidate.

Miss America is supposed to represent all the people and not be a forum to express political views.

Shame on them.

Marie Everleth

Macungie, Pennsylvania

A proud deplorable

Now Hillary Clinton says that if I dont vote for her or agree with her, then I am deplorable. Print up my new T-shirt, Proud To Be Deplorable.

Frank Murphine

Millville

Keep water, beach clean

New Jersey claims the rain that falls on the ground. Then doesnt it follow that it also owns all the water that falls in the town and enters the sewer where the water turns brown? And after a rain it pollutes the beach, robbing tourists of their favorite treat.

So, New Jersey, take all the water you claim, and clean it up so we all would gain.

Jonathan F. Sayre

Cape May

A.C. should help Straub

I am appalled about the lack of real concern for an investor, Glenn Straub, who wants desperately to reopen the Revel (now called TEN) and invest in the city where I pay my taxes and live. I wish there were more investors now that feel his way.

Why does Atlantic City turns its back on this man? Officials should do everything possible to get this property up and running. I am once again disgusted, embarrassed and humiliated by the city where I pay my taxes, and the fact that they portray themselves as just not interested.

In less than two months, state voters will decide if they want more gambling and it could lead to more closures in this city. We need help now.

Lou Frankel

Atlantic City

Just shallow disparagement

Regarding the Sept. 12 letter, Trump campaign garbage:

I guess the letter writer is not listening to any of Donald Trumps rallies or other speeches he has made on the economy, Supreme Court judges, education, Second Amendment, etc. I guess the writer just listens to the mainstream media that takes clips from his speeches that do not tell the whole story.

Maybe it would be a ray of sunshine to have a person like Trump who is up front with the people and not constantly lying about everything. All I have heard from the writer is putting Trump down and very little about what her stands are on the real concerns of the American people.

Ruth Ternyila

Long Beach Township
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Student post-it notes fill the bulletin board in the dance studio at Absegami High School.

Dance is freedom.

Dance is a time when I can be myself and express my emotions.

Dance is the highlight of my day.

Dance also almost disappeared from the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District in the budget crunch of 2010. Crying students attended school board meetings to plead their case.

The program survived, and teacher Katie Roesch now teaches about 80 students in four introductory classes and one double-period advanced class where students learn the basics of jazz, modern dance and ballet, along with history and choreography.

Some of the students in the introductory class never had the opportunity to take a dance class, Roesch said. Thats whats so wonderful about it.

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this month found that while 95 percent of respondents believe an education in the arts is very or somewhat valuable, far fewer have ever done anything to support arts education. More than half have never taken a child to an arts event, and only about 30 percent have ever discussed the issue with a school administrator.

The results are even more dire in the southern part of the state, where fewer respondents believed their children receive enough opportunities in the arts either in school or in their communities. A larger percentage, almost one in five in some areas, said they didnt know if there are enough arts opportunities for children in their schools and communities.

The survey kicked of the ArtsEdNow campaign to raise awareness and participation. Bob Morrison, director of the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership said they hope to inspire some of those who support arts education to take a more active role in providing it.

Our goal is to bring arts back into the spotlight, he said, citing reports that show the benefit of the arts in student development and achievement.

The New Jersey Department of Education has started adding an arts education index to school report cards. Most show students do get art and music classes, but far fewer are exposed to dance or drama.

High school Academy programs have given interested students the chance to specialize in arts fields, but Morrison said they can actually discourage larger participation.

They allow students to focus on one area but also send a message that they are only for those students, Morrison said. We believe all students benefit from the arts.

Students from the Ocean City High School Drama Guild attended the Sea Isle City Board of Educations Sept. 13 meeting to encourage the board to show additional support for their high schools theater program. Sea Isle students attend Ocean City schools.

Local arts groups do collaborate with schools, but their outreach is also limited by their funding.

Karen Pinzolo, executive director of the South Jersey Arts Alliance, said there is a tremendous need for more support, and South Jersey does not get the same level of grant funding as groups in the north, which tend to be larger and more plentiful. She said part of her job is to help promote the arts so more people can participate.

She said the economic barriers to attending events are greater in South Jersey, and for schools, providing transportation to events can be costly.

The poll found respondents who had more education and more money were more likely to participate in the arts.

Arts groups do reach out. Local theater groups, the Bay Atlantic Symphony, and the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts offer free performances, camps, programs and artist-in-residence opportunities. But they need support to provide them.

Representatives from the Atlantic City Ballet attended a recent Atlantic City School Board meeting to promote special $5 tickets for education groups in South Jersey and $12 tickets for residents. The group also sponsors Stage to School programs in schools.

Ballet Development Manager Michael Hoebler said school parent groups help fund programs, but it is harder for the arts to compete with the math and science fields today. He cited Egg Harbor Township as a district that has made an effort to promote the arts.

If its not part of state testing, its just not as important, he said.

In 2008, the state Board of Education mandated all students get at least one year of arts instruction as a graduation requirement. But the 2011 New Jersey Arts Education Census Project found just 18 percent of all high schools offered all four arts disciplines  music, dance, theater and visual arts  as required by the state core-curriculum standards.

The Census Project cited Absegami High School, Egg Harbor Township High School, the Texas Avenue School in Atlantic City and Stafford Township Intermediate School in Ocean County as ranking in the top 10 percent of schools in the state in offering a variety of arts options.

For Roesch, 33, a Galloway native and graduate of Absegami, the opportunity to teach there is also proof for her students that it is possible to have a career in dance. She got a degree in dance and performed at Disney World and with Legends in Concert in Atlantic City before she was hired by Absegami this year.

Her advanced class of about 20 students features some who have studied outside school and a few who took their first class at Absegami.

I remember I was so stressed by my first advanced class, said Melody Tang, 17, who started in the introductory class. But then all I could think about was dance.

This is such a great opportunity if you cant afford dance classes, said Angelique Schunk, 17, who also studies outside school.

There are only a handful of boys in the current program, but Roesch hopes to encourage more. Johnny Keen studies hip-hop outside school and said he believes guys want know how to dance, theyre just nervous about taking a class.

Pinzolo said it is crucial to expose children to the arts while they are young, and schools provide the best opportunity to reach all children.

How are we going to develop adult audiences if they are not exposed to arts as a child? she asked.

Contact: 609-272-7241

Twitter @ACPressDamico
HOUSTON (AP)  A disgruntled lawyer who had numerous weapons randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood Monday morning, hitting six people, one critically, before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said. Another three people had injuries from glass or debris.

The first report of the shootings came in at about 6:30 a.m., Police Chief Martha Montalvo said at a news conference, and the suspect began firing at officers when they arrived. Montalvo did not identify the man; Mayor Sylvester Turner told KTRK-TV that the lawyer was "disgruntled" and "either fired or had a bad relationship with this law firm."

Numerous weapons were found at the scene, a bomb-squad robot examined a Porsche that's believed to be the shooter's and bomb squad officers also were scouring the suspect's residence, Montalvo said.

The entrance to the condo complex, which is near the affluent enclave of West University Place, was still blocked off with police tape late Monday morning. Several cars with bullet holes and shattered windows were at a nearby strip mall.

Jennifer Molleda and her husband live in the same condo complex as the shooter. Though she heard gunshots about 6:12 a.m. and called 911, her husband left for work. The 45-year-old called him not long after, and he told her "I'm hit, I'm hit."

After the shooting stopped at 7:15 a.m., Molleda found her husband, 49-year-old Alan Wakim, several blocks away in the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. His Mustang had two shots that went through the windshield, and he told her that he saw a red laser beam before the shots were fired. He was taken to a hospital to be treated.

"He got out of his car, we hugged, we cried," Molleda said, adding that after she saw everything he believes the man was "aiming to kill."

Molleda said that said a few weeks ago, the suspect brandished an assault-style weapon at roofers in the complex. She said she didn't know him very well but described him as quiet. "He's a normal, average Joe," she said.

Another witness, 30-year-old Antwon Wilson, inadvertently drove into the shooting scene after dropping off his girlfriend at work and could "literally hear the gunfire flying." He managed to flee and escape injury.

Lee Williams left his home in the neighborhood upon hearing gunshots and began directing traffic away from the condo complex, noting that people usually cut through the area to avoid some busier intersections. One car ignored him, he said, and was immediately shot at. Williams couldn't see the gunman because it was dark, but believed he saw the muzzle flashes.

"Whatever cars were going by, he was shooting at them," the 55-year-old said, noting he heard at least 50 gunshots over 40 or so minutes. As he was being interviewed, neighbors came by and patted him on the back, thanking him for keeping people safe.

Of the nine people hurt, Houston Fire Department spokesman Ruy Lozano said six were shot and three had minor injuries related to glass. Montalvo said one person was hospitalized in critical condition and another in serious condition.

"The investigation is active. It's very, very early. We want to make sure there is no other gunman. We are checking every angle, I can assure you," Turner told the TV station.
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.




Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

In 2017, the volume of funds, allocated from the state budget for the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support under Azerbaijans Economy Ministry, will remain at the level of the current year, the countrys Finance Minister Samir Sharifov told reporters Sept. 26 in Baku.

For the issuance of preferential loans, entrepreneurs will be provided with 250 million Azerbaijani manats (1.6292 AZN/USD on Sept. 26) through the Fund in 2016, including 70 million manats  by budgetary funds.

The minister said also that funds, allocated for the Fund, together with accumulated and returned loans that were previously issued by the Fund, will be used for the issuance of preferential loans. It will contribute to the involvement of a greater number of entrepreneurs in the economy that, in turn, will lead to its further growth.

Since early 2016, the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support allocated preferential loans worth 102.7 million manats for entrepreneurs. These loans will allow creating about 5,500 new jobs.

The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support was created in 1992.

The issuance of loans for entrepreneurs is carried out through authorized banks and non-bank credit organizations, overall number of which is 59.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

Speaker of Tajikistans Parliament Shukurjon Zuhurov will make an official visit to Azerbaijan on September 28, the Tajik Embassy in Baku has told Trend.

During his visit, Zuhurov is slated to meet with the Azerbaijani leadership, including the Azerbaijani Parliaments Speaker Ogtay Asadov and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade.

A wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation, including regional security, fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as expansion of interparliamentary cooperation will be discussed during the meetings.

During his visit to Baku, Zuhurov will also take part in the 5th Baku International Humanitarian Forum, which will take place September 29-30.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Switzerland's University of St. Gallen dominates the table for the 6th year in a row, with French institutions HEC Paris and ESSEC Business School each repeating last year's achievements, earning second and third places respectively.

Shanghai-based Tongji University's School of Economics & Management entered the global top 50 for the first time with a No. 50 ranking, while South-western University of Finance and Economics in Sichuan province came in at No. 90.

Despite increasing competition with 90 participating programmes - up from 85 last year and 70 in 2014 - ACEM maintains its outstanding performance in career development, sustaining a 100% employment rate within 3 months after graduation, best in the world in this criterion. It is also ranked No. 1 in Value for Money.

The index of Aims Achieved remains high at 88%, while that of Careers Rank jumped 11 places to No. 27, and Company Internships advanced 19 percent to 100%, reflecting steady growth in internship placements and career building.

As a programme with a special focus on academic training, we lay extra emphasis on teaching fundamental management know-how and keeping students updated with the latest development in the field.

"We strive to enhance the core competence of our students by working at the forefront of management science and making timely adjustments to course structures and contents," says Wan Guohua, Associate Dean in charge of international development.

In the past few years, ACEM has been drawing experiences from top business schools in the world and constantly improving the curriculum, combining time-tested management theories with up-to-date studies in Big Data and the Internet, and complementing classroom learning with first-hand work experiences.

It has made it a key point to go global. Educating local talents with an eye for the world market on the one hand, while building up reputation overseas on the other. Its Master of International Business (MIB) programme integrates top-quality business education with unique insights into Chinese culture and society has proved a hit for aspiring young leaders all over the world.

Contact: Julia, +86-186-0177-6422, wliye@sjtu.edu.cn

SOURCE Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The programme, offered from CEIBS' European Campus, the Lorange Institute of Business in Zurich, will see Lamidi and other African nationals studying alongside 28 peers from Europe and China. Participants are about 39 years old, on average; almost 28% are females; 24% have Masters Degrees or above and they have decades of experience in a wide range of industries. There is a mixture of participants from private companies, state-owned enterprises and government. Classes will be available in Zurich, Accra and Shanghai. The Zurich class is the second cohort of the CEIBS GEMBA. Its curriculum is identical to the one offered to participants in Shanghai, ranked among the Financial Times Top 20 for the last six years, where the latest class began on September 4.

"At this stage of my career, I'm looking for an authentic platform that will catapult me to the next stage," says Lamidi, "one where there is high-quality leadership, a connection to an Ivy League of international professionals, exposure to the latest management techniques and a holistic perspective of the business world." As part of the wider FBN team, he will definitely need a global view. FBN Bank Ghana is a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria which, in addition to its Nigeria headquarters, has offices in the UK, Paris, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

Lamidi knows that, with his hectic work schedule, the part-time 20-month-long course will be challenging; but he believes he is up to the task. After all, it will only require 60 days outside the office. "I just need to rely on my time management skills and make use of every opportunity to balance work with studying," he says. "This course is important to me so I will give it my utmost dedication and full commitment. I am also looking forward to doing some classes in Shanghai."

For more information on the CEIBS GEMBA Programme click here

About CEIBS

Headquartered at its largest campus in Shanghai, China Europe International Business School is mainland China's leading business school, with three programmes globally ranked by the Financial Times. CEIBS offers MBA, Finance MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Education and PhD programmes. Established in 1994 as a non-profit joint venture between the Chinese and European governments, CEIBS also has campuses in China's political capital, Beijing, and Zurich in the heart of Europe. CEIBS also offers programmes from its facilities in Shenzhen to China's south and Accra in Ghana.

Related Links

http://www.ceibs.edu



SOURCE CEIBS
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 26

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

The OSCE Center in Ashgabat city organized a series of training courses for the State Border Service of Turkmenistan, said the message of the center Sept. 26.



Four international experts introduced participants to the types and forms of border patrols, including reconnaissance and tracking patrols, border patrol routine and techniques, information collection and terrain analysis as well as motorized patrolling.



As the OSCE is playing a vital role in maintaining regional security, the center is committed to continuing and expanding its successful cooperation with the State Border Service of Turkmenistan to contribute to ensuring border security in the Central Asian region, said Ambassador Natalya Drozd, head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat.



We organized these training courses to support the host governments efforts in strengthening the capacities of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan through the use of innovative techniques applied by border forces around the globe, she said.



The courses also addressed first aid and pre-hospital trauma care and casualty evacuation.

The practical components of the courses included field exercises on inspection of vehicles, people, and personal belongings, hostage rescue tactics, land navigation and desert survival techniques.

These courses are the essential part of an OSCE extra-budgetary project on strengthening border guard capacities in Turkmenistan launched in 2014 and implemented with financial support from the governments of Germany, Luxembourg and the US.
LONDON, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

BCRE - Brack Capital Real Estate Investments N.V.

("BCRE" or the "Company")

Subsidiary enters into a notarized sale agreement

The Company is pleased to announce that the Company's subsidiary Brack Capital Properties N.V. ("BCRE Germany"), whose shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ("TASE"), announced that it has entered into a notarized sale agreement with a third party (not related to BCRE Germany or its controlling shareholders) for the sale of the entire holdings in four asset companies for a total consideration of EUR 66.5 million (in addition to working capital adjustments). The sold companies hold the full ownership rights of four income producing assets in eastern Germany, in cities that are not in the core operations of BCRE Germany.

Completion of the transaction is expected to be carried out in December 2016 and is subject to producing documents evidencing the cancellation of senior pledges.

For ease of reference, the uncertified English translation of the announcement together with the original announcement which was published on the TASE in Hebrew, is available on the Company's website www.brack-capital.com.

ENQUIRIES:

BCRE - Brack Capital Real Estate Investments N.V.

Ariel Podrojski, Chief Executive Officer

Nansia Koutsou, Chief Financial Officer / Chief Operating Officer

+31 20 514 1004

Novella Communications

Tim Robertson

Toby Andrews

+44 203 151 7008

About BCRE

BCRE is an international real estate development and investment group, headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Through its subsidiary and associated undertakings, the Company is interested in, develops and operates an international portfolio of real estate assets, predominantly located in the USA, Germany and Russia.

The Company has established local management team platforms with significant local market expertise in the US, Germany, Russia, India and the UK with exclusive access to over 550 staff. At present, the Company has offices and teams in New York, London, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Moscow, Kazan, New Delhi, Amsterdam and Limassol.

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE BCRE - Brack Capital Real Estate Investments N.V.
Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development since 2004, the bi-annual holding of VIETSTOCK has grown bigger and better in each edition and this year, the show has expanded to 40% with the participation of more than 300 international and local exhibitors who would welcome nearly 9,000 visitors comprised of livestock farmers, animal nutritionist, feed millers and other industry players from over the world, especially CLMV area (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam).

VIETSTOCK 2016 will be a special edition with the 1st launching of Aquaculture Vietnam 2016 Conference. Themed "Sustainable Aquaculture in Practice", this conference provides a platform for Aquaculture members to keep their skills and knowledge up to date through variety of papers and discussions led by top renowned experts.

In addition, another highlight of this year is "Business Matching Program" -- a free application to connect exhibitors and visitors and allows them to schedule for their meetings at the show in advance. "Participants can request direct meetings to specific industry people. This way, they can maximize their time during the show by exploring business opportunities through significant business conversations." shared by Ms Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat, Business Director of UBM ASIA. Pre-registration at www.vietstock.org is required in order to access the "Business Matching Program"

Holland, Taiwan, South Korea, mainland China, the Czech Republic and so on will lead the foreign pavilions where local guests will have the first hand to explore the latest innovations in feed, livestock and aquaculture production that are being offered by these countries. "For three days, we will provide a unique livestock platform for industry players where they can approach the latest products and technology from the leading exhibitors in many different countries as well as the foreign pavilions. Furthermore, the participants will maximize their business opportunities by meeting with suppliers, distributors and those who are involved in the industry chain. Face-to-face interaction will be the best way to communicate and deliver clear messages to expand networks and develop business partnerships," said by Ms. Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat.

Aside from the wide array of newest technologies which will be showcased by the exhibitors, an interesting and relevant series of conferences and seminars will cover extensive topics such as: "Advance Technologies For Improving Swine Production", "Managing Feed Quality & Safety", "Farm Management and Disease Control in Livestock Farm" , enable participants to learn more on the latest industry innovation, whilst providing them with an opportunity to benchmark and grow their businesses. Visit www.vietstock.org for more on VIETSTOCK 2016 Expo & Forum.

About VIETSTOCK (www.vietstock.org)

VIETSTOCK 2016 Expo & Forum is the biennial livestock exhibition hosted by the Department of Livestock Production -- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). This year, the show has expanded by 40% with 300+ exhibitors. Moreover, it is expected to welcome 9,000+ visitors in different countries, especially the CLMV (Cambodia-Lao-Myanmar-Vietnam) regions.

SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)
LONDON, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

ITN Productions has produced a series of short films about the veterinary profession in collaboration with the British Veterinary Association (BVA). This was launched in an exclusive screening to members of the profession at BVA Members' Day in Bristol on 22 September.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141030/713382-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150929/271773 )

The 'Veterinary View' programme, introduced by national newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, includes 18 news and current affairs style films, each around four minutes, created ITN Productions alongside BVA and a range of veterinary industry partners.

The programme highlights some of the current trends and challenges facing the veterinary profession and celebrates increasingly diverse veterinary careers, innovations and new technologies, responsible pet ownership, and the importance of the vet/client relationship.

BVA President Gudrun Ravetz said:

"Veterinary View not only highlights some of the veterinary profession's fantastic work, but complements our joint project with RCVS, Vet Futures, in exploring how the profession can best shape its own future. We hope it will stimulate debate among vets, and the wider community in which we work, about both the big challenges and opportunities that the veterinary profession is facing."

This is the second year of partnership between BVA and ITN Productions, which launched its first Veterinary View series at BVA Members' Day 2015. Since then thousands of vets and members of the public have tuned in via its screenings of the programme at the London Vet Show, on BVA's vets.tv and via BVA's social media channels.

The BVA's six films also feature a studio interview with incoming BVA President Gudrun Ravetz and Senior Vice President (SVP) Sean Wensley, who discuss BVA's increased support to help young vets cope with early career challenges and the immediate and potential impact of Brexit, and a news item exploring how the veterinary profession is tackling antimicrobial resistance in both small and large animals.

This year's programme also features sponsored content covering key issues and innovations within industry, including:

Bayer Animal Health highlights the dangers of lungworm and their high profile campaign to raise awareness of the disease

highlights the dangers of lungworm and their high profile campaign to raise awareness of the disease City University Hong Kong emphasises the prominent role that One Health plays in its veterinary medicine curriculum, and its partnership with leading US veterinary school Cornell University

emphasises the prominent role that One Health plays in its veterinary medicine curriculum, and its partnership with leading US veterinary school Henry Schein Animal Health profiles their new ' Pharmtrax' smart phone that uses android-based technology to help vets accurately track their time and better manage stock on the go

profiles their new Pharmtrax' smart phone that uses android-based technology to help vets accurately track their time and better manage stock on the go Merial Animal Health highlights the impending threat of an equine flu epidemic and ProteqFlu as the leading vaccine in protecting horses of all kinds against the illness

highlights the impending threat of an equine flu epidemic and ProteqFlu as the leading vaccine in protecting horses of all kinds against the illness Petplan explains the benefits of pet insurance to assist with both preventive and emergency healthcare

explains the benefits of pet insurance to assist with both preventive and emergency healthcare VetCell Therapeutics uses two films to explain its pioneering stem cell research in Asia , and how it is already starting to make a difference to arthritic pets in the US

uses two films to explain its pioneering stem cell research in , and how it is already starting to make a difference to arthritic pets in the US Virbac Animal Health promotes an alternative to surgical castration which provides a choice to pet owners

promotes an alternative to surgical castration which provides a choice to pet owners Virbac Animal Health also showcases how augmented reality brings a new dimension to client education and enables vets and owners to access all they need to know about products at the touch of a button, using any smart device.

also showcases how augmented reality brings a new dimension to client education and enables vets and owners to access all they need to know about products at the touch of a button, using any smart device. Virbac Animal Health also demonstrates how compulsory microchipping is offering vets an opportunity, and how practices are able to connect with their clients with BackHome microchips.

also demonstrates how compulsory microchipping is offering vets an opportunity, and how practices are able to connect with their clients with BackHome microchips. Zoetis Business Consulting offers practices a bespoke solution to help maximise their practice reach, services and outputs

offers practices a bespoke solution to help maximise their practice reach, services and outputs Zoetis talks about its new Petdialog+ app that offers owners the opportunity to track their pet's activity to better assess their health and anticipate future health problems

Head of Industry News at ITN Productions, Simon Shelley, who introduced the programme at BVA Members' Day, said:

"ITN Productions have been delighted to partner with the British Veterinary Association on Veterinary View, to bring to life stories from vets and supporting organisations from across the country who are dedicated to improving animal health and welfare for the benefit of society. It's been a pleasure to work with passionate professionals and forward thinking organisations from across the sector who are continually improving preventative care, treatment, and after care for pets and animals."

All of the films from the Veterinary View programme are now available to view and share on BVA's website at http://www.bva.co.uk/veterinary-view

Notes to editors:

BVA is the national representative body for veterinary surgeons in the UK. We represent the views of our 15,000 on animal health and welfare and veterinary policy issues to government, parliamentarians and key influencers in the UK and EU.

ITN Productions is ITN's bespoke production hub producing creative and commercially valuable content for the corporate, commercial, broadcast and digital sectors. Industry News forms part of this offering and is a communications tool for leading industry bodies and national associations produced in a broadcast news programme format, including interviews, news items and sponsored editorial profiles.

Press contact:

Gavin Hudson, Digital Marketing Manager, ITN productions, +44 20 7430 4708 gavin.hudson@itn.co.uk

Amy Waddell, BVA Head of Media, on +44 20 7908 6353, amyw@bva.co.uk

SOURCE British Veterinary Association (BVA)
Cambridge Pixel, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

SPx Radar Coverage Tool assists commercial security/defence integrators, installers and developers to select optimum location for a radar or other sensor based on line-of-sight visibility



Cambridge Pixel (http://www.cambridgepixel.com), an award-winning supplier of radar display, tracking and recording subsystems, has announced the availability of a free software tool to assist commercial security and defence integrators, installers and developers to select the optimum location for a radar or other sensor based on line-of-sight visibility.

The SPx Radar Coverage Tool is an easy to use downloadable Windows application providing a visual display of radar coverage around the world. The tool calculates the visibility of targets at different heights based on the location and height of the radar. It uses terrain data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission to calculate the line-of-sight from the radar to each point in space, and the display then shows this as colour-coded bands on an underlay map.

The proposed location of the radar may be entered directly as latitude and longitude or the operator can simply click on a high-resolution map. The height of the radar and parameters of the radar itself (end range, top beam angle and bottom beam angle) may be entered and adjusted interactively, with the tool indicating target visibility as a function of height. Curvature of the earth effects are also factored into the line-of-sight calculations.

David Johnson, CEO of Cambridge Pixel, said "This is a really useful tool that our commercial security and defence customers have been asking for. It is easy to use and provides a fast, interactive method of exploring the implications of different radar locations and heights.

"The Radar Coverage Tool will be helpful in a variety of radar surveillance applications from coastal and air defence through to ground protection of military forward operating bases, large camps, observation posts and patrol bases where land features may provide blind spots in the radar coverage."

Cambridge Pixel is providing this unlimited, free version of the Radar Coverage Tool as a self-contained Windows application. A software integration kit is also available for users wanting to add the capabilities of the Radar Coverage Tool into their own application software. Cambridge Pixel will also be incorporating the Radar Coverage Tool into its other radar display products.

To download a free copy of the SPx Radar Coverage Tool follow the link below:

http://www.cambridgepixel.com/products/Radar-Coverage-Tool/

Cambridge Pixel's SPx Radar Coverage Tool is part of the company's world-leading SPx suite of software libraries and applications provide highly flexible, ready-to-run software products for radar scan conversion, visualisation, radar video distribution, target tracking, sensor fusion, plot extraction and clutter processing.

Cambridge Pixel's technology is used in naval, air traffic control, vessel traffic, commercial shipping, security, surveillance and airborne radar applications. Its systems have been implemented in mission critical applications with companies such as BAE Systems, Frontier Electronic Systems, Barco Defence, Blighter Surveillance Systems, DRS, Exelis, Kelvin Hughes, Lockheed Martin, Navantia, Navtech Radar, Raytheon, Royal Thai Air Force, Samsung Thales, Sofresud and Tellumat.

For more information about Cambridge Pixel's range of software modules, please visit http://www.cambridgepixel.com or call: +44 (0) 1763 852749 or email: enquiries@cambridgepixel.com.

Media photo:

http://www.cambridgepixel.com/images/News/pr-radar-coverage-tool.jpg

About Cambridge Pixel (http://www.cambridgepixel.com)

Founded in 2007, Cambridge Pixel is an award winning developer of sensor processing and display solutions including primary and secondary radar interfacing, processing and display components for military and commercial radar applications. It is a world-leading supplier of software-based radar tracking and scan conversion solutions through its modular SPx software, and HPx hardware product range. Based near Cambridge in the UK, the company operates worldwide through a network of agents and distributors. In 2015, Cambridge Pixel received a Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade for 'outstanding overseas sales growth over the last three years'.

SOURCE Cambridge Pixel
DESTIN, Florida, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Experts in interactive marketing solutions including floor plans, maps, virtual tours and renderings; CartoBlue, has announced a strategic partnership with Finnish company CubiCasa to provide clients with an easy way to create interactive floor plans.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411800

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160413/354994LOGO

CartoBlue Interactive Floor Plans Increase Engagement and Conversions for Real Estate and Vacation Rental Listings

The use of floor plans in vacation rental listings and real estate is a dynamic marketing strategy that helps prospective guests and buyers visualize the property faster and greatly influences their decision to rent or buy. But as more professionals are catching on to this tactic, many property managers and real estate professionals are constantly seeking to boost their listings and gain an extra edge over their competitors.

CubiCasa is a technology and design company that provides the real estate market with clean, marketable 2D floor plans. The company takes sketches of floor plans and creates aesthetically appealing designs in a digital format the next business day.

CartoBlue boasts state-of-the-art technology that optimizes the floor plans created by CubiCasa by making them interactive with the addition of icons. When hovered over, these icons display a picture or video and description of that specific room. In addition to the interactive icons, CartoBlue's floor plans feature room labels and furnishings that give guests and buyers a true feeling of how the property is laid out.

"We are very pleased to form a strategic partnership with CubiCasa," said Vice President, Jason Smolarek. "By combining CubiCasa's floor plan creation technology with our interactive platform we will continue to push the envelope and offer an unmatched value in the vacation rental and real estate industry."

This dynamic partnership enables property managers and realtors to improve their interactive marketing for their vacation rental and real estate listings on multiple levels; ultimately boosting their revenues. It will also give vacation rental guests and home buyers a more detailed understanding of the property they are interested in.

The process is simple, users upload a sketch of their floor plan on the CartoBlue website and CubiCasa delivers a digital version the next business day. Prices range from $15 to $35 depending on property square footage; Interactive features allowing the addition of photos and videos with analytics is only $2.99 per property, per month. For further information, visit: http://www.CartoBlue.com/Floor-Plans

About CartoBlue

CartoBlue creates visual experiences that allow clients to promote a property through all stages of development and marketing. They are the experts in interactive content, specializing in maps, virtual tours, renderings and floor plans. The industries they serve are real estate, vacation rentals, hotels/resorts, property development, and building construction. With a focus on detailed and high quality content, their clients are continually satisfied with their finished products.

About CubiCasa

CubiCasa oy was founded in 2014, in Oulu, Finland. The founders Harri Pesola (CEO) and Jarmo Lumpus (Head of Product Development) met a decade earlier while working for Nokia in its peak. Starting as a small floor plan studio, they soon realized an idea of global platform for real estate professionals, with focus on technology and volume delivery capability. Now the company employs 13 specialists, with diverse expertise including architecture, software development, and the public sector. The CubiCasa team is backed by a global network of real estate and software professionals.

Media Contact: Jason Smolarek

Telephone: 800-838-4675

Email: jason@cartoblue.com

SOURCE CartoBlue
STOCKHOLM, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

CX Transformation: Nordics

22-23 November 2016

Stockholm, Sweden

http://www.customerexperiencenordics.com

The biggest companies from across the Nordics including Volvo, SAS, Oriflame and Nordea are gathering this November in Stockholm to discuss how they're getting serious about customer experience.

Customer Experience Transformation: Nordics is back for a 4th year and they're bringing Companies based across the Nordics more CX case studies than ever before! They'll be showing companies how to:

Deliver exceptional customer experience using employee engagement

Turn the voice of the customer into actionable insight

Secure early and tangible wins in order to gain senior buy in

Translate customer experience improvements into clear business value for their organization

CX Transformation: Nordics' panel of expert Nordic speakers includes:

Maria Hamm , Director Customer Experience UK/Nordic & Baltics, DHL

, Director Customer Experience UK/Nordic & Baltics, Petra Mengelt , Director of Customer Experience, Euroloan Group

, Director of Customer Experience, Daniella Becner , Customer Satisfaction Director, Volvo Car Corporation

, Customer Satisfaction Director, Gunilla Dyrhage, Head of Digital Labour Services & Digital Customer Experience, Arbetsformedlingen

Henriette Jehnert , Vice President Customer Experience IVR & Omnichannel, Deutsche Telekom

, Vice President Customer Experience IVR & Omnichannel, Jelena Lazarevic , Change Management Strategist Customer Experience, Scanova

, Change Management Strategist Customer Experience, Kim Wikan Barth , Head of Brand and Customer Experience, Gjensidige

, Head of Brand and Customer Experience, Marie-Christine Lindstrom, Customer Experience Manager, Nordea

Nikolaj Leonhard-Hjorth, Head of Customer Experience, Shobr

Asa Jugard, Manager Customer Insight Strategy & Development, SAS

Gitte Hedman , Senior Manager Customer Experience, Verizon

, Senior Manager Customer Experience, Jenny Mark , Head of Customer Engagement, Swedish Match

, Head of Customer Engagement, Lea Kimpele, Global Customer Service Manager, Oriflame

Jyri Ratia , Vice President, Posti

, Vice President, Nicolay Corneliussen , Head of CRM & Loyalty, Nordic Choice Hotels

, Head of CRM & Loyalty, Sara Mundt-Petersen , Head of CRM & CX, TUI Nordic

, Head of CRM & CX, Staffan Johansson , Director, Customer and Retail Experience, Nissan

The full list of speakers and presentations has just been released. Download the agenda here and see what experts will be discussing: http://www.customerexperiencenordics.com/agenda-mc?utm_source=pr newswire&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=-external-pressrelease&utm_term=home&utm_content=text&mac=22958.004_prnews&disc=22958.004_prnews

Companies that attend CX Transformation Nordics Include:

Lion Enterprises AS

Netop

TeliaSonera

Oracle Svenska AB

Halebop

Nordea

Verizon

Swedbank

Maersk Line

Laerdal Medical

Capgemini Norge AS

Swedish Match

Nordic Choice Hotels

EnterCard Norge AS

Atlas Copco

Volvo Car Corporation

Danske Direct

Clas Ohlson AB

Polystar

EnergiMidt

Ennova AB

DB Schenker

Ericsson AB

Euroclear

Fonecta

Nordea Bank Norge ASA

SpareBank SR-Bank

Confirmit

Teleperformance Finland Oy

TeliaSonera AB

Danfoss

Novozymes A/S

Oriflame Cosmetics AB

Klarna AB

Santander Consumer Finance

Kobra

Scania AB

SAS Airlines

Swedish Institute

A.P. Moller Maersk

Thomas Cook Northern Europe AB

Trygg-Hansa Forsakrings AB

Nokia

Danfoss A/S

Nordea Bank Denmark

ZSE - Zapadoslovenska energetika

For more information please visit: http://www.customerexperiencenordics.com?utm_source=pr newswire&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=-external-pressrelease&utm_term=home&utm_content=text&mac=22958.004_prnews&disc=22958.004_prnews

Richard Jones

Summit Director

+44(0)20-7036-1300

enquire@defenceiq.com

SOURCE CX Network
Acquisition creates one of the largest global, independent application and data management services vendors in the Oracle ecosystem

BEDFORD, Massachusetts, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Data Intensity, the leader in application managed and cloud services for enterprise Oracle environments, today announced that it has acquired Red Stack Tech. Headquartered in the UK, Red Stack Tech is an award-winning solutions provider specializing in the provisioning of software, hardware and managed and professional services across the Oracle technology stack. The union of these two companies creates one of the largest global, independent service providers in the Oracle ecosystem, with capabilities including application and database management, engineered systems, business intelligence (BI) and analytics.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160925/411515LOGO

The acquisition of Red Stack Tech further expands Data Intensity's global footprint, adding go-to-market and service delivery teams in the UK, Poland and Australia. Data Intensity's existing UK sales and service delivery team will join the Red Stack Tech team, under the direction of Alex Louth, Red Stack Tech founder and CEO. Louth will serve as managing director of the combined Data Intensity UK team and will lead go-to-market strategies across Europe and Asia Pacific.

Most importantly, the acquisition provides Data Intensity and its customers the following:

An expanded portfolio of data-driven business services with Red Stack Tech bringing additional depth in the areas of engineered systems, database management, BI and analytics to complement Data Intensity's current application and data management offerings;

with Red Stack Tech bringing additional depth in the areas of engineered systems, database management, BI and analytics to complement Data Intensity's current application and data management offerings; Broader global coverage to deliver what customers need, where they need it, with expanded resources, capacity and expertise across Europe and Asia Pacific ;

with expanded resources, capacity and expertise across and ; Further reinforcement of the company's relationship with Oracle as both Data Intensity and Red Stack Tech are Oracle Platinum Partners, making the new Data Intensity a leading independent Oracle managed service provider in the US and UK; and

as both Data Intensity and Red Stack Tech are Oracle Platinum Partners, making the new Data Intensity a leading independent Oracle managed service provider in the US and UK; and The capabilities and position to serve as a trusted partner in the customers' journey to the cloud with a comprehensive solution for integration among Oracle cloud applications, on-premises solutions and other cloud providers.

"The acquisition of Red Stack Tech is a major next step toward the goal of providing our customers with a best-in-class solution and services portfolio on a global scale," said Kirk Arnold, CEO of Data Intensity. "We can now offer our customers the reach and resources of a global organization with the attention and personalized service of a local business partner. This becomes increasingly important as more companies are looking to shift their critical core infrastructure to the cloud, and they want a partner that provides the expertise, resources and support at a local level to give them confidence and peace of mind."

"One of the primary reasons we decided to join forces with Data Intensity is our shared commitment to customers and making them our number one priority," stated Louth. "This transaction will provide our customers greater access to best-in-class resources, expertise and capabilities worldwide. We are encouraged by the positive feedback and enthusiasm our customers have expressed in response to this latest milestone."

About Red Stack Tech

Red Stack Tech, A Data Intensity Company, is a global service provider specializing in the provisioning of software, hardware, and managed and professional services across the Oracle technology stack. For almost 20 years, Red Stack Tech has been delivering full end-to-end solutions that encompass all Oracle technologies with a strong focus on Oracle engineered systems, database management services, and business analytics. The company is headquartered in London, UK with additional offices in Poland and Australia. To learn more, visit www.redstk.com.

About Data Intensity

Headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, Data Intensity is the industry leader in application managed and cloud services for enterprise Oracle environments. The company combines best-of-breed technology, world-class services, a flexible business model, and deep-rooted expertise gained from hundreds of successful deployments worldwide. By uniquely and cost-effectively supporting the full scope of a customer's enterprise data lifecycle, Data Intensity enables companies to achieve their business goals by making their most critical applications and data manageable and actionable. To learn more, visit www.dataintensity.com.

CONTACT:

Tracey Frederickson

781-418-2400

di@teamlewis.com

Related Links

http://www.dataintensity.com



SOURCE Data Intensity
DUBAI, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Red Sea Housing Services has launched the Red Sea Multi-Level Modular Building Series, a pre-fabricated range of products built using innovative modular construction techniques in a factory controlled environment to deliver projects with consistent high quality, and significant time and cost savings, to achieve building structure heights up to 12 levels.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408471 )



The surge in demand for cost-effective and faster construction, especially for mid-market and budget hotels, has increasingly driven interest and adoption of offsite prefabrication of complete volumetric modules among both developers and operators around the globe. They see value in this innovative building technique that dramatically reduces construction time, and delivers factory-fitted quality and consistency. The factory environment ensures that all elements of the module are constructed to brand standards using approved materials, fixtures and furnishings.

For over four decades, Red Sea Housing Services has been utilizing modular construction techniques to deliver complex, integrated workforce housing solutions in over 65 countries around the world. "Now, for the first time in this region, construction projects can take advantage of steel-frame multi-level modular construction techniques with concrete floors to achieve significant project time and cost savings", expressed Mr. Nicholas Reynolds, Vice President - Modular Construction for Red Sea Housing Services.

This building system can be used to construct hotel and student rooms, apartments, schools or any other building type that requires repetition and volume. The processes and construction are planned, unaffected by adverse weather or scarcity of materials, and executed by a highly trained team of professionals. The technique is a perfect fit for hotel products since guest room construction which is to be built to formulaic specifications is easily achieved to exceptionally high standards in a controlled factory environment. Hotel brand approval can be easily managed, with model rooms signed-off in advance for brand compliance and all rooms approved during mass production.

To know more about the Red Sea Multi-Level Modular Building Series, Mr. Nicholas Reynolds - Vice President for Modular Construction will be available to give you a preview of the Modular Hotel Prototype we have developed at our Dubai factory in JAFZA and also to meet you at the 8th Edition Hotelier Summit-Middle East in Qatar.

Venue: 8th Edition Hotelier Summit-Middle East, Doha, Qatar

Date: 27th September 2016

Time: 17:40-18:00

Topic: Modular Hotel Construction

Format: 20 minutes under the segment Fireside Chats: Building Construction and Design Ideas in Vogue.



You may as well visit our website product page http://www.redseahousing.com/our-divisions/industrial-housing/product-detail/id/36/multi-level-modular-building-series or write to us at modularhotel@redseahousing.com for more information.

About Red Sea Housing Services

Red Sea Housing Services (RSHS), a public company listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange under Red Sea symbol (Tadawul 4230), is an international market leader that provides high quality modular living and working environments for industrial and residential communities. With significant experience in providing industrial housing products and services in remote and urban locations across the world in more than 65 countries for over 4 decades, RSHS has cemented exceptional reputation for designing, planning, producing, managing, leasing, and operating corporate housing solutions. RSHS sets up the infrastructure and facilities required for global companies to construct high quality, reliable, durable and tailored modular buildings, and housing units, including hotels, offices, accommodation units, utility services, telecommunications networks, catering and recreation facilities, from its manufacturing facilities in Saudi, UAE, Ghana, PNG, and Malaysia. These prefabricated buildings are deployed - on a large scale, to tight deadlines - in remote, rugged areas over long periods of time. Through its main subsidiaries, it provides civil contracting for commercial and residential buildings; offers real estate property investment and development; production of paints, coatings and construction machinery and equipment; and repair and maintenance services. Recently, RSHS has developed an innovative modular building system to construct multi-level steel-frame buildings for hotels, apartments, schools, etc.





For further queries please contact:

Rakhi Raghavan

Global Marketing & PR Manager

PO Box 17365, Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE

Tel: +971-4-883-8589

Mob: +971(0)55-3745679

Email: modularhotel@redseahousing.com

Web: http://www.redseahousing.com



SOURCE Red Sea Housing Services
NEW YORK, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Extreme climatic conditions, favourable government policies and growing construction industry to propel GCC thermal insulation market over the next five years

According to a recently published TechSci Research report "GCC Thermal Insulation Market By Type, By Application, By Country, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", the thermal insulation market of the GCC region is projected to cross $975 Million by 2021. As of 2015, construction projects worth USD1.30 trillion are in the pipeline in the GCC region. With increasing investments in construction of projects pertaining to sectors such as power, oil & gas, chemicals, etc., the demand for thermal insulation in the region is expected to grow at a healthy pace during 2016-2021.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 )



Browse 33 market data Tables and 42 Figures spread through 177 Pages and an in-depth TOC on " GCC Thermal Insulation Market"

https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/gcc-thermal-insulation-market-by-application-residential-commercial-industrial-by-type-fiberglass-polyurethane-foam-mineral-wool-others-forecast-opportunities-2021/699.html

Owing to limited natural water resources, the GCC nations are heavily dependent on water desalination to cater the growing demand for water. Since the demand for water has outstripped the availability in the GCC region, desalination of seawater provides a substantial portion of the region's fresh water needs. In 2014, desalination plants in the region have a total capacity of over 26 million cubic metre of water per day, which is equivalent to 36% of global capacity in the same year. As desalination consumes considerable amounts of energy, extensive thermal insulation is required on appliances and piping, thereby aiding its market in the GCC region.

Download Sample Report

@ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=699

Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report.

Saudi Arabia dominated the GCC thermal insulation market during 2011-2015, and the same trend is anticipated to continue over the next five years as well. Saudi Arabian government plans to build around 5,00,000 housing units in the country over the next five years by investing around USD68 billion to ease housing shortage in the country. Further, ongoing commercial constructions like King Abdul-Aziz International Airport are expected to drive the demand for thermal insulation in the Kingdom through 2021. Fiberglass was the most preferred type of thermal insulation material in the GCC region in 2015.

"Per capita electricity consumption of the GCC nations is higher than the world average. Over the next few years, GCC nations are anticipated to emerge as the world leaders, in terms of per capita energy consumption. Oman, which accounts for the least per capita electricity consumption among the GCC nations, has almost twice the global average of per capita electricity consumption. The ability to reduce the energy flow across another material makes thermal insulation the key measure for energy saving.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

Per Capita Electricity Consumption of GCC Countries, 2015 (Megawatt-hour Per Person)

Per Capita Electricity Consumption (Megawatt-hour Per Country Person) Saudi Arabia 9.2 UAE 10.6 Kuwait 15.9 Qatar 15 Oman 6.4 Bahrain 18.5

"GCC Thermal Insulation Market By Type, By Application, By Country, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", has evaluated the future growth potential of GCC thermal insulation market and provided statistics and information on market structure, industry behaviour and trends. The report includes market projections and demand forecasting. The report is intended to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities available in GCC thermal insulation market.

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About TechSci Research

TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends.

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SOURCE TechSci Research
DUBLIN, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Indoor LBS Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The report forecasts the global indoor location-based services (LBS) market to grow at a CAGR of 43.44% during the period 2016-2020.

One of the recent trends in indoor LBS is 3D navigation using motion sensors. The technology gathers data from inertial sensors such as accelerometers that are found in smartphones and provides a 3D navigation system. This navigation technology does not require any infrastructure. In 2014, Google announced its 3D sensors project, Project Tango. It allows 3D scanning for computer vision and navigation and mapping.

According to the report, increased adoption of LANs will be a key driver for market growth. The number of deployments of local area networks (LANs) and home area networks such as Wi-Fi and WLAN has been increasing globally. This is because of the availability of high-speed mobile broadband networks and decreasing deployment costs. In addition, most of the business organizations and university campuses are adopting virtual private networks (VPNs) for their data security and providing a seamless connection to their employees and students. The adoption of VPNs by business organizations and universities enables them to provide indoor LBS on their premises. Further, most of the airport authorities in regions such as the US and Singapore are using indoor LBS to track and monitor assets used in the airport. In addition, airport authorities use indoor LBS to offer location search, advertising, providing updates on flight position and scheduled flights, and airport floor layout tracking, thereby helping them to offer better customer service.

Further, the report states that low user acceptance due to privacy and security concerns is one of the major challenges for the indoor LBS market.

Key vendors:

Apple

Google

Micello

Shopkick

Key Topics Covered:

PART 01: Executive summary

PART 02: Scope of the report

PART 03: Market research methodology

PART 04: Introduction

PART 05: Market landscape

PART 06: Market segmentation by end-user

PART 07: Geographical segmentation

PART 08: Market drivers

PART 09: Impact of drivers

PART 10: Market challenges

PART 11: Impact of drivers and challenges

PART 12: Market trends

PART 13: Vendor landscape

PART 14: Appendix

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d7swdl/global_indoor_lbs

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Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

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Related Links

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SOURCE Research and Markets
International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) sent an aid convoy with food and other necessities to besieged Syria settlements, the organization said Saturday, Sputnik reported.

"71 trucks delivering aid to 60,000 people in 4 towns incl. food, medical supplies & hygiene kits," ICRC Syria posted in its Twitter blog along with the photos of the convoy.

On September 19, a deadly attack hit a joint UN-Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy carrying humanitarian aid for Syria's Aleppo province. The tragic incident left 18 out of 31 trucks wrecked and at least 21 people killed, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Aid deliveries to the region were briefly suspended but soon resumed despite the continued fighting.
"The EMBA is a tough market, and even schools that have been in the European market for years find it challenging to sign up 30 top executives for one class. So we are quite pleased at the class size and quality of participants," says CEIBS Dean Professor Ding Yuan. "The class is large enough to have a diversity of opinions and small enough for participants and faculty to really get to know, and learn, from each other."

The group of 29 includes seasoned European and Chinese business executives from a wide range of industries along with experienced African leaders from both the world of business and government. The programme is the only one that provides access to two emerging continents  Asia and Africa  plus Europe and a study tour to the U.S. It draws on CEIBS' resources in Europe, China and Africa, creating synergies across the school's locations.

The Zurich class is the second cohort of the CEIBS GEMBA. Its curriculum is identical to the one offered to participants in Shanghai, ranked among the Financial Times Top 20 for the last six years, where the latest class began on September 4. The Zurich class gets underway today with an opening module at the Lorange Institute of Business Zurich, a Member of the CEIBS Group. As the 20-month long programme progresses, participants can just as easily opt to attend a class in Shanghai or Accra, or do any of the carefully selected electives available in major cities around the world. The CEIBS GEMBA has been designed to meet the needs of busy global executives. Classes for the Zurich leg are offered every two months with each module running for eight days. The programme is the world's first truly global stand-alone EMBA as CEIBS has bucked the trend of partnering with other b-schools. "The attractiveness of the content, the expertise of the carefully selected faculty plus the opportunity to engage with peers from three different continents are just some of the elements that make this programme so attractive to me," says VP for Administration at Egret Pharma (Shanghai) Limited, Sunny Wu.

About CEIBS

Headquartered at its largest campus in Shanghai, China Europe International Business School is mainland China's leading business school, with three programmes globally ranked by the Financial Times. CEIBS offers MBA, Finance MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Education and PhD programmes. Established in 1994 as a non-profit joint venture between the Chinese and European governments, CEIBS also has campuses in China's political capital, Beijing, and Zurich in the heart of Europe. CEIBS also offers programmes from its facilities in Shenzhen to China's south and Accra in Ghana.

For more information on the CEIBS GEMBA Programme click here

SOURCE CEIBS
BERLIN and EDINBURGH, Scotland, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Following the Leonardo Hotel Group's successful Great Britain market entry with Leonardo Hotel London Heathrow Airport in March 2015, the next step in its European expansion is a takeover in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh. New to the portfolio is the Leonardo Hotel Edinburgh City Center, a popular, centrally located city hotel with 282 rooms in Edinburgh Haymarket. The hotel was previously managed by Premier Inn and will join the Leonardo family on 7 October 2016. It is located near the historic heart of the city, amidst numerous landmarks including Edinburgh Fringe venues, with the trendy West End Shopping, Edinburgh International Convention Centre EICC and major businesses on its door step. Bars, cafes and restaurants can be found nearby. The Leonardo Hotel Edinburgh City Centre will service business and convention travelers. Located by the Haymarket train station it is 25 minutes by tram from Edinburgh International Airport and 3 minutes' walk from the EICC. Offering a rare 90 car parking spaces it is well connected for business travelers and families alike. Meetings can be held directly in the hotel conference centre, as the building is home to four function rooms with a total area of 164 square meters. The hotel will undergo extensive renovations under the leadership of the hotel interior designer Andreas Neudahm to provide guests with the highest standard of design, facilities and quality.

Daniel Roger, Managing Director Europe, said: "We are delighted to add Edinburgh to our portfolio. The capital of Scotland is a fascinating and multifaceted city. It is second only to London as the largest economic and trade center in Great Britain. I am certain that we can expect a positive response from our guests at the new destination, as we are offering them another attractive addition to our existing hotels."

LEONARDO HOTELS is the European division of Fattal Hotels Group, founded by David Fattal in Israel. Leonardo Hotels has been present with over 65 hotels in more than 35 destinations on the European market since 2007. Spanning Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary as well as Italy, the hotel group with its 10,000+ rooms and over 20,500 m of conference space, stands for hotels with unique ambiance, their own regional character and individual appeal. All according to the company's credo of feeling good, providing 100% guest satisfaction. The company management for Europe is based in Berlin. Established in the 3-4 star superior category, the Leonardo Hotels umbrella brand is complemented by the Leonardo Royal, Leonardo Boutique and Leonardo Inn brands.

http://www.leonardo-hotels.com

Contact: Anne Radies, Phone: +49-(0)30-688-322 - 483, a.radies@leonardo-hotels.com

SOURCE Leonardo Hotels Europe
SAN FRANCISCO, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The medical lifting sling market is expected to reach USD 1.1 billion by 2024, according to the new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Long term care is required in case of chronic disorders and surgical treatment. Medical lifting slings are essential elements in long term care and post operative recovery as they assist in patient transfer and other purposes. Increasing prevalence of chronic disorders and subsequent surgical interventions are boosting the usage of these products thus contributing toward substantial market growth.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 )



Home healthcare has emerged as an important area where treatment cost is much lower compared to in traditional healthcare settings. In addition, long term care and post operative recovery can be efficiently achieved in these settings. Hence, in the developed as well as developing regions home healthcare services are growing swiftly resulting in the considerable growth of this vertical.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Medical Lifting Sling Market Analysis By Product (Nylon, Padded, Mesh, Canvas), By Application (Transfer, Universal, Hammock, Standing, Seating, Toilet, Bariatric), By Usage (Reusable, Disposable) By End Use (Hospital, Home Healthcare, Elderly Care) And Segment Forecasts To 2024" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/medical-lifting-sling-market

Further Key Findings From the Study Suggest:

Nylon-based medical lifting slings segment held a commanding share in 2015 and is anticipated to grow at a lucrative rate. This can be attributed to their durability and resistance to the infections.

Patient transfer is the primary application of these products, which held a dominating share in 2015. Universal slings, which have multiple utility, are also expected to gain a substantial share over the forecast period.

Reusable lifting slings were the most used products in 2015. However, with the rising incidence of infections and hygiene issues, disposable products are used to a greater extent and are expected to exhibit healthy growth over the forecast period.

Hospitals use these products to a large extent, as they purchase in bulk and they have a greater patient pool. This makes hospitals the largest end-user of medical lifting slings.

On the other hand, with the growing awareness and streamlined policies for home healthcare services, the usage of these services is surging. As a result, the growing home healthcare vertical is anticipated to increase the usage of medical lifting slings, thus affecting the market positively.

Europe dominated the global medical lifting slings vertical in 2015. Larger pool of geriatric patients, rising research funding in medical devices, and steadily increasing awareness amongst patients are the key growth governing factors for this region.

dominated the global medical lifting slings vertical in 2015. Larger pool of geriatric patients, rising research funding in medical devices, and steadily increasing awareness amongst patients are the key growth governing factors for this region. Asia Pacific is projected to witness remunerative growth in the coming eight years. Policy reforms, increasing disposable income, and economic developments are anticipated to foster the usage of advanced treatment options, and consequently engender a high demand for medical lifting slings.

is projected to witness remunerative growth in the coming eight years. Policy reforms, increasing disposable income, and economic developments are anticipated to foster the usage of advanced treatment options, and consequently engender a high demand for medical lifting slings. Some of the key players in this vertical are Getinge Group (ArjoHuntleigh), Invacare Corporation, Hill-Rom, Joerns Healthcare LLC, Argo Medical, Inc., Prism Medical, DJO Global, V.Guldmann A/S, Spectra Care Group, and Drive Medical. Strategic initiatives undertaken by these market players include new product development, distribution enhancement, collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions.

Grand View Research has segmented the medical lifting sling market on the basis of product, application, usage, end use, and region:

Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Nylon Padded Mesh Canvas Others

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Transfer Universal Hammock Standing Seating Toilet Bariatric Others

Usage Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Reusable Disposable

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Hospital Home healthcare Elderly Care Other Healthcare Settings

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe UK Germany Asia Pacific Japan China Latin America Brazil Mexico MEA South Africa



Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Blood Gas And Electrolyte Analyzers Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/blood-gas-and-electrolyte-analyzers



Smart Healthcare Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/smart-healthcare-market



Geriatric Care Services Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/geriatric-care-services-market



Digital Pathology Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/digital-pathology-systems-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

Read Our Blogs - ni2014.org, grandviewresearch.com/blogs/healthcare

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com



SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
DRESDEN, Germany, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

City of Dresden showcases innovative strength and its qualities as technology and real estate site

Saxony's regional capital is research and development center for novel construction technologies using carbon concrete composite

The City of Dresden's real estate market is booming: The Saxon regional capital is now one of the most popular investment markets in Germany. International companies are also increasingly investing in real estate projects in Dresden. According to Expirica's real estate experts only 2.1 per cent of the city's homes are vacant at the moment. At the same time, the demand for new spaces in the booming metropolis grows to 2,500 new homes per year.

Invitation & Press programme

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear colleagues,

On the occasion of ExpoReal we would like to invite you to the following press talk:

Press breakfast: "Dresden's New Heart - Living and Working in the City Center"

Wednesday, 5 October 2016, 10.00 a.m.,

Expo Real in Munich, Hall A2, booth 322

At the press breakfast Dresden informs about its qualities as appealing and technologically innovative real estate site.

Advice: the press event will be held in German.

Important notice and proposal: Following the press breakfast you will have the opportunity to interview (in English) with experts (11 a.m.)

More Details and information you will find here: http://bit.ly/2dsQdPc

For organizational reasons we kindly ask you to register by Thursday 29, 2016, thank you.

Kai Schulz

Spokesman

For questions:

Agency WeichertMehner, Ulf Mehner , Mathias Rentsch , tel +49-3-51 - 50-14-02-00,

e-Mail: dmg@weichertmehner.com

, , tel +49-3-51 - 50-14-02-00, e-Mail: dmg@weichertmehner.com City of Dresden, Kai Schulz , spokesman, tel +493-51 - 4-88-23-90,

e-Mail: presse@dresden.de

Landeshauptstadt Dresden

Presse- und

Offentlichkeitsarbeit

Dr.-Kulz-Ring 19

01067 Dresden

Tel.: +(03-51)-4-88-23-90

Fax: +(03-51)-4-88-22-38

presse@dresden.de

http://www.dresden.de



SOURCE State Capital of Dresden
LONDON, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Dubai-based, Operation: Falafel announces plans to expand its Middle Eastern street food brand through participation in the UK's annual Takeaway & Restaurant Innovation Expo, taking place on the 27th and 28th of September 2016 at Excel London. The emerging fast casual brand offers authentic, Middle Eastern street food such as Falafels, Chicken and Beef Shawermas at affordable prices, making it a favorite of all ages, backgrounds and palates. Now with a proven operations system in place and a strong demand within the fast casual segment, Operation: Falafel is expanding outside the UAE, into the MENA region and Europe, with its first U.S. location launching in 2017.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411602 )



Manhal Naser, CEO and Co-Founder of parent company, AWJ Investments, explains, "Operation: Falafel has experienced a tremendous level of success. Our strategy of entering into license agreements with highly qualified, experienced restaurant operators that have broad geographic capabilities is proving to be an excellent way to expand internationally. We are anticipating the opening of our first location in the US next year and are excited to join industry professionals at this prestigious event in hopes of solidifying a partnership with an established UK operator."

Operation: Falafel was founded on the vision of creating a global brand that would cater to leading markets. The scalable business model and fresh ingredients contribute to Operation: Falafel's adaptability and high growth potential. After launching their first location in Dubai, the 1,900 square foot unit saw an impressive annual sales of just over $3 million. Now with almost three years in operation, Operation: Falafel is approaching 10 locations in the UAE, and their sights are set on going global.

"We take pride in the quality and consistency of our offering and the ability to cater to a variety of diners and lifestyles. Our atmosphere is friendly and casual, and our motto, "street food is for everyone" aligns with our mission of creating fresh food and an affordable price for the world to enjoy. It is with this mission in mind that our expansion initiatives ignite," concluded Naser.

For high-res images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ziwyawrfpbknxs5/AACU9cmosPiD5J4m6GbLlHq8a?dl=0

Website - http://www.operationfalafel.com

SOURCE Operation: Falafel
With Facebook now streaming live and Periscope reaching its two-year anniversary, a new era is officially underway: live video is the preferred way to share media content. Tencent, one of the world's leading Internet service companies, is preparing to launch the 2nd generation of Qlippie, a wearable camera equipped with live streaming technology. Qlippie Live will be the most compact, wearable and stylish HD camera that supports live streaming to social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Jonathan Wong, General Manager of Tencent User Experience, considers Tencent's role as an internet service corporation to provide users the convenience of sharing life's precious moments, anytime and anywhere. Empowered by the innovative Qlippie, users can just simply clip the tiny camera on. Free to use both of their hands without the hassle of holding the camera, users can interact with the real world, while broadcasting moments with family and friends everywhere around the world. Just imagine, a youngster with a Qlippie can produce a live show for an audience of thousands, becoming a popular and vital part of our daily lives.

Nowadays, Chinese companies are playing a leading role among the thousands of brands on the stage of Photokina, not only because of their competitive pricing, but also because of their strategy of rapid innovation in product experiences. Qlippie is an excellent case in point, and it is now widely available throughout the global market.

Stay tuned; more news about the global introduction of Qlippie Live is coming soon.

SOURCE Qlippie
LONDON, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

A new device that promises to beat erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation, and help men last for as long as they desire has taken the sex aid marketplace by storm.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160922/410970 )



(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160922/410971 )



Gaining global recognition, the device, called 'Stays-Hard' holds the penis aloft to maintain an erection, even after orgasm.

It is safe to use with condoms and other contraceptives, and can be fitted by either partner in just a few seconds. Unlike the various pills, pumps and surgical options currently available, it is inexpensive and has no side effects.

The device aims to help the estimated 300 million men worldwide with erectile dysfunction, and the massive 30% of men who will experience premature ejaculation at some stage.

When first going on sale last month, its British manufacturer, Tyna International, sold out almost immediately, attracting strong interest from both customers and commercial distributors all over the globe.

Stays-Hard can be bought online at stays-hard.com.

A lack of sex is blamed for the breakdown of as many as one-in-five relationships.

Though targeted at the 40s-60s, it could also transform the sex lives of many men including the elderly and disabled without the need for invasive surgery.

It could also help the estimated 7% of men in their 20s and 11% in their 30s who suffer from erectile dysfunction.

Stays-Hard elongates the penis allowing for increased blood flow, it is comfortable, easy to use and pleasurable for both partners, giving a natural feeling.

Existing treatments have long been derided. Surgery is expensive and invasive, while critics say vacuum pumps do not always work and ruin the spontaneity of sex. Viagra doesn't work for all men and can cause a string of unpleasant side effects.

Stays-Hard took five years of research and was developed with advice from urologists and Professor Peter Ford of De Montfort University. A series of successful case studies in men of all ages demonstrated the device's ability to maintain a pain-free erection, even after ejaculation.

Richard Wylie, the managing director of Tyna International and a former non-medical partner at a prestigious London Medical Clinic, said the Stays-Hard device will bring hope to millions of men seeking prolonged intimacy without pills or expensive surgery.

"Erectile dysfunction is a nightmare situation. When a man loses his potency, it's like he loses his life," he said.

Contact: Richard Wylie, +44(0)8004102888, info@stays-hard.com

SOURCE Tyna International Limited
Soramitsu made the proposal of Iroha to Hyperledger from Geneva, today, on September 26, 2016, and the proposal is jointly sponsored by leading Japanese technology firms, including NTT DATA Corporation.

Soramitsu is a Japanese fintech startup, focusing primarily on creating a digital identity platform using blockchain technology, and is a member of the Hyperledger project. Soramitsu has commenced development of derivative insurance contracts using blockchain technology, such as weather derivatives, together with Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings, Inc., a leading insurance company.

Soramitsu also has created a joint research project with The University of Tokyo, The University of Aizu, and the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM) of the International University of Japan, to study the economics of local currencies and their effects on regional development in the area around Aizu, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, and will include experiments using local currencies running on Iroha.

In addition, Soramitsu and Rakuten Securities, Inc., have announced that they are working together to develop a KYC [2] system using blockchain technology.

From the announcement of Iroha, Soramitsu is also looking for the following:

1. Donations to the open source development of Iroha and related services

Bitcoin Donation: 17L4PWkV2zowoG9oLj8BWhic8djz7PwqhW



2. Open source contributors to Iroha development

github: https://github.com/soramitsu

telegram: https://telegram.me/joinchat/BvyrLQprMKIsI0B1RlpbjA



* For developers, several types of incentives are under consideration, such as "Iroha Tokens"

3. Development Partners

Soramitsu is looking for development partners for Iroha's core development and improvement.



4. Additional use-case partners for Iroha

Soramitsu is looking for additional "Use-Case" partners for Iroha.



5. Partners for KYC Service

Soramitsu is looking for partners for its KYC. Recently, complying with KYC requirements has posed many problems for financial institutions and other industries. Soramitsu is looking for global KYC partners.

We envision a world where everyone can easily interact with each other using blockchain technology for the development of the world economy.

What is Iroha?

Simple architecture, easy to understand and to develop

Adapted from the Hyperledger Fabric architecture, with plans for greater interoperability in the future

Distributed ledger technology and smart contract platform

New Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus algorithm, called Sumeragi

Java-based smart contracts

Simple issuance and transfer of digital assets, such as currencies/points

Mobile and web application development platforms, with sample applications under construction

Expected use-cases for Iroha (among others)

Payment and Settlement

Contract management

Securities clearing

Development of financial products such as insurance

Supply Chain Management

Smart Grid

Trade finance

KYC [2]

Notary and time stamp services

Sharing Economy

Healthcare

IoT

About Soramitsu

Soramitsu is a Japanese startup founded in February of 2016, focusing on blockchain and distributed ledger technology. Currently, Soramitsu is developing a platform for managing digital identities. Since identity management is required for many disparate services, building a digital identity platform on blockchain technology is an important way to manage identity for applications involving many different players. Soramitsu is a member of the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Project. The Hyperledger Project aims to create global standards for blockchain and distribution ledger technology, with the aim of providing practical solutions for businesses and meeting the needs of society.

[1] Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) are software systems that provide a protocol for value transfer over the Internet. [2] Know Your Customer (KYC) is a regulatory requirement that financial institutions have for verifying the identity of their customers (usually with the goal of preventing illegal activity and money laundering).

Press Contact

Soramitsu Co., Ltd.

Contact: Makoto Takemiya, Ryu Okada

Tel: +81-3-5843-8914

Mail: info@soramitsu.co.jp

Corporate URL: http://soramitsu.co.jp

Iroha Project URL: http://iroha.tech

Related Links

http://soramitsu.co.jp



SOURCE Soramitsu Co., Ltd.
MIF is the first local exhibition with UFI certification from the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and is one of the most celebrated annual events in Macao.

Themed as "Co-operation-Key to Business Opportunities", this year's MIF will establish, for the first time, co-operation projects with partner countries and cities, with Portugal and Beijing being the first partners, to demonstrate Macao's role as a "World-class Tourism and Leisure Center" and "Business and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries," which can benefit businesses with its diverse economic environment. MIF will also introduce prospective partners to the exhibitors for cultivating business opportunities.

Exhibition

MIF will have Chinese cities, Europe, PCSs, and the Americas pavilions. The "Portuguese-speaking Countries' Products and Services Exhibition" will be held concurrently.

Forum/Conference

Many forums, conferences and sessions will be held, including the "World Summit of Chinese Entrepreneurs". Leaders from governments and commercial circles world-wide and global Chinese entrepreneurs will gather in Macao to discuss the development of the Asian and Global economies.

Business Matching

MIF offers business matching services. An online platform is provided to connect visiting delegations and exhibitor groups.

SMEs Co-operation

The development of SMEs is strongly supported by MIF. By inviting trade associations and enterprises worldwide, MIF helps exhibitors improve their potential.

20th MIF Review

The 20th MIF attracted nearly 110,000 visitors from over 50 countries and regions, occupying approximately 30,000 square metres with 1,900 exhibition booths. 55 forums or conferences were held.

To further promote the "Three Centres" and one "Portal", MIF established a "Portal Professional Service Suppliers' Exhibition Area". 16 professional service providers were invited to strengthen exchanges between Macao enterprises and exhibitors from PCSs.

Approximately 574 business sessions were held, with 117 enterprises from PCSs. Businesses discussed involved caterings, health products, and various kinds of services.

SOURCE Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM)
FARNBOROUGH, England, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Fedr8 the Gartner Cool Vendor Announces the Appointment of Alistair Beagley as a Non-executive Director

Fedr8, the Digital Transformation Company and Application Analytics Software vendor is pleased to announce that Alistair Beagley, Ex. Director of Cloud Computing for Microsoft Corporation across Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) has joined as a Non-Executive Director.

Alistair has worked for over 25 years in the IT and Services industry and has a track record of successfully developing and pioneering strategies aimed at product development and business growth. He is a Business and Technical Evangelists with experience of developing multi-national sales strategies and leading international cloud specialist sales teams.

Fedr8 will over the next year be developing a multinational presence and partner network, Alistair's input will form the basis of delivering on that goal.

Fedr8 solves one of the largest inhibitors to Enterprise adoption of the Cloud, legacy application compatibility with the major cloud vendors platforms. As Digital Transformation takes hold in the enterprise companies are increasingly needing to understand more about their existing applications as they make the shift towards Cloud and agile delivery. Fedr8's software delivers the required business case information that allows them to make the right decision about their applications

Commenting on his appointment Alistair said:

"Fedr8 are a SaaS company that enable Enterprise businesses to accelerate adoption of Cloud Environments allowing them to focus on their core business. This is a massive market opportunity enabling innovation of new services and business models that can either expand existing or develop new market opportunities for Fedr8's customers. This is an exciting time to be joining a company that has the ability to lead this commercially driven disruptive new wave of Cloud and PaaS adoption."

Damion Greef Fedr8 CEO added:

"To have someone of Alistair's pedigree and experience join Fedr8 is a real coup and validation of our ground breaking approach to Application Analysis and Enterprise digital transformation. Fedr8 will be looking to expand into the US in the next year and Alistair's experience will be key to making that expansion a success."

Contacts:

Damion Greef, CEO

Tel. +44 (0) 7823328816

Email. info@fedr8.com





Email. info@fedr8.com

Web. www.fedr8.com



Notes to editors:



Fedr8's software solves one of the major IT problems in the world today: How does a major international company move to the cloud and capitalize on the efficiencies and economies that the cloud brings? The shift to cloud technologies and the digital transformation projects undertaken by large enterprise organizations pose many challenges, there are the unknown figures relating to cost and time for migration or transformation. In addition, there are unknown risks relating to relocating or changing the applications that support their businesses. Fedr8 reduces the risk in legacy software applications, identifies the most appropriate cloud to move to, accelerating the application analysis by 90% whilst significantly reducing the costs by 50%.

Fedr8 solves this problem using it's proprietary artificial intelligence engine which interrogates software at a code level allowing the code in that software to be changed to suit the major cloud companies' cloud platforms. 50% of enterprise organizations have over 500 software applications written in multiple programming languages across their global estates. This Enterprise is Fedr8's primary market. Fedr8 are in the business of digital transformation to enable Enterprise businesses to optimize technology advancements. Our mission is to support our customers in embracing the business benefits of the adoption of the Digital Economies through accelerated adoption of Cloud Environments.

SOURCE Fedr8 Ltd
Eight PKK terrorists were neutralized in ground-and-air security operations in southeastern Hakkari province Sunday, according to the army, Anadolu reported.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement Turkish Air Force jets carried out an air offensive against PKK terrorists in Yuksekova districts Keylani Tepe (hill) region between 7.08 p.m. (1608 GMT) and 7.20 p.m. (1620 GMT).

The statement said three separatist terrorist organization members were neutralized in the air offensive, which also destroyed a cave being used as weapons depot. Separately, the statement said five terrorists were neutralized Sunday in two separate incidents during

an operation in Yuksekovas Buzul Mountain and Keylani Tepe regions. The operation in Yuksekova district continues.

Turkish army said 320 terrorists had been neutralized in Hakkari province since operations there began.

The military usually uses the term neutralized to mean that PKK terrorists were killed in the operation.

The PKK  listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU  resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.
The Cable News Network (CNN), an American basic cable and satellite television channel with its online counterpart CNN.com - was launched in 1995 and is now one of the most popular online news and information delivery in the world.

Since its launch, The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua, Bali has been recognized by many prestigious awards. After Conde Nast Traveler USA placed Mulia Bali as the number one beach resort in the world in 2014, and the recent "Best Spas in the World" title granted by Readers' Choice Awards in 2015, the Editors of Conde Nast have also recognized The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua as one of the "Favorite Hotels in the World" and "Favorite Beach Resorts in the World" on Conde Nast Traveler USA Gold List (2016), among many other prestigious accolades.

Nestled on the dramatic coastline of Nusa Dua, The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas evokes a relaxed yet polished sensibility. From expansive and elegant suites to distinctive lounges and oceanfront pools, The Mulia's luxury accommodations truly exceed expectations for style, comfort and service. Experience a relaxing retreat with lavish amenities at this amazing haven.

For more information, please visit www.themulia.com or call +62-361-301-7777.

About The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua, Bali

Style sets the tone of the three ultra-luxurious properties set along 30 hectares of sprawling landscape, on the dramatic coastline of Nusa Dua, creating The Mulia and Mulia Resort & Villas (www.themulia.com). Epitomizing extravagance and opulence, combined with genuine hospitality, the breathtaking resorts are redefining sophistication.

Media contact:

Communications Department

Phone number: +62-361-3017777 ext. 6011

Email: communications@themulia.com

Related Links

http://www.themulia.com



SOURCE The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua, Bali
STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Development at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) is the first healthcare organisation in the UK to sign a membership agreement with an innovative software company, TriNetX, to join its health research network.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/340354LOGO

The Research and Development Department at UHNM will now be part of a network with a far superior ability to query research data more efficiently and, most importantly, connect with other organisations from around the world. This landmark milestone will expand access to new treatment options for all patients at UHNM, as well as increase sponsored research revenue streams for the Trust.

Biopharmaceutical companies and contract research organisations (CROs) will be able to collaborate with UHNM through TriNetX to easily determine whether it is feasible for a clinical study to be conducted at the Trust. The network will also enable an efficient transition from a sponsor first approaching the department with a potential new study, to opening cutting-edge research within the hospital.

TriNetX works by securely connecting researchers to clinical data from healthcare organisations all over the world. Members can then engage with each other through the network, in order to collaborate on bringing the very latest clinical research trials to their sites.

Dr Darren Clement, R&D Manager at UHNM, said: "UHNM is delighted to be working in partnership with TriNetX on this project, as it means we will be able to offer our patients greater choice and increased access to cutting-edge treatments and therapies. We want UHNM to be the go-to hospital for patients wanting to access these new treatments, and working with TriNetX will help us deliver this vision for the benefit of our patients."

Gadi Lachman, CEO of TriNetX, Inc., said: "UHNM is a significant addition in the rapid international expansion of the TriNetX network. Today, UHNM attracts numerous sponsored clinical studies every year. TriNetX will help UHNM improve the identification of studies that are pre-qualified and feasible for its patient population, as well as support expansion of commercial research programmes, assist investigator-initiated studies and facilitate collaboration with peer organisations from all over the world."

Professor Tony Fryer, R&D Director at UHNM, said: "We are delighted to be the first UK Trust to join the TriNetX network. This collaboration will help us maximise our patients' access to state-of-the-art treatment that participation in clinical research provides."

Note to Editors:

The Research and Development Department at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust is a dedicated team committed to providing opportunities for the people of Staffordshire to access the latest treatments and innovations.

It is a centre for clinical research trials from around the world, offering patients the chance to take part in a number of initiatives. In 2015/2016, it ran a total of 385 trials, which were opened or in follow up. In the same financial year it generated grant income of 2.69M. The team has also diversified into the field of innovation and supports not just its own staff across the Trust, but also small to medium-sized businesses developing innovative ideas, such as equipment and ways of working to benefit patients and healthcare.

About TriNetX, Inc.

TriNetX is a worldwide health research network of healthcare organisations, biopharmaceutical companies and contract research organisations used to enhance clinical trial design and accelerate patient recruitment. TriNetX enables researchers to find the right patients at the right sites for clinical trials. For more information, visit http://www.trinetx.com.

Media inquiries:

Alannah Copeland, Marketing and Communications Officer

Research and Development

Tel: 01782 671092 e-mail: Alannah.Copeland@uhnm.nhs.uk

Related Links

http://www.trinetx.com



SOURCE TriNetX, Inc.
JULICH, Germany, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The flywheel energy storage by STORNETIC balances output fluctuations of wind power plants over the long term

For the first time, STORNETIC is presenting its energy storage solution for wind parks. The flywheel energy storage solution from the technology company based at Julich (Germany) allows wind farm operators to balance output fluctuations of their wind power plants over the long term. This allows a wind farm's energy output to be better planned.

"The volatility of wind power will mean major challenges for wind farm operators in the future," explains STORNETIC Managing Director Dr Rainer vor dem Esche. "A new solution is now available thanks to the flywheel energy storage by STORNETIC. Our storage machine EnWheel allows output peaks to be absorbed, thereby making the output of entire wind farms more even and predictable."

Flywheel helps wind wheel

A second benefit is the fact that the flywheel energy storage will in the future be able to provide grid services in combination with wind power plants. "This is an ideal starting point for the challenges of the future," continues Dr Rainer vor dem Esche.

The EnWheel flywheel energy storage is able to absorb load changes in the range of milliseconds. The storages are designed for more than 100,000 load change cycles and maintain their full capacity over their entire lifecycle. They are therefore particularly suitable for applications in which many fast load changes are required. EnWheel is a mechanical energy storage - free from chemicals - and fully recyclable.

First visit to WindEnergy Hamburg

STORNETIC is presenting its energy storage solution for wind farms at the WindEnergy Hamburg fair: 27 to 30 September, stand B6.538.

STORNETIC develops, produces and markets energy storage systems. By using energy storage on a flywheel basis, customers can convert electric power into rotation energy which they can then store.

http://www.stornetic.com

Twitter: @Stornetic

email: info@stornetic.com



SOURCE STORNETIC
NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Visiongain assesses that the aerospace composites market will achieve revenues of $9,951m in 2016. Furthermore, the market is predicted to record strong growth rates over the next few years as new aircraft platforms and favourable growth rates in the aerospace industry, particularly for commercial aircraft, are expected to be key growth drivers over the next few years.



The properties of composite materials offer a number of benefits to the performance of aircraft. The most significant is the lightweight structures which enables weight savings, lower fuel consumption and greater range. Furthermore, composite materials provide high levels of toughness and rigidity and are a suitable alternative to traditional metallic structures. Therefore, composites are becoming increasingly popular as the aerospace industry looks for new methods of delivering additional value to its end-users.



It is therefore critical that you have your timescales correct and that you enhance your knowledge of significant competitors. This report will ensure that you do.



Visiongain's report will ensure that you keep informed and ahead of your competitors. Gain that competitive advantage.



The report will answer questions such as:



-What are the key trends, opportunities and challenges for the aerospace composites market currently and in the future?

-What factors are behind these trends and what are the prospects for related submarkets and regional markets?

-Who are the leading companies in the aerospace composites industry?

-What are stakeholders doing in response to the market environment?



5 Reasons why you must order and read this report today:



1) The report quantifies, forecasts and analyses the aerospace composites market:

- Forecasts of the global market

- Forecasts of key regional markets  Asia Pacific, Europe and North America

- Forecasts of key national markets  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US, rest of Asia Pacific, Rest of Europe, Rest of Word

- Analysis of factors that are driving or restraining market activity.



2) The report provides submarket forecasts and analyses for aerospace composites by type of composite:

- Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP)

- Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP)

- Aramid Fibre Reinforced Plastic (AFRP)

- Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC)



3) The study reveals where aerospace composites stakeholders are investing. We show you information relating to:

- Contracts and programmes

- Products and services

- Recent mergers, acquisitions and divestiture activity

- Geographical distribution



4) 143 contracts reveal which sectors of the aerospace composites market are in demand



5) Profiles the top 11 aerospace composites companies including information relating to areas of specialisation, contract details, product information, strategy and key financial indicators:

- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company

- GKN Aerospace

- Hexcel Corporation

- Huntsman Corporation

- Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc

- Celanese Corporation

- Gurit Holding AG

- Koninklijke TenCate NV

- Senior plc

- Solvay SA

- Teijin Ltd



How will you benefit from this report?



-This report will keep your knowledge base up to speed. Don't get left behind

-This report will allow you to reinforce strategic decision decision-making based upon definitive and reliable market data

-You will learn how to exploit new technological trends

-You will be able to realise your company's full potential within the market

-You will better understand the competitive landscape and identify potential new business opportunities & partnerships

-Ultimately, the report will save you time, providing a comprehensive outlook for the aerospace composites market prospects



Competitive advantage



This independent 256 page report, guarantees that you will remain better informed than your competitors. With 235 tables and figures examining the aerospace composites market, the report gives you an immediate, one-stop breakdown of the leading players in your market. Net incomes and company sales data, as well as analysis keep your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals.



Who should read this report?



-Anyone involved with the aerospace composites industry

-Composites materials manufacturers

-Composites industry executives / engineers

-Aerospace OEMs and system integrators

-R&D personnel

-CEO's

-COO's

-CIO's

-Business development managers

-Marketing managers

-Technologists

-Engineers

-Suppliers

-Investors

-Banks

-Aviation regulators

-Contractors

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03931864-summary/view-report.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com



__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


The most shinning part to attract people's attention is its strong one piece frame. Unlike other folding scooters with many complicated pieces, this design made it strong enough to stand incredible load. Together with the power of super-strength polypropylene, the most durable plastic and strong aluminum alloy tube, the lightest and hard metable, Fascol scooter achieved its outstanding performance in the company with naughty and destructive children.

The unicycle gravity sensing veer system came from an inspiration when the engineer was riding a bike. His bike ran fast when veering at a sharp crooked corner. He fell down from the bike making a sharp turn with the handle bar and thought if the children scooter also have the same problem. After several days observing and research on children's riding behavior, the engineer finally came out with the idea to apply the gravity sensing veer system of the scooter. The system reduced 36.6% accident during the riding of the children and became popular in short time in Europe. "I bought this scooter for my kids because of its unique safety design in direction changing system," said Chris Jackson, a father of a 4-year-old boy in the conference. "I think safety is the first priority to consider before purchasing a scooter."

This design takes the use of kids' weight to make a turn. When children put their weight on one side, the scooter change its direction to the other side. Unlike traditional scooters in which handle bars can turn 360 degree to all directions. Children are not proficient in make a turn on the scooter, so over 90 degree will easily result in falling down to the ground even at low speed. This design makes the scooter turn at a maximum of 60 degree. With a smaller angle to the turn, children are less likely to fall down to the ground.

This product launch is successful, most attendees bought some samples from Fascol company.

About Fascol:

Fascol is a leading company supplying best scooters for toddlers, preschooler and other young kids between 2 to 8 years old.

Media Contact:

Jesse Jin

Shenzhen China

Tel: +8613691799185

Website: http://www.fascol.com/

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411589

SOURCE Fascol

Related Links

http://www.fascol.com/


SUMMERLAND, British Columbia, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet, today announced its subsidiary Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) has been granted deregulated status for its third nonbrowning Arctic apple variety, the Arctic Fuji, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). Arctic Fuji apples have been found to be as safe and nutritious as conventional apples, joining OSF's Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny varieties.

"The response to Arctic Fuji apples and our overall platform to deliver direct benefits to consumers has been encouraging," said Neal Carter, Okanagan Specialty Fruits' founder and president. "We are confident the positive feedback we have received will translate to the marketplace."

The approval follows a review of OSF's petition for extension by USDA APHIS and the successful conclusion of a comment period that solicited public feedback on the application. In an announcement from USDA APHIS, Michael J. Firko, APHIS Deputy Administrator, explained that "this determination of nonregulated status of [Arctic Fuji] apples is the most scientifically sound and appropriate regulatory decision."

OSF's Arctic apples have been improved through a reduction of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO), the primary cause of browning in fruit. The Arctic Advantage nonbrowning solution becomes apparent when an apple is sliced, bitten or bruised. Importantly, Arctic apples provide this benefit without the use of flavor-altering chemical additives. Moving forward Okanagan Specialty Fruits will continue to focus on developing Arctic nonbrowning tree fruits while expanding acreage of the approved Arctic Golden, Arctic Granny and Arctic Fuji apples.

About Intrexon Corporation

Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON) is Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet. The Company's integrated technology suite provides its partners across diverse markets with industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function, and performance of living cells. We call our synthetic biology approach Better DNA, and we invite you to discover more at www.dna.com or follow us on Twitter at @Intrexon, on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About Okanagan Specialty Fruits

Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF) is a small, dynamic biotechnology company based in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1996, and acquired by Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON) as a wholly owned subsidiary in April 2015, OSF specializes in developing tree fruit varieties with novel attributes that benefit fruit producers and consumers alike. For consumer information, visit www.arcticapples.com; for information about the company and partnership opportunities, visit www.okspecialtyfruits.com.

Trademarks

Intrexon, Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA, and Better DNA are trademarks of Intrexon and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement

Some of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and projections about future events and generally relate to our plans, objectives and expectations for the development of our business. Although management believes that the plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual future results may be materially different from the plans, objectives and expectations expressed in this press release.

For more information, contact:

Investor Contact:

Christopher Basta

Vice President, Investor Relations

Tel: +1 (561) 410-7052

[email protected]

Corporate Contact:

Marie Rossi, Ph.D.

Senior Manager, Technical Communications

Tel: +1 (301) 556-9850

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Jessica Brady

Marketing Communications Specialist

Tel: +1 (250) 404-0101

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130919/NY83283LOGO

SOURCE Intrexon Corporation

Related Links

http://www.dna.com


LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cortney Shegerian of the Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates has issued a statement regarding the report that a number of Wells Fargo employees were terminated after blowing the whistle on illegal sales practices within the organization. The employees allege Wells Fargo found minor reasons to terminate their employment shortly after they reported the unethical behavior via the ethics hotline.

"Corporate ethics hotlines were designed to give employees an outlet for reporting illegal behavior in the workplace," Shegerian states. "Instead, Wells Fargo used their ethics hotline to identify employees who were not on board with the egregious decisions made by senior executives."

"These decisions included asking employees to open bank and credit card accounts that were never authorized by the customer to help Wells Fargo reach internal sales goals," Shegerian continues. "Employees who refused to engage in these practices paid the ultimate price by losing their jobs."

"Retaliation comes in many forms, and unfortunately, it is the most common type of discrimination in today's workplace according to the EEOC," Shegerian says. "The retaliatory behavior demonstrated by Wells Fargo is typical of an organization who is more interested in their bottom line than protecting their customers and most importantly, their honest and ethical employees."

Located in Santa Monica, Shegerian & Associates is a law firm specializing in protecting the rights of employees who have been wronged by their employers. Richly experienced in labor and employment law and possessing an unparalleled success record as litigators, Shegerian & Associates is passionately dedicated to serving the needs of its clients. For more information about the firm, visit www.ShegerianLaw.com.

Located in Los Angeles County, Shegerian & Associates is a law firm specializing in employment law and personal injury litigation. Shegerian & Associates is dedicated to serving the needs of its clients, and has won over 73 jury trials, including over 31 seven and eight figure verdicts. For more information, visit www.ShegerianLaw.com or www.GotFired.com

SOURCE Shegerian & Associates, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.shegerianlaw.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") filed a complaint in intervention on September 22, 2016, in a Customs False Claims Act case brought by Joseph Black, of The Cullen Law Firm, PLLC, Washington, D.C. and Timothy McInnis of McInnis Law New York, N.Y. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The original action was filed on January 3, 2013 as United States ex rel. Xing Wei v. Yingshun Garments, Inc., et al., 13 CIV 55-LAK.

Ms. Wei's complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in a scheme to undervalue textiles imported into the United States for the purposes of avoiding Customs duties. The textiles in question were subject to relatively high duty rates of up to 32 percent. Ms. Wei's son, James Zhu, discovered this practice while working at Yingshun Garments in 2009. Mr. Zhu gave that information to his mother, who sought out Mr. Black to file a False Claims Act action.

The government's complaint enlarged Ms. Wei's action by alleging fraud against Marie Rodgers, an employee of Yingshun Garments, and Notations, Inc, one of Yingshun's customers. The significance of this intervention is that it shows that DOJ is willing to charge an employee of the importer and the downstream buyer of the undervalued merchandise with Customs fraud.

DOJ's investigation was headed by Cristine Philips, Ass't U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, with the assistance of investigators from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The False Claims Act allows a private party, a "whistleblower," with knowledge of fraud against the federal government, to sue in federal court on behalf of his or herself and the United States to recover significant civil penalties and treble damages. The whistleblower is usually given between 15 and 30 percent of the amount recovered by the government as an incentive to expose fraud against the United States.

Employees of importers and retailers committing Customs fraud who wish to bring a whistleblower case should now have confidence that their allegations will be taken seriously by the government. DOJ's intervention in this case shows continuing interest in the use of the False Claims Act to prosecute Customs fraud.

For further information, contact Joe Black at 202 441-9031 ([email protected]) or Tim McInnis at 212-292-4573 ([email protected]).

SOURCE McInnis Law
AMSTERDAM and ATLANTA, Georgia, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Savision, a market leader in service-oriented monitoring solutions that unify IT operations with IT service management, today announced the release of its automated application discovery module for Unity iQ.

Savision's automated application discovery module offers an agentless, trigger-based discovery method that captures infrastructure elements, application dependencies, as well as end-to-end service models in real time.

Since IT environments change frequently, manually managing changes to dependencies or configuration items (CIs) is tedious and error prone. Unity iQ's real-time discovery and application dependency modeling not only detects changes to infrastructure elements, but it also captures the dependencies between and among applications that work in concert to deliver a complete business service.

The module works out-of-the-box across today's cross-platform and hybrid environments, including: bare metal, virtualized, and private- and public-cloud. In addition to its real-time discovery engine, IT administrators can use dynamic rules to add human intelligence that can guide automatic updates accurately in ever transforming IT environments.

Unity iQ's application discovery module accelerates the transformational journey of unifying IT operations and IT service management with the following features:

Rapid Element Discovery - Discover infrastructure elements or CIs by using its agentless, non-disruptive architecture that does not require a network port.

- Discover infrastructure elements or CIs by using its agentless, non-disruptive architecture that does not require a network port. Application Topologies - Trigger-based discovery ensures that any changes to IT elements and application dependencies are discovered in real time.

- Trigger-based discovery ensures that any changes to IT elements and application dependencies are discovered in real time. Real-time Service Modeling - Building upon infrastructure element and application dependencies, services are automatically modeled and optimized using dynamic rules.

- Building upon infrastructure element and application dependencies, services are automatically modeled and optimized using dynamic rules. Change-aware CMDB - All CIs and services are matched and reconciled as changes occur with a CMDB.

- All CIs and services are matched and reconciled as changes occur with a CMDB. Incident Impact Analysis - Real-time service modeling allows for any IT team to directly see the underlying cause of every incident.

"With application modernization and IT transformation efforts in full-swing for many organizations, automated application and service discovery is more important than ever for maintaining service levels during such change," said Rob Doucette, CTO, Savision. "Our discovery module is designed to work with the increasing complexity ushered in by today's cross-platform and hybrid environments. By modeling the complete end-to-end service - end-user, applications, network, storage, etc. - Unity iQ provides a single pane of glass that IT operations teams know they can always trust when identifying and resolving incidents."

Unity iQ's application discovery module is available immediately and it also integrates with Savision's Live Maps product.

About Savision

Savision is the market leader in service-oriented IT monitoring solutions. The company's solutions transform infrastructure and application monitoring data into dashboards that automate and unify IT operations with IT service management workflows. Savision allows companies to maximize the value of existing IT management tools in order to optimize IT service delivery, prevent problems, and reduce service downtime.

Over 800 of the world's most demanding companies, governments, and non-profits have deployed Savision's solutions to visualize, rationalize, and optimize their IT service delivery workflows.

Savision is privately held and headquartered in the Netherlands, with offices in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit http://www.savision.com.

SOURCE Savision
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

More than 11 Turkish soldiers were wounded in a blast which occurred as their convoy was passing by a remotely controlled explosive device.

The incident took place in the southern Turkish province of Mardin, Sabah newspaper reported Sept. 26.

Reportedly, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group stands behind the attack.

After the blast, Turkish Armed Forces began an operation against the PKK militants.

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 list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
GENEVA, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) today announced the extension of cash management capabilities to its industry leading Global Post Trade Management Solution (GPTM), which helps leading financial institutions optimize their use of capital across multiple asset classes and global markets. The ability of Broadridge's GPTM to drive increased operating efficiencies and agility for its clients has led to its adoption by the world's leading financial institutions.

GPTM with cash management capabilities allows financial institutions to manage cash, payments and foreign exchange across asset classes and borders in real-time. Through the single view of global trades and cash, banks can truly optimize the use and cost of capital and manage risk and liquidity across business entities. Banks can also improve their client services and experience by providing a single view of positions and cash across asset classes and markets to their clients.

Since its launch this past May, three of the world's leading financial institutions have chosen GPTM as the strategic platform to streamline operations and transform to their target operating model by consolidating multiple disparate systems and standardizing operational processes. Two of the new clients chose GPTM as their single, strategic solution for fixed income processing globally, consolidating multiple platforms across regions. The third chose the solution to unify its equity and fixed income processing for operations in EMEA and a range of Asia Pacific operations.

"Leading firms now recognize the opportunity to improve profitability by standardizing and streamlining their post trade processing systems and operational processes," said Tom Carey, president, Global Technology and Operations International, Broadridge. "The signing of these three significant global firms, and the demand for the solution, demonstrate the evolution of the market and the relevance of our investments to our clients."

"With integrated cash management, GPTM offers a unified real-time view of trade and cash positions," Carey continued. "This enables firms to optimize their cash usage and manage risks, all through one platform, one view, and one experience."

GPTM supports multiple asset classes across global markets, including equity, fixed income, foreign exchange, money markets, exchange-traded derivatives and trade financing. The solution leverages new technology and a new, componentized architecture to provide clients with an integrated enterprise platform that standardizes post-trade processing and operations. GPTM can be deployed as a technology service or a fully outsourced managed service, delivering operational and technological capabilities from trade capture through matching and confirmation, clearance and settlement, cash management, reconciliations, asset servicing, books and records, accounting and regulatory reporting.

About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) is the leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds and other corporations. Broadridge's investor and customer communications, securities processing and managed services solutions help clients reduce their capital investments in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. With more than 50 years of experience, Broadridge' s infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America and processes on average $5 trillion in equity and fixed income trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 10,000 associates in 16 countries.

For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.

Media Contact:

Suzanne Hallberg

Broadridge

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110920/MM71626LOGO

SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.broadridge.com


Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development since 2004, the bi-annual holding of VIETSTOCK has grown bigger and better in each edition and this year, the show has expanded to 40% with the participation of more than 300 international and local exhibitors who would welcome nearly 9,000 visitors comprised of livestock farmers, animal nutritionist, feed millers and other industry players from over the world, especially CLMV area (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam).

VIETSTOCK 2016 will be a special edition with the 1st launching of Aquaculture Vietnam 2016 Conference. Themed "Sustainable Aquaculture in Practice", this conference provides a platform for Aquaculture members to keep their skills and knowledge up to date through variety of papers and discussions led by top renowned experts.

In addition, another highlight of this year is "Business Matching Program" -- a free application to connect exhibitors and visitors and allows them to schedule for their meetings at the show in advance. "Participants can request direct meetings to specific industry people. This way, they can maximize their time during the show by exploring business opportunities through significant business conversations." shared by Ms Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat, Business Director of UBM ASIA. Pre-registration at www.vietstock.org is required in order to access the "Business Matching Program"

Holland, Taiwan, South Korea, mainland China, the Czech Republic and so on will lead the foreign pavilions where local guests will have the first hand to explore the latest innovations in feed, livestock and aquaculture production that are being offered by these countries. "For three days, we will provide a unique livestock platform for industry players where they can approach the latest products and technology from the leading exhibitors in many different countries as well as the foreign pavilions. Furthermore, the participants will maximize their business opportunities by meeting with suppliers, distributors and those who are involved in the industry chain. Face-to-face interaction will be the best way to communicate and deliver clear messages to expand networks and develop business partnerships," said by Ms. Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat.

Aside from the wide array of newest technologies which will be showcased by the exhibitors, an interesting and relevant series of conferences and seminars will cover extensive topics such as: "Advance Technologies For Improving Swine Production", "Managing Feed Quality & Safety", "Farm Management and Disease Control in Livestock Farm" , enable participants to learn more on the latest industry innovation, whilst providing them with an opportunity to benchmark and grow their businesses. Visit www.vietstock.org for more on VIETSTOCK 2016 Expo & Forum.

About VIETSTOCK (www.vietstock.org)

VIETSTOCK 2016 Expo & Forum is the biennial livestock exhibition hosted by the Department of Livestock Production -- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). This year, the show has expanded by 40% with 300+ exhibitors. Moreover, it is expected to welcome 9,000+ visitors in different countries, especially the CLMV (Cambodia-Lao-Myanmar-Vietnam) regions.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411642

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411643

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411644

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121014/HK92339LOGO-d

SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)
ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Top-level domain .Cloud today announced the launch of a new TV campaign set to hit the CNN airwaves on September 26th. The spot will run in the U.S. and Asia and highlights how businesses can use a modern domain name to create a strong online identity.

Tweet this: Businesses are the lifeblood of any economy. A modern online identity can be crucial for #marketing success. @GetDotCloud [Tweet this].

Businesses are the lifeblood of any economy. Their entrepreneurial passion and creativity keep the world new and evolving, and their domain name should reflect that passion. A strong online presence is a crucial component of your marketing strategy, no matter what size your business is or what industry it belongs to.

Francesco Cetraro, Head of Registry Operations at .Cloud, explains: "New top-level domains empower business owners with a new wave of choice and opportunity. They can communicate their brand's story in a novel way, offering a welcomed alternative to traditional options." He added, "Awareness of these domains remains low, but it's the marketing world's best kept branding secret. Many CNN viewers are business leaders and industry-leading professionals. We feel this message will resonate with them well."

Finding a domain should be quick and easy, so the Registry has partnered with the most well-known and trusted brand for domains  Go Daddy  to make this seamless for prospective domain holders. Viewers are invited to visit GoDaddy.cloud to learn more about the .cloud extension and register their domains.

"The .cloud domain extension tells users exactly what the website is going to have on it," said GoDaddy Senior Director of Marketing, Domains Theresa Geraghty. "The term cloud is so ubiquitous now, it's great to see .Cloud start advertising in more mainstreams areas like television."

Since its official launch in February 2016, over 70,000 domains have been registered by businesses of all sizes in more than 140 countries. Beyond the cloud industry, it has attracted interest from a broad audience, including startups, creative professionals, online retailers and bloggers. .Cloud domains are available through a network of more than 70 Registrars and Resellers worldwide.

Early adopters include Samsung's cloud platform for connected devices ARTIK.cloud, LA-based fashion startup Fits.cloud and a popular journal app Journey.cloud developed in Singapore.

Link to commercial

About .Cloud

The .cloud Registry offers one of the fastest growing new top-level domains. This modern domain extension is operated by Aruba PEC S.p.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italian hosting giant Aruba.it. Founded in 1994, Aruba.it is among the top 10 hosting companies in the world. To learn more about .Cloud, visit www.get.cloud.

Connect with .Cloud on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn.

Logo: http://link.get.cloud/cloudlogo

SOURCE .Cloud

Related Links

http://www.get.cloud


EUGENE, Ore., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- College Choice, a leading authority in college and university rankings and resources, has published its 2016 rankings for the Best Online Bachelor's in Social Work

http://www.collegechoice.net/rankings/best-online-bachelors-in-social-work/

Online social work degrees have come a long way in the less than a decade that the programs have become available through distance education. Now, these programs are just as rigorous and comprehensive as their on-campus counterparts. That's why College Choice has put together a ranking based on online undergraduate social work degrees.

"People often think that an online social work degree is easier than a traditional Bachelor's of Social work. Not true! Educators have been praising the developments in online learning for yearsdevelopments that have not only legitimized digital education but have made it both rigorous and dynamic," Christian Amondson, Managing Editor of College Choice, said at the ranking's release.

College Choice curated its 2016 ranking for Best Online Bachelor's in Social Work using factors that definitely impact a student's decision to choose an online program. These include the total cost of attendance, any fees that might occur, academic reputation, online learning options, program specifics, and more. This information was taken from the program websites, U.S. News and World Report, The National Center for Education Statistics. Further information was culled from the Council for Social Work Education, the sole independent accreditor for social work programs in the United States.

The College Choice 2016 ranking for Best Online Bachelor's in Social Work is topped by Appalachian State University. The University of Iowa and the Huntington University round out the top three.

The complete rankings are as follows:

Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Arizona State University Online, Tempe, AZ

Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN

Bluffton University, Bluffton, IA

Brandman University, Irvine, CA

Brescia University, Owensboro, KY

Briar Cliff University, Sioux City, IA

Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, KY

Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ

Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

Huntington University, Huntington, IN

Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN

Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ

Northwest Mississippi Community College, Senatobia, MS

Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Natchitoches, LA

Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD

St. Leo University, Saint Leo, FL

University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK

University of Iowa, Des Moines, IA

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Washburn University, Topeka, KS

Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Western New Mexico University, Silver City, NM

College Choice is the leading authority in college and university rankings, searches and resources dedicated to helping students and their families find the right college. The site publishes rankings and reviews that make finding the best colleges for different interests easier and more fun, as well as resources to help students get into, pay for, and thrive at the college of their choice.

Contact:

Christian Amondson

Managing Editor, College Choice

Web: http://collegechoice.net

Email

Phone:(541) 255-3801

SOURCE College Choice

Related Links

http://www.collegechoice.net


MORRO BAY, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Batten down the hatches and celebrate Maritime Discovery Month this October in Morro Bay with exciting events, activities and celebrations. It's also National Seafood Month making October a spectacular time to visit Morro Bay, CA, where commercial fishermen are celebrated all year long. All hands on deck for the 35th Annual Harbor Festival, applauding the local fishing industry with fresh-caught seafood, music, central coast wines, craft beer and more while the Surfboard Art Festival mixes Morro Bay's surf culture with local artists. Tour the tall ship San Salvador, a Spanish Galleon that will be in the harbor for 10 days, celebrate the Maritime Museum's new location on the Embarcadero and don't miss the Morro Bay Sings Motown Concert. Plus, take advantage of October lodging specials and enter to win a $1000 Seaside Getaway.

San Salvador Spanish Galleon in Harbor: September 30 - October 10, 2016-- Batten down the hatches and sail across the centuries as the full-scale replica of the first European vessel to explore California's coastline makes her maiden voyage. Surfboard Festival: October 1 - December 3, 2016 -- Come to Morro Bay and check out the third Annual Morro Bay Surfboard Art Festival, part of the Inaugural Maritime Discovery Month.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411419

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411430



"This October, there are many ways to celebrate the sea in Morro Bay. The ocean, fishing and seafood are very important to those of us who live, work and play in this harbor town," explains Jennifer Little, Executive Director of Discover Morro Bay. "Our restaurants serve the finest fresh, sustainably caught seafood all year long. We are proud of what our local fishermen have accomplished and celebrate them every year at the Harbor Festival. Join us for all the maritime celebrations and enter to win a VIP vacation for two."

San Salvador Spanish Galleon in Harbor: September 30  October 10, 2016

Maritime Museum of Morro Bay: Saturdays and Sundays, October 1, 2, 8 and 9 10 am  6 pm

Surfboard Festival: October 1 - December 3, 2016

35th Annual Morro Bay Harbor Festival: October 1, 2016  FREE Admission

National Seafood Month

Win a $1000 Seaside Getaway

Estero Bay Community Association: Morro Bay Sings Concert Saturday, October 29, 2016

Hotel Packages during Maritime Discovery Month

Now you know why you should get cracking and visit Morro Bay this October. For more information, visit http://www.morrobay.org. Morro Bay also offers a myriad of year-round events including food, wine and music festivals, art fairs and car shows unique to the town. For more travel information visit http://www.morrobay.org or follow Morro Bay on its Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Susan Hartzler

Public Relations Manager

Mental Marketing

818-585-8641

Email

SOURCE Morro Bay

Related Links

http://www.morrobay.org


BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Confirmation.com, the world's leading provider of secure audit confirmation services, announced today that it was named a finalist for the 2016 NEXT Awards for the Technology Market Mover category.

"We are delighted to be named a finalist among an elite group of technology companies in a thriving Middle-Tennessee market," said Chris Schellhorn, CEO of Confirmation.com. "Having won this award two times and being named a finalist this year underscores our vision, hard work, and continued success."

"Nashville is being touted by recognized entrepreneurial authorities like the Kauffman Foundation as a community with strong infrastructure to support business startups," Chamber President and CEO Ralph Schulz said. "The Next Awards salute those who have played an important role in helping to create that entrepreneurial environment."

"Around the globe, Confirmation.com is truly transforming the way auditors and responding entities manage their audit confirmation requests," said Brian Fox, president and founder of Confirmation.com. "We are very proud of the excellent work our employees do every day and are looking forward to the awards ceremony in November."

"These finalists represent some of the most innovative minds in the region's business community," said Michael Brody-Waite, CEO, Nashville Entrepreneur Center. "They deserve to be recognized for the creativity and focus they've demonstrated in building a vision for their organization and making it a reality."

The awards ceremony takes place on November 17 at the Omni Nashville Hotel to honor top companies and entrepreneurs in 12 categories, including technology and healthcare innovation.

About Confirmation.com

Confirmation.com is the world's leading provider of secure online audit confirmations. Today, 13,000 audit firms confirm over $1 trillion annually with over 3,500 banks for 700,000 clients worldwide. Confirmation.com is used in over 125 countries by banks, companies, and law firms to respond to audit confirmation requests. For more information, visit Confirmation.com.

SOURCE Confirmation.com

Related Links

http://www.Confirmation.com


Located in the nation's capital, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of America's law enforcement officers. The Memorial Fund's Officer of the Month Award Program began in 1996 and recognizes federal, state, and local officers who distinguish themselves through exemplary law enforcement service and devotion to duty.

Detectives Scott Bramhall and Micah Wilson, along with the other Officer of the Month Award recipients for 2016, will be honored during National Police Week at a special awards ceremony in Washington, DC, in May 2017.

KEY FACTS

On the afternoon of August 11, 2015 , the Puyallup (WA) Police Department received multiple 911 calls about a man walking around a neighborhood on the west side of the city randomly shooting at residents and their children with a handgun. The suspect had just attempted to steal a vehicle and killed its owner, a well-known Puyallup resident, in the process.

, the (WA) Police Department received multiple 911 calls about a man walking around a neighborhood on the west side of the city randomly shooting at residents and their children with a handgun. The suspect had just attempted to steal a vehicle and killed its owner, a well-known resident, in the process. When confronted, the suspect began shooting at the police, striking a patrol vehicle. He then hijacked an SUV and lead officers on a high-speed chase through the city, continuing to shoot as he drove. The suspect crashed the vehicle into multiple cars near the Washington State Fairgrounds and encountered then-Officer Micah Wilson in his marked vehicle. Trying to escape from Officer Wilson, the suspect shot at the officer and attempted to steal another vehicle before fleeing on foot.

Fairgrounds and encountered then-Officer in his marked vehicle. Trying to escape from Officer Wilson, the suspect shot at the officer and attempted to steal another vehicle before fleeing on foot. "When I come around the corner, someone broadcasts that it's a newer SUV," Officer Wilson said. "Simultaneously, as I'm coming around the corner, I'm looking at a newer white SUV that's stopped in the middle of the road at a funny angle with the window down. Our bad guy behind the wheel, and I see the gun come up and he opens fire."

Detective Scott Bramhall , a plain clothes fraud officer, approached the area of the vehicle crash in his unmarked car and observed the suspect shooting at bystanders. Detective Bramhall was able to fire two shots from his sidearm from over 80 yards away, striking the suspect once. The suspect was still armed and attempted to stumble away.

, a plain clothes fraud officer, approached the area of the vehicle crash in his unmarked car and observed the suspect shooting at bystanders. Detective Bramhall was able to fire two shots from his sidearm from over 80 yards away, striking the suspect once. The suspect was still armed and attempted to stumble away. "The offender stepped out in front of a citizen's car and I had a clear line of shot, so I fired at him and missed," said Detective Bramhall. "And he turned and was [treading] away from me and I took another sight-picture on him and I was able to put him down with the second shot."

Recognizing that the suspect still posed a threat, Officer Wilson drove his front tire over the suspect, pinning him to the ground. The action effectively separated the suspect from his weapon and allowed officers to safely take him into custody.

Detectives Bramhall and Wilson were awarded the Washington State Law Enforcement Medal of Honor for their actions that day. Detective Bramhall has since retired from the force.

SUPPORTING QUOTES

"By definition, they went above and beyond putting themselves in harm's way," said Puyallup Police Chief Bryan Jeter . "Micah, I think was shot at five or six times and continued to pursue him, and same with Detective Bramhall. He's a detective, so he's in plain clothes, so he didn't have time to throw on his vest and put himself in harm's way, knowing this guy has shot somebody else already and had shot at least four police officers that we know of, and other citizens."

Police Chief . "Micah, I think was shot at five or six times and continued to pursue him, and same with Detective Bramhall. He's a detective, so he's in plain clothes, so he didn't have time to throw on his vest and put himself in harm's way, knowing this guy has shot somebody else already and had shot at least four police officers that we know of, and other citizens." "Detectives Bramhall and Wilson showed exemplary service to their community by stopping a gunman who was aiming to hurt innocent people," Memorial Fund President and CEO Craig W. Floyd said. "Putting themselves in danger for the sake of the safety of others shows why they deserve all of the honors bestowed upon them, including our September 2016 Officer of the Month Award."

For more information about the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's Officer of the Month Award, visit www.LawMemorial.org/OTM.

About the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

Established in 1984, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is a private non-profit organization dedicated to telling the story of American law enforcement and making it safer for those who serve. The Memorial Fund built and now operates and maintains the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, which contains the names of 20,789 officers who have died in the line of duty throughout U.S. history. The Memorial Fund is now building the National Law Enforcement Museum, which will tell the story of American law enforcement through high-tech, interactive exhibitions, historical artifacts and extensive educational programming. For more information, visit www.LawMemorial.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Jaclyn Barrientes

[email protected] | (202) 737-7989

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411698

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121001/DC84302LOGO-b

SOURCE National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

Related Links

http://www.LawMemorial.org


3,626.19 carats sold for USD$537,619.55 in July tender

4,648.28 carats sold for USD$629,317.94 in September tender

8,274.47 carats in total sold for USD$1,166,937.49 in second fiscal quarter

Shares Issued and Outstanding: 49,602,714

TSXV: DMI

OTCQX: DMIFF

KELOWNA, BC, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Diamcor Mining Inc. (TSX-V.DMI / OTCQX-DMIFF), (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of rough diamonds delivered, tendered, and sold in the Company's current fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2016 from its Krone-Endora at Venetia project in South Africa (the "Project").

In an initial tender and sales completed in July 2016, the Company sold 3,626.19 carats of rough diamonds, for gross proceeds of USD $537,619.55, resulting in an average price of USD $148.26 per carat. In a second, and final, tender for the quarter completed early in September 2016, the Company sold 4,648.28 carats of rough diamonds, for gross proceeds of USD $629,317.94, resulting in an average price of USD $135.39 per carat. This brings the combined rough diamonds tendered and sold during the current fiscal quarter to 8,274.47 carats, generating gross proceeds of USD $1,166,937.49, resulting in an average price of USD $141.03 per carat. The price per carat realized during the tenders and sales completed during the period were consistent with Company expectations for the goods being offered, and reflect the continued price weaknesses in certain categories of rough diamonds. Rough diamonds delivered, tendered and sold in the current period were the result of rough diamonds recovered prior to August 16th, 2016. Rough diamonds recovered after August 16th and until September 30, 2016 will be recorded as rough diamond inventory on-hand for the second fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2016.

The total of 8,274.47 carats of rough diamonds delivered to tender in the Company's current second fiscal quarter represents a ~171% increase when compared to 4,845.93 carats tendered and sold in the Company's second fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2015. Rough diamonds tendered were the result of the continued processing of material in the +1.0mm to -26mm size fractions, along with initial limited processing of material from various larger size fractions during the period. The combined efforts currently underway are designed to support the continued advancement of objectives consistent with the recommendations of the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report ("Updated Technical Report") filed by the Company on April 28, 2015, and to aid the Company in arriving at initial production decisions for the Project. The recovery of all rough diamonds to date are incidental to the ongoing commissioning and testing exercises performed at the Project. The above-noted testing exercises and incidental recoveries do not form part of the Updated Technical Report and therefore no general grade, price, or quality determination is intended by the Company at this time due to the nature and purpose of the processing of this material.

About Diamcor Mining Inc.

Diamcor Mining Inc. is a fully reporting publically traded junior diamond mining company which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol V.DMI, and on the OTC QX International under the symbol DMIFF. The Company has a well-established operational and production history in South Africa and extensive prior experience supplying rough diamonds to the world market.

About the Tiffany & Co. Alliance

The Company has established a long-term strategic alliance and first right of refusal with Tiffany & Co. Canada, a subsidiary of world famous New York based Tiffany & Co., to purchase up to 100% of the future production of rough diamonds from the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project at then current prices to be determined by the parties on an ongoing basis. In conjunction with this first right of refusal, Tiffany & Co. Canada also provided the Company with financing to advance the Project. Tiffany & Co. is a publically traded company which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TIF. For additional information on Tiffany & Co., please visit their website at www.tiffany.com.

About Krone-Endora at Venetia

In February 2011, Diamcor acquired the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project from De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, consisting of the prospecting rights over the farms Krone 104 and Endora 66, which represent a combined surface area of approximately 5,888 hectares directly adjacent to De Beers' flagship Venetia Diamond Mine in South Africa. On September 11, 2014, the Company announced that the South African Department of Mineral Resources had granted a Mining Right for the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project encompassing 657.71 hectares of the Project's total area of 5,888 hectares. The Company has also submitted an application for a mining right over the remaining areas of the Project. The deposits which occur on the properties of Krone and Endora have been identified as a higher-grade "Alluvial" basal deposit which is covered by a lower-grade upper "Eluvial" deposit. The deposits are proposed to be the result of the direct-shift (in respect to the "Eluvial" deposit) and erosion (in respect to the "Alluvial" deposit) of material from the higher grounds of the adjacent Venetia Kimberlite areas. The deposits on Krone-Endora occur in two layers with an average total depth of less than 15.0 metres from surface to bedrock, allowing for a very low-cost mining operation to be employed with the potential for near-term diamond production from a known high-quality source. Krone-Endora also benefits from the significant development of infrastructure and services already in place due to its location directly adjacent to the Venetia Mine.

Qualified Person Statement:

Mr. James P. Hawkins (B.Sc., P.Geo.), is Manager of Exploration & Special Projects for Diamcor Mining Inc., and the Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 responsible for overseeing the execution of Diamcor's exploration programmes and a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta ("APEGA"). Mr. Hawkins has reviewed this press release and approved of its contents.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Mr. Dean H. Taylor

President & CEO

Diamcor Mining Inc.

[email protected]

Tel (250) 864-3326

www.diamcormining.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. While these forward-looking statements represent our best current judgement, they are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict and which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Further, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

WE SEEK SAFE HARBOUR

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.

SOURCE Diamcor Mining Inc.

Related Links

http://www.diamcormining.com


MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunn Brothers Coffee, the Minneapolis-based coffee franchise, with 85 stores in eight states, has once again partnered with the American Refugee Committee (ARC) to help raise money for its humanitarian relief program.

This Fall, Dunn Brothers Coffee will offer customers a Ugandan coffee bean in the next iteration of its Changemakers Collection.

Through proceeds from the Changemakers Collection coffee beans, Dunn Brothers will contribute $10,000 to the ARC in 2016.

In Uganda, ARC works with refugees living in the most diversely populated refugee camps in the world - with residents who've come from DRC, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi, and several other countries. ARC works closely with these communities and other organizations operating within the camp, to provide clean water, protection, and community services to meet the needs of the diverse and vibrant population.

Dunn Brothers Coffee Co-CEO and green coffee buyer Skip Fay said: "We're grateful to the growers, farmers and families who produce the coffee we buy in East Africa."

"ARC's vital work with refugee populations in Uganda has a direct impact on the well-being of the people and communities who grow the coffee we sell in our stores, and we're committed to continuing our fruitful partnership through 2016 and beyond."

The Uganda Sipi Falls coffee is a complex cup, with a rich body, bold acidity and lots of sweet caramel flavor to balance. Spice and cedar aroma notes further add complexity while a crisp tangerine-like tartness completes the finish.

This Changemaker coffee is from the Bugisu region of the country, on the slopes of Mount Elgon in the Eastern region of Uganda. The Sipi Falls coffee project, named after a trio of majestic waterfalls, was established in 1999 to strengthen quality coffee production in the region and create a sustainable income for farmers.

The Uganda coffee will be available in all Dunn Brothers Coffee stores and online at dunnbrothers.com beginning in September 2016 and while supply lasts.

Dunn Brothers Coffee's collaboration with ARC started in 2014 when it helped create the Changemaker Chocolate Bar, a B.T McElrath chocolate bar crafted with Dunn Brothers dark roasted beans and with a portion of profits benefiting ARC. At the 2016 Changemakers Ball on December 2, 2016 Dunn Brothers' coffee will be the key ingredient in a beer brewed by Minnesota craft brewery Summit Brewing, available exclusively at the event.

About Dunn Brothers Coffee

Founded in 1987, Dunn Brothers Coffee has successfully proven to its customers and competitors that, even in the crowded coffee category, great-tasting coffee that is carefully brewed from hand-selected, freshly roasted beans boldly stands out in a class of its own. This Minneapolis-based, award-winning coffee company was founded on the principle that premium coffee customers deserve coffee that adheres to higher standards of quality every step of the way, from cultivation to cup. From sustainable, ethical sourcing practices to daily, on-site roasting, artisan hand-made premium beverages and community-connected local ownership - Dunn Brothers Coffee takes every possible measure to ensure quality coffee experiences at each of its 85 retail locations across the country. For more information, visit www.dunnbrothers.com.

About the American Refugee Committee

American Refugee Committee programs are built from the ground up. We work with people at the most vulnerable points in their lives, when they have lost everything to war or disaster. They let us know what they need most, and we work together to develop ways to help them get it. Our programs are as diverse as the people we serve, but they all work together for the same goal: to help people take back control of their lives. We have worked with refugees around the world for more than 30 years, and our 1600 staff members help nearly 3 million people a year throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East. ARC is also building a 21st Century humanitarian organization rooted in co-creating with committed people to provide more meaningful solutions to humanitarian crises worldwide. We are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To learn more, visit www.ARCrelief.org.

SOURCE Dunn Brothers Coffee

Related Links

http://www.dunnbrothers.com


WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Eisai Inc. announced today that it has submitted a supplemental application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a proposed label change for its antiepileptic drug FYCOMPA (perampanel) CIII which would include use as monotherapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures (POS) with or without secondarily generalized seizures in patients with epilepsy 12 years of age and older.

FYCOMPA is approved as an adjunctive therapy, or an add-on treatment, in combination with another antiepileptic drug (AED), for the treatment of partial-onset seizures (POS) with or without secondarily generalized seizures, and primary generalized tonic-clonic (PGTC) seizures in patients with epilepsy 12 years of age and older. Please see Important Safety Information for FYCOMPA, including Boxed WARNING for Serious Psychiatric and Behavioral Reactions, below.

Eisai submitted its application based on a new FDA communication which states that it is "acceptable to extrapolate the efficacy and safety of drugs approved as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial onset seizures (POS) to their use as monotherapy for the treatment of POS" as long as adequate information is provided on pharmacokinetics and possible drug-drug interactions (inhibition or induction) that may alter the metabolism of the drug. Eisai has submitted such data along with the proposed new label.

"Eisai is pleased to submit this new application, which may lead to an additional treatment option for those suffering from partial onset seizures," said Lynn Kramer, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Neurology Business Group, Eisai. "As a company, we are committed to advancing treatments that will make a difference to those who are affected by epilepsy, and we're looking forward to the potential for FYCOMPA as a single agent to help more patients suffering from these types of seizures."

This release discusses a non-approved use for FYCOMPA. It is not intended to convey conclusions about efficacy or safety for such use. There is no guarantee that the proposed use discussed in this release will gain FDA approval.

About Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. According to the Institute of Medicine, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, which affects 2.9 million people in the United States. Partial-onset seizures are the most common type of seizure seen in people with epilepsy, accounting for 60 percent of all seizures. Generalized seizures account for approximately 40 percent of all epilepsy, with primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures being one of the most common and severe forms of generalized seizures.

About FYCOMPA (perampanel)

FYCOMPA (perampanel) is indicated as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures with or without secondarily generalized seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures in patients with epilepsy 12 years of age and older.

FYCOMPA is an oral medication and the first and only FDA-approved non-competitive AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) receptor antagonist. The precise mechanism by which FYCOMPA exerts its antiepileptic effects in humans has not been fully elucidated.

FYCOMPA is supplied as 2 mg, 4 mg, 6 mg, 8 mg, 10 mg and 12 mg film-coated tablets, and also in an oral suspension formulation. FYCOMPA has been designated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a federally-controlled substance (CIII).

Important Safety Information for FYCOMPA (perampanel) CIII



WARNING: SERIOUS PSYCHIATRIC AND BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS -- Serious or life-threatening psychiatric and behavioral adverse reactions including aggression, hostility, irritability, anger, and homicidal ideation and threats have been reported in patients taking FYCOMPA -- These reactions occurred in patients with and without prior psychiatric history, prior aggressive behavior, or concomitant use of medications associated with hostility and aggression -- Advise patients and caregivers to contact a healthcare provider immediately if any of these reactions or changes in mood, behavior, or personality that are not typical for the patient are observed while taking FYCOMPA or after discontinuing FYCOMPA -- Closely monitor patients particularly during the titration period and at higher doses -- FYCOMPA should be reduced if these symptoms occur and should be discontinued immediately if symptoms are severe or are worsening

Serious Psychiatric and Behavioral Reactions

In the partial-onset seizures clinical trials, hostility- and aggression-related adverse reactions occurred in 12% and 20% of patients randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 6% of patients in the placebo group. These effects were dose-related and generally appeared within the first 6 weeks of treatment, although new events continued to be observed through more than 37 weeks. These effects in FYCOMPA-treated patients led to dose reduction, interruption, and discontinuation more frequently than placebo-treated patients. The combination of alcohol and FYCOMPA significantly worsened mood and increased anger. Homicidal ideation and/or threat have also been reported postmarketing in patients treated with FYCOMPA. Patients taking FYCOMPA should avoid the use of alcohol. Patients, their caregivers, and families should be informed that FYCOMPA may increase the risk of psychiatric events. Patients should be monitored during treatment and for at least one month after the last dose of FYCOMPA, and especially when taking higher doses and during the initial few weeks of drug therapy (titration period) or at other times of dose increases. Similar serious psychiatric and behavioral events were observed in the primary generalized tonic-clonic (PGTC) seizure clinical trial.

Suicidal Behavior and Ideation

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), including FYCOMPA, increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients. Anyone considering prescribing FYCOMPA or any other AED must balance the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior with the risk of untreated illness. Epilepsy and many other illnesses for which AEDs are prescribed are themselves associated with morbidity and mortality and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Patients, their caregivers, and families should be informed of the risk and advised to monitor and immediately report the emergence or worsening of depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, thoughts about self-harm and/or any unusual changes in mood or behavior. Should suicidal thoughts and behavior emerge during treatment, consider whether the emergence of these symptoms in any given patient may be related to the illness being treated.

Dizziness and Gait Disturbance

FYCOMPA caused dose-related increases in events related to dizziness and disturbance in gait or coordination. Dizziness and vertigo were reported in 35% and 47% of patients in the partial-onset seizure trials randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 10% of placebo-treated patients. Gait disturbance related events were reported in 12% and 16% of patients in the partial-onset seizure clinical trials randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 2% of placebo-treated patients.

These adverse reactions occurred mostly during the titration phase.

These adverse reactions were also observed in the PGTC seizure clinical trial.

Somnolence and Fatigue

FYCOMPA caused dose-dependent increases in somnolence and fatigue-related events.

Somnolence was reported in 16% and 18% of patients in the partial-onset seizure trials randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 7% of placebo patients. Fatigue-related events were reported in 12% and 15% of patients in the partial-onset seizure trials randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 5% of placebo patients. These adverse reactions occurred mostly during the titration phase. These adverse reactions were also observed in the PGTC seizure clinical trial. Patients should be advised against engaging in hazardous activities requiring mental alertness, such as operating motor vehicles or dangerous machinery, until the effect of FYCOMPA is known.

Falls

Falls were reported in 5% and 10% of patients in the partial-onset seizure clinical trials randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 3% of placebo-treated patients.

Withdrawal of AEDs

A gradual withdrawal is generally recommended with AEDs to minimize the potential of increased seizure frequency, but if withdrawal is a response to adverse events, prompt withdrawal can be considered.

Most Common Adverse Reactions

The most common adverse reactions in patients receiving FYCOMPA (5% and 1% higher than placebo) include dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, irritability, falls, nausea, weight gain, vertigo, ataxia, headache, vomiting, contusion, abdominal pain, and anxiety.

Drug Interactions

FYCOMPA may decrease the efficacy of contraceptives containing levonorgestrel.

Plasma levels of FYCOMPA were decreased when administered with carbamazepine, phenytoin, or oxcarbazepine. Concomitant use of FYCOMPA with other strong CYP3A inducers (e.g., rifampin, St. John's wort) should be avoided. Multiple dosing of FYCOMPA 12 mg per day enhanced the effects of alcohol on vigilance and alertness, and increased levels of anger, confusion, and depression. These effects may also be seen when FYCOMPA is used in combination with other CNS depressants.

Pregnancy and Lactation

Physicians are advised to recommend that pregnant patients taking FYCOMPA enroll in the North American Antiepileptic Drug (NAAED) Pregnancy Registry. Caution should be exercised when FYCOMPA is administered to pregnant or nursing women as there are no adequate data on the developmental risk associated with use in pregnant women, and no data on the presence of perampanel in human milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects of the drug on milk production.

Hepatic and Renal Impairment

Use in patients with severe hepatic or severe renal impairment is not recommended. Dosage adjustments are recommended in patients with mild or moderate hepatic impairment. Use with caution in patients with moderate renal impairment.

Drug Abuse and Dependence

FYCOMPA is a Schedule III controlled substance and has the potential to be abused and lead to drug dependence.

Please see accompanying Full Prescribing Information for FYCOMPA (perampanel), including Boxed WARNING.

You are encouraged to report side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1800FDA1088.

About Eisai Inc.



At Eisai Inc., human health care (hhc) is our goal. We give our first thoughts to patients and their families, and helping to increase the benefits health care provides. As the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., we have a passionate commitment to patient care that is the driving force behind our efforts to discover and develop innovative therapies to help address unmet medical needs.

Eisai is a fully integrated pharmaceutical business that operates in two global business groups: oncology and neurology (dementia-related diseases and neurodegenerative diseases). Each group functions as an end-to-end global business with discovery, development, and marketing capabilities. Our U.S. headquarters, commercial and clinical development organizations are located in New Jersey; our discovery labs are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; and our global demand chain organization resides in Maryland and North Carolina. To learn more about Eisai Inc., please visit us at www.eisai.com/US.

Media Inquiries Investor Inquiries Laurie Landau Ivor Macleod Eisai Inc. Eisai Inc. 201-746-2510 201-746-2660

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SOURCE Eisai Inc.

Related Links

http://www.eisai.com


Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.26

Trend:

Turkey's energy and natural resources minister has said Monday the Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant should be shut down as the world cannot risk another disaster like Chernobyl, Anadolu agency reported.

"Even if each country took the necessary precautions about its own nuclear power plant, we cannot ignore the threats at the borders. Therefore, we have to act together towards potential threats. In that regard, the Metsamor nuclear power plant should be shut down," Berat Albayrak said at the 60th general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Austrian capital Vienna.

The Turkish minister explained nuclear threats, namely terrorism, went beyond countries borders.
SAN FRANCISCO and ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Vice President Pete Smith and Benefits Strategy consultant Suzannah Gill will present at "Protect Your Business in 2017," an employment law seminar that EPIC is both sponsoring and co-hosting. The event will take place on Wednesday, September 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The 1818 Club in Duluth, Georgia.

The seminar will offer insight on understanding and complying with new employment, benefits and safety laws and will include free-flowing and interactive discussion with experts in employment law, employee benefits, risk control and safety.

Additional presenters include Drew Eckl & Farnham Partners Dan Kniffen and John Chancey, HB Next General Counsel Andrew N. Gross and Consulting Operations Manager Jon Lovejoy.

Discussion topics will include:

Key benefits compliance regulations from the recent past, reminders about your current obligations, and a forecast of potential future legislation

Changes in employment law, including gender discrimination, overtime rules, employee use of social media, and more

Ways to avoid steep OSHA penalties and minimize your risk of being cited for non-compliance. OSHA's new Electronic Recordkeeping Rule takes effect in January of 2017.

Click here to see the full agenda: http://www.epicbrokers.com/event/protect-your-business-in-2017/.

About EPIC:

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC now has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 13,000 clients.

With more than $200 million in revenues, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by the Carlyle Group, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit http://www.epicbrokers.com/.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

David Hock, of EPIC

650-295-4608

[email protected]

Nicole Conley

650-422-3156

[email protected]

*LOGO for media: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/16-0308-epic-insurance-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants

Related Links

http://www.epicbrokers.com


LONDON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Summary

Strategic Defense Intelligence in its report "Europe Defense Spends on Homeland Security, 2016 to 2025" has considered Homeland security (HLS) to include protection of a Europe's civilians and critical infrastructure from natural or man-made disaster. Its margins extend to border and maritime patrol, customs checks in ports and airports, search and rescue operations, disaster recovery, combating terrorism and cyber-attacks.



The report provides a quantitative top-level view of projected defense spends at market (Homeland Security) and following segments levels:



Maritime Infrastructure and Protection

Maritime Surveillance and Detection

Counter Terrorism Infrastructure

Counter Terrorism Ordnance, Mobility and others

Police Force Infrastructure

Police Force Ordnance, Mobility and others

Physical Security

Network Security

Other Critical Infrastructure Security



The information in this report draws upon Strategic Defense Intelligence's in-depth, primary research and proprietary databases to provide you with robust, segment specific data. It is an essential resource for professionals active across the industry value chain and for new players considering entry into the market.

Countries covered in this report: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Kingdom



*This is an on-demand report and will be delivered within 2 working days (excluding weekends) of the purchase.



Key Findings

- Provides key forecast statistics on the defense spends related to Homeland Security (HLS) from 2016 to 2025.



- Provides segmentation data of the Homeland Security (HLS) market in Europe.



Synopsis

"Europe Defense Spends on Homeland Security, 2016 to 2025" a market research analytics report from the house of Strategic Defense Intelligence; outlays Europe's projected defense budget allocations on Homeland Security (HLS). The report provides strategic outlay on individual categories which include Maritime and Border Security, Police Modernization and Counter Terrorism, and Critical Infrastructure Protection (where applicable).



Reasons To Buy

- Understand the Europe's Homeland Security (HLS) market using Strategic Defense Intelligence's market and segmentation analytics.



- Use the sector market sizing and budget allocation data to understand the current landscape and forecasts to discover the future direction of the Homeland Security (HLS) market in Europe.



- Formulate crucial business strategies and make the right investment decisions using Strategic Defense Intelligence's forecast figures.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4171909/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com

For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Since the beginning of 2010, drug manufacturers, hospital systems, insurers and other healthcare companies have paid nearly $7 billion in fines and settlements to resolve cases in which they were accused of defrauding the federal government. Banks, led by Wells Fargo, account for the second largest portion of False Claims Act penalties, with more than $3 billion in payments. More than one-third of the 100 largest federal contractors have been defendants in such cases during the seven-year period.

These are some of the key findings that emerge from an expansion of Violation Tracker, a database of corporate crime and misconduct produced by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First. It is available to the public for free at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/violation-tracker.

With the addition of more than 750 cases relating to the 150-year-old False Claims Act and similar laws, Violation Tracker now contains a total of 112,000 entries from 30 federal regulatory agencies and all divisions of the Justice Department.

"The inclusion of False Claims Act cases is another milestone in our ongoing effort to make Violation Tracker a comprehensive data resource on corporate crime and regulatory misconduct," said Philip Mattera, who heads the Corporate Research Project and leads the work on Violation Tracker.

Among the newly added cases involving healthcare companies, the largest is the $784 million settlement the Justice Department reached last April with Pfizer and its subsidiary Wyeth to resolve allegations that they overcharged the Medicaid program. DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading dialysis provider, was involved in the next two largest cases, in which it had to pay a total of $800 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in wasteful practices and paid referral kickbacks while providing services covered under federal healthcare programs.

Wells Fargo accounts for the largest banking-related penalty and the largest False Claims Act case overall in the new data: a $1.2 billion settlement earlier this year to resolve allegations that the bank falsely certified to the Department of Housing and Urban Development that certain residential home mortgage loans were eligible for Federal Housing Administration insurance.

Good Jobs First is a Washington, DC-based resource center promoting accountability in economic development subsidies and smart growth for working families. Its Corporate Research Project provides research resources for organizations and individuals concerned about corporate accountability.

Contact: Phil Mattera, 202-232-1616, [email protected]

SOURCE Good Jobs First

Related Links

http://www.goodjobsfirst.org


"We're thrilled Luxury Travel Guide will recognize New Braunfels with the 2016 Americas Award for Family Destination of the Year," said Judy Young, executive director of the Greater New Braunfels Convention & Visitors Center. "The award will be presented November 7 in London. That's just as we celebrate one of our favorite fall events  Wurstfest, the best 10 days in sausage history ."

An "Oktoberfest-styled" German festival, Wurstfest is full of all kinds of fun like the chicken dance!

There are many other festivals and the sunny mild days are perfect for outdoor activities. You can fish, cycle and run. You can ride a horse or kayak. You can visit the Texas Hill Country wineries or craft beer breweries. There's live music everywhere and something for everyone:

For festival fanatics:

30th Annual Gruene Music & Wine Festival/ October 6-9  It's a four-day celebration of Texas and Americana music and wine.

It's a four-day celebration of and Americana music and wine. 24th Annual Texas Clay Festival/October 22-23  Check out more than 60 Texas potters and clay artists.

Check out more than 60 Texas potters and clay artists. Dia De Los Muertos Festival/ October 29  Learn all about it at a fun-packed festival celebrating the Day of the Dead.

Learn all about it at a fun-packed festival celebrating the Day of the Dead. Wurstfest/ November 4-13  USA Today's readers say it's one of the best " Oktoberfest " in the nation!

For athletes:

The Shoebox Shuffle 5K Run/Walk & Children's 1K Fun Run/ October 29  A family run that starts at Rockin R River Rides in the Gruene Historic District.

 A family run that starts at Rockin R River Rides in the Gruene Historic District. Tour de Gruene cycle races/ November 5-6  Rapids, limestone cliffs and tall bald cypress trees make for a unique road course. Coincides with Wurstfest!

Rapids, limestone cliffs and tall bald cypress trees make for a unique road course. Coincides with Wurstfest! Chosen Half Marathon & 5K/ November 19  "The prettiest race in Texas " follows the Guadalupe River through the Texas Hill Country.

For music lovers:

The Marshall Tucker Band/ October 8  The Marshall Tucker Band brings its Southern Rock hits to Gruene Hall.

 The Marshall Tucker Band brings its Southern Rock hits to Gruene Hall. JD McPherson/ October 14  Music hailed as an irresistible, slicked-back triumph comes to Gruene Hall.

 Music hailed as an irresistible, slicked-back triumph comes to Gruene Hall. Los Lonely Boys/ November 4  Grammy Award-winning Los Lonely Boys put on their singularly powerful live act at Gruene Hall.

For adventurers and outdoor lovers:

New Braunfels offers fly-fishing for Rainbow Trout, caving, boating and birding.

offers fly-fishing for Rainbow Trout, caving, boating and birding. Dining and dancing under the stars  Enjoying a meal and a whirl in the biergarten is a New Braunfels tradition.

Add to all that some unique trips back in time. The brand new Stars & Stripes Drive-In Movie Theater takes you back to family night at the drive in. A visit to the oldest bakery, hardware store and dance hall in Texas will conjure up some new memories.

Spend some time in the Texas Hill Country and you'll find a home in its heart. New Braunfels offers a wide array of accommodations from camping to luxury resorts. It's small town Texas with a big appetite for welcoming guests. No wonder it's just been selected Luxury Travel Guide's Family Destination of the Year  USA, Global Awards 2016 Winner.

For more information see PlayInNewBraunfels. To make a reservation: StayInNewBraunfels

Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/Wurstfest-How-to-Chicken-Dance.mp4

Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160925/411533

Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140227/MM73532LOGO-b

SOURCE Greater New Braunfels Convention & Visitors Bureau

Related Links

http://innewbraunfels.com


WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) today announced that The Community Loan Fund of New Jersey, Inc., an affiliate of New Jersey Community Capital, a non-profit community development financial institution, is the winning bidder on the housing agency's fifth Community Impact Pool of non-performing loans. The transaction is expected to close on November 22, 2016, and includes 120 loans secured by properties located in the Miami, Florida area with an unpaid principal balance (UPB) of approximately $20.3 million.

In collaboration with Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and The Williams Capital Group, L.P., Fannie Mae began marketing this Community Impact Pool to potential bidders on August 10, 2016.

The loan pool awarded in this most recent transaction includes:

120 loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $20,280,326.61 ; with an average loan size of $169,003 ; with a weighted average note rate of 5.23%; with a weighted average delinquency of 42 months; with a weighted average broker's price opinion loan-to-value ratio of 111%.

The cover bid price for this Community Impact Pool is 56.6% of UPB (52.4% of Broker Price Opinion - BPO).

On April 14, 2016, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced additional enhancements to its requirements for sales of non-performing loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that build on requirements originally announced in March 2015. The additional requirements, which apply to this Fannie Mae non-performing loan sale, encourage sustainable modifications that have the potential to give more borrowers the opportunity for home retention by requiring evaluation of borrowers with underwater loans for modifications that may include principal and/or arrearage forgiveness; forbidding "walking away" from vacant homes; and establishing more specific proprietary loan modification standards.

Potential buyers can register for ongoing announcements or training, and find more information on Fannie Mae's sales of non-performing loans and on the Federal Housing Finance Agency's guidelines for these sales at http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/funding-the-market/npl/index.html.

Fannie Mae helps make the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and affordable rental housing possible for millions of Americans. We partner with lenders to create housing opportunities for families across the country. We are driving positive changes in housing finance to make the home buying process easier, while reducing costs and risk. To learn more, visit fanniemae.com and follow us on twitter.com/fanniemae.

SOURCE Fannie Mae

Related Links

http://www.fanniemae.com


PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The First Annual "Kids Music Day" will be celebrated on Friday, Oct. 7. On this special day, the organization Keep Music Alive is partnering with music schools across the nation to help promote the importance of including music in children's education. Activities being planned by the music schools include open houses, student performances and musical instrument donation drives in their respective communities. To date, over 50 schools from 14 states have signed up to participate in "Kids Music Day."

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411286

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411287

Vincent James, co-founder of Keep Music Alive and "Kids Music Day," says, "We recognize so many public schools across the country are cutting or reducing their music and arts programs. Research has shown how critical music and art education are to developing our children's minds and character. Our mission is to spotlight musical programs, and help raise awareness of how valuable music really is to our children and our collective future."

Keep Music Alive is dedicated to promoting the value of music: educationally, therapeutically and overall making us a happier society. It has published the book 88+ Ways Music Can Change Your Life, featuring over 150 inspirational music stories with proceeds donated to organizations that provide musical instruments and instruction to schools and communities in need. Current benefactors are Guitars in the Classroom, Spirit of Harmony and Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

Music Schools Participating in Kids Music Day

Academy of Music for the Blind, Accent Music, Bach to Rock, Baltimore School for the Arts, Burbank Music Lessons, Cheryl Teach Music, Conservatory of Music at Cinco Ranch, DC Guitar Lessons, Delco Let There Be Rock, Enchanted Music Together, Further Music, Golden Oak Music Lessons, Harmonia School of Music, Jordan Kitts, Kids Rock Free at Fender, Kindermusik with Friends, Life Power Music Mentoring, Maryland Conservatory of Music, Maryland String Academy, Minnesota Valley Conservatory of Music, Music Academy of NC, Music Globe, Music Makers NY, Music Notes Academy, Music Tree School for Music, Music Workshop, New York Guitar Academy, New York Ukulele School, North End Music & Performing Arts, Opportunity Music Project, Philadelphia Suzuki Piano Academy, Richards Guitar Studio, Roseville Piano & Music, School of Rock, Sharon Music Academy, Songbird Music, Turtle Bay Music School, Victor Litz Music, Yucaipa Music

For more information on "Kids Music Day" and Keep Music Alive, please contact Vincent James (610) 874-6312, visit www.KeepMusicAlive.org; www.KidsMusicDay.org or Email.

SOURCE Keep Music Alive

Related Links

http://www.keepmusicalive.org


ROCHESTER, N.H., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, September 27, 2016 Frisbie Memorial Hospital will hold a press conference to update the greater Rochester community regarding the opening of the Rochester Community Recovery Center. The Center will provide person-centered support for individuals with alcohol, drug addiction and mental health challenges as well as a 24/7 Community Access to Recovery program to help link people to appropriate resources and supports in the community beginning October 3, 2016.

As one of the first 'medical model' organizations to address head on the recovery movement, Frisbie, alongside its community partners, will talk about the Center's mission, and its programs and services designed to promote, throughout any stage of an individual's recovery, whole health and resiliency as a means to foster a person's own vision of wellness. The Center will provide to individuals in need person-centered, drug addiction and mental health services, on a 24/7 basis, beginning on on the 3rd of October.

As of July 2016 there were 106 overdoses, with 10 deaths. Overdose cases are now 27 percent higher than in 2015. According to Frisbie's 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment, 21.6 percent of the population in Strafford County has used illicit drugs in the past year, and nearly one in five people (19.6%) indicate that they have been told that they have some form of depression. The Rochester Community Recovery Center will serve individuals with a substance use disorder and/or mental health condition, as well as individuals' friends, family, advocates, and supporters.

Frisbie Memorial Hospital and its community partners will provide specifics surrounding the Center's goals in tackling addiction recovery in the greater Rochester area.

The logistical details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2016



Time: 10 a.m.



Location: 48 North Main Street, Rochester, NH



Speakers: John Marzinzik, Police Chief Mike Allen, Mayor Caroline McCarley, and Amanda Pinkham



Partners: John Marzinzik, President and CEO, Frisbie Memorial Hospital

Ron Poulin, Chairman, FMH Board of Trustees

Caroline McCarley, Mayor, City of Rochester

A. Raymond Varney, Jr., Deputy Mayor, City of Rochester

Daniel Fitzpatrick, City Manager, City of Rochester

Ray Barnett, Councilor, City of Rochester

Elaine Lauterborn, Councilor, City of Rochester

Sandra Keans, Councilor, City of Rochester

Peter Lachapelle, Councilor, City of Rochester

Tom Abbott, Councilor, City of Rochester

Tom Willis, Councilor, City of Rochester

Donald Hamann, Councilor, City of Rochester

Ralph Torr, Councilor, City of Rochester

Robert Gates, Councilor, City of Rochester

Donna Bogan, Councilor, City of Rochester

James Gray, Councilor, City of Rochester

Michael Allen, Chief, Rochester Police Department

Paul Toussaint, Deputy Chief, Rochester Police Department

Nicole Rodler, Juvenile Court Diversion, Rochester Police Department

Stacey Price, Executive Director, Rochester Housing Authority

Heather Prebish, Clinical Manager, Groups

Amanda Pinkham, Coordinator, Rochester Community Recovery Center

Dr. Bruce Baker, Great Bay Community College

Molly Martuscello, Coalition Coordinator, Bridging the Gaps

Andrew West, Bonfire Recovery Center

Shawn LaFrance, Executive Director, Foundation for Healthy Communities

Sister Mary Agnus, St. Charles Home

Doug Currier, YMCA of Strafford County

Steve Poggi, Waste Management

Marco Thompson, Southeastern NH Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services

Sharon Drake, Southeastern NH Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services



Other: Photo and interview with partners' opportunities available



Note: Onsite parking unavailable. Free parking is available in the municipal lot located across the street.





Please contact Michelle Landry at (603) 330-8986 or [email protected] to confirm your attendance as soon as possible.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150123/171127LOGO

SOURCE Frisbie Memorial Hospital

Related Links

http://www.fmhospital.com


NEC has consistently outperformed the competition by offering customized solutions for customers' specific requirements. Its newly launched NeoFace portfolio is a testament to its deep technological expertise and understanding of customer needs, as it maximizes output according to the operational needs of diverse projects and use case. Its superior technology and core algorithms, including the capability to identify facial areas and unique facial features, have eliminated the challenges caused by poor illumination or image quality.

"Acknowledging the importance of timely detection and shorter engagement times for improved safety, security, and convenience, NEC has increased the speed of match processing in data bases to up to 3.02 million images every second. This is almost twice the average processing speed of its competitors," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Nandini Bhattacharya. "Furthermore, NeoFace guarantees customers 28% greater accuracy than the industry average."

NEC has demonstrated its commitment to extensive product R&D by establishing nine laboratoriesthree in Japan, two in the United States, and one each in Germany, Britain, Singapore, and China. Additionally, NEC established a National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC), which delivers end-to-end assistance in staging, configuring, maintaining, and upgrading its solutions.

The benefits afforded by the NeoFace solution make it the face recognition technology of choice for government and public safety agencies, large enterprises, and corporations. Its applications include the following:

Border Control  The solution matches the images of travelers with their electronic images in ePassports, empowering Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify visitors unlawfully seeking access into the country. The solution does not slow down the check-in or check-out process, which is a common issue with other biometric security systems such as fingerprint and palm print scanners or even retina/iris authentication.

Express Access Control  It uniquely enables rapid access (nearly 1800 per hour) to secure locations, opening up numerous applications in border control, critical infrastructure, theme parks, stadia, and venues.

Departments of Transportation and Motor Vehicles  It reduces fraud by preventing issuance of multiple driver's licenses to the same individual.

Retail  For customers that already have video management software (VMS) and surveillance in their locations, NEC integrates its packages with leading VMS providers. This gives it a foothold in airports, malls, and other public areas already served by VMS.

Authentication  The novel scope of implementation in the device authentication segment has helped do away with the traditional one-time password (OTP) authentication method.

Overall, NEC's superior knowledge of the environments in which the facial recognition applications are used, implementation of best practices, comprehensive purchase models, price-performance, and customer purchase and support experience make it a leading brand in the North American market.

"NEC is also a leading implementer of best practices, which enables its solution to be deployed at all times of the day, in diverse environments. Importantly, it is camera type-, lens-, and position-agnostic," noted Bhattacharya. "The company has comprehensive business models, ranging from CAPEX-to-OPEX, on-site or remote, and cloud support. Moreover, its recent announcements of partnerships with leading data center providers possessing mandatory Federal security certifications for data hosting gives it a competitive edge in its hosted offerings."

"NEC is very pleased to be awarded such a high profile honor," said Raffie Beroukhim, senior vice president, Biometrics Solutions Division, NEC Corporation of America. "The award validates the visionary innovation of our NeoFace facial recognition portfolio and solutions, in addition to the impact and value it has brought to our government and public sector clients. Furthermore, the Company of the Year Award from Frost and Sullivan recognizes the team who have worked hard to deliver consistently accurate and extraordinary solutions making NEC a prime vendor of choice for government and enterprise markets."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to a company that has demonstrated superiority in devising a strong growth strategy and implementing it. The recipient has shown strength in terms of innovation in products and technologies, leadership in customer value, as well as speed in response to market needs. In short, the award looks at the emerging market players in the industry and recognizes their best practices that position them for future growth.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About NEC Corporation of America (NEC)

NEC Corporation of America (NEC) is a leading technology integrator providing solutions that improve the way people work and communicate. NEC delivers integrated Solutions for Society that are aligned with our customers' priorities to create new value for people, businesses and society, with a special focus on safety, security and efficiency. We deliver one of the industry's strongest and most innovative portfolios of communications, analytics, security, biometrics and technology solutions that unleash customers' productivity potential. Through these solutions, NEC combines its best-in-class solutions and technology, and leverages a robust partner ecosystem to solve today's most complex business problems. NEC Corporation of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, a global technology leader with a presence in 160 countries and $25 billion in revenues. For more information, please visit www.necam.com

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.

provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation. The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact Us: Start the discussion

Join Us: Join our community

Subscribe: Newsletter on "the next big thing"

Register: Gain access to visionary innovation

Frost & Sullivan Contact:

Chiara Carella

P: +44 (0) 207.343.8314

F: 210.348.1003

E: [email protected]

NEC Media Contact:

Frank Puglia

NEC Corporation of America

214.262.3767

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160922/411032

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

Related Links

http://www.frost.com


"We are excited to be working with the SVB team," said Simon Coombes, Chief Technology Officer at Gooee. "Not only are they passionate about what we're developing, but they share the vision that bringing LED lighting into the IoT space will open the next wave of opportunities across the value chain. This funding deal with SVB allows us to finalize preparations for Gooee's ecosystem through to its launch."

Gooee provides a full suite of hardware and software components that lighting companies can both integrate into their own products and connect them to the Gooee Cloud. Connecting to the Gooee Cloud gives lighting companies the ability to offer their customers competitive, cloud-based services - such as Lighting Control, Energy Management, LED Analytics and Beacon Management - across a multitude of vertical markets and through a scalable, service-oriented business model.

"We are delighted to support Gooee in its exciting expansion story," said Rosh Wijayarathna, Director at SVB's UK Corporate Banking team. "At Silicon Valley Bank, we love businesses that solve real problems. Energy conservation is a very real issue that Gooee is tackling through its smart lighting platform. Gooee connects lighting manufacturers with the Internet of Things and has the potential to disrupt the industry and make smart cities greener and more efficient. We look forward to continuing to partner with Gooee's management and supporting the ongoing growth of the business."

The funding deal builds on an exciting year for Gooee, which has now signed up over 30 lighting companies to its partner program, including Feilo Sylvania, Aurora and Gerard Lighting. In addition to the rapid increase in the number of signed partnerships, Gooee recently won an innovation award at Light + Building 2016 and appointed key advisory board member, Shmuel Silverman.

For Gooee media inquiries please contact: [email protected].

About Gooee

Gooee is the world's first 'Full-Stack' operating platform to connect lighting manufacturers to the IoT. Focused on design, engineering and supply of hardware, software and data management components across the LED lighting value chain, Gooee provides sensing, control and communication components that integrate with an enterprise scale cloud platform. This offers a service-driven, scalable framework for lighting OEMs.

About Silicon Valley Bank

For more than 30 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative businesses and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides a range of targeted financial services and expertise through its office in the UK. With commercial and international banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators. The UK's leading technology and life science businesses, in all stages of development, look to SVB's niche expertise, experience and unparalleled network, as they grow at home and tackle new markets abroad. SVB is proud to support the UK Tech Awards and the Megabuyte Quoted Companies Scorecard.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411443

SOURCE Gooee

Related Links

https://gooee.com


PHILADELPHIA, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Hindawi and Editage today announced a new partnership that will provide English-language editing to authors wishing to submit to Hindawi publications. This partnership will result in Editage's services being integrated into Hindawi's submission process and provide a 10% discount to Hindawi authors.

Craig Raybould, Chief Process Engineer of Hindawi, said, "These pre-submission manuscript preparation services will help authors, particularly those for whom English is not their first language. Editage's services can help authors draft well-written manuscripts ready for journal submission by linking them to a panel of highly qualified and experienced publication experts who provide subject-relevant editing, translation, and formatting support. We are also pleased that this partnership provides a financial benefit in the form of a 10% discount to our authors who want to use these services."

Nikesh Gosalia, Director, Publisher and Academic Relations at Editage, said, "Editage is proud to partner with Hindawi Publishing Corporation. At Editage, we pay close attention to the subject matter of a manuscript and make it our mission to support the author through a variety of services geared at optimizing the potential for publication success. We look forward to assisting Hindawi authors achieve their publication goals."

For more information, please visit http://hindawi.editage.com/

About Hindawi

Hindawi (http://www.hindawi.com) is a publisher of peer-reviewed open access journals covering a wide range of academic disciplines. Founded in 1997, Hindawi employs more than 700 people in its Cairo and London offices and publishes more than 20,000 open access articles per year.

About Editage

Editage, the flagship brand of Cactus Communications (CACTUS), is recognized worldwide in publishing and academic communities. Editage aims to help scholars break through the confines of geography and language, to bridge the gap between authors and peer-reviewed journals, and to accelerate the process of publishing high-quality research. Apart from working with individual researchers, Editage partners with publishers, journals, academic societies, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide to assist them in creating compelling, high-quality scientific publications. Editage is also dedicated to author education through its comprehensive author resources site Editage Insights.

Please visit editage.com.

Media contact:

Hridey Manghwani

Manager, Public Relations

Editage/Cactus Communications

+1-877-334-8243

[email protected]

Richard Bennett

Commercial Director

[email protected]



SOURCE Cactus Communications
The AIIB is a multilateral financial institution led by China. (Photo : Getty Images)

The Asian Development Bank (A.D.B.) vice president expressed support for China's Belt Road Initiative as it recognizes a common goal for regional integration.



According to Zhang Wencai, the bank and China have "agreeable blueprints for the development in Central Asia, including enhancing economic and financial cooperation, as well as policy coordination based on dialogues, among others."



Advertisement

He said that both the A.D.B. and China implementing the Belt Road Initiative "is exactly what we are trying to do here".



In February this year, the bank submitted a proposal to the Chinese government for a 5-year country partnership strategy.



According to Ayumi Konishi, A.D.B. Director General for Southeast Asia, "There are other remaining and emerging development challenges the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) faces that money alone cannot address. These include efforts to address remaining poverty and a rapidly aging society, and the need to balance rural and urban development."



The director added, "We will be supporting the P.R.C. using both knowledge and financial resources, including through policy- and results-based loans when appropriate, in accelerating reforms to enable the country to achieve stable and sustainable growth, which in turn will contribute to promoting the sound development of the regional and global economy."



In China, Zhang said that the bank and the country are both willing "to build connectivity will benefit all people, all countries in the region."



"The A.D.B. can contribute to a member country's initiative including the Chinese government's Belt and Road initiative," he noted.



"We also support projects in Kyrgyzstan for enhancing their connectivity with neighboring countries," he said.



The A.D.B. reported that a recent joint venture was formed between the A.D.B. and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (A.I.I.B) to implement projects in Pakistan.


KIRKLAND, Wash., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperfish Inc, www.hyperfish.com, a Kirkland, Washington software company will officially launch its first product, Hyperfish for Active Directory, this week at the Microsoft Ignite conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411669LOGO

Hyperfish for Active Directory enables organizations to automatically identify, retrieve, and populate missing information in Active Directory (AD), quickly and easily. Using AI and Bot technology, Hyperfish automates the process of identifying what's incorrect within a directory and retrieving that information from end users. Hyperfish helps organizations reduce IT support costs, improve the quality of their communications, and accelerate key IT projects such as workflow automation. Hyperfish enables organizations get the most out of their Microsoft investment in Office 365, SharePoint, Skype for Business, and Delve.

Hyperfish, sold as an annual subscription, supports cloud, on premises, and hybrid installation of Active Directory. Also available is a free Active Directory Analysis tool to enable customers to assess the quality of their directory, and to understand the benefits of maintaining complete and up-to-date information.

Poor data quality in Active Directories is a widespread problem as experienced by Marc Anderson, Co-Founder and President of Sympraxis Consulting. "Every single client I work with has terrible data in AD, and they see it as such an insurmountable problem that they never fix it."

Hyperfish is the brainchild of Brian Cook, co-founder of global workflow software company Nintex and Chris Johnson, former Group Product Manager of the Office 365 team at Microsoft.

"We are excited to be launching at Microsoft Ignite, and bring to market a product that we hope will cure a major headache for thousands of organizations. Our team has spent countless hours with customers, partners, and Microsoft to solve an old problem in a very new way," said Brian Cook, CEO of Hyperfish.

Hyperfish is available exclusively through more than 30 launch partners, covering the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Related Links

http://www.hyperfish.com

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rko6jqfmyLg

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Hyperfish, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.hyperfish.com


ST. LOUIS, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels (HHOW) and St. Louis-area Hyundai dealers will present Dr. Sima Bhatt, a Fellow in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at St. Louis Children's Hospital, with a $150,000 Young Investigator Grant to be used to expand the knowledge base of pediatric cancer and improve the standards of care. St. Louis Children's Hospital was one of 10 recipients across the country selected from nonprofit Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions after a rigorous grading process.

The $150,000 Young Investigator Grant will be presented at St. Louis Children's Hospital (One Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110) tomorrow, Tuesday, September 27, at 9:30 am at a Handprint Ceremony during which the handprints of local St. Louis-area brave young cancer patients will be captured on a white 2016 Hyundai Tucson  the Hyundai Hope On Wheels hero vehicle  to commemorate their fight against the disease.

The ceremony will also feature*:

Joan Magruder , President, St. Louis Children's Hospital

President, St. Louis Children's Hospital Dr. Sima Bhatt , Fellow, Department of Hematology and Oncology, St. Louis Children's Hospital; Grant Recipient

Fellow, Department of Hematology and Oncology, St. Louis Children's Hospital; Grant Recipient Will and Sheri Bartold , Patient and Mother, St. Louis Children's Hospital

Patient and Mother, St. Louis Children's Hospital Ryan Darby (age 13), Pediatric cancer survivor and 2016 HHOW National Youth Ambassador

Pediatric cancer survivor and 2016 HHOW National Youth Ambassador Guy Warner , Senior Group Manager, Regional Market Representative, Hyundai Central Region

Senior Group Manager, Regional Market Representative, Hyundai Central Region Jamie Auffenberg , Dealer/Owner, Auffenberg Hyundai

Dealer/Owner, Auffenberg Hyundai Handprint Ceremony: St. Louis -area children affected by cancer will capture their handprints on a white 2016 Hyundai Tucson

*ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW AND PHOTO/B-ROLL OPPORTUNITIES*

"Our mission at Hyundai Hope On Wheels is clear: End Childhood Cancer," said Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. "These individual awards to hospitals and organizations across the country are pivotal to ending childhood cancer. Although there remains a lot more work to be done, the innovation that comes from this research will ultimately help us find a cure. To all the kids, families and cancer researchers fighting this terrible disease  you are not alone and we remain committed to this important cause."

About the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Young Investigator Grants and Handprint Ceremonies

The Hyundai Young Investigator Awards are awarded to institutions in pediatric cancer research. This is a $150,000 award and qualified individuals are selected from nonprofit COG member institutions after a grading process. This year alone, HHOW will award more than $13 million in new pediatric cancer grants. Since 1998, the program has funded $115 million in research to COG member institutions nationwide. The program also creates awareness about the importance of the disease, which is the leading cause of death by disease in children in the United States (source).

Attendees at the various ceremonies will include HHOW's two national youth ambassadors and pediatric cancer survivors, Hannah Adams and Ryan Darby, who will deliver a message of hope to children's cancer hospitals. Hannah, now 13 years old, was only five years old when she was diagnosed with a Stage 3 Wilms tumor that enveloped her kidney. Since her recovery, she has pursued her love of dancing and singing to help uplift and encourage other children and families through their fight. Thirteen-year-old Ryan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia six years ago, and since his recovery, he has shared his story and words of encouragement with children and families across the country. Watch Hannah and Ryan's story at www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.

2016 National Call To Action: Give Hope A Hand

In addition to funding a multitude of research projects this September, HHOW is encouraging the public to contribute to the fight against childhood cancer in a personal way. The journey begins with one simple request: Give Hope A Hand. We invite visitors to the newly refreshed website at hyundaihopeonwheels.org, to tell how they will use their hands in the fight against pediatric cancer. Once there visitors can Learn + Care + Do + Give = Hope. There are a number of additional engaging, interactive ways the public can get involved and use their hands for good.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $115 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

To learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org or follow us on social media at www.facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, www.twitter.com/hopeonwheels, and www.youtube.com/hopeonwheels.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide.

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com and our blog at www.hyundailikesunday.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140319/LA86658LOGO

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

http://www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org


NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels (HHOW) and New York City-area Hyundai dealers will present Dr. Johannes L. Zakrzewski of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with a $250,000 Scholar Grant to be used to improve care and increase treatment options for kids with cancer. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was one of 24 recipients across the country selected by a rigorous scientific review panel to receive this highly competitive Hyundai Scholar Grant.

The $250,000 Scholar Grant will be presented at the Zuckerman Research Center  Main Auditorium (417 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065), tomorrow, Tuesday, September 27, at 10:00 AM at a Handprint Ceremony during which the handprints of local New York City-area brave young cancer patients will be captured on a large canvas to commemorate their fight against the disease.

The ceremony will also feature*:

Johannes L. Zakrzewski , MD, 2016 Hope on Wheels Grant Recipient

Andrew Kung , MD, PhD, Chief, Department of Pediatrics

Chief, Department of Pediatrics John Hyland , General Manager, Eastern Region, Hyundai Motor America

Mr. Met, The official mascot of Major League Baseball's New York Mets

The official mascot of Major League Baseball's New York Mets Handprint Ceremony: New York City -area children affected by cancer will capture their handprints on a large canvas

*ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW AND PHOTO/B-ROLL OPPORTUNITIES*

"Our mission at Hyundai Hope On Wheels is clear: End Childhood Cancer," said Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. "These individual awards to hospitals and organizations across the country are pivotal to ending childhood cancer. Although there remains a lot more work to be done, the innovation that comes from this research will ultimately help us find a cure. To all the kids, families and cancer researchers fighting this terrible disease  you are not alone and we remain committed to this important cause."

About the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Scholar Grants and Handprint Ceremonies

The Scholar Senior Research Grants will fund childhood research projects designed to improve the treatment and quality of life for children with cancer. The ultimate goal of the Scholar Senior Research Grant program is to find cures for childhood cancers once and for all. This year alone, HHOW will award more than $13 million in new pediatric cancer grants. Since 1998, the program has funded $115 million in research to Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions nationwide. The program also creates awareness about the importance of the disease, which is the leading cause of death by disease in children in the United States (source).

Attendees at the various ceremonies will include HHOW's two national youth ambassadors and pediatric cancer survivors, Hannah Adams and Ryan Darby, who will deliver a message of hope to children's cancer hospitals. Hannah, now 13 years old, was only five years old when she was diagnosed with a Stage 3 Wilms tumor that enveloped her kidney. Since her recovery, she has pursued her love of dancing and singing to help uplift and encourage other children and families through their fight. Thirteen-year-old Ryan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia six years ago, and since his recovery, he has shared his story and words of encouragement with children and families across the country. Watch Hannah and Ryan's story at www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.

2016 National Call To Action: Give Hope A Hand

In addition to funding a multitude of research projects this September, HHOW is encouraging the public to contribute to the fight against childhood cancer in a personal way. The journey begins with one simple request: Give Hope A Hand. We invite visitors to the newly refreshed website at hyundaihopeonwheels.org, to tell how they will use their hands in the fight against pediatric cancer. Once there visitors can Learn + Care + Do + Give = Hope. There are a number of additional engaging, interactive ways the public can get involved and use their hands for good.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $115 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

To learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org or follow us on social media at www.facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, www.twitter.com/hopeonwheels, and www.youtube.com/hopeonwheels.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide.

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com and our blog at www.hyundailikesunday.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140319/LA86658LOGO

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

http://www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org


NEW YORK, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

New Age TechSci Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/New Age TechSci Research)

Candy, also known as sweets, toffies or lollies, is a sweet treat or a confection made with sugar or sugar substitutes like chocolates, combined with additives like fruits, nuts, etc. or a piece of such confection. Unlike a cake or a chocolate bar or a loaf of bread, that can be shared among many people, candy is usually made in smaller pieces. The definition of candy also depends upon people on how they treat the food. Unlike sweet pastries, that are served as a dessert course at the end of the meal, candies are often eaten casually as a mouth refreshment or between meals.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 )



Increasing population of the country, rising disposable income coupled with innovative product offerings by major players along with aggressive product marketing and robust supply chain network with increasing penetration in rural areas are few of the major factors fueling the demand of candies in India.

Candy Market: Drivers and Restraints

India Candy market has witnessed a robust growth during the last five years and is anticipated to grow at a double digit CAGR during the next five years. Rising young population base in the country coupled with increasing preference for imported products which backed by aggressive marketing and promotional campaigns by foreign players, innovative product offerings and more than ever evolving distribution network with increasing penetration in rural areas are few of the factors aiding to the growing demand of candies in India. Candies are also treated as the replacement for expensive chocolates by consumers. This is forecast to drive the candy market in the country.

However, continuously rising raw material costs and benchmarked selling prices are the major challenges to the candy market in India as it is reducing the profit margin of the manufacturers. Increasing inclination towards imported candies is also attracting number of foreign players due to which the candy market in India is getting highly competitive.

India Candy Market: Segmentation

The India Candy Market is broadly classified on the basis of type, region and competitors.

India Candy Market, by Type

Sugar Candy

Chocolate Candy

Gum Candy

India Candy Market: By Region

North region contributed the largest share in India Candy market followed by west region which can be attributed to the presence of major candy manufacturers in the region coupled with rising urbanization, high population concentration, etc. Tier I & II cities have been the major demand generators for candies in India, however, on the back of improved distribution network, increasing penetration of major domestic and foreign players in rural region is anticipated to drive the candy market during the forecast period.

India Candy Market: Key Players

Perfetti Van Melle, Nestle, Mondelez, Parle Agro, ITC, Lotte, Mars and D.S Group are some of the major players operating in India Candy market.

The report covers exhaustive analysis on:

Market Size, Market Share & Forecast

Segmental Analysis - By Type, By Region & By Company

Regional Analysis for following regions:

North Region

South Region

East Region

West Region

Market Dynamics (Market Drivers, Challenges & their Impact Analysis)

Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities

Competitive Landscape

Strategic Recommendations

Regional analysis includes

North Region ( Delhi /NCR, Chandigarh, Lucknow)

/NCR, Chandigarh, Lucknow) South Region ( Bangalore , Chennai , Hyderabad )

, , ) West Region ( Mumbai , Pune , Ahmedabad)

, , Ahmedabad) East Region ( Kolkata , Guwahati, Patna)

Why You Should Buy This Report?

To gain an in-depth understanding of candy market in India .

. To identify the on-going trends and anticipated growth in the next five years.

To gain competitive knowledge of leading market players.

To avail 10% customization in the report without any extra charges and get the research data or trends added in the report as per the buyer's specific needs.

Key Questions This Study Will Answer

How do growth rates in the market vary by segment, sub-segments and region?

What are the most important growth drivers and opportunities in the market?

What strategies should market competitors employ to gain share in mature segments of the market?

What are the competitor profiles in this market and how do they compete for market share?

About TechSci Research

TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends.

Contact

Mr. Ken Mathews

708 Third Avenue,

Manhattan, NY,

New York - 10017

Tel: +1-646-360-1656

Email: [email protected]



Connect with us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TechSciResearch

Connect with us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/techsci-research

SOURCE TechSci Research
"Kim has been with Cox for nearly 20 years and is an inspirational leader who has helped our media properties transform," said Cox Enterprises President and Chief Executive Officer John Dyer. "She played a key role in the successful creation of Cox Media Group in 2008 and has been recognized as one of the media industry's most influential leaders. She is a natural fit to ensure Cox Media Group continues to deliver innovative products and compelling news content."

Guthrie joined the company in 1998 and currently serves as Cox Media Group's executive vice president of national ad platforms and president of Cox Reps, the country's largest television advertising rep firm. She also oversees Videa, which provides sales automation solutions designed to simplify the buying and selling of television advertising.

She was previously responsible for all programming, operations and sales at Cox's 59 radio stations located in 11 markets. Under her leadership, the stations won multiple honors for programming excellence and outstanding community service, including several Marconi awards, Edward R. Murrow awards, Crystal Awards, New York Air Awards and Gracie Awards.

Prior to Cox, Guthrie was a television news reporter and held various news, sales and management positions in Minneapolis and Milwaukee.

She was elected to the National Association of Broadcasting board in 2014 and is a board member for the Metropolitan College of New York. She is a multi-year honoree as Radio Ink magazine's "Most Powerful People in Radio" and "Most Influential Women in Radio." She also was named a "Woman of Distinction" by the March of Dimes and "Humanitarian of the Year" by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She received a degree in journalism from Iowa State University.

Hoffman assumed the role of president in 2013. Under his leadership, Cox Media Group launched Rare, one of the nation's fastest-growing news sites with 45 million monthly visits, and expanded into new niche content vertical businesses. The company also grew its digital presence, investigative journalism and content creation, as well as transformed the way television advertising is bought and sold through the formation of Videa.

He joined Cox in 1979 as an account executive with TeleRep in Detroit and held a number of roles within the company, including vice president and general manager of WFTV/WRDQ in Orlando and at WSB-TV in Atlanta. Before assuming the role of president, he was Cox Media Group's executive vice president of broadcast where he oversaw the majority of the company's radio and television operations, as well as its corporate revenue efforts.

Hoffman's board representation has included the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, American Rivers, BMI, the Associated Press, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and the ABC Board of Governors, where he was a former Chairman.

"Bill has done a tremendous job leading Cox Media Group through a rapidly evolving media environment," said Dyer. "As a leader, he has always embodied the spirit of our company. He's inspired and valued employees, anticipated and driven change and been a true community champion in every city he's lived. We are grateful for his leadership and dedication."

About Cox Enterprises:

Cox Enterprises is a leading communications, media and automotive services company. With revenues of $18 billion and approximately 60,000 employees, the company's major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications (cable television distribution, high-speed Internet access, telephone, home security and automation, commercial telecommunications and advertising solutions); Cox Automotive (automotive-related auctions, financial services, media and software solutions); and Cox Media Group (television and radio stations, digital media, newspapers and advertising sales rep firms).

The company's major national brands include Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Manheim. Through Cox Automotive, the company's international operations stretch across Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America. To learn more about Cox's commitment to people, sustainability and our communities, please visit CoxCSRReport.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411668

SOURCE Cox Enterprises
ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to vigilantly drive the occupational and non-occupational medical spends of our clients downward, we are proud to announce an exclusive partnership with Pharma Strategies to distribute and white label their product to the Professional Employer Organization ("PEO") industry. Pharma Strategies is a progressive pharmaceutical management company that has created heavily discounted prescription managed care networks for both workers' compensation and health insurance. This claimant-driven model aligns by state for workers' compensation and utilizes the statutes in effect that allow direction of medical care. On the major medical front, the Pharma Strategies platform provides incentives to the employee to go to in-network facilities by fully or partially-funding the employee prescription co-pay with the savings derived from the program. In essence, go to the right pharmacy and the savings is at minimum 15% less than traditional major medical or workers' compensation fee schedule. It should also be noted that 99% of the drugs prescribed are eligible for the program.

According to Libertate CEO Paul Hughes, "The prescription drug increase in the workers' compensation system was +11% overall just last year, and controlled substances such as opioids were up +16% just in the 2014 year.1 According to our friends at Milliman, prescription drug costs spiked significantly (on major medical), growing by 13.6% from 2014 to 2015.2 Furthermore, the pharma spend as a percentage of overall spend Prescription drug costs now comprise 15.9% of total healthcare spending for a family of four, up from 13.2% in 2001."3

The PCMM is claimant-focused and not triggered by a specific line of insurance as pharmaceutical costs are equally impactful to major medical health insurance and workers' compensation. Mr. Hughes added, "Needless to say, the ability to save on the pharmaceutical spends of our clients is paramount in controlling their cost of both occupational and non-occupational health care. Daily news events such as the recent +500% increase in the cost of the lifesaving allergic treatment EpiPen has illuminated the need to help our clients hedge against the drug makers in order to contain the overall health insurance spend."

1 "Workers Compensation and Prescription Drugs: 2016 Update", National Council of Compensation Insurance ("NCCI"), May 5, 2016.

2 Milliman Research Report, 2015 Milliman Medical Index

"Will the typical American family of four be driving a "Cadillac plan" by 2018?"

3 Ibid

Contact:

James Hughes

Office: 813.335.1588

Email: [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411903LOGO

SOURCE Libertate Insurance
MORRISTOWN, N.J., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquid Church, one of New Jersey's fastest growing Christian churches, will celebrate the grand opening of its sixth campus, a "rebirth" of the former St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Garwood, New Jersey. On October 9th, Sunday services will once again be held at the church on 213 Center Street, and hundreds are expected to attend.

The merger will be Liquid's second  the growing church successfully "rebirthed" the struggling Mountainside Gospel Chapel in 2013. A win-win for both congregations, the remaining 29 congregants at the dying Mountainside, NJ church voted to donate the church buildings and property valued at $4 million to Liquid, with a vision of seeing it used to reach young Christians. Today, 900 people walk through the doors each Sunday to attend one of Liquid's Mountainside services, even surpassing Mountainside Gospel Chapel's heyday in the 1970s when the congregation boasted 400 regular attenders.

"We lovingly call our first church merger our miracle at Mountainside, and the news about the incredible growth that took place is what prompted the leaders at St. Paul's to reach out to us about a merger," said Tim Lucas, lead pastor and founder of Liquid Church. "The number of regular attenders had dwindled from more than 350 at its height to 15, and finances had become a real challenge, but those dedicated congregants didn't want to close the doors to their church."

In 2015, the congregants at St. Paul's voted to donate the church buildings and property valued at $1 million to Liquid, which has since renovated the space from top to bottom in preparation for its grand opening.

"No church wants its ministry to end, but too often they run out of options. In recent years, many churches who feared they were reaching the end of their life cycle have discovered new hope through a pathway to rebirth," said Warren Bird, director of research and intellectual capital at Leadership Network and author of Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work.

Research from Leadership Network reveals that 80-percent of America's 320,000 Protestant churches are in decline today, spurring a rise in church mergers. In fact, one in three new campuses or locations launched by a multisite church is the result of a church merger. There are thousands of dying churches with facilities that need a vibrant ministry, and many are actively seeking out vibrant churches looking for space to grow.

"Mergers are not new, but never has there been an era when so many mergers are successful in producing positive growth and spiritual fruit for long-established congregations," added Bird.

"We may be a young, contemporary church, but we realize there are deep, spiritual roots here. Our new location in Garwood is an incredible gift, and we will humbly work to continue a mission that's been going on for more than 100 years," added Lucas.

Liquid will host two Sunday services at its new Union County Garwood campus at 9:30am and 11:30am, and all are welcome to attend. Each service time includes amazing kids programming for those from birth  8th grade. Additional details may be found at www.LiquidChurch.com/Garwood.

ABOUT LIQUID CHURCH:

Liquid Church is one of New Jersey's fastest-growing Christian churches. Officially launched in 2007 by Lead Pastor Tim Lucas, the church's vision and mission is to "Saturate the State with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," with six campuses in Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties. Each week, more than 3,500 people experience Liquid Church's worship services in New Jersey and around the globe through Church Online. As part of its global outreach, Liquid provides clean drinking water to the poorest of the poor, with dozens of completed wells in several countries including El Salvador and Nicaragua - and most recently, Rwanda! Liquid Church's innovative approaches to outreach and ministry have been spotlighted by CNN and The New York Times. www.LiquidChurch.com.

Press Contact: Lauren Bercarich  [email protected], 908-389-6153

SOURCE www.LiquidChurch.com

Related Links

http://www.LiquidChurch.com


From neurology to astrophysics, the five 2016 fellows are being honored for their groundbreaking research across a broad range of fields: Carolyn "Anela" Choy , a postdoctoral fellow in biological oceanography and marine ecology at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI); Shruti Naik , a postdoctoral scientist in immunology and stem cell biology at The Rockefeller University; Amy Orsborn , a postdoctoral scientist in neuroscience at New York University; Laura Sampson , a postdoctoral fellow in physics at Northwestern University's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA); and Moriel Zelikowsky , a postdoctoral neuroscientist in the Department of Biology & Biological Engineering at California Institute of Technology.

"We are proud to recognize this group of exceptional female scientists for their innovative research and dedication to inspiring the next generation of women in STEM," said Frederic Roze, President and CEO of L'Oreal USA. "By providing support at a pivotal moment in their careers, we hope to empower them to further their work, continue on a path to become future leaders in their fields and perhaps one day join our previous Laureates and win a Nobel Prize."

Created in 1998, the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards identifies and supports accomplished female scientists around the world. Specifically, the program recognizes Laureates for their contributions to the advancement of life or physical sciences and encourages more young women to pursue STEMa field where women remain underrepresented. Through the international program and the nearly 50 national and regional programs, such as the L'Oreal USA For Women in Science program, nearly 2,500 female scientists from more than 100 countries have been granted fellowships to pursue promising research projects.

"The L'Oreal USA For Women in Science Fellowship was pivotal for my research and career," said Dr. Katie Brenner, 2014 L'Oreal USA For Women in Science Fellow and current Hartwell Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The funding allowed me to conduct analytical research that led to important conclusions about infant nutrition. The results of this study will change the standard of neonatal care and improve health outcomes for preterm babies."

The 2016 fellowship candidates were evaluated based on their intellectual merit, research potential, scientific excellence and their commitment to supporting women and girls in science. The U.S. fellowship program also includes a requirement to ensure recipients are committed to serving as role models for younger generations. Applications were reviewed by experienced scientists in the candidates' respective fields through a partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which manages the application process.

L'Oreal USA will host an award ceremony for the fellows in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Oct. 6. The fellows will have the opportunity to engage with L'Oreal and other STEM leaders throughout the greater New York and Washington, D.C. communities the week of Oct. 3, leading up to the ceremony. It will begin with a visit to L'Oreal USA's new corporate headquarters at Hudson Yards in New York City, followed by a mentoring session with students at Harrison Elementary School in Roselle, N.J. where they will guest-teach alongside L'Oreal scientists. They will then travel to Washington D.C. for a discussion at the White House about issues impacting women in STEM, followed by a roundtable discussion at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine conducted by the organization's first female president, Marcia McNutt.

This year's awards will recognize and support the following female scientists and their research:

Anela Choy is a postdoctoral fellow in biological oceanography and marine ecology at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). Choy's research focuses on how food webs within the ocean work, and how they are impacted by plastic pollution and environmental change. Her work seeks to better understand how all life within the open ocean fits together into a complex network of feeding interactions. The L'Oreal USA For Women in Science fellowship will enable Choy to extend her research tenure at MBARI, specifically to gather samples and to conduct the analyses necessary to explore the chemical fingerprints of plastic in marine food webs of the Pacific Ocean. As a fifth-generation local of Hawai'i, Choy is committed to increasing the participation of ethnically diverse women in academic, stakeholder and resource management positions in Hawai'i and beyond. In college, Choy cofounded and managed the SOEST Maile Mentoring Bridge program at the University of Hawai'i to support Native Hawaiians and other underrepresented ethnic minorities in ocean and earth sciences. Choy, 33, received her B.A. in Environmental Sciences, M.S. in Oceanography and Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Hawai'i. Raised on O'ahu and the Big Island, Choy now lives in Santa Cruz, Calif., where she enjoys surfing and playing her guitar.

Shruti Naik is a postdoctoral scientist in immunology and stem cell biology at The Rockefeller University. Naik's research focuses on understanding the role adult stem cells play in inflammation and how they can be used to treat inflammatory disorders of the skin, like psoriasis. The L'Oreal USA For Women in Science fellowship will enable Naik to produce a series of interviews with prominent female scientists in hopes of inspiring the next generation of women in STEM careers. This work will build on Naik's long-standing commitment to advocacy for gender equality, mentorship and community outreach. At The Rockefeller University, Naik has grown the Women in Science at Rockefeller (WISeR) program from six to over 250 members and has established a weekly breakfast series for trainees to network with prominent female scientists. Naik, 31, received her B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland and her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania and the National Institutes of Health Graduate Partnership Program. Raised in India until she was 12 and then Maryland, Naik now lives in New York City, where she loves seeing performance theatre, including opera, ballet, plays, musicals and improv.

Amy Orsborn is a postdoctoral scientist in neuroscience at New York University. Orsborn's research focuses on how the brain learns to tell our bodies to move and approaches to restore function loss due to neurological diseases and disorders. Specifically, her research aims to create new and improved treatments, like state-of-the-art prosthetics, for people with motor disabilities caused by limb loss, stroke or spinal injury. The L'Oreal USA For Women in Science fellowship will enable Orsborn to invest in and maintain new advanced laboratory equipment, including a specialized computer to analyze large-scale data sets generated by this research. Outside of her lab, Orsborn is part of a team developing a new web-based resource aimed to increase diversity at scientific conferences. While currently in development, the STEMM Role Models app seeks to increase the visibility of minorities in science and makes it easier for conference organizers to find outstanding and diverse speakers. Orsborn, 32, received her B.S. in Engineering Physics from Case Western Reserve University and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from University of California, Berkeley. Raised in Illinois, Orsborn now lives in New York City where she bakes any chance she gets, and is cultivating her interest in graphic design and scientific illustration.

Laura Sampson is a postdoctoral fellow in physics at Northwestern University's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA). Sampson's research focuses on gravitational wave astrophysics. Gravitational waves are a new way of observing the universe predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity and was first observed last year. Sampson develops data analysis algorithms to learn about the physical processes that lead to the systems that produce gravitational waves in the universe. The L'Oreal USA For Women in Science fellowship will allow Sampson to extend her research appointment, as well as work on a music-based outreach program. In addition to research, mentoring has been a strong focus for Sampson, who during her graduate studies co-founded and served as President of a Women in Science & Engineering chapter that organized retreats for female graduate students, monthly lunches with female faculty and postdoctoral researchers, and social networking events. Sampson, 31, received her B.A. in Physics from the University of Colorado and her Ph.D. in Physics from Montana State University. Raised in Boulder, Colorado, Sampson now lives in Evanston, Ill., with her dog, Jax.

Moriel Zelikowsky is a postdoctoral neuroscientist in the Department of Biology & Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. Zelikowsky is researching how neurons in the brain encode traumatic emotional experiences. Specifically, this research is aimed at identifying and mapping the neuronal populations that control the effects of stress on subsequent anxiety, fear and social behavior, with the goal of leading to more advanced and targeted treatments for debilitating mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The L'Oreal USA For Women in Science fellowship will allow Zelikowsky to bring on a young female research mentee, who will receive training in cutting-edge, genetically-targeted molecular neuroscience technologies necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of the neural circuits that underlie emotional phenomena. Zelikowsky's commitment to mentoring began in graduate school when she created the group Women in Learning (WIL), which offers a forum where young women in neuroscience can receive mentorship, support and guidance to advance women in STEM. Zelikowsky, 33, received her B.A. in Philosophy (Metaphysics) and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Born, raised and currently living in Los Angeles, Zelikowsky enjoys a very active lifestyle of rock climbing, trail running and backpacking with her chocolate Labrador, Pica.

About L'Oreal

L'Oreal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L'Oreal Group, the world's leading beauty company. L'Oreal USA manages a portfolio of more than 30 iconic beauty brands, including Garnier, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Kerastase, Lancome, La Roche-Posay, L'Oreal Paris and Yves Saint Laurent Beaute. L'Oreal USA also serves as the international hub for the product development and marketing strategy for L'Oreal's 15 American brands: Baxter of California, Carol's Daughter, Clarisonic, Dermablend, Essie, Kiehl's, Matrix, Maybelline New York, Mizani, NYX Professional Makeup, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Redken, Softsheen-Carson, SkinCeuticals and Urban Decay. Generating more than $6 billion in sales annually, L'Oreal USA is committed to growth through sustainable innovation, driven by the company's Sharing Beauty With All ambition for sustainable development across the Group's value chain. The company is headquartered in New York City, employs more than 10,000 people, and operates administrative, research, manufacturing and distribution facilities across 13 states, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Washington. For more information, visit www.lorealusa.com or follow on Twitter @LOrealUSA.

ABOUT AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science as well as Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances, and--coming soon in 2016--Science Robotics and Science Immunology. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes some 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, http://www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS. See http://www.aaas.org.

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SOURCE L'Oreal USA

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FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mark A. Tepper securities law firm is investigating alleged claims against brokers and financial advisors for recommending Puerto Rico General Obligations (GO) and/or Puerto Rico municipal bonds including:

Puerto Rico Government Development Bank (GDB)

Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (COFINA)

Puerto Rico Public Finance Corp. (PFC)

Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority. (PRASA)

"If a broker either recommended that customers purchase any of these bonds or, in response to their concerns, recommended a "hold," we want to hear from those customers," attorney Mark A. Tepper, the former Chief Trial Counsel at the New York Attorney General's Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities, said.

If you have information on any Puerto Rico municipal bonds or a potential claim for recovery, contact the law firm of Mark A. Tepper P.A., at [email protected] or telephone 954-961-0096 for a free case evaluation.

Are you looking for an attorney to sue your broker to recover your losses for recommending Puerto Rico municipal bonds? We are accepting clients with losses in tax free Puerto Rico municipal bonds.

Puerto Rico defaulted on July 1, 2016 on $1 Billion dollars of triple tax free Puerto Rico municipal bonds sold in all fifty states or overseas. The default included $819 Million in principal and interest on General Obligation (G.O.) bonds including CUSIP numbers: 745143,745144,745145, and 74514L.

About Mark A. Tepper, P.A. (www.MarkTepper.com)

Attorney Mark A. Tepper is the former Chief Trial Counsel at the New York Attorney General's Bureau of Investor Protection and Securities. He has earned the reputation of "Investor Advocate" while practicing law for over 35 years representing individual investors. FINRA arbitrators have upheld stockbroker fraud claims filed by Mr. Tepper against many brokerage firms. A member of the Florida, New York and California Bars, Mr. Tepper is peer-reviewed for 16 consecutive years, AV PREEMINENT for ethical standards and legal ability, the highest rating of lawyers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Mark Hopkinson, NewsMark Public Relations

561-852-5767 [email protected]



http://www.newsmarkpr.com

SOURCE Mark A. Tepper, P.A.

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SAN DIEGO, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mast Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE MKT: MSTX) today provided an update related to its business strategy and the clinical development of its product candidates.

The Company's cash, cash equivalents, and investment securities were $30.3 million at August 31, 2016.

at August 31, 2016. The Company will focus on clinical development of AIR001 (sodium nitrite solution for intermittent inhalation) for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Specifically, during 2016 and 2017, the Company will continue to support three ongoing investigator-sponsored Phase 2 clinical studies of AIR001 being conducted at prestigious research institutions.

The Company has begun to wind down its vepoloxamer programs in sickle cell disease and heart failure and expects those activities will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016.

While furthering the development of AIR001 through the ongoing Phase 2 clinical studies, the Company is planning to initiate a process to evaluate partnership opportunities for its assets.

As a result of cost savings anticipated by the termination of its vepoloxamer clinical programs and related operations and the prioritization of its AIR001 program, the Company estimates that its operating expenses for 2017 will be in the range of $9 to $10 million , excluding share-based compensation expense. This anticipated level of spend reflects an approximate 70% reduction from estimated operating expenses for 2016 of approximately $32 to $34 million , excluding share-based compensation expense.

, excluding share-based compensation expense. This anticipated level of spend reflects an approximate 70% reduction from estimated operating expenses for 2016 of approximately , excluding share-based compensation expense. The Company will make the $10 million prepayment on its debt facility triggered by the recently announced results of its Phase 3 study of vepoloxamer in early October 2016. After that prepayment, the principal amount of the Company's debt will be approximately $3.5 million , which is scheduled to be repaid in equal monthly installments of principal and interest through January 1, 2019 .

"Following a critical review of our pipeline and opportunities we have determined that a focus on AIR001 will provide for a strong foundation from which we will seek to return value to our stockholders," stated Brian M. Culley, the Company's Chief Executive Officer. "However, these decisions likely will have a significant impact on our talented team members and I want to personally thank those who may be affected for their hard work, dedication and contributions to the vepoloxamer program."

AIR001 Program Update

The Company will prioritize its AIR001 program with continued support for three separate, ongoing, investigator-sponsored Phase 2 clinical studies of AIR001. Earlier this year, the Company reported positive top-line results from a blinded and randomized Phase 2a clinical study of AIR001 in HFpEF patients and detailed results were published on September 16, 2016 in Circulation Research, Volume 119, Issue 7 (available here).

The Company will continue to support an ongoing, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover Phase 2 study of AIR001 in patients with HFpEF being conducted by the Heart Failure Clinical Research Network (HFN) with support from a grant awarded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02742129) Patient enrollment in this study is expected to complete before the end of 2017. The majority of expenses for this 100-patient study are being funded by the HFN.

The Company will continue to support an ongoing, investigator-sponsored Phase 2 clinical study of AIR001 in patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with HFpEF. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01431313) The Company previously reported positive interim results from the study, which results were presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in May 2016 (poster available here). Additional interim results from this Phase 2 study have been accepted for publication and are expected to be available in the coming weeks.

(poster available here). Additional interim results from this Phase 2 study have been accepted for publication and are expected to be available in the coming weeks. The Company will continue to support an ongoing, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study of AIR001 in patients with HFpEF undergoing cardiac rehabilitation for exercise training to evaluate whether blinded treatment with AIR001 improves exercise capacity and hemodynamic reserve compared to placebo. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02713126)

Vepoloxamer Program Update

Concurrent with the wind-down of its vepoloxamer programs, which includes the termination and closure of all active clinical study sites in the EPIC extension study known as EPIC-E and the clinical pharmacokinetics study in individuals with varying degrees of renal insufficiency, the Company is in the process of analyzing additional data from the Phase 3 clinical study of vepoloxamer in sickle cell disease known as EPIC and interim data from a Phase 2 study of vepoloxamer in chronic heart failure and will assess opportunities to create value from this asset.

The Company recently announced that it received a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke of the National Institutes of Health to support investigation of vepoloxamer in combination with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in experimental models of embolic stroke and the Company currently intends that work will continue as planned. The Company is collaborating with leading stroke researchers at the Neuroscience Institute at Henry Ford Health System for the conduct of this preclinical study. In addition, the Company expects that preclinical work being conducted by the U.S. military under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to evaluate vepoloxamer's potential as a resuscitation fluid following major trauma will continue.

About AIR001

AIR001 is a sodium nitrite solution for intermittent inhalation via nebulization. Nitrite is a direct vasodilator and can be recycled in vivo to form nitric oxide (NO) independent of the classical NO synthase (NOS) pathway. Nitrite mediated NO formation has several beneficial effects, including dilation of blood vessels and reduction of inflammation and undesirable cell growth. Generation of NO from sodium nitrite is not dependent upon endothelial function and is enhanced in the setting of tissue hypoxia and acidosis, conditions in which NOS activity typically is depressed. In early clinical studies, AIR001 demonstrated positive hemodynamic effects with reductions observed in right atrial pressure and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, as well as improvements in mean pulmonary artery pressures, cardiac output, and exercise tolerance as measured by six-minute walk distance. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2a study of AIR001 in patients with HFpEF (n=26), the AIR001 treatment group showed a statistically significant decrease in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure during exercise compared to the control group and AIR001 was generally well-tolerated.

About Mast Therapeutics

Mast Therapeutics, Inc. is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California. The Company has two clinical-stage investigational new drugs, AIR001 and vepoloxamer. AIR001, a sodium nitrite solution for intermittent inhalation via nebulizer, is in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). More information can be found on the Company's web site at www.masttherapeutics.com. Mast Therapeutics and the corporate logo are trademarks of Mast Therapeutics, Inc.

Forward Looking Statements

Mast Therapeutics cautions you that statements in this press release that are not a description of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words referencing future events or circumstances such as "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," and "will," among others. Examples of forward-looking statements in this press release include statements relating to the Company's development plans for its product candidates, the Company's business plans and objectives, and its anticipated operating expenses, results of operations and financial condition. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results because they involve the Company's beliefs and assumptions based on currently available information and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual performance and results to differ materially from expectations indicated by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual performance or results to differ include, without limitation: the Company's need for additional funding to continue to operate as a going concern; risks associated with the Company's ability to manage operating expenses and obtain additional capital as needed; uncertainty related to the Company's ability to remain in compliance with the terms and conditions under its debt facility and risk that, in addition to the $10 million prepayment to be made in early October 2016, the Company may be required to repay its remaining outstanding debt obligations on an accelerated basis and/or at a time that could be detrimental to the Company's financial condition, operations and/or business strategy; the impact of significant reductions in the Company's operations on its ability to develop its product candidates or maintain compliance with laws and regulations relating to public companies; the Company's ability to maintain compliance with NYSE MKT continued listing standards and policies and to maintain the listing and trading of its common stock on that exchange; completion of a more detailed analysis of EPIC data and reporting of additional data from the study; uncertainties inherent in the conduct of clinical studies and the risk that the Company's product candidates may not demonstrate adequate safety, efficacy or tolerability in one or more clinical studies for approval by regulatory authorities; the potential for the Company to sell or license part or all of its assets; the potential for significant delays, reductions, or discontinuation of current and/or planned development activities if the Company is unable to raise sufficient additional capital as needed; the Company's lack of control over the ongoing, investigator-sponsored Phase 2 clinical studies of AIR001, including whether any of the studies will be completed on anticipated timelines, or at all; the Company's dependence on third parties to assist with important aspects of development of the Company's product candidates, including the conduct of its clinical studies, the manufacture and supply of its clinical trial material, and the conduct of regulatory activities, and the risk that such third parties may fail to perform as expected leading to delays in product candidate development and additional costs; the risk that the Company is not able to obtain and maintain effective patent coverage or other market exclusivity protections for its products, if approved, or that the use or manufacture of the Company's products may infringe the proprietary rights of others; and other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the Company's press releases and its reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are available at www.sec.gov.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date when made. Mast Therapeutics does not intend to revise or update any forward-looking statement set forth in this press release to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof, except as may be required by law.

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SOURCE Mast Therapeutics, Inc.

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China now encourages couples to have their second child. (Photo : Getty Images)

In the Hebei Province, a letter was sent to members of the Communist Party to encourage them to have their second child. The move is to address the country's need to fill its aging population.



The aging population has led to a shrinking workforce and a slower economic growth. The manufacturing sector now feels the crunch of the former one-child policy.



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The letter stated, "Young cadres have to take the lead having a second child, while elder cadres should urge them on. If things continue as they are, it will bring huge risk and damage to our city's economic and social development, as well as the livelihood of our families."



Yan Liu, a civil servant with a 14-month-old girl in Shanghai, said, "Our jobs are stable so it's easier to have two children. Those with a busier job have to sacrifice more if they want a second kid."



A user in Sina Weibo posted "It's really ridiculous. Before the government strictly watched over people not have a second child. Now, they are forcing people to do so. Do we have human rights or not?"



Parents who had two children were penalized for violating the one-child policy. When the second child policy was taken effect last year, they were allowed to get birth registrations for their second child.



Ms. Kuang, a mother of a 23-year old man, went to get her son's birth registration for the first time.



"At that moment, the only thing I felt was so much gratitude.It felt like I had been relieved of a great burden," she said.



Even with the two-child policy, couples are still required to use family planning.



According to Li Bin, the head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, "Our resources pale in comparison with our vast population. Until this changes, we will continue with the current family planning policy."


SAN FRANCISCO, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The medical lifting sling market is expected to reach USD 1.1 billion by 2024, according to the new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Long term care is required in case of chronic disorders and surgical treatment. Medical lifting slings are essential elements in long term care and post operative recovery as they assist in patient transfer and other purposes. Increasing prevalence of chronic disorders and subsequent surgical interventions are boosting the usage of these products thus contributing toward substantial market growth.

Grand View Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/Grand View Research_ Inc_)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 )



Home healthcare has emerged as an important area where treatment cost is much lower compared to in traditional healthcare settings. In addition, long term care and post operative recovery can be efficiently achieved in these settings. Hence, in the developed as well as developing regions home healthcare services are growing swiftly resulting in the considerable growth of this vertical.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Medical Lifting Sling Market Analysis By Product (Nylon, Padded, Mesh, Canvas), By Application (Transfer, Universal, Hammock, Standing, Seating, Toilet, Bariatric), By Usage (Reusable, Disposable) By End Use (Hospital, Home Healthcare, Elderly Care) And Segment Forecasts To 2024" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/medical-lifting-sling-market

Further Key Findings From the Study Suggest:

Nylon-based medical lifting slings segment held a commanding share in 2015 and is anticipated to grow at a lucrative rate. This can be attributed to their durability and resistance to the infections.

Patient transfer is the primary application of these products, which held a dominating share in 2015. Universal slings, which have multiple utility, are also expected to gain a substantial share over the forecast period.

Reusable lifting slings were the most used products in 2015. However, with the rising incidence of infections and hygiene issues, disposable products are used to a greater extent and are expected to exhibit healthy growth over the forecast period.

Hospitals use these products to a large extent, as they purchase in bulk and they have a greater patient pool. This makes hospitals the largest end-user of medical lifting slings.

On the other hand, with the growing awareness and streamlined policies for home healthcare services, the usage of these services is surging. As a result, the growing home healthcare vertical is anticipated to increase the usage of medical lifting slings, thus affecting the market positively.

Europe dominated the global medical lifting slings vertical in 2015. Larger pool of geriatric patients, rising research funding in medical devices, and steadily increasing awareness amongst patients are the key growth governing factors for this region.

dominated the global medical lifting slings vertical in 2015. Larger pool of geriatric patients, rising research funding in medical devices, and steadily increasing awareness amongst patients are the key growth governing factors for this region. Asia Pacific is projected to witness remunerative growth in the coming eight years. Policy reforms, increasing disposable income, and economic developments are anticipated to foster the usage of advanced treatment options, and consequently engender a high demand for medical lifting slings.

is projected to witness remunerative growth in the coming eight years. Policy reforms, increasing disposable income, and economic developments are anticipated to foster the usage of advanced treatment options, and consequently engender a high demand for medical lifting slings. Some of the key players in this vertical are Getinge Group (ArjoHuntleigh), Invacare Corporation, Hill-Rom, Joerns Healthcare LLC, Argo Medical, Inc., Prism Medical, DJO Global, V.Guldmann A/S, Spectra Care Group, and Drive Medical. Strategic initiatives undertaken by these market players include new product development, distribution enhancement, collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions.

Grand View Research has segmented the medical lifting sling market on the basis of product, application, usage, end use, and region:

Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Nylon Padded Mesh Canvas Others

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Transfer Universal Hammock Standing Seating Toilet Bariatric Others

Usage Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Reusable Disposable

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Hospital Home healthcare Elderly Care Other Healthcare Settings

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe UK Germany Asia Pacific Japan China Latin America Brazil Mexico MEA South Africa



Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Blood Gas And Electrolyte Analyzers Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/blood-gas-and-electrolyte-analyzers



Smart Healthcare Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/smart-healthcare-market



Geriatric Care Services Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/geriatric-care-services-market



Digital Pathology Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/digital-pathology-systems-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

Read Our Blogs - ni2014.org, grandviewresearch.com/blogs/healthcare

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]

Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com



SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
SHANGHAI, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Before celebrating its first anniversary, Mileslife, an innovative mileage earning App in China, has impressed all frequent flyers again with its new loyalty program partner and achieved the milestone of partnership with 10 leading global airline loyalty programs.

Mileslife welcomes MileagePlus, the award-winning frequent flyer program from United Airlines, as the 10th airline loyalty program partner after just 10-months in operation. Along with the joining of MileagePlus, Mileslife successfully expanded the frequent flyer network to cover the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Mileslife endeavors to cultivate and elevate the entire airline loyalty program industry in China as well as strengthen the connection between airlines, customers and merchants.

Launched on November 22, 2015, Mileslife quickly partnered with China's leading loyalty programs including China Southern Airlines Sky Pearl Club, Eastern Miles, Fortune Wings Club, PhoenixMiles and Sichuan Airlines Golden Panda. The company also became the first Chinese start-up that partnered with British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Miles & More and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

The newly joined MileagePlus is United's industry-leading loyalty program and this partnership is the first time ever that United has collaborated with a local company in China. With 30 years of service to China, United operates more nonstop U.S.-China flights to more cities in China than any other U.S. airline.

Mileslife has been expanding over 1,000 mileage earning opportunities for users, ranging from mid-to-high end restaurants and leading spas to boutique hotels, luxury resorts and other recreational activities. Once users pay via the Mileslife App, they can collect one airline mile per RMB 1-4 spent and can be rewarded with the miles within 3-5 working days of the transaction.

"We've noticed most of the frequent flyers are loyal customers who tend to purchase value-oriented products," explained Troy Liu, founder and CEO of Mileslife. "After 10 months operation, they could already distinguish the difference between Mileslife and other travel-related Apps, and recognize our value."

"Airlines also affirm the role that Mileslife has had in changing their frequent flyers' miles-earning behavior and increased the customer loyalty via day-to-day spending."

As a renowned loyalty program expert in China, Troy Liu has cast light on loyalty programs among Chinese frequent flyers via his million-word blogs. He has travelled around 90 countries with collected miles and points in the past 13 years. With extensive experience and expertise, Troy has provided loyalty program consulting services for many international hotel chains and airlines in China.

United Airlines in China

With 30 years of service to China, United operates more nonstop U.S.-China flights to more cities in China than any other U.S. airline:

Beijing - nonstop flights from Chicago, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington/Dulles;

Shanghai - nonstop flights from Chicago, Guam, Los Angeles, New York/Newark and San Francisco;

Chengdu - nonstop flights from San Francisco;

Hangzhou  nonstop flights from San Francisco ;

 nonstop flights from ; Xi'an  nonstop seasonal flights from San Francisco (seasonal);

Hong Kong - nonstop flights from Chicago, Guam, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Singapore .

United is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's largest and most comprehensive airline alliance, whose other members include Air China. United and Air China have a bilateral partnership that includes code-sharing on selected routes and provides customers of both carriers with additional travel benefits, such as airport lounge access and frequent flyer program reciprocity.

MileagePlus

MileagePlus is United's industry-leading loyalty program. With a wide network of partners through which members may earn and redeem miles, MileagePlus offers the most "Saver" award-seat availability among the largest U.S. global airlines, according to the sixth annual Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey published by IdeaWorks Company in May 2016. MileagePlus members earn award miles by flying United, United Express, Star Alliance airlines or other airline partners, and by purchasing products or services from partners around the globe. Members enjoy a host of options for using those award miles, including to pay for award travel, upgrades and United Club memberships.

About Mileslife (www.mileslife.com)

Mileslife is the first App for customers to earn airline miles and points directly through their everyday lifestyle spending and help the local businesses to target potential high-caliber customers.

Launched in Nov. 2015, Mileslife quickly partnered with hundreds of mid-to-high end restaurants and leading spas through to boutique hotels and luxury resorts in China's major cities and hot destinations.

Along with the rise of Chinese middle class, Mileslife aspires to awaken the class's sense to realize the value and unleash the power of airline miles and fulfill their wishes to travel around the world.

SOURCE Mileslife
"The Miller Lite Tap the Future competition is an intense process that takes months of preparation and hard work for all of the competing companies," said Steve Canal national community affairs manager for MillerCoors. "Not only does it take passion and drive to be selected, but also an innovative idea with the power to become a viable company. We're proud of HoneyMoon Brewery's accomplishments thus far and look forward to seeing how this business grows."

Thirty semi-finalists were chosen from a pool of over 13,000 applicants for a chance to impress Daymond John and other judges at live pitch events all over the country. Each of the six winning finalists from the first round received $20,000 and a chance at the grand prize of $200,000.

"Winning the Miller Lite Tap the Future competition is a tremendous honor," said Ayla Bystrom-Williams from HoneyMoon Brewery. "From the very beginning we knew that we had a product that could be revolutionary, it just took the work and dedication of our team to show the judges the same thing. The exposure from this competition, as well the prize money will go a long way in getting us to the next level. And more importantly the business knowledge we gained from the judges has given us insight on how to improve our brand, and sustain it for years to come. We're extremely thankful to Miller Lite for the opportunity and applaud the company for empowering entrepreneurs through Tap the Future."

Each of the other finalists received a $20,000 prize. This year's finalists included:

CosmoSafe  Provides a self-driven educational and certification platform for the makeup and beauty industry.

 Provides a self-driven educational and certification platform for the makeup and beauty industry. Nueki  Nueki is a health and beauty company for people of color that uses modern science and African American traditions to address skincare issues.

 Nueki is a health and beauty company for people of color that uses modern science and African American traditions to address skincare issues. Pass it Down  A storytelling platform that is mobile optimized and support multimedia storytelling.

 A storytelling platform that is mobile optimized and support multimedia storytelling. CHOP CHOP  Provides a high-end mobile salon service that encourages multicultural interaction.

 Provides a high-end mobile salon service that encourages multicultural interaction. Tip Flops  Combines a toe separator with a flip flop as a two-in-one footwear for people who get pedicures and are on the go.

Miller Lite Tap the Future, the business competition that looks for original businesses, will return in early 2017 to search for the next business phenom. For the fifth year running, entrepreneurs will be able to compete for a chance to win a portion of a six-figure prize pool and receive expert advice from Tap the Future judges and community partners.

To receive the latest news on Miller Lite Tap the Future visit MLTaptheFuture.com and follow Miller Lite at Facebook.com/MillerLite and @MillerLite on Twitter.

About Miller Brewing Company

Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855 by Frederick J. Miller when he purchased the Plank Road Brewery in Milwaukee, a city he chose as the best place for a brewery given its access to great water. Miller Lite, the original great-tasting light pilsner beer, (MillerLite.com, Facebook.com/MillerLite, @MillerLite on Twitter, YouTube.com/MillerLite) was introduced nationally in 1975 and is among the top-five selling beers in the United States. The brewery's oldest enduring beer is Miller High Life (MillerHighLife.com, Facebook.com/MillerHighLife, @MillerHighLife on Twitter). Known as the Champagne of Beers, it was introduced in 1903 and still is brewed with the same yeast strain that Miller carried in his pocket from Germany. Miller Genuine Draft (MGD.com, Facebook.com/MillerGenuineDraft, @Miller_Global on Twitter), introduced in 1986, is the original cold-filtered, packaged draft beer. Miller Brewing Company operates in the United States and Puerto Rico as part of MillerCoors, a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Learn more at MillerCoors.com, at Facebook.com/MillerCoors or on Twitter through @MillerCoors.

About Great Beer, Great Responsibility

"Great Beer, Great Responsibility" is MillerCoors' commitment to creating a positive and meaningful impact on the social, environmental and economic issues that affect our business, employees and other stakeholders. MillerCoors' sustainability strategy and 2020 goals focus on the three areas where it has the greatest impact: Alcohol Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability and People and Communities. Visit www.millercoors.com/sustainability for more information.

About Great Beer, Great Responsibility

Great Beer, Great Responsibility is MillerCoors' commitment to creating a positive and meaningful impact on the social, environmental and economic issues that affect our business, employees and other stakeholders. MillerCoors' sustainability strategy and 2020 goals focus on the three areas where it has the greatest impact: Alcohol Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability and People and Communities. Visit www.millercoors.com/sustainability for more information.

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SOURCE MillerCoors
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The $81-million hack of the Bangladesh central bank and the SWIFT network was a major wakeup call to all businesses. If they haven't been the target of a cybercrime yet, it's only a matter of time, says MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Stuart Madnick, director of the MIT Sloan Interdisciplinary Consortium for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, (IC)3. Business and government leaders need to know how to detect vulnerabilities and what processes and technologies can be used to improve cybersecurity. They also need to decide when and how to share information and how to balance privacy with societal safety. To shed light on these important issues, experts from business, government, and academia will gather at the Cambridge Cyber Summit at MIT on Oct. 5. The event is co-organized by the Aspen Institute, CNBC and MIT.

"Cybersecurity is a global security challenge that requires collaboration across disciplines and industries to find solutions. MIT Sloan brings a depth of expertise on this issue, which we look forward to sharing at the Summit," says Madnick, who is speaking at the Summit.

He notes, "Not too long ago, cybersecurity meant installing the latest software patch; it was on par with facilities management. However, given the increasing number and magnitude of cybercrimes from SWIFT to Target, as well as new types of threats, companies that don't pay attention to this expose themselves to tremendous risk. It is up to senior leaders to take the lead in protecting and preparing their organizations, which means working together with government, industry, and academia."

The Cambridge Cyber Summit will focus on six areas, which also are key research areas at (IC)3:

Detecting vulnerabilities and sharing information

"Detecting attacks can be challenging due to the prevalence of false positives," says Madnick, noting that (IC)3 recently held a conference on this topic at MIT Sloan. "Large companies and governments may receive thousands of cybersecurity 'alerts' in a day, so detecting an actual threat is like finding the right needle in a haystack full of needles." When a company detects an actual threat, an important question is whether and how they should disclose that to the public or the government. Likewise, should the government be required to inform the public about breaches?

SWIFT and beyond: Protecting the financial system

The SWIFT funds transfer network has been viewed as one of the most secure networks in the world, but a network that moves trillions of dollars a day is an ideal target for cyber-criminals. "It's just a matter of time before they set their sights on your organization," says Madnick. Panelists, including Madnick, will discuss the vulnerability of the international financial system and what can be done to protect assets.

2016: The year of ransomware

Ransomware  which holds computer systems and their data hostage -- has been a threat lurking in the background for years, but Madnick calls it the "crime du jour" this year with recent attacks ranging from police departments to hospitals. It also raises ethical questions, such as whether organizations should follow some government's policies of refusing to pay ransoms for hostages. "Companies need to think about what their policy will be if their computer system is ever held hostage," says Madnick.

Are we already at war?

As organizations, especially government agencies, are increasingly attacked by state actors, there likewise have been counter-attacks. "The general consensus is that we haven't yet seen a true cyber war, but rather skirmishes," says Madnick. Speakers will address whether a full-scale cyber war can happen, and the roles and responsibilities of corporations.

Mission critical: Protecting our infrastructure

While we have seen relatively few major attacks on physical infrastructure, such attacks can have major consequences for public safety and the economy. Madnick explains, "Infrastructure safeguards are usually based on redundancies. An organization may have eight generators so if one fails mechanically, there are seven still in operation. But the same cyberattack that brings down one generator can also bring down the other seven." He adds that when major infrastructure is physically damaged, it can take months to complete repairs. "You can't just 'reboot and reload software' for a custom-built generator or turbine." Panelists will discuss what is being done to protect the critical infrastructure and how different sectors can work together to avoid a catastrophe.

Privacy vs. security: Beyond a zero-sum game:

Which is more important: a consumer's privacy or society's safety? There are major legal, ethical, and societal issues at stake, a sampling of such were evidenced in the FBI-Apple controversy. Panelists will examine what is at stake for consumers of technology and for national security, and seek solutions for getting past an all-or-nothing debate.

About MIT Sloan and (IC)3:

MIT Sloan is participating in the Summit through (IC)3, which is pronounced "IC-cube." (IC)3 is focused on addressing the managerial, organizational, and strategic aspects of cybersecurity. This consortium includes diverse and interdisciplinary faculty, with professors from MIT Sloan, the School of Engineering, and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. To learn more, visit ic3.mit.edu.

(IC)3 is one of three interrelated and collaborative programs at MIT covering the full breadth of cybersecurity issues. The other programs at MIT include the Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI), focused on policy, and [email protected], focused on improved hardware and software. CSAIL is MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. CSAIL and IPRI are also participating in the Cambridge Cyber Summit.

The Cyber Summit is open to the public, but pre-registration is required. To register, visit cnbc.com/cybersummit.

The MIT Sloan School of Management is where smart, independent leaders come together to solve problems, create new organizations, and improve the world. Learn more at mitsloan.mit.edu

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SOURCE MIT Sloan School of Management

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NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Members of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and Albert Einstein College of Medicine's NCIdesignated Albert Einstein Cancer Center will present new study findings at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) that will advance treatment of pancreatic and anal cancers. Researchers will also lead a discussion about implementing a cost efficient workflow for treatment of the most advanced forms of throat cancer. These are some of the highlights at ASTRO 2016, which is taking place at the Boston Convention Center from September 25-28.

"For too long people with pancreatic cancer have faced poor prognoses, with immunotherapies offering little hope," said Shalom Kalnicki, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore-Einstein. "By combining radiation therapy and immunotherapy we have obtained promising results that indicate that we can change how the body reacts to cancer cells and that we have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies in fighting diseases that are difficult to treat. We are excited about this progress, which we believe represents the future of effective cancer therapies. We look forward to sharing these findings and presenting new recommendations for effectively treating several cancers."

Following are the oral presentations Montefiore-Einstein investigators will deliver at the meeting, which are embargoed until the time of presentation. Additionally, Dr. Kalnicki will be one of ten individuals honored with the ASTRO Fellows designation for his significant contributions to the field of radiation oncology and improving patient outcomes.

Investigators are available for interviews specific to their presentation or to comment on other reports of interest at ASTRO 2016.

Epigenetic Priming and High-Dose Radiation for Enhanced Immune Response in Pancreatic Cancer  Presented by Kartik Mani, M.D., Ph.D., chief resident, Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care. Tuesday, September 27 at 2:55pm . Biology Track  Room #257 A/B  Presentation 196. Immunotherapy aims to boost the body's immune system. So far it has helped improve outcomes in lung cancer, bladder cancer and melanoma. However, people with cancers such as pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer and triple negative breast cancer have not benefited from this treatment. Those cancers do not trigger an immune response because their cells don't display key proteins (antigens) that the immune system needs to recognize in order to launch an attack. Montefiore-Einstein researchers speculated that the genes responsible for making these antigens had been epigenetically "turned off" so the researchers developed a novel one-two punch to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy: (1) a drug to "turn on" the genes that cause cancer cells to make antigens; and (2) a single high dose of radiation. The researchers found that this combination significantly bolstered the immune response against pancreatic cancer cells. This novel approach offers new hope for people suffering from pancreatic cancer and holds promise for making immunotherapy effective against diseases that are difficult to treat. Radiation Therapy Compliance/Quality Assurance (QA) in Two Phase II Trials of Cetuximab Plus Combined Modality Therapy (CMT) including Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy (RT) for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Cancer (SCCAC) in Patients with (AMC045)  Presented by Madhur Garg , M.D., clinical director, Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and professor of clinical radiation oncology at Einstein. Tuesday, September 27 at 5:15pm . Gastrointestinal Track  Room #160 A/B/C  Presentation 239 Cases of anal cancer are on the rise, with most people being diagnosed in their early 60s. Effective treatments exist for this disease, but some patientsparticularly people who are HIV positiveare not being cured. Montefiore-Einstein researchers led two national studies, involving both HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients, that evaluated dosages of targeted therapies combined with chemotherapy and radiation. The studies found that HIV-positive patients can tolerate treatment well and have comparable cure rates with non-HIV patients. Patterns of Failure and Origin of Recurrence on PET/CT for Laryngeal Cancer Patients Treated with Definitive IMRT Discussion led by Rafi Kabarriti, M.D., attending physician, Department of Radiation Oncology, Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and assistant professor of radiation oncology at Einstein. Wednesday, September 28 at 11:00am . Physics Track  Room #052 B  Presentation 1135. New therapies have improved treatment of laryngeal cancer and enhanced the quality of life for patients with this disease, but treatment of advanced laryngeal cancers remains a challenge. This is largely because of cancer recurrence. Advanced laryngeal cancers have cure rates of only 62 percent compared with cure rates of around 90 percent for less-advanced cases. To gain insight into why treatment for advanced laryngeal cancer often fails, Montefiore-Einstein researchers studied patients whose laryngeal tumors had recurred following intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Using CT-PET scans and software tools, the researchers pinpointed where in the treated tumor the cancer recurrence had originated. Eighty six percent of the recurrences originated in tumor regions treated with high-dose radiation. This finding will help identify patients who are at high risk of recurrence and lays the groundwork for a clinical trial using this novel treatment regimen.

About Montefiore Health System

Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and close to 200 outpatient care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its' medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its' preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2015-2016 academic year, Einstein is home to 731 M.D. students, 193 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 278 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2015, Einstein received $148 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Through its extensive affiliation network involving Montefiore, Jacobi Medical CenterEinstein's founding hospital, and three other hospital systems in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island, Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook , and view us on YouTube .

SOURCE Montefiore Health System

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NEW CASTLE, Pa., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, Axion Power International, Inc. (OTCQB:AXPW) CEO, Richard Bogan, and vice president of engineering, Jack Shindle, were interviewed on National Public Radio, 90.5 WESA Pittsburgh, discussing the capabilities and usefulness of Axion's PbC technology.

The interview and resulting article, New Castle Company Working to Make an Old Technology New Again , are available at http://bit.ly/2cwGXL6. The article outlines the potential of PbC technology to "revolutionize the lead acid battery industry." Among its features, PbC offers quick recharge, the ability to operate in a partial state of charge, a longer cycle life and is nearly 100 percent recyclable.

Shindle and Bogan are referenced explaining the difference between PbC batteries and standard lead acid batteries. "The challenge with the traditional lead acid battery is that the battery never gets a chance to fully recharge and ends up operating in partial state of charge," began Shindle. "Lead acid batteries are made of a series of negatively and positively charged lead plates."

Speaking about PbC batteries, Bogan continues, "Instead of a negative lead plate, it uses an activated carbon plate which helps the battery better perform with a partial state of charge."

The plates used by Axion are the same size and shape as the ones used for standard lead acid manufacturing, making them compatible for equipment in existing production facilities. "It's a drop-in technology for anywhere in the world there is manufacturing for lead acid batteries," Bogan said.

Axion launched their first consumer-ready products earlier this year - the DIY Off-Grid Solar Light Kit and a residential energy storage system. Bogan is clear, however, that the company does not plan to enter into mass production of its batteries anytime soon.

"Being able to license our products, that's the direction we're going," he said. "We will become much more of a royalty streaming company. Selling the secret sauce, if you will."

Bogan traveled to China in May at the invitation of LCB International, Inc. to renew discussion about the joint effort to commercialize PbC technology in Greater China. Executives from the People's Republic of China visited Axion's Pennsylvania facility in July. Earlier this month, Shindle visited China where he assisted with testing protocol utilizing PbC batteries.

Shindle also traveled to Brussels in September, participating in a successful round of meetings with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels), and their Battery Innovation Centre of MOBI Research Group, which has launched evaluation of Axion's PbC batteries for automotive applications at the request of a major European technology supplier.

"As I said in my June 8 Letter to Shareholders, 'we have had a 'whirlwind of activity,'" Bogan recalls. "It's exciting to now see pieces coming together and the potential for major developments on the horizon."

About Axion Power International, Inc.

Axion Power is a technology leader in lead-carbon energy storage. Axion's patented lead carbon battery is the only advanced battery technology with an all carbon negative electrode. Axion's negative electrodes are designed to be directly substituted for lead acid negative electrodes producing the unique benefits of the Axion carbon technology. Axion Power's primary goal is to become the leading supplier of carbon electrode assemblies for lead-acid battery companies around the world. For more information, visit www.axionpower.com

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this Press Release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the risk for the Company to complete its development work, as well as the risks inherent in commercializing a new product (including technology risks, market risks, financial risks and implementation risks, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the Company), as well as other risks that have been included in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are available at www.sec.gov. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, financial estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact:

Jolie Kahn

[email protected]

Richard Bogan

[email protected]

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SOURCE Axion Power International, Inc.

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New England Coffee's Brand Ambassadors and their " Mug Mobile " will be on hand from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm to give away commemorative items and samples of coffee to hundreds of commuters and passersby. People will also have the opportunity to enter the NewEnglandCoffee100.com sweepstakes, a digital instant win game awarding $100 Visa gift cards throughout the day, as well as daily $100 prizes online September 30 through October 21. No purchase necessary to participate or win.

The highlight of the day will be a presentation and ribbon cutting at 12:00 pm of an original work of art painted by Gerard Tonti, a celebrated artist who creates paintings using coffee and tea. The 12ft x 12ft mural, painted with New England Coffee espresso roast, is a gift from the company to the people of New England in celebration of its centennial, and will be displayed in South Station through October and then at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center through early 2017.

"Celebrating our centennial on National Coffee Day in downtown Boston, just a short walk from our original location at the corner of Milk and Broad Streets, is an important way for us to say thank you to the many people who drink and serve New England Coffee, and therefore have made this milestone possible," shared Michael Morse, vice president of marketing, Reily Foods Company.

The cornerstone of the "Extraordinary People Campaign" is the #YouAreExtraordinary Tour. An extensive sampling and engagement tour that is traveling around New England throughout 2016, the tour features the New England Coffee "Mug Mobile" and a team of Brand Ambassadors visiting restaurants, coffee shops and community locations, such as police and fire stations, to thank the extraordinary people who serve and drink New England Coffee.

The campaign also includes radio, digital and print advertising; a newly designed website; a social media initiative; a commemorative coffee table book and short film that share the company's 100-year history and culture. Photos of many of the people the company has recognized can be found on the Extraordinary People "Gallery" on newenglandcoffee.com. All are invited to post a photo of someone extraordinary in their lives using the hashtag #YouAreExtraordinary.

Founded in 1916 by two brothers and a cousin delivering coffee to restaurants by horse and wagon, today New England Coffee is offered nationwide in thousands of coffee shops, restaurants, retailers, grocery and convenience stores. A reputation for making consistently good coffee, the company still uses the founders' old-world method of small-batch roasting 100% Arabica beans onsite that are tested over 7,000 times per week, and the art of cupping, where specially certified experts evaluate every nuance of the coffee from aroma, to body and texture, to acidity and sweetness. In 2013, New England Coffee was purchased by Reily Foods Company, also a family-owned business, which was founded in 1902.

Media Contact

Heidi Boie

[email protected]

508-846-5307

About New England Coffee

Part of the Reily Foods Company family of brands and located in Malden, Massachusetts, New England Coffee was founded in 1916 by the Kaloyanides and Dostou families. As New England's largest independent coffee roaster, the company employs more than 200 people and prides itself on buying and selling premium coffee while providing the best service possible. New England Coffee packaged coffee is available in supermarkets across the U.S., online and brewed at more than 10,000 foodservice locations. Using only the finest Arabica beans, New England Coffee offers superb blends, delicious flavored coffees, full-bodied dark roasts, whole bean and exotic blends from locations such as Colombia, Brazil and Costa Rica. Visit www.newenglandcoffee.com for more information or follow on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewEnglandCoffee) and on Twitter @NE_Coffee.

About Reily Foods Company

Based in New Orleans, Reily Foods Company has been offering consumers high-quality products and service since 1902. Reily Foods manufactures and markets high quality coffees and teas and a wide variety of specialty brands crossing many categories including cake flour, chili seasonings, mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces and brownie mixes. Reily Foods' products are sold in grocery stores and restaurants throughout the United States with select products sold internationally. Reily brands include Luzianne Tea, Luzianne Coffee, French Market Coffee, CDM Coffee, JFG Coffee, Blue Plate Mayonnaise, JFG Mayonnaise, Wick Fowler's 2-Alarm and Carroll Shelby's Chili Kits, La Martinique Salad Dressings, Tiger Sauce, Swans Down Cake Flour and No Pudge fat free brownie mixes. Visit www.reilyfoods.com for more information.

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SOURCE New England Coffee

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HOUSTON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Derek H. Potts, founder and national managing partner of Potts Law Firm, will present on the current status of vaginal mesh sling litigation at the prestigious American Urogynecologic Society's PFD Week in Denver, Colorado, Sept. 27-Oct. 1.

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Derek H. Potts, founder and national managing partner of Potts Law Firm

Pelvic Floor Disorders (PFD) Week is the go-to meeting for health care professionals interested in or actively practicing Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Potts' sessions address the claims made by tens of thousands of women who suffer with infections, tissue erosion and organ perforation after receiving a transvaginal mesh implant. These sessions will help physicians better navigate legal issues to provide optimal care and informed consent.

"Having a plaintiff attorney address a conference of medical professionals is unusual and a testament to the significance of this major health concern for women," said Potts. "I commend the organization for wanting to dive deep into the litigation claims, patient issues and legal rulings that are being reviewed nationwide."

Potts was one of the lawyers who moved to establish the Consolidated Transvaginal Mesh Multi District Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. He was appointed by two federal judges overseeing the mesh litigation to coordinate the consolidations on behalf of 100,000 women making claims against the manufacturers of the mesh products. He has successfully resolved tens of thousands of transvaginal mesh claims for his clients.

Transvaginal mesh is a net-like implant used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women. The product design and implantation technique can contribute to serious complications, such as erosion and organ perforation.

Potts will participate in two unique sessions to bring a legal perspective to the discussion. One session involves a panel presentation on the current status of vaginal mesh and sling litigation, the reasons for successful verdicts against mesh manufacturers, the impact on available mesh products, changes to the FDA clearance process and reclassification, and the impact on physician care and informed consent.

The second session will involve a brief mock trial that will involve experienced medical experts. As part of this process, discussions will take place regarding the defects of vaginal mesh design, manufacturer's failure-to-warn claims, mesh degradation and causation of patient injuries.

Widely recognized for his expertise in complex litigation and trials, Potts has obtained record-setting verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients in state and federal courts across the country. He also regularly speaks and lectures to lawyers around the country on topics ranging from trial advocacy to handling complex mass torts matters.

About Potts Law Firm

Potts Law Firm diligently pursues a variety of personal injury claims and mass tort matters, from complex pharmaceutical cases to challenging product liability claims. The firm's team of highly competent attorneys have experience in many different areas of personal injury law. Believing that every detail of a case matters, firm attorneys work tirelessly to pursue just compensation, regardless of the obstacles faced. For more information, visit www.potts-law.com

For more information contact:

Steve Stasny

832-838-4553

Email

SOURCE Potts Law Firm

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BASEL, Switzerland, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Nouscom, an oncology company developing patient specific cancer vaccines based on a clinically validated genetic vaccine platform, today announced the appointment of Dr Marina Udier Blagovic as Chief Operating Officer (COO). The new position has been created to drive all aspects of business operations and business development. The Company also announces the appointment of new Board Directors who will join Dr. Guido Magni and Dr. Joachim Rothe: Dr Jean-Paul Prieels will join as Non-Executive Director; Dr Vincent Brichard and Dr Gianni Gromo will join as Board Observers.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160513/367461LOGO )

Riccardo Cortese, CEO and Chairman of Nouscom, said "I am delighted to welcome Marina to our executive team. Her experience at Novartis will be essential in supporting Nouscom's development of patient specific cancer vaccines."

"I am also proud to welcome industry veterans Drs Prieels, Brichard and Gromo to the Board. Their expertise and in-depth knowledge of research and clinical development in vaccines will be invaluable to Nouscom."

Biographies:

Dr Marina Udier Blagovic, Ph.D. joins Nouscom from Versant Ventures where she was an Operating Principal. Prior to Versant, she was the Global Head of Neurodegeneration at Novartis where she managed blockbuster brands. Her experience in oncology includes the development of a companion diagnostics. Prior to that, Marina worked in the healthcare sector of McKinsey & Company in Chicago. She has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Yale University.

Dr Jean-Paul Prieels, Ph.D., served as a Senior Vice President of Research and Development at GSK Biologicals (now GSK Vaccines) until January 2011. Dr Prieels joined GSK Biologicals in 1987 and progressed in roles of increasing responsibility to eventually lead the global vaccine R&D development activities in Rixensart, Belgium. Dr Prieels was instrumental in developing several commercially available vaccines, such as rotavirus, human papilloma virus (HPV) and pneumococcal conjugates. He serves as a Director of Vaximm AG and is on the independent Advisory Board of Curevac. Since 2007, he also has been a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Singapore Bioprocessing Technology Institute.

Dr Vincent Brichard, Ph.D. has more than 25 years' experience in oncology and immunology, including 15 years at GSK where he was Senior Vice-President in R&D responsible for the Immunotherapeutics Business Unit and was a member of the Board of Directors at GSK Biologicals. Dr Brichard, a physician by training, holds a Ph.D. in tumor immunology and has authored more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He currently serves on several Scientific Councils and Boards of Directors. He also holds an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.

Dr Gianni Gromo, M.D., Ph.D. is a Partner with Versant Ventures, and a former Senior Executive with several pharmaceutical companies, most recently Hoffmann-La Roche, where he was the Research Head of Global Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research and the Head of the Roche China R&D center in Shanghai. Prior to Roche, Dr Gromo was an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota; Research Director at Italfarmaco SpA, Milano, Italy; and Director of Biology-Cardiovascular at Lilly Research Laboratories. He serves as a Scientific Advisor to multiple companies and University Boards in Europe, North America, Australia and the Middle East. Dr Gromo received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Clinical and Experimental Hematology at the University of Milano, Italy.

About Nouscom

Nouscom is a private oncology company developing next generation immunotherapies. Nouscom's proprietary technology platform harnesses the full power of immune response by combining oncolytic viruses specifically targeted to a tumor with viral vectored genetic vaccines based on patient specific neo-antigens.

The Founders of Nouscom are a well-established team that has worked together for many years in previous successful enterprises, including IRBM/Merck and Okairos, and are veterans in the field of oncolytic viruses and genetic vaccines.

Nouscom was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland with operations in Rome, Italy. It is funded by LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Versant Ventures. The Company recently raised 12 million in a series A.

For more information on Nouscom, please visit the company's website at http://www.nouscom.com/

Contacts:

Nouscom

Alfredo Nicosia, CEO Italy

E : [email protected]

Tel: +39-335-7204422



Marina Udier, Chief Operating Officer

E : [email protected]

Tel: +41-41-79-723-7536

SOURCE Nouscom
ALBANY, New York, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

As stated in a research report released by Transparency Market Research, the competitive intensity in the global market for omega 3 ingredients is expected to remain very high till 2021. The market is extremely concentrated in developed economies and relatively sparser in emerging ones. Additionally, the key players hold a large part of the market share, leaving little scope for regional players or new entrants to prosper in the market. The overall threat from new entrants is also expected to remain very low over the coming years, owing to the high entry barriers and the overall lack of consumer awareness in untapped regions.

The global market for omega 3 ingredients is expected to generate a revenue of US$7.49 bn by 2021. It is projected at a CAGR of 15.2% from 2015 to 2021 and is predicted to reach US$3.70 bn before the end of 2016. Supplements and functional foods have consistently been the leading application segment in omega 3 ingredients. By the end of 2021, this segment is expected to accrue a total revenue of US$3.91 bn.

Koninklijke DSM N.V., BASF SE, and Croda International Plc. - the three leading companies for omega 3 ingredients in 2014 - held a collective share of 48.2% in terms of market value. Most of the key omega 3 ingredients manufacturers have been in the market for a long time and possess a history of business consolidation through various business strategies and mergers and acquisitions.

Browse Research Report with ToC: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/global-omega-three-market.html

North America Pushes Demand for Omega 3 Fatty Acids

By the end of 2021, North America is expected to generate US$3.62 bn in revenue from the demand for omega 3 ingredients. It is the dominant region in the world for EPA/DHA consumption since quite a few years and is expected to remain at the top till 2021. A large portion of this region's omega 3 ingredients demand comes from supplements and pharmaceuticals, but there is a strong growth rate in the demand for omega 3 ingredients in infant formula as well.

Comparatively, the demand for omega 3 ingredients in Europe is much lower due to a lower rate of awareness. The awareness level reduces even further in the case of Asia Pacific. However, both regions are showing immense potential due to a gradual improvement in the flow of nutritional information within urban areas.

Get Latest Industry Research PDF for more Professional and Technical Industry Insights: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=745

Omega 3 Ingredients Demand Spurred by Growing Health Concerns

"At the moment, the primary driver boosting the demand for omega 3 ingredients is the growing level of concern over physical health. People are becoming increasingly aware of the high rate of diseases such as cancer and asthma around the world and are looking for ways to mitigate the risks of contracting them. One of the proven ways to do so is the regular consumption of DHA/EPA. Both fatty acids are known to reduce the chances of a person falling prey to prostate or skin cancer, and are also known to abate bronchial inflammation and asthma," states a TMR analyst.

The growing consumer awareness is attributed to the increasing marketing efforts put in by nutrition companies, along with the release of scientific research which proves the benefits of consuming omega 3 fatty acids.

EPA/DHA Consumption Still Marred by Low Awareness

There is still, however, a large percentage of population in the world that is not aware of the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids. They still cannot differentiate between fatty acids that are beneficial or harmful when consumed. The overall public opinion of all fatty acids therefore remains negative. This can be dismissed by increasing awareness efforts through drives and other activities.

Browse Research PR: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/global-omega-three-market.htm

"Manufacturers of omega 3 ingredients can look to Asia Pacific for future endeavors. This region is ripe with a large number of consumers in urban areas that have positive disposable income. As the awareness of omega 3 fatty acid benefits spread, so will the demand for them in this region," adds the analyst.

The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, "Omega 3 Ingredients Market By Application (Supplements and Functional Foods, Pharmaceuticals, Infant formula, Pet and Animal Feed) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2021."

Key Takeaways:

Global demand for omega 3 ingredients expected to fetch US$7.49 bn in revenue by 2021. Total revenue in supplements and functional foods by 2021 expected to reach US$3.91 bn . North America expected to generate US$3.62 bn in omega 3 ingredients revenue by 2021.

Key segments of the Global Omega 3 Ingredients Market

Global Omega 3 Ingredients Market, by Application Type:

Supplements and Functional Foods

Pharmaceuticals

Infant formula

Pet and Animal Feed

Others

Global Omega 3 Ingredients Market, by Geography:

Europe

North America

Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa

and Latin America

Browse Other Research Reports & TOC:

Omega 3 And 6 Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/omega-3-6-market.html

Global Nutraceuticals Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/global-nutraceuticals-product-market.html

About TMR

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

Contact

Transparency Market Research



State Tower

90 State Street,

Suite 700,

Albany NY - 12207

United States

Tel: +1-518-618-1030

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email: [email protected]



Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Blog: http://www.tmrblog.com/

SOURCE Transparency Market Research
Environmental Management to Be Implemented More Efficiently by Government

Air pollution is getting worse in China. (Photo : Getty Images)

China's central government released guidelines for effective environmental management. The guidelines are for a pilot program on performance evaluation of government officials.



The guideline was released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council and aims to push for further efforts to conserve the environment.



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According to Gretchen Daily, a biologist at Stanford University, "China has gone further than any other country, as strange as that sounds given all the devastation that we read about on the environment front there."



She added, "In the face of deepening the environmental crisis, China has become very ambitious and innovative in its new conservation science and policies and has implemented them on a breathtaking scale."



The new policy of the government will require city-level environmental bodies to be governed by the provincial government.



Supervision will be done by the provincial agencies which will send inspectors to cities and counties. Evaluation of the local environmental quality and ensuring its protection will also be done at the provincial level, according to the guideline.



It also has the power to explore ways of setting up agencies to handle environmental affairs on river basins and regions.



The efforts of the Chinese government to protect the environment required major budget considerations and big cash outlay.



"Such investments can have big payoffs," said Steve Polasky, Fesler-Lampert Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics at the University of Minnesota.



He added that moves of the government such as "restoring forests and grasslands can reduce flooding and sandstorms, which has large benefits for the people downstream and downwind."



In the latest effort to localize environmental management, the provincial agencies are expected to layout plans by 2018. The government's target is to have a highly effective system by 2020.


PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AirXpanders Inc. (ASX: AXP), a company developing a novel technology for women undergoing tissue expansion for breast reconstruction following a mastectomy, today announced that new data on the use of its AeroForm Tissue Expander System was presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery: The Meeting 2016 in Los Angeles. Currently under review with FDA, AeroForm is a needle-free, patient-controlled tissue expander which is expanded by using a remote dosage controller.

The study presented the experience of a subset of patients who received AirXpanders' most recent AeroForm device as part of the XPAND pivotal trial. Among the 72 women studied who required tissue expansion as part of breast reconstruction, 44 received AeroForm, and 28 received traditional saline expanders. Women in the AeroForm group were able to achieve tissue expansion within 17 days, as compared to 35 days for the saline expander group, and overall the reconstruction process was reduced by 10 days. This significant reduction in time to expansion was achieved with equivalent safety and efficacy, and resulted in increased patient satisfaction.

"As surgeons, we have long understood the burden that tissue expansion places on women during breast reconstruction. As greater numbers of women have mastectomies, there is a real need to make the process shorter and more comfortable for women," said Jeffrey Ascherman, MD, chief of the division of plastic surgery at Columbia University and principal investigator for AirXpanders' U.S. XPAND trial. "This subset data is further evidence of the benefits of AeroForm in not only reducing the time to implant, but in helping women reclaim their lives faster after breast cancer."

In addition, the company continues to demonstrate forward momentum and garner industry recognition with regard to clinical data. Dr. Thomas Lam, visiting medical officer at the Westmead, Auburn & Bankstown Public Hospitals, Macquarie, Westmead and Holroyd Private Hospitals, was recognized with the "Best Australian Paper" award for his publication, "Evaluation of AirXpanders for Breast Reconstruction: Early Experience from Sydney" in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open. AirXpanders also announced the completion of enrollment for its XPAND II Continued Access study, designed to provide existing investigators with the ability to treat patients with AeroForm while the device is under review by the FDA.

"It is encouraging to see the excitement around AeroForm clearly demonstrated in each of our presentations at ASPS and the response to our Continued Access study," said Scott Dodson, president and CEO of AirXpanders. "These developments confirm the prevailing interest in this ground-breaking technology, a direct result of the significant impact it has on the lives of patients."

About AirXpanders

Founded in 2005, AirXpanders, Inc. (www.airxpanders.com) designs, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices to improve breast reconstruction. The company's flagship product, the AeroForm Tissue Expander System, is used in patients undergoing two-stage breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, AirXpanders is committed to providing patients and surgeons with best-in-class products that are made under strict design and quality standards.

AirXpanders' vision is to be the global leader in reconstructive surgery products and to become the standard of care in two-stage breast reconstruction. AirXpanders is a publically listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol AXP. The AeroForm Tissue Expander System is not cleared or approved for use in the United States and is for investigational use only. AeroForm is cleared for commercialization in Europe and in Australia.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains or may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and expectations and on information currently available to management. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including without limitation our expectations with respect to our ability to commercialize our product; our ability to obtain reimbursement for our product; therapeutic advantages of our product, and market opportunity for our product. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they speak only as of the date when made. AirXpanders does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. AirXpanders may not actually achieve the plans, projections or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and actual results, developments or events could differ materially from those disclosed in the forward-looking statements.

Media Contact

Michelle Thaler/Wendy Ryan

MSLGROUP

(781) 684-0770

[email protected]

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SOURCE AirXpanders Inc.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- School buses already make up the largest share of mass transportation in the U.S. and are the safest mode of transportation to and from school. This year, however, the yellow bus is getting an upgrade. More than 650,000 students will ride a school bus powered by the alternative fuel propane this back-to-school season.

"Diesel has long been the standard in school transportation, but for districts that want to reduce harmful emissions, save money and create a safer, healthier ride, propane is an excellent alternative," said Roy Willis, Propane Education & Research Council president and CEO.

Recognizing these benefits, schools across 47 states  a total of almost 11,000 buses  have transitioned to propane. In fact, propane bus sales have increased by 436 percent since 2012.

The trend prompted PERC to start a campaign to teach communities about the benefits of propane-powered transportation. The Council is partnering with journalist and former teacher Jenna Bush Hager and the nonprofit AdoptAClassroom.org to donate $25,000 to teachers at schools adopting propane buses.

"It's clear when you talk to school administrators and transportation departments that they are saving more than just dollars and cents by going with propane buses," said Hager. "The switch is improving their school as a whole and giving them the opportunity to invest in more teachers or school programs."

The Propane Education & Research Council's donation will benefit teachers at four schools this fall in school districts in San Antonio, Indianapolis, Orlando and Reno.

The transition from diesel to propane buses has been reported in at least 20 of the top 25 designated market areas, and four of the 10 largest school districts in the country are using them. Among the health and safety advantages of propane buses is that they are quieter than diesel and they reduce exposure to diesel exhaust, which the World Health Organization classifies as a carcinogen.

"As a former teacher and parent, I know that the school day begins and ends on the bus," Hager said. "When we give our kids a safer, healthier start to the day, it can improve their entire experience in the classroom and at home, too."

For more information on propane school buses, including bus safety tips for parents and kids courtesy of the National Association of Pupil Transportation, visit BetterOurBuses.com. To donate to teachers in your local community, visit AdoptAClassroom.org.

Propane Education & Research Council: The Propane Education & Research Council is a nonprofit organization established, operated, and funded by the propane industry. PERC drives technology development to expand adoption of propane as a clean, domestic, and affordable energy source and leads safety and training efforts among propane retailers and consumers. PERC programs benefit a variety of industries including fleet vehicle management, landscaping, residential and commercial building, agriculture, and material handling. For more information, visit Propane.com.

Jenna Bush Hager: Jenna Hager is a contributing correspondent on NBC's Today show and an editor-at-large for Southern Living magazine. She is also the author of The New York Times best seller Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope, which she wrote after traveling to Latin America in 2006 as an intern with UNICEF. Ana's Story is based on the life of a 17-year-old single mother with HIV, who struggles to shield her child from the life she had of abuse and neglect. Hager remains involved with UNICEF and is the Founding Chair of UNICEF Next Generation, an initiative dedicated to motivating younger generations to help save and improve children's lives around the world.

Hager holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She is also co-author of two children's books: Read All About It! and recently, Our Great Big Backyard.

Hager is the daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. In 2008, she married Henry Hager with whom she now has two daughters, Margaret Laura "Mila" (3) and Poppy Louise (1).

AdoptAClassroom.org: AdoptAClassroom.org gives teachers a hand by providing much needed classroom supplies and materials to help their students learn and succeed. As an award-winning 501(c)(3), AAC makes it easy for donors to provide funding and support to K-12 classrooms in public, private and charter schools throughout the U.S. On average, teachers spend $600 of their own money each year to equip their classrooms - 20% of teachers spend more than $1000 annually. Since 1998 AdoptAClassroom.org has raised over $22 million and benefited more than 5 million students throughout the U.S. AAC holds a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. For more information, or to adopt a classroom, please visit www.adoptaclassroom.org.

For More Information:

Jeff Salem

Swanson Russell

402-437-6409

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411423LOGO

SOURCE Propane Education & Research Council

Related Links

http://www.propane.com


LONDON, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

* New analysis highlights risks and opportunities from shift in protein supply

* 16 major food multinationals targeted, including General Mills, which holds AGM tomorrow

A $1.25 trillion coalition of 40 institutional investors, including Swedish state pension funds AP2, AP3 and AP4, Aviva Investors, Boston Common, Coller Capital, Folksam, Nordea and Robeco, has launched an engagement with 16 multinational food companies highlighting the material risks posed by industrial animal production. The coalition is urging companies to identify their plans to respond to this risk, in particular by encouraging them to set strategies to diversify into plant-based sources of protein.

Backed by a new briefing entitled 'The future of food - the investment case for a protein shake up', the investors warn of the risks associated with the growing global demand for protein and an overreliance on the unsustainable factory farming of livestock for its supply. The briefing highlights the environmental, social and public health risks inherent in this model, which financial markets are not currently valuing appropriately.

The companies targeted include Kraft Heinz, Nestle, Unilever, Tesco, Walmart and General Mills, which holds its AGM in Minneapolis tomorrow. The coalition has been brought together by the FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return ) Initiative, in partnership with responsible investment organisation ShareAction. US food giant General Mills - makers of Haagen Dazs and Yoplait - is highlighted as an example of good practice for supporting start-up companies such as Beyond Meat, which is developing foods to substitute meat products with more sustainable plant-based alternatives.

Jeremy Coller, Founder of the FAIRR Initiative and CIO of Coller Capital, said:

"The world's overreliance on factory farmed livestock to feed the growing global demand for protein is a recipe for a financial, social and environmental crisis. Intensive livestock production already has levels of emissions and pollution that are too high, and standards of safety and welfare that are too low. It simply can't cope with the projected increase in global protein demand. Investors want to know if major food companies have a strategy to avoid this protein bubble and to profit from a plant-based protein market set to grow by 8.4% annually over the next five years."

The analysis report also points to regulatory trends as a driver for corporate action - such as Denmark's consultation on the introduction of red meat tax and the Chinese government's plan to reduce its citizens' meat consumption by 50%.

Clare Richards, Campaigns Manager at ShareAction said:

"The trend for 'less but better meat' is creating new opportunities on plates and in portfolios. Evidence suggests that plant-based protein sources are better for your health, your wallet, and the planet. Consumers increasingly recognise these benefits; and now this coalition of forward-thinking investors are doing the same. As a result of this engagement we hope more companies will embrace the opportunities presented by this growing consumer trend."

Peter van der Werf, Engagement Specialist at Robeco said:

"The growing demand for meat will put large pressure on natural resources in the coming decades. Robeco identified this as a financial material topic and engages to improve sustainability in the meat supply chain. Protein diversification is an important instrument to that end. Companies at the end of the meat supply chain have an important role to play towards customers and we will encourage them to make protein diversification an integral part of their strategy."

SOURCE FAIRR Initiative
ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) today announced that it will release its third quarter 2016 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, October 20, 2016. The Company will hold a conference call to discuss third quarter results that same day at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

A live audio webcast of the call will be available on PulteGroup's website at pultegroupinc.com. To listen to the webcast, log on at pultegroupinc.com five minutes prior to the call. An archive of the conference call will be available on the PulteGroup website.

For call participants, the dial-in number is (800) 967-7140 (conference ID 1803689). The call will be recorded and available for audio replay on pultegroupinc.com within 24 hours.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of America's largest homebuilding companies with operations in approximately 50 markets throughout the country. Through its brand portfolio that includes Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, the Company is one of the industry's most versatile homebuilders able to meet the needs of multiple buyer groups and respond to changing consumer demand. PulteGroup conducts extensive research to provide homebuyers with innovative solutions and consumer inspired homes and communities to make lives better.

For more information about PulteGroup, Inc. and PulteGroup brands, go to: pultegroupinc.com; www.pulte.com; www.centex.com; www.delwebb.com; www.divosta.com and www.jwhomes.com.

SOURCE PulteGroup, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.pulte.com


PARAMUS, New Jersey, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Qognify, formerly NICE Security, today announced that Hefei Xingiao International Airport is expanding use of its Video Management System (VMS). Originally implemented in 2010, airport officials are scaling the Qognify solution as the airport increases flight volumes domestically and internationally.

Hefei Xinqiao International Airport is the main airport serving Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province in East China, currently averaging 600 domestic and international flights per week, the airport is facing significant growth: it is estimated that in 2020, over 11 million passengers and 150,000 tons of cargo will pass through the airport. The task of securing all of this activity and covering a 3,400-meter runway, as well as a 110,000 square-meter terminal building, is handled by Qoginfy's (VMS), with centralized management of 1,200 cameras.

The airport uses Qognify's VMS to monitor, manage and record activity within the terminal for enhanced security. The centralized management of the system improves operational efficiency and lowers the airport's total cost of ownership (TCO). Additional advanced capabilities include Qognify's patented Visual Parameters Optimization solution and NVR-based Camera Tampering Detection that ensure high-quality video and capturing of the relevant field of view, at all times.

"With Qognify's advanced technology and in depth knowledge of the airport industry, we're able to provide our passengers a safe environment. Employees have a scalable, easy-to-access and stable security solution that monitors and manages surveillance of our terminal building as well as other areas," said Ms. Yang Jing, Director of Technology, Hefei Xingiao International Airport. "Our positive experience with the Qognify security solution has given us strong confidence in its capabilities. We plan to increase the investment in our video surveillance system even further, allowing us to improve our customers' satisfaction and to fulfil growth and expansion plans."

Hefei Airport's experience with the Qognify solution not only provides proof of its security capabilities, it also points to the airport's confidence in the ability to seamlessly expand it and meet future needs. "When customers gain such a high level of confidence in our technology through its capabilities and the benefits it provides, and experience the value our expertise brings to the table, it's a testament to the intense focus we've placed on providing solutions that go beyond effectively meeting security needs," said Moti Shabtai, President, Qognify. "We look forward to supporting Hefei Airport as they continue to grow."

About Qognify

Qognify, formerly NICE Security, helps organizations mitigate risk, maintain business continuity, and optimize operations. The Qognify portfolio includes video management, video and data analytics, and PSIM/ Situation Management solutions that are deployed in financial institutions, transportation agencies, airports, seaports, utility companies, city centers, and to secure many of the world's highest-profile public events.

http://www.Qognify.com

Corporate Media Contact

Hagar Lev

+1-201-690-5207

[email protected]



Regional Media Contact

Graham Thatcher

+44(0)793-673-240

[email protected]

SOURCE Qognify
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today issued a reminder that it will release its 2016 third quarter financial results at approximately 6 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, and host a conference call afterwards at approximately 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to review the results. Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Jeffrey A. Schwaneke, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, of Centene Corporation will host the call.

Investors and other interested parties are invited to listen to the conference call by dialing 1-877-883-0383 in the U.S. and Canada; +1-412-902-6506 from abroad, including the following Elite Entry Number: 2467001, to expedite caller registration; or via a live, audio webcast on the Company's website at www.centene.com, under the Investors section.

A webcast replay will be available for on-demand listening shortly after the completion of the call for the next 12 months or until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 25, 2017, at the aforementioned URL. In addition, a digital audio playback will be available until 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, by dialing 1-877-344-7529 in the U.S. and Canada, or +1-412-317-0088 from abroad, and entering access code 10093224.

About Centene

Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a portfolio of services to government sponsored healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and Long Term Care (LTC), in addition to other state-sponsored programs, Medicare (including the Medicare prescription drug benefit commonly known as "Part D"), as well as programs with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Centene operates local health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide specialty services including behavioral health management, care management software, correctional healthcare services, dental benefits management, in-home health services, life and health management, managed vision, pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy and telehealth services.

Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important information about Centene, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor relations website, http://www.centene.com/investors.

SOURCE Centene Corporation

Related Links

http://www.centene.com


DUBLIN, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Water Softener Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The Global Water Softener Market to grow at a CAGR of 6.98% during the period 2016-2020.

The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Global Water Softener Market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sale of water softeners for the residential segment.

Increased awareness about the benefits of using soft water for daily household chores is driving the global water softener market for the residential segment.



Also, rapid urbanization and industrialization in emerging countries are affecting the quality of water. While developed countries have centralized plants for water treatment to remove calcium and magnesium compounds, developing countries are yet to develop such infrastructure. The demand for water softeners will be driven primarily by increased health consciousness, technological innovations in the market, and the emergence of domestic players in smaller markets.

One trend sweeping the market is connectivity-enabled innovations. Home automation is a trend in the home appliances market. The widespread availability of wireless and mobile technologies and the introduction of connected devices and the Internet of things (IoT) have encouraged many users to shift to smart appliances. It is estimated that by 2020, there will be 70 million smart households in Europe and North America, with most household appliances monitored and controlled wirelessly using the Internet.



According to the report, a key growth driver is the purchases made by consumers to complement RO water purification units. RO membranes are fragile and inadequate in removing or reducing calcium and magnesium compounds in the water. To prevent this and extend product lifespan, consumers are installing water softeners with RO water purifiers. A water softener and an RO water purifier are an effective combination. While the water softener gives soft water for the entire home, RO water purifier enhances the quality of drinking water by removing most impurities including hydrocarbons, cadmium, pesticides, and other.



Further, the report states that one challenge that could restrict market growth is the availability of alternative technologies for softening water.



Key vendors



Culligan

Ecowater

GE

Whirlpool

3M

Other prominent vendors



Axel Johnson

Canature

Hague Quality Water

Ion Exchange India

Kenmore

Key Topics Covered:



PART 01: Executive summary

- Highlights



PART 02: Scope of the report

- Market overview

- Top-vendor offerings



PART 03: Market research methodology

- Research methodology

- Economic indicators



PART 04: Introduction

- Key market highlights



PART 05: Market landscape

- Five forces analysis



PART 06: Geographical segmentation

- Global water softener market by geography 2015-2020

- Water softener market in APAC

- Water softener market in North America

- Water softener market in Europe

- Water softener market in ROW



PART 07: Market drivers



PART 08: Impact of drivers



PART 09: Market challenges



PART 10: Impact of drivers and challenges



PART 11: Market trends



PART 12: Vendor landscape

- Competitive scenario



PART 13: Key vendor analysis



PART 14: Other prominent vendors



PART 15: Appendix



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/l6b5d3/global_water

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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DENVER, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Smashburger, a fast-casual restaurant franchise known for its signature smashed burgers, today announces the appointment of franchise and fast-casual industry veteran Mark Ramage as Director of Franchise Development. Ramage joins the franchise sales team, under the direction of SVP of Franchise Sales Gregg Koffler, to support the brand as it grows nationally and abroad.

Ramage joins Smashburger following a leadership role at Rave Restaurant Group, where he was responsible for overseeing, leading and implementing the franchise development, strategy, systems sales and growth globally for Pie Five Pizza. Prior to his work with Rave Restaurant Group, Ramage held the role of Franchise Development Manager at Red Mango, as well as franchise leadership roles at the Findley Group and the Ramage Group-Franchise Consulting.

"Mark has a proven track record of helping brands grow through franchise sales, which will be a tremendous asset during this important growth period in our company's history," says Koffler. "Further strengthening our already impressive franchise leadership team, his expertise in both the franchising and food and beverage industry will help continue our momentum as a leader in the fast casual category."

Ramage holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Kentucky. Aside from being extremely successful in the areas of franchising and brand development, Ramage is also a highly decorated individual, having won the Top in Sales and Efficiency Award from 2006-2008, the Outstanding Development Award from 2009-2010, and the Rolling Forward Employee Award in 2013.

"Smashburger is in a tremendous position for growth. The flexible footprint, seasoned leadership team and state of the franchising industry were all extremely attractive to me as I made my decision to join the team," says Ramage. "I am looking forward to being an integral part of Gregg's team as we take this brand to the next level."

For more information about Smashburger, visit http://smashburger.com.

About Smashburger

Smashburger is a leading fast casual "better burger" restaurant known for its fresh never frozen, 100% Certified Angus Beef burgers that are smashed on the grill to sear in the juices, creating an upscale quality burger packed with flavor and served at a great value. In addition to burgers, Smashburger offers grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches, fresh salads, signature side items such as Haystack onions and Veggie Frites, and hand-spun Haagen-Dazs shakes. On each market menu, Smashburger offers locally inspired items like the regional burger, as well as regional sides and local craft beer. Smashburger began in 2007 with the vision of Rick Schaden and funding by Consumer Capital Partnersthe private equity firm that Rick and his father Richard own. There are currently over 371 corporate and franchise restaurants operating in 38 states and eight countries. Smashburger is actively seeking partnerships with experienced and seasoned franchisees at campus locations across the country and worldwide. For more information, visit Smashburger.com.

Media Contact

Jason Gilbreth

Trevelino/Keller

404.214.0722 x114

[email protected]

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Smashburger

Related Links

http://smashburger.com


As early as eighth grade, and continuing through high school, students are introduced to STEM in a variety of ways in an effort to promote lasting interest. However, based on the rate of attrition, interest alone is not enough. A recent White House report suggests that students leave post-secondary STEM programs because of the intense classroom atmosphere, difficult classes, and STEM courses that students can't see the relevancy of, in part because they may not be able to envision the kinds of careers that lie at the end of their studies.

A key to lowering STEM attrition is ensuring that students have a sufficient STEM background, one that goes beyond simply generating an interest, provided to them in high school, before they enter college and certificate programs.

Courses in high school must move beyond the theoretical and into the practical so that students can see their relevance and the available career paths they offer. Only by giving them the opportunity to really explore STEM in a hands-on manner can students determine if a STEM career is right for them. Exposing students to the applications of STEM early, and doing so by way of inherently engaging approacheslike interactive multimedia, project-based hands-on learning, and training systems that use industrial components that mimic real-world situationscan turn their interest in STEM into a real desire for a career. Having this opportunity to build early momentum in STEM coursework can lead students to continue further pursuing their STEM studies. If they perform well, they are less likely to drop out of school, or switch to another field of study. Indeed, it's crucial that we hang on to top performers who are capable of making valuable additions to the STEM workforce.

Experts in education and industry strongly recommend academic partnerships with the industrial sector in order to improve STEM education. One example of this kind of collaboration between industry and education is the recent partnering of GE Appliances and Amatrol in an effort to expand manufacturing skills and curriculum at local high schools. As Boris Ladwig noted in Insider Louisville, "The grants from GE Appliances and Amatrol (a Jeffersonville firm focused on technical education) and new partnerships with local manufacturers will help the schools better prepare students for manufacturing careers, from machine operators to maintenance technicians and engineers  and help business find more qualified employees." Three Kentuckiana area schools received large money donations toward key learning tools including hands-on workstations to teach industrial maintenance, interactive multimedia curriculum, and instructor training.

Some national organizations have recognized the need to do more than create an interest in STEM careers in high school and have created skill-based certifications that can be achieved at the high school level. These documents provide accreditation, proving that the students have been evaluated by an accreditation organization and certified to match industrial standards. Such accrediting organizationslike Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS)offer the Certified Production Technician (CPT) Certification and Industrial Technology Maintenance (ITM) Certifications, respectively. Both organizations have endorsed Amatrol's eLearning as recommended preparation prior to applying for these certifications due to the interactive curriculum that was developed to accommodate various student learning styles and its adherence to industrial standards.

Thus, high school learning systems and curriculum, especially interactive trainers and multimedia, can create a familiarity and comfort in students that can allow them to stick with STEM because such systems are interactive and challenging, keeping students engaged and encouraged. These systems can also allow students to proceed at their own pace, so that boredom or feeling overwhelmed by the curriculum is simply not a factor. To retain students, instructors need to show real-world problems, as this is the approach that will make sense for most students. Otherwise they can become discouraged, particularly since many of these young people, just entering college or certificate programs, are in a new environment and challenged in ways beyond the classroom alone.

In an ever-changing world, where technology touches almost every part of our day-to-day lives, the health and prosperity of manufacturing and other industries are dependent on educators and business leaders highlighting for high school and college students that careers that once may have held interest for a few are now open to the many. If we offer support to move students beyond just a casual interest in STEM, and offer students engagement opportunities with compelling hands-on training and real-world skills in high school, when they arrive at college they will stick with STEM, and contribute to the growth of innovation and improvement in our economy and in our world.

Contact: 812-288-8285

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160922/411023

SOURCE Amatrol

Related Links

http://www.amatrol.com


The individual event was composed of five events, one hour each, scored on accuracy, speed and service quality, including a written test on technical knowledge, on-car drivability, diagnostic and engine-only diagnostic events, alongside a bench electrical circuit event. This year, thirteen contestants from across the country participated in the competition held at Subaru of America's U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill, NJ.

This year's winner is Seth DeGraff, a Senior Master Technician at Capitaland Subaru in Glenville, NY, who has made a career out of his passion for working on vehicles and tinkering with anything that has an engine. As both a Zone Champion (Subaru Distributors Corporation) and overall winner, DeGraff receives a prize of $2,500, a crystal trophy and will travel to Japan next Fall to compete in the Subaru World Technical Competition.

From the remaining Zone Champions, second place honors went to Will Wright of Hyman Brothers Subaru in Midlothian, VA ($1,500 total prize) while Alan Wolfe of Diablo Subaru of Walnut Creek, CA was awarded third place ($1,000 total prize). The full list of Zone Champions and runners up is below (in alphabetical order).





John Campbell  Baierl Subaru, Pittsburgh, PA

 Baierl Subaru, Zachary Gibbons  Dick Hannah Subaru , Vancouver, WA

 , Gustave Hoelscher  Austin Subaru, Austin, TX

 Austin Subaru, John Knapp  Lee's Summit Subaru, Lee's Summit, MO

 Lee's Summit Subaru, Kevin Lopez  Subaru Santa Monica, Santa Monica, CA

 Subaru Santa Monica, David MacDonald  Subaru of Orange Park , Jacksonville, FL

 Subaru of , Keith Mack  Flatirons Subaru, Boulder, CO

 Flatirons Subaru, Christian Rawski  Hawk Subaru, Joliet, IL

 Hawk Subaru, Jonathan Scott  Subaru of Grand Blanc , Grand Blanc, MI

 Subaru of , Benjamin Spidle  Johnson Subaru of Cary , Cary, NC

"Customer service remains a core pillar of the Subaru experience, and that includes holding our technicians to the highest standards to ensure our vehicles are returned to their owners after a service in the best possible shape to take them on their next adventures," said Thomas J. Doll, president and COO, Subaru of America. "All of our participants this year represent the very best of our technicians throughout the nation, and we excited to see how Seth fares in the international final in Japan."

Subaru of America also hosted a new event, called "The Pit Crew Challenge," for its own employees, placing regional and department teams up against technicians to find out who really has the best quick-service skills in the company.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants, and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information, visit media.subaru.com.

Diane Anton

Subaru of America, Inc.

856-488-5093

[email protected]

Michael McHale

Subaru of America, Inc.

856-488-3326

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160924/411475

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.subaru.com


China Claims BeiDou now as Accurate as GPS; Will Have to Convince the Public, However

BeiDou satellite. (Photo : CNSA)

China claims its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is now as accurate as the United States' dominant Global Positioning System (GPS), but admits it will take a lot of work to convince Chinese, including the military, to switch to BDS from GPS.



BDS was originally developed as a military system intended to wean the People's Liberation Army (PLA) from its over dependence on GPS, a weakness the U.S. could exploit in the event of a war. And the military version of BDS (which isn't available to the general public) is far more accurate than the civilian version.



Advertisement

The free civilian version of BDS is now accurate to within centimeters and is on par with GPS, claims Xu Ying, a researcher at the Academy of Opto-Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a major developer of BDS.



She said BeiDou can even offer more precise positioning services than GPS within China. She noted more support is needed from the central government to make Chinese GPS users and the PLA switch to BDS.



Xu said she's not sure how many users within the PLA have transferred to BDS despite the Chinese system having improved security against interference and interception. The PLA depends on GPS and BDS to guide its missiles towards targets hundreds of kilometers distant.



The BDS version used by the PLA is said to be accurate to within 0.1 meters (10 centimeters). The current civilian version is accurate to 10 meters.



In contrast, the free civilian version of GPS is accurate to five meters. GPS, a U.S. government project, became operational in 1995.



Only the PLA and the Pakistan Armed Forces (China's close ally) use the military version of BDS.



Xu's new claim the civilian BDS is accurate to centimeters means a huge leap forward in accuracy, and should be held in doubt since China hasn't yet completed the constellation of BDS satellites that should make this accuracy possible.



The complete BDS satellite constellation will consist of 35 in orbit satellites. There are currently 23 in orbit satellites, a number sufficient to cover China and neighboring countries. China plans to launch 20 more BDS satellites (including spares) by 2020.


HOUSTON, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: SPN) announced today that it will release its third quarter 2016 results on Monday, October 24, 2016 after the market closes. In conjunction with the release, the Company has scheduled a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet, on Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. Investors may participate either by phone or audio webcast.

By Phone: Dial 412-902-0030 at least 10 minutes before the call. A replay will be available through November 1, 2016 by dialing 201-612-7415 and using the access code 13646177#.



By Webcast: Connect to the webcast via the Investor Relations section of Superior Energy's website at www.superiorenergy.com. Please log in at least 10 minutes in advance to register and download any necessary software. A replay will be available shortly after the call.

About Superior Energy Services

Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) serves the drilling, completion and production-related needs of oil and gas companies worldwide through its brand name drilling products and its integrated completion and well intervention services and tools, supported by an engineering staff who plan and design solutions for customers. For more information, visit: www.superiorenergy.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Vincent, VP of Investor Relations, (713) 654-2200

SOURCE Superior Energy Services, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.superiorenergy.com


SAN FRANCISCO, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Suyati's Arunraj Pazherickal Will Co-present With Abhishek Sivasubramanian on SOQL Performance Tuning and the Multi-Tenant Query Optimizer

Suyati logo (PRNewsFoto/Suyati Technologies)

Suyati Technologies will be presenting at Dreamforce 2016, the marquee annual event organized by Marc Benioff owned, salesforce.com. The four-day event is being held at San Francisco, CA, from October 4th to 7th, 2016, and will bring together thought-leaders, industry pioneers, and thousands of professionals from across the globe to facilitate fun, inspiration, networking, and more.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140927/708707 )



Senior Salesforce Developer from Suyati, Arunraj Pazherickal, will be presenting at the Developer Breakout Session on SOQL Performance Tuning and the Multi-Tenant Query Optimizer. Abhishek Sivasubramanian, who was a breakout speaker from Suyati for Dreamforce 2014, will be co-presenting with Arunraj. Arunraj's session is scheduled for October 4, 2016, from 12 pm to 12.30 pm at Moscone West, Innovation Theater. The session aims to educate attendees on SOQL Query Performance.

"I am truly excited to be a part of Dreamforce 2016; and being chosen to present at the Breakout Session is twice the honor. Besides, I am looking forward to connect with fellow cloud evangelists and make the best of those four high-energy days. This is such a great opportunity to learn, grow and network - I'm ecstatic!," says Arunraj.

Dreamforce 2016 promises over 2,000 sessions and thousands of live solutions from the world's largest cloud ecosystem. For developers like Arunraj and Abhishek, this is a remarkable opportunity to participate in the largest gathering of cloud developers in the world and network with over 25,000 people from the industry. The Developer Zone offers hundreds of technical sessions and topics for all skill levels, and is the ideal place to get hands-on with the latest Salesforce technologies across Force.com, Heroku, IoT, and more.

This year, Dreamforce has several eminent personalities as their keynote speakers, including Melinda Gates, Mary T. Barra, Billie Jean King, Jeff Lawson, and Marc Benioff, among others.

About Suyati Technologies:

Suyati is a fast-growing digital transformation solutions company that helps rebuild customer experience for the digital consumer. We collaborate with businesses to strategize and implement impactful digital initiatives that position our clients ahead of competition. We are digital-first and we focus on delivering digital transformation solutions that support our clients' various engagement strategies. With our niche and rich expertise in a wide range of technologies and services - CMS, CRM, e-commerce, Cloud, IoT-data analytics, and Product Engineering - we help companies leverage their best on web/cloud/mobile platforms.

As a Salesforce ISV partner, Suyati has developed a series of cutting edge solutions that have helped businesses in their CRM efforts. Their application development expertise in Salesforce includes customizing Force.com to suit workflows, building apps for AppExchange, migration from CRMs, ERPs, excel & databases, integrating .net/ java applications with Canvas, and integration of 3rd party apps, CMS, social, etc. For more information, please visit http://www.suyati.com.

To make an appointment with Team Suyati for Dreamforce 2016, fill out the form on http://suyati.com/dreamforce-summit-2016 .

To connect with our representatives at the event, reach out to

Kiran S Latha

Consulting Sales Manager

[email protected] or [email protected].com

+1-773-828-4358



SOURCE Suyati Technologies Private Limited
TOKYO, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

- Michelin-starred Chef David Bouley Demonstrates Original Dishes Created with Japanese Ingredients: Health-themed Presentation on Diversity of Japanese Food Products -



"TASTE OF JAPAN in New York: Savor the Culture of Earth & Sea" held in the U.S. city last week was an educational event that took up the themes of Japanese ingredients and personal health to promote awareness about the appeals of Japan's food and food culture.



(Photo:

http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M104045/201609234581/_prw_OI1fl_M4h0cY5a.JPG)



Held at New York's famed Carnegie Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21, the event was opened by Ambassador Reiichiro Takahashi of the Consulate General of Japan in New York. The ambassador was followed by Hiromichi Matsushima, Vice-Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.



The charms of Japanese cuisine and the country's carefully passed-down food culture, together with Japanese products that owe their diversity to the country's seasonality and differing regions, were introduced by Professor Ryoji Hamamoto, team leader of the Japanese Cuisine R&D Department at the Tsuji Culinary Institute, based in Osaka, Japan. Professor Hamamoto outlined the detailed history of Japanese cuisine back to the early eighth century, noting how it was influenced by social change, and how even elements such as food color and tableware are taken into consideration to bring out the deeper essence of Japanese cuisine.



Of particular note were how present-day "dashi" soup stock can trace its origins back to the vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks, called "shojin ryori," developed during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), and how the lords of the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) would use overly elaborate banquets to impress guests with their power. The ways in which Japanese cuisine engages the five senses -- including the sense of hearing -- were showcased through an audio demonstration of the sounds of various dishes being prepared or consumed.

The roughly 100 guests in attendance at the event also enjoyed tastings and a demonstration from Michelin-starred Chef David Bouley, a Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador and owner-chef of both Bouley Restaurant and Brushstroke Restaurant, both located in New York's Tribeca area.

Chef Bouley expounded on the advantages of Japanese ingredients and the diverse ways they can be used in various kinds of cooking. He particularly zeroed in on the various health benefits of "kuzu," and how it can be used both to replace flour and as a versatile thickener, as well as his desire to reintroduce fermented food to the American palate. Carnegie Hall's Weill Terrace Room was filled with the enticing scent of Chef Bouley's "dashi" soup stock, prepared with Hokkaido kelp, which he later used to make a savory flan known in Japanese as "chawan mushi."



Following the presentations, attendees were invited to engage in an open discussion with Chef Bouley, Professor Hamamoto and Ichiro Takahashi, Director of the Food Industry Affairs Bureau's Food Service Industry Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Guests expressed particular interest in Chef Bouley's planned year-long sabbatical to Japan in order to more deeply explore fermentation techniques, while Director Takahashi concluded the session with an outline of his hopes for the future of Japanese ingredients in the global food market.



Guests were then treated to a light meal of chestnut rice ("kuri gohan") and wagyu tataki, a form of thick-cut roast beef, matched with a variety of sake and shochu from various regions of Japan, as well as Japanese tea and sweets from Japan's northeastern Tohoku region.



Event Title: TASTE OF JAPAN in New York:Savor the Culture of Earth & Sea

Date: September 21, 2016

Place: Carnegie Hall, Weill Terrace Room, May Room

Organizer: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan



For more information, please visit:

http://allabout-japan.com/en/

SOURCE Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan

Related Links

http://allabout-japan.com/en/


Teleflora established the Tom Butler "Floral Retailer of the Year" Award in honor of Teleflora's past Chairman Tom Butler, who led Teleflora in its mission to serve as a trusted business partner, friend and innovator to independent retail florists across the U.S. and Canada since 1995.

"On behalf of everyone at Teleflora, we are thrilled to honor Carmen Cosentino of Cosentino's Florist as the recipient of Teleflora's second annual Tom Butler 'Floral Retailer of the Year'," said Jack Howard, Executive Vice President of National Accounts at Teleflora. "Carmen's proven dedication, leadership and expertise within the floral industry, as well as within his local community has held the standard for over three generations, and is a testament to why he deserves our recognition."

Cosentino's Florist is a third-generation florist that's been serving the Auburn, New York and surrounding communities for 82 years. Carmen Cosentino grew up in his family's legacy and in 1962, he and his wife Anne Marie took over the business transitioning it from a greenhouse operation into a retail floral shop. His deep ties and many contributions serving his local community has earned Cosentino's the reputation as the "Best Florist in the Region" by its local newspaper, The Citizen for the last 16 years. Providing exceptional customer service, fresh, long-lasting flowers and top-notch service has also contributed to the shop's expanded wedding and sympathy business, and many local gala events hosted every year. Earning many industry accolades through the years, Carmen Cosentino was named to the Society of American Florist (SAF) Hall of Fame in 1998; recipient of the Professional Floral Communicators International "Tommy Bright Award" in 2008; and touted as the "Best Friend of the American Rose Grower," just to name a few. Some of his most notable floral work has been showcased in decorating the White House for two Christmases, as well as decorating the inaugurals of Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

About The Leadership Legacy of Tom Butler Tom Butler's passion for the floral industry inspired an almost 50-year career. He served as Chairman of Teleflora, Chairman of the American Floral Endowment (AFE) and was a longtime devoted advocate for the Endowment, beginning his service as a trustee in 2006. Known for possessing an unparalleled knack for fundraising and for his significant interest in expanding and improving the Endowment, Tom's commitment to giving and innovation continues within the floral industry through the Tom Butler Family Fund that helps provide funds to support The American Floral Endowment's research and grant efforts. Among his many roles and accomplishments, Tom served as the Chair of the AFE Development Committee and as a Trustee on the AFE Board; TI World President; Member of the American Academy of Florists; Professional Floral Communicators International; Society of American Florists (Past Board of Directors).

He was also a member of numerous national floral and state floral associations. Recipient of SAF's Hall of Fame Award and Paul Ecke, Jr. Award, Florida State Florists' Association Hall of Fame Award and Lifetime Achievement Award and Place in the Sun Award; Michigan State Florists' Association Award of National Industry Service; Michigan Floral Foundation Hall of Fame Award; Arkansas State Florists' Association Distinguished Service Award and Oklahoma State Florists' Hall of Fame. Tom passed away in August, 2014, after a battle with cancer. For many who knew Tom, he was considered to be the 'Chief Champion of Florists'  always there when they needed him, always understanding their issues and concerns, and always representing their cause.

About Teleflora

Teleflora brings together the time-honored tradition of sending flowers with the modern benefits of an advanced florist network. By tapping over 11,000 member florists in North America alone, Teleflora offers the kind of personal touches, artistry and expertise you expect from a trusted neighborhood floristeven if that neighborhood is across the country. No prepackaged flowers in nondescript boxes dropped on your doorstepTeleflora's network of professional florists create artistic arrangements personally delivered in a vase, often on the same day. And, with the organization's pioneering "Flowers in a Gift" Collection, the recipient gets a keepsake that turns the treasured gesture of a bouquet into a lasting memento. Luxe yet affordable, aspirational yet accessible, Teleflora makes every day an occasion. Follow Teleflora on Facebook.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411314

SOURCE Teleflora

Related Links

www.teleflora.com


Themed as "Co-operation-Key to Business Opportunities", this year's MIF will establish, for the first time, co-operation projects with partner countries and cities, with Portugal and Beijing being the first partners, to demonstrate Macao's role as a "World-class Tourism and Leisure Center" and "Business and Trade Cooperation Service Platform between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries," which can benefit businesses with its diverse economic environment. MIF will also introduce prospective partners to the exhibitors for cultivating business opportunities.

Exhibition

MIF will have Chinese cities, Europe, PCSs, and the Americas pavilions. The "Portuguese-speaking Countries' Products and Services Exhibition" will be held concurrently.

Forum/Conference

Many forums, conferences and sessions will be held, including the "World Summit of Chinese Entrepreneurs". Leaders from governments and commercial circles world-wide and global Chinese entrepreneurs will gather in Macao to discuss the development of the Asian and Global economies.

Business Matching

MIF offers business matching services. An online platform is provided to connect visiting delegations and exhibitor groups.

SMEs Co-operation

The development of SMEs is strongly supported by MIF. By inviting trade associations and enterprises worldwide, MIF helps exhibitors improve their potential.

20th MIF Review

The 20th MIF attracted nearly 110,000 visitors from over 50 countries and regions, occupying approximately 30,000 square metres with 1,900 exhibition booths. 55 forums or conferences were held.

To further promote the "Three Centres" and one "Portal", MIF established a "Portal Professional Service Suppliers' Exhibition Area". 16 professional service providers were invited to strengthen exchanges between Macao enterprises and exhibitors from PCSs.

Approximately 574 business sessions were held, with 117 enterprises from PCSs. Businesses discussed involved caterings, health products, and various kinds of services.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160921/410206

SOURCE Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM)
HONG KONG, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gone are the times when your wallet weighs more than what it should or your trouser pocket is full with left over coins from your trip. TravelersBox, the first and only solution allowing travelers to convert leftover foreign currency into usable digital currency at airports is expanding in Asia.

The company announced the launch of new kiosks in Narita International Airport in Japan that will be followed by more than 6 other airports by the end of 2016. The new kiosks are joining the already successful operation in Manila airport in the Philippines.

TravelersBox is an innovative service that helps you make the most of your leftover foreign currency. With over 75 kiosks that are located in airports around the world, travelers can convert their leftover foreign change into real digital money.

In parallel to the geographical expedition, a new series of products and services, tailored to the Asian market is launched in all of TravelersBox kiosks around the world. Baidu wallet is the first solution out of a series of offers that are created specifically for the Chinese market - the largest traveling population in the world.

"The Chinese travelers are excited to explore the world and come back home with new memories. Thanks to our collaborations with TravelersBox, they won't need to carry home their left over foreign coins. Baidu wallet will be available in the TravelersBox kiosks around the world for the benefit of our consumers," added Baidu representative.

Tomer Zussman, co-founder and CEO of TravelersBox: "Asia is a thrilling market for TravelersBox. With the high frequency of traveling from and to Asia, the range of different nationalities and currencies and the innovative environment, it's only natural for us to expand our services and collaborations there."

"TravelersBox is always looking for the best solutions for our travelers. For the Asian market we've given specific attention for each of the local travelers' nationalities. Solutions such as Nets Flash Card for Singaporeans, Lazada for the South East Asian travelers and more, will soon be available in the TravelersBox around the world," added Zussman.

TravelersBox currently operates airport kiosks in Philippines, Italy, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Canada and Japan. In each country the machines accept the local currency and other popular currencies in the area. A complete list of airports with TravelersBox kiosks can be found at www.travelersbox.com/#map.

About TravelersBox

TravelersBox is an innovative service that helps you make the most of your leftover foreign currency. With over 75 kiosks that are located in airports around the world, travelers can convert their leftover foreign change into real digital money. PayPal, Skype, iTunes, gift cards such as Gap or Starbucks are only some of the options. In addition, there is the donation button that allows travelers to donate to their preferred cause. For more information about TravelersBox, please visit http://www.travelersbox.com

For more information, please contact:

Ayana Gisser, Communications manager

+33 (0)777986259

[email protected]

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WELLESLEY, Mass., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Babson College undergraduate alumni enjoy median salary earnings of approximately $86,700 10 years after entering college, according to the new U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. This is more than double the national average of $33,800 among former undergraduates who received federal financial aid.

The U.S. Department of Education ranks Babson No. 2 among its national business program peers in terms of alumni earnings and No. 7 among all private nonprofits.

Babson College undergraduate alumni enjoy median salary earnings of approximately $86,700 10 years after entering college, according to the new U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. This is more than double the national average of $33,800 among former undergraduates who received federal financial aid.

"Babson College provides a unique and transformative experience that prepares graduates to successfully transition from college to the workplace and to hit the ground running in whatever organization they choose to join or start," said Babson College President Kerry Healey. "While we celebrate the fact that our undergraduate alumni earnings and return on investment are among the highest in the nation, we know that the value Babson alumni create goes far beyond personal, financial gain and extends to their families, companies, and society as a whole."

According to the College Scorecard, the institution enjoys a graduation rate of 91 percent compared to the national average of 42 percent, while 94 percent of students return after their first year compared to the national average of just 68 percent.

Of all the colleges in Massachusetts, Babson also is among the leaders in alumni earnings, alongside MIT and Harvard.

"The U.S. Department of Education Scorecard is further evidence of the impact of a Babson College undergraduate education and it recognizes the role our alumni have in applying the power of thinking and acting entrepreneurially in startups, some of the world's most innovative companies, and in the nonprofit and government sectors. Babson College's transformative undergraduate educational experience changes the lives of not only our alumni but also the people, businesses, and communities they come in contact with," said Babson Undergraduate School Dean Ian Lapp.

About the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

The Department of Education is committed to ensuring students and families have the information they need when considering postsecondary options to inform their decisions. The College Scorecard will continue to provide critical data elements, including the costs students can expect to pay according to their family income; their likelihood of completing with a degree at that institution; and alumni earnings 10 years after first entering the school. We are dedicated to improving the Scorecard each year so that it will become an even more useful tool.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

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SOURCE Babson College

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PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announced the 360 Oncology care management platform, the first software system designed to integrate and coordinate key elements of cancer care so patients and their cancer teams can collaborate on achieving the best outcomes. 360 Oncology brings together in a single platform, radiation, medical and surgical oncology, social services, primary care physicians, as well as the patient, to facilitate true collaborative and coordinated care.

The Varian 360 Oncology(TM) care management platform is the first software system designed to integrate and coordinate key elements of cancer care so patients and their cancer teams can collaborate on achieving the best outcomes.

"Until today, cancer care teams were challenged in trying to pull together all the relevant health information across disparate systems and specialists to make the best decisions regarding care," said Kolleen Kennedy, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "With 360 Oncology, Varian is leveraging its expertise to deliver a solution that supports the unique interoperability needs and workflows of cancer treatment centers and oncology practices, and allows efficient data driven decision making that also engages the patient in determining the best care plan."

360 Oncology offers several key features to present a dashboard view of clinical and operational data to simplify care coordination, increase patient engagement and enable more informed decisions.

Care Coordination

The increasing complexity of cancer care requires close coordination and data sharing amongst the care team. To simplify this process 360 Oncology provides a clinician portal that enables care team members to easily communicate with each other. In addition the platform allows the team to access and share data in electronic medical records (EMRs), oncology information systems for both radiation and medical oncology and other point-of-care solutions, such as PACS and lab systems, to achieve a full 360 degree view of patient data.

Patient Engagement

To increase engagement with the patient as a member of the cancer team and improve the overall experience, 360 Oncology offers a patient portal on desktop and mobile platforms that provides patients with easy access to essential information from their care team such as an appointment calendar with reminders, care team contact information, links to care resources and secure communication with their care teams. The software also enables the team to easily gather patient-reported outcomes and experiences via surveys to quickly evaluate treatment progress and identify potential changes.

Data-driven Decisions

Providing the opportunity for the care team to improve results via data-driven decisions, 360 Oncology includes several features such as a web-based multidisciplinary tumor board module that integrates all the relevant patient records, lab reports, diagnostic images, and treatment team recordkeeping tools. The platform also includes access to rapid, real-time learning systems that may help cancer teams transform clinical evidence into clinical practice.

"Varian's 360 Oncology helped us achieve our goals, by enabling the multidisciplinary teams to communicate more effectively," said Matt Hickey, director of Clinical Strategy at GenesisCare UK. "With 360 Oncology we can remotely monitor and communicate with our patients, during and beyond treatment, and the platform helps us aggregate outcome data from different sources. This provides us with timely aids to support proactive decision making, all the while keeping the patient engaged and better informed. Ultimately we now have more control on whether we achieve an appropriate outcome, even after the patient has finished treatment with us."

To learn more about 360 Oncology, visit www.varian.com/360

About Varian Medical Systems

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, focuses energy on saving lives by equipping the world with advanced technology for fighting cancer and for X-ray imaging. The company is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiation. The company provides comprehensive solutions for radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is also a premier supplier of X-ray imaging components, including tubes, digital detectors, cables and connectors as well as image processing software and workstations for use in medical and industrial settings, as well as for security and non-destructive testing. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 7,700 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com or follow us on Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statement

Except for historical information, this news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements concerning industry and market outlook, including customer demand and acceptance of products or technology; growth drivers; the ability of the company's technology and products to treat cancer or improve treatments or outcomes; and any statements using the terms "potential," "possible," "can," "could," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "integrate," "coordinate," "facilitate," "deliver," "allow," "offer," "increase," "enable," "simplify," "achieve," "provide," or similar statements are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include the ability to effectively integrate new products into the company's; demand for the company's products; the company's ability to develop, commercialize, and deploy new products; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the effect of global economic conditions; the company's ability to meet legal and regulatory requirements; changes in the legal or regulatory environment; and the other risks listed from time to time the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements in this release because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Press Contact

Mark Plungy

Varian Medical Systems

+1 (650) 424-5630

[email protected]

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SOURCE Varian Medical Systems

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BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (www.VRVCA.com) founded by HTC Corporation ('HTC'), the pioneer in innovative smart and VR technologies, and the world's top venture capital firms, successfully held the first members meeting on September 20 in Beijing, bringing together the world's leading investors of the VR space with 18 of the most innovative startups solving the most pressing issues in the VR industry.

The majority of VRVCA members attended the meeting, including renowned venture capital investors in Asia such as IDG Capital Partners, Legend Capital, Matrix Partners China, Redpoint Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. 18 VR teams from the world demonstrated their products and technologies at the meeting, 12 of them were from China and 6 were from North America. Apart from 6 game related companies, the projects demonstrated also involved 3 VR content, 3 enterprise software and 6 hardware/technologies, which are currently the most popular areas.

Among all 18 attending teams, 10 of them were top applicants from a pool of approximately 600 applications globally, and 8 teams were selected from the first batch of 33 Vive X companies. As an integral component of VRVCA, the Vive X Global VR Accelerator Program (www.vive.com/cn/vivex) is funded by HTC with more than US$100 million to help cultivate, foster and grow the global VR ecosystem. Teams interested in applying for Vive X Batch-2 are advised that applications will open in November 2016. Vive X hopes to attract more of the world's best VR startups as it plans to expand to more locations in Asia Pacific and Europe in 2017.

The VRVCA itself is an innovation in the investment industry by creating a cooperative working model between so many top investors, targeted at accelerating growth of the rising VR industry. VRVCA will foster long-term growth in the VR industry through identifying, sharing and investing in the world's most innovative and impactful VR technology and content companies, and bring in capital to help them with actual commercialization and fast track them on a path to profitability.

"The feedback from the VRVCA members who attended have all been extremely positive. They said the breadth and quality of the teams were the best they have seen at any such event in the industry," said Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of Vive, HTC, "The selected teams are solving real industry issues with truly innovative solutions or compelling content. I would not be surprised if most of these firms close their new round of funding before the next VRVCA meeting in November."

"The first VRVCA Meeting brought quite a few high-quality deals with exciting demos and the problems these companies are tackling are hitting the real industry needs," said James Zhang, Executive Director of Shanda Group.

"Congratulations to Alvin and the VRVCA team for bringing VR technologies one step closer to reality. It is our greatest honor to be part of the alliance, and we are looking forward to participating in the San Francisco meeting ahead," said Edward Liu, Partner at WI Harper.

"Three months ago I tried Vive for the first time at their Beijing office, and I believed VR was a new world that we can do lots of fun with. Three months later, I come to this building again with a recognized product and become the first batch of VRVCA participants. It is a dream come true to talk with the top investors and startups from all over the world," said Crystal Li, CEO of Light Digital.

Nikhil Jain, Co-founder and CEO of ObEN, Gabriele Sorrento, Mindesk CEO, and many other leaders of the teams expressed their excitement of becoming part of the Vive ecosystem, hoping to achieve even better success, through the investment as well as technical platforms built by HTC Vive.

VRVCA currently comprises of 37 top investors in the world representing more than US$12 billion of total investible capital for VR projects around the world to accelerate the entrepreneurship and innovation in the global VR industry. In the future as the VRVCA membership grows together with its total investible capital, the investment opportunities it offers to startups will increase substantially. Those interested in pitching at the next VRVCA meetings in San Francisco in November 2016 can apply through the website (http://www.vrvca.com/submit).

About the Vive Virtual Reality System

Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality system developed in partnership by HTC and Valve. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, Vive allows true-to-life interactions and experiences thanks to an adjustable headset displaying stunning graphics, two wireless controllers with HD haptic feedback and 360 absolute motion tracking. For a convenient and safe experience, Vive incorporates essential functionality from your phone and features a front facing camera that blends physical elements into the virtual world. Working in concert, this system immerses you visually, physically and emotionally in the virtual world. For more information on Vive, please visit www.vive.com.

About HTC

HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile and virtual reality devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones, and is now leading the VR industry with the Vive line of products. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com.

SOURCE HTC Vive

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BROOMFIELD, Colo., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Webroot, the market leader in next-generation endpoint security and cloud-based collective threat intelligence, today announced that Webroot senior threat research analyst Tyler Moffitt and channel account manager Brian Coffey will speak at Navigate 2016 by Continuum. Webroot is the Titanium sponsor of the event, which will take place Sept. 28-30 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, Mass.

"Navigate by Continuum is an essential event for the managed service provider ['MSP'] community," said Charlie Tomeo, vice president of channel and technical sales at Webroot. "The conference is a unique opportunity to join thousands of MSP representatives to discuss the latest industry trends and build knowledge of Continuum's solutions. We look forward to sharing our latest findings on how MSPs can start and expand profitable businesses in cybersecurity."

Highlights of Webroot's participation at Navigate by Continuum include:

Speaking Session: "The Ransomware (R)evolution"  On Thursday, Sept. 29 at 3:15 p.m. ET in room Waterfront 1-2, Webroot senior threat research analyst Tyler Moffitt will host a session on the evolution of ransomware. Moffitt will provide an in-depth analysis of the modern threat landscape, discuss the shortcomings of traditional antivirus and examine ways organizations can reduce their exposure to ransomware.

 On at in room Waterfront 1-2, Webroot senior threat research analyst will host a session on the evolution of ransomware. Moffitt will provide an in-depth analysis of the modern threat landscape, discuss the shortcomings of traditional antivirus and examine ways organizations can reduce their exposure to ransomware. Panel Discussion: "Emerging MSP Opportunities in IoT, DevOps, Security & Public Cloud Workloads"  On Thursday, Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. ET in room Waterfront 1-2, Webroot channel account manager Brian Coffey will participate in a panel on emerging opportunities for MSPs. Joined by ChannelE2E content czar Joe Panettieri and other industry experts, the panel will discuss IoT trends, DevOps opportunities, and new ways to monetize public cloud workloads. This session will include open microphones for attendees to pose their most pressing questions.

 On at in room Waterfront 1-2, Webroot channel account manager will participate in a panel on emerging opportunities for MSPs. Joined by ChannelE2E content czar and other industry experts, the panel will discuss IoT trends, DevOps opportunities, and new ways to monetize public cloud workloads. This session will include open microphones for attendees to pose their most pressing questions. Keynote Sponsorship  Webroot is the exclusive sponsor of one of the conference's keynote sessions by basketball legend, broadcaster and humanitarian Bill Walton . Walton will present his keynote, "Success and Overcoming Adversity," and will make an appearance at Webroot's booth, #226, on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 5:15-6:15 p.m. ET .

 Webroot is the exclusive sponsor of one of the conference's keynote sessions by basketball legend, broadcaster and humanitarian . Walton will present his keynote, "Success and Overcoming Adversity," and will make an appearance at Webroot's booth, #226, on from . Evening Event  On Thursday, Sept. 29 from 7-10 p.m. ET , Webroot will be the sole sponsor of an evening event at Jillian's and Lucky Strike Lanes, which is free and open to all Navigate attendees. Bill Walton will also attend the event.

In 2015, Webroot and Continuum announced a partnership to deliver smarter, faster and more effective cybersecurity. Continuum bundles Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection into its Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform, enabling MSPs to deploy and manage endpoint security across multiple domains, devices, customers and offices from a single console. For more information on Webroot's integration with Continuum, as well as Webroot's other product offerings, visit their booth #226 during the show.

Webroot SecureAnywhere is a registered trademark of Webroot Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Join the conversation and view live coverage of Navigate by Continuum by following Webroot activity on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

About Webroot

Webroot delivers next-generation endpoint security and threat intelligence services to protect businesses and individuals around the globe. Our smarter approach harnesses the power of cloud-based collective threat intelligence derived from millions of operational devices to stop threats in real time and help secure the connected world. Our award-winning SecureAnywhere endpoint solutions and BrightCloud Threat Intelligence Services protect tens of millions of devices across businesses, home users, and the Internet of Things. Trusted and integrated by market-leading companies, including Cisco, F5 Networks, Aruba, Palo Alto Networks, A10 Networks, and more, Webroot is headquartered in Colorado and operates globally across North America, Europe, and Asia. Discover Smarter Cybersecurity solutions at www.webroot.com.

Social Media: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook

2016 Webroot Inc. All rights reserved. Webroot, SecureAnywhere, Webroot SecureAnywhere, BrightCloud, and Smarter Cybersecurity are trademarks or registered trademarks of Webroot Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

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NEPTUNE, N.J., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WorkWave, a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for the field service and "last mile" delivery industries, today announced it has achieved EU-U.S. Privacy Shield certification listing with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

WorkWave serves thousands of businesses across the globe and its early adoption of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework underscores WorkWave's commitment to protect the privacy and data of its customers and to the cross border privacy and data security principles of the United States and Europe.

"Protecting the privacy and confidential data of our customers is of the utmost importance at WorkWave, and we are very proud to be among the first companies in the United States to have been accepted to the Department of Commerce list of certifying companies under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield," said Chris Sullens, WorkWave president & CEO. "As the market leader in the verticals we serve, we are proud to be the first among our competitors to meet this rigorous standard. At WorkWave, we place incredible value on the trust our clients put in us and our products, and we continually strive to earn that trust in all that we do."

WorkWave worked with TRUSTe to review and verify that its data privacy management practices meet the requirements of the new Privacy Shield framework. TRUSTe followed a three step process of (I) review and analysis of WorkWave's privacy policies and procedures utilizing its robust Assessment Manager technology, (II) reporting and making recommendations with respect to its findings and (III) reviewing implemented actions. TRUSTe will also provide WorkWave with independent dispute resolution services required under the Privacy Shield to address privacy related questions from users, and to provide ongoing access to privacy guidance through the TRUSTe Global Privacy Solutions team.

"Completing the certification process reflects our commitment to complying with complex and evolving domestic and international laws and regulations relating to privacy," said Perry Pappas, SVP, GC and chief compliance officer of WorkWave. "Working with TRUSTe was an integral part of this process as they evaluated our policies, practices and procedures, assessed areas required for compliance with the new Privacy Shield requirements, made applicable recommendations, and reviewed our implemented changes. TRUSTe's practical, responsive and hands-on guidance throughout the process was critical in achieving this result."

TRUSTe CEO, Chris Babel, stated, "We believe a strong data privacy management program is critical for companies to build customer trust and ensure privacy compliance. TRUSTe has partnered with WorkWave to help ensure they meet all of the relevant certification requirements and can demonstrate their privacy commitment to users, partners, and regulators. We are proud to have the opportunity to assist early adopters of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield like WorkWave."



About WorkWave

WorkWave is a fast-growing leader in field service and "last mile" delivery software  a $45+ billion market worldwide. The company connects all aspects of its clients' businesses through its tightly integrated, mobile-first suite of software solutions, which include PestPac, WorkWave Service, ServiceCEO, WorkWave Route Manager, WorkWave GPS, WorkWave Marketing and ContactUs. WorkWave's solutions provide its 9,000+ clients with an unprecedented level of business insight and information, enabling them to increase revenue per employee and provide a five-star customer experience. Founded in 1984, WorkWave has been recognized with multiple awards for its outstanding growth and culture, including the Inc. 5000, SmartCEO Future 50, and Best Places to Work in New Jersey. For more information, visit www.workwave.com.

About TRUSTe

TRUSTe powers privacy compliance and trust by enabling businesses to use data across their customer, employee and vendor channels. TRUSTe had nearly 20 years' experience and a team of over 150 professionals dedicated to providing data privacy management solutions and services, including assessments, certifications and our SaaS-based Platform. The Data Privacy Management Platform provides control over all phases of privacy; from conducting assessments and implementing compliance controls to managing ongoing monitoring. Companies worldwide rely on TRUSTe to minimize compliance risk and protect their brand. For further information visit www.truste.com.

Contact

Danielle Panichi Email

[email protected] Phone

800-792-6067 Website

https://www.workwave.com





Agency

Contact

Rachel Talaska [email protected] 248-304-1465

SOURCE WorkWave

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ABUJA, Nigeria, September 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

A research report has revealed that low productivity of workers rather than the availability of personnel or geographical structures are the factors responsible for poor service delivery in Nigeria's education and health sectors.

From left: Mr Obadia Miroro, Assistant Knowledge Manager at African Economic Research Consortium (AERC); Prof. Victor Adeyeye, Acting Director General of the Nigeria Social and Economic Research Institute (NISER); Dr (Mrs) Opeyemi Fadeyibi, Service Delivery Indicators Field Coordinator at The World Bank; Wilson Wasike, Manager Collaborative Research AERC; and Dr Adebayo Ajala, Social and Governance Policy Research Department at NISER, at the media workshop on Service Delivery Indicators in Abuja,on Thursday (PRNewsFoto/Cihan Group)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411584 )

While appealing for increased spending, the study, which was conducted by the World Bank in partnership with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and the African Development Bank Group (ADB), suggested improved services to address the identified issues.

At a two-day workshop with the media and civil society organisations in Abuja, which was organised by AERC and the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Dr Opeyemi Fadeyibi, Service Delivery Indicators Field Coordinator at the World Bank, said: "Low productivity of workers may be attributed to several causes including low levels of technical knowledge required to deliver services, low levels of provider effort, lack of motivation to work and absence of necessary input to deliver services."

The overall objective of the SDI project is to gauge the quality of service delivery in primary education and basic health services and to provide a set of robust measures for benchmarking service delivery performance in Africa. It is expected that this will enable the governments and citizens identify gaps and to track progress over time. It is envisaged that the high public awareness and persistent focus on these indicators will mobilise policymakers, citizens, service providers and donors to ensure and enforce accountability along the service delivery value chains.

The workshop was organised to create high level public awareness about the state of quality of service delivery in health and education sectors in Nigeria in order to sensitise the media and civil society organisations to support the process of bringing about positive change in service delivery performance and possible policy actions for better quality service delivery in the two critical sectors.

The education survey was conducted in four states - Anambra, Ekiti, Niger and Bauchi - with data collected in June 2013. It focused on primary schools, teachers and publics, while the Federal Ministry of Education assisted the World Bank in the exercise.

The result revealed that school absence rate was 13.7 per cent in the entire sample area with public schools recording 16.9 per cent absence rate as against 5.5 per cent for private schools. Reasons for absence by the teachers included field trip (25.7 per cent), illness (19.9%), retrieving salary (10.2 per cent) and maternity leave (9.2 per cent).

In the area of teacher competence, only 36.8 per cent of the surveyed teachers were found competent in Mathematics and another 46.3 per cent in English Language, while a mere 15.3 per cent demonstrated ability in pedagogy.

The health sector survey was conducted between June 2013 and January 2014 in 12 states with a random selection of two states for each of the six geo-political zones. These are: Osun, Ekiti, Anambra, Imo, Bayelsa, Cross River, Kebbi, Kaduna, Bauchi, Taraba, Nasarawa and Kogi States. The Federal Ministry of Health assisted the World Bank to conduct the survey which focused on primary health care, secondary facilities, health care providers and end users of health care.

The study revealed that only 19.8 per cent of the sample area professionals with ability to manage maternal and newborn complication. Specifically, there were 33.2 percent medical doctors across the sample area, 23.9 per cent nurses or midwifes, 13.6 per cent community health workers and 12.4 per cent other professionals.

For availability of drugs, health posts had 46.9 per cent, 47.3 per cent for health centres and 63 per cent in the hospitals, while hospitals scored only 1.8 per cent of vaccines.

AERC stated that availability of infrastructure such as toilets, clean water and electricity was a key challenge, especially the availability of improved toilets, which stands at merely 34 per cent of health facilities.

Mr Obadia Miroro, Assistant Knowledge Manager at AERC, said that about 51 per cent of health facilities had met the minimum medical equipment requirements, which included a thermometer, any weighing scale, sphygmomanometer, stethoscope for health posts, and additionally sterilising equipment and a refrigerator for health centres and hospitals. Health facilities, on average, had 49 percent of all essential drugs available at time of the survey.

For more information on the SDI http://www.sdindicators.org/

Should you have any questions or feedback, please contact:

The Executive Director

African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)

Middle East Bank Towers, 3rd Floor, Jakaya Kikwete Road

Tel: (254-20) 273-4150 / 273-4157;

Fax: (254-20) 273-4173

[email protected], [email protected]

http://www.aercafrica.org

@AERCAFRICA

SOURCE African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- When Helen Keller stepped onto the stage at the Lions Clubs International conference in Cedar Point, Ohio on June 30, 1925, the now-legendary deaf and blind advocate for the blind, delivered a speech that called upon the attendees to eradicate blindness by becoming "Knights of the Blind" in the crusade against darkness. The Lions Club members she addressed accepted that challenge and focused their efforts to help the blind and visually impaired from that day forward.

By the early 1990s, Lions Clubs International attacked the vision challenge in a big way, creating the SightFirst campaign, organized worldwide and successfully raising $140 million to address vision diseases that are either curable or preventable. Then, following that major achievement, Lions Clubs International launched SightFirst II in 2002 and raised another $200 million with the same objectives. Now, 91 years after Helen Keller's call for a "Knights of the Blind," the focus has shifted to the prevention of blindness while there is still time.

"In the United States, an estimated 625,000 children from the ages of six months to six years old have risk factors for amblyopia or lazy eye," said Dr. Edward Cordes, an optometrist who served as Chairman of the SUNY College Of Optometry College Council. "In addition, there are other kids who don't have those risk factors, but have other vision disorders that need to be corrected early in order to give them a chance of reaching their best potential in their educational environment. It's well known that 80 percent of what a child learns comes through their vision. So if their vision is inhibited, then their education is inhibited."

The challenge for the Lions Clubs and Dr. Cordes, a Lions Club member since 1976 and a former Lions Clubs International Director, is to identify those children with vision disorders among the 12.5 million between the ages of six months and six years old. Fortunately, the introduction of instrument-based vision screening devices over the past decade is helping the Lions Clubs to quickly and accurately identify these children.

In 2013 the World Health Organization established World Sight Day, an annual vision health awareness day held on the second Thursday of October, devoted to focusing global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year to celebrate World Sight Day, Lions Clubs International board members from countries around the world will gather in Nashville to share their experiences. Dr. Cordes has been invited to attend this meeting and will share his approach to organizing large vision screening campaigns. In addition, Dr. Cordes will lead a hands-on training for international board members, using state-of-the-art vision screening devices at seven schools with pre-school and kindergarten students.

"They will see very quickly how easy these instruments are to operate," said Dr. Cordes, who has been giving speeches to Lions Clubs across the country promoting the use of instrument-based vision screening. "We can go into a school with properly trained Lions Club members and easily screen 40 children in an hour. There is no way you can do that with visual acuity testing, using the eye chart. It just takes too long and is not as accurate."

As Lions Clubs continue to help identify children with vision disorders before it's too late, educating parents about the importance of having their children screened early remains a priority.

"I sincerely believe we are making a difference by giving these kids a good shot at achieving their potential in their youth," said Dr. Cordes. "And because they will have the vision to gain a solid educational foundation, they can go on to become the most productive adults they can be."

About Lions Clubs

Lions Clubs International is the largest service club organization in the world. There are 1.4 million members in more than 46,000 clubs who provide humanitarian service in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the globe. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired, championed youth initiatives and strengthened communities through hands-on service and humanitarian projects. For more information, visit www.lionsclubs.org

About Plusoptix

Plusoptix is a global company dedicated to developing and providing the most accurate instrument-based vision screening devices in the world. Plusoptix award-winning vision screening devices have been recognized for outstanding child-friendly product design. Since 2007, the company has served North American customers from its sales and service center in Atlanta, Georgia. More information is available at www.plusoptix.com.

SOURCE Plusoptix

Related Links

http://www.plusoptix.com


A milestone for the industry and the city, this is the first collaborative project from Marriott International's AC Hotels and Le Meridien brands following the merger with Starwood Hotels & Resorts which completed Friday, September 23.

Welcoming guests to the event, Rachel Benedick, Vice President of Sales and Services for Visit Denver, remarked, "It is a distinct honor when brands like AC Hotels, Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts and White Lodging choose to embark on a project like this in our city. It demonstrates that Denver is ready to be  already is  an internationally renowned city with brands that global travelers have come to expect in elite metropolitan areas.

Tami Door, President and CEO for the Downtown Denver Partnership said, "Hotel projects like this are forging new frontiers in the global hospitality industry and we are proud that Downtown Denver was chosen as the home for this investment. This project reflects the strength of our market which has seen annual growth over the past five years."

When complete, the dual hotels will add 495 guestrooms, 12,000 square feet of meeting space and four dining outlets, including Denver's highest open-air rooftop bar on the 20th floor, and destination dining from a Michelin-star restaurant group.

Dual General Manager Paul Eckert commented, "Denver has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years, becoming a world-class destination, where demand is strong for two world-class lifestyle hotel offerings unlike anything the city has seen before. We're honored to be able to steward the introduction of two truly experiential brands and a different level of hospitality to the city."

Le Meridien Denver will feature 272 luxurious rooms along with a full-service restaurant, 24-hour fitness facility, business centre, and Le Meridien Hub experience, which transforms the traditional lobby into thoughtfully-design space that brings creative and curious-minded guests and locals together over the brand's signature eclairs and coffee programme curated by the hotel's creative Master Barista. The impressive full glass building facade will welcome guests with the entrance on California Street. Art and design will immediately provide an element of discovery throughout the public spaces, while the destination of Denver will be woven into the fabric of the interior design throughout the hotel.

Newly introduced to the U.S., the AC Hotels by Marriott property will be the lifestyle brand's first to open in Denver. The brand is known to celebrate the beauty of classic-modern design marrying sophisticated European style with approachable design for a distinctly urban feel, and often featuring simple, clean and crisp lines, The AC Hotel Denver Downtown will have unique elements, which will embody the character of the city and enhance the guests' experience of the destination. The hotel will feature a full brick facade with its entrance and lobby on 15th Street.

"We are delighted to expand our partnership with White Lodging to introduce Le Meridien to Denver in 2017," said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts. "We have made significant investments to develop the brand, which connects with guests through the art, culture and cuisine in key cities around the world. We think these passion points are sure to resonate with Denver visitors and local residents alike."

"We are proud to bring AC Hotels' European soul, modern design and entrepreneurial spirit to Denver, we look forward to being an integral part of the Mile-High City's cultural fabric," said Benoit Racle, Global Brand Director, AC Hotels. "Our rapidly growing portfolio of design-led hotels illustrates Marriott International's commitment to making distinctive architecture and design affordable and accessible for creatives and entrepreneurial spirits around the world."

More than 100 guests enjoyed a downtown street fair featuring products from local distilleries, wineries, breweries, beekeepers, celebrated the hotel's Denver spirit; French and Spanish food trucks gave a nod to the two brands' European heritage while the ceremonial last beam was placed.

About White Lodging:

White Lodging Services Corporation was established in 1985 and is headquartered in Merrillville, IN. White Lodging is a fuly integrated hotel ownership, development and operations company focused on developing and operating premium-branded hotels in growing urban markets across the United States. The company is a recognized leader that has defined and cultivated the ability to achieve consistent, sustainable growth among mid- to large-scale hotels. White Lodging has developed over 125 premium branded hotels over the last 25 years and its current managed portfolio consists of 165 hotels in 19 states including representation of the following leading brands: Marriott International, Inc., Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Global, Preferred Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotel Group. For more information about White Lodging, please visit www.whitelodging.com.

About Le Meridien

With more than 100 Hotels & Resorts worldwide and the strongest, most globally diverse portfolio in its history, the Paris-born Le Meridien brand connects the curious and creative-minded traveller to unexpected and engaging experiences within their destination. With its brand promise of "Destination Unlocked," Le Meridien has transformed numerous guest touch points through global partnerships with creative minds such as illy, Johnny Iuzzini, Gray Malin, and Nouvelle Vague. Plans call for dynamic portfolio expansion within the next five years in some of the world's most exciting destinations, concentrating on markets in Asia-Pacific and the Americas. For more information, please visit LeMeridien.com or follow us on social media  Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

About AC Hotels by Marriott

AC Hotels by Marriott, a lifestyle brand that celebrates a new way to hotel complemented by a European soul and Spanish roots, boasts more than 90 design-led hotels in Brazil, Denmark, Italy, France, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. Design-driven AC Hotels edit away the unnecessary to remove friction, providing thoughtfully designed moments of beauty, allowing guests to focus on what's important to them. Property highlights include high-design guest rooms and public spaces with sleek furnishings and intuitive technology features. For more information, visit ac-hotels.com.

For more information, visit http://achotels.marriott.com.

Instagram: @achotels

Facebook: facebook.com/achotels

Twitter: @achotels

Media Contacts:

Kathleen Quilligan Sebastian

White Lodging

E: [email protected]

T: 219-472-2861

Laura Pettitt

Turner PR

E: [email protected]

T: 303-824-0008

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411819

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120210/DE51498LOGO

SOURCE White Lodging

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BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. ("Xinyuan" or "the Company") (NYSE: XIN), an NYSE-listed real estate developer and property manager primarily in China and recently in other countries, today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Ms. Helen Zhang, previously an assistant president, as the Company's new Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Huaiyu "George" Liu will no longer serve as the Company's Chief Financial Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Liu's resignation was not the result of any disagreement with the Company with respect to the Company's financial or accounting practices.

Ms. Zhang has been working for the Company for over seven years and has held a number of senior level roles with Xinyuan. She has nearly two decades of experience in accounting, finance and investor relations having worked for companies with public listings in mainland China, Hong Kong and the United States. Her career encompasses working at China National Metals & Minerals Import & Export Corp.; China Netcom Group Company Ltd.; TechFaith Wireless Technology Ltd.; Baidu, Inc. and Sohu.com Inc. Ms. Zhang received her Bachelor in Economics from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China and her MBA at Fordham University in 2001.

Mr. Yong Zhang, Chairman of Xinyuan, commented, "Helen has made significant contributions to Xinyuan as Financial Controller, interim CFO, Board Secretary and Assistant President over the past several years and we believe she is well positioned to move into the CFO role immediately. We look forward to her contributions as we continue to scale our operations in China and overseas."

"On behalf of the Company, I would like to thank Mr. George Liu for his contributions to Xinyuan over the past year and a half during which Xinyuan has experienced rapid development. We wish him well in his future endeavors."

About Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. ("Xinyuan") is an NYSE-listed real estate developer and property manager primarily in China and recently in other countries. In China, the Company develops and manages large scale, high quality real estate projects in over ten tier one and tier two cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Xi'an, Suzhou, among others. Xinyuan was one of the first Chinese real estate developers to enter the U.S. market and over the past few years has been active in real estate development in New York. The Company aims to provide comfortable and convenient real estate related products and services to middle-class consumers. For more information, please visit http://www.xyre.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements includes statements about estimated financial performance, sales performance and activity, among others and can generally be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical statements are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated, including, but not limited to, our ability to continue to implement our business model successfully; our ability to secure adequate financing for our project development; our ability to successfully sell or complete our property projects under construction and planning; our ability to enter into new geographic markets and expand our operations into new operational areas/activities; the marketing and sales ability of our third-party sales agents; the performance of our third-party contractors; the impact of laws, regulations and policies relating to real estate developers and the real estate industry in the countries in which we operate; our ability to obtain permits and licenses to carry on our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; competition from other real estate developers; the growth of the real estate industry in the markets in which we operate; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in the markets in which we operate; and other risks outlined in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statement is made.

For more information, please contact:

In China:

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Ms. May Shen

Investor Relations Director

Tel: +86 (10) 8588-9376

Email: [email protected]

ICR, LLC

Investors:

William Zima

In U.S.: +1-646-308-1472

In China: +86 (10) 6583 7511

Email: [email protected]

Media:

Edmond Lococo

In China: +86 (10) 6583-7510

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.xyre.com


"I wrote my story because I have become acutely aware that this journey is so much bigger than track," writes Richards-Ross. "Every lesson I learned was not just for me to become a better runner; they were intended to make me a better person. I now see that every victory and every loss only clarifies God's lens and produces a life captured in a perfect photo finish."

"After hearing Sanya share, we knew this was a story we wanted to tell," said Carolyn McCready, Executive Editor." Sanya is committed to using her story, full of life-changing wins and crippling defeats, to inspire readers to believe all things are possible."

Richards-Ross will also write a book for ages 8-12 that releases in August 2017. This book shares stories of her incredible running career as well as key messages of faith, focus and following your dreams. Zondervan plans to release a young adult nonfiction book in 2018 that will offer advice to teens based on Richards-Ross's personal story, focusing especially on achieving your goals, standing out from the crowd and owning your identity.

About Sanya Richards-Ross

Sanya Richards-Ross is the fastest American woman in history in the 400m. Surging past her competitors in the last 50 meters of the London 2012 race, Richards-Ross dramatically claimed her title as the world's best in the quarter mile.

Off the track, Richards-Ross is an entrepreneur, TV personality, public speaker and humanitarian. She is also the founder of the Sanya Richards-Ross Fast Track Program which has provided hundreds of children in Kingston, Jamaica with literacy training, physical education and healthy meals.

Zondervan is a world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications. Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/411751

SOURCE Zondervan

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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Washington, Sep 24 : US Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are preparing for what may turn out to be the most important 90 minutes of American political history, set to unfold on Monday.

Republican Trump and Democrat Clinton will face off for the first time in the first of three scheduled presidential debates on Monday at the Hofstra University on Long Island, New York.

According to analysts, this debate could turn out to be the most watched events in television history with an audience expected to exceed 100 million. It could beat a record set in 1980 when 80 million Americans watched Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan battle it out, CBS News reported.

Trump has began preparations in earnest on Friday when he finally broke from his hectic campaign schedule for a day without any public or private events so he could focus on his presentation for the 90-minute event that will begin at 9 p.m., with no commercial interruptions, the Guardian reported.

Clinton, in contrast, has spent most of this week with close aides at her Dutch colonial home in Chappaqua, a hamlet north of New York city.

According to sources, Trump has been watching videos of Clinton's best and worst debate moments, looking for her vulnerabilities, the New York Times said.

The analysts have said that the two candidates were taking vastly different approaches and their divergent strategies revealed how the two and their campaigns see the race, their strengths and their opponents' weaknesses.

Clinton's campaign has revealed that advisors to the former first lady were hurling a host of 'Trumpian' assaults and counter attacks at her to test her responses and adjust them as needed.

Clinton is eager to play offense and try to get under his skin, by doing things like calling him "Donald" and questioning his net worth, the New York Times quoted campaign officials as saying.

"I'll tell you I am going to do my very best to communicate as clearly and fearlessly as I can in the face of the insults and the attacks and the bullying and bigotry that we've seen coming from my opponent," she said during a radio interview earlier this week.

Trump's campaign does not want to fill his head with facts and figures, but instead, they want him to practice staying focused on bigger themes, such as jobs, terrorism, protecting the homeland and closing borders, rather than picking fights on side issues.

Working on her strategy, Clinton and her advisers have written out dozens of answers, and has tested some attack lines on the campaign trail to see what might work in the debate.

If Trump expresses admiration for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, she is prepared to evoke the hero of the Republican Party: "What would Ronald Reagan say about a Republican nominee who attacks American generals and heaps praise on Russia's president?" as she recently said.

Trump's main strategy during debates is often to attack and insult opponents, the analysts said.

He may tend to belittle Clinton to the point of rudeness when he is speaking off the cuff, such as by making fun of her for recuperating from her recent pneumonia, the New York Times noted.

However, Trump has promised a clean fight in which he will treat Clinton with "respect" and not bring up her husband Bill's past sexual indiscretions, the Guardian reported.

"I don't think I'm looking to do that," he told Fox News. "I don't know what I'm going to do exactly. It depends on what level she hits you with, if she's fair, if it's unfair, but certainly I'm not looking to do that."

Clinton is expected to conduct at least one mock debate over the weekend, whereas Trump will not do a full-length mock debate, according to their campaign officials.

The aim of these debates is to get a clear-cut understanding of how do the candidates differ from each other on all the issues that will be thrown at them.

The debate will be divided into six 15-minute time segments that begin with with a question, NBC News reported.

Each candidate gets two minutes to respond to the question, and then they can respond to each other. Whatever time is left the moderator can use to ask more questions or allow more debate.

Moderators can extend sections to make sure both candidates get equal speaking time.

The vice presidential debate is similar, but there's nine sections, each ten minutes long.

The moderator for Monday's debate is Lester Holt, a journalist with a decades-long career, first at CBS, and since 2000 at NBC News.

This debate will be followed by Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia between Democrat's Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence on October 4.

The second Presidential Debate will be at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on October 9. The third and final Presidential Debate will be at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 19.

Just like the election, Clinton is seen by some strategists as having a slight edge in the debate, but it is really not clear which way it will go. The latest NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll gives Clinton a 6 point lead, 43 per cent to Trump's 37 per cent, among likely voters.
United Nations, Sep 26 : The US ambassador to the UN has accused Russia of "barbarism" over the bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

According to the BBC, at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Samantha Power said Russia had told the council outright lies about its conduct in Syria.

She said Russia and the Syrian regime were "laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city".

Russia said Syrian forces were trying to remove terrorists from Aleppo while harming as few citizens as possible.

Ambassador Vitaly Churkin did not say Russian forces were involved. But he said that bringing peace to Syria was "almost an impossible task now". He also accused opposition armed groups of sabotaging the ceasefire.

The northern city of Aleppo has become a key battleground in Syria's bloody five-year civil war.

Power told the meeting that Russia, which is supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had "long had the power to stop this suffering".

"Instead of peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of getting life-saving aid to Syrians, Russia and Assad are bombing hospitals and first responders," the BBC quoted Power as saying.

She accused Russia of preparing air strikes against eastern Aleppo even at the very moment its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was telling the UN that Russia was committed to a peaceful solution.

Power went on to call on the council to "have the courage to say who is responsible and tell Russia with one voice to stop".

Several representatives at the meeting suggested Russia may have committed a war crime over the bombing of a humanitarian convoy near Aleppo on last Monday.

Russia has denied carrying out the attack, which destroyed 18 of 31 aid trucks. It has said that rebel shelling or a US drone were responsible.

Russia has not admitted to bombing Aleppo since the end of the recent ceasefire, the BBC added.

The UN meeting, requested by the US, UK, and France, follows an intensification of the bombing campaign over Aleppo.

UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said at least 213 civilians had been killed since the offensive began, many of them women and children. He said the conflict had reached "new heights of horror".

Hours after the end of a week-long cessation of hostilities on Monday, the Syrian regime declared a new offensive against eastern Aleppo and jets began pounding the area, where 275,000 people are trapped.
Guwahati, Sep 26 : Borbhuin Chetia village in Assam's Sivsagar district could well be mistaken for an open-air zoo, what with large numbers of hornbills flying around and happily pecking away at the fruit on the trees the residents have very thoughtfully planted for them. Not surprisingly, it's even won a green award.

"The hornbills have been living in our village for the last several years. At present there are about 20 of them. They have become a part of the daily lives of the villagers and everyone is engaged in conservation of the bird colony," said Mridul Burhagohain, a journalist and nature lover.

Nested on a banyan tree near the Demou river that flows by the village, the hornbill colony has become a tourist attraction of sorts with large numbers of people, particularly bird watchers and nature lovers, visiting at different times of the year just to see the birds.

"Assam Bondhu, an NGO, had carried out awareness campaigns about the hornbills a few years back among the villagers and that worked. The people came forward on their own and it became a successful project," Burhagohain said while adding that the people of the village have planted banana and papaya trees in their backyards so that the birds are not short of food. Occasionally, he said, the villagers also offer meat to the hornbills.

"The hornbills can fly around without any fear in the village. They eat the fruits on the trees generously planted by the villagers. The village has also become an example for many others in adjoining areas," he said, adding that many a time, the villagers had also treated injured birds and released them later.

"Sometimes, the hornbills are injured by strong winds and during heavy monsoons. There are several instances when we have seen the villagers rescuing the injured hornbills and releasing them after giving them first aid," said Surjya Kumar Chetia, a youth of the village who teaches at the Women's University at Jorhat.

"The village has also been frequently visited by people from different places to see the hornbills atop the banyan tree. Bird watchers, as well as students from different universities, also visit the village to study the conservation efforts undertaken by the villagers, which is very unique," Chetia added.

He said that the village and its people were recently conferred the prestigious "Homen Borgohain Green Award" for their efforts towards conserving the hornbills, adding this would encourage them to do even more.

The example set by these villagers in Assam assumes significance considering a recent incident where two medical college students of Chennai had thrown a puppy from atop a building just for "fun" and recorded the whole incident. Even worse, some children had burnt alive three puppies in Hyderabad, repeatedly pushing them back as they tried to escape.

(Aditya Baruah an be contacted at aditya.assam@rediffmail.com )
Washington, Sep 26 : Donald P. Gregg, national security advisor to George H.W. Bush during his tenure as vice president, has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, saying she would make an "extremely good president".

"We now have a person at the top of the Republican ticket who I believe is dangerous, doesn't understand the complex world we live in, doesn't care to, and is without any moral or international philosophy," Gregg said in a statement on Sunday.

"I've met Hillary Clinton a number of times and followed her career in public service. I'm impressed with her knowledge and experience. She would make an extremely good president."

Gregg, 88, served as Bush's national security adviser from 1982 to 1989 and was part of late President Reagan's administration for eight years. He was ambassador to South Korea from 1989 to 1993.

George H.W. Bush was also voting for Clinton, it was revealed last week by Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, the former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.

Bush's national security advisor during his presidency, Brent Scowcroft (1989-1993), has also endorsed Clinton.
Ranchi, Sep 26 : The shocking photograph of a mentally-challenged patient, Munni Devi, being served meals on the floor at a local hospital here has once again brought to the fore the dismal state of Jharkhand's healthcare system -- despite all the tall developmental talk by the state's BJP government.

When a newspaper carried the photograph, the Jharkhand High Court took suo motu cognizance, converted it into public interest litigation (PIL) and has now served notice on the state government.

The Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS), where the incident took place, was last week witness to the bizarre sight of a staff member throwing milk in the face of a patient while serving a meal.

And it was only 10 days ago that a woman had to deliver baby by the roadside in Jharkhand's Latehar district.

Although there are three prominent medical college and hospitals in Jharkhand -- RIMS, Ranchi; MGM Medical College & Hospital, Jamshedpur; and Patliputra Medical College & Hospital, Dhanbad -- RIMS is the only one that caters to critical patients.

Not a single new hospital has been opened since the creation of the state in 2000, though its population has surged by over five million between 2001 and 2011.

The apathy of the successive state governments can be gauged from the fact that although the building of a 500-bed hospital in Ranchi was completed five years ago, the government has failed to kick-start medial services there.

The condition of medical education is equally pathetic in Jharkhand, with not a single new college opening in the last 15 years and no addition of seats to the existing colleges since long. Similarly, the older colleges woefully lack in infrastructure and even the standard of existing infrastructure in these colleges cries for updation and upkeep.

In 2014, the Medical Council of India (MCI) reduced the number of seats in the state from 300 to 190. The state also has 200 seats in dental colleges.

Jharkhand is way behind in medical education even from neighbouring Bihar, which has 670 medical seats, besides 380 seats in dental colleges.

The doctor count is also pathetic: A mere 1,800 against the required 5,000.

The state government is also running 10 Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and three General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) schools. They earlier had 60 seats each, but the Indian Nursing Council (INC), citing lack of faculty, reduced the number of seats to between 20 and 40.

Several announcements have been made on the opening of eight medical colleges, including three by the government -- land for which has been identified at Dumka, Palamu and Hazaribagh -- but no work has commenced on any of these.

"Jharkhand government is fooling the people of the state by talking about its efforts to attract investors. Jharkhand still lacks basic facilities in the education, health and power sectors. There is dearth of ambulances, doctors, nurses and pathology facilities in the state," Congress spokesperson Kishore Sahdeo told IANS.

(Nityanand Shukla can be contacted at nityanand.s@ians.in)
New Delhi, Sep 26 : Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Monday issued a notice to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North-MCD) to demolish illegal structures, including 'tehkhanas' or hidden cells, in the brothels of Delhi's red-light area at GB Road.

She also sought ownership records of the brothels from the North-MCD within 48 hours.

"Over the past one year, the Delhi Commission for Women has made several visits to the brothels at GB Road. The Commission has been appalled to note the presence of several illegal structures within the brothels which include tehkhanas -- hidden cells that are often used by brothel owners to hide trafficked girls," Maliwal has written in the notice.

She added that the Commission has been conducting regular meetings with police, government and North-MCD to identify the owners of the brothels and to ensure that these tehkhanas are demolished.

"...Yet the same has not happened till date," she said.

In the notice issued to Commissioner of the North-MCD, P.K. Gupta, Maliwal has demanded the action plan and time-line for demolition of the illegal structures within 48 hours of receiving the notice.

She has also demanded ownership records, house tax records and receipts, and "other relevant" records for ascertaining the ownership of the brothels.

Maliwal had last week alleged that a prostitution racket at GB Road in the national capital's red light area was operating under the protection of a central minister and a Delhi-based senior leader of a national political party.

She had promised to reveal the names of the two leaders "really soon".

Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government had registered a case against Maliwal over a complaint of irregular recruitments made to the DCW panel. The complaint was filed by former DCW chief Barkha Shukla Singh.
Patna, Sep 26 : Another photograph has surfaced of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's sons -- Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav and Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav -- with an absconding accused in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.

The photograph of Lalu's younger son Tejaswi and elder son Tej Pratap with accused Jawed Bhath on Monday went viral on the social media.

A CBI team probing the murder of the journalist in Siwan district had visited Bhath's house in search of him last week.

Bhath and another accused in the case Jimmi have been absconding. Under increasing police pressure, two accused Mohammad Kaif and Sonu had surrendered in court.

Earlier, a photograph of Kaif with Tej Pratap Yadav surfaced and went viral on the social media.

Tej Pratap denied the charge and feigned ignorance about the accused Kaif.

Earlier this month, Kaif was seen in photographs and videos standing along side criminal-turned-politician and former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin after the latter's release from Bhagalpur jail on September 10.

After this, the Supreme Court issued notice to Tej Pratap Yadav and Shahabuddin as to why an FIR cannot be filed against them for allegedly sheltering an accused in Ranjan's murder.

The apex court responded to a petition filed by the journalist's widow Asha Ranjan who sought filing of an FIR against Jawed and Jimmi, who were allegedly seen in the company of Kaif.

Three days ago, Tej Pratap demanded that similar notices should have been issued against BJP leaders whose photographs had appeared with Ranjan murder suspect Kaif and other criminals and tainted persons.
Beijing, Sep 26 : In mainland China, 51.9 per cent people plan not to buy Samsung smartphones in light of the global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones owing to exploding batteries, a media report said on Monday.

"Samsung's turmoil from its first large-scale withdrawal of a smartphone is largely predicted to benefit rivals Huawei Technologies, Oppo Electronics, Vivo, Xiaomi and Apple on the mainland," the South China Morning Post reported, citing analysts and Chinese retailers.

Samsung smartphone sales on the Chinese mainland "have been stagnant in the past few quarters" amid intense competition from major Chinese brands.

"The (Galaxy Note 7) global recall will further affect Samsung's performance and reputation in China in the second half of this year," Tay Xiaohan, a senior market analyst at technology research firm IDC, was quoted as saying.

While nearly 37 per cent said they would consider buying an iPhone to replace their Samsung smartphone, 26.3 per cent said they would purchase a Huawei handset as replacement.

The report pointed out that Galaxy Note 7 sales were underwhelming even before the issue of exploding batteries was reported.

"The Note 7 recall has convinced many of my clients to purchase the iPhone 7. Others preferred Huawei's P9 when choosing a domestic high-end model," a dealer was quoted as saying.

Tarun Pathak, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said the Note 7 recall will hurt Samsung's share in the premium segment, which makes up nearly a quarter of total smartphone sales in mainland China.

"The models likely to benefit would be Apple's iPhone 7 Plus, Huawei's Mate series or Oppo's R series," Pathak was quoted as saying.
Gurgaon, Sep 26 : A 22-year-old man, along with two accomplices, was arrested for killing his mother and sister over alleged prostitution in Gurgaon, the city police said on Monday.

On September 19, Sumit Kumar along with Dharamveer and Pradeep Kumar, fatally shot his 38-year-old mother and 16-year-old sister, as he objected to his mother's prostitution business which she operated from their house.

"Sumit had an objection to his mother's prostitution business. She had dragged her daughter too into prostitution," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sumit Kuhar told reporters.

"We are interrogating the accused in police remand," Kuhar said.

Sumit Kumar told the police that his mother had killed his father Jaiprakash in 2000 by administering poison to him.

Sumit Kumar, a resident of Delhi's Prem Nagar near Najafgarh, hatched the conspiracy and persuaded his mother and sister to visit a religious place in Rajasthan with him and the two other accomplices.

Around 11.30 p.m. on September 18, the five of them reached Industrial Model Town at Manesar in a car and shot his mother and sister at point-blank range.

The trio were arrested on Sunday by Palam Vihar Crime Branch chief Mahender Singh and his team at Manesar on Delhi-Jaipur National Highway 8, after local residents of the area complained of their suspicious movements.

Two country-made pistols and cartridges were recovered from the car.

Sumit's accomplices Dharamveer and Pradeep are aged around 25 years and belong to villages close to Najafgarh.
United Nations, Sep 26 : Targetting Pakistan squarely, India on Monday told the United Nations that Jammu and Kashmir is an inalienable part of the country and nobody can wrest it away by force.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in a retort to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech last week where he harped on Kashmir, said in the UNGA: "Kashmir is an integral part of India and it will remain an integral part of India. No one can take it away by force."
New Delhi, Sep 26 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Delhi government, seeking to know steps being taken by it to check mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya in the national capital.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was present in the courtroom for another matter, told a division bench of Justice M.B. Lokur and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that if the Delhi government does not take the responsibility to maintain hygiene in the city, then the central government may step in to deal with the issue.

The court sought the Aam Aadmi Party government's response on a case it took up suo motu after parents of a seven-year-old boy, who died of dengue, jumped to their deaths from a building after allegedly being denied treatment to their son by five private hospitals Laxmichandra and Babita Rout, both natives of Odisha, committed suicide last year in south Delhi's Lado Sarai after their only son Avinash died of suspected dengue.

Five hospitals including Max hospital in Saket, Moolchand Khairatiram Hospital in Lajpat Nagar, Aakash Hospital in Malviya Nagar, Saket City Hospital and Irene Hospital, Kalkaji, were issued show cause notices to explain why their registration be not cancelled for allegedly denying admission the boy for treatment.

Meanwhile, the bench also refused to entertain a PIL filed by a Delhi doctor Anil Mittal alleging utter indifference of the civic corporations towards garbage pile-up and outbreak of chikungunya, dengue and malaria in Delhi.
United Nations, Sep 26 : India on Monday told the UN that its offer of unconditional friendship to Pakistan was met with a series of betrayals in the form of cross-border terror attacks.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, speaking in Hindi at the United Nations General Assembly, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan by inviting his counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, and also visiting Lahore last December in a goodwill gesture.

"But what did we get in return? Pathankot, Uri, Bahadur Ali," she said, referring to the January 2 terror attack on an air force base in Pathankot that left seven soldiers dead, and the Uri attack of September 18 in which 18 soldiers died, and the capture of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali.
New Delhi, Sep 26 : As India decided to revisit the 56-year-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in the wake of the Uri army camp terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bluntly said that "blood and water cannot flow together".

The government also decided there would no meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission set up to overlook the implementation of the treaty till "terror is in the air", and that India would take a final call on the unilateral part of the suspension of the Tulbul water navigation project in Jammu and Kashmir depending on what Pakistan did next.

The two major steps were decided upon at a meeting of senior officials chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The meeting also decided that an inter-ministerial commission would be set up to look into various provisions of the bilateral water treaty that was signed in Karachi on September 19,1960, out of Pakistan's fear that since the source of rivers of the Indus basin is in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan during times of war.

The meeting was attended, among others, by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Mishra.

"Blood and water cannot flow together," official sources here quoted Modi as having said during the meeting.

The attack at Uri on September 18 claimed the lives of 18 soldiers and India has blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist outfit for it. The attack came amid large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which 90 lives have been lost in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.

The officials' meeting on Monday decided to look at the full utilisation of the waters of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, the three western rivers of the Indus water system that flow through Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 95 percent of the waters of the three eastern rivers of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi is being ustilised by India.

Signed after 10 years of discussions, the Indus Waters Treaty was designed to generate goodwill between the two South Asian neighbours and has survived three wars.

The meeting on Monday, according to the sources, decided that with things being "rather difficult" with Pakistan in the past few weeks, India should revisit the treaty.

It was also decided that there would be no meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission that oversees the implementation of the treaty, till Pakistan stopped sponsoring terrorism against India. The commission has held 112 meetings till now at an average of two a year.

According to the sources, the government will look into reviving work on the Tulbul water navigation project on the mouth of the Wular Lake in Jammu and Kshmir.

Work on the project was suspended in 1987 after Pakistan objected to it, saying it violated the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.

The inter-ministerial commission that will be set up will be tasked with reaping maximum benefits from the Indus water system for farmers.

At present 9.12 lakh hectares of land has been harvested with these waters in India, the sources said and added that there was potential to harvest eight lakh acres more.

Though India as of now has no storage facilities for these waters, the government is now looking at the full utilisation of the 3.6 million acre feet of water it is entitled to.

The meeting also decided to look at the possibility of generating the full potential of 18,000 MW of power from these rivers.

As of now, India is generating only 3,034 MW. Projects are under construction for generating 2,526 MW, while projects for generating 5,046 MW are at an advanced stage of approval.

The Salal hydroelectric project was constructed on the Chenab river.

The Pakal Dul hydroelectric project on the Marusadar river, a tributary of the Chenab, is under construction in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir while the Bursar project on the Chenab in Kishtwar district is to be implemented by the National Hydro Power Coproration.

The sources also pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has also voiced dissent at the Indus Waters Treaty and called for its scrapping.

Various political parties in the state are of the view that the treaty has not benefitted the people of the state, causing damage to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 6,500 crore annually.
New Delhi, Sep 26 : The Embassy of Vietnam in Delhi announced a logo design competition on Monday to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam. The winner of the contest will get air tickets to Vietnam.

"There will be many events organised by both Vietnam and India to celebrate this anniversary next year. So, we need a good and meaningful logo to be used in these events as well as in the publications and website of the Embassy in 2017," Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said.

"We are looking forward to receiving a large number of entries, which showcase the close relationship between Vietnam and India over the past 45 years and the promising future of the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our two countries as well as the high level of creativeness of the participating designers," Thanh added.

The Ambassador said that among 12 agreements signed during the visit, there was a Protocol between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of External Affairs of India on activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam began on January 7, 1972.

Highlighting the importance of relationship with India, Thanh said that India is the third country after China and Russia with whom Vietnam has a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. After the visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi, the relation between the two nations was at its highest level.

Commenting on the Uri terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir he said, "we support India in its struggle against terrorism."

Cyber security was a major threat to Vietnam and recently the communication network of two of our airports was broken down. Vietnam needs India's support in the cyber security domain, Thanh said.

India and Vietnam signed a defence co-operation agreement which included the area of cyber security.

India has given a credit line of $500 million to Vietnam and during Modi's visit, a contract of $100 million was signed between Indian engineering major Larsen and Toubro and Vietnamese Border Guard for supply of two High speed Patrol boats.

The contract is expected to complete in two years, informed the Vietnamese Ambassador.

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Panaji, Sep 26 : The Congress on Monday welcomed the change in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's perception of Kerala, from a place which he had once compared to Somalia, to "God's own country".

"We congratulate the Prime Minister for his change in perception of Kerala, from a state which he compared to Somalia, to 'God's own country'," Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh told reporters here.

Modi during his speech at a BJP meet held in Kerala over the weekend, had said: "When we think of Kerala, we think of God's Own Country, it has an impression of purity and holiness".

During the run up to the state legislative assembly elections held in Kerala earlier this year, Modi had said that the child dead ratio among the Scheduled Tribe community in the southern state was worse than Somalia.
Kolkata, Sep 26 : City-based, public sector Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) will seek Ythe Union Cabinet's nod for its Rs 2,200 crore copper concentrate project as it has finalised the location in Chhattisgarh.

"We have approved the hydrometallurgy unit at Chattisgarh, which is near Malanjkhand. The project cost would be Rs 2,000-2,200 crore and we would have to take Cabinet approval for the project," said Chairman and Managing Director K. D. Dewan.

He said that two companies, one each from Israel and Finland, were selected for the technology which would be used for the first time to mine the metal through chemical process, instead of using heat.

The company has planned to invest Rs 6,000 crore of total capital expenditure for the next five years and of which, Rs 400 crore would be invested in the current fiscal. The company would mobilise a combination of debt and equity to raise funds.

It will also setup a nickel project at an outgo of Rs 1,700 crore which was expected to generate a revenue of Rs 1,200 crore.

Speaking on the prices of the commodity, Dewan said the prices of copper are expected to improve but domestic market could come under pressure with increase in imports.

"Imports have inceased to the tune of 30 per cent and with FTA agreements by India we apprehend more imports. But, as an industry along with the downstream players, we submit a petition to the government to impose safeguard duty to stop rampant copper imports," he said.
United Nations, Sep 27 : The 71st session of the UN General Assembly concluded its annual high-level General Debate here on Monday, wrapping up discussions on a wide range of topics on climate change, refugees and migrants as well as peace and development.

Over the past week, over 140 world leaders and representatives addressed the General Assembly on the theme of "The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform our World", Xinhua news agency reported.

On Wednesday, 31 more countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Thailand deposited their ratification of the Paris Agreement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In addition, a summit held on last Monday at the UN headquarters adopted a declaration on refugees and migrants, pledging to build a comprehensive refugee response framework.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the world body. Comprising of all 193 UN member states, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues.

The General Assembly meets in regular session intensively from September to December each year. At the beginning of each regular session, the assembly holds a general debate, often addressed by heads of state and government to express their views on the most pressing matters for the international community.
Were thrilled to open the doors of our second 1000 Degrees restaurant in Connecticut, said 1000 Degrees CEO and Founder Brian Petruzzi.

1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza, a fast-casual American spin on authentic, hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza, is coming to New London County on Thursday, September 29. The new restaurant is located in the Lisbon Landing shopping center at 160 River Road, Suite 184, next to Famous Footwear.

In celebration of the new restaurant, the first 10 guests through the doors on September 29 at 11 a.m. will win free pizza for a year. In addition, all guests who visit the grand opening between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. and like 1000 Degrees on Facebook or follow on Instagram or Twitter will receive a free 10 pizza of their choice.

1000 Degrees serves personalized, made-to-order authentic Neapolitan pizza. Each pizza starts with fresh, never frozen, hand-tossed dough, created with authentic Neapolitan flour and available in both a personal 10 and sharable 14 sizes. Guests then choose to create their own pizza or order one of the 1000 Degrees Favorites.

The Lisbon Landing 1000 Degrees location is the second in Connecticut, and is owned and operated by business partners Bill Neilson and Vinod Patel. Recognizing their communitys love for pizza, but lack of fast-casual pizza restaurants, Bill and Vinod decided to open a 1000 Degrees location together. The duo was drawn to the brands fresh, quality ingredients and fun atmosphere.

We saw Lisbon as a relatively untapped market for authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, said Neilson. We look forward to opening our doors and sharing our love for premium fast-casual pizza with the community.

Customizing a 1000 Degrees pizza is truly a unique experience, as guests can choose to top theirs with any of the more than 50 high quality cheeses, sauces, meats, vegetables and other toppings all for one flat price. While choosing their toppings, customers are guided down an assembly line of pizza consultants to create a pizza that is totally unique to them.

Outside of the build your own option, there are more than 12 varieties of specialty pizzas including favorites like The Smokey Pollo, also known as Barbecue Bourbon Chicken, which features sweet and smokey bourbon barbecue sauce, roasted chicken, red onion, pineapple, shredded Grande brand mozzarella and blue cheeses, and The Philly, which is a cheese steak pizza topped with thinly sliced rib-eye, caramelized Spanish onions, balsamic glaze, shredded Grande brand mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Pizzas are then fired to perfection at 1000 degrees in a custom, handmade, revolving Neapolitan brick oven in just two minutes.

Were thrilled to open the doors of our second 1000 Degrees restaurant in Connecticut, said 1000 Degrees CEO and Founder Brian Petruzzi. Im confident that we serve the best hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza in New London County and provide an unparalleled customer experience that will keep people coming back for more.

Unlike traditional Neapolitan pizza which has a slightly under cooked center and requires a fork and knife to eat, 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza has fused this classic style with American flare. The result is a thin crust pizza that maintains the light and airy appeal of a Neapolitan style pizza.

1000 Degrees pizza captures American appeal and old world Neapolitan flavor. The company currently has more than 15 domestic restaurants open and one international location in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1000 Degrees is growing at a rapid pace, estimating it will open more than 25 units by the end of this year.

1000 Degrees Lisbon Landing is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. To learn more about 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza or to be part of its daily free pizza contests, please visit http://www.facebook.com/1000degreeslisbonlanding or call (860) 376-1PZA (1792).

About 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza

1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza brings guests the finest hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza. Founded in 2014, the international franchise has experienced unparalleled growth and is on target to have more than 25 units open by the end of this year. For more information on the 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza brand, or for franchise or investor relations, please visit the company website at http://www.1000DegreesPizza.com.

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Lotus Yon, winner of the 2016 Gary Willis Leadership Award

Health Forum, the strategic business enterprise of the American Hospital Association (AHA), and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) today announce the 2016 Gary Willis Leadership (GWL) Award winner. This years honoree is Lotus Yon, manager, training programs & HR projects for Northwest Community Healthcare in Arlington Heights, Ill.

The GWL Award recognizes managers and directors who have made outstanding leadership and operations contributions to their organizations. In addition, it honors those who have demonstrated a commitment to participating in continuous educational opportunities that promote operational excellence. The GWL Award honors the memory of Gary Willis, an ASHHRA board member, who passed away in 2010 after a battle with cancer.

Lotus dedication to furthering the health care human resources field has truly earned her this esteemed award, said Kathleen Wessel, vice president, business management for Health Forum. Her eagerness to continue to grow and learn, and to inspire, support and lead her team, inspires all who know her.

ASHHRA Executive Director Catherine Carruth said, Lotus has been an important leader in ASHHRA and her commitment to the profession is awe-inspiring. As the chair of the ASHHRA Learning and Education committee, Lotus made impressive contributions and really elevated the resources available to our members. Her enthusiasm is contagious and her ideas are always fresh. We are thrilled to present Lotus with this award recognizing her as a testament to Gary Willis inspirational legacy.

Yons love of her college classes led her to seek a career in human resources, while her long-standing fear of hospitals motivated her to push herself out of her comfort zone and enter the health care field. When her manager unexpectedly left Northwest Community Healthcare, Yon took on that role  and the responsibility to lead nearly 80 employees through an electronic medical record system (EMR) implementation including a credentialing program, training redesign, super-user and end-user training, at-the-elbow support plan and go-live.

With 90 days to bring their training status from red to yellow on the EMRs go-live readiness assessment, Yon drew upon her team-building, trust-development and communication skills to lead her team to achieve green status in only 60 days. These efforts helped to significantly increase her organizations operational efficiency.

I believe Lotus work fits nicely with Gary Willis belief in developing current and future health care workers, said John Zubiena, director of talent acquisition, Childrens National Health System, and Yons ASHHRA Mentor. The age of technology has significantly changed the delivery of patient care, and Lotus played a key role in the implementation of Northwest Communitys EMR.

Im thrilled to win this award; it serves as another motivator to be the best leader for my team and organization, said Yon. Based on the lessons learned in my career so far, my advice to new and advancing HR professionals is to keep an open mind, never stop learning, and carry on self-reflection  you can influence others but you cant change them. Sometimes, we need to look within ourselves to change and make a situation better. Ive also found that, especially in fast-moving health care, its common to lose sight of the importance of soft skills and engaging your culture. It shouldnt just be about productivity and performance and numbers, it should be, Am I really making a difference in the world, in my team, in my organization?

Applications for the 2017 GWL Award can be submitted online beginning January 2017 at http://www.aha-solutions.org or http://www.aha.org.

About the AHA

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, who include nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. Visit http://www.aha.org to learn more.

About ASHHRA

Founded in 1964, ASHHRA is a personal membership group of the American Hospital Association (AHA) and has more than 3100 members nationwide. It leads the way for members to become more effective, valued, and credible leaders in health care human resources. As the foremost authority in health care human resources, it provides timely and critical support through research, learning and knowledge sharing, professional development, products and resources, and provides opportunities for networking and collaboration. For more information about ASHHRA, visit our website at http://www.ashhra.org.

About Health Forum

Health Forum is a strategic business enterprise of the American Hospital Association, creatively partnering to develop and deliver essential information and innovative services to help health care leaders achieve organizational performance excellence and sustainability.

Products and services include: AHA Data, drawn from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey profiling over 6,400 U.S. hospitals nationwide; award-winning magazines (Hospitals & Health Networks, Health Facilities Management and Trustee); industry-leading conferences (AHA/Health Forum Leadership Summit, Rural Health Care Leadership Conference); the Speakers Express health care speakers bureau, and more. To learn more, visit http://www.healthforum.com.

# # #

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Marie Watteau

Vice President, Media Relations and Digital Media

American Hospital Association

202.626.2351

mwatteau(at)aha(dot)org

-----------------------------

Catherine Carruth

Executive Director

American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA)

312.422.3723

ccarruth(at)aha(dot)org
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have signed the final contracts for the long-awaited technical studies on the impact on downstream countries of a giant dam that Addis Ababa is building, Egypts state news agency MENA reported.

The signing that took place in Sudans capital Khartoum on Monday was made with French consultancy firms BRL and Artelia, as well as British law firm Corbett, which will carry out studies on the potential impact of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam on the flow of the Nile.

Water and irrigation ministries from the three countries attended the signing ceremony during the 12th session of a tripartite ministerial committee.

In a statement obtained by Ahram Online, the Tripartite National Committee (TNC) of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan said the meeting "was conducted in a very friendly and warm environment and reflected the cooperation among the three countries and all in attendance expressed their support and appreciation for the efforts exerted by the three countries."

The giant hydroelectric dam Ethiopia is building has been the source of contention between Cairo and Addis Ababa. Egypt, which relies almost exclusively on the Nile for farming and drinking water, fears the dam would significantly diminish its share of the river's water.

The studies the French firms will conduct will include the modeling of water and hydroelectric resources as well as an assessment of the cross-border environmental, social and economic impact of the mega project and will take 11 months, Egypts Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty said.

A panel of international experts concluded in May 2013 that earlier assessments on the potential impact of the dam was insufficient, and recommended that further, more in-depth studies be conducted.

The Egyptian minister hailed Tuesdays contracts as historic, adding that Cairo aims to cooperate with Sudan and Ethiopia to achieve development in the three countries and reduce wastage of electric power, according to MENA.

We have faced significant challenges and managed to overcome them by making an effort and offering flexibility, the minister said during his speech, in reference to the long delay of sealing the contracts.

The final signing of the contract came following a series of delays, the latest earlier in September, over "outstanding issues between the French consultancy firms [BRL and Artelia] conducting the technical studies and the legal firm's [UK's Corbett&Co] wording of the contracts."

A cooperation agreement of principles was signed in March 2015 between the three countries on the sharing of the Nile water and the protection of the interests of downstream countries when the dam's reservoir is filled. Signatories to the agreement pledged to protect the interests of downstream countries when the dam's reservoir is filled.

Ethiopia began diverting the Blue Nile in May 2013 to build the 6,000 MW dam that has a capacity of 74 billion cubic metres and will be Africa's largest when completed in 2017.

Ethiopia has maintained that the project  which is 70 percent complete  will have no effect on Sudan and Egypt and should benefit all sides.

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A blood management expert from Mediware Consulting & Analytics (https://www.mediware.com/blood/consulting), the clinical change leader of evidence-based patient blood management consulting, education, and analytics solutions, will deliver a poster presentation at the 2016 Annual Meeting for the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM). The organizations meeting will be held September 29  October 1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mediwares director of client services and patient safety, Susan Nienhaus, R.N., JD, will present Comprehensive Patient Blood Management (PBM) Across a Healthcare System on September 30 between 5:30-6:00 p.m. ET. The poster highlights the successful implementation of a system-wide PBM program at McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Flint, Michigan. Nienhaus poster emphasizes Mediwares approach and analytics tools that support this important patient safety initiative.

When asked to comment on the poster recognition of the programs success, McLaren Oakland Chief Medical Officer Steven B. Calkin, D.O., F.A.C.O.I., stated: As chairman of our system-level Senior Medical Leadership Committee, Im in a position to see firsthand the challenges our healthcare system faced in its efforts to achieve more substantial clinical integration and care standardization. Our engagement with Mediware not only brought success in the form of expense reduction and improved patient safety, but also allowed our system of acute care hospitals to engage in a structured initiative that showed nearly immediate results. Our organization is now more prepared to take on future standardization initiatives with the confidence weve gained from our Transfusion Safety Program.

Nienhaus is a registered nurse and attorney. After obtaining her Bachelor of Science in nursing, cum laude, in 1979, she spent nearly 20 years focused on cardiovascular surgical nursing. In 1990, she was among the first class to achieve certification as a registered nurse first assistant from the Association of Operating Room Nurses. In 1999, Nienhaus graduated from the IU School of Law at Indianapolis where she was an editor on the Indiana International & Comparative Law Review and received the Jordan Constitutional Law Award. As director of risk management at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital from 2002 through 2007, Nienhaus developed and implemented a patient safety program that combined quality improvement initiatives and risk reduction strategies to improve departmental efficiencies and prevent healthcare errors.

In the realm of patient blood management, Nienhaus is a frequent speaker on transfusion informed consent, administration, and adverse events. She is a member of AABB and the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management. In 2015, she gave an oral presentation at AABBs national conference titled Dose of Outpatient Transfusion for Red Blood Cells, Platelets and Plasma, and Transfusion Indications.

The SABM annual meeting is designed to provide continuing education for the organizations professional members and the public on the positive impact of innovative PBM programs. For more information or to register for the event, visit https://secure.societyhq.com/sabm/meetings/2016annual/guide/register.html.

About Mediware Consulting & Analytics

Mediware Consulting & Analytics is leading clinical change through evidence-based education, consulting, and analytics solutions for U.S. hospitals and health systems. Mediware clients have achieved significant reductions in blood and lab test utilization by reducing unnecessary orders, which has resulted in more than $1 billion overall savings while improving patient safety and the quality of care.
Dr. Neil Patel We remain committed to seeking out the highest qualified medical professionals to deliver the best in spine care, says Mark Hood, CEO of Spine Team Texas.

Spine Team Texas, a comprehensive spine center specializing in the treatment of back and neck pain, is proud to welcome Dr. Neil Patel, an orthopedic surgeon, to its medical staff. Dr. Patel, who specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery techniques, will be based out of the Southlake and Fort Worth  Alliance clinics.

We remain committed to seeking out the highest qualified medical professionals to deliver the best in spine care, says Mark Hood, CEO of Spine Team Texas. Were thrilled to welcome Dr. Patel to our comprehensive team of physicians and support staff.

Prior to joining Spine Team Texas, Dr. Patel, a graduate of the University of Illinois-College of Medicine, conducted his residency training at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he served as Chief Resident for the universitys Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program and as Resident Surgeon in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Dr. Patel later completed a fellowship in spine surgery at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, training with premier orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons to gain a comprehensive understanding of operative and non-operative management techniques. He also served as a clinical instructor for USCs Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

Dr. Patel stays at the forefront of his field and informed of the latest medical and procedural advances through active involvement in organizations like the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American Orthopedic Association, American Medical Association, North American Spine Society, and AO Spine International. In addition, he has shared his surgical expertise via local, regional, national and international presentations at annual meetings of the Global Spine Congress, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society, the Michigan Orthopedic Society and the Detroit Academy of Surgeons. Dr. Patel also serves as a reviewer for The Global Spine Journal and has contributed to articles in leading publications such as Neurosurgery Focus, Journal of Arthoplasty and The Spine Journal.

About Spine Team Texas

Spine Team Texas specializes in the treatment of back and neck problems ranging from simple back or neck strains to the most complex spine surgeries. Through its in-depth knowledge and true team approach, Spine Team Texas is dedicated to treating patients conservatively through education, physical therapy, non-surgical treatments, and minimally invasive spine surgery when necessary.

The philosophy of Spine Team Texas is to treat with an emphasis on non-surgical treatment whenever possible and consider surgical intervention only as a last resort when non-surgical measures have failed to provide long-term relief. This philosophy is supported in the fact that only 8-10% of Spine Team Texas new patients result in surgical intervention; that means that approximately 90% of our patients are treated successfully through non-surgical treatment options. The team consists of physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, specializing in non-surgical spine care; spine surgeons trained in the latest minimally invasive spine surgery techniques; spine pain anesthesiologists focused on chronic spine pain; spine-focused physical therapists and on-site registered nurses.

Established in December 2004, Spine Team Texas is headquartered in Southlake, Texas, and opened a full-spectrum sister facility in Rockwall, Texas, in March 2009. Other locations include Bedford, Fort Worth-Alliance, North Dallas-Richardson, and Allen. With approximately 175 employees, Spine Team Texas has received numerous awards such as Best Places to Work & Healthcare Heroes-Physician Award by Dallas Business Journal, Top Docs in Fort Worth, Texas magazine, U.S. News & World Report Top Docs in neurosurgery, Top Docs in neurosurgery & physical medicine and rehabilitation by Castle-Connelly, D Magazine Best Docs in orthopedic surgery and physical medicine and rehabilitation, Beckers Spine Review Top 105 Spine Surgery Practices to Know & Spine Leadership Award in 2013 and 2015. For more information about Spine Team Texas, visit http://www.SpineTeamTexas.com. Connect with them on Twitter, YouTube and on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/spineteamtexas.
BIRD Penumbra Obscura is the discovered link between Missy's exquisite vision for interiors and Marko's prolific artistic renderings.

Famed international model, Missy Rayder, has teamed up with her husband, internationally acclaimed fine artist Marko Velk, to create Penumbra Obscura: a wallpaper brand dedicated exclusively to the creation of original hand-drawn patterns. The brand launches on September 26th 2016 to coincide with the prominent feature of Penumbra Obscura`s designs throughout the Fall 2016 Saks Fifth Avenue shoe catalog.

Penumbra Obscura is the discovered link between Missy's exquisite vision for interiors and Marko's prolific artistic renderings. While the new collection's designs showcase the same mark of genius seen throughout Velk's larger body of fine art works, Rayder's influence results in a diverging aesthetic which is softer, more subdued and classical by comparison. His unmistakable drawings, influenced by Serbo-Croatian heritage and French culture, are shaped by the unique design sensibility she developed over twenty years on vanguard of international fashion. The resulting Penumbra Obscura works are ideally suited for the palate of discerning home designers seeking to showcase bold yet unobtrusive art outside the borders of the frame.

The Saks Fifth Avenue book, which reaches over 300,000 subscribers, features full page imagery of the wallpaper throughout the catalog as a backdrop to the featured women's shoes of 2016.

"We are excited to collaborate with Saks Fifth Avenue to spread the news of our launch," says Missy Rayder. "There is a meaningful overlap between their customers and type of people that will be receptive to Penumbra Obscura's brand."

Clippings of the Sacks Fifth Avenue catalog can be found on Penumbra Obscura's new website.
It is a highly requested feature among our customers and will further establish our application as the most holistic and turnkey accounting solution on the Force.com platform.

Accounting Seed, Inc., developers of the top rated native accounting application on Salesforce, today announced their support of foreign currencies. This new functionality in their cloud accounting application will enable companies to bill, collect, record liabilities, and pay suppliers in more than 200 foreign currencies.

We are delighted to offer multi-currency support in Accounting Seed for Salesforce users, said Tony Zorc, chief executive officer at Accounting Seed. It is a highly requested feature among our customers and will further establish our application as the most holistic and turnkey accounting solution on the Force.com platform.

Now, through a simple configuration setting, organizations will be able to conduct business in multiple countries from customer quotes to financial statements. The foreign currencies available in Accounting Seed and Salesforce will also be accessible through one common data table making it simple for administrators to manage currencies company-wide.

About Accounting Seed

Accounting Seed is a completely native Accounting application developed exclusively for the Salesforce platform. Our goal is to enable customers to build world-class business management solutions on the Force.com platform with a reliable and affordable accounting package seamlessly integrated. We combine CRM and Accounting with more flexibility than any other application. For further information, visit http://www.accountingseed.com.
Will Wesch, Director of Admissions for Novus Medical Detox Center, advises employers to update their drug policy. Most workplace drug policies focus on deterring illicit drug use, but fewer address misuse of prescription drugs.

According to new government-sponsored research, the national economic burden of prescription opioid overdoses, abuse and dependence has risen to $78.5 billion per year.(1) Another study determined that opioid abusers cost employers nearly twice as much in medical expenses as non-abusers.(2) Novus Medical Detox Center, a leading Florida-based drug treatment facility, advises employers to take a more proactive role in combating the prescription opioid crisis by ensuring their workplace drug policies and testing address prescription medication abuse.

Of the nearly $80 billion in economic costs related to prescription opioid misuse and abuse, $21.5 billion is linked to overdose fatalities, $26.1 billion to healthcare costs, $20.4 billion to lost productivity, $7.7 billion to criminal justice and $2.8 billion to substance abuse treatment. Employers absorb a significant proportion of these costs, including $21.4 billion in lost productivity due to fatal overdoses and $16.3 billion due to reduced productive time/increased disability, as well as the employer-subsidized share of over $14 billion in private health insurance costs.(1)

A recent Castlight Health study found that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. opioid prescriptions is being abused. While only 4.5% of patients who received a prescription for narcotic painkillers are abusing them, those individuals account for 32% of total opioid prescriptions and 40% of opioid prescription spending. In addition, employers pay an average of $19,450 per year in medical costs for opioid users, compared to $10,853 for non-users.(2)

Most workplace drug policies focus on deterring illicit drug use, but fewer address misuse of prescription drugs, noted Will Wesch, Director of Admissions for Novus Medical Detox Center. Many employers avoid the topic out of concern for employees privacy or the mistaken belief that legitimately prescribed medications dont pose a threat to workplace safety or productivity. However, the statistics tell another story.

A National Safety Council poll found that nearly half of prescription opioid users participated in potentially unsafe activities with opioids in their system: 39% went to work, 35% drove a vehicle and 14% operated heavy machinery.(3) Opioid use was linked to workplace accidents in a 2010 report by Quest Diagnostics, which revealed hydrocodone was found in post-accident drug tests nearly five times as often as in pre-employment tests.(4) Furthermore, a Southern Pacific Railroad study showed that incidents resulting in injuries fell 71%from 2,234 to 322from the year before drug testing to the year after its introduction.(5)

Employers need to recognize the costs and risks associated with opioid abuse, and take steps to address the prescription painkiller epidemic, asserted Wesch. He advises employers to:



Request a free Prescription Drug Employer Kit from the National Safety Council.

Update workplace drug policies to include prescription medications.

Assess and expand (as appropriate) the scope of drug testing.

Collaborate with healthcare benefits providers and workers compensation carriers to monitor and manage opioid prescribing and use.

Educate supervisors and employees about opioid-related health and safety hazards.

Offer confidential support via an employee assistance program (EAP).

Wesch also advocates for employer-sponsored treatmentincluding detox and drug rehab programsfor workers diagnosed with opioid use disorders.

Investing in employees health and safety can improve morale, productivity and, ultimately, the bottom line, he concluded.

Novus provides medically supervised drug detox programs that help patients safely manage opiate and opioid withdrawal with minimal discomfort. The Florida drug detox facility offers individually customized treatment plans based on proven medical protocols, including 24-hour access to nursing care and withdrawal specialists. Novus is renowned for its expertise in treating high-dose methadone cases, and is proficient in detoxing patients from other high-dose opioids just as safely, comfortably and effectively.

For more information on Novus Medical Detox Center and its opioid detox and treatment programs, visit http://www.novusdetox.com.

About Novus Medical Detox Center:

Novus Medical Detox Center has earned The Joint Commissions Gold Seal of Approval for Behavioral Health Care Accreditation as an inpatient medical detox facility. Licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, Novus provides safe, effective alcohol and drug treatment programs that are based on proven medical protocols and designed to minimize the discomfort of withdrawal. The facility is located on 3.25 acres in New Port Richey, Florida, in a tranquil, spa-like setting bordering protected conservation land. Intent on proving that detox doesnt have to be painful or degrading, Novus set out to transform the industry by bringing humanity into medical detox with individually customized treatment programs and 24/7 access to nursing care and withdrawal specialists. Today, Novus is renowned as a champion of industry standardization and a staunch advocate of patients fighting to overcome substance use disorders. Frequently recognized for its contributions to the industry and local community, Novus has become a regular source to media publications such as The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, and has ranked in the Tampa Bay Business Journals Fast 50, the Florida Business Journals Top 500 and the Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest-growing companies. For more information on Novus medically supervised detox programs, visit http://novusdetox.com.

1. Florence, Curtis S.; Chao Zhou; et al. The Economic Burden of Prescription Opioid Overdose, Abuse, and Dependence in the United States, 2013; Medical Care; October 2016. journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/Fulltext/2016/10000/The_Economic_Burden_of_Prescription_Opioid.2.aspx

2. Castlight Health. New Study Reveals 32 Percent of Total Opioid Prescriptions Are Being Abused; press release issued April 20, 2016. castlighthealth.com/press-releases/new-study-reveals-32-percent-of-total-opioid-prescriptions-are-being-abused

3. Trotto, Sarah. Prescription Painkillers and the Workforce; Safety and Health; September 27, 2015. safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/print/12932-prescription-drugs-workers

4. Quest Diagnostics. U.S. Worker Use of Prescription Opiates Climbing, Shows Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index; press release issued September 16, 2010. ir.questdiagnostics.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=82068&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1472189

5. National Safety Council. The Proactive Role Employers Can Take: Opioids in the Workplace; July 22, 2014. nsc.org/RxDrugOverdoseDocuments/proactive-role-employers-can-take-opioids-in-the-workplace.pdf
Geniecast announced today it will be a partner at Secret Service Summit 2016, to be held Sept. 29 to 30 in Cleveland, Ohio. John DiJulius, best-selling author, president of customer service consulting firm The DiJulius Group, and expert available on Geniecast.com, will headline the summit.

The Secret Service Summit brings together thought leaders and visionaries in the customer service field for a two-day conference aimed at educating business professionals on the importance of the customer experience. Of the Geniecast partnership, DiJulius said, Geniecast is the perfect partner for the Secret Service Summit. Business growth is all about helping employees reach their potential. The only way to do that is through exposing them constantly to the highest level of expertise out there. Geniecast does exactly that, bringing the best education right to you, easily and affordably.

Geniecast Founder and CEO Keith Alper added, We are thrilled to partner with the Secret Service Summit, because the conference aligns with core Geniecast values on multiple levels. Alper went on, Geniecast is a first and foremost a customer-centric organization. And, we believe strongly in the value of connecting with experts, like those lined up to speak at Secret Service Summit 2016.

Geniecast also announced that John DiJulius is available for two-way video engagements on Geniecast.com. DiJulius Geniecast program, Creating a Customer Service Revolution, teaches business leaders how to make customer service their biggest competitive advantage. Dan Gingiss, the head of digital marketing for a Fortune 100 healthcare company, and Vietnam War Veteran Captain Charlie Plumbtwo of the speakers scheduled to present at Secret Service 2016also have programs available on Geniecast.com.

About Geniecast

Geniecast is the worlds first and largest marketplace of thought leaders, athletes, speakers, celebrities, consultants, facilitators and moreall available via two-way, live video broadcast. By delivering top talent via two-way video, Geniecast makes education and professional development more affordable, and gives boards and teams efficient access to subject matter experts for problem-solving, strategy sessions and more. To date, the Geniecast marketplace has thousands of programs led by Genies who are experts in a variety of topics, ranging from customer service and business best practices, to leadership and other trending industry topics.

About The DiJulius Group

The DiJulius Group, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the leading authority on world-class customer experience. The DiJulius Group's relentless mission is to help your organization change the world by creating a customer service revolution.

To learn more about Geniecast or to browse Genie programs, visit http://www.geniecast.com.
I am excited to open in Suffolk County. We look forward to serving the neighborhood with compassionate, affordable, and convenient dentistry in a beautiful environment. I invite the community to come take a tour of our new state-of-the-art office.

West Islip residents have a new dental office in the neighborhood. Dental365 was established with the patients comfort and convenience in mind. Located at 440 Montauk Hwy. in the same shopping center as Verizon, Dental365 gives patients high-quality, affordable dentistry while offering routine and walk-in emergency dental care. Dental365 is also open evenings and weekends so that visits to the dentist fit into their patients busy schedules.

As all other Dental365 locations, this brand new office provides a storefront walk-in experience with state-of-the-art equipment and the latest technology with patient comfort being at the center of the office design. Each exam room is complete with a smart television along with many other patient amenities. This is the eighth Dental365 location to open in the New York metropolitan area and more offices are scheduled to open throughout this year. With many locations throughout the New York area, patients are able to visit any Dental365 office seamlessly.

Dr. Scott Asnis, founder and CEO of Dental365, started the practice as one of the countrys first high-quality, affordable dental offices offering routine and walk-in emergency dental care 7 days a week. In addition to providing general and emergency dental services, Dental365 specialists are available to provide excellent care to our patients unique dental needs. Dental365 also gladly works with most insurance plans.

Dr. Asnis comments on the opening of Dental365 in West Islip: I am excited to open in Suffolk County. We look forward to serving the neighborhood with compassionate, affordable, and convenient dentistry in a beautiful environment. I invite the community to come take a tour of our new state-of-the-art office and say hello.

Dental365s goal is to service the communities they are in with the latest technology in oral healthcare and wellness. As an added convenience, their brand new, inviting offices focus on all areas of dentistry, so patients never have to go elsewhere for dental treatment. Dental365 accepts walk-ins with little or no waiting time for adults and children and offers everything from emergency extractions to routine exams, including cosmetic restorations and veneers, periodontal procedures and Invisalign all in a state-of-the-art, beautiful environment where your comfort is a top priority. For more information about Dental365 or to schedule an appointment call 631-422-4000 or visit GoDental365.com.
Take me to the Hilton: Despite the sites high water table, the basement of the new Hilton Barra Hotel in Rio de Janeiro is waterproof thanks to PENETRON ADMIX. The inauguration of the new hotel was a complete success and the general contractor was very happy with the outcome of the project  and the performance of PENETRON ADMIX.

Around the world, waterfront construction sites with a high water table call for PENETRON technology. The basement structure of Rio de Janeiros newest hotel, the Hilton Barra Rio de Janeiro Hotel, is built on PENETRONs crystalline technology.

The Hilton Hotel company slogan, Take me to the Hilton, now has new meaning for visitors to Rio de Janeiro. Situated just minutes away from Rios Olympic Park, the Hilton Barra Rio de Janeiro Hotel opened just in time for last months Rio 2016 Summer Olympics Games. This upscale 298-room hotel, also in the midst of the citys Barra da Tijuca business district, features a restaurant, meeting rooms, a business center, a rooftop pool (with a view), and an underground parking garage.

The Hilton Hotels location in the Barra da Tijuca, a waterfront district surrounded by lagoons on all sides, brought up concerns about the high water table at the construction site, explains Claudio Neves Ourives, General Manager of PENETRON Brazil. Ensuring impermeable concrete structures for any below-grade construction in this area is a top priority.

Given this situation, the PENETRON Brazil team worked with the developer and general contractor to come up with an effective solution for the Hilton Barra project. Ultimately, PENETRON ADMIX was specified to treat the concrete used in the below-grade slab to ensure low permeability and a durable concrete structure.

The inauguration of the new hotel was a complete success and the general contractor was very happy with the outcome of the project  and the performance of PENETRON ADMIX, says Claudio Neves Ourives.

The PENETRON Group is a leading manufacturer of specialty construction products for concrete waterproofing, concrete repairs and floor preparation systems. The Group operates through a global network, offering support to the design and construction community through its regional offices, representatives and distribution channels.

For more information on PENETRON waterproofing solutions, please visit penetron(dot)com or Facebook(dot)com/ThePenetronGroup, email CRDept(at)penetron(dot)com, or contact the Corporate Relations Department at 631-941-9700.
The Maryland Venture Fund today announced the final senior hire of its new management team, Parag Sheth. Parag brings to the table decades of sales, marketing, and business development experience at multi-nationals and venture-backed startups, including most recently at Radius Worldwide. After the Maryland Department of Commerce spun the Maryland Venture Fund (MVF) out to TEDCO in 2015, the Fund has been assembling a team that will provide more than just capital to the entrepreneurs with whom it partners. Sheths hire completes the initial phase of this plan.

MVF is committed to the success and growth of the companies it supports, and that means building a team that is capable of understanding and responding to the unique challenges that entrepreneurs face, stated Sheth. I am excited to join a team with not only extensive operational and venture capital experience, but also the passion to go the extra mile for our entrepreneurs.

Sheth joins Managing Director Andy Jones, Moss Amer, Phil Jung and Arti Santhanam who together are setting the refined strategy for investing opportunities. They will continue to focus on early stage Maryland-based companies, but will also support and engage the ecosystem of the entire Metropolitan DC region.

The change in management reflects a desire to actively support and engage high-growth companies that require more financing than angels can provide, but are capital-efficient enough to fundraise less than what traditional institutional funds seek to invest. The Fund is industry-agnostic, and is looking to back exceptional founders with a history of success.

Parag and I have known each other for over 15 years, stated Jones. We have worked together twice, and made money for our investors in both of those ventures. We expect to deliver similar results working together for the third time. Parag has a phenomenal track record of delivering results and can assist our portfolio companies with pragmatic guidance.

###

About the Maryland Venture Fund

The Maryland Venture Fund is an early-stage, evergreen venture capital fund dedicated to funding and growing the next generation of outstanding businesses in Maryland. They are an experienced team with significant venture and operating experience whose focus is on making entrepreneurs successful. With slightly more than $100M in assets under management, they partner with exceptional entrepreneurs and help them build valuable companies that last. http://www.marylandventurefund.com
Two of the leading names in the health and fitness club market are joining forces. InTouch Technology, creators of the fitness industry's leading sales and CRM platform, has just signed on as Preferred Vendor with world-famous fitness club franchise Powerhouse Gym International.

This comes during a time of significant growth for both companies. InTouch has recently expanded their development and support team to keep up with market demands. They have also recently introduced major new compatibility initiatives within their software, such as PT Sync integration with ABC Financial and Automated Referral Capture with Netpulse, to greatly enhance integration of InTouchs existing health club software systems. InTouch expects to make more additional announcements on new and improved functionalities in the upcoming months.

"We are very excited to have formalized our relationship with InTouch. We have been utilizing InTouch in a number of our corporate owned Powerhouse Gym locations for over a year with an increase in productivity and accountability of our team members. We have recently completed a very successful launch in our remaining corporate owned locations and look forward to helping our licensees benefit from this partnership. " says Henry W. Dabish, CEO, Powerhouse Gym International.

Powerhouse Gym International has seen rapid expansion in recent years, now with a presence across 39 US states and 20 countries, totaling 300 franchisees. Their gyms boast over 1.5 million members, ranging from everyday consumers to A-list celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Travolta and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

As InTouch President & CEO Dana Milkie said, "InTouch is very pleased to align with Powerhouse Gym International supporting their clubs with industry leading solutions. Our combined commitment to growth makes us great partners!

InTouchs leadership team, with over 35 years of combined fitness industry experience, is dedicated to bringing the best possible software solutions to membership-based fitness clubs around the world.

About InTouch Technology

InTouch is the leading provider of sales and member management solutions for the health and fitness industry. Our best-in-class software, tools and solutions help clubs improve sales effectiveness and efficiency, capture and convert more leads, and drive increased member engagement, usage and retention. InTouch provides invaluable insights into sales effectiveness, member engagement and retention best practices based on over a decade of experience in the health and fitness industry working with clubs in North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

For press inquiries or more information about InTouch solutions, please call 888-741-6408 or visit http://www.intouchfollowup.com/.

About Powerhouse Gym

Since 1975 Powerhouse Gym has been the strongest name in fitness. Forty years later, the Powerhouse Gym brand and popular logo are recognized by 7 out of 10 Americans in the USA. Powerhouse uses the strength of its heart-felt identity to motivate and inspire every individual that steps foot into any facility bearing its name. Powerhouse Gym offers the latest equipment and services, including group exercise, personal training, cardiovascular equipment, group cycle, Pilates, and yoga. With over 1.5 million members worldwide, Powerhouse Gym provides a motivating atmosphere to help all kinds of people reach their health and fitness goals.

For more information please visit http://www.Powerhousegym.com, http://www.facebook.com/powerhousegym, http://www.twitter.com/powerhousegym, or http://www.instagram.com/powerhousegym.
Egypts President El-Sisi has vowed that police officers found to be guilty of wrongdoings would be held accountable

A Cairo misdemeanour court sentenced on Tuesday nine lower-ranking policemen to three years in prison over assaulting two doctors at Matariya Teaching Hospital in January.

The court set bail for the policemen at EGP 2,000 bail.

The verdict can still be appealed.

Prosecution accused the defendants of verbally and physically assaulting doctors in the hospital after a doctor conducting a medical examination one of the policemen refused his request to include fake injuries in the medical report.

The incident sparked anger, leading doctors to hold a protest at the Doctors Syndicate to demand the policemen stand trial and for the health minister to be sacked.

Tuesday's court verdict is the latest in a series of court rulings in cases involving police violations and abuses.

Earlier this year, another low-ranking policeman killed a driver in the working-class Cairo district of El-Darb El-Ahmar following a dispute over a fare. A court sentenced the policeman to life in prison this month, one of the harshest sentences issued against police officials convicted of similar violent crimes. The verdict can still be appealed.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had vowed that policemen found guilty of "committing wrongdoings" would be punished, and Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar has maintained that such violations represent "isolated incidents" as opposed to a systemic problem.

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PM360, a leading health marketing industry trade magazine, recognized the best innovators in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech industries with their annual Trailblazer Awards Gala on Friday, September 23, 2016. The honors, bestowed at a gala banquet at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, are given to outstanding companies, marketers, brand managers, and cutting-edge initiatives.

The sold-out Gotham Hall was filled with the industrys best and brightest in their sharpest tuxes and most beautiful gowns. Not only did attendees and winners celebrate in style, they had fun doing it. Emmy-award winning actress, comedian, and writer Judy Gold provided plenty of laughs as the nights emcee. Attendees then got to cut loose on the dance floor until the clock struck midnight.

It is our honor to provide a night of celebration for these wonderful individuals and their achievements, which are ultimately aimed at improving patient outcomes, says Anna Stashower, CEO and Publisher of PM360. This years winners showed a true dedication to better understanding patients and finding new ways to meet their needs, as well as the needs of physicians, caregivers, and payers.

As always, the awards honor the pharma and medical device marketers and companies whose work over the past year best exemplified the forward thinking our industry needs. This was also the first year PM360 honored a Marketing Team of the Year. That honor went to the APTIOM Marketing Team from Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and their agency partners AbelsonTaylor and CMI/Compas. Meanwhile, Jennifer Thomas, Product Director, Oncology Marketing, Janssen Biotech, Inc. was named the Trailblazer Marketer of the Year.

This years Pharmaceutical or Biotech Company of the Year Gold Winner went to Amgen, while UCB took home Silver. The Medical Device/Diagnostics Company of the Year Gold Winner was Baxter International Inc. and Celsee Diagnostics was named the Silver Winner. Additionally, Shire was named the Specialty Pharma Company of the Year with Horizon Pharma being named the Silver Winner in the category.

This years PM360 Lifetime Achievement Award went to Douglas G. Watson, Chairman of OraSure Technologies Inc. and former President & CEO of Novartis Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Novartis AG. Doug has a long history of developing patient-centric programs and initiativeslong before it became the buzzword that it is today. His team introduced transdermal delivery pharmaceuticals, both colored and single-use contact lenses, fixed price guarantees with Lotensin, and the use of a celebrity spokespersons by featuring Yankees great Mickey Mantle with the Voltaren launch.

Throughout his career, Doug Watson exemplified loyalty and integrity as he remained with the same organization for 33 years while always preaching that his employees do the right thing, explains Stashower. Additionally, he constantly put the patient first with several groundbreaking initiatives.

Entries are judged and winners selected by the PM360 Editorial Advisory Board, a cross section of experts from across the industry. Winning entries were judged based on different criteria for each major category including Company of Year (innovation, talent development, and social responsibility), Brand Champions (innovation, leadership, communication, analytical, and organizational skills) and Initiatives (content, format, success in reaching targeted audience, and overall quality).

Each distinguished themselves in their ability to stand out in the complex healthcare environment. Additionally, the Marketer of the Year award singles out the individual who best exemplifies the most insightful, forward-thinking, and transformative marketing ideas and actions in the industry, while the Marketing Team award recognizes the group who best met those qualifications. PM360 will publish profiles of this years Trailblazer winners in its October issue. This years PM360 Trailblazer winners include:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT

Douglas G. Watson, Chairman of OraSure Technologies Inc. and former President & CEO of Novartis Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Novartis AG

MARKETER OF THE YEAR

Jennifer Thomas, Product Director, Oncology Marketing, Janssen Biotech, Inc.

MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR

APTIOM Marketing Team (Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Agency Partners: AbelsonTaylor, CMI/Compas)

PHARMACEUTICAL/BIOTECH COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Silver Winner

UCB

PHARMACEUTICAL/BIOTECH COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Gold Winner

Amgen

MEDICAL DEVICE COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Silver Winner

Celsee Diagnostics

MEDICAL DEVICE COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Gold Winner

Baxter International Inc.

SPECIALTY PHARMA COMPANY OF THE YEAR Silver Winner

Horizon Pharma plc

SPECIALTY PHARMA COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Gold Winner

Shire

ADVERTISING AGENCY OF THE YEAR: Silver Winner

Concentric Health Experience

ADVERTISING AGENCY OF THE YEAR: Gold Winner

AbelsonTaylor

SUPPLIER/VENDOR OF THE YEAR: Silver Winner

Lifescript

SUPPLIER/VENDOR OF THE YEAR: Gold Winner

InCrowd

BRAND CHAMPION AWARD WINNERS

Autoimmune: James R. Berger, Associate Director, Entyvio, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.

Cardiology: Donna Fromhold, Group Product Director, XARELTO, Janssen Pharmaceuticals

Central Nervous System: Chris Saunders, Sr. Director, U.S. Marketing Lead, Neuroscience Franchise, Shire

Dermatology: Jon Meneese, Director, Rosacea Franchise and Lee Hatton, Associate Director, Acne, Galderma Laboratories, L.P.

Diabetes/Metabolic Disorders: Kevin Bell, Diabetes Marketing Director, AstraZeneca

Gastrointestinal: Catharine Sanders, Patient Engagement Lead, IBD Marketing, UCB

Hematology/Oncology: Dr. Norm Nagl, Executive Director, International Medical Lead, Merck & Co.

Infectious Disease: Andrea Porzio, Director, HCV Marketing, Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Innovation: Lisa Flaiz, Group Product Director, Digital Marketing, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

Managed Markets: Beth Davis, Entyvio Brand Lead, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A Inc.

Medical Device/Diagnostics: Angela Donohue, Global Platform Leader, Oral Healthcare, Dentsply Sirona

Mens Health: Erica Krakower, Senior Marketing Manager, Pfizer

Ophthalmology/Optometry: Michelle Poole, MBA, Sr. Director Marketing  Ophthalmology, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals

Pain/Inflammation: Matthew D. Tucker, Senior Director, Specialty Marketing, Mylan N.V.

Rare Diseases: Manny Gaspar, Director, Hereditary Angioedema Marketing, Genetic Diseases Franchise, Shire

Respiratory: Henry McMillan, Senior Director, Respiratory Marketing, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Womens Health: Therese Heimbold, RN, BSN, Marketing Director, Galen US

INITIATIVE WINNERS

APP/DIGITAL SOLUTION OR SUITE

Myrbetriq / RunPee Movie App Sponsorship (Astellas, Pathway, Katalyst)

CONSUMER WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE

LVNG With (AstraZeneca, DigitasLBi)

DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER CAMPAIGN

ELIQUIS (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Publicis North America)

DIRECT-TO-PATIENT CAMPAIGN

CINRYZE Campaign (Shire, Dudnyk)

EMR/EHR PROGRAM

EMR Coupons & Co-Pay Access (PSKW/PDR)

HCP EDUCATION

Astellas Learn & Earn Driving Challenge (Astellas, Katalyst)

INTERACTIVE MARKETING PROGRAM

Insights, Research and Messaging Achieve Increased Understanding of Diagnosis and Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder (Shire, Healthcasts)

PATIENT/CONSUMER EDUCATION

You Dont Know Jack About MS (Teva Pharmaceuticals, Intouch Solutions, Rx Mosaic)

PERSISTENCE/ADHERENCE PROGRAM

SaxendaCare (Novo Nordisk, MicroMass Communications, Inc.)

POINT OF CARE

Patient Mobile Connect and Digital Infusion Room Tablet (ContextMedia:Health)

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Atypical Antipsychotic Product Launch (Otsuka, Lundbeck, Concentric Health Experience)

PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN

Iressa Global Campaign (AstraZeneca, AbelsonTaylor)

PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE

AskNow Service Platform Launch for Entresto (Novartis, Havas Lynx)

SALES AID

Praxbind Virtual Reality MOA (by Confideo Labs for Boehringer Ingelheim)

SELF-PROMOTION

Call for Good Creative (Sentrix Health Communications)

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Straight Talk Acromegaly (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Ruder Finn)

UNBRANDED CAMPAIGN

Caregivers Speak Up (The Bloc)

VIDEO/TV CAMPAIGN

Linzess  Tell Me Something I Dont Know (Allergan, Inc., Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc., FCB Health)

About PM360

PM360 is the premier source for information that product managers and pharma and medical device marketing professionals need to succeed in the complex, ever-changing healthcare environment. PM360 offers invaluable perspective on important industry issues through a full-circle combination of how-to information and thoughtful career insights. The PM360 Trailblazer Awards span six categories, including Company of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Marketer of the Year, Marketing Team, Brand Champion Awards, and Initiative Awards.
Control and Operations Centre in Moquegua, Southern Peru ...the resolution of the video wall display in the Southern Peru control room is fantastic.

Christie, a leader in creating and delivering the worlds best visual and audio experiences, is pleased to announce that the Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC) mining company has installed a Christie Entero HB video wall display in its control room at Moquegua (Peru). The video wall is managed by the Christie TVC-700 processor, which enables Southern Peru to monitor its entire electrical network in real time. The design and roll out of the new system was undertaken by the Peruvian engineering company Procetradi.

Southern Copper Corporation (SCC) is one of the worlds largest producers of copper. Its subsidiary in Peru, as well as operating a refinery in the coastal city of Ilo, extracts from the Toquepala and Cuajone mines in the Andes, which are roughly 860 kilometers to the southeast of the countrys capital of Lima.

To monitor these three sites, Southern Peru has a 24/7 Control and Operations Centre in Moquegua, a region in the southeast of the country. From here it oversees the correct functioning of the electrical system feeding the mines and coordinates the replacement of the various disconnections produced due to rare failures in the system, operating remotely to minimize the disconnection time.

The control room is equipped with Survalent Technologys SCADA system with software to remotely control and supervise industrial processes. And this is where the Christie video wall is installed, enabling real-time visualization of electrical networks and conditions, thanks to the automatization of Survalents SCADA system.

The video wall comprises four 72 inch Christie Entero HB display cubes with WUXGA resolution. These LED cubes are equipped with DLP technology and designed with 24/7 environments in mind. They provide over 1000 lumens brightness and are the first to feature Wi-Fi enabled functioning throughout the network.

The engineer Rolando Jesus, head of Southern Perus power system, said We chose the Christie solution because it ticked all the boxes we had marked for the project. Since we have had the video wall operating 24/7, we havent had the slightest problem and the solution is proving really reliable. On top of that, Procetradi was able to speed up the timing to bring the project on line very quickly.

Juan Carlos Vilcas Balbin, Head of Projects at Procetradi, remarked that the really nice part is that the resolution of the video wall display in the Southern Peru control room is fantastic. The bezels of the screens are practically imperceptible, which is a great help when you are looking at continuous electrical plans because you dont see the transition from one cube to the next.

Vilcas Balbin also underscored the low maintenance required by the display, which obviously helps the control room guarantee continuous operation. In this regard, the Christie Entero HD display cubes are based on well-proven, solid state technology designed for zero maintenance.

The Christie TVC-700 processor installed by Southern Peru controls the video wall and shows other tools onscreen besides the Survalent SCADA, such as the ION Enterprise software that tracks and analyzes information on power supply. The Christie TVC-700 video processor has a capacity to simultaneously support hundreds of inputs and show them in high resolution anywhere, at any size and in any amount of windows across the video wall display. It is PC-based, simple to use and purpose-built specifically to stand up to the demanding conditions of 24/7 control rooms.

Juan Carlos Chavez, Christie director in Latin America, is delighted with the new project. We are proud to see our control room solutions installed so successfully at Southern Peru. Christie video wall displays guarantee impeccable functioning and great reliability in such complex surroundings as control rooms where the demands are increasingly greater and where there is no room for failure. I would also like to underscore the excellent work carried out by our partner Procetradi, who has plenty of experience in rolling out solutions for control rooms.

Founded in 1997, Procetradi is specialized in the design, architecture and integration of advanced automatization, control and communication solutions, including the development and implementation of software and hardware for companies in the energy, water, mining and big industry sectors. The company has a line of products called Smart Visual Solution which offers advanced visualization technologies for monitoring control rooms, ranging from design to implementation.

About Christie

Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual and audio technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the worlds most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit http://www.christiedigital.com for more information.

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Christie is a trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc., registered in the United States of America and certain other countries.

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North Reading Middle / High School

ENR New England announced the winners of their Annual Best Projects for 2016. The North Reading Middle / High School project has received a merit award K-12 Education. This year the panel of industry judges reviewed and discussed 20 projects located throughout the region, which comprises of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The North Reading Middle / High School project consisted of a gut-renovation to the pre-existing middle school and the construction of a new adjacent high school. The new high school building provides a state-of-the-art learning environment for students and faculty, offering flexible classrooms, high-tech laboratory spaces, and small group learning areas. The pre-existing 136,410 SF middle school connects to the new high school through a large open Main Street corridor. The Middle/High School shares a new performing arts center/auditorium; kitchen and cafeteria; gymnasium; library/media center; and administrative spaces as well as core mechanical spaces. Combined, the facilities will serve a total of 1,370 students in grades six through 12.

Three judges from the industry evaluated each project on the ability of the project team to overcome challenges, contribution to the industry and community, safety and construction. View a complete list of winners at ENR New England Best Project Winners. The Winners will be recognized at an awards breakfast on December 8th at the Hyatt Regency Boston.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services  from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, close-out and facility management services  for clients across various markets. Founded in 1873 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 50 office locations around the world.

Gilbane has been a leading Boston construction firm since 1946, serving commercial, institutional, and public clients in the Commonwealth including the University of Massachusetts, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Tufts University, Verizon, Genzyme, Fidelity Investments, and Bank of America. The Boston office was recently named a Top Charitable Contributor in 2015 and 2016 by Boston Business Journal. For more information, visit http://www.gilbaneco.com/boston
Most consumers dont read the fine print on everything they sign. We all know that we should carefully read the terms and conditions of every agreement and every line of every contract, but we dont. Its easier to jot down a signature or click accept.

By doing this, consumers could be signing away the right to complain and not even know it, thanks to the rising use of non-disparagement clauses in contracts.

Such is the case for one Texas couple out of Plano. An article written by CBS 11 DFW said the Plano couple posted a negative review on Yelp about a Dallas business called Prestigious Pets. The business sued claiming the review violated a non-disparagement clause in their contract and are seeking up to $1 million in damages.

Prestigious Pets page on Yelp shows a Consumer Alert: Questionable Legal Threats message that warns consumers the business has sued a reviewer.

Non-disparagement clauses are sometimes used in contracts between consumers and businesses, and the use of these clauses is on the rise, according to Professor Emeritus Richard Alderman, who serves as director of consumer law at the University of Houston Law Center. These prohibit consumers from making negative remarks, truthful or not, about a company through a public medium like Yelp, Google review or a BBB review. If you break the clause, you could be sued for hundreds or thousands of dollars by the business.

One consumer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said her signature on the dotted line of an application to rent a property would come back to haunt her.

A particular clause in the application denied her the ability to write an honest review of how the company was treating her. Not only had she never heard of the clause, she didnt even notice it when she signed. The clause said she was prohibited from making disparaging remarks/statements or publications regarding the other to any third party by posting on any review based website.

The consumer we spoke with never knew she had signed the clause until after she filed a complaint with BBB.

I really didnt even pay attention to it to be honest with you, the consumer said. It was in the application I had signed so I could rent the property out. The application said it could look up my credit, that the fee was non-refundable, and then the non-disparagement clause was in it, too, she said.

After filing the complaint, the consumer said she received a demand of removal letter from the business. The document stated the complaint fell under their agreed non-disparagement clause. If the consumer did not take down the complaint, the business would get their lawyers involved.

We eventually just settled on the issue and we didnt want to go to court, the consumer said.

However, the threat of losing hundreds of dollars scared the consumer enough to rethink how she looks at anything she signs.

I do feel there would be more negative reviews on this business if they didnt have the clause and am not surprised (the owner) does it, the consumer said.

According to Professor Alderman, non-disparagement clauses began to appear in consumer contracts with the increase of websites that allow reviews of businesses.

He said businesses use the clauses as a sort of protection against consumers who lie about the service that company has given. They appear in a variety of contracts including professional service and property agreements, but Alderman said they are not limited to a specific industry. What the clause essentially does is silence consumers even when what they said is truthful, Alderman said.

From a consumer stand point, there is still a problem, Alderman said. The threat that if you dont take this down you would owe me $50,000 has a tendency to work.

Currently, there is no law in Texas that prohibits businesses from using non-disparagement clauses in contracts. Only California has banned businesses from placing non-disparagement clauses in consumer contracts.

BBB contacted the Texas Attorney Generals Office to see if any official legal opinion has been issued. According to a spokesperson, none have been issued or requested. The AGs office did say they encourage consumers to review contracts carefully and to submit a complaint to the agency if a consumer feels they have been misled.

The Federal Trade Commission made a stand against non-disparagement clauses after they sued Roca Labs Inc. in 2015 for including the clauses in their contracts. The federal agency said in a press release that the clauses harmed consumers by barring them from making truthful statements about the companys product.

So what happens if you sign a contract or agreement with a non-disparagement clause? Not much, according to Alderman. You can sue the company; however, he said you have to factor in if you can win the lawsuit and if you want to get into one. Alderman also said first amendment protections would not apply to the clause because the dispute involves private parties, not a government impeding speech.

There is a possibility that a federal law could be passed restricting the use of non-disparagement clauses.

The U.S. Senate passed the Consumer Review Freedom Act in December of 2015. The bill would prohibit the use of certain clauses in form contracts that restrict the ability of a consumer to communicate regarding the goods or services offered. Additionally, the bill would protect the right of consumers to express truthful criticism.

Reviews offering blunt and honest criticism play an increasingly important role in helping customers select the best products and services, said Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who sponsored the bill. If consumers no longer trust reviews because of strong-arm policies, a key benefit of the system is gone.

Thune told BBB he believes consumers should benefit from the experiences of other customers. While he understands the concerns businesses have about maintaining their reputations, there are examples of abuse that harm consumers and competing businesses, he said.

The legislation would ensure the practice of putting non-disparagement clauses in consumer contracts doesnt become common place, Thune said.

Consumers will be able to breathe a little easier when writing a critical review without worrying that a provision could be tucked into the fine print of a form contract.

The next step is for the U.S. House of Representatives to consider the bill. Thune said the legislation is a priority for him.

The U.S. House passed a similar bill called the Consumer Review Fairness Act on Sept. 12. Congressman Leonard Lance is sponsoring the bill.

BBB accredited businesses are not allowed to use non-disparagement clauses, which are not compatible with BBBs Standards for Trust.

BBB believes that customer opinions, whether positive or negative, can be valuable information both for businesses and for their future customers, said Vice President Richard Woods, general counsel and corporate secretary for the Council of Better Business Bureaus. We discourage using these clauses to stifle expression as contrary to BBBs vision of an ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers trust each other.

BBB does inform consumers of businesses that use these clauses by disclosing the information on their BBB Business Review page.

So, what can a consumer do to protect themselves?

BBB offers these tips:

Read your contract. What can end up hurting a consumer is not fully understanding or reviewing a contract. The clauses are sometimes stuck in long contracts or in online contracts that require you to accept what the document entails. Ask the business if there are any clauses that would limit your ability to truthfully give your opinion. Dont forget to completely read the contract as well.

Ask questions. Ask the business why the clause is in the contract. Make sure you understand what happens if you break the clause or if you can back out of the contract if you feel uncomfortable a couple days after signing it.

Negotiate with the business. Try to see if the clause can be removed. Seeking legal advice about the contract can ensure everything is done properly.

Walk away. Alderman said if a business has a non-disparagement clause in their contract, you may want to rethink doing business with the company. You always have a choice. The clause may indicate the company is worried about a consumer saying something truthful about their services or business practices. Decide whether the clause is something you are comfortable with signing. If not, choose another company who can offer the same service.

For the latest news and information, follow us on watchyourbuck.com, Facebook and Twitter. To check out a company and find trustworthy businesses, visit bbb.org/central-texas . Find other news story topics by visiting our Press Release News Center.

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2015, people turned to BBB more than 172 million times for BBB Business Reviews on more than 4.7 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. BBB serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and Permian Basin, which serves 105 counties in Texas, has offices in Austin, Waco, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Midland, Bryan and Fort Worth. Your BBB is one of more than 100 local, independent BBBs across the U.S. Canada and Mexico.
Mario Massillamany, partner at Massillamany & Jeter LLP, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of a child allegedly attacked by a dog. The family of the four-year old seek damages from the dog owner for injuries allegedly sustained during the attack. The lawsuit filed, under case number 29D02-1609-CT-008024, will be heard in Hamilton Superior Court No. 2.

Court documents show that on May 27th, 2016, while playing in the front yard of the family home located in Noblesville, Indiana the Defendant Mr. Willy's dog allegedly attacked the four-year old. (compl.  7). Jason Willy was believed to have been jogging with his dog on the sidewalk adjacent to the familys property. (compl.  8). While Mr. Willys dog was on a leash, the dog was allegedly able to run into the yard and attack the child. (compl.  9). The child was playing in her yard when the dog allegedly lunged toward her, biting her on the right side of her face. (compl.  7). The child was rushed to St. Vincents hospital where she received stitches and will require future plastic surgery due to excessive scarring. (compl.  14).

The lawsuit alleges that the defendant was negligent in taking precautions, which resulted in extensive damage to the child and claims the dog had a propensity for such behavior. (compl.  19-20).

Massillamany & Jeter LLP is a full-service law firm based in Hamilton County but serving the entire State of Indiana. Mario Massillamany began his career as a public interest lawyer, serving his community at the local, state, and national level. Mario served as a deputy prosecutor and general counsel in Marion County. Following his years in public service, Mario had a nationwide practice while working for Indianas largest law firm, and one of the top 100 largest firms in the country. In 2015, he joined forces with Chris Jeter to start Massillamany & Jeter LLP. The firm focuses its practice in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense, corporate law, civil litigation, family law, estate planning, appeals and government services. The Firm has offices in Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville, Plainfield, Greenwood, and Lawrence.

For more information, please visit http://www.mjattorneys.com or visit us on social media:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mjattorneys

Twitter: @massjeter
Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) announced today that the organization will host two breakout sessions at the sixteenth annual Information Management Symposium, hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). The IM Symposium will take place from Sept. 25 to 28 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

Roxanna Cross, Senior Director of Product Management, BHI, will present Commercial and Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment: Leveraging Predictive Data Models to Close Diagnosis and Quality Gaps, from 12:55 to 1:20 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, in the Ambassador Ballroom.

Roxanna will discuss Xchange Advisor, a proprietary software as a service (SaaS) model developed by BHI to help Plans more accurately capture risk. This tool empowers healthcare industry professionals to better answer critical questions by:



Using predictive analytics to inform healthcare management strategies by identifying and closing gaps in coding, quality, and care with accuracy and transparency

Maximizing interventions, gap closure, and diagnosis capture with powerful analytics

Identifying population risk and demonstrating program impact with intervention tracking, impact/return reporting, and financial modeling

Mary Henderson, Senior Vice President of Account Innovations, BHI, and Gary Gavin, VP, Key and Large/Auto Group Business, BCBSM, will present BHI Customer Reporting from 2:15 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in the LaSalle breakout room.

Mary and Gary will introduce WHYZEN Analytics, a one-source account reporting tool designed to provide health plan users a simpler, more efficient way to discover, package, and share insights with clients. Their session will highlight critical topics such as:



Reporting flexibility through a powerful associative data model, satisfying the needs of all levels of users

Leveraging robust, interactive, mobile-friendly data visualizations that allow users to seamlessly compose reports and take action

Enabling users to quickly access comprehensive, on-demand data and analytics

For more information about opportunities to connect with BHI at the IM Symposium, contact Joe Bisson, VP, Business Development, BHI at joe(dot)bisson(at)bluehealthintelligence(dot)com and for WHYZEN Analytics, contact Kelvin Evans, VP, Business Development, BHI at kelvin(dot)evans(at)bluehealthintelligence(dot)com.

About Blue Health Intelligence

Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) is the nations premier resource for data-driven insights about healthcare trends and best practices, promoting healthier lives and more affordable access to safe and effective care. BHI leverages a team of analytics experts with advanced technology, coupled with access to the greatest number of healthcare claims gathered over 10 years in a safe, HIPAA-compliant, secure database. The resulting conformed, reliable data set has the broadest, deepest pool of integrated medical and pharmacy claims, reflecting medical utilization in every ZIP code.

Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) is a trade name of Health Intelligence Company, LLC., an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit http://www.bluehealthintelligence.com.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSM provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.5 million members residing in Michigan in addition to employees of Michigan-headquartered companies who reside outside the state. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBluesPerspectives.com.

About the IM Symposium

The annual Information Management IM Symposium, launched in 2000, is presented and hosted by various Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan Information Professionals. This conference aims to provide Plan business and technical representatives the opportunity to network and exchange best practices and innovations in the field of information management, information architecture, data warehousing, business intelligence, informatics, and analytics with the end result of delivering actionable business value to the Plans through the power of information assets. For more information, visit http://www.imsymposium2016.com.
This September, Rheumatology Associates is participating in the first annual Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month (RDAM) to raise awareness about rheumatic diseases in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. RDAM is sponsored by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and its national public awareness campaign, Simple Tasks.

More than 52.5 million Americans  young and old  live with painful, debilitating and life-threatening rheumatic diseases. Rheumatic diseases are the nations leading cause of disability. These diseases often strike individuals in the prime of their lives and can lead to long-term disability and premature death if not treated early and effectively.

Seeing a rheumatologist within the first weeks and months of disease onset  what rheumatologists call the window of opportunity can dramatically improve long-term outcomes for patients, so it is important to know what symptoms to look for and when to ask your doctor for a referral to a trained specialist. Once diagnosed, people living with rheumatic diseases can face significant healthcare obstacles, including a shortage of trained rheumatologists to treat their conditions and expensive co-pays for specialty therapies.

Because rheumatic disease symptoms can be difficult to pinpoint and are sometimes dismissed as merely the aches and pains of getting older, people living with these diseases may go years before seeking treatment or receiving a correct diagnosis.

Symptoms of rheumatic disease vary by person and condition, but may include:



Joint or muscle pain, inflammation, swelling, redness or stiffness;

Eye irritation and inflammation;

Skin rash;

General fatigue, malaise and fevers;

Hair loss;

Dry eyes or mouth;

Chest pain; and

Seizures or stroke.

At Rheumatology Associates we treat all varieties of rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoporosis, sarcoidosis, scleroderma, reactive arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, to name just a few, explained Dr. Sharad Lakhanpal, physician partner at Rheumatology Associates and incoming president of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). We also work with Metroplex Clinical Research Center (MCRC) to conduct clinical trials and research. No one should have to live with chronic, persistent and mysterious pain.

Unfortunately, too many patients struggle to access and afford effective care and treatments for their rheumatic diseases, said Dr. Joan Von Feldt, MD, MSEd, president of the ACR. Therefore, in addition to increasing awareness about symptoms and treatment options, Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month is also an opportunity to advance the health and well-being of those living with rheumatic disease by advocating for healthcare policies that help patients access safe, affordable and effective healthcare.

People who want to learn more about rheumatic diseases can visit the Rheumatology Associates website at http://www.arthdocs.com.

About Rheumatology Associates

Rheumatology Associates was founded in 1975 and is now one of the largest single specialty Rheumatology groups in the United States. Our physicians have extensive experience in clinical practice, clinical research and basic science research. Our group provides care to patients throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex with convenient locations in Arlington, Dallas, Duncanville, Grapevine, Irving, Lewisville, North Richland Hills and Plano. For more information, visit http://www.arthdocs.com.

About Metroplex Clinical Research Center (MCRC)

MCRC has been involved in developing new investigational rheumatoid arthritis medications for 25 years, serving as one of the original research sites to conduct trials with Enbrel in 1993 and in the development of newer investigational drugs. The physician's private practice, Rheumatology Associates, and MCRC have a combined database of more than 50,000 individuals. This includes private patients, individuals who have participated in clinical trials or those who have expressed an interest in clinical trials. The physicians at MCRC are heavily involved in designing, conducting and analyzing clinical trials, as well as reporting the results at national and international scientific meetings.

About the American College of Rheumatology

The American College of Rheumatology is an international medical society representing more than 9,400 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals with a mission to Advance Rheumatology! In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatologists are experts in the diagnosis, management and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases.
Chamberlain Hrdlicka, one of the nations most profitable mid-size law firms, is pleased to welcome former federal tax prosecutor Kevin F. Sweeney to its Philadelphia office.

Sweeney comes to Chamberlain Hrdlicka from the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division (DOJ Tax), where he led many of its most successful tax cases, including offshore banking cases against prominent Swiss banks BSI SA, Union Bancaire Privee (UBP) SA, and Edmond de Rothschild SA. During his tenure, he investigated and litigated dozens of federal white-collar criminal cases including tax evasion, tax preparer, employment tax, FBAR, money laundering, currency structuring, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and other financial fraud matters.

Many of Sweeneys cases at DOJ Tax began as sensitive IRS audits into civil tax matters, such as the reporting of undeclared foreign bank accounts, captive insurance deductions, employment tax obligations, mark-to-market elections, like-kind exchanges, and tax shelters. For his work, Sweeney was awarded the U.S. Department of Justices Tax Division Outstanding Attorney Award in 2013 and again in 2015.

Sweeney also led several cases pursuant to the DOJ Tax Program for Non-Prosecution Agreements or Non-Target Letters for Swiss Banks (commonly referred to as the Swiss Bank Program or SBP). In this capacity, he investigated banks and bank employees for violations of international tax and money laundering laws to include deficiencies in bank internal controls, FATCA compliance, and AML procedures. Additionally, Sweeney led investigations and criminal prosecutions into undeclared U.S. foreign bank account holders and facilitators such as bankers, attorneys, and asset managers.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka has a long and distinguished track record of defending sensitive civil and criminal tax matters, and we know that Kevin will be a great asset to our team and clients, said Philadelphia shareholder Philip Karter, a former DOJ tax litigator himself. Kevins unique knowledge of offshore banking matters enables him to expertly guide financial institutions, executives, and professionals through U.S. regulatory and enforcement issues, and to defend U.S. citizens and residents with foreign bank accounts in criminal tax investigations, sensitive IRS audits, voluntary disclosures, streamline filings, and IRS tax compliance matters.

At Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Sweeney puts his experience and longstanding connections to use representing individuals and corporate clients in IRS audits and criminal investigations, civil tax litigation before the United States Tax Court, District Courts, and Court of Federal Claims, and white-collar criminal defense litigation in United States District Court. He holds a bachelors degree in accounting from Loyola University Maryland and a law degree from New York Law School.

About Chamberlain Hrdlicka  Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a diversified business law firm with offices in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Antonio. The firm represents both public and private companies as well as individuals and family-owned businesses across the nation in a wide variety of practice areas, including commercial and business litigation, tax, tax controversy and litigation, federal white-collar criminal defense, corporate, securities and finance, employment law and employee benefits, energy law, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, and real estate and construction law.
Ritos del Sol clothing for men and women inspired by Mana Were proud that Ritos del Sol is being produced in our native Mexico and thrilled to be launching in the U.S. market, where we have many fans who love our music and commitment to conservation and world harmony.

Iconic Latin super group Mana today announced the launch of Ritos del Sol - a fashion jeans sportswear collection for men and women designed to mirror the bands ongoing desire seeking harmony between man and nature

Sold online through ritosdelsol.com, the collection of jeans and related tops is a first for Mana. Known for their award-winning world music mixing pop rock, Latin pop, calypso, reggae and ska, the bands record-setting artists have long been social activists supporting causes designed to preserve earths fragile eco-system.

Towards that end, a percentage of all Ritos del Sol merchandise sold on the companys online retail site will go to support Selva Negra, a nonprofit organization created by Mana (1995) that funds various environmental initiatives around the world. Selva Negra projects are based on a concept that encompasses conservation, rescue of the environment and social development. The core of its concept is environmental education; the core concept is to preserve, rescue and promote the progress of individuals and their communities.

Weve devoted a lot of time to the creation of Ritos del Sol, said Mana founding member, Fher Olvera. Were proud that its being produced in our native Mexico and thrilled to be launching in the U.S. market, where we have many fans who love our music and commitment to conservation and world harmony.

Ritos del Sol is first and foremost a high quality, moderately priced fashion collection. Manufactured in Puebla, Mexico by partner ADN, Ritos del Sol is priced at $25-30 for tops and $58 for jeans in a variety of washes and fits. Like the music of Mana, Ritos del Sol designs embrace a world aesthetic. Abstract prints representing sea turtles, jaguars, leopards, snakes, field tigers, the desert and jungle tastefully adorn the Selva Negra story behind the collection. Other print story groups include: Cosmos, Laberinto De Concreto and Inframundo.

Ive spent my entire career in this industry and have been fortunate to work with many talented people and good companies, said Michael Straka, President of Ritos del Sol, Inc. But, Ive never worked with a better team than the one we have put together at Ritos del Sol. Were very proud of what we have developed here, to include the product and the cause we are supporting. Were confident our customers will feel the same way.

About Mana

The bands story began in 1986 when four friends from Guadalajara, Mexico decided to get together and form a band that would be called Mana meaning positive energy in Polynesian. Their musical passion was to merge rock with Latin rhythms and those from the Caribbean. To date, Mana has captured over 60 music awards, including four Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammys, five MTV Music Awards, 19 Billboard Awards and 15 Premios Lo Nuestro awards. Often referred to as the U2 of Spanish Rock, Mana is comprised of band members Fher Olvera (guitar/vocals), Alex Gonzalez (drums), Sergio Vallin (lead guitar) and Juan Calleros (bass guitar). The influential Latin American band has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and is currently playing sold out arenas across the U.S. as part of a 25-city Latino Power Tour. Manas social media following is enormous, with some 17 million followers on Facebook alone.

About Selva Negra

Selva Negra Ecological Foundation is a nonprofit organization established as a Civil Association. Founded in 1996 by members of Mana, Selva Negra (Spanish for Black Forrest) develops unique programs specific to species preservation, environmental conservation and environmental education, participating in projects that also seek the development of the community. In this sense, the Selva Negra Ecological Foundation is the social arm of Mana.

About Ritos del Sol

Born from the soul of Mana, Ritos del Sol is an extension of the bands passion and creative energy - endeavoring to forge new paths through culture and positive influence around the world. Fusing a Rock N Roll spirit with the natural world and originality with mindful innovation, Ritos del Sol creates quality products with a distinct character. Carefully crafted in its socially responsible workshops, Ritos del Sol is committed to total conservation and ultimate respect for the environment.

visit us at RitosdelSol.com

Press Contact:

Howard Ruben PR

818.823.1971; 818.445.4543

info(at)howardruben(dot)com
GRC Annual Meeting & GEA GeoExpo+ Room discount ends September 28

Sacramento, California, USA: Discounts on hotel room reservations for the 40th Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) Annual Meeting & Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) GeoExpo+, being held in Sacramento, California, USA, October 2326, 2016, will end September 28. All the events and accommodation are in one central location, at the Sacramento Convention Center and neighboring Sheraton Grand and Hyatt Regency hotels.

The GRC has contracted with the Sheraton Grand and Hyatt Regency for a discounted block of rooms. At both hotels there is a choice of rooms with either two double beds or a king bed starting at $145 a night excluding taxes and fees. The discount ends September 28.

Attendees can make their reservations on secure websites prepared specially for the GRC and GEA. The links are available from the GRC Annual Meeting website at: http://www.geothermal.org/meet-new.html.

The GRC Annual Meeting & GEA GeoExpo+ is the industrys largest annual gathering of leading geothermal energy scientists, producers, renewable energy industry stakeholders, regulators, utilities, and key associated business leaders. The four-day event will offer technical, policy, and market conference sessions, educational seminars, tours of local geothermal and renewable energy projects, trade show and numerous networking opportunities.

More information on the biggest annual geothermal event in the world can be found on the GRC website at: http://www.geothermal.org/meet-new.html.

##

About the Geothermal Resources Council:

With the experience and dedication of its diverse, international membership bolstering a 45-year track record, the Geothermal Resources Council has built a solid reputation as one of the worlds preeminent geothermal associations. The GRC serves as a focal point for continuing professional development for its members through its outreach, information transfer and education services.

For more information, please visit http://www.geothermal.org.

Get your daily geothermal news at Global Geothermal News [geothermalresourcescouncil.blogspot.com]. Become a fan on Facebook [ facebook.com/GeothermalResourcesCouncil]. Follow GRC on Twitter [@GRC2001 and @GRCAM2016]. Check out GRCs YouTube Channel [ youtube.com/GeothermalCouncil]. See geothermal photos on GRCs Flicker page. [ flickr.com/photos/geothermalresourcescouncil]

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At least 170 migrants, both Egyptian and foreign, were killed when a migrant boat capsized off the north coast of Egypt on Wednesday

Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi addressed young Egyptians seeking to migrate in the light of the boat disaster last week which killed at least 170 migrants while en route to Italy.

In a speech during in the inauguration of the first stage of a housing project in Alexandria, El-Sisi said that there was no justification or excuse for such death of human beings from Egypt and abroad" and also called on young people to have hope and not seek to migrate, warning that Egypt "cannot be a state of refugees."

The housing project, named Portent of Benevolence consists of 1,600 housing units for the same number of families. It is funded by a group of businessmen and donations from the National Bank of Egypt.

El-Sisi said that this was a different project than the state project underway to move the residents of dangerous slums in the country to 170,000 housing units in at Al-Asmarat district in Mokattam in eastern Cairo.

For any member of our youth to travel this way, he pays a lot of money, whether he was able to get it himself or borrow it, El-Sisi said.

El-Sisi said that illegal migration should be combated whether to or from Egypt or vice versa; yet said that the phenomenon was something that the state cant face alone.

Egypt has 5,000 km in terms of land and sea ports. The state cant control it alone one hundred percent. The society should have a role in this, El-Sisi said.

On Saturday, El-Sisi ordered for the prosecution of "wrongdoers" behind the capsizing of the boat, mandating the government coordinate with the parliament to finalise procedures related to approving a law that combats "illegal migration.

The death toll from the capsizing of the boat on Wednesday off Egypts Mediterranean coast reached 170 people on Monday, with a total of 164 people rescued, including 117 Egyptians and 43 foreigners, as well as the boats four crew members who have been arrested.

Is there hope? Yes, there is. I will speak in particular about Kafr El-Sheikh, he said during his speech, going on to talk about a large fish farm project that was to be opened in the coastal governorate, and would be completed by next February or March, describing it as a project that would be one of the biggest in Egypt in that field.

We wont leave you. Why are you leaving your country? Are there no job opportunities? No, there are, El-Sisi told youth who wish to migrate.

In particular, he said that Kafr El-Sheikh itself currently has six to eight factories that are ready to operate, and can provide 100-200 job opportunities in each factory.

Is there hope? Yes there is, and there is even high hope, El-Sisi said.

Egypt cannot be a country of refugees; there are powerful pressure and efforts being exerted against you, Egyptians. You have to know this, but you also need to know that we need to work to change the reality that we are living, El-Sisi said.

Change initiative

El-Sisi introduced an initiative that relies on using change from transactions inside banks, to deposit it in a bank account that is used to fund housing projects.

Cant we take change say 50 Egyptian piasters and put it in an account to fund such housing projects? El-Sisi said.

Yes there is the Long Live Egypt fund, just like there are charity organisations. But here, youre talking about a stronger mechanism. Youre talking about the transactions of 20-30 million people. If were able to use one pound of change, youll be able to collect EGP 10-12 million, he said.

If you allow me, I want such money to fund such projects. How can I take it? I dont know, El-Sisi said, asking banks to look for a mechanism for it to be applied.

Fighting doubts

The Egyptian president also discussed doubts that lead to the shaking of peoples trust in themselves and their country due to the spreading of unfounded information.

Such doubts and the defeat of peoples determination is something that cant be accepted, he said.

We have a state and an army and police that wont allow anyone to harm us. The coordination is ongoing in order that the armed forces can be deployed in six hours to protect the country. We wont leave it and we wont lose it. Im responsible in front of God and you and history to secure it until the last moment, El-Sisi said.

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Romance is created by partners. It does not exist by itself. - Dr. Stan Tatkin

With autumn approaching, leading couple therapist Dr. Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, and author of Wired for Love and Wired for Dating, discusses three simple ways to create positive habits for a healthy relationship during this season of change. From relationship fun to cultivating gratitude, Dr. Tatkins tips encourage partners to use this time of year to embark on a new path toward relationship success.

1. Finesse the fun in your relationship

There needs to be fun in a relationship. If one person is fun but the other is not, well that doesnt sound very enjoyable. If either or both partners are not fun-oriented, the fun factor has to be worked out because no matter where they go or what they do, one or both individuals wont have fun. If both partners are fun but have become complacent or overworked and have simply forgotten how to spell the word adventure, they need to get off their duffs and schedule something totally different to do. Especially in the fall, there are a million of opportunities out there: nature hikes, apple picking, yard sales, craft fairs; the list goes on. Stop, look, and pick one.

2. Light some spark

Romance is created by partners. It does not exist by itself. Many partners are not romantically inclined and so romance may not be of any value to them. Romance, like love of music, art, pets, and so on, is cultivated in early childhood. Its either there or it isnt. However, if you are one of the lucky ones that have cultivated a love of romance, keeping the spark is easy-peasy. Gazing lovingly into each others eyes on a fairly regular basis is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of keeping romance alive. Falling in love happens through the eyes. Its something always available and easy to do, if and when an individual or partner need to feel loved or appreciated.

3. Cultivate gratitude

Gratitude is the opposite of misery. That is why miserable people are never grateful. Their glass is always empty. Finding gratitude is inextricably related to reality as we are always getting more than we are giving if we really do an honest daily inventory. The human being is a selfish animal. People are always aware of what they are not getting and become angry, resentful, envious, and deprived. An exercise based on Naikan, a Japanese meditation practice to engender feelings of gratitude, details that if each partner was to do an honest inventory of what they have received from their partner, what theyve given, and the trouble theyve caused their partner, a feeling of gratitude would likely emerge.

The human brain tends to focus on whats missing, what isnt happening, what isnt perfect. That is why Naikan already assumes we know the trouble he or she caused us and so it isnt necessary to add it to our inventory. Do the inventory for yourself not your partner. Its for you to realize what you receive every day. explains Dr. Tatkin.

Dr. Tatkin has a clinical practice in Calabasas, CA and is best-selling author of Wired for Love and Wired for Dating. Dr. Tatkin and his wife, Tracey Boldemann-Tatkin, PhD, are cofounders of the PACT Institute. They travel the world training therapists in their unique approach to couple therapy. The Tatkins also provide Wired for Love and Wired for Relationship retreats for couples and individuals. Learn more about Dr. Tatkin at http://www.stantatkin.com.

About Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT

Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, has a clinical practice as a couple therapist in Calabasas, CA, and is an assistant professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He and his wife, Tracey Boldemann-Tatkin, PhD, founded the PACT Institute and lead therapist training programs in cities across the United States and around the world. Tatkin is the author of three well-received books about relationshipsWired for Dating, Wired for Love, and Your Brain on Loveand is coauthor of Love and War in Intimate Relationships.

About the PACT Institute

The PACT Institute is a leading global organization that offers trainings for clinical professionals in a method designed to help secure-functioning relationships flourish. The Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT) draws on more than three decades of research on developmental neuroscience, attachment theory, and arousal regulation. Since 2008, the PACT Institute has trained more than 1,000 practitioners across North America, Europe, and Australia and has expanded the training to three levels. PACT has gained a reputation for effectively treating even the most challenging couples. For more information visit http://www.thepactinstitute.com.
The women selected for the ranking are not only exceptional at their jobs, but an inspiration to others. They are leaders, at their companies, in the industry and in their communities

(PRWEB) September 26, 2016 -- American Banker has announced the honorees for the 2016 Most Powerful Women in Banking.

The centerpiece of the Women in Banking program are rankings of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking and the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance. In addition, American Banker identifies 25 Women to Watch and recognizes Top Teams in Banking to honor companies with strong female representation in their senior ranks.

The women selected for the ranking are not only exceptional at their jobs, but an inspiration to others. They are leaders, at their companies, in the industry and in their communities, said Executive Editor Bonnie McGeer, who chairs American Bankers Women in Banking Editorial Committee. Our hope is that by calling attention to such outstanding women, we can help amplify efforts by the industry to diversify its senior ranks.

BNY Mellon President Karen Peetz ascends to this years top spot on the Banking list. Peetz, for years a consistent presence in the Top 25, was cited for the breadth of her responsibilities, her crisis management skills, her influence in the broader industry, and her extensive charitable work.

I am honored to receive this recognition, which I am proud to share with the terrific BNY Mellon employees I work with every day, Peetz said. At BNY Mellon, we are invested in a diverse and inclusive workforce to take us to new heights of performance and growth.

I am inspired by the different perspectives, experiences, strengths and passions that drive each of us to do our very best for our clients, our company and our community, she said.

Marianne Lake, chief financial officer of JPMorgan Chase, was awarded the second position in the ranking. Cathy Bessant, chief operations and technology officer at Bank of America, moved up to third.

Complete rankings can be viewed online at American Banker and are featured in the October 2016 issue of American Banker Magazine. The honorees will be celebrated at a dinner and awards ceremony on Oct. 6 at Ciprianis in New York hosted by American Banker and parent company SourceMedia.

The ceremony will include a special Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be given to Diane DErasmo, recently retired North America regional head of retail at HSBC. In addition, Maureen Mo Wilkinson, vice president of community education and Community Reinvestment Act officer at HarborOne Bank in Brockton, Mass., will receive the Community Impact Award.

Top spots on the Most Powerful Women in Finance and the Women to Watch lists went to Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Nandita Bakhshi, the newly appointed president and chief executive of Bank of the West.

Erdoes, one of the top executives in the investment management and private banking sector, oversees assets of more than $2.4 trillion. Bakhshi, a 28-year veteran of the financial services industry, is just the fourth woman to head a top-40 U.S. bank.

Banks selected for Top Team awards this year are BMO Harris Bank, Centric Bank, JPMorgan Chase, KeyBank and Zions Bank. Notably, Centric has women in the roles of both chief executive officer and chief financial officer, which is a rarity among publicly traded banking companies.

About American Bankers Most Powerful Women in Banking

American Bankers Most Powerful Women in Banking recognizes the professional achievements and influence of the top-performing female executives in banking and financial services. The annual program, now in its 14th year, encompasses four lists: the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking, the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance, the 25 Women to Watch, and the Top Teams in Banking. Rankings and details about the awards dinner are available at americanbanker.com/women-in-banking.

About American Banker

American Banker, a SourceMedia brand, is the essential resource for senior executives in banking and financial services, keeping its users updated on vital developments and focusing sharply on their most important concerns. Financial industry professionals turn to American Banker to stay maximally informed and engage with an authoritative community of analysts, practitioners and innovators through opinion content, research reports, social media, and live events. American Banker Magazine is a monthly print publication of American Banker, focusing on the ideas, the people, and the companies that are changing the way bankers do business.

About SourceMedia

SourceMedia, an Observer Capital company, is a business-to-business Digital Marketing Services, Subscription Information, and Event company serving senior-level professionals in the financial, technology and healthcare sectors. Brands include American Banker, PaymentsSource, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, Accounting Today, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Mortgage News, Employee Benefit News and Health Data Management.

For more information, please contact:

Christine Zahn

christine.zahn@sourcemedia.com

212-803-8365
It is nice to know our visitors are having a good experience when they visit our campus.

The National Naval Aviation Museum has been named one of the Top 25 Museums in the country by TripAdvisor as part of the 2016 Travelers' Choice Awards. The museum has also been ranked Top 20 Museum in the USA by Yelp, making it one of the best museums in the country to visit.

The National Naval Aviation Museum ranks 14 on the list that includes well-known museums such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Modern Arts, The Getty Center, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and more.

The rankings are based on quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for museums worldwide gathered by TripAdvisor over a 12-month period.

"We are thrilled that the National Naval Aviation Museum has again been named a top museum by TripAdvisor, said retired Navy Capt. Sterling Gilliam, museum director. It is especially satisfying given TripAdvisor rankings are driven by user-generated content. It is nice to know our visitors are having a good experience when they visit our campus."

TripAdvisor, which is a travel planning and booking website, has more than 350 million unique visitors each month and more than 385 million reviews and opinions covering more than 6.6 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions.

The top 5 museums in the U.S. are:

1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2. Art Institute of Chicago

3. National 9/11 Memorial & Museum

4. The National WWI Museum

5. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Click here to see more.

The National Naval Aviation Museum is the worlds largest Naval Aviation museum and one of the most-visited museums in the state of Florida. Share the excitement of Naval Aviations rich history and see more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Aviation. Historic aircraft are displayed both inside the Museums nearly 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on its 37-acre grounds.

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Media Note: For more information about the National Naval Aviation Museum or Foundation, contact Malerie Shelton at (850) 453-2389 or mshelton(at)navalaviationmuseum(dot)org.

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About the National Naval Aviation Museum

The National Naval Aviation Museum, one of TripAdvisors Top 25 Museums in the United States, features nearly 350,000 square feet of displays and is one of the worlds largest aviation museums. Located aboard Pensacola Naval Air Station, the facility boasts more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation and is one of Floridas most visited museums. Be sure to visit Hangar Bay One, displaying aircraft of the post-WWII era including presidential helicopter, Marine One. Among the countless things to touch, see and experience are thrilling 3D and HD flight simulators and the new Blue Angels 4D Experience. Dont miss the drama and power of the new laser powered Giant Screen digital theater. The Cubi Bar Cafe offers a unique dining experience and the Flight Deck Store is the perfect place to find a souvenir that captures the spirit of Naval Aviation. Museum admission is FREE and open to the public. The National Naval Aviation Museum is open daily from 9 a.m.5 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.NavalAviationMuseum.org.
The Bee Hive in Chambersburg has hives filled with bees making delicious, raw honey for sale. Franklin County boasts more than 250 beekeepers and is home to the Franklin County Beekeepers Association, made up of members all over the county with their own hives.

September is National Honey Month and in Franklin County, there is no shortage of delicious, raw honey to choose from. Franklin County boasts more than 250 beekeepers and is home to the Franklin County Beekeepers Association, made up of members all over the county with their own hives.

Beekeeping is old, dating back to more than 8,000 years and the use of honey is older, used originally for the wealthy due to its rarity. It was used as not only a food but a healing agent, a beautifier and even as a religious artifact. Some claim it can help in weight loss, sleep and that it can slow aging.

The Bee Hive, located at 3696 Falling Spring Road in Chambersburg, sells honey and honey products from a small shop set up by their home.

We started keeping bees in the early 80s, said Mary Anne Knepper, who runs the store with her husband.

They sell raw honey and Golden Pride and Barleans products among other items in their store.

MaryAnne said that honey and the products are good for you due to do the natural antibiotics within the honey. Bees produce something called propolis which is a natural glue substance for them and in humans, she said, and has been shown to help heal burns and cuts.

Also found in bee pollen has been EDTA, which helps in chelation therapy that helps to treat those with lead poisoning, she said.

Ive always said that a beehive is more sterile than a hospital, she said, laughing.

The Bee Hive can be contacted by calling 717-264-5943.

Dave Shover, who runs Daves Natural Nectar out of his Mercersburg home at 4668 Charlestown Road, has several bee yards across Franklin County with bees producing honey.

We have different types of honeys, beeswax, hand creams and other items, Shover said.

Shover, who has been keeping his own bees for about six years, works full-time with bees, as his primary job is helping larger companies in Maryland keep bees and help with the pollination of orchards to bring the production up.

I go out to a lot of fall fests and things like that and Bobbies Gifts in Mercersburg sells our honey products, Shover said. People interested in his items can also contact him at 717-498-0473 to order.

Grove Walnut Apiary in Chambersburg produces some honey from their hives but the local business is busy preparing for next year and a new hive.

The Franklin County Visitors Bureau invites all to explore Franklin County PA and enjoy the trails of history, arts and architecture, recreation, natural beauty, fresh foods and the warm hospitality of communities like Chambersburg, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Shippensburg, and Waynesboro. Franklin County PA is located just north of the Mason Dixon Line and is an easy drive to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Discover more... plan a visit soon at ExploreFranklinCountyPA.com or by contacting 866-646-8060.
There is a growing global awareness of the many ways creative play aids in child developmentproblem-solving, collaboration, and language skills, for example. This has translated into a growth in the number of schools that want Imagination Playground.

Imagination Playground, LLC, http://www.imaginationplayground.com, creators of the breakthrough play space concept that encourages child-directed, unstructured free play, announced this week the return of their unprecedented offer to schools and family centersthe Gift of Play. Gift of Play is Imagination Playgrounds offer of help to the many schools that want a set of Imagination Playground Big Blue Blocks, but are unable to afford one.

Imagination Playground first launched Gift of Play in Fall 2015, after receiving feedback from hundreds of schools saying they dearly wanted Imagination Playground for their children, but could not acquire enough funds to do so. Imagination Playground responded by offering these schools financial consideration at unprecedented levels, as well as advice and help on community fundraising. The program was quickly and overwhelmingly received, enabling Imagination Playground to reach its 2015 goal of bringing creative play to 2 million more children.

According to Imagination Playground President and CEO, David Krishock, the decision to re-run the Gift of Play program this fall came in response to 582 schools who said they were waiting for the return of last years unprecedented offer.

There is a growing global awareness of the many ways creative play aids in child developmentproblem-solving, collaboration, and language skills, for example. This has translated into a growth in the number of schools that want Imagination Playground for their students. These schoolsour partnersare asking for our help, said Krishock.

Painted Desert Montessori Academy in Buckeye, Arizona was among the first schools this week to benefit from the renewed offer. Frank Yanez, the schools founder said, "We are the first public Montessori charter in the West Valley of Phoenix. Our focus is on opening up childrens minds to think and be creative, and the blocks are going to get them do that. Your help made all the difference in the world!

Sarah Howard, who accepted the Gift of Play on behalf of Newton Parrish Elementary in 2015, shared Newton Parrish has been watching the Big Blue Blocks for a while now. And with this great offer it has made it possible to bring them to the children of Newton Parrish Elementary.

Kellie Kalberer of Royal Oaks Elementary, commented similarly, saying, Weve kept our eye on these blocks, and with this special pricing we can finally make it happenthanks Imagination Playgroundthe children will love them!

Imagination Playgrounds company mission is to help children become more involved in purposeful, child-directed play. At the beginning of 2016, the company set a new goal to get 3 million more kids playing. Having already reached 2,121,000, Imagination Playground believes their renewed Gift offer will enable them to reach their goal by the end of the year.

Expressing his excitement, Krishock said, We believe we have over 1,000 friends globally that would benefit from this special opportunity  and that translates to close to 3,000,000 children playing!

He concluded by saying, Nothing is more important to us than helping your children play, grow, and learn. So call us today. I personally guarantee youll get the help you need.

To learn more about Imagination Playground, visit http://www.imaginationplayground.com/index.html

To contact Imagination Playground with questions about the program, reach out to contactus(at)imaginationplayground(dot)org or 1-678-604-7466.

About Imagination Playground, LLC

Imagination Playground is a breakthrough play space concept developed to encourage child-directed, creative free play. The kind of play that experts say is critical to childrens intellectual, social, physical and emotional development. Created by architect and designer David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group, Imagination Playground enables children to play, dream, build and explore endless possibilities. Imagination Playground finds its home in daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, childrens museumsand science, nature, discovery centers, camps, community centers, childrens hospitals, hotels, public parks and morein North America and over 60 countries overseas.
TAP-M&E can map & report 30 dents per hour using dentCHECK dentCHECK delivers everything we had hoped for. It allows TAP-M&E to maintain a competitive advantage in the global MRO services landscape. Our airline customers are the direct beneficiaries.

TAP-Maintenance & Engineering (TAP-M&E), a global provider of comprehensive heavy-check MRO services, announced today that it has slashed dent-mapping and reporting times by 90% as a result of its adoption of dentCHECK from 8tree. Since implementing dentCHECK at its Brazil MRO operations last year, TAP-M&E can now conclusively inspect dents and create SRM-compliant dent reports at an effective rate of 240 dents per man-hour-day. This compares to TAP-M&E's previous industry-leading effective rate of 24 dents per man-hour-day using traditional mapping methods. TAP-M&E is formally presenting these findings tomorrow at the 59th annual Airlines 4 America (A4A) NDT conference in San Diego.

"We knew 8tree had something very promising when they first demonstrated an early prototype of dentCHECK to us a few years ago," said Valter Fernandes, Executive Vice President of Operations, TAP-M&E. "Since then, they have been very diligent and receptive to understanding our industry's needs. As a result, dentCHECK is now a comprehensive, yet portable dent-mapping tool that has been specifically designed to solve a very chronic problem within the MRO industry. dentCHECK delivers everything we had hoped for. It allows TAP-M&E to maintain a competitive advantage in the global MRO services landscape. Our airline customers are the direct beneficiaries."

"Although we have always been confident of dentCHECK's performance capabilities, TAP-M&E's compelling real-world use metrics are immensely gratifying for us," said Arun Chhabra, CEO of 8tree. "We made every effort to ensure that dentCHECK is a powerful, yet simple-to-use tool for the operator on the line. The experiences reported by TAP-M&E and our other customers are a huge validation of our approach to deliver 'go/no-go' SRM-compliant results with the push of a single button."

dentCHECK is a handheld, portable 3D surface inspection system that delivers simple 1-button dent-mapping & corrosion blend-out analysis, which are presented as instantly actionable SRM-compliant and easy-to-understand go/no-go color-coded results. In just a few seconds, dentCHECK calculates reliable and consistent A / Y (or W / D) measurements.

dentCHECK is a completely self-contained and fully networked tool. As a result, 8trees unique SRM-compliant 1-Click Analysis Report is transferred seamlessly to an MRO operator's secure servers using the built-in WiFi / USB capability of dentCHECK. In addition A/Y measurements, the report equips operators with other critical information, including, deformation color-maps with numerical annotation, distance to next stringer/frame, and detailed measurement logs (zone #, time-stamp, operator ID, part ID, etc.) to facilitate quick SRM compliance that is tailored to an airline's specific requirements.

With 8trees patented product design and augmented reality presentation of results directly on the surface of the aircraft, The Surface Becomes The Screen. As with all 8tree products, user-programming and surface preparation is never required. dentCHECK has been shipping to major airlines since last year. Earlier this year, it was certified by one major aircraft OEM, and is undergoing similar certification at other OEMs.

dentCHECK is being demonstrated at MRO Asia this week. For more information, please visit 8tree at booth #621 at MRO Asia, Sept 27-29, 2016 in Singapore, and always at http://www.8-tree.com.
ArcLight Cinemas Cinema Scene Marketing Digital StoryWall Our poster wall has been a staple to the ArcLight experience and now, in working with Cinema Scene, well be offering our guests an even more immersive and digitally visual experience with the debut of the ArcLight StoryWall.

ArcLight Cinemas, offering a unique moviegoing experience with an unparalleled commitment to bringing a variety of rich cinematic content to moviegoers, and Cinema Scene Marketing, the leading provider of in-theatre digital signage solutions, announce the unveiling of an innovative and iconic digital ArcLight StoryWall that now delights moviegoers exclusively at ArcLight Cinemas Sherman Oaks in Los Angeles with vivid digital images from the latest movies.

ArcLight has always provided an unparalleled moviegoing experience for film lovers because ArcLight is more than just a place to see a movie, its an experience, said Gretchen McCourt, Executive Vice President at ArcLight Cinemas. Our poster wall has been a staple to the ArcLight experience and now, in working with Cinema Scene, well be offering our guests an even more immersive and digitally visual experience with the debut of the ArcLight StoryWall.

Cinema Scene provided the hardware and managed the installation for the StoryWall and will provide ongoing software service and technical support. Since 2005, Cinema Scene has delivered studios promotional campaigns, a digital lobby advertising network and digital signage solutions to the theatrical exhibition market. For the StoryWall, ArcLight will manage the content, which will vary and feature vibrant images from new releases produced by the movie industrys top studios.

Cinema Scene is elated that the reality of the ArcLight StoryWall is now live, said Joe Ross, Managing Principal of Cinema Scene Marketing. This massive digital wall will enable studios to create and display multiple looks of content for theatrical releases and engage moviegoers at ArcLight Cinemas Sherman Oaks like never before. We are very happy to be working with the ArcLight team and look forward to creating more StoryWalls like Sherman Oaks at other ArcLight locations.

The StoryWall at ArcLight Cinema Sherman Oaks is the largest digital lobby display in the domestic cinema industry with 96 individual digital canvases that can sync to create amazing large-scale digital still and motion images. At nearly 50-feet wide and approximately 15-feet tall, the StoryWall was created by the team at Cinema Scene Marketing and OUTFRONT Media Inc., using OUTFRONT Medias ON Smart Media technology platform. Each of the 96 digital canvases is an ultra-slim (12.7 mm thick) ON Smart Liveboard that boasts a staggering 188 mega-pixel resolution at a pixel pitch of .55mm. The ON Smart platform utilizes wireless connectivity and cloud-based content management services to display and synchronize content across the displays.

About ArcLight Cinemas

ArcLight Cinemas, created by Pacific Theatres, a privately owned, Los Angeles based company with 60 years of theatrical exhibition history throughout California, Hawaii and Washington is a premiere moviegoing experience with an unparalleled commitment to bringing a variety of rich cinematic content to moviegoers in all markets. ArcLight Cinemas operates seven theaters in California including Hollywood, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, El Segundo, Santa Monica, Culver City and La Jolla, as well as theaters in Bethesda, Md., Chicago and Glenview, Ill., with a new location in Boston for 2019. ArcLight also owns and operates the historic Cinerama Dome and programs the TCL Chinese Theatre and IMAX in Hollywood. Pacific Theatres currently operates theaters in Los Angeles that include The Grove and The Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif. Additional information about ArcLight Cinemas is available at http://www.arclightcinemas.com.

About Cinema Scene Marketing

Cinema Scene Marketing, headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., delivers promotional marketing and media solutions to cinema clients via concessions packaging, digital signage and marketing services. Cinema Scenes industry leading solutions can be found in most of the top cinema circuits in North America.

For more information, please visit http://www.cinemascenemarketing.com.

About OUTFRONT Media Inc.

OUTFRONT Media is one of the largest out-of-home media companies in North America with a leading presence in top markets throughout the United States and Canada. We have a diverse portfolio of billboard, transit and digital displays reaching mass audiences, as well as a distinct offering of prime assets impacting select markets. As part of our recently launched ON Smart Media platform, we are developing hardware and software solutions for enhanced demographic and location targeting, and engaging ways to connect with consumers on-the-go.

Media Contact: Justin Scott - 816.809.3116 - justin(at)scott-comms(dot)com
Integrating Android Pay with Vantiv's solution, eProtect, will make it easier for businesses of all sizes, to streamline their checkout experience by offering customers a simpler, faster in-app payment experience," said Spencer Spinnell, Google

Vantiv, Inc. (NYSE: VNTV), a leading provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions for merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, today announced support for developers to design solutions that make it easier for customers to purchase goods and services using Android Pay.

Vantiv has enhanced its Android Pay support for in-app payments based on eProtect, an end-to-end payment security solution that helps merchants simplify integrations.

Integrating Android Pay with Vantiv's solution, eProtect, will make it easier for even more businesses of all sizes, to further streamline their checkout experience by offering their customer a simpler, faster in-app payment experience," said Spencer Spinnell, director of business development at Google.

Were excited about our enhanced Android Pay support and close working relationship with Google, said Bill Cohn, head of eCommerce products at Vantiv. By leveraging eProtect, Vantiv reduces the integration effort for merchants, who get the highest level of security while avoiding the need to handle or decrypt the Android Pay Network Token issued by the card networks. Merchants using Android Pay with our eCommerce platform can also take advantage of Vantiv iQ, our reporting and analytic solution, as well as our other value-added services.

Vantiv also unveiled additional Android Pay offerings tailored to mobile application developers.

 The Mobile Accelerator Program for Android Pay from Vantiv  a fast-track program aimed at helping merchants and ISVs already processing with Vantiv deploy Android Pay.

 The Vantiv O.N.E. Developer Community for Googles mobile payment products a comprehensive set of technical and support resources making it easier for all developers to build mobile-friendly payment applications. This is part of the TechTribe feature on Vantiv O.N.E.

 Vantiv O.N.E. TechLift  dedicated personalized payments expertise which is now extended to include services specific to Android Pay.

Android Pay and mobile payments are key focus areas for Vantiv with the Vantiv O.N.E. Google community giving Android developers a place to get expert assistance related to payments to help them go to market faster.

Join Googles Steve Klebe and Tony Rose, who leads emerging product initiatives at Vantiv, on an interactive webinar as they explore how Googles mobile payment product, Android Pay, helps to drive changes to shopping patterns and delivers a superior checkout experience. The webinar is October 5th at 1:00 Eastern Daylight Time. Click here to register.

Membership to the Vantiv O.N.E. Google Community is free and open to developers across the payments spectrum, including enterprise businesses, eCommerce, integrated payments, mobile, point-of-sale, and payment facilitators. You can learn more about Vantivs Android Pay offerings by registering for a free Vantiv O.N.E. account at http://developer.vantiv.com and visiting the Vantiv Google community.

About Vantiv

Vantiv, Inc. (NYSE: VNTV) is a leading payment processor differentiated by an integrated technology platform. Vantiv offers a comprehensive suite of traditional and innovative payment processing and technology solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, enabling them to address their payment processing needs through a single provider. We build strong relationships with our customers, helping them become more efficient, more secure and more successful. Vantiv is the second largest merchant acquirer and the largest PIN debit acquirer based on number of transactions in the U.S. The company's growth strategy includes expanding further into high-growth channels and verticals, including integrated payments, eCommerce, and merchant bank. Visit us at http://www.vantiv.com, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube.
Dale Erquiaga, President & CEO I am grateful to join Communities In Schools at a time when it is at the strongest point in its 40-year history and positioned for unprecedented growth and impact.

The Communities In Schools (CIS) National Board announced today that Dale Erquiaga has been named president and chief executive officer following a nationwide search for the new leader of the nations largest dropout prevention organization. Erquiaga joins CIS from the office of Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, where he most recently served as chief strategy officer.

Dale Erquiaga is one of the countrys brightest minds in terms of leveraging public policy to strengthen K-12 education and Im thrilled to welcome him as the next leader of Communities In Schools, said CIS National Board Chairman Elaine Wynn. Dale brought together parents, teachers, policymakers and civic leaders to help transform the landscape of public education in Nevada. That is the type of visionary leadership that he will bring to CIS as we seek to improve the academic and life outcomes for our nations most disenfranchised students.

Erquiaga will assume the role of president and CEO of Communities In Schools on Nov. 1 and will lead a network of 161 independent affiliates who work to keep at-risk students in school and on a path to graduation. CIS affiliates operate in more than 2,300 schools and utilize 3,800 trained site coordinators and professional staffers to help meet the non-academic needs of students so they can focus on learning.

Prior to assuming the role of chief strategy officer, Erquiaga served as Nevadas state superintendent of public instruction. During his tenure, he designed and led advocacy efforts for Governor Sandovals sweeping K-12 education reform, including the first revision to Nevadas school funding formula in nearly 50 years. He consistently championed policies and programs designed to assist English language learners and children in poverty, including integrated student services and expanded initiatives for college and career readiness.

I am grateful to join Communities In Schools at a time when it is at the strongest point in its 40-year history and positioned for unprecedented growth and impact, said Erquiaga. I look forward to partnering with the CIS Board, staff, our network of valuable affiliates, as well as thousands of our volunteers, school partners, institutional funders and individual supporters to ensure that more of our nations children stay in school and achieve in life. At a time when federal law has explicitly recognized the importance of Integrated Student Supports, I am committed to working hard to bring those vital supports to every student in need across America.

The grandson of Spanish Basque immigrants to America, Erquiaga has a long career in public service and marketing communications. He has been active on the board of several civic, humanitarian and arts organizations including the University of Nevadas Center for Basque Studies and Nevada Humanities. Erquiaga is also a member of the board of WestEd, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development and service agency focused on promoting excellence and equity in education, and previously served as chairman of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). He holds a masters degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University and a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Erquiaga joins Communities In Schools at a pivotal time in the history of the organization:



Due to our successful advocacy efforts on behalf of underserved students, the CIS unique model of services - Integrated Student Supports - is now written into The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). CIS state offices and affiliates are now mobilizing across the country to educate state and local officials on how this federal legislation can be used to help bring Integrated Student Supports into more schools to serve students in need.

The organization recently designated 10 of its affiliates as CIS Growth & Impact Communities. Those affiliates will be used as research centers to help pilot new initiatives and will receive strategic investments to expand to as many as 10 more schools throughout their communities.

CIS, a leader in the field of Integrated Student Supports, will soon complete its latest evaluation that will continue to build the evidence base for the CIS model.

As the result of a seven-year, network-wide change in operations designed to drive quality implementation of the CIS model at scale, CIS has achieved greater impact for schools and students. With a smaller network  24 percent fewer affiliates  the organization currently serves 20 percent more students and helps 35 percent more students graduate than during the baseline year.

In 2017, CIS will mark its 40th anniversary and celebrate its impact as the nations largest dropout prevention organization. To coincide with the anniversary, CIS will launch a new marketing campaign designed to inspire new and existing supporters to join the movement to help more students stay in school and achieve in life.

# # #

About Communities In Schools

Communities In Schools is the nations largest and most effective dropout prevention organization, empowering students to succeed in school and achieve in life. Operating in more than 2,300 schools in the most challenged communities of 25 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves 1.5 million young people and their families each year. Based directly inside schools throughout the country, Communities In Schools site coordinators connect students and their families to basic and critical educational and community-based resources, tailored to each students specific needs. In the 2014-2015 school year, 99 percent of case managed students who received services stayed in school and 93 percent of eligible seniors graduated. To learn more, visit CommunitiesInSchools.org or read our most recent Impact Report.
Visit unanet.com for more information regarding upcoming events like the Microsoft Dynamics SL Users Group Conference. Unanet is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics SL

The conference, which will be held at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa in San Diego, will attract almost 500 attendees from across the nation. Unanets President and COO, Chris Craig, will present a Deep Dive session on Wednesday, September 28, 10:30AM - 12:00 PM and again on Thursday, September 29, 2:45-3:15 PM. His session is on Unanet Time/Expense/Project/Resource Management and its integration as a best-of-breed PSA Solution with SL. This session will be an interactive discussion & demo on how clients have augmented SL with Unanet and the faster invoicing, increased utilization, and happier employees that SL-Unanet users report.

Over 1,000 project-driven organizations trust Unanet to deliver expected outcomes for increased productivity and profitability. Unanets one database provides Management Consultants, IT Consultants, Engineering Firms, Government Contractors, Non-Profits, Digital Agencies, Accounting Firms, and other project-focused organizations with a Single Source of Truth. Unanet provides a variety of dashboards and metrics related to Project Profitability/Revenue/Costs, Employee Utilization (Historical & Actual), Task Actual vs. Budget, Percent Complete, Earned Value, What If analysis, etc. that enable customers to focus on transforming their business rather than transacting manual processes to compile information.

Unanet is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics SL via SLConnect, ensuring that the SL-Unanet solution delivers real-time insights and results for customers. Unanet will be at Booth 10 to give live demos and answer any questions.

About Unanet:

Unanet is a leading provider of Cloud and On-Premise software for project-based organizations. Unanet delivers Professional Services Automation software as well as a purpose-built Project ERP solution with skills management, resource planning, budgeting & forecasting, time & expense reporting, billing & revenue recognition, project management analytics and dashboards, and integrated financials with AR, AP, GL and cost pool calculations. Over 1,000 organizations trust Unanet to maximize staff utilization, reduce administrative costs by 90%, improve invoicing by 10X, and support forward decision-making for improved operations.
Egypts Al-Azhar condemned on Monday the killing of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar, who was shot on Sunday in Amman prior to his trial on charges related to sharing an "anti-Islam" caricature on social media.

Al-Azhar  the world's oldest seat of Sunni Islamic learning  said in a statement that killings independent of the judiciary and the rule of law are completely unacceptable and prohibited in Islamic Sharia law.

The religious body stressed on the importance of addressing twisted thoughts through the moderate teachings that Al-Azhar has adopted throughout its history.

Al-Azhar added, however, that it rejects any "insult" to Islam as this can cause strife between members of society.

Hattar was shot outside the court where he was set to attend a session for his trial on charges of "contempt of religion" over his sharing on social media of a caricature deemed as insulting Islam.

The gunman, a 39-year-old working as a mosque preacher, was arrested at the scene.

Hattar, a Christian and an anti-Islamist activist who was a supporter of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, was arrested last month after he shared a caricature that depicted a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women and asking God to bring him wine and cashews.

In the cartoon, the man also asks God to clear his dishes and put a door on his tent and knock before entering.

Jordans highest official religious authority, Dar Al-Ifta, criticised Hattar for what it called an "insult to the divine entity, Islam and religious symbols."

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This is a great group of Jaspers who exemplify what it means to be a Manhattan College student, Patterson said. My family and I are delighted to see their hard work pay off in the classroom and in the surrounding New York City community.

For the fifth consecutive year, a group of Manhattan College students will receive scholarships to continue their education, thanks to the generosity of best-selling author James Patterson 69, who will award $110,000 in academic scholarships to Manhattan College. Ten juniors and ten seniors from the Schools of Liberal Arts, Business, Education and Health, Engineering, and Science have received scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.

Patterson started the scholarship program to recognize and reward the academic achievement and leadership potential of Manhattan College students, especially those interested in a career in education. The 20 students received the scholarships based on merit, need and involvement in activities related to the Colleges mission.

This is a great group of Jaspers who exemplify what it means to be a Manhattan College student, Patterson said. My family and I are delighted to see their hard work pay off in the classroom and in the surrounding New York City community.

The scholarship recipients include:

Juniors



Mia Bertolli, biology (Leonia, N.J.)

Lorraine Bishop, radiation therapy technology (Bronx, N.Y.)

Carly Corbett-Frank, international studies (Winthrop, Mass.)

Kathia Coronado, mechanical engineering (Bronx, N.Y.)

Shane Duggan, finance (Pearl River, N.Y.)

Alessandra Eraifez, English (Yonkers, N.Y.)

Maria Mazo, biology (Yonkers, N.Y.)

Yulemmy Mendez, physical education (Bronx, N.Y.)

Shimul Miah, international studies (Bronx, N.Y.)

Lisa Marie Nilaj, civil engineering (Scarsdale, N.Y.)

Seniors



Rachel Gerard, philosophy (Carmel, N.Y.)

Cathleen Giordano, civil engineering (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Goldie Gunawan, civil engineering (Endicott, N.Y.)

Megan Heaney, special education/elementary education (New Hyde Park, N.Y.)

Christopher Hoey, electrical engineering (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Adriana Irizarry, biology (Bronx, N.Y.)

Roman Kuzmiak, electrical engineering (Yonkers, N.Y.)

Jenifer Martin, English (Bronx, N.Y.)

Klaudia Maslowska, special education/elementary education (Hampton Bays, N.Y.)

Amy Oliva, elementary education (Flushing, N.Y.)

The scholarship program will award $5,000 to each of the 20 recipients. All seniors are eligible to apply to receive one of four additional $2,500 awards based on essay submissions. The seniors will submit essays detailing their various accomplishments during their junior year and their personal vision for plans after graduation.

"Through his generosity toward our students, James Patterson is making an investment not only in their future but in the future of the fields they will enter after graduation," said Brennan O'Donnell, president of Manhattan College. "His support of future teachers is especially important, and also very much in the spirit of Manhattan's Lasallian educational tradition."

Patterson holds the Guinness record for the most consecutive No. 1 novels on The New York Times Best Sellers List, and is most famous for his best-selling Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Michael Bennett series.

In 2015, Patterson was awarded the National Book Foundations Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. That year, he also donated $1.75 million to public school libraries and $1 million to independent bookstores throughout the United States.
(PRWEB) September 26, 2016 -- Jeffrey S. Kahn, a shareholder in the Boca Raton office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig P.A., will participate in a panel discussion at the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Associations Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nov. 10-11, 2016.

Kahn will be moderating the panel, Corporate Due Diligence Prior to a Sale to an ESOP or Third Party, on Nov. 10th. The panel will feature senior industry representatives discussing internal corporate due diligence in advance of an ESOP transaction.

According to the ESOP Association, the two-day event is the largest ESOP conference in the world, with more than 60 sessions and 150 speakers. The event is created to keep industry professionals well-informed of the technical aspects of managing an ESOP transaction as well as associated federal laws and regulations.

As co-chair of the firms national ESOP Practice and a member of the firms Global Benefits and Compensation Group, Kahn focuses his practice on employee benefits, executive compensation, and the design, implementation, and operation of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). As a frequent lecturer and author, Kahn is published in professional and trade magazines and lectures before professional, charitable, financial, and business audiences on ERISA, ESOPs, and other employee benefit subjects. His noteworthy recent major ESOP representations include Martin Resource Management Corporation, The Vertex Companies Inc., HealthCare Appraisers, Henny Penny Corporation, and Cornerstone Controls, Inc. A member of the New York and Florida Bars, Kahn is rated AV Preeminent* by Martindale-Hubbell and has more than 30 years of employee benefit experience. Kahn is a member of the ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in Tax Law from 2010-2016.

For more information about the conference, please go to: http://www.esopassociation.org/

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, second largest in the U.S. on the 2016 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com.

*AV, AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell DistinguishedSM and Martindale-Hubbell NotableSM are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.
Choose New Jersey's Smart Students Scholars Its important that we work to keep our best and brightest here in New Jersey so they can become leaders and innovators who contribute to the states economic growth.

Piloted in high schools in Newark and Camden in 2016, the program recognized the highest academically-ranked senior from each participating high school that chose to attend a New Jersey college or university. The 27 Newark and 10 Camden Smart Students represent public, private and charter high schools throughout the cities. Each student was awarded a one-time unrestricted scholarship of $2,000 and a paid summer internship for three consecutive summers, after their freshman, sophomore and junior years.

This years Newark Smart Students are:



Maymouna Amar, Central High School/Rowan University

Brianna Amos, Newark Prep Charter School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey  Newark

Grace Appiah, Barringer Academy of STEAM/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey  Newark

Isaiah Arrington, Immaculate Conception High School/Union County College  Cranford

Jasmine Barrow, Bloomfield Technical High School/Monmouth University

Nana Bempah, Barringer Academy of Arts & Humanities/New Jersey City University

Grace Burga, Science Park High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Samantha Cabrera, East Side High School/Seton Hall University

Cecelia Chollette-Dickson, University High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Clervens Clerjuste, Malcolm X Shabazz High School/Union County College  Cranford

Erick Correa, Arts High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Brittney Daniels, North 13th Street Technical High School/Seton Hall University

Kelly Fields, Newark Collegiate Academy High School/Fairleigh Dickinson University

Tiana Gatewood, Paulo Freire Charter School/William Paterson University

Diana Glah, North Star Academy-College Preparatory High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Tyshon Johnson, Peoples Preparatory Charter School/New Jersey City University

Harshat Kaur, American History High School/New Jersey City University

Taariq Lumford, Weequahic High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Abraham Marquez, Newark Prep Charter School/New Jersey City University

Briana Martinez, Saint Vincent Academy/Kean University

NeChelle McFadden, Newark Early College High School at West Side/Montclair State University

Joshua Mprah, Fast Track Success Academy/Essex County College

Michael Owusu-Baah, Bard Early College High School/Montclair State University

Katherine Penafiel, Technology High School/Kean University

Gloria Rodriguez, West Caldwell Technical High School/Essex County College

Dominick Silva, Saint Benedict Preparatory School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey  Newark

Trashawn White-Hines, Newark Vocational CTE at West Side/New Jersey City University

This years Smart Students Choose New Jersey scholars from Camden are:



Aneesha Ames, Dr. Charles Brimm Medical Arts High School/ Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Maggie Battle, Camden High School/Rowan University

Aniya Clark, Camden Catholic High School/Montclair State University

Josiah Covington, Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy/Bloomfield College

Dominique Dazilme, Camden County Technical School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Angel Espinal, Urban Promise Academy/Rowan University

Ashly Estevez Perez, Camden Academy Charter High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey  Camden

Katherine Jaquez, MetEast High School/New Jersey City University

Jean Carlos Pelegrin, Leap Academy University Charter School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey  Camden

Gabriela Torres-Gonzales, Woodrow Wilson High School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey  Camden

We applaud the academic achievements of this years Smart Students. We look forward to working with them as they enter college and begin to build successful careers in New Jersey through their internship experiences, said Michele Brown, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey, Inc. We also thank leadership in the City of Newark, the City of Camden, and the sponsors and supporters that helped us launch this important initiative to keep our best and brightest here in New Jersey.

Smart Students Choose New Jersey is being advanced in response to statistics about the out-migration of New Jerseys high school students to out-of-state-colleges. According to a report published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than half of our graduating seniors leave New Jersey to pursue their college careers in another State.

New Jersey invests heavily in educating its students, which is reflected in its national education rankings and high school graduation rates. They are among the highest in the country, said Ralph LaRossa, president and chief operating officer of PSE&G and chairman of Choose New Jersey. New Jerseys highly educated workforce is a key reason why businesses choose to locate and expand in the State. Its important that we work to keep our best and brightest here in New Jersey so they can become leaders and innovators who contribute to the states economic growth.

Newarks Lead Program Sponsor is Audible, Inc. Smart Students Choose New Jersey also is supported by PSEG, Atlantic City Electric, PNC Bank, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Hackensack University Health Network, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, International Union of Operating Engineers  Local 825, Jersey Central Power & Light, Laborers International Union of North America, New Jersey American Water, NJM Insurance Group, New Jersey Resources, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Prudential Financial Inc., South Jersey Gas, Suez in North America, Wakefern Food Corporation, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Campbell Soup Company.

Choose New Jersey invites companies interested in providing internship opportunities for one or more Smart Students during the summer of 2017 to contact Cathy Scangarella, senior vice president of development at 609-297-2200 or cscangarella(at)choosenj(dot)com.

To meet this years Smart Students via video or for more information about the Smart Students Choose New Jersey scholarship and internship program, visit http://www.choosenj.com/smart.

About Choose New Jersey, Inc.

Choose New Jersey, Inc. is a privately funded 501(c)(3) corporation charged with encouraging and nurturing economic growth throughout New Jersey with a focus on its urban centers. Through marketing, business attraction and lead generation activities, Choose New Jersey markets New Jersey as a premiere business location to both domestic and international businesses. Choose New Jersey is a member of the Partnership for Action (PFA), which is led by Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and also includes the New Jersey Business Action Center, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. For more information, visit http://www.choosenj.com.
Its been a dogs age since Petplan sold its first insurance policy in 2006. On the event of its 70th anniversary  or 10th, in human years  the company has re-launched its pet insurance products in the United States and Canada with market-leading innovations made possible by a new underwriting partner, XL Specialty Insurance Company, an XL Catlin insurance company.

Innovation is nothing new for Petplan, which led the pack by becoming the first provider to insure pets of any age, with no policy exclusions for hereditary and chronic conditions (1), or premium increases based on an individual pets claims. These features have since largely become industry standards in todays rapidly-growing pet insurance marketplace.

Petplans new product represents the industrys first fully customizable pet insurance plan  meaning pet parents can create a plan that works for their budget, and gets their pet the coverage they need, during a time when veterinary costs are at a record high.

More than ever, pet parents want to ensure that their pets can receive the medical care they deserve, says Petplan co-CEO and co-founder Chris Ashton. Our goal was to put those treatment options within reach for everyone.

New plan features include:



A broader range of annual limits from $5,000 all the way up to UNLIMITED

Greater choice of deductibles, with the option of an ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLE

24/7 access to expert veterinary advice through a partnership with PetCoach

All this in addition to the features pet parents have relied on over the years including:



Protection for any injury or illness (2), including non-routine dental care and cancer, with no riders

Coverage for exam fees for unexpected veterinary care visits (3)

Paperless claims submissions through the Petplan mobile app

24/7 service through the in-house, customer experience center

Expert pet health content in fetch! magazine

The amount of dollars spent on veterinary care has risen sharply over the last decade. The American Pet Products Association (APPA) estimates that Americans will spend $15.92 billion on veterinary care this year  a 69 percent increase over the $9.4 billion spent in 2006.

Rising costs are due, in part, to the availability of more sophisticated treatment options. Modalities such as MRI, surgery and chemotherapy have become widely available. With todays cutting-edge treatment options such as cold laser, gamma knife and stem cell therapy, veterinarians can treat and cure more conditions, less invasively, than ever before.

The American pet insurance market has grown in direct response. According to figures from the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA), over 1.4 million pets were insured in the U.S. at the end of 2015, and that number is growing at 12 percent annually. In 2006, there were just six pet insurance providers; today, they count 12.

Were delighted to partner with Petplan, says XL Specialty Insurance Companys Chris Bressette, Senior Vice President and Head of North America Programs at XL Catlin. We look forward to working with them to significantly grow the market by providing pet owners with innovative coverage and dedicated and attentive claims service."

To learn more about Petplans pet insurance products, visit Petplan.com.

###

ABOUT PETPLAN

Petplan was founded by Chris & Natasha Ashton, pet parents and Wharton MBAs, after their own cat Bodey became sick, resulting in a veterinary bill for over $5,000. Petplan is more than a pet insurance provider. Were dedicated to giving pet parents the support, resources and tools they need to keep their pets not just survivingbut thrivinginto old age. Simply put, we aim to be the kind of company that will make our pets proud. For the third consecutive year, Petplan was listed among the top 50 of Forbes' annual ranking of Americas Most Promising Companies  a list of 100 privately held, high-growth companies with bright futures. Petplan is the only pet insurance provider to have been included on Inc. Magazines list of 500 fastest-growing, privately held companies in America.

Petplans fully customizable cat and dog insurance policies provide comprehensive coverage for all hereditary and chronic conditions for the life of the pet as standard for as long as you maintain insurance with Petplan. Policy restrictions may apply.

Petplan policies are underwritten in the US by XL Specialty Insurance Company and in Canada, by XL Specialty Insurance Company-Canadian Branch. The company is rated A+ by S &P. Coverages may not be available in all jurisdictions. For more information about Petplan pet insurance, visit http://www.petplan.com or call 1-866-467-3875.

1. Policy restrictions apply. Pre-existing conditions not covered.

2. Policy restrictions apply. Pre-existing conditions not covered.

3. Routine or preventive treatment not covered.
Shareholder J. Scott Sheehan of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP chaired the 40th Annual Texas Association of Bank Counsel (TABC) Convention as TABCs incoming president. Of Counsel Brett M. Kitt also spoke at the convention in the session titled, CFPB Update  Constitutional Challenges, Enforcement, etc. at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22.

The two-day convention took place Sept. 22-23 in Austin, Texas at Hotel Granduca. The annual convention brings together attorneys who represent financial service providers to discuss emerging trends and identify timely issues that are of importance to their clients and practices.

Based in the firms Houston office, Sheehan is a business lawyer with a national practice in banking and financial institutions, as well as consumer and commercial financial services. He is known for his issue advocacy and development of legal strategies for the banking and consumer finance sector, and co-authors the Texas Practice Guide: Financial Institutions and the Texas Usury Law Handbook by Thomson-West. Sheehan focuses his practice on legal and public policy issues and innovative solutions, including new product development, legal compliance, litigation, and issue advocacy in judicial, legislative, administrative, and arbitration proceedings. He is past chairman of the influential Texas Business Law Foundation and has been recognized by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America.

Kitt, of counsel in the firms Washington, D.C. office, focuses his practice on consumer finance law and regulation. He specializes in representing and advising clients in matters involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission, and federal depository institution regulators. Kitts clients include depository financial institutions, non-depository financial institutions, and service providers in a variety of industries, including retail banking, mortgage lending and servicing, small-dollar lending, education finance, and debt collection and buying. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Kitt was senior counsel in the Legal Division of the CFPB. He worked there since its inception with senior staff to establish its various offices and programs and to draft its policies and regulations. He also represented the CFPB in litigation and Congressional oversight matters.

TABC was formed in July of 1976 to inform and educate Texas lawyers who devote a substantial part of their professional time to representing banks and other financial institutions. TABC is designed for bank lawyers who have a common interest in a specialized field of law. TABC is a resource for its members, allowing them to network with other bank lawyers who deal with similar issues. Members are encouraged to exchange information on transactional techniques and developments in the law, and to share ideas and concerns to enhance the knowledge and improve the skills of TABC counsel. TABC also provides members an opportunity to convene annually with lawyers who primarily represent banks and to obtain necessary CLE.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, second largest in the U.S. on the 2016 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com.
Realogics Sothebys International Realty (RSIR) and Tiger Oak Media announced today the distribution of an encore edition of the popular 92-page Seattle Luxury Living magazine timed with the inaugural flight of Xiamen Airlines, which arrives in Seattle todaythe third airline to offer non-stop flights between Mainland China and SeaTac International Airport. The magazine is published entirely in Mandarin and is widely distributed to a Chinese readership to meet the rising demand among Mainland Chinese considering the Seattle/Bellevue metro area for investment, immigration, and education. The first edition with 20,000 copies was launched and quickly distributed on January 6, 2016, prompting the decision for an encore edition. The reprint was also motivated by recent media events that are magnifying Chinese interest in the Pacific Northwest.

Were definitely on the map, said Dean Jones, President and CEO of RSIR. Policy making by surrounding US and Canadian government bodies combined with Puget Sounds relative affordability and close proximity to China have helped to make our region an increasingly preferred market for savvy Chinese. Its no surprise that Xiamen Airlines and local business leaders are vying for this investment.

Jones points to the recent decision by Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia, to tax all foreign buyers 15 percent on new real estate acquisitions in Vancouver effective August 2, 2016. This act has since forced the luxury housing market there into freefall, prompting international homebuyers, most of them Chinese, to consider alternative lifestyle and investment markets like Seattle. Executives at Juwai.com, the largest real estate portal in China, noted that in the month of August 2016, inquiries for real estate in Vancouver dropped 86 percent, while interest in Seattle increased by 146 percent. Such dramatic shifts in demand prompted RSIR to author an article in Seattle Luxury Living titled SEATTLE: Is it Vancouver Deja-Vu?, which documents a shift in real estate investment toward Seattle. Meanwhile, Jones suggests that the higher property prices and income tax of California, which until recently had been among the top US markets for Mainland Chinese, has likewise diverted Chinese demand. New commercial service from companies like Xiamen Airlines and record real estate sales to Chinese buyers further validate these trends.

Seattle is the new West Coast gateway for the US, says Ji Rongzhong, General Manager for the recently established Seattle Office of Xiamen Airlines. We are proud to welcome our guests with a copy of Seattle Luxury Living Magazine upon arrival.

A welcoming ceremony for the inaugural Xiamen Airlines flight will be held at 11:00 a.m. today at the SeaTac Airport arrival hall.

Other than the trending article about Vancouvers foreign buyer tax, the magazine is largely a reprint of the prior publication. But new advertisers have been added, including The Bellevue Collection, Aegis Living and NEXUS Condominiums, to name a few. The magazine articles include features on topics such as lifestyle, culture, cuisine, shopping, the economy, and real estate.

We will print a second edition in 2017 with all-new editorials and advertising. Clearly this is a conversation that must continue, said John Spear, Executive Publisher of Tiger Oak Media. Many local businesses are interested in reaching this emerging demographic. Seattle Luxury Living is a sign of the times. This is what a global city looks like.

Matthew Moore, Juwais president of the Americas, said Seattle currently ranks the No. 1 most-visited market online. A majority of Chinese buyers cited education as their primary motivator, followed by lifestyle, travel opportunities, and investment potential.

Our collaboration with this magazine is just another example of how we differentiate ourselves as change agents in our industry, said Jennifer Johnsen, Vice President of Brand Development for RSIR. International is in our DNA, so its only fitting that we are at the forefront of international trends that benefit our brokers and our clients alike.

Copies of Seattle Luxury Living Magazine are distributed across the RSIR network; in participating airline lounges and the international baggage claim area of SeaTac Airport; among host retailers and hotels; and digitally via targeted newsletters. The magazine is also available through RSIRs popular WeChat app, which is broadly shared locally and within China, where an estimated 600 million members consume WeChat-hosted content.

According to Jones, more than 60,000 copies of the magazine have been downloaded on their WeChat app so far in 2016. The most popular story of the year was the discussion about Vancouvers recently imposed foreign buyer tax. In response to rising interest, Jones appointed a full-time Research Editor, William Hillis, formerly a Shanghai-based analyst for a Big Four financial advisory firm, to report on trends. Hillis now researches and authors regionally-focused original content in English and Chinese for the growing consumer base that is following news in the region.

Seattle real estate has become a viral topic in China, adds Hillis. Many of our top sales in Puget Sound are to Chinese buyers.

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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, 2015 and 2016 the boutique real estate firm of 180+ brokers consistently rank among the top producing firms within the markets that it serves with branches in downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Kirkland, Issaquah and now Madison Park.

About Tiger Oak Media (http://www.TigerOak.com)  Following the launch of their first magazine in 1993, Tiger Oak Media now manages a roster that includes more than 20 publications in a dozen markets, focusing on lifestyle, business and travel topics. Seattle Luxury Lifestyle joins a local collection that includes Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Monthly and Seattle Bride. Today, Tiger Oak is a multi-dimensional media company, delivering content to audiences through glossy magazines, web sites, branded apps, social media, and high-profile events.

EDITORS NOTES: For high-resolution photography contact Andrea Savage at 206.448.5752 or email Andrea.Savage(at)RSIR(dot)com.
Erik S. Rodriguez, shareholder at the Atlanta office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, will speak at the Latin Lawyer 3rd Annual Labour & Employment Conference Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016 at the Eden Roc Resort Miami Beach in Miami Beach, FL.

The panel, "Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Individual and Collective Matters," will explore different methods for resolving employment disputes, out-of-court ADR in an unbalanced employee-employer relationship, as well as mandatory conciliatory processes. It will also discuss rights and obligations of the parties as well as limits and conditions of the ADR.

As a member of the firms Labor & Employment Practice, Rodriguez serves as national and regional labor and employment counsel for employers of all sizes, including several Fortune 100 companies. He defends employers in jury and non-jury litigation in both state and federal courts in discrimination cases. He represents clients in various industries including retail, hospitality, health care, airport services, manufacturing and financial services. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Section of the Georgia State Bar, a Board of Governors member of the Hispanic National Bar Association, and a board member of the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association.

Rodriguez also serves as a management trainer and is a frequent lecturer and writer on a wide range of employment-related issues, including preventative labor relations, exercising management rights in a labor environment and managing effectively within the equal employment opportunity laws.

Greenberg Traurigs Labor and Employment Practice provides an array of workplace strategies and legal counsel, including practical and efficient consulting, technical assistance and litigation services. The team of attorneys in this practice offer a wide range of services, from initial counseling to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and National Mediation Board proceedings that help employers maintain positive relations with their employees while avoiding the expense and disruption of litigation.

About Greenberg Traurigs Business Labor & Employment Group

Greenberg Traurigs Global Labor & Employment Practice serves clients from offices throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Members of the practice have had numerous trial wins and are frequently called upon to handle complex, bet-the-company, and large high-stake cases, including class and collective actions. On the labor side, a leading group of lawyers regularly represents management with labor-relations matters. Labor & Employment team members assist clients with complex employment issues, and design practical, proactive strategies that can be readily implemented by todays human resources professionals. The practice has been recognized by Law360 as Practice Group of the Year for Labor & Employment (2011 and 2013), and has received a regional award from American Lawyer affiliate, Daily Report, for Litigation Department of the Year in Georgia (Labor & Employment 2015). In addition, the practice is recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the areas of Labor and Employment Litigation, Workplace & Employment Counseling, Labor-Management Relations, and Trade Secrets Litigation. Visit Greenberg Traurigs Labor & Employment Blog for insights and analysis of the latest labor and employment developments, including legislation, regulations, cases, policies, and trends.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, third largest in the U.S. on the 2015 Law360 400, on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com.
The record-setting demand by retailers for our commerce software has exceeded all revenue projections for 2016

Today at Retail's Digital Summit (Shop.org), WebLinc, the commerce platform provider for the fastest growing online retailers, announced a 65 percent year-over-year increase in revenue and a record-breaking 22 online retailers chose the WebLinc Commerce Platform over inflexible enterprise and legacy commerce systems.

Over the past 12 months, 22 retailers and brands launched their commerce sites on the flexible WebLinc Commerce Platform, a single-year high for WebLinc. Among the new customers that went live are pure-play retailer Costume SuperCenter with seven sites; booming cosmetics brand Lime Crime, and luxury clothing designer Rachel Roy.

The record-setting demand by retailers for our commerce software has exceeded all revenue projections for 2016, said Darren C. Hill, CEO and co-founder of WebLinc. More than ever, this tells us mid market retailers and brands are in dire need of WebLincs easy-to-use platform and its expanding features. Our ongoing success is a result of consistently giving retailers the tools and support needed to provide omnichannel experiences their customers expect.

In order to keep up with customer demand and rapid pace of innovation, WebLinc has grown its exclusive Solutions Partner Network and invested in its product team. The companys key expansion priority is to continue the vetting, training and enablement of systems integrators to efficiently migrate retailers to the WebLinc Commerce Platform. To further support systems integrators deploying highly complex B2B and B2C sites for retailers, WebLinc has dedicated veteran staff to fast track development, as well as reduce implementation time and cost.

Hill continued: Were thrilled at the response to our recently announced Solutions Partner Network. The quality of the systems integrators and commerce agencies were talking with reaffirms the desire of todays mid market retailers to step away from homegrown and enterprise commerce solutions and seek out freedom and flexibility. We urge retailers to scrutinize the heavy investments and limitations of aging legacy platforms through the eyes of their developers and marketers.

If you are an analyst or member of the press looking to speak with WebLinc team members, please email John Forberger at jforberger(at)weblinc(dot)com or dial 267-417-4199.

Retailers attending Retail's Digital Summit (Shop.org) in Dallas can register for personalized demos of the WebLinc Commerce Platform at http://www.weblinc.com/shop-org-2016/. Experienced systems integrators are encouraged to visit WebLincs booth (#6023).

About WebLinc

WebLinc is the commerce platform for fast growing online retailers. Mid to large-size retailers consistently outpace their competition with the modern, agile technologies of the WebLinc Commerce Platform and the companys strategic expertise. Based in Philadelphia with satellite offices in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto, WebLinc powers commerce sites for dynamic, high-growth retailers including Sanrio/Hello Kitty, Urban Outfitters, Inc.s brands Terrain and BHLDN, U.S. Polo Assn., Stila Cosmetics, Rachel Roy, and others. To learn more, visit http://www.weblinc.com.
Bay Alarm Medical (https://www.BayAlarmMedical.com), a leading supplier of medical alert systems for seniors, today announced its 2017 essay scholarship program. The company will be offering three private scholarships to students who are engaged in volunteer work with the elderly, or who participate in caregiving duties for an elderly relative.

We were very happy with the impact our 2016 scholarship had on young people, says Alan Wu, Director of Sales and Marketing for Bay Alarm Medical. This year, weve increased the size of our scholarships to have an even bigger impact.

The company will award scholarships of $2,500, $2,000 and $1,000 to the three students who submit the best essays describing how working with seniors has shaped their lives.

We want to encourage more young people to help our senior citizens, says Wu. But we also believe that seniors can play an important role in the lives of young people, impacting their lives and inspiring them.

Essays must be submitted by March 31, 2017. Scholarship winners will be notified by April 30, 2017.

Students must meet eligibility requirements to qualify for a scholarship. They must be a graduating high school senior or currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at a U.S.-based college or university for the 2017-2018 school year.

To learn more about the Bay Alarm Medical 2017 essay scholarship, visit https://www.bayalarmmedical.com/scholarship.

About Bay Alarm Medical

Bay Alarm Medical is an arm of Bay Alarm, one of the nation's oldest alarm monitoring companies. The company offers landline, cellular and mobile GPS medical alert systems together with 24/7 monitoring by professionally trained emergency operators who contact family members, friends, neighbors and, if necessary, local 911 emergency services.

For more information, visit the company's website at https://www.bayalarmmedical.com or call 877-522-9633.
We are pleased to welcome students back for the 201617 school year and are committed to providing every child, new students and returning students, with an education that prepares them to thrive in the 21st century

Excitement is in the air at Cumberland Academy of Georgia! Now in its 10th year, the Atlanta special-needs school started the 2016-17 school year August 13 with its largest senior class yet, and an increase in student enrollment. This years new students represent 30 percent of the total student body, making this the second best year for growth for the school since it opened its doors 10 years ago.

We are pleased to welcome students back for the 201617 school year and are committed to providing every child, new students and returning students, with an education that prepares them to thrive in the 21st century, says Debbi Scarborough, founding director at Cumberland Academy of Georgia.

Adding to the excitement is plans are underway for a school-wide rafting trip this fall. This will be a special opportunity for Cumberland students, many of whom have never had the opportunity to go on this type of outing, Scarborough says.

During the rafting trip, teachers will encourage the students and lead them step-by-step into the boats and down the river. The guides know the student population and will work closely with them to make sure they all have an enjoyableand safetime. This is an example of how Cumberland works to not only educate students with special needs, but help nurture life skills to help them overcome obstacles and thrive as adults.

The takeaway for students is that they can overcome their fears and do things they never thought they could do before, Scarborough says. If they can do that, they can do just about anything.

About Cumberland Academy of Georgia:

Cumberland Academy of Georgia specializes in the needs of students in grades 4 through 12 who have high-functioning autism, Aspergers syndrome, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities. Cumberland was founded in 2007 by Debbi and Matthew Scarborough, and is a fully-accredited, independent, non-profit school that seeks to provide a safe and supportive academic atmosphere for its students. Cumberland accepts applications year-round. To schedule a family tour, please contact Terri Brooks, director of admissions, at 404-835-9000, or email admissions(at)cumberlandacademy(dot)org.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the European Union needed to establish migrant deals with Egypt and Tunisia along the lines of the agreement it already has with Turkey.

She also said more must be spent on development aid to deal with the root causes of migration.

The EU and Turkey agreed in March that Ankara would stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe in exchange for financial aid and the promise of visa-free travel.

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Grace Coddington launched her first fragrance Grace in partnership with the label Comme des Garcons in the United States last April and more recently in France.

Managed by Nithya Ram, head of Production at Comme des Garcons Parfums, designed by Fabien Baron, creative director, and team at Grace Coddington, the original curved bottle is inspired by Grace Coddingtons sketches and is a nod to the British designers passion for felines. This is evident by the two small pointed ears on the perfume cap.

This perfume cap consists of an electroplated ABS thermoplastic insert encapsulated in DuPont Surlyn PC-2200. This new grade was launched in 2015 and was specifically developed by DuPont Performance Materials (DuPont) to meet the innovation criteria and design challenges of both brands and designers. PTJOSA, a company specializing in thermoplastic injection for the cosmetic industry, was the responsible for the development of both the mould and the over-moulding injection that made possible the manufacture of this delicate perfume cap.

"Bringing together all the well-known properties of Surlyn  crystalline transparency, high gloss, chemical resistance, excellent resistance against scratches and abrasion, soft touch  the new grade PC-2200 offers even greater design freedom by limiting technical hurdles. The cap of Grace is a wonderful illustration of the ability of Surlyn to make possible the most surprising and innovative designs," said Maria Carcole, marketing leader, DuPont EMEA Perfumes & Cosmetics.

Manel Godoy, director of PTJOSA is thrilled with the aspect of the cap. "We are pioneers in over-moulding and bi-injection parts, the ones made of Surlyn are specifically developed for the cosmetics sector. The excellent fluidity of Surlyn PC-2200 allows us to obtain a part with no marks or joint lines, in perfect harmony with the base. We have been working with DuPont resin for many years. It offers virtually endless possibilities in terms of shapes and finishes. The injection point is concealed, which allows us to create a cap as pure and light as the bottle itself with delicate lines. The result is transparent, very bright, with a mirror effect. Beyond its technical and visual qualities, Surlyn resin has caught the attention of the Grace Coddington brand for its haptic qualities, which ensure extremely soft touch and offer an invitation to touch.

Maison Surlyn will feature the latest applications made of DuPont Surlyn at Booth D1, Hall Ravel at Luxe Pack Monaco  21-23 September 2016. For more information, please visit: luxepack.dupont.com

DuPont Performance Materials (DPM) is a leading innovator of thermoplastics, elastomers, renewably sourced polymers, high-performance parts and shapes, as well as resins that act as adhesives, sealants, and modifiers. DPM supports a globally linked network of regional application development experts who work with customers throughout the value chain to develop innovative solutions in automotive, packaging, construction, consumer goods, electrical/electronics and other industries. For additional information about DuPont Performance Materials, visit plastics.dupont.com. For more information on cosmetic solutions, visit cosmetics.dupont.com

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.

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9/26/16

The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, and all products denoted with  are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.
Digital Wealth Management Technology for Advisors Integrating with TD Ameritrade Institutionals automated, fully digital account-opening process allows advisors a greater choice in building out their digital solutions.

Invessence, Inc., a digital wealth management technology provider, now offers seamless integration of its AdvisorGo and AdvisorCustom platforms with Veo, TD Ameritrade Institutionals brokerage and custody platform.

Invessence is a business-to-business provider of wealth management technology solutions to asset managers, broker-dealers, and advisors globally.

Integrating with TD Ameritrade Institutionals automated, fully digital account-opening process allows advisors a greater choice in building out their digital solutions, said Jigar Vyas, CEO of Invessence.

Invessences white-labeled technology provides advisors a comprehensive wealth management platform to deliver their investment solutions at scale. It improves advisor efficiency by automating client registration, portfolio management, account administration and reporting processes into a streamlined online solution.

The uniqueness of the Invessence technology is its flexibility, said Prashant Mehta, CTO of Invessence.

The technology allows advisors the ability to create their own investment portfolios, risk profiling, client portal and advisor dashboard. It is available as a turnkey solution for individual advisors, as well as a customizable platform for larger enterprises.

Invessence is committed to delivering innovative technology solutions that enhance the user experience for both the advisor and investor, Mehta added. Our integration with TD Ameritrade Institutional is vital to strengthening our existing advisory relationships as well as providing the groundwork for new ones.

To learn more about Invessence, visit: http://www.invessence.com.

About Invessence, Inc.

Invessence, Inc. is a business-to-business provider of digital wealth management technology that enables asset managers, broker-dealers and advisory firms to deliver their investment solutions at scale. It provides a dynamic user experience for both the advisor and investor by simplifying the investing process into a streamlined digital solution. Invessence provides services globally.

About TD Ameritrade Institutional

TD Ameritrade Institutional is a leading provider of comprehensive brokerage and custody services to more than 5,000 fee-based, independent registered investment advisors and their clients. Our advanced technology platform, coupled with personal support from our dedicated service teams, allows investment advisors to run their practices more efficiently and effectively while optimizing time with clients. TD Ameritrade Institutional is a division of TD Ameritrade, Inc., a brokerage subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. Brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA /SIPC.
Kidzmania logo The mission of the United Way is to help our youth reach their full potential so they can thrive and become productive future citizens, parents and employees." states Randy Kuhlman, CEO of the United Way of Greater Fort Dodge Past News Releases RSS Linking Families And Communities Is...

KIDZMANIA Will Have Entertainment...

Community Sponsorship In Fort...

The United Way of Greater Fort Dodge is a 501(C)3 public charity dedicated to supporting and uplifting families and youth. United Way of Greater Fort Dodge supports numerous organizations and agencies that help struggling families become self-sufficient and stable for the long-term. Families need a supportive community to provide social ties, enhance health, teach values and develop assets in children. When families are stable and thriving, they provide the best environment for children to grow, develop and reach their full potential academically, socially and developmentally.

These values and mission make the partnership of Linking Families and Communities and the United Way a perfect fit for the 2016 KIDZMANIA to be held from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, October 15th at the Crossroads Mall in Fort Dodge, Iowa. As a Presenting Sponsor, the financial support assists in providing fun interactive activities, stage presentations and demonstrations along with information on resources to assist families during the free event.

The mission of the United Way is to help our youth reach their full potential so they can thrive and become productive future citizens, parents and employees. Partnering with Linking Families and Communities complements that goal, says Randy Kuhlman, CEO of the United Way of Greater Fort Dodge. These partnerships are made possible by the generous donations we receive each year from the residents and businesses in our community.

Offering Hope For A Better Tomorrow is the theme for this years community campaign at the United Way. Funds raised during the community campaign are used to support programs like KIDZMANIA. The 2016-17 campaign goal is $450,000. An important fact about the funds raised is that these donations stay in the community. Out of every dollar, 99 cents remains and supports programs in Fort Dodge and Webster County.

The Giving Card is just one way the United Way says Thanks for donating. Purchasing a Giving Card allows for special offers and discounts at local businesses that are only available to supporters who have made a gift of at least $150 annually to the United Way. Each participating merchant has signs proudly announcing their participation in United Way's Giving Card program. Giving Cards for 2015-16 are currently available for purchase.

Linking Families and Communities is located at 822 Central Avenue, Suite 340, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. Additional information is available by calling 515-955-5437 or visiting the website at http://www.linking-families.com. #ThisIsFortDodge
L to R: Mayor Jeri Muoio, Charles Scardina, City Commissioner Keith A. James Today we are just breaking ground, but next year there will be a beautiful, perfectly-appointed, welcoming community here, with all of the conveniences for modern life.

Luma at West Palm Beach, LLC today announced the groundbreaking of its new luxury rental apartment community at the southwest corner of Okeechobee Blvd and Skees Road.

West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio and City Commissioner Keith A. James attended the ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday to express the Citys support for the project. Other notable attendees were Luma at West Palm Beach, LLC Developer Charles Scardina, JMG Realty Partner and Executive Vice President Bonnie Smetzer, Shutts & Bowen Partner and Attorney Harvey Oyer, Florida Community Bank Representative Terry Farina, Elev8 Construction General Contractor Steve Napier, and JMorton Planning & Landscape Architectures Steve Pickett and Lauren McClellan.

Im really happy to be here to do the groundbreaking for Luma of West Palm Beach, a new rental community in our city. It is going to be beautiful, said Mayor Muoio. Ive seen the plans and its going to be a great place to live with a lot of amenities and conveniences for people and were really happy to have it in our city.

Perfect for millennials, families and retirees alike, Luma at West Palm Beach will feature 245 apartments, a spacious 5,500 sq. ft. clubhouse and numerous luxury amenities. The community includes a state-of-the-art gym, a yoga and dance studio, a resort-style pool with cabanas, an outdoor lounge featuring a trellis and barbecue grills, a tot lot and even a dog park.

Luma at West Palm Beach offers one, two and three bedroom apartments, and every four-story building includes elevators for maximum ease of movement. Each apartment comes equipped with a full-size washer and dryer, a stainless steel appliance package, granite countertops and beautiful wood-inspired plank flooring. Luma is also a green community; the windows, appliances, faucets and toilets are all energy efficient, simultaneously protecting the environment while helping renters save on utilities.

Today we are just breaking ground, but next year there will be a beautiful, perfectly-appointed, welcoming community here, with all of the conveniences for modern life, said Luma at West Palm Beach Developer Charles Scardina. We are thrilled to get this project going with the support of the City of West Palm Beach, and are looking forward to providing an exceptional new community for local residents to call home.

The community will begin leasing in spring 2017, with residents expected to move in as early as mid-year.

Luma at West Palm Beach will be conveniently located just west of Floridas Turnpike at 7130 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33411.
Top Work Comp Treatment in AZ (602) 883-1913 APIC now accepts both in state and out of state workers' compensation patients for all types of treatment! This include state and federal claims.

Out of state workers' compensation patients are now being accepted for treatment at Arizona Pain and Injury Centers. This includes both state and federal claims, with over 30 treatment options being offered. Call (602) 883-1913 for more information and scheduling.

It can be very difficult to obtain effective workers' compensation pain treatment in Arizona for several reasons. One is that the administrative portion of claims are difficult and need to be handled with care. Also, there are significant nuances to effective treatment which permit patients to return to work the vast majority of the time while avoiding surgery.

Thankfully, Arizona Pain and Injury Centers has assembled a highly qualified team of Board Certified professionals including Phoenix pain management doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists and acupuncturists. The collaborative nature of the team helps injured workers dramatically when it comes to outcomes.

One area that APIC excels in is with federal workers' compensation claims. This may include employees of TSA, FBI, USPS and other agencies. Treatment options are comprehensive and may include pain medication management, interventional procedures, chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture and spinal decompression therapy. The options are excellent for providing acute pain relief and preventing chronic pain from setting in.

Same day appointments are available, and second opinions are frequently provided. Visit http://phoenixpainmanagement.com and call (602) 883-1913 for more information and scheduling with top workers' compensation medical treatment in Phoenix.
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An Omani court on Monday upheld a government order to permanently close a national newspaper and jailed three of its journalists for undermining the state, judicial sources said.

Authorities shut Azamn daily in August, drawing condemnation from international rights groups.

During Monday's hearing, the court sentenced editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Maamari and his deputy Yousef al-Haj to three years in prison, the sources said.

The pair were also ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 rials ($7,800) each and were banned from working in journalism for one year.

The court also jailed their colleague Zaher al-Abri for one year. He was also fined 1,000 rials ($2,600).

Based on the charge sheet read at court, the journalists were convicted of disturbing public order, undermining the prestige of the state, and misusing the Internet, the sources said.

Haj was convicted of publishing an interview with a senior judiciary official even after he was ordered not to.

Maamari was the first of the three to be arrested on July 28, two days after the newspaper published an article which accused public officials of corruption and interference in judicial decisions.

Authorities later detained his two colleagues.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights have criticised the closure of the newspaper and the arrests.

And last month, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote a letter to ruler Sultan Qaboos asking him "to intercede to obtain the unconditional release" of the three journalists "who are being unjustly detained and prosecuted in connection with an article about suspected corruption within Oman's judicial system.

"Detaining and prosecuting journalists because of their investigative coverage of a judicial case amounts to criminalising the very essence of journalism, which is to provide the public with information," the watchdogs said.

Appealing the verdict would cost the convicts around $130,000, the judicial sources said.

Oman is ranked 125th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.

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Residents of Syria's battered city of Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages Monday as Syrian and Russian warplanes again pounded rebel-held areas in defiance of international concern.

A fresh wave of intensive air strikes hit the city's opposition-controlled east from dawn on Monday, an AFP correspondent in the city said, on the morning after Moscow and Damascus were repeatedly accused of war crimes at the UN Security Council.

The emergency council meeting, called by Britain, France and the United States, saw Russia accused of "barbarism" over the worsening carnage in Aleppo.

Yet the worst violence to hit the divided city in years continued on Monday and residents warned that stores of food and vital medical supplies were dwindling to nothing.

The strikes from dawn on Monday were particularly heavy on two rebel-held districts, Al-Mashhad and Sayf al-Dawla, and sparked large fires, the AFP correspondent said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said "dozens of raids" had hit districts of east Aleppo after midnight on Sunday, with many wounded and at least two civilians killed.

It was the fourth day of intense air raids on the city since a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault vowing to retake all of Aleppo following the collapse early last week of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States.

The Observatory said Monday that at least 128 people, nearly all civilians, had been killed in Syrian and Russian raids on eastern Aleppo since late Thursday.

Among the dead were 20 children and nine women, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

At least 36 civilians, including 11 children and five women, were also killed in raids targeting rural areas of Aleppo province, he said.

A Syrian military source told AFP regime forces had no intention of letting up on rebel-held areas.

"The air force will bomb any terrorist movements, this is an irreversible decision," the source said, reiterating that the regime's goal was to "recapture all regions of Syria" outside its control.

A medical source in rebel-held Aleppo said hospitals were struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," the source told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations," he said.

With Aleppo back under siege since regime forces again fully surrounded the city in early September, residents were having to deal with food shortages and skyrocketing prices as well as intensifying violence.

The price of a portion of bread had risen to 500 Syrian pounds ($1) from 350 Syrian pounds last week, the AFP correspondent said, and food was becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Several charity kitchens that had distributed food in eastern districts were no longer operating due to the danger of air strikes.

Water supplies also remained cut off to many areas after pumping stations were damaged at the weekend.

"We endured through years of bombardments and did not leave Aleppo. But now there is no bread, no drinking water, nothing in the markets. The situation is getting worse every day," Hassan Yassin, a 40-year-old father of four in the Ferdus neighbourhood, told AFP.

Aleppo has been divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebels in the east and has been a key battleground in Syria's five-year war.

At the Security Council meeting, US Ambassador Samantha Power voiced strong criticism of Russia's support for President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," she said.

Russian launched air strikes in support of Assad last September, helping regime forces to regain ground lost to a wide range of opposition forces battling the regime.

UN envoys raised deep concern over the use of arms including bunker-busting bombs in the Aleppo strikes.

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also warned the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war crimes.

Ban called on world powers to "work harder for an end to the nightmare" in Syria that has left more than 300,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.

Moscow hit back at the accusations on Monday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters that Russia denounced "the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations."

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Related Jordanian writer shot dead outside court before trial over cartoon

Jordan's judiciary Monday slapped a media blackout on the murder of a Christian writer who was gunned down outside an Amman court where he faced charges over an anti-Islam cartoon.

The information ministry said the aim was to preserve "the secrecy of the investigation" and that the blackout applied to both social and traditional media.

Nahed Hattar was hit by three bullets before the alleged assassin was arrested at the scene of Sunday's shooting in Amman's central Abdali district, official media said.

The assailant -- bearded and robed like a conservative Muslim -- shot the a 56-year-old as he made his way up the steps outside the court.

The gunman, identified as a 49-year-old Jordanian, gave himself up to police, a security source said.

A judicial source said on Sunday that the assailant was remanded for 15 days and charged with premeditated murder, meaning that he could face the death penalty if convicted.

The suspect had acted alone and was not linked to any "terrorist" group, a source close to his interrogation said, asking not to be named.

Hattar faced charges over a cartoon posted on his Facebook page, under the title "God of Daesh" (the Islamic State jihadist group), showing a bearded man in bed smoking with two women lying on either side, and addressing God as a servant.

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Reviews

"I live and work surrounded by native birds and I'm often startled by their intelligence and cunning. Now and again I'm convinced that they can have personalities and emotions, and then I call myself to order and put this down to projection. Which is probably why Gisela Kaplan's Bird Minds was such a revelation. Her study of cognition and behaviour suggests that Australian birds are not only smarted than I suspected; they may be more intelligent than I dared to imagine."

Tim Winton, "The ones we loved the best", Canberra Times/Sydney Morning Herald/The Saturday Age, 3/12/16

"Bird Minds is a fine synthesis of the rapidly growing field of avian cognition... Kaplan treats her readers to a fine selection of photographs and priceless insights from a passionate observer, skilled communicator, and critical scholar... I highly recommend Bird Minds to all ornithologists, birders, and anyone interested in nature. Those of us who are fascinated by bird behaviour and cognition but don't know Australia will learn from each page of this book. If you are planning a trip Down Under, pack a copy next to your binoculars and field guide."

John M. Marzluff, The Auk: Ornithological Advances 134, 2017

"Bird Minds is a book that nicely combines the best scientific rigor with stories of bird behaviours that we can all appreciate Kaplan uses her broad knowledge of human and animal neurology to enhance the interpretation of bird behaviours, and this adds a further dimension to the book."

Alison Turner, Canberra Bird Notes 40(3), 2015

"The book covers with competence the most traditional topics of avian intelligence, including nest building, mimicry, tool use, imitation, play, social and vocal learning, but also more neglected topics, such as brain and behavioural asymmetries... the book provides a scholarly but also very enjoyable reading on the intelligence of birds, and should thus be a recommended reading even to non-specialists."

Giorgio Vallortigara, Frontiers in Psychology, 7/9/16

"highly readable, with many points of reference for any ecologist or amateur naturalist familiar with Australian bird species... I commend this book as a fascinating read, and it is hoped that it would be a catalyst for many more studies on the cognitive skills of birds in general and Australian birds in particular."

Ralf Buckley, Austral Ecology, 41(18), 2016

"Bird Minds provides a highly readable and scholarly overview of the intelligence of birds, one that seamlessly integrates a wide variety of research by behavioural ecologists and comparative cognitive psychologists in a way that does justice to the goals of each

Thomas Zentall, Animal Behaviour 114, 2016

"I recommend this book to all who value our birds... it is a valuable reference of importance for your bookshelf and especially if readily available on your desk. I will re-read many pages and I suspect that will be similar for readers who will want to revisit various topics"

Gil Porter, Warbler (Southern Queensland BirdLife e-newsletter), Vol 5(1), March 2016

"I highly recommend Dr. Kaplan's most recent gem... an excellent book for researchers, advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, and for others who just want to know about the fascinating animals with whom we share our magnificent world."

Marc Bekoff, "Bird Minds: An Outstanding Book About Australian Natives", Psychology Today, 4/4/16

"This book is easy to read, covers a breadth of cognitive queries, and discusses a number of Australias more prominent and unique bird species. However, I would argue the true value of possessing it is in its potential to broaden the understanding any reader  regardless of their education  has of the way animals other than ourselves think and make sense of the world around them. All of us, even children, ponder this question from time to time. Here, Kaplan gifts the reader with the latest knowledge from the frontline of research, and in doing so ensures they never look at a magpie the same way again."

Christopher McCormack, Wild Melbourne (blog), 27/11/15

"a thorough and engaging read that will decidedly get human minds ticking!"

Australian Birdlife Magazine, December 2015

"This thoroughly researched book will provide a wealth of information and learning to ornithologists, veterinarians and bird watchers alike."

Dr Phil Tucak, Australian Veterinary Journal, 94(8), 2016

"Overall, this book is a welcome addition to the animal cognition library. Kaplan provides a valuable overview of interesting behaviours observed in Australia's avifauna thus far... Her writing style, which is clear and warm, will appeal to many; it is obvious that this is a topic close to her heart... I applaud Kaplan for both her extensive research and bringing Australia's colourful and enchanting avifauna to life on the pages of her book."

Amanda Ridley, Emu, 166(4), 2016

"This book is written for those with an interest in birds and bird behaviour, but without means or knowhow to trawl through the huge body of pertinent scientific literature. If you enjoyed any of Kaplan's numerous earlier works... you will certainly also enjoy this book."

Catherine Young, Corella 40(4), 2016
Interstate 80 eastbound near Geneseo was closed for an hour Sunday during an emergency response to a two-vehicle crash.

At 4:33 p.m., a Ford SUV was traveling eastbound on I-80 west of Geneseo, when it struck the back of a Ford truck, according to an Illinois State Police release. The truck and SUV then lost control, causing the truck to enter the south ditch and the SUV to roll over on the interstate, the release said.

Two juvenile passengers of the SUV, driven by James Hougo, 58, were transported to Illini Hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries, police said. Michael Wyeth, 38, was driving the truck. Traffic on I-80 was slowed due to construction and a lane reduction, the release said.

Mr. Hougo was cited with improper lane usage by police, the release said. The crash remains under investigation, police said.
DAVENPORT -- A famous quote in the Bible says, "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2). So, hundreds of the Q-C faithful on Sunday walked the walk, literally.

In the 45th annual Quad-Cities CROP Hunger Walk, 374 people hit the pavement over the 6-mile bi-state route, on their way to raising money to help eliminate hunger, thirst and poverty in the area and around the world. This year's walkers represented 30 faith groups, including 50 from the Muslim community and 30 from the Jewish community, according to the CROP walk committee.

"This is wonderful," committee chairman Rick Martin said at the event start, at Modern Woodmen Park. Last year, the walk attracted more than 400 people (even though the day was 46 degrees and overcast) and raised $51,000 -- the 18th most of all of the 1,300 CROP Hunger Walks nationwide, he said.

The Q-C walk has raised $50,000 six years in a row, Mr. Martin said, noting this year's total won't be known until Thanksgiving, since at least one church includes its Thanksgiving offering. His church, St. Mark's Lutheran of Davenport, brought 37 members on Sunday, although one of its usual walkers was busy preparing for flooding in northeast Iowa by sandbagging in Vinton, Mr. Martin said.

Some churches do creative fundraising for the CROP walks, Mr. Martin said, such as last year when St. Mark's had "Sneaker Sunday," where parishioners could pay $10 to wear sneakers in church. Mr. Martin said he was impressed with the faith diversity of Sunday's turnout.

"The Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters have been wonderful in the last couple years," he said. "It's really turned into an interfaith event."

In the Muslim group, organized by the Moline-based Islamic Center of the Quad Cities, were two high-school exchange students, in America for the first time.

Wearing their traditional hijabs in the 80-degree heat, Noor ul Ain (from Islamabad, Pakistan) and Noor al Mousa (from Dammam, Saudi Arabia) joined the walk from the stadium to downtown Davenport, across the Centennial Bridge, into Rock Island, and back.

"Everything is new. It's very different from Pakistan. I'm enjoying it," said Ms. ul Ain, who's attending Davenport Central. She and her Arabian friend (with whom she's staying in Davenport) posed for photos with a handmade white frame, which said "Fighting Hunger."

Compared to Pakistan's capital, where she lives, Ms. ul Ain said the rural villages are much poorer and need aid that groups like CROP Hunger Walks provide. She said there aren't many Pakistani volunteer organizations like this.

One-quarter of the funds raised by the walk stay in the Quad-Cities, Mr. Martin said, and the rest are distributed to Church World Service -- which started the CROP program in 1947. It originally was an acronym for the Christian Rural Overseas Program, to help Midwest farm families to share their grain with hungry neighbors in post-World War II Europe and Asia, according to crophungerwalk.org.

The first U.S. walk was in 1969 in Bismarck, N.D. More than 5 million walkers have participated in more than 36,000 CROP Hunger Walks in the last two decades alone, according to the site. The walks help to provide food and water, as well as resources that empower people to meet their own needs (such as wells and micro-loans), the site says.

In the Q-C, the walks support the Churches United food pantries, Meals on Wheels, River Bend Food Bank and the Humility of Mary Shelter, Mr. Martin said.

The problem of hunger in the area remains steady, he said. St. Mark's helps serve at the Salvation Army/Churches United meal site, at 6th and Harrison streets, on the fourth Thursday of the month. While it typically sees 75 to 80 people each month, Mr. Martin said they served 87 last Thursday, and that number grows in the winter months.

He was happy to see many young people out at Sunday's walk, including big groups from his church and St. Paul the Apostle School, Davenport.

Among the group of 15 from Zion Lutheran in Davenport were Grace Babka, 15; Sarah Babka, 13; Kate Kealey, 16; and Katie Harrison, 13. The girls all help serve at church community meals, the food pantry and the Salvation Army meal site. They enjoyed Sunday's walk as a group.

"I like going across the bridge," Sarah said. Kate held a large sign they made that said, "Ending Hunger One Step at a Time."

When asked why she does the walk every year, Marsha Voigt-Zemo (who's in her 60s) pointed to her blue church T-shirt. It said, "Love God, Love One Another." She goes to Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities, Davenport, which raised $1,200 and had 10 walkers Sunday.

"We're a small church; this is pretty good," Ms. Voigt-Zemo said. She pushed the wheelchair of her friend, Deb Calsyn-Polson, who has multiple sclerosis.

"This is exciting to be here," Deb said. Of her church, she said: "It's so loving and accepting. It doesn't matter who you are, what color you are, what you believe. You just love God."

The church pastor, the Rev. Rich Hendricks, said of the walk: "It's awesome. It reminds you of how much good there is in the world."
A message of unity and the recognition that water is life drew a large crowd of supporters to LeClaire Park on Sunday during the Stand with Standing Rock rally. Drummers, dancers in traditional regalia and dozens of people from all walks of life joined in ceremony and prayers next to the rising Mississippi River waters.

Regina Tsosie, president of the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities, told the crowd that Sacred Stone Camp near Cannonball, N.D., has more than 3,000 campers ready to defend their tribal and ancestral lands from the oil pipeline, which is expected to carry more than 570,000 barrels of oil per day through North and South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

The opposition to the pipeline ranges from fears of a spill that will contaminate the tribal and country water supply, to the desecration and removal of burial grounds and sacred sites, to the lack of input given to the tribes in the project, to further contribution to climate change and dependency on oil. More than 250 of 560 tribal nations in the U.S. have voiced their support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, with more joining daily.

We are all of the human nation, the people nation, and were here for all natural beings. These people at camp are in it for the long haul; theyre not going to quit, said Ms. Tsosie.

The solidarity action was one of a growing opposition to the Bakken Pipeline, or Dakota Access Pipeline. Construction work has been halted temporarily around the Lakota Sioux Reservation near the Missouri River while the Department of the Interior, Department of Justice and Army Corps of Engineers review permits and make plans to consult with the tribe. The Sunday rally also was an opportunity for donations for Sacred Stone Camp and messages of support from the community.

Sebastiana Freiburg helped carry a white flag she painted with a medicine wheel across the Centennial Bridge to LeClaire Park. Our duty is to help these people, and bring awareness of whats going on at Standing Rock. We cant forget how important Mother Nature is to us, so we are here to do our part.

Christine Novis told the crowd that she was at Standing Rock on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, when violent clashes broke out between private security provided by the pipeline company, Energy Transfer Partners, and the demonstrators. The corporation is accused of unleashing dogs on the water protectors.

What can I do here in Iowa? she asked the crowd, before laying out a vision to create an indigenous environmental collective in Iowa to fight larger issues linked to oil, gas and unnatural substances going into the ground. She encouraged a move to greener forms of energy and amplifying the indigenous voices of Iowa.

The people making decisions for us arent thinking of us, yet their decisions hurt us, said Larry Lockwood. But what happens to one, happens to all. We need to make a decision to do something about the destruction of the lands and water.

The people who think they have control over us, and over the Earth, need to hear us, Ms. Tsosie echoed. One person can make a difference by voicing their concerns. We believe that water is sacred, like the earth and the soil. And we honor that.

The rally was started by Josephine Ironshield, a longtime Davenport resident who still has family at Standing Rock. She thanked the Quad-Cities community for coming through on donations of tents, blankets, toiletries, camping supplies and cash donations during the rally. Lindquist-Ford, of Bettendorf, has donated a truck to transport the items to Standing Rock, an 866-mile drive from Davenport, which Ms. Ironshield will complete next week.

Water is the source of life, and this is a fight we are willing to face. Bulldozers will be met by water protectors. What affects us now will affect the next generation, unless we stop it, she added.

As the ceremony closed, Ms. Tsosie led attendees in a chorus of water is life; water is sacred. She then encouraged attendees to offer tobacco as medicine to the river before encouraging future gatherings along the rivers edge.
Well-known Moroccan cartoonist Khalid Geddar has asked for police protection after being threatened for reposting a drawing that led to the murder of a Jordanian writer, he said on Monday.

Geddar, who runs the satirical magazine Baboubi, reposted on Facebook on Sunday, as a posthumous tribute, a cartoon previously posted by Nahed Hattar who was shot dead outside an Amman courthouse earlier that day.

Hattar had been facing charges over the illustration he posted on Facebook under the title "God of Daesh" (the Islamic State group) showing a bearded man in bed smoking with two women lying on either side, and addressing God as a servant.

Any depiction of God is prohibited under Islam.

Hattar was hit by three bullets before the alleged assassin was arrested at the scene.

Geddar said he received several threatening messages and comments, including: "Your fate is death and slaughter -- you are the enemy of God."

"I consider this comment to be a direct threat, a call to kill me just because I republished the drawing that led to the death of the Jordanian writer," he told AFP.

He called on the authorities in Morocco to protect him, saying: "The police must investigate and cannot leave unpunished such calls for hatred, violence and death."

Geddar republished the illustration accompanied by a quote from French cartoonist Charb, who was killed along with 11 others in the attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 in Paris.

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Top left: "Purples in Africa" by Christine Vlietstra (UK); bottom left: "Sunrise, Sunset" by Heather Bitner (PA, USA); middle: "Ribbon Dance" by Rosemarie Palmer-Sungail (PA, USA), quilted by Cindy Cary; right: "Dream of All" by Harumi Iida (Japan)





Just to be clear: I have never met a quilt I didn't like (because I love quilts), and while I can appreciate traditional quilts, I'm more of a modern traditional/modern gal. So I was pleasantly surprised by the bold colors and modern elements in the exhibit.





Top left: "Colorful Trees and Streets" by Petra van den Daele (Germany); bottom left: "Life Cycle" by Jo Gallaway (UK); middle: "The Chisel Master" by Alison Laurence (NZ); right: "David" by Gilli Theokritoff (UK)





"The Chisel Master" by Alison Laurence (NZ)

Last week, I attended PNQE , a Mancuso quilt show in Oaks, PA. It was about 1.5 hours from my house but it was well worth the trip for three reasons:More on all of these below.1. Mancuso shows traditionally exhibit traditional and art quilts - though their shows have a modern category this year! Well done, Mancuso. Modern quilting is a huge part of the quilting world now! That being said, I wish there had been more entries into the modern quilt category - but I found lots of modern quilting inspiration all over (especially in the gigantic international quilts exhibit).Here were some of my favorites, but it was really impossible to take pictures of them all (that's why quilt shows exist - so we can see everything in person!). I'm particularly fond of well-done quilting (and especially that done by domestic machine) so I tended to go in for up close shots.The Philly Modern Quilt Guild had a huge exhibit (below), and that was the source of much oohing and aahing from us! I posted larger versions of some of these quilts last week on my Instagram account. It was an amazing show, and I wish we had the time to see it all.2. Though Mike and I have been together for ten years (say what, has it really been ten years?) and I've been quilting for six, he's never actually been to a quilt show. This is a real shame, since not only did I want to show off my quilt to him, but he's quite the artist himself (he draws amazingly).He's also developed quite the expertise about quilts and free motion quilting, so we walked through, making comments on stitch length (something he's jokingly particular about since I'm not so much ), color combinations, panels that were quilted vs. quilts that were completely pieced, and that sort of thing. He especially ogled over "The Chisel Master" quilt (in the second mosaic featuring the hand). The detail was absolutely stunning!We also asked someone to take our picture in front of my quilt (the first pic in this post) because the quilt is about our marriage (you can read the story here ). All in all, it was a successful day (and we had pizza, so, you know, all was even more excellent).3. This was my second time entering a juried exhibit. Last time was QuiltCon 2015, when this quilt was automatically accepted in after it was part of the Modern Quilt exhibit at International Quilt Festival. I received some great constructive feedback from QuiltCon: color balance good, work on starts and stops with quilting + stitch length. This time around, my constructive feedback was only about squaring my quilt before binding (which I still haven't found a full proof way to do - anyone have advice on that?).I found it interesting that the judges didn't make any comment on my stitch length and obvious stops/starts. It goes to show how much feedback can vary from show to show. That being said, I'm determined to enter my more recent works into shows because I've improved so much (still not striving for perfection though! Because it's a quilt. And I'm not perfect. And I'm not a show quilter. :)).Otherwise, "Home" was praised for having a "mid-century modern" vibe, which is what I won the ribbon (and some prize money!) for. I originally entered it because it was my only quilt that was completely show-ready (the right label and hanging sleeve attached), and because it seemed to fit the theme of "Evolving." Overall, I'm thrilled with the experience and to see it hanging there with so many other gorgeous quilts was a joy.(I'll say that again and again forever) but I will try to improve my craft. I know I've already improved by miles since I made this quilt in 2014.In other news, I've just learned that " Soar " and " Deconstructed Churn Dash " (two more recent makes) will be heading to the Modern Quilt exhibit at the Ontario Museum of History and Art in California this winter! All the quilts are based on a modernized traditional block. Now that three of my quilts will have traveled to California (further west than I've been), maybe I should go someday soon? Also, lots of hand-sewing andare in my future (gotta get those quilt sleeves attached).
G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now!
The Frauscher Tracking Solution (FTS) has the ability to detect intruders on the railway as well as identify each wheel impact on the rail at 10m intervals. It can differentiate between trains going in opposite directions and with sensors on each track FTS can monitor train movements on multiple tracks.

FTS can detect wheel flats and broken rails, and one FTS control cabinet can monitor an 80km section of railway. The system could also be used to inform passengers of the exact arrival time of trains.

Frauscher says it only takes one week to install and instrument the system.

Some solutions for railway-specific applications have already been developed, says Mr Peter Bradley, Frauschers FTS director. They are now available and can be provided to the market. Due to the overwhelming feedback and results that we collected in several pilot installations and at InnoTrans 2016, we are sure that distributed acoustic sensing has the potential to become a base technology for railway operations in the near future.
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The governor of Egypt's Central Bank, Tarek Amer, arrived in Germany on Monday for a three-day visit to discuss the country's support for the deal between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund, state news agency MENA reported.

Egypt reached a staff level agreement in August for a three-year extended fund facility (EEF) programme worth about $12 billion, to be provided over three years. The deal is awaiting the approval of the funds executive board.

Citing the Egyptian ambassador to Germany, Badr Abdel-Atty, MENA said that Amer will also meet with a number of senior German officials such as the head of the Deutsche Bundesbank in an attempt to strengthen financial and monetary relations between the two countries.

Amers visit came few weeks after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China to discuss bilateral ties and mutual interests between the two nations.

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The precise motive or reasoning behind the recent attack in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood is still not known, but it appears to be one more worrying sign of a shift toward what might be called pure terrorism.

Historically, terrorists have often tried to strike soft targets, where they expect to encounter little or no security. While these may appear to be random, there is often symbolic content to the terrorists' choices.

Pure terrorism is truly random. It targets families strolling on a promenade in Nice, shoppers at a mall, a busy street in lower Manhattan. The message is not that the victims represent a certain group or are seen as guilty because of despised policies or actions. This is sheer spectacle. The message: No one is safe.

Such terror attacks are truly arbitrary and extremely difficult to protect against. Protective perimeters have proliferated, but every restaurant, shopping center, busy street corner cannot be protected. Competitive 24/7 television news coverage amplifies the terror. Politicians pound podiums and pundits warn of further attacks. The end result is a perception that no one is safe, that little can be done, that worse is yet to come.

Yet such attacks are statistically rare, representing a relatively tiny addition to the total volume of violent crime in the United States. Americans are safer now than they were in the immediate shadow of 9/11 when intelligence had failed and more 9/11-scale attacks were expected.

Prompt military action to scatter al-Qaeda masterminds, massive investments in intelligence and unprecedented international cooperation degraded al-Qaeda's operational capabilities and rendered the terrorists' operating environment more hostile. Worst-case post-9/11 scenarios have not materialized.

Improved domestic counterterrorist efforts have uncovered and interrupted close to 90 percent of jihadist terrorist plots here since 9/11. But not all. Fort Hood, Boston, Chattanooga, San Bernardino, Orlando, and now Chelsea underscore that federal investigators and police cannot prevent every attack. However, many people would be surprised to learn that since 9/11, jihadist terrorists have killed fewer than 100 people in the United States.

More than half of those deaths were the result of a mass shooting in June by a lone gunman at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.  an attack many analysts view as an act by a disturbed killer rather than as true terrorism. While every death is a heartbreaking tragedy, terrorists have killed far fewer on U.S. soil than many feared or expected would happen immediately after 9/11.

The American public tends to forget that waves of terrorism on the homefront are nothing new.

In the 1970s, there were 50 to 60 terrorist bombings a year in the United States, a volume of terrorist activity that would rattle the country today. Planes were hijacked. A bomb tore through the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol building in 1983. Terrorists first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 and two years later 168 people were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, which still stands as the second deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

Yet today's terrorist threat is different in some respects. Terrorists are determined to kill in quantity and seemingly more willing to kill indiscriminately. The Islamic State's effective use of social media to advertise its atrocities also has enabled it to effectively recruit from a broad audience, making it a magnet for marginal and mentally disturbed individuals.

An impending era of pure terrorism may be making Americans more anxious, but they should remember that the country is better equipped than ever to combat the terrorist threat.

Brian Michael Jenkins is a senior adviser to the president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and an author of numerous books, reports and articles on terrorism-related topics.

This commentary originally appeared on Boston Herald on September 26, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.

2022
Content giant Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has announced a raft of executive appointments within the companys management team in Asia Pacific across brands including MTV.





I am delighted to announce leadership changes that further strengthen our existing leadership team in the region, explained Mark Whitehead, VIMN executive vice president and managing director, Asia Pacific. Their appointments demonstrate how were combining the best talent and assets as we maximise operational and creative expertise in the company.All of the moves will be effective from 1 October 2016. Principally, Paras Sharma, previously senior vice president of MTV , Comedy Central and Paramount Channel brands, and Digital Media for Asia, will take on the position of senior vice president and general manager for Southeast Asia (SEA), and will continue to report directly to Mark Whitehead, executive vice president and managing director, VIMN Asia Pacific.Simon Bates, vice president of MTV, Comedy Central and Spike brands for Australia and New Zealand, will now be vice president, head of MTV Asia Pacific, and Comedy Central and Spike for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Bates will dual report to Whitehead for his MTV regional role and to Ben Richardson, senior vice president and general manager in ANZ for his local brand leadership over MTV, Comedy Central and Spike.Kirsty Bloore, research director for ANZ, has been promoted to senior director, research for Asia Pacific. Bloore will report to Amit Arora, vice president of strategy and business development, Asia Pacific and to Richardson for ANZ research support.
Investigative Committee to probe into Russian Authors Society head - report

MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  A criminal case against Sergei Fedotov, general director of the Russian Authors Society (RAO) who stands charged with large scale fraud, has been transferred from the Interior Ministry to the Investigative Committee for inquiry, Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the newspaper, this decision may be connected with the fact that Fedotov, who had earlier denied his guilt, suddenly signed a plea bargain.

Fedotovs attorney Denis Baluyev refused to give RAPSI formal confirmation of this information.

According to investigators, employees of the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed fraud scheme over illegal alienation of RAOs property. Damage to the RAOs property amounted to 500 million rubles ($7.8 mln).

In July, Fedotov was charged with commission of large scale fraud.

Baluyev insists that his client is a victim of calumniation.

The Russian Authors Society is a non-governmental organization created in 1993 for collective management of authors rights. At this moment over 25,000 people are listed as its members.
Ruling in Kalashnikov trademark dispute appealed in Russian Supreme Court

MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI, Natalia Belova)  Russias Supreme Court has registered an appeal filed by M. T. Kalashnikov, a firm established by the designer of the AK-47 assault rifle, against lower courts rulings in the companys trademark dispute with the firearms maker Kalashnikov Concern, according to court records.

Moreover, M. T. Kalashnikov lodged a motion for the restoration of the missed deadline to appeal the judgments.

The claim was filed by the Concern in June 2014. The plaintiff requested termination of legal protection of Kalashnikov trademark due to the brand not being used by the right holder. Kalashnikov Concern is interested in obtaining the rights because it produces full-scale models of weapons, including the AK-47.

The disputed trademark was registered by M.T. Kalashnikov in 2004, and its legal protection was extended in late 2012 through 2022, according to patent agency Rospatent. The trademark is applicable to a list of goods including clothes, headwear, toys, gaming machines and table games.

The ruling in favor of M.T. Kalashnikov was handed down on December 23, 2014. The court ruled that there was no reason to terminate the legal protection of the trademark. However, the Presidium of the Intellectual Property Court in May 2015 granted a motion for reconsideration.

In April 2016, the Intellectual Property Court reconsidered the case and ruled in favor of the Concern. In July, the decision was upheld by the IP Courts Presidium.

M.T. Kalashnikov was established in 1999 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the famous rifle, his daughter and grandson, according to BIR-Analitik database.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was 94 when he died on December 23, 2013.

Kalashnikov Concern is an association of the largest companies in the Russian small arms industry. It was established in 2013 and includes Izhmash, the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, the Vyatskie Polyany Machine Building Plant Molot, the Koshkin Automatic Lines Design Bureau (Klimovsk) and NITI Progress.

The group exports its products to 27 countries including the United States, the UK, Germany, Norway, Italy, Canada, Kazakhstan and Thailand.
Russian Justice Ministry starts paying compensations to comply with ECHR decisions

MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI, Yevgeniya Sokolova)  Russias Justice Ministry had started to pay compensations to applicants, who could win their cases in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), NGO Zona Prava (Law Zone) representing interests of cancer-stricken Andrey Lavrov told RAPSI on Monday.

On March 1, 2016, ECHR held to recover 20,000 euros from the Russian Government in favor of Lavrov as a compensation for his emotional damages suffered due to the failure to provide him with medical care in a Chelyabinsk penal colony, a representative of the NGO said.

The official in charge of ECHR-related issues with the Justice Ministry had not appealed against this decision and it became final, he added. Nevertheless, no money reached Lavrov, who needs expensive medical treatment.

The Justice Ministry explained the fact by referring to the lack of funds allotted to comply with the ECHR decisions; however, after turning to the Prosecutor General of Russia the activists could make the Ministry to pay.

Today, it got about that the money had been transferred to Lavrov, the NGO representative said.

Besides, after a two-week delay Mikhail Novoruk, a Moldavian citizen residing in Russia, was also granted 17,000 euros ECHR held due to him this March.




At this years Insurtech Connect conference, Insider Engage spoke to Pranav Pasricha, Swiss Re's global head property and casualty solutions, Reinsurance, to discuss why the protection gap is the biggest challenge the reinsurance industry faces today and how Swiss Re is using technology to support clients to respond to new and emerging threats.
growing a minimalist wardrobe: maternity clothes.

I wasnt sure how to categorize this post. Its about growing a minimalist wardrobe, for sure. But its also about getting dressed while growing a baby. And a belly. Theres just a whole lotta growth going on is really what Im trying to say.

What the heck do you do about maternity wear when your hope is for a long-lasting, beautiful, and sustainable wardrobe?

Writer bares all: During my last pregnancy, somewhere in the middle of my last trimester, I called James crying from my desk at work. I made him meet me at the 34th Street H&M. I pawed at racks of mostly ugly maternity clothes trying to find something that would suit my taste. I felt desperate, but mostly I felt weird. And so, I figured, new clothes would make me feel less weird. I had a need for therapeutic shopping like Id never really had before. I finished by trying not to feel too terrible about buying three shirts and a pair of pants from their Conscious Collection. Pregnancy is nutty, man. Your body does things its never done and looks different than it ever has. Most of the clothes that you deemed baggy enough to fit into your final months are laughably tight and in all the wrong places long before youre anywhere near your due date. And all the while, every other person walking down the street is offering unsolicited commentary on your ever-changing body. Why no, I didnt swallow a watermelon. Many thanks for your concern, madam.

In tackling the conundrum of how to dress myself while pregnant, Ive largely made an effort to wear my regular clothes for as long as possible and to introduce a few key maternity items to help me feel normal when the regular clothes fail. No doubt, the specifics of whats worked for me might not work for everyone, but I do think theres a lot of opportunity to use what you already own while adding only a few maternity specific things to help out along the way.

Heres whats worked for me:

Maternity jeans and leggings: I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with maternity jeans. On one hand: Yes! Give me something to wear that makes me feel like myself! On the other hand: I find that no matter the pair there are seams on the hipsbetween the stretchy elastic parts and the denim partsthat literally rub me the wrong way. Worse, on even the most discreet pair, the elastic pockets are still something youre going to want to at least try to cover up, which can have the maddening effect of actually expanding the need for maternity specific tops to go with the maternity specific bottoms. Foiled! Maternity leggings on the other hand are always such a relief, especially during a long winter pregnancy. Sure, youre gonna wanna cover your bum while wearing them, but god bless being able get comfy. And the dress thats gotten a bit too short when draped over a round belly? Wear it with some leggings and call it a tunic.

Whats in my closet: My mom gave me pair of black J. Crew maternity jeans when I was pregnant with Faye. This time around I also found a pair of Made-in-the-USA maternityjeans from Paige Denim. I stretched out my regular denim beyond repair during my last pregnancy by wearing them for too long and Ive grown faster and larger this time around so I didnt want to make the same mistake again. (If youre experiencing sticker shock looking at brand-new items, check out second-hand retailers online or in person. Maternity jeans are regulars in those kinds of places.) The Storq leggings are thick and cozy and the portion that comes up and over the belly can also be folded down. Praise hands.

Maternity dresses and skirts: Im a super-fan of dresses (and more recently) skirts while pregnant. They tend to be more comfortable than pants on their best day and while your bum and belly are busy settling into their new shape, I also think theyre more forgiving. No one wants to take a microscope to the ways their body is morphing over nine months and for me dresses are the answer.

Whats in my closet: The Storq dress was far and away my favorite purchase of my last pregnancy and this time around I also invested in the Storq skirt. (Yes, I should have just gone for the bundle.) The very best thing about both is that they extend well above my belly and not with the help of an awkward skin-colored belly band. This means I can wear a regular shirt pulled up over my stomach and still look cute and theres no fussing about whether Im properly covered and no need (at least for a long while) to invest in maternity tops.

Non-maternity maternity wear: Beyond the maternity specific items, theres the whole range of things that might still be wearable while pregnantfor a while at least.

Whats in my closet:

Button up shirts: You can leave them unbuttoned over a longer tee, or unbutton just the bottom few buttons over a high-waisted skirt or a dress, or you can get a little wild and tie the two ends below your sternum to make them work over a growing belly.

Cardigans: Anything that can be left open is a godsend for a pregnant belly. For a winter pregnancy in particular, a roomy cardigan is an easy way to stay warm without either feeling frumpy or stifled. I got this Everlane cardigan when I was pregnant with Faye. No doubt it will keep me cozy this time around, too.

Cropped blouses or shirts: With the right crop, a loose blouse or shirt can be an elegant complement to a high-waisted skirt or a dress. The Georgia Tee from Elizabeth Suzann has been a perfect thing for me to pair with my maternity skirt. Alternately, I like to crop slimmer and tighter shirts or sweaters by pulling them above my belly (which stays covered by a skirt or dress.) This is especially easy to do once the belly has actually grown significantly enough that the shirt stays in place above it.

Elastic-waist pants: It sounds like Im talking about sweatpants (and three cheers for those), but I promise there exist elastic-waist pants that arent sweatpants. Ive been wearing this pair from Steven Alan since the summer and have been relieved by the chance to sling them lower on my hips as my belly grows. They probably wont work in the third-trimester, but theyve been super comfy so far and will be forgiving and comfy again post-delivery.

Oversized tees: For a while at least, size up a t-shirt (or borrow from someone in your life who might be a little bigger than you) and youve got a shirt that fits over your belly (and covers the elastic on those pregnancy jeans). Tradlands just came out with t-shirts that are super soft and beautifully draped (more on these tomorrow). I sized up and can still wear mine comfortably over my belly.

Overalls and rompers: They might not last through an entire pregnancyand I know theyre not everyones favorite lookbut I love a good pair of loose overalls or a romper while pregnant. I wore my Olina Jumpsuit from Elizabeth Suzann to two different weddings this summer and felt so comfortable (and pretty!). My Andie Overalls from Hackwith Design House have been on regular rotation. Ive had to adjust the straps to fit in comfortably, but theyre still going strong at week 23.

Shift dresses: Depending on the dress and the belly, a roomy shift dress can have an extended life as maternity wear. My Georgia Dress from Elizabeth Suzann has had plenty of growing room for my belly, without yet starting to ride up on my legs.

Vintage maternity: If youre feeling brave, a fun and sustainable option is dipping into vintage maternity options. (Though Im not going to make any claims to them being hugely versatile in the long run.) My mom saved a few of her favorite maternity shirts and dresses from the 80s in hopes that one of her four daughters would be into the ruffles and plaid. And while Ill admit it takes some guts to wear a v. roomy high-throated calico print dress with puffed sleeves, its still a favorite. (Pictured!)

What about you guys? Whats worked for you? Any tried and true favorite things to wear while pregnant?

More (non-maternity) minimalist wardrobe posts RIGHT HERE.
Egypts trade and industry ministry said on Monday that Russia has agreed to lift a ban on the import of Egyptian fruits and vegetables, as the North African country will take every precaution to guarantee the safety and quality of its agricultural imports heading to Russia.

Russia said on 16 September it would temporarily suspend the import of fruit and vegetables from Egypt starting 22 September.

Russia's lifting of the ban came after intensive efforts on both sides to address the reasons behind the decisions and take the necessary procedures to lift it, the trade ministry statement read.

An Egyptian delegation visited Russia on Sunday to discuss the ban.

The ban was imposed after Cairo rejected a Russian wheat shipment for containing the common ergot grain fungus.

Cairo has since amended its rules and agreed to buy Russian wheat, accepting shipments with low levels of the fungus.

According to the ministry statement, Egyptian agricultural products exported to Russia are estimated at $350 million annually.

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In anticipating the next steps in Syria, the key player to watch is Iran, which is fully on board in backing Assad's offensive in Aleppo. The first stop for discussions on the future of Syria, after Damascus, is Tehran. As we wrote in our second column back in December 2012, Iran's influence in Syria surpasses that of Russia. There is no closer relationship, and no country with more vital interests in Syria.
Earlier this year, The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg published The Obama Doctrine, in which the president described a Middle East populated by unreliable free-rider allies constantly drawing the United States into their petty rivalries, fueled by avarice, tribalism, and sectarianism. Key among those free riders were the Sunni Arab states of the Gulf, Goldberg wrote. The Saudis, along with the Iranians, Obama said, need to find an effective way to share the neighborhood. Yet despite the Obama White House's misgivings about Saudi Arabia, it backed its campaign in Yemen, enabling perhaps the chief free-rider's war.
realclearworld Newsletters: Europe Memo

Events in Europe have come fast and furious in the little more than a week since we published part one of our interview with European Council on Foreign Relations director Mark Leonard. Here is just a short list of happenings in that time that point toward the further disintegration of consensus on the Continent:

EU leaders held their first major summit since British voters opted in a referendum to leave the European Union. The meet in Bratislava was intended to serve as a demonstration of unity, but any such illusion crumbled when Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi trashed the gathering as just a nice cruise on the Danube. Recently tabbed as a rising leader on the European landscape, Renzis political future is in present peril in Italy.

Mainstream parties in Germany, including Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party, posted abysmal numbers in Berlin elections, while the far-right Alternative for Germany party turned in another strong showing. Germany and France go to national elections in 2017.

Finally, this weekend marked the official failure of the insurgency within Britains Labour Party against hard-left leader Jeremy Corbyn, as Corbyn drew an even larger share of votes in a leadership contest than he had when he rose to the post in 2015. Amid fears of purges, accusations of entryism and disloyalty, and speculation over a party split, Labour sinks, leaving Britain with no effective opposition party even as the country moves to negotiate a historic change in its relations with Europe.

The second part of our conversation with Leonard offers a glimpse into the reaction of thought leaders across the Continent. Leonard describes an interregnum -- a period where an old order is dying and a new one has not yet taken over:

RCW: You guys [last week] hosted UKIP member of parliament Douglas Cardwell here for a talk. What were the takeaways from what he had to say?

Leonard: One of the interesting things about the EUs politics is were going through a period of major political realignment where the traditional mainstream parties of the center-left and center-right are appealing to less and less people people and are finding their ability to govern and to lead curtailed in different areas. Weve seen the emergence of insurgent parties running against the political establishment. We have identified 55 of these parties across the member states. Some come from far-right backgrounds, some from far-left backgrounds, some of them are more centrist. Some of them are over 100 years old, some of them sprung up on the internet over the last 12 months.

But they do have a number of different things in common. Theyre all broadly Euroskeptic and get a lot of their energy from campaigning against Brussels and talking about taking back control from Brussels and restoring national sovereignty.

Secondly they tend to be quite hostile to immigration, to free trade. They tend to be quite anti-American, particularly against American interventionist policies in the Middle east, and they are often quite sympathetic to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, theyre quite skeptical about NATO. Theyre quite anti-free trade. And most importantly, theyre all trying to recast politics away from the classic battles between left and right, and instead to set politics up as a fight between the cosmopolitan, out-of-touch elites who have traditionally run the countries, and the people, mobilized in a new way.

Thats why one of the things that almost all of these parties love talking about is direct democracy and referenda. We found that these parties are calling for 34 different EU-related referenda in 18 members states of the European Union. Some of them are about in-or-out referenda, some of them are about getting out of particular bits of the EU -- the euro, the Schengen area -- some of them are about policies, like TTIP -- its kind of mixed.

Douglas Carswell is an interesting part of this mix. Hes the one elected representative of UKIP in the House of Commons. He played an important part in the run-up to Brexit in the Leave campaign. But hes somebody who has been in different ways involved, writing books about direct democracy. It is interesting if you look at what these parties are doing, its a real counter-revolution. Theyre running very directly against some of the central tenets of Western foreign policy.

Carswell started out by talking about the 1880s when the common man, as he put it, first got the franchise in the UK, how central foreign policy was in those days. He was arguing that what weve seen over the last 130, 140 years, is a professionalization of foreign policy -- that the elites have made foreign policy on their own, unencumbered by a need to explain and engage with the public. Hes saying that thats very different to what it was in the 1880s, when a lot of the elections had foreign policy at their heart, whether it was discussions about the Ottoman Empire, or the campaigns in Crimea, and so on.

Its certainly true that foreign policy is being politicized, and a lot of foreign policy issues are central to domestic policy, whether its how we deal with Turkey, what we do with the refugee crisis. That makes it much more difficult to make foreign policy in the traditional way.

RCW: How different is the atmosphere in Europe now compared to when you founded ECFR in 2007?

Leonard: I wrote a book in 2005 called Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century, and I argued in that book that the EU stood for something new and important in the world about how power could be organized. I had this notion of transformative power, I argued that the European way of doing things would gradually spread around the world, through the enlargement of the European Union -- at that time the EU had just I think enlarged from 15 to 25 member states. Secondly through the osmotic power of European neighbor policy. There was a whole series of countries that had gone through big domestic changes because they wanted to get closer to the EU. From the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia, there was a sense that other countries were transforming themselves. Thirdly, through the creation of global institutions that embodied a post-Westphalian European way of working: At that time people were really excited about the World Trade Organization, the ICC, the Kyoto Protocols, and other things that were very different from the Bretton Woods institutions.

And then finally, at that time you could see other regions coming together in clubs a bit like the European Union. You had Mercosur in South America; the African Union had just been launched with the explicit goal of becoming like the European Union. People were talking about an East Asian union. Basically every region of the world had its thing -- the Arab League as well. The idea at that time of ECFR, and my kind of thinking, it was very much [in line with] a universalist project where we saw the EU transforming the world around it.

Now theres much more focus on the transformative power of Europes neighbors, and how they are changing the EU itself. People are less interested in, less aware of the European Union exporting its values and institutions, and more of the EU importing chaos, importing refugees. Theres a much more defensive mindset. People are much more focused on European exceptionalism, rather than the universal aspirations and the reach of European norms. Instead of coming together and going toward ever-closer union, the EU is disintegrating. It is a much more challenging environment.

For ECFR, we need to firstly be aware of the new world we are in. I think of where we are now as an interregnum. The last few decades have been defined by an American security order, and a European-inspired legal order. Both of those are fraying. The question is, during this really dangerous period where the old orders are fraying, how does the EU survive?

For ECFR, we think about four sets of questions. The first is how you stop people being so focused on their navels, their internal questions, that they cant grapple with these big foreign policy challenges which are going to reshape our societies. Whether its dealing with Turkey or with Russia, or the refugee question. How do we get people to focus on that in a sustained way so that we can actually get strategies and not just tactical responses?

Secondly, in this new political environment, how can you go about rebuilding a consensus at a national level that Europe is the first line of defense against a lot of these things? That means getting embedded in national politics in the different member states, and working out how to engage with these new political forces, and to think about how you get a national consensus for European action. How do you knit together European action from the bottom up by seeing how the EU can actually defend the national interest in different places, and what kind of constituencies can you work with?

Thirdly, theres a specific challenge for the EU 27 about what they want to do together, how they organize themselves after the British vote. There are conceptual things that they need to work through as well as practical things. And the fourth basket of issues is the British debate, and how that gets resolved. I personally think that a lot of the stuff that is going to be in the headlines will be about whether Britain gets access to the single market, how it deals with free movement, and thats really important. But just as important from a long-term British national-interest perspective and an EU perspective is going to be how Britain engages with the rest of its continent on foreign policy issues. And those are second-order issues from a political perspective, but there are massive stakes. So I want to help lead a debate within the UK about how Britain can play a constructive part in the European security order -- and in the other capitals, to see if there are ways they could develop new arrangements for dealing with the UK.

Because I do think that the core thesis of my book back in 2005 might look slightly absurd in a moment where people are wondering whether the EU is going to survive the 21st century, let alone run it and define the rules. But at the same time, if the EU is not going to be picked apart by other great powers and be a pure spectator in the world, its going to need to come together behind a foreign policy, and I think it will be easier to do that if it can engage with the UK and with other foreign powers.

RCW: After the Brexit vote, are you more optimistic than pessimistic, or the reverse, on the future of Britain in Europe but not in the EU?

Leonard: Well, much as the Brexiteers might want to, Britain cant leave Europe. British culture is European culture, the royal family are Europeans, many British ideas developed through people moving back and forth across the channel. Theres an intellectual ferment thats very European. British culture is European, British food has been much improved as a result of recent engagements with the rest of the EU.

From a security perspective and an influence in the world perspective, Britain has almost indistinguishable interests in a lot of areas as some of these countries and will be much stronger if it finds a way of working with others. So Im sure that there will be arrangements found to do all of those things. But its going to be much more needlessly complicated outside of the European Union, and I think Britain will be less influential and will be less successful than it would have been in the EU. And a huge amount of time is going to be wasted in the next decade, implementing the bureaucratic mess which the Brexit creates.
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Directed by May Masri and co-produced by Palestine, France, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar and Lebanon, the film 3,000 Nights has been selected by Jordan's Royal Film Commission to represent the country at the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The film centres on a young newly-wed Palestinian school teacher who is jailed in a top-security Israeli prison where she eventually gives birth.



The film made its world premiere in September 2015 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It then made its Arab world premiere in December 2015 as part of the Dubai International Film Festivals 12th edition where it participated in the Muhr Arab Feature Films Competition.

The film also toured across Palestine right after the film's US premiere as part of the Palm Springs International Film Festival in early January.

In February, 3,000 Nights was shown at the European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The film was screened in Egypt earlier this year, when it was hosen to open the Luxor Arab and European Film Festival, an event which took place between 30 January and 5 February. In May it was screened in Cairo's Zawya.

This month, 3000 Nights will compete in the Feature Competition in the Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden (30 September - 5 October).

The film will also compete in the 27th Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia (28 October - 5 November) within the Official Feature Film Competition.

During the press conference for the Luxor Arab and European Film Festival, the Palestinian director May Masri said her film 3,000 Nights, was shot in a real prison, without any set decor, as a way of preserving the film's authenticity. Masri added that the jail where they filmed was neither in Palestine nor Jordan.

The film won eight awards: the TaoEdu Young Prize at Taormina Film Festival in Italy, the Youth Jury Award at the International Film Festival and Forum for Human Rights, Switzerland, and the Audience Award at The Annonay International Film Festival in France.

The film also won the Special Jury Award at Washington, DC International Film Festival (Filmfest DC), the Jury Award at the 8th Women's International Film and Television Showcase (The WIFTS), USA, the Meeting Point Audience Award at the 60th Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain, as well as the Youth Jury Award and the Women's Jury Award at the Paysages des Cineastes in France.

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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By MARK KENNEDY, AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP)  If you weren't able to catch George Takei's musical "Allegiance" on Broadway, here's another chance  at your local movie theater.

Fathom Events will broadcast a digital recording of the show to movie houses nationwide on Dec. 13.

"Allegiance," based on Takei's memories of being forced into a Wyoming internment during World War II, is a multigenerational tale with two love stories. It co-stars Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Takei.

The show had a premiere in 2012 at the Old Globe in San Diego and, when it opened in New York on Oct. 6, marked the first Asian-led cast of a musical on Broadway in more than a decade. It closed after 150 performances.

___

Online: http://www.fathomevents.com
FILE - This undated file photo released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made during the Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition 2013, shows corals on Mytilus Seamount off the coast of New England in the North Atlantic Ocean. President Barack Obama will establish Sept. 15, 2016, the first national marine monument in the Atlantic. The move is designed to permanently protect nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the coast of New England. White House officials say the designation will ban commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a 7-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. The designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument marks the 27th time Obama has acted to create or expand a national monument. (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research via AP, File)

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By JENNIFER McDERMOTT, Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  Fishermen in New England say President Barack Obama needlessly dealt a big blow to their industry when he created the Atlantic Ocean's first marine national monument and circumvented the existing process for protecting fisheries.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. The designation will close the area to commercial fishermen, who go there primarily for lobster, red crab, squid, whiting, butterfish, swordfish and tuna.

After Thursday's announcement, fishermen pondered their next move: sue, lobby Congress to change the plan or relocate. It's hard to move, they said, because other fishermen would likely already be fishing where they would want to go.

They said the designation process wasn't transparent and the administration should have let the New England Fishery Management Council, which is charged with regulating the region's fisheries, finish working on the coral protection measures it's considering.

"There seems to be a huge misconception that there are limitless areas where displaced fishermen can go," said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association. "Basically with the stroke of a pen, President Obama put fishermen and their crews out of work and harmed all the shore-side businesses that support the fishing industry."

The lobstermen's association and other fishermen wanted the White House to allow fishing in depths of up to 450 meters (1,476 feet), so they could still go there but still protect deep-sea corals. Annually, about 800,000 pounds (362,877 kilograms) of lobster are caught near the canyons, according to the lobstermen's association.

White House officials said the administration listened to industry's concerns and made the monument smaller, with a seven-year transition period for the lobster and red crab industries.

Industry advocate Robert Vanasse said it's clear the plan will lead to a decrease in supply and raises prices. It's difficult to gauge the economic impact this early, added Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood.

A lobsterman in Newport, Rhode Island, wants Congress to act. One of Bill Palombo's three boats catches lobster exclusively in the monument area. If nothing changes within seven years, Palombo said, "I guess you just go out of business."

"What can you do?" he said. "That's why we're so upset."

Palombo and others questioned why, if the area is considered pristine and fishermen have been going there for decades, can't fishing continue?

The designation was widely praised by environmentalists as a way to sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change.

Priscilla Brooks, of the Conservation Law Foundation, said it's a "very small area" compared to what's currently open to fishing. She said the White House struck a balance so there would be a "soft landing" for the industry, with seven years to phase out fishing.

"The fishing activities taking place in the monument aren't compatible with the protection of vulnerable marine life," she said.

Brad Sewell, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said fishing gear has been seen on top of coral and has entangled marine mammals. He worries these problems will worsen over time as fishing gear reaches deeper.

"You want to protect an area like this is when it's relatively pristine," he said. "The time to do it is now, not wait until the damage is done."

Affected fishermen formed the Southern Georges Bank Fishing Coalition on Wednesday to oppose the monument. Coalition attorney Drew Minkiewicz said the president doesn't have the authority to use the American Antiquities Act to declare a marine monument far offshore and Congress granted the right to protect these areas to the federally mandated fisheries councils that manage them.

"For people who live and work on the water, this is terrifying," he said. "This is the government using eminent domain on your workplace."

Minkiewicz wouldn't say whether the coalition plans to sue.

The New England Fishery Management Council said it needs to reassess its management strategy given the new developments. Mary Beth Tooley, a council member from Maine, said the public process used by the council "is the way it should be done" and she's disappointed it was circumvented.

Eric Reid, general manager of a seafood processing facility in Rhode Island, knows more than 20 boats that fish in the area covered by the monument.

"If they can't get fish, I'm not in the processing business," said Reid, of Seafreeze Shoreside Inc.

Reid said Obama, who leaves office in January, will deal with the intended and unintended consequences of his decision for the rest of his term, while fishermen have to live with them forever.
photos by Nathan Solis/Record Searchlight

Members of The Church of the Redeemed in Redding honored Pastor Timothy Moore at a memorial Sunday with music and prayer. Moore, 68, was killed last Monday morning when the SUV he was driving collided with a truck.

SHARE Nathan Solis/Record Searchlight Church of the Redeemed member Mike Kimberlin was one of three who carried a cross during memorial services to honor Pastor Timothy Moore on Sunday. Messages of faith and love were written on the cross to Moore and his family.

By Nathan Solis of the Redding Record Searchlight

The memorial for Pastor Timothy Moore was a celebration of life and a family reunion for the people he impacted over the years in his ministry work.

About 500 people, both family and friends, attended the memorial across the street from the church Moore helped establish. The Church of the Redeemed was founded about 25 years ago with an emphasis on faith-based substance-abuse recovery for many of the homeless in the city of Redding.

"He was a father of the city," said Pastor Sam Smith at Sunday's memorial. The crowd cheered and some sang hallelujah.

"You're a testimony to all that he helped," Smith said, motioning to the crowd, adding Moore was the father that many did not have in their lives growing up.

Moore, 68, was killed last Monday morning when the SUV he was driving collided with a truck near the Deschutes off-ramp in Palo Cedro.

Cody Hughes, 18, witnessed the crash from Redding Christian School and ran to the wreck on Highway 44. Hughes found Moore in his SUV and the teen prayed.

"I held his hand until he died  just praying with him. It will hurt. He's with Jesus now. The family is at peace and so am I," said Hughes after he spoke at the memorial service.

The teen will make bracelets to honor Moore and remind the community of his faith.

The Church of the Redeemed, a modest church housed in a storefront Butte Street in Redding, began as street ministry in Redding parks around 1989.

Moore, Smith and others preached and fed the homeless in city parks. They moved into the basement of the Lorenz Hotel where they prayed and sang.

Smith said Moore's church was an open forum, which allowed many to sing, shout and cry out during sermons.

Mandy Moore, Timothy Moore's daughter, said her father was her protector, but also the protector of many in the community.

Mandy never felt that she or her siblings had to share their father with the community, because he was so gracious with his attention to a person's troubles.

"He was at our side no matter what. For me he was joyous and he and I would goof around. We had that kind of relationship," said Mandy.

"Today was overwhelming," said Sheila Kepler, another of Timothy Moore's daughters. "We didn't know what to expect and how many people would make it. This is everything (our father) would have wanted."

Church members carried large, white crosses around the memorial and guests wrote messages to the family and the church on them.

Mike Kimberlin shouldered one of those crosses as he called Pastor Moore a true friend.

"He was like a dad. He helped me out a lot and prayed for me, for my drinking and I've stayed away from alcohol since."

Brenda Dunn knew Pastor Moore for 26 years.

"He never judged people. He sowed the seeds in the community built on unity, love and human kindness. That's why so many were in a celebratory mood today," said Dunn.

Carole Moore, Timothy Moore's wife, said when times were tough he could have walked away from the church.

"I can't believe how much Tim had in his heart."
Bill Press

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Democrat, Republican, or independent, can't we all agree? This is the craziest presidential campaign we can remember. The two oldest presidential candidates ever. The two least popular candidates ever. The most qualified and least qualified candidates ever. And the first time ever that one candidate could say anything  anything  and get away with it.

Indeed, more than anything else, the history of the 2016 presidential election will be remembered for the number of times the political commentariat has solemnly declared: "This is it! Donald Trump has finally gone too far"  only to be proven wrong. And within days they were forced to respond to an even more outrageous outburst.

It started in 2011, when Trump made himself a household name by leading the "birther movement," a racist conspiracy whose sole aim was to discredit the first African-American president of the United States. Even when Obama released his long-form birth certificate, Trump denounced it as a forgery, alleging that private detectives he'd dispatched to Hawaii had made "absolutely unbelievable discoveries" and accusing Obama's grandparents of planting a fake birth announcement in Hawaiian newspapers. And even when he finally admitted Obama was born in the United States, Trump blamed Clinton for starting the birther movement, which is an outright lie.

On June 16, 2015, he famously launched his presidential campaign by labeling all Mexican immigrants "criminals" and "rapists," promising to keep them out by building a massive wall that Mexico would pay for. Three months later, he threw gasoline on the anti-Latino flames by vowing to deport 12 million immigrants who came to this country illegally. This was quickly matched by his continuing pledge to ban all Muslims from entering the country, even legally.

If that wasn't enough to derail the Trump campaign, surely his scorn of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would do it. How could you ridicule a genuine American war hero and get away with it? Donald Trump did. Just like he got away with denouncing the parents of a Muslim Army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq 12 years ago. For Trump, even Bronze Star recipients and Gold Star families are fair game. And so, apparently, is Pope Francis, whom Trump also insulted.

It doesn't stop there. He has called President Obama the "founder" of ISIS. He suggested that Second Amendment crazies would know how to prevent a President Hillary Clinton from nominating new members of the Supreme Court  and more recently suggested we take away her Secret Service protection and "see what happens." All the while praising Vladimir Putin as the kind of leader we need in this country and urging the Russian government to hack Clinton's emails.

The combination of Trump's personal insults, disregard for the truth and basic ignorance about important policy issues has lifted this campaign far beyond normal partisan considerations. This week, 375 leading scientists, including 30 Nobel Laureates, released a letter warning of the dangers of a Trump presidency, alarmed by his pledge to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Later in the week, 75 retired senior diplomats of both parties announced their opposition to Trump, stating that his understanding of foreign policy was based on "the most ignorant stereotypes" of foreign countries.

They follow the lead of 50 prominent national security experts, including many veterans of the George W. Bush administration, who last month came out publicly against Trump, asserting he would be "the most reckless president in American history." Their numbers include two former heads of the Department of Homeland Security under President Bush, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, and former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden.

And they are joined by scores of top Republicans who have refused to endorse the Republican Party's nominee for president, including two former presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush; former GOP nominee Mitt Romney; former Secretary of State Colin Powell; former presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz and John Kasich; and GOP Senators Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Susan Collins and Mark Kirk.

There's no doubt that any one of Trump's outrageous statements would have sunk any other candidate for president. Ed Muskie, remember, was forced out simply for shedding a few tears. Rick Perry, for one brain fart. Yet Donald Trump has neither apologized for nor backed away from anything he's said  and nevertheless gets a free ride from the media.

So why the double-standard? Even if no single statement would do it, shouldn't the whole bunch of Trump's incendiary remarks be enough to disqualify him?

Email Bill Press at bill@billpress.com.
This month's contest on Facebook highlights the role of the Egyptian army during ancient history

To mark the anniversary of the 6 October victory in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the Egyptian Museum has selected nine artefacts from its collection that highlight the Egyptian army in ancient times to be put to the vote on Facebook for its October piece of the month.

The director-general of the museum, Sabah Abdel-Razek, explained that the selected objects show the role of the Egyptian army during ancient times and the weapons they used in their battles against invaders.

The selected artefacts are diverse and include a group of Egyptian lancers carved in wood from the tomb of Prince Mesehti in Assiut; a limestone statue of the 11th dynasty Theban Antef, chief general of King Mentuhotep II, seated and wearing a wig; and an alabaster statue of the 18th dynasty King Tuthmosis III, who created the largest empire that ancient Egypt had ever seen, conducting seventeen army campaigns.

The statue shows the king kneeling offering nu pots and wearing the nemes, the famous pharaonic striped headdress, and the ureaus, the snake ornament worn by Egyptian pharaohs.

Another artefact included is one of King Tutankhamuns eight shields, which shows the king holding a scimitar ready to kill two lions.

Also included are the head of Nakhtmin, chief general from the reign of Tutankhamun, and a statue of Nakhtmin and his wife Tiy, seated with an offering table in front of them.

Two limestone ostraca from the 19th and 20th dynasties are also among the selected objects. One shows King Ramses IV on his chariot catching Syrians and Africans, with a lion attacking another Syrian captive. On the back of the ostracom a bull is depicted.

The second depicts King Ramses IX with two prisoners. Beside him the god Amun holds out a falcon and gives him an ankh and was sceptre in support.

Coins representing military victory and the courage of the army are also featured.





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Draft prospectus to be filed next week; second trust, with Panchshil, in a few months

Blackstone, one of the largest investors in the world, is likely to file a draft prospectus next week, along with its partner, Bengaluru-based Embassy Group, for a real estate trust (REIT).

We are filing for a REIT next week. We are looking to raise $600 million (about Rs 4,000 crore), said Jitu Virvani, chairman, Embassy Group.

This would be the first REIT in the country, after the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), relaxed norms on Friday.

Blackstone is already planning a second such trust with another partner - Pune-based Panchshil.

The Embassy Office Parks, the joint venture (JV) between Blackstone and Embassy, has an office portfolio of 35 million square feet, valued at $3 billion (about Rs 20,000 crore), Virvani said.

We will have a con-call with Blackstone and then move ahead, he said, adding they were looking to divest between 20 per cent and 25 per cent in the issue.

Blackstone said it would not comment on the matter.

The JV, with office properties such as Embassy Manyata, Embassy Tech Village and others, has already appointed US-based Morgan Stanley as bankers. It is in talks with Kotak Mahindra Capital and Goldman Sachs as well to serve as bankers, according to Virvani.

Blackstones other joint venture with Panchshil plans to file papers for a REIT in the next three to four months, said Atul Chordia, chairman, Panchshil Realty.

Panchshil has a portfolio of 11 million square feet, which is valued at over $1 billion (Rs 6,800 crore), sources said.

The JV has properties such as iconic the Express Towers in Mumbai, Eon Free Zone in Pune and others.

Chordia said they have appointed Morgan Stanley as the banker for the issue.

Blackstones southern assets are parked under the Embassy JV, and assets in west are grouped under Panchshil, said a source.

Ajay Jain, executive director, investment banking, and head, real estate group, at Centrum Capital, said the commercial players were keenly watching the space.

This move will certainly result in more such assets coming under one umbrella, Jain said. Also this could prompt developers to focus on commercial project execution and private equity funds to invest in the commercial space.

DLF, the countrys largest developer, said it would go for a REIT in the current financial year (2016-17).

It is planning to raise $2 billion (Rs 13,600 crore) from a REIT and plans to use the proceeds towards debt repayment.

DLF's REIT issue is expected to hit the market after the stake sale by its promoters in the companys rental arm.

RMZ, a Bengaluru-based developer backed by Qatar Investment Authority, is also planning to file for a REIT by March 2017.

Currently, about 229 million sq ft of office space in India was REIT-compliant, and assuming even 50 per cent of these get listed, the country could look at a total REITs listing worth $18.5 billion (about Rs 1.25 lakh), JLL India Chairman Anuj Puri had said earlier.

Blackstone has invested $6 billion (about Rs 40,800 crore) in Indian private equity and real estate, of which $3 billion (about Rs 20,400 crore) is in real estate alone. It is also building mall assets portfolio where it has four malls. According to sources, it would also list its mall portfolio as REIT in the future.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
A rail corridor in the states coal belt that cuts through the elephant route has put the animal in direct conflict with humans

Manmohan Rathiya, a resident of Sithara village in the Dharamjaigarh block of Chhattisgarh, woke up to a deafening sound in the dead of the night. Before he could realise what was happening, a portion of his huts back wall came crashing down.

It was an elephant attack. Hearing his cries for help, the villagers rushed to the rescue. They burst crackers and beat drums to drive the elephants away. Eventually, the herd of 47 tuskers retreated from the village, which is located in the thickly-forested pocket of Dharamjaigarh.

The villagers were, in fact, prepared for this faceoff that took place early last week. The herd had been roaming in the forest for a couple of days and had damaged crops across 30 acres.

Ready for future confrontation, the villagers are now conducting night patrol and have set up machaans (platforms on trees) to monitor the movement of the pachyderms.

This was not their first such encounter, but they fear that such man-elephant conflicts will only become more frequent. The latest in the series of events that has led to their problem is the upcoming rail corridor that cuts through the elephant territory.

The project is being executed in a belt that is endowed with rich coal deposits.

Aggravating the problem

The Chhattisgarh government is developing a 180-km-long east rail corridor on the Kharsia-Chhal-Gharghoda-Korichhapar-Dharamjaigarh-Korba route.

The project is part of two rail corridors that would be coming up in the state. The other, east-west rail corridor, will connect the Gevra and Pendra roads.

Besides ferrying passengers, the rail corridor would felicitate the transport of coal from the Mand-Raigarh coalfield that is spread over an area of 520 sq km.

The field has a potential for mining of power-grade coal, much of which can be extracted through open-cast mining.

According to the Geological Survey of India, the Mand-Raigarh coalfield has about 18,530 million tonnes of total reserves (including proved, indicated and inferred reserves) of non-coking coal.

A special project vehicle of Chhattisgarh East Rail is developing the project. South Eastern Coalfields, a subsidiary of Coal India, holds 64 per cent stake in it, while the Indian Railways-promoted IRCON has 26 per cent share. The state-run Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) has 10 per cent stake in it.

The project is likely to pose a serious challenge to the elephants as the rail line would cut through the belt that has been an established path for the tuskers.

Though the project design includes underpasses and overpasses for the smooth and natural movement of the elephants, social activists have raised objections to it on technical grounds.

The bridges do not meet the minimum width-height requirement recommended by the Wildlife Institute of India for building wildlife underpasses, says Sajal Madhu, a social activist working in the area. He, along with Bilaspur-based lawyer Sudeep Shrivastava, had challenged the project before the National Green Tribunal.

Though Chhattisgarh earlier did not have resident elephants, the herds have been migrating from Jharkhand and Odisha after their homes there were taken over for mining. In the last 10 years, over 250 elephants have been spotted in the forested belts of Dharamjaigarh, Chaal, Lailunga and Lemru.

Social worker Dheerendra Singh Maliya says that 78 villagers in the forest range have been killed in elephant attacks. And, 32 elephants have died in the human-animal conflict, he says, while raising concerns that the tussle is likely to intensify with the rail corridor project.

Since the movement of the tuskers would be affected because of the rail line and the trains that chug on it, they could take another route and come in contact with humans frequently, says Maliya, who is also the principal of Dr BSP Tribal College, Dharamjaigarh. The elephants, he cautions, could even start venturing into villages more often.

Avoiding disaster

The clash, says Madhu, had already started. The authorities have taken away 56 hectares of dense forest for the project that was home for the elephants, he says.

Naturally, the elephants have started moving towards the villages and the impact of this can be seen at Sithara, which is about 15 km from Dharamjaigarh, and where villagers are now spending sleepless nights.

The conflict intensified when the elephants started damaging paddy fields, destroying houses and killing those who came in their way.

The villagers, desperate to protect themselves, their homes and their fields, even laid electric cable wires that led to some elephants being electrocuted, says Madhu.

In August 2013, the villagers held a gram sabha - the first of its kind in the country - to register a complaint against the ever-increasing incidents of human-elephant conflict. People from nearly 20 villages demanded a corridor for the elephants.

Interestingly, the administration, in its report, said that there was no movement of elephants in the area.

The state government authorities have, however, refuted the charge of flaws in the design. The government, they say, is serious about avoiding human-elephant conflict in the region and would welcome suggestions because the project is still under way, and not complete.

"We have provided more passes (for elephant movement) than required, says CSIDC managing director Sunil Mishra. The passes were included on the basis of a report prepared by the Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur and vetted by the Wildlife Institute of India.

Nearly 30 per cent of the project, slated for completion in 2019, is ready. It is expected to cost around Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion).

In all, 27 passes have been proposed as part of the project. Earlier, 24 passes were designed, but that number was increased and two more underpasses and one overpass added.

The problem, however, persists.

Photographs: Rupak De Choudhuri/Reuters
India will ratify the Paris pact on climate change on October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, in a surprise announcement that will be a "big step" towards bringing the historic deal into full force.

While addressing Bharatiya Janata Party's National Council meet in Kozhikode, Modi made the announcement to ratify last years Paris agreement to limit greenhouse gases on Sunday, October 2 to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The decision is expected to give momentum to implementation of measures at international level to control global warming.

While western countries, including the United States, had been pushing for an early ratification of the pact-possibly by the end of this year, India had been seeking more time to complete its national processes as it fears that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.

"There is one work left in the CoP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it. Today on the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, I announce that India will ratify the decisions on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," Modi said.

Modi said he had chosen the date as Mahatma Gandhi's life was an example of minimum carbon footprint.

During the Paris climate meet in December last, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.

The pact will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries that account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Talking about the need to ratify the COP21 decision, Modi said there is a looming threat due to global warming to many coastal countries and cities. Even Kerala, where the conclave was being held, is also a coastal area.

The US welcomed Modi's announcement.

"We welcome the news India will join the #ParisAgreement October 2," US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said.

"Congrats Prime Minister @narendramodi for your leadership to #ActOnClimate," Verma tweeted.

Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said India ratifying the Paris agreement will be a "big" step and will bring a big change in the world change with regards to climate change.

"Today the prime minister has announced that India will ratify the Paris agreement implying that the agreement arrived at in Paris, has been accepted by India in binding. The goals decided, the targets fixed with regards to climate change, 55 nations will come together to achieve this, later more countries will come.

"I believe that this is a major step taken by India on the world stage. Ratification of Paris Agreement by India will bring a big difference to climate change," Dave said.

Dave said that till now, more than 50 nations have signed the agreement, that is they have accepted the agreement according to their respective Constitution.

"In India, this right is vested with the prime minister and is vested in the Union Cabinet," he said.

China and the US -- responsible for around 40 per cent of the world's carbon emissions -- on Saturday jointly ratified the Paris climate change deal that aims to significantly reduce global emissions, giving hopes that the landmark accord may come into effect by the end of this year.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally at the BJP National council meeting in Kozhikode, Kerala. Photograph: PTI
Explain reasons for uneven bequest in the will and make small changes to it regularly to show that your intention remains unchanged.

When passing wealth to their children, some parents want to give more to one than to the others.

This could be because one son is financially worse off than his siblings, or one has a bigger family to provide for. In many business families, the patriarch hands over the reins of the business to the child he thinks is more capable.

But, in doing so, many times parents end up hurting the child they think can do with less. Such arrangements often get challenged in court.

There have been many such cases, like a recent one involving a famous business family in Mumbai.

The children of the elder son, who severed ties with the family many years earlier, recently claimed a stake in the business alleging that their uncle (younger son of the patriarch) had been enjoying the family wealth while they had not got what they deserved.

One way to deal with such a situation is to form a trust.

A well-drafted trust deed can minimise the possibility of a dispute. Its flexible. A head of family can distribute assets disproportionately. He can also lay conditions that beneficiaries need to meet before the assets are passed on, says Anuradha Shah, chief executive officer and managing director, Warmond Trustees & Executors.

However, the annual fee to be paid for running a trust can run into lakhs. A will is a simpler and more cost-effective method for distributing assets.

Lawyers say that while a trust offers much better legal protection than a will, family disputes over wealth distribution can still be dragged to court.

Take the sting out

While writing the will you have to first adhere to certain basic principles.

Keep genuine witnesses and use their photographs.

Register the will in a court to make it a legal document. Attach a doctors certificate to prove that you were in sound mind when you made it. If possible, shoot a video of you signing the will.

In the will explain why the assets are being distributed unevenly. Dwell upon the beneficiarys financial or family situation.

For example, if you are giving more to one son who is not doing well financially, mention in the will that you are doing so because of his situation and not because of greater love or affection for him.

This will not only ensure that interpretation of the will is clear but will also help take the sting out of unequal bequests.

People usually dont talk to their families when they make a will. They are only accompanied by their friend or a lawyer. Talking to the family beforehand can help avoid disputes later, says Sabyasachi Mukherjee, assistant vice-president, IIFL Wealth Management.

It will also help you judge beforehand the way family members feel and allow you a chance to prevent disputes.

If you think that doing so will not change the situation, you could distribute the major chunk, say 70-80 per cent, of your wealth equally and keep a small portion (20-30 per cent) in a trust in case any child faces an emergency (as defined by you).

Doing this will ensure that the person in need gets some help.

The childrens situation can change or even reverse: the one not doing well presently can become prosperous in the future and vice versa.

Make a serial will

Another strategy to ensure that challenging the will becomes difficult is by updating your will regularly over a period of months or years.

In legal parlance this is called adding a codicil. When doing so, keep the proportion of assets the same with each child.

Each change should reflect exactly the same intent. Make slight changes in other aspects, say, the amount that needs to be donated to charity.

Doing so will show that you reviewed your will regularly but every time your intention remained the same, making it harder to challenge the will.

Making a new will in a series should be avoided. This can create its own problems. If a person changes the will and the proportion of assets, there are chances that beneficiaries can get into a dispute based on an earlier or a later will that works in their favour, says Daksha Baxi, executive director at Khaitan & Co.

Baxi suggests that another method to ensure smoother bequests unevenly is by making a family constitution.

This document is prepared after consulting all family members.

It lays down the principle of wealth distribution, and also other things such as the values, beliefs, dispute resolution mechanisms, ownership of businesses, how they will maintain accountability, and so on.

All members sign it, saying that they agree to it and will abide by it. While this is not a legally binding document, Baxi says it helps in quicker dispute resolution.

It can also help the courts arrive at a conclusion, she adds.

USE TRUST, WILL AND CODICIL
By scaling slowly, keeping a close tab on quality, EduBridge is emerging as a strong player in training unemployed youth, finds Anjuli Bhargava.

IMAGE: Big challenge for Girish Singhania to train unemployed youth .

Photographs, kind courtesy: Edubridge

When Girish Singhania, 33, was working with Procter & Gamble (P&G), he noticed a wide gap in what the company needed for its sales force in rural areas.

There were hundreds of unemployed youth willing to work for the company, but they were not suitable as they had no soft skills or training.

Even if they found suitable persons for the job, retaining them was a huge challenge.

Singhania, an Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), alumnus, worked with P&G for two years before moving to investment banking in Edelweiss in Mumbai, but the idea and his experience stayed with him.

His job at Edelweiss required him to talk to investors in various countries and discussions with them made him see that they were looking for investment opportunities in the education sector.

The second year of his work at Edelweiss made him travel to almost 100 villages across India in four states (in connection with some offerings from Edelweiss).

In October 2009, Singhania  then 25 - decided to set up EduBridge, a company that would be socially relevant but would also make money. Operations started in July 2010.



The idea was to train the unemployed youth in semi -urban and rural areas and train them well.

IMAGE: Average salaries are typically Rs 10,000 a month for students.

The model

The training is for entry-level service-sector jobs, which typically last one to three months, after which 300-350 recruiters hire them.

The cost of the training - which is between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 - is paid partly by the student and partly by government-funded skill development programmes or companies corproate social responsibility schemes.

It focuses on spoken English, computer basics, soft skills, and personality development. Then, there is a module that trains them for specific jobs.

They are placed at call centres, food and coffee chains, hospitality (hotels and restaurants) and banking.

Average salaries are typically Rs 10,000 a month for students whose average family income is Rs 6,500 a month.

Funding and future plans

In the initial years, the company raised debt funding (Rs 3.5 crore) from National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in 2011 and it raised equity funding through Acumen in 2012.

The company has been profitable three years in a row since 2013-14 although the numbers are not public.

Six months ago, the first big breakthrough came in funding when it raised $2.5 million (global funding companies like Insitor and Acumen have both invested).

The money has helped Singhania invest in technology and grow faster.

It is adding 25 new employees and four-five centres every month.

The goal is to reach 100 centres by December 2016 with a total employee strength of 500.

Doing it differently

EduBridge is not the only company in this space. It is competing with large players such as Teamlease, ILFS, NIIT, etc, but Acumen India head Ajit Mahadevan says the problem with companies in the ed-tech space is that as they scale, their quality suffers.

EduBridge has scaled very slowly. In the first five years, the company had 20 centres.

It is only in the past year and a half - and after its latest round of funding - that it is growing at a much faster pace.

By the year-end, it expects to touch 100 centres and will have 500 employees on board, several of whom are graduates of IIMs and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Second, the company has managed to keep a strict check on quality by keeping all its 150 trainers on the rolls.

We use our franchises only for infrastructure and their ability to mobilise the unemployed youth at the centre, explains Singhania, arguing that keeping the training entirely under their control ensures quality. This is unlike many competitors who outsource trainers.

A third factor that distinguishes EduBridge is that it works almost as hard to retain its trainees as in training them.

For every hundred people trained, only around 50 stay on the job.

Realising this, the company started a helpline for its trainees  especially those who leave the jobs but at a later stage want to join again.

Singhania says the training they give now works just as much on mind sets as skill sets since retaining those trained is critical.

NSDCs Jaikant Singh, head for partnerships and state engagement, says he sees no comparison between EduBridge and its present rivals.

Comparing EduBridge to ILFS or Teamlease is like comparing Aam Aadmi Party to Bharatiya Janata Party or Congress, which have been around for a long time.

He says unlike others who do training along with whatever else they do, EduBridges bread and butter is training.

EXPERT TAKE: V Gayathri

Its been a consistent journey for EduBridge, going by its achievements in training and placement in different sectors.

The leadership team is quite focused on making a social impact combined with profitability that can be sustained.

Though they have been cautious, its time for them to speed up and explore the growing market in the business-to-government segment, particularly with the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and the Skill India Mission.

This will strengthen EduBridges presence in the market through a variety of training programmes linked with employment.

To grow further, it is also important that it execute the projects with utmost quality and meet standards such as The National Skills Qualification Framework.

Another challenge it needs to overcome is that its training results in appropriate placement and the candidates become its ambassadors to spread the positive results.

And, instead of limiting to entry level skill-based training, it can also explore other sources of revenue by addressing the needs for higher order skills meant for career progression.

Im confident its model can be scaled to accommodate the emerging needs from the industry and the job market.

V Gayathri, chief executive officer, LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd.

FACT BOX
The company will meet DGCA next week and is putting in place a strategy to contain the damage

Samsung, which is meeting the civil aviation regulator next week following the explosion of one of its Note 2 handsets on an Indigo flight on Friday, is putting in place a strategy to contain the damage caused by the episode.

Samsung is facing heat internationally over battery explosions in its flagship Note 7 phablets. Along with foreign aviation regulators, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued a notification earlier asking passengers on flights to keep their Note 7 phones off and not charge them.

Samsung has begun a replacement programme in the US and will relaunch the Note 7 in India and South Korea later this month.

On the Note 2 explosion, the company would ask the DGCA to allow its experts to examine the handset, sources said.

Samsung's Make in India connection W ith Rs 40,000-crore revenue and products across the electronics value chain, Samsung India is an important member of the Make in India club B esides two plants in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, Samsung is looking for land to set up a third factory to make smartphones and other electronic gadgets I t is looking to spend up to a $1 billion on the third plant, products of which could be exported S amsungs plan is to convert India into a production and R&D hub in the South Asian region

The DGCA has said it was contemplating banning the use of the entire Note series on flights.

The company may also tap government channels to highlight that such extreme steps without thorough examination might mar the Make in India programme. The initiative of the Narendra Modi government asks global majors to set up manufacturing plants in India.

Jay Y Lee, son of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-Hee, met Modi last week. Lee was in India after being nominated to Samsungs global board and reviewed operations here.

The company is also likely to advance the consumer connect initiative around the time of the Note 7 relaunch in India.

When contacted, a Samsung India spokesperson said consumer safety was its priority and that it was looking into the matter.

Experts said Samsungs reaction to the incident was unprecedented and highlighted the importance the company accorded to India, where it is a clear leader over global rival Apple.

Samsungs worldwide revenue loss this year on account of the Note 7 recall is likely to be $5 billion. But the bigger impact is on sales of its other high-end smartphones.

Almost 7 per cent of the 45-50 million smartphones shipped to India by Samsung in April-June came from its premium portfolio. While the S7 launched in March gave Samsung a much-needed edge, the Note 7 was expected to build on this momentum.
Find out how your favourite university has fared.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-17 is out.

For the first time, the United Kingdom's Oxford University has toppled the five time leader California Institute of Technology, United States to clinch the top spot this year.

The rankings judge participating universities on the basis of five parameters, contributing to the overall 100 per cent.

Teaching (the learning environment) -- 30 per cent

Research (volume, income and reputation) -- 30 per cent

Citations (research influence) -- 30 per cent

International outlook (staff, students and research) -- 7.5 per cent

Industry income (knowledge transfer) -- 2.5 per cent

Take a look at the top universities and how they fared.

Proud moment! 31 Indian universities in world rankings

Rank 1. University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Teaching: 89.6

International Outlook: 94.5

Research: 99.1

Citations: 99.2

Industry Income: 62.5

Overall: 95.0



Image: Philip Allfrey/Wikimedia Commons

Rank 2. California Institute of Technology, United States

Teaching: 95.5

International Outlook: 63.4

Research: 95.7

Citations: 99.8

Industry Income: 90.8

Overall: 94.3



Image: Canon.vs.nikon/Wikimedia Commons

Rank 3. Stanford University, United States

Teaching: 92.6

International Outlook: 76.5

Research: 95.9

Citations: 99.9

Industry Income : 60.9

Overall: 93.8



Image: Kind courtesy stanford.edu

Rank 4. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Teaching: 90.6

International Outlook: 92.4

Research: 97.2

Citations: 96.8

Industry Income: 50.4

Overall: 93.6



Image: Kind courtesy: cam.ac.uk

Rank 5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

Teaching: 90.3

International Outlook: 85.6

Research: 92.3

Citations: 99.9

Industry Income: 88.4

Overall: 93.4



Image: John Phelan/Wikimedia Commons

Rank 6. Harvard University, United States

Teaching: 87.5

International Outlook: 77.9

Research: 98.3

Citations: 99.7

Industry Income: 47.3

Overall: 92.7



Image: Kind courtesy harvard.edu

Rank 7. Princeton University, United States

Teaching: 89.5

International Outlook: 77.2

Research: 88.4

Citations: 99.2

Industry Income: 49.9

Overall: 90.2



Image: Inabluemn/Wikimedia Commons

Rank 8. Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Teaching: 86.4

International Outlook: 96.4

Research: 86.6

Citations: 97.3

Industry Income: 67.5

Overall: 90.0



Image: Kind courtesy imperial.ac.uk

Rank 9. ETH Zurich-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland

Teaching: 81.5

International Outlook: 98.1

Research: 93.7

Citations: 92.5

Industry Income: 63.7

Overall: 89.3



Image: Kind courtesy ethz.ch

Rank 10. University of California, Berkeley, United States

Teaching: 82.4

International Outlook: 59.6

Research: 96.1

Citations: 99.8

Industry Income: 37.6

Overall: 88.9



Image: Kind courtesy berkeley.edu

Rank 10. University of Chicago, United States

Teaching: 88.1

International Outlook: 67.8

Research: 89.1

Citations: 99.1

Industry Income: 37.7

Overall: 88.9



Image: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons



Click here to view the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017
If you take the minimum wage to Rs 15,000 tomorrow, the choice may not be between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000; it might be Rs 15,000 or nothing, says T N Ninan.

Anyone who believes that stipulating steep minimum wage hikes is a good idea should take a good look at Kerala.

For decades, the state has had the highest minimum wage stipulations in the country, their history going back to its Communist governments of the 1970s. The current minimum wage stipulation is close to Rs 500 per day for farm work. Unlike in most other states, these minimum wages are enforced in Kerala because of the strength of the trade union movement.

So far so good, since everyone likes higher incomes. Unfortunately the result has not been a workers nirvana, however much one may wish it.

Paddy cultivation is the most labour-intensive form of agriculture in the state, but most cultivators decided over the years that rice was no longer a viable crop, given the high wage costs. And so, over about a quarter-century, the area under paddy (the states staple) has come down by about 60 per cent.

The drop in rice cultivation has meant the predictable result of reducing demand for labour, increasing reliance on rice imports into the state (over 85 per cent), and environmental damage as wetlands have been converted to dry land, upsetting the ecology of low-lying areas and natural drainage systems.

The states response has been to pass a law forbidding the use of paddy land for other crops and non-agricultural uses, but this has not helped. Now the law says that the government can seize any paddy land lying fallow and hand it over to anyone willing to cultivate paddy. What next, one wonders.

Meanwhile, similarly high wages stipulated for the states coir industry (Keralas biggest cottage industry) resulted first in the export of a part of the coir business to neighbouring Tamil Nadu -- where the stipulated minimum wages are lower by 30-40 per cent for most activities -- and most recently to China!

Despite millions of Keralas workers finding work in the Gulf region, the unemployment rate is the highest among large states, while agricultural employment has dropped steadily to barely six per cent of the total.

This may or may not be news for those in New Delhi who seem profoundly ignorant about the basics of the labour market (to adapt Donne, no labour market is an island), and who are about to raise the national minimum wage to Rs 15,000 per month -- an increase of 50 per cent or more over prevailing levels.

In Haryana, for instance, the existing minimum monthly wage is about Rs 8,000.

If the government goes through with its ill-advised step, one or both of two things will happen. The stipulation will remain in the statute books, ignored in the marketplace. And/or, most employers will look to see how they can automate and reduce the need for hiring workers.

A third possibility is that the new stipulation does get enforced, and many activities become unviable -- like paddy cultivation and coir products did in Kerala. It is easy to imagine the danger to an employment-intensive industry like garments, which already faces stiff wage competition from neighbouring Bangladesh, whose garment export industry used to be substantially smaller than Indias but is now much larger.

The counter-argument would be that more and more of the surpluses from economic activity have been going to the top one per cent at the apex of the economic pyramid, that wage costs as a component of total costs have been coming down, and that it is the function of law-makers to reverse this trend in the interest of plain fairness, especially since family income of Rs 8,000 per month or thereabouts is barely enough to keep body and soul together.

It is easy to sympathise with such arguments but, if you take the minimum wage to Rs 15,000 tomorrow, the choice may not be between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000; it might be Rs 15,000 or nothing.

You cannot expect the ordinary factory worker to understand that, but shouldnt those running governments be expected to do so -- and learn from Kerala?

Image: A sugarcane farmer loads his produce for transport to the nearest market. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters.
"Blood and water cannot flow together," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he chaired a review meeting of 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty during which it was decided that India will "exploit to the maximum" the water of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, as per the water sharing pact.

Held amidst heightened tension between the India and Pakistan, the meeting also decided to set up a inter- ministerial task forces to go into the details and working of the treaty with a "sense of urgency", senior government sources said.

Attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials, the meeting also noted that the meeting of Indus Water Commission can "only take place in atmosphere free of terror". The commission has held 112 meetings so far.

"Prime Minister's Modi's message at the meeting was that 'rakt aur paani ek saath nahin beh sakta' (blood and water cannot flow together)," sources said.

Apart from deciding to exploit to the maximum the capacity of three of the rivers that are under Pakistan's control -- Indus, Chenab and Jhelum -- in the areas of hydro power, irrigation and storage, the meeting also agreed to review the "unilateral suspension" of Tulbul navigation project in 1987.

The sources asserted that the decision to maximise the water resources for irrigation will address the "pre-existing" sentiment of people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have complained in the past about the treaty not being fair to them.

The meeting came as India weighed its options to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead, triggering demands that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on that country.

Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, water of six rivers -- Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum -- were to be shared between the two countries.

Pakistan has been complaining about not receiving enough water and gone for international arbitration in a couple of cases.

Noting that India, a high riparian state, has been very "generous" to Pakistan, a low riparian state, with regard to the water sharing rights as a "goodwill" gesture, government sources said a "tough situation" has emerged after the recent terror strike in Uri and it was "appropriate time" to review the treaty as to how it has worked or not worked.

The Inter-ministerial Task Force, which is expected to have representatives from ministries of water, external affairs, power and finance, will look at the details of India's rights pertaining to the western rivers, which are controlled by Pakistan.

Sources also talked about government's decision to expedite work on three dams -- Pakal Dul, Sawalkot and Bursar -- on Chenab river.

Giving the details regarding utilisation of river waters for agricultural purposes, sources said under the treaty water can be used to irrigate 9.12 lakh acres which can be extended by another 4.2 lakh acres. However, India was only using it for 8 lakh acres.

On run-of-the-river hydro-electrical projects, the sources said out of 18600 MW capacity, India was only utilising 3034 MW, while projects of 2526 MW capacity were under construction and 5846 MW were at the advanced stage of approval.

"We have not exploited western rivers fully," the sources said, adding India would exercise its legal rights under the treaty to the maximum capacity.

Asked if China would react to India's decision, sources said Beijing was not a party to the Indus Water Treaty and noted that it was already building dams on Brahmaputra river water of which was shared by India and China.

Photograph: PTI
Six top Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh activists, including four wanted in the 2014 Khagragarh blast case, were arrested from West Bengal and Assam.

Of the six, three were Bangladeshi nationals, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vishal Garg said in Kolkata.

"These people were not in West Bengal after Khagragarh blast. They had left the state and moved to South India and North Eastern states. They were planning subversive activities in some South Indian states. We are trying to find out the details," Garg said.

The JMB activists arrested by the Kolkata Police Special Task Force included Anwar Hussain Farooq, the head of the outfit's West Bengal unit, and Yusuf Sheikh, the second in command in the state.

Sheikh, also the JMB chief motivator in the state, carried a Rs 10 lakh reward on his head announced by NIA.

The four others who were wanted in connection with Khagragarh blast of October 2, 2014, were Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Rubel, Abul Kalam and Jadidul Islam.

Kalam and Rubel were carrying on their heads a reward of Rs 3 lakh and 1 lakh respectively.

Yusuf and Shahidul were arrested from Natun Bazar under Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas district yesterday while Farooq and Rubel were picked up from Bagda Road in Bangao in the same district, Garg said.

Kalam was held from Coochbehar station in north Bengal yesterday while Jahidul was arrested from Cachhar district of Assam on Saturday.

Forged ID papers, 2 kg white powdery substance, one laptop, mobile phones, detonator, wire cutters, batteries Bangladeshi and Indian currency, letters written in Bengali, travel guide, books on chemicals and memory cards for camera were seized from them.

Also read
(Beijing)  China has launched the world's fourth national-level gene storage bank, complementing similar facilities in the United States, Europe and Japan, in a bid to position the country for future growth in lucrative biotech fields such as curing diseases and developing new agricultural products.

The Thursday launch of the China National Genebank (CNGB) in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen is part of Beijing's broader effort to develop emerging high-tech industries with big growth potential, to replace lower-margin manufacturing that has been China's mainstay for the last two decades.

Other sectors receiving similar attention include alternative energy and semiconductor chips, though the results of government-backed initiatives in those areas have been mixed due to occasional abuses.

Dubbed "a Chinese Noah's Ark," the new gene bank can house up to 10 million genetic samples of homegrown and alien plant and animal species and microorganisms, with a storage capacity for 60 petabytes worth of genetic data, according to Xu Xun, the facility's executive director.

With a cost of 780 million yuan ($117 million) for its first phase, the facility will become the world's largest and most comprehensive gene bank with a collection of 300 million samples upon completion, Xu said. It will assist with research into rare diseases, as well as other fields like agriculture, marine biology and microbiology.

The Chinese facility differs from existing ones such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the United States in that it contains not only a large gene, protein and molecular database, but also a vast amount of living plant, animal and microorganism species, said CNGB director Mei Yonghong.

And whereas the other three global facilities are all state-funded, the Chinese one was launched through a public-private partnership, said Mei, who also serves as president of the privately owned Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI).

BGI contributed 360 million yuan to the first phase of the project, with the rest coming from central and regional authorities, Mei said. BGI will be paid to develop and maintain the facility.

BGI's major role in the project is reasonable due to its industry-leading position, said the founder of a genetic startup who spoke on condition of anonymity. But authorities must make sure to ensure a level playing field by maintaining competition in the sector, the source added.

Construction of the gene bank began after getting approval in 2011 from four central agencies, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministry of Finance.

Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com); editor Doug Young (dougyoung@caixin.com)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tore in Pakistan's campaign against India at the United Nations as she refused to mince words in slamming Islamabad for pepetrating terrorism and categorically asserted that Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India.

Here are some highlights of her speech: (Click HERE for the full text)

* Kashmir is an integral part of India, will remain so. So stop dreaming.

* Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said India is violating human rights. I must say, those who live behind glass walls should not throw stones at others. What are they doing in Balochistan? The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of State oppression.

* They (Pakistan) said India is refusing to talk without preconditions. We invited the Pakistan PM Sharif to the swearing in ceremony of our PM? Did we impose any preconditions before inviting him? PM Modi touched down in Lahore before returning home from Afghanistan? Did he have any preconditions for his visit? Did we impose any pre-condition when I went to Islamabad for the Heart of Asia conference and agreed to begin the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue?

* As I said at the very beginning, we will be judged by our action and equally by our inaction. What goals have we achieved and what objectives remain unfulfilled? What did we get in return? Pathankot? Uri? Bahadur Ali? (Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror).

* In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account. These nations, in which UN declared terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations.

* If we want to fight terror we must accept that terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights. We have to examine: Who is providing safe haven to terror? Who is financing them? Who's providing them weapons? Whoever has sown the seeds of terror has had to face the consequences some day.

* Fight against terrorism can't be won if we identify terrorism as ours and theirs. We need a joint mechanism to fight the scourge of terror. If a nation doesn't want to join the fight, let's isolate it.

* The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism was proposed by India in 1996. In 2016, despite the passage of two decades, we are yet to come to a conclusion. As a result, we are unable to develop a norm under which terrorists shall be prosecuted or extradited. Therefore it is my appeal that this General Assembly acts with fresh resolve and urgency to adopt this critical Convention.

* The world has been battling the scourge of terrorism for long. However, despite the blood and tears of innocent victims, attacks this year alone in Kabul and Dhaka, Istanbul and Mogadishu, Brussels and Bangkok, Paris, Pathankot and Uri as well as daily barbaric tragedies in Syria and Iraq, remind us that these malevolent forces are yet to be defeated.

* The 21st century has begun in the shadow of turmoil, but we can turn this into a golden age in the history of civilization through united and concerted efforts. But what happens tomorrow will depend on what we do today.

Photograph: Paresh Gandhi
After Ladakh sector, Chinese troops came 45 km inside Indian territory in a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month and built shelters to claim that the territory belonged to them, according to reports from the area.

Initial reports from Anjaw district said more than 40 Chinese troops set up a temporary shelter at Plum post, an area 45 km inside the Line of Actual Control in the district earlier this month.

Official sources said on Monday that the incursion was, however, detected by a joint patrol of Indo-Tibetan Border Police and army on September nine after which a required banner drill was conducted.

However, the Chinese troops were reluctant to leave the place and claimed that the territory belonged to them, the sources said.

The Plum post has witnessed frequent incursion bids by the Chinese troops every year at least two to three times but it was for the first time that they entered into this area, the sources said.

Some of the Chinese troops left on September 13 and the others after India and China held a Flag meeting on September 14 on the Chinese side, the sources said.

In a bid to end the repeated incursions from the Chinese side in this area, the two sides would be meeting again on October 1.

Chinese troops have to travel through dense forests to reach 'Plum post' while Indian troops have a jeep track in larger areas and after have to trek some distance to reach this post, the sources said.

The Chinese troops had earlier entered into Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh but were pushed back.

IMAGE: Indian soldiers patrol near the border with China in Arunachal Pradesh. For representation only. Photograph: Utpal Baruah/Reuters
With Mondays successful launch of eight satellites, including Indias SCATSAT-1, space agency the Indian Space Research Organisation is focusing on more launches including that of a communication satellite from French Guiana next month.

Todays multi-orbit mission has proved PSLVs ability and talks are already on with Algeria for more launches, ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said.

Besides SCATSAT-1, the PSLV C-35 had injected two Indian university satellites, PRATHAM and PISAT, three from Algeria-- ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N and one each from the United States and Canada -- Pathfinder-1 and NLS-19, respectively, in different orbits.

ISRO has launched 79 satellites for 21 countries, he said.

The space agencys forthcoming launches include that of communication satellite GSAT 18 from French Guiana next month even as GSLV Mk III is planned to be launched by the year end.

Resourcses at 2A is scheduled to be launched in November this year, he said.

Kumar also batted for more industry participation in ISROs endeavour to further boost commercial launches for foreign vendors.

When asked about ISROs orderbook, Antrix corporation Chairman and Managing Director S Rakesh said it was about Rs 280 crore for the next 2-3 years.

Antrix revenue was Rs 1,790 crore during the year and Rs 1,717 crore in the previous year.

He said the company was growing and looking to consolidate on ISROs performance to generate more revenue.

Work was on other satellites including Chandrayaan 2 and SAARC satellite, Kumar said even as he noted that Pakistan had opted out of the latter.

Some issues with Afghanistan and Bangladesh were being sorted out, he added.
Even though sentiment runs high against Pakistan on US Capitol Hill, the move to designate it as a terrorist State is unlikely to find much support, either from Congressmen or the Obama administration, reports Aziz Haniffa from Washington, DC.

Condemnation of the terrorist attack on the Indian Army base in Uri in Kashmir flowed fast and furious by US lawmakers from across the aisle in Congress, with the likes of Senator Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, and co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, leading the way.

On the House side, US Congressman Ted Poe, Texas Republican, introduced legislation to designate Pakistan a terrorist State.

Along with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Poe introduced legislation (HR 6069) to designate Pakistan as a State sponsor of terrorism.

Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Poe said, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years. From harbouring Osama bin Laden to its cosy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the war on terror. And its not Americas.



Poe, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, said his bill would require the Obama administration to formally answer this question, and noted, The president must issue a report within 90 days of passage detailing whether or not Pakistan has provided support for international terrorism.

Thirty days after that, the secretary of state must issue a follow-up report containing either a determination that Pakistan is a State sponsor of terrorism or a detailed justification as to why Pakistan does not meet the legal criteria for designation, Poe said.



It is time, Poe asserted, We stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is -- a State sponsor of terrorism.

The Uri attack, he said, was yet another reminder to democracies the world over that terrorism seeks to destroy peace loving societies everywhere, and while acknowledging, It is still unclear which terrorist group carried out this cowardly attack, said, But one thing is certain -- this is just the latest consequence of Pakistans longstanding irresponsible policy of supporting and providing operational space for all stripes of jihadi terrorist groups.



Pakistan's reckless behaviour in this regard is a serious security risk to its neighbours and India unfortunately pays the price all too often, the Congressman added.



We condemn this tragic attack, Poe said, As well as Pakistan's support for many criminals like the ones who carried it out, and stand firm in our commitment to our friends in India. A threat to democracy in India is a threat to democracy everywhere. And that's just the way it is.

Administration and Congressional sources told Rediff India Abroad that Poes legislation to designate Pakistan a State sponsor of terrorism was unlikely to receive support in Congress.

They noted that it would be strongly opposed by the administration, particularly by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, in addition to the state department, because even though these agencies were upset by Islamabads double-game, Washington still considered Pakistan, as one source said, a necessary evil.

They would rather the clock run out, the sources acknowledged, in a administration that was in its final months and would rather let a new administration tackle this issue.

The administrations decision not to fight the Congressional decision not to approve 8 F-16s to Pakistan and also stall US economic and military largesse to Pakistan, the sources said, clearly showed that the administration, unlike in previous years, was not willing to go on a limb for Islamabad.

But, they argued, if Pakistan is designated a terrorist and pariah State, we would lose the leverage we have on Pakistan, and it could become an even greater danger to stability in the region. The last thing we want is another North Korea on our hands with a nuclear arsenal.

Image: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday praised External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for her speech at the United Nations General Assembly, saying she had made firm, effective and fine articulation' of a range of issues.

'Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at UNGA, he tweeted shortly after Swaraj delivered the address.

The Congress, however, expressed deep disappointment over Swarajs, insisting that the Modi government has failed us again by its meek response by not calling Pakistan a terror state.

Swaraj, in a sharp rebuke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs tirade on Kashmir, said those accusing others of rights violations must introspect.

She censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the worst form of state oppression in Balochistan.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also praised Swaraj for her address at the UN.

She said the External Affairs Minister had given a clear and tough message on the issue of terrorism. Swaraj also put forth strongly her point on the issue of development, the speaker said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a series of tweets, said, Deeply disappointed by EAM Sushma Swarajs address in UN. Even steered shy of calling Pak a terror state. Strategic ambiguity writ large.

If India wont determinedly ask for diplomatic & economic sanctions against Pak in UN, who will? Modi Govt again failed us by meek response.

Why is EAM Sushmaji shy of calling a spade a spade in UN? Why did we not call upon UN for diplomatic & economic sanctions against Pakistan? he said.

Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said whenever an Indian representative speaks on foreign soil, it is not the time for politics as the entire country stands behind him or her.

The whole country is with Sushma Swaraj, she did a valiant effort, Singhvi said.

Singhvi, however, hoped that government should have taken some concrete steps against Pakistan before going to the United Nations.

Surjewala asked as to Why did the EAM forget to place Pak sponsored terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur, Udhampur & 2attacks in Pompore in UN? Modi Govt placating Pakistan still?

Surjewala said that the nation wants concrete action against rogue Pakistan not aimless political acronyms and rhetoric as seen in the UN.

They have not called a Parliament session to declare Pakistan a terrorist state, they have not done anything to withdraw the MFN status, they have not imposed severe economic sanctions against Pakistan, no scale down of high commissions.

They have not done anything on ground for concrete actions, yes some efforts to isolate Pakistan globally but thats not enough. These had to be done before we reached UN, then our case would have resonated better, thats our unfulfilled aspirations, Singhvi said.

He added, Domestic concrete actions by government are not behind her to strengthen her. I had asked earlier that had Sushma gone to United Nations on the 10th day from the Uri attack with certain concrete steps taken by the government instead of prime ministers address at Kerala, cabinet meet and jumlas, her position would have been stronger.
The message that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India should be loud and clear to Pakistan, India on Monday asserted and asked whether it can clarify how terror safe havens continue to flourish on its soil despite billions of dollars of anti-terrorism aid it gets.

In its 'Right of Reply', India also rejected the 'fanciful and misleading' remarks by the Pakistani envoy to the United Nations.

Pakistans Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi earlier exercised the Right of Reply to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs UN General Assembly address, saying Swarajs remarks were a litany of falsehoods about Pakistan and a travesty of facts and history.

Lodhi said Jammu and Kashmir can never be an integral part of India and is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Responding to Pakistans RoR, India reaffirmed that Kashmir is and always will be an integral part of India.

...It appears that the distinguished representative of Pakistan did not hear clearly what our Minister of External Affairs stated during her address earlier today, First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN Eenam Gambhir said, exercising Indias Right of Reply to Lodhis remarks.

Quoting from Swarajs address, Gambhir said Jammu and Kashmir is India's integral part and will always remain so.

We hope that the message is loud and clear, she said.

Gambhir said India rejects entirely Lodhis sermons, calling her remarks the views of a dysfunctional state which builds atrocity upon atrocity on its own people, preaching about values of tolerance, democracy and human rights.

Through the RoR, India slammed Pakistan for making a fanciful and misleading presentation on the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, saying Lodhis remarks aim to divert the attention from Pakistans sponsorship of terror and do not answer questions posed by the world community.

Can the representative of Pakistan clarify how is it that terror sanctuaries and safe havens in her country continue to flourish despite the Pakistan armys much-vaunted counter terrorism operations, and the billions of dollars of international counter terrorism aid it obtains?

Can the representative of Pakistan confirm that they do not use terrorist proxies and export terrorism as a matter of state policy, Gambhir said, adding that can the Pakistani envoy deny that her country had assured in 2004 that it would not allow its territories, or territories under its control, to be used for terror attacks against India?

And can the representative of Pakistan deny that it has failed to honour that assurance given at the highest level, Gambhir said.

She also questioned whether the Pakistani representative will deny the armed forces of her country committed one of the most extensive and heinous genocides in human history in 1971.

Will the representative of Pakistan deny that its armed forces have used air strikes and artillery against its own people repeatedly? Will (she) explain why is it that Pakistans civil society is being silenced by the plethora of heavily armed militias that go by names such as Jaish or Army, Lashkar or Army, Sipah or Soldiers and Harkat or Armed movement, Gambhir said.

In her Right of Reply, Lodhi said the Uri attack was staged to divert attention from the situation in Kashmir.

The attack on the Indian Army base in Uri, particularly its timing, has all the hallmarks of an operation designed to divert attention from the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, she said.

She accused India of utilising the Uri incident to blame Pakistan for the current Kashmiri uprising.

Indias government is delusional if it believes that it can isolate any country. It is India itself, which because of its war crimes in Kashmir and elsewhere, and because of its warmongering, is likely to be isolated in the international community, Lodhi said.

The Pakistani envoy said Swarajs statement reflects the deceit and hostility of the Indian government towards Pakistan.

In a Right of Reply exercised post Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs address to the UNGA, India had accused Islamabad of committing war crimes by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

Lodhi in her Right of Reply said the call for freedom of the Kashmiri people has been met with Indian brutality and demanded an impartial investigation into the rights violations in Kashmir.

In response to Swaraj's reference to Pakistani national Bahadur Ali, arrested in Kashmir, Lodhi said the recently captured Indian spy, an intelligence officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, has confessed to Indias support to such terrorist and subversive activities particularly in Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Indeed, it was Kulbhushan, who was financing, arming and supporting individuals and entities listed under the UN sanctions regime, Lodhi said.

She said Indias policy of interference in Pakistan and attempt to destabilise Balochistan are now on record. This is blatant violation of the principles of the UN Charter.

Lodhi blamed India for suspending talks with Pakistan more than a year ago, saying New Delhi has refused to resume them despite repeated offers from Pakistan and advice from the international community.

The latest offer was made by the prime minister of Pakistan from the rostrum of this very assembly. But let us be clear, talks are no favour to Pakistan. They are in the interest of both India and Pakistan and the people of our two countries.

Let me reiterate that Pakistan is ready and willing for serious and result-oriented talks with India, especially to resolve the longstanding core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, which is imperative for durable peace, stability and development in the region.

In a second Right of Reply, Pakistan reiterated that Kashmir remains an internationally-recognised disputed territory.

Gambhir responded by saying that Pakistan has yet again chosen to stay silent on the tough questions.

This is what we have come to expect from Pakistan -- deception, deceit and denial. The world still waits their response, Gambhir said.

IMAGE: Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj addresses the United Nations General Assembly. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Pakistan is a terrorist State which carries out war crimes by using terrorism as an instrument of state policy," said First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Eenam Gambhir in response to Nawaz Sharifs speech on Kashmir at the United Nations General Assembly.

The comment is a reflection of the worsening ties between the two countries post the Uri attack that saw 18 soldiers dying in the dastardly act.

With it, the apparent bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seems to have been buried.

Here's a look at how their relationship has fared since 2014.

Good beginnings

In May 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his Pakistan counterpart for his swearing-in, along with other SAARC leaders, everyone lauded the move as a re-set in India's engagement with its neighbours, especially Pakistan. Modi gifted a shawl to Sharif's mother, and the latter reciprocated with a sari for his mother.

Ufa breakthrough

A year later, in July 2015, Sharif and Modi both met in the Russian town of Ufa on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.

The meet resulted in a joint statement addressing the contentious issues of terrorism and an increase in cross-border ceasefire violations.

According to the joint statement, the two sides decided that their respective national security advisors, Indias A K Doval and Pakistans Sartaj Aziz, would meet in New Delhi to discuss all issues connected to terrorism. Further, to de-escalate tensions at the border, an early meeting of the directors-general of the Border Security Force and the Pakistani Rangers would be held, followed by a meeting of the respective directors-general of military operations.

Bonjour

In November that year, Modi once again met his Pakistani counterpart in Paris on the sidelines of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. This was the first time the two leaders would meet after the July Ufa meeting.

Modi and Sharif met briefly which was then followed by talks between the national security advisors in Bangkok, where they discussed terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir and a range of key bilateral issues.

The Bangkok meeting was quickly followed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj travelling to Islamabad.

Lahore landing



In a visit that surprised all, Modi landed in Lahore on December 25, 2015, to wish Sharif on his birthday and attend the wedding of the Pakistani PMs granddaughter.

The move sent everyone into a tizzy, with journalists analysing the sudden visit and its significance.

This visit, and the bear hug the two leaders shared, showed that the bonhomie between Modi and Sharif was well and alive.

Pathankot attack

On January 2, 2016, the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, was attacked by terrorists of the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Seven Indian security personnel lost their lives in the attack and all six terrorists involved in the attack were also killed.

Following the attack, a Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan visited the airbase.

A few days later, a Pakistani newspaper quoted the JIT as saying, the attack was a drama staged to malign Pakistan.

Modi drops the B-bomb

On August 15, 2016, ties between the two countries plunged when PM Modi spoke of freedom for Balochistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir during his Independence Day speech.

Post-Uri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened the anger in the country over the Uri attack to that witnessed during the 1965 war, maintaining that those responsible for the terror strike will surely be punished as he asserted that the army does not speak but displays bravery.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 48 hours.

A girl gets her arm sketched with a body paint tattoo depicting the traditional Dandiya dance, ahead of Navratri, a festival when devotees worship the Goddess Durga, in Ahmedabad, on September 25, 2016. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

Akali Dal and Congress workers scuffle during Congress motorcycle rally in Ajnala near Amritsar on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Kashmiri Choudhary being awarded by India Book of Records officials for making the national record by swimming in Asia's biggest man-made tank, Joysagar Tank, for 7 hours and 49 minutes, in Sivasagar on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during BJP's National Council Meeting at Kozhikode on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Lakhs of people participated in Maratha Kranti Morcha protest against Kopardi rape case, in Pune on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Indian and US soldiers in action at the room intervention range during the Indo-US joint exercise Yudh Abhyas 2016 at Chaubattia, Ranikhet in Uttrakhand on Sunday. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandra Babu Naidu at the regional passport office to get a new passport in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

A view of a market during relaxation given by authorities and separatists from strike and curfew in Srinagar on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu brought to the Jodhpur Airport from Delhi after medical check-up in AIIMS, on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Tight security arrangements at Vashi Toll Plaza in Navi Mumbai, days after sighting of some suspicious men by two students in Uran. Photograph: PTI Photo

Artists practice Garba in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Flood-affected people collect drinking water from a tanker in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Demonstrators hold Pakistan flags, placards and banners as they protest in Srinagar, against the recent killings in Kashmir region, on September 25. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters
Nearly five years after the alleged rape of four tribal women by police in Tamil Nadu, a report of a Judicial Magistrate filed on Monday in Madras High Court said there are reasons to believe that they were sexually assaulted, but not raped.

The report of the Judicial Magistrate Thirukovilur in Villupuram District stated the medical reports did not suggest rape on the four women of the Irular tribal community.

There are reasons to believe that sexual assault had occurred on the women by the police personnel who had taken them, the Magistrate's report filed by the Government Pleader said.

It also stated that the enquiry with the victims revealed that police personnel who took them for questioning had asked them to remove their clothes. When they refused, the police allegedly removed them forcibly and molested them.

The report was filed in connection with the alleged incident of police personnel of Thirukovilur in Villupuram District raping tribal women after taking them in a jeep on November 22, 2011 for an enquiry though they were not required in any case.

It said no woman police accompanied the police team when the women were taken to a police station. Though rape was not confirmed, the victims statements, evidence of witnesses and circumstances lead to conclude and believe that sexual assault was done on victims, it said.

The report was filed when a Public Interest Litigation petition of advocate P Pugalenthi, came up for hearing before the court.

The petition had sought transfer of probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation and suspension of policemen involved in the alleged crime.

Last month, the court had wondered how the magistrates report did not reach the Investigating Officer. It directed the Villupuram principal district judge to examine the issue and send a report to it.

On Monday, the court directed the registrar (vigilance) to look into the non-performance of the judicial magistrate, Thirukovilur over the cause of delay and submit a report.

It posted the matter for further hearing to November 7 and directed the government pleader to get instruction from the Investigation officer on the report and also submit details of the fate of police officers involved in the case.

The government pleader stated that the magisterial report would be sent to the investigation officer.
Tainted former Uttar Pradesh Mines Minister Gayatri Prajapati, against whose reinduction a social activist had petitioned the Governor, was on Monday sworn in along with three others, in perhaps the last expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav ministry before the 2017 assembly polls.

Six MoS were also elevated in the expansion.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Ram Naik at Raj Bhawan to Manoj Pandey, Shivakant Ojha and Ziauddin Rizvi, besides Gayatri. Rizvi was not able to take oath in June when the cabinet was last expanded as he was abroad.

Three Mos-Independent Riaz Ahmed, Yasir Shah and Ravidas Mehtrotra, and Ministers of State Abhishek Mishra, Narendra Verma and Shankhlal Majhi were elevated to cabinet rank.

Interestingly, Raj Kishore Singh, who too was dropped along with Prajapati, failed to stage a comeback.

Prajapati was sacked by Akhilesh two weeks back as part of efforts by the chief minister to refurbish the image of his government before the Assembly elections.

His action, however, triggered a political crisis and his re-induction was part of a compromise formula hammered out by ruling Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to douse the flames in the Yadav clan.

But, hadly 48 hours before the swearing-in ceremony, activist Nutan Thakur petitioned the Governor against making him minister again. In her petition, she said Prajapati was removed as minister on serious corruption charges after the order of Allahabad high court for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry.

Nutan said when Prajapati was removed as minister, he had lost the pleasure of the Governor. Hence, he cannot be reinducted in the Ministry unless the facts and reasons on which he had lost the pleasure of the Governor get removed.

The Akhilesh ministry now comprises 32 cabinet ministers, 9 MoS (Independent Charge) and 19 MoS.

This was the eighth expansion of the Akhilesh Yadav government since it assumed office in 2012.The UP council of ministers now has the maximum strength of 60 ministers.

Akhilesh had sacked Prajapati at a time when there were indications that the CBI was set to tighten the noose around Prajapati and officials of the state mining department.

The high court had asked the CBI to look into the role of government functionaries in allegations of illegal mining.

Prajapati was in news when Nutan had lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta, accusing him of corruption and gathering wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. The Lokayukta had, however, dismissed the complaint on grounds that no such evidence was found against him.

But, as his sacking on September 12 set off a tsunami in the ruling party circles, the SP supremo had to chip in to end the impasse and as a compromise formula it was decided that he would be re-inducted, but with a different portfolio.

Akhilesh was said to be unhappy with the minister who was mired in controversy over allegations of promoting illegal mining.

The opposition, however, alleged that the sacking of the minister was just an eyewash to hide the corruption in mining sector.

Prajapati began as Minister of State for Irrigation in February 2013 and was given the lucrative portfolio of mining, directly under Akhilesh who handled that department as cabinet minister.

In July 2013, Yadav elevated Prajapati to MoS-independent charge and in January 2014, he was made a Cabinet minister.

IMAGE: Gayatri Prajapati takes oath as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav looks on during oath taking ceremony in Lucknow. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo
Homebuyers in Nanjing register with the local government to get permission for buying apartments on Sept. 26. Photo: Visual China

(Beijing)  Nanjing officials are tightening home-buying rules to ward off speculators, following steps in other cities to cool their respective overheated property markets and reduce fears of a bubble in their jurisdictions.

Under a new policy that goes into effect on Monday, homebuyers in the eastern city who do not have a local residency permit will not be allowed to buy another home if they already own one in the city's eight major districts, according to a statement posted on the Nanjing government's website.

In addition, local residents who already have two homes are banned from buying new homes, the statement said.

Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, is among a handful of cities that have rolled out tightening measures to address surging housing prices. The average price for a new apartment jumped 52 percent in August from July to 19,000 yuan ($4,350) per square meter in Yuhuatai district, one of the city's eight districts, according to market analysis firm E-House China R&D Institute.

The restrictive policy is intended to address a price hike spurred by speculation while keeping the local economy growing, said Li Yujia, an analyst at the Shenzhen Real Estate Research Center.

Major cities in China have seen a housing boom since mid-2015. It's been fueled by the central government's move to ease down-payment requirements and real estate transaction taxes with the goal of whittling down inventories of unsold homes in smaller cities.

However, these policies instead have pushed up housing prices in first- and second-tier cities as mom-and-pop investors poured their money into the property market, which is considered a better investment option in the face of a weakening yuan and volatility on China's stock markets.

In 30 major cities, August property sales by floor space increased 27 percent year-on-year to 22.9 million square meters, the E-House China R&D Institute reported.

Surging prices have raised concern among the country's top leaders. Xu Kunlin, an official at the National Development and Reform Commission  the country's top economic planner  called on local governments in July to rein in real estate prices. In a Politburo meeting led by President Xi Jinping that month, China's top leaders also pledged to curb "asset bubbles."

In response to the central government's call, several major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hefei, Suzhou and Xiamen, have increased the down-payment threshold for homebuyers or placed a host of different limits on homebuyers.

On Aug. 12, Nanjing raised the minimum down payment from 45 percent to 50 percent of the value of the house for homebuyers who already own property in the city.

Officials in the eastern city of Hangzhou, which hosted the G20 summit in early September, reacted to spiking demand on Sept. 29 by preventing non-Hangzhou residents who have one or more apartments from buying another new home.

A new daily record of more than 3,200 new homes were sold on the day before that policy took effect, according to Hangzhou-based home transaction website TMSF.

Contact reporter Chen Na (nachen@caixin.com); editor Ken Howe (kennethhowe@caixin.com)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should not be elected as the next United States president as he is unfit for the post and makes crude generalisations about nations and religions, two of Americas most influential newspapers have said in their editorials.

Editorial boards of The Washington Post and The New York Times on Sunday made a strong case that Trump should not be elected as the president.

The editorials came ahead of an all-important first presidential debate in Hofstra University.

It is beyond debate that Donald Trump is unfit to be president, said The Washington Post, while The New York Times argued the case in its lead editorial Why Donald Trump should not be president (external link).

A day earlier The New York Times endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as the next president of the US.

The elections for the next occupant of the White House would be held on November 8. Latest polls show that the two are in a dead heat.

About a month ago, Trump, 70, was trailing Clinton by more than seven-eight points on an average.

Voters attracted by the force of the Trump personality should pause and take note of the precise qualities he exudes as an audaciously different politician: bluster, savage

mockery of those who challenge him, degrading comments about women, mendacity, crude generalisations about nations and religions, The New York Times editorial Board wrote.

Our presidents are role models for generations of our children. Is this the example we want for them? the daily asked.

As Americans prepare to watch the first presidential debate, The Washington Post (external link) editorial board said the challenge for todays audience was to avoid the trap of thinking of this debate as yet another opportunity for the real Trump -- or even a new Trump -- to emerge, either stylistically or substantively.

Its way too late for that. The real Trump has been before the citizenry ever since he announced his candidacy in a rambling jeremiad that blamed Mexico for sending rapists to the United States as illegal immigrants. It has been said that the true test of an ordinary persons character is how you behave when no one is watching, it said.

The corollary standard for a presidential candidate could be: how you behave repeatedly in public, before the one big night when everyone is watching. Even by that more forgiving standard, Trump has already flunked, The Washington Post said.

The editorial said Trump had amply demonstrated his unworthiness to occupy the Oval Office. Its beyond his capacity in the upcoming 90-minute question-and-answer sessions to reverse or even substantially modify that conclusion, the daily said.

Meanwhile, the Trump Campaign slammed The New York Times for endorsing Clinton.

The New York Times Editorial Board is the embodiment of the rigged system Donald Trump is running against, said Jason Miller, senior communications adviser to the Trump Campaign.

Image: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump enters a campaign event at the Berglund Center in Virginia. Photograph: Sara D Davis/Getty Images
Alleging that Pakistan is using jihadist extremism to administer and is bent upon extinguishing other cultures in the country, a top United States lawmaker has warned Islamabad that it might be headed for 1971 like partition soon if it continues to do so.

Those who think that they can keep Pakistan together by attacking and extinguishing other cultures with jihadist extremism should go visit Dhaka, Congressman Brad Sherman, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific said at an event.

In his address to the Sindhi Foundation, he said the successive Pakistani governments, in particular the current one, has systematically tried to attack the rich cultural heritage of Sindhi.

Sherman was felicitated by the Washington-based Sindhi Foundation for his efforts in protecting Sindhi language and people.

It is using government machinery to extinguish the rich Sindhi language and culture, the Congressman said.

If Islamabad thinks that the way to establish and retain its territorial integrity by slowly or quickly trying to extinguish the cultures of the nations that Pakistan has

unified together, well they should look at Bangladesh, Sherman said.

President of Karachi-based Sindh United Party Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah claimed that religious extremism prevails today in Pakistan because of its two-nation theory.

When it is being claimed by the State that it is Muslim state and the rule of Islam is the fundamental instrument of the state affairs than the peace and harmony in the region will be always under threat, he said. We demand from the world community to support the secular, national and real democratic forces in Pakistan for their autonomous national identity in the federation of Pakistan, Shah said.

Unnecessary involvement in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries has created security problems in the region, he added.

We believe that Pakistan should maintain good relations with all its neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan and India through non-interference in their internal affairs, Shah said.

This will reduce the tension on border and defence budget, he said, adding the funds so saved shall be spent on the development of the country to bring peace, progress and

prosperity.

Sherman alleged the government of Pakistan is using jihadist extremism as a tool to find excuse for slow development and corruption in the country.
Witnesses in the cases that controversial Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Shahabuddin has been facing have been "bumped off", the Supreme Court said on Monday, rejecting his claim of facing "media trial" in a murder case and his vehement plea for more time to prepare for his defence.

Shahabuddin's claim did not cut much ice with the Apex court which asked him to be ready on Wednesday to justify why his bail should not be revoked.

"Since there are allegations and counter allegations being made in the case, we do not intend to further adjourn the matter. Many witnesses have been bumped off.

"We have to strike a balance by hearing both parties," a bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said when the counsel for the RJD strongman sought a week's time to go through the voluminous records and brief noted senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who is to argue the case for Shahabuddin.

The bench, which adjourned the hearing till September 28, denied further time by acceding to the plea of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing Chandrakeshwar Prasad who lost his three sons in two separate crimes, that the man in question was a threat to other remaining witnesses.

Rebutting this strongly, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, who appeared for Shahabuddin, alleged that his client was facing "media trial" and lawyers like Bhushan were behaving like sole custodians of public morality.

"They are the self proclaimed custodian of public morality. Today, I am being tried by the media," he said while referring to some remarks made on social networking sites by Bhushan and submitted that they are "very disturbing".

"Everyday, this man is posing threat to the society. Look at the chart (of cases against Shahabuddin). He has been convicted in 10 cases. 45 criminal cases are pending against him. Life imprisonment has been awarded in two cases," Bhushan replied adding that if the hearing was being adjourned, then the high court order granting him bail be stayed.

The submission found favour from the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, in which RJD is a crucial partner.

"It is a matter of extreme urgency. There is only one eye witness in the case, that is the elderly father whose three sons have been killed and if anything happens to him (Chandrakeshwar Prasad) then both the cases will collapse," the state government counsel told the bench.

Irked over the submission, the bench questioned the delay on part of state government in challenging the HC order saying "we know what urgency you have shown in the matter".

At the outset, the counsel for Shahabuddin sought adjournment of the hearing saying he needed to go through the voluminous court records and prepare defence in the matter, which was being "unnecessarily hyped" by the media.

"On September 7, the bail was granted and he was released on September 10. The SLP has been filed on September 16. Where were they? Why there was no urgency shown by them," Naphade asked.

To this, the bench said "we don't intend to delay it further. You just bring the documents and be ready (on that day). We don't intend to pass any order today. We will hear both the parties."

On further plea of non-availability of Jethmalani on Wednesday, the date fixed for hearing, the court said "let us start on that day and we will also hear him (Jethmalani) thereafter".

It also said that witnesses were being "bumped off" and it would not be feasible to delay the hearing further. Three appeals, filed by Prasad, his wife Kalawati and Bihar government respectively, were listed for hearing on Monday.

The Apex court detagged one of the appeals filed by Kalawati Devi challenging the bail granted to Shahabuddin in twin murder case in which he has been awarded life term.

The court decided to hear two appeals together pertaining to grant of bail by the Patna High Court in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan, the sole witness of murder of his two younger siblings.

The trial in the Roshan murder case is pending and bail has been granted in the matter on the ground that the proceedings have not begun in it.

Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7, was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10. He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.

On September 19, the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Siwan resident Chandrakeshwar Prasad, challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court, in the murder case of his third son.

The Apex court is also hearing a separate plea filed by the widow of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, who was murdered in Siwan allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi.

Kalawati Devi, wife of Chandrakeshwar Prasad and the mother of three youths who were brutally killed allegedly by the henchmen of the controversial politician, had moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in the case in which he has already been sentenced to life.

Devi, in her plea filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, said her sons, Girish and Satish, were abducted by Shahabuddin's henchmen. They were brutally assaulted and killed by acid poured on them and their bodies, packed in a sack full of salt, buried.

The plea also alleged that Devi's third son, Rajiv Roshan, was also abducted then but had managed to escape. He was an eye-witness to the killing of his two brothers.

She claimed that during pendency of trial in the twin murder case, Roshan was killed in June 2014 allegedly at the behest of Shahabuddin who is facing trial in the case.

In her plea, Devi had said that as per an affidavit filed by the Bihar government in the apex court, till November 2014, trials in at least 38 cases were pending against him in which he was facing alleged heinous charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting with deadly weapon, extortion and others.
(Deqing, Zhejiang)  China's economic planning agency and the nation's Finance Ministry should merge to improve the efficiency of managing major construction and infrastructure projects, a former ministry official said.

Jia Kang added that the concept has been debated and studied for two decades. Jia is the former director of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences under the Minsitry of Finance.

Speaking at a forum in Zhejiang province on Sunday, Jia said the government should work out a "guideline for reform" to merge the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's macroeconomic planner, with the Ministry of Finance to create one department that is committed to driving economic growth and administering the budget.

He noted that South Korea merged its Economic Planning Board and Ministry of Finance as long ago as 1994.

The NDRC, as a macroeconomic planner, has the power to approve individual projects, while the Finance Ministry is responsible for the budgets of those projects, said Shen Jianguang, managing director and chief economist of Mizuho Securities Asia Limited. He said that it will be more effective to have just one body in charge of both approving and financing.

There is currently a mismatch of responsibilities when it comes to implementation, Shen said.

There have been cases when the NDRC approved a project but the Finance Ministry could only cover a small portion of the budget, forcing local governments to borrow the rest. On other occasions, a project has been fully funded but then has had to wait in line for approval.

Shen said that the other functions of the NDRC, including creating macropolicies and five-year plans, can evolve into a separate macroeconomic entity that doesn't touch the details of projects.

Chinese officials and economists discussed similar merger proposals in the 1990s, but the timing was not right for reform back then, said Cao Wenlian, director of the International Cooperation Center under the NDRC. He said that now may be the right time.

The NDRC was formed in 1952 under the name "State Planning Commission" and managed China's centrally planned economy. During the 1990s, when discussions targeted bureaucratic reform, the commission was renamed the State Development Planning Commission, which reflected the country's shift from a planned economy to a market-oriented one. A second change took place in 2003 when it absorbed some economic restructuring teams from the central government and was renamed the NDRC, and the word "planning" was finally removed.

Back in 2013, when Shen wrote about the issue, he said to expected "major progress" in five to 10 years.

Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com); editor Ken Howe (kennethhowe@caixin.com)
Ban urges implementation of peace agreement to resolve instability in Mali

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 23 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Ban urges implementation of peace agreement to resolve instability in Mali, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e8ccf940c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

23 September 2016 - The promotion of peace and stability in Mali is crucial to its people, for the region and for the world, United Nations Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon said today, urging the parties involved in the country's reconstruction to implement the foundations that have been laid out regarding the way forward.

Mali needs our continued support, the UN chief said at a ministerial meeting at UN Headquarters in New York this morning on the implementation of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.

The Peace Agreement remains the framework that will give all Malians a chance for a better and safer life, he added.

The Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali was signed in June 2015 by the Coordination des Mouvements de l'Azawad armed group, following its signature in May 2015 by the Government and a third party, the Plateforme coalition of armed groups.

The Malian Government has been seeking to restore stability and rebuild following a series of setbacks since early 2012, including a military coup d'etat, renewed fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels, and the seizure of its northern territory by radical extremists. The country has also been wracked by a series of humanitarian crises.

Ministerial Meeting on the Implementation of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of Mali. UN Photo/Kim Haughton

At today's meeting, which was co-chaired by the Governments of Mali and Algeria, the Secretary-General highlighted that both the historic Peace Agreement as well as the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)  currently in its third year  have helped to drive progress.

In addition, he said, the parties have agreed on a way forward to establish interim administrations, and there are foundations for the cantonment of combatants and the redeployment of security institutions.

The stage is set to strengthen the rule of law and basic services, Mr. Ban said, but progress is tenuous.

Noting that confrontations and violations of the ceasefire were being seen in Mali, the Secretary-General recalled that just last month, he condemned armed clashes between signatory parties in Kidal. In addition, there were new confrontations this past week.

The Secretary-General said that the High Representative of Mali's President is working together with the UN Special Representative for Mali and Algeria to defuse tensions.

Calling on the armed groups to cease confrontations, and on all parties to set aside short-term interests and carry out the Peace Agreement, Mr. Ban emphasized that such actions are essential for Mali's partners, including MINUSMA, to achieve lasting stability and peace dividends for communities in Kidal, Gao, Timbuktu and beyond.

Insecurity affects access to people; among them, the nearly half a million needing immediate food assistance, and 180,000 children facing severe acute malnutrition, the Secretary-General said.

Mr. Ban said he is also deeply worried about new sources of instability in Mali, the impact of terrorism on civilian life, and the many instances of serious human rights violations. Along those lines, he called on all sides to fully comply with their human rights obligations, including during counter-terrorism operations.

Violations play right into the hands of the terrorists. Any feelings of marginalization and disillusionment with the peace process can breed resentment and create fertile ground for spoilers, the UN chief said.

He also called for inclusiveness of the dialogues that will shape Mali's institutions, stressing that all segments of society should participate, including women, youth, opposition groups and religious and community leaders. In that regard, he expressed hope that the National Conference of Understanding, to be held in December, will reflect a spirit of inclusiveness of constituencies and interests.

Mr. Ban added that he counts on the statesmanship of Mali's President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, to generate new momentum and propose clear benchmarks and timelines for the Peace Agreement's accelerated and inclusive implementation.

A view of the Chinook (foreground right) and Apache helicopters of the Dutch contingent serving with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the the town of Menaka in the northern part of the country. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

Mali needs the unwavering and coherent support of its international partners, Mr. Ban said, recalling that the Security Council has strengthened MINUSMA to ensure it can support the implementation of the Peace Agreement and the restoration of State institutions, and protect civilians.

MINUSMA is doing everything possible to help stabilize areas where terrorist and criminal networks operate and where our troops face the threat of explosive hazards, the Secretary-General said, calling on Member States to urgently help strengthen the Mission.

Countries in West Africa and the Sahel must also do their part to tackle instability in the region, and boost cross-border cooperation through initiatives spearheaded by the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the G-5 Sahel and others.

The Secretary-General also highlighted that yesterday was the National Day of Mali.

There can be no better way to celebrate than to boost the peace process in formulating clear goals set and give the MINUSMA ways to achieve our common mission, he concluded.

Hear more about the peace efforts in Mali from the head of MINUSMA, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, who sat down with the UN News Centre for a conversation about MINUSMA's work.
Deputy Secretary-General calls on development partners to boost aid for Lake Chad Basin

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 23 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Deputy Secretary-General calls on development partners to boost aid for Lake Chad Basin, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e8cd5f40c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

23 September 2016 - More support from donors is urgently needed to expand efforts seeking to improve the lives of those affected by the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad Basin region, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General said today, imploring the international community to rally behind a new call for action.

The crimes taking place in the Lake Chad Basin are tearing the social fabric in ways that could take generations to repair unless we get active now, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson at a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York this morning on the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad Basin  which borders Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria  attended by the Presidents of those four countries, as well as other world leaders and international partners.

A new report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has revealed that long-running violence and military counter-offensives by Boko Haram insurgents have affected about 21 million people across the Lake Chad Basin and left nearly half of the region's population, or 9.2 million people, in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

According to OCHA, suicide bombings, raids on villages and towns have uprooted 2.6 million people in the region's four countries, fleeing violent attacks in their towns and villages, while 6.3 million lack sufficient nutrition. Children are particularly vulnerable, especially the 1.7 million children who have been displaced across the region, OCHA noted.

The UN humanitarian agency also said that the majority of the displaced have been sheltered by communities who themselves count among the world's most vulnerable. The combined effect of growing insecurity, fast population growth and severe vulnerability resulting from a changing climate, environmental degradation, poverty and underinvestment in social services is translating into record numbers of people in need of emergency relief. UN agencies and non-governmental organizations aim to reach 6 million with assistance in the four countries, OCHA said.
Ban laments 'dark day' for civilian protection as bombing of Aleppo intensifies

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Ban laments 'dark day' for civilian protection as bombing of Aleppo intensifies, 24 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e8cdd940c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

24 September 2016 - Amid reports of raging battles in and around war-torn Aleppo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called this a dark day for the global commitment to protect civilians, and stressed that the use of 'bunker buster' bombs and other indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.

The Secretary-General is appalled by the chilling military escalation in the city of Aleppo, which is facing the most sustained and intense bombardment since the start of the Syrian conflict, said a statement issued today by Mr. Ban's spokesperson ion New York.

Since the announcement two days ago by the Syrian Army of an offensive to capture eastern Aleppo, there have been repeated reports of airstrikes involving the use of incendiary weapons and advanced munitions such as bunker buster bombs, according the statement.

The Secretary-General underlines that the apparent systematic use of these types of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas may amount to war crimes, it added.

Emphasizing that the UN chief considers this a dark day for the global commitment to protect civilians, statements says the international community has to unite to send a clear message that it will not tolerate the use of indiscriminate and ever-more deadly and powerful weapons against civilians.

Mr. Ban's call comes just days after a ministerial level meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Syria, where he said the five-year conflict, which has killed some 300,000 people, is at a make or break moment, and challenged the Council to use its influence now to restore a cessation of hostilities, enable humanitarian assistance everywhere it is needed, and support the United Nations in charting a political path for the Syrians to negotiate a way out of the hell in which they are trapped.
(Beijing)  State-owned investment management company China Chengtong Holdings Group Ltd. said Monday it is establishing a fund company to help finance and speed up structural reform at state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

China Chengtong, an investment company under the supervision of the State Council's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), said the fund company was founded on Sept. 22 by 10 central government-owned enterprises, with registered capital of 131 billion yuan. It said the fund will grow to 350 billion yuan ($52.5 billion).

China Chengtong, as a principal founding shareholder, provided 30 billion yuan. Postal Savings Bank of China contributed 50 billion yuan and China Merchants Group offered 200 billion yuan.

Other shareholders include China North Industries Group Corp.; Sinopec Group; Shenghua Group, a leading coal mining company; and China Mobile. Each will provide 5 billion yuan.

The fund company, named the "SOEs Structure Adjustment Fund," will engage in various investment strategies, including the direct purchase of equity shares of both listed and non-listed companies, as well as making investment on debt and underlying funds, according to the news release issued by China Chengtong.

The fund company, managed by China Chengtong, will be supervised by a fund coordination leading group set up by the SASAC.

Funds will be used to assist SOEs to upgrade their industrial structure and optimize their capital budgeting by making mergers, acquisitions or reorganizations. Target industries include manufacturing, electric power, steel, telecommunications and air cargo.

Money will also support military defense, petroleum and gas pipelines, and exploration of mining resources. It will also help "zombie companies" clear excess capacity, particularly in steel making, coal mining and cement industries.

Contact reporter Dong Tongjian (tongjiandong@caixin.com); editor Ken Howe (kennethhowe@caixin.com)
As Gabon high court upholds results in presidential poll, Ban says UN will support democratic process

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 25 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, As Gabon high court upholds results in presidential poll, Ban says UN will support democratic process, 25 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e8ce0740e.html [accessed 30 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.

25 September 2016 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has taken note of the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Gabon on the appeals lodged against the preliminary results of the 27 August 2016 presidential poll, as well as its confirmation of Ali Bongo Ondimba as President-elect, according to a statement issued by a UN spokesperson today, which adds that the Organization will continue to support the democratic process in the West African country.

The Secretary-General welcomes the call by the President-elect for national dialogue. Such a dialogue must be representative of all stakeholders towards national reconciliation, inclusive governance, and the adoption of consensual measures for peaceful and credible legislative elections in December 2016, the statement said.

Mr. Ban in the statement goes on to say that at this critical and sensitive juncture in the country's history, it is of utmost importance that all actors demonstrate maximum restraint and fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Secretary-General calls for the release of any persons detained arbitrarily during the electoral process, said the statement, noting that the UN remains committed to supporting the democratic process and sustainable development in Gabon, and will continue to work closely with national, regional and international partners in that regard.

Following the late August election, clashes broke out out between protesters and security forces after the 31 August release of official provisional results, which declared President Bongo the winner, reportedly by a margin of less than 6,000 votes. According to media reports, hundreds of people were arrested.
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.
Azerbaijan: Assaults on freedom of expression mar constitutional referendum

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 23 September 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Azerbaijan: Assaults on freedom of expression mar constitutional referendum, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e8e4b64.html [accessed 30 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.

Threats, arrests and prosecutions of those who have voiced criticism of the proposed amendments to the Constitution have been a defining feature of the authorities' campaign ahead of the referendum scheduled in Azerbaijan on 26 September, Amnesty International said ahead of the vote.

"The referendum has been accompanied by arrests and intimidation from the beginning. Those who have attempted to criticise and campaign against these proposals have faced assaults and harassment by the authorities,"said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International.

Last month, police arrested three political activists from the opposition group, Republican Alternative (REAL) after they launched a petition against the referendum and the proposed changes to the Constitution.

REAL's executive director Natig Jafarli was taken from his home in the capital Baku to the Prosecutor General's Office for questioning on 12 August. On the same day, in a pre-trial hearing where he was denied access to a lawyer of his choice, he was charged with illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of authority, and remanded for four months. Amnesty International believes this is politically motivated prosecution. On 9 September the court revoked pre-trial detention and released him, however the criminal charges and case against him remain pending.

Two activists of REAL, Elshan Gasimov and Togrul Ismail, were detained on 15 August by plain-clothed police officers on their way to pick up campaigning materials. They were held incommunicado overnight and on 16 August the local court sentenced them to seven days of administrative detention on charges of resisting the police. They were released after the completion of their sentence.

The proposed amendments to the Constitution would give further powers to the already powerful president, including a longer presidential term, the authority to declare early presidential elections at will and dissolve parliament.

The amendments will also lead to violations of the right to freedom of association. While in practice, public assemblies have already been prohibited in central Baku, the proposed amendments will grant the government even more power to interfere with the freedom of assembly in violation of international standards.

All major elections in recent years in Azerbaijan have been marked by crackdowns on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. In the last three years, virtually all outspoken human rights defenders and other prominent government critics, including human rights lawyers and investigative journalists, have been targeted through arrest and imprisonment on trumped-up charges. Local human rights groups estimate that more than 70 people remain imprisoned in Azerbaijan on politically motivated charges.

"Azerbaijani authorities continuously violate human rights ahead of elections. Every single electoral campaign turns out to be a campaign of intimidation of civil society," said Denis Krivosheev.

"The Azerbaijani authorities must fully respect its international human rights obligations and give every person including their critics the opportunity to express their views freely."

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Kabila election gamble leads Congo into crisis

Publisher IRIN Author Habibou Bangre Publication Date 23 September 2016 Cite as IRIN, Kabila election gamble leads Congo into crisis, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e8ea844.html [accessed 30 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.

President Joseph Kabila's bid to extend his stay in power was met with protests and violence on the streets of Kinshasa this week, with demonstrators condemning a government they accuse of failing its people.

"What more can Kabila do that he didn't do in 15 years [in power]?" screamed one protester among hundreds who had gathered at the Echangeur de Limete, a busy public space in the north of the city.

"I've got a bachelor's degree and it's more than four years that I've been unemployed! It's now or never: he must go!"

The unrest followed an announcement by the electoral commission postponing presidential elections due to be held in November.

The lack of election preparations by the government, blaming a lack of money, made the delay inevitable. The commission's decision will now enable Kabila to stay in power until a new president is sworn in, even though his constitutional mandate expires in December.

Angry demonstrations erupted on Monday and Tuesday, which quickly turned violent, with buildings trashed and looted and protesters dispersed by the police and army using teargas and live ammunition. There were also clashes in the eastern city of Goma.

The death toll is disputed. The police admitted 32, Human Rights Watch said it had received "credible reports" that 44 people were killed  including policemen  while the political party of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi claimed 100 people died.

In response, the governor of Kinshasa has banned all political demonstrations.

Fuelled by hunger and dissatisfaction

The demonstrators IRIN talked to in Limete, a Tshisekedi stronghold, zeroed in on the lack of progress achieved by the Democratic Republic of the Congo under Kabila, who took power in 2001 after the assassination of his father, the former rebel leader Laurent-Desire Kabila.

"We're fed up! We can't put our children into school. We have no jobs. We live in inhuman conditions! We can't go on living like this!" one man said. Several protesters promised that if Kabila continues in power, he will "rule over dead bodies".

Despite DRC's vast mineral wealth, it's at the bottom of the league table in most development indicators.

Budget expenditure has been slashed this year by 22 percent on the back of falling global demand for Congo's raw materials, while in the east, the birthplace of Kabila senior's rebellion 30 years ago, ongoing insecurity has kept 5.9 million people hungry, and has displaced 1.7 million.

"You have people who have so very little," said Antoine, a retired employee of the Central Bank living in Limite. "To be able to eat, people sell just anything and, at the end of the day, they have just around [$3 or $4]."

An average family of five needs around $10 a day to put enough food on the table. But most civil servants, as well as policemen and soldiers, earn less than $100 a month. It's a system that encourages graft, essentially another tax on a citizenry struggling to survive.

"Hunger is very, very dangerous," said father Jean-Marie Bomengola, in charge of communications for the Catholic Church. "It creates a poisonous atmosphere. This is why people get angry easily."

Alongside the government, "we are trying to solve some problems, but in some areas the situation is critical," he added. "People get up in the morning without knowing if they will be able to find something to eat."

Kabila's playbook:

Dirty politics

In the run-up to the expected elections this year, opposition parties hammered away at Kabila's record on the economy and social service delivery. Kabila has acknowledged the hardships, and in an address in June said it was "at the heart of the daily preoccupations" of his government.

But critics believe his real priority is staying in power. To that end, he has allegedly manipulated the election timetable  machinations known as le glissement ('slippage')  and has also removed electoral competitors.

Chief among those is the former governor of Katanga Province, Moise Katumbi, who was sentenced in absentia to three years in prison for corruption in June 2016 "on what were seen as politically motivated charges", according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. He was later refused entry to the country when he tried to return.

One of the last opposition leaders of real standing is Tshisekedi, who remains hugely popular. But he is 84 and believed to be in poor health. Nevertheless, he arrived home from Belgium to a rapturous reception in July and promptly demanded that the presidential elections proceed as scheduled.

Kabila's government is offering a national dialogue to create the conditions for credible and peaceful elections, when they finally take place. But most in the opposition reject the proposal as simply a means to legitimise Kabila staying in power after his mandated term in office expires.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende has warned that a national dialogue is the only way forward.

"They will not transform Kabila into Compaore," he said, a reference to protests in Burkina Faso in 2014 that forced Blaise Compaore from power as he tried to amend the constitution to cancel term limits.

The United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, and the International Organisation of La Francophonie have all affirmed their support for dialogue. But the international community's leverage is weak, while events in the DRC are moving fast and becoming ever more dangerous.
Cambodia: Ny Chakrya's unjust conviction must be overturned

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 23 September 2016 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Cambodia: Ny Chakrya's unjust conviction must be overturned, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e9042e4.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The unjust conviction of prominent Cambodian human rights defender Ny Chakrya must be overturned, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT partnership) said today.

On September 22, 2016, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Ny Chakrya, former head of the Human Rights and Monitoring Section of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), to six months in prison and a six million riel (about 1,310 Euros) fine. The conviction was based on trumped-up charges that stemmed solely from his human rights activities.

"Ny Chakrya's conviction is the latest development in an ongoing pattern of harassment by Cambodia's judiciary. The guilty verdict clearly exposes the judiciary's lack of impartiality and independence. This conviction is unjust and must be overturned", said FIDH President Dimitris Christopoulos.

Ny Chakrya was found guilty of charges of "public defamation", "acts of slanderous denunciation", and "commentaries to put pressure on jurisdiction" under Articles 305, 311, and 522 of the Cambodian Criminal Code respectively [1]. The charges were based on a complaint filed by the former Deputy Prosecutor and the Investigative Judge at the Siem Reap Provincial Court in relation to a press conference held by Ny Chakrya on May 12, 2015, in Siem Reap. During the press conference, Ny Chakrya condemned the arbitrary arrest and detention of two villagers involved in land disputes in Siem Reap Province.

In court yesterday, the prosecution failed to demonstrate that Ny Chakrya had committed any of the crimes with which he was charged. During the three-and-half hour hearing, the court heard abundant exculpatory evidence that clearly warranted the dismissal of the charges against him.

A recording of the May 12, 2015 press conference was played in court. From the content of the recording, it was clear that Ny Chakrya never made any statements that defamed Siem Reap court officials. In addition, two defense witnesses who attended the May 12, 2015 press conference testified to this fact. After the prosecution and defense concluded their presentations, trial judge Khy Chhai took less than 15 minutes to deliberate before announcing the guilty verdict.

"Yesterday's hearing showed that trials of human rights defenders in Cambodia are a farcical formality. The judge's behavior during the hearing and his disregard of exculpatory evidence indicated that he was predisposed to finding Ny Chakrya guilty", said FIDH Director of Asia Desk - Southeast Asia Andrea Giorgetta, who observed the court proceedings on behalf of the Observatory.

Ny Chakrya has been arbitrarily detained since May 2, 2016 in connection with another case in which he is accused of having been an accomplice in the bribing of a witness, along with ADHOC staff members Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Yi Soksan, and Lim Mony [2].

"The escalating number of cases of judicial harassment and arbitrary detentions in Cambodia is alarming and illustrative of the precarious situation in which human rights defenders find themselves. Cambodian courts must no longer be used as a tool of the authorities to silence civil society", said OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock.

The Observatory urges the Cambodian Government to put an end to all forms of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Ny Chakrya, as well as against all human rights defenders in the country, to enable them to carry out their work without hindrance.

The Observatory further calls on the Cambodian Government to ensure that all judicial proceedings against Ny Chakrya and other human rights defenders facing charges are carried out in full compliance with their right to a fair trial, as protected under international law.

The Observatory also urges the Cambodian authorities to ensure the respect of international human rights standards related to prison conditions. These include the United Nations (UN) Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners ('Mandela Rules') and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

Background information:

Ny Chakrya has been arbitrarily detained since May 2, 2016, on charges of being an accomplice in the bribing of a witness (Articles 29 and 548 of the Criminal Code) in connection with a separate case from the one for which he was convicted on September 22, 2016. On May 2, 2016, ADHOC staff members Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Yi Soksan, and Lim Mony were also detained on charges of bribing a witness (Article 548 of the Criminal Code). If convicted, the five human rights defenders could face prison terms of five to ten years.

Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, and Yi Soksan are held in Prey Sar's Correctional Center 1 ('CC1'), while Lim Mony is detained in Prey Sar's Correctional Center 2 ('CC2'). Ny Chakrya is detained in Police Judiciaire (PJ) prison. All three prisons are located in Phnom Penh.

On June 13, 2016, the Court of Appeals in Phnom Penh denied bail to Ny Chakrya, Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Yi Soksan, and Lim Mony. The court's refusal to release the five detained human rights defenders on bail is a significant obstacle to the exercise of their basic rights, including the fundamental right to liberty and the right to a fair trial.

Footnotes

[1] For more information, see Observatory Urgent Appeal KHM 002 / 0715 / OBS 056.3, issued on July 15, 2016: https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/cambodia-continued-detention-and-judicial-harassment-against-mr-ny and http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/cambodia/2016/07/d23866/.

[2] For more information, see www.freethe5kh.net.
Afghanistan: Rise in Female Runaways

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Mina Habib Publication Date 26 September 2016 Citation / Document Symbol ARR 555 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Afghanistan: Rise in Female Runaways, 26 September 2016, ARR 555, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e927de4.html [accessed 30 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.

Sima, 27, spent five years in prison for the supposed crime of running away with the boy she loved.

She told IWPR that her family had wanted her to marry a rich man who was 20 years older, but that she had wanted someone else.

"The boy that I loved made several marriage proposals but my family didn't agree because he was poor, and so I was then forced to run away with him," explained Sima (not her real name), adding that they had considered handing themselves in to the police but decided not to for fear of abuse.

"I had heard that the security and justice organisations were the worst places for girls and women because they would be sexually abused there, even worse than in a brothel."

Since her release last year, Sima has been living with a relative far away from her family. She still has no idea what happened to the boy she had run away with.

Officials in Kabul say that the numbers of girls and women imprisoned for running away from home is on the rise. According to the women's affairs ministry, 88 cases were registered in the first three months of this year compared to 68 in the same period last year.

In Afghanistan, female runaways can be imprisoned under the loose category of moral crimes. The shame associated with such cases means their families sometimes refuse to take them back.

In conservative Afghan society, many decisions about a woman's future are taken by male family members. Observers say customary law takes precedence over Islamic law, which gives women the right to choose their own husband and forbids forced marriage.

Farzana Safi, head of the ministry's women's rights department, said that forced marriage and poverty were some of the reasons more and more girls were running away.

"There is more poverty in insecure regions. Families marry their daughters off with old men for money. Because their daughters are not happy with this, they feel forced to run away from home," she said.

Safi added that the influence of the media had also had an effect on the hopes and dreams girls had for their futures.

"Watching TV dramas and serials has raised these girls' expectations. When their families cannot meet them, they get in touch with boys, are taken in by them and run away."

Faridoon Obaidi, head of criminal investigations in Kabul, also said phenomena like foreign soap operas and mobile phones were giving girls unrealistic expectations and reducing the influence of the family.

"Girls envy each other, want to wear fashionable clothes, have good phones, ride in expensive cars and wear gold jewelry," he said. "When their families cannot provide them with all of this, they get in contact with boys, are deceived and run away from home."

However, human rights workers say that this is a superficial interpretation of the situation.

"Three or four cases [of female runaways] are registered with the commission every day, most of which are because of family violence and girls not being allowed to choose their own spouses, which is their legal right," said Shabnam Say'a, the deputy head of women's rights at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

Lawyer Sayed Ajmal Atif argued that the courts should be more fair-minded as many female runaways were under severe mental or physical stress at home.

But he added that although running away from home itself was not illegal, adultery was indeed a punishable offence.

"Girls and women who are sentenced to imprisonment are those who commit adultery after they escape from home. That's why they are sentenced to imprisonment, although they think that they have been punished of simply for running away."

Prosecutor Qudsia Niazi agreed that women were punished for immoral acts they were supposed to have carried out after running away from home.

"In the past, the punishment for adultery was one to seven years imprisonment, but it has now decreased to five years," she said.

Niazi added that officials needed to tackle the reasons women ran away from the families, and stressed that the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women had to be implemented.

This was enacted by presidential decree in 2009 and prohibited a range of abuses from assault and rape to marriages that are coercive, involve minors or amount to a transaction between two families. However, the law was rejected by parliament in May 2013, and has been shelved ever since.

Shahla Farid, a political science lecturer at Kabul university, suggested that a special judicial committee should be created in order to investigate such cases fairly.

"Most of the claims about the women and girls who run away from home are baseless, and without proper investigation, no one should issue a final judgment about them," she said.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that many women and girls report being sexually assaulted by policemen after their arrest, further deterring runaways from seeking help from the authorities.

Obaidi denied that officers abused female detainees.

"I disagree with such claims, and the police never commit such crimes because they don't keep female prisoners in police stations. The female prisoners are sent to prisons, but criminals always try to somehow accuse the police."

The spokesperson of the attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment on allegations of abuse.

Meanwhile, women continue to languish in prison for trying to make basic choices about their own lives.

Palwasha (not her real name) was sentenced to just over five years in Pul-e Charkhi prison for running away with the man she loved.

Weeping, the 30-year-old divorcee told IWPR, "My family married me off to an old man, with whom I absolutely did not want to live.

"My in-laws' family beat me, but I stayed with him despite all these problems until my husband married another woman and divorced me," she continued. "After that I ran away with the man I had loved before my marriage but whom my family had refused. Since my arrest, I have spent my life in this prison."

Palwasha said that the whole justice system was prejudiced against women, adding, "I agree I made a mistake, but the punishment given to me isn't fair either."

This report was produced under IWPR's Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Protests Mark Azerbaijan's Referendum

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Afgan Mukhtarli Publication Date 24 September 2016 Citation / Document Symbol CRS 826 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Protests Mark Azerbaijan's Referendum, 24 September 2016, CRS 826, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e928584.html [accessed 30 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.

Baku has clamped down harshly on opposition protests ahead of a constitutional referendum set for September 26 that looks certain to entrench the powers of President Ilham Aliyev.

If the reforms are adopted, the presidential term in office will be extended from five to seven years. The president will be allowed to dissolve parliament and call early presidential elections. A 25 percent voter turnout will suffice for the amendments to be passed.

Moreover, the minimum age of 35 for a presidential candidate will be abolished, which has given rise to particular concern.

"These amendments are intended to perpetuate the power of the Aliyevs. It is clear that they are already preparing the throne for Heydar Aliyev junior. They turn the republic into a monarchy, where power passes from father to son," said Ulvi Hasanli, a board member of the youth movement NIDA.

"A third generation of the Aliyevs, that is the worst that could happen to the country," he said.

The Aliyev family has been in power for more than two decades. Ilham Aliyev took over the presidential office in 2003 from his father Heydar Aliyev, who governed for ten years. His own son, also called Heydar, is 19 years old and is believed to be being groomed as the successor.

Hasanli said the Aliyev family planned to run the country like a private company.

"The age requirement [for the presidency] will be abolished. The new positions of first vice president and vice president will be created, which will have more powers than the prime minster. What kind of picture presents itself to you then?" he asked.

Opposition groups held three major protests were held in the capital Baku ahead of the referendum. The National Council of Democratic Forces organised rallies on September 11 and 17 and a further demonstration was held on September 18 by the opposition Musavat party.

The National Council, formed three years ago at the time of the last presidential election, is dominated by the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP). It originally included Musavat together with some smaller parties. Musavat left the council in 2014.

Thousands of people took part in these protests. But although the rallies were sanctioned by the municipality, police detained dozens of activists both before and after the events.

"In Baku and the regions, the police are persecuting opponents of the referendum," said Turan Ibrahim, a member of the APFPs youth organization. "Before both the rallies we held, more than 70 members of APFP were detained under various pretexts."

While the first rally passed without incident, the second one at the Mahsul stadium on September 17 ended with arrests of up to 30 participants, including journalists.

"At the end of the rally, people were leaving the stadium when the police attacked them," Ibrahim said. "Among the police officers were people in civilian clothes, who were particularly brutal. They beat protesters and forcibly pushed them into police buses. Many were released after a few hours, and 14 activists were illegally detained for two days. In addition, during this time, most of them were not even fed."

According to a statement by the Baku police, a number of protesters were arrested for disrupting the public order.

On September 19, ten activists were taken to court. Nine of them received eight days of administrative arrest, and one was fined 200 manat (121 US dollars).

NIDA activist Ali Novruzov was arrested the day before the second rally.

"They demanded a written explanation for my participation in the first rally," he told IWPR. "They detained me until night and then released me on the condition that I appear the next morning. I showed up at nine in the morning. They detained me until the end of the rally. They shaved my head by force explaining that I was arrested for 15 days. But I was not arrested. I was simply let go."

Masud Asger, a NIDA coordinator, said he was put under police surveillance starting September 15 and was called into the police station on September 17, where he was held the entire day.

"They said that they detained me because I participated in the meeting on September 11. They openly insulted me, cursed and said I should not go to rallies. Police from rank and file to the head of the department insulted the participants and organisers of the rally. They also mocked my dignity and made me do push-ups," Asger told IWPR.

The two young activists intend to lodge a legal complaint because of their unlawful detention and humiliating treatment.

Abulfaz Sadigbeyli, a Musavat board member, told IWPR that more than 40 party members were detained between September 15 and 18. On September 17 and 18, the roads from the regions into Baku were tightly monitored and opposition activists were not allowed into the capital.

After the National Councils rally on September 17, Siyavush Novruzov, a deputy of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, claimed that the organisers had received funding for this from foreign organisations.

"The meeting of the National Council is populated by the relatives of the heads of the organisations that make up this formation," he told the news agency Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA).

On September 20, the Council of Europes Venice commission voiced "some serious concerns" with the procedure as well as the substance of the reform.

The commission said it was "regrettable" that the draft was being put to a referendum directly without any parliamentary involvement.

"This undermines the legitimacy of the reform," the commission said. "In addition, if the draft were adopted, the institutional reform would come into force immediately, and the balance of powers would be shifted in favour of the president."

The new presidential powers will be "unprecedented" and will "reduce [Aliyev's] political accountability and weaken parliament even further," the commission added.

Rachel Denber, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch (HRW), also criticised the authorities actions.

"When authoritarian governments want to silence criticism, they can do so quietly, or brazenly," she wrote on the HRW website. "Today, Azerbaijan is doing both."

Afgan Mukhtarli is an Azerbaijani journalist living abroad.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Armenias Government Make-Over

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Suren Deheryan Publication Date 23 September 2016 Citation / Document Symbol CRS 826 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Armenias Government Make-Over, 23 September 2016, CRS 826, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e9289f4.html [accessed 30 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.

Armenia's newly appointed prime minister Karen Karapetyan has been described as a "a symbol of change" by President Serzh Sargsyan.

The former Yerevan mayor's appointment has been widely interpreted as an attempt to cast the ruling Republican Party in a new and more positive light ahead of parliamentary elections in April 2017.

The Armenian establishment was badly shaken by July's two-week standoff with gunmen who had seized control of a police station in the capital.

A considerable part of the population supported the armed group, which had demanded the presidents resignation, leading to mass protests.

In the immediate aftermath, Sargsyan raised the idea of forming a government of national consensus, and the appointment of the premier appears to be the first step in that process.

Former prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan resigned abruptly in early September saying that Armenia needed "new approaches and a new beginning".

On September 13, the president signed a decree appointing 53-year-old Karapetyan as Armenias 14th prime minister since the country gained independence 25 years ago.

Sargsyan praised the new head of government, who has spent the last five years as a senior executive with the Russian gas giant Gazprom, as a man of experience.

"We all know very well the capabilities and style of Karen Karapetyan. He may indeed be on the crest of a great wave of change in Armenia, lead society to new economic and political freedoms, break stereotypes, give new flexibility to economic growth and so on," Sargsyan said.

Next year's polls will mark the countrys transition from a semi-presidential form of governance to a parliamentary republic.

(See also Armenias Landmark Electoral Code Curtailed).

But many people in Armenia are disenchanted with the countrys longstanding economic and social problems.

The economy is highly dependent on Russia, which in turn has been influenced by falling oil prices and European sanctions. Russias economic downturn has hit Armenian exports and affected remittances from Armenian labour migrants.

The figures look grim. Armenia's economy grew by 3 per cent in 2015 and the World Bank has predicted this will slow down to 2.2 to 2.5 per cent over the next years.

The poverty rate stood at 30 per cent in 2014, the World Bank reported earlier this year.

According to the Central Bank of Armenia, unemployment was 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.

Foreign direct investment fell from 497 million US dollars in 2012 to 181 million dollars in 2015, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Moreover, Sargsyan has been under political pressure following the four-day war in early April between Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed military forces over Nagorny Karabakh. The authorities were criticised for how they handled the flare-up and for making territorial concessions.

PRE-ELECTION HOPES

Experts believe that the ruling party has high expectations of Karapetyan, which he will have only a short time to meet.

"In the pre-election period, they have to bring the kind of figure who will create new hope," Styopa Safaryan, founder and head of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs (AIISA), told IWPR.

"The president did not say by chance that this person will be the symbol of change, since Karen Karapetyan has experience getting positive results in a short period [of time]."

"Of course, this will lead to a new coalition, since it was obvious after the July incident that he [the president] has problems with the management," he said.

According to Safaryan, Sargsyan has set Karapetyan both short and long-term tasks. The first goal is to help present the ruling party as able to bring change now and in the future.

"At this stage, short-term results are important. This [entails] at least raising the image of the ruling party, improving relations with Moscow, resolving questions related to Gazprom and Gazproms growing role in the Iran-Armenia cooperation on energy," Safaryan said.

Safaryan recalled that when Karapetyan was elected Yerevan mayor, he successfully began reforms only to encounter obstacles and then resign unexpectedly for reasons that remain unclear.

"He was not part of the system or of a party and in this sense it will certainly be difficult to take drastic steps without support. Today, I think, he at least has the support of the president and a stipulation on how deep he can go with the changes," Safaryan said.

Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, agreed that the authorities need to bring fresh faces into the government ahead of elections.

"Karen Karapetyan fits the mould, and he will select a government that will consist of people who have not been part of the political elite. The point of this is to get this government to the parliamentary elections and beyond," Iskandaryan told IWPR.

But whether Karapetyans team will succeed is hard to say, he added. The political elite is often seen as favouring its own business and family interests over the interest of the country.

"Belonging to the government lowers the rating of any person who joins it. The problem is not the people, the problem is systemic. Society, or at least a significant part, has rejected the political system of the country," Iskandaryan said.

FIRST MOVES

However, Karapetyan told parliament on September 14 that rapid changes would not happen straight away.

"There are steps we can take in the near future. For the second phase, time is needed to determine in which direction we will lead the country You have to understand that there is no magic wand. If we want changes in the economy, we need to make structural changes. Honestly speaking, the state of our economy is very grave," Karapetyan told lawmakers.

Having instructed the state revenue committee to increase transparency, he called on the commission on regulation of public services, the ministry of energy and natural resources, the ministry of labour and social security to present proposals to revise the gas and electricity tariff policies.

Karapetyan has appointed the first six ministers of his new cabinet, four of whom have not held ministerial positions before.

On September 22, it was announced that the ministry of urban development will be scrapped and the ministries of economy, energy and natural resources and transport and communication will be renamed.

They will now be known as the ministry of investment and business support, the ministry of energy infrastructures and resources and the ministry of transport, communications and information technology, respectively.

Suren Degeryan is IWPRs Armenia editor.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Tajik Parents Say 'Da' to Russian-Language Schools

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 22 September 2016 Citation / Document Symbol RCA 796 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Tajik Parents Say 'Da' to Russian-Language Schools, 22 September 2016, RCA 796, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e929164.html [accessed 30 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.

Young Daniil Hristolyubov is nervous and excited to be starting at Dushanbe's Ziyodullo Shahidi school.

A famous Dushanbe institution, it's one of the very few specialised Russian-language schools in the country. As an added bonus, it also offers daily music tuition.

Daniil's mother Darya Hristolyubova, a radio announcer from Dushanbe, told IWPR she was anxious about how her son would get on.

"There is a high turnover here - [kids] can't keep up with assignments. There is a standard programme [of subjects like languages and maths] before noon, and music classes start from 1 pm. We've been preparing for an entire summer to go here. It seems like Daniil likes it so far," Hristolyubova said.

Demand is growing for Russian-language tuition in a country where more than a million nationals leave each year to work as labour migrants in Russia or Kazakstan, leaving about 100,000 children behind in Tajikistan.

Out of 3,855 schools, only a handful teach in Russian, meaning that competition for places is intense.

"We are ready to queue for a teacher with good feedback, and we're ready to deal with overcrowded classrooms only to make sure the child is taught by a well-known [Russian teacher]," said another parent of a child starting at Ziyodullo Shahidi, who asked not to be identified.

Russian is taught throughout the mostly-state-run education system, but schools offer only one or two hours of tuition each week.

And not all, especially in rural areas - where more than 70 per cent of the population lives - have a dedicated Russian language teacher.

Teachers of other subjects are recruited to give classes in Russian, which means students are not fluent when they leave school.

There are 32 Russian-language institutions, mostly located in Dushanbe, including two funded by the Russian embassy as well a few private gymnasiums. Each accepts up to 500 students per academic year.

There are also 156 schools teaching in both Tajik and Russian in the country's main cities.

Parents routinely have to commit to "helping" the school when they enroll, and continue to contribute in the course of their child's education.

Mayram, a 32-year-old housewife from Dushanbe, told IWPR that her husband was a labour migrant in Russia. He is one of growing number of migrants who have secured better-paid positions and plan to bring their families to join them.

"My husband wants to buy a house in Russia and take us with him," Mayram said, adding that he had asked her to find a school for their son where he would learn Russian to better prepare him for the upcoming move.

However, to secure a place in the Russian-language school, she had to commit to paying for new windows for the entire building.

The cost was high, Mayram continued, but added that she was happy to fulfill this "duty".

"My husband believes that knowing Russian will open up more prospects for our son," she concluded.

High birthrates have placed further strain on the system, with the numbers of children entering school each year on the rise.

This September, 204,000 six and seven-year-olds started their education, up from 180,000 in 2014. Class sizes have doubled over the last decade, from an average of only 25 pupils to as many as 50 students.

The stress is also being felt in the specialised schools.

Zarina Nabiyeva, a primary school teacher at a municipal Russian-language school in Dushanbe, said that it was impossible for her to keep up with the pressure.

"There are 47 children in my class and paying attention to each of them during a lesson, which lasts 45 minutes, is impossible," she said. "I try my best for sure, but it's important for me to know that parents help kids with homework, talk to them in Russian at home, and develop their knowledge of reading and reciting. It's impossible for their children to achieve any success at school without it."

Staff shortages are another long-term concern.

Tajik Russian-language teachers are often unwilling to work in their profession due to the low salary of 500 somoni a month (80 US dollars), especially in more remote rural areas.

The state has even appealed for help from abroad.

During a visit to Moscow in 2013, President Emomali Rakhmon asked the Russian authorities to send teachers to Tajikistan to help teach their language. He promised to offer them a place to live, ploys of land and other social benefits.

However, BBC Russian reported in 2015 that Moscow had declined the call. Lyubov Glebova, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian state agency dealing with post-Soviet educational cooperation, was quoted saying the initiative had not been approved by the Russian authorities.

This article was produced under two IWPR projects: Empowering Media and Civil Society Activists to Support Democratic Reforms in Tajikistan, funded by the European Union, and Strengthening Capacities, Bridging Divides in Central Asia, funded by the Foreign Ministry of Norway.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Shania Twain coming to Indianapolis on first tour in nearly five years
DELEON  Less than 10 years ago, DeLeon was in the center of peanut country, but that's not the case now.

Comanche County has gone from 60,000 acres of peanuts to less than 800 acres in 2016.

Jim Farley, of Farley Farm Supply, explained some of the reasons, one of which are the increase of ferial hogs which have increased.

'Producers were having major crop damage in some areas,' he said.

Dr. Chip Lee, retired plant pathologist with the Texas Cooperative Extension Service, refers to the initial cause of the peanut acreage moving to the plains of Texas as 'the occurrence of nematodes.' Since most fields have been fallowed and large acreage planted to Bermuda grass, the nematode levels have been eliminated, said Lee.

Lee and Farley both say that the area is capable of growing peanuts again, but the infrastructure and equipment is not present for a comeback.

'With current prices of around $400 per ton and the cost of production, it just not feasible now,' said Lee.

With the change in agricultural production in the DeLeon area, one innovative, young producer is making adjustments and filling certain productions niches.

M.J. Stewart, a Comanche County producer, still grows some peanuts, primarily because his family operation once had large acreages of this crop. Being a graduate of Tarleton State University with an agricultural business degree, Stewart returned to the farm, 'Because it was in my blood,' he states.

His 2016 crop is late, because of the wet field conditions in May, thus pushing his planting date into June.

'It was a setback, but the crop is progressing great,' said Stewart.

A majority of his peanuts are produced and marketed to deer farms as a feed source. Stewart will sell in 1,000 pound containers, and peanut hay, either in square bales or big round bales.

'Peanuts are gaining popularity as a protein source in these deer herds and I have managed to create a client base across the state,' he said.

Delivery to these deer farms is one more service offered by Stewart. Excess production is still marketed the traditional way to the Golden Peanut facility in Comyn.

Besides the peanuts, corn silage has become a big crop for Stewart. With a ready market in dairy farms near Stephenville, he is doing what some consider impossible in West Central Texas, that is double cropping corn.

Stewart will plant corn as early as possible in the production year. In June the entire field will be harvested and trucked to the dairies for silage. Then on the same ground, a second corn crop will be planted with a fall harvest again for silage.

One interesting point is that the fall crop has historically yielded more tonnage because of constant weather conditions.

'Marketing and time of harvest is a very complex process,' said Stewart.

Value is based on tonnage, and moisture content. The higher the moisture, the less value the silage has. Test equipment is actually utilized in the field to determine price.

Producers must be able to adjust production practice and find niche markets to survive The young progressive producer, M.J. Stewart is a prime example.
COLLEGE STATION  Wildlife populations around the state appear in good shape after mid-August rains created good conditions going into fall and winter, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist.

Dr. James Cathey, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, College Station, said three years of good rain have created positive range conditions for wildlife to flourish. Wildlife, such as deer, quail and turkey are expected to be healthy and in large numbers due to timely rains.

'I've been traveling around the state the last 10 or so days and I've never seen West Texas so green,' he said. 'I think conditions are good for most of the state, especially compared to 2011.'

Cathey said late-summer rains arrived at a typically stressful time for deer populations and have provided ample forage for a variety of wildlife. The conditions may be good for animals but hunters may find harvesting animals to be more difficult.

'I think deer hunters will have to work harder,' he said. 'It will be interesting to see because animals won't come to supplemental feed like they do when conditions are harsh.'

Properties that are actively managed for farming and wildlife should expect to have good quality animals, he said. Regions in East Texas, which have been heavily modified for hay and crop production, have lower value for quail and wild turkey due to lack of habitat. In those areas, populations are still having trouble rebounding.

Cathey said there was early concern that deluges of rain might negatively impact quail numbers in the Gulf Coastal Plains, but populations fared well. Quail are even showing up in good numbers in drier areas of the Rolling Plains.

But not just typical game animals are having a good 2016, Cathey noted.

'Some other critters out there have done well,' he said. 'For instance, wild pigs are having a good year and that's not good for agriculture or landowners. So people need to thin out wild pigs as much as they can.'

AgriLife Extension district reports

WEST CENTRAL: Scattered showers amounted to up to 2 inches. High temperatures helped dry out some wet areas in the district. Rains made winter wheat progress come to a standstill. Cotton fields improved and were in mostly good to excellent condition. Producers cut and baled hay. Field were prepared for fall planting. Armyworm problems increased rapidly. Rangeland, pastures and livestock, were in fair condition.

ROLLING PLAINS: Rain fell across much of the district with amounts totaling up to 6.5 inches in some counties, which caused erosion and terrace failures. Rainfall reduced the threat of wildfires. Some cotton farmers in the northern part of the district weren't happy to see wet weather because bolls were beginning to open and plants needed a few more heat units to mature. Some producers said they were beginning to see regrowth within plants and planned to spray growth regulators soon, weather permitting. This year's cotton crop looked very promising, provided the weather cooperates. Producers began planting winter wheat which should benefit from recent rainfall. Armyworms were reported in some fields and pastures. Livestock were in good to excellent condition with plenty of grazing. However, ranchers need more rainfall to fill stock tanks going into the winter months.

SOUTH PLAINS: Bailey County producers received 8-12 inches of rainfall over the last three weeks. Rains slowed silage harvests and wheat planting. It's too early to tell how much crops will benefit from the rains as cooler-than-normal weather the last three weeks has slowed development. Subsoil and topsoil moisture were adequate. Peanuts, late-planted corn and grain sorghum were doing very well. Some corn was harvested prior to the wet weather, and harvest should resume as fields dry. Reports indicated recent weather conditions were extremely conducive for the development of Alternaria leaf spot on cotton. Pastures and rangeland should improve with wet conditions. Cattle were in good condition.
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A Cambodian opposition party politician was hacked to death on Wednesday night while he was walking home in his rural village, in what police believe is a personal conflict, RFAs Khmer service has learned.

Cambodia National Rescue Party member Khin Eab, 55, was killed in a grisly murder by a hatchet-wielding assailant, Long Sarin, the police officer in charge of the investigation told RFA.

Khin Eab was the CNRPs deputy leader for Khtum Koeut village in the Tboung Khmum province that lies in the central lowlands of the Mekong River.

Long Sarin told RFA that the murder did not appear to be politically motivated, but rather the result of a personal conflict.

The victims relatives told me that the victim used to have a minor dispute with the neighbors, and we are investigating this case, he said.

Police have yet to make any arrests for the attack, or identify a suspect or person of interest.

While local authorities think the murder was the result of a dispute, people close to the victim are unsure.

Seng Seang Ly, who heads the CNRP in the province, said he considers the murder a brutal act affecting CNRP officials in the locality and urged authorities to immediately find justice for the slain activist.

This murder case concerns me deeply, Seng Seang told RFA. That they can do the same to any of us, and the authorities just say it is related to a personal feud is troubling. Such a case should not happen as the commune election is approaching.

Commune elections are slated for 2017, and while registration is proceeding there have been reports of potential fraud that appear to be aimed at suppressing and intimidating opposition voters. National elections are scheduled for 2018.

Neang Savath, an official with the human rights organization ADHOC in Tboung Khmum province who viewed the crime scene, told RFA that police have been too quick to reach a conclusion.

To avoid the accusation that there is a political motive, the authorities must show who the killer is, Neang Savath told RFA.

Cambodian police have a checkered past when it comes to solving the murders of political opponents and government critics.

The latest case came in July 10 when popular government critic Kem Ley was gunned down by a man police identified as a former soldier. While the authorities say Kem Ley was killed over a debt, there are few in Cambodia that believe it.

Other activists and critics have also been killed under murky circumstances with little to show for police investigations.

Reported by Hom Hour for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
A court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou gave suspended prison terms on Monday to three labor activists detained in a crackdown last year, handing down relatively lenient terms because the trio had confessed and were first-time offenders, China's official media said.



Zeng Feiyang, founder of the Panyu Migrant Workers Center, was given a three-year sentence, suspended for four years, which means he would go to jail if he is convicted of offenses during that period. The two other organizers, Tang Huanxing and Zhu Xiaomei, were sentenced to 18 months in prison with two-year suspensions.



Arrested in December during the ruling Chinese Communist Party's sweeping crackdown on non-government groups, especially those involved in the country's nascent but unofficial labor movement, Zeng, Tang and Zhu were accused of "gathering a crowd to disrupt public order."



"The defendants ignored national laws and organized mass gatherings that disturbed social order. Their acts, of a severe nature, resulted in an enterprise being suspended and led to grave losses," the official Xinhua News Agency said on Monday, quoting a statement by the Panyu District court.



All three had pleaded guilty and chose not to appeal, Xinhua said. The agency said the three received relatively light penalties because they had confessed to their crimes, and were first offenders who had repented.



Zeng Feiyang's former attorney, Chen Jinxue, told RFA's Mandarin Service he welcomed the Zeng's release on probation. But he stressed that Zeng was not guilty.



"Zeng Feiyang was sentenced to three years of imprisonment but it was suspended for four years. Since I am no longer his attorney so I did not go to court for the trial. Of course, he was innocent in the first place therefore I think the verdict is an unjust sentence. But at least he can be released right away so I am also happy for him," said Chen.



In July, Chen suddenly received a notice from Zeng's family to terminate his legal relationship with the activist.



Analysts said the suspended sentence would effectively rule out further labor advocacy work by Zeng, 41, and his colleagues, while staff described chilling police pressure on the Panyu Migrant Workers Center.



At least four employees of the Panyu Migrant Workers Center have been under tight surveillance or have been invited by police to "have tea," one of the staff told RFA's Cantonese Service, describing police efforts to prevent activists from attending the trial.



About thirty protesters from the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions have demonstrated at the Liaison Office of the Central's People's Government in Hong Kong.



"In China, the freedom to join unions and to strike should be protected. They should not be criminally prosecuted for organizing these activities," confederation spokesman Lam Cho-ming said.



The Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin said Zeng and his center organized migrant workers to resolve labour disputes through collective bargaining.



"Prior to the crackdown, the Center gained a good reputation among workers and on occasion was even able to facilitate tripartite talks between employers, workers and local government officials in more serious disputes," the CLB said, prior to Monday's sentencing.



Zeng and his colleagues could not be reached for comment.



Reported by RFA's Cantonese Service and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated by Wong Lok-to and Chen Ping. Written in English By Paul Eckert.
North Koreans mobilized to support rebuilding efforts work to repair a water source after heavy flooding of the Tumen river in late August 2016 in Musan county in the north of North Korea. Sept. 18, 2016.

North Koreas state security apparatus is throwing a spider web over flood-ravaged sections of the secretive nation, sowing fear and resentment as they attempt to ensnare potential defectors and prevent information from leaking out of the country, RFA has learned.

While the floods devastated parts of North Korea so badly that Pyongyang was forced to seek international aid, the authorities there seem more concerned with enforcing security than helping the victims, sources tell RFAs Korean Service.

State Security Department officials began fanning out over the area on Sept. 18 as they hunted down potential defectors who sought to use typhoons aftermath as cover for their escape, said a source from Yanggang province.

The border area including Yanggang Province is currently controlled by the state securitys investigative team that is conducting a spider web-like operation, said the source who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity.

While authorities are searching for defectors, they are also conducting house-to-house searches in order to confiscate illegal mobile phones, banned media and other electronic devices, the source said.

While residents are conducting a 1000 Support Group for flood damage recovery, the state security department is conducting a search of every single house, the source said. An intense investigation is being operated as televisions and electronic devices are confiscated from those who have illegal phones in their possession.

The 1000 Support Group campaign appears to be a state-sponsored effort to aid flood victims. Flooding devastated parts of North Korea after rain from Typhoon Lionrock lashed the country from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2.

Pyongyang is fond of using colorful names for various civic efforts, the most well-known being the speed battles aimed at mobilizing mass labor to produce results in a short period of time. The campaigns are usually accompanied by a new batch of slogans and other propaganda efforts.

International aid agencies reported that at least 138 people were killed by floods spawned by the typhoon and more than 100,000 people were left homeless, but other sources tell RFA that more than 200 were killed in Hoeryong city, North Hamgyong Province alone.

Instead of consoling residents who are in deep sorrow after so many deaths and so many victims, North Korea would rather dispatch the state securitys investigative team and threaten residents with censorship, a source in North Hamgyeong Province told RFA.

Areas along the Tumen River that forms the border between North Korea and China and Russia were struck particularly hard as the river quickly overflowed its banks.

Coming during a time of strife, the North Korean crackdown is spawning both fear and resentment, the sources told RFA.

Some people have already been caught during the crackdown, which is creating a frozen atmosphere among the people, said the Yanggang Province source.

The people who are caught using illegal cellphones are mostly connected to South Korea, which is why there will be a high possibility of disposing of them as political prisoners, the source added.

Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korea Service. Translated by Jackie Yoo. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Authorities in cash-strapped North Korea are easing entry requirements for foreigners seeking access to a special economic zone (SEZ) in the countrys far northeast, with wait times for visas now reduced in the hope of attracting further investment, sources in the region say.



Permission to enter Rason, a warm-water port in an area of North Hamgyong province bordering China and Russia, is now granted within about a week by officials assigned to the zone by central government authorities in the capital, Pyongyang, sources say.



A visitors visa to come to Rason is much easier to obtain than a visa to visit other destinations [in North Korea], a Chinese businessman who regularly travels to and from the SEZ told RFAs North Korean Service.



However, travelers holding entry visas for Rason cannot visit other areas in North Korea, and those who are issued regular visas in Pyongyang cannot go to Rason, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Entry visas for Rason, which are issued as plastic cards carrying photographs and the date of birth of the bearer, can be easily distinguished from the general entry visas issued in Pyongyang, a second Chinese source told RFA.



Those are only sticker-shaped visas that can be attached to passports, or are simple slips of paper, RFAs source said.



The entry for foreigners into Rason has been made easier in order to attract greater investment, the source said, adding though that travelers to the SEZ must give at least a weeks notice of their intention to visit.



This is still very inconvenient, he said.



Investment drops



Founded in the early 1990s to promote economic growth through foreign investment, Rason now hosts about 250 local and foreign-owned business enterprises, including seafood processing and clothing manufacturers, according to a Sept. 14 report by the Associated Press.



The transshipment of coal from Russia to China through Rasons ice-free port also brings in revenue for North Koreas sanctions-hit regime, sources say.



Quoted by AP, North Korean trade official Choe Sung Jin said however that the opening of new businesses in Rason, which had climbed to 70 over the last five years alone, dropped this year to zero because of international sanctions imposed after a widely-condemned nuclear test in January.



Speaking in a September interview, North Korea expert Andrei Lankova professor at South Koreas Kookmin University and regular RFA contributorsaid that foreign investors hardly want to deal with a country which is associated in their minds with nuclear tests, bellicose rhetoric, and U.N. sanctions.



Potential investors usually come to the conclusion that it is both safer and more profitable to deal with China or Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia.



Reported by Joonho Kim. Translated by Jackie Yoo. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis health is stable, but she is suffering from weakness and exhaustion and needs to rest following more than two weeks of official travel to the United States and Britain, a government official said Monday.

The 71-year-old former political prisoner who is now Myanmars de facto national leader was diagnosed with a gastric problem from not eating regular meals during her first trips to the U.S. and U.K. since taking office in April. She is also suffering from arthritis in her neck from computer use, according to a government statement.

She had a tight schedule with a lot of events [to attend] while she was in the United States, said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the Presidents Office.

She got tired because she has only had a few opportunities to rest and because of traveling to different time zones, he said. Although she got very tired, her health condition is not critical. Her health is stable, but she needs to take some rest for a while.

When Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in the commercial capital Yangon on Sunday night local time, she used a wheelchair and did not greet supporters who waited for her outside the airport, according to local media reports.

During her visit to Washington on Sept. 13-16, Aung San Suu Kyi met with U.S. President Barack Obamawho agreed to drop remaining sanctions against Myanmarother administration officials, congressional leaders, and members of the American business community.

On Sept. 21, Aung San Suu Kyi attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York where she gave a speech and later addressed members of the Asia Society about Myanmars political and economic development.

Last Friday, however, she missed a meeting with the Partnership Group on Burma at the U.N. because her doctor advised her to get some rest, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported.

Prior to arriving in the U.S., Aung San Suu Kyi visited the United Kingdom to meet with new Prime Minister Theresa May, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, government ministers, and businesspeople in London.

She also briefed several Myanmar ambassadors stationed in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa on her governments foreign policy.

Besides functioning as state counselor, Aung San Suu Kyi serves as Myanmars foreign minister and minister of the Presidents office. She has been leading renewed efforts in Myanmar to bring ethnic separatist groups to the negotiating table to try to forge reconciliation and lasting peace in the country.

Aung San Suu Kyis scheduled meeting with Myanmar businesspeople on Wednesday to discuss future investment and economic policy has been cancelled, according to the Ministry of Information.



Reported by Zarni Htun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Tranlsated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Hundreds of Vietnamese fishermen swamped a court in coastal Ha Tinh province on Monday with lawsuits demanding compensation from a Taiwanese steel plant whose release of toxic waste polluted coastal waters and killed tons of marine life, leaving thousands out of work.



Police were mobilized in the morning to block buses carrying the mostly Catholic petitioners from Phu Yen parish to Ky Anh town, but 199 cases were received by the court by the evening, with one protest organizer predicting more would be filed next day.



More people may join us tomorrow, because not only people from [nearby] Dong Yen parish but also from other parishes who hear about this may come, activist Paul Tran Minh Nhat, who along with parish priest Anton Dan Huu Nam helped parishioners file their claims, told RFAs Vietnamese Service.



We have already submitted 199 cases, and there are another 340 cases to go, he said.



The court did not want to receive these cases at first, but we understand the law and told them that this is the beginning of the process, and that they only have to acknowledge receipt.



As villagers came forward to file their suits, others who had gathered in and around the court building prayed and sang songs in support, Nhat said.



At the beginning, the police were very aggressive, but they could not control the situation. Everyone has been very peaceful, he said.



Despite heavy monitoring of the crowd by local police, there were no immediate reports of injuries or detentions.



No help over losses



In June, Ha Tinh provinces Formosa Plastics Group steel plant acknowledged it was responsible for the release of toxic chemicals in April that killed an estimated 115 tons of fish and left fishermen and tourism industry workers jobless in four provinces.



Vietnams government said in a report to the National Assembly in July that the disaster had harmed the livelihoods of more than 200,000 people, including 41,000 fishermen.



In August, more than 200 policemen blocked and assaulted some of the 4,000 Catholic parishioners who tried to march to Ky Anh townships administrative offices to protest government inaction over their losses.



Vietnams one-party communist state closely controls and monitors the Catholic community, the second largest religious group in the country.



Reported by Cat Linh for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Richard Finney.




The head of Bosnia-Herzegovinas autonomous Bosnian Serb entity has been summoned by state prosecutors after he defied a high-court ruling from Sarajevo by holding a controversial referendum.

Republika Srpskas nationalist President Milorad Dodik was summoned after Bosnian Serbs on September 25 voted overwhelmingly to maintain a "statehood day" holiday on January 9.

Prosecutors said Dodik was summoned for a hearing by the prosecutor's office as a suspect in the case. No date was given for the hearing.

Dodik played down the threat of prosecution and said it was politically motivated.

"It is impossible to expect someone to build a state based on arresting political opponents," he said. "The referendum will remain an undisputed fact and it does not matter if Milorad Dodik is held responsible or not."

The U S. State Department condemned the referendum as "illegal" and said it would support local institutions as they sought to hold the Bosnian Serb leadership accountable for undermining the rule of law.

The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo said it supported the prosecutor's move and warned that the referendum would lead the Republika Srpska to "isolation and uncertainty."

Bosnia's Constitutional Court had canceled the referendum, ruling that the holiday is illegal because it discriminates against non-Serbs, but Dodik held the referendum despite that ruling as well as considerable pressure from the United States and the European Union.

A violation of Constitutional Court decisions is punishable with prison sentences from six months to five years.

"Acting in disregard of a decision of the Constitutional Court blatantly violates the rule of law, and we count on competent institutions to address that violation in accordance with the laws of [Bosnia], while we evaluate appropriate consequences," the U.S. Embassy said.

Western powers fear the vote could bring about instability in Bosnia, which only last week made its first major step toward joining the European Union.

The Bosnian conflict was ignited by Serbs' declaration on January 9, 1992, of an independent "Serb Republic" in the north and east of Bosnia. The territory became the autonomous region of the same name, Republika Srpska, under the Dayton peace agreement which ended the war.

This week's referendum has led to the most heated debate between Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Serb officials since that pact was signed in 1995.

Most Bosniaks and Croats opposed the referendum out of fear that the Bosnian Serbs could be preparing to secede, destroying the delicate federal structure put in place after the war.

The U.S. Embassy warned that the current political structure established by the Dayton agreement "cannot be challenged without consequences."

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
On September 15, one day after he accused Georgia's former ruling United National Movement (EMN) of seeking to "radicalize" the situation in the run-up to the October 8 parliamentary elections, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili proposed that all political parties sign a formal memorandum pledging not to deliberately hinder or obstruct each other's campaigning.

The memorandum affirms that "the peaceful conduct of the elections is an essential precondition for political consolidation and the democratic development of the country." According to Irakli Kobakhidze, executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GD-DG) party, it was drafted in consultation with other political forces (he did not specify which or how many) and his party is ready to continue those consultations together with NGOs and international organizations.

At the same time, Kobakhidze acknowledged that the text -- which covers the period until the Central Election Commission promulgates the final results of the ballot -- has no legal force.

To date, of the 27 parties and six electoral blocs participating in the ballot, only four -- the Republican Party, the Free Democrats, the United Democratic Movement headed by former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze, and the Alliance of Patriots -- have joined Kvirikashvili's GD-DG in signing the memorandum. The United Democratic Movement and the Alliance of Patriots, together with the ENM, had refused three months ago to sign a Code Of Ethics For The Pre-Election Period adopted unanimously by the Georgian parliament on June 22. That document was intended to create equal conditions for all parties and ensure the vote was democratic.

ENM parliamentarian Levan Tarkhnishvili dismissed GD-DG's memorandum as an attempt to hoodwink society and implied that the party has no interest in ensuring that the election campaign and vote proceed calmly and without incident.

The bloc comprising opera star Paata Burchuladze's The State for the People party and two others has publicly declined to sign, as have Shalva Natelashvili's Labor Party and the National Forum.

'Insurance Policy'

Political commentators Zaal Anjaparidze and Tornike Sharashenidze were also skeptical, suggesting that the memorandum was intended primarily as "an insurance policy" to deflect criticism of the ruling party from the international community in the event of widespread allegations of fraud. Anjaparidze pointed out that not a single party has undertaken to abide by the outcome of the vote if international monitors deem it free and fair. He construed that reluctance as reflecting readiness to take to the streets to protest an apparent defeat.

Experts are divided over the likelihood of protests and unrest either before or after the vote. Anjaparidze adduced Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili's warning that "a number of parties" are preparing for such unrest. He stressed that such warnings are not issued lightly, and that those parties suspected of preparing for that scenario (the ENM in the first instance, although he did not name it) have not only the necessary financial resources at their disposal, but also media outlets loyal to them. What they do not have, Anjaparidze added, is broad popular support.

Kakha Gogolashvili, by contrast, doubts that the ENM has the resources to destabilize the postelection situation. Ramaz Sakvarelidze recalled that the ENM came to power in 2003 on a wave of protest, and has a track record of resorting to violence when faced with serious problems. He also recalled the ENM's constant campaign over the past four years to blacken GD-DG in the eyes of the international community. He suggested that the ENM might seek to provoke the authorities into using violence against protesters in order to elicit condemnation from Georgia's Western partners.

A delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) that visited Tbilisi last week noted in a subsequent press release that "allegations of instances of intimidation and disruptions to campaigning, and called on all stakeholders to exercise restraint." It did not mention or comment on the GD-DG memorandum.

The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.
DUSHSANBE -- Tajikistan says China plans to finance and build several outposts for Tajik border guards along the Tajik-Afghan border.

A Tajik government decree published on September 26 said the move would bolster Tajik security.

The decree said the government instructed the State National Security Committee to sign an agreement with China to provide for the construction of 11 outposts of various sizes, as well as a training center for border guards.

The 1,345-kilometer Tajik-Afghan border is a major concern for Dushanbe, as Afghan drug smugglers regularly clash with Tajik border guards and Afghan Taliban militants increase their activities along the border.

China, which according to official statistics sells goods worth $2.5 billion a year to Tajikistan, built one outpost on the Tajik-Afghan border, its first one, earlier this year.

With reporting by Reuters
India said it was time for the international community to identify countries that promote terrorism and isolate them, in a thinly veiled denouncement of archrival Pakistan.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, speaking at the UN General Assembly on September 26, said the international community needed to "join hands together to script an effective strategy against terror."

"If any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it," Swaraj added.

India accuses Pakistan of having a role in a September 18 raid on an army base in India-controlled Kashmir, one of the deadliest attacks in the disputed Himalayan region in years. Pakistan denies any role in the attack.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged on September 24 to launch a global campaign to isolate Pakistan.

Last month U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Pakistan to fight terrorism.

New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of supporting militant groups carrying out violence in India. Pakistan has rejected the allegations.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP


Mohammad Nayeb-Zehi was among the hundreds of worshippers who gathered on September 30 at the Great Mosalla, a religious site in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan, for Friday Prayers.

Just hours later, the 16-year-old's family learned he was dead.

Nayeb-Zehi was among the scores of people gunned down by security forces in a brutal crackdown following anti-government protests in Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchistan Province, which is home to the country's Baluch minority.

"He was a simple laborer and not political," Nayeb-Zehi's brother, Ahmad, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in a telephone interview from Zahedan, adding that his sibling had been shot in the heart. "We're in pain, and we cannot accept it."

The crackdown in Zahedan came amid weeks-long nationwide protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died on September 16, days after she was detained by Iran's morality police.

In Sistan-Baluchistan, public anger at the authorities escalated amid reports that a 15-year-old Baluch girl had been raped by a police official in the province's southern port city of Chabahar.

The violence erupted soon after protesters gathered outside a police station near the central mosque in Zahedan. Members of the crowd chanted anti-government slogans, and some threw rocks. Security forces responded with deadly force by firing on the crowd from the station, according to witnesses.

Security forces also raided the central mosque and the nearby Great Mosalla and opened fire on worshippers using live ammunition, rights groups said, adding that many were shot in the head, heart, neck, or torso, revealing a clear intent to kill or seriously wound.

At least 94 people were killed and 350 wounded on that day, referred to as "Bloody Friday," according to the U.S.-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. At least 13 minors were among those killed, including Nayeb-Zehi.

The victims were overwhelmingly Baluch -- a mostly Sunni ethnic group that has long faced disproportionate discrimination at the hands of the Iranian authorities.

"He was martyred inside the Mosalla while holding his prayer mat," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi.

Nayeb-Zehi's family first visited Zahedan's Khatam al-Anbia hospital, hoping he was among the wounded. They later found his body in a seminary at the Great Mosalla.

"We entered a room there and saw about 10 bodies," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. "[Mohammad] was among them."

He said the authorities prevented the family from filming the scene. "I told them this has to be documented, it has to be published by international media," he said, adding that footage later emerged on social media showing the gruesome scene at the seminary.

The family refused to send Nayeb-Zehi's body to the morgue. Instead, his body lay in the living room for around 24 hours before he was buried.

"We said he was martyred and there was no need for an autopsy," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi.

The authorities accused Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group, of attacking the police station. The group is recognized as a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States and has previously claimed deadly attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan targeting Iranian security forces.

But local and independent sources have rejected the authorities' claims.

The authorities have also reported a much lower number of fatalities, announcing that only 19 people, including several members of the security forces, were killed.

Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi said the authorities were "rubbing salt into the wounds of the people" by claiming "terrorists" were involved.

He said he witnessed a military helicopter shooting at civilians near the Great Mosalla. "I haven't even seen such scenes in Hollywood movies," he said. "A helicopter was shooting at people. A lady was shot in front of my eyes."

RFE/RL could not verify his account. But activists have accused security forces of shooting at protestors from helicopters.

"I don't know what the intention of this crime was," he said. "Our only demand from the establishment is for the murderers of our [family members] to be punished."

The killings have led to widespread anger in Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran's poorest provinces.

Anti-establishment protests have been reported in Zahedan since the crackdown, including on October 14 and October 21, when protesters took to the streets after Friday Prayers and chanted "Death to the dictator."

During his Friday Prayers sermon on October 21, influential Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi said senior officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were "responsible" for the September 30 killings.

"We are surprised by the silence of the high-ranking officials," he said in his sermon, which was posted on his website.

"Scores were killed here without any reason. I don't have the exact number. Some have reported 90, some say less, some say more," Ismaeelzahi added.

He also said people will not be satisfied until "those who killed the people" are brought to justice.

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center said the events of September 30 amounted to "a massacre of protesters by security forces."

"The government's total denial of responsibility for the massacring of citizens by its security apparatus is consistent with similar past denials and is evidence that internal calls for investigation of such crimes are insufficient," said the rights group, which documents human rights violations in Iran.
Protesters in Moscow have forced the closure of an exhibition by controversial American photographer Jock Sturges. Activists threw what was said to be urine on some photos which depicted nude or partly-nude subjects at the Lumiere Brothers Center near the Kremlin on September 25. (RFE/RL's Russian Service)
Fyodor Konyukhov, a Russian adventurer who set a world record this summer for the fastest trip around the globe in a hot-air balloon, says humanity has lost its drive to explore.

The intrepid 65-year-old, an ordained priest who has climbed Mt. Everest twice and been to the North and South Poles, believes the 21st century is off to a "disappointing" start.

"I was 10 years old when Yury Gagarin flew [into space], and soon after that the first men walked on the moon," Konyukhov told RFE/RL in an interview. "At the time, I was convinced that by the 21st century we would already have scientific stations on Mars and settlements on the Moon. But the 21st century came and all we do is wage war, make money, and stuff ourselves."

The Earth's oceans, he lamented, also remain largely uncharted.

"There are seven billion people on this planet but we lack curiosity, we don't seek adventures," he said. "Humans should be more curious -- they should strive to discover new worlds."

Konyukhov made history and headlines in July when he flew solo around the world in a hot-air balloon, managing the feat in just 11 days and six hours. He beat the previous record, set by the late American adventurer Steve Fossett in 2002, by more than two days. He also became the first person to circumnavigate the planet in a balloon on his first attempt; it took Fossett -- the first person to do it without a stop -- six tries to succeed.

Konyukhov, who was born in Soviet Ukraine and was ordained as a priest by the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine in 2010, took a large cross and an icon of the Virgin Mary with him on the 35,000-kilometer journey.

He said he barely ate and slept only a few seconds at a time in order to keep the balloon on course. To keep himself awake, he used a technique he attributes to monks in medieval Russia.

"You hold a key in your hand and as soon as you fall asleep the key falls, clangs to the floor, and wakes you up," Konyukhov told RFE/RL by telephone, saying he had replaced the key with a wrench tool. "Over these 11 days I allowed myself 5- to 6-second stretches of sleep. If I had slept more I would not have made it."

Konyukhov also had to overcome hunger, stormy weather, equipment malfunctions, and temperatures that dipped below minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit).

Stunning Vistas, Constant Fear

As he flew over the Antarctic toward the end of his trip, the heating systems of his two-meter-wide carbon gondola broke down, depriving him of a way to prepare food and forcing him to use the balloon's burner to thaw his drinking water.

While he enjoyed stunning vistas from his balloon, he said fear never entirely left him.

"I could fall or the balloon could explode at any moment," he said. "The fuel alone weighed 10 tons. I used propane to fly by night and when the sun rose, I switched to helium."

The pilot had a close brush with a lightning storm, hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean, endured temperatures so cold that both his oxygen masks froze, and once had to climb outside his gondola to physically adjust one of the gas tanks. On the final day, he was forced to make a steep descent, cutting his head during the landing in a field near Perth, Australia, close to the location where he had set off 11 days earlier.

But Konyukhov, who describes himself as a die-hard romantic, says he would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

He said seeing his balloon for the first time as it was inflated on July 12, a few hours before take-off, was one of the highlights of his adventure.

"Everyone was telling me to go and get some sleep but I couldn't; how many times in life do you get to witness such a thing?" he said. "Seeing this enormous machine was a very powerful experience. Such moments are worth living for, they are worth all these years spent working, studying, looking for sponsors, and training night and day."

High-Profile Expeditions

Konyukhov's record-breaking journey was just the latest in a string of high-profile expeditions.

Born in a small Ukrainian village on the Sea of Azov, he crossed the sea in rowboat when he was just 15. He went on to become a maritime navigator and a passionate alpinist. He was the first Russian to complete the Seven Summits Challenge -- climbing the highest peak on each continent.

Some of his other accomplishments include solo treks to both the North and the South Poles, sailing around the world alone on three occasions, crossing Russia by bicycle, rowing across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and completing the world's longest dogsled race -- the Iditarod in Alaska.

Konyukhov is also an accomplished painter, a member of the Russian Arts Academy, and the author of almost two dozen books.

His next adventure? A balloon trip to the stratosphere, planned for 2017.

"My astronaut friends tell me I will see how the Earth curves," he said. "I want to see how our beautiful planet curves."

He also plans to cross Australia on camelback, sail around the globe three times without stopovers, and go down the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point in the Earth's oceans, at more than 10,000 meters. Only three people have done so, in special submarines  most recently Canadian film director James Cameron, in 2012.

"Right now I have expeditions scheduled up until 2025," Konyukhov said with a chuckle. "Then maybe I will retire!"
The Russian Defense Ministry has released new radar data it says shows the missile that downed a Malaysian Airlines flight over Ukraine in 2014 was not fired from territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists.

The ministry made the announcement at a Moscow news conference on September 26, just two days before a Dutch investigative team is scheduled to release its findings into the crash of MH17.

All 298 people on board died in the July 17, 2014, incident, which occurred amid fierce fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas.

Russia has consistently rejected allegations that rebels fired the missile, and officials said the new data would be turned over to Dutch investigators.

The international investigation is collecting evidence for criminal charges against those responsible.

"The fact that Ukraine has not yet released information from the radar station suggests that the location from which the missile was launched -- if it was a Buk -- was in territory controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces," Russian Army commander Andrei Koban said during a press briefing on September 26.

It was not immediately clear why Russian officials waited until now to release the information.

But a British-based group of open-source researchers known as Bellingcat said the new data contradicted information released previously by Moscow that asserted a Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jet had been in the vicinity of the airliner at the time of the crash.

Just days after the incident, Russian officials had asserted that the Su-25 was Ukrainian and had fired the missile that exploded into the Malaysian airliner.

Bellingcat, which has poked holes in Russia's announcements on the downing of MH17 in the past, said in a post on September 26 that the newly released data showed no indications of any Su-25 jet in the vicinity of the Malaysian jet.

The group also said the radar information showed that, contrary to earlier data issued by the Defense Ministry, MH17 did not make a sharp change in its flight path just before it was shot down.

The Dutch agency that is handling the international investigation concluded last year that a Russian-designed antiaircraft missile known as a Buk -- known as SA-11 by NATO -- had been fired from separatist-held territory.

But the Dutch Safety Board did not specify who might have been responsible.

However, it identified a 320-square-kilometer area where it said the launch must have taken place, and all of that territory was controlled by Russia-backed separatists at the time.

With reporting by AP and AFP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Western powers were not coping with their obligations on regulating the civil war in Syria.

Speaking in an interview broadcast on Russias NTV on September 26, Lavrov criticized the convening of a UN Security Council meeting the previous day as an unnecessary distraction.

Lavrov said the United States has stopped being an impartial co-chair of the International Syria Support Group.

Also on September 26, President Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the tone of the rhetoric from some British and U.S. officials is generally unacceptable and could harm both the Syrian settlement process and bilateral relations.

He added that Moscow believes the Syrian situation is now really too amorphous for a high-level international meeting on the crisis.

On September 25, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told the Security Council that Russia is engaged in barbarism in Syria.

Britains ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes.

Based on reporting by TASS, Interfax, Reuters, and AP
The United States has accused Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of waging a "concerted campaign" against civilians.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on September 26 that Syrian government forces, backed by Russian warplanes, were trying "to bomb civilians into submission."

His comments came after the Syrian government declared last week a new offensive against opposition rebels in eastern Aleppo, where some 275,000 people are living.

At least 231 civilians have been killed in violence in the embattled city and its outskirts since a weeklong cease-fire, brokered by the United States and Russia, fell apart on September 19, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on September 26 that the Syrian and Russian governments "seem intent on taking Aleppo and destroying it in the process."

Moscow has blamed Washington for the escalating violence, saying moderate opposition groups funded by the West violated the cease-fire and had failed to cut their ties with extremists.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa
The United States is offering a reward of $3 million for information about fugitive Tajik Colonel Gulmurod Halimov, who joined the Islamic State (IS) group last year.

Kurt Rice, acting assistant director for threat investigations and analysis at the U.S. State Department, said on August 30 that Washington considers Halimov to be a key member of the extremist group.

Rice told journalists via a telephone conference call to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe that information on Halimovs whereabouts could be provided to any U.S embassy across the world or sent via e-mail to American diplomatic offices.

Halimov, the former commander of the Tajik Interior Ministry's special forces, known as OMON, joined IS in April 2015.

Tajik authorities have said he has been seriously injured twice in Syria.
Ukraine says it has detained a 25-year-old Uzbek national on suspicion of spying for Russia.

The State Border Guard Service (DPS) says the suspect was detained at a border checkpoint on September 19 while entering Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region from Russia.

The DPS said border guards found a camera hidden in a button on the suspect's clothes as well as video- and audio-recording devices in his pockets.

The Uzbek citizen, whose name was not disclosed, told border guards that he received the devices from Russian officials after he was detained in Russia for staying in the country illegally.

The suspect was handed over to Ukraine's Security Service for further investigations.

Based on reporting by 112.ua and Ua.today
The city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine is observing a day of mourning on September 26 to honor two traffic police officers killed in the line of duty in the city the previous day.

Officials said the two police officers were shot dead by a former police officer on September 25.

Police say they detained the alleged gunman, Oleksandr Puhachov, hours later in a hospital, where he was undergoing surgery in connection with a gunshot wound he apparently suffered during the shooting.

Investigators say the incident took place when the traffic police officers stopped Puhachov's vehicle for an alleged traffic violation.

Puhachov then opened fire when the police officers tried to identify him, police officials said.

Puhachov, a former officer of the Interior Ministry's Tornado special police unit, was wanted on suspicion of kidnapping, creating an organized criminal group, and sexual abuse.

Investigators said on September 26 that Puhachov has denied the allegations.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Ukrinform.ua
Britain, France, and the United States have lashed out at Russia for its actions in Syria, amid an intensification of the bombing campaign over the northern city of Aleppo.

"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, it is barbarism," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on September 25.

Power also said the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and its ally Russia were "laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city."

"Instead of peace, Russia and Assad make war, she said. Instead of getting life-saving aid to Syrians, Russia and Assad are bombing hospitals and first responders."

The U.S. ambassador went on to call on the Security Council to "have the courage to say who is responsible and tell Russia with one voice to stop."

The UN meeting, requested by Britain, France, and the United States, comes after the Syrian regime declared last week a new offensive against eastern Aleppo, where some 275,000 people are living.

At least 231 civilians have been killed in violence in the embattled city and its outskirts since a weeklong cease-fire, brokered by the United States and Russia, fell apart on September 19, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the meeting that Syrian forces were trying to remove terrorists from Aleppo while harming as few citizens as possible -- without saying Russian forces were involved in the aerial bombardments.

Churkin added that there was a humanitarian corridor by which residents could leave, but it was being blocked by rebels.

He also blamed armed opposition groups for sabotaging the truce and accused the Western coalition of failing to separate the moderate factions it backs from "terrorist" groups.

Syria's Ambassador Bashar Jaafari railed against a "filthy propaganda war" waged by the United States and its allies and said Damascus "will not give up a single inch of its territory."

Churkin said bringing peace to Syria was "almost an impossible task now," but he made clear that reviving the cease-fire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of an "collective" effort on all sides.

"Does Russia think it can install confidence and trust with its partners by negotiating a cessation of hostilities with one hand and supporting the regime, which is bombing Aleppo, with the other hand?" asked France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre.

The British envoy, Matthew Rycroft, said Russia's actions have prolonged the conflict, prolonged the suffering."

"It is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," Rycroft added.

UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura told the meeting that the past week has been one of the worst ones in Syria during the near six years of this devastating conflict."

De Mistura said nearly 2 million people in Aleppo, Syrias largest city, are without running water following the escalation in fighting.

He urged the Security Council to press for a cessation of hostilities, weekly 48-hour pauses in fighting to deliver aid, and medical evacuations for several urgent cases in eastern Aleppo.

On the sidelines of the meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged an end to the offensive in Aleppo, saying the bombs "are not busting bunkers, they are demolishing ordinary people looking for any last refuge of safety."

"International law is clear, he said, the systematic use of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas is a war crime."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa
A Richmond woman has been arrested in a string of thefts at an assisted living center in Hanover County.

Tyra Latrice Smith, 29, has been charged with four counts of grand theft, the Hanover County Sheriff's Office said. The thefts occurred in May, July and August.

The sheriff's office did not identify the center.

Smith previously was employed from January through March with a home healthcare agency to assist the elderly victim at a private residence, the sheriff's office said.
Hoteliers who raze and replace dilapidated buildings in Ashland could gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax rebates.

In an effort to provide an incentive for a costly undertaking and to revitalize neglected sites, the towns Economic Development Authority last week launched a policy that would reimburse up to 50 percent in occupancy taxes to businesses that demolish and replace dilapidated and underutilized buildings with a hotel.

To qualify, a new hotel must have at least 85 rooms, generate $100,000 in transient occupancy taxes each year and sit in the towns designated hospitality zone, an area west of Interstate 95 that stretches to South Washington Highway.

The rebate is capped at $550,000 over six years.

Were hopeful this will be a great tool for the EDA to help partner with developers who can make our interstate section of Ashland a better place, said Joe Topham, business retention and expansion manager for the town.

Under the rebate, hotels would be able to recoup up to half of the transient occupancy taxes the town collects from guests who lodge in them each year. The towns finance director oversees the money that comes from the taxes and would apprise the EDA quarterly, Topham said.

KM Hotels, which owns several hotels across the United States, was approved for the incentive immediately after the EDA passed the policy at its meeting on Thursday.

The hotel management and investment group is seeking to raze two buildings on North Carter Road for a hotel and renovate a third for a companion hotel, a representative for the company said at the meeting, according to a video feed.

KM Hotels did not return a request for comment on Monday.

Dilapidated buildings are properties that are abandoned and unable to reopen without physical work, such as the Apple Garden Inn and the Ashland Inn & Suites. Underutilized buildings are properties that are in fair condition but operate at a significantly reduced level or not at all, such as the Burger King on England Street thats been shuttered for a year and a half.

A similar policy for restaurants is being explored.

Town officials have sought to address both motels that have fallen into disrepair as well as improve hotel options along and surrounding the I-95 exit, which functions as a gateway into Ashland. The towns comprehensive plan also calls for improvements to the area.

The town council  which must still approve funding for the program  roundly supported the EDAs policy at its meeting Tuesday, where the panel listened to a presentation on the policy.

This particular corridor has been a concern for everyone in town and its nice to know that youve done something very creative to try and alleviate that area of town and make it more of a gateway, said council member Kathy Abbott.
Millennials are souring on Hillary Clinton. Again.

Not that they were ever so sweet on her to begin with, at least relative to how they swooned over other Democrats. Both Bernie Sanders in the recent primary campaign, and Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 general elections, received far more love from young voters. But in any case, Clintons already weak millennial support has gotten much weaker in the past month.

Still, theres good reason to believe theyll come around, even if they do so grudgingly.

First, the data. Several new polls suggest young voters  a low-turnout but nonetheless key component of the Democratic coalition  are abandoning Clinton in droves.

Quinnipiac, for example, found last month that Clinton had a big fat 24-point lead over Donald Trump among 18-to-34-year-old voters (48 percent to 24 percent). Now that margin has shriveled to just 5 percentage points (with Clinton at 31 percent, Trump at 26 percent).

Nationwide Fox News polls of registered voters also found that Clintons lead has narrowed to 9 points, from 27 points in late July and early August. And a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times national poll has Clintons August lead not only disappearing but reversing, with Trump now ahead among millennials by 6 points. There were outliers, but the trend was clear.

Polls in battleground states have likewise shown Clintons lead among millennial voters shrinking. In Michigan, for example, Clintons 24-point August lead among young voters has shriveled to just 7 points. Clinton has just 31 percent of the youth vote there, compared with Trumps 24 percent.

In most of these polls, the young supporters ditching Clinton seem to be shifting not to Trump but to third-party candidates, particularly Libertarian Gary Johnson. The Michigan poll has Johnson tied with Trump; the national Quinnipiac poll actually has Johnson slightly ahead of Trump among under-35 voters.

These trends have been met with liberal teeth-gnashing and garment-rending, plus a lot of sanctimonious scolding of Kids These Days. How dare these ungrateful young hooligans turn their backs on the only serious candidate who actually cares about their issues! Are they really too young to remember the horrors that resulted when Ralph Nader played the spoiler in 2000? Quoth one columnist, I know youre young, but grow up!

The Clinton campaign seems to have gone into emergency millennial mollification mode, too.

That means a flurry of college visits, including from progressive heartthrobs such as Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Michelle Obama. The Clinton campaign explicitly advertised these events as an appeal to prodigal young voters.

The surrogate speeches havent always gone according to plan, though. Obamas speech at George Mason University was at one point met with chants of four more years; her stumping apparently got the crowd pumped for the wrong politician.

The Clinton campaign has thus also been desperately seeking coverage in millennial-tailored media. She whipped up an inane essay for Mic titled Hillary Clinton: Heres What Millennials Have Taught Me. (The too long; didnt read lesson: Millennials are totes awesome.) And she sat for an awkward, if amusing, interview on Between Two Ferns with actor Zach Galifianakis.

In my view, all the kvetching, cajoling and clowning around in the world are unlikely to move young voters. But you know what might? Numbers.

Several recent polls, anyway, suggest that younger voters are much more likely to see a Clinton presidency as a fait accompli. Per Quinnipiac, 71 percent of voters younger than 35 believe Clinton will win in November; just 49 percent of voters older than 65 believe the same. YouGov also finds that 58 percent of voters under 30 expect a Clinton victory, versus 47 percent of those over 65.

If you believe a Clinton presidency is inevitable, then casting a ballot for a third-party candidate probably doesnt feel like it has much consequence. Its a mere protest vote, a victimless expressive gesture, like angrily tweeting into the void, kneeling during the national anthem or, I dont know, sending unhinged hate mail to unsuspecting columnists.

But a tighter race  one, ironically, made tighter largely because of millennial defections from the Clinton camp  changes the calculus. Its riskier to throw away your vote, either by supporting someone who has no chance of winning or by abstaining from the polls altogether.

See, millennials may not adore Clinton, but they really, really hate Trump. Six in 10 young voters view him strongly unfavorably, and the same share describe him as racist. Dont be surprised if their third-party crushes start to fade as the prospect of President Trump begins to feel all too terrifyingly real.
WASHINGTON

The conversation  or argument  weve been having on immigration has been remarkably skewed. Its been all about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, otherwise known as the undocumented. Actually, what counts far more are the estimated 31 million immigrants who are here legally and the roughly 1 million who gain legal entry every year.

Of course, the question of illegal immigrants is important. As a society, its intolerable to have so many people living in a legal twilight zone, often despite years of responsible and law-abiding behavior (two-thirds of illegal immigrants have been in the United States for 10 years or more, reports the Pew Research Center). Still, one powerful reason for settling this issue  to legalize most of those already here and to suppress new illegal flows, even with a wall  is to move onto larger subjects.

We need an immigration system that gives priority to skilled over unskilled workers, rather than todays policy that favors family preferences for green cards. This sort of system would promote assimilation (because skilled workers have an easier time integrating into the workforce and society), increase economic growth (because skilled workers have higher value added than unskilled labor) and reduce poverty (because many unskilled immigrants have incomes below the governments poverty line).

Although we cant easily quantify these benefits, they would promote the greater good for an aging society with a sputtering economy. Anyone who doubts immigrations pervasive influence should examine a massive report issued last week by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Its titled The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration. Here are some highlights.

Immigration is no longer a side issue. From 1995 to 2014, immigrants increased from 24.5 million (9 percent of the population) to 42.3 million (13 percent). When the children of immigrants are added to the total, nearly one in four Americans is of immigrant stock. Immigrants are increasingly shifting from traditional gateway states (California, New York, Florida) into nontraditional states (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Nevada).

The number of illegal immigrants has stabilized at about 11 million since 2009. The number of Mexicans illegally in the United States declined from 6.4 million in 2009 to 5.8 million in 2014. Others have taken their place. All these figures represent net changes  illegal immigrants entering the United States minus those leaving. Although these flows now roughly balance, theyre still huge, averaging about 300,000 to 400,000 annually.

Poor immigrants  heavily from Latin America  have increased U.S. poverty. In 2011, the poverty rate (the share of the people below the governments poverty line) was 35 percent for Mexican immigrants and their children and 22 percent for El Salvadoran immigrants; by contrast, the poverty rate was 11.1 percent for Korean immigrants and their children and 6.2 percent for Indian immigrants. The poverty rate for all native-born Americans was 13.5 percent.

Immigrants and their children impose costs on government, mainly for local schooling, which the Supreme Court has decreed must be provided for all immigrants. By contrast, Congress has barred even legal immigrants from receiving some federal benefits. In 2013, the study estimated, immigrants costs to government exceeded their taxes by $388 billion, slightly more than 2 percent of gross domestic product.

What justifies immigration if it generates more in government costs than in taxes? The answer is that the benefits of immigration can  and, in this case, do  go beyond taxes. By one estimate, immigrants (including their entrepreneurial activity) have increased the size of the U.S. economy by 11 percent, about $2 trillion. With baby boomers retiring, all the projected growth in the U.S. labor force from 2020 to 2030 stems from immigrants and their children, the study reported.

The gains from immigration would be magnified if we emphasize high-skilled workers. Productivity would be higher, poverty lower. Interestingly, this also would help low-skilled Americans, both natives and recent immigrants. They wouldnt have to compete against new low-skilled immigrants, who will vie for their jobs and depress wages.

Whether we have the political competence and courage to face these issues candidly is an open question. The study deliberately steered away from policy prescriptions; it was mainly a fact-finding exercise, reflecting (presumably) the subjects controversial nature.

The presidential campaign offers little ground for optimism. Donald Trump has used immigration as a wedge issue and shows little understanding of the underlying substance. Hillary Clinton seems intent on placating her Hispanic supporters, many of whom surely support family preferences for immigrating legally to the United States.

But the underlying realities will not retreat no matter how much we wish they would. If we cannot maneuver immigration to our advantage, it will almost certainly work to our disadvantage.
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The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy will celebrate its 20th anniversary at its Conservation Celebration on Oct. 9 at the Glen at Glenburn Farms in Roanoke County.

The annual celebration features a catered dinner, bluegrass music, Deschutes draft beer and Virginia wines, and a live and silent auction.

Noted national conservationist and writer Jay Leutze will be the keynote speaker for the event. Leutze is the author of "Stand Up That Mountain," which won the Reed Environmental Writing Award and the 2013 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Award. It tells the true story of the battle to save a small North Carolina town in the wilderness along the Appalachian Trail.

The land conservancy will also present its A. Victor Thomas Environmental Stewardship Award and Landsaver Award. Janet Scheid of Vinton will receive the Vic Thomas award, named for the late longtime Roanoke state delegate who was an advocate for the outdoors. Scheid is a past president of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy and Susan G. Komen Virginia Blue Ridge. She is a current Vinton town councilwoman and secretary of the board of trustees of the Virginia Museum of Natural History.

David Hurt of Hardy is the recipient of this years Landsaver Award. Hurt is the owner/operator of Truman Hill Farm, which is protected by the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. He raises grass-fed beef and is a Realtor specializing in the sales of farms and rural land. Hurt is a former Franklin County supervisor, and in 2012 was named the Virginia Department of Forestrys Outstanding Forest Steward for sustainable timber management. Hurt currently serves on the Virginia Recreational Facilities Advisory Board.

The Conservation Celebration runs from 4 to 7 p.m., with the program starting at 4:45 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit the land conservation efforts of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy. Admission to the event is $75 if purchased by Oct. 1, or $80 at the door thereafter. Tables of eight are $650 and include complimentary Virginia sparkling wine and VIP seating. For more information or to purchase admissions, call the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy at 985-0000 or visit brlcva.org/events.

Submitted by David Perry
LYNCHBURG  Areva North America has laid off 12 people in Lynchburg, part of a nationwide reduction of 50 employees. According to the company, the changes are a result of a shrinking demand for Arevas support for existing nuclear reactors.

All of the employees affected worked in the Installed Base department, which works on existing nuclear reactors, either in operations or administrative capacities.

As our customers adapt and shift their needs, we need to adapt and shift with them, Curtis Roberts, Areva spokesman, said Monday.

Employees affected by the layoffs were notified Sept. 15 and officially will be out of work Nov. 15. Areva will employ approximately 1,400 people in Lynchburg after the cuts. The Paris-based company employs 5,000 people in the United States across 35 locations.

Were very focused on how this transition can affect our employees so we can help support them in this transition, which is why we gave them 60 days notice, Roberts said. During the 60-day notification period, employees impacted by the workforce reduction may focus primarily on seeking their next employment, including applying for open positions at AREVA.

Areva announced a loss of $5.3 billion globally in 2014 and $2.3 billion in losses for 2015. The company released its Strategic Roadmap to strengthen the companys financial position by 2020. Areva CEO Philippe Knoche emphasized how the restructuring will help put the company back on track during a Paris news conference in February.

With the support and commitment of all our employees, I am convinced that this action plan will enable us to install our strategy of reconquest and give us a new start on our mission, continually improved, of serving the French nuclear industry and our customers all over the world.

The company laid off 50 people in Lynchburg in January of this year across a variety of departments, more than half of the 90 employees who were let go nationally.

Additionally, the company cut 22 jobs in December 2014 following a weak financial report revealing Arevas net income dropped $852 million in the first half of that year. According to Roberts, losses pushed the company to change its strategies.
I FIND I must respond to the rantings of M Harris of no fixed abode in last weeks Advertiser (Friday September 23). Im writing as someone who has spent the best part of 50 years corresponding with my local paper and other national papers. Where I conclude after all these years that if one wishes to write a letter to a news paper in a controversial manner, then one must do his/her research into the subject so that one does not trip oneself up being controversial.



M Harris, of no fixed abode, should be ashamed of his rantings in his attack on Dave Platt and the National Union of Mineworkers. I will deal with the three day week in a moment, but first the 'Empty shelves. What empty shelves? In the seventies, I was in my thirties so remember them well. Heres what I recall of your so called empty shelves Mr Harris. Lets start with the price of meat. This country was very stable financially, prices went up by half a pence or a penny. Then all of a sudden (with the Tories in power) and the turning of the money from pounds, shilling and pennies, to decimal currency and 8/- (thats eight shillings) became just 40 pence.



Farmers put up the price of meat. From nowhere, the price of beef etc went right through the roof! With the help of the Tory press and TV finding out how powerful they were, started quoting the price of meat in Germany, Italy and France, I recall Argentina jumping on the band wagon with tin corned beef, which was the cheapest meat in our shops at that time, shooting way up in price.



Im prepared to bet that the poor farmers were prodding the Tory government to push up the price of a tin of corned beef to suit their purpose myself and my mates would sit in the pit and agree that we didnt live in these countries so why should their prices effect us in Great Britain? We miners didnt empty the shelves Mr Harris of no abode, it was the greedy farmers. In those far off days of the 1970s we had a slogan about farmers, they were all pleading poverty but no one had ever come across a poor farmer in Britain!.



After the poor farmers diddled us over the meat, the price of grain went through the roof which meant the price of bread went through the roof with it! Is this your empty shelves yet again Mr Harris? But there were more empty shelves appearing in the shops. all of a sudden there were a shortage of bog rolls. Then when they did come back from nowhere onto our shelves.....the price of a bog roll had been doubled!



The three day week! We poorly paid miners were not responsible for the three day week, again the truth of that slogan laid at the feet of the Tory government and yes, weak leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers. We miners had fallen far behind in the national league of wages. I recall at Maltby Main (my pit) we never earned as much as 20 per week! Remember that a  note in the early 70s could buy a working miner at least six pints of beer!



I recall when the strikes of the early seventies came along, the prime minister, Ted Heath would come into my living room once a week giving us a lecture in how futile our strike action was. The pit that I left in Scotland in the mid 1960s were driving a mine from the coal face straight through to the Kincardine power station about five or six miles underground. The coal would never see the light of day. Mr Heath had me rolling off my couch with laughter when he kept telling us miners that these coal fired power stations could switch from coal to oil in 48 hours. What made me laugh so heartily was he could tell us that looking at us down a TV lens of a camera and keep a straight face. As I had a family to keep and was on strike more than working, I got the opportunity to go labouring to two plasterers on a building site. What a eye opener that was.



My wages jumped from about 18 at Maltby pit to 100 plus per week for mixing a bag of plaster. When that run out I got a local job on night shift at Multi Fruits loading lorries and that paid 120 per week. So, you see when Scargill called it the cheapest deep mined coal in the world, he wasnt kidding anybody on, Mr Harris of no fixed abode.



It was indeed your Tory pals that created the three day week not the miners. The enemy within indeed were our own government! It was of course the Tories that forced the unions to become active, but I agree, they went too far.



I started by saying that you were probably a member of the breakaway union the UDM and thats maybe where you are getting your wires crossed. It was proved that the leaders of that union were very much in the payroll of if not the NCB then the Tory party.



So thats maybe where your patios, flash cars and fancy holidays were financed from. Or are you getting mixed up even further with the leaders of NACODS the deputy's union? The deputies were given an election to join the strike (it was their jobs as well we were fighting for) they voted by about 83 per cent, to join up on the picket line with the NUM but their national committee members were bought and sold not to go on strike. To this day, I still dont know why the deputies didnt vote with their feet, they had won the right to do so. If they had, then the strike would have folded in just over a month or so.



You say Mr Harris that Dave Platts (and I quote from your poor try at discrediting him)  would have us believe that he is an unrepentant champion of the downtrodden, disadvantaged proletariat  a stance strikingly familiar to that of the NUM leaders who bought new cars and had house extensions built whilst their members were on strike, starved. But David (Platt) how many disadvantaged proletariat own their own yacht- as you do? Mr Harris, I didnt take pen to paper to defend Dave Platt (I only know him through these letter pages) but Im sure he is very capable of defending himself and I hope he does. But what I do take offence with is the lies and untruths of our great union that you have chose to abuse. Myself, along with thousands and thousands of other miners in this country fought for the right to work. Scargill was ridiculed all over the land by the Tory press and TV. and the Labour party did nothing but stand by and watch. All I will say about Arthur Scargill is: The man never told me a lie in his life! All he ever said has come true.



I honestly think that you sat down and put pen to paper to ridicule Dave Platt's. Well, Mr Harris of no fixed abode, I sat down to ridicule and have fun at your expense, but at least I have done it by telling the truth. I will have you believe that Mr Platt is like myself a good socialist that deals in his telling the truth as he sees it. You my silly wee' laddie, are a self made man and a pretty poor model at that!



Mr DJ Brennan, retired miner, Maltby
THE PARENTS of a woman who claims she was sexually exploited by a group of men when she was a schoolgirl told a court how their daughter revealed when she was 13: They've been raping me.



The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described his daughter as a lovely, happy child who was no trouble but said that in 2003 their family life had became terrible and they had never experienced anything like it before.



In April of that year, he said, a neighbour reported to police that there were men watching his house.



The father said that on the same night his then 13-year-old daughter had a red, swollen cheek.



At first she told him she had fallen, but the next day confided in her mother that she had been raped by Sageer Hussain.



The dad, giving evidence to Sheffield Crown Court today, said: Her words were: They have been raping me.



The police were contacted and they came to the house.



The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he became very worried and was fearful of letting his daughter out of his sight.



He said his daughter told police she had saved the clothing she had been wearing when she had been raped and the police took them away.



But the court has heard this evidence was lost by police several days later.



The father said he had bought his daughter a mobile phone to keep in touch and she had told him she was being threatened.



He said one phone bill came to 317 and there were only two numbers on the bill.



The father said he got rid of the SIM card but received threatening calls to his landline from men who said they were going to burn the house down and gang-rape his wife.



When I spoke to the male on the other end, he got aggressive and said: Im not doing owt, she's just a friend of mine, said the dad.



Because of the threats the complainant withdrew her allegations, but six months later told her parents she had been the victim of another sexual assault, the jury heard.



Her mother told the court: She told me the men were coming for her, she mentioned the names Nemy, Masy and a male who was Iraqi, and that they were picking her up at Dinnington bus station and taking her to a flat in Dinnington.



We were distraught.



The court has heard this allegedly involved Naeem Rafiq and Masoued Malik who deny any involvement.



The father said: We reported it to the police, she was interviewed and police arrested the suspects, then we were told in early 2005 that the CPS was not prosecuting the suspects.



The complainant, now 27, also reported to police in 2013 that she had been raped by another defendant, Waleed Ali.



Giving evidence, the womans mother said she had seen the name Waleed in her daughters phone in 2003 and rung the number.



She said she asked if the person who answered was Waleed and the person responded with: Yo.



The mother said the only other time she had heard the name Waleed was when she was asked to attend Meadowhall police station with her daughter because police were looking at his car registration plate, because he was in and out of Meadowhall because he was a pimp.



Eight men are on trial for a total of 19 child sex exploitation offences, which they deny.



The trial continues.

The defendants and the charges.


Hong Kongs jewellery export dips 17.6% in September Hong Kongs government data revealed that exports of jewellery, goldsmiths and silversmiths wares were down 23.1 per cent year on year to HK$18.24 bn which is around $2.32 bn during September 2022.

Diamcor more than doubles Q2 revenue Diamcor generated gross revenues of about $3 million from its operations in the interim period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $1,4 million for the same period in the previous year. The company is still conducting trial mining exercises at its...

IBJA commits to Declaration of Responsibility & Sustainability Principles The Indian gold industry has signed a Declaration of Responsibility and Sustainability Principles, convened by the LBMA and the World Gold Council, which expresses a commitment to operate responsibly and sustainably, based on a clear set of shared goals...

De Beers boosts Q3 output, maintains production guidance De Beers rough diamond production rose 4% to 9.6 million carats, mainly due to the treatment of higher grade ore at both Orapa in Botswana and South Africa as well as continued strong performance in Namibia, according to its parent company, Anglo...
Sound Transit kicked off light-rail service to Angle Lake this weekend following a dedication ceremony and inaugural train ride sponsored by Alaska Airlines.

Sound Transit received $37.3 million in grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support construction of the new line, which included $10 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funding. The Puget Sound Regional Council provided $7 million in Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funding toward the station and Washington State contributed $5.2 million in Regional Mobility Grant funding.

The transit expansion took place as second quarter Link ridership jumped 76.8 percent after the March opening of the new University of Washington and Capitol Hill stations, officials say.

Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine called the Angel Lake stations opening another achievement in a historic year for high-capacity light-rail in [the] region, noting its the third light-rail station opened by the system in the past six months.

South King County commuters will be able to get out of gridlock and reach their destinations using Links fast, reliable service. Thanks to our federal delegationU.S. Sen. Patty Murray, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Congressman Adam Smith, FTA Regional Administrator Linda Gehrke, and our partners at the U.S. [Department] of Transportationas well as the Puget Sound Regional Council, for their tireless support of this project, Constantine said.

Sen. Murray described the Angel Lake stations opening as a milestone in Sound Transits expansion of transportation options for the regions commuters, adding that the new station builds on overarching efforts to invest in such projects.

Im proud to support this step toward providing transit that is safe, reliable and ready to meet the 21st century needs in the South Sound, Sen. Murray said.

Representatives say the South 200th Link Extension project will open four years earlier than outlined in the 2008 Sound Transit 2 plan. The total cost for the project is projected at $40 million less than its predicted $383 million budget. Officials attribute the projects success so far to the systems design-build team and federal partnership, as well as its key partner the Port of Seattle, all of which have been said to work closely with Sound Transit during the extensions construction.

The 1.6-mile rail line from Angle Lake connects to the 18.8-mile Link system that runs between the Sea-Tac Airport and University of Washington. It features a 1,050-car parking garage with 70 surface parking spaces, as well as four charging stations for electric vehicles and storage for 52 bicycles on-site.

The elevated station and guideway, garage and roadway improvements were part of Sound Transits first design-build project. The team included PCL Civil Constructors, Inc., which designed and built the aerial station and guideway, WSP | Parsons Brinkerhoff handling project management services, joint venture Harbor Pacific Graham, as well as Berger ABAM and Brooks + Scarpa, who designed and built the plaza and garage, Johansen Excavating Inc. to complete roadway improvements and Hewlett Zollers for pre-design and design services.

Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman said, The Port of Seattle welcomes the extension of Sound Transits rail line to the new Angle Lake Station. Light rail ridership to SeaTac/Airport Station keeps climbingup 11.5 percent for the yea. Making Sea-Tac more accessible is a win for the environment and a win for the traveling public, particularly with record-breaking growth at the airport.
Cabinet office is set to release final Japan leading economic indicators index data for July at 1:00 am ET Monday.

Ahead of the data, the yen held steady against its major rivals.

As of 12:55 am ET, the yen was trading at 11.38 against the euro, 131.05 against the pound, 104.09 the Swiss franc and 100.98 against the U.S. dollar.

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Forex News
The New Zealand dollar continued to be weak against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, after data showed that New Zealand trade deficit rose more than expected in August. Meanwhile, speculation triggered that the Reserve Bank is likely to cut the official cash rate in November.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand had a merchandise trade deficit of NZ$1.265 billion in August. This missed forecasts for a shortfall of NZ$735 million following the NZ$433 million deficit in July.

Exports were worth NZ$3.39 billion, shy of forecasts for NZ$3.60 billion, and down from NZ$3.96 billion in the previous month. Imports came in at NZ$4.65 billion versus expectations for NZ$4.30 billion and up from NZ$4.40 billion a month earlier.

The currency weakness continued after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) reinforced last Thursday that further easing would be necessary despite rapid growth in the . RBNZ governor Graeme Wheeler maintained the OCR at a record low 2 percent at the last week's policy meeting.

Last Friday, the NZ dollar fell 0.98 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.71 percent against the yen, 1.08 percent against the euro, and 0.73 percent against the aussie.

In the Asian trading, the NZ dollar fell to a 5-week low of 72.83 against the yen, nearly a 5-week low of 1.5552 against the euro, and nearly a 4-week low of 0.7220 against the U.S. dollar, from Friday's closing quotes of 73.11, 1.5486 and 0.7239, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 71.00 against the yen, 1.57 against the euro, and 0.71 against the greenback.

Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi dropped to 1.0538 from Friday's closing value of 1.0516. The kiwi is likely to find support around the 1.07 region.



Looking ahead, the German Ifo climate index for September and U.K. BBA mortgage approvals for August are due to be released later in the day.

At 4:30 am ET, European Central Bank's executive board member Yves Mersch and Swiss National Bank Governing Board Chairman Thomas Jordan are expected to speak at Sibos 2016 financial industry conference, in Geneva.

In the New York session, U.S. new home sales data for August is slated for release.

At 8:30 am ET, European Central Bank's member of the supervisory board, Ignazio Angeloni, speaks at a conference "Strengths and Weaknesses of European Banking" organized by Brevan Howard Centre and Imperial College Business School, in London.

At 9:00 am ET, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will testify before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of European Parliament, in Brussels.

At 9:30 am ET, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari participates in a fireside chat moderated by Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council and board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, in Minneapolis, U.S.

Fifteen minutes later, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio is expected to speak at a conference, in Frankfurt.

At 11:45 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo will deliver a speech titled "Next Steps in the Evolution of Stress Testing" at the Yale School of Management Leaders Forum, in New Haven.

At 12:00 pm ET, Austrian National Bank Governor and ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny is expected to speak on the future of banks, in Vienna.

At 1:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will participate in moderated Q&A before the Independent Bankers Association of Texas Annual Convention, in Dan Antonio.

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Forex News
Finland's producer prices continued to decline in August, though at a slower pace than in the prior month, figures from Statistics Finland showed Monday.

Producer prices for manufactured products fell 2.6 percent year-over-year in August, following a 3.8 percent decrease in July. The measure has been falling since August 2013.

The annual fall in August was particularly caused by reductions in the prices of oil products, manufacturing of basic metals and chemicals and chemical products.

Both domestic and foreign market prices dipped by 2.2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively in August. Similarly, export prices slid 3.2 percent and import prices by 2.7 percent as compared to August 2015.

Month-on-month, producer prices edged up 0.1 percent from July, when it dropped by 0.3 percent.

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Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE) said Monday that it agreed to acquire Bats Global Markets Inc. (BATS) in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $32.50 per Bats share, or a total of about $3.2 billion, consisting of 31% cash and 69% CBOE Holdings stock, based on CBOE Holdings' closing stock price of $70.30 per share on September 23, 2016.

The per-share consideration represents a premium of 22.5% to Bats' closing stock price on September 22, 2016, the last full trading day prior to media publications regarding the potential transaction.

Within three years of the completion of the transaction, CBOE Holdings expects to realize $50 million in annualized expense synergies, increasing to about $65 million of anticipated expense synergies within five years following closing. CBOE Holdings expects to achieve these synergies by migrating to a single proprietary trading platform and optimizing the expense structure of the combined company.

The transaction is expected to be accretive to CBOE Holdings adjusted earnings per share in the first year following the completion of the transaction and deliver attractive returns on invested capital.

CBOE Holdings noted that it will fund the purchase price through a mix of stock and debt. As per the terms of the agreement, Bats stockholders will receive $10.00 per share in cash and 0.3201 of a share of CBOE Holdings common stock, representing a total consideration of approximately $32.50 per share, based on the closing price of CBOE Holdings common stock on September 23, 2016.

The merger agreement also contains an election procedure allowing each Bats stockholder to seek all cash or all stock, subject to proration and adjustment. The company intends to fund the cash portion of the consideration and the refinancing of Bats' debt through available cash and new borrowings of $1.65 billion, for which commitment letters have been obtained.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the stockholders of both companies, and receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals. Bats' and CBOE Holdings' directors and officers have signed supportive voting agreements. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017.

Following the close of the transaction, Edward Tilly, CBOE Holdings CEO, will remain CEO of the combined company. Chris Concannon, Bats CEO, will become President and COO, succeeding Edward Provost, CBOE Holdings President and COO, who plans to retire at that time. Chris Isaacson, Bats CIO, will succeed Gerald T. O'Connell as CIO, who also plans to retire at that time. CBOE Holdings CFO Alan Dean will remain as CFO of the combined company.

Following the close of the transaction, the Board of Directors of the combined company will consist of 14 directors, 11 of the 14 members currently serving on the CBOE Holdings board, plus three members from the Bats Board of Directors. These changes will be effective immediately upon closing.

The combined company's corporate headquarters will be located in Chicago, with offices in Kansas City, New York and London, as well as presences in San Francisco, Singapore and Quito, Ecuador.

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Business News
Crude oil prices were higher Monday morning after showing a lack of direction in recent weeks.

Oil has been stuck near $45 as traders await the outcome of the OPEC meeting in Algiers that may result in a deal to curb production.

WTI light sweet crude oil for November was up 62 cents at $45.10 a barrel.

Traders will also be paying attention tonight during the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

It is thought that a Trump win will upset nervous about his unpredictability.

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Market Analysis
Donald Trump has told the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a Trump administration will accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

Jerusalem is Israel's proclaimed capital, but the international community, including the United States, in general, does not accept Jerusalem as capital because its status is in dispute with the Palestinians.

The U.S. maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv.

Trump's statement is said to mark a shift in American foreign policy towards Israel, one of its strongest allies.

The meeting was held at Trump's residence in Trump Tower, New York, Sunday.

Trump said that under a Trump administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military, and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Trump termed Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism.

They discussed at length the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against ISIS and many other regional security concerns.

The Trump Campaign said the Republican presidential candidate agreed with Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State.

It was the second meeting of Trump with a leader of a Middle East country in a week.

Trump had met with the visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in New York last Monday when El-Sisi was in the city to attend the UN General Assembly.

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Political News
As the clock ticks down to the first presidential debate, the results of new CNN/ORC polls show Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton virtually tied in the key swing states of Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Likely Colorado voters are split 42 percent for Trump and 41 percent for Clinton, with Libertarian Gary Johnson at 13 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 3 percent.

In Pennsylvania, likely voters are divided 45 percent for Clinton, 44 percent for Trump, 6 percent for Johnson and 3 percent for Stein.

The one-point gaps between the two major-party candidates in each state are well within the polls' margins of error.

CNN noted there are sharp divisions among whites by education in both states, with white college graduates favoring Clinton and whites who do not hold four-year degrees backing Trump.

Johnson's appeal among younger voters appears to be working to Clinton's detriment in both states, CNN said.

In head-to-head matchups, Clinton leads Trump by 50 percent to 47 percent among likely voters in Pennsylvania and by 49 percent to 47 percent among likely voters in Colorado.

The CNN/ORC surveys of 784 likely Colorado voters and 771 likely Pennsylvania voters were conducted September 20th through 25th and have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

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Political News
A Singapore-based music start-up has acquired a 49 percent stake in the iconic music and pop culture-focused magazine Rolling Stone, becoming the first outsider investor in the magazine. Financial terms of the deal, which will enable Rolling Magazine to expand its international reach, were not disclosed.

Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone, has decided to sell 49 percent of the magazine as well as its digital assets to BandLab Technologies Ltd. The deal reportedly comes after 15 months of negotiations.

Rolling Stone's parent company, U.S.-based Wenner Media LLC, will retain control of the magazine. In addition to Rolling Stone, Wenner Media publishes Us Weekly and Men's Journal.

BandLab Technologies is a social media and retail company based in Singapore. The company is led by 28-year old Meng Ru Kuok, son of Kuok Khoon Hong, the billionaire founded of the world's largest palm oil company Wilmar International Ltd.

BandLab has previously acquired musical instruments distributor Swee Lee Music, while last week it acquired San Francisco-based instrument design studio Mono Creators Inc. It also offers a free app that enables artists to create and share music.

Under the terms of the deal to acquire Rolling Stone, a fully-owned subsidiary called Rolling Stone International will be set up in Singapore and managed by Kuok.

Rolling Stone publishes 12 international editions, including four in the Asia Pacific, and currently has a global audience of more than 65 million people.

However, the 49-year old biweekly magazine has recently seen its revenues slide and subscriber base shrink.

The magazine's reputation took a hit after it published an article in 2014 about an alleged rape on a U.S. college campus, for which it was forced to issue multiple apologies. The magazine is still facing trial for lawsuits brought against it because of the article.

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Business News
Crude oil futures surged Monday amid speculation Russia will join OPEC nations in curbing production if the cartel can reach an agreement in Algiers this week.

Meanwhile, turmoil in Nigeria threatens output from the African nation, although Shell has yet to confirm attacks on its facilities there.

Nov. WTI oil up $1.45, or 3.3%, to settle at $45.93/bbl on Nymex.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a sharp pullback in new home sales in the month of August.

The report said new home sales tumbled by 7.6 percent to an annual rate of 609,000 in August after surging up by 13.8 percent to a revised 659,000 in July.

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Market Analysis
Intel has started building a new "smart" office building in Israel's Petah Tikva, which will host 2,500 employees.

According to reports, the 34,000-square-foot development center will run entirely on sensors and will be fully digitized.

No Camels reports that the building will have facial recognition so employees will never have to carry ID cards or badges. The lights and temperature of room will be monitored by sensors and will even help employees find parking spots.

The building is expected to be complete by 2019 and has been certified as energy safe.

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Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

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BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Bosnian Serbs on Sunday voted in a referendum banned by the country's constitutional court, risking Western sanctions against their autonomous region and criminal charges against their leaders.

The vote was whether to keep Jan. 9 as a holiday in Republika Srpska, commemorating the day in 1992 that Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of their own state, igniting the ruinous 1992-95 war. It comes despite the top court's ruling that the date, which falls on a Serb Christian Orthodox religious holiday, discriminates against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats in Bosnia.

Authorities said turnout was between 56 and 60 percent. Preliminary results after 30.76 percent of the ballots were counted say 99.8 percent of the voters were in favor of the holiday.

The vote has raised tensions and fears of renewed fighting as Bosniaks and Croats see the referendum as an attempt to elevate the Serb region above the country's constitutional court. It is also a test for a more serious referendum that Bosnian Serb leaders have announced for 2018  one on independence from Bosnia.

During the 1992-95 war that killed 100,000 people and turned half of the country's population into refugees, Bosniaks and Croats were persecuted and almost completely expelled from Republika Srpska territory.

After the war, Republika Srpska ended up not independent but an autonomous region of Bosnia. Bosniaks and Croats who returned there view the holiday as a celebration of their expulsion. Republika Srpska, a region of 1.2 million, marks the day with religious ceremonies, hinting the region is still meant just for Serbs.

The constitutional court has banned both the holiday and the referendum, a ruling that Bosnian Serbs see as an attack on their autonomy.

The West has urged that the illegal referendum not be held, but Bosnian Serbs are backed by Russia. Western officials said they might consider halting projects in the mini-state or impose travel bans on its leaders and freeze their assets.

Tomislav Stajcic, a resident of Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska, compared the holiday with a birthday.

"There is no force on this earth, political or divine or any other really, which can change the date of your birth," he said, calling the constitutional court's decision "senseless."

Opposition leaders have dismissed the idea of a new conflict, saying the Bosnian Serb ruling party scheduled the referendum a week before a local election to divert campaign topics from corruption to nationalism.

The Bosnian Serb member of the country's presidency and one of the opposition leaders in Republika Srpska, Mladen Ivanic, said he doesn't understand the "circus" about the referendum.

"Who wants to celebrate it should and who doesn't does not have to," he said.

But the Bosniak member called for prosecutors to act, saying Bosnian Serbs have been pushing the limits for decades.

"Now they reached a new level of spitefulness, exceeding all limits," Bakir Izetbegovic said.

"These people pull the rope until it snaps and then, of course, they land on their back."
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

Statement at the General Debate,

United Nations

General Assembly

Seventy-first session

New York, 23 September 2016

The 71st session of the General Assembly holds special significance for Samoa, and the Pacific region. At the helm of the General Assembly for the first time ever, is a Pacific Islander and diplomat from Fiji, His Excellency Ambassador Peter Thomson. The Pacific is often considered a region of peace and tranquility, but such credit belies the diverse and enormous challenges we face daily, as a group, and as island states.

The focus therefore of your presidency on the collective implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals, is a timely and fitting catalyst to help transform our regions numerous challenges, into real and lasting opportunities. Samoa congratulates you on your election as President of the General Assembly and lends its full support to the agenda that will guide our work during your tenure.

This general debate is the Secretary-Generals final one, before he steps down after a decade-long service to the cause of humanity. From Samoas perspective, Ban ki-moon has been, and continues to be a true champion, and persistent advocate of issues that are of immense significance to Small Island Developing States. His passionate leadership on climate change, the undisputed priority concern of every Pacific island country and territory, endeared him to the Pacific region. Equally memorable is the rare distinction he holds as the only Secretary-General in the seventy-one year history of the United Nations, who has ever visited the Pacific region twice during his term of office. That is no mean feat given the constraints of isolation and travel.

In September 2011, the Secretary-General attended the Summit meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders in New Zealand, visiting Solomon Islands and Kiribati along the way. There, he witnessed first-hand both the scars and excessive damage to the physical landscape and coastlines caused by climate change, as well as the resilience and sheer determination of Pacific peoples in the frontlines of climate change, to ensure survival and continued existence of some of the islands as sovereign nations.

Later in 2014, Samoas isolation and lack of political clout in the global arena, were bridged when Ban ki-moon including the whole U.N. Chief Executive Board, visited to attend the U.N. Conference on Small Island Developing States, hosted by Samoa on behalf of the Pacific region. On his arrival Ban ki-moon was welcomed as His Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations. A few days later on his departure, he was fondly farewelled as Afioga Tupua Ban ki-moon, after he was conferred the princely title of Tupua. Such events are now a memorable part of our history.

The close rapport between the Secretary-General and our region was further evidenced this morning when Pacific leaders met with him as part of our yearly meetings in New York, a much anticipated event which has become an annual feature of our September calendar.

Might I add, Mr. Secretary-General and Samoan chief; as the chapter in your life of service to multilateralism draws to a close, we thank you for your principled leadership and robust advocacy, for issues that affect and impact our islands and peoples personally and directly. We wish you well in your future calling and trust that your successor will embrace and continue your legacy, especially in the context of climate change, and the much anticipated Paris Agreement on the verge of entering into force any time now. Should you find that prospects are hard to come by; do remember that you have the Tupua dominion in Samoa.

Last year, we agreed on a number of global agendas, outcomes and agreements. They represent our hopes for solutions to address the issues before our Assembly ranging from sustainable development to climate change, from disaster risk resilience to development financing and from humanitarian challenges to peace and security. Collectively, they represent the totality of our needs and priorities including the means to achieve them. Every issue is important and all are interconnected. None should be considered as subservient to be marginalized, abandoned or sidelined. They deserve to be implemented in an all-inclusive approach to ensure that they will be addressed and treated equally. Only then can one say with some level of comfort, that in the implementation of our new sustainable agenda, no one will be left behind.

That is the backdrop and the reality against which the world is anxiously awaiting who will be your successor to navigate the UN during the critical implementation phase of our inspirational goals. This is a mammoth task, but not an impossible one.

The search for a new Secretary-General is gaining momentum and an appointment appears imminent. Yet in this all important process, Samoa, like others is largely a by-stander and an observer, not by choice, but by design. And like the majority of member states, Samoa hopes that the current practice will be reformed soon to give the wider membership an active role in selecting who the Head of their Organization should be.

And we can only hope for the institutionalization of best practice!

Samoa expects the new Secretary-General to be independent and not beholden to the priorities and influence of those who will sanction the appointment. The Secretary-General should treat each and every UN member state equally, and accord the same level of attention and priority to their issues and concerns alike, irrespective of their size, political influence or economic might.

We look forward to welcoming and working closely with the new Appointee. We are confident that new leadership will usher in a spring of hope that will provide a tailored and fit-for-purpose Secretariat for the challenging task at hand. Only in true partnership can member states and the Secretariat work concertedly to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 agenda.

Mr. President, We are greatly encouraged by the demonstrable commitment and political will to transform the Paris Agreement to reality and that it is poised to enter into force anytime soon.

This is a welcomed and positive development especially from the perspective of all island nations, given the extent and impacts of climate change already felt. And when cyclones and natural disasters are happening more frequently and with greater intensity in our part of the world, as witnessed recently in Vanuatu and Fiji, the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement remains everyones top priority. Why? Because as vulnerable small island developing states, we cannot afford to lose the hard earned gains of many years. We applaud the leadership shown by member states that have ratified, or had pledged to do so soon, so that the Paris Agreement can enter into force in record time.

The science of climate change is clear and unequivocal. The political will to accelerate the early operationalization of the Paris agreement is now evident. But signing and ratifying the climate agreement are the easy and early achievables. Delivering on promises and making good on commitments and undertakings pledged, are the seal of true leadership. We need to match the political will with the provision of adequate resources that are easily accessible, so that the climate pledges already submitted to the United Nations, can facilitate early implementation of all efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without delay.

The coordinated management and utilization of the Global Environmental Facility, the Adaptation Fund and the newly established Green Climate Fund as well as complementarity offered by other funding sources both private and public, will become all the more critical in the implementation phase. The challenge is out to the Green Climate Fund and other funding institutions, to assist Small island developing states access their resources, through a streamlined and simplified, project cycle and approval process.

Addressing climate change is everyones responsibility, not a monopoly reserved for governments only.

Last year, we boldly declared a shared commitment to stronger global efforts to ensure all people have a right to live in dignity, and are free from want and fear. The Sustainable development goals were not just visionary goals or mere aspirations. They are basic human needs achievable within our lifetime. And our optimism was rooted in a culture of shared responsibility and in the belief in humanity. Achieving the SDGs will not be easy without the support of our development partners. Sustainable development requires sustained effort and commitment. Partnerships with the donor community require mutual trust and understanding.

The 2030 agenda integrating the 3 pillars of sustainable development is not just a preferable option, it is the only option. Samoa volunteered to report on its implementation of the new global agenda during this years High Level Political Forum less than a year after the agenda was adopted. In offering to share its experience with the wider UN membership, Samoa was equally keen to benefit and learn from the experiences of the other 21 states that were reviewed.

The SAMOA Pathway is an integral part of our wider 2030 agenda. It represents a dedicated roadmap for SIDS transitioning from the MDGs to the SDGs and for the eventual achievement of the 17 new goals. Our new agenda highlights partnerships as an important part of Sustainable Development Goal 17  the Means of Implementation. With the SIDS Partnership Framework already launched, it is important that all SIDS, development partners and UN organizations are actively and constructively engaged and that the platform continues to be supported, monitored and reported on regularly.

Different partnerships modalities will be forged from time to time depending on SIDS priorities. They can be the traditional North-South, the emerging South-South, the well-tested triangular cooperation or even the novel SIDS-SIDS partnerships. Importantly, every partnership matters. And when you belong to the UN group with special challenges and vulnerabilities in the context of sustainable development, all options should be open for consideration.

The SIDS Partnerships Framework and the Steering Committee is the platform out of which new partnerships will emerge through its outreach initiatives and coordination to ensure that all partners involved, work together cooperatively and in a cohesive manner for the attainment of SIDS development needs.

Mr. President,

Oceans and seas have a fundamental role in contributing to global prosperity, from regulating climate to providing food security for billions of people and are an important source of employment and income for many communities globally. The sustainable management of oceans and seas is therefore critical for economic and social development, poverty eradication and in raising living standards worldwide.

Yet the health of the oceans is increasingly compromised by pressures; including overfishing, climate change, ocean acidification, habitat loss and pollution. As the health of the marine ecosystems declines, so too, does its capacity to provide food, livelihoods and incomes. These impacts disproportionately affect our island countries, the most vulnerable and least able to adapt. And if these trends continue, critical thresholds may soon be reached, with potentially dire consequences for our islands food security, incomes and livelihoods.

It was against the backdrop of mounting challenges and a sense of pessimism given the fragmentation of UN discussions on ocean issues, that Pacific SIDS championed the push for oceans to be a stand-alone goal in the new set of Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 14 is now the dedicated goal on oceans.

Last weeks 3rd conference on Our Oceans, Our Future hosted by the US Government under the leadership of Secretary of State John Kerry and the UN Oceans Conference in June 2017 are welcomed efforts at the global level to address some of these emerging concerns .

The start of the preparatory process to develop an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, on issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction, is a positive development in the right direction and one that the Pacific islands are participating in very actively.

Mr. President,

The world is a powerless witness to the tragedy of people fleeing from their countries, mired in the destruction of war and terrorism. Obviously, a credible and long-term response is needed to address this grave crisis that has cost so many innocent lives and affected so many people. Individual actions by States cannot in themselves provide a solution. We must all shoulder the responsibility to collectively meet the threat through concerted multilateral action, which underpins the spirit of the organization. Ideally, it must start in the Security Council entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining world peace. It is in that conviction that Samoa calls on the Security Council to address the threat posed by the recent action of North Korea on the peace, security and stability of the Asia and Pacific region, if not the whole world.

Imagine how easily achievable some, if not all of the 17 SDGs would be, if all the resources spent on the futility of wars were instead diverted for much needed economic and social activities, so necessary for the creation of a peaceful society. Our world has enjoyed peace and security for 70 years by faithfully observing and following the Charter of our organization. World leaders with the power and authority to end wars, have the moral duty and responsibility to ensure that our people continue to live in peace and harmony for many more years to come.

Mr. President,

The leaders in their reflective wisdom reaffirmed their faith in a strengthened and reformed United Nations as a vital multilateral institution; to respond effectively and ably to the challenges of the 21st century and to deliver on the millennium declaration.

Samoa supports an enlarged Security Council in both membership categories to reflect contemporary geo-political realities. The case for democratic practices and transparency in the Councils procedures and working methods, to facilitate a more engaged and effective relationship with the General Assembly, remains a compelling one. The Assembly on the other hand, must work hard to re-gain the confidence of the world in its status as the highest representative decision making body of the organization.

Let me now pay homage to the selfless work performed by the men and women in the blue helmets serving in various peacekeeping operations, some of who had paid the ultimate sacrifice. Samoa will continue to provide civilian policemen and women as its tangible contribution to this noble cause.

In closing, let us be reminded, that the strength of our organization lies in our numbers and our diverse membership. We must rise above the confines of national interests and work to benefit from the diverse richness of our membership.

Let us capitalize on our unity in diversity and set aside our differences, so that as nations united, we are the vanguard for the good of mankind. Thank you.
Samoa might soon have one more activity to offer to locals and visitors looking for a bit of fun and thrills.

Developer Wilhelm Schwalger has been working hard to bring Samoas first Fun Park to life at Aleisa. Phase 1 of the project will be complete with Quad bikes with fun tracks, romantic walking trails, comfortable fales, and a childrens adventure complex.

Mr. Schwalger said he was inspired to start the Aleisa Fun Park while living in Dubai.

When we were in Dubai, me and my wife paid to go into one of these parks, he said.

This park had everything and I told my missus, I want to do one like this in Samoa. Now after how many years, Im here starting something. Mr. Schwlager is a licensed builder who recently relocated from New Zealand and has already begun constructing a fence around the massive perimeter at Aleisa.

As the only financial contributor, Mr. Schwalger has been able to complete 40% of the project. The renovation, upkeep and purchase of equipment is costly. But he is now looking for investors, sponsors and government assistance to actualise his dream of bringing the first fun park to Samoa.

Im running out of money, he said. Thats why I mentioned (in the advertisement) investors and government help. They should help out because its good for the Samoan people.

Cheap for everyone. Rather than going overseas and spending thousands of dollars, they can come and spend the weekend there. He emphasizes the Park is for the Samoan people, especially for those who cant afford to travel elsewhere. I want something for the Samoan people. Those who cant afford to go overseas. Im just doing it for the Samoan people.

The intention of the project is to create an inexpensive outing for everyone to enjoy a nice outdoor adventure.

The park is projected to be open by May 2017 and can be used to host a variety of occasions: birthdays, company parties, church functions, etc.

For inquests or proposals please

contact: Willhem Schwalger at 7641057.

email: [email protected]

or [email protected]
Two brothers from the village of Vaitoloa had a rather sad weekend.

One they are likely to remember for the way they were treated  or rather mistreated - by Police officers on Saturday when they were taken to the Police station.

The eldest of the two boys, Masiano Tupua, 21, said they were treated like animals. It was harsh and inappropriate.

So what led to it?

We had a drink up at home with my cousins. We started to make a lot of noise so we moved to the back where the volleyball field is, Masiano said.

We continued drinking there and because we were too loud, someone called the Police. When the police arrived, they asked me to give them the bottle we were drinking and asked us to get inside the car.

So we were all walking towards the car, when my younger brother asked the police officer if he can just let go of his hands so he can give his phone and Bluetooth speaker to his wife. But the police officer wouldnt let go of his hands.

I was standing there looking at my younger brother trying to free his hands.

But the police officer punched my younger brother because he wouldnt stand still. So I jumped in and tried to stop him from what he was doing to my younger brother, but he turned around and punched me.

I held onto him because he was trying to punch me again, but then he pushed me down and he strangled me. He strangled me so hard and I felt like I was going to die. So I punched him to defend myself.

Masiano said there were three officers who arrived in a pick-up truck.

The other boys we were drinking with left the scene so it was just me and my younger brother. So I sat at the front with the three police officers but my younger brother was hand-cuffed at the back of the truck.

And as soon as they left the house and our place, they (police) started punching me and beating me up inside the car.

One of them held my hands and the other was punching me. I tried my best to cover my face and defend myself, but there were two of them and I couldnt move. I couldnt do anything so I was just sitting inside while they were beating me up, then I blacked out. I didnt know what happened after that.

Masiano said he remembered waking inside a Police cell without a shirt.

When I woke up, the Senior Police Officer questioned me and asked me if I knew who beat me up, and I said yes.

Because I remembered their faces but not their names. And one of them was sitting right next to the senior police officer. So I pointed my finger at him and he denied what I was saying.

He said they didnt lay a hand on me. I kept saying that it was them, but they said that it was my older brother who came and beat me up.

Then the senior police officer told me off for punching the police officer. I looked at him and he said something really bad to me.

He told me never to look at him again otherwise he will come and cut my head off with a machete. I didnt want to say anything after that because I was scared that they might give me a hiding again. So we were locked inside the cell until the register came the next day.

Eteuati Tupua, 18, is Maisianos younger brother. He was with Maisiano and they were both taken in by the police.

Eteuati said he was shocked by the treatment.

They were carrying him inside because he was unconscious, Eteuati said. When I went inside the cell, I saw that my older brother was lying inside the cell and his shirt was covered with blood from his ears and eye. One of them kicked him when he was inside the cell.

The two boys were both released on Sunday afternoon.

Today, the 21-year-old Masiano is still trying to get over the experience.

I know the way they treated us was inappropriate and unfair, Maisiano told the Samoa Observer.

If they came and asked us to go with them nicely without being violent, nothing wouldve happened. They treated us like animals and the language they used wasnt appropriate as well.

This has affected me so badly, both physically and mentally. I have been charged for punching the police officer but what I did was only to defend myself.

What I did to him is nothing compared to what he did to me.

Attempts to get a comment from the Police were unsuccessful.
The two Chinese men accused of stealing more than $10,000 from the Bank of the South Pacific through the Automated Teller Machine (A.T.M.) are seeking bail.

Zhong Shuiming and Yang Quigreen are represented by lawyer, Alex Sua.

In the Supreme Court yesterday, Mr. Sua said his clients are suffering insomnia at the Tafaigata cell where they are kept with 18 other prisoners.

They have been arrested and have remained in custody since 24th August, he said. There is also a condition of prohibition to use cell phones and they have not been able to contact their families. I seek an application for bail to be granted on condition that I will advise the Court on.

Mr. Sua also advised the Court that lawyer, Leota Raymond Schuster, will no longer be representing the defendants, but the prosecuting lawyer, Lucy Sio, of the National Prosecution Office, objected.

The offending involves an amount of money which is subjected to fraudulent activities and which is why I strongly oppose bail.

But Mr. Sua disagreed. He reminded the Court the defendants have had their Chinese passports and money ceased by the Police.

They are not high risk in terms of travelling, insisted Mr. Sua. I also havent received any charges of information but the defendants have presented to me an article in the Samoa Observer which reported the matter and the defendants strongly object to the allegations.

Chief Justice, His Honour Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu asked the lawyer to a written application for bail with supporting evidence by Monday, 3rd October 2016.

He also that the Prosecution finalise the charges by then. In the meantime, the defendants remain in custody.
Jane Pauley is back on the morning shift. Charles Osgood is handing the CBS Sunday Morning baton to the former Today co-host, who will be the new anchor of the news program.

The move was announced at the end of Osgoods final appearance as host of the program he took over 22 years ago. Pauley will be just the third anchor in the 37-year history of the program known for its soothing tone and literate storytelling. Osgood took over for Charles Kuralt, the programs first anchor, in 1994.

Osgood, 83, announced in August that he is retiring from CBS News after 50 years at the network, although he will still be heard on CBS Radio. The bow tie he wore on his last CBS Sunday Morning broadcast is being donated to the Smithsonians National Museum of American History.

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For Pauley, 64, CBS Sunday Morning will be her first regular anchor role on a news program since she left NBCs Dateline in 2003. She spent a year as the host of her own syndicated talk show in 2004 and did mostly specials and occasional segments on NBCs Today in the 10 years that followed.

Pauley joined CBS News in 2014 as a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning and became a frequent fill-in for Osgood. It has been widely anticipated that she would be his successor as permanent anchor. She will take over Oct. 9.

Jane Pauley is the ideal host for the most wide-ranging news program on American culture, our beloved CBS Sunday Morning broadcast, CBS News President David Rhodes said in a statement. Charles Osgood is a television news legend  and so is Jane Pauley.

Pauley has a long network TV track record that goes back to 1976 when she was a 24-year-old Midwestern local news anchor who succeeded Barbara Walters as the co-host of NBCs Today alongside Tom Brokaw. Teamed with Bryant Gumbel on Today in the 1980s, she became one of televisions most popular personalities. She left Today in 1989 and became co-anchor of Dateline in 1992.

Pauley had her three children during her run on Today, which raised the countrys awareness of women balancing motherhood with a career. She is married to Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau, whom she met through Brokaw.

Pauley is joining a franchise that has seen its ratings grow in recent year while the rest of the broadcast TV business has faced audience erosion. CBS Sunday Morning finished the 2015-16 season with an average of 5.92 million viewers, an increase of 1% from the previous year and its largest audience overall in at least 28 years according to Nielsen.

Follow me @MeredithBlake

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There are easier places to get into the water than the boulder-strewn cove tucked just south of Pacific Beach Point.

But this is playwright Mike Lews favorite surf break  and anyway, the idea of reaching the waves across a gauntlet of slippery rocks seems to speak to his contrarian streak.

Lew, a 1999 La Jolla High grad whose comedy Tiger Style! is now receiving its West Coast premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, didnt pick an easy path into theater either.

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The son of two doctors, Lew studied science diligently for his entire academic career up until college. But some chance exposure to the arts once he started at Yale University ignited a latent passion for plays and writing.

His theater career has slowly gained momentum since graduation, with a string of workshops and productions and some recent coverage in the New York Times. (Tiger Style! moves to Bostons Huntington Theatre after the La Jolla run.)

But Lew acknowledges that playwriting is a discipline that takes a lot of patience, and tests ones fear of failure.

This is my sort of dime-store philosophy, but I feel as though my career is a lot like surfing, Lew said, chatting between waves during a pre-rehearsal surf session on a recent morning. Because it takes so much effort to get out there  pushing through all this stuff that knocks you back.

And then the highs are so brief! Its like 20 seconds (of bliss)  but then theres also all this waiting.

Still, theres just something about being on the ocean and being within nature that really calms me down.

The suggestion of an interview in the surf was prompted by a chance remark Lew had made during an earlier chat at the Playhouse; he recalled how his parents had balked at his idea to come back and surf for the summer and figure out my job situation after college.

They insisted that if he were serious about playwriting, he should move to New York and begin pursuing it in earnest. And thats what he did.

(Lews father, Wilbur Lew, is a cardiologist with the VA Hospital San Diego and a professor of medicine at UC San Diego; his mother, Bertha Gee-Lew, is a pediatrician in private practice.)

Tiger Style! is partly a satire of the reactions to the 2011 Amy Chua book about strict tiger mom parenting, a phenomenon Lew feels has been widely misunderstood. (The play digs into a variety of stereotypes about Asian-Americans.)

Surfing, it turns out, has been part of the 34-year-old Lews life since his teen years. Some close friends lived near the bluff atop the Pacific Beach cove, and he learned the sport on a series of hand-me-down boards.

Lew now rides an 8-foot-6 board shaped by Bill Hamilton (father of the big-wave legend Laird Hamilton), and it shows the scars of many sessions at the spot.

These rocks down here, Im so klutzy  there are a million little dings, Lew said. (He took one slip during the odyssey to the water on this day, but managed to keep the board out of danger.)

The easygoing Lew isnt the flashy type in the water  he favors steady, razor-straight rides along the right-breaking waves that peel into the kelp-y shallows.

But any wave he gets here is one more than Lew has has had since moving to his present home of Brooklyn.

Its been hard, he said of the challenges to surfing posed by cold weather and iffy beach access (not to mention the fact Lew and his wife now have a 6-month-old son). So Ive tried to find any excuse to come back and surf here.

And having one of his plays produced in his own hometown for the first time ever proved to be about the best excuse imaginable.

A whole bunch of my high school teachers came and saw (the play), and Ive been reconnecting with friends and classmates, Lew said.

He added with a laugh: I just realized Ive never had a home game before!
Eisaku Sato, the prime minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 for his contributions to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons by announcing the three principles that prohibit his country from possessing, manufacturing or importing nuclear weapons.

But NHK revealed in 2010 that Sato sought the help of West Germany in 1969, a year after he announced the principles, to help Japan obtain nuclear weapons.

One former Japanese Foreign Ministry official who attended the meetings back then told NHK that Tokyo wished to "leave room" to allow Japan to have nuclear arms and "overturn" the conditions that had been placed on the country by others. After the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty went into effect in 1970, Japan began to build nuclear power plants on condition of peaceful use and soon became the worlds No. 3 in nuclear energy production after the U.S. and France.

But Tokyo's nuclear policy, which was spearheaded by proponents of military re-armament including former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, always kept in mind the possibility of nuclear armament. As a result, the economic and technological capacity to produce nuclear weapons remained a key policy for the country. Japan already has 30 tons of plutonium and could thus produce hundreds of nuclear weapons.

Following the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011, there have been increasing public demands to shut down the countrys nuclear power facilities. This has made it impossible for Tokyo to hide its policy of maintaining the capability to produce nuclear weapons.

Amid mounting calls for Japan to scrap its nuclear plants, Shigeru Ishiba, who once served as defense minister and is a ranking member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said publicly that Tokyo must not relinquish its ability to produce nuclear weapons within a year once it decides to do so, which constitutes its "suppressive" power.

In fact, 38 percent of LDP candidates who ran in last year's general elections and 77 percent of ultra-conservative candidates favor nuclear armament. A recent survey of Japanese university students shows that around half support it.

Japan's appetite for nuclear weapons, in spite of its painful history of having been on the receiving end of atomic bombs, has been stoked by North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Even South Koreans are starting to wonder whether their country should acquire nuclear weapons. A Gallup survey announced last Wednesday showed 64 percent of the public supporting the acquisition of nuclear weapons, with only 28 percent against.

Another survey by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and unveiled on the same day showed 66.5 percent of respondents supporting South Korea's development of nuclear weapons. With North Korea threatening South Korea with "final destruction," such developments in the South are hardly surprising. But some progressives here who have condoned North Korea's nuclear weapons program by saying it is for "self-defense" and intended to pressure the U.S., are now moving to quash any talk of nuclear armament in the South, condemning the idea as "anachronistic" and "populist."

Now they are saying that the U.S. nuclear umbrella makes it unnecessary for South Korea to acquire nuclear weapons. Since when did they place so much trust in the Seoul-Washington alliance?

At this point, it is important to keep such discussions alive. Public sentiments will be effective not only in dealing with North Korea but also in negotiations with China and the U.S. If public discussion here continues, Beijing will have to think about the risk of a nuclear domino effect that could influence Taiwan's defense posture, and Washington will have to listen closely to Seoul's needs and ensure the nuclear umbrella works.

South Koreans must have the courage to publicly discuss the prospect of the country acquiring nuclear weapons. This will give it the strength over the long term to suppress North Korea's and Japan's nuclear ambitions.

By Chung Kweon-hyun from the Chosun Ilbo's News Desk


Mel Brooks 2001 musical The Producers is a big, bawdy tribute to the glitz of old Broadway. So when a real-life producer takes the risk of staging this large-scale show, it requires creativity and a huge financial commitment.

On Saturday , San Diego Musical Theatre took that risk and opened The Producers at the Spreckels Theatre. While a few corners were cut in the design budget, the show still faithfully re-creates the performances, style and choreography of the Tony-winning original.

The Producers

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 2 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 9.

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Where: San Diego Musical Theatre at the Spreckels Theatre, 121 Broadway, downtown.

Tickets: $30-$70 (discounts available)

Phone: (858) 560-5740

Online: sdmt.org

Jamie Torcellini directs the production featuring 23 actors and a 20-member orchestra led by music director Don LeMaster. Choreographer Janet Renslow re-creates Susan Stromans iconic steps and Beth Connellys costumes (particularly the Springtime for Hitler showgirls) are whimsical and fun.

San Diego theater fans mostly know the show from its source material, a 1968 film, or the 2005 film that featured its Broadway stars, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Its also played here on a few tours and a community theater production or two.

Its the story of schlock theater producer Max Bialystock, who hatches a scheme with timid accountant Leo Bloom to produce a surefire Broadway bomb thatll close on opening night so they can pocket all the investors money. Unfortunately, their outrageous gay romp Springtime for Hitler becomes an unexpected smash.

Torcellinis cast is strong, particularly the personality-plus pro John Massey as Max. Bryan Banville is rubbery-faced and high-strung as Leo. And leggy bombshell Siri Hafso is endearing as their sexy Swedish secretary Ulla.

Russell Garrett steals the second act as Roger DeBris, the keep it gay director who hilariously steps in at the last minute as the prancing Hitler. Lance Carter surprises with his song and dance skills as Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind. And Luke Harvey Jacobs adds some sparkle as Rogers common-law assistant Carmen Ghia.

Torcellinis production sticks very close to the Broadway original, with a few new ad-libs and comic stage bits. Except for some microphone problems on opening night, it runs smooth and swift and is very funny.

The obvious budget trim here is in scenic design. Christopher Murrillos sets fit the bill but look flimsy. Rogers apartment has a door too small for Carmens big exit, the theater marquee in the final scene shouldve been changed, and the big second-act reveal of Maxs newly renovated office disappoints.

The highlight of Springtime for Hitler is a revolving swastika kick-line that usually involves a giant mirror and life-size puppets. Torcellinis innovative Chicago fan dance-inspired alternative is a smart, funny and cost-conscious alternative.

San Diego Musical Theatre always delivers a good show. And although a corner has been cut here and there with this production, its a solid crowd-pleaser that does the Mel Brooks original proud.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com. Twitter: @pamkragen
When Christine Garcia, who was named Christopher at birth, decided to come out as a woman, it was bittersweet. She felt happiness was finally in reach, but she was sure her career as a San Diego police officer was over.

Transgender women couldnt be cops, she thought.

But her dedication to the profession gave her the strength to reveal herself to her peers. Their response shocked her: complete acceptance.

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On Saturday, more than a year after her transition, Garcia was awarded for taking her story public and using it to empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community  especially its youth.

I want to show them that you can be anything you want to be, said Garcia, who is San Diegos only transgender officer. Im living proof of that.

Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity doesnt match the gender they were assigned at birth.

Garcias accolade was presented by the San Diego Ambassadors of The Trevor Project, a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people.

Josh Coyne, co-chair of the San Diego group, said Garcia has been a dedicated volunteer who is always willing to stop by an event or field late night phone calls.

Her story really shows the power of acceptance and support, he said.

Garcia always knew she was different. As a child she preferred feminine outfits. She continued dressing into adulthood, often spending her days off in womens clothing, complete with a wig and makeup. Its how she felt comfortable.

For years, publicly coming out as a woman seemed impossible, she said. So she tried to embody what she viewed as typical, heterosexual male behavior. She married a woman, had two kids and became a police officer.

At the age of 31, it all caught up with me, she said. I couldnt go on living that way anymore. It was either give everything up and quit my job and become who I knew I needed to become, or unhappiness.

She sought therapy to help her stop dressing as a woman. The result was quite the opposite.

I was really ashamed of who I was, she said. Therapy actually helped me embrace who I was, love who I was, not be ashamed of who I was.

She told her wife, who was and is supportive, and her friends. Garcia eventually accepted the idea of leaving her job, despite the fact she loved it and was good at it.

I didnt know any other transgender police officers, she said. I thought you couldnt be transgender and be a cop.

While doing some research, she discovered the Transgender Community of Police and Sheriffs International, or TCOPS. It is a peer support, education, and advocacy organization for transgender or gender questioning law officers.

Julie Callahan, president of the group, said its estimated there are more than 3,000 retired and active-duty transgender officers worldwide.

I got to see Im not the only one out there, Garcia said. There are others, just like me, whove done it. Whove transitioned on duty. I decided I needed to try.

She moved cautiously at first, telling only a close friend, who was also the departments LGBT liaison, and a member of the community himself. Sgt. Daniel Meyer said hed never been approached by an officer who identified as transgender, so he wasnt sure what the path forward would look like.

All I knew was, I wanted to make sure we were taking care of Christine and upholding our obligation to ensure she was in a safe work environment and that she was happy, he said. I had no plan, but we created one together.

The two talked with police Chief Shelley Zimmerman and the citys human resource department. Everyone was behind her, but that didnt make the next step any easier  coming out to her peers.

I thought, maybe Ill lose respect from 50 percent of the department, she said. But Im a good cop. I hoped if I could show them that Im still a good cop, that only my appearance has changed, that I could change their perception.

She chose to transition publicly. She didnt want a desk job. She wanted to be in the field, in uniform, with the officers she loved to work with.

When that day came, she received nothing but acceptance, she said. She made herself available to officers who had questions, even personal ones, in the hopes that it would help them better understand what being transgender means.

Her transition hasnt been devoid of struggle. Shes had ugly encounters with community members. Despite this, its been an amazing journey, she said.

And the best part is I can come to work as a police officer, something Ive always loved to do, and be who am. Truly be who I am, she said.

Garcia, a San Diego native, is a traffic investigator, a job she calls one of the best assignments in the department. She spends much of her free time with her wife and young daughter and son.

Her wife has been loving and accepting, Garcia said. When both people in a relationship are truly happy, it breeds more happiness. And were both happy.

When she isnt with her family, she is working to better her community, especially for her LGBTQ siblings.

Surveys show about 5 percent of the overall U.S. population has attempted suicide at some point. That climbs to between 10 percent and 20 percent for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. For members of the transgender and gender non-conforming community, it skyrockets to 41 percent.

When we look at the stories of these young people who commit suicide, a lot of them dont come from strong, supportive backgrounds, Garcia said. My story is different. I had so much support and I cant stress enough how important that is.

Callahan, president of TCOPS, agreed that Garcias story is atypical, especially for members of law enforcement. Transitioning on the job is easier than it was 15 years ago, but many transgender employees arent readily accepted by their peers.

We think progress has been made and that it continues to be needed, she said. There is much work to do.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546
Donald Trumps economic team put out a report Monday defending his trade policies, days after a Washington think tank calculated that his trade policies would cost 4.7 million jobs across the nation.

Peter Navarro, a University of California Irvine business professor and former San Diego mayoral candidate, wrote the report, which justifies Trumps plans to rein in U.S. trade deficits.

In the white paper, Trumps team argues that the current global trade system puts the U.S. at a disadvantage by moving jobs overseas and reducing American manufacturing.

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Critics have attacked Trump as an isolationist and a protectionist who will start a trade war, Navarros report said. These attacks reveal a more fundamental lack of understanding of the role trade deficits have played in constraining U.S. economic growth.

The Peterson Institute for International Economies put out its report earlier this month, estimating job losses should Trump be elected and spark a trade war. San Diego would take a major economic hit if Donald Trump is elected, the report suggested, by undermining area businesses that make deals overseas.

The Republican nominee has promised tariffs on imported goods as a fix to U.S. trade imbalances.

Trump and Democrat Hillary Clintons differences echo broader sentiments on trade. The left argues for increased globalization and trade among countries, with regulations designed to establish the rights of workers and prevent corporate malfeasance. The right argues for further deregulation of industry, and a scaling back of global trade, so economic resources are focused domestically.

Make no mistake, the proposed trade policies of both Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump, the 2016 Democratic and Republican Party candidates for president, would deeply harm the American economy. Furthermore, they would primarily hurt average American households on modest incomes, and especially many of the individuals and communities that were already hard hit by the crisis, Adam Posen, the think tank president, wrote in the preface.

San Diego could lose 5.4 percent of its jobs, which ranks it as the 8th most harmed county, in the groups worst-case scenario. Highly populated areas along the East Coast, as well as most of Californias major cities, would lose at least 4 percent of jobs.

Pulling out of trade agreements, as Trump has suggested multiple times, would result in the large job losses, the report says. The paper posits several possible scenarios under Trump.

A full trade war: The U.S. imposes a tariff of 45 percent on non-oil imports from China and a 35 percent non-oil import tariff on Mexico. Both countries respond in the same way.

An asymmetric trade war: Rather than simply placing a broad tariff, China retaliates by taxing certain U.S. goods and services. NAFTA is dissolved, so Mexican tariffs increase.

An aborted trade war: Trump is stopped by Congress, or some other entity, or China and Mexico agree to the demands. U.S. tariffs exist for only one year, causing short-term disarray.

In all of these scenarios, the U.S. gross domestic product takes a hit, and takes several years to recover. Either way, radical shifts in trade policy would have a dramatic impact on the domestic economy, particularly in areas that are tied to other nations.

The paper also lays out economic damage that could be done by Clintons opposition to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, although the scenarios and the impacts are less specific.

Clintons plan trade policies would essentially continue the economic status quo, therefore creating a much less dramatic analysis, the paper found.

The Navarro paper released Monday for the Trump campaign said currency manipulation by other nations is a big part of the trade picture.

Donald Trump has promised to use his Treasury Department to brand any country than manipulates its currency a currency manipulator, the report said. This will allow the U.S. to impose defensive and countervailing tariffs if the currency manipulation does not cease. As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton neither said nor did anything about this issue.

UPDATES:

4:49 p.m. This article was updated to reflect the Trump team response to the Peterson report.
A Vista mother sued Rady Childrens Hospital in federal court Monday, alleging its workers broke the law when they repeatedly addressed her 14-year-old transgender son, Kyler Prescott, as a girl.

Katharine Prescott said Kyler was extremely distressed after being treated as a female patient, causing his psychiatrist to request that he be released only 24 hours into a 72-hour suicide hold at the hospital.

The teen committed suicide on May 18, 2015  41 days after his discharge. The death received international attention after it was featured on the inaugural episode of I Am Cait, the documentary television series that chronicled the life of Caitlyn Jenner after the gold-medal-winning decathletes gender transition.

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Prescotts suit does not claim that Rady Childrens caused her sons death, but it does accuse the regions only childrens hospital of misrepresenting the capabilities of its Gender Management Clinic. Promises of sensitivity to transgender issues were not honored, Prescott said.

I dont call it malicious. I think its a complete lack of understanding and training. If you say you are trained to take care of transgender youths, you need to be able to do that. And if youre unable to, it may have dire consequences, Prescott said.

She seeks unspecified damages from the hospital.

Rady Childrens released a brief statement after the lawsuit was filed: At Rady Childrens Hospital San Diego, our top priority is providing the absolute highest level of care to our patients and families. While it is the policy of Rady Childrens not to comment on pending legal matters, any allegations of wrongdoing, including discrimination, are investigated thoroughly and followed up on.

The series of events in 2015 that led to the lawsuit were preceded by several years of adjustment for the Prescott family.

According to the lawsuit, Kyler began identifying himself as a boy at age 10, choosing more masculine clothing, expressing a desire to become more muscular and beginning to socialize almost exclusively with other boys.

At 12, he began engaging in self-harming behaviors, and then declared that he was a boy the next year. The onset of puberty brought increasing distress, and therapy was followed with hormone treatment in 2014 to delay pubertys effects.

The suit said Kyler was bullied and harassed about his gender identity by his peers and teachers. This discrimination, Prescott said, made her son extremely sensitive to being address with the wrong pronouns.

She said when the staff at Rady Childrens Hospital began treating her son as a girl, she objected over and over, escalating the matter to the charge nurse responsible for the ward where Kyle was admitted.

Instead of handling the complaint, the charge nurse blocked my number so I was not able to call in to the floor, Prescott said.

Kathy Moehlig, executive director of the San Diego-based group TransFamily Support Services, said there is a general sense among the 150 or so families that have worked with her organization in the past few years that health care encounters will be difficult.

Everyone needs to be educated to understand something thats new to them. If you are working with youths in any capacity, its your responsibility to understand gender variance, she said.

paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1850
Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican stalwart and government watchdog, admits like so many others that 2016 is not a typical election year.

The Vista congressman who rose to national recognition as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee has cruised to re-election seven times, but this fall hes back in his suburban San Diego County district in a fight to get voters to elect him to a ninth term in the House.

For a congressman who has easily won a new term ever since he entered office, this is a different race.

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I havent had a yard sign in 16 years. And you know, there are people that are calling and getting yard signs. And were going to try and run a more conventional campaign, he said in a recent interview with the Union-Tribune editorial board and reporters. Why does Darrell Issa deserve another two years to try to accomplish things in Washington?

Issa is spending more time in the district, shaking hands, hosting town hall meetings and touring businesses.

Ive talked to Darrell more in the last month than I have in the last 10 years, said Oceanside Councilman Jerry Kern, a Republican. Darrell is highly engaged in the district stuff... For the most part, Darrell was engaged on the national stage, but now hes rolling up his sleeves and getting into the down-home politics.

Much of the credit or blame for Issas situation goes to Doug Applegate. A retired Marine colonel turned trial-lawyer, the Democratic challenger surprised both major parties when he finished with 45.5 percent of the vote in the June primary to the incumbents 50.8 percent. Ryan Wingo, a liberal independent candidate received 3.7 percent. Applegate was outspent by 16 to 1, and came into the contest with no political experience on his resume or much name recognition.

Kern as well as Francine Busby, the head of county Democratic Party, said that Applegates strength in the primary might the result of the presidential election dynamic. When polls opened, it was already clear that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee, while there was still a contested race between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic contest, giving Democrats the greater incentive to vote.

In many ways, Applegate is like other opponents Issa has handily defeated. He entered the race with little name recognition or money and a party registration disadvantage. Democrats represent 31.3 percent of the districts voters with Republicans at 39.5 percent and another 24.3 percent do not belong to a political party. While its a solidly red district, its also the smallest GOP advantage Issa has ever had since entering office.

Well, I might have the toughest circumstances, Issa said of this years election.

But Issas record in office and political decisions make this year different, Busby said. A part of what sets this election apart is Issas support for Trump, a candidate that Democratic polling shows is unpopular. Another component, she said, is Issas efforts to investigate the Obama administration.

I think that nationally, the fact that Issa led these witchhunt hearings, with the IRS, the Fast and Furious with the attorney general, Hillary Clinton and Benghazi, Sandra Fluke and reproductive rights, hes paying a price for going to war on people and issues and spending taxpayer money and vilifying innocent people, Busby said.

She said Issa is disliked intensely by Democrats across the country. They dont even know who (Applegate) is. Theyre anti-Issa, she added.

But Applegate might not be a good fit for the district, and is seeking impose liberal San Francisco values on North County voters, county Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric said.

Issa said his image as a Republican attack dog who never tires of taking on the Obama administration was off the mark, saying he was just as aggressive with President George W. Bush. Issa said his committee was critical of the dysfunction of the federal Minerals Management Service under Bush after the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the $700 billion bank bailout initiative known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Ive always been willing to take on my own party or the other party, Issa told the Los Angeles Times. Congress is not supposed to be a lapdog for the administration.

Issa has built his political career on national issues, both through legislation as well as from his influence on the Oversight Committee. In an August interview he said he entered office in 2001 with plans for patent and immigration reforms.

He points out that researchers have ranked him one of the most effective lawmakers in the House; professors at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University say hes the second-most effective Republican in the chamber.

But his most recent efforts have been more parochial. With less than two months before the general election, Issa is adding a piece of home to his profile. Since the primary he has toured an Oceanside gas station convenience store to get first-hand knowledge of concerns facing those small businesses. He even manned the the cash register for a spell.

He toured two Marine Corps installations with two Southern California Democrats and an Ohio Republican House member and made a rare appearance before local press in the process.

Earlier this year he introduced legislation that would make it tougher for companies to hire some of their employees through H-1B visas. Its a bill he introduced after Southern California Edison fired 400 workers last year and replaced them through consulting companies that relied heavily on the visas to build their workforce while paying wages lower than what American workers typically earn.

He toured three start-ups in his district, including a brewery.

Hes held town hall meetings on so-called sober living homes that have popped up in Orange and San Diego counties, and on Tuesday he introduced legislation that would change federal law to let state and local governments address these residences. In a matter of days it earned the support of the San Clemente City Council.

The bill weve introduced today will permit state and local governments to implement reasonable oversight of sober living facilities and ensure that those who need help are able to get it in a safe, secure environment, he said in a statement.

But Issa cautioned that he doesnt consider it a congressmans job to deal with all granular local issues.

When I ran for office, it was about a 15-way race, but I had one major opponent  a state senator. I made a lot to do about the fact that you dont hire a congressman to be your pothole fixer. And I still stick by that, he said in an interview.

Applegate says hes going to pay more attention to the issues in the district, and its industries and institutions.

I dont think anybody has been honest about what the real problems are in the district, he said. ...And somebody thats been there 16 years, should have gotten something done other than a hearing on Benghazi, the Cincinnati IRS, Fast and Furious and a short special committee and house oversight over womens reproductive health rights... where four or five clerics of different religions came to testify. And a woman was denied that opportunity to testify.

Applegate recently had to respond to news reports that he was accused of harassing, stalking and threatening his former wife. The Democrat blamed Republicans for what he called dirty politics.

About 75 percent of the 49th District is in San Diego County and includes includes Oceanside, Carlsbad, Del Mar, along with San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.

The general election results will likely determine if Issa maintains his newfound focus on the district, Oceanside Councilman Kern said. If its a close race, hell keep his election-season strategy, but will likely return to the national stage if he wins in a landslide.

Kern said he appreciates Issas focus on the district.

When you have a little competition it makes you sharper, Kern he said.

Phil Willon of the California News Group, publisher of the Union-Tribune and L.A. Times, contributed to this report.

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Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
Proposition 30  the successful November 2012 ballot measure authorizing temporary increases in the sales taxes paid by everyone and on the income taxes paid by the very wealthy  was sold to California voters with a cynical tactic. Lawmakers passed a state budget that would only pencil out if the tax hikes were approved. If Proposition 30 failed, there would be a $6 billion hole in the budget. Voters were told this would mean cuts of up to 14 days in the school year. Shades of the 1973 National Lampoon cover showing a dog with a gun to its head and this title: If You Dont Buy This Magazine, Well Kill This Dog.

Now, in the same cynical spirit, the same unions behind Proposition 30 are pushing Proposition 55. It would allow the temporary sales tax hike to end on Dec. 31, as originally scheduled, but would push back the expiration of the higher tax rates on the very wealthy from the end of 2018 to the end of 2030.

There are two obvious reasons to reject this measure. The first is that approving it would amount to not just tolerating but rewarding deceit. A temporary tax hike is one that ends. As columnist George Skelton noted in The Los Angeles Times, Proposition 55 feeds cynicism and distrust of government. The second is that the state was in horrible fiscal straits in 2012. Now revenues are so healthy that money is regularly diverted into the states rainy day fund, and, just this past June, lawmakers agreed to Gov. Jerry Browns proposal to put an extra $2 billion in the fund. The state should be able to manage financially without extending big tax hikes on entrepreneurs and small-business owners who could put up with heavy taxes for four years but might well flee if they felt permanent.

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RELATED OP-EDS

Yes on 55: San Diego students would benefit from passage of Prop. 55

No on 55: Prop. 55 a broken promise that inflicts damage on economy

Perhaps the strongest reason to oppose Proposition 55 is that it amounts to accepting a Sacramento status quo that deserves demolition, not acceptance. Consider that the biggest beneficiary of the tax hikes by far is the California public schools system, which under Proposition 98 gets the most of state revenue. The evidence is endless in Sacramento that the interests of the veteran teachers in the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers are valued far more than the interests of students  especially minority students in the poorest communities.

It is close to impossible to dismiss a teacher in California because of job protections so extreme that a Los Angeles teacher who taunted a junior-high student over a failed suicide attempt couldnt be fired. State laws have the effect of funneling the least-effective teachers to the struggling schools that need the best teachers. A study released in 2013 found 16 percent of teachers at low-performing California schools werent even trained in the subject they were teaching, far higher than in better-off schools.

This is a civil rights issue, not just an education issue. Its why the American Civil Liberties Union and its allies have sued or threatened lawsuits for years to protect the rights of minority students, especially in the Los Angeles Unified School District, home to by far the most powerful local teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

This persistent problem is why any broad tax hike brought to voters must be paired with reforms that fix the imbalance of power in Sacramento and school districts across California. Voters will be told over and over again in coming weeks that voting for Proposition 55 is voting for the children. Wrong. Voting for Proposition 55 is supporting a status quo that neglects our neediest students.

Vote for them. Vote no on Proposition 55.
Children and youngsters feel most depressed in April, when the new semester begins, analysis suggests.

Analysis of posts by youngsters on social media suggests that they start feeling the blues most keenly in April, but it then tapers off until August and September and, counterintuitively, decreases in November, said Song Tae-min of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

Youngsters are most depressed between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., and between Monday and Wednesday.

The findings are based on 161,581 posts by youngsters on 215 online channels, including news websites, bulletin boards and blogs from 2012 to 2014.

He analyzed the data based on "opining mining" which sifts vocabulary and found that overall there were more expressions of negative emotions (25.9 percent) than positive ones (15.5 percent).

"The online posts of youngsters can be more revealing than face-to-face interviews because they dont feel they have to pretend," Song said.
His rival, Welsh lawmaker Owen Smith, won 38 percent of the vote. The result was announced at the party's conference in Liverpool, northwest England.

A 67-year-old socialist, Corbyn won almost 62 percent of the more than 500,000 votes cast, increasing the support base that gave him a victory last year with 59.5 percent.

In his acceptance speech to a standing ovation from delegates, Corbyn stressed the need for party unity.

"Elections are passionate and often partisan affairs, and things are sometimes said in the heat of the debate on all sides which we sometimes later come to regret," he said. "But always remember in our party, we have much more in common than that which divides us. As far as I'm concerned, let's wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we've got to do as a party together."

Corbyn was elected last year to lead Labor, which governed between 1997 and 2010 but has lost two successive general elections to the Conservatives. He had been a backbench lawmaker for a long time.

Corbyn now has strong support among local party activists, and tens of thousands of new members, many of them young and enthusiastic, joined the Labor Party since he assumed the chairmanship.

Corbyn draws big crowds at rallies and meetings, and his supporters are very active and effective on social media.
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Think this years presidential campaign has been crass, coarse, and contentious? Campaigns in America have often been rough, with name-calling taking precedence over, and frequently obscuring, the issues of the day.

Fatso!

1796: John Adams (Federalist) vs. Thomas Jefferson (Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: Americas foreign policy toward England and France.

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Low Blow: The Philadelphia Aurora, which backed Jefferson, referred to the stout Adams as His Rotundity. Another pro-Jefferson rag in Boston warned that Adams would support hereditary succession and appoint his son, John Quincy Adams, to be the next president.

Retort: Federalist papers warned that Jeffersons followers were cut-throats who walk in rags and sleep amidst filth and vermin. Jefferson was also accused of cheating his creditors and robbing a widow of her estate.

Victor: Adams

Girly man!

1800 (Rematch): John Adams (Federalist) vs. Thomas Jefferson (Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: Whether power should be centralized under the federal government (Adams) or held by the states (Jefferson).

Low Blow: Jefferson hired scandalmonger-journalist James Callender to produce a pamphlet that referred to Adams as a hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.

Retort: Citing Jeffersons early admiration for the French Revolution, a Federalist editorial asked, Are you prepared to see your dwellings in flames, hoary hairs bathed in blood, female chastity violated, or children writhing on the pike and halberd?

Victor: Jefferson

Footnote: Unlike todays anything-goes political atmosphere, criticism of the administration was prohibited under the 1798 Sedition Act, and Callender was jailed.

Adulterer!

1828: Andrew Jackson (Democrat-Republican) vs. John Quincy Adams (National-Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: Free trade. Adams favored a high tariff to discourage imports; Jackson favored free trade and lower import duties.

Low Blow: Adams supporters called Jackson a brawler, gambler, drunk, thief, and adulterer. This last claim proved particularly harmful. Jackson had married his wife before her divorce was official, so there was some truth to the rumor in a technical sense. The shame caused by the attacks on Mrs. Jacksons character undermined her health and led to her premature death from a heart attack shortly after Jacksons victory.

Retort: Jackson supporters called President Adams anti-religious, using as proof the fact that he traveled on Sunday. They also accused him of living in the White House in kingly pomp and splendor, and using public funds to buy gaming tables and gambling furniture; actually, he had simply bought a chessboard and a pool table.

Victor: Jackson

Drunkard!

1844: James K. Polk (Democrat) vs. Henry Clay (Whig)

Real Issue of the Day: Annexation of Texas and Oregon  Polk favored it, Clay waffled.

Low Blow: Democrats said Clay was a drunkard, addicted to gambling and prostitutes, and a slave trader to boot.

Retort: Polk had a reputation for being so dull as to be incapable of immoral behavior. So the Whigs circulated a story that Polk, like Clay a slave owner, inhumanely branded his initials J.K.P. into slaves shoulders. (Not true, by the way.)

Victor: Polk

Coward!

1852: Franklin Pierce (Democrat) vs. Winfield Scott (Whig)

Real Issue of The Day: The controversial Compromise of 1850, which strengthened slave owners rights. Both parties supported it, but the Whigs less enthusiastically.

Low Blow: The Whigs called Pierce the Fainting General because he once passed out on the battlefield during the Mexican War. In fact, the fainting spell came about not from cowardice but because Pierce was suffering from an injury to his knee sustained the previous day.

Retort: Democrats made fun of Scotts pompous nature, invoking his nickname, Old Fuss and Feathers.

Victor: Pierce

Bastard!

1856: James Buchanan (Democrat) vs. John C. Fremont (Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: Slavery. Democrats sought to maintain the status quo; the new Republican party was strongly against slavery.

Low Blow: Democrats played up the fact that Fremont was born out of wedlock and that he opposed slavery. Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise declared hed march an army into Washington and overthrow the government if Fremont was elected.

Retort: Republicans claimed Buchanans age and bachelorhood made him unfit for the presidency, and they called him Ten-Cent Jimmy because he once said that 10 cents a day was a fair wage for manual workers. They also claimed Buchanans custom of tilting his head  the effect of palsy, it is now believed  was the result of an attempt to hang himself.

Victor: Buchanan

Ape!

1864: Abraham Lincoln (Republican) vs. George McClellan (Democrat)

Real Issue of the Day: How to end the Civil War. Republicans sought nothing less than a full military victory over the Confederacy. Democrats wanted to negotiate peace and end the war.

Low Blow: Democrats threw everything they could think of at Lincoln, calling him a buffoon, ape, idiot, tyrant, a teller of dirty jokes, and, for good measure, an incompetent commander-in-chief. Democratic supporters published a pamphlet falsely claiming Lincoln was encouraging Irish immigrants, then viewed as the lowest-of-the-low white citizens, to marry former slaves.

Retort: Republicans publicized McClellans repeated, costly failures as commander of the Union army. They also argued that voting against Lincoln was an act of disloyalty.

Victor: Lincoln

Traitor!

1872: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) vs. Horace Greeley (Democrat)

Real Issue of the Day: Reconstruction. Greeleys party wanted to end Reconstruction  essentially withdrawing Federal troops from the South. A secondary issue was civil service

reform, with Greeley, a newspaper editor, calling for an end to the spoils system of handing out government jobs as political favors.

Low Blow: Republican artist Thomas Nast portrayed Greeley as a traitor in a series of bitter cartoons. In one, he shows Greeley shaking hands with the ghost of John Wilkes Booth over Lincolns grave. In another, Greeley is handing over a black man to the Ku Klux Klan, which has just murdered a black mother and her child.

Retort: Democrats called Grant a dictator and drunkard and produced a booklet calling the Grant administration a crowning point of governmental wickedness  bribery and corruption have seized all the avenues of public life; robbery, murder and assassination are of daily occurrence, and guilty perpetrators escape through the solemn mockery of law.

Victor: Grant

Footnote: Worn down by the stress of the campaign, Greeleys health gave out. He was dead before all the electoral votes were counted.

Lecher!

1884: Grover Cleveland (Democrat) vs. James G. Blaine (Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: Charges of corruption in the Republican party, which had held the White House for 24 years and had sponsored a tariff that favored business interests.

Low Blow: Republicans publicized the fact that Cleveland had been paying child support to a widow, branding him lecherous and a debaucher. At rallies, Republicans would chant, Ma! Ma! Wheres my pa?

Retort: Democrats obtained a letter from Blaine to an attorney for one of the railroads that alluded to improper business dealings. The letter closed with the admonition, Burn this letter! which became a rallying cry for the Democrats.

Victor: Cleveland

Empty Suit!

1948: Harry S. Truman (Democrat) vs. Thomas Dewey (Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: The spread of communism and, at home, civil rights.

Low Blow: Behind in the polls, Truman felt he had nothing to lose by going on the attack. He ridiculed Dewey for being no more than a puppet of the Republican party and a stooge for corporate interests. He charged that Wall Street Republicans were not satisfied with being rich  [these] gluttons of privilege  want an administration that will assure privilege for big business, regardless of what may happen to the rest of the nation.

Retort: Dewey, in trying to maintain his lead, never attacked Truman directly. But J. Edgar Hoover ordered his agents to dig up dirt on Truman. He found ties to a corrupt Missouri politician and suspicions of communists in the administration, but it wasnt enough to damage Trumans appeal.

Victor: Truman

Warmonger!

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat) vs. Barry Goldwater (Republican)

Real Issue of the Day: The Cold War.

Low Blow: Democrats portrayed Goldwater as dangerous, impulsive, and reactionary  a president who might very well start World War III. All they had to do was cite his public statements, including this one: Id drop a low-yield atomic bomb on the Chinese supply lines in North Vietnam. The famous daisy ad that forever tarred Goldwater as a potential instigator of WWIII never mentioned the senator by name, but simply portrayed a small girl in a field, plucking the petals off a daisy, and then zoomed in to an image of a mushroom cloud. Vote for President Johnson on November 3, the ad urged viewers. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.

Retort: Goldwaters followers promoted a book titled A Texan Looks at Lyndon, which accused the president of involvement in the murder of men who could testify against his business associates. Goldwater himself inferred in his speeches that Johnson was a crook: To Lyndon Johnson, running a country means buying and bludgeoning votes.  It means building a private fortune.  It means craving and grasping for power  more and more and more, without end.

Victor: Johnson
Huntsville, AL -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/26/2016 -- One of the largest privately owned group chiropractic practices in Alabama, Millar Chiropractic Clinics recently announced that Dr Justin Walbom DC was promoted to Sr Vice President and CCD - Chief Clinic Director of the clinics. The higher management has full faith in Dr. Walbom's capability to take the group forward to new heights of success by providing personalized chiropractic care to patients.



Dr. Walbom has over a decade of experience; he is also fulfilling the role of the Senior Millar Chiropractor at the Millar Chiropractic - Madison AL clinic. As a Madison AL Chiropractor, Dr. Walbom said "In today's world of chiropractic a doctor must have full command of several chiropractic techniques as the body is not one size fits all." He went on to say, "By having mastery of several techniques the doctor of chiropractic can choose the technique that best suites the patient's problem offering rapid relief and resolution of the patient's problem."



As a Madison AL Chiropractor, Dr. Walbom understands the clinic was established by Dr. Greg Millar, Chiropractic Physician, in 1998 to ensure that specialized chiropractic care is readily available to meet the unique needs of the residents of Madison Alabama. The local community comprises of a wide patient population from NASA engineers to housewives. Every community has its challenges and opportunities, stated Dr. Walbom. Millar Chiropractic Clinics are a diverse company with clinics across North Alabama that has assisted people from all walks of life in regaining their health and well-being back. As good neighbors to the varied local communities for 18+ years, the company is always looking for ways to improve the quality of care they provide, the appointment of Dr. Walbom is great step towards the brighter and healthier future of the company and the community it serves.



The company realizes that the residents of may face a challenge when selecting a Madison AL chiropractor because Madison like many communities has many practicing chiropractors. The experts suggest that the right selection can be made by evaluating online reviews, local reputation and referrals from family and friends. The Millar Chiropractic Clinics is considered to be among the best because it has State of the Art equipment and a friendly caring staff.



About Millar Chiropractic Clinics

Millar Chiropractic Clinics are a complete group of chiropractic practices committed to the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.



For more information, please visit the Millar Chiropractic Clinics website: http://millarchiro.com/millarchiropractic-madisonal-chiropractor.html



Media Contact:

Dr Greg Millar DC CCEP

Millar Chiropractic Clinics

PO Box 21157

Huntsville Alabama 35813

256-519-3550

800-460-4476

http://www.millarchiro.com

For questions please contact: info@millarchiropractic.com
Derby, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/26/2016 -- From 9th May  10th May 2017 The Worlds Farmers' Programme will be hosted at the Jaabeurs Expo Centre in the Netherlands, and this is something which many farmers throughout Europe are incredibly excited about. The programme is designed to give farmers of all kinds' access to technology and expertise to improve agricultural productivity, boost investments and reduce post-harvest losses. This is not only a unique opportunity to learn more about the industry and how things are going to change going forward, but also a chance for farmers to meet likeminded people and start to build fantastic relationships.



Promoting learning and interaction amongst farmers and the developing and developed world, the programme is set to intrigue the younger generation and people of all ages  allowing all to discover the latest and upcoming innovations within the industry whilst opening up great investment opportunities for many. It is here that farmers from all over the world will gather to share their backgrounds and knowledge, and they will be able to compare how things are done differently around the world, and also, how things are done similarly.



A spokesperson from UK hydroponics store Tropicanna Horticulture was keen to comment saying, "It is great to see that this programme is coming to Europe and we believe that it is most definitely going to be a huge success. Not only will it be great for UK farmers to meet other people within the industry and start to build highly beneficial relationships but also will assist in combatting something incredibly important  worldwide hunger. Almost 800 million people in the world still suffer from hunger and malnourishment, and through farming, this number can be decreased significantly."



About Tropicanna Horticulture

Tropicanna Horticulture is the UK's quickest growing online hydroponics store, offering a wide range of high-quality hydroponics kits and equipment at great, competitive prices. Well known throughout the industry for providing the very best products, whatever it is that you are looking for, if it is hydroponics related, they will definitely be able to assist you."



PR Contact



Company name: Tropicanna Horticulture Ltd

Contact name: Mike Stimpson

Tel: 01332 348787

Email: info@tropicannahorticulture.com

Website: www.tropicannahorticulture.com

Address: Unit 1A, Upperdale Yard

Colombo Street

Derby

DE23 8LW
New York City, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/26/2016 -- Andalusite is an aluminum nesosilicate mineral belonging to the sillimanite family and found in metamorphic rocks. It is a polymorph with two other minerals: kyanite and sillimanite and is named after Andalusia, a province in Spain. Since it is polymorph, it has similar chemical composition but different physical structure as compared to kyanite and sillimanite. Andalusite is commonly used for production of refractory materials and as a precursor for porcelain which is used in spark plugs and other products. Andalusite generally forms under low pressure and high temperature and converts to sillimanite or kyanite at different temperature-pressure regime. It comes in pink, green, yellow, violet and gray colors among others.



Andalusite is a precursor for production of refractory materials, which is used in linings for incinerators, furnaces, kilns and reactors. It can also be used for the production of crucibles. A refractory material should be physically and chemically stable at high temperatures, resistant to thermal shock and chemically inert. Andalusite has high purity, stable volume, good creep resistance, a high thermal shock resistance, metal penetration resistance and low porosity that make it suitable for production of refractory. The steel, glass, aluminum and cement industry are the key end users of andalusite.



Download Sample @ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4546



The andalusite industry is driven by the growth of refractory industry. The global demand for longer lasting, higher quality and low cost refractories is rising in emerging economies of the Asia Pacific, especially China and India due to rapid economic growth. The refractory industry follows the trend set by the main end user, the steel industry. The steel production makes up the majority of demand for refractories and profitability of the refractories industry is influenced by investment in steel production and steel plants. The continued demand for andalusite by China for its refractive industry will drive the demand of andalusite. Although end users other than the steel industry consume less andalusite, they have a strong impact on the growth of andalusite industry. The ceramic, glass, aluminum and cement industry contribute heavily to the growth of andalusite industry. However, fluctuations of major currency such as Euro and Dollar, rising oil prices and availability of substitutes such as bauxite could hamper the growth of this market.



The Asia Pacific is one the biggest consumer of andalusite due to the rapid growth of refractory industry in emerging economies such as China and India. China is the main producer and user of refractories, mainly driven by the steel industry. Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Russia and Turkey are some of the other key markets in this region. The future of the refractories will depend on emerging economies of Asia and Latin America. Brazil remains the most promising end market for andalusite in Latin America. The consumption of refractories will be moderate in the European Union and North America.



Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4546



The production of andalusite is concentrated in the hands of few companies who produce majority of andalusite for the global market. Some of the key players in this market are Andalusite Resources, Rhino Minerals Pty Ltd (IMERYS), Samrec Pty ltd (IMERYS), Damrec (IMERYS), Picobello Andalucita and Andalucita S.A. among others. Damrec, subsidiary of IMERYS, is the largest producer of Andalusite and has operations in China, South Africa, France and Peru. Andalusite Resources (Pty) Ltd is a newcomer to the Andalusite Industry and plans to increase its production capacity due to strong growth potential of andalusite market.
The Samsung Galaxy A9 smartphone was launched earlier in January 2016 with a 6" touchscreen AMOLED display with an amazing resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. Gamers and heavy users who make as much rough use out of their smartphones should opt for Samsung's new handset. The massive 6-inch Super AMOLED display has a 367 PPI pixel density and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4.

Although Galaxy Note 5 from the same South Korea-headquartered company comes with a better 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution and 518 PPI pixel density, the screen of 5.7 inches is smaller than that of the Galaxy A9. The new smartphone offers deep black and other vibrant colors with great viewing angles but it is not one of those ergonomic phones to handle, states a report by Android Authority. The very well responsive fingerprint sensor definitely makes the Galaxy A9, a thing to consider.

Complete specs

Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro FAQ, Pros & Cons, User Queries and Answers https://t.co/M41BAE2nEm via @gadgetstouse  Abhishek Bhatnagar (@abhishek) September 25, 2016

Display and design

The Samsung Galaxy A9 features a sporty 6.0-inch full HD Super AMOLED display. With a pixel density of 367ppi, it not only delivers high-quality pictures but also adds to the pleasure of playing games or watching videos. The Galaxy A9's metallic body is currently available in White, Gold, and Pink colors. The smartphone also offers an added layer of security through a very sensitive fingerprint scanner.

Configuration and OS

Samsung Galaxy A9 has an octa-core processor, quad-core powering 1.8 GHz + quad-core powering 1.4GHz, as its brain assisted by smooth 3GB of RAM for providing great multitasking experience. The handset comes with Android v5.1.1, Lollipop operating system.

Camera and storage

The new Smartphone is the best among other Samsung phones with a 13 MP autofocus rear Camera. The Camera is also coupled with a LED flash that lets you click more brilliant shots. Other features including face detection, continuous shooting, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR) and Geo-tagging are some of the things worth noticing. The device has an 8MP front camera for the selfie enthusiast that provides good quality pictures. The handset has the ability to record full HD videos at 30fps.

Battery and connectivity

The Samsung Galaxy A9 has a 4,000mAh li-ion battery for excellent talk time. There are ample connectivity options like Wi-Fi 802.11, Mobile Hotspot, GPRS, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS, USB port and NFC that offers a lot of flexibility with connecting to various devices with amazing data sharing.

Price

The Handset is available at a price of $711.09. The pro version of the smartphone, galaxy A9 Pro was launched in India yesterday at Rs 32,490.

Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro Launched For Rs. 32,490 https://t.co/vk8vkSvJ3p via @gadgetstouse  Abhishek Bhatnagar (@abhishek) September 17, 2016

Verdict: Why You Should Buy It

The Galaxy A9 offers an excellent front camera, the best among the other Smartphones from Samsung. The configuration is also quite awesome with a great battery backup and massive expandable memory of 32 GB + 128 GB.

The Cons are basically its expensive price and the non-removable battery. Although the smartphone does not have wireless charging, fast-charging or LED notification light, these features are still considered minor when compared to the Galaxy A9's overall performance. The Smartphone is heavier than the Note 5 due to its huge battery but it's also actually 0.2 mm thinner.
Brazilian researchers have found something interesting that would help people suffering from tinnitus or the chronic ringing in the ears. Apparently, those suffering from tinnitus can manage it by spraying oxytocin hormone in their nose.

Oxytocin has always been known as the "love hormone" because of its ability to promote social connections. It may also have a surprising contribution to help relieve the annoying and most of the time disturbing noises brought about by tinnitus.

"Oxytocin has actions in the brain and the ear that may help in tinnitus treatment and provide immediate relief," said lead researcher Dr. Andreia Azevedo. She is with the department of otolaryngology at the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. However, one hearing specialist was not convinced that oxytocin has the ability to help relieve the condition.

According to Newsmax, even Azevedo said that it's still unclear how the hormone works to relieve tinnitus. She thinks that it may affect the ear with regard to the regulation of fluid which can be found in the inner ear, and also affect the part of the brain responsible for the production of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter.

"For some patients, tinnitus disappeared or reached a non-distress level," Azevedo said. "As usual in tinnitus treatment, in some patients the tinnitus kept low, and for some, it raised after drug therapy ended."

Medical Xpress reported that although oxytocin appears to be safe, the long-term effects it can have are still not known. Azevedo explained that during their study, there weren't any side effects when they used oxytocin. However, larger studies are still needed to establish the role of oxytocin in the treatment of tinnitus.

It was also reported that the research team is in the process of doing additional studies to determine if increasing doses of oxytocin can improve and prolong the response of the hormone. Azevedo said: "We expect that these trials will raise the interest in this drug and result in larger randomized trials."

For the new study, the team randomly assigned 17 people with an average age of 63, who are suffering from tinnitus, to puffs of either oxytocin or a placebo (distilled water) in each nostril. The participants of the study were then asked to check their symptoms 30 minutes after administration and then after 24 hours, reported Health Day.

Findings according to the research team revealed that patients who received oxytocin reported a significant reduction in the ringing in their ear, compared to those who were given the placebo. Dr. Darius Kohan, a chief of Otology/Neurotology at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital in New York City said: "It's good people are doing research on this," he said, "because there isn't any one treatment that works very well."

However, Kohan still remains on the fence about using oxytocin to treat tinnitus because so many treatments have already been tried and have failed. "Whenever there is a medical condition and there are a thousand different treatments, it means that none of them work, because if there was one that worked we would all be doing it," he said. Results of this small trial are not sufficient to draw any conclusions about oxytocin as a treatment, Kohan added.
Stephen Hawking has recently warned humanity against contacting aliens or inviting them to our planet. This is the second such reminder that the celebrated physicist has issued out against the perils of contacting extraterrestrial life or alerting them to our presence in the solar system.

The warning came in a half hour online film 'Stephen Hawking's favorite places', where the physicist talks about travelling to a potentially habitable exoplanet located 16 light years away. As per Hawking, the planet called Gliese 832c could host intelligent life.

Hawking stated that we should be able to detect if intelligent life has evolved on Gliese 832c, and one day in the future could also receive a signal from it or a similar exoplanet. However, humanity, in turn, should be cautious about answering back because the situation of meeting an advanced civilization would be similar to the encounter between Christopher Columbus and Native Americans, which did not turn out well for the latter.

This is not the first time that Stephen Hawking has issued a warning against exposing our presence to aliens. According to the physicist, advanced aliens are like nomads who are on the lookout for planets to conquer and colonize. If such extraterrestrials reach our planet, they can exploit the earth and harvest its resources to build more spaceships, with which they can go on to other worlds in search of more places to exploit.

Furthermore, as per Hawking, in their quest to harvest our planet, aliens could also wipe out humanity just like a colony of ants. The scientist has previously also mentioned that in human history, more advanced cultures have mistreated and massacred those who were less technologically advanced, so why would aliens be any different. Incidentally, Gliese 832c is a super-Earth which is five times as big as Earth and is located in the habitable zone of its star, which makes it at the right distance for liquid water to occur on its surface, a phenomenon that is believed to be a precursor of life.
Congress has reportedly made a solid commitment to NASA's dream of sending a manned mission to Mars, by passing a bipartisan bill that authorizes a $19.5 billion budget for the American space agency. However, according to the mandate, NASA has to send a crew within the next 25 years and not later.

The new bill cannot be waived by the next US President, a move which is being seen as a step from blocking the new POTUS from upheaving the US space program. "We have seen in the past the importance of predictability and stability in NASA and space exploration, (and) that whenever one has a change in administration, we have seen the chaos that can be caused by the cancellation of major programs," said Senator Ted Cruz. "The impact in terms of jobs lost, the impact in terms of money wasted has been significant."

According to a report, the clauses of the bill may have been created in response to President Obama's step to cancel the Bush administration's Constellation program that aimed at sending a crew back to the moon. The bill is also a historic one because this is the first time a Mars trip has been mandated by law, and will mark the advent of a new era of American spaceflight. The legislation will delegate funds for three different areas in the Mars mission, which includes $4.5 billion for exploration, $5.4 billion for science and $5 billion for space operation.

The newly passed bill will also look after certain necessary space programs that NASA has to carry out, such as the development of the Orion Earth-orbit-and-beyond spacecraft and the new Space Launch System. In addition, the bill makes it mandatory for NASA to send a manned mission to Mars in 2021, keep the International Space Station (ISS) operational at least until 2024 and complete creating the new space suits for Mars.
Recently many customers of Windows 10 reported facing several problems after an update. Consumers had several complaints post the windows 10 update. Many found their computers were upgrading without any notifications and some of the functions had ceased working.

The Windows 10 Update Problems

Ever since Microsoft released windows 10 last year, there has been quite a stir in the market related to the consumer's complaints about the operating system. Some of the serious issues faced by the consumers are failed Wi-Fi connections, non-syncing of E-mails, webcams not working properly, speaker issues, printer dysfunctioning and losing files from the operating system.As reported by Uk Mirror.

According to a survey by consumer Watchdog, that included 5,596 Microsoft Windows 10 users, it was revealed that 12% of the sample size moved back to the earlier version of the operating system after facing a problem with Microsoft windows 10. Microsoft's responded to the survey stating that windows 10 is designed to help the consumer to the fullest and is also a secure network. If they have any issue they can seek Microsoft's customer care support in this. Contradictory to what Microsoft stated, several consumers reported issues with Microsoft's customer care support.

Alex Neil, Director, Policy of which? Stated that since many consumers are facing a problem with windows 10 operating system, Microsoft should take some serious action immediately. He also sympathized with consumers stating that we need computers to carry out our day to day activity and any loophole in that is just irritating. Reported Telegraph

Microsoft Is Entitled To Pay Compensation

According to Consumer Rights Act 2015, if any digital content is not satisfactory enough to a consumer then he/she is entitled to repair or replacement of the same. So, going by this law consumer have a right to ask for compensation from Microsoft, if windows 10 has damaged their computers or files.

In a recent incident, Teri Goldstein, a US customer of windows 10 has received a compensation of $10,000 from Microsoft. His computer was not working for days and Microsoft's customer care services department neglected his problem after windows 10 upgrading, as reported by The Bitbag.

So If you have faced similar problems and the customer care complaints have gone unheard, you might be entitled to compensation by Microsoft.
Gadget freaks are quite eagerly awaiting for Microsoft Surface Pro 5 to get an official release date. While, Microsoft has remained tight-lipped about the highly anticipated Surface Pro 5 specs, features and price details, there are conflicting reports about the next gen laptop's release.

Some reports claim that the Surface Pro device will get unveiled in October this year and roll out will happen in 2017. However, there are several others which suggest that the laptop-tablet hybrid announcement will not be made before 2017. It is to be noted that Microsoft is currently offering Surface Pro 4, which retails for $999, at a discounted price of $849. Usually, tech giants offer price cuts when new device iterations are all set for launch. In this case, the device in question is the Microsoft Surface Pro 5. The Redmond is yet to confirm the floating rumors.

As far as Microsoft Surface Pro 5 specs are concerned, the next gen laptop-tablet hybrid is expected to come with some impeccable hardware configuration and features, even better than its predecessor, Surface Pro 4. The upcoming device is rumored to pack Intel's latest Kaby Lake processor which is believed to double the laptop's efficiency.

Among other specs, the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is expected to get a 4K Ultra HD display, AMD or Nvidia Pascal GPU, Windows 10 Professional Redstone 2 operating system, 16 GB of RAM, a Surface Pen, a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front camera and Thunderbolt 3. It is reported that the Surface Pen stylus might bundle with a rechargeable battery unit onboard. The hybrid laptop is expected to be made available in 2K and 4K display models.

Reports are that the upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro 5 might not be pocket-friendly at all and come with a hefty price tag. The base model is expected to cost around $899, while, the high-end model might cost buyers a whopping $1,599.

Don't forget to check with to SWR for more updates and the latest news on Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release date, specs and price details.
Kieley Parker never imagined she would need an antidepressant. I always win those stupid sunshine and happiest person awards, she said. People see me as an incredibly joyful person.

But in the fall of 2014, Parker left her job as a third-grade teacher and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her fiance. Starting over in a new city was an enormous transition.

I couldnt feel joy or even negative emotions like sadness. I couldnt eat  I lost 25 pounds, Parker recalled. I was just anxious, which spiraled into depression.

Whats happening?

Approximately 1 out of 5 women in America will experience depression in her lifetime, twice the number of men. Some are depressed throughout the course of their lives; others, like Kieley, become depressed following a big change.

Over the past decade, people have increasingly treated depression with medication. Starting in 1994, the number of antidepressant prescriptions written by doctors went up 400 percent over a 10-year period. And today, roughly 15 percent of women take an antidepressant. Among women age 40 to 59, that number is nearly 23 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

With so many people popping pills, its easy to wonder: Are they being overprescribed? The answer is complicated.

I suspect we have the right number of people taking antidepressants, said Dr. Karen Swartz, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The question is whether we have the right people taking them.

One answer could be that some women are incorrectly given antidepressants after brief evaluations with primary care physicians even if theyre not experiencing clinical depression. (Most prescriptions are written by doctors who do not specialize in mental health care.)

Others who might need medication are never diagnosed, because they dont discuss their feelings due to a fear of prejudice or lack of access to medical care. And, some women who could benefit from antidepressants might be self-medicating with alcohol instead.

The safety factor

Overall, doctors consider antidepressants a safe treatment. They often bring fast relief, and millions of people have been using them for 30-plus years, without evidence of serious harm, Swartz said. Though research on long-term use is scarce, generally, studies show that there are no side effects of using antidepressants for an extended duration, said Dr. Renee Binder, immediate past president of the American Psychiatric Association. However, there can be short-term side effects, including weight gain and insomnia. So no one wants to be on a medication they dont need, Swartz said.

These three women are sharing their stories to spur dialogue around the subject and to encourage others to speak out. Their message: You are not alone.

Barb Patrick

The 46-year-old woman experienced postpartum depression.

At least 1 in 7 women suffer from postpartum depression following the birth of a child. Patrick was diagnosed after her second baby in 2000. I couldnt sleep at all because of my anxiety. People tell you to relax, but if I could relax, I would!

Patrick, who now runs a quilting business in Newtown, Conn., worried she couldnt take care of her newborn and 20-month-old toddler, so she called her OB-GYN office. At first they didnt offer any helpful solutions, Patrick said. After five sleepless nights, she called the office again, and the on-call nurse midwife answered.

She changed my life, Patrick said. She said, Oh, honey, you have postpartum. Come in, and well take care of it.'

The midwife referred her to a psychiatrist, who put her on Zoloft and Ativan to quell anxiety.

Patrick stopped the medication about a year later, but as soon as she gave birth to her third baby in 2003, the symptoms returned and worsened. She went back on her medications and began to feel better. Since she assumed the depression was specific to childbirth, she tried to go off again several times. On every occasion, the symptoms returned. Today, 13 years later, she remains on antidepressants.

I had to go through this process to realize this is something I cannot control, Patrick said. My mother said to me, if you had a heart problem, you would take medicine. You cant control it, so take the medicine. I function perfectly, I have a family and run a business, I have three great kids. I have a house. I manage it all and just accept that medication is part of my life.

>> What you should know: Some women are able to come off antidepressants when their children get older, while others stay on. Postpartum depression is often traumatic enough to an entire family that it takes awhile for them to even consider going off, Swartz said.

Tonja Myles

The 51-year-old woman has had multiple depressive episodes.

Myles was not dealt an easy hand. She experienced years of childhood trauma, and at the age of 18, she was hospitalized for depression and a suicide attempt. She started taking an antidepressant but soon stopped because she felt ashamed.

Some people in the faith community frown upon it because they think you should just pray and ask God, and He will heal you from depression, said Myles, who is an ordained minister. I pray, but there are days when I have trouble getting out of bed, and thats the truth.

Eventually, at 45, after several episodes of major depression, Myles grew tired of the emotional roller coaster. She went to see a therapist, who recommended again that she take medication. This time, she agreed.

I have to do whats best for myself, she said.

It took a long time for Myles doctor to find the right combination of drugs, but she ended up on a medication called Lexapro, then transitioned to Lamictal (taken as a mood stabilizer) and a pill to help with insomnia.

For Myles, taking antidepressants has become a part of her life, along with her faith, exercise, healthy eating and therapy.

Today, she counsels others with mental health issues and speaks publicly to reduce prejudice against depression; she also hosts her own community radio show.

>> What you should know: Doctors recommend that women who have three or more episodes of depression stay on antidepressants. If you stop using antidepressants even after you get well, the risk of relapse is very high  between 50 percent to 75 percent within six months, said Dr. Lee Cohen, director of the Center for Womens Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Kieley Parker

The 30-year-old woman went through a big life change.

When Parker first became ill, even asking for help seemed like more than she could manage. But she gathered her courage and told her mother she was struggling. Right away, her mom was supportive. She scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist for Parker and drove her there.

Parker, a typically bubbly person, was immediately diagnosed with depression, brought on by her move and all the other transitions in her life. The psychiatrist put her on Zoloft, an antidepressant, and Valium for her anxiety.

I felt better almost instantly, she said. Every day it got a little bit easier, and I could feel myself slowly coming back to the person I was before this rocky transition.

She stayed on antidepressants for two years as she built her life in Tulsa. Parker tried to go off them briefly but recently went back on at a lower dose when her anxiety began to creep back in.

>> What you should know: If you were put on antidepressants because of symptoms related to a specific stressor like a divorce and youre feeling better a year or so later, you can talk to your physician about whether you still need to be on them, Binder said.

Depression vs. grief

Diagnosing people with depression following a big life event can be tricky, because it looks similar to grief, which can include sadness, appetite loss and exhaustion.

An estimated 20 percent of women will have a depressive episode over the course of their lives, but 100 percent will grieve, Swartz said. Feeling sad and being tearful is not the same as depression.

The difference: People with depression have a real change in their feelings about themselves and about the future. Depression can also include thoughts of suicide, which is not usually part of grief.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
HARTSVILLE, S.C.  Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center is partnering with MUSC Health to bring Tele-ICU, advanced intensive care services, to its patients. The service is provided through the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance.

Tim Browne, CEO at Carolina Pines; Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO of MUSC Health; Shelley Iverson, D.O., pulmonology, Carolina Pines; and Arthur Cooler, M.D., general, vascular and trauma surgery, Carolina Pines, introduced the new service to the community during the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce Connections event Sept. 15, hosted by Carolina Pines.

Carolina Pines patients will now have access to highly trained intensivist physicians and critical care specialists 24/7.

Browne said that in his 34 years in health care, he never dreamed health care would have advanced this far.

Dr. Art Cooler said the purpose of Telehealth is to keep people at Carolina Pines and to have an extra layer of care and knowledge at their disposal.

Help is only seconds away with the press of a button, he said.

Tele-ICU is part of our commitment to continually innovate and improve services for our patients and our community, Browne said in a hospital media advisory. The addition of constant telemonitoring by intensivist physicians, coupled with the quality care already provided by our outstanding ICU team, means our patients will receive the highest level of medical care available today.

Cawley said the purpose of Tele-ICU is to keep the patient in the community where family can visit frequently and provide patients with foods they like. We will be working together so you dont have to leave Hartsville, he said.

He said this is going to change the way health care is administered.

Iverson said patients will still be under the care of the surgeons, nursing staff and immediate caregivers but will have additional resources.

The team of intensivists and critical care nurses who work from centralized operations centers will be available around-the-clock, complementing the care provided by the Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center team.

As demonstrated in a tour of the ICU, this program will allow patients to be continuously monitored for vital signs, medications, labs and clinical status. In-room video is being used during periods of evaluation or when called on by the nurse. This two-way video enables face-to-face consultations between the bedside staff and the Tele-ICU teams, ensuring that help is available when needed.

Joining forces for Tele-ICU was made possible due to the establishment of a clinical affiliation created through MUSC Health and Capella Healthcare known as the Capella-MUSC Health Network. It was designed to enhance the health and wellness of families and communities throughout South Carolina. This initiative combines MUSC Healths academic expertise and commitment to education, research and patient care with Capella Healthcares proven expertise in running hospitals to create a regionally-based healthcare delivery network.

For more information, visit CapellaMUSCHealthNetwork.com.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church will host a special blessing service and pancake breakfast on Tuesday, Sept. 27, for all Florence first responders in honor of National First Responders' Day.

The event will begin at 8 a.m. at the church grounds at 2990 S. Cashua Dr. with the blessing of the attending first responders and their vehicles.

Rev. Athanasios Haros, pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church said they are expecting more than 50 firefighters, law enforcement officers and EMS members to attend.

We are thankful to God for those men and women who place themselves in harms way every day for our safety, said Athanasios.

Following the blessing, there will be a pancake breakfast catered by Venus Restaurant.

The First Responders' Day blessing and breakfast is part of a national movement to establish Sept. 27 at National First Responders' Day.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Thelma Hawkins said she really didnt have a good reason to retire from the Florence Symphony Orchestra after 45 years of playing.

At 79 years old, the violinist said it might be her age, but she hated to say that.

I just felt it was time, Hawkins said. The amount of preparation to be ready, it was an effort. It was just getting a bit much.

Hawkins finished her final season with the orchestra in May. This was the last of many community orchestras that Hawkins has been a part of over the years.

Hawkins started playing the violin at just 5 years old and kept playing all through high school. Hawkins then attended the University of California, where she played in her first orchestra while earning a degree in music education.

From there, Hawkins moved from place to place, each time finding an orchestra to perform in.

Everywhere I went, I played in an orchestra, Hawkins said. Ive been doing this a long time. Its kind of funny to stop.

In 1970, Hawkins planted her roots in Florence when her husband landed a job teaching geography at Francis Marion University. Soon after she and her husband settled in, Hawkins found a seat playing first violin in the Florence Symphony Orchestra.

During her years in the symphony, Hawkins moved from first violin to assistant concertmaster, and then concertmaster, responsible for coordinating with the conductor and controlling the uniformity of the string section.

Throughout her 45 seasons with the orchestra, Hawkins also worked as an educator in Florence School District One, teaching general music and strings classes at the middle school and high school levels. She taught classes for 21 years while also offering private lessons out of her home. Hawkins said it was rewarding being able to influence future generations using her musical talents.

Its a chance to have a kid and watch them develop, Hawkins said. It (music) enriches peoples lives. They dont have to be a musician when we get through with them.

Hawkins also played a pivotal role in starting Florences first strings summer camp in 2014 as part of the Florence-Darlington String Association. A group of private music teachers in concurrence with the city of Florence established a low-cost camp for students who did not have opportunities to learn an instrument.

In her spare time, Hawkins would perform at weddings and other events as part of a string quartet. She was a member of the Firenze quartet for 30 years.

Hawkins retired from teaching in 1996 and stepped away from the string quartet business in 2005, but the orchestra kept calling her back.

It was always a constant and comfortable place to be, Hawkins said. It was the first attachment to the Florence community that I had. That was some place I always belonged.

After abdicating her seat as a violinist in the orchestra, Hawkins said, she is looking forward to finding an equally comfortable seat in the audience.

I enjoy listening as well as playing, Hawkins said. We have tickets to the symphony, so I can go be a critic now.
The B-1B Lancer was displayed as part of events hosted by the 7th U.S. Air Force and Korea's Air Force Operations Command.

The U.S. displayed a supersonic strategic bomber at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province over the weekend.

After taking off from Guam, two B-1B bombers zipped around Korean skies on Sept. 13 and 21 in a show of force reacting to North Korea's latest nuclear test.

One of them touched down at the Osan base and was later displayed to visitors.

The aim of the PR exercise was apparently to reassure the South Korean public.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Brigadier General Viet Luong will be the keynote speaker during the annual Veterans Day proceedings on Nov. 11 at the Florence Veterans Park.

Luong was the first Vietnamese-born general/flag officer in the U.S. military and he currently serves as the chief of staff of Army Central Command at Shaw Air Force Base.

Retired Army Col. Barry Wingard said that as this years speaker, Luong will be added to a list of notable guests who have attended the Veterans Day ceremonies in Florence, including the current director of NASA, Retired USMC Major General Charlie Bolden and one of only three South Carolina natives to attain the rank of four-star general, retired USAF General Hansford T. Johnson.

Weve had a history of distinguished speakers for Veterans Day and this year is no exception, Wingard said. Luong will follow in the established tradition. And, recently returned from a year in Afghanistan, his message will be very current.

Luong immigrated to the United States as a political refugee when he was only 9 years old. During Operation Frequent Wind, a mission to rescue Vietnamese citizens from the country during the war, Luong and his family escaped from South Vietnam on a Marine Corps helicopter.

In a report from NPR, Luong recalled boarding the helicopter and landing on the deck of the carrier ship USS Hancock. Luong said it was then that he made the decision to join the military.

People might not believe that, but, I knew right back then that I want to serve our country, Luong said told NPR.
More than half of South Koreans support nuclear armament in defense against North Korea, a straw poll on Sunday by Media Research suggests.

Overall support among some 1,000 respondents was at 51.1 percent. It was especially strong among elderly respondents at 73.1 percent, gradually dwindling the younger respondents became, with a majority of under-40s against.

Among the supporters, 56.1 percent called for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons, while 40.8 percent wanted only the U.S. to deploy tactical nuclear weapons here. A majority of 58.8 percent also supported the planned deployment of a U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here, with 33.4 percent against.

Meanwhile, a separate straw poll by Gallup Korea of 1,010 adults nationwide last week also showed solid support for nuclear armament.

Some 58 percent said Korea should develop its own nuclear weapons with 34 percent against. The figure is slightly up from the 54 percent who were in favor right after North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January.

By age group, 20-somethings were more against with 55 percent while 39 percent were in favor, but among those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s it was the other way around.

Among supporters of the ruling Saenuri Party, 75 percent were in favor, but even among supporters of the opposition parties, support was at over 50 percent.

Asked whether the government has to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea after recent flood damage, 55 percent of respondents said no.
On Friday, the actress posted three photos on her social network account of stores that appear to be in Seoul's Myeong-dong shopping district. In two of the photos she poses in front of cosmetics stores; in another she examines a local cosmetic product.

In 2013, Barrymore launched her own cosmetics brand, Flower Beauty, to be sold at drug stores and large retail shops only. The brand has gained popularity in the past few years.

Her visit to Korea appears to be related to her beauty business. It follows earlier trips to Hong Kong and the Philippines to check out the cosmetics markets there.
North Korea's foreign minister on Friday threatened that his country "will continue to take measures to strengthen its national nuclear armed forces in both quantity and quality."

In a further gesture of defiance against international sanctions, Ri Yong-ho refused to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ri said the aim of North Korea's nuclear weapons program was to "defend the dignity and right to existence and safeguard genuine peace vis-a-vis the increased nuclear war threat of the United States."

He accused the UN Security Council of supporting the power politics of the U.S. and other "hostile forces." He denounced the latest UN Security Council Resolution and asked why other nuclear weapons states have never been sanctioned.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se last week asked the UN General Assembly whether North Korea is worthy of being a member of the world body after its repeated missile and nuclear tests and human rights abuses.

Article 1 of the UN Charter says the aim of the world body is to maintain global peace and security and to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to them. North Korea became a UN member along with South Korea in 1991 and for the next 25 years systematically trampled on Article 1. It has developed nuclear weapons and missiles posing a serious threat to international peace, while causing large numbers of its people to starve to death. Yet it has calmly taken aid from the international community to deal with acute food shortages and flood damage.

The UN has condemned North Korea six times since 2006 for developing nuclear weapons and adopted several resolutions imposing sanctions against Pyongyang. The UN Security Council has already issued 10 statements since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test this year and has been urging the North for a decade to clean up its human rights record. Two years ago, the UN even adopted a resolution asking the UNSC to take the North to the International Criminal Court for its human rights violations. But the North has honored none of these warnings. Instead, the isolated state has responded by conducting more nuclear and missile tests and summary executions using flamethrowers and anti-aircraft guns.

On the same day as Yun's speech, the UN Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights announced its findings on the status of North Korean laborers working overseas, who are being robbed of their wages by the regime. Workers sent to labor abroad are forced to toil 12-hour days and constantly monitored by agents and their passports are confiscated. They are slaves. As a result, North Korea stands out even among dictatorships with UN membership when it comes to human rights abuses.

UN membership should be restricted to nations that are willing to abide by its charter. Persistent violators can be ousted if two thirds of UN members agree. But that has never happened, and Russia and China, which are standing members of the UN Security Council, will probably block the ouster of North Korea too. But ignoring the Norths abuses is no longer an option.

Read this article in Korean
While numbers were down on the last two years it was still an impressive turnout at the Marina Bay Sands ballroom.

Getting a large crowd of shipping executives at an event in Singapore to actually listen to speeches is a notoriously difficult, if not impossible task. SSA president Esben Poulsson started his speech with the good news that he would be the only one speaking at the event. However, he also quipped the bad news was that as guest-of-honour Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore Minister for Transport was not giving a speech he presumably did not have goodies to give away to the industry from the government.

In a review of SSAs activities over the last year Poulsson noted a number of ongoing initiatives to encourage Singaporeans to take a career in the maritime sector. Not surprisingly in the current market he noted, The finance work group headed by councillor Lee Keng Mun, in collaboration with MPA (Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore) and the SGX (Singapore Exchange), is facing challenging times trying to attract more IPOs to list on the SGX.

Looking back over the last year he noted hed been asked what had been his proudest moments over the last year.

To me, one was our 30th anniversary gala dinner last year when more than 2,000 people attended, including Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and (then) Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew. Another was our role in organising [email protected] which saw over 3,000 visitors during Singapore Maritime Week in April, making it a huge success.
We are optimistic to chart double-digit growth this year despite the changes in shipping alliances. Southeast Asia shipping still has a lot of room to grow, Gnanalingam was quoted as saying.

Earlier reports saw Westports anticipating single-digit growth due to uncertainty in the global economy.

Westports container operations handled 4.9m teu in the first half and of this, transhipment containers increased to 3.6m teu while the group handled 1.3m teu of gateway containers

Last year, the port operator handled 9.1m teu a growth rate of 8% year-on-year from the previous year.

Among the key developments in the shipping industry that may affect Westports are the realignments next year as key liners in existing container shipping alliances form new and different alliances next year.

Critically, Westports major main line operator, French liner CMA CGM, could potentially shift some of its shipping traffic from Westports to Singapore following its takeover of Singapore line Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) to expand its presence in trans-Pacific routes.

Old hand Gnanalingam noted that the consolidation going on in the liner industry is nothing new and to be expected.

It all started when shipping lines were in the big race to increase their market share, building ships when freight rates were at the peak prior to the global economic downturn in 2009. They assumed the volume was going to grow and were more interested in market share than profit.

But this is nothing new in the shipping industry. The problem now is still oversupply and undercutting. At the end of the day, the stronger will get bigger and the weak will be taken over, he concluded.
Fellow stevedores rushed to the aid of the operator who was rescued unharmed following the incident around 0630 on Sunday (Brazil time) at the Port of Itaqui in Sao Luis in the northern state of Maranhao.



Tugs were used to bring the fire under control at Shed 101. Maranhao Port Authority (EMPA) reported only material damage and while there were five other vessels alongside at the time, it interrupted only one, the Steven C, at nearby Shed 100.



Operations resumed at 1330 with the South Korean-owned, Panama-flagged Nord Trust moved to Shed 102 to complete the discharge of approximately 48,000mt of coal. The 55,693 dwt bulk carrier, built in 2009, had berthed in Itaqui on 19 September.

EMPA has opened an internal investigation into the cause of the fire which follows a significant blaze at the same port in late January 2015 at the facilities of Suzano, a major exporter of cellulose.
Related studies showed that Europa may have had a warm interior at some point in the past, and could still retain heat today, a finding that raised the prospect of a global subsurface ocean.

Some of the longest linear features did not fit predicted patterns of fractures that should be created by tides as Europa orbits Jupiter. Instead, the patterns matched what would happen if Europa's surface could move independently, without being locked to the interior, such as what would happen if a layer of liquid or slightly warmer ice existed between the crust and the deep interior, NASA said.

"Some of the dark bands had opposite sides that matched each other extremely well, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. These cracks had separated, and dark, icy material appeared to have flowed into the opened gaps, suggesting that the surface had been active at some time in the past," NASA said in 2014 .

Pictures taken by the probes showed that Europa's surface was relatively smooth, brighter than Earth's moon and crisscrossed with bands and ridges.

Scientists' first clue that Europa has an ocean came from NASA's twin Voyager probes, which flew by Jupiter in 1979.

NASA on Monday will release additional evidence of an underground ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa , a prime candidate in the search for life beyond Earth.

Caption: Artist's concept of a plume of water vapor blasting off the icy surface of the Jovian moon Europa, located about 500 million miles from the sun. Credits: NASA/ESA/SWRI

The next mission to Jupiter was NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which toured the giant planet and its entourage of moons from 1995 to 2003. As part of its extensive study, Galileo made 12 close flybys of Europa, the second closest large moon to Jupiter after Io.

RELATED: Hubble Discovers Water Plumes Over Europa

"One of Galileo's most important measurements showed how Jupiter's magnetic field was disrupted in the space around Europa. This measurement strongly implied that a special type of magnetic field is being created (or induced) within Europa by a deep layer of some electrically conductive fluid beneath the surface.

"Based on Europa's icy composition, scientists think the most likely material to create this magnetic signature is a global ocean of salty water," NASA said.

Then in 2012, images from the Hubble Space Telescope showed a cloud of water vapor towering over Europa's south pole, providing the first strong evidence of water plumes erupting off the moon's surface.

"If those plumes are connected with the subsurface water ocean we are confident exists under Europa's crust, then this means that future investigations can directly investigate the chemical makeup of Europa's potentially habitable environment without drilling through layers of ice. And that is tremendously exciting," lead scientist Lorenz Roth, who was with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio at the time, said in a statement.

The plumes were seen just once, in December 2012. Scientists won extra time on Hubble to keep searching.

Astronomers also have re-examined archived Galileo images and discovered that Europa's surface has clay-like minerals that may contain organics. Other analysis shows that Europa has active plate tectonics, a process that could seed the water with nutrients.

RELATED: Europa's Epsom Salt May Indicate Ocean Life

Another study of archived Galileo images determined that lumpy patches of ice on Europa are likely caused by huge lakes of water trapped relatively close to the surface. The researchers theorized that the lakes formed from surface ice interacting with a deep, briny warm ocean that sits on top of a rocky mantle.

The key piece of evidence was a 62-mile wide circular region called Thera Macula, which is about the size of Lake Ontario.

"The surface has dropped down by about 400- to 600 meters in this whole area. The big icebergs have kind of cracked up, and they're floating along higher than that lowest point ... That tells us the material below this feature on the surface is still liquid. So there's a giant lake," lead scientist Britney Schmidt said in a March 2012 EarthSky podcast.

She estimated the lake to be 2- to 2.5 miles deep, about the depth of Earth's oceans.

Schmidt, who is now an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, along with William Sparks, who heads the team using Hubble to search for Europa plumes, are among the scientists scheduled to discuss the new findings at a NASA press conference on Monday.
Humanity should be wary of seeking out contact with alien civilizations, Stephen Hawking has warned once again.

In 2010, the famed astrophysicist said that intelligent aliens may be rapacious marauders, roaming the cosmos in search of resources to plunder and planets to conquer and colonize. He reiterates that basic concern in "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places," a new documentary streaming now on the CuriosityStream video service.

"One day, we might receive a signal from a planet like this," Hawking says in the documentary, referring to a potentially habitable alien world known as Gliese 832c. "But we should be wary of answering back. Meeting an advanced civilization could be like Native Americans encountering Columbus. That didn't turn out so well."

RELATED: This Is How Hawking Thinks

For what it's worth, some other astronomers believe Hawking's caution is unwarranted. Any alien civilization advanced enough to come to Earth would surely already know of humans' existence via the radio and TV signals that humanity has been sending out into space since 1900 or so, this line of thinking goes.

The alien musings are just a small part of "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places." The 26-minute documentary shows the scientist zooming through the cosmos on a souped-up CGI spaceship called the "S.S. Hawking," making five separate stops.

Hawking observes the Big Bang that created the universe, visits the monster black hole at the center of the Milky Way, journeys to Gliese 832c and tours Saturn in Earth's own solar system. Then, he makes a final stop in Santa Barbara, California, which Hawking calls "my home away from home."

RELATED: Hawking: Earth (Likely) Doomed, Humanity Needn't Be

"In 1974, Caltech [the California Institute of Technology] offered me a job in California," the Englishman Hawking says in the documentary. "I jumped at the opportunity. In the sun with my young family, it was a world away from the gray skies of Cambridge, [England]. I've traveled the globe, but I've never found anywhere quite like this."

You can watch a preview of "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places," and learn how to subscribe to CuriosityStream, at the video service's website: www.curiositystream.com.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

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WATCH VIDEO: Hawking: Why We Need to Leave Earth
United Russia, the political party of Russian president Vladimir Putin, won yet another parliamentary election in September 2016, continuing an improbable run of success that goes back to 2001 -- the year the party was formed.

As Jules Suzdaltsev explains in today's Seeker Daily report, there are many reasons for the ruling party's winning streak, most of them dubious indeed.

The nation of Russia, officially known as the Russian Federation, is technically a constitutional republic with free elections. But the devil, as usual, is in the details. Putin is a massively popular leader within Russia, by all indications. Polling from August 2016 shows Putin's approval rate hovering around 80 percent. Consider that in the U.S., President Obama approval rating is around 50 percent, at best.

Those high approval ratings may be artificially inflated, however. For one thing, it's famously dangerous to not support the president in Russia. Putin's critics have been found dead under suspicious circumstances many times over the years, and in one case, an opposition politician was openly assassinated in front of the Kremlin. What's more, Russia's lone independent polling service, the Levada Center, was recently classified by the federal government as a "foreign agent" -- a term that essentially marginalizes the group and prevents accurate polling.

RELATED: How Does the U.S. Stop Russia's Election Mischief?

Russian elections themselves are highly questionable, too, according to multiple outside analysis groups. For years, Russia's few opposition politicians have reported instances of ballot stuffing, bribery, and coercion. The 2016 election appears to have been no different. One video that recently made the rounds showed an official shoving a stack of ballots into a ballot box. In another part of the country, there were reports of people voting multiple times at different voting stations, known as "carousel voting."

Finally, there is the matter of the media, which is hugely influential in Russia -- and everywhere else, really -- during an election year. Russian state-run media is infamously biased toward the ruling party, and in 2014, the government passed a new law allowing officials to block so-called "extremist" websites. Many independent and opposition groups have since had their websites taken down under the law.

With polling, media and the elections themselves largely controlled by Putin's ruling party, things aren't likely to change any time soon. In fact, they may get worse. With the recent elections, Russia United's parliamentary seat total is up to 343 out of 450 -- which is more than enough to amend the constitution and put in place further measures to consolidate power.

-- Glenn McDonald

Check out Discovery GO!

Learn More:

BBC: Russian Election: Big Victory for Putin-backed Party United Russia

The New York Times: Russia Polling Center Is Declared a 'Foreign Agent' Before Elections

The Guardian: Russian Election Unfair and Biased Towards Putin, Observers Say
Bam eyes probe on status of sex education in schools

Amid the alarming rise in number of teen pregnancies in the country, a senator has filed a resolution calling for an inquiry on the status of the implementation of reproductive health education in schools.

In Senate Resolution No. 169, Sen. Bam Aquino said the Department of Education (DepEd) is tasked by Republic Act 10354 or to develop a curriculum for reproductive health education that will be used by public schools and may be adopted by private schools.

In 2013, the DepEd released the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for Health, which incorporates lessons on Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood.

"Ngayong tumataas ang bilang ng mga kabataang nabubuntis, nais nating malaman kung ano nga ba ang estado ng nasabing curriculum at kung paano ito itinuturo sa ating mga paaralan," said Sen. Bam, chairman of the Committee on Education.

Based on 2011 to 2014 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Sen. Bam said teenage pregnancy in the country is on the rise, with one in every ten women of child-bearing age is a teenager and 24 babies are born every hour from teenage mothers.

"The youth are faced with critical decisions involving sexual and reproductive health that could have a major impact on their lives," said Sen. Bam.

The senator added that research by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shows that majority of adolescents still lack the knowledge to make responsible decisions.

"UNFPA Country Representative Klaus Beck highlighted the importance of including sexuality education in our Philippine education system to help ensure young girls and boys make responsible choices based on accurate information," said Sen. Bam.

Without adequate information, Sen. Bam said teenagers are left vulnerable to coercion, sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.
Press Release

September 26, 2016 NANCY LAUDS SIGNING OF CENTENARIANS LAW IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS Senator Nancy Binay praised the Duterte administration's urgent action to implement a law that honors centenarians, providing for them incentives and additional benefits. "Lubos kong ikinatutuwa ang mabilisang pagsulong ni President Rodrigo Duterte sa Centenarians Law, isang batas na kumikilala at nagbibigay respeto ating mga nakatatanda," Binay said. The ceremonial signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 10868 or the Centenarians Act of 2016 will be signed today, September 26, 2016 at the Rizal Hall of the Malacanang Palace. Binay, the chairperson of the Senate committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development during the 16th Congress, sponsored the bill. She cited that the measure showcased the Filipino's close-knit family culture wherein the elderly were taken cared and provided for. "Ito po ang isa sa mga napakahalaga, napakaganda at kakaibang katangian nating mga Pilipino," the lady senator said. The signing of the IRR was set before the observance of Elderly Filipino Week, which is annually held on October 1 to 7. Coincidentally, the National Respect for Centenarians Day is also held on the first Sunday of October. President Benigno Aquino III signed the measure into law on June 23. The law grants all 100 year old Filipinos, whether living in the country or abroad, P100,000.00 as a birthday gift and a letter of felicitation from the President. Centenarians will also receive an additional cash gift and a plaque of recognition from their respective local government units. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will lead the implementation of the law. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH) and Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) will also aid in carrying out the Centenarian Law. Binay said that with the law's passage, the country is recognizing the longevity of centenarians as well as what they have done for society. Article XV of the 1987 Constitution also states: "The family has the duty to take care of its elderly members but the State may also do so through just programs of social security." "With the immediate implementation of this law, the administration is recognizing our centenarians and providing them with the support that they need. Sila po ay buhay na patotoo na kaya nating mapagtagumpayan ang mga pagsubok ng buhay upang marating ang edad na 100 taon," Binay said. "This gift is not only in recognition of their age but also a gift that they truly deserve for all their sacrifices and everything they have done for the society as well as their loved ones," the senator explained. She also added that the city of Makati started the giving of P100,000.00 as cash gift to centenarians in 2013. With the implementation of this law, Binay urged that the public continue the Filipino culture of taking care of the elderly. "Sa buong mundo, isa ang ating lahi sa may malalim na kultura ng pagpapahalaga at pag-aaruga sa ating mga nakatatanda. Ipakita po natin sa mga susunod pang henerasyon ang ating paggalang at pangangalaga sa ating mga centenarians," Binay added.
Press Release

September 26, 2016 Cayetano refutes Trillanes on Matobato testimony: "It's full of half-truths and hearsay" Senator Alan Peter Cayetano chided Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for insisting on the credibility of self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Edgar Matobato, pointing out that the witness' testimony against President Rodrigo Duterte is riddled with "half-truths and mere hearsay." Trillanes delivered a privilege speech on Monday (September 26) to disprove the inconsistencies of Matobato's accounts during the Committee on Justice and Human Rights' probe into the alleged extrajudicial killings being linked to the administration's war on drugs. During his interpellation, Cayetano called out Trillanes for trying to portray Matobato as a credible witness in the ongoing inquiry. "Senator Trillanes chose it upon himself to make assumptions that Matobato is a credible witness... Either we have a mass murderer as a president or we have mass liars as his critics. Hayaan natin ang publiko ang makinig," Cayetano said, responding to Trillanes' description of the country's President as a "mass murderer." Cayetano countered claims made by Trillanes regarding Matobato's statements, which he said are full of contradictions. "I bring up the concept of half-truths because that is what criminals use. This is what people... who destroy the credibility of others use. I say this because the presentation of Senator Trillanes is full of half-truths," Cayetano said. "Every time we look at Matobato's testimony, he jumps from pretending to have personal knowledge to [mere] hearsay," he added. The senator asserted that the inconsistencies in Matobato's testimonies are not just minor details, contrary to what Trillanes was trying to depict in his speech. To prove his point, Cayetano drew attention to the "glaring" differences between the witness' accounts in the hearings and the sworn statement that he submitted in 2014, when he was placed under the Justice Department's Witness Protection Program (WPP). In Matobato's sworn statement, he recounted how Cebuano businessman Richard King was killed by a certain SPO2 Reynante Medina. During the committee hearing, however, he said King was actually killed by two rebel returnees whom he identified as Joel "Turko" Tapales and Loloy Gabas. "Tadtad ng inconsistencies ang testimonya ni Mr. Matobato. Even noong sinabi niyang sa McDonald's pinatay [referring to King's death], hearsay na nga, mali pa. Kasi hindi naman siya ang pumatay, narinig lang niya sa iba, tapos mali pa," Cayetano stressed. He added that Matobato also flip-flopped on his narration of how suspected terrorist Sali Makdum was killed. In his sworn statement, Matobato said how Makdum was brought to a burial site where they slit his throat and took turns in stabbing him to death. But during the hearing, the witness changed his testimony once again and said they hanged Makdum and chopped his body to pieces. "[Senator Trillanes'] presentation seems to paste things together to make it appear that [the witness'] inconsistencies were minor. But when you change the name of the persons who killed [the victims], or when you change how the [victims] were killed... it is very different," Cayetano stressed. "Nothing has changed. Most of Mr. Matobato's testimonies are just hearsay. Those that are not hearsay are inconsistent to the point that they will not stand in any court of law," he further noted.
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September 26, 2016 Hontiveros hears bills increasing maternity leave, nutrition support for infants Asserting that there is an inextricable link between the well-being of mothers and the health of their children, Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros today chaired two consecutive committee hearings that deliberated two of her health legislation; the bills seek to expand the paid maternity leave of working women and scale up nutrition support for infants. Healthy Bulilit Act Senate Bill No. 1145 or the Healthy Bulilit Law was deliberated in the Senate Committee on Health and Demography. Hontiveros explained that her bill mandates the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to increase nutrition support to all children in the first 1,000 days. She characterized this period as crucial and intervention at this time is key to combatting nutritional stunting. The senator said undernutrition remains the underlying killer of children as it makes them vulnerable to bout of infections, low birth weights and wasting. Philippines lost P328 B to undernutrition Hontiveros, citing a report by the Save the Children International, also said that the Philippine economy lost at least P328 billion or the equal of 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 due to the impact of childhood stunting on workforce productivity and education. "We need to strengthen the government's commitment to provide children all the necessary nutrients to ensure their healthy growth. We must ensure that we have healthy bulilits who will grow up to become healthy Pinoys and Pinays," Hontiveros said. 150 days of maternity leave for working women Hontiveros' Senate Bill No. 215 or the Expanded Maternity Leave Law Act of 2016 was heard by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, which the senator also chairs. The senator said her bill seeks to provide women workers in the public and private sectors, married or not, 120 days of maternity leave, and an additional 30 days for solo mothers. The additional 30 days can be allocated to alternate caregivers such as their common law partners, or relatives up to the 4th degree of consaguinity. It can also be extended to adopters or any person who has adopted a minor. "It's time to introduce radical reforms to our maternity law to bring it at par with international standards. In Asia, we are lagging behind Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. The government must respond to our women workers' pre and post-natal health needs. The government must also recognize and provide full support for women's reproductive work," Hontiveros said. "Centennial gifts" Hontiveros said that as the Senate celebrates its 100 years, she hoped that the passage of her bills will be some of the institution's "centennial gifts" to the Filipino families. "There is no better gift than the gift of a secure and healthy future. Let us bring forward real changes in the lives of our women and children," she concluded.
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September 26, 2016 Keynote Speech of Senator Loren Legarda

Third Asian Judges Symposium on Law, Policy and Climate Change

26 September 2016|ADB Headquarters, Mandaluyong City At the outset, allow me to thank and congratulate the Asian Development Bank and its partners, the Supreme Court of the Philippines and the United Nations Environment Programme, for making climate change the central theme of this symposium. Let me begin my presentation with a basic question: What is justice? The answer is simple. Justice is giving everyone their due. My next question is something I want each of us to reflect on and relate to the concept of justice. Do the future generations, our children and grandchildren, deserve the Earth we are leaving behind for them? In a landmark decision 23 years ago, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the concept of intergenerational responsibility. I wish to share a quote from that decision: "The day would not be too far when all else would be lost not only for the present generation, but also for those to come--generations which stand to inherit nothing but parched earth incapable of sustaining life. [1]" Who would have thought that such prophecy would happen in our lifetime? We see it now unraveling right before our very eyes--sea level rise threatens to submerge island nations; ocean acidification is causing irreversible damage to our coral reefs, while the sudden shifts from hot temperatures to incessant rains pose uncertainties to agriculture, greatly affecting our food security. The warming climate is now one of the most significant risks for World Heritage Sites, including the Philippines' own Ifugao Rice Terraces. Extreme rainfall and heavy floods constantly threaten lives, livelihood and development. In last year's climate change negotiations in Paris, the Philippines, as chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, led the call to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to be able to survive. Governments conveyed the message that they are determined to act to achieve the goal of limiting the world's rise in average temperature to "well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius."[2] The 2015 Paris Agreement is a landmark agreement in this history of humankind. However, its aspirations will not happen on its own. Bending the global warming curve to 1.5 degrees Celsius is a moral imperative, because it means saving the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people; it means upholding the human rights of the poor and vulnerable; it means ensuring the integrity of our ecosystems. The Philippines has committed to a conditional 70% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by year 2030 from the sectors of energy, transport, waste, industry and forestry. While the Paris Agreement acknowledges that developing nations like the Philippines will take time to decarbonize and will be able to do so only with external support, we should not stick to 'business as usual' in the way we pursue development, especially since we have also committed to building the resilience of our communities and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals. We must deliver on these commitments. Unfortunately, here in the Philippines, consumption of coal has been on the upswing, increasing by 27% between 2012 and 2014.[3] Others argue that coal is cheap. I say, it is not. Coal affects our health, kills biodiversity and the environment, affects our waters and pollutes the air we breathe. Before coal can be used in power plants, it must first be mined, washed and transported. This process alone, without a single watt of electricity generated yet, already produces pollution. Coal is burned to generate electricity and its by-product, in the form of ash, is either recycled into cement or construction products, stored or disposed in dry or wet landfills. Leakage from these landfills can contaminate ground and surface water with arsenic, cadmium and lead, just to name a few. The World Health Organization (WHO) concluded in 2014 that air quality in most cities worldwide "fails to meet WHO guidelines for safe levels, putting people at additional risk of respiratory disease and other health problems."[4] This study covered 1,600 cities across 91 countries. It had attributed the air quality decline to a host of factors, including reliance on fossil fuels such as coal- fired power plants. The United Nations estimates that 26% of global mercury emissions come from the combustion of coal in power plants.[5] Beyond the health impacts of coal-based energy production lie the severe and irreversible impacts of climate change across the world. Two of the major greenhouse gases contributing to climate change are produced by coal combustion--carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. As concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere accumulate, global temperature increases, setting in motion absolute consequences of climate change. Now I wish to ask: Is everything lost? The Philippines is a country rich in renewable energy--the amount of sun and wind is more than enough to power our entire country many times over. We have the Renewable Energy Law of 2008 and though we may not totally ban coal, we should have a good energy mix where there is a bias for renewables. The nation can no longer afford to have short-sighted and myopic plans. We must rethink socio-economic development beyond expediency and short-term gains. Taking the path of low carbon development is the just and right way. It presents enormous opportunities for green growth, green jobs and ensures a sustainable, secure and resilient future for all. The Philippine Development Plan should define clearly how the country will tread the low carbon development pathway and how our sectors will pursue the transition our sustainable development goals entail. It is on this note that I laud the world's first climate change and human rights petition in the Philippines against the Carbon Majors or the world's biggest polluters, including the largest fossil fuel companies, which are responsible for an estimated 65 percent of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions between 1751 and 2013. The petition was filed by environmental groups and individuals led by Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines. The CHR sent copies of the petition to the Carbon Majors last July 27, 2016. The companies are expected to submit their reply to the Commission within this month. In the Philippine Senate, I have filed a Resolution calling for an inquiry in aid of legislation on the alleged detrimental and health impacts and human rights infringements arising from the operation of coal-fired power plants in the country. We seek to determine the viability of imposing a moratorium on the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates for the construction of additional coal-fired power plants and the development of a clear policy towards a low carbon economy in light of the Philippines' international commitments. I have likewise urged the Philippine Senate to lead the conduct of an environmental audit of relevant national agencies and local government units in relation to their compliance to and enforcement of environmental laws. Our goal is to introduce measurable indicators and targets, identify where implementation can be supported, and encourage public accountability of all government officials. The Philippines has numerous laws and policies focused on addressing issues on environment, public health and disaster resilience. Among these are the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System, Marine Pollution Control Law, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Renewable Energy Act, Environmental Awareness and Education Act, Climate Change Act, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act, the Act Creating the People's Survival Fund, among many others. These laws, however, do not guarantee effective action. The United Nations once lauded the country's laws on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction as model legislation. However, it also noted that the challenge is to translate national policies, plans and programs into local action with measurable gains. One concrete example is the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Fifteen years since this law was enacted, we have not achieved even a 50% compliance rate among local government units (LGUs). The Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines has taken steps to push for stronger compliance, even launching a program that encourages voluntary compliance with the law. However, many local government units still failed to heed the warnings. In response, the Ombudsman filed cases against non-compliant LGUs, particularly those that still operate open dumpsites, have not built materials recovery facilities, do not implement segregation at source, or have not submitted the 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan required by the law. Fifteen years is too long for a grace period and there should be no acceptable excuse for non-compliance. As the famous legal maxim goes, "the law may be harsh, but it is the law," thus, let cases be filed to enforce compliance by those who are failing to do their duty. Climate change is the greatest humanitarian challenge of the century and we must do everything in our power to address this crisis now. The presence of international agreements and local laws may not be enough to keep us alive. We need effective and fair enforcement of our environmental laws for the Earth to be able to sustain life in the succeeding centuries. We must uphold the rule of law for the sake of the planet. For the vulnerable, we seek climate justice now to restore the dignity of those suffering and to strengthen the resilience of the poor and recovering. For the sake of future generations, we seek a commitment to act now and to implement a holistic solution. Reducing disaster risk and adapting to climate change effectively is social justice in action. We are called upon to do more for the poor -- the marginalized and disenfranchised -- who are bound to suffer most from apathy and inaction with the increasing prevalence of climate change and disaster risks. As we respond, we ask: How can local risk governance be strengthened? How can resilience of livelihood be enhanced? How can we preserve the integrity of our ecosystems? How do we ensure the resilience of our culture and the indigenous peoples? Let us use the power of the law while we still have ecosystems to rehabilitate and species to protect; because if we have already lost all these, our laws will only be as good as an expired license. The future of humanity and of the Earth depends on what we do now and what we will fail to do. Let us not make failure an option. Let us make resilience and sustainability our future. Thank you.*** ________________________ [1] Supreme Court en banc Decision, Oposa vs. Factoran, G.R. No. 101083 July 30, 1993.

[2] The Paris Agreement, Conference of Parties 21. Article 22.1 (a).

[3] Key Coal Trends: Exceprts from Coal Information 2015. International Energy Agency.

[4] World Health Organization. News Release 7 May 2014. Geneva.

[5] Pacyna J, Sundseth K, Pacyna E, Panasiuk ND. Study on Mercury Sources and Emissions Analysis of Cost and Effectiveness of Control Measures:" UNEP Paragraph 29 Study." 2010 November. UNEP (DTIE)/Hg/INC.2/4:17.
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September 26, 2016 Transcript of Sen. Grace Poe's questions at the Department of Education Budget Hearing On school-based feeding program Sen. Grace Poe: There are studies that show that there is a direct correlation between nutrition and the performance of children in school and during the last Congress, part of what we pushed for was a budget for DepEd is for supplemental school feeding programs especially for those schools that have a lot of undernourished children. I would just like to know the status of that because I remember in a report about the 2015-2106 the audit report for region 4A, 6, 8,10, and NCR the school-based feeding program was delayed. So I'd like to know now with the P4.9billion that the DepEd is allocating for health and nutrition services, I'd like to know exactly what your programs are and how are you able to determine which schools will be beneficiaries of such. Usec. Annalyn Sevilla: Good afternoon. I'll report about the fund utilization for school-based feeding program as of end of June, ma'am, that's the latest report that we have out of the 1 billion pesos budget total obligation is 68% or 691 million and we still have 26% or 177 million to be obligated. But as we had an early discussion ma'am this is June so we have 3 months that has already been done. We will have an updated report by end of September to give the most recent utilization rate so this 26% unutilized might be a lower percentage. Sen. Poe: So may I ask, P1 billion was actually allotted for the DepEd for the school feeding, I guess the rest we were able to allot for the early childhood program of DSWD which doesn't fall under either the rest of it. Now you have about 4-something billion for nutrition services, exactly can you tell me what your programs will be for the coming school year that will be included in this budget. Usec. Annalyn Sevilla: For 2017, we have a total of P4.1 billion which consists of provision of food commodities that's 18 pesos per child and there is an estimate of 1,823,000 students so that's 3.9 billion, actually, the bulk of the 4 billion is in this program. And there's also a provision of toothpaste and toothbrush at 25 pesos per child same number of students so that's 45 million.. Provision of iron supplement which is 1 peso per day times 20 that's P36 million. And there's a year-end assessment, all other administrative expenses related to that will be the balance. Sen. Poe: Can you tell me how much exactly is the administrative expenses? Related to nutrition? Usec. Sevilla: We have a consultative workshop on the revision of some guidelines and regulations so that's administrative, ma'am. We have a year-end assessment review, so that's also included. But we have a big amount from sa Gulayan sa Paaralan din ma'am, that's P86.8 million. Sen. Poe: What exactly is this? Gulayan para sa paaralan? Sec. Briones: If I may join the conversation I have seen many schools...This is a program which goes all the way back to other administrations wherein schools which have big lots in big areas, they have their gulayan. These are very beautiful kasi kino-combine nila parang park yung mga school ano nila...And then yung mga...the agricultural products are used to feed the children. And then the mothers are the ones who cook. They come over and cook the food. I have recently visited such schools. And also, the Department of Agriculture has offered na when we are requiring schools in provinces to have Gulayan, they will support contests because there are ongoing contests right now but they will give cash awards. Magbibigay sila ng implements. So this is a joint activity of the Department of Agriculture and the DepEd na nagproproduce ng nutritious food para sa children. It's really very beautiful kasi naghalo yung bulaklak saka yung gulay, yung gulay ay may bulaklak naman kaya ang ganda-ganda. At nakikita ko one school I visited, nandoon yung mga parents, sila ang naghaharvest, sila ang nagluluto at sayang na we cannot do this for the urban based schools pero sa provincial it has been done for some time already. Sen Villar: Can I make a comment? We are doing that in the urban schools also. Sec. Briones: We also have contests and Gulayan sa Paaralan. And usually the gulay is used to feed the kids...Self-sustatining. Nagtatanim sila ng gulay, niluluto ng mga magulang ang mga gulay para ipakain sa children. Sen. Poe: You can see how women...are interested when it comes to children, nutrition and food. Very basic needs but very essential nonetheless and I'm not surprised in Las Pinas they can do this because my colleague here can actually make a lot of products out of waterlilies so, I'm not surprised also If they have urban farming, but I'm also glad that the secretary herself has witnessed the success of this program and I think we really have to encourage this, even farming in small containers in urban areas which eventually, I think we can look into but I would also like to ask for, in choosing the students that will be beneficiary of your school-based feeding program, how do you determine that? Is it, are you determining it based on weight? Severely wasted? Is it based on areas? Usec. Sevilla: Good afternoon again, we've selected children who are severely wasted or very thin. They have a body mass index for age that is below negative 3, z-score, or, also the children who are wasted, and this is because of your intervention last budget season, and so, we have been working with this children for 2016. Sen. Poe: Thank you but if I can request the date after, I guess this was just implemented this year, right? So at the end of the year maybe we can ask how those children are doing, is it just for 120 days or for the entire school year? Q: It is for 120 days for last year, actually it was last year that it was very big, the DepEd has always had some form of school-based feeding and but not in these numbers that we had last year. Sen. Poe: So I will request a copy of your data to see how those children improved. Another thing is because also of technology and usually when I attend different trade fairs even government fairs, they have certain supplements that they can add in let's say lugaw, that actually is nutritionally balanced and I think that maybe, especially the secretary here is very sympathetic to programs like this, perhaps in the next year we can include that in the budget already that all schools, I mean I know it will be very expensive, all we can do is say yes or no, but at least we can try, while we are trying to institutionalize it and pass a bill for national feeding program, because isn't there a study a co-relation between higher grades, better performance of children who are actually fed with nutritious meals in school. I know we have this in Valenzuela, this is actually one of the successful standardized feeding programs that we have in the country and I'd like to acknowledge...This is really the advocacy of a colleague of mine here...Sen. Sherwin. So that will be it. Now, my other question is about the computerization program of DepEd. In 2017, your budget is P6.8 billion for this. Of which you will receive 6.8 billion but I believe that there was underspending I suppose or undelivered? In 2015? So I'd like to know how are you coordinating with the DICT on this matter? How may you do the computerization programs? Is it for the teachers? To provide them with a tablet? Is it for students? To provide them with computer labs or at least computers in schools? How do you determine which public schools will have those? On ICT Programs Sec. Briones: Usec. Alain po is in charge of the ICT program. He will answer your questions. Usec Alain Pascua: Ma'am the 2016 packages for computerization for senior high schools standalone....The package will include seven host PC, 42 access terminals, 2 laptops and 2 projectors. And for secondary schools, again 7 PCs, 42 access terminals, 2 laptops, and 2 projectors. For junior high school replacement...There are some computers in junior high that need replacement. The same package--7 host PCs, 42 access terminals, 2 laptops, and 2 projectors. And there is this special package for senior highschool...51 PCs ma'am. These are all for 2016. Sen. Poe: For all schools? Or for which schools? Usec Pascua: Yes ma'am. Basically for 2016 these are all for senior and junior highschools. On early Christmas break Sen. Poe: So all senior and junior highschools will have this? So this is probably the question a lot are wanting me to ask and I might as well just ask. We are not experts, that is why we need your inputs on this. As you know, the president has made a priority that program to ease traffic in urban centers particularly in Metro Manila. And we each have to do our part to see how we can help ease the problem of traffic. And some parents have approached me and some individuals have said that perhaps...We can probably request schools to have an early Christmas vacation because it is this time of the year that everyone is trying to run their errands and doing so many different activities. Now, I know that we cannot disturb the allotted calendar year for children but perhaps if we extend during the summer months as opposed to and shortening the time when it's critical like in December it may actually be an effort that is immediately felt by our commuters but this is just a thought. I know that you already have your calendars set. On the other hand, the reason why we're asking for emergency powers is because we have unusual circumstances and if we have to make adjustments in each of our particular area, why not. Maybe just moving the Christmas party earlier or maybe the exams earlier if you haven't printed the exams yet. Is it doable? Maybe not in the entire Philippines but in Metro Manila and in Cebu. Sec. Briones: Your honor from the time you announced your interest on the possibility of adjusting the school schedule we have been reflecting on it and we are really going to seriously study the proposal. Right now under our calendar, because we have to have 202 school days for each school year. The Christmas break for public schools starts on December 22 and then ends on January 2. What I have noticed as a teacher myself in UP, usually Christmas vacation starts early, 2nd week of December. But we also noticed that the build-up of Christmas traffic usually accelerates even during the Christmas break for the children because if have a break on December 22 the build-up is really 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 so what I'm saying is that we have to look at the statistics and the projections as to the intensity, the acceleration of the build-up. Does it happen during the school season or is it still happening even after classes are already closed, others they close on December 15, public school December 22 pero nag a-accelerate pa rin because Christmas is what Christmas is so we have to look at that. Also, we also need to consider the schedule for exams and so on. We also have looked at the possibility of extension of classes but we also have to consider that if we extend, we extend into Holy Week. And also the possibility of, because some classes start also of course during summer. Right now, the capacity of our school buildings, they are not the most comfortable and are not built for very, very hot summer days because usually we don't have class during summer and capacity of the children to absorb and I have visited classrooms which even until now are extremely, extremely hot because of the size of the windows would affect their learning capacity. Summer is also the time for summer diseases and all these things so we need to consider all of these in a school calendar which applies to the entire country and of course we're thinking primarily of the traffic prone areas like Metro Manila and the other urban centers. But we have to examine the data from the point of view also of impact on learning of the children because to summarize again, it's not only the school children who add to the traffic it's really Christmas itself which accelerates and the build-up I have noticed on December 24 things hardly move on December 25, 26 until New Year and that's already holiday. Wala ng estudyante but you still have traffic. The second is the possibility of spill over to Holy Week kasi graduation. Everything is already scheduled kasi so if you move everything, to move classes to summer, our classrooms are not built for summer. You have all the diseases and our children, I have entered classrooms as hot as ovens during summer time so all these things but we appreciate your interest in contributing to the solution in our traffic woes without resulting to emergency powers and I quite agree with that kind of perspective. Thank you your honor. Sen. Poe: Thank you Secretary. Those points are very valid and of course you see why the picture being in the position but I would also like to stress that of course it's traffic 22, 23, 24 because everybody's rushing... Sec. Briones: Up to New Year iyan. Sen. Poe: To get what they need to do. And also as a mother, I'd like to have more time with my children maybe at home but we have to make time maybe on the weekends so this is not exactly a free pass for the students but I would like to hear what your decision will be. Maybe when you're ready as the soonest possible time so that, some constituents are also very curious as to what solutions you can offer regarding this. So that's all Mr. Chair. Thank you so much.
Press Release

September 26, 2016 As chronic malnutrition worsens, Recto pushes for national child health program Alarmed by the worsening malnutrition problem among Filipino children, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto has proposed a comprehensive health and nutrition program that will provide protection and support for mothers and their children from conception to childhood. A lynchpin of the program is providing free meals for malnourished children which Recto said can be funded in part by state gaming revenues. "What we earn from gambling tables we should spend in bringing food to tables. Yung kita sa lotto pwedeng pambili ng lutong pagkain para sa mga bata," Recto said. He said that if the Duterte administration is spending billions to give free rice to soldiers and policemen, "then more food should be given to the most vulnerable." In Senate Bill 831, Recto cited grim figures from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which show that Filipino children are more malnourished today than ever before. According to the FNRI report, one out of four (26.2 percent) Filipino children aged zero to two are suffering from chronic malnutrition, the highest rate in the last 10 years. Stunting rate among children under five years old was at 33.5 percent, higher than that of last year at 30.5 percent. Ten percent of children with cases of stunted growth also grew at an average of 40 percent in just a span of two years, from 2013 to 2015. The report stated that malnutrition and under-nutrition among pregnant women was also high at 25 percent in 2013. "This means that even before the children come out from their mother's womb, they are already malnourished or undernourished. Chances are, they will also suffer from chronic malnutrition and stunted growth as they grow up and will face greater risk of getting ill in the future," Recto pointed out. The chronic problem of malnutrition and under-nutrition among Filipino children, Recto said, may only be addressed by establishing a comprehensive children's health and nutrition program covering all of the country's 42,000 barangays. Recto's proposal covers three major components: the First 1000 Days Program, the Supplementary Feeding Program for Day Care Children, and the School-Based Feeding Program. For the First 1000 Days Program, the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the DOST through the FNRI and the Local Government Units (LGUs) are mandated to develop a health and nutrition program for pregnant and lactating women and their newborn children up to 1000 days old, in every barangay. After the first 1000 days, the program shall extend for another year until the children reach the age of three and shall include maternal and child health care services such as counseling and family development sessions. The program, Recto stressed, must also include necessary feeding in forms of milk and complementary food that will prevent malnutrition. Under the Supplementary Feeding Program for Day Care Children, the DSWD, in coordination with the LGUs concerned shall institute a Supplementary Feeding Program for children aged three to five in all Day Care Centers nationwide. "We also have to monitor the children's weight and height prior to and after the feeding cycle to track their progress and assess the efficacy of the program," the senator explained. "To sustain the program outside the Day Care Centers, we must include instruction and counseling to parents on how to attain healthy living at home," he added. The School-Based Feeding Program, on the other hand, requires the Department of Education (DepEd) through the Health and Nutrition Center (HNC) to implement a feeding program that will address malnutrition, under-nutrition and short-term hunger among public school children aged six to 12. The program shall include the provision of one hot, healthy meal to all public school children for a period of not less than 120 days in a year, complemented with health activities such as deworming, food production, waste segregation and composting, good grooming and hygiene, productivity, life and values development trainings. "We aim to expand the feeding programs by including complementary activities for children to include hygiene and healthy lifestyle and counseling for parents so that the promotion of health and nutrition will become their way of life even outside the schools," Recto explained. To ensure sustainability, Recto proposed that the funds for the implementation of the program be included in the budget of the DOH, DSWD and DepEd under the General Appropriations Act. Another source of fund is the combined gross government share from the income of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation which could reach P40 billion this year.
Press Release

September 26, 2016 DOLE CHIEF, LABOR GROUPS & PRIVATE COMPANIES TO ATTEND SENATE'S NEXT HEARING ON 'ENDO' The Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development chaired by Senator Joel Villanueva is set to conduct its second hearing on Tuesday, September 27, with the aim to address the evils of contractualization and the "endo" scheme. The committee invited leaders and representatives coming from both public and private sector, academe, and trade unions. Among those in the guest list are Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III; Guenter Taus, President of the European Chambers of the Philippines (ECCP); trade union leaders Atty. Raymond Mendoza (TUCP-PGEA), Atty. Ruben Torres (TUCP), and Elmer Labog (KMU); UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations Dean Rene Ofreneo; PCCI President George Barcelon; and SM Retail, Inc. President Jeorge Mendiola. Committee chair Sen. Villanueva urges the resource persons to present their side in addressing "endo" or the "555" scheme. "I vow to end contractualization and any other forms of labor abuse. I propose to prohibit labor-only contractualization and limit contractual services to highly specialized fields. We have to ensure that we adopt a law that will regularize workers and ensure that they will receive social benefits and protection. In addition, I am also pushing for a law that will create a support fund for workers who will be in between jobs," Villanueva emphasized. Senator Villanueva has recently filed Senate Bill No.1130 or An Act Establishing a Labor Empowerment Assistance Program (LEAP) which provides for financial assistance to workers in between job periods at an amount which is no less than the appropriate minimum wage. The senator commits to pass this bill alongside the anti-contractualization bill. "Our workers are the lifeblood of our economy. They have been neglected for many years now. Our goal is to ensure that they receive what is due them" the senator said. On Tuesday's hearing, the labor committee targets to raise issues regarding all forms of contractualization; ensure security of tenure; and address the unemployment rate. The hearing would further serve as a fitting venue for trade unions and the government to settle their differences in resolving the "endo" scheme. Last Sunday, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) expressed its opposition on the government's proposal that will allow regularization of contractual workers at the manpower service provider level rather than by the principal employer. The union considered the said move as "another form of contractualization that is not in the Labor Code" according to an article published by The Manila Times. "I am positive that through these hearings, we would be able to engage employers, the government, and the labor groups in a fruitful debate and hopefully come up with viable solutions on this problem," Villanueva said. Meanwhile, most recent data by the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that the Philippine unemployment rate is at 5.6% from 6.1% in April 2016, while underemployment rate is at 17.3% from 18.4% during the same period. With regard to the problem of "endo", the DOLE data reports that as of 2016, there are 5,150 registered contractors, with 416,343 workers deployed across 26,194 principals. During the Senate's first hearing on "endo", the DOLE said it aims to address the said problem by strictly enforcing compliance to labor standards, reviewing the present Department Order 18-A framework towards the issuance of new set of implementing rules; and proposing amendments to the Labor Code that specifically deals with contractualization. To date, seven bills and three resolutions have been filed in the Senate seeking to put an end to the said labor scheme.
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Stoked by hot, dry conditions, a blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains charred about 1,000 acres and destroyed at least one structure as it quickly moved through the area Monday, threatening hundreds of homes and forcing evacuations, officials said.

Calls started coming in around 2:30 p.m. reporting large plumes of smoke in the area, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Loma Fire was centered between Los Gatos and Morgan Hill off Loma Prieta Avenue and Loma Chiquita Road, near the 4,000-foot Loma Prieta Mountain, officials said. Air tankers and helicopters were deployed to spread fire retardant as crews battled the blaze on the ground.

Evacuations were ordered for all of Casa Loma Road from Loma Prieta Avenue to Mount Madonna Road, said Cal Fire Assistant Chief Michael Borelli. Three hundred homes were threatened by the blaze, which was 5 percent contained Monday night.

The Red Cross opened a shelter for evacuees at Soquel High School on Old San Jose Road.

Firefighters say the blaze, ripping through brush, oak woodland and pine forest, was initially burning east toward Morgan Hill, confined to Santa Clara County. After sunset, the northern part of the fire began to pick up and firefighters feared it may also head west toward Santa Cruz County.

I put a lot of faith in the CDF, but yeah, Im a little nervous, said Mary Lindsay, who lives about 3 miles from where the fire was burning and runs Muns Vineyard in Los Gatos. I can see all the smoke billowing up from the fire. My guess is that Im not going to be staying here tonight.

Roger Mason, owner of the Mason-Taylor Ranch in Los Gatos, lives about 10 miles from the fire. He said he kept an eye on the blaze throughout the day and had plans to move his chickens, goats and rabbits if the fire spread or smoke got too heavy.

It looks like it could be coming around through the night if the winds change, Mason, 69, said. Its exploding up there. Things are so dry and the heat is working against it.

Santa Cruz had a high of 97 degrees Monday afternoon with temperatures as high as 104 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

There was just virtually no marine air, said Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the weather service. Its just hot. Dry.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation.

Cal Fire officials warned area residents, specifically those from Loma Prieta Avenue to Soquel San Jose Road, of the blaze through an automated 911 calling system.

There were residents, however, who received orders to evacuate and decided to spend the night in their homes.

Becky and Tim Farley checked out the fire while cruising in their Toyota 4Runner a short distance from their home on Loma Prieta Avenue.

Although the sheriffs office had asked them to evacuate, the couple said they planned to stay at their house with their 19-year-old daughter, two dogs and six cats until the flames became more menacing.

It looks like its really getting close, Becky Farley, 54, said as she looked up at the orange plumes of smoke drifting near a pair of transmission towers.

Were watching this fire instead of the debate, her husband added.

Nancy Long, 61, also lives on Loma Prieta Avenue. She said she and her neighbors had been outside all day waiting to see whether the fire would come up from behind Loma Prieta Mountain.

All of us said the same thing, Long said. Were not leaving unless it jumps the last ridge.

Wildfires have ravaged the region throughout the years, such as the Loma Fire of 2009 that burned 485 acres, injured four and destroyed three structures just a mile from the start of this years blaze.

The more devastating Summit Fire of 2008 blackened more than 4,000 acres in the region, resulting in 16 injuries and nearly 100 destroyed structures.

Longtime residents also remember the 1985 Lexington Fire, which burned through more than 13,000 acres in the region and prompted a disaster declaration.

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.

This years Loma Fire ignited a day after a blaze swept through The Geysers geothermal facility in rural Sonoma County.

Like in the Loma Fire, soaring temperatures challenged the nearly 500 firefighters battling the 1,500-acre Sawmill Fire that was 45 percent contained Monday night, officials with Cal Fire said.

The Sawmill Fire started about 11 a.m. Sunday and spread quickly as gusty winds kicked up in the late morning and temperatures in the 90s fanned the flames burning just over a ridge about 10 miles east of Cloverdale.

Air tankers and helicopters made passes over the fire throughout the afternoon as the flames initially forced evacuations of 36 homes near the fires inception point at Big Geysers and Geysers Resort roads. The orders and road closure were lifted in the evening.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Chronicle staff writer Evan Sernoffsky contributed to this report.

Kurtis Alexander and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @kurtisalexander, @JennaJourno
Residents of San Franciscos District Three should soon have another four years with Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

Peskin, who represented the district from 2001 to 2009, challenged incumbent Julie Christensen last year and won. She was tapped to fill former Supervisor David Chius seat after he won a seat in the state Assembly. Despite the strong backing of Mayor Ed Lee, Christensen had little political experience and was prone to missteps. In the end, experience  and Peskins well-run campaign  won out.

Now Peskin is up against Tim Donnelly, a residential property manager from Russian Hill, for another four years on the board. Donnelly is a San Francisco native who has lived in the district for 30 years.

Donnelly has not raised or spent any money, according to campaign finance records. Hes running on a platform based on increasing neighborhood police presence and making sure there are a full 16 ounces in every pint of beer. (Peskin said hes also all for the latter.)

I couldnt let Aaron run unopposed, Donnelly said. I wanted to at least hold his feet to the fire. He stepped on a lot of toes on the way up.

Peskin, who is a progressive, although a fiscally conservative one, has had a relaxed campaign. Mailers have gone out to residents, and Chinatown residents still know him as the bearded man, he said. He tried to maintain a public presence in District Three  attending merchant meetings and neighborhood barbecues, and hanging out on street corners.

The next term would be focused on easing San Franciscos affordability and housing crisis, Peskin said.

My job is to preserve the historic character of the citys densest part, and to make sure that all of the characters, the artists and the poets, are able to continue to live here, he said. Thats what makes this district worth living in and worth visiting.

Donnelly also agreed that the neighborhood culture was special. He said overcrowding by tourists and new residents was ruining the magic, causing traffic snarls and depleting resources.

Why do we keep building like crazy? Donnelly said. Oakland has plenty of land over there. Same thing for the Richmond or the Sunset. They could use 100,000 more people to make the place more vibrant.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn

District 3

AARON PESKIN

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.

Age: 52

Occupation: Supervisor

No. 1 issue: Address San Franciscos affordability crisis and housing.

TIM DONNELLY

Age: 59

Occupation: Residential property manager

No. 1 issue: More policing and a community presence to prevent break-ins.
State officials removed San Francisco physician Frank Chen from their disability screening panel in December 2013 after numerous complaints about his exams  that they sometimes lasted 10 minutes or less and that he ignored a patients broken bones, bleeding disorder and use of a cane in his reports following those visits.

Yet, even after his removal, the Social Security Administration used Chens patient evaluations to determine that applicants were ineligible for disability benefits. Now, in a court settlement, the federal government has agreed to take another look at 6,500 applicants who were rejected, most of them from the Bay Area.

Instead of telling people about it, and warning them (that Chen had been dropped), they let those reports sit in the system, and adjudicators continued to rely on the reports to deny people benefits, said Trinh Phan, a lawyer at Justice in Aging, one of the organizations representing the applicants. We did this class action to hold Social Security accountable.

She said the amounts at stake were potentially significant. For example, someone who was wrongly turned down in 2001 for disability benefits, on average about $1,200 a month, would be entitled to a retroactive payment of nearly $100,000 in 2017.

The Social Security Administration declined to comment about the settlement or its treatment of applicants who were examined by Chen.

Chen no longer practices medicine in the area, and efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. A staff member at Bay View Medical Clinic in San Jose, one of four Bay Area facilities where he examined applicants for disability benefits, said he had left several years ago and was no longer in contact with the clinic.

In a letter to state regulators responding to a complaint against him in 2011, Chen said he had been a licensed physician for more than 40 years and had practiced internal medicine in the Bay Area for more than 30 years.

Since at least 2007, the state Department of Social Services had included him on a regional panel of doctors who perform consultative examinations for applicants seeking disability benefits under the federal Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs. The applicants are mostly moderate- or low-income patients who lack medical documentation to support their claims of disability.

One applicant was Kevin Hart, the lead plaintiff in the case. According to the lawsuit, Hart was hit by a car in 2007, shattering his right leg. Formerly employed as a construction worker, janitor and groundskeeper, he was unable to work and was granted disability benefits.

He then suffered further injuries, including a fractured rib and a lacerated kidney, in an assault by a group of teenagers in San Francisco in April 2013. Needing to renew his benefits, Hart, who then lived in San Mateo, was referred to Chen for an exam in August 2013.

According to the lawsuit, Chen spent 10 minutes with him, never touched his body, cut him off when he tried to describe his past diagnoses, and apparently never reviewed his records. Chens report to Social Security said Hart was suffering only from hypertension and shortness of breath and was capable of sitting or standing for six hours during an eight-hour workday. Chen failed to mention Harts leg injuries or the fact that he needed a cane to walk, the suit said.

A month later, Social Security told Hart that he was no longer disabled and reaffirmed the decision in March 2014, three months after Chen had been removed from the medical review panel. Hart appealed and eventually won restoration of his benefits of $909 a month, his sole source of income.

That was a nightmare, said Hart, 52. who now lives in Elk Grove (Sacramento County) and relies on both a walker and a cane to get around. I was telling him about my surgery, my leg, my back, my kidney disease, and he said, Who told you that? ... He did not care.

Another plaintiff, Nina Silva-Collins, 38, applied for disability in 2013, suffering from a severe menstrual bleeding disorder, anemia and other ailments that she said made sustained work impossible. Referred to Chen at his Oakland clinic in August of that year, she said he gave her a cursory examination, then reported that she suffered only from obesity and was capable of standing and walking for long periods.

The following January, a Social Security hearing officer found Silva-Collins ineligible for disability benefits, citing Chens report. The officer failed to note that Chen had been removed as a consultant, the suit said.

Chen responded indignantly to one complaint by a patient who said he had spent exactly seven minutes and 46 seconds examining her in a filthy, foul-smelling clinic in San Francisco in July 2010. She said he never touched her and refused to look at her medical records.

The complaint was totally untrue, Chen said in a January 2011 letter to the state Department of Social Services office overseeing the medical panel. He said he always questioned applicants about their condition and medical history, conducted a long series of examinations, and reviewed medical records provided by other doctors and hospitals.

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.

I do not need unrelevant record files from a patient, Chen wrote, adding that it would be impossible to complete the above protocol in seven minutes and 46 seconds.

But the state agency said the complaints kept coming in. In an October 2013 warning letter, the agency told Chen that patients were reporting he treated them rudely and saw them for only a few minutes before issuing evaluations that ignored their obvious impairments, such as a spinal degeneration and the effects of a recent stroke.

Finally, in December 2013, the agency told clinics in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Pacific Grove that Chen had been removed from the panel because of his unprofessional manner and failure to adequately correct deficiencies in his (consultative) reports.

Neither the state nor the federal government notified Chens patients of his removal, however, and Social Security continued to use his evaluations to deny benefits, patients advocates said in the lawsuit, filed in February 2015.

The government argued in court filings that Social Security officials were aware of Chens shortcomings and were providing that information to reviewers of disability claims. But U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar refused to dismiss the suit.

The plaintiffs, Tigar said in his ruling, were seeking action that the government was unwilling to take  new assessments of their claims that disregarded Chens findings.

The settlement, which awaits Tigars approval, would entitle the 6,500 rejected applicants to a new evaluation of their disability claims, which could include another examination or reconsideration of their past medical information apart from Chens reports. Patients Chen examined between 2007 and the end of 2010 would be reconsidered only if they said they were still disabled.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
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Donald Trump made one of his bad debate moments worse Tuesday, doubling down on his previous comments criticizing the weight of a former Miss Universe, the beauty pageant Trump owned.

While talking at Mondays debate about Trumps history of making demeaning comments about women, Hillary Clinton told the story of Alicia Machado, who won the title in 1996, shortly after Trump bought the pageant. Clinton said Trump called this woman Miss Piggy. Then he called her Miss Housekeeping, because shes Latina.

The Clinton campaign released an ad late Monday detailing how Machado felt that Trump had humiliated her by talking about how much weight she gained after winning and how he blind-sided her by inviting reporters to watch her work out.

Trump didnt back down Tuesday during an appearance on the Trump-friendly Fox News show Fox and Friends, saying Machado was a Miss Universe person, and she was the worst we ever had, the worst, the absolute worst. She was the winner and, you know, she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem.

Trump said Clinton talked about her like she was Mother Teresa, and it wasnt quite that way, but thats OK.

Clintons goal in bringing this up is that it could help rally women, who represent 60 percent of undecided voters, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Plus, it could solidify her support among Latinos, who already overwhelmingly support her.

 Joe Garofoli

On the road: A couple of weeks ago, Donald Trumps top California organizers told us they werent rounding up volunteers to head to swing state Nevada and other states to canvas. Thats changed. With Trump now ahead of Hillary Clinton in Nevada by two points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of major polls, Trumps California team is pulling together a strike team for volunteers ready to hit the road. Not like theres much for them to do in California, where Clinton is ahead 19 points, according to RealClear.

Mr. Trump is pulling ahead in Nevada, and we are organizing strike team volunteers for travel to Nevada and other states to support the effort, the Trump campaigns California state director, Tim Clark, wrote to supporters.

Clintons California campaign has been making road trips from California to Reno and other points in Nevada for a while now. But this is another sign of how Trump is trying to bump up a ground game there thats necessary for the stretch.

Key stat to watch for in Nevada: Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson is polling nearly 9 percent to Trumps 43 percent and Clintons 41 percent.

If Johnsons more-tenuous supporters peel away in the final weeks of the race, the campaign with the best support on the ground will be best positioned to scoop them up  if theyre scoopable.

 Joe Garofoli

Which party? Loretta Sanchez is becoming the de facto Republican candidate in her Senate race against California Attorney General Kamala Harris, a fellow Democrat, but hey, every vote counts the same in November.

Writing on the website of the conservative National Review, Josh Gelernter argues that Republicans need to vote for the Orange County congresswoman because its not just a race between two Democrats; its a race between a relatively moderate Democrat and a contemptible, corrupt, repulsive Democrat.

Ah, that would be Harris.

Gelernter, a regular writer for the website, is mainly hacked off because Harris not only refused to investigate Planned Parenthood after an antiabortion activist took secret video purporting to show the organization was selling fetal body parts, but also investigated the activist for using a fake California drivers license to hide his identity.

The endorsement for Sanchez isnt exactly overwhelming, because she also supports abortion rights, but for someone desperately trying to tighten up the race with Harris, anything helps.

The relatively moderate Sanchez, Gelernter said, is somewhat fiscally conservative, more reasonable about gun rights than the average Democrat, has taken a harder line on terrorism than the average Democrat, and ... has vocally opposed closer relations with Vietnams Communist government.

Republicans, who polls show arent eager to choose between two Democrats, ought to vote, and they ought to vote for Sanchez, Gelernter said.

Read more at http://tinyurl.com/hgaqknr.

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.

 John Wildermuth

Bashing Kim: Technology multimillionaire and Airbnb investor Ron Conway last week donated $75,000 to a new independent expenditure committee called We Cant Trust Jane Kim for Senate 2016.

The committee is one facet of an increasingly negative campaign run against Supervisor Kim in the state Senate race. Conway has also donated at least $15,000 to opponent Supervisor Scott Wieners campaign.

Advertisements targeting Kim have also been linked directly to Wieners campaign, including an animated video released by Wieners team chronicling her policy decisions and the launch of TheRealJaneKim.com, a website critical of her.

In a release, Kims campaign manager, Christopher Vasquez, slammed Wiener for running a less-than-positive campaign.

Scott Wiener left his backbone at the door when he decided to run his 100 (percent) negative fall campaign, he said.

Wiener spokeswoman Maggie Muir responded, Scott is focused on communicating the facts and doing the work it takes to create an affordable, livable community for everyone.

Kim and Wiener are in a dead heat for termed out Sen. Mark Lenos seat in Sacramento.

 Lizzie Johnson

Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com, ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli, @jfwildermuth, @lizziejohnsonnn
Sarah Ravani / The San Francisco Chronicle / Sarah Ravani / The San Francisco Chronicle

A woman was hospitalized after apparently getting caught in the wheel of a car that struck her Monday morning near the Caltrain station at Fourth and Townsend streets in San Francisco, police said.

The extent of her injuries and details of the accident were not immediately available. The injured woman was taken to a hospital, but her condition was not released.
The Bay Area outpaced the rest of the state and the country in economic growth for at least the fifth consecutive year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan areas gross domestic product increased by 8.9 percent between 2014 and 2015, making it the second-fastest-growing metro area in the country behind only Midland, Texas. In the same period, the economy of the San Francisco metropolitan area, which includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Mateo counties, increased by 4.1 percent. The average U.S. metro area grew at a 2.5 percent rate in 2015.

The continued growth of technology companies in the South Bay made a large contribution to the regions $223 billion GDP in 2015, said Micah Weinberg, president of the Bay Area Councils Economic Institute.

While so-called unicorn startups make waves for the multibillion-dollar valuations investors place on them, GDP is measured more conventionally, through sales of products and services. So its the more established companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Salesforce that make a significant mark on the regions economy.

There are footprints of all major industry sectors in the Bay Area, but tech is the big kahuna, Weinberg said.

Silicon Valley is also a draw for companies around the world, whose outposts generate local economic activity.

Just last year, Samsung opened a 1.1 million-square-foot, 10-story research-and-development center with 700 employees in San Jose. In June, Sunnyvales City Council approved plans for the construction of five new office buildings in Moffett Park, where Amazon, Microsoft and Comcast have expanded their presence.

Access to engineering talent from Stanford University and other local colleges, proximity to venture capitalists and even the weather draw global interest in the area, said Matthew Mahood, president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

There is really only one Silicon Valley, Mahood said.

Brandon Chew / Brandon Chew / The Chronicle

Despite the growth of companies like Twitter and Uber, San Francisco has a way to go before competing with the established tech businesses of the South Bay, and the citys finance sector has shrunk over the decades, said UC Berkeley Professor Karen Chapple, who teaches regional planning and economic development.

You either want to follow a path toward diversity or follow a path toward specialization, and San Francisco hasnt quite been able to do either, Chapple said.

Still, the Bay Area remains the envy of the world. Silicon Valley even beat Chinas 2015 growth rate of 6.9 percent.

Its growth goes against economic principles that mark high living costs as a barrier to economic growth, according to Chapple. That Bay Area companies compete both on quality of products and innovation as opposed to quantity gives the region a huge advantage, she said.

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The irony is were creating these tools in the Bay Area that would seem to make geography irrelevant, but being geographically in the Bay Area has never been more relevant, Weinberg said. Its actually mystifying.

The concentrated growth brings its own problems, he said.

There are many places in California that have actually been sliding backwards, the Central Valley for example, said Weinberg. Its not sharing in the economic success. ... If you take the Bay Area out of California, its doing just OK.

Its exacerbating income inequality to the extent that its basically two different economies in the U.S., said Chapple. Its harder and harder to have economic development in the places getting left behind.

Jessica Floum is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jfloum@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @jfloum.
The California Supreme Court unanimously agreed on Wednesday to hear a lower-court case that some Internet companies say has the potential to chill free speech online.

The case was brought by San Francisco lawyer Dawn Hassell, who said a former client named Ava Bird posted defamatory reviews of her on Yelp. She sued Bird, who did not appear in court, and a San Francisco judge ruled that the reviews were indeed defamatory. The judge ordered Yelp to remove the reviews in a decision that was upheld by a second judge and a state appeals court.

But Yelp, as well as a whos who of Internet companies, said the case would create a dangerous precedent, opening a pathway for people or companies to gut online content they find distasteful. It has not taken down the reviews, pending the appeal.

Aaron Schur, Yelps senior director of litigation, said in a statement that the San Francisco reviews site is happy the high court will hear the case: We look forward to making our full arguments to the Court and explaining how the lower court's decision is ripe for abuse, contradicts long-standing legal principles, and restricts the ability of websites to provide a balanced spectrum of views online.

Monique Olivier, a San Francisco lawyer who represented Hassell, said the lawsuit is being misrepresented as a free-speech issue.

That simply is not the case, she said. The speech at issue here is not protected speech but speech adjudicated to be defamatory. There are decades of jurisprudence finding that defamatory speech is not protected by the First Amendment.

Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, had a different take.

You could imagine the floodgates opening up with businesses trying to do exactly what Hassell did to get rid of unwanted reviews on any user-generated content site anywhere on the Web, he said.

Basically the case creates a playbook that other businesses could use to remove unwanted content, Goldman said. Step 1: Business sues review author. Step 2: Review author doesnt appear in court or agrees to drop out of the case. Step 3: Business asks the court for an injunction requiring removal of the review.

Since Bird, the reviewer, did not appear in court, Goldman said that meant the original court only heard one side of the case  that of Hassell  and therefore was more likely to rule for that side by default, finding that the material was defamatory and targeting it for removal. But Olivier said that the decision was based on evidence and testimony for Hassells side, and was not a default judgment.

Yelp was not a party to the original lawsuit and so did not get a day in court to make its case.

The California appeals court said Yelp had no standing to protest an injunction against it, Goldman said. That contradicts basic due process that we learned in kindergarten. Yelp was ordered to do something without ever having a chance to tell the court its side of the story.

The appeals court said that the case did not violate the 1996 Communications Decency Act, a federal law that shields Internet companies for liability for online content, because Yelp was not declared liable, but simply ordered to remove the disputed content.

The state Supreme Court is likely to take at least a year to issue a ruling.

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Many Internet companies are watching the case with keen interest.

The lower-court ruling could be used to silence a vast quantity of protected and important speech, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft wrote in a letter to the California Supreme Court last month.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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Your stylist botched your haircut; your mechanic missed a leak in your radiator; your hotel room was freezing; your boss piles on the work.

You vent your grievances online in a forum like Yelp, TripAdvisor or Glassdoor. Then comes a knock on the door. Youre being sued by the business you slammed.

Thats what happened to Linda and Isaac Su of Castro Valley after they complained on Yelp about their dentists billing practices, and to Deidra Carson of Kentfield when she wrote a scathing Yelp review of a cosmetic surgeon who left her with lasting facial scars after a laser peel.

The dentist sued us in small claims court, claiming we cost his business $8,000, said Linda Su. I was shocked. It was very stressful as I was nine months pregnant.

Now two pending federal laws are designed to protect consumers from legal retaliation when they express opinions online. Yelp is also now acting to red-flag the review sites of merchants who have sued customers for negative reviews.

Gabriella Angotti-Jones/The Chronicle

There are bullies out there who seek to silence individuals for speaking out on matters of public interest, said Evan Mascagni, policy director at the Public Participation Project, a free-speech nonprofit. These laws aim to combat that and get these lawsuits dismissed relatively quickly and painlessly.

The two pending laws intend to protect free speech both before and after it occurs. They are:

Consumer Review Fairness Act, HR5111. Nicknamed the Right to Yelp Act, this would bar companies from including non-disparagement provisions  gag clauses  in agreements they ask consumers to sign. In essence, it would stop companies from trying to nip complaints in the bud by getting consumers to waive their rights to gripe. The Senate version, SB2044, is called the Consumer Review Freedom Act.

Speak Free Act, HR2304. This would create a legal weapon for defendants in lawsuits over their publicly expressed thoughts. Such cases are called SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation). Someone who is hauled into court over their words can invoke the bills anti-SLAPP motion to get the case dismissed quickly  and to force the plaintiff to pay attorneys fees.

California has robust versions of both laws, which means that people sued here for expressing their opinions usually prevail in court. But since theres no similar federal shield, merchants in California who get their noses out of joint can sue customers in federal court  or in one of the 22 states that lack anti-SLAPP laws  where consumers have fewer protections.

While the growth in online forums helped the bills gain momentum, their reach extends beyond online speech. We heard cases of people in very poor communities in the rural South speaking out against issues like coal ash dumping in their communities and getting threatened with lawsuits for millions of dollars, Mascagni said.

Yelp is among some 40 companies and nonprofits backing the bills, which also have bipartisan support in Congress, where they are expected to move forward this fall.

Not everyone agrees that the bills are the best mechanism. Alexander Reinert, a professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, testified in the House that the Speak Free Act is unconstitutional, could impose significant barriers to important civil rights and public interest litigation, and intrudes into states rights. There is no evidence that the problem HR2304 is trying to solve actually exists on a scale sufficient to justify any legislation, he said.

The act would short-circuit the constitutional right to a jury trial, he said in an interview, by allowing judges to dismiss cases without hearing any evidence. Theres every reason to think that when you give defendants tools to use to get rid of cases, they will use them in as many ways as possible, he said. Almost always that power will bend in favor to people who have access to more resources.

Yelp

Mitchell Langberg, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in helping people who have been defamed, said both acts would make it easier for disgruntled customers, former employees and competitors to use forums like Yelp in a very terroristic way to attack and destroy, sometimes with dishonest information. At the same time, theyd make it much harder for victims of false reviews to get justice in court, he said.

But Yelp and other supporters say the bills serve an important purpose. If they become law, they will give clarity to Yelp reviewers nationwide that they have protections for their fact-based, honest opinions online, said Laurent Crenshaw, director of public policy at Yelp in San Francisco.

However, a case that the California Supreme Court just agreed to hear has the potential to create an end-run around laws to protect online free speech, some legal experts said. The case, Hassell vs. Bird, centers around a San Francisco lawyer, Dawn Hassell, who sued a former client, Ava Bird, over one-star Yelp reviews. A San Francisco judge ruled that the reviews were defamatory and ordered Yelp to remove them, in a decision that was upheld by a California appeals court.

The case would create a precedent allowing people to remove information they don't like from the Internet by obtaining a default judgment, however questionable, against the poster, and then getting a court order forcing the website itself to remove the statements  all without suing the website or giving it a day in court, said Aaron Schur, Yelp senior director of litigation. This restricts a website's ability to provide a balanced spectrum of views online and decreases the ability for people to get vital information online to inform their decisions. Hassells attorney, Monique Olivier, disagreed, saying that the case only narrowly applied to content ruled to be defamatory.

It will probably take at least a year for the California Supreme Court to rule in that case.

Meanwhile, Yelp is taking new steps to fight back against companies that sue its users, flagging their review sites with a red box headlined Consumer Alert: Questionable Legal Threats, with text explaining, This business may be trying to abuse the legal system in an effort to stifle free speech.

So far it has a tagged a handful of businesses, none of them in California.

Were trying to alert consumers to the fact that these businesses have taken extraordinary legal steps against consumers who have written critical reviews against them on Yelp, Schur said. We want businesses to know its not risk-free for them to file a case; they will have to contend with consumers knowing that they are suing.

However, Yelp doesnt take actions on behalf of reviewers who get sued but instead directs them to a list of resources. Were not trying to take sides beween a review and a business, Schur said. Were happy to point consumers toward resources for legal assistance.

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Linda Su said she was disappointed that Yelp didnt offer more help. She and her husband took time off to appear in small claims court in August, where a judge dismissed the dentists case because of a mistake in his paperwork.

San Franciscos Electronic Frontier Foundation, which promotes online free speech, said it receives queries at least weekly from consumers being sued over online reviews, usually on Yelp and sometimes on Glassdoor, a site where employees rate their workplaces, said staff attorney Sophia Cope. The EFF does not take individual cases, however.

We need a federal law that applies in all states, Cope said.

For Kentfields Carson, Californias anti-SLAPP law proved a potent defense.

After a laser peel left her with an infection and permanent facial scars, Carson took to Yelp to recount her experience. Her plastic surgeon sued her for $2 million.

I just posted what happens, this was my experience, what occurred, my treatment, Carson said. I wanted people to know what had happened.

She was among a dozen Yelp reviewers sued by the plastic surgeon, but the others had posted anonymously. Carson was the only one who got taken to court, where she prevailed, thanks to Californias anti-SLAPP laws. The doctor had to pay Carsons legal fees and pony up an extra $2,000 to her lawyer for the public interest benefit of the case.

As a business owner herself, Carson has been on both sides of Yelp reviews, occasionally receiving negative ones for her San Anselmo clothing boutique. I usually just ignore them; my feelings dont get hurt over stuff like that, she said. People read all the reviews so they can get a well-rounded view of things.

As for her plastic-surgeon experience, Nothing I wrote was factually inaccurate, Carson said. I dont regret it.

However, shes stopped leaving reviews on Yelp.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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She stood on a stage that was assembled by a team of young women, who set up speakers, rigged up microphones, ran sound checks and connected computers.

In the audience Thursday were members of all-female bands, female sound engineers and officials at Dolby Laboratories. As Terri Winston began to speak, a woman checked the audio levels on an iPad in the front row.

Winston is the executive director of Womens Audio Mission, a San Francisco nonprofit that uses a recording studio to teach at-risk women and girls how to become audio engineers and sound techs, and provides counseling and job placement for women in the music, radio, film, television and new media industries.

This is the world she lives in. And it is rare. When most of us consume audio media  live at an event or downloaded on our smartphones  it is hardly ever the product of work done exclusively by women.

Just 5 percent of audio engineers are female. Most sound systems  including those using new technology, like virtual- and augmented-reality systems  are created based on the physiology of men.

Santiago Mejia/Special to The Chronicle

Womens Audio Mission wants to change that.

Were addressing two issues that we think are linked together: that less than 5 percent of the people shaping and creating all the sounds and messages in our lives are women, and there is a lack of women in (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, Winston said. Those two things go together. So when we hear something and think, How does this crazy stuff get on TV, or on the radio? The answer is because there are no women at the table.

Dolby Labs hosted its first concert by the group Thursday in an effort to show Mid-Market techies what the program has accomplished and raise money for a $2 million studio that the nonprofit is trying to buy to ensure they continue to have a space of their own in San Francisco amid skyrocketing rent prices.

Though a less talked-about faction of tech than the coders and software engineers who pervade the Bay Area, audio technology faces similar challenges when it comes to diversity. Working with the nonprofit group, Dolby head scientist Poppy Crum said, has allowed her team to create one of the few gender-balanced groups of sound testers in the industry.

Dolby CEO Kevin Yeaman said many of Dolbys employees come from backgrounds as roadies and sound techs. A lack of diversity in those fields spills over into audio engineering.

Santiago Mejia/Special to The Chronicle

More than 80 percent of Womens Audio Mission participants are young women of color. More than 90 percent come from households that are at or below the poverty line. More than three-quarters of them had never touched a musical instrument.

This, Winston said, is one of the most important populations to engage  and one of the hardest.

The challenge for us is to see because of their lack of access to tech how far behind they are, she said. I dont think people are looking at the amount of underserved girls just in the Bay Area. Theres a whole population of youth thats being completely left behind.

About 73 percent of the participants do not have access to a computer or mobile device, the group said.

The beautiful thing is once we give them access to that technology, they take to it really quickly, and before you know it, they become badasses changing the face of sound in our studio, Winston said. But were not meeting our demand.

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Winstons group has a waiting list 300 girls long.

Over the past 13 years, the organization has graduated 7,000 girls. They have gone on to work for many companies, including Pixar, Electronic Arts, Dolby and NPR.

At the concert on Thursday, interns clad in black stood in the full blast of speakers as local all-female bands the Shes and Mariachi Femenil Orgullo Mexicano rocked out before a crowd of about 100 people.

Outside, commuters in business casual jumped as bass and drums pulsed through the glass-walled lobby. Some tried to peer in. Others paused to listen.

They didnt know it, but they were getting a taste of what female-created audio sounds like. Someday, Winston hopes, it will be less uncommon to hear.

Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Marissa_Jae
It was an economic plunge the likes of which hadnt been seen in America for generations.

The Chronicles front page from Sept. 26, 2008, covers the federal takeover of Washington Mutual bank amid a financial crisis and continued negotiations in the nations capital.

Washington Mutual Inc. came to an ignominious end Thursday when federal regulators seized the company and sold its branches, deposits and loans to New York-based banking giant JPMorgan Chase in the largest bank failure in U.S. history, the story read.

Although Seattle-based WaMu, as recently as two weeks ago, had told investors that it had sufficient capital to work its way through the housing market and losses in its own portfolio, regulators said they stepped in because depositors had lost confidence in the institution.

Meanwhile, in D.C., Democrats and Republicans came together to try to find a solution to a cratering stock market.

Washington performed an astonishing high-wire act on Thursday, wobbling toward and then away from an unprecedented $700 billion emergency debt bailout that no one can say for certain will work, read the story by The Chronicles Carolyn Lochhead.

The main photo on the front page is a shape and occasion rarely seen on Page One. It shows President George W. Bush in the middle, flanked by three Democrats and three Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama were on the left (politically, not physically), while House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and presidential candidate Sen. John McCain were on the right (again, politically).

This collection of political heavyweights couldnt right the economy in that meeting, but they had a common enemy: a financial disaster greater than any of them had ever seen.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspapers history.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

Chronicle Covers highlights one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Michelle Devera and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim O'Rourke is the executive producer of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke

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Police in San Francisco are on the hunt for a assailant with brass knuckles who cold-cocked a 36-year-old man on a sidewalk Sunday in the citys Mission Bernal neighborhood.

The attacker, described as a man in his 20s, walked up to the victim around 4:25 p.m. on the sidewalk on the 3200 block of Mission Street near the Knockout bar, police and a witness said.
Donald Trump may want a wall along the border, but the city of Brisbane is already putting one up when it comes to housing. City leaders in the tiny town are ruling out condos and apartments in a mega-development smack in the center of the Bay Areas costly real estate marketplace.

The hamlet, population 4,282, favors up to 8.3 million square feet of shops and offices alongside the 101 freeway. What it doesnt want is Part Two of the plan: some 4,434 residential units.

Thats not how sensible planning, balanced growth or regional thinking work. Brisbane wants to skim off the lucrative parts and dodge one of the Bay Areas most serious needs. In a memorable NIMBY utterance, Mayor Clifford Lentz said Well provide the commercial. ... San Francisco will provide the housing.

Brisbane is leaning on benign arguments about losing its small- town feel to a project that could double its population. But the Baylands project wouldnt flatten Brisbanes hillside neighborhoods or invade its small streets.

The plan aims at empty land adjacent to the freeway and the San Francisco county line. It incorporates a barely used Caltrain station for Silicon Valley-bound passengers. Its a short walk to Munis light-rail line, which whisks riders downtown. Just north of the proposed spot, the same developer is building 1,679 housing units on the 20-acre former Schlage Lock manufacturing plant on San Franciscos turf. The Baylands tract is pretty much empty dirt where a dump and rail yard were the last notable activities.

Brisbane, for now, has every advantage in the final decision. It controls future uses on the 684 acres. Local decision-making takes precedence over regional needs. If the town leaders get their way, then it could be retail cash registers and office parks over more homes.

This hidebound resistance isnt true for just Brisbane. For years, San Francisco blocked new housing in deference to locals who resisted change. Other cities around the bay have acted similarly, adding to a problem exacerbated by a booming economy and surge in population. One telling statistic: San Mateo County has created 54,000 new jobs since 2010 and only 3,000 new homes. Despite studies and reports documenting this trend and pinpointing spots where building makes sense, the next steps remain a tough sell.

Brisbane may budge as the pressure builds on its City Council, due to meet Thursday. These leaders could moderate the no-housing stance by negotiating an acceptable number with the developer, Universal Paragon Corp. That would be a positive direction that would benefit the town and the entire Peninsula, which is so short of residential options.

The combination of open land, prime transit location and willing developer shouldnt be passed up. If Brisbane moves in a productive direction, it could spread the message: one Bay Area community isnt afraid to accept its role in a wider region. Growth can be accommodated and planned. That would be a timely statement other cities should hear.
In a global economy, trade is more than container ships and overseas clothing labels. Its also a foreign policy tool that confronts hostile powers and knits together allies more securely than any military or diplomatic alliance.

This special strength lies at the heart of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is on political life support in Congress due to exaggerated fears about jobs losses overseas. The deal is designed to codify environmental and labor rules, cut tariffs and set new digital standards. But largely overlooked is another impact: the combined force the proposed 12-nation pact will have in standing up to Chinas territorial ambitions.

Beijing is expanding its navy, once a poor second to the U.S. fleet. Its defied an international tribunal ruling that went against its claims to a string of islands that its turning into military bases between Vietnam and the Philippines. Chinese-directed cyberspying is growing, stealing government and business secrets. The worlds second-biggest economy is showing its muscle.

The trade partnership is one way to push back. By uniting the countries dotted around the Pacific Rim, there will be both strength and safety for these members. The White Houses vaunted foreign policy pivot to Asia will have genuine meaning. U.S. leadership will stand at the center of this circle.

No one knows the essentials of this argument better than Hillary Clinton, who praised the deal as secretary of state. Yet she has changed her position from believer to critic during her run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Though she pushed for closer relations and economic links with Asia, shes now spurning the pact in a bid for votes from the left and union foes of the deal.

This week shes swooping through Bay Area executives mansions on a fundraising blitz. On the campaign trail, shes talked up a tough stance in confronting China, where U.S. interests are at stake, while balancing that outlook with talk about working together on issues such as North Koreas unpredictable and dangerous behavior.

Thats a reasonable mix, but the trade pact will add cement-like substance. No one has more at stake than her tech and financial donors in Piedmont, Redwood City and Palo Alto. They should press her to reverse a lamentable flip-flop on a major issue.
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For her, its personal. For him, its politics.

The race for San Francisco District Five supervisor is between incumbent London Breed, an African American woman who grew up in the housing projects half a mile from City Hall, and Dean Preston, the son of Holocaust survivors who moved to San Francisco at age 24.

Breed, 42, is the moderate, Preston, 46, the progressive. Breeds priority is rehabilitating public housing. Prestons emphasis is creating affordable housing for working-class renters.

They are competing for votes in one of the citys most progressive districts. District Five includes the historically African American Fillmore and Western Addition neighborhoods as well as the more affluent and progressive Haight-Ashbury, North of the Panhandle and Parnassus Heights.

Breed, who is president of the Board of Supervisors, sees Preston as an interloper who thinks he knows whats best for the district. She puts him in the same category as city officials who razed black neighborhoods from the 1950s to 70s in the name of redevelopment.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Unfortunately, I have experienced far too many Deans in my lifetime, said Breed, who does not hide her hostility. People who come into our community and claim that they are going to be the savior of the community without understanding or ever have lived the struggle of what the community has experienced.

Breed was raised by her grandmother and grew up poor and surrounded by violence. Her brother is serving a long prison sentence. Her younger sister died of a drug overdose. She and her grandmother were displaced when the city razed their housing project. Those experiences have shaped Breeds legislative priorities as supervisor.

Four years ago, Breed, then director of the African American Art & Culture Complex in the Western Addition, beat out a crowded field of candidates to become supervisor. She was brash, confident and outspoken, and had the support of some political and business leaders. Technology investor and Airbnb backer Ron Conway and his family spent $100,000 in independent expenditures that helped her defeat incumbent Christina Olague.

Preston is as low-key as Breed is outspoken. He moved from New York to San Francisco 23 years ago. In the 1990s, he and his wife bought a house in Alamo Square. He attended UC Hastings College of the Law and said he began his legal career representing victims of police misconduct.

He transitioned to tenants rights law in 2000. In 2008, he founded Tenants Together, a statewide renters rights organization. Deepa Varma, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, described Preston as one of the most brilliant minds around about how to protect tenants from unfair evictions, especially no-fault evictions.

Over the past year, Preston has held tenant boot camps to give advice to renters fearing eviction. His criticism of Breed isnt personal. He focuses on her politics.

She has a pattern of not standing up to the real estate industry. She wouldnt support meaningful Airbnb reform up until this year, when Preston entered the race, he said. Theres a pretty consistent pattern for the first three years of not delivering for tenants and more broadly neighborhoods  small businesses that have been driven out.

He points to Breeds legislative record.

She supported legislation legalizing short-term rentals in San Francisco, despite criticism by progressives that it was a giveaway to Airbnb. She opposed the proposed antispeculation tax that appeared on the 2014 ballot. She also opposed legislation pushed by tenant advocates that limited building owners ability to convert units where buyouts had occurred into condominiums.

Preston criticized Breeds legislation to rezone parts of the district to allow denser  although not taller  buildings. He said her support of a massive 158-unit development on the site of a gas station and car wash at Oak and Divisadero streets exemplifies her approach.

Preston believes the project should be much smaller. But his main criticism is that Breed should have required the developer to make at least a quarter of the units affordable to low- and moderate-income residents. Breed eventually introduced legislation to do just that. She said she didnt initially because the city attorney advised her she couldnt. Preston said she did so only after being criticized.

She literally rezoned all of Divasidero and Fillmore without a single community meeting to double and triple density, Preston said. And when people contacted her office about it was told its no big deal because it wasnt going to raise heights. And then people woke up to it when the developer submitted new plans.

Breeds leadership has emerged most saliently on issues she personally identifies with. She doomed Mayor Ed Lees plan to build a new jail to replace the seismically unsafe one at 850 Bryant St. She said the conditions were inhumane  her brother had been incarcerated there  but criticized the proposed replacement as too big and too expensive.

Her biggest achievement is neighborhood preference legislation that seeks to give African Americans a better shot at getting into new subsidized housing in their neighborhood. While federal housing officials initially rejected the policy, Breed personally lobbied them to reconsider. Last week, the federal government said it will allow the city to prioritize subsidized units for residents who live in neighborhoods experiencing advanced gentrification.

Breed defended her record on housing.

Is it perfect? No. But until my neighborhood preference legislation there wasnt even a real link between the new affordable housing we build and people actually getting an opportunity to access it.

Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen

District 5

LONDON BREED

Age: 42

Occupation: Supervisor

No. 1 goal: Rehabilitate public housing, and build new affordable housing

DEAN PRESTON

Age: 46

Occupation: Tenants rights attorney

No. 1 goal: Create affordable housing, and stop displacement
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Election day is still more than a month away, but three supervisorial candidates are already looking ahead to their first terms.

On Monday, Sandra Fewer, Hillary Ronen, Kimberly Alvarenga  who are running in Districts one, nine and 11  will announce a joint plan to advance certain issues if elected to the Board of Supervisors. Their proposal includes identifying three affordable-housing sites in each of their districts, launching a universal preschool program for 4-year-olds and prioritizing an east-west artery for BART.

We had been talking to each other about how frustrating it is with how divided things are at City Hall, Ronen said Friday. Given the serious problems we are facing as a city, we need to work together. I dont know any candidates who have ever done this across districts before.

The candidates, all mothers, said the focus was to concentrate less on ego and more on policy.

There is this urgency to get to work right away and to work collaboratively with people, Fewer said. We all agreed that there is no time to waste. We dont want to get embroiled in personality conflicts. Lets just get to work.

And if one of them doesnt win the election?

We would still continue with our platform, Alvarenga said. We have to make it possible. Its not about individual politicians, its about preserving the heart and soul of San Francisco. We want to roll our sleeves up and get to work.

 Lizzie Johnson

Look on the bright side: By definition, political consultants are born optimists, the type of folks who would dig though a 10-foot pile of horse manure, confident theyll find a pony in there somewhere.

Which brings us to Bill Carrick, the chief strategist for Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchezs Senate campaign.

Almost from the day her campaign against state Attorney General Kamala Harris began, she has been the Joe Btfsplk of California politics, a living representation of the character in Al Capps Lil Abner cartoon strip who walked around with a storm cloud of misfortune over his head.

Offends American Indians by giving a stereotypical war whoop days after entering the race? Check.

Badly loses her endorsement bid at the state Democratic convention? Check.

Finishes second to Harris in the June primary by 21 percentage points? Check.

Angers black voters by suggesting that the reason President Obama endorsed Harris is because She is African American, as is he. Check.

And through it all, Carrick kept looking for the pony.

Well, with the most recent Public Policy Institute of California poll, he may have found it. While just about every other poll has Harris up by 15 percentage points or more, the PPIC survey shows her up by only 7 seven percentage points.

Brushing aside all those other less-than-glowing polls of recent months, Carrick was quick to put out a campaign memo arguing that political times have finally changed.

The race is tightening, he said. It is tightening because voters are starting to pay attention to the candidates.

And when voters pay attention, theyre bound to back Sanchez, he said, never mind what all those other pesky surveys  and the PPICs 7 percentage point deficit  are suggesting.

Loretta will represent all Californians, Carrick said. She is of the people, not the establishment.

As voters hear that, he added, they are moving to Loretta and away from Harris.

At least until the next set of poll numbers come out.

 John Wildermuth

Berkeley boost: Berkeley City Councilman Jesse Arreguin, a left-leaning candidate in an all-Democratic mayoral race, has clinched support from the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee.

The endorsement, along with others, from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Alameda Labor Council, will help bolster Arreguins campaign against another city councilman, Laurie Capitelli, who is departing Mayor Tom Bates preferred successor.

Capitelli, meanwhile, has backing from several key figures in the East Bays political establishment, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, state Sens. Loni Hancock and Nancy Skinner, and UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich. To date, the race has drawn in eight candidates, including three city councilmen, a public policy graduate student, a homeless man, a retiree and an indigenous elder.

 Rachel Swan

Cheap airfare: For just $3, you and a friend can join Donald Trump and his campaign team as we crisscross America firing up crowds and spreading our pro-borders, pro-jobs, pro-security message during the final home stretch of this campaign, the GOP presidential candidate said in one of his latest fundraising emails.

Its not just anyone who will get this chance, he said.

While Hillary Clinton spends all her time with liberal elites at closed-door fundraisers, Trump said in the email, I am out and about with the hard-working and patriotic Americans who are the backbone of our country.

That includes you.

This chance to see the country aboard Trumps private jetliner is strictly limited, of course, because, as Trump said, Next year I will be flying on Air Force One.

 John Wildermuth

A kid thing: There are all kinds of voter guides out there, but a new one out last week from San Franciscos Common Sense Kids Action appeals to an audience rarely addressed directly: families and children. Plus, the new organization that produced it  an offshoot of the 14-year-old powerhouse Common Sense Media  is taking the whole voter guide thing a step further.

The guide explains the predicted impact of and rate Californias 17 ballot measures with either a For Kids, Against Kids or Neutral rating, and the group has already planned 100 meetings around the state to discuss the ratings. This guide is the first step in Common Sense CEO Jim Steyers plan to build a long-term mass army for kids that would advocate for childrens issues.

With 62 million people worldwide now using Common Sense Medias content, the organization has grown from its original mission of providing reviews of TV, movies and video games into creating a media literacy education curriculum used in more than 107,000 schools.

 Joe Garofoli

Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com, jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lizziejohnsonnn, @jfwildermuth, @joegarofoli, @rachelswan
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So far, the year of restaurants has been marked with a spate of high-profile debuts (Mister Jius, In Situ, Tartine Manufactory, et al.) and a number of unexpected demises. The latter has been particularly noticeable in SoMa and Mid-Market, where several ambitious projects (Cadence, Oro, Bon Marche and Volta) have all closed mere months after opening.

Across the city, restaurants  both established and new  are complaining about San Franciscos staffing shortages, skyrocketing rents, rising costs and so on. Dont expect the noise to subside, either. In January 2017, employer health-care expenditures will be required to be made 100 percent irrevocable in accordance with San Franciscos Health Care Security Ordinance. In July 2017, San Franciscos minimum wage will rise to $14 an hour.

While such moves are clearly positive for employees, Golden Gate Restaurant Association Executive Director Gwyneth Borden says that in an industry with tight profit margins, it makes things more difficult for owners.

Everybodys stressed about it. The glut. The staffing. The pricing, says Paul Einbund, who will open his own restaurant this fall after years running wine service at some of the citys best restaurants, such as Coi, Frances and Octavia.

Despite the challenges, the autumnal months are shaping up to be a busy time for Bay Area restaurant openings. Einbunds new restaurant, to be named the Morris, is just one of many highly anticipated restaurants; it is scheduled to open Monday, Oct. 3, in San Franciscos former Slow Club (2501 Mariposa St.).

Like Einbund, a number of other industry vets are striking out on their own. Former Tacolicious chef Telmo Faria will embrace his Portuguese roots at his forthcoming Uma Casa , set in Noe Valleys old Incanto (1550 Church St.).

Sally Egan

The husband-and-wife team of Kyle and Katina Connaughton hopped around the world (Japan, England) prior to settling in Healdsburg to open Single Thread (131 North St.), a fine-dining restaurant and inn with direct ties to their Sonoma County farm.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

More big names are headed to Wine Country, too. Cockscomb chef Chris Cosentino will debut a new restaurant  Acacia House  in St. Helenas Las Alcobas hotel (1915 Main St.), which is set to open in January. The offal master also has his eyes set on Portland, Ore., where hes working on another new project.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

Video game mogul Kenzo Tsujimoto, who owns Napa winery Kenzo Estate, will be opening his first U.S. restaurant in November. Named Kenzo (1339 Pearl St., Napa), it will be a high-end kaiseki restaurant, run by Japanese superchef Hiroyuki Kanda, whose eponymous Tokyo restaurant has received a perfect three Michelin stars for nine years straight.

Kenzo will be just one of many Japanese projects in the Bay Area this fall.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

In San Franciscos Tenderloin, Hitachino & Wagyu (639 Post St.) will be Noriyuki Sugies homage to Japanese craft beer and beef. Though it has been repeatedly delayed, Sugie is aiming to open before the end of the year.

Hayes Valleys True Sake team has also seen delays with its sake bar and restaurant, True Cup (8 Octavia St.), but they, too, hope to open by the end of 2016. A few blocks away, the Starling (388 Fulton St.) will be an omakase sushi joint from former Akikos chef Adam Tortosa.

The SoMa neighborhood will also be seeing some new omakase action, with the addition of Arsenal (715 Brannan St.), the first San Francisco restaurant from Los Angeles native Erik Sun. The restaurant will also feature a tasting menu of beef, thanks to certification in Kobe and Hokkaido snow beef.

Two high-profile modern Indian restaurants are en route. August 1 Five (524 Van Ness Ave.) is the brainchild of Hetal Shah and chef Manish Tyagi, formerly of Washington, D.C.,s celebrated Rasika. In the Mission, Jessi and Jennifer Singh will open the first West Coast outpost of their popular New York restaurant, Babu Ji, which will be taking over the Nostra space (280 Valencia St.).

If theres another intertwining theme to be found among the upcoming class of restaurant openings, its spinoffs. More established restaurant owners are branching out, knowing that measured expansion can potentially mean an increase in profits.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

The Namu team has two offshoots in the works  fast-casual spot Namu Stonepot (553 Divisadero St.) and a noodle joint/brewery in the Dogpatch, Namu Noodle (2405 Third St.).

Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle 2016

Lers Ros owner Tom Silargorn will open Esan Classic (743 Larkin St.), which will focus on northeastern Thai cuisine. Ryan Scotts latest project will be a neighborhood tavern in the Castro called Finn Town (2251 Market St.).

Adriano Paganini  who already runs a fleet of restaurants, including Delarosa, Beretta and Lolinda  has (at least) three more projects in the works. Theres the Bird (115 New Montgomery St.), a downtown fried chicken sandwich joint, as well as two as-of-yet unnamed projects: a restaurant on the ground floor of a new condo property in Hayes Valley (450 Hayes St.) and a Mexican restaurant in the former Betelnut space (2030 Union St.), located next to Belga, another of his restaurants.

Russell Yip/The Chronicle

Over in Oakland, Caminos Russell Moore and Allison Hopelain are adding a second, more casual restaurant to their repertoire, the Kebabery (4201 Market St.), which is set to open in late October. Bay Wolf (3853 Piedmont Ave.) will rise again under new owner Rich Wood (Wood Tavern) as the Wolf, while Nidos Silvia and Cory McCollow are working on an ambitious outdoor project, Nidos Backyard (104 Oak St.), which will be located in a parking lot a few doors down from their Mexican restaurant.

So, how will these new arrivals fare in the face of increased competition and the always-difficult odds?

While theres not a silver bullet for success, the GGRAs Borden says that the sweet spot is increasingly those restaurants that have a neighborhood feel, but are also a strong allure for people to come across town.

Its never gonna be easy, says Einbund. If it were, everyone would do it.

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @foodcentric
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This article originally appeared on Hoodline.com.

If you've always thought the Upper Haight was special, the city is about to validate your suspicions. The neighborhood is in the process of being granted landmark status through the Planning Commission.

Gina Simi, a spokesperson for Planning, confirmed that the Haight-Ashbury will join Fisherman's Wharf, Telegraph Hill, and several other districts in the city with landmark designation. The city will work to preserve the neighborhood, and the Haight will be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

According to city documents, the Haight makes the cut thanks to the hippies.

"The district is significant for its association with the events of the counter-culture movement, when this area of San Francisco served as the nation's epicenter for "hippies" and their anti-establishment lifestyles, which included psychedelic drugs, rock music, free love, and an anti-war ethos.

Defined by the Summer of Love in 1967, the period of significance for social associations could span through c.1960-c.1970. Architectural significance would extend from the c. 1880s to c.1970 and would be due to the high concentration of intact Victorian-era architecture, including original storefronts spanning many decades and many extant counter-culture-era alterations to the district."

More for you Turn on tune in - hippie photos unseen for decades

Simi said that the city is now working to establish a timeline to make the landmark statusofficial, and that community outreach will begin soon.

This article originally appeared on Hoodline.com.


Sarah Ravani/The Chronicle

Two pedestrians suffered life-threatening head injuries after being hit by cars in separate incidents in San Francisco over weekend, police said Monday.

The first incident happened about 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Mission District when a car hit a 32-year-old woman walking across Cesar Chavez Street near South Van Ness Avenue. The collision knocked her to the ground causing a serious head injury, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department.
With the clunk of a portable toilet plopping down alongside the sidewalk at their shantytown, 20 homeless people in San Francisco began an experiment with the police and a nonprofit agency to try to improve their lives before they inevitably have to tear down their camp.

The agreement with the Box City campers is that if they can take good care of the toilet and keep their settlement of a dozen hand-built shacks orderly, theyll earn gift certificates at local businesses, and in two weeks everyone will have a barbecue together.

Nobodys calling the little spread near the Caltrain tracks at Seventh and Hubbell streets a permanent camp, and no one wants more homeless people to rush in and set up more boxes. Its just an effort to put a bit of order into an inherently disorderly situation that is replicated daily throughout the city in more than 75 street camps.

What were trying to do is make this a more neighborhood-friendly environment while the camp is here, said Officer Yvonne Moilanen, one of several police officers who deals especially with homeless camps in the city. My goal is to let people know Im not the enemy here, to change the impression that were here to only police things. Were actually here to help.

That sounds terrific to Anthony Jermain Spann, 40, whos been homeless for three years, moved to Box City two months ago and is on a waiting list for supportive housing from the city. He is one of the informal leaders of the camp, which formed over the summer, and says hes glad for any help they can get to keep things cool with the neighbors while they all wait for better circumstances.

I built this because I cant keep a tent, Spann said, pointing to the rough-hewn shack he built  like all the others  out of castoff wood. Every time I left my tent, its been stolen. This gives me a real roof for once, so while Im out here waiting for things to get better, I can be more secure.

The emphasis of the citys homeless-oriented police team is more toward urging street campers into counseling and housing than breaking up the camps and shoving them a few blocks away, and thats Moilanens aim as she monitors the situation. Spann said hes struck by her compassionate approach.

Love her, love her, love her, he said. You just dont find cops like that.

The portable toilet was installed Friday, its $250 monthly rental paid by Amy Farah Weiss, a former mayoral candidate who in December founded the St. Francis Homelessness Challenge nonprofit to help street people. Shes also funding, through her nonprofit, a pledge to give the camp a total of $750 in gift certificates for Laundromats, hardware stores and other local businesses at the end of the month if its denizens keep Box City orderly and calm.

Nobody should have to live in the street, and the people here would like a different, more stable place to go to, she said. But in the meantime, we can make things more livable.

Weiss said she brought out the portable toilet because there were no nearby restrooms, and at least one of the campers is pregnant and frequently needs a toilet. Several of the campers have jobs as house cleaners or at auto businesses and need to prepare for work in the morning.

Were trying to build on the sense of community and self-worth that was already here, Weiss said. But part of the success of this will be in not having it expand. If you have more than 15 or 20 people on a lot at a time, it all breaks down.

The citys new Encampment Resolution Team, tasked with moving street campers into housing and counseling, has Box City on its list. But there are other camps that need attention more urgently, and there are only so many that can be handled at one time, said Jeff Kositsky, director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

I appreciate the sentiment (of helping Box City) and applaud the do-it-yourself spirit around it, he said. But he also cautioned that such efforts need to be done carefully, and are best done by his department, so as not to normalize encampments instead of helping people move into stable, roofed existences.

Were trying in a very measured, very intentional and smart way to address encampments in the city and county of San Francisco by bringing resources out there and moving at a deliberate pace that means they wont wind up back on the streets again, Kositsky said. We plan to get to that encampment area, and I want it to be done in a way that fits with the citys strategy  in a methodical way that makes sure they dont re-form.

The closest neighbors to Box City are those who work at TriMark Economy Restaurant Fixtures across the street, and they are warily welcoming the efforts at imposing order there. That location has had lines of tents off and on for many years, but this one has a calmer feel to it than many that came before, said company Controller Herb Anderson.

Its also more racially diverse than usual and features a rare  for the street  group of a half-dozen Filipino immigrants who said they know each other from their homeland.

Maybe living in the boxes instead of tents gives them more of a sense of ownership of their space, Anderson said. Weve had hookers in tents over there, a lot of junkies, garbage and trouble  but not now. All I know is these people have more skills, keep the place up better and chase out the losers. These are functional people.

Aliren Sunga, 28, the pregnant camper whose baby is due in two months, said she hopes to move into her own place soon with her partner, who works at an auto shop and lives with her in the camps biggest shack. But for now, we just try to keep this place clean  we have to for our dignity, she said.

We want to be safe out here, and thats hard, she said. Were just trying to get by.

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron
Editor's note: This story originally appeared on Hoodline.com.

In July, we reported that decades-old North Beach dive bar Mr. Bing's was set to close after being sold to the team behind Ireland's 32 in the Richmond, who would possibly turn it into another bar with a similar Irish theme.

Now, we've learned that while the new owners still plan to close the pub for renovations, it doesn't look like much will change in the way of its appearance. Mr. Bing's will continue to be a spot for locals and tourists alike to enjoy cheap drinks, no frills, and many shenanigans. (The bar was named one of San Francisco's top eight dive bars by Thrillist, and it's on San Francisco Heritage's list of "Legacy Bars and Restaurants.")

Bartender Chandra Walker told us that the new owners originally planned on closing Mr. Bing's sometime in August. But those plans were delayed, and now they'll likely close in mid-October for renovations, which she says will not drastically affect the look of the place.

"It's obvious that there is some work that needs to be done," she said. "The floors need to be repaired, and with a change of ownership, there are always new requirements. They need to make it ADA-compliant."

Aside from those updates and a new coat of paint, she told us customers shouldn't notice many drastic changes. With that said, "There are always changes to character. This is what happens with any change of ownership."

New owner Pete Cooper, from Ireland's 32, also purchased the rights to use the Mr. Bing's name, so the classic sign adorning the building's entryway won't be going anywhere.

We asked Cooper about his plans for the pub. His reply (via email): "For those who understand, there is no explanation necessary; for those who don't understand, there is no explanation possible."
Favorable overnight weather helped crews gain progress on a 1,500-acre wildfire burning near The Geysers geothermal facility in rural Sonoma County.

But soaring temperatures Monday challenged the nearly 500 firefighters battling the Sawmill Fire thats now 20 percent contained, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The fire started about 11 a.m. Sunday and spread quickly as gusty winds kicked up in the late morning and temperatures in the 90s fanned the flames burning just over a ridge about 10 miles east of Cloverdale.

Eight air tankers and six helicopters made repeated passes over the fire throughout the afternoon as the flames forced evacuations of 36 homes near the fires inception point at Big Geysers and Geysers Resort roads.

More for you Day 2 of Bay Area heat wave could topple more records

But it wasnt until winds died down and cooler temperatures set in overnight that the fire calmed down.

Firefighters hoped that Mondays possibly-record-breaking heat wouldnt kick the fire back up.

The fire is burning dangerously close to The Geysers geothermal facility, where one of 14 plants was evacuated, officials said.

Calpine Corp., which operates the facility, said all employees are safe and accounted for.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
State officials removed San Francisco physician Frank Chen from their disability screening panel in December 2013 after numerous complaints about his exams  that they sometimes lasted 10 minutes or less and that he ignored a patients broken bones, bleeding disorder and use of a cane in his reports following those visits.

Yet, even after his removal, the Social Security Administration used Chens patient evaluations to determine that applicants were ineligible for disability benefits. Now, in a court settlement, the federal government has agreed to take another look at 6,500 applicants who were rejected, most of them from the Bay Area.

Instead of telling people about it, and warning them (that Chen had been dropped), they let those reports sit in the system, and adjudicators continued to rely on the reports to deny people benefits, said Trinh Phan, a lawyer at Justice in Aging, one of the organizations representing the applicants. We did this class action to hold Social Security accountable.

She said the amounts at stake were potentially significant. For example, someone who was wrongly turned down in 2001 for disability benefits, on average about $1,200 a month, would be entitled to a retroactive payment of nearly $100,000 in 2017.

The Social Security Administration declined to comment about the settlement or its treatment of applicants who were examined by Chen.

Chen no longer practices medicine in the area, and efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. A staff member at Bay View Medical Clinic in San Jose, one of four Bay Area facilities where he examined applicants for disability benefits, said he had left several years ago and was no longer in contact with the clinic.

In a letter to state regulators responding to a complaint against him in 2011, Chen said he had been a licensed physician for more than 40 years and had practiced internal medicine in the Bay Area for more than 30 years.

Since at least 2007, the state Department of Social Services had included him on a regional panel of doctors who perform consultative examinations for applicants seeking disability benefits under the federal Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs. The applicants are mostly moderate- or low-income patients who lack medical documentation to support their claims of disability.

One applicant was Kevin Hart, the lead plaintiff in the case. According to the lawsuit, Hart was hit by a car in 2007, shattering his right leg. Formerly employed as a construction worker, janitor and groundskeeper, he was unable to work and was granted disability benefits.

He then suffered further injuries, including a fractured rib and a lacerated kidney, in an assault by a group of teenagers in San Francisco in April 2013. Needing to renew his benefits, Hart, who then lived in San Mateo, was referred to Chen for an exam in August 2013.

According to the lawsuit, Chen spent 10 minutes with him, never touched his body, cut him off when he tried to describe his past diagnoses, and apparently never reviewed his records. Chens report to Social Security said Hart was suffering only from hypertension and shortness of breath and was capable of sitting or standing for six hours during an eight-hour workday. Chen failed to mention Harts leg injuries or the fact that he needed a cane to walk, the suit said.

A month later, Social Security told Hart that he was no longer disabled and reaffirmed the decision in March 2014, three months after Chen had been removed from the medical review panel. Hart appealed and eventually won restoration of his benefits of $909 a month, his sole source of income.

That was a nightmare, said Hart, 52. who now lives in Elk Grove (Sacramento County) and relies on both a walker and a cane to get around. I was telling him about my surgery, my leg, my back, my kidney disease, and he said, Who told you that? ... He did not care.

Another plaintiff, Nina Silva-Collins, 38, applied for disability in 2013, suffering from a severe menstrual bleeding disorder, anemia and other ailments that she said made sustained work impossible. Referred to Chen at his Oakland clinic in August of that year, she said he gave her a cursory examination, then reported that she suffered only from obesity and was capable of standing and walking for long periods.

The following January, a Social Security hearing officer found Silva-Collins ineligible for disability benefits, citing Chens report. The officer failed to note that Chen had been removed as a consultant, the suit said.

Chen responded indignantly to one complaint by a patient who said he had spent exactly seven minutes and 46 seconds examining her in a filthy, foul-smelling clinic in San Francisco in July 2010. She said he never touched her and refused to look at her medical records.

The complaint was totally untrue, Chen said in a January 2011 letter to the state Department of Social Services office overseeing the medical panel. He said he always questioned applicants about their condition and medical history, conducted a long series of examinations, and reviewed medical records provided by other doctors and hospitals.

I do not need unrelevant record files from a patient, Chen wrote, adding that it would be impossible to complete the above protocol in seven minutes and 46 seconds.

But the state agency said the complaints kept coming in. In an October 2013 warning letter, the agency told Chen that patients were reporting he treated them rudely and saw them for only a few minutes before issuing evaluations that ignored their obvious impairments, such as a spinal degeneration and the effects of a recent stroke.

Finally, in December 2013, the agency told clinics in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Pacific Grove that Chen had been removed from the panel because of his unprofessional manner and failure to adequately correct deficiencies in his (consultative) reports.

Neither the state nor the federal government notified Chens patients of his removal, however, and Social Security continued to use his evaluations to deny benefits, patients advocates said in the lawsuit, filed in February 2015.

The government argued in court filings that Social Security officials were aware of Chens shortcomings and were providing that information to reviewers of disability claims. But U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar refused to dismiss the suit.

The plaintiffs, Tigar said in his ruling, were seeking action that the government was unwilling to take  new assessments of their claims that disregarded Chens findings.

The settlement, which awaits Tigars approval, would entitle the 6,500 rejected applicants to a new evaluation of their disability claims, which could include another examination or reconsideration of their past medical information apart from Chens reports. Patients Chen examined between 2007 and the end of 2010 would be reconsidered only if they said they were still disabled.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Its never a bad idea for a writer to stick with a recipe that works, and fans of Emma Donoghues best-selling Room will appreciate the authors latest, The Wonder, a claustrophobic sickroom visit set in the dark dregs of Irish history.

Lib Wright is an English nurse, one of the 19th century Nightingales who worked alongside Florence and adopted the Lady of the Lamps rigorous, scientific approach to her profession. Feeling stifled at her job in London, Lib takes an assignment in rural Ireland, hoping for more than the basic-skills labor shes been engaged in. She is disappointed to learn that her new patient, young Anna ODonnell, hasnt eaten in four months but has remained mysteriously healthy and alive. The committee who hired Lib doesnt want her nursing skills. They ask only that she observe the girl like a warden, to make sure that Anna is in fact denying herself food.

Lib takes an immediate dislike to the girl, whom she views as a swindler. Annas story has been reported sensationally, and people from around the world are making pilgrimages to the village to see the Wonder in person. The girls capacity for religious inspiration is lucrative and may even benefit the town, which was heretofore unremarkable. Lib feels certain the entire thing is a hoax.

Ireland itself shocks her; it is a world of idiocy, where backward people cling to religious beliefs to soothe the pain of poverty and the countrys brutal history of famine. She would like nothing more than to leave the place to its superstitions and head back to London, but the situation is so morally offensive to her (What if these shenanigans are being forced upon the child?) that she decides to stay to make sure that sense prevails over nonsense  and that the swindler is exposed.

And here we arrive back in a room with a suffering child. Fortunately, Donoghue excels at the microcosm, and her obsessive interest in rooting out the truth makes for a compulsive read. A war is being waged in Annas tiny bedroom, and its combatants stand for sides not narrowly confined to the Victorian era: science versus faith, progress versus tradition, rich versus poor.

Yet its nearly impossible to pick a side, not because they are both studied with trenchant insight, but because the characters are so wounded and full of hubris. Anna, her family and various townspeople all seem wonder-struck by Annas miracle. Libs own brand of scientific realism is equally unpleasant. She attends devotedly to record keeping and health statistics but misses obvious signs of illicit feedings and Annas true illness.

Midway through the watch, a young journalist named William befriends Lib and weasels his way into a private interview with Anna. It is William who, having lived through the countrys famine, recognizes the signs of starvation and chastises Lib for not doing more to save her. After all, Lib carries some responsibility for the girls condition: The full-time watch may have interfered with a secret food supply (manna from heaven), and now Anna is genuinely dying of hunger.

Donoghue drew inspiration for Annas story from the so-called Fasting Girls, women (and men) of all ages who claimed to have survived for long periods without food. In Europe, this phenomenon was recorded as far back as the 16th century. It should surprise no one that Christian devotion is equated with physical deprivation. What surprises is that Lib, so determined to uncover the fraud, and so devoted to facts, lags about a hundred pages behind the reader in identifying the fraud.

The spare story provides nuanced levels of horror, from the disgust of people dying in peat bogs to the revolting details of a young girls physical deterioration. Even the place is horrifying: post-famine Ireland, stripped of all enchantment and suffocating in the wool of its traditions. (Its love of the wee people seems pathetically delusional.)

Yet none of it is as awful as Libs realization that her very presence is harmful, her care as cruel as torture. To watch a conspiracy and not take action only makes you complicit in the charade.

The novels ending at least offers up one reconciliation: Libs clinical view of Anna softens, allowing Annas hyper-religiosity to slip away and reveal the terrible, underlying facts. In this, Donoghue proves correct about one thing: Compassion is the only exit from this nightmare, the only good response to a world where science and religion, hating each other so much, will gladly go to war over a young girls body, not caring whether it costs her life.

Zoe Ferraris is the author of the novels Finding Nouf, City of Veils and Kingdom of Strangers. Email: books@sfchronicle.com

The Wonder

By Emma Donoghue

(Little, Brown; 291 pages; $27)
The increasing digitization of finance, and the move away from cash, could add 6 percent to the annual economic output of the worlds developing nations over the next 10 years, according to a report from the McKinsey consulting firms research arm.

Last weeks report says that developing nations  and to a lesser extent developed economies like the United States  lose enormous amounts of economic potential from the continuing reliance on cash and the difficulty many businesses and individuals encounter when trying to gain access to the financial system.

The mobile phone, however, has provided a new and cheaper way to provide basic financial services to nearly everyone in the developing world.

The 124-page report from the McKinsey Global Institute says that 80 percent of the people in the developing world have mobile phones, and by 2020 that will rise to 90 percent.

A growing number of startups are already providing financial services through cell phones, often without a bank being involved. In Kenya, for instance, more than 70 percent of adults are using a digital money system known as M-Pesa that started less than a decade ago.

Susan Lund, one of the co-authors of the McKinsey report, said that as her team crunched the numbers on the impact of digital finance, even she was surprised by the impact it could have on the broader economy  some $3.7 trillion in additional annual economic activity by 2025.

I thought this was about financial services, Lund said. I now think of this more like basic infrastructure for a modern economy, as opposed to just something that banks do.

Any effort to provide more financial services to the developing world is likely to encounter both resistance and skepticism, given the somewhat spotty record of past financial projects aimed at helping the poor.

The flow of financial investments into emerging economies has, in the past, played into currency and financial crises around the world.

In the more recent past, elite institutions like McKinsey have also promoted the use of microlending in the developing world, which was aimed at bringing people out of poverty by giving them credit.

But academic research has found that microlending has ultimately been less transformative than many of its boosters had hoped.

Lund acknowledged the lackluster results from microlending. She said that the economic growth projected by McKinsey did not rely much on expanded credit to individuals.

Instead, she said, most of the opportunity comes from the transition to digital payments from cash, which can significantly increase productivity and open up a whole set of economic opportunities that arent available when people rely on cash.

The McKinsey report said that for individuals, the average cash transfer can require three or four hours in developing countries, because of the time required to travel to, and wait at, a financial institution.

For businesses and governments, reliance on cash leads to lost time, the leakage of money  read theft  and missed opportunities to transact with the broader world.

Moving countries away from cash has been hard because it has required the addition of new and expensive physical facilities and bank branches. But with the spread of mobile phones, providing financial services costs 80 to 90 percent less, the McKinsey report says.

In Kenya, for instance, people who used to rely on cash and services like Western Union can now send money to relatives across the country using M-Pesa.

Economists have recently begun to highlight the broader economic benefits of this sort of transition.

Once people move to digital money, companies can also do so more easily and governments can distribute funds electronically, leading to less corruption and missing money. With money in a digital account, saving money and planning for the future also becomes easier.

The research on these topics has turned financial inclusion and innovation into one of the big priorities at Bill Gates family foundation. Perhaps the biggest question facing efforts like those of the Gates Foundation is how hard it will be to spread technology like M-Pesa to other countries.

There are many efforts to replicate M-Pesa elsewhere in Africa and Asia, but most of them have been somewhat slow to take off. India is in the midst of a large effort to move individuals into electronic financial accounts.

Lund said that in addition to having mobile phones, countries need regulations that allow for the development of new financial technology and startups that address the existing landscape. Any new efforts will also face resistance from the existing financial players in developing countries.

But Lund noted that the most expensive requirement for moving forward, the mobile networks, are now in place.

There are a lot of pieces that have to come together. Its not so easy, she said. But unlike building roads and ports  at least the hard infrastructure is in place.
Spencer Platt / Getty Image/Getty Image

A young man killed over the weekend in San Franciscos Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood was identified Monday as a 19-year-old resident of the city, officials said.

Police officers went to Oakdale Avenue and Newhall Street at 12:19 a.m. Saturday when the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system went off, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman.
1 Endangered bees: A type of bumblebee native to North America may soon be named to the endangered species list. It would be the first bee species to be considered endangered in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week formally proposed that the Bombus affinis, or rusty patched bumblebee, be listed as endangered under the guidelines of the Endangered Species Act. The federal agency estimates that native insect species, particularly bees, contribute $3 billion in economic value annually in the United States. And bumblebee species are better at pollinating some crops than honeybees. The bees decline can be attributed to habitat loss, climate change, disease, farming and pesticides, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

2 Missing boaters: One of two boaters missing for a week has been found alive, drifting on an inflatable life raft off the coast of Massachusetts, but his mother remains missing, U.S. Coast Guard authorities said Monday. The Coast Guard had suspended its search Friday for Linda Carman, 54, of Middletown, Conn., and her son, Nathan Carman, 22, of Vernon, Vt. The mother and son disappeared Sept. 18 after leaving a Rhode Island marina to go on a fishing trip in a 31-foot aluminum fishing boat. Nathan Carman was found Sunday by a freighter about 100 nautical miles south of Marthas Vineyard. He was listed in good condition. Linda Carmans whereabouts remain unknown.
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Police in San Francisco are on the hunt for a assailant with brass knuckles who cold-cocked a 36-year-old man on a sidewalk Sunday in the citys Mission Bernal neighborhood.

The attacker, described as a man in his 20s, walked up to the victim around 4:25 p.m. on the sidewalk on the 3200 block of Mission Street near the Knockout bar, police and a witness said.
UN Security Council holds urgent meeting on Syria conflict with calls for truce

2016-09-26 10:45

Photo taken on Sept 25, 2016 shows the United Nations Security Council holding an emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States.[Photo/Xinhua]

UNITED NATIONS - During a testy -- including a walkout -- emergency Security Council meeting on Sunday called in wake of "one of the worst" weeks in Syria in nearly six years of fighting, the UN special envoy vowed to continue his role but pleaded with the panel "to enforce a cessation of hostilities (CoH) in Syria."

The walkout, by the ambassadors of France, Britain and the United States, occurred while Syria's Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari near the end of the 2 1/2 hour session on the increased Syrian attacks on "terrorists" in his country's "second capital," said, "The Syrian government will recapture the whole town of Aleppo. The entire town."

"These are indeed chilling days," said Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy, for Syria and "for the people of Aleppo in particular. The past week has been one of the worst ones in Syria during the near six years of this devastating conflict."

He asked the council to press for a cessation of the violence and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, weekly 48-hour pauses in the fighting for aid convoys "without preconditions neither from the government nor frankly from the opposition" and "to press for medical evacuations ... from eastern Aleppo."

"Amid intensive air strikes reported on Friday, following the announcement of the beginning of a government offensive, an announcement was made by the government itself," de Mistura said, resulting in "scores of reported civilian deaths and injuries, including those of many children."

"We have seen the situation in eastern Aleppo deteriorate to new heights of horror," the veteran diplomat said.

"I am still convinced that we can turn the course of events," he said. "We have proven this more than once before."

De Mistura said he has been asked several times, "'Why don' t you resign at this point? Frankly all this is leading nowhere and this will send a strong signal.' No I am not. Because any sign of me resigning would be a signal that the international community is abandoning the Syrians, and we will not abandon the Syrians, and neither will you."

All 15 members of the council spoke during the session, many siding with Britain, France and the United States -- who called the meeting -- while a few sided with Russia in what has turned the Syrian civil war into a proxy battle many say is reminiscent of the Cold War. A few were quite direct, rather undiplomatically, naming states they felt were in the wrong.

Russia says it was invited by Syria to help fight off terrorists and the West says it is supporting only "moderate" rebels and not terrorists.

Ja'afari insisted the Syrian government was only defending itself from terrorists but would sit down with representatives of non-terrorist opposition groups.

He said Britain, France and the United Sates, "weep and they have crocodile tears" for Aleppo and asked if Britain would give away Scotland, France relinquish Corsica or "the United States give away Texas."

"The Syrian government will not give away a single inch of our territory," said the Damascus envoy who accused the trio of western nations of "falsely" calling armed opposition groups in Syria "moderates."

Britain's Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, French Ambassador Francois Delattre, walked out of the council chamber while the Syrian ambassador was speaking.

"We need to decide how to stop this, now," Rycroft said of the Aleppo siege on Twitter. "Syria's UN ambassador is not interested in that decision. That's why I just walked out of" the UN Security Council.

"France, together with the US and the UK (United Kingdom), called for this emergency meeting of the Security Council because we are simply horrified by what we are watching in Aleppo," Delattre told reporters after the walkout. "Aleppo is to Syria what Sarajevo was to Bosnia, or what Guernica was to the Spanish war."

"This city epitomizes the Syrian tragedy more than any other," he said. "Aleppo, this symbolic city that dates back several millennia, this world heritage site, this crossroads where so many civilizations colluded and converged, is now experiencing a medieval type of siege. What a symbol, and frankly, what a shame!"

"Today, the Syrian regime and its allies are sending a message loud and clear to the world, the Paris envoy said. "They are determined to besiege, starve, and bomb Aleppo until they reach their military goal: eradicating the opposition. That is what this siege is all about. It is clear that the various negotiations were nothing else in the minds of the regime in Damascus than a smoke screen."

"That's why France is calling for the immediate implementation of the US-Russia (CoH) agreement, starting in Aleppo: Aleppo first in terms of both the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian access."
OAKLAND (BCN)



One person died while three others were wounded after four separate shootings occurred in Oakland both late Saturday night and early this morning, according to police.



The first shooting occurred around 11 p.m. After receiving a report of an armed car jacking, officers responded to the 1800 block of East 12th Street, police said.



There, officers found a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital, according to police.



Information about the victim's condition was not immediately available.





After a preliminary investigation, officers learned two suspects had taken the victim's vehicle. At least one of the suspects was armed with handgun and shot the victim before fleeing in the victim's car, police said.



No arrests were made, as officers were unable to locate the suspects, according to police.



Also around 11 p.m., officers responded to a report of a separate shooting in the 7200 block of Bancroft Avenue, police said.



There, one male victim was suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital, according to police.



Information about his condition was not immediately available.



No arrests were made a description of the suspect was not immediately available.



Then, around 1:10 a.m., a fatal shooting occurred in the 800 block of Poplar Way, police said.



After arriving on scene, officers discovered a male victim suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.



No arrest was made and officers are continuing to investigate the fatal incident.



Finally, around 2 a.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 1200 block of East 17th Street, police said.



A male victim had been shot at the location. The victim however was able to transport himself to the hospital, according to police.



Information about their condition was not immediately available.



Anyone with information about any of the shootings is encouraged to call the police's Crime Stoppers line at (510) 777-8572. Callers have the option of remaining anonymous.
















SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BCN)



A truck carrying jet fuel caught fire this afternoon near the San Francisco International Airport, according to a San Francisco Fire Department spokesman.



The report of a vehicle fire at the airport first came in at 12:37 p.m., fire spokesman Jonathan Baxter said.



For some reason, the truck's engine caught fire as it was on a service road at the west end of the airport, according to airport Duty Manager Charles Navigante.



The truck's operators were able to escape without injury, Navigante said.



Firefighters swiftly arrived on scene and were able to extinguish the fire within about an hour, according to Baxter.



Investigators determined the truck did not leak any fuel as a result of the fire, Baxter said.
















The Bard meets a Ming playwright

From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-09-26 09:46

The play A Midsummer Night's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough features young students from China and the United Kingdom, most of whom are not theater majors. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

A stage production combines the masterpieces of Shakespeare and ancient Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu. Chen Nan reports.

When Li Ruru first read William Shakespeare's Hamlet, she didn't really like it - she was then 11 years old, and the complicated relationships and dramatic tragedy were too much for her to comprehend.

But 50 years later, the 64-year-old teaches comparative and intercultural theater studies, including researching the works of Shakespeare, all thanks to her family.

Her mother, Li Yuru (1923-2008), was a famous Peking Opera actress and her stepfather, Cao Yu (1910-94), a renowned Chinese playwright.

The play A Midsummer Night's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough features young students from China and the United Kingdom, most of whom are not theater majors. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Li Ruru, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Shanghai Theater Academy, is now professor of Chinese theater studies at the University of Leeds, where she obtained her doctoral degree in drama and theater in 1993.

She has spent the last two years shaping an ambitious project - a stage production called A Midsummer Night's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough, which combines the 17th-century masterpieces of Shakespeare with works by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) playwright Tang Xianzu, both of whom died in 1616.

"I knew that 2016 would be a great opportunity to celebrate these two literary giants. You cannot wait for another 100 years," Li tells China Daily.

"For me, it's also a wish to introduce Chinese theater to foreign audiences because people don't know about it."

The collaboration comprises two parts: Chinese students from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing interpret Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; and students from the University of Leeds perform Tang's play Record of the Southern Bough.

The production premiered at the University of Leeds on July 27 and moved to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Last week, it was staged in Shanghai and Beijing.

The play A Midsummer Night's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough features young students from China and the United Kingdom, most of whom are not theater majors. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Its run ended in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, Tang's birthplace, on Sunday, as part of a series of events commemorating Shakespeare and Tang.

When Li initiated the idea of the production, it was considered "daydreaming" and "unachievable". But she went ahead and chose students who are not theater majors.

"The most interesting part of the project is to have young people without theater knowledge learn and perform works of Shakespeare and Tang," says Li.

One of the most challenging parts was to shorten Tang's Record of the Southern Bough, a 22-hour, 44-scene work, which is about a drunken man's journey in his dream.

Adam Strickson, one of the co-adapters of Tang's Record of the Southern Bough, says: "It's the longest play I've ever read. We had to find what matters to the audience.

"So, while retaining the differences, we look for what we have in common, such as where we go in life and the value of living in today's society as an individual."

The play A Midsummer Night's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough features young students from China and the United Kingdom, most of whom are not theater majors. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Li Jun, who teaches European and American drama at the Beijing-based university and who co-wrote the script of A Midsummer Night's Dreaming Under the Southern Bough, says it's challenging for Chinese performers to make Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream relevant to a contemporary society.

"We made some changes to Shakespeare's original version from a Chinese perspective. For example, there are two men who love the same woman in the play, but we have two women who fall in love with the same man in our version. It's a way of showing the rise of women in Chinese society, with specific reference to young urban women," says Li Jun.

Director Steve Ansell's journey with the project could be said to have started in Shanghai when he first visited China in 2012.

He first worked in Li Ruru's play The Sun Is Not For Us, which was inspired by Cao Yu, and brought together characters and stories from the playwright's four most-famous theater works in a one-hour production.

Li Ruru. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"The 400th anniversary presents the perfect opportunity to revisit, re-imagine and reposition Tang for a contemporary audiences both in China and the UK as a contemporary of Shakespeare and as a master storyteller in his own right," says Ansell.

Rachel Turner, a 21-year-old student from University of Leeds, plays three roles in the production.

She decided to extend her stay in China for a year to study at Shanghai Theater Academy.

"This is a new experience for me and I hope that this performance will be the start of joining our cultures as well as our societies," says Turner.

Related:

Dramas in honor of Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare performed in Fiji

Commemoration held to pay tribute to ancient playwrights in East China's Fuzhou
Classic opera Marriage to Xiao Erhei presents its latest version in Beijing

From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-09-26 09:46

A scene from Marriage of Xiao Erhei. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Marriage of Xiao Erhei, a classic Chinese opera adapted from Chinese famous writer Zhao Shuli's novel with the same title, will be staged with a latest production by China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater from Sept 23 to 25 at Poly Theater in Beijing.

The opera, which premiered and first made by the opera department of Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in January 1953, was among the earliest original Chinese operas.

Telling the story of Xiao Erhei, a peasant of Shanxi province, who falls in love with a young woman, named Xiao Qin, from his village. However, their parents were against their relationship.

The songs in the opera, including Clear Water and Blue Sky, have been popular for generations.

According to the director of the opera, Huang Dingshan, the latest production will be accompanied by a folk orchestra. While maintaining the local music elements of Shanxi province, the opera will also has contemporary elements to cater to the young audiences.

The actors will combine the traditional Chinese operatic singing style with Western operatic singing style.

Guo Lanying, 87, who performed the role of Xiao Qin in 1953, is the artistic director of the latest production.

In 2015, China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater successfully reproduced the classic Chinese opera, The White Haired Girl, the tale of the miseries of farmers in the late 1940s.

Related:

Popular Israeli play on war returns to China

An exhibition in honor of Tang and the Bard begins world tour

A scene from Marriage of Xiao Erhei.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A scene from Marriage of Xiao Erhei.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A scene from Marriage of Xiao Erhei.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A scene from Marriage of Xiao Erhei.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A scene from Marriage of Xiao Erhei.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Congratulatory Letter for the First Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo

From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-09-26 10:48

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong delivers the congratulatory letter sent by President Xi Jinping to the First Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo. [Photo/Xinhua]

Written by Xi Jinping

On the occasion of the opening of the First Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, I hereby, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in my own name, would like to extend warm congratulations on the Cultural Expo and express sincere welcome to all the distinguished guests and friends from different countries present at the Cultural Expo.

Over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road connecting Asia with Europe served as an important bridge for friendly exchanges and civilization communications between the East and West. In the history, Dunhuang was the significant hub of cultural interactions between the East and West. Here different cultures converged and integrated, shaping the unique Dunhuang Culture with great charms. The history proves that mutual learning and common progress of all national cultures around the world are the basic features of human civilization as well as the driving force of its theme, the Cultural Expo will provide a significant platform for cooperation and interaction among the countries along the Silk Road. We should insist on diversity and coexistence, mutual learning and common progress, cooperation and mutual benefit, to strengthen cultural exchange, promote cultural equality, protect cultural heritage, enhance cultural innovation and reinforce cultural cooperation, to help more people enjoy the rich and colorful cultures created by the human beings, and to make the world a better place.
Sculptor Jin Feng shifts between East and West

From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-09-26 10:48

Jin Feng had lived in Los Angeles for 20 years before moving back to Beijing where he studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Jin Feng had lived in Los Angeles for 20 years before moving back to Beijing where he studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The experiences in the United States enabled him to explore Western culture from a Chinese perspective and gradually, he began to reflect on the Chinese culture from a Western angle.

He transforms his shifts between two cultural environments into sculptures that are now shown at Another Art, a gallery in Beijing's Luomahu area. The exhibition runs through Oct 9.

The exhibition titled Why Jin Feng displays dozens of metal sculptures of which he translates Chinese calligraphic characters into a three-dimensional form, and he projects light on his female body sculptures to leave shadows on the wall.

The works reveal an enduring influence of Western art, an academic art style he was subjected to for years, coupled with his intention to create something beyond daily visual experiences.

Related:

Qingdao showcases beauty of sculptures at international festival

'Urban innovation': International sculpture exhibition kicks off in Shanghai

Jin Feng had lived in Los Angeles for 20 years before moving back to Beijing where he studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Jin Feng had lived in Los Angeles for 20 years before moving back to Beijing where he studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Shanghai Maling to buy SFF stake

From:Xinhua | 2016-09-21 14:28

Authorities in New Zealand yesterday gave the final go-ahead to the countrys biggest meat cooperative to sell a half stake to Chinas biggest meat processor.



Minister for Land Information Louise Upston and Associate Minister for Finance Paula Bennett gave the approval of Shanghai Malings application to purchase a 50 percent interest in Silver Fern Farms (SFF).

They said in a statement that the decision followed a recommendation from the governments Overseas Investment Office (OIO) to approve Shanghai Malings purchase application.

We are satisfied that the investment will be of substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand, which is the test set out in the (Overseas Investment) Act. The investment will put the company in a better financial position and allow it to increase its exports, they said. New Zealand shareholders will continue to have 50 percent ownership of Silver Fern Farms, while benefiting from the injection of funds from the new investor.

The OIO had to assess the application for the purchase  valued at NZ$261 million (US$191 million)  as it was an overseas investment in sensitive land and significant business assets.

The OIO decision said SFF was the largest livestock processing and marketing entity in New Zealand, and owned around 1,769 hectares of sensitive land.

SFF has been, and continues to be, operationally constrained by a high level of debt. The investment is expected to result in SFF reducing its debt to nil and having cash reserves. This will allow SFF to invest in and improve the efficiency of its plant network as well as advance its value-added strategy, it said.

Shanghai Maling would help SFF gain a greater presence in China through assistance with product development, market research, government approvals and access to e-commerce sites and 2,000 retail stores over a period of three years.

New Zealanders, through the SFF Co-operative, will continue to have significant oversight and participation in the investment. SFFs existing meat processing operations will remain in New Zealand, it said.

Shanghai Maling has direct control of 800 supermarket and retail stores.
Chinas blueprint to end poverty

From:Xinhua | 2016-09-21 14:24

Premier Li Keqiang and US President Barack Obama share a light-hearted moment in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session. They agreed to step up cooperation in the UN Security Council and in law-enforcement channels after North Koreas fifth nuclear test.  Xinhua



China's national plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was released at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday when Premier Li Keqiang chaired a roundtable on sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The plan consists of five parts, including Chinas achievements and experience in implementing the Millennium Development Goals, and the challenges and opportunities, guiding principles, roadmap and detailed plans of implementing SDGs.

As the first national plan that specifies various domains and goal-oriented concrete measures, the plan expounds Chinas development policy and its efforts to help other developing countries implement the goals.

The 2030 Agenda, endorsed and launched at the UN Summit for Sustainable Development last year, is a blueprint for eradicating poverty across the world in the years leading up to 2030.

Implementation of the agenda, including its 17 SDGs and 169 targets, is high on the agenda of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, which opened last week.

Leaders attending the G20 summit, in east Chinas Hangzhou earlier this month, also pledged to actively implement the 2030 Agenda.

Pursuing sustainable development is the fundamental solution to all kinds of global problems, said Li, adding that accelerating implementation of the agenda is of great significance for now and in the long term amid a weak global economic recovery and increasing difficulties and risks.

While deeming eradicating poverty and hunger as the top priority, he called for more efforts to promote robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

In the past 15 years, China had made remarkable achievements in poverty reduction, health service and education, he said.

Over the period, China had lifted over 400 million people out of poverty, reducing the mortality of children under 5 by two-thirds and that of pregnant women by three quarters.

As a responsible developing country, China is willing to participate in relevant international cooperation, continuously increase investment in South-South cooperation, and share development experience and opportunities, Li said.

In order to support a bigger UN role in the implementation of the agenda, China is pledging an additional US$100 million in annual aid to UN development agencies by 2020 on top of the amount in 2015, Li said.

He also announced that Chinas donation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will reach US$18 million in the next three years.

The roundtable, hosted by the Chinese government, was attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson and the heads of 16 international organizations.

They highlighted the important role China has played in carrying forward the 2030 Agenda within the G20 framework.

The international organizations present at the roundtable expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with China, popularize Chinas development experience, and jointly address challenges so as to push forward the sustainable development of China and the rest of the world.
NEW YORK  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, giving each candidate fresh bragging rights about their knowledge of foreign policy and readiness to lead the nation on the eve of their first presidential debate.

Trump and Netanyahu discussed at length Israels use of a fence to help secure its borders, an example Trump frequently cites when hes talking about the wall he wants to build between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State, the campaign said in a statement.

Clinton met with the prime minister Sunday evening. Her campaign said in a statement that she reaffirmed her unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship. Clinton also stressed her support for the new military aid agreement reached earlier in September and her commitment to countering efforts to boycott Israel.

The meeting was designed to put Israel on good footing with the next U.S. president. But it also served to showcase the candidates expertise in foreign policy in the shadow of their first debate Monday.

Meanwhile, the candidates deployed their top supporters to the Sunday shows in advance of a debate expected to draw 75 million viewers.

Robby Mook, Clintons campaign manager, told ABCs This Week that he is concerned Trump will continue his habit of sometimes saying things that arent true and still get a passing grade. He called on moderator Lester Holt to correct any inaccuracies made by the candidates. But Trumps campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said its not the job of debate moderators to fact-check.

Trumps running mate, Mike Pence, meanwhile, said that Gennifer Flowers will not attend the debate. Trump had tweeted that if frequent Trump critic Mark Cuban attended the showdown, he would put Flowers, allegedly the former mistress of Clintons husband, Bill, in the audience too.
Terrorism has emerged once again as the central issue in the presidential campaign  but not in a way anyone expected. In the wake of attacks last week in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have accused each other of being the candidate Islamic terrorists prefer.

Clinton started it  this week's round, at least. She came out swinging on Monday, saying Trump's rhetoric made him a "recruiting sergeant" for Islamic State. "The language that Mr. Trump has used is giving aid and comfort to our adversaries," she said. ("Aid and comfort" is part of the Constitution's definition of treason.)

Trump, who earlier accused President Obama and Clinton of being the "founders" of Islamic State, fired back. "Terrorists all over the world are hoping and praying that Hillary Clinton becomes president," he said. "They want her so badly to be your president, you have no idea," he added later. "It will be a field day."

It's dangerous to call anything unprecedented, but I can't remember a presidential campaign in which the candidates accused each other of being in league, wittingly or not, with the nation's worst enemies.

During the Cold War, Republicans sometimes accused liberal Democrats of being soft on communism  but usually painted them as dupes, not co-conspirators.

When many Americans are gripped by fear of terrorist strikes in city streets or shopping malls, this is pretty rough stuff.

It should go without saying that neither Islamic State nor any other terrorist group has endorsed either candidate. (If they did, the result could be dramatic.)

But on the facts, Clinton has the better of this argument. This spring, spokesmen for Islamic State celebrated Trump's proposals to ban Muslim immigration to the United States apparently because they believed it would sharpen the clash of civilizations the extremist group wants to provoke. "I ask Allah to deliver America to Trump," one wrote.

That's why former CIA director Michael Hayden, a George W. Bush appointee, has criticized the GOP nominee on this issue. "When Trump says they all hate us, he's using their narrative," Hayden told the Guardian newspaper. "He's feeding their recruitment video."

Contrary to what Trump said, there's no record of any Islamic State spokesmen saying they want Clinton to win. The GOP nominee claimed that the terrorists prefer Clinton's policies to his, but there's no evidence of that either.

Trump's argument is that Clinton, as secretary of State under President Barack Obama, shares responsibility for allowing Islamic State to rise. "We've been very gentle" to Islamic State, he claimed on Monday, seemingly ignoring the almost 12,000 airstrikes U.S. forces have carried out against the group since 2014.

"We're going to have to do something extremely tough over there," he told Fox News.

"Like what?" a Fox anchor asked.

"Like knock the hell out of them," Trump said. That's about as specific as he gets.

Trump has offered two more proposals: He wants to increase ethnic and religious "profiling" to identify possible terrorist sympathizers in the United States. (He claims profiling isn't used now, but he's wrong about that; federal policy explicitly allows it in terrorism cases.) And he wants to impose "extreme vetting" on foreigners entering the United States. (Clinton has called for "tough vetting.")

Here's the political surprise in this brawl: Clinton could come out ahead.

It's not at all clear that terrorist attacks, and the fears they sharpen, automatically produce votes for Trump. That's not what happened after the attack on an Orlando nightclub in June, where 49 died. After that incident, the polls moved only a little  and in some surveys, Clinton's standing improved.

Indeed, Clinton's quick offensive on this issue revealed how she wants to frame the voters' choice: Which candidate do you want to put in charge of the armed forces?

In normal election years, most voters say they think the Republican candidate, with the GOP's hawkish history, is better qualified to deal with terrorism.

But this isn't a normal year. In a Fox News poll released last week, more voters said Clinton would do a better job dealing with terrorism than would Trump, by 47 percent to 46 percent. Although those numbers are within the poll's margin of error, they still mean the GOP has lost its usual advantage. Other surveys have shown similar results.

Clinton's argument is that Trump  with his ill-considered, self-indulgent, hair-trigger responses  is too erratic to be president. She's doing her best to keep the words "commander in chief" in the air.

In a focus-group discussion with undecided voters last week, several said that issue was weighing heavily on their minds.

"I really dislike Hillary," said Cameron Scott, a retired bus driver from Alexandria, Va. "But he's just plain scary. I can't vote for him."

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
BEIRUT  At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government air strikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers.

The United States, Britain and France, who called the emergency meeting, heaped blame on Moscow for supporting the Syrian offensive which U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5-year war.

When Syrias U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari was called to speak in the council, the ambassadors of the three Western powers walked out in protest.

They had demanded a halt to the Aleppo offensive and immediate council action, and their walkout demonstrated anger and frustration not only at Damascus but also at Russia for backing close ally Bashar Assads military campaign while talking about reviving a cessation of hostilities.

What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism, its barbarism, said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Its apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.

As the government offensive entered its fourth day on Sunday, medical workers and local officials reported air strikes on neighborhoods throughout Aleppos rebel-held eastern districts.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7:30 p.m. and said it expects the toll to rise. Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defense search and rescue outfit gave a higher toll, saying hospitals and rescuers had documented the deaths of 43 people so far on Sunday.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians had been killed by air strikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since the U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening.

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the citys opposition quarters.

Ive never seen so many people dying in one place, he said from a hospital in the city. Its terrifying today.
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina  Bosnian Serbs on Sunday voted in a referendum banned by the countrys constitutional court, risking Western sanctions against their autonomous region and criminal charges against their leaders.

The vote was whether to keep Jan. 9 as a holiday in Republika Srpska, commemorating the day in 1992 that Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of their own state, igniting the ruinous 1992-95 war. It comes despite the top courts ruling that the date, which falls on a Serb Christian Orthodox religious holiday, discriminates against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats in Bosnia.

Authorities said turnout was 56 to 60 percent. Preliminary results after 30.76 percent of the ballots were counted say 99.8 percent of the voters were in favor of the holiday.

The vote has raised tensions and fears of renewed fighting as Bosniaks and Croats see the referendum as an attempt to elevate the Serb region above the countrys constitutional court. It is also a test for a more serious referendum that Bosnian Serb leaders have announced for 2018  one on independence from Bosnia.

During the 1992-95 war that killed 100,000 people and turned half of the countrys population into refugees, Bosniaks and Croats were persecuted and almost completely expelled from Republika Srpska territory.

After the war, Republika Srpska ended up not independent but an autonomous region of Bosnia. Bosniaks and Croats who returned there view the holiday as a celebration of their expulsion. Republika Srpska, a region of 1.2 million, marks the day with religious ceremonies, hinting the region is still meant just for Serbs.

The constitutional court has banned both the holiday and the referendum, a ruling that Bosnian Serbs see as an attack on their autonomy.

The West has urged that the illegal referendum not be held, but Bosnian Serbs are backed by Russia. Western officials said they might consider halting projects in the mini-state or impose travel bans on its leaders and freeze their assets.

Opposition leaders have dismissed the idea of a new conflict, saying the Bosnian Serb ruling party scheduled the referendum a week before a local election to divert campaign topics from corruption to nationalism.

But the Bosniak member called for prosecutors to act, saying Bosnian Serbs have been pushing the limits for decades.

Now they reached a new level of spitefulness, exceeding all limits, Bakir Izetbegovic said.

These people pull the rope until it snaps and then, of course, they land on their back.
AMMAN, Jordan  A Jordanian writer and columnist was fatally shot on Sunday morning outside a court, according to a statement released by the official Petra news agency.

The writer, Nahed Hattar, 56, was shot three times, and a suspect was arrested near the scene, according to Petra. Hattar, a Christian, was arrested in August and charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam after sharing a cartoon on Facebook that showed a bearded man in bed with two women ordering God to bring him some wine and cashews.

His post was widely denounced on social media, and he removed it shortly after. He deactivated his Facebook account and released an apology that said he did not mean to offend anyone. The apology, using another name for the Islamic State, also said the cartoon mocks ISIS terrorists and their concept of heaven. He was released on bail this month.

He had gone to the court for the trial when he was shot.

A government spokesman, Mohammad Momani, said in a statement on Sunday, We will hold the perpetrator who committed this despicable act to justice, and the government will respond with an iron fist to anyone who uses this incident as an opportunity to spread hate speech in society.

At the family meeting hall in Amman where photos labeling Hattar a martyr were stacked at the entrance door, family members consoled one another. Some scrolled through their mobile phones trying to find more information about the assailant.

Hattars younger brother Majed, 51, was with him when he was attacked and still had blood on his clothes and shoes. Majed Hattar said he had chased the gunman and caught him by holding his beard.

According to Saif Hattar, 48, a cousin, This happened despite the government knowing that Nahed is a prominent person, that he received hundreds of death threats.

We will not accept the body of the martyr, and there will be no funerals until we claim our rights. Its very wrong what happened today, the cousin said.

Nahed apologized about the cartoon, he added. It was misunderstood. We believe the ISIS poisonous mentality were the cause of this, but the government failed to protect him.

The writers wife, Randa Kakish-Hattar, mourned with close family and friends at her home on Sunday. She said she had tried two days ago to persuade him to leave Jordan, but he refused.
JOHANNESBURG  Some call it ivory on wings, part of the bill of a critically endangered bird in Southeast Asia that is sought by poachers and carved into ornaments for illegal sale to Chinese buyers.

The helmeted hornbill isnt getting as much attention as the beleaguered African elephant at a global wildlife conference this week in South Africa. But the killing of elephants by the tens of thousands for their tusks is intertwined with a surge in the slaughter of the rare bird whose beak part is a coveted substitute for ivory.

Its all part of the rising demand for ivory, said Richard Thomas, spokesman for TRAFFIC, a conservation group based in Britain.

Poaching of the helmeted hornbill has soared since around 2010, particularly in Indonesia. The timing roughly coincides with an increase in elephant poaching that has caused a sharp drop in elephant populations. Last year, the helmeted hornbill was designated as critically endangered on an international red list of threatened species.

The helmeted hornbill is a bird of lore, featuring in an ancient belief that it sits by a river between life and death. Its feathers have been used in traditional ceremonies. During breeding, the female is sealed into a nest, relying on the male to provide food.

The call of the helmeted hornbill is an intermittent, honking sound that slowly builds in tempo until it ends in what resembles, for some listeners, shrieks of laughter. Loud and long, the call helps poachers locate their prey.

In a document by the U.N. group, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Indonesia asked for more collaboration among law enforcement agencies from countries where helmeted hornbills live, as well as end market nations  a reference primarily to China.

China, the worlds main ivory consumer, has already said it plans to close its domestic ivory market.

A large lump on top of the beak of the helmeted hornbill is made of keratin, a protein also found in rhino horn and other animal and human parts. It has a red tinge is softer than elephant ivory, making it an attractive material for carvers who have fashioned belt buckles, snuff boxes, pendants and images of Chinese deities from it over many centuries.

The upper part of the bill, also known as a casque, is solid, unlike the hollow casques of other hornbill species. Its price on the illegal market is higher than that of elephant ivory. A casque weighs up to 350 grams (0.7 pounds); the average weight of an elephant tusk is 11 pounds, though a big males tusk can weigh 10 times as much.

At least 2,170 heads and bill parts of helmeted hornbills were confiscated from the illegal trade in Indonesia and China between 2012 and 2014, TRAFFIC said.

Investigators found helmeted hornbill products being sold openly in Laos, a major transit point for wildlife traffickers that borders China, according to a TRAFFIC report released this month.

Illegal logging in Indonesia is shrinking the habitat of the helmeted hornbill. Conservationists fear poachers will focus on the Malaysian population once supply dries up in Indonesia.
Stride Property Group, the NZX-listed property investor, has sought resource consent to redevelop the Johnsonville Shopping Centre in Wellington's northern suburbs.

The mall owner was granted consent in 2009 to expand the shopping centre to 32,000 square metres from 10,000 square metres, but no work has been carried out with the upgrade stymied by the global financial crisis. Today's proposals would see it increase in size to 26,000 square metres.

Stride chief executive Peter Alexander said in a statement that the plans reflected the changing needs of the area and wider catchment area, "We have reduced the overall scale of the project and the mix of retail uses."

"We have proposed a dining precinct, which we believe could become a destination in itself, and provided space for a boutique cinema within the complex," he added.

Earlier this year, Fairfax Media reported that half a dozen retailers had left the mall in the past two years.

It's thought construction on the upgrade could start between late 2017 and late 2018.

Shares in Stride were unchanged at $2.00, and have risen 9.6 percent since the start of the year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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Intueri Education Group shares slumped 87 percent after the company said there was a risk that an Australian government audit of its subsidiaries across the Tasman could threaten the viability of the company.

Audits by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) found that Online Courses Australia (OCA) and Conwal & Associates weren't compliant with its standards. Intueri has until Oct. 21 to respond before the ASQA makes a decision, with possible outcomes ranging from a directive to correct areas of non-compliance through to the full cancellation of OCA and Conwal's registrations as registered training organisations (RTOs).

Cancellation of the registration for Conwal, which generates some 95 percent of OCA's revenue, "would place serious doubt on OCA Groups ability to continue to operate, and also significantly impact Intueris ability to remain a going concern as it would be unlikely to meet its future banking covenants," Intueri said today. OCA accounted for 35 percent of Intueri's $50.1 million of revenue in the six months ended June 30.

The company is seeking legal advice and reviewing the audit reports as it prepares to respond, it said. Intueri "strongly cautions any investor seeking to trade in Intueri shares, and especially any investor seeking to acquire Intueri shares, to take full account of the information provided in this update before trading and consider delaying any such trading until further information is available".

Intueri was unable to update its 2016 earnings guidance until the audit outcome, it said. The non-compliance relates mainly to admissions procedures, assessment practices and learner support resources.

The shares had been halted for the announcement at 30 cents, having fallen 58 percent this year, and tumbled to just 4 cents when they resumed trading today, valuing Intueri at $4 million.

While it was too soon to predict an outcome of the audits, Intueri "believes cancellation of registration would be unwarranted".

"A number of the findings are capable of being disputed or remedied" although some are likely to be accepted, it said.

"Intueri is maintaining its normal operations, with continued bank support and no changes to its current access to the VET Fee-Help (VFH) scheme in Australia," it said.

A large percentage of students in Intueri's Australian online courses are funded through VET Fee-Help. The Australian government has imposed a cap on the scheme this year, holding all providers to their 2015 revenue levels. The Australian Federal Department of Education and Training is conducting a review of the scheme after a Senate inquiry found rampant abuse of the system and soaring costs, and legislation is expected to be introduced early next year.

The audits covered the period between April 2015 and July 2016, and were an assessment of compliance with the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 and, additionally for Conwal, compliance with the VFH scheme where those requirements overlap or are relevant to the VET Quality Framework, Intueri said.

ASQA is Australia's national regulator for that country's vocational education and training sector, and regulates courses and training providers to ensure nationally approved quality standards are met.

The possibility of an Australian sanction adds to the list of setbacks Intueri has faced since listing in 2014, including New Zealand probes into student enrolments, a student death at its dive school, the sudden exit of its chief executive, and more recently amending its lending covenants that were at risk of being breached.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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Market manipulation strikes at the heart of the pricing system on which all investors rely, said Justin Smith QC, counsel for the Financial Markets Authority, at the start of the countrys first such case to go to trial.

In the High Court at Auckland today, the FMA accused Milford Asset Management portfolio manager Mark Warminger of breaching securities law in relation to 10 sharemarket trading actions carried out between December 2013 and August 2014 and is seeking financial penalties against him.

Warminger, who has been on extended leave from his position as a portfolio manager at the firm since last year, is accused of misusing his privileged position with an institutional investor by placing trades in stocks in one direction to move the price so he could later transact significant off-market sales, known as cross-trading, at a greater profit.

Hes also accused of placing trades to set artificial prices. The activities contravened the Securities Markets Act 1988 which prohibits trading that is not for a genuine commercial purpose and creates an artificial appearance in the market, Smith said.

There have been a number of insider trading cases in New Zealand but the only other market manipulation case was in 2014 when ex-pat investor Brian Henry admitted illegal share trading and was fined $130,000 prior to the case going to court.

Henry, a co-founder of NZX-listed software company Diligent Corp, was sued over his trading in Diligent shares in 2010. He admitted to placing multiple orders for buying and selling Diligent shares without completing the trade, which gave the false impression of trading interest in the shares, forcing other buyers to bid at higher prices and affecting the market closing price.

Warminger is said to be a highly experienced equities trader having worked in New Zealand and overseas for several global firms and he had autonomy at Milford to buy and sell New Zealand traded equities without adequate oversight, Smith said.

At Aug. 31, 2014, Warminger had $669 million of assets in several funds under his management, including funds invested through a then mandate with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

He is alleged to have made the trades through brokers, often anonymously, knowing they represented prohibited market manipulation and would have an effect on a fair and openly transparent market, Smith said. Even if he didnt know, lack of knowledge about the prohibition is no defence, he said.

Under the act, the direct evidence only has to show the trader had knowledge of the effect of his behaviour, not an intent behind that effect, and that he ought to have had that knowledge given his position, Smith told the court.

The NZX, which is responsible for ensuring a fair, orderly and transparent sharemarket, issued a guidance note in February 2008 on market manipulation and reissued it in 2011. The guidance note outlined what market trading it consider unacceptable because it was manipulative, Smith said.

Uneconomic trading is a hallmark of market manipulation, he added.

The first cause of action brought by the FMA relates to trading in Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares where Warminger is said to have bought shares to push up the price of the stock from its opening price of $4.32 to $4.35 in one day through five small buy trades and then later selling a significant chunk of shares at the allegedly manipulated higher price. The buy trading resulted in a loss when commissions were taken into account which meant there was no economic rationale for them, Smith said, while he made healthy profits from the shares sold.

The second and third causes of action relate to trading in A2 Milk shares, which Warminger was heavily overweight in through the funds he managed. The stock had been on a downward spiral from 96 cents per share in February 2014 to around 70 cents by June/July which was affecting the performance of the funds under Warmingers management and potentially his performance bonus.

Warminger had had meetings with Milfords former managing director Anthony Quirk and executive director Brian Gaynor over the funds under his management not delivering expected returns in the first half of the year and the poor performance had put him under a certain amount of pressure, Smith said.

The portfolio manager is alleged to have made aggressive trades, dominating morning trading of A2 shares on these particular days, in the hopes his purchases would spur other buyers into action before the share price rose even higher. He could then sell a significantly higher number of shares later in the day at the higher, allegedly manipulated price. In the third cause of action, the price of A2 shares kept ping-ponging up and down despite Warminger constituting 93 percent of the early morning trading that pushed the share price to a spread of 68 cents-to-70 cents. He inquired of other stock brokers whether anyone was selling a significant number of shares, which was thwarting his alleged efforts to raise the price.

Warminger could face a penalty of up to a $1 million a trade if any breached market manipulation rules, which he denies.

Milford Asset Management has paid a $1.5 million fine under an agreement with the FMA following a year-long investigation. It also committed to introducing new governance and trading controls as recommended in a PwC review.

Warminger still has a 1.5 percent shareholding in the 13-year-old firm which has more than $3.5 billion of funds under management and 20,000 clients.

The defence is expected to make its opening tomorrow.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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The inspekteur der luftwaffe, equivalent to the chief of staff of the German Air Force, marked the 50th anniversary of German pilot training here during a special roll call Sept. 23, 2016.

Lt. Gen. Karl Mullner, who began his flying career after graduating from pilot training here in 1982, was joined by fellow Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program graduate Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson, commander of Air Education and Training Command, as well as German Consulate General Ricarda Redeker and other senior German Air Force officers.

The benefits of Sheppard Air Force Base as a training location were, and still are, evident to the German Air Force, Mullner said.

Ideal climatic conditions, a large air base providing the best support for pilot training and the very kind acceptance by the people of Wichita Falls and all friends at Sheppard Air Force Base Mullner listed as contributing factors to the ongoing success of the joint partnership.

German Air Force pilot training at Sheppard began in 1966, and served as an important precursor to the formation of ENJJPT in 1982. In all, more than 2,500 German pilots have been trained here.

Generations of NATO pilots have jointly gained a comprehensive understanding of flying that ranges from flight safety regulations to first insights into operational procedures, Mullner said. However, the true value of Sheppard Air Force Base cannot be derived exclusively from these facts and figures. This place also has an influence on the way our officers think and act.

In highlighting the partnership at Sheppard, Mullner cited the broader German-American partnership.

This year, the German Air Force celebrates its 60th anniversary, and in 10 days time, Oct. 3, we will see the 26th anniversary of German reunification, Mullner said. But even earlier, we learned that the United States reliably stood by our side. In the center of our capital, Berlin, stands a memorial to the Berlin Airlift. It commemorates the support provided by our Western Allies to the citizens of West Berlin during the Soviet blockade from June 1948 to May 1949.

These anniversaries, Mullner said, give us cause for joy and gratitude since they would not have been possible without the United States, without the trust and support of our American friends.

Mullner took special care to thank representatives of the local community for their role in the success of the program at Sheppard. Wichita Falls, Burkburnett and Iowa Park mayors were all present, as were members of the Junior League, which has served as the German Air Force country sponsor for 50 years.

Your contribution to the German-American friendship cannot be praised highly enough, Mullner said. The relationship between our countries would hardly reach such a level if it was shaped and determined solely by statesmen and their symbolic gestures. It must also be lived by the citizens of our nations.

It remains a fact: The transatlantic alliance is vital to our security, and the success of our past gives us certainty for the future. The power of our friendship will be stronger than all challenges and enemies we have to face, he said.

Roberson echoed Mullners words, stressing that while the technical flying skills students learn were vital, the opportunity to train in a coalition environment provides benefits that go well beyond the individual pilot.

I have flown in three wars, starting with Operation Desert Storm, Roberson said. In all three, I flew with my NATO partners beside me. The joint NATO combat flight training taking place here has been put to use in every modern day conflict, to include efforts in Afghanistan supporting ground troops and shattering the Libyan ground and navy forces.

For Roberson, the Berlin Airlift showed the importance and effectiveness of coalitions.

The Berlin Airlift demonstrated to the world what combined effort for good can bring to those in such turmoil, he said. None of us can do it alone, and the support of our allies remains significant beyond measure. We must do all we can to preserve our ties and continue to learn from one another.

Roberson said the history and vitality of the partnership bode well for the future of both countries, and the NATO Alliance.

Today, NATO partners are fighting ISIS every day, Roberson said. Joint training is the foundation of any effective alliance, and NATO, born of the Cold War, remains relevant today in large part because of its coalition air power, and that starts right here at Sheppard Air Force Base.

The celebration of the 50th anniversary continued in a less formal setting Sept. 24, with Oktoberfest held at the Bridwell Agricultural Center. More than 1,000 people from Sheppard and the surrounding communities attended.
NEW DELHI: The first Incredible India Tourism Investors' Summit witnessed signing of 86 pacts worth around 15,000 crore for the development of tourism and hospitality projects.



The first investment summit for tourism held in India came to a resounding close today with several announcements being made to promote investments in the sector.

This summit will be organized annually to boost tourism in the country. Besides, there are plans to set up an investor facilitation desk and task force to promote tourism.



"We will assist and support investors for making India the tourist destination of choice," a statement by industry bodyCII quoted Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharmaas saying.



He was speaking at the valedictory session of the 'Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit (IITIS) 2016' organised by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the CII and the Tourism Finance Corp.



The Minister assured the support and assistance of the Ministry of Tourism for investment projects.



He referred to the tourist helpline in 12 languages and highlighted that a portal is being opened for inviting suggestions. "Let us join hands to give tourists a memorable experience," Sharma said.



Among the major announcements are: institutionalisation of IITIS to be held annually with the next summit to be organised in September 2017; setting up of a task force headed by Secretary, Tourism, with membership from relevant ministries, states, and industry associations to undertake strategic planning and setting up of an investor facilitation desk to handhold investors and facilitate projects.



Besides, such meets will be organised in states with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said at the valedictory session.



States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh exchanged 86 MoUs during the session and many more are in the pipeline, aggregating close to Rs 15,000 crore, the statement said.



Gujarat exchanged MOUs worth around 9,000 crore, Karnataka with 2,600 crore, Rajasthan 1,000 crore, Uttarakhand 500 crore and Chhattisgarh 12 crore.



Also B R Shetty group is keen to invest 450 crore and Costa Cruise 750 crore, Triveni Singapore close to 800 crore in the country.



Global Director, Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank Cecile Fruman noted that the tourism sector is among the top sectors with potential to create jobs.



The World Bank is supporting India's Buddhist Circuit development and will provide support for sustainable tourism development including through funds, she added.

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UNITED NATIONS: The G4 nations, including India, at a meeting on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, have reaffirmed "unwavering commitment" to reforms in the UN Security Council (UNSC) reflecting the realities of the 21st century.

"The G4 Ministers underscored their unwavering commitment to a comprehensive reform of the Security Council which needs to take into account the geopolitical realities of the 21st century," a joint statement issued following the meeting on Friday said.

"More than 70 years after the founding of the UN, the Security Council also has to adapt in order to cope with the ever growing global challenges," the statement said.

"With a view to the manifold conflicts and humanitarian crises, a more representative, legitimate and effective Council is needed more than ever to guarantee peace and security worldwide."

The G4 nations - India, Japan, Germany and Brazil - are seeking permanent membership in the UNSC.

While Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar represented India in the meeting, Brazil was represented by its Foreign Minister Jose Serra, Germany by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Japan by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

According to the statement, the ministers welcomed meetings of the Group of Friends on Security Council Reform, which brought together high-level representatives of member states from diverse regions aiming at pushing forward Security Council reforms.

"In this regard, they called upon all reform-oriented member states to join efforts and finally bring about meaningful reform," it said.

"The ministers expressed their support for equitable regional representation, underscoring the imperative for Africa's representation in both the permanent and non-permanent membership as well as adequate and continuing representation of small and medium sized member states, including the Small Island Developing States, in a reformed Security Council."

The four countries, according to the statement, reiterated their resolve to continue contributing to the fulfilment of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and emphasised that they were "legitimate candidates for permanent membership and supported each other's aspirations".

All the four nations thanked the President of the 70th General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark, for his efforts on UNSC in the inter-governmental negotiations (IGN).

"They also welcomed the expressions of flexibility made by numerous delegations during the past IGN session which resulted in the identification of areas of convergence in member states' positions on all issues related to the five clusters as identified by GA (General Assembly) Resolution 62/557 Security Council reform," the statement said.

The four nations, however, concluded that substantial progress was still limited and that efforts needed to be intensified to build further momentum and to arrive at real text-based negotiations.

"They pledged to continue to work towards a comprehensive Security Council reform in the framework of the IGN", the statement said.

"They expressed their full support to the President of the 71st UN General Assembly, trusting that he will support swift and substantive progress towards a meaningful reform of the Security Council," it stated.

"The ministers also briefly exchanged views on UN reforms to render the UN fit for the 21st century and discussed their expectations for the next Secretary General of the United Nations in this regard," it concluded.

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NEW DELHI: In its bid to encourage innovators to make in India, Infosys on Monday announced the winners of its first 'Infy Maker Awards' in the country.

In the first Indian edition, 20 winners were selected from more than 280 entries and over 2,500 registrations.

The winners were chosen from categories like health, energy, education, sound and music, social change solutions, robotics, art and design, artificial intelligence and electronics, among others.

"The 'Infy Maker Awards' in India aim to recognise some of the best minds and unleash the power of creativity and imagination of the next generation of thinkers," said Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, in a statement.

"We believe that these awards will ignite the spirit of 'making' in India and celebrate excellence in innovation. Infosys intends to steadily empower and reward such makers in India across communities and organisations," Rao added.

The 20 winners will be presented with 5 lakh each, a trophy and a certificate.

The awards were launched in the US by the Infosys Foundation USA in June 2015 in support of President Barack Obama's "Nation of Makers" initiative.

"Building on the success of this awards programme in the US, the 'Infy Maker Awards' in India is a reaffirmation of our commitment to contribute significantly to the larger global community and inspire the next generation of makers," said Vandana Sikka, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation USA.

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BENGALURU: The Karnataka Legislative Council passed an amendment to release water only to meet drinking water requirements. The towns and villages coming under Cauvery basin along with Bengaluru city will be benefitted from this resolution. There is no mention of Tamil Nadu in the resolution which both government and opposition passed unanimously. As reported by The Times of India, this resolution will defy Supreme Courts order on Cauvery water dispute.

Congress MLC, S Ravi, proposed the resolution in the legislative council and within 45 minutes, the assembly passed the bill. In the resolution, it is mentioned that only 27.6tmc water has remained in four reservoirs of Hemavati, Harangi, Kabini, and Krishna Raja Sagara combined. Therefore, if water will be reduced from these reservoirs, there will be an acute shortage of drinking water for all inhabitants of Cauvery basin and Bengaluru.

BJP leader, K S Eshwarappa and JD (S) leader, Basavaraj Horatti supported governments firm stand by crossing all political lines. Eshwarappa said that we appreciate government for the special session and welcome the decision taken for the sake of Karnataka people. Seven times MLC, Horatti said our party fully supports the governments decision of releasing water only for basic requirements of Bengaluru and Cauvery basin and no water will be released for any other state.

Ex-CM of Karnataka, SM Krishna apologized to the Supreme Court for not following their orders by signaling their inability to spare Cauvery water. The court gave various decisions for Cauvery water issue earlier in the month. The series of incidents started when Tamil Nadu asked Karnataka to release extra water so the samba paddy crop will be saved from destroying which they denied. Therefore, Tamil Nadu went to court for a decision.

On 19th September, the Cauvery Supervisory Committee asked Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water for Tamil Nadu each day from 21st to 30th September. However, on 20th September, the highest judicature of the country doubled the quantity and gave order to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water from 21st to 27th September. Earlier in the month, Karnataka also faced violent protests against Supreme Courts order, which badly disturbed both southern states of India.

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UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon lauded India for its "swift action" over the decision to ratify the Paris pact on climate change, saying he is looking forward to receiving New Delhi's instrument of accession.

"The Secretary-General has made clear his hopes for the ratification of the Paris Agreement by a large number of states as early as possible, so he would be pleased by swift action by India. He looks forward to receiving India's instrument of accession," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced in Kerala that India will ratify the Paris climate deal made in Paris last year on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's two largest emitters, formally joined the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris.

The agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.

Specifically, it seeks to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.

A total of 60 countries so far have deposited their instruments of ratification for the agreement, representing more than 47.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Ban said this week that since more than 55 countries have formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, a critical threshold has been crossed that will help bring into force the landmark pact that seeks to put the world on a path towards low-carbon growth and a more sustainable future.

"I am confident that, by the time I leave office, the Paris Agreement will have entered into force," the UN chief has said.

"This will be a major achievement for multilateralism," he said.

India, which along with the US and China is among the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.

It has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the government's plan to supply electricity to every household.

India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photo-voltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.

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NEW DELHI: The US today welcomed India's surprise decision to ratify the key Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2.



"We welcome the news India will join the #ParisAgreement October 2," US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said.



"Congrats Prime Minister @narendramodi for your leadership to #ActOnClimate," Verma tweeted.



Earlier, in a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.



"There is one work left in the CoP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it. Today on the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, I announce that India will ratify the decisions on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," he said while addressing BJP's National Council meet in Kozhikode, Kerala.



Modi said he had chosen the date, which is next Sunday, as Mahatma Gandhi's life was an example of minimum carbon footprint.



During the Paris climate meet in December last, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.



The pact will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries that account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.



Talking about the need to ratify the COP21 decision, Modi said there is a looming threat due to global warming to many coastal countries and cities. Even Kerala, where the conclave was being held, is also a coastal area.



While Western countries, including the US, had been supporting an early ratification of the pact,India had been seeking more time to complete its national processes as it fears that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.



The issue of India ratifying the Paris deal had come up for discussion between Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos earlier this month.



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parkhill.jpg

Residents of the Park Hill Apartments complex in Clifton are demanding answers after they say they have been without gas for five days. (Google images)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Residents of the Park Hill Apartments complex in Clifton are demanding answers after they say they have been without gas for five days.

National Grid shut off the gas at 185 and 225 Park Hill Ave. on Sept. 21 due to a request from the Department of Buildings (DOB), according to a spokeswoman for the utility, who referred further questions to the DOB.

According to the DOB website, there was a complaint made for work without a permit and the installation of a gas line in the basement and no sprinkler protection in the laundry room.

That complaint status has been resolved, according to the website. The agency has not yet responded to a request for more information.

Residents don't know when their gas will be restored.

"We are demanding some answers." Amber Bryan, who lives at the 185 building.

Bryan has been using a slow cooker and a microwave to prepare food for her four children.

"Not being able to cook for my family is extremely hard especially when one of your children is autistic," Bryan said. "It is a very frustrating and tedious process."

The 35-year-old mom said that Sunday night it took her six hours to cook dinner for her children.

"I don't know how people are actually surviving at the moment," Bryan said.

Dow Buford, another resident at 185, said that without gas, his cooking habits have been seriously affected.

"I am 60 year old and can only eat baked food." Buford said. "I try to use my microwave and a hot plate, but that's not the same."

Buford is asking for some compensation claiming that the use of electric-based cooking tools will make his electric bill go higher.

"We are planning to do what we can to get the gas back," Buford said.

On Monday morning residents of the 185 and 225 buildings protested in front of the management office asking for the gas to be restored as soon as possible.

Bryan and Buford both claim that the residents didn't receive any answer.

"Management people were laughing while we were crying," Bryan said.
X00126_9-1.JPG

This Advance file photo shows traffic and school buses backed up along Forest Avenue in Port Richmond, on the way to PS 22. Would cameras mounted on school buses help deter drivers who pass stopped buses? (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- First cameras to record speeding motorists in school districts, and now, perhaps, cameras that can record drivers whizzing past stopped school buses?

American drivers illegally passed school buses more than 13 million times last year. On average, roughly eight kids a year are killed by drivers who ignore school bus stop signs, CBS News reported.

Last year the city of Austin, Texas, added cameras mounted on both the front and back of school buses, to automatically record whether nearby cars came to a stop for the kids entering and exiting buses.

Every day, school police review videos of violators. The fine is $300. In four months, they sent citations to 6,600 motorists, according to the CBS report. The city of Dallas soon followed, adding cameras to their school buses.

At least 15 states allow cameras to be mounted outside school buses to record motorists illegally passing while the buses are stopped, with their red lights flashing, and STOP arms extended.

In New York State, passing a stopped school bus is considered a moving violation, with fines of at least $250 and points on your license, but the law can only be enforced if the driver is caught by a law enforcement.

"We need camera's mounted on school buses to stop reckless driving. This is a nationwide problem, and NY needs to do something NOW before a child is killed. And it costs $0 nothing to implement," Island education advocate Laura Timoney posted on Facebook.

Community Education Council President Michael Reilly said the panel has been pushing for several years to get cameras on the buses. A bill that would mandate school districts to add school bus cameras, that was supported by Island elected officials in Albany, never made it out of committee last year. Reilly said he's hopeful the legislation could be re-introduced during the next session.

Do you agree? Would the idea work on Staten Island? Tell us what you think in the Comment section below.
Mall Shooting-Washington

Investigators are seen at the apartment complex that has been tied to Arcan Cetin, the suspected Cascade Mall shooter, in Oak Harbor, Wash., Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016. Authorities carried boxes from a rear, upstairs apartment in the four-unit building. (AP Photo/Martha Bellisle)

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- The young man accused of killing five people in a Washington state shopping mall before leading authorities on a nearly 24-hour manhunt has confessed to the slayings, according to court documents released Monday.

The documents filed in Skagit Court say Arcan Cetin told detectives who interviewed him that "he did bring the rifle into Macy's and shot all 5 victims."

The 20-year-old was arrested Saturday evening following the slayings at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, on Friday evening.

Cetin, who faces five charges of premeditated murder, will be making an initial court appearance late Monday morning. Authorities are asking that he be held on a $2 million bond.

Cetin was described by a neighbor as so "creepy, rude and obnoxious" that she kept a Taser by her front door. He also had a string of run-ins with the law in recent years, including charges he assaulted his stepfather.

As investigators tried to piece together information on Cetin, a picture emerged of a troubled young man. Court records show more than a half-dozen criminal cases in Island County alone since 2013.

Authorities said the gunman in the attack at the Cascade Mall opened fire in the department store's cosmetics department Friday night, killing a man and four females ranging from a teenager to a senior citizen. The killer then fled.

Cetin said nothing and appeared "zombie-like" when he was taken into custody on a sidewalk outside his apartment complex some 30 miles away in Oak Harbor by a sheriff's officer who recognized him as the suspect in the rampage, authorities said.

Cetin immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey and is a legal permanent resident, officials said. He is expected to make an initial court appearance Monday.

As the surrounding area absorbed news of the arrest, critical questions remained, including the gunman's motive. The FBI said early Saturday that there was no indication the shooting was terrorism, but local authorities said later in the day that they were ruling nothing out.

On Sept. 17, a 20-year-old man stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota mall before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer. Authorities said they are investigating the attack by Dahir Ahmed Adan as a possible act of terrorism.

On Monday, nine people were wounded when a man opened fire near a Houston strip mall. Police said the gunman, who was shot and killed by police, was a lawyer who was having problems with his law firm.

In Washington state, investigators searched Cetin's vehicle and the apartment complex Sunday and were seen carrying boxes from a rear, upstairs unit. The four-unit building was surrounded with yellow police tape. Detectives would not say what they found.

Amber Cathey, 21, lived in an apartment next to Cetin for the past three months and said she was so frightened by him that she complained to apartment management and kept a stun gun handy. Cathey said she blocked him on Snapchat after he sent her a photo of his crotch.

"He was really creepy, rude and obnoxious," Cathey said. She said she would try to avoid him by walking the long way around to her apartment if she saw his car in the parking lot. The two were in high school together as well, and Cathey said he acted the same way then.

The Seattle Times reported (http://bit.ly/2cWhxJY) that court records show Cetin faced three charges of assaulting his stepfather. The newspaper said Cetin also was arrested on drunken driving charges. It gave no details on when the arrests took place or how the cases may have been resolved.

In the assault case, Cetin was told by a judge last December that he was not to possess a gun, the newspaper reported. However, the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, saying his stepson was "going through a hard time."

Attempts to reach Cetin's family for comment by phone and social media weren't immediately successful. It wasn't clear if Cetin had a lawyer yet. A man who came to the door Sunday morning at an Oak Harbor address believed to be where Cetin's stepfather and mother live asked an Associated Press reporter to leave the property.

Police said that they interviewed the suspect's former girlfriend, who has worked a different Macy's. No other details were released, including her name.

Social media accounts apparently belonging to Cetin showed he had a fondness for the military and video games.

A Twitter account showed, among other things, selfies, photos of him in younger years and pictures of Turkish food. He once participated in paintball and said he "can't wait for Halo 5," the first-person shooter video game. He also tweeted: "Shout out to the ROTC peeps." A Facebook account showed he liked military-related sites.

Cetin also appeared to have blogs on the site Tumblr that had not been updated in many months. They included seemingly random posts about serial killer Ted Bundy, a collection of selfies, the top-secret Area 51 Cold War test site and photos of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The two blogs linked back to each other and one of them linked to what appeared to be his Twitter page.

Oak Harbor is a city of 22,000 on Whidbey Island with many military families associated with the nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
Jose Fernandez

Baseball fans stand for a minute of silence for Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who was killed early Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016 in a boating accident in Miami, before a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

MIAMI -- Investigators are trying to determine whether Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was at the wheel of his sportfishing boat when it slammed into a jetty in the early-morning darkness, killing him and two others on board.

The three men died when the 32-foot SeaVee slammed into rocks jutting off the southern tip of South Beach at about 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office. A Coast Guard crew going out on patrol discovered the wreck about 15 minutes later.

The boat registered to Fernandez had landed upside-down, with its engines partially submerged, its bow pointed skyward and debris scattered over the large jagged rocks. Investigators are now examining the wreck at a secure facility, according to Monday statement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

There's no immediate indication that alcohol or drugs were involved, commission spokesman Lorenzo Veloz said.

Also killed were Emilio Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25, according to Darren Caprara, operations director of the medical examiner's office.

The wreck happened at the mouth of Miami's Government Cut, a busy channel for cargo and cruise ships, smaller fishing boats and personal watercraft. While the area is well lit at night by South Beach's neon hotels and condominiums, this also creates a glare that can make spotting a safe route through the channel more difficult, said Terry Claus, a fishing charter captain.

"Especially if you're going fast, there's too much to take in," Claus said. "There's a lot of lights, there's a lot of markers for the cruise ships -- red lights flashing, green lights flashing, white lights flashing, and there's a lot of boats running around. You have to be alert, and you have to slow down."

Nighttime speed limits have been established in the waters off Miami for holidays, but officials have resisted requiring licenses and safety training for adult boaters, said Claus, who advocated for tougher safety regulations after a July 4, 2014, crash in Biscayne Bay killed four people.

News photos of the boat involved in Fernandez's death appear to show that it had blue interior lights, a decorative feature that Claus said could have impaired the driver's vision if they were on.

"You're surrounded by all this blue light, and you can't see what's in front of you," Claus said Monday. A boater safety course would have explained the danger, he added.

"Those blue lights are supposed to be on at the dock to make the boat look pretty, but when you're on the ocean, everyone can see you but you can't see anyone else."

Wildlife commission spokesman Rob Klepper said he could not confirm whether the vessel had interior lights that may have impaired the driver's vision.

At 3:15 on Sunday, it was nearing high tide and the jetty that protects its entrance was partially submerged. So if the boat was going fast enough for the bow to rise out of the water, "then it's very possible that he could not see any of those rocks in front of him," Claus said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Islanders gathered for a commemorative mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea to celebrate their 100th anniversary on Sunday.

The 2 p.m. mass at the Huguenot Roman Catholic church featured Timothy Cardinal Dolan as the main celebrant.

Cardinal Dolan concelebrated with Pastor Father Tom Devery during the mass. Several other priests came to celebrate the anniversary, as well as Bishop John O'Hara.

The Knights of Columbus led the procession as parishioners joined the church's choir to sing the opening hymn as Cardinal Dolan entered. Cardinal Dolan began the mass with the opening prayer and delivered the homily.

"Staten Island is such a vibrant, important part of our catholic family," Cardinal Dolan said. "During the 100th anniversary, it's natural to think about the past. We want to think about the past with a lot of thanksgiving."

When the mass was over, parishioners formed a line to personally meet Cardinal Dolan.

"It's the 100th anniversary of the church serving the community," said sacristan John Manetta. "Our Lady Star of the Sea has been a beacon of light for generations in the past and will be for future generations."

Our Lady Star of the Sea was founded in 1916 and currently serves 4,100 active families in their parish. The school was founded in 1959, which now has an enrollment of more than 880 students.
echero.jpg

On Nov. 8, voters will actually cast a ballot for Electoral College "electors," who then vote for the president.

(AP Photo, File)

The Electoral College is a political institution responsible for electing the president of the United States. On Nov. 8, voters will actually cast a ballot for Electoral College "electors," who then vote for the president. Electors are distributed to each state by population. Many critics say the Electoral College undermines the popular vote and distorts how candidates actually campaign. Supporters say it's necessary to ensure the presidents do not become focused only on cities. What do you think? Vote below.

PERSPECTIVES

Just how does the Electoral College work? This video gives a pretty nifty summary of how it works (and that the real election for the U.S. president actually occurs in December).

This is a map of how Electoral College votes were awarded in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The first candidate to 270 votes wins. Citizens do not directly elect the president.

But isn't this supposed to be a democracy? By handing over the presidential election to a bunch of secret "electors," the Electoral College just perpetuates the tidal wave of mistrust currently plaguing political institutions.

More importantly, the winner of the popular vote doesn't always win the presidency:

"A candidate can win the Electoral College -- and as a result, the presidency -- without winning the popular vote, Brady says. In fact, it's happened four times: Andrew Jackson and Samuel Tilden, won the popular vote in 1824 and 1876, respectively, only to see their opponents walk into the White House. This also happened to Grover Cleveland in 1888; he won the popular vote but lost on electoral votes to Benjamin Harrison. And in 2000, George Bush prevailed similarly over Al Gore."

In most states, presidential candidates can win a slim majority of the popular vote but receive all of the Electoral College votes (you only need over 50% in a "winner-takes-all" state). That means states that heavily lean blue or red are routinely ignored by candidates. Think about how many campaign rallies are held in Ohio or Florida versus California or Texas. The system unfairly gives some citizens way more influence than others:

"Therefore a Republican's vote in Maryland really doesn't matter and a Democrat's vote in Texas is worthless. However, if you are a resident of a swing state, say Florida for example, your vote is marginally more significant than the vote of an individual in a safe state."

The plus-side of the Electoral College is that it ensures no particular region receives more attention than any other, which was done by design. This forces presidential candidates to try and woo citizens from all walks of life.

As Slate explains:

"So a solid regional favorite, such as [Mitt] Romney was in the South, has no incentive to campaign heavily in those states, for he gains no electoral votes by increasing his plurality in states that he knows he will win. This is a desirable result because a candidate with only regional appeal is unlikely to be a successful president."

Even after the Gore v. Bush decision, where George W. Bush won the election despite losing the popular vote, the Cato Institute argued that getting rid of the Electoral College would result in candidates not just ignoring regions, but entire states and focusing on a few, highly-populated areas:

First, we must keep in mind the likely effects of direct popular election of the president. We would probably see elections dominated by the most populous regions of the country or by several large metropolitan areas ...

And as long as we are an expansive nation with citizens spread throughout, we need the Electoral College to ensure everyone has a voice:

... The victims in such elections would be those regions too sparsely populated to merit the attention of presidential candidates. Pure democrats would hardly regret that diminished status, but I wonder if a large and diverse nation should write off whole parts of its territory. We should keep in mind the regional conflicts that have plagued large and diverse nations like India, China, and Russia. The Electoral College is a good antidote to the poison of regionalism because it forces presidential candidates to seek support throughout the nation. By making sure no state will be left behind, it provides a measure of coherence to our nation.

Folks are pretty split on whether or not to keep the Electoral College, but supporters still think it's necessary in order to make sure all voices are heard.

If we get rid of the Electoral College, candidates will ignore all but the largest states. https://t.co/wzgf7woF1l  John Salmon (@JohnSalmon859) September 23, 2016

This is the first presidential election I can remember where I start to think the Electoral College is a good idea.  PastMyUseByDate (@SamScottPreston) July 27, 2016

But critics think the Electoral College is an outdated concept that robs citizens of their real power.

Occasional reminder that the electoral college is ridiculous and we should just make whoever gets the most votes the President.  Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 22, 2016

#ChangeThisAndImHappy

Get rid of the Electoral College. This is the 21st Century. We should be electing by Popular Vote.  Antic the Fearless (@antic5) September 16, 2016

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It was 1 a.m. when Jeff and Camille Capretta heard a knock at their door. Their 20-year-old son, Jeffrey, was in critical condition after a car he was in collided with a utility pole at Arthur Kill and Annadale roads.

"Our hearts dropped," Capretta said. "When we got to the hospital he had already died. We didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

Joseph Rodriguez was a 28-year-old aspiring to be a police officer, when he died in a crash on the West Shore Expressway. An acquaintance who was allegedly driving, former Linden Police Officer Pedro Abad, collided head on with a semi-truck.

The language people have used to describe the incident is an emotional for Rodriguez's sister.

"I don't like the word (car) accident," said Roseann Rodriguez. "I feel like it could have been prevented."

When a fender bender forced 34-year-old Cary Candella out of his vehicle on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, he was struck and viciously killed by a third-party driver. Some have said he's in a better place.

"Cary is in a better place, but what's left behind is his heartbroken mother and a hole in our family that will never be filled," said his sister Jennifer Visconti.

Each incident involved a driver who was allegedly intoxicated, and each of the victims were remembered Sunday by family at Clove Lakes Park in Sunnyside.

Staten Island Walk Like MADD drew about 150 participants and raised more than $30,000 for the continued efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which includes legal, medical and counseling services for victims of drunk and drugged drivers.

The fundraiser in New York was first held in Long Island, then, duplicated three years ago in Staten Island. Then Tottenville High School student Jacqueline Candella contacted MADD with the idea to expand. She doesn't remember meeting her brother Cary, who died in 1997 when she was a baby.

"I was sick and tired of hearing about so-called accidents that could take someone's life," said Candella after the commemorative walk Sunday.

The event this year, managed by MADD Walk Manager Tara Spohrer, drew about 150 participants and raised more than $30,000. Statewide, Spohrer managed four walks in 2016 expected to raise more than $270,000. It would represent a near 200 percent increase from four years ago.

And while fundraising has increased, sentencing for drunk and drugged drivers has stiffened over the past 20 years. Gone are the days when a convicted drunk driver who kills a man on the Verrazano Bridge -- in the case with the Candella family -- does four months in jail.

In attendance Sunday was Chief Assistant District Attorney Paul Capofari, who had a strong message for families prior to the walk.

"Hold the DA's office accountable," Capofari said. "Come to see us. Talk to us. (District Attorney) McMahon, myself, all of our assistant district attorneys -- we will speak to you. We have to end drunk driving."

As families walked the quiet path at Clove Lakes Park, some wore photos of their children or siblings on t-shirts; to fill what they described as a hole in the pit of their stomachs.

"It's something that never goes away," Capretta said. "There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about our son. There's a level of sadness that just doesn't go away."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Port Richmond man's blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit when Port Authority Police stopped him early Sunday morning near the Goethals Bridge, said authorities.

Port Authority Police Officer Ed Benenati spotted Raul Esquivel, 21, about 1:30 a.m. driving at a high rate of speed the wrong way on Goethals Road North near the Goethals Bridge Administration Building, said Joseph Pentangelo, a Port Authority spokesman.

Officers pulled over Esquivel's 2010 Nissan, and the defendant appeared dazed and incoherent, Pentangelo said.

A records check revealed his driver's license was suspended.

Esquivel was asked to exit the vehicle, and upon doing so was unable to stand without aid, said Pentangelo.

The Clinton Place resident told cops he had consumed two drinks and had some marijuana inside his backpack, the spokesman said.

A Breathalyzer test showed Esquivel's blood alcohol content was .18 percent - or more than two times the legal threshold in New York for driving while intoxicated, said Pentangelo.

Officers found marijuana in Esquivel's backpack on searching it with his consent, the spokesman said.

Esquivel was arraigned Sunday in Criminal Court on misdemeanor charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, online state court records show.

He's also accused of driving while impaired and unlawful marijuana possession.

He was released on his own recognizance and ordered back to court on Dec. 1.
K-9 Dog Photo.jpg

A police dog like Blaze, a deceased hero NYPD K-9 unit dog from Staten Island, is the focus of an ongoing legal controversy

(Staten Island Advance photo)

These are times of unprecedented danger for police officers in the United States. Targeted for death by hate-filled ignoramuses, these public servants put their lives on the line every single day by merely donning the color blue.

They also face a significant risk of economic devastation today, too. This threat to their homes, bank accounts, and other property comes from judges who, from the safety of their courtrooms, and with the benefit of hindsight, second guess the life-or-death decisions made by police in situations of real, or seemingly real, peril. As a consequence, plaintiffs, alleging violations of their constitutional rights, are being awarded judgments not only against municipalities and police departments, but against individual police officers too. This, of course, can translate into financial ruin for them and their families.

Sometimes, too, judges who are inherently hostile to police officers, or naive about the perils they face, establish legal precedents that make their jobs considerably more dangerous. Last week, the full complement of judges on the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit agreed to reconsider a bizarre ruling issued in April by a three-judge panel of the same court. In Lowry v. City of San Diego, two appointees of President Jimmy Carter teamed up to condemn police officers for what was actually a common-sense use of their service dog while investigating a report of a burglary in progress.

Burglary report

At approximately 10:40 p.m. on the night of Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, a burglar alarm went off in a two-story building in San Diego. Arriving within minutes, three officers found a darkened building and, on a second-floor balcony, two open doors, one of which was propped open. After entering the building, the officers looked around for any indication that it was occupied by a person who belonged there. They found none. Before entering Suite 201, Sergeant Bill Nulton, accompanied by his service dog, Bak, yelled loudly, "This is the San Diego Police Department! Come out now or I'm sending in a police dog!" After waiting between 30 and 60 seconds, but receiving no response, he repeated the same warning at least once more. Again, however, there was no response.

Accordingly, Sergeant Nulton took Bak off her leash and followed the animal into Suite 201. As it turned out, there was, indeed, someone inside. It was Sara Lowry, an employee of the Tenzing Corporation, which occupied the suite. After having gone out with friends to two bars and consuming five vodka drinks, she returned to the building, accidentally tripped the burglar alarm in a neighboring suite, and fell asleep on a couch in Suite 201.

Dog bite

Sergeant Nulton entered the room where Lowry was sleeping and shone his flashlight against the wall. At that moment, Bak jumped on the woman, biting her lip so severely that the gash bled profusely. Shortly after the incident, Sergeant Nulton told Lowry, "I just can't believe that's the only damage. You're very lucky. She could have ripped your face off." Another officer drove her to the hospital where she received a tetanus shot and three stitches.

Although Lowry's ensuing lawsuit was initially dismissed at the trial level on a summary judgment motion, the divided panel of 9th Circuit reinstated it in April. Carter's two appointees concluded that a jury could reasonably find that the police officers' actions, undertaken in accordance with San Diego's "bite and hold" policy in its use of service dogs, violated her constitutional right to be free of unreasonable seizures. To support that proposition, the majority noted that the sleeping Lowry posed no immediate threat to the officers. Burglary isn't inherently a violent crime, the opinion continued, nor does the fact that Lowry wasn't badly hurt negate the reality that she could have been. Thus, the two judges declared, "we have little trouble concluding that the intrusion on Lowry's Fourth Amendment rights was severe." It was an extraordinarily naive ruling, pompous nonsense from judges who don't have a clue about the crucible into which police are thrust every single day.

Sensible assumptions

In reality, the officers in this case were guided by five sensible assumptions. First, doors don't generally open themselves. Second, people with legitimate business at a building don't generally go there close to 11 p.m. without turning on the lights. Third, anyone who does happen to do so will know if they set off a burglar alarm, especially one that, as in this instance, is loud enough to be heard in the parking lot. Fourth, anyone there legitimately would respond to the loudly-announced police commands. And fifth, if anybody else was in the building, he or she was likely a burglar and, possibly, armed. The fact that most burglaries do not entail the use of violence doesn't obviate the dangers to life and limb posed by those that do.

Unless the decision is overturned when all the judges of the court reconsider it, police in the nine western states and two territories governed by the sprawling ninth circuit will be far less likely to use service dogs to protect themselves in dangerous situations. The ruling could have a similar effect on officers throughout the country since it constitutes nonbinding precedent for other circuits to follow if they so choose.

The 9th Circuit is notorious for being, far and away, the most liberal in the nation. That all of the judges of the court will reconsider the case is an indication that the police-dog ruling may be too far out in left field even for them.

[Daniel Leddy's column appears each Tuesday on the Advance Editorial Page. His e-mail address is column@danielleddylaw.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/LegalHotShots.]
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ACT Labor has come under pressure to return donations from property developers and has been accused of opportunism as a battle over party financing continues.

Labor has promised to ban developer donations, expand the lobbyist register, introduce real-time reporting and create an integrity commissioner to investigate any breaches.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr would ban property developer donations for all parties in the ACT if re-elected. Credit:Jeffrey Chan

The changes would bring laws in line with NSW where property developers are banned from donating to political parties.
Goodbye Hobart Heart FM. Goodbye Mildura Sun FM. Farewell Shepparton Star FM. Welcome Hobart Triple M, Mildura Triple M and Shepparton Hit Network. Radio conglomerate Southern Cross Austereo announced on Monday it will re-brand nearly 80 radio stations across Australia as either Triple M or Hit Network by December 15. The move is designed to simplify the network for advertisers with nation-wide promotions. After the re-brand, Triple M will cover 29 stations across the country. Credit:Penny Stephens The move will deliver "better content to our regional audiences" and make it easier for advertisers as the network will be streamlined into two strong brands, Southern Cross' head of regional media, Rick Lenarcic, said in a statement. "For the first time, our audiences and advertisers will identify and engage with brands that are both local to their region and national," he said.

Hit Network will become the largest in Australia with 43 stations, swallowing up regional names like Hot FM in regional Western Australia and Queensland, Star FM in New South Wales and Victoria. Sea FM in Bundaberg and Maryborough will be re-named, but Gold Coast Sea FM and Central Coast Sea FM will keep their names but take on Hit branding and "overtly becoming part of the hit music group of stations", according to the press release. The Triple M name and branding will replace small-town names like Albury The River, Mt Gambier 5SE AM, Orange 2GZ, Katanning RadioWest and Cairns Sea FM. But six stations will keep their names, including Perth mix94.5 and Canberra Mix FM, while adopting the Triple M branding. "Four heritage stations; Townville's 4TO, Gosford's 2GO, Newcastle's KOFM, and the Gold Coast's Gold FM all which operate in highly competitive markets will retain their original station name but more to the iconic Triple M colour pallette," the company confirmed. However, there will be no job losses and local DJs will remain in place with local content and play lists. "The localism in the regional stations will stay the same regardless of the re-brand," Southern Cross' head of communications, Creina Chapman, told BusinessDay.
High-flying Domino's Pizza Enterprises insists it can easily swallow looming pay rises for staff who missed out on penalty rates thanks to an old deal with the shop assistants' union, as it sets out to hire 2500 workers over the next two weeks.

Fresh from reporting record annual sales and a 15.5 per cent rise in same-store sales for the start to the new financial year, Domino's says the hiring spree will mean an extra four staff, on average, for its 650-odd stores in Australia.

In addition, Domino's intends to hire 1000 people to staff the new stores it will open before Christmas.

Domino's does not break out its labour costs  some of its stores are company-owned but most are franchised  but has about 16,600 employees in Australia. Labour is its highest cost.
More than 200 years ago, James Madison, the father of the US Constitution, observed that the greatest threat to freedom is not violence or revolt, but the "gradual and silent encroachments of those in power". He was reflecting on the past, of course, but he might just as well have been looking to our future  which is why his remarks were cited by Federal Court Justice Susan Kenny, just five years ago, in a speech on Australia's secrecy provisions.

The notion that the powerful should have the sole discretion to determine what information to disclose, and when, may "[belong] to a legal landscape that has since disappeared" according to Kenny, but it's as firmly entrenched in the political mindset as ever. And why would it not be? Secrecy is all about clinging onto power  something which, given our recent predilection for cliffhanger elections and chucking first term PMs, is getting harder and harder to do.

Illustration: Andrew Dyson. Credit:Andrew Dyson.

Despite the Turnbull government's professed enthusiasm for transparency and accountability, this year  marked by a shroud of secrecy over border protection, the targeting of whistleblowers, and the intransigence of the Attorney-General around the release of his diary  could well be the low point for open government in Australia since Freedom of Information laws were introduced three decades ago.

Welcome to Peak Secrecy. And in case you've missed any of the pivotal moments, let's start with the achievements of Australia's most senior legal officer, who  credit where credit's due  has managed to use the provisions of Freedom of Information legislation to conclusively frustrate objects of the act. Our Attorney-General has now spent two years and around $50,000 resisting the disclosure of what are essentially "brief and anodyne" entries, according to the Federal Court, for an eight-month period in his ministerial diary leading up to the 2014 budget.
In 2010 in its final days, the Brumby government promised to commence the closure of Hazelwood. And then again in 2012, the Gillard government promised to secure closure of 2000 megawatts of brown coal through a "cash for closure" scheme, but Hazelwood and others wanted unreasonable amounts of public money, and the plan failed.

It's not the first time that Hazelwood, the dirtiest power station in the developed world, has been earmarked for closure.

On Saturday morning the Latrobe Valley woke to the news that people have been both expecting and fearing: "Hazelwood shutdown near" splashed across the front page of The Age.

This time we need to get it right. Hazelwood needs a retirement date, both to reduce greenhouse pollution but also to make way for renewable energy replacements. Earlier this month the Australian Renewable Energy Agency funded 12 large-scale solar projects. None of them were in Victoria, where our electricity market is horribly oversupplied with brown coal generation. We are missing out on jobs and investment in clean energy as a result of Hazelwood operating well beyond its use-by date.

Retiring Hazelwood will also reduce the serious health impacts caused by air pollution, impacts scorched into our memory by the Hazelwood mine fire. And when the power station closes, 27 billion litres of fresh water each year  as much as Melbourne consumes in a month  can be put to other uses such as agriculture and restoring natural flows to rivers.

But the Latrobe Valley's apprehension about phasing out coal is understandable. While the Victorian government committed $40 million to help diversify the local economy in the last state budget, there's no clear transition plan yet, and the federal government is missing in action. Leaving the timing of the power station closure to the market, and to decision-makers in Paris and Hong Kong board rooms, risks leaving communities in the lurch.

It's not too late. We already know some of the key ingredients of a transition plan. We know younger workers can be redeployed from power stations that are closing to those that will remain open, while workers nearing retirement can be offered a package as the CFMEU is advocating. We know that rehabilitating the massive Hazelwood mine pit  an area much larger than Melbourne CBD  will create hundreds of jobs for more than a decade. And we know there are many opportunities beyond coal in the Latrobe Valley, whether it is in agriculture, tourism, manufacturing or clean energy.

So what we need now is for Engie and the state and federal governments to step up and provide significant long-term support for the community as we make the necessary transition to clean energy and a pollution-free economy.
Who pays the $9.7 billion cost of the 50-year lease on the Port of Melbourne?

The investors? Hardly. Writing in Lloyd's List last week, former ports boss Michal Frydrych said he had reservations about selling the port: "I have always operated on the premise that ports are vital to the development of countries and should play a supporting role to the rest of the economy."

The Port of Melbourne is the country's largest capital city port, with about 3000 vessel calls per year. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

Mr Frydrych points out: "While the investors are big names, most of them use our [superannuation] money to purchase long-term investments at a ridiculous price, but what does it really mean?

"I am retired, my pension comes from the funds, but I pay more for goods, as the logistics chain is hugely overpriced."
Richard and Christie from Fast N' Loud and the two chuckleheads from Street Outlaws have pulled up on a long couch to chortle at viral internet videos. Unfortunately, none of them has anything terribly witty or interesting to say  but if you can think of a cheaper way to make TV the folks at Discovery will be all ears. The clips are mostly vehicle-related  there's dash-cam footage of car crashes, helmet-cam footage of motorcycle crashes, bystander footage of bicycle-stunt mishaps and so on. A clip in which some dufus microwaves a glow stick and freaks out when it explodes in his face is followed by a fairly pointless interview with the dufus himself. The most memorable clip is of that of Mildura radio presenter Amber Wheatland shrieking in terror while being repeatedly swooped by a magpie, but you might as well just check that out on YouTube.

Mr Selfridge

7Two, 7.30pm

The fourth  and final  season of this period drama opens nine years (years!) after the last season ended, and Harry Selfridge (Jeremy Piven) is still a man about town, a proper celebrity and an inveterate gambler, with a string of ladies on his arm. While we're left to largely guess what happened to him after Nancy's (Kelly Adams) lies were revealed (or indeed to Nancy), we are brought up to speed with the rest of the cast: Harry's daughter Rosalie (Kara Tointon) now has a nine-year-old daughter herself, George (Calum Callaghan) and Connie (Sacha Parkinson) are married and Kitty (Amy Beth Hayes) and Frank (Samuel West) have bought themselves a big new house; how is yet to be revealed. And Lady Mae (Katherine Kelly) is back, much to Harry's delight, looking to sell her Selfridge shares as whatever it is she was doing in Paris hasn't worked out. Naturally, Harry promptly gives her a flat to live in (before taking her for a night on the town). Fans should expect a rocky road this season (and some wild deviations from history) as Harry's world is set to come crashing down; when the finale aired in the UK earlier this year, many were left weeping.

Kylie Northover

movie The Wolfman (2010)
The longest continuous reconstruction of the Earth's surface climate suggests that current greenhouse gas levels could commit the planet to as much as 7 degrees of warming in the next 1000 years.

The study, Evolution of global temperature over the past 2 million years, was conducted by Stanford University then doctoral student Carolyn Snyder, and marks the longest continuous reconstruction of the Earth's surface climate to date.

It comes as a national poll found public support for federal government-led action on climate change has bounced back, with increased support for renewable energy production.

The Climate Institute's Climate of the Nation poll found 65 per cent of Australians want their country to lead the world on climate change solutions, a marked increase since the time of divisive debates about the Gillard government's carbon tax.
Australia has lost in its claim that an international commission has no jurisdiction to hear a complaint by East Timor in the bitter dispute over undersea oil and gas riches.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull earlier this year knocked back a call for fresh negotiations on the maritime boundary in the Timor Sea, but the decision released on Monday from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague opens the way for talks between the two countries.

East Timor remains incensed by allegations that Australian spies bugged the cabinet office of its tiny neighbour during negotiations for a 2006 treaty to divide oil and gas revenue.

In a statement on Monday, the commission at The Hague ruled it had the jurisdiction to hold a "conciliation" under a never-before invoked article of the international law of the sea.
Labor senator Stephen Conroy has vowed to continue his fight to stop police accessing thousands of pages of documents relating to the National Broadband Network, despite his shock departure from Parliament.

The veteran Labor powerbroker and former communications minister, whose 20-year Senate career officially finishes on Friday, said there were "fundamental principles" at stake and the documents must remain sealed.

Australian Federal Police officers sensationally raided Senator Conroy's office during the federal election campaign and later executed a search warrant at Parliament House to access the building's email servers.

Senator Conroy has claimed the seized documents are protected by parliamentary privilege and the matter has been referred to the high-powered Senate Privileges Committee for consideration.
Kevin Rudd had begun secret discussions to create a new national cultural institution before he was dumped as prime minister  a vision that would have built on his legacy as the leader who apologised for systemic mistreatment of the first Australians over generations.

Behind the scenes, the then prime minister instructed bureaucrats in 2009 to begin discussions for a landmark museum dedicated to Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, to be built in Canberra's parliamentary triangle on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

Days after US President Barack Obama inaugurated a new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, Mr Rudd has called on Australia's political, cultural and business leaders to take up the idea of a new museum  funded by government, philanthropic donations and corporations who owe debts to Indigenous Australia.

The former Labor leader had asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to identify a site and funding for a nationally significant architectural monument and educative institution.
It is hard to recall a bigger failure in recent history from Australia's political class than the debacle over legalising same-sex marriage.

The Coalition's implosion over the carbon pollution reduction scheme in 2009, combined with the Greens' insistence on the perfect being preferable to the good, comes close.

So, too, does the Parliament's failure to allow Julia Gillard's "Malaysian Solution" in 2012 - a decision even Tony Abbott recently admitted was a mistake.

The first failure in the same-sex marriage shemozzle belongs to Abbott; rather than letting MPs do their job and vote on legislation, the former prime minister - egged on by the conservative wing of his party - proposed an expensive plebiscite to resolve the matter.
What do we not understand about addiction and how to avoid it? A lot according to JFK's nephew Christopher Kennedy Lawford.

And Lawford, who was in Australia last week to launch the new South Pacific Private rehab clinic, would know.

Patricia Kennedy, JFK's sister, Peter Lawford and a two-year-old Christopher. Credit:Bettmann

For his 21st birthday, his father, actor and Rat Pack member Peter Lawford gave him a vial of cocaine. Many years later, as Christopher's alcoholic mother Patricia was dying of tongue cancer, Christopher fed her cubes of wine to satiate her addiction.

Christopher himself also had the self-destruct button pushed in firmly. Having taken LSD as a 13-year-old, he later moved onto heroin and spent 17 years in the grips of addiction.
Many investors say they don't consider gender when picking a team to manage their money. Maybe they should.

A new report by the CFA Institute, which represents 135,000 asset managers globally, found that only about 30 per cent of retail and institutional investors think that mixed-gender teams produce better performance than those staffed only by men.

Women are well versed in grinning and bearing it. Credit:Stocksy

Teams including both genders consistently outperform male-only investment managers, according to a 2015 Morningstar Inc. study. It said equity funds managed by mixed teams ranked higher than those run by either gender alone over 3, 5 and 10 years.

"Mixed gender teams are beneficial," said Leah Bennett, vice president of Westwood Trust Houston, a subsidiary of Westwood Holdings Group, which manages US$21 billion. "But companies haven't necessarily been aware of that because there aren't many women in the field. There's a lack of knowledge about what mixed-gender teams can do," said Bennett, who contributed to the research.
Notably absent from any public condemnation is Tiahleigh's biological father. Cindy's parenting choices have been extensively questioned while Tiahleigh's father  whose identity has not been made public  has escaped criticism. Whether or not he is aware of his involvement in this tragedy is unknown, but it is clear that when questions were going unanswered in relation to Tiahleigh's whereabouts, it was Cindy who was making the most noise, taking to social media pleading for answers and assistance.

It would be speculation to presume why this did not eventuate, but this has not stopped the righteous from finger-pointing the blame for her daughter's death at Cindy, who despite her attempts to turn her life around and regain custody of her daughter, was robbed of the chance to do so.

Cindy Palmer was a young mother who was absent from Tiahleigh's life due to periods of incarceration for offences that friends have stated were minor and non-violent. The former foster parents with whom Tiahleigh was placed prior to her placement with the Thorburns have stated that Cindy adored her daughter and that the ultimate goal was reunification.

Overwhelmingly, it seems the critical question to be answered by many members of the public is not who killed Tiahleigh or why, but why she was in foster care in the first place.

This public show of determination to bring her daughter's killer to justice gathered some community support, but for every positive comment directed towards her, there is an equally harsh backhand, reminding Cindy that if she had been a better mother, had made better choices, perhaps Tiahleigh would never have been in foster care and would still be alive today.

Not only does this line of reasoning subject mothers such as Cindy to a level of scrutiny that is not directed at fathers, it also absolves violent offenders from being held completely culpable for their alleged criminal misdeeds. It is akin to the woman wearing a short skirt "asking" for rape, or the woman who stays with a partner who is violent towards her "allowing" abuse.

It is yet another example of our refusal as a society to hold men responsible for their crimes against women, instead searching for reasons to blame the woman for whatever hellish situation she may have encountered. In the eyes of many, if you are a mother, and you have a lack of support, insufficient resources and you make a poor choice in partner or direction in life; in the event that your child meets a violent end at someone else's hand, the fault lies squarely with you. You should have done more.

To quote Brene Brown, blame has an inverse relationship with accountability. Blame is something we are drawn to because it gives us the sensation of control, but instead of actually gaining control, we lose the ability to empathise. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the public criticism of Cindy Palmer. She is not a saint  but nor is she a sinner.

The details of Tiahleigh's family life will no doubt be made public in due course, but instead of speculating on what resulted in Tiahleigh's placement in care, perhaps we should spare a thought for the mother who is left behind. We are quick to judge others and place arm's distance between the wrongs that have befallen them, reassuring ourselves that those kinds of things don't happen to "people like us".
What do you want to be when you grow up?

It's a question we ask too often of children  who legitimately should have no idea  and not nearly enough of adults.

Australians are working longer than ever before, but the idea of a job for life is dead. The typical worker will now have several jobs in their lifetime and the nature of those jobs is constantly evolving.

On the surface, our economy appears to be in a process of slowly sanitising itself. Grimy jobs in manufacturing and agriculture have been lost, replaced by an army of professional services workers toiling in gleaming skyscrapers.
Although much of the preventative health dollar in that peak year went towards introducing the HPV vaccine, other evidence suggests a disinvestment in preventative health, including the termination of funding to the Australian National Preventative Health Agency [ANPHA]. Some unsolicited advice on health spending for the Health Minister Sussan Ley. Credit:Andrew Meares Michael Moore said the re-opening of that agency and all the programs that it ran would be one good use of the funds, or campaigns on the harms associated with tobacco, alcohol or obesity. "You could easily spend all of the money on this as we cannot hope to compete with industry bombardment," he said. Plebiscite money could be better spent, argue health experts. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

The Heart Foundation has called for $35 million to be spent annually on addressing physical inactivity, which is estimated to cause 14,000 deaths every year. General manager advocacy Rohan Greenland said Australia was in the bottom third of OECD nations in terms of the amount it spent on preventative health. "While we are doing well on tobacco control, we should be putting the same, sustained effort into preventing obesity, tackling physical inactivity and addressing poor nutrition," Mr Greenland said. A Department of Health spokeswoman said the activities of ANPHA had been taken over by the department. Preventative programs included projects centred on chronic conditions, a National Asthma Strategy, a National Diabetes Strategy, activities addressing healthy eating, physical activity, obesity, tobacco, alcohol, research, immunisation, mental health initiatives and cancer screening, she said.

2. Aged care Nurses nominate aged care as the sector in most dire requirement of funding. Aged care providers have long been predicting a shortage of places and qualified nurses as baby boomers move into their dotage, with lack of staffing blamed on an increase in violent incidents. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation federal secretary Lee Thomas said $160 million could replace some of the money that has been taken out of the sector in recent years. "Currently, there is a shortage of 20,000 nurses in aged care," Ms Thomas said.

"This needs to be fixed as a matter of urgency, given Australia's rapidly ageing population. "The restoration of funding for the health sector would also go toward supporting public hospitals in the states and Territories and allowing more graduate nurses to be employed." 3. Indigenous health Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association chief executive Alison Verhoeven has a wishlist that lasts pages ("Oh there's so much you could do") but indigenous health tops her list. As a start, the money could be invested in closing the gap in diseases such as rheumatic heart disease and trachoma or addressing the high rates of suicide, drug and alcohol abuse.

"We could be looking beyond that at things like how we incorporate investment in safe housing and safe food supplies and ensure that kids growing up in indigenous, particularly remote and rural, communities actually get a good start in life," Ms Verhoeven said. 4. Chronic disease The Heart Foundation has argued that there is an economic and social argument to address chronic disease, which cause 90 per cent of all deaths and 85 per cent of the burden of disease. "The health minister has rightly said that chronic disease is our greatest health challenge," Mr Greenland said. "We need to be better at early detection of those at risk of having heart attacks, strokes or developing diabetes and kidney disease."

The federal government unveiled in March a trial of "Health Care Homes", whereby people with chronic disease would have all their care managed from a single GP practice, but Ms Verhoeven says the $21 million package would only cover education and training. "It's not enough to make a real change across Australia in the way we deliver primary care." A Department of Health spokeswoman said the $21 million was in addition to $93 million that would be redirected from the Medicare Benefits Schedule in 2017-18 and 2018-19 to support the management of patients with chronic conditions. 5. Mental health Many in the health sector are concerned that the angst caused by the plebiscite could actually contribute to its overall cost.
A former public servant who had up to $52,000 worth of taxpayer-funded massage on his bad back has lost a legal bid to force the federal government to keep paying for his weekly sessions with the masseuse.

Commonwealth workplace insurer Comcare decided two years ago to stop paying for Jeffery Drummey's regular massage therapy sessions after 12 years, hundreds of sessions and tens of thousands of dollars.

Taxpayers paid for up to $50,000 of massage therapy for former public servant,

Mr Drummey's workers' compensation claim goes back 20 years when he sustained a series of injuries working in Canberra at the Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water Authority, which he joined in the 1980's when its was still run by the Commonwealth government.

Comcare, which also stopped paying for various drugs for Mr Drummey at the same time, says it had paid for paid for 648 sessions of massage therapy between 2002 and 2014, when it called a halt, costing up to $81 per session.
A key witness in the Charbaji brothers' murder trial has broken down as he described how he heard Dane McNeill screaming for his life in a south western Sydney home.

Brendon Gallo, 21, said he was "scared for his life" when he followed instructions, helping stuff Mr McNeill's body into a suitcase before setting fire to it in a reserve in Picnic Point in July 2014.

Crown witness Brendan Gallo outside the NSW Supreme Court during the trial. Credit:Christopher Pearce

Brothers Haysem and Azam Charbaji are on trial in the NSW Supreme Court over the murder of Mr McNeill, accused of beating, stabbing and force-feeding him drugs in a weekend long ordeal.

Haysem's then girlfriend Lexy May Jamieson is also charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder, after she allegedly sought advice on how to dispose of a body and helped clean up the crime scene. The trio have pleaded not guilty.
The state government would need to rerun a public process to gauge community attitudes to merged councils in Sydney's lower north shore and inner west following court rulings that found flaws in previous analyses, affected councils say.

Justice Tim Moore of the Land and Environment Court ruled last week the delegates who had considered the proposed mergers of North Sydney, Willoughby and Mosman councils, as well as Strathfield, Burwood and Canada Bay, had failed to consider one and two aspects respectively among those required by the Local Government Act.

On that basis, Justice Moore ruled the proposed mergers could not go ahead.

In contrast, he found no flaws in reports prepared into a proposed merger affecting Hunters Hill, Lane Cove and Ryde Council, while there was also no basis to oppose a merger between Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby councils.
A natural disaster zone is likely to be declared in flood-struck central NSW, with the damage bill already set to be tens of millions of dollars.

With more rain expected later this week, residents in the town of Forbes have been warned to expect a long flood. An evacuation centre has been set up in the local high school.

Premier Mike Baird visited the regional centre on Monday and announced the appointment of former NSW Police deputy commissioner Dave Owens to lead the recovery effort.

"It is very likely to be declared a natural disaster which will mean further assistance will come," Mr Baird said. "Emergency services and volunteers have been doing an incredible job."
One Nation Senator and climate sceptic Malcolm Roberts will meet CSIRO scientists in Sydney to see if they can convince him there is proof of human-related climate change.

Senator Roberts said his first act after being sworn in was to write a letter to the CSIRO to offer them an opportunity to present their evidence.

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts on The Project on Wednesday night. Credit:The Project/Channel Ten

"In eight years I've never been able to find anyone who can provide it (evidence) anywhere in the world, so I've got my doubts but I'm open," Senator Roberts told reporters in Brisbane before flying out.

The meeting will also be attended by a representative for Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
A manhunt is under way after a man was shot in the leg outside a shopping centre in Melbourne's north.

The victim was shot in the car park outside an Officeworks store on Sydney Road in Campbellfield just after 3.30pm on Monday.

"Police have been told a man armed with a firearm approached the victim in the car park, before shooting him a number of times in the leg," a police spokeswoman said.

"The offender then fled in what is believed to be a red Holden Commodore and was seen heading towards the Dallas area."
A manhunt is under way after a man was repeatedly shot outside a shopping centre in Melbourne's north and later died.

Police say the victim was shot in the leg while he was in the car park of an Officeworks store on Sydney Road in Campbellfield just after 3.30pm on Monday.

An ambulance took him to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he later died.

"Police have been told a man armed with a firearm approached the victim in the car park, before shooting him a number of times in the leg," a police spokeswoman said.
A 20-year-old father of six has pleaded guilty over two hold-ups over the space of three days.

Ryan Taylor appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday to plead guilty to two counts of armed robbery.

Ryan Taylor appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Credit:Penny Stephens

Charge sheets tendered to the court say that on July 2 Taylor threatened staff at a Springvale bottle shop with a knife, before robbing them of $400 and alcohol and cigarettes worth $600.

Two days later, he used a large knife to rob staff at a Springvale service station of cash, tobacco and drinks.
Charleston, South Carolina: The first of some 3000 potential jurors in the Dylann Roof death penalty trial began reporting Monday to the US District courthouse in downtown Charleston.

Jurors were summoned, some 80 at a time, before Judge Richard Gergel, whose questions were aimed at weeding out those who obviously cannot or who will elect not to serve: people over 70, having no one else to care for young children and the like. Also to be excluded: those whose minds are already made up about Roof's guilt, or whether to impose the death penalty.

Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley speaks to the media in front of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church after a mass shooting at the church that killed nine people on June 19, 2015. Credit:Getty Images

Roof, 22, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, is charged with federal hate crimes resulting in death in the June 2015 slayings of nine African-Americans who were attending an evening Bible study at historic "Mother" Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AEM) church.

Of the first 80 prospective jurors in court, some 90 percent were white. Nine were black. All were sombre. Gergel deferred two teachers.
The boyfriend of Byron Bay woman Sara Connor has "come up with the courage" to apologise to the family of a police officer found dead on Kuta beach.

British DJ David Taylor, 34, and Ms Connor, 45, have been named suspects over the death of Balinese police officer and father-of-two Wayan Sudarsa, who died after being brutally bashed on August 17.

Ketut Arsini, the widow of slain police officer Wayan Sudarsa. Credit:Jewel Topsfield

Mr Taylor's lawyer, Haposan Sihombing, said Mr Taylor told police during a further interrogation on Friday that about two weeks ago he had hand-written a letter to Mr Sudarsa's family to apologise.

"He try to come up with the courage and apologise. He's very sorry, it takes time for him to come up with the courage to apologise because the incident caused the victim his life."
Mount Vernon, Washington: The 20-year-old Oak Harbor man being held on suspicion of shooting five people to death at the Cascade Mall was socially awkward and troubled in high school, where he was shunned for vulgar behaviour and found it hard to make friends, according to people who knew him.

Arcan Cetin was arrested Saturday near his apartment and more than 24 hours after police say he walked into a Macy's department store with a rifle and shot five people, killing three women and a teenage girl outright, and mortally wounding a man, who died later after being flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Cetin was identified as a suspect from tips and after police examined surveillance video from the Burlington, Skagit County, mall and tracked him to a vehicle in the mall parking lot, police said.

Skagit County authorities alerted the Island County Sheriff's Office, which arrested Cetin without incident around 6:30 p.m.
London: Russia has reacted angrily to what it says are "unacceptable" British and American suggestions that it is committing war crimes in Syria's bloody civil conflict, as the death toll rises in Syria.

A statement by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations on Tuesday said there were 314 confirmed casualties in the last four days.

Citing data from the Aleppo Forensic Group, it said there were 94 casualties in Friday, 96 on Saturday, 1006 on Sunday and 18 on Monday.

It estimated more than 1600 people, including hundreds of children, have been injured since bombing resumed on September 22.
PHILIPSBURG:---- Independent MP Maurice Lake is not surprised by Weymouth Hill news article that aimed to discredit a good public-private initiative for the residents which was supported by the other two property owners in the area.

Just to set the record straight, the two property owners Prima Vista and Valley Estate approach myself and the Minister of VROMI Angel Meyers to do a public-private partnership to help fix the deplorable road for the residents in the area and to also enhance the value of their property. I really dont understand from the other property owner Gibbes-Hodge why they are accusing me that I am playing politics, says the United St. Maarten Party (US) candidate.

The other two property owners came to a public-private agreement with the Minister of VROMI where Government will provide the cement and they would provide the manpower. That was what was celebrated by the Minister of VROMI at the event that was held at the entrance of Valley Estate property on Wednesday with the other two property owners, instead of by the Gibbes-Hodge road entrance which the residents were using for over 20 years.

I know there is a private dispute about the entrance of the road for years. And all I wanted is to find a solution and a win-win for everyone living in the area. I find the article very distasteful and very unfortunate for a good initiative by the other two property owners who are working in the general interest of the community.

I can remember as the former Minister of VROMI in 2014 when some residents of Weymouth hill came to my office very upset about how the developer ripped them off and he also declared himself bankrupt and if Government could do something because they dont have the money to fix the road and the drainage areas. I could have turned my back because its a private dispute among property owners, but as a community-spirited person, I try to find solutions. I also contacted one of the Gibbes-Hodge family members to find a solution to the ongoing situation, the MP said.

It is sad that today one property owner writes an article to say I am playing politics when the other two property owners approach me and are ready to start fixing the road in the general interest of the residents in the area.

I will advise the Minister to just start the public-private partnership of paving the road from the entrance of Valley Estate until the top by Prima Vista until the Gibbes-Hodge draft agreement has been finalized.

We are all St. Maarteners, but we have to learn to come together and find solutions instead of trying to embarrass each other for no cause. I thank the other two property owners for coming to Government instead of Government going to them in the general interest and also contributing to the project, while others sit back and criticize and don't contribute anything, says MP Lake.
SpecPage strengthens team with Milan Vacval to lead software implementation projects in the US

SpecPage, a global provider of integrated software solutions and online tools for the recipe-based manufacturing industry, has appointed Milan Vacval as Project Manager to lead technology projects for US-based clients.

In his new role, Vacval will be assisting SpecPages clients with the implementation of SpecPDM, a comprehensive application suite for recipe and specification management, and the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) standard. He will be based at the companys US subsidiary in Bradenton, Florida. Vacval has long-standing industry experience and specializes in master data management and data quality. Prior to joining SpecPage, he worked at 1WorldSync, the leading global multi-enterprise product information network, and was a core member of the GS1 standard development groups, developing standards for item attributes, images and data synchronization, as well as data quality and implementation guidelines. He also held senior roles at AFS Technologies, Gladson and JDA Software.

SpecPage provides product development solutions, including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Product Data Management (PDM) and Laboratory Information and Management System (LIMS), enabling food and beverage companies to innovate competitive products in compliance with relevant food laws.

With expertise in GDSN, the Swiss-based company offers individually customizable online catalogs, including Suppliers Guide, Buyers Guide and Compliance Guide, to help companies manage high-quality product information at the touch of a button.

We look forward to working with Milan. He has tremendous experience with product information and will help our clients to efficiently manage data quality and regulatory compliance, said Severin Weiss, CEO at SpecPage. As a leading provider of software solutions and online tools for the food and beverage industry, SpecPages focus is to ensure that only up-to-date regulatory compliant data is published through standardized GDSN data pools, improving product information quality and increasing sales.

I am delighted to be joining SpecPages team, especially at this exciting stage in the companys global expansion, said Vacval. Having worked in the US for over 30 years, I look forward to bringing in my knowledge of this market and working with SpecPages team in Europe, including my old homeland Slovakia.

With subsidiaries in the US, Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy, SpecPage is a rapidly growing company and is set to expand its activities in these markets, meeting the growing demand in the range of product development and information.
Panasonic Toughbook celebrates 20th anniversary of its rugged mobile computing brand

A chance to win a trip to Japan for customers with oldest working Toughbooks

Bracknell, UK. 26 September 2016  Panasonic Toughbook is celebrating 20 years of the legendary rugged mobile computing brand on September 26th, 2016, and to celebrate those still in possession of one of the earliest working Toughbook notebooks could win the trip of a lifetime to Japan.

The Toughbook ancestry stretches back almost 30 years to 1987 where Panasonic gained experience in producing portable PCs and acting as a channel OEM. The market highlighted very early the need for professional level, rugged computing devices with enhanced durability and reduced cost of ownership. This realisation led to Panasonic developing plans and ultimately building a purpose built factory in Kobe in Japan to produce the rugged notebooks.

Twenty years on and the latest analysis by VDC Research shows Panasonic leads the European rugged notebook and tablet markets with a 66% rugged notebook and convertible share of sales and a 59% rugged tablet revenue share of sales in 2015. In fact, the Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad range sold more devices across Europe in 2015 than the rest of the rugged notebook and tablet competition combined.

A combination of listening to the market and a passion to meticulously research, develop, build, test and market its own products has helped Panasonic Toughbook achieve a range of firsts that have set the benchmark for rugged mobile computing devices in the 20th and 21st centuries.

1994: The CF-41

The worlds first notebook to integrate a CD-ROM drive

This device, with its inbuilt CD-Rom and use of Magnesium alloy, was the basis for the future Toughbook range.

1996: The Toughbook CF-25

The birth of the Toughbook brand

This pioneering device was designed to withstand falls from up to 70 centimetres, resist dust and humidity  elements which became the blueprint for future Toughbook models.

1999: The Toughbook CF-27

The worlds first integrated GSM and WAN capabilities and touchscreen

The worlds first notebook to introduce integrated GSM or WAN capabilities allowing mobile workers to communicate with each other, their office or the outside world. Also the first Toughbook to have the option of a touchscreen and the first with its Hard Disk Drive (HDD) surrounded by a gel and foam block to keep it secure and absorb any impact forces.

2001: The Toughbook CF-07

An innovative rugged mini PC with mobile wireless data display

The Toughbook CF-07 mini PC broke new ground by introducing a revolutionary wireless display. The PC and separate display unit could communicate up to 50m, bringing a whole new level of flexibility and mobility to the work environment.

2009: The Toughbook CF-U1

The worlds first Ultra Mobile PC  bridging the gap between notebook and handheld

The CF-U1 took the rugged heritage of Toughbook to a more mobile, handheld level. It featured a full Windows operating system and a host of integrated features such as barcode scanner, fingerprint reader, camera and hot-swap batteries, enabling mobile field workers to do more on the move.

2012: Panasonic Toughpad

The launch of rugged Toughpad tablets

The Panasonic Toughpad product line is purpose built for professional use. The range of ruggedised tablet computers is extremely durable, resistant to high drops, dust, water spills and high temperatures.

2015: The Toughbook CF-20

The worlds first fully rugged detachable notebook

The combined rugged tablet and notebook delivers unrivaled versatility for mobile  a fully rugged notebook with detachable tablet that can be used in 6 different modes to meet every business need.

The range of Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad solutions continues to evolve with mobile retail and payment solutions, our own docking solutions business and our extension into the rugged handheld market but the essence of our success over the past 20 plus years will remain with us as we move forward, said Kevin Jones, Managing Director for Panasonic Computer Product Solutions Europe. We will continue to listen to our business customers and develop solutions for their mobile workforces that improve productivity and reduce costs. We will continue to innovate with our functionality and ergonomic design, and with our partnerships, to produce business solutions that solve our customers challenges.

Commenting on Panasonics future direction, Nick Parker, Corporate Vice President of the OEM Division at Microsoft Corporation said: Our strategy and vision align with what Panasonic is doing with its Toughbook product line, which is to build the best mobile and productivity services for todays mobile-first, cloud-first world, said Nick Parker, Corporate Vice President OEM Division, Microsoft Corp. With Windows 10, we are pushing the boundaries of modern computing to bring exciting new software and services capabilities to the market, and industry partners like Panasonic are also pushing the limits with fantastic new hardware that brings these new experiences to life in remarkable ways.

Throughout the twenty year evolution of Toughbook, Panasonic engineers have taken full advantage of the computing power and reliability of Intel processors to create one of the worlds most rugged PCs, added Navin Shenoy, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Client Computing Group, Intel Corporation. Were proud that Intel technology has contributed to Toughbooks success, and we look forward to continuing the great work with Panasonic for years to come.

For details of Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad solutions visit www.toughbook.eu
Calvi selected by Vodafone Germany to create a more customer-centric billing experience

Dusseldorf, Germany, Monday 26 September 2016  Calvi has been selected as the premium bill presentment and telecom expense management (TEM) solution provider for Vodafone Germanys entire enterprise customer base.

Calvis bill presentment platform Calvi Insight has enabled Vodafone to increase the transparency and personalisation of their billing and invoicing, while delivering easy-to-use TEM and billing analytics capabilities, suitable for enterprise customers of all sizes.

After a successful pilot launch Vodafone will now open up Calvis platform Insight to all of its local enterprise customers. The broad deployment across all enterprise customers will help Vodafone Germany to strengthen its focus on delivering industry-leading customer experience to all its customers.

Commenting on the expansion, Frederic Vanoosthuyze, Vodafone Germanys CIO, said:

The Calvi platform supports our goals in reinventing our billing & invoicing and delivering a seamless multi-channel customer experience. It has already proven its worth with our largest accounts. We believe that by opening it up to all of our business customers, Vodafone will achieve even greater results in delivering and sustaining a world-class, flexible way of presenting invoices.

Driven by their customers demands and their mission to be the best strategic communication partner for the German business market and the public sector, Vodafone Germany required a bill presentment and billing intelligence platform that can support the customers needs over the years to come.

Leo van der Heijden, CEO at Calvi Group, added:

We feel privileged to have been selected by Vodafone. It was a fair and competitive selection process. Our primary focus has always been to strengthen the business relationships between service providers and their business customers. We provide our customers more than just software; weve packaged Calvi Insight with a proven market approach and a team of devoted experts. Being chosen shows that Vodafone Germany has recognised our commitment as a strategic partner, and that Calvi brings more to the table than a state-of-the-art bill presentment and TEM platform. Were excited to be part of Vodafone Germanys strategy to remain number one in delivering the best-in-class customer experience.

Calvis platform allows for the realisation of instant improvements to the customer billing experience and impressive bottom-line savings by means of Calvis light-touch integration capabilities with the core billing systems. Calvi uses Vodafones existing billing data, intelligently sorts it and enhances it with information that comes from the enterprise customers own systems. It then displays the information and reports in easily understood formats, which each end-customer can choose themselves. This makes the Calvi Insight platform flexible and suitable for any type of CSP and enterprise end-customer.
TierPoint Completes $12M TekPark Data Center Expansion

PHILADELPHIA, PA  (Marketwired)  09/26/16  , a leading national provider of hybrid IT solutions, announced today the completion of the planned expansion of its TekPark data center near Allentown, Pennsylvania. The $12 million expansion adds nearly 14,000 sq. ft. of high-density data center space to the facility, bringing the total to nearly 43,000 sq. ft. The project additionally establishes baseline infrastructure to support the next phase of expansion.

Were fortunate and proud to have experienced steady growth since we opened the facility in 2011, said Bob Hicks, TierPoint Senior Vice President of Operations. This project has been driven by growing market demand throughout the Pennsylvania region, as evidenced by the presale of approximately 30 percent of this expansion to a northeast New Jersey financial services firm.

The expansion will further enhance TierPoints abilities to provide colocation, disaster recovery and IT security services in the Pennsylvania market. With 24x7x365 onsite security, technical and engineering support, the expanded facility provides a reliable, secure and robust infrastructure environment to supports its clients unique and evolving technology requirements.

One of TierPoints anchor clients at TekPark is St. Lukes University Health Network, which also uses TierPoints Bethlehem data center for colocation. Chad Brisendine, the clients Chief Information Officer (CIO), said the TekPark facility expansion will provide needed resources for rapidly growing businesses like St. Lukes. TierPoint has been a good partner for us for more than a decade, said Brisendine. As our business needs have continued to evolve and grow beyond traditional disaster recovery services, TierPoint has grown with us.

TierPoint currently operates six carrier-neutral data centers in Pennsylvania, more than any other provider in the state. The TekPark data center is SSAE 16 SOC1/SOC2 Type II, and PCI-DSS compliant and is one of the companys largest facilities, comprised of 250,000 total sq. ft. of data center space, infrastructure areas and disaster recovery/private suite space. Features include dual factor, biometrical access control with around-the-clock onsite security; dual utility service feeds with onsite TierPoint controlled substations; independent AB power distribution; N+1 backup generators; 2N chilled water configuration with N+1 CRAH deployment; all designed for supporting up to 350 watts per square foot of raised floor. The site is carrier neutral with diverse fiber points of entry for redundancy.

TierPoint is a leading national provider of best-in-class IT infrastructure services that help clients improve agility, drive performance, and manage risk. TierPoint offers multi-tenant, private, and hybrid cloud solutions; disaster recovery, business continuity and other managed services; and colocation  all backed by a commitment to superior customer service and highly-redundant, carrier-neutral data centers coast to coast.

Patrick Baczenas

314-720-3136
Southeast Asian Cable Operators MegaVision and Converge ICT Leverage Calix to Make Leap to Fiber

Calix E7-2 and GigaFamily systems deliver an unmatched fiber experience to subscribers in Indonesia and the Philippines

PETALUMA, CA  September 26, 2016  Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX), the world leader in enabling next generation service delivery with an unmatched subscriber experience, today announced cable operators Cemerland Multimedia (MegaVision) in Indonesia and Converge ICT (CICT) in the Philippines are leveraging Calix GPON solutions as they transform portions of their networks to fiber. Both operators are examples of a growing trend among cable operators globally who are making the leap to fiber to meet rising subscriber demand for ultra-high-speed broadband services and an unmatched subscriber experience.

In the Philippines, Manila-based CICT has already seen an enhanced subscriber experience and more responsive subscriber care as a result of its network transformation to Calix-based GPON technology. Through the assistance of Calix Channel Partner Tel-trade Communication and Development Inc., CICT is utilizing the Calix 813G GigaHub and E7-2 Modular Access System to ready the network for the roll out of new services, including television and high-speed Internet with speeds up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) in several cities in northern Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the nation. CICT is also utilizing Calix Open Link Cable software to emulate the OSS interfaces that are used by DOCSIS products to seamlessly integrate GPON into their existing back-office operations.

Transforming our network to fiber enables us to stay ahead of competition and meet our subscribers ever-growing needs for higher broadband speeds and a trouble-free network, said Dennis Anthony Uy, President and CEO at CICT. Working with Tel-trade to deploy next generation solutions from Calix has allowed us to transform rapidly and truly differentiate our service offering from our competition.

MegaVision, based in Bandung (Indonesias third largest city), has also transformed its network, moving away from legacy DOCSIS products to GPON using the combined the Calix 801G GigaPoint and E7-2 solution. Working with Calix Channel Partner Twoway Communications to implement this network modernization project, MegaVision is well underway with Phase 1 of this project  a doubling of broadband speeds available in their subscriber service packages.

In a short time, the Calix fiber solutions have already enabled MegaVision to greatly enhance our subscriber service offering, said Vincent Lu, Chairman of MegaVision. With fiber in place, we have the foundation in place to continue to introduce faster speeds and more advanced broadband services as our subscribers needs change. We have already seen new efficiencies in our internal operations through the fiber network, which results in an improved experience and more positive feedback from our subscribers.

Both MegaVision and Converge ICT highlight the need for cable operators to transform their networks to fiber to meet the needs of their device-enabled subscribers, said Andy Lockhart, senior vice president of international sales at Calix. Each of these operators knew fiber was the path to get them to delivering an unmatched subscriber experience. We are seeing more and more cable operators make the move to fiber, both in Southeast Asia and around the globe. Trusted local Calix Channel Partners Twoway and Tel-trade have been instrumental to supporting each of these companies through their respective transformation efforts. Congratulation to both MegaVision and CICT on their success to date.

To learn more about how Calix is accelerating the network transformation efforts of cable operators, visit the Calix booth (#641) at the SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, September 26-29.
Announcing Lightbend Fast Data Platform: Removing Risks for Teams Embracing Streaming for Faster Answers

Posted by Publisher Hardware

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  (Marketwired)  09/26/16  Lightbend (formerly Typesafe), today announced the Early Access Program for its new , the complete application platform for data teams that are moving from classic Big Data architectures to newer Fast Data architectures, where streaming data is the core abstraction. FDP tackles the greatest risks for this transition:

There are so many streaming tools now. Which ones should I use?

How do I build and manage my clusters with rock solid reliability?

How do I avoid rookie mistakes?

How do I ramp up my developers so they are productive as quickly as possible?

Where do I turn when I need help?

FDP simplifies cluster installation and management. It removes the pain of integrating diverse streaming components. It encapsulates our expertise about streaming datas most powerful frameworks, as well as our general experience with managing and monitoring microservices. The Early Access Program provides access to FDP components for teams who cant wait. It also helps us refine the capabilities of FDP to meet the needs of these teams. Learn more about the .

The first generations of Big Data adoption focused on large datasets at rest in datastores, said Dean Wampler, Office of the CTO and Big Data Architect at Lightbend. Today enterprises are scrambling to take better advantage of data as soon as it arrives, also known as data in motion. This in-motion data is the paydirt thats allowed companies like Uber and Netflix to disrupt entire industries. But as developers make the leap from data-at-rest to always-on streaming data, they are challenged by an entirely new set of development and operational requirements, where Reactive principles  responsiveness, resilience, elasticity and message-driven patterns  are paramount to success in bringing this new class of application to market.

A Platform for Fast Data Development and Operations

Lightbend Fast Data Platform bundles: Apache Kafka, Apache Spark, DC/OS, OpsClarity, Apache Flink, and Lightbend Reactive Platform with Akka, Akka Streams, Play, and Lagom. Included are installation, integration, and monitoring tools tuned for various deployment scenarios, plus sample applications to help you sort out which tools to use for which purposes. As a Lightbend customer, you get direct access to our expert Fast Data team for help on everything from basic design questions to debugging complex integration problems. FDP includes sophisticated but easy-to-use monitoring and management capabilities to give you full visibility and control over your applications.

Built by the Leaders in Streaming

With its Fast Data Platform, Lightbend is working with leading technology vendors in Streaming Data and Reactive systems to cover the end-to-end requirements for development and operations of applications built for streaming data:

 , founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, has developed Confluent Platform so enterprises can reliably run their business in real time at scale. Lightbend FDP enhances the integration of Kafka with the other streaming technologies in FDP, such as Akka Streams.

 , the company behind Apache Spark, has aggressively evolved Spark and nurtured the Spark ecosystem. Lightbend engineers have worked with Databricks on enhancements to Spark Streaming and the support for Apache Mesos in FDP.

 , the company behind Apache Flink has contributed to the integration of Flink with FDP for sophisticated streaming scenarios, such as low-latency, stateful and high-performance applications.

 , the company behind Apache Mesos. has built a comprehensive platform called DC/OS that includes databases, HDFS, security, and other tools required by real environments. They have worked with Lightbend to make DC/OS the best possible platform for running applications developed with Spark and the Lightbend Reactive Platform.

 has built an intelligent monitoring solution tailored for streaming applications to deliver integrated monitoring and diagnostics for essential end-to-end visibility into the application and data pipeline. Lightbend has worked with OpsClarity to implement monitoring for Lightbend Reactive Platform-based microservices.

 , the company behind Reactive Platform, provides a tried and true set of frameworks for the rest of your microservices development and operations.

At Confluent, we see an increasing number of enterprises adopting Confluent Platform to take advantage of streaming data and build faster, more responsive businesses, said Jabari Norton, vice president of business development at Confluent. Lightbend is leveraging Confluent Platform to power its new Fast Data offering and were excited to see a new class of applications emerge from this partnership.

Get Early Access for Your Fast Data Projects

Whether youre developing real-time analytics or whatever else your developers are dreaming up in this exciting Fast Data opportunity  contact us () to find out more information on the the Lightbend Fast Data Platform Early Access and Quick Start programs.

Lightbend (Twitter: @Lightbend) provides the leading Reactive application development platform for building distributed applications and modernizing aging infrastructures. Using microservices and fast data on a message-driven runtime, enterprise applications scale effortlessly on cloud computing architectures. Many of the most admired brands around the globe are transforming their businesses with our platform, engaging billions of users every day through software that is changing the world.

Learn More About the

Read Lightbends OReilly Report On

Explore Fast Data Adoption Trends in Lightbends
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Before NASA decided to help SpaceX on its journey to Mars, details of which company chief Elon Musk plans to unveil on Tuesday, the U.S. space agency reviewed the plan for SpaceX's first mission, slated to launch in 2018, and decided it has a reasonably good chance of success.

For NASA, a successful mission means that SpaceX's Mars vehicle, called Red Dragon, flies through the Martian atmosphere with its thrusters firing in the direction of travel, a technology known as supersonic retrograde propulsion. The feather in the cap would be a propulsive landing on the Martian surface.

"This is a critical, critical technology for us," said Phil McAlister, director of NASA's Commercial Spaceflight Division. "This is flight data that would not be available to us by any other means."

RELATED: Musk: SpaceX Will Go 'Well Beyond' Mars

NASA is working toward sending astronauts to Mars in the mid-2030s. Musk aims to beat that by a decade.

The tech entrepreneur, who also heads Tesla Motors, is scheduled to unveil details of his Mars initiative during a presentation on Tuesday at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.

SpaceX's debut mission is well into the planning stages. The company hopes to launch an unmanned Dragon capsule aboard a heavy-lift Falcon rocket in 2018, the next time the orbits of Earth and Mars are favorably aligned for flight.

After traveling for about 180 days, Red Dragon would enter Mars' thin atmosphere and make a powered descent and landing on the surface.

RELATED: Musk: SpaceX to Launch People to Mars in 8 Years

Dragon is too small to have passengers aboard, but it would become the biggest spacecraft ever to land on Mars.

NASA wants to be able to land 20- to 30 tons on Mars at a time. So far, the heaviest payload to land was the one-ton Curiosity rover.

WATCH VIDEO: Who Will Win the Race to Mars?

"The primary mission objective is to learn how to get to and land on Mars. If they do that -- just that -- this would be a huge success for SpaceX," McAlister said during a teleconference presentation to the NASA Future In-Space Operations group on Wednesday.

The Red Dragon mission "offers a flight demo of critical EDL (entry, descent and landing) technology -- particularly the supersonic retrograde propulsion -- probably at least a decade sooner and at a small fraction of the cost to NASA that it would be if we did our own kind of mission to get this data," McAlister added.

"We don't even have a mission on the books, so it's not even clear how long it would take. This is a very cost-effective way for us to get this kind of data  a key first step," he said.

RELATED: Red Dragon: SpaceX Targets 2018 for First Mars Mission

SpaceX intends to ramp up its expertise on Mars travel and operations with missions each time Earth and Mars favorably align for launch, which occurs about every 26 months.

In exchange for flight data and other information, NASA is serving as consultant and technical advisor for the Red Dragon mission. The agency also will let SpaceX use its deep-space and Mars relay communications networks. Red Dragon also may carry some NASA-sponsored payloads.

"SpaceX is responsible for and is going to maintain control over the Red Dragon, design, hardware and operations all the way through flight and post-flight," McAlister said.

"We determined that there was a reasonable likelihood of success for this mission that would be increased with our participation," he added. "Even if it's not successful, we felt our participation would be worthwhile."

Originally published on Discovery News.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden donated his astronaut flight suit, among other items, to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

Artifacts representing some of the United States' first black astronauts are included within the inaugural collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened its doors to the public on Saturday (Sept. 24).

The new museum, which was erected on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, chronicles the major periods of African American history, beginning with origins in Africa and continuing through slavery, reconstruction, the civil rights era and into the 21st century.

"It is a glorious story, the one that is told here," President Barack Obama said at Saturday's opening ceremony. "It is complicated and it is messy and it is full of contradictions, as all great stories are." [NASA Chief Remembers Guy Bluford, First African American in Space (Video)]

NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden donated this flight suit that he wore as a U.S. Marine in the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. (Image credit: NMAAHC)

The president mentioned the first black female astronaut while describing the African American history represented in the museum.

"Here is the America where the razor-sharp uniform of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff belongs alongside the cape of the 'Godfather of Soul,'" Obama stated. "We have shown the world we can float like butterflies and sting like bees, that we can rocket to space like Mae Jemison, steal home like Jackie, rock like Jimmie, stir the pot like Richard Pryor and we can be 'sick and tired of being sick and tired' like Fannie Lou Hamer and still be rock steady like Aretha Franklin."

Jemison, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1987, joined the president at a reception for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on Friday. Among the museum's 37,000 items, of which 3,000 are on display, is a pin that commemorates Jemison's STS-47 mission on space shuttle Endeavour 24 years ago this month.

Former astronaut Charlie Bolden, who in 2009 became the first African American confirmed as the administrator of NASA, donated several items to the museum, including the flight suit he wore on his fourth and final space shuttle mission, STS-60; rugby shirts from his STS-45 and STS-31 missions; and a model of the Hubble Space Telescope, the observatory he helped to deploy into orbit in 1990.

"My flight jacket that I gave them was actually a jacket that flew with me, and more importantly it has each of my four crew patches, so it actually represents my four journeys to space," Bolden said in a video release by NASA on Friday. "It represents my history, or my period of time serving the nation as an astronaut in the space program."

Bolden, who grew up in Columbia, South Carolina during segregation, said he would have never believed he would experience the opening of a museum dedicated to African American history and culture.

"To make it a double 'I would never have believed,' I would never have believed it would be during the administration of a black president  the first black man elected as the President of the United States," Bolden said. "And a third 'I would have never believed,' I really never believed I would become an American astronaut and be sitting here as the NASA Administrator."

Other artifacts on display in the NMAAHC include an open-cockpit PT-13 Stearman airplane that was used to prepare the Tuskegee Airmen for World War II combat duty, Chuck Berry's red Cadillac convertible and items from abolitionist Harriet Tubman's collection, including her hymnal and lace shawl.

"It is my hope that young people who visit the museum will be encouraged to reach for new heights in their own lives," said Bolden.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, which marked its 40th anniversary this year, also curates artifacts related to African American contributions to the U.S. space program, including Jemison's flown name tag and the two-piece flight suit worn by Guy Bluford, who in 1983 became the first African American astronaut to fly into space.

Watch NASA Administrator Charles Bolden describe the astronaut flight jacket he donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture at collectSPACE.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
On a remote peninsula in New Zealand, construction has been completed what appears to be the world's first private launch complex for orbital space flights.

The Los Angeles-based commercial spaceflight company Rocket Lab announced the completion of Launch Complex 1 today (Sept. 26 EDT, Sept. 27 local time in New Zealand). The company plans to use the facility to launch its Electron rocket, which is designed to carry small satellites and other small payloads.

Air traffic near the launch complex site is fairly sparse, which the company says will allow it to achieve the "highest frequency of launches in history," according to a statement from the company obtained by Space.com. Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's CEO, told Space.com in an interview that the complex is licensed to conduct a launch as frequently as every 72 hours. However, the company expects to carry out a launch about four to five times per month, he said.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck poses with The Rutherford rocket engine at the company's Auckland, New Zealand headquarters on June 10, 2015. (Image credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

The statement from Rocket Lab declared its new facility "the worlds first private orbital launch complex." The private spaceflight company Blue Origin operates a private launch facility in Texas, but has only used that facility for suborbital flights. The private spaceflight company SpaceX has not yet completed construction on its private orbital launch facility in Texas.

Rocket Lab's main objective is to enable more affordable and more frequent access to space, particularly for small satellite payloads, Beck told Space.com in an interview in August. To that end, the company chose to build its own launch complex in New Zealand, which gives the company exclusive launch access. Construction on the launch complex (opens in new tab) began in December 2015, the statement said.

The company plans to charge NZ$7.6 million per flight (about $5.5 million). The Electron rocket, equipped with the company's Rutherford engine, can carry payloads of up to 330 lbs. (150 kg) into sun-synchronous orbits (so the satellite flies over a point on the Earth at the same time every day). Traditionally, most small satellites have piggybacked on rockets carrying much larger payloads; the small size of the payload faring means those satellites will be launched alone.

Rocket Lab Launch Site Nears Completion Ahead of Test Launches (opens in new tab) from Rocket Lab (opens in new tab) on Vimeo (opens in new tab).

With the completion of the launch complex, the company says it plans to start test launches of the Electron this year.

Rocket Lab currently has contracts to fly payloads for NASA as well as the private companies Planet Labs and Moon Express. Planet Labs uses small satellites to image the surface of the Earth in high definition; Moon Express, a competitor in the Lunar X Prize, will use the Electron rocket to fly its lunar rover to the moon's surface.

"Completing Launch Complex 1 is a significant milestone in the buildup to our first Electron test flight," Beck said in the statement. "It's wonderful to celebrate the completion of the site with those who have helped us get this far and welcomed us into their community. Launch Complex 1 presents a considerable opportunity to change how we access space."

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
A suspected water plume erupts from Jupiter's icy moon Europa (visible at the 7 o'clock position at lower left) in this composite image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on Jan. 26, 2014. NASA unveiled the image on Sept. 26, 2016.

Good news on the alien-life-hunting front: The towering plumes emanating from Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa appear to be real.

In late 2012, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope spotted what seemed to be 125-mile-high (200 kilometers) geysers of water vapor erupting from Europa's south polar region. This news was exciting for astrobiologists and space geeks alike, for it suggested that a robotic probe may be able to sample Europa's huge global ocean  which lies beneath the moon's miles-thick icy shell  without even touching down.

The 2012 observation remained a tantalizing outlier for years, however; astronomers failed to find the plume again with Hubble despite repeated attempts. But that long-sought repeat detection has finally been made, scientists announced today (Sept. 26). [Possible Water Vapor Plumes On Europa Spotted by Hubble Again (Video)]

A team led by William Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore used Hubble to hunt for Europa plumes on 10 separate occasions over a 15-month span. They had success three times, spotting apparent plume activity in January, March and April of 2014.

"They appear to be real," Sparks said during a news conference today. "The statistical significance is pretty good, and I dont know of any other natural alternative."

Still, Sparks stopped short of calling the repeat detection a definitive confirmation. The newly announced detections were made when Europa passed in front of Jupiter from Hubble's perspective, and plume material seemed to block ultraviolet light coming from the giant planet. The observations Hubble made are right on the edge of the iconic telescope's capabilities, Sparks said.

"We remain cautious," he said. "The problem is that there may be something we don't understand about the instrument, or about our model of the scene, or what Europa looks like in the ultraviolet light."

Analyzing the Hubble data is also a complex process, which explains why the team is revealing the detections now, more than two years after they were made, Sparks added.

Two images of Europa created in 2012 and 2014 by separate research teams using different observation methods reveal activity at a common location on Europa. The transit image on the left shows dark patches of light absorption in the same spot where researchers later found auroral emission from hydrogen and oxygen, the dissociation products of water. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, W. Sparks (left image) L. Roth (right image))

The 2012 detection, which was actually announced in December 2013, was made by a different research group, one led by Lorenz Roth of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Roth and his colleagues used a different method to spot the apparent plume, but the two teams' observations dovetail nicely; both conclude that the plume is about 125 miles high and centered in Europa's southern reaches.

The plume's likely existence should influence the planning of NASA's Europa mission, which the agency aims to launch in the 2020s. This Jupiter-orbiting mission will make multiple flybys of the moon over the course of several years, in an attempt to learn more about Europa's ocean and its potential to support life as we know it.

"Today's results increase our confidence that water and other materials from Europa's ocean  Europa's hidden ocean, hidden under miles of ice  might be on the surface of Europa and available for us to study, without landing and digging through those unknown miles of ice,"said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

This illustration of ridges and fractures on Europa shows one possible way that water could reach Europas surface. Chloride salts in the underground ocean bubble up to the moon's frozen surface. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The combined Hubble observations also show that the Europa geysers, if they exist, are intermittent phenomena. If scientists learn more about when and why the geysers erupt, it might even be possible for the as-yet-unnamed NASA mission to fly through a Europan plume.

"One of the biggest unknowns we have with these putative plumes is understanding their timing," said Curt Niebur, the Europa program scientist at NASA Headquarters. "And I think the more observations we can get with Hubble and with JWST [the James Webb Space Telescope, which NASA aims to launch in 2018] to better understand that, the better we can use that to construct a schedule for when we search for these plumes at close range from the Europa flyby mission."

Sparks and his team are publishing their results in the Sept. 29 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Mercury appears to experience quake-like activity as it shrinks, making it tectonically active just like Earth, scientists say.

Mercury may still rumble with earthquakes, or "Mercuryquakes," according to a new study of cliffs on the planet's surface.

The finding suggests that Earth is not the only tectonically active planet, the authors of the research say.

Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the solar system, and was a mysterious world until NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft became the first probe to orbit Mercury in 2011. The only other visits it received were the flybys made by NASA's Mariner 10 probe more than 40 years ago. [Photos of Mercury from NASA's Messenger Spacecraft]

Mariner 10 discovered a vast array of large fault scarps, or cliffs, on Mercury, and MESSENGER revealed that the largest of these scarps are more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) long and more than 1.8 miles (3 km) high.

Long, steep cliffs (scarps) on the surface of Mercury hint at the possibility that the planet experiences earthquakes, or "mercuryquakes." (Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington)

Fault scarps form when rocks are pushed together and thrust upward along faults  or fractures  in a planet's crust. The most widely accepted model of the origin of the large fault scarps on Mercury is that they are essentially wrinkles that formed on the planet's surface as that world's heart cooled over time, leading Mercury to shrink in size. Previous research suggested that Mercury may have contracted by about 1.8 to 8.7 miles (3 to 14 km) in diameter.

During the last 18 months or so of the MESSENGER mission, the spacecraft descended closer to Mercury, helping it to snap pictures of its surface in greater detail. Now scientists have discovered small fault scarps that are less than 6 miles (10 km) long and only up to dozens of feet high.

The new analysis shows that the pristine appearance of these small fault scarps suggests that they are less than 50 million years old. Previous research suggests that older features would get pockmarked with craters from meteoroid impacts.

The young nature of these small fault scarps suggests that Mercury is still experiencing quakes that are likely driven by the continued cooling and shrinking of the planet, said study lead author Thomas Watters, a planetary scientist at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies in Washington.

"These faults on Mercury have got to be accompanied by seismic activity," Watters told Space.com.

Comparable scarps are seen on the moon, and four seismometers set up on the moon by the Apollo missions detected moonquakes reaching up to magnitude 5 on the Richter scale.

"We might expect shallow seismic events of a comparable level on Mercury," Watters said. "We might even see events significantly greater than magnitude 5 with the older, larger scarps."

The seismometers on the moon detected 28 shallow moonquakes ranging from about magnitude 1.5 to 5 on the Richter scale between 1969 and 1977.

"Mercury has the potential for many more earthquakes than the moon, since it's contracted a lot more than the moon has," Watters said.

It remains a mystery how a planet as small as Mercury has not already cooled down completely and lost all its heat. Instead, Mercury remains warm enough to keep shrinking and to have a molten outer core that has supported a magnetic field for billions of years.

"The way that terrestrial bodies like Mercury, Earth and even the moon have evolved thermally is emerging as one of the puzzles that researchers need to solve in planetary science," Watters said.

The scientists detailed their findings online today (Sept. 26) in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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"We know where he and his men are, who they work with, where their movements take them and where they live," he says when asked if he has an idea where Ghermay might be found. He grabs a file and recites what they know: Until 2015, he says, Ghermay lived in a part of Tripoli populated mostly by African migrants, an area notorious as a transfer point for drugs, weapons and alcohol. Hussam says that his unit raided Ghermay's apartment twice, but he managed to escape both times. Currently, he continues, Ghermay is hiding out with his heavily armed bodyguards in Sabrata, a coastal town in western Libya. Unfortunately, he adds, Libyan security officials don't have enough people or weapons to go after him there.

There are many migrant smugglers who brag openly about their excellent relations with the Libyan police and claim that they can even get anyone out of prison simply by buying off law enforcement officers. When asked about such claims, Hussam says that the phenomenon doubtlessly exists in Libya, but not within his unit.

"Ermias is an Ethiopian with Eritrean citizenship and dresses inconspicuously in jeans and a T-shirt," says Yonas, a former intermediary for Ghermay who stands almost two meters (6' 7") tall. Ever since Tarik al-Sika arrested him at his workplace -- in the cafeteria of the Eritrean Embassy in Tripoli -- several months ago, Yonas, whose name was changed for this story, has been cooperating with Libyan special forces. On the day of our visit, he was presented as an important witness. Yonas says that he used to earn 50 dinars, around 30 euros ($33), for every Eritrean refugee he referred to Ghermay -- and that some of them were aboard the vessel that sank off the coast of Lampedusa. On the night of the accident, Yonas says, "Ermias slid a passenger list under the door of the Eritrean Embassy so that their families could be informed" -- a cold-blooded move that Ghermay is proud of, according to the logs of intercepted phone calls. The relatives of the victims, most of whom came from Eritrea, were thus promptly "informed," he gloated. It's the kind of gesture that is good for business.

"Immediately afterwards, I called him and set up a meeting in the cafeteria. I wanted to get him to pay compensation to the families," Yonas says. "He actually turned up, but in the end, he only returned the price for the voyage. Nobody got any more than that."

The refugees have only themselves to blame for their deaths, Ghermay said in a telephone call to a migrant smuggler from Sudan, adding that they didn't follow his instructions and carelessly caused the boat to capsize. He insisted that he had a clear conscience. "If I followed the rules and they died anyway, then it's fate," Ghermay said.

The man from Sudan agreed: "There is no appeal against God's judgment."

The Human Warehouses on the Coast of Libya

SABRATA, LIBYA

The ruins of the old Sabrata theater can be seen from quite a distance. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it stands witness to a more glorious past under the Roman philosopher king Marcus Aurelius. Today, the several-thousand-year-old city is a hub of international crime and a transfer site for the huge sums earned from human trafficking.

Most of the migrants travelling from Sub-Saharan Africa these days end up in Sabrata and it is also the launch point for many of the boats heading for Italy. Most of the refugees have already travelled thousands of kilometers by the time they reach the city -- and spent thousands of dollars. Eritreans who have already managed to make it across Ethiopia to eastern Sudan have to pay up to $6,000 ( 5,400 euros) for the continuation of their journey to the Libyan Mediterranean coast via the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. For most of them, it is a journey full of suffering, with many taken hostage in the Sahara -- locked up and systematically abused -- until their families back home send money for the next stage of the trip.

Eighteen-year-old Fanos Okba, who was raped in one such camp before surviving the tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa, says: "We were forced to stand the entire day and watch as other migrants were tortured in a variety of ways -- with electric shocks, lashes to the soles of their feet and with a rope that was tied around their legs and neck in such a way that even the smallest movement could lead to their strangulation."

To end their suffering, family members have to pay, sending money to accounts in Sudan, Israel or Dubai. Or they sent the ransom money using the Middle Eastern transfer system known as "hawala." It is a system that works on the basis of trust: one person accepts the money on consignment and a second person pays that exact same money out to the end recipient elsewhere in the world. Only when the sum demanded has been received does the family of the captured refugee receive a code that they must then send to the mobile phone of the migrant smuggler. Only then can the trip northwards continue.

A Tight Ship

Once they reach the Libyan coast, Ghermay's clients are again locked up, usually in warehouses in Sabrata or on the outskirts of Tripoli. The refugees are given registration numbers to make recordkeeping easier: not unlike in the wholesale livestock trade. Ghermay maintains "direct contacts with migrant smugglers in Sub-Saharan Africa," it says in Italian case files. That allows him to "buy loads" of migrants from other smugglers "to increase his own profits."

Ghermay's senior henchmen, who demand to be called "colonel," run a tight ship. It costs money to keep refugees in the warehouses, which is why those who cannot immediately pay for the passage to Italy are tortured, beaten and worse. According to the aid organization Save the Children, there have been cases of children being held for months and forced to drink their own urine so as to avoid dying of thirst.

All of this is taking place in a country that was granted an "immediate and substantial" aid package worth 100 million euros from the European Union in April 2016. It is happening as ships from Germany and elsewhere in Europe -- part of an EU mission called Sophia -- are patrolling so close to the Libyan coast that migrant smugglers only have to spend a pittance on boats and fuel. A rickety tub, a few liters of diesel and a satellite phone for the emergency call are all that's necessary.

The investigators from Tarik al-Sika are unable to break-up the Sabrata ring because smugglers and heavily-armed militias are working together there hand-in-hand. The militias need money and human smugglers need protection, a profitable arrangement for both sides. And there is plenty of money available: UN Special Representative Martin Kobler claimed a week ago that there are currently thought to be 235,000 refugees waiting near the Libyan coast to be transported to Italy.

The Libyan King of Migrant Smuggling

According to Libyan investigators, Ermias Ghermay is currently living in a neighborhood located just behind the Sabrata water tower. "He roams from city to city," says Major Basem Bashir, the head of the police unit charged with investigating illegal migration in the coastal town. "He is extremely dangerous. Our sources say that he is currently living here."

Recently, Sabrata officials warned that the city's morgue was unable to accept any more bodies of deceased foreigners, saying the building was simply too small to hold all of African migrants that wash up on its beaches: people from Sudan, Nigeria and Eritrea. In July, there were more than 120 bodies, 53 of them showing up on a single day, according to the mayor.

Ghermay isn't the only migrant-smuggling magnate who lives in Sabrata, Major Bashir confirms. The entrepreneur Dr. Mosaab Abu Grein is here as well. Investigators in Tripoli believe he is the Libyan king of migrant smuggling. According to people in town, Mosaab Abu Grein is a 33-year-old father of two sons who has a respectable demeanor and, officially at least, a spotless reputation. There is no international warrant for his arrest. According to officials, he is the owner of the largest beach club in Sabrata but has declined to respond to the accusations made by investigators.

A former accomplice of his, who is now cooperating with the authorities, claims that the businessman smuggled 45,000 people to Europe in 2015 alone -- a number that would represent almost a third of all illegal immigrants who made it to Italy last year. The millionaire businessman was said to have excellent contacts to the Italian mafia and to exert a powerful influence over the human trafficking industry even prior to Moammar Gadhafi's death in 2011. Now, investigators say, Ghermay controls the African refugee smuggling business for clients from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan on his behalf.

Hussam, from the anti-terror unit in Tripoli, merely shakes his head when asked if European investigators are familiar with the findings of their Libyan counterparts. "You Europeans are constantly complaining about the masses of refugees from Africa," he says. "But none of your investigators or prosecutors from Italy or Germany has come to Tripoli to ask what's going on here."

A Lack of Help from Germany

PALERMO, ITALY

He has a wide face, black eyes and wears a necklace of plastic pearls: According to the Italian warrant for his arrest, Atta Wehabrebi maintained "direct relationships with the smugglers in Libya, including Ermias Ghermay":

According to Calogero Ferrara, Atta is a "key witness." The tanned, angular public prosecutor with a cigarillo in the corner of his mouth is clearly proud. Here, in Ferrara's Palermo office, Atta spoke for the first time, in April 2015. The Eritrean's testimony, says Ferrara, is as valuable as admissions by leading Sicilian Mafiosi once were.

Ferrara works for the legendary anti-mafia brigade of the Palermo public prosecutor's office. Each morning, on his way to his office on the second floor of the palace of justice, he passes a plaque commemorating several of his murdered predecessors. Judges Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone, both murdered in 1992, also worked in this building. "There are lots of things that don't work in Italy, but we know something about fighting organized crime," Ferrara says.

According to the Sicilian investigators, the smugglers' enormous crimes justify measures just as drastic as those taken against the Cosa Nostra. The Italian judiciary allows investigators to tap phones and perform video surveillance. Key witnesses are treated generously, including witness-protection programs.

So far, the Palermo prosecutors have conducted three large operations to shut down the cells of Ghermay's smuggling network -- "Glauco 1" to "Glauco 3." Seventy-one warrants have been issued. During the last big raid in June, two thirds of the 38 accused were from Eritrea. There have also been convictions -- including that of Atta, who now lives in a witness protection program. "Everything we know about this network is thanks to him," says Ferrara.

Atta came to Libya from Eritrea at the age of 13, and later lived on the same, middle-class Tripoli street as Ermias Ghermay. During the Gadhafi era, he ran a cafe there where would-be migrants would stop before attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Atta collected their money for the trip and sent it along to the smugglers.

In 2007, he fled to Italy and from there he took advantage of his contacts to the big players in the smuggling business. He rose up the hierarchy, becoming, according to the arrest warrant, one of the "bosses and co-founders" of the criminal organization, along with Ghermay and a Sudanese man named John Mahray. He was responsible for operations on Italian territory.

Hard to Track

Atta was in charge of transporting the refugees who arrived in Sicily further north. He had to get them out as soon as possible -- before the Italian authorities could take their fingerprints. Without fingerprints, the refugees are hard to track. Without them, officials in Germany can hardly tell who comes from where.

Atta drove some of the migrants personally, without a driver's license, in cars to Germany and even to Scandinavia, an easy game in a Europe without border controls. In other cases, he sent accomplices; they left Bologna for the Bavarian city of Rosenheim at around 9:30 p.m. He motivated his helpers by telling them: "You'll be back at 6 a.m. and you'll have earned 1,000 euros." He advised his helpers: "If you are caught by the Germans, tell them you don't know the people in the car, and you'll be out of prison one day later."

According to Atta, the sale of registration notices, marriage certificates and personal status certificates was especially lucrative. Some of his Eritrean accomplices, he claimed, had simultaneously filed applications in five different Italian prefectures with five different registration notices for family reunification with five different "wives" who were supposedly still in Eritrea.

The women, who then received the necessary entry papers, were thus spared the dangerous boat trip across the sea. For that reason, they also paid up to $15,000 for their fake marriage. And the whole thing, Atta says, works so well because the Italian prefectures don't compare information with one another.

The Italians can afford this kind of nonchalance. Although in the past year alone, 38,000 Eritreans reached Italy illegally, the overall number of Eritreans in the country has gone down by 30 percent since 2011 -- to the current number of 9,600. Every year, tens of thousands go north after their arrival -- onward to Switzerland, Sweden and Germany. These include the very poor, but also wealthy smugglers.

The German authorities know about it, Ferrara claims, thanks to the European justice authority Eurojust -- but he says they apparently don't care. "We Italians are conducting investigations, issuing warrants, encouraging Eurojust coordination meetings. We have documents which suggest that the network has contacts to Germany." According to Ferrara, 40,000 wiretap transcripts have been sent to colleagues in other EU countries via Europol. Ferrara sought their help in determining how well connected the murderous smuggling syndicate now is.

'I'm Sick of It'

The UK, Sweden and the Netherlands, Ferrara says, evaluated the data and started to conduct their own investigations: "The Germans, however, have done nothing. They don't seem especially interested either. At one Eurojust meeting, they had an intern take part. But I've also heard the same sentence from the German side for the hundredth time: 'We are prepared to help the Italians' -- and to be honest, I'm sick of it."

Are the Germans arrogant or naive? Ferrara suspects the latter: "It reminds me a bit of my mafia investigations. There, too, the Germans had a tendency to say, 'Mafia? Doesn't exist here.' Germans close their eyes to the truth -- even though we have given them sufficient evidence."

German investigators claim that the Italians informed them too late. They say that the Italians shared their evidence only after the "Glauco 1" and "Glauco 2" operations had already been concluded. In security circles, one hears that the work is made even more difficult by the structural differences between the two systems in Germany and Italy.

A friendly man with an office not far from the Palermo cathedral is particularly critical of the Germans. Carmine Mosca leads a special anti-migrant-smuggling division within Squadra Mobile, the police's mobile task force.

Mosca was there in June in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum during the extradition proceedings of a migrant smuggler for whom an international arrest warrant had been issued. He lauds the cooperation with the British National Crime Agency, which helped capture the smuggler, and with the Dutch, who, he says, always have an ear open for Italian concerns. But when the conversation turns to the Germans, he struggles to control his anger.

It's actually not so complicated to capture people like Ermias Ghermay, says Mosca, but the task is repeatedly made unnecessarily more difficult for him and his team. Normally, for example, an EU rescue ship from the Sophia mission docks in a Sicilian harbor with hundreds of refugees on board. "We drive there to investigate," says Mosca. "We ask who the smugglers are and about phone contacts to Libya, that we can later monitor. Most of the crews -- the Irish, the Spaniards, the Norwegians -- are very well organized and welcoming."

But, he claims, there is one exception: the Germans. One time, he relates, the frigate Hessen docked with maritime refugees on board. "Officers didn't even let us on board the ship. They didn't support us in any way, gave us no evidence. No briefing, nothing. We were unable to arrest a single smuggler afterwards."

And this despite the fact that, as Mosca claims, he had three Italian prosecutors with him at the time. Even they were turned away by the Germans. The whole thing, the investigator says, is hard to fathom: "We are here in Italy, they are bringing us migrants and they don't even let us on board to find out how the rescue went." Among the crews of all of the EU ships, he says, the Germans stick out with their "truly singular behavior." He says there is no useful contact: "The German liaison officer in Italy? Never heard, never seen."

'I'll Have Them Sleep Standing Up'

When asked by DER SPIEGEL, the commander of the Hessen said he "cannot recall" incidents when Italian authorities were denied access to the ship. The Defense Ministry added that in mid-2015 a "mandate for the fight against smuggling-crime in the Mediterranean" had yet to be issued. During joint operations, access to ships is certainly provided "as needed."

On Sicily, an historical intersection point between Europe, Africa and the Middle East, it has become impossible to overlook the consequences of the thousands of shipwrecked arrivals. It's enough to follow the tracks Atta, the key witness, has provided to the investigators. In Palermo, for example, in the Vicolo Santa Rosalia alley. There, in an unremarkable bar, is where the smugglers housed their human cargo until a raid in July. Today, you can see young men looking out at the street with a mirthless look in their eyes, their cheeks filled with leaves of khat, a popular drug on the Horn of Africa.

And those searching for the house in Catania where Ghermay's brother once housed 117 refugees -- "if necessary, I'll have them sleep standing up," he said in one recorded phone call -- will find, just a few steps away, the makeshift outdoor hovels belonging to the stranded.

About 400 kilometers linear distance away, in Rome, the Eritreans have their base in the Palazzo Selam, a glass palace that once housed Tor Vergata University's Institute for Philosophy and Humanities and now gives shelter to up to 2,000 refugees. Two of the migrant smugglers who had warrants issued for their arrest in June were registered here while a few others were registered by the Jesuits in central Rome.

There, inside Via degli Astalli 14a, Pope Francis' followers run more than just a soup kitchen; they also offer specific services behind their green iron door. Refugees without a permanent place of residence are allowed to use their postal address if they want to make an application for asylum or a visa. And, for that reason, seven of the 28 warrants issued during "Glauco 3" were delivered to the Roman Jesuits.

But that's not all. Atta, who lived in a bourgeois brick building with a view of the Alban hills in Rome during his time as a smuggler, gave many more clues in his 10-hour interrogation. Parts of his testimony are still classified, under the highest level of secrecy. "We are now working on operation 'Glauco 4'," says prosecutor Ferrara: "This time it's about the financial streams; we have asked for the support of several intelligence services. Because you need to follow the money."

Unmarked Graves

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

To understand where the millions earned by the migrant smugglers end up, one should embark on a search for Ermias Ghermay's wife, Mana Ibrahim. She has applied for asylum in Germany, says key witness Atta. "She is now living in the Frankfurt area. All the money that Ermia earns is in Germany."

Officials in Palermo claim to have forwarded all the data they have about Ghermay's wife to their German counterparts. But in Germany, nobody knows anything about Mana Ibrahim: Nobody at the agencies responsible and none of the investigators. Yet they claim that they carefully pursue all leads.

In response to a request for comment submitted by DER SPIEGEL, Frankfurt prosecutors said that Frankfurt is without a doubt one of "the German focal points of Eritrean smugglers," and that "around 10 to 15 proceedings" pertaining to their activities were recently carried out here. The division for organized crime, they said, has repeatedly launched investigations targeting the "commercial smuggling of foreigners." Mostly, though, they have only managed to capture bit players.

Meanwhile, Palermo investigators complain that several major migrant smugglers from Ghermay's organization -- for whom arrest warrants have been issued -- are still at large in Germany. In previous years, significant figures in the smuggling industry were only tracked down in Germany in response to entreaties from Italy. Measho Tesfamariam, for example. He stands accused of being responsible for one journey across the Mediterranean that resulted in 244 migrants disappearing without a trace in June 2014. Afterward, the Eritrean traveled to Germany and applied for asylum. In December 2014, investigators found him in Muncheberg, a town in the eastern German state of Brandenburg.

Yonas Redae, an important member of the network in Sicily, is another example. He later lived as an asylum seeker in Gottingen and was arrested in February of this year. Or Mulubrahan Gurum, who has been accused of being the treasurer of one of the most powerful migrant smuggling groups. Disguised as an asylum seeker, he lived in Worms until his arrest in August 2015.

Financial Aid for a Dictator

In Italy, numerous criminal complaints, such as rape, bodily harm and domestic disturbance, had been filed against Gurum, who denied all accusations against him. He applied for asylum in Germany using his real name. When an extradition request for Gurum landed on the desk of senior prosecutor Mario Mannweiler in the nearby city of Koblenz, he initially thought it was merely another routine case of legal cooperation, as he now recalls. Yet the grounds for the extradition request stated: "Membership in a criminal organization." The requested cooperation was swiftly provided and Gurum was handed over to the Italians in short order, but German prosecutors, Mannweiler says, are chronically overburdened. "It's not easy to find someone who is interested, who wants to dig deeper."

So is Germany simply blind to the perpetrators who come into the country via Libya and Italy? Or are the country's laws to blame? In Italy, just being a member of the Mafia is a crime, but not in Germany. Here, there has to be evidence of a crime committed before an arrest can be made.

In Berlin, a senior German intelligence officer concedes: "We are indeed concerned. There are refugees in Germany who have not been accounted for. We are also alarmed by the cooperation between migrant smugglers, militias and political extremists in the Sahara." He also noted that there are Islamic State cells and fighting units in cities like Tripoli and Sabrata -- the city where Ermias Ghermay is thought to be living.

The European Union is hoping that the refugee crisis can be solved with money. The goal of the so-called Khartoum Process is to provide financial aid to countries on the Horn of Africa and other states along the migrant routes. Among the recipients of such aid is the brutal Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, who is set to receive millions from the EU. One EU action plan aims to strengthen the Eritrean government's institutions and personnel -- a government that Amnesty International has accused for years of "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of those who would dare to question it.

But it won't be possible to stop the Eritrean exodus with an injection of money. Already, Frankfurt is home to Eritrean Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox congregations, an Eritrean consulate and, behind the central train station, bars and restaurants where Eritreans gather. One of them told us how he once met Ermias Ghermay in Khartoum with the help of a friend from the migrant smuggling scene. "Like many major migrant smugglers, he retreats to Sudan in the fall and is part of the top circles there," the young man says. He says that the attempt to get African officials to combat the smugglers is in most cases absurd. "In Sudan, generals in uniform greet Ermias Ghermay like a close acquaintance. He stands under their protection and when he returns to Libya, he is protected by the Libyans."

ZAWIYA, LIBYA

The rows of small mounds of sand in the cemetery not far from the town of Zawiya seem almost endless. White blocks, hundreds of them, maybe a thousand, serve as grave markers for the nameless bodies that have washed up on the beach. Here and there, where the sea breeze has blown away the sand, a jacket can be seen poking out, or a bone. The tattered pages of a book about the Old Testament flutter in the wind. Perhaps they once belonged to a Christian Eritrean who is now buried here.

A few kilometers further on, a half-dozen men from the Coast Guard in Zawiya are gazing out to sea. Their spokesman, who they refer to as Colonel Naji, is clearly making an effort in his new role spearheading the fight against human trafficking. Since Aug. 30, teams like his have been receiving training from the EU and now, when they see a refugee boat, they are supposed to bring it back to shore.

But it is difficult to know on which side they ultimately stand. Refugees say that the first question they ask upon boarding a boat is: "Who are you from?" In other words, which smuggler did you pay? The answer determines whether the vessel will be allowed to continue out to sea toward the ships of the EU mission Sophia. Or whether they will be pulled back to the coast. It seems that there are smugglers who have a good relationship with the Coast Guard and others who aren't attentive enough to the maintenance of such contacts.

Colonel Naji says he thinks it's a good thing that Germany is supporting his men in the fight against human smuggling. But he still has a piece of advice for his allies to the north: "You have to change your asylum laws. The smugglers are now using you like a taxi service that picks up their customers safely and for free just off the coast of Libya."
Donald Trump reportedly asked a civil rights museum to close for several hours so he could hold a campaign event and the request was denied.

The Republican nominee was turned down by the International Civil Rights Centers founder, who deemed his demands rude and disrespectful.

Mr. Trump has been doing what is being called an African-American outreach since Kellyanne Conway became his campaign manager. He has conducted scripted and closed-doors interviews with numerous black pastors and toured a black neighborhood with Dr. Ben Carson.

Trump also spoke about the problems, which were apparently caused by Democrats that hit the black community across America. He said that the schools are bad; the unemployment rate is high, and people are often shot and killed as they are walking in black neighborhoods.

Last week, Trump called officials at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in North Carolina and asked for a special visit. Trump might have heard that President Barack Obama was going to be present at the inauguration of the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

The presidential nominee asked Earl Jones, co-founder of the museum, to close it for at least five hours to accommodate him. Jones revealed to local media that Trumps staff was rude to the museums employees.

Jones added that he felt that Trump was aggressive, and his visit was not sincere, and he was putting on a show for the cameras. Jones said:

We did not honor the request of the Donald Trump team because we thought they demonstrated, in their approach was disrespectful, so therefore we did not grant that request.

Jones says a museum is a place where visitors come to educate themselves, and it does not provide special treatment to people, no matter how important they might be. Jones revealed:

The approach, the type of disrespect, pretty much a demand and bullying us to use the museum in their manner and their way in their time, it was inappropriate and I think its probably reflective of the type of insensitivity of civil rights and human rights thats reflective from Trump over the years.

Jones stated that he is not biased and would have treated Hillary Clinton the same way if she made unreasonable requests. He stated:

We have equal treatment for everyone coming to the museum and we welcome everyone to the museum, but we are not going to allow the museum to be used for political gain.

He said Trump and Clinton are welcome to the museum, but he is not closing it and is not doing special favors for either of them.
Instead, they have developed sophisticated molecular adaptation mechanisms. Scientists at the Technical University Munich (TUM) in cooperation with the Helmholtz Center Munich and the University of Nottingham have been able to demonstrate that brassinosteroids, which until now have mainly been regarded as growth hormones, increase the resistance of plants against frost.

"Stress caused by cold is an environmental influence which has a direct effect on the growth and yield of plants", says plant molecular biologist Professor Brigitte Poppenberger. With her research group at the Biotechnology of Horticultural Crops institute at the TUM, she investigates the mechanisms used by plants to adapt to external influences. Her research activities have centered on brassinosteroids for quite some time. In earlier work, her group already used common thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) as a model plant to demonstrate exactly how this plant hormone, which was identified for the first time in rapeseed in 1979, promotes plant growth. In fact, it had been known for a long time that this hormone plays a role in plant development. However, the exact mechanism of action was unknown. It was the work of the biotechnology experts at the TUM School for Life Sciences in Weihenstephan that first made it possible to gain a precise understanding of this phenomenon.

It's no coincidence that Brigitte Poppenbergers team once again picked Arabidopsis for the current study. Due to its relatively undemanding nature, simple structure, and its compact size, it isn't simply a favorite among geneticists in generalthe tiny herb also provides optimal conditions under which to search for cold protection mechanisms in plants, as it's able to survive low temperatures and increase its tolerance to frost by adapting to the cold. In the current issue of the specialist journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS), the scientists describe the hitherto unknown side of brassinosteroids, which up until now have been known as growth hormones.

In order to gain a detailed understanding of their mechanisms, the researchers carried out experiments in which they exposed Arabidopsis plants to slowly decreasing temperatures. Experiments with wild-type varieties in the laboratory showed that as the temperature decreases, the plant reacts by beginning to modify the expression of genes for which DNA is transcribed to RNA within its cells. "This reduces its growth, which increases its chances of survival", Poppenberger explains, describing the natural protective mechanism of the normal plants.
The company's vacuumation and water jetting technology is proving to be suited for cleaning pipes and tanks in a range of different renewable energy plants in the industrial and farming sectors.

Lanes drainage expertise has been used to support companies developing and running sustainable energy plants in Plymouth, Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield and North Wales.

The Lanes Plymouth depot provides industry pipe cleaning services for MVV Environment Devonport Ltd, which operates one of the most advanced energy-from-waste plants in the UK.

The combined heat and power plant, at North Yard, Devonport, burns 254,000 tonnes of residual household, commercial and industrial waste a year.

Lanes' electro-mechanical pipe cleaning equipment has proved ideal for cleaning inert filtration media that builds up in pipework during the incineration process.

The Plymouth depot is also regularly commissioned by industrial cleaning specialists New Wave Marine to use its jetting and vacuumation technology to clean pipes and tanks at a growing number of anaerobic digestion plants.

These units use micro-organisms to break down organic waste, including food and agricultural waste, generating bio-methane, which is very similar to natural gas, and carbon dioxide which can be used in industrial processes.

Lanes jet vac tankers and van pack units, which have water jetting systems, are used to carry out the pipe and tank cleaning work.

The company's CCTV drainage survey camera systems are also used to inspect pipework in energy plants to confirm cleaning has been thorough and the equipment is in good repair.
Making the decision to jump out of the corporate world and build your own business takes guts. Depending on your source, the attrition rate for start-ups is somewhere between 30 and 95 percent. Access to venture capital is, by many accounts, starting to dry up. Getting a loan from the bank requires proof that you dont really need the loan in the first place.

Its a rough and tumble world out there, and the path of an entrepreneur doesnt come standard with safety nets. But, the good news is that you can make it in business if youre willing to embrace sacrifice. In my own personal path, I know that the only reason I survived was that I put my fledgling startup before my own needs, on more than one occasion. Sacking out on a friends couch, selling my Mercedes and having my wife work a job gave me the time and resources I needed to grow my business into what it is today.

Related: 7 Lessons for Building Powerful Networking Communities

In all the talk of sacrifice and high rates of attrition, theres one area that isnt given the attention it deserves. Theres a silver lining to all the doom and gloom: the professional networking opportunities offered by industry organizations. The biggest regret I have is that I didnt plug into these organizations sooner. I thought I was too small to join in the conventions and be taken seriously. I was wrong, and my ability to recognize this fact saved me countless hours of pounding the pavement and dealing with frustrating, low-quality vendors.

1. Exposure to potential partners.

Ive seen many entrepreneurs head down two distinct paths: (1) they launch their business and spend all of their time trying to convince people theyre bigger than they really are, or (2) they hide while they try to strengthen themselves behind the scenes, with the hope of one day being strong enough to come out of the shadows and compete with their larger competitors.

Both of these paths result in missed opportunity. While the first one spins tall tales and tries to bluff his way towards opportunity (creating mistrust and ethical challenges), the other is too scared to get out into the arena. Both businesses suffer -- one based on a lack of trust and the other from a lack of exposure.

Trade groups and professional organizations offer an opportunity to network with people that have already been around the block a few times. They have industry experience, and if youre a genuine, hard-working person, theyll try to help where they can. And, as your company scales, youll be able to model their leadership styles. I highly recommend embracing a transformational leadership style. According to WiseToast, Transformational leaders motivate others to do more than they originally intended and often even more than they thought possible.

Industry partners will help you set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performance. They may be competitors, but theyre people too. Theyre part of the organization because they want to see the industry grow and thrive; and by virtue of your start-up, whether you feel like it or not, your company is part of the industry.

2. A strong reputation.

The most valuable asset my business has is the reputation weve earned for taking care of customers and following through on our promises. That reputation has allowed us to avoid spending money on advertising and other expensive get attention quick schemes. Short of creating a compelling website, our best advertisement is the word-of-mouth generated by satisfied customers.

Related: Millennials Have Rediscovered the Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization

Just last week I learned of a project from a competitor. They were swamped and couldnt handle the customers needs. So, they took care of the customer by sub-contracting the assignment to my organization. Even without buying from us, the customer was still putting money in our pocket. Its a powerful phenomenon that only comes with the connections and track-record that visibility in a professional organization can provide.

3. Protection from legislation.

This point is probably the most important one. Trade unions and industry associations help protect startups (the proverbial little guy) from the high-cost of short-sighted government legislation. Lobbyists might have a bad reputation in political circles, but for small business, the access to political capital that they offer can mean the difference between being profitable and filing for bankruptcy.

The best way to access the government, as a start-up, is through an industry organization. Take advantage of the group-rates on services your company needs, and help shape the voice of the organization by participating in its functions. As a result of your input, you can gain a seat at a much bigger table. When a legislator is contacted, action is more likely if theres a large voting-bloc behind the request.

With more than 63 percent of new jobs created between 1993 and 2013 coming from small business, its now more important than ever to protect small business owners from government (local, state and federal) action that could slow down our recovering economy. A real-world example of this would be the E-Cigarette Association. As governments and international tribunals meet to discuss regulation of the emerging e-cig industry, the thousands of small businesses that have sprung up are at risk. Regulation results in increased operating cost; the ECA is designed to help provide the smaller businesses a united voice to help shape government policy in a way that protects both entrepreneurs and consumers.

Related: 9 Networking Blunders That Undermine Your Reputation

Start-ups must actively pursue memberships in organizations that support their industry. Their active participation helps establish reputations, prevent burdensome government regulation and uncover opportunities for partnership with existing industry members.

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Connecticut's income inequality has been well-documented as of late, and according to The Atlantic, it's a problem that can soon plague the nation.

The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metropolitan area played exhibit A in The Atlantic's recent article, "Finance is Ruining America," which looked at the worsening effects of income inequality in the nation.

"Few places in the country illustrate the divide between the haves and the have-nots more than the county of Fairfield, Connecticut," The Atlantic wrote. "Drive around the city of Bridgeport and, amid the tracts of middle-class homes, you'll see burned-out houses, empty factories, and abandoned buildings that line the main street. Nearby, in the wealthier part of the county, there are towns of mansions with leafy grounds, swimming pools, and big iron gates."

For a look at just how wide this gap is in Fairfield County, check out the gallery above. To read The Atlantic's full investigation, click here.

The article pegged the rise of finance and the state's tax code as the cause behind the county's uneven income.

When it comes to the evolution of finance, The Atlantic said a change in how money is used to stimulate the economy has led to a different outcome than what many may consider the point of investing.

"More critical is what finance is doing to everyone elseor, more to the point, what it isn't doing: providing good middle-class jobs," the article said. "...Financiers in recent decades have made their money by focusing more on wealth creation through manipulating and timing markets rather than by lending and creating."

Connecticut resident's are no stranger to the state's skyrocketing taxes, which have caused both residents and businessesmost notably, General Electricto leave the state in the last year.

The article cited that Connecticut's tax codes allow the wealthy to provide little and burden the poorest to foot most of the bill.

However, the problem crippling Connecticut may be an indicator of a larger threat to the country, the article said, as at least some of this election year's national debate looks at how to deal with taxing the country's wealthiest.

"It will be national policysuch as increasing taxes on top earnersthat could lead to less of the financial wizardry that benefits so few people," the article said. "But as the example of Fairfield County shows, the struggles of those at the bottom are at least in part a consequence of the rise of extreme wealth."
A ldi has defended a landmark 300 million investment to refurbish its UK stores despite a fall in profits brought on by the supermarket price war.

The German discounter said it would overhaul branches over three years to showcase its popular wine, beers and spirits ranges and baby and toddler products. There will also be more chilled space for fresh food and food-to-go fixtures. It plans to have 1,000 stores in the UK by 2022.

The announcements came in its 2015 results, which revealed a 12% sales surge to a record 7.7 billion, but a 1.8% dip in operating profits to 255.6 million. The chain said the decline reflected its continued investment in prices. The big four supermarkets  Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Asda  have all slashed prices to fend off discounters.

This year Aldi has responded by lowering prices on almost a third of products, and UK boss Matthew Barnes reiterated a pledge to be the lowest-priced supermarket.

If there are increased efforts in the price war, the one thing I can tell you for sure is that we will respond as we have in the past year. Thats our contract with customers, he said.

"These improvements wont be cheap... margins are likely to fall further during 2016."

He added that Aldis lean model means it can absorb cost increases better than others, and that he couldnt foresee a scenario where the business moved into losses.

We have very healthy profits right now and will continue to be a profitable business this year. Weve all seen the impact on the balance sheet of our competitors, so its a question of how far can they go?

However, Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said the big four's fight back was piling on pressure and the refurbishment represented a shift away from the pure discounter model that has brought it success.

These improvements wont be cheap and add weight to our argument that margins are likely to fall further during 2016, he added.

Barnes acknowledged Aldi's model has evolved but said the company was still "lightyears away from the range number and complexity competitors have to deal with".

"Hard discounter is no longer the appropriate tag to put to the business right now but we're still very much a discounter. (We're a) 21st century modern discounter."
I t was an enjoyable breakfast of simit  a Turkish bagel  and honey at a colleagues home in Istanbul that gave American Merilee Karr the idea for her property start-up, UnderTheDoormat.

Zipping around the world, looking after thousands of petrol stations for oil company Royal Dutch Shell, she made so many trips to the historic city that the hotel bills were racking up, and her friend said: Why dont you just stay at my house?

So she did, had a fantastic time, and the seed of the business was sown. Why not offer work and leisure travellers fed up with boxy hotel rooms the chance to live in a proper home in the cities they visit, and homeowners an opportunity to make some money?

The name, dreamed up on a stroll down the Kings Road, aims to catch a friendlier, more informal vibe.

Karr didnt even have her own passport until she was 18, but has now been to about 70 countries for work and pleasure.

UnderTheDoormat.com Founded: 2014 Staff: Eight Revenues: 200,000 (year to June) Business idol: Paul Polman of Unilever  A good businessman willing to lead on issues like poverty

She doesnt come from an entrepreneurial background  her father was a lawyer and her mother a charity worker. But it was always going to be when, rather than if, she started her own business. Despite a 13-year career with a major blue-chip, she says she was always a bit of a misfit and the one they turned to for out-of-the-box ideas.

When she weighed up the choice between 30 years of fighting within a big corporate or setting up on her own, there was only one decision.

Karr, also a member of the Governments task force on the sharing economy, bristles slightly at comparisons of her business with the giant Airbnb rental marketplace. Shes selling experiences and a professional service, down to full insurance and someone coming in once a week to change the towels and linen.

Airbnb is absolutely the best choice if somebody wants to rent out their room and the person whos renting it out is the best person to manage it, she says. The DIY approach is an absolutely fantastic approach.

But she adds: Were in the market that says we want to work with you as a homeowner to maximise the value of your home, and we want to take care of everything, from the insurance to the marketing, to managing the guests while they are there as you are out of the country.

Were not looking to be cheaper, were looking to make a better offer. Typically, families find that its cheaper than renting several rooms in a hotel. Itll be a little cheaper as a business traveller. But were not competing on price, were competing on experience.

UnderTheDoormat has more than 50 properties on its books, and that will soon rise to 60 in locations from the centre of London out to Zone 4.

A small-scale studio in fashionable Marylebone might rent out for between 89 and 109 a night, with the homeowner collecting between 50 and 60 of that.

The business has just completed a crowdfunding round to raise more than 385,000, leaving Karr owning about 80% of the business. The plan is to move into major cities worldwide.

We arent looking to replicate Airbnb and be in every little corner of the earth  you do it in cities where you have got that scale, like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dubai. You have to have the supply of homes where people are travelling frequently.

If that works out, the plan is to sell out to a hotel group. Most of the growth is coming from our part of the sector, she says. Between now and 2025-30, hotels are basically going to be stagnant in terms of growth.

If she does sell, 5% of the profits will go to charities, as she has signed the Founders Pledge. She is also working with five charities to link up with homeowners who want to donate the proceeds from their temporary guests.

Karr didnt vote for Brexit but she sees how it could work in the businesss favour, and has seen a positive impact so far. Tourism numbers are up and suddenly people are having to pay more for their holidays when they go abroad, and pondering how to make money out of their empty homes.

Ultimately, a lot of people are waking up to the fact that they have idle assets sitting around, she concludes. And her guests know exactly where to leave the key on the way out...
M inisters have warned against treating the capital as a cash cow when businesses face dramatic hikes in rates bills next year.

The warning from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) came as figures from accountants Deloitte suggested the rates bill for Regent Street  among the most expensive retail properties in London  could double to 64 million a year.

Tens of thousands of businesses across the capital are nervously waiting for notice of their new rates bill from April 2017, due this Friday. Rates will be based on rents as of April 2015 instead of 2008  an arrangement which will benefit the rest of the country at the expense of London, where rents have recovered and risen further.

LCCI is backing the idea of local governments retaining all the business rates they receive in a government consultation on the issue.

Not to pursue this path risks businesses shutting up shop or moving out of London altogether. We need to be wary of potential pitfalls, including business being viewed as a cash cow, chief executive Colin Stanbridge said.

The LCCI wants transitional relief to alleviate the expected impact of the revaluation in London, and called on the Government to consider proposals for the capital to be uncoupled from the national valuation system.

Research from Deloitte meanwhile warned of a big rise in bills for the likes of Apple, H&M and Hamleys on Regent Street following the Valuation Office Agencys new assessment of rates  potentially prompting some of them to desert Londons premier shopping zone altogether.

Deloittes head of business rates James Thompson said: We believe retailers in Regent Street and other prime London retail streets need to be prepared for a huge increase in their rent and rates costs over the next few years. This may lead many to question the value of a flagship store there.
M onarch was today scrambling to finalise a multi-million pound rescue package in a bid to allay fears that the 50-year-old airline is teetering close to collapse.

The Luton-based carrier, which employs almost 3000 people, said its flights are operating as normal and that it is trading well despite both negative speculation about Monarchs financial health and a difficult period for the holiday industry due to terrorist incidents, Brexit and the resulting devaluation of sterling.

The airline, which flies almost seven million passengers a year from five UK bases, spent the weekend trying to quash social media concerns of its demise as rumours.

But Monarch admitted that it had had to seek out significant investment in a bid to weather tougher market conditions and to fund its ongoing growth.

Industry insiders claimed it had been close to going bust before shoring up extra funding.

"Monarchs admission that it is putting extra money in is very significant."

The airline is protected by the Air Traffic Organisers Licensing (Atol) scheme, so it has to hold at least three months cash in reserve. One industry expert said: Monarchs admission that it is putting extra money in is very significant. Since airlines have to have a lot of cash on their balance sheet under Atol requirements, this is a big warning sign.

Plane-watchers also noticed US carrier United Airlines appeared to launch services on the same routes, at the same times, as Monarch flights, sparking rumours that the Civil Aviation Authority was preparing to repatriate passengers from across Europe in case Monarch could not bring them home. The CAA said it could not comment.

One Monarch passenger told the BBC the carriers engineers were tipped off at 3pm yesterday and went and got their tools before they were to be impounded.

The airline however said: Our flights are carrying Monarch passengers as scheduled and pointed out that its set to make more than 40 million in underlying earnings in its financial year to October.

Monarch was bought by investment firm Greybull Capital  which bought Comet and M Local convenience stores before putting both into administration  in a 100 million rescue deal.

Monarchs finances had improved  it posted a 26 million pre-tax profit, after a 210 million dive into the red the year before, although revenues fell 14% to 655 million last year.

But in June, accounts filed with Companies House showed parent firm Monarch Holdings was seeking 35 million in secure facilities from either Greybull Capital or an outside lender, and the airline issued a going concern warning in its annual report.

A rival airline said: This has been a really tough year for airlines, Monarch is particularly exposed  it had a big presence in Egypt and North Africa, and then there was Brexit.
S ainsburys is bringing back delivery by bicycle in London  more than 130 years after it first operated the service.

The current version has a modern-day twist, however: customers will place orders through the supermarkets Chop Chop app and can receive up to 20 items within an hour.

It costs 4.99 and will be available to homes across parts of south and west London from Wednesday.

Sainsburys first offered home delivery from its Croydon branch in 1882. Orders were originally delivered by horse and cart or by hand.

Bicycles and tricycles were phased in around the turn of the century and the first van, a Model T Ford, was bought in 1915.

Sainsbury's will roll-out the Chop Chop service on Wednesday / Sainsbury's

Sainsburys head of digital and technology, Jon Rudoe, said the service is ideal for forgotten items or emergency goods if shoppers cant leave their homes or have invited guests on the spur of the moment.

It will make Sainsburys the only supermarket to offer delivery within 60 minutes.

Shoppers in the above areas will get the first chance to try Chop Chop / Sainsbury's

The Chop Chop system has been tested in Wandsworth and will be rolled out into other areas of London if it proves popular.

The app could pit Sainsbury's against takeaway services like Deliveroo or Just Eat.
S outh Korean prosecutors have escalated a criminal probe into the countrys fifth biggest conglomerate Lotte Group after seeking court permission to arrest chairman Shin Dong-bin, throwing the groups fragile leadership into turmoil.

Authorities have been investigating the family-controlled group, which owns Belgian chocolate company Guylian, for months over suspected embezzlement worth 200 billion won (139 million).

Shin, who was honoured by the Queen two years ago with an honorary CBE for services to UK-Korea relations, will co-operate with the investigation, a spokesman said. The conglomerate said the arrest warrant request was regrettable.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday to decide whether to grant the warrant. Shin, who worked in London for Nomura during the early Eighties, was questioned by authorities earlier this month but not arrested.

The case took a drastic twist last month after Shins right-hand man, vice-chairman Lee In-won, was found dead in woodland near Seoul after a suspected suicide.

In July, Shins sister Shin Young-ja was arrested on separate charges of bribery and embezzlement.

Shin is estranged from his brother Shin Dong-ju, who he beat in a battle for control of the group founded by their father Shin Kyuk-Ho in 1948.
 Prediction is always difficult  especially about the future. So said the physicist Niels Bohr, and he certainly had a point. From Brexit to the shock news about Brad and Angelina (Brangelexit), the world is a wonderfully unpredictable place. But perhaps nowhere is this more true than when it comes to the perils of second-guessing how new technologies will develop.

Lots of smart people have been made to look foolish when technological predictions have gone awry  such as Thomas J Watson, who was CEO of IBM in 1943 when he sagely forecast: I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. Seventy years later, and after over four billion computers have been sold, it turns out that his prophecy may have been a little out of whack.

A similarly rubbish prophecy was made by my favourite architect, the Japanese master Kenzo Tange. In the Sixties he moved away from designing single buildings and started to imagine what entire cities might look like in the future. He guessed that technology would evolve so that a single powerful supercomputer at the centre of the metropolis would co-ordinate energy use and traffic flows in the city, ensuring that everything worked in the most efficient way.

In reality, the opposite happened. Instead of huge centralised supercomputers, cities are being made smarter by millions of low-cost devices  from smartphones and electricity smart meters, through to cheap sensors on cars and trucks. Rather than relying on one or two hugely powerful computers at the centre, it turns out that self-driving cars and greener cities are made possible by a distributed form of intelligence.

Our Mayor Sadiq Khan will have seen this for himself last week when he visited New York and Chicago, both places that have successfully harnessed new technologies to improve city life.

In Chicago you can download an app onto your phone that monitors your movements as you travel around in a vehicle. If you hit something that feels like a pothole the app will automatically send the location to the team responsible for mending the roads. Whats really clever is that the system will only send someone out to investigate if other people also hit the same bump several days running  after all, you dont want to confuse a pothole for something more transient, like a dead racoon. So by using the phones that people carry around all day potholes are being fixed more quickly and efficiently than ever before.

And in New York Mayor Bloomberg used technology to condense hundreds of different phone numbers for contacting different parts of the city government  which covered 13 pages of the Yellow Pages  into a single number. This was helpful for residents but also meant that the mayors office started capturing detailed data on what voters were complaining about, and so could deal with issues such as air pollution before they became a political problem.

Here in London, neither of our previous mayors really prioritised this type of urban innovation, so our city lags behind New York and Chicago. Sadiq Khan is different, and Im sure hell have come back from his trip inspired by the opportunity to play catch-up. London could be even better if we harnessed urban technology in the right way  and thats a prediction Im not afraid to make.
As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embark on a week-long royal tour in Canada - their first official trip accompanied by Prince George and Princess Charlotte - more eyes than ever are on the young family.

Accompanied by her trusted stylist Natasha Archer - who was responsible for Kate's overwhelmingly successful India tour wardrobe in April - the trip will see the family face not only very different engagements to those in India - with safaris presumably off the agenda - but also an entirely different climate.

Stepping off the plane in Victoria on Saturday, Kate plumped for a fitted royal blue Jenny Packham dress accented with a matching head piece and maple leaf broach.

Avoiding over-playing the hue, the Duchess paired the look with her favourite nude suede court shoes and a clutch bag in the same shade.

After flying into Vancouver by boat plane on the Sunday, Kate stepped out in a 4,000 Alexander McQueen dress in red and white - a nod to the country's national colours.

Unlike her favoured silhouette of a more simple and streamlined piece falling below the knee, this McQueen look garnered admiration thanks to its tiered hemline and a buttoned-up high neck.

On the Monday, the itinerary called for a more practical wardrobe with a visit to the Canadian wilderness coupled with torrential rain and strong winds.

Appropriately, the Duchess of Cambridge sported a cream belted Holland and Holland Jacket with Zara jeans tucked into her favourite Penelope Chilvers boots and earrings by Canadian designer Pippa Small.

Later that day and out of the rain, Kate changed into a striking red dress by London label-of-the-moment Preen for a historic reconciliation ceremony with the Canadian First Nations groups.

Kate accessorised the dress - which had slightly dropped shoulders - with the maple leaf broach and kept her hair pulled back in a sleek low bun.

On the Tuesday, the duchess chose an emerald green Dolce & Gabbana dress with gold button detailing and a bow at the neck to wear for the couple's visit to Kelowna Universty.

Arriving in Whitehorse later that day, Kate stepped off the plane having covered up in her favoured emerald green Hobbs coat.

Stepping out on the Wednesday in remote Whitehorse in the Yukon, the duchess wore a red Carolina Herrera coat to keep warm during the freezing temperatures.

Pairing the look with an unusual choice of shoe, Kate wore a pair of burgundy heeled pumps by Tod's with a much higher and far thicker heel than we are used to seeing her in.

As the pair hot-footed it from Whitehorse to Carcross for a visit to a children's playground before boarding boarded a historic steam, Kate tactfully swapped her Herrera coat for a 706 grey wrap jacket by Canadian designer Sentaler.

Dominic Lipinski/PA

Made from a superfine alpaca and wool mix, Kate wore the piece over some skinny navy jeans and brown boots.

On Thursday the couple were joined by George and Charlotte as guests of honour at a children's garden party in the grounds of the Government House in Victoria where the family have been staying during the week-long tour.

Whilst most eyes were on the youngest members of the family, the style conscious were impressed yet again by Kate's wardrobe choice.

Wearing an elegant cream See By Chloe cotton-blend dress with a high-neck frill, the duchess ensured her footwear was perfectly appropriate for the occasion by forgoing her thinner heels in favour of a Mondoon Fleur wedge.

Duchess of Cambridge's travel wardrobe in India 1 /20 Duchess of Cambridge's travel wardrobe in India April 15, 2016 Wearing Beulah for a reception celebrating UK and Bhutanese friendship and cooperation Mark Large - Pool/Getty April 15, 2016 Wearing her favourite Penelope Chilvers boots during a trek to the Tiger's Nest Monastery Dominic Lipinski/PA April 14, 2016 Wearing a Tory Burch tulle dress to attend a dinner with the King and Queen of Bhutan Dominic Lipinski/PA April 14, 2016 Covering up in a Paul & Joe cape as she walks with the Queen of Bhutan in Thimphu Dominic Lipinski/PA April 14, 2016 Wearing a custom made coat dress by Emilia Wickstead as she touches down in Bhutan Dominic Lipinski/PA April 13, 2016 Stepping out in Topshop as she arrives in Pan Bari Village Joe Giddens/PA April 13, 2016 Pairing relaxed khaki skinny-fit Zara trousers with a white blouse to meet Rangers in Kaziranga National park before embarking on safari Heathcliff O'Malley/Daily Telegraph/PA April 12, 2016 Wearing a teal and green maxi dress by Anna Sui to watch dancers during the Bihu Festival celebration Heathcliff O'Malley/Daily Telegraph/PA April 12, 2016 Wearing Temperley London to meet the Prime Minister of India Narenda Mod in New Delhi's Hyderabad House Dominic Lipinski/PA April 12, 2016 Wearing a 50 dress by Glamorous and Russel & Bromley flat shoes to visit the contact centre which provides emergency help and long term support to homeless children Dominic Lipinski/PA April 11, 2016 Wearing Temperley London to attend a Garden party celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday Mark Large/Getty Images April 11 2016 Wearing Emilia Wickstead to meet young entrepreneurs in Mumbai Ian Vogler/Getty Images April 10, 2016 Wearing Jenny Packham at the Bollywood Inspired Charity Gala at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Chris Jackson/Getty Images April 10, 2016 Wearing Anita Dongre to play a game of cricket with local children at the Mumbai Oval Maidan ground Chris Jackson/Getty Images April 10, 2016 Wearing Alexander McQueen on day one of the tour as they lay a wreath at Taj Hotel, scene of Mumbai terror attacks Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images

Keep an eye on this page as we update it with more of the Duchess of Cambridge's looks throughout the week
Janssen joined Spurs from AZ Alkmaar in the summer and is set to be thrust into Mauricio Pochettino's side for the foreseeable future after Harry Kane suffered an ankle injury.

The Netherlands international was handed the second start of his Premier League career at the Riverside Stadium as Spurs secured a 2-1 victory to move up to second place in the table.

Heung-min Son grabbed the headlines with a well-taken brace but Cascarino is adamant Janssen's ability to offer something different to Pochettino's side - just as Ibrahimovic does for Jose Mourinho - will be crucial this season.

"Vincent Janssen is such an unselfish player and he showed how important that can be for Tottenham this season," Cascarino told the Times.

"He held the ball up brilliantly and brought players like Heung-min Son into play.

"It was a similar role to the one Zlatan Ibrahimovic played as Manchester United thrashed Leicester City.

"Janssen offered them [Spurs] a different kind of threat to when Harry Kane plays.

"Kane runs the lies, which sometimes doesn't quite work when Alli and Son play in a similar way, whereas Janssen was happy to play with his back to goal and act as a springboard for those around him," Cascarino added.

TODO: define component type apester

Janssen has scored just one goal for Spurs this season, which arrived during a comfortable 5-0 victory over Gillingham in the EFL Cup.

The Dutchman is set to retain his place in the side for tomorrow's Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow but Jamie Redknapp believes Son represents the most likely candidate to ease the goalscoring burden on Kane.
I t is an art usually pursued by highly skilled experts working in secret across Scotland.

Now Londoners can learn how to blend their own Scotch at a nine-week pop-up from drinks brand Chivas Regal. It is set to launch The Blend bar offering its popular Art of Blending experience at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane from October 3.

The Standard tried out the experience, which is hosted by Chivas Regal experts and costs 22.

Participants first learn the history and origins of single malt and grain whiskies before sampling top spirits from Speyside, Islay, and the Highlands and Lowlands plus a grain Scotch. They are then taught how to blend and create the Chivas Regal house style, before making their own to take home.

Phil Huckle, brand ambassador for Chivas, said as well as being a bit of fun the workshop was designed to challenge perceptions of blended whisky. It has got a bit of a bad rep as an inferior product  as something cheap and cheerful. But in reality blending is a highly skilled job and can create bespoke products, he said.

Some of the most expensive whiskies in the world  which cost 150,000 a bottle  are blended.

The best whisk(e)y bars in London 1 /10 The best whisk(e)y bars in London The Berkeley Bar & Terrace



Wilton Place, SW1X 7RL



Whisky has its reputation, theres no reason to hole up somewhere ancient and stuffy and sad. This new spot in the Berkeley is really quite beautiful, one of the best looking bars in London. In the backlit bar, theyve fine and rare whiskies alongside plenty else thats good, including lots of vintage Champagne. Londons lucky to have it. Milroy's, Soho & Spitalfields



3 Greek St & 76 Commercial St



At the back of Londons oldest whisky shop is a bookcase: push, and down the curled staircase is hidden a bar. Theyve more than 300 bottles going; plenty is Scotch, but theyve also plenty from across the globe; America, Australia, South Africa, Sweden and more all get a look in. Despite its long-standing history and despite the rarities on the shelves, Milroys is fun, relaxed, unpretentious. Last year, they opened up a second, much larger site in Spitalfields. Over four flights in a townhouse, theyve more than 1000 drams. The most anywhere? Probably. Still, its all overseen by Simo Simpson  he has a knack of keeping things down to earth. Somewhere to come in for just a drink, but if you want to learn something, you will, and without the risk of turning into a whisky w****er. The Britannia



44 Kipling St, SE1 3RU



Whisky stiffs may be disappointed to find the Britannia doesnt offer proper nosing glasses or anything of that sort, but for those that just want something damned good to drink and a decent place to do it, the Britannia does the job admirably. It does away with the usual trappings of whisky bars: there is no faux-antique furniture, no stuffy rules and all snobbishness should be left on the mat with the mud from your boots. The unpretentious atmosphere, choice of more than 100 whiskies and decent prices mean this backstreet boozer deservedly gets very busy. Boisdale of Canary Wharf



Cabot Place, E14 4QT



Perhaps Londons most famous whisky bar  and probably rightly so  the staggering menu at Boisdale has yet to be surpassed, with only the Spitalfields Milroys rivalling it for sheer number of bottles. Alongside the unrivalled Scotch menu, which is up there as one of the finest in the world, they serve English, Japanese, Welsh and Indian whiskies too. Sit in the bar: the amber glow from the library of bottles is a light that never fails to light up an evening. Staff show an impressive knowledge and, should you wish, there is an excellent heated cigar terrace to relax in. Bull In A China Shop



196 Shoreditch High St, E1 6LG



A few year back, the Mizuwari bar left a sad Japanese whisky shaped hole when it closed. Fortunately, Bull in a China Shop soon opened, offering a selection of more than 30 rare and premium whiskies, leaning heavily into the Japanese offerings. One of our favourite east London hangouts, cocktails are still terrific  the charcoal Old Fashioned and Wabi/Sabi are highlights  and they serve up every drink with care. They have some gorgeous high-end scotches too, so be sure to ask for them. One thing thats changed since opening is the food  they care far more about it now than they did then, which is wonderful news. Its difficult for bars to stick around these days, so its very good news that they have. The Pine Bar



44 Grosvenor Square, W1K 2HP



Jason Athertons Betterment restaurant in the Biltmore hotel might have wobbled through its opening, but his bar was spot on from the beginning. While the cocktails are decent, its better suited to something simple: theyve more than 100 whiskies, with some seriously high-end American offerings in there. The wine list is excellent, too. The Sun Tavern



441 Bethnal Green Rd, E2 0AN



This upmarket Bethnal Green cocktail bar is rightly proud of its Irish whiskey and Poitin offerings: since its re-opening in 2014, the pub has amassed around 40 different expressions of the good stuff, including small batch serves and cask strength selections. Their cocktail list is short and finely-considered. Just dont take a wine-loving friend: their wine list is as short as the whiskey list is long. The Connaught Bar



Connaught, Carlos Pl, W1K 2AL



Perhaps Londons most famous whisky bar  and probably rightly so  the staggering menu at Boisdale has yet to be surpassed, with only the Spitalfields Milroys rivalling it for sheer number of bottles. Alongside the unrivalled Scotch menu, which is up there as one of the finest in the world, they serve English, Japanese, Welsh and Indian whiskies too. Sit in the bar: the amber glow from the library of bottles is a light that never fails to light up an evening. Staff show an impressive knowledge and, should you wish, there is an excellent heated cigar terrace to relax in.

The pop-up will be at the brewery for nine weeks, with the first taking place as part of London Cocktail Week.

Like last year, the events cocktail village will be at Old Spitalfields Market, with 40 pop-up bars.

Highlights include a coffee cocktail class by Tia Maria and a Cahoots vintage train-turned-bar hosted by Bombay Sapphire where drinks can be enjoyed while journeying through the Hampshire countryside where the spirit is made.

Festival director Siobhan Payne said: We love creating the most unique and exciting opportunity for thousands of cocktail lovers to taste and learn about new drinks and visit great bars theyve not been to before.

Entry wristbands cost 10 per person, which gets visitors access to the market and 5 cocktails there and at hundreds of partner bars.

London Cocktail Week runs from October 3 to 9. For wristbands, go to DrinkUp.London

Best whisk(e)y gifts 1 /14 Best whisk(e)y gifts Flick through our gallery of whiskies perfect for Father's Day Old Pulteney 17-year-old 65, The Whisky Exchange, Buy it now

Tasting notes on this one read just read more please". It's very, very good  and has won all sorts of prizes to prove it. In the glass, it is the colour of autumn, but smells like late summer, of apples and berries and wood. It tastes a little sweet, sugared butter and toffee, which makes it incredibly easy to drink, but the sweetness is soft and goes quickly, leaving a kind of pluminess, and its a big, broad-shouldered kind of whisky despite the smoothness. Wonderful stuff. Its non chill-filtered and comes out at 46%ABV  enough to bite, not enough to take your tongue out  so it should please the scotch purists out there. A marked step up from the 12-year-old. The Pogues Irish Whiskey 28, Buy it now

Its hard to trust any drink endorsed by anyone famous  surely thats bumping up the price?  but maybe it makes sense for a band who once sang about Streams Of Whiskey to back this one. But whether youre a fan of the Pogues or not, this is fabulous stuff, and actually very reasonable. Its a typical Irish whiskey; smooth, easy-drinking, fresh, bright, and with a little sweet spice and pepper in there. Its blended, 50% malt and 50% grain, but luckily the malt flavour is the one coming through. Its incredibly moreish  dangerous for a whiskey, I suppose  but hey ho, there we go. Itll go with coke, but dont, leave it be. A little ice and away you go  and dont worry, were assured its not this stuff that did in Shane MacGowans teeth. anCnoc Rascan 52, Buy it now

This is a scotch-drinkers scotch, which is to say the flavours are big, powerful, and might be overwhelming for anyone who isnt a huge whisky fan. But for anyone who is, its delicious stuff, and a little unusual, too. It joined the anCnoc (you say a-nock) stable last year, so chances are itll be a new one for the lucky drinker. This highland whisky, shimmering and pale when poured, is peaty, full-throated, with smoke and wet air, but its got a fair share of vanilla and toffee, too. Youll want to grab your tweeds and walk out on the moors with this one. Too alive to be an after-dinner dram. Nikka Single Malt Miyagikyo 89, Buy it now

Japanese whiskys vogue looks set to continue, and with new releases like this, it deserves to. This is a luxury drink, meant to be slowly savoured, but it isnt heavy  floral always seems a peculiar word to associate with whisky, but here its right. This Nikka is little fruity, but theres a hint of chocolate too. In short: its pleasingly different. Some Japanese whisky suffers from blandness: not this. Johnnie Walker Blue Label 55, Buy it now

Blue Label is a funny old scotch. In some quarters, it has the reputation as the greatest whisky in the world, and its high price  around 150 for the full bottle  adds to its air of deliberate, exclusive luxury. On the other hand, its a blend, kept to 40%ABV and the mix of whiskies it in stays (mostly) a secret. Single malt snobs may scoff, but it is undoubtedly a liquid treat, as smooth as anything out there, with oak, leather and velvet, dried fruit, and, if you hold it in your mouth, a little fiery chilli from the Talisker in the blend. This is a statement present, a great big thank you, a whisky to be shared while reliving favourite memories. As a 20cl bottle  the price quoted here  it becomes just about affordable. Old Forester Bourbon 34, Buy it now

Not everyone likes scotch, and it doesnt always work: bourbon is better for summer days, barbeques and long, cool afternoons sat in the sun. Old Forester is a straightforward, plain speaking bourbon, and all the better for it. It has a high rye content, which puts it on the sweeter side  you really wont need a mixer  but makes it perfect for a tumbler filled with ice. Or, if youre really treating someone, stamp down some mint with a little sugar into the bottom of a glass (or metal cup, preferably), fill with crushed ice, put in a couple of teaspoonfuls of water and then fill to the brim with whiskey. Et voila: a Mint Julep is born. Lagavulin 8-year-old 53, Buy it now

Dont get funny about age statements: it may seem young at eight years old, but Lagavulin have chosen this to celebrate their 200th birthday, and consequently its unlikely to still be on the shelves this time next year, which makes it that little bit more speical. Its bright and not a little fiery  thats its youth showing  but has bags of character, big and bold, Lagavulin through and through, peat and smoke and sweetness. Its a swaggering scotch, but nicely balanced, a little savoury but with something like mintiness in it too. The big bursts of flavour mean a little goes a long way. Glen Moray Port Cask Finish 27, Buy it now

A bargain that punches above its price point, this Port Cask Finish is a particularly good example of Glen Moray, although their standard offering  even more bargainous at 22  is pretty good too. Its single malt, buttery, typical of a light Speyside whisky, with not a hint of smoke, although theres a little caramel in the flavour, and something like cinnamon too, but the kind of cinnamon that gives Christmas food its spice, nothing too sweet. It slips down easily, is best neat, and would be perfect for someone who is just getting into Scotch. Glenlivet Cipher 110, Buy it now

A black bottle, no information, and only 1,600 bottles in the UK. Theyre calling it the worlds most mysterious whisky, and whether or not you care if your single malt could be an extra in an Poirot, its damned tasty stuff. If it's a big whisky drinker you're treating, theres fun to be had trying to figure out the flavours  and if you really want to go for it, theres an interactive flavour wheel to test yourself with on the Glenlivet website. At 48%ABV, its good and strong, and richer than this famous Speyside distillery is known for. Leave it to sit in the glass for a few minutes to get the best of it. If youre looking for something cheaper, the Founders Reserve is worth trying  very light, something of a session whisky  though if you can get your hands on the 12-year-old, do: its better. Hicks and Healey Classic English Whiskey 145, Buy it now

Goodness this is expensive: nevertheless, consider it an investment  youll never be in trouble again. Its rare, produced in small batches, and was the first whisky produced in Cornwall for 300 years. Theyre currently campaigning to be named the UKs best craft spirit, and good luck to them  theyve already got a huge fan in whisky expert Jim Murray. Its tasty stuff: rich, thick and oily, but in the way whisky should be. All honey and caramel, and very smooth. It's bottled at cask strength, so it feels a little bit like being hit by a velvet boxing glove. To be sipped slowly, and saved for celebrations.

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C hef Nuno Mendes, owner of Taberna do Mercado in Spitalfields, and executive chef at the Chiltern Firehouse restaurant owned by hotelier Andre Balazs, grew up in the Alentejo region of southern Portugal. Mendes memories of his childhood are peppered with stories of going out to eat quite sophisticated food with his foodie father, from seafood to risottos. Now a Londoner who has previously also lived in New York, Miami and Mexico, here Mendes tells us where his favourite places are to eat, drink and sleep in one of his favourite Portuguese cities.

Where do you always return to eat when you visit?

Ramiro (Cervejaria Ramiro, Av. Almirante Reis n1 - H, 1150-007) is one. Every time Im in Lisbon I make a point of going back here. Its one of the places that my father used to take me and its one of the most special places for seafood in Lisbon. It feels like a proper workers restaurant, and it has amazing clams and amazing crab, its all about the seafood. And you always finish with a prego (a steak sandwich). I was very much inspired by experiences here for my own restaurant, Taberna.

I also really like Taberna da Rua Das-Flores (Taberna da Rua Das-Flores 103, 1200-194). The chef is a very dear friend, [and] his knowledge of Portuguese and colonial cooking is so vast, that he incorporates all of this into a really fun menu that changes all the time. He has one foot on tradition and one giving an ode to other worlds. The space itself is so cute and magical. Its a lovely restaurant. Theres no bookings for dinner - you just walk in, and you may have to stand in line for a while, but its always worth the experience.

Where are your favourite quick food (say street food or market) options in Lisbon, and whats good to order in them?

There are a lot of places that serve pregos (steak sandwiches) and bifanas (pork sandwiches) but you get them late at night. They only operate outside a lot of the good nightclubs and bars. Some of them are very good, and some of them are absolutely rubbish, so its a bit hit-and-miss. And because they are mobile, they go from place to place, and they dont really have names, so theyre hard to pinpoint and recommend. Obviously the Mercado da Ribeira has a quick food offering, but its quite a sterile environment. It doesnt have that grittiness that you find in some of these places.

Where is good for great snacks and people watching?

There is an area called the Adamastor in Santa Caterina that is really cute, where youd go for a drink. Its a nice atmosphere, its got a beautiful view over Lisbon and its beautiful hills. The bars around there [dont] have good food options, and theyre quite touristy, but theyre good for the view.

What about somewhere for a glass of wine?

In the whole of Cais do Sodre there is now a culture of wine bars. I have been to three or four that have popped up that are great because theyre all offering an excited, more interesting experience with food and wine, with a reasonable price point. They also have a really nice variety showcasing young rather than old winemakers.

Where would you go for good ginjinha?

One of my favourite places for ginginha (the Portuguese liqueur made with ginga berries) is Ginjinha do Largo de Santo Antonio (1110 026, Praca Dom Pedro IV 71) at the bottom of the hill. Its a really cute little place, and its been there for many years. I remember going there when I was about 19 years old with my friends, and wed get a couple of little shot glasses of gingjinya. There are two ways to drink it, with or without the cherries. Personally I like it with them.

Lisbon - in pictures 1 /12 Lisbon - in pictures Stunnning The view over Lisbon to the sea Visit Lisboa Torre de Belem Visit Lisboa Rossio The main central square in Lisbon Visit Lisboa Magnificent Praca do Comercio Visit Lisboa Sweet heaven Lisbon is packed with delicious pastelarias Visit Lisboa All in the detail Beautiful Portuguese tiling in Lisbon Visit Lisboa Lisbon at dusk Visit Lisboa Must-see Rossio Square in Lisbon Visit Lisboa The only way to get around It's all about taking trams in Lisbon Visit Lisboa

Which shops do you like buying specialist food products from?

Shopping in Mercado da Ribeira, in the actual market, is still pretty good. There is a really great fishmonger there, some really great products, some great vegetables, some dried fruits, a lot of speciality foodstuffs. What I like about that place is that it still functions as a market.

Where do you like to stay there?

I love the Bairro Alto Hotel - my favourite in Lisbon (Praca Luis de Camoes, 1200-243). Its centrally located and its a beautiful boutique hotel, with a lot of attention to detail and a really lovely rooftop bar with a gorgeous view over the whole of LIsbon. Its a special place. I do love staying there.

Final tips for food or drink in Lisbon?

I think its worth going out to Sintra, which is an amazing city and a beautoful village. There are very few places like it around the world, and the fact that youre only 25-30 minutes away from Lisbon means it wont take a huge amount of time to get there means its worth going. Within Lisbon, theres a flea market, the Feira da Ladra, which is open on Saturdays in the Campo de Santa Clara, and worth going to.

Chiltern Firehouse, 1 Chiltern Street, W1U, chilternfirehouse.com;Taberna do Mercado, 107b Commercial Street, E1, tabernamercado.co.uk
A cold-hearted fraudster who used her dead mothers pension to gamble in Las Vegas has been handed a two-year suspended sentence.

Maria Blacklock, 58, of Maida Vale, was sentenced today at Inner London Crown Court after pleading guilty in July to fraud by false representation and money laundering offences.

She will also undertake 150 hours unpaid work following the lengthy investigation by the City Of London Polices Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.

In total, she fraudulently gained 66,000 during three years of conceit.

Ms Blacklock moved to Las Vegas from London the mid-2000s, along with her mother who received a monthly state pension as well as a private pension through Pheonix Group insurance company.

Callous: Maria Blacklock withdrew her dead mother's pension money in three Las Vegas casinos / Shutterstock / Don Mammoser

After she died in June 2011, Ms Blacklock falsified life certificates and carried on withdrawing both of her mothers pensions illegally.

This amounted to a total of 31,320 in state pension payments and 35,111 in pension payments from Phoenix Group.

Ms Blacklock returned to London in 2013 after her husband fell ill, and she was arrested two years later following a tip-off to police from her former friend.

Investigators found she had made over 100 cash withdrawals from her dead mothers bank cards in three different Las Vegas casinos.

Large numbers of cash withdrawals had also been made from the cards at ATMs in the Maida Vale area of North London since Ms Blacklocks return.

Pheonix Group investigators examined recordings of phone calls with a person who they had thought was Ms Blacklocks mother (as in the video above). It quickly became clear it was Ms Blacklock making the calls.

Financial Investigator Simon Styles, from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department said: In my 30 years as a police officer and investigator I have never come across an act that was as callous and cold-hearted as this. From our enquiries, we saw that at the time immediately prior to and after her mothers death, Blacklock was at various casinos gambling away her mothers money.

She deliberately set out to defraud not only the insurer who was paying her mothers private pension, but also the DWP and the taxpayer who ultimately picks up the bill for the state pension payments.

Blacklock thought that being in Las Vegas would mean she wouldnt get caught out, but wherever we find evidence of fraud or wrongdoing, we will do all we can to bring that person to justice and international borders will not prevent us from doing so."
A young man allegedly murdered after a trivial row in a takeaway had moved to London to pursue his dream career and send money back home to the Czech Republic, his devastated family said today.

Zdenek Makar, 31, died after allegedly being hit over the head with a heavy bike chain and then kicked repeatedly as he lay on the ground on a footbridge near All Saints DLR station in Poplar.

Mr Makar, known as Zed, was walking home from an after-work drink with colleagues from West End catering and events firm Harbour and Jones when he reportedly became involved in a row with a group of youths in a fried chicken shop.

Police believe he was followed and attacked before a cyclist found him lying in a pool of his own blood. He was pronounced dead at 12.20am on Thursday.

A pile of floral tributes now lie at the scene with a mountain of cards and candles spelling out his nickname Zed.

Tributes: A memorial to Zdenek Makar at the scene of the attack / Nigel Howard

His older sister Adela Makarova, who is flying to the capital for a memorial service on Saturday, told the Standard: My little brother was a big person with a big heart.

I am speechless. Its been very hard for all our family to understand why this happened to him.

He came to London ten years ago because he wanted to learn the English language and he loved it.

Killed: Zdenek Makar was battered to death / Met Police

I begged him to come back home, I needed him to be close to me and he wanted to come back eventually.

But he also wanted to be prosperous for us and was doing so well at his job. He needed to show the whole family how successful and generous he could be.

An online campaign to raise money to help repatriate his body has reached more than 15,000 in two days.

Mr Makars housemate, Roman Blazovic, said: We were very, very close and he was a great man.

We went travelling all over the world and I lived with him for six years.

Close friend OJ Pena wrote on Facebook: The anger has no limits knowing he was killed over a stupid argument and just around the corner from me.

He will always be remembered for his smile and positivism. I hope his family get justice

Raymond Sculley, 29, from Poplar, was due to appear at Thames Magistrates Court this morning charged with murder.

A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy have been released on police bail as investigations continue.
P olice were called to a shop in Putney after reports of a "loud bang" in the early hours of this morning.

Residents called police after hearing the noise in a shop just before 5am in Upper Richmond Road.

Fire crews and police sealed off the road at the junction with Putney Bridge Road while they investigated.

Four people were evacuated from above the shop after firefighters discovered that a boiler had exploded.

Dramatic images showed glass scattered across the tarmac of the closed road.

Fire crews later reported that the incident was caused by an issue with a water tank.

A Met Police spokesman said: We were called to reports of a loud bang in the rear of a shop.

Police worked to assist London Fire Brigade who later said they believed it was caused by a water tank issue.

A spokesman for LFB added: "Fire crews evacuated four people from above the shops.

"The gas authority were also called to deal with the incident."
N otorious gangster John Goldfinger Palmer was under electronic surveillance by a secret police intelligence unit for 16 years until his assassination by a hitman last year, according to a BBC investigation.

Palmer, 65, once described as Britains richest criminal, was shot dead in the grounds of his Essex mansion in June last year in what police believe was a contract killing.

Now a documentary by veteran broadcaster Roger Cook reveals since 1999 police had run an intelligence operation on Palmer from the RAF Spadeadam base in Cumbria.

A former intelligence officer, who did not wish to be identified, said the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca)  now the National Crime Agency  had gathered intelligence on Palmer in an operation codenamed Alpine because of concerns of corruption in the Metropolitan police.

He says: Some of that intel was used to inform police investigations into various parts of his criminal organisation.

We knew what police officers he had in his pocket, what other criminals he was mixing with, and using for various criminal enterprises.

Palmers phone conversations were being tapped and his movements monitored helping police to infiltrate criminal networks. The documentary raises the question of whether this was a possible motive for his murder.

Palmer earned his Goldfinger nickname after being implicated in the Brinks-Mat gold bullion heist in 1983.

Tonights Inside Out programme is on BBC One at 7.30pm.
A man accused of murdering a Czech businessman following an argument in an East End chicken shop was remanded in custody today.

Zdenek Makar, 31, was allegedly beaten to death by a group of males wielding a heavy bike chain and lock late last Wednesday September 21.

He was also repeatedly kicked by the gang as he lay helpless on the pavement, it is said.

Mr Makar had stopped off at Perfect Fried Chicken on East India Dock Road on his way home to nearby Poplar after work drinks with catering and events firm Harbour & Jones.

Raymond Sculley, 29, is accused of being one of at least four people who attacked the businessman as he left after a brief row with a teenager inside.

Sculley spoke only to confirm his name and address when he appeared briefly at Thames Magistrates Court.

He indicated no plea to a single charge of murder.

A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy have been bailed until early October pending further enquiries.

Magistrate Phil Dean remanded Sculley, of Poplar, in custody ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
Elli Avram Sets The Internet On Fire With Her Bold And Sizzling Hot Pictures In A Towel; Check Here
T he Evening Standards Food for London campaign continued to build momentum today as it hit the 1 million mark after just eight days.

The milestone was reached as the Standard unveiled a new 275,000 grants fund to provide financial support for inspirational groups that are tackling food waste or hunger across the capital.

The grants programme is backed by 200,000 from Citi banking group and 75,000 from the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund, and takes the total amount of cash marshalled by our initiative to 1.1 million.

That includes more than 800,000 announced last week for The Felix Project, our flagship charity, which picks up surplus fresh produce from food suppliers and delivers it at no cost to charities that feed people in need.

From today, other charities, community groups, social enterprises and community interest companies can apply in an open funding round for grants of between 1,000 and 20,000.

The money aims to support groups which have devised resourceful solutions to repurpose wasted food and use surplus fresh food to feed the hungry.

Sarah Sands, editor of the Standard, said: This expansion of our campaign beyond The Felix Project is timely in that it will not only throw a spotlight on other groups leading the way with ingenious new solutions to wasted food and addressing hunger, but will also provide them with some much-needed additional revenue.

The donation from Citi takes their total investment in Food for London to 460,000 and will include 60,000 set aside for capacity building.

James Bardrick, head of Citi in the UK, said: Food waste and food poverty are serious issues facing cities around the world, which Citi is already addressing in places such as New York, Madrid and Sao Paolo.

But, uniquely in London, were investing our time and 200,000 of funding in discovering and supporting pioneering ideas developed by the community for the community.

We are also investing a further 60,000 to enable The London Community Foundation to provide support, consultancy and guidance to the grant winners to help them grow capacity.

London is a city with a history of innovation so Ive no doubt were going to see some exciting solutions that impact positively  not only in this city, but also providing inspiration for others around the world.

Grant applications should be received by November 11 and will be managed by The London Community Foundation, the charity that manages the Dispossessed Fund and is responsible for the grant-making process.

The foundation has worked with the Standard since the launch of the Dispossessed Fund in 2010 and has overseen the delivery of 11 million of grant funding to help the most deprived people and communities across the capital.

Our Food for London campaign

What is it?

This 1 million-plus initiative seeks to redistribute surplus food to tackle food poverty.

What are we doing?

1. Backing the scale-up of The Felix Project  our flagship charity  which picks up surplus produce from food suppliers and delivers it at no cost to charities that provide meals or snacks for those in need, including the homeless, the elderly and those with mental health issues.

2. Awarding grants to groups through an open grants programme.

Who can apply for grants?

If you are a charity, community group, CIC or social enterprise tackling food waste and/or using fresh food to address hunger, you can apply for a grant of between 1,000 and 20,000.

Apply by November 11 to The London Community Foundation, the charity that manages the Dispossessed Fund, at: www.londoncf.org.uk/grants/food-for-london.aspx

Who are our backers?

So far we have raised more than 800,000 for Felix from Citi, Sainsburys, Mark and Mo Constantine (co-founders of Lush), The Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund, a hedge fund boss and the Felix Byam Shaw Foundation, which has pledged to match-fund money raised by our campaign for Felix with up to 750,000.

The 275,000 open grants programme is funded by Citi and the Dispossessed Fund. How you can help Felix

The Felix Project is looking for:

Food suppliers including supermarkets, wholesalers and food outlets to donate surplus food,

Charities which provide meals for those in need and could benefit from a free supply of fresh food.

Volunteers  to drive Felix vans, help with deliveries and collections, or in the warehouse.

Daisy@TheFelixProject.org
L eslie Reed, a rake-thin father of two, has learned to get by on a food budget of just 25 a week, but sometimes he gets derailed by an unforeseen expense. Four days ago it was an arrears council tax bill for 21 that plunged this unemployed painter into crisis. It meant he had only 4 left to buy food for the entire week.

The 44-year-old cobbled together a plan. With just a carton of orange juice in his fridge and four tins of baked beans and sweetcorn on his shelf, he resolved to live on a tin a day.

It would be tough, he told himself, but he only had to survive until the regular Tuesday lunch at St Laurences Larder, a charity in Brondesbury, where he could look forward to a hot three-course meal.

By the time Leslie arrived at the charity for the Tuesday lunch and eyed the freshly made butternut squash soup starter, he was ravenous. He sat at a trestle table below the stained glass windows and got down to business. All around him, men and women of all ages and ethnicities were enjoying a hot meal and a bit of friendly conversation, but Leslie was too hungry to talk.

Volunteer cook: Gordon Cole / Matt Writtle

For 120 marginalised Londoners like Leslie  rough sleepers, the elderly, recovering addicts, those struggling with mental illness or claimants who have had their benefits suspended  this brave little charity in west London is a twice-weekly lifeline.

But the lifeline for this lifeline  in the form of its weekly free food supply  comes from a similarly plucky charity called The Felix Project, the flagship backed by our Food for London campaign. Every week without fail, a Felix van picks up surplus fresh produce from the back of local supermarkets and delivers a mouth-watering hamper of nutritious fruit and vegetables.

Every scrap that Felix brings to us is turned into a meal, said Stephen Chamberlain, the founder of St Laurences Larder, which he runs with the help of 20 volunteers. Stephen, 70, a former general manager of LEscargot restaurant in Soho and now the lay chair to the Anglicans in the Deanery of Brent, started the charity in 2012 in response to the new austerity.

We hosted a food-bank and had 40 people coming to collect tins of food, he said. They included parents whose spouse had been made redundant or who had suffered the break-up of a marriage and had fallen into poverty.

I would offer these often desperate parents a cup of tea and a sandwich and they would quietly admit, Im starving.

I started to cook them hot pasta but they were too ashamed to eat in front of others, so they would take it home in a bag. Gradually we built a clientele who felt they could rely on us and not be judged.

But later Stephen lost this regular food supply when the food bank moved to Harlesden and for a while he gamely battled on, trying to provide a minimal ad hoc food service funded from his personal savings. Then one day earlier this year his prayers were answered. He read about a new charity about to start up called The Felix Project.

We were the very first charity to contact them, even before they opened their doors, he laughed. They have completely revitalised our service and provide us with more than 6,000-worth of food a year.

Our guests get a scrumptious soup followed by a vegetarian dish and a dessert. They also get bags of pasta, fresh peppers, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and pasta sauce to take home with them and help get them through the week, all of it supplied by Felix.

For Londoners like Leslie, this food is the difference between health and sickness and quite possibly, he says, life and death.

Without it I would be in deep trouble, he said. I was working until two years ago when I slipped off a ladder and injured myself. I also got gangrene. He held up a ravaged right hand with two missing finger ends. Surgeons battled to save my arm. Ive had skin grafts. Now I live in a homeless hostel.

Leslie was happy to talk but did not want to be photographed. I never thought I would end up in a place like this. Who does?

Douglas Hope, 49, a former warehouse worker sitting at the next table, said: I had a minor stroke two years ago. It put me in a bad way and I quit my job. Coming here gets me out of the house. Its the highlight of my week.

For Gordon Cole, 41, a former binman for Islington Council who now volunteers as a cook, the charity is a bulwark against depression.

Two years ago I was made redundant and I moved into a homeless hostel, he said. In the hostel, my dinner is baked beans straight from the tin, but when I come here I eat healthy and that helps me feel better about myself. This place is a home from home.

Emerging from the kitchen to serve trifle for dessert, Stephen said: We have had more than 3,000 guests through our doors this year. For them, to sit down twice a week for a hot meal and feel part of a community, is totally invaluable.

He scanned the room which was on to its second sitting of the day and added: I feel quite emotional about Felix and what it is doing. For people down on their luck and at the lowest ebb of their lives, make no mistake, Felix is a godsend. And not just for their stomachs. For their state of mind.

Charities such as St Laurences Larder can apply from today for a grant of up to 20,000 from the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund. See box for how to apply.
A n elderly man is in hospital with serious head injuries after he was attacked outside a mosque in north London.

The man in his 70s was found in the street after the attack in Kilburn in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He was rushed to a north London hospital by paramedics where he is in a serious but stable condition.

Detectives in Brent are now investigating the allegation of grievous bodily harm, the Met Police said.

The attack happened outside the UK Albanian Muslim Community and Cultural Centre on Rupert Road, south Kilburn.

Police and ambulances were called at 3.40am where they found the man with head injuries.

No one has yet been arrested and police are continuing with their inquiries.

No one at the mosque was available for comment when contacted by the Standard.
F our people were rushed to hospital this morning after a crash near a busy north east London roundabout.

Two cars were involved in the smash in Ilford at around 4.30am.

Police said one of the drivers has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving following the incident.

Photos from the scene show police tape cordoning off the area on Ilford Lane with a wrecked black car left in the road.

Road closed: Police taped off the scene at Ilford Lane. / Zaheer Haque Sports Radio Presenter

The crash happened near the roundabout at the top of Ilford Lane, near the junction with Britannia Road.

A Met Police spokesman told the Standard: "Two cars were in collision. There were four injured parties who were taken to hospital."

He added: "Their injuries are not life-threatening."

The road was closed both ways and remained shut for more than three hours.
L iverpool Street station has tonight been brought to a standstill after a person was struck by a train in east London.

Pictures from the major London hub show hundreds of passengers crammed onto the concourse following major disruption as a result of an emergency incident at Goodmayes station.

British Transport Police were called just after 5.30pm to reports a man had been struck by a train travelling between Liverpool Street and Gidea Park.

A spokesman said the man had been rushed to hospital and described the incident as "non-suspicious".

National Rail said all lines between Liverpool Street and Shenfield were blocked as a result.

Delays and cancellations to Abellio Greater Anglia and TfL Rail services are expected until 8pm.

Passengers took to Twitter to vent their frustration as they struggle to get home as some complained of dangerous overcrowding.

Busy: Passengers at Liverpool Street station Zaheer Haque / Zaheer Haque

TfL Rail tweeted customers to warn them against using Stratford station which is also said to be busy.

One user said: Liverpool Street station is literally like hell on earth during rush hour

Daniel Friar posted: Why are there now NO trains at all leaving Liverpool Street? So dangerous in the station right now @greateranglia

Another woman said: Avoid Liverpool Street station at all costs.
P olice have launched an investigation after a van driver allegedly attempted to abduct two young boys in west London.

The boys, both 11, were reportedly approached by a man in a silver van at around 7.30pm on Saturday as they walked down a rural lane in Harefield.

They were near The Old Orchard pub on Park Lane when the incident took place.

Police are now scouring CCTV footage and both boys are helping in the investigation.

A Hillingdon police spokesperson said: Hillingdon police are investigating an allegation of attempted abduction, which occurred on Saturday 24 September 2016 at approximately 7.30pm in Park Lane, Harefield, near to the Old Orchard Public House.

The incident concerns two 11-year-old boys who were approached by the driver of a silver van.

They continue to assist the police with this investigation.

Extensive CCTV enquiries are being conducted.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Hillingdon CID office on 0208 2461710 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111
B ritain has a key role to play looking after migrants kicked out of the Jungle camp in Calais following its complete and definitive destruction, President Francois Hollande said today.

Frances Socialist head of state said Brexit would be no excuse for the UK shirking its international responsibilities. Mr Hollande was speaking during his first official visit to Calais. He deliberately avoided the vast shanty town where some 10,000 people are hoping to claim asylum in Britain.

In a speech at the nearby port, Mr Hollande said: We need to completely and definitively dismantle the Jungle camp. This is an operation that is of course exceptional because we are in an exceptional situation. We must handle it methodically and determinedly. We must also be humane.

Our objectives are clear  it is necessary to guarantee the security of people in Calais, to maintain public order, and to assure proper conditions for the migrants.

Mr Hollande called for the fight against people smugglers to be strengthened and for the firmness of the French-British border to be guaranteed.

But he also said the British had to play their part in the humanitarian effort that France performs.

In a clear reference to the UKs decision to leave the EU, Mr Hollande added: It is not because the United Kingdom has taken a sovereign decision that the United Kingdom is released from its responsibilities in relation to France. Other senior politicians in France have called for all the migrants in the Jungle to be sent straight to Britain, where they can claim asylum.

But Mr Hollande today told police, port officials, and local councillors that inhabitants of the Jungle would first of all be dispersed to welcome centres in other parts of France.

Despite this, two UK-funded walls of just under a mile are being built along the main road next to the Jungle, where migrants regularly try to board lorries. French authorities fully expect migrants to come back to Calais after dispersion, just as they have always done in the past.

Half the Jungle camp was dismantled earlier this year and bulldozers are set to return in the next few weeks.

Immigration is set to be a key issue in presidential elections in France in May, and todays visit to Calais was a clear sign that Mr Hollande wants to show his toughness on the issue.

His conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy, who wants to see migrants sent directly to Britain, visited Calais last week.
A major increase in the minimum wage to 10 was pledged by Labour today as Jeremy Corbyns party tried to turn from infighting to policies for the next general election.

The flagship announcement was made by shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who said it was the level needed for a decent life.

In a move that would strengthen trade unions, he also vowed Labour would bring back national wage bargaining, arguing this would end the race to the bottom.

Mr McDonnell told conference that the Living Wage  currently 7.20 per hour for workers aged over 25, 6.70 per hour for those aged 21 to 24, and 5.30 per hour for ages 18 to 20  was too low.

Although it is due to rise to more than 9 in 2020, he said Labour would go further if elected and make it 10 an hour.

Under the next Labour government, everyone will earn enough to live on, he declared. When we win the next election we will write a real Living Wage into law.

He said 200,000 workers were getting less than the legal minimum.

Todays National Executive Committee backed a 10-point statement of party values drawn up by Mr Corbyn, including a commitment to a more equal society, universal childcare, rent controls and opposing wars.

Earlier, Mr McDonnell had urged Labour MPs who have resigned from the shadow cabinet to return to the partys front bench, saying: Id like to see virtually all of them back.

He hinted that the next shadow cabinet reshuffle was being postponed until November to allow for a wider look at Labours internal democracy.

However, that apparent olive branch only alarmed centrist MPs who believe the leadership is plotting to let grassroots activists  who back Mr Corbyn  choose shadow cabinet members.

Mr McDonnell also set out plans to borrow 100 billion to support industry, saying Labour would offer an interventionist government ready to protect key home-grown businesses against global market pressures.

We are setting up a national investment bank, he said. We are putting into that bank 100 billion. Yes, that will be borrowed, but it will be borrowed at the cheapest rates in our history.

Shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis announced that Labour would build three new ships to be deployed in support of aircraft carriers. He presented the move as a boost for members of trade unions Unite and the GMB, saying: Your members help defend us and we will help defend them.
L abour vowed to oppose a hard Brexit today, saying the deal on leaving the EU could not be left in the hands of Conservative Right-wingers.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry spoke out amid growing concern in the City that Theresa May is being pushed by senior Tories into abandoning full access to the single market at next years negotiations.

Infighting in the Government has been highlighted by two new books on the battles in Cabinet over the EU referendum, including a charge made by David Cameron that ministers including Mrs May were lily-livered.

Ms Thornberry, who is also Labours Brexit spokeswoman, told the Liverpool conference that Labour would accept the verdict of the referendum but that did not mean agreeing with Brexiters like Boris Johnson and Liam Fox.

We have been given our instructions by the British people, and we must act on them, she said.

But that does not mean letting the Tory party go into a locked room and take all the decisions by themselves on the future of our country.

She announced that if elected Labour would guarantee current levels of EU regional grants  worth 762 million in London  until beyond 2020.

Theresa May has released details of her private correspondence with Mr Cameron to counter the claim that she was deemed lily-livered on immigration.

A new book says a visibly deflated Mr Cameron was defeated in talks and turned to one official and said: I cant do it without their support. If it wasnt for my lily-livered cabinet colleagues...

But according to Mays camp, she twice wrote letters to him calling for an emergency brake on immigration.
T heresa May's allies have hit back at claims she was called lily-livered by David Cameron in a jibe over his tough immigration plans.

A new book claims former Home Secretary Mrs May had blocked Mr Camerons proposals to curb the numbers of people coming into Britain from the EU.

Now supporters close to Mrs May have taken the unusual step of releasing details of her private correspondence with Mr Cameron in response to the claims.

The book, written by Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman, said Mr Cameron was stopped by Mrs May from demanding an emergency brake in 2014 to avoid upsetting EU leaders.

It quotes one Cameron aide as saying: "Hammond spoke first and argued we just couldn't do something that would receive an immediate raspberry in Europe. Theresa said very, very little, and simply said that we just couldn't go against Merkel."

A "visibly deflated" Mr Cameron was said to have turned to one official and said: "I can't do it without their support. If it wasn't for my lily-livered cabinet colleagues...."

But details released by Mrs Mays camp suggest she wrote two letters to the PM in November 2014 and May 2015 where she argued the case for an emergency brake.

In the first she is said to have proposed the emergency brake as one of a series of measures to rebalance the rights of citizens to move within the EU so national governments can act in the best interests of their resident populations.

In the second she was said to have argued that the emergency brake was crucial to cutting numbers and convincing the public the Government was capable of policing its own borders.
K en Livingstone today urged Mayor Sadiq Khan to back Jeremy Corbyn rather than pursue his own leadership ambitions.

Amid increasing talk of Mr Khan being the next Labour MP to try to gain the keys to No 10, Mr Livingstone warned: The track record of the former mayors of London is they dont become prime minister.

Just days ago, author Lord Archer predicted Mr Khan would be the next Labour premier.

The Mayor, who backed Owen Smith during the partys leadership race, is due to speak to Labours annual rally in Liverpool tomorrow, and so is deputy leader Tom Watson, with Tuesday being dubbed rebels day.

But ex-mayor Mr Livingstone urged Mr Khan to throw his full support behind Mr Corbyn after his resounding victory in the leadership contest.

What Sadiq wants is a Labour government that will provide him with the investment that London needs, he is not going to get that under the Tories so weve all got to work to get a Labour government, he said.

Former Tooting MP Mr Khan, who distanced himself from Mr Corbyn after being elected Mayor, has called for all sides of the bitterly divided Labour Party to pull together after his victory against Mr Smith and has congratulated him.

Mr Livingstone, currently suspended from Labour over remarks he made about Hitler and Zionism, hailed Mr Corbyns win as brilliant and was clearly upset at not being in Liverpool at the conference.

Its like my life has been gutted  not being there, not being able to join in the celebration of Jeremys triumph, he said.

He also said MPs and councillors should all be up for automatic re-selection and backed the shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, saying: Hes like me  a bit nastier than Jeremy. John McDonnell says what he thinks  just like I do.
P rince William and Kate braved torrential rain and strong winds as they touched down in Canada's wilderness today.

The royal couple decided to press ahead with their trip to Bella Bella, a remote village in the heart of Great Bear Rainforest, known as the Amazon of the North.

They had a rocky flight experiencing strong turbulence on route to the tiny one strip airport.

Dressed casually, Kate sported a Holland and Holland jacket and Zara jeans and was wearing earrings by Pippa Small, a Canadian designer.

Wet and windy: The Duchess of Cambridge arrives under an umbrella at the Heiltsuk First Nations community in Bella Bella / Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA Wire

The couple were driven straight to their first engagement in a motorcade.

Their children - Prince George and Princess Charlotte - remained at Government House, Victoria with their nanny.

Royal visit: William and Kate visited Bella Bella during their eight-day tour of Canada / Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Some of the royal couple's planned activities had to be scrapped - most notably a float plane tour of the area the couple had been hugely looking forward to.

Officials felt as the area was covered in cloud there was little point as the visibility was very poor.

Meet and greet: The Duchess of Cambridge meets chiefs from the Heiltsuk First Nations community in Bella Bella / Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Despite drastic changes both William and Kate, were said to be "hugely excited" about the visit.

Royal aides said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were still determined to make the most of their visit despite the severe weather warning.

"It is still a beautiful place in the rain and everyone is prepared to get wet," said a Kensington Palace spokesman.

Bad weather: The couple were forced to change their itinerary after severe weather / Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The area was recently named as Canada's commitment to The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy (QQC), a unique network of forest conversation initiatives involving all 53 countries of the Commonwealth.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted with a traditional welcoming ceremony - which was moved inside a community centre instead of being outside.

PrinceWilliam.mp4

They received a rapturous welcome from the small Heiltsuk First Nation community whose claim to the lands in the area were recognised by Queen Victoria in the form of a staff, presented to the people by a representative of the monarch.

Welcome: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are greeted with a traditional welcoming ceremony by the Heiltsuk First Nations community in Bella Bella / Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

In a community hall or "big house" filled with the Heiltsuk people William and Kate were honoured as "people of standing"  with important men known as as Hemas and the women Umaks.

Kate and William arrive in Vancouver 1 /12 Kate and William arrive in Vancouver Crowds await the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Victoria Habour PA The Royal couple arrive to start Day Two of their tour of Canada PA The royal couple were given earplugs for the 35-minute boat plane journey from in the 18-seater Twin Otter PA The couple received a civic welcome in Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre Getty Images Thousands of well-wishers had been queuing since 5am to see the Royal couple PA The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to members of the public as she arrives by seaplane PA The children were left behind in Victoria's Government House being cared for by their nanny REUTERS Kate wore a red and white Alexander McQueen dress, a nod to Canada's national colours REUTERS The couple received a civic welcome in Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre AP

Lining an open space in the community centres hall were around 12 hereditary priests in their colourful ceremonial costumes with long flowing headdresses made from animal pelts.

The Duke and Duchess were greeted by each in turn before a welcoming dance was performed and musicians played drums.

A spokesman for the community said: The welcoming dance performed was for royalty and is seen on very special occasions.

It is performed every time theres anybody the community want to welcome and bring into the community as a sign of good faith.

Later the royal couple will travel to nearby Mcloughlin Bay where the rainforest will be officially committed to The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy during a brief ceremony.

The Royal visitors will also have an opportunity to see one of the new walking trails being constructed in the area.
P rince William today a praised First Nation tribe for helping save one of the worlds most important rainforests.

In a speech in the remote wilderness village of Bella Bella, William praised the work of the he historic owners of the land, the Heiltsuk people for protecting the area known as the "Amazon of the North."

He said his grandmother has asked him to thank them to be part of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy network.

He said, "Her Majesty has asked me to convey her sincere thanks to the Government of British Columbia, and the Federal Government of Canada, for nominating your innovative Ecosystem-Based Management programme in Great Bear to be part of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy network.

This is a substantial dedication which will highlight a more collaborative approach to sustainable forest conservation. Other Commonwealth countries will benefit from sharing the knowledge and expertise you have gained by working together with First Nations, industry and environmental organisations to establish this unique forestry management programme," he said as Kate watched on.

The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy was launched in Malta last year - appealing to all 53 Commonwealth nations to contribute areas of indigenous forest, to be preserved in perpetuity in The Queen's name, marking her service as Head of the Commonwealth.

Speech: Prince William speaks during an event marking the dedication of the Great Bear Rainforest as part of the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy initiative / REUTERS

He went on, "I am pleased to say that more than 15 countries have already dedicated forestry projects or are planting new forests, with another 10 finalising their submissions."

By 2018, it is expected that all 53 countries of the Commonwealth will have joined The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, creating a global network of forests that will benefit indigenous communities, wildlife and tourism for the future.

William added, "The Commonwealth has at its heart always been about the values that bind its people.

"This project, focusing on our shared natural heritage, is no different.

"The establishment of the Canopy is a loud and unambiguous statement that the citizens of all Commonwealth countries believe that nature is fundamental to the health of our societies.

William and Kate: The couple are on a tour of Canada / REUTERS

"When we protect our rivers, oceans, atmospheres, or like today, our forests, we are telling our children that their future prosperity cannot be disconnected from the health of the natural world."

William said the Queen is "immensely grateful" to the indigenous people and the people of Canada, for the leadership they have shown.

"I have no doubt that other Commonwealth nations will be inspired by what you have achieved here," he said.

But one of British Columbias most influential First Nations chiefs turned down an invitation to participate in a reconciliation ceremony with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to Canada, describing the symbolic ceremony as a public charade that papers over the Canadian governments failure to keep its promises to indigenous peoples.

The Black Rod ceremony is slated to take place on Monday evening, in a private sitting room at the stately Government House in Victoria.

Officials have spent more than a year carefully crafting every moment of the ceremony, which will see William add a carved silver ring to the Black Rod, a ceremonial staff created in 2012 to commemorate the Queens diamond jubilee.
P olice will begin excavation work on the Greek island of Kos today in the search for missing toddler Ben Needham.

Ben's mother Kerry Needham, from Sheffield, has been told to "prepare for the worst" by South Yorkshire Police who suspect he may have been accidentally crushed by a digger 25 years ago.

The new line of inquiry suggests the 21-month-old may have died near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating in July 1991.

Konstantinos Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where Ben was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death, a friend of the builder has reportedly told police.

Ben Needham,Baby went missing on Kos,Greece in 1991.

The driver reportedly died of stomach cancer last year, months before detectives from South Yorkshire Police arrived on the island for a renewed investigation.

Search: Excavation work is beginning

But Mr Barkas's widow Varvara strongly dismissed any suggestions her late husband had killed Ben in an accident.

Ben Needham timeline July 24, 1991 - Ben disappears while on holiday with mother Kerry and grandparents in Kos

Ben disappears while on holiday with mother Kerry and grandparents in Kos July 25, 1991 - A search begins of the hillside above Kos town but to no avail

- A search begins of the hillside above Kos town but to no avail September, 1991 - The Needhams return to Sheffield having run out of money

- The Needhams return to Sheffield having run out of money 1995 - A blonde boy in a gypsy camp in Greece is linked to Ben after he claims he was abandoned by his biological parents, but no evidence is found

- A blonde boy in a gypsy camp in Greece is linked to Ben after he claims he was abandoned by his biological parents, but no evidence is found 1996 - A greek prisoner claims to know someone holding Ben - but nothing comes of it

- A greek prisoner claims to know someone holding Ben - but nothing comes of it July, 2011 - A cold case review is launched by South Yorkshire police

- A cold case review is launched by South Yorkshire police May, 2012 - A digger driver claims he was excavating land in the area when Ben disappeared, sparking plans to excavate

- A digger driver claims he was excavating land in the area when Ben disappeared, sparking plans to excavate October, 2013 - a DNA test on a man from Cyprus proves he is not Ben Needham, despite his uncanny similarities to an e-fit issued by police

- a DNA test on a man from Cyprus proves he is not Ben Needham, despite his uncanny similarities to an e-fit issued by police May, 2015 - Kerry renews her appeal for information on a Greek missing persons show but several leads, including an old photograph, come to nothing

- Kerry renews her appeal for information on a Greek missing persons show but several leads, including an old photograph, come to nothing September, 2016 - Kerry reveals a new witness has told police his friend killed Ben in a digger accident

A variety of theories on his fate and reported sightings have arisen since his disappearance and Ms Needham had been holding out hope that she would one day be reunited with her son.

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed that its team, led by Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, will begin searching a specific site on Kos, starting today.

But they warned progress could be painstaking, with the first dig expected to last up to 12 days.

Detectives are said to have carried out initial inquiries at the site, with experts testing soil and surveying the area with drones.

Last week, Mr Fenwick said: "There will be planned operational activity at two locations on the island that have been identified as areas of interest to the investigation.

"We continue to keep an open mind and have updated Ben's family about certain lines of inquiry we're currently exploring."

Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police received extra funding from the Home Office to help in the search for Ben.

Ms Needham has been forthright in her support of Mr Fenwick's investigation.

In May, she jumped to the defence of the investigation team when they were pictured on the front page of a national newspaper drinking in the sunshine during a visit to Kos.

Mr Fenwick was called back from the island but a lawyer for Ms Needham wrote to the chief constable saying: "Ms Needham trusts the officers involved, believes they are working to the highest standards operationally and professionally and wishes there to be no disruption."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.
A t least six people have been injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping centre in Houston before being shot dead by police.

A number of casualties were rushed to hospital following the mass shooting at a Randalls supermarket in southwest Houston at 6.30am local time.

The suspect, described by local media as a black man with a revolver, reportedly fired at shoppers from behind some trees.

The man was shot by police and pronounced dead at the scene, Houston Police Department confirmed.

A bomb squad was also drafted in after a suspect vehicle was spotted at the scene.

Jay Evans, from Houston Police, told ABC that police were initially unsure how many people had been shot.

He added: We received a call at 6.29am that we had a shooting at the Petco store.

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The first units were directed to the parking lot where the shooting was still active."

An emergency alert issued by city officials said: "At this time, the shooting scene is believed to be contained, but residents are asked to please avoid the area of Wesleyan St, between Westpark Drive and Bissonnet Street as it is still an active response and investigation scene."

Several cars with bullet holes and shattered windows were pictured at a nearby strip mall parking lot.

The shooting comes days after a shooting a Washington mall that left five people dead.
T he Duchess of Cambridge today admitted she can't believe how fast her children are growing up.

As she visited a charity helping reformed drug addict mums, Kate admitted time flies being a royal mum.

She told former heroin addict Alison Wright, on a visit to Sheway charity in Vancouver, "Theyre doing well."

She added, "I just cant believe how quickly theyre growing, its amazing how the time goes.

Immigration centre: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie watch children play / PA

Prince George and Princess Charlotte stole the show when the royals arrived in Canada.

But they are not joining their parents as they travel around the country carrying out official engagements.

Alison Wright was one of a number of mums who battled with heroin addiction met by the royals.

Young parents: The Duke and Duchess of Cambriodge discussed their two children / REUTERS

She was there with her two sons, Levi, 5 and Theo, 4. She lost her job in the film industry after struggling with her addiction and both her sons were taken into foster care for a year, but she was able to get them back after working with Sheway.

Prince William asked her: How has it helped you being here? Do you notice a difference in your children after getting support?

Kate and William arrive in Vancouver 1 /12 Kate and William arrive in Vancouver Crowds await the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Victoria Habour PA The Royal couple arrive to start Day Two of their tour of Canada PA The royal couple were given earplugs for the 35-minute boat plane journey from in the 18-seater Twin Otter PA The couple received a civic welcome in Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre Getty Images Thousands of well-wishers had been queuing since 5am to see the Royal couple PA The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to members of the public as she arrives by seaplane PA The children were left behind in Victoria's Government House being cared for by their nanny REUTERS Kate wore a red and white Alexander McQueen dress, a nod to Canada's national colours REUTERS The couple received a civic welcome in Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre AP

Ms Wright, who co-parents her sons with her former partner, said: Totally. When your kids are taken into care, it sets off a cycle of fear, and negotiating the child welfare system here is tough.

Do you think it turned your life around, coming here? asked William? For sure, said Ms Wright. Theres something about being treated like a human first, and an addict second, that helps more than I can tell you.

Welcome gifts: Prince William receives a teddy bear from five-year-old Hailey Cain during a tour of Sheway / AFP/Getty Images

Sheway has given me the courage to battle my addiction, my depression that went with it and help me get my kids back. I just wanted to be clean and be able to get my life back too.

Watch Canadian PM Justin Trudeau left hanging by Prince George after going for a high-five

Well, youre doing that here, you should be so proud, said William.
R ussia should be hit with the full weight of international law if its planes are found to have killed 20 civilians in an aid convoy in Syria, Labour said today.

Shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis demanded the tough response as the besieged city of Aleppo, where the convoy was heading, was targeted with fresh air strikes overnight.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused Russia over the weekend of prolonging the five-year war in Syria and suggested it may have committed war crimes if its air force targeted the aid convoy.

Moscow and Syrian president Bashar Assads regime have denied their planes were involved in the air raid last week.

However, Mr Lewis told BBC radios The Westminster Hour: If the Russians are found guilty of this they should have everything thrown at them, the full weight of international law.

He added: But at the same time we want to be seen with an even hand, then the British government, the Conservative government, should be playing the same way with Saudi Arabia.

Dozens of air strikes hit Aleppo overnight, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Its the same situation. Especially at night, the bombardment intensifies, it becomes more violent, using all kinds of weapons, phosphorous and napalm and cluster bombs, said Bebars Mishal, a civil defence worker in the rebel-held part of the northern city.

The Syrian army has launched a fresh offensive in the city which has become the main battle ground of the conflict.

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The Observatory said it had documented the deaths of 237 people, including 38 children, from air strikes on Aleppo city and the surrounding countryside since last Monday when a week-long ceasefire ended. Of those documented deaths, 162 were in rebel-held east Aleppo city.
A teenager was recovering in hospital today after a shark attacked him while surfing at a beach in Australia.

Cooper Allen, 17, was treated for bites to his upper right thigh and torso after being mauled by the shark at Lighthouse Beach, Ballina, in New South Wales, just before 9am local time today.

A 3.5 metre great white shark was later spotted nearby and is suspected of the attack.

Paramedics rushed the teenage surfer to Lismore Base Hospital for further treatment. A hospital spokesman said he was in a stable condition.

Beaches were closed following the attack.

Cooper had one request for his rescuers moments after being hauled bleeding onto the beach: Dont tell my mum.

He said, you can call my dad, but dont tell mum yet, said eye-witness and local surfer Dan Webber, who was in the water just a few feet away when the attack happened.

It was the fourth serious shark attack along the one-kilometre stretch of beach in less than two years.

Last year surfer Tadashi Nakahara, 41, from Japan, died in a shark close by.

The attack comes only weeks after the New South Wales State Government abandoned its plans to build a 700 metre shark barrier at the beach.

The barrier was proposed as a part of an 8 million plan to reduce the number of shark attacks but was not built as rough conditions made it too risky for divers to enter the water.
A British man is being held by Thai police after a chopped-up body was found in a freezer in Thailand.

The corpse has yet to be identified after being found during a raid on Friday.

A British man and two Americans suspected of trafficking forged passports are being held by Thai police following the find.

During the raid, in the capital of Bangkok, police found a dismembered body and are now appealing for help to identify it.

Police spokeswoman Krisana Pattanacharoen said on Monday that the name, gender and nationality of the corpse found were unknown.

Forensic experts are to carry out a digital post-mortem examination to extract DNA material in an attempt to identify the person.

Krisana Pattanacharoen said the suspects were arrested on charges of resisting arrest, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, forging official documents and concealing a corpse.

She said police are uncertain of their actual identities because they may have been using fake or altered passports.

The man with a British passport was charged, it was reported on Saturday.

Guns, ammunition, crystal meth and fake passports were also found during the raid.

A police officer was also injured as the four-storey block was searched.
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